Late one night, a lone wanderer was sitting in a diner listening to the news. A waitress had just seated him and had left to get him an order of coffee.
The newscaster was droning on about the current events when something sparked the wanderers' interest.
"We bring you now, images from Tokyo's Nerima district. This footage depicts what appears to be a giant war machine fighting a gigantic spider creature. From what we can see through the footage, once the spider is destroyed, the machine vanishes into thin air. I have also gotten reports of five costumed individuals that have been spotted frequently in the Nerima area."
The wander raised an eyebrow, "Maybe it's time I returned to Japan. If I can find out how to get control of that machine, nothing will stand in my way ever again. The world will be mine for the taking."
"Who are you talking to," asked the waitress.
The wanderer suddenly came back to reality, "Oh, no one. I just remembered that there was somewhere I needed to be."
With that, the wanderer left, leaving some change on the table.
As he exited the diner, he felt the presence of someone following him. Taro could feel a strong aura coming from the being behind him and instantly kicked at the person following him.
His kick missed and a blast of red ki came out of the darkness, knocking him off his feet.
Then a woman wearing a vampire mask and dressed in red walked into his vision.
"Look, I didn't come here for a fight. I just wanted to give you some information," she said.
"What makes you think I want to hear it," said the wanderer.
"Because it concerns the war machine you want. I heard you in the diner."
The woman tossed the wanderer a piece of paper. The wander looked at the paper and noticed that it had a picture of a device that looked kind of like a cell phone.
"What is this?" asked the wanderer.
"It's just something you'll need if you ever hope to control the war machine. You'll need five of them to be exact."
"And where am a supposed to find them?"
"You saw the news report. Seek out the five heroes. They carry the devices with them."
The wander placed the picture inside his pocket. He had an idea of where to start his search now that he knew for sure where he was going.
"Who are you?" asked the wanderer.
The woman spoke, "My name is Carmilla. I didn't get your name."
"I didn't give it."
The wanderer was thankful for the sound of thunder, knowing that rain was soon to come.
"Do you need a ride to Japan?" asked Carmilla.
"I don't need one," said the wanderer.
It soon started to rain and the wanderer began to change form. He grew to the size of a house and looked something like a Minotaur with wings, an eel for a tale, and octopus tentacles coming from his back.
The beast quickly took flight and departed for Tokyo.
"He could have at least said thank you," muttered Carmilla.
The next day, Nabiki was returning home from a shopping trip when she saw a familiar sight.
Nabiki heard Akane scream "RANMA YOU JERK."
Then seconds later Ranma came flying through the kitchen wall.
"Why me," he groaned.
Nabiki simply walked past him, "I take it Akane's cooking again?"
"She's attempting to make a cake," said Ranma.
When Nabiki entered the living room, she noticed Niseko and Ukyo sitting in front of the TV.
"Hey Nabiki," said Niseko.
"So, you're here a lot lately," noted Nabiki.
"I find that there is never a dull moment with this crowd."
"Why is Akane baking anyway?"
"She won a big group ticket over the radio to go see some singer. She called Mousse, Ryoga, and Shampoo to come with us."
Nabiki then grabbed her shopping bags and went up to her room, "Well have fun".
Niseko looked over at Ukyo, "Do you think we should help Ranma? He looks pretty hurt."
Ukyo sighed, "Ranma honey has been through much worse. As long as he doesn't actually eat Akane's cooking, he'll be fine."
"What's wrong with Akane's cooking?"
"The word 'putrid' comes to mind," said Ranma as he limped back in.
"My cooking isn't that bad you big baby," said Akane, walking in from the kitchen, carrying a cake.
Akane cut out several slices, handing them to Ukyo, Niseko and Ranma.
"Just try it," she asked while giving everyone her sad puppy dog face.
Niseko looked down at her slice. Even though it had pink frosting, the cake itself was an olive green color and even had what looked like black olives in it.
Cautiously, Niseko grabbed a fork from Akane and slowly ate a piece of the cake. Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo watched as Niseko's eyes suddenly went wide.
Niseko swallowed the cake in her mouth and exclaimed, "This is the best cake I have ever eaten."
Ranma and Ukyo sat there shocked while Akane laughed, "I told you so."
Ranma and Ukyo then shrugged and took a bite of cake. Just like Niseko, their eyes went wide. However, Ranma quickly got up and made a mad dash for the bathroom. He was almost there when Ukyo shoved him aside and closed the bathroom door behind her.
"I wonder what their problem is," said Akane as she too took a bite of her own cake. Suddenly Akane's eyes went wide and she got up and trampled Ranma, while running to the bathroom.
"Well, I think your cake is delicious," said Niseko as she helped herself to Ranma and Ukyo's slices. After all, they didn't seem too want it.
Ranma, Akane and Ukyo walked in minutes later to see Niseko helping herself to another slice of cake.
Ranma muttered, "She's not human."
"Shut up, Ranma," said Akane who was happy that at least one person liked her cooking.
Nabiki, having heard all the commotion downstairs, decided that she was happy that she stayed out this one. Then she prayed that Niseko would take the cake with her so Akane would not ask her to try it.
After Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo had recovered, they sat around the TV watching a commercial for the singer they were going to see.
"I'm gunna go get ready for the concert. I'll be back in a little while," said Niseko before leaving.
However when she opened the door, Niseko was greeted by the sight of two beaten animals.
"What happened to you poor little things," she said while scooping up a duck and a pink cat.
"What's going on," asked Akane. Then she noticed Mousse and Shampoo. "Ranma, get some hot water quick."
A minute later, Mousse and Shampoo were human again.
"Wow, Ranma's not the only one," said Niseko.
Ukyo sighed, "Nope. Jusenkyo curses are pretty common around here."
Ranma quickly got the conversation back on track, "What happened to you two?"
Mousse spoke first, "We were ambushed by Pantyhose Taro in his cursed form."
"He use tentacles to toss us over side of bridge and into river," said Shampoo.
"Who or what is Pantyhose Taro," asked Niseko.
"A Jusenkyo victim who generally comes down here only when he wants something," replied Akane.
"And he got what he wanted too," said Mousse.
"Mousse and Shampoo tried to fight back but he took morphers," said Shampoo.
Shampoo suddenly realized what she said and saw the confused looks of the extra company.
"What are morphers?" asked Ukyo.
"Nothing to be concerned about," said Ranma, trying to change the subject.
Akane quickly grabbed Ukyo and Niseko, "Why don't we leave them alone. Maybe you guys can help me pick out something cute to wear for the concert."
When Akane finally dragged Ukyo and Niseko out, Ranma asked, "Why would Pantyhose Taro want the morphers and how did he even know you guys had them to begin with?"
Mousse looked over at the TV, "I think he may have seen this news report about us. The report showed several shots of the megazord and named Nerima. I guess he thought we had something to do with it. After all, we do seem to get wrapped up in a lot of strange stuff like that."
"But how he know about morphers," said Shampoo.
"I don't know," replied Mousse, "But he could be on his way here now."
Then a bucket of cold water suddenly splashed on Ranma.
"Hello, cross dresser," laughed Taro.
"What do you want Pantyhose Taro?" shouted Ranma.
Instantly, Taro's fist collided with Ranma's head, "Don't call me that name."
Ranma then returned Taro's punch with one of her own, "Then stop calling me cross dresser, Pantyhose Taro."
"Anyway, I'm here because I have a strong feeling that you may have something that looks like this," said Taro before tossing the picture of a morpher at Ranma.
"Never seen it before," said Ranma.
"You shouldn't lie,"
Unfortunately, Ryoga popping up from the floorboards shouting, "Where am I", distracted Ranma?
Once Ranma was distracted, Taro uses the opportunity to jump into the Tendo's pond.
"What is that," shouted Niseko.
Akane and Ukyo looked over to see her looking out the window and staring at a giant bull monster.
"Not good," said Akane. Quickly, she ran out of her room followed by Ukyo and Niseko.
The moment Akane got outside she shouted, "Ranma, get him away from the house."
"I'm on it," said Ranma.
Ranma grabbed her morpher from her pocket, waved it in front of Taro's face, and ran towards the front gate shouting, "Hey pantyhose freak, try and catch me."
Then Ranma darted off, well aware that Taro was only inches behind her.
"Come on, we have to help him," shouted Akane as she took off after Taro and Ranma, making sure to grab several kettles of hot water. Ryoga, Mousse, Shampoo, and Ukyo soon followed her. Even Niseko was slowly running behind them shouting, "Wait up, I'm a ninja master like you guys."
Ranma eventually stopped at a bunch of abandoned warehouses. He still didn't know how Taro knew about the morphers but he was about to find out.
Ranma leaped to the roof of one of the warehouses only to find Carmilla waiting for him.
"Nice to see you again," said Carmilla.
"What do you want," said Ranma.
"I just came to see how you all are getting along with my new friend."
"You told him about us didn't you?"
"I only told him what to look for. He found you all on his own. He just wants the morphers so he can have your little megazord. Something about ruling the world."
"And you were all too happy to give him the information weren't you."
Carmilla noticed that Taro was right behind Ranma now.
"It looks like chatting time is over. My master has however asked me to make things more interesting."
Then Carmilla held out what looked like a marble with black fog swirling around inside of it. She tossed it towards Taro and it shattered on his chest.
Taro suddenly felt so much stronger. Nothing was going to stand in his way of getting the morphers.
"What did you do?" shouted Ranma.
"So sorry but I have to go now. Hope we can chat again soon," laughed Carmilla as she flew off.
Ranma just barely escaped Taro's fist as the pounded on the roof. He flipped backwards and gathered a large amount of ki in his hands.
"Moko Takabisha," shouted Ranma.
The blast of ki hit Taro but to Ranma's shock, he didn't even stagger an inch.
Ranma leaped forward and punched Taro as hard as he could in the face. Again, Taro didn't flinch.
"Not good," said Ranma.
Suddenly, a kettle flew over Ranma's head. It looked as though it were going to hit Taro but, Taro quickly knocked it away with one of his tentacles.
Ranma sighed in relief when he saw that it was Akane who threw the kettle. The moment she arrived with the others, Ranma yelled, "He's had an upgrade, I can't even hurt him."
"Then step aside," shouted Ryoga as tossed his umbrella like a spear towards Taro.
Taro quickly grabbed the umbrella in midair with a tentacle and tossed it aside. Taro then pounded the roof with his fist, causing a shockwave that sent them flying.
Niseko, who had just caught up with them and saw them get tossed off the roof said, "Are you guys alright."
"We just fine," said Shampoo.
"This is nothing new," said Mousse.
"We just have to step things up," said Ranma as he grabbed his morpher.
"Ranma, you can't do that with Ukyo and Niseko around," said Akane.
Taro was starting to head towards them and Ryoga said, "I don't think we have much choice."
"We'll worry about Ukyo and Niseko later," said Ranma.
Akane looked over at the two, then Ranma, and nodded.
"Shampoo, Mousse, stay back and be ready to jump in once we get your morphers back," said Ranma
"Be careful Ranma," said Shampoo.
Ukyo and Niseko were amazed by what happed next.
"We need Sheng Xiao power NOW"
Ukyo fell to her knees after seeing her friends transform. How could they keep a secret like this from her?
Niseko on the other hand, ran towards the rangers and was asking as many questions as she could.
"How did you get these powers? What does it feel like to transform? Can anyone use those morphers?"
However, suddenly, Ukyo and Niseko were knocked out by Shampoo.
"This getting complicated," said Shampoo as Mousse handed her a bottle of shampoo with the numbers '411' written on it.
Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane simply shrugged and then charged towards Pantyhose Taro.
Akane leaped into a flying kick and Ryoga followed her, swinging his umbrella.
Being that Taro was a large target, Akane and Ryoga's attacks easily connected. Unfortunately, that is exactly what Taro wanted. The moment they got close, Taro grabbed the two with tentacles and slammed them onto the ground.
Taro raised them up to slam them down again but Ranma quickly leaped forward and sliced the tentacles with her sword.
"We need a plan. Even when he was normal, it took a lot to beat his monster form," said Akane.
"I think I have a plan," said Ranma.
"What is it?" asked Ryoga.
"We get him to knock himself out."
"How are we supposed to do that Ranma," yelled Ryoga.
"I haven't quite figured that part out yet," said Ranma.
"I'm on it," said Akane.
Akane ran forward, summoning her hammer while Ranma yelled, "Why do you always have to rush into things you tomboy?"
Akane, while slightly insulted, decided she would hurt Ranma later for his comment. At the moment, she was busy knocking away and dodging Taro's tentacles. Then suddenly, one of the the tentacles shot a stream of black ink onto Akane's helmet, blinding her.
Then Akane felt one of Taro's tentacles wrapping around her wrist and begin to tug. Too late, she realized that Taro was going for her morpher. Akane's struggling only made it easier for Taro to finally take the morpher off her wrist.
Akane suddenly felt drained when yellow sparks swirled around her suit as she was forcibly powered down. Then next thing she knew, she was being swatted away by Taro.
Ryoga and Ranma rushed forward, to help her but Ryoga was once again ensnared by the tentacles and Ranma was swatted away by Taro's large fist.
Luckily, Mousse was there to catch Akane.
"Thanks Mousse," said Akane.
Meanwhile Ranma had recovered from Taro's attack shouting, "Hey Pantyhose Taro, why don't you fight like a man?"
Naturally, hearing his name made Pantyhose Taro even angrier. He charged forward attempting to smash the red ranger flat with his fist.
"Ha ha, you can't catch me," laughed Ranma.
"Ranma quit playing around," shouted Ryoga as he was trying to get out of Taro's tentacles. Ryoga then felt one of the tentacles pulling at his wrist.
"Oh no you don't," he shouted, while punching the tentacle away.
A second later Ranma sliced through the tentacles holding him with her sword.
Once Ryoga was free, he and Ranma stood next to each other, each gathering their ki. They looked into each other's eyes and nodded.
"Won't these attacks cancel each other out?" questioned Ryoga.
"If they don't connect with each other, they should be fine," said Ranma.
"And how do you plan on them not connecting with each other?"
Suddenly, Ranma jumped on top of Ryoga's shoulders and leaped into the air, passing over Taro's head.
As soon as they had gathered enough ki, they each shouted, "Shishi Hokodan/Moko Takabisha"
Gravel and various other debris rose off the ground from the force of the combined attacks.
"I think they got him," said Shampoo triumphantly.
"Of course they got him. Nothing could have withstood that attack," said Akane.
"No wait, look," said Mousse.
Akane, Mousse, and Shampoo looked over to see the dust settling around a very worn out Taro. Though the attacks did there damage, he was still standing.
However, they did notice something. Black fog was flowing out of his mouth.
"Hmm, I guess the fog's power must have worn off," said a familiar voice.
Ranma and Ryoga looked over to see Carmilla causally sitting down, watching them.
When she noticed them staring she said, "Did you really think I was going to miss the fight. However, I really hoped that brute would get the job done faster. I really don't like to get my hands dirty."
"What's that supposed to mean," said Ryoga.
Carmilla suddenly leaped up with a black aura glowing from her hands.
"Shadow snare," she shouted as ribbons of dark energy shot out from her hands and wrapped around Ranma and Ryoga's shadows.
"What's going on?" shouted Ranma.
"I can't move," said Ryoga
"Now, your morphers are his for the taking," laughed Carmilla.
Taro slowly walked forward, taking pleasure in watching Ranma and Ryoga struggle to get free from Carmilla's attack. He easily got his tentacles around their morphers and took them off their wrist.
Carmilla called of her attack as soon as Ranma and Ryoga demorphed. She casually walked over to Ranma laughing, "You know, you're kind of cute without your helmet."
Then as Carmilla was distracted, she was hit by two flying kicks.
"Bat lady should stay away from husband," said Shampoo with an equally mad Akane right next to her.
Carmilla saw the look of anger and jealousy on the girls faces and said, "Come now, I was only joking. Besides, I'm not the one you should be worrying about."
Carmilla then took to the air as Taro came charging forward.
Taro was about to charge into them until large chains wrapped around his waist and he was slowed down.
"I can't hold him much longer," shouted Mousse.
"Ryoga, help Mouse," shouted Ranma.
Ryoga ran towards Taro, stopping right in front of him. He pointed both of his fingers to the ground in front of Taro and Shouted, "Bakusai Tenketsu."
The ground beneath Taro gave way, causing him to trip and fall on his face.
"Mousse, get his wings tied," said Ranma.
But Mousse was too late. Taro started flapping his wings and began to fly.
All Mousse could do was wrap another chain around Taro and hold on tight as Taro took the sky. Mousse suddenly felt something pulling at his leg. He looked down to see a chain of his friends. Ranma was holding onto his leg. Akane was holding onto Ranma, Shampoo was holding onto Akane, and Ryoga was holding onto Shampoo.
The five of them dangled from Taro like the tale of a kite.
Taro was desperately trying to shake them off, flying up, down, and every other direction he could think of.
"Shampoo, toss Ryoga up," said Ranma.
Shampoo reached her hand down and grabbed Ryoga. Then with all her might, she tossed Ryoga up. He was caught by Ranma, who tossed him up onto Taro's back.
"Ryoga, get ready to catch Shampoo," said Ranma.
They kept tossing each other up until all five of them were on Taro's back.
"Ok, just like the last time we were on his back like this," said Ranma.
The other four nodded and they each made their way towards Taro's shoulders. Then with what little strength they had left, the five of them punched Taro all at once in the back of the head.
"Uh oh," said Ranma
"What's wrong?" asked Akane.
"I just remembered what happened the last time we did this."
Suddenly Taro started to swerve wildly. He was dizzy from the punches and began to fall towards the ground.
"Any more great idea's Ranma," said Mousse.
"I'm open to suggestion," said Ranma.
"How about we just jump off you morons," shouted Akane.
As Taro crashed down on the pavement below, the five martial artists landed safely next to him.
"Hey Mousse, I don't suppose you have some hot water in those robes of yours?" asked Ranma.
"Always," said Mousse while pulling out a thermos.
A minute later, Pantyhose Taro was back to his human form.
"This isn't over," he groaned.
Then Taro jumped to his feet and placed each of the stolen morphers on his arms. Ranma and the others tried to catch him but Taro avoided each of them.
"Let's see if you can face your own war machine," he laughed. Then Taro pressed the buttons on all five morphers.
Light erupted from the morphers and surrounded Taro.
"What's happening," said Akane.
"Whatever it is, it's not going to be good," said Mousse.
Then sparks started flying from the morphers and they started to shock Taro.
"I think he have power overload," said Shampoo.
Taro then tore the moprhers off his arms and tossed them to the ground.
"You freaks can keep these defective things," said Taro. Taro barley walked five steps before passing out from the shocks.
"Hmm, I guess the moprhers weren't meant to be used like that. The dark warrior will be so disappointed when I tell him," said Carmilla.
Ranma quickly grabbed his morpher and put it on, as did the others. They stood together, ready for another fight.
"Now now, there's no need for violence. I just wanted to see the outcome of the fight," laughed Carmilla. Then she took to the air laughing, "Until next time rangers."
"I think I hate her," said Akane.
"What's going on over here? I see you guys beat up Pantyhose Taro without me," said Ukyo as she walked up with Niseko.
"Hey Ukyo, what happened to you and Niseko?" asked Akane.
"I don't remember. One minute we were fighting Taro and then nothing. But my head does feel strangely refreshed," said Ukyo.
"And from what I can tell, it must have been a good fight. Darn, I miss everything good," said Niseko.
Akane laughed, "Come on guys. We have a concert to get ready for."
With that, they walked off, leaving Taro passed out on the ground.
The concert was packed that night. Ranma, Akane, and the others were squished together and they could feel themselves being squished further. The singer spoke little Japanese but luckily, there were large TV screens above the stage. As the singer spoke and sang, the Japanese translations appeared on the screens. The singer started playing her guitar while talking into the microphone, "It's so cool that I have so many fans across the globe. My next song is from my first album. I wrote it while I was still in high school."
"I can't tell you why
But I can't stop thinking about you baby
Oh yeah
Don't you think it's time
I walked around every word you're saying
Oh yeah (yeah)
Trying hard to figure out
Tell me what it's all about
Cuz I don't want to freak you out
Freak you out
Freak you out"
The singer had long wavy blond hair. She was dressed casually. She wore a short sleeve yellow shirt with a pair of fishnet gloves, a pair of tan cargo pants and a pair of army boots. She also wore a little black eyeliner, giving her a gothic look.
"You know I normally don't care for American music but this girl isn't bad," said Ukyo.
"Yeah, I can see why it's standing room only at this point," said Mousse.
Akane looked over at Shampoo who was purposely squished next to Ranma, with Ukyo making her way towards Ranma as well. Even with the distractions, Ranma could feel her glaring in his direction.
Luckily, Mousse pushed himself in the middle of Ranma and Shampoo. Then Niseko pulled Ukyo away, saying how she wanted to get closer to the stage.
Since Ukyo and Shampoo were distracted, Ranma took the opportunity to make himself scarce. In the end, concerts weren't really for him.
Ryoga witnessed the whole ordeal and rolled his eyes. There was only one thing he could do. Ryoga reached into his pack and pulled out a bottle of water.
Ranma's extra sense suddenly sparked and even with all the noise from the concert, he heard Akane cry, "P-Chan, What are you doing here?"
Ranma walked over to Akane with a very annoyed look on his face. He thought Ryoga was done with being P-Chan once he met Akari.
Ranma quickly snatched P-Chan away from Akane at tossed him inot the crowd. Luckily, Niseko caught him. She didn't know what a black piglet was doing at a concert but didn't really care. She simply decided to hold the pig until she could figure out what to do with it once the concert was over.
"Ranma, why did you do that?" yelled Akane.
"Don't get so mad. You know he'll probably be back in a few days," laughed Ranma.
"You are such a jerk,"
Akane turned around to walk away from Ranma but someone backed up into her, causing her to fall back.
She braced herself for impact but none came. Akane found herself being held up by Ranma.
"Need a little help Tomboy," said Ranma as he picked up back onto her feet.
As the singer finished her song, Akane could feel Ranma put his arm around her shoulders. She looked around to see Niseko holding P-Chan, while dancing with Ukyo. Then she saw Mousse and Shampoo dacning together, which was incredibly strange for them. In the end, she was thankful for the little bit of peace that came with that night.
After the song ended, the singer spoke again, "I've had so much fun tonight. Thank you all for coming. My last song tonight is a little different from what I'm used to playing. But I wanted to do it because I saw a news report about group of heroes, and this song is dedicated to them. It was written some years ago by an old teacher of mine and his friends."
"They've got a power and a force
that you've never seen before.
They've got the ability to morph
and to even up the score.
No one can ever take them down
the power lies on their siiiide.
Go Go Power Rangers
Go Go Power Rangers
Go Go Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin' Sheng Xiao Rangers"
The five rangers in the audience looked up at the stage. They couldn't explain why but they had a strong sense of camaraderie with the singer.
Taro sulked as he walked through the streets of Japan, humiliated by his latest defeat.
"I swear, I'll make you pay for this one day Cross-dresser," he said.
Then he heard a voice coming from behind him. Taro turned around to see a dark hooded figure. The figure said, "My servant told me you failed in the mission we set up for you. I was disappointed at first but those rangers are quite a pain."
"I'm not in the mood to talk. Get away from me before I get mad," growled Taro.
"I'm just saying that while you did fail, I was impressed by your strength. I could use someone like you in my army. I get sick of being with birds all day."
"Not interested"
"I wasn't asking."
Taro had enough. He charged the figure, lashing out with his fist. The figure dodged the first to punches missed and Taro followed up with a kick that connected.
However, within the blink of an eye, the figure was gone, leaving only a hooded robe wrapped around Taro's leg.
Then Taro felt a sharp pain on his back and everything went dark.
The figure stood in front of Taro, holding a sword and laughing to himself. A black fog flowed from the blade and wrapped around Taro.
"You are now my slave and you will obey any order I give you"
Taro then got up from the ground only to bow back down, "Yes lord Kage."