Eternal Sentai
Guardranger
Episode 7: Final Struggle! Revive the Eternal Beasts!
By David Anderson and Derek Pryor
The gigantic rock rolled down the hillside toward the helpless Guardrangers. They couldn't even move, let alone muster their powers to escape from this predicament. And what remained of the Garganstah forces they'd been fighting stood there, watching them triumphantly.
"I have to admit, Guardrangers, you gave me a real run for my money, as you humans say. I'm almost sorry to see it end," Armag laughed.
"I guess this is it, guys. It was nice knowing you," Waterguard said as the boulder started to pick up speed.
Fireguard tried to struggle. He refused to believe that this could be the end. Would they really be the first sentai to fail? And so early, yet? But this wasn't a game, there wasn't a guarantee that that good guys would win…but he'd be damned if he was going to just lie here and that let rock squash him.
"We're not dead yet, man. Naoko! You've gotta do something about that boulder!"
"Do what?! That block the monster put on our powers is too strong! I don't have anything to give!" She sounded close to total panic. And with good cause; the boulder was only about fifty feet away and they still couldn't move to escape it.
Fireguard's mind raced, then the obvious solution hit him. Forty feet.
"Jase…let's try connect souls like we do to communicate, but connect our power instead of our minds."
"Okay, I'm blanking here…what good'll that do, man?" Thirty feet.
"I think I follow. None of us has the power to break the lock the monster put on us, but if we pool our strength--" Twenty feet.
"Exactly! C'mon guys, quick!" The others complied. They reached out and connected with each other's souls as they did when trying to communicate with one another over long distances. But instead of their minds, this time they tried to connect the energies of the elements that made them more than human. Ten feet.
The air around them began to burn with power. Their special ability to commune with each other hadn't been intended for this. But it began to work, their combined energy flying from the GuardBrace of one Guardranger to the next, chipping away at the mental lock Arcume had placed on one of them, then another. Feeling returned to their limbs, and Armag and his monster looked dumbfounded as they felt their hold over their captives breaking.
Then, it shattered completely. Earthguard summoned her power over earth and stone, and the boulder stopped inches away from Waterguard's feet. "That was close…"
Armag was taken aback, "WHAT?!" He took a step back defensively as the Guardrangers sorely rose to their feet. He didn't really need an answer to that question. Any idiot could see that the Guardrangers had somehow overcome the mental lock Arcume had placed on them to prevent them from moving.
"They merged their energies somehow and broke my control, sir," Arcume said unnecessarily, having sensed it with his enhanced abilities. There was more than a touch of fear in his voice, as he knew full well how happy Armag was likely to be at his last chance of ridding himself of the Guardrangers being thwarted. Arcume was in luck, though, because Armag knew he wasn't beaten yet.
"Damn it, I can SEE that much!" Armag growled with frustration, then calmed himself. "I was a fool not to do this in the first place," Armag growled as his sword slid from its scabbard, "Come, Arcume. Let's finish this the old fashioned way." The warrior and his sole surviving henchman dashed down the hill, toward the basin where the Guardrangers stood, getting their bearings.
He knew to expect it, but Fireguard was still bowled over as Armag charged down toward him and smashed his fist into the Ranger's helmet. Blood spurted from Fireguard's mouth, splattering the inside of his helmet, but he managed to stay on his feet. Armag struck with his sword, but Fireguard just barely managed to duck out of the way. The others were getting thrashed by Arcume.
This was just what they didn't need. They were still pretty mashed up from the fights they'd had with Arcume and his master, and sore from just breaking his spell over them besides. Still, it beat getting rolled over by a rock as a way to go.
Arcume brought up his sword to strike down Waterguard and Earthguard, but for their fatigue they grabbed his powerful arms before he could and held him in place. Try as they might, though, he had come through his recent battle mostly unscathed, whereas they were badly weakened from tangling with the Garganstah warriors. He cackled victoriously, freed his beefy arms, then knocked both Rangers down with a single swipe of his sword.
Fireguard was locked in a duel with Armag himself, but was in a similar sorry state to that of his companions. So while he did his best to block and strike with the Dragon Steel and his Eternablade, before too long Armag had penetrated his defenses and knocked the weapons from his hands. Armag grabbed the young hero by the arm, then kicked his sword away.
"I underestimated you, Guardranger. You and your infernal fellows have brought me to the very brink of defeat. But soon I'll be safe in the Death Gar and your head will be decorating my wall. Any last words?"
"Actually, yeah," Fireguard replied, "I have to give you credit too, Armag. You're a pretty smart bad guy. You made sure I couldn't get away before you said all that, and made sure I couldn't get my weapons back. But you forgot one thing."
"Truly? And that would be…?" Armag snarled, tightening his grip.
Fireguard grinned. "That I can do THIS!" At once, Fireguard burst into flame. Armag was totally unprepared, and bellowed in outrage as he got third-degree burns all over his hand. As he let go, Fireguard knocked him over with as strong a kick as he could still manage. Then he scooped up his weapons and ran to help his friends.
He really didn't have to bother, though. Earthguard had seen how he freed himself from Armag, and decided to get creative with her powers, too. She concentrated on the earth, the stone beneath her. As Arcume loomed over her, bringing his sword down for what he intended to be the finishing blow, she brought up her fist. Now, though, it was a fist of rock, and she smashed it into the oncoming sword. The metal creaked, then the blade snapped in two.
"You wretched woman! I'll have your--" Arcume raged in disbelief, but was cut off as Waterguard swept him off his feet using the Orca Brand. Fireguard dashed up to them.
"Let's get outta here! MOVE, guys!!"
Neither offered any complaints. Though they were putting up a decent fight, the aches and pains of near-exhaustion were becoming more than a little noticeable. The three heroes took off as fast as their legs could carry them.
Forestguard darted along. The local plant life had indeed seen two monstrous characters and three brightly-clad humans, obviously their prisoners, nearby. He'd called Airguard to catch up with him as he made all haste in the direction he'd been told to go by the plants, but was more than a little surprised as he was about to go down a hill and ran smack into a figure in a familiar blue uniform. It took him only a moment to realize he'd run into Waterguard, with his other two missing teammates right behind the one in blue.
"Why don't you watch where you're going, buddy?" Waterguard snapped, knocking his teammate in green in the chest with his forearm, but Forestguard could tell he was glad to see a friendly face.
"I would've," Forestguard replied, returning the jab, "but I was in a hurry to help some friends. Even though now it looks like I didn't have to bother. Daijoubu?"
"That's a literal way of putting the question. We have to get out of here," Earthguard said urgently, "Armag and his flunky are probably right behind us. I don't think we can offer much in the way of resistance…" They all whirled around as they heard angry shouts coming up the hill toward them. Forestguard cleared his mind and called out to Beservor.
Bes, I found the others, but Armag's right behind us. Can you open a wind tunnel?
I can, if you can make it about a hundred yards to the north.
"There's a wind tunnel a little ways north. You guys up for a jog?" Forestguard asked the others as the heads of the two villains came into sight just down the hill.
"Do we have a choice?" They ran north, Forestguard at a dash and the others limping behind him as quickly as their dwindling energy would allow. Behind them the two villains capped the hill and chased after them.
"Almost there, guys," Forestguard called over his shoulder to the others, as they neared the location where Beservor would be able to open a tunnel to take them to safety. Their pursuers were gaining, but it looked like they'd make it. He only hoped Airguard could see them and would be on her way to join them soon.
But then, disaster struck. Earthguard's foot caught in a small pothole and she fell heavily. Seeing this, Armag angrily thrust his hand forward, throwing all of his power into a devastating blast that screamed through the air toward the yellow Guardranger. Damned if he'd let them get away now. Earthguard winced reflexively as the bolt of power grew closer and closer, with no time to get out of the way.
There was a terrific explosion, and a burst of light that blinded everyone for a few seconds. But Earthguard realized with a start that she felt no pain from the blast. Then she looked back and saw why. Slumped on the ground at her feet was Fireguard, with a score of large, smoking blotches on the back of his suit. He had jumped in the way of the blast at the last second! Armag and Arcume cackled triumphantly and slackened their pace. There was no way the Guardrangers would leave their leader behind, so no need to wear themselves out.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Earthguard heard Waterguard's infuriated voice roar from behind her as she rushed over to her fallen leader and gingerly rolled him onto his back, lifting him up to face her as the others moved in front of them protectively.
"Baka! Why did you do that?!" she gasped, feeling annoyed. Or was it annoyance? No, more…surprise, that was probably it, mixed with gratitude. He had just taken a blast that might have taken her out for good, after all, and someone jumping in the way of a bullet wasn't a familiar sensation for her.
"Hey…I'm the leader…I'm responsible for keeping the team safe…" he managed to gasp out, but it sounded to her like a flimsy excuse. She'd have to wait until later to figure it out, though, because the two Garganstah villains were upon them.
"At last, the end is here," Armag said smugly, blue energy burning from his good eye. "One shockwave of force to freeze you where you stand--then I'll slit your throats myself!" Water and Forestguard lunged at him, but he easily smacked them aside with his fists. Earthguard's Eternablade was in her hand in an instant, but she didn't relish the thought of taking on both Armag and his monster.
"As your native tongue expresses the statement, woman…Sayonara!" Armag said, slashing at Earthguard. She ducked out of the way of his blade, but didn't move. Fireguard couldn't get away and she couldn't leave him there. He gasped out a weak, "run," but for reasons she would be at a loss to explain, Earthguard ignored it. Arcume stood back, gathering energy to do she-didn't-know-what to her, but suddenly a silver arrow came flying down from the sky and lodged itself in his arm. Master and henchman both looked up to see where it had come from, and hovering above them, Hawkwing in hand, was Airguard.
"You!"
"Right on your first guess, big boy! Somebody get the man a gold star!"
"I should've known something was wrong there were only four of you…" Armag said, cursing himself. But Forest and Waterguard took this chance to strike, driving their Eternablades into the villains' backs while their attention was diverted. Then Airguard cupped her hands, and fired off a Borean Burst that knocked the two villains for a loop.
"I'm glad I found you. I got worried when nobody called me for a while," Airguard said as she touched town.
"We've been occupied elsewhere," Earthguard replied, still cradling her injured leader. He let out a very unpleasant groan, then burst into a coughing fit. Bes, open the tunnel for us.
Right away, the wizard replied, and the ground opened up behind them. The two villains had just about recovered, but the Rangers didn't give them a chance to renew the attack. Earthguard was about to hoist Fireguard onto his feet to support him, but Waterguard was already there, his arms hooked under his best friend's, getting him upright. He nodded toward the wind tunnel.
"I got him," Waterguard assured her, his voice soft. "Go."
For the briefest of instants, it entered Naoko's mind to tell Jason she could handle things herself. But then she remembered how Jason had been feeling about the rift between him and Ryuji of late, and how they'd only just straightened things out a few minutes ago. No, she wouldn't rob him of his need to help his best friend. Earthguard nodded in understanding, and quickly entered the wind tunnel, Waterguard right behind her a second later with Fireguard steadied against his shoulder. The others quickly followed, and opening to the tunnel closed itself behind them.
"DAMNATION!!!!" Armag shouted. He'd had his enemies right in the palm of his hand, unable to fight back, and they had gotten away! Arcume cringed, sure he was going to become the outlet of his master's rage, but instead Armag took a deep breath, sheathed his sword, and walked off.
"Sir?" Arcume said, overcoming his surprise and following his master at a jog, "What's our next move? We're not going to let them get away, are we?"
"Hardly," Armag snarled, gnashing his teeth. "No, Arcume. We're not going to let them get away. But we're going to have to act very fast…"
Fireguard collapsed as he released his power and returned to plain old Ryuji. It seemed like an eternity since he had transformed into Fireguard, and wasn't sorry for a chance to rest. Jason and Naoko helped him limp down the stairs of the Earth Sanctum, the only place they felt safe going.
"What happened?" Beservor asked as they walked into the main chamber, bruised and bloodied.
"We saved them, Bes," Tochiro said, "but we're all pretty chewed up from all the fighting we've been doing lately. Ryuji took a real bad hit…but I'm not sure how bad."
"Just a moment," Beservor said. The lights in his globe jumped frantically the way they did when he was using what was left of his magic, and suddenly the meeting table that took up most of the room disappeared, and the chairs around slid up against the walls. In place of the table a soft-looking cot appeared. Jason lowered Ryuji onto it gingerly. The others slumped heavily into the chairs.
"Well, that sucked," Jason panted, sinking to the floor next to the cot. The ordeal he and his friends had just gone through had been semi-worthwhile because he'd connected with Ryuji about what being Guardrangers was doing to their friendship, but he was still in no hurry to go through something like that again.
Naoko's attention was still focused on Ryuji, as she kept him sitting upright to see just how bad his injuries were. Half-conscious, he didn't resist. The blast had apparently gone right through his suit, since there tears in the back of his shirt, too, matching the nasty-looking areas below where his skin had been charred. She made a small noise of uncomfortable surprise.
Jason grabbed Ryuji's hand in his own and winced at the sight. "Oh man, dude…"
Ryuji squeezed back shakily. "It's okay, Jase. It looks worse than it really is…I think." He was clearly trying to diminish the seriousness of all this, but it was obvious Jason didn't believe it at all.
"How much pain are you in, Ryuji?" she asked.
"Not so much," he said, though it was evident in his voice and face as he did.
"Will he be all right, Bes?" Naoko asked.
"It would depend on what did that to him. It looks like he was burnt, but since he's the Ranger of Fire, he should've weathered most of it unharmed." Naoko shut her eyes briefly, thinking about how maybe he'd done her a bigger service than she'd thought taking that blast for her, if his own power had lessened the damage and it was still this bad.
"Yeah, it must've been pretty nasty if Ryu couldn't shrug it off," Jason agreed. "Arcume must be packing some serious juice."
"Indeed," Beservor put in. "But given enough time he should be recover."
"But time is something we don't have much of right now," Tochiro said for him, "We're weak right now. Armag's not going to wait until we're in A-1 shape again."
"Yeah, but I doubt if Ryu's gonna be a hundred percent anytime soon …" Jason interjected, looking over sorrowfully at his friend. Ryuji had lain down on his side and drifted off to sleep, but looked like he could still feel the burns on his back.
It was an unpleasant situation, no doubt about it. They were shorthanded and injured besides. And any time their foes would probably return for another round.
Miaka stood up as if she'd just made some solemn promise to herself, "All right, enough of all this gloom and doom, people. We'll get through this somehow. We're the Eternal Sentai Guardranger. We're tough. We just have to believe."
"Well, there's simplistic thinking for you…" Naoko said dryly. She hadn't meant to sound crass or defeatist, but it had been a rough day for her, after all.
"She is right, Earthguard," Beservor said, "Although you derive your strength from the forces of nature, any sentai's true source of power is their belief in their abilities and teamwork. I believe you better than any of the Guardrangers should realize that."
"I think she's just sour because she's worried about Ryuji," Jason said, patting his sleeping friend's shoulder, a joker's smirk on his face aimed straight at Naoko.
Naoko turned purple. "Baka! Omae o korosu!"
Tochiro chuckled. If only Ryuji were awake to see this. With all the danger they'd just been through and would probably go through again soon, it did his heart good to see they could forget their troubles for a little while. He wondered for a moment if this was how other sentai coped. Then he sat back and watch his teammates go at it, with Ryuji slumbering obliviously between them.
Armag and Arcume stood in the hills outside Tokyo. They were prepared to strike, armed with a simple, but devious plan to draw out and finish off their enemies. But at this stage in the game, it was also incredibly risky.
"You realize, Arcume, "that you may not survive this attack."
"Yes, sir," Arcume replied, faithful soldier to the end.
"Even if you meet your end doing this, have contributed to a victory over our ancient enemies and the re-installment of Garganstah as the dominant power on this planet."
"Yes, sir."
"Good," Armag said, pleased with his creation, "then gather your strength now, as you may not have much time once this plan begins to move forward." Arcume nodded, then went into the trance where he accumulated energy to channel into the offensive applications of his psychic powers. He would not be defeated, he resolved. He'd gather enough power to level this entire city if that became necessary. Behind him, Armag withdrew a pouch containing titan powder, that dust that enlarged what it was spread upon.
It was a crude plan, and though he didn't know it, it was the last resort of every villain who had faced down a sentai, enlarging their henchmen to turn around a lost battle and take it to a new level. His own followers had done so before, but this time…this time he some something a little different in mind than just increasing the size of the conflict. Even if Arcume failed, the Guardrangers would still be weakened from fighting him, and then…he laughed.
If this didn't work, he'd be dead. Either at the Guardrangers' hands or those of the ones who were on their way to Earth this very moment. It seemed a great joke to him now, that he'd come to this planet thinking it would be an easy chore to get rid of the Guardrangers. Yet no matter what he did, no matter how clever or stealthy his plans had been, he had been defeated every time, and was now depending on an almost sickeningly simple attack plan to pull his fat out of the fire. That he, a mighty and ambitious Garganstah Baron, had been reduced to this. Such irony he had never expected, and even though his life was on the line, he laughed once more at his situation.
"Sir, I'm ready," Arcume said, recalling his attention to reality.
"Very well," Armag replied, tossing the pouch containing the powder to his warrior. Arcume untied the drawstring, then held the bag over his head and dumped the golden powder inside on himself. Armag jogged to a safe distance as Arcume began to enlarge, until he stood tall enough to topple a skyscraper with his bare hands. He strode off toward Tokyo with ground-shaking steps. Armag watched as cars skidded to halts as people screamed and ran as this gigantic creature walked through the streets, crushing anything that wasn't quick enough to get out of his way.
With another chortle at his reversal of fortune, Armag changed into a beam of light and went to observe the carnage.
Naoko heaved a sigh as she sat at her desk in the Terralogical Institute. Dr. Amasada hadn't asked any questions about why it had taken hours for to come back from break, but she was making a point in her mind not to push her luck if she could avoid it.
She kept glancing at her Guardbrace, expecting at any moment to hear that the Garganstah were back for another fight. Naoko winced, still aching from bruises in places she didn't want anyone to know about.
But if she could, and she really didn't understand why, she'd still be performing a bedside vigil for her injured leader. Ryuji was the only one still in the Earth Sanctum, gathering his strength while the rest of them had returned to their daily business, waiting for the inevitable call to battle. But…there was something about him, who he'd become since he accepted what he was destined for. Something that appealed to her in a way that she was largely at a loss to explain. She wanted to be with him right now, to provide what help she could as he recovered from that shot he'd blocked to save her.
Why had he done that, anyway? He'd said it was his job as the leader, but…something rung false in that. But if he hadn't told her when he was smoking and injured, chances were he wouldn't tell her when he was walking around completely energetic and coherent again. She sighed. It would be an understatement to say that their relationship had gotten complicated in the short time they'd known each other.
She wondered if men were this confused about male-female co-existence.
Naoko stood up and went to the water cooler. A long drink of purified water did a little to clear her head and help her ignore the small pains that were still refusing to go away. Someone lightly tapped her on the shoulder, but this time Naoko wasn't so on edge that she almost clobbered them before seeing who it was.
"Naoko?" Dr. Amasada said, standing there with a semi-concerned look on his face, "You've been acting strange lately. Is anything the matter?"
Naoko normally probably wouldn't have said anything, but this was driving her crazy. She had to tell someone. "Actually, Amasada-san, I've been having these confusing thoughts lately…about a man." At that, he perked a bushy eyebrow and half of his mouth turned up in a grin.
"It's not like that," she said hastily, "he's just…" Naoko's mind raced, looking for a way to say this without giving away too much. "…just in this group I'm part of in my spare time. Lately he's been terribly nice to me, and I'm wondering why."
"I'd say you have an admirer," Dr. Amasada smiled, "It's nothing to feel uncomfortable about, Naoko. You are a very beautiful woman."
"Sir?"
He cackled, "Don't worry about me, married forty-three years. But I was young once too, and I had enough girlfriends back then to know a beautiful woman when I saw one."
Naoko wondered how old he really was, since he looked to be in his seventies but only taken a few days to recover from the injuries he'd sustained when Armag had invaded the institute.
"Thank you, Amasada-sama, but with respect--" she said, but he held up a hand to stop her.
"I'm not looking for anything from you, Naoko. I'm too old for a woman your age anyway. But I am giving you some advice about this. If this fellow's kind to you and you've been thinking about him, find out what he's like. Life's too short, Naoko. Just be on your guard." With that, Dr. Amasada trudged down the hall to his office and shut the door.
Naoko just stood there for a long moment, wondering at Dr. Amasada had said to her. But she didn't have long to think about it. Suddenly she felt the mental tingling that signified one of her teammates was making mental contact, then Beservor's panicked voice cried in her head, Hurry, Rangers! Garganstah has returned!
Ryuji began to stir from his vivid dreams of being burned alive by Armag, with flames that even he wasn't protected from. The wounds on his back still burned a little, but as he sat up in bed he could feel that nap had done him a lot of good.
"Bes?"
"Please, Fireguard, just rest. We are in the midst of a crisis and I must think of what to do about it," the wizard replied.
"Nanda?" Ryuji said, snapping to full awareness at the mention of a crisis, "What's happening? OW!" he yelped as a line of pain shot down his back.
A gap in the rock wall of the cave began to ripple and glimmer, then a picture of Arcume, giant-sized and shoving buildings out of his way, appeared in it.
"I've gotta get out there."
"No, you must not. Your condition is still too serious. Let the others deal with this."
"Bes, are you kidding me? That guy's two hundred feet tall! I'm the only one equipped to deal with something like that!"
"Nonetheless," Bes said, raising his voice for the first time that Fireguard had ever heard, "you are still in no shape to fight. You Guardrangers heal faster than normal mortals, but it is still too soon. You would only aggravate your injuries further if you were to transform and battle now."
But as Ryuji saw mobs of panicked people running with their children seized up protectively in their arms, with buildings tumbling around them and a police detachment making a valiant if impotent effort to drive the monster back, he wasn't thinking about his own sore back. He was leader of the Eternal Sentai Guardranger. It was the job of the likes of them to protect people from the likes of the monster up there. How could he just sit around while the monster tore Tokyo apart?
"Okay, but if not me, then let the others have their Beasts. Four should be able to do the job better than one anyway, right?"
Beservor was silent. Ryuji had cut him to the quick. Just as Ryuji was about to give the ball a tap to see if his mentor was still in there, Beservor said, "You have no conception of what you are asking. You've no idea what they are truly like."
"Don't I?" Ryuji said, getting angry now, "I'll tell you what you don't know, Bes. What it feels like to bond with someone like that. I've seen inside Hellscar's soul. Yeah, he's powerful as hell, but he's kind--more than that, he's my friend! He'd do anything I asked him to. And you haven't given me one solid reason to think otherwise! What aren't you telling me, Bes? What are you so damned afraid of???"
Beservor was silent again, but Ryuji took that as a sign that the old wizard had been put in his place. He knew he was right. Hellscar was an extension of himself once they had joined to do battle. How could it possibly be different for the others? He turned and started climbing the stairs out of the Earth Sanctum.
"Fireguard, wait! You don't understand!" Beservor called, but Ryuji didn't listen. He had accepted his fate as a member of the Guardrangers, and only he was able to do anything against such an opponent. He would not, could not, turn his back on this anymore.
Waterguard ran toward the center of town as soon as he received the warning from Beservor that Arcume had returned. It felt odd to be in uniform again so quickly, but duty called. He wasn't really surprised to hear that Garganstah was back on the attack so soon, giving the Guardrangers so little time to recover. But still, it was a little disconcerting that he was going out to fight something about fifty times his size.
Earth, Air, and Forestguard were standing at a distance observing as Waterguard reached them. "Anybody got any ideas about how we fight something that size?" Waterguard asked.
"No, not without Fireguard up and about," Earthguard replied, though glad in a way that he wasn't there with them.
"We have to try something, don't we? We can't just let the big ox run riot and roughshod all over the city!" Airguard appealed to her teammates. But that was when Arcume noticed the four brightly-clad figures over the rim of the building he was kicking over.
The Rangers dashed away as he stomped toward them. Waterguard ran, but suddenly whipped around and fired off his most powerful attack at the gigantic monster. "ORCA MAGNUM TYPHOON!" A concussive whirlpool of glowing blue water exploded forth from the Orca Brand's blaster port. It would would've bowled over any normal opponent, doing considerable damage in the process, but the whirlpool just dissipated, not harming him at all, when it struck Arcume's breastplate.
"Pitiful little Rangers," Arcume laughed in a deafening voice, "You think you're any threat to me now? Typical, though, that you would come to fight anyway!"
"Miina! The Eternity Drive!" Earthguard called. He dashed to where the others were standing their ground, and each drew their Eternablade. They touched the tips of the blades together, and channeled their energies into the area where contact was made. A crackling sphere of elemental energy formed there, smaller than usual because Fireguard wasn't present to contribute his power, but nonetheless they used their Eternablades to push it at Arcume with all their strength.
But they were in for a nasty surprise. The Eternity Drive, their most powerful attack, exploded in Arcume's face. He cried out in pain, grasping his face with a giant hand. But a moment later he moved his hand and let out a demonic cackle. He hadn't been hurt at all! "My turn!" he roared, and called up his psychic powers. Explosions erupted at the ends of the street the Guardrangers stood on, then another pair of explosions, this time closer, then again and again, closing in with increasing speed and intensity! Before they could even think about finding safety somewhere, the explosions erupted from the ground beneath their feet, hurling the Guardrangers into the air like rag dolls. They landed in unceremonious heaps, their uniforms dirty and charred. Every nerve was registering pain. None of them felt up to moving. Arcume closed in for the kill.
"I won't….I won't …give…up!" Earthguard managed to gasp out. But suddenly, something huge flew past, blotting out the sun. It dove lower, and tackled Arcume back. It was Hellscar!
"Whoo! ALRIGHT! Go get 'em, big guy!" Waterguard shouted.
The dragon and the psychic monster grappled. Hellscar reared back his giant head and loosed a shockwave of burning red thermal power from his mouth that dug into Arcume's chest and forced him back. Then he hurled himself at Arcume, not intending to give the monster a chance to use his powers.
"Is he out of his mind?? What's he doing here?!" Earthguard demanded, certainly grateful to have been saved, but annoyed that Fireguard was out fighting in his condition, even if it just by directing Hellscar.
"Saving our butts, looks like," replied Waterguard, "And personally, I'm not complaining."
Fireguard grimaced as he had Hellscar press their advantage against Arcume. His wounds had crusted over while he was resting in the Earth Sanctum, but when he'd transformed they'd opened again and now blood was slowly trickling out. He hoped he could wrap this up fast. But it was not to be. Arcume suddenly ducked under one of Hellscar's claws and somersaulted out of the dragon's reach. Then he exercised his power, picking up debris chunks of all sizes from the rampage he'd been on before the Guardrangers showed up to face him, and having it all fly at Hellscar at high speed. A girder smashed into Hellscar's neck. A hunk of concrete into his eye. Hundreds of tiny (to him) but solid objects smacked against his body forcefully and repeatedly. Hellscar growled in pain.
Fireguard clenched his hands into fists, concentrating on his link with Hellscar. "Easy…easy, buddy. I'm here. It's not that bad…" he grimaced as pain moved through him again, blood wet against his back.
RYUJI? ARE YOU. . .? Hellscar's psychic voice sounded in Fireguard's mind edged with concern.
"I'm fine, pal. But we need to end this--quick."
And on a rooftop a safe distance away, Armag observed all this. The Guardrangers had taken the bait, just as he'd expected. A shame that their leader had shown up before Arcume could finish off the others, but it was Fireguard and his dragon who were the major threats anyway. Soon he'd make his move.
The pieces of debris continued to batter Hellscar, but Fireguard got an idea. Just as he'd used his flame power to escape from Armag, he could use Hellscar's to escape this predicament. "Hellscar, ignite!" he commanded. Understanding, the dragon at once channeled his power into his metallic hide, and was engulfed in flame. He wasn't hurt, having been created from elemental flame, but the wreckage Arcume had been telekinetically bashing him with vaporized as it collided with the super-hot flame.
Hellscar switched off the flame to conserve energy, but then spread his wings and launched himself at Arcume. The monster struck out with a beam of mental power that collided with Hellscar's torso and pushed him backwards through the air, but Hellscar shot a blast of heat that struck the ground beneath Arcume's feet. He howled and hopped around as his feet sizzled.
Armag frowned as he watched the proceedings. It was a much closer fight than he'd been expecting. If Arcume didn't start doing more damage and soon, the entire plan might fall apart. But as he watched, Armag was amazed that Fireguard was still able to fight after that blast he'd taken. With that kind of fortitude, it was no wonder they'd been stopping him at every turn. Worthy adversaries, indeed. Just what he didn't need.
Hellscar used his advantage of flight, repeatedly swooping down at Arcume and slashing him with the sharp edges of his wings. Fireguard was learning from his battles, knowing he couldn't stay still long enough to allow himself to become a target. Especially against an enemy like Arcume, who clearly had a dozen or more ways of pounding his enemies into submission. But that wasn't Arcume's plan now. In his fixation of avoiding Arcume's physical attacks, he had forgotten that the monster could manipulate mind as well as matter.
"Okay! Dive, Hellscar!" Fireguard commanded his companion beast, readying for another swoop attack. But nothing happened. "Dive, Hellscar!" Fireguard said again, but still Hellscar didn't respond. Instead, he looked like he was panicking about something, thrashing about in the air and giving anxious growls. "Hellscar, what's wrong?!" the hero cried, but it was as if Hellscar could no long hear him. Hellscar went into a barrel roll, jostling Fireguard around mercilessly. The bleeding got worse. His vision blurred, then he blacked out.
And below, the Guardrangers watched in horror as the gigantic beast of legend careened out of control through the sky with their friend and leader within him. "What's going on?!" Earthguard said anxiously.
Exactly what I feared when I had Fireguard release him, Beservor's voice echoed in their minds, The Guard Beast has gone wild.
"Gone wild? Bes...did you know this was gonna happen?" Waterguard said, quietly, coldly. He was understandably not happy with his mentor for not saying sooner that the Guard Beasts would turn out to be something they couldn't control, what with his best friend up there now.
Beservor sighed through the spiritual connection. He'd never wanted it to come to this. But now he might as well tell them the story of the Guard Beasts.
Back during the first conflict, each Guardranger was paired with a giant creature matching their element and possessing great power. There were times when you could not stand up to Garganstah's creations alone, and when those times came the Guard Beasts were invaluable allies. But, after Garganstah had fled and when you had died…
What, Bes? What happened? Airguard asked.
They went wild. I do not know why. But there existed no power in the world that could stand up to them, and in their rage...they sank the entire continent of Gargan. So…I was forced to put them into suspension. When I had Fireguard release Hellscar, I had hoped he would just attack and destroy the monster. Somehow Fireguard had regained control of him. But now he has gone wild again. If only we knew why and how to prevent it…
So, that was the story. But they didn't have time to think about it as Hellscar crashed to the ground. He swung his head back and forth, as if trying into focus his thoughts, spewing blasts of red energy around as he did. Arcume didn't know what was going on, but knew better than to pass up an opening like this. He held up his warty hands, and blasts of mental force ripped from them and into Hellscar. The dragon fell onto his back, badly damaged. But as he toppled over, Fireguard was jolted awake.
He groaned, his vision blurred from just awakening, and not helped by his bleeding wounds, but it cleared after a moment. "Oh, man...What--what's going on…?" He couldn't see anything through Hellscar's eyes, since the dragon was on his back, but he could feel another blast tearing into Hellscar's belly.
"Hellscar...what's wrong?? C'mon, big guy, get up and attack!" he said, but Hellscar didn't even try. He was still thrashing around helplessly, as if he'd lost his ability to think. Fireguard's vision started to blur again. He had to do something, fast, but what? Hellscar wouldn't respond to his commands, and…wait. Arcume had used his power to mess with the Ranger's brains before, preventing them from moving or making contact with their teammates. That had to be why Hellscar wasn't answering him back. Like there was some kind of wall between them.
But he was alone in fixing it. Only he could connect with Hellscar, and did he have enough energy of his to break a mental lock powerful enough to separate his and Hellscar's mind? He'd have to try.
Fireguard concentrated. On the pedestal in front of him, set with the likeness of Hellscar in it. He focused all of his willpower, all of his flame power, all of the force of his concentration together, then projected it all into that stone through the bond he and Hellscar had. It began to glow, then Hellscar stopped thrashing around like a turtle on his back. "Hellscar…can you hear me now?" Fireguard said slowly.
YES. I...I'M SORRY...I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED... Hellscar's voice was tinted with confusion, and a string of shame washed in.
"It's okay, buddy," Fireguard patted the control crystal in front of him reassuringly. "I didn't figure it out myself until a minute ago. Can you keep going?"
Hellscar took a minute to respond, hauling himself to his taloned feet amidst Arcume's hail of mental blasts, then gave an affirmative roar. The other Guardrangers cheered as they realized Hellscar had come back under control, but Fireguard knew this his giant ally was near the limit of his energy. All those blasts had taken their toll. Time to finish this.
"HELLSTORMER!" Fireguard shouted. Hellscar responded at once, his wings glowing as they accumulated energy and transferring it into Hellscar himself, and then the dragon let loose with a beam of burning energy from his mouth. Arcume saw the beam coming, but fired back with one of his own, meeting it half-way. He wasn't going to just lie down and die. He started to push the Hellstormer back to its source, but suddenly, the beam he was using fizzled out and disappeared. He'd used up all of his accumulated power. Unhindered now, the Hellstormer slammed into him, and Arcume's body charred and vaporized in the infernal heat, then finally exploded.
The Guardrangers cheered, Hellscar gave a victorious roar. Whatever the problem had been that made the Guard Beasts go out of control before, it seemed Fireguard had conquered it.
Hey buddy, you guys okay in there? Waterguard said telepathically to Fireguard.
Yeah we're fine, Jase. Let's go home, he replied, trying not to let on how faint he was feeling from blood loss. But suddenly they spotted a familiar figure coming down the street.
"You truly think it so simple, do you? Well...allow me to remind you exactly who has the power here!" he said derisively. It was Armag. He looked like he was gunning for a fight, but instead of his sword, a small pouch was in his hand. He wasted no time in bantering with his hated enemies. He tore open the pouch and poured the titan powder inside over himself. Arcume had failed to rid him of the Guardrangers, but he had softened up Hellscar pretty well. Now he could safely finish the job.
As Armag's giant foot sent tremors through the ground and the Guardrangers running, Fireguard groaned. His knees buckled and once more his vision started to get blurry. The bleeding had gotten worse, and he couldn't ignore it anymore. He knew that any second, he was going to black out, maybe never to wake up, it was that bad, and without anyone to guide him, the already-weakened Hellscar wouldn't stand a chance. But there was nothing within his power to do about it. "Well…at least I tried…Guys...Hellscar...I'm sorry..." he said to himself, seconds before he collapsed and his world went dark.
Hellscar's head fell as he reverted to his near-mindless state again. Normally in this condition he'd be attacking everything in sight, but there was that giant blue man lashing at him with a sword, and even without a guide to his actions, Hellscar could tell that this was a threat. Unfortunately, Armag was a mighty warrior indeed, especially when literally fighting for his life as he was now. That added to Hellscar's depleted strength and lack of guidance made for a very uneven fight. Armag danced around the feral dragon, quickly and expertly striking with his sword, slashing vulnerable points places where he'd been wounded already by Arcume. Hellscar roared in animalistic fury.
"This is bad…something must've happened to Ryuji again," Waterguard said, more than an edge of anxiety in his voice. Above them, Hellscar flailed at Armag with his claws, but they did no damage to the warrior's armor. Armag laughed, dealing now what he intended to be the finishing blow. The sword collided with Hellscar's neck, creating a fountain of sparks. Hellscar gave a weak, plaintive roar, then crumpled. The light in his eyes went out, and he didn't move.
The Rangers began to panic. Hellscar had fallen and there was telling what had happened to their leader. Only Earthguard remained calm, analyzing the situation. Recent experiences had taught her a lot about keeping her head during dangerous situations like this. It was up to them to save Fireguard, and they needed a plan to do it. As they were, there was nothing they could do against Armag. Their futile attempt to fend off his monster had proven that. But obviously that only left one other option.
Bes, tell me how to release the other Guard Beasts.
"You cannot be serious!"
We've no other choice!. Our powers are no good against something that size. If we don't act now Ryuji and Hellscar are both doomed!"
There was a long pause, but finally, Beservor replied. "Very well. Focus your powers into you Guardbraces, then have the others call 'Guard Beasts, Awaken!' with you."
"Miina, listen to me," Earthguard said, immediately gaining the attention of the rest of the team, "Bes told me how to call the other Guard Beasts. We have to call them quickly!"
She explained what Beservor had told her to do. They all nodded and prepared to make the call. As they did, Armag spotted them standing in the street. He swung with the flat of his enormous sword, looking to squash them all into the pavement, but as one, they called out, "GUARD BEASTS, AWAKEN!" And as they did, they felt a strange pulling sensation, then turned into streaks of light and flew off in different directions.
"What the--" Armag bellowed. He'd had them right where he wanted them! Where had they gone?
Where, indeed. Waterguard's blue streak plunged into the depths of the ocean. The yellow bolt that was Earthguard raced into a sub-terranean cave beneath a mountain. Airguard flew into the clouds, and Forestguard into a gigantic tree in the middle of an ancient forest. Each stood in a darkened room, but lights came on and they all found themselves standing in a gigantic chamber lined with crystal formations of colossal size. But what stood out the most were the ornate pedestals set in the center of each chamber in front of them, a triangular black stone with a brightly colored inlay in the center, modeled the image of their respective costume insignias.
Guys? Where are we?
I…I think we're inside the Guard Beasts. Earthguard replied. The yellow center of the stone in front of her began to glow and resonate, and suddenly an etching of a bear's head appeared in it. She heard a growl, then a window-like gap straight ahead of her came to life, and then a soft but strong voice sounded in her head.
"HELLO, EARTHGUARD. IT'S BEEN A VERY LONG TIME."
"It certainly has…Terraclaw," she said, the name just appearing in her mind. Then, as if sensing her urgent desire to get back to Tokyo and save her leader before it was too late, Terraclaw barreled out of the cave where she slept.
She was a boxy metallic bear colored in bright metallic yellow and silver, with four short, clawed legs on his underside. But despite however awkward she might have looked, she was fast and Earthguard could tell she was now in command of a powerful creature of her own.
From the other places the Guardrangers had gone came other creatures. A gigantic killer whale with gleaming blue metal skin, Tidalstorm, exploded out of the ocean and swam through the air with Waterguard aboard. From out of the sky came Windshear, a massive white hawk with a black dome on his back and glistening golden talons and gold trim on her colossal wingspan, the companion beast of Airguard. And from within the depths of the forest lumbered Treebasher, a gigantic emerald and gold gorilla who took his orders from Forestguard.
"Whoo, man! This is awesome!" Waterguard whooped as Tidalstorm whipped along at hundreds of miles an hour. The orca gave a proud trumpeting sound to be reunited with his companion after spending so long in dreamless slumber. All of the Guardrangers now sensed a sense of relief and wholeness from their beasts, as if they'd just been released from some kind of imprisonment and were now allowed to rejoin the Rangers, which they had, come to think of it.
The Guard Beasts came from all directions and converged on Tokyo. As they did, Waterguard realized how Fireguard had felt after claiming his own Guard Beast. It was such a welcome feeling, becoming one with the thoughts and sensations of a creature so powerful. He felt invincible, and for a moment forgot that they were racing to save Fireguard's life.
He reached out telepathically to Airguard, curious to see what a sentai fan's reaction to getting a giant creature of their own to command was. Hey, Airguard, how's the ride for you?
It's amazing! I always dreamed about what it be like to have my own personal mecha, and this is even heavier than I'd imagined.
Heavy indeed. The Guard Beasts weren't simple mecha, they were living things in their own right. Powerful creatures of the elements, not just lifeless machines. And they were going to see what these creatures of the elements could do against Armag.
The Guard Beasts could be felt coming from miles away as they converged on downtown Tokyo with mind numbing speed for creatures their size. Armag sensed the approach of the four powerful beasts more keenly than the people in the city around him. Four sources of intense elemental energy, four sources of vengeful rage coming to save their friend and destroy him. Well, let them come. He might have lived like a petty power monger, but he would die like a warrior.
Armag wasn't even surprised when he saw a gigantic green ape thundering down the street toward him on all fours. Right behind it were the other Guard Beasts. Yes, indeed. The longer it took to defeat the Guardrangers, the more powerful they became. This would be a spectacular fight.
The Guard Beasts drew closer, and Armag readied his giant blade. But as he swung it at Treebasher, the nimble gorilla darted to the side and grabbed the blade with his mighty hands.
Tochiro Tsuchida had never believed in violence, and had several times wondered why he had so readily accepted the Guardbrace when he knew what would be expected of him when he did. But Fireguard, this friend…this example to them, had risked, possibly even forfeited his life to come to their rescue against Armag's monster. Destined for a life of combat and whether it clashed with his beliefs or not, Forestguard wasn't going to let a sacrifice like that be in vain.
Treebasher snapped Armag's sword in two a roar of fury. The ape felt the same anger at the potential loss of a friend and comrade, and desire for retribution. Treebasher dug his giant fists into the ground and swung feet-first at his enemy. His feet smashed into Armag's torso, sending him skidding down the street. Hard.
Tidalstorm and Windshear spiraled in to attack, brilliant blue and white energy blasts lancing outward from them and exploding all around the downed Armag in a symphony of destruction.
"This is too easy!" Waterguard exclaimed as Armag, the leader of the forces they'd been fighting, just lay there and took it.
Of course, he spoke too soon.
Tidalstorm dove toward Armag to attack close in, when all of a sudden Armag's fist shot out, glowing red. He wasn't sparing any energy this time. He was taking them down hard and fast!
As his fist connected with Tidalstorm's underbelly, the red glow leaped up to surround the Guard Beast instead of Armag's fist, and after a second faded away. But as it did, Tidalstorm dropped to the street like a sack of cement.
"What the--HEY!" he shouted in alarm, unable to get the killer whale to respond. But the others knew. Armag had dealt one of those terrible, paralyzing blows he had used on them. It seemed even more effective now, with Tidalstorm lying as if dead on the ground. Armag seized up Tidalstorm, intent on tearing him in two.
Treebasher and Terraclaw charged forward before they lost another teammate, but Armag instead tossed Tidalstorm right at them, knocking the two of them over. Then before they could recover he hurled a ball of orange light from his hands that exploded in their midst, staggering them.
But in an instant the ape and bear were back up. They wouldn't be beaten so easily. Windshear grabbed Armag's shoulders with her talons and climbed into the sky with all the speed and strength she possessed. Five hundred feet up, she let go. Armag tumbled helplessly through the air, Treebasher and Terraclaw looking to give him a painful welcome after he landed. But he leered at them, then disappeared into thin air!
"Nanda?? Where is he??" Forestguard asked. The instant Armag reappeared right behind Treebasher and sent the ape tumbling a nasty kick to his back. Before he could do anything to her, Terraclaw sank her diamond hard teeth into his shin. He growled in pain, bringing his fists down on her back and making the metallic bear release her grip. The Beasts of forest and earth retreated back a few steps up and charged him again. Armag replied with a blast from his fingertips that completely decimated a five-block area around the Guard Beasts when it struck. But the blast missed them as they instinctively leaped skyward to avoid the carnage.
A bit battered by the shockwaves that ensued, Treebasher bellowed what sounded like a war cry and grabbed a huge chunk of asphalt that had been blown into the air from the street below and threw it at Armag. The Baron was taken by surprise as the slab of debris smashed into his face, but only looked angry after a second to recover. He prepared a blast to retaliate, but Terraclaw jumped into the air and when she came down, a tremor erupted and knocked him off-balance.
Kami-sama…This is getting serious, Earthguard remarked, looking at the devastation around them.
I know! The collateral damage's building up like crazy, Forestguard came back, although But as they talked, Armag suddenly darted forward, summoning up the power for another nerve blow. Forestguard noticed just in time, and Treebasher hastily grabbed his arm before he could deliver the blow. Terraclaw lunged in to attack Armag, but he kicked her to the side and into a row of cars nearby. Meanwhile, Treebasher's grip began to shake and loosen as Armag forced his fist closer, and closer, using all of his strength to drive home a nerve blow and remove another Guard Beast from this fight…
Meanwhile, Windshear was circling above the inert Tidalstorm, frantically trying to think of what to do.
Any ideas on what to do yet?
I wish. How are the others doing with Armag?
Not so good. If we don't get back in the fight like now, they're going to be in trouble.
Dammit! C'mon, big buddy...give me something here--anything! Waterguard fumed, more to himself than to Airguard. Tidalstorm was totally lifeless, and no matter how hard he tried to force a reaction, Waterguard got nothing. He felt like if the Guardrangers lost, it would be his fault. Forestguard and Earthguard were doing their best against an enemy too strong for them, Airguard was helping to try to figure out a way to get him back into the fight, and Fireguard…well, he didn't want to think about that until it was safe to check on him. They still had a battle to win.
Suddenly, he felt Tidalstorm rising to the air. Had he finally broken Armag's spell, such as it was, over his beast? No, nothing happened when he sent a command for Tidalstorm to rejoin the fight. He saw through the window of Tidalstorm's eyes that they were still ascending, then stopped and began to fly off in the direction of the bay. But he couldn't see Windshear. What was going on?
Miaka? What's the deal? Why am I up in the air?
I'm carrying you. I have an idea. It seems kind of fantastic but I can't think of anything else.
Within seconds they were over Tokyo Bay, and once they were clear of the ships in the harbor, Windshear let go, dropping Tidalstorm into the water like a giant blue bomb before Waterguard could protest. There was no time. Tidalstorm sank like a stone, and Waterguard felt about to panic, wondering what crazy thought had entered Airguard's mind that sentencing him to a watery grave was the smart thing to do
Tidalstorm sank deeper and deeper, but as he did, the lights in Waterguard's cavernous cockpit seemed to get brighter and brighter. Then there was a powerful, thundering call that seemed to come from all around him. Then the view from Tidalstorm's eyes shifted and he could tell they were swimming toward the surface, and suddenly it all made sense. Water, what surrounded them now, was his the source of his powers, of Tidalstorm's. Why shouldn't being covered in it enhance their power and cleanse them of their ills? And when the great killer whale flew out of the bay, Airguard breathed a sigh of relief.
Sugoi! It worked!
Damn straight it did! And your crazy idea just gave me a crazy idea!
Treebasher still struggled with Armag. He had the most raw strength of any of the Guard Beasts, but even he was losing to Armag's might. But strength wasn't his only ability. Just as Armag was about to break his grip, Treebasher suddenly let go and effortlessly somersaulted backwards, letting Armag tumble face-first to the ground.
Good job, but it still doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere with this brute, Earthguard said as Treebasher rolled to his feet at her own Beast's side.
So I've noticed! I guess we're gonna need something more! They readied their Beasts to attack at once, and charged Armag as he got up, hoping a simultaneous attack might yield better results than when they'd attacked singly. Armag raised a pointing finger and blasted a bolt of crimson lightning at them, but the Guardrangers were getting better at commanding their giant allies, and dodged aside so that the bolt passed harmlessly between them. It exploded down the street, with a spectacular giant fireball. And unnoticed by any of them, Hellscar stirred for a second.
Something about the urgency of the situation, the need to stop Armag before even more of Tokyo was turned into a suitable condition to be blown away on a light wind, formed a series of words in Earthguard's mind. At once she knew what they were, the name of Terraclaw's Final Attack, and she used it at once.
"CRYSTAL IMPACTOR!" Earthguard called out, Terraclaw's eyes flared fierce yellow and twin blasts of light stabbed into the earth at Armag's feet. There was a distant rumbling beneath him, and when Armag looked down to see what it was, a gigantic shard of razor sharp crystal shot out of the earth and slashed his arm. Terraclaw kept it coming, spires of crystal spiking upwards from the ground until Armag was gone from view. Before any feelings of triumph could manifest themselves, however, the crystal formations shattered in a burst of blinding light. Armag stood, gasping in air angrily were he had been buried a moment before, his clothes shredded and his body marred by cuts and trails of blue blood.
"Time to die, Rangers!" he shouted at the top of his voice, making buildings shake half a mile away. They could tell he was getting tired of this. And he was. He had come here expecting to make quick work of the Guardrangers, find what he needed and then deal with his pursuers. Now here he was, fighting all alone with his real enemies a day away at the most. And even with their leader fallen, the Guardrangers continued to plague him.
Sometimes it really didn't pay to try to conquer the world.
Armag angrily thrust his outstretched hands to the sides, power dancing along his fingertips and into the ground around him. As they were wondering what he was up to, Forestguard suddenly noticed the ground in front of him starting to bulge threateningly, and Treebasher jumped backwards just in time to avoid a geyser of white-hot energy that erupted where he'd been moments before.
But Armag didn't let up. More bulges appeared, spewing hot energy into the sky and just missing the Guard Beasts as they bolted through the ruined area as quickly as they could to stay out of the way.
Forestguard was starting to feel vastly out of his league. Armag was powerful, maybe more than all the Guard Beasts put together. What chance did just the two of them stand, and where were the others right now?
But as outclassed as he might have felt, he knew he didn't want to die running like some kind of frightened animal. The two Guard Beasts skidded to a halt behind a building that was still standing, safe for a moment, and Armag ceased the bombardment of energy geysers to catch his breath. There was another building next to the one they were using for cover, and as Forestguard looked up to see how much had survived, a thought began to form in his mind.
Treebasher hurled himself onto the side of one building, sinking his giant fingers into the side, then turning and bounding up to the side of the other building, sinking his fingers into that as well to hold himself steady while he prepared another leap to the side of the other building. Within seconds he was on his way to the top of the building.
Where are you going??? Earthguard demanded, just as she noticed two objects in the sky rapidly flying closer to them. It was Windshear and Tidalstorm, fully recovered, it looked like. About time some help came.
Back just in time, looks like. You okay?
Hardly! Speaking of time, I can't imagine we have much left. Armag's more powerful than we thought. I hit him with everything Terraclaw had it and did nothing. And I have no idea where Forestguard thinks he's going!
I'm gonna use Treebasher's Final Attack, he replied, cool and unflappable as ever, though inside he felt like an ant attacking a tank, and he says the higher we are, the better it'll work.
Wait a minute and we'll all attack together! He's too tough for any one Guard Beast!
Good idea, but let's work another trick into that plan…Waterguard added. He quickly described his idea to the others. Then they charged from behind the cover of the buildings to attack.
Windshear and Tidalstorm dove at Armag, blasting out another energy barrage and driving him back a few steps if not doing much damage. Terraclaw jumped into the air and came down hard, shaking the ground and knocking him off-balance and sending him stumbling even further backwards, toward the inert body of his first casualty…
What do they think they're doing? he wondered, charging up to attack. This would be one none of them survived, he promised himself. But he didn't get the chance. The Guardrangers made the first move, and attacked ferociously. His hands started to glow with power but Tidalstorm flew at him. A phrase appeared in Waterguard's mind, and he shouted it with all the strength he could muster.
"TITAN WAVE!" The words seemed to resound even outside of the confines of Tidalstorm's cockpit, even though they didn't. But the power behind them did. A tidal wave, two hundred feet high, materialized behind the charging Tidalstorm. He rode it right into Armag, washing over the warrior and knocking him off his feet, then vanishing into thin air as Tidalstorm swam up into the sky before Armag could hit back.
Windshear was next, shrieking a challenge as she swooped out of the sky. Airguard summoned her will and also shouted out a command that just entered her mind, sensing her need for the "HAWK WIND TALON!" An explosive outburst of air and glowing white blades whipped up behind Windshear, and she ascended and let it crash into Armag like a wall of knives. That was what it felt like when it made contact, and he howled in frustration and pain.
Terraclaw unleashed her Crystal Impactor once again, crystal spires stabbing up and out of the earth again. They stabbed him mercilessly, striking sparks against Armag as they dug into him again and again with devastating impact. Before, they had done almost no damage, but with their consecutive attacks Armag was being considerably softened up, and now their attacks had a very noticeable effect indeed. This time, instead of burying Armag in a pile of rocks, Earthguard summoned up one final gigantic tower of crystal to finish off her assault, and it rocketed out of the earth and exploded terrifically as it slammed Armag dead-on in the back and threw him into the air.
And behind him, the light in Hellscar's eyes briefly reappeared.
Armag was staggering by now. Time to finish it. From his perch atop the building, Treebasher hurled himself into the air, into a steep dive that would take him straight into a collision course with Armag. In mid-air the ape curled into a ball, and Forestguard cried out the words he'd been given to activate Treebasher's attack.
"AURA DRIVE BUSTER!" An almost blinding green glow and small energy formations like leaves appeared around Treebasher's body in a burst of light. His speed doubled, as if he'd been fired from a cannon. Armag had recovered enough to launch a pair of energy fireballs from his hands at the glowing green projectile barreling through the air toward him, but Treebasher's own energy cancelled them out. They had to stop this menace and save their friend. Forestguard had been given the job of dealing the final blow in their attack plan, closing the circuit, as it were. He had no love of violence, but he wouldn't be stopped now. Treebasher blasted into Armag, releasing the energy surrounding his body in a flash and explosion that blinded people for almost a mile. And it had just the effect Waterguard had been hoping.
Hellscar suddenly roared, and raised himself up as if awakening from sleep, rather than a state near death. The heat and energy from the explosions had breathed new life into the dragon, just as sinking into Tokyo Bay had restored Tidalstorm. Armag was completely surprised, and caught a painful slash of Hellscar's claws across his back before he could get away. Clutching a bleeding shoulder, he ran off.
Waterguard thrust his mind into the link between the Rangers. He no longer felt a void coming from Hellscar's cockpit as he had moments ago, but all the same, he asked, Ryu? Are you guys okay?
The response was labored, but it came, and that was all that mattered to him. Not totally, but I'm amazed we're both still alive. What's happening?
His answer came when a fireball exploded in the midst of the Guard Beasts. Armag readied another. Another one to deal with. These Guardrangers were crafty, no wonder they'd been stopping him at every turn. But there was no other choice. He had to fight them all, finish this now. Or die trying.
Fireguard, Earthguard sent to him, are you certain you can fight? Armag did some serious damage to Hellscar.
We'll hold together. We may not be at full strength, but it's not just me and my dragon pal now. Right, buddy?
Hellscar roared as if to second what Fireguard had said.
The Guardrangers all felt something sweep over them as Fireguard said that. A realization that yes, they were all here now, all able to fight together. It felt as if they were all one force, one existence for a moment. Them, the Guard Beasts, all one single life force, dedicated to the defense of this planet. That a warrior from another planet was there trying to kill them didn't matter for that one instant.
But then a fireball of his streaked past, narrowly missing them, and the spell was broken. They all scattered, ready to fight again.
Let's finish this, Fireguard said threateningly, although inside he was feeling foolish for taking his attention off their enemy. He hoped his teammates couldn't tell. It was just, that sense of unity had felt so welcome…like how they were supposed to be when they fought. And fight they would.
The Guard Beasts all attacked together, surrounding him and raining their various attacks down on him, trying to keep him from calling up his powers again. Blasts of flame, exploding feathers and torrents of water, ground-shaking tremors and hunks of masonry flew toward the Baron in devastating droves.
But Armag laughed, and created a blast that send the already damaged Guard Beasts flying. "Have to do better than that, Guardrangers." He was wearing down, but he was still a force to be reckoned with. Hellscar, Treebasher and Terraclaw were in a sorry state, and that last blast hadn't helped any.
Time's running out…we have to pool our powers now. There's no other way, Fireguard said to the others in a voice that made it clear that he was still weak from his injuries, and losing strength fast. For his as well as their sakes, they knew the time had come to end this battle, and they all hurried to gather around Hellscar to prepare their final attack.
Armag fired crackling beams of violent electric blue from his good eye and fingers that tore up the street behind the Guard Beasts as they charged toward their leader, but they were mostly unhurt. Then they gathered around Hellscar, and began to channel their powers into a single focus in front of them where a burning sphere of energy began to form, like the Eternity Drive. Armag saw what they were doing and prepared a counter-blast, then let a massive globe of burning azure energy fly from his hands just as the Guard Beasts fired the elemental sphere back at him.
The two devastatingly powerful attacks met in mid-air. The spheres clashed together in a symphony of ear-splitting noise and a lightshow of prismatic color. The Guardrangers threw all their physical and mental strength into their projectile, to force it to continue its forward motion toward Armag , while the Garganstah Baron did likewise with his own murderous energy.
Whether either side was making any difference in this bizarre tug of war, none could tell. But the spheres pushed back and forth like a pair of dueling stars, until finally, Armag appeared to lose his concentration for a moment, then the Guardrangers' attack obliterated his and flew forward uninhibited to crash into Armag with a spectacular explosion.
They would never know why Armag had lapsed for that one instant and given them the opening to defeat him once and for all. Maybe he had been more exhausted than he thought, maybe his concentration had slipped for a second worrying about what might happen if he failed to vanquish the Guardrangers here and now. Whatever it was, the result was obvious. He doubled over in pain and the collapsed, clutching his charred chest.
Armag wasn't much longer for this world. But as he lay on the ground, he gave a pained laugh, perplexing the Rangers. What could be so funny about being seconds away from dying, after all?
"So... you think... you've won, do you...?" he croaked, "What fools... I... was the least of my kind. The rest... are on their way, and their power...dwarfs mine more than you could imagine...In defeating me...you've ensured... this planet a much worse future... than if I'd taken over...Savor this little victory, Guardrangers...For it will be the last one you will ever have..." And with a last mocking cackle, Armag's body dissolved into blue waves of light that vanished into the sky.
And there was a long moment after that where the silence was so loud you could literally hear it. The proverbial pin could've dropped.
The Guardrangers were on the ground outside the Guard Beasts a moment later. One by one they released their uniforms and reverted to normal. All except Fireguard. He staggered as he appeared on the ground, frightening dark red blotches discoloring the back of his Guardsuit. His breathing was rough and pained as he slumped into a sitting position against Hellscar's leg. The giant dragon craned his head downward, gently brushing his snout against Fireguard's shoulder, using his own energy to speed Fireguard's healing. Within seconds the pools of blood vanished. The Soldier of the Inferno reached up, tugging his helmet off with his right hand, and rubbed Hellscar's metallic skin with his left, smiling. "Thanks, buddy."
I COULD DO NO LESS, MY FRIEND. Hellscar replied warmly in Ryuji's mind. The other Guardbeasts were there as well, in a protective circle of sorts around Ryuji, looking down on him with concern and relief. Ryuji smiled up at them. "You too, guys. Arigato, miina."
As the Guardbeasts responded with nods and gentle rumblings, Ryuji found himself being gripped around the shoulders by Jason, pain shooting through his back again. But for some reason, it didn't bother him. Most likely it was the simple joy of still being alive simply felt too good to ignore.
"Dude, I swear to God," Jason squeezed Ryuji harder, "if you EVER make me worry about you like that again, I'm gonna kick your ass."
"I'm fine, Jase," Ryuji drawled. "You?"
Jason smacked Ryuji's head playfully. "Shut up." They both laughed as the others arrived to join them.
" Hey, boss man," Tochiro knelt down in front of Ryuji, Miaka standing behind him. "Daijoubu?"
"Yeah," Ryuji nodded. "I'm gonna need about twenty-thousand aspirin later, but I'm all right."
"Thank Kami-sama for that," Miaka put in.
"Indeed," Naoko agreed with thinly disguised...was it relief? Ryuji smiled back at her, and even Jason had the decorum not to make a wisecrack at the scene. Ryuji reveled in the warmth surrounding him. His friends and his teammates, the Guard Beasts--the moment was rare and comforting. And most definitely welcome after what they'd just been through.
So, true to form, it didn't last.
"Rangers," the mental voice of Beservor issued from the air as a glowing sphere of prismatic light that could only be the remains of the wizard himself, freed from the crystal ball, apparently, shimmered to life above them. "Are you all right?"
The Rangers didn't have a chance to respond, or ask why Beservor had come to check up on them in person. As Ryuji was about to answer him, a voice with the force of a supernova crashed through his mind.
YOU!!!
"UUHHHHHHH!" Such was the force of Hellscar's psychic shout that Ryuji slipped from Jason's grasp and slammed into the ground. What had brought that on?
"Hey! What's the deal?" Jason jerked his head upward toward Hellscar...
...and immediately wished he hadn't. The giant dragon was seething with an anger like nothing he'd ever seen. And he wasn't the only one. The other Guard Beasts were trembling with fury, bearing teeth and claws, raw, unrestrained rage rolling off of them in waves.
Ryuji righted himself as Jason and Miaka helped him stand. "Hellscar? Nanda?"
HE KNOWS...Hellscar snarled, his eyes burning red. The Rangers turned to face the ethereal orb that was Beservor, glowing in front of them.
"Bes..." Ryuji said lowly. "What's going on? What's Hellscar talking about?"
A long, drawn out sigh issued forth. "You left me no choice, Hellscar. Your rampage had to be stopped. Your actions that day imperiled the entire planet. Beservor paused as Hellscar growled again. You had much to answer for then.
AND YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF BLAMELESS, WIZARD? Hellscar countered. DID YOU NEVER GIVE ANY THOUGHT AS TO WHY WE ACTED IN SUCH A FASHION? OR DID YOU SIMPLY ASSUME WE SENT GARGAN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN ON SOME CHILDISH WHIM?
Beservor was silent for a moment. Then, "I...sensed grief in you, yes. But I never understood the reason behind it."
NO, OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T. Terraclaw's telepathic murmur spoke now. YOU SAW US AS A THREAT AND YOU LOCKED US AWAY IN DARKNESS WITH NO EXPLANATION, NO CHANCE TO EXPLAIN…
YOU WEREN'T THERE, BESERVOR...Tidalstorm's youthful psychic voice was edged with pain. YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT WE SAW.
WE RESPONDED TO THE RANGER'S SUMMONS THE DAY THE GARGANSTAH WERE DRIVEN FROM EARTH. Treebasher's deep mental echo explained next. BUT WE ARRIVED TOO LATE TO SAVE THEM--TO SAVE YOU... WE COULD ONLY WATCH AS YOU WERE DESTROYED BEFORE OUR VERY EYES.
AND IN THAT MOMENT...OUR GRIEF CONSUMED US, Windshear sounded as if she were close to tears, if such a thing was even possible. AND WE...DESTROYED GARGAN. AND ITS PEOPLE WITH IT. MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN...WE SPARED NO ONE. IN OUR MINDS, ALL WERE GUILTY. THEY WERE NO LONGER THERE TO GUIDE US, SO WE DID NOT KNOW OF ANY RESTRAINT.
"Geez..." Jason whispered. Even without his powers active, he could feel his Guard Beast's pain, the guilt over what they had done. He gently let go of Ryuji and moved toward Tidalstorm, rubbing his hands over the great killer whale's colossal nose. The others moved toward their respective Beasts, feeling their comrades' tangible remorse. Beservor simply observed in silence. He had expected anger from the Guard Beasts, yes. But this revelation had stunned even him. He had never expected the Guard Beasts to react in such a manner, to grieve so deeply and completely that they would destroy an entire continent to exact vengeance. Yes, they had been created to be more than simple avatars to the elements, but this depth of loyalty was simply astounding.
Ryuji looked over at the ball of scintillating light that was his advisor. "Bes.."
"No, Fireguard," the wizard countered. "I know what you are about to say. Mistakes have been made on both sides here. But it seems the greatest mistake was mine. The Guard Beasts are correct. I acted without considering the underlying factors of why they destroyed Gargan. True, they took innocent lives that day, but it was grief and the loss of your guiding minds that drove their actions, not malice. I understand that now. I cannot undo the past--none of us can. We can only learn from our mistakes and go on. But I will say this--for your pain and all that accompanied it...Hellscar, Tidalstorm, Treebasher, Terraclaw, and Windshear...for all of that and more...I am truly sorry. We must work to make sure this never happens again…"
The Rangers regarded their companion Beasts, a tremor of unease moving through each of them involuntarily. Hellscar's eyes blazed red again for an instant, then the harsh glow left them as he finally spoke.
COLD COMFORT, WIZARD...Hellscar said flatly. But then something in the dragon's telepathic tone changed, BUT...IT IS BETTER THAN NONE AT ALL.
The Guardrangers simply stood in contemplative silence of their giant allies. With their reunion with the Guard Beasts, their full power had been restored. But it came with the realization of just how much they depended on the Guardrangers, to complete them, to make them more than just giant beasts. If they were awakened again and the connection was severed, another land might sink beneath the ocean.
It was this, combined with Armag's dying words, that chilled the spirit of victory the Guardrangers would have felt otherwise as they and the Guard Beasts departed the scene of battle to recover.
"Man, was this this a day for drama or what?" Jason asked his friend as they and others rested from their recent ordeals a the Golden Bushel. The place was empty except for them, and almost completely silent except for Jason. He was trying to get them to feel some kind of pride at their achievement. But none of them were going along with it. All were worried about what Armag had said. He'd nearly beaten them, even with all the Guard Beasts. What were they supposed to do if invaders even stronger than him really were on their way? Even Tochiro, who the others had thought could weather anything with a smiling face. Only Miaka agreed with what he was trying to say.
"Come on, guys, don't get like this. We beat Armag, didn't we? That must count for something."
"It does, Jase. He was a tough customer and I think it proved we're a heck of a team to be the ones that took him down," Ryuji said, "But you heard what he said too. And I'm not sure how we're supposed to get anymore power to be ready if he was telling the truth."
"We could try digging up that fortress he was after, but I doubt we'd be able to do anything with it," Naoko chimed in, "Garganstah can create life, after all. We probably couldn't begin to figure out their secrets."
Tochiro said nothing. He felt like things were rapidly getting out of hand, more than he could just rationalize away by simplifying what drove him to do what needed to be done. Now that the buzz of being reunited with his Guard Beast and saving his friend's life had come and gone, he was starting to see what they were really getting into.
Armag had been powerful. A greater foe Tochiro had never imagined. They had only won through some kind of fluke, the nature of which he would probably never know. If he had been only the tip of the iceberg, as he claimed, Tochiro couldn't help but feel more than a little in over his head. Was he really ready?
"Cheer up, miina," Miaka said, succeeding in breaking the miasma of gloom, "Jason's right. We beat a tough enemy, and we'll find a way to beat any others. That's what sentai do, learn to adapt to new problems. And the last time I looked that's what we've been doing too. We'll come up with something."
And somehow, eased everyone's mind a little. If anyone would know that kind of thing, after all, it was Miaka. History did seem to be on their side, as well. The forces of super sentai had always triumphed in the end.
More than any of that, though, the team was beginning to realize how worn out they really were from all fighting they had done that day. And turning themselves into exhausted, nervous wrecks over Armag's threat certainly wouldn't help. If somebody even tougher than Armag did come their way looking for trouble, they'd think of something--after they had a chance to recover from all their aches and bruises.
They weren't sure how, but all were aware of the fatigue of the others, the desire they all suddenly felt for real rest and recovery. Could the bond between them be getting stronger, somehow? Perhaps…Though they didn't really know it yet, many changes were in store for the Guardrangers.
"Well, I'd better go. I've got an interview in the morning," Jason said, rising and walking toward the door, "It was an interesting day, though."
"Putting it mildly," Naoko added.
Ryuji felt like he had two, maybe three minutes before he collapsed from the day's ordeals, but managed to admonish his teammates, "Guys, go and rest up. We've all earned a break today. But try to be ready in case Armag meant what he said, okay?"
"Are you going to be all right, Ryuji? Do you need a ride home or something?" was the reply, and Jason was surprised to hear that it had come from Naoko rather than him.
"I'll be all right. I have a futon in the office for when I have to stay really late. I don't feel like moving around much more today anyway."
"All right, but you be careful. You look even deader than the rest of us."
Ryuji arched an eyebrow in curiosity as she said that, but Naoko was already out the door. He'd have to ask her what she meant, next time. The other Rangers said their goodbyes as well and went their separate ways. But for one final moment before they parted until the next time duty called them together, they could all feel the power they commanded as a group, abetted by the power the Guard Beasts, happy to be reunited with them once again, and the knowledge that, as long as they remained true to their duty and believed in their powers, they could overcome anything. The Guardrangers knew about their allies' flaw now, and would never let it happen again. Truly, they were the able protectors of the planet Earth.
And out on the edge of the solar system, a gigantic craft, dark as the expanse of space around it, appeared. It was gigantic, almost the size of a city. It was long and black, with protruding towers and the lights of rooms inside of it dotting its length. Slowly, surely, but inexorably it began to approach Earth.
They had been gone a long, long time. The humans had forgotten about them. But they would not be deterred by anything. They had waited too long and grown too strong to be stopped now. After thousands of years of wandering the stars, Garganstah was finally coming home…
Not the end. Next time the Guardrangers find out Armag wasn't bluffing…and learn what must be done to level the playing field against this awesome new force.
