Power Rangers: Beasts of Myth
The Tail of a Matador
CHUCK'S LUAU
Tobias stuck out his tongue out in concentration as he twirled his fire batons. His job was very dangerous, but simple. All he had to do was twirl the batons, and not burn the stage. Simple, right? Now, try do that in front of people while wearing a grass shirt and no shirt. Thankfully, Tobias had done this before. The finale was next. Tobias threw the batons into the air, quickly put a water bottle to his mouth, filled his mouth with water, caught the batons in an "X", then blew the water on the flames. The flames shot out towards the crowd, but quickly dispersed. The crowd clapped loudly as Tobias jumped off the stage. Soon after, a Hawaiian man with short black hair in a floral shirt and swim trunks walked on stage with a microphone.
"And that, folks, is the end of our show! I'm Chuck, saying goodnight," he proclaimed.
As the people filed out of the room, Tobias took a swig of water, then sprayed some water on his head. Chuck walked up and patted Tobias on the back.
"Good job, Tobias," said the restaurant owner, "See you in a week."
The Hawaiian walked off, happy as a lark. Tobias began drying himself off, when heard, "Why's he so happy?"
Tobias put the towel down, and turned around to see Xue.
Tobias smiled, and replied, "Eh, who knows with him?"
Xue smirked and said, "Well, it doesn't matter about him. I'm glad to see you."
"Thanks, Xue," Tobias replied, finally feeling up.
"So," said Xue, her foot nudging the ground, "I heard from Skyler you wanted to asked me something?"
Tobias stopped cold.
"Um, yeah," Tobias replied, nervously scratching his head, "H-how about... I mean, maybe we could... I mean..."
"You want to go out sometime?" Xue finished for him, smiling sheepishly.
The Spaniard gaped, but quickly shut his mouth, and said, "Sure."
"Cool," Xue replied, "I was wondering if that new movie is in theaters, you know, Legends of Spain?"
"Yeah, it is," replied Tobias, now intrigued about why Xue wanted to see a movie about Spain. She was Chinese, for Christ's sake. Tobias shrugged to himself and guessed it was because she wanted to learn more about Spainish culture.
"Okay, tonight, 7:30?" Xue asked, her toe nudging the ground.
"Sure," Tobias said, as she walked away, but faced him at the same time.
"Okay, bye," she said in a singsong voice, waving to him, then exiting out the door.
Tobias ran his hands through his hair, wondering how the outing was going to go.
CLARICE'S HOUSE
"You what?" said Clarice, an angry look on her face.
Xue ignored her, and kept getting ready. She admired the white shirt with red snowflakes that Clarice had let her borrow.
"Relax, Clarice," the Chinese exchange student replied, smiling into the mirror, "I'm sure with me on a date with Tobias will let you spend more time with Sean."
She said "Sean" in a singsong fashion. Upon hearing this, Clarice's face turned scarlet, utterly embarrassed.
"We're just friends," Clarice said stubbornly, face still red.
"Sure," said the white ranger, a smug look on her face.
Embarrassment turned to rage, and Clarice practically screamed, "I do NOT like him, okay?" The yellow ranger stuck her finger angrily in the Chinese girl's face.
Xue shrugged, pushed the finger away, and calmly said, "Who said you did?"
Clarice's face returned to normal, but was still embarrassed. The feeling of embarrassment went away when she heard a car horn beep.
"Bye, Clarice!" shouted the foreign teenager, as she ran out the door, leaving the yellow ranger with her thoughts.
Tobias's car wasn't too special. It was a beaten-up rust red pick-up with patches of the color of the original paint job, teal. Xue didn't mind. She hopped right into the passenger seat.
"Hi, Tobias," she said, a sweet smile on her face.
"Hey, Xue," replied the red ranger, smiling as he shifted the truck into gear.
He had changed clothes to a red flannel shirt over a black t-shirt and jeans. The old truck coughed twice, then began to putter along. The engine seemed to have give out by the time they got to Bermuda Bay Cinema.
"Xue, could you go get the tickets while I fix the truck?" inquired Tobias holding out the money.
"Yes," the white ranger replied, though she would've rather stayed with him.
Xue took the money to the booth out inside Bermuda Bay Cinema, a building on the corner of a line of businesses, not too much taller than a one story house.
"Two for Legends of Spain, please," said the Chinese girl, offering the money.
The booth attendee took the money, put it in the cash register, and gave her two tickets. Shortly, Tobias walked up to her, and retrieved his ticket. The two went inside. Tobias got a large popcorn and two large Cokes, though Xue said she didn't want anything to drink.
"You're going to want it," replied Tobias, "This popcorn is saltier than the ocean."
Xue giggled. Tobias chuckled in reply.
Xue and Tobias quickly found their seats, and began to watch the pre-movie advertisements. What was on the screen was part of Dane Cook's stand-up act about the theater. The two laughed in perfect sync, much to the annoyance of the one other person in the theater. And, after the clip, the movie began.
A voice boomed, "The Dragon Matador."
Tobias's eyes grew wide and looked at Xue, who was calmly watching the movie.
"Many years ago, there was a dragon who befriended humans," the voice continued, the events being shown as the narrator told them. "The dragon was treated like a guardian of the people. His best friend, the great King Fernand the IV, asked him to be a matador in the next games. The great beast accepted.
"The day of the fights, the dragon was given a great cape. The dragon twined the cape to his tail, and went into the arena. However, Fernand hadn't gotten a bull for the dragon to fight, he sent for a ghost bull.
"Now, the dragon feared ghosts, and when the ghost bull entered the arena, the dragon's heart began to flutter in fear. But other than run away, the dragon stayed and fought bravely. The ghost bull shouted, 'But you're afraid of ghosts!' The dragon proclaimed, 'Not anymore!" And with that, the ghost bull ran away, for he feared the fearlessness of the dragon. Fernand congratulated the dragon for conquering his fear, and the whole of the the kingdom rejoiced."
Tobias looked at Xue after this clip and asked, "Did you know about this?"
"Sasquatch said you might want to watch the movie," Xue replied, a solemn look on her face.
"Well, let's ask Sasquatch why he wanted me to watch this, shall we?" Tobais said, a smug look on his face.
"Let's," Xue said, returning the look.
The two took the cardinal rose part of their Mythic Morpher, spun it, and the two disappeared in two flashes of red and white light.
CAVE OPS
Tobias and Xue rematerialized, determination on their faces.
"Sasquatch!" Tobias yelled.
The robed ape turned, his furry face smug.
"You want to know of the Spaniard Dragon, don't you?" Sasquatch asked.
Tobias looked at the bigfoot, skeptical about the Dragon Matador story.
"That was a true story, Tobias," Sasquatch replied, a dead serious look on his face, "And that dragon is your ancestor."
Tobias's face went as pale as a sheet, staggering back as if he was shot.
"Really?" Tobias asked weakly, clutching his chest with one eye closed.
Sasquatch pulled up Tobias's family tree on the red screen, which was headed by two slots, one which was marked "The Dragon Matador".
"And you're showing me this because?" the red ranger asked, eyebrow cocked.
"Okay," the bigfoot said, typing on a keyboard. Suddenly, a target flipped up.
Tobias looked at Sasquatch with a blank face that said, "What the heck am I supposed to do?"
"Okay, Tobias, take a deep breath," the bigfoot instructed.
The Spaniard did so, not knowing why he was doing this.
"Now, think of something that would make you angry, visualize that as the target, and exhale through your mouth," Sasquatch said calmly.
Tobias focused on the thing he hated most, and exhaled. Fire spewed out of his mouth, and it hit the target and consumed it. Sasquatch clapped while the two rangers gaped at the smoldering iron rod where the target was.
"Whoa," said Tobias and Xue simultaneously.
"Congratulations, Tobias. You are now a fully realized demi-dragon!" Sasquatch shouted happily.
"So, that's it?," Tobias asked, "I can breathe fire now?"
"Yep," Sasquatch said, shrugging.
Tobias looked at his hands in awe. He clenched his fists, the power welling inside him.
But, the moment didn't last long because alarms started going off. Sasquatch typed on the keyboard for a while, then pressed enter. On the screen, a half-ghost, half-vampire was ransacking Bermuda Bay with a small group of Bloodspawn.
"Let's go!" Tobias roared as he began to spin the cardinal rose part of the morpher.
Sasquatch ran up to Tobias and yelled, "Whoa, Tobias!"
Tobias stopped, groan with his eyes on the sky, then looked at the furry lug and irritably said, "What?"
"Xue will call Sean, Skyler, and Clarice, and Sean will act as leader in your absence. Tobias, you must go to the Drao Temple to appease the Dragon's spirit and gain a new weapon against Bloodwing," Sasquatch replied.
Tobias looked Xue yearningly, to which the Chinese girl replied softly, "It's okay, I'll be fine."
Her eyes met his, and it became clear: they liked each other. The red and white rangers tore their eyes away, afraid that they had betrayed them somehow.
"Bye," said Xue, smiling apologetically.
"Bye," replied Tobias tersely, his voice like that of one who was winded.
Xue teleported to Bermuda Bay in a flash of white light, and Tobias teleported to Spain.
BERMUDA BAY
Sean, Skyler, and Clarice were sitting around at a Starbuck's. Sean was talking to Clarice about the difference between Irish and Scotch-Irish, and Skyler was sipping on a Starbuck's iced coffee.
Out of nowhere, a giant SUV was hurled their way. Sean was the first to notice, grabbed Clarice and dragging her to safety. Skyler looked with wide eyes at the SUV, dropped his iced coffee, and dodged. The final results, Beast Rangers: three, SUV: Starbucks. Clarice straightened her black skirt and replaced a strap on her yellow tank top.
"Dude!" Skyler exclaimed, making a open-hand gesture towards the Starbucks, "That was, like, the only decent place to hang out!"
"Skyler," replied Sean, furrowing his brow at the green ranger, "There are a million places other than this in Bermuda Bay."
"Yeah, but I can't get an iced coffee there, can I?" Skyler replied, bitterness in his voice.
There was a pause, then Sean began, saying, "Skyler...", but he was cut off by maniacal laughter.
"Hello, rangers," a sneering voice said.
The three turned to see a half-ghost, half-vampire.
"Vampiric Beast!" Sean said, automatically taking charge.
"That's right!" sneered the monster, "I'm Vampor!" Then, he went off in maniacal laughter.
"Well, here's your wake-up call," Sean said determinedly, "Ready?"
Skyler and Clarice shouted, "Ready!"
Then, the three in unison said, "Mythic Beasts, Awaken!"
Sean is underwater. Suddenly, a Sea Serpent swims up and swallows him. Out of nowhere, the Sea Serpent starts glowing and its body becomes Sean's ranger armor. Sean grabs the Sea Serpent's head and shoves it onto his head, and it becomes the helmet. He swims to the surface, jumps out of the water, lands on the sea, and strikes a pose.
Skyler is flying in a green sky. Suddenly, a giant eagle flies up. It is a Tolroc. Skyler gets on the Tolroc's back, and the Tolroc flares its massive wings. The wings meld with Skyler's arms, the talons meld with his legs, and the Tolroc's body becomes Skyler's ranger suit. The Tolroc's head forms around Skyler's head, making the helmet. Skyler lands on the ground and strikes a pose.
Clarice is in a desert. Suddenly, a snake with human arms slithers up. It is a Naga. Clarice is dragged under the sand and after a few seconds pass, comes back up in her ranger suit. The Naga pops out of the sand and falls on Clarice, but only the head hits her. The head becomes her helmet and she strikes a pose.
Suddenly, a white flash appeared and it became Xue.
"Mythic Beasts, Awaken!" she yelled.
Xue is trudging through a snowy mountain in a blizzard. Suddenly, a Yeti walks up. Xue gets on the Yeti piggy-back style and the Yeti begins to run through the snow. The snow kicked up becomes Xue's ranger suit and the Yeti disappears, leaving only a helmet. Xue is pitched forward and her head hits the helmet and it comes on her head. She continues to fall down the mountain until she finds her footing, stomps her left foot, and strikes a pose.
"Xue!" Clarice shouted in surprise, reaching out to hug her. The white ranger accepted the hug, but the two quickly turned to face the enemy.
"Hey, Xue, where's Tobias?" Skyler asked, his head angled in a confused pose.
Xue looked at the green ranger and said, "He'll be along shortly. Meanwhile, Sean's in charge."
"Say what?" Skyler gaped, but of course no one could see it.
Sean laughed heartily.
"Well that's that," Sean replied, smiling under his helmet, "You guys take care of the Bloodspawn, Vampor's mine."
And with that, the rangers charged as Vampor yelled out, "Attack!"
SPANISH COASTLINE
Tobias climbed the hillside, a determined, angry look on his face. The red ranger had fell down the rocky hill as soon as he rematerialized, and was not happy about it.
"Grr," Tobias mumbled angrily as he scaled the hillside, "When I get back, Sasquatch is going to ... oh ho ho." This last part was through gritted teeth, and I'm pretty sure Sasquatch would got the Sam Hill out if he could hear half the things Tobias was saying.
The rigid stone gave way to smooth marble, and Tobias knew he was there. The Drao Temple was about the size of an average dining room, held up by four Corinthian columns. In the middle of the room, was a giant European dragon statue, about three stories tall, with a strange, but familiar object at its feet. It was the Dragon Dagger from MMPR, but it was different. The green parts were red, and the blade was a gold color.
"So," Tobias mused, taking the Dragon Dagger, "Let's wake you up, shall we?"
He pressed the mouthpiece to his mouth, and played the familiar Dragon Zord summoning tune. Suddenly, the temple began to shake, and Tobias looked in astonishment at the dragon statue. Red energy flowed into the dragon, and it started to move.
"Urgh," the dragon said groggily, shaking its head, "What year is it?"
"Um, are you the Dragon Matador?" Tobias asked skeptically, looked up at the great beast.
The dragon stretched, yawned, and replied, "Indeed, I am. And you must be my descendant. Which means... Bloodwing's began to seek a vampire apolocalypse."
"Yeah," Tobias replied as stuck his hands in his pockets.
"So, you have summoned me to help?"
Tobias nodded. "Indeed, great dragon."
The dragon half-chuckled, half-sighed and said, "Take the Dragon Dagger. When you play it, I will hear it, and heed it. I will be the Red Mythic Dragon Zord, and you shall pilot me, my descendant. Do you understand?"
"Clearly," Tobias replied, a confident smirk on his face.
"Then, go! GO!" After this second sentence, the Dragon Matador transformed back into stone.
And with that, Tobias morphed, and teleported to Bermuda Bay.
BERMUDA BAY
Sean and the others were combating Vampor to no avail. Clarice tried to get in close with her sickles by ducking behind Xue's shield, but the Vampiric Beast saw through the attack and knock down both girls. Sean signaled Skyler for a double team, but Vampor knocked them both away. The rangers clutched their chests and watched helplessly as Vampor advanced.
"Any last words?" the ghost vampire asked.
"Are you quite done yet?" a familiar voice rang.
The monster turned to receive a powerful kick to the chest from Tobias.
"Tobias!" Sean exclaimed.
"Yeah, man!" chimed in Skyler.
"Alright!" Clarice cheered.
"That's a relief," Xue stated, wiping her helmet.
Tobias joined his teammates and they took turns patting him on the back. But, while the rangers were distracted, Vampor charged. Suddenly, Sean's ranger suit began to glow.
Sean is underwater with the monster. He pulls his hand down the length of the whip, and cracks it a few times. "High Seas Flogging!" he yells. He takes the whip and lashes it on the monster repetitively until blue energy builds up in the whip, and he brings it down once more, reducing the monster to ashes.
"Blue Mythic Ranger!" Sean shouted as the ashes exploding.
BLOODWING'S CASTLE
"Lillith!" roared Bloodwing.
The woman rushed into the room and said, "Yes, master?"
"Are the rejuvenating steam pellets ready?"
"Yes, Master."
Bloodwing pointed at his screen angrily, and shrieked, "Then, use it!"
Lillith bowed and replied, "Yes, master."
BERMUDA BAY
The rangers were congratulating Sean for activating his finisher when a thick smoke came over the area. Suddenly, there was a giant Vampor looming over the rangers, and the ranger looked up in astonishment.
"I think we're going to need bigger weapons," Skyler joked grimly, but no one laughed.
"Chill, guys," Tobias said, as he took out the Dragon Dagger, "I got this."
He played the Dragon Dagger and in the sky, there was a red gleam. From that gleam came a giant red mecha-like dragon. It landed and roared at Vampor, who backed away in surprise.
"Red Mythic Dragon Zord!" Tobias roared, his hand extending towards the zord's head. Instantly, the red ranger was teleported into cockpit, which was simple, but cool.
Tobias held out the Dragon Dagger in right hand, blade pointing to the right, and shouted, "Dragon Zord, Sun Flame Cannon!"
The Dragon Zord opens its mouth and a red-orange orb began to form. Slowly, the orb enlarged and, finally, shot out at Vampor. The monster caught the orb, but he wasn't ready for what happened next. The orb exploded and the monster became engulfed in flames, fell, and exploded for the second time.
BLOODWING'S CASTLE
Bloodwing clutched his head and grumbled angrily, "I have a headache."
CAVE OPS
Tobias and Xue were off in a corner while Sean and Clarice regained their conversation, Skyler used Sasquatch's supercomputer to find another iced coffee place, and Sasquatch protesting with every key Skyler touched.
"So, you really didn't know about the Dragon Matador?" Tobias asked Xue, a seroius, but gentle look on his face.
"Of course not," replied Xue with a confused look.
"You know, I'm kind of glad Sasquatch did it," Tobias told her, a smirk on his face, "I've always wondered about my family's past. I knew I was Spanish, but I knew nothing of the Dragon Matador."
"Yeah," Xue replied, her eyes on the simulated night sky on the ceiling.
There was a pause.
"You still going to kill Sasquatch, aren't you?"
"Yep."
Trivia: Bloodwing's line at the end was intended. It's an obvious allusion.