Ranma just got finished his training of beating down several bird warriors. All five of them spread across the room pretending to be unconscious so as not to have to fight Ranma anymore.

"Ranma, lunch," called Megumi.

Ranma grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead and went to the castle dining room.

As Megumi placed a big plate of ramen in front of Ranma, Taro, Koruma and Masara looked at her.

"Where's ours," asked Koruma.

"I'm not your cook. Make your own lunch," said Megumi

"Why is she so nice to you cross dresser," asked Taro.

Ranma said nothing, not even to insult Taro back. He just ate as Megumi sat next to him with her own bowl of noodles. Keima walked in shortly after.

"Hey Keima, could you cook us lunch," asked Masara. Keima responded by slamming her boot into Masaras' face

Then Saffron walked in, "Ranma, the master summons you."

"Tell him I'll be there after I'm finished," said Ranma.

Everyone in the room winced as Saffron instantly appeared behind Ranma.

"You will come when the master calls," shouted Saffron.

Ranma smiled, "I guess that's what a good dog would do right?"

The heat in the room was increasing, literally. Megumi instantly got behind Ranma while the others quickly got out of the room.

"I destroyed you once, I'll do it again," said Ranma.

"Just calm down you two. Kage will be even madder if you destroy the palace in a fight," warned Megumi.

Begrudgingly, Saffron and Ranma backed down.

Saffron turned to leave, "You have five minutes."

As Ranma and Megumi sat back down, Megumi commented, "You'll never make any friends like that."

"Whatever," said Ranma.

"Is something wrong? You're normally a little more happy go lucky," said Megumi.

"I'm fine. I just don't like being in a place full of people who used to want me gone. You're ramen is good by the way."

"I just boil the water. The rest comes from a package," laughed Megumi.

There was a pause between them until Megumi said, "I'm really glad you're here."

Ranma smiled at her, "I'm glad that I at least have you for a friend."

Megumi blushed as Ranma got up, "Well I guess I'll go see what our fearless leader wants."

The Cat Café was anything but quiet that afternoon.

"What we going to do great grandmother," asked Shampoo

"Ranma wiped the floor with all of us," said Mousse.

"He was faster than I've ever seen him. His attacks were like meteors," said Ryoga.

"This is a problem. Son-in-law was strong before but now his abilities have been amplified by the dark warriors' powers. I'm truly at a loss of what to do," said Cologne.

"What are we going to do when he comes back," asked Mousse.

Akane who had been staring blankly at nothing spoke up, "We'll fight him. Ranma didn't pull any punches against ANY of us. There's no telling what kind of harm he'll do if we don't stop him. If we have to use force to bring him back then so be it."

"So we just wait around until then," asked Shampoo.

"Unless you can think of something better," said Akane.

Ukyo came down the stairs holding one of Cologne's books.

"What can you tell me about this mask," asked Ukyo as she pointed to a mask that was an exact match for Ranma's black helmet.

Cologne looked at the mask and began reading the Chinese script, "Little is known about the mask of the void. It may have been created from pure darkness. The mask brings out the inner malice of whoever wears it. However, as long as the wearer has it, they are granted vast amounts of power and the means to control it."

"So Ranchan became evil because it was in his heart," said Ukyo.

"Yes, the potential for evil was in Son-in-law's heart but no more than it is in mine or yours," said Cologne

"His morpher flashed before he was taken over," commented Ryoga.

"Son-in-law's morpher could be the only thing protecting him from the darkness in his own heart," said Cologne.

"So there is a chance we can get him back," said Akane.

"Still, beating Ranma was a challenge before. I can only imagine what he's going to be like now," said Mousse.

There was an awkward silence as the rangers acknowledged Mousse's words.

Akane got up, "I'm going home. I need to make up an excuse about Ranma's whereabouts."

"I'm not doing anything, I'll come with," said Ukyo.

"So what are you going to tell your family?" asked Ukyo.

"Ranma decided to take a training trip by himself. It should buy us at least a week," said Akane.

Then Ukyo moved closer to Akane, "So what has been going on with you and my fiancé lately. You two don't seem to fight as much and have even been seen holding hands."

"Where did you hear that," asked Akane.

"Nabiki, where else. And don't forget that day Shampoo and I found Ranma sleeping on your lap"

Akane's face turned bright red. She had to counter, "What about you? I've heard that you've been going on dates with Konatsu."

"They weren't dates. It was just two friends going to the movies. Where did you get the idea they were dates?" Ukyo was heavily blushing at this point.

"Nabiki of course. It seems strange that you would go on a date with another guy when you're engaged to Ranma"

The two girls where about start a fight when they suddenly stopped at a familiar location. The bridge with Ranma's fence.

"It's strange not seeing him up there," said Ukyo.

Akane nodded. The space felt very empty without him

The two girls could almost picture Ranma running along the fence. Then a second later, he did.

"Ranma," said Akane as he ran by.

Ranma didn't stop or slow down. He just kept running, knowing the two would follow him. And that's exactly what they did.

"Ranchan wait," called Ukyo

Ranma leaped over cars and rooftops with the girls trying there hardest to keep up with him. He would let them near every so often only to jump away and get ahead of them once more.

"He's too fast," said Akane.

Then Ranma disappeared into the park.

In the thickness of the tree branches, Akane and Ukyo lost him.

"Ranchan," called Ukyo.

But the answer she received wasn't the one she wanted. From out of the trees leaped several bird warriors.

"Bad timing guys," yelled Akane.

Suddenly, Akane felt a hand grab her shoulder from behind. In response, she grabbed the hand and swung the bird warrior it was attached to into a lamppost.

Ukyo raised her spatula to shield herself from a punch from a bird warrior. Then she back flipped away and tossed several of her mini spatulas at the warrior, dispatching him.

Akane quickly leaped up into the air to escape two more warriors. When she landed, the warriors came after her only to both be hit and knocked out with a single roundhouse kick.

"Akane get behind me," said Ukyo.

Akane punched away the current warrior she was fighting and got behind Ukyo.

"Hope you guys like tempura flakes," said Ukyo ash she tossed a bucket of her tempura flakes mixed with gunpowder, clouding the area.

Suddenly, the flakes began to pop, eventually creating many explosive flashes which stunned the bird warriors.

In their confusion, Akane and Ukyo charged the warriors, knocking each of them out with punches, kicks, and spatulas until each of them were lying unconscious on the ground.

"Is that all of them," asked Akane.

"I think so," said Ukyo.

Suddenly, a bird warrior leaped from behind a bush. Akane and Ukyo didn't have time to react and could only brace themselves for his attack. Then suddenly, the warrior was knocked into a tree.

Akane and Ukyo looked up to see Tatewaki standing with his bokken drawn.

"No need to thank me fair maidens. I was only out for a stroll when I saw you two being attack by that fiend," said Tatewaki.

"Thanks Kuno," said Ukyo.

"Are you injured in anyway?" asked Tatewaki.

"No we're fine," said Ukyo.

"Ranma's gone. He knew we were going to follow him," said Akane.

Tatwaki readied his bokken once more, "The demon Saotome was here. I shall smite him for his betrayal. There is no escape from the wrath of Tatewaki Kuno."

"Shut it," yelled Akane. "Ranma is not a demon. And like it or not, you're going to help us get him back."

"I see Ranma's demonic powers hold control over the fair Akane Tendo's mind. The sooner I destroy Saotome, the sooner she will return to being her radiant self," exclaimed Tatewaki

Akane and Ukyo had all they could take at that point. The two of them simultaneously kicked Tatewaki into the horizon as hard they could.

Meanwhile, Ranma stood on the roof of a building with Megumi.

"So why did Kage have me lead them into an ambush just so his worthless warriors could attack them. Even Kuno can beat those clowns, what chance did they really have," said Ranma.

"He wanted me to harness the negative energy from their disappointment, frustration and anger," said Megumi.

"All this just for that sword. What's so special about that thing anyway?"

"Don't know. He doesn't trust me with his ultimate plan. All I do is gather the energy to feed the thing."

Then Megumi took his hand, "So since we're already here, do you wanna go get some ice cream?"

Ranma instantly changed into a girl, "That sounds like fun."

"I see the power of the mask has many benefits," said Megumi. Going somewhere alone with Ranma was a dream come true. Of course, in that dream, Ranma was guy but Megumi wasn't about to nitpick.

"Better than nothing," said Megumi as she took Ranma's hand.

Then the two ran off to find an ice cream shop.

"I don't see why we need a demon when we have Ranma," said Koruma.

"Yeah, he was the only one to take down the rangers without even breaking a sweat," said Masara.

"The idiots have a point. I don't know why you didn't just order Ranma to destroy the rangers when you had the chance," said Keima

The dark warrior ignored them as he opened the portal. Soon, a demon wearing a violet suit walked out. Its head and hands had a green leafy appearance and its eyes were bright red. When it spoke, its voice was feminine, "Hydrax at your service."

The dark warrior spoke, "My worthless servants, to answer your questions, I need Ranma to cause the rangers never-ending pain and anguish. Betrayal and all the negative feelings that follow it garner strongest of dark energies. I only need this demon to help keep the rangers distracted so Ranma can continue his job without any interruptions. And should Hydrax succeed in destroying any of them, it will only serve to bring more hopelessness to their situation."

"And I'm all too happy to oblige," said Hydrax.

"What about Megumi?" said Taro

Kage shrugged, "The less she knows, the better. Having Ranma here is keeping her quiet for now. But her loyalty is beginning to become an issue."

"I say we destroy the witch now," said Keima.

"Since when do I care what you think," said Kage.

Then the magic mirror showed Megumi and Ranma sharing a parfait. Not a care in the world.

Kage spoke, "Besides, if we destroy her, it could potentially set off Ranma and I don't want him gone just yet. Hydrax, you know your mission, go down and join them."

Hydrax nodded and jumped through the magic mirror.

Saffron spoke up, "It's almost too cruel to let Megumi think Ranma switched sides willingly."

"And that you gave him a mask simply as a sign of good faith," added Taro.

"And since when was I ever accused of kindness?" asked Kage.

"Ranma, why did you decide to switch sides? Not that I'm complaining but I thought you and Akane were all lovey dovey," asked Megumi.

Ranma shrugged, "I decided I was done with the whole good guy thing."

"You mean good girl thing," laughed Megumi.

Ranma glared at her, "I may have a girl's body right now but I'm guy. As I was saying, being a good GUY is a thankless job and it leaves me with nothing but angry fiancés, Chinese curses, and too many bruises and scars to count. Just as well, I never really cared about Akane or any of my other fiancés for that matter. It was never my choice to get engaged to any of them."

"Still, I never took you for the type to want to rule the world. At the most I always saw you as the type to become a lone wanderer, fighting for whoever paid the most."

"Well, when the boss eventually rules the world, I figured it'd be good to take his side and not have to worry about my own skin when everything eventually burns."

Then Ranma looked into her eyes, "Plus, the company is significantly better than at the Tendo house."

Megumi knew she was blushing but didn't care. Then they were joined by a woman who quickly took the seat next to Ranma. She received an angry glair for Megumi for her boldness. The woman was a brunette and wore a blue dress with pink flowers on it. She appeared sweet but Megumi could see the darkness behind her human eyes.

"What did he send a demon for? We don't need help?"

The woman smiled, "He thinks differently. I'm here to make sure you gather as much negative energy as possible. The name's Hydrax.

"Well then let's get started," said Ranma as she shifted from girl to boy. "Megumi, I think it's time our date got a little more exciting."

"I think I'm going to like where this is going," said Megumi.

Hydrax's human form melted away revealing her demon form.

"I thought I smelled cabbage," said Megumi in regards to Hydrax's leaves.

Ranma pressed the button to morph, "Sheng Xiao, Power UP!"

A dark light erupted from Ranma's morpher and consumed his body. Once it faded, Megumi saw that the light had transformed Ranma into his black ranger suit.

"I'll never get uses to how awesome you look in that suit," said Megumi.

The next thing they knew, everyone was running and screaming. The three exited ice cream parlor and slowly walked into the street. Megumi began to concentrate on collecting the people's fear, while Ranma and Hydrax began destroying anything in sight. Ranma picked up an abandoned car and lifted it above his head.

"Batter up," yelled Ranma as he tossed the car towards Hydrax.

Hydrax didn't even flinch as the car came towards her. She calmly thrust out her and made a swiping motion towards the car. Instantly, the car was sliced in half down the middle and fell apart before it even touched Hydrax.

"What kind of move was that," asked Megumi.

"It was nothing, just ordinary water. I can fire it from my hands at a very high pressure to slice through anything," said Hydrax.

"We could have a lot of fun with that," said Ranma.

Ryoga, Mousse, and Shampoo had excused themselves to the back for a sparring session to get their minds off the situation.

Mousse had just pinned Shampoo to a tree with several knives and then he turned his attention to Ryoga. Mousse had Ryogas' arms wrapped in chains and was trying to swing him into the air. Just as he had Ryoga lifted off the ground.

Suddenly, his glasses were snatched off his face, distracting and effectively blinding him.

"Loose something," laughed Shampoo as she delivered a snap kick to Mousse's shoulder, knocking him over.

Then Shampoo grabbed Mousse and tossed him into Ryoga who couldn't dodge with Mousse's chains still wrapped around him.

"Cheap tactic. That's the kind of thing I'd expect from Ranma," complained Mousse.

"It's the kind of thing you should expect from Ranma when we see him again," said Ryoga as he recovered.

"At least he can't remove glasses when you are in ranger form," said Shampoo.

"Or tie you up with your own chains," said Ryoga.

Mousse looked back to find that Ryoga had grabbed his chains and had lassoed both him and Shampoo together before they could move.

Then Ryoga used his breaking point technique to dig a hole and buried Shampoo and Mousse up the neck.

"Looks like I win," laughed Ryoga.

"You just got lucky," said Shampoo.

"When we get out of here, we'll make you eat those words," said Mousse.

"If you're going to be sore losers, I'll just leave you in there. With as much time as you two spend together, I doubt you'll mind," laughed Ryoga.

Mousse blushed while Shampoo angrily yelled, "Shampoo belongs only to Ranma," while trying to kick Mousse through the dirt.

"When you can say that without blushing, I'll believe you," said Ryoga.

Shampoo quickly turned her head away to avoid look at Mousse.

Then Akane appeared with Ukyo and Tatewaki.

"The demon Saotome has gathered his comrades and they are attacking the city," said Tatewaki before Akane and Ukyo smacked the back of his head.

"We keep telling you, Ranchan is not a demon, he's one of us," yelled Ukyo.

"Ryoga, dig those two up, we have to go now," said Akane.

"What about the others?" asked Mousse as Ryoga lifted him out of the ground.

"My twisted sister is at a gymnastics competition. Saotome's betrayal has made her most melancholy so she was glad to get away for a while," said Tatwaki

"Kasumi told me that Dr. Tofu was going to be at a medical conference," said Akane.

"Konatsu's running the restaurant. We can call him if we need backup," said Ukyo.

"It matters not, I have more than enough strength to defeat Saotome when we face him," said Tatewaki.

The six rangers then gathered together with their morphers drawn, "Sheng Xiao, Power UP!"

"Ranma stop," called Akane as the rangers arrived.

Ranma calmly turned around with Megumi and Hydrax.

"Megumi get ready to start collecting the energy for the dark warrior. We'll handle them," said Ranma.

"I'll just be out of your way. Be careful," said Megumi as she ran off.

"Aren't I always," said Ranma.

Once Megumi was out of sight, Ranma and Hydrax charged the rangers.

Ukyo quickly leaped up onto Tateawaki's shoulders and then jumped once more to deliver a powerful kick to Hydrax.

"En garde demon," yelled Tatewaki as he summoned his katana.

Once Hydrax Recovered, she hit both Tatewaki and Ukyo with her water pressure attack.

"Don't take me lightly rangers," said Hydrax.

"I could say the same to you," said Ukyo as she summoned her spatula.

Hydrax then charged the two rangers. She wildly threw her pressurized water at them.

"Quick, get behind the car," yelled Ukyo as she grabbed Tatewaki and ran for cover.

As the got behind the car, a stream of water sliced right down the middle of it.

"Anymore bright ideas?" said Tatewaki.

"I don't see you coming up with anything," said Ukyo.

Then Hydrax walked over and tossed the pieces of the car out of the way. However, the rangers were not there.

Then from her left side, she was slashed with the crimson rangers' katana. From her right, she was smashed into the white rangers' spatula.

Hydrax quickly leaped away to think of a counter.

Akane, Ryoga, Mousse and Shampoo surrounded Ranma, each of them had their weapons drawn.

Mousse was the first to attack by leaping into a jump kick.

"You're mine Ranma," yelled Mousse.

Ranma quickly ducked under the kick and once he got up, he slashed Mousse's back with his spear.

"Too slow," said Ranma before turning his attention to Akane and Shampoo.

Akane and Shampoo each swung their weapons at Ranma who used his spear to block both of their attacks. Ranma then pushed them away, jump into the air and kicked both of them away.

However, Akane was quick to recover. She swung her hammer at Ranma only to have him easily deflect it with his spear.

"Still letting your emotions get the best of you I see," said Ranma.

"Coming from the person who can never stand to lose," replied Akane.

As Akane went in for a strike, Ranma quickly moved to the side and knocked her away with a roundhouse kick.

Ryoga was next to attack by swinging his umbrella at Ranma.

"You could never beat me before, and you can't beat me now Ryoga," laughed Ranma

"You always did have a big head Ranma," yelled Ryoga as he charged.

Ryoga swung his umbrella again only to hit air. Then Ranma came down from above, slashing Ryoga's shoulders with a sword.

It was then that the rangers noticed Ranma had somehow changed forms without water.

"Feel the power of darkness," shouted Ranma.

Ranma's dark aura began to flood the area as she gathered energy. Hydrax reappeared next to her.

"Let's finish them now," said Hydrax.

"Those weren't our orders," said Ranma.

"The dark warrior said I could destroy them," said Hydrax.

"And I think your usefulness has run out. You couldn't even handle two rangers."

"What are you saying?"

Hydrax began backing away from Ranma.

"SHI SHI HOKODAN" shouted Ranma as she destroyed Hydrax with a giant ki blast.

"I'm saying, I won't tolerate any weakness," said Ranma as the black dust that was once Hydrax scattered in the wind.

As Ranma turned her attention back to the rangers, she heard the call of, "Pigtailed girl. Don't tell me that the demon Saotome has enslaved you. Fear not, I shall save you."

As Tatewaki ran to embrace her, Ranma's aura began to pulsate and blast the crimson ranger away.

"Give me a break," sighed Ranma.

Then Ranma felt Mousse's nunchucks wrap around her and pull tight.

"Get her Ryoga," shouted Mousse.

Ryoga gathered his ki and fired a, "Shi Shi Hokodan" at Ranma.

Ranma didn't even try to move and let the blast hit her. Then she shifted forms and became a boy.

"Your Lion's roar won't work on me. It's powered by your depression which I can absorb into my own aura. Then Ranma burst free from Mousse's weapon and fired a wave of dark energy at Mousse and Ryoga. The blast sent them both flying into a recovering Tatewaki.

Shampoo and Ukyo quickly attacked next. Both throwing punches and kicks towards Ranma.

"You just don't know when to give up," said Ranma.

"Neither do you," said Shampoo.

"Please Ranchan, remove the mask and come back with us," said Ukyo.

"Leave the mask out of this. I'm the one in control of it. Just as well, I wouldn't come back with you two anyway. I'm not your possession or right. Being engaged to the both of you has caused me nothing but trouble. The darkness is the only thing I need in this world and I'll never leave it," said Ranma before kicking the pink and white rangers away.

Ukyo was the first to get back up, "Look at me Ranma, I love you. This isn't you. Please stop fighting"

"Shampoo loves you more. Don't let darkness corrupt your mind," said Shampoo.

Ranma looked past the ranger helmets and into the eyes of both girls. Both of them were trying to reach him with everything they had. Then Ranma felt the darkness inside him pulsate.

"Moko Takabisha," shouted Ranma as he blasted Shampoo and Ukyo away with a ki blast.

Ranma then turned to find Akane.

"I suppose you're going to try and sway me with some pathetic words of love," said Ranma.

"Why would I waste words on a pervert like you," said Akane.

"Uncute till the end," said Ranma.

Ranma and Akane charged each other, both dropping their weapons. The ground shook as both landed a punch on each other.

Ranma jumped back, "You've gotten better."

"I had a good teacher," said Akane.

"To bad you're still too slow for me," said Ranma as he became a she.

Then Ranma dashed around Akane before knocking her away with five kicks to her back.

As Akane got up, she noticed Ranma become a boy again. She grabbed her hammer and was about to attack again but she froze once Megumi appeared. Akane could do nothing as she watched Megumi walk over to Ranma with a sphere of dark energy in one hand.

"I think we're done for today," said Ranma.

"I think so too," said Megumi.

Then Ranma took Megumi's hand in his and the two happily disappeared through a mirror portal.

"Ukyo, what's wrong?" asked Konatsu.

Ukyo walked into her restaurant with a very blue expression. She didn't even bother to acknowledge Konatsu's presence with as much as a look.

"I couldn't reach him with my heart," said Ukyo as she sat down.

Konatsu saw tears begin to form in her eyes and instantly went to her.

"I really wish I knew what to say right now," said Kontsu.

"Then don't say anything," said Ukyo.

Konatsu was about to leave when Ukyo called, "Wait. Could you please just talk to me? It will help take my mind off things."

"Talk about what," asked Konatsu.

"Anything except Ranma."

"Alright. Um…Oh, I found the cutest dress on sale today."

"That's nice I guess."

"Yeah, I think it will look great on you."

"What?" asked Ukyo with her eyebrow raised.

"I wanted to shop for you since I noticed you don't wear much but your work and school uniforms."

Then Konatsu grabbed Ukyo's hand and pulled her up the stairs to her room to show her the cloths he bought for her. Konatsu could tell by her expression that Ukyo had at least for the moment forgotten about Ranma.

Mousse walked over to Shampoo who had been in a bad mood ever since the fight.

"What do you want," demanded Shampoo.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," said Mousse.

"Ranma is gone, how do you think Shampoo is doing," yelled Shampoo

Mousse looked at the expression on Shampoo's face. She was trying to push him away so he wouldn't see her true emotions. It almost killed him to say what he was about to but when you love someone, you tend to put their happiness first.

"Shampoo if it will put a smile back on your face then I swear I'll do everything I can to get Ranma back. Even if it kills me," said Mousse.

Mousse turned to leave when he felt a pair of arms embrace him from behind.

Shampoo buried her face into his back, "Stupid Mousse."

Akane and Tatewaki decided to walk Ryoga to his house.

"So what do we do now?" asked Ryoga.

"Ranma seems to have made it his mission to cause us misery. So I guarantee he'll be back. And we'll be waiting," said Akane.

"Yes, the day will soon come when Saotome faces the wrath of my blade. He will pay for his crimes against humanity and he will pay for enslaving the pigtailed girl," said Tatewaki.

Tatewaki then put an arm around Akane's shoulder, "Fear not my fair Akane. Your fearless leader is already forming a plan."

Both Akane and Ryoga then punched Tatewaki away.

"He is right about needing a plan though," said Ryoga as they left Tatewaki's unconscious body behind.

"Trust me, if I think of something, I'll let you know," said Akane.

"Do you think Megumi has any influence over him? They seemed to be awfully close today," said Ryoga

Then Ryoga flinched as Akane threw her fist out, destroying a brick wall. It was then that Ryoga decided to shut up.

Ranma was on the roof of the phoenix castle relaxing after the dark warrior had chewed him out over destroying Hydrax. Though he calmed down once Megumi handed him the large supply of dark energy they had collected.

Ranma felt a presence next to him that he was beginning to look forward to.

"So how bad was it?" asked Megumi.

"It was nothing. All he did was whine about not thinning our own ranks," said Ranma.

"It's amazing. Everyone else here would laugh with the dark warrior but you're the only one with the nerve to laugh at him. You're either the bravest person I've ever met or the dumbest."

"You'd be surprised how often I'm accused of both," said Ranma.

Megumi laughed and was about to leave when Ranma grabbed her arm.

"Don't leave just yet. Stay with me," said Ranma.

Megumi hesitated for only a second. Then once Ranma saw that she was going to stay, he pulled her into his arms.

"Ranma, what are you…"

Then Megumi saw fireworks and little cartoon hearts in her eyes as Ranma kissed her.

(Authors notes)

Well, that's part 2. Thanks for reading.

With school starting soon, I may not have the part 3 finale up for a while. So unfortunately, I'll have to ask you all not to kill me as you wait for it.

I borrowed Hydrax from PR: SPD.

Anyway please leave me some nice reviews and hopefully I'll have part 3 up ASAP.