Episode 2: "Succession"
The bell signifying the end of the school day had come yet again. Droves of students flocked out of the building, many of which were prepared for a long, lively weekend. There were still a few stragglers however. Those stragglers would be the highly-devoted students of the Kendo Club. And it was a pretty unusal day, considering that they had a new member with them today. In a typical boy's yukata, the black-haired teen entered the dojo-esque room that belonged on the building's west wing. Inside were very few people, and those select few were even younger than him mostly. Of course, as one of them strode up to him, that wasn't exactly the case. Putting a big grin on, the tanned teen next to him gave him a nice pat on the back. He spoke in a voice tht mimcked his,
" 'Swords aren't my thing'. Isn't that what you said just yesterday?" He scanned his friend for a response. Nothing good came out of it though. Dan simply shrugged and dropped his arms saying,
"Doesn't mean I can't try it does it?" Before he could answer, a clearing of the throat distracted everyone. Dan peered around, searching for the source. Finally, his eyes laid on a girl of about his own age, in a very similar yukata, however her's was pink in the lower portion. He stared at her for a while, taking in her features. Her hair was jet black, flowing straight down without a single piece out of place. Her facial features were clearly of Asian-descent, although a different region than where he was from. He guessed it was probably China, or a territory surronding it. Her eyes met his own and for a minute no one said anything. She walked forward, bringing an air of dominance with her. Stopping at Dan, she said softly,
"Hm..." While she was examining him. After a few seconds, she stood straight up and said,
"...Okay then. We'll let you join. On one condition." Dan frooze, he knew that whenever there was 'one condition' involved, the condition tended to be ridiculous so the person would fail. But she was sort of smiling. Continuing just as calmly as before, she flicked her hair and spoke.
"Try me at a match. That's all you have to do. You don't even have to win." Dan gave her a perplexed look and nodded, much to the surprise of the others present. Andrew clapped his hands together.
"I gotta say, you got guts Dan. Or your really stupid. Or maybe both." Dan elbowed him in the ribs, but didn't take his stare off the girl. She bowed and said,
"Vivian Li. Nice to meet you." Taking a second to register it into his mind, he blushed and bowed as well.
"D-Daniel Sadiko. It's a pleasure to meet you too." She smiled serenely as Andrew came between them, carrying wooden swords. He stopped in front of Dan and whispered,
"Good luck..." He winked and quickly handed the other sword to Vivian, who was waiting patiently. Getting into a stance, they both stared at each other for quite some time. There was hardly a sound as they steadily and gradually started to circle each other. Taking the initiative, Dan swept forward, bringing his blade along the length of his shoulder, aiming for her's. Before the blow landed, she held out her wrist and stopped the blade. Quickly taking advantage of the moment, she made a thrusting movement towards his ribs. Of course, he twisted his wrist alittle and pulled away before it hit. In the background, there was several "oohs" and "aahs" as the little game of back and forth continued. Andrew was particularly weirded out. He spoke low so no one would hurt him,
"That's odd. Dan never had an interest in swords... why's he so good all of a sudden?" Although his concern was shared, surprisingly, with Dan himself. He wasn't sure why, but he just sort of KNEW what to do, and how to do them. Noticing an opening, he brought it down on her blade, and instead of driving it to the ground, he side-swiped it towards her, stopping just before her neck. With a grin on his face, he said,
"Match." She took him in for a minute, eyes wide with fascination. Moving away from him, she bowed.
"Congratulations." She picked her head up, with a look of mixed curiousity and annoyance. She continued,
"Your in, and I have a feeling you'll do fine here." She flicked her hair and walked past dozens of stunned faces. Andrew stepped forward and grabbed Dan by the collar. Eyeing him the same way Vivian had, he spoke quickly and quietly,
"O-kay." He began, and eventually breaking the pause that ensued. He bit his lip and finally said,
"How long have you been holding out on me?" Dan shurgged as he replied,
"I wasn't 'holding out' per se, I just sort of... did it?" Throwing his hands up into the air, Andrew brought them down on both of his friend's shoulders. Looking at him seriously, he said,
"I'm not stupid. Maybe a bit of a goof, but not stupid. There is no way in any physical way possible that you did what you did without ANY kind of formal training." Dan didn't know what to say. He was about to explain when Vivian cut between them.
"Hey hey! Your in the Kendo club now. That means rigorous, unnerving, ever-lasting, tormenting training until you cry. Or until your so tired you can't feel your legs. Either or, I'm very flexible with that." Dan gave her a look off disbelief, but Andrew simply chuckled.
"Hey. You asked for it." Groaning, they followed her into behind the sliding door-esque into the actual practice area.
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Meanwhile, the river which flowed throughout the city rose some feet. It soaked the nearby banks, nearly reaching the stairways that led to town. But as odd as this was, the real action was happening at the very bottom of the river. A small crack happened to be resting in the rocky end. It glowed a brilliant red, which caused hundreds of bubbles to rise from it. A long and drawn out roar thundered out from it, causing an earthquake in the nearby areas. Going inside the crack, one would be blinded for a few moments, then have a feeling of death envelope them. It was as if you had no purpose but to not exist. However, once the glowing subsided, you would be looking out at a vast expansion of water, which was full to the brim of skeletons and various other tormented souls. In the exact middle of the river was a peculiar ship. It was similar to that of a yomi ship used in Egypt to carry dead souls to the afterlife. On board was several figures. The first, a very skinny and pale creature with a head of a squid, spoke to his colleauges.
"I told you both didn't I? Those pesky rangers got in the way again! How are we going to make the River overflow at this rate?!" Behind him was a thinner figure of a woman. Her head was partly covered by a mask of sorts and she was busy playing an errie composition on her instrument. The squid headed figure didn't take to kind to this, of the fact he was being ignored. He shook his fist and said,
"Melodina! Can you stop playing that stupid instrument and talk for once?!" She indeed stopped playing and looked past him, at a larger, more demonic figure. He had several plates of armor on him, mostly bloody-red in color. His head led out into two elongated bat wings as it appeared. At his side was a giant sword with a red dragon trailing outwards onto it. He stared at the squid-headed figure and said,
"KALACLES!" The squid headed figure trembled and bowed as he said,
"Y-Yes Lord Reapus?" The infernal figure named Reapus pounded on the ship, making it rock uncontrollably.
"You never insult my most trusted general EVER!" He was quick as a flash. In the next moment, he grabbed the one named Kalacles and held out his hand towards his slimy face. Kalacles' eyes widened in shock and he thrashed about saying,
"Oh please Lord Reapus, I promise never to do it again!" But he wasn't listening. He just said,
"Shut up and enjoy your trip Kalacles." He flicked his finger and with a long booming sound, Kalacles zipped out of sight, breaking through the walls of the ship, and faded out in the horizon. Melodina chuckled as she started playing again.
"As always, you entertain me Lord Reapus." She strummed her instrument for a moment. Then said,
"Of course, he did have a point. the Power Rangers are a bit of a problem." Reapus laughed hoarsely and spoke,
"Problem? They're non-existent." She gave him a questioning look. He smiled grimly and said,
"You forget? It is time yet again... time to transfer the powers again. And I have a plan to wipe out those meatsacks." He snapped his fingers as a scream shot out from the outside of the ship. Streaming in front of him, a monster of sorts appeared. It was dually colored, with red on the upper half and blue on the lower. Speaking of, the lower half was a large face which resembled a demon's mask. The upper half was a fish-like samurai with head gear.
"This is my Dualash monster. He will go to the surface to steal the Samurai powers from the only remaining descendents of that cursed family." The monster bowed. With a gurgled voice, it said,
"Of course my master. I will not fail." Reapus kicked it across the room.
"DID I SAY YOU COULD SPEAK?! NOW GO BEFORE I DESTROY YOU MYSELF!" The monster got up a in a flash, he disappeared. Melodina started playing again. She whispered,
"Just as charming as ever."
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"I don't understand. Why exactly did you ask me, AND Vivian for that matter, to come over after practice?" Andrew was questioning Dan as they, along with Vivian from practice and David, who they met up with, and Rebecca, who was David's... friend so to speak, were walking down the path towards the serene manor. Rebecca smiled at the calming background. She spoke to David,
"Hmm... I had no idea your house was in this district of town. Pretty cool since the park is just behind that large building over there." She pointed to the manor as David blushed.
"Uh... that 'large building' is my house actually..." She gasped.
"Really?! That's pretty cool!" She was making him turn into a bright red lobster. Dan noticed this, but first answered Andrew's previous question.
"You'll see when we get there. Trust me on this." Andrew didn't say anything else. Vivian was behind the rest of the group, admiring the scenery and keeping to herself. The five teens didn't notice anything strange as a red flash came into view on one of the few trees. Once it faded, the monster called Dualash peered at them. He smiled and gurgled out,
"They must be the rangersss..." He snapped his fingers, where several foot-soldiers, similar to the ones from the otherday, appeared. Except there were an army of them, now facing the teens. He screamed out,
"Now attack Gillicks! And give me their heads!" The fish-headed warriors ran forward as the group turned around. Rebecca screamed and Vivian tripped backwards. Andrew backed away slowly and shouted,
'What the heck are those things?!" Dan and David exchanged looks as they looked at the oncoming assault. Finally, Dan stepped forward and threw three similar phones to Rebecca, Vivian, and Andrew. He shouted over the mass of roaring soldiers,
"Do as I do!" He held out his phone, which was orange and silver in color, and flicked it, exposing a brush of sorts. He called out,
"Samurai Soul, Burn Fierce!" And his hand made a whoosing movement, writing a kanji character in the air, resembling the word 'Hi' or 'Fire' in Japanese. In the next moment, he was covered by the character and surronded by flames. In the next second afterwards, he stepped out and drew his sword. His costume was red on the upper half, with a black-like "Y" on his chest. He wore white gloves and his lower half was black and sleek. His boots were completely red as well, but had a black line running through the ankle area.
Not thinking much, the others looked puzzled at Dan, now morphed, and then at their phones. David shook them individually.
"C'mon now, you gotta morph to live!' Rebecca nodded crazily as Andrew flicked out his phone. Vivian did the same. Andrew spoke,
"I have no idea what the heck is going on, but I don't wanna die just yet!' The four of them flicked the brush on their phones and called out like Dan did,
"Samurai Soul, Burn Fierce!" However, their colors were Green, Blue, Pink, and Yellow respectively. David was covered in a whirl of grass blades, with the character 'Ki' or 'Wood' imprinted on his helmet. Andrew similarly was covered in a watery chains, with the character 'Mizu' or 'Water' onto his helmet. The girls were basically the same, however they had an additional skirt to their costumes, which stopped just before their knees. Vivian was draped in pink, with the charater of 'Sora' or 'Sky' on her helmet. Rebecca had an outfit of yellow, with the character for 'Tsuchii' or 'Earth' on hers.
Checking out their new look, the three new rangers gazed at themselves and said, each in turn,
"Amazing..."
"Whoa, this is awesome!"
"Cool, but I don't think Yellow is my color..."
But they couldn't say anything else, for then the Gillicks had reached them. Drawing their swords, the five went into battle.
Leading in front was Dan, with Andrew at his side. Slashing at the nearest Gillick, Dan brought his sword down, then immediately swiped it to the side to get another one. Andrew was against his back, slashing upwards and side-stepping the lance atacks. Andrew quickly rolled out of the way of two Gillicks who aimed at him with their spears, causing them to hit each other.
On the other side, Vivian was having no trouble in decimating the Gillicks, she moved gracefully about the now-turned battlefield and shifted her sword in everywhich way. Somehow holding her own, Rebecca, who had the least experience of the bunch, was wildly swinging her sword, and hardly hitting anything. Twice she nearly hit David who came to help her.
"Whoa whoa, careful with that!' He called as the blade missed nodded her head, saying,
"Sorry! I'm not used to fighting fish-headed demons on a daily basis!" David grinned and slashed at another group of Gillicks. The monster watched the rangers battle his demons and he gurgled again.
"The head is mine!' He jumped from the tree and landed in front of Dan. Dan held his sword defensively as he examined this new foe. The monster gurgled,
"I am Dualash, the servant of Lord Reapus!" He drew two swords and started to run towards him. Dan opened a compartment in his belt and took out a red disk. He said outloud,
"Hidden Blade, Power Weapon Mode!" His sword changed shape, turning much wider than usual, making it resemble a broadsword. It was dominately red, much like his outfit, however it was also laced with silver and gold in various places. He held it over his shoulder and said,
"Secret Disk Weapon # 1, The Emperor's Soul!" He placed the red disk onto his newer sword and then ran forward, matching the monster's speed. He came a mighty heave and blowed the weapon down. Dualash took the force of the blow and was thrown back into the tree. The others were amazed and followed suit by opening their belts and calling out their weapons.
"Secret Disk Weapon # 2, The Aqua Archer!" Andrew held out his hand, where his blade morphed into a bow. The front of which bore the same kanji as his helmet. He placed the disk on the insde of the bow and fired several water arrows at the remaining Gillicks, destroying a few of them.
"Secret Disk Weapon # 3, The Sky Reacher!" Vivian flicked her sword, which turned into a large fan. It was of course pink, and the kanji was also imprinted on it's front. She flapped the fan over the Gillicks, which created a powerful whirlwind. A few Gillicks were caught in it and were blown far away.
"Secret Disk Weapon # 4, The Arbor Lance!" David twirled the lance between his fingers and placed his disk on the back of the face. A spear head poked out from the kanji symbol on it's head. Surronded by Gillicks, he whirled the lance in a sweeping motion, turning into a circle cut, which eliminated the Gillicks.
However, Rebecca couldn't figure out exactly how to work it, so she had to fight them individually. Of course, that proved difficult. She swung at one, but her sword was caught and she was pushed back. David jumped in and sliced the Gillicks in half. He held out his hand and said,
"You okay?" With full concern. She nodded and jumped to her feet. After showing her the proper way, she said outloud,
"Secret Disk Weapon # 5, The Quake Spinner!" Her sword transformed into a shuriken type weapon, one of the olden days of the ninja. She aimed it carefully and let it fly. It cut through all of the last Gillicks with no problem. However, going back to the monster, Dan wasn't having trouble, but he couldn't get a hit on him either. His team soon came to his aid and stepped in front, weapons raised. Putting a hand up however, Dan said venomously,
"No... this guy is mine." He held up his sword and jumped up high. When he came down, he put all of his weight and strength to bring the blade crashing into the monster, which exploded from the impact.
Andrew and Rebecca spoke soon after.
"That was completely amazing!"
"Did you see that, we totally beat them ba-" But Dan held up a hand again. He spoke softly.
"This iisn't the end. Those in the River have two lives. Their mortal one, which I just killed, and the natural one, where they are of large stature." No sooner had he said that that the ground shook and water shot out into the air. The monster reformed itself from the remains, using the water as a medium. Vivian said worriedly,
"How do we defeat-?" But she was cut off by David this time.
"Time to call in the zords, just like they said right Dan?" Dan nodded and took out a pentagon-like shape from his pocket. He explained,
"These are Origami. They are guardian beasts who have the power to destroy Styxerons in their natural form. Check your holsters, you should have them." And he was right. Each one had a shape. Andrew had a type of Hexagon, while Vivian had a circle. David had a square, while Rebecca had a triangle. He turned to face the monster and said,
"Follow me!" He placed the small shape on the floor and said,
"Origami Unfold!" The shape broke open as the phone stroked over it. Inside was a sort of lion. He then threw it into the air and called out,
"Origami, Flame Lion, Samuraizord Power!" The little figure grew to a large-scale version of himself and roared. The others did the same and called theirs out, after unfolding their Origami.
"Origami, Fluid Dragon, Samuraizord Power!"
"Origami, Glide Turtle, Samuraizord Power!"
"Origami, Noble Bear, Samuraizord Power!"
"Origami, Mountain Ape, Samuraizord Power!"
Now facing the monster was five beasts. Rebecca, in her Ape Origami, hatched a plan.
"Hold on guys! I have an idea!" She climbed the highest building of the city and jumped off it, clinging onto the monster's neck. He struggled to get free, but it was no use. Soon after, Andrew and David in the Dragon and Bear Origami tackled him, with Rebecca letting go of him, making him fall backwards. Dan, in the Lion Origami jumped ontop of Vivian's Turtle Origami, which dive-bombed at Dualash. Taking the opportunity, Dan jumped off and put the energy of the his sword into one attack. The Lion turned into an unrecognizable inferno as it slashed its claw down, cutting through the Dualash monster.
He grinned and said,
"NOW its over.... So... anyone staying for dinner?" He was kidding, but knew that they had tons of questions for him and his family.
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Back in the River of Styx, Reapus let out a unrestrained roar. Melodina was simply playing her tune yet again. Reapus opened his mouth, where an energy beam started to form. He opened the outside of the ship and blasted it into the horizon. The firery nova was so strong, it parted the sea, making all the lifeless things in it turn into cinders. He was somewhat calmer and returned inside. He spoke directly to Melodina.
"Stupid monster. You can't get good help these days, even in the after life!" He banged his sword a bit until she said,
"Calm yourself my Lord. I'm sure the time will come when you will get your revenge. Oh and I think Kalacles is back..." She returned to her usual playing. The now drenched Kalacles stepped into the chambers of the boat and faced Reapus. He bent down and said,
"I am so very sorry my Lord. I will never insult Lady Melodina again. You have my word." He wasn't really feeling up to kicking Kalacles out again, so Reapus grunted and said,
"Fine. Just find something USEFUL to do." He walked into his own private sector of the ship.