Episode 4: (Part 2)
The next morning, the Vanguard Rangers gathered in the Rookery building and told Professor Bishop about their run in with Oculus the night before. After retelling their story, Izzy gave a sheepish look from the armchair she was sitting in, "I'm really sorry everyone. I had no idea you guys had such a close call last night."
Bishop crossed his arms with a solemn look, "It seems the Cambion are getting stronger, and changing their tactics. That thing was probably a servant of Shemhazai if I'd have to guess."
"Ok then," Danny mused out loud, "so if we're dealing with a smarter demon, does that mean we have to use our brains to fight it back?"
Claire shrugged, "Or maybe we could go the other route and use brute force instead?"
"I like that idea." Nick chimed in pounding his fist impatiently.
"Regardless, that monster relied on blinding us with that dark smoke," Joe said pacing in the corner of the room, "If anyone's powers here will be the most effective at sweeping it away, it'll be Izzy."
Everyone turned to her and she raised her hand with a contrite nod, "Don't worry everyone. You can count on me."
"Until then, we have to figure out what to do about this demon." Bishop cut in holding up the day's latest newspaper. "26 people were blinded yesterday and the paper says that doctors are stumped."
"Maybe if we destroy the monster, the curse gets lifted?" Danny suggested hopefully.
Izzy grimaced, "But if that monster stole their sight, what if killing it will also destroy the victims' sight?"
"That may be a chance we'll have to take," Nick muttered, "The rest of that thing looked to be made of solid rock."
After a short silence, Claire spoke again and studied her Keyrune, "You know, it seems the longer this goes on, the more questions we have. Like what's the deal between the Empyrians and the Cambions? What about our zords? And why are all the demon attacks so focused on Hyperion Falls?"
Bishop frowned to himself, "All good questions that I'm still working on. But for now, we stay ready to respond until that demon shows up again and…"
At that moment, everyone turned to Izzy as her phone went off.
"Sorry, that's the sorority," she said heading out the door in embarrassment, "I'll be ready… as soon as I take this call." As she hurried out of the room, all the other Rangers could do was exchange puzzled looks between themselves and their History professor.
Later that Saturday afternoon, Izzy entered the Mugshot café and spotted Krissy and Chelsea sitting at a nearby table waiting for her. Even though it was a casual café, the two were still dressed nicely and sipped from expensive customized lattes. Sitting down, Izzy gave a hopeful smile as the two girls greeted her, "Isabel, thanks for coming, especially on such short notice." Krissy started.
"Sure," Izzy replied, "Though, I'm a little curious what this is all about. Is everything all right?"
"Everything is fine," Chelsea reassured her, "We just wanted to talk and tell you that you did very well at the party yesterday night."
"Really?" Izzy grinned in relief, "That's great!"
"You did great," Krissy pointed out, "but your friends? Well… not so much."
Izzy's smile faded, "Huh? What do you mean?"
Chelsea grimaced and folded her hands, "How do I put this? Our sorority tries to cultivate a certain image among our sisters, as well as those they associate with. After all, it's for the success of our members, and that good name reflects both ways."
"Wait, so are you saying you don't like my friends?" Izzy asked defensively.
"We're not saying that," Krissy answered gently, "It's just that they're each lacking in certain qualities."
"I don't understand," Izzy said, beginning to feel a little hurt inside, "What's wrong with them?"
Chelsea took a prim sip of her coffee before speaking, "Well, for starters, your friend Joe is very smart and gentlemanly, but he's a bit of a boy scout and honestly, kind of boring."
"Boring?" Izzy asked, "I don't think so…"
"And then there's Danny" Krissy continued, "He's very handsome, but also a bit cheesy. Or Nick? He's very fun and entertaining, but in a boorish and crude sort of way."
"I don't know. Maybe a little, but…" Izzy tried to interrupt.
"And finally Claire," Chelsea chimed in, "The girl is very bright and has the potential for looks, but she came off as a bit mousey and not having the right attitude."
Izzy sat in silence, shocked at hearing such shallow and negative assessments of her friends. They were all good people who she trusted, and had grown to like. Truthfully she enjoyed spending time with them. Part of her was angry and wanted to speak out in their defense, but she knew it was also a little dangerous and could jeopardize her own position.
"So, are you saying I'm not allowed to be friends with them anymore?" Izzy asked.
"Of course not Isabel," Krissy said shaking her head gently, "All we're suggesting is that you limit your association with them, at least as far as sorority functions go. Speaking of, we'll be hosting another event later in the week and we'd like to invite you. Think it over. We hope you'll be there!"
With that, the two girls got up and exited the coffee house, leaving the Pink Ranger sitting in stunned silence. Sororities were supposed to be a fun and inclusive social outlet, but for some reason, Izzy couldn't help but be left feeling more hurt and alone.
A few days later, Claire walked into the dormitory cafeteria early on Wednesday afternoon to find Nick and Danny at a table finishing their lunch.
"Hey you two," she said taking a seat next to Nick, "Have either of you guys seen Izzy? She had been asking me to help her study for an upcoming exam, but I can't find her."
"Honestly, I've barely seen her this week." Danny shrugged finishing his bowel of chicken soup. "Every time I did, she just said a quick hello and ran off."
"Are you sure it wasn't just you? Because that sounds pretty normal to me," Nick smiled playfully ribbing the Blue Ranger, "But no, you're right. She has been a little scarce."
As he finished speaking, Joe entered the cafeteria and joined the other Rangers. He carried a glass of water and was dressed in some sweats, looking like he had just been exercising. "Hey guys. Do any of you know where Izzy is? She always goes running with me at the gym on Wednesday mornings."
"That's the million dollar question," Claire replied, "we're all looking for her too."
Joe wiped the sweat from his brow and drank some water with a frown, "Weird. Do you think she's mad at us?"
"Don't be crazy," Danny said waving it off, "What did we possibly do? Unless it had something to do with that party on Friday, I can't see any problems."
"Well, aside from cutting out a little early, I thought everything went fine there," Nick mused scratching his chin in agreement.
Claire sighed and gave a shrug, "Trust me, we girls can still be a strange bunch in the way we interpret things."
Joe cleared his throat and finished his water, "Well, whatever the case, I just hope that Izzy doesn't go AWOL if the you-know-what, decides to visit again."
Meanwhile, the Eye Golem Oculus sat taking refuge in the crevices of one of the mountains overlooking Hyperion Falls. It was late afternoon and the lights of the city were not visible yet. As the demon sat in the shade healing from his injuries of the last battle, he heard a faint voice carried on the wind. Upon reaching his dark cave, the voice reverberated softly and he recognized it as that of his mistress Shemhazai.
"Fool! Why do you hide? I sent you to spread terror and weaken the seal to the Abyss."
Oculus murmured in reply, "Forgive me mistress. I was wounded by the Vanguard Rangers. But I have recovered and planned a new strategy for the next time I face them."
"Do not make me wait any longer." Shemhazai's voice warned him, "I am putting a lot of trust in you to open the way for us."
"I will not fail again mistress." Oculus said rising from his spot and beginning to make his way back down the mountain. "You have my word on it."
Later that evening, Izzy quietly slipped out of her room and threw a warm coat on over her dress. Peering down the empty hall, she headed for the stairwell. As she reached the stairs, she stopped a moment by the reflective glass to adjust her long brown hair that had been done up for the evening.
That moment cost her as the stairwell door opened from the other side and she bumped right into Claire. The White Ranger was holding a PBJ sandwich that she was bringing back to her room for a snack and she raised it up to avoid messing up her friend's nice coat.
"Hey Iz!" Claire said in surprise, "I wasn't expecting to see you all dressed up tonight."
She gave a hasty shrug, "Yeah well, I'm kind of in a hurry. Sorority stuff tonight."
Claire gave a curious frown, "Seems like you've been spending a lot of time with them. We've all barely seen you lately."
"Sorry, I've just been busy." The Pink Ranger muttered, evasively moving past her and heading down the stairs.
Claire followed her, much to Izzy's annoyance, "Are you sure about going out tonight? I thought you wanted my help studying for that exam on Friday."
Izzy slapped her forehead, "Oh shoot. I totally forgot. I'm sorry Claire. We'll study tomorrow. I promise."
"You know, you've been acting kinda weird since you started rushing and went to that party on Friday. You aren't upset with us, are you?"
"No. It's fine! Everything is fine! You guys can stop worrying," Izzy replied trying to brush Claire off with a forced smile.
"We're your friends Iz." Claire stated in concern, "We're supposed to worry."
Izzy paused a moment and let out a deep sigh. Putting her hand on Claire's shoulder she said, "I know. I promise I'll talk more with you all later, but I have to run tonight. I'll be at the Canopy bar if you need me tonight, ok?"
Claire gave an uncertain look as the Pink Ranger turned around and headed out the front door of the dorm, hurrying into the dark chilly evening outside.
Later that night, a brightly lit billboard exploded as Oculus began his new rampage at the edge of Hyperion University's campus town. Giving a laugh, he waved a fresh platoon of Magog minions forward and swept his arm in a wide arc, spraying several students and civilians with his blinding dark rays. If those Vanguard Rangers protected the city, he could cause almost as much chaos just in the equally populated college campus town. The demon cackled in glee as it witnessed several more people fall to their knees, clutching at their eyes in blinded terror. The eye golem continued on, determined to win glory for his mistress and open the way for the rest of the Cambion invasion force.
Meanwhile, Danny crumpled up another piece of paper and tossed it into the trash can. "Well, so much for that idea." he muttered as he sat with Joe in the Black Hole, trying to figure out a workable strategy against their newest demonic foe.
"We can't give up," Joe urged, paging through another book of mythology. "There's got to be another way to beat that thing."
Just then, Nick and Claire hurried into the room with worried looks on their faces, "Suit up you two. We've got trouble again, and it's pretty close to home this time" Nick said keeping his voice low.
"Wait, what about Izzy?" Danny asked in concern, "Where is she?"
"She's at the Canopy bar with that sorority tonight," Claire said. "But she hasn't answered her phone yet."
Joe growled quietly and looked to the others before rising quickly, "Come on everyone. We're going to crash a party."
Loud music blared from speakers and colorful lights lit up the floor as people drank and danced within The Canopy, the campus bar that was rented out for the Eta Omicron sorority mixer. Despite the festive atmosphere, Izzy sighed, wishing her Ranger friends were there to enjoy it with her. Her thoughts kept going back to her conversation with Claire before she left.
"Hey girl! What's with the long face?" a tipsy Chelsea called heading off the dance floor to greet the Pink Ranger, "Aren't you having fun tonight?"
"Yeah, everything is great." Izzy lied giving a forced smile. "Thanks for inviting me."
The sorority girl grabbed her hand and pulled her toward to dance floor, "Then come on. Let's dance. There are a bunch of hot guys out there tonight."
Their conversation was cut short as they heard a loud commotion come from the front door of the bar. Izzy walked over and looked in shock as she saw her 4 Ranger friends trying to push and shove their way inside past the bouncers.
"Get out of the way! We've got to get in there!" Nick growled grappling with one bouncer.
As she and Danny pushed back against another doorman, Claire spotted Izzy and called out to her, "Izzy! We've got trouble! We need you!"
Izzy gave a sheepish look around to the other sorority sisters, "Ah, are you sure? I mean, can't you all just handle it without me tonight?"
As she said that, Krissy marched up angrily to where Joe was in a shoving match with a doorman and got in the Red Ranger's face, "Umm excuse me guy, why don't you and your rude friends back off! Izzy obviously doesn't want to talk to you, and you guys weren't invited either!"
The Red Ranger shoved aside the bouncer once more and shook his head to Izzy, "All right. We're going. But when you come to your senses, you'll know where to find us."
Izzy watched with a conflicted and guilty face as her friends turned and ran out of the bar to deal with the monster attack without her.
"Can you believe those animals?" Chelsea sniffed, "Thinking they could just barge in here and act like that?"
Izzy frowned, "They just wanted to tell me something important. Why not hear them out?"
"Well whatever it was, it obviously wasn't that important if you're still here. Now come on. We won't let those plebs ruin our fun tonight."
Izzy angrily turned and headed toward the door. "I've heard enough! Those are my friends and I'm not gonna let you dump on them like that."
"You're making a big mistake Isabel," Chelsea said, "You're not seeing things clearly."
"Oh I can see things just fine," Izzy fired back, "Those four aren't perfect, but I can see they care about me and are better people than anyone in your crummy house." Turning on her heel, the Pink Ranger stormed out the door hoping she could catch up to her friends in time.
Not too far away, Oculus continued terrorizing the fringes of campus town and blinding civilians. Just then the demon looked up in surprise to see a group of scattered Magogs fleeing back toward him while a few other foot soldiers disappeared in a cloud of smoke and ash.
Oculus waited patiently as the Magogs fled and the same 4 Vanguard Rangers confronted him, fully morphed. "You're back for a rematch." he sneered.
"And this time, we'll finish you," Nick called out. "Ready everyone?"
In a flash, the Rangers called their Astral Armament and fanned out around the golem. One by one, the male Rangers charged in to attack while Claire circle strafed with her bow. Despite the more coordinated maneuvers of the Rangers, Oculus blocked each of their attacks and turned their blows aside.
"Alright, Plan B!" Joe called raising his Keyrune and igniting it with fire. The other three Rangers rushed in and grabbed the golem, turning it toward the fire as Joe created another bright halo of blinding fire. This time, the golem laughed and expelled small pools of his black inky smoke to momentarily blind its own eyes.
"Huh, I'll be damned," Danny said in amazement. "The thing just made itself some demon sunglasses."
As the Red Ranger's cloud of fire dissipated the small shadow motes covering the demon's body, Oculus opened all its eyes again and blasted the Rangers backward with a powerful renewed jet of dark cloudy energy.
"Ok, I didn't think the monster was going to be this smart," Claire grunted picking herself up off the ground.
To the Rangers' dismay, the streets began filling with the dark swirling smoke as the monster advanced, continuing to spew even darker magic from the demon eyes covering its body. "How about another fireball?" Nick asked clutching his war-hammer nervously.
Joe shook his head, "If I did, I'll be completely gassed. This smoke is way too thick."
As he said that, a powerful gust of wind blew through the street and easily swept away a large portion of the dark cloud. The four Rangers turned to see Izzy approaching while holding her Keyrune ready.
"Get out of the way little girl. Can't you see I'm busy?" the demon growled.
"The only thing I see is you going back to hell where you belong," the Pink Ranger retorted rushing forward and activating her Keyrune, "Vanguard, Ascend!"
The eye golem roared as the morphed Pink Ranger charged him and brandished her rapier. Opening his eyes, Oculus fired off a barrage of shadowy blasts that corkscrewed in the air, but the Pink Ranger swatted them aside with her weapon and tumbled through rest with swift agile somersaults.
As the startled demon backpedaled, Izzy leapt forward, aided by her wings and delivered a relentless flurry of pin point sword thrusts, each strike destroying an eye and blinding the golem further.
"Doesn't feel so great, huh?" Izzy called sending the monster reeling with another powerful blow.
In a futile attempt to counter, Oculus began to release more shadows from his remaining eyes but the Pink Ranger used her Keyrune to call a tremendous whirlwind that countered the attack and lifted the demon high into the air.
As the golem landed hard on the concrete and recovered its remaining vision from the blinding wind, it looked up in sudden horror to see all five Rangers reassembled around a large celestial crossbow. Locking their Keyrunes in place, the Red Ranger took aim and called, "Radiant Arbalest, locked!"
"Fire!" Izzy called as the Arbalest unleashed a searing bolt of white hot light. The shot struck Oculus in his last remaining eye at the center of his chest and tore through him. Roaring in agony, the demon twisted sideways before exploding into a cloud of fire and ash. To the Rangers' relief, bright motes of light erupted from the remains of Oculus and flew through the air, returning to the victims and restoring their sight.
As they lowered the Arbalest, the other Rangers turned to Izzy and put their arms over her, "Way to go Iz! You were great!" Nick grinned patting her head as Claire gave the Pink Ranger a relieved hug.
"I'm sorry everyone," Izzy sighed, "I kinda lost sight of my priorities... and who my true friends are."
Joe laughed gently and put an arm around her, "Forget it Iz. We're just glad you're back."
As the smoke from the battle began to clear, Danny gave a thoughtful look back toward the Canopy, "You don't suppose the Eta's will let us back into their party if we're dressed like this, do you?"
Izzy couldn't help but laugh and give him an affectionate slap upside the head before summoning her wings and taking off into the night sky.
"Oh well, it was worth a shot," Danny sighed as the other Rangers took off and headed back toward the Rookery.
A few days later, Joe, Danny, Nick, and Claire sat in the Mugshot café relaxing after classes that Friday afternoon.
"Well, I'd say things worked out pretty well," Nick sighed taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm just glad the Power Rangers were able to clobber that latest demon and return things to normal."
"Not to mention all the victims have made a full recovery," Claire cheerfully added holding up a nearby newspaper from the table.
At that moment, the door opened and the four Rangers turned in surprise to see Izzy enter along with a familiar brunette girl.
"Hey everyone!" Izzy smiled hurrying over to greet her friends, "Sorry I'm late. You all remember Jen Kaufman from the party last week? She was also rushing with me for sororities."
Jen gave a bubbly laugh and waved as she joined Izzy, "Hi guys. Nice to see you all again!"
The other Rangers nodded with friendly smiles as Joe's face turned a shade of red... almost as red as his Ranger suit.
Izzy continued, "Well, turns out I also got accepted by my second pick for sororities and so did my friend Jen here! It's a much nicer group of girls and the time commitments aren't nearly as demanding."
"That's great Iz," Nick called cheerfully raising his coffee mug, "We're happy for you two."
"Izzy was actually wondering if you'd like to celebrate with the two of us tonight," Jen added, "I thought it would be fun to meet some of her friends too."
"That's an excellent idea!" Joe chimed in quickly, "Err... that is, if the rest of you also want to."
Danny and Nick exchanged a subtle smirk as Claire rolled her eyes to herself.
"Sounds good Iz. We're in," Danny chuckled. "What did you have in mind for going out? Wine and cheese tasting? Ballroom dancing?"
Izzy smiled, "If it's all the same with you guys, I think I'd actually prefer a movie night with pizza and sweat pants."
"No neckties or monkey suits. That's good enough for me," Nick grinned as the 6 students got up from their table and headed back toward their dorm continuing to laugh and joke the rest of the way home.
A/N:
That closes Episode 4 out. For anyone curious, I won't be doing zord battles in every single episode as I prefer to focus more on character development and world building. As per Sentai formula, I'll be continuing to do a few character spotlight episodes for each Ranger.
I hope you enjoyed the latest installment, and to all of you who are still following along, thank you! It means a lot and I encourage you readers to not be shy. Feel free to review, or give me any ideas or feedback via PM. I'd love to talk to you guys and I want to keep doing my best to give you all an entertaining series. Until then!