Eternal Sentai

Guardranger

Episode 12:

Tormented Spirits! Consigned to the Underworld!

by David Anderson and Derek Pryor

Masaru Misaki wasn't anybody special. He hadn't cured any diseases, didn't own any business empires, and no famous works of art had his name on them. But that didn't matter to him. He had a decent job, a nice home, and a loving family he would soon be on his way to rejoin as he locked up the office for the day and stepped out into the hot summer night.

But like many of his kind, he lacked the faculties to sense that something evil was in the air, stalking him, waiting for the best moment to strike.

Mr. Misaki walked the normal couple of blocks to take his normal train ride home after working late at the office, which was also normal. He wondered how his son, Tetsuo had done on his test that day, and what might be on the dinner table when he got home. He thought about the rest of the week's work, about maybe varying the route of the dog's walk that night, just to do something a little different for once.

Only one person on the train could sense the horrible irony of what was on Masaru's mind.

As the train went around a bend, Masaru suddenly snapped awake as he noticed that the lights of the city--windows, signs, street lamps, headlights--had completely vanished. There was absolutely nothing to be seen outside the windows. The train seemed to be floating in a lightless void. Then Masaru looked up and was shocked again. All the people that had been on the car with him moments ago had vanished! All of them except a young man sitting and staring at his feet at the end of the car.

"Hey!" Masaru shouted, "What happened to everyone?!"

"They're gone," the young man replied, not looking up.

"Kisama…I can see that much!" Masaru shouted again, panic starting to creep in. "Where'd they go??"

"Nowhere, they're still on the train, on their way home, or wherever," the man replied, raising his head up, "but you were just a little too content with your lot for me to ignore…" And with that he swung his head toward Masaru, revealing a pair of baleful, inhuman red eyes. Masaru gasped, and the man got up and advanced toward him.

Masaru struggled to find a way out, any way out. He pounded desperately on the window with his fists, but it resisted his blows. He tried to force the car doors open, but they would not be budged. The man with the eyes seized him by the shoulders, and Masaru prepared himself to be knifed, or strangled, or to have his head ripped off at the neck, but none of those occurred. Instead the man, his iron grip and his piercing eyes suddenly began to fade and then disappear entirely. Masaru was about to let out a sigh of relief, when the train car began to disappear around him as well.

The lights, the seats, the doors all faded before his eyes, leaving nothing but an infinite blackness. Masaru was floating in the dark void, wondering if he had just dozed off and was having a nightmare. How could all this be happening? It wasn't possible for the world to just vanish…

That was what he thought.

"Enjoying yourself?" the young man with the red eyes asked, appearing from out of the darkness. He was positioned as if he was sitting on a stool as he drifted toward and past Masaru, and the smile on his lips made no mistake that he was enjoying the man's terror.

Masaru tried to say something, to ask who this man was, why and how he was doing all this, but no sound came from his mouth. It wasn't fear; some outside force was suppressing his voice, and he was pretty sure it was the strange man floating in circles around him.

"Yes, that's right, I'm blocking your voice. I'd rather feel your fear than hear a confession of it. But quite frankly, Misaki-san, I'm not feeling quite enough fear from you for my liking." The man waved his hand, the red of his eyes became a little darker, and suddenly Masaru wasn't floating anymore, he was falling. Falling toward a crimson abyss far, far below him, with menacing black shapes teeming within it. As he tried in vain to scream, to do anything, Masaru could begin to make out what they were; demonic creatures, infernal beings he vaguely remembered seeing on the evening news years before…foes of teams of brightly-costumed heroes…

There was one that looked like a tree, another that looked like a faucet, still another that looked like a gold-plated lion man…each of them and many more reaching out to him…to end his life…

There was no escape, and far above, the man with the red eyes laughed maniacally as he felt Masaru's silent cries of anguish.

Night might have been a period of rest for the human beings and even the Guardrangers, but not for people like Vandread.

No, this was the time when black magic slithered to life. When otherworldly creatures awoke to perform their inhuman errands of mischief. And he sensed a particularly malicious otherworldly being up to no good at that very minute.

Vandread sank deeper into his meditation, cast his senses further from his physical shell. He probed the nation of Japan below, searching for the presence he had just detected. He caught only feel a faint signature of the force he was tracking in the northern part of the city, but Vandread could instantly tell what that meant. The creature had shifted to another realm, and it would be child's play for one such as Vandread to follow in astral pursuit.

His powerful scrying spells allowed Vandread to scan a dozen ethereal dimensions at once, looking for the smallest trace of the creature he sought. Nothing in the plane of Emerald Life, the Home of the Oraculars, or even in the far-flung dimension called Gigyan. But his search was quick and efficient, and as soon as one search turned up fruitless he began another. Within a matter of seconds he had searched over fifty parallel dimensions, and located his quarry. He was not surprised at all to discover it hovering in the realm of the wicked dead.

Yes, he thought, the being he'd been tracking had that subtle supernatural aftertaste that only a vengeful spirit possessed. This one seemed to have quite a sadistic streak, too, as Vandread observed it laughing riotously as it watched creatures that had been monsters in life tear a helpless mortal limb from limb.

But suddenly the cruel mirth ended. The spirit had sensed somebody was watching him. Vandread was not afraid. He was only casting his senses into other realms, and he could more than handle some old ghost anyway. But he continued his careful observation, sizing up the spirit.

Vandread detected a particularly powerful aura permeating the spirit, and a particularly powerful hate as well. But as he tried to move his view closer, to get inside and find out what made it so hateful, the spirit flitted away into the infernal darkness before Vandread could make contact. This didn't bother him in the least; he had sensed its resonance, it could never hide from him. And he was sure that it would show itself again soon.

Again Vandread cast his senses into another world. There would be plenty of time to plot the spirit's pursuit come the day once its power waned.

Miaka woke up bright and early to make it to school ahead of time, not appreciating until recently how demanding super heroics were on a person's time. She got dressed and went downstairs, where her mom was slaving over a hot pan and watching the small TV set in the kitchen at the same time.

"Ohayo, Mom," Miaka said, opening the refrigerator and searching for the milk.

"Ohayo, sweetheart. Since when did you start getting up an hour before you leave for school?"

"When I realized how big an effect school's going to have on my future."

"Well, Miss Early-Bird, eat your breakfast and then finishing get ready. I have to go, or I'll miss the train to work. Your father's bringing dinner home," Mrs. Kanzuki said, switching off the TV just as a news story about a man's disappearance came on. She kissed her daughter on the cheek, grabbed her briefcase and walked out the door.

Miaka tipped the French toast her mother had been making onto a plate and sat down at the kitchen table. She wolfed down her breakfast and put the dishes in the sink before going upstairs to pack her books and comb her hair before heading off to school. She wondered idly about the news report she'd almost seen, something about a man on a train, as she brushed her teeth, then descended the stairs and shut the door of the house behind her.

Almost the instant she was outside, Miaka noticed something strange.

Nothing glaringly obvious. No slavering monster was waiting outside to gobble her up, no alien robot perched on a streetlight opened fire with its laser gun as she stepped outside. But Miaka could sense something uneasy in the people that walked by, something in the abrupt stops and starts of the cars in the street, something that added a slightly malicious sound to the inner-city wind, something that made her a little nervous.

And as she walked to school, Miaka thought she certainly had cause to be, at least a little. Who wasn't to say there wasn't a malign presence stalking her? She was certainly in a position where it wouldn't be unusual, but Miaka pushed those thoughts from her mind and hurried along. She could deal with that when the time came, and she was trying to get back into her normal groove.

After a while Miaka forgot about the unease she'd felt in the morning. There was the same first bell, the same boring classes about things she'd never need to know, and finally the same bell for lunch break she'd been taking for granted until her time had become a lot more precious.

"Hey, Miaka! Over here!" Noremi waved a hand at her friend from the far side of the classroom, where she and a group of their friends were gossiping over lunch. Miaka found herself hesitating for a second before answering the summons. For some reason Miaka felt oddly distant to them, her friends, many she'd had for years. But she shook it off and walked over to the cluster of desks they were eating their lunches around.

"Something wrong, girl?" Noremi asked as Miaka pulled up a chair. Miaka shook her head, but she knew Noremi didn't believe her.

"What's going on?" Miaka asked.

"Not much," one of the other girls replied, "Did you hear Daisuke just broke up with Etsuko??"

"Are you kidding?" Noremi asked scandalized. "They only started going together last week!"

"I know, but I tried to talk to her this morning and she was in tears! How do you explain that?"

"Then it must be true," another of the girls said.

"Miaka? Have you heard any juicy stories lately? Come on, spill, girl."

"Huh? Me? No, sorry."

"I bet she's heard something about that new sentai," Noremi said with a teasing grin on her face.

"No, really, I haven't. Nothing that wasn't on the news…"

"Well I'll tell you something I heard," a girl named Akane spoke up. "I heard that the northern haunting started again."

"Well, naturally, it's that time of year," Noremi replied, but Miaka thought she could see her friend shiver for a second.

Everyone who had been a kid in the last ten years knew about the northern haunting. Supposedly sixteen years before, a man had met some kind of gruesome end there, and for a week in summer every year since he had haunted the site of his death snatching up innocent people, who were never seen again.

"Scary," Miaka said, "Wonder if he'll get anybody this year."

"Oh, come on, " Mitsuko cut in, tossing her long black hair out, "that's just a story some kids made up to scare each other."

"I don't know about that," Miaka said, "We have superheroes and monsters every year. What's wrong with ghosts?"

"She's right, Mitsuko," Akane added, "It said on the news that last night in that part of the city some guy disappeared right off a train. One second he was there, then he was gone!"

Mitsuko made a "humph" noise. "Well I still don't believe it. Even if there are such thing as superheroes and monsters, that doesn't make everything else you hear to be real."

With that the gossip session died down and the girls silently took part in their lunches. Miaka chewed her food without thinking much about what was in her mouth. The line between fantasy and fact had become forever blurred when the first monster appeared in Japan and the first hero arose to fight it, but Miaka had never really thought about all the ramifications living in a such world could have, much less being part of the conflict.

Who was to say that there wasn't a ghost haunting the city? Surely Japan had seen stranger things than that in the last three decades, and was going to see many times more. Who could say what was just a harmless ghost story and what was a true account of a harmful presence with powers far beyond humanity, what to listen to and what to ignore when one was tasked with stemming the rise of evil?

As the bell rang and the students scurried back to the seats, Miaka realized that even she had a few things to learn about being a part of the war between good and evil.

In the middle of the day, passersby were startled as the doors to Vandread's quarters opened and he stepped forth. The pedestrians quickly averted their eyes and walked on, trying to pretend that they didn't notice the powerful presence in their midst. But Vandread knew well how the people of Garganstah regarded him.

That didn't matter, though. What mattered was tracking down that spirit he'd detected in the night. And with that thought in mind, Vandread set off down the corridors toward Brannoch's audience chambers.

It would've been a parlor trick for Vandread to transport his physical casing through space with his powers, but he had some thinking he wanted to do on the way, and maybe he could scare the populace into being aware of his might some more while he was at it.

Vandread was a handsome Garganstah man, with especially dark blue skin and sculpted features. Though a devotee of the mystic arts, he had never lost the athletic muscles of his youth, but the dark purple hair that hung to his neck, unusual even for a Garganstah, and coal-colored armor, to say nothing of the crystal sphere-tipped staff he carried everywhere, suggested something otherworldly about him, even to those who didn't know him as the Baron of sorcery. And, most of all, just like his Emperor, Vandread's very presence bespoke an awesome dormant power simply waiting to be unleashed. But, unlike Brannoch, his intentions for that power were unclear…

As he walked Vandread thought about the spirit. It could be most useful, and what he had in mind would make it even more potent than he had detected. But he would need Brannoch's permission to make it possible.

More people turned and desperately ignored Vandread as they saw him walk by, and he replied in kind. They feared him because they didn't know him as a conquering hero like Sharaki, or one whose adeptness at science had solved countless many of their woes like Gammaraude. But he didn't care. The Empire would've been nowhere without his contributions to their conquests.

Within minutes Vandread was outside of the Chamber of State where Brannoch had begun holding his meetings with his subjects after getting settled into the Death Gar. The guards unsoldered their pikes and bowed to him as he approached.

"Baron Vandread, what is your business?" one asked.

"I wish to discuss the matter of retaking the planet from the humans with the Emperor. I believe I know a way."

"The Emperor will want to hear about that," the guard replied, and nodded to the other, who walked over and began to pull one of the large doors open. Vandread waited for no further invitation, and entered.

The Chamber of State was a strange place. Brannoch favored an odd lighting arrangement in the room; two lamps of a glowing element from one of Garganstah's many conquered territories hung high on the rear wall, projecting beams of soft light that were refracted all over the room by the faceted tiles on the floor of the room. It lent the stately room a ghostly quality, a quality someone like Vandread could easily appreciate.

The minister of labor was talking to Brannoch about allocating more workers to getting the fortress's defenses back in shape when Vandread came in. When the Emperor saw that he had another guest, however, and one of his Barons, at that, he interrupted the labor minister as cordially as he could.

"Pardon me, minister, but it would appear that one of my Barons has something to tell me. Would you wait outside for a moment while he and I talk?"

"Of course, sire," the minister replied with a bow before walking out of the room. The guards shut the door behind him with a hollow boom.

Brannoch squinted at Vandread with his good eye. "What brings you to my presence, Vandread? Something to rid us of our enemies, I trust."

"After a fashion, Milord," Vandread replied smoothly, "I sensed an ethereal being of considerable power I believe I can tame, but I will need the assistance of a particular Animated Warrior to do so."

Brannoch said nothing for a moment. He was just as wary as his people about Vandread's true nature. Yes, the Baron had proven his worth numerous times with his considerable magic gifts. But he was so secretive, sometimes locking himself away for days on end doing who knew what. That wasn't a trait Brannoch liked in his most powerful servants.

But then again, that was the way sorcerers were, guarded in their ways and secrets to the uninitiated. And perhaps it would take a bit of stealth and deception to succeed where direct action and brute force had failed them already.

But thousands of years of ruling had not made Brannoch senile. He wanted more information before he handed this delicate task over to a man he didn't entirely trust. "And just what sort of Animated Warrior do you require for this?"

"A being that can merge and multiply a spirit's power. I have just the creature in mind, and with your permission I will have it created and sent out at once," Vandread replied.

"Very well, Vandread. Collect your warrior, and if you defeat the Guardrangers once and for all, you will be justly rewarded."

"Service to my Empire is all the reward I need," Vandread said with a bow.

"As it should," Brannoch replied, narrowing his eye as if he didn't quite believe his Baron's honeyed words. "May Fate guide your hand, Vandread. I expect good news."

Vandread bowed and left wordlessly. A quick rap on the doors with his staff got the guards to open it, and the labor minister was admitted back in as Vandread walked down the hall toward the warrior workship. The guards let out sighs of relief as soon as they thought he was out of earshot, but though Vandread did more than hear them, he ignored them and continued on his way. Soon all of Garganstah would learn the proper respect for the Baron of the Black Arts.

Far below, it was a slow day at the Golden Bushel. The cooks didn't need Ryuji's help to fill the day's orders, so he was left with a lot of time to brood in the office over something that had been bothering him since the last Garganstah attack. Nothing interrupted him while he pretended to go over a little paper work until the cook who'd been working the front suddenly entered.

"Yo, Ryuji, there's some schoolgirl out front who says she wants to talk to you."

"Nani? Okay, arigato. I'll be out there in a second," Ryuji said. The cook nodded and returned to work. A schoolgirl who wanted to talk to him? He'd had something so heavy on his mind that it didn't hit him who it probably was until he entered the front.

There was Miaka, sipping a soft drink at the counter.

"I hope you bought that here," Ryuji chided with an instinctive good nature.

"So you're not happy being my leader, now you want to be my father," she replied with a smirk.

Ryuji grinned. "Kinda like that. So what brings you to my humble establishment?"

"Well…I heard this story at school today…," she began.

Ryuji blinked in surprise. "Miaka, not that I don't appreciate you coming all this way to see me, but isn't this the kinda thing you talk to you school friends about?"

"No, no, no…it's got to do with…you know what."

Suddenly Ryuji's face became serious, but he said nothing. Instead, Miaka felt a tingle in her mind.

Do we have to deal with this right now? Ryuji's voice said, coming not from his mouth, but his soul.

No, it's nothing you have to run out the door over, Miaka replied, but I think you need to hear about it.

Okay. I'm going back to my office, Miaka. I want you to finish up your soda, then leave and go home. Tell me about it through the bond on the way, understand?

Hai. Arigato, Ryuji.

With that Miaka took a long swallow, tossed the bottle into a trash can and walked out the door of the Golden Bushel into the bustling Tokyo street. Ryuji walked into his office, shut the door and took a seat at his desk. The worries that had been plaguing his mind were swept aside with this news of a crisis.

I'm ready, Miaka. Go ahead.

Well, it's like this…at school today I heard that this ghost had started haunting someplace up north again. Have you ever heard about that?

Yeah, but it's just superstition.

I'm not so sure. Last night some guy was coming home from work one of the trains in the distract, and then all of a sudden, he's gone. Just disappeared right off the train. I checked the news on the internet today; it really happened.

Miaka could sense a thoughtful pause as she walked along. After a moment, Ryuji's response came.

All right, Miaka. I promise to keep an eye out for anything else weird happening out there if you're really worried something's wrong.

Arigato, Ryuji! I better get going, I was supposed to be home an hour ago…She sensed the serious demeanor of Ryuji's mental contact suddenly come down, to be replaced by a feeling that was much more playful.

Right. Can't save the world if you're grounded. I'll be in touch, kiddo.

Exactly. Sayonara. Then Miaka closed the connection.

Ryuji was not yet done, though, and did not shut himself off. Bes, did you hear all that?

I did, Fireguard. I am always in contact with the bond between the six of us. I trust you would like for me to observe that part of the city for any peculiar happenings?

If it's not too much trouble.

Of course not, Fireguard, the old wizard replied, It is my duty to assist you, after all.

Arigato, Bes, Ryuji replied, then shut the link.

He couldn't help thinking about how instinctively he had changed modes just then, becoming all business when Miaka revealed she had a problem, then switching to his old laidback self when she made that sheepish remark. Maybe his dilemma was more serious than he thought.

Kisama…maybe Jase was right after all…Jason had made himself scarce for some reason lately and he had barely said a word to Ryuji in the past three days. Definitely not typical behavior for him.

Ryuji sighed, glad no one was around to hear him. He wondered how the other sentai leaders made it look so easy. Or was he the only one who was forced to change to deal with his duties?

The sun began to lower from the sky once again, lighting up the concrete canyons of Tokyo. The stifling heat of early summer mercifully began to drop off as night approached, and many people began to relax as the working day neared its end. For others, night was the time when things began to happen.

Ryuji was locking up the Golden Bushel for the night. Thanks to the slow day he didn't need to wait for anyone to finish up before closing. He was wondering if he should call Jason, and try to straighten things out between them--really straighten things out this time, but he was also thinking about heading out to be on hand if anything strange happened like Miaka was worried about. He also thought about just calling it a night and counting on Beservor to let him know if anything happened. Like the wizard had said, that kind of thing was his job.

"Ryuji-san?" someone asked all of a sudden. Ryuji whirled around, and there beside him in the street was Keitaro, the youngest of his chefs.

"Yo, Keitaro." Ryuji graced him with a smile.

"Ryuji…Daijoubu? Something going on with you, boss?" Keitaro asked, his right eyebrow quirked up questioningly.

"Nah, I'm okay," Ryuji replied. Keitaro was terribly shy at times, but a nice kid, a hard worker, and Ryuji didn't want to dump his problems on his employee. Besides, how could he explain what was bothering him?

Like many of the people Ryuji knew, however, Keitaro could see through a flimsy lie like that. "Are you sure? I mean, if you need to talk to somebody--"

Ryuji reached out and ruffled Keitaro's hair in a big-brother fashion. "I appreciate the concern, Keitaro, but I have to figure this out myself, okay?"

"Okay, boss. Just…let me know if you change your mind." With that Keitaro turned and started the walk home. Ryuji did the same.

It was unusual for him to make the considerable walk to his apartment--usually he caught a train or a bus--but tonight he wanted to do some thinking, and he did his best thinking while he was doing some physical activity. Ryuji's thoughts were on what a mess he felt like as he made the trek home. It was as if two people were wrestling for control in his mind lately, and he had no idea which he should let reign. He wanted to maintain his relations with the people like Jason who had been in his life long before the revelation, but he knew that being the lead Guardranger was a job that demanded respect and seriousness. What was it to be? Or was there another solution?

His hallway was dead when he got home and fished into his pocket for his keys. No one was around, except for an apartment down the hall where the door was open and he could hear the sounds of late night TV coming from it. That was certainly strange, because Ryuji knew the woman who lived in that apartment, and she never stayed up so late.

"Mrs. Aoi? Are you still up?" Ryuji asked as he peered into her apartment. The lights were all off, the only illumination coming from the television screen. Ryuji feared the worst for a second, that someone had broken in and he had arrived too late to do anything about it, but nothing appeared to be out of place. Especially when the elderly woman seated in front of the television turned to face him and gave him a tired sort of smile.

"Good evening, Ryuji. Where've you been?"

"Oh geez…gomen, Mrs. Aoi, I forgot. I had a lot on my mind today," Ryuji gushed apologetically as he remembered he had promised to cook supper for her that night, as he had countless nights before.

"I understand, but you had me worried, young man. You've never forgotten before."

"Yeah. I've just got a lot of stuff rolling around loose in my head lately."

Mrs. Aoi pointed to a chair next to hers, "Oh? What's been going on in your life to make you so out of touch?"

Ryuji wondered what he should say as he took a seat where she indicated. If he couldn't tell one of his chefs he couldn't tell the old lady who lived down the hall. But he wasn't surprised that she was concerned about him. Her husband had died more than twenty years before, and her daughter about twelve. The nice young man down the hall was the only one who paid her much attention anymore. He couldn't blame her for getting attached.

"Well, Mrs. Aoi, I've gotten some new responsibilities in my life recently, and my best friend thinks that it's changing me. And he's not sure if it's for the better."

The elderly woman looked at him hard. "Is your friend the only one with an opinion about it?"

"No, ma'am. I know this other person who likes the idea that I'm changing."

"And what do you think of these changes?" Mrs. Aoi asked, with an unmistakable maternal edge.

"Honestly, ma'am, if I knew, this wouldn't be bothering me so much."

"Fair point," she said, leaning back in her seat and staring thoughtfully into space.

"I'm sure it'll be okay, ma'am. I just need to think it over a little more," Ryuji said. Now that he knew she was fine he wanted to just climb into bed and forget about his problems for a few solid hours, and a night of blissful sleep seemed to be the perfect solution.
Mrs. Aoi looked at him for a long minute, then said, "All right, dear. I hope the heat doesn't get in the way you sleeping well. But come and talk to me if this keeps bothering you, understand?"

"I sure do, ma'am. Good night," Ryuji said as he left her apartment and closed the door behind him. He was fishing his keys out of his pocket as he felt it.

Guardrangers, I have detected a powerful malignant presence. I will direct you all to wind tunnels at once.

Ryuji sighed, even though he'd asked Beservor to keep surveillance. He jogged to the elevator and hit the down button. Sleep would have to do without his companionship for a while longer.

Tokyo sprawled beneath him, glowing with millions of lights and echoing with the sounds of car horns and other urban traffic, but all of it meant nothing to him. He sensed the area below, trying to find just the right soul, who was just a little too happy or content. Finally he picked something up, two young women, energetically chatting with each other with large smiles on their faces, about to board a bus on a relatively quiet street. They'd probably just gotten off work and were on the way home. They were talking back and forth about a double date they had planned for the weekend as they got on and found seats next to each other, and he knew he had found his target. He began to swoop down on the bus like a hawk, but suddenly a dark humanoid shape, like a featureless living shadow, got in his way.

"Hold, spirit. I would have words with you," the shape said, floating in mid-air as easily as he did.

"Yeah, right. Get the hell outta my way, man," the angry ghost snapped, not seeming to find anything odd about encountering a being who could defy gravity or see him before he had let himself be seen by mortal eyes.

"I've no intention of doing that; not until you've heard my offer, Gokuya Ikaru," the figure said.

The spirit drew back. It had been so long since he heard his name, he didn't recognize it for a second. "What do you want?" he asked guardedly, fixing the other with his baleful red eyes.

"You are only able to manifest yourself for one week every year, and then only at night. Is that not correct?"

"What if it is?" Ikaru growled. He didn't like this strange being who clearly knew so much about him, "I don't see how my life--or after life or whatever--is any concern of yours."

"I already know that it is. But I am here because, if you would be willing to assist me, I could change that."

Ikaru snarled and cast a beam of power at the dark shape. What kind of fool dared to waste the time of a powerful spectral creature like him? But suddenly the shape unslung a long staff from his shoulder and sucked the beam into it without a trace.

"You're strong for a ghost, but don't delude yourself thinking you're a match for the likes of me," the shape said in a cold, menacing tone.

Anger welled up inside Ikaru. "Don't delude yourself into thinking I can't teach you a lesson, whoever you are."

"I see being dead hasn't done anything for your common sense," The intruder said coolly, "If indeed you had any to begin with. But I'm not here to discuss that."

"No? Then what do you want?" the ghost snarled.

"To offer you a unique opportunity, as I said. Are you interested?"

Ikaru narrowed his eyes. "What kind of opportunity…?"

Most others wouldn't have seen anything out of place in the Tokyo night sky, but Ryuji wasn't just anyone. He could detect a strong field of malevolence hovering in the sky almost directly above him, and as he looked up could barely make out three dark shapes amidst the lights and skyscrapers.

I'm here, Bes, and I can feel them. Where's everyone else?

Waterguard and Airguard are on their way, Earthguard and Forestguard are occupied somewhere. Apparently their duties at work have detained them. I'm afraid you may have to take care of them by yourself for the moment.

"Great," Ryuji muttered, but didn't hesitate. Stepping out of the crowded street and into the space between two buildings, raised his arm to his face.

"FIRE…FOCUS!" At once his power began to rise again, engulfing his body in his crimson uniform and mask. With a stealth that would've been the envy of the finest cat burglar, Fireguard tensed himself and then jumped straight up. He sailed up onto the ledge of a building below where the dark shapes hovered. He wondered what he should do to get their attention, and if that was wise all on his own, but Fireguard really needn't have worried.

They noticed him without him having to lift a finger.

The figures suddenly vanished, then reappeared before his eyes. "Well, Gokuya, it appears you can start sooner than I expected," one said, fixing Fireguard with a pair of hateful eyes. Not as hateful as the ones belonging to the flickering figure to his left, though.

"I've never killed a hero before…I wonder what it's like," the figure to the left mused. It was a ghost, to be sure. Pale and insubstantial, made of what looked like white flame, and with Hellish red eyes staring deep into Fireguard's own.

"Sorry to say, I'm not the one you're gonna be finding that out from, pal," Fireguard said, trying to make himself believe it.

"We'll soon see, Guardranger," the first figure said. He drifted to the roof and then brandished his staff at the third figure, "Revenantia, show our friend what you can do."

The last figured float toward Fireguard, and he guessed that it was another of Garganstah's Animated Warriors. She looked like a frost-white mannequin, with a smiling face that resembled a Noh mask. "Foo…" Revenantia said in a gentle, innocent voice, then waved her hand at his face and skeletal arms shot out of the concrete and grabbed Fireguard's legs.

"Nandatto--?!"

"The beginning of your end, my friend," the first figure said. He leveled his staff at Fireguard's chest and a blast of dark light issued forth at the vermilion hero.

"DRAGON STEEL!" Fireguard yelled and with a vertical blast of flame his sword was in his hand. With one swing of the mighty blade he smashed the arms to pieces and flipped away from the incoming blast. "Nice shot. Your Silicons could've come closer to hitting me than that."

Vandread chuckled. "Ah, you mortals and your one-sided mentality. Who said I was trying to hit you? I just wanted to keep you busy."

"Nani?" Fireguard whirled around, justly sensing trouble from that response, and saw the ghost floating behind him. The evil apparition's eyes began to glow a harsher red, and their surroundings started to blur. The ghost laughed. Fireguard could tell he was being sent somewhere, but could tell just as clearly that he didn't intend to go.

"DRAGON HELLBURST SLASH!" Fireguard's sword flashed with fiery energy, and with a massive sweeping cut he slashed through the ghost with it. Ikaru screamed and the world around regained its shape and form. And Fireguard hurled himself over the side of the building. "C'mon, Ecto-Boy! Catch me if you can!"

"Why that slimy--" Ikaru spat, "I'll show him what torture is!"

"You'll do nothing of the kind!" Vandread railed at him, "It's that kind of thinking that condemned you to your miserable existence in the first place. If you want to free yourself you'll do as I say, when I say!"

Fireguard landed deftly and scurried back into the street. At once he started to draw stares, a few people even started to hurry for cover at the sight of him. Even more so after he said what he did then, "Miina! Hayakuu! There's a monster right behind me!" Screams of terror answered his warning, and as those who heard fled, those who saw began to flee also. But Fireguard paid no attention to them. He channeled his concentration into the bond, sending out a short message.

Guys? Is anybody hearing this? I've got Garg stooges breathing down my neck! A moment later, replies came.

Yeah, I see ya, man, Jason's mental voice came back, I'm gonna get off the street and change in a sec! Hang tight!

Likewise, Miaka echoed a second later, will you be okay until then, boss?

Yeah, I'll keep them busy, but hurry up, guys! There's three of them and they're none of 'em glad to see me right now!

How right he was. Ikaru appeared a moment later, his eyes glowing brighter than ever. Behind him hovered the figure who had commanded the others, and in the light of the streets Fireguard could see the blue skin that marked him as a Garganstah. And then came the last being, Revenantia, that unnatural smile still affixed to her face. Fireguard brandished his sword and made ready to meet their attack.

"Oh, the mighty warrior has a sword, let's look out, shall we?" the Garganstah spoke with a mocking twang. But Fireguard didn't let it faze him.

"Trust me, this is all the backup I need to kick your butt. Come here and I'll give you a free sample!"

"Bold to the last, Guardranger. Come then! Come and know the power of the Baron of the Black Arts!" Vandread replied contemptuously. Fireguard swung with all his might at Vandread's torso, but the Baron's staff lashed out and blocked the blade on its edge. The crystal built into the base flared to life and before Fireguard could even register what was happening, coils of bruise-purple force lashed out of it and wrenched the Dragon Steel from his grip and lodged its blade into the sphere on Vandread's staff. Revenantia blew a kiss toward their now unarmed opponent, but it became a fiery screaming demon's face in flight. It exploded as it hit Fireguard and he went down. "Well…it seems legends are clearly overrated in your case, boy. Is this all you can do against me?"

"No, this is!" An arrow whistled through the air toward Vandread's head. But he simply scowled at it and the deadly projectile shattered before it was even close to him. From out of nowhere Airguard jumped, firing her bow again, but Vandread did more than destroy her arrow this time. He concentrated, and it turned around and flew right back toward its source. She shouted in pain as it clipped her, but Waterguard rushed out of hiding and caught her as she fell.

"Foolish children," Vandread scoffed, "Revenantia, take care of them. I'll handle their red friend here."

"Foo…" Revenantia replied as she floated over toward Airguard. Vandread lifted his staff to smash the still-stunned Fireguard, but Ikaru got in the way.

"I want this boy scout so bad I can taste it, Vandread. Where was this bastard when I was in trouble--when I was still alive?? I'm gonna drink his goddamned blood!"

"You'll do nothing without my leave, Ikaru. If you ever want to be freed of your curse, do as I bid you!" Vandread said.

"It's just one guy, man! Why're so you're so worried about him?"

"I guess you don't know just how strong just one guy is." In a flash Fireguard had reached up, seized Vandread's staff from the surprised Baron's hands and darted down the street with it.

"As if a master of magic such as myself could be separated from the focus of his power so easily," Vandread scoffed, then snapped his fingers and melted away, only to reappear an instant later right in front of Fireguard. "Pulling juvenile tricks? Is that the strength of one? It's no match for a Baron of Garganstah, boy."

"Oh yeah? Who's the one without his weapon?"

Vandread hissed a word in a language Fireguard couldn't identify and the staff started to trembled in his grip. He wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the Dragon Steel, and held on for all he was worth when the staff rocketed into Vandread's hand a second later. But Fireguard's grip was strong, and the Dragon Steel remained in his grasp as the staff pulled free.

"Clever, Ranger. But something tells me that luck won't serve you so well a second time," Vandread said as Ikaru's sneering face loomed over Fireguard's shoulder.

"Foo…" Revenantia said distantly as she floated between Water and Airguard, looking as if she didn't even notice them. Airguard swiped at the monster with her bow like a sword, slicing into Revenantia's arm. She expected a cry of pain, for Revenantia to jerk away or even blast her into the sky. But that carefree smile stayed on the monster's face. "Foo…" Revenantia said again, but with a hint of force behind it this time. She suddenly lashed out with one hand, grabbing Airguard by the mask.

"Nani?" Airguard began. But suddenly Revenantia's grasping hand grew and surrounded her head, then detached and solidified into a block of thick white…something. A new hand appeared on Revenantia's arm, and she wafted backward with a gentle "Foo…" escaping her lips.

Airguard stumbled around, trying desperately to free her head. "Hold on, kid! I'm coming!" Waterguard shouted, but as he ran to aid his teammate Revenantia's expression shifted, a devilish glare appearing in her painted-on eyes.

"Foo!" Even as Waterguard lunged at Revenantia with his Orca Brand held steady, she thrust her palm at his face. He was expecting Revenantia to try to trap him as she had his teammate, but the joke was on him. Revenantia grabbed his mask but as she did, she flexed her power and summoned up a terrifying image in Waterguard's eyes. A hideous creature, forming from mist and striding toward him. He recognized it at once. Drallion, the only monster who'd ever contested his command of the water.

"No way…! Dude…you're supposed to be dead!" Waterguard yelled in disbelief, a cold wave of dread caused by Revenantia's influence filling up in his stomach.

"Serves you right for not making sure then, doesn't it?" Drallion laughed, then attacked.

Revenantia's smile became devilish as she seized a Waterguard paralyzed by fear by the neck and hurled him down the street. But Waterguard saw Drallion, his mighty tentacles wrapping around his body and bashing him mercilessly against the ground. As she drove her talons into his neck, he saw Drallion biting with his fierce beak. And as Revenantia brought up her fist to entomb Waterguard from head to toe like she had with Airguard, Waterguard saw Drallion leveling his tentacles to shoot his ink.

Airguard struggled. Her vision began to darken and a feeling of lightheadedness took over with no oxygen getting in, but she wouldn't let her team, or herself, go down to defeat. She gathered all the air left in her lungs, and sang out.

"HAWK DIRGE!" The block surrounding her head shattered, and she took in breath in ragged gasps. The monster would pay for that! And she didn't have to look far. Revenantia had Waterguard in her grip, about to deliver a lethal blow, but not if the Ranger of Air had anything to say about it.

With a practiced ease Miaka didn't have, Airguard leveled her bow at Revenantia's back.

"HAWK SOUL SNIPER!" she called and let an arrow fly with all her strength. Revenantia had no idea what hit her in the next second as the arrow exploded against her back with a terrific backlash of wind and white light, sending her reeling head over heels through the air and knocking Waterguard to relative safety on the ground.

"Oh man, what happened…? I thought I saw Drallion again…"

"The only thing I saw was that Noh mask reject trying to fit me for a hat I didn't need. Daijoubu?"

"Yeah, where's Ryuji?"

Battling the other two malcontents, was the answer. Vandread swung his staff at the hero's head, only for it to be deflected with a sweep of his Dragon Steel. Ikaru extended his arms to catch Fireguard in his deathly-cold embrace, but with an enviable spin and thrust Fireguard drove his Dragon Steel deep into the ghost's body. Ikaru screamed and drew back. Vandread cast a spell and the ground under Fireguard's began to crack, but with an acrobatic leap he jumped out of the way before it collapsed into a bottomless abyss.

"Is that all you guys got?" Fireguard challenged as he stood between the two of them, sword raised to resume battle at a moment's notice.

Ikaru bellowed with frustration. "I'll show you what I've got, boy scout!" His eyes flared up to the darkest red Fireguard had ever seen, and his surroundings began to ripple.

"Stop, you dolt! Stop, I say!" Vandread roared, but the die had been cast. Fireguard ran, to attack, to stop whatever Ikaru was doing again. Fireguard felt like he was being twisted inside out, then fading from where he was. In an instant he was gone.

"Hah! That'll teach him to mess with a ghost…" Ikaru huffed, a sneer of triumph on his face.

"Fool…"

"Nandatto?" Ikaru whirled around, but stopped short when he saw the bright red light thrumming in Vandread's eyes.

"Fool. That's what I said, and that's precisely what you are, you half-witted, undead imbecile!!!" Vandread spit at him. "I told you we needed him, and you just cast him into the pit itself!"

Ikaru was, of course, by now, thoroughly confused. "What's the big deal, man? One less good guy in your way."

"You're a creature of the Underworld and yet your ignorance of it is astounding! By the Seven Demons, how your wretched race managed to keep dominion over the Earth for this long, I'll never know! But perhaps we can still salvage something useful from this operation…Revenantia! Come!"

"Foo…" his creation replied as she hovered to his side.

"What about those guys?" Ikaru demanded.

"If you do as I say, we'll have the forces to conquer two thousand heroes. But know this, mortal…" Vandread snarled in a tone that meant he would brook no further insubordination, "defy me again, and your fate will be far worse than the one I have in mind for the Guardrangers. Now come. We've a strategy to prepare."

Ikaru grunted and the three of them flickered and vanished.

"Fireguard?" Airguard called out as they rounded the bend.

"Dude! You here?" Waterguard called. Silence was the reply.

"Oh no…do you think they got him???"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's not go there, kiddo. Fireguard's a lot of things, but a wuss and a pushover, aren't two of 'em," Waterguard replied. But despite his words, he was feeling a little nervous himself. Instantly both tried to reach out to Fireguard with their bond, but felt only each other nearby.

"I've got a really bad feeling about this…where are you, bro?"

Falling…he could tell he was falling. Toward a distant point of red light. And his skin was tingling through his armor. But Fireguard's mind was on the falling. It seemed to take forever, and for some reason reminded him vaguely of a scene from a big-screen comedy Jason had taken him to once.

Of course, there was nothing comical about any of this. A fact that was making itself clearer by the second as the red light below him got bigger, closer, and the tingling over his body intensified. A second later Fireguard could make out that it was a gaping pit of molten lava, with craggy shelves and pillars of blackened stone protruding up and out of the lava and from the sides of the huge cliff. He was heading toward one near the outer rim, and he held his breath as he hit with a crash.

"Last time I try that," Fireguard moaned to himself as he got up. Suddenly the tingling he'd been feeling got even stronger, and an instant later his armor shattered off his body.

"Nandatto??" Ryuji sat upright to get his bearings….

…and instantly wished he hadn't.

The scene around him looked like it'd been ripped straight out of a childhood nightmare. He stood on the edge of the lava pool he'd seen while he was falling. The heat was stifling and oppressive; so much so that Ryuji couldn't take a decent breath without his lungs feeling like they'd spontaneously combust. Jets of flame sprang up out of the ground almost constantly, licking against spears of sharp, jagged rock jutting up from the violated ground below.

But what unnerved him was the screaming. Terrorized wails and cries of people in unimaginable pain and torment thundered against his ears. Sweat rolled down Ryuji's forehead and dampened his red shirt. His blue jeans were torn in a few spots, exposing his legs to the infernal heat. His white and red sneakers were the only part of his clothing that was still intact.

He looked at his Guardbrace only to see the gentle glow of its red stone fade and die. Ryuji swallowed hard, a wave of fear beginning to rise in the pit of his belly. He reached behind him without thinking and grabbed at a shaft of rock sticking up out of the ground. It was razor sharp and hot, digging deep into the palm of his hand.

"AGGH!" Ryuji cried out in pain and jerked his hand away cradling it to his chest. Then he stared down at it reluctantly to assess the damage. The gash was deep and the flow of blood over his fingers was immediate. The heat from the stone had cauterized it somewhat, but the wound was already beginning to throb with pain.

"Kisama!" he cursed angrily. Ryuji climbed to his feet, clutching his injured hand. But as he did, a storm of furious voices, none of them even remotely human-sounding, came from below. He gazed over the edge, and gasped.

In the firepit below were a clamoring, slavering horde of monstrous figures, shouting the insults at him. "Well…look who's deigned to come and visit us!" one called mockingly.

"Why don't you come down and say hello, hero?" another one laughed, scooping a handful of lava and flinging it up at him. Ryuji darted back and the fiery projectile missed.

"Shy, huh? We'll take care of that," another sneered as he began clawing up the wall toward Ryuji.

Oh, man…not good…not good at all. I gotta put some distance between me and these guys before they get the urge to come up here and shake hands! With a speed he didn't think he was capable of, Ryuji turned and ran into the darkness.

"Hey, he's runnin' away!"

"After him! We'll wear his teeth for a string of pearls!"

Ryuji had no intention of leaving his teeth or any other part of his anatomy to their not-so-tender mercies. He ran into a maze of stalagmites and hid behind one as quickly as he could.

"Where did he go?" one voice demanded over the din of many others.

"That way!" another responded, and the sound of their yelling disappeared into the distance.

"Kisama…that was close," Ryuji whispered, his hand beginning to throb again since the adrenaline rush had worn off and he had the luxury of feeling pain. He thought for a moment about what he had just been through; the monsters, his powers shutting down suddenly, the firepit, the screaming...they all left him with one burning question:

"Where am I?"

"What the hell did they do to him?"

"If I knew, Waterguard, I would tell you," the ancient psychic voice of Beservor intoned, "I have not been able to sense Fireguard's presence anywhere on the islands since your battle."

The team had gathered at the Earth Sanctum to plan their next move. But with nothing to go on, it wasn't easy. Naoko yawned tried to straighten her tangled hair without the benefit of a mirror and a hairbrush. Tochiro was still blinking sleep from his eyes. But both of them looked ready to pitch in as soon as there was something they could pitch in to.

"We gotta figure this out, you guys. Ryu's dead if we don't," Jason said.

"Then let us review the events that culminated in Fireguard's disappearance," Beservor advised. "What happened when the two of you got there?"

"Three guys were fighting with Ryu. There was a Garg, and two monsters. One of 'em looked like a mannequin, and the other one looked like…a ghost?"

"You don't sound sure," Naoko chimed in.

"I'm not," Jason replied, "That mannequin monster started fighting us right then and that was the last I saw of Ryu and the other guys."

"A ghost…" Miaka muttered.

"Can you describe this Garganstah?" Beservor asked. "My viewpoint of the battle was interfered with by his powers."

Jason scrunched his face up in thought. "Yeah, uh…blue-haired dude in armor with a funky-looking cape. Oh, and some kinda weird staff with a crystal thingamajig at the top of it.

"The Baron of the Black Arts, it must be," Beservor said solemnly.

"Another one? How many of these guys are there, Bes?" Tochiro asked.

"Garganstah has always divided its military into three sections, Forestguard; that of pure war, and the others of science and sorcery. If that was who you fought, I fear for more than Fireguard's life."

"Oh, man…why?" Jason asked, unable to hide his growing apprehension.

"Because I observed the battle as best I could, even though the combatants' powers seemed to be interfering with my scrying spell, and I thought I could sense some form of dimensional rupture occurring. There are thousands upon thousands of wicked realms into which a being with enough supernatural power could banish someone, and taking into account Garganstah's sentiments toward all of us, I believe this is precisely what became of Fireguard."

"Which one did it, though?" Miaka suddenly asked.

Beservor made a surprised sound, but replied, "The ghost-creature, I believe. The Baron seemed to be trying to stop him."

"But why recruit a ghost if he already had a monster to help him?" Naoko asked.

"That is a mystery unto itself, Earthguard. But if we solve it, Fireguard may yet be saved." "And I think I might know how," Miaka said, surprising everyone.

"What makes you so sure, kiddo?" Jason asked.

"I'll tell you later. Right now I need Bes to help me find something out…"

Vandread stood at the top of a Tokyo skyscraper, surveying the lights of the city below with his staff resting against his shoulder. Behind him hovered Ikaru and Revenantia.

"Look, man…gomenesai," said Ikaru, "I didn't know he was so important."

"If I thought you deserved the full measure of my wrath, mortal, I would've rid myself of you by now. But I suppose this is my fault for trusting a mortal, even a mortal's ghost, to be able to follow a Garganstah's instructions," Vandread responded without turning to face him. Ikaru was taken aback, but Vandread spun around. "But in any event, this is just a minor hindrance to my plan, nothing more. I may not be able to sacrifice the Soldier of the Inferno from where he is, but I can still use his presence there to complete my designs. It'll just take a little more effort."

"And then I get what I'm after."

"Of course. You're going to have to help me a little more than originally intended, though. Revenantia, would you please?"

"Nani?" Ikaru spluttered. He spun around to see Revenantia right behind him, the devilish smile on her face once again.

"Foo!" Before Ikaru could reach she thrust her hands into him. At once they began to enlarge and spread, engulfing his ghostly body and covering him in a ghost-shaped shell. Her work done, Revenantia reversed the process, and the ghost-shaped shell shrank into her palms. Vandread smiled.

Power surged across Revenantia's body. Small nodules appeared on her arms, shoulders and legs. A moment later they grew taller, sharper, and in seconds were spikes six inches long. Her body grew as well, wider, stronger. Fangs appeared in her grin. She was now a demon from the confines of the worst nightmare.

"I apologize for the deception, my friend, but I need your power to transport beings to Hell. Without being able to tap the lead Guardrangers' power to help open the portal, I need to make greater use of yours. Multiplied by merging with my Animated Warrior, soon that power will be able to bring creatures from Hell. After that, we'll see about your reward."

Ikaru could hear Vandread speaking, but it sounded to him as if he was stuck at the bottom of a well. And considering his predicament, it wasn't that different. Ikaru wanted to shout, to scream, to tell Vandread exactly what kind of back-stabbing scum he was, but his voice was trapped as well.

All he could do was listen to the sound of an affirmative "Foo…"

"Fire…Focus! Fire…Focus!" Ryuji collapsed. It was no good. Every time he tried to call his powers up all he got for his trouble was a very memorable shock that knocked him on his butt. Reluctantly he gave up and started looking for a way back without the protection of his powers.

This liability added to his caution as he explored the cave, though. A minute later he heard a moan come from above, and looked up in morbid curiosity. What he saw made his blood freeze in his veins. In a web of chains, hundreds, maybe thousands of people, many partially decomposed, hung from the ceiling. When they noticed his attention, all of them began to moan. The sound terrified Fireguard. A single thought entered his mind. To run, to escape, and he gave into it.

As he ran, a black, foggy shape whistled toward, a human face in it laughing at him echoingly as it went past. But this just made Ryuji go even faster. More of the wispy faces began to dance around Ryuji's head, laughing at him, but he waved his arms and dispersed them. Finally he stopped by the bank of a pool of lava to catch his breath. He heard a shout and turned toward it.

In the middle of the lava, unharmed by the heat, he saw Arbast, the fire-breathing monster that was the first one he and Hellscar had fought at giant size. Arbast loosed his flaming breath at another monster, who back with its enormous tongue. Another joined in as the two began to fight.

That answered the question of where he was. His stomach went cold inside.

"Kami-sama…" He whispered, suddenly feeling terribly alone. "Jigoku…I'm in Hell…"

Suddenly a hand dropped onto his shoulder. Ryuji yelped and grabbed the arm, whirling around to see what kind of Hell beast had snuck up on him, but was in for a surprise. There stood Jason.

"Jase?! What're you doin' here?"

"Takin' in the tourist attractions. Lookin' for you, dude, what else? You okay? I've been freaked out something awful since you faded out on us, man."

"Dude, I'm in Hell! How okay can I be???" Ryuji stopped himself, took a breath. "Gomen, Jase…ever since I got here, I've been chased by every kind of generic and brand-name monster I've ever seen. Not good for the nerves, I can tell you."

"Hey, no problem," Jason caught Ryuji in a half-hug. But it's all good, man, since we found a way outta this overgrown blast furnace."

"Jase, no offense, but this is Hell. You don't just hail a taxi and drive out."

"Dude, hello! Like I'd actually joke about something like that? I never thought being a superhero was changing you that much…"

Ryuji stopped. It was as if Jason had read his mind, and then yanked what he found to the front of Ryuji's thoughts. Was the responsibility of being Fireguard really driving Ryuji away from the fixtures of his previous life?

"You're right, man. Let's get outta here."

"That's what I wanted to hear. This way, dude." And with that Jason led him through the cavern. A minute of walking later, a blue light appeared around a corner. They rounded it, and a swirling blue vortex hovered in front of them.

"There it is, bro. Let's get going."

Ryuji caught Jason's arm. "Wait a minute, Jase. Where are the others?"

"They musta gone through already. Let's not keep 'em waiting."

"Sure, man." Ryuji stepped toward the vortex, but stopped. Something about it was wrong. It was too easy, that was what. If this portal really led back to Earth, why weren't the evil dead using it on a regular basis? "On second thought, I'm not so sure…"

"Why, dude? Don't tell me you're shopping for real estate down here now."

"This is all just a little too easy, getting out for Hell. Or into it, for that matter. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Bes found a way to send us here to look for you. For God's sake, man, what's up with all the suspicion?"

The stone on Ryuji's Guardbrace flared. "You're not Jason. What are you pulling?!" But he thought better than to wait for an answer. He just turned and ran.

"I can't believe you, Ryu! You're someone I don't know anymore!" Jason's cries were replaced by screams an instant later as a noisy, slavering beast sank its teeth into his flesh. That was what it sounded like, anyway.

It had been a trick. It had to have been a trick. But then why did he feel like he had let his best friend behind to be devoured by some kind of hell beast? Ryuji slumped next to a stalagmite. What if that really had been Jason, and what if he really had passed up a chance to escape? What if Jason was…

Ryuji's eyes welled up at the horrible thought, then drifted to his Guardbrace, and the glow had gone out. He buried his face in his hands and groaned.

"Kisama…what am I gonna do now? Am I stuck here?"

"Hai, Fireguard-san. As long as your mind is in conflict with itself."

"Nani yo?" Ryuji looked up and saw a shimmering figure standing before him, totally out of place in the most evil of realms. It was Riki. "Kingranger! Man, am I glad to see you! How do I get outta here??"

"You have to bring some good to this place, but you can't do that if your mind is in turmoil."

"I know, but--"
"Fireguard-san, losing your focus is one of the greatest mistakes one in your position can make. What good is all the power and skill in the world if your mind is not on the battle in which you fight? Youare letting the issue with Waterguard dominate your mind."

"Whoa, hold it. You saying I shouldn't care about my friends, my teammates? I haven't been able to talk to my best friend in days, because of what he must think of me now," Ryuji asked, feeling agitation starting to build up from Riki's words.

"Gomen, Fireguard-san. I didn't mean to imply you shouldn't. Of course your friend's position in your life is important. But everything in its time. You are the leader of the Guardrangers, you have duties to every person in the world, not just one. That must always come first. Especially if you ever plan on seeing Earth again. Afterwards, think of your personal concerns."

As he said that, Riki's image began to flicker and fade. "Fireguard-san, you must bring good to this place to escape it, but you cannot do that while your mind still contains conflict…"

A moment later the image was gone. "Wonder if he's gonna do that every time something bugs me…" Ryuji said, not that he was ungrateful for having someone around to set him back on track.

"Hey! There he is!" echoed a cry from not far away. It was the party of monsters that had chased him when he got there in the first place. Ryuji took off running again. The chase was on again.

If circumstances had been any different, Airguard wouldn't have been doing what she was planning. But a friend's life was at stake, and if there was any hope of saving him, she would not hesitate.

And she didn't.

Her urgent knocking on the door resounded down the mansion hallway, and she imagined she'd wake up a couple people she'd rather she hadn't. But all that mattered was getting the attention of the people in the apartment she was in front of now. The door swung violently open.

"Who's making all that infernal racket at this time of night?!" a weathered old voice bellowed from inside.

Several other doors began to open to see what was going on, and her comrades shifted uncomfortably behind her, but Airguard calmly replied, "Is this the Gokuya residence?"

"Are you out of your minds banging on my door at this Kami-forsaken hour?? Get out of here!" the old man yelled, and started to slam the door, but Miaka stuck out her hand and stopped it.

"Gomen, Gokuya-san, but we need to talk to you about Ikaru."

Some of the hostility left the old man's face and was replaced by something else. "Ikaru's dead."

"We know. That's the problem we need to talk about."

The old man hesitated, and whatever anger he had left seemed to drain out of him. "Maybe you better come in for a minute."

"Arigato gozaimasu," Airguard replied, and she and her brightly-clad entourage entered the apartment.

"I should've known it wasn't anything normal you wanted to talk about, showing up dressed like that and in the middle of the night," the old man said as he ushered them into seats around his kitchen table and proceed to busy himself making a pot of tea. "Any of you drink tea?"

"The helmets make it kinda hard, sir. But thanks for the offer."

He mumbled something, poured himself a cup and then sat down at the table, "So what is it about my dead son that brings you here in the middle of the night?"

"Those stories about him coming back for a week every year looking for revenge…they're true."

Mr. Gokuya sighed wearily. "Ikaru was a good boy, but he was always too short-tempered for his own good. I suppose that's why all this started."

"Can you tell us exactly what happened that night?"

Waterguard fidgeted as she asked that. "Kid, we're in kind of a hurry, remember?"

"No, I'm afraid I can't. I wasn't there to see it. And the only witness is still sleeping, I hope."

"Daddy? Is someone out there with you? What was all that noise?" Five heads turned toward the source of a girl's voice. There was the 'clack' of crutches as she, a young black-haired girl, laboriously entered the room with the aid of her support mechanisms.

"Sona, go back to bed."

"What's going on? I heard you talking about Ikaru," she said simply, not showing much of a reaction to having a superhero team in her kitchen, "What's happening about him? And what are the Guardrangers doing here?"

"His ghost was responsible for the disappearance of our leader. We came here hoping you might be able to help us deal with him, somehow," Earthguard replied.

Tears began to trickle from Sona's eyes. "Ni-san…" Forestguard stood up and offered his seat to the young girl, and she gratefully sank into it, "Why did he do that? Why did he do that?"

"Can you tell us what happened on that night?" Airguard asked as gently as she could.

Sona sniffled, "I'll try. Ikaru was my big brother, and I loved him so much. We'd been visiting Mom, and when it was over we started to walk home. It was pretty late, but we didn't think anything would happen to us. But soon Ikaru thought we should cut through some alleys to save time so dad wouldn't get mad at us for coming home late."

Mr. Gokuya harrumphed.

"Onegai, go on."

"Some driver, I think he was drunk, was going past and went over the curb just as we were coming out onto the street again. It hit us and sped off. I hit a streetlight and almost broke my spine…I guess you could tell. Ikaru…," she said as tears started to fill her eyes, "Ikaru didn't make it."

"What was he like when he was alive, Sona-kun?" Forestguard asked.

Mr. Gokuya answered for her, "Ikaru was a really good kid. He tried hard in school. He worked hard at his part-time job. He always made time for us, and for his mother. But he was always just a little…"

"Short-tempered," Sona finished, "He could almost never let go of his anger once something bad happened. That's why I almost believed them when the stories started to spread. All that about a ghost coming after people for revenge--it sounded just like my brother after someone made him mad."

"Maybe you can help us, then. Ikaru's ghost is working with our enemies. We don't know why, but maybe if you could come with us next time he appears and talk him out of it or something…" Airguard trailed off, her plan to request help hampered a bit by seeing exactly who she might be putting in harm's way. But Ryuji's life was at stake, so she didn't allow herself to back down. She would protect them as well as look out for her friend if they agreed.

Mr. Gokuya wasn't exactly understanding. "You're the heroes, aren't you? It's your job to handle all this supernatural insanity. Why should my daughter risk what health she has left trying to talk to a crazy ghost?"

"Because that 'crazy ghost' is all that's left of your son, Gokuya-san," Earthguard replied, with a touch of anger in her tone. "Any decent father would do anything he could to try and reach him, ghost or no ghost."

"You go, girl," Waterguard grinned from under his helmet. And for once, Earthguard wasn't annoyed by the comment.

Mr. Gokuya grimaced with guilt, but Sona looked willing. "She's right. Dad, not even heroes are perfect. And if Ikaru really has been terrorizing all those people like the stories say, we should try to help. What do you need us to do?"

"Just be ready to come and help us reason with the ghost next time we detect him," Airguard replied, feeling warm relief that they were cooperating, just before she felt Beservor's ethereal brush against her mind.

Rangers, the Baron has returned and I sense a great deal of black magic in his vicinity! He is concentrating so much power that there is no telling what chaos he plans to unleash!

"Bring some good to this place…bring some good to this place…geez, how do I do that?" Ryuji thought as he tried to avoid detection by the terrors infesting the recesses of Hell. He reflected on Kingranger's words, and wondered if they were really true. When he'd fought Vandread and his monster before, surely his doubts hadn't put him at a disadvantage then. But that scene with Jason…or whoever it had been, had sure rocked him.

Just the idea of his best friend meeting such a horrible end made him sick. He'd suddenly remembered Jason had left him a message an his answering service about the two of them hanging out at his place for the weekend, now that escrow on the place had finally cleared. He hadn't jumped on the idea and said "yes" outright, but now he found himself wishing he had. Ryuji hadn't realized how big an impact Jason's presence had on his life until he thought he'd been devoured whole by some hell-beast. Maybe it was time to re-assess all that.

That was, if he ever got out of there..

As he walked along, lost in his thoughts, Ryuji absently stepped on a rock, which responded by letting out a piercing scream, and instants later he heard the inhuman growls of monsters coming closer. Ryuji took a deep breath and got ready to run once again, but he was too late.

A winged, cat-faced monster with an Egyptian headdress jumped into his path of escape with a growl. Ryuji turned and tried to escape in a different direction, but there was another monster blocking his path, this one red and somewhere between lizard and flower. Then a third appeared, a tin-plated robot-like creature with a helicopter rotor on his head. But then another monster jumped out of the shadows, one shaped like a giant bee, and another, a cat-like creature covered in weapons, appeared as well. He was completely surrounded!

The monsters started to move closer, cackling maniacally at the chance to get a taste of revenge on the likes of those who had sent them to that dismal place. His only escape was to find a way to bring some good to Hell, but how could he do that, surrounded by monsters, and without his powers?

Vandread readied himself. He had opened gateways to other realms hundreds of times before, but never had he done so with the intent of piercing the dimensional veil to the most evil realm of all. Such would be a rare challenge worthy of him.

"Don't worry, mortal," he said, "You'll be freed once I've gotten what I need. I just need a little more of you than I anticipated before, thanks to you costing me the most vital ingredient in this ritual."

Ikaru could hear Vandread's calm words echoing down to him, but he only thought about their bargain. Did he agree to it because he really trusted the Baron, or because he hadn't dared trifle with someone so powerful? Now what power Ikaru had had been enslaved.

A troubling thought entered his spectral mind. What would he do if the curse was broken, if he never had to leave Earth again? Would he keep terrorizing human beings? What would happen to him if he didn't? For the first time since his death, he felt something other than pure, unadulterated hate. It was fear. Fear of what would become of him, especially if the Baron was the kind of man he seemed.

Vandread began to chant and wave his staff mystically, the air around him beginning to glow. A simple portal ritual was all this needed, added to the power residing inside Revenantia. He shouted a final phrase, thrust the tip of his staff toward the sky, and a pinprick of green light appeared in the distance.

"Now, Revenantia! Take that spirit's power and focus it, use it to find the one we need and tear open the barriers confining the denizens of the abyss!" Vandread shouted like a lunatic. Revenantia did as he commanded, and Ikaru felt his essence being pulled from all sides. Then she directed it toward the pinprick Vandread had prepared for her, and it began to widen. But all of a sudden a brave voice called out.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!"

The monsters circled him and jumped back and forth, probably trying to scare Ryuji before they took him out. And scared he was. Who wouldn't be, as a mere mortal being faced down by five monsters?

The Egyptian monster, Dora Sphinx, kicked him in the ribs and he went down. Bee Nejire shot a flurry of smaller insects at him that exploded all around where he lay. Ryuji got up and jumped out of the way just as the cat monster, Sniper Cat, fired a bazooka that destroyed the area he'd just been laying in. A flurry of chaotic thoughts entered Ryuji's head as he wondered how he could possibly survive another minute against those horrors.

But he forced his mind to empty. It was as when he stopped griping about the responsibilities; he realized for a fraction of a second how much was riding on him and his team. The little things like his restaurant and even his friendship with Jason were nothing compared to it. Yes, they were essential and important fixtures in his life, but he couldn't let them rule the entirety of it, let alone when he put on his uniform and shouldered the responsibility of the lives of everything in the world.

As he thought that a rejuvenating warmth settled over him. His cuts and bruises stopped aching, the gaping gash in his hand healed completely, and the crimson glow of his Guardbrace returned, brighter than he'd ever seen it. Without hesitation Ryuji called out to his powers.

"FIRE--FOCUS!"

And it came. At last, it came. He could hear Hellscar's roar as his uniform wove itself and the Dragon Steel materialized in his hand without even being called. The monsters shrank back, but only for a second. After all, the odds were five to one in their favor. How could he possibly win?

If they could've seen Fireguard's confident smile, they might have thought better of it.

"Maintain the spell, Revenantia! I'll see to our guests!" Vandread said to his creation, then faced his unwelcome visitors. To his complete lack of surprise, it was the remaining Guardrangers. But he was surprised to see they weren't alone. Two other humans--a middle-aged man and a girl on crutches--stood behind their defensive line.

"If you know what's good for you, Baron, give us back Fireguard!" Earthguard commanded.

"Of course, my dear," Vandread replied mellowly, "provided there's anything left of him by the time I don't need him anymore." In the sky, the pinprick of light became brighter and larger. Vandread leveled his staff at the Rangers, "Now why don't you be good little boys and girls and leave before you get into trouble?"

"Dude, you're gonna be the one in trouble if you don't tell us where my bro is and haul your butt outta here!" Waterguard shot back, leveling his weapon at Vandread in kind.

"Bah! I don't have time for your idle threats, Ranger. I've bigger fish to fry!" He hissed a word and a column of flames shot from the tip of his staff. The Guardrangers made ready to dodge the blast, but to their surprise, they were not its target. The flames arced through the air, toward the Gokuyas.

Airguard threw her hand out. "HAWK WIND GUARDIAN!" At once, a whirling barrier of air roared to life in front of the Gokuyas, safely dispersing the fiery attack.

Vandread didn't squander anymore attention on them. His plan needed to be completed in haste with their arrival, and the only way to speed up the ritual was to increase the power of the one performing it.

"Chaos unbound, entropy rise, spirit of evil, now grow in size!" Vandread called, aiming his staff at Revenantia. Instantly a field of golden energy issued from it and surrounded his Animated Warrior. Revenantia stepped off the side of the building, but almost an instant later, her feet were on the ground, and the people on the top of the building were now at her eye level.

"FOOOOO!!!!" she said deafeningly, and the light in the sky continued to grow ever larger.

"Oh boy…did this idea ever get out of hand in a hurry…"

Tin-Plated Org, the robot-like monster, stepped forward and tried to take a bite out of Fireguard with the claw on his arm, only to have it--arm and all--shorn off by a sweeping slash from his sword. A single stroke took care of Torinoid #1, and the vivisected monster fell and exploded. A screaming ghostly mass erupted from its remains before flitting off into the distance.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Fireguard crowed, but didn't wait for the monsters to answer, and neither did they. Dora Sphinx aimed his crook at Fireguard and a barrage of energy bolts flew from it. The Soldier of the Inferno was caught off-guard and blasted across the cavern, but hoisted his smoking body up an instant later. A blast from behind nearly knocked him off his feet, and Fireguard turned to see the cat-like creature, Sniper Cat, lining up another shot.

Needless to say, he never got the chance. "DRAGON HELLRISER!" Fireguard shouted as he went into his spiraling attack, this time with the Dragon Steel thrust out where his fist normally was, and repeatedly slashed the half-living, half-mechanical creature. Fireguard kept it up, even though he felt his power ebbing slightly, but that only made him pour more strength into his attack. A moment later Sniper Cat had been reduced to a pile of smoking rubble.

The monsters that were still standing lined up and fired at the hero all at once. Dora Sphinx beat his wings, Tin-Plated Org launched the exploding rotor from his head, and Bee Nejire launched a swarm of insects from the hive on his arm. Explosions erupted all around Fireguard and he was nearly blown off his feet, but he sank his sword into the ground and held onto it with all he possessed. As the monsters paused to see if they'd done him in, Fireguard suddenly jumped up and wrenched his sword free. Charging it with all of his power, he shouted, "HELLION IMPACT!" They never what hit them as the blazing circle of fire consumed them.

Fireguard leaned against the wall, breathing in gasps. No wonder heroes worked in teams, he thought. But he had won, and could feel the drain on his powers fading fast. That wasn't all, though, as the veil of hate and violence he had been surrounded by since he arrived seemed to be receding, even if just a little.

"Whoa…I'm alive…what now, though?"

"Nothing, Fireguard-san," a familiar voice replied, and Riki's image appeared before him, "You are not the kind meant for this evil realm, and you've brought some good here by destroying those creatures. You have it within your power to leave with the weakening of the evil."

"What about those monsters I killed? Are they still here? Or they…nowhere?" Fireguard asked.

"It no longer matters, Fireguard-san. Your friends are at a disadvantage without you. You must go to their aid at once."

"I sure don't want to hang around here unless I have to," Fireguard admitted, before he felt a sharp tingling like when he'd arrived. His body started to glow bright red, and an instant later he had changed into the burning image of a dragon, and instinctively took off, piercing the cavernous roof of the infernal realm and winging its way back to Earth.

"This day will mark the end of you and your heroic breed, Guardrangers!" Vandread gloated, "Any moment now that portal will open and every monster and demon the likes of you has ever killed will run riot across this city and then destroy the human race!" The giant Revenantia concentrated, and the portal in the sky started to swell.

:"Waterguard, you're coming with me. The rest of you, call your Beasts and keep that thing busy," Earthguard ordered.

"Done," Airguard replied.

"So what are we gonna do, boss-lady?" Waterguard asked.

"We'll see what we can do about raining all over the good Baron's parade."

"Works for me," Waterguard replied, cracking his knuckles.

Forest and Airguard gathered themselves, then called out, "GUARD BEASTS, AWAKEN!" The response was immediate as their companions shook of their slumber. Treebasher raced through the forest where he made his home, and Windshear screamed down from the heavens. They pulled their companion Rangers aboard, then without needing to be prompted charged toward Revenantia.

Vandread cast a spell and the ground exploded around the remaining pair of Rangers. But the heroes charged through the blast, attacking him with all their might.

"SEISMIC FORCE!"

"ABSOLUTE ZERO!"

Both powerful elemental attacks streaked toward the Baron, hitting him full-force. But they were met by the full force of a defensive barrier he'd woven around himself and did little more than make him grit his teeth. "You'll have to deliver a better effort than that, Guardrangers!"

"Our pleasure!"

"Hers, anyway."

Meanwhile, Treebasher and Windshear took on Revenantia. Treebasher grabbed her around the waist with his mighty arms, and Windshear repeatedly took dives at the monster's head, raking it with her talons. But though her attention was on opening the door to the abyss, she was more than capable of fighting back.

The spikes on her back suddenly elongated, stabbing Treebasher in the chest and shoulders and flinging him onto his back. A pair shot out of her head as Windshear came in for another dive, striking the hawk out of the sky. Earth and Waterguard gasped as their teammates fell.

But suddenly Sona limped forward. Nobody had told her where her brother's ghost was, but she could feel him, his desperation and fear, from inside the monster.

"Ni-san, matte!" she shouted. Revenantia froze in place. Sona summoned up her courage and cried out again, "Ni-san, onegai! Don't do this! This isn't you!" And her words did not go unheard. Deep within Revenantia, her captive could hear his sister's words.

"Sona?" he asked weakly, even though he was sure she couldn't hear.

Mr. Gokuya joined in, "Ikaru, if you can hear us, you've got to stop this! You can't let that door open! If you still love us, come back to us, Ikaru!"

And inside Revenantia, Ikaru's spirit almost wept, "Dad…Sona…I never stopped loving you…I just…couldn't stop hating everything else…" But his anguish turned to anger. To righteous fury at the one who him imprisoned him and her loathsome master. He struggled, fought with all of his might to break free. Explosions broke out all over Revenantia's body, and the portal started to flicker and shrink.

"Foo…" Revenantia called weakly.

"Damnation! Revenantia, you are the master of his power! Crush what's left of his soul if you have to!" Vandread shouted. Revenantia tried to suppress it, and Ikaru felt like he was being crushed in a vice, but something happened then that turned the entire tide.

The portal flickered, then to everyone's astonishment, something came through just before it exploded into nothingness. A glowing red figure in the shape of a dragon. And two words could be heard coming from it, "HELLSCAR…AWAKEN!" Instants later the dragon-shape faded, but a real dragon came and scooped up the red-clad figure it left behind. Hellscar swooped through the air and tackled Revenantia before nosing up and climbing into the sky.

"Nanda?? Is that really…?"

"Fireguard! YAHOO!!!"

"YATTA! He's back safe and sound!"

"Arigato, Kami-sama…"

"Ten thousand curses on their misbegotten heads!" Vandread raged, "Revenantia, strike him down!"

She tried, but Ikaru could sense her attention was no longer focused on him, and resumed trying to break free. Again explosions wracked her body, and a smoky form escaped from a crack in her midsection. When she got up a second later, the spikes and extra size she had gained from Ikaru's power were gone.

Vandread cast a spell and faded away; he could tell he was beaten for the time being. Perhaps Revenantia could take care of the Rangers, but that was up to her.

Guys! Let's do it! Fireguard sent into their bond, and the others responded at once.

"GUARD BEASTS…AWAKEN!" Tidalstorm erupted from the depths of the ocean. Terraclaw thundered forth from her cave. With all assembled, the call went out, "IMMORTAL FUSION!" Once more, the Guard Beasts responded. Hellscar raced skyward, a column of rainbow-hued light igniting around him. The great dragon's limbs folded upward and in, fire dancing along his armored body. Treebasher followed suit, glowing silver and emerald metal shifting and forming the legs. Tidalstorm and Terraclaw, blazing bright blue and yellow respectively connected as the arms; Windshear, wrapped in a corona of white light took up position at the back, forming the secondary wingspan. Hellscar's head lowered into his chest area revealing the great mecha's head and helmet. Finally, the black dome materialized over Hellscar's head on the chest, the triangular Guardranger symbol appearing in the each of the five sections the dome was segmented into. The elemental energies embraced each other and the gestalt spoke: "WE ARE THE UNITY. WE ARE... DAICHIJIN!"

"Good to see you in one piece again, dude!" Waterguard whooped.

"It's good to be back in one piece, man. Now how's about we show Ghost Girl here the door?"

Revenantia stood up to face Daichijin, cracked and scorched in numerous places. But she still looked prepared to put up a fight. Before they could even call for an attack, her arms whipped up and grabbed Daichijin by the shoulders. Then they started to lose cohesion, and melted like wax around the elemental titan's torso. Daichijin's arms stuck to his sides, and his legs were engulfed even as the Rangers tried to aim a kick. Revenantia's hands reformed and she smacked Daichijin to the ground with a satisfied, "Foo!"

"Tochiro, try to shake us loose with that attack of yours!"

"I can't! Daichijin can't even move, let alone work up enough leeway for the Congo Dynamic!"

"Jase, what about your power? Can you bust us loose?"

"On it now, dude! TIDAL IMMERSER!" Daichijin's power gathered in his left arm, a torrential blast of watery power waiting to be unleashed accumulating within it. But as it surged out, the ectoplasm encasing Daichijin stopped it cold. "Aw, crap…nothin', boss man! This gunk must be too thick!"

An instant later Revenantia loomed over them, and again her hands began to melt and change shape. One into a massive hammerhead, the other into the blade of a giant knife. The came down onto Daichijin's chest, and the other onto his shoulder, striking sparks and nearly cutting off the arm entirely.

"Ooohh…I think we'll be minus one mecha if she does that again!" Airguard said frantically. Fireguard had to agree; the lights in the cockpits were dimming and the life forces of the Guard Beasts were waning from that attack. But as Revenantia's blade fell again, there seemed to be nothing they could do but wait for the end…

But a tiny shape suddenly appeared before Revenantia's face. She regarded it with a questioning, "Foo?" But the Guardrangers knew at once what it was. It was Ikaru. An evil red light reflected onto her mask-like face, freezing the giant monster in mid-swing.

"Hurry up, you guys! I can't stop something this powerful for long!" he shouted.

Fireguard was about to open his mouth to protest, to tell their unlikely savior that Daichijin was trapped, but like his teammates in their previous battles, desperation unlocked something and put words into his mind. With instinctive flair he shouted out, "SHAKUNETSU HADO!" Daichijin's eyes flared crimson in response as super-heated energy began gathering in the dome on his chest, then fired a colossal beam of burning power from it. The ectoplasm covering Daichijin slagged from the force of the heat then cracked and weakened all over his body before finally exploding into a shower of shattered pieces. Daichijin was free!

The giant mecha was on his feet just as Ikaru's strength faded, and he fell from the sky. Again, Fireguard cried out, "SHAKUNETSU HADO!" With nothing blocking the blast this time, even more force was unleashed. As the hell-ray screamed from Daichijin's chest again, a snarling dragon's head appeared at its tip, and tore a gaping hole clean through Revenantia's body. The inhuman specter gave a high-pitched shriek of outrage in response.

"All right, guys, let's wrap this up! GAIATIC CUTTER!" At once Daichijin's towering silver sword appeared in his hand.

"EARTH RAGE!" all the Rangers shouted together. Once more elemental power flooded the Gaiatic Cutter, and once more Daichijin brought the fearsome blade down and through his adversary. Then again, and again in a rapid fire succession of blinding slashes . Finally Revenantia fell, a weak "Foo…" escaping her lips as her ectoplasmic remains were blown blocks away by the terrific explosion marking her passing.

A minute later the weary Guardrangers debarked from Daichijin to see what had happened to Ikaru. He lay by the titan's foot, his father and sister nearby, weeping.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Waterguard asked.

"I think so," Ikaru replied, the devilish red light in his eyes gone for the first time, "But I don't think I'll be around here for much longer."

Sona choked, "Nani yo, ni-san?"

"I can feel something calling me away, Sona. I think it was because I was letting my hate control me that kept me here. But now that I've let it go…"

"Sounds a lot like the lesson I learned today, man."

Ikaru looked up at Fireguard, "Nanda?"

"Today I learned that if you let your mind become imprisoned by negative emotions, your entire life becomes a prisoner of them. You have to be able to act on what's really important if you want to free yourself."

"I guess I learned it a little too late," Ikaru replied and suddenly began to drift off the ground, "Arigato, Guardrangers, for reuniting me with my family. And Dad, Sona…I love you. Both of you."

"Arigato, Ikaru-san," Airguard replied for her whole group.

"Ikaru, are you really leaving us again?" Mr. Gokuya asked. Sona started to weep.

"I have to, Dad. This world is for the living, there's another one for people like me. And now I can finally go there…" The sun was just starting to rise, and as its golden rays began to touch the buildings of Tokyo, Ikaru began to rise as well. Within seconds his ghostly form was lost among the rays of the sun.

Sona cried, and her father moved to comfort her. It was understandable, was it not, if one were to find and lose again a loved one so quickly.

"Come on, guys, nothing more we can do here," Fireguard said solemnly and walked off. The other Rangers joined him, and behind them Daichijin automatically split apart and the Guard Beasts flew off to their resting places.

"Man, am I glad you're back, bro." Waterguard dropped an arm around his best friend. "So…what was it like in Hell?"

"A lot like you'd probably imagined it, bud," Fireguard replied, draping his own arm around Waterguard. "I just hope you never have to see it for yourself."

"I don't think any of us have to worry about that," Earthguard chimed in.

"No, but it's where I feel like sending Garganstah for enslaving Ikaru's ghost." The Guardrangers reverted and joined the first rush of people in the streets. Ryuji went to unlock the restaurant for the morning, then to get some well-deserved rest. The others went to deliver some interesting excuses as to why they hadn't gotten a wink of sleep and were missing work for the day.

As Jason turned to say his goodbyes in front of the Golden Bushel, Ryuji took him aside for a moment. "Hey, Jase…I got that message you left me and I was wondering if, well…"

"You wanna take a rain check, right? Hey, no problem, man…" Jason looked seriously disappointed. "It's cool. Guess I'll see ya later or something…" He turned to go, but Ryuji's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Actually," Ryuji smiled, "I was gonna ask you if the invitation was still open. Because if it is, I could really use some quality time with my best friend."

Hell, YEAH, it's still open!" Jason gushed. "So, this weekend then?"

"You're on," Ryuji confirmed, giving Jason a companionable hi-five.

.

Later that evening, as Ryuji opened up his apartment and pulled the futon of his closet, he could only think about the Baron he had fought, and what kind of evil soul he must have had to have been willing to dupe a poor, deluded being like Ikaru had become.

"From now on, no more fears or insecurities…" he said to himself as he shut his eyes, "From now on, I fight to protect everyone people like that Baron would take advantage of…" And for the first time in what seemed like weeks, Sakamoto Ryuji drifted off into peaceful slumber.