Power Rangers Wild Force: The Ultimus Adventure

[Aaron Hong]

A few author's notes: this story is an adaptation, or rather my impression of a "Sabanisation" of the sentai movie Gaoranger: Ki no Yama Hoero (Fire Mountain Howls). It's intended to be inserted into TV canon though I'm not certain which two episodes it'd fit between. For those still confused, this fanfic basically makes the Ultimus Megazord TV-legit.

All right then, here we go...

(EDIT: I've finally decided to insert some annotations for the more obscure injokes, especially references to corresponding points in Fire Mountain Howls.)

POWER RANGERS WILD FORCE: THE ULTIMUS ADVENTURE

Princess Shayla dangled the pendant over an ancient map, hoping for something to happen.

She'd found the pendant while digging through some relics stored in a dank corner of the Animarium, and it was one of the items she hadn't seen before. It was an ornate golden frame that held a ruby in the middle, of a styling she'd never seen before, but that was about all she could make of it.

Perhaps it was for scrying, she thought. She'd never dabbled in that sort of thing before, but picked it up from a TV show and assumed that maybe that's what it does? I mean it wouldn't hurt to try...

So she dangled the pendant over one map after another for two solid hours, without realising at any point that she was supposed to scry for something specific, and couldn't actually do that since she'd missed a few episodes of said TV show.One word: Charmed.
"Well, I guess that's not its correct function... but the Power does not lie. I can sense the immense power inside this pendant yet I cannot unlock it... it's a lovely little thing, regardless..."

As if to answer her, the sacred pool of the Animarium bubbled over, just as the ruby pendant let off a red glow. The entire situation caught her completely off guard as she dropped the pendant altogether, rose to her feet, then decided to pick up the pendant anyway, then gave it no further though as she rushed to the pool.

On the surface of the water was an image of a row of warehouses on the edge of Turtle Lake. Already causing damage in the area was a group of some twenty Putrids, but Princess Shayla wasn't that concerned about them.

Currently owning the bulk of her attention was the fact that the ruby pendant was letting off an especially intense glow.

Moving away from the pool confirmed Shayla's initial suspicion as the pendant dimmed.

"I can't worry about this little thing now, not with Putrids on the move... Wild Force! WILD FORCE!!"From this point onward, the show switches to sentai footage, particularly the big opening fight in Fire Mountain Howls.***

(Title theme starts up)

As one person the five Wild Force Power Rangers leaped into a combined forward flip, landing on their feet and charging into the chaos....

Cole, Taylor, Max, Danny and Alyssa, claws bared and ready to battle.

"I bagsy first strike!"

And Cole opened the firefight by tearing through the first unlucky Putrid, then stood ready for the next ones...

"Blazing Lion, HAAYAH!"

RICARDO MEDINA JR as Cole

Taylor struck another Putrid with her Eagle Sword, with claws on her free hand, and struck the ground...

"Soaring Eagle, EEYAH!"

ALYSON KIPERMAN as Taylor

Danny hacked his way through the masses with his Bison Axe...

"Iron Bison, RRAAH!"

JACK GUZMAN as Danny

Max delivered a two-handed clawing strike into the next Putrid's face...

"Surging Shark, HAA!"

PHILIP JEANMARIE as Max

"Noble Tiger, YAAH!"

JESSICA REY as Alyssa

"You're not leaving me out of this one!" yelled Merrick from his Savage Cycle, already blasting through some seven Putrids on his way into the battle.

PHILIP ANDREW as Merrick

"Let's see how many lives you have left, Red Ranger!" Toxica screeched as she let off a barrage of thunderbolts from her staff - but Cole leaped out of the way, spinning through the air...

ANN MARIE CROUCH as Princess Shayla

Stepping off a wall and landing behind her.

"Get your own, Toxica!"

She turned around, but failed to react soon enough as Cole struck her in the face again and again, leaving her stunned on the ground with her face a complete mess.

ILYA VOLOK as Master Org

*Who needs a lift?"

Swinging from a convenient crane cable, Taylor grabbed a convenient Putrid and smashed it into a convenient steel beam, then dropped it into a convenient mob of Putrids just below.

SIN WONG as Toxica

"You're MINE, Flower Ranger!"

Jindrax singled out Danny for himself, but Danny not only blocked his first strike...

"Circ du Soleil just called, they want their costume back!"

but grabbed his head and spun him around several times before hurling him into a fence.

Adapted from "Gaoranger: Ki no Yama Hoero" by TOEI

"What say we arrange a little blind date, Max?" yelled Alyssa, while dragging a Putrid by its throat across the ground.

"Don't see why not," said Max, dragging a second Putrid.

"Putrid no. 1 and 2, say hello to pain!"

The Putruds smashed head first into each other as Alyssa and Max rolled clear.

Special guest star
ERNIE REYES JR as Koa'hi

And Merrick made short work of the others, shooting them down one by one with his Lunar Cue.

Produced by
DOUG SLOAN
JONATHAN TZACHOR

He regrouped with the rest of the Rangers, and they raised their weapons, staring down at the throroughly beaten Jindrax and Toxica as they hobbled to a safe distance.

Directed by KOICHI SAKAMOTO

"The strike location has been compromised! We have to abort the mission and evacuate all remaining forces!" Toxica screamed.

"Never mind all that, we have to get out of here!" yelled Jindrax.

With a calculated move both Orgs leaped off the ground, phasing into energy balls as they teleported into the wild blue yonder.

Written by AARON HONG

"So, what do you guys think they were up to this time?" asked Cole.

"I'm not completely certain," said Merrick, "but from the amount of actual damage they did, it seems as if they were searching for something..."And this is the point where the sentai footage technically ends. In Fire Mountain Howls, the sentai counterparts of our heroes were blown into an alternate dimension through a temporal vortex, rather than a plane to Hawaii."You're right, Merrick. And I know what it is!"

The familiar voice had every Ranger's attention in an instant. Princess Shayla had come in person again, and there was an odd red glow in her hand - which the Rangers were pretty much used to, given everything they'd been through.

"Princess...?"

"This point on Turtle Lake coincides with a location on the Animarium. A location in which I found this."

Princess Shayla raised the pendant for all to see - the ruby appeared to be a hemisphere, held in place by spindly mounts on the pendant's strangely spiky gold frame.This is based directly on the ruby pendant prop from Fire Mountain Howls."Where'd you find this?" asked Merrick, instantly suspicious of the small thing.

"In the Animarium, I just said - now, don't be rude," said Shayla, taking back the pendant after Merrick snatched it from her. "As I said, the Orgs were most likely looking for this, because it is somehow uniquely attuned to the lifesigns of Orgs..."

"That proves it's Org in origin. It's not styled like anything of our time, Princess," said Merrick. "Most likely it lured them out. We should destroy it."

"No..." Shayla dreamily pulled the thing away from Merrick's hands. "I think I have a better idea."

***

As Shayla and the Rangers returned to the Animarium, they received a warmer-than-usual greeting from the Red Lion and Green Gorilla Zords, for some reason. Cole was the only one who noticed how they were staring at the pendant, but paid it no further heed as Shayla arrived at the lion wall carving over the Sacred Pool.

"This pendant may be drawn to Orgs, but if I invert it and allow the Animarium to boost its astral energies, I may be able to create an anti-Org field that will protect all of Turtle Cove..."

"This won't..."

"Work?" said Max, before the word left Merrick's lips.

Regardless of all that, Shayla placed the pendant between the fangs of the lion wall carving, then stood back, hands clasped tightly, and chanted softly.

A gentle rumble spread through the Animarium as a beam of red light shot out of the sacred pool...

It blazed into the heavens, creating a wave of silence as all the Wild Zords stopped in their paces and looked at it...

...as it spread across the sky, forming a dome that not only covered the Animarium but the city far below...

...and disappeared in a blink.

Max was the only one who caught the incredulous expression on Merrick's face a split second before it faded.

"Did it work?" asked Taylor.

"I can sense its power all over the place now. It worked," said Princess Shayla. "It'll keep Turtle Cove Org-free for a week at the most..."

"Sounds perfect," said Max, a cheeky look in his eye.

"Why, what are you thinking of?" asked Cole.

"A VACATION!"

Everyone else considered this with genuine interest. Granted they never had more than one major conflict a week to handle, but keeping vigil over the city was a 24/7 affair. The thought of a break was tempting, to say the least...

"That's a great idea!" said Danny.

"But where are we going?" asked Taylor.

"I hear Hawaii is nice this time of year," said Alyssa.

"Hawaii...?"

"Trust me, Cole, you'll love it," said Taylor, with a pat on Cole's back.

"In any case, we all need to loosen up a bit," said Max, as he and Danny approached Merrick. "Come on, you. We're getting you some tourist threads."

"And you too," said Alyssa, as she and Taylor took Princess Shayla by the arms and led her away...

...leaving Cole alone beside the sacred pool.

With nothing much to do, he stopped to look more closely at the ruby pendant for a few seconds, before noticing how the Red Lion and Green Gorilla Zords were staring at it as well.

"What is it?" he asked them.

They told him.This never happened in Fire Mountain Howls, of course. Just a reference to how the Red Gorilla has the Red Lion's colors on the Green Gorilla CGI model.

***

More to come, folks, so stay tuned!

[Mr Tuesday II]

nice use of hawaii as a backdrop for the ep.

how are you going to explain the lack of the predazord? or that there was a seemingly "introduction" of animus?

it's gotten my interest. keep it up.

[packfan6]

Nice job so far. I was wondering when does this take place? Can't wait for the next chapter. Keep up the good work. :)

[Cmdr Crayfish]

Wait -- you're adapting Fire Mountain Howls? But where's the Aurochzord, Albino Armadillo, and Soulhawk? GaoKnight isn't the same thing as Ultimus Megazord.

Also, if you're going to pretend this is an episode, I need a director. I have to envision camera placement, and I can't do that without a style.

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by Cmdr Crayfish
Wait -- you're adapting Fire Mountain Howls? But where's the Aurochzord, Albino Armadillo, and Soulhawk? GaoKnight isn't the same thing as Ultimus Megazord.I'm not sure you have any of those names correct, but it seems widely accepted that the Gaoknight configuration is the "official" Ultimus Megazord, and the Bandai America Ultimus Megazord was just thrown together. I mean, good god, one of those parts is just the puck projectile. How lame is that? Heck, the Storm Lightning Megazord didn't use a Power Sphere Launcher in the show, so toys following the show appearance is a myth in any case.

As for camera placement, all the non-sentai "footage" in the fanfic was thrown together by yours truly to accomodate my reworked storyline, so I may as well list myself as director. But that would be taking things a bit too far, so I edited that chapter with even more TV credits (Doug Sloan, Jonathan Tzachor, Koichi Sakamoto).

One final note: I'm placing this episode between 'The Flute' and 'Team Carnival', after working out the whole timeline thingy.

Just gimme a couple of days for the next one.

[Cmdr Crayfish]

I'm friends with the man who DESIGNED the color scheme of the Aurochzord (even if Bandai ultimately didn't bother to put any corrected names on the package, they did use the color scheme). I know for a fact that among the rejected arms for the Ultimus Megazord were Panda, Tigershark, and even the mythical Grizzly at one point. I know what I'm talking about, unlike you. Once you start down the road of "the Japanese way is most correct" you've gone over to the dark side of PR fandom.

GaoKnight is not Ultimus Megazord. Ultimus Megazord was intended to be something else entirely. Further, that gimp Soulbird was intended to be (before they recolored it back to the default), the Soulhawk. The father of the current Soulbird, just like the recolored Eaglezord was its mother. Ultimus was supposed to introduce several American-exclusive Wildzords. Bandai dropped the ball on implementing this, but at least Aurochzord stands. And the Albino Armadillo, with which it performs the devastating Slapshot finisher.

And if you're going to place credits in the fucking fic, can you at least try and get things right? Doug's credit should be to either Douglas Sloan or Douglas J. Sloan. He has never used "Doug" professionally. Further, there has not been a time since the first half of TURBO when the both of those producers have worked on anything together. It's a well known fact Doug and Jonathan HATE each other. What kind of involvement would Doug have had with this little lucid dream of yours, circa mid-2002?

[Aaron Hong]

Okay, I'm almost done with the next part, but I want to bring something to your notice, folks. It seems to me that Honolulu is a pretty popular location, but I want to base this story on what they call "the Big Island", where the Volcano National Park is. Would that work?

[Aaron Hong]

...okay, my bad for posting in a low-traffic period. Here's the next part anyway.

***

The city limits of Turtle Cove were not normally bustling with activity, but this was a special case.

A whole bunch of Orgs were huddled together, writhing in fear every time Master Org jabbed the invisible barrier with his staff, creating a loud electrical crackle.

"That's all?" Master Org growled. "The strongest and most vicious Orgs in my army are afraid of some invisible BUG-ZAPPER?!"

"YES!!" they chorussed.

"We can't even jab our weapons into it, the energy crackles travel down our weapons and zap us anyway!" Jindrax complained.

"With all due respect, Master Org... there are few of us who can match your threshold of pain," said Toxica, with a low bow.

Master Org suddenly realised something - he was mostly human, after all, which was why the invisible barrier affected him differently. Of course he could try bashing his way through, it'd give the troops some much-needed morale, but then his cover might be blown wide open. This was a different kind of predicament.

"...yes, that's true," he said eventually. "You're all forgetting one little thing, however..."

The crowd fell silent as Master Org grabbed the nearest Putrid by the throat.

"A good soldier is always prepared to take one for the troops."

And with incredbile strength he hurled the Putrid right into the barrier, watching it spasm and convulse in mid air as red-white electrical arcs ran all over its body.

"Good one, Master Org!" said Jindrax. "Any moment now it'll short out..."

...and the Putrid exploded, sending Putrid bits (pun not intended) raining over everyone present.

"...or not," Jindrax sighed.

"What should we do now, Master?" asked Toxica.

Master Org didn't need to think too long. It was obvious that getting an Org behind the barrier might not have much of an effect. Any Orgs already within the dome were fried the minute the barrier came up. There was only one choice.

"Pinhole Camera Org!"

The ground rumbled as a new Org arose - it appeared to be mostly grey ABS plastic, its head and torso a singular unit with a concave indicating its face, and a lens an inch wide indicating its eye. Its limbs were covered in grey plastic armor, held on with nylon straps with black plastic buckles. In its hands were two massive "bugs", microphones that resembled massive matchsticks.

"Report on your observation of the Wild Force Power Rangers," Master Org commanded.

The Pinhole Camera Org executed a salute with its weapons, and began.

"Yesterday, 9 am. Rangers convene in Animarium. Invisible barrier raised. 10 am, Alyssa the White Ranger makes a phone call to an airline, making inquiries and booking seven plane tickets to Hawaii. 12 am, the Rangers take lunch..."

"Yes, yes, get to the important part," Master Org growled.

"My apologies. Today, 12 pm, the Wild Force Rangers and Princess Shayla board the airplane at the airport outside of city limits. Estimated time of arrival in Hawaii is 12 pm local time. That's "local" as in Hawaii time, not..."

"And the Princess?"

"Yes, I just said..."

"I know what you just said," said Master Org, dismissing the Org with a wave. "Don't you have an assignment in a hotel somewhere?"If it isn't obvious enough yet, Pinhole Camera Org is a reference to using tiny cameras to spy on celebs in every possible fashion. "Assignment in a hotel" refers to the most recent example, the Paris Hilton incident."I do, sir. I take my leave now," said the Org, excusing himself.

"The Princess herself travelling out of the Animarium for the first time in three thousand years..." Master Org mused to himself. "They say Hawaii is nice this time of year. And electronic equipment is not affected by the barrier, that should help us a bit."

Master Org waved his hand again, and the Cell Phone Org appeared at his side. Well, not really "appeared" so much as "pushed his way through the crowd as politely as he could".

When he did make it to the front, Master Org casually pulled one phone off the Org and dialled a number.

"...what are you doing?" asked Toxica.

"Someone owes me a favor," said Master Org, and the line connected.

***

As the Pinhole Camera Org mentioned, the Rangers were indeed on a plane, with seven seats all on the starboard side. Taylor was pointing out some locations on the ground to Alyssa, who had the window seat. Princess Shayla was right behind them, listening in. Merrick had insisted on taking the seat beside Shayla, and nobody argued. Right behind them were Danny, Max and Cole - Danny had somehow fallen asleep, while Max was giving a breakdown of Hawaii to Cole with the help of one of those map-cum-brochures.

"...and this big island here is officially Hawaii Island, but they just call it 'the big island.' Here's the fun part - the National Volcano Park is right there, and the same tectonic activity that created them is also responsible for some killer waves. I'll show you a little something I've been rehearsing with the Shark Zord..."

Max stopped for a bit and looked over the top of the seat in front. Taylor was still chatting with Alyssa, and Princess Shayla had fallen asleep at some point, but more importantly, Merrick had fallen asleep as well.

"Are we clear yet?" asked Cole, as Max jabbed the sleeping Danny a couple of times. Danny responded with little more than a murmur and one hand moving slightly.

"Yeah, we're clear," said Max.

"So what did you want to tell me about?" asked Cole.

"Did you see the look on Merrick's face when he saw the ruby pendant, Cole?"

Cole went silent for a bit. "Yeah... he was acting pretty suspicious about it..."

"Remember, he's the only other guy who was around when Princess Shayla fell asleep three thousand years ago. He knows more about that thing than he's letting on."

"Like what?" Cole asked.

"Well, this is just a hypothesis mind you," Max began, "but part of his behavior had 'jealous boyfriend' written all over it. You know Danny as long as I do, you learn to recognise this sort of thing."

Cole had no way to dispute that. "It's funny you'd bring up that pendant, because..."

"...yeah?"

"The Lion and Gorilla Zords. They sensed something in that pendant. And they tried to tell me what it was."

"What was it?" Max asked.

Cole told him.

And Merrick opened his eyes very slowly, raising the one thing Max had overlooked - that one could easily pretend to be asleep.

[cassius335]

Great stuff. I look forward to the next part of this...

Edit: Ok, I've been thinking about this (never a good thing)

Originally posted by Cmdr Crayfish
I'm friends with the man who DESIGNED the color scheme of the Aurochzord (even if Bandai ultimately didn't bother to put any corrected names on the package, they did use the color scheme). I know for a fact that among the rejected arms for the Ultimus Megazord were Panda, Tigershark, and even the mythical Grizzly at one point. I know what I'm talking about, unlike you. Once you start down the road of "the Japanese way is most correct" you've gone over to the dark side of PR fandom.

GaoKnight is not Ultimus Megazord. Ultimus Megazord was intended to be something else entirely. Further, that gimp Soulbird was intended to be (before they recolored it back to the default), the Soulhawk. The father of the current Soulbird, just like the recolored Eaglezord was its mother. Ultimus was supposed to introduce several American-exclusive Wildzords. Bandai dropped the ball on implementing this, but at least Aurochzord stands. And the Albino Armadillo, with which it performs the devastating Slapshot finisher.

Except this isn't a "Japanese Way is most correct" issue. It's a footage issue. If this is supposed to be an adaption as if it were a real PR episode (or two), chances are they'd just use the Sentai footage available. Which would mean using GaoKnight with Bison (IIRC), not The BoA Ultimus Megazord.

And since the couldn't be buggered to give the Bison it's own 'Mode' for the Isis Megazord Predator Mode (from "Fishing for a Friend"), I doubt they'd do any different here. So the Zord would still be considered the Ultimus Megazord.

The Arouch may stand toy-wise, but it would NOT be in this.

Shame though. I kinda like the idea of U.S. exclusive Wild Zords, even though they'd never end up in U.K. (Hell, I don't think we even got the Kongazord)

Does that friend of yours still work at Bandai, BTW?

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by cassius335
If this is supposed to be an adaption as if it were a real PR episode (or two) I was aiming for straight-to-video release, but that might also work. :D

[cassius335]

Even worse budget wise, then...

[Aaron Hong]

I'm putting up a quick one to bump this up, but there's more "hidden plotline" in this piece, so take your time reading it now.

***

Max's idea of the geologics of the Big Island were not as close to the truth as he thought.

For one thing, volcanic activity had rendered certain areas completely off limits. True, the island had its fair share of extinct volcanoes, but it was the dormant ones that caused concern. Seismologists watched them round the clock for the first sign of activity.

Of course one could easily climb the volcanoes to peek into the craters, as the seismologists themselves did on occasion, but in many cases the searing heat made this nigh impossible. Even if it was, specialised equipment would be needed to see what was in there anyway.

Which was unfortunate, because if it were at all possible to peek into the crater of the volcano Kiapolo, one would see some unnatural activity indeed..."Kiapolo" is native Hawaiian for "devil"....in the midst of the glowing lava, a dark silhouette, looking mostly humanoid except for the stalagmites on its shoulders and one massive horn on its head.

"Master Org... has called... and I... I must answer..."

And its eyes glowed a bright red, brighter than even the lava around it.

***

From the thick flora around the volcano, a young native Hawaiian rose to his feet.

He wore a ragged vest over a loincloth, but further details pertaining his clothing were immediately overshadowed by the red glow in his right hand, as he clutched a medallion he wore around his neck.This character corresponds directly to Kaitou, a character in Fire Mountain Howls. More on this later."It's finally happening..."

And for reasons that would be known much later, he pulled out a cell phone and dialled.

***

Apart from seismologists, park rangers were always on hand to watch over the area. As a matter of convenience though, they always used the same facilities, giving the park rangers the opportunity to learn a few things about geology as well.

Charlie, one such park ranger, happened to pass by the seismology room when he noticed something on the printout. The spikes seemed an inch longer.

Adding to this confusion was the phone, which conveniently went off.

"I'll get it," went a nerdy voice from down the hallway.

"No, I'll get it," said Charlie. "You better check on your seismograph, though."

"OK. Thanks."

Charlie took a long sip of coffee as he approached the phone, and picked it up.

"Station Bravo, park ranger Charlie speaking, how can I..."

His face tightened as he heard the caller.

"I know. The seismograph here is spiking, what's causing it?"

The caller told him, as he sipped his coffee again.

And spat it all out in shock.

***

At long last, the plane touched down in Hawaii.

Honolulu to be exact, that popular vacation site of the known universe. Granted it was an afternoon, and the sun could beat down on one like the Rangerboard welcome wagon, but to Wild Force, it was their long-awaited vacation.

Alyssa for one seemed right at home, already armed with a wide hat and a floral dress. Taylor was wearing one of those knotted tops with ripped jeans, as she followed Alyssa down the stairs. Max had on a seizure-inducing Hawaiian shirt, complete with shades. He'd gotten something similar for Danny and Cole as well, only Cole couldn't fight the urge to make himself a new headband.For those of you just joining us, this refers to the second episode of Wild Force, where Cole ripped the sleeves of his WF jersey and made a headband out of them.More important than this was the fact that Cole was suddenly more hyper than usual. While Alyssa and Taylor were being given leis by the Hawaiian welcome wagon, And for those of you posting from outside the US, the lei is that garland of flowers you always see tourists wear in Hawaii.Cole had leaped over the side of the stairs and started running around the plane, taking in as much scenery as he could.

And finally Princess Shayla came out of the plane...

...her usual ring of flowers had been reduced to two hairclips over her ears. They'd gotten here a momo, a Hawaiian floral dress in just the right mix of yellow and white. Close behind was Merrick, whom Max had convinced Merrick to don a grey shirt with two black coconut trees in front. Alyssa even undid a few buttons for him, for effect.

"Can you believe it?!" said Cole. "Look at all this lush green plantlife - look, that was a chimpanzee over in that tree! This place is beautiful!"

It said a lot that Merrick was unconsciously nodding to this, while watching Shayla receive four or five leis at once, then turn and look at him with the joy still on her face.

Things changed the moment someone tried to put a lei around his neck.

He reacted instinctively, pulling the lei right off again before he realised what was really going on.

"Umm..." He bit his lip. "Thank you, this is very nice..." he covered, going on to take the leis from anyone hoping to put them over his head.

Max allowed his face to fall into his hands for a few seconds.

"Look, Rick my man," he finally said, a hand on Merrick's shoulder, "it's been what, three thousand years? You never had a proper vacation of any sort? Just go with the flow, man. See all these other people here? They're here to have fun. When in Rome, y'know?"

"But I've never been to Rome..."

Merrick went silent as a lei finally made it onto his shoulders.

Shayla had somehow found one in his colors, and she winked at him before following Taylor and Alyssa away.

"Trust me on this. Taking princesses on holidays is always a good idea," said Max with a wink and a nudge.Combined with the mention of Rome, this quip from Max is a reference to the classic movie Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn as a princess travelling incognito, and Gregory Peck as her unknowing tour guide cum love interest. They will both be missed. :(Cole finally rejoined the others, and the customs officer let them through with a smile. They had gone barely fifteen feet away before the officer pulled out a cellphone and spoke into it.

"I've let them through, Koa'hi, just like you wanted. In the Hawaiian language, "koa" means hero and "ahi" means fire. I just condensed them and added an apostrophe to make it look more authentic.You won't believe this. This "Sharon Elizabeth" character looks a heck of a lot like that princess from the prophecy.In my rush to work out a civilian name Princess Shayla I could use, the name Shannon Elizabeth sprang to mind. And they do look a bit similar. Maybe under the right lighting.Are you getting this?"

***

From a thickly wooded grove outside of the city, the same young man from the volcano earlier had his cellphone to his ear, though the look on his face was not of someone who was listening.

"The Princess too... I can't believe she's even alive... they must know about Zarkon, it can't be a coincidence... The Orgettes will surely seek them out. Reference to Gaoranger. "Orgettes" were the original name from the Putrids.The order still stands. Give them whatever help you can."

"But what if we blow our cover?"

Koa'hi sighed. "The Princess can be trusted with the truth. And the one they call Merrick. I have no idea who the others are, though, so keep your eyes peeled."

"Got it."

[cassius335]

Interesting. Wonder if this lot heard about Zen-Aku?

[metallicarmor2009]

WOW!!! Not bad... I like this so very much more and more every episode.

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by metallicarmor2009
WOW!!! Not bad... I like this so very much more and more every episode. Y'know, technically it's all ONE episode. Or make that a tenth of an episode, since it's not yet done.

Many thanks to those of you still supporting this in light of recent events, and many apologies for keeping you all hanging. This is just a tiny bit to bump it back up now.

***

After a hearty buffet lunch at the hotel Kamona'whannalaia, the Rangers decided to do some sightseeing.The rather suggestive hotel name up there was grabbed from a sprite-based web comic, and was originally the name of a deserted island. I lost the link... :(

Max insisted on the beach, but Taylor kept telling him that water activities on a full stomach was always a bad idea. Thankfully, she was able to make him promise Princess Shayla that he wouldn't try anything like that, and off they went.

At one in the afternoon, Hawaii turned out to be a lot warmer than Turtle cove, but the palm trees provided just enough shade for a comfortable walk down the length of the beach. Tourists were everywhere, sitting in deck chairs, working on the odd sand sculpture, and even scuba diving (actually, preparing to scuba dive is more appropriate, since it's impossible to see them when they're underwater. But hey.)

The sight of Shayla taking in the scenery, the glow of the sun and a smile both on her face, proved hypnotic to one Merrick Balitou, Lunar Wolf Ranger, who hadn't yet noticed Max's enthusiastic nudging of his ribs.

"...hey, Rick! Hey! The Big Island Ferry's right there, man!"

"The wha...?"

"You said you wanted to get a look at the Volcano National park, well that's the ship that's going there! C'mon!"

The Rangers followed Max to the far end of the beach, where a twin-hulled ship had touched down right on the beach. A ramp resembling a fire engine ladded had extended from between the hulls, but no one was boarding then.The ship's description actually does not come from any vessel operating in Hawaii. When I went for a military exercise in Australia, we went on a ship just like the one described above during R&R. It goes to an undersea observatory en route to Great Keppel Island.And our heroes realised just why that was, as the ship's horn went off.

"Oh man, it's leaving! C'mon!"

***

It wasn't that hard to see the Rangers running toward the ship from its bridge, but the ship's captain was otherwise occupied. He was on the phone, for one thing.

"...I heard you the first time, Koa, but they're running onto the ship! There's nothing I can do to stop them..."

"If they're not the Ancient Warriors, they might see Zarkon arise and our cover will be blown wide open!" buzzed the voice on the other end of the line. "I don't care if the Princess is with them! Don't let them aboard!"

***

With a shared glance, Cole and Merrick dropped on all fours and dashed as fast as they could...

...climbing the side of the port hull and making it aboard.

Close behind were Max and Alyssa, who leapped off the sand, executing a forward flip, and catching Cole and Merrick's wrists in genuine trapeze style.

"Hold on to me," said Taylor, her arm already around Shayla's waist as she nodded to Danny...

and he grabbed the back of Taylor's belt, hurling her upward as she leaped off the sand, landing on the port hull as four Rangers waited to catch her.

And Danny used the last trick he had up his sleeve, going into a low run, and raising both fists to bash the ground...

...the sand beneath his feet exploded, hurling him into the air, onto the hull, and into the waiting arms of five fellow Rangers.

***

"...too late," the ship's captain muttered into his cellphone.

"Oh no," said Koa'hi. "They're not the Ancient Warriors. They were chosen by the Power Animals only because they were needed at the time. They may be here tracking Orgs, but they don't know about Zarkon's true nature, and they might not be ready for him..."

"With all due respect, Koa," said the captain, "I think they are."Yes, the name Zarkon is grabbed from the classic cartoon Voltron. There's a more elaborate explanation later in the fanfic.

[cassius335]

No, they aren't the Ancient Warriors...they're the Power Rangers

[Red Lion Ranger]

Hey Aaron. I don't care what other people think, But you have a
good idea for the introduction of the Ultimus Megazord in which
gave me an idea for one as well. Anyways, keep up the good
work.

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by Red Lion Ranger
Hey Aaron. I don't care what other people think, But you have a
good idea for the introduction of the Ultimus Megazord in which
gave me an idea for one as well. Anyways, keep up the good
work. This means more to me than you believe. When I started posting on Transformers discussion boards, it took me a whole year to reach that level. Thank you.

Just for that, here's another part.

***

"Good afternoon, everyone. This is your captain speaking," went the ship's public address system - Alyssa though she the voice sounded a bit breathless, but paid no further heed. "In about half an hour we'll be touching down on the beach of Hawaii, the Big Island as we like to call it, and we've got clear, warm skies ahead of us. Feel free to take pictures of the islands out of the starboard windows, or the right side windows to you, but I must advise you to be seated when we hit the beach. We hope you enjoy your trip."

Doing just that was Princess Shayla, leaning on the starboard railings and watching the islands as they passed. Merrick watched her from an upper deck, and Taylor, after finally coaxing Cole off the bow, noticed Shayla being more than a bit distracted, and stood beside her.

"Penny for 'em?" she asked.

"This is a beautiful place," Shayla began, "and I can't help feeling something familiar about it. Three thousand years ago I met with the heads of several tribes across the world, signing treaties, gaining allies agains the Orgs... but those same three thousand years have changed the world so much that so litle is familiar to me anymore. Even these islands - not only the people and places, but the very formation seems to have changed..."

"Oh, we're in an area of high tectonic activity, you see," Taylor explained. "The big island alone plays host to a dozen volcanoes. Even without those, the earthquakes are enough to reshape the islands very dramatically within that time you mentioned."

Princess Shayla nodded, though it was not clear how much she understood. "It shouldn't bother me as much as this, I know. That was was long over, and I'm here to put down the burden of the Animarium and the new battle against Master Org, until I go back. In any case, there should be no other reminders of that past left standing any more, never mind the place..."

Taylor was trained as a combat pilot, learning to see everything as letters and numbers like wind speeds, weather types, visibility, and that was just outside the plane. While those had stripped her of the ability to read people's feelings, she was able to recognise and react to basic body language in a blink.

Thus it was that she noticed Shayla trail off as something in the distance caught her attention, then followed her gaze to the bow of the ship...

...where the big island itself and the biggest volcano she'd ever seen came into view.

"...Except for that," said Princess Shayla at last.

***

"Well, we're on the big island and those kids are escorting the Princess down as I speak," the captain muttered into his cellphone. "I wonder if they'll notice that the customs officer that let the Princess' bogus passport through without a blink is now the tour guide."

"If it's one thing about Nukunuku, it's her skill in disguise," said Koa'hi. "Just act natural. A'puaa is in charge on this island, he'll take it from here."The names of Koa's three aides, Humuhumu, Nukunuku and A'puaa all come from the same word. Humuhumunukunukua'puaa is the name of the well-known Hawaiian triggerfish. It's like koalas in Australia, trust me.

"But what if Zarkon does arise?"

"It'll be hard to cover it in the daytime," said Koa'hi, "Stick to the plan. Get them off that island by sundown. Don't worry. More than half the park rangers are family, they'll know what to do."

"What happens at sundown?" asked the captain.

"I get to see the Princess' new guard for myself," Koa'hi replied. "Up close."

***

While the attractive tour guide was leading the tourists down a wide, paved road through the Volcano National Park, Taylor engaged in quick conference with the other Rangers, and formed a new plan.

Shayla was escorted by Cole and Merrick through the thick fauna, directly to the foot of the large volcano they'd spotted off the coast earlier. With a pamphlet map on hand, they pushed through one brightly flowering shrub after another until the ground below their feet went from brown dirt to grayish powder.

"This is volcanic ash," Cole pointed out.

"I think we're close enough," said Merrick. "All right then, Cole, Princess, the show's all yours."

Shayla fixed her eyes upon the peak of the volcano for a few seconds, then clasped her hands and concentrated. Cole just stood with his eyes closed, his jungle skills working in tandem with the Princess' abilities, listening for anything in the volcano's depths.

"I wouldn't know if it was an Org," said Cole. "I tried listening for the heart of an Org that time but I didn't get anything. There's something very faint in here, though, and yet..."

"Any other ideas?" asked Merrick.

"Yeah," said Cole, ignoring Taylor's instructions to head right back. "Let's leave the Princess on her own, help her concentrate. We'll wait back in the trees. C'mon."

Suspecting nothing at all, Merrick followed Cole dutifully back into the jungle, trudging on and on until the Princess was just within sight between the boughs and vines.

***

At the same time, Max had wandered off by himself, to check out the beach. Thanks to volcanic ash, the beach, framed with volcanic rocks as well, was a lot blacker than it ought to be, but the water was crystal clear, and waves reaching ten feet tall curled inwards as they hit the coastline.

Checking that no one could see him, Max reached into his pocket and dug out the Shark Zord crystal.

"All right, big guy," he whispered. "It's time."

The sea breeze picked up almost instantly, the rhythm of the waves suddenly broken as something moved through the water. Something big.

And a dorsal fin as tall as a bus burst forth from the waves.

"Just like the Savage Cycle! C'mon, big guy!"

Two glowing lights under the water - the Shark Zord's eyes - cracked with energy, unleashing two bolts of blue lightning that struck the sand near Max's feet...

...and something began to grow out of the sand, something flat and pointed and reaching eight feet tall.

"Oh yeah," said Max.Based partially on the Savage Cycles, the Savage Surfboards are a one-shot idea more appropriate for an island cluster like Hawaii. It was either these or have Cole use his Animarium armor to fly everyone there in the end.

***

"Now you're going to tell me what this is about, Rick," said Cole.

"...what?"

"The ruby pendant. Shayla found it. You didn't. And something about that has you very upset."

If it was one thing about Merrick, he knew how to react to just about anything. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The Lion and Gorilla Zords sensed something in that pendant," said Cole. "It was never intended to project an anti-Org field. The Princess just used a generic spell that channelled the power."

"Then why are you still asking me?" asked Merrick defensively.

"Because I want to hear what you know first."

"You don't deserve to hear that," said Merrick. "I did nothing more than fight for the Princess long before your grandparents were born. I practically sold my soul to the devil to ensure her safety. And I will not stand here and have my three-thousand-year-old birthright questioned. Not by you."

"So basically we were right," said Cole, his best look of triumph on his face.

Merrick flinched. "'We'?"

"HEY GUYS CHECK THIS OUT I'M HANGIN' TECTONIC TEN W00T!!"

***

By the time Cole, Merrick and Shayla reached the beach, it was too late.

Max, wearing those knee-length trunks with built-in suspenders, was riding a massive fifteen-foot wave, waving to the tourists while standing atop an oversized surfboard.

A surfboard with elegant curved fins and a distinctive blue and silver paint job.

"Oh no," said the Princess, "he didn't, he couldn't have..."

"MAX LOOK OUT!!" Alyssa screamed as Max appeared to slip and fall. The wave itself was collapsing to nothing, before it came close to the beach...

...but Max was not only all right, but paddling like mad as he lay flat on the Savage Surfboard (his own creation), paddling in a very deliberate manner towards another fifteen-foot wave.

The Princess had gone completely silent by the time Max sprang to his feet, riding the curl of the wave this time as he skipped and scooted down the length of the tidal bore, before it collapsed on him.

"I take personal responsibility for this," said Taylor. "I... I never..."

"You never told me Max could do that!" said Shayla at last, running down the length of the beach as she shouted and waved to Max. Sure enough, he emerged from the waters, and waved back.

***

And watching all this from a camouflaged jeep was Charlie, the park ranger, who pulled out his phone and dialled.

"A'puaa?" asked the captain on the other end of the line.

"How'd you guess?"

"Koa'hi checked with you yet?" the captain asked.

"No," Charlie A'puaa replied, "but this is something he needs to know about. Once he's mentally prepared."

"What are you talking about?" asked the Captain.

"I think the five kids really are taking over the Ancient Warriors," said Charlie.

"...why do you say that?"

"Because one of them has a bloody Power Animal."

[cassius335]

I'd have called it the Shark Surfer, myself. :p
Wonder if Max can use it as an oversized Galaxy Glider?

Great stuff...

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by cassius335
I'd have called it the Shark Surfer, myself. :p Let's just say I want to keep my options open. ;)

One more part coming up...

***

The trip back to Honolulu was uneventful, to say the least. It was all the Rangers could do to keep straight faces when some Australian kids kept pestering their parents for "something to feed that giant shark with".

Time had flown a bit faster than they'd expected. The sun was setting, and the Rangers retreated to their hotel rooms in a blink, eagerly preparing for dinner. Cole and Danny had to stand guard outside the shower though, to make sure that Max washed all the salt water odor out of his hair before bursting out and assaulting the buffet table like he'd tried to earlier. Three times, to be exact. Cole had to fake a panther growl to catch him unawares the last time.Christopher Lambert did something like this when he played Tarzan in the movie "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes"So they all went down for dinner, in front of an open-air stage currently playing host to the house band. Shayla had never heard Hawaiian guitar before, but grew to like it in an instant.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow," said Danny to himself, upon recognising the tune. "Whotta coinkydink."Los Indios Tabajaras, the pioneers of Hawaiian guitar, did a cover of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". Danny's just referring to the rainbow-like glowing pathway the Wild Zords always come running on.Danny's listening of the music was spoiled unfortunately by Max plonking down his overladen dinner plate.

"There is no way you are going to finish all that," was Cole's only comment on Max's pile, which had a spring chicken somewhere unter the cuts of ham and fries.

"Hello. Shark," said Max, indicating himself as he started eating.

The rest decided to disregard him and carry on - Cole with a leg of ham to himself, Shayla with some salad to start with as Merrick carved a massive steak for them both, and Taylor and Alyssa swapping some bacon and lettuce. For some reason Danny never touched the steaks."Hello. Bison." line deleted for the sake of good taste.When the band stopped, the tourists applauded loudly.

***

Even the good folks backstage applauded as the portly band members edged their way into the makeup room, looking for all the world like a Hawaiian rap group, wearing a different kind of bling bling. The backstage area was a simple affair, with stools for the performers, two fluorescent lights dangling from the ceiling, bamboo walls and a few hand mirrors to make up for the lack of dressing tables. It was entirely possible for a tourist going to the bathroom to find himself with a face full of pheasant tail feathers, if he caught a performer on the way out.

"Ken! Five minutes to curtain, Kenny!"If you've read the ending, yes, I had South Park's Kenny in mind when cooking this name up."I hear ya!" Ken replied. He was one of the stars, a native Hawaiian boy the same age as the Rangers, and already reknown for his infamous fire-eating act. Fortunately, the fact that he was on the phone left no room for a quick snack before show time.

"...right, I want some people on the exit route as well. Don't keep all of them around Mt Kiapolo. Zarkon might try something."

Silence for a moment.

"No, the scientists won't know what to do. They're not family, remember? Koa out.""Family" does sound like a Mafia reference before you reach the end of the fanfic, doesn't it?Ken - or Koa'hi as his family knew him - took one look at his watch, and decided to get started with the performance. He pulled off his watch and opened his drawer - which already had a ruby-red glow inside it - and threw both his watch and the phone inside.

***

"Y'know," said Cole to Taylor, albeit through half a mouthful of chicken, "I know I've never been here before, and all I know about Hawaii is off pamphlets and TV... but I can't help feeling that something is missing here."

Before Taylor could even reply, the drums started up, and Cole's answer - two rows of hula dancers - started filing out from the stage, twisting and shaking right there among the audience, who clapped along gamely. An Irish couple had even been invited to dance along, and they gladly obliged with a traditional Irish jig in time with the hula dancers.

"They have no idea how to plan these things," Taylor remarked. "Dancing on a full stomach, always a bad idea..."Combined with the Irish jig, this could be seen as a reference to "Titanic", where Jack and Rose go to dance in steerage after dinner in first class, but only if you have that kind of time. I didn't think of that until now.Taylor shut up in a blink when she noticed Cole and Alyssa being pulled along to join the hula dancers - Alyssa did a very good job indeed mimicking the twisting and shaking, but all Cole had to go with was a few music videos he'd watched a while ago. By Ricky Martin, no less.

Max was quiet as well, only he was waiting for one of the dancers to look his way before shamelessly volunteering to dance with them. Neither worked, sadly...

***

It was a very long road from Mt Kiapolo to the Volcano Park exit indeed. The park rangers relied extensively on their bright green Jeep Wranglers to traverse the park limits, and that was just for the more level ground. A couple of helicopters were always on hand though, and reserved strictly for medical emergencies.

Currently cruising down the road in one of those green jeeps was a couple of park rangers. Despite Koa'hi's orders, the native Hawaiians patrolling the volcano park had park ranger regulations to worry about as well, and because of that a few of them, including the current driver here, were partnered with those that Koa would refer to as "not family", for reasons that will be made clear later.

"Whoa, hang on there," said the native Hawaiian's black partner, and the jeep pulled to a halt.

In the middle of the road was a puddle of green goop that glowed in the moonlight. The park rangers climbed out of their jeep, carrying torches, and approached it slowly.

"What is that stuff?" asked the black ranger as the native Hawaiian leaned a bit closer, and used a twig to prod the material.

"Oh no... it couldn't be..."

A metallic SSHHRAKK from behind grabbed their attention as they rose to their feet and turned around.

A massive bony scythe impaled the hood of the jeep, going right through the engine block. Weilding that hideous weapon was a humanoid creature dressed in silver armor, with elegand curved spikes on the shoulders and around its neck, going nicely with its silver headdress, and fangs protruded from the gray lips on its ghastly pale face.All three of the Baron Org-Naga are based on the three villains in Fire Mountain Howls, and just like in that movie, this character is the first one to show his face. The actual situation was different though - upon being swept into the alternate dimension, Sae/GaoWhite, Kai/Gaoblue, Gaky/Gaoyellow and Soutaro/Gaoblack were seperated from the other two Rangers and dropped on a beach, where "Zoltar" finds them and attacks them.The hideous presence was illuminated even further as the jeep exploded.

"What the heck are you?" asked the black park ranger.

"Never mind that! We gotta run!" yelled his native Hawaiian partner, who grabbed his arm and tried to run for it...

...but the puddle of goop began to bubble over, growing and bulging as arms and legs began to protrude from the mass...

...and it finally solidified in the form of eight Putrids.

"...no wonder you guys wanted extra patrols..."

The black guy could say no more, as one Putrid punched him in the gut and a second one kicked him away. The Hawaiian guy got several punches from three Putrids at once before one of them knocked him out cold.

"Well done, my Orgettes," said their general to them, as he turned around to see another jeep blazing down the road. "You must hold this line, for me and my brothers - you will be well remembered."

The Org general produced a massive upturned shell and a dry reed from somewhere on his person, his eyes transfixed on the approaching jeep. He inserted the reed into the shell, covered the end of it with his thumb, and raised the reed, dripping with green goop, leveled on the incoming jeep.

With a hard and sharp breath he blew the goop into an airborne stream, which grew in mid air and turned into four flying Putrids, which landed on the jeep, grabbed the park rangers and pulled them out of their seats.

And the general turned away, walking casually to the beach as the jeep went off the road, flipped over twice, and blew up.

***

Back in Honolulu, the hula dancers had just ended their act, and the crowd applauded. Alyssa had earned a hula skirt of her very own for her troubles, while Cole just earned a standing ovation from the more drunken members of the audience.

He did get a hula skirt eventually, with the bonus of a wink from the most attractive of the hula dancers. And of course he was more than grateful for the attention, but he never did understand why Max was elbowing him like that.

Max only stopped when something about the hula dancer dawned upon him. Something recent, but fairly familiar.

"Hey, she was moonlighting as a tour guide this afternoon..."

A loud tribal yodel gave everyone a shock (and sent soda out of Danny's nostrils) as the next act literally kicked off.

The drums pounded even louder as Ken, the fire-eater, raised two double-headed torches and lit them on a convenient burning pyre right on the stage...

...and started doing his thing.

Spinning the double torches in his fingers, then juggling them - and slowly sinking to his knees as he began to bend over backwards, as the applause grew louder and louder...The character David did just that in the movie Lilo and Stitch. More on this later.With a shout he hurled both torches into the air, sprang to his feet and caught them on the way down, one in front of him and one behind.

While everyone around them were clapping away, Shayla and Merrick had gone quiet, having suddenly found Ken somewhat familiar, but any memory of him was frustratingly out of reach. It wasn't the flaming torches, but the effect of the fire's glow upon his face was raising deep memories within Shayla, memories that had settled and near faded after three thousand years of sleep...

"He's... still alive...?"

***

Chaos was erupting on the big island as Putrids began popping up everywhere.

In most cases, Koa'hi's agents didn't bother to get their Caucasian partners out of sight or even harm's way before fighting the Putrids. Despite overwhelming numbers, the native Hawaiians were reluctant to let the other park rangers participate in the battle, choosing instead to check their black cellphones every now and then, as if awaiting orders.

"But we had people around Mt Kiapolo! How did they arise unnoticed?!" one Hawaiian ranger asked Charlie.

"Never mind all that," said Charlie, holding two Putrids in an armlock. "Get word to Koa, now! They're heading right for him!!"

The ranger nodded, and drew his cellphone, hitting a single button to autodial.

"Koa, come on... pick up, pick up, pick up..."

***

In the hustle and bustle backstage while Ken performed, it was near impossible to hear a ringing cell phone, muffled by the drawer it was kept in, as it was.A common recurring plot device in MMPR is having Tommy unable to respond to hails, because of situations not unlike this one.***

And the rest of Honolulu lay oblivious as three rapidly-swimming forms made their way to the beach.

[cassius335]

Heh. Those three are in REAL danger of getting eaten if the Shark's still around.

Alyssa in a hula Skirt? Oh baby...

Well, guess for next chapter it's fight time...

Good. :D

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by cassius335
Well, guess for next chapter it's fight time... Shit, you're good at this. :D

***

Ken sent a mouthful of lighter fluid blazing over the audience's heads in a stream of fire, just to rile things up. He couldn't stop himself from spitting a few times to get the taste out though, but it didn't hurt the rhythm of his act none.

After a few twirls, he went back to juggling the torches again, but with an added twist - he hurled one torch high into the air, spun on his heel once, and caught it again, drawin even more applause.

A second toss and twirl went just as smoothly as the first.

And thanks in part to the rather limited lighting around the stage, nobody really noticed the way Ken cast a sharp look in Cole's direction, before he prepared to do it a third time...

...tossing the torch up high and spinning on his heel twice.

And accidentally hitting the falling torch with his shoulder, sending it spinning directly at Cole.

Now Cole was still learning the ways of city folk, as it was, but all he really had to go with was one Turtle Cove and anything it could get from outside city limits, by way of television and other such media. And the last, most memorable television programme that Cole remembered watching was the World Series, alongside Max, Danny, and tubs of junk food.

And so it was that while Merrick leaped onto the Princess to shield her, Cole not only caught the incoming torch, but raised it overhead and stood atop his chair, yelling in triumph as the audience cheered him on.For those of you posting outside of the US, this refers to the generic behavior of a baseball fan catching a stray ball during a home run. It's a much bigger deal than you'd think.Ken at least knew how to cover up, looking apologetic for a bit, then raising a hand in Cole's direction in the universal "give the man a round of applause" pose.

And dropped to the floor with arms over his head, as chaos finally erupted in the cabana.

Putrids, armed with clubs and staffs, were bashing their way into the compound, and the tourists were screaming and running by the time all six Rangers rose to their feet.

And leading them were three Orgs that even Shayla herself could not remember...

Zoltar, the silver-armored one with his scythe still in hand.

Vanquo, a fat Org with a massive bronze plate on his belly and silver armor cast in anemone-like tentacles, and a horn that in all honesty looked like a drill.

And their leader, Zarkon, with his spiky coral-like armor worn over a golden-yellow robe, a coral-based sword, a similarly coral-like horn and a permanent scowl on his leaden face."Zarkon" is from Voltron; "Zoltar" is from Battle of the Planets; "Vanquo" is from Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs. All three are classic Japanese anime with more than a few similarities to sentai and Power Rangers, down to the subsequent English dubbing and US re-release.By the time these three were grandstanding in the middle of the compound, the tourists had been herded into a clump on one end of the dining area, with the Rangers stuck in the middle of the crowd.

All except Koa'hi, who was currently feeling about his person, as if looking for something.

***

The backstage area was currently empty - people were fleeing when the chaos started - making the muffled ringing of Ken's phone that much easier to hear.

"Is anybody gonna get that?" yelled a cleaning lady.

***

"Allow me to introduce ourselves," said the youngest of the three Orgs. "I am Zoltar and these are my elder brothers Vanquo and the Baron Org Zarkon. Now, let me explain the situation to you..."

With one foot hiked up on a chair, Zoltar used his scythe to impale a convenient table.

"We are the bad guys. We have weapons. You are the hostages. You have no weapons. You really have to live in Singapore to get this one. I heard this line from a local TV drama, uttered by a terrorist character, and it stuck in my head for a bit.Our demands are very simple and very few. We want the Princess."

It was all the Rangers could do to restrain themselves at this point.

"...and we know she's here, our Org halves feel her..."

"Halves?" said Max.

"In the old days, Baron was a rank that could be bought, and little more than a tool for landlords to gain power," Taylor reasoned. "Cole couldn't sense them as Orgs, and there's only one reason for that..."

Taylor turned her glance to Zoltar.

"You're not full-blooded Orgs, are you?"

"Very smart, lady," said Zoltar. "Our dear mother was a Naga, and the romance between our parents was forbidden - but it did give us a healthy affinity to water. It's funny that you'd raise that, you've got a secret of your own - don't you - POWER RANGERS?!"

"NOW!!"

Reacting by reflex alone, Taylor and Cole kicked the chairs into the half-Orgs' faces. Alyssa and Max took the battle to the Putrids, leaping off tables and kicking them down...

...all to clear a path for Danny, who had two benches in his hands and spun them around with a maniacal roar...

Hurling them onto the Putrids to get them out of the way.Jackie Chan provided some inspiration for these and many of the fight scenes in this fanfic."Everybody out of here, now!!" yelled Merrick, and the grateful tourists made their chaotic escape, trampling on the Putrids on the way out.

Koa'hi could only look on in shock - none of the reports he received mentioned anything like this. True, they were not the Ancient Warriors from the prophecy, lacking their grace, authority and refined skill, but fought with an untamed fury worthy of the Power Animals themselves, and their teamwork far excelled the Ancient Warriors, reaching an almost intuitive level. He'd kept up with news reports from the mainland though, reading about these "Power Rangers" as they called themselves - even identified them as the Princess' new guardians - but he had yet to see them with his own eyes.

Already Cole was thrashing his way through the Putrids with clawing strikes, moving on to spinning kicks as two Putrids approached him from behind, but got kicks in the faces for their troubles.

Taylor leaped off a chair and sat on a table, kicking the chair into the incoming Putrids - when her hand touched the umbrella mounted into the table, and hatched an idea. She pulled it out of the table, using it to block a few blows from the Putrids before closing it to use it like a sword, striking two Putrids in their heads with wide slashes before despatching two more with a jab to the chest and a whack on the head respectively.

Danny had the weirdest weapon of all - he'd grabbed a nearby Putrid, put it in a neck lock, and grabbed the back of its belt with his free hand, using the Putrid as a weapon by whipping its legs at anyone who came near. Making things even weirder was a new move Danny cooked up - using his Putrid's legs to scissor another Putrid's neck (a simple matter of wedgieing it at the right time), then pulling it off its feet and onto a nearby table.Stuff like this happens an awful lot in sentai, only sentai depics direct blows to the groin, while this scene dumbs it down a little for the US audience."Sorry I need to borrow this I'll return it soon thanks!"One finalising reference to Jackie Chan, in this case his animated series Jackie Chan Adventures. Cassius gets a cookie for this one.Koa'hi felt one of his torches being pulled from his hands, as Alyssa started attacking the Putrids with ner new burning weapon. After whacking some three or four Putrids on their heads, they recovered quickly, prepared to counterattack, then realised their heads were on fire and started running like mad back to the beach. One of them had the presence of mind to empty a punch bowl onto its own head, just before Danny hurled a Putrid onto it, putting it through the table and out of commission.

Max remained off the floor for the most part, leaping from one table to another to kick the Putrids in their heads. He saw three more Putrids approaching from a distance, and got the idea to kick three punch bottles off the table and into their heads. Another mass of Putrids was taken care of when Max pushed some silverware on a long table to one end, then stamped hard on the other end with his entire body weight, catapulting some eighty pounds of metal onto the hapless Putrids.More Jackie Chan, in this case from Rumble In The Bronx. The bit from the silverware is my own, though.And Merrick turned an apparent retreat into a major advantage, backing deliberately into one of the wall panels the Putrids had broken down earlier, only to pull a seven-foot bamboo from the debris, and strike the Putrids one by one. Going into a spin kept the Putrids well at bay, giving Merrick a little space and helping him to react to them as they came at him again, by jabbing two of them in the face, whacking three more with wide swings, and jabbing the bamboo into the floor to kick another three Putrids in their heads at a near horizontal approach.From that infamous scene in Matrix Reloaded, when Neo battled a hundred clones of Agent Smith with nothing but a steel pole and a pair of shades. It's commonly referred to as the Burly Brawl. And he suddenly noticed that Cole had just been floored by the flat of Zarkon's blade, and Alyssa tossed overhead like a rag doll by Vanquo, as Zoltar approached Shayla herself...

"PRINCESS!!"

"NO!!"

Zoltar got a shock at the second voice, and failed to react in time as Koa'hi approached him at eye level, planting a solid kick to his face and sending him tumbling. Adding to this was a pair of flaming double-headed torches that he hurled at the two remaining Orgs, causing Vanquo to pat down the flames on his armor in panic.

"We just survived three thousand years in a VOLCANO, you IDIOT!!" Zarkon yelled, whacking Vanquo upside the head.

And Shayla found herself looking directly into the fire-eater's eyes, her faded memories coming back to her at last...

"...Koa?"

Koa'hi went dumb for a second. "How did you..."

"Three thousand years ago. The treaty. Did you forget too?"

"Princess, what's going on?" asked Merrick.

"This is one of the generals I met when I last came here," Shayla explained. "You did too. You remember Koa'hi?"

Merrick had no idea what to say to that - especially when Koa'hi was a name he was specifically trying to forget.

"Any friend of the Princess is a friend of ours," said Cole. "Don't worry - we're fighting him too, just like you once did..."

Cole turned his attention to Zarkon.

"Only we got a whole new way of doing things," he said. "Ready, Rangers?!"

"READY!" yelled his teammates, as five Growl Phones and one Lunar Caller were raised to the moonlight.

"WILD ACCE-"

"HOLY CRAP EVERYBODY GET DOWN!!"

Danny's massive arms pulled all his teammates to the floor...

...as a thick hail of arrows sliced through the air, hitting the three Org Barons.Reference to Fire Mountain Howls. Four of the Rangers are confronted by "Zoltar" in one scene, and they almost morph when events not unlike the ones depicted here take place. Danny even corresponds to Soutarou/GaoBlack by noticing the incoming arrows first."You and your 'family' cannot stop us any more than you ever could, Koa'hi," Zarkon growled. "And by Master Org's command, we will..."

"No we won't!" said Zoltar, grabbing his elder brother by the shoulder. "They've knocked out our Putrids! THEY have the advantage now!"

"But the Princess is right there!!"

"We own the big island now, remember?" said Zoltar. "Don't let your obsession have you a second time, brother!"

Zarkon reluctantly lowered his weapon. "All right then! Retreat!"

And the Barons turned and ran, heading straight for the beach, where they leaped and dived into the water with an unnatural grace.

It took a while for the Rangers to work out what was going on, as dozens of native Hawaiians, some in tribal garb, filed into the compound. All were armed with longbows and curved swords.

"Hey, you were the ship's captain," Alyssa pointed out. "And you were that hula dancer... I don't..."

"I believe," said Koa'hi, "that I owe you all a very long explanation."

[cassius335]

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
And accidentally hitting the falling torch with his shoulder, sending it spinning directly at Cole.

Now Cole was still learning the ways of city folk, as it was, but all he really had to go with was one Turtle Cove and anything it could get from outside city limits, by way of television and other such media. And the last, most memorable television programme that Cole remembered watching was the World Series, alongside Max, Danny, and tubs of junk food.

And so it was that while Merrick leaped onto the Princess to shield her, Cole not only caught the incoming torch, but raised it overhead and stood atop his chair, yelling in triumph as the audience cheered him on.

:D

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"Very smart, lady," said Zoltar. "Our dear mother was a Naga, and the romance between our parents was forbidden - but it did give us a healthy affinity to water. It's funny that you'd raise that, you've got a secret of your own - don't you - POWER RANGERS?!"

I think you mean 'realise', not raise. Guess the secret's out.

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
Danny had the weirdest weapon of all - he'd grabbed a nearby Putrid, put it in a neck lock, and grabbed the back of its belt with his free hand, using the Putrid as a weapon by whipping its legs at anyone who came near. Making things even weirder was a new move Danny cooked up - using his Putrid's legs to scissor another Putrid's neck (a simple matter of wedgieing it at the right time), then pulling it off its feet and onto a nearby table.

:D

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"Sorry I need to borrow this I'll return it soon thanks!"

Koa'hi felt one of his torches being pulled from his hands, as Alyssa started attacking the Putrids with ner new burning weapon.

She's been watching Jackie Chan Adventures, I see...

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"Only we got a whole new way of doing things," he said. "Ready, Rangers?!"

"READY!" yelled his teammates, as five Growl Phones and one Lunar Caller were raised to the moonlight.

"WILD ACCE-"

"HOLY CRAP EVERYBODY GET DOWN!!"

Danny's massive arms pulled all his teammates to the floor...

...as a thick hail of arrows sliced through the air, hitting the three Org Barons.

Heh. They almost morphed.

Danny actually had TIME to shout all that before everyone else finished morphing?

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"Hey, you were the ship's captain," Alyssa pointed out. "And you were that hula dancer... I don't..."

"I believe," said Koa'hi, "that I owe you all a very long explanation."

Very, Very Long Explanation.

Roughly the 20 minute mark there, I'd guess...

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by cassius335
I think you mean 'realise', not raise. Guess the secret's out.I meant" raise" as in "to bring (a fact) to one's attention."Heh. They almost morphed.

Danny actually had TIME to shout all that before everyone else finished morphing?It refers to a nearly similar scene in the sentai movie I adapted this fanfic from, down to the Ranger who said it.Very, Very Long Explanation. Give the man another cookie.:D

***

The tourists had been ushered back to their rooms, and security tightened around the entire hotel. Even the performers from down at the cabana (or at least the hotel security assumed they were) patrolled the surroundings in full tribal garb, carrying weapons that looked a little too authentic.

The Org attack had brought them all out. Native Hawaiians were up in arms, looking out for Orgs while making sure anyone else was out of harm's way, and preferably, not in the know.

Koa'hi, with his entourage of native Hawaiian warriors - including that captain from the Big Island ferry, and the customs officer/tour guide/hula dancer - led the Rangers and Princess Shayla into a clearing deep in a thick jungle, far away from the slightest sign of civilisation. There were more native Hawaiians here, studying maps, making plans, making phone calls - but everyone seemed to recognise Koa, waving to him, giving him reports...

"It's really him," said Shayla. "There can be no mistake, he looks exactly as he did when we first knew him, Merrick, remember?"

"All too well," said Merrick.

"A'puaa!" said Koa all of a sudden, running off by himself.

"Hey," said the badly wounded volcano park ranger in reply, who winced as Koa hugged him. "A few of us got away from the Big Island after the Orgettes overran it," he reported. "When are we going back?"

"Soon enough. Oh yeah. I should really introduce," Koa began, waving an arm to indicate his three aides, "my loyal generals and greatest friends - Humuhumu, master of navigating the waters of Hawaii; Nukunuku, mistress of disguise and espionage; and A'puaa, who keeps vigil over the big island's volcanoes."

The Rangers, looking a bit dazed by now, waved back.

"I'm sure some of you have guessed at the truth by now, or most of it," said Koa. "My people were descended from the very warriors who defended this island, three thousand years ago, allied with many tribes across this half of the planet. While the other half was engaged in its petty squabbles amongst themselves, This basically refers to all the historical conflicts within the Africa/Asia region, like the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Roman empire, Genghis Khan, the Crusades, etc. we were the ones risking our lives, battling the greatest threat of all."

"Master Org," said Taylor.

Koa nodded. "Thanks to Princess Shayla, nearly every ancient civilisation was allied with Animaria, battling the Orgs - with the help of the Power Animals."It's amazing what the American continent gets away with before Columbus discovered it, and what you can pin on civilisations like the Aztecs and Polynesians before people learn everything there is about them, don't you think? :)The Rangers' eyes went wide.

"When the Orgs became too many, an ancient being granted immense strength, constitution and power to the living beings he deemed to be the purest of spirit, their minds free of any distraction that would hinder their fight for the world. And thus, one hundred wild animals all over the world were turned into the majestic Power Animals, that you call Wild Zords..."

"Whoa. No way," said Max. "One hundred Wild Zords?! That's impossible..."Not according to the official Power Animal list released during the run of Hyakuju Sentai Gaoranger. Hyakuju even translates into One Hundred Animals."We weren't sure about the exact number either," said Koa, "but when three Org generals led a massive attack on our island, in a coordinated attack on every allied tribe, we got a very unexpected surprise in the form of a fifty-foot bronze gorilla."

The Rangers' eyes went wider.

"Unfortunately, the gorilla sacrificed itself, dragging the Org generals into the mouth of an active volcano, allowing us to fight the scattering Orgettes, and win..."

"Orgettes?" asked Alyssa.

"Oh, those were the horned grey-skinned soldiers you all creamed before we even reached the scene," said Humuhumu. "Good one, there..."

"Those?" said Taylor. "We call them Putrids where we come from."

An "ohhh..." rose from the native Hawaiians.

"My people have kept vigil over the Big Island and all of Hawaii, as instructed by the prophecy, for the last three thousand years," Koa explained. "We'd worked out early on that Master Org somehow had the ability to coordinate a worldwide attack, and after recovering the body of a fallen Org, not only did we learn how it was done, we were able to share that technology with Animaria."

Koa pulled out his cellphone and showed it to the Rangers. It was jet black, and low on detail, but for the most part it was a near perfect copy of the Growl Phone.

"So, all these years your people have been standing guard - and nobody even knew?" said Taylor. "How do you keep something this huge under wraps?"

"By leaving it in plain sight," said Merrick, as realisation hit him first.

"Many immigrants came over the years," Koa began, "but by sending a small number of our people to live among them, we gained a public face, and at the same time we were able to mask our numbers, and the impending threat. We were, regretfully, right about the threat, at least..."

"Those three Orgs pulled into the volcano - and somehow they climbed out again?" asked Danny.

"That would be my fault," said A'puaa with a raised hand. "I assumed they would arise from the same volcano they'd fallen into three thousand years ago, it was mentioned in the prophecy as being named Mt Kiapolo after that incident... but it turns out they pulled a very slow fast one on us."

"...what?" asked Max.

"These Orgs are actually half-Naga by birth," said Koa'hi. "And rather than being more vulnerable to heat, they not only survived the molten lava, but spent the last three thousand years swimming downward, into the earth's core, and swimming up from a different volcano. The seismic activity in Mt Kiapolo was just some floating debris they'd tunneled up on the way down."

An "ohhh..." rose from the Rangers.

"This prophecy you keep mentioning," said Cole, "that's how you knew about us, and - her?" Cole was shooting glances at Princess Shayla at this point.

"Actually, yes," said Koa. "Only we figured the prophecy was more like a battle log written during that war. It was the Ancient Warriors we read about - you lot are something else altogether. And even after all the news reports we'd received about you, I wasn't sure if it'd be the same. If you were up to the level. I'm sorry."

"You hurled a flaming torch at the Princess just to test us?!"

The Rangers were expecting Merrick's little outburst, down to the grabbing of Koa's collars, but they hadn't expected nearly every one of his warriors raising swords and spears to Merrick's face, and were forced to break them up.

"Only the five of them. You were the last person I'd hoped to have to pull that on, Merrick Balitou," said Koa.

"You're one to talk," said Merrick. "You pulled a little something behind my back that time too, didn't you?"

"It was not what you beleived," said Koa. "When the red gorilla Power Animal fell into the volcano, its Power Crystal split in half, and we thought that if we sent one half to Princess Shayla, she could help us with it. Turned out it reached her on the same day you decided to give her that necklace."

Princess Shayla's hands reached her necklace, that gold band with a sapphire inlaid that Merrick himself gave her long ago.

"You thought he was trying to take her from you, didn't he? That half-crystal never reached her because of you! My ancestor trusted you as a fellow warrior, and a friend, and you do THIS?"

"Ancestor?"

The Rangers, and Shayla herself, were looking at Koa now. The last of Shayla's memories had returned - the Koa'hi she knew was covered in scars even before the Orgs, scars from cuts and grazes - the Koa'hi standing before her now had burns instead, presumably from his inflammable act.

"I..." said Merrick. "He..."

"He spent a little more time in conference with the Princess, as far as I could tell," said Koa. "I'm thinking it's because defending a clump of islands takes a totally different battle plan. Who knew we'd have to end up worrying about our allies too."

"Hang on there, Koa'hi," said Cole, with both hands raised. "I asked Merrick about this once. He never confessed, but I know he was simply jealous. Simple, but enough to weigh on his conscience all this time. Three thousand years, Koa'hi. That's a long time to hold a grudge, don't you think?"Duncan MacLeod uttered this last line in an episode of the Highlander TV series. Not the three thousand year bit, most of the immortals in that show age in the hundreds."...you're right," said Koa. "I should have known... the prophecy mentioned Zen-Aku too. My ancestor stressed that if ever Zen-Aku arose, he had to be taken alive and freed of the curse of the wolf mask."

"I guess I have a lot to learn from him - how to forgive and forget," said Merrick.

"As do I," said Koa. "I'm sorry..."

The Rangers looked on with interest, as Koa and Merrick shook hands at last, and even hugged each other.

"At least we know now that surviving for three thousand years is still a safely-guarded secret," said Alyssa, hoping to reinject some cheer into the atmosphere.

"It's not over though," said Nukunuku. "We have to retake the Big Island. We got family counting on us."

"I know," said Koa, looking at the Rangers. "Should be a bit easier, now."

"Family?" asked Danny. "I didn't know Hawaii played host to Italian immigrants as well..."Those of you who picked out the "family" as a Mafia reference may not know that the term originates all the way from a real Mafia faction called La Familia, which translates into family, natch."It's not that," said Koa. "You should know, not all native Hawaiians participated in that war against the Orgs, just the ones who could fight. A standing army, if you will. The elders wished us well, gave us their blessing, and named the regiment Ohana."

"Hey, I know about ohana," said Alyssa. "The Hawaiian concept of family. No one is left behind, or forgotten."

"It actually makes more sense in a wartime concept, if you think about it," Koa pointed out. Alyssa went quiet as she did just that.Ohana is a genuine concept in Hawaii, and "No Child Left Behind" is the slogan for an existing Ohana foundation. Koa's "wartime" quip could be traced to any number of origins, like the tagline for the movie Black Hawk Down ("Leave No Man Behind", or in a more PR-relevant context, a line from the second episode of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, when Commander Stanton said "Never, ever leave a teammate behind.""So that's what this is..."

The Rangers turned to look at Princess Shayla, curently standing in front of a gorilla-shaped granite altar, and examining what appeared to be an exact replica of the ruby pendant she'd found in the Animarium.

"Only it's an exact mirror image of the other one," she said half to herself. "I'm sorry Koa'hi, but even if I had the other half here, I can't put them together again. It takes an immense amount of energy to forge one of these things, and even if we did, the Red Gorilla Zord might not respond to it."

"Given how it entered the volcano at the same time as the Baron Org-Nagas, but they came out anyway," said Merrick, "I didn't want to say this, but trying to get the Red Gorilla Zord out again might be a waste of our time."

The Rangers and Ohana all fell silent.

"Rick's got a point here," said Max. "We gotta go to that island and take it back, right now..."

Max was rudely interrupted as a loud boom and rumble shook the ground, making everyone duck.

"...or we could sit here and talk history while they counteratttack, good one, Koa," Koa'hi muttered to himseif.Last-minute addition here. "Yeah, right, lock the door Tommy, real good." :)"C'mon!" Cole yelled. "Half-Naga or not, we're fighting the same bad guys, and that makes us all family! Let's go!!"

[cassius335]

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"Whoa. No way," said Max. "One hundred Wild Zords?! That's impossible..."

Give or take. Wouldn't be surprised if a few got missed off the list...

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"You hurled a flaming torch at the Princess just to test us?!"

The Rangers were expecting Merrick's little outburst, down to the grabbing of Koa's collars, but they hadn't expected nearly every one of his warriors raising swords and spears to Merrick's face, and were forced to break them up.

For whose safety? :p

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"Only it's an exact mirror image of the other one," she said half to herself. "I'm sorry Koa'hi, but even if I had the other half here, I can't put them together again. It takes an immense amount of energy to forge one of these things, and even if we did, the Red Gorilla Zord might not respond to it."

Presueably if it can be split in half, it can be reforged.

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"...or we could sit here and talk history while they counteratttack, good one, Koa," Koa'hi muttered to himseif.

"C'mon!" Cole yelled. "Half-Naga or not, we're fighting the same bad guys, and that makes us all family! Let's go!!"

Hopefully they'll get to morph this time...

[Mr Tuesday II]

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"Hey, I know about ohana," said Alyssa. "The Hawaiian concept of family. No one is left behind, or forgotten."

Did Alyssa see Lilo and Stitch before leaving ? And if this was a real episode, PRWF would've started on ABC around the time this would have aired.

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by cassius335
Give or take. Wouldn't be surprised if a few got missed off the list...Ever caught the WF season finale? The bit where every Power Animal on the planet showed up? It's confirmed that there's a total of one hundred of them, thanks to the sentai version, Hyakuju Sentai Gaoranger - the first part of the name means One Hundred Animals.Presueably if it can be split in half, it can be reforged.That's what the Princess meant by "an immense amount of power." It's possible, but not just yet...Originally posted by Mr Tuesday II
Did Alyssa see Lilo and Stitch before leaving ? And if this was a real episode, PRWF would've started on ABC around the time this would have aired. Actually, ohana is very authentic indeed, the Hawaiians believed in it long before Lilo and Stitch even came out. I just found a deliberately fakey way to explain it, while at the same time making two snide references for the price of one. Remember in PRLG when Commander Stanton said "never, ever leave a teammate behind"? :D

[cassius335]

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
Ever caught the WF season finale? The bit where every Power Animal on the planet showed up? It's confirmed that there's a total of one hundred of them, thanks to the sentai version, Hyakuju Sentai Gaoranger - the first part of the name means One Hundred Animals.

One Hundred and One. Soulbird Jnr... (notice the Gao 100 list only has one Soulbird listed, while WF features at least two...)

And if Power Animals can breed, who says Soulbird Jnr was the only one? Do the Bear Brothers have parents, for example, that where missed off the list?

And that's not even counting BoA stuff like Aurochzord and the theorectical Soulhawk...

Edit: Scratch that. Just double checked. The Soulbird isn't even listed as part of the Gao 100, despite supposedly taking up an arm slot for "Soul Blast" combinations...

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by cassius335
And that's not even counting BoA stuff like Aurochzord and the theorectical Soulhawk... Thought I'd do a search on that... http://www.planetnaboo.org/funaroverse/funaroverse3/archive10.html
Pull that scroll button to slightly below the middle of the page and start there. Still sounds like bullshit, though.

[cassius335]

I assume you're refferring to this?

From El Funaroverse:
Hey check it out, it's the 6th and final megazord for PRWF! The Ultimus Megazord! Red Ape, Blue Shark... Green Soul Bird? White Armadillo? Blue Bison? What's going on here? (Image courtesy of Gaopata, who is on holiday)
How, you ask, could such a thing come to be? Well I have been infiormed that a certian story editor (who shall remain nameless) was in a meeting with Bandai several months ago discussing the tail end of the PRWF line. Upon being told the 6th megazord assortment (red ape w/ white soul bird arm) was to include the blue shark, black bison and yellow eagle, for the third time, he struck his fist upon the table and bellowed, "I say thee nay! For Gaoranger be already rife with recolors, let it be so in this final Megazord! And ditch the Soul Bird, I hate that gimpy thing, it's being sold seperately anyway. How about Gaopanda?"
He was then informed that, though they liked the idea, it was probably too late in production to make any changes, and departed sullenly to drown his failure in mead and tavern wenches.
Fast forward to today- Augist 9th, as this picture shows up online, with its str'ngly alt'red wild zords, much head scratching ensued. "Huh. I guess they did it after all. Stupid shark arm, I specificly ordered an orange tigershark, oh well..."
Undaunted, our heroic writer provided some off-the-cuff musings on the recolored zords.
The Green Soul Bird: Is the Soul Bird's father. We saw its mother in Soul Searching.
The Blue Bison: Is an Auroch, an extinct relative of the Bison. Affectionately nicknamed 'Auroch the Conquoror-Zord.'
Derik notes: While little is known about the White Armadillo, I speculate that since it's called the Armadillo Puck, Ultimus's finisher involves a slapshot using the Sharksword as a hockey stick.

[Aaron Hong]

Yeah, that's it.

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by cassius335
Edit: Scratch that. Just double checked. The Soulbird isn't even listed as part of the Gao 100, despite supposedly taking up an arm slot for "Soul Blast" combinations... I'm thinking it's because they disregard the toys while making that list. In all honesty though, if they'd not only gone ahead with the Soulhawk but replaced the Armadillo Puck with a silver Eagle Zord colored like the mother Soul Bird, the fanboys would drool over it.

Slightly offtopic, I'm considering drawing a new picture of my femme Ultimus Megazord, but with recolored Zords as well - orange Tigershark sounds good, I'm adding a black Tigerzord (Panther), a brown-and-white Eaglezord (Bald Eagle) and a black-and-white Bison ("Gateway"-type Cow). Too American? :D

Back on topic - here's more of the story.

***

The seaside had descended into absolute chaos by the time the Rangers got there.

Putrids were walking out of the water en masse, From the underwater march scene in Pirates of the Caribbean.bashing through obstructions and people alike. While the Ohana had firearms at their disposal, they couldn't keep every single Putrid at bay, and it was right about the time the Putrids climbed over their fallen comrades in their big advance did the humans know they were hopelessly outclassed.

"We're too late! It's started!" said A'puaa, at the wheel of a jeep carrying Princess Shayla and both the Ranger ladies. The four Ranger males had a jeep of their own, and Max rejoiced at being thrust with the task of driving since he'd never actually had a licence.

"Get us over there right now!" Merrick ordered, and Max nodded in reply - but messed up the jeep's controls, taking it into a wheelie (and hurling Danny into the sand) Danny's sentai counterpart Soutaro/Gaoblack got treated like this a lot in Gaoranger. In Fire Mountain Howls, just after the Rangers get blown into the alternate dimension, Soutaro gets stuck vertically into the sand.as it charged right into the Putrids, breaking them up.

Taylor and Alyssa stared in shock at what appeared to be Max's defining heroic moment. Taylor looked at the Princess, wondering if he'd earned her approval in any way, but she only shrugged in a puzzled manner.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Taylor stuck out her left leg and stepped on A'puaa's foot...

...his scream of pain (the foot was covered in bandages) was lost in the engine roar as the Jeep leaped over some convenient sloping rocks, landing atop the Putrids as the Ohana cheered loudly.

Thanks to this boost of morale, the Ohana fought with renewed vigor, striking the Putrids with spears and swords. Max leaped out the side of his jeep, avoiding the clubs of two Putrids as Merrick followed close, grabbing the Putrids' weapon arms and sending the clubs into each other's heads.

Cole had something more violent in mind - lunging at one Putrid and shoving it to the ground before elbowing it hard. Danny was a bit late in joining the battle, but made himself useful by pulling down the Jeep's tailboard and getting two incoming Putrids in the gut. Two more Putrids got a shock as Danny went low, turning around to deliver two elbow jabs into their gut, then grabbed their collars and hurled them overhead.Actually I didn't realise this at the time, but Cole and Danny are the only ones mirroring the moves of their sentai counterparts in Fire Mountain Howls, except that Kakeru/Gaored pulls more people to the floor.Taylor leaped out of her Jeep, not touching the ground at all as she kicked one Putrid after another in the face. Two Putrids approaching her got a face full of sand as she dug both toes into the ground and executed a back flip, kicking a Putrid behind her in the chest, then returned to the first two, letting off two sharp kicks in their faces.

And Alyssa was left with protecting the Princess, fending off Putrids with one kick after another, but two of them grabbed her shoulders and dragged her away, just as two more approached the Princess herself...

...and got a rude shock as Merrick leaped into the scene, striking them in the face with both heels in an incredible mid-air split.

Max was getting all hyper now, stepping off his jeep's fender to go airborne, kicking one Putrid in the face and elbowing a second one on the head, in one fluid motion. He ended it by crouching low just as Cole leaped over the jeep and Max himself, grabbing another Putrid by the collars, and flipping over it, landing on his feet...

With a roar he not only pullet the Putrid off its feet but hurled it into two more Putrids, who saw it coming but couldn't run fast enough before it landed on top of them.

The seawater seemed to explode as the three Baron Orgs came leaping out of it with dolphin-like grace, landing on the sand with a thump. The Rangers recognised them instantly: the oldest, Zarkon, the fat one, Vanquo, and the youngest of the three, Zoltar, all with weapons raised and ready.

"What is it this time?" asked Cole, just as a third jeep entered the scene.

"Just paving the way for our future Org-Naga empire," said Zoltar. "We're just taking time out from preparing a little something on the Big Island."

Koa'hi, driving the third jeep, froze in his tracks upon hearing this, and cast a glance into the ocean.

"We'll have someplace to stage a proper victory celebration when this is over, heh heh heh!" Vanquo chortled.

"What are you talking about?" asked Taylor.

"Our castle, my Ancient Warrior wannabe," said Zarkon. "Three thousand years is a lot of spare time indeed; we thought we'd build a little something while we were down there. It should be rising out of a big enough volcanic crater right now."

"Now that's just ridiculous," said Max.

"You don't own that island, and you never will," said Danny.

"You brought this partly on yourselves, you know that," said Zoltar. "By shielding your own city from us, you have left the rest of the planet vulnerable to our rule."

Princess Shayla went completely quiet at this - she hadn't noticed that Koa'hi had gone and run off by himself.

"The Ancient Warriors would never have made a stupid decision like that," said Vanquo, "but y'know, it says a lot that they're unable to be here now, leaving you lot to worry about us..."

"You're wrong," said Cole. "We may not be Ancient Warriors or native Hawaiians any more than you are full-blooded Orgs, but we're fighting the exact same war that they did three thousand years ago. And even though they've defended this island for generations while we've only been doing this for less than a year... we still have something in common."

Cole was raising his unfolded Growl Phone, prompting the Ohana to pull out their own cellphones, one by one, and look at them - and realising how uncannily similar they really were.

"Nobody is left behind," said Alyssa.

"Nobody is forgotten," said Max.

"Nobody is alone," said Danny.

"And nobody can tear us apart," said Taylor.

"...because we are family," said Merrick.

"AND WE NEVER GIVE UP!" yelled Cole. "Everybody ready!"Another deliberate reference to Lilo and Stitch, expanded upon to accomodate the Wild Force Rangers. It's worth noting that Disney now owns both Stich and PR."WILD ACCESS - HAAA!!!"

Five golden Growl Phones appeared to streak across the battlefield, unfolding into beast-like form, then unfolding further into humanoid form...

Fusing into the Ranger's bodies, to form their unique bodysuits.

And the Spirits Of The Earth - the Lion, Eagle, Shark, Bison and Tiger - appeared around the Rangers' heads, forming their helmets.Another scene from Fire Mountain Howls. Rather than the usual split-screen for morphing all the rangers at once, the Growl Phones and Rangers are instead depicted side by side within the same frame."Blazing Lion!" Cole roared, "WILD FORCE RED RANGER!"

"Soaring Eagle!" screamed Taylor, "WILD FORCE YELLOW RANGER!"

"Surging Shark!" shouted Max, "WILD FORCE BLUE RANGER!"

"Iron Bison!" yelled Danny, "WILD FORCE BLACK RANGER!"

"Noble Tiger!" Alyssa growled, "WILD FORCE WHITE RANGER!"

"Howling Wolf!" howled Merrick, "LUNAR WOLF RANGER!"

"Guardians Of The Earth - all its countries, all its people - UNITED WE ROAR!" Cole announced. "All together now!"

And with a single seismic thump every Ranger struck the ground with both hands...

"POWER RANGERS WILD FORCE!"

***

Something big was happening on the Big Island.

Koa'hi had not only reached the seaside, in an outrigger canoe he leaned against a huge boulder, but was safely hidden behind some volcanic rocks on a jagged part of the coast, as a Putrid patrol walked right past. He'd been counting on the Rangers to keep the Baron Org-Naga busy while he and Nukunuku struck at the actual threat.

"Please don't go and run off like that again," said Nukunuku. "For believing in the values of ohana so much, you're doing an awful lot of self-centred thinking here..."

"I figured they were more like guidelines anyway," said Koa'hi. Pirates of the Caribbean again."There it is, see that?"

The low rumble already in the ground grew heavier, and Koa and Nuku looked up at a nearby volcano as two reddish horns protruded from the crater. They kept on rising, revealing a gray granite base that turned out to be...

"A castle," said Nuku.This castle appeared in Fire Mountain Howls, and played a much bigger role there, with some scenes taking place within its walls. Thanks to the revised origins of our main villains, much of the castle's potential was lost in this fanfic."I knew it," said Koa. "Way I see it, we just have to disable whatever's making that float out of the lava, before they have it secured with foundations or whatever, and it'll sink back in. You still with me?... Nuku, what...?"

Koa went silent as Nuku pointed at the three Putrids staring down at them.

"Umm... hello there, Orgettes," said Koa, clutching Nuku close as he started to sidestep slowly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know this place was taken... me and my girl here will just be on our..."

The Putrids took one step forward and raised their clubs. Koa slowed his pace, moving towards the grass as the Putrids remained on the rocks.

"...gee," said Koa'hi, "I know you couldn't have survived in the lava, did you spend all these years hiding out someplace else? Like on the mainland...?"

The Putrids stepped closer, remaining on the rocks.

"Not California, I'm sure, maybe somewhere further north... a great big place where it'd be hard to find you... someplace like... Yellowstone...?"

And a powerful incoming wave struck the volcanic rock outcropping from below, sending a stream of water through a hole in the rocks that opened directly beneath the Putrids, turning into a geyser-like blast, and hurling all thee of them into the sea.Volcanic rock formations like this do exist in Hawaii. Water boils when lava hits it, and sometimes pockets of water vapor get inside the lava to form airspaces that sometimes rises all the way through."I love Hawaii," said Koa'hi, as he turned and ran.

***

Expect the next part fairly soon, all the sentai footage is coming up at this point so it'll be over rather quick.

[cassius335]

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
I'm thinking it's because they disregard the toys while making that list. In all honesty though, if they'd not only gone ahead with the Soulhawk but replaced the Armadillo Puck with a silver Eagle Zord colored like the mother Soul Bird, the fanboys would drool over it.

I thought the Soul Bird Mother was green...

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
Slightly offtopic, I'm considering drawing a new picture of my femme Ultimus Megazord, but with recolored Zords as well - orange Tigershark sounds good, I'm adding a black Tigerzord (Panther), a brown-and-white Eaglezord (Bald Eagle) and a black-and-white Bison ("Gateway"-type Cow). Too American? :D

I like the idea of Panther, but maybe go for the whole intended U.S set: Ape, Tigershark, Auroch, Panda and Armadillo.

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
"WILD ACCESS - HAAA!!!"

Five golden Growl Phones appeared to streak across the battlefield, unfolding into beast-like form, then unfolding further into humanoid form...

Fusing into the Ranger's bodies, to form their unique bodysuits.

And the Spirits Of The Earth - the Lion, Eagle, Shark, Bison and Tiger - appeared around the Rangers' heads, forming their helmets.

"Blazing Lion!" Cole roared, "WILD FORCE RED RANGER!"

"Soaring Eagle!" screamed Taylor, "WILD FORCE YELLOW RANGER!"

"Surging Shark!" shouted Max, "WILD FORCE BLUE RANGER!"

"Iron Bison!" yelled Danny, "WILD FORCE BLACK RANGER!"

"Noble Tiger!" Alyssa growled, "WILD FORCE WHITE RANGER!"

"Howling Wolf!" howled Merrick, "LUNAR WOLF RANGER!"

"Guardians Of The Earth - all its countries, all its people - UNITED WE ROAR!" Cole announced. "All together now!"

And with a single seismic thump every Ranger struck the ground with both hands...

"POWER RANGERS WILD FORCE!"

Hmm... Mind if I make a suggestion here?

******

"Blazing Lion!" Cole roared, "RED RANGER!"

"Soaring Eagle!" screamed Taylor, "YELLOW RANGER!"

"Surging Shark!" shouted Max, "BLUE RANGER!"

"Iron Bison!" yelled Danny, "BLACK RANGER!"

"Noble Tiger!" Alyssa growled, "WHITE RANGER!"

"Howling Wolf!" cried Merrick, "SILVER RANGER!"

"Guardians Of The Earth - all its countries, all its people - UNITED WE ROAR!" Cole announced, the gathered Ohana responding with a deafening unified cry. "Power Rangers..."

And with a single seismic thump every Ranger struck the ground with both hands...

"WILD FORCE!"

****

Originally posted by Aaron Hong
Expect the next part fairly soon, all the sentai footage is coming up at this point so it'll be over rather quick.

Shame. I'm enjoying this... :D

[Aaron Hong]

Originally posted by cassius335
I thought the Soul Bird Mother was green...That means I got my colors mixed up.

Y'know what, if I ever bring this up again, feel free to whack my head. :)I like the idea of Panther, but maybe go for the whole intended U.S set: Ape, Tigershark, Auroch, Panda and Armadillo.That'd leave the Femme without the Eagle wings forming a skirt. I dunno. It'd look a bit boring.Hmm... Mind if I make a suggestion here?

******

"Blazing Lion!" Cole roared, "RED RANGER!"[....] Is that how it should go on the show? Dammit, gotta start paying attention...Shame. I'm enjoying this... Well then, I'll break the remainder into smaller parts. Happy?

EDIT: Seriously though, every time I post a part I get that Server Busy thing, so no choice, I have to post in smaller bits.

Of special note - considering how Koa's corresponding character in the sentai movie went down after two hits, I consider my version a VAST improvement. :D You gotta wait till the next part, though.

***

Cole lunged at Zarkon with claws bared, but Zarkon caught his claws on his massive broadsword. Zoltar interrupted with a jab to Cole's face, and a backhanded swing at Max, striking his chest with the handle of his scythe, and making poor Max flip over once.

Vanquo seemed to be doing the same thing, shielding Zarkon with his own body as Danny let off a flurry of punches, then grabbing Danny's arms and flipping him into Taylor before she could do anything.

Merrick was the first one to figure out what they were really doing.

"They're covering Zarkon! He's gone!"

"Huh?" was the now concussed Danny's first reaction, as he saw it too...

Zarkon, swimming directly toward the Big Island with shark-like purpose.

"Why's he going off like that?" asked Max.

"And where did Koa run off too?" asked Taylor.

***

Evading one Putrid patrol after another, Koa'hi and Nukunuku managed to scale about fifty feet of the volcano, when they came across something.

Someone had carved an altar out of the volcanic rock, which conveniently overlooked the ocean. A circular, level area about ten feet wide, with three spherical structures equally arranged around a central pedestal. It was a bit hard to make out the indentation on the pedestal in the fading moonlight, as day prepared to make its approach.This altar is ripped directly out of Fire Mountain Howls, but it doesn't quite fill the same role it does here."It wasn't carved out of the rock, if that's what you're wondering. It was unearthed from beneath it."

Koa and Nuku turned around as Zarkon himself stared down at them.

"Too many volcanic eruptions covered it in dust and what have you," said Zarkon, "but the real question here is - what could your ancestors be planning to do with this?"

"One of my ancestors nearly destroyed you. I think that explains a lot," said Koa.

"Yes, of course," said Zarkon. "The original Koa'hi. Never met him before that big fight, but I knew right away he was a fine figure of a man, and an honorable warrior. If only he knew his descendant was reduced to hanging on to a fading dream, while doing circus tricks."

Koa raised a hand to his ruby pendant.

"I killed your ancestor, I watched him die," said Zarkon, "with a certain sense of satisfaction, I might add - then something happened. Something unexplainable. The Red Gorilla arose, and tried to destroy me. After being unconscious in the lava for a while, I realised what should have happened to me, but didn't - being half-Naga I should be destroyed by lava - and I was compelled to stay, to return, to work out the truth. And now here I stand before you after three thousand years, descendant of Koa'hi, because of him I have changed, a different reason for vengeance burns in my veins, so to speak."Agent Smith, Matrix Reloaded.Koa'hi pulled off his ruby pendant and linked it to the pummel of a sword he'd been carrying.

"But reasons can change, which brings me to the reason why we are here," Zarkon added. "We are not here because we are free - we are here because we are not free. My purpose is to bring honor to my parent's sullied name - yours is to hang on to a half an animal crystal and the fading dream it carries. There is no escaping change, no denying purpose - for as you know, without purpose, we would not exist..."

"You're wrong," said Koa, drawing his sword. "You just said that you were fighting for your parents - Org father and Naga mother, I think. And I'm fighting to protect my country and my people from YOU. You see, we're fighting for something bigger than mere purpose..."

"Of course," said Zarkon. "Your vaunted concept of family."

"A toast," said Koa, raising his lighter fluid bottle, "to family."

And Koa sucked the last of the lighter fluid into his mouth, then crushed it in his hand, hurling the bottle away as he spewed all the lighter fluid onto the blade of his sword.Some of you may remember the character Haohmaru from Samurai Shodown 2 doing something like this, but with wine instead of lighter fluid. The actual process dates all the way back to ancient Japan, at about the time they learned that alcohol doesn't cause rust.And as Zarkon raised his weapon and broke into a run, Koa started to run as well, dragging the tip of his sword along the altar base so hard and fast that it raised sparks, causing the entire blade to catch fire.

***

"We can't let Koa face that guy alone!" said Cole. "I say we finish this now!"

In an instant Cole had his Lion Blaster in his hands, switching it to Cannon Mode instantly and fired it point-blank at the two Baron Org-Naga, sending them flying.

"All together now!" Cole ordered, and all the Rangers switched to their unique weapons...

"Bison!"

"Tiger!"

"Lion!"

"Eagle!"

"Shark!"

...the Bison Axe, Tiger Baton, Lion Fangs, Eagle Sword and Fighting Fins gleamed in the starlight for a moment... as the Rangers charged.

With a combined roar the Rangers had Zoltar and Vanquo completely off guard, as Danny, Taylor, Alyssa and Max blazed right through them.

And Cole powered up his Lion Fangs for a double slash upon both the Org-Naga brothers.

With an unspoken order, all the Rangers leaped clear of the Org-Naga, bracing themselves as the two monsters keeled over, hitting the ground full length...

...and exploded.This entire segment is pulled wholesale from Fire Mountain Howls, more so than the rest of the fanfic."We still have to get to Koa, and fast," said Merrick. "How did he get there? You, how did Koa get to the Big Island?!"

Merrick was grabbing one Hawaiian after another by the shoulders, and Cole had to