Chapter 10 - Dusk Before Dawn, Pt. 2
"Welcome, rangers. Allow me to play for you your swan song!" Shouted the radically large figure of Draxius. He loomed over them, his malice and dark intentions oozing from every pore of his body. He slowly approached the scattered zords, his blade glistening in the sunlight. From inside the cockpit of his own zord, Byron tried to keep it together. He clutched his head in pain as he contacted his friends.
"O-One more time, guys. Let's bring out the big guns." James responded.
"Byron, this guy hacked our zords apart! I don't think summoning any of the triad will make much difference!"
"But we have to try!" Draxius kicked the Lion zord clear into the sky where it landed many meters away. "AA...AAARGH!" Byron screamed as he held onto the console.
"Byron!" Cried out four different voices. James and Jun both took out discs, each one representing a member of the triad.
"STAR SUMMON!" Out of the spinning discs appeared the guardians of water and earth.
"ZETA KAFER!""ETA SCHERTFISCH!"
Controlling the beetle and swordfish, the red and green rangers sent the fresh zords in against the monster. Kafer spun its claw-like head around trying to trip him, but Draxius wasn't fazed. He took a quick stab at the ground and grabbed the beetle by its neck. Using massive force, he flung the mechanical insect to the side, making it dive into dozens of trees. James took careful aim and yelled...
"ETA MISSILES... FIRE!" The two short missiles on the side of the swordfish fired instantly, their sights set on the monster. Draxius eyed the projectiles speeding towards him and laughed.
"Have you learned nothing? NEGATIVE VORTEX!" The same ominous black hole appeared, sucking up the missiles into its void. James started to steer the zord to safety; he knew what was coming thanks to his last encounter, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid it.
"FIRE!" Behind Schertfisch, the missiles emerged from the hole, slamming into the zord with great force. Letting out a shrill cry, the zord fell to the ground and laid on its side like the catch of the day.
Byron composed himself enough to see Kafer and Schertfisch fall at the hands of this new and powerful foe.
"One chance left... STAR SUMMON!" Byron placed the white disc onto his sword hilt and spun it around. Arising from it, the tiger let out a mighty roar as it charged the monster, its drill claws spinning with ferocity. In a shocking turn of events, Draxius stopped the zord with a swift slash of his blade, knocking the tiger of its wheel. Picking it up by the scruff of its neck like a kitten, he smirked.
"You see? Nothing can stop me when I get serious. You all should have never meddled with me in the first place!" He flung the tiger onto the ground before stepping on it. Letting out a cry of pain, the tiger tried to escape from its captor's hold. "How's about we get rid of the kitty-cat first? I always wanted to skin a cat." He flipped his sword in his hand, raising it high, preparing to slaughter the poor mecha-beast spirit. Tacari struggled with all her might until her zord flew into the air. Gaining her second wind, she called out,
"J u'nod lniht ps!" Coming in at breakneck speeds, she made her zord spin like mad. "NAR TIH TSA!" The force of the turtle's spin created a tornado around it as it made contact with Draxius. The monster started to struggle a bit.
"Interesting. You still wish to fight despite this hopeless situation? NEGATIVE TORNADO!" In a reverse direction, the tengu-monster unleashed a mighty twister from his body, knocking Tacari off of him. The spinning turtle was sent drilling into the ground, lost in a large mound of dirt. Hannah watched helplessly from inside her own zord which was on its back. Draxius patted his mask, feigning a yawn as if he was bored.
"Really. Is this the best the rangers of your time can do? The rangers of old were at least a challenge!" The zords tried to pick themselves up, but to no avail. Byron, hand shaking, wrote the symbol for "unite" in the air. He called out somewhat strained,
"ZORDS... UNITE!" The zords tried to move, but they were barely functional. The symbol shattered in front of the red ranger, blasting him to the back of the zord.
"Erghh...!" He picked himself up again, once again writing it in the air. "ZORDS... UNITE!" Again, nothing happened. The symbol shattered again, blasting him back a second time. Not being the type to give up, he struggled to pick himself up and walked to the console. James leaned over his own and shouted out,
"Byron, what the hell are you doing?" Hannah cried out,
"Don't do this! You'll die!" Jun and Tacari both shouted after him,
"Byron!" "Don't be a righteous moron!"
Byron smiled weakly. "Sorry, guys! But if we don't protect this planet... no one will. My life doesn't matter compared to that." He started to write the symbol, yet again, using his other arm to steady himself.
"Zords..." The other four rangers shouted out in horror and emotion,
"Dammit, Byron!"
"STOP!"
"... UNI-" Before he could finish, he dropped the morpher and slumped over the console, his consciousness draining from him. The symbol dissipated without a trace and Draxius began to laugh maniacally.
"Hahaha! Pathetic fool! Your fate was sealed long before you met me! So, to commemorate my victory, why don't we destroy everything you care for?" He turned to the blue dragon first. James gritted his teeth and pushed the sword forward. Instantly, the dragon began to breathe azure flames, sending a stream of the navy inferno towards the towering menace, but Draxius was no fool.
"NEGATIVE WILL O' WISP!" From his glowing blue eyes, he sent a barrage of hauntingly dark blue flames towards the dragon. The two streams of fire met in a burst of activity, their flames dancing with each other in a cackling waltz. After a few minutes, Draxius' strong flames burst through the dragon's weakened ones, burning the dragon's outer coating. James began to sweat profusely as the heat increased.
"Mmmm... Southern fried dragon! My favorite!" He continued unleashing the small fireballs unto the dragon, causing the flames to engulf it. James started to suffocate from all the smoke.
"D-damn..." He passed out at the console as Tacari banged at the turtle's inner systems in frustration.
"Fly! Come on! JAMES!" She looked on in horror as the flames left the dragon completely brown and covered in burn marks. Draxius found all of this quite amusing.
"I'd be touched, my dear... if I had a heart." He took a leisurely stroll to the remaining three rangers. As if to make an impression, he walked straight to Hannah in the upside-down monkey zord. Jun started to shout out,
"Get the hell away from her!" He pushed forward, sending the bear zord charging. Draxius barely paid him any mind and kicked the bear away, sending it flying through the air like a football.
"Jun!" Called out Hannah. The bear landed hard into the ground, flinging Jun to the back of the zord causing him to knock his head against the solid gold wall. Falling forward, he passed out unconscious as Draxius raised his sword.
"Now, my dear... it's time for you to join your friends!" He jerked the sword down, sending it plunging towards the monkey zord's head. Hannah shut her eyes in anticipation of a swift end, but...
CRASH
When Hannah opened her eyes and looked up, she realized she was still alive. The blade of the monster had indeed pierced a zord... but it was the turtle that was blocking it. The sword made a giant crack on the turtle's back. Hannah stared horrified at the picture, then screamed,
"TACARI!" The pink ranger, who barely missed getting sliced by the giant sword, was slumped over the console, her helmet cracked in certain places. She struggled to balance herself despite the blood rushing to her head. She spoke to Hannah, her voice hesitantly off.
"L...Listen. You've got to escape. If he gets us all... we're done for." With that she let the pain overtake her, letting her mind drift free. Hannah was shocked and scared; she didn't know what to do.
"I'm the only one left..." She looked from the triad to the fallen lion, to the burnt dragon, to the smashed bear, to the cracked turtle, then back to the monster. Feeling a sense of annoyance, he slid the turtle off his sword and flung it to the side, let it smash into the jungle. He then raised his sword again.
"Shall we continue without those rude interruptions?" He smirked as he raised his sword high, this time poised to finish the last ranger off. Hannah screamed out as the blade came down, but...
CLANG
Draxius narrowed his eyes as he glanced down at what stopped his sword. Catching it in what seemed to be golden claws, was a giant shining lobster of some kind. It was rather massive, much bigger than most, if not all, of the other zords. Draxius was getting impatient.
"And who are you?" He asked as a voice let out a chuckle.
"I'm..." The lobster snapped the blade in half, causing the monster to back off. The robotic crustacean stood protectively in front of Hannah and her zord. "... your worst nightmare." The voice finished. Hannah recognized it almost immediately.
"... Gold?" The voice then called out, with gusto,
"OMNIZORD TRANSFORM!" The lobster kicked forward with its tail, flying into the air. The tip of the tail broke off, letting the rest of the tail to separate into two legs. The tip of the tail settled itself on the back side of the zord while the head split in half and also stuck itself to the back. From inside the cockpit, the gold ranger spun the roulette inside, calling out,
"STAR SUMMON!" From out of the disc resting on his sword hilt, flew a completely white squid-like creature with lines of purple accenting it. The gold figure called out,
"IOTA KRAKEN!" The squid zord then separated into its base and its headpiece, turning it into a long-range spear. The base attached itself onto the chest of the new zord while the headpiece was brandished as a weapon.
"HELIOS GRAPPLER OMNIZORD, STORM MODE!" The zord's face rotated four times until it hit the last section. Focusing on the monster, the gold ranger shook out his hands and said quickly,
"Time to loosen the rust on this baby. LIGHTNING LASER!" The zord aimed the head of the squid at Draxius. Like a piston, the head motioned back and forth creating friction and sparks. Once it gathered enough energy, the beam of lightning shot out of the head, striking the monster faster than it could react.
"YEARGH! You will pay for this!" Gold smirked under his helmet.
"Yeah... I don't think so. IOTA SPEAR! THUNDER TURBULENCE!" All of the remaining energy in the squid condensed, turning it bright white. Slashing diagonally, gold hit the creature with ease. Howling in pain it cried out,
"NOOOOOOOO! NEGATIV-e clo-n..." Draxius exploded in a swirl of lightning. Hannah just stood there, transfixed at the sight of her savior. Gold clapped his hands in a brushing motion and said happily,
"Looks like that's that... now... let's deal with the others." The giant zord laid the spear down and reached its hands out in front of it. Concentrating, he sent a jolt of his energy into an orb. As it filled, it inflated like a balloon. Once it was ready, he let it loose among the rangers where it burst letting golden light rain over them. The fallen zords began to glow one by one, the damage done to them instantly healing. Slowly, the other rangers began to regain consciousness.
"Wh-What happened?" Questioned Jun who was rubbing his head, although the pain was subsiding.
"Wait a sec... where's the monster!" Shouted James, still jumping to action mode. The one in gold shook his head.
"Oh... he's gone." James gawked at him.
"WHAT! All 8 of our zords couldn't beat him and yet you miraculously show up at the last possible minute to kill him?" Gold shrugged.
"Yeah, it's like a tradition." James was about to inquire about this further, but was interrupted by Tacari.
"Okay, now that he's gone... who the hell are you? You can move at the speed of light and obviously have insanely strong powers. What are you here for? Did Celeste send for you?" The one in gold nodded.
"I'll be glad to answer all your questions. Perhaps we should go back to the Tower and I'll explain everything there." Satisfied with his suggestion, the rangers called off their zords and the newly formed team of six teleported back to River End, hoping to get more answers.
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Meanwhile, in the bowels of Mari Lake, nothing was quite serene anymore. Kalamax was moaning in pain, his back still hurting from being used as a footstool. Shadius sat solemnly on the throne, his eyes narrowed.
"My lovely shadow was defeated by a bunch of costumed, and fashionably challenged, misfits! And before he could even search for the Heart, no less!" He began to mull over these events in his mind when he heard a splash. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the limp and heavily damaged form of Draxius. He reached out to him and choked out,
"Glamorous master... please give me another chance..." Shadius looked at the poor fool, taking in his image. He smiled, speaking in a void voice,
"My dear Draxius... you don't seem to understand the gravity of this problem. You were beaten by that insipid 24-karat rapscallion! Now... disappear from my sight!" He pointed his fan at Draxius, opening a black hole under him. The monster fell into it, drowning within the darkness. Shadius closed it and sighed.
"It really is hard to find good help these days. Let's try something different. Oh, Sezius!" From his side, another shadow emerged from the floor. Wearing silver coatings and what appeared to be red leather, the monster kneeled before its master.
"How may I serve you, glamorous one?" Shadius pondered for a moment and then answered.
"I'm extremely petty; go destroy the Power Rangers. Especially golden boy. He's been a thorn in my side for far too long." The monster nodded.
"Very well, sir; it shall be done." The new monster slid off the ship, going to accomplish its mission.
"Lovely."
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Thankfully, by the time all of this was happening, the extremely fast people at the Tower managed to smooth over all of the ridiculous controversy theories that stemmed from the earlier explosion. Mike slumped into a chair and sighed.
"Geez... give me a monster attack any day over something like this." In front of him, six beams of light appeared. Good fortune smiled on them since the room was empty, save for Mike. Out of the light, the six rangers appeared. The core team of five removed their helmets leaving the one in gold who opted to keep his air of mystery a while longer. Mike was surprised with this turn of events as well.
"When did you guys get a sixth?" Byron, feeling much better than usual these days, shrugged with a scrunched mouth.
"Kinda... sorta... five seconds ago?" Hannah watched the movements of the gold ranger with interest.
"He was sort of like a knight in shining armor." Jun looked at her, then back at him. It was clear this wasn't going to end well. The one in gold finally said,
"I'm no knight, but I did come to help you guys out. The Styxerians just got an old veteran back and you'll need the extra manpower." James shook his head.
"Instead of avoiding the subject, can you please tell us your name so we know who we're addressing?" Gold tilted his head.
"You don't get the concept of 'dramatic tension', do you?" James' eyebrow twitched. Score one more for the "don't like" meter. Tacari smirked at James' clear irritation, but then she had her own question.
"According to Hannah, you saved us in your own zords. Why didn't you use them at the start when we needed you instead of waiting for us to be flung around like rag dolls?" The golden one started to rub his head.
"Um... I sort of forgot where I put the discs for them until that moment." The room was silent for a moment until everyone started laughing either in humor or because of the sheer stupidity of it.
"Y-ou...hahaha... can't be serious!" Managed out Jun between laughs.
"That's the most air-headed thing I've ever heard someone do! And I have this guy as a roommate!" James said, pointing to Byron. Byron stopped laughing for a minute and acted, very badly mind you, indignant.
"HEY! Cut us some slack. So we forget some things sometimes. It's not like he makes a habit of it, right uh..."
"Helix. Name's Helix."
"Helix, huh? Cool name." Helix appreciated Byron taking his side on this. With the humor aside, he then said seriously,
"Well, now that introductions are over, I think it's about time for me to really tell you more about what we are facing." Jun shook his head.
"I'm pretty sure Celeste told us all about it." Gold touched his helmet on the side, making it disappear, revealing his face. He said softly,
"Did Celeste mention anything about what exactly happened those thousands of years ago?" The team shook their heads before Tacari answered.
"She only really wanted us to concentrate on fighting them in the present. Sure, she gave us a brief history lesson... why?"
"Because she must have left out a few details. Did you ever wonder what happened to the previous rangers? Or Orion for that matter?" The others looked at each other, then back to Helix.
"What are you getting at?" Questioned James.
"Aren't they... you know... dead?" Asked Hannah. Helix shook his head.
"If they were truly dead, then your powers wouldn't exist right now. Those powers of yours are all bonded to the spirits of the ancient rangers. You must have seen them when taking the powers the first time. I draw my power from Orion. Same thing. I don't know where, but my ancestor is alive... somewhere."
"Hold the phone! You're a descendent of Orion?" James shouted.
"Indeed, I am. Is there a problem?" After struggling to find the right words, James spoke again.
"How old are you? Orion's been around for thousands of years!" Helix smiled a bit.
"Oh, I'm no older than any of you. After all, I am human. We tend to not have long life spans." Helix paused then continued. "But, yes, the Styxerians plagued Miranoi over a millennia ago; many more if I recall correctly. But the real truth was that they were divided into two factions. The one that served Reapus..."
"Which we've been fighting for most of the time." Commented Tacari as Helix nodded.
"...And the one under Shadius. He's just as powerful as Reapus, although not as focused in destroying the world as his companion. He's looking for something called the "Heart". He's convinced it holds untold amounts of power. I haven't been able to find any kind of information on it, so I don't know anything about it." Tacari spoke up in the middle of this, saying solemnly,
"Among my people, there is the legend of the 'Uraeh go Jonarim'. Loosely translated, that means 'Heart of Miranoi'. It's said that whomever has the Heart will have enough power to surpass the mortal plane. You'd be god-like." What she didn't add was that the power came at a tremendous price. Helix pondered this for a moment.
"Well, that explains his fascination with it. Looks like we have to find it before he does." He smiled and held out his hand. "It'll be nice to work with all of you." He got a few skeptical looks from Jun, who noticed Hannah hadn't remembered to blink when staring at this newcomer and James, just for his personality. Byron grinned and took his hand.
"You got it, Helix! Got a place to stay? We have room in our apartment. Right, James?" James shook his head.
"I don't know you anymore." Byron then did the most forbidden thing that anyone could ever do. He looked right into James' face and...
"Look away!" Warned Jun, who had covered his eyes.
"It's the unstoppable..." Hannah continued.
"...merciless..." Said Tacari softly.
"PUPPY FACE!" Cried out James as he looked into his partner's eyes. The overwhelming cuteness of his batting eyes and quivering bottom lip would be enough to put anyone out with relative ease. James struggled with it for several moments until he caved in.
"ALL RIGHT! Jeez... you promised never to do that again." Byron smiled.
"You thought I was serious?" James shook his head.
"You know what... I wash my hands of this whole thing. Let blonde boy stay with us for all I care. But if he touches any of my stuff, I'm going to feed him to my dragon!" Helix just looked at the blue ranger with a raised eyebrow.
"You know I'm standing right here, right?"
"Like that matters?" A beeping sound alerted the rangers, and Mike towards the screen. Celeste was once again on it.
"Rangers, once again, there is a disturbance... who is this?" She inquired, pointing towards who they assumed was Helix. Byron patted his back as he said,
"This guy? He's our new team member! Isn't that awesome?"
"I never heard of gold ranger powers!"
"Well, there are a lot of things you conveniently don't know. Do you, Celeste?" Asked Helix, his face becoming serious. Celeste did a double take. For a brief second he looked like...
"A-ahem. Very well. There are two disturbances-one in the construction loft and another in the jungle on the eastern side of the city. Be careful, rangers. That is all." She disappeared from the monitor rather quickly and James noted this.
"So, how are we going to divide things?" Helix gripped Byron's shoulder and looked towards the others.
"Byron and I will handle the small attack in the loft; you guys head to the jungle. Tacari knows the way, I assume?"
"I find it insulting that you even need to ask." Spat Tacari as she lead the four of them away. Byron looked at Helix and felt something inside him stir. It's as if something about him reminded him of something... but what? Helix touched his belt, which Byron did as well.
"BACK TO ACTION!" The two rangers teleported away. Towards the loft.
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At the loft in question, a small group of Grimlings created havoc for the construction workers, smashing equipment and destroying supplies. Commanding them was the silvery figure of Sezius. His voice was melodic as he said,
"Yes, my Grimlings! Destroy it all! Let the rangers come at your beck and call!" Flashing towards them, two streaks of light, one of them red and one of them gold, appeared. Striking poses, the two rangers exited the flashes and said together,
"FIERY AS THE PLANET'S CORE! GALAXY STRIDER RED!" Called out Byron.
"FASTER THAN LIGHTNING ITSELF! GALAXY STRIDER GOLD!" Said Helix audibly.
"We protect this planet with the power of the stars! POWER RANGERS: GALAXY STRIDERS!" The twosome shouted as they struck their heroic pose.
Sezius chuckled. "How quaint; how dull; how very lacking. Go, my minions, time to start attacking!" Byron scratched his head.
"Does this guy always rhyme?" Helix responded.
"I think he does it all the time."
"Wait, now we're doing it, too?"
'Don't ask me; I don't have clue."
Sezius laughed. "Indeed, my rangers; you're caught in my gale. Whomever is thus must rhyme all their tales!"
The Grimlings started to attack. Going into his super speed, Helix disappeared in a flash driving through the Grimlings with dozens of flashes of silver and gold dancing around them as he drew his sword and sheathed it again and again, spinning around and then giving his sheathe one final closing. The Grimlings behind him exploded from the sheer speed of the attack.
"Star Disc ALPHA, NOVA BIHANDER!" Cried out Byron as he wielded his massive broadsword. He spun around using the blade as a weight. He crushed the surrounding Grimlings, making them catch fire as they came in contact with his weapon. Helix nodded in approval.
"Awesome! Now let's get rid of this guy before the rhymes get blander!" The monster in question stood before them, his minions gone.
"Two young rangers, brash and bold. The first ones to die are red and gold! DANCING BLADES!" He concentrated on the sharp and jagged edges that were placed on him. Detaching them from his body, they spun round and round, shooting off towards the duo. Thinking quickly, Byron held up his Bihander, blocking most of the hits. The last few however, grouped together and blasted the two rangers backwards.
Byron then had another idea. "Helix, let's team up and stop this rhyming." Helix nodded.
"Yeah, let's go or we'll loss our timing." The two rangers rushed in, attacking from opposite sides. But the monster was ready for them. From his skin, he separated two giant swords. He parried their attacks, his movements faster than normal. The two rangers fought and slashed at him in sync, both sides evenly matched. The monster raised his blades and slashed down. Catching them, the rangers blocked the attack and pushed him back. While he was defenseless, the young rangers slashed his chest, creating a burn mark across it.
Rubbing his chest, he looked at them both with evil eyes. "You awful curs; what a dreadful sight. But you are deluded if you think you've won the fight! STRIKING BLADES!" Instead of spinning swords, the blades on his skin directly shot out from him, targeting the ranger's vital points. Being ready, Byron started off by slashing the blades with force, making them shatter. Using his super speed, Helix covered him, slashing and shattering the ones that Byron missed. They got closer and closer to the monster as they made their steady progress through the neverending technique. Finally, when they reached him, they slashed down creating a parallel set of lines down his chest. Byron opened his belt and slid his disc onto his sword. Helix did the same.
"Roses are red, violets are blue..." Byron finished it off,
"Your rhyming sucks and so do you!" The gold ranger jumped high, drawing his sword and calling out,
"SOLAR SLASH WAVE!"
"AURORA BLADE!"
The rangers fired off their attacks. The golden slashes of energy penetrated the monster twice. Three times... ten times... fifteen times. The final attack, which was Byron's, slammed into the weakened monster and made it explode into nothingness. Helix pumped his sword into the air.
"Awesome! Now we can stop that crazy rhyming. It was getting kind of crass." Behind them, the others strode up, finished with their business on the other side of the jungle.
"You guys okay?" Asked James. Byron nodded and grinned.
"Yeah. This guy over here is one hell of a partner." Helix was secretly blushing, but didn't show it because of his helmet. Behind them, however, flames burst out and swirled as Sezius was revived.
"The two of you will rot in hell! Do you hear that? It's the second round bell!" Byron looked at the others and nodded.
"ALPHA LION!""BETA DRAGON!""GAMMA TURTLE!""DELTA BEAR!""EPSILON MONKEY!"
"ZORDS UNITE!" Byron shouted as he wrote the word "unite" in the air. All five zords reformed themselves and came together to form...
"STRIDER KING MEGAZORD!" The mighty megazord drew its sword and shield and charged. The monster also charged, slashing the sword and shield away with his own. With quick reflexes, he also slashed the megazord with ease, slicing it over and over again, then calling out,
"Your blood will flow down, dripping from my lovely sword! You all shall die now! STRIKING BLADES!" The monster's blades shot from his body and struck the megazord without remorse. The rangers held onto whatever they could. Byron managed to yell out,
"That's a haiku!" James nodded.
"That doesn't rhyme!" Sezius roared in anger.
"SHUT UP! Just because I'm a master of rhyme doesn't mean I have to rhyme all the time! I run out of things to say sooner or later like the next guy!" The monster continued to wail on them, slashing the megazord over and over. Helix, who was watching from the sidelines, teleported himself into the cockpit.
"Helix?" Byron, as well as everyone else, was curious. Helix turned to each of them.
"Look, my zords need to recharge after that stunt I pulled earlier with restoring your zords. So instead, we have to make do with what we got." The lapse in rhyme most likely was because of Sezius not being able to think of one. Helix gathered all three of the triad's discs and placed them onto his sword.
"TRIFECTA STAR SUMMON! ZORDS UNITE!" Without spinning them, all three of the zords came flying out of their discs. Done with them, he handed them back to their owners. The swordfish and beetle attached themselves instantly to the tiger. The beetle's horn attached to the tiger's neck with the tiger's face applying itself to the rear.
"PSI TRIAD KING EXECUTION!" The massive bird-like zord gave a shrill cry and fired a strong laser from the ring on its head that it inherited from the tiger zord. Sezius was knocked down plenty of times from this alone.
"Wow!" Shouted an awestruck Byron.
"We never knew about that." Muttered James, clearly not happy about being shown up. Helix smiled.
"Oh, but there's more. What do you think is next?" Tacari's eyes widened.
"All 8 at once?" Helix nodded. Hannah wondered aloud,
"But can it be done? No one's ever done that before!" Helix shook his head.
"I have faith. Now, Byron, it's up to you." Byron nodded. In the air he wrote a new symbol.
"ZORDS UNITE, FORM 2!" The giant bird flew to the back of the megazord. The tiger head on the back flew off and reapplied itself to the megazord, turning into its new helmet. The two drills on the side attached to the sides of the megazord's waist and the rest of the bird's body latching onto the megazord's back, giving it wings. When finished, the team of six called out,
"TRINITY STRIDER MEGAZORD!" The monster wasn't impressed. He rushed the new megazord configuration, raising his blades high. In response, the megazord took to the skies. Sezius, when he looked up and saw his opponent, shouted out,
"Hey, that isn't the least bit fair! How can I fight you if you're in the air?" The megazord circled around his head and rose up to the sky. It pushed its sword in the air. The rangers inside, save for Helix, took out their swords and spun them, calling out,
"STELLAR SABER! TRINITY TEMPEST!" The three giant gears on its back started to spin ferociously sending streams of energy into the blade. Diving down like a meteor, the megazord gripped its sword and began to slash down. The rangers did the same, slashing down with their own swords, calling out a collective,
"HA!" The sword, powered by all 8 zords sliced through Sezius like a hot knife through butter. The monster stuttered, as if to say something, but fell down and exploded; the deed done. The megazord sheathed its sword signalling that the side of justice was victorious.
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Meanwhile, back at the ship, Shadius was having the most horrible time. He began to shout through the hull of the ship.
"Not one, but TWO? How the hell do two of my strongest warriors lose back to back against such cretins? HOW, I ASK YOU?" Crescenda didn't pretend she didn't enjoy his dilemma. Kalamax was in the corner, rubbing his poor back and shooting Shadius dirty looks. He clenched his fists and shook them in the air.
"I will defeat those brats and find the Heart... then, they shall face my EFFEMINATE FURY!" He slumped down into a chair and poured himself a drink. "Ah... Mr. Jack Daniels. You make things much more appealing... hmm... yes."
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Back in River End, the rangers, now with their newest member in tow, were atop the city wall enjoying the view. Byron grinned as he said,
"I am beat! Thank God that's done. Now who wants to frolic and have some fun?" Helix face-palmed and replied solemnly,
"... dude." Byron clasped a hand over his mouth and muffled out,
"Oh, crap; it's spreading!" Tacari shrugged.
"Now you know why I stay in the jungle." James decided to change the subject.
"Hey, at least we killed that thing. I think that's a plus at least." Jun shivered and rubbed his arms.
"I'm never opening another Dr. Seuss book as long as I live." Hannah glanced down at the floor and said softly,
"Lucky you."
"Why?"
"It's my job to read it to the kids."
"Ouch." Becoming increasingly bored with this conversation, and with the current threat subsided, Tacari spoke quickly,
"Now that this threat is over, I'm leaving. Bye." Hopping off the wall, she plunged into the dark jungle brush, running through it to make it to her own home. Helix folded his arms and wondered aloud,
" Does she do that often?" Without missing a beat, all four of them answered at the same time,
"Yup."
"She...doesn't like anything modern." Hannah tried to explain.
"Understandable. But she does come when called right?" He didn't doubt the pink ranger, but he was being cautious.
"'Come when called'? She's not a dog." The green ranger replied, a bit insulted for his pink teammate. "But, yeah, she's one of our best fighters. She just only fights for the planet." Added Jun.
"The people... not so much." Finished James. Helix thought about this for a moment. Byron, in her defense, then said,
"I'd like to think she likes US at least... especially James." That playful jab made the blue ranger blush madly and he shouted,
"Shut it, Byron! How many times are you going to rehash that joke?" As if to answer his prayers, a not-so-stray coconut came flying at record speeds towards them. Putting most pitchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame to shame, the coconut hit Byron on the side of the head.
"YEOUCH!" He looked towards the jungle and, even though he couldn't see her, he felt her animosity from where he was standing. He started to sweat a little. Helix thought it was funny from where he stood.
"She's got good aim at least." Hannah giggled and added to it,
"Good hearing, too."
Recalling their last encounter with an enraged Tacari, Jun shook his head. "Byron... you really are a glutton for punishment." Byron smiled goofily.
"Was it that obvious?" From out in the jungle, a very loud yell reached their ears.
"YES!" Byron rubbed his head, the coconut's mark still throbbing. Helix chuckled a bit and finally said,
"Okay. It's official. You are the most interesting people I've met in... forever." Byron wrapped his arm around Helix and replied.
"Good. If you thought we were normal, then something's seriously wrong with you."
"Ehehehe... duly noted." James spoke up next, his voice clearly amused.
"What a group we are. An incurable optimist, a bookworm, a teacher-to-be, a bad boy, a guy who moves faster than light and a chick who could give Tarzan pointers." Byron counted them off on his fingers and then said, clearly confused,
"Umm... who's the bad boy?" Shooting Byron an indignant look, James said confidently,
"Duh...me!" Hannah tilted her head as she said,
"You don't seem like such a bad boy."
"Seconded." Jun added raising his hand.
"Thirded" Byron chimed. James threw his hands in the air, clearly exasperated.
"Oh, come on! I'm SO the toughest one here!" Because karma loves to prove him wrong, the two little ones, who kept Tacari company, climbed up the wall and found their way to James. Hopping onto his shoulders, they snuggled up against him... and it was very cute.
"NEITHER of you are helping." The little animals didn't bother listening to his resistance. They cuddled and purred, rubbing against his neck. Helix stifled a laugh and said,
"Correction, You are the soft one." Hannah's face lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning when she got a look at the two fluffy chibis that were invading James' space.
"Awww! They're so kawaii!" She went to pet the fox. It looked at Hannah curiously, as if to say "More humans?" After some hesitation, the fox let the yellow ranger scratch its ears. The fox kit yipped happily when a distant call made the baby animals' ears perk up. Jumping down from their comfy position, they looked at the group one last time before disappearing into the jungle brush. James looked down and then said quietly,
"Huh... I guess Tacari called them home." Hannah was a little crestfallen, but maybe if she asked Tacari...who knows? Byron smiled and walked down in front of the group.
"Hey, guys, since we have time we should totally celebrate!" James agreed without much difficulty.
"Heh, after all this drama, I'm looking forward to something good." Hannah and Jun looked from them to each other and said,
"Sorry, guys. My shift at the Tower begins in about ten minutes. I may be a ranger, but I don't think the Commander would appreciate it if I play hooky." Hannah bowed a tiny bit.
"And I have a dozen papers to grade. With all these attacks, work's been piling up." Byron's jaw dropped.
"Fine! It'll be us three roomies! Right, guys?" Helix smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Byron grabbed their arms and ran towards the stairs to the city.
"This is going to be the best guy's night out e-ve-r..." Byron started seeing double again, but this time, instead of passing out gracefully, he clutched his chest and began screaming. James and Helix tried to hold him.
"Byron? What's the matter? BYRON!" Byron's body was ablaze with pain. Every fiber of his being was writhing in agony. Every minute that he spent in pain felt like an eternity until everything was quiet. James picked up his friend's hand at he wrist and felt for a minute. His eyes snapped open and he turned to Helix.
"His pulse is slowing! Get an ambulance!" Helix nodded and pulled out his phone, dialing the hospital.
************
End of Act 10
************
The clock is still ticking, and with the dawn of the seventh day upon them, the Galaxy Strider team has to race against time and find a way to cure Byron! Will they do it? Tune in next week, and find out!
TO BE CONTINUED...