Episode 4: No Bull?
"Is it just me, or do the Disney characters look better in 2-D?" Tim said, walking into the doors of the high school.
"What the heck, dude? That is possibly... the most random topic starter I've ever heard," Joey replied.
"Well, it gets worse," Tim replied, grinning. "Besides, I was just trying to break the awkward silence." Joey shrugged, and stopped at his locker. Tim already had the books he needed, so he stood next to it, continuing to talk. "Anyway, any thoughts on what I said?"
Joey laughed, "Yeah. You need a life. Seriously…who talks about that?" Joey took some books from his locker and stuffed them in his bookbag.
"How rude!" Tim exclaimed, as the White Ranger stuffed some books into his bag, and then zipped it.
"Oh, get over it," Joey replied, closing his locker and locking it. "Listen, I need to get to homeroom before the bell rings, otherwise my butt is in detention tomorrow. See you after school?"
"O' course," Tim replied, walking to his own homeroom, and waving goodbye to Joey. On the way, he saw Carmen, and ran over to talk to her. "Hey, Carmen!"
She groaned, "What?" Tim crossed his arms. "Come on, hurry up," She said, looking around, as if she were embarrassed to be talking to her fellow ranger.
"I know you have the whole loner girl reputation going on, but does that mean you have to be so darn rude?" Tim demanded, angrily. Carmen rolled her eyes. "Seriously, if we're gonna work together, we have to...if not be friends, then at least be nice to each other."
"This is just the way I am, kid. If you can't deal with it, then too bad," Carmen replied annoyed, and then stormed off to her own class
"Kid?" Tim said to himself, dumbfounded as Carmen walked away. "Excuse me, miss princess of the world!" he hollered at Carmen's back.
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Dostamyre pounded down the hall, and into the bridge. "What is it, Taka?" He demanded, more than asked.
"I found the other gnome. But only the black gem is with him. The other two seemed to have been given away..." Dostamyre rubbed his chin, taking in what Taka had told him. A devious smile spread across his lips.
"Then we'll just have to take them back. Teleport me over there. I have some business to take care of," Dostamyre commanded. Taka saluted, and turned around to the console. In minutes, Dostamyre's atoms were being sent miles away. Once he landed on solid ground again, the foul humanoid took out a device to track the gnome, and soon he was standing in front of the alien. A foul grin spread across his face, and his eyes flashed yellow. "The gem?"
"Never!" The little creature roared, and shot a bolt of magical energy from his fingertips. Dostamyre flew backwards, but landed on his feet. He dusted off his shirt, and locked eyes on the little mage.
"You should know by now your magic is useless against me," Dostamyre said, walking toward the small alien. A blast of magic came at Dostamyre, but he slapped it away. "The gem?" He asked again. But the small creature was not backing down. As Dostamyre moved in to attack, two figures came in through the bushes. "So…these are the holders of the red and blue gems? Perfect."
Dostamyre looked into the sky, and howled. Extremely sharp teeth began to form in his mouth, threatening to gag him until a snout shot out on his face. A cold, wet nose replaced his former human one. His eyes turned from a dark brown to a glowing yellow. The slick hair on his head turned gray, and melded with fur forming all over his body. His arms grew down past his knees,, and his legs hunched. His back arched, and his clothing began to rip at the seams. With another howl, Dostamyre turned to the two teens dressed in red and blue.
Dostamyre bounded at the two, but the small alien slammed into his face. "RUN, CHILDREN!" He yelled, as Dostamyre tossed him away.
"We can't! We'll help!" The red one exclaimed. Both pulled out buckles similar to Joey, Carmen and Tim's. Dostamyre was coming at them, still. Slowly, as if challenging them. But the little alien could not stand by and watch his pupils die. He jumped at Dostamyre again, and sent a kick into the wolf's snout. Dostamyre snarled, but continued ignoring him. He wanted to have the children suffer first, so that the alien would break easily. The two boys hadn't morphed yet, they had been taken aback at their mentor's easy fall. Panicking, the alien thrust a beam of magic at their feet.
"GO! Go now!!" The two exchanged glasses, and then, grudgingly, decided to listen. They bounded through the woods, and Dostamyre let them run ahead for a minute or two before giving chase after them. But, the alien shot a huge blast of magic, which sent Dostamyre flying a few feet, and into a tree. The long-haired-gnome-creature stood, lightning crackling around his left hand.
Laughing strangely, Dostamyre turned on the alien, and growled in a disturbing voice, "Enough playing, you disgusting little creature. The gem, or your life."
"I will never give you the power!" It called, blasting the lightning at Dostamyre. But he moved swiftly, and the lightning did no more damage then cracking a tree.
"THEN DIE!" In one bound, Dostamyre was on the tiny creature, his drool falling in puddles on his face. With a howl, he moved in on the alien's neck. A scream resounded through the woods, and the two boys looked back, with defeated expressions.
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Tim and Joey stood outside the school, waiting next to the steps for Carmen. When she walked out the two rounded on her. Joey was the first to talk. "Carmen, listen, we've had our differences, I know, but…me and Tim…we want to spend some time together, and we were hoping you'd come with us. Before you say anything, we just want you to know, we're only doing this because we want to be able to trust one another when we're fighting." Joey's eyes were pleading.
Carmen looked at the two of them and laughed, "You're really set on this, aren't you?" The two boys nodded, "Fine, fine. Whatever you want," Carmen sighed, giving in.
"Great. You two head over to my car, and I'll be right with you. Need to talk to my sister." They nodded, and walked toward Joey's car. When his sister walked out, the white ranger spoke to her. "Hey, think you could take the bus home today? I need to do stuff with a few people in class, ya know?" His sister nodded, and thankful, Joey ran over to his car, where his fellow rangers were waiting.
The trio drove to the mall, and when they got there, they wandered around, talking a bit. Carmen was even opening up. The three talked for a while before winding up in the food court again.
At a nearby table, a boy in a long leather coat watched them silently. The security guard was watching him, a confused, or confusing look on his face.
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"Did you get the gem, master?" Taka asked, standing up as his leader walked through the door of the bridge. The alien lifted the black rock for Taka to see. The dark knight laughed, but was silenced by a motion from his master. He bowed.
"It will take some time to harness it for power, but I think we are due for a celebration," the shape shifting humanoid said, triumphantly. Dostamyre walked over to the intercom. "Grahl, you bumbling buffoon, make me a monster. We have some celebrating to do."
"Yes, master! Right away, sir!" Grahl yelled over the Com', and ran around through his lab gathering the necessary supplies. He was going to make a great monster; that he was!
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Back at the mall, the Rangers were sharing some funny stories. "So I said to 'im, 'If you're gonna take over the world, start with putting your pants on!' Which, ya know…I thought…was…funny," Joey finished.
"Yeah…" Carmen replied, sticking a french-fry in her mouth. Tim gave Joey an awkward grin. The white ranger knew he had made a fool of himself.
As if to break the uncomfortable position each ranger was in, their communicators went off. The trio got up from their table and ran out into the parking lot, careful that no one was around. "What is it, Temari?" Joey asked.
"Trouble in the new development. A minotaur is ravaging the workers there," Temari replied, sounding rather calm. It almost sounded like he was in the middle of something.
"The new development? That'd take us at least a half hour to get to on foot!" Tim yelled into his communicator. How did Temari expect them to be able to get there on time?
"Which is why I'm giving you all your Striker Cycles now. I've been working on them for a few days. They're all ready. After you morph, just call for them, and they will appear. Get there quickly, rangers!" Joey, Carmen and Tim exchanged glances, but then decided it was best to listen to their leader.
Joey nodded to the two. "Okay! Mythic Lightning, Strike!" The three yelled in unison. From twirling lights of white, green and purple, the three rangers stepped, dressed in their suits.
"Striker Cycles!" Joey called, raising his right arm into the air, and in front of him, a white motorcycle with a dragon head appeared. (AN: Think Savage Cycles. The front of each is the head of their zord.) Tim and Carmen said the same, and their 'Cycles appeared in front of them, with the green gryphon and purple phoenix, respectively, adorning them.
The three got on their bikes, and drove to the new development They arrived in no time, and jumped off their cycles, landing between the minotaur and the workers. "Down boy!" Tim said, forming his dagger in his hand, and pulling out his Lightning Sword. Joey summoned his scythe, and Carmen took out her Lightning Pistol and her formed her crossbow. "You guys better get going," Tim said to the workers behind them. They didn't need to be told twice, and went bounding down the opposite direction of the monster.
"Three against one. Odds are pretty against you, don't ya think?" Joey said, tapping his weapon on his shoulder.
"That's why I brought reinforcements!" The minotaur threw a barrel into the air, and when it came down, it shattered, and a large group of Metadrones circled the minotaur.
"More fun than a barrel of monkeys!" Tim said, smirking behind his helmet, taking a fighting stance with his two weapons.
"Ugh. Let's stop with the jokes and just beat these things," Carmen said, shooting both her crossbow and her pistol. With that, the battle was on.
"Fine with me," Joey replied, and ran into the group swinging his scythe around and cutting down drones. He was making a path right toward the minotaur. The bull-like monster pointed his arm at Joey, and then a gattling gun appeared on his arm. He fired off a few rounds at Joey, and a few of the laser shots hit him right in the chest. He fell backwards, and the Metadrones piled on him.
"Joey!" Carmen yelled, running over to him, and blasting some of the creatures away from him. When finally the creatures piled on him were all gone, she helped him to his feet.
Joey laughed, "You actually helped me?" Carmen shrugged, and went back to fighting. Joey grinned, and spun around to continue his own battle.
Tim, meanwhile, was fed up. He swung his dagger and his sword, and shot a broad laser beam through the drones, making a path. He ran through as fast as he could, because he knew the passage would close soon. Before the minotaur could blast him, Tim slashed with his dagger. The monster barely moved however.
It laughed, snorts coming out every few seconds. "Funny, rangers!" It yelled, grabbing Tim by the head, and throwing him at the other two. The three collided, and fell to the ground. The minotaur let out a barrage of fire. The three rangers jumped to their feet and began flipping and running to dodge them.
"We need to stop that gun!" Joey yelled, spinning his scythe extremely fast to deflect some blasts.
"No crap?!" Carmen replied sarcastically, barely dodging some.
"Any ideas oh great leader?" Tim asked, taking a shot to the shoulder. "Agh!" He clutched his shoulder, and ran behind a tree. The other two followed him.
"Seriously, now, what do we do, Joey?" Carmen asked. Joey looked over at her, amazed she was actually being kind. But he shook it off.
An idea formed in his mind randomly, and he went with it. "Maybe if we combine our weapons, they'd make a powerful enough blast to destroy that thing," Joey suggested.
"It's worth a shot," Tim agreed. Carmen looked at the two, and then just shrugged. They might as well.
"Alright, follow my lead," Joey said. Once the firing stopped, the three jumped out from behind the tree. "Dragon Scythe!" Joey yelled, pushing the scythe's blade to point forward.
"Gryphon dagger!" Tim called, attaching his weapon to the handle of the scythe.
"Phoenix Crossbow!" Carmen yelled, attaching her weapon to the other side.
"Mythic Buster!" The three yelled. Each weapon shot a colored beam, and as they flew forward, the blasts swirled together, each beam taking the shape of their ranger's zord, and flew at the minotaur. Panicking, the monster formed the gun on his arm again, but it was too late. The blast hit the monster in the chest, and it exploded. The trio disconnected their weapons, and Joey and Tim high-fived each other. Not knowing how to approach the purple ranger, Tim held out his hand. His teammate took it, and they shook hands.
As the three rangers celebrated, a young man, wearing sunglasses, a long black coat and holding a long spear watched the three from atop an unfinished house. He pulled out an object from his pocket, and lifted it to his ear. "Master? I don't think I'll have a problem with them," He said, smirking. The voice on the other side laughed coldly.
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Author's Note: Thanks for the two reviewers so far. Glad you enjoy the story.
Jeanka: Indeed…it gets more interesting, very soon. ;D
Platinum Ranger: I had been trying to do that from the start, actually. But in the last chapter the scene changing things got edited out when I posted it here. Not sure why. But these little diddies: '------' represent scene changes. And the other two rangers…heh heh they will be along in due time. And yes, there will be pairings.
And, umm, this chapter has been expanded for this site! The original version was much too short, and I was upset by it.
Aaand what the heck? Anytime I wrote this site's name, or the abbreviation for it, it got deleted! It makes no sense. Oh well. Enjoy the stories, anyhow.