Chapter Three

The monster continued down the street away from the school, leaving a trail of shattered street lights and twisted car parts behind it. Reaching the intersection between the city's major cemetery and the Uniting Church, the beast crossed the road, tore down the fence and entered the park, still moving towards the city centre when four multi-coloured figures somersaulted over his hand and landed on the grass before him. The beast glanced up and growled as the Green, Yellow, Blue and Black Rangers turned to face him.

Now up close, the Rangers could clearly see the beast's features. He was tall but stood with a stooped appearance, his head sunken into his shoulders. Two deeply-set brown eyes looked out from under protruding eyebrows and a domed skull, while the beast's growl revealed a mouth with enormous sickly-yellow jagged teeth.

"Anybody else thinkin' neanderthal?" asked Zac.

Billy shook his head. "Posture and bone structure suggest more cro-magnum than anything else."

"Right. Thanks."

The beast turned to each of the Rangers. "You are the army defending this city?" it asked, in a voice earthy and primitive.

Tommy nodded. "You'd better believe it."

"And you won't be taking a single step past us," said Trini, her Power Daggers materialising in her hands.

The beast shook its head. "Your kind and your unbelievable arrogance. If only you knew how small you really were," and it stepped towards them. "I think I'll show you." And raising its enormous fists, the monster charged towards them.

"Not on our watch," said Tommy. "C'mon guys, let's show this creep who he's messin' with."

"Right!"

The Rangers raced forward to meet the monster head on, and reaching him first, Tommy took to the air with a jump kick. The beast ducked under the Green Ranger's boot and swung a punch for Tommy's helmet - the Green Ranger dodged, somersaulting out of danger. Finding his footing, Tommy attacked again, leaping forward with a high punch. The blow landed but had no effect, and the monster swung again. The Green Ranger struck away the monster's fist, before reaching for his Dragon Dagger and slashing it across the monster's chest - remaining unfazed, the monster slammed its fist against Tommy's chest and sent the Green Ranger crashing.

Even as Tommy fell, the Blue and Yellow Rangers were racing forward - Billy swung a high judo chop but the monster blocked the blow and retaliated, forcing him back. As the Blue Ranger ducked back out of danger, Trini swung both her daggers for the monster's body - the beast caught her wrists and sent her crashing with a low kick. Rolling to her feet, Trini joined Billy and the two attacked again - the monster stepped back around Trini's daggers and casually swept her away. He glanced back to Billy just as the Bluer Ranger took to the air with a high kick, but lumbering forward, he smashed Billy out of the air.

The monster turned to survey the battlefield, only to face the Black Ranger standing a few feet away.

"So, one yet stands," the beast growled, but his eyes suddenly grew wide, and he stopped. "You... you fight with them?" it asked.

Zac nodded. "It's called standing by your friends."

"But why?" the creature growled. "What with everything..."

Without warning, the Red and Pink Rangers somersaulted over the Black Ranger, landing twin kicks to the monsters' shoulders and forcing him back. Jason and Kim dropped to the ground beside Zac as the monster stumbled away, and the other three Rangers ran over.

"You guys okay?" asked Jason.

"Barely," Tommy replied. "Take your time why don't you?"

Jason smiled beneath his visor. "Got here eventually didn't I?"

"What's the deal with this loser anyway?" asked Kim.

"Bigfoot here's strong and smart," said Zac. "He was just kickin' our butts."

"Well, the bigger they are," said Jason, and raised his hand. "Power Sword!" His blade formed in a flash of red light, and he turned to the Black Ranger standing beside him. "You wanna get in there?"

"You had to ask?"

Jason nodded. "Kim, some cover if you can."

"You got it," said the Pink Ranger, and summoning her Power Bow, the Pink Ranger immediately shot a volley of arrows at the monster, the whole area erupting in sparks and smoke. The beast staggered back, and Zac and Jason charged forward on the offensive. But recovering from the barrage, the monster caught Zac's fist and batted it away, before blocking Jason's blade. The Red Ranger slashed again, the beast stepping around the sword before dodging a high kick from Zac. Reaching back, the monster grabbed one of the fence poles behind him, wrenched it out of the ground and turned back to the Rangers. Raising his new weapon, the beast struck away a blow from Zac, blocked Jason's sword, sent Zac crashing with a blow to the chest before knocking Jason's sword aside and sending the Red Ranger crashing with a solid punch to the stomach, before ramming the pole down into the dirt and grinning victoriously.

The two Rangers climbed to their feet as the rest of the team raced over.

"You guys weren't kidding," said Jason.

"So what now?" asked Kimberly. "We totally bounced off this guy."

Trini glanced up, and nodded. "If six Rangers can't stop him," she said, "then let's see what eleven can do."

In five flashes of light, the Junior Team materialised in the park alongside the Senior Rangers. I turned to Jason beside me.

"Thanks for the party invite," I smiled.

"Well you got here," he replied with a grin. "How's Currimundi?"

"Animal control problem cleared up nicely," replied Aaron. "A bit of property damage, but nobody was hurt too badly."

Teresa nodded. "Is this our badguy?"

"That's him," said Zac. "Although trust us, he's a lot tougher than he looks."

Across from us, the monster made no move to attack, simply staring down the team of eleven Rangers. "All eleven," the beast murmured, his lips curling into a dark grin. "About time."

"You're actually happy to see the entire team together?" asked Jason. "Well that was your first and last mistake. Guys," and the Red Ranger glanced back to us, "let's make this guy wish he'd stayed home." And with that, we charged towards our opponent.

Scott and Teresa reached him first, immediately leaping high with two side- by-side kicks. The beast spun to the side, ducking under both blows, before blocking their attacks and striking them both away. The beast turned as Aaron attacked, stepping forward and swinging a right roundhouse punch for the monster's jaw - the beast struck away his fist, blocking a second punch and catching a third, before sweeping Aaron away with a left backhand. Sarah and I took the opportunity to attack, dropping down in front of the monster but faring no better, every blow dodged or blocked. The monster ducked under a high kick and lifted me off my feet with a blow to the chest, before batting away a punch from Sarah and sending her stumbling back with a low kick.

Even as we fell, the Senior Team attacked again. Jason leaped forward, slashing with his sword, but the monster dodged every slice of the blade and struck the Red Ranger away. Tommy and Zac leaped forward to take up the battle, but ignoring their blows, the beast blocked a blow from Tommy and slammed him back with a low punch, before stepping around a high kick from Zac and lightly, almost gently, shoving him away. Kim, Trini and Billy attacked all at once - moving with surprising agility, the beast ducked under Billy's kick, caught Trini's fist and spun the Yellow Ranger off her feet, launching her into Billy, downing them both. The beast spun around as Kim aimed her bow, but pulling the metal pole free of the ground, knocked the bow aside and sent the Pink Ranger crashing with a blow to the stomach.

Kimberly crashed to the ground alongside the rest of us, and leaning on one another, we climbed to our feet.

"Aren't we supposed to be winning by now?" I asked.

Beside me, Jason nodded. "See, normally these fights go a lot better."

"Yeah," said Zac, "except Bigfoot just totally wrecked us."

Facing us down, the monster laughed a savage bark. "For an army of warriors, I'm not impressed," it said, raising the staff and taking a menacing step towards us.

I glanced to Jason, wondering what to do, when beside me, Teresa suddenly gritted her teeth and stepped forward.

"We don't want to impress you," she said, "we just want you to back the heck off. Power Whip!"

Forming in her outstretched hand, Teresa cracked the whip towards the approaching monster, the stinging blows at the monster's feet and legs forcing him back. Teresa continued forward, slicing the whip through the air around the monster - he raised the metal pole high above him, but Teresa curled the whip around the bar and dragged it from the monster's hands. With the bar still ensnared by the whip, Teresa sent it back towards the monster, the metal bar smashing him to the side as the White Ranger swung to the left and right. She pulled the whip back and the pole fell to the ground - the beast reached down, grabbed a park bench and launched it towards her. Standing her ground, Teresa cracked the whip towards the chair, the whip carving clean through the bench and both halves falling harmlessly to the ground.

Jason glanced back to the team. If forcing him to retreat was the best they could come up with, they'd have to go with it and come up with something else later. Remembering the monster's earlier hesitation, he turned to the Black and Aqua Rangers. "Aaron, Zac, get in there!"

Beside him, the two Rangers nodded, and somersaulting over Teresa, they both swung side-by-side punches for the monster's head - he blocked both but the Rangers struck with their other hands, both blows finding their target. The beast recovered and struck away a left hook from Aaron, but the Aqua Ranger sent the beast crashing with an upper-cut, while Zac continued forward and landed another powerful blow. The monster staggered back, turned to strike the Black Ranger but froze, his giant fist hanging in the air - and Aaron attacked again with a blow to the stomach followed by a rapid punch to the jaw.

The monster howled and stumbled back, and aiming her Power Bow, Kim shot a barrage at arrows at his retreating form, while Aaron summoned his Power Blasters and forced the monster back even further. The rest of us ran forward and joined them as the monster staggered back in a cloud of smoke and sparks.

"Mark my words," the beast growled angrily, "this is not over," and as dirt underneath him began to swirl up around him, he vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving the eleven of us alone in the park.

"Man," said Sarah, resting on Aaron's shoulder, "that was brutal."

"You're right there," I said, then turned to Teresa and glanced to the whip at her side. "Damn."

Teresa smiled beneath her visor. "Thanks."

"What was that thing anyway?" puffed Scott, still catching his breath.

"We didn't get a chance to ask," replied Kim, "what with him, you know, stomping on our heads."

Jason glanced over to the Black and Aqua Rangers. "At least we forced him to retreat," he said. "C'mon, we'd better get back to the Command Centre." Everybody nodded, and we reached for our communicators and teleported from the scene.

"Zordon, what was the deal with that ape monster?" asked Zac, once we were all back in the Command Centre standing before Zordon's energy tube. "He totally worked us."

"I'm more interested in those three warriors," said Jason. "Where did they come from? Who were they?"

"And what about the birds?" added Scott. "What was making them act like that?"

"Rangers," began Zordon. "Since the first attack this morning Alpha and I have been collecting information, and although we may be able to answer most of your questions, I assure you we can only answer one at a time."

"Okay," I said. "Well what about we start with the ape, given we can definitely expect a rematch."

Zordon nodded. "If you could turn your attention to the viewing screen," and he paused as we all turned to face the glass screen on the far wall, only to see news footage of our battle with the monster. "Your opponent was a Doolagahl," Zordon continued. "A creature of legend from the tales of the Australian Aborigines, the Doolagahl is also known as a yowie or a bunyip. A fearsome and dangerous creature, the Doolagahl is the Australian equivalent to the Himalayan Yeti or the American 'Bigfoot', yet recorded sightings of the Doolagahl predate the other two by centuries."

"So Rita's drawing inspiration from the legends of Australia's indigenous peoples?" asked Billy.

Trini nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time. Remember the Minotaur monster, and King Sphinx?"

"It would certainly appear to be the case," said Zordon, and the image changed to a shot of three fierce Aboriginal warriors. "The three opponents you fought in the city, Jason, were referred to in many Aboriginal legends as the Three."

Jason glanced back up to Zordon. "No other adjectives?"

Alpha stepped forward. "They didn't need any," he replied. "According to legend, those three fighters were the most skilled hunters of all time, so good they began hunting for fun. Expelled from their tribe and free to wander the countryside, they sought out battle and killed all in their path."

Zordon continued the story. "But the Fates stepped in and punished them for their hubris, and the Three suffered the ultimate humiliation - challenged to combat by a young unarmed boy, and soundly defeated." Zordon paused, and glanced down to Jason. "Odd how these legends work out."

Jason smiled. "Odd indeed."

"But what about the birds?" asked Sarah, looking back up to Zordon. "That felt pretty real."

"That's the one thing we aren't sure about," replied the sage. "We found no evidence of supernatural interference or mind control, and the flock scattered as soon as the zords appeared. However there may still be a link - to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, the land and animals are all fundamentally tied together, a part of each other, each animal with its own spirit. While we have no proof, that flock of animals is a part of what's happening, somehow."

Trini nodded. "Usually everything Rita comes up with is tied to a monster in the centre. Is that where the Doolagahl comes into this?"

Zordon paused before replying. "I don't think so," he replied. "The three incidents this morning are only connected through their links to Aboriginal mythology. I don't think the Doolagahl is particularly important to whatever is going on. The beast was more an aspect of something larger, rather than the cause. Which makes this very unusual."

"He really schooled us though," said Kim. "Does the Doola...thingy have any soft-spots we can aim for next time?"

Zordon shook his head. "We haven't found anything yet."

"Peter's right though," said Zac. "Really not looking forward to round two."

"Which is inevitable," said Billy. "And sooner rather than later."

"Rangers, there is nothing more you can do here," Zordon said. "Alpha and I will continue to monitor the city, but you should return before you are missed. Take care Rangers, and keep your eyes open. Whatever we're facing, it's not finished with us yet."

We all nodded, and once we'd demorphed, still aching from the battle, we reached for our communicators and teleported back to our respective schools.

A few minutes after we returned to Currimundi, the all-clear was called, and the underground shelters were opened up and everybody ventured back out. The five of us wouldn't have been missed during the chaos - all of our teachers and friends would have assumed we'd been caught in the crowd and had taken refuge someplace else - and splitting up to return to our classes, we all hung back and slipped unnoticed into the crowd. It was usually a solid half hour before calm was restored and the teachers were able to call the roll, so nobody was too worried about getting back to class in a hurry.

As the crowd of students I'd joined approached the sixth grade room, I saw Brendan standing by the door anxiously scanning all the faces passing by. Remembering how I'd left him, I felt a tiny pang of guilt, and immediately jogged over to him.

"Hey," I said, and hearing my voice he immediately spun around to me.

"Peter!" he said. "Man, I'm so glad to see you, when you didn't follow me into the shelter I totally freaked out. I've been looking for you ever since."

I smiled. "It's okay. See?" and I rested my hand on his shoulder. "I'm here, totally okay."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know, it's just, that was pretty freaky."

I nodded. "They usually are."

Brendan glanced around at the students filing past us on their way back to class. "But everyone's acting so, I don't know, so normal about it," he said. "This really does happen a lot, doesn't it?"

"More than you should probably think about," I replied.

He nodded, and turned back to me. "So," he began, his grin returning, "where the heck did you end up?"

Tibrogargan stood at the very peak of the mountain, in a clearing surrounded by ancient moss-covered boulders, staring out over the entire Sunshine Coast. So much had changed in the years he'd slept, and there was so much to take in and learn. But even with his attention on the city in the distance, he still heard tiny foot-steps behind him.

"You were right," he said, in a voice that seemed to tremble from deep below. "The army fought well, and now they rest."

"I did warn you," the girl replied, joining him by the cliff edge.

Tibrogargan nodded. "Their leader bested the Three in combat, and they forced the Doolagahl to retreat. I had underestimated them." He paused, and a slow smile spread across his face. "But I still have forces to summon they have not dreamed of."

The girl looked up to him, eager anticipation in her eyes. "What do you plan?"

"To unleash the Kwinkan, for a start. The warriors can fight, most impressively, so I will send them enemies that they cannot."

"Excellent," the girl said, nodding her approval. "And then, you can wipe that city off the face of the Earth." Hearing the tone in her voice, Tibrogargan's brows lowered, and he turned to her. The girl caught his glance and immediately contrived to look innocent. "To avenge our people," she added quickly. "Surely you have not forgotten them."

Tibrogargan nodded. "Of course, I'm sorry. My thoughts seemed... elsewhere, for a moment. But fear not, I will avenge many wrongs before I am done." But when he turned back to the girl, she was gone.