'Huh… What’s happening,’ Serenity wondered, as her still developing danger sense suddenly went haywire. She quickly ducked; placing her trust in her gut instinct, just like her brother and Mai had taught her to do in this kind of combat situation. That soon proved to be a good decision, as she caught sight of two claws passing through where her torso would have been, had she not ducked when she did! ‘This is not good, they’re really out for blood,’ she muttered to herself. ‘Wait a second, where’s the third Lava Lizard…? Oh nuts, he must have outflanked me… That settles it; I need to get down to some more serious training, if I get through this!’
Just then, she felt a strange tingling sensation located just behind both shoulders and on the lower part of her back, around the tailbone. The odd sensation quickly grew stronger and stronger, until it was almost unbearable. All of a sudden, the pressure erupted from those points, causing her to nearly scream out in pain. The points on her back formed themselves into two large wings made from an ethereal pink aura, while looking like they belonged to a Red Eyes Black Dragon. These instinctively blocked the attack that had been coming from behind her. Meanwhile, the pressure on her back resolved itself into a tail from the same kind of dragon with it swinging around wildly, forcing her attacker back… Serenity twitched in shock, as she caught sight of her new features out of the corner of her eye, not expecting this kind of thing at all. Her twitching increased when she noticed that her new features were in perfect synch with the rest of her body.
'What the f…? Just how did I get wings and a tail, with them looking like something that a dragon would have,' she mentally screamed. 'I know Dr. Ono said to us that the whole re-sequencing process would only enhance what natural talents were within us already… So where exactly did these 'things' come from?' She then mentally smirked as a plan of action to even up the playing field and defeat the Lizards began to form in her mind: 'Well, at least they seem to be only energy constructs... I'd really be in trouble if they were real, how would I hide them from people? But I do seem to be able to control them easily enough, almost as if I've had them all my life! Why’s that? But, I’ve got to focus on here and now for the moment, ask those questions later! Hmm, I wonder if...’ She then concentrated, focusing on using her left wing to block a second attack from her two opponents in front and her tail to wrap around a leg of the Lava Lizard who was behind her. It was a strange feeling at first, having a few extra limbs than a normal person and of a totally different type then she was used to using, but she was shocked at how easily she got the hang of controlling them! The instant she felt her tail get a firm grip and a surprised grunt from the Lava Lizard, she yanked it forward, sending the Lizard flying into one of his two team-mates, knocking them both out... 'Alright, now that’s what I’m talking about,' she mentally whooped at her success!
Unfortunately, in her elation, she had let her guard down and the remaining Lava Lizard took advantage of this brief loss of focus; slashing her right arm deeply with its claw. She let out a gasp of pain and slumped to the ground as her draconic features retracted; leaving her looking the same as before they had appeared. Stunned by the pain of the wound, she was totally out of it, leaving her opponent able to take its time to line up a potentially lethal strike.
Then, just as the Lava lizard raised its claw to finish the job, an odd golden coloured orb the size of a football slammed into it: sending it flying back, while also helping Serenity get her head back into the game, which happened just in time to see the blast detonate, knocking the Lizard out cold! 'Ouch, man that smarts,’ she winced as she got up, cradling her injured arm in the other arm. ‘Mental note, don’t let yourself get distracted in combat when you pull off a successful move… And that rule goes ‘double’ when you've got more than one opponent to deal with!’ She then paused as she saw the results of the strange attack. ‘But I have to wonder, where did that blast come from, just who was the person who fired it and what exactly was it?’ Able to take a quick look around now, due to the fact that almost all the Lava Lizards had been pushed back for the moment, she soon caught sight of Dr. Tofu, Ms. Saotome and her son rushing out of the house. Her attention was drawn towards Nodoka’s son, his hands in particular, as there appeared to be traces of smoke coming off them. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise at this detail: 'Huh… did Ranma, if I’m remembering his name correctly, have something to do with that weird energy blast that saved my bacon just there? Maybe what Tatsuki was saying earlier is true… Those rumours she heard about him being able to throw some kind of energy blast, they don’t seem quite so far-fetched right now!’
“Alright Rangers, form up on me now! Quickly, there’s not much time to waste,” Nodoka shouted so that everyone could hear her, while she held tightly onto the crown. When all the members of the group had regrouped at her side after finishing up with their opponents, she continued to talk at a normal volume: “We need to lure them away from the city and into the countryside! If the battle we’re having here spills over onto the streets of Tokyo at this time of the day, a lot of innocent people could get hurt... You three,” she now pointed to Tatsuki, Naruto and Bakura, “will need to drive by yourselves. You’ll find some quad bikes in the garage… Serenity, you’re coming with me and Dr. Ono!”
Ranma then made to follow the three who heading to the garage, but he quickly froze as he felt someone grab him by the back of his shirt.
“Not so fast Ranma,” Dr. Tofu spoke in a firm tone, while he held Ranma by the shirt with one hand and a briefcase in the other. He then continued in a gentler tone: “While I do applaud your enthusiasm to help out, you know that you don't have a driving license at the moment, or even know how to drive and I don’t think we have the time to give you a crash course at the moment... So you’ll be coming with us as well!” Mentally though, he was: 'Although, that weakness will be something we may need to rectify in the future, if the gut feeling I'm getting is right! And my gut feelings have never let me down so far, well except when it's come to Kasumi...'
Ranma looked like he was going to protest this statement, but he then sighed and let himself be dragged along to the Humvee. He and Serenity got into the back of the Humvee, while his mother and Dr. Tofu got into the front, with Dr. Tofu getting in behind the wheel. He quickly started the engine, put it into gear and then gunned it down the driveway, scattering the Lava Lizards that tried to stop the Humvee. They were quickly followed by the others on their ATVs. The Lizards soon recovered and started off in hot pursuit, tracking them by the faint traces of the crown’s aura.
#Twenty minutes later…#
“You guys were awesome, Miss… Wheeler wasn’t it? You and the others were really giving it to those guys out there, so good job,” Ranma spoke in honest praise as they were travelling along in the Humvee, right in the middle of the defensive formation that had been decided on as they went off-road, following Bakura who was taking the lead on his ATV, with Tatsuki acting as a mobile reserve alongside the Humvee and Naruto bringing up the rear. He still felt a little annoyed that he hadn’t got the chance to do more to help, but he took some small comfort in the fact that everyone had got out okay and that he’d helped out where it really mattered. At the same time his mind was analysing how his fellow passenger, along with the other people his mother had recruited, performed under live fire conditions and how they compared to the other fighters he knew. The results pleasantly surprised him: 'Not bad, not bad at all! Sure, some of them are a little rough around the edges, but they all definitely have the potential and with a bit of training, they could become masters if they wanted to. More importantly, they have the right attitude to fighting, desiring to only use their skills to defend themselves and others... Not like the Kunos and Akane, who begin a fight to resolve an argument they’re losing or prove their superiority over others!'
Serenity blushed a little from Ranma's compliment, since she didn't believe herself worthy of that kind of praise, especially given what had happened to her… She then started to reply: “Well, I’m not exactly sure who was giving it to whom, but thank you Ranma, both for the compliment and saving my life!” When Ranma started to blush and wave what he did off as no big deal, she interrupted him: “There's no need to be so modest... It was obvious to me that you had something to do with it and Kami knows, I needed the help right then! And please, just call me Serenity; calling me Miss Wheeler just makes me look for my mom...” She suddenly winced, as her arm chose that moment to throb painfully from the slash that had brought her down in the fight. And taking a closer look at it, now that she didn't have to worry about being attacked, she noticed she was bleeding from a very nasty gash. 'Oh great,' she grumbled to herself, 'that wound is definitely going to leave a messy scar... Joey and Mai will freak out, wondering what I was doing to get that kind of injury! Looks like I'll be wearing long sleeves for the foreseeable future, until that scar fades.'
“There's no need to go that far, I didn't do that much... Besides, you were doing just fine by yourself, without my help!” Ranma was speaking in a surprisingly bashful tone, having never been really thanked for his help in any matter before, even by Kasumi. Just then, he finally spotted what she was staring at... Changing his tone, he spoke in a concerned manner that reminded Serenity of how her brother would speak to only her when they were younger, before they had been separated: “You okay there Serenity? Why didn’t you say that you were hurt! Here, let me help you with that…” Not giving her a chance to protest, he gently took her arm in both his hands, with the gash in between both hands and closed his eyes. Serenity was about to ask him what he was doing, but she then felt a strange tingling sensation dancing up and down that arm and saw a brief glow pass between Ranma's hands, along the length of the wound. To her amazement, the wound started to close itself up rapidly, with the blood quickly forming a scab, and then flaking off to reveal unmarred skin. “There we go, it’s good as new! Now how does that feel,” Ranma asked, looking a little surprised himself at the sheer speed of the regeneration.
“What in the world… How did you do that Ranma?” Serenity gasped in shock, not quite believing her eyes. Her arm was no longer cut up or even bloodied; in fact the only indication that she had ever been hurt at all was the torn sleeve of her jacket with a few minor blood stains on it. She continued to stare at where the wound had been just moments before; even going so far to touch her bare skin there, trying to tell if it was just an illusion, while she spoke softly in awe: “There isn’t even a scar left and I thought that wound would have left one for sure!” Her mind was now reeling from everything she was seeing, since Ranma was doing things that she had thought were impossible: 'This guy's truly amazing... Such a strange power, that he can apparently use for either destruction or healing, depending on the situation he's in! Most people I know would only see the destructive potential of his power and would either desire or fear it...' She then noticed that Ranma was looking a little paler then before, possibly from what he had just done. “Are you feeling okay Ranma,” she asked, looking quite concerned for someone who’d helped her out twice already. 'I sure hope he’s alright; I’d really feel bad if I caused him any trouble. He’s one of the few decent guys I’ve actually met in a long time, one who doesn’t let his hormones control his every waking moment or treats me differently because of my intelligence...’
“Nah, I'm fine Serenity! Doing that technique just took a little bit more out of me than I expected, that's all… See, I'm just fine now,” Ranma quickly replied, as he regained his colour. Mentally, however, he was sweating: 'Phew, I definitely need to be more careful! I only did two Môko Takabisha and a minor Ki transfer to boost Serenity's healing factor up a little so that her arm would heal faster without leaving any scarring. But I sure wasn't expecting the results to be that quick! And the drain on my Ki reserves from doing those techniques, it felt like I'd just run a marathon at top speed from start to finish, back when I arrived in Nerima... Thankfully, it was only a temporary situation and I'm back to normal now! No need to worry mom about such a minor thing like that... But it was sweet of Serenity to worry about me! I’ve rarely had people worry unconditionally about me like that before, apart from Mom and Dr. Tofu. Especially not a person I’ve just met an hour before…'
Unfortunately for Ranma, his mother had seen the whole exchange between the two and she was now quite worried about what this 'minor thing' could potentially mean for her son! 'That's my son alright,' she mentally sighed from the front passenger seat in the jeep, while Dr. Tofu was driving along the trail: 'He's far too concerned about the well-being of others at times, so much so that he ends up ignoring his own health and state of mind trying to ensure all the people he cares about are safe and happy, even if it means his own desires end up getting pushed to the side... And while most of his efforts to help have been appreciated by strangers and people he doesn't know that well, Ranma has never gotten any long-term thanks from some people in Nerima! He's had to pull them out of quite a few dangerous situations, ones that they may have gotten themselves into... But they never say thanks, since they're too full of pride to admit they even made a mistake! That'll be something for me to resolve, another day... Much more serious than that problem is the fact that he's now using more far more Ki than is normal for him! He used to be able to do much more than that, while only using a quarter of the Ki... But that was before his fight with Saffron and then the failed wedding incident! Just how far along is his condition,' she sadly wondered, intending to ask Doctor Tofu about his findings when she got a chance... She then smiled softly: 'At least he's made a new friend, one who honestly wants to just be friends with him without any catches, for now at least... I just hope she takes his curse well, since I don't think he'll be able to hide it for very long!'
Just then, the jeep screeched to a halt, as Dr. Tofu slammed on the brakes as Bakura had pulled up all of a sudden. The reason they had all stopped soon became clear: a large group of white golem-like creatures armed with sickles were blocking their path and from the looks of things, they weren’t here to make friends.
“Umm, correct me if I'm wrong,” Naruto asked aloud while wearing a concerned expression, “but aren’t the Lizards behind us, so who are these guys?”
“Wait, these guys are Chillers…” Bakura suddenly replied while both he and his Yami mentally swore a particularly venomous Egyptian curse, one which could be traced back to the time of the Pharaohs. “It looks like Fluriuos has decided to join the party now!”
“Well, looks like we’re going to the big time,” Nodoka muttered softly to Dr Tofu, who nodded in response, both of them not happy that things were advancing so fast. Nodoka was particularly worried: 'This is bad, very bad indeed! This situation is really starting to get out of hand. First Moltor attacks, now Fluriuos shows up while we're still reeling from the first assault... Talk about a trial by fire and ice for my team!' Aloud she continued to talk, while she quickly took out the briefcase and opened it, revealing five strange devices: “On that subject, I think it's now time to give you your Overdrive Trackers... These are what will actually allow you to transform into Power Rangers. Their activation phrase is 'Overdrive Accelerate'! You know what to do…” As she was saying this, she was handing out four of the morphers to Serenity, Tatsuki, Bakura and Naruto. When the last of them got their morphers, Naruto shouted: “Alright guys, let’s do this thing,” as they all darted off to take up a defensive position to defend the crown.
“Mom, I want to help,” Ranma started to speak, but was interrupted by his mother holding up a hand…
“Ranma, I’m sorry but it’s just too dangerous for you. After all, you’re not at 100% health yet despite how well you might claim to be,” Nodoka spoke in a slightly exasperated tone. ‘You’re just not in any real condition to fight for long periods of time, if what happened a few minutes ago is any indication of your condition,’ she mentally added.
“I don’t know about you guys, but we can't wait around for Mrs. Saotome! So let's Ranger up,” Bakura shouted out as he and the others quickly interposed themselves between the Chillers and the jeep. “So, you guys ready,” he asked when everyone was in position. At their nod, he then led the call: “Overdrive Accelerate!” They quickly flicked their morphers to the armed position and ran the. There was a brief flash and they appeared in their ranger outfits. After taking a few moments to admire their new appearance, they closed with the Chillers to fight them off.
“I’m sorry about this Ranma, but my team needs me… My final answer’s no!” Nodoka spoke in a firm tone that permitted no argument. Ranma looked hurt, but he reluctantly nodded in agreement. She then grabbed the last morpher from the briefcase and leapt out of the jeep, landing with a level of ease and grace that Ranma hadn't thought she was capable of. Just as she was about to activate the morpher however, two of the Lava Lizards; who had finally caught up with the little convoy, came up from behind them and grabbed her. In her attempts to break free, she accidently dropped the morpher she was holding, much to her horror: ‘NO! Of all the times I had to be butter-fingered, it would have to be now…’
Everything seemed to go into slow motion for Ranma at that point. Leaping out of the jeep, he grabbed for the morpher that his mother had dropped as she was trying to break free from her captors, who were dragging her off. Picking it up, he used his Ki to spin it briefly in his half-closed hand before grabbing it properly to arm the system. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind and focused it on what he was planning to do: 'Forgive me Mom, but I've got to do this! You mean far too much to me and I've vowed to look after all those I care about, no matter what the cost would be to me...'
Nodoka saw her son grab her intended morpher and quickly increased her desperate struggles to break loose from the two Lava Lizards that had grabbed her; despite the fact she subconsciously knew it just wouldn't be enough and that she was already too late to stop him from going through with his plan: 'No! It should be me risking my neck... Not him,’ she mentally cried. ‘Hasn't he done enough to save the people he cares about already and make up for all the negative karma on our family name?'
“Overdrive......... Accelerate.........!” Ranma shouted out as he ran the Overdrive Tracker down along his arm, causing it to activate. From his perspective, his current surroundings changed to a strange metallic room. The morpher in his hand projected an image of a red and white jumpsuit that covered him from head to toe, complete with red boots and gloves. These took actual form on his body, while replacing his standard outfit. The last thing to appear was the helmet, looking like a modified biker’s helmet. ‘Alright, time to take care of business,’ Ranma thought to himself as he charged forward to enter the battle, so he could rescue his mom!
“Look, its Ranma,” Serenity exclaimed as she knocked down her current opponent, catching his transformation out of the corner of her eye. It was all she had time to say, before she had to deal with her next foe. But the message was received by her team-mates: Ranma had entered the battle!
“Drive lance,” Ranma called out all of a sudden, summoning the weapon his Ranger form had into his hand… It looked like a spear with a retractable blade. He quickly twisted the weapon around in his hands, feeling it out for its balance… Nodding his head in approval, he then leapt into the combat, jumping and slashing at Lava Lizards and Chillers alike. Every strike he made took his opponent down. One brave Chiller made a head-long charge, jumping high into the air as he went, hoping to catch Ranma off guard! But Ranma, seeing him coming, simply counter-charged. As he did so, he slammed the base of his spear into the ground, using the change in momentum just like a pole vault competitor to match the Chiller’s height. He then delivered a powerful kick to the Chiller, sending it flying back into the cliff, where it shattered into small pieces of ice. “Guys, they’re not living creatures at all,” he shouted: “Just think of them as moving versions of the Terracotta Army…”
“You got it Ranma! Drive Slammer,” Bakura called back in response, summoning his own weapon: a large hammer with a long shaft. First, he threw it, with it taking out several of his opponents, before it started to return like a boomerang. “Its Slammer time,” he called out as he leapt into the air to catch it again, before slamming it to the ground, resulting in a huge shockwave that destroyed the remaining Chillers and Lava Lizards. All the while his Yami was humming away to the song: ‘Can’t touch this’!
“Drive Vortex,” Naruto now cried out, as he summoned his weapon: a fan shaped like a jet turbine. The Chillers facing him looked like they were about to laugh aloud at his silly weapon. However, their mirth quickly died away, as Naruto used it to launch himself high into the air. While airborne, he fired again, this time producing a truly massive whirlwind, the sheer force of the wind ripping them to shreds…
“Drive Claws,” Tatsuki yelled, as she leapt into the fray. Each of her hands held a pair of large, digger-shaped claws. “Can you ice cubes dig this,” she quipped as she used these claws to throw a large quantity of rock towards a small group of Chillers, destroying them all. Using this brief interlude to size up the situation, she took a quick look over towards where each of the others were still fighting away and let out a low whistle, quite impressed at the amount of skill they were all displaying: ‘Wow! Ranma’s quite good at this, incredibly so… If anything, all the rumours I’ve heard actually understate his skills! And Bakura’s not too shabby in a straight-up fight either… Especially given the fact that he admitted that he’s more of a misdirection type, only striking from the shadows after he’s worn his opponents down first! Naruto is doing fine too, but that’s no surprise, given just what he did back at the mansion… What’s his story? As for Serenity, she’s doing amazingly well for a rookie! I would never have been able to do some of the things she’s doing, back when I first started out… But I guess part of the re-sequencing package included some combat training, not to mention she’s more agile then I am…' Seeing a few more Lava Lizards approaching her, she sighed: ‘Oh well, time to take the rest of these guys out now!’
“Drive Geyser,” Serenity shouted, as she fired her weapon while back-flipping away from a group of Chillers. It wasn’t based on anything she could easily identify, but she did know that it was able to a very powerful jet of nitrogen-cooled water! And it was incredibly powerful, destroying the Chillers that it hit. Part of her had been uncomfortable with destroying living beings, but Ranma’s statement that they were just mindless drones had made it easier for her to fight them….
“Red line time…” Ranma suddenly called out as he now darted through a large group of Lava Lizards and Chillers alike, at very high speeds with his spear held horizontally, before coming to a screeching halt. At first, it seemed as if nothing had actually happened… All of a sudden however, almost all the Lava Lizards and Chillers, even those that the others were dealing with suddenly froze before exploding into tiny pieces! But Ranma didn’t stop to admire his handiwork, he’d seen that his mom was in trouble and he knew that she needed help, fast…
#At that same moment…#
Nodoka flew through the air, but managed to land on her feet, if only just. She didn’t get a chance to recover though, as Moltor quickly closed the gap again. Grabbing her by the neck he growled: “Where is the crown? Give it to me!” But Nodoka said nothing in response, spitting defiantly in his face. “You’ll pay for that insult! Prepare to meet your ancestors,” Moltor snarled, as he raised his sword to strike her down. Just then, two laser blasts slammed into Moltor, forcing him to let go of Nodoka. She quickly got back to her feet, blinking in shock as Ranma, in the Red Ranger outfit, quickly showed up on the scene, holding his Drive Defender in blaster mode and pointing it at Moltor.
“Back off!” Ranma warned; keeping his blaster trained on Moltor while he placed himself in the best position to protect his mother from Moltor. Moltor scowled darkly at this mere ‘child’ who’d dared to hurt him… Ranma was quickly joined by the other Rangers, who had easily taken care of the remaining foes left after the final attack he’d made. They just stood there, in a stand-off, both sides unwilling to back down from the conflict. Neither side even dared to blink, everyone knowing that it would take only a single moment of inattention to create an opening that the other side could then take advantage of…
The tension was broken by a group of Lava Lizards coming up to Moltor. One held the Corona Aurora in one of its claws, much to the shock and horror of the Rangers and Nodoka. Moltor grabbed it from his minion in triumph. “Finally, the Crown is mine,” he gloated, holding the crown above his head in one hand.
“I'm sorry Nodoka, but they were just too strong for me...” Dr. Tofu gasped, as he came over to where the others were standing, looking quite battered. It was obvious that he’d been roughed up by the Lava Lizards that had grabbed the crown from him.
Moltor chose this moment to speak up again: “The choice is yours, Rangers... Either you come after me and the crown, or…” All of a sudden, Moltor unexpectedly spun around and unleashed a powerful fireball at the top of the nearby mountain, blowing its top clean off and unleashing a massive amount of lava towards the town located near the bottom of the mountain. Moltor now continued his threat: “Save the town below… You wanted to be heroes, be heroes!” He then laughed; a cold mocking laugh, before turning away and teleporting back to wherever he had come from, along with his bodyguards. Nodoka and most of the others looked on in horror at the lava flow, which was rapidly nearing the town. The residents of the town were all fleeing for their lives, but it was quite obvious that most of them wouldn’t be able to make it to safety!
“Right then,” Ranma suddenly spoke in a firm tone, catching everyone's attention, “Here's what we're going to do...”
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(Posted Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:16)
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