It was like a scene from a trashy teen movie. Except that the two teens involved had a lingering aura of paranoia that at any moment they would be caught by other would be paramours. Other than that it was a boy and a girl sitting at a picnic table in the park, eating lunch and enjoying each other's company.
"Oh no, it's Shampoo," said Akane as she ducked her head down.
"Relax Akane. It's only a guy with long hair and a bad dye job." Said Ranma
"Sorry, it's just that I'm having such a nice time I feel like any minute now one of our friends is going to find us and ruin it."
"I know. But you have to admit that the thought of us being caught while on a secret date is kind of exciting."
Ranma then gave her one of his trade mark grins which she could help but return.
"Anyway where were we earlier? Oh that's right, you were going to tell me something about your childhood that I don't know," said Akane.
"Oh. When dad and I swam to China, I rode a shark for part of the way" said Ranma.
"Did you really?"
"Yeah, it tried to eat pop. How about you, what's something about you that I don't know?" laughed Ranma.
"Ok, I used to be a big fan of Sailor Moon."
"Who?"
"It was a kid's show when I was little. It was about a bunch of girls who were superheroes. Now it's my turn to ask a question."
"Ok, what do you want to know?"
"Ummm…." Then Akane smiled a little and before she could think, she asked, "Do you love me?"
Then Ranma paused and Akane instantly regretted her question. They were still taking baby steps in their relationship and Ranma was never good in situations like this. Then again, she was panicking as well.
Ranma felt like he was sweating profusely as he tried to speak, "I-I D-don't….."
Upon hearing his words, Akane was about ready to get up and pound her soon to be ex fiancé.
Luckily, Ranma kept speaking, "….Know. But I do know that just seeing you smile makes my day better and if you're smiling because of me then I feel like I could defeat anyone with one arm tied behind my back."
Akane found herself calming down and her heart began beating like crazy as a blush found its way on her face.
Ranma for his part was forcing himself to speak what was on his mind and fighting all of his usual urges to ruin the moment by calling his fiancé names.
"I don't know what you would call whatever it is you and I have but I don't think I've ever been happier than when I'm with you," said Ranma.
"Who knows, maybe the day will come when it doesn't have to be secret," said Akane.
Though neither of them realized it, they were leaning in closer to each other.
Akane could feel Ranma's breath on face when suddenly Ranma said, "Quick down, it's Ryoga."
"Now who's being paranoid," said a very annoyed Akane. Then she looked over her shoulder, "Wait that is Ryoga."
Ranma quickly grabbed Akane's hand and the two made a run for it. Meanwhile, a thought kept nagging at Ranma's mind, "I've got to tell her about Megumi."
Meanwhile, the lost boy checked his map and missed the two people who could have helped him get to where he was going, "I know Akari's farm is somewhere around here."
"So, the red and yellow rangers are on a date," commented Koruma.
"Should we spoil it," said Masara.
"We have better things to do idiots," said Taro.
"Right you are Taro," said Kage.
The dark warrior called, "Saffron. I have a mission for you."
"What is it my lord," said Saffron.
"I want you to eliminate the traitor Megumi," said Kage.
"Why can't I be the one for this mission," complained Keima.
"The rangers will surely try to protect her and I want the job done quickly. Now get going and don't fail me," said Kage.
"Yes my lord," said Saffron.
A second later, Saffron jumped through the magic mirror.
Ranma and Akane held hands as they crossed the bridge, heading home.
"So I figure, when we get back maybe we can do some training in the dojo," said Ranma.
"That sounds great," said Akane.
"Meow,"
Upon hearing his most hated noise and seeing the one creature scarier than any demon, Ranma screamed and leaped into Akane's arms. Meanwhile, the stray cat that scared him simply walked away as if its job was done.
"Ok Ranma, the scary cat is gone. You can let go," said Akane. Akane sighed as she remembered a few nights ago.
She had heard screaming coming from the dojo and went in to find Ranma running from Shampoo who was in her cursed form and clinging to him.
Instantly, Akane jumped in and grabbed the pink cat off of him and tossed her out of the dojo.
As soon as Ranma calmed down he yelled, "Akane, what did you do that for?"
"Well I'm sorry for getting Shampoo away from you," yelled Akane.
"I was training,"
"Training?"
"Yes, when I was evil I had control of the cat fist. I want it back. I don't like that I run away screaming whenever I see a cat and I'm sick of not remembering anything when I lose control and become one."
"You could have at least told me. Besides, you don't need the cat fist. Your strong enough already."
"That's your opinion."
Then Shampoo came back in her human form, "Akane run along. It's Shampoo's time to train with Ranma."
"Like I would leave you two alone," yelled Akane.
Once Shampoo looked away, Ranma mouthed a silent "Sorry".
Ever since, Ranma had been attempting to train himself with Shampoo's help and had made no progress.
"Ok, seriously Ranma let go, you're hurting me," said Akane.
Then Akane noticed a familiar brown haired girl approaching.
Thinking quickly, Akane grabbed hold of Ranma and pushed him away. Unfortunately, she misjudged the strength of her push and sent Ranma over the bridge and into the water below.
"Hey Akane, have you seen Ranma honey today?" asked Ukyo.
"He was here just a second ago. I think he said something about going to the Cat Cafe," said Akane.
"Well come on, we gotta make sure Shampoo doesn't try anything," said Ukyo.
"You know you can catch a cold lying in the water like that young lady,"
"Shut up, Megumi," said Ranma.
"What's the matter hero? Problems with your secret girlfriend?"
Megumi offered her hand to help Ranma out of the water. However, Ranma simply stood up and walked out on her own.
"None whatsoever," said Ranma
"So she didn't go berserk when you told her about our kiss?"
"No she didn't."
"So you haven't told her."
"It's none of your business and I'm going to tell her soon."
"Fine, go. Oh by the way, when she does get mad and pound your face in, I have something I want to talk to you about."
With that, Ranma ran off.
"No, we haven't seen Ranma today," said Cologne.
"Why are you looking for him?" asked Mousse.
"Does a girl need an excuse to look for her fiancé?" said Ukyo.
Seconds later, a plate was tossed at the chef's head. Ukyo easily moved out of the way and turned to face her attacker.
"So sorry spatula girl, I slipped and the plate just got away from me," said Shampoo.
Ukyo responded by tossing one of her small spatulas at Shampoo.
Shampoo quickly moved as Cologne yelled, "No fighting in the restaurant. Take it outside."
Just then, Ranma walked in. and felt three pairs of eyes on her.
"Did I miss something," asked Ranma as she went to the back and grabbed some hot water.
Then Shampoo claimed his right arm, "Ranma, tell Ukyo to go away."
Then Ukyo grabbed Ranma's left arm, "No you tell Shampoo to get lost."
Shampoo and Ukyo exchanged hateful glances towards each other. However, the person Ranma was looking for had a hateful glanced turned on him.
"Hey Akane," said Ranma.
"Don't you 'Hey Akane' me you pervert," yelled Akane.
"Who are you calling a pervert, stupid," said Ranma.
Ranma quickly shrugged his other fiancés off of him and walked up towards Akane.
"I didn't ask for them to cling to me," said Ranma.
Then Ranma made the mistake of putting his hand on Akane's shoulder.
"Don't touch me," yelled Akane as she punched Ranma out of the restaurant. Then she stomped off.
"Akane is such a violent girl," said Shampoo.
Mousse walked up, "I guess it's the one downside to being Ranma."
"I can't figure out if we should worry about those two being alone together," said Ukyo.
Meanwhile, Ryoga was sitting in Ucchan's after getting back from what he was pretty sure was Hokkaido although it may have been Okinawa.
"So what's the deal with you and Ukyo," asked Ryoga.
"What do you mean," said Konatsu as he cleared away Ryoga's plate.
"Well from what Nabiki has been telling us, you and her have been dating recently".
Konatsu sighed "I guess you could call it that. We go out to dinner and movies on our days off. But whenever I even try to put my arm around her or hold her hand, I can tell she doesn't like it."
"Why's that?" asked Ryoga.
"She hits me with her spatula."
"That is a problem."
"Well, how did you end up with Akari?"
Ryoga though for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, "I just kind of happened before I was even aware of what was going on. The next thing I knew, she was always on my mind and there was almost no one else I would rather have been with. Of course it helped that she made it pretty obvious that she wanted to be with me as well."
"Maybe I would be better off asking Ranma how he got Akane."
Ryoga suddenly broke the glass he was drinking from, "I don't think that would help either. I'm sure both of them would deny any attachment. I think for now you're better off taking it slow."
"Maybe you're right. How's your hand by the way?"
"It really hurts."
"Thanks for getting us out of there. Did you have to hit me so hard," said Ranma.
"Well you could have been nicer with your insults, jerk," said Akane.
Akane moved slightly closer to Ranma as they continued their walk.
"So should we continue where we left off or just go home?" asked Akane
Then Ranma stopped walking.
"What's wrong?" asked Akane.
She walked around to face him and found that he had trouble meeting her eyes.
"Look I have something I need to tell you. When I was under the dark warriors control I kissed Megumi."
Akane was speechless and suddenly she felt like her heart was breaking.
Ranma continued, "I really want us to work and I didn't want to keep something like this a secret."
When Akane didn't respond, he reached out to her. However, she instantly slapped his and away and with all the force she could muster, she slapped him.
As Ranma stood there shocked, Akane ran off crying.
Kasumi walked into the Tendo house find her father and Genman playing their usual game of GO while Nodoka watched and made sure neither of them tried to cheat.
"Welcome home Kasumi," said Soun.
"How's Dr. Tofu?" asked Nodoka
"He's just fine," said Kasumi.
Before anyone could say anything else, Akane ran in crying and went up to her room.
"Oh no, I sure hope she didn't fight with Ranma," said Nadoka.
"When I see that son of mine I'll make sure he apologizes," said Genma.
"Before you do that, Maybe I should talk to her and find out what happened," said Kasumi.
A moment later Kasumi slowly walked into Akane's room.
"Akane, are you Ok?" she asked.
Akane choked back a sob, "No. I did it again."
"Did what again?"
Akane visibly gritted her teeth. What was it about Kasumi that made people want to open up? "Ranma was actually trying to honest with me and I hit him like I always do instead of talking to him."
"Well it's never too late to talk to him. You know he cares about you a lot more than he lets on. If you're truly honest with him, he'll listen."
"I guess you're right. I just hope he isn't mad at me."
Meanwhile, Ranma still stood in the exact spot Akane had left him. His cheek still stung from her slap. Then like a cat stalking its prey, Megumi walked over to him carrying a small bag.
"Well that went pretty much how I thought it would".
"Go away Megumi," said Ranma.
"Hey, I said I wanted to talk to you after Akane gets mad and punches your face in and here we are."
"She didn't punch me, she slapped me," said Ranma.
"Close enough."
"What do you want?"
"I'm just giving you an opportunity to get stronger."
"What?"
The next thing Ranma knew, Megumi reached into her bag and pulled out a red glowing glass orb. Then without warning, she threw it at Ranma's feet. The orb shattered against the ground and the pieces began to levitate and swirl around Ranma. Then a bright flash of light, he was gone. The red glass then reformed into the orb and flew back into Megumi's hands.
"Hopefully, you'll thank me when this is over," said Megumi as she placed the orb back in her bag. It was then that she noticed the air around her heating up.
"Well now that's just bad timing."
Akane walked out of the house determined to find Ranma only to find the eternally, though not so much lately, lost Ryoga wandering around her yard.
"Akane, what are you doing at Akari's farm?" asked Ryoga.
"This is my house. You haven't seen Ranma around today have you" asked Akane.
"No why? What has he done now?"
"Oh nothing, I just really need to talk to him"
Just then a kunoichi dressed in green leaped in between them.
"There you are Ryoga. I swear I turned my back for one minute and you were gone," said Konatsu.
"I was wondering where you were," said Ryoga.
"I'm sorry for coming over unannounced to you extravagant home Akane. I was just helping our Ryoga and then I lost him," said Konatsu.
The kunoichi bowed and Akane quickly pulled him back to his feet, "No need for that. We're pretty much used to uninvited guest here."
Just then, the one person Akane didn't want to see came running through the front gate.
"You guys need to hide me. I didn't know where else to turn," said Megumi.
"And why would we do that," said Akane as Ryoga and Konatsu rushed beside her.
Megumi sighed, "Look I know you're probably really mad at me but right now I'm in trouble and I need your help. The dark warrior knows that I've been helping you guys and now Saffron is looking to roast me."
"You led Saffron here," said Ryoga.
"No, I threw him off with a body decoy and sent him in another direction, but it won't fool him for long," said Megumi.
"What do you think Akane?" asked Konatsu.
Akane was silent for the longest time. It didn't seem that long ago when Akane would have let her anger speak for her. But still even back then, she would never turn away someone who needed help.
"This had better not be another one of your tricks," said Akane.
"I promise," said Megumi.
Akane then grabbed Megumi's arm and the two of them along with Ryoga and Konatsu ran outside the gates of the Tendo house and into a vacant ally.
Once they were away from the prying eyes of Akane and Ranma's family, the four teleported to Cat Café.
Ranma looked around to find himself in a room with large round windows on every wall. Ranma could see nothing beyond the windows accept what looked like outer space. In the center of each window was an oni mask with a candle in its mouth to provide a dim light. The ground was covered in fog.
"Where am I?" said Ranma.
"A place no one will ever find you," replied a very familiar voice.
Ranma turned around and came face to face with his girl side.
"Let me guess, are you another mirror clone or possibly a shape shifting demon," said Ranma.
"I'm no demon. I'm only your opponent," said girl-Ranma.
Then girl Ranma reached for her morpher, "Sheng Xiao, Power UP!"
Ranma quickly leaped back as his other half charged him, sword in hand. Without thinking, Ranma reached for his morpher only to find it missing.
"Finders keepers. The perks of the umisenken," laughed girl-Ranma.
"That's not fair," said Ranma.
"The dark warrior won't fight fair and neither will I. You want the power of the cat fist, then come and get it."
With that, the girl-Ranma's ranger suit went black and became the black suit worn by Ranma when he was controlled by the dark warrior.
Girl-Ranma laughed, "There's nowhere to run here. Now FIGHT."
"And why should we help her," shouted Ukyo.
"She's been nothing but trouble," said Shampoo.
The rangers, Cologne and Megumi were all sitting in the Café's back room. Megumi still wore a look of distress. Especially since she knew that she was on everyone's not to be trusted list. Still she had a trump card.
"You should help because I'm asking you sincerely. After a while, you'll have no choice. Saffron will find me eventually and if I hang around here long enough, he'll be you're problem too," said Megumi.
"So we just beat him down we've done before," said Mousse.
"Simple enough," said Konatsu
"No, he'll regenerate and attack us again," said Akane.
"To top it off, without me, you'll never know where Ranma is," said Megumi.
That's when the room went silent and every suddenly noticed the absence of the pig-tailed martial artist.
"What do you mean by that," said Ryoga.
"Ranma said he was going on a training mission and only I know where he went," said Megumi.
Suddenly, Ukyo and Shampoo ran up to attack Megumi. As soon as they were an inch away, Megumi disappeared and reappeared next to Cologne. The sudden disappearance of their target caused both girls to run into the wall behind her.
"My power of illusion may not be as strong but I still have it," said Megumi.
Then Megumi felt a strong hand grip her should and she turned to find Akane who was emitting an angry red aura.
"Where's Ranma," said Akane.
"Help me get Saffron off my back and I'll tell you," said Megumi.
"That's enough all of you," shouted Cologne. "If Saffron is indeed looking for Megumi, then like she said, sooner or later he will wind up here and I do not want him destroying this Café.
Megumi spoke up, "Look I know none of you trust me and I've given you plenty of reasons not to. But if we can at least subdue Saffron, I have a spell that can free him from the dark warriors' control."
"And if you're lying," said Mousse
"Then you can let Saffron fry me," said Megumi.
"Sounds fair," said Shampoo.
Ranma once again found himself on his back with several new claw marks on his chest.
"And here I thought you would be able to amuse me," laughed girl-Ranma.
"You know I don't like fighting girls. Even if they're me," said Ranma.
"Afraid you'd lose if you actually fought a girl."
Ranma quickly got up and began charging his ki. As soon as he spotted his other half, he let loose a, "Moko Takabisha". However the blast barely got out of his hands when it simply fizzled out.
"Thanks for the opening," laughed girl-Ranma as she charged forward and hit Ranma with a jump kick. "I see your confidence is at a low. What's the matter? Am I actually hurting your pride? If something like trash talk can affect you, you don't deserve this power."
"Shut up," shouted Ranma
Ranma swung his fist, only hitting air while his other half managed to land a punch to his side.
"You don't deserve to lead the rangers," said girl-Ranma.
Then girl-Ranma swept Ranma's legs out from under him and landed a drop kick while Ranma was on the ground.
"You don't deserve her," shouted girl-Ranma. "But I'll tell you what, if you admit defeat right now and bow to me, I'll release you from this dimension. I'll even drop you off at a place I know you would love to go."
Suddenly an image of Jusenkyo and the Nannichuan spring appeared before Ranma.
The rangers and Megumi patiently waited in the park, hoping the adjacent lake would give them a slight advantage over the phoenix king.
"Megumi, when Saffron shows up, you hide," said Akane.
"I was going to do that anyway," said Megumi.
"What's the matter, scared?" said Shampoo.
"Knock it off," said Akane.
Before long, Saffron showed up. He announced his presence by sending down a column of fire aimed directly at Megumi.
Quickly, Ryoga dashed forward and grabbed Megumi before she could be hit.
"I think now's the time to hide," said Ryoga.
"I think you're right," said Megumi.
Ryoga placed Megumi down behind a large rock and quickly began to run off in order to join the other rangers.
"Ryoga," called Megumi.
"What?"
"The rangers are in the other direction."
Then Ryoga quickly turned around and started running in the right-ish direction, "Thanks Megumi."
As soon as Ryoga eventually rejoined his friends, Saffron flew down and began his attack.
"I'm only here for the witch. If you stay out of the way, you won't share here fate," said Saffron.
"If only we could," said Mousse.
The rangers stood together, "Sheng Xiao, Power UP!"
Within seconds of morphing, the rangers summoned their weapons and attacked.
Mousse wrapped his nunchucks around Saffron's wings.
"You'll need a different strategy," said Saffron as he reached back and tore off his wings, another pair instantly growing back in their place.
Saffron proceeded to throw his detached flaming wings toward Mousse. Luckily, Ryoga stepped in and blocked the attack with an open umbrella.
Saffron moved in for an attack but was stopped when Konatsu threw his daggers at him. The phoenix king quickly flew up and out of the way only for Ukyo to meet him in the air and slap him back down with her spatula.
The blow managed to stun Saffron for the moment.
"It looks like he still can't take a hit," said Ryoga.
"Quick, get him while he's down," said Akane.
The rangers began to move in when Saffron suddenly ascended into the sky and fire several large fire balls, hitting the rangers.
"I've been training rangers. The same strategies won't work on me anymore," said Saffron.
Shampoo was the first to recover and quickly launched a jump kick towards Saffron. The phoenix king let her hit him, and barely flinched when the kick connected.
"Not very smart, pink ranger," said Saffron. Then he grabbed Shampoo and tossed her away with all his strength.
"Shampoo, I've got you," yelled Mousse as he leaped up and caught the girl he loved.
"Thank you Mousse," said Shampoo.
"Ryoga, catch," called Akane.
Then Akane hit a large boulder with her hammer as though she were playing baseball. The boulder came flying passed Saffron and toward Ryoga. The blue ranger held out his hand and used the bakusai tenketsu to shatter the boulder. Upon shattering, the shards of the boulder went hurtling toward Saffron like spears.
As the phoenix king defended himself from the rock, Ukyo and Konatsu took advantage of the opening and kicked him towards the water.
Saffron recovered just long enough to see Shampoo and Mousse run up and hit him up into the air with their weapons.
Saffron was then met by Akane who quickly slammed her hammer down on him and sent him hurtling into the water below while Akane landed gracefully on the water's surface.
"Thank you Tori," said Akane as she ran back to the others.
"Think that will stop him," said Shampoo as Akane walked back up.
"No, but hopefully it will slow him down," said Akane.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Saffron burst out of the lake, the water coming off of him as steam.
"You rangers are trying my patience," said Saffron. Suddenly, the air around the rangers grew hotter.
Then Saffron extended his and fired a gigantic fireball while shouting, "Instant Annihilation of All Mortals Blast".
The rangers gathered behind Ryoga who opened his umbrella in a feeble attempt to block the attack.
"Well, will you bow to me, you weak pathetic fool," said girl-Ranma
There it was. Jusenkyo right in front of his face. No more pig-tailed girl and all he had to do was bow and admit defeat.
Ranma was silent as he lowered his head.
"Just what I expected," said girl-Ranma.
Then Ranma looked up and took the opening to dash forward and land a strong punch against his other half, sending her flying into the wall.
"Forget that, I'm Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School and I don't bow to anyone."
"You've just made a big mistake," said girl-Ranma as she recovered.
"I don't think so. I'm not a selfish as some would think. The reason I want to be strong is so I can protect the people I care about."
"It's a nice sentiment, too bad it won't help you here."
Girl-Ranma attacked again only for Ranma to dodge her claws. She began increasing the speed of her attacks to Amaguriken speeds and still hit nothing but air.
"You're wrong you know," said Ranma. "I have something I'm fighting for and that's all the strength I need. And you should really look where you're going."
It was then that girl-Ranma realized she had been moving and attacking in a large spiral.
"Hiryu Shoten Ha," shouted Ranma.
Within seconds, a tornado erupted in the middle of the room and carried girl-Ranma up an away, slamming her into the walls.
After a while, the tornado died down and girl-Ranma came crashing down in front of Ranma.
"I win," said Ranma.
"Congratulations," said girl-Ranma.
"That's right, wait what?"
Suddenly, girl-Ranma's ranger suit faded and the morpher teleported back onto Ranma's wrist.
"This was a test and you passed. I just needed to know that you would be worthy of the gift I'm giving you," said girl-Ranma.
"This was all a test" Shouted Ranma
"Yup and it was all set up by Megumi. You should thank her when you get back," laughed girl-Ranma.
"Oh I'll do more than thank her," said Ranma.
"Focus Ranma, you still need to receive my gift."
"What gift?"
Then Ranma's morpher began to glow and a third silver button appeared on it.
"This will give you access to the true power of the cat fist. However this will drain your energy quickly so use it only when you are in dire need of it," said girl-Ranma.
"Wait does this mean I'm cured of my fear of cats?" asked Ranma.
"No. Your fear of cats is still there. Think of my gift as a step beyond when you are in your cat mentality. Since you've never needed it before, you've never been able to access it."
"Well, thanks. I guess."
"Now it's time to send you back and not a moment too soon. Your friends are in need of your help."
The image of Jusenkyo then shifted to an imaged of scorched earth. Ranma witnessed his friends valiantly attacking Saffron. Each of them was barely standing.
"Send me back now," said Ranma.
"All you need to do is jump through the portal."
"Akane, I don't know how much longer we can keep this up," said Ukyo.
"If you have a better plan, please say something," said Akane.
Suddenly, Saffron flew down and grabbed both the yellow and white rangers by the neck, lifting them up and into the sky.
"Your efforts were futile from the start rangers but I'm done playing. I'm going to turn all of you to ash starting with the two of you."
Saffron's hands began to heat up as Akane and Ukyo struggled to get away. Then suddenly his grip loosend, and his hands became severed from his arms.
Akane and Ukyo found themselves plummeting toward the ground. Then a flash of red that could only be Ranma grabbed Akane while Konatsu quickly leaped up and grabbed Ukyo.
"Where have you been?" asked Akane.
"At least I'm here now. You did good keeping him busy and softening him up while I was gone," said Ranma.
"Thanks for the save," said Ukyo
"Always happy to help," said Konatsu.
As Ranma and Konatsu up Akane and Ukyo down, Saffron flew down with a new set of hands.
"You guys take five, I've got this," said Ranma.
"And what makes you think you can stop me?" said Saffron
"I've done it before. And my friends hadn't even softened you up beforehand."
"If you think you can destroy me then may this be our final battle Ranma."
Saffron raised his hands to fire another annihilation blast.
However instead of running for cover, Ranma raised his morpher and pressed the new silver button.
"I think that this counts as a dire situation. Activating Cat Fist Battlizer!"
A bright flash of light covered Ranma and silver armor began appearing on him, starting with a chest plate, then shoulder armor and shin guards. In the center of his chest plate was a golden emblem with his sheng xiao han symbol in the middle. Then a pair of silver gauntlets appeared on his hands, each with an extra plate like shield covering his arm and a set of claws at the end of his fingertips. Lastly, Ranma's helmet morphed and grew a pair of cat ears.
"He looks like a cat but his chest reads horse," commented Mousse.
"I think he looks good," said Shampoo.
"What a surprise," said Ryoga.
Saffron scoffed, "That armor looks ridiculous. I will enjoy melting it away."
Then he fired the annihilation blast.
Like a bolt of lightning, Ranma ran toward the blast. He raised his claws and began to charge them with ki. Then to Saffrons' shock, his strongest attack was shredded into thousands of small ribbon-like flames that were each snuffed out by a passing breeze.
Instantly, Saffron began launching more fireballs at Ranma. With little effort, Ranma slashed through each of them as he sprinted toward the phoenix king on all fours.
Saffron quickly tried to take to the air only for Ranma pounce on him like a lion taking down a antelope.
"You know cats eat birds right," said Ranma.
Saffron quickly kicked the red ranger away. However before Saffron could counter, Ranma managed to slash his chest and follow up with a jump kick to his solar plexus.
"Tell your master he's next," said Ranma as his claws began to charge with even more ki than before.
The Ranma held his arms up so they made an "X" across his chest with his claws spread out.
"Slashing Claw Strike" called Ranma as he made two big sweeping motions with his arms. Then all of his stored ki was unleashed, slashing through anything in its path. Rocks became gravel, several trees became splinters, and the phoenix king became nothing but ash.
Then Megumi appeared, "He'll regenerate soon so get ready to help me when give the word."
"Hey, I've got a bone to pick with you," said Ranma.
"It'll have to wait hero. Right now I need you to be ready."
Megumi reached up her sleeve and pulled out a paper talisman. Saffrons' face became the first visible part of him to regenerate and Megumi quickly placed the talisman on his forehead.
"Now, I need you all to gather around him and use your light to help me purge the darkness from him," said Megumi.
The rangers quickly gathered around Saffron's quickly reforming body and linked hands. Soon bright lights began emitting from their morphers and each formed into a beam that fired at Saffron.
Megumi placed her hand on the warding talisman calling out, "Darkness be gone, you have no home here anymore." Then Megumi began pouring her own magical energy into the talisman.
Soon, a cloud of darkness began to exit Saffron's body and dissipate into the wind.
"Ok, that's enough," called Megumi.
"What now," said Ranma.
"I don't know," said Megumi.
Saffron's entire body had reformed but the phoenix king found himself on his knees. He looked around.
"How do you feel," asked Megumi.
"Angry," said Saffron.
"You want to go another round," said Ranma.
"Nothing would give me more pleasure than shutting that mouth of yours but the dark warrior needs to pay for humiliating and enslaving me and my people," said Saffron.
"Then why don't you stay and help us. We could use your power," said Akane.
"I would never align myself with the likes of you," said Saffron.
"Hey we freed you, you should be thanking us," yelled Ryoga.
Saffron glared and without even a second glance, began to fly away.
"Dumb jerk," said Mousse
"Well that didn't go like I hoped it would," said Megumi.
"What if the dark warrior gets control of him again?" asked Ukyo.
"It won't work. My spell was designed to ward away darkness. The dark warrior will have no more power over him," said Megumi
As the rangers began powering down, everyone noticed Ranma faint, the moment his suit was gone.
Within hours, Saffron had flown back to Ho'o peak and entered his old throne room.
"I see the beaten dog has returned to his master," said Kage.
"I will enjoy destroying you demon," said Saffron.
"I don't see how that's possible. I overpowered you once, I can do it again."
"I know you saw everything through the mirror. I won't let you enslave me again."
"Fine, if that's the way you want it. I'll even throw the dog a bone."
Then Kage stood up from his throne and conjured Saffrons' Kinjakan out of thin air and tossed it over to him.
"I've been keeping this from you ever since I got here. It would have given you the power to free yourself and at the time I needed you. However seeing as how you are so bent on destroying me, I might as well you a fighting chance."
"It was a mistake to give me this," said Saffron.
Saffron then proceeded to toss the Kinjakan's sun ring toward the dark warrior. However, Kage easily sidestepped the attack, allowing the ring to fly past his head. Then as the ring came back, Kage moved out of the way once more.
Then Saffron charged with his fist on fire. The dark warrior managed to block every strike as though Saffron was only playing around.
Then out of nowhere, Kage unsheathed the sword of darkness and slashed Saffron twice across the chest. A moment later, two dark hands burst from the ground and grabbed Saffron.
"I should thank you for helping me gather the amount of power I have now. I'm so much stronger than when I was first freed in what seems like a very long time ago."
Then the hands proceeded to slam the phoenix king around the room.
"Unfortunately, even if I destroy your body, you'll just regenerate. So I have something different in mind," said Kage.
Luckily, in an explosion of fire, Saffron burst free from the hands. His entire body ablaze, Saffron ran towards the dark warrior preparing to shove the Kinjakan into his chest.
"To slow," laughed Kage as he grabbed Kinjakan and blasted Saffron away with a shot of dark ki. Kage then began to twirl the Kinjakan around before snapping it in half with his bare hands and tossing it in front of Saffron.
"I am the Phoenix King and I will not be defeated by the likes of you," said Saffron as he once again charged.
However he was stopped in his tracks by Kage's sword. The dark warrior then removed the sword from Saffrons' chest and smiled as the darkness began to cover his body.
"I might not be able to enslave you like before so I think this will be a more fitting end for you," said Kage.
Saffron took a few steps back before he couldn't walk anymore. He looked around at the people who were once his loyal subjects and saw nothing but cold darkness in their eyes. The darkness then spread to his arms and up his neck.
"This isn't over," said Saffron before the darkness took over the rest of him.
Kage took a step back to admire his new obsidian statue, "I think he really ties the room together."
"I couldn't agree more my lord," said Keima.
"Sir, what about Megumi?" asked Taro
"For now she's off the hook. But don't think we're through with her," said Kage.
Ranma awoke to a very warm feeling. He opened his eyes to find himself in the Tendo's guest room and Akane staring down at him and he realized that his head was resting in her lap.
Then his mind began to panic.
"Calm down Ranma. It's just you and me. The others went home when Cologne confirmed that you were only tired and needed rest," said Akane.
The news did calm Ranma down a little but there was still an awkward pause.
Ranma started, "Akane look…"
"I'm sorry Ranma. I know you didn't mean to kiss Megumi and I'm sorry for hitting you earlier. I was angry and not to give you a big head but I was jealous."
"It's ok. This whole thing is new to the both of us and we're bound to make mistakes along the way. I think we're doing better. And even after getting slapped harder than ever before I still wanna be with you."
A single tear fell from Akane's eye as Ranma reached back and grabbed her hand.
Then Ranma whispered words that would etch their way into Akane's heart before slowly drifting off to sleep once more.
"I love you"
Unfortunately, a happy moment for some people can be unhappy for others.
Ukyo had a fresh okonomiyaki in hand and had only slightly cracked the door open when she became witness to the exchange between her friend and her fiancé.
Her body began to run on auto pilot as she wordlessly exited the Tendo house and began walking with no real destination. Only the rain was able to bring her out of her trance like state. She then took the okonomiyaki and tossed it into the nearest trashcan.
It was then that Ukyo truly felt that the whole time she was on her own and only pretending he was beside her. In the rain, the pavement began to shine and even in the darkness she could still see the stars. For a single moment, she could almost feel his arms around her.
However, she knew that it was only in her mind. All this time he never truly realized how deeply she felt for him. Still she always hoped that there would be a way for them.
She loved him but when the night was over he wasn't there. Without him, the world began to change. She loved him but she began to learn that all this time she'd only been pretending. She began to fear that without her, his world would go on turning and that it would be full of happiness that she would never know. She loved him, but only on her own.
Ukyo eventually found herself in front of her restaurant and home. Then the door opened and a male kunoichi ran out with a towel.
"Where have you been? You going to catch a cold out her," said Konatsu.
Ukyo slowly walked in, taking the towel from Konatsu and wrapping it around herself.
"Is something the matter Ukyo? You don't look so good. Are you alright?" said Konatsu.
As Ukyo began drying her hair, she looked into Konatsu's eyes.
Though for the moment her heart was broken, she knew it would heal and then she would be ready for a change in her life.
Then she answered, "Yes."
"Really"
"No, but it helps to say that I am."
(Authors Notes)
Yes I know that the battlizer is excessive being that there are twelve rangers. And I know that he battlizer was only a US invention designed to sell toys. But I don't really care, on the show, they always looked cool and the battlizer was simply an excuse to put Ranma through a mental and physical test. Anyway, I don't know when but I'll have the concept of the battlizer up on my diviantART page asap.
For an easier way of explaining the battlizer, think of it as the Nekoken phase 2. Phase 1 would be the one we're all familiar with where ranma thinks he's a cat. Being in phase 2 uses up alot of Ranma's energy, hence the passing out after using it.
I based the world Ranma was sent to on Goldar's dark dimension (I think that's what it was called) from MMPR.
As you all probably figured out, Ukyo's moment at the end was heavily inspired by Les Miserables and Eponine. I couldn't help myself.
Yes, I know the Saffron/Kage fight could have been longer but I wrote it at like 2 in the morning and was ready to end this chapter. The end result would have been the same either way.
Anyway, now that it's summer and schools out, hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll be able to spend more time working on this.