I don't own Power Rangers or Cross Ange; those belong to their creators. This is for fun, not profit.
Chapter 8: The Wanted Red Ranger
In the Nexus Rangers base, the Rangers were in the command room where Shin and Claire learned a bit about the World of Mana as Dean and Pixel showed them footage of what the people in that world are capable of.
"Huh…Even with the dark secret behind it, I can't help but be amazed by this. Matter creation, telekinesis, force field generation, and even thought communications. All of this is truly remarkable." Shin said.
"Yeah, I pretty much had the same thought myself." Pixel said as she rubbed the back of her head.
"And from what I'd seen for myself, it was because of that people didn't need to fight for resources anymore. In fact, most of the people there don't know what money is, so it must be safe to assume that Mana is also able to produce things like gas and electricity without any limits." Dean said.
"Like how they were able to run those flying cars. Then this Light of Mana must be a type of world-wide network that not only connects to machines but to the human brain and nervous system. All of which is powered by this modified Dracunium reactor and by Aura." Shin said before he brings the pictures of the said things that are key parts that Embryo uses to control his world.
"Yeah, from what I learned from Salamandinay, maintaining peace and prosperity along with military command, in Embryo's world, are divided by each world leader. The Rosenblum family are in charge of overseeing the military security over the Norma, and the Misurugi family are in charge of opening the singularities at any point and time. Hence why the only Dracunium reactor, which is named the Column of Dawn, is placed in the center of the Misurugi Empire." Dean told them. "Apparently the reactor is able to create the singularities along with powering Mana."
"And yet despite that, the Morphin Grid is still stable no matter how many times these singularities open." Pixel said before she brings out a picture of the said singularity.
"Which means that these dimensional portals hold another mystery that needs solving." Shin said. "But we'll get to that later, we should discuss about these Norma."
Shin then brings out a picture of Serra.
"Oh yeah…the said outcasts and rejects of Embryo's world." Claire said.
"Yeah. Apparently, not only are they born without the ability to use Mana, they're also able to neutralize it and shatter it like glass. But it's also because of that, they're pretty much treated with contempt and hatred. And children like Serra are no exception to that." Dean told them.
"But that doesn't make any sense. How could people condemn an innocent child like that?" Claire said in anger and disgust.
"Well from what I heard from Salamandinay, every human in Embryo's world has been pre-program to behave like that. Almost like how someone can program a machine." Dean said.
"I see. But it's still pretty sickening to hear." Shin said.
"I quite agree." Pixel said.
"And there's also a matter of these singularities." Dean said before he brought out a picture of the singularity.
"Yes, that might be the biggest mystery here." Shin said. "The principle is different from the Transportal Devices, but they're still a means to travel between dimensions. But despite that the Morphin Grid showed no signs of destabilization, is that about right?"
"Correct." Pixel nodded. "We still don't know how, but Embryo was able to break the rules of the Grid."
Claire sighed as she mended a temple.
"Man…All of this is just giving me a headache. I think I know how Rita Repulsa feels." Claire said. "I really wish Grandpa Max was here."
"Yeah, me too. But that's also raised another question, what could be so important that he needed to travel off world to investigate?" Dean said.
Shin then turns to Pixel.
"Well, Pixel?" The Blue Ranger said to the AI, but Pixel shook her head.
"Afraid I don't know either. He wasn't exactly clear on the details, he just said he needed to do a favor from an old friend." Pixel said.
"That sure isn't cryptic." Shin said.
"No, but it is grandpa, and has many secrets." Dean said, and Claire nodded in agreement.
"That's true." Claire said. "But he always knows what to do whenever we're in trouble."
"I know. But he's not here right now, for now, it's up to the four of us to figure things out. And he would want us to keep up the fight no matter how tough things get." Dean told them, and they nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you're right about that." Claire said.
Shin placed a hand on his chin as he tried to think of something.
"But the one thing I don't understand is why would Embryo even bother maintaining this charade for so long." Shin said, getting his friends' attention.
"What are you saying?" Dean asked.
"Well, think about it. If the Norma are the flaw in Embryo's world, then in turn that would make the humans he made also a flaw. Then the entire world he made is a failure. And what I don't understand is, why would he bother the time and resources to keep it up for so long. If he still had the Ragna-mail under his control, he would've just given the World of Mana a proper reset and start over again." Shin told them.
"Yeah, that is a good point there." Pixel said.
"So, you think that Embryo has another reason for keeping up this charade?" Dean asked, and Shin nodded.
"Of course, I do, because I know him better than anyone." Shin said with some sadness and guilt.
"Oh, Shin…" Claire said as she and the others were worried about him.
Shin sighed as he rubbed his fingers on his eyes.
"But we should put that theory on hold for now. We should focus on what we can figure out, starting with the humans Embryo made." Shin said.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"I like to study them and see what makes them tick. It might help give us some answers." Shin answered.
"Really? So, you want us to travel to Embryo's world and kidnap the first person that we see?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, we can't exactly kidnap someone against their will." Dean said.
"I know. Which is why I wasn't even going to suggest that." Shin told them.
"Okay, then what is your plan exactly?" Dean asked.
"Well…We do have her." Shin said before he brought out live footage of Sayla in her room as she held her daughter in her arms and sang her a lullaby.
(Play: Believe in Nexus by Masaaki Endoh)
(Instrumental) (As the song starts, two Earths appear one at a time before they collide against each other creating a flash of light which blinded the screen.)
(Sono te nobashi te mabayui ashita o tsukamitore! Mugen no sora hamatake Believe in Nexus!) (Five of the Nexus Zords had appeared as the Racer, Wolf, and Dozer Zords were racing on a large road while the Chopper and Falcon Zords were flying above them before they turned into a flash of light and flew into the vast open sky before the story's title appeared on screen.)
(Araburu kono shoudo daremino tomiranai!) (The Nexus Rangers were standing on a hill as they looked at the town where the Children of Aura resides as some of them in DRAGON form flew above them as they watched them in awe.)
(Hiri asa mi kirikou o taka maru kono Heart Beat!) (Then it changes to a split screen with Salamandinay looking at her Enryugo as it was still incomplete, and Ange who was in her room in Arzenal as she was seated on her bed while looking at her ring, before it changes to Embryo and behind him was a man hidden in darkness holding a Morpher in his hand.)
(Bi chinai sou o natato sekawaerai!) (Then it changes showing an army of Xedroids and behind them were Prince Crimson, General Swartz, and Cyber.)
(Koko de oarasatakunai Go For It!) (Next the screen changes to the Rangers commencing their Morphin Sequence as they Morph into their suits before their helmets appeared.)
(Tachiagare kodoku ni obiekuru e naide!) (The screen changes showing a fleet of Xe-Fighters and an army of Xe-Bots charging forward to attack, then changes to the Nexus Rangers loading their Zord Cards into their Morphers as they soon appear, and the Rangers jump into them.)
(Nakama ma batte irukoto mou ichido omoidase!) (In his cockpit, the Nexus Red Ranger inserts his Battle Mode Card into his Morpher and his Racer Zord changes into the said mode.)
(Kowaku wa naisa akirame wa shinai donna tsugoi yatsu ni mo make wa shinai itsudatte o kino yuuki de Believe In Nexus!) (Then each of the Nexus Zord launch respective attacks on their enemies before the Kaiser Sphere in the sky. Then the Zords combine forming the Nexus Prime Megazord, and then energy appears around the Megazord before it flies at the Kaiser Sphere to attack and when it collides against the Sphere a large flash of light appears blinding the screen. Then it changes to both Earths before the Nexus Rangers along with the villain leaders appeared as they faced each other.)
After agreeing to Shin's request, Sayla was in the Blue Ranger's lab. She was wearing a medical gown and was lying on a high-tech table with a scanner above her body.
Shin was seated beside her as he uses the computer to use the said scanner to analyze every part and cell in Sayla's body with Dean standing beside her as well as he looks at Sayla.
"I'm really sorry about this Sayla. But once Shin gets like this, there's almost no stopping him." Dean said, and Sayla shook her head.
"No, it's alright. I figure this is the least I can do after you showed me so much hospitality." Sayla told him. "But at least I won't have to worry about Serra being lonely."
As Shin studies Sayla's body, Claire volunteers to look after her daughter Serra. Claire and Serra were in the former's room as the Pink Ranger was playing a game of peek a boo with the baby as she was hiding her face.
"Peek a boo…Who's there?!" Claire said as she removed her hands and made a silly face for Serra.
Serra smiles and laughs which made Claire lovingly smile at her as she had fallen for her cuteness.
Dean chuckles.
"Yeah. Claire always has been good with kids like that. She would often take part-time jobs in day-cares along with some babysitting." Dean said, and Sayla chuckles.
"I see. Then maybe I should let her change Serra's diaper for me." Sayla said.
"We'll see." Dean told her before he turned to Shin. "Well, Shin, have you found anything yet?"
As the Blue Ranger was working, Shin was wearing a lab coat and a pair of glasses. He would often wear those in his scientific research and explain his discoveries to his friends.
Shin then turns to Dean.
"I did. But you might want to look at this." He told him.
Dean moves closer to Shin's computer before the Blue Ranger brings out an image of Sayla's cells.
"I thought that the DRAGONs' biology was one thing, but she might be on an entirely different level." Shin stated.
"How so?" Dean asked.
"Well from what I can tell, every cell in her body seems to be a mix of both organic and synthetic nanomachines." Shin said.
"Nanomachines? You mean she's half robot?" Dean asked, and Shin shook his head.
"No. Biologically, she's still human like the rest of us. Meaning she's still able to age, reproduce, eat, and sleep." Shin answered.
"Well, that's good to hear. But still, do you think those nanomachines will pose a problem?" Dean asked.
"No." Shin shook his head. "Right now, they're inactive. As long as she doesn't have Mana flowing in her body, she's harmless."
"That's good to hear, right, Sayla?" Dean asked, and she nodded.
"Yes, truly."
"Besides that, however, I also find these within her brain." Shin said before he brings out an image of the nanomachines that are in a different design then the others mixed with her cells. "From what I can tell, these nanomachines must act as the main control devices for the others."
"Really?" Dean said and Sayla placed a hand on her head.
"Yes. If they're mixed into the brain somehow, it would explain how the humans in Embryo's world are able to create matter out of energy and how they're able to create force fields and levitate objects with just a simple thought." Shin said.
"And how he's able to program them to hate Norma, right?" Dean asked, and Shin nodded while Sayla became saddened by this.
"Yes. Plus, if you add that with a mix of propaganda, well, you've already seen the results." Shin said before he and Dean noticed Sayla's saddened expression. "Oh…sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive."
Sayla shook her head.
"It's alright…Don't let me stop you." She told them.
"Right…" Dean said before he coughs in his hand. "Anyway, is there a chance her health that not having any Mana will affect her health?"
"No, like I said, they're pretty much useless without that Mana stuff. It won't affect her mental and physical health." Shin told her.
"That's a relief." Dean said.
"Yes, but this does raise some concerns." Shin said.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"Well for one thing, if Embryo is able to program every human in his world to hate Norma, it makes me wonder what else he's able to do with that can of power." Shin said.
"Yeah. That is a good question. But there's also our little abnormality here." Dean said before he and Shin turned to Sayla as she sat up.
"That is also true. If she was programmed to hate Norma, it kind of makes you wonder how she was able to break that programming." Shin said.
Knowing that they have to get answers from Sayla, Dean spoke to her.
"Miss Sayla, I know this is difficult to ask but before your daughter was born, what were your thoughts about the Norma?" Dean said, Sayla becomes worried about this before she turns to the Red Ranger.
"Do you really want an honest answer?" Sayla asked, Dean nodded.
"Yes, but only if you want to. And it's alright to be honest with us, it won't affect your living situation. We just want to learn all we can about your world and the people there." Dean told her.
Sayla thought about it before she sighed.
"Before Serra was born, my views against the Norma were pretty much the same as everyone else from my world. I originally thought they were nothing more than vermin that needed to be eradicated, but at the same time I also feared them and thought they were monstrous mutants." Sayla said.
"I see." Dean said, and Shin sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I guess we shouldn't be surprised by this." Shin said.
"Yes. But…After I gave birth to my daughter, those thoughts I had just vanished." Sayla said and they were surprised by this.
"Really?" Dean asked, and Sayla nodded.
"When I first held her in my arms, she just innocently smiled and laughed which filled my heart with so much joy. I didn't care she was a Norma or not, she was still my daughter and that I have to protect her." She told them.
Shin hummed to learn about this.
"Hmmm…I guess that's the power of the human spirit along with some motherly love." Shin said, and Dean chuckles to hear that.
"Well look at you. You normally try to find the science in everything, I never thought you were that much of a romanticist." Dean said.
Shin's cheeks turn a bit red before he coughs in his hand.
"I…I don't know what you mean by that." Shin said before he turned back to Sayla. "Anyway, is there anything you can tell us about how the Light of Mana works along with the Column of Dawn?"
Sayla shook her head.
"I'm afraid I can't." Sayla said. "Truth be told, I'm still having a difficult time believing any of this. DRAGONs. Another Earth. Embryo and Aura…All of this is still new and confusing for me."
Dean rubs the back of his head to hear that.
"Yeah. I guess that would be tough to process. My apologies." Dean said, and Sayla shook her head.
"You shouldn't apologize. If anything, I'm grateful to you." She told him, and Dean blinks to hear that.
"You are?" He asked and Sayla nodded.
"Yes. It just means that I'm free now, and that I don't have a home to return to anymore." Sayla said before she turned to the ceiling. "But still, I still wonder what I should do now?"
"Right. Don't worry, as soon as we're done with this whole Embryo thing along with the alien invasion, we'll do everything within our power to help you and your daughter." Dean told her, and Sayla smiles in gratitude.
"Thank you." Sayla said.
Shin coughs to gain Sayla's attention.
"In any case, can you at least tell us what you know about the Norma, like their ability to cancel out Mana? I was only told about this, but I heard that Norma, like your daughter, is able to neutralize Mana and is completely harmless to them. Is there any reason for that?" Shin asked.
"Well…I only learn about this in school. But we were taught that the Norma rejected the Light of Mana because they wanted to live by their own strength, and because of that we were told they were nothing more than savages and would attack anyone on sight. Because of that any Norma regardless of their age are considered dangerous and are viewed with contempt and fear." Sayla told them.
"I see." Dean said as he was disgusted to hear this.
But Shin clicks his tongue and swings his finger a few times.
"But yet that's fantasy, not science. There has to be a more complicated story than that." Shin stated.
"You really think so?" Dean asked.
"I know so." Shin nodded before he turned back to Sayla. "With your permission, I would study your daughter."
Sayla was a bit concerned to hear that.
"Study? As in…" She said before Shin waved his hand.
"Don't worry. I'm just gonna have Pixel do a bio-scan of your daughter and do a few tests. I'm not going to dissect her or anything like that." Shin assured her.
"And I'll be sure to keep an eye on him, just in case." Dean told her.
"Do you really have to say it like that?" Shin asked.
"Alright. If it can help, then I don't mind." Sayla said.
"Thank you. But I do have one more question though." Shin said.
"What is it?" Sayla asked.
"What was your world like before the Age of Mana?" Shin asked.
"Why would you ask that?" Dean asked, and Shin rubs the back of his head.
"Well…I wanted to at least know what their world was like back then, before Embryo…" Shin said, and Dean understood what he meant.
"Oh, Shin…" Dean said in worry for his friend.
"I see. But I'm afraid I can't help with that." Sayla told them.
"Really? Why not?" Shin asked.
"Well…We weren't told much about the old world before the Age of Mana. Just that our world was in constant war, and how our ancestors had evolved by achieving the Light of Mana and sharing its power with everyone. Anything besides that however is beyond my knowledge along with everyone else." Sayla said.
Shin sighed to hear that before he leaned back on his chair.
"So much for asking then…" The Blue Ranger mutters to himself.
"Maybe we could learn another way? Are there any libraries that you know of that have any historical documents?" Dean asked, but Sayla shook her head.
"I'm afraid not. We do have libraries in my world, but people rarely go to them because they mostly prefer to use Mana. And the people who do go only read story books and novels. But I did hear that there are some ancient ruins from the old world, but they're mostly set to be demolished so they're almost non-existent." Sayla told him.
After learning about this, both Dean and Shin whisper to each other.
"I guess that does it confirm it then. Embryo really does control everything, from the distant past and to the modern era." Dean said.
"Yeah." Shin nodded. "And from what we learn, he must not want people learning about the old world. Whatever that reason could be."
"Umm…" Sayla calls out to the Red and Blue Rangers. "I'm sorry, but if we're done, can I leave now? I want to check on Serra."
"Oh, yes of course. In fact, we need to discuss some things with Claire and Pixel." Shin told her.
(Later)
After Sayla had changed into her casual clothes, she told Claire her babysitting duty was done and took Serra back to their room. While Claire was left saddened by this, Sayla if the time comes, she will request the Pink Ranger's aid to watch over her daughter once again which made her happy.
After that, the three Nexus Rangers and Pixel were in the command room where both Claire and Pixel were informed on what Shin had learned all he could from Sayla and how her body works.
"Man…all of this is a bit over my head, but strangely I could somehow understand it." Claire said.
"Yeah. I know what you mean." Dean said.
"But this still raised a few questions. Like why would Embryo try to cover up everything there is about the other Earth's history before the age of Mana." Pixel said.
"Maybe he didn't want his new humans to be burdened about the sins of their predecessors? Or maybe he just wanted to cover up his acts of mass genocide?" Shin said before the others looked at him in worry.
'Poor, Shin. I could only imagine how he's feeling about this.' Claire thought.
Shin sighed before he slapped on his cheeks.
"Well either way, it doesn't matter anymore. Right now, we need to focus on the here and now." Shin told them and they nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, starting with the singularities. Learning how they work should be my top priority." Dean said, and Shi nodded.
"Agreed. But before that…" Shin said before he turned to Pixel. "Pixel, I want you to do a bio-scan of Sayla's daughter, right down to her blood and DNA. I want to know how the Norma are able to reject and neutralize Mana."
"You got it." Pixel nodded before she left the command room by teleporting to Sayla's room.
"Okay. But what are we going to do?" Claire asked.
"Well, I think our next course of action is to go to the other Earth. I want to see what sort of modifications Embryo made to this Column of Dawn." Shin answered.
"Gotcha. I'll contact Salamandinay about our plans then, and then we'll go to Embryo's world." Dean told them.
"Are you sure it's a good idea for you to go? Didn't you beat up seven police officers when you rescued Sayla's daughter?" Shin asked.
"Hey, in my defense I didn't even touch one of them and two of them did run away." Dean told him and Shin rolled his eyes.
"Yeah…like that would make a difference." Shin said.
"It does." Dean defended himself which caused Claire to chuckle.
'Seeing those two like that, it's almost like we're back in the old days.' The Pink Ranger thought to herself.
After telling Salamandinay about their intent to go to Embryo's world and after she wished them luck and telling them to be careful, a portal appeared in an alleyway which scared off a few strays.
Jumping out of the portal was Dean as he took a moment to look for any hostels in the area and after seeing the coast was clear he called out to Shin and Claire.
"Clear!"
The Blue and Pink Rangers walked out of the portal, with Shin carrying a travel bag on his shoulder.
Then the Rangers head down the alleyway and hide behind the walls to look at the street and buildings in front of them, both Shin and Claire were amazed to see the holographic screens and the flying cars moving above the streets.
"Man…Seeing all of this in person is completely different from a screen." Claire said, and Shin nodded in agreement.
"Agreed. But we shouldn't waste any time admiring the sights." The Blue Ranger told them, and Dean nodded.
"Yeah, we should focus on the mission." Dean said before he and the others turned to the Column of Dawn. "Alright, Shin, you go to the Column and do your thing. Claire will keep watch over the west side while I'll handle the east."
"Roger that./You got it." Both Claire and Shin responded at the same time.
The Nexus Rangers then moved to their respective locations to do their assigned tasks, but placed on the wall Dean was hiding behind was a wanted poster of the Red Ranger.
After splitting from Dean and Claire, Shin stopped in front of a fence and behind it was the Column of Dawn.
Shin then puts on a pair of sunglasses and presses a button on the side, the glasses then see through the fence and zooms into the Column to look for any guards, but he doesn't see anyone.
"Huh…I know in their minds that this world is a perfect utopia, but they really need to up their security." Shin said before he throws his bag over the wall and jumps over it as well.
The Blue Ranger then picks up his bag and sneakily heads to the Column of Dawn.
Shin was only a few feet away from the tower before he took a moment to look for any guards, he then quickly moved towards and stopped close to it. Shin looks up at the Column of Dawn.
"Man…It feels weird being this close to a reactor again." Shin said as he remembers the first Dracunium reactor he had seen in his world.
Then a man with long blonde hair with a lab coat and glasses placed a hand on his shoulder, he had the same smile on his face before he proudly smiled at the Blue Ranger and Shin smiled back at him and the two shook hands.
The Blue Ranger then shook his head to forget about that memory.
"Come on, Shin, focus. You have a job to do." Shin reminded himself.
Shin then opened his bag and pulled out four flying drones as he placed them on the ground one at a time. He then pulls out a tablet and uses it to activate the drones before they air and activate a cloaking field to turn themselves invisible.
Shin then brought the drones to different areas of the Column.
"Alright, now let's see what makes you tick." Shin said as he uses the drones to scan every inch and part of the Column of Dawn.
On the west side of the tower, Claire was walking around the town to keep a lookout for any incoming guards or police officers. So far things were calm, before Claire stops as she spots a pretty and fancy dress on display in a clothing store.
Claire smiles as she looks at the said dress, a tailor notices her before she calls out to the Pink Ranger.
"Excuse me, miss, do you want to wear that dress?" She asks and Claire turns to her.
"Who me? No thank you, I couldn't possibly afford something that fancy." Claire chuckles as she waved her hand.
"What do you mean?" The tailor asked, Claire blinks before she remembers that these people don't have a currency system here.
"Oh…It's nothing. Look, I need to go." Claire said as she left while leaving the tailor still confused.
As she was walking, Claire sighed in relief.
"Man that was close. Dean told me about it, but it's weird that these people don't know what money is." Claire said.
Claire then stops as she notices a crepe shop to her right, she then sees the customers enjoying the shop's crepes. Claire gulps as they all look so good to her.
The shop's owner notices her before he calls out to her.
"Hey, kid, you want a crepe?" He asked.
"Oh…No, thank you. I'm…on a diet." Claire said as she was ready to leave.
"Hey, don't be like that. What's the harm of having a sweet or two?" He asked which made Claire stop.
Claire hummed as she thought about it before she nervously smiled at him.
"Well…I guess one crepe wouldn't hurt." Claire said.
As she walked on the sidewalk again, Claire was enjoying the crepe she was given as she took a bite out of it.
"Hmmmm…So good. Though I still feel a bit bad about taking it without paying." Claire said before she sadly looked at the crepe in her hands and took another bite from it as she smiled once again. "But I guess that's just how this world works."
As Claire was walking, she walked past some posters that were placed on the wall, the Pink Ranger blinked before she moved back to the said posters, and they were actually wanted posters of Dean.
Claire was shocked by this, her eyes widened and the crepe she was eating fell from her hands and fell to the ground.
"Oh no…" She mutters.
As Shin continues to scan the Column of Dawn with his drones, the Blue Ranger couldn't help but be amazed by its designs.
"Damn…The modifications to this reactor are insane. Each and every part and section of it are completely different from a regular one." Shin said before he noticed something from his scans of the Column of Dawn. "Now what is this?"
Shin then uses his tablet to change the blueprint's viewpoint right above and zoom down and sees that there is a large entrance shaft beneath the Column of Dawn that leads to a lower.
"An entrance shaft and a lower level? Interesting…Let's see how deep the rabbit hole is." Shin said as he attempted to have his drones to see what was beneath the Column…
"Hey, you!" Shin turned to his side and saw two guards looking at him. "What are you doing here?"
"Crap!" Shin said as he quickly picked up his bag and ran away with the guards chasing him. "Can't leave any evidence."
Shin uses his tablet to activate the drones' self-destruct systems and they soon explode and turn into ash.
Shin continues to run away from the guards as they continue to chase after him. When Shin turns to his right, someone suddenly grabs onto his wrist and pulls him in the tower's entrance.
'Damn it!' Shin mentally shouted as he thought he was caught by a guard.
The guards who were chasing the Blue Ranger stop as they look for him.
"Where did he go?"
They then heard someone groaning before they saw it was Captain Riza Randog with a hand on her head.
A young woman with long light blue hair and yellow eyes. She was wearing a uniform that belonged to the Misurugi Empire's royal guard. The uniform consists of a red jacket along with matching pants and black shoes.
"Captain Riza!" The guard said before they moved to the royal guard's captain.
"Are you alright ma'am? What happened?"
"I…spotted the intruder, and I attempted to capture him. But he managed to land a hit on me and got away." Riza told them.
"That's terrible. I'll call an ambulance." He said, before Riza raised her hand.
"No, I'll be alright. This is nothing. Right now, capturing that intruder is top priority. He went that way." Riza said as she pointed to a road that leads to the gate.
After thanking the captain, the guards soon ran to the direction she was pointing at.
After they were now gone, Riza lowered her hand before she turned to the entrance behind her.
"They're gone." Riza said, and walking out of the entrance was Shin.
"Thank you, but why are you helping me?" Shin asked.
"Well, I presumed your friend in red had told you about me." She answered.
Shin blinks before he remembers that Dean told him and Claire that the Children of Aura had sent one of their own to this world as a spy against Embryo.
"Wait…Are you Li-" Shin said before Riza or rather Lizardia placed a finger on her lips to tell him to be quiet.
"Be careful of what you say around me. Embryo has eyes and ears everywhere." Lizardia quietly told him as she looked at the area around her and Shin, the Blue Ranger nodded and placed a finger on his own lips. "To answer your question, Lady Salamandinay told me you were coming, so I kept an eye out in case you needed help."
"I see. Well either way, thank you." Shin said.
"It's too soon to thank me. You should leave while you still have a chance, if we're seen together…" Lizardia said.
"Got it." Shin nodded but before he left, he told Lizardia this. "I know this isn't part of your mission, but you may need to keep an eye on this reactor."
Lizardia blinks before she looks up at the Column of Dawn.
"Why?" Lizardia asked.
"It's just a hunch, but it might help in your search for Aura." Shin said before he left.
After sneaking past some guards, Shin was able to make it to the fence as he jumped over it. He walks on the sidewalk and heads towards the meeting spot where he'll regroup with Dean and Claire.
Shin then heard his Morpher ringing before he answered the call.
"Hello?" Shin calls out.
"Shin! We need to leave now!" Claire shouted through the Morpher.
"Claire? What happened?" Shin asked before he stopped as he saw a wanted poster of Dean and soon figured out why Claire was calling on a holographic screen on a building. "Never mind, I already figured it out."
(With Dean)
Dean was walking around the east side of the town to look out for guards or policemen. As he was walking and looking, Dean was a bit surprised that things were still calm around here despite the shocking revelation of Princess Angelise being exposed as a Norma.
"Uh…and here I thought things were going to be rowdy after the royal family's big scandal." Dean said.
As he was walking, a mother and her son spotted him, her son was about to call him out before his mother covered his mouth before she picked him up and ran away.
Two high school students notice him as well before they hide behind a wall, hoping that he wouldn't spot them.
Dean was able to notice that, and wondered why they were hiding from him.
"That's weird. What's going on here?" Dean said.
Dean then spotted a familiar food stand, and it was the same one where he was given that hot dog when he first arrived.
"Isn't that…?" Dean said before he saw the stand's owner cooking his usual hot dogs. "It is."
Dean walks to the food stand before he calls out to the owner.
"Hey."
The owner blinks and sees Dean approaching his stand, which surprises him.
"What are you…Wait…" The owner said before he recognized Dean. "Weren't you that kid who ordered my hot dogs?"
"Yeah, I'm surprised you remember me." Dean greeted him with a smile, and the owner smiled back at him but secretly brought out a communication screen beneath his grill.
"I make it a habit to recognize my customers sometimes." He said.
"I see. But…Is there a reason why you're calling someone?" Dean asked as he looked at his lowered hand, the owner grew nervous that he noticed.
That's when Dean heard police sirens behind him, he looked and saw two police cars had arrived as they stopped, and the owner took this moment to run away screaming.
"So much for the customer service." Dean said before he saw armed police officers stepping out of their cars as they approached the Red Ranger. "Ummm…Can I help you officers?"
"You're under arrest!" One of them said before he brought out a screen which had Dean's wanted poster on it and his eyes widened in surprise to hear that. "For assaulting ten police officers. Adding a Norma in its escape. Along with suspected kidnapping."
Dean's eyebrow twitches to hear that.
'Okay, the other two I get, but ten police officers? Really?' Dean thought.
The officers then approach Dean to arrest him. The Red Ranger steps away from them.
"Look! This is clearly a misunderstanding. You have the wrong guy, I was framed." Dean told them but they refused to listen, and Dean sighed. "Fine, have it your way!"
Dean uses his enhanced strength to lift up the food stand behind him and slams it in front of the officers to block their way. Dean then uses this chance to run away.
"After him!" One of them said as they moved around the demolished food stand and chased after Dean.
As he was running, Dean looked at the cops running after him.
"A Power Ranger running from the cops? I doubt this would happen to anyone else." Dean said.
(Meanwhile in an alternate universe)
In modern day Tokyo, a certain Black Ranger that was based around a dog had sneezed as he was cooking dinner.
A woman wearing white clothing turns to him when she hears that sneeze.
"Tsubasa, what's wrong?" She asked in Japanese.
"Oh, it's nothing." Tsubasa said as he rubbed his finger on his nose. "I don't know why, but I could've sworn that someone was talking about me."
The woman blinks in confusion.
Dean soon runs into an alleyway and the officers follow him. As he was running, Dean saw he was heading towards a fence that was blocking his way and the cops saw it as well.
"No where for him to run now!"
Dean jumps onto a nearby dumpster and uses to jump to the top of the fence and moves over it and rolls on the ground before he runs away, the cops then stop in front of the fence in shock to see that.
"D-Did he just do that?" One of them asked and the others nodded.
Dean manages to run out of the alleyway but bumps into someone. Thinking that it was another cop, Dean was ready to fight but saw it was Shin and Claire as they were also ready to fight.
"It's me!/Friendly!" They said at the same time and lowered their guard.
They soon heard police sirens and saw two police cars approaching them.
"Wow, Dean. You really became popular here." Claire said.
"No time for sarcasm. We need to move!" Dean told them.
"Yeah, of course. But first…" Shin said before he uses his technopathy powers on the cars.
The drivers then noticed something was wrong with the controls before their cars started to spin around in circles. Shin chuckles to see that.
"That never gets old." Shin said before he and the others ran away.
The Nexus Rangers was running in an alleyway.
"Honestly, I told you that you coming here again was a bad idea." Shin told the Red Ranger.
"Fine! Like always, you were right." Dean said.
"Can we save the told you so, after we get out of here?" Claire asked.
"Fine." Both Dean and Shin said.
"Stop! You're all under arrest!"
They looked and saw more police officers chasing after them.
"Great…Looks like we're all wanted fugitives now." Shin said. "Just when I was hoping to study more about this world."
"We'll figure it out like we always do. For now, keep running!" Dean told him and Claire.
The cops were starting to catch up to the Rangers, but then dropping down from the sky were tear gas bombs as they fell in front of the cops and unleashed their gas which forced them to stop and close their eyes and cover their mouths as they began to cough.
"What the…?"
"What is this?"
"It's tear gas!"
The Nexus Rangers stops when they notice the gas around the cops that were chasing them, Dean then sees two hooded figures on top of the buildings around them before they leave.
"I'm not sure what's going on, but I'll take it." Claire said before she and Shin ran away while Dean continued to stare at the roof where those hooded figures were standing on. "Dean, come on! We need to go!"
"R-Right!" Dean said before he followed his friends.
The hooded figures that helped the Rangers escape were now running on the rooftops.
"You sure that was a good idea to help them?" One of them asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure myself. But if they're against Embryo like us, then it's all the more reason to help them."
"I guess that's true. But that doesn't exactly mean that they're allies."
"Which is why we'll be careful if we'll see them again." Before they jump to another rooftop which is 10 feet away and they continue to head towards a meeting spot to meet with their comrades.
After they manage to give the cops the slip, the Nexus Rangers return to their base in the True Earth.
They were in the command room, Dean and Claire took a moment to rest as they drank from a water bottle while Shin was using the computer to study the blueprints of the Column of Dawn from his scans with his drones.
Pixel was also with them and was told what they experienced in the False Earth.
"Well…It sounds like you guys had an eventful day." The AI said.
"Eventful…But still crazy." Claire said before she drank some water.
Dean sighed as he leaned on the computer.
"This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so careless, then this wouldn't have happened." Dean said.
"And then what? Abandoned Serra and Sayla to their fates? None of us wouldn't let that happen Dean. You made the right choice, so don't blame yourself for it." Claire told her cousin and Dean smiled to hear that.
"Thanks, Claire." Dean said and Claire smiled back at him. Dean then turns to the Column of Dawn's blueprint. "Well, Shin, were you able to learn anything about the Column of Dawn?"
"Yes, thankfully. I was able to do an accurate scan of its design, and I have to say this is beyond anything I could've imagined." Shin said.
"How so?" Claire asked as she looked at the blueprints.
"Well, everything about this reactor is completely different than the ones we know of. In fact, I'm not even sure we should call it a Dracunium reactor anymore." Shin said.
"I guess that makes sense. I mean, Embryo did have a lot of time in his hands." Dean said and the others nodded in agreement.
"Yes, but I was able to find this." Shin said before he brought out an image of the shaft beneath the tower. "I found this shaft in my scans, and it seems like it leads to a lower level."
"Okay, but how deep was it?" Dean asked.
"I'm sorry to say this, but a guard spotted me before I could even learn where it leads." Shin said.
"In other words, we got nothing out of this." Claire said as she lowered her head.
"I wouldn't say that." Shin said. "Before I left the tower's ground, I met up with Lizardia."
"Really?" Dean was surprised to hear that, and Shin nodded.
"Yes. I couldn't say much, but I was able to tell her to keep an eye on the tower." The Blue Ranger told them.
"Alright. Hopefully she'll find something on her end. For us, I think we should rest up in our rooms." Dean said.
"Yeah…that sounds good to me…" Claire said before she yawns on her hand.
"Rest is always important. But before that, Shin." Pixel said before she turned to Shin. "The bio-scan of Serra is done and is ready for you to study."
"Then it seems like I'll be busy tonight." Shin said as he stood up and left.
Dean and Claire watch him before Claire speaks to the Red Ranger.
"Do you think Shin will be alright? He tries to hide it, but I can tell this is really affecting him."
"I notice it too. But he just needs some time, Claire. All we can do for him now is to give him the best support that we can." Dean told her.
"I hope you're right." Claire said.
(Later, at night)
While Dean and Claire were sleeping in their respective rooms, Shin, wearing his lab coat and glasses, was in his laboratory to review the bioscan of Serra and did a comparison with Sayla's cells.
Shin soon found something that truly got his attention as he narrowed his eyes.
"This is…Well I'll be damn." Shin said before he pushed up his glasses. "Pixel."
Pixel then appeared in the lab.
"What is it, Shin? Did something happen?" She asked, and Shin shook his head.
"No, I just need you to get me several cans of my favorite energy drink along with some protein bars. Because this might take an all-nighter." Shin said.
Pixel blinked a few times before she sighed and shook her head.
"I should've figured. Just don't make this a habit, the last thing we need is you becoming sleep deprived." Pixel said before she leaves to get the said items Shin requested.
"You really shouldn't worry about it. It's only going to take me one night." Shin said as he continues to review the data.
To be continued...A Friend In Need
There you have it, hope you like it. Review to tell me what you think of the story.