Rift 12: The False World
Regular text: Connected
Talking: "Connected"
Thoughts: Connected
Rift Closer and Narration: Connected
Finishers: "Connected"
Forrest walked up to Rina's room with Emu in tow.
"Do we really need Rina's help?" Emu asked.
"Well she's the smartest person on this team and probably has more reasons to help you than I do. I don't give a damn if you're having a lovers' spat, we need her if we're going to do this." Forrest knocked on Rina's door then entered anyways.
Emu just sighed and followed after him.
The first thing Emu noticed about Rina's room was that it was freezing. He lightly shivered and hugged himself before turning to Rina.
"Emu-" Rina got up from her computer and started to say.
"We're going to save Earth. You in?" Forrest interrupted.
Rina paused and looked at him in confusion. After a second, she took her vest off the back of her chair and put it on. "You…what?"
"You heard me. Earth is going to be destroyed if Planet X isn't taken care of. We should have enough information to take care of Planet X. So are you going to help us?" Forrest crossed his arms.
Rina looked at Forrest for a bit before she turned to Emu. Emu made eye contact, but appeared to be nervous about maintaining it.
"…of course. Anything for my friends."
"Good. Let's get started."
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 six Rift Legends were seen before the next shot was of Rift Master and Rift Mega.
(Kakagae no nai nakama to) The Rift Legends flew away from a Rift then combined into Rift Master and Rift Mega once again. The RiftRangers jumped out of their mecha.
(Ashimoto ni hirogaru kono sekai no asu o mita) They landed on the ground then performed their signature group pose as the song ended.
Fea impatiently waited at a table in a restaurant. Her foot nervously shook as she appeared to be waiting for someone.
She didn't wait long when someone walked up behind her and coughed lightly before speaking. "H-hello, Fea."
Fea spun around to find Princess standing behind her.
"Hey! You made it!" Fea stood up and hugged Princess, much to the recipient's surprise.
"Y-yeah. I wanted to see you again." Princess shyly admitted.
"Really?" Fea broke the hug and backed up. "That's great!" she grinned. "…is Maid with you?"
Princess shook her head.
"No. She can certainly fight well and act as my bodyguard, but I requested that I go alone to meet with you." Princess explained.
Fea's eyes widened lightly but she grinned as a result of this.
"That's awesome! Come on, let's sit down." Fea led Princess to their table.
"What information do you have from the data drive?" Forrest asked Rina.
After ensuring the door was locked, Rina went back to her computer and started pulling up documents.
"Well…there's a lot of data. There are a few gaps that we'll have to fill in, but important details are there. They are using that machine to mask Planet X. Most of what we've seen so far was a part of this plan. There's data logs, journals, simulations, all sorts of stuff."
"Rue really went all out, huh?" Emu said.
"How do they all factor together?" Forrest asked.
Rina pointed at Forrest. "That's where it gets interesting. Planet X isn't actually going to be used as a weapon of mass destruction. The End Charges on Earth are supposed to be anchor points that are tied to specific points on Planet X. I don't know how they are supposed to align, but I theorize it will involve phasing over Earth and then combining from there. The End Charges are supposed to function as beacons and then as rechargeable batteries when the merge is completed."
"If it's not a weapon of mass destruction, then what is it?" Forrest asked.
"I don't know. It's only plans for what to do now. Nothing about the aftermath." Rina shrugged.
Forrest nodded along. "Is there anything we can use to stop it?"
Rina grinned. "Absolutely. I've gained enough context clues to know that Planet X as it is now has programming based on that of a Double-Acting Physical Engine."
"No idea what that is." Forrest said.
"A Double-Acting Physical Engine is a powerful computer system and accompanying machine that powers large mechanical ships and particularly gigantic housing units. But they're known for their aversion to errors and failings. However, the first version was infamous for a specific way you could get it to fail. Nowadays they say they've gotten rid of that glitch, but some people have found a way to override the programming for that and cause a large meltdown. It's quite spectacular."
"Do you…know how to get that virus?" Emu asked.
"Of course I do. It comes in handy." Rina winked. "There should be multiple terminals all over Planet X to cover multiple areas. If I can get to one of the terminals, I can upload the virus into the system and cause a meltdown that destroys Planet X. But we'll have to get it away from Earth before it blows fully."
"Wait." Forrest paused the conversation. "Do you have a way to get us on Planet X without phasing through?"
"Yes. I can use a program on the Rift Legends that'll put us on the same 'wavelength', so to speak, as Planet X so we can land on it."
"Can't we just use a Rift to get on?" Forrest asked.
"I don't think so." Surprisingly, it was Emu who spoke up "I mean, Planet X is still moving towards Earth. And it's a pretty unnatural movement too, so wouldn't that be kind of difficult to open a Rift on the surface of that planet?"
Rina nodded. "He's right. Rift Closers open Rifts with regards to the current position of the planet with regards to orbit, planet size, and so on. Planet X doesn't necessarily fit with any of that. So we'll have to land on it manually."
"How long will it take to program it into all of our Rift Legends?" Forrest asked.
"Altogether, a while. But if I can divide it into several parts and put it into the other Rift Legends, if we combine into Rift Master, the program will be complete enough that we can use it then."
"Rift Master?" Forrest narrowed his eyes. "You want to involve Fea and Horn in on this?"
"We may need Horn's brute strength and Fea's ranged attacks. We have your leadership, my intelligence, and Emu's skill. We could have more assistance just in case we need it." Rina shrugged.
"How do you know we can't handle it on our own?" Forrest gestured between himself and Emu.
"Me?" Emu pointed at himself.
"You can fight." Forrest simply said.
"Well, you're still not entirely ready to go all out yet, Forrest." Rina said. "You're still supposed to be resting after you were drained of that excess Rift Energy."
Forrest paused as he thought about this.
"…fine. I'll recruit Horn and Fea. Get to work on the program." Forrest told Rina before he left.
However, he left Emu and Rina alone.
The two sat in an awkward silence for a bit.
"…I'm sorry for getting mad at you." Emu said.
"You…what?" Rina paused her typing to say to him.
"I was…a bit too harsh about that." Emu said.
Rina stared at Emu with a blank look. She sighed and then turned back to her computer. Gently, she patted the area on her bed, which was right next to her.
"Lock the door and sit down. We need to talk."
Fea wiped her lips with her napkin gently as she listened intently to Princess's story.
"…and when all was said and done, it just turned out my brother gave the man more money than he should have." Princess finished.
"…huh." Fea said. "That was…really stupid of him."
"He was just trying to be nice." Princess defended her sibling. "He does like being a nice person. He just…has trouble with his tone and behavior."
"He sounds like a real handful." Fea said.
"You have no idea." Princess moaned.
"Well. I might. Zars can be a real pain in the feathers, but he's still my little brother. I'd do anything for him. He's also mentioned his desire to do the same for me."
"That's something I will never get Prince to say." Princess seriously said, but ended up laughing not long afterwards.
"Not all brothers are the same. If that were true I bet we wouldn't really have a lot to talk about because we'd both have the same problems." Fea said.
"True. Except we do have royal responsibilities that we both have to account for." Princess sighed.
Fea frowned and gave a brief nod. "Yeah. My father's thinking of stepping down as king soon. Which means I…might become the queen of my kingdom."
"Really? Oh my Dyetiz, that's amazing!" Princess exclaimed.
"Yeah…amazing." Fea bit the inside of her lip.
"What's wrong?" Princess asked.
"I…I really don't think I'm ready to be queen yet." Fea nervously admitted. "There's a lot of business I'm not ready for, and I'd have to lead the kingdom, and all this other hard stuff. It's…very nerve-racking."
"Can't Zars do it?"
"No. I can't just shove it all onto him because I can't handle it. He's a lot younger than I am and nowhere near ready."
"Well…if your father thinks your ready, maybe you are." Princess tried to reason. "My mother's that way. She tries to groom me and my brother for ascension to the throne soon, though neither of us are ready quite yet. Even Master's trying to convince her to let us age a bit more-" it was at this point Fea had tuned her out and froze in shock.
"Wait." She interrupted. "Did…did you just say Master?"
Princess blinked in confusion. "Yes. Master. He's the general of my mother's army of Peasants. What about him?"
Fea's jaw dropped.
"Princess…does Master have a group of…'knights' working under him?"
Princess couldn't get rid of her look of confusion. "Uh…yes. He has a Knight Force consisting of five warriors he recruited."
Fea stared at Princess with a look of pure shock.
"…what?" Princess asked.
"Princess, do you…do you know what Master is doing?" Fea asked, hoping that her crush was innocent.
"What do you mean?"
"Is he a part of some kind of plan? Involving a planet?"
"I don't really know. He mentioned something about making a new manufacturing planet for Peasants using Rift Energy."
Fea let this information sink in. Her face grew horrified as she connected the dots.
"The End Charges are pure Rift Energy. He's gonna use Planet X to make Earth into…" she said aloud.
Princess stiffened. "What did you just say? Did you just say Planet X?"
"Earth 385 is being approached by a strange planet sized mass that looks exactly like Planet X. And it's being in covered in these…beacon-thingies called End Charges. You said Rift Energy is going to be used to power the new Peasants on this new planet…" Fea tried to explain.
"Fea, what are you talking about?" Princess asked in a slightly worried, slightly disturbed tone.
Fea was quick to explain everything, Princess growing more and more concerned and angered the more she went on.
"He. What." Princess grit her teeth as her fist gripped her fork.
"I…I have to go warn the others." Fea realized. She quickly sprung upwards and made to run, but paused and pulled out a container of sorts. After pulling out several pieces of some kind of currency, she tossed it onto the table and grabbed Princess by the cheeks.
"Fea, wh-?!" Princess let out a squeak when Fea leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.
Fea pulled back after a few seconds. "Thank you so much! I'll call you later!" she sprinted away as quickly as she could, her wings becoming visible as they unfolded out.
Princess sat frozen in that position for a good while, the only movement she made being touching her lips after a few moments and her breathing as she tried to absorb what had just happened.
Emu stared down at the ground.
Rina typed rapidly at her computer.
The two were silent.
Though Rina had said they needed to talk, neither of them were particularly ready to start talking. It was a bit of time before Rina had spoken up. "I'm sorry."
Emu shook his head. "Rina, don't-"
"Hear me out." Rina interrupted. "I went behind your back when I shouldn't have. I understand that and I'm sorry."
"…I wanted to tell you at some point." Emu quietly admitted. "I just…wasn't ready yet."
"I know. I just…" Rina stopped typing. "I wanted to know more about you."
"Well, you are a scientist and you do love knowledge." Emu tried to joke.
"It's not about that." Rina denied. "I…I worry about you, Emu. A lot. I don't know anything about you and you do a lot of things that make it seem like you have no concern for your own well-being. I wanted to understand you."
"I get that." Emu nodded. "But it wasn't Auntie Yoko or Uncle Kazumi's story to tell. It was mine. And the fact that you went behind my back when I left the room for a second to pry into business I was nowhere near ready to reveal yet…really hurts." Emu admitted, scratching at his arms nervously.
"I'm sorry." Rina said again. She started typing again. "For everything."
"I know. It's just…it's complicated." Emu admitted.
"…if it's any consolation…we all have problems and businesses that we'd prefer not to reveal to others just yet. I want you to know that you're not alone in your pain. You don't have to go through it alone. I'll always be there to help, Emu."
"Even if I'm not there for you?" Emu quietly asked.
"You will be." Rina immediately said. "…you're the only friend I have that I feel like truly understands me. You're also one of the most self-destructively selfless people I've ever met. You'll always be there for anyone who wants help."
"Really? Well do you have any problems you want to talk about now that you're ready to talk?" Emu dryly asked.
"Yes." Rina replied.
However, she briefly paused her typing as she thought of something. Emu caught onto this and immediately felt terrible.
"Rina, I'm-"
"My mother favors my younger sister and considers me a disappointment to the family." Rina admitted.
"…oh."
Rina nodded. "Yeah. My only guess as to why is that I'm a scientist. I'm one of the smartest people on our home planet and even in some other groups, but because that's not what she wanted me to be, I'm nothing but her failed product. My younger sister, Mari, has always been sheltered by her. I guess she just didn't want to repeat the mistake she made with me…" Rina trailed off, a hint of a sniffle present in her breathing.
Emu gently reached out to put his hand on Rina's.
"…all of my life I've been criticized for every move I've made while Mari does the exact same thing and gets praised." A single tear fell from Rina's eye. "I'm…I'm kinda jealous of you, you know? You had a loving family who cared for you at every turn no matter what happened. I…" Rina sniffled but didn't break down crying, instead wiping a tear from her cheek. "I never knew my father. As far as I know my mother got pregnant with me and my dad abandoned us. She might resent me for that too, thinking I cost her 'the love of her life'" she dryly commented.
Rina turned to look at Emu.
"That's…my story. Or at least part of it. It hurts, yes. But…I don't want you to be afraid to talk to me. About anything. I've had more fun with you and everyone else than I've had with an entire life with my mother and sister." At this point, she failed to hold her tears back. "And I don't want to lose my friends…I'm really sorry, Emu."
Emu didn't know what to say. He gently gripped Rina's hand, though she instead threw her arms around him for a hug, which he automatically reciprocated.
"…I…I do have one thing I want to say." Emu muttered.
"Go ahead. If you're ready…I'll listen and be here for you." Rina replied into his shoulder.
"…I was there when my father died. I'm barely able to remember my mother but I remember how it felt to be held by her and loved by her. My dad threw himself into his work, convinced he found the key to something while spending days away from home, eventually just leaving me at Auntie Yoko and Uncle Kazumi's house where he knew I'd be cared for. He never told me what. He told me about a machine he made that allowed him to communicate with aliens. I didn't believe him. Auntie Yoko and Uncle Kazumi are more supernatural than scientific so spending so much time around them when I was growing up influenced my opinion. But one day…my father picked me up and took me to his lab."
Rina gently pulled back to look Emu in his eyes. She reached up to wipe the tear from his cheek.
"He was so happy. I had never seen him like that before. There was some kind of machine there. I didn't know what it was. I only have a faint idea now. But he told me this was the key he needed to bring my mother back to us. I told him that was impossible, because she was dead. He told me that didn't matter, because he found a way…a way to…reverse what had happened."
More tears had fallen from Emu's eyes, enough that Rina stopped herself from wiping them as it would've irritated him.
"I see now that he was crazy. He was delirious and nothing I could have said would have gotten through to him. But…he activated the machine and…I could've stopped it." He whimpered. "The console was right there in front of me but I was so distracted by the 'pretty lights' coming from what he made that I didn't care. He went up to his machine. He ignored the first warning. The second and third ones were more important. Then it failed. I saw him be sucked inside that portal before the machine imploded in on itself. It took a second longer…and in that brief second I hoped my father was alright. The second ended when the crumpled hunk of metal exploded. The console lit up in sparks and I…the last thing I remember is seeing that wave of energy fly through those sparks and that failing console and then hit me. I woke up in a hospital bed a week later." Emu shook as he cried.
"My last memory of my father is him excitedly and elatedly touching a portal before the thing sucked him in and the machine collapsed around him. I don't know if it was the energy field, the machine collapsing, or the explosion that got rid of him. But I never saw him again. And at this point, he's most likely…dead."
Emu sniffled as he cried.
"It's okay…it's okay…let it all out. I'm here." Rina gently rested her forehead to Emu's, the two closing their eyes and just resting in each others company.
The two sat in near silence, the only noises breaking it being their sniffling, light sobbing, and shaky breathing.
It was after a few moments of this Emu tilted his face towards Rina's, pressing his lips to hers.
Rina, while initially having no idea what he was doing, attempted to mimic his movements and motions when she realized it was a human ritual for intimacy she had seen before.
Emu tightly gripped onto Rina's hand as he attempted to deepen the kiss. Rina let him do such, and then responded by again mimicking this action.
The kiss went on for a little while longer, up until someone tried to open Rina's door, and the two split apart quickly. The realization of what had just happened sunk in.
Emu's cheeks lit up as Rina backed her chair up to put distance between them.
"Uh…I…we…um…that…" Emu tried to find words to say, but prevented himself from starting or finishing a single sentence.
Rina simply stared back at him while panting, her cheeks lightly tinted from a lack of breathable air and what was most likely a reaction to an intimate moment.
"We're a lot closer than we seem…apparently." Rina commented.
The two then remembered the person at the door.
"It's Forrest." There was banging on the door. "Open up." There was more banging on the door.
Rina and Emu took a moment to compose themselves.
When they had finished, Rina got back to typing as Emu unlocked the door and opened it.
"Nice of you to let me in." Forrest remarked as he walked in with Horn. "I couldn't get in contact with Fea, but I left her a message."
"Are you two okay?" Horn noticed Emu and Rina were acting weirdly.
"What? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Emu said. "What's…what's going on?"
"Forrest told me you guys are about to destroy Planet X and going against orders. He told me to help, so here I am." Horn said.
"You know what we're doing is going to get us in a lot of trouble, right?" Rina asked.
"What's your point?" Horn asked.
"…nevermind." Rina said.
"How's the program coming along?" Forrest asked.
"Oh, I'm almost done. I used it before so it's in my computer files, the problem is finding a way to divide it into five parts to put in our Rift Legends. I need a bit more time to do that and then program it into our Rift Legends, but otherwise, I'm ready to go." Rina explained.
"That just leaves-"
"GUYS!" the door opened with Fea practically flying into the room. She stumbled forwards as she tried to quickly stop, but she righted herself quickly.
"Master's converting Earth into a manufacturing planet!" she said.
"Fea, wings." Horn reminded her.
"Shut up, I'm excited! Not happy-excited, but my body is excited and I'm-nevermind, that's not the point!"
"Back up, what's this about Earth?" Emu looked at her with wide eyes.
"Okay, I was with Princess when she mentioned Master. I had to find out what she meant, right?" Fea panted. "So I ask her to explain. Turns out, Princess's mother employed Master as the general of her army! And he's supposed to be making a new manufacturing planet for Peasants powered by Rift Energy."
"Oh my word." Rina said as she connected the dots. She leaned forward as her eyes darted back and forth, thinking heavily.
"…Planet X has points where it will connect to the End Charges on Earth…the End Charges will then be used to power the machines on Planet X, which then will be used to make Peasants that run on Rift Energy."
"That's what I thought!" Fea exclaimed.
"…you guys are making pretty big leaps in logic." Horn pointed out.
"It makes sense though. So we have a motive." Forrest crossed his arms.
"Come on, we have to tell Mrs. Venus!" Fea prepared to run but was stopped by Emu exclaiming "NO!" and grabbing her arm.
"What do you mean no?!" Fea glared at him.
"Fea…we're going to save Earth. But we're going against the councils wishes so we're going to end up in massive trouble." Rina informed the winged girl.
"Yeah. No one can tell Mrs. Venus. Agreed?" Emu said.
"But…she can help." Fea said.
"Not with this. If it all goes downhill, I'm taking the blame." Emu put his hands in his pockets.
"…even if this was my idea?" Forrest raised an eyebrow.
"Let's face it. I don't remember what I did during that meeting with the council, but whatever happened, I get the feeling they don't like me. So either way I'm getting the full blame for this. I might as well accept it."
"I respect that. But no. This was my plan. I'm taking the blame." Forrest said.
Rina interrupted. "Worry about it later you two. I got the program ready." She hit a button on her keyboard before pulling what looked like a USB drive from her computer.
"We'll need a plan. Fea, your father taught you strategy, right?" Forrest pointed.
"Well, yeah. He said I might need to know it in case I led my kingdom to war one day."
"Good. Are you in or are you out?"
Fea took a moment to think before she sighed. "Okay. I'm in."
Forrest nodded. "Rina, do you think I can understand the data on Planet X on your computer?" upon her nodded, he continued. "Emu, you and Fea are going to help me with a plan. Rina, you and Horn go to install the program into the Rift Legends."
"Are we sure that this is gonna work?" Fea hesitantly asked.
Forrest looked between the members of the team before him.
"We won't know until we try."
A few days later, Ruby Knight looked down at the screen of her tablet. Planet X was getting closer to Earth.
After Master broke his team out of prison, he put them back to work. The others had gone back to doing whatever as if nothing had happened, though she was a bit wary.
It didn't seem like Master knew she had essentially betrayed him. Though, she hadn't technically revealed anything to anyone. The data drive containing all of the data just happened to end up in her enemies hands.
At least…that was the excuse she had prepared if she was questioned about betraying the team.
She tapped a few buttons on her tablet, only to become aware of an alert. Quickly, she checked it, only to find the radar showing five signals moving towards Planet X. Checking the cameras revealed the shapes of the five core Rift Legends flying towards the giant machine.
This gave Ruby Knight pause. If they were on their way to stop Planet X, they couldn't land on it. She was obligated to report this to Master, though he wasn't likely to care except to gloat when she revealed they phased through. She kept watching the camera feed.
GarudaRanger piloted Garuda Legend towards the target, growing more intimidated the closer he and the rest of the team got to it.
It hadn't reacted yet, which Forrest had anticipated. They had no reason to believe the RiftRangers could land on the planet. That means that as soon as they landed, they had to act quickly.
"We're close to the target. It's time to make Rift Master." WerewolfRanger's voice came over the Rift Closer.
GarudaRanger nodded as everyone else gave vocal confirmation.
Though…now that he thought about it…how exactly did they form Rift Master? It was apparently an accident the first time and the second time showed no pattern to how it formed. It just…seemed kinda random.
GarudaRanger thought hard about Rift Master and how to form it. He didn't notice his eyes start glowing silver under his visor. He did notice as he started to float upwards.
The five Rift Legends were flying in a relatively straight line. They then started shifting around as their flight paths started to curve towards each other. They still flew towards Planet X due to momentum, though they were combining as they did.
When it was completed, the Mecha's eyes lit up.
Complete! Rift Master!
"Well. That was easier than expected." MinotaurRanger commented.
"The program should be activated after a second." KrakenRanger.
Rift Master got closer to Planet X.
"Preparing for descent." PegasusRanger's wings flapped, as did GarudaRanger's.
Rift Master pivoted in place and flapped its wings.
Soon enough, the moment of truth came as it got closer to Planet X. Its feet briefly hovered as it slowed to a stop…and then when it dropped, it landed safely on the planet with a light banging noise.
After a second, KrakenRanger spoke up.
"Landing confirmed. We made it."
Ruby Knight stared at her tablet in shock.
They had actually done it. She…she hadn't been expecting that.
She didn't know how they had done it or what exactly they were going to do, but now she had to make a decision. She was honor-bound to report to Master anything important like this happening. But…at the same time, there was the chance that the Rift Guardians could stop Master and prevent the conversion of Earth into a planet of Earth into a manufacturing planet and also result in the death of all life on Earth if they had not evacuated everything alive.
She needed to make a decision, because it looked like they were leaving their giant robot.
Ruby Knight looked up from her tablet, deep in thought for a few seconds.
She didn't have time to think too hard, however. So she decided to make a quick decision.
She was bound by her honor to report to Master that the Rift Guardians had made it onto Planet X.
That did not mean she had to warn him immediately. Maybe after a while. After they had completed whatever it was that they were doing. But she needed to keep watching and determine just when the right time was.
KrakenRanger looked at the screen formed from her Rift Closer. After a second of thinking and quick calculations, she pressed the button on her Rift Closer. Her helmet dissolved into blue energy, allowing her hair to fall free.
"It's safe to breathe here. For all of us." She said.
"Wouldn't we need to keep our helmets on just in case we get into a fight?" GarudaRanger asked.
He didn't get an answer when MinotaurRanger also took his helmet off, revealing a sweaty Horn.
"Whoo! It's hot in there when you've had it on for too long!" Horn waved his hand over his face to fan himself.
"…" GarudaRanger stared at him in what looked like disbelief.
"…what?" Horn asked. "I need to cool down."
GarudaRanger just shook his head and removed his helmet as well.
Pegasus and WerewolfRanger did the same.
"So, stick to the plan. Emu, Rina, Horn, you three go install the virus. Fea and I will stay here and guard Rift Master." Forrest crossed his arms.
"What if you need our help?" Rina asked.
"Don't worry about us." Fea said. "Just get going already."
Before the three could get going, Emu gave one last glance to the team.
"Everyone…thank you."
"Don't mention it. Ever." Forrest said.
Emu gave a nod.
"Let's get going then."
Back at the base, Mrs. Venus walked into the main room and sat down at the table.
"…Mars." She spoke up as he stood behind her.
"Yes?"
"Where is everybody?"
"I don't know." Mars shrugged.
"…did you get a glimpse into anyone's eyes before they all just inexplicably vanished?" she asked.
"No." Mars shook his head.
Mrs. Venus nodded. She then held up her Rift Closer.
"Little fun fact, Mars. As the one in charge of everyone, I get the special privilege of having to keep track of them at all times." She said. "Which includes trackers in their Rift Closers." She pressed the button on the side.
The screen on the wall changed to show that of a map of what looked like several galaxies and stars. It then started zooming in drastically on a specific point. It eventually stopped on a picture of Earth and Planet X…only the five colored dots representing the team were all on Planet X.
Mars and Mrs. Venus stared at the screen for a few seconds, blank expressions on their faces as they took this information in.
Mars was the one to break the silence. "Hm…interesting."
Mrs. Venus appeared to be angry as she stood up. "This is not what I expected him to do when I gave him that advice." Mrs. Venus sighed. "…I suppose I'll have to scold him when we're done destroying Planet X."
Mars looked surprised as he looked at his boss.
"What?"
She looked back at him.
"You heard me. He's willing to break the rules to save his planet. I respect that. At the very least I should be willing to help him so I can cover for him when the council inevitably gets onto us. That also means I'm going to end up getting an assault charge after I beat the shit out of him for being insane enough to do this."
She started walking through the base. "Come on, Rina probably has something on her computer to get me there."
Emu, Horn, and Rina crept through the hallways of Planet X. Emu peaked around a corner, making sure no one was there before he turned back to Rina.
"Okay, no one's there."
"Hm…we need to go straight and then make a left at the next right." She said.
"Which left are we referring to, human left or regular left?" Horn asked.
"…what left is that?" Emu looked at Horn.
"Human left. It's a lot less complex." Rina answered before she walked past them.
"…did you mean right?"
"What? No, I'm not stupid." Horn replied.
The three walked through the hallways for a bit.
Rina stopped the two when they were at a set of doors.
"Wait…here. We need to get in here. Horn, pry the doors open after I undo the lock and shut down the alarms." She ordered before getting to work on her Rift Closer.
Emu kept watch as Horn readied himself. When Rina was done, she signaled Horn, he promptly stuffed his fingers into the crack between the doors and used all of his strength to pull the doors apart. They came apart surprisingly easy.
Rina led the two into the room, where they found a computer terminal of sorts. Rina went up to the terminal and looked over it while thinking on what to do.
"…Emu, come over here." She said. "I might need to shock this console."
Before he could do so, a fourth voice interrupted.
"Going for that terminal won't work."
Immediately, Emu, Rina, and Horn had their guards up as the doors shut behind them. "Shit, it's a trap!" Emu realized.
"No. It is not. I'm closing the doors so no one outside realizes you three are here." A door on the side of the room opened. Ruby Knight nonchalantly entered the room, her focus entirely on her tablet.
"Rue?" Emu questioned.
"Who's Rue?" Horn said.
"Me. I am Ruby Knight." Ruby Knight's voice came from both her and the speakers in the room until she tapped something on her tablet. "I am the personal bodyguard and helper of Master. As such, I reported your presence to him."
"We're not going down without a fight." Horn growled.
"Good. Master is expecting one. But, as I was saying, that terminal won't work for whatever you're planning." She finally looked up at them. "If you're planning to take down Planet X, I doubt doing something to this terminal will work. It'll shut down Arm 1, but you'll need to go to the head terminal where every other one is connected to fully do damage."
The three paused at this and looked between each other.
"I can lead you to the head terminal, but in doing so, I will effectively be your 'hostage', technically speaking. Which is a good enough excuse for me to help without entirely breaking my honor code."
"You want to help us?" Rina asked, looking between Emu and Ruby Knight with a confused expression.
"Of course. This is all a bit too brutal for me. I'm all for helping what I think are noble causes, but it stops being noble when innocent lives get sacrificed." Ruby Knight said. "So accept my help. It's the best option you have if you desire to stop Planet X quickly."
"Aren't you like…really honorable, though?" Emu asked.
Ruby Knight opened the doors again and peaked out. Upon finding no one, she nodded and turned to the three.
"I can punish myself for breaking my code later. Are you three coming, or what?"
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.