Episode 36: Part 1
Professor Gabriel Bishop grunted as he bashed aside a Magog soldier with his shield and brought his heavy mace around to counter the attack of another foot soldier. All around him was destruction and chaos as Cambion troops poured into the city of Hyperion Falls. Everywhere he turned, he saw looting, destruction and the hurting of fleeing civilians. The glow of smoldering fires continued to burn nearby while the college professor-turned-soldier swept aside the Magog's weapon and dropped it with a crushing blow to the side of the monster's head.
As more Magogs continued to advance, Bishop turned and fell back further in what seemed like an endless fighting retreat. He was tired, and despite the light-weight flexible plate armor he wore, it wasn't something he was conditioned to. He was a mild mannered History teacher, not some kind of medieval warrior. As he continued to approach the campus of Hyperion University, he couldn't help but think how ironic it was that this might all end in the same place it started.
He remembered the first day he saw a Cambion demon no more than two years ago, and how five of his new students had become Power Rangers to combat the threat. So much had happened between then and now… and so much had happened between all of them. As he charged through and smashed a wandering patrol of Magog soldiers aside, he couldn't help but wonder what happened to the Rangers… if they were in fact incinerated by Gideon's power. He swallowed the lump in his throat and gripped his mace tighter as he took his aggression out on the Magogs in front of him. If the Rangers were in fact gone, they would still be counting on him to continue their fight against these overwhelming forces.
As he made it onto campus, he saw the same destruction and mayhem being wrought with burning buildings and students fleeing in terror from the demon onslaught. Turning his head, Bishop could see a small crowd of fleeing civilians from the city head with the students toward the main quad, hoping to use it as a regrouping point. Taking several deep breaths, Bishop kicked up his feet and hurried to follow the crowd, hoping to try and act as an escort, protecting them while they fled.
As the crowd reached the main quad, Bishop skidded to a halt as he saw a company of Magogs already there waiting. As the crowd of students and civilians turned to Bishop wondering who the mysterious knight was, a bright flash of light lit up the air. In a crack of thunder, the people felt a rush of heat and smelled ozone in the air as a golden figure raced into the demons' ranks. With lightning speed and agility, the Gold Ranger carved through the Magogs with her two scimitars, cutting them down with merciless fury. In mere moments, the entire company of foot soldiers was gone, collapsing to the ground and bursting into brimstone.
As Kara lowered her weapons for a moment, she turned to Bishop and nodded, "Are you unharmed, Herald?"
Bishop sighed in relief before stepping forward from the crowd of awed people, "I am. Thank you Gold Ranger. We have to get these people out of here."
Kara grimaced and looked around, before shaking her head, "I'm afraid we can't… we've been encircled by Magogs. All we can do is try to fight our way out at this point."
Bishop felt his spirits fall as the crowd of civilians gave panicked murmurs. He raised his shield and mace, standing beside Kara. "If that's what we're going to have to do… then so be it."
Before they could exchange another word, a pack of advancing Magogs stopped and parted, giving way for Archangel Gideon. The demon lord strode forward slowly. While he looked like he had recovered a little bit of his strength, his appearance was still battle worn and dirty. The blood on his face had dried and the Archangel's armor still bore the scorches, dents, and tears in his cuirass that he had suffered from earlier. As he walked, Gideon's expression was a mix of fatigue and disgust at the two remaining enemies who stood before him.
In one motion, he swept his six regal wings back and called out in a loud voice, "Humans of Hyperion Falls… You have committed a terrible sin this day. I offer you one last chance to surrender and bow before me… or be laid down into the dust. It is as simple as that."
"The Vanguard Rangers were right!" Bishop shouted back in a challenge, "You aren't some divine savior after all. You're nothing but a delusional tyrant Gideon!"
"Maybe so," Gideon smiled malevolently, "But consider this. The Vanguard Rangers are no more… struck down to oblivion by my own hand."
A shocked murmur swept through the crowd as Gideon gave a sidelong glance and smirked, "You would still try to challenge my power, and my rightful claim to the Empyrian Angels' dominion over Earth?"
"With our last breath," Kara shouted back while leveling her sword at the Archangel, "I'd rather die free than live as a groveling slave to you."
Gideon shook his head and gave a bored sigh, "Such stubborn pride. If death is what you wish Gold Ranger, then I will grant it to you."
To the crowd's shock, Kara dug her heels in and surged forward to drive her blades into Gideon, but the Archangel curled his wings around at the last moment to form a defensive shield. Kara gasped as her blades deflected sideways and she was thrown off balance, until Gideon reached for his sword at his side and sent her flying back with a powerful blow.
The Gold Ranger hit the ground hard and skidded to a halt on the lawn, demorphing with a gasp. Bishop rushed forward to help her and raised his shield over her just as Gideon sent a weak volley of his golden fireballs to try and finish them. The crowds cried out in terror at the resulting explosion as the last of the city's two defenders were thrown backwards again. As the smoke cleared from the quad, the students and civilians stared in shock at the two familiar faces that had been revealed.
"Hey! Isn't that Professor Bishop?" one of the students called out. From the crowd, Dr. Maggie Feldman gasped as she saw her colleague stagger to his knees without his helmet.
"Gabriel?"
Beside the Empyrian Herald, Feldman saw Kara clutch his arm for support, rising to a sitting position. Was it possible that the Gold Ranger was Gabriel's cousin, Kara Bishop? The crowd watched tensely as Gideon flexed his wings and leveled his sword at the two exposed heroes, "Now… which one of you will face judgment first?"
At that moment, Gideon was interrupted as he heard the sound of wailing Magogs. He turned in annoyance to see a squad of foot soldiers fleeing back toward him from the other side of the quad as five figures began to take shape from the smoke. As they approached, Gideon lowered his sword and gave a startled look, "No… this can't be…"
From where they lay on the lawn, Kara and Bishop turned their gaze and followed the eyes of the crowd toward the faces of the five Vanguard Rangers who slowly walked from the mists with a calm determined air.
In each of their hands, they held their Keyrunes which glowed with a vibrant but gentle light and drew looks from the stunned civilians. In a way, they carried themselves with grace and majesty despite their tattered appearance. Their clothes were singed and torn in several places while their faces were covered in grime and dried blood from their own scrapes and bruises.
"The only person who's going to be facing divine judgment today is you Gideon," Joe shouted, startling the Archangel.
"How can this be?" Gideon cried in shock, "I destroyed you… all of you! The original powers of the other Archangels should be gone."
"That's where you're wrong Gideon," Danny said speaking up, "The power of the Empyrian Angels and the legacy of Eden still lives through us!"
Beside him, Nick nodded in agreement, "You've already destroyed Eden, and we're not going to let you destroy another world! This is our home and humanity is going to finish what the angels of the Past couldn't!"
Glancing over toward their allies, Claire smiled toward Bishop, "Thanks for helping to hold the line Professor. I think we should take it from here."
Bishop gave a relieved chuckle and nodded, stepping clear of the Rangers to stand watch over the other civilians on the sidelines.
As he did, the other Rangers smiled warmly as Kara hurried over and took her rightful place in their formation. A look of quiet joy and relief spread over her face as she wiped aside a few stray tears, "I was so worried… I thought you five were dead."
Nick gave a wide grin and winked toward her, "You think I'd actually let you to take care of that strawberry garden alone?"
Kara simply smiled and shook her head as they turned their attention back to the Cambion Lord.
"We said we were going to end this ancient conflict here and now Gideon," Joe called out, "That's exactly what we're going to do!"
"How dare you speak to me like that, human. You six are only worms… pretenders… nobodies." Gideon sputtered in rage, "Just who do you really think you are?"
Joe stepped forward raising his Keyrune as it flared with elemental light. In one motion, he instantly morphed, prompting each Ranger to follow suit one by one.
"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 dark clouds and smoke finally lifted, giving way to clear blue skies and brilliant sunlight from above.
While the Magogs cowered and Gideon raised his hand to shield his eyes, the students of Hyperion University stood in awe of their classmates' celestial transformation. From the crowd, Jen Kaufmann covered her mouth, while watching Joe take on the mantle of the Red Ranger and brandish his shining gladius.
Nearby, Dr. Feldman stood agape at the sight of Nick becoming the Green Ranger while a familiar little girl named Laurel gave a joyful cheer to the Pink Ranger from her Dad's arms, "Yeah! Go get em Miss Herrera!"
At the other end of the crowd, Mr. and Mrs. Li witnessed their daughter Claire become the White Ranger and clasped each others hands. Beside them, Mr. and Mrs. Winthrope blinked, then gave proud quiet smiles toward their son Danny, now clad in his Blue Ranger suit.
Archangel Gideon ground his teeth in growing rage and waved his troops forward, "Attack now! Kill them all!"
As the Magogs began to charge forward, the other Rangers drew their gladius blades in unison while Joe raised his sword to the sky. As the Red Ranger leveled it toward the advancing demons, he shouted their battle cry, "Vanguard! Take Flight!"
The students and civilians of Hyperion Falls watched in awe as six angelic Power Rangers charged forward and smashed into the oncoming Magogs with a unified winged leap. As each Ranger slashed and maneuvered their way through the Cambion foot soldiers, they transfigured their gladius blades into their own personal weapons while still on the move.
From his place in the rear rank, Gideon watched as the Magogs were decimated by the Rangers' impressive display of martial prowess and elemental assisted attacks. As the remnants of the Magogs turned and fled for their lives, Gideon stepped forward with a sneer, "Fine then. I'll just have to finish you by myself then."
He flexed his wings and fired a barrage of golden fireballs at his enemies but the Rangers raised their Keyrunes, quickly tracing angelic sigils in the air. As the fireballs erupted harmlessly against their magic wards, the first five Rangers burst forth in their own golden armor and leapt at him from different directions. Giving a grunt, Gideon took a defensive stance and blocked the first five Ranger's attacks, but forgot about Kara who swept in under his guard and landed a dual slash using a scissor striking motion with her weapons.
"You'll pay for that," the Archangel snarled taking a swing with his own blade, but Kara tumbled to safety while the White Ranger swooped from behind and launched a volley of icy arrows into his back.
Again, Gideon growled as he shook his wings free of ice while the Red and Green Rangers attacked together. The Archangel gasped as he grabbed Nick's hammer and blocked Joe's sword blow, struggling as the two pushed hard against the Cambion Lord to force him backwards. To his surprise, they shifted their stances sideways and disengaged, allowing for Danny and Izzy to attack together with their piercing weapons and land a dual blow.
As Gideon recoiled from the strike, the Red and Green Rangers followed up with their own double team attack, striking the Archangel again. Gideon staggered back, trying to keep his balance as he felt the effects of his prior injury begin to wear on him.
"I will not be brought low by human children," he growled as he unleashed another storm of fire from his wings and a projectile slash of his sword.
In unison, Kara and the other four Vanguard Rangers all took a defensive formation together, using their combined wings to create a protective shield and ward off Gideon's attack. As the wings unfurled and the other Rangers stumbled to their knees from absorbing the intense blast, the Red Ranger burst forward with his sword leveled to attack.
From his position at the head of the crowd, Bishop removed the Trumpet he was guarding and saw it suddenly become a ball of light. Rearing back, he made to hurl it like a baseball, "Joe! Catch!"
As he hurled the mote of light, the Red Ranger turned and caught it, summoning his Seraphim armor mid charge. The civilians gasped as the fiery angel surged forward and plowed into a wide-eyed Gideon. The Lord of the Cambion demons roared in fury as he was swept up into the sky and buffeted about in a swirling cyclone of flames and light.
As Gideon extended his six wings, he broke the fire twister apart only to look up and see the Red Seraphim dive down upon him using the glare of the sun at his back. Joe hit Gideon like a fiery comet and drove him back down into the quad resulting in a tremendous shockwave.
When the smoke cleared, Gideon crawled to his knees as the Red Ranger descended and dispelled his Seraph armor. Joe leveled his saber toward the defeated Archangel, "It's over Gideon. You once thought you could conquer Eden alone and because of that Pride, you fell."
The tattered Archangel weakly rose to his feet and picked up his sword, breathing heavily with a rasping sound. His once beautiful features were marred with cuts, bruises, and blood. The Cambion Lord's armor was in complete ruins from scorch marks, tears, and grime.
"You were still so Prideful that you thought you could conquer Earth," the Red Ranger continued, "You used your own generals and betrayed everyone around you... and for what? Look around you Gideon! Your soldiers have all fled and abandoned you. Your arrogance was all for nothing!"
"Do not talk down to me boy," Gideon wheezed using the last of his strength to charge forward in a rage. "If that self righteous bastard Auriel really lives through you, then I'll just have to snuff out your light forever with my dying breath."
Joe backpedaled in shock and raised his blade to block Gideon's slash at the last moment. As he parried the weapon aside, Joe turned inside the Archangel's guard and drove his saber deep into the exposed opening of Gideon's damaged breastplate. To Joe's shock, Gideon dropped his sword and grabbed at the shaft of the saber which impaled him. With a malicious grin, Gideon began to push back against the blade, while laughing manically.
The Red Ranger shouted and tried to push the blade deeper into Gideon's heart but found he wasn't strong enough and was forced to one knee. Gideon cackled with insane glee as he kept pushing back against the blade lodged in his chest, "Who is the Prideful one now, boy?"
In an instant, Joe felt several hands put themselves over the hilt of the saber, adding their strength to his. He glanced to both sides of him and saw his five fellow Rangers had rushed up beside him to help drive the final strike home against the Archangel.
"Auriel said you couldn't do this alone, remember?" Izzy said as she pushed.
Nick nodded and gave a grunt, "You really think we'd let you take this limp-wristed peacock all by yourself?"
Joe smiled as he felt the strength of Danny, Nick, Claire, Izzy, and Kara behind him, causing the saber to glow with a buzzing golden light.
"No... how can this be?" Gideon gasped as the blade began searing his hands and burning a hole through his chest. "You cannot do this to me!"
"Everyone... thank you," the Red Ranger said, "Now let's end this... together!"
With one unified cry, the six Rangers gave a spirited shout and pushed, driving the radiant blade home into the Archangel's heart. Gideon grunted and made a shocked choking sound as blood began to well up from his mouth. Giving one last terrible cry of unearthly fury, the Lord of the Cambion demons fell forward on the blade, detonating into a spectacular fiery explosion that swallowed the Vanguard Rangers in the intense blast.
The stunned people of Hyperion Falls shielded their eyes and ears from the shockwave as a wave of smoke and dirt swept over the battlefield. Several long minutes passed and Bishop watched in silence as the smoke dissipated. While they waited, he felt Maggie Feldman stand beside him and take his hand with a reassuring squeeze. Finally, in the ruins of the central quad, he saw the six Rangers sprawled out on the ground, laid flat by the destruction of Gideon. They had been knocked down to their basic morphed forms and their own golden Archangel armor had probably saved them.
Very slowly, he saw the Rangers begin to stir and slowly raise themselves to sitting positions. They were stunned, disoriented, and shaken from the horrific battle, but they were alive. The Cambion Legion had been defeated and the city was finally safe. As Bishop rushed to the quad to aid his students, he heard the sounds of growing cheers, whistles, and applause from the students and civilians as they all began to follow behind and welcome their heroes.
The Red Ranger was the first to rise amid the cheers as Bishop pulled him to his feet. As the Rangers removed their helmets, the cheers only grew louder as the people swarmed them. While Danny and Claire both rushed to their parents, Nick found himself swarmed by several of his female classmates while his face was covered in their kisses.
Nearby, Izzy laughed as she gave her student Laurel a hug and hoisted the adoring little girl up in her arms. After exchanging a relieved hug between them, the Professor and Kara separated and pulled the Red Ranger into another Bishop family hug. As the two embraced him, Joe glanced over and caught sight of Jen giving him a quiet smile before nodding her head and disappearing back into the mass of people.
Amid the cheering crowd, Bishop smiled to him, "You did it! The war is finally over!"
Joe gave a serene smile and shook his head, 'No. We did it. All six of us Rangers... and you."
He held up his Keyrune and placed a hand on the Professor's steel pauldron, "You were the one who unlocked the powers of our Keyrunes, who mentored us, and guarded Auriel's Trumpet in our absence. Thank you Professor."
Bishop smiled and nodded before he was pulled away by Dr. Feldman and several other impressed faculty members. While he did, the Red Ranger gazed toward the university clock-tower in the near distance. For a moment, he thought he could see the glowing forms of five benevolent Archangels watching over the celebration on campus. Before he knew it, Joe turned and felt Claire wrap her arms around his waist. She looked up at him and smiled brightly, "Can you believe this is actually happening to us? We finally won! The city and our families are finally safe again."
He put his arm around her and smiled, giving her a gentle kiss before looking back toward the clock-tower. To his surprise, the angels were gone.
"Is something wrong?" Claire asked tilting her head slightly.
Joe simply shook his head with a smile before looking up to the clear blue skies above, "No. Everything is fine now."
To Claire's surprise, he took her hand and led her back into the celebrating crowd of students and citizens, "God's in His Heaven and all's right with the world again."
A/N:
Whew! And that concludes the final explosive battle of this series! I hope all of you enjoyed this penultimate super-chapter, and don't worry. We're not going to say goodbye to our heroes just yet. Within the next day or so, I'll be posting a final chapter as well as an additional epilogue. Thanks again everyone and stick around for the conclusion coming up soon!