Galaxy Rangers: Chapter Three
Bitter Cold
The sun was rising off the coast of California, casting beams of light off of the floating dragon-castle Daitanix.
Inside, Sanbashu stood in front of Budo and fired his twin guns at his fellow general. Budo used his sword to deflect the bullets. Budo extended his sword towards Sanbashu and fired a blade of cyan energy that slammed into the other general's armor, causing him to fall to the ground.
"You fight with no grace," Budo said to his fallen opponent.
Sanbashu rolled his hands up into fists as he rose to his feet. "I'll show you grace, you blue-faced freak!" he shouted as he charged towards Budo. Budo raised his blade and prepared to defend himself.
Iresia sat nearby watching, as she waved her hands over her crystal ball. She cast a spell as invisible energy lifted Sanbashu and Budo from the ground and tossed them around. "The trouble with you boys is you don't know how to fight without getting your hands dirty."
Batbos's foot slammed into the back of Iresia's neck as she fell to the ground. Her spell was interrupted as Sanbashu and Budo fell from the air.
"Iresia," Batbos said as he readied his axe and walked towards her. "There is no other way to fight."
"Silence you idiots!" Zaihabu said as he stepped onto the deck with Bukarates and Sherinda at his side.
"We don't have time to fight amongst ourselves," Sherinda said.
Zaihabu began pacing across the deck as his general's stood at loose attention. "Now that the Seijuu have arrived, it's even more important that we revive Daitanix. Sanbashu...don't fail me this time."
"Right," Sanbashu said as turned to the door leading to his chambers. "Rigurou!" he shouted as he shot at the door. The door swung open, and a fat, wolverine-type creature stepped out. "Rigurou here can absorb heat. Heat we can use to fire up our ship!"
"Hmmm..." Bukarates said thoughtfully. "I think heat will be about as useful as that fossil fuel you tried to collect with your last-"
"What?!" Sanbashu said as he grabbed Bukarates by the collar and lifted the stout villain off his feet. "Are you questioning me?!"
"Stop," Zaihabu said. "Just go collect the energy I need for my ship."
The five teens awoke as the sun started to rise. They had set up a small campfire by the lake that used to be the Ginga Forest and had spent the night there. Boku, the little acorn man, hovered over the fire and extinguished the flames with a bucket of sand.
On the other side of the lake, the five gigantic Seijuu roared.
The five teens stopped moving around and stared at the Seijuu.
"What are you trying to tell us?" Ryouma asked. Then, the small acorn necklace he wore around his neck flashed and opened. A small seed fell from it and dropped to the ground. Ryouma bent over and picked up the seed.
"It's the necklace the Elder gave me, Boku," Boku said.
"Do you know what it's for?" Hayate asked.
"No," Boku said mournfully.
"Ryouma!" young Ryuuta shouted as he ran down a hill towards his new friends. "Good news!"
Ryouma smiled at him. "What is it, Ryuuta?"
"I talked to my Dad! He said you can stay with us!" Ryuuta said.
"Your dad?" Saya said.
"Yeah," Ryuuta said as he looked behind him. Mr. Aoyama was hiding behind a tree several feet behind them. He looked at the Seijuu with fear out of the corner of his eyes and then waved nervously at the five heroes.
"My riding club is big enough," Mr. Aoyama said. "You can stay as long as you need and board your horses there."
"That would be great," Hikaru said.
"Thank you, so much," Saya said.
Haruhiko smiled and nodded. GingaLion roared his gratification, causing Mr. Aoyama to cower further behind the tree.
Gouki sighed as he turned to face the lake. He missed his home. Ryouma turned and noticed the look of sorrow in his friend's face. "Gouki..."
A few hours later, Gingaman's horses were tied up outside of the Silver Star horse ranch and riding club as the five teens gathered inside with Ryuuta and his father.
Mr. Aoyama provided the teens with fresh clothes so they'd be able to fit in with the citizens of Stone Canyon. They had all changed, except for Gouki. Gouki sat alone at a window as Mr. Aoyama and Ryuuta showed the others around the main living room.
"These fit almost perfectly," Ryouma said as he straightened his faded red t-shirt.
"We can't thank you enough," Hayate said as he buttoned the top button of his solid green dress shirt he wore untucked.
"We're even color coded," Hikaru said as he tugged on his black and yellow flannel shirt, which he wore unbuttoned over a yellow t-shirt.
Saya laughed as she playfully shrugged Hikaru. "Hikaru..." She wore a simple pink t-shirt and jeans.
"Gouki," Ryouma said as he looked to his friend. "Aren't you going to change?"
Gouki sighed. "Yeah," he said quietly as he got up and went to the back room.
Ryuuta was too excited about his new friends to notice Gouki's depression. "Let me show you around!"
He ran behind a table and pointed at a digital clock. "We have a lot of cool technology."
"Ryuuta," Ryouma said with a smile. "We may seclude ourselves in the forest, but we do know all about your city."
"Yeah," Hikaru said as picked up the cordless phone. "We know more than you think, little guy." The phone rang, and Hikaru yelped as he tossed it in the air. "What the..."
Mr. Aoyama leapt across the floor and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"
Boku laughed at Hikaru as he hovered around the teens.
"Ryouma," Hayate said as he walked over to him. "Let me see that seed. The one in the necklace.
Ryouma unlatched the necklace and handed Hayate the seed.
The teens and Ryuuta gathered outside as Hayate began to plant the seed. Gouki was still dressed in his tribal gear. "Let's see just what..."
Hayate leapt back as a gigantic tree started to spring from the ground and sprout branches that extended towards the sky.
"That is one big tree, Boku."
The teens circled around it and stared in amazement. "I've never seen anything like it," Saya said.
Gouki placed his hands on the tree and closed his eyes. "The Ginga Forest..."
On the edge of Stone Canyon, where the city meshed with the forest, citizens ran in panic as Rigurou chased after them. He was on the trail of two screaming women.
"You two are looking hot tonight!" he shouted as he extended his hands towards them. Heat bled from the two women in the form of red energy as it was absorbed into Rigurou. The monster made his way towards a more populated area and began absorbing heat from everyone and everything in sight. It wasn't long before snow started to fall and a thick frost covered the ground.
Rigurou pranced through the snow, taking time to be impressed with his handy work. Then, two pairs of hands grabbed his feet as Gingared and Gingagreen came from nowhere and flipped him onto the ground.
The five Gingaman regrouped as the monster rose to his feet. "Gingaman!"
"Seijuukin!" they shouted as they readied their swords. Yattatoo appeared, and the five warriors started to do battle.
Gingablue batted soldiers left and right with his blade, using his brute strength to drive his weapon through his opponents.
Gingapink handled her sword with the grace of the wildcat as she deflected several blows and struck down her enemies.
Gingayellow was as agile as the wolf as he maneuvered through a group of Yattatoo, striking them down one by one while dodging blows.
Gingagreen grabbed onto a bar with his legs and flipped upside down. He struck soldiers with his blade while hanging from the bar as a bird.
Gingared slashed the final soldier out of his way, and then stepped towards the monster while crouched as a lion.
"This is going to be harder than I thought," Rigurou said as he teleskipped backwards and out of sight.
Later that day, Gouki sat at the shore of the lake with his head down as Ryouma walked up behind him.
"Hey," Ryouma said as he sat down next to him. "You've been kind of quiet."
"Sorry," Gouki said. "Sorry I can't forget and shed my past as easy as you."
Ryouma sighed. "Gouki, you know us better than that. We miss our home as much as you do, but we have to stop the Balban. If we fail, what happens to Stone Canyon will make what happened to our home seem glamorous. We have to protect these people like Elder wanted. Then, once we stop the Balban, we can go home again."
They heard a ringing as a booming voice started to speak to them. "Ryouma, Gouki, I am speaking to you through your Ginga Braces."
"What?" Ryouma asked as he held the brace closer to his mouth.
"Prepare for teleportation," a high-pitched voice said.
"Tele-what?" Gouki asked as the two warriors disappeared in streaks of light.
The five Gingaman appeared in the Command Chamber as they huddled together.
"Where are we?" Saya asked.
"The Balban's tricks," Hayate said.
"Please do not be alarmed," Alpha said as he waddled over to them. "We mean you no harm."
Zordon materialized as the five warriors faced him in shock. "Greetings. I am Zordon of Eltar, friend of your Elder, Shaman Ohghi. It was I who helped him design your braces."
"You?" Ryouma asked.
"You're a floating head," Hikaru said.
"Very astute observation," Zordon said. Some of Rocky's sarcasm had rubbed off on him. "I have brought you here to assure you that your quest to defeat the Balban will not go unguided. The seed that Ohghi gave you holds the key to birthing a special being known as Moku. Moku will..."
Alarms blared in the Command Chamber. The Viewing Globe activated, and Rigurou was seen stomping through the snow-covered streets of Stone Canyon.
"Him again," Hayate said.
"To defeat this creature and restore the city, you must release the heat stored up inside of him," Zordon said. "Go now, Galaxy Rangers."
"Galaxy Rangers, huh?" Hikaru said.
"Let's go," Ryouma said.
Rigurou continued to absorb heat from the city. A car screeched and lost control along the icy road as it crashed into a building an exploded. The monster was quick to absorb the heat from the explosion.
"Stop!" Ryouma yelled as the teens arrived.
"Gingaman," the monster said as he fired twin heat beams at the teens.
They rolled out of the way from the blasts as they rose to their feet. "Ginga Tensei, ha!" They transformed into their armor as they assumed fighting stances.
"Galaxy Red, Ryouma!"
"Galaxy Green, Hayate!"
"Galaxy Blue, Gouki!"
"Galaxy Yellow, Hikaru!"
"Galaxy Pink, Saya!"
"The sword of legend cuts through the galaxy...Star Beast Task Force, Galaxy Rangers!"
The Yattatoo charged at the heroes as the Rangers attacked.
Galaxy Pink leapt on top of a soldier and clawed its face.
Galaxy Green knocked soldiers' blows away and struck them on their necks with claw blows. He then grabbed a soldier by the arm and flipped it to the ground, finishing it off with a double claw blow to the neck.
Galaxy Yellow dragged a Yattatoo across the ground while shouting "Ya-tatatatatatatata!" and slammed it into a tree.
Galaxy Red and Galaxy Blue rolled across the ground on opposite sides of the monster, and then they stood while holding their sabers ready.
They circled around the creature once before moving in, poised with their swords ready to strike. Rigurou ducked under their high blows and jumped over their low blows while kicking the two Rangers in the chests. He bounced off the Rangers and flew towards a tree. He bounced off of the tree and fired twin energy beams of flame that struck the armor of the two Rangers.
The two Rangers were thrown to the ground as the monster landed in front of them and laughed. He fired two more blasts that exploded around the two Rangers. When the smoke cleared, they were gone.
"What?" Rigurou said as he walked over to where the Rangers had stood. "Did I vaporize them?"
Galaxy Red suddenly sprang up from a snow pile in front of the monster, and Galaxy Blue rose from behind the creature. They moved in and jammed their swords through the creature's skin and body as steam and heat energy poured out. They removed their swords and fell back as the creature fell to the ground and bled energy that restored heat to the city.
Rigurou rose to his feet as Galaxy Red and Galaxy Blue energized their sabers.
"Mane of Flame!"
"Stream Slash!"
Their energized strikes cut through the monster, causing him to fall back as explosions ripped across his body. He used the last of his energy to drink the Balban essence, which caused him to grow giant.
The Rangers called for their Star Beats.
"GingaLion!"
"GingaCondor!"
"Gingarilla!"
"GingaWolf!"
"GingaWildcat!"
The monster fired eye beams of heat energy that exploded around the Seijuu. GingaWolf and GingaWildcat leapt towards Rigurou and clamped their jaws around his flesh, but he knocked them aside.
Gingarilla knelt down to assist the two fallen Star Beasts as the monster fired a barrage of energy blasts. GingaCondor landed in front of the blasts just in times to block them with a sound-based energy shield.
Gingarilla ran from behind the GingaCondor and charged at the monster. The blue-furred Seijuu barraged Rigurou with his fists, but the monster kicked the Star Beast in the side and blasted Gingarilla back with heat rays.
GingaLion roared from behind Rigurou, and the monster turned and blasted the lion with eye beams of fiery energy.
Gingarilla stepped back and nursed his wounds as Galaxy Blue yelled up at him. "Gingarilla!" The blue Seijuu looked down at his companion and growled. "Right...we'll do this together!" The Ranger leapt onto the shoulder of his Seijuu, and their powers combined.
Gingarilla tackled the monster as it fell to the ground. He then lifted Rigurou up by the legs and twirled him around, releasing him as he slammed to the ground.
"Alright, Gouki!" Galaxy Red shouted as he and the others leapt onto their respective Seijuu.
"Time to get charged up," Galaxy Yellow said as his powers combined with GingaWolf. GingaWolf charged at the monster and clawed him across the chest.
Galaxy Pink stood on her Seijuu as it launched a salvo of fur needles that exploded against Rigurou.
"Go, GingaCondor!" Galaxy Green shouted as the Seijuu produced a cyclone that lifted Rigurou into the air.
GingaLion tilted his head towards Rigurou as fire poured from his veins. "Ha!" Galaxy Red shouted as the lion opened his mouth, and a torrent of flame poured out that consumed Rigurou and destroyed him.
The five rangers surrounded the large tree in the Silver Star's back yard. Gouki had changed into a light-colored t-shirt and faded jeans.
"Stupid tree," Hikaru said. "I don't see what's so special about-wha!" as he slammed his fist to the tree, he was sucked inside.
The others each took a deep breath before following him in. They emerged in a room made of wood that had the symbols of their Seijuu engraved on the wall. A trunk extended down the back of the room, and its roots spread across the walls. A face emerged in the trunk and smiled at the teens.
"Greetings, Rangers. I am Moku," the tree said.
"What is it today with talking heads?" Hikaru asked.
"You're...you're from the forest," Gouki said.
"Yes," Moku said. "I am born of the magick of the Ginga Forest and connected through all trees through the roots of the Earth. They are my eyes and ears. I will also be able to transport you anywhere you need be through those roots."
Ryouma smiled. They just got the edge they'd need to stop the Balban. And they'd need all the help they could get.
To be continued...Chapter Four