A Gold Power
By StraightedgeEpyon
Summary: Darkness comes over Tokyo-3 as the battle against The Angels continues. But one boy finds a golden light to cut through the darkness as he becomes the new Gold Ranger
Beta read ToAT
I own nothing
Chapter 14
Rei stumbled out of her room in an obvious alarm and fright, her breathing was hard and very rapid within her helmet. She looked at herself at the blank TV screen, and gasped, looking herself over.
"This cannot be possible! Have I actually become a ranger?!" Rei asked, looking at her hands.
She went inside the bathroom, flipped on the light switch and looked herself in the mirror.
"I am taller," she remarked.
Rei looked at her gloved hands, feeling energy coursing through them. She felt strong, stronger than she had ever been in her entire life.
Suddenly, she was hit with various images of the same female rangers before in her previous dreams. Suddenly, the sound of the front door opened and voice called out.
"Rei, I'm home," announced Shinji, walking through the door.
"Oh, no," she gasped and started to panic. "How do I get out of this suit?"
"Rei, are you here?" her roommate called again.
"I cannot let Shinji see me like this. I have to-"
Before she could finish her sentence, her present self suddenly changed back to her previous self.
"What?! How did I?"
Knock-knock!
"Shinji, hold on."
"Is everything okay, Rei?"
"Everything is fine. Just give me a minute."
She turned on the water to give the impression of using the bathroom, only to…
SNAP!
…Suddenly rip off the nob off the sink.
"What?! How did I do that?!" whispered Rei in shock. "What's happened to me?"
'You have been gifted with great power' a voice said.
The sound of the door slowly opened and Shinji averted his gaze, just in case his roommate wasn't decent.
"Rei?"
Her roommate fully opened the door, to his relief she was still decent and he had not caught her in an embarrassing moment.
"I-It's okay, Shinji. I…merely I broke the knob," she said.
"Oh, is that it? Don't worry, we can get it fixed." he assured, but still frowned in concern, seeing the look on her face.
Rei merely walked past him and straight to her room without a word. She sat down on her bed, staring at her hand, feeling the power tingling inside of her.
"What is happening to me?" Rei asked.
(The next day White Tiger dojo Kenshin's office)
"All three of them?" Kenshin asked from behind his desk.
"Yeah, it-it all happened so fast. It all just came together. I was blocking, I anticipated, and I struck hard." Shinji explained.
Kenshin look impressed, but then a disparaging thought came to him.
"Oh, man, I'm gonna catch hell from my captain if the parents of one of those kids find out that you're my student and file a complaint on me. They may have you charged for assault." said Kenshin.
"It's okay. My friend Rei was with me and the two kids that were being harassed go to my school. They'll vouch for me if it comes to that." Shinji assured him.
Getting up from behind his desk, Kenshin walked over to his student.
"Alright, so let me get this straight: You took all the lessons I taught you, and you used them to straight-up beat the snot out of those punks?" his sensei asked again to make sure he had it clear.
"Well, yeah."
Satisfied with the answer, he motioned for Shinji follow him. Shinji and Kenshin went out the door and towards his car, which was a black Dodge Avenger kept in excellent condition, nothing at all like Misato's car. He opened the back of the trunk, revealing a white, neatly-folded training Gi with the imprint of a tiger on the back.
"When I first took you as my student, I knew I'd be passing my first training Gi over to you. I just didn't think it would be this soon."
Shinji looked his sensei in surprise.
"You want me to have this?" asked Shinji.
"Hell, yeah, you earned, it kid." Kenshin replied with a smile.
Shinji hesitantly picked up the gi, truly honored, aside from the Gold Ranger powers, he was never truly given anything from anyone, not even his teacher whom he lived with. He also felt a sense of pride, actually earning something from someone.
"Sensei, I've been thinking, and I've decided I'm gonna compete in tournament," said Shinji.
"Really? Thanks. You competing should help bring in more revenue and keep this place afloat."
Unbeknownst to them, Misato Katsuragi was driving past the area slowly, and she noticed the scene between student and teacher, the proud smile on the man's face, and a smile on Shinji's face. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy and sadness passing them, with neither one noticing.
'So everyone will know the return of the White Tiger dojo!' thought Kenshin.
(A/N My explanation will be given at the end of the chapter)
(Elsewhere with Delphine)
The White Aqutian Ranger was seen surrounded by more than a dozen agents. She had been in an abandoned warehouse, responding to a call for help, but it turned out to be a trap, set by Section 2, and she fell for it.
"Target acquired!" the lead agent reported behind the men, crouching down with his rifle aimed at the White Ranger, as were the rest of the agents. "Surrender, now!"
Delphine didn't look at all fazed by the odds against her.
"I see you took my advice and brought more men," said Delphine, "however…"
Delphine used her blinding speed and proceeded to punch, kick, toss, and disarm the men, moving in slow motion, but too fast to the untrained eye. After she finished, all the men were on the ground, unconscious and disarmed, leaving only the lead agent standing. The man raised his rifle at the Aquitian Ranger, but she didn't flinch. She merely sliced the weapon in half, shocking the agent.
"Tell your Commander whatever game he's trying to play, he won't win," stated Delphine, sheathing her sword then turning to walk away.
Before she could jump away, though, something snapped from above, looking up as a massive, white drag net fell upon the ranger. Normally, she would be able to cut through the net with ease, but suddenly, the net became electrified, shocking Delphine.
"Argh!" grunted Delphine as she was brought to her knees and became tangled.
The lead agent surveyed his position while the White Ranger was trapped, and seeing his men all laid out, and him the only one left standing. He smirked as took out his phone.
"Commander, we have the White Ranger," he reported.
("Excellent. Is the Gold Ranger with her?") asked Gendo.
"No, sir, he isn't."
("That's fine. We have his companion. We'll use her to draw him out.") replied Gendo, hanging up.
Delphine secretly took out her blaster the whole time he was talking. Then the man calmly walked up to the struggling Aquitian with an cocky smirk.
"Struggle all you want, but you're not getting out of that net, you're going straight to-" the man said.
PEW! Rip!
Delphine blasted a small line in the net, making a hole and ripped her way out of the trap, shocking the agent.
"Very clever, I wasn't expecting that trap. It seems your organization isn't so one-dimensional after all. I'm impressed." she stated.
The agent quickly took out his gun and began firing. Delphine avoided the bullets with ease, and disarmed the man and head-butted him, rendering him unconscious. She surveyed the area, making sure there weren't any more surprises. Delphine sighed and walked out of the warehouse.
'Find her,' a voice said.
"Huh? What was that?" asked the Aquitian, looking around, thinking she had heard something.
She was suddenly overcome by various images of various Rangers, and an unfamiliar Silver/Blue Ranger.
"A new ranger? Is that what I sensed? Was that the shift in the grid I felt?"
An electrified field formed over Delphine and went into the sky.
(Later the NERV break room with Rei and Shinji)
"You're going to compete?" asked Rei from the seat across from her roommate.
"Yes. Sensei thinks I might have a chance." Shinji replied.
"Have you ever been in a tournament before?" she asked, getting a shake of the head no.
"Not really. I've never participated in anything before, not even in a science fair." joked Shinji.
"Your sensei is-"
"Nothing like Misato or my father. He's legitimately helped me through martial arts, I feel more at ease then I've ever felt before. Maybe he could help you in some way."
Rei looked at him, considering taking martial arts, although wondered where the thought of her actually doing it came from. Though, the thought of interacting more with Shinji sounded more and more appealing to her.
'Am I growing to have feelings for Shinji' thought the First Child.
"So, Rei, since you're the only one who knows this, I -"
"Damn it! We had her!" we almost had her!" a man explained, interrupting Shinji as he stomped into the break room and taking a seat furthest away from the two pilots, along with another man.
"Take it easy, it was just a bad break that the White Ranger escaped from us," the other man responded.
That got Shinji's attention, as did it get Rei's.
"Tch, what's this fixation he's got on those two, anyway? They seem to be doing a better job of beating the Angels than the those kids are, anyway." he said.
Shinji smiled a little before wiping it off.
"I hear you, but he probably doesn't like the competition or maybe because they don't work for NERV." the other man replied. "I heard a rumor that he had something to do with that Jet Alone thing going haywire."
"It seems your father is more of the controlling type than I let on. The type to stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He's no different from Lord Zedd or Master Vile. We need to see if Delphine's okay. We should have been out there with her today." Trey said from within his mind.
'You're right. In the meantime, I think the Gold Ranger should pay him a visit.' Shinji thought back while the two men continued to converse.
"Why would the commander be targeting the rangers?" Rei mused, feeling something was very wrong.
"Good question. Maybe it is jealousy." Shinji suggested.
"Jealousy?" asked Rei with a raised eyebrow.
To her surprise, her roommate rose from his seat.
"Probably. There's something I have to go do right now. I'll see you at home." he replied, abruptly leaving the break room.
Rei watched his departing form, wondering where he might be going. Meanwhile, Shinji headed towards the elevator, only to bump into Misato carrying some papers in hand.
"Oh, sorry, Misato, I didn't see you there. I've got to-"
"Hold on a second!" she said in a stern tone when Shinji tried to walk past her.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It has come to my attention that you were recently in an altercation with some kids from your school. Is that true?" Misato asked in that same tone.
"Yeah, I was, but-"
"And you're recently taking martial arts, is that also true?"
Feeling something was wrong by the way she looked at him, he nodded in response to her question.
"The reason why I'm asking this is because one of parents of one of the boys you beat up had your school call me," Misato explained, "and I saw you with a man named Kenshin Misaki, now is he your karate instructor?"
"My sensei, and yes, he is. I don't see what the big deal is." said Shinji.
"The big deal, young man, is that you attacked your fellow students! And I had to hear from their parents!"
"I didn't attack them! They were harassing two other kids and an elderly person, and then they attacked me first. I was defending myself and those kids." the boy defended.
"Watch your tone, pilot, you're in headquarters, not the outside." Misato scolded.
Before Shinji could retort, Fuyutsuki appeared and asked, "What's all the ruckus?"
"Sir, I was speaking to the Third Child about what he did to his fellow schoolmates, " Misato explained professionally.
"I see, that's quite unlike you, pilot. Care to explain yourself?" said the sub-commander.
"Sir," Shinji began in a respectful tone, "I was intervening on behalf of two other kids and their grandfather, who were being harassed by three students from school, and I didn't see anyone else stepping in, so I decided to."
"Did they attack you first? Or did you strike first?"
"I…I gave them a chance to walk away, and they didn't take it, so they attacked me first, and I defended myself."
"Hmm…and you said you intervened on behalf of an elderly gentleman? Tell me, did he have fraternal twin grandchildren?" Fuyutsuki inquired with interest.
"Uh…yes." Shinji answered. "Also, as I was about to mention, Rei was with me at the time. Just ask her."
"No, I don't think that'll be necessary, I see no need for any disciplinary action to be taken at this moment. You may carry on." said Fuyutsuki to Shinji's and Misato's surprise.
While Misato stood there stunned, Shinji took the opportunity to head to the elevator while she caught up with the sub-commander.
"Sir," she started to say, but the old man put a hand up to stop her.
"Who Shinji helped was an old colleague of mine from my university days. Professor Kondo. We play shogi every now and then, and he informed me of a boy matching Shinji's description that helped him and his grandchildren. Since its not really NERV related, I think we can look the other way."
"But, sir, this makes us look bad if one of our pilots is seen getting into random fights," the major argued.
"True, but we've been getting a share of bad press, anyway. What with the Rangers doing the work for us." Fuyutsuki countered "The people seem to trust them more than us."
"But, sir-"
"Let this go for now, Katsuragi. Compared to the bigger picture, this is but a small speck." he said.
("Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, please report to the Commander's office") the intercom rang out.
Nothing else was said as the sub-commander departed towards the opposite way, wondering what his student wanted now.
He would soon wish he didn't.
(With Gendo and Ritsuko)
"Ikari, what did you want see me about?" Fuyutsuki asked, walking into the darkness of the lab, seeing something small and clumped together occupying a liquefied tube.
Above the tube was the dummy plug, still in its untested phase, which made the old man feel more than uneasy. But he was a little more curious to know what was in the tube that held the attention of both Akagi and Gendo.
"What is that?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"It is the remains of the 12th Angel and part of the Angel that infiltrated NERV several months ago," Gendo answered.
The old man looked at him with wide eyes, surprised.
"The remains of the Angels. I thought there wasn't anything left of them, especially the Angel that infiltrated HQ, since the rangers destroyed it completely. They did us a huge favor."
Ritsuko just settled for staring at her pad going over data, not bothering to say anything to the sub-commander; he already had a sneaking suspicion that there was more.
"Indeed, but upon further research, these particular remains have certain qualities," Gendo said, looking at the tube.
"Certain qualities, you say?"
"I believe these remains will serve us well in the coming days ahead. Knowledge of the enemy is useful in battle, after all." Gendo said.
Fuyutsuki had to agree with that as he stared intently at the object inside the tube. Right before his very eyes, it started to move, growing a little bigger. The uneasiness Kouzo felt multiplied tenfold, as he glanced at the commander, who merely put his arms behind his back.
'With this, the rangers will soon meet their match.' thought Gendo with a small smirk.
The thing inside began to grow again and double in size, like a small seedling in the fertilized ground.
( With Rei )
Rei began her trek home from her long standby with her fellow pilots, although she was more than thankful to be away from pilot Sohryu, who hounded her about her relationship with Shinji all throughout the day. It was her turn to cook, so she headed to the nearest outdoor market to buy some udon noodles (I love those) and fish.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
"Hmm!" Rei looked up in wonder.
People were running past her, dropping all their items. The cause of the panic was a group of bikers destroying everything in sight, kicking down tents, breaking wooden stands, tossing fresh vegetables on the ground, and all of them laughing madly while they were doing it.
It was then that the girl started to feel something inside of her, something rise, a need, a desire, to protect them, and the First Child started to feel the same energy that made her stronger rise up.
"Ugh! Ugh!" Rei suddenly grunted, feeling a surge within her.
Luckily for her, everyone was too panicked to notice, and she unwittingly stumbled into the nearest, darkest, empty alleyway. The surge began to grow stronger and stronger, filling her with raw power. Then, in a blinding flash of light, Rei Ayanami morphed.
"It's happened again!" she gasped, looking over herself.
"How can I d-ugh!"
'I'll take it from here,' a voice said.
Within her helmet, her eyes became glassy, then glowed white briefly, as if something took over her whole mind. Her body straightened out and walked out of the alleyway. People were still running while the motorcycle thugs continued their reign of destruction. The whole group stopped what they were doing and took notice of the new figure.
"Who the hell are you?!" the lead thug demanded, wearing a bandanna.
"Is that another ranger?" another one asked with a bandanna around his neck.
The mysterious figure surveyed the needless destruction in the area, she took the weapon from behind her back, the item extended into a silver and blue, trident-like lance.
"You punks caused enough damage for one day," she said to them.
The gang looked confused, but then started to laugh out loud.
"Are you serious?! You actually want to fight us?!" questioned the leader.
"What makes you think you can take on all of us, girly?!" a shorter gang member chuckled.
The mysterious Blue/Silver Ranger said nothing as she walked closer to close the distance between herself and the gang, she skillfully twirled her staff above her head, then plunged it into the ground. Blue shock waves of energy burst from the ground, blasting them all away in one strike.
"Argh!" they all screamed.
"Just like that." she replied
The ranger retracted her weapon and replaced it on her back, then disappeared as quick as she came, not noticing some bystanders that remained come out from hiding had recorded the event on their phones.
(Delphine and Shinji)
"Tell me again, how the aura inside Unit-01 was similar to mine?" asked Shinji, walking alongside Delphine in her disguised form of Della.
"All living beings all have different sets of auras. You were sired between two people, a man and woman, and as such, your aura is a mixture of two different auras, of the man and woman, your mother and father." explained Delphine.
"I…see," Shinji, still unsure of what to make of it, uttered.
"How much do you know of those monstrosities? Those Evangelions?"" Delphine asked.
"Very little. In fact, there's lots about them and NERV that I don't know about."
"I think we may need to look into NERV. Perhaps we should talk with Fuyutsuki -"
"Delphine, look!" exclaimed Shinji, looking at a large TV monitor in a window.
On the news showed someone in a Blue/Silver Ranger outfit busting up a biker gang, saving the shop owners and patrons. On the bottom, in big bold letters, it said:
A New Ranger?
Both rangers looked at each and back on the screen, this all but confirmed the Aquitian Ranger's suspicions about the power shift in the Grid.
"Looks like NERV will have to wait after all. We need to find this new Power Ranger before they do."
"Yeah."
They both continued to look at screen in concern and wonder as to who this supposed new ranger was supposed to be.
Was this newcomer friend or foe?
End Chapter
End Notes: A Major thanks to TOAT for beta reading, I know some of you said no Shinji should not compete in the tournament, but think of it like the Karate Kid spin off Cobra Kai, mixed in with some of Power Rangers, Shinji wants to geuninely help the Dojo that helped him, and because of the fight he was in he won't be the only student anymore. With that being said think of Rei's situation in terms of Trent the White Dino Thunder Ranger, the power will take control of her in random times, she will be unable to control it and she won't remember what happened, where she's been or what she was doing. Also you all wanted Shinji to have an enemy well ask and you shall receive. Will it be fully spawned on the chapter let me know if it should and should the 13th angel make an appearance. Here's what I have in mind for the next chapter( what might happen)
"He's helped me more than you!"
"Don't do it, its not worth it."
"The power of this ranger is unlike anything I've ever felt."
"Take this as a warning, stop or I'll stop you."
"I may yet need to return to Aquitar soon."