“Oh, this bad,“ Cadance muttered, leaning against the wall of the room. “Now, they have a chance to get there first before any of us.”
“I’m so sorry, Mia! I couldn’t protect the tablet! I’m just not as capable as you are,” Finders sighed, slumping down onto the messy floor once more.
“That’s not important right now! You’re safe, that’s what matters. The rest is up to us. You did everything you could,” Cadance returned. “You aren’t supposed to fight Changelings anyway. The question is, what now?”
“I’d say we take the fight to them! We’ll jump on our bikes and storm their headquarters! We can’t let them get their hands on whatever that tablet leads to!” Lemon burst out, slamming her fist on one of the shelves next to her. “Don’t you agree, girls?”
Indigo was about to nod in agreement before Sour joined in. “What a brilliant idea. How about we blow up the building while we are at it? That totally will end well,” she finished, an absolutely livid expression on her face. “Look, numbnuts. We can’t just storm an office building. Let’s completely ignore the fact that there could be Tartarus knows how many Drones in that building or a dozen Workers. Or that this one general is there. We would be storming an office building! We’d endanger every civilian inside there! We ain’t doing that!”
“And what else do you suggest? Let them keep it and take the price at the end of it? We can’t let them do that! We don’t even know where it is! Come on, I’m listening!” Lemon returned, crossing her arms with an aggravated face.
“I don’t know, but we aren’t doing this at the very least!” Sour encountered, taking a similar stance.
Amid this argument, Finders looked up, before quietly muttering: “We… actually do know.”
This, however, didn’t stop the two from continuing to bicker, well, that was until Sugar said: “You know where the tablet was leading us?” This time far louder, enough for the two to actually take it in as well.
“Wait, what?” Both of them returned in unison. “What does it say?”
“Right, you did manage to complete the translation. I almost forgot in the chaos,” Cadance said as well. “What… What did you find?”
“Well, the rough translation was: ‘After the fall of the Changeling Empire and the Great Collapse, we used the fast-fading remains of our magic to cross the sea. With the bridges collapsed, we had to use boots and had to rely on the few remaining maps towards the other land. We created a home amidst many of the stony mountains for ourselves. The loss of magic hit us all hard, but we adapted. On the foot of the Great Mountain, we buried one of our most extraordinary creations, the remains of the Crystal Hearth. May it rest until the day its power is needed once more and may that day never come again. But if it does, may the rising sun light up the world once more.’” He finished.
“The… Great Collapse?” Lemon was the first to ask. “I think I’ve heard about that before…”
“Really? Most of the time, only people familiar with ancient history have heard of it. It was an event about three-thousand years ago. Other names are-“ He was cut off by Lemon before he could continue.
“The Drought, the Fall, and the Calamity,” she muttered.
“Exactly…” He said, eyes wide open. “You seem to be quite familiar with history. I’m impressed,” Finder chuckled.
“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite subjects, actually,” she returned with a wide smile.
“That’s all fine and good. And I’m sure you two can nerd out as much as you want when this is all over, but what does this have to do with the Chrystal Hearth?” Sunny interrupted them with a light groan.
“Oh… Of course,” he stammered back before continuing. “Until now, it’s not really clear what the Great Collapse was, but it’s apparently after the defeat of the Changelings. That speaks about the loss of magic, does, however, offer a potential explanation. But that is beside the point. They seemed to have traversed the seas at a time like that which is… The first time we really got prove on that. Until now, there were only ever legends of a land beyond the sea, three-thousand years ago. And seemed to have settled here and slowly been absorbed into the natives around the area,” he continued.
“This is… Big, very big! To both us and the world at large. It could be the breakthrough to understanding the Great Collapse!” Finders was getting excited again.
“That’s fantastic, Finders, but I’m not sure we can reveal that just yet,” Cadance said, placing a hand on her cousin's shoulder.
“I… I know. Not until this is over. And I need the tablet back anyway, or I’m gonna look like a madman to my colleagues, back to how this might be important to us. The mountain they were describing, I think I know where this is. We found the tablet in the ruins of an old village in a valley, not too far off from one of the most remarkable sights here in Griffonstone. We assumed it was an ancient temple site, or something similar. It’s right at the bottom of Mt. Boreas. The description fits perfectly! It must be it. It also has a sundial in the middle of it. It has to be what we are looking for!” He finished, pulling out his phone and showing them a set of pictures. And indeed, in the middle of a round ruin, the remains of a sundial could be seen.
“I see… So, we are gonna grab whatever is there?” Lemon asked the rest.
“I mean, we ain’t gonna storm the office, so, it’s really the only way,” Sunny returned.
“It will also take time until they will be able to translate it, but it won’t be much,” Finders added. “They’ll probably have access to far more Changeling documents than I had. I give them about one hour, two hours max till they know what it says. When that happens, they’ll be on the site as fast as possible.”
“We need to be faster than that! But we also shouldn’t lead them directly towards it!” Cadance took over, her commanding voice garnering several nods from her students.
“So… No bikes for now?” Lemon asked.
“No, we’ll try to take a bus or something there. We need to keep low, or else, they’ll know what we know, and our entire advantage evaporates in its entirety!” Cadance continued. “I’ll look up a bus plan while we head for the nearest bus-stop. And then-“ She was already on her way out of the room and around the next corner, the Rangers right behind her, when Gallus stepped into her path, arms crossed. “Gallus? What is it? I’m sorry, but we are in a hurry. We need to catch the next bus and-“
“Don’t try and bullshit me! You’re the Power Rangers, aren’t you?” He simply returned, raising his eyebrow inquisitively.
“What?” Cadance was the first to ask, her eyes wide at the accusation.
“You heard me, you’re the Power Rangers!” He repeated again, just as sure of himself as the first time.
“Wha… What? That’s ridiculous,” Lemon tried to stammer out. “The Power Rangers are way cooler than us! We’re just some normal Highschoolers! Nothing more!” She really tried her hardest to sound convincing, but the sudden accusation really had thrown her for a loop.
“Uh… And the moment you five arrive here with your teacher, the Changelings, as well as the Power Rangers, appear here as well?” He asked, still looking at them with this look.
“I… I mean… There are a lot of people coming to the city, right?” She chuckled back, her smile looking just too fake.
“Hmh… But they came here, and the Rangers were in the building. Also, you’re just way too skilled to be regular Highschool students! You just jumped in and mopped the floor with these footsoldiers! That can’t be a coincidence. Also, the Changeling fell out of the same floor you were in, even the same exact spot! Stop trying to deny it, I’m not stupid! You’re the Power Rangers,” he continued, lowering his head and staring even more intently at them.
Lemon once again tried to come up with an at least halfway decent argument and was about ready to vomit it out, when Cadance sighed and nodded. “Yes, you figured it out. But I’m sorry, we are in a hurry right now, so if you were so nice,” she continued, beginning to walk past the boy. But Gallus once more stepped into her way.
“I wanna join! I want to be a Power Ranger!” He stated.
“That is not how that works,” Sugar said.
“What do you mean?” He huffed back. “If you don’t let me join, I’m just gonna go to someone who cares. Maybe the press, or the MRG. I’m sure that’d give me a foot in the door with them. And then they can give me a way to be a hero.”
“Look, we really don’t have time for this now, but there is no way we are going to let you become a Ranger. We can’t do that!” Cadance once again tried to convince him, but even when she tried to walk away once more, he still wouldn’t let her pass.
“You can’t deny me this! They are also Highschoolers! If they can, I can!” he threw back at the group.
“And you think I’m happy about this? That I have to let, children fight my battles for me?” She shouted back. “No! No, I’m not! But this wasn’t my choice! If there was a way to become a Ranger as easily as you want it to be, these five wouldn’t be fighting! I would be! Older people who don’t have their entire lives in front of them would! But this is how it is! These five are the only Power Rangers, and they are the only ones their Coins work for. There is no way for you to become one of them. And even if I wouldn’t let another child jump into a fight, they don’t need to be a part of! Especially not one who would blackmail heroes into becoming one of them,” she finished with a cold glare before finally stepping past him.
This time, he didn’t even try to stop her; instead, Finders Keepers came rushing around the corner to ask: “Anything wrong? I thought you were in a rush?”
“It’s fine. We were just held up for a moment. Nothing major,” Cadance returned, looking over to Gallus. “Right?” He, however, didn’t respond, and just glared at the floor.
“O… Ok,” Finders muttered as he looked perplexed between the six and Gallus.
“We’ll be off now. We’ll tell you how it went later, Finders. You were a big help! Thank you so much,” and with that, the group started to sprint towards the exit, leaving both him and Gallus alone.
“What… Were you talking about?” He asked, but the boy just narrowed his eyes and frowned. “Everything ok?” He asked again, worry clearly audible in his voice.
“Yeah, I’m fine. But I gotta go,” he simply returned and turned around, before dashing off as well.
Finders was tempted to scream after him, but he knew that he wouldn’t listen. Still… He had a bad feeling about all of this, and he couldn’t quite pin down where it was coming from. Or for whom it was.
>-------<S>-------<
Inside the highest office of the Change Industries building of Griffonstone, Pharynx was walking up and down, his arms crossed in front of him and a grisly scowl on his face. “Why does this take so damn long?” He hissed, turning once more for the next round. “It is written in Changeling, isn’t it?”
“Relax, my Lord. It is apparently an old dialect spoken by the traitors. We need to crossreference it with our gathered manuscripts. It should be a relatively short process. But short, does not mean, instant,” a man dressed in a shiny grey suit with a black shirt and purple tie returned, leaning back in his chair overseeing the city. He had a pale green complexion and light grey hair.
“Stock Holder, how can you be so calm during a time like this? The fact that the Rangers are here means we are competing for the treasure that lies at the end of this!” Pharynx growled at him, his eyes now focused on the man.
“Because I trust my workers. They have managed to keep location valuable, even if the primary goal would fall through. They will do well in the new age. And I’m sure they are doing their very best right now. You just have to be patient, my Lord,” he returned, with a light sigh.
“Oh? Do they now? The Rangers managed to beat your bodyguard, so why do you think the rest of your lousy workers will fare any better?” He snapped back.
“My workers aren’t lousy! They are doing their very best! Only because the Rangers managed to beat my bodyguard doesn’t mean they are in any way ready to beat me. We don’t even know if they had translated the tablet until now. You might worry for nothing,” Stock Holder said dismissively. “And really, compared to your underlings, mine rarely disappoint me.”
Before Pharynx could growl back a response, a call started to ring. “Hello? Stock Holder here. What is it?”
“We found the Rangers moving locations. They boarded a bus towards Mt. Boreas. Should we dispatch a worker to stop them?” The voice on the other side of the phone returned.
“No need for that. I’ll take care of this situation on my own. Thank you for your work, Close Up!” He returned before ending the call.
“Seems they do know what was written on the tablet!” Pharynx huffed, with a note of satisfaction in his voice.
“It matters not. I’ll put an end to this. You just wait for my employes to finish their work, while I’ll stop the Rangers. I’ve bee looking forward to an opportunity to really test my strength!” Stock continued, a smug smile on his lips. “And don’t worry, I won’t fail,” he added just before disappearing in green flames.
Pharynx just scowled at where the man had stood. “You better not. By the Queen, I hate these kinds of people.”
>-------<S>-------<
The girls had quickly found a bus that would drive them very close to the site at the foot of Mt. Boreas. After that, it was just a fifteen-minute track towards the ruins, and they desperately hoped they would be faster than their adversaries.
The bus ride was rough. Every stop, every car they had to wait for, and every red light was nerve-wracking. Every lost second felt like a minute, and they could almost feel their time run through their fingers.
“Ughhhh! I can’t believe that guy! Trying to blackmail us! And I thought he wasn’t so bad after all! Turns out I was wrong!” Lemon groaned, crossing her arms with a huff and slumping into her seat. All five girls had taken the seats in the back of the bus, Cadance sitting in the row in front of them. The bus was mostly empty, probably because it wasn’t one of the main tourist lines.
“Yeah! Can’t believe he tried to pull that! “ Indigo joined in on the complaining. “Just for some fame and excitement. Screw the guy!”
“I mean… I can see why he’d think that. It does look cool… And you enjoy it a lot, Lemon, right?” Sunny asked.
“That’s not even remotely similar! I always thought the Riders were cool because they helped people! Not because of the action, or fame! That was honestly just side-stuff! I just like helping people! That we do it in a flashy way is just a bonus!” She returned with a huff. “I’m not like that guy at all.”
“You sure?” Sunny asked again, a playful smile on her lips.
“Lemon might be an overconfident, hero worshiping idiot at times, but she is sincere about that,” Sugar said.
Lemon quickly slapped her friend on the shoulder and shouted: “See! She gets me!” Only to suddenly fall quiet, turn around and ask: “Wait, what?”
“You heard what I said, right?” Sugar asked, her expression as stonehard as ever.
“Uhh… Yeah, but…” She tried to encounter but just stumbled over her words.
“So you know what I said,” it came back again.
Lemon was about to encounter something, opened her mouth again, closed it, and just hung her head. Much to the amusement of her friends, who started to giggle.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure Sugar means it in the nicest way possible,” Sunny chuckled, smiling at Lemon.
“You think?”
“I do,” Sugar simply stated.
“Thank you, Sugar!” Lemon burst out and gave Sugar a tight hug.
“No problem,” it came back, slightly out of breath.
Before this could continue, the bus hit the breaks hard, the tires screeching across the asphalt and every passenger jerking forward a bit. Lemon, together with her friend, would most definitely have fallen from her seat and onto the floor of Sugar wouldn’t have grabbed for the handle on one of the seats in front of them.
“What in Tartarus was that!?” Sunny jumped up, trying to get a look out of the bus.
“I can’t be anything good,” Sugar returned.
“Yeah, no shit!” Sunny huffed back, all while Lemon let go of Sugar and dashed forward. “Hey! Where are you going?” But she didn’t get an answer as Lemon ran down the corridor, dodging the odd head trying to look ahead as well. “Typical!” She added with another huff.
It didn’t take long till Lemon had reached the front of the bus and with it, the big window. What stood in front of them was a line of cars, having stopped apparently just like the bus. At first, that was it, until something stepped onto the first car in line. For a while, it was unclear what exactly it was, beyond green, but once it started to move forward, she could make it out. It was the Grasshopper Changeling back from before!
“Out!” She immediately said, the bus driver looking at her a bit perplexed. “Out! Right now!” She shouted this time. “There is a monster!” The driver stared at her like a dear in the headlights, until she continued to point directly at the approaching monster.
That was finally enough to shake the man out of his stupor and hit the button for the doors before reaching for the intercom. “We are experiencing some… Difficulties. Everyone, please leave the bus quickly and orderly!” Murmuring went through the vehicle, but no one seemed to move. “Right now!” He added, his voice starting to crack a bit.
People finally started to stand up and swarm out of the bus, the driver as well as Lemon waiting till everyone else had left, accompanied by her friends. The Changeling, meanwhile, had reached the last car in line, each of his steps leaving large dents in the roof of the vehicle. The glare he directed at them let the driver freeze in place. Spreading the wings on his back, he glared straight ahead.
Lemon’s eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. In the blink of an eye, she shoved the mand down the stairs. Thankfully, he only stumbled and didn’t fall face-first on the ground. She just had enough time to dash back down the hallway of the bus, before the glass behind her shattered and rained to the ground, the Changeling landing exactly where the man had stood before.
“Well, look who we have here. A little Ranger, far away from home. Seems you don’t need the tablet to find where you need to go. How about you share this little information with me? How does that sound? It certainly would be safer for the people on this highway, right?” The Changeling chuckled.
“Screw that! They’ll be in far more danger if we let you get your hands on it!” She shouted back before quickly turning around and gunning it for the end of the bus, all while activating her Morpher. “Light up!”
[Re-Re-Red!]
[Shine Bright! Red!]
The Changeling didn’t waste any time and raced after her, the bus shaking with every step he made. Just as he was about to reach her, the transformation having already concluded, she suddenly stopped and pushed herself off the ground, into a summersault right between the narrow space between the Changeling and the roof.
The Grasshopper dashed forward, before he suddenly jumped into the air as well, grabbing ahold of one of the railings meant to support passengers, spun around it like a pole and used the acceleration to jump towards Lemon with a dropkick.
The kick felt like she had been hit by a truck and knocked her off her feet and tumbling over the floor of the bus. Her opponent, however, wasn’t gonna leave her any room to breathe and dashed ahead once more, trying to stomp down at her.
Thankfully, she managed to roll to the side, right in between the seats, while the Changeling slammed a hole into the ground. And just seconds later, he swung his other foot in a circular motion, tearing the one seat in front of her of its hinges and catapulted it backward. It was almost as if someone shot a rocket through the seats as row after row was torn apart. But not a single one had managed to actually hit her, the Red Ranger pushing herself upwards with her hands and avoiding the collateral only by several centimeters.
This, however, did not save her from the follow-up attack. Instead of merely setting the foot down, he put even more force into it, all while pushing himself into the air with his other one. What this turned was a spinning jump kick hat hit her square in the chest, knocking her into the last row of seats.
“Damn… He’s tough,” she groaned, pushing herself back up, the unmistakable stinging sensations of bruises all over her body.
“How about now? You are just delaying the inevitable. I’m just way out of your league, girl,” he chuckled again, slowly walking towards her. His eyes sparkling with that particular brand of arrogance.
“Over my dead body!” She shouted back, finally managing to get back on her feet, before inserting a second Coin.
[G-G-Gun!]
“That can be arranged,” he added with a cold chuckle, but before he could even storm forward, Lemon had already fired her gun, aiming directly at his head. But instead of dodging the incoming attack, or anything, he simply stayed there. That was, until just before it would hit him. In the blink of an eye, he pulled his leg upward, hitting the energy bolt perfectly, and catapulted it upward, straight out of the roof of the bus.
“I- Impossibile!” Lemon shouted at the Changeling, who slowly lowered his leg.
“Oh, very much possible. Like I said, I’m kicking far above your weight class.” It came back, much to the frustration of Lemon. “But enough of that. Since you decided to reject my offer, I’m just going to kick your ass now.”
And with that, he once again began dashing forward, but Lemon wasn’t done just yet, unloading volley after volley at the Changeling, in the hopes of hitting him at least a bit. He couldn’t block them, all right?
Her assumption turned out to be partially right. He didn’t block all of them; instead, once the first ones came close to him, he jumped upward, grabbed one of the poles once more, and used it as a jumping-off point to get to the next one. He repeated the process until he had reached her, spinning around mid-air and delivering a devastating dropkick to the Red Ranger.
From out of nowhere, the Red Ranger was thrown out of the back window of the bus, slamming off a car behind it, followed up by a second one until finally landing with a loud thud and grown on the windshield of a third one. The glass was dented inward, cracked beyond belief, but thankfully, no one had been inside the car.
Lemon felt like she had been run over by a train at this point. Her stomach was acing badly, while her breath was short and sharp as the Changeling emerged from the broken bus. Nonchalantly jumping down from the bus, he started to slowly move forward, stepping onto the cars she had been thrown across like a skipping stone.
“Really. After I heard of what you managed to achieve until now, I had expected at least a bit better from you. I’m still in disbelieve that a bunch of amateurs as you could beat my bodyguard. Maybe he was getting too soft? That’s the only explanation I could come up,” he muttered casually.
As he stepped onto the second car, Lemon was desperately trying to force herself back up, but every attempt just ended with her falling on her back with another pained groan. “Just give up already. You’re done for. This is the end of the line. I’m not even as strong as our two young lords. How can a bunch of Highschoolers like you ever expect to beat them, let alone our Queen?”
“I… We don’t care! We’ll… We’ll figure out a way!” She hissed back with a low growl.
“Sure, you will. Let’s test that hypothesis of yours. Figure out a way to beat me, and your words might hold a speck of truth,” he chuckled mockingly, reading himself for the coup de grace.
But before he could launch himself in the air, seemingly out of nowhere, a hail of energy bolts ran down on him from all sides. The other four Rangers had apparently waited for a moment to strike, and strike they did. Too perplexed by the sudden bulletstorm, he could only raise his arms up in an attempt to block the attack. Sparks erupted all across his body before he jumped backward and ducked down behind one of the cars.
“How about this as an answer? As a team!” Indigo shouted across the deserted highway.
“A team, eh? That’s your great answer, is it?” It came back with a low growl. “That won’t be enough. A group of weaklings will always stay a group of weaklings! No matter how many of you there are! If you are so interested in fighting as a team, then you’ll die as a team as well!” He shouted out, before jumping up and kicking the car he had been hiding behind into the air.
Quickly thereafter, he jumped up as well, before kicking the car back down like a football. Lemon stared up at the incoming projectile, and instead of once more trying to dodge herself, she pulled out a Coin and threw it to her side.
Almost immediately, Sugar dashed forward, jumped over the car in front of her with a summersault, grabbed the Coin, and inerted it.
[Sp-Sp-Speed!]
Just seconds before her friend was crushed by the car, a blue blur dashed past the vehicle. At the same time, the car fell onto the other one with a mixture of metal groaning, cracking, and glass shattering; Sugar came to a screeching halt, holding Lemon in her arms. “Got you!”
Lemon looked up at her and stammered out: “Th- Thank you! Knew, you got my back!”
“Always!” Sugar simply returned. “You can stand?” Lemon simply nodded, and Sugar let her down gracefully. And she only stumbled once before finding her footing; still, she was clearly exhausted.
Just as this was happening, the Changeling landed on the second car, turning it into a flattened wreck. “So stubborn,” he muttered. “You are clearly in no condition to fight anymore. It’d be far easier to just give up now.”
“Yeah, sure! It would also be easier to never fight at all, but screw that! That’s not who we are! We’ll keep fighting no matter what!” Lemon barked back, before inserting another Coin into the Morpher.
[Sw-Sw-Sword!]
The car was pressed even more together once the Grasshopper-Changeling dashed forward, straight at Lemon. Sugar, however, wouldn’t just let this happen. Aiming her gun in mere moments, she unloaded on the Changeling, who just tanked it. Crossing his arms in front, he just took the damage. While the sparks erupted from him, he didn’t slow down one bit.
[Ch-Ch-Chain!]
[St-St-Strength!]
It echoed across the highway out of nowhere, and a metal chain wrapped itself around the Changeling, pulling taught just mere meters away from the two. Sour and Sunny were both pulling as hard as they could on the chain coming out from the gun to pull the Changeling back. With a low growl, he landed back on the ground, before almost immediately jumping back up. With a graceful spin, he managed to pull more and more chain towards himself, before landing right in front of Green and Pink.
Neither of the two were able to react as the Changeling at first slammed the sole of his foot into Sour’s chest, throwing her backward at insane speed and straight against the railing of the raised highway, almost throwing her down. He then began spinning once more, pulling Sunny with him, as he spun around, until she could no longer hold onto the gun and was flung across the highway and landed against another empty car.
[Sw-Sw-Sword!]
The device screaming out behind him, he spun around in an instant, raised his foot, and blocked the incoming blade with his shin. Out from behind a car, Lemon dashed at him as well. In the blink of an eye, he pushed his raised leg back down and pushed the other one upward instead, perfectly blocking the second swing. He then extended his leg forward, throwing the Red Ranger back once more.
The moment his foot touched the floor, he pulled the other one close to his stomach. Sugarcoat, in the meantime, pulled back her sword to stab him. But, instead of thrusting the blade into his body, it slammed against the sole of his foot, which was just as armored as the rest of his body. Tilting his head, accompanied by a slight chuckle, he kicked, with full force. Just like her friends, the Blue Ranger was thrown against a parking truck and fell to the floor.
As he turned around towards the last standing Ranger, Indigo had just inserted a Coin into her Morpher.
[Li-Li-Lightning!]
Within moments, a layer of electricity sparked across her entire body, before she dashed straight ahead with a loud scream. Stock Holder just shook his head for a second before pressing forward as well. Midway through his sprint, he jumped upward, turned around mid-jump to angle one foot forward, and came crashing down on Indigo, who tried to counter with a throw of her fist.
This, however, didn’t go as expected for the young girl, and she was thrown back as well, slumping to the asphalt as well.
Stock was just about to walk over to her when a hand grabbed him from behind. In an instant, he spun his leg around for a jump-kick but was blocked easily by Pharynx’s staff. “What?” Stock barked out. “I’m almost done here!”
“I don’t care,” it came back coldly with a low growl.
“What!? I’ve got the Rangers right here! We can finish this right now!” The Grasshopper exploded, glaring directly at Pharynx.
“And I said I don’t care. We are leaving for Mt. Boreas! Right now!” It came slowly back.
“But-“ He tried again, only to be cut off.
“My priority is the recovery of artifacts related to the Changelings. Not chase after the Shadow Coins! I’m not getting made responsible for your failure if they somehow already got their hands on it! If you can beat them now, beating them again can’t be that hard! And I need your expertise in the area! I will not leave this to any sort of chance! We are leaving now!” He growled back, his claws tightening around the Grasshopper's shoulders.
“Y-Yes, my Lord!” He stammered out before both disappeared into the flames once more.
It took a minute until all Rangers had dragged themselves back together, all of them in bad shape, quickly followed by Cadance joining them as well.
“This is bad… They know where the thing is,” Lemon groaned, holding her arm.
“That is terrible; we need to move quickly. Laying low won’t t us anywhere now,” Cadance sighed.
“Agreed,” Sugar added, and without anything more said, each Ranger slotted in their bike Coins.
[B-B-Bike!]
[B-B-Bike!]
[B-B-Bike!]
[B-B-Bike!]
[B-B-Bike!]
Each Ranger swung themselves onto their respective machine, revving their engines. But as Cadance tried to climb onto Lemon’s bike, the Red Ranger held out her hand.
“What? Something the matter Red?” She asked, the confusion visible on her face.
“I’m… I’m sorry… But I don’t think this is a good idea,” she sighed, looking down at the ground as she did so.
“You’re too hurt? Is that it? Should I ask another one of you if-“ She returned, only to be interrupted by Sugar’s usual blunt answer.
“It’s too dangerous. You have to stay here.”
This hit her like a car crash. Like a dear in the headlights, she stared at her Rangers. “W… What? You… You can’t just leave me here!”
“I’m sorry,” Lemon said again and revved up her engine again. Before Cadance could do anything, all five of the raced off, down the highway, towards their goal.
Cadance remained behind, mouth agape, but most of all, shocked. She never really had any sort of fantasy that she could really help the Rangers in a fight, but being left behind like this… That hurt. Especially since, and she hated to admit that they were probably right.
“Ouch!” It suddenly came from behind her. Turning around in an instant, she glared at the young man sitting on his own bike, in a mixture of anger and surprise.
“What do you want?” She huffed back. “Are you here to gloat or something? That’s your satisfaction after I embarrassed you back in the Institute?”
“Not really… Though, if I’m honest, it’s not unsatisfying,” he quietly returned. “But no, I’m actually here because I was following you all. Just got held up, thanks to the chaos that happened here,” he said, pointing at the wrecked street.
Candace just narrowed her eyes and asked: “Why? Didn’t we make it clear that we didn’t want you with us?”
“Yeah, you did. Pretty damn clear. And so did your Rangers to you, but I doubt you’re gonna just take it either, right?” Gallus returned with a smirk.
“That is beside the point,” she huffed back.
“No, it ain’t. You might not like it, but we do have some things in comen. Primary, we don’t give up. And given that your students also are still trying to fight after getting their asses handed to them, they are as well,” he continued, the smirk still on his lips.
“And? What’s your point?” She finally sighed.
“I want to prove them wrong! Want to prove you wrong! I don’t know how or in what way, but I’ll show all of you that I can be as much as a hero as your Rangers! But… Since I don’t know where exactly they are heading and I can’t tail the bus anymore, I need help for that,” he said, his expression softening a bit.
“And you want my help for that? Why should I?” She encountered, her arms remaining crossed.
“Because if you don’t, none of us will get there. It’s either both of us or none,” Gallus state matter of factly. “And I’m sure you don’t want to wait here, worried sick for them. Even if we can’t do anything, I’m not going to just sit on my ass. And neither are you, right?”
She narrowed her eyes once more, only to then let out a loud sigh, her shoulders slumping forward. “You’re right. I hate it every time they are out there and fighting. I feel responsible for dragging them into this mess. I feel so helpless and terrible for it. Especially this time! I need to be there… If only for the fact that I need to know for certain that there was nothing I could do to help them, or it’s gonna eat me up for the rest of my life. I need to at least try!”
“Well then, get on. Where are we going?” He returned with a smirk, Cadance quickly taking place on the bike.
“Mt. Boreas!” She simply stated. “And promise me one thing, don’t try anything reckless.”
“I’ll try at least,” he sighed before both of them rode down the highway.