Episode 12: Enter Lotus Demon, pt. 2
The rangers were quickly getting ready to leave the Power Chamber. "We've got to get to that Talisman before Lotus Demon does," said Matt, referring to the Talisman Maya had just located. "Preparing for teleportation," said Alpha. The rangers teleported to the Himalayas, morphed. "There," said Tyler. "It's at the top of the mountain. They moved quickly. When they got to the top, they saw it. It was wedged into a rock. Matt ran for it, but a heat blast intercepted him, sending him flying over to the edge, hanging on for life. "Matt!" Maria shrieked, running to him. "Did you really think you'd beat me here, rangers?" Lotus Demon entered the scene. "Actually," sounded Brandon's voice, "we did." Everyone looked over to see Brandon, fully morphed, flipping the Talisman in his hands. Lotus Demon grunted. He then ran over to Matt, knocking Maria away. He put his blade to Matt. "Give me the Talisman, yellow ranger, or your friend is going to take a little trip down the mountain," he said. Matt looked at Brandon. They exchanged glances, Matt winked, and then let go. "No!" Maria and Sadie shrieked. Brandon tossed the Talisman over the edge. "Fool!" shouted Lotus Demon, leaping over the edge, himself. The other rangers summoned their spirit cycles and rode down the mountain. They got down just in time to see Matt on ground, perfectly fine, but knocked out. "Excellent," the Lotus Demon said, taking the Talisman right out of Matt's hands, "the Talisman of immortality is now mine." He then disappeared.
"Excellent work, Lotus Demon," Shendu said back at the Dark Temple, "now give the dog Talisman to me. You do not need its power to defeat the rangers." The Lotus Demon turned away. "No," he said coldly. "'No'? What do you mean, 'no'?" "I mean I'm not giving it to you. I have my own plans for the rangers and the Talismans, and they don't involve you." "Shadow-kahn, destroy him!" The shadow-kahn attacked Lotus Demon, but he fought them off easily. "Goodbye, my lord." At that, he walked out.
The rangers got back to the Power Chamber. Matt punched the wall. "It's my fault, guys." Maria put her hand on his shoulder. "That blast could've hit any one of us. Don't blame yourself." Tyler nodded. "Walk it off, man. It's not over yet." Maya came over to them. "I, too, agree that it is not Matt's fault. However, now the Lotus Demon has the dog Talisman and its power of immortality. He will be practically unstoppable." "Great," said Brandon, "as if he wasn't hard enough to beat already." Matt looked at Sadie. "You've been unusually quiet, Sadie. What's on your mind?" Sadie looked up. "It's just that we've never faced a threat this difficult." The others were silent for a moment. Matt broke silence. "No." Everyone looked at him, including Maya and Alpha. "I refuse to believe that this guy can't be beat. What happened when Thorlak had you guys on the ropes?" "You saved us," said Maria, smiling. "And what happened when Sadie got bit by that poisonous demon?" "You guys saved me," said Sadie. "Exactly. Just when they think we're beat, we're not." "Rangers!" cried Alpha. "Lotus Demon is back downtown!" Matt looked at everyone else. "Ready?" They all nodded, and Alpha teleported them. They arrived downtown, completely morphed. "End of the line, Lotus Demon!" said Matt. "Have you come to surrender?" he asked. "That'll never happen," said Sadie. "Very well, then. Your funeral. Lotus Blade!" He drew his weapon and charged the rangers. As he attacked, each ranger drew their own special weapon. "Tornado Fan! Static Blaster! Hydro Ax! Tremor Hammer! Magma Sword!" The rangers put up a fight, but the two Talismans proved to give Lotus Demon just too much power. He brought them all down, one by one. Once again, he stood over Matt, blade to his neck. "I warned you once. Perhaps I must make an example of their leader in order to get them to give up. Goodbye, red ranger!" As he raised his blade for the final strike, a familiar voice sounded. "Super Silverizer!" A blue blast hit Lotus Demon, knocking him back, away from Matt. Matt looked up to see who it was and could not believe his eyes. It was a silver ranger. "Super Silverizer, blade mode!" A blue blade sprung from the ranger's weapon as he leaped into the air and struck Lotus Demon again. At this point, the rangers came to help Matt up. All they could do was watch in amazement. Then, another familiar voice sounded. "Tranz Dagger!" A galaxy ranger, like Maya appeared. This one, however, was pink. Her Tranz Dagger blasted the Lotus Demon. She then drew her Quasar Saber as the silver ranger drew his blade. They simultaneously attacked Lotus Demon, knocking the Talismans out of his holster. He fell to the ground, stunned. The other rangers had brought Matt to the top of a nearby building to recover when their saviors approached them. "You," said Sadie to the pink galaxy ranger, "you're a galaxy ranger, like Maya. She nodded. "And you're one of the space rangers," said Tyler to the silver ranger. "My parents were in Angel Grove the day you saved the world from the aliens." The silver ranger also nodded. "That's great and all," said Brandon, "but who are you guys?" The two rangers looked at each other, then took off their helmets, revealing the faces of Zhane and Karone. Only Matt recognized them. "Mom! Dad!" He ran over and hugged his parents. The other rangers' jaws dropped. "You guys are…rangers?" Karone smiled at her son. "Mom, so those stories you always told me, you were in them?" "That's right," she said. "Zhane patted Matt's shoulder. "You wouldn't believe our excitement when Maya told us you were a ranger." "And we couldn't be more proud," said Karone. "Rangers!" The Lotus Demon cried. "You may have taken the pig and the dog, but if you want the final Talisman of the balance of good and evil, you will have to take it from me at MY temple, the Lotus Temple. It has been hidden there for thousands of years, and it shall remain there!" At that, he disappeared.
At the Dark Temple, Shendu scolded Scurgious. "Your demon has betrayed us, you fool." Flario chimed in. "Now the rangers have ten Talismans, you have no more monsters, and we've no way of retrieving the Talismans from the Power Chamber. What kind of demon sorcerer are you?" "A great one," Scurgious claimed. "Be patient. The tiger Talisman has yet to work its magic. All we need to do is let the rangers confront Lotus Demon in his domain and let things work themselves out as I have predicted." "You had BETTER be right," said Shendu.
At the Power Chamber, Maya confirmed the Talisman's location. "It is in an isolated spot off the coast. That must be where the Lotus Temple is." "That's the last Talisman. We get that, and we win," said Matt. He turned to Maya and his parents. "We're gonna need all the rangers for this, if you catch my drift. They nodded, and Alpha teleported them all to the temple. When they arrived, Lotus Demon greeted them at the entrance. "Looking for something?" he said, chuckling. Matt took the lead. "It's morphing time!" All eight rangers sprang into action. "Spirit evolution!" "Go, galactic!" "Let's rocket!" The eight rangers charged the demon. At first, they seemed to overpower him, but he still held his own, holding on to the tiger Talisman as if his life depended on it. Tyler and Sadie combined their weapons. "Hydro Boulder Blaster!" The blast stunned the demon, cracking the Talisman. Brandon and Maria combined their weapons. "Hurricane Cannon!" The blast once again damaged the demon and the Talisman. Maya and Karone were up next, each striking Lotus Demon with their Quasar Sabers. Matt and his father nodded at each other. "Magma Sword!" "Super Silverizer!" The final two strikes did it. They brought down the demon, but unintentionally broke the tiger Talisman in half. "Noooo!" The demon split into two halves, himself. One half, a more monstrous version of the demon, and the other half, James. "James?" said Sadie.
To be continued…
