The Will of the land Part 2
Gia was absolutely livid, rage seemed to boil off of her in waves she's never felt more humiliated and betrayed. Emma could see that her friend was in distress, the two girls quickly and silently assembled their belongings and made their way for the exit. Noah scrambled to follow them, Jake's revelation caught him completely off guard and his apparent glee over the situation didn't help.
"C'mon guys talk to me," Jake pleaded as he followed Noah, Emma, and Gia outside the juice bar.
"Can't you guys just try and see it from my perspective?" Jake defended
Emma's heart softened, she hated leaving Jake out. "Guys, maybe we should hear him out,"
Gia stared at Jake with a look of death, and Noah watched on curiously.
"We've been at this job for weeks now, we've saved this city time and time again. People love us and what do we do in return? Nothing."
"We save their lives, that's what we do." Gia spouted.
Jake clenched his fists, they weren't getting it. "What I'm trying to say is, I think we can give more to this city than just save theirs and risk our lives. I for one hate being a mystery. I want people to know us not because we make the bad guys go away but because we love this place too."
"...I don't know what to say, Jake." Emma stammered.
"Well, I do." A fire burned in Gia's eyes, she was through trying to be nice. "Your intentions may seem generous Jake, but your actions don't show it. Look at what happened in our last battle, people flocked to you like roaches in the dark. They didn't clear the area after we had arrived, instead, they waited and watched hoping to get a selfie with the black ranger. Do you not see how dangerous that is Jake? Secondly that interview, you couldn't have been more stupid to agree to that?"
Within the confines of the Warstar space ship Cerebralpede's eyes flash. "My evaluation process has concluded, and my termination protocol has been initiated. I shall eliminate the rangers in one fell swoop."
He descended onto the earth carried by the speed of his wings.
"Okay maybe going to that interview was a bad idea ...A very bad idea. But in my defense, I didn't say anything revealing. I was morphed the entire time I was at the studio. Didn't the operation overdrive rangers do the same?"
"That was different. The overdrive rangers were funded by a billionaire, most people probably saw them as a popularity stunt if anything." Noah said.
"Um guys, look up in the sky!" Emma points to the sky where Cerebralpede is soaring overhead.
"He's back for more huh? We'll finish him this time!" Gia says summoning her Morpher. The other rangers follow, now adorned in their colored suits. People quickly scatter and take cover not far from the battlefield.
"Back for another beat down? Guess you didn't learn your lesson last time," Jake hollered.
"We shall see who learned and who didn't," Cerebralpede's arm morphed into a blade.
Noah fired bolts from his bowgun which were easily deflected and broken by Cerebralpede.
"Ah yes, the intrinsic one. Mark...and counter."Cerebralpede dashed toward Noah with a sudden burst of speed. His blade lashed viciously bringing Noah down.
"What the? How did he know?" Noah groaned in pain.
"Phoenix shot!" Emma called from up high.
"Tiger claw!" Said Gia from down low.
"Brilliant execution, mark...and counter." With his free hand, the warstar struck Emma with a powerful point-blank blast. This put her in the path of Gia and both the girls were brought to their knees by his sword.
"You'll pay for that!" Jake roared.
"Ah yes, come," Cerebralpede challenged.
"We're with you Black Ranger!" A voice from the crowd boomed as several citizens came forward.
"No no, stay back!" The black ranger urged but the people didn't listen.
"Don't think I am unable to harm innocents, loogies!" With a snap of his fingers, the lime green men arose. The henchmen inched closer to the growing crowd all of whom were terrified by their attackers. They all surrounded Jake who was being pushed further and further behind a sea of people, things were not going as he wanted.
"Everyone get back, I'm trying to keep you safe!"
The Loogies each draw their side arms and fire, the army of citizens cower anticipating the decimation. From the back Jake springs to the front of the crowd taking the brunt of the blasts. The crowds cheer as their hero has once again come to their rescue.
"None of you are helping, I really need you to get out of here!" From his belt, Jake draws his Ax card and summons the weapon to his hand. Cutting and hacking the loogies begin to fall one by one with each swing of his axe. Once more feeling emboldened, some of the men in the throng take it upon themselves to assist. They tackle the loogies and attempt to hold them steady while Jake swings.
"Move!" Jake yells, accidentally swinging his Ax.
On his last swing Jake was inches from striking one of his unconventional allies, he lowered the blade of his weapon in the last instant. The non-combatant onlookers collectively held their breath, to calmly sigh in relief. Jake shook his head without saying a word he goes to help his team. They were badly outclassed by the monster.
Noah fired another bolt from his bowgun, Cerebralpede's eyes lit up as he instantly developed a countermeasure. Taking hold of Gia the yellow ranger was made to shield the Warstar, he sent a conclusive blast of energy toward Noah which caused him to throw his bowgun into the air. Taking hold of the weapon, Cerebralpede struck Emma point blank.
Jake sprung high into the air with his axe poised high, side-stepping the Warstar and easily dodging the downward power swing. Cerebralpede tried to fire another bolt from the bowgun only for Jake to knock it out of his hand. The cybernetic eyes of the invader quickly analyzed and adapted the black ranger's fight pattern. Transforming his hand to a sword the extraterrestrial met another one of Jake's swings. The impact of the collision sent the weapon careening in the direction of the onlookers.
The discarded weapon fumbled through the air flipping over itself again and again. Terror spread like wildfire as people clambered to escape the splash zone tripping over each other. During the stampede, a male fan toppled to the ground, the shadow of the axe fell right over him.
"Oh no!" Emma yelled.
The audience gasped, Jake looked over to think he had just killed someone when in the midsts of the smoke was Troy. The red ranger invoked a twist tornado which took the lone male civilian out of harm's way. Troy had also successfully caught Jake's axe without any problem whatsoever.
Jake couldn't have been any happier to see the red ranger in his life.
"Troy..." Jake said under his breath.
"Red ranger..." Cerebralpede's eyes quickly looked over Troy, "perfect balance."
The rangers regroup coming together around Troy.
"...Dude...I'm sorry." Jake confessed, feeling absolutely guilt-ridden.
"Here, your axe." Troy dropped the weapon into Jake's hand, for the first time in a while he felt the weight of it.
"Troy, he knows our every move." Noah said softly, "We can barely get a hit off."
"How much does he know?" Troy asked glancing at the Warstar.
"...Maybe, everything," Gia said.
Cerebralpede replayed the recent series of events. The human was sprawled on the ground gasping for breath, the trajectory of the axe indicated that it would have terminated him on impact. In a matter of seconds, the red ranger managed to call upon the winds and transport the human to safety all while positioning himself to interject and catch the discarded axe. That power was something spectacular and unusual.
"Hmmm, I need further research." The Warstar took the skies and fled.
"Wait!" Noah yelled but the monster left.
"Where did the civilian go?" Emma asked looking at Troy.
"He Safe."
"Thank goodness no one was hurt," Emma breathed a sigh of relief as Jake stood afar from the team.
"You're Arrival was a close one but seriously awesome," Noah said to Troy.
Troy nodded, "We need to go to the base and talk to Gosei personally, maybe we'll get more information on this Warstar."
"Sounds like a plan." Noah said, "Jake?"
Noah looked for his buddy but he was already gone.
The events of the day were a nightmare fuel to Jake, so many things could have gone wrong and it would have all been his fault. The angry voices of his friends echoed in his ear, they all warned him of the consequences but Jake was too stubborn to listen.
The goalpost in front of him stood empty, the ball at his feet was tattered and worn. Of the many different shots he's taken, not a single one landed perfectly in the net. Jake's fury reached a boiling point to which he poured all of his might into his kick. With a loud pop, the ball finally sails into the net although much flatter than it was originally. He retreated to the player's bench and inhaled sips of water.
"The soccer field's closed kid." A familiar Latin voice spoke. Jake looked up to see the same man who was at his first press conference, the one who put a lot of emphasis on teamwork.
"I wasn't playing... Just thinking. Thinking about a lot of things." Jake murmured.
"Well sorry to interrupt but you can't be on the field. The school's going to be putting down a new layer of turf."
"Alright, I'll go, just let me get my ball first." Jake jogged over to the goal where his ball resided, it was partially deflated but nothing a little bit of air wouldn't fix.
"Wow, that must've been a strong kick."
"What do you mean?" Jake was curious,+ he couldn't have done that much damage, upon further inspection Jake noticed a sizable hole, this was a new ball and he just murdered it.
"That was an accident. I was just...angry."
"It's okay we should have others. Are you a student here?"
"I am, though I don't think I should be showing my face here anymore," Jake said.
"Why do you say that?"
"Uh, it's nothing you know just uh... kid stuff." Jake flashed a quick smile feigning happiness, but his guest wasn't buying it.
"Hey I may be old but I could understand "kid stuff, " The man said performing air quotes, "If it makes you feel better I'm going to be the substitute soccer coach for a few weeks. Coach Ramirez is going to be out of town, and if I'm not mistaken you're one of his players."
"Yeah, how'd you know?" This was the first Jake heard of his coach's absence.
The man alluded to the ball which had deflated completely.
"Oh yeah, right," Jake said in an embarrassed tone.
"We might as well get to know each other. I'm Coach Vallerte."
Gosei hummed thinking over the fresh inspiration presented to him. Gia, Emma, Troy, and Noah were just as confused about the situation.
"It appears this invader has been studying the way in which you all move. This could be dangerous, the longer you fight it, the faster it will learn about you. I don't have a guaranteed strategy for you all to use. I can only warn you to be decisive and intent with your attacks."
The light bulb went off above Gia's head, "Here's an idea, Troy and Emma can attack first followed by Noah. Once you guys wear out his defenses I'll come in with a heavy blow."
"But wouldn't he see that coming?" Noah countered.
"Well, it's not like anyone else was offering ideas." The yellow ranger snapped.
"It would be better if we all rush him at once," Noah suggested, "that'll leave no room for him to escape."
"If we all rushed in Noah, we wouldn't be prepared for his counterattacks. In all honesty, your plan sounds like something Jake would have done."
Troy and Emma watched in silence as their comrades bickered. The robotic aid, Tensou, wheeled between them. "Speaking of which where is Jake?"
"He's probably making a fool of himself again, he was exploiting us by appearing on a tv show," Gia told Tensou.
Noah tried to stay mellow, but Gia was starting to push his limits. "I think Jake already learned his lesson Gia, he left feeling pretty guilty about what happened."
"Oh, I bet he is, e should be actually. If it wasn't for Troy, there would have been a lot more injuries, he was only thinking of himself." Gia paced to the back of the room away from Noah and the rest.
Noah ventured closer to Gia her intimidation didn't deter him at all. "Just like you were only thinking of yourself last week? And out of all of us, Jake was the only one to give you the benefit of the doubt but yet you still refuse to give Jake a chance.
The room was silent.
"I'm done arguing with you." Noah grabbed his bag and left with everyone watching.
"Until we succeed in locating this monster once more I think it best you all take the time now to return to your homes, Tensou and I will call for you when the time is right. It's about time I talk to Jake." Gosei said dismissing the team.
The monstrous Warstar Cerebralpede meditates in the confines of Admiral Malkor's ship. Running on a constant loop before him, was a record of his last battle with the rangers.
"Analyze...Mark...rewind...mark...process...mark..."
Admiral Malkor storms into the bridge, "VRAK! Your foolish clone nearly failed like all the others!"
Creepox watches with glee, it was about time the cobalt scientist got what he deserved.
"Forgive me for saying this Admiral but you were the one who selected him," Vrak responded sharply.
"I anticipated that he'd be able to assist you in neutralizing the rangers, but obviously I was mistaken." Malkor scolded.
"Oh but he has been most supportive, he's feeding all the data he's observed back into the main network. As we speak he's developing countermeasures which will grant him the swiftest route to victory."
"You better be right, I'm tired of your constant failures. How do you plan to deal with the human population once the rangers are gone?"
"I've analyzed that humans are completely dependant on oxygen. . Once the rangers have been taken care of, I'll have Cerebalpede unleash a virus that will quickly scramble and rewrite the minds of the humans. The virus would cause a malfunction within their communication network forcing the humans to become as docile as lambs. We'll then decimate their plant life which is a key producer of oxygen. As we speak I'm having my zombats plant charges all across the city, once activated, the charges will spark a spontaneous fire that would rapidly deplete the atmosphere of precious oxygen. If they can't breathe they can't resist and our victory will be assured."
"See to it that everything goes according to plan," Malkor says as he walks away.
"Data analysis, Subject file Encounter 1 processing:... Four human subjects 2 male 2 female, one unidentified subject." Cerebralpede rattled off.
This piqued Vrak's interest, "Cerebralpede, re-analyze unknown subject."
"Re-analyzing... Recognition not found."
"Interesting, in your first encounter with the rangers, you counted four humans and one anomaly. When asked to reprocess the results came back negative." Vrak thought to himself. "Who is the unknown subject?"
"Subject identified as Red Ranger," Cerebralpede said.
Creepox peers on observing from a distance, the result of the monster's evaluation sent a worrisome chill down his spine.
"Creepox!" Vrak chased after the monstrous insect.
"Going so soon?" Vrak asked facing his fleeting ally. "Found something interesting to inform your questionable partner?"
"How did you know about...Oh, I see, I'm not playing your mind games, Vrak. My loyalties are to Malkor and the insectoid race!"
"I'm sure they are, and I'm sure you said the same thing when we flew under my father's banner. Tell me just how many sides are you playing?"
"I owe you nothing!" Creepox snarled.
"Remind me again how did you get your scar? I don't recall the admiral dispatching you to engage the rangers and I don't believe the training excuse at all." Vrak said.
"That is none of your business!"
"Since we're playing this guessing game, was it the red ranger?" Vrak asked as Creepox slowly turned to face him.
"So it was. That is indeed sad. No wonder you haven't left this ship since then, one beating was enough."
Creepox growled, "AH! Mind your tongue Vrak!"
Vrak snickers a laugh, "You know I heard a story once of a powerful being, one capable of shifting the galactic scales. Are you familiar?"
"I'm not interested in your childhood fantasies," Creepox responded.
"This being has been known to occasionally take on a mortal presence, confining itself to live as a temporary lifeform. Under normal circumstances no one could hope to challenge such a force, but when it's willingly vulnerable the situation changes."
"What are you getting at!" Creepox demanded.
"If I could somehow manage to get a sample of this subject's DNA I might be able to find a means of taking a particularly annoying piece off the board. Get my drift?"
Jake greeted his new coach with a firm handshake. "Hi um nice to meet you, Coach uh V, I'm Jake..."
Jake shook the man's hand nonchalantly he was in a bit of a rush. He wasn't quite in the mood for a lengthy conversation. Well hey, I gotta go. I promise next time not to break any soccer balls."
"Alright take care."
As Jake begins to lace up his sneakers, his new coach makes his way to one of the goalposts. The metal groans as Coach Vallerte begins to wheel it back a few inches at a time.
"Do you uh want help with that?" Jake offered.
"That'll be great. They want to put a new turf, but everyone is late moving the equipment, so I'm the only option now." Coach Vallerte responded.
The Megaforce black ranger trots near his coach. On three, the two men lift the metal frame and begin to push the net back several inches the two of them groaning with each step.
"We can put that right here," Coach Vallerte says as the men gently put the frame down. "See I knew I can count on you because I have a feeling no one else was going to show up unless they got some sort of reward."
Jake smiled, but then stood at a fork in the road. On the one hand, he could try and open up to this new coach maybe he could grant some much-needed insight. On the other hand, he could stay quiet and keep his issue to himself.
"Can I ask you something?" Jake asks looking to his athletic instructor.
"Sure, but make it quick we still have to move the other post."
"Well uh...I have this friend who, for most of his life has been looked down on and underestimated. When he finally started to get the attention he so craved, some of his other friends got mad at him. Do you think my friend was wrong to pursue the attention and affection of others?"
Carlos scratched his chin, "Well uh, I would need to ask this friend what's more important to him. Would he rather surround himself with a bunch of nobodies or be surrounded by people who actually care about him? One thing you learn as you get older is that true friends tell you how it is. The minute you stop feeding the masses they'll turn on you."
Carlos paused a moment longer, "But then again I could kind of understand where this friend of yours was coming from. No friends, no attention, and just basically looked down upon. This friend of yours almost reminded me of myself. I only cared about myself and my main goal was to be the star player on the team and nothing else. The attention felt good, it felt like I was actually worth something. Then terrible things happened which lead to a friend of mine getting seriously hurt. I was afraid of what my next move was, especially making the wrong move. If I'd only understood then to stay connected to my roots I probably would have acted a lot differently. It's the will of the land to stay solid and firmly planted. Although the winds will blow and storms arise, I'm never too far from who I truly am."
Jake stared in awe at the wisdom of this coach. He hit the nail on the head perfectly, that was exactly what Jake had been feeling. He also realized that the person he'd become was drastically different than the person he was at his roots. Jake nodded his head as a smile creeps across his face. Just then the familiar ringtone of his Morpher chimed. He looked to his bag where his Megaforce pin gleamed in the afternoon sun.
"Oh uh, I really have to go now."
"Girlfriend right?" Coach Vallerte guessed, knowing the truth.
"Heh I wish, but the girl I like is pretty upset with me at the moment. Thanks for your advice Coach V., I hope to see you tomorrow during practice."
"I look forward to it, Jake."
Jake waves are good as he excuses himself. While watching the young athlete go Coach Vallerte notices a buzzing in his own pocket. "Please tell me you guys are on your way."
"Carlos they aren't coming until tomorrow."
"...No way! Are you serious?" Carlos felt foolish.
"I tried to tell you but you weren't picking up your phone."
"Wow...isn't that just great...I need a raise."
With the coast clear, Jake pulls his pin communicator close to his lips, "What's up, Gosei."
"I hope you're doing well Jake, it came to my attention that you weren't with the others. I've heard some disturbing reports that threatened the security of our mission and it all hinged on a series of certain choices that have been made. I am not convicting you of any wrongdoing Jake, but is there something you would like to tell me?"
Jake took a deep breath, this was a moment he dreaded having to deal with. Rather than stall any longer he decided to rip the bandage off. "...Yes Gosei, I broke one of the rules. I used my powers for personal gain and if you calling me because you want to pull me out of the team, I'll respect your decision."
"...I did not call you Jake to demand your termination. Of all the possible candidates Tensou and I deemed you the most worthy. I take it that you have already started to see the inverse response to your actions?"
Jake sighed, "I do Gosei, I understand now. It is my will of this land to protect the earth, to bring the balance of good. Because what I did was selfish and wrong."
"That's good to hear Jake. However, we now have bigger things to discuss in the meantime. This foe you all have been facing is very analytical. We've deduced that it has been observing each of your techniques and combat capabilities. I have been unable to concoct a plausible countermeasure, although I am running simulations.
Jake thought for a moment, if this thing knew all of the ranger's normal moves then they would need to do something abnormal.
"...Huh, I think I know how to defeat it."
"If that is the case, you'll need to explain your idea to the other rangers. I'm getting a reading about this monster's whereabouts."
The eyes of Cerebralpede flashed a brilliant red, he was now alert and ready to go on a new mission which was added to his objectives. He descended upon the earth soaring high over the many tall buildings. He touched down in the heart of the city with a menacing glance in his eyes. Cars swerved trying to veer away from the monstrosity, many others attempted to duck and cover.
"Reanalyzation complete, countermeasures ready," Cerebralpede pointed his finger sending a crimson ray of energy. Members of the media who were filming the encounter stood absolutely paralyzed with a blank expressions on their faces.
"So do you know what the shoe said to the bug? Squish!" Jake shouts. The rangers arrived at the scene, unmorphed, ready to finally settle the score with this invader.
"...How long did it take you to come up with that?" Troy miffed.
"Only uh a minute, it came to me on our way over here." Jake shrugged his shoulders he was glad to of been acknowledged by Troy as he was positioned in the cent of the group lineup.
Cerebralpede goaded. "You've arrived right on time as I predicted, feel free to shape-shift there's no one else around."
Jake looked to his friends, "Remember the plan, we got this."
"Go go Megaforce!" With the invocation of their morphers, the rangers ascended to their battle-ready states.
"Fury of the dragon! Megaforce Red!" Troy pronounced
"Flame of the phoenix! Megaforce Pink!" Emma said after.
"Venom of the snake! Megaforce Black!" Jake called posing proudly.
"Claw of the tiger! Megaforce Yellow!" Gia announced instep with Jake.
"Bite of the shark! Megaforce Blue!" Noah declared rounding out the individual role calls.
"Becoming one with the legacy!" Jake proclaimed reaching up to the heavens, "Power Rangers!"
"Megaforce!" The five rangers stood uniformly as light bent around them forming the Megaforce crest.
"I shall dispose of you all quickly, my master has a greater mission for me to accomplish." The hand of the Warstar warped into a blade as he charged the rangers.
~1 hour before the attack~
Gathering around the outskirts of the base, Gia, Emma, and Noah all watch in silence as Jake approached. His face was downcast and his fingers twitched almost uncontrollably.
"Guys...I am really sorry and I um, I'm a bit of an idiot. I got so wrapped up with the attention people were giving me that I sorta lost sight of my roots. You guys tried to warn me but I was too stubborn to listen." Jake confessed.
"That's all we've been waiting to hear," Noah said greeting his friend warmly.
"I forgive you." Emma smiled, giving Jake a friendly hug.
Gia was the last to hold out. It was her own tenacious pride that didn't allow her to feel any sort of sympathy. Jake knew he messed up badly, especially since the one girl he wanted to impress was instead disappointed with his inexcusable behavior. She socked Jake hard in the arm, "You're right about the idiot part, but apology accepted."
Emma was pleased to see that the feud was finally over. Jake was so confused about how Gia was able to forgive him so easily, especially since it was so hard to win her over, maybe he had finally done something right. Though unbeknownst to his knowledge Noah had put some light on the situation, giving Gia a different insight to her shallow response without seeing the other side of the mirror.
"Gosei gave me the lowdown on this Insectoid and I think I have a plan." Jake gleamed, totally thrilled to be back on the same page as his friends.
"We should call Troy, he'll want to hear this." Gia offered, readying her communicator pin.
~Present~
The monster fires pulses of crimson energy, knocking the rangers off balance. "By my calculations, I should be able to defeat you in a matter of 10 moves."
"We can do it in 5!" Jake retorted as he and the rangers all summoned their weapons.
"I've taken the liberty to develop countermeasures for anything and everything in your arsenal. There's nothing you can do that surprises me."
"We'll see about that!" Jake says tossing his ax into the air. What he caught wasn't the handle of his axe but the trigger of Emma's phoenix shot. He fired sending a series of blasts directly at the invader.
"What's this?! I had no knowledge of such trickery!" Cerebalpede bellowed as he returned fire.
"That's what we were counting on!" Noah said holding on to Troy's dragon sword. With impressive dexterity, he slid forward striking with the edge of the blade.
Cerebralpede countered the slash with his own blade and kicked the blue ranger back. "I must withdraw!"
He spread his insect wings and took to the skies fluttering away as fast as he could. A jolt of pain raced across Cerebralpede's back forcing him to land back on the ground, one of his wings have become seriously damaged.
Gia took aim with Noah's bowgun and fired another two times, the monster slashed the arrows with his sword hand. Of the many hours of research and study, he performed none of it prepared him for this outcome.
"I will not be terminated lightly!" Cerebalpede growled as he powered up a mass of energy.
Troy and Emma came from opposite sides wielding Jake's snake Ax and Gia's tiger claw respectfully. They glided low to the ground and whizzed past their enemy with incredible speed.
~30 minutes before the attack~
The Megaforce rangers were gathered on the beach outside their base, etched in the sand was Jake's master plan of victory. "Gosei said this guy analyzed our strategies and how we all attack, but what if we turn the tables on him? He knows what weapon we normally use, so what if we all change our tactics and switch weapons?"
Gia, Noah, and Emma, all look dumbfounded. Why couldn't any of them have come up with such a simple plan? If only they spent less time arguing then maybe they would have reached a solution.
"So we're basically disrupting this thing's omniscience demeanor," Troy deduced.
"Yeah!...Whatever that means." Jake grinned wildly nodding at Troy. The red ranger sighed an exasperated breath.
"What is it?" Jake asked.
"Nothing, really. I wasn't sure how to defeat this monster either after you guys said he could read out every move, hopefully, this bold idea works." Troy reassured.
"Ah," Jake smiled a bit, then playfully hit Troy in the arm, "that's why I'm here buddy. I may have been narrow-headed today but I got your back."
The red ranger looked to his arm and then to Jake, the black ranger's cheesy smile become an afflicted frown.
"Or not...but yeah, any more questions?" Jake looked from face to face but no one posed any inquiries.
Jake's smile brightened, "Alright put it here, Earth's defenders never surrender."
The black ranger held his hand out hoping the others would stack theirs on top but no one made a move.
"...Is that supposed to be our war cry?" Gia asked.
"Um...anyone got anything better?" Jake refuted his hand still held out.
"I don't have any ideas," Emma said as Noah and Gia also shrugged.
"You got something, Troy?" Jake posed to the team leader.
The red ranger was silent for a moment as he weighed his words carefully, "Not really, I'm still trying to recover from mega rangers, that's a mega win."
Jake patted his legs, "Come on guys, every ranger does this. We have our individual roll calls; that Gosei gave us and we don't use them! We don't even have our own official group call!"
"Do we really need one?" Emma wondered.
"I mean, we're rangers right?" Jake retorted.
"I'm actually puzzled myself, never really thought about it." Noah said as Jake again looked at Troy.
"Come on Troy, I know you got something in that closed mind of yours." The black ranger raised his eyebrows knowingly.
Troy's glance turned Jake's blood to ice. The debt must not have been settled on Troy's account and Jake still owed him a great deal. All that worry melted when a smile appeared on Troy's face. His hard glare softened as if to say 'gotcha'. "Hmmm... this may sound dumb but..what about, 'becoming one with the legacy?'"
Like fireworks, Jake exploded with smiles and clapping, the other rangers were also impressed.
"That is a good one!" Acknowledged Jake.
"How do you even come up with this stuff!" Noah cheered.
"Becoming one with the legacy, that sounds better than earth's defenders never surrender," Gia sneered.
"Hey, it was a quick thought," Jake whined.
Their morphers chimed as the voice of Gosei alerted them to the presence of the attack.
~Present~
"If you've been keeping track that was only 4 moves," Jake said as the rangers brought their weapons together. Jake stood at the head of the formation supported by Gia and Emma while Jake and Troy helped to support the Mega blaster. The weapon was primed and charged with each ranger placing their respective card on their weapons.
"Bug meet shoe," Jake called as he pulled the trigger. The combined energies of the rangers pooled together forming the Megaforce crest. With, one final bellow, Cerebralpede was atomized by pure golden light.
Vrak slammed his fist against one of his service tables the rangers have triumphed again. He knew the admiral wouldn't be pleased knowing that another one of his creations failed but fortune was on his side. The zombats he discreetly sent have finished planting their various charges and now it was time for the second portion of the plan to commence.
"Say goodbye to all of your beloved oxygen rangers!" Vrak glowered as he hit a button.
Explosions ran out all over the city causing the ground to tremor. The rangers looked to the skylines to see columns of flames and black smoke cascade into the heavens. Sirens wailed as fire trucks and emergency vehicles raced all over the city.
Emma was horrified.
"Oh no, the woods!" She cried thinking about her favorite biking trail and the butterflies she had photographed.
Noah surmised, "with this much smoke in the atmosphere it's only going to be a matter of time before it'll consume all the oxygen."
"We need to get on top of this, Now!" Troy said readying his zord card, the others followed suit.
"Summon MechaZords!" The voice of Gosei boomed as the rangers leaped into their zords.
"Jake, Gia you guys take the south side, Emma and I will tackle the business district, Noah the north side is all you," Troy ordered.
"You got it, Troy," Noah said as he steered his Shark Zord toward an inferno.
The rangers all separated into their various districts.
"You ready Emma?" Troy asked.
"You bet," She replied.
The Dragon and Phoenix zords flew over the oceans using their sky power to vacuum water into the air. The two rangers twisted and spun causing the water to fall like rain.
Noah arrived at his fire which raged uncontrollably.
"Let's call in some backup," He said drawing a new card from his belt. "Sea brothers!"
The Manta, Sawtooth, and Hammerhead zords arrived and combined their powers with Noah's shark zord. The cooling spray eliminated the fire at its core.
Gia and Jake were in the thick of it, their fire had spread rapidly which left many people trapped. Jake's snake slithered through the streets smothering what little flames he could.
"This is too much for us to handle on our own, should we wait for the others?" Gia asked.
"If we wait any longer the fire will spread even further, we need to contain it somehow," Jake responded as he reflected on the words his new coach said. It's the will of the land to stay solid. Although the winds will blow and storms arise, I'm never too far from who I truly am.
Another idea sparked in his mind, "Let's cut the fire off at its source."
Just then their belts began to glow and to their surprise, a new card was granted to both of them.
"Looks like Noah isn't the only one with new zords. C'mon land brothers!" Jake exclaimed loading the card into his Gosei Morpher.
"Summon MechaZord!"
From the earth, three new Zords appeared. The Beetle, Rhino, and Dino zords.
"They'll help us get through," Jake said.
The horn of the rhino spun like a drill that burrowed into a deep crevice. The pincers of the beetle crushed pieces of the earth causing rocks to fall onto the flames. Lastly, the dino zord moved large boulders with great strength.
"Land power!" Gia and Jake exclaimed and with the might of their new zords, the last of the raging fires were extinct.
"Mega rangers that's a mega win!" Jake exclaimed over the comms.
"Oh not that again," Emma replied.
"What? It's a popular catchphrase," Jake said, "Watch one day you're all be to catching on. Even Troy."
"...You're never going to hear me say that," Troy responded.
"And I promise to never use my powers for personal gain ever again. If I only I could fix the past, because now everyone has probably seen that interview video."
"I'm sure you'll be glad to know Jake that your sudden rise to fame has now passed. We've also taken the liberty to terminate much of the footage from the earth's cyberspace. However, there may still be distorted memories in the minds of the people. We do not yet know to what extent the fallout will be."
"Ah don't worry, I'm not too worried about the fans anymore," Jake said putting his arms around Noah, "As rangers we can't be the only topic because that's just being self-centered."
"Glad, you're finally learning."
"I have, a lot in fact." Jake smiled but then pulled his arm off of Noah's shoulder, "Hey um can we talk?"
Gia was taken by surprise, "Yeah."
The blue control panel lights up as Noah approaches, and the many complicated notes of his research scroll across the screen. Emma glances over his shoulder completely stunned at the intensive work that's already been done. Gia and Jake made their way toward the base's exit a cheesy smile was plastered across Jake's face.
"Are you looking up more information for the new ranger?" Emma asked.
"I am in fact, I guess it's not going to be that hard to do now, since it's not a secret," Noah said.
"I hope you don't mind me watching," Emma simpered. Noah beamed brightly at Emma's suggestion he couldn't say no to her request. Only 2 minutes in and Jake re-entered again walking with newfound pride and swagger. Jake looped an arm around Noah as he too peered over the blue ranger's research notes. Noah looked up for a moment in confusion, Jake should have been nowhere near him at this time.
"Everything alright?" Noah asked.
"Oh yeah, Gia just had to go finish some homework. What you guys got there?"
"Just the ranger analysis," Noah responded but then softly said, "You didn't ask her out, right?"
The color drained from Jake's face, his eyes widened, and sweat began to pour down his face. He kept glancing at Emma as if to say 'Not in front of her.'
A smug look came on Noah's face this was his sweet sweet revenge for spoiling the news on his ranger project, not to mention Michelle.
"What? No! I'm not like that! I have respect!... I was just apologizing to her once again." Jake shrugged, shaking off the butterflies in his stomach.
"It's okay Jake, I kind of already know," Emma said.
"Know what?" Jake wondered.
"That you have a crush on Gia..."
"...Uhhhh, What? Emma, it's not like that at all. She's my friend..a very beautiful friend."
"Don't worry Jake, I'm not going to tell her. To be honest, I think a guy like you would be a perfect match for her. She needs to lighten up and explore the world again."
"Aww thanks, Emma...Still a little embarrassed, but thanks...Uh, do you have any advice?"
"Just be yourself don't try to be someone you're not," Emma said.
"I've been trying to tell him that since the day he laid eyes on her," Noah said.
"No, you didn't." Jake's eyes narrowed.
"Whoa whoa! Heavy whoa!"The robotic aid Tensou wheeled into the command center trying to balance two buckets of water. The buckets sloshed wetting the floor as Tensou arrived. "Here you go, Jake!"
"What are the buckets of water for?" Jake asked.
"We'll after you all fought those fires the zords have become really dirty," Tensou said.
Noah and Emma looked toward Jake with surprised expressions. It was at this moment that the full realization came crashing on to Jake, he was in the thickest of thick trouble. The initial debt might have been paid but there was still a penalty to be dished out.
"Are you serious?!" Jake moaned.
Outside the mall's dojo Troy waited, the teenaged students inside bowed respectfully to their sensei and he in turn returned the bow. His cousin Randy seemed very fond of this teacher even his aunt speaks highly of him. In his own research, Troy learned that this sensei has been instructing Karate since he was 14 years old back in Angel Grove.
This was the last place Troy wanted to be.
He's trained in a variety of different dojos over the years and none really gave him the guidance he so sought. All of his training over the years allowed him to hone in on his body but not his mind. Troy touched the base of his stomach, where Creepox had once cut him. The scar has long since healed but the memory still remained.
The recent encounters with the warstar have only gotten more and more dangerous. Gosei explained that there is an even larger fleet out in the universe and if Troy was going to fight them he would need to be as strong as he possibly could be. The last of the students filed out of the dojo leaving the sensei alone with his gym bag in hand Troy crossed the threshold.
Creepox entered Vrak's lab, various pods lined the walls with a litany of bug-themed soldiers dormant inside. The scientist himself sat at his service desk dripping solutions into Petri dishes. Nesting in the ceiling were hundreds upon hundreds of Zombats fluttering about.
"Have you come to assassinate me?" Vrak asked still doing his work.
"If I was you'd already be dead," Creepox responded, "...I've come to propose a truce."
"I'm listening," Vrak turned to face his compatriot. "Tell me about the red ranger."
"My sources tell me that he might be the Equalizer," Creepox confessed
"Now that is interesting…"
(Here you go, guys! Responding to the messages with a new chapter! What do think Vrak has planned?)