Disclaimer: See Chapter One

----Outside the Alley----

Boreal found her hands full trying to deal with three rangers at once. In terms of pure skill she outclassed the three of them put together but they were working together as a team. She would knock away one ranger only to be attacked by one of the other two rangers. Their weapons also made things harder for her as well. The Yellow Rangers whip would limit her movement enough for either the Green Ranger to take a shot at her with her Dragon Blaster or for the Black Ranger to take a slash at her with his rapier. Fortunately for Boreal, she was able to deal with them in close range combat with her martial arts skills and attack them from a distance with her bandannas. Despite this, she was quickly losing her patience with the three rangers and beginning to get sloppy with her attacks. Boreal failed to notice the faint glow under her bandannas which had been getting constantly brighter as the fight wore on.

Mamoru stepped up his attack just as soon as he saw Boreal get knocked off-balance when a near miss from Makoto's Dragon Blaster exploded at her feet. He thrust and slashed at her but he was hard pressed to match Boreal's speed or reflexes even with the boost from his ranger powers. Mamoru found himself knocked on his ass a few seconds later by a punch to the chest when he was a second too slow to pull back his rapier. He clutched at his chest in pain, silently giving thanks that the armour had absorbed most of the force of the punch. If it hadn't, he would probably have a gaping hole in his chest from the force of the blow.

Minako took up the slack when she saw Mamoru get knocked away. She flipped over Mamoru's fallen form and tried to land a heavy kick on Boreal's head. Boreal blocked her kick with a forearm and tried to grab Minako's leg with her free hand. Minako used her other foot to kick away from Boreal's reach and backwards somersaulted in to a landing crouch. Trying to keep pressure on Boreal, Minako leapt up from her crouch, several feet into the air and cracked her whip at Boreal as she cried out, "Crescent Whip Flash!" A bright yellow line of light extended from the tip of her whip and headed towards the increasingly angry pig-girl.

Boreal managed to dodge the attack but not before it managed to graze her arm. The spot on the street that Boreal had just been standing on had a noticeable long, thin cut, roughly two feet deep. Boreal looked at the damage done by the attack with a shocked look on her face. She hadn't really thought that these new rangers could actually hurt her, much less kill her. Boreal turned her attention back towards the yellow ranger and readied a group of her lethal bandannas in her hands. She was just about to send them towards the Yellow Ranger who had just landed, hoping to finish her before she could leap away again. The Green Ranger surprised Boreal when she seemed to suddenly appear, a few feet from her left, her weapon aimed at her. Two quick blasts from the Green Rangers' Dragon Blaster impacted against Boreal's side.

Boreal was sent flying into the air but managed to gain control of her fall a few seconds later. She landed on her feet before dropping to one knee, gritting her teeth in pain. Boreal glared at the rangers with so much anger; the air around her seemed to take on a reddish glow. Mamoru noticed that something seemed to be glowing beneath Boreal's bandanna and briefly wondered whether it was a new attack about to be unleashed. The three rangers now stood between Boreal and the alleyway. They prepared themselves for one last attack, thinking that the pig-girl wouldn't be able to withstand a combined attack in her current situation. The Black Ranger readied his sword, the blade glinting in the light. The Yellow Ranger held her whip at the ready while the Green Ranger took aim with her blaster. Boreal grunted in pain as she stood up, lightly holding the area of her ribs on her left side where the blasts had hit her.

"I've had enough of you power punks!" She snarled at them, "I'll kill you all!"

Boreal reached up to her forehead and to the rangers surprise pulled a string of bandannas off of her forehead. She used their surprise to her advantage and cracked her makeshift whip at the three rangers who scattered out of the way of her attack. Boreal laughed mockingly at them as her bandanna whip latched onto her embedded battleaxe which had been behind the rangers. She gave a sharp tug at the whip and it returned to her along with her battleaxe. She caught the battleaxe in one hand and the whip in the other. Boreal noticed the Green Ranger aiming her weapon at her while the other two rangers were still getting to their feet. Boreal flung her whip at the Green Ranger just as she opened fire.

Makoto's blast hit the whip which exploded into separate bandannas once again. The three rangers did their best to avoid the deadly shrapnel made of bandannas. Mamoru and Minako had numerous cuts in their armour but Makoto took the worst of it since she had been right in front of the explosion. She had tried to use her Dragon Blaster as a makeshift shield against the bandannas. It had worked for the most part but the weapon had been sliced to pieces. Makoto lay unconscious on the street surrounded by the remains of her weapon. The backlash from the explosion had knocked her out. Minako and Mamoru quickly dashed to her side. Minako knelt down to check on Makoto while Mamoru kept a wary eye on Boreal. The pig-girl was grinning evilly at them as she readied her battleaxe.

"How is she?" He asked her concernedly.

"Unconscious but I think she'll be okay." She replied. "Her breathing is normal and her armor and blaster took the brunt of the attack."

"Good to hear but we could really use her help right now. Boreal was tough enough before, the odds are really against us now."

"I don't think Boreal's going to wait for her to wake up before she attacks us." Minako said with a shake of her head. "You could ask her though." She suggested jokingly, though inside her helmet, she looked worried about their situation.

"There's a thought, I could ask her." Mamoru replied sounding as if he was talking about the weather. "Wait here while I go talk to her."

Mamoru dashed towards Boreal who responded to his charge with a quick slash at his chest. He somersaulted over her attack and landed behind her. Boreal managed to block the slash to the back with her battleaxe. She kicked backwards and caught Mamoru in the stomach. He staggered back a step and ducked underneath a horizontal cut before he hopped above a low sweeping slash. He lunged at her and tried to pierce her shoulder in an effort to get her to drop her weapon. Boreal blocked the attack and countered by ramming her shoulder into him. The two of them kept trying to beat the other. Mamoru relied on speed while Boreal went with more powerful moves.

Unfortunately Mamoru was fighting a losing battle. Boreal had power and skill on her side along with the combined experience of both Boreal and Ryoga. Inside his helmet, Mamoru's face was grim with the knowledge that he may not survive his first appearance as a power ranger. Despite this, he refused to simply give up. If only he had an attack like the others! Makoto had been able to shoot energy blasts and Minako could do something similar with her whip while he had yet to discover his own attack. In desperation, Mamoru ran towards Boreal, his sword held high. Boreal laughed at the apparent suicide charge and almost casually chopped the Black Ranger in half.

To her surprise, the Black Ranger spilt into two copies and then split into four Black Rangers. They quickly surrounded her and simultaneously attacked her. Boreal quickly tried to dodge the attacks only to find that three of them simply passed through her while the fourth cut her forearm. When she slashed at the Black Ranger that she thought had hurt her, it turned out to be another image. She took another cut, this time near her ribs. Against this new assault, Boreal found herself in trouble. Mamoru was thankful that he had finally discovered his own attack. Although it wasn't as destructive as the others attacks, it did give him an advantage in battle. He and Boreal continued their deadly dance of death, their weapons occasionally colliding sending sparks flying.

----Alley, minutes earlier----

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma asked the voice, "Just who are you anyway and why'd you want to help me? What's in it for you?"

While he waited for a reply, Ranma began drawing upon his remaining reserves of ki. He felt his injuries healing quickly as he focused his ki into repairing his body. 'Doc, wherever you are right now, thanks for helping me develop my healing techniques.' Ranma thought to himself. 'They're a really big help at times like this.' Ranma had started learning from Dr. Tofu about medicine and how the body healed itself a few months after he began living in Nerima. It had been necessary at the time or else he probably would have never survived even half of what he'd been through back then. He still kept in touch with the doctor although he had promised not to tell anyone else about it, especially Kasumi. That particular restriction hadn't really sat well with him but Ranma respected the doctor's wishes even if he didn't agree with them.

"Those two really beat the hell out of you, didn't they?" The voice replied in an amused tone. "I want to help you because…I can't have my heir die before I do!"

Ranma stared in astonishment as he saw Happosai step out of the shadows in front of him. His astonishment increased even more when he saw what the miniscule martial arts grandmaster held in one of his hands. The old man held a sword that gave off traces of magical energy. He could see that the pommel of the sword was in the shape of a tigers head, its eyes glowed red and seemed to look at him as if judging him for some reason. Embedded into the hilt of the sword was a golden coin with the head of a tiger pictured on it. Although the sword felt like it contained some form of magic, it also seemed to feel incomplete for some reason. Ranma didn't know why it seemed that way. The sword didn't look like it lacked anything a sword normally had but that feeling of incompleteness still radiated from it.

Ranma grunted in pain as the last of his injuries faded away and forced himself back to his feet. His body was now healed but his clothes were soaked with his blood and full of tears. His ki reserves hadn't been this bad since his fight with Saffron. They were almost exhausted which wouldn't have been too much of a problem if it wasn't for the fact that he still had a fight to finish. He didn't really think those Kuno wannabes would last very long against the likes of Taro and Ryoga, especially with their increased powers. He just hoped they hadn't gotten themselves killed while he was out of it. They might have been as foolish as Kuno used to be (and sometimes still was, Ranma felt) but they had saved his life so the least he could do was return the favor.

Ranma glared at Happosai, having the old lecher close while he stood next to a source of cold water didn't make him comfortable. He had too many bad experiences with the old lecher and cold water in the past. When Happy was involved it usually meant more trouble for him. Ranma didn't think this time would be any different. "Happosai, I should have known you'd be involved in all this!" He said to the old man angrily. "Ryoga, Pantyhose, those weird guys in white, Beryl, whoever that is…start talking old man, what are you up to this time?"

"Hmph, I guess it's not surprising you'd think I was behind everything." Happosai sighed sadly. "Not that I blame you but I'm not the one who's behind this attack." Happy frowned at the disbelieving look on Ranma's face. "I swear, I'm not responsible for this but I do know who is."

"Lemme guess, it's somebody you pissed off, right?" Ranma replied although the anger in his voice had lessened somewhat.

"Well, it's true that it is someone who wouldn't be all that happy to see me again but I'm not the reason she's attacking."

"Okay, so if its not you than what's she after?" Ranma asked him, grudgingly accepting that maybe all this wasn't Happosai's fault. "And who's 'she'? Do you mean that 'Mistress Beryl' Boreal talked about before I started kicking her butt?"

"Yes, I mean Beryl. She's the one who's responsible for this and as for what she's after…its energy. She wants to take the energy found in living beings and use it to further her plans of gaining control over the world."

"Great, that's just great." Ranma snorted as he shook his head. "Another psycho that thinks everyone around them should bow down to them just cuz they thinks so. Except this one has got an army and can turn people into monsters." He sighed wearily. "How do I get myself caught up in stuff like this?"

"Beryl is more than just another 'psycho' as you put it, boy. She's the original 'psycho'. Thousands of years ago, she and her allies tried to conquer this solar system. The protectors of our solar system managed to defeat her then but now she's back. Fortunately, it looks like she's not the only one that's back."

"You mean those Kuno wannabes right?" Ranma asked him. "How'd you know about all this anyway, old man?"

"Heh heh, Kuno wannabes?" Happosai chuckled at Ranma's description. "There used to be two groups of protectors but it looks like they've become one group now." The old man sighed sadly. "As for how I know about it…well I should. After all, Beryl is my mother." Happy resisted the urge to laugh at the look on Ranma's face.

"Yer, yer, your mother!" The image of an even more wrinkled, shorter woman than Cologne flashed through Ranma's shocked mind. He shuddered at the thought before he realized something. "Hey, wait a minute. If this Beryl's your mom then why are you gonna help me stop her?"

"Just because she's my mother doesn't mean I'm going to let her carry out her plans." Happosai replied. "Besides she would love to see me destroyed if she could, there's no love lost between us, believe me. And I have no interest in living in a world where she's in control." Happosai frowned and muttered to himself. "I've grown quite fond of you humans, you deserve better then winding up as slaves in my opinion."

When Happosai had first been released from Beryl's seal, he had spread fear and terror over the Earth. As the centuries went past, he began to settle down. As more time past and he spent more and more time dealing with humans he began to change his ways. It had begun when he had come up with the idea to raise a human child he had found in his travels around the world, as an accomplice in his attacks on the humans. He had decided to raise the child and treated the child the same way as he had observed other humans raise their children. As the child grew up, without realizing it, Happosai found himself treating the child as something more than just a convenient tool to use. That had set him on a new path. From then on, Happosai began to protect humans instead of attacking them. Of course he still needed to drain them in order to stay alive but he went about it differently than before.

Ranma missed Happy's mutterings as he tried to wrap his head around all the new information he had just found out. He shook his head after a few seconds as he felt his head start to hurt from thinking about it too much. He'd deal with it another time, right now he had a fight to finish. "Alright, so you're older than dirt, that's nothing new. That's not gonna help me fight Boreal and Goldar. Don't suppose you have a technique to stop them draining my energy do you?"

"A technique? No, but I do have something that will stop them from draining you." Happy replied as he walked towards Ranma. He held up the sword and showed it to Ranma. "This is the 'Tiger Sword'; it was created thousands of years ago to help stop Beryl's forces. Unfortunately, it wasn't finished in time to be used and during the final battle it was lost. I ran across it several centuries ago and have held on to it ever since."

Ranma regarded the weapon carefully. Thanks to his mother, he no longer had a distaste for weapons, especially swords. Since she had wanted to teach Ranma her family's school of swordsmanship, he had quickly gotten over any reservations he had had about using weapons. The look of sadness and disappointment on his mothers face when Ranma had said that he didn't want to learn how to use a sword had made him feel quite ashamed. After a few weeks of training in swordplay from his mother, Ranma had come to appreciate her family's school and became quite skilled in using a sword. The fact that Ranma was learning how to use weapons had really irritated Genma which had been a bonus in Ranma's opinion.

"I thought you said it wasn't finished?" Ranma asked.

"It lacks two things. The first is power. I believe that you'll be able to provide that." Happy told him. "I've done some studies on the power coin. Usually it would draw on a force of power that was called the power grid but that's gone now. I've found that it will also accept Ki and Chi as an alternate power source."

Ranma grimaced as he heard that. "I'm running a little low on that right now. Anyway, what's the second thing it's missing?"

"The second thing it's missing is an animal spirit which is also something you'll be able to provide." Happy replied.

Ranma quickly realized what Happosai was thinking. "You mean the Neko-ken doncha ya? Listen old man, just cuz I go acting like, like a c-c-cat sometimes don't mean that I've got a c-c-ca, an animal spirit in me!"

"That's where you're wrong!" Happosai replied with a wide grin. "That's exactly what it means! When you learned the Neko-ken, you absorbed all the souls of the cats that died in that pit. That's where you picked up all your cat-like traits. All those souls combined with a portion of yours and became a new entity that resides in you!"

Ranma almost sat back down in shock. It had been disturbing enough knowing he acted like an animal whenever he lost control. Learning that a part of his soul really was an animal was even worse, though now that he knew about it; it did help to explain a few things. He looked at Happosai with a shrewd look on his face. "That's why I can't remember anything when the Neko-ken takes over isn't it?" He asked the old man. "What about my fear of c-c-ca, felines?"

"Your fear is because you got thrown into a dark pit full of hungry cats so many times. Anyone would have gotten that if they'd been through the same thing." Happosai replied. "You're right about your memory lapses though. When the Neko-ken takes over, the portion of your soul that merged with all those cat souls is in control which is why the rest of you doesn't remember it."

"Okay, even if I've got the second thing it needs, I don't have enough ki left to power it." Ranma reluctantly told him, "Healing my injuries didn't leave me much left."

"Have you forgotten about how powerful your Neko-ken self is?" Happy reminded him, "It has its own store of ki to draw on. When your cat spirit is drawn into the sword you'll finally be able to access it."

"Does that mean I won't be able to use the Neko-ken anymore? Or be afraid of c-cats?" Ranma asked him with a mix of hope and worry. He was worried that he might lose something that he had earned; no matter how painful it was to learn it, and hoping that he'd no longer have to fear cats. True, he was getting better at controlling his fear of them now but still, the idea of no longer being afraid of them anymore was quite tempting.

"No, you should gain conscious use of the Neko-ken even though your animal spirit will be in the sword. It's still a part of you after all." Happy replied thoughtfully, "You'll still have your fear of cats though but at least you won't slip into the Neko-ken anymore. So, will you do it?" Happy asked him as he held out the sword to Ranma, hilt first. "Will you use the Tiger Sword to stop Beryl from taking over our world? Will you protect the Earth as the newest Power Ranger?"

Ranma looked down at the sword dubiously. There were a lot of good points to taking up Happosai's offer. A martial artist's duty was to protect others after all. Having control over the Neko-ken would also be a big help, he'd never again have to worry that someday he may lose control completely and endanger his family and friends. There was still one thing he needed to know before he decided anything. "Am I going to wind up looking and sounding like those Kuno wannabes?"

Happosai sweatdropped. "Um, no I don't think so." He replied truthfully. "The original Power Rangers had a different set of armour and I think those poses and speeches were just these new Rangers' own idea."

Ranma nodded to himself. "Alright, I'll do it."

Happosai smiled as Ranma took the sword from him. Ranma held the sword so that he could look into the face of the tiger. He seemed to concentrate and Happosai felt something pass from Ranma to the sword. As the sword began to glow, Happosai felt Ranma's ki surge and equal what Ranma normally had at full strength. Ranma roared like a tiger as he thrust the sword into the air.

The aged martial arts grandmaster squinted his eyes as Ranma became engulfed in light allowing him only to see a silhouette of him. Silver lightening snaked around his body. It started from the Tiger Sword and ended at his feet. When the light vanished, Happosai could finally see Ranma clearly. He now wore a white bodysuit, the material of the suit looked like it was made from leather. It stretched tightly over his well muscled body, making it look as if it had been painted on. His chest and hip areas were encased in armour that seemed about an inch thick. Despite this, the armour contoured his body as well as the leather bodysuit did and flexed as Ranma breathed in and out slowly. He wore arm guards that started from his wrist and reached his elbow. His boots stopped a few inches above his ankles. He wore a black belt with the power coin set into its belt buckle. His helmet covered his head completely. It bore a resemblance to a tigers head. Where its open mouth would have revealed Ranma's mouth was a blank faceplate instead. To complete the tiger motif, the entire outfit was trimmed in black.

The Tiger Sword hung from his belt on his left. Happosai was surprised to see that it had changed form. It still had the same hilt, however the blade now looked like a katana blade. In fact, it closely resembled the Saotome honor blade. Happy wondered whether the change had been deliberate or merely a reflection of its new owners fighting style.

Ranma glanced down at the puddle of water beside him and saw what he now looked like in the waters reflection. "A white tiger huh?" He said partly to himself as he noted his colors. He tested his movements and found that the suit didn't restrict him at all. "I like the look." Ranma looked at Happosai. "Well old man, thanks for everything but I gotta go. We'll talk again some other time, right now I'm gonna go kick Boreal and Goldar's butts so bad they're gonna wish they'd never been born!"

Happosai watched as Ranma triangle jumped between the alley walls and landed onto the roof. He smiled as he watched the White Ranger disappear from his sight. He was proud of the boy and in a way; the young man was family. He remembered the first human he had raised which had changed him for the better. The family name may have changed but Ranma was the direct descendent of the child he had raised.

"You go grandson, go and give your great grandmother one hell of a headache. I'd love to see the look on her face when you foil her plans." Happosai chuckled to himself as he faded into the shadows of the alley.

---To Be Continued---

R-Kives: Finally, there you have it! A new chapter!

Arcee: Took long enough!

R-Kives: Will you cheer up? You lost fair and square, everyone had more than enough time to vote and they voted my way.

Arcee: I know, know...(sigh) anyway here's the final scoreboard...


Scoreboard

Mighty Morphin' Sailor Senshi: 8 votes

Mighty Morphin' Ranma Rangers: 1 vote

Ranma Rangers: 3 votes

Rangers: 1 vote

Sailor Rangers: 1 vote


R-Kives: I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who reviewed as well as all of you who voted as well, thank you for helping me out!

Arcee: I guess some people will be a little surprised at how Happosai acted in this episode, I know he can be serious sometimes but still...

R-Kives: Actually, there are times in the manga and the anime where you can see that Happosai has a bit of a soft spot for children. There's that time he helped miss Hinako when she was a child, those two kids that thought he was Santa Claus, Natsume and Kurumi too. In this story, I explained it as starting from a time before he began thinking of himself as a martial artist. Sure he twisted the art for his own ends but he did start off life as a creation of Queen Beryl in this reality after all.

Arcee: I guess he does look out for children...in his own wierd way. (Looks at a watch) I think we have time to respond to one review quickly before we go so you better hurry up and choose which one to respond to.

R-Kives: Really? Right...hmm...(starts looking over the reviews quickly) oh here's one I wanted to respond to before...(pulls out the review) it's from Ashaton Saotome, they're asking about why I'm bringing in the White Ranger so early.

Arcee: Well it is a valid question, I mean the original rangers didn't have a white ranger until Lord Zedd showed up.

R-Kives: The reason I had the White Power Coin made in this story was that back during the moon kingdom's time, Zordan's rangers and Serenity's Senshi had to deal with the combined forces of both Rita Repulsa and Queen Beryl. Obviously they were greatly outnumbered which is why Zordan started working on a new ranger to help out their forces long before it happened in the original series. He didn't finish it in time though so in this story, just like Tommy was in the original series, Ranma is the first White Ranger.

Arcee: He doesn't have a zord though and he can't throw around the kind of power that the senshi can either, don't forget to mention that too.

R-Kives: Oh yes, thanks for reminding me. Ranma does't have a zord yet and even if he did have one, I don't think he'd be able to power it either, he kinda lacks the necessary amount of energy to power ten tons worth of Zord heh. Since he's providing the energy for the power coin, Ranma only has a limited time he can actually stay in the suit. The more energy he has the longer he can use it so in terms of power supply and usage, the senshi have him beat but skill wise...well this is Ranma, his skill more than compensates for his time limit but it will be a problem he'll be working on. Hmmm...I think that pretty much covers it, right Arcee? (gets no answer) Arcee?

Arcee: (looking at a picture of Ranma in his White Ranger guise and drooling) Oh Ranma-sama...

R-Kives: The outfit, right. (sweatdrops)I based Ranma's ranger suit on the Psycho Rangers somewhat although...Arcee had a hand in...modifying...the design a little. Um (Notices Arcee beginning to have a crazed look in her eyes) so that's it for this chapter, drop in a review, please and thank you uh and we gotta go before Arcee decides to do something foolish...too late.

Arcee: (Opens a portal to the MMSS world and jumps in before she can be stopped) Ranma-sama! Hold on Master, your lovely Arcee is coming to serve you!

R-Kives: (Looks at where Arcee just jumped through) This can't be good. (sigh) I better find her before she finds Ranma, seeya everyone! (muttering to himself) Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let her design the suit after watching Batman Begins...(Jumps in after Arcee)