Joining

by Arinson Tidochi

Begins at the end of Ranma 12 and beginning of Dragon Ball Z. This story is now concluded. To find chapters 14 and 15 of the Episode Saga look for the seperate story Joining: Episode Saga.

9. Joining 9: The demon's trap

Joining 9: The Demon's Trap Written January 2003

By: Arinson Tidochi

I own neither Dragon Ball Z nor Ranma ½, and I don't have any money anyways, so please don't sue me. I'm not making any money out of this fanfiction, I'm just doing it for fun.

"I have heard of a mythical land where one can equal three." BB

"And I am Cry. I have nothing to do this." Cry Greighstone

"The white ninja is much stronger then me but equal in strength somehow." Simian, secretly the white ninja

Reviewer Responses (I read some fanfictions where the authors did this and I kind of liked the idea. If anyone's annoyed by this then let me know and I'll stop)

Rhysel- Thanks! You can count on me updating fairly often.

Mokona- Gracias hermanitita! Thanks for being a fan.

Psycho King- Yes I do have my work cut out for me, but keep in mind that this is what I've been waiting for during the last 8 chapters. If I've seemed rushed it's because of what's coming up.

Vixen- I always like the way you ask questions, it shows me what the readers are probably thinking about. All of your questions will be answered within the next two or three chapters.

Lord Helpme- I actually haven't heard of the nothing really changes trap until you mentioned it to me but I look at it like this. If Ranma had charged into the saiyajin saga with the villains not having a foil for him it would have been pretty dang boring. Thanks for the compliment! As for the thing with my mistake with the neko-ken training. Oops. I've actually seen the anime where they explain it but it's been so long that I forgot about the fine details. If I ever get around to rewriting earlier chapters I'll fix that mistake.

ReD- Personally I've always rather enjoyed the idea of impossibilities too. I guess that's why I'm using it here. I wouldn't worry about how the Joining will turn out; trust me when I say that it will be alright in the end. Thanks for your comments!

ranmafan!- Thanks for your criticism. As far as the thing with Akane and Ranma's love I honestly don't feel that there's much more development to be had. After all Rumiko has developed it across 37 manga and in my mind at least it's obvious that they loved each other by the end. The only reason that it's coming out now is because they're being placed under extreme emotional stress during the course of the story. With Akane's progression in power being easy, what can I say? You can't train in 10g's and expect magical powers to grow stronger; you have to train the mind. Keep in mind that I glossed over most of Akane's mental training with her mother's book for the sake of having a few secrets from the readers. She actually trained with magic for close to a full year before the whole ordeal started.

Shinji Ikari- It's pretty cool huh? I was a little worried before I started that the idea of Ranma and Goku fusing was a hokey one until it occurred to me that I couldn't remember anyone else doing it. Though I refuse to say at this point whether or not they will successfully join be assured that it should be extremely interesting.

With all of that said, on with the story!

******************************************

There was a small fire set in a clearing against the darkness of the wood. Two figures were beside the fire. One was a strikingly beautiful young man with blond hair and red eyes. He was wearing a gi that was brown with the dirt of the road. The other was a young boy, perhaps five or six years of age, that was wearing a similar gi and was sleeping gently. He began to stir and woke up.

He sat up and looked at the man next to him, showing a set of blue eyes. "Where am I? Where am I dad? Where's mom?"

The man chuckled. "Ranma, I have taken you from your mother. I'm taking you on a training journey that will last many years. I'm sorry but you won't see your mother for quite some time."

Ranma blinked a few times as if he didn't understand and then shrugged. "I hope I can see her soon." He said, looking into the fire. "My head hurts."

The man chuckled. "Don't worry Ranma. Your father will take care of you." He stood to his feet. "Well boy, it's time to begin your training."

Ranma looked up at him curiously. "Training? What do you mean father?"

The man took a few steps away from the fire and motioned to his chest. "Hit me boy." He said. "Hit me with everything you have."

The boy looked confused. "Hit you father?" He asked. "I couldn't do that."

A second later Ranma was lying on the ground, a large red mark on the side of the face. "What did you do that for?" He cried, tears already forming.

"Hit me Ranma." The man said seriously. "There is no room for weakness in my children. Show me no mercy."

Ranma sniffled a few times and looked his father. Walking forwards slowly as if he were afraid he gently pushed one of his hands towards the torso of his father.

The man quickly blocked the attack and punched Ranma again, sending him flying backwards. "Don't give me that!" He yelled. "This is for your own good Ranma! You must give me everything!"

"But father." Ranma said, tears budding out of his eyes. "I don't want to hit you."

The man brushed back his hair. "I've already told you Ranma, no son of mine is a weakling. There can be no mercy, no kindness. You must become the perfect warrior, capable only of following orders. When you're spending time with me that will be all you know. Now get up and hit me!"

**************************************

An old man was pushing a cradle by the side of a cliff. Inside the cradle was a very young boy with spiky black hair who was sleeping peacefully. A bump in the road caused him to wake up. Upon waking he began to struggle violently, rocking the cradle from side to side.

"No Goku!" The old man pushing the cradle yelled, desperately trying to stop him. The baby didn't listen and didn't care. In a feat of strength he knocked over the cradle, sending him sprawling off the cliff.

The old man ran over the side of the cliff in panic and looked down. Far below a man could be seen already holding the baby. He was beautiful in appearance and had blond hair and striking red eyes. He looked up at the old man and winked.

"Well Kakarot, it looks like you're with me now." He chuckled to himself, looking down at the child that was already struggling in his grasp. "I'm going to make sure that you're strong enough to complete your mission, don't you worry. This new memory will be fabulously better then the old one. I can't believe how clever I am!"

With those words he began to laugh loudly while slowly vanishing into the air of the day.

**************************************

The scene was complete and utter darkness. A golden mist appeared, seemingly opposite to the darkness that surrounded it. Inside the mist a form could be seen materializing.

It was a young girl, perhaps 17 years of age, who had black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing brilliant golden robes and two earrings that looked like full moons. Her eyes were panicked and confused.

"Where is Ranma?" Akane asked herself, looking around. "I don't see him anywhere!" She brought both of her hands together and pulled them to her chest while closing her eyes.

"There!" She said, pointing to her left. She began to quickly move in that direction. "This must be the cleft between the minds of Goku and Ranma." She thought to herself. "It shouldn't be this dark! Please Ranma, please still be there."

Akane gasped. Ahead of her two forms were lying on the ground surrounded by the darkness. One was the man Goku that she had met earlier, and the other was.

"Ranma!" She yelled. At the sound of her voice the darkness that was surrounding him lifted and evaporated. Ranma rolled over and appeared to be in a deep slumber. His face was peaceful, as if there wasn't a problem in the world.

"Ranma." She said again quietly, walking over to where his body lied. She fell onto her knees and stared at his face. "I'm here Ranma." She said sadly. "I'm here to help you at last. I'm sorry I'm late. Please be alright Ranma!"

She gently lifted up his head and brought him over to her lap. "Please wake up." She said, brushing his face. She began to sniffle. "I'm crying." She realized. But she didn't care, not now. The tears ran off her face and fell onto his. At the contact of her tears he became restless and slowly came awake.

"Ranma?' She asked in shock. Ranma lifted up his head and slowly opened up his eyes.

Akane gasped. "No Ranma, please no." She whispered to herself in horror. "It's like my dream. Ranma!!!"

**************************************

It was an empty expanse, only tiles as far as the eye could see. The only thing that interrupted the perfect horizon was a single citadel, sitting seemingly alone against eternity.

Two figures could be seen surrounded by powerful auras quickly bounding about in some kind of deadly dance. They continued to struggle, to work as hard as they could. They fought desperately, as if trying to achieve something that was forever beyond their reach. One of the forms flew towards the ground, crashing into the tile.

"Gee Gohan, it looks like you got me again." Krillin said, rubbing the back of his head. "You've really been improving a lot; I guess you are your father's son."

"Gee thanks Krillin." Gohan said, lowering to the ground. His space suit was already beat and battered and long black hair fell down to his shoulders behind him. He appeared to have grown an inch or so, and was now almost as tall as the small man besides him. He yawned loudly and stretched. "Well, I think that's enough for one day. How about you Krillin?"

Krillin returned to his feet and also stretched. "Yeah, you said it Gohan. I think we should turn in and get something to eat."

Together they began to walk towards the citadel. "How long has it been since we've come here Krillin?" Gohan asked his friend as they walked along.

Krillin sighed and put both of his arms behind his head. "I don't know Gohan." He said. "Has to be at least four months."

"Wow, four months." Gohan said. "It feels like it's been forever. I sure miss my father and mother."

"I know what you mean Gohan." Krillin said. "I miss your father too." He smiled and laughed. "But we still have each other right? It sure has been fun training with you Gohan."

"Yeah, you said it." Gohan laughed. "I can stay up as late as I want every night, you're the best Krillin!"

Krillin laughed. "Don't let your mother know about this." He said, wagging his finger at Gohan. "If you tell your mother about what me and Piccolo let you do then you'll get us into trouble for sure."

"Don't worry, I won't Krillin." Gohan said with a smile.

Both of them stepped off of the tile and onto the floor of the citadel. "Wow that feels much better!" Krillin said, stretching. "It sure feels good to get out of all that extra gravity!"

"No kidding." Gohan said, also relaxing. "And the weather's so weird out there too. "It's sometimes really hot and sometimes really cold!"

"Well, I guess that helps the training." Krillin said, already removing his clothes. "Let's go take a bath Gohan."

"Yeah, I'm ready!" Gohan said happily, already removing his clothes.

"Gohan, Krillin. This is Kami." A voice spoke into their minds.

"Is that really you Kami?" Gohan asked with wide eyes, staring up into the air. "Kind of freaky." Krillin said also looking up into the air.

"Yes, it's me." Kami's voice said. "I'm communicating with you through telepathy. The nature of the room you're in allows me to do so."

"That's really neat." Krillin said. "So what's up? Is there something that you need to tell us?"

"No, The earth's in danger isn't it?" Gohan asked.

"Yes Gohan; that is unfortunately the truth. I'm afraid that you might not have all of the time to train that I had hoped for. I can sense that nearly all of the dragon balls are now in one place and soon the mage who called himself Mire will be ready to make his wish. When that happens his ally may decide to destroy the world.

"That's horrible." Krillin said. "So do you want us to go now to stop his friend?"

"That is correct Krillin." Kami's voice said. "I don't know how much time we have so I want you to confront the warrior. I hate to say this but it may be a suicidal mission for both of you. but it's the only chance we have. We need to buy Goku and Ranma time."

"I understand." Gohan said, his face strained. "We'll do it Kami. How much time do we have?"

"There's no need for you to hurry out of the chamber." The voice told him. "Take another eight hours or so and completely rest up. You're going to need every bit of strength that you have for this fight."

"Right." Krillin said his face filled with concentration. "We'll do what you say Kami."

"Thank you Krillin." The voice said, and was gone.

Krillin looked at Gohan with a smile on his face. "How about that bath now Gohan?" He asked cheerfully.

Gohan smiled back, his face excited. "Yeah, let's do it." He said confidently. He looked up hopefully into the air.

"I should have known." Gohan thought to himself. "My dad and Ranma are up to something. They'll be able to beat the bad guys, I just know it."

**************************************

His once deep blue eyes were dark, as if a shadow had fallen over them. Ignoring the girl who was crying over him he slowly stood to his feet and brushed himself off.

"What happened to you Ranma?" Akane asked quietly. "What's been done to you?"

Ranma twitched at the sound of her voice and slowly turned to her. His expression was a mask of indifference which seemed completely out of place on his normally emotional face.

"Who are you?" He asked coldly, staring at her with disdain. "And how do you know my name?"

Akane stared at him. "I'm Akane. Don't you remember me Ranma? I'm you're fiancée."

Ranma snorted. "Fiancée? I don't remember anything like that." He turned and looked into the darkness. "Hey pops. You know anything about a fiancée?"

"Fiancée?" A voice asked out of the darkness. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about boy. Please don't talk nonsense."

Ranma shrugged and turned back to her. "Well there you have it; Pops doesn't know anything about a fiancée. Now stop lying and tell me who you really are."

Akane stared at where the voice had come from. "Mr. Saotome would never say something like that." She thought to herself. "Hell, this was his and my dad's idea in the first place." "Why don't you show yourself?" She yelled into the darkness.

Laughing could be heard. "Oh, you want me to show myself do you?" An amused voice asked. "Very well then you will have your wish."

A form appeared in a single instant. It was a young and beautiful man who was currently wearing a black trench coat with jeans and no shirt. His hands were confidently in his pockets and he smiled down at the young girl with black hair.

"I'm amazed that anyone would have the gall to come in here." He said arrogantly. "Are you really so eager to lose your soul that you would charge directly into the spider's web?"

Akane looked at him determinedly. "You're not touching my soul or Ranma's. I want you to undo whatever you've done to him right this instant!"

"Hey pops, why don't you let me take care of this squirt." Ranma said, looking at the other man. "I wouldn't want you to get your hands dirty."

"Please be patient boy, I know how eager you are to fight but give me some time first." The man said. "This girl is an honored guest; we should give her the most courteous response before we kill her." His face twisted. "As you may have guessed I am Rate. I am the father of the two men that you see here." He motioned to Ranma and Goku's still sleeping form. "So what is it you want from me?"

"Don't play dumb." Akane said, her face angry. "I know you're a demon lord, and I know that I have the power to defeat you. So why don't you leave now before you get hurt."

He threw back his head and started to laugh widely, making Akane even angrier. "Oh this is rich." He yelled. "You would come here of all places and challenge me! I must admit girl, I thought that you were brave but I didn't realize you were such a fool as to think that you could actually win."

"Shut up!" Akane yelled, falling into a fighting stance. "I have to win; now why don't you stop talking and start fighting?"

The man motioned to Ranma. "Boy, I'll take you up on your offer and let you take care of this foolish girl. It would be good exercise for you."

Ranma nodded and stepped in front of Rate. "Sure thing pops. It looks like she actually knows some martial arts so it should be fun." He chuckled. "Her stance is pretty sloppy though, I don't know how much of a challenge she could possibly be."

Akane shuddered as she looked into his eyes. "The fact that's he's insulting me isn't unusual but I can sense. hatred in his voice. The Ranma I know could never hate anything." Her face showed a new expression, fear. "I couldn't beat him even if I wanted to; his abilities have always been way beyond mine."

Ranma went into a fighting stance where most of his weight was focused on his front foot. "So girl, are you ready to die?" He sneered at her.

"That stance, it's completely offensive." Akane realized, staring at him. "Ranma would never begin a fight in a stance like that."

In a single instant Ranma covered the distance between them. He threw a low punch towards Akane's abdomen which she attempted but failed to block. With a grunt Akane flew backwards.

"Learning how to fly girl?" Ranma asked cruelly. With a single leap he caught up with Akane who was still flying through the air and grabbed one of her feet and made a motion to slam her into the ground. The moment he grabbed her foot she disappeared and rematerialized roughly fifteen feet away from him.

"Well, I guess you do have a few tricks after all." Ranma laughed, turning to face her. "I suppose that this won't be nearly as boring as I thought."

"He's not even Ranma anymore." Akane thought to herself, breathing hard. "Everything about his fighting style is offensive. I don't think there's even a bit of his Anything Goes School left in him." Her eyes widened. "That's it! That's how I can take him out of this fight!" She narrowed her eyes and looked past Ranma to where the demon lord was standing with his arms crossed with a confident smile on his face. "He's the real enemy here, not Ranma. Once I neutralize Ranma I need to restore his memory. That's the only way I'm going to have a chance against Rate."

"Why are you looking so worried?" Ranma asked cockily. "Don't tell me that you're actually afraid of me? Now why would you do something like that?" He cracked his knuckles. "Well, I guess that it's time to finish this fight."

Her eyes returned to Ranma's. "But he's so incredible, even without the anything goes style. He's at least ten times faster and stronger then when I saw him last, and his talent for improvisation should be unchanged. I don't know if I can beat him. But I have to try! Please Ranma, come back to me."

Ranma ran directly towards her, covering the distance of 15 feet in only a fraction of a second. "Weakling." He spat, preparing to kill her with a single strike.

"Now!" Akane yelled. An instant later the motion of Ranma's upper body stopped and his legs flew out from under him sending him falling to the ground. "What, what happened?" He wheezed. "You never touched me."

"I didn't need to." Akane said. "I just created a small shield of force at your chest level. All of the power that you felt was your own. If you were still the Ranma that I know you easily would have seen that coming and avoided it."

She looked down at him desperately, her mind racing. "What now?" She asked herself. "How do I snap him out of it?"

Rate started to laugh. "Well now Akane, you are certainly much more clever then I would have given you credit for, but I'm afraid that what you've done is hardly going to be enough to stop him. Hey Ranma, get on your feet."

"Sure thing pops." Ranma said with a grin, slowly standing up. "Girl, I'm going to enjoy this. You're not going to get lucky again."

"How can you call him your father Ranma?" Akane cried out. "Your father is a dishonest and lying thief, how could you mistake this man for him?" Akane winced a second later. "That didn't help." She thought to herself.

Ranma actually stopped dead in his tracks and lowered his head. "How did you know he was a thief?" Ranma asked quietly, somehow almost ashamed. "Nobody knew that, how could you possibly know?"

"Damn." Rate cursed to himself. "I suppose I made a mistake when rewriting his memory after all. I left him with a sense of honor."

Akane blanched. "What, he was a thief in Ranma's memory? But I thought Rate changed everything that Ranma remembered." Her face lit with realization. "But Ranma's mind is so strong he couldn't possibly have erased everything. Maybe instead he put himself in Mr. Saotome's place in some of Ranma's memories." She looked over at where Rate was standing, his face already disapproving at how much he thought she was guessing. "So that means that he would have no choice but to be a thief even in Ranma's new memories! As so I must be in there somewhere too." Her face became hopeful.

"Answer me!" Ranma yelled at her impatiently. "How the hell do you know that my father's a thief?!" His face was desperate, seemingly searching for answers that before never existed for him.

"Because I know your father." Akane said gently, looking into Ranma's eyes.

"You know him?" Ranma asked hesitantly. Akane could almost see what he was thinking by the look in his eyes. -How could you possibly know him when I never knew him?-

"Ranma." She sighed, looking at him pleadingly. "Please try to remember Ranma. Try to remember all of the times that we spent together. Please try to remember the feelings that we had for each other."

Ranma stared at her with wide eyes for a moment and then shook his head. "Who is this girl?" He asked himself. "And why does she look so familiar?"

"Ranma, I. I love you." Akane said slowly. She blushed slightly and lowered her head. "I wish I could have told you earlier but I didn't know it myself. I was never ready."

"You love me?" Ranma asked hesitantly, staring at her. Suddenly a rush of images came flooding back to him bringing him to his knees.

"Ranma!" Akane yelled, running towards him, only to find herself hitting a wall of black energy and flying backwards.

"Oh my, how touching." Rate said with an annoyed look on his face. "Young love is always a sight to see, and quite powerful too it seems. You were even able to break the barrier I made against his original memories." He glanced down at the teenager who was still rubbing his head trying to understand the vast inrush of images. He shrugged uncaringly. "Ranma, you can go now." An instant later a mass of almost liquid darkness surrounded Ranma's body and he disappeared.

"What did you do to him?!" Akane yelled at the demon who was now slightly smiling. "If you hurt him then I swear I'm going to-" "Going to what?" The demon asked, looking up at her. "Come at me with your little powers?"

He spat at the ground. "I didn't think that Ranma would be able to do it anyways, seeing as how he admitted his love for you shortly before I took his mind."

Akane's breath caught in her chest at his words. "Ranma loves me?" She asked herself silently.

"I do however have a more appropriate opponent." Rate continued. He motioned to the figure that was lying on the ground. "You do remember Goku don't you? Well I'm afraid that this warrior has no available heartstrings for you to pull at, so you have no weapon to use against him. Kakarot." He said, turning to the still form on the ground. At the sound of the voice he slowly came to his feet and glanced over at the man who had called his name.

"What do you want?" He asked irritably, his brows crossing angrily.

"I want you to kill that girl." The demon said, motioning to Akane. "Kill her with the prejudice that only a member of the saiyajin race could hold."

He gave the girl a sideways glance and snorted. "What fun is there in killing such a weakling?" He asked. "I have no desire to honor a bug with a warrior's death."

"A bug?!" Akane yelled. "Just who do you think you're talking about?!" "Oops." She thought to herself, putting both of her hands over her mouth. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that."

The saiyajin started to laugh. "Ah, a woman with spunk, I like that." He eyed Akane. "Tell me, do we have to kill her? Her wide hips look like they may be useful for baring children."

"What?" Akane asked herself in shock. "That is not the Goku I know." She smiled slightly wryly despite of the situation. "Well, what do I expect after what Rate did to Ranma. I can't afford to think of Goku as that innocent faced man I met on Snake Way until after I restore his mind."

Rate chuckled. "Unfortunately I need to ask you to kill her Kakarot. Given any other circumstance I would have considered your proposal but as things stand she's better off dead."

Akane stared up at Rate. "Kakarot? That's what Raditz called Goku when he first visited earth. Does that mean that Goku doesn't remember his old name?"

The saiyajin chuckled evilly and lightly stroked the tail that was hovering behind his back. "Understood. Consider it done." The tail wrapped itself about his waist and he went into a crude fighting stance. "Well girl, are you ready for action?"

Akane went into her own fighting stance. "I'm not going to hold any illusions with this guy." She thought to herself. "I need to trigger his memories somehow, it will much harder then with Ranma." She eyed the demon lord out of the corner of her eye. "And I still have him to contend with. This isn't going to be easy. I wish Ranma were here."

**************************************

The doorway to the room of space and time opened slowly to reveal two small forms. They dramatically walked out of the room with the wind whipping through their clothes.

"Man, I bet that looked cool." Krillin complained. "I wish someone had been around to see that."

"What are you talking about Krillin?" Gohan asked with wide eyes, looking over at his friend.

"Oh nothing." Krillin said, putting his left hand behind his head and laughing.

A larger form approached them. "I see that you two are ready." Kami said smiling. "Your strength has indeed increased greatly. I hope that you're ready for the task."

"Oh we are Kami." Gohan said confidently. "I'm much stronger then before. I can even beat Krillin most of the time now."

"Well you are Goku's son after all." Krillin said with a laugh. "But you're a lot stronger then he was when he was your age Gohan."

"Yes, you're right." Kami said with a smile. "Amazing." He thought to himself looking at Gohan. "The boy's hidden power is already budding. I have a feeling that he'll be the strongest warrior on earth someday."

Kami's smile turned into a frown. "I have already told you why you are here and I'm afraid that we don't have much time for further discussion. Can you sense the evil force that you'll confront?"

Both Gohan and Krillin closed their eyes and focused. They stood still for several moments until both of them opened their eyes and shook their heads. "No, I don't feel anything Kami." Gohan said. "Yeah, me too. Are you sure there's something out there Kami?" Krillin asked.

Kami sighed. "I was afraid of that. You two don't know what to look for. He placed one of his hands on both of their heads. "What are you doing?" Gohan asked curiously. "I'm instilling within you the ability to sense dark magic." Kami said. "Unfortunately its duration is temporary but it should be more then sufficient for you to find this evil."

He sighed and stepped away from them. "There, do you sense anything now?" He asked.

Krillin and Gohan paused for a moment to focus again. "Yeah, I feel it." Krillin said slowly. "It's an awful and horrible power." Gohan nodded his agreement. "We have to fight against that?"

Kami nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so, but I wouldn't worry. Goku and Ranma should be finished soon and then they will finish the fight for you. You just need to keep him from causing further destruction.

"Understood." Gohan said seriously. "You can count on us. Right Krillin?" He asked, turning to the small man.

Krillin nodded with a smile on his face. "Right Gohan. We'll do it together."

"Let's go!" Gohan yelled, leaping into the air. "Hey, wait for me!" Krillin yelled, flying after him.

Kami watched them go silently. "I hope that I haven't sent them to their deaths." He thought to himself sadly. He then sighed. "Goku and Ranma are in horrible trouble. I wonder how they'll get out of it this time."

**************************************

Ranma awoke to find himself spiraling in the darkness. "Huh, what's going on?" He asked himself in confusion. He looked around and tried to gain a bearing on his position. "Where am I? He asked himself. Wait, I think something's coming back to me."

He focused for a moment. "Yeah that's right." He thought to himself. "I have two sets of memories now. I wonder which one's right." Ranma found his focus and began to shift through his various memories.

He quickly discovered that he actually had three sets of memories, two belonging to himself and one belonging to Goku. "Freaky." He thought to himself. "I wonder who the hell I am. Am I one of these Ranma's or am I this Goku guy? I just can't figure it out."

"You don't remember me Ranma?" A voice asked in the darkness. "Who said that?!" Ranma yelled while looking around frantically.

"I am your father of course." The voice responded. A moment later an image of Rate appeared before him. "Don't tell me that you've forgotten me."

Ranma stabilized his body and slowly backed away from the man. "How do I know that you're my father? I remember you as him in one of my memories but in the others I remember someone else. What can you do to prove it to me?"

"All of your other memories are a bad dream Ranma." He said quietly. "They're illusions place inside your mind by the sorcerer girl that you encountered before. She's trying to trick you Ranma."

Ranma relaxed his body slightly. "I still don't know if I can trust you." He said. "One of my set of memories shows her as a violent girl. She hardly fits the description of a mage in any case."

"It's simple Ranma." Rate said gently. "She replaced someone within your original memory with herself. Tell me; don't you remember the person that she replaced?" Ranma paused for a moment and focused. "Yeah, I remember." He said quietly. "Larisa, my baby sister." At that moment the memory from many years ago returned to him.

There was a beautiful young girl of maybe 14 years of age with flaming red hair. "Hey Ranma, it's been a while." She said with a smile. Suddenly she had a look of surprise on her face. "You can turn into a girl now? That's so cool!"

Ranma sighed again. "I remember all of the troubles that I went through for her. You always told me that love was a weakness, but I couldn't help but love her. I went through hell to protect her, fighting against people like Herb and Saffron to protect her. Assuming that she even exists." Ranma suddenly looked thoughtful.

"The reality that you choose will be the real one Ranma." Rate said quietly, looking at him with intent eyes. "Choose carefully Ranma, one set of memories must disappear and the other survive. Tell me Ranma, do you want your sister to disappear forever? Don't you care for her?"

Ranma looked at him blissfully for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm sorry pops, but I know that my history with you is false. I have no younger sister, and even if I ever got one I wouldn't want you to be her father."

Rate stared at him incredulously. "You're just going to give up on your life like that? How could you turn your back on your sister and on reality? If you go through with this she will be gone."

Ranma chuckled slightly. "Listen, I know what reality is. I remember all about you as my father, and you did one hell of a screw up job raising me. That's how I know that you're lying, you don't know a damn thing about any of this mystical stuff in my memories and therefore you couldn't be who you claim to be." His voice became quiet. "I do need to thank you though. If only for a while you made believe that I had a sister. For a short time at least. it was nice to pretend."

"Now where the hell's Akane?!" He yelled, going into a less aggressive stance of his original style.

Rate's face twisted and filled with dark energy and he smiled cruelly. "More clever then I even would have thought possible Ranma. To answer your question she is currently being torn limb from limb by Kakarot. Don't worry, you'll join her soon."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "So you corrupted Goku at the same time as you corrupted me." He smiled slightly. "You're such a fool."

Rate actually looked slightly surprised as he looked at Ranma. He quickly regained his composure and smiled arrogantly. "What makes you so sure?" He asked quietly. "Kakarot is a saiyajin after all, evil is in their blood. Nothing is sweeter to him then killing an enemy."

Ranma shook his head. "You're wrong about him; Goku has a pure heart. I've fought against every other surviving member of the saiyajin race and none of them were like Goku." He shifted his stance slightly. "So why don't you stop talking and start fighting?"

"You underestimate me little human." Rate said, his face twisting with anger. "I have been perverting the mortal mind for thousands of years before you were born. Though you may have been able to escape my grasp I can assure you that Kakarot will not. And even if he does and all three of you rise against me to fight you will still lose. You have no idea what you're up against!" An instant later a large blast of black energy emanated from his body and slammed into Ranma, throwing him backwards.

"He threw that one without even moving." Ranma thought to himself, slowly returning to his feet. "This guy is going to be tough."

**************************************

"Kamehameha!" Goku yelled, throwing a blast of blue energy that swirled with darkness straight at Akane. She dived to the side and barely avoided it. She looked just in time to see him throwing a kick at her. She brought up both of her hands to block and quickly created a magical shield. Her shield shattered on contact throwing her backwards over 20 feet.

Akane slowly returned to her feet and looked at the saiyajin who was slowly walking towards her. "Not bad girl, not bad at all. I expected you to die on that first attack." Goku said with a cruel smile.

Akane glanced over at where Rate was standing to see his face filled with concentration. His form flickered a few times and appeared to become slightly translucent. "What's with him?" Akane asked herself.

"I suggest that you keep your eyes on me." Goku said. "If you can that is." He suddenly bolted forward moving incredibly quickly. Every few steps he left an image of himself behind, until approximately 15 images of him were surrounding Akane. "What do you think, not too bad huh?" The forms asked, all of them laughing.

Akane turned around, looking at them in confusion. "Which of them is Goku?" She asked herself. She closed her eyes and focused for a moment. "Got it." She thought to herself. "Using magic I can isolate his physical form from that of the other images."

An instant later one of the Gokus flew up to her and attacked. Akane didn't even flinch and the form flew through her. After that all of them flew at her. "No, the real one's not attacking yet." Akane thought to herself a moment before a hard kick to her stomach sent her to her knees.

"How?" She asked in a hoarse voice, staring at the real Goku. He chuckled and snapped his fingers, causing all of the images to disappear except for one of them. "You were clever to discover which one was the real me even though I don't know how you did it. But there was one technique you forgot about, the split form technique. This allowed two of us to have physical forms instead of just one." He laughed as the other image disappeared. "So do you still want to fight me girl?"

Akane paused for a moment and healed the attack on her stomach and then returned to her feet. "I see." She thought to herself. "With Ranma that demon somehow cut down on his versatility but it doesn't seem like that happened with Goku. I think I'm in big trouble."

She took a fighting stance. "I wish I had some way to help him remember, but it won't be nearly as easy as it was with Ranma."

"There may be a way." A voice echoed inside of her. "I am one who knows everything of Goku, I have known him since he was a child. I might be able to help you."

"Who said that?" Akane asked out loud, trying to find the source of the voice.

Goku chuckled. "Going insane with fright? I suppose that there are worse ways to go." He uncrossed his arms and held them up in almost a boxing stance. "So girl, are you ready? I'm almost done warming up."

"You don't have much time." The voice said. "When you see the demon lord flicker again I want you to attack him. That will temporarily break down the mental wall that he has trapping Goku and will give me the opportunity to help him."

"I don't have any clue who this guy is but it's the best shot that I have." Akane said seriously. She eyed Rate out of the corner of her eye. "When he flickers again huh? I think I can handle that."

"I already told you to keep your eyes on me!" Goku yelled, leaping at her. He threw a quick punch and Akane's head which she desperately blocked. "That almost broke my arm!" She thought to herself in pain. She looked at Goku and saw that he was smiling. "He's playing with me." She realized.

Goku did a quick spin and threw a side kick at her. Akane threw her body to the side and again brought both of her hands up to throw off the attack, knocking the breath out of her body. Goku threw out a flurry of punches, seemingly giving Akane exactly the amount of time she needed to block or dodge every attack. Twenty seconds later she was breathing hard and her arms were covered with red spots which were quickly becoming bruises.

"He's tearing me apart and hasn't even attacked me seriously yet." Akane realized. She dared another glance at the demon lord. "If he doesn't distract his attention soon I'm going to be in serious trouble."

**************************************

"Mokou Takabisha!" Ranma yelled, throwing the attack directly at Rate. He merely disappeared long enough for the attack to fly throw him and reappeared. "That old technique?" He laughed. "Try this!" Another blast of dark energy flew off of his body at Ranma.

This time Ranma saw it and quickly moved out of the way. "Me and Goku together weren't able to take this guy." Ranma realized. "I'm going to be hard pressed to do it alone. Hey buddy!" He yelled. "Why don't we stop using energy and start fighting hand to hand? Now that would be a real challenge!"

"Perhaps you're right little human." Rate chuckled. He fell into a fighting stance that Ranma recognized very well. It was completely offensive and left no room for defense. "So, care to give your dear old dad a try?" He asked with a smile. A moment later he launched himself at Ranma, throwing all of his weight into a leading arm punch.

It was an extremely straightforward attack but it came so quickly that Ranma barely had time to dodge. The man's fist scraped past Ranma's side and cut his clothes like a sword, drawing a small amount of blood. Ranma quickly tapped his arms a few times and redirected all of his force towards the ground in a throw. Almost defying reality all of Rate's momentum disappeared in a single instant and he punched Ranma in the stomach, driving him back six feet and collapsing him to his knees.

"How did you stop so quickly?" Ranma asked, clutching his stomach. "That's impossible."

Rate brushed his hair slightly and then put his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. "You're a smart boy, why don't you tell me Ranma?"

"I don't remember anything about him being able to perform stunts like that." Ranma thought to himself. His eyes widened in realization and he began to look around, examining his surroundings. "Maybe it's this place." He smiled. "That's it, I think I have it."

Rate laughed while looking at the expression on Ranma's face. "So you think you've figured it out." He spread his arms out wide, leaving his front side open. "Then why don't you show me what you've learned my dear child."

"Gotta get enough force to make this work." Ranma thought to himself. A moment later he began to fly up into the air. He continued to rise until he was 200 meters above the ground. "This outta be high enough." He thought, staring at the small form down below.

He began to fly straight down, teaming up with gravity to gather a huge amount of momentum. Rate stared up at him with a smile on his face. "Coming to your death are you Ranma?" He asked haughtily. "I can't wait to kill you and Kakarot and take your body."

"That's what he thinks." Ranma thought to himself, his face grim. He flew directly at Rate who still wasn't making any preparations to defend himself. An instant before Ranma reached him he disappeared into the air.

Ranma could already feel the black energy gathering behind him. "Now!" He yelled, spinning about in the air to face the surprised demon. An instant later Ranma stopped as he instantly completely reversed the direction of his motion. He channeled all of the force into his left hand and threw it outwards as a blast of force, hitting Rate head on. The demon lord flew backwards and began to skid along the ground until he stopped instantly, all of his force disappearing.

"This is inside my mind so nothing moves the same like it did in the real world." Ranma thought to himself. "The regular laws of physics that I heard some teacher talk about in school don't apply here. I don't know why I didn't see it before."

Rate slowly returned to his feet, his face filled with wrath. "Little bastard." He hissed, walking towards Ranma. "You just made a big mistake."

**************************************

A punch from Goku sent Akane flying backwards, already coughing up blood. As she was flying through the air she noticed Rate fluctuate slightly. "Now." She realized. Using powers of flight she halted her movement.

"Holy burst!" She yelled, throwing a blast of holy magical energy towards the demon lord. He didn't even notice until the attack made contact, so focused was he somewhere else. It caught him head on, sending him sprawling backwards in a scream of pain. His burnt form landed on the ground.

Goku's eyes suddenly lost their focus. In a burst of light a new figure appeared. It was a man who was completely green and wrinkled with two antennae coming from his head. His voluminous robes floated dramatically in the breeze as he appeared. He nodded to Akane in thanks and turned to Goku.

"Remember Goku!" He yelled, putting one of his hands on the saiyajin's forehead. "Remember everything that you fought for!"

"I hope this works." Akane thought to herself, looking into Goku's vacant eyes. She looked up at the green man respectively. "Please let him succeed."

**************************************

Rate stopped where he was, his attention suddenly caught somewhere else. His entire body seemed to shudder and he fell to his knees. "Damn that girl!" He yelled, his voice wracked with pain. With scathing eyes he looked up at Ranma. "I'll deal with you later boy." He threatened. An instant later he disappeared completely, leaving Ranma staring at where he just was.

"What was that all about?" Ranma asked the air curiously. "It seemed like he was hurt by something. He mentioned a girl. Akane!"

He began to look around frantically. "I have to get to her, she could be in danger. But how?" Ranma scratched his head. "Maybe if I just focus on her image that will be enough to take me too her. Well, it's worth a try I guess." He closed his eyes and brought forth the image of Akane from his memories.

"I wonder why she's here." Ranma said to himself. "Is it possible that she came to save me? But how, how could she possibly have gotten in here." He shook his head. "I can worry about the how and why later. Right now I just need to make sure that the demon lord doesn't get her."

**************************************

Two small forms flew through the darkness of night. Both of them held themselves seriously knowing that the challenge that they would soon face would be a great one.

"Well, we're almost there Gohan." Krillin said to his friend with a smile. "This is what we've been training for, are you ready?"

Gohan sighed and looked towards the ground. "I don't know Krillin. But I promise that I'll do my best. I just hope that Ranma and my Dad don't take long."

Krillin laughed. "It's just like always isn't it Gohan? You and I do the hard work while we wait for Goku to show up and save the day!"

Gohan laughed. "Yeah you're right! And Ranma too!" His face became serious and downcast.

"What's the matter Gohan?" Krillin asked curiously, glancing at the boy.

"Well, I don't know." Gohan said quietly. "It's just that we've already lost so many of our friends already." He sighed. "I wish that Piccolo was fighting with us again."

Krillin sighed. "Well kid, I wish that he was too. But hey, cheer up! I'm sure that wherever he is he's doing something helpful. And he's probably wishing right at this very moment that he'd be here to help you fight. He showed that he was willing to sacrifice his life to help you after all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gohan said lightly. His face became very determined. "We're here Krillin." To this his bald friend nodded.

It was a large and bustling city that on any other night would have been quiet and peaceful. However, tonight wasn't one of those nights. Throughout the city people were fearfully peering out of windows, as if they were expecting some sort of midnight visitor.

They were not disappointed. Far above the city an extremely large man wearing a black robe was floating in the air. He was staring down at the city and laughing. He raised one of his hands above his head and gathered a large ball of energy and prepared to destroy the city below.

Before he had the chance to release the energy another blast of energy caught his hand, throwing his attack high up into the air where it exploded in a brilliant display.

"Stop right there!" Krillin yelled, taking a fighting stance in midair. "Yeah, you're not doing anything to that city, why don't you just leave them alone!" Gohan yelled.

"Oh my, I have visitors." The man chuckled, turning around. "So who is it that takes the pleasure of speaking to the great Captain Ginyu?"

"I'm Krillin, and this is Gohan." Krillin said, motioning to his friend. "Listen buddy, let's go somewhere and fight where no one will get hurt."

He started to laugh. "Well alright then, if that's really the way you want it. I don't suppose it will matter much in any case. Goku does seem to be predisposed at the moment." He lowered his arm and bowed. "So then, why don't you two lead the way? I'll be more then happy to follow you."

"Gee thanks." Krillin said harshly. He turned to look at Gohan. "Where should we take him Gohan? Any ideas?" Gohan looked thoughtful for a moment. "There's a place close to here where I don't sense any power levels. Why don't we take him there?"

Krillin nodded. "Right on." Together him and Gohan surrounded themselves with energy and flew into the darkness with the black robed figure trailing closely

Krillin eyed the man flying behind him as he moved along. "I can't sense much of his power any more." Krillin realized. "But he's much stronger then me, I'm certain of it." He looked over at Gohan. "This kid is the only real chance that we have to hold him off until Goku and Ranma are ready. Please hurry guys; we're going to need you."

Gohan saw something that satisfied him and he flew towards the ground with Krillin close behind. Together they landed on a rocky surface and turned around. Captain Ginyu landed with his arms crossed. "So is this your choice?" He asked, looking around. "It seems rather drab to me, but it is your right to pick your own burial spot." He shrugged and threw his robe aside where it disappeared before it hit the ground.

Gohan and Krillin gasped at what they saw. He was a purple man with bulging veins in his forehead with lots of muscle and horns. "He's a monster." Krillin thought to himself, staring at him.

"I am, Captain Ginyu!" He yelled while standing on one leg and holding his arms off to the side. Gohan and Krillin stared at him. "Is this guy for real?" Gohan asked with wide eyes.

Captain Ginyu relaxed his position. "Ha, scared speechless I see." He said, pleased with himself. "Maybe I shouldn't have led off with such a good pose, I've already ruined their will to fight."

"Well, we might as well get started." Krillin said, still amazed by his enemy. He smiled at Gohan who was already smiling back. "Ready to take it to the next level?" "Oh yeah." Gohan said, nodding his head.

"Then let's do it!" Krillin yelled. Both he and Gohan began to scream while energy flared about their bodies. Captain Ginyu blinked a few times and turned to them.

"Oooo, more fun then I expected." He said. He held out his hand where a scouter promptly appeared which he placed on his head. "Let's get a reading on these guys."

He stared in amazement as the powers of Gohan and Krillin continued to grow. About forty seconds later they were finished. Energy was still cackling around them as they stoically stood against their enemy.

"Not bad, not bad at all!" He laughed, looking at them. "Who would have thought that a small bald man and a kid would have such high power levels?" He threw the scouter aside. "Not even close to mine of course but hey, nobody's perfect."

Goku found himself spiraling in the darkness. "Where the hell am I?" He cursed to himself, looking around. "This must be because of that girl; I'm going to kill her when I find her again."

"That isn't you talking." A voice said gently. A moment later a green man appeared in front of him. "Hello Goku, do you remember me?" He asked, staring into Goku's eyes.

Goku raised one eyebrow. "Yeah, I remember you. You're that Kami guy. Haven't I killed you already? And why the hell did you call me Goku, my name's Kakarot."

Kami shook his head. "No, it was Piccolo the demon king that you killed, and I called you Goku because that's your real name." He raised a small box up so Goku could see it. "I have something for you." He said quietly.

Goku looked down at it. "And what's that?" He asked dubiously. "I don't trust it."

"This box contains all of your memories Goku." Kami said. "When you open it everything will return to you and you will finally understand Rate's lie."

Goku shrugged. "So what if he's lying to me, why the hell should I care?" He asked with a laugh. "He's a demon lord; lies are something that he does." Kami stared at him. "You mean that you know he's a demon lord and you still serve him?"

Goku's face became furious and he grabbed the front of Kami's robe. "Listen green man, I don't serve anyone. If you say something like that again you're dead."

"But don't you have any memories that you don't understand?" Kami pressed, staring at him. "Isn't there anyone that you don't know as much about as you want to? Krillin, Chichi, Gohan, isn't there anyone?"

Goku paused and looked at him. "Did you mention someone named Gohan?" He asked quietly. Kami simply nodded. Goku looked thoughtful for a moment and turned away.

"I remember him being born but I never spent much time with him after that. Tell me, will that box," He motion to the package that Kami was holding, "Will the memories in that box allow me to remember more about him?"

Kami nodded. "Yes, if you willingly opened this then you would know everything about him." Goku looked thoughtful, digesting his words.

"I'll do it." He decided. "Not because of you but because of that child. I believe that he may be my son but I almost remember nothing about him. I want a strong son that I can be proud of."

In a single motion he grabbed the box from Kami and opened. A few seconds later he screamed as everything came back to all at once, taking him to his knees.

"Perfect." Kami thought to himself while staring at Goku. A moment later black liquid surrounded Goku and he disappeared. "Now I suppose that the demon lord is taking him to test his will." Kami realized. "There's nothing more I can do here. It's time to go." A moment later he disappeared in a flare of holy energy.

**************************************

Goku found himself standing and looking backwards towards his past. What he saw was a kind of fork leading backwards from himself. Each fork was a polar opposite of the other. On one he lived a happy however violent life as the savior of the earth. He saw himself constantly fighting for the goodness and joy of others as well as for simply the joy of fighting. Down the other path he saw himself take the role of a conqueror. With the advice of a demon lord he was able to conquer the earth for himself. Both of them were extremely similar and appeared almost to be mirror images of each other.

"Weird." Goku thought to himself, scratching his head. "What a strange split. I wonder which one's real."

"Greetings Kakarot." A voice said from behind him.

"Hey Rate." Goku said without even turning around. "I'm trying to figure out what's going on."

"It's quite simple Kakarot." Rate said while walking up next to him and looking down the twin paths. "You have a choice to make. Whichever of these two paths that you choose will become your new reality and the other will disappear. It's up to you to choose which one you desire." He turned to look directly at Goku. "Don't concern yourself with which one is reality, you contain so much power that you could make either one real. Simply choose the one that you desire more."

Goku laughed. "So it's that simple huh? Just choose one and the other will disappear?"

Rate nodded. "Yes indeed it is that simple." He again turned to the two paths. "Think of it Kakarot, think of what you are. You are a saiyajin; the desire of conquest is in your very blood. There can be only one true choice for a member of the mighty saiyajin race. Think of what you now remember of your father. Think of the choice that he would have you make."

Goku looked down the paths and smiled somewhat. "This is a difficult choice. From what I remember I loved my life during both of these memories. But I don't know if it's as clear cut as you say. Even though I'm a saiyajin I don't think that conquest is what we're really about."

Rate looked at him curiously. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.

Goku shrugged. "Because I remember the thrill of battle, the thrill of a powerful enemy. It was always that thrill that drove me on to the next fight, that's the only thing that my two memories had in common. But there is one thing that I can see for sure." He turned to look at the blond man standing next to him. "It's that when I killed every enemy that I defeated I didn't give anyone a chance to train and become a real challenge." He turned back to the paths. "On the other path I chose mercy and my strongest enemies returned to challenge me again. That was the happier path I recall."

Rate's eyes narrowed and he completely turned to Goku. "I've always taken you for a fool Kakarot. I suppose that it's my fault for falling for it. You've always managed to pass yourself off for an idiot in almost everything you do but you have some wisdom after all."

The two paths disappeared and yielded to the darkness. Goku completely turned to the demon lord so that they were standing eye to eye. "Thanks for the compliment, I think. And my name's Goku." His eyes narrowed and he went into a fighting stance. "Now where are Ranma and Akane?"

Rate sneered at him. "They're dead for what I know." He leapt into the air and landed twenty feet away. "Don't worry, you'll be joining them soon enough."

"Why are you doing this?" Goku asked. "Why are attacking me and Ranma like this? Is this purely out of your selfish desire for power?"

"Well, I suppose that you deserve an answer to that question." He laughed. "It has to do with the home that I am from. Unlike the dimension that you call Hell our universe has nothing to do with the punishment of damned souls." He turned to stare directly into Goku's eyes. "Destruction." He whispered. "Destruction is what drives us, and it is all we care for. At times it may appear that we desire something else but trust me, in the end the destruction is all that matters. Destruction is the desire that pushes all of those who come from my home dimension. That is why I desire the power that your body will give me. I desire your ability to destroy a living world with little effort."

Goku stepped back in revulsion. "You're a monster." He said, staring into Rate's eyes. "So that demon that I fought before."

"Yes it was one of mine." The blond man said while walking forwards. "Immediately before he entered the mortal plane my only instructions to him were merely to scratch the strongest man that he could find. I feel fortunate that he was intelligent enough to leave no magical traces with his scratch; else my plan might have failed. But I was lucky and succeeded beyond my wildest dreams in finding a suitable body. With your and Ranma's power I will destroy this world and then turn my sight to others. The destruction that I will cause will only end with the death of your body."

"Enough!" Goku yelled. "I've heard enough of this! I'm not going to let you beat me!"

Rate raised one eyebrow. "Really? Show me then what a saiyajin is capable of."

**************************************

Akane stared as Goku disappeared in a column of black energy. The green man turned slightly and smiled at her before he too disappeared. The only one left with her was Rate who was still sprawled out on the ground.

Akane turned to look at him. "I've got the upper hand; I should try to keep it." She thought to herself. "Holy burst!" She yelled, sending a blast of holy energy towards the prone form. An instant before it made contact the form merely disappeared.

"What the hell just happened?" Akane asked herself in shock. She looked around at her surroundings. "I can't believe that he would just leave me alone like this." She fumed to herself, clutching her fists. A moment later she relaxed them and sighed. "I wish that Ranma were here right now." She thought to herself.

For the first time in forever it seemed someone was listening. Within a few seconds Ranma appeared three feet in front of her. Both of them paused and stared at each other in shock.

"Uh, hi." Ranma said first, uncomfortably. "It's been a while. Akane."

"Yeah, it has." Akane agreed. Both of them found themselves staring at the ground. "Are you okay?" Akane asked Ranma hesitantly. "Did Rate do anything to you?"

Ranma scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well yeah he did. I still remember everything that he put in my head." His voice became quiet. "But thanks to you I'm free now. Thanks Akane."

"Did he just thank me?" Akane asked herself. "You should respond to him stupid!" She paused and her voice also became quiet. "You're welcome Ranma." She said cautiously, almost afraid.

"You know!..." Both of them started at the same time and then paused. "Uh, you first." Akane said. Ranma swallowed a few times.

"Do you remember Akane right before Raditz came and attacked us when I was trying to tell you something?" Akane nodded. "I remember." She said. "Looking at it now it feels like the beginning of a dream."

Ranma looked at her seriously. "Well, there was something that I wanted to tell you then. but I never got the chance."

Akane's eyes widened and her breath became constricted. "What is it Ranma?" She asked in a small voice.

Ranma's face focused for a moment and then he sighed. "Sorry Akane but this isn't the time. We still have that demon lord to deal with. I think we should try to focus on the path ahead."

"Alright Ranma." Akane said, almost disappointed. Ranma gently lifted up her chin and looked into her eyes.

"I promise Akane." Ranma thought to himself. "I promise that when this whole mess is over I'll find the strength to tell you that I love you. For real this time."

Though Ranma didn't say any words he didn't have to. Akane could tell by the look on his face and in his eyes what he was thinking. "I promise Ranma." Akane thought to herself. "When we've beaten the demon lord and everyone is safe again I'll find the strength to tell you that I love you again. Just please live!"

With tears flying Akane threw herself into Ranma's arms and cried onto his chest. Ranma not knowing what to do awkwardly put his arms around her and held her close.

"For once everything seems to be working out between us." Ranma thought in wonder, staring out into the darkness which somehow became beautiful, if only for a moment.

**************************************

"Kamehameha!" Krillin yelled while throwing forwards a large column of blue energy. "My my." Captain Ginyu said, examining it as it approached. "How cute, an early fireworks display." With a flick of his wrist he sent the attack flying where it created a large crater in the distance.

Captain Ginyu held up his left hand and made a show of examining where the attack landed. "A whole in one." He chuckled. "I do need to work on my ooooppphhhh!" His voice was cut off as Gohan threw a punch directly into his gut.

"I have to take this fight seriously." Gohan thought to himself with determination. "I can't mess up like I did with Nappa, the whole earth is on the line."

"That's it Gohan." Krillin thought looking at Gohan almost proudly. "He's his father's son all right."

After punching Captain Ginyu in the gut Gohan flew straight up and threw a reverse kick which caught him in the chin and sent him flying backwards into a pile of rocks, causing them to shatter on contact. "Kamehameha!" Gohan yelled, throwing a huge blast of energy to Captain Ginyu's position. The attack grew large and larger as the blast radius expanded to over 60 feet. After a few seconds the energy cleared leaving a large amount of dust floating in the air.

"Yeah, you did it!" Krillin yelled, hopping up and down excitedly. Gohan shook his head. "No, he's not done yet." Gohan said quietly. "His power level hasn't even been scratched." Krillin's face became serious. "Are you sure about that Gohan?"

Gohan didn't answer; he just stared determinedly at the large cloud of dust in front of him. In a few moments the dust cleared and revealed the completely unscathed body of Captain Ginyu.

He rubbed the side of his face. "That was a nice kick there Gohan. I had an itch on the side of my face and you just scratched it for me. But now I've got an itch on my fist, would you handle that one too?"

"Oh my, he's cracking bad jokes." Krillin said. "I'd be willing to fight someone twice as strong as him if only they had a good sense of humor."

Captain Ginyu fell into a deep pose where he was leaning backwards. "Are you ready boys?" He asked smugly. "Because Here It Comes!"

He launched himself from his current position at a blazing speed and covered the distance before either of them had the time to react. Moving his entire body past Gohan he backfisted him in the back of the head sending him flying onto his face.

"Oh no." Krillin thought as he stared at the gargantuan form closing in on him. Captain Ginyu threw himself at Krillin and bashed his shoulder into the smaller mans chest. Coughing up blood Krillin flew backwards and skidded along the ground.

"Rats." Captain Ginyu cursed. "I thought I could have gotten at least seven bounces out of that bald head of his. Oh well, I suppose that four will have to be good enough." He started to chuckle.

"Kamehameha!" Gohan yelled quickly while throwing a blast of energy directly into Captain Ginyu's back. The surprise attack sent him flying forwards almost ten feet and left a huge scorch mark in his armor.

"Little brat!" He yelled, turning around. "Attacking your enemy from behind is foul play!"

Gohan spat on the ground. "You're wrong!" He said firmly. "Piccolo always taught me to take any advantage that your enemy was foolish enough to give you. It was your own fault that you turned your back to me."

Captain Ginyu started to laugh. "Yes that's true, very clever of you. But what of your friend?" He turned and motioned to Krillin who was lying prone on the ground. "I don't think that he's going to be ready for action any time soon."

"Don't count on it." Krillin gasped, slowly returning to his feet. "I'm not out of this fight yet."

"Right on." Gohan said happily, looking over at his friend.

"Why am I doing this?" Krillin asked himself despairingly while looking over at the large alien. "It would be so much easier if I just stayed down." He shrugged. "Oh well, I can't be too smart as Goku's friend after all."

"Hey Gohan!" Krillin yelled. "Come here for a second!"

Gohan looked at his friend curiously and then walked over to where he was standing. "What is it Krillin?" He asked with wide eyes.

"Do you remember the split form technique that I used against Nappa?" Krillin asked him softly. Gohan nodded. "Well I've got an idea." Krillin said. "I'm going to attack him with all three of my forms and try to distract him. That's when you come in with the biggest attack you can muster when he's distracted."

"Do you really think that will work?" Gohan asked. Krillin looked over his shoulder to where the big man was smiling with his arms crossed. "I don't know. But unless you've got a better idea then it's the best we've got."

"Okay let's do it." Gohan agreed.

"Are you two almost done there? I'm beginning to get bored." Captain Ginyu said arrogantly.

"Well we'll take care of that." Killin said, gingerly touching his chest again. "Man that hurt! I think he may have cracked my chest bone or something." Krillin felt himself swaying slightly from the pain. "But I don't have any choice, Gohan can't do this alone. Goku, where are you?"

"Split form!" Krillin yelled. A moment later two other Krillins appeared on his left and right. "Well, that's an interesting technique." Captain Ginyu said, almost impressed. "Ha!" The Krillins yelled, launching towards him.

The three of them were swirling in circles around Captain Ginyu punching and kicking as quickly as they could. Captain Ginyu spun quickly around while blocking or dodging all of their attacks. A second later he leapt into the air where the Krillins quickly followed

"I have to wait for my opening." Gohan thought, staring at Captain Ginyu. "I hope it comes soon, Krillin won't last long against that monster." His eyes widened. "Now!" He disappeared and reappeared directly below Captain Ginyu. In one motion Captain Ginyu threw a spinning kick which caught all three of the Krillins and sent them to the ground as one person. He looked over to admire his handiwork and lost sight of Gohan.

"Kamehameha!" Gohan yelled quickly, throwing all of his remaining energy into a blast directed straight up. "What the!-" Captain Ginyu yelled in surprise. The blast of energy caught him and he flew up into the air until him and the blast of energy was out of sight.

"Incredible!" Krillin yelled. He tried to stand but collapsed and began to cough up blood. "Are you okay?" Gohan asked, rushing to his friend. Krillin shook his head. "No. But I'm better now that you hit him with that attack." Krillin sighed. "I'm glad that you got rid of him. There's no way he could have survived that right?"

Gohan shrugged. "I sure hope he didn't but I really don't know." He looked up into the air before his eyes narrowed. "He's way far off but I think I can feel him."

"Are you serious?" Krillin asked, gulping in air from the ground. "Man we're in trouble. I can't stand again Gohan. I'm sorry but you're on your own."

Gohan smiled down at Krillin. "Don't worry, I'll be okay. I was trained by Piccolo after all."

"Oh is he strong?" An arrogant voice asked from behind them.

"What the hell?!" Krillin yelled, sitting up and turning around. "How did you get down here so quickly?"

Gohan stared at him in shock. "Oh no." He thought to himself.

"Well it's really quite simple." Captain Ginyu said with a smile. "I hold powers outside of simple fighting. I am an apprentice to Babbiti, the greatest wizard of the universe." He looked down at Krillin. "So you've lost your ability to fight? Then I guess there's no point in keeping you alive any longer."

Almost in slow motion he pointed the palm of his left hand towards the small man lying helplessly on the ground. While Gohan stared on in horror a blast of energy came out of his hand and hit the man straight on. A huge explosion rocked out causing light to shine onto his face highlighting his cruel smile.

A few moments later the smoke cleared and revealed only an empty crater on the ground. "The trash has been taken out." He said cruelly. "Well are you next?" He asked turning to Gohan.

Gohan didn't react to his comment. He was staring at the spot where Krillin used to be with tears rolling down his face. "Krillin." He whispered. "You're gone."

"And good riddance." Captain Ginyu said with a smile. "If only he had style then his being a weakling would have been forgivable." He spread both of his legs apart and held both of his hands at his side as if he were trying to fly. "Yeah, now that's style." He chuckled. "You should take some notes boy er What?!!!"

A huge aura of energy flared around Gohan. "You killed him! You killed Krillin!" Gohan yelled as an awesome amount of energy erupted from his body. Though he was only a child the muscles on his body bulged outwards. His eyes filled with fury. Slowly and dramatically he lowered his eyes to stare directly into those of Ginyu. The light of the aura played off of his eyes and made the fury present there seem even more dangerous.

"No mercy for you." Gohan whispered in a cold voice.

**************************************

"Kamehameha!" Goku yelled while launching forward a blast of blue energy. "Oh please, must you be so direct?" Rate said while deftly spinning out of the way of the attack. He swept his right hand at Goku causing a black blade of energy to come out of every finger.

Goku quickly moved to the side, dodging the attack. "That was fast, really fast." He thought to himself." He looked down at the side of his body where four distinct slash marks graced the side of his shirt. "I can't play with this guy." He realized.

A blast of dark energy flew from the front of the demon lord directly at Goku. "Shit!" Goku yelled. "Kao-ken attack!" An aura of energy surrounded Goku. With no time to dodge he grabbed the black energy with both hands and tried to push it back. "Strong, too strong!" Goku realized

"Are you having problems my dear Kakarot?" Rate said with a cruel smile. "I suppose that you should have thought twice before trying to resist me. Out of curiosity why are you trying to resist me? You are a saiyajin, the desire to destroy runs in your blood. We're kindred spirits, you and I."

"Shut up!" Goku yelled, his knees already buckling under the force of the attack. "I'm nothing like you! I hate destruction! Kao-ken times six!" With a mighty effort Goku threw the black energy to the side and dashed towards Rate. Though the distance was over twenty feet Goku covered it in only a slight fraction of a second.

"Such a direct attack, Do you never learn?!" A blade of black energy appeared in front of Rate pointed directly at Goku. It was too late for him to stop his motion as Goku impaled himself on the sword.

Rate smiled for only a second as the Goku in front of him shimmered and vanished. "What?!" He yelled.

"You're taking me too lightly." A voice said from his side. Before Rate had a chance to react a round kick came right into his stomach, doubling him over. He turned to see Goku standing above him with a serious expression on his face and still surrounded with a great deal of energy. "The double after image." Goku said. "Haven't used that one since I was a kid."

"Bastard." Rate whispered.

Goku shook his head. "Call me what you will but it doesn't matter to me." His eyes intensified. "And don't try to tell me that we're anything alike. I'm only here because of my desire to protect my family, not out of some twisted desire to destroy. Kamehameha!" He yelled, pouring the last of the energy provided by the Kao-ken into the attack.

Rate was in no position to try to avoid the attack. It caught him directly in the face and threw him backwards onto his back. "Perhaps I have underestimated you saiyajin." Rate whispered from where he was laying. He slowly sat up and stared into Goku's eyes. "I would suggest that you go to your friends." He said quietly. "Simply form an image of Ranma and Akane in your mind and will yourself to be with them."

"Why should I trust you?!" Goku yelled with fury still evident in his voice. "All you've done since you've come here is lie and fight!"

"It's because I love the poetry." Rate said while smiling in pain. "Three dear friends taking a last stand against the demon within. It's almost sounds like some kind of legend."

"After all that's happened do you still think that you can beat us?" Goku said while clenching his fists at his sides. "You caught me and Ranma off guard when we first met but now both of us have beaten you. What do you intend do against us when we're together and not separated?"

Rate started to laugh, quietly at first and then louder and louder. "Do you mean to tell me that you thought I was really fighting you?" He lowered his eyes to Goku's. "Just go to your damn friends. You'll see my true powers soon enough."

"I don't like this." Goku thought to himself. "Everything about him is screaming confidence even now. What tricks does he have up his sleeve?" "Fine." He said calmly. He closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts.

"Ranma and Akane." Goku thought to himself. Focusing he found and image of them in his mind and willed that he be in the same place as them. A moment later he felt his presence shifting and he disappeared.

Rate stared at the place where he used to be. "Well then." He chuckled to himself. "I suppose that it's time to show them what a demon lord is truly capable of."

**************************************

Akane was still crying onto Ranma's chest when Goku appeared. "Hey guys, what's going on?" He asked looking at the two.

"Nothing." Ranma and Akane said together, each one turning red and moving away from each other. Goku stared at them with wide eyes. "Nothing?" He asked. "Then why are both of you bright red? Are you sick?"

"No!" Ranma yelled. "No, we're not." He finished quietly. He turned and shyly looked at Akane who was at the same time looking back at him. Goku shrugged. "I have no idea what's going on." He thought to himself. His face became serious.

"Look you two, I don't know what's going on but you'll have to save it for later. I think that Rate guy is planning on coming here to fight the three of us."

Ranma looked at him incredulously. "Fight the three of us, is he crazy? The fact that you're here shows that you must have beaten him the same as I did. How could he possibly expect to fight all three of us?"

"I don't know Ranma." Akane said quietly. "I don't think that he's nearly done with us yet."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, looking at her.

Akane gathered her thoughts for a moment. "Well." She began. "I was told before I came here that it would be impossible for me to win."

"What, who told you that?" Ranma asked.

"I don't think that you'd know him." Akane replied. "It was the man of light, or Maple as I learned later."

"The man of light." Ranma said, his face becoming somewhat haunted. "He was the one who told me to come here to the Amazon village to perform the technique of Joining. He said that it was the only way that my memories would be restored."

"He told you to come here?" Akane asked, her eyes confused. "He's been telling me for days that your mind would be destroyed and that I'd be too late to help. But I wasn't too late, it was actually easier then I expected."

"So that mage Mapleticiracianerfilintian is involved, I should have known." A calm voice spoke out of the darkness.

They didn't even need to look to tell who it was. "Rate, get out here where we can see you!" Ranma yelled while turning around.

"Very well then, have it your way." In a dark mist Rate's form appeared exactly as before with one difference. His eyes were emitting a bright red that inspired a feeling of hopelessness.

"Can't let the bastard get to me." Ranma thought to himself, avoiding direct eye contact with the demon. Next to him he noticed that Akane and Goku were feeling the despair as well.

"I find mental combat to be so much more amusing then regular because of how complicated it is." Rate said with a smile. "Unlike in the physical world things such as strength are of little or no consequence. The victor depends purely on who has the greatest magical energy and sheer will to succeed. I've allowed you three to resist me up to this point because I found it amusing. However don't expect me to go easy on you any longer."

"Shut up." Goku said. "If everything that you've told me about yourself is true then you're a worse monster then the saiyajins ever were. Your kind doesn't belong on this world, so why don't you just leave?"

"The servant is no better then the master." Rate said calmly. "The saiyajins willingly served Emperor Freezer who is the greatest of my kind. Trust me when I say that their hearts were darkened even beyond what they originally were by his influence. Ultimately they were as much demons as any abyssal creature." He looked over at Ranma. "You fought against their prince boy, are my words not true?"

Ranma shook his head. "No I don't believe you are." He said seriously, finding the nerve to look the demon in the eye. "Vegita's heart was very evil yes but he was prouder then anyone I had ever seen before. Maybe even more so then me and that's saying a lot. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would serve anyone, no matter how much stronger then him they were."

"And what of you girl?" Rate asked turning his eyes to Akane. "For what reason do you resist me? Is it because you love that boy?" He asked, pointing at Ranma. Akane felt herself blush slightly while Ranma stared at her. She held up her head proudly. "What the hell is it to you what I feel for him?" She asked coldly. "It's none of your business ass-hole."

Rate chuckled. "Oh, a girl with a mouth. Not exactly the holy avenger sent by Maple that I was expecting." He smiled at her. "You two are so much alike. I'd say that spiritually you're almost identical. So how does it feel to have a soul that belongs to another."

"Shut up!" Akane yelled. "You're not going to trick me so why don't you shut your mouth and start fighting!"

"I was trying to do you a favor girl by giving you a few extra minutes to live." Rate said coolly. "But have it your way. The three of you aren't much in the way of conversationalists anyways. Now this may be a little painful."

An instant later the three of them felt a huge amount of black energy gather above them and crash downwards. "What is this?!" Ranma asked. "Magic, it's pure magic!" Goku gasped, falling to his knees.

"I can't resist it dammit!" Ranma yelled, frustrated. He looked over at Akane who was also struggling under the weight of the attack. "Get out of here Akane." Ranma chocked out. "You're the only one who stands a chance against that guy. Get out from under here while you still have the chance!"

"But Ranma." Akane whispered. "I can't leave you."

"Just do it!" Goku yelled. "He's right Akane; you're the only one who can beat him! It's like Maple said, you have to do it!"

"But alone?" Akane whispered. In a moment her memories came back to her. She remembered Ranma's incredible strength. She remembered how he had always overcome every challenge that had ever come at him. She thought of Goku and all of the things she had heard of him. Everyone who ever mentioned his name held so much respect for him it was amazing. "Both of them are so strong." Akane thought to herself. "How can I hope to stand against someone that they can't defeat? It's simply impossible."

But then her own words came back to her. "I'll just change the impossibility into possibility! . I have to." Tears began to fall down her face. "I'll do it Ranma." She said quietly. "I'll beat him."

Ranma's face filled with quiet pride for the woman he loved. "You can do it Akane." His eyes said confidently. "I have faith in you."

"Are you hatching a final plan? Oh how amusing." The demon lord mocked.

"Now Akane!" Goku yelled in pain. "Right." Akane said, her face showing confidence that she didn't feel. After a moment of concentration an aura of golden light surrounded her, cutting through the darkness conjured by the demon lord.

Akane turned determinedly to face him and walked forwards. In a final gasp of exertion Ranma and Goku disappeared beneath the darkness. "Don't look back." Akane thought to herself. "If you do then you'll lose your nerve."

"They're gone." Rate said, confirming her worst fear. "Their souls are now completely destroyed. It's a pity really. They're so much stronger then any that I've encountered before it's simply amazing. I hate it that I had to destroy them since they had so much potential." His lips curved into a cruel smile. "But they were a danger to keep around you understand. If I had let them continue to exist they may have even become stronger then me someday. Maybe even strong enough to wrest back their own body. So you can see that I had no choice."

"Shut up you bastard." Akane said her face filled with rage. "I promised Ranma that I was going to beat you and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"And how exactly do you intend to do that?" He asked curiously. "I'm more intelligent then you, more experienced then you, more powerful then you and even better looking then you. I've got you beat in every category."

"Yes, I know it's impossible." Akane said firmly. "But I also know that it doesn't matter how outmatched I am. I'm not going to let you beat me."

Rate sneered. "Your words are very impressive but I think that it's time for you to back them up."

"Yes, my thoughts exactly." Akane agreed. Her brown eyes filled with quiet determination. "Watch me Ranma, watch me defeat him."

"No mercy for you!!!" Gohan yelled again. With this yell his aura exploded outwards almost knocking Captain Ginyu off his feet.

"How, how is this possible?!" He yelled. A scanner appeared on his face. "I'm reading his power at 100,000!"

"Ka-me-ha-me-ha!" Gohan yelled, throwing out a huge blast of energy.

"I don't have time to dodge it!" Captain Ginyu yelled. "Alright then kid, bring it on!" Captain Ginyu held out both of his hands and caught the end of the column with both of his hands.

"Raaaggghhhh!" He screamed desperately. Both of his knees began to buckle under the weight of the attack. His feet began to sink into the ground and a few moments later he was standing in the bottom of the crater. "Where the hell did this power come from?" He asked, looking up through the pillar into Gohan's intense eyes. "I've never seen anything like this before, that boy's incredible."

"I have him on the run; I have to finish it now!" Gohan yelled. With a great effort he intensified the power he was putting into the attack. To Gohan's surprise Captain Ginyu began to smile. "Very impressive boy, but I have a suitable defense." He said confidently.

"Teleport now!" With those words his body simply disappeared. "Oh no!" Gohan yelled. With a great effort he changed the motion of his attack, narrowly missing the surface of the earth. Gohan lowered to the ground and fell onto his knees.

"So tired." He thought to himself, his eyes almost closing. He snapped himself awake. "No, I can't give up now. I need to beat him so that I can wish back Krillin with the dragon balls." He slowly climbed to his feet.

"Well boy, I must admit that I'm impressed." A cruel voice spoke from behind him.

"Ginyu." Gohan said, pronouncing the name like a curse word. He slowly turned around and looked the larger man directly in the eyes.

"You're strong, stronger then anyone I've ever seen before except for Emperor Freezer. If you actually had some control of your power I might have been in real trouble. Oh well, you are only a boy after all." He started to laugh.

"Shut up!" Gohan yelled, his eyelids already starting to close. He shook himself awake again. "I'm not finished with you!" He shouted out.

"Oh really, what else do you intend to do?" He asked. "You put all of your power into that final attack and now you can barely stand. You failed to kill me and you failed to save the life of your friend. All you've done so far is fail; do you actually think you can change that now?"

"I don't care!" Gohan yelled. "I'm not going to give up!" With those words he launched himself directly at Captain Ginyu and began to throw a flurry of attacks. Captain Ginyu easily blocked and dodged everything Gohan attempted. At first he was smiling but then it quickly turned into a frown.

"That's the problem with you earthlings." He muttered. "No precision, no control, and worst of all, No Style!" With those words he slapped Gohan out of the air and directly onto the ground. "Heh, better luck next time. If there is a next time in the after life." He started to chuckle. "Well, I guess that I'd better get back to drawing out Goku." He turned around and started to walk away from the crumpled boy on the ground.

"Wait." Someone whispered from behind him. "Impossible." Captain Ginyu said, almost in awe. He slowly turned around to see Gohan precariously balancing on his knees.

"I'm not done with you yet." Gohan whispered. With a mighty effort he brought himself up to his feet. He almost toppled backwards but barely caught himself.

"I can't believe that you can still stand; what an extraordinary boy you are." Captain Ginyu said, looking at him with both amusement and awe.

"I am the son of Goku." Gohan said proudly, unsteadily marching forward. "I was trained by the great Piccolo. I won't let myself be beaten!"

**************************************

"Holy burst!" Akane yelled. Out of her outstretched hand a ball of a pure white energy lanced out. Rate calmly stepped to the side and let the attack fly past him. "You're too direct." He sneered. "You should try something more like this."

With a snap of his fingers a blast of unholy energy hit Akane from behind. "Aggghhh!" She yelled in pain, falling forward onto her knees. "Get up." He said calmly. "I'm not done making you feel pain yet."

"Dammit that was stupid." Akane yelled to herself. "Of course that won't work. It only hit him before because he was off guard. I need to try something sneaky." Akane began to run directly at the slightly startled demon lord.

"Are you serious?" He asked in amusement. He shrugged and took a loose fighting stance. "Let's see how you like this!" Akane yelled. She threw herself at him with a left handed punch. "Can you really be so foolish?" He asked incredulously. He gently laid his hand upon her arm and redirected her momentum so that she'd fly right past him.

Showing impressive agility Akane pulled a mallet of pure white energy out of the air and spun in a half circle in an attempt to crash it directly into his face. To her surprise the attack fell completely short. "Impossible." She thought to herself in shock. "I'm standing right next to him for Kami's sake, how could I possible miss?"

Time seemed to slow down as Rate smiled cruelly and looked directly into her eyes. His beautiful red eyes which before seemed somehow charming began to twist and contort and revealed a bottomless madness. Without moving a black energy hammered Akane in the gut and flung her back twenty feet where she landed directly on her back.

"How, how is he doing this?" She gasped out. "My attack was dead on!"

"How am I doing this?" He asked while walking towards her. "Are you really such a fool that you need to ask that question? It's because I'm more disciplined then you are. After all I have been dealing with mental combat for thousands of years before you were born."

Akane coughed out a little blood and held one of her hands to her stomach. After focusing for a moment most of the pain disappeared. "Much better." She thought. "I can fight again." She looked up into his insane eyes which were staring down at her. "He can do all of that because of discipline?"

"You're friend Ranma actually caught on to how things worked extremely quickly." He said, continuing to walk towards her. "Before you allowed him to die of course." At those words Akane's face filled with rage and she was about to yell something but he cut her off. "Oh, hit a sore spot I see. Well it is your fault you know. If you had only attacked me in the first place you could have prevented his death."

"Can't let him get to me." Akane said with tears already forming in her eyes. "You're lying!" She yelled. "Ranma's alive! He wouldn't let a bastard like you kill him!"

"Please young lady watch your language." He said with a smile. "It's not fitting for such a pretty little thing as you to curse like that."

"Holy burst!" Akane yelled launching forwards another attack. In amusement Rate stepped to the side again, dodging it completely. "Not this time asshole." Akane said to herself. The ball of holy energy spun around and redirected its course directly towards the back of the demon lord. "Dodge this." She thought to herself in satisfaction while she watched the attack change its course.

It missed.

"What the hell?!" Akane yelled. A second later she had to spin out of the way of her own attack.

"That's a little better." Rate said. "But still oh so predictable. If only Ranma were here he could save your life again. Or even Goku for that matter. Both of them were geniuses in combat. Not anything like you of course. Your knowledge of even the basic aspects of combat is sketchy at best."

"Shut the hell up!" Akane yelled in frustration. "What would Ranma do if he was in my position?" She asked herself in desperation.

"It's not too late to leave you know." He said calmly pausing only two feet from her current position. "You don't need to save those two. Just leave here and use your magic to teleport somewhere far away. You don't have to set another foot on this pathetic little planet ever again."

"Go to hell." Akane spat at him.

Rate frowned and his eyes began to glow an intense red. "I don't do favors very often girl." He hissed. "You should feel fortunate that I'm allowing you to leave with your soul. That's not a deal that I commonly extend."

"I don't want any favors from a demon lord." Akane said coldly back. "Damn it, how can I beat him?" She asked herself desperately. "Nothing can hit him, it's simply impossible."

Her eyes widened in shock at a sudden revelation. "But with my will I can change that. That's it!"

**************************************

It was a shrine inside a small cave. Two figures sat across from each other and were surrounded by auras almost completely composed of darkness. Standing outside of the auras was a man wearing golden robes with a face completely of light. At his side was an old woman who was staring despairingly at the two figures.

"Is this it; is this the end of them?" She asked quietly.

"No it's not." He said calmly back. "This is not the end but only the beginning."

"Now is the time Akane." He thought to himself. "Now is the time to break through and to give everything. It's the only chance this world has. It's the only chance that Ranma and Goku have."

**************************************

"Holy burst!" Akane yelled again launching forward her blast of pure holy energy.

"Fool!" Rate said calmly. "That old attack again?"

As she was throwing her attack Akane focused on the position of her enemy instead of aiming her attack. "He's using magic to avoid it." She realized. "I've never noticed before." As she was watching him everything seemed to slow down until it stopped completely. In front of her Akane saw the possibilities of her attack open before her. Not a single one involved hitting her enemy, it was impossible.

"Not for long." She thought to herself. Focusing her energy she forced a new possibility to exist. An instant later everything returned to its normal speed.

Rate stared confidently at the incoming attack. "Not a chance." He said calmly right before it caught him head on. In a scream of pain he flew backwards and barely managed to land on his feet.

He looked up at Akane in shock. Already dark blood was dripping down the side of his face. He slowly lifted up one of his hands and touched it. "You hurt me." He whispered in disbelief. "No one has touched me in over 1,000 years."

"There's a first time for everything." Akane said with renewed confidence. "I can do this Ranma, just watch me!" She thought to herself excitedly.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" He yelled in fury. "I'll damn you forever inside of me!" An aura of darkness burst around him and his eyes began to flare with red energy. His illusion of beauty dropped away and revealed a being composed completely of insanity. It came from inside him and erupted outwards, threatening to consume everything in its path.

"It's so strong." Akane thought to herself, falling to her hands and knees. "Dammit, it's too strong!"

"Prepare yourself girl!" He yelled. In a moment of focus that seemed impossible for someone such as him he brought down the full weight of his insanity down upon the girl in front of him. Akane could feel the weight pressing in around her trying to crush her.

"Aura." She whispered weakly. At her words she was surrounded by a golden light which attempted to hold off the darkness. It wasn't long until the insanity began to intertwine itself with her aura. Akane could again feel her mind being broken down.

"There's nothing I can do." She thought to herself despairingly. "Have I come so far only to fail? Ranma." Her face became determined. "I have the power to defeat him. I beg the gods if they're listening, give me the will to control it!"

"You're strong." The demon lord said. "I can tell that you're the spawn of that Maple bastard. I wonder how he'll feel when your soul disappears."

Akane calmed herself and her nerves and again found her center. She reached inside herself and found the door to her magic powers. "Here goes nothing." She thought while she placed both of her hands on the door.

She threw it all the way open.

There was an instant reaction as if a dam holding back a river of magical energy had been broken. It erupted outwards from her and broke the hold of darkness that the demon had upon her.

"What is this power?!" He yelled desperately. "How can this be possible?!"

"Not much time." Akane thought. "I can feel my sanity slipping. I have to destroy him now!" She struggled again to find her focused and pushed as much energy as she could handle at the demon. She didn't bother to turn it into any kind of a spell and just left it in its raw form.

"Damn you!" He yelled as his form was disintegrated by the powerful blast of energy. His insanity slipped away from her and left her mind feeling strangely refreshed.

It only lasted for a moment.

Akane screamed as she felt her mind being overwhelmed by the awesome power. She could feel her control of it slipping away. It almost seemed like the energy had turned on her and now was struggling to control her. "This is the end." Akane thought to herself sadly. "I got revenge for you Ranma. But I couldn't save you." Tears began to roll down her face.

"Do you want any help?" A voice asked gently from behind her. Akane turned around quickly and saw a boy who appeared to be several years younger then her. He had a childish face and light syrup colored eyes. Perhaps what was most striking about him was his maple colored slightly disheveled hair. She could see the light of her power shining through his hair, as if were made of crystal. He was also wearing brilliant golden robes and had a calm smile on his face.

"Who, who are you?" She asked quietly. His smile widened. "You know who I am Akane. I'm not the kind of guy that can be forgotten easily." Akane gasped in shock. "You're. Maple." She whispered.

"Please help!" She yelled leaping forward and grabbing the front of his robe with both of her hands. Tears were already rolling down her face and her eyes were shimmering in despair.

"I can't control my powers and I think I'm going insane!" She yelled while shaking him. "And Ranma and Goku are gone! Can you make everything alright?"

Maple shook his head gently. "I'm afraid that you overestimate me Akane." He said quietly. "There's only so much that I can do even now. The souls of Ranma and Goku still exist certainly but I'm afraid that they're somewhat damaged at the moment. In order for them to be fully restored they will need to complete the technique of Joining. And the only way for you to keep your sanity will be for me to take your magic from you for a time. This will put you into a deep sleep and you will never see Ranma as you remember him again. Him and Goku will do a perfect fusion and will become one man. forever."

Akane bit her lip and lowered her head. She could feel her sanity slipping away and her powers continued to rage about unchecked. "If that's the only way then please make it happen." She whispered at last. "Oh Ranma. If only I could tell you again how much I love you."

Unknown to Akane tears were also running down Maple's face. "I hate to see you suffer like this my child but it's the only way." He thought to himself. He held up one hand and put it on Akane's forehead. "Calm yourself Akane. This shouldn't take long."

Akane could feel something being sucked out of her. Something precious to her. In a moment of sheer agony she screamed. Then the pain disappeared leaving only emptiness. "I promise Akane." She heard in her mind. "I promise that everything will be alright in the end. You'll see."

**************************************

Again the scene was a temple within a small cave. The man of light appeared carrying a beautiful girl with black hair in his arms. An old woman looked up at him and noticed the now small smile on his face.

"Is it over?" She asked quietly. Maple merely nodded and gently set the girl on the ground. "Watch over her for me Phianta." He said. With a single bow he again disappeared to his current location in the future.

The old woman sighed and looked over at where the two figures were sitting across from each other. Instead of an aura of almost complete darkness it was one of a beautiful light. "So this is it." She thought to herself. "The first successful technique of Joining in over 2000 years and by two men to boot." She chuckled. "Maybe the earth has a chance after all."

**************************************

Goku and Ranma found themselves floating amidst a complete and utter darkness. Laws which commonly existed in the real world seemed to have disappeared in this place. There was no up or down or any such thing as gravity. There were no physical feelings to speak of. Somehow the two of them just existed.

"Are you there Ranma?" Goku asked with his mind.

There was a long pause. "Yeah, I'm here." Ranma responded.

"Akane did it didn't she?" Goku asked. He knew he should have been excited at this revelation but for some reason it just wasn't there.

Another long pause. "Yeah she did." Ranma said. "Akane's really amazing; I can't believe how much she changed."

"So Ranma, what now?" Goku asked. "Should we complete the Joining?"

"I think so." Ranma said. "The earth is still in danger and needs our help. And Akane is still in danger as well."

"What are you thinking about Ranma?" Goku asked curiously.

Thought they were only communicating mentally Goku received a feeling of heartbreak from Ranma. "Lost opportunities." He said. "I had the chance to tell her that I loved her before the demon attacked us for the final time and I chose not to. I guess I'm feeling regret."

"Don't worry about it Ranma." Goku said reassuringly. "We'll tell her how you feel together once we've joined."

"Yeah I guess we could but it wouldn't be the same." There was a long pause and Ranma pondered something. "Hey Goku."

"What is it Ranma?" Goku asked.

"If we're going to join we should decide on a name for us. You know, for the new guy."

Goku paused for a moment. "How about Gonma?" He asked.

There was a moment of quiet as Ranma considered the name. "Naw." He said. "Sounds too much like my old man's name."

There was another pause. "What do you think of Raku?" Ranma asked.

Goku paused a moment to consider it. "Not bad at all, I like it." He responded. "Raku it is."

Both of them floated in the darkness together for a while. "Ready Goku?" Ranma asked. "I don't think that we have much time."

"I'm ready." Goku said. "Let's finish it.

The souls of Goku and Ranma approached each other. After a moment of consideration they made contact and then completely merged into one. The soul floated in the darkness for but a moment before it flashed out to take its new body.

**************************************

There was a beautiful city suspended in time. A boy with brilliant golden robes was standing on the one of the streets and was looking around admiringly. What caught his eyes was a beautiful little girl with big green eyes holding a small cat in her arms.

"Excellent job Akane." He said with a hint of pride in his voice. "You've done it."

"Hello Maple, it's been awhile." A voice said from above him. Looking up Maple saw a small man with blue skin and a white Mohawk who was wearing other worldly clothing.

"Ah Supreme Kai. I didn't know that you could time travel." Maple said with a smile. The smaller man shook his head. "No I cannot. However I can speak to anyone who is outside the flow of time. Needless to say I am not here in person but am only speaking to you telepathically."

"What can I do for you my lord?" Maple asked with a bow. The Supreme Kai chuckled. "Don't use that title with me, I would not presume to be your lord."

"But you are the master of this universe. While I am within its boundaries I must show the highest respect to you, it is the law of my order." Maple responded as he stood up straight.

"You are correct of course, and that is the reason that I have come." The Supreme Kai said, his face growing serious. "You are I would assume aware of the presence of Freezer the Demon Lord and the arch mage Babbiti."

"Yes of course." Maple said with a nod. "If I recall correctly it has been over twenty years since Babbit has summoned Freezer to your universe and allied with him."

"Yes that is correct." Supreme Kai said. "Obviously I am always concerned whenever a mage chooses to bring a demon of any kind to this universe but never has it been done for as long a time or with a demon as powerful as Freezer."

"So what does this have to do with me?" Maple asked curiously. "Are you here to ask for my help?"

"Again that is correct." Supreme Kai said. "I currently have my hands full with happenings on the opposite side of the universe and will continue to be having trouble for several more years. You have already interfered many times on the behalf of earth and I am granting you my permission to continue to interfere."

Maple looked slightly embarrassed. "I didn't realize it was so obvious." He said putting one hand behind his head. "Here I thought I was being clever by placing myself in the future and interfering with the past."

The Supreme Kai smiled widely. "Yes you were being quite clever but actually it was the young mage that you've been overseeing that has brought my attention to your presence. Her soul is just like yours, I knew that it couldn't be coincidence." He lowered his head. "I don't know why such a being as the leader of the inter-dimensional guardians is personally interested in my particular universe but as long as you are I implore you to control Freezer. Don't let him do anything too serious."

Maple started to laugh. "Oh Freezer will attempt something but it won't be me who needs to counter him." He raised one of his forefingers. "You can count on the earthlings to handle themselves. My interference with the battle will be minimal at most."

The Supreme Kai's eyes widened with surprise. "Is that so, I had no idea that the earthlings were capable of such strength. Tell me, what is the name of their champion?"

Maple's smile became mysterious. "He is a man who is only a few minutes old yet is the greatest warrior genius the earth will ever know." His smile became wider. "His name is Raku."

Thank you so much for your help Ranko! I really appreciate it!