Unlocking the Sacred Box Part Two

Maya, DJ, and Max all looked annoyed as they entered the base of operations through a portal on the far left side of the room, with Donnie and Bonnie following close behind them. The three sat at the table as the twins continue berating each other. The twins have been bickering throughout the entire drive to Karate Operation to the point where Maya considered driving her car over a cliff just to end the conflict, but she restrained herself.

"Why are you bashing me for 'failing' to take down Buck? It's not like you could have done better." Bonnie accused.

Donnie smacked his lips. "You thought you could stand a chance."

Bonnie glared. "You probably had better things to do anyway, possibly trying to grab the attention of the girls who would never give you the time of day."

"Girl, even the nerds at school wouldn't give YOU the time of day!" Donnie revolted.

"WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP?!" DJ snapped, catching the twins off guard. "Damn!" The twins continued to glare at one another, but both went silent per the Blue Ranger's request.

Max sighed as he looked over at Sensei Uni, who stood next to Ellie, who was busy at her computer, trying to search in the database for anything that could become of use to the Rangers.

"What is the deal with Buck?" Max almost pleaded.

Sensei Uni sighed. "I cannot stress how serious this situation is enough for you Rangers. Buck has the Sacred Box."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "The Sacred Box?"

"Sensei, can you please explain to us what is going on?" DJ asked, obviously becoming more annoyed.

Ellie turned her rotating chair around to face the Rangers. "The Sacred Box has been kept at the Sei Gate for generations, used by every karate team leader that has associated with our family."

"You sent us to the Sei Gate months ago," Max pointed out. "That was when Buck apprehended Hideo and attacked us."

"Yes, please let me explain," Ellie said calmly. "We were planning on using the Sacred Box to allow you guys to unlock powerful artillery that can be used against Po and his forces."

"Powerful artillery?" Maya tried to obtain more confirmation as she and the other Rangers were horrified by the news. If Ellie's explanation was true, then Buck could obtain enough power to wipe the Rangers out once and for all.

"Yes," Uni affirmed.

"Is there anything we can do?" Donnie asked.

Ellie turned her chair back toward her computer and began to review her research. "Every time you guys engage in a battle with a Humanitor, you guys leave excess energy from the stress and power you put into the fight, and the amount of excess energy is based on whether you use a weapon, your Combat Cannon, your Megazord, etcetera. Check it out."

All five Rangers stood behind Ellie and watched a thermal vision of their earlier battles with a group of Karadracs, which revealed a spew of energy spreading all over for every slash they would inflict onto a foot soldier.

"Why is this important?" Bonnie asked.

"Because the only way to unlock the box is by a Ranger's energy. Buck can't access it as he is not a Ranger. So instead, he is planning on using the excess energy to charge up the Box and activate it, and he has almost obtained enough energy to do so."

Maya took a deep breath and spoke. "So what you are saying is one more battle would give Buck enough energy-"

Uni nodded his head. "Yes...to unlock the box," he confirmed. "He's powerful enough on his own. This would be enough for him to take our world."

Maya and DJ looked at one another with concern etched on their faces. Max rubbed his temples to get his stress under control. This was too much for him to grasp. Just when he thought they had the upper hand against their enemies, it seemed they were much more than just powerful beings.

Just then, a tiny alarm went off from Ellie's monitor. "That's a signal buoy!"

"Put it through," Uni ordered, kneeling next to his daughter. All five Rangers then hurdled together behind Ellie. "I've got it." Just then, Po's face appeared on the screen. Max nearly fainted at the sight of their enemy, but DJ caught him by the arm.

"This is a message to the Rangers. There is nothing that could fulfill me more than crushing you insufferable brats into dust, but I have a much bigger problem at the very moment. Buckateer has been excommunicated from my team, and before I continue my plans on taking your world, I'd like a favor from you Rangers...get rid of Buck, and I promise your demise will be as swift as possible when the time comes. Because if there is one being that's going take your world, it's me."

Then, the signal ended, being reduced to static and white noise, leaving behind a stunned and horrified audience.

"Buck turned on each other," DJ asked bewilderedly.

Maya shrugged her shoulders. "Looks like it."

Max shook his head and took off. DJ turned and tried to follow him.

"Max, hold up," He said, jumping in front of his friend, his hands on Max's shoulder. "I know this may be too much for you. If what we are going through is overwhelming, then I cannot imagine what is going through your mind right now. But we need a leader!"

Max didn't even bother locking eyes with DJ. He knew he was being irrational toward one of his best friends, but the magnitude of the situation embodied him with so many overwhelming emotions that it drowned out his logical side. He just brushed DJ off and walked passed the Blue Ranger, walking through a portal to exit Karate Ops.

DJ turned to where Max disappeared and sighed. This whole situation transformed the Red Ranger. The same Max would often pour his heart out to DJ or Maya whenever he was going through some sort of crisis, and those would rarely occur, because Max was often the happiest of the team. His optimism and positive view on life were what grabbed the attention of all of his friends, who grew fond of his loving nature. Of all the Rangers, he was the most blessed growing up, Two loving parents, one of the most popular boys at his school, and a star athlete with a bright future ahead of him.

If this delicate situation could break him down, then perhaps it would destroy the fabric of the team. It didn't help that Donnie and Bonnie's escalating conflict and the rest of the team struggling to come up with a plan to save Earth were not doing Max any favors.

It was the dead of night. The suburbs which the Rangers inhabited were quiet as usual, save for the faint chirp of a cricket hidden somewhere.

Max had managed to sneak out of DJ's house, whom he had been staying with whenever DJ's father was working late or if he was invited for a sleepover. The Red Ranger wore a ruby red sweatshirt as he raced down multiple streets, not bothering to stop for a second to catch his breath. His hair was messy and all over the place.

Max finally stopped in front of the house that he had grown up in. He tried to catch his breath as he walked carefully into the backyard, trying not to wake his parents up. He assumed they were both asleep...or so he thought.

He grabbed a ladder from the shed. He grunted as it was too heavy. His father was in the army and had no trouble lifting it, but Max was slim in comparison, hence another reason why he signed up for Sensei Uni's school in the first place.

He made his way back to the front of the house and extended the latter to the corbel. He climbed his way to the ledge. He was quickly walking up to his bedroom window. He sighed in relief as it was unlocked. He knew it wasn't a mistake. His father would have known Max was itching to come down to his childhood house ever since he was exiled from his parents following the dispute with his father over Max's frequent absences, followed by his father's discovery that Max was the leader of the Power Rangers.

Max quietly opened the window and entered his dark room. He examined and was satisfied to see that everything was exactly how he left it. His waterbed was on the far left side, with a small flat-screen TV hanging on the top right corner, next to his closet. The closet door with open, exposing his wardrobe, which was mostly just red T-shirts, red striped jackets, and blue jeans. Max smiled and wondered how he only managed to wear red clothes ever since he became a Ranger.

Just then, the door swung open. Max gasped as he put on his fighting stance, but let out his breath as it was just his father, wearing his orange bathrobe.

Max put his hand on his chest as he caught his breath. "Don't scare me like that." He whispered.

His father, Bobby, leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. "I just got off work, you know...put in the extra hours in the second shift." He then stood up straight and approached his son. "What are you doing here, son?"

Max frowned. "I just wanted to be at home for a bit." He whispered.

"Then why don't you come home? Your mother has been having trouble sleeping ever since you left the house. She's deteriorating mentally and physically." Bobby tried to drill it into his son's head that his family was more crucial than Max's 'fantasy' of being a superhero. He had no idea what Max had to go through day in and day out just to prevent a heartless supernatural being from taking away everything he valued.

Max groaned. "Dad, please do not try to guilt trip me. You know how much this job means to me, and the world."

Bobby's eyes furrowed as he spoke. "You are putting your life on the line for some old Japanese freak who probably should find someone more suited. Perhaps, an adult."

"Dad-"

"You are 16, Max," Bobby exclaimed but tried his best to keep his voice down as he knew his wife was sleeping. "You do not need this amount of pressure in your life."

Max rolled his eyes. "I know what I am up against, but there is no one else that can handle the powers that my teammates and I utilize in our efforts to save this world."

"So you think that you become a man now that you can make these big boy decisions? Leaving the house without our authorization, and risking your life just for some sick thrill and for the sense of fulfillment knowing these idiotic citizens that your father has to deal with every day can sleep peacefully at night knowing the Red Ranger and his pals have their backs?"

Max felt his anger starting to boil over at his father's previous statement. After all the struggles he had to endure, the fighting, the Megazord battles, the close calls of probably losing his friends and home...that meant nothing to his father. The same man he looked up to all of his life. The man who influenced Max to one day join the force, or perhaps even bigger, like the FBI. His struggles meant nothing to this man.

Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before turning around, and making his way out the window.

His father walked forward and spoke sternly. "Maxwell, don't you dare walk away from me."

Max ignored him and made his way out, trying to fight the pain radiating in his chest. He just descended the ladder and walked off down the street, his tail between his legs.

He was just sick and tired of life at the moment. This wasn't the curious and adventurous Max Cruz that first attended Uni's school. This wasn't the same kid whom all of his friends grew to value and adore. No, this was an emotionally-wounded person on the verge of a nervous breakdown. With the villains, though being disbanded, on the verge of becoming more powerful than ever, the fact that the fate of humanity was in his hands was too much for a teenager to grasp. Max was going to snap. It was only a matter of when and how he would finally be pushed over the edge.

Buckateer was roaming through the woods that were on the adjacent side of town, the moon's rays being his only source of light.

He pulled out the Sacred Box and stared attentively at its shiny emblem on its front, daydreaming of the symphony-like sounds of humans screaming in utmost terror as he unleashes his power onto the planet.

"Just a little more excess energy and my plan can finally be put into action." He murmured to himself. "But how?" He thought, then his face lit up as he thought of a plan.

"Po would most likely want me eradicated, and so would the Rangers. Perhaps I shall give them a chance. No...this could be my chance! Once this box is unlocked, I am home-free! Soon, this world shall be mine!" His screeching laughter echoed throughout the area, scaring off a herd of crows, who flew away stunned by the sudden burst of laughter from a distance.

To be continued...

So here is the deal.

Like many Power Rangers series, there are major storylines that occur, with filler episodes in between. After this storyline is over, there will be a few episodes just to build some character development for the Rangers, along with coming up with some new weapons and possibly even a SIXTH ranger.

I may try my best to wrap this series up by the end of my third year of college because there are a few other ideas I want to try out for the Power Rangers seasons.

Anyway, the next chapter will be out shortly.