The moon hung high in the sky, ascending and showering the sleeping earth in its beautiful glow. The light draped across the forest scene with its lunar luminescence. Down along an old trodden forest trail, down the gnarling twisted path is a warm old log craftsman cabin. Inside, an old man just begins to sit, resting his tired bones for the night, in an oversized easy chair. The old man stares around the room, his eyes moving from familiar photographs from when he was a child but also of pictures of his history as he grew and married, became a father, and his children's lives as they grew and became parents themselves. His eyes came to rest on the mantle of his fireplace where a strange-looking device sat; a gem inset in the device sparkled and pulsated. The man's eyes began to turn down, saddened by some thought in his head from the sight of the fairy light. His eyes turned to two photographs that sat next to his chair. This was the newest in the arrangement of pictures. Of his grandchildren; a girl who was about 8 years of age, Katherine, and a boy who is almost 6, Alex.

His eyes looked upward as the boy runs past him. He is playing and talking to himself as he moves about the cabin. He is so full of energy, even at this very late hour. He is laughing, skipping, and having as much fun as one could when stuck indoors for the night. Then the man leans forward in the chair, grasping the fire poker. He pokes at the still embers, awakening flares of the dying flame. He sets the poker down and turns to see the boy staring wide-eyed at him as he clears his throat and says in a hoarse but calming tone.

"Alex... Alexander, please come here and let your grandfather tell you a Fairies tale. This, a legend past down from generation to generation. The stories that our ancestors wish for you to now know." The boy walks over towards his grandfather and sits next to the chair cross-legged, where he could best hear the story.

"Grandpa, our ancestors?" asks Alex.

As the old man leans back in his chair, he lets out a long hard sigh. His eyes seem to scan an imaginary bookshelf of many stories that he could tell, but he knew almost instantly which one he would tell.

"Well, I will tell you of an ancient story, a legend, many seasons ago, when the world was young, and everything still held its magic. When trees whispered on the wind and brooks laughed as they joined with their family, the river as they rolled through the forests. When the earth was still a child nestled in her Mother Heaven's warm embrace. A time when man was just beginning to stretch his legs and run as the elk run swim as the mighty Orca swim. He was put to a series of tests, for the Great Spirit that guides us all places obstacles for us to overcome and better ourselves. But this test would not only test man physically. It would test him spiritually as well.

"The story I am about to tell you is of a great battle that moved the heavens above and caused the earth to tremble. This was a battle that was being waged between two. Now I want you to know that War, Battle, Fighting is never a way to deal with any argument or differences you have. Alright." Alex nodded his head as he was entirely captivated by his grandfather's words. "The Daemon was sent by the Great Spirit to guide man, to an Age of Prosperity and Enlightenment, to show us how to become all that the Great Spirit had intended us to be.

"But the Daemon, they stopped believing that the Great Spirit had sent them, they started feeling they were the Great Spirit. All those that thought different were there swore enemy, especially for Men, who they had been sent to guide. Imprisonment, the man withdrew from what we were supposed to be and made into the Daemon's servants, stripped of any form of creativity. We built shrines to our Masters, monoliths carved out of stone. We wrote stories of their trials and triumphs. For mankind, we were in the thralls of the Daemon's hungry thirst, which grew more and more every passing year. Until nothing satisfied our master's, no drink could quench their thirst, no meat could fill their bellies, no amount of companionship could ease their restless dreams of more! It was said that was when they began to drink manna. Manna is the energy that surrounds us. It fills us and creates life from nothing, giving birth to the stars in our sky and the fish swimming in the oceans. The Daemon, through manna, finally found the one thing in our world that could begin to quench their insatiable thirst. Finding it inside all living creatures, in the plants, draining the very life from our beautiful planet.

"But as the earth cried. Some stood hearing her call rising up to protect their home. There were those that still guarded the old sacred ways of mystic magicks, the ways, and teachings of the Great Spirits. The ones that remained here on earth (the spirits) did not fear the Daemon took their place as man's teachers. Those that learned what the spirits taught garnered the name of Shaman, and they are our ancestors.

"Know now that the Daemon did not at all like the idea of man becoming their rival. This cruel vile group, in fear of the unknown, began to harm everyone that did not seem to follow or agree with them. The Daemon's thirst for destruction was growing even more and for many of them it was all for there own personal glory. But perhaps the reason they feared man so, was in fact because we looked so much alike." Alex's head cocked to the left slightly.

"Grandpa? What do mean? They looked like... like me?" Alex asked.

"They did look just like you or me. But a true Daemon you can tell." as Daniel again leans forward, he brings his hand up and points at his own eyes. "It is inside the eyes, some believe that they are the windows to our souls. Well, a Daemon's eyes are hollow of all that makes us human. Their eyes are void of anything reminiscent of a soul. All they thirst for is life manna, in whatever shape or form they can find it." Then, the house began to shake as the lights flicked on and off. Alex jumped into his grandfather's arms.

"Grandpa, what's going on?" as Daniel stood with Alex by his grandfather's side, he walked without fear to the front door. He looked out a moment before opening the door. As they stepped out, an explosion erupted in the sky. 12 brilliant bolts of lightning scattered across all the heavens. Daniel's face was full of grimace as his eyes stayed transfixed on one as it spider-webbed and headed right towards them! Alex watched his grandfather leave his side, and he raised his arms up towards the sky.

"I know this is for his own good, but his fate has already been decided for him!" Alex noticed the family's cat at his grandfather's feet. The lightning bolt began to spiral, its speed increased. The boy saw a puck-shaped device in his grandfather's hand. "I said his fate has been decided!" as an invisible shield without warning appeared around the entire house. The bolt ricocheted off of the protection and rejoined the sky as it arched to the horizon. Alex raced to his grandfather's side as he fell to his knee; wholly drained, he gasped for breath as the boy reached for him. The man's hands pushed the boy back.

"Alex, remember that from this day forth, you've witnessed the 12 celestial rays of light... That is the first and only warning that they are coming. 6,000 year's rest will end; I'm so sorry Alex... But for the future of humanity you must become a Shaman for Earth and your training begins today." said Daniel as he began to stand. He looked down at this grandson and placed the puck-shaped device in his youthfully naive hands. Both continued to watch the skies as it continued its ominous dance throughout the heavens.

Shugoshin Sentai Totemranger

霊神戦隊トーテムレンジャー (Guardian Deity Task Force Totemranger)

{{Opening theme:} Relient K "Who I am Hates Who I've been" from the Album: [Mmhmm]}

Divination 01: Awakening.

[12 years later. October 18th, 2004.] The year is now 2004, the winds of change have blown, and time has inevitably rolled on. Just a few miles north on the Washington coast sits Silent Meadows, a small town with a beautiful view of the pacific ocean and just a few minutes north of that. A group of teen thrill-seekers is hiking up the mountain trails looking for a good time. The four teens walk up the mountainous slope as the afternoon sun wistfully shines through the picturesque forest scenery.

"Hey guys." says Derek Harris, the current MVP for the Ocean-view Seagulls. "Look, there's the mouth of a cave."

"Oh, man. Der, I think we should head back. This may be a bear's cave?" says Brad Harris, Derek's younger cousin. He nervously adjusts his glasses. Two girls complete the troupe of teens. These two beings, Maya Wood and Lex Ergovich, both looked bored as Lex swats at some bug that swarms around her head, and Maya adjusts her hair, going over her makeup again. Derek pulled Brad down into a headlock.

"Look dweeb, I promised Aunt Kate that I'd let you hang with me. So shut up and quit bitching. You are making me look so un-cool in front of Maya." as he let Brad go, who fell and rolled down the slope a little. "You guys up for a little exploring?" asked Derek. The girls shrugged as Brad just looked like he was going to wet himself.

They neared the mouth of the cave, which looked like an ancient demon, frozen and forever cast in stone. It was widely thought that this area was unlucky, for many local disappearances had occurred over the last couple of decades. The city people believe it is like the Bermuda Triangle of the North-Western United States. Brad scurries up to where his cousin stands and readjusts his glasses.

"Hey Derek? Are... are we planning on going in there?" Maya walks up behind Brad and pokes him in the side, he jumps, and the two girls share a laugh as they continue to walk towards the cave's mouth.

"Yeah, I was thinking about," said Derek. Just then, the cave began to howl like a wild man. "I mean, if you guys aren't too scared?" Derek looks over to the girls. They all became a little frightened by the sound.

"Oh, come on Maya, let's go inside. Let these two be scared out here." Maya nods her head in compliance and looks back at the other boy.

"Man, Brad when are you not scared, you wimp! It's jus a wittle cave." Brad pushes his glasses up and begins to sulk as he watches the girls walk up to the mouth of the cave.

"I'm not afraid of a cave, but I am afraid of bear or cougar, bat and bat guano, getting lock-jaw, spinal paralysis..." Derek placed his hand quickly over his cousin's mouth. Derek glared up at Brad and shoved him to the ground.

"Come on ladies. Let's." As Derek stepped forth, the ground gave way. Sending the cocky teen into the earth.

"Derek!" as the three others gather around the hole that had suddenly opened up in the earth. Coming forth from the dark spot was a faint voice calling up to them.

"Hey, I'm okay... but I've seemed to have fallen into some kind of chamber?"

It was fortunate for the teens that Brad was such a worrywart. In the backpack, he dragged along as a rope, and the three had climbed down. Derek had already found a flashlight and the three of them began to explore their find. They were indeed inside a much larger room or at the least a corridor. The walls all around were detailed with perfect hieroglyphic drawings. Brad turned suddenly; he could have sworn he just saw something move. He turned, but no one else was facing the same direction. He nervously ran down the corridor to catch up with the others who were now coming to a dead end. The mural before them was decorated with many ornate and obscure-looking drawings. The pictures depicted a group of humans sharing a handshake with some rather odd-looking creature. As the scene continues, the photo shows the group and the humans cultivating untold amounts of land, growing crops, harvesting the produce for what looks like years. About a quarter of the way down, the pictures on the wall turn violent. They now depict attacking the same humans they were helping earlier.

This shows the true nature of the creatures. The group of teens wanders aimlessly around the dead. All the pictures lead to a final mural. The images had changed yet again, now showing the gathering of mighty beasts. They are gathered around some kind of seal, dead center in the wall. They are protecting whatever is inside, or they cover the outside from whatever is inside. Whatever it was, the pictures of the lower half of the mural had long since withered away with time.

Brad takes a step closer; he begins to inspect the picture. He removed his glasses and gazes at an inscription that borders the edges of the image. "Wow, hey you guys! This is really interesting? These... These markings, they look like they could possibly be... possibly Lemurian?" he begins to laugh. "I mean, theoretically the Lemuria are not even supposed to have existed! But why? Why would glyphs like these be so far north of here?" Maya walks up to the wall and begins to inspect the marking with Brad.

"Really? Is that true?" said Maya, as she quickly slaps Brad upside the back of his head, knocking him over. Derek walks over and snickers as he helps Brad up.

"Maya, what the hell is wrong with you!" said Brad. He brushed himself off as he adjusts his backpack.

"Yeah Maya, you know Bradley here gets all excited about old worthless crap!" yells Derek as he shoves Brad. Lex walks up behind Derek. She places her hands around his waist as she makes them both sway.

Lex then says, "Come on! Let's find a dark corner." Brad pushes up his glasses and replies.

"These aren't paintings their carvings." Maya shoves Brad, and as he falls back, his elbow hits the wall. A piece of it begins to sink into the wall with a series of clanks and thuds. The wall starts to move as it collapses the corridor, fills with dust. After the four-stop coughing and yelling at poor Bradley, they notice the border has become a doorway leading into another room.

The four teens enter, with Derek and the flashlight in the lead. The darkroom had nothing that would truly make it any different than the previous rooms other than a monolith that sat in the center of the pentagonal room. All of a sudden, eight torches mysteriously begin to light themselves. The girls let out a yelp as they continue to walk in. Brad stands still, just in the entryway, weary and ready to run at a moment's notice. Derek turns off the flashlight as they begin to explore the room. The monolith that sits in the middle of the room was actually a statue, a multi-faced statue. The creatures depicted in it are horrifyingly deformed, their faces twisted with pain and agony. Strange human-like face riddles the statue and bases the same kinds of markings as the outer walls. There seemed to be talismans hanging around the statue.

The three continue to explore the rest of the room, walking around admiring the wall's details behind the statue. The pictures inside the room show scenes very akin to other great genocidal massacres in recent history—all those depicted look ancient humans, all dying. To Lex, these images began to make her stomach (turn as she was a very imaginative person). What seemed like millions of voices all started to scream at once. Lex trips over her own feet and falls into the statue. The other two laugh as Brad jumps to help. He stopped himself and backed up, embracing the entryway.

"Lex you okay?" said Derek as he helped her up.

"I think we should leave..." said Lex.

"Why?" asked Maya. Lex suddenly bites her tongue. She knew better than to admit her fears to two of the most popular kids in school. Yeah, they might seem like her friends now, but they'd never believe her, and more so, her high-school career would be dead.

"I... I think we should leave too?" finally piped Brad.

"Shut up!" said Derek. "Are you okay Lex?" as he lifts her arm, it is beginning to bleed. "You brought bandages right numb-nuts?" Brad entered the room and knelt down to dig in his backpack, pulling out bandages a second later. Derek snaps it away from his cousin and tenderly places it over Lex's cut.

"You have to sanitize It." says Brad as Derek kicks him. Brad mumbles to himself as he rubs his arm. Derek turned and walked up to the statue.

"Get a look at this crazy thing." as he kneels down and runs his hand along with one of the faces. "Wow, look at all these... markings!" Derek says sarcastically. Brad rolls his eyes and zips up his pack, walks up to the center statue, and has to push up his glasses again as he stares at the top of the bust. Feeling like he should explain but again holds his tongue. Maya snottily, gallivants around the room, looking at this and that.

"Hey Lex!" says Maya as she walks over and begins to tugs at Lex's shirt.

"Damn statue! You know I didn't even want to come." said Lex as she rubs her arm. Maya kneels down and punches Lex in the arm.

"Then why are you here... You think I'm stupid. I know about you and Derek. You think you are so sly huh?" as she punches her in the arm again.

"Ow!" as Lex pushes Maya away. "I would never!" as Derek looks over.

"What do you mean? You told me that you liked me!" said Derek. Maya stands up and pushes Derek.

"You jerk! You two timing asshole!" as she begins beating on Derek's chest. Brad stands and watches the three begin to fight.

"And you, you were probably in on everything, weren't you. You little twerp!" as Maya shoves Brad back, he falls, tumbling over the statue.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" said Derek as he runs to his cousin's side. "Brad... Brad are you alright?" said Derek as he tries to pick Brad up.

"Fine, whatever. You can all kiss my ass I'm getting the hell outta' here." As Maya turns to leave, Lex reaches for him. Maya glares at her, then at Derek, lastly at Brad.

"Chenda..." suddenly, all four turns in the furthest corner of the room now stands a masculine silhouette. It steps forward into the light. A tattered crimson cloak wrapped around its shoulders. "Chenda kit'ale? Er, Gram idore?" said the figure. Derek quickly picks up his cousin, and the four begin to move swiftly to the doorway. Then they all turn when Maya screams. Something else was at the door; this one bears a mask over its face.

"Zuba, tentai gwrurstaski. Chenda fo kin'chenda?" as this one reached out and grabbed at Maya, who again screamed and ran behind Lex.

"What do you want? We're... we're sorry if this was your house or whatever?" announced Derek. He whispered to Brad, "Are these Lemurians?" Brad shrugged his shoulders. The four teens' eyes are drawn to another figure now sitting atop the statue, a wiry-looking man. The man steps down off the statue very groggily and rubs his eyes with the palm of his skeletal hand. This man looks to be deep in thought, and then he speaks through a voice that seemed a mimic of Derek's

"In what year might this be?" as the man seems to sniff the air. The four looked surprised as they carefully kept their eyes on them as they stand there in silence. Again, the frail framed man impatiently asks his question. "What be the year?" Derek straightens up and replies.

"It's... it's 2004. I said we are sorry for disturbing you all... and we'd really like to get out of here." the one blocking the doorway and the one standing by the pedestal look to the cloaked one. He steps forward and looks Derek directly in the eyes. "Guttirm vi leibrae ken cireen, Rime daso?" the frail man bows, a malicious smile creeps across his boney face. As fast as lightning, he grabs Derek by the shoulders, and displaying unforeseen strength, he lifts him up, impaling him onto the statue.

The cloaked man nods again, and the masked woman grabs Maya and twists her head around. "Eyuleeri Kierka tegula." Lex grabbed Brad by the handle atop his backpack. Yanking him along behind her as they run headlong past the masked woman and out of the door. Down the corridor, they flee, Lex half crying as Brad looked to be so shocked to even be able to comprehend everything yet. They reach the rope. Lex hastily begins to climb, with Brad following close behind her. They can hear malicious cackling behind them.

When Lex reaches the top, she grabs Brad's arm and pulls him up. They begin to run down the mountainous slope. They get to the bottom of the slope and bolt into the woodland. They make it back to the car. They all came in. Lex fumbles with the keys, which all seemed so much alike right at the moment. "Lex? I'm sorry..." said Brad. Lex looks up and sees the trickle of blood running from the corner of Brad's mouth.

"What?" said Lex as Brad's is suddenly torn from the ground and pulled back into the surrounding woodland. He helplessly gropes at the base and swats the air, all the while keeping his eyes locked with Lex's. "Brad!" as she begins to run to him, then the wiry man comes hobbling out of the woods, followed by the masked woman and the cloaked man. She spins her keys on her fingers and rushes at the wiry man. The masked woman moves and, in blinding speed, removes both of Lex's hands. "ARRGH!" Lex screams, falling to her knees. She looks up as the wiry man stands before her. He kneels down and embraces the girl.

"Do not curse us, child born of man's molding... For we all share a common begetting, though they are a scornful, unforgiving progenitor... Who only wishes to hinder our kind... adoring yours... such simple kind of beauty. So curse your mold, curse your human lineage and wish you could have been born Daemon." with lightning-quick reflexes, the man thrusts his arm into her, it bursts out the other end, he pulls his arm out with greater speed and holds her twitching heart. Lex's body goes into her finale. Her body shaking and jerking as the pool of blood grows across the asphalt. The man takes a moment to admire the heart as he turns and presents it to the cloaked figure that looks very pleased. He turns, and the three of them begin to walk back into the forest.

[Out somewhere in the Pacific Ocean just off the Washington coast.] Floating in his custom fishing boat Daniel Wafian, watches the mighty waves churn the oceans about. A tiny explosion of life appears as something slowly appears near the ship. Daniel calmly stands and looks over at the tops of large killer whales as they skim the bottom of his boat. A tiny ivory silhouette is swimming along with the Orca. The shape suddenly stops and begins to surface. As it reaches the air, its form is not that of a whale but of a human. It bursts to the top and sucks in a lungful of air. Daniel leans over, "How are you?" the teen shakes his head and looks up. It is the same boy from 12 years ago, now he is all grown up. A handsome man of 18 years, he smiles and gives his grandfather a thumb's up.

After he climbs in, dries off, and changes into some dryer clothing, they sit looking out onto the ocean. He looks perplexed with some urgent thoughts. Daniel walks up carrying two mugs of hot liquid. "What's on your mind, Alex?" said Daniel as he hands his grandson the mug of hot liquid nourishment.

"The Orca... They are growing restless. Something's happened on the mainland they say, the feeling of the ocean has changed too." Daniel had already been feeling the change in the air. But for Alex to catch on while he was deep in training was a welcomed surprise to him. This means his perception had grown tremendously. Daniel also thought that maybe it was time. He stood up and walked below, coming up moments later holding a pouch.

"Alex, I think it's about time I give you this." he hands him the package. Alex sets his mug down and cradles it gently, unwrapping it tenderly; he lifts the end, sliding the contents out. The puck-shaped device falls into his hand. He examines it a moment, then looks up to his grandfather.

"But..." said Alex. Daniel shook his head and waved away his grandson's attempt to refuse it.

"The Totem-dial is your tool now, besides, if you try to argue my need for it... I already have my own." as he pulls it out from his back pocket. Alex notices it looks different than his own. A jewel inset in its center, his had none, just an empty node.

"This Alex, this is your destiny... Your next task is to find your spirit."

It's the middle of the night as a harvest moon rises up into the sky. A minor, impish man waltzes through the decadent waste of trash as the garbage shimmers in the moonlight. The small man runs his hands over a broken-down car. "Sorry am I, for you could have been so much more. If you could have been left in the earth, much more, so much more. I will make all those that used you without permission to see the Great Spirit." he knelt down and opened a satchel that hung at his side. He dug through its contents and pulled out a small two-inch stone. As he blows his putrid breath over it, it begins to open up, revealing its actual shape to something that resembles a pill bug. It screeches as the little man drops it to the ground. It begins to vibrate and turn a red-hot color.

The sky begins to gather clouds as lightning begins to streak across the sky. Suddenly, lightning strikes the ground. The bug starts to shake even more remarkable as it begins to levitate. Hovering a few feet up, it continued to vibrate in the air sending wave after wave of energy out of its body, suddenly two run-down cars begin to shake as they all of a sudden are thrown up into the air and start to revolve very slowly around the bug. More and more things lift off the ground joining the cars in their dance, then the cars disappear, and the bug suddenly grew about 3 inches around. More and more objects jumped up and followed the many others already dancing in chaos in the air.

The imp now sat atop a telephone post as the rain finally broke through the cloud and began to drench the landscape in an autumn shower as he snickers to himself before vanishing in a small explosion of smoke.

[October 19th, 2004. 9:45 AM, Downtown, Silent Meadows.]

Alex walks down the sidewalk of a street he hadn't seen in a very long time. Silent Meadows, a town of a little more than 28,000 people, was quiet for the most part and a more than likely place to find good fish. The smell of the sea air was a welcomed aspect of this budding city. He caught a whiff of something good as he turned the corner and said a bakery his family used to go to when he was so much younger. He walked in as a tiny bell announced his arrival. A grizzly man stepped out from behind a curtain. "Top of the mornin'! Are you new in town?" asked the baker. Alex shook his head.

"Um, no... My grandparents have both lived here forever and my parents were raised here. Do you know the Croft's?" the baker immediately recognized the name, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"An how might you be related to them? If you don't mind me asking." Alex shook his head and smiled at the man.

"I'm Thomas and Kristina's son." the man seemed surprised by his statement.

"Really? I always thought they only had the one... Hmm, learn something everyday, don't we? And your name is?" as Alex walked up to the man, and they briefly exchanged handshakes.

"Alexander... I was sent away for... Schooling. But I graduated last spring and I got my things in order to come back for a visit. And if you wouldn't mind can I have your name, Sir." the man laughed at Alex.

"Well you certainly are a polite boy aren't yaw. Name's Thaddeus Geranewt Jacobson... Don't suppose you know my nephew Lyle? He dated the Croft girl a few years back. Your sister isn't Cathy is she?" Alex nodded his head. "Well, I'll be! We were almost family, up until his injury." just then, the doors opened, and a wave of morning goers rushed in. The baker suddenly forgot his train of thinking as he began to attend to customers. Alex abruptly left; feeling a minor letdown, he had wanted to buy something to eat. He shrugs it off as he starts walking back down the sidewalk, but a thought lingered, the man said his injury? So he decided to take a detour in his reminiscing to stop at the local library. He walked up to the main deck, and an elderly man met him.

"What can I help you find?" said the old man in a whisper of a voice.

"I wanted to know if you have any newspaper articles or clippings on a high-school student that was recently injured?" the man almost immediately knew what he was speaking of.

"You mean the Jacobson's boy... their youngest Lyle. Oh, coarse we keep a record of all that sort of things. You didn't know the Erogvich girl too did you?" Alex, confused, shakes his head. "Bad business there too. Four kids were hiking a few weeks back up at the reserve and they were murdered. The detective on the case vanished with at lease a third of the police. It's been blocked off and they even called in some specialist from the FBI." as he talked, he leads Alex to the records room. He politely excused himself and closed the door behind him.

Alex began to scan through the large reservoir of old newspaper clippings and articles. Coming across the article he wanted right away, which struck him as a bit odd, but he didn't think twice as he placed it in the old viewing device. "October 26th 2003. Hometown hero attacked!" the article read in bold print. Alex began to read further. "Local, Lyle Jacobson, then 18, just won the state championship big win over Portland, was walking out to his car and was viciously attacked after the game by two angry Portland fans. He was left for dead, as coach Randal Jacobson found the athlete with a six-inch knife lodged into the players back. Paramedics arrived finding the boy unresponsive, resuscitation was administered and he was thankfully revived. Doctors say, he was lucky to be alive, but really can one think luck has anything to do with it. Lyle Jacobson slipped into a coma while in transit to the hospital and now is only alive because of life support. We will all be praying for his safe recovery and that he will someday soon come out of his coma." just then, the light on the projector flickered, then the building began to violently shake. Alex then suddenly felt a ripple through the energy of the realm. (Alex is attuned to our dimension, otherwise known as The Realm.)

He runs outside, and walking in broad daylight was a strange sight. A creature, human in aspect, its body made up entirely comprised out of compacted garbage. His eyes were made up of shards of glass, and his mouth sharpened. People ran past Alex. As the thing turned, its hand extended and latched itself onto a car. In mere seconds the vehicle was gone. Compacted and added to the body of the creature. Alex pulled out his Totem-dial and turned it until it came over the symbol of a man as he flexed his arms. *("I don't know what's going to happen. But I have to do something.")* As Alex motions his hands, spinning them in a clockwise fashion through the air, he strikes a pose, the hand with the dial was in his left hand, which is across his abdomen resting by his hip. Alex's right-hand moves up and across his chest, pointing to the left pointing towards the sky. "Totem..."

Alex is suddenly tackled to the ground. He barely had time to recognize the baker he had met only recently. "What are you doing boy! You got to get out of here!" as the man picks himself and Alex up. They begin to run as Mr. Jacobson is suddenly thrown back. Alex turns to see the most horrified look on his face as he becomes compacted and assimilated into the creature's body, like a juicing machine, all its fluid began to pour out of its mouth and from the abdomen—the large pool of its blood on the asphalt.

"Mr. Jacobson!" screams Alex as he runs forward, grabbing a broken piece of piping. The creature does not react as Alex stabs it. More blood flows out of the cut as the creature stares at the pipe, then turns and looks at Alex with its emotionless eyes. Simply pushing him away sends Alex flying back. He hits a parked car and falls to the ground, the wind knocked out of him; he faintly hears the hollow pipe ring as it hits the ground. It is almost drowned out by his own heartbeat, which pounds in his ears. His eyes begin to fill with a bright light.

*"What is it you seek?"* Called a voice within the bright light. Alex floats dumbfounded in the vast, blinding light. *"Is it the power to protect that you seek?"* Alex now stood before a gigantic iron door chained many times over and locked several times over.

"Yes, I want power... Power to protect those that cannot protect themselves!" Alex is struck by the wave. This wave fills him with a bombardment of images. Made up of those that have fought before him. Going all the way back to a continent that drifts above the ocean. "Lemuria." as a gigantic whale comes over the island, this whale dwarfs the island in its enormous shadow. Alex floats suspended above the island. The whale comes closer, touching the tip of its muzzle to Alex's body, which was, but a speck of dust.

*"Call on I, who am all that encompasses the world disk. Okeanos is what you may know me as, thou who hast beseeched the favor of him, the All, the Everything. I am your Warrior, the one at your right, for now, and always. I ask for a contract of loyalty. I will grant you the power to protect those too weak to protect themselves. In exchange for this power, you much give your vow, a binding word that you will carry on your best to protect those you've now sworn to.'* Alex doesn't put a second thought to it.

"Yes, I will do whatever it takes. I will use your power to help all those that I can. I will do as you say." He is again shrouded in bright light.

Awakening on the asphalt, no time had passed as Alex looks at his Totem-dial to see a black spherical crystal in the middle of his dial. He slowly rises as the dial begins to glow a faint purple light. Alex, also without even thinking, began to talk, "The Heavens call to me! The Earth calls to me! All Humanity calls to me! They call on me to defeat evil... So listen up Evildoer!" as he again strikes a pose. His left hand holding the dial is across his chest rests on his hip; his right is stretched across his chest. "For all those that have fought for justice in the past, I am a Warrior of Justice!" as a bright light begins to shine, "Totem Access!" As a flash erupts.

Surrounded by a vast emptiness, Alex's eyes are closed, his body naked. As he opens his eyes, space is flooded with water. As he becomes submerged in it, his flesh changes. He opens his eyes and is half-human, half-Orca. A killer whale appears and swims around him. His skins once again change as the whale circles around him. His skin is now covered by a black jumpsuit. He looks up as a helmet encases his face, its black visor flashes as the Orca cries in the background. A symbol appears on his chest resembling the Yin sign.

The creature whines as the light subside, "A new age calls for a new Shaman, I am the keeper of the Universal song, Totem of the Ocean, Black Orca!" he runs forward and jumps, going onto a flying sidekick, which does little to actually affect the creature. After the hit, he grabs hold of the pipe and, with a firm kick, jarring it out from the ground. He focuses his energy on the line as it morphs and changes into a spear with the head resembling a killer whale and end sprouting two fin-like blades. Alex admires his work until he is forced to dodge an incoming left cross. The creature was awake now and getting a little feisty. With a defensive swing, Alex severs the creature's left arm off. It twitches on the ground a moment before the rest of the body launches tendrils grabbing the arm, pulling the arm up, and reattaching it in seconds.

"Dross..." the creature grumbles as it launches itself towards Alex. It uses its arm to latch on to a car as it runs by. Alex begins to put up a defense as the car comes crashing down. The creature moved up and lifted a large portion of the debris; Alex lay on the ground in a tiny crater. "Dross..." as the beast knelt down and picked up Alex's unconscious body. Across the street, the cover of a fire hydrant began to tremble as the restraint bolt begins to twist. The bolt burst as an onrush of water bursts onto the road.

"Let me go!" as Alex dug his knees into its abdomen. The creature did not react; Alex shifted his weight, twisting its arm. Its grip loosened as he fell. Alex held his arm out as the spear slid into his grasp. A significant curve of water shot up as he thrust the weapon up, impaling it through its head. Alex took a few steps back, and time seemed to slow, almost freezing as he shifted his feet, making what appeared to be a figure eight. He held his left arm at his side as his right arm moved, just like in the old kung fu movies. His arm was copying the motion his feet were performing as the water began to gather around him.

"Ocean... Wave Crusher!" as Alex thrust his arm forward; time returned to average speed as the burst of water rushed forward and blew a hole the size of a basketball through its chest. As he pulled his arm back, the spear dislodged from the creature's head and flew back towards him. He snatched it out of the air with his left hand as he spun around decapitated it. He looked around and walked up to the body. A small beetle-like fell out of the neck; he knelt down in the standing water and picked up the creature. He swiftly stood up and crushed the beetle in his hand. He looked down as the beast began to decompress, as he fell apart. Alex knelt down as his helmet retracted, and he saw the hand of the man that tried to save him. "Mr. Jacobson..." His fists tightened, and the water from the hydrant began to flow even stronger. The ground and manholes tremble under some strong force, then as his helmet flips back, covering his face as he stands.

{Ending theme:} Ace of Base "Blooming 18" from the Album: [The Bridge]}

Next time on Shugoshin Sentai Totemranger...

A Shaman must find his way, alone if he must. But will he be able to overcome this first obstacle all by himself? 2nd Divination: Existence. Where his heart lays and where the future must take him is his decision alone. All paths eventually connect, and the past is simply a stepping-stone for the boulder that wades in the ocean that will become our tomorrow.