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Balance, part II
Episode 05: "Balance" (Part II)
On the campus of Central University, and inside the student cafeteria, Traci holds her tray out in front of her, as a server places a large spoonful of chicken alfredo onto her plate. She looks up to acknowledge the server, and to her surprise, it�s Nick.
�Nick?� she asks.
�Hey...Traci� Nick answers awkwardly. He�s wearing a black hairnet and plastic gloves.
�I didn�t know you worked here.�
�Yeah...I...uh...it�s...I needed a job, so...�
�That�s really cool. Now I know who to go to get all the updates on the Banana Blueberry muffins.�
Nick laughs a little too out loudly, and the other cafeteria workers stare at him, confused. His face turns an embarrassed red.
�Traci?� a voice calls from behind.
Traci turns to find Eric standing there with his tray in hand. �Hey, Eric. What�s going on?�
Nick is left watching from behind the serving station.
�I�m good, just catching a bite to eat.� Eric responds. �Um...you want to join me? I got a table over by the window.�
Traci smiles, �Well, I appreciate it. But I�m kinda meeting Ian.�
Eric�s tone drops from enthusiasm to disappointment, �Oh. Okay. That�s cool.�
�Well, I�ll see you around.�
Traci begins walking away, but as she does, her communicator buzzes, as do the ones of Eric and Nick. They each look at one another. Eric stares at his tray, carrying a chicken breast fillet sandwich, hot golden french fries, a slice of red velvet cake, and a glass of ice cold Coca-Cola, and lets out a long sigh.
He and Traci put their trays down on an empty counter, and walk out of the cafeteria. Nick takes off his apron and hairnet, tosses them aside, and begins following them out. His manager notices him walking away.
�Nick!� he shouts, �Where are you going?�
Nick, rushed, responds, �I�ll be back in a minute, sir. A bit of an emergency!�
The three make their way to the vacant back lot of the dining hall. Eric raises his wrist to his lips, and speaks into his communicator. �Go ahead, Dudley.�
Dudley responds from the Hyper Garage, �We�ve got a situation.�
**********
Eric, Nick, and Traci arrive inside the Hyper Garage where Dudley, along with Chris and Brittany, huddle around the control panel.
�This better be good.� Eric remarks. The three join the others around the control panel.
�Well, it�s weird,� Dudley says, �I�m picking up multiple energy signals in the valley outside the city. But it�s been static. Just...�
�Waiting.� Chris interjects.
�You think they�re waiting for us?� Traci asks.
Dudley shrugs his shoulders, �I don�t know.�
�Well, they�re not attacking anything.� Brittany says, �I mean, who the heck attacks the middle of nowhere?�
Nick states, �I think it�s a trap.�
�And I say we spring it.� Chris asserts. He moves towards the center of the room, followed by Brittany, Traci, Nick, and reluctantly, Eric.
�I�m missing my lunch for this?� Eric groans.
Chris replies, �You can eat later. Let�s roll.�
Dudley notes, �Keep your eyes open, and be careful, team.�
Chris nods, �You got it.� He turns to the others, as the five stand in position, �Ready?�
The four exclaim back, �Ready!�
They all call, �Hyper Speed, Accelerate!�
Eric morphs, �Black Hyper Speed Ranger!�
Traci morphs, �Pink Hyper Speed Ranger!�
Nick morphs, �Blue Hyper Speed Ranger!�
Brittany morphs, �Yellow Hyper Speed Ranger!�
And Chris morphs, �Red Hyper Speed Ranger!�
The team is teleported, and in a flash of light, they arrive in the valley.
**********
In the forest just outside of downtown, Sororix, Xokan, and Bobis follow closely behind General Morlon as the four make their way towards the center of the woods. Morlon quickly stops, and looks up into the sky.
�Perfect.� he pronounces. He turns to Bobis and points his finger towards a spot close to his feet. �Here.�
Bobis is carrying a large, white, projector-like piece of machinery, and he places it on the ground.
Morlon grins, �Once Emperor Darrar arrives, our conquest of this dimension will be complete.�
**********
The Rangers stand strong in front of a grotesque creature and an army of clown-like foot soldiers.
The creature, with a long, centipede shaped right arm, a single orange eye, and large menancing teeth, barks, �Ha, ha, ha! You must be the Power Rangers.�
Chris asserts, �You better believe it! And I don�t know what you and your friends are up to, but consider this the end of the line!�
The creature laughs, �Ha! You have no idea, do you? I am Quorlock, and �my friends� call themselves the Jestars!�
Eric interjects to Chris, �Look, I�m all for the fun, cheesy, tough talk, but can we get on with this?!�
Chris nods, �Fine by me.� He turns to the others, �Let�s go!�
The five Rangers charge at Quorlock and the Jestars. The creature cries back, �Attack!� The Jestars charge at the Rangers.
Chris dashes across the plain swinging his sword, slashing his way through a quartet of Jestars. The Red Ranger turns to find nearly ten more of the freakish foot soldiers ready to pounce him on. He quickly grabs his blaster from its holster, and fires a charged blast at the group, blanketing them with debris and sending them flying.
On the other side of the valley, Quorlock slams his long, spiked arm into both Brittany and Eric, stunning the Yellow and Black Rangers. He quickly spins himself, gains momentum, and slashes the two Rangers across the chest with his arm, sending the two to the ground. But before he can land another blow, Traci and Nick swoop in and land two flying kicks, dropping the creature to the dirt.
The Pink and Blue Rangers join Brittany and Eric, along with Chris, and gather themselves to strike Quorlock.
�Alright!� Chris shouts, �Sphere Attack!�
The five Rangers stand together, and pull out their blasters from their holsters.
**********
General Morlon declares, �It�s time.�
Bobis flips a switch on the machine, and in the blink of an eye, lines of bright white light beam into the sky. The atmosphere immediately begins to darken. Red lightning flashes in the sky. The clouds begin to fuse together, and start to take the shape of a gateway.
**********
In the Hyper Garage, Dudley�s eyes widen as he reads the energy ratings. �What on Earth?�
**********
In the valley, Chris can hear Dudley in his helmet, �Chris?�
The Red Ranger responds, �We stopped the monster. It looks like everything is...�
�We�ve got a big problem! I�m detecting a huge energy signal in the woods just outside of downtown. It looks like a....�
But before he can finish, the sky begins to darken above the valley. The clouds turn a crimson red, and a bright, blinding vortex slams into the ground where the remnants of Quorlock lie. In a flash of bright light, the vortex disappears and gives way to Quorlock, reborn and as tall as a skyscraper.
The Rangers gasp, �No way!�
Dudley proclaims, �The energy signal is a portal! They�ve opened a portal!�
Brittany asserts, �This was a diversion!�
�Now what?!� Nick asks.
Chris is quick with an answer, �We take care of this first! We can�t let Quorlock get into the city!� He puts his wrist to his mouthpiece and calls, �Hyper Zords, online!�
As the Zords arrive, Chris and the others leap into the air and into their respective cockpits.
Eric reports, �Transport Hyper Zord, online!�
Traci reports, �Wagon Hyper Zord, online!�
Nick reports, �Rugger Hyper Zord, online!�
Brittany reports, �Rover Hyper Zord, online!�
And Chris reports, �GT Hyper Zord, online!�
The five Zords race towards Quorlock.
**********
General Morlon lifts his hands into the air in an embracing fashion, �Emperor Darrar!�
The clouds begin to spark with red light, and out from the light emerges a large warship, with its two engines protracting from the rear and propelling it out from the atmosphere and through the Earth�s sky.
Xokan remarks, �It�s the ship!�
Sororix quips to Morlon, �I guess we won�t be needing that throne after all.�
Morlon smirks and laughs wildly.
**********
In their Zords, Eric radios to Chris, �I say we use a missle attack formation to take him down.�
Chris radios back, �No. It won�t be enough.�
�What do you mean? We�ve got to at least try it!�
�No! We can�t waste time! There�s only one thing we can do! I say we go to the Megazord.�
The others all chime in, �What?!�
Eric responds to Chris, �We�ve only tried it once! We don�t...�
But Chris interrupts him, �We don�t have a choice! We�re going Megazord!�
Eric growls, �Who the hell died and made you the leader?!�
Chris pauses and responds, �I really don�t think you want me to answer that! We�re doing it!�
The Red Ranger flips a switch in his cockpit, and shouts, �Initiating Megazord sequence!�
The GT, Transport, and Wagon Hyper Zords rise into the air in a straight line, as the Rugger and Rover Hyper Zords follow below. The lower half of the Transport Hyper Zord transforms into the legs, as the Wagon Hyper Zord splits in two and connects to the legs, forming thighs. The remainder of the Transport Hyper Zord fuses with the top of the thighs to form the arms and body. The massive piece of machinery then descends downward and at the feet connects with the Rugger and Rover Hyper Zords which form skates. Finally, the GT Hyper Zord swoops in and splits in the middle, covering the body as an armor and revealing a head. The Zords make their final connections, and the Hyper Speed Megazord is formed.
In the cockpit of the Zord, Chris sits strongly in the middle, with Nick and Eric at his immediate sides, and Traci and Brittany behind them.
Chris declares, �Hyper Speed Megazord, online!�
Nick, controlling the legs, sends the Megazord skating towards Quorlock, and he quickly breaks leaving a swift trail of dust and dirt. Quorlock swings his long right arm at the Megazord, and misses. But he quickly spins around and strikes down on the Zord with his left arm, creating sparks and smoke from the Megazord�s chest. Quorlock then spins himself twice and slashes the Megazord across the chest with his long arm, rocking the Rangers inside the cockpit.
Chris responds to the attacks, �Okay. Let�s try the Piston Pistols!�
Eric asks, �And now?�
Chris looks at Nick, �Jet us straight into Quorlock!� He then turns to his own controls, �Hyper Sword!�
The Hyper Speed Megazord equips itself with a long, metal sword.
Chris exclaims, �Now, power up!�
A streak of energy rises through the sword. The Hyper Speed Megazord thrusts towards Quorlock and slashes right through him as it skates past him. Quorlock screams in pain, and plummets to the ground, exploding in a ball of fire, eliminated for good.
Nick, Brittany, Traci, and Eric cheer in the cockpit. Eric slaps Chris on the back, �I can�t believe we pulled it off!�
But Chris quickly drops everyone back to Earth, �Yes. But we�ve got a bigger problem...�
**********
The skies begin to clear, but the warship is now sitting high in the sky, above the clouds. Morlon turns to the others, �Let�s go greet our master!�
Morlon, Xokan, Sororix, and Bobis transform into light and beam themselves up into the air and towards the ship.
**********
Back at the Hyper Garage, the Rangers stand in front of Dudley, still in their uniforms but with their helmets held to their sides.
Dudley can only sigh, �I have a very bad feeling.�
Traci asks, �So they opened a portal to their dimension. But who could have gotten through?�
�I did a recording of the energy levels present when the portal was opened and closed, and my guess is that they opened a portal for Emperor Darrar himself.�
�The Emperor?� Nick asks, �Of the Darrar Empire?�
Dudley nods his head, �I�m afraid so. He's their supreme leader. General Morlon and the others answer to him.�
Eric groans, �We were setup. We ran straight into a pointless fight, and we just let them get the upperhand on us.�
The others have their heads down, all feeling a sense of despair. But Dudley clears his throat and responds, �Look. You guys can�t kick yourselves for this. They out-thought us this time. But look at it like this: you beat that monster out there today. You took on the challenge, and were able to use a power in the Hyper Speed Megazord that you didn�t even think you could control. You guys are gonna make mistakes. All good warriors make mistakes. But it�s the great ones that learn from them.
Look, Emperor Darrar being here is not good news. They may have won this battle and tipped the scales a bit. But...this is going to be a long war. If we�re going to do this, it�s going to take everything we have. But....I believe...somehow...we�ll find a way.�
Dudley�s words seem to bring a bit of confidence to the hearts of the Rangers. Their heads are lifted, seemingly accepting the challenge that lies before them.
*********
Inside the Darrarian Warship, Emperor Darrar sits on his throne before an army of Jestars.
The Jestars wave their hands in the air, �All hail, Emperor Darrar!�
General Morlon, Sororix, Xokan, and Bobis bow before the dark emperor. Darrar, a large black beast with tall white hair, razor sharp teeth, and tentacles surrounding his body, proclaims with a deep, satanic voice, �My minions! We have fought mercilessly throughout the Parallels. But, now, the time has come for this dimension to be ours! This world will belong to the Darrar Empire!!�
The Jestars cheer wildly, as the four commanders wickedly laugh.