Episode 8: Part 2
Brilliant fiery streaks of golden light rained down over the grand central plaza of Hyperion Falls as citizens scrambled and fled. From atop a tall obelisk monument, Gideon stood laughing as the small but powerful comets erupted on the ground causing fiery chaos and terror. Even if his body was still trapped within the stormy Abyss, this physical projection of his will allowed him a small taste of the freedom and sensation he had spent millennia yearning for.
The twisted Empyrian Archangel in bright bronze armor let the winter air ripple through his long pale golden hair while falling snowflakes pricked at his beautiful marble white skin. He gave a snort of contempt for the weak and cowardly humans who fled to hide in their buildings of glass and concrete, until he spotted five young people in winter coats charge into the plaza to confront him.
"That's enough! Hold it right there!" shouted one of them, a young man with short black hair who wore a red scarf. The fallen angel slowly turned his gaze toward the five and gave an amused smile.
"Uh, guys? I could be wrong, but that doesn't exactly look like a demon," Izzy said glancing over to her fellow Rangers.
"Who are you? And what do you think you're doing here?" Nick called out challenging the angelic looking invader.
Gideon smiled, "You are the only five humans bold enough to challenge me directly. I've been waiting to meet you... Vanguard Rangers."
The five of them drew their Keyrunes and stood ready, "Who are you? What do you want with us?" Joe demanded stepping forward to take the lead.
The angelic figure in bronze armor extended his arms and spread his six wings, slowly floating down to the ground of the plaza. "I am Lord Gideon, Commander of the Cambion legions and true heir to the Empyrian legacy."
The Rangers froze in complete shock. Here before them was the supreme leader of their demon enemies. Despite his beauty and awe inspiring presence, there was a sinister aura about him, one of great power and malice underneath the veneer of outward grace.
"How is that possible?" Claire called out with dread in her voice, "Has the seal of the Abyss already been broken?"
Gideon laughed, "No, child. This is an astral projection... a mere fraction of my being. You five have taken up the Keyrunes of my brethren, the five greatest Empyrian warriors who sealed me away and denied me my destiny. To think, the noble blood of my ancient brothers and sisters flow through you now... muddied and debased."
"I've had about enough of you dumping on the human race," Danny called out, "We're still here and we'll be glad to show you why."
"I'm counting on it," Gideon laughed with a mocking sneer, "I had been cast down once for my pride and arrogance. I want to see proof that your wretched kind is no different."
Raising his Keyrune, Joe called, "Everyone? Vanguard, Ascend!"
Gideon waved his arm unleashing a barrage of golden fireballs but the attacks were deflected by the Rangers' protective wards and sigils. As the blast subsided, the five morphed Vanguard Rangers stood ready with their Astral Armament while the Red Ranger pointed his saber forward, "All right everyone, we're going all out! Vanguard, take flight!"
The five Rangers broke formation and charged forward with their own shining pairs of wings, attacking from different directions at once. Claire moved first and fired a barrage of icy bolts from her bow, but the Archangel curled his six wings around him like a protective shell. As the arrows deflected away or shattered harmlessly, Nick followed up with a powerful hammer blow on the wing shield but found his strike completely stopped. In a flash, Gideon opened his wings and swept the surprised Green Ranger aside.
As he gave a superior snort, Gideon glanced to his left side where Danny darted toward him and thrust forward with his spear. With blinding speed, the Cambion commander grabbed the base of the spearhead and halted the Blue Ranger's attack completely. Danny gasped as all his momentum was completely lost and he went flying as Gideon tossed the spear away like it was some minor annoyance.
Tilting his head slightly, Gideon sensed another oncoming attack from behind and sidestepped a joint assault from the Red and Pink Rangers. Spinning on his heel and laughing, Gideon used his armored gauntlets and wings to deflect a furious flurry of sword blows from both Joe and Izzy, before locking both their blades together and sweeping them both away with a powerful backhand.
"Is that really the best you children have?" the Archangel laughed in scornful amusement while the Rangers regrouped.
"He's just toying with us," Danny growled, "What do you say we switch up tactics?"
The Red Ranger nodded and ignited his sword with a sheath of radiant flames, "Sounds like a plan Danny. Everyone, in unison this time. Rangers, follow my lead!"
The Rangers charged forward as Joe clashed with Gideon again and harassed the Archangel with several whirling sword swings augmented by celestial fire. Despite his confident stance, Gideon backpedaled slightly from the intense flames and spread his wings, opening his guard just enough for an attack.
As the Red Ranger somersaulted away, Claire and Izzy let loose a volley of Feather Stinger shots that struck home and staggered the enemy momentarily. Before Gideon could completely recover, Danny and Nick charged in together and made a passing attack on each side, landing glancing blows with their melee weapons. The Archangel grunted again, but shrugged off the strikes turning to the face the Blue and Green Rangers.
As he did, both Claire and Izzy leapt up and landed on their fellow Rangers' shoulders, clasping hands for balance. Gideon watched in surprise as all four Rangers drew their Keyrunes and aimed them at the center of their formation, firing a burst of elemental energy. From the center of the formation, the Red Ranger swooped through with his wings and caught the elemental storm with his sword, slashing the Cambion lord with the combined force of their powers.
When the tremendous blast cleared, the Rangers stood in shock as Gideon rose from one knee and smiled at the minor damage done to his armor. "Much better, but you are still nowhere near as powerful as the original warriors."
The Rangers panted from the exertion but scrambled again to regroup. Gideon slowly marched forward with a laugh, "You Vanguard Rangers really think you've harnessed the full strength of the elements? Let me show you what real power looks like."
The Cambion lord spread his six wings out and they suddenly glowed brilliantly, momentarily blinding the Rangers. Before the Vanguard Rangers could react, Gideon unleashed a rapid fire barrage of his fiery radiant comets that struck the Rangers and erupted in violent explosions that shook the entire city center.
Amid the smoke and shattered glass that rained down from nearby buildings, the Rangers lay on the ground, stunned and writhing in pain. Despite their powers protecting them from the majority of the blast, the searing power of the Archangel's attack continued to physically burn the Rangers and eat away at their suits' defenses.
Amid the smoke, Gideon's glowing eyes shone through and he advanced slowly continuing to laugh. "How disappointing. This is but a fraction of my power and you've already been laid low."
"Come on everyone. We have to get up," Joe groaned in pain as he desperately staggered to his knees and gritted his teeth through the pain of his still burning suit. The other Rangers struggled feebly on the ground and gave gasps of pain from the burning sensations while Gideon strode forward.
"It's futile Red Ranger. You and you pitiful little world will..."
Just then, Gideon stopped and froze. Looking to his arms, the Cambion lord saw them begin to dematerialize, "What? No! Not now! This can't be happening!"
The Archangel roared in fury. He grasped wildly at the air as his whole form began to fade away and magically evaporate. Looking back to the heroes, Gideon snarled, "This is not the end Rangers. When we meet again, it will be for the last time."
As the lord of the Cambion demons completely dissipated in the smoke and fire, the Red Ranger slumped down in exhaustion and demorphed along with his friends. All five Rangers lay on the ground gasping in relief while the cold winter air soothed the burning sensations they had just been feeling moments ago. The Rangers had lucked out and they knew it. Something had just happened to the spell giving Gideon his physical form. Had it not happened... well, none of them wanted to think about it at the moment. They could only wonder what they would do when the Archangel would make his return.
Gideon focused his eyes and found himself back within the Dark Spire surrounded by a ring of startled Cambion sorcerers. Whirling around, he grabbed one of his elite guards who was standing nearby and lifted him in the air by the neck.
"What happened?" he roared in disoriented rage.
"My lord Gideon! Calm yourself!" Shemhazai called nearby as the other demon sorcerers cowered away in fear "The astral projection spell was disrupted. The sorcerers could not maintain your connection."
Gideon growled and hurled the struggling guard across the room and the armored demon slammed into a nearby pillar with a sickening crunch. "How did this happen?"
Shemhazai bowed her head, "You were exerting a great amount of your own power in battle my lord. It's likely your own energies were working against our magic to keep you anchored here."
The fallen Cambion angel stepped out of the ritual circle and headed for his throne, "I was about to destroy those Vanguard Rangers for good. I want you and your servants to work on reestablishing a connection."
"Of course Lord Gideon, but that will take some time. We have to make several other preparations and..."
Gideon took his seat and gave an almost petulant look, "I don't care what it takes Shemhazai. Do it as soon as you can. I will not let the Rangers slip away again."
Later that evening, the Vanguard Rangers gathered in the Rookery building at the edge of their university campus. Despite the warm inviting fire Professor Bishop had started in the fireplace, the five students sat quietly looking haggard and shell shocked. Their bodies ached and still tingled from their encounter with the Cambion leader.
Bishop poked the fires and took a seat at his desk giving his students a concerned look, "I'm glad you were able to make it back here. I was very concerned when I heard about a major explosion downtown."
"We never expected to face Gideon himself," Joe said grimly from an armchair, "He was so powerful and we had no way to defend ourselves. We were completely outclassed."
"But why is he here? And why now?" Claire asked.
Danny shook his head, "No Claire. He wasn't actually there. Remember, he said the seal of the Abyss wasn't broken. He was just projecting a part of himself or something."
"Well part of himself or not, we still got our asses handed to us and Gideon didn't break a sweat," Nick interjected.
From over on the couch, Izzy chimed in, "Gideon did mention again he was the true heir to Empyrian legacy. What do you think that meant?"
Professor Bishop sat and folded his hands in thought, "He could be referring to something here in Hyperion Falls... from the sounds of it, something tangible. The question becomes, what do we do about it if he shows up again?"
Nick glanced at his feet before turning to the Red Ranger, "Remember what we were talking about earlier? About searching the mountains and waterfalls? I think now is the time we try that."
Danny chewed his lip, "I hate to admit it, but Nick has a point. If there is some kind of hidden treasure around here, it could be some new power that will give us an edge in the next fight."
Joe gave a reluctant frown and turned to the girls to get their opinion.
"I don't like it, but it makes some sense," Claire sighed.
Izzy nodded grimly in accord, "I agree. At this point, we have to try something."
Glancing over at the neutral face of professor Bishop, Joe turned and faced the glowing fireplace, quietly pondering into the crackling flames. He had been against the idea of rushing into a wild scavenger hunt in the mountains, but after the close brush with disaster they had that afternoon, he couldn't deny that something had to be done, and soon.
Giving a deep sigh, he finally turned to look upon the faces of the other Rangers with a serious expression, "If we're going to go treasure hunting, we'll need to wake up and get an early start. Let's use the night to rest and recover. We're going to have our work cut out for us tomorrow morning."