Eternal Sentai
Guardranger
Episode 2: All Assembled! Soldiers of the Earth!
By David Anderson and Derek Pryor
"Magnificent!" Beservor exclaimed. If crystal balls could look excited, he did. "The passing of time has not diminished your powers in the slightest. If anything, they are stronger than before. The first of many of our victories."
"Whoa, Bes. Don't oversell it," Jason interrupted, "all we did was ice one bad guy." Jason stopped for a second, then ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, well…maybe not iced, exactly. If anything, he was kinda…hot under the collar, y'know?" He gave Ryuji a bashful grin.
"Indeed he was. But you will defeat many more. Of that I have no doubt," Beservor replied.
While the remains of the ancient wizard and Jason talked back and forth, Ryuji sat deep in thought, looking down at the Guardbrace on his arm. He still wasn't sure he liked this set up, but the elemental power that bracelet had let him command felt so familiar. So welcome. And defeating the Silicons and Mergol…he'd never imagined a human could command that kind of power, to say nothing of the skill behind it Once he'd transformed, the rest had become pure instinct. It had been as natural as breathing fresh air.
He looked at the others sitting in the Earth Sanctum, the underground sanctuary where Beservor had made the group's base of operations. Jason, who was still talking to the crystal ball about the battle, and who had turned his life upside down twenty-four hours ago by introducing Ryuji to all this Guardranger stuff. And Naoko Hirano, the only other Guardranger they had found, sitting a few feet down from where he was. He'd been watching her for a while now.
If she wasn't so hard-nosed, he thought, she'd be a lot easier to work with. Hell, she might even make a fun date. If she lost her uptightness, that was.
"A few yen for your thoughts?" she asked pointedly, bringing Ryuji back to reality. Or whatever passed for it now in the wake of all this craziness. "Or is the price to high?"
"Nani? Oh, just thinking about the fight. I can't believe the way we wailed on those guys."
"Well, you did destroy Mergol single-handedly--I'll give you that much. But I wouldn't let that go to your head," she said. "There's more where Mergol came from."
"Nani? More??"
"Oh, come on now. You didn't seriously believe that was the last of it, did you? Think about it; Mergol was sent to get rid of us. Obviously whoever he was working for knows about the Guardrangers and they don't want us fouling up the works."
"You know, if this is your idea of trying to talk me into staying with this outfit, that's not helping," Ryuji informed her, "I'm not looking to go shopping for a plot in the local cemetery."
Naoko sighed. "Kami-sama, is that the only thought you've got running through your head? Self-preservation?"
"No, I'm actually thinking about how good in the war against evil a chef is when you put him on the front lines. My job's running a restaurant, not fighting monsters and tyrants and whatnot. Besides," he added smugly, "why do you want someone around who you're bound to argue with all the time?"
"I've been wondering that myself," Naoko came back. "But unlike you, I'm thinking about the people we're supposed to protect," Naoko countered, "Waterguard and I never could've beaten Mergol by ourselves; we need the whole team. And no matter how much you gripe, you're part of it."
"Geez, do you ever have any fun?" Ryuji asked before leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms behind his head. Naoko made a sound of frustration, but said nothing. Ryuji couldn't help but grin at her when she wasn't looking, though. As infuriatingly dedicated and straight-laced as Naoko was, there was something about her he really liked. She was smart and tough--two things he'd always liked in the opposite sex, and definitely not the type to take a whole lot of grief from anyone.
She was actually pretty cute now that he had a chance to look at her more closely. Her hair wasn't braided anymore; it hung low and framed her face, a few strands dangling down across her forehead. It was held in place halfway down her back by a jade hair clasp and draped over her left shoulder. The whole effect was strangely appealing--almost hypnotizing in its way. He probably would've gone on staring for a good while longer if he hadn't felt the sudden movement of a hand ruffling his hair from behind.
Ryuji turned around and saw Jason standing behind his chair with a grin on his face. "You're gonna make a real mess if you keep drooling like that, dude."
"What, are you kidding? Drooling? Me? Over her?? Get serious, Jase," Ryuji shrugged Jason's hand off his head.
"As pleased as I am with our first victory," Beservor interrupted, "I am afraid that Naoko is correct in her assessment of the need for the totality of the group. We must focus our efforts on finding Airguard and Forestguard. Our enemies will waste no time in hunting them down once they discover them."
"Yeah, but they could be anywhere," Jason protested. "And was different with Ryu," he said, gesturing to Ryuji from behind his friend's chair. "I mean, with his powers awakening and all."
"True, but not in this case. I am certain they are somewhere in the city above us, and like Ryuji, on the verge of manifesting their powers again."
"Somewhere in the city…Oh, thanks, Bes. If that doesn't narrow it down, I don't know what will," Ryuji said with mild sarcasm.
"Yes, well…" the old wizard said defensively, "I have already cast a series of spells that will help in locating the others. However, they will not become active until morning. Therefore, the rest of you must remain on guard until we can take direct action. Return here first thing tomorrow, and perhaps we will be able to continue the search then."
"Ugh…I feel like just got dismissed from the principal's office," Ryuji grumped as he, Jason, and Naoko walked away from Tokyo Tower into the late morning sunlight. Amazingly enough no one had seen them emerge from the portal that led to the Earth Sanctum, but now that they were out in the open, the area was suddenly teeming with tourists and passers-by.
"Well, seeing as how you're acting like a juvenile delinquent as far as your sacred duty's concerned, I can't say I'm exactly surprised by that," Naoko remarked dryly as they made their way across the street where Jason's car and her Jeep were parked.
Ryuji frowned at her. "You saying I'm a kid or something?"
"I'm saying if you act like one over something this important, don't expect to be treated any other way." Naoko tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You almost died yesterday. Anyone with sense would've taken that as a hint to take this with the respect it deserves."
Ryuji huffed with irritation, about to sting the good doctor with a snappy comeback when Jason moved between them, wrapping an arm around Ryuji's shoulders. "C'mon, Naoko, let's be fair about this, huh? You know I freaked out when I started up with this outfit. You just gotta give him time to get used to it."
"Who says I wanna get used--" Ryuji asked as Jason clamped a hand over his mouth. But not before Naoko turned aggravated eyes on him.
"That's exactly the type of mindset you don't need. You keep up that train of thought, and you will need a plot in the local cemetery." She fished her keys out of her pocket as she approached her Jeep, and opened the door, tossing in her briefcase. "I have to get back to the site," she said to Jason, who'd lost his grip on Ryuji by now. "Let me know if you come up with anything before Beservor does. And for Kami's sake, try and do something with him." She gave Ryuji another look of irritation before getting into the driver's seat, and pulling away from the curb.
Ryuji shook his head. "I'm supposed to get along with that?"
Jason sighed, placating his best friend. "Look, I know she's kinda straight-laced and all, man, but she's got a point."
"A point where?" Ryuji asked irritably. "And what's with the 180, man? Weren't you just on my side about five seconds ago?"
Jason was about to say something, suppressed irritation flashing across his face for a second, then apparently decided it wasn't worth saying. He shook his head, and walked off toward his rental car, shoulders slumped in defeat.
Ryuji watched his friend walk away from him, and smacked himself in the forehead for talking too much. He'd done this ever since they'd known each other--whenever Jason tried to get through to him about something, Ryuji would end up shutting down or insulting Jason outright in one form or the other, letting his mouth go ahead of his common sense. Jason has saved his life not once--but twice in the past twenty-four hours, and it just occurred to Ryuji that he hadn't even thanked Jason for it yet. Instead he'd shot his mouth off and insulted him.
Can you say "ingrate"? he thought to himself.
Ryuji finally shook himself out of his daze, glancing up at Jason's retreating back, then chased after him. "Jase? Jase, wait up, man!"
Naoko replayed the whole exchange she'd just had with Ryuji in her mind as she drove to work. Maybe she was expecting a little much of him so soon. He had almost died during that fight, and it was only by some miraculous circumstance that Ryuji had awakened when he had. Still, though, he was one of their group of legendary warriors. How could he even consider ignoring the kind of duty they had? Didn't he have any idea what was hanging in the balance here?
Naoko shook her head. It would be a long drive back to the camp, and then she'd have to drive back into the city in the morning to check in with Beservor. There had to be a faster way. What kind of superhero drove to emergencies, for Kami's sake? If there had really been other teams like them, as Beservor said, surely they had all thought of something to solve this problem. If only they'd thought of something to persuade an obstinate teammate.
Just then the high-pitched ringing of her cell phone sounded out of her purse. A After fumbling around for a few seconds, she hauled it out and answered it, "Hirano Naoko."
"Ah, hello, Naoko." It was Dr. Amasada. "The team at the camp just called, said you left last night and haven't checked in there yet. Is anything wrong?"
"Well, sir, my ah…aunt fell off a ladder and I had to come back to the city in a hurry. I'll be out at the camp as soon as I can."
"Good. Find out what it is as soon as you can. That thing has me worried."
That makes two of us. " I will, Doctor. I'll call you when I get back to the site. Ja ne." she said as she hung up. My aunt fell off a ladder…how original. Well…hopefully, we can get this team together in time to stop whatever danger that thing poses, she thought to herself as she drove out of Tokyo.
Ryuji sat quietly by the open window in the Golden Bushel's back office, a slight breeze ushering in and ruffling his dark hair, lost in thought. Although he'd had a hard time thinking about anything at all that didn't involve the fight yesterday. He'd taken a short break from the traffic jam of hungry patrons packed into the place on lunch hour, but the truth of it was, his mind wasn't on his business. Not at all.
His thoughts were centered solely on his best friend, and the chaos he'd inadvertently brought with him when he came back into Ryuji's life. Jason hadn't said a word to him since they got back and gone their separate ways for the day, and naturally he felt bad about getting on Jason's back like he had. But it wasn't as if he didn't have solid reasoning behind why he didn't want to be a superhero. He didn't know anything about using supernatural powers or fighting monsters. The victory yesterday was probably just a fluke. Reincarnation of an ancient hero or not, didn't he have a say?
Jason's friendship meant a lot to him, of course, but did Jason really expect him to risk his life fighting an army of super-powered monsters protecting the world with nothing more than a flashy suit and a fiery punch? Surely the rest would be worse than Mergol. But on the same note, Jason and Naoko were taking the same risk. And in all likelihood, so would the other two soon-to-be Guardrangers, whoever they were. It wasn't like he was on his own or anything. And he knew Jason wouldn't bail out on him when things got serious. That is if they were still on speaking terms after this morning…
But wasn't he thinking too much of himself? Being a hero, especially a super one, was always about doing what the needs of others demanded. He'd never been the type to walk away from someone in trouble. Maybe he should consider it after all…
The noises from the kitchen brought him back to reality. Dealing with this problem would have to wait until he didn't have a restaurant full of hungry people that needed his attention. He stood up, put on his apron, and went to help the boys in the kitchen.
Jason sighed expansively from his spot on the grass where he'd been lying for the better part of the last two hours. He still hadn't had any luck finding a place in the city fairly close to Ryuji's apartment, but after what happened this morning, he was wondering if putting some distance between himself and his best friend wasn't such a bad prospect. He'd known deep down Ryuji had never intended to hurt his feelings, but it happened regardless, and Jason hadn't taken it well.
He'd somehow found himself back in the park where Beservor had called him the previous morning, and was staring up at the bright blue skies over his head. Off to the far left on the park's basketball court, a group of young Japanese guys his age decked out in muscle shirts, shorts, and sneakers were taking a break from the game they were playing. Jason briefly entertained the idea of asking to jump in, but it was obvious from the way the guys laughed and jostled good-naturedly with each other that they were a close-knit group, and probably wouldn't take kindly to a stranger horning in on their game. Jason couldn't find it in himself to shoulder any more rejection today anyway.
Jason's eyes went back to the crowd of guys on the court, watching them joke around with each other again. Then one of them checked his wristwatch, and said something to the group. A ripple of disappointment moved through the other guys faces, but it only lasted a second before they exchanged high-fives with the first guy, who broke from the group, and headed for the edge of the court, slinging a sports bag over his shoulder, and moved toward the parking lot.
The guys on the court starting talking to each other, apparently deciding whether or not to keep playing, when one of them--a tall, broad-shouldered guy with short black hair and brown eyes turned toward the area where Jason was lying. He narrowed his eyes for a second in thought, then turned back toward his buddies, who started talking in hushed tones among themselves. Jason straightened up and quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. What's up? he wondered.
After a second, the black-haired guy jogged across from the court to where Jason was sitting, and graced him with a friendly grin. "Hey, man. Listen, I know this is a little out of the ordinary, but one of my buddies had to leave, and we're short one guy. You wanna play?" he asked, gesturing with his thumb toward the court.
Jason blinked, surprised. "Well…yeah, sure. I mean…it's cool with the other guys, right? I don't wanna horn in or anything."
"Nah, it's okay," the black-haired guy grinned again. He stuck his hand out. "I'm Takeo, by the way. Yashamura Takeo."
Jason took his hand, grinning back. "Jason Marger. Nice to meet you."
"Marger…" Takeo narrowed his eyes again. "Wait a sec…the surfer? You won the tournament in Hawaii last month, right?"
Jason nodded. "You saw it?"
"I was there! Damn, you left those other guys eating sea spray, man!" Takeo was grinning hugely now. "Wow, the guys're gonna go nuts when I tell 'em! C'mon, I'll introduce you."
Jason followed Takeo across the grass toward the court where the other guys were waiting, unable--and unwilling--to suppress the bright grin growing across his face as he and Takeo started talking between themselves.
Now if only finding a girl would be this easy…
The sun was low in the sky but already Ryuji and Jason were reporting back to Tokyo Tower, about to open the doorway that led to their new home away from home beneath the metal spire. Neither of them had said a word to each other since waking up and driving out together. Jason hadn't gotten back to Ryuji's apartment until late the previous night. Apparently, he'd been talking to some guy he'd been playing basketball with all day, and from the way they'd been laughing outside the front door to his place, Ryuji guessed they'd hit it off pretty well. The other guy had told Jason that he was moving out of his apartment, and into a place closer to Shinjuku--downtown Tokyo--and had offered to show Jason the place tomorrow.
Ryuji looked over at his best friend, who was staring straight-faced through the windshield, not giving Ryuji so much as a glance. His stomach clenched up with guilt; he HATED it when Jason was mad at him. Well, don't just sit there, Sakamoto…say something to him!
"Hey, Jase?" Ryuji said, breaking the relative quiet.
"Yeah?"
Ryuji bit his lip in vexation, his voice full of remorse. "I'm sorry, man… I'm sorry about giving you a hard time yesterday… it's just--"
Jason's face softened with empathy. "Don't sweat it, Ryu. It's been rough on all of us, trust me."
"I'm still not sure I want in on this…"
Jason clapped Ryuji's shoulder, "Just give it a chance, dude. This isn't about us, it's about the world. You gotta remember that."
Ryuji sighed, "I'll try."
The doorway of light appeared in the air once again, and the two stepped through it. It vanished behind them, and they descended into the Earth Sanctum. It was much as it had been earlier, except for some reason it was brighter than usual inside, and Naoko was already sitting at the meeting table waiting for them. Funny, hadn't she been complaining about what a long drive it was to where she worked?
"Hey, Naoko," Jason said with a bright grin. "Yo, Bes." He gestured to the crystal globe. "So…any word on reinforcements yet?"
"Yes." the wizard replied. "I have uncovered two sizeable elemental power signatures, both on the verge of awakening. Both of them are within the immediate area of Tokyo, but the locations are somewhat vague."
"So how do we find them?" Ryuji asked.
"The Guardbraces," Beservor explained. "The enchantments from which they were created are attuned the supernatural energies of the other Rangers' inherent elements. They should have manifested enough so that the Guardbraces can detect them."
"So, what, we just go out scouring the city, and hope we get lucky? Am I the only one who thinks that's a little off the beam?" Ryuji queried.
"Yes, I admit the methods of search we have available to us are…less than conventional, but it is all we can do until we find the others," Beservor returned. "Ryuji. I ask that you undertake the search for Forestguard."
Ryuji blinked. "Me? Well…okay, sure…I guess…How much trouble could I get into by myself?"
"Well, as tempting as that is to answer, it's not an issue." Naoko said evenly as she stood up. "Seeing as how I'm going with you."
"You think I can't do this alone?" Ryuji asked indignantly.
"I think two sets of eyes are better than one. And given what happened with Mergol, you shouldn't be by yourself in a fight just yet. You're still in the early stages of awakening." There was none of the judgment and irritation in her tone that had been there yesterday. She almost sounded…sincere, Ryuji noted. Well…maybe it wouldn't hurt to deal with it together. She's right--I'm still a rookie in all this. Besides, I just got things straightened out with Jase; no sense getting into another argument.
Ryuji nodded. "Okay. Why not?"
"Awesome," Jason nodded. "So I get Airguard, right, Bes?"
"Correct," the crystal globe concurred. "I leave the task of finding her to you."
"HER???" Jason's eyes lit up.
"Here it comes…" Ryuji put a hand over his eyes. Naoko repressed a sigh. Obviously she was--at least partially--familiar with Jason's girl-crazy tendencies.
"Jason…" Beservor intoned knowingly, his voice slightly reproving.
"Relax, Bes. I'm not gonna use this as a chance for finding a prospective girlfriend," Jason crossed over to the crystal pillars where the remaining Guardbraces rested, and put the one with the white crystal in the center into his pocket.
"Heads up, bro," he said, tossing the other Guardbrace to Ryuji, then turned back to the crystal ball. "Of course, if it just happens to turn out like that, well…I can't exactly help it, y'know?" Jason winked conspiratorially over at Naoko and Ryuji.
"Oh, of course not…" Naoko answered dryly.
"Who, you? No way, Jase." Ryuji was grinning like an idiot.
"Okay, okay…I don't need a ton of bricks to fall on me to know when I'm gettin' teased," Jason tugged on his jacket with a mock look of hurt. Ryuji grinned again, and straightened up, looking over at Beservor's crystal. "So do we bring 'em back here once we find 'em, Bes?"
"Yes. Hopefully, we will have a chance to explain the situation to them fully and without another incident with our enemies occurring in the process," Beservor said. He didn't sound too convinced, but if the others noticed, they didn't see fit to comment. Not out loud anyway.
A minute later, the trio emerged from the portal beneath Tokyo Tower, and into the light of the mid-morning sun. As soon as the hidden doorway vanished, crowds of people began milling through the area, as if they were acting on some off-screen cue. Ryuji found himself a little creeped at the way that always seemed to happen. He couldn't help wondering if he'd ever get used to it. "So," he said, "any suggestions?"
"Well, we shouldn't start off by wandering around aimlessly," Naoko replied. "The Guardbraces should do most of the work for us, but we need to narrow the field of search down some."
"Yeah, but how?" Jason asked.
Ryuji thought for a second. "Hey, Naoko…these things're tuned into the elements, right?"
Naoko nodded. "Right. Why?"
"Well, it's just a hunch, really, but…I'm thinking maybe we should start someplace where the element we're looking for is the dominant force in the area. And since we're trying to track down Forestguard, we oughta start someplace with a lot of wooded areas-- like a park or something."
Naoko raised an eyebrow, and Ryuji braced himself for an attack on his manhood or whatever. But instead, Naoko answered, "You know, that's actually a good suggestion. Did you have anywhere specific in mind?"
"Yeah, Ueno Park. It's pretty big, and since it's Monday and mostly everything's closed up until tomorrow, we wouldn't have to worry about a whole bunch of people being around," Ryuji said. "And Bes said that the guys we're looking for were pretty close to the city."
"Makes sense," Jason agreed.
"So it's settled then," Naoko shouldered her purse. "Jason, what about you? Where are you planning on starting?"
"Well…I got a couple of places in mind, but the was one that really stood out, though. A high school building, I think. I went past there the other day and I got a weird vibe from one of the girls I saw.
Ryuji raised an eyebrow. "You're checking out high school girls now?" he asked, "Dude, I knew you weren't picky, but this…"
"Aw, cut it out, man, I'm serious," Jason told him. "It was strange. I didn't have a chance to really think about it before 'cause Bes called me right after. Remember it was after I showed up at the Bushel, and you just opened up for the morning?"
"And you think this girl you saw might be Airguard?" Naoko asked.
"Maybe," Jason scratched his head. "It's a long shot, I know, but it's the best lead I've got."
"Well, it's better than nothing, I suppose," Naoko admitted. "All right then, we'll go to Ueno Park and see what we can turn up."
"Cool. Let's get goin' then." Jason nodded eagerly. Naoko turned toward her Jeep fishing her keys out of her pocket. Jason was about to do likewise since Ryuji was riding with Naoko, but before he could Ryuji reached out, and tugged on his arm.
"Hey, Jase…" Ryuji asked sheepishly, "we're cool, right? About…you know…last night?"
Jason grinned. "Yeah, man. No worries." He stuck his hand out, and Ryuji took it, relieved. "Listen, Ryu…I know this is still kinda weird and all, but…well…you know it's important, right? We're the only ones who can do this. It's us or nobody, man."
Ryuji sighed. Jason was right, of course. But then he usually was. He still didn't much cared for being thrust into the middle of all this lunacy, but dragging his feet wasn't helping either. And they still had two other unsuspecting souls to track down, and they'd probably feel the same way about having their lives disrupted, sacred duty or no sacred duty. " Yeah, I know it is. But, Jase…it'll be a while before I can really wrap my train of thought around this. I still haven't committed to anything, and I don't know if I'm gonna. If that sounds selfish, I'm sorry. But…"
"Hey, don't worry about it now, man. Let's just go find the rest of our guys before one of those Gargs show up, okay? We'll figure out the rest later." Jason squeezed his friend's shoulder in support.
Ryuji sighed. "Okay. You going to be all right on your own, Jase?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Jason nodded. "Just do me a favor, huh? Try to keep the vocal sparring down to a minimum?" He gestured over to Naoko, who was already halfway across the street, fishing for her keys. "I know she's a straight arrow and all that, but she's cool. Give her a chance, man."
Ryuji sighed. "Okay, okay…I will if she will."
"That's all I'm asking," Jason tugged on his bomber jacket. "You better get goin' before she gets huffy on you again. Seeya later." He punched Ryuji's shoulder and bounded off toward his rental car. Ryuji watched him go, a smile coming over his face. There were times his best friend amazed him; the way he could seemingly bounce back from anything. He wished he had a little of whatever it was Jason had right now. This whole deal had him feeling worn out inside, like he'd aged twenty years in the past two days. And now this whole deal about finding the rest of this legendary team he was part of?
"Ryuji? Are you coming?" Naoko's call from across the street snapped him back to himself. He turned around and saw her sitting behind the wheel of her jeep with the engine running. She didn't look impatient like he expected, but it was clear she wanted to get going.
"Yeah!" he called back. "I'll be right there! Gomen!"
Ryuji sighed and headed across the street, his sneakers sounding across the pavement.
In a dark place, a dark being sat on a dark seat of power. He sat in seething silence, violent tendrils of blue energy sparked and writhed around his massive armored frame, mirroring his inner rage. He had a reasonable right to his anger, of course. By all rights, he should've had the bodies of the first two Guardrangers as trophies of his victory by now, but instead that damnable female Ranger had intervened, and gave their reluctant leader time to awaken his powers, and now Mergol, one of his finest warriors was dead. And the secret…the power he coveted above all else was still buried beyond his reach, slumbering restlessly beneath the earth.
They were coming, he knew that. They were coming, and if he didn't have that buried artifact before they got here, he was as good as dead.
He rose, his face contorted in fury. The energy around him rose to a fever pitch, swelling, boiling, threatening to explode. But he forced himself to squelch his inner turmoil as the blistering storm of power cooled and receded. No. Anger was no solution. It was a petty emotion indulged by the weak-minded and the powerless. And he was neither.
No, this time he had a different plan. One that would allow him to finally acquire what he sought and if not destroy, at least delay his enemies so they couldn't interfere. Yes, it would work. One would occupy the Guardrangers, how ever many there ended up being, while the other stole what was needed to acquire the buried power. If his Silicons didn't finish the job first…
"Genac, Garmanda," he said in a threateningly low voice to the darkness in front of his throne, "I have tasks for you to perform…"
"What do you wish of us, Milord?" one of the inhuman voices queried from the darkness beyond their leader's seat of power. There was another figure of considerable size kneeling beside him. But its physical composition was different. It was thin and streamlined; almost…serpentine in its way. A pair of menacing red eyes glowed against the shadows with sinister interest.
"The situation has become…complicated," the leader spoke, his words tinted with barely disguised annoyance. "our enemies have stuck the first blow against our number, but I swear they will not have such fortune a second time. Genac…"
"Yes, Lord," the figure on the left rose to his feet and stepped in the subdued light in front of the leader's throne. He was a tall, imposing being swathed from head to boots in ninja-like robes and light armor colored in deep purple. An array of throwing stars were perched inside the pockets of the belt strapped across his chest, and two pairs of sais held residence on either side of both of his legs.
"With Mergol gone, I entrust you with the task of dealing with these fledgling Guardrangers. If you can eliminate them, by all means, do it. But your primary concern is to draw their attention away from the excavation site where our prize awaits us."
"And my mission, Lord?" an acid slither of a voice asked from the vicinity of the glowing red slits still watching from the darkness.
"the site will be receiving two items of interest to me," the leader replied. "one is a newly developed sonic excavator. It was built by the Terralogical institute for use in locating and unearthing certain metallic ores. The other is an experimental explosive catalyst being developed for us in the final stages of the excavation. I want them both. Procure them by any means necessary."
The thing in the shadows chuckled. "Any means, Milord? Does that include…?" There was a note of hopeful malice in its voice.
The leader sighed, slightly impatient. "If you must. But try not to get carried away."
"Yes, Milord," There was another wicked chuckle as the blood-red eyes in the darkness receded, then faded away. Genac returned his gaze to the leader, barely able to rein in his disgust.
"With all due respect, Lord, I could have accomplished both of your directives. There was no need to entrust one of them to that…barbarian."
"I have no doubt of that, Genac. But without Mergol, you are the most competent soldier I have for the moment. And Garmanda's…unique qualities are necessary for acquiring what we need. Now go. Time is working against us."
"Yes, Lord," Genac bowed slightly and phased out of sight.
Finally alone, the leader rose from his seat of power, and crossed to the other side of the massive central chamber of the room toward a wall-sized computer console. His armored fingers graced over the console, and the view screen overhead flicked to life, revealing an image of the excavation site on Hokkaido. The workers were still swarming over the area like the mindless ants they were, completely oblivious to the nature of the object of power that slumbered beneath them. If they uncovered it first…
The leader narrowed his eyes, devilish blue sparks dancing between them. No…he thought. if anyone claims you, my beauty, it will be me. I will not be denied…
The sparks between his eyes burned brighter as he remembered that his enemies were coming…for the buried secret…and for him.
I will not be denied…he vowed to the darkness again.
by anyone…
Naoko sighed in exasperation. They'd been looking around the colossal expanse of Ueno Park for hours and turned up nothing. The only people they found around this early in the morning were some caretakers, but the braces didn't respond to any of them.
"Maybe it's the wrong time of day to be doing this," Naoko said to Ryuji, who'd stopped to lace up his sneakers.
"No, I don't think so. The Guardbrace thinks he's somewhere around here," Ryuji replied, but added under his breath, "but I still don't know why I'm going along with this."
Because you promised Jase you would, that's why, Ryuji's subconscious reminded him. So just suck it up and stop griping.
If Naoko heard him, she said nothing. It was around noon now, and an hour ago people had begun to trickle into the park. Soon it would be filled with people, and finding and having a private word with Forestguard would be almost impossible then. Even though it was Monday, and most of the park's major attractions were closed until Tuesday, it still boasted a sizeable crowd of tourists and locals alike.
As they walked past a copse of trees, though, the emerald crystal embedded inside the Guardbrace began to glow, humming and resonating rapidly. Its proper owner was nearby.
There was a rustling in the bushes beside the path next to them. "What was that?" Naoko asked, her eyes swerving toward the noise.
"Probably just a squirrel. Take it easy, Naoko, the Guardbrace says he's here somewhere."
Naoko didn't look convinced, but followed him as he walked into the trees. They soon found a young man scraping bark off the trees into small containers. The Guardbrace went crazy, and thrummed against Ryuji's hand as he put it away. There was no doubt.
"Excuse me?" Ryuji said. The man stopped what he was doing and turned to look at them, "Can we talk to you for a second, Mister…?"
"Tsuchida. But just call me Tochiro," he said, smiling. He rose to his full height of five feet and ten inches. Roughly about the same age as Ryuji, Tochiro had short brown hair that hung slightly down his forehead and covered his ears on both sides. His eyes were a soft, friendly brown and matched the warm smile he had on his face. "So what can I do for you?"
" Tsuchida-san," Naoko began formally, "we'd like a few moments of your time if you can spare them."
"Sure. But do you mind if I keep working while I listen? I am still on duty, after all," he replied, going back to collecting samples.
Ryuji crouched down next to him, quirking an eyebrow curiously. "What are you doing, anyway?" It was true he was trying to sound friendly because he knew what they were about to say would make them sound like a couple of nuts, but he was finding himself interested in what Tochiro was working on.
"Collecting samples of the plants around the park. Later I'll analyze them to make sure nothing's wrong with them." A horticulturalist…wasn't that just typical of the hero who would get his power from the plants of the Earth?
"So you're a caretaker here?" Ryuji asked.
Tochiro grinned. "Not exactly. Actually, I work in an arboretum in Sendai, but on my days off, I come here and work with the caretakers and help them keep the grounds looking good. I'm kind of a freelance worker in that respect."
"Well, you're pretty damn good at your job then, because the place looks pretty good," Ryuji said with approval. He'd known Tochiro for all of forty-five seconds but Ryuji had found himself liking the guy already. He felt a sort of instant kinship and trust between them that seemed to run unfathomably deep. So much so that Ryuji was finally starting to warm to the possibility that maybe he was this great and legendary warrior everyone kept saying he was.
"Tsuchida-san, there's something we need to give you." Naoko leaned down and plucked the Guardbrace out of Ryuji's pocket and offered it to Tochiro. The glow had faded by now. He took a look at the ornament for a minute, then took it.
"I don't mean to be rude here, but I'm not exactly an authority on jewelry or anything if that's what you wanted to talk to me about."
"No, actually," she said, "We do need your help, and that bracelet is a crucial part of it, but I doubt you're going to have an easy time believing the rest of this."
Ain't that the truth, Ryuji thought.
"This sounds serious," Tochiro said.
"It is. The short of it is that there's an ancient evil walking the Earth, and we need your help in stopping it."
"Nani?" Tochiro asked, looking at them like you'd expect someone to after being told something like that, "If this is someone's idea of a joke, it needs some serious work."
"Tsuchida-san, I assure you we're not joking. This is serious." Naoko told him.
"Matters of life and death usually are." The watchers in the bushes chose this moment to attack.
The gunmetal-gray hide of the beings that had attacked Ryuji in his restaurant the other night were all too familiar.
"Nanda--?!" Tochiro blurted out as the metal soldiers surrounded them.
"Forgive the unexpected intrusion, Guardrangers," a tall figure in purple said easily as he stepped out of the underbrush, "But I'm on something of a tight schedule, so instead of going indulging in lengthy introductions, I'll simply let my Silicons be about the business of killing the three of you."
Ryuji and Naoko steeled themselves as the stranger in purple vanished. They'd been ambushed, and didn't intend to give up without a fight, but how did they know where the three of them would be? Hopefully Jason wasn't facing the same problems…
Speaking of the surfer-in-question, Jason had followed Beservor's directions to the area of a small high school. The Guardbrace he was to deliver was reacting gently, so he was in the right area but had to go inside and search for Airguard, whoever she might turn out to be. As he tried to keep a low profile while walking the halls, he realized that getting Airguard alone to explain things would be the most difficult. If only Ryuji were here to back him up, he wouldn't be worried about this. He just knew he was going to get teased about this again later, though.
A smartly-dressed man, probably a teacher on his way back from coffee break, bumped into Jason as he turned a corner. They locked eyes for a minute, the teacher shooting Jason a look of extreme irritation before he broke contact and walked away. Jason felt chills run up his back as he looked at those inhuman eyes. It was only for a second, but he felt disturbed for the experience.
A school bell sounded loudly, and students began flooding out of the classrooms, turning the halls into a wall-to-wall mosh pit full of teenagers. Probably the lunch bell he'd just heard. Perfect. How could he possibly find Airguard in all this mess? He didn't have to worry, though, as the bracelet began to blink like crazy and then a girl, paying more attention to a conversation with her friends than where she was going, bumped into him. She looked up to apologize, and they both froze in surprise. It was the girl he'd taken notice of the other day. And the bracelet went silent as she stood there. It was Airguard.
"Ooh! Gomen!" She stumbled out, flustered and slightly red in the face with embarrassment. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't see you there."
"S'okay, no problem," He smiled at her. "Say, uh…do you remember me by any chance?"
The girl smiled back at him. "Of course I do. I saw you the other day. Can't forget a face like yours."
"Is this the guy that's been stalking you, Miaka?" one of the girls she'd been talking to asked, a malicious curl to her lips.
She looked over at the other girl behind her with a scowl of irritation that Jason thought looked completely out of place on her face. "He isn't stalking me, Noremi. I just saw him across the street on the way to school a couple of days ago," Miaka, the girl in front of Jason, replied. "Gomen," she said, turning back to Jason. "Some of my friends tend to be a little paranoid about the opposite sex..."
"Don't worry about it. It's cool. Listen…can I talk to you for a little while? It's really important."
Miaka looked at him. Normally she, like any girl with sense, would've gotten as far away as quickly as possible, but this felt different. There was something about this guy, something she knew she could trust. So why not? "Okay," she said.
She led him to the roof, which was empty since the students were all in the open field in front of the school eating and gossiping. She turned to face Jason with her back against the fence around the edge of the building, "So, what's all this about? Have I won some kind of contest?"
"Not exactly," Jason tossed the Guardbrace to her, "I'm here to give you that."
Miaka studied the Guardbrace, turning it upside down and right side up before she brought her eyes back to meet Jason's. "It's a little early in the relationship to be giving out gifts, isn't it?" she asked.
Jason cleared his throat, his face on fire. He could practically hear Ryuji ribbing him now. "Listen, let's not go there, okay? I'm here because a group I'm a part of needs your help. That's what the bracelet's for."
"Oh?" Miaka wasn't sure she was buying this, but wanted to hear it out anyway. It'd probably make for an interesting story to tell her girlfriends.
"I know you won't believe this," Jason started. "But before I say anything else, I want to ask you this…you know about sentai, right?"
"Are you kidding?" Miaka asked. "You'd have to be from another planet--or another country, at least--not to know what sentai are. They're an institution around here. New ones are popping up all the time."
Jason nodded, slightly relieved. "Okay, cool, so maybe you will believe this. See, both of us are reincarnations of a sentai team who saved the world thousands of years ago. But the bad guys we fought before came back, so we're needed again."
Miaka stared at him. "So you're saying I'm part of some prehistoric sentai team?"
"Actually, yeah, that's what I'm saying."
"Well, so where is this enemy we're supposed to be fighting?" Miaka queried. She was getting caught up in the story in spite of herself.
"We don't know exactly. But you know those murders that happened a few nights ago? It was them," Jason explained. "Listen, I know how nuts this all sounds, but I swear it's all true. Just give me a chance to prove it to you, okay? Please?"
"I don't know," Miaka said, trying not to let how weird this was get to her, "I mean, it's the middle of the school day and all, and I have to meet my vocal coach afterwards--"
"Vocal coach?" Jason scratched his head. "You're a singer?"
"Not yet," Miaka answered with both modesty and pride, "but I'm getting there."
"Excuse me."
The two of them turned to see the man who had bumped into Jason in the hall and a group of other people in suits, "Kanzuki-san, who is this man?"
"Just a friend who came to drop off my lunch, sensei," she said quickly.
"I see," the man replied, just as his face started to melt off. Jason and Miaka just stood there in horror as the group in front of them changed into a gang of the metal creatures that had attacked Jason and Ryuji before, and an imposing figure in purple ninja garb. "Silicons, attack!" he barked. The metal creatures began swarming towards the two of them.
"Aw, MAN…!" Jason grouched in annoyance. "Why me?"
"FIRE FOCUS!"
"EARTH FOCUS!"
Red and yellow energy danced and wove themselves from beneath both Ryuji and Naoko and in the space of a few seconds, they were swiftly transformed into uniform.
"How did they know we were here?" Fireguard asked in consternation, knocking a Silicon away.
"This is hardly the time to be asking that!" Earthguard replied loudly as she swerved into the right and then caved in a Silicon's chest with a kick.
Fireguard ignored her and went into a frenzy trying to protect Tochiro. One came at him with a sword, and an influence came over him. He opened his mouth to speak, his voice and words carrying power and the roar of a great fire unleashed.
"DRAGON STEEL!" A plume of red flame ignited into Ryuji's hand, lancing outward, and taking on a solid form In seconds, an unearthly-looking silver-edged katana four feet long with a crimson and gold trimmed hilt appeared in his hands. With one swing he literally disarmed his opponent and sliced another in two. It was only then he realized Tochiro had been trying to say something to him the whole time.
"How do I work this thing???"
Fireguard slapped himself on the forehead. He should've gotten him into this in the first place, "Say 'Forest Focus!'" he yelled.
Tochiro nodded and raised the Guardbrace, "FOREST FOCUS!" A flare of emerald light, followed by a blizzard of glowing green leaves burst out of the ground and swarmed upwards covering Tochiro in the outburst, and a moment later he was decked out in a brilliant green and white uniform and gorilla-styled helmet with silver trim. In an instant, Tochiro's senses expanded, and he felt a connection to the forest around him, as if the trees and the grass were pouring strength and new awareness into his body and mind. Forestguard was reborn!
An influence fell over him as it had Fireguard as Forestguard's voice took on the same unearthly echo as his new friend's. "GORILLA VINE!" At those spoken words, a hefty green metal gauntlet appeared on his arm. He swung it at a Silicon charging at him, and a thick cable lashed out and separated head from shoulders. He turned toward the rest of the battle and with skill he never knew he was capable of, flipped, kicked and punched, tearing his way through three Silicons. "Sugoi! I've never even been in a fight!"
"GRIZZLY CLAWS!" Earthguard intoned, driving her fingers deep into the grass beneath her. Dirt and stone swarmed over her hands, covering them in an instant, then solidifying into box-like shapes up to her wrist. Earthguard yanked them up over her head, and slammed them together sending earthen debris flying everywhere, revealing a pair nasty-looking gauntlets with razor-sharp claws colored in yellow and silver, that looked like something a futuristic boxer would fight with. She swung at a Silicon hard with both hands took a sizeable chunk out of his torso. There hadn't seemed to be that many at the start, but more and more seemed to come with every moment…
Jason raised his Guardbrace and called out, awakening its power, "WATER FOCUS!" A torrent of azure-hued energy heralded his elemental power's summoning, and once gain he wore his bright blue and white uniform, and took a fighting position. A Silicon swiped at him with knife-like fingers. He darted to the side and snap-kicked the thing down. Another swung a hefty mace at his head, but he didn't dodge that in time and went sprawling in a rush of sparks. They skittered closer to finish the job.
Waterguard rolled on his back, then flipped to his feet but had at least a dozen Silicons surrounding him and swinging their weapons at him. Desperately, he called out, "Miaka! Say 'Air Focus!'"
She didn't waste a second. "AIR FOCUS!" A rush of wind and white light beneath her, blasting the Silicons across the roof and giving Waterguard a minute to jump to safety. Waterguard took the chance to look at Miaka, who was floating a few feet above the rooftop, surrounded by the tempest of white that swallowed her whole in one minute, then vanished completely , leaving her resplendent in her white and silver Guardsuit and hawk-shaped helmet.
"Kami-sama…" she breathed, in awe of the power she now felt. It felt like the air surging around her was…singing. But the euphoria she felt faded quickly as Waterguard called her back to reality.
"Hey, I'm all for admiring beautiful girls, but now's really not the time! "ORCA BRAND!" he yelled as the Silicons recovered and attacked, Genac right behind them. A burst of water erupted out of his hand and took shape, a blocky-looking, but fearsome rod-like weapon appeared in Waterguard's hand at the call for it. Genac produced a metal ball out of nowhere and threw it at the Guardrangers' feet. It exploded, hurling them off the roof of the school and several stories to the ground below. Reacting on pure instinct, Airguard crossed her arms in front of herself, the air around her creating an powerful updraft that kept her from falling any further. Waterguard, however didn't fare as well, landing hard on the concrete ground waiting for him, landing with so much force, the impact smashed his outline in the ground. He writhed in agony as his Guardsuit sparked violently in response. The students in the field looked up at the scene before them in acute surprise. Most fled, some stayed to see what was going on.
Dizzily, Waterguard raised his wrist to his mouth, pain spiking through everything he could feel and rasped out, "Ryuji…man…I could use a little backup about now…!"
Forestguard swerved around in a blur of motion, and snapped his Gorilla Vine, now sporting a lethal array of sharp thorn-like spikes, like a whip again, wrapping around a Silicon's waist. He tugged hard on the cable and tightened until he tore it in half. At that moment the others finished with their opponents as well.
Fireguard came up to his new teammate who was hunched over slightly, his hands braced on his knees trying to get his breath back. "Good job," he said, patting Forestguard on the back. "It's weird, though; that wasn't as tough as I thought it would be," Fireguard remarked, watching as the lifeless Silicons and their pieces turned to dust and blew away.
"No, it certainly wasn't. Nothing about this felt right," Earthguard replied, crossing her arms in thought.
"Nandatto?" Forestguard asked. "It didn't feel right how?"
"These were hit-and-run tactics if ever I've seen them. A ploy of some kind, I'd say. It was meant to keep us busy, while--" Earthguard stopped, trailing off in mid-sentence.
"Oh no…Jase…" Fireguard said, realizing what she meant even before Waterguard's call for help reached them.
"What're we gonna do?" he asked anxiously, "We're at least half a mile away! We'll never get there in time!"
"Despair not, Fireguard. I have the answer," Beservor's voice echoed in their heads.
"Well, don't just leave me hanging, spit it out already!" Fireguard's words were quickly lost to the rumble of earth as the ground under his boots began to tremor and vibrate. About twenty feet away, an expanding pool of white light appeared, and a powerful blast of howling wind washed over the area.
"Bes, what's...what is this??" Fireguard
"I have opened a wind tunnel to take you to Waterguard and Airguard's whereabouts. Hurry."
"A wind tunnel??"
"Yes, a wind tunnel," Earthguard said, impatiently, "It's how I got back into town so quickly this morning. And we can get anywhere we need to in a matter of minutes. Now let's go!"
Fireguard and Earthguard quickly moved to enter the tunnel. Forestguard, however, seemed to be rooted to the spot.
"Hey! My friend's getting killed, you coming?" Fireguard said impatiently.
"Who…who was that?" Forestguard blurted
"I'll tell you later! Now are you with us or not?!" Fireguard stopped himself, realizing how desperate and angry he must've sounded. Swallowing it all back, he said to Forestguard, "Listen, I don't have time to get into the details, but my best friend's in trouble, and I have to get to him before it's too late. I need all the help I can get. Onegai…"
Forestguard nodded. "Alright, I'm with you. You were right about the legendary hero thing, and now I'm hearing voices and fighting monsters. Either I'm going crazy or I'll be a living legend. And I don't want to do either by myself. I don't know how I'm going to explain this to my boss, though."
Fireguard clapped his new friend on the shoulder in gratitude. "Arigato. Let's go, guys!" And with that, Fireguard leaped into the pool of light, Earthguard and Forestguard following suit, but with far more restraint, which closed behind them, and the surging air currents carried them away.
The late morning glared down harshly over Hokkaido, promising unpleasant increases in heat for the afternoon shift working long hours on the dig site. Unbeknownst to the crew, however, there was an unwelcome visitor in their midst, darting around the tents and crates of the expedition the Terralogical Institute had sent to discover what the origin of the buried object was. Garmanda kept to the few shadows and dark corners that the tents provided, which wasn't much given the time of day. So far the mortals here were ignorant of his presence, with the exception of three teenage boys, who'd had the bad luck of choosing today of all days to play hooky from school. It had been quite a while since he'd killed anything worthy of the effort it took to hunt down, and he was still reveling in his recent kills. The still-echoing sounds of the boys' dying screams reverbed in his mind, thrilling him to the core of his dark, slithering soul.
Amazing how a little wanton carnage improves one's state of mind, Garmanda thought wryly as he slithered around another liter of open crates and discarded takeout bags from some place called the Golden Bushel. But none of that mattered now. Finding the sonic excavator and the explosive catalyst was the important thing here.
The noisy expulsion of a truck's exhaust brought Garmanda's attention sharply towards the front of his makeshift hiding place. Not far away, an eighteen-wheeler pulled into the site and came to a stop near the edge of the excavation area where the majority of the digging was taking place. Serpentine eyes narrowed as some of the workers walked over to the truck, while as the same time the driver disembarked from the vehicle's other side, and talked to one of the men one near the site perimeter--one of the supervisors, Garmanda surmised. The workers set about removing the canvas and ropes that held the truck's cargo securely in place, noticing how much care was being taken in handling it. But it wasn't until the canvas was entirely removed from the vehicle that Garmanda saw the reason why.
There were two crates sitting there. The first one, long, large, and rectangular took up most of the space. But it was the second one that caught the inhuman spy's attention. Because printed diagonally across the crate's right side in unmistakably bright red letter were the words : CAUTION: EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL-HANDLE WITH CARE . The explosive catalyst, no doubt. So logic suggested that the larger crate was the one that housed the sonic excavator.
But how to go about getting it? He could always just storm in and take it, of course. It was close to noon, and there were only a scant few workers here now, in addition to the driver of the truck and the supervisor. Hardly a match for him. But the leader had instructed him not to get "carried away," so to speak. But then he'd also ordered that the sonic excavator and the catalyst be obtained by any means necessary. And while spying had always been Garmanda's specialty, well…
Violence was his first love.
Oh, well…Garmanda chuckled mentally, flexing his fingers out in front of his face, razor-sharp claws lengthening to murderous proportions.
Back to basics…
"Pitiful," Genac snorted in the direction of Waterguard's body lying sprawled out on the ground as he landed flawlessly with almost no effort. The gang of Silicons had landed on their feet with a horrendous clatter. "It seems the legend of the unconquerable Guardrangers was just that--a legend." The assassin sounded deeply disappointed with the young Ranger's performance thus far. Not that Waterguard cared at the moment seeing as how his primary concern right now was staying alive. He tried to push himself upright, but his chest and his ribcage took the most inopportune moment to start a protest march of pain inside him. He sagged back against the pavement, groaning as the ninja produced a handful of throwing stars. "So much for my hopes for an honorable battle," he said as took aim at Waterguard's helpless body still writhing on the ground and threw.
Then a voice shouted from the side: "HAWK WIND GUARDIAN!" The air around Waterguard swelled and surged outward in an expanding wall, deflecting and scattering the razor-sharp projectiles away harmlessly. Genac glared in disbelief as Airguard approached from behind Waterguard, whispers of white light and rushing air dancing between her outstretched fingers.
Wow… Waterguard thought, grinning appreciatively from under his helmet. She's only been a Guardranger for a couple of minutes, and she threw out an E-Factor already…and a defensive one, too. Not bad at all.
"Honorable, huh?" She replied mockingly. "I don't see anything honorable in beating the stuffing out of someone who can't fight back."
"Are you saying you can do better, little girl?" Genac sounded amused.
Airguard narrowed her eyes from behind her helmet's visor, her voice changing as she spoke, strange, but somehow familiar words forming in her mind. "HAWKWING!"
The air around her howled in answer as a spiral of light flared against her open palm, glowing brightly as it rapidly took shape. In seconds, a metallic white longbow crafted in the image of a bird of prey's open wingspan with silver trim and highlighting appeared. She closed her fist around the handle and pulled back on the bowstring instinctively, a white metal arrow appearing out of nowhere, and aimed right in Genac's surprised, but intrigued face.
"Let's find out, shall we?" she dared.
Genac bowed in mock salute and steeled himself. Airguard hesitated. This wasn't a game, this was a real, dangerous monster. If she blew this she might not have a chance to regret it. But the Silicon gang had hauled Waterguard to his feet, and he looked to be in too much pain to fight back.
Oh well, take out the head and the body goes with it, she thought, quickly aiming and firing at Genac's head. There was a sound of the air being shorn in two as the arrow cut through it, then silence. No wind in the trees, no horns honking out in the street, none of the people who'd been brave enough to stay when this gang of weird people fell out of the sky even blinked.
Genac had caught the arrow. With his thumb he snapped the shaft in two, breaking the blanket of silence, and laughed. A hateful, triumphant laugh.
"Oh…" Airguard muttered, chagrined and extremely grateful the helmet on her head concealed the surprise plastered across her face. "Oh, boy…"
"Bah! So much for the great scourge of the Garganstah Empire!" With a flick of his thumb his sword was sent leaping from its scabbard and into his waiting hand. Airguard seemed too shocked to move, such was the terrible majesty of her foe, and Waterguard futilely struggled in the grip of his captors, "It seems you weren't worth all this fuss after all." He raised his weapon high to end the young heroine's shock.
As the blade arced toward her neck, Airguard had a moment that seemed to last forever. How could this happen to her? She was only fifteen, for Heaven's sake, and in the last ten minutes she'd inherited a supernatural power and learned she was the reincarnation of a legendary warrior. And now she was going to go out just like that? So soon after having her life changed forever? So many things she'd wanted to do, so many things she'd wanted to feel. And in another tenth of a second she'd never feel anything again.
But instinct saved her again. Airguard had been terrified of this powerful ninja-monster, but almost as if it was a reflex she raised the Hawkwing and parried the strike in a flurry of sparks. Genac was more than a little surprised, but recovered quickly and began swiping violently at Airguard, and she was hard-pressed to hold him back.
The Silicons holding Waterguard didn't recover from their surprise as quickly as their master, though, and he tore free of their grasp. With one movement he drew his Eternablade and sent it flying into Genac's shoulder. But if he was expecting a big reaction, none came. Genac gave an almost inaudible hiss of pain, and reached behind him and pulled the blade out.
"It'll take more than the two of you have to spell my end," he growled. Genac hurled a pair of his bombs in opposite directions, hitting both Guardrangers dead-on and knocking them for a ferocious loop. The Silicons moved in to finish them off.
But then there was a rumbling sound, faint at first and then growing louder, and all of a sudden the ground erupted and three colorfully-clad figures, still riding the momentum of the air currents that had carried them here, rocketed out of the tunnel and slammed into the Silicons. With a twinge of irritation and fear, Genac recognized him. His advantage was gone. Now he faced the entire team of Guardrangers.
Earthguard and Forestguard hurled themselves at Genac, driving him back with their vicious strikes. Fireguard turned his attention to the Silicons, gathering all his power, then releasing it in a powerful E-Factor attack.
"DRAGON HELLRISER!" He swung his blade hard and upward at the gang of metallic grunts, a burning pillar of red energy leaping outward and shattering them like glass. With that nuisance dispatched, he hauled Air and Waterguard to their feet.
"Brother, I can't leave you alone for five minutes without some butt-ugly Kami-knows-what getting on your back, can I?" Fireguard scolded his teammate in blue.
"Aw, lay off, willya?" Waterguard griped. "Do you have any idea what my last half hour's been like? Besides, I found her, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did, didn't you?" Fireguard patted his friend's shoulder, then moved to help Airguard, who was struggling to her feet, "Konichiwa. Listen, I'd love to make introductions but I think our friends need some help. Are you two in any shape to fight?"
Waterguard nodded. "I'm cool. Miaka?"
"Well, I've certainly felt better, but I think I'm in just the right mood to dish up a little payback," Airguard said, leaning on the Hawkwing for support. There was no time to debate it, as Genac had found an opening and knocked Forestguard and Earthguard back with a swipe of his sword.
"Right, let's do this," Fireguard leveled the Dragon Steel at Genac and charged, Airguard and Waterguard right behind him. The razor-sharp blade stabbed deep into the monster's shoulder, and though he refused to show any sign of pain, Genac knew his time had come. But he would die as he lived, as a warrior.
The ninja pulled Fireguard's sword out of his shoulder and slapped him to the side with his own, and hurled a pair of shuriken at the charging Airguard and Waterguard. They were ready this time, though, and blocked with their weapons before slamming the Orca Brand--now in battlerod mode-- and Hawkwing into him.
"Say goodbye, Ninja Boy," Waterguard growled, concentrating his power into a churning vortex of blue energy and water vapor into his trident. "ORCA MAGNUM TYPHOON!" The surge of watery destruction roared outward and slammed into Genac like an out-of-control riptide and sent him flying thirty feet through the air with it. Airguard quickly but carefully aimed her bow, notched another arrow, and let it fly. Genac saw it coming, and did nothing to stop it. The shaft entered his chest, and sparks of energy exploded from the wound as his energy left him, and he keeled over. His body shattered as it hit the ground.
"Yeesh, that guy was Mergol times five," Waterguard panted, "I hope the rest aren't as much trouble."
Earthguard, however, picked up one of the shards that been part of the monster not a moment ago, "Strange…his body's made of some kind of metal."
"Wait a minute--he was a robot?" Forestguard asked, confused.
"No, there's no parts…just a shell. Inanimate matter given life through some kind of energy transfusion."
"Nanda? But how's that possible?"
"Kami-sama, listen to yourself," Earthguard retorted. "Every one of us is a reincarnated warrior from thousands of years ago with supernatural powers. Wouldn't you be willing to accept a lot of things you'd think were implausible otherwise?"
"Hey, take it easy," Waterguard said quickly, before this got out of hand, "we kicked the bad guy's butt and got the rest of the team together. I'd say mission accomplished."
The others were glad to hear that. All of them were sore and achy from battling Genac and the Silicons, and Air and Forest were still struggling with the enormity of everything they had learned and see, and wondering if it was all real.
"Rangers…I know this is not what you expected to hear," Beservor's voice sounded in their minds, through a supernatural call only they could hear, "but I've sensed another monster. He's up to some kind of trouble where Earthguard's group is doing their work…" He trailed off, but the Guardrangers knew what they had to do.
"Open a tunnel for us, Bes. We're on our way," Fireguard replied. The ground rumbled slightly as an opening into the wind tunnels beneath. "From one battle to another…you two ready?" he addressed Air and Forestguard.
The two newcomers looked at each other, then turned to Fireguard and nodded. "It's what we were meant for," Forestguard said. The five of them leapt into the yawning orifice in the ground, and moments later it sealed without a trace.
Garmanda had so been looking forward to killing the people staying in this camp before he stole the equipment he needed, but it was not to be. They were more alert than those teenagers had been, and ran for the hills the moment he jumped out of hiding. Loathe as he was to pass up the chance for a killing or two, his master would not be pleased if he did not get what he was sent here for. He went over to the large crate with the warning label and pried it open with one super-strong tentacle. Inside were a bunch of carefully packed vials of pink fluid. Now what was he supposed to do with them again? Oh yes…
He unstoppered one vial, and poured the contents down his throat. It tingled for a minute as it settled in. Then he took aim at a tent sheltering some seismographic equipment and spat.
It had exactly the effect his master had said; the tent and everything inside it exploded violently as his expectoration hit it. The mix of chemicals in his body and the catalyst produced a powerful reaction indeed…Oh, the carnage he could inflict with this kind of power! Garmanda's cruel little mind bubbled at the possibilities.
But he was here to find another weapon, or potential weapon, as well. This was easier to find, though: a large box with a parabolic dish affixed to it, and mounted on a tripod. It clearly said "sonic excavator" on the side. He coiled a tentacle around it and pulled it free.
As he tried to figure out the controls, Garmanda hoped slightly that Genac wouldn't succeed in his job, that he'd get a crack at the Guardrangers. He was twice the warrior Genac was, after all. Why, if they were here right now--
And suddenly five streaks of color came flying through the air toward him. They landed a few meters away and became the Guardrangers, who'd had to run here since something seemed to be blocking the tunnel they'd used for transit. And they had to stop this monster from getting it.
They took a step back in wariness and revulsion at Garmanda. He was a six-foot tall serpentine creature, with green tentacle arms and legs and the face of a killer snake. Deadly green venom dripped from his fangs, each almost a foot long.
"You must be the Guardrangers," he hissed.
"You must be today's special," Waterguard replied, whisking out the Orca Brand and leaping into the air at the monster. But the rangers were all weakened from their previous battles, and Garmanda had completely fresh legs. He lashed out with a powerful tentacle and knocked the blue hero out of the air.
The others helped Waterguard to his feet, but as they did Garmanda aimed the sonic excavator at the ground where they were standing and switched it on. The intense sonic waves rocked and cracked the ground, and jostled the Guardrangers horribly before Garmanda spat a glob of his volatile venom, and it exploded in their midst and the five rangers went flying as the explosion dug a ten-foot crater in the weakened ground where they'd been standing.
Airguard got to her feet and aimed the Hawkwing at Garmanda's slender torso and fired, but he nimbly slithered to the side and her arrow went rocketing past. Earthguard attacked from the side but Garmanda aimed the sonic excavator at her and switched it on; the sonic bombardment it generated could shatter solid rock, and did even worse to her. Genac hadn't gone easy on her, and as she cried out she felt as if she was being torn apart by the sonic waves.
Forestguard flung the Gorilla Vine at Garmanda, wrapping around his tentacle-arm, but the monster laughed and wrenched it away, flinging Forestguard to the ground. Garmanda laughed a malicious, hissing laugh at their torment.
But Fireguard managed to get through in this moment of distraction, kicking the sonic excavator away and hacking off a tentacle-arm with his sword. He kicked Garmanda down the slope he was standing on before the monster could retaliate.
"Daijoubu?" he asked Earthguard, gently lifting her to her feet. She looked absolutely terrible, but managed to nod her head. None of them was going to last much longer, but a long-forgotten bit of information was beginning to stir in Fireguard's head as Garmanda managed to get back to the top of the hill he'd fallen down.
Fireguard drew his Eternablade, "Guys, put your swords in with mine, quick." I know what to do about Scaleface over there." They seemed to be remembering the same thing he was, even the two new arrivals, and held their Eternablades against Fireguard's. A shock of power went through the five of them, and then it happened.
Their elemental energies grew as they gathered, focused where their swords touched, into a glowing sphere of fantastic power that seemed to glow with every color in the spectrum.
"ETERNITY DRIVE!" the group called out simultaneously, the knowledge completely resurfaced. And before Garmanda could do anything they vaulted the energy globe toward him with the blades of their swords. Realizing he was staring death in the face he spat his explosive venom at the sphere, but it merely produced a spark of collision and it hurtled toward him. There almost seemed to be an ironic grin on Garmanda's serpentine lips the split-second before the ball smashed into him and exploded, sending bits of charred snake hide flying everywhere.
They all stood there for a long, quiet moment. The new arrivals gaping at what they had just done, Earthguard wondering how her group would explain what had happened here to the boss.
"Not bad for your first day, huh?" Waterguard said to Airguard with a grin.
She just shook her head. "Compared to what, exactly? Mass murder?"
By the time the members of the organization were brave enough to return, the Guardrangers had gone.
"So what do you think?" Jason asked as he showed Miaka and Tochiro around the Earth Sanctum. Now that the battle was over he was all grins and playfulness again, his arms around the both of them, play the makeshift role of tour guide. They were receiving it all quite well, even the talking crystal ball that greeted them like it had known them for ages.
"Did we really fight evil thousands of years ago?" Miaka asked Beservor slowly, knowing it seemed impossible but wanting to believe.
"Indeed, Airguard. And you have been reborn to fight evil again today," he replied, a faint emotional quaver in his magical voice, glad as he was to see his old charges again.
Tochiro said nothing. He just walked around the cavernous room, drinking in all the natural energy for which the Earth Sanctum was a gathering place. This would have been a huge experience for anyone, but for someone with the connection to nature he had, it was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
"What do you think of the new recruits?" Naoko asked Ryuji, as they sat at the large meeting table.
"I think that if today was any indication, you'll need them."
"So you're still not making a commitment." Naoko couldn't find it in herself to be surprised.
"Nope. I've got a career, sweetheart," he said, and was surprised when he found himself making an effort not to sound overly sarcastic to her.
"Ryuji, if you didn't learn today, you'll learn soon how we won't be able to get by without every Guardranger," and Naoko surprised herself when she realized she was trying not to sound overly much like a scolding mother to him.
The Guardrangers had won a pair of victories this day, but many more difficult battles remained to be faced. They would need to learn to rely on each other and sharpen their skills if they were to succeed, but for now rest and recovery were the orders of the day.
And in the shadows, a dark soul watched, and waited, for his chance to strike again…
