Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Birdy the Mighty. Any resemblance between actual persons and events is cause for medication. Thank you.

Author's Notes: I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I hope it was worth the wait. This chapter will explore certain things and this is where the AU part comes in. Enjoy!

Ranma the Mighty

Chapter 8

Stand and Fight

Akane's shock was obvious as she finally got a good look at what the block had been hiding. A child sat in the corner of a large, white room. Blood was sprayed all over the walls; the child's dress was drenched as well. Large, luminous eyes stared at something just off to the right with horror. As the young martial artist entered the room, sounds began assaulting her ears. The whine of machinery, the blood-curdling shriek of a person in torment, and the maniacal laughter that rose above it all. Her eyes took in the scene with shock. The man turned to look back at the child, he was literally faceless, but not as a result of something removing it. The space was just blank flesh without even eye sockets. He loomed at well over six feet tall, but somehow seemed rather small.

"We play this out every day, but you don't seem to wanna participate. That's fine by me, but you're only hurting yourself. Just give in and I'll make the pain go away." He cajoled the child, who only shook her head stubbornly. Rage was clear in his voice. "I'm through being nice about it! Submit already! I'm through being the 'invader', I want to be the one in charge!" he ranted on, never once noticing the other person in the room. The fiendish weapon that he used on the girl's mother was suddenly brought to bear, but as he charged he was backhanded clear across the room by the powerful girl. He stood shakily, wiping blood from where his lip was split.

"What the hell is going on?" she roared in fury. The child was staring at her savior in awe.

"I thought I forced you out." Revi said in wonder.

"I can't be beaten that easily. This is my mind and my life! I have seen that you're a good person, but who is that?"

"Allow me to answer for myself. I was the one responsible for protecting her from life's hardships. Her mother failed at that, but I never failed. Now I just a want a piece of the pie. No, I want to be the one in charge. Once I kill the ego then I'll be free!" he spat as he brought the cruel weapon up again. Akane unimpressed as he rushed at her.

"Too…slow!" she cried as she unleashed the speed that Ranma had been training her in by dodging her attacks. The first hit took her would- be assailant in the ribs, knocking all the air from his lungs, and staggering him. A well-placed high kick spun him around in place like a top before a massive over-the-shoulder mallet strike flattened him. She smirked confidently before she saw the man sink into the floor.

"Not bad at all, but this isn't the real world. It's time to play." His maniacal laughter chilled everyone to the bone.

/-

Ranma looked over at his new companion as the two of them leapt from rooftop on their way to the Nekohanten. He couldn't help thinking about the circumstances that led up to this moment. The girl beside him flashed him a grin full of mischief, excitement, and a little fear. The perfect reflection of what he was feeling. They were on their way to a battle that would pit them against a powerful alien menace that had already defeated the police girl once, and did it easily. He assured her over their mental link that it would be different this time.

Birdy sighed in a mixture of pleasure and nervousness. Pleasure at the thought that Ranma was all hers and nervousness at the upcoming battle. The last time she fought Gomez he easily defeated her. She just had to rely on the assumption that what her boyfriend had said was true. He had said that even tired, Ryoga could waste an Arkazoid easily and that the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew could handle similar problems. Who ever heard of a group of teenage earthlings saving the world from evil space aliens? Still, she let herself be comforted by his assurances. Maybe she could speed up just to be on the safe side.

The scene that greeted them was shocking to say the least. It appeared as if the whole front entrance to the Nekohanten had been blown outward and things were pouring out into the streets. They appeared to be black Arkazoids, but the main attraction was Gomez squaring off against Ryoga. Both had lost their shirts and numerous injuries adorned their bodies, but only the fanged boy seemed affected and was steadily giving ground.

'We better get in there!' the police girl said urgently. The black droids seemed to be too much for the beleaguered martial artists. With a short nod, the to youths jumped into the fray.

/-

Another powerful blow to the ribs caught Ryoga and knocked his wind out. If it wasn't for the fact that people were counting on him then he might have given up, but he couldn't. The code dictated that he protect the weak. His eyes burned with new fire as he launched forward at his opponent with a powerful spinning back kick. The mighty alien staggered, but didn't fall. He sneered at the Lost Boy with barely contained glee.

"If that's all you got then this will be short." He mocked. Ryoga refused to be drawn to the bait. Gomez attacked again and rammed the boy hard in the chest. Sounds of renewed combat erupted from around them, but it failed to penetrate their sphere of awareness. Only when an Arkazoid head rolled between them did they notice the mass destruction that lay around them. The sight of Birdy and Ranma, separated, made Ryoga double take. He took notice of his opponent's look of chagrin with a smile.

"You let your guard down…" he said softly as he began gathering power between his palms, the red energy taking on the visage of a ghastly skull. With a mighty thrust, he fired the deadly attack with a cry of "Death Anger!" the skull turning into a bright blast of red just before striking the distracted alien full in the chest. With a startled cry, he flew backwards, through the storefront across the street.

"Gotcha…" he said just as he passed out.

/-

As Ryoga fell, the last of the Arkazoids fell as well. The Nerima Wrecking Crew stared at the robotic carnage around them for several minutes before slowly making their way to check for any wounded. The Lost Boy's injuries all appeared superficial. His most serious problem was fatigue, much to everyone's relief.

"We weren't needed I guess." Birdy said. A little disappointed, but mostly relieved. Ranma pulled her in for a warm hug. Kasumi had come out from hiding in the restaurant to help tend injuries. Things were looking up until a deep rumbling was heard from Gomez was last seen. With a roar and a vast explosion, the true form of Gomez emerged. He was hideous, muscles were bulging from his body, and tendons were tight as steel cables. His skin was a gruesome red color with black flecks like congealed blood. His hair was spiky and black, his eyes were yellow, and the veins in his neck bulged with each new cry.

"He still alive?" Shampoo exclaimed. The weary warriors stood up to fight only to find Ranma and Birdy before them.

"Stay down. You've done enough." The pigtailed boy said over his shoulder.

"Airen save Shampoo?" she asked with hearts in her eyes before a sharp crack from a staff silenced her.

"Good luck Ranma, Birdy." Cologne said. The teens nodded in response before setting themselves to fight.

"Let's do it." The police girl said with a grin just before the two lunged at the hulking beast.

/-

The battle going on within Akane's mind was one sided. Once it became clear that the Id was vastly more powerful then she was, he began to play with her. Her head snapped back again from a powerful straight punch that floored her. Revi tried to stop the fight, but Akane merely ordered her to stay back. The little girl was clearly torn between her desire to help and the older girl's order.

"Well bitch? Havin' fun yet? I could do this all day!" he chortled gleefully as he once again hurled her across the room. She slowly got to her feet, but she could feel her strength waning.

'Mother…help me…I can't do this alone…There's so much I still need to do…So many people that I hurt…' Akane wasn't sure whose voice it was, it seemed to contain elements of her and Revi. Her vision cleared enough to see a gloriously glowing woman standing behind the brutal murderer. The image before her was so real she could feel it. A strangled sob escaped her throat as she felt the love from the being filling her up.

'You mustn't give up. I love you, but I'm not ready to see you again. Never lose hope.' The voice spoke to the silence in her soul. Her strength returned just as the evil one reached her. She let her anger go in one burst of power that sent the enemy spiraling away, screeching in pain.

"You used Revi to kill her mother." It wasn't a question it was a statement of fact. The Id glared hatefully before she blurred and knocked him across the room, slamming him into the wall with bone crushing force.

"The…bitch had it coming…letting her daughter be abused by her father…they both died…" he managed to gasp out before another vicious blow tore through his defenses and shattered his jaw. Yet another strike ripped into his body with the force of a freight train.

"Go to hell!" Akane screamed before unleashing her total, unbridled fury in a massive burst of energy. The energy took the appearance of a ki spear that rammed through his jaw and out through the top of his skull, his heels beating a tattoo on the ground. Akane nodded her head decisively before turning toward the girl on the ground. She smiled and took the child's hand in her own and led her from the nightmare.

"We still have a job to do." She said and the little girl nodded in response.

/-

Fighting the enhanced Gomez proved to be more difficult then the two youths anticipated. His stamina and endurance seemed limitless as did his strength. The only thing they seemed able to beat him in was speed. A high punch and low kick combo was easily shrugged off by the bloody behemoth, but a vicious haymaker from said behemoth flung his assailants off like a horse swats gnats with its tail.

'At what point…did we lose control here?' Birdy panted as she painfully struggled to her feet.

'Round two… C'mon. I have a way we can beat him.' Ranma replied in her mind. The police girl let him know she understood as they set themselves for the next assault.

"C'mon! How do you expect to defeat me with that power?" Gomez laughed scornfully. His scorn turned to a frown of concentration as the two of them leapt at him in perfect sync. Ranma going in low again while Birdy went in high, just before impact they changed positions before a dual cry of "Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken!" split the night. Thousands and thousands of punches and kicks rained down upon the alien's head. Pain was clearly evident on Gomez's face.

"You little shits! I'm going to KILL YOU!" he screamed in fury as he tried to tag his nimble attackers. The two just dodged easily as e continued to try and strike them, occasionally they would let off another lightning-fast barrage of strikes before dodging again.

'We're getting too tired to keep this up…' Birdy thought to Ranma.

'Soul of Ice…Soul of Ice…' he replied back to her. She gave him the affirmative as they proceeded to lead him into the spiral pattern that precluded disaster. The exhaustion was clearly visible on their faces as Gomez doggedly tried to strike them, without success. His aura flared up to unprecedented heights as he gathered his energy for a final attack. The attack never came as the two beat him to the punch with a quick Hiryuu Shoten Ha that tore him into the sky.

'Not too bad I guess…' Birdy thought as she made her way over to Ranma.

'…Sleepy…' Was Ranma's highly coherent thought before the two collapsed into a deep slumber. Absently wrapping around each other.

"I'd say it was cute, but we're the ones who gotta carry them inside." Mousse said before another head strike silenced him.

"Just bring them inside." Cologne said. She turned to go back inside the Nekohanten before a small, shrunken figure blocked her path.

"Not so fast Cologne. This game isn't over yet…" he said as the air around him distorted, bright lights flashed outward from his body. The sky above rumbled ominously as lightning roared down from the heavens, striking Happosai.

"This game has just begun…" he intoned ominously as the dust settled, revealing his true horror to all present. He stood well over seven feet tall, his skin was blue, his hair was black and trailed down his back with strange tattoos adorning his body. His eyes gleamed malevolently.

"Let's play…" The wounded fighters did their best to get into their ready stances to fend off the greatest nightmare of all. A shout was all it took before Hell came to Earth.