Chapter 23 - Goldar's Revenge
A loud bang rang through the darkness as a quick flash of light followed the sound. The body of a Tenga Warrior flew into the wall before slumping to a sitting position. "Damn this things are tough," a dark brown man with his muscular arms covered in tattoos said. He word a black military grade vest outfitted with multiple M4 magazines. Slung over his shoulder was the M4 itself on a three point sling. In his hands, he held a twelve gauge shotgun, pump action with a special shell slide in for quick loads. He looked down at his canine companion who was outfitted with a doggy military vest and armored helmet. "Well Tyger, let's go find out boy." He said as the the dog wagged his tail. The two continued down the dark road, even though it was mid day, the sky was seemingly black. His hands were steady as the sweat slowly trickled down his brow. His eyes shifting as he checked corners with Tyger in front, head low and tail high. Hearing the loud flaps in the sky, he stopped. Tyger stood in a readied position, smelling the air as he scanned the sky.
"Watch out!" A voice yelled as the man and dog dove for the ground. A Tenga warrior came swooping low, hoping to snatch the man or dog in his razor sharp talons. The beast was instead met with multiple bullets, penetrating its body and dropping it on its back. "Well if it isn't the infamous Eric Moore," the voice said as another dark skinned man stepped out of the shadows. Both men were the same in stature, bald, muscular, bearded. They each were outfitted with similar gear.
"Larry, so I take t Aj is nowhere to be found either." Eric said.
"Nah, got go find the dumbass before he ends up dead. Glenda, Ariella, Aaron and Larry are all hiding out. You're welcome to join once we find our boys." Larry explained.
"I'll take you up on that, mind if we tag along on the search?" Eric said.
"I've been through downtown, it's a total nightmare." Larry said.
"I was planning on moving north. Hez said something about his friends having a picnic." Eric explained.
"Told those boys white friends will get them in trouble, look at this shit we got flying bird people." Larry lowered his voice when he heard the flaps of more. "We have to move, I'll take point." The two moved quietly down the alleyway in silence. Eric walked backwards watching the back and keeping his eyes shifting. Larry war keeping his eyes forward and checking more of the sky than corners. Their sons were at the forefront of their minds as they continued moving forward.
Aj and Katrina lead the pack trying to catch up to Hez and G3 who were only meters from the city and closing. Neil covered the rear as he felt something off. The sounds of screams echoed in the sky, causing the rangers to stop and look up. Their eyes narrowed to focus on the object that were brought up into the sky before being dropped. "Oh my god," Katrina said under her breath. She could see the people and even point out the individual screams as their bodies fell to their deaths. Hez and G# were already working their way into the city. Hez slid across the ground to save a falling woman. She cried in his arms before he set her down gently and looked for the nearest tall vantage point.
"G3, get up high and start mowing them down. If the attack started only five minutes prior to us being here, the coast guard should be on their way." Chalice ordered.
"I'll call headquarters, we should have forces dispatched here within fifteen minutes." G3 said as he kicked in the door to a building and began his climb. Chalice drew back on his bow, releasing arrows into any low flying Tenga Warriors. Their bodies would crash hard to the ground and start to roll as their final breaths were drawn. Aj, Katrina and Neil each drew their blade blasters as they fired off into the sky trying to down the flying threat. Katrina switched to her bow but not before she noticed the low growl. Looking to her left she could see a large beast. Its head was covered in an egyptian headdress, as were egyptian clothes wrapped around his waist. His forearms and shins were covered in golden guards. As he stood to his full height from his prowling stance, he was seen to be almost eight feet tall. His massive body was muscular, with an eye dead center of his chest. He growled, baring his fangs as the grool oozed from his mouth.
"Uhhh, guys. I think we just found something so much worse." Katrina said. The group turned their attention to the feline beast only seconds before it finally spoke.
"Red ranger," it growled out, "you died once before by my hands! I was sure of it. I can still taste your blood on my claws and still smell the scent of your anxiety. No matter how you survived me the first time, I, King Sphinx, shall kill you again!"
"What the hell did the red ranger before me do to get all this heat from bad guys!?" aj shouted as he drew his power sword. The beast lowered his stance and came rushing through the team and tackling Aj through a wall.
"Let's go!" Hez yelled but before they could move, the golden armored general of Lord Zed's army landed in a kneeling position, cracking the asphalt as he did so. "You will go nowhere Pink Ranger," he bellowed, "you will face me for the atrocity you have commited. You will die for the death of my wife and child!" Goldar swung his massive broadsword in a wide arc. Chalice was slashed across his already cracked armor, sending his body sailing backwards as blood began to flow from the wound. Neil stood between the blade and Katrina, hoping to block it. The force of the swing drove Neil into Katrina, swinging their bodies into a building side. "Shit!" Hez yelled as he recovered. He pulled his bow into twin blades and charged forward. He clashed with Goldar, Locking eyes with the beast.
"You are strong, but will you allow more of your people to die?" Goldar said as he shifted his eyes over his shoulder. Hez's eyes followed the crimson eyes of Goldar and his own widened. People were still in danger as he fought a battle he knew would take time. Time he didn't have to spend fighting one beast when he has a entire city of innocent people to protect. Gritting his teeth, He withdrew from the clash and charged past Goldar. That takes care of the rider, Goldar thought to himself as he continued on to the rangers who were making their way to their feet. "Pink Ranger, you killed my wife and the child growing within. I will rip out your insides and feast upon them while you still draw breath!" Goldar lunged for Katrina who evaded his initial swing of his sword. She rolled to her right before launching herself into the air to gain distance. Goldar attempted to follow but his leg was grabbed and he felt himself slammed to the ground. As he turned, he could see the hand of the Black Ranger around his ankle. "This is none of your business!" Goldar shouted while kicking back at Neil. The heavy blow landed on his chest, Sending him through concrete walls halfway through a building.
"G3 what's going on up top?" Chalice called through the communications network.
"About to shoot some birds out of the sky!" G3 raised his blaster and squeezed the trigger. He could hear the rounds begin to feed into the barrel before the block slammed into them. The sky was riddled with a sound synonymous to thunder. The Tenga Warriors had no warning or idea on how to combat the attack. Many of them were instantly mowed down. The others too evasive actions, arcing and maneuvering around the spray of fire. There turned their attention to G3, flying at top speeds to meet him. "Shit, Chalice I could use some help up here. I would definitely say I have their full attention." as the Tenga Warriors grew closer, G3 dropped his large blaster and pulled out his side blaster. More precision shots were taken as he had more room to move. The lessened weight made him feel light on his feet but it wasn't enough to combat the sheer numbers of the Tenga Warriors.
"You're getting slow, maybe that armor is just too heavy." Chalice said as he slashed through the middle of a Tenga Warrior's body. The two stood back to back as some of the Tenga Warriors landed on the building top. Others continued to fly in large arcing circles. "How long before we get some help?"
"I would say they are another five minutes out," G3 replied.
"Just five minutes," Chalice said in a low tone as he lowered himself into a defensive stance. "See you on the other side," Chalice surged forward avoiding the many swipes of talons. He blocked a full claw with one blade before piercing the armor of the warrior with his other. G3 followed suit as he drew his blade and blasted a path to Chalice.
"I can smell you Red Ranger," King Sphinx said as he snarled, walking on all fours. His tail slowly swaying from left to right. His right eye darted all over the large office the two stumbled into. His right eye was shut permanently as a memory of his battle with the original Red Ranger. Aj kept his back to the wall. He could hear Sphinx prowling around on the other side. He focused his mind and drew his blade blaster. With one flick, it switched to blade mode. All fell silent for a moment as Aj rolled to his left to avoid the slashes of King Sphinx as he cut through the drywall. Aj blocked another slash and drove his boot into the eye on King Sphinx's chest. The beast stumbled back just enough for Aj to take a slash at his chest. The beast roared with pain as his blood began to split. Tilting his body forward, King Sphinx sprang into a front flip, thrusting both legs into Aj's chest. His body crashed through the drywall creating another hole.
"Dammit, this is why I'm not a cat person." king Sphinx cut his way through the wall but was met with a heavy side kick. The beast bellowed as it stepped back only to attempt to lunge forward. It's forward motion was stopped by a hook kick, causing the beast's head to turn violently, forcing the entire body of the feline to spin as it crashed to the ground. Before he could recover, Aj slammed both blades into the ground for a power swipe, sending an energy wave across the floor. King Sphinx narrowly avoided the attack by scrambling away. Aj could hear the heavy paws as they slammed into the ground while the beast ran. The silence that followed was troubling. Aj kept both blades in a ready position as he slowly stepped forward. His eyes shifted about the room. His ears alerted him of every minor sound in the area. Where are you, come out fluffy, he said internally.
A growling sounded below him before Aj felt the warmth of King Sphinx's claws grabbing his legs and pulling him down to the floor below.
Goldar felt the heat of the energy arrow as it slammed into his golden armor. He dropped his broadsword as Neil closed the distance. Goldar caught the downward swing of the power axe between his massive forearms as the two struggled before Goldar pushed forward. Neil was set off balance before feeling the heavy boot thrust into his rib cage. His body was thrown back arms, slamming into the building of another wall. A building he found two young children hiding.
"Agh, are you two… ok?" Neil asked. The children were dirty, shaking and scared. They didn't respond in sound but simply nodded their heads. Behind his helmet, Neil smiled and pointed towards the far end of the building. "That way… it leads to the underground passageways. Much safer than up here." Neil stood to his feet holding his ribs, "go," he repeated as the two slowly made their way through the rubble. Neil's good deed was met with strong arms wrapped around his sides and his body taken into the air. Goldar arched his back as he took Neil up and over for a German suplex, slamming him into the helmet. As Goldar rose, Katrina ticked off a round kick to the beast's head. As the kick landed, Goldar's body slide through the asphalt. She followed up with a heavy overhand right and a left knee connecting to the jaw. Goldar's face shot up from the knee giving Katrina a perfect target for a sidekick that took Goldar off his feet.
"You'll die here red ranger!" King Sphinx yelled, bloody from the many cuts on his body. He lunges forward with his claws leading the charge and fang bore.
"You talk big, but I'm still here!" Aj shouted back as he brought the hilt of his Power Sword to his hip, keeping the blade pointed at King Sphinx as he surged forward. The massive beast grabbed the sword itself and used it to swing Aj through the wall. Releasing the sword as his body flew, he drew his blade blaster in blaster mode and fired two shots into King Sphinx's chest. The beast dropped to a knee from the new wounds. Aj scrambled to his feet, firing as the beast ran on all fours towards him ignoring the pain in his shoulders and arms as it tackled Aj. The beast pinned Aj to the ground, opening its wide jaws and biting down on the helmet.
"This would be a shitty way to go," Aj said as he struggled. He moved the blaster into King Spinx's rib cage. He squeezed the trigger repeatedly. "Just die already, fucking die!" Aj yelled as he continued blast after blast. King Sphinx went limp, his body laying on Aj. Finally, Aj thought as he moved the massive mobster off his body. Struggling to his feet, Aj let out a sigh of relief. He gingerly made his way to the power sword but after picking it up he could hear the quick movement of the feline monster. Aj swug the sword in reverse grip, slicing through the body of a lunging King Sphinx as he lowered himself to avoid the claws. King Sphinx's upper half separated from the lower as the two halves flew past Aj. "If he gets up after that, I will seriously rethink this whole hero thing," Aj said as he leaned against the wall before hearing Tenga Warriors. He rushed to the whole in the wall he first was thrown threw and saw them massing towards the roof of the building he battled in.
"There's no end to them!" G3 shouted as he parried a claw strike and jabbed his blaster into the neck of a Tenga Warrior before pulling the trigger, blasting a hole through its throat. Chalice gripped the arm of another warrior and pushed his hips into the monster before flipping it over him into the ground. He side kicked a charging warrior before taking his boot and stomping it through the skull of the downed warrior as he kept control of the arm.
"Here comes the cavalry!" Chalice yelled as he could see the Zect trucks approaching. Troops rushed from the trucks and one families one moved without a helmet. Chalice recognizes the pale face, slicked back hair and thin glasses anywhere. "Even the general showed up, he must be serious. Aiming to the sky, the troops unleashed hell upon the Tenga Warriors from below. Their attention averted, Chalice and G3 jumped from the roof, stomping their feet into the backs of flying Tenga Warriors and riding their bodies down to the ground.
"Nice to see you two in good spirits," the general said in his usual deadpan tone. "Now let's clean the city, this is only a fraction of our forces and more have been sent to the front lines."
"You're full of surprises," Chalice said as he drew his bow again.
"You rangers think this battle is won? There are more forces coming. They will cut off your main force from the city and we will break your lines and kill all of you!" Goldar roared at Katrina. "I will have my salvation. I will avenge my lover and my child. You have taken from me, and now I shall take your life." Katrina met his words with an arrow shot into his chest. His thick armor made the arrow bounce away. "You fool," Goldar said in a growling tone. Before he could rush forward, Aj side kicked Goldar in the ribs, sending him sliding to the side. "You!"
"Yup, just your friendly neighborhood badass," Aj replied.
"So you defeated King Sphinx? No matter, your blood will be spilled by me."
"Have you located the crystals?" Lord Zed asked. Chromium Gold kneeled, presenting his lord with a metallic box. Zed opened the box, exposing a massive crystal, its power surging in waves. "Excellent," Lord Zed applauded his Warriors before closing the box and takes it from the palms of Chromium gold.
"Go, I need Angel Grove to fall is we are to conquer earth. I need for these rangers to die and we must start production of my warriors quickly. He is coming." Lord Zed explained.
"Sir, it wouldn't be King-"
"Yes, King Mondo approaches," Lord Zed said curing off Finster. "My old friend, we have faced many foe, but I fear if we don't deal with these rangers, we will fall."
"We will deal with them," Finster assured him.
"They took Rita, and without eradicating them, I can't hope to bring her back," Lord Zed started off into the darkness, his voice trailing into an echo. "Go now, kill them all and bring me their heads… or it will be yours I mount on the spears of my throne."