Rift 10: The Ruined World
Regular text: Connected
Talking: "Connected"
Thoughts: Connected
Rift Closer and Narration: Connected
Finishers: "Connected"
A/N: I missed last weeks chapter because I was on vacation. As such, I posted the chapter I missed along with the one after it to make up for it. This is the first one of the two that I posted.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Emu couldn't take his eyes off of Forrest.
In the infirmary of the base, Forrest laid on a table with his chest exposed and his body connected to several machines.
His breathing was slow and labored, and the machine made it clear his heart was beating slowly.
Beside the bed was Mrs. Venus and Emu, while Horn, Fea, and Rina were off to the side in waiting, Rina being on her Rift Closer with a focused expression. Mars was a few feet behind Mrs. Venus.
"You seem to care a bit too much." Mrs. Venus commented.
Emu narrowed his eyes and looked at Mrs. Venus. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"He's been rude and cruel to you for as long as you've known each other and yet you care the most out of anyone. I don't see why."
"I don't care if he's been a massive dick to me. I still don't want him to die."
Mrs. Venus nodded. "Understandable. We need to drain that excess Rift Energy out of him. He won't last long otherwise."
"How exactly are we supposed to do that?" Horn spoke up.
"Yeah, it's not like any of us can do that without help." Fea pointed out.
"We can't do it anyways. Whatever Master did to it rendered us unable to remove it from his body using any regular means." Mrs. Venus crossed her arms.
Emu thought about it for a moment. "Can Master undo what he did?"
Mrs. Venus shrugged. "Possibly. Though we have no way to know where he went."
The group was silent as this information sunk in.
"…Rina. Do the End Charges relate to Planet X in any way?" Mars decided to speak up.
The group turned to look at him in confusion.
"What does that have to do with this?" Fea demanded.
"Just wait. Do they?" Mars crossed his arms.
Rina was still silent as she typed some things into her Rift Closer.
"Well…they're supposed to link up to something and function as what is essentially a beacon. So I suppose that since Planet X is headed right towards Earth that it's being attracted to the End Charges. But I don't know for sure. I'll have to look into it."
"Either way. There's your lead. If this is all connected like you all have been trying to connect it, then supposedly Master and the Knights are related to Planet X. So we just need to find a way to interfere with Planet X to get their attention again." Mars reasoned.
The group was once again quiet as they thought over this plan.
"Okay, you have a good idea. But what if it falls through? We can't risk this in the instance that Planet X isn't related to this at all." Mrs. Venus pointed out.
"Mrs. Venus. What is Planet X?" Rina asked. "I can't find anything on it."
Mrs. Venus froze as she stared at a wall, though it was obvious she wasn't focused on it.
"It's…it's nothing."
"Hey, we need to know what we're up against here." Horn said.
"Yeah, what is it?" Fea pestered.
"What it is isn't-" Mrs. Venus started before Emu slammed his hand down on an empty table.
"JUST FUCKING TELL US!" Emu yelled.
Dead silence came across the room as everyone stared in shock at Emu, having nowhere near expected him to do that.
Emu didn't seem to notice as he looked up at Mrs. Venus, who stared back with trepidation in her eyes.
"Whatever Master, and Ruby Knight, and all of those other Knight guys are doing are obviously related to Planet X." Emu started. "And because of them, Forrest is lying right there on that table, dying. If we don't know what we're up against, we can't save him. And we can't know if you don't tell us." He growled. He flicked his wrist and then cradled the hand he slammed on the table but kept his glare on Mrs. Venus.
"So I'll ask. What. The hell. Is Planet X?"
Narration: The Rift Guardians, a group that uses the power of the Rifts that connect the worlds. Five beings of different worlds form an elite squad of the Rift Guardians. Together, these five have formed an unbreakable connection and will fight to protect the universe!
Insert Theme: BRAVING! By KANAN
(Chikazuite te o nobashite) The RiftRangers run through a Rift.
(Ashita e to tsuzuku hikari) Each of them are shown one by one, but particular notice is taken with MasterRanger's tail, MinotaurRanger's horns, PegasusRanger's wings, WerewolfRanger's wolf ears, fur, and fangs, KrakenRanger's gills and suction cups, and GarudaRanger's helmet.
(Ashimoto ni hirogaru kono sekai no yume o mita) The screen zooms back out to show all six as they jump out of the Rift and into a new world.
(Music) The title is shown. Emu can be heard shouting: "Sekai Sentai!" before all five shout: "RiftRanger!"
(Yume to kibou wa doko ni aru nante shiranai yo) Emu walked down the middle of the street as lightning struck behind him in the distance. Next, Rina was seen walking on water as a whirlpool formed near her.
(Hashiri mawatte sagashitemo mistukaranai) Forrest grasped the coin in his hand tightly. Then, Fea was seen on top of a skyscraper while stretching her arms outwards, her wings stretching out as well.
(Shinjitsu to uso no hazama ni ochita iru no ka na) Horn was seen climbing a cliff at a fast rate. Lastly, Mrs. Venus was seen biting down on her thumb nail in the base as Mars stood patiently next to her, his arms behind his back.
(Bokura no monogatari nara hajimattemo inai) The three Rift Rulers were seen inside of their base alongside Maid and Hand. The group got into different positions as Rifts opened up all over the place.
(Ashita e tsuzuku kuzureochi sou na machi mo) The six RiftRangers pulled out their Rift Closers and got them ready. They performed their Henshin pose.
(Yowaki naru mae ni tobadashite ikou) In unison they threw their arms into the air with the Rifts opening above their head. Their suits formed and they got into their respective poses.
(Chikazuite too no ite iku) GarudaRanger swung his Shock Lance around to strike at the Peasants around him, lightning surging from the weapon.
(Shinjitsu o tsukamu tame ni) KrakenRanger blasted at a Peasant with her Wave Gun then blasted at three more.
(Mienai mirai kara kibou o sagashidasu) WerewolfRanger struck at multiple Peasants with the Zero Sabers.
(Dare yori mo katai kokoro) PegasusRanger ducked back from a slash then fired an arrow from her Wing Bow into the head of a Peasant.
(Mi ni tsukete kakeagaru yo) MinotaurRanger slammed his fist into the chest of a Peasant to knock it over then slashed at another one with his Rock Drill.
(Yowasa to tatakatte kachiagaru tsuyosa o) MasterRanger stabbed at a Peasant with her Master Staff before converting it to burst mode and firing at several more.
(Mitsukeru tame ni) The five Rift Legends were seen before the next shot was their combined form of Rift Master.
(Kakagae no nai nakama to) The Rift Legends flew away from a Rift then combined into Rift Master once again. The RiftRangers jumped out of Rift Master and joined MasterRanger on the ground.
(Ashimoto ni hirogaru kono sekai no asu o mita) They landed on the ground then performed their signature group pose as the song ended.
Mrs. Venus blankly stared at the wall while biting down on her thumbnail. Horn stood across from her on the other end of the table while Rina was sitting down. Fea was standing against one of the other ends of the table while Mars stood behind Mrs. Venus. Emu stared at the screen, which was still showing Planet X.
"…where should I start?" Mrs. Venus murmured to herself.
Mars comfortingly patted her on the back. "Take your time."
Emu winced at hearing this, his face having a look of regret.
Mrs. Venus sighed.
"…The Rift Guardians have been around for billions of Earth years. The current age of the universe is double the amount of time the Rift Guardians have existed. Given how old the universe is, that's saying a lot. Anyways…the things this force has seen over the years…the assortment of destruction, terror, and pain…anyone who lived long enough to experience it all would've been driven mad a long time ago. We release a lot of these incidents to the public based on the classification of the incident. The lower rankings are uncensored and unfiltered. Those in the middle have a few details censored or erased but still released. The worst ones are completely hidden away. We never talk about them. The list is small, barely even a page long. And that page is filled with some of the worst incidents that this universe has ever seen. Things that should never, ever be revealed to the public no matter what. But I suppose we shouldn't be focusing on that, should we?" she picked up her cup and sipped from it.
When she pulled it away, she wiped her lips then started speaking as she set the cup down.
"Planet X was…one incident on this page. It first came to be a very, very long time ago. A scientist proposed a weapon. One that could effectively end any war without taking a life. He spent his whole life working on something that could create peace and harmony. He never did finish it before his life ended, and to this day no one knows how the weapon was originally supposed to work or how the end product was supposed to be."
Fea gently sat down at the table with a concerned look on her face.
"And this was…Planet X?"
"No. It wasn't. Not yet. The first instance it was used was under 30 million years later. A warlord desiring the conquest of the known universe got his hands on the plan and the nearly completed weapon. It's a mystery how, but that's not likely to be solved at any time." Mrs. Venus shrugged. "The weapon and plans were studied by scientists and mechanics who worked for the warlord. And he had them add his own twist to it. The weapon was no longer made for peace and harmony. It was instead created to cause the war and end it in one fell swoop. Thankfully, he never got to use it beyond a test at a quarter power. In its testing stage it destroyed an entire solar system, including the planet the warlord and his team were on to observe it, which was supposedly a 'safe distance away'" Mrs. Venus rolled her eyes while doing air quotes.
"The Rift Guardians investigated and took the weapon away. It remained that way until approximately 1000 years ago. Then someone else obtained it." Mrs. Venus appeared to be lightly shaking.
"At some point in your lives as Rift Guardians, you will likely have an experience that you will never forget. Some kind of massive destruction event that leaves you speechless. If you're unlucky enough, you'll encounter one such as what happened to me. Planet X was taken by a monster. A monster by the standards of most living things. They did unspeakable things using this weapon. Things that should not have been physically or even theoretically possible, having reworked the destructive abilities of the weapon in ways no one could have possibly imagined. Galaxies were destroyed. Trillions upon trillions of lives were lost forever. No one knows why that monster did what they did. All they can do is remember what they did. Those that were alive that is. The Rift Guardians worked with other forces and eventually managed to beat them. The incident was covered up. I was an intern at that time. The things I've seen and experienced are…things that I have sworn to never speak about. This is just the bare minimum that I will speak about. The weapon has been labelled Planet X. And it was thought to be destroyed and any records of it lost to history aside from the records the Rift Guardians keep. The fact that it's back…terrifies me…"
No one said anything.
No one knew what to say.
No one had expected that to be the explanation given as to what Planet X was.
It was complete silence for a few minutes as everyone let this sink in and try to find something to say.
Rina was the first to break the silence.
"Did…Did Planet X run on Rift Energy?"
Mrs. Venus looked towards Rina.
"I don't…believe so, why?"
She didn't get an answer as Rina stood up while thinking. "…Fea, come with me. I'm going to do a bit of work on this and I need your help with something." Rina walked off.
"Oh. Okay." Fea followed after Rina.
The group was quiet for a few seconds until Mrs. Venus looked at Emu. "Emu. Did you go see your family?"
"I didn't get a chance to. We were attacked." Emu quickly explained.
Mrs. Venus nodded and then stood up. "Come on. We're going down to Earth and you're going to see your family. Horn, you're with us too."
Ruby Knight groaned in pain as she held the ice pack over her forearm. She was currently back at the area she worked at with Master. She was in a room where she was trying to treat her injuries, having removed all of her armor to reveal her dark brown skin under what was essentially a matching black set of tank top and leggings.
After ensuring the ice pack was sticking to her arm, she looked up to the mirror in front of her, making eye contact with her reflection.
Her short brown hair went down to her cheeks and her face had a scar running from her right cheek to her left temple. Her pale red eyes scanned over her face one last time to ensure there were no cuts or injuries that needed treating as well. After ensuring that her face was fine, she gave a brief nod and picked up a cloth she had on the counter, putting it on to reveal it was essentially a turtleneck.
She tapped a spot on her waist. Her leggings and shirt suddenly lit up in a cyan circuit design as it tightened around her skin.
While this happened, she reached over to her tablet, which was lying on a table nearby, and pulled a small device off of the side before placing it in a pouch hidden at the side of her waist.
After this, she began putting her armor back on, lightly wincing and grunting in pain as she fastened her armor in place.
After she had finished putting on her leg armor and was in the process of putting her upper body armor on, the door opened behind her with Master walking in.
"Pardon the intrusion." Master simply said. "We need to get moving."
Ruby Knight turned to look at him as she locked her belt in place. "What's wrong?"
"They're back on Earth. This time, we're going to end them."
Ruby Knight sighed as she finished putting on her arm armor. "Are you positive, Master?"
"Yes. Did you not have a duel you wanted to finish?" Master raised an eyebrow.
Ruby Knight paused then turned to glare at Master.
"…very well." She picked up her helmet and put it on her head. "Let's get going, then." She tapped the side of her helmet, her face being covered by a black visor and the bottom of her helmet attaching to her turtleneck to fasten in place.
Emu fell through the Rift, landing harshly on the ground.
Mrs. Venus came through after him with Horn following after her.
Emu winced as he stood up and massaged his wrist, which he had landed on.
"No need to be so harsh about it." He said to Mrs. Venus, though she just pushed him by the shoulder then pointed towards the side.
"I don't want to hear it. Stop stalling and go see your family."
Emu swallowed and seemed to be hesitating.
"I…I don't know if I can. I have reasons why I can't do it and…" he trailed off when Horn placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Hey…take it at your own pace. It's okay. I got you, bud." He patted him gently on his back.
Mrs. Venus watched but said nothing.
Emu took a deep breath but nodded and kept walking.
Horn and Mrs. Venus trailed behind him, though Horn was cautious around Mrs. Venus, as if he was prepared to protect Emu from her if need be.
It became clear to Emu that he was as far as he had made it last time. And he had made it farther than before. After a bit more walking, he paused as he reached a building. A nostalgic look came across his face, though he didn't move, instead simply staring.
Mrs. Venus frowned, but Horn intervened before she could try to do anything.
Emu eventually did start moving again. He walked up the steps and into the open doorway. But he froze again. He opened his mouth to call out to someone or something, and he found himself unable to speak.
Horn turned to Mrs. Venus and spoke in a gentle tone. "Let him do it on his own. You shouldn't force him."
"He may not have a chance if he goes at his own pace." Mrs. Venus murmured, gaining a look of exasperation from Horn.
Emu's lower lip quivered as he tried to call out. He didn't.
His feet slowly moved backwards, moving as if he was backing away and about to turn and run.
Anything Mrs. Venus was about to say or do was stopped in its tracks when a Rift opened up behind her and Horn, gaining her attention.
She quickly spun around only to find two figures emerging from the Rift, Master and Ruby Knight, though Ruby Knight appeared to be a tad bit sluggish in her movements.
"Hello again." Master greeted.
"You." Horn growled.
"Me." Master simply waved.
"We finally meet, huh? My subordinate is dying because of you." Mrs. Venus said to Master.
"…I suppose so. You must be the one leading this team. I must say, I've watched your fight against Aqua Knight, but I only managed to catch it after you transformed. You're very impressive. But unfortunately that impressiveness was included with beating a member of my Knight Force. So prepare for my retribution." Master drew his sword, Mrs. Venus immediately responding with drawing her sleeve back and Horn getting ready.
Master looked past them at Emu. "And you have unfinished business with Ruby Knight."
"Yeah, sure. Single me out." Emu sighed as he pulled out his Rift Closer.
"Don't worry. We'll make this quick." Master dashed towards Mrs. Venus after saying that.
Kitsune! World Connected!
Master Staff!
MasterRanger raised up her staff to block his attack.
Master jumped back, but was followed by MasterRanger.
"Connect the Worlds!" Horn dashed after them.
Minotaur! World Connected!
Ruby Knight and Emu were left alone once again.
"We really need to stop meeting like this. People are going to get the wrong idea" Emu joked.
Ruby Knight just stared at him, her emotions being unable to be read through her visor.
"…what do you mean?" her head tilted to the side slightly.
Emu found himself surprised by her questioning of what was supposed to be a throwaway joke that she quite obviously didn't get.
"What do you mean: 'what do you mean?'"
"We're supposed to be fighting each other. How else are we supposed to be meeting and who would be getting the wrong idea?" Ruby Knight questioned.
"It's…it's a joke."
"How is that supposed to be funny?"
Emu just stared at her. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out and he just closed his mouth again.
"…so we're dueling still, right?"
"Indeed." Ruby Knight readied her sword as if nothing had just happened.
Emu just clicked open his Rift Closer and held it out to the side to transform. "Open the Rift."
Rift Opened!
"Connect the Worlds."
Garuda! World Connected!
Shock Lance!
"GarudaRanger." GarudaRanger brandished his Shock Lance but held up his Rift Closer. "Before we start though, may I request a change in location?"
"Of course." Ruby Knight nodded. "As long as you don't plan on tricking me, I am willing to accept."
GarudaRanger carefully walked towards Ruby Knight until he was a couple of feet away from her. He held out his Rift Closer and pressed the button, opening a Rift to a different location. The two stepped into the opposite sides of the Rift.
They stepped out of it to find themselves near a cliff that dropped off into a quarry.
The two faced each other as the Rift closed.
"What is this place?" Ruby Knight aimed her sword at him.
"A quarry I visited when I was a kid. It's secluded enough where we won't be bothered but there's enough space for us to go all out." GarudaRanger shouldered his lance.
"Very well. Let's begin."
And with that, Ruby Knight lunged at GarudaRanger while stabbing forward.
GarudaRanger deflected the attack with his Shock Lance then lashed out with a kick. When she ducked back and fell out of range for his kick, she wasn't far enough out of range to receive his lance to her stomach. The electric shock surged into her body after GarudaRanger pulled the trigger.
The undersuit she was wearing began to glitch and spark a little, resulting in Ruby Knight calling out in pain and yelping while she was shocked and burned.
GarudaRanger took notice and pulled his lance back quickly while reaching out to grab her as she fell.
"Shit!" he swore when she crashed into the ground.
The undersuit she had on stopped sparking and glowed for a few seconds before it returned to normal.
Ruby Knight panted and grabbed at the arm she had stuck an ice pack to.
"Hey, are you alright?" GarudaRanger gently asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.
She responded by pulling his arm off of her.
"Why do you care? I'm you're enemy." She growled.
"And? That doesn't mean I can't care." GarudaRanger stood back up. "You haven't actually done anything that bad…that I know of at least."
"It's a duel to the death." Her voice was harsh and to the point.
"Or until we yield. And if I'm going to kill you, it's going to be quick and painless. Not…like that." GarudaRanger admitted.
"This suit takes into account any injuries or pain I'm feeling and amplifies padding or protection to any injured areas. You short-circuited it. That's not going to kill me." Ruby Knight simply explained. "Even so, why wouldn't you use that to kill me? How do you know it's not painless?"
"I didn't know what it is. And I wasn't going to take that chance. Get upset at me if you like but I don't care. I'm going to follow my ideals even in situations like this."
Ruby Knight did not have a response to what she had just heard. Her visor did not betray whatever emotion she had to GarudaRanger either.
Instead, she pushed herself up, causing GarudaRanger to back up and allow her to stand.
Ruby Knight picked her sword up off the ground but didn't ready it as she stood up and stared at GarudaRanger, who simply made what was close enough to eye contact.
She made what was akin to a sighing noise before charging at him.
"And that's all you know?" Rina asked.
Fea nodded from Rina's bed.
Rina typed something into what looked to be a computer fixed at the desk next to her bed.
"Yup. Sorry. That's all Forrest and I got from Planet X when we visited." Fea shivered. "Hey, why is your room so cold?"
"Mizuri, where I was born and raised, is a planet of ice and water. This isn't that bad for me, but I can turn up the heat if you need to."
"No, I should probably go help out with whatever's happening. I'll tell Mrs. Venus you got caught up and couldn't help."
"Okay, thanks." Rina said as Fea exited through a Rift.
Rina continued to type at her computer for a bit after Fea left, a determined look on her face.
MinotaurRanger fell to the ground harshly. Master brought back his sword and readied it as MasterRanger leapt over MinotaurRanger while slamming her weapon downwards.
The two weapons clashed briefly until Master stepped back to let the weapon fall to the ground. However, when her weapon fell, MasterRanger was quick to step forward and pivot on her foot to spin around.
Master ducked down to avoid the swing of the Master Staff above his head. His gun found itself aimed at MasterRanger's stomach.
However, the blast he fired at her was avoided as she dropped her weapon then jumped upwards, so the attack soared under her. She flipped forward and extended her leg outwards so her heel slammed into his helmet.
Master fell onto his front and quickly rolled to the side to avoid any further attacks coming his way. As he got onto one knee, he nonchalantly aimed to the side and fired to hit MinotaurRanger in the gut to keep him from intervening for a bit longer.
Master rose to his feet and raised up his sword to defend himself from an attack to his side from the Master Staff. However, MasterRanger pulled the weapon back then converted it to its gun mode. Master shot at the bolt that MasterRanger fired at him, only for an explosion to result from that, with the explosion larger on MasterRanger's side.
The two Masters were knocked off their feet and onto their backs.
MasterRanger was quick to flip off the ground into a crouched position.
Master calmly sat up while dragging the front of his gun across his sword to charge up the blade.
"Mrs. Venus!" MinotaurRanger called.
MasterRanger turned to him, only to end up catching the Rock Drill.
"Thanks!" she yelled back before charging at Master. Master got up just as fast while holding out his energized weapon.
MasterRanger jumped up and stabbed downwards with the spinning drill in her hand, her weapon deflected by the sword Master wielded.
Master kicked forward and added in a punch. His target moved out of the way of the first attack then stepped forward while ducking under the punch. The drill in her hand was driven into Master's stomach.
"GAH!" Master cried out in pain at this, unable to grab the weapon as it was a spinning drill that had quickly buried into his stomach and past his armor.
MasterRanger pulled back and kicked Master right where she had stabbed him. Master took the chance after she pulled the weapon out to strike her across her chest with his own sword.
As Master fell backwards, he slashed again so a wave of energy shot out and struck MasterRanger again across her chest.
MasterRanger fell onto one knee as Master hit the ground.
"Well…you're certainly stronger than I was expecting." Master chuckled.
"Who the hell are you?" MasterRanger demanded.
Master sat up. "That doesn't really matter. But perhaps it'd be best you got your team off of this planet as fast as you can." Master readied his sword.
MasterRanger perked up. "What do you mean?"
Master didn't answer as he slashed in midair and formed a Rift.
He got back to his feet as several Peasants fell out of the Rift. Master pulled a small orb off the side of his belt and tossed it into the air after pressing a button on it.
The orb dissolved with the energy covering the Peasants.
MasterRanger gave an exasperated sigh as the Peasants started growing.
"Wait! Fix my friend!" MinotaurRanger ran after Master, though he quickly left through a Rift to escape.
MasterRanger stood up and activated her Rift Closer.
"Rift Legend, come here." She ordered.
Kitsune! Legend!
"I'll take care of these real quick. Horn, go help Emu." MasterRanger ordered.
"But it's a duel!" MinotaurRanger responded.
"Just make sure he doesn't die!" she yelled back while stepping into a Rift.
Kitsune Legend started moving seconds later and then started shifting around.
Ready! Rift Mega!
MinotaurRanger sighed and turned around to go find GarudaRanger.
"…wait, where did they go?"
Ruby Knight once again fell down in pain, panting heavily as she gripped her shoulder. She was near the edge of the cliff.
GarudaRanger stood in front of her, pulling back his lance while panting.
"I'm…not…done yet." She panted while struggling to her feet with the use of her sword.
"You're not going to be able to go on much longer. I can-" GarudaRanger started.
"Shut it." Ruby Knight ordered. "I'm…not gonna yield…"
"I'm not asking you to yield, I'm asking you to get medical attention before you get hurt in ways that you can't fix easily." GarudaRanger snapped.
"You really care?" Ruby Knight said.
GarudaRanger noticed the hint of disbelief in her voice.
"…I suppose you would. You do need me alive for information." She panted.
GarudaRanger didn't say anything to confirm or deny that that was what he meant.
"But I'm not yielding…not yet." Ruby Knight held out her sword.
"Can't we just call this even? This is really going too far."
"No. Either you die…or you yield…the only way I'm losing is dying." She stepped towards him shakily. "So raise up your weapon and-" she raised her voice in an attempt to threaten him.
"I yield."
Ruby Knight froze.
"You…you what?"
GarudaRanger tossed his Shock Lance to the ground.
"You win. I can't bring myself to fight anymore."
"W-what? After…after all of that…you…you…" she stammered, unable to comprehend or understand what just happened. She began stumbling in place, but she was unaware of how unsafe it was to be doing that near the edge of a cliff.
"Hey, watch where you're stepping." GarudaRanger tried to warn her.
"I…I…I!" she inadvertently stepped in the wrong place, her foot falling over the edge and the rest of her body following soon after.
"NO!" Ruby Knight heard GarudaRanger yell.
Ruby Knight began her fall towards the distant ground. It became apparent she wasn't going to survive the impact.
…this is how it ends…how…unceremonious and…disappointing…
She was staring straight up into the sky, and as such was blinded by the light of the nearby sun. However, she could vaguely make out movement from the edge she just fell off of.
…I don't want to die yet…it's not…honorable enough…I'm not honorable enough…there's still so much that I want to…wait.
Ruby Knight noticed the growing figure that was blocking out the sun as it quickly approached.
"OOF!"
The figure slammed into her from above harshly, knocking all of the air out of her lungs. Ruby Knight wasn't sure how she got down from the ground after that, as everything she saw was a blur of colors and movement, but after being set down on the ground, she noticed her savior's wings folding back up into their default stationary position.
"…seriously, are you okay?" GarudaRanger's voice came into focus.
Ruby Knight turned her head towards GarudaRanger, who had taken his helmet off to reveal Emu's worried face.
"You…you saved me." Ruby Knight realized.
"Well. Yeah." Emu stood up and rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly.
"My death would've been quick and painless from that height, albeit very gruesome. Would you not have been okay with that?" Ruby Knight asked.
"No." Emu immediately responded. "I never wanted you to die. Ever."
Ruby Knight stared at him. "You…but you said…"
"I know what I said. I will admit, I'm not as honorable as I seem. I do lie from time to time. Besides. I already yielded. It wouldn't make sense to let you die after the duel was over."
Ruby Knight stared at Emu's face, focused on him as she appeared to be deep in thought.
She noticed his slightly worried and nervous expression. And she made a decision.
Ruby Knight reached up to her helmet and tapped the side again, her helmet unfastening and her visor retracting to reveal her face. She pulled her helmet off her head, mirroring Emu's current outfit.
"My name is Rue Cyber. I am a Vlayd of the planet Krymsun. And I request your help." Rue scowled as she looked up at Emu.
"…I am Shinji Mirai, a human from Earth. I accept." Emu said.
"You would accept just like that?" Rue gave Emu a look of confusion along with the tone of disbelief she had been using often throughout their interactions.
"Well…I lost. I have to do whatever you want, so I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to."
"…your tone implies…a desire to have done it either way." Rue pointed out.
Emu didn't give a response to that, instead crouching down on one knee in front of Rue.
"What would you have me do?" Emu requested.
Rue stared at him with a look of disbelief and confusion before she gave a quiet nod and a small grin formed on her face. Rue unfastened her belt then tossed it to the side before pulling something out of a hidden pocket at the side of her waist.
"You said you would do whatever I want. And I want to answer your questions." Rue said. "But we lack the time for that. So here, take this. This contains all of the data on Project X." she held out the device.
Emu looked down at her palm and reached out to gently take the device from her, looking over every side of it. He looked back up at her.
"What is Project X? Does it have to do with Planet X?"
Rue sat back on her hands. "I swore to Master I would not tell anyone anything about Project X. I said nothing about leaking the information by giving out the information on a data drive." The shadows of a coy grin formed upon her lips. "Or how it connects to Planet X."
Emu gave Rue a questioning look. "Why give me this?"
Rue picked her helmet back up.
"I'm a woman of my word. I have no choice but to go along with this project due to my code of honor. But that doesn't mean I want to see it succeed. I want you to stop Master." Rue fastened her helmet back on her head and activated it to complete her transition back into Ruby Knight. "Now you have a job to do, don't you? Arrest me."
"For…what?"
"I have done wrong, Shinji Mirai. I do need to be punished for my actions."
"But…what actions?"
"I can't say just yet. You'll find out when you look at the data on that drive."
"I can't arrest you then. Not until you do something wrong."
"…I held a blade to your throat before we started the duel and I did attack you, despite it being as part of a duel, does that count?" Ruby Knight pointed out.
Emu took in this information and thought about it for a second.
"…Forrest. The one who Master hurt by activating the Rift Energy in his body. Can you fix him?"
"No. He needs to either be drained of the energy or Master has to undo what he did." Ruby Knight simply said.
"…" Emu was quiet as he pulled out his Rift Closer and aimed it at her. "…I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Just do it." Ruby Knight ordered.
Arrest!
Emu arrested Ruby Knight.
After this, he stood up and looked down at his Rift Closer, thinking about it.
"OI! EMU!" Horn shouted from behind him.
Emu turned around and looked up to see Horn and Fea waving at him from the top of the cliff.
"What are you doing down there?!" Fea yelled down to him.
Emu picked up his helmet from the ground and dusted it off.
"I'll explain later! Just meet me back at the base!" he yelled back to them.
"Gotcha! See ya there!" Fea responded.
The two quickly left the area.
Emu turned around to look at the area Ruby Knight was in. He then proceeded to put his helmet back on and leave.
Back at the base, Emu looked around as he walked into the main room.
"Hey, where's Mrs. Venus? I need to talk to her." He asked Rina, who was sitting at the table in the main room with Horn and Fea.
"She's checking on Forrest right now. Trying to make sure he's okay."
Emu nodded and backed out, preparing to leave the room.
"Wait, I have a question" Horn stopped Emu. "Where did you learn all that medical stuff? What was it, CPR?"
Emu stopped and turned back to Horn.
"Oh. My mother was a surgeon. Before she died I learned a few things…they came in handy here and there. But I haven't used that info in a while and I certainly didn't think it'd work on an alien, so I never really brought it up until this happened. I didn't know if it would work, but I had to try."
"What's a surgeon?" Fea asked.
"A surgeon is a medical practitioner who performs surgery." Emu gave the simple answer, though Fea still looked confused.
"Wait, your mother is dead?" Rina pointed out.
"…that's…not…really that important." Emu tried to leave, only to run into Mrs. Venus as she walked into the room.
"Hello." She pushed past him. He was quick to follow after her though.
"Mrs. Venus…I'm sorry I snapped like that." Emu bowed.
"That's what you're worried about? Get your priorities straight, Emu." Mrs. Venus simply said before sitting down at the table. "Alright, what've we got about Planet X?"
Rina stood up and used her Rift Closer to change the screen to show off data she had collected.
"I had Fea explain what she found. The fact that we can't land on it gives me a huge hint." Rina explained. "Remember when I mentioned that the materials Silver Knight stole from Earth can be used for a variety of machines? Well, one of the ones I mentioned enables a planet sized mass the ability to mask itself and be unaffected by gravity and leave everything else around it unaffected as well. This machine can also turn the planet intangible. But I can't think of why they haven't camouflaged it either. The only things I can think of are intimidation tactics, pride, or trying to scare us; but those are all just personal reasons whoever's doing this would have. Nothing actually concrete unless we have some form of evidence."
Mrs. Venus sighed and sat back in her seat.
Emu's eyes narrowed at the screen and he pulled out the data drive he had been given.
"…like this?" Emu held out the object.
The group turned to Emu at this.
"Like what?" Mrs. Venus's eyes narrowed at him.
"This is something containing information on something called Project X. Ruby Knight gave it to me after our duel. She indirectly confirmed that Project X is connected to Planet X."
Rina walked around the table and took the item from Emu, looking over it.
"You had this the entire time and never mentioned it?! Why?!" Mrs. Venus yelled at him.
Emu didn't make eye contact as he shrugged. "…I didn't want to interrupt."
"Unbelievable." Mrs. Venus sighed. "Rina-"
"I'll get to work on analyzing this. I'll need to check and make sure there's-" she was interrupted when something slammed against the door behind Emu. It opened a second later to reveal Mars, who had a look of panic on his face.
"Forrest is destabilizing."
"Selniad." Mrs. Venus swore as she got out of her seat and rushed out of the room. The others were quick to follow.
Upon entering the infirmary, Mrs. Venus was quick to note Forrest's squirming in bed and his body being soaked in sweat. He panted heavily against the mask on his face, fogging it up repeatedly as the machines he was plugged into gave repeated warnings in the form of rapid beeping.
His already pale skin was a brighter white, nearly making it look as if he was glowing.
"Oh my God." Emu said from behind Mrs. Venus.
She quickly moved over to him, looking at the readings and trying to figure out what to do.
"We need more medicine." She said.
"On it." Mars got to work looking through the cabinets.
"Rina, he's running a fever."
Rina moved towards Forrest and placed her hand on his forehead, utilizing her cold skin as a make shift ice pack.
"Horn, we may need to restrain him, be ready." Mrs. Venus was handed a needle by Mars, quickly inserting it into Forrest's arm.
This did little to help him, but it certainly did something to help.
Emu stared at the scene before him, a worried look on his face.
"He's not breathing!"
This worried look went away and was replaced by panic when Rina had said that.
"Don't quit on me!" Mrs. Venus growled. She prepared to bark another order to Fea when Emu appeared on Forrest's other side and started to perform CPR again.
"…that'll work." Was all his boss said before ignoring him.
Come on! Come on! Emu thought to himself as he performed the chest compressions. He had a determined look on his face.
He needs to either be drained of the energy or Master has to undo what he did. Ruby Knight's voice said in Emu's head.
Drained of the energy…
Drained…
Drain…
Drain.
Drain.
Emu froze, his hands still planted firmly on Forrest's chest.
He remained that way as everyone else kept moving around him.
"If you're not going to help, get out of the way!" Mrs. Venus yelled at him and was about to walk around the table to get him when she noticed the blank look in his eyes.
It wasn't blank for long as his eyes glowed a bright silver with a sudden gust of wind moving his hair around.
"Emu?" Rina noticed this. The others did as well, though Rina was the only one to question what was happening.
However, it was quickly brushed aside when his hands started glowing red. Forrest stiffened and started letting out gasping, choked noises as energy could be seen travelling from Forrest's body into Emu's hands.
"What's…what's happening?" Horn questioned with a look of confusion on his face.
Mrs. Venus looked between Emu and Forrest with a look of suspicion and wary.
Forrest's eyes rolled back into his head as the veins covering his body suddenly became visible while they turned a black color.
Fea's eyes widened in horror before she quickly ran to them, grabbing Emu's shoulders and starting to try and tug him away.
"Hey! Stop it! You're killing him!" Fea shoved Emu off of Forrest. When the connection broke, Emu's eyes turned back to normal and the aura around his hands died down.
He seemed to be in a trance for a brief second, but snapped out of it when he landed in a sitting position and Forrest pulled the mask off his face before he began coughing harshly, turning over onto all fours in case something liquid or solid ended up coming out of his mouth.
Horn was quick to gently pat him on the back, thinking it might help.
Mrs. Venus looked at Forrest with a questioning look on her face. She raised up her arm and activated her Rift Closer to scan Forrest. However, after the screen appeared and she read the scan, she narrowed her eyes in confusion.
"It's gone." She simply said.
"What's gone?" Horn spoke up.
"The excess Rift Energy is gone…" Mrs. Venus clarified.
"What?" Mars asked.
"Gone? Does that mean he's okay? Where did it go?" Horn asked.
Mrs. Venus didn't have an answer. But she had a thought. She proceeded to aim her Rift Closer at Emu and press the button to perform another scan.
Though she quickly became shocked at what the scan was telling her.
"He…absorbed it."
Rina moved to Emu's side. "Emu, are you okay?"
"I feel fine." Emu shrugged.
"How can he do that and still be fine?" Horn asked.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Rina questioned.
"Rina, I'm fine." Emu assured her.
"The Rift Energy Master activated is still there. But it's…it's just there. It's not hurting him or doing anything. It's…I don't know what I'm looking at."
Emu noticed he was being stared at by everyone, though most of the reactions he was being given were of wary and confusion, with the exceptions being concern from Rina and disbelief from Forrest.
He looked down at his hand, turning it over repeatedly but finding no traces of the red energy that had come from it.
Insert Theme: Unbreakable Heart By Hideaki Takatori
(Ima hajimaru no sa) Emu, Rina, Forrest, Fea, Horn, Mrs. Venus, and Mars sat underneath a tree while looking at the sunrise, Emu sitting down with his knees close to his chest and his arms wrapped around them, Rina on her knees, Forrest leaning up against the tree, Fea sitting with her legs crossed, Horn crouching down, Mrs. Venus laying on her back on the ground, and Mars kneeling down on one knee.
(Zutto mune ni egaki tsudzuketeta sutori) The six RiftRangers could be seen in the tree branches, GarudaRanger calmly perched on a branch, KrakenRanger looking to be a bit too cautious, WerewolfRanger standing on a branch, PegasusRanger hanging upside down from a branch by the back of her knees, MinotaurRanger hanging from another branch, and MasterRanger laying on her side on the largest branch.
(Kono omoi TA-GI-RE!) Emu, Rina, Forrest, Fea, Horn, Mrs. Venus, and Mars all stood up as the sun shone on them then started to take off while their RiftRanger counterparts dissolved.
(WHOA-OH! WHOA-OH! WHOA-OH-OH-OH! WHOA-OH! WHOA-OH! WHOA-OH-OH-OH!) The seven ran together through the field.
(Tatakau junbi wa dekiteiru) Emu grinned as he ran through the city, the streetlights flickering as he approached and random items sparking.
(Furueru mune mimi wo sumashite) Rina ran down the beach, the water reacting and becoming restless as she moved near it.
(Zutto sono toki o matteiru) Forrest jogged through the forest, the leaves and trees either dying or seeming to grow more as he got near.
(Makeru koto mo atta kedo) Fea flew through the air with her wings, laughing as other flying creatures appeared around her.
(Sono tabi ni mata tachiagerate) Horn ran through the desert at a fast pace, kicking up a dust cloud.
(Mata tsuyokunareta) Mrs. Venus and Mars ran on treadmills in a gym, Mars looking tired but going at a constant pace while Mrs. Venus looked relaxed and running at a much higher speed.
(Shinjireba ii sa) It cut to a shot of all seven of them running in a multi-split screen.
(Ima made yori mo "ima" o) Emu and Mrs. Venus glowed red and orange with lightning and energy around them.
(Genkai nantemon) Rina and Fea glowed pale blue and white with water and feathers around them.
(Yu ni koero) Forrest and Horn glowed violet and yellow with leaves and rocks around them.
(Ima hajimaru no sa) The six RiftRangers ran through the Rift together.
(Zutto mune ni egaki tsudzuketeta sutori) In a flash, the six were replaced by the seven regular formed members of the team running down a shore together.
(Kono omoi TA-GI-RE!) They ran together with their RiftRanger forms appearing next to them.
(Kono te ni aru) They ran down the shore, Garuda Legend and Pegasus Legend flying above them and Kraken Legend swimming with them while Kitsune Legend, Minotaur Legend, and Werewolf Legend chased after them, Minotaur Legend on two feet while Werewolf Legend and Kitsune Legend were on all fours.
(Kirifuda o tsuyoku nigirishimete) GarudaRanger flicked his wrist, KrakenRanger snapped her fingers, WerewolfRanger cracked his neck, PegasusRanger gave a thumbs up, MinotaurRanger slammed his right fist into his left palm, and MasterRanger shook her head in amusement.
(Orenai hato de yume ni mukanda!) Emu, Rina, Forrest, Fea, Horn, Mrs. Venus, and Mars continued running as the RiftRangers and Rift Legends stopped behind them.
(WHOA-OH! WHOA-OH! WHOA-OH-OH!) The seven jumped into the air, Emu throwing his right arm into the air, Rina laughing, Forrest crossing his arms with a slight smirk, Fea giving a peace sign, Horn kicking outwards, Mrs. Venus biting down on her thumbnail with a light grin, and Mars staring blankly at the camera.