//------------------------------// // Space Leprechaun // Story: Power Rangers Noble Force! // by Sunblast X //------------------------------// It was a new day in town, the weekend to be specific and the rangers were gathered in Sunburst's lab, along with Spike, Starlight and Sunburst himself. Well, most of the rangers. There was one missing. "Dude, Sunburst, can we get started with this already? I've got stuff to do" Rumble said, rather impatiently. "No, we have to have you all here. And that means we wait for—" "Hey guys, sorry I'm late" Scootaloo walked in through the sliding door entrance of the lab, interrupting Sunburst. "Scootaloo…" the scientist finished his sentence. "Ok, now that you're all here, it's time to explain a few things involving your ranger arsenal and attire" Sunburst began. "Any questions?" "Uh, I have a question" Tender Taps shot his hand up. "Yes, Tender Taps?" Sunburst pointed to the young dancer. "How is it that you were able to create the zords?" Tender asked. "Funny, I asked him the same thing the other day" Starlight chimed in. "Excellent question. You see, I was able to create your five zords by using the DNA samples of the respective animals they're based from" Sunburst told them. "Like what?" Scootalo asked. "Blood. Except for the shark, I used a tooth for that one. Oh, and the unicorn" Sunburst added. "Which explains why you wanted a sample of Sunset Shimmer's blood. But a hair sample is just as good" Starlight added with a light smirk. "Where'd you get the blood of those other animals anyway?" "I know a guy" Sunburst replied casually with a shrug. "Alright, where'd you get the theme for our ranger suits?" Pip asked. "I was inspired by the knight armor worn by Kai" Sunburst responded, referring to the armor wearing space bear that informed him of the spirit gems. "And the name, Noble Force?" Rumble asked with a raised eyebrow. "Knights are honorable, hence the noble and you five are a team, hence the force" Sunburst explained, Rumble giving a shrug of acceptance. "That makes sense" Tender said. "My turn! What sort of powers do we get?" Scootaloo spoke up. "Hmm… I think it's better if you guys find out on your own" Sunburst replied. "Of course…" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Within Daegon's ship, the reptilian space pirate was standing by the window, looking out at the planet blow with his arms crossed behind his back. "Lord Daegon" A voice called, getting the reptile's attention. He turned to see a cybernetic soldier reminiscent of a certain female bounty hunter from a space-themed video game, "I've brought you a monster that will be able to help you destroy the rangers" "Oh? And what monster would that be, Voldar?" Daegon raised an eyebrow. Voldar stepped aside to reveal a leprechaun-like creature. This leprechaun was dressed in a green suit, black shorts, knee-high socks, buckled green shoes, and a green top hat. Around his neck was a golden medallion. He had glowing yellow eyes, red hair and goatee, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. He was like one of those killer leprechauns that you'd see in slasher films. "My name is Shamrock. With my medallion, I'll destroy the rangers and bring you the spirit gems, laddie" the leprechaun monster said, his voice containing a thick yet somewhat distorted Irish accent. "And what exactly can your medallion do to accomplish this?" Daegon asked skeptically. Shamrock turned and faced a nearby skeltoid. He raised his medallion and aimed it at the minion before firing a golden beam at it. The beam had resulted in the skeltoid turning into a solid gold statue. "And the spirit gems will remain intact. Very well, go down to Earth" Daegon said before Shamrock entered a nearby pod and headed to the planet below. The space pirate turned to his second in command, "Voldar, melt that statue. We can convert the metal into something useful" "God, I don't see why we had to recap on that stuff. I mean, we pretty much already know how to use our weapons and fight," Rumble said as he walked through a parking lot. He then looked at the time on his phone, "Good, I still have time to make it to the racetrack." Today was the day the racetrack would be open for go-kart racing. For Rumble, this was he had been waiting all week for. Ever since he was little, he had always enjoyed going fast and racing against others. He had always dreamed of being a racecar driver. Although, since he wasn't even old enough to have a license—let alone drive, go-kart racing was the next best thing. His thoughts were then cut off by a feminine shriek. Turning his head to the right, Rumble saw a woman and her child being attacked by what appeared to be… a leprechaun? Huh. "Guys, I'm going to need some backup here," Rumble said into his morpher. "We're on our way, Rumble," Pip said from the other end. "You and your child are going to make fine statues," Shamrock raised his medallion. "Great target practice for when I fight the rangers." "Yah!" Rumble shouted, delivering a kick to the leprechaun's chest that made him skid across the ground. He looked over his shoulder at the woman, "Go on. Get yourself and your child out of here." "Thanks. Come on, honey." The woman said as she scooped her child into her arms and ran to safety. "That's messed up, attacking an innocent woman and her child. You're a leprechaun, shouldn't you be guarding your pot of gold at the end of a rainbow or keeping your cereal away from kids?" Rumble asked half-jokingly. "A myth spread by you humans. One guy buries his pot of gold on your planet and suddenly you think you know everything about leprechauns," Shamrock said with a hint of annoyance. "Just who do you think you are, lad?" "The guy that's going to kick your gold-loving ass. Ready!" Rumble raised his left arm, revealing his morpher, "Spiritual Source, Noble Force!" he shouted the morphing call before spinning the dial of his morpher with his hand, transforming him into the black ranger. "A ranger, eh? I know how to deal with you. Skeltoids!" Shamrock snapped his fingers, causing a dozen foot soldiers to appear. "Attack!" The black ranger soon found himself surrounded by a circle of foot soldiers. They all charged him. Rumble leaped into the air, dodging their attack with corkscrew, causing them to bump into each other as he landed. He then whipped out his drill and ran past them. The Skeltoids then exploded as he appeared on the other side. "Huh, not as challenging as last time," Rumble commented. "Rumble!" he heard Pip's voice. Rumble turned his head to see his fellow rangers arrive. "Did we make it?" Pip asked. "Just in time," Rumble replied with a nod. "Is that a leprechaun?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking at the monster in question. "Shouldn't you be guarding your—" "I already made that joke, Scoots," Rumble chimed in, cutting the yellow ranger off. "Well, shouldn't you be keeping your—" "Made that joke, too, Taps," Rumble cut the blue ranger off. "Oh, whatever. Let's just morph already!" Scootaloo said. "You guys ready?" Pip asked, raising his arm. "Ready!" the other three replied, raising their arms. "Spiritual Source, Noble Force!" they chanted the morphing call before spinning the dials on their morphers, changing into their respective ranger colors. They then summoned their weapons. "Brave as a Lion; Noble Force Red!" Pip chanted. "Swift as a Shark; Noble Force Blue!" Tender Taps chanted. "Sly as a Fox; Noble Force Yellow!" Scootaloo chanted. "Fearsome as a Wolf; Noble Force Black!" Rumble chanted. "Elegant as a Unicorn; Noble Force Pink!" Sweetie Belle chanted. "Noble knights engage the fight. Power Rangers Noble Force!" the costumed teens chanted, each striking a pose as a huge explosion appeared behind them. "Give it your best shot, rangers!" Shamrock said, gesturing for them to bring it. The Rangers charged at the leprechaun. Each took a shot at Shamrock. Sweetie Belle swung her staff, Shamrock dodging it before delivering a kick to her stomach, knocking her back. Pip leaped into the air, bringing his sword down and slashing at Shamrock's torso. He swung again, only for it to be blocked by the leprechaun's arm. The red ranger did a roundhouse kick, only for his leg to be grabbed and for him to be tossed aside like a ragdoll. Shamrock was caught off guard as he was hit in the back by Tender Taps' Morningstar, launching him into the air. The leprechaun came down, Tender swinging his spiked weapon which sent him skidding across the ground. While running, the yellow ranger tossed her boomerang. Shamrock bent forward and dodged the oncoming weapon. The weapon, however, came back and hit him in his back. Scootaloo delivered a kick to his stomach while catching her weapon, Shamrock quickly falling to the ground, rolling onto his front. "I think this is the part where you give up, Lucky" Scootaloo said, pointing her weapon at the monster. "Not likely, lass…" Shamrock began. "How would you like to be the gold ranger instead of yellow?" he asked, holding his medallion. "Huh?" Scootaloo asked with confusion. "What's that supposed to…" Rumble began, only to catch a glimpse of Shamrock's medallion glowing with a golden light. "Oh, no. Scoots, look out!" he warned. The black ranger ran to his teammate. Shamrock turned and shot an energy beam from his medallion at Scootaloo. However, she was pushed out of the way by Rumble, who had taken the hit instead. Rumble became stiff, freezing in place as his body turned into a solid gold statue. "Rumble!" Scootaloo said with shock and worry. "Oh no, dude!" Tender Taps said with equal worry. "Uh, Sunburst? We've got a problem" Sweetie Belle said into her morpher. "Don't worry. I'm on it" Sunburst said on the other end. "Now for the rest of you" Shamrock said, making his medallion glow. It was in that moment that the Rangers were transported in wisps of light, each one being the respective ranger's color. "Hey, Sunburst, how were you able to transport us like that?" Tender Taps asked. "Yeah, how'd you do that, mate?" Pip added. "I've been experimenting with it for a while" Sunburst replied with a shrug, "I figured saving you guys would be a good chance to use it" he added. "Then why didn't you use it to transport them earlier when we had that meeting?" Starlight asked. "Nobody asked. Plus, if there were people around, they might've wondered what happened to them, so… yeah" Sunburst said. "Could we focus, please?!" Scootaloo shouted, getting everyone's attention. "In case you haven't noticed, Rumble's a solid gold statue!" she gestured to the black ranger beside her. "She's right" Sweetie Belle said in agreement. "We have to find a way free Rumble" "Any ideas?" Starlight asked everyone. There was a short pause as everyone thought amongst themselves. "I've got it!" Pip said with a snap of his fingers. "In some of the adventure stories I read, usually the way to reverse something like this is to destroy the creature or item that caused it" "And since Shamrock's medallion is what did this…" Tender Taps began. "Then that's what we need to destroy. And that stupid leprechaun along with it!" Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, pounding her fist into her hand. "Hmm. It's possible…" Sunburst rubbed his chin. "You'd have to get the medallion from around Shamrock's neck" he told them. "And that's probably easier said than done" Starlight added. "Maybe, but I think I have an idea to get around it" Pip spoke. "Here's the plan…" he began, the others huddling around him. "Let me see if I have this right. You had one of the rangers immobilized, turned into a statue no less, and still, you were unable to seize their gem?" Daegon said, calmly walking up to the leprechaun. "Um, yes?" Shamrock nodded, albeit a bit nervously. "I see. Well then…" Daegon crouched and quickly swept under Shamrock's feet, causing the leprechaun to fall onto his back. The reptilian space pirate stomped on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. "Care to explain your abysmal failure? Otherwise, you'll wish you were guarding your cereal against kids at the end of a rainbow" he said, pointing his pirate sword at him, the tip of it dangerously close to the leprechaun's nose. "One guy goes to Earth and shares his cereal with human children and we never hear the end of it…" Shamrock muttered. "Well?" Daegon raised an eyebrow. "I—" "Lord Daegon" Voldar cut off Shamrock before he could get a word out. "We have visuals. The red ranger is all alone" he said, looking at the camera which showed Pip in a park. "Hey, Shamrock, I'm here with my gem just ready to be taken. Come and get it, mate!" they heard Pip say. "Well, there's your chance, leprechaun. Retrieve the gems. ALL of them. And if the Rangers don't end up destroying you, then I certainly will" Daegon warned in a threatening tone. He stepped off the monster, returning his sword to its scabbard and putting his arms behind his back as he made his way back to the window of the ship. Pip waited with his arms crossed, tapping his foot as he waited for the monster to show up. "There you are, wee lad" Pip turned around and saw Shamrock standing a good distance away from him. "I got your message. Hand of your gem and I won't have to hurt you" Shamrock said, holding out his hand. "Not so fast. If you want my gem, you're going to have to fight for it" Pip said, activating his morpher and transforming into his ranger form. "Might as well have some fun before taking it, right?" he asked rhetorically. "Alright, fine. Make this fun, red ranger" Shamrock said. Pip charged at the leprechaun, dragging his sword against the dirt. When he was close, he swung his sword, causing the dirt to fly into Shamrock's face. Shamrock screamed, holding his face after having got the dirt in his eyes. "You little…" Shamrock groaned in annoyance, rubbing his face, getting the dirt out of his eyes. "That was a cheap trick, lad. Prepare to be… Huh?" he tried grabbing his medallion, only to realize the item around his neck was missing. "Yoo-hoo!" the monster turned to see the pink ranger standing behind him, leaning against her staff. "Looking for this?" she asked teasingly, twirling the chained item in her hand. "Hand it over, lass" Shamrock held out his hand. Sweetie Belle used her staff pole vault herself into the air, "Pip, catch!" she tossed the medallion to the red ranger, who caught it in his right hand. Pip held the medallion in his hand, showing it to the leprechaun. He pointed at it, silently asking if he wanted it. Shamrock nodded in confirmation. Pip tossed it to Shamrock, who held out his hands to catch it, only for the red ranger to quickly pull out his blaster and shoot it with several lasers, destroying the item. Shamrock looked on in horror, his medallion having been blasted to pieces and burnt. Meanwhile, back at the command center, the golden statue of the black ranger glowed with a golden light. The quickly dissipated, freeing the ranger from his golden prison. "Am I back at the command center?" Rumble asked, looking around. "Well, at least I'm no longer a gold statue" he shrugged. "Yeah, and the other rangers are going to need your help" Starlight told him. "Great. Now I can get payback on that stupid leprechaun" Rumble pounded his fist into his hand. Starlight and Sunburst glanced at each other with smirks. "Well then, you might want to get out there, so you can do that" Sunburst said, pressing a button on the computer which teleported him to the battlefield. "He and Scootaloo are so much alike" Sunburst commented. "Oh, totally" Starlight said in agreement. Back on the battlefield, Rumble arrived in a dark purple light. "Hey guys" Rumble greeted his fellow rangers. "Rumble, you're free!" Scootaloo said, her voice having some hint of happiness to it. "Welcome back, buddy" Tender Taps pointed at his teammate. "Ready to take this guy down?" Sweetie Belle asked. "You bet I am" Rumble said with a pop of his knuckles. "Let's do this, rangers!" Pip said, he and the rangers coming together. "Elemental weapon power!" the rangers chanted in unison, their individual weapons glowing their respective colors. The Rangers charged at the monster. "Water strike!" Tender Taps swung his morning star, hitting the ground which released a small tidal wave that hit the monster head on. "Wind strike!" Sweetie Belle struck the ground with the bottom of her staff, making a powerful gust of wind send the monster into the air. "Thunder strike!" Scootaloo threw her boomerang, the bladed weapon surrounded in yellow lightning. It hit Shamrock in the stomach, sending the leprechaun straight into the ground with a crash. "Flame strike!" Pip dashed past the leprechaun, slashing him with his sword which was surrounded in fire. "And for the finishing blow…" Rumble began, his drill covered in darkness. "Shadow strike!" he drilled past the leprechaun, Shamrock screaming. "NOOO!" Shamrock shouted, falling to the ground, blowing up in a fiery explosion. Back on Daegon's ship, he and his crew had watched the whole fight. "Hm. Third time's the charm. Unleash the Genome Reorganizer" Daegon commanded. One of the crew members pulled back a lever on the ship, shooting the powerful beam at the planet. On Earth, a purple beam shot down, hitting the remains of the destroyed monster. "You rangers all out of luck" Shamrock said, now a giant version of himself. "Oh, great" Scootaloo said sarcastically. "Well, it's time to bring out the big guns" Rumble said. "Summon Zords!" the rangers all said simultaneously. When the Zords arrived, the rangers leaped into the air and into their respective robots. "Zords, combine!" the rangers commanded, combining their Zords into the Megazord. "Noble Force Megazord!" The two opponents approached each other. Shamrock threw a kick at the Megazord's head, only for it to be blocked by the Zord's left arm. The Megazord delivered an uppercut to Shamrock's chin, knocking him back a bit. The robot leaped towards the leprechaun, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to his face, making him fall to the ground. Shamrock used this opportunity to sweep under the Zord's feet, making it fall to the ground as well. Shamrock leaped into the air and attempted to stomp of the robot, only for the Megazord to roll out of the way. The Rangers swung the Megazord's left arm, the unicornzord's horn slashing at the monster's chest. They then used the Megazord's right arm to punch Shamrock in the chest, knocking him back once again. "I think it's time for the finishing blow" Rumble said. The horn of the unicornzord lit up with a blue light. The Megazord raised it left arm before charging at Shamrock. "Noble Force Megazord, Supreme Joust!" the rangers shouted, piercing through the leprechaun and coming out the other end. "I really pressed my luck!" Shamrock shouted before falling to the ground in a fiery explosion. "Monster slain!" Pip declared. On Daegon's ship, he and his crew had watched the entire fight from the monitors. That was the third time the leprechaun had failed him. "Hm. Well, at least he won't have to worry about me destroying him" Deagon commented. "As I said, this won't be any fun if it's too easy" "Say, Rumble, I'm curious. What did feel like getting turned into statue?" Tender Taps asked. "Hmm. You know how when you go to the dentist, they'll inject stuff into your gums to numb it, so you won't feel pain?" Rumble said, Tender Taps replying with a nod. "It was kind of like that, but with your whole body" he told him. "Well, you're ok now. That's all that matters" Sunburst said, he and Starlight giving a light smile. "Thanks, guys" Rumble smiled back. "Hey Rumble, could I talk to you for a moment?" Scootaloo pointed her finger to the door. Rumble followed Scootaloo. "What's up, Scoots?" Rumble asked, the two of them now alone, a good distance away from their teammates. "Well, I just wanted to thank you for taking the hit for me from Shamrock's beam" Scootaloo told him. "Hey, no problem" Rumble replied with a reassuring shrug. "So… would you like to go grab a burger? My treat" the tomboy offered. "Sure, I'm in" Rumble accepted. Scootaloo motioned her head for her and Rumble to leave. The black and yellow rangers exited the command center. Fortunately, none of the others had seen them leave as they headed for the nearest burger place.