Tomo, Yomi, and Kagura stood silently, transfixed by the sight.
They were watching Osaka and Sion playing a game. It was a simple one: throw the ball into a moving hole. When the ball went in, the screen displayed a smiling clown face. When it missed, it showed an angry one. Whenever the angry one appeared, Osaka and Sion erupted into laughter. It was clear they had stopped trying to win long ago and were intentionally missing so as to laugh at the angry clown face.
"Man, who'd have thought that out of all of us Osaka would be the one the first one to get a boyfriend?" said Tomo.
"Wait, they're dating? Did they tell you that?" asked Yomi.
"Well, no, but I mean, look at them."
"To be honest, I always had trouble imagining Osaka being with a boy, or a girl for that matter" said Kagura.
"Same here, but then Sion does seem to be on her wavelength" said Yomi.
Suddenly, Sakaki came barging in, looking extremely distraught.
"Sakaki, what's wrong? Did you find another cat stuck in a tree? Tomo, call your dad and tell him we need him to bring his ladder again" said Kagura.
"No, it's Chiyo! Chiyo's been kidnapped!"
"What?!"
The girls and Sion all gathered around Sakaki in shock.
"What happened?" asked Yomi.
"A man, he grabbed her. And, I think it was a Londerz. At first he was human, but then he turned into some kind of frog man…"
"Wait, a frog man?" said Sion. "He kidnapped her? But that can't - I mean…"
"What do you mean?" asked Yomi. "These guys have been showing up for over half a year, why couldn't it be them?"
"Yes, of course…Sakaki, where did this happen, where were they heading?"
After Sakaki told him, he ran out the door.
"Sion, where ya going?" asked Osaka.
"I'm going to see if I can see the license plate number!"
"Oh, that's good thinking" he heard Osaka say as he rushed outside.
Once he was sure he was alone, he rolled up his sleeve and pressed a button on his Chrono Changer.
"Yuri, we have a situation."
"Sion, what's going on?"
"Chiyo's been kidnapped by a Londerz!"
"Who?"
"You know, the young girl from school, the one with the pigtails?"
"Oh, her."
"There's more. From Sakaki's description, it sounds like it was Nabal."
"What? That's impossible, we captured Nabal!"
"I know. I'm close to where she was taken, so I'm going to go ahead and see if I can rescue her."
"All right, we'll meet you as soon as possible."
Sion held out the Chrono Changer as he struck a pose.
"Chrono Changer!"
Nabal smiled at the empty streets as he drove. It was a pleasant day, so it was nice to be able to enjoy the sights of the suburban area he was in.
He looked to the back of the van, where his prisoner sat whimpering.
"They tell me you're a genius, kid. So you should be smart enough to know not to try anything."
Just then, there was a loud thump on the roof the van.
"What was that?!" shouted Nabal.
On top of the van, Sion braced himself so as to not fall off.
Nabal looked through the rear view mirror to see the situation.
"Damn Timeranger!"
Nabal began to swerve, trying to knock Sion off. In the back, Chiyo got dizzy, but it was far from the worst vehicular experience she had had.
Sion lay on his belly and held on to the sides for his life. He had begun to feel confident he wasn't going fall off when a beam of energy shot through from underneath, only a few inches from his head.
Below, Nabal shot out an energy blast from one of his eyes directly above, followed by another, and another.
Above, Sion dodged each blast, but he was aware that statistically he would run out of luck sooner or later. Sure enough, one struck Sion's foot, causing him to loose his grip. At the last moment he gripped the atenna, but it was fast coming loose as Sion barley hung on.
Chuckling, Nabal's eye began to glow.
"I got you now..."
"Mr. Frog, look out!" shouted Chiyo.
"Eh?" he said as he looked ahead, seeing he was heading directly for the wall of a building.
The Londerz, the Timeranger, and the prodigy all screamed as the van hit the wall dead on.
A few moments after the impact, Sion had recovered enough to go to the back of the van and tear off the door. Out came Chiyo, her eyes spinning spirals, but otherwise seeming fine.
Nabal moaned as he got out of the van. He looked at the Green Ranger, whose back was to him.
"I'll show you..."
Nabal pulled out a sword, and charged Sion. Just before he impaled his target, the Green Ranger turned around and caught the weapon with his own Double Vector swords.
"Chiyo, run! I'll hold him off!"
Chiyo hesitated a moment, reluctant to leave her savior while he was still in danger, but ultimately headed off.
"Stupid brat, you won't escape me-"
Nabal's threat was cut short as Sion suddenly removed the swords and himself, causing the Londerz to fall to the ground.
Sion looked determinedly at his opponent. He had first encountered Nabal soon after they had arrived in the 20th century; he ended up one of his kidnapped victims, circumstance preventing him from engaging him in battle.
That had been a long time ago. He liked to think he was no longer as naive, and Domon and the others had trained him to fight. He wanted to show Nabal he was no longer hapless.
Nabal turned around and let loose a torrent of energy blasts. Sion dodged the blasts, and leapt at his opponent, striking him with the Double Vector.
The weakened kidnapper dully tried to attack Sion again, but the Timeranger once again caught his sword with his own, this time breaking Nabal's sword in two.
He then struck Nabal right in the face, sending him flying back until he hit a wall. He moaned as he tried to get up.
Sion had to admit feeling pretty pleased with his thrashing of his foe. He wished Osaka had been here to see it.
"Face it, Nabal, you're no match for me. Give yourself up now, you're wasting both our time."
Nabal laughed.
"I hate to admit it, but you're right, I am no match for you. Good thing I brought in a ringer!"
"What?"
A figure appeared out of nowhere, swooping down and striking Sion with a katana, sending sparks flying off his suit.
"Your life is mine, Timeranger."
The new arrival looked like a beehive in humanoid form, three stern eyes standing in a column on his head, with the dress and demeanor of a samurai. Sion recognized him: Bodyguard Hydrid.
Hydrid too? Was there a breakout at Tomorrow Research without us having even noticed?
Though taken aback, Sion regained his composure quickly. He had defeated Hydrid before, and he would do so again.
He pressed a button on his Chrono Changer and charged. For an instant, he moved too fast to be seen. Then he fell, as electricity crackled through his Chrono Suit.
"What's wrong, Timeranger?" said Hydrid. "Your trick doesn't work? Do you have the courage to face me on skill alone?"
Sion realized Hydrid had not struck randomly. He had managed to disable the Accel Stop, a feature he himself had developed to stop Hydrid last time, one that granted the Rangers great speed. Without it, Hydrid's speed made him virtually invincible.
Still, though the odds were against him, he realized he had no choice but to fight and hope his friends arrived soon.
Hydrid wasted no time in attacking, picking up speed and running at Sion, striking him with his katana. As Sion was still reeling from it, Hydrid came at him again.
After this, Hydrid was standing still, and Sion thought he had an opening. He moved to strike him, only to be struck by an energy blast from behind.
On the ground, he looked to see a laughing Nabal.
"Forget about me, green boy?"
That set the tone for the battle as it continued. Hydrid continually struck Sion, while Nabal on occasion struck him from a distance with his beam, reveling in attacking a foe who couldn't fight back.
The only thing Sion could take comfort in was that as they were both focused on him, it gave more time to Chiyo to get to safety.
Chiyo ran as fast as her little legs could, powered by adrenaline and fear.
She didn't know this area, and wasn't sure which way would lead to familiar surroundings. It was also a wealthy area, and like her own home, and like her own home all the houses were inaccessible unless she was buzzed in. She had tried numerous times, and never received a response. Furthermore, she hadn't run into anyone. It was if the area was completely deserted. All the time, she feared the Londerz would suddenly appear and grab her again.
She was feeling overwhelmed by the situation, and her eyes started to water.
No! You're not going to cry, you're a high schooler, not a little kid!
Then she heard a cheerful whistling. She looked to see a policeman, calmly writing a ticket for a car parked where it shouldn't be.
"Mr. Policeman, Mr. Policeman, help!" she yelled as she ran down to him.
He kneeled down and smiled.
"Hello little girl, what's wrong?"
Chiyo ignored the officer calling her a little girl, and excitedly explained everything that had happened to her.
"A Londerz kidnapped you? How scary. You must be a very brave girl to deal with all that. Well, I'll handle things now."
For the first time since she was grabbed, Chiyo began to relax.
Then she felt a handcuff on her wrist. She was hoisted into the air, and screamed as she saw the policeman had transformed into a monster, some sort of robotic cop with a long 'tongue' covering the front of his torso.
"Don't worry, little girl: you're in the secure hands of Corrupt Officer Arnold-K! I'll get you back to Nabal safe and sound!"
Sion collapsed to the ground, his uniform burn and smoldering, his energy spent.
"I commend your tenacity, if not your abilities, boy. But do not worry, your suffering is about to end" said Hydrid as he raised his katana.
Jusr before be could swing it down on Sion's neck, he was hit by a blast of energy, sending him flying back. Several more rounds of blasts kept him and Nabal reeling.
Sion looked up to see the Time Flyer swooping in. His friends leapt off the craft and descended to the ground, forming a barrier between Sion and the two Londerz.
Yuri took Sion's hand and helped him up.
"You all right, Sion?" she asked.
"I'll live. Get them."
"Got it. Tatsuya, Ayase, you're with me on Hydrid."
"Guess that leaves you all to me, froggy" said Domon as he cracked his knuckles.
Nabal gulped.
The Pink, Red, and Blue Rangers activated the Accel-Stop function on their Chrono Suits. They became invisible as they swarmed Hydrid, effortlessly dodging his attacks and delivering blows upon him.
Domon, meanwhile, was holding Nabal upside down and bashing his head against the pavement.
"Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself" he taunted.
"You're - Ooh - not mak - ah - ing me hit - ow - myself, that - oof - doesn't make - fuck - any sense!"
Domon let go, and Nabal gave a sigh of relief, only to see Domon throw himself on him to do a body slam.
Finally, Domon picked up Nabal, spun him around by his legs and finally flung him at an exhausted Hydrid, who collapsed to the ground upon impact.
"All right, let's freeze these two losers" said Domon.
Suddenly, Hydrid threw something to the ground, and there was an explosion of black smoke. When it was cleared, both Londerz were gone.
Well, not quite. Looking ahead, they saw Hydrid making gigantic leaps away.
"He made sure we saw him. He wants us to follow him" said Yuri.
The Chrono Changers beeped.
"What is it, Tac?" said Yuri.
"I checked three times to be sure; all Londerz prisoners are present and accounted for."
"What?" said Tatsuya. "But they were clearly Hydrid and Nabal...weren't they?"
"Could they have been replaced with fakes?" asked Ayase.
"If they are, they're damned good ones, indistinguishable down to a cellular level. I'll contact you if I find anything more."
"This is weird...what are the Londerz planning now?" said Domon.
"Whoever those two were, they're threats who have to be stopped" said Yuri. "Let's go find them."
"Guys...huff...wait up!" cried out Osaka, her face red as she struggled to keep going.
"Come on Osaka, this is important!" said Kagura. "I saw the Timerangers flying this way, so Chiyo must be around here!"
"She is running faster than she usually does" said Tomo.
"It doesn't matter! This isn't the sports fest, Chiyo-Chan's life is at stake!"
Sakaki gasped in horror.
"I mean, not her life, but, well...ugh Sakaki I can't do this right now!"
"Look" said Yomi, "we're all worried about Chiyo-Chan...except maybe Tomo..."
"I'm concerned!" protested Tomo.
"But assuming she is being held by a Londerz, what exactly are we supposed to do?"
"I don't know, okay! But she's our friend, we can't just do nothing!"
"Why not?" asked Tomo.
Before Kagura could answer, someone else spoke up.
"Hey guys, look here!" called out Osaka. The others hadn't noticed that while they had stopped to discuss things she had continued on.
They hurried up to her, and found a crashed, heavily damaged white van.
"That was his van" said Sakaki.
"Well, there's no blood. That's good, right?" said Yomi.
"Wow!" said Tomo, picking up a sword that had been broken in two. "Hey Yomi, let's have a sword fight!"
Tomo tossed one of the halves at Yomi, who panicked and ducked.
It instead hit a statue at a nearby fountain, slicing off its head.
"Cool…" said Tomo.
A furious Yomi grabbed Tomo and started shaking her.
"You could have killed me you moron!"
"Yeah, and knowing you I guess you're never going to let me forget it."
"Look at this" said Osaka, pointing to burn marks on the ground. "Ah know what these mean from personal experience...someone tried ta build their own battery..."
"Or they're from energy blasts" said Sakaki. "The Timerangers must have fought the Londerz."
"Maybe they already saved her. They could have brought her back and she's wondering where we are" said Tomo.
"Maybe" said Kagura. "But I think we should look around here more to be sure. C'mon, Chiyo may be counting on us."
The girls quickly moved forward.
"Ohhhh" moaned Osaka.
"I can't believe it! You had him and you just blew it!"
In an abandoned warehouse, the two Londerz were waiting as they recuperated from the battle.
Hydrid sat silently polishing his katana while Nabal paced and ranted.
"Just a moment sooner and TimeGreen would be dead! But no, you had to show off, take-"
Nabal suddenly stopped speaking as Hydrid held his sword right at the kidnapper's throat.
"I do not recall you making any protests at the time. In fact, I distinctly remember you demanding me to 'not kill him yet' and 'make him suffer.'"
"I - I didn't mean to imply none of the blame was mine..."
Hydrid removed the sword.
"In any case, there is no point to rueing over what has already occurred. Our strategy is proceeding as planned. TimeGreen and his teammates will be dead before the day is done."
"Assuming that brat didn't get away..." Nabal grumbled.
"Did I hear someone mention a missing brat?"
Arnold-K walked in, a still handcuffed Chiyo hanging from his hand.
Nabal laughed as he approached them.
"You caused me a lot of grief, kid. Maybe this'll teach ya to run away..."
Chiyo squirmed as Nabal approached her with his hands out. He stopped as Hydrid thrust his sword between him and Chiyo.
"You will not place our plan in jeopardy to soothe your wounded pride. You two will take the girl to the church, where our comrades are awaiting us. I will go out and find our foes and lure them there, where they will meet their doom."