EPISODE 10: THE FERAL FIELD
(Adapted from "The Most Dangerous Game")
We start this episode off with our villains on the Arrow Galion. The revolving door to the ship's cockpit opens as Midaria slowly walks in while hanging her head down…and holding some form of a silver briefcase. Several feet away, Insidion and Blockhead head start at their "bar" and look confused as she walks toward Sagittar while saying…
Midaria: I have the item you requested, Sagittar.
She places the silver briefcase on the side of his throne, which gets the other general's attention.
Insidion: (gasps offscreen) Is that…?
Blockhead: Gah! Boss!? Why did you bring THAT out!?
Sagittar: (places his hand on the case) Because this week, I wish to engage in a hunt.
Insidion and Blockhead: What!?
Insidion: You can't be serious—
Sagittar: Your "hunts" were practice rounds. Now the REAL poaching begins.
Midaria opens the case as he starts to quietly chuckle, revealing a weird silver oval device with a big red button in the center.
And with that we cut down to Earth with a shot of Martha Washi with her hair down, waking up in her bed at the crack of dawn, meaning it's still a bit dark out. She yawns and rubs her eyes slowly before looking out her window. With a deep exhale, she gets out of bed, showing she's in animal-themed pajamas, and we then hard cut to her 20 minutes later standing in front of the Washi Safari Zoo and Aquarium entrance, fully clothed but still a bit tired.
Martha: (smiles) No place like home.
We then get a montage of her checking on some things at dawn around the zoo.
First, we cut to the Aquarium sector's Whale Fountain, where we see Martha looking up at it while talking to a janitor.
Martha: How's it looking?
Janitor: Good as usual, but I'm waiting on the stuff that lets me really scrub bird poop off the top.
Martha: Alright then. Keep up the good work.
Janitor: Yeah, you too, boss.
Then we cut to the Savanna Sector's "Okapi corner", which is a mix of both jungle and savannah foliage. However, its Okapi hologram is stuck walking in place.
Martha: Aw man. Stuck on loop AGAIN?
Employee: Earlier it wouldn't stop running so I tried fixing it but instead this happened.
Martha: (sighs) Alright. Try resetting the machine. If that doesn't work I'll see when tech support has free time.
Employee: You got it, boss.
Then we cut over to the outside of the Rainforest Sector's "Jungles of Earth" exhibit and see workers on a ladder positioning a new entrance sign.
Worker 1: Is this where you want it?
Martha: Hmm. How about just a little bit higher and you can go from there. That sound good?
Worker 2: Yeah, no problem, boss.
Finally, we cut to the Tundra Sector's "Arctic Adventure" exhibit, which is similar to the Brookfield Zoo's "Tropic World" exhibit with 3 sections intended for 3 different areas of a similar environment, except themed around the arctic and Antarctica instead. She's looking over 3rd "square" of it, and it looks like the holographic animals aren't on yet.
Martha: So, what's up with the animals?
Employee: (holding a tablet) Well uh, due to a glitch, the hologram projectors are making…umm…" hybrids".
Martha: ….Define hybrids.
The employee then presses a button on the tablet which activates a hologram…that looks like a polar bear fused with a walrus, which surprises Martha.
Martha: I SEE…I-I'll just call tech support.
Employee: (as she writes on her tablet) Thanks, boss.
Cue the weird hologram comedically making a bizarre noise that spooks the two for a second.
We then end the montage with Martha heading back to her house as the sun rises a bit more to find Benny finishing breakfast.
Benny: Good morning mom.
Martha: Morning. (yawns)
She then stops, looks at Benny, and smiles while leaning on the wall.
We then get a quick flashback to a young Benny sitting at the breakfast table having some cereal with Martha while she fills out some paperwork, only for his father, with his face obscured in the shot to walk into the frame. He and Martha share an out-of-frame kiss before he ruffles Benny's hair, making him giggle.
Cutting back to the present, Martha's smile begins to fade a bit as words from her Harris encounter last episode play in her head but without any flashback.
Martha: (flashback voice): What am I gonna do?
Harris: (flashback voice) …I don't know…But you better figure it out…Just in case things do get worse.
Martha: (breaths in and out) Hey Benny. Could I ask you a quick question?
Benny: (as he puts away his dishes) Sure, mom. What's up?
Martha: It's about uh…ranger stuff. So…why be a ranger over a zookeeper? I-It just confuses me, I mean…why something more dangerous?
Benny: Ah. I see…Well, uh…I guess…when it comes to animals, whether it's a pet or a zoo animal…it's not just taking care of them, it's a commitment. You have to commit a good chunk of yourself to their lives and as much as I love animals…I just don't fully know if I can trust myself with…needing to be there for one all its life or…with protecting one, especially after what happened with Buddy. As a ranger, yeah, saving people is more dangerous but…it's just saving people I don't know. Plus, I can communicate with them, or tell them to run, or get to safety. I guess I just…find it weirdly easier.
Martha: But isn't having your Cubimals kind of like committing to a relationship too?
Benny: Well…yeah, but they can protect themselves.
Martha: True, but what about last week? The whole city was almost eaten by some plant monster thing.
Benny: I know, but…it's all fine now, right?
Martha: …It's not though…(sighs) I can't do this anymore. Benny? I think—
She's suddenly cut off by Benny's Eagle zord popping up and making panicked noises at the two.
Benny: Ah, shoot!
Martha: Another monster attack?
Benny: Yeah. Sorry, mom, I gotta go. (whips out his Morpher)
Martha: W-Wait! (grabs his arm)
Benny: What is it!?
There's a quick awkward silence between them.
Martha: …I…Just…be safe out there, hon. (she says with a forced smile)
Benny: I will…I promise…Doubutsu! (teleports out)
Once he's gone, Martha stands there, letting out a frustrated sigh and rubbing her eyes, much like last episode's ending.
We then hard cut to Downtown Dolphin Coast, where instead of a monster of the week, we get a squad of Amoebanoids. They seem to be making no super coordinated attack, simply running around, scaring people, swinging at them, even holding a few at blade point. This lasts for about 10 seconds before we see Amoebanoid scare a person into falling onto his back. And right as it's about to slash the man with its blade.
Benny: Stop right there!
The grunt looks to his left and sees Benny coming down from a leap with his Savage Saber in hand. He slashes the monster down and starts attacking the other grunts around him as the camera pans out showing the others arriving at the same time.
Sylvia: (kneeling) Get to safety!
The man quickly nods and gets up before running away as Sylvia begins fighting back with her Savage Saber. Then we see Caleb, standing atop a small building, slash down two Amoebanoids, followed by him somersaulting onto the ground and getting two more Amoebanoids to chase after him, as the camera then pans behind him to show Jackie dodging hits and even doing a leg scissor-type move before getting a quick slash in. Then we cut under a nearby bridge, in a way that makes it look like the camera filming this scene is stuck inside a wall, as Sylvia does some dodging, before pushing off another wall next to her to kick/block the attack. She then slashes another grunt in the chest, which makes it falls right into the wall where the camera is, then said camera pans back to show Winston run into the shot, flip an Amoebanoid over his head, briefly block one's blade, and then do a short jump off the wall to slash the enemy that tried to hit him twice.
Finally, we cut over to Benny fighting for a second under a building entrance with pillars, before forward, doing a front flip as he runs back outside from under this building and quickly slashes an Amoebanoid trying to sneak up behind him as he lands on his feet.
Benny: Let's finish this! (stands up/his suit's eyes glow)
The Rangers: Primal Power! (said as they grow footage)
With that, Benny does his Eagle Fire Flash attack, which cuts down at least 6 Amoebanoids atop a bridge, then the camera pans back to show the others doing their attacks simultaneously with Caleb and Sylvia standing close by as they send out Lion Lighting and Tigress Snow Strikes, Jackie using her Shark Spin Dash to strike down more enemies standing atop a nearby perch, and Winston using an Elephant Earthquake to take down two Amoebanoids in front of him. The battle seems finished as Benny and Jackie land back on the ground…but then…we see Midaria perched atop a building nearby.
Midaria: Greetings, Zoo-Keepers.
Caleb: (as the team groups up) Well if it isn't the witch, Midaria!
Benny: But we haven't even destroyed a monster, yet.
Sylvia: Could she be here by mistake?
Midaria: On the contrary, White Tigress Ranger. I'm right on time to promote today's SPECIAL hunt.
She says part of that while turning to her left and looking up as the camera pans back…only for a hologram to form like a rapid swarm…A hologram…of Sagittar.
Sagittar: Greetings, Earthlings. I am Sagittar. Leader of the Shooting Star Poachers.
Benny: So…THAT'S their leader?
Caleb: Yeah, and an ugly one at that!
Sagittar: How nostalgic. Now I'll feel less guilty about THIS.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, a giant force field with a bubble-like esthetic to it forms around the city.
Winston: A force field?
Jackie: W-Wait! Is it shrinking?
We then cut to the edge of the field, which is pretty close to them actually, confirming that it is indeed shrinking. Everyone near begins running away and screaming, say for a stray cat who just sits there as the field passes over it. Now, in the original Sentai footage, the cat was disintegrated by the field, but I don't want to go too dark with this, so instead, when the cat has the field pass over it…it freezes in place.
Benny: (leaning forward a bit) No!
Sylvia: What the…?
Cue another shot of people panicking and running.
Midaria: Once everyone is frozen, we'll pick you off one by one.
Benny: What!? …This can't be real.
Once again, we get a shot of people in the area running in terror from the field.
Midaria: To stop its effects, you must find this switch.
She says this as her hand displays a holographic image of the device we saw at the beginning of the episode in the briefcase. Now the intent is clear.
Sylvia: Oh, come on!
Sagittar: If you succeed, I shall grant you all a lovely reward.
Benny: That's enough! You can't just play with innocent lives like this!
Sagittar: It's what the Earth DESERVES! I will see to it this world suffers slowly. As I did. Now then, good luck…ZOOMAN RANGERS.
Let begins to chuckle/cackle as his hologram fades.
Benny: Wait, what!?
Midaria: The switch is within the force field's perimeter. Better hurry before that gets any smaller.
Caleb: Wait! Aren't you going to run!? If you stay in here you'll die too!
Midaria: No need. My armor will protect me. Now then, may the hunt be dispassionate…and fair.
Benny: …Fine! Let's split up and find that switch!
The Others: Right!
Benny: (looks back at Midaria) Game on.
He then runs off and we cut to another shot of the field around the city with it slowly starting to shrink down.
Cue Theme Song (1 Minute)
We then get a montage of the team searching for the switch. Also, quick note, unlike the sentai, they will be fully morphed while doing this. Anyway, first we see Benny looking under some Stadium seats; the field being in the background of the shot, giving an almost twisted to the sky.
Benny: Gah. Dang it. (looks around again)
He then runs forward as the camera cuts to a parking lot in another part of town. Some people are running in the background as Sylvia checks under cars.
Sylvia: Anything? (looks under another car) No? Ugh. Where is it?
She lets out a frustrated grunt and keeps looking before we cut to Caleb, running atop an apartment building, and checking under chairs, tables, flower boxes, etc., but after we see a few seconds of him doing this, he gets frustrated and kicks the balcony railing while looking out over it.
Caleb: Oh, come on! Where is this switch!?
The last part is said with a scream (while also letting us get another view of the dome from the inside).
Caleb: Of course, they had to hide in such a populated place!
He shakes his head in anger and starts moving again right as we cut to Jackie climbing out of a large city fountain. Judging by her wet hair, it looks like she swam through it and didn't find anything. But right as she gets out, she notices the field getting dangerously close.
Jackie: Oh crap! (starts running)
As she runs, we finally cut over to Winston in a park, kneeling and checking bushes.
Winston: (to himself) Ugh, come on, come on, come on,
He looks up and sees something next to a bush just a few feet away from him…and it's a shiny metal object.
Winston: (gasps as he sees it) There it is!
He rushes forward and grabs it…but…
…it's not the switch…Just a lunchbox someone dropped.
Winston: Ugh! Dang it! Of course, this isn't it! (hangs his head)
Benny: Winston!
He looks to his left and sees the others running up to him, still fully morphed as he is.
Winston: Any luck?
Benny: No. What about you?
Winston: Nothing. Just a lunchbox. (throws it on the ground)
Caleb: (groans) This is taking too long! We need to find that switch!
Benny: Maybe…m-maybe we can teleport out!
Jackie: I already tried. Whatever this field is made of, it's blocking our teleportation powers.
Winston: Same with communications. I can't contact the girls on my phone.
Sylvia: Yeah, and even if we could teleport out of here…what's the point if we can't save the city with us?
Benny: (sighs) You're right.
Caleb: Wait! The Megazords! They could puncture the field!
Winston: I don't think that's a good idea.
Caleb: Oh, come on, it could work!
Winston: We don't know that! If we do it, we could risk freezing our zords and ourselves! Besides what if the attacks go through and damage the area?
Caleb: Well, like you just said, WE DON'T KNOW THAT, so there's a chance it could work, and we could free everyone!
Winston: But that's the keyword, Caleb! Chance! We can't risk our zords on a chance!
Caleb: Well, forgive me for trying to come up with ways to get you back to your family faster!
Winston: Hey! Don't bring the girls into this!
Caleb: How could I!? They're outside the dome, fatso!
Benny: Guys! Now's not the time to fight! We need to work together!
Caleb: That's what I'm trying to get us to do! But SOMEONE isn't cooperating!
Winston: Ha! So right yet so wrong! I'm kind of impressed!
Jackie: Here's an idea! Why don't we take the sewers out of the city? We can bring people with us by doing that!
Winston: But what if the field goes underground?
Jackie: Then I'll come up with something else!
Caleb: That'll take too long. You heard that witch, Midaria. If we stop the field, we stop the effects of it. And I bet tons of people are frozen now so we gotta act fast!
Winston: I agree, but we can't do that while risking the zords, Caleb!
Caleb: Well, I don't see you suggesting better ideas, Winston!
Jackie: Excuse me, don't I get a say in this, too!?
Suddenly, Benny, who's been off to the side of this argument getting frustrated, whips out his Eagle Shredder and strikes the ground.
Benny: THAT'S ENOUGH! Listen up! We have to find that switch! But we can't do that if we keep fighting, SO STOP IT!
The others, taken back a little by his sudden outburst, step back for a second.
Benny: (eyes widen) I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I...
Sylvia: (nervously chuckles) OKAY, clearly we're all stressed out, but Benny's right though. We won't get anywhere like this, so…here's a thought. Let's split up and each try out our ideas individually. Winston can do what he wants, Caleb can try his zord, Jackie can try the sewers, and Benny and I can keep searching normally. Sound good?
The others look back and forth at each other but then nod in unison.
Sylvia: Good. Come on Eagle Eyes. Let's get to it.
Benny: (now sounding a lot quieter) Uh, y-yeah. Sure, Syl.
The two head off then the others do so as well before we cut ahead several minutes later.
Sylvia and Benny are by some bushes on a sidewalk, their helmets off as they search, and while she looks underneath the bushes, Benny stands a few feet away. With a subtle repeating sound cue and a very small red light effect over his eyes, we can see that Benny is using his Eagle sight. But after about 4 seconds of this, he closes and rubs them, implying they're getting tired, which of course, Sylvia quickly notices.
Sylvia: Did you find anything yet?
Benny: No. There's too much in the city. I can't focus. (rubs his eyes)
Sylvia: Really? Cause the first time you used your Eagle vision; you saw the Giraffe zord on the first try. Are you distracted?
Benny: …(sighs) I shouldn't have yelled at them.
Sylvia: Amigo, we're stressed and you wanted to stop the fighting. It's not that bad.
Benny: …Yeah, I guess you're right…I just...before I left to fight today, my mom, she...grabbed me by the arm and clearly wanted to tell me something. I mean, she asked me to stay safe but...the way she stopped me from leaving...I don't think that was it...And now, I'm frustrated and upset because I can't get that answer and the entire city is in danger, with all of...THIS going on (said as the camera cuts to a shot looking up at the dome).
Sylvia: ...Well then, all the more reason to keep looking.
Benny: (sighs) Yeah. You're right. I'll try again.
He breathes in and out, before the camera quickly zooms on his eyes, meaning he's trying out his sight again.
We then cut over to a part of the force field's edge, where we see Jackie, with her helmet off, standing over a sewer grate before putting her helmet on.
Jackie: Alright. If this works, I can lead people out of the city before it's too late.
She then rips open the cover and hops down into the sewer looking in direction of the barrier…and then gasps.
We cut further down the tunnel to see barrier is in the sewers, too.
Jackie: No, no, no, no, no! (leaps out of the hole/starts running) You gotta be kidding me!
Then we cut to Caleb inside his zord. This would be original footage as there's no counterpart to this in Zyuohger with Leo and Cube Lion.
Caleb: Alright! Let's light it up! African Lion Zord! Attack!
We then see the Lion zord looking up at the barrier before firing a powerful lighting blast…but the field absorbs all of it at once.
Caleb: What!? No! It can't be!
The Cubimal then makes a worried roar as the field starts to get closer.
Caleb: Gah! F-Fall back, lad! Fall back!
He leaps out of the cockpit as we cut to Winston, on the ground, still morphed and helping any panicked people toward the center of Dolphin Coast.
Winston: Quick! To the center of the city! It's safe!
A few people run past him, but then…something catches Winston's eye. Nearby, he sees a young African boy, crying into his knees. Winston immediately runs toward the kid, hoping he's not injured.
Winston: (as he gets closer) H-Hey kid! Are you okay!?
Young Kid: (looks at him) G-Green Ranger!? (hugs Winston/cries harder) Please save me!
Winston: (returns the hug) I-It's okay. I'm going to help you. Where's your family?
While still crying, the young boy points in the direction of the field…implying his family couldn't outrun it.
Winston: Oh no…C-Come on! We need to keep moving!
He then picks the poor kid up and starts running toward the city center.
Speaking of which, we get about 6 seconds of people running and gathering as a crowd at the center of the dome's radius. We see Jackie run up, followed by Caleb nearby, then Winston comes to a stop and sits the kid he rescued on the ground next to a pillar. The three then see each other.
Jackie: Dudes! Over here!
Caleb: Lads! Finally!
Winston: (to the kid) I'll come back. I just gotta talk to my friends, okay?
Young Boy: (still upset) O-Okay. Thank you.
The three then reunite.
Jackie: Good to see you're okay.
Winston: How did the sewers go?
Jackie: It didn't work. The field can reach down there.
Winston: Shoot. C-Caleb, I saw your blast—
Caleb: You were right! It did nothing! ...Sorry for being so foolish.
Winston: It's okay. It was worth a shot anyway.
Caleb: Ugh! Benny and Sylvia really need to find that switch or we're doomed!
Jackie: Well, what else can we do?
Winston: I-I'm sure they're find something. Until then, let's just try to keep these people calm.
The two nod in agreement before we cut across town.
We see Benny, still trying to use his eagle sight, as his eyes zoom in on three locations and find nothing…But then…on his fourth try in this shot…we see a tower, and once he zooms in on it, attached to its top…is the switch! Upon seeing it, Benny's eyes immediately widen.
Benny: (gasps) T-There it is! I found it!
Sylvia: R-Really!? Where!?
As she says this, the camera quickly pans back to reveal they're on a building overlooking the town pretty close to the barrier.
Benny: I-It's on top of a tower! Across town! And the others are there! Primal Power!
With that, he grows his wings quickly.
Benny: Grab on to me!
Sylvia: (as she grabs on) While you fly, try yelling! Maybe Jackie will hear it!
Benny: Good idea.
With a slight grunt, he takes off.
Back towards the town center, Jackie gets caught off guard by the sound of Benny yelling in the distance.
Benny: JACKIE!
Jackie: Huh? (focuses her ear) Benny?
Benny: JACKIE! THE SWITCH! IT'S ON THE TOWER!
Jackie: Tower?
She looks around and spots it.
Jackie: (gasps) Guys! The switch! It's up there!
Winston: Wait seriously!?
Caleb: Oh my gosh, it is!
Winston: But how do we get up there!?
Jackie: …I got it. Winston, you kick me up there! I'll knock it down and then Caleb can grab it!
Caleb: Alright! Quickly now!
Jackie, Caleb, and Winston: Primal Power!
After growing their suit upgrades, Winston backs up as Jackie starts a Shark Spin Dash, then flies towards Winston, only for him to kick her up into the air with the force of one of his Elephant Earthquakes. She then comes out of the spin and uses a Splashing Spray to knock the switch out of its position. As it falls, Caleb leaps into the air with a yell and grabs the switch with his clawed gloves. He then catches Jackie in his arms, sets her down, and slams his fist down on the switch.
With a red flash from the switch, we cut to the shrinking field as it comes to a stop…
…and begins to finally fade away. It actually worked!
And once it does, everyone looks up and begins to celebrate. We see footage of the crowd below celebrating this, then we get a few seconds cutting around town showing people and animals caught in the field's path being unfrozen. We then cut back to the center of town and see an African-American woman looking for someone, only for the kid Winston rescued earlier to gasp with a smile and run toward his mother. The two embrace each other in a loving hug, both crying tears of joy.
Caleb: YES! Hahaha!
Jackie: We did it, boys!
Winston: We actually did it...We really did it!
Caleb: Oh, come here, you big lug!
The three then high five and hug each other…
…But then we cut back to space.
On the Arrow Galion, our villains, now having seen the ranger's victory…act as if it's not over yet.
Blockhead: (sounding monotone/shaking his head) Those poor fools.
Insidion: (remorseful/hanging his head) They have no idea.
Sagittar: And now…for their reward.
We then cut back down to Earth as Benny and Sylvia land near the others and people start to leave this particular area; the 5 demorphing as they reunite.
Caleb: Thank the Link Cube you were able to spot that!
Sylvia: Hey, you guys did great! We saw you knock it down on our way here!
Winston: (sighs) Finally. Now we can take a break. (sits down)
Jackie: Glad you spotted that dude.
Benny: Not as much as I'm glad you heard me! Come here!
He then pulls her into a big hug, which Jackie blushes hard at, but quickly returns it with an embarrassed look.
Benny: (releases the hug) We actually did it.
Winston: (as he stands up) Alright. I gotta go check on the girls.
Sylvia: Let's celebrate tonight!
Caleb: Oh, absolutely! Party at my place!
But as Caleb says this…the camera cuts back to the off switch for the field…its light still blinking red…And then…with a flash from the button, the switch starts a transformation sequence and turns into a robot. (Adapted from "G.I.F.T."). The others look over upon hearing this, only for the machine to blast a large red laser beam.
Benny: Watch out!
Nobody is hurt by the blast, but they're still blasted back by it for a second as the ground is damaged and people start screaming.
Caleb: What!?
We get about 3 seconds of people running away in terror before we see the robot lift both its arms.
Jackie: A monster!
Winston: Where did it come from!?
Sylvia: That's it. It must have transformed from the switch!
The robot then fires 4 spiraling red laser blasts towards the team who thankfully dodge the shots, but the robot doesn't stop there, because as the team gets back on their feet, it sends more of these blasts towards the innocent people nearby just trying to get away. Thankfully though, nobody is injured.
Benny: N-No!
Caleb: What is that thing!?
We then hard cut to a nearby building and see Midaria standing on it.
Midaria: THAT, rangers, is Sagittar's promised reward.
Winston: What are you talking about, Midaria!?
Sylvia: Crap. I get it now! The switch search was a trap to activate that thing!
Midaria: Correct. And now you will feel its wrath. Meet HUNTROID.
Caleb: You gotta be kidding me!
Jackie: (gasps) There!
The others quickly turn their heads to their right to see Huntroid is now standing closer to them.
Benny: Fine! You guys ready!?
The Others: Ready!
They pull out their Morphers, press the buttons, and close the tops ready to fight.
The Rangers: It's Morphing Time! Zoo Mode Go!
As usual, this is said as they spin their Morpher tops to the animal side, then wave their hands, open up them up, allowing us to get the sentai-like morph sequence.
Benny: Keeper of the Sky! Red Eagle Ranger!
Jackie: Keeper of the Ocean! Blue Shark Ranger!
Caleb: Keeper of the Savanna! Yellow Lion Ranger!
Winston: Keeper of the Forest! Green Elephant Ranger!
Sylvia: Keeper of the Tundra! White Tigress Ranger!
Cut back to the team on location, now fully morphed and doing poses ready to fight.
Benny: (as he slicks back his helmet) You go ballistic…
The Rangers: (as they draw their Savage Sabers) …we go animalistic!
Our heroes charge forward before we cut to Huntroid as it shifts its arms up revealing that it has hip blasters. These begin firing similar laser shots to the ones earlier at the team as they run forward, but they're able to either dodge or deflect the blasts. However, just as Benny gets close enough to strike it, Huntroid's "eyes" flash red for a second, and we cut to a super quick shot of its vision quickly scanning Benny as he brings down his blade toward it.
Huntroid then dodges the strike as the others come in also trying to hit it. However, despite the machine's size, it's surprisingly quick on its feet and with its arms, catching or blocking all the slashes. After several seconds of this, it then punches most of the team aside.
Caleb: How on Earth…!?
Jackie: (as she gets up) Well this thing's full of surprises!
Huntroid's chest glows red as electricity rides up its body into its cannon-like arms, before it then shoots strong blue electricity at the team, making them yell out in pain and fall back down to the ground; the camera mainly focusing on Benny as he falls back in slow motion.
And after he does, we cut up to the Arrow Galion as our villains watch.
Insidion: Huntroid. The greatest and most terrible invention we have ever created.
Blockhead: On its first day, it destroyed an entire world in HOURS.
Insidion: And we sealed it away for ruining our "good fun".
Blockhead: It has no emotion. No heart. And no respect for the hunt.
Sagittar: (chuckles) We're POACHERS! What did you expect!?
He says the "poacher" part of that sentence while slamming his hands down onto his throne's armrests.
Anyway, back to the rangers.
Caleb: (as he gets up) We're not done yet.
Winston: (as he gets up) I wish we were.
Jackie: (getting up/straining) We gotta…keep fighting!
Sylvia: (getting up) L-Let's do this.
Benny: (gets up/panting) PRIMAL…POWER!
With that, we cut to the sentai footage of everyone's suit upgrades appearing. We then get a fun shot of the team rushing forward as Benny takes off into the sky and Jackie starts to "swim" while Huntroid just…stands there…and waits for it. Then, we get a slightly slow-motion scene where Caleb slashes with his Lion Lightning, but Huntroid's left arm blocks it and punches Caleb HARD with its right hand. It then quickly blocks Sylvia's Tigress Snow Strike with its left hand and pushes her aside as Winston tries to use his Elephant Earthquake, but has it blocked, and his foot slammed to the ground. Jackie then comes speeding in with her Shark Spin Dash, spinning right into Huntroid's center, but she does nothing to it before it then smacks her into the air and sends her flying straight into Benny, making them fall to the ground.
Sylvia and Caleb then try to attack at the same time, but Huntroid, who's quickly grabbed onto Winston, pushes him into the attack, meaning he gets hit right in the chest with both Lion Lightning AND a Tigress Snow Strike before all of them get blasted over to Jackie and Benny by an attack immitted from Huntroid's red chest area. The team tries to stand back up but then Huntroid attacks again. This time blasting lasers into them and knocking them onto the ground hard enough to deactivate their upgrades.
Winston: (straining) It stopped Primal Power!
Caleb: (also straining) B-But how!?
Fortunately, our red ranger stands on his two feet.
Benny: (in between pants) Enough…GORILLA MODE…GO!
He then flips his helmet up and quickly transforms into the Red Gorilla Ranger. Benny raises his fists, and then charges forward, before leaping into the air towards Huntroid, ready to take it down…but…oh on. With another glow of its facial features…Huntroid grows to giant size in a burst of fire! Before Benny has any time to react as he keeps flying forward, the giant robot kicks him as its right foot moves forward, sending Benny into a brick wall.
The Rangers: B-Benny!
Everyone runs over to make sure he's okay.
Jackie: Dude!
Caleb: Are you okay!?
Winston: We got you!
Sylvia: But how did it grow when we haven't beaten it!?
We then cut to a giant of Huntroid as it slowly walks by a skyscraper, a protruding buzzsaw on its torso buzzing as it does. We then see a shot of it from more down below as it walks at a slightly faster pace, and as a result, causes explosions while doing so. Debris landing everywhere as people flee. Then we see Midaria, watching nearby and saying something that seems a bit…odd.
Midaria: Please, mighty Huntroid…May your destruction of this city be dispassionate…and somewhat fair.
We then get one more shot of Huntroid walking a little bit forward as its protruding saw and drill spin before cutting to the team yelling…
The Rangers: Cubimals go!
Their main 6 zords quickly float up into the air and grow giant.
Then after a quick Gorilla Zord shot, we cut to Benny's cockpit as he presses the 4, 5, and 6 buttons.
Benny: Megazord activate!
He spins the top to the blue side, then the Elephant, Tiger, and Gorilla zords all stack on top of each other.
Benny, Winston, and Sylvia: Wild Kong Megazord! Ready!
Then, we hard cut to the Eagle, Shark, and Lion zords stacking on top of each other.
Jackie and Caleb: Zoo King Megazord! Ready!
We then get a quick cool shot of the Megazords standing side by side and raising their weapons, ready to end this fight.
Benny: Stop treating Dolphin Coast like it's just a game!
The Zoo King Megazord then tries slashing at Huntroid, but it just takes the hit. Some sparks fly but it does nothing to this titan of a machine before it slaps the sword-wielding hand aside with its left hand. The Zoo King Megazord tries to swing again but misses the slash. Caleb and Jackie get annoyed but spin their Command Cubes.
Benny, Winston, and Sylvia: Take…! (said as they fire the Congo Cannon)
Jackie and Caleb: …This! (said as they slash with sparks coming out of the sword)
Huntroid then catches the sword with its left hand and grabs the Congo Cannon with its right hand, bringing both teams to a halt. The protruding buzzsaw and drill on its chest then start to spin before the droid pushes them into the Zoo King Megazord, at least creating some sparks. Then, the Wild Kong Megazord tries blasting a shot, but it deflects back off the inside of Huntroid's arm and hits them, throwing the trio inside off balance. The two Megazords then fall on their backs, surprising the team.
Midaria: (sounding worried) That's not even the worse part.
Huntroid then twists its arms for a second like it's shaking something off, then turns and looks down at the fallen Megazords before then charging up some kind of green energy electric attack with its "hands".
Jackie: Wait! What's that!?
Winston: Oh no! It's charging something up!
We then get one more shot of Huntroid charging this energy up.
Midaria: (sighs) Now. Show them what will happen to this world, once we're done with Dolphin Coast, Huntroid.
After saying "world", she continues saying this dialog as we get what looks like either flashback footage or a hypothetical future like in Episode 9, but either way, it shows Huntroid blasting large green energy lasers, moving like a sprinkler as it does, on a world that's burning, and covered by what looks like debris from a city.
Benny: Q-Quick! We gotta stop it!
The Megazords quickly get back up on their feet and run forward trying to fight back…but it's too late.
Huntroid blasts his energy beam attack doing damage to the area and blowing up a few buildings…before blasting right into both Megazords. With one final scream from the team…the rangers are ejected from their cockpits and their Megazords are blasted apart back into the individual zords in cubic form; the team landing hard onto the city streets, separated as they are forcibly unmorphed by landing.
We get one more shot of Huntroid before cutting back up to the Arrow Galion.
Insidion: Impossible!
Blockhead: We actually won!?
As for Sagittar, he slowly chuckles to himself, with said chuckle turning into an evil laugh over his victory.
Cutting back down to the team, things are looking dire.
Everyone has bruises on their face, cuts on their body, and torn-up clothes. Jackie and Caleb try to stand up but collapse back down. Winston winces in pain from all this as Sylvia lifts her hand and touches his shoulder trying to comfort him. And then we see Benny. One his own. Having landed in an area farther from the others.
He's about to try getting up, but then he hears an explosion noise.
He looks up and sees chunks of rock start to fall from a nearby damaged skyscraper.
Benny tries to shield his face, prepared for the worst…
…and then…from the right side of the screen, right before the rocks hit, a blur of red swoops in and pushes him out of the way.
The injured red ranger comes rolling to a stop as the figure lands several feet away from him on their feet. We don't see their face, but this figure…is wearing a familiar set of brown and orange clothes…and near his feet…are some familiar-looking bright red feathers...and a Keeper Cube hanging from a belt. Benny's face, still in pain, goes to a wide-eyed surprise as he looks up to see that the person who saved him today…is the one who saved him all those years ago. The Birdman himself. Harris.
The Birdman walks forward and kneels in front of the red ranger as his Keeper Cube hangs from his belt.
Harris: Hello, Benny…It's been a long time.
Benny: (straining) …It's…It's you…You're Harris.
The episode ends with a wide shot of the debris-coated area and the two bird theme warriors looking at each other, with text at the bottom of the screen saying…
TO BE CONTINUED
Tune in next time for "Episode 11: Animals Assemble!"
IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello again to those who read this story. Not that we're almost halfway through Season 1, I'd like to get something off my chest and ask you all a question. Obviously, I've been doing Zoo-Keepers for a few weeks now and I think it's been going...fine. Not perfectly or great though. I'll admit, these last few episodes, while I still think I did put some decent effort into them, weren't exactly what I had planned, nor were they executed/written as smoothly as I hoped.
Episode 8 in particular is where I started to notice the problems, mainly because I ended up forcing in the "ladies man" aspect of Caleb's character...despite that being a badly written part of Episode 5 that I ended up included because I was running out of time to write it, meaning I ended up adding in an aspect of Leo from Zyuohger's character that I kind of wanted to not work with. Episode 9 wasn't perfect either. Because of that piece of Sentai footage where Sela shoots water from her hand during a fight for the first time, I tried to include at least one scene of Jackie doing it in training so that it doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. And while I like that I did that so that the power no doesn't feel like a complete pull out of nowhere, it still felt odd to include.
And this Episode?...Oy. Again, I still think I did my best with it, but the problem I keep finding myself in when adapting the Sentai footage more directly is that, because the team is now fully human and there's no interdimensional issues with Zyuland or finding the Mark of the King, or anything like that, I've had to do A LOT of exposition and weird creative bends to get around that. It's why Episode 2 was so dialog-heavy. Because I didn't have the benefit of the Zyuohgers being Zyumans and so I had to add in the pre-trained elements and do a lot of world-building that the sentai did in mere seconds. And I think that's why this episode feels...disappointing to me. Because with the Mark of the King search in mind from Zyuohger, and factoring that in with the characters of that show growing frustrated over the search for the switch in the city, it's more impactful and narratively satisfying when they do keep looking for it and do find it. But the way I wrote this episode feels clunky and forced at times, mainly the stuff with Martha's day-to-day routine, which I feel could easily be seen as unnecessary.
I'm still gonna go forward with the story of course and I'm going to try and do more original footage (at the very least, in Season 2 for sure), so that this way I can maybe be less restrictive on myself, but needless to say, while I still think this is better than what I wrote last year, it's not the great story I was hoping to make.
But this is where you come in, my dear ranger readers.
If you follow this story, I want to give you all a fun challenge/writing exercise.
Either tell me what you think could be improved in this story OR do your own personal ranking of the episodes so far. You can leave these critiques and rankings in the review sections of this chapter and I will do my best to read through any that show up ASAP. I know your time is valuable, and so is mine for sure, but seriously, if you could please tell me how I'm doing or what you think I could be improving, I would really, REALLY appreciate it because even if this isn't perfect, I at least want to know I'm making a Power Rangers story that people like. Heck, if my story was at least on par with something like Mystic Force, or even a story like Operation: Overdrive where when they failed, they at least tried really hard to be interesting, I'd be satisfied.
So, again, if you have the time, please either let me know how I'm doing, what your ranking of these 10 episodes is, or what you want to see more of/what I can be improving writing-wise. Unironically, I'd love to hear what you all have to say. It would really help me out.
Oh, and by the way. That part where Sagittar says "Zooman Rangers" instead of Zoo-Keeper Rangers?... That's not a typo or a mistake...Just some food for thought.
Thank you for reading, and remember. Go, Go, Power Rangers.