Episode 32: Part 1
A few weeks had passed quietly and the cold gray skies of February began giving way to the thawing snows of March. That particular morning, Kara stood at her favorite spot on campus, the balcony of the university clock tower. Perched atop her vantage point, she wore an unusually serene look as she gazed out over the horizon and watched the warming sun slowly peek out from behind the clouds, lighting up the city of Hyperion Falls.
"Hey, I thought it was you I saw up here," came a familiar voice from behind. Kara turned around and saw Nick Adler approach from the clock-tower doors and join her with a grin, "I can see why you like this spot so much. It's a great view of the city."
The Gold Ranger nodded calmly, "Yes. I like coming here to clear my mind and think sometimes."
"Oh? Is something worrying you?"
Kara glanced over, scrutinizing Nick for a moment, "Are you really that curious?"
The Green Ranger gave a shrug, "Truthfully? I was kinda bored. Joe and Claire are still in class, and Danny and Izzy are out being all lovey-dovey. Thought I'd take a walk and saw you here."
Kara snorted in mild amusement before looking back to the skies, "I was just thinking about the future. Having defeated the Horsemen recently, I couldn't help but wonder if we were getting closer to defeating the Cambion demons for good. If we are, then how much longer?"
Nick fell silent and nodded, watching the skies beside her, "Well we've come this far and we'll keep fighting as long as it takes."
Kara frowned, "You and the others will not be here at the college forever though. Eventually you'll have to leave this school... to move on with your lives."
Nick glanced over and caught a hint of worry in the Gold Ranger's expression. After a moment, he gave a gentle reassuring smile, "That's true Kara. We all have our own lives to pursue, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're going to leave Hyperion Falls either. This is our home."
"I know that," Kara replied quietly, "It's just that... well, the five of you and Professor Bishop are the closest thing I've had to a real family... people who care about me and people I love in return. I just..."
"Don't want to lose that?" Nick offered putting a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry Kara. We're all Power Rangers. The way I see it, that already makes us part of a special kind of family and no distances or obstacles are going to change that."
Kara turned and graced him with a rare smile before her face hardened again. She pointed out toward the distant city and gasped, "What is that?"
The two Rangers stopped and stared as the light of the sun was blotted out again by a dark swirling mass of clouds that began to rotate and churn. To their horror, they witnessed a colossal pillar of shadows emerge from the swirling skies like a horrific funnel cloud and descend into the center of Hyperion Falls. As the dark pillar began to take shape, Nick and Kara could see it was a fortress spire of some ancient design. Upon materializing again, the silver miles of chains binding the structure together shattered, giving way to Gideon's demon stronghold. The Dark Spire had just made worldfall.
"Good Lord... what is that thing?" Nick gasped in horrified awe as several small forms began pouring out like army ants into the city.
Kara grabbed his wrist tightly, "This is it! The Great Seal must have been broken! Archangel Gideon is finally here!"
Looking back toward campus frantically, the Gold Ranger tightened her grip, "We have to warn the others and notify Bishop. There is no time left to lose!"
From the top of his Dark Spire fortress, Archangel Gideon stood at his window looking out over the city of Hyperion Falls. At last, he was truly free of the Abyss and able to return to Earth. The planeshift had been successful and he watched as hordes of his Cambion foot soldiers poured out of the Spire to overrun the city around him. As he took a deep genuine breath of the mountain air, he smiled calmly while terrified civilians screamed and fled the sudden demon onslaught in the streets.
It would only be a matter of time before those meddling Vanguard Rangers showed up to resist. For a moment, Gideon curled his lip in disgust at the thought of those arrogant human children claiming to be the true heirs to the Empyrian Angels' legacy. He had plans to deal with the Rangers and he glanced over to where his two generals prepared to enact the first phase of the Cambion invasion.
The demon warrior General Abaddon hefted his battle axe as several Magog subordinates finished strapping his body armor on to him. Abaddon could feel the call of battle and bloodlust throbbing in his temples. It had been too long and he yearned to charge out onto the field and take command of the invasion's first wave. No doubt the Cambion shock troops were already rounding up prisoners and subduing any human resistance.
As he turned to leave, he heard his name being called, "Wait a moment General! A word?"
The warrior growled impatiently as Lady Shemhazai stepped toward him with an unusually serious expression. "Make it quick witch. I have an army to lead."
The demon counselor bowed her head slightly, "Of course General. I wanted to give you something to assist you in battle should you face the Rangers again."
Abaddon looked in surprise as Shemhazai presented him with an amulet made of a blood red stone. Placing it around his collar brace armor, Shemhazai continued, "This charm can be used to increase your defense and negate damage Empyrian war magic can do to you."
"I don't understand. Why are you suddenly trying to help me now?"
Shemhazai grimaced, "You and I have our differences and our rivalry General. There is no question. But now that the real battle has begun, it's up to you and I to secure glory for Lord Gideon in whatever way we have to. Consider this warding pendant a temporary truce."
Abaddon scowled at the amulet for a moment before giving a snort and looking to the Counselor, "Very well. For now, I have a battle to conduct."
Shemhazai watched the demon general depart and waited until he was gone before a sinister smile curled upon her blackened lips.
Back on the campus, Hyperion University was in a complete frenzy as the Vanguard Rangers grouped together and found Professor Bishop in his lecture hall. While they entered and gathered around the History Professor's desk, they could hear the emergency siren from the city blaring, sounding more like the pitiful cries of a dying animal this time.
The Professor met them with a grim expression, "Everyone... I think this is it... the battle we've all been fearing."
The others exchanged quiet looks of dread before Joe cleared his throat and spoke, "What's happening in the city Professor?"
Bishop turned his laptop around and displayed a live newscast from downtown showing a news crew desperately trying to flee while filming a charging battalion of Magog soldiers. All around, chaos and destruction were erupting as plumes of smoke rose and screams of terror echoed in the air.
At the very center of it all loomed the colossal fortress spire that served as the stronghold of Archangel Gideon. Having finally phased into reality, the Spire now cast a shadow of dread and malice which only drove the monsters into greater lust for death and destruction. As they continued to watch dumbly, the Rangers saw the news camera get dropped and focus for a moment on the familiar form of General Abaddon before it was crushed underneath his armored boot.
Claire covered her mouth in silent shock as Bishop closed the laptop gravely, "From what Kara and Nick said, it looks like the Great Demon Seal has finally broken. If the demons' fortress remains in the city, the Cambion are going to set up a beach head for more large scale attacks... maybe on the rest of the world."
"We can't let them gain a foothold in our world," Danny said firmly showing an unusual degree of seriousness at the moment. "We've come too far to let it come to this."
Despite her fearful expression, Izzy stepped beside him and took his hand with a silent nod.
"We won't let it come to that," the Red Ranger said reassuringly as he turned to address all the Rangers at once. "The Archangels would not have entrusted us with their powers if they didn't think we were capable of defending the world. We have the tools and the will to win. Now is the time when we have to put everything we've learned to the test. The people of our city are counting on us to pull through and we can't let them down... especially now."
Despite their fears and uncertainties, the other Rangers smiled and gave determined nods, buoyed by the Red Ranger's inspiring words. In a way, they almost felt as if they were preparing for their first official battle as Rangers all over again. Despite only a year and a half passing, it all seemed so long ago now with how much they had grown, with how many battles and obstacles and challenges they had already overcome. They were seasoned Power Rangers now and it was time to show their enemies just how determined and confident they really were.
"First thing's first," Bishop said checking his news feed, "It looks like a large division of Cambion troops are advancing toward our college right now. Before we can even think of retaking the city, you six have to repel the attack on campus town first."
Joe nodded and moved to lead the others out the door, "All right Rangers. You heard Bishop. Let's turn back the assault and start shifting the tide of battle in our favor."
Giving an inspired cheer, the Rangers grabbed their Keyrunes and rushed out the door, preparing themselves for perhaps the most critical battles of their lives.
As the fires and destruction began to spread out from the city of Hyperion Falls, a large battalion of Magog soldiers marched down the road. In their numbers, they carried spears, hatchets, short swords and crossbows. While they were technically the weakest members of the Cambion forces, the Magogs were still frightful and imposing while massed in ranks.
The small wing of the invasion forces made their way unopposed for several miles until they reached the edge of Hyperion University's campus town. Once there, they halted for a moment as they spotted six young men and women standing in the middle of the wide empty crossroad, barring their way. As they stopped, the Magog captain gave a guttural cry and the rest of the battalion answered with a cheer, banging their weapons together in hopes it would intimidate their human enemies.
Instead, the six Rangers stood with calm defiance until Nick glanced over to Joe, "I don't see any white flags from them…do you?"
The Red Ranger smiled and drew his Keyrune slowly, "Too bad for them, isn't it? Rangers… all together now."
"Vanguard Ascend!" the six cried together in unison as they morphed in one swift motion. Before any of the Magogs could react, they were momentarily blinded by a radiant glow that seemed to spread over the battlefield as the city's defenders emerged. As he stepped forward, the Red Ranger led their roll call:
"The Radiant Torch, Vanguard Red!"
"The Swirling Tempest, Vanguard Blue!"
"The Rumbling Mountain, Vanguard Green!"
"The Stinging Blizzard, Vanguard White!"
"The Dancing Whirlwind, Vanguard Pink!"
"The Surging Thunderbolt, Vanguard Gold!"
"The Light of the Past, and the Hope of the Future! Power Rangers!" they chorused as the light intensified and the skies around them momentarily cleared.
Clenching her fist and raising it toward their enemies, Kara called out, "The wrath of the heavens will strike you down!"
Joe drew his gladius and pointed it forward, invoking the Rangers' battlecry, "Vanguard, take flight!"
In a heartbeat, all six Rangers burst into the air with their summoned wings and split off to attack from different directions. The front rank of demon foot soldiers froze in shock as the Rangers plowed into them from the skies as if it were absorbing an aerial cavalry charge. Having been put into a scramble, the next ranks of demons stepped forward to desperately reinforce their comrades who had just been mowed down.
The Red Ranger led the push, skillfully striking down foot soldiers left and right with his saber sword. As another crowd of Magogs tried to swarm him and push back, Joe ignited his blade and executed a whirling sword blow which threw them all back in a searing cloud of angelic fire, incinerating dozens of the foot soldiers at once.
Before he could raise his blade again, a bright flash of lightning swept over the battlefield and a blinding bolt carved through the demon ranks in a zig-zagging pattern. Every Magog the thunderbolt passed was either vaporized or slashed with bladed weapons. As soon as the light cleared, Kara emerged from the bolt and slashed anther group of soldiers to the ground with her twin scimitars.
Meanwhile, a handful of mangled Magogs flew overhead amid a loud ringing sound. The burly Green Ranger was busy swinging his heavy warhammer around in wide sweeping arcs as if he were using a baseball bat instead. Every time his hammer struck, handfuls of broken demons were tossed aside from the sheer force of the bone breaking impacts.
Along the other flank of the battle line, handfuls of Magogs were also tossed through the air as Izzy wove through her opponents, striking some aside with her rapier, or blowing them away with powerful gusts of wind. Having opened up a hole in the line, the Pink Ranger began to dance, using whirling spinning steps that created a powerful vortex of air that sucked in several more foot soldiers. She took another winged leap while in the eye of the tornado, and destroyed them with a flurry of sword thrusts.
The moment she landed, a hail of icy bolts rained down from the skies above as Claire swooped in, strafing the demon ranks. While the surprised Magogs were thrown in disarray, the White Ranger landed among them and waved her Keyrune, sweeping them all away with a burst of icy spikes that spread and blossomed out from where she stood.
Despite her powerful attack, she found her position threatened as another company of demons moved in to attack. To her relief, a great wave of elemental water swept over the battlefield and crushed the Magogs, carrying the majority of the reinforcements away. Amid the tumult, Danny rode the wave and landed next to Claire with a thumbs up while the surging wave of water parted around them harmlessly.
Having wiped out the first wave of foot soldiers, the Vanguard Rangers regrouped as another fresh battalion of Magog soldiers arrived to take the place of their fallen comrades.
"Geez, there's no end to these guys!" the Blue Ranger growled in frustration while drawing his spear, "It's going to take us all day to cut through them."
"Maybe not," Joe said stepping forward and transfiguring his Keyrune into Auriel's Trumpet, "Everyone stand back!"
The Rangers backed off together as the Red Ranger blew the trumpet and emerged in the majestic Red Seraphim battle armor. Across the battlefield, the Magogs froze in terror and shielded their eyes from the sight of the brilliant warrior angel. While they did, Joe drew his longsword, "Ok, time for some divine retribution."
The Seraphim spread his six wings and surged forward tearing through the heart of the foot soldiers' ranks while leaving devastating trails of fire and sunlight behind him. The Rangers watched in awe as Joe burst back into the skies and took one great swooping attack back down on the enemy. In an instant, the entire advance guard of the Magog forces were instantly vaporized in a wave of radiant fire from the Seraphim's sword.
After witnessing the terrifying power of the Seraphim's fiery wrath, the survivors of the shattered Magog forces recoiled in horror. Having briefly glimpsed the visage of the ancient Empyrian commander Auriel filled their hearts with fear and the Magogs fell back into temporary retreat.
As the fire tempest began to die down, Joe descended gently to the ground, letting his Red Seraphim Armor dispel while the other Rangers cheered and gathered around him.
"All right! Way to waste those demons!" Nick exclaimed clapping the Red Ranger's shoulder with enthusiasm.
"Thanks, but we're far from done here," Joe panted as he took several deep breaths and tried to steady himself. Kara had indeed been right about the limits of using Auriel's Seraphim powers. Despite being a Power Ranger, Joe was still only human and using the Seraphim Armor for extended periods of time was very taxing on his own strength.
As he recovered his balance, he and the other Rangers looked out across the battlefield, only to see a single figure emerge from the smoke. With slow deliberate steps, General Abaddon, the Field Marshal of the Cambion Legion approached. Unlike his cowardly Magog minions who had fallen back in retreat, the demon general advanced with single minded purpose... to get his revenge on the Vanguard Rangers and eliminate them for good.
"Is that... who I think it is?" Nick asked in growing dread.
Beside him, the Gold Ranger tightened her grip on her two swords and nodded with a growl, "Abaddon."
A/N:
And so starts the beginning of the End. We've still got several more episodes full of action and drama left to go so don't worry just yet everyone.
To answer a Guest reviewer question, Vanguard and Oceania are actually set in the same universe. PR Oceania is supposed to take place several years after Vanguard so you can bet there's gonna be a tie-in and some guest appearances from this series. Remember the sea monster Leviathan? Don't think I haven't forgotten about him either. ;)