Just letting people know, this is a tribute peice to one of my favorite books. I don't own any of the Last Unicorn characters. This was only writen because I love them so much.

Akane quivered in fear at the creature before her.

The bull was bright red, like rage incarnate. Fire swirled around him and he had long sharp ivory horns.

Foe one moment Akane faced him, her body not moving. The bull lowered its head to charge, and Akane turned and fled.

The red bull roared into the night and charged after her.

Akane didn't know what it was about the bull that scared her. She wasn't afraid of many things but for some reason, the red bull ignited the terror in her heart.

As she ran, she prayed for her friends to help her. Her legs hurt and Akane could feel the bull's fire right behind her.

Then out of the trees, two figures leapt at the bull.

One was Mousse, who was dressed in a blue-black wizard outfit. The outfit was baggy and he looked like he didn't even know what he was doing.

The other was Shampoo. She was dressed like a maid and her feet were bare. She looked quite plain compared to the beautiful girl Akane knew.

Mousse waved his hands around, chanting words Akane didn't know while Shampoo picked up the nearest rock and tossed it at the bull.

Akane took the opportunity to run, not daring to look back. Even though she couldn't see, she could tell the bull had knocked both Mousse and Shampoo away with its horns and continued its pursuit. After all, the red bull wasn't after them, it wanted her.

Even the presence of Ranma didn't make her feel any safer. Ranma was wearing armor that made him look like a prince. He looked at Akane in a way that made her feel loved. Then he grabbed the sword at his side and stepped forward to confront the bull.

Akane didn't want him to go. Even Ranma couldn't hope to win. Akane screamed as the bull didn't even bother brushing him aside, choosing to run over him instead.

Akane looked at Ranma's mangled form and fell to her knees.

The red bull was right in front of her now and Akane didn't have the strength to run anymore. She screamed once more as the bull roared in triumph.

"Akane, wake up," yelled Ranma.

He shook Akane several times, until her eyes shot open.

Akane found herself drenched in sweat, and her heart was pounding hard. Tears flowed from her eyes as she grabbed onto Ranma and held him tight.

"It felt so real," was all Akane could say.

The pig-tailed boy was also at a loss for words. He didn't quite know what to do with his hands, so he just let his fiancé hold him while his face turned red.

"Akane, if you wanted to hold your fiancé so bad, there are quieter ways you know," said Nabiki.

Akane looked up and noticed that bother her sisters, dad, and Ranma's parents were inside her room. Akane quickly pushed Ranma away, forgetting her nightmare for now.

Nodoka noticed Soun and Genma's faces and knew they were about to say something that would inevitably cause a fight between the two teens. Probably about how the schools would be joined and that, Ranma should move into Akane's room so she wouldn't have nightmares anymore.

Quickly, Nodoka pushed the two of them out and told them to go back to bed.

Kasumi was quick to give Akane a cup of tea, "Could you tell us what your nightmare was about."

"It must have been good to have you screaming like that," said Nabiki.

Akane looked at her sisters and Ranma but she felt speechless. Kasumi saw her nervousness and decided not to pry, "You know what; maybe we should all just go back to bed."

Nabiki folded her arms and walked out saying, "Fine," while trying to figure out ways to profit off her sisters nightmares.

Ranma was the last to leave the room.

"Good night Akane," he said while looking back.

Akane saw the worried look in his face. He looked like the prince from her dreams.

"Good night Ranma."

Breakfast that morning was silent. Before they knew it, Ranma and Akane were on their way to school and had taken their places on the street and fence respectively.

"So, do you wanna talk about last night," asked Ranma.

"Look, I just had a nightmare. That's all," said Akane.

"Do you usually scream like that when you have nightmares?"

"Hey we all have things we're afraid of. My nightmare was just a little more intense than usual."

"I'm not scared of anything".

"Oh really. Well, don't look now but, there's a cat behind you."

Ranma suddenly lost his balance and tumbled off the fence and into the street. He looked around, not finding any cat. However, he did find his fiancé laughing at his paranoia.

"That wasn't funny," said Ranma.

"It's a little funny," laughed Akane.

A minute later, Ukyo walked up. "What are we laughing at," she asked.

"Ranma," replied Akane.

"What did he do this time?"

"That stupid tomboy told me there was a cat behind me," muttered Ranma.

"Is that all, oh come here you poor baby,"

Akane felt her anger flair up as she watched Ukyo put her arms around Ranma. She was about to tear Ranma away from Ukyo by his pigtail when another person walked up.

Niseko walked up cheerfully, "Good morning everyone."

"Good morning Niseko," said Akane.

"Hey did any of you see the ghost lights last night?"

"What ghost lights?" asked Ukyo, releasing Ranma from her grip.

"It was the craziest thing. I was looking outside my window last night and these bright red balls of light were floating around the neighborhood. I went outside to get a better look but they were already gone," explained Niseko.

"That's pretty strange," said Ranma.

They continued the walk to school, chatting about random things when one of Ranma's many annoyances caughter him off guard again. The old woman washing her porch had accidently splashed him again.

Ranma, Akane and Ukyo noticed Niseko's eyes bulge at the sight of the now girl Ranma.

Akane was the first to speak, "This happens pretty often. All you have to know is that it's a curse. Cold water turns him into a girl and warm water changes him back."

However, within seconds, Niseko was back to her usual self, "that is SO COOL."

"This doesn't strike you as odd," asked Ukyo.

"I watch a lot of movies. This isn't that strange," said Niseko.

"Glad to know my curse brings other people joy," said Ranma with thinly veiled sarcasm.

"We should hurry up or we're going to be late for school," said Akane.

School was over before they knew it and Ranma had changed back into a boy during lunch.

Niseko was the first to run off, "I've gotta get home. I'll see you guys' tomorrow."

"She's kind of weird," said Ukyo before turning her attention back to Ranma. "Ranma honey, do you wanna grab something to eat at my place."

Akane quickly stepped between them, "Actually, Ranma and I have to meet Ryoga, Mousse, and Shampoo at the Cat Café. I just got the call a minute ago."

Ukyo raised her eyebrow, "Since when do you guys hang out with Shampoo or Ryoga. I thought you all couldn't stand each other. Especially Shampoo."

Ranma sighed, "It's complicated. Sorry Ucchan but I'll have to take a rain check on that meal."

With that, Ranma and Akane left for the Cat Café, leaving Ukyo at the school gates.

Ukyo started walking towards her shop, "Oh well. There's always tomorrow. I better get to the restaurant before Konatsu decides it would be cheaper to water down the okonomiyaki batter again."

"We're here," called Akane.

"Nihao Ranma," called Shampoo as she wrapped her arms around Ranma in a tight hug.

Akane eye started to twitch. What was this, hug Ranma day?

"Ranma, I'll give you three seconds to get away from Shampoo," said Mousse, who was yelling at Ryoga.

"Put on your glasses," said Ryoga.

"What did you call us for?" asked Ranma as he pushed Shampoo off him.

"Well son-in-law, last night I looked out my window and saw several orbs of red light fly by. After doing some research I have deduced that they are a type of demon that feeds on fear. The demon will grow stronger and take the physical form of something that causes great fear inside the person it's feeding from. It's mostly active at night so you five should wait here until then."

And that's what they did. Cologne put Ranma and Ryoga in the kitchen, helping to prepair the food. Akane joined Shampoo as a waitress and Mousse was put to work entertaining people with magic tricks.

Sure, a few incidents happened. Ranma tripped, spilling a pot of cold water on both Ryoga and Shampoo. Then Ryoga got lost and eventually found himself locked into a pet carrier in Colognes room. Several bowls and cups were destroyed because Ranma had a panic attack from seeing a pink cat in the kitchen. Several patrons suffered from severe heartburn from food Akane had prepared while Shampoo was busy waiting for some water to warm up.

Lastly, Mousse, was bitten by a bird he was trying to pull out of his robe. The incident caused him to pull his arm back fast, accidently throwing some cards into some guy's face.

"Some magician," he scoffed while pulling a card out of his hair.

Overall, there was much less destruction than Cologne had expected.

"My lord, the demon you summoned has yet to report back," said Saffron.

Kage was pacing around the room in thought, "It won't. Once the demon has picked a target, it will continuously feed off its fear. It was only by chance that it attached to the yellow ranger last night and as long as she stays scared, the demon will be indestructible. It also made her dreams most entertaining."

"So the mirror can also view dreams," said Masara.

"Yes. However, you can only view them, not teleport into them," said Kage.

"What should we do now, master," asked Koruma.

Kage sat down on his throne, "We wait."

"Should we also check in on Carmilla," asked Saffron.

Kage smiled, "Carmilla is of no concern to us. Let her do what she wants for now."

"Ranma, we've been patrolling the city for hours. I don't think the demon is going to show up tonight," said Akane. It was almost midnight and Akane and the other four had come to a stop on the roof of a local clothing store.

"If Akane scared, she can go home. Shampoo and Ranma destroy demon," said Shampoo.

"Who said I was scared," yelled Akane.

"Now's not the time you guys," said Mousse a shadow flew overhead.

A few seconds later, a bat-like creature landed before them. It was strange. Unlike past demons, this one looked almost human. The creature wore a red vampire-like mask that covered her face. She had a pair of batwings sprouting from the back of her head and another pair sprouting from her back. She wore a red leather suit and to complete the outfit, she wore a pair of red leather gloves and boots.

Shampoo was the first to attack. She leaped up into, attempting to jump kick the demon. The bat demon quickly moved to the side, reaching out and grabbing Shampoo in midair, slamming her to the ground.

As Shampoo tried to get up, the demon held her down with her boot. Mousse was quick to rush towards her shouting, "Get away from my Shampoo," but the demon held up her hand and shot him with an energy blast, knocking him down.

"Cool it heroes. I didn't come here to fight. I only came to tell you that the demon you're looking for needs for the person it's feeding on to be asleep before it appears."

"Who are you, and how do we know you're not lying," asked Ryoga.

The demon laughed, "You can call me Carmilla and here's my proof."

Carmilla gathered up a large blast of energy and fired it at Akane, sending her off the roof.

"Akane," shouted Ranma as he leaped down to help her. He found her lying in the ground unconscious.

"Prepair to die," shouted Ryoga as he charged Carmilla with his fist clenched. The demon simply leaped into the air and took flight.

"Like I said, I didn't come here to fight," said Carmilla as she flew off into the night.

"She lucky she run away," said Shampoo.

Mousse, Ryoga and Shampoo then jumped down from the roof to see what was happening with Ranma and Akane.

"She's seems fine. Just unconscious," said Ranma. "What happened to Carmilla?"

"She took off," said Mousse.

"We'll worry about her later. Let's just get back to the Cat Café and figure out what to do from there."

"I think we're about to have other problems," said Ryoga.

It was then that they noticed the moon turn bright red and flames started to swirl around it. A minute later, a fireball shot out from it. As the fireball came closer, the face and horns of a bull formed.

"I guess Carmilla wasn't lying," said Mousse.

Ranma quickly placed Akane on a bench and joined the other four, each reaching for their morphers, "We need Sheng Xiao power NOW."

As they finished morphing, the fireballs came down like a bolt of lightning. A huge wall of flame formed and out stepped a red bull. The bull was huge; almost the size of a house and flames flowed freely from its body.

Ranma summoned his spear, "Let's take it down."

The four rangers charged the bull, weapons held tight. The Red Bull braced itself for the attack. As soon as the rangers were in striking distance, the bull charged forward, knocking them back like bowling pins.

Fires sprouted from the hoof prints of the bull.

"Any other great idea's Ranma," said Ryoga.

Ranma looked up seeing the Red Bull standing in front of Akane.

"Keep that thing away from Akane," said Ranma as he got up.

Ranma then leaped up into the air, pointing his spear at the bull and coming down like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly, a wall of fire blasted him out the sky.

"Aiya, what you do to Ranma," shouted Shampoo as she charged the bull. She managed to slam her chui into the bulls' face, only for the bull to head butt her away.

Mousse quickly caught Shampoo before she hit the ground.

Ranma had just recovered when he noticed Akane start to wake up. He was glad, since the demon was feeding from her fear; maybe she knew how to defeat it.

Akane felt groggy when she awoke. She had the same nightmare as the night before. However, it was worse now. She still felt heat from the bulls' flames. In fact, she could still see the Red Bull. Only now, the bull was fighting her friends in their ranger uniforms.

Akane's eyes went wide. She suddenly became very aware that she was no longer dreaming and the Red Bull had somehow made its way into the real world.

Just then, Mousse crashed beside her. His uniform was smoking from the heat. Akane's hand started shaking. She looked at the bull and she trembled when the bull turned in her direction.

Then the bull charged, casually knocking Ranma, Shampoo, and Ryoga out of the way.

Akane felt her heart pounding as the bull ran towards her. Quickly, she used the Saotome secret technique, fast break.

Kage could not stop laughing. The demon was working out better than he had planned and was putting on quite a show.

"My lord, why does the demon not destroy the power rangers," asked Kiema.

Kage looked over at her, "The demon acts according to the fears of whoever it's feeding from. Based on the yellow rangers' dreams, the Demon will chase her and only destroy the others if they get in its way. And that's exactly what they'll do."

It was hopeless. No matter how much Akane ran, the bull was always right behind her. Every so often, one of the rangers would intercept the bull, only to be knocked aside. She had to think of something fast, she was running out of energy.

Then world seemed to slow down as she slipped on some loose gravel. Akane tried to get up but her ankle hurt. She must have twisted it when she fell.

The Red Bull was practically on top of her now. The other four rangers looked exhausted, as though they had just been fighting an army of tanks.

The Red Bull's steps made the ground shake. Ranma had to do something. He was feeling a little at ease since the bull did not seem to want to destroy Akane. If it did, it would have done so already.

Ranma leaped in front of the bull, raising his spear. He was tired and barely standing but he had to do this. After all, protecting damsels in distress was what heroes were for. The Red Bull roared and Ranmas' spear caught flame. Ranma quickly dropped his weapon and the bull charged.

"RANMA NO," shouted Akane as the Red Bull ran straight through her fiancé.

Something sparked inside Akane upon seeing her fiancé and her friends beaten down. All she did was run in fear. No more, she was done running. That and she could already hear Shampoo's smug voice, laughing at her for being scared.

Akane reached for her morpher, "I need Sheng Xiao power NOW".

Akane gripped her hammer. "Leave my friend alone," she said. The Red Bull charged her, expecting the yellow ranger to run. However, Akane didn't run. She stood her ground and swung her hammer, smashing the bull across the face.

"My friends need me to be strong. If something like you can get to me, then I don't deserve to be a Power Ranger."

Akane leaped up into the air and once again slammed her hammer into the Red Bull.

Akane smiled when the other four rangers walked up behind her.

"Ranma, are you ok?" she asked.

"Don't worry about me," said Ranma.

"While Akane keep bull busy, Shampoo bandage up Ranma," said Shampoo.

"We're also ok," said Mousse and Ryoga.

Then a black feather flew past them and embedded itself in the Red Bull.

As the Red bull rapidly grew, the rangers pointed their morphers to the sky, "We need Zodiac Zord power now," they called.

The sight of the zords descending from the sky never ceased to amaze Akane.

Akane was quickly hit several buttons on the terminal. The Ox zords horns began to glow and it charged the Red Bull, butting heads with it.

"I'm not scared of you and you will pay for hurting my friends," shouted Akane.

The Red Bull suddenly staggered back. Shampoo and Ryoga took advantage by having their zords ram the Bull's left side.

"Activating tusk chains now," said Ryoga while inputting several commands on his terminal. The pig zords' tusks, which were attached to large chains, fired and wrapped around the horns of the bull.

The Red Bull pulled back, yanking the pig zord with it.

"I can't hold it much longer," said Ryoga.

The tiger and rooster zords quickly leapt at the Red Bull. However before they could even touch it, the Bull's eyes began to glow and a wall of fire pulsed from its body.

The tusk unwrapped from the Bull's horns as the tiger and rooster zords fell beside the pig.

The Red Bull then charged at the horse zord, knocking it back.

"I'm getting real sick of this guy," said Ranma. "Let's bring them together guys."

The horse's eyes began to glow and the zords began to combine and transform. Moments later, the Zodiac Megazord was formed.

"Activating power sword," said Shampoo.

The Red Bull charged forward, ramming the megazord. The megazord punched the bull away and got ready for its next attack.

The Red Bull charged forward again, tackling the megazord and pinning it to the ground. The Red Bull proceeded to spit fire at the megazord.

Ranma looked over at Akane, "Akane this thing came from your nightmares. I don't suppose you know how to defeat it. We've thrown everything we got at it and it doesn't seem to do any good."

"I wish I did," said Akane.

"Carmilla said the bull feeds off fear. So all you really have to do is not be afraid of it anymore and the bull is powerless," said Mousse.

"But I'm not scared of it anymore," said Akane

Ranma spoke up, "Maybe not outwardly. Try focusing on something else. Don't even think about the bull."

"And how am I supposed to do that."

Then Shampoo left her terminal and wrapped her arms around Ranma.

"Not the time Shampoo," said Ranma.

Akane's mind suddenly focused on her pervert fiancé and the annoying girl clinging to him.

Akane angrily typed in several keystrokes on her terminal. Then the megazord kicked the Red Bull off of it.

"That's it. As long as Akane doesn't focus on the bull, it's powerless. Thanks for that Shampoo," said Ranma as he pushed Shampoo away.

"Um…right…Shampoo help Akane," said Shampoo as she went back to her terminal.

Ranma then turned to Akane ready to do one of the many things he was good at, "Akane, your un-cute, your thighs are thick, you have more muscles than a real ox, your cooking is putrid, and my girl half is more feminine than you."

Akane started smashing keys on her terminal, "Ranma you will pay later. We have a bull to destroy."

Everyone inside the megazord could feel the angry aura coming off Akane and none of the other rangers dared to make eye contact with her.

The Red Bull charged again but the megazord was too fast for it. It quickly moved to the side, avoiding the bull and slashing it with the power sword.

"Time to activate a final strike I just came up with," yelled Akane.

Akane typed in a few more keystrokes and the power sword transformed into a large ball of energy.

"Final strike: Zodiac Kick"

The Megazord then jumped up and kicked the energy ball at the Red Bull.

Upon impact, the Red Bull let out one final roar before exploding into a cloud of black dust.

"We sure got close that time master," said Koruma.

Luckily, Koruma was quick to duck as Kage tried to punch him. Unfortunately, Masara was standing right behind Koruma and did not see the punch coming.

"Of all people I could have enslaved, I picked these morons," yelled Kage.

Koruma quickly dragged Masara out of of the throne room. He was glad there were no more of those fear/dream demons in the palace. The last they needed was another dark warrior.

The zords had vanished into the winds, leaving the rangers safe on the ground.

Ranma was the first to power down, "That was good fight, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."

As Ranma started to walk off, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't you dare walk away from me Ranma," growled Akane. "I haven't forgotten what you said to me in the megazord."

Ranma gulped.

The other four rangers winced as they witnessed Ranma get pounded ten feet into the pavement.

"You can't say he didn't have it coming," said Ryoga.

"Go team," groaned Ranma as he pathetically crawled out of hole.

The next day, Ranma and Akane were walking to school when Ranma asked, "So, why did the Red Bull scare you so much?"

"Why do you ask?" asked Akane.

"Just curious"

Akane sighed, "This is going to sound stupid. The Red Bull was a character from a book my mom used to read to me. The way it was described in the book always made me cling to my mom. That's all it was, just a silly childhood fear that I guess I never got over."

They walked a little further when Ukyo and Niseko walked up.

Akane was first to notice that they both had a very tired look to their faces.

"What happened to you two last night," asked Akane.

Niseko was the first to speak, "Well after I got some things done around my house, I went over to Ukyo's restaurant for something to eat. Ukyo and I wound up chatting and I stayed over at her house that night."

"We stayed up all night watching movies," said Ukyo.

"IT WAS SO MUCH FUN," said Niseko happily.

Then Ukyo looked over at Ranma, "What happened to you two last night. Ranchan looks like he was just hit by a car."

Ranma and Akane looked over at each other, "Don't wanna talk about it," they said.

Niseko leaned over to Ukyo, "is this normal for them," she whispered.

That night, Akane found the book her mom used to read to her. She read the first chapter before going to bed and sleeping peacefully.

A/N: For a better idea of what I was trying to go for with Carmilla, just pictue a red version of Necrolai from Power Rangers: Mystic Force.