"You are...?" Avot asked, not recognizing the Orca Ranger. He had dark
green eyes with short dark brown hair.
"David," the other smiled, holding his helmet in the crook of his elbow.
"But how-" Jen began, puzzled.
"Ben came to me and told me everything. He said that you guys needed my help, and you couldn't get to Jake in time. So when the two of you went to face the Sharkons, Ben found me and gave me the last Depth Gauge. I understand that this may be have been my one and only shot at being a Ranger, and I will return the Gauge if you want me to."
"Suddenly I'm not so sure about that..." Avot said in contemplation. "Granted, Ben and I had decided to choose Jake as the last Ranger for security purposes, and to not split up Jake and Jen. However," she looked at David. "You have proved your worth as an invaluable member of the team, and I wouldn't so readily ask you to give up the Orca powers." Ben clapped David on the shoulder upon hearing the good news.
"I think I can work around Jake, it shouldn't be that hard..." Jen added.
"We'll have to see," David replied. "If secrecy becomes too much of a problem I will readily transfer the powers to Jake."
"Aside from that, David you were incredible!" Avot gushed. "How did you get so good with the Naginata?"
"As Ben can tell you, it's my weapon of choice on the Martial Arts team. Every person in the group chooses a weapon to become proficient in, and it just so happens that the Naginata is mine."
"Guys, it would probably be best to power down now, especially since I can't guarantee when my parents might get home from work," Ben said after opening his door a crack and peering out. Everyone reached for their Power Gauges and initiated the de-morphing process. In a moment, all four Rangers stood there in their normal clothes.
"Thanks everyone, let's head to SF for a round of smoothies!" Ben suggested.
"Yeah!" came the general consensus. They all began to leave his room. As she approached the door, Avot quietly closed it and stepped back, leaving her and Ben as the only occupants.
"Um... Avot? What's up?" Ben paused and rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"I just wanted to commend you on your brash course of action," she began, still facing away from him. "That not only was courageous, but ended up saving the team," now she turned, with a sly look on her face.
"You can be pretty spontaneous when it comes down to it," she paused. "I like that," she stepped closer until they were practically nose-to-nose.
"I'm not sure what I should say..." he glanced nervously at the floor.
"Well, let me just say..." she reached over a kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks," Avot smiled her usual smile. Ben couldn't help but be enchanted by her beautiful features. She slowly turned around and sauntered out of the room, Ben following close behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Overlord Vratix stood at the viewport of his giant spacecraft, which was shaped like a large dome, with tentacles hanging from the bottom, which extended from the docked landing craft. He clenched his razor-sharp teeth, curling his upper lip in a snarl, bringing the tip of his long nose curving backward slightly. The shark-like alien was growing impatient with the performance of his minions thus far. Yurta and Mohtran stood cowering behind him. Yurta was a fish-like female, with a head-tail that ended in a flat fin like a dolphin hanging down her back. Mohtran, on the other hand, was a brawny reptilian sea-monster. Fangs protruded visibly from his lower jaw.
Suddenly, sirens began going off all over the command deck. Yurta and Mohtran scrambled to the info-screens, and the various pilot-Sharkons ran back and forth, checking the status monitors. The ship rocked unexpectedly.
"What was that?!" Vratix growled.
"Just a moment sir!" Yurta stammered. After a few seconds, Mohtran turned around.
"It appears that two unknown vessels bounced off our hull, and are currently on a descending course through Earth's atmosphere," he reported.
"And just where are these ships heading, exactly?"
"It appears, sir, that they will plunge into the Pacific Ocean, approximately 1.5 miles from the crash-site of the Juktan vessel."
"Interesting..." Vratix raised a clawed hand and stroked his jaw thoughtfully.
"What should we do now?" Yurta asked.
"For now, we wait to see what becomes of these vessels. However, go ahead and prepare out next creature."
"Oh yes, the Clawdizer, right away!" Yurta and Mohtran ran off to the lab together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as had been predicted, the two ships crashed into the deep blue waters, settling almost side by side at the sandy bottom. The two hatches opened simultaneously, bubbles rising upward, with water rushing in. A beam of blue light shot out from one, while a golden beam shot out from the other.
On the surface, the two beams exploded from beneath the surface. Two mysterious figures materialized on the shore amidst a crowd of startled beach goers. One drew an ax, the other two daggers, and both formed battle stances. They rushed at each other, slashing and hacking. The formerly calm ocean side resort erupted into a battle field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey guys, check the news feed!" David called to his friends. He sat a terminal near to the booth the others were sitting in. They quickly joined him, peering over his shoulder.
"What is it?" Jen rested a hand on the back of David's chair.
"Something's going on up there," he clicked a vid-link and a window opened up, showing a newscast's footage of two warriors trading blows on the beach.
"They look like... Power Rangers..." Ben thought aloud. Avot's eyes widened. Ben noticed and turned to her.
"What is it, Avot?"
"I know those guys.... Well sort of."
"I hope you don't mind telling us what their deal is?" David said over his shoulder.
"I don't personally know them. They're really nothing more than Juktan legends."
"I'd say they're much more than legends," Jen looked concerned.
"They look incredibly powerful," Ben leaned in to get a closer look.
"They are. Those are the Tsunami Rangers," Avot swallowed hard.
"That's great, so we have more help against Vratix," David enlarged the vid- window.
"Yeah, but why are they fighting one another?" Jen asked, puzzled.
"It's a long story. But here's the short version," everyone turned to face Avot. She took a deep breath and continued.
"They're actually brothers. Or, maybe that is, they were brothers. Somehow, someway, their parents were murdered on our home world many years ago when their home was destroyed in a mysterious explosion. Both were cleared of all charges, and the real killers got away without a trace. The brothers had been away training with the government, acting as living test-dummies for the first Ranger Powers we developed. However, one brother accused the other being the culprit, based on circumstantial evidence. The accused brother did nothing to deny his brother's suspicions. The two have been at war ever since. They were expelled from Jukta after causing great damage, and basically move from planet to planet, continuing there never-ending battle."
"And now they've reached Earth," David concluded. Avot nodded solemnly.
"This is just great. Now besides Vratix and his goons, we have these two jokers to worry about!" Ben sighed.
"Guys we have to get up there now and stop them," Jen stood up and tapped her Power Gauge. The others got up and followed her to the far wall. After checking to make sure the door was unlocked, the gathered in a supply closet and teleported to the surface.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the Rangers arrived, the two Tsunami Rangers were still trading blows. After a furious exchange, they backed away from one another for a moment's rest.
The Navy Manta Tsunami Ranger's suit was a mix of navy and white. His helmet had a navy manta just above the eye port, fins joined together at the back, with the long tail threaded between. He had full shoulder armor, shaped like a manta, colored blue and silver, with the head prongs on his chest, wings over his shoulders, and tail down the back,.
The Gold Kronosaur Tsunami Ranger's suit was patterned like his brother's in gold and black. His chest armor had black, teeth-like ridged running vertically across his shoulders over gold armor. His helmet was rectangular in the golden front, his eye port surrounded by teeth, red eyes above and to the side of the eye port. The rounded backside was a glossy black.
The Manta Ranger gripped the Manta Axe, which was dual bladed, resembling a Manta swimming downward, the tail sticking upwards as a spike. The Kronosaur Ranger held his Krono Daggers, twin golden blades with black running through the middle, ending in a twin points meant to resemble teeth.
"Stop!" Avot called out. The other two, who were kneeling, jerked their heads to face her.
"What's this?" The Manta Ranger asked, audibly shocked.
"More Rangers?" His brother was equally confused.
"We don't wish to get in the middle of this, but you will not use Earth as your battle field!" Ben exclaimed.
"Who says you can dictate where we take our fight!?" The golden ranger sneered.
"Stay out of this!" The other warned.
"I'm afraid we can't do that," David stepped forward.
"And what can you do about it? Black Ranger?" The Krono Ranger challenged. David responded by reaching into his holster and pulling out the harpoon- saber, engaging the blade mode.
"You don't think we know the extent of your powers? Yours were in development while we were testing ours!" The Manta Ranger rose to his feet. His brother did the same.
"Enough of this!" The Krono Ranger charged. The other Ocean Force Rangers brandished their own harpoon-sabers. The Krono Ranger dove straight for the Orca Ranger, who blocked both daggers with his saber. He was flung backward by a powerful kick to the chest. The spun on his heel and roundhoused the approaching Pink Ranger. Batting back the saber of the Red Ranger, he slashed him across the chest in an X, jump-kicked the Green Ranger and brought an elbow down hard on her back as she fell.
For some reason, the Manta Ranger hung back. Ben noticed this out of the corner of his visor before being kneed across the face and spinning to the ground. Jen sprang up and attacked while the Krono Ranger was busy with David. She landed an upward slash, and sparks flew from his back armor. He stumbled forward, shoved David hard, side-kicked Jen in the stomach and chest, then tripped her. Turning back around, he punched David while still holding his dagger, and then cut his sword arm with a swift jab. David shouted in pain and retreated a few steps, clutching the smoking wound. The others gathered behind him. Avot paused and looked at the Manta Ranger.
"What's wrong!? Why not help us?!" She called. He took a few steps forward, then hesitated again.
"Take this, weaklings!" The Krono Ranger touched the tips of his daggers, waved them in a spiral, and then held them toward the Rangers. "Krono Spiral Blast!" A golden beam shot outward, exploding all over the Rangers. All of them collapsed to the ground in a hail of sparks.
"Help us!!!" Avot shouted, smoke rising up from her many new injuries. The Manta Ranger began walking forward, slowly.
"As if he'd ever help you!" The Krono Ranger laughed maniacally.
"Please!!" Ben pleaded. The Krono Ranger turned his back to his brother and kicked Ben hard. The Manta Ranger began a slow jog.
"I told you, he'll never step in for weaklings like you!" He kicked Ben again, even harder. Bored with Ben's groans of agony, he began kicking Jen in the back. The Manta Ranger's jog turned into an all-out run. He held his axe out to the side, tip aimed toward the ground, his other arm outward to provide balance. As he got closer, he leapt into the air, spun around, and took a mighty swing. His brother turned around and took the full force of the blow across his chest. Staggering, he dropped to his knees, holding a hand to his torso.
"But... why...?" He stammered.
"Because they're right... and you're a murderer," The Manta Ranger moved to stand beside the Ocean Force Rangers, and helped them to their feet.
"We'll meet again, brother," the Krono Ranger activated his Depth Gauge and teleported away.
"I'm afraid I must go... we will see each other soon, I know it," the Manta Ranger also teleported.
"David," the other smiled, holding his helmet in the crook of his elbow.
"But how-" Jen began, puzzled.
"Ben came to me and told me everything. He said that you guys needed my help, and you couldn't get to Jake in time. So when the two of you went to face the Sharkons, Ben found me and gave me the last Depth Gauge. I understand that this may be have been my one and only shot at being a Ranger, and I will return the Gauge if you want me to."
"Suddenly I'm not so sure about that..." Avot said in contemplation. "Granted, Ben and I had decided to choose Jake as the last Ranger for security purposes, and to not split up Jake and Jen. However," she looked at David. "You have proved your worth as an invaluable member of the team, and I wouldn't so readily ask you to give up the Orca powers." Ben clapped David on the shoulder upon hearing the good news.
"I think I can work around Jake, it shouldn't be that hard..." Jen added.
"We'll have to see," David replied. "If secrecy becomes too much of a problem I will readily transfer the powers to Jake."
"Aside from that, David you were incredible!" Avot gushed. "How did you get so good with the Naginata?"
"As Ben can tell you, it's my weapon of choice on the Martial Arts team. Every person in the group chooses a weapon to become proficient in, and it just so happens that the Naginata is mine."
"Guys, it would probably be best to power down now, especially since I can't guarantee when my parents might get home from work," Ben said after opening his door a crack and peering out. Everyone reached for their Power Gauges and initiated the de-morphing process. In a moment, all four Rangers stood there in their normal clothes.
"Thanks everyone, let's head to SF for a round of smoothies!" Ben suggested.
"Yeah!" came the general consensus. They all began to leave his room. As she approached the door, Avot quietly closed it and stepped back, leaving her and Ben as the only occupants.
"Um... Avot? What's up?" Ben paused and rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"I just wanted to commend you on your brash course of action," she began, still facing away from him. "That not only was courageous, but ended up saving the team," now she turned, with a sly look on her face.
"You can be pretty spontaneous when it comes down to it," she paused. "I like that," she stepped closer until they were practically nose-to-nose.
"I'm not sure what I should say..." he glanced nervously at the floor.
"Well, let me just say..." she reached over a kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks," Avot smiled her usual smile. Ben couldn't help but be enchanted by her beautiful features. She slowly turned around and sauntered out of the room, Ben following close behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Overlord Vratix stood at the viewport of his giant spacecraft, which was shaped like a large dome, with tentacles hanging from the bottom, which extended from the docked landing craft. He clenched his razor-sharp teeth, curling his upper lip in a snarl, bringing the tip of his long nose curving backward slightly. The shark-like alien was growing impatient with the performance of his minions thus far. Yurta and Mohtran stood cowering behind him. Yurta was a fish-like female, with a head-tail that ended in a flat fin like a dolphin hanging down her back. Mohtran, on the other hand, was a brawny reptilian sea-monster. Fangs protruded visibly from his lower jaw.
Suddenly, sirens began going off all over the command deck. Yurta and Mohtran scrambled to the info-screens, and the various pilot-Sharkons ran back and forth, checking the status monitors. The ship rocked unexpectedly.
"What was that?!" Vratix growled.
"Just a moment sir!" Yurta stammered. After a few seconds, Mohtran turned around.
"It appears that two unknown vessels bounced off our hull, and are currently on a descending course through Earth's atmosphere," he reported.
"And just where are these ships heading, exactly?"
"It appears, sir, that they will plunge into the Pacific Ocean, approximately 1.5 miles from the crash-site of the Juktan vessel."
"Interesting..." Vratix raised a clawed hand and stroked his jaw thoughtfully.
"What should we do now?" Yurta asked.
"For now, we wait to see what becomes of these vessels. However, go ahead and prepare out next creature."
"Oh yes, the Clawdizer, right away!" Yurta and Mohtran ran off to the lab together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as had been predicted, the two ships crashed into the deep blue waters, settling almost side by side at the sandy bottom. The two hatches opened simultaneously, bubbles rising upward, with water rushing in. A beam of blue light shot out from one, while a golden beam shot out from the other.
On the surface, the two beams exploded from beneath the surface. Two mysterious figures materialized on the shore amidst a crowd of startled beach goers. One drew an ax, the other two daggers, and both formed battle stances. They rushed at each other, slashing and hacking. The formerly calm ocean side resort erupted into a battle field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey guys, check the news feed!" David called to his friends. He sat a terminal near to the booth the others were sitting in. They quickly joined him, peering over his shoulder.
"What is it?" Jen rested a hand on the back of David's chair.
"Something's going on up there," he clicked a vid-link and a window opened up, showing a newscast's footage of two warriors trading blows on the beach.
"They look like... Power Rangers..." Ben thought aloud. Avot's eyes widened. Ben noticed and turned to her.
"What is it, Avot?"
"I know those guys.... Well sort of."
"I hope you don't mind telling us what their deal is?" David said over his shoulder.
"I don't personally know them. They're really nothing more than Juktan legends."
"I'd say they're much more than legends," Jen looked concerned.
"They look incredibly powerful," Ben leaned in to get a closer look.
"They are. Those are the Tsunami Rangers," Avot swallowed hard.
"That's great, so we have more help against Vratix," David enlarged the vid- window.
"Yeah, but why are they fighting one another?" Jen asked, puzzled.
"It's a long story. But here's the short version," everyone turned to face Avot. She took a deep breath and continued.
"They're actually brothers. Or, maybe that is, they were brothers. Somehow, someway, their parents were murdered on our home world many years ago when their home was destroyed in a mysterious explosion. Both were cleared of all charges, and the real killers got away without a trace. The brothers had been away training with the government, acting as living test-dummies for the first Ranger Powers we developed. However, one brother accused the other being the culprit, based on circumstantial evidence. The accused brother did nothing to deny his brother's suspicions. The two have been at war ever since. They were expelled from Jukta after causing great damage, and basically move from planet to planet, continuing there never-ending battle."
"And now they've reached Earth," David concluded. Avot nodded solemnly.
"This is just great. Now besides Vratix and his goons, we have these two jokers to worry about!" Ben sighed.
"Guys we have to get up there now and stop them," Jen stood up and tapped her Power Gauge. The others got up and followed her to the far wall. After checking to make sure the door was unlocked, the gathered in a supply closet and teleported to the surface.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the Rangers arrived, the two Tsunami Rangers were still trading blows. After a furious exchange, they backed away from one another for a moment's rest.
The Navy Manta Tsunami Ranger's suit was a mix of navy and white. His helmet had a navy manta just above the eye port, fins joined together at the back, with the long tail threaded between. He had full shoulder armor, shaped like a manta, colored blue and silver, with the head prongs on his chest, wings over his shoulders, and tail down the back,.
The Gold Kronosaur Tsunami Ranger's suit was patterned like his brother's in gold and black. His chest armor had black, teeth-like ridged running vertically across his shoulders over gold armor. His helmet was rectangular in the golden front, his eye port surrounded by teeth, red eyes above and to the side of the eye port. The rounded backside was a glossy black.
The Manta Ranger gripped the Manta Axe, which was dual bladed, resembling a Manta swimming downward, the tail sticking upwards as a spike. The Kronosaur Ranger held his Krono Daggers, twin golden blades with black running through the middle, ending in a twin points meant to resemble teeth.
"Stop!" Avot called out. The other two, who were kneeling, jerked their heads to face her.
"What's this?" The Manta Ranger asked, audibly shocked.
"More Rangers?" His brother was equally confused.
"We don't wish to get in the middle of this, but you will not use Earth as your battle field!" Ben exclaimed.
"Who says you can dictate where we take our fight!?" The golden ranger sneered.
"Stay out of this!" The other warned.
"I'm afraid we can't do that," David stepped forward.
"And what can you do about it? Black Ranger?" The Krono Ranger challenged. David responded by reaching into his holster and pulling out the harpoon- saber, engaging the blade mode.
"You don't think we know the extent of your powers? Yours were in development while we were testing ours!" The Manta Ranger rose to his feet. His brother did the same.
"Enough of this!" The Krono Ranger charged. The other Ocean Force Rangers brandished their own harpoon-sabers. The Krono Ranger dove straight for the Orca Ranger, who blocked both daggers with his saber. He was flung backward by a powerful kick to the chest. The spun on his heel and roundhoused the approaching Pink Ranger. Batting back the saber of the Red Ranger, he slashed him across the chest in an X, jump-kicked the Green Ranger and brought an elbow down hard on her back as she fell.
For some reason, the Manta Ranger hung back. Ben noticed this out of the corner of his visor before being kneed across the face and spinning to the ground. Jen sprang up and attacked while the Krono Ranger was busy with David. She landed an upward slash, and sparks flew from his back armor. He stumbled forward, shoved David hard, side-kicked Jen in the stomach and chest, then tripped her. Turning back around, he punched David while still holding his dagger, and then cut his sword arm with a swift jab. David shouted in pain and retreated a few steps, clutching the smoking wound. The others gathered behind him. Avot paused and looked at the Manta Ranger.
"What's wrong!? Why not help us?!" She called. He took a few steps forward, then hesitated again.
"Take this, weaklings!" The Krono Ranger touched the tips of his daggers, waved them in a spiral, and then held them toward the Rangers. "Krono Spiral Blast!" A golden beam shot outward, exploding all over the Rangers. All of them collapsed to the ground in a hail of sparks.
"Help us!!!" Avot shouted, smoke rising up from her many new injuries. The Manta Ranger began walking forward, slowly.
"As if he'd ever help you!" The Krono Ranger laughed maniacally.
"Please!!" Ben pleaded. The Krono Ranger turned his back to his brother and kicked Ben hard. The Manta Ranger began a slow jog.
"I told you, he'll never step in for weaklings like you!" He kicked Ben again, even harder. Bored with Ben's groans of agony, he began kicking Jen in the back. The Manta Ranger's jog turned into an all-out run. He held his axe out to the side, tip aimed toward the ground, his other arm outward to provide balance. As he got closer, he leapt into the air, spun around, and took a mighty swing. His brother turned around and took the full force of the blow across his chest. Staggering, he dropped to his knees, holding a hand to his torso.
"But... why...?" He stammered.
"Because they're right... and you're a murderer," The Manta Ranger moved to stand beside the Ocean Force Rangers, and helped them to their feet.
"We'll meet again, brother," the Krono Ranger activated his Depth Gauge and teleported away.
"I'm afraid I must go... we will see each other soon, I know it," the Manta Ranger also teleported.