Lakewood, California

June 1988

Li did not know what he was doing wrong, his father and his sister trained him in everything that he knew. Usually he would be able to stop anyone that would get in his way, but this time there was nothing that he could do. He saw another swing coming towards him and blocked it immediately, but was not fast enough to avoid the one that was heading to his face. Stars flashed within his eyes and he could not make out anything that was going on around him, but he knew that he had to stand his ground. There was someone else's life at stake here and he had to make sure that the person he was protecting would be all right.

He tried to keep his focus looking at the three people standing in front of him. One of them, the main one that was pounding him was a tall lanky looking kid with a brown mullet with his hair spiked up at the top. He was wearing in a cyan Pierre Cardin shirt with a pair of stone washed looking jeans and a pair of driving gloves that he liked to use for fighting.

The other two tried to rush in, but Li continued to push them back using whatever he could to keep them at bay. Spiky hair continued to come at him and still managed to land a few hits on him, but there was still the person he was protecting. A young girl dressed like she wanted to be like Debbie Gibson or one of the people seen on the cover of Teen Machine or Tiger Beat. Her green eyes flashed with fear as she saw this young man in front of her taking a beating trying to protect her.

Li had seen her a few times in school and thought she was beautiful, not in the way one would look at Brooke Shields or Madonna, but she had a beauty of her own that he did admire. Not too long before he found himself to be the punching bag of spiky hair, he had noticed that this young woman was being harassed by the three of them for how she looked and they did not take it well when she kneed the leader right in the groin. That was when he decided to jump in to a fight he was not sure he could win, for this young woman he only knew by name, Angela Steele.

"Did you really think that you would get out of this?" Spiky Hair, otherwise known as Darian Cain laughed while he looked at the barely standing but still ready to fight Li.

Li, on the hand looked on with a fire in his eyes that he could not explain and stared down his opponent, "I don't give a fuck if I do. I am just tired of seeing you act like an asshole!"

Darian was not amused at the remark and resumed beating him. This was all that Li needed to get the upper hand. He noticed that the bully was now full of rage and used that to his advantage by crouching lower and grabbing the young man's genitals. A loud almost feminine scream was heard from the young man as he felt the most sensitive part of the male body be squeezed like it was a crumpled piece of paper with his right hand and squeezed with all of his might before he jumped up and punched the guy in the face.

Dillinger fell flat on the ground still screaming in pain, the two other kids that were helping him looked past their friend towards the young man that had just taken him down. Within a second they realized that it might just be a better idea to leave and before they could reconsider, they dragged their fried and left the area.

Li turned around to see the young woman he was protecting look at him with surprise in her eyes. At first she did not know what to even think of the sight of this young man covered in bruises and his clothing torn. Blood trickled out of his nose, but the funny thing about it was the she did not even know what to make of it all. No one had gone out of their way to protect her and it just surprised her that he did.

"Are you okay?" Li asked.

Angela nodded, "Yeah, the question is are you?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Li smiled before he felt the world spinning around him and suddenly turn dark. He did not feel the thud of him falling to the ground nor did he hear Angela screaming for his well being.

1993: Lakewood Mall

Li wondered why he was thinking about the first time he truly met Angela. It was so long ago when he rescued her from that guy. In fact he felt like it was another life, another person that saved that young woman from Darian Cain. The young man he was now, felt like a completely different creature all together. Yet like that young man he used to be, he shared the same fate of collapsing on the ground. This time instead of some forgotten place he was now collapsed at the entrance of the May Company while it sounded like there were other things going on around him. If he could laugh, he would have knowing that even after the craziness of today, he was still thinking about the young woman that became one of his closest friends. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud screeching sound that shook the very ground he was on.

What was that sound? Was it a roar?!

Ryuu Sei Oh continued on its way from the battle damaged Mall with its passenger inside. The creature had a purpose to fulfill and the further it was away from this area, the sooner things would continue to fall into place.

So much had happened in the past few hours, it's hard to believe that I am home…

How long had he been out? What was going on around him? Was Angela and the others all right? What about the fight with the Gorma? What about the mysterious woman who fought him? All these questions continued to rush around in his mind. His mind continued to focus on the woman, however; he still wondered why the mysterious shinobi that did everything in her power to get his attention. Why would she even go to those lengths to distract him?

Until Next Time, Wanderer..

Those were the last words he remembers hearing from the woman...That beautiful woman who fought him and then rescued him from his own stupidity.

Li stirred slightly, trying to make himself come to, he had known that something happened to him when that explosion happened. Did he have another flashback of what happened at his old school? He was not totally sure about the whole situation, but he knew that he was in his Kirin Ranger uniform before he found himself here.

Sometimes, a certain event would trigger Li's memories of the first time he transformed into the Kirin Ranger. Memories that he felt were drenched in blood, people dying and being torn apart by the Gorma. That same day was when his mother was being brutally beaten by these creatures that had no sense of remorse for what they did to others. At least that was what he felt when it came to dealing with them.

I need to find out who this woman is…

He slowly opened his eyes, everything was still out of focus for a few moments before everything became more defined and he could finally see the devastation of the Mall and the battle in its entirety. Clothing and other merchandise were still burning up and there was a strange smell in the air. Could it be the chemicals from the stuff burning? He did not want to waste time and tried to stand up, at first he felt a little unbalanced and gave himself a moment before he finally headed out the door to see the carnage left behind from another fighter. He took one more look at the body parts and green blood that was splattered across the street before he walked past it and took in the damage that was caused by the attack. Was it the shinobi that fought him or was it someone else?

He looked around and noticed the damage to the Mall was just as bad on the outside as well as the damage caused by the fighting on the inside. Slowly, he navigated through the parking lot wondering where Angela and Lola had disappeared to. He hoped that they weren't caught up in the middle of the chaos that happened out here.

Li heard another roar come from the sky as his attention was drawn upward. He scanned the sky for any sign of where it was coming from and that was when he saw the massive silhouette of a giant dragon flying through the sky heading away from the area. His jaw dropped when he realized that this large creature was none other than the mythical Ryuu Sei Oh. The way the giant dragon moved through the sky and continued on its way just captivated him, it was a sign that things might be a little better in this crazed storm that was still continuing to form all around him.

He felt his legs begin to give way underneath him and the world around him suddenly shifted back to the ground. Instead of the sky he saw the ground and the debris from what remained of the Mall surround him. That was when he realized that he collapsed back on the ground. Apparently, he was not totally recovered from his panic attack from earlier. Even though Li had tried to not let these moments of shock get to him, there were times that it just felt like it was too much to handle.

He heard the sound of a familiar voice calling his name, he tried to focus on the sound of that voice, but it just kept getting further and further away from him. Before he totally felt himself slipping further and further away from the voice, he saw the familiar face of Angela Steele rushing up to him and trying to get his attention. Why did he get her involved in this? That was not what he wanted for her; he did not want this fight to come to home. This was the last safe place he had and not that was gone. Perhaps that was the nature of the beast, which was why he was needed to be a Dairanger and protect those that would need protecting.

He pondered more on that the more he continued to slip away letting the world around him slowly turn to white noise.

RMS Queen Mary.

Dansaku was afraid to return to report to his commander about what had just happened at the Mall, but he knew that he had to tell Shadam something because not saying nothing was even worse. He walked quietly across the deck of the ship towards the table where he saw the three Gorma generals still sitting there, quietly waiting for their subordinate to return.

"It was expected that you would not fare well against our enemies." Shadam said calmly, "I don't care about the loss, since it gave us an opportunity to learn something."

Dansaku was speechless to hear that Shadam was expecting that going the way he did, but he still stood quietly waiting for his leader's next orders.

"So, the Dai Tribe has sent their warriors out to fight for them." Shadam thought to himself, "From what I have heard, the team is not complete. In fact, they were only four of them."

Gara looked quietly at the city before she decided to answer, "Then the reason you even planned these attacks was just to gauge them."

Shadam nodded quietly, "I am not going into this like some clichéd warrior and wreaking havoc on the population. I want to see what they are capable of and how we can take them out strategically rather than just randomly going for some plan and hoping it works. I may not agree with what our superiors are planning, but I would rather have a fighting chance against our enemies than fighting stupid."

"Then what do you suggest we do next?" Zydos asked.

Shadam continued to stay quiet for a moment, formulating strategies in his mind. Until finally he had one, "We will let Dansaku continue to attack, but at the same time we will have smaller attacks going on in different places. Not enough to cause too much damage to the city, but enough to where the casualties to the civilian populace are minimal. I do not want to cause a blood bath yet. I want to know what each of these warriors is capable of."

Lakewood Mall

It took Nick some time to make it across the parking lot towards the mall. With some clever navigation around the chaos that ensued after Dansaku's attack on the shoppers and the arrival of that giant Red Dragon. He knew that there was going to be a lot to be discussed by the time he met up with the others.

Out of his windshield he saw that the damage done to the Mall was not severe but there were signs of automobile wreckage, the viscera of people who were either trampled by foot or automobile. Cars either smashed into each other or covered with debris and dust from the explosion. There were still people roaming around the parking lot trying to find people or loved ones that they lost in the commotion. Nick sighed softly while scanning to find a small group of people over by the May Company, immediately he recognized Angela and Lola immediately and saw both young women trying to position someone on the ground into a sitting position.

Immediately, he recognized the figure on the ground to be none other than Li looking like he went ten rounds with a steam roller and barely won. Nick pulled his car up the closest he could get to the small group and walked out. He noticed that Angela herself was covered in some strange green liquid and her clothing looked like she had been through battle as well. However, his main concern was how his teammate sat there distant from all that was around him. From what he remembered of Li, he was always full of energy after a fight. Here the young man he saw looked like he was trying to keep some kind of balance together before he snapped.

"What the hell happened?" Nick asked apparently surprised by the whole scene in front of him.

Lola turned towards Nick at first ready to say something smart, until she noticed the strange device on his arm and looked back at Li's wrists and saw the same thing, "He just collapsed."

Nick rushed over towards Angela's side and returned back to his calm demeanor and still tried to surmise the situation, "Was he hit?"

"It doesn't look like it." Angela answered; her concern was for the semi catatonic young man on her face. She tried to get his attention any way she could, calling his name and doing whatever she could to get him out of it. This was the opposite of what she was expecting, slowly she moved closer towards him, the once tough demeanor she had when she was trying to get out of the Mall had changed to complete concern over this long lost friend who had came back into her life.

Immediately, Angela jumped when she felt someone grab her by the shoulder. She turned back to see the Asian woman that was with Li earlier at the Mall, Nancy Wu. Both women stared at each other with slight apprehension until they noticed that they were both concerned about Li.

Angela was direct, "All I want to do is help him."

"I know you do." Nancy started and moved towards Li and grabbed his hands, "But, this is something only I can do."

Nancy looked back towards Angela for a moment, just to take a look at the expression on her face. At first, she wasn't sure of what to make of this woman; this woman that Li felt an urge to protect from the moment they found out that they were coming to America. She understood it, this was his home and she was one of the people he cared about. Who wouldn't want to do everything they could for someone close to them. A part of her wished that she and Li were like that as well, granted that they were teammates and have been fighting alongside each other for the past year. Going up against anything that was related to the Gorma or their allies, but there were also times that the tension between them persuaded them to cross some lines that others wouldn't dare to.

When that moment happened, Nancy vowed to herself to just keep it simple. Almost like they were doing a favor to each other; at least that was how she wanted to view it. She saw Li as a little too damaged for her, especially given the factors that contributed into him becoming the Kirin Ranger. It wasn't like she didn't care for him; she genuinely did and there were times that she wished that it would blossom into something more than just that itch to scratch. She hoped that someday it would, but for right now she had other concerns that needed to be addressed.

Quietly, she looked down at the catatonic young man and shook her head lightly. Not so much for embarrassment over the situation, but more so for wishing that there was a way to truly get Li out of the darkness that still plagued him. She looked down at his hands and began to gently move them into hers. Slowly she tightened her grip and he began to move his head up to meet her gaze that was when she began to say, "Nǐ bìng bù gūdān. (Translation: You are not alone.")

Slowly, the blank look on Li's face began to change, his eyes began to show signs that he was becoming aware of his surroundings. He slowly looked to the left and saw Angela standing behind her, looking like she wasn't sure whether to cry or to be angry at him for what had just happened to him. On the opposite side were Nick, Lola and Steve coming closer towards the group to see what was going on.

Yet, it was the look on Nancy's face that was what bothered him the most. She looked on at Li like she wanted to do something more to help him. That had always made him feel even worse whenever he came out of these spells. Now, Angela and the others have seen him like this; it was the last thing he wanted.

"You okay, Xiao?" Nancy asked, seeing Li's apparent embarrassment at being seen so compromised.

Li nodded slightly before Nancy moved away from him.

"What happened?" Steve asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Li answered and looked towards Nick, "Looks like the Gorma wanted to let us know they were around."

"I think we got the message." Nick looked at the mall before he continued, "What about that giant red dragon that swooped in."

Nancy immediately interrupted, "That was Ryuu Sei Oh! He's with us."

Li perked up at that, "Seriously?! That was the legendary Ryuu Sei Oh?! The legendary Kiden Juu that helped save humanity?"

Angela finally decided to voice her concern, "What in the hell is going on around here ?! First weird creatures try to kill me.." She immediately points a finger at Li, "Then you transform into something that looks like a Power Ranger and then a giant dragon comes out of the sky! Did I just go insane and I just didn't know it?"

"Well." Nick started, "I can tell you that the people who attacked the Mall are called the Gorma. They attacked me earlier this morning and I asked Li, Steve and Nancy to make sure that you and your friends were all right."

Something did not add up and Angela knew it, "How did you know that they were going to be attacking us?"

Nick continued, "We didn't, for all we knew is that they were going to go after places that had concentrations of people. For all we knew they could have attacked Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm and the result would have been the same."

Steve knew that Nick was lying about the whys; how could you tell a person that the reason they were being targeted was for the simple fact that they might be linked to their team. This was probably why Mishelle was taken by Ryuu Sei Oh and it would also explain why Nancy was excited about the whole revelation of a giant dragon appearing out of the sky.

"So, you guys were just playing it on a whim?" Angela asked, "What would you have done if they did attack someplace else?"

"We would have acted on it of course." Nick answered.

"Glad to see that you guys are on top of it!" Lola answered.

"If we weren't here more people would have died." Steve screamed back, "You seem to forget that we saved your lives back there."

Li picked himself off the ground before he walked over towards Angela. He took a moment to collect his thoughts and finally answered, "We did the only thing we could do."

"And people still got hurt and killed." Angela's eyes were focused on Li, "Not too

smart-."

"What would you have done?!" Nancy asked, "Last I saw, you weren't much help when things went down."

"Probably more than the four of you could have done!" Angela screamed at her, "We probably would have been better off if you didn't do anything at all. All your fighting destroyed most of the Mall, not to mention the fact that you guys knew what was coming and still waited to act on it."

Angela focused her attention back on Li, "I saw you following us in Little Hong Kong, Where was your willingness to protect us then, Thomas?! Why did you decide to wait in the shadows rather than let us know we were in danger? Did you get some kind of thrill just watching and waiting to come to my rescue?! Are you still living that fantasy where I come in to your arms—"

Before Angela could even say the next word, she felt something hard hit her in the face. She jolted back from the sting and immediately looked back to see Li standing over her, holding his left hand. She could not believe that he had hit her, before she could say something; she stopped herself and paid attention to the fact that he nursed the hand that he had hit her with.

His quiet demeanor had changed to something darker, colder than she had ever seen him be towards her, "You think that this was bad? You have not seen anything yet. What happened here today was nothing. A war is about to begin, the likes of which has never been seen before in modern times. The people who attacked us don't care about things like patriotism, ideology or anything like that. These people kill without a single thought for you or anyone in this world. We are here because no one else will be able to stop them.

Berate us or hate us; I don't care. As much as I know that you are angry at me for not telling you about this. That is not important. The only reason I am here is because I would rather die before I see these creatures kill anybody else."

Angela wanted to scream at him, anything to respond to the fact that he hit her, instead she noticed the pain that was in his eyes and the silence that filled the area as the others took in what Li had to say.

Lakewood, California 1988

"You know you have a lot of balls for doing what you did." Angela continued to dab Li with a wet cloth and wipe the wounds on his face.

The pressure being applied to his wounds made Li wince, "Three against one, I don't think that would be considered fair odds."

"Well you still got your ass kicked." Angela shook her head and took a moment to look up at the sky, "I heard you were crazy, but I did not think you were stupid."

Li's eyes lit up when Angela said that to him, "You know who I am?"

"Of course, there isn't anybody at Hoover who doesn't know of the crazy but well intentioned, Thomas Xiao Li." Angela smiled, "Besides, I see how you look at me."

Li blushed under his bruises and stayed silent.

"Thank you for helping me, Thomas." Angela smiled.

"Please, call me Li or Tommy." Li kindly replied back.

"I prefer Thomas."

The two continued to sit there on the bench, while one continued to tend to the other's wounds. It may have not been a normal encounter, but neither of them would never understand what this meeting would mean for both of them.

Lakewood Mall 1993

The sound of police sirens were heard in the distance as the local law enforcement decided to arrive to the scene. Nick decided it was time to break the silence and told the other three Rangers to head out. Nancy motioned her hand onto Li's shoulder and motioned for them to move out as well. Nothing more needed to be said, and he let the silence be the only thing between him and the woman he slapped.

Angela Steele, however, held her hand against her cheek and let the words Li said process through her mind. He had never raised a hand towards her, but the young man she remembered was someone else. The young man she had just seen go through a gamut of emotions was different. He had seen something that had changed him and made him into the young man that was now before her. She silently wept, not for what had happened to her or to the people that were around her. Instead, she wept for the young man she prayed to see once more, who had died the day he decided to put on an Aurachanger.