Hellfire Chapter One: Hellfire
18 months later
Atop a three story apartment complex in a rundown neighborhood of the city, he stood alone. He spent endless nights roaming the city of Angel Grove, bestowing punishment upon the petty criminals that roamed the streets in such a cavalier manner. Ryan Felding gazed from his vantage point, donned in the outfit of the Green Ranger. The youth of seventeen was less than six feet in height and the green spandex accommodated his slender, yet muscled, body. The helmet and visor to represent the dragon concealed his manic smile. There was a thrill to be had in the line of work he was doing and the posture Ryan displayed did nothing to conceal the boy's haughty nature by any means.
Though the night time sky was a myriad of neon lights, something was suddenly amiss in the near distance. There was a fire and the clamor and screams of people in panic. The boy cracked his knuckles, preparing to rush in and save the day. Before he could take a step off of the rooftop's ledge, another fire lit up on another building. It was close, but not quite close enough for the fire to have jumped. He began to wonder if this was the work of an arsonist.
"What the," he muttered, not finishing his statement out loud. At a much quicker pace, large fires were igniting throughout the neighborhood. With every passing second, flames were beginning to spread through a great portion of the neighborhood.
Sirens began to wail in the distance. It was apparent that every fire department in Angel Grove was responding to what would be one of the most significant disasters in Angel Grove throughout the past several years. Ryan had no intention of hesitating; he was a Power Ranger and was in turn responsible to fight for the safety of the innocent. Even if he had to do this alone, he would march into every single building and save any survivors that couldn't escape from the blaze of all the buildings they occupied. With that thought, the boy leapt from the rooftop. He landed swiftly and silently, feeling no pain from the height at which he jumped. He bent into a kneeling position as he landed and sprinted headlong into battle, seeking to clash fiercely with the inferno that was seeking to devour the buildings and souls of the occupants within.
***
As the blazes ignited close to her neighborhood, a young woman was sprawled across her bed in a deep slumber. Her fingers curled into the comforter as her raven hair flowed beneath her slender frame. The young waitress had just come home from a double shift not more than an hour ago and she slumbered in her bed, peacefully. She smiled and rolled over to her side, still in her uniform as it was only supposed to be a quick nap before she showered and got ready for her date tonight. Milo Jenners was dreaming about the curious device she found not even a month ago. It was when she moved into this seedy apartment, that she found a small box in one of the rooms. Within the vacant suite, it was easy enough for this little box to stand out. When she peered into the box, she found a silver machine that she thought was a cell phone until she saw the golden coin at the device's center. The coin was embedded with what looked like a Tyrannosaurus Rex and it only confused her more because it looked nothing like any cell phone or mp3 player she had ever seen before. At the time, the only conclusion she came to was to take it to the nearest police detachment. Hence the smile while Milo slept, she did no such thing and was dreaming of the extenuating circumstances that prevented her from doing so.
The young woman dreamed vividly of her walk to the police station. Milo did have the best intentions of returning this lost item, yet this machine seemed to call to her from the moment she had laid eyes on it. Perhaps, it was when a man was assaulting a woman in broad daylight that her instincts took over. She don't know what came over her, but she was certain that there was some sort of external urging to do what she did in that very moment: she used the device to become the Red Ranger and—
A frantic and violent knock on the door woke her up.
"Hey! Is anyone in there? There's a fire! We gotta evacuate!"
"A what?" she replied groggily as she sat up quickly, ending her peaceful slumber. She saw the powerful glow of orange just beyond her window and leapt out of her bed to see the blaze across the street with her own eyes. The flicker of fire reflected in her brown eyes as a look of horror drew over her and the color drained from her now pallid face.
Milo grabbed her little gray purse from her nightstand and scrambled out of her suite, still in the diner uniform she had worked in earlier. That barely mattered right now. The purse contained her morpher and she would find a safe place to stash her purse and transform. The firefighters would need some assistance and she, the Red Ranger, would be there to help them.
"How on earth did I not see this," she muttered to herself, angrily, as she ran down the flights of stairs in her apartment complex and disappeared into a dark alley. In fact, it was the very same building that Ryan first saw the fires from just an hour ago.
From the darkness that Milo disappeared into, the Red Ranger emerged. The red outfit hugged all of her feminine curves, quite comfortably, while accentuating the subtle muscles to reveal the strength that this woman possessed. During the transformation, she could feel her hair form itself tightly into a bun in order for the helmet that concealed her identity to take form upon her.
She couldn't waste anymore time. A great deal of the neighborhood was kissed by the flames. Milo knew that the firefighters, as great as they were, were overwhelmed by this and she had to help in some way. Milo swallowed hard and bravely ran toward the dangers that she would surely face.
***
The cafe was not like many others in this city, she thought to herself while keeping her mind occupied. Her meal would still be a while before it was directly in front of her. Many big name restaurants often choke out the smaller, locally owned, businesses. As the young woman gazed around this place, she immediately thought about that sad reality she had learned of in an economics lecture earlier today. The diner had a quaint feeling to it. The traditional black and white linoleum on the floor seemed to accentuate the overall retro atmosphere. The walls were a pale blue and, to her surprise, meticulously kept. Naomi Takahashi rested her elbows upon the bar of the cafe as she fought the urge to spin herself around on the swiveling bar stool. Her brown hair dangled down to just above her shoulders and moved subtly as she turned her head to take the scenery in. The petite young woman smiled, never failing to be fascinated by the interesting little things that America seemed to offer.
It had been a few months since she had made the bold step to leave her home of wealth in Japan. Much to her father's dismay, she wanted to come to California and find her mother who was an American citizen. As a result of her mixed heritage, he eyes were blue and the Asian attributes her father offered were quite overshadowed by her mother's appearance. Her father's undying love for her free spirited mother prevailed and he allowed Naomi to depart for America. His only condition for his daughter was that she would study abroad while in America. This has given Naomi the opportunity to live comfortably in her apartment, near the campus, and not have to take on the additional stresses of financially supporting a household during her personal journey.
Life has treated her well so far, but she wished for something more. Naomi didn't want to be the pampered daughter of a Japanese diplomat. Ultimately, she wanted to be a humanitarian that stood up for the general public and protected their well being. In some way, her prayers had recently been answered.
Last week, in the middle of the night, Naomi had awoken to a golden light that came from the courtyard area of her apartment complex. Instinctively, the young woman of eighteen ran outside to investigate this strange sighting. Clad in her nightgown, Naomi found what looked like a silver belt buckle with a golden coin in the center. This belt buckle, upon closer inspection, looked like a machine of some kind. Her first instinct was to discard it, yet there was some sort of magnetism that this device had over her. She had felt a calling and she felt herself utter, "Power Rangers". Confused and curious, Naomi took the morpher back to her suite and spent the entire night researching the Power Rangers over the internet. She had come to learn of the Power Rangers from over a decade ago and that her coin embodied the Sabre-Tooth Tiger. Naomi had yet to make use of her new discovery, but carried it with her at all times.
The sirens from a convoy of trucks deployed by the Angel Grove Fire Department shattered her reverie. Naomi raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth was happening out there.
"Oh my," said the larger woman behind the counter, she was middle aged and carried a maternal aura as she moved gracefully to the television. "I wonder if anything is on the news, those were a lot of fire trucks, hun," she said, looking back to Naomi.
"Yeah, I hope nobody is getting hurt out there," she sighed, worrying that people were already dead judging from the number of fire trucks out there and continuing to pass by.
The older waitress turned the television on and Naomi could immediately see a news anchor standing before what looked like an entire neighborhood in flames.
"Though our firefighters have bravely battled the blaze tonight, it seems that the Angel Heart Hospital is being overrun with burn victims. Many other health care facilities continue to work to accommodate the casualties resulting from what appears to be the great disaster to strike Angel Grove in almost fifteen years. The Angel Grove Police Department has stated that arson may have been the cause for what has transpired tonight." Naomi took her eyes away from the television. Many news anchors were attractive and even though she knew why, it didn't lessen the edge from this kind of news. The disgustingly attractive man in his late twenties continued to speak on the disaster taking place and conducted 'on-camera' interviews with a handful of the survivors.
"The Power Rangers have returned!" cried the electronic voice of a frantic survivor.
Naomi immediately looked back to the screen, feeling surprised at the words of this woman who had just lost her home.
"Could you tell me more about this?" queried the charismatic anchor.
"Somebody in a red spandex outfit broke through the debris in my apartment; it looked like a woman was underneath that costume. She saved my life and the flames, they didn't hurt her. Thank heaven for such an amazing hero. I wouldn't be here right now," replied the woman.
"It's true!" cried a man in the crowd.
"I saw a man in a green outfit carry survivors out of another building!"
Naomi could not believe what she was seeing unfold on the television. There were others like her and they were out saving lives in the midst of this catastrophe. What on earth was she still doing here? Without another thought, she took a ten dollar bill out of her black school bag and set it down on the counter. Naomi decided her schoolbag would remain safe here, so she quietly took her morpher out of the bag to avoid anyone discovering it. She stood up and began to walk to the door of the restaurant. The young woman broke into a run after she made her way past the glass doors of the diner. She would also help these brave souls who flirted with death and fought the fires that were destroying so many lives.
When she came into a secluded alleyway, she felt her heart pound. Instinct was taking over and she could see the yellow light resonating with the quickening of her heart beat. She would call upon the Sabre-Tooth Tiger and become the Yellow Ranger. Her face tightened with resolve. It all made sense now.
"Sabre-Tooth Tiger!" cried Naomi, holding her arms out as she clutched her morpher, curling her fingers tightly over the device.
The warm light engulfed her, embraced her. Naomi could feel the outfit envelop her short and slender frame of five feet. Her field of vision became tinted with the visor of the helmet forming around her head. When the golden light subsided, she stood proudly as the Yellow Ranger.
"I will find the others," Naomi declared, speaking only to herself.
The young woman, adorned as a superhero in yellow, sprinted through the alleyways and advanced toward the epicenter of the disaster unfolding. The paths of each Ranger, through an act of fate, were slowly converging.
***
It was utterly sickening, watching the people crowd around the barricades that the police had set up. This debacle had been going on for hours now and it was a different sort of calling that brought her out from her home. Her silver stare fell upon the onlookers, her eyes glittered with scorn.
"There is always a spectator to any event," she growled, silently.
Her right hand instinctively reached into the pocket of her jogging pants and her fingers coiled around the familiar silver device. Ceres Freyja could not explain it, but there was something about this device that evoked emotions such as rage, anxiety, and even hate. These feelings toward everyone, they just seemed out of character. Was it the morpher that made her this way? Or was it depression? Either way, she had already rained vengeance upon a few of those who were clever enough to slip through the justice system. What was there to be depressed about now? She had her revenge, didn't she?
Over a year ago, Ceres was shot three times in the chest and left for dead by a man that she had once helped put behind bars. This man could not be contained by the justice system forever and he sought her out to have his revenge. It was the day that a part of her died on the inside, the day that her career as police officer ended. Even though she'd be able to return in a matter of months, her family has addressed their concerns about their only daughter putting her life on the line for this kind of work. Until just a week ago, she felt hopeless and depressed. It all seemed so wasteful to her. A man who had been trying to court her for a couple years donated the money to pay for her surgeries and physiotherapy over the past year. Had she not received them, she wouldn't be in the peak physical shape she was in today. She didn't love this man and the fact that she felt indebted to him only served to make her feel worse.
It was a week ago when everything seemed to take a turn for the better. It was a misty morning in the park where she jogged every morning. Nothing seemed different on that day, yet a blue flash of light stopped her dead in her tracks. A man adorned in a black druid's robe came out of the woods and held out something she immediately recognized: a Power Morpher. The man, in his silken yet powerful voice, told her that this device chose its host and it was calling to her. When he asked her if she could hear the call, she stepped forward and claimed the morpher. Before the man disappeared, he urged her to fulfill her innermost desires with her new found power. That is exactly what she did. In a few short days, she used her powers as the Blue Ranger to murder the scum of Angel Grove that outsmarted the justice system. To be the executioner of justice was a thrill she enjoyed, yet it also tugged on her insides. She wasn't normally like this. It pained her to feel as though she was walking the path of darkness and liking it. Her true desires couldn't lie within the path of darkness? Could they? Who was she becoming?
Tonight would be different. Tonight, she would not use her powers for personal gain and, instead, she would save the people still alive in some of these burning buildings. Her heroic deeds would set her on the path of atonement.
The woman noticed an officer that she recognized at the police barricade and made her way over to see him. The male officer, almost overweight and Hispanic, nodded to herald her arrival and smiled. She began to quicken her pace and flipped her long blonde hair over her left shoulder as she neared him.
"Ramirez," she said, returning his smile.
"Ceres Freyja," he beamed, "It's been a while. The boys miss you down at the precinct. How come you don't visit us?"
"I've been busy and all that. I came to investigate this fiasco. I was worried about our boys and the people inside those buildings," she said gravely, knowing that a lot of people were trapped, dying, or already burnt to ashes. The obvious drop in her tone signified her concerns to Ramirez.
"Unfortunately," sighed Ramirez, "the paramedics and fire department just couldn't keep up tonight. A lot of people are dead now. The flames are beginning to get under control, but they just don't seem to go out at all."
"That is very strange," she muttered, wondering why the fire was so stubborn.
"Get this. A few people in bright colored costumes have been runnin' in and out of the buildings. They all saved a lot of people. We're grateful to'em. Startin' to think them Power Rangers made a comeback. Maybe that's why they're here; unexplainable stuff's happenin'," he whispered to her, "Just go home and get some sleep. I'll tell the boys 'hello' for ya."
Power Rangers and playing in the fire, so to speak. She knew where she had to be now. Ceres remembered what the Power Rangers stood for during their era as public heroes. She was a child then, yet it was all coming back to her now. They were out there and she needed to reach out to them.
"Thanks, Ramirez. Good luck with everything," she said with a smile, walking away from the crowd and onto her next destination.
The other Power Rangers, she would find them soon.
***
The raging inferno swept across this small patch of Angel Grove, leaving a glorious wake of destruction and pain. The very same man Ceres had met one week prior, the man who was concealed in his robes, smiled sadistically as he stood atop his vantage point on the rooftop of the Heaven's Way Hotel. This was the only place at the scene of the disaster untouched by the destructive embrace of the flames he had created.
His plan was coming to fruition even better than he had hoped. Since the anomaly he sensed a year and a half ago occurred, Azrael knew it was a matter of time before the maggots would wriggle their way to the surface in this rotting carcass of a city. He was fortunate to procure one of the morphers and taint it before he placed it into the hands of the device's chosen one. Ceres would hopefully prove useful to him, yet he had greater plans in store for her even if that particular scheme failed.
"Four rangers are out playing in the fire while two coins are still out seeking their hosts. The team is incomplete and still useless to me," hissed Azrael, crossing his arms. "It's a shame. I still have more to learn anyway. I also need them at their strongest before I can achieve my ends. Perhaps, I shall test them," he added, a hint of embarrassment dripping into the tone of his voice. Was he doing a monologue? Alone?
Azrael planted his stance firmly upon the rooftop, squaring his feet as far apart as his shoulders. He raised his arms above his head and channeled his demonic energy into the palms of his hands. He closed his eyes and vanished into thin air, laughing. It was that moment that the flames lifted from each and every building they were devouring. Wisps of the fires began to travel, unnaturally, through the air where they converged upon the rooftop. Azrael had conjured a lesser demon out of the flames that were terrorizing this district of the city. The flames took shape as a large, muscled, humanoid creature with no face. The beast stood at a height of a least twenty feet and let out a commanding roar to signify its presence.
***
Ryan found himself running toward the hotel as the flames were gathering. He drew in deep breaths as the scenery blurred around him. He knew this was not a natural fire, or traditional arsonist. This fire, that he had spent the past few hours saving people from, was infused with a kind of raw malice that made him uneasy. He stopped and looked up at the building in the near distance as he heard the roar of the flame demon.
"Damn," he muttered, watching the creature disperse and lay siege upon the hotel. It was becoming swallowed up in the flames at an alarming rate. He could hear the moans and shrieks of innocent people dying from the violent conflagration ensuing upon the Heaven's Way Hotel. "I have to defeat this thing," he muttered, continuing his mad dash toward the hotel.
The firefighters had wasted no time in dispatching to the hotel and were waging an all out assault with water upon the building.
Ryan could hear the firefighters clamoring as they fought the unnatural flame.
"It's not good, we can't stop it!"
"We have to keep trying!"
An explosion gave way and what looked like hands had reached out of the flames to burn the life out of every firefighter that stood too close. The images of the charred corpses littering the pavement were disturbing as it was, yet several more explosions rocked the hotel and now charred bodies of guests as well as staff were flung from the windows. Each body made a sickening noise upon impact and the smell of burning flesh became pervasive.
Ryan wondered how many people were still alive as he boldly stormed through the main doors of the hotel. He couldn't think of that, he had to keep going. He didn't know that other Ranger's would be following soon after. He turned, hearing another person charge through the revolving door. It was another Power Ranger, a red one.
How could that be? He was told that his coin was the last.
"Hey!" called Milo, advancing toward Ryan, "You're another Power Ranger?"
"I—"
He was cut off from finishing his sentence by another Ranger entering the lobby. She was shorter and smaller than both of them. The Yellow and Red Ranger stood before him now. Ryan realized that they were both women, women that seemed to carry inexperience in their mannerisms. It was fortunate the helmet concealed the fact that his face was contorted with disgust and dismay. They must have become Rangers recently. He continued to stare dubiously at the others, only to have the screams of the people trapped in the fire break this awkward silence.
"Let's save the pleasantries for later!" he spat, turning away from them and running into the stairwell.
The stairwell was untouched by the flames until he and the others entered the stairwell. The creature knew of their arrival and war was coming. He could feel the temperature begin to rise and the flames seemed to spew into the staircase from every door and vent. With this heat, they wouldn't last long at this rate.
Milo and Naomi followed, silently, behind Ryan, both wondering what this creature was. They also wondered how it was causing the flames and heat to intensify. It felt like pure evil resided here and it made Milo quite uneasy. Naomi was also feeling her own doubts as this was her first time in her Ranger suit. She felt protected from the flames, yet there was still a great deal of pain and difficulty to breathe from the sheer heat. Naomi did take comfort in the presence of others, even though the Green one didn't seem to like either of them very much.
RANGERSSSSS! I CAN SSSSSMELL YOU! I WILL BURN ALL OF YOU INTO ASHESSSSS!
As they had ground to a halt, Naomi shrieked. Ryan slapped his palm over where his face would be.
"I'm sorry," Naomi uttered, laughing nervously. "People who draw out the 's' when they talk freak me out."
"Shut up, just shut up," growled Ryan, his words poisoned with disdain and arrogance. He began treading up the stairs, looking around.
ISSSSN'T IT FUNNY? ALL OF THE PEOPLE GATHERED ON THE TOP FLOOR INSSSSTEAD OF FLEEING! PANIC, IT MAKESSSS YOU HUMANSSSS SSSSO SSSSTUPID!
Naomi winced, not wanting to hear this thing speak to them anymore.
"Oh my god," gasped Milo, putting her hand up over her mouth...at least where it was without the helmet.
"Lambs to the slaughter," Ryan sighed, realizing that they might be too late to save anyone. "We have to keep going. We can't give up, you two! Come on!"
Without further delay, the Rangers began to run up the endless flights of stairs. They didn't know what awaited them at the top floor, but they had to try to save whoever was left alive. The creature that had destroyed so many lives on this night, it had to be destroyed.
The top floor of the Heaven's Way Hotel was now an image straight from the depths of hell itself. The flames licked and scorched the walls, peeling all of the paint away. The shimmering waves of heat in the air distorted everyone's vision and perception of the room. Burning timbers that were once support beams fell from the ceiling causing embers to scatter like fireflies upon impact. Ryan swallowed hard to see the charred corpses frozen in their final moments of writhing agony. There were no survivors.
RISSSSE MY CHILDREN! SSSSLAY THEM ALL!
A piece of the fire leapt into every charred corpse, causing them to ignite and reanimate as though it were a scene ripped right out of a horror movie. The burning zombies then growled: men, women, children, and firefighters alike.
Naomi whimpered, feeling compassion for the humans that these monsters used to be.
"They're gone now," Milo said to Naomi, feeling her voice ice over with resolve. "We have to get past them, the stairway that leads to the rooftop is at the end of this hallway," she concluded, feeling her fists clench. No one could see her from behind the visor, yes, nobody could see the silent tears running down her face. In Milo's eyes, this was the real reason Power Rangers hid their faces.
The zombies were advancing, yet all of them were hesitating. Even Ryan couldn't bring himself to strike down the reanimated corpses of the people he had failed to save.
Yet, she could.
A blue blur moved past the three rangers. Ceres, looking large and athletic, was now cutting the zombies down without discrimination. As she spun gracefully, she swung the Power Lance with the utmost ferocity. The blue halberd, with blades on both ends, continued to slice every limb it touched and impaled what Ceres jammed the weapon into. Her muscles rippled beneath the form fitting costume much like a wild cat's sinewy muscles as it maimed its prey.
Ryan scoffed, another woman wanting to play Ranger. His lip pursed, he was becoming fed up with these unworthy losers running around and trying to play hero in their bright colored outfits.
"She cleared the way for us! Get moving!" he demanded, deciding to momentarily dismiss his disdain for the harem that surrounded him.
Ryan ran past the women and they ran behind him toward the end of the corridor. Ceres immediately decided that there was something about this Green Ranger that rubbed her the wrong way. Meanwhile, Naomi and Milo were wondering exactly who this woman was that could be so cold in the line of duty. In many ways, they both admired her and felt slight pangs of envy.
The rooftop of the hotel was eerie and silent. The four of them stood, looking around for any sign of something. There was nothing here at all. Little did they know, the fire in the hotel was going out and every piece of the fire demon was converging into a single entity once again. In fact, the creature was now ascending toward them...level by level.
"Be on your guard if you won't want to be killed," Ryan hissed, taking his blaster from the holster.
"Yeah, whatever kid. I don't take orders from someone whose balls haven't dropped yet," spat Ceres, coiling her fingers around the lance tightly.
Naomi and Milo giggled, while trying to maintain their guard as well.
"You know you can talk the ta—" his sentence went unfinished as the center of the rooftop became red hot and the demon erupted through the roof, spewing molten chunks of concrete and tar into every direction.
The demon's power had grown. The entity appeared less human and more leonine. The creature roared as the beast's upper body was all that protruded from the rooftop. The sheer arm span was massive and could reach anywhere on the rooftop. The four rangers stood before it akin to four mice staring into the eyes of a large cat.
"How are we going to beat this thing?" exclaimed Naomi, in the form of a question. Her voice was clearly dripping with worry.
Ceres wasted no time and charged at the creature with the war cry of an amazon. When she exerted all of herself into her lunge with the Power Lance, she went straight through the beast and came out of the other side sprawling upon the floor from not predicting where she would land.
"Huh?" she stammered, "No Body?"
The demon turned around to face her and placed its palm down upon her before she could even get away. The hand comprised of flame was held over her as she lay crumpled upon the roof, feeling the heat licking at her body. The suit protected her from the burns, yet the searing pain of the heat tore through every fiber of her existence.
"Oh no!" cried Milo, frantically taking shots at the monster with her blaster. The red beams of energy went right through the creature with no result whatsoever.
The monster sent off a shock wave of heat, knocking the other three Rangers to the ground. Naomi was slammed into a wall close to the doorway. She felt her vision go black for a split second, everything ached now. Here she was, the Yellow Ranger, a failure. She looked up into the sky, fearing the end, until something caught her eye.
Ceres took every ounce of restraint to keep from screaming. The suit protected her body from damage, but the pain was still there. How could she have been so desensitized to the casualties tonight? In the mind of this cynical woman of twenty six, feeling the pain that the victims felt was her penance. It was only a matter of time before the suit's power would give out. What then? She would be scorched like the corpses littering this hotel. Was this the end? She couldn't even move away from the danger.
Ryan stood motionless, trying to think of something to stop this. Sure, he hated the present company; however, he didn't want another death on his hands.
"Hey Blue!" he called out, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Hold tight and I'll distract him!"
The youth in green charged at the beast, firing green blasts of energy from his gun as he ran. Each beam fired through the creature. Yet, he could swear that something did connect. The demeanor of beast changed as it roared and moved the other hand over Ryan as it was doing to Ceres. Now, two of the Rangers were pinned, feeling the intense and immobilizing heat upon them.
"Red," muttered Naomi, he voice was weak and her consciousness was fading fast. "Get ready," she whispered, firing her blaster right into the water tower above. The yellow beam pierced at the correct trajectory. As a result, the pressurized spray of water fired directly into the beast. Naomi fell limp and crumpled onto the ground, she had passed out.
Milo smiled behind the visor, seeing the weak point on her foe. There was a pulsing orb, glowing and crimson, manipulating the flame.
"Thanks, Yellow," chuckled Milo, materializing a long sword into her hands. The sword had a red hilt and decorative trimming. It was the Power Sword. She had no idea how it came out of thin air, but, far be it from her to object to using it.
As she leapt into the air, Milo let out her own war cry, slicing the blade cleanly through the throbbing core. The core slid apart into two halves and then disintegrated, causing the flames to disperse. When she landed softly on her feet, the sword dematerialized. It seemed the suit would react according to her will when she needed something. That was useful knowledge. She was about to make sure the Green and Blue Rangers were still alive until she saw both of them stand up. Milo knew she wasn't ready for introductions, not yet. So she ran, full speed, towards the ledge and took a leap of faith, vanishing into the darkness.
"Bye, Red!" yelled Ceres, smiling gratefully behind the visor. "We can exchange numbers later," she chuckled, her voice becoming more jovial with the defeat of the creature.
"You," growled Ryan, slowly advancing toward her. "Your recklessness almost got all of us killed!"
In truth, he had felt like he failed. Yet, it seemed easier to shift the blame onto the others.
"Ugh," she scoffed. "Go take a flying leap," her tone was pervasive with apathy and disgust for the cocky teenager.
"Fine," he spat, angrily. "Just know that you are unfit for the powers you wield," his venomous words, intended to sting her.
"Yeah," replied Ceres, clenching her fists. "What makes you so damn special, huh?"
Ryan shook his head and leapt from the ledge, in the same manner as Milo. Ceres groaned with frustration and immediately turned her attention to the Yellow Ranger, lying on the ground, unconscious.
End of Chapter One 
