Episode 3: Five Bright Lights
Raikon Fleet Main Warship, May 28, 2012, 6:00 PM
After the events that had transpired hours earlier, Budon had realized his own fears have become a reality, at least somewhat. He had finally decided to talk to Lord Dragun about this. But Levir was also around when Budon decided to have a discussion. "I had feared this day would come, and now you see what we have to deal with." said Budon with a calm composure. Dragun looked down for a moment, thinking about their new situation and the roadblock they have to overcome. However, Levir jumped in, not exactly on the same page with Budon.
"The strength of those pesky Rangers were not the reason Chidogu lost at all." Levir began. "He brought it upon himself by letting his guard down. His arrogance was his own undoing!" Lord Dragun decided to intervene before a pointless argument broke out between his most prized servants. "Now, now. I did say it was only a test, did I?" Budon and Levir said nothing else after that, only letting Lord Dragun to continue speaking. "I had no expectations of Chidogu succeeding in any shape or form. But the results he made from his mission alone made up for that. The worthless humans are now aware of the power we have, and the amount of fear we can create. We will make sure that they know of that fear when they all breathe their last breaths."
Dragun the proceeded to walk forward, presumably walking out of the main viewing area as he finished his speech. "From here on out, I will take things far more seriously. Rest assured, I have a plan in mind..."
Ever since the Ranger's first victory, people of all nationalities and races all across the world were talking about the return of the Power Rangers, whether they were talking about it through videos on YouTube, having multiple different Power Ranger-related hash tags trending on Twitter (Including #RangersReturn, #PowerRangers, etc), and so much more on other social media.
Many people focused on the fact that their timing was terrible, considering the many casualties they couldn't avoid, and they should not be trusted. Others disregarded their mistake and believed that the Earth has hope once more. Let's just say that people all across the world were split on whether the Rangers should be trusted or now, and whether or not they are more of a menace than they are heroes.
All in all, the return of the Power Rangers brought unneeded international controversy.
The rest of the week seemed fairly quiet. It couldn't have been possible that we scared them off after defeating one of their monsters. I assumed they were merely testing us, but I never found out if that was the case. And the next time that we had faced someone from their ranks, it'd be the real deal. And I was right.
Angel Grove Park, June 2, 2012, 12:20 PM
Sean decided to take a stroll around the park by himself. It gave him some time to think about what happened on Monday.
So much time had passed since that attack on Downtown Angel Grove. He wondered if they would come back again and hit harder, causing more tragedies than before, making their responsibilities as Rangers more and more difficult.
We only won once, and next thing you know, things go quiet all of a sudden. Sometimes you gotta wonder what's taking so long...
He thought about this for a while. The suspense of when they would attack him was killing him on the inside. As if he wanted something to happen so they'd be one step closer to taking the fleet down for good.
And as if he was tempting fate, something did happen. A meteor-type blast was heading Sean's way, and with his newfound natural abilities, he was able to catch on to this and dodged out of the way. When Sean looked in the direction the blast came from, he saw Levir, slowly walking towards him. Sean remained composed as to prevent being left wide open for another attack by the monster. He didn't know what this guy had planned, but he wasn't about to take his chances. Not yet, anyway.
"We meet again, Red Ranger." said Levir. His comment made absolutely no sense to Sean. He doesn't recall ever facing this guy before, so most likely he was pointlessly bluffing. "What do you mean 'again'? Who are you?" Levir chuckled, possibly expecting Sean to respond in such a manner. "It seems as though you survived with less than I thought, especially since the wound on your arm has healed, much to my surprise." What wound? Sean never got a wound on his arm at any point, especially during the fight with Chidogu. This guy was making no sense, and Sean was getting more and more annoyed. "I have to hand it to you. Not many people live to tell about their battle with me." This was getting nowhere, and Sean wanted answers now. "So you're the leader of this whole operation, I take it?"
Levir chuckled again, but immediately became more serious. "You fool. It is not I who rules the Fleet, but the future ruler of the universe, and my master: Lord Dragun. And my name is Levir." Sean kept that name in mind. "Remember it. You'll need it...when you're pleading for your life." Levir turned around, preparing to leave. Sean wasn't about to let him go, though, as he needed answers to how he knew him. "Wait!" Levir then turned around immediately, shooting another meteor-type blast from his mouth. But this time, Sean didn't react quick enough to dodge the attack, and took the full brunt of it, landing on the ground. "That is a small preview of things to come. Until we meet again...Red Ranger." Levir said his salutations for the moment and dissolved into nothingness, indicating that he got away.
Sean was so confused. Who was Levir? How did he know him? And what could he possibly be talking about with 'things to come'? Either way, he now knew there was more to this story than he was being led on to believe. With that, he proceeded to leave the Park, regardless of his injuries.
Ernie Jr's Juice Bar & Diner, 12:45 PM
Ernie was always the one to have the Juice Bar close a lot later on the weekends. This gave the Rangers more time to do what they needed to do to stay in shape and what not. But at the moment, only Sarah and Ken were at the Juice Bar. Jamie and Josh were appreciating the outdoors while they still can before the next attack by the Raikon Fleet.
Sarah was enjoying recording another video log session for her blog, in which she highlights certain things in her life that she deems necessary.
If it wasn't obvious already, Sarah was an online motivational figure, and her blog was her way of expressing her motivation. The blog consisted of many articles that focused on certain topics, current events, answering questions sent to her via email or the comments in the articles themselves, and even different kinds of videos. Whenever she doesn't feel like expressing her thoughts on certain things through an article, she'll directly address it on camera.
During the insane trending about the Rangers, Sarah had in fact addressed the return of the Rangers via articles and videos, and sided with those that believed they were heroes and the world has saviors again, which made sense.
Either way, Sarah decided to do a combo video for her blog, in which consisted of talking more about the Rangers, and showing off some of Ken's Tai Chi training.
The moment she stopped recording and was about to set up the camcorder for the discussion portion of the video, Sean had come in, exhausted and struggling to walk. Ken noticed him come in, and caught him before he fell over in exhaustion. "Whoa, careful Sean! What happened to you?" Sarah noticed what Ken was doing, and was extremely worried about Sean. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Sean was taking deep breaths and couldn't respond right away. "Come on, I'll bring you to the couch." said Ken as he did just that.
Giving Sean a minute to collect his thoughts, Sarah got him a glass of water. "I...I think I found the guy who targeted us." Ken's eyes widened as he looked at Sarah. If that was true, then they might have a problem on their hands. "But...something's not right." The two were confused by Sean's words. "He only talked about knowing me. He didn't even mention the rest of you. That probably doesn't mean much. He could have just focused on me. But if not, then none of this makes sense. How could he have fought me? I've never seen him before in my life. He even mentioned how he had wounded me, but I didn't know what he was talking about."
Sarah thought about this for a moment, and came up with something that would make sense in theory. "Well, maybe he mistook you for someone else?" Sean shook his head. "That wouldn't make sense at all. He knew that I was...you know." Ken and Sarah nodded, understanding what he meant. Levir made it clear that he knew Sean was the Red Ranger, so there was no way to have confused Sean with someone else. But still, Sean doesn't know the whole story. Maybe Levir was the guy that was targeting the Rangers. Or he somehow knew Sean solely for reasons even unknown to him. Either way, Zedren might be able to shed some light on this.
"I'll go talk to Zedren. Maybe he can help." said Ken as he proceeded to leave the Juice Bar. "Wait, Ken." He stopped to look at Sean for a moment. "His name is Levir." Ken nodded as he left the Juice Bar, Ernie waving at him as he left. "You gonna be alright, Sean? You need me to call an ambulance?" Sean shook his head again. "I'll be fine, Ernie. I just need to rest for a little bit." Ernie gave Sean a thumbs up.
Sean then turned to Sarah. "Weren't you working on a video for your blog?" he asked with curiosity. "Yeah, but that can wait." Sean nodded as he took another sip of water.
Command Center, 12:55 PM
Ken had teleported to the Command Center, in hopes of Zedren giving him some information about what was going on. "Ken? What's wrong?" asked Alpha. "Where's Zedren? I need to ask him a few questions." He was more or less in a rush, when clearly he didn't need to be. "I'll go get him." Ken nodded as he waited for about a minute before Zedren came out. "You wanted to speak to me, Ken?"
Ken proceeded to explain to Zedren everything that happened to Sean and what he was able to deduce up until this point. "I see. Well, I might be able to help clear some things up for you." Zedren went to the keyboard on the main monitor. He typed in a new code, activating what appeared to be a video, one that shocked even Ken. "No...that can't be...!" It was a video of Sean morphed up fighting Levir in an unknown location.
"I don't understand it either, but apparently, before you all ever morphed, Sean had appeared to the one called Levir. I can only think of one possibility for this." Zedren went silent for a moment, and Ken was confused. "W-what could it be?" Zedren turned to Ken with a serious look on his face. "Time travel."
Ken's eyes widened at what Zedren had said. Has he gone insane? "But time travel is impossible. And even if it wasn't, it's too dangerous to do it anyway." Zedren sighed. "Even so, sometimes the Butterfly effect needs to be disregarded." Zedren wasn't making any sense anymore to Ken. "What are you talking about?"
"Time travel is very possible. Why else did these Rangers get involved?" Zedren entered another code into the keyboard, the monitor showing a series of videos of a very specific team of Rangers. "These are the Time Force Rangers, warriors consisting of the then-present and far future. The year 3000 specifically. Their Red Ranger and the sixth addition to their team, the Quantum Ranger, came from this time. While the rest of the team came from the future. The influence of them had already changed the flow of time the moment an escaped prisoner from the future came to the present."
This was a lot for Ken to let sink in. But it didn't hurt to know of the experiences of those that came before them. "So...if Time Force didn't intervene..." suggested Ken. "...the world would have either been in ruins or under the control of the escaped convict." Ken made a big gulp, grateful that Time Force had intervened when they did.
"So...what does this mean?" Zedren thought about this for a moment, not sure about this himself. "I don't know. But I get the feeling that there's more to the future than we think." Ken believed learned as much as he could from Zedren. Not a lot has been answered, but at least they made some progress. Ken then proceeded to teleport back to the Juice Bar to fill Sean in on what details were given to him. "Wait, Ken."
Zedren went up to Ken, who stopped dead in his tracks. "There's something I need to talk to you about." Ken was confused. "Why me?" Zedren sighed. "Well, since you were the only one to come here, I thought it'd be best if I told someone about this, even if it isn't Sean." Ken didn't understand what Zedren was getting at? Was there something he wanted to tell Sean? If so, then why didn't he just tell Ken to have Sean come to the Command Center?
Zedren leaned forward in his wheelchair, looking Ken in the eye. "I have a way for you five to become stronger."
Raikon Fleet Main Warship
It's been a while since anything has actually happened. And Budon was growing impatient. The longer they had to wait, the longer it will take to empty and sell out every last bit of the galaxy. As such, Budon decided to confront Dragun in a civil matter. "My Lord, how much longer until this plan of yours comes into action?" Levir, who was also with Budon and Dragun, intervened as per usual. "Do not question Lord Dragun's methods, regardless of their lengths!"
And of course, Dragun broke up the argument that almost ensued between his most trusted allies. "Enough, you two. If you must know, I had been in contact with someone, and I was waiting for him to arrive." Suddenly, a mysterious sound coming towards Dragun. "Ah, there he is now." What appeared to be a UFO-shaped creature appeared before Dragun. This creature was the Fleet's exotic trader: Dozan. When the Fleet faces roadblocks, Dozan is called upon to do away with them by having them being sold to the highest bidder separate to their home planet. For the most part, Dozan was the one to deal with something in the Fleet's way, and that would be all afterward.
He bowed before Dragun as a formality. "Dozan, you recall why I require your assistance?" Dozan nodded, remembering clearly what Dragun asked of him. "Oh, of course, my Lord. But, how do you wish for me to go about this?" Dozan had many ways of going about this plan, but Dragun wanted it to be done in a specific way that would get the job done as quickly as possible. "Just find a way for these obstacles to come to you. Now get going."
Command Center
Ken was beyond confused. Was Zedren saying that their way of getting stronger wasn't good enough? "I'm not following."
Zedren sighs as he goes back to the monitor, replaying the footage of Sean fighting Levir. He pauses as a specific point where there can only be an upside-down Tower. "There once existed a passageway to the planet in which these 'Angels' originate from, until the creature in this video destroyed it with ease. It seems as though Sean was too late to stop him from doing so, thus leading to everything that has happened until now."
Ken was scratching his head at what Zedren was trying to get at. "So? What does that have to do with us getting stronger?" Zedren was getting slightly irritated, but it could have been worse. "I was getting to that. Anyway, you should know that from this point on, the enemies you face will only get stronger the more of them you end up slaying. As such, there is one other way of reaching the planet. And that has to do with what's going to happen within the next hour." He entered another code into the monitor, revealing a simulation, specifically of the solar flares that come from the sun.
"Every 200 years, the Solar Flares from the sun will reach their peak for a short amount of time. 2 minutes, roughly. During that time, you five must combine your powers, and a gateway to said planet will open up for you. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if you miss it, you won't ever have that chance again." Ken was deep in thought. He wasn't sure what he should do. Should he get the Rangers together when the Solar Flares reach their peak? Or should they stay on Earth and protect the innocent while they still can?
"If you'd like me to make a suggestion, I'd say at least try to get the others to open the gateway. If you change your mind before you enter in, then that's your decision. This is not to stress you or anything. I'm merely just giving you a choice that could either do more good or bad. The choice is yours. And you still have time before you choose whether or not to do it. So...be sure to choose what is the wiser choice to you." Ken remained silent, still not sure what to choose. But, he decided to worry about it when the time came to worry about making a choice, even though the choice was harder to make that he might believe.
Angel Grove Park, 1:10 PM
"I don't know why the others are so worried." said Josh, who was sitting on a bench and enjoying the outdoors while he still can. "Why shouldn't you be?" asked Jamie, who was pacing back and forth, somewhat paranoid at how long it's been since their first battle. "It's been five days. You can't tell me that something strange isn't going on?" Josh sighed at this, insisting that they can just wait it out and take action when needed. "Look, Jamie, you need to relax. Nothing has happened yet, so we have time to relax."
"You don't know that." said Jamie with an annoyed expression on her face. "As far as we know, something could happen right now and we wouldn't hear about it until much later." Josh was starting to get frustrated, and Jamie knew that wasn't a good thing. As he got up from the bench, he was about to start yelling at Jamie. However, something else caught his eye.
Dozan was flying over the park, not noticing Josh and Jamie beneath him. The two hide behind the tree to observe where he was going. As he left the vicinity, he split up into five. Josh looked at Jamie with disappointment. "You were saying?" Jamie sighed, realizing what she said was more or less an error. "Well, let's get going." Jamie nodded in agreement as they ran in the direction that Dozan was heading.
In a different part of the park, there was a small group of civilians walking about, one of which was the 12-year-old eyewitness that saw the return of the Rangers: Matt. Dozan took the opportunity to sell off some humans for his own reasons before the Fleet had the chance to empty the planet and sell it off. The civilians noticed the 5 UFO-shaped creatures coming towards them. They were confused as to what it was, but Dozan had them right where he wanted. Suddenly, Mantisites began to appear, surrounding the people, including Matt, so they wouldn't be able to go anywhere.
"Alright, time to reel them in!" said Dozan as the UFOs launched large nets, capturing the civilians with ease.
Things were going according to plan as Dozan took the captured civilians to somewhere that has no interruptions, or so he thinks.
Angel Grove Beach - Restricted Area
As the people are dropped, the five UFOs reformed into Dozan. Matt was surprised by this. "Foolish humans! Now you're all mine to use as I please!" Suddenly, something hit Dozan, even though his physical structure deflected it. Josh and Jamie had morphed up to take on the new monster, not prepared for the challenge that he would be.
The two shot their blasters at Dozan, who blocked the attacks with minimal effort. Dozan was intrigued by the two Ranger before him. "I see, so you're the 'obstacles' that Lord Dragun mentioned? How interesting!" Josh decided to humor him. "So who might you be?" Dozan was confused. It's as if they knew nothing about him. Then again, considering they were humans, it made sense. "My name is Dozan. And I am the Fleet's exotic species trader. For such rare specimens, you're probably worth a fortune to the right bidder!" Jamie felt insulted by what Dozan was insinuating. "Get your head out of the gutter! We're priceless!"
"Mantisites! Distract them for me!" With that, the Black and Yellow Guardian Rangers engaged the foot soldiers.
Ernie Jr's Juice Bar & Diner, 1:25 PM
It's been about half an hour since Sean began to rest from the injuries he was given by Levir earlier that day. Sarah had kept an eye on him to make sure he doesn't exert himself too bad. Surely enough, Sean awoke from his resting, sitting himself up. Sarah, however, tried to get him to continue resting. "Sean, you have to rest." Sean sighed at this. Sarah was being overprotective again. "Look, I didn't get hurt too badly. I appreciate your concern, but I think I'm fine now." Sarah shrugged, not wanting to question his judgment. However, she decided to help Sean up to his feet.
"Hey Sean, how you feeling?" asked Ernie Jr. "I'm fine now, Ernie. Thanks." Sean decided to do some warm-ups to get used to moving around again.
5 minutes pass, and Sean and Sarah's communicators go off. They proceed to go into their usual hiding spot. "Go for Sean." On the other end, Ken needed help with something important. "Guys, there's something I need from one of you. Whoever can come to the Command Center, do so quickly. This is important." Sean and Sarah weren't sure who should go. Should they both go? They weren't sure. Suddenly, they heard their communicators go off again. This time, it was Jamie.
"Sean, Sarah, Ken! We got a problem. The Fleet's on the move, and has civilians held hostage! We've been fighting them for about half an hour. I don't think we can take them out in time!"
Sean thought about this for a moment, and knew how to go about this. "You go help Ken. I'll help the others." Sarah nodded as she proceeded to teleport to the Command Center. "Josh, Jamie, I'm on my way! Just hold on." Sean then took out his Morpher, opening it like always. He then took out his Morph Card, inserting it into the Morpher, closing said Morpher and hearing the same booming voice from before. "GO GO GUARDIANS!"
Angel Grove Beach - Restricted Area, 1:30 PM
The Mantisites just kept coming. They didn't seem to have a limit on how many were coming. Dozan was pleased to know that the Rangers were kept at bay. However, something ended up catching his eye. It was Sean, morphed up, blasting at a few Mantisites and joining into the fight.
Dozan was surprised, but very much excited. "Ah, there's more of you! Well, the more the merrier when the bidding starts." He then proceeded to attack the Rangers, making them immobile for a moment. Dozan then proceeded to walk towards the Rangers, ready to start packing.
5 minutes earlier...
Command Center, 1:25 PM
Sarah had made it to the Command Center, wondering what Ken needed. "What's wrong? Shouldn't we be helping the others?" Ken sighed, understanding of the current situation. It couldn't have come at a worse time than this. "I know the guys need our help, but I need you to relay to the guys something important." Ken urged Zedren to input the code as before, showing the same footage from before regarding the Solar Flares.
Zedren then explained to Sarah what he did to Ken, and she understood what she had to do. "Don't forget to tell the others about this when you help them out. Sarah nodded as she left the Command Center. Ken just needed more time, and then he can make his decision.
Before Dozan could start packing his cargo, he was blasted once again, this time by Sarah, also morphed up, saving the others just in time.
She went over to the other Rangers and helped Sean up. "And now you owe me, again." said Sarah, jokingly as the Rangers proceeded to fight back the Mantisites that came onto them right away. "What took you so long, Sarah? And where is Ken?" asked Josh, who was curious about what Ken wanted. "He's not coming, is he?" asked Jamie. "Zedren told him how we can get stronger." The Rangers all looked at her with surprised looks underneath their helmets. "We only have one chance at it. He'll join us when the time is right."
Meanwhile, Ken was heading to where the Rangers were. As to why he didn't just teleport to their location, he actually teleported to a part of Angel Grove that would take him long enough for the Solar Flares to reach their peak.
Let's hope I make it in time.
Angel Grove Beach - Restricted Area, 1:58 PM
Sean took out his Storm Sabre, slashing away at a few Mantisites. Dozan didn't like the look of things, and was worried his precious cargo would get away. "Ah, I hate to hurt the merchandise, but..." He then attacked the Rangers, rendering them unable to fight for the moment.
Matt couldn't bear to see something so brutal. To him, it was no use. Dozan was too strong, thus giving an even bigger reason for the Rangers to take the opportunity to grow stronger. But considering their situation, who knows if they'll even be able to take that chance.
"One more should do the trick..." Just as Dozan proceeded to attack the Rangers once more, he was interrupted by something behind him. "That's enough!" Suddenly, Ken began running towards the Rangers, unmorphed. The Mantisites proceeded to stop him, but he was able to out maneuver them and reach his allies. When Matt saw Ken, he was confused. What was he doing there? It was then that he began to put the pieces together. There was only one reason why he would help the Rangers. Because he was a Ranger himself. It only made sense.
"Guys! Come on, we need to open the gateway!" Josh had other plans, sadly. "This isn't the time for that!" He then urged Jamie to follow him into battle once more.
Sean looked at Ken with curiosity. "What do you mean by 'gateway'?" Ken sighed, not fond of the amount of time they had left. "All five of us need to focus our powers to open a portal to a planet where our power originate. The Solar Flares are gonna reach their peak any moment now." Ken looked at the sun, not looking forward to what might happen.
"Oh no you don't!" yelled Dozan, who attempted to attack the Rangers again. "Look out!" yelled Sarah as she along with Sean and Ken ducked out of the attack. At the same time, Josh and Jamie were struggling against the Mantisites. "Oh no!" yelled Sarah with worry. "Sorry, Ken." said Sean as he and Sarah went to help Josh and Jamie. "No guys, wait!"
Ken just watched as the others tried to take out the Mantisites. "It's now or never. We'll miss our only chance!" he said to himself. From there, he was left deep in thought, completely conflicted by the decision he has to make.
What do I do?
He repeated this question in his mind multiple times, not knowing what's the right thing to do. He then looked at the people behind him, who were screaming for help constantly. He felt helpless. The decision was left in his hands, and he can't even make up his mind.
Do I make them stop, or should I help them?
The others were able to fend off the Mantisites, but not before Dozan attacked them once more, blasting them with silhouettes of his UFO form. They couldn't handle such a ferocious attack, and were left helpless. "Now it's time to wrap things up!" The Rangers struggled to get up, but to no avail. But Sean wasn't gonna give up. "We're not done yet...I'm not giving up!"
WHAT DO I DO?!
Ken screamed that to himself in his own mind, completely clueless on what to do. Suddenly, Matt decided to take action, by getting Ken's attention before it was too late. "KEN!"
Ken opened his eyes, determination filling his spirit. We don't need to leave the Earth to get stronger...whatever happens, we will fight to the end! Suddenly, Ken takes out his Morpher. "Morph Card!" he yells as he proceeds to insert the card into his Morpher and closing it. And like before, the same booming voice erupted from the Morpher.
"GO GO GUARDIANS!"
Ken was encompassed in a bright light as his Morphing Sequence began.
Within the light, he was nearly fully Morphed, minus the helmet. Suddenly, wings protruded from Ken's back, folding over his torso and forming the Sea insignia on his chest. He then gained his helmet by a silhouette of a shark formed it around his head, completing the Morphing Sequence.
Ken then immediately jumped into the air, firing at Dozan with his Wave Bowgun. Dozan was surprised by this assault and fell to the ground in shock.
"Looks like you need my help, after all." said Ken. The Rangers got up one at a time, Josh giving a light punch to Ken's shoulder. "It definitely took you long enough." Sarah gave a relieved sigh that Ken finally joined in the fight. "Glad you decided to fight with us, Ken." Sean then faced Dozan with determination. "Alright Rangers, let's finish the job!" The five then stood side by side, weapons at the ready, beginning their roll call once again.
"Roar of the Dragon! Red Guardian Ranger!"
"Swiftness of the Phoenix! Pink Guardian Ranger!"
"Venom of the Snake! Black Guardian Ranger!"
"Wrath of the Tiger! Yellow Guardian Ranger!"
"Bite of the Shark! Blue Guardian Ranger!"
"With our power united, Light shall always prevail!"
"Rangers Together! Guardians Forever!"
Dozan wasn't about to give up. At this point, he was growing somewhat desperate. "You won't get the upper hand on me!" he yelled as he launched many missiles at the Rangers, who fly through the large explosion made by them. Dozan was surprised, thus leading to the perfect distraction. As such, the Rangers attacked him two at a time. First, Sean and Josh slashed Dozan with their respective weapons. Next, Sarah and Jamie attacked with their respective weapons as well.
And finally, Ken jumped for Dozan, taking him deep underwater. And since his suit allowed him to breathe underwater, Ken had the upper hand. Ken then pushed him away, aiming his Wave Bowgun at him. "Shark Splash!" When the shots hit, Dozan was forced out of the water, Ken following suit.
When Ken landed, he noticed something that he expected when he made his decision. The Solar Flares had reached their peak, and their opportunity was gone for good. Ken stared at the sun for a few seconds, the other noticing. "Ken...?" asked Sean with worry. Ken looked at the others, understanding what they were wondering about. Knowing that Zedren was watching them, he made it clear what he wanted to say. "I know you can hear me Zedren. I've decided we don't need to leave the planet. We'll grow stronger here, and do the right thing." He nodded towards the others, signifying that it was time to end the battle.
The Rangers combined their weapons once more. "Divinity Crossbow!" Much like Chidogu before him, Dozan was beyond shocked. "Oh, this isn't good!" The Rangers all took out their respective Dynamic Punishment cards, placing them on the flat bases of their respective weapons, their sizes expanding to fit that of the flat bases.
The same booming voice called once more as the weapon began to charge. "DYNAMIC PUNISHMENT!" Dozan felt helpless, as he wouldn't be quick enough to dodge the blast, nor would he be able to block it to reduce the damage.
The Crossbow was fully charged, and the battle was about to come to an end. "Fire!" yelled Sean as the Crossbow unleashed a blast in the form of the full Guardians insignia. It came at Dozan quicker than he expected, and ended up taking the full force of the attack. It was too much for him to handle, as he fell over, his entire being exploding before the Rangers. As such, the netting that trapped the people disappeared, and the people were now free. Although Matt was glad that he was free from that bondage, the shock that Ken is the Blue Ranger was still upon him.
Ken looked at the free people, and seemed proud of himself for what he chose to do. Had he made his fellow Rangers open the supposed gateway, they would have let the Earth down, and who knew if they'd be able to make it back before the planet was fully picked clean? They had a responsibility on Earth, and it will stay that way. Sean then walked up to Ken, curious about his decision. "Do you think you'll regret your decision?" Ken have a short chuckle. "We have a responsibility to protect the Earth. I wouldn't change that even if it meant our lives were on the line."
Ken then turned to where Dozan was. "Anyway..." It turned out that Dozan had survived the onslaught, indicating that he was more powerful than they expected. "Looks like this fight isn't over yet."
"Indeed it isn't, Rangers!" Budon expected this to happen. Dozan was more powerful than the Rangers expected. As such, it would make a lot of sense for him to survive their most powerful attack. Because now, he can test something that will be the turning point of the battle. He snapped his fingers, commanding what appeared to be eyes with wing-like bats surrounding and eventually encompassing Dozan. As a result, it activated what appeared to be a magical seal that caused Dozan to grow to a monstrous size. "What's going on!?" yelled the gigantic Dozan, who was surprised at this turn of events.
The Rangers were surprised at this. They didn't know what to make of it. "What the...he's huge!" Dozan attempted to crush the Rangers by punching at the ground where they were. They dodge the attack, just barely. "Hm...if I can't have you as cargo, I'll crush you instead!"
"It won't be that easy!" yelled Ken.
"Don't underestimate us!" yelled Josh.
"We're tougher than you realize!" yelled Jamie.
Dozan wasn't having any of the Rangers' semantics, and attempted to blast them into oblivion, failing miserably.
"As Power Rangers, it's our job to protect the Earth!" yelled Sarah.
"And you won't stand in the way of that!" yelled Sean. Suddenly, everyone's Spirit Buckles glowed brightly. They all grab what appears to be a new card from their buckle, inspecting what they could be. "A new card...? I wonder..." The cards then formed what appeared to be machines, their respective Spirit Beasts forming the heads. "No way...!" said Ken, who was in disbelief for a moment. "Looks like we gained a new power!"
The Rangers opened their Morphers, placing their new Spirit Card into it, closing it seconds afterward. As a result, the same booming voice issued a new command. "SUMMON DRAGON ZORD! PHOENIX ZORD! SNAKE ZORD! TIGER ZORD! SHARK ZORD!"
On the island that houses the Spirit Beasts, said beasts are released once more, bit for a new purpose. The Dragon connected to that of an airplane, taking on its likeness for a body and becoming the Dragon Zord. The Phoenix did the same for a Fighter Jet, and became the Phoenix Zord. The Snake did so with an express train, become the Snake Zord. The Tiger did so with a bulldozer, becoming the Tiger Zord. And finally, the Shark took on the likeness of a submarine to become the Shark Zord.
"That's it! I'm ending this now!" yelled Dozan, before being immediately knocked down by 5 lasers shot at him. From the distance, the Rangers could see a bright light filled with an array of colors, the Zords heading in their direction. Ken was surprised. "I can't believe it...it's just like Zedren said..." And from there, Ken was looking back at what was told of him after being informed of what he had to choose before...
"Five colors will appear from the light, and their power will drive the darkness away."
These are the words that Zedren accidentally said out loud, catching Ken's attention. "What do you mean?" Zedren wasn't sure how to go about explaining it, so he decided to be somewhat vague about it. "Let's just say that...the words that I have said just now are a legend that has been told to come true in the future. From what I see, regardless of what you choose, this legend will come to be true. However, depending on what you choose, it might come sooner than you think. So it's up to you to decide which choice you think will bring that legend to the light quicker."
The Rangers couldn't believe they have access to this kind of power. But now wasn't the time to be in awe. "Alright Rangers, let's take it up a notch!"
The five then transported themselves into the cockpits of their respective Zords. Sean was the first to set his Morpher to gain control over the Zord. "Guardian Morpher, set!" The remaining Rangers did the same thing in unison.
Dozan took advantage of the current situation. "If that's how you wanna play, let's even the playing field a bit!" He then split up into multiple UFOs, each Zord taking on at least three on their own.
The UFOs all gave chase towards the Zords, Sarah not sure how to go about this. "This isn't good!" Sean felt the need to reassure Sarah that everything will be alright. "Just hang on. We'll figure something out." Suddenly, the UFOs proceeded to surround the Dragon Zord with smoke. While Sean struggled flying through it without seeing anything, he was able to destroy at least one UFO with the Dragon Zord's fire breath.
When he was able to see again, Sean noticed Sarah was still being chased by the UFOs. "Behind you!" he yelled. But when Sarah looked behind her, the UFOs had already struck her from behind. When she tried to focus on what was in front of her, she was at risk of crashing into a wall, an open tunnel at the bottom. Thinking quickly, she proceeded to fly through the tunnel. Okay, Sarah. Just pull up when you have an opening. I'm sure Sean has a plan.
When Sarah pulled up, the sun blinded her vision for the most part, but she was able to see the Dragon Zord through it either way. "Keep pulling up, Sarah." At this point, Sarah wasn't sure what was about to happen. "What are you gonna do?"
Sean didn't have time to explain what he had in mind. "Just trust me." He then activated a trigger, launching a series of missiles aimed at the UFOs. They were all direct hits. Sean was glad it worked out the way it did, but Sarah didn't seem too happy about what he did.
Meanwhile, underneath the sea, Ken was giving chase to more UFOs. "Don't think you can beat me on my own turf." Using the submarine-like targeting system, he was able to lock onto the UFOs. "Targets locked. 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock. Speed: 80 knots." The Shark Zord deployed two shark torpedoes at the at the visible UFO, destroying them right away. "All targets eliminated." Suddenly, a third UFO came out of nowhere, spinning at fast speeds and creating an underwater whirlwind aimed at Ken.
"Or not...!" The UFO hit the Shark Zord, causing it's maneuverability to go out of whack for a moment. Attempting to regain control, Ken raised his steering wheel, commanding the Shark Zord to rise to the surface. "Oh no, you don't!" As a result, the Shark Zord was able to take a bite out of the remaining UFO on the surface, destroying it immediately.
On the land side of things, Josh and Jamie were giving chase to more UFOs that were rolling on the ground. Jamie hit the gas to make the Tiger Zord go faster. "You're not getting away from me!"
The UFOs attempted to blast at Josh, but with the Snake Zord's flexibility, he was able to avoid the attacks, and also trail past them as if it was a race. When he got in front of them, he made a 180, knocking back the UFOs. And using teamwork, Jamie catches one of the UFOs in the Tiger Zord's mouth, spinning in circles to throw it away.
The Phoenix Zord proceeded to cling onto the Dragon Zord's claws, in which both Sean and Sarah would attack at once. "Fire!" the two yelled as they fired lasers from their respective Zords' mouths, blasting away at the remaining UFOs except for one.
The last UFO formed back into Dozan, aggravated at the fact that he is failing constantly. "Curse you all!"
Sean knew it was time to take this to the next level. "Alright Rangers, it's Megazord time!" The other four agreed as they all took out a new Spirit Card, one that came with the Zord cards. It showed what appeared to be the combination for the five main Zords, with the text "GUARDIAN MEGAZORD" on the bottom. "Megazord Card!" the five yelled in unison as they placed the card into their open Morphers, closing it immediately. The same booming voice issued a new command. "SPIRIT COMBINATION: GUARDIAN MEGAZORD!"
"Josh, Jamie, you're up first!" The two nodded Josh hit the brakes, the Snake Zord's tail connecting to the Tiger Zord from behind. Josh then raised his steering wheel when both Zords were connected. What will become the legs raised up to reveal a docking position for the Dragon Zord to connect to. "Docking engaged." said Sean as the Dragon Zord clipped into what is considered the waste, forming the torso. "Ken, Sarah, you're up next!" They nodded as well, the Phoenix Zord's wings collapsing to its sides and the Shark Zord's tail fin splitting and folding to its sides. Both of the Zords attached to the sides of the Dragon Zord, forming the arms.
And finally, the head for the Megazord flips over to reveal itself, finishing the combination. "Guardian Megazord, we are united!"
The Rangers are transported to the Megazord cockpit, which was capable of holding all five Rangers. They were all amazed at what just happened. "Alright, let's finish this fight for good." The Guardian Megazord proceeded to advance towards Dozan, intending to face him head-on. Dozan was beyond infuriated, and was running out of options. "This calls for desperate measures..." He then proceeded to blast eye lasers at the Megazord, which was unfazed as it got closer to Dozan.
"Dragon Sword!" yelled Sean, as the Megazord took what was the Dragon Zord's tail, which now took the form of a sword. The Megazord and Dozan clashed back and forth, neither letting up. Soon enough, the Megazord jumped back, putting the Dragon Sword away. "How 'bout this? Spirit Beast Assault!" As if on cue, the heads of the Zords ejected from their positions, flying towards Dozan and awaiting further commands.
"Double Jab!" yelled Sarah and Ken, as the Megazord punched the air. In response to that, the Phoenix and Shark Spirit Beasts bash Dozan at the chest. "Double Roundhouse!" yelled Josh and Jamie, as the Megazord kicked the air. The Tiger and Snake Spirit Zords started bashing at Dozan as well, the Dragon Spirit Beast blowing fire at it from above. The Megazord then flew into the air, the Spirit Beast reconnecting to the Megazord.
As it flew, the Megazord took out the Dragon Zord, watching Dozan from above, who was dizzy from the onslaught. "Oww, my aching head..."
The time to end the fight was nigh. "Alright, let's finish this!" The Rangers then took out the final Spirit Card included with the Zords. They placed said Cards into their open Morphers, closing them right away. The same booming voice gave out one final command. "BINDING FINISHER!" The Dragon Sword ignited with fire, preparing one more strike.
Before the strike could be done, spiritual version of the Zord Cards appeared in front of the Megazord, keeping Dozan in place. The Megazord then flew towards him, the Rangers giving out one final command themselves. "Final Strike!" The inflamed Dragon Sword slashed through Dozan with ease, leading to his penultimate destruction.
"Guardian Rangers, victory is ours!"
Angel Grove Beach - Restricted Area, 2:30 PM
Matt had left the group of people, running over to the Rangers, now unmorphed. Ken was shocked to see Matt coming up to them. Considering the fact that they pondered whether or not they should tell him that they were the Rangers, this changed everything.
When the others noticed Matt coming towards him, it was too late to get away. Matt had a surprised look on his face. Not only Ken was a Ranger, but the other four as well. Matt was the first to speak. "You guys are the Power Rangers?" They didn't know what to say. The fact the very thing they tried to avoid has come into fruition was frightening enough. "Look, Matt, we-"
Matt then cut him off in excitement. "That is AWESOME!" They all looked at him with confusion. How was Matt knowing they were the Rangers a good thing? "Oh man, I gotta tell everyone!" Sean had feared this would happen. As a result , he grabbed Matt's arm before he could go anywhere. "You can't!" Matt didn't understand. He was still a child after all, so it made sense that it was important to keep their secret identities a secret. "If anyone finds out about this, everyone we know will be at risk."
It eventually clicked in Matt's mind what Sean was talking about. If everyone knew, then so did the bad guys. But, he wasn't about to let his memory get erased to keep the secret. "I can keep this a secret. I promise." Sarah sighed as she took a knee towards Matt. "You know how important this is, right?" Matt nodded, knowing very well that it would be dangerous for anyone to know about this. "Alright then, it's a promise." said Ken.
Matt then looked at Ken, a smile on his face. "What?" He chuckled at the thought, but he couldn't keep it to himself. "I'm glad I got through to you." Ken had a confused look on his face. He had no idea what Matt was talking about. "You did what?" Now Matt was confused. Why was Ken not acknowledging what Matt did? "I yelled out to you when you were standing still doing nothing." And to some extent, Ken was starting to make some sense out of this. Because, during that moment, he didn't hear Matt yelling out to him. In fact, he heard something else, in his mind. And that's what gave him a reality check.
"Oh, I get it. Well, I didn't hear you. Something talked to me in my mind, though." The others heard this, and didn't understand what he meant by that. "I heard a voice, a woman. She sounded familiar, though." Sean walked up to Ken, wanting to know more. "What did she say?" Ken thought about it for a moment, but remembered what the woman in her mind said to him word for word. "'Are you gonna give up your title, just like that? Are you gonna risk the survival of the Earth just to get stronger? You're a Power Ranger. Act like one!' Those were her words. And that's what snapped me back into reality."
This surprised Sean. Something happened in Ken's mind that can't really be explained, at least not at the moment. Matt didn't understand, but being a child, it made sense. Either way, someone needed to bring the people back to Angel Grove. He then activated his communicator. "Zedren, could you call the local police to get these people home?" Sean didn't feel comfortable calling the police himself, so he wanted Zedren to do it. "Roger that." Sean cut the communication short as the Rangers let Zedren do the work.
"Matt, go with the other people. And remember to keep your promise!" Matt nodded, running back to the group of civilians. "Okay, let's get back home. And Ken, go to the Command Center. I'm sure you want to talk to Zedren." Ken nodded as the Rangers teleported away.
Command Center
Ken appeared in the Command Center, intent on figuring out some things. Zedren turned to Ken when he appeared. "The police are on their way- Hm? Ken? You wanted to talk to me about something?" Ken nodded. There was a lot going through his head, and everybody's lives were on the line. "Did you know what I was gonna choose?" he asked. Zedren sighed at the thought. "No, but I figured you weren't going to leave the Earth defenseless."
Ken thought about this for a moment, and it started to make sense. "I get it. Our job as Power Rangers is to protect the Earth and all that inhabit it. Did you give me a choice because you knew we could grow stronger fighting the good fight?" Zedren shrugged. "At first I wasn't sure, but you definitely proved that to be true."
At that point, it all made sense. Ken was a Power Ranger, so why would he forfeit his role as one to attempt at getting stronger and defeat the Raikon Fleet all at once. The benefit was not worth the risk. Besides, the Power Rangers are meant to be the guardians of the Earth. If they leave the people defenseless, their trust in the Rangers will be severed. And that was the last thing that needed to happen.
However, Ken had one more question to ask. "So...is it true? Was there really a gateway that would have opened up had we done what you asked?" Zedren didn't move. Rather, he thought about his answer. "Who knows? We might never find out. Either way, I believe you made the right choice. I was right to choose you and the others. Just remember, though. The path from here on out will only get harder. So be prepared as the stakes grow higher." Ken nodded in agreement. "Thanks Zedren. I won't let you down."
Ken then proceeded to teleport out of the Command Center. Zedren gave a smile, glad to know he was doing some good for a change, compared to what he had done in the past.
Ernie Jr's Juice Bar & Diner, 4:00 PM
It was time once again for the Angel Grove news broadcast. The Rangers along with Matt, Ernie, and a few other onlookers gather around the TV behind the counter to watch the story that would unfold.
"Hello, I'm Ted Baker. As of 2 hours ago, the newest team of Power Rangers have saved the day once again. In this case, no lives were lost, giving people more of a reason to trust these new protectors. Lois Young has the full story." The news cast then transitioned into a voice over of a deeper telling of the story.
"At around 1:00 PM today, a large group of civilians were held hostage at a restricted area of Angel Grove Beach, the reason still unknown. Another monster had appeared after nearly a week had passed since the first attack. As such, unlike last time, there were no casualties, and police were called to bring the freed hostages back home. And it was all thanks to the ones that we had started to lose faith in. However, there's still much great controversy spreading all over the world, and it doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon. "Lois Young, Angel Grove News."
Ernie turned off the TV, and what people thought about didn't seem to change much. The Rangers themselves were still surprised by how many people didn't trust them. But that was to be expected. It's been years since Angel Grove was threatened. People change, and so do their opinions.
As such, Sarah decided to make a video talking about what happened on the news. She even got Sean and Ken in on the video. She had just finished all the recording and editing, and now all that was left was to upload it. Sarah had a hunch that those who didn't trust the Rangers would explode at her for siding with them so easily. But she didn't bother. She took the risk, and knew what would come of it.
Everything was ready, and all that was left, was to click the 'Upload' button. "You sure about this? You know what will happen, right?" Sarah nodded. The risk didn't seem worth it, but she knew what would come of it if she didn't address it. "If I don't, I will look like I'm contradicting my own morals. I can't let anyone think that way." With a deep breath, and a little hesitation, Sarah clicked on her mouse, and the upload process had started. And when it finished, it could not be undone.
At last, I'm finished with Episode 3! Surprisingly enough, I expected to have finished this a lot later than sooner. Either way, this one really messed with me a lot.
Let me explain: Considering this is an adaptation of Goseiger, I had to consider how I would adapt what happened in the Sentai episode I was adapting without making it seem like I was trying to rip it off. Case in point, I don't think I was successful in pulling that off. At all. Believe me, I tried. But I'm sure that someone will put the pieces together and assume that his fic is 'too much like the Sentai'.
Either way, I did have some fun with this episode, as it gave Ken a chance to shine. And rest assured, he'll have more moments like this in future episodes. Same with everyone else. Regardless, now that I got this episode done, I pretty much have most of my bases covered, and I now know how to write the Megazord battles.
And for those who are good at noticing references, I'm sure you'll know I included a reference to a previous Power Ranger season. If you can find it, you have a good eye. And I applaud you for that.
Now, don't expect these episodes to come out this quickly. I still have a college semester to deal with, so it might take longer next time. Well...actually, that's something I wanted to address to you all.
From here on out, there will be a few filler episodes before we continue on with episodes that continue the story. The main problem, though...is choosing which filler episode from Goseiger to adapt. Making the choice will be difficult, so expect the next episode to take longer than usual.
But that doesn't matter. I would like to thank those who decided to give a review since the last episode was published. Surprisingly enough, there were only two people who reviewed the last episode, one of which is a good friend of mine: Merciful Idiot. The other person who left a review has a very familiar name: Mistycharming. I don't know if it's the same person named Misty or not, but I'm grateful for the review either way.
Regardless, whether you're interested in this story or not, thanks for stopping by and reading up to this point.
If you like to stay up to date with this story, be sure to click the "Follow" button somewhere at the top or bottom of this page. And be sure to sure this story with others, as it gets my content out there to more people. That means more people to review my work, and more criticism for me to consider as I improve as a writer and as a person.
Well, I think I've said enough. Have a Morphinominal day, everyone! And may the Power protect you, always. ;)