Neo Headquarters,
Makoto was in the Gym of the headquarters, bench pressing weights that were the same amount of his body weight, panting and sweating as he trained.
Makoto continued even when he heard the sound of the door automatically opening and he heard the one who just entered say, "Shouldn't keep your strength for the search of your gauntlet?".
Makoto placed the weights back in their place as he sat up, looking surprised at the one who had spoken up; Eisuke.
He was used to his mother, sister, or his teammates visiting him during training, if they were not training together in first place.
"Hondou-kun… I did not expect to see you here.", Makoto said as he stood up.
Eisuke remained silent for a few seconds before he said, "I know… it's just… I wanted to speak with you privately…".
"What is it?", Makoto asked curiously.
Eisuke played with his fingers for a few moments before he sighed, "Look… your mother is doing a great job training me, and Haruka too.. but…".
"But?".
"I want to be like you.", Eisuke said determinedly, "I want to be as strong as you to be capable of protecting everyone especially Haru-chan! You're so strong and I admire you! So, I thought… maybe you could train me?".
Makoto remained silent before he crossed his arms with a proud smile, "You're something else, Eisuke. I'm impressed.".
"You know I'm always being underestimated by nearly everyone because of my weak body and my clumsiness.", Eisuke complained.
Makoto chuckled a bit, "You know strength doesn't just lie in the muscles. Strength comes in different forms, including intelligence. You're our top notch hacker and tech expert, and that's a big deal.".
"Besides, I heard from Shiho that you're working with Agasa, Jii, and Static on new suits and weapons, and that's something big too.", Makoto said as he placed a hand on Eisuke's shoulder, "You're an important member of our bigger team.".
Eisuke smiled at him, "Arigatou, Makoto-san, but I still want you to train me.".
Makoto laughed a bit, "I did not say no at all, so we'll start training after we find the Geo Gauntlet.".
~•~•~•~
For this mission, Masaki, Eisuke, Sonoko, Hidemi, and Hina were going to accompany the Rangers, Kaiden, Static, Akira, Ryu, Nina, and Dan.
Everyone were seated on the multiple chairs of the Spacer, which would fold out of the ground of the spaceship, and right now, Hidemi was seated next to Akira, and expected him to chat with her, but he was silent, merely glancing at her.
Akira may have looked as if he was ignoring Hidemi, but in reality, his mind was occupied with nothing but her.
He had not stopped thinking about her since their fake confrontation. This whole ordeal made him think every day about their relationship, about their situation.
Life was too short, he can not live like that with her not near him.
The Chaos Army was now in the Black Organization so she was in danger hundred times than before.
He had to decide on their relationship.
Hidemi frowned before she looked away with her arms crossed. She did not get some free time to be with Akira for at least a mission and help the Rangers, only for him to ignore her.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at Kaiden, who was smiling at her warmly.
"Don't worry, he's not ignoring you. Everything will be resolved in the end.", Kaiden assured.
Hidemi smiled at him. If there was someone she had interacted with the most that was not a FAUSD agent other than Akira, the Rangers, and Static, that would be Kaiden.
His kindness and calm attitude made him easily to be befriended, and his attitude with her reminded her of her late father, and he indeed was treating her as if she was his daughter.
"I hope you're right, Kaiden-san.", Hidemi replied.
"Bet you those two are having relationship troubles.", Sonoko whispered to Makoto.
"I honestly hope not.", Makoto said with a frown, not liking how the two seemed to be on the verge of fighting.
"So, where are we going this time?", Shinichi asked.
"Egypt.", Nina said.
"Oh! I want to visit the Pyramids!", Kaito said with a wide smile.
"I wanna visit da ancient temples.", Heiji added.
"I want to visit the museums too.", Masumi nodded before she sighed, "Although I did see some relics back in England.".
"Yeah, the British stuff in the British Museum are the minority compared to anything else.", Saguru scoffed in mockery.
"I personally think visiting the relic in it's home feels better.", Ran added her opinion.
"Don't worry, our Egyptian Agent loves being a tour guide, so he'll show you around.", Ryu chuckled.
"So, who is he or she? And who else will accompany us?", Static asked.
"Khaled Al-Nemr from Egypt, Rayan Halimi from Algeria, and Ayandi Bekker from South Africa.", Dan replied.
"Are all of your friends from Section 12?", Shinichi asked Nina curiously.
"Yes, often multi-talented people end up in Section 12. Even Natalie, who was not into fighting and more of a doctor, joined Section 12 so she can be a medic in the war zone, literally.", Nina nodded.
"And where might the Geo Gauntlet be?", Eisuke asked curiously.
"Djara Cave in Al Wadi Al Gedeed Desert in Egypt. There have been some random mini earthquakes there without a known reason. And as usual, it started activating after the Aero Gauntlet was found.", Dan replied.
"Five minutes and we'll be at where the others are waiting for us.", Nina said, "It's been awhile since I've had a safari trip in Egypt, we should do that once we are done.".
"You're enjoying your job way too much.", Hidemi slightly scoffed.
"Hey, life isn't just about misery but about having fun too!", Nina said in her defense.
~*~*~*~
The Neo Spacer landed in the desert, next to a few large tents made by FAUSD agents.
The Spacer's doors opened and the group walked out, the Rangers morphed and wearing their helmets. Nina waved at a few FAUSD agents before she and Dan lead everyone inside the largest tent.
Everyone entered and Ryu closed the tent behind them, just as a voice inside the tent said, "Nice to see you again, Blondie.".
Nina scoffed at the speaker with a smirk, "Aren't you going to drop that nickname, Khaled?".
"Maybe not.", The speaker shrugged. He was a tall, lean and toned man with a warm complexion, short black hair, and hazel eyes. This was Khaled Al-Nemr, the Egyptian FAUSD agent.
"Asking him to stop joking is an impossible task!", The man next to him laughed. He too was tall, lean and toned with a warm complexion, but he had shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes, and a beard. This was Rayan Halimi, the Algerian FAUSD agent.
"You want to piss him off? Tell him Africans or Jews built the Pyramids!", The woman next to Rayan joked. She was of an average height with a dark complexion, black eyes, and her long black hair was of deadlocks style. This was Ayandi Bekker, the South African FAUSD agent.
"They didn't…", Khaled rolled his eyes, "Why does everyone want to steal my ancestors' history instead of exploring their own? Nas motkhalefa (retarded people).".
"Mathkhemmesh (Don't think too much). You know how silly some people can be.", Rayan said, patting on his friend's shoulders.
"So, Nina, Ou vriend (Old friend), won't you introduce us?", Ayan asked Nina.
The Rangers removed their helmets as Nina introduced them one by one.
"Wish we could've met in a circumstances better than this.", Khaled said, "But the Djara cave decided to have mini earthquakes out of nowhere.".
"Since when?", Ryu asked.
"5 days ago.", Rayan replied, "Ayan and I were here with some civilian friends for a trip, but then it happened. No one got hurt and nothing fell from the cave, for now. So we decided to stay and help Khaled here.".
"And then we heard from you about the whole Vanguard Gauntlets thing, so we suspect this may be the main reason.", Ayan replied.
"Definitely since the earthquakes started at the same time we found the Aero Gauntlet.", Static nodded.
"Then let's hurry then, we don't want to waste any more time.", Khaled said.
~*~*~*~
The group walked with each other toward the Cave just as Ran asked, "So, Khaled, is Al-Nemr a family name or your father's name, same for Rayan, since I heard arab countries have their father's name after their family name.".
"It does go that way, but we can go by our family names after our first names when we introduce ourselves, if it's popular or has a ring to it.", Khaled replied, "My father's name is Idris, but my family name is Al-Nemr, which means the Tiger.".
"Halimi is my family name too, my father's name is Khelif. But most people introduce themselves with their name and father's name, men and women.", Rayan replied, "In Gulf countries, they add Bin or Bint between the names which means son of or daughter of.".
"Interesting, I thought everyone went by the family name.", Kaito said.
"Not necessarily. Orion is my father's name, that's why I'm called Kaiden Orionson, just like how it went in the Asgardian Mythologies.", Kaiden shrugged.
"I go by mother's family name, so yeah.", Masumi shrugged.
"Why? Aren't you proud of the name Akai?", Eisuke asked curiously.
"No, why should I?", Masumi said in disdain.
Masaki raised her eyebrows before she understood, "It's about your father, isn't it?".
"Bingo.", Masumi nodded.
"I'm sure he's proud of you out there, Masumi.", Hina said with a smile.
"Well, I don't care.", Masumi shrugged.
"Let's drop this subject since it annoys Masumi.", Saguru said.
"Good idea, so tell me big guy, how da ya feel about getting' year own Gauntlet?", Heiji asked Makoto.
"I'm feeling pretty excited, since it being used by you, Masumi, Ran, and Shinichi has made my excitement increase with every moment it was being used.", Makoto replied honestly.
"Let's hope we get it without anyone getting hurt.", Akira mumbled, throwing glances at Hidemi, and she did not miss them.
She looked at him in confusion before she frowned, was Akira underestimating her?
"I can take care of myself.", She replied sternly as she crossed her arms.
"I-I didn't mean it in that way.", Akira said, flabbergasted.
Khaled, Rayan, and Ayan looked between the two before they looked at Nina quizzically.
"They're together, so they're having couple problems. The normal, you know,", Nina shrugged.
The three chuckled before they shared a look and Ayan said, "Who doesn't have them? All of us do with our spouses.".
Everyone paused in their movement once they saw lights appearing ahead of them; someone was teleporting. And a second later, the light disappeared; showing the intruders; Reaper, Vodka, 20 Deathnoids, and a robot monster that was twice the average human's height, incredibly muscular, and with red skin, glowing red eyes, black shorts and short hair, and the usual red core.
"Did Akuma decide to send us Red Hulk this time?", Kaito scoffed.
"You and your comics, geek.", Sonoko rolled her eyes.
"What? The DC and Marvel comics are great!", Kaito defended himself.
Sonoko shrugged with a small smile, "Whatever makes you happy then.".
"Can we focus on the upcoming battle here?", Dan said.
"A little warning though,", Khalid started as he grabbed the black with silver blade Khopesh placed on his black, "The Djara Cave is pretty fragile, so you better run in, grab what you want, and get out. Don't ruin anything inside.".
Rayan grabbed the scimitar placed on his back and twirled it as he scoffed, "They don't look so tough.".
"Careful.", Ayan warned as she grabbed the bow on her back and prepared an arrow, "We don't know what tricks they've got up their sleeves.".
"Rangers?", Dan asked.
"We'll take the red hulk copy while Makoto finds his Gauntlet.", Shinichi answered before he, Ran, Heiji, and Masumi cried, "Vanguard Gauntlet! Vanguard Change!".
And the four Rangers stood read in their Vanguard mode.
"Reaper will be coming after me, so I'll handle him.", Makoto said as he cracked his knuckles.
"I better not fight Vodka or else he'll notice who I am.", Hidemi said.
"We'll handle him.", Masaki said, motioning toward her, Eisuke, Sonoko, and Hina.
"Oh I'm so ready to test my training!", Sonoko said in excitement.
"Let's hope my clumsiness doesn't cause us trouble.", Eisuke mumbled.
"You'll do great, Eisuke!", Haruka assured him.
"And that leaves the rest of us for the Deathnoids.", Nina said, "I got bored of these guys.".
"At least we know how to defeat them.", Ryu replied.
Reaper looked at the robot monster, "Rage, handle the Rangers but the Black one, he's mine. The others, the agents are yours.".
"They don't look so tough.", Vodka smirked in overconfidence.
"Or they are… doesn't matter to me, since all is going according to plan.", Reaper shrugged.
"Wonder what plan involves the Rangers getting stronger.", Vodka scoffed in mockery, ignoring Reaper's glare.
"Insolent human.", Reaper growled before he glanced at the robot monster, "You know what to do, Hulk.".
"I'll smash them!", Hulk cried angrily.
A few seconds of silence passed, before both groups charged toward each other with a battle cry.
~•~•~•~
Masaki, Sonoko, Eisuke, & Hina V Vodka,
"Don't act cocky or be afraid, keep neutral.", Masaki ordered as she stood in a fighting stance.
"Right… easy for you to say, this is our first time fighting.", Sonoko gulped as she tried to remain calm.
"I warned you guys of this.", Haruka sighed as she stood ready, glancing at Eisuke who seemed as nervous as Sonoko.
"Did they decide to bring amateurs to this fight?", Vodka laughed in mockery instantly noticing Sonoko and Eisuke's trembling.
"I'll show you who's an amateur!", Eisuke cried, trying to keep his voice strong.
"Really?", Vodka asked in mockery before he charged toward Eisuke.
The latter for a second forgot all of his training, and froze in his place, making himself an easy target for Vodka.
But Masaki pushed him away before she caught Vodka's fist and sent her own right into his nose, making him cry as blood poured from his nose.
"Bitch!", He cried as he wiped the blood from his nose.
"Overwatch, Queen, stand back if you won't be capable of fighting.", Masaki ordered sternly, "Riot, with me!".
"Yes, Grandmaster!", Hina cried. Masaki charged first to attack Vodka with a punch while Hina aimed for a roundhouse kick, but Vodka took a step back, evading both moves, before he sent a punch toward Hina.
His fist collided with her chest, making her cough as she took a step back before he kicked her in the abdomen, sending her flying away.
Masaki caught him off guard however with an even stronger punch that before into his face, one that easily broke his glasses. He could not see the look of rage under her helmet.
"You little-", Vodka could not continue his words as Masaki surprised him with a spinning kick into his face.
Before Vodka could regain his composure, Hina charged toward him with a battle cry before she jumped and sent a kick with all of her might into his face. Vodka fell on the ground, his hat falling off his head.
Vodka growled angrily as he stood back up and pulled out of his jacket a large energy gun, aiming at Masaki and Hina, and he fired at Masaki.
Masaki let out a cry of pain as the blast hit her shoulder, burning through her armor while Vodka charged toward Hina, evading her attack before he grabbed her from her neck and raised her above the ground, squeezing her neck gradually with all of his might.
"Usually I like finishing victims with my bare hands, crushing their skulls and turning them into a bloody pulp, but I'll enjoy choking you, and destroying that other bitch.", Vodka said viciously as he aimed the gun at Masaki's head.
Vodka could not do anything as he was surprised by Sonoko jumping over his back, wrapping her arms around his neck in a chokehold.
"What the?!", Vodka cried in disbelief as he tried to free himself from Sonoko's grip, dropping the gun and Hina to do so.
He turned around only for Eisuke to charge toward him with his body, spearing him. But Vodka did not fall to the ground as Eisuke wanted, but the latter kept his arms around him, trying to prevent him from moving.
"How dare such amateurs like you face me?!", Vodka cried in disbelief before Sonoko and Eisuke let go off him and ran away.
"Cowards!", Vodka cried but that's when he heard something beeping. He then noticed that Sonoko had placed a small circular device on his chest while Eisuke placed one on his stomach, beeping red.
"Shit…", He mumbled in realization before the bomb turned on, electrocuting Vodka for a minute, before he fell on the ground unconscious.
Hina helped Masaki stand up as they stared at Eisuke and Sonoko in disbelief.
"You… you guys…", Hina mumbled, "Were amazing!".
"I have no idea how I did this…", Sonoko panted, feeling breathless from the adrenaline rush she felt.
"That was… so scary… but awesome!", Eisuke exclaimed, "Did you guys see that?!".
"Absolutely, I'm amazed.", Masaki said truthfully, smiling under her helmet, "Despite not using your training, but you used your minds… and that is something.".
"Masaki-san… I know I've been asking you to go easy on us…", Sonoko started before she stared at the light bruise on Masaki's shoulder, "But I want you to go hard on us… I don't want to feel like a burden to you or Makoto or anyone I care about…".
"So do I.", Eisuke nodded in agreement.
Masaki looked back and forth between the two before she shared a look with Hina, both nodding at each other, before she said, "Remember that you asked for this.".
~•~•~•~
Khaled, Rayan, & Ayan V Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
"Pharaoh, Kaipkire, and Berber, Africa's best agents fighting side by side again.", Khaled replied with a confident smirk as twirled his khopesh, "Ready to take down these metal craps?".
"Hey, we've survived the Eden Scorch War, there isn't anything worse than that.", Rayan replied as he stretched his neck, "That thing was the equivalent of a World War.".
"Indeed. Can't let that happen on our planet again, let's show them!", Ayan cried before she charged first with a battle cry.
Khaled and Rayan shared a look just as Rayan said, "I still can't believe her husband Johan said she is a calm one in the house.".
"Maybe it's her safe haven, but then she can get all crazy she wants during work.", Khaled shrugged.
"Like us?", Rayan asked with a smirk.
"Nah, there is no one like us, ya akhoya el gazairi (my algerian brother).", Khaled laughed as he charged forward into battle.
"Habibi ya masri! (My Egyptian friend!)", Rayan laughed back as he charged into battle behind Khaled.
Number 6 tried to attack Ayan with one of his metallic saws, but she evaded his first strike before blocking the other with her bow. She glanced behind her and saw Number 5 preparing to fire his shurikens toward her.
She smirked before she kicked Number 6 away, pulled out a black headed arrow and shot it at Number 6, once it hit him in the chest it exploded into a cloud of smoke, blinding both Deathnoids.
Number 6 then felt two arrows hit him in the back of his arms, freezing them while an arrow landed near Number 5 made a small explosion.
He was not affected by the explosion, but it gave him the impression that Ayan was ahead him, so he fired his shurikens, taking down Number 6.
A few seconds later, Number 5 was surprised by someone in the shadows throwing his shurikens back at him, making him confused for a second. And then, his head was cut off by one of metallic saws of Number 6.
The smoke disappeared and Ayan stood victoriously above the two Deathnoids, holding one of Number 6's arms. "Quick Freeze arrows are my favorite.", She said as she threw the arm aside.
Number 4 surrounded his body with fire as he walked toward Khaled who scoffed, "And is that supposed to scare me?".
Number 3 then fired one of his explosive ropes at Khaled, who rolled out of the way, and the rope exploded.
Khaled whistled, "Nice, I'm impressed.".
Number 4 charged toward Khaled and aimed for a punch but Khaled blocked it with his khopesh, keeping his distance to avoid being burned but he shocked number 4 by grabbing him from his neck.
"I've got a couple of minutes before I get burned thanks to my suit.", Khaled smirked once he heard the sound of the rope of number 3.
He then let go off Number 4's neck and turned the Deathnoid the other side. He deduced the robot was going to use his flamethrower arms at them, so he turned him around.
Number 3 fired the explosive rope while number 4 used his flames. The rope wrapped around number 4's waist while the flames engulfed number 3.
Khaled then kicked Number 4 with all of his might at number 4 before he exploded, the remains of the robot hitting whatever remained unburned of number 3.
"Don't underestimate a military soldier like me.", Khaled said.
Rayan clashed his scimitar with Number 1's katana a few times before he rolled out of the way once Number 2 starting firing bullets from his gun barrels at him.
He then sat up and started skillfully blocking the bullets until Number 2 ran out of bullets, which gave Rayan the chance to charge toward him.
He then swung the scimitar, cutting off his right arm and then his left. He then moved sideways once he felt Number 1 sneaking up upon him and the sword swing from Number 1 ended up cutting the head of Number 2.
"See this is the difference between a man and a machine, you will never be able to have a spontaneous reaction to anything that requires so.", Rayan said as he rested his scimitar on his shoulder.
"But you can be easily killed.", Number 1 as he swung his sword at Rayan, but the latter easily blocked it with his scimitar.
The two clashed with their swords multiple times, Rayan having the upper hand until he knocked the katana out of the hands of Number 1, caught it, and used his scimitar to cut off his right and then left arm, before he used the katana to cut off his head.
Rayan then threw the katana away as he said, "That wasn't so hard.".
~•~•~•~
Dan, Nina, & Ryu V Numbers 7, 8, 9, 10, 1, 2,
Number 7 fired both of his claws at Dan, who ducked, evading both claws as he said, "Why do I always end up facing number 7?".
Number 8 then fired a beam of electricity at Dan, but he rolled out of the way.
"Alright, claws and electricity. What a nice combination.", Dan commented dryly.
Number 7 retracted his claws before he fired his right one at Dan and the lather moved sideways, evading it before he grabbed the chain, and started spinning the other part that had the claw, and threw it back at Number 7.
Number 7 fired his second claw just as the first one hit his neck, impaling him.
He then rolled out of the way from Number 8's double electricity beams, before he rushed to grab the claws and threw them at Number 8. One claw hit the neck while the other hit the eyes.
Dan then jumped out of the way just before number 7 exploded by number 8.
He landed on his feet gracefully as he said, "I hate those basket heads…".
Number 9 flew high in the air just as Number 10 turned invisible, while Nina stood ready with her two blades.
Number 9 fired the energy beams at Nina who started running out of the way, before she jumped high, feeling that number 10 was going to ambush her but number 9 grabbed her in the air from one hand and aimed with the other to fire at Nina, but the latter slammed her blade into the circle part in the hand, just as it charged to fire the beam.
Nina then used the other blade to cut off the other arm, freeing herself just as the stabbed hand exploded from the trapped energy destroying Number 9.
Nina landed on her feet and opened her free hand, the sword flying back to her hand.
She remained in her place for a second before she crossed both swords across her chest, feeling something strong slamming into both of her swords.
"I hate you the most…", Nina growled at Number 10.
She then jumped back before she raised one of her swords, blocking a punch and let out a cry of pain as she received another in her abdomen.
She withstood her pain and cut his right arm before she freed her first sword and cut the second arm. She guessed where the arms would be, and Number 10 became visible again just as she dropped her swords and grabbed both gauntlet arms.
"Goodnight, basket head.", Nina said in English before she slammed both gauntlets onto his head, crashing it. She dropped both gauntlets before she picked up her swords as she said, "I hate invisibility powers….".
Ryu twirled his guns as he eyed Number 1 who readied his Katana while number 2 aimed his gun barrels at him.
Number 2 started firing multiple bullets at Ryu but he the latter started running around, evading the bullets and then Number 1 rushed toward him from the opposite and swung his sword toward him.
But Ryu surprised him by rolling underneath him from between his legs, and since Number 2 continued his bullet barrage, the bullets ended up hitting every single part of Number 1.
The destroyed Deathnoid dropped the katana while Ryu, who had placed the guns back at their place, returned back to him and grabbed the katana, and then he jumped high.
Ryu then landed with the katana and cut down Number 1 into two equal halves from head to toe, before it exploded.
"This was too easy.", Ryu said as he threw the katana aside.
~•~•~•~
Kaiden, Akira, Static, & Hidemi V 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Number 3 fired multiple explosive ropes at Akira who spread his arms as he cried, "Energy Shockwave!".
A dome energy shockwave created around him, pushing back the explosive ropes in different directions. One wrapped around Number 3 while another wrapped around number 10, and both exploded because of the robots.
Number 4 engulfed himself with fire before he charged toward Akira, but he jumped high and aimed at him both hands, but he was surprised by one of Number 10's gauntlets being thrown at Number 4, crashing his head from how heavy it was.
Akira looked surprised at seeing Hidemi being the one who had thrown one of the gauntlets at Number 4's head, and then she pulled out her gun and aimed at Number 5, firing energy blasts toward him.
Number 5 evaded the blasts as he charged toward Hidemi and swung one of his saws downward, trying to cut down Hidemi from her head, but she evaded the attack and aimed the gun at the right shoulder, firing multiple blasts, breaking the arm from the body.
She then jumped backward as Number 5 aimed for another attack with the other saw.
Hidemi aimed her gun at Number 5 just as a blue energy beam hit Number 5 from behind, destroying his upper body, before the lower body fell on the ground.
"You're welcome.", Akira said with a friendly smile, but his smile disappeared once he saw Hidemi's frown.
"I did not need your help.", Hidemi said coldly before she walked away.
'What's wrong with her?', Akira thought quizzically before he walked behind her.
Number 7 fired both of his claws at Kaiden but he evaded them before he raised his staff to block the saw attack from Number 6.
Kaiden disappeared before he reappeared in front of Number 7 and cried, "Dragon Fist!", as his fist collided with his chest, before a white dragon came out of his fist, destroying Number 7 instantly.
Kaiden spun his staff before he aimed his staff forward and cried, "Monkey Staff!", and a white energy embodiment from the stuff extended swiftly at Number 6, impaling through his chest before he pushed the staff upward, pushing the embodiment upward, destroying Number 6 into two halves.
The embodiment disappeared as he spun his staff before he slammed it on the ground, staring at the remains of the Deathnoids silently with one thought on his mind, 'What are you planning, Akuma?'.
Static flew in the air right behind Number 9 who flew in the air, and they dodged the electricity beams being fired from down by Number 8.
Static changed both of their arms into cannons before he fired an energy beam at Number 9, but the latter dodged it.
Number 8 fried two another electricity beams at Static, but the latter replied with double energy beams that overpowered his electricity beams, destroying Number 8.
"I've destroyed your predecessors before easily!", Static cried as they fired another beam at Number 9, destroying his jetpack.
Number 9 fell on his face at once and Static took the chance to fire both beams again at Number 9, destroying him.
Static landed on the ground gracefully as their arms changed back to normal as they said, "We can't believe their heart cores are made of human parts. Wonder who were those poor people…".
~•~•~•~
Rangers V Hulk,
The Rangers summoned their weapons with Shinichi, Ran, Heiji, and Masumi summoning their Vanguard weapons.
Hulk let out a cry of anger as he banged on his chest before he charged forward toward the Rangers.
Masumi crossed her sticks to block the punch Hulk sent and Heiji took the chance to cut down his hand using his Ninjato.
Hulk took a step back just as Ran appeared in front of him and swung her arms swiftly, slashing Hulk in his chest.
Hulk growled in angrily as he walked a few steps back away, but Shinichi shot forward his chain blades, impaling Hulk in the chest and kept him from moving.
Kaito charged at Hulk from behind and used his hook swords to hit him in the limbs, before ice extended from the blades, cutting off the limbs.
Saguru then skillfully jumped, spun, and threw his shield, which was surrounded by green energy spikes. The shield cut off Hulk's head and Shinichi let go off Hulk just as Masumi dropkicked him away.
And then Hulk exploded, destroyed just like every other robot monster.
~•~•~•~
Makoto V Reaper,
"Keep running, Black Ranger, that will make the hunt more interesting.", Reaper growled as he chased Makoto, who was heading toward the cave.
Reaper then grabbed his sword, placed at his side and threw it at Makoto, but the latter rolled out of the way before he aimed both his palms at Reaper while crying, "Sand Prison!".
Reaper stopped dead in his tracks as the sand gathered around him and formed a dome around him, trapping him inside.
Makoto stood back up as he took a few steps back, keeping his right palm open. He was conflicted at the moment, this move could kill a person if he continued it, and the only time he killed someone was in self-defense.
He still was not ready to kill in battle.
His hesitation gave Reaper the chance to use his high-pitched whistle which made Makoto cry in pain and lose control over his prison, freeing Reaper.
"In battle, mercy will get you killed.", Reaper growled as he cracked his knuckles.
Makoto gathered energy in both of his fists before he fired it at Reaper, "Bison Spirit! Savage Zord, Unleash! Partner Mode!", and then he ran into the cave.
Reaper's eyes widened for a second as the black Bison spirit charged toward him before he crossed his forearms to block the charging horn attack from the Bison spirit, but the attack pushed him back a few inches before he punched the Bison in the face.
The Bison let out a battle cry as he disappeared, but then Taurus appeared, catching Reaper off guard, and sent him flying with his horn attack away.
"He used the Bison spirit as a diversion for you to attack me, while he gets the Gauntlet? Looks like he isn't just muscles.", Reaper growled.
Makoto panted as he reached deep into the Djara cave, looking in awe at the ancient early human drawings on the walls of the cave, and the amazing design and limestone formation of the cave.
He then focused on his mission and raised his hand, trying to think of the Gauntlet, as he thought maybe he could summon it with his powers.
Under a small debris of sand, a black glow appeared. He rushed toward it and removed the sand, and he was surprised by the presence of the Black Geo Gauntlet.
He moved his hand closer to it, but the Gauntlet opened up and jumped onto his free wrist, glowing black for a few seconds before it died down.
Makoto stared at the Gauntlet for a few seconds, feeling new power and information rushing through his body and mind, before black light engulfed him.
Reaper held Taurus from his horns before he head butt him, forcing the Zord to take a step back.
Reaper was about to attack again but he was shocked by the sand around him attempting to engulf him again, so he jumped away but out of nowhere, he was hit by the tusks of a large black elephant.
Reaper let out a cry of pain as he flew a few feet away. He sat back up, only to see Taurus and the new Elephant Zord smirking toward him,
And Makoto, now in his Vanguard armor, holding a black Mace with silver spikes in his hand, stood between the two Zords.
"Tusk was just saying hi, so excuse what he had just done.", Makoto said.
Everyone else stared at Makoto with proud smiles but no one was prouder than Hina, Masaki, and Sonoko, with the last one crying, "GO BLACK RANGER!".
Reaper charged forward, grabbing his sword from the sand and swinging the sword at Makoto, but the latter blocked it with his mace before he slammed it into Reaper's face.
The latter let out a cry of pain, feeling multiple bruises from the spikes' attack on his face.
"Ranged Mode!", Makoto cried as he swung his mace, the head of the mace hitting Reaper in the chest, sending him flying away.
Reaper landed on his back, his white armor cracked. He growled in pain as he sat back up.
The mace's head returned back to its place before he raised in front of him, and charged at his top speed, aiming the Mace at Reaper.
It was then that Reaper noticed that Taurus was charging from the right side while Tusk was charging from the left side.
"Earth Collision!", Makoto cried.
The three collided with Reaper, the sand gathering around them from the collision. Makoto, Taurus, and Tusk walked out of the sand as it fell back on the ground. Reaper was on the ground, all the plate or clothing on his chest and arms were gone, now incredibly bruised.
Reaper slowly sat back up, teleported and appeared next to Vodka, grabbing him from the back of his shirt.
"I hate the Power Rangers…", He growled as he teleported out of the way with Vodka, just as Hulk became a large robot monster.
"Savage Zord, Unleash/Zord Mode!", The Rangers chorused, "Zords Combine!".
The Savage King Megazord stood ready as Makoto cracked his knuckles while saying, "I've been waiting patiently for this.".
"Show us your might, bro!", Shinichi cried.
"Vanguard Elephant Zord, combine!", Makoto cried.
The Elephant Zord folded his limbs into its body, binding into the chest, the trunk moving down and attached to the body. The two tusks separated from the head and were held by the Megazord's hand as curved blades.
"Savage Geo King Megazord, Ready!", Makoto cried.
"You're no match for me!", Hulk cried.
"How many times we've heard that?", Kaito laughed.
"Not much, but we've heard other sentences with the same meaning.", Saguru shrugged.
Hulk rushed toward the Megazord and aimed for a punch but the Megazord blocked it by crossing both tusks before evading the second punch.
Hulk aimed for another punch, but the Megazord ducked before he slashed Hulk's abdomen with both tusks.
The Megazord then aimed with an uppercut, impaling the tusk under the chin, and the tusk came out of his mouth.
The Megazord then pulled the tusk, breaking Hulk's mouth.
"You bastards!", Hulk cried as he grabbed the Megazord from its neck, raising the Megazord above the ground.
But the Megazord stabbed Hulk in his eyes with both tusks, blinding him. Hulk let out a cry of pain as he let go off the Megazord.
The Megazord let go off the tusks before he buried both of his hands into the chest, before pulling it out with the heart shaped core, and crushed it with both of its hands.
Hulk remained standing for a second before it exploded.
"Savage Rangers, victory is ours.", Makoto nodded.
"Now it's just you and I left.", Kaito told Saguru.
"You just noticed?", Saguru asked in mockery.
"Why do you have to be so annoying?", Kaito said bitterly.
"Stop arguing, will you?", Masumi mumbled.
"Because he is a bastard.", Heiji added.
"No one asked for your opinion.", Saguru argued.
"And here I thought you guys won't argue anymore?", Shinichi mumbled before he glanced at Kaito and Saguru, "Then again, you love to annoy each other.".
"Children, my team is full of children.", Ran sighed.
~•~•~•~
"Alright! We've got the fifth gauntlet! We're awesome and better than those goons!", Sonoko cheered once the Rangers were back and everyone gathered around.
"Yeah! We're 80% through!", Kaito joined her.
"Actually, they may have the higher ground at any moment if they improve, and we're exactly 71.4% through.", Saguru said with a smirk.
Kaito and Sonoko glared at him before Sonoko said, "I see what you mean now, Kaito.".
"Right? He can be so annoying.", Kaito grumbled.
"I'm impressed, you've done a great job; Eisuke.", Masaki said with a smile.
"Well, I had a good teacher.", Eisuke nodded before he glanced at Hina with a blush, "And a great supporter.".
"My hero!", Haruka cried as she hugged Eisuke, making him blush.
"That's my brother!", Hidemi said proudly as she ruffled his hair, making him blush even further.
Hidemi's smile, however, slightly disappeared once she heard Akira ask her from behind, "Can we talk privately?".
She said nothing as she walked away from the group, Akira following her behind.
"You finally want to talk?", She asked, her tone slightly bitter, "You've been ignoring me since we faced each other back at the Aquarium.".
"I know, and no words can express my deepest apology to you, but I had to think about us.", Akira said.
"What do you mean?", She asked confused.
"I thought that us being away would be good for you, to protect you from the Chaos Army and the Black Organization, but then I realized that no matter what we do you'll always be in danger and I… I'll always be by your side…", Akira said before he let out a deep sigh.
He then smiled at her warmly, a loving look in his eyes, and pulled out of his pocket a small purple box, and he knelt on one knee before he opened the box to show a golden ring with an emerald on top of it.
Hidemi gasped, 'He isn't actually going to…'.
"Hondou Hidemi, will you marry me?", He asked.
Whatever the rest of the group was talking about was dropped as soon as they saw Akira kneel down, and were looking intently back and forth between the two, waiting for Hidemi's response.
Hidemi had a quick flashback to the first time they met, their time at the news station, the few dates they had, when she found out the truth about him and when they rekindled their friendship.
And finally, she spoke up.
"Yes… Yes I will…", She said emotionally, tears building up in her eyes. Akira smiled before he placed the ring on Hidemi's ring and then he stood up, hugged her, and kissed her forehead.
The group cheered for them before they surrounded them to say their congratulations.
"Oneesan, I'm so happy for you!", Eisuke said, giving her a quick hug, his tears almost falling before he glanced secretly at Hina, who was hugging Hidemi after him, 'I can't wait to do that to you, Hinata.'.
He was not the only one thinking about that, for the other teens were thinking about the same thing with their love interest. Ran and Shinichi, and Makoto and Sonoko even glanced at each other before blushing with a smile momentarily. Even Masumi found herself imagining Rei proposing to her.
"You two are getting married as soon as we are done finding the Gauntlets, it's about time we've had a celebration!", Nina announced.
"Finally you had got the guts to propose!", Static cheered, jumping up and down happily.
"Don't me reconsider who my best man should be.", Akira joked.
"I'm so happy for both of you.", Kaiden said with a wide smile.
"Kaiden-san… I…", Hidemi mumbled before she smiled at him emotionally, "I'd like you to walk me down the aisle then, as my father figure.".
Kaiden was taken back for a second before he smiled widely and nodded, "I'd be honored.".
"And the maid of honor?", Nina coughed expectantly.
"Who else do you think it would be? Definitely you!", Hidemi laughed at Nina's attitude, "Everyone we both know will be invited!".
"We'll definitely need to have a shopping spree, and I'll lead it!", Sonoko announced, and everyone laughed at her words.
~•~•~•~
Madeira stood with a proud smirk, staring at some automatic robot hands that worked on a half robot lying on a metallic bed.
"Whatever brings you here, Genesis?", Madeira asked without even looking behind her.
Genesis walked up to stand next to her, glaring at her for a second before he said, "What did Akuma ask you to do?".
Madeira smirked, noting the jealousy in Genesis and she knew why. She can easily tell that Reaper, Kisame, Nemean, and Kerbeus want something that only Akuma can achieve while Kaguya, Blaze, Ravenna, Vulture, and Genesis followed him because he had done something for them.
And since Akuma started tasking her more than Genesis, the latter was worried.
"Nothing special, just a new type of foot soldier. Maybe you could help me?", Madeira asked calmly.
"Help you?", Genesis asked suspiciously.
"I want to create a robot that's a blend of the Gridnoids and Deathnoids, but better, and since you were the inventor of the Gridnoids, I'll need your help.", She offered.
"And what will I get in return?", He asked as he rubbed his chin, thinking about it.
"Making Lord Akuma pleased.", She pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
Genesis stared at her silently for a few seconds before he nodded, "Show me the blueprints, and let's start working together.".
Sorry for any spelling and grammatical mistakes, tight schedule and midterms are coming up so I did not have enough time to edit any of my works.
I hope you guys liked the chapter, only two chapters left for the Vanguard Warrior Arc.