ower Rangers- Crystal Guardians
Chapter One: A Golden Secret
Going outside to feed the cats at four in the morning, getting breakfast ready, and getting ready for college. This was a typical Tuesday and Thursday morning at the house that was on Bearing Street. Not a trouble in the world seemed to touch this little house. While the rest of the world spun without it, the little house just seemed to keep going with its' own schedule and time.
This little house was home to a young woman in her early twenties. This young woman aspired to be a writer, and an artist. Many of her classmates called her 'an artist with many trades.'
She was too ill to get a job at the time, so she had a lot of help with scholarships and student loans. When she wasn't studying or spending time with her cats, she was often found alone at the park writing or drawing, or listening to one form of music or another.
It wouldn't be right to say that she didn't have a social life. She did have friends, and she went to her local church regularly. She was very loyal to her friends and family, and they in turn were loyal to her. In fact, most of the people in the town thought of her as very amiable, and adamant about her beliefs and respected her for that.
It is on a peaceful Thursday morning when our story starts. Twenty three year old Christina Hopkins was walking out to her mailbox, which was on the corner of her yard closest to her driveway. She was five feet, three inches tall, and had chocolate brown hair with blonde highlights in it. Her eyes were a deep shade of violet, and she had a calm, unreadable expression on her face.
These were the qualities that Zephlin had been looking for in a human to become one of his warriors. Early one morning, he decided, after watching her for a very long time and observing her nature and qualities, that today was the day. His brother, Zephron, was on his way and he needed to gather the Power Rangers as quickly as possible.
Zephlin had come from another galaxy in search of these legendary warriors. He was around six feet tall, and he wore a silver tunic. The sash that held his tunic together was a dark shade of midnight blue. His hair went down to the middle of his back, and was silver as well. His eyes were a piercing shade of aqua blue. He watched as Christina stepped outside at the usual time, while it was still dark, and set out a couple bowls on the front porch of her house for her cats.
Zephlin was lucky it was still dark; otherwise she would have seen him already. He didn't want to be found yet; he would wait a little longer.
Christina felt an odd tingling on the back of her neck; at first it felt like a warning that someone might be watching her. But then she noticed the cool breeze rustling the pine trees on the corner and edges of her yard and reminded herself that nobody had tried robbing a house on this street for at least eighteen years. The last guy who tried robbing her neighbors' house was caught before he could get to the corner of the street.
Christina waited for her cats to come, and looked up at the sky, which still glittered with stars. A golden streak of light flitted across the sky suddenly and lit up the entire horizon as it traveled past the earth. She smiled slightly, and gave a small chuckle before looking back down at her cats, as one of them had rubbed up against her leg and knelt down to scratch its back gently.
The shooting star that Christina had seen was anything but a shooting star. It, in fact, had been a space ship that had found its place deep within the earths' crust just moments after she had seen it streaking by. The space ships' owner was Zephron, the older brother of Zephlin.
Zephron's hair was black, and his eyes were a deep shade of brown. His skin was sallow in color, and he wore black robes that made him look like a demon. Even the sash that held his robes together was black.
The ship around him was all mechanized, with the walls and ceilings echoing of dark pits and the floors of demon worlds. The snakes and serpents that wriggled across the trim of the walls, floors and ceilings looked eerily realistic, while there were no windows to even dampen the feeling of being in one of hells pits.
"Izor!" Zephron shouted.
A small, pot-bellied of a man came hustling over to bow before his master. His garb was shabby compared to that of his masters', wearing a simple gray shirt, pants and a black belt. His face was large and frightful, and his little beetle black eyes darted all over the room.
"Yes, my lord?" He asked, bowing nervously.
"Now that we are on Earth, we need to find the one that our spies have said would become the Gold Ranger and eliminate her before Zephlin reaches her." Zephron stated.
"Yes, my lord." The little man, Izor, bowed again, nodding his head.
"So, I want you to create me a monster that will be able to catch someone like her off guard. A monster that will not fail me." Zephron said seriously.
Izor bowed his head and went over to a corner of the room where a desk stood. His master watched as the pudgy little man set to work creating what he had demanded.
Instead of one monster… I will create two. Izor thought as he clapped his hands together and closed his eyes.
In the corner of the nearby wall to his left, two feminine shadows appeared. The shadows took form and color, and were revealed to be two young women with blazing red eyes, and ebony colored hair that was pulled back in a unique style for both.
The tallest one declared herself as Runri. She wore a white, sleeveless shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and what looked like a blue and white scarf tied around her waist. Around her neck was a blue choker with white opals hanging from it.
The smaller one announced herself as Yuki. She also wore a white, sleeveless shirt. She wore red jeans, and had a red and white scarf tied around her waist. She had a red choker around her neck with white diamonds hanging from it decoratively.
"What can we do for you, our master?" They both asked in unison.
"I want you to seek out this woman and kill her before Zephlin does." Zephron answered, his dark eyes glimmering.
The wall behind him lit up with the image of a young woman feeding a pack of cats on her front porch in the early hours of the morning.
"Her name is Christina Hopkins… That fool Zephlin has sighted her as the one who will become the Gold Ranger. You will dispose of her before he can revive her powers." Zephron paused. "Do not attack right away. Wait for the right moment… and if you see Zephlin, feel free to have whatever fun you may want with him. But remember, do not kill him… I want that pleasure to be left for myself."
"As you wish, master." Runri and Yuki bowed. "May we go start our mission now?"
"Yes. You are dismissed." Zephron nodded his head curtly.
The two girls grinned excitedly, bowed one last time, and vanished in two lines of black smoke.
"Izor…" Zephron said, and the chubby little man turned to face his master.
"Yes, my lord?" Izor asked. "My creations have your approval I would assume?"
"Yes. You did very well, Izor." Zephron nodded. "I have come to expect nothing but the best… But there is something about this planet earth that seems to undo even the best of the evil that is sent here, so I will not tolerate any failure on your part."
"Y-yes, my lord." Izor stammered.
"If you should fail, my apprentice Char will take your place, and you will be banished to Earth to live with the common folk." Zephron warned.
Izor bowed nervously.
"Do you understand, Izor?" Zephron demanded.
"Yes, I understand my master." Izor responded.
"Very good." Zephron said, "You may leave now."
Izor left in a hurry after his master turned his back to him.
Runri and Yuki both had found Christina walking to her college, backpack slung over her shoulders in a casual manner. Christina wore a golden-yellow long sleeved shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of white tennis shoes. On her right wrist was a silver watch that seemed to be two sizes two big for her.
The two demon girls, Runri and Yuki took the form of crows. The only thing that would distinguish them as otherwise was their red eyes, and the markings around their necks. They followed Christina, hardly daring to believe that she was the one who might become the Gold Ranger if they let her. The two waited until Christina was standing on the corner of the street waiting to cross before they decided to make a first attempt at attacking.
Christina had noticed the two crows in the pine tree nearby just sitting there and shrugged. There were plenty of crows in town these days. When the crows took off to the sky, she noticed that they flew above her, but was surprised when the crows landed in front of her just as she took a step towards the road. She looked at them curiously, noting that they had red eyes.
There was a flash of black light, and the crows turned into Runri and Yuki. The two women smiled at the flabbergasted Christina as she took a step backward.
"Hello, I'm Runri." The tallest girl said.
"And I'm Yuki." The smaller girl told Christina.
"I hope you don't mind, but we are here to kill you." Runri smiled, bearing her teeth maliciously.
"What?" Christina blinked, stumbling backwards entirely now.
"Maybe you're deaf?" Yuki suggested. "My sister and I are here to kill you."
"W-why…?" Christina asked. "And I am not deaf!" She snapped.
"Could've fooled us." Runri's eyes glittered in the daylight of the early morning.
"We need to kill you because we can't have you becoming the Gold Ranger and ruining all of our masters' hard work." Yuki stepped forward. "It's nothing personal against you, we're just doing what our master ordered." She bent down to be at eye-level with Christina.
Nearby, Zephlin stared at the two women who were about to attack Christina. He had to do some serious quick thinking; otherwise Christina would die before she was able to fully understand why they wanted her dead. Then an idea came to him.
Yuki stood back up, and reached for her scarf. She pulled it all the way off her waist, and it transformed into a red and white whip. Runri did the same, only her whip was blue and white.
"And now you die." The two demon women said in unison, raising their whips high into the air.
Christina raised her hands to defend herself, waiting for the blow to come… But it never did.
"What?" Runri and Yuki shouted in anger and dismay.
"Where'd the little runt go?" Runri looked around. "She can't already be a Power Ranger, can she?"
"No, the master would have said something!" Yuki said, almost in a panicked toned of voice.
"I'm afraid that was my doing." Zephlin stepped out of the nearby shadows.
"Darn you, you old fart!" Yuki said angrily. "Now Master Zephron will be mad at us unless you give her back so that we can finish the job."
"Unfortunately, I cannot do that." Zephlin grinned slightly. "I won't say where she is, either. However, you are free to look for her." He faded away as a heavy gust of wind forced the two demon girls to take the forms of crows again and hide in the trees.
"Stupid old fart… Why'd he have to ruin our fun?" Runri growled.
"Don't worry… That little runt of a girl can't have gone far…" Yuki said, looking around.
Christina lowered her arms and looked around. She seemed to be in a mystical forest of some kind. A waterfall was in front of her, and the water fell into a small pool. There was a large silver stone that seemed to be floating in the center of this pool and directly in front of the waterfall. The stone looked as though a fully-grown man could stand atop of it without a problem. The water seemed to be crystal clear, and she swore as she looked into the water, she could see all the way to the bottom of the pool.
As she looked around even more, she saw that she was in a clearing surrounded by cherry blossom trees and rose bushes. She took off her backpack and laid it on the ground near the edge of the pool of water. The grass beneath her feet looked like it was healthy, being a beautiful shade of deep emerald green.
On the side of the clearing exactly opposite of the waterfall and the pool, was a large gray boulder that seemed to be carved into what looked like a chair for a giant to sit in. As she got closer, she saw that there was a single, beautifully carved box sitting in the center of what would have been the seat for a giant to sit in. The box was small, about the size of two large hardcover books almost. And it was very smooth as she ran her hand over the top of it.
"I suppose you are wondering why you have been brought here?" A deep, calming and assuring male voice came from behind, startling her and making her jump slightly.
She turned and saw a tall man standing on the stone that floated in the pool. He wore unusual garb: silver robes, a dark sash. Even his hair was silver.
To tell the truth, the reason why she had been brought here hadn't even crossed her mind. She had still been taking in the scenery and just wondering where she was.
"Uh…" She said quietly. "Who are you…?"
"I am Zephlin, Christina… And I will be your guardian from this point on as you fulfill your duties as the Gold Ranger." Zephlin told her this as though he were pronouncing her the scholarship winner of a Bill Gates Scholarships Contest.
Christina blinked.
"Gold Ranger…? What's that? And how do you know my name?" She asked.
Zephlin chuckled. The box that was on the chair-shaped boulder disappeared and reappeared in his hands.
"You are a Power Ranger… The Gold Ranger, to be precise, Christina. And I know your name because I have been watching you for a very long time… I needed to determine if you were the one that would become the leader of the Rangers of Elysion. And I know that you are the Gold Ranger." Zephlin said.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Christina said. "Power Ranger…? But they don't even exist! That's just a television program or something."
Again, Zephlin chuckled. He opened the box. Inside of it were five silver watches.
"You do not believe me now, but you will soon." He told her confidently.
She blinked incredulously at him.
"This must be some crazy dream or something… I can't be a Power Ranger…" She told him defiantly. "Maybe I stayed up too late watching movies…"
"This is no dream." Zephlin looked at her adamantly. "Take the watch in the center." He instructed her.
She stepped forward slowly, still thinking that she must be dreaming… Maybe she was sleepwalking. For all she knew, she could be lying face down in the middle of the street somewhere… If so, she hoped she remembered to get dressed first. Once she took the watch he had instructed, it disappeared.
"What happened to it?" She asked.
"Look on your right wrist…" He told her.
She did so, and saw that her watch had changed. There was a gold band around the small clock, and the clock itself looked like it could be pressed down like a button. She blinked several times to see if it wouldn't just disappear, but it never did.
"The Powers have accepted you." Zephlin said solemnly. "When you need to transform, press down on your watch and shout 'Elysion Gold Ranger Transform.' " He instructed.
"I don't know where you're coming from with this… But I don't think I can be a Power Ranger, Zephlin." She told him bluntly.
"You will see." He nodded at her. "Whether or not you are meant to become a great warrior or not."
"Um… Okay… Next question? How do I get out of here? If I don't hurry… I'll be late for my college classes." Christina looked at him.
"The watch has many purposes… not only can you transform with it, but by pressing the smallest knob on the side of the watch, you can teleport to which ever destination you desire. The largest knob enables you to communicate with me."
She looked, and indeed saw two golden knobs on the side of her watch. They looked just like ordinary watch knobs, except for the size differences.
"So the smallest one is teleportation… the largest one is communication… and the clock itself is transformation…" She recited.
"Yes." Zephlin nodded, thinking, or rather hoping, that she was at last believing him.
"And am I dismissed?" She looked at him.
"For now, yes." Zephlin nodded. "If trouble rises, I will contact you." He told her.
She picked up her backpack, slung it over her shoulders, and pressed the smallest golden knob on the side of her watch. She immediately felt herself lifting up and off the ground and saw herself become engulfed in a golden column of light that took her from Zephlins' forest clearing, to a point just behind a pair of bushes just off to the side of the college that she attended classes at.
Just as she was checking to see and make sure that no one saw her coming, she heard some cawing from behind and whirled around. But it was just a pair of regular crows this time, she could tell by the color of their eyes and the fact that the crows' feathers were completely black.
The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful, unless you counted the fact that test scores were back and she got straight 'A's in all of her classes now. She was on her way home when Runri and Yuki showed their faces again. They were standing on the corner of her street, obviously waiting for her.
"There you are, we've been waiting all day for you." Runri said.
"We couldn't really leave without completing our mission, now could we?" Yuki smirked, her red eyes gleaming with excitement.
"That old fart Zephlin interrupted our fun… But now we can finish our little game of the roller coaster of death." Runri said in a singsong tone of voice that greatly annoyed Christina. "What do you say, little runt? Wanna play?"
"I don't think so…" Christina said, setting her backpack down on the ground. She was amazed that she still remembered the transformation call that Zephlin had instructed her to use, but she knew now was the time to use it, if any. "Elysion Gold Power Ranger… Transform!" She shouted, holding her middle and pointer finger down onto the clock as she held her wrists up into the air, following her instincts as to what to do.
She immediately felt a rush of power flow through her, and she saw herself transform into the suit that she had come to recognize over the years as she grew up, as that of a Power Ranger. She wore a golden spandex suit with black stripes all up and down her arms, sides and legs. On her waist was a black belt with two gun holsters, and two golden blasters settled in each of them. On her back she could feel two sheaths in an 'x' fashion mounted on her back. She had a helmet, which she guessed was gold, and she could see clearly through her visor screen, which she guessed was black.
"What?" Runri and Yuki said in dismay. "No way!"
"Oh, yes way." Christina said, "This is too awesome." She looked at her gloves that covered her hands; they were gold as well and had black trim.
Zephlin smiled proudly.
"Use your blasters, they will destroy the Demon Twins' weapons." He instructed.
"Roger that." Christina said enthusiastically. She pulled the blasters out of their holsters and aimed at the Demon Twins' hands and fired. Golden streaks of light came from the blasters, and connected with Runri and Yuki's wrists.
Runri and Yuki both let out cries of pain as they realized what was happening.
"That isn't the only trick up our sleeves, you little runt!" Runri shouted. She raised her right hand to the air.
"That's right, we've got lots more!" Yuki agreed, also raising her right hand.
"Demon Veil!" They shouted, and from the sky came a bolt of black lightning.
"Zephlin, what do I do…?" Christina asked, looking around in the darkness.
"You are the guardian of the Sun and the Moon, Christina." Zephlin explained. "You draw your powers from light… Use your swords to call forth your Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower."
"Gotcha!" Christina said, putting her blasters back into their holsters.
She reached for the swords mounted on her back and unsheathed them. The hilts seemed to be made of gold, and the swords looked as if they were made in the rapier fashion. This is going to be good. She thought, raising the swords to the sky.
"Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower!" She shouted. The swords began to glow a golden yellow, and a column of light shot from both of them as though from a gun into space. Then, a meteor shower of light came shooting down to earth faster than what Runri and Yuki could have expected. The light showered down, breaking apart their Demon Veil, and tearing them up as well.
They could feel their bodies ripping apart as the light connected with them.
"Ouch, this hurts!" Runri said, shielding her face.
"I… I think we'd better go now." Yuki stammered.
"Yes, I agree… Lets vamoose, shall we?" Runri said, and the two sisters vanished.
Christina looked where the sisters had been standing moments later, and sheathed her swords. She could feel the power within her, and it was still unbelievable.
"Christina… Well done. Come back to the clearing." Zephlins' voice seemed to fill her helmet. It was still soft, calm and assuring, but there was a sense of pride to it.
Christina looked at her wrist. Her watch was still there, and she pressed the smallest golden knob for the second time. She felt herself once again teleporting to her next destination. This time, to Zephlins' Clearing.
Within seconds, she was standing before her new guardian.
"You did very well in your first battle, Christina." Zephlin smiled at her. "Your journey is just beginning, but I believe that I should expect great things from you as you continue to grow and develop in your skills. This was just the start of what you will be facing, but you do not have to face the monsters on your own."
"I don't?" Christina asked, still in her Ranger uniform, but feeling excited all the same.
"No. There are four other rangers that you will need to seek out. Seek them out, and bring them here. Once you are united as one team, then your true mission will begin." Zephlin said.
"Where are the others?" Christina asked.
"I am afraid that is something I cannot answer. You will know who the rest of your team is once you see them." Zephlin replied calmly with a short nod. "Now, you have done well, as I have stated earlier. I am very proud of you. Have you come to accept that you are the Gold Ranger?"
"Yes. I will do my best to fulfill my duties, and I pledge my loyalties to you, Zephlin." Christina answered, her hands folded behind her back almost in military fashion as she stood at attention.
Zephlin smiled and nodded.
"Good… Good…" He said.