Ultimate Power Rangers:
Reloaded
Power Rangers: Chapter Eleven
38
Deception
A pair of
Capatros dragged a black chariot out from the fog at night. The chariot’s
wooden wheels squeaked as they rolled across an asphalt trail surrounded by
trees. Akomaru sat in the chariot alone. He blew on his new whistle, the
equivalent of tipping his fingers with impatience against the side of the
chariot.
Shadam stepped
onto the path and stood in front of the chariot with his arms crossed.
“Shadam…”
Akomaru wrinkled his brow as he glared at his father.
“How much
longer are you going to keep the Kiba Ranger’s identity to yourself? He’s to be
destroyed.”
Akomaru did not
have time for his father‘s games. He would not give his father the pleasure.
“Father…the source of the Gorma’s power is-”
“Hate,” Shadam
said, cutting off Akomaru. “That’s obvious.”
“Yes,” Akomaru
said. “That’s how I became who I am today. My hatred for you and the mother who
abandoned me.”
“So what?”
Shadam said, quickly losing patience.
“I will get the
Kiba Ranger to feel that hatred too. In that way, Gorma blood will flow through
him. The hidden power will then come out.”
The chariot
continued on, leaving Shadam behind. Shadam glared in the boy’s direction. I
should have killed the boy when I had the chance…
________________________________________________________________________
“Kou!” Kimberly
shouted as she set the breakfast table. “You’re going to be late for
school…Kou..” she climbed up to the attic and shook him to wake him. But he
would not move. “Kou…”
His alarm went
off and he hopped out of bed. Kou jetted down the ladder while looking up at
her. “Better hurry, sister. You’ll be late for school.” He laughed and ran
towards the table. Kimberly smiled as she sighed and shook her head.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou rode on his
skateboard as fast as possible towards school. For the first time in a long
time, he was actually happy, so he wasn’t worried about being late.
Kou snuck into
the back of the classroom quietly. He saw a cute new Chinese girl at the front
of the class. She was being introduced by the teacher. “And we would like to welcome
our new student…”
Someone pulled
a chair out from Kou as he went to sit down. The boy yelped as he fell on his
tailbone. His classmates laughed as the girl smiled at him. Kou blushed and
smiled back at her with his cheesiest grin.
________________________________________________________________________
Billy’s car was
parked at the curb in front of Kou’s elementary school. Rocky was in the
passenger seat, hunched against the door with the window. “This sure takes long
enough,” Rocky said.
“We’re doing it
to help Kim,” Billy said.
Rocky raised an
eyebrow. “You have a thing for her don’t you?”
Billy blushed.
“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “Besides…she’s with Tommy.”
Rocky nodded
and grinned. “Riiiight.” Through the corner of his eye, Rocky saw Kou hurrying
from school with his skateboard and book bag in hand. “There’s Kou.”
Kou dropped his
board and rode past the car while tossing his book bag inside the teen’s car.
“Hey guys. Can’t go. Got a date. Thanks.”
“Did he just
say date?” Rocky asked as Kou rode off.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou skated
through a wooded park, taking a short cut on his way to his date. He skid to a
stop when he noticed a light fog drift in from the trees. Akomaru stepped
forward from the fog along with the two Kanjo sisters in their monster forms.
“I came to
greet you, Kou,” Akomaru said.
Kou took a few
steps back. “Greet me?”
The sisters
fired pulses of energy that exploded against the ground in front of Kou,
knocking the boy off his feet.
Akomaru smiled
mockingly at the young ranger while stalking forward. “Transform…”
Kou shook his
head as he backed up across the ground. “You’re crazy.”
“Maybe…”
Akomaru said. “Now transform…transform or you’ll die.”
Kou moved
backwards as Byakou whispered to him from the young Ranger’s jacket. “Kou, he’s
trying to prove you’re the Kiba Ranger. Don’t transform carelessly.”
“Easy for you
to say,” Kou mumbled.
“Kou!” Rocky
and Billy ran towards Kou, entering the park from the edge of the woods.
“Them…” Akomaru
grumbled. “Capatros!”
Capatros
appeared and rushed towards the two teens. Kou took advantage of Akomaru’s
distraction to run for cover.
“Kiryoku
Transform!” Rocky and Billy connected their braces as energy shimmered around
them and they morphed into their armor.

Tenma Ranger
armed his twin nunchuku. He bashed the weapons across a soldier’s head and
reached back. Two soldiers tried to sneak up behind the Blue Ranger. Tenma
Ranger reached back, slamming his weapons against the soldiers’ faces, knocking
the black grunts backward.
Kirin Ranger
tossed his roped blade forward. The blade speared into a grunt’s throat. The
Yellow Ranger pulled the soldier off his feet, sending the grunt collapsing
onto its back while snapping his body forward. Kirin Ranger drop elbowed the
soldier, bashing in its ribs on impact.
Kou scurried
away as Byakou peeked his head out from the boy’s jacket. “Kou…behind the
bush.” He ducked behind the bush. “Stick me in the ground. They know my voice
as the Kiba Ranger. I’ll distract them while you transform.”
Kou nodded and
stuck Byakou in the ground. As Kou came out from the bush, the two Gorma
sisters and Akomaru ambushed him, causing Kou to fall against his tailbone.
Akomaru smiled mockingly. “What are you going to do now? You have no choice,”
Akomaru said as he walked towards Kou.
Kou shuffled
backward on the ground.
“Kou!” Tenma
Ranger shouted as he and Kirin Ranger continued to battle Capatros.
“Gorma!” Byakou
shouted from within the woods. “I’m over here!”
Akomaru knitted
his brow with confusion. “This way!” he shouted as he and the two sisters ran
towards the voice.
Kou ducked for
cover and readied his wrist brace and golden key. “Kiryoku transform, Kiba
Power!” Energy flashed around Kou and surged through every cell in his body,
causing him to mature as he morphed into his Ranger form.
Kiba Ranger
sprang through the air and launched into a somersault before landing near
Byakou. The White Ranger pulled his saber from the ground and snapped into a
fighting stance as he faced off with Akomaru and the two Gorma monsters.
“Kiba Ranger,”
Akomaru cursed.
“You’ll never
learn, will you boy,” Byakou said.
Kiba Ranger
leapt through the air with his saber held high and angled his descent towards
Akomaru.
Necklace Kanjo unsheathed her sword and stood in front
of her young master. The White Ranger’s sword clashed against her own. The
opponents pressed their weapons against each other as they turned, each trying
to gain the advantage.
Kiba Ranger
twisted his wrist and slapped the Gorma’s sword away. The White Ranger brought
his blade back down diagonally, thrashing across the monster’s body with a
burst of spark.
Kiba Ranger
pressed forward and speared his saber towards the Gorma’s head. Earring Kanjo
grabbed the blade between her hands, twisted the weapon aside, and slammed a
backfist strike against the Ranger’s helmet.
Kiba Ranger
stumbled backward and fell to the ground. It must have been the fall that
reminded him. “Ah!” he practically shouted, kicking himself for forgetting. “My
date…”
Kiba Ranger
turned and ran from the scene.
A sly grin
crossed Akomaru’s face. He and the Gorma sisters stepped backward and
teleported away, blurring out of vision. The Capatros vanished in the midst of
fighting against the two Rangers.
“Short, but
fun,” Tenma Ranger said.
The other three
teens ran to the scene. “Are you guys okay?” Tommy asked.
“Yes,” Kirin
Ranger said.
“What
happened?” Tommy asked.
“Well, Kou… “
Tenma Ranger looked around, noticing that the boy was gone. “Uh..where’d he
go?” Tenma Ranger said.
________________________________________________________________________
The girl, Miko,
sat at a bench at a carnival in the city. Carousels and rides lined the
concrete path her bench was on. She looked down at her watch to check the time.
“Hey!” Kou
yelled as he waved and ran towards her. “Sorry I’m late.”
“You’re not
late,” she said. “You’re right on time.”
Kou smiled
sheepishly and breathed a sigh of relief. “Well how about that.”
Miko reached
out and placed her hand over Kou’s hand. Kou smiled, his face turned slightly
red. Miko rose from the bench and moved towards the nearest carousel while
leading Kou by the hand.
They rode on
the carousel. Kou and Miko shared one of the horses while they joked about
their teacher. They bought ice-cream cones, and shared a few laughs when Kou
got ice cream on his nose, before heading on the nearest roller coaster.
The
tilt-a-whirl, a merry go round and a haunted house. They tried it all and lost
track of time. Kou and Miko sat on one of the carnival benches as the sun
started to set. They both licked another set of ice-cream cones.
Kou looked to
the setting sun in the distance. I better go soon…Kimberly’s probably worried.”
“Who?”
“Kimberly,” Kou
said. “She lets me live with her.”
Miko tilted her
head. “What about your mom?”
Kou immediately
felt a lump in his throat at the thought…
A young Kou,
no older than five, sat on the floor of a strange shrine at night. He was
crying as his mother held tight onto his arm. “Let go, momma!” he shouted,
unable to understand what was happening.
Kou’s
mother’s face was damp with tears, pained by her own grief. Pained by what she
had to put her son through. She finished heating an iron stamp with the symbol
of the tiger. “I’m sorry, Kou…I must do this…”
Kou was
still crying, trying desperately to take his arm away.
She burned
the tiger clamp onto his arm as he screamed. “Kou!” she shouted, dropping the
clamp aside and reaching forward, embrace her son as they both cried.
“Kou?” Miko
said, snapping Kou out of the flashback.
“Oh…sorry…” Kou
said, shaking his head. “My mom left when I was younger.”
Miko lowered
her gaze. “Sometimes I wish my mom would leave…” she whispered.
Kou knitted his
brow. It was typical for kids to disagree with their parents, or so he’d heard,
but something in the girl’s voice betrayed more than mother-daughter
squabbles.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou walked Miko
home through a subdivision of lean apartment buildings crammed next to each
other. The subdivision was just inside of China Town. They walked hand-in-hand.
“So did you
have fun?” Kou asked.
She smiled at
him. “Yeah…”
Miko’s mother
walked from the apartment building. The woman looked like she was in a hurry as
she dug through her purse for a cell phone. Miko moved over to her and placed a
hand on her arm. “Mom! I want you to meet Kou.”
The woman
slapped Miko’s hand away and kept moving. “There’s no time. Go tuck yourself
in. It’s getting late.”
Kou narrowed
his eyes at the woman as she walked away.
________________________________________________________________________
“You went on a
date?” Tommy asked Kou in disbelief. The teens were outside Kimberly’s
apartment, after searching the city for Kou all evening.
“You should
have said something,” Adam said.
“Sorry,” Kou
said quietly before turning and walking away.
“Kou…what’s
wrong?” Kimberly asked.
Kou ignored
them and kept walking. He moved to a small set of playground equipment behind
the apartments and climbed up. He sat on top of the playground and stared ahead
aimlessly.
Rocky followed
Kou and climbed up the slide before sitting back-to-back with Kou.
“Nice night.”
Rocky said.
“Hmph.”
“They were only
upset because they were worried about you,” Rocky said. “We care about you.”
“I don’t see
why,” Kou said. “My own mother didn’t even.”
Rocky shook his
head. “Maybe she had a good reason for leaving.”
“Doubt it,” Kou
said.
“It’ll all work
out,” Rocky said. “Wherever your mom is…she loves you. All moms love their
kids.”
Kou shook his
head.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou decided to
stop at Miko’s house the next day before school. Seeing the way her mother
treated her unnerved Kou. The boy skateboarded in front of her apartment and
pulled to a stop. He could Miko and the woman inside.
Miko was
arguing with her mother. The woman was clearly losing patience. The woman
grabbed Miko by the arm and pinched her skin hard. Kou heard Miko scream from
outside.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou avoided
Miko until after school. Afterwards, they walked to a pond in a park nearby so
they could talk. Kou admitted what he saw. Miko tried to explain the
uncomfortable subject as she stared out at the pond waters.
“She’s always
been like that…it’s my fault though,” Miko said.
Rocky watched
from a distance. He had gone to Kou’s school to pick him up, and followed the
boy when he snuck from the back of the school building with Miko.
“No it’s not,”
Kou said. “You need to tell someone.”
“Like who?” the
girl asked.
A pale tentacle
suddenly lashed out from the woods and wrapped around Miko’s ankles. The
tendril snapped her off her feet and started dragging her away as she screamed.
“Miko!” Kou
yelled as he ran after her.
In her monster
form, Necklace Kanjo grabbed hold of Miko as Kou ran forward. The boy’s muscles
tightened. “Let her go, Gorma!”
The sister
laughed. “Now why would I want to do that?”
“Rocky,” Kou
said, his eyes lit up as he grabbed hold of Rocky‘s arm.
The Gorma
laughed again. “I’d like to see you try and start something.”
“You got it,”
Rocky yelled as he ran towards the Gorma. The Gorma extended her hand and fired
a golden energy ring that wrapped around Rocky, binding his arms down against
his body.
The Gorma
grabbed Miko and ran further into the wooded park. Kou ran after them, calling
Miko’s name.
“Kou don’t!”
Rocky shouted. He started to run afterward, despite his bound upper body.
Ring Kanjo
leapt down from above and landed in front of Rocky. She grabbed him by the
throat and hurled him backward. The teen went tumbling across the ground.
The other
Rangers leapt to the scene. “Fire Stream!” Dragon Ranger shouted as he jumped
through the air and blasted the monster. Dragon Ranger landed as he and the
others gathered around Rocky.
“Star Cutter!”
Lion Ranger used his short saber to cut Rocky loose.
“Rocky,” Dragon
Ranger said. “It’s morphin time.”
Rocky nodded
and armed his morphers. “Kiryoku transform…Aura power!”
The Rangers
snapped into fighting stances together as they faced off with Ring Kanjo.
“Power of the stars, brought down…Five Star Task Force, Power Rangers!”
The Gorma
snapped a staff into a fighting position. “My sister’s death will be avenged,”
the monster said.
“We’ll see,”
Dragon Ranger said. The Rangers energized and leapt forward to attack.
“Thunder
Swords!” Dragon Ranger and Phoenix Ranger angled their descent towards the
Gorma and swung their blade towards the villain’s head while landing.
The Gorma held
her staff horizontally to block their blows and knocked their weapons aside.
The villain lunged towards Kirin Ranger next and grabbed the Yellow Ranger by
the throat. Ring Kanjo hurled Kirin Ranger off his feet and sent him slamming
against Lion Ranger.
Tenma Ranger
surprised the Gorma from the side with a screw kick that slammed against her
body. Ring Kanjo slammed to the ground and tumbled backward. The villain slowly
rose to her feet and held her staff in a mid-body level fighting stance.
“Thunder Staff!” Blue Ranger twirled the red staff
into a fighting position.
The opponents
stood face-to-face as they dashed sideways, each waiting for the other to make
the first move.
Tenma Ranger
sprang forward first, and the Gorma followed.
Their staffs clashed in midair as they flipped past each other and
landed on the ground.
The Gorma
dashed towards Tenma Ranger, spinning forward and bashing the end of her staff
across the Ranger’s helmet. Blue Ranger spun with the blow and snapped a
tornado kick that bashed across the villain, knocking her backward.
The Gorma moved
in low and swung the end of her staff upward, bashing Tenma Ranger against the
gut and knocking him backward, sending him flying backward through the air. The
Blue Ranger twisted through the air and slammed his feet against a tree, got a
solid footing, and pushed off.
Tenma Ranger
sprang forward and used his staff to pole vault forward and slam a kick against
the Gorma. The villain went stumbling backward as Tenma ranger landed and
pushed forward.
“Thunder
Blaster!” he shouted, firing lances of blue energy that exploded against the
villain before she could strike back.
“It’s been
real,” Tenma Ranger said as he continued forward. “Tenma Flash Kick!” The Blue
Ranger launched forward, spinning a flurry of energized flash kicks that
slammed across the villain with streaks of blue.
The kick bashed
the Gorma backward, sending her tumbling across the ground as slid backward,
tearing up grass and dirt
The Rangers
regrouped around Tenma ranger. “Good job, Rocky,” Dragon Ranger said.
The injured
Gorma rose to her feet. “Bastards…” she hissed while taking a step backward and
vanishing away, blurring out of sight.
Tenma Ranger
looked around. “Kou…”
“What?” Phoenix
Ranger asked.
“He followed
that other sister freak,” Tenma Ranger said as he ran off.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou stopped
running and collapsed to his knees at the base of a grassy hill. He was out of
breath, and the Gorma that took Miko was nowhere in sight.
Akomaru stood
on top of the hill and looked down towards Kou’s back. A glimmer of evil
delight sparkled in his dark eyes. “Let the anger well up inside you…Then not
even the tiger brand will be able to keep the evil in you locked up.”
Kou rolled his
hands into fists. His jaws clenched, his eyes narrowed, Kou climbed to his
feet.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou and the
other rangers regrouped at the park where Miko was kidnapped. “We should go
find her mother,” Tommy said. “Make up some kind of cover story.”
Kou shook his
head. “It won’t work. She doesn’t care. I tried telling her and she pushed me
away.”
“That’s
parenting,” Rocky said sarcastically.
“It’s not
funny!” Kou shouted.
“I…I know,”
Rocky said.
Kou snarled in
frustration and ran off. “This is all my fault!”
“Kou!” Kimberly
called after him, but she let him go.
Kaku stepped
out of the shadows as Kou ran by. The sensei knew the young boy’s identity.
Perhaps the time had come to confront him.
________________________________________________________________________
A dusty red hue
covered part of the mountain range outside the city. Metallic Gorma spheres
hovered in the air, surrounding an upside down pyramid-shaped temple of stone.
The symbol of a Gorma third eye was etched on each side of the temple.
Two columns of
marble lined the blood-red carpet path within the main temple chambers. The
carpet led to a platform with a large dull-golden symbol.
The Shogun and
Akomaru stood side-by-side as they faced the Gorma Triumvirate, standing on
opposite sides of the symbol. Shadam’s arms were crossed over his chest. “This
is a waste of time.”
“Oh, Shadam,”
the Shogun said. “Your impatience will get you killed someday.”
Shadam glared
at the Shogun, the muscles in his body tightening as he clenched his jaw,
barely keeping himself from reaching out and choking the Shogun to death.
“We will go
before the Emperor,” the Shogun said. “And I will request that Akomaru become
field commander of his forces…instead of you…”
The Shogun
turned towards the front of the symbol. “Emperor,” The Shogun said as he got
down on his knees. “We await you!”
A smaller metal
sphere arced down towards the carpet and stopped in front of the symbol. The
sphere flashed with dark light, materializing into a man dressed in solid
black. He stood in front of the symbol. He wore a dark-brown wooden mask that
covered the top half of his face.
The man
extended a tray that held two wooden masks. Shadam and the Shogun placed the
masks on. Shadam kneeled as well. The floor beneath them slightly trembled. Two
flat-topped columns rose, extending Shadam and the Shogun several stories
upward.
Both platforms
came to a stop. A hovering platform was suspending in front of them, slightly
higher. The emperor sat on the pillar. White robes flowed across his body. His
face was painted white, and he wore a white headpiece that exposed the third
eye at the center of his head. He held a small windmill that spun slowly in his
right hand.
Shadam and the
Shogun rose to their feet. “Emperor,” Shadam said. “I…”
The emperor
threw his windmill. It attached to the Shogun’s chest. “You…speak…” the emperor
said. His voice was high-pitched and echoed with insanity.
Shogun inclined
his head. “I am honored.”
The emperor
laughed with amusement. He waved his hand flippantly, signaling the Shogun to
speak.
“Akomaru should
command your forces,” the Shogun said. “It was he who knew the secret of the
Kiba Ranger…”
“Who has now
joined with the Rangers…” Shadam was quick to point out.
“Silence,
Shadam,” the emperor said.
The Shogun took
a step forward on the small pedestal. “If we could have had an army at our
command, Byakoushieken could have belonged to us.”
The emperor
looked to Shadam, indicating it was now his turn to speak. “Shadam.”
Shadam pulled
out a crystal sphere. “What’s done is done. Kiba Ranger is one of them now…but
I can ensure we don’t make the same mistake with another opportunity.” The ball
projected pictures of the Thunderzords. “Ryuseiou, Sei Tenma, Sei Shishi, Sei
Houhou, Sei Kirin…they are a constant pain in our sides...but there is
another…Won Tiger. If we find it first, we can either use it against the
Rangers, or simply destroy it to keep it out of their hands.”
The emperor
rose and the pillar floated closer to the Shogun and Shadam. The emperor
removed the windmill from the Shogun and pinned it on Shadam. The emperor
smiled, a glimmer of insanity in his eye.
The emperor
laughed with madness as he leaned backward. “Now go…”
________________________________________________________________________
Kou stood on a
wooded pier that looked out from the other side of the pond. He leaned against
the wooden railing, placing his chin on his arms. Kaku stepped up besides the
boy. “What troubles you, Kiba Ranger?”
“Huh?” Kou
asked as he took a step back in shock. “How did you…?”
“Don’t worry,”
Kaku said. “I won’t tell the others.”
“Ahhh…” Byakou
peeked his head out from Kou‘s jacket and looked up at the sensei.. “Kaku…”
“Byakoushieken,”
Kaku said. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too, old
man, but I wish it could have been under better circumstances,” the saber said.
“I have a bad feeling…”
“…me too…”
“…Won Tiger…”
Kaku nodded.
“…we must get to it first…”
Kou shook his
head. “What?”
________________________________________________________________________
The triumvirate
toasted to their victory at a shrine in Chinatown. A small needle suddenly shot
through the air and cut Shadam across the face, drawing a thin line of red
blood. He looked up to see Akomaru approaching with the two Gorma sisters in
their human forms.
“Don’t count me
out yet, Shadam,” Akomaru said. “Kiba Ranger will be mine…the Gorma will be
mine…and you will be dead.”
Shadam’s body
tightened with rage. His fist clenched, shattering his glass.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou stood in
front of Miko’s empty apartment building. That poor girl, Kou thought to
himself. She had such a hard life, and now Kou had made things worse. He only
hoped she was still alive. She had to be. Or the Gorma would pay. “Miko…”
A mailman on a
bicycle rode past Kou. He handed the boy a letter before riding off. “This is
for you…”
Kou opened the
letter. “It’s from Akomaru…” he wrinkled his brow as he read. “Miko…”
________________________________________________________________________
Kou ran through
the city to the industrial park, north of the docks that sat along the shore of
Angel Grove. He hopped a chain link fence and moved towards the warehouse that
was half open.
He moved into
the warehouse and saw Kou tied to a post inside. “Miko!” he shouted as he ran
to her.
“Kou!” she
shouted back as Kou leaned down and untied her.
Kou grabbed her
hand and helped her to her feet as they dashed towards the warehouse exit and
moved towards the pier, where Kou hoped there would be people.
They made it to
the pier and found Miko’s mother standing near the railing, a stern look on her
face. “Mom!” Miko shouted as she ran towards her mother.
The mother
grabbed Miko’s wrist. “This is the last time,” she said. “Where have you been?”
“I…”
“No more
excuses…we’ll see how well you do on your own,” she pushed her own daughter to
the ground and started walking away.
“Mom!” Miko
pleaded, tears down her face.
Kou clenched
his jaw as he thought back to his own mother.
A young Kou,
no older than five, sat on the floor of a strange shrine at night. He was
crying as his mother held tight onto his arm. “Let go, momma!” he shouted,
unable to understand what was happening.
Kou’s
mother’s face was damp with tears, pained by her own grief. Pained by what she
had to put her son through. She finished heating an iron stamp with the symbol
of the tiger. “I’m sorry, Kou…I must do this…”
Kou was
still crying, trying desperately to take his arm away.
She burned
the tiger clamp onto his arm as he screamed. “Kou!” she shouted, dropping the
clamp aside and reaching forward, embrace her son as they both cried.
Kou placed his
hand on the railing and tightened his grip, his knuckles turning white as he
looked out to the ocean. “Mother…” he said in a voice thick with sorrow and
anger. The tiger brand on his arm flashed with lines of blue energy.
Then the light
enveloped him and expanded. “It wasn’t her fault…” he said. He looked out into
the sea. He saw his mother back away screaming out his name in pain. Then he
remembered his younger happy years spent with her. She would take him shopping,
out for ice cream, walk, laugh. She radiated with warmth.
“Mother…mother!”
he shouted as he started to cry, not understanding the overwhelming feelings
that were washing over him.
“Kou!” the
teens called as they walked onto the scene, dragging Miko‘s mother against her
will.
The mom stepped
on Rocky’s foot as he screamed. “Mother of…”
The mother
dashed away from the pier to gain space from the rangers as her body twisted
and she transformed into Necklace Kanjo. “So we meet again.”
“Alright
guys…it’s morphin time!” Tommy shouted as the rangers readied their morphers.
“Kiryoku transform…Aura Power!” Energy shimmered around them as they morphed
into their Ranger forms.
They shouted
together. “Power of the Stars brought down…Five Star Task Force…Power Rangers!”
The Rangers and
the monster rushed at each other while Kou grabbed Miko by the arm and led her
away running back towards the industrial park. “Let’s go.”
The two kids
ducked beneath a crate when they thought they were far enough away. Kou peeked
over the side of the crate to see if any Gorma were following. “That Gorma must
have been impersonating your mom,” Kou said.
Miko laughed as
she stood.
Kou knitted his
brow with confusion. “Miko?”
Her body
shimmered as her shroud dropped, revealing Akomaru.
Kou shot to his
feet ad his muscles tightened. “Akomaru…where’s Miko?”
“Idiot,”
Akomaru said. “It was me all along…by the way…you have such soft hands.”
Kou glared at
Akomaru and lunged forward, slamming a hook punch across the young Gorma’s
face. Akomaru crashed to the ground. Kou leaned over him and lifted the villain
by his shirt while slamming another punch across his face. Kou kept his fists
wailing, blood soaking his knuckles as he released his anger.
Ring Kanjo
stepped forward as if from nowhere and grabbed Kou by the wrist before the
ranger could hit Akomaru again. “I wouldn’t do that.”
The monster
dragged Kou off his feet and slammed the back of her fist across his head,
knocking him backward and sending him stumbling across he concrete ground.
“Run, master…”
Ring Kanjo said as she stood in front of Akomaru. The young Gorma fled as the
monster glared at Kou. “Kou…” she said. “You are a fool. We had you going all
along.”
Kou clenched
his jaw as he readied his wrist morpher and key. “Kiryoku transform, Kiba
Power!” He inserted the key into his morpher as energy flashed across his body.
His muscles matured and bones grew as he morphed into his Ranger form.
Kiba Ranger and
Ring Kanjo charged at each other. The White Ranger leapt over the Gorma while
kicking her in the back. Kiba Ranger turned and slashed his blade across the
villain’s back while landing back on the ground. Kiba Ranger followed with a
pair of diagonal strikes that exploded across the villain’s body.
The White
Ranger speared his saber against the Gorma, knocking her backward and sending
her stumbling across the ground.
Kiba Ranger
turned and sprang through the air, flipping back and landing in front of
Akomaru. Akomaru skid to a halt as Kiba Ranger aimed a weapon at the boy.
“Those short little legs of yours can’t take you away fast enough.”
Kiba Ranger
rushed towards Akomaru and swung his saber towards the boy’s head. Akomaru
ducked under the blow, causing the White Ranger to lunge too far forward.
Akomaru maneuvered around and grabbed the Ranger in a tight chokehold.
“Akomaru!” the
monster shouted as she ran towards them.
“Stop!” Shadam
shouted after teleporting to the scene. He extended his hand and launched
spheres of blue fiery energy that exploded against Kiba Ranger, Akomaru, and
the monster with a burst of sparks.
Ring Kanjo rose
to her feet and helped Akomaru up as they both took a step backward. “You’ll
pay, Shadam,” Akomaru cursed as he and the Kanjo sister teleported away,
blurring out of view.
Shadam launched
another wave of blue spheres that exploded around Kiba Ranger as he rolled
aside. The White Ranger rolled to her feet and sprang forward, leaping through
the air and landing on the roof of a warehouse. He snapped into a fighting
stance.
Shadam shot a
fireball that exploded against the warehouse, tearing it apart with a massive
explosion as Kiba Ranger leapt forward, letting the shockwave carry him
forward. The White Ranger flipped through the air and landed on the ground
below.
Byakou radiated
with golden energy as the White Ranger raised the saber. Byakou shouted,
speaking for the Ranger. “Heaving Roaring Star, Sound Bite!”
A sonic
shockwave ripped forward, tearing through ground and buildings and blasting
against Shadam, knocking the Gorma backward.
“Damn you Kiba
Ranger!” Shadam shouted as he teleported out.
________________________________________________________________________
Necklace Kanjo
crashed to the ground and rolled backward, rising to her feet as she held a
sword in a fighting stance. The Rangers moved forward and armed their
ring-shaped weapons.
“Star Blades,”
Dragon Ranger called. “Star Blade Assault!”
The blades shot
forward with streaks of energy that exploded through the monster, tearing her
body apart with an ripping barrage of sparks. The Gorma managed to pull an
enlarging bomb and slam the grenade against the ground. She absorbed the energy
from the explosion and used it to expand and grow giant.
The Rangers
unsheathed their Thunder Swords and readied their Thunder Gems. “Thunderzords
arise!”
The five
Thunderzords appeared, charging over the landscape after appearing from the
sky. Red Dragon and Phoenix flew through the air as the Kirin, Tenma, and Lion
charged forward from the ground.
The Rangers
used their Thunder Blasters like grappling guns and reeled themselves into
their zords’ cockpits.
Dragon Ranger
placed his hand over the crystal control sphere in front of him. “Red Dragon,
rise up!”
Tendrils of
crimson energy danced across the zord’s armor as the Red Dragon changed shape.
The massive zord reconfigured into its warrior mode and landed on the ground to
face off with the Gorma.
Dragon Ranger’s
Thunder Gem began to glow with deep red power. The Red Ranger called upon that
power as he called out. “Thunder Star Fusion!”
Lightning
struck each of the zords as they radiated with energy. The zords started to
change shape and reconfigure as they merged with Red Dragon. Tenma and Kirin
formed armor around the Dragon’s waist as the Phoenix wrapped around its chest.
The Lion formed a chest plate and wrapped around the zord’s upper arms as a
gold and black helmet slid into place.
The Ranger’s
joined in the central cockpit. “MegaThunderzord!” they shouted together. “Dairenou!”
“MegaThunderzord
Saber,” The Rangers shouted. “Lightning Slash!”
Dairenou’s
blade energized and chopped through Necklace Kanjo. The villain’s broken body
fell backward, her energy overloading and exploding as her remains were
consumed by flame.
________________________________________________________________________
Kou stood back
on the pier, leaning against the railing as he stared out across the ocean. The
rangers gathered around him, but said nothing. Rocky placed his arm over the
boy’s shoulder. Kou broke out into tears and reached around to hug Rocky.
________________________________________________________________________
In a far off
mountain range, red lightning crashed against the ground and split open the
earth.
To be continued…Chapter Twelve