Thunderstrike: season 2, Quest Two- "Shattering the Mind"

[Ryuranger]

---Thunderstrike
---Season 02
---Quest Two
---"Shattering the Mind"

No matter how hard the five rangers fought, the psionic-defense demons continued to push towards them in a never ending stream of claws and wings.

Jason slammed two knifehand blows down against the side of a creature’s neck and kicked it upside the head. The demon slammed against the ceiling, creating a web of cracks upon impact. The black-armored ranger spun forward, slamming a reverse hook kick across the heads of four more soldiers.

“Guys,” Jason said as he slammed a backfist across a demon’s head. “If we can’t go through these things, we can go above them.”

Vince used his two fist blades to puncture through a demon’s chest. “The ceiling, genius.” He reverse side kicked that soldier back. “We can’t jump out with the ceiling blocking us in.”

Max thrashed his longknives through a soldier in an ‘x’ pattern. “And the inventor of the ceiling rests happily in his grave.” He tornado kicked a soldier, smashing the side of his heel across its head.

“We’ll blast through,” Jason said as he grabbed two of the demons’ skulls and slammed them together. He followed with a spin kick that slammed them backwards. “We can use the Thunderbolt.”

Yuuri spun her staff, slamming it across a group of five demons. “Form up in the center.”

The five rangers regrouped in the center of the room while slamming their weapons across and through the seemingly endless group of demons. Strands of electric energy started to crackle and dance in between the rangers’ suits of armor.

“Now!” Jason yelled as they aimed upwards while shouting “Thunderbolt, Strike!”

The combined electric blasts from the rangers tore through the ceiling with a fiery explosion that sent debris shattering through the air.

The rangers wasted no time jumping through the debris and opening, flipping onto the roof of the compound.

The demons erupted through the opening like a thick, powerful geyser as the rangers started to sprint towards the edge of the roof. The compound appeared to be suspended on a pillar measuring a countless number of stories tall. It looked out across a vast city landscape with monorails shooting over the streets like bullets and cars hovering through the air in vast lanes of traffic.

Jason assumed that the cars and monorails represented information being transported around the mind.

“Come on,” the black-armored ranger said as he jumped from the roof, somersaulting through the air, and landing on a speeding hover car.

The other four rangers followed, hopping onto separate cars as the swarm of demons followed.

Jason turned to face the oncoming demons while downloading a pair of blasters and aiming forward. He fired high-yield rapid shots that blasted some of the creatures from the air. Most continued their flight forward towards the ranger with their claws primed and their fangs rearing.

“Great,” Jason said as he tossed the blasters aside and stepped off the hover car, the swarm of demons flying by over him.

The ranger slammed onto a car that sped in the opposite direction as he snapped off a pair of blade boomerangs that streaked towards the enemy.

Vince ducked to avoid being hit by a car that passed over head, while he aimed a pair of blasters back towards the demons and fired. “Some escape plan…”

Yuuri, Max, and Blake were speeding away in the same direction as Vince as the demons regrouped and streamed towards them. The four rangers blasted their firearms as the demons came dangerously close.

“Break,” Vince commanded as the rangers leapt from their vehicles and began hopping from car to car.

They continued firing while moving around from car to car, trying to make themselves harder targets for the creatures.

Vince corkscrewed through the air feet forward as he wrapped around a demon’s neck and twisted. The ranger snapped the creature’s neck as he landed on top of a speeding hover car.

Two more winged soldiers swooped towards either side of Vince The ranger jumped to his left and somersaulted backwards through midair, kicking one creature upside the head and bringing his legs around to slam against the second demon’s back. Vince pushed down against the demon’s back, sending him crashing down and pinning him against the roof of a hover car. The demon slammed against the car’s roof, causing the craft to spin out of control.

Vince leapt to another car as the other craft spun out of control and exploded against a towering building.

Blake was in a crouched position on top of a vehicle as it sped towards an incoming group of 13 demons.

“Come and get some,” he said as he flipped forward through midair. He swung his blade horizontally while upside down, decapitating a trio of creatures. He completed the flip by slamming both his feet against the head of another demon. That creature slammed backwards through the windshield of a hover car, causing the vehicle to swerve out of control and slam against a skyscraper.

Yuuri was holding her ground on top of a hover car while whirling her staff in a blur of motion, batting winged demons away left and right. She spun forward, dropping to the hood of the hover car while slamming her staff horizontally across the head. That demon was batted away as Yuuri turned with her free left hand, downloaded her blaster, and snapped off a shot at point-blank range that tore through a creature’s skull.

***

Maryland

Jade saw clouds of crimson form in the distance over Washington DC. She was standing on top of a towering building, her silver hair dancing in the wind.

“You’ve never been able to sneak up on me,” she said without turning.

Seven stepped forward. “Old habits die hard. Let’s cut to the chase…what are you up to?”

A sly smile spread across her face. “I’m being hunted, lover. Fate can be so ironic.”

“By who?” Seven asked. “What kind of game is this?”

“Do you remember the battle in that warehouse when we were after the Eye of Anubis?” she asked.

Seven nodded. “Of course I remember. What’s the point?”

“The pathogen,” Jade explained, “it wasn’t destroyed. It was absorbed. Into me.”

Seven shook his head. “You would have died.”

“Should have,” Jade said with a grin. “But instead I became a carrier for the pathogen. I just found out myself, but this is of course the reason Yokoshima kept me around. As a fail safe. If I’m killed, the pathogen will be released from my body and spread. Mankind would be dead in a matter of months.”

“So…” Seven said. “The Vyram loyal to Yokoshima…they’re trying to kill you now? To release the pathogen? How can I believe you.”

“Ah, Seven,” she said. “You don’t really have much of a choice. Are you really willing to risk it? Risk my being right?”

Seven narrowed his eyes. “So what do you expect me to do? Protect you?”

“I expect you to do what you’ve been doing since you joined ISIS,” she said. “Fight the Vyram. That is all.”

---to be continued in part two. this thread. watch for it...

[Qi]

And here I was going to ask you how TS was coming along.

Good to see the second episode up.

Qi

[HavokRanger]

as always, very, very nice

[Mandolin]

“Should have,” Jade said with a grin. “But instead I became a carrier for the pathogen. I just found out myself, but this is of course the reason Yokoshima kept me around. As a fail safe. If I’m killed, the pathogen will be released from my body and spread. Mankind would be dead in a matter of months.”

May I just say... I love this twist. So much. :)

[Ryuranger]

Thank you all for the feedback. I'm taking off for the week and won't have access to a computer, so the next update won't be posted until the 30th of this month or after.

[TheOneRJS200]

I like the way you write fight scenes. Very smooth, very descriptive. Kudos.

[Ryuranger]

Washington DC

Tristan’s vision slowly blurred back into focus as he tilted his head up. He found himself still in his white armor, but suspended in midair. A group of tendrils were extended from the ground and wrapped tightly around his chest and arms.

“What the Hell…” he said as he looked around.

His five teammates were in similar positions, as well as the surviving members of Australia’s team. None of them appeared to be moving. He looked up at the towering spire in front of him. A platform extended from the spire.

The giant Talion stood on top of the platform with his armored arms across his chest. The being looked down at the white-armored ranger as its red eyes began to glow.

The tendrils pushed Tristan upwards so that he hung face-to-face with the giant mech.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Tristan said, trying to hide his fear.

Talion narrowed his red eyes as Tristan shouted in pain. It felt like a white-hot dagger was piercing his brain as the Talion’s gaze intensified.

Tristan quickly activated his razor-sharp armor plating, cutting free from the tendrils as he dropped towards the ground below.

Before the ranger could reach safety, a group of organic wires wrapped around his limbs and suspended him. The wires tightened their hold on Tristan and raised him up to the Talion again.

The giant mech leaned forward as it spoke in a low booming voice, rich with power.

“Struggling will only make the process worse,” the Talion said. “Relax, and let your mind be freed…”

***

Omega Sector set up their mobile command center just outside the city. The helicarrier doubled as a tank when needed.

Sisco, Hunter, and Hayes crowded around a small holographic readout in the center of the carrier. It displayed a map of the city, with red lines representing the web of tendrils.

“These energy lines all stem from here,” Sisco said as he stabbed his finger at the red dot representing the Talion’s spire. “Taking your rogue mecha out is the key.”

“We know that already,” Hunter said with frustration. “We know what we have to do, just not how to do it.”

Sisco narrowed his eyes at Hunter. “If you would stay quiet for a damn minute, I’ll get to that.”

“How is it you know so much about this anyway?” Hunter asked with suspicion.

“I knew enough to blow up your damn base, didn’t I?” Sisco said.

“Enough,” Hayes said firmly. She looked to Sisco. “What do you have planned.”

“Watch and learn,” Sisco said as he manipulated the control panel in front of him. A small image of mech appeared. It was trimmed with dark orange, and had two giant gattling cannons attached to its arm. “This was how we planned to fight giant-scaled Vyram and your mecha. It’s a prototype.”

“That won’t work,” Hunter said. “Even if this mech managed to make it through the tendrils, Talion would rip it to shreds.”

“We’ll use your Valkyries as a diversion,” Sisco said. “Along with our assault copters. They pack more firepower than your toy planes.”

Hayes shot Hunter a look, letting him know not to engage in any more verbal assaults. She looked to Sisco. “What about the tendrils and other defenses?”

“I’ll send in the remaining Omega Force units and soldiers to regroup with your combat rangers on the field,” Sisco said.

“Again,” Hunter said, his impatience growing. “This won’t work. We can’t defeat the Talion by force.”

“He’s right,” Hayes said. “We need to find a way to interrupt the synch ratio between the Talion and Thunderstrike. That’s the only way to bring him offline.”

“How, pray tell, do we do that?” Sisco asked.

“Do you have any psionic assets?” she asked.

“No,” Sisco said. “The closest thing we have is Cypher. He’s how we interfaced with Eagle Six’s defense systems.”

Hunter’s knuckles turned white from gripping the side of the control panel in front of him.

“How far is his range?” Hayes asked.

“Not far,” Sisco said. “We’ll have to move him in close to the Talion.”

“This is a bad idea,” Hunter said as he shook his head.

“We don’t have time to come up with something better,” Sisco said.

***

Yuuri flipped backwards while kicking a demon upside the head. The creature went swerving out of control and smashed against a nearby hover-car, causing the vehicle to crash through a nearby building with a fiery explosion.

The skies above the rangers darkened as they looked up to see a dark cloud cover the city. They quickly realized the cloud was actually a massive group of winged soldiers.

Jason was crouched on a speeding hover-car as he looked up towards the dark cloud.

This isn’t real…he reminded himself. Each creature was nothing more than a psionic attack. Each punch and kick nothing more than a jab from the mind.

That cloud is actually one big mental attack, Jason rationalized. Like a really big telekinetic pulse or psi-blast…

Jason started hopping from car to car, against the flow of speeding traffic while trying to regroup with the others.

The countless winged soldiers continued their descent, growing closer and closer to attack range.

Yuuri flipped backwards off a vehicle and dropped towards a lower level of traffic, landing on the roof of another hover-car as the demons moved closer. She armed her spear, but doubted she could fight her way through the moving wall of soldiers.

“Down!” Jason shouted as he tackled into Yuuri and the two begin to plummet.

The black-armored ranger held onto Yuuri with his right arm while emitting an onyx energy shield with his left forearm. The shield diameter was lager than the two ranger.

The demons slammed against the shield as Jason and Yuuri were forced further down among lines of speeding hover vehicles. The soldiers were deflected like running water splashing against a brick wall, but they kept coming.

Jason focused to extend the diameter of the shield, then tossed the disc up as it smashed against the storm of demons. Jason slammed his feet against the side of a hover-car and pushed forward. He shot forward towards the side of a skyscraper with Yuuri in his arms.

The ranger rolled forward and slammed through the building feet first, sending debris shattering everywhere. Jason and Yuuri hit the floor hard and rolled across the ground several meters before coming to stop.

The two rangers rose to their feet.

“Come on,” Jason said. “We have to keep moving.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Yuuri asked. “What about the others?”

“I couldn’t see them,” Jason said. “Now let’s go. That shield won’t hold those wing brains off for long.”

The walls and floors around them suddenly dissipated into grids of golden code. The lines reformed and materialized as a new landscape took shape.

Yuuri and Jason were standing on top of a wide platform that extending countless miles above a surface they could barely see. Three golden columns appeared as the two rangers were rejoined with Vince, Blake, and Max.

The image of the Talion in human form hovered above them.

“New game,” he said. “Which of course requires this new playing field. And of course, new players…”

Three golden columns extended from the platform, each taking shape to form a separate warrior. Each warrior was different in design, but they all appeared to be in some form of insectoid-type armor.

The soldier to the rangers’ left wore black armor with dull golden trimming. His visor was dark purple with a golden ‘x’ across it.

The warrior to the right wore black armor with white trimming. His visor was similar, only blood red.

The center soldier wore a black body suit with red trimming, covered with a light suit of dull silver armor. His visor was circular and bright yellow. It was split down the center by a strip of armor, giving it a bug-like look, complete with two small antenna.

Blake took a step back. “This guy has a twisted imagination.”

“Technically,” Talion said. “You five do.”

---to be continued in part three. this thread. watch for it...

[D-Ranger]

Hee Hee.

Exceed Charge!

[Imperialwar]

Kaixa + Delta + Faizu vs Thunderstrike = Fight of my dreams!


(Question - Will Faizu use his other forms?)

[Mandolin]

Oh, boy, things don't look good for Tristan. And does the Talion really know what it's doing in terms of "letting the mind be freed"? Yeah, sure, people are definitely going to all stay perfectly sane after being force-"evolved" and separated from their bodies... (Yes, I'm the type who likes to see antagonists with ideas like that have the flaws in them come back and smack them in the face.)

Anyway, love this. Only thing that puzzled me was at the end when Yuuri and Jason were apparently separated from the others, and then suddenly Blake spoke up. Can I assume that the change of playing field brought them back together?

[Ryuranger]

Doh. I forgot to mention the changed playing field brought them all back together. I'll edit it.

[wildranger]

cool

[Ryuranger]

The Valkyrie fighters blasted through the field of tendrils and tentacles with rail cannons blazing and missiles streaking through the sky. Their attacks were hardly effective against the tendrils, but they provided an effective enough screen for the main assault group to move forward.

Omega Sector’s Command Carrier flew in the center of a heli-carrier formation, each craft firing every weapon it had on board.

Sisco, Hayes, and Hunter watched the battle progress through the Command Carrier’s center holographic display.

Hunter’s brow knitted with concern as he noticed the fighter wings begin to break apart in disarray.

“Have Alpha Group fall back and tighten their flank,” he said while looking at the carrier’s comm officer.

The comm officer looked to Sisco for confirmation, and he nodded an affirmative.

Some of the Valkyries switched to Battleroid mode while dancing across the sky, evading the tentacles that struck like snakes. One of the mechs was speared through the chest and exploded in a massive burst of flame and shrapnel. That same tentacle whipped around to strike across another Valkyrie, knocking the mech from the air.

A small group of heli-carriers broke off from the main group and moved closer to the ground while dropping sleek jet-black hover tanks and soldiers in heavy power armor known as ATAC troops.

A group of vines squirmed while producing swarms of winged demon-like creatures that sprouted through their openings. The creatures flew in tight formation while swooping down to destroy the ATAC force.

The ATAC troops lifted their wrist-mounted gattling cannons and opened fire with countless streams of blasts. The blasts were lost in the massive cloud of demons as they moved forward, a wave of destruction that quickly slammed against the ATACs.

The hover tanks throttled forward, their top-mounted cannons firing super-heated plasma blasts at any enemy that drew near.

The winged demons started to pick off the hover tanks one by one. They circled around the rear-most vessel and closed in while ripping apart its weapons and hull plating. The creatures pierced the vessel’s engines and the tank was engulfed in a massive ball of flame.

***

The carrier jet for Canada’s combat ranger team, Delta Force, flew far above the clouds on its way to DC. Called the Jet Garuda, the variable craft broke away from its ISIS authorities to aide in the assault against the Talion.

Delta Force’s leader, Jonathan, sat at the forward pilot station. He was dressed in the same pale-gray flight suit as the rest of his team, along with a red under shirt. He had short brown hair and bright green eyes.

“Are we still being tailed?” he asked.

A group of ISIS craft had tailed them after leaving their Eagle Base in Toronto. ISIS officials weren’t about to let another ranger team join forces with the rogue Thunderstrike unit.

“They’ve broken off pursuit,” his first officer, Terin said. She sat at the rear port station.

Terin had long strawberry-blonde hair neatly braided down her back. She had sharp green eyes and wore a white undershirt.

“They probably weren’t too eager to fly into this mess,” she said, referring to the massive fields of tentacles.

“I don’t blame them,” Delta Black said. He had short dark hair and deep brown eyes. His name was Kenneth. “This is suicide.”

“That’s the spirit,” Delta Blue, Jenn, said sarcastically from her starboard station. She had shoulder length blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. The curves of her petite body weren’t lost in her jumpsuit. She was the youngest of the group at only nineteen.

“We’ll make it,” Ben, Delta Yellow said. He had sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes. “We have to…”

Alarms started blaring on the front console.

“We’re coming up on the Talion’s spire,” Jonathan said. “Get ready…”

Jet Garuda rolled to starboard while swooping down through the clouds and towards the towering spire. Tentacles started to lash upwards, waiting for the vessel to come into range.

Some of the vines sprouted winged demons that shot towards the craft with powerful swoops from their wings.

The lower bay doors to jet Garuda opened as the five members of Delta Force leapt out and began plummeting downwards in a star formation, but without any parachutes or propulsion devices.

They readied the triangular-shaped braces they wore on their left wrists while shouting, “Delta change!”

They slapped their braces activation panels as energy wrapped around them and they transformed into their armor. Metallic wings activated from their sides to their arms that slowed their descent as they approached the spire.

***

Tristan continued to fight against the tentacles, despite their unyielding ferocity. The Talion seemed to laugh with amusement while watching Tristan cut free from a group of vines, only to be grabbed by more.

“Do you see how your own body limits you?” Talion asked in its deep booming voice. “I can help you, Tristan…just as I’ve begun to help others.”

“You’re too kind,” Tristan said sarcastically as he spun, slicing his black armor blades through a tentacle. Another vine wrapped around his leg and lifted up, suspending him upside down.

Talion’s attention diverted as he stared up into the sky, spotting the descending members of Delta Force.

“Your kind is so foolish, it’s disturbing,” Talion said.

The five incoming rangers armed gauntlet blasters and fired high-yield energy blasts at the oncoming swarm of demons and tentacles.

Delta Red armed his saber as he glided down closer to the demons. Jonathan flew downward while approaching a trio of the creatures head on. At the last possible second, he rolled to his left and glided between two of the soldiers while striking them both with a swing from his blade.

Delta Black flew downwards head first towards another small group of demons. He somersaulted and slammed both his feet against a demon’s head while continuing his descent, and swung his sword in a horizontal arc while striking the demon’s two wing-mates.

Ben and Terin executed the same maneuver, smashing their heels against two demons as they continued to glide down through high altitudes.

Delta Blue spun downward through the air like a drill. Jenn armed her blade and extended it horizontally while thrashing her way down through a formation of demons.

***

Omega Sector’s attack force suffered heavy losses as it pushed forward.

A shockwave from a heli-carrier that met its end in a fiery explosion shook the command carrier as it flew through evasive maneuvers.

“Cypher!” Sisco shouted as he yelled through the comm line to the bald-headed member of Omega Force.

Cypher was in a lower compartment, his solid white eyes staring ahead blankly as he shook his head. “Nothing yet…it’s…different…”

A group of six demons flew towards the command carrier, but a Battleroid dropped down just in time to blast the creatures back with a volley from its rail cannon.

“Launch the mech!” Sisco shouted over the comm line.

“It’s too soon,” Hunter cautioned. “That thing will never make it to the spire.”

“I don’t recall asking,” Sisco said.

***

One of the flatbed heli-carriers dropped the dark-orange trimmed mech from its hold. The mech free fell towards the ground as its crew it five pilots activated its systems.

The Mech activated its back thrusters several meters before hitting the ground and started to jet forward while extending its left arm. The gattling cannons on that arm started to buzz with a deafening roar while reigning destruction against the fields of vines and winged demons.

A formation of demons tried to sneak in on the mech from its right, but it turned its head and fired head-mounted vulcan cannons that fired high-velocity rounds against the creatures.

***

Talion gazed into the far-off distance as he saw the giant mech approaching.

---to be continued in part four (with the fight of Imperial War's dreams). this thread. watch for it...

---for season one:
www.angelfire.com/extreme3/p_rangersx
---season two archives: www.geocities.com/ryuranger59/Thunder2.html
---my main site index:
www.geocities.com/ryuranger59/index.html

[Qi]

Good going.

BTW, the "leap to season two" link off the season one page doesn't work. It's listed as http://www.angelfire.com/extreme3/p_rangersx/www.geocities.com/ryuranger59/Thunder2.html rather than just http://www.geocities.com/ryuranger59/Thunder2.html

Qi

[Ryuranger]

Originally posted by QiRanger
Good going.

BTW, the "leap to season two" link off the season one page doesn't work. It's listed as http://www.angelfire.com/extreme3/p_rangersx/www.geocities.com/ryuranger59/Thunder2.html rather than just http://www.geocities.com/ryuranger59/Thunder2.html

Qi

Thanks. I'll get that taken care of.

[Ryuranger]

The red-trimmed bug-like soldier leapt forward towards Jason with a double front kick. The ranger leapt backwards while blocking the blow. Jason landed and spun forward with a reverse sidekick aimed towards the warrior’s head.

The soldier sidestepped away from the blow and spun forward with a reverse hook kick that slammed across Jason’s helmet. Jason spun with the impact and countered with a spinning backfist that slammed across his opponent’s head.

The soldier grabbed Jason’s arm and held it locked while slamming a combination of round kicks against the ranger’s chest and midsection.

Nearby, the gold-trimmed warrior downloaded a purple blade and spun forward like a tornado towards Blake and Vince.

“Break,” Vince shouted as he pushed Blake away and dove for cover.

Vince rolled across the ground and rose to a crouched position, turning to face his opponent while activating his fist blades.

The soldier leapt forward with a somersault through midair while aiming a kick towards Vince. The green-armored ranger pounced forward and used his left arm to outer block the kick while turning in and slamming a right punch against his opponent’s chest. Vince followed while still in midair by flipping backwards and kicking the soldier upside the head.

As soon as Vince landed, the soldier was already moving forward to attack again.

“Persistent bastard,” Vince muttered under his breath as he stood in a defensive stance.

Blake leapt down towards the soldier’s back and sliced his tiger saber across the warrior’s armor. The soldier snapped back his leg with a hook kick across Blake’s helmet and followed with a sidekick that slammed against the ranger’s chest.

Vince moved in behind the soldier and reached with his left hand, wrapping it around the warrior’s faceplate. He twisted forward while sweeping the legs out from underneath the soldier and bashing his fist against the warrior’s chest. The soldier slammed to the ground as Vince jumped up, angling his descent so his knee would crush his opponent’s chest.

The soldier rolled backwards and stood on his hands while spin kicking, slamming his feet against Vince before the ranger could strike. Vince arced backwards and slammed against the ground, sliding backwards from the impact.

On the other side of the platform, the white-trimmed soldier charged forward towards Max and Yuuri while firing two rapid-fire blasters. The two rangers leapt to opposite sides of the warrior while firing their own side arms.

The soldier jumped and twisted through the air to avoid their blasts while spreading his arm and firing several more rounds towards the two rangers.

Yuuri executed a series of back flips as the blasts exploded across the platform towards her. She twisted to her side during the final back flip and snapped off a pair of blade boomerangs towards her opponent.

The soldier blasted the two incoming weapons from the air while landing back on the platform while Max charged forward, taking advantage of his opponent’s distraction. The blue-armored ranger downloaded his longknives and somersaulted forward through the air, bringing both blades down towards the soldier’s head.

The warrior turned and grabbed Max’s wrists while slamming a front kick upside the ranger’s head. The soldier spun forward with a reverse sidekick that crashed against Max’s chest, knocking the ranger from the air.

The Talion continued to hover above the platform, watching the battle with a smile spread across his face.

“Why do you keep struggling?” Talion asked the rangers as they fought below. “It’s pointless. This is my mind. I could send an army of infinite numbers against you, each with the individual power of a nuclear bomb. I could drown you in a bottomless pool of molten lava. There are no limits to the imagination…”

Jason low blocked a blow from the soldier, then spun forward, slamming an elbow blow against his opponent’s chest. He followed by kicking backward once with his left leg, then with his right leg, slamming his heels against the soldier’s chest.

Jason turned his attention to the Talion and crouched onto the platform before springing into the air towards the blonde-hair boy. The ranger spun towards his opponent while arming his twin swords, swinging the blades horizontally.

Talion backed away, summoning arm blades from his elbows to deflect the blows. He used the blades to deflect Jason’s blows, then charged forward, tackling into Jason as hard as his mind would allow.

The impact created a thunderous roar as the two streamed across the sky. Jason twisted away and slammed a spinning heel kick towards Talion, but the Talion merely grabbed Jason by the ankle and tossed him downwards towards the city countless miles below.

This is insane, Jason thought to himself as he plummeted down through the artificial air. He knew the Talion was correct in some respects. The battlefield was the very mind of the Talion, thus he had the advantage. However, even the Talion couldn’t focus on a large number of variables at once. Matters in the physical realm required his attention, such as the tendrils and demons which were extensions of his mind. The incoming mech of Omega Sector and Delta Force were also proving troublesome, along with the captured members of the French and Australian combat rangers.

Wait a minute…he said to himself. How did I know that?

Then Jason remembered. He was a critical piece of the Talion’s existence, as was Yuuri, Blake, Vince, and Max.

So this place we’re in…it’s as much ours as it is his…Jason realized. He stopped thinking of the realm in terms of psionic attacks. He was capable of more, as were the others.

Jason halted in midair as he turned to face the Talion, who was shooting downward to strike in a blur of motion. Jason extended his hand, and the Talion slammed against a brick wall.

The Talion slumped to the ground, and found himself in a dark sewer system.

Jason’s voice came from the darkness. “I thought this suited you…”

Dozens of rats screeched as they ran down the tunnel and swarmed around the Talion, biting and scratching at him. Jason sprang forward from the shadows and launched a double flying sidekick that bashed the Talion through the nearest wall.

Jason pushed forward, knowing he had to take full advantage of the element of surprise.

The Talion rose from the rubble of the crushed wall and came to his feet, finding himself in a hall of mirrors.

The Talion rolled his eyes. “Oh, how clever, he said sarcastically as he extended his hand.

Countless numbers of chains extended from the ground and shattered against the mirrors. The effect of the breaking glass was unsuspected.

The shards started to swirl around him like a cyclone, cutting across his skin and face. The five rangers appeared as if from no where, leaping through the cloud of shard and slamming into the Talion one by one.

Vince leapt towards the Talion’s, slamming both his fist blades through bone and flesh. Blake spun in front of the Talion, slamming a spin kick across his opponent’s face.

The Talion was whipped to the side as Max spun forward, thrashing both his longknives across his opponent’s chest. Yuuri followed with a spinning palm heel blow across the jaw.

Jason moved forward next, slamming a knee against the Talion’s gut. The ranger grabbed the Talion by the neck and glared into his eyes.

“Game over,” Jason said as he snapped the Talion’s neck, then spun towards his opponent’s body while springing an elbow blade and running it through the Talion’s chest.

The Talion’s body cracked with golden energy as the world around the five rangers shattered in a massive blinding explosion that hurled around them like a vortex of unspeakable power.

---to be continued in part five. this thread. watch for it...

[Ryuranger]

The vines and winged demons suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground before shimmering out of existence with bursts of golden light. Tristan and the other captured rangers dropped onto the ground hard as a result.

The white-armored ranger groaned as he rose to his feet, trying to ignore the pain of his cracked ribs.

Delta Force ran over to the fallen rangers, and Delta Red helped Tristan to his feet.

“Canadians, eh?” Tristan said weakly.

“Come on,” Jonathan said. “We need to get out of here…”

The spire itself started to shimmer and vanished from reality in a puff of golden light. The Talion’s giant body went limp above and started plummeting straight towards the rangers.

Delta Red armed his wings and pushed forward, blasting away with a burst of speed. The Talion crashed against the ground with a deafening clang seconds after the rangers cleared the area.

***

Jason’s eyes fluttered open as an image of the dark sky above came into view. He slowly ran his hand across his forehead as he regained consciousness.

I’m outside, he said to himself. Outside the Talion…back in reality…

Jason sat up despite his body’s protests and noticed the other four rangers lying on the ground around him. They weren’t in their armor either and were still unconscious.

Yuuri was the first to awaken, a soft moan escaping her lips. Her eyes opened and she slowly sat up while brushing the dark hair from her face. She looked to Jason, knitting her brow with confusion.

“What happened?” she asked weakly while trying to regain her breath.

“We did it,” Jason said as he nodded to the distance. The unmoving hulk of the Talion was relatively close by. “We beat him.”

Yuuri nodded while using her left hand to rub her eyes. Jason recognized she was probably suffering a headache from all the psionic activity they had put their minds through.

“Don’t try to fight the pain,” Jason said. “That only makes it worse…”

Yuuri shook her head as she rose to her feet. “I don’t need advice from you.”

Jason rose to his feet, his heart stinging from her words. Before he could say anything to her, Vince, Max, and Blake started to awaken as well. Yuuri helped them to their feet as they slowly came to, while Jason stood by and watched. His mind a storm of mixed emotions.

Max groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. “It will be awhile before I ever get into a mech again…”

“Hell,” Blake said, but the pain in his throat convinced him not to finish the comment.

A large grinding noise came from the distance as the rangers looked towards the fallen Talion. The massive mech’s joints started to screech against each other as the Talion rose to its feet. It’s body slightly wobbled before standing upright, and its eyes flashed red.

The mech craned its head downwards to glare at the rangers. If it had a mouth, it would have been smiling.

Vince looked to Jason. “I thought we killed it.”

“So did I,” Jason said as he narrowed his eyes at the mech. “So did I…”

---to be continued...

---the Talion arc will conclude in Quest Three. Watch for it...

[Imperialwar]

I want a mech like that for christmas!

:D

[D-Ranger]

On behalf of Rangerboard's Canadian Contingent, I'd like to thank you for Delta force's choice to saddle up with the "good guys". ^_^

And, I look eagerly forward to the next chapter! :D

Rob

[D-Ranger]

Originally posted by Imperialwar
I want a mech like that for christmas!

:D

Imperial, you want a mecha that will try to swallow your soul and lobotomize your cat?

:D

[Imperialwar]

Originally posted by D-Ranger
Imperial, you want a mecha that will try to swallow your soul and lobotomize your cat?

:D

Does that mean I can sit in it's cockpit?

[D-Ranger]

Originally posted by Imperialwar
Does that mean I can sit in it's cockpit?

Beware of sentient mecha with open cockpits...

"Here little boy....Come play inside....It will be fun!"

^_^

D

[Imperialwar]

Originally posted by D-Ranger
Beware of sentient mecha with open cockpits...

"Here little boy....Come play inside....It will be fun!"

^_^

D

You sound like a PSA.

[D-Ranger]

Originally posted by Imperialwar
You sound like a PSA.

No, just someone who has watched enough anime to know that getting in a cockpit is NOT always a good idea...

D

[Imperialwar]

What about Gundum Wing

[D-Ranger]

Originally posted by Imperialwar
What about Gundum Wing

Two words..."Zero System". ^_-

[Imperialwar]

Originally posted by D-Ranger
Two words..."Zero System". ^_-

Must you shatter my dreams like glass?

[D-Ranger]

Originally posted by Imperialwar
Must you shatter my dreams like glass?

Awww...Sorry about that....

Look, here's a nice safe RX-78 Gundam to play with. ^_^ He won't hurt you!

[Imperialwar]

Originally posted by D-Ranger
Awww...Sorry about that....

Look, here's a nice safe RX-78 Gundam to play with. ^_^ He won't hurt you!

I want an EVA!

[D-Ranger]

Originally posted by Imperialwar
I want an EVA!

Okay, but I warn you, it comes with two psychopathic girlfriends...(one of whom may or may not be the angel of death...)

[Imperialwar]

Originally posted by D-Ranger
Okay, but I warn you, it comes with two psychopathic girlfriends...(one of whom may or may not be the angel of death...)

Sounds like a sweet deal:D