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Chapter Text

-13,000 Years Ago-
-StormBlade Island-

Thunder crackled in the darkened skies as the winds howling blustered furiously throughout the island. The mighty screams of death and the clashing of swords echoed throughout the area for all to hear. The peaceful civilization of StormBlade was no more as war had come to destroy everything it could claim.

Their deity Kurama had warned them that about the destruction, he warned them about the chaos that was to come if they rebelled against him. Many followed his rule but there was few who stood out against him, few that would dare challenge his right to be God. After all he had done for them, after he had given, his kindness and peace they would betray them.

Even from behind his veil that was stained with blood, Lord Kurama could see the bodies of his followers littered throughout the island grounds. Even though there were many, they did not forsee the attack as it came from within. The Shadi & Ranu tribes had betrayed them deeply, causing this bloodshed that was before them.

"Do you feel my pain now old man?" A voice hissed at him. Lord Kurama could barley lift his head up to see the individual standing before him now. The Individual was a tall muscular male, dressed in heavy metal samurai armor. His face was covered by a demonic mask while he waved a long blade in his hand before the fallen God. "Do you feel the agony of what it is like to lose everything?"

"Your brand of evil never sees victory, Taoshi!"

Curling up a single fist the man known as Taoshi violently punched Kurama across his face several times before kicking his body away from him. "I am Emperor Taoshi you pathetic fool!"

"All I see is angry man lashing out." Kurama stated. "What would Sato say if-."

The mention of the word 'Sato' caused the man to growl like a beast before he slammed his sword into Kurama's stomach. The God cried as the weapon penetrated his flesh with relative ease. Pools of blood would spurt from the open wound, staining his stomach and the grounds before him. "Enough games , where is the StormBlade?!"

"Far beyond your reach Emperor!" He smiled. "Your evilness will never garner the power of the holy blade!"

"I'll find that Blade even if I have to burn down this entire Island!" He bellowed.

"Leave him alone!" A brave voice suddenly called out to him.

Emperor Taoshi looked behind him sharply, befuddled by who dare show their faces in the middle of the war. The Emperor would soon be greeted to the sights of fifteen
individuals, all adults. Taoshi knew them as the last remaining members of the Sele, Zena, Canry, Pyru & Argus tribes.

He was surprised that they had managed to escape the troops he had stationed throughout the island. Earlier during his arrival, he had given them two choices. Disavow Kurama and follow him or die. Each of the tribes followed their precious leader and as a result were eagerly slaughtered by the Emperors own two tribes. Seeing them confront him, made the Emperor smirk underneath his demon mask. If Kurama wouldn't give him the StormBlade, then he would slowly kill the rest of the tribe members to force him to do it.

Throughout the group of people, a lone scruffy man emerged. "We'll give you the StormBlade, just leave Lord Kurama alone!"

"No Ryuusuke, don't do it!" Lord Kurama pleaded

"You lot have the StormBlade?" Emperor Taoshi asked amusingly. Kurama was even more of a fool then he thought, what idiot would trust such peasants with the most powerful weapon in the universe?

To further prove that they were not joking around, the man's hand's began to glow with a strange bright light. Emperor Taoshi gave a surprise looked as the weapon he had been after materialized in the young mans hands.

The StormBlade was the crowning jewel of the civilization. Lord Kurama's personal weapon that gave him the mystical powers he used to protect it's residents. The Blade itself was long in length and heavy in one's hand. The handle was in the shape of a heart while also being embed with seven colored jewels.

"Let Lord Kurama go and I'll give you the StormBlade." Ryuusuke ordered as he outstretched the StormBlade toward the deranged man.

"Ryuusuke no!" He cried. "Don't give it to him!"

"Why do you follow this false God?" He asked. "If it were not for him, this carnage wouldn't have had to take place!"

"That's not true!" A female shouted from next to Ryuusuke. "Lord Kurama cares about us, his leadership and compassion has kept the StormBlade together for years!"

"Please Taoshi!" Another person interjected. "Surrender and stop this bloodshed before it's too late!"

"Do we have a deal Emperor?" Ryuusuke inquired. His eyes pleaded for mercy over his lord as he took a step forward with the StormBlade in his hand. "The StormBlade for Lord Kurama!"

Emperor Taoshi's laugh was hearty and evil as he projected throughout the entire area. How lowly and pathetic these people were, willing to trade the ultimate weapon for the life of this lowly diety. They were truly not worthy of living, this would secure the Emperor's belief that murdering the tribes were for the greater good. "No deal!"

The words 'No Deal' escaped from his lips and ultimately shocked the group of attendees that were trying to barter. To follow up on his decision, the Emperor snatched his own sword from out of Kurama's stomach and with great force impaled the man in the throat.

"My lord, noooo!" Ryuusuke yelled.

Kurama let out one final gasp for air as his blood rained up into the air. The group of his followers gasped in horror as they watched the life in his body drain out, his eyes become cold and emotionless. Kurama's death would signify that the StormBlade world was about to come to an end. This truly meant that they stood for nothing anymore, without there fierce leader to guide them then nothing could stop the Emperor.

Now that Kurama was no longer a thorn in his side, Emperor Taoshi turned his attention to the group before him. He withdrew his sword from the corpse and charged at the group, his goal being to slaughter each and every one of them until he alone possessed the StormBlade.

The tribe loners cowered behind Ryuusuke in terror as he held the StormBlade in a defensive motion, the only plan of action that he could use against the powerful enemy. As Emperor Taoshi came upon him, something unexpected happened.

Within Ryuusuke's hands the StormBlade began to once again glow with mystical energy. A fierce beam shot out from it's tip and into the darkened skies above. Much to everyone's surprise, a large vortex opened up leading into the unknown reaches of darkness. Emperor Taoshi ceased his attack seeing the portal before him, it's presence would not have worried him but as he looked into the sky he noticed something peculiar.

His troops also known as members of the Shadi and Ranu were being sucked into the skies above, each one disappearing into the portal never to be seen again. His brave soldiers called out for their masters name unsure of where this vortex was taking them.

"Ryuusuke what's happening?"

"The StormBlade, it's sending away the traitors!"

Before they could ask any more questions about the situation, the StormBlade once again shot out another energy beam, this time striking Emperor Taoshi head on in the chest. The leader of the traitors cursed the name of the weapon as his body began to ascend into the air like his troops.

"You think this will stop me?" He growled. "I shall be back, the StormBlade will be mine!" His voice could be heard echoing throughout the realm as he and the last bit of his troops were sucked into the vortex which closed shortly after.

The StormBlade's powers weren't even close to being done with however, the sword soon engulfed the fifteen individuals in another bright light before taking them away from their beloved island home.

-Present Day-
-Earth-
-Hagakure Village-

Ryuusuke sighed heavily as he puffed another bit of his cigarette. He gazed from the window from his hut off into the nights sky as birds and bugs went by. It seemed like only yesterday that this happened, when in fact it had been thirteen thousand years ago. He still remember the day that the StormBlade had transported them to the planet known as Earth. This planet would serve as their new home seeing as how the Island was now in ruins.

Being transported to Earth wasn't the only surprise that the StormBlade had for the survivors. Once they touched down on the outskirts of Japan, the StormBlade's magical energy miraculously separated into seven different halves and jolted into unknown areas of the country. The refugees searched high and low for the now separated sword, only to find five pieces of it.

Once the swords were recovered, the tribes had no choice but to break grounds for a new home. Settling in the rainforest, the remnants renamed the area Hagakure village. While it did lack the beauty, amenties and protection of the StormBlade island, it would be enough until they found the other two Blades. Setting up camp wasn't the only thing they did however, once fully grounded the fifteen individuals began regrowing there society as much as they possibly could. When ether it was pairing off to have dozens of children or to recruit members of this world into their tribes, eventually the StormBlade remnants had turned there lonely fifteen members into a thriving two hundred tribesman.

Even though all was peaceful for now, the surviving members of the original massacre had deep worry in their hearts. The God they had worshiped for so long was dead. Their way of life had been destroyed, their home had been lost, and more importantly their enemies were still out there.

Emperor Taioshi swore one day he would return to destroy them all, and with his two tribes at his disposal he just might do it. Even with all the new members, spells and combat they learned, they knew it wouldn't be enough to stop him. Everyone knew, especially Ryuusuke that once the Emperor was free, he would kill them all.

There was no time or date of when he exactly would come back, but for Ryuusuke he felt uneasy about the last few days. It was as if a dark cloud was hanging over his mind, silently alerting him that something bad might happen. Could it be that his premonition of the Emperor's return would come to pass? Or was it something worse?
Whatever it was, the tribes needed to be ready for horrible days ahead.

"Ryuusuke!" A knock at his huts door would snap the man out of his thoughts and throw his cigarette out of the window. "Whose there?"

"You wanted to see me sir?" A male voice called out. "It's me Hanzo!"

"Did you bring what I asked?"

"Yes sir I took the case from Madam Sora's hut!" He answered.

"Very good Hanzo, leave the case on my table and depart!"

"But of course sir!"

Ryuusuke never turned around, his eyes still focused out on the window as Hanzo entered in, followed his instructions to the tee and walked out of the hut. Once he was gone, Ryuusuke turned his attention to a long heavy steel reinforced case that was set upon the table. He breathed heavily with conflict as he advanced upon the case to look on the inside of it. Madam Sora had gotten the case from a nearby city to house this precious cargo, incase the tribes ever needed to use them. With his growing fears of the looming darkness approaching, Ryuusuke thought it was best to retrieve the swords to better formulate a plan.

His thoughts went into formulating a plan as he slowly but surely undid the locks on the case which soon popped open to reveal what was on the inside.

"Beautiful!" He muttered to himself as his eyes locked with that of the five StormBlade swords.

The first sword was known as the Chimera Blade. It represented his own tribe known as the Sele and had the ability to use telekinetic powers. The handle of the sword was made completely out of rubies and resembled the sun. The base of the blade is silver, the middle half is grey and the very tip was red like the handle. Extending from the main tip of the sword was two small sword tips the extended in a jagged fashion making it look more like a trident then an actual sword.

The second sword was known as the Dragon Blade. It represented the Zena tribe and had the ability to control Ice. The handle of the sword was icicles that formed in the shape of a star. The metal steel of the sword was streams of flowing ice that were colored in a blue and dark black. At the very tip of this sword was a large white snowflake that was as sharp as a shuriken.

The third sword was known as the Sphinx Blade. It represented the Canry tribe and had the ability to control Smoke. The handle of the sword was comprised of two black bat like wings that extended downwards. The metal steel of the sword was designed with black onyx diamonds and Kanji shapes that spelt out 'Smoke'. This sword itself had a purplish glow that lit the very tip of it, distinguishing it from the others.

The fourth sword was known as the Phoenix Blade. It represented the Pyru tribe and had the ability to control Hellfire. The blade handle resembled a chakram with a black cross-shaped handle. The edges of the chakram were four metal spikes that stuck out sharply with the insignia of the Pyru tribe. The metal steel of the blade took the shape of glowing yellowish orange flames that went up in a blaze like fashion.

The fifth and final sword was known as the Harpy Blade. It represented the Argus Tribe and had the ability to control Lightning. The blade handle was heart shaped with white diamonds on the sides of it .The metal steel remembered pink and white bolts of lighting which were jaggedly placed.

"Please forgive me Madam Sora!" He sighed.

He knew the old bat would be pissed with him when she learned that he stole the StormBlades right from out under her nose. It didn't matter however, if it protected the tribe that was all that mattered. With the additional abilities that these swords possessed, they might stand a chance against Emperor Taoshi and his forces.

The only question now was, where would he find five warriors to wield this power?

Who was worthy to become Ikarirangers?

A question that he himself has not answered in over 13,000 years

Chapter Text

Hi Everyone!

Before we get started I just wanted to do a little promotion. For those out their that are in need of something to read, I've got something great just for you. I recently just made a new Crossover Fanfiction featuring the Justice League and Teen Titans. It's called Fang Chronicles: Wrath of the Paragons. If superhero's are your thing then I guarentee that this is the fanfiction for you.
But anyway here is Chapter 1 and please remember to leave a review at the end.

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Chapter 1: Looming Darkness! The Shadiranu's Invasion!

-Hagakure Village-
-StormBlade Council's Hut-

Did you ever have the feeling that your wasting time? Do you ever get that gut feeling knowing you've been wasting time just to avoid something? Have you ever purposely wasted time, so you didn't have to do something drastic?

For the members of the StormBlade Council, all these things were true. Even with the fate of their lives hanging in the balance, they still refuse to really come together and make a decision for the better needs of the Tribe. The Council of eleven members sat in silence around the long square table, their thoughts turning to the five placed StromBlades that were in front of them.
Ryuusuke was the one who spearheaded the movement, the one that stole from Madam Sora, yet now that that he had them there he too was in silence. Having the individual StormBlades was one thing but actually unlocking their true powers was another story.

"I think we should return the blades to Madam Sora!"

It was quiet until Hanzo broke through the silence, conveying what everybody at the table was thinking. Although his boldness was admired, he shirked back at Ryuusuke who gave him a not so subtle evil eye.

"Ryuusuke we can't kid ourselves." A elderly lady named Ahim spoke. " Madam Sora was right, we cannot possibly unlock these powers without disrupting the blades nature."

"No, no, no, no!" Ryuusuke argued. "I refuse to believe what she says is true!"

"Believe it Ryuusuke, we don't have a choice!"

Ryuusuke was set to argue once more with his fellow survivors but found himself unable to as the doors to the Stronghold were suddenly forced open. The founders backed away from the table, ready to defend themselves with their Storm Magic but ultimately backed down as a long figure stepped into the room.

Upon seeing this lone figure, all but Ryuusuke bowed in submission. The figure that entered the room was an important icon in the lives of StormBlade Tribes. Her magic was essential to providing fresh water, weather, wisdom and judgment among to those she considered her family. She was hailed as a hero in the past for fighting against the Shadiranu after her fellow tribe members betrayed Lord Kurama. She had made a permanent impact on the StormBlade lives and would do so for years to come. The woman that entered the Stronghold was known to the surviving members as Madam Sora.

Madam Sora is a woman in her seventies. She has a pale complexion of skin, six feet in height, thin waist, with bright blue eyes and platinum blonde hair with a single bang that obscured her right eye. She was dressed in a long cyan gown that exposed the bare tops of her shoulders. The gown was embedded with a star brooch in the center and came with a pair of silver shoes. Madam Sora wore a single silver Queens tiara upon her head and in her hand she carried a small wooden cane.

Ryuusuke sighed as Madam Sora entered the room and stared him directly in the eyes. "What took you soo long old woman?"

"I was giving you time to realize what a fool you've been." She stated calmy. "I seem to remember you trying this bit when we first arrived on earth and even then you couldn't grasp my words of wisdom."

"Because this one piece of wisdom baffles all of us." He stated back sharply. "You haven't been wrong in eons, but even we cannot accept the vision you have given us!"

"It's true Madam Sora; this one vision of yours cannot be true."

"The StormBlades nor my visions make mistakes." She uttered softly as she locked her optics on the five Blades on the table. "The Shadiranu are coming, and the true warriors your children must be ready to face them!"

Madam Sora had spoken this truth to them over the years and still she was met with the uncomfortable silence, the realization that they did not want there children to fight. In 13,000 years the survivors had many children but none were so much more different then the current generation they had. The generation that dared defied the law of the tribes.

Ryuusukue's only son Kazu was the one that the Chimera Blade had chosen at birth.

In her lifetime Lady Ahim had only a set of twins. One had perished in the war while the other was once the villages ladies man. Her surviving son Blaze was who the Phoenix Blade had chosen.

Hikari & Yuri had a total of six sons but it was their only daughter Yuma that the Harpy Blade had chosen.

Jin & Umeko had two children but it was their daughter Aqua that the Dragon Blade had chosen.

The lone child among the bunch was Naoki. Naoki's parents Aira & Ruggerio had died many years ago, leaving Ryuusuke to raise him as his own.

The bottom line was Kazu, Blaze ,Yuma, Aqua and Naoki were the true owners of the StormBlades but due to the split between them and their parents, nobody had seen or heard from them. Finding them would be the hardest thing to do but how to convince them when it was over owuld be something else entirely.

Madam Sora had kept quiet for the sole reason was that she hoped the adults learned from their mistakes in the past, if they did perhaps they would seek reconciliation with them. Whenether they did or not however, the fact remained that the Shadiranu would be back soon. Unless the Ikarirangers were awakened, then soon the world would fall into the Shadiranu's hands.

"Out of the question, it must be someone else!" Ryuusuke finally answered, his words displaying what everyone was thinking. Whenever one bought up reconciliation, Ryuusuke would harden his heart not wanting to admit that they had done wrong by their children years earlier. "

"You're a fool Ryuusuke!" She scoffed. "You cannot argue with the StormBlade's magic."

"Madam Sora please, we really could use your blessing on this!"

"Yeah with your magic we could probably make this happen."

"Out of the question."

"Old woman this isn't a game!" Jin shouted. "The Shadiranu are coming, we all feel it!"

His wife Umeko also interjected. "We need real warriors to handle this, not our irresponsible children!"

"Enough!" She bellowed, finally silencing her tribe members ."If you want to deny the will of the StormBlade's magic then fine, but don't come crying to me about the consequences." She hated how Ryuusuke and the others stole from her, but sadly they were going to have to learn this lesson the hard way.

Lifting her cane in the direction of the StormBlades, Madam Sora uttered an unknown phrase in a strange language before the tip of the cane began to glow. Sparks erupted from the cane, which soon conjured up a dictionary sized leather book. The book was levitated to the table next to the StormBlades for the surviving members to see.

Ryuusuke was dumbfounded upon seeing book before him. This was Madam Sora's spellbook. This was the same spell book that was used to build there new home on earth as well as to empower the rest of the StormBlade citizens. Although Madam Sora didn't approve of denying the destiny of their children, she did not want to be bothered anymore and just decided to give them the spell book.
With the spellbook in the hands of the survivors, the group eagerly started turning the pages looking for any spell to alter the magic of the StormBlades. Madam Sora merely shook her head in disbelief before strutting out of the hut. It baffled her of how much they denied their children, but alas this was the stubbornness of the survivors.

Until they came to their senses, perhaps it was time to look into other matters. Perhaps it was time that she reconnected with Kazu, Blaze , Aqua, Yuma & Naoki after all these years.
"I wonder if they're still the same after all these years?" She thought
If they were then they were off causing chaos no doubt.

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-Ginza 6 Mall-

"On behalf of the GSPO, we command you to stop!" The Police Captain proudly ordered through his megaphone as he continued running throughout the mall halls. Following behind him was several other uniformed officers, each one with the same goal in mine. When they got the call on the radio about a shop keeper being harassed by a couple of teens, they didn't think much of it.
It was only until they started chasing after them, that they realized the teens were incredible fast and had no respect for the law. Bystanders curiously watched the display as the officers tried to run as fast as they could. The two teens, however, seemed to be faster and were a lengthy gap away from them.

"Faster Yuma, they're gaining on us!" The first of the runners was originally from the Hagakure Village. A eighteen year old Japanese male, named Kuso Kazaku or Kazu for short. Kazu was a teen with big brown eyes and messy curly hair that went all atop of his head. His normal attire consisted of a red overcoat with black pockets with a grey sleeveless t-shirt underneath, long black trousers with white stripes that went just below the knees and running sneakers.

His running companion was also originally from Hagakure Village. A seventeen year old half-Japanese female, half- Nigerian female named Makimoto, Yuma. Yuma has a caramel skin tone, olive eyes and long silver hair that is neatly tied into a long braid. Her normal attire consists of a pink blouse with floral designs on it, short jean shorts that went above the knees, white gogo boots and a heart belt around her waist.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" She huffed. Her legs burned with ache as they had been running for a good ten minutes now. Her heart was beating faster every second while sweat was dancing furiously upon her forehead.

"In the name of GSPO, we command you to stop!" The Captain belted out again.

"Damn cops, why don't you guys just leave us alone already!" He bellowed

"We need a plan Kazu, and fast!"

"How about some sparks?" He suggested.

"No way!" She shot back "Lightning indoors is dangerous, besides we don't want to get into anymore trouble then were in now!"

"Well we need some cover and fast, cause they're gaining on us!"

"Your the one with telekinesis, do something!"

"Fine, fine I'll try!"

Kazu stopped momentarily, his mind trying to come to terms with everything that was around him. He and Yuma had all ran the way to the food court, which was aligned with different fruit, vegetable and food stands. Each of the customers and vendors watched in curiosity as the man suddenly stopped to take in all the food carts around them.
With the GSPO hot on their trails, Kazu thought quickly to give himself some cover. He outstretched a single hand and focused his attention on several of the carts in the area. The crowds weren't sure what he was doing, but got their answers as food suddenly started to arise from the resting places. Rice, noodles, fish, onions, carrots, apples, mangos, the array of foods were endless and started to rise until they were all floating midair.

"What in the world!" The Captain and his cronies stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the food magically rise from the carts.

"Food Fight!" With a devilish grin on his face, Kazu waved his hand once more. The food suddenly rocketed at the police officers with powerful force, knocking them all over the ground. The police officers were brutally massacred as they were hit with all kinds of foods imaginable. Spectators watched in awe and amazement as Kazu laughed at the GSPO being taken down by all the food items.

"That should hold them!" Yuma said cheerfully.

"Not for long, though!" Kazu finally stated as he ceased his laughter. "Grab Naoki, and I'll get Blaze !"

"Sounds good, meet you at the front gates!"

With that Kazu & Yuma each shot in different directions, while the police officers were trying to get over being easily humiliated by the food.

-Library-

Once separated from Kazu, Yuma shot up a nearby escalator and toward the back of the mall grounds, her destination being the mall library. She ignored the looks and glares she got from the patrons at the door as she busted in and began to roam the isle of books looking for her friend Naoki.

"Naoki, Naoki, where are you?"

"Sssshh!" She heard a voice call out to her. That wasn't any ordinary ssh, however; that was a sssh that belonged to her bookworm friend. Once confirmed that it was him, she stay running all the way to the back of the library near the cultural section.

In the cultural section sat her friend Yagami Naoki. He's an eighteen year old half-Brazilian, Half Japanese man. Naoki has a slightly darker skin tone compared to Yuma, he also has brown eyes and long black hair tied up into a single ponytail. His normal attire consists of long black overalls with a short sleeve silver t shirt underneath, soft shoes and thin oval shaped glasses.

Like always Naoki could be found with his nose in a book. He had a total of fifty books one table, most of them different languages and culture guides. At the current moment his nose was into a thick guide of the Russian language. He didn't even give his friend a second glance as she came up to him and shook him violently. "Naoki, get up we gotta go!"

"Sssh!" He held up one finger to silence her. "This is a library Yuma, it needs absolute silence!"

"Naoki I'm sorry to interrupt you but we've gotta go, like yesterday!" She urged

"We just got here." He commented as he finally took his eyes off the page to greet her. "Why are we leaving so soon?"

Before Yuma could get the words out of her mouth, she heard the click of several guns in their directions. The duo gasped in fright while huddling against each other as they looked behind them to see several GSPO officers holding up their weapons at them.

"Put your hands in the air!" The officers ordered.

"We didn't do anything wrong?" Naoki cried. His uttering of the statement, however, soon made him eye Yuma, who gave him a nervous look in return. Now he understood why she wanted them to leave so soon.

"Put your hands in the air!" The officer retorted.

"Or we'll have no choice but to use force!" Another officer added.

Naoki shook his head in disbelief at what was happening. How he wished he had listened to his instincts and stayed home like he had planned too. Once again he was wrapped up in trouble thanks to Kazu and Yuma.

"Put your hands up!" The officer repeated once more. "This is your last warning!"

Naoki simply shook his head in disbelief for what he was about to do next. The teen inhaled deeply before exhaling loads of smoke out of his mouth. Like a fire breathing dragon, Naoki blew smoke into the atmosphere which began to cover the library in a grey mist. The cops and bystanders of the library choked on the smoke as it filled their lungs and kept them blinded to everything that was around them. Once their pursuers were unable to keep track of them, Yuma & Naoki slipped through the crowds and out back through the library entrance.
"Way to go Naoki!" Yuma complimented. "For a second I thought we were done for."

Naoki sighed sadly, his thoughts going back to all those books he had to abonden on the library floor. "Im a fugitive, their going to revoke my book reading rights for sure this time!"

-With Kazu-

"Gotta find him, gotta find him!" The same sentence was repeated like a tape recorder inside Kazu's mind as he dashed through another mall food court. He ignored the looks and whispers he got from the patrons as he looked for a single particular oddity.

Then it hit him.

The sound of several giggling women hit his ears like a tone of bricks. Wherever their was women he would find his friend Blaze

"Oh Blaze you're too much!" A woman cooed in delight while mentioning his friends name.

Sure enough Kazu followed the sounds of gushing women who were just ahead of him. Two women to be exact, both on the arms of his friend Gibken, Blaze. Hailing from the Pyru Tribe, Blaze was twenty-two years old and the oldest one of the friends group. Like his friends he was Japanese with green eyes and spiky blonde hair. His normal attire consisted of a white shirt covered by a open black biker jacket. He also has dark tangerine jeans, a baseball cap across his head and biker boots.

"So what about it ladies, how about a drink and I show you the sights of my room!" Being the playboy that he was, Blaze whispered seductively into both the girls ears causing them to blush and hold to him tight closer.

"Blaze, Blaze!" Kazu called out frantically over here man.

"Oh hey Kazu!" He addressed. "Like you to meet my girls, Haruna & Yoko."

"Hi!"

"Hello there cutie!"

"Nice to meet you!" Kazu responded sheepishly. "Blaze I know your busy but we gotta go man like right now!"

"What's the hurry man, we just got here!"

"GSPO, stop right where you are!" Before Kazu could even get the words out, he buried his head in embarrassment and defeat as they soon realized they were surrounded by GSPO officers, with their weapons trained on all of them. "Enough running, surrender peacefully or we will have to use force to stop you."

Seeing the GSPO caused Haruna and Yoko to suddenly scurry for their very lives, not wanting to be apart of whatever the two boys were up too. Kazu shook his head in worry as Blaze's expression turned extremely sour. Blaze was not forgiving to people who interfered with his chances with beautiful women. The GSPO forced his two dates away, dates that he took a while to get and now he was officially pissed off.

"Both of you, put your hands up now!"

"You damn cops , I didn't even get their numbers!" Blaze's eyes went from white to a bloodshot red as his skin turned flushed. The man could feel his blood racing at a fast pace while the warmth of his tribes element started to crackle off his skin as if he were a ember from a candle.

The GSPO started off brave in arresting the teens, but once more they were caught off by the strange powers each individual had. Blaze soon screamed out in anger toward the cops as a ring of hellfire exploded from his body, forcing the cops back and setting the immediate area on fire.

Bystanders watching the event ran for the hills as the smoke detectors started to go off, followed by the sprinkler system which ultimately began to drench the entire mall in rain. Kazu didn't give his friend a chance to vent anymore and promptly grabbed his hand and forced him to run toward the exit.

"To hell with those cops, they ruined two perfectly good dates for me!"

"You can vent later, for now, keep running!"

Kazu's call for running didn't last long, however. The duo were soon joined by Naoki & Yuma who came up the rear having outsmarted the other cops. Finally together the four friends jolted through the rest of the mall, and out the doors, only to stop for a rest on the steps of the mall entrance.

"I-I- I c-c-can't run anymore!" Naoki panted as his heart pounded loudly in his chest.

"Please tell me were safe now?" Yuma wondered

The cops to say the least, had to be the most persistent bunch of the GSPO. No sooner then they reached outside, they could see more squadrons of police officers headed their way. Some's uniforms were scorched from Blaze's fire while some still had food on them from Kazu's telekinesis and some still were coughing from the smoke that Naoki created. Even with all that had happened to them, they were determined to bring them to justice.

The quartet prepared themselves to keep running, but stopped as they heard a single whistle in their direction. Stepping from seemingly out of know where was the fifth and final member of the group. A Ninteen year old Japanese female, named Izumi, Aqua. Aqua had a pale skin tone, brown eyes and long flowing teal hair that was tied up into two buns. Her normal attire consists of a dark blue flowing jacket with a combo black blouse and black shorts alongside a pair of pumps.

Kazu, Blaze, Naoki & Yuma frantically expressed the situation at hand to Aqua, suggesting they continue running, but Aqua merely ignored them. Instead of heading her friends advice, the girl stay silent as she raised a single hand. With a hardened expression and firm focus, Aqua's fingertips glowed with energy as she began to unleash a beam of cold from the palm of her hand.

Her attack was swift and powerful as ice coated the entrance from whence they came. Being a pro like MR Freeze or Sub-Zero, Aqua kept her power extended until the entire entrance was blocked by a solid wall of pure ice. The chase was now over, and the GSPO were now stuck in the mall as the ice kept them from pursuing the group.

"Wooh-hoo Aqua!" Cheered Kazu. "You saved our butts girl!"

"You guys just can't stay outta trouble can you?" She questioned with a smirk. "What would you do if I wasn't here to save you?"

"I'm sure we would have thought of something." Commented Blaze.

"What exactly happened in their anyway, why were GSPO chasing you?" Naoki asked

"Not my fault, blame Yuma !"

All eyes turned to Yuma who sheepishly tried to avoid their judgmental gazes. "The game shopkeeper was being mean to me, he tried cheating me out of my change!"

"What happened after that?"

"They started arguing." Kazu replied smugly. "Once thing led to another and she accidently zapped all his games with her lighting, must be thousands of dollars worth of damage in there!"

"Well I guess we can forever forget about coming to this mall again."

"Or the human world in general!"

The five teens froze with fright as the female suddenly addressed them. They clung together slowly as they turned around to see Madam Sora standing directly behind them. Madam Sora had a stern expression on her face as she tapped her cane on the ground impatiently. "Even on your own you five couldn't stay out of trouble, could you?"

"Madam Sora?" The five gave each other puzzled looks upon seeing the figure before them. It had been seven years since they seen Madam Sora or any mention of their old lives as residents of StormBlade. While they were happy to see there surrogate grandmother again, they were cautious realizing that she must have been sent by their parents to retrieve them.

"Long time no see young ones!" Even though she had a stern face on when she first arrived, Madam Sora soon fixed her expression to make them feel at ease. While her magic did find them easily, convincing them to come back was going to be a whole other hassle. "I'm glad to see your all happy and healthy."

"What do you want Madam Sora?" Blaze bit his lower lip upon seeing Madam Sora as he clenched his fist. His friends backed away slowly as his skin turned red, indicating his blood pressure and his element were rising. "If this is about coming back then forget it, you can tell those jerk parents of ours that were never coming back!"

"Blaze calm down, the anger is pointless!" Aqua scolded

"Pointless!" He scoffed. "After all they did too us, you think my anger is pointless?"

Naoki interjected, "Getting angry at her won't help!"

"Why shouldn't we?" Kazu soon cut in on the conversation his face fixed sourly at her. "We mean no disrespect Madam Sora, but what do you want from us?"

As the grandmother opened her mouth to respond, the entire scene was interrupted by a large earth shattering boom. The group of six fixed each looks of bewilderment while trying to figure out what had just happened. While they may have not known what was happening, Madam Sora's cane did.

Like a magnet the cane left her hand and levitated with a blue glow on the tip as it pointed into a different direction. The hair on Madam Sora's neck stood up while her skin was covered in dense Goosebumps, he sight immediately locked onto a large swirling vortex that lay stained in the sky.

"Oh no, we're too late!" The vortex in the sky gave off the aura of shadow energy, the trademark of the Shadiranu. From it's entrance Madam Sora could see humanoid creatures jumping out and scattering all over different parts of Japan.

"What is that?" Naoki asked, his curious mind fixated on the origins of the vortex.

"No time we must go before-."

Once again before she could get the word out the group heard loud piercing hissing sounds that were similar to that of a reptile. It started as just a few hisses, but soon the sounds overcame the entire area where they were at until they couldn't even hear their own thoughts.

The source of the sound soon became apparent as the humanoid creatures jumped from unknown places and stationed themselves in areas around the group. The humanoid creatures had scaly purple skin, metal claws, metal belts with daggers attached to them, metal ankle bracelets and collars. Each creature had glowing yellow eyes, long skinny trident tails, twisted antennas on their heads and a mouth full of long fangs.

"Ewww what are those things?" Yuma cried

"Raptor Imps." Was Madam Sora's answers.

"They're real?" Naoki questioned.

"What do you mean they're real?" Blaze questioned. "You know these things?"

"From the StormBlade history books we had in school, they're the soldiers that belong to the Shadiranu!"

"Either way they don't look too friendly!" Aqua stated as the Imps got closer with their claws and daggers ready to strike.

"We must get back to the village now!"

With a wave of her cane, Madam Sora summoned her magic which swept the group away from the scene before the Raptor Imps could come near them. Despite the fact that they wanted to protest against going back, they were powerless against the magic spell which was imposed on them.

Much to Madam Sora's displeasure the Vortex symbolized that great evil was upon them and with the Raptor imps making the scene it just meant things were about to get alot worse.

-The Void-

Apart of being a member StormBlade was knowing that you must live by the rules or forever be willing to face the punishment. Those that opposed Lord Kurama's will were treated to the awful sight of the Void realm. Without granting death or reigniting consciousness, the Void was a murky realm surrounded by grey water that served to only bring eternal sleep. Those that were trapped in this realm were doomed to have everlasting nightmares unless they renounce their ways and become new people.

For the Shadiranu they took this opportunity to make the Void a new home for them. Finally free from Lord Kurama's power, the Emperor led his troops to the new sanctuary where they start anew.
A floating pyramid shaped fortress known as Amagi castle became the new home to all those that took part in the rebellion. From this floating structure inside the War Room, the Shadiranu plotted to bring earth to it's knees while bringing the StormBlade to their possession.

-Amagi Castle-
-War Room-

The War room itself consisted of a circular plane bordered by torch pillars that float amongst purple clouds and small shards of diamonds that littered throughout the atmosphere. Upon the circular plane was a large singular throne that was ment for Emperor Taoshi himself. Standing a few feet away from the throne was four circular portals that went into other parts of the castle. The War room for the most part was empty, like most days however it would soon become the central point of the Shadiranu's meetings. Emperor Taoshi was soon to enter into the War Room via teleportation, his massive size shaking the foundation as he stepped onto the platform.

Still dressed in his samurai armor that he fought with 13,000 years ago, the Emperor took the scenery in with satisfaction before sitting himself upon his throne. Many days had he sat upon that throne, his thoughts only consumed with the vengeance toward the survivors of StormBlade. He had awaited eons for this very moment, and knowing he would soon become Emperor of all reality made him smile beneath his demon mask.

"Ashrah!" He shouted into the atmosphere. "Show yourself!"

Ashrah responded within seconds, a white light emerging from out of nowhere which began to form into a humanly figure. Ashrah was a young female who looked to be in her early teens. She was a fair skinned Chinese girl, with red eyes and dark brown hair tied into a bun. All over her face was black war paint that was highlighted on her nose, under her eyes, lips, cheeks and forehead. Ashrah's attire consisted of a white long sleeved kimono dress with a blue linen belt, loose fitting pants, tabi boots with golden rings on them and a monks hat with a strap. "Witch Ashrah at your service Emperor!"

"Summon my war council!" He ordered in a stern voice.

"Of course my Emperor!" She responded while generating a flute in her hands. Ashrah elegantly played a small whistle tune on the flute before taking the side of her master, eagerly waiting for the council to emerge.

The two wouldn't have to wait long as figures soon emerged from the four portals that were near the emperor's throne. The Emperor shook his head pleasingly as his warriors responded to the call with gusto and purpose. Just as they have aided him in the past, they would aid him for his eventual invasion of earth.

The first person that was to emerge from the portal was Beast General Kintiga . Kintiga was the Emperor's most powerful as well as loyal servant. He was the first member of the Shadi tribe to join Taoshi in his crusade to overthrow Lord Kurama. Kintiga was merciless and was best known among the Shadiranu for slaughtering the most warriors in a single battle. Having been trapped in the dark realm for so long, Kintiga's appearance had changed. He was now a seven foot tall anthropomorphic tiger with four arms. He had armored gauntlets on all four of his arms, shoulder guards, knee guards, armored warrior boots, a battle harness, and a sash that went across his waist that covered his lower regions. On his back he carried four hook swords, and a skull helmet was atop of his head.

The second person that emerged was Beauty General Kagami. Kagami acted as a second in command to Kintiga. While she was lazy in nature, she made up for it by having the best skill in hand to hand combat that Emperor Taoshi had ever seen. Like Ashrah she worked her way up to the top, being the first woman to serve at the Emperors beck and call. Kagami was a youthful Japanese woman in her late forties. She was average height with blue eyes and a had short black bop hairstyle that covered one of her eyes. Her armor consisted of a purple fauld kusazuri around her hip area, a armored cuirass that exposed her clevage and midriff, knee high armored boots, shoulder guards and a scythe attached to her hip.

The third person that came out was Prince Satoshi, the sole heir to the Shadiranu. While Satoshi was kin, he in no way garnered his position through nepotism. He commanded powerful troops that constantly did his fathers bidding. He was eager, skilled and always ready to do his fathers will which made him apart of the war council. Satoshi is a eighteen year old Japanese male, with brown eyes and black spiky hair with red streaks. His attire consisted of a sleeveless black kurta that was fitting like a t-shirt, white shorts that cut off before the knees, boots, long royal gloves and a bow tie at the top near his neck.

The fourth and final member of the War council was Ninja Solaro. A master of disguise and top field agent in the Emperor's corner. Solaro was a man who hid himself in his work and did only actions that please his master. Solaro's attire was everyday ninja armor with a long scarf that went across his face to conceal his identity.

Upon entering the chamber Kintiga, Prince Satoshi & Ninja Solaro all bowed to their master with the upmost respect, General Kagami however merely yawned playfully while rolling her eyes at her comrades. "Bou't time you called us!"

"Watch your tounge woman!" Kintiga sneered while getting to his feet, unearthing his sword and holding it toward her body. "The Emperor does not need such disrespect from you. Apologize immediately, or I shall carve you into segments!"

"Thirteen thousand years later and were still fighting amongst ourselves!" Solaro murmured as he watched the ongoing scene.

"You summoned us father?" Satoshi asked

"Ashrah's magic has finally opened into the human world." The Emperor began to speak. "Now is the time to for us to invade the Hagakure village and steal the StormBlades from them."

"And to stain the world with their own blood!" Kintiga added.

"Would a head on invasion be the best solution, though?" Solaro inquired. "By now the tribes know we've arrived, perhaps it would be best to catch them off guard while their so tense."

All eyes turned to Ashrah with resolve. 13,000 years ago when the Shadiranu overthrew the StormBlade civilization and were cast into the void, many of the Emperor's followers had fallen into an eternal sleep. Once into this eternal sleep they would be plagued with everlasting nightmares for their betrayal.

With many of the warriors being unable to serve him, the Emperor ordered Ashrah to come up with a solution to awaken his troops. For eons she would cast spell after spell, doing her best to awaken her brethren, but to no avail. Eventually however, a new discovery would unfold that would ultimately propel the Shadiranu into more power.

From their dreaming states, Ashrah drew the darkness from the warriors and twisted their nightmares into physical forms. For the weakest of the Shadiranu's they became the Emperor's foot soldiers, AKA the Raptor Imps. For the strongest of the bunch, they would be turned into creatures of the nightmare land known as the Remless.

The Remless themselves were chaotic in nature, and as shells of their formal selves sought only to please the generals they were assigned too. After creating over a hundred Remless's, Ashrah would turn the warriors into cards. These cards were spread among the generals as apart of their personal armies, only to be summoned when they were most needed. With the destruction of the StormBlade in planning, now would be a perfect time to summon a Remless to further tip the odds in their favor.

The Emperor finally cut off the silence as he addressed his witch. "Any objections Ashrah?"

"Not at all Emperor!" She responded cheerfully before turning to the others. "Who has a Remless they'd like me to summon?"

Before the other generals could even get a word in, Prince Satoshi had his first Remless card out and ready for Ashrah to do her magic. The card itself was made of copper and the front resembled a tarot card while the back had the Shadiranu symbol on it. This particular card had a skull and crossbones picture. He gently tossed the card in the center of the room as it began to magically float on it's own.

"Remless Sukeru, I invoke your power!" After proudly declaring that statement in a dramatic fashion, Ashrah pulled out her flute once more and began to play a tune that was similar to that of a snake charmer.

As the music played the card, shook violently and began to glow with a strange light. Ashrah played the tune faster with every passing moment and soon caused the card to explode with a mysterious energy. Once the card had shattered, the energy took the form of a strange creature that would be known as Remless Sukeru.

Remless Sukeru is a humanoid skeleton creature with a Viking helmet, a sword made out of bones, a steel shield, bone like shoulder pads, a gold buckle around his waist, a long flowing cape and a bowtie on his neck.

"Welcome back to reality Remless Sukeru!"

"Thank you my Emperor!" He bowed. "I am grateful that you have given me a chance to serve with you once more!"

"Sukeru, you will take an army of Imps toward the Hagakure village!" He stated. "Slaughter the tribes and pave way for us to make a grand entrance!"

"Yes my most darling Emperor!"

"Ashrah go with him!"

"But of course master, we eagerly await your arrival on earth!" With a wave of her hand, Ashrah transported Sukeru and herself from the War room, their destination heading toward Earth or more specifically the Hagakure Village.

-Soju Forest-

Madam Sora's magic wasted no time in transporting them far away from the mall and into the serene atmosphere of the forest. This was no ordinary forest however, this was the Soju forest which lay next to where the secret entrance to the Hagakure Village was. When the StormBlade had to start anew, the surviving members casted a magical barrier deep within the forest. This barrier would not only keep normal human beings from ever finding them, but it would also help them reconstruct there lost culture until they can once again be in the paradise that they lost.
At the drop off point of Soju forest, Madam Sora, Kazu, Yuma, Aqua, Naoki and Blaze began to long trek in order to make it to where the barrier was. For the most part as they walked the group kept silent unable to process how this situation had managed to find them.

"So?" Blaze spoke, his tone full of malice as they walked alongside the grassland and trees. "Anybody going to address the fact that we're basically going back to the place where we're hated."
"Your not hated Blaze!" Madam Sora shot back. "Your parents just don't know how to talk to you into coming back."

As a woman of few words, Aqua's response was a simple eyeroll and mouthing of words to her comrades.

"I heard that Aqua!"

"How?" She asked taken back at Madam Sora seeing what she did.

"You may not say alot but you always do that mimicking thing when nobodies looking, believe me I remember!"

"I'd say it's better then most of what she has to say to begin with!" Yuma snickered

"Quiet Yuma or I'll turn you into an popsicle." She said coldly

After walking for a few more minutes Madam Sora stopped the group in their tracks as they reached a clearing that was void of any trees or wildlife, just a bunch of grass. Without wasting time, the elderly sage tapped her cane on the ground twice while it glowed with it's same usual energy. The five teens watched in awe as the illusion was lost and a large steel door now materialised before their eyes. "Come let us go."

"No!" Kazu who had been quiet most of the way, suddenly spoke up as they reached the door. The usual leader/jokster of the group was cold and emotionless as his brain became assaulted with unpleasant memories of the last time he stood at this gate. "We can't go in, we have to go back!"

"But Madam Sora needs us!" Naoki commented.

"Where was the same Madam Sora when we needed her to stand up for us?" Aqua questioned. While they always looked up and appreciated Madam Sora as children, the fact still remained she could have saved them from the explosion they faced in the past.

"Aqua and Kazu are right Naoki, she forced us to come here when we didn't want too!"

Naoki and Yuma was at a loss for words as Kazu, Aqua and Blaze each stood together, refusing to continue on this journey back into the Hagakure Village. A somber Madam Sora looked upon the duo, wondering what side they were going to choose.

"Naoki, Yuma please you have to convince them, I need all of you."

"You still haven't told us why!" Kazu barked. "The people of this God forsaken village turned their backs on us, and all of a sudden you want us to come back, why?"

"Because if you don't, were all doomed!" She cried. The Madam's usually stoic face was saddened as worry stains made her look older then she really was. She knew that they would get confrontational over what happened in the past, but she was hoping she wouldn't have to address it so soon.

"What do you mean were all doomed?"

"You saw the darkened sky, the Shadiranu are free!" Madam Sora yelled fiercely. "They will cover the world in darkness with nothing to stop them. Without the five of you to unlock the StormBlades power, there is no hope."

"The StormBlades?"

"Whaddya mean they belong to us?"

"I should have told you eons ago when you all were younger, but then the incident happened and I didn't get the chance to tell you." She began. "The power of the StormBlade, it cannot be unlocked without it's true owners, you five are the ones destined to become Ikarirangers!"

"Ikarirangers?" Aqua asked

"Please I'll explain everything once we get to my hut, but for now I need you to come with me!"

The look on Madam Sora's face was indeed one of terror and concern, this reassured them that she was telling the truth. While they didn't want to go back into the Hagakure Village, could they really let the world fall into the darkness?

"Please, the world needs you."

Kazu took a moment to lay down his pride before looking at his friends for their response. Blaze & Aqua reluctantly agreed while Yuma & Naoki were already in agreement to help. Madam Sora smiled in relief as the group decided to hear her out, despite the differences in the past.

With the magic of her cane, Madam Sora soon opened the door which swept the six inside before closing fully. The illusion of the forest was soon restored to it's normal state, where it would keep prying eyes from finding it.

-Hagakure Village-

Kazu, Blaze, Naoki, Yuma & Aqua braced themselves as the light from the door began to fade before their very eyes, reshowing them the home that they once lived in. The home that was 2nd paradise to the original Storm Blade Isle. From here the residents of Hagakure did there best to pick up the pieces of there lives, in hopes that one day they would be able to have peace and freedom.
The Hagakure Village was a single floating landmass that was surrounded by sea underneath it. The landmass was connected via bridge to six other landmasses which also floated above the sea.
The first landmass was known as Radiant Gardens. It was the section where many of the inhabitants would mix and greet each other while going on about there various duties throughout the day. Radiant Garden was a hotspot for trade, small tea shops, food stands and most importantly clear fields for children to play at. There were two most noticeable features of Radiant Gardens where normal StormBladers weren't allowed to vist it. The first of these was the medium size hut where the StormBlade council members would meet to discuss important business. The second feature was Madam Sora's Mystic Tower. The Mystic Tower was a large stone building that resembled a witches hat with a large star at the top. The children remember this building as Madam Sora's home, where she would watch over the residents and make sure all the magical energies were at harmony with one another.

The other landmasses that connected to Radiant Gardens were the stationing quarters for the Sele, Zena, Canry, Pyru, and Argus tribes. Each landmass had a single flag sticking out of it with the symbol that corresponded with that tribe.

Although the Hagakure village paled in comparison to StormBlade Isle, the residents were making the best of it. The group could see there people mingling, playing, conversating and taking in everything that the village had to offer.

"Lets get too it, shall we." Madam Sora expressed as she started walking toward the area where Radiant Gardens was. "We need to get to the Mystic Tower."

"Madam wait-!" Yuma shouted as he caught up to her. "Please tell us, you said were destined to be Ikarirangers?"

"Ikariranger?" Blaze snorted loudly alongside rolling his eyes. "You mean that Super Sentai Urban legend!"

"No wisecracks Blaze!" She repiled sharply. "The Ikarirangers are the guardians of the StormBlades as well as protectors of the tribes should anything befall us."

"Why are we just now hearing about this?" Aqua questioned. "If this is so important, why didn't our parents t-."

Aqua's secondary question came to a halt as the group reached Radiant Gardens. One would think that being away from home so long would bring some sort of nostalgia, but instead for the group it was the complete opposite. They hated it here, if it weren't for Madam Sora dragging them there then they would have never set foot near them.

As they expected the visit was turning sour as they finally reached Radiant Gardens. Standing at the center was individuals who they never wanted to talk to again. Standing at the center was each and every one of their parents. Kazu, Naoki, Blaze, Aqua & Kira huddled together as the reminder of there kin, suddenly brought back alot of unpleasant memories.

-Flashback-
-7 Years Ago-
-Soju Forest-

Lightning zipped across the heavens as well as the trees while heavy rainfall coated the parched ground, leaving it immersed in water. Nightfall had already approached on the outskirts of the Soju forest as once again the Council members were going to war with there young children.

"How dare you!" Ryuusuke's voice was booming with a venomous tone as he stared down his young son Kazu and his friends. Beside him as usual were the equally disappointed parents and off to the side was a distraught Madam Sora who watched the argument unsure of what she should do about it.

"You can't do this too us!" Despite his young age Kazu stood before father, determined to make him see why he was wrong. He had to make him see that he was overreacting about the entire thing.

"Kazu." He started to say. "I warned you about breaking tribe rules, now you have one choice either accept the punishment or swear you'll never do it again."

"Ryuusuke please!" Yuri, mother to Yuma and wife of Hikari spoke up, trying her best to come ease the tension. "He's just a child, you shouldn't be so harsh on him."

"Stay in your place woman!" Hikari spat. "Ryuusuke will discipline his son as he sees fit!"

"You're all crazy ya know that!"

"Blaze please, don't make this any worse then it already is."

"Mom, Dad please." Aqua urged her parents with pleading eyes. "You can't possibly think were wrong for this."

"Rules are rules honey, we're sorry but Ryuusuke is right!"

"We don't want to do this too you, but you leave us no choice."

"Ryuusuke don't!" Madam Sora cried

"Kazu, Naoki, Yuma, Aqua, Blaze you are herby exiled from the Hagakure Village until you renounce your ways you are no longer are children!"

The five children, Madam Sora and the other Concil members looked in shock upon hearing Ryuusuke announce his verdict. Nobody has ever been exiled from Hagakure Village before, let alone children. It didn't make sense to them on how he could sentence them to something so horrifying. With the exception of Blaze who had just reached a respectable age, the most of them were still children, barley preeteens. How could there own kin justify a sentence like that.

"You may keep your magical abilities, but until your ready to see it our way you cannot come back home!"

There were some murmurs and cursing from the Council members as Ryuusuke walked away toward the gate in silence. They didn't agree with them but they had no choice, he was the Council's leader and therefore his word was law. The only individual who could stop his sentence was Madam Sora, but the elderly mage simply turned her head away still unsure of what to do.
"Dad please, you can't do this!" Kazu's eyes swelled up with tears as his father dismissed him so easily. Was he soo blinded by the old-world rules that he couldn't see what he was doing was wrong. How could he do this too him, he was his son.

As the rain came down harder with each passing moment, the adults of Hagakure soon vanished behind the gate leaving their offspring out in the cold. As Kazu, Naoki, Yuma, Blaze, and Aqua were left in the Soju forest, the group could only think about the events leading up to this moment. Each of them hated there parents for leaving them. This would be a grievance that none of them would ever forget for the rest of there lives.

-End of Flashback-

"So the wayward children have finally come to admit they're mistakes have they?" Ryuusuke smugly stated, his face unmoving and emotionless as she stared directly at his only son.
Kazu was set to let his father have it. Staring at his emotionless, cocky face pissed him off in more ways then one. In his mind he knew he was going to cause another argument, only this time he was going to make sure his father as well as the others heard him loud and clear. His goals of achieving this, however, were cut short by a wave of Madam Sora's staff which soon teleported the group away from Radiant Gardens and into a room in her Mystic Tower.

-Mystic Tower-

From within Mystic Tower, Madam Sora teleported the group into a single locked room. Inside this locked room were candles for lighting and a single wooden table. Upon this table was a handwritten note, a large metal book complete with the six StormBlades all arrayed neatly side by side.

"Damn it!" Kazu cursed, realizing that he missed the only opportunity to tell his father off. "Why the hell did she send us here?"

Naoki's first instinct lead him to the note next to the book and swords that were on the table. "I think this might be the reason why?"

"Let me see that!" Aqua snatched the note out of Naoki's hands before reading it deeply and groaning inwardly. "The note says and I quote, I'll keep your parents busy, get adjusted to the StormBlades because your going to need to know how to use them."

"Great just great, now were trapped in here with the hate brigade right outside."

"At least we get to see these awesome StormBlades!" As per always thinking on the bright side Yuma grabbed the StormBlade destined for her and began to admire it deeply. The others followed suit, each one grabbing there weapons and trying to deeply understand what Madam Sora said when she said the Blades had chosen them.

"So these are the weapons that will turn us into Ikarirangers eh?"

"Seem's like it?"

"Naoki what's in the book?" Blaze wondered

The bookworm flipped through the first twenty pages finding nothing of usefulness, however when he got to page twenty one, he smiled as he showed his friends what caught his attention. The page he had flipped too was entitled ' The Complete History of Super Sentai' Beside the title was a picture of Histumi Sentai Goranger next too it.
"The History of Super Sentai."

"Yup." Naoki chirped. "Madam Sora must have kept this book for us to learn from, each page has a different guide as well as history of the Super Sentai!"

"You mean if we read this, then we might get an idea of what being an Ikariranger is all about."

"That's my guess, why don't we read it."

"No way!" Kazu shot back. "There's no way I'm doing anything for those jerks after all they put us through, they might as well find someone else to become Ikarirangers."

"Come on Kazu, reading it won't hurt."

"Yeah, lets at least here what's in store for us."

"Fine, but after we read it we decide this democratically ok?"

"Ok!" And with that the decision was made. As Naoki started to read the pages aloud, the others huddled around him trying to fufill there curiosity of what was the Super Sentai.

-Outside-

Once the five had been safely squared away inside Madam Sora's Mystic Tower, the tension in the area reached a boiling point. A schism had formed between the survivors council & Madam Sora, with many members of the Hagakure village backing both sides, further cementing how split they were on this issue.

"How dare you bring them here!" Ryuusuke had every right to be pissed. How dare this old mystic bring his wayward son here, especially after they as a group agreed that they would not bring them here. In his eyes they were traitors, abandoners, tainted reminders of why they were exiled to begin with. Under no circumstances did he want them here, yet now they were in the mystic tower, pending the results of this argument.

"Your a fool Ryuusuke!" She quipped. "Without them there is no hope, the village needs the Ikarirangers!"

"We need warriors, not a bunch of traitors!"

"Do you hear yourself, Kazu's not a traitor he's your son!"

"No son of mind would have thrown away all this for the outside world!"

"Your pride blinds you to the truth Ryuusuke!" She said. "We cannot unlock the power of the StormBlades because they were chosen, that is there destiny!"
"As long as I'm head of the council, I will not have such a perversion!

"Your testing my patience for the last time!"

"As are you old woman, I swear a dog is less stubborn than you!"

Madam Sora was set to open her mouth to keep arguing with Ryuusuke, but unfortunately fate had other plans. The elderly woman was too busy butting heads with him to notice that her body had been engulfed by a strange energy. Before she could piece two and two together, her entire body and started to reshape itself. Ryuusuke and the other villagers watched in horror as Madam Sora had soon been transformed into a Shiba Inu dog.

"By the Gods!" Madam Sora spoke from her dog form, horrified by her transformation. How naive she was to notice that dark magic was around her. This simple mistake was going to cost them dearly.
"No Gods, just a powerful witch!" Ashrah cackled loudly as she stood near the broken pieces of the gate, next to her was the Remless alongside squadrons of Raptor Imps. The infighting between the villagers made it easier for Ashrah to destroy their sacred barrier and travel inside unnoticed.

"Ashrah!" Lady Ahim cried.

"Accursed Witch, she's broken through the barrier!" Hikari cursed

"That's not all, I've brought my family too!" With another wave of her dark magic on her command, Satoshi, Kintaga, Solaro and Kagami were brought before her. As if the StormBladers didn't have enough to worry about, now they had to contend with an entire invasion force from the Shadiranu.

"For the Emperor!" Kintaga roared as he led the others into battle.

"Defend the village!" Ryuusuke called out to his fellow StormBlade warriors. Each Tribe separated into different areas among the village, trying to quell the threat of the Shadiranu before they would destroy them all.

-Inside Mystic Tower-

"Nope no way I'm out!" A discouraged Kazu stated as he placed his StormBlade back on the table.

"Me too."

"Me three."

Naoki & Yuma were the only ones to keep there StormBlades as the others put them back down on the table. The group were halfway through the history book, and needless to say they were not impressed. So far from what they read, the Super Sentai members were just a bunch of goody two shoe heroes who spent there entire existence defending earth from the forces of evil. While the average person may have thought this was a noble cause, Kazu, Blaze & Aqua disagreed, feeling as it wasn't worth the effort.

"Oh come on guys, we haven't even finished the book yet." Yuma pouted. "Besides being a superhero sounds like alot of fun!"

"Not superhero's, war soldiers Yuma."

"We wear hot sweaty armor all day, put our lives in danger and get nothing in return, sounds like a scam to me." Blaze said. "Do you know how many dates I'll miss if I end up becoming one of those."

"That's more time that we can spent traveling or watching our favorite animes!" Kazu added
.
"But guys think of the honor, think of all the good well be doing!"

"Naoki's right besides if we don't accept the responsibility then who can?"

"Well I guess it couldn't hurt to read the rest of the book would it?" Aqua wondered

"Fine then, Naoki what's the next team on the list."

"Our next team on this list is team number thirty-five, the Pirate Sentai Gokaiger!"

-Outside-

"Die pitiful StormBladers!" Kintaga was a one man army against the threats that stood in his way. Having been focused on there schism for too long, the StormBladers were now once again on the surprise end of another invasion. Ryuusuke ordered the troops into battle to combat the forces, but due to Madam Sora being torn out of the picture so early they didn't stand much of a chance. Without the mage to empower there magic or formulate a battle strategy, they struggled against the odds.

For the Sele tribe members, they focused their attention on Kintaga, using there telekinetic powers to try and hold back his oversized frame. The Beast General however was not swayed by there attacks, he proudly stomped over the land cutting through StormBlader after StormBlader using his hook swords. Kintaga pounced mercilessly on his opponents as he left a trail of dismembered bodies and spatters of blood in his wake.

"They certainly haven't learned anything in 13,000 years have they?" Lady Kagami gestured to her comrade Solaro who stood next to her as they prepared to confront a group of Zena & Pyru members. As the group of warriors prepared to attack Solaro was quicker, being the swift ninja that he was launched dozens of shurikens stopping them in there tracks. Kagami helped followed up on the attack as she brought out her scythe and hacked away at the tribesmen.

"Father will be so pleased when he learns how easily we conquered this Village." Prince Satoshi announced to Ashrah as the duo stood nearby, watching Remless Sukeru and the Raptor Imps take on Ryuusuke and some of the StomBlade council members.

"Begone foul demon!" Blaze's mother Lady Ahim called out as her fingertips trickled with the flames of hell. Her purpose was to incinerate Remless Sukeru but the skeleton merely blocked the attack with a single arm before backhanding the elderly woman away from him.

"Lady Ahim!" Hikari and his wife Yuri tried to reach Ahim to assit her but there path was block by several Raptor Imps who started to lunge at them with their weapons.

"Ryuusuke help!" Another Council member called out before he was stabbed in the stomach by the Remless.

"No this isn't happening!" Ryuusuke cried as he watched his troops fall at the hands of the enemy.

"Believe it Ryuusuke, this is the end of all of you!" The color drained out of Ryuusuke's face as a voice addressed him maliciously. He knew that voice, he feared that voice, that was the voice of Lord Kurama's sworn enemy Emperor Taoshi. Before his thoughts could turn to where the tyrant was at, a portal opened upon the ground bringing him onto Hagakure Village.

The Raptor Imps, Remless Sukeru, and the other members of the Shadiranu chanted for their ruler as he now stepped into the ongoing conflict. The citizens of StormBlade watched helplessly as history seemed to repeat itself, once again they were at the mercy of this madman who wouldn't stop until they were eradicated.

"Here me now pitiful StormBladers, today you fall before the might of the Shadiranu!" Emperor Taoshi barked as he impaled his sword into the ground below him. He called upon his powers over darkness as they infused the sword and the area around him.

This action soon caused the entire village grounds to shake as dark energy began blasting upward like a geyser effect. The StormBladers were at the mercy of the attack as the energy blasted them repeatedly until they were either killed or knocked out from it's intensity.

Taoshi wasn't finished yet however, once his attack subsided he hurdled himself toward Ryuusuke and picked him up by the neck. "Today you die Ryuusuke!"

"You will never win Taoshi!"

"Don't be stupid Ryuusuke, admit defeat!" Kagami stated as she, Satoshi, Kintaga, Solaro and Ashrah joined him in his conquest.

Ryuusuke tried to fight back against the Emperor's grip but his strength was not enough to make him budge. He gasped for air as Taoshi restrained him well. The pressure was enough to inflict pain upon him but was not enough to kill him. It was quite the contrary. Taoshi wanted Ryuusuke to see the fruits of his victory.

All around him chaos was ensuring. Remless Sukeru was stabbing StormBladers in their chests left and right, leaving a trail of dead or critically injured bodies. The Raptor Imps were also being especially cruel, they took to throwing helpless women and children off of Radiant Gardens edge to watch them drown in the sea below. Even Ryuusuke's own Council members were down with slashes and magically inflicted wounds which kept them from coming to his aid.

"I've got to do something!" Even though she was still in Shiba Inu form, Madam Sora's mind was still sharp enough to process the situation at hand. Even if they weren't ready, she had to get the children out here as they were the only ones that could stem the tide of this battle.

Scooping up her cane in her mouth, Madam Sora focused a little bit of magic toward Mystic Tower. A single shot of blue energy erupted from the cane's tip as it hit the side of the building and brought the kids out onto the battlefield with their StormBlades in hand.

"What the hell?" A startled Blaze muttered as he suddenly noticed the change. One minute he and his friends were reading about the Sentai known as Zenkiager, and then the next they were outside in the middle of the carnage.

"Oh my God!" A horrified Yuma cried out, upon seeing the state of the village. "What's going on?"

"Quick everyone!" Madam Sora called out as she scurried her canine form over toward them. "You need to unlock the powers of the StormBlades and quickly before were all doomed!"

"Madam Sora?" Aqua's confusion was apparent while trying to piece together why Madam Sora's voice was coming out of a Shiba Inu.

"I'll explain later, right now you guys have to unlock the power of the Ikarirangers!"

"This destruction, is this what you were referring too Madam?" A saddened Naoki wondered as he looked away from the sight of the StormBladers being beaten massacred so easily.

"It is like I said, the Shadiranu have returned, and only you can stop them!"

"Let go of me!"

The group stop in there tracks as they heard Kazu's father cry out to be saved. Emperor Taoshi still held him against his will while his generals basked in their apparent victory.
Kazu, Blaze, Aqua, Naoki and Yuma looked upon the pandemonium as sadness erupted in each of their hearts. As much as they didn't want to be here, they knew that what was happening around them was wrong. Even though they were angry with the StormBladers and their culture, even they couldn't ignore the fact that everyone there was in trouble. Unfortunately they were still blood, and seeing the sight of the Shadiranu gave them compassion for their fellow man. They may not have been heroes like the members of Super Sentai, but even they couldn't stand to let something so wicked permeant in their once home.

"How do we save them?" Kazu questioned,

"The five of you must unlock the StormBlades power, focus on each other." She replied. "Once you've unlocked the power, the rest will come to you."

Blaze sighed deeply as he looked into his reflection in his StormBlade "I can't believe were going to do this."

"It's not like we have much of a choice." Aqua added

"Agreed, so let's get in their before it gets worse!" Kazu suggested. "We save my dad then we take them down! "The group nodded in response.

Naoki was the first one to take center stage. Taking a big gulp of air, Naoki blew out a cover of thick smoke which clouded Emperor Taoshi and his followers. Kazu was next to follow, swiftly using his telekinesis he focused his attention on his father and yanked him out of the Emperors grip and into the safety of his council members
.
Blaze, Yuma and Aqua were next to follow. Summoning Bolts of Fire, Lighting and Ice the trio focused their attacks on some of the Raptor Imps. With much might they blasted the creatures which allowed some of the StormBlade citizens to escape in order to find saftey.

"Who dares interrupt my conquest?" Emperor Taoshi questioned angrily,

"That be us your ugliness!"

The forces of Shadiranu focused their attention on the five figures that started to walk toward them. The Shadiranu were left in awe at the five teens before them, each one carrying a piece of the StormBlade. As the group got closer, they stared down their enemies, determination burning in each of their eyes as they knew there goal would be to take down the forces of evil for good this time.

End of Chapter 1

Next Time: Chapter 2- Assemble! The Mighty Storm Sentai!
__________________________________________________________________________________
Ok now that I've layed down the 1st part, you can expect the next chapter within 2 to 3 days or so. It might be sooner then that though because I already have it written, I just need time to make sure it fits my vision perfectly. I promise you guys next time, you'll get to see the colors, lots of action and Super Sentai goodies.
Don't forget to leave me a review and keep checking back as I'll have the next chapter up soon.
Thanks
Arigato
Z

Chapter Text

Hagakure Village-

The tension had not been this high since the Emperor's first assault on StormBlade Isle. Just like back then he had gone into overdrive, destroying everything he could in sight. Even with all the warriors and their parents down, Kazu, Naoki, Blaze, Aqua & Yuma did not give up the fight. After some much needed prodding and soul searching, the group had finally took up there weapons and stood their ground in the clearing of Radiant Gardens. With nobody else to face the Shadiranu, it was up to them to turn the tide of the battle and save the few that remained.

"So which one of you creeps is in charge around here?" Aqua's tone as well as her tounge were sharp while addressing the so-called 'bad guys' before her.

"Who the hell are you?" Prince Satoshi wondered. He took in the sight of the five teens, unlike the others they were dressed in strange clothing reminiscent of earth realm. While they certainly weren't much to look at, his eyes became drawn to the individual StormBlades that each on carried. Once identified he looked at his father for confirmation. "Father are those-."

Kagami snorted loudly, cutting off the emperor before he could speak "Those lot have the StormBlades!"

"Count again, they only have five." Solaro corrected.

"So these are the big bads threatening humanity." Blaze scoffed. "They don't look like much, just a buncha cheap cosplayers if you ask me."

"I agree their quite feverent." Naoki added

"Bunca meanies don't you know hurting people is just wrong!" Yuma quipped

"They know they just don't care Yuma." Kazu corrected. "Good thing were here to kick their asses!"

"Why do you waste my time, pitful humans?" Emperor Taoshi stared down the five warriors, not sure of what to think of them. On one hand they had guts for standing up to him when all the others failed, on the other they were foolish for challenging him. If they knew what he was capable of they would hand over the StormBlades and beg for his favor.

Perhaps they were ignorant to what he could do?

No matter, even in ignorance he would still destroy them all.

"Father they are wasting our time, let us send them to hell!" Prince Satoshi adviced

"Excellent Idea my son!" He commented. "Remless Sukeru, teach these children the meaning of the word pain!"

"Excellent Idea my Emperor!" On his leaders command Sukeru and squadrons of Raptor Imps slowly started arching there way toward the group. The five teens stood back to back for protection as the enemies encircled all around them.

"Ok so were standing with all these freaks near us, now what?" Aqua questioned

"Madam Sora said we need to focus on each other, once we do that were home free."

"Could she be more vague!"

"Lets just do it!"

Leaning on Madam Sora's words the five warriors extended their swords in an offensive position as they're thoughts turned to one another. While they hated being back home and being forced to interact with their family, what made it better was that they were all together. Since their youth they had been together, struggling with abonnement, homelessness and where they fit in the world. If the five had not stuck together, they would have been lost forever.

This togetherness bonded them for life and in this moment it caused the StormBlades to react as each one glowed with a different color. The power of light cascaded from the tips of the swords as it brought forth five yoyo's into each of their hands. Unlike ordinary Yoyo's, these words large and heavy in weight. The Yoyo's color consisted of Red, Blue, Silver, Orange, Pink and had a large star button upon it's face.

Once the Yoyo's were saftley in their hands, the group nodded toward each other in union as they knew what they had too do. They had unlocked the powers of the Yoyo's like the Madam said, now it was time to test them.

"Everyone, lets go!" Kazu called out

"Right!" "Right!" Blaze, Naoki, Aqua, and Yuma yelled together in unification.

"Stardust Rush!"

Once they had unlocked the power of the StormBlades, it seemed like the knowledge just flowed into them. It was as if they knew how to do this their entire lives. After shouting the phrase 'Stardust Rush', each of the five warriors put a single finger in the rope of the yoyo before unleashing it. Like the swords, the yoyo's glowed with their respective colors as they began to unleash the power within them.

-Henshin Sequence-

After unleashing the Yoyo, it leaves the hand of each of the five members and begins spinning around them in a circular direction. While spinning the Yoyo works it's way from their feet all the way to the neck area coating them in their colored armor. Once half the armor is complete, the Yoyo spins above them, generating a helment which soon falls neatly on their heads.

-End of Henshin Sequence-

"The Swordsman of Mighty Telekinesis, ChimeraRed!" Kazu's Ranger armor was sparkling red and ran throughout his entire body. The armor had black boots and gloves with a circular black belt with a Sele crest on it. Attached to the belt was a long sheath for his StormBlade. Across the chest of the armor was a sash with a circular golden symbol of the StormBlade on it. The Helment of his ranger armor was like the color of the suit, it's entire frame was modeled after a Chimera.

"The Swordsman of Unyielding Frost, DragonBlue!" Aqua's Ranger armor was sparkling blue and ran throughout her entire body. Her armor had black boots and gloves with a circular black belt with a Zena crest on it. Like Kazu attached to her belt was a long sheath for her StormBlade. Across the chest of the armor, was a sash with a circular golden symbol of the StormBlade on it. The Helmet of her ranger armor was like the color of the suit, it's entire frame was modeled after a Dragon.

"The Swordsman of Shinobi Smoke, SphinxSilver!" Naoki's Ranger armor was sparkiling silver and ran throughout his entire body. His armor had black boots and gloves with a circular black belt with a Canry crest on it. Like the others he had a sheath attached to his belt. Across the chest of the armor, was a sash with a circular golden symbol of the StormBlade on it. The Helmet of her ranger armor was like the color of the suit, it's entire frame was modeled after a Sphinx.

"The Swordsman of Fatal Hellfire, PhoenixOrange!" Blaze's Ranger armor was sparkling Orange and ran throughout his entire body. His armor had black boots and gloves with a circular black belt with a Pyru crest on it. Like the others he had a sheath attached to his belt. Across the chest of the armor, was a sash with a circular golden symbol of the StormBlade on it. The Helmet his ranger armor was like the color of the suit, it's entire frame was modeled after a Phoenix.

"The Swordsman of Vengeful Lightning, HarpyPink!" Yuma's Ranger armor was sparkling Pink and ran throughout her entire body. Her armor had black boots and gloves with a circular black belt with a Argus crest on it. Like the others she had a sheath attached to her belt. Across the chest of the armor, was a sash with a circular golden symbol of the StormBlade on it. The Helmet her ranger armor was like the color of the suit, it's entire frame was modeled after a Harpy.

"The Allure of Justice strikes like our blades!" The five transformed rangers announced in union before they twirled their swords in a fancy fashion. "Arashi Sentai Ikariranger!"

Even in dog form Madam Sora's face was one of joy as she watched her once students transform for the first time. Seeing them display the power of StormBlade, brought tremendous pride after everything that had happened in the last 13,000 years.

"They actually did it!" A stunned Ryuusuke murmured to nobody as he, his council members and the other villagers were mesmerized by the group. Never in anyone's lifetime did they think that Kazu and the others would be able to unlock the powers that Lord Kurama left in the blades.

"Ikarirangers!" Besides speaking the name of the group, Emperor Taoshi had nothing to say about the matter. His fists were curled into tight balls, his nostrils flailed like a mad bull and his teeth were clenched tight. How dare these interlopers claim the power that was so rightfully his. The power of those swords was supposed to inhabit his forces, and now it was in the hands of those useless children.

"Father-." Prince Satoshi tried to get his fathers attention, seeing the pissed off look on his face.

"Remless Sukeru, destroy them!" The Emperor commanded, and the Remless alongside the Raptor Imps followed suit once again charging at the Ikarirangers.

"Everyone lets take them down!"

The Ikarirangers were all set for their first battle, they followed suit in charging with their swords open and engaged the enemy head on. Each of the Ikarirangers followed a perfect battle stratergy which included sectioning off the enemy so they could pick them off easy. As they fought the Shadiranu members watched closely as did the villagers, each side eager to see the outcome of this fierce fight.

PhoenixOrange was the first one to section off his enemies from the rest of the group. Like a circe de sol acrobat he backflipped in a forward direction away from the imps , who were attempt to cut him with their dagger blades. After a solid ninth flip, PhoenixOrange jumped up high in the air and spun his body like a top with his sword extended. He called upon his powers of hellfire while lighting the steel with the element. As he came down, the fire burned fiercely as he began slashing the footsoldiers left and right with accurate precision.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" While PhoenixOrange was a natural with his sword abilities, SphinxSilver was not. Even with the ranger armor on, he didn't know how to fight back. Unlike his friends, he was not versed in the ways of fighting, instead he was more of a peacekeeper. That didn't matter to the Ratptor Imps however, they just insisted on swarming him in their fierce numbers.

"Damn Naoki, don't you know anything?" PhoenixOrange called out. He may have been cutting his way through the Imps , but that didn't stop him from seeing his friend in trouble. "Use your StormBlade man!"

"My StormBlade!" After SphinxSilver dodged the daggers of the footsoldiers once more, his brain began to react when his comrade mentioned the StormBlade. Looking down near his belt, he suddenly got an idea as he grabbed his sheath and put his Blade on the inside. Once the Blade touched the inside of the sheath, his weapon magically transformed into a long-range rifle like weapon.

"What the hell?"PhoenixOrange was buffudled by the sudden appearance of the weapon. Naoki's brain power had done it again, even though he was a horrible fighter his knowledge figured out how to turn that close range weapon into a long one.

"Storm Sniper!" SphinxSilver cried out proudly as he pointed the weapon at his enemies. Repeatedly tapping on the trigger, SphinxSilver unleashed hell as his weapon fired pointed laser shots which blasted back multiple Imps.

DragonBlue was left to defend herself as a small squadron of Imps cornered her near the broken gates of the village. As they advanced upon her, she prepared to show them why she was once named best warrior in the village. With a thrust of her StormBlade, she stabbed a single Imp in it's head killing it instantly. After that she withdrew the sword and swung it in the atmosphere like a boomerang. Her next action was to extend her hands and unleash her freezing powers upon them, turning them into complete ice sculptures. It was serendipity that her blade was still in the air, and like a boomerang it came back to her while cutting through the frozen blocks of ice in the process.

"This is soo awesome!" HarpyPink was like a child playing with a new toy. With her Blade in hand, she found herself, bouncing back and fourth delivering numerous slashes to the Imps that came near her. The soldiers couldn't keep up with her as she gracefully avoided their advances.

"Your having way to much fun with this Yuma!" DragonBlue montonly commented as she watched her hop about like a rabbit.

"I can't help it's like such a rush!" Like the young schoolgirl she was HarpyPink hopped in a springlike motion, unable to contain herself. DragonBlue tilted her head in confusion as she saw the lightning sparks illuminate from her friends body.

"Woah, calm down!"

"I can't help it, so much energy, energy, energy!" As Pink said, she couldn't contain her lighting energy and before she knew it her body morphed into a sparkling lightning ball. In this new form she sprung at the Imps like a pin ball, knocking them over and causing others to explode with her lightning power.

ChimeraRed was the last member of the group to heavily engage the footsoldiers. With their fangs bared and daggers out the Raptor Imps pounced upon him, pinning him toward a nearby tree.
"Eww dudes, ever heard of a breath mint!" He exclaimed as the Imps howled with their teeth close to his armor.

"Need some help over there Kazu?" DragonBlue wondered.

"Nah I got it!" With a sudden burst of strength, ChimeraRed thrusted his blade, knocking the Imps away from him and onto the ground. Once freed, Kazu jumped at the warriors delivering ninja like slashes which sent a good chunk of the Imps over the Islands edge and into the sea below.

He wasn't done there, however, he soon focused his attention on the remaining Imps that were still attacking his friends. Concentrating hard with his StormBlade he used his telekinetic powers to draw all of the Raptor Imps toward each over, almost like moths to a flame.

The four other rangers took notice of ChrimeraRed's plan and followed his cue. Charging at the now stuck Raptor Imps the Ikarirangers withered away at them with there Blades. The Raptor Imps made loud shrikes and noises as they were mercissly attacked by the rangers, these attacks would go on until the impact would cause the Imps to explode into nothing.

"Damn you Ikarirangers!" Remless Sukeru shouted

"What's that?" HarpyPink questioned as the Remless approached them.

"It appears to be a humanoid endoskeleton." SphinxSilver deduced.

"You damn interlopers, I am Remless Sukeru, nightmare servant to the great Emperor Taoshi!"

"Remless?"

"It means lack of sleep in dream terms."

"Well whatever you are, either stand aside of get dusted!"

"Very well then, If you won't submit then die!" Remless Sukeru bellowed while shooting numerous shots of dark energy balls. The Ikarirangers stood at attention, slicing the balls as they came near them rendering them harmless.

"My turn!" ChimeraRed shouted as he ran at the Remless. Once near him the ranger sent a swift but hard kick to the Remless's knee, causing him to stumble. While Sukeru was down, ChimeraRed slashed the sword out of his hand before proceeding to land choice attacks across his torso and arms.

Remless Sukeru was at ChimeraRed's mercy as he kept his assault ongoing, cutting deep into the bones on the monster. After a total of fifteen slashes were landed, he held his sword tight as he slashed Sukeru's neck and decapitating him.

"Damn you Ikarirangers!" Sukeru cursed the rangers name as his head was blow across the battlefield. Without the head attached, his torso once again separated and spread bones as far as the eye can see.

"You really should Bone-up on your swordplay Sukeru." He laughed. "Get it bone up, cause your like a skeleton."

"This isn't the time for cornball jokes Kazu!" PhoenixOrange scolded,

"Yeah lets finish him already!" Dragon Blue urged

"You fools can't finish me, I'm powered by the mighty Emperor Taoshi!" Remless Sukeru laughed from his decapitated head which was nearby.
The IkariRangers were so caught up in the battle they failed to notice that Sukeru's bones were starting to reform with his torso, within just a few seconds they would have to face him at full skeleton form again.

"He's pulling himself together!" HarpyPink exclaimed.

"We have to destroy the head, that seems to be the only way!"

"You heard him guys, lets finish this!"

The five swordsmen found themselves sheathing their blades to create their Storm Snipers. Once all five Storm Snipers were out, the IkariRangers aimed them at Sukeru's head as they each charged with their respective tribe colors and energies.

"Prism Crusher!" The Rangers called out as their weapons finished charging. After clicking the fire button, each of the Snipers unleashed powerful beams which combined to create a giant multicolored Star. The Star collided with Sukeru's head with massive impact before exploding with waves of their magical energy. Sukeru gave one last Farwell scream as the attack blew his head to nothingness. Once his head was destroyed, Sukeru's bone torso exploded also but left a large pile of black sand behind.

Each of the Shadiranu members exchanged worrisome looks as the situation finally became reality, the IkariRangers had defeated the Remless. One of the most powerful creatures in existence, a being made from pure nightmares and darkness was defeated by these inferior beings. Such a defeat brought shame to the generals of Shadiranu and enraged the Emperor.

"Such absurdity!" General Kagami cried. The invasion and decimation of the StormBladers was almost complete, had it not been for these five they would have one for sure.
"Father what do we do now?" Prince Satoshi inquired as he looked to his father for guidance.

"Ashrah." He growled.

"Yes Emperor Taoshi!"

"He's your creation, do something!"

"Right away Emperor, I've got just the thing!" On the Emperor's orders Ashrah transported herself to the battlefield where the IkariRangers were at.
"Did you come to surrender?" DragonBlue asked. "It would be smart if you did."

"Unless you want to end up like mr bones over there." PhoenixOrange added.

"You insolent brats, I'll make you eat those words!"

Ashrah set her sights on the small pile of ash that was left over from the Remless's destruction. With a wave of her hand, the girl generated two small items and brought them forward so her enemies could see. In her left hand, a cyan colored stone and in her right a violin with a fiddle.

The IkariRangers prepared themselves as they thought Ashrah was going to declare some sort of attack. Ashrah did not attack, however, all the girl did was throw the cyan stone onto the ground which collided with the black sand.

"With shadow powers from Shadi Kin, let this nightmare arise by my violin!"

After utter the rhyming phrase Ashrah closed her eyes slightly as she used the fiddle to aggressively strum her violin. The sound that left the instrument was screechy, like nails on a chalk board, or a opera woman singing. Needles to say the sound was horrifying to the ears of those that heard it.

"What the hell?" The Ikarirangers held their ears in dismay as the girl played the tune.

"Ugh thats so awful!" HarpyPink screamed.

"Guys look!"

The true reason to Ashrah's violin playing became clear to the IkariRangers as they watched the cyan stone next to the sand. As Ashrah played that loud nasty tune, the stone had suddenly levitated in the air while leaking drops of water. The faster she played the more water came out of the stone, this continued until water had completely soaked the area around the sand.
That wasn't the horrifying part however. The IkariRangers noticed that as the water was sprayed, the black sand started to rise in the air. When enough water was sprayed the black sand spread outward to the very sky and constructed a skyscraper sized version of Remless Sukeru.

"Thank you Ashrah!!" Was the Remless's call as it suddenly came back to life in this new form.

"No way that's cheating!"

"H-h-he's a-a- g-g-giant." PhoenixOrange studered, unable to grasp how she turned that pile of ash into a new creature.

"Remless Sukeru finish the StormBladers!" Was the Emperor's final words as he and his troops withdrew from the battle, vanishing as a result.

The Remless didn't waste anytime causing as much mischievous as possible. He stomped on the earth isle causing the entire village to shake violently. The Ikarirangers hid for cover as Sukeru swung his sword thought the atmosphere, decapitating trees and kicking up dirt from the ground.

"How do we even fight that thing?" ChimeraRed wondered. Now that he wasn't normal size, they weren't even sure of how they were going to destroy him.

"Die Ikarirangers!" Sukeru opened his skull as massive dark energy balls exploded from within it.

The Ikarirangers were helpless in the situation before them now, as the energy balls came closer to them all they could do was huddle together for support. Defeating Sukeru in normal form was easy, but him in giant mode was going to prove to much for them.

As the dark energy came closer to them, the IkariRangers expected the worse, but their deaths would not come to fruition. The attacks harmlessly deflected off of them and back at Sukeru, knocking him over with a loud 'thud'. The IkariRangers were sure they were goners, but were surprised to learn that once again their StormBlades were glowing fiercely with their tribe energies.

The StormBlades were coming to their owners defense against the giant. To do so each blade began to infiltrate the minds of the IkariRangers, showing them familiar images of creatures that were known to the tribes. For Kazu it was the Chimera, Naoki the Sphinx, Aqua the Dragon, Blaze the Phoenix and Yuma the Harpy.

The Spirit Beasts like the IkariRangers were now awakening in their souls, showing them the power that was needed to defeat the Remless. Without warning ChimeraRed suddenly leaped up into the sky at Sukeru with his Blade held tightly and aiming at him.

"Chimera Blade! Psychic Strike!" As ChimeraRed's body was flung at the Remless, he willed his telekentic powers to react. Remless Sukeru tried to fight against the warrior but couldn't and felt his body contort on his own. With full force of his powers ChimeraRed forced Sukeru to extend his neck out. Like a speeding torpedo he sliced through Sukeru's bones once again separating his head from his torso.

"Sphinx Blade! Dust Storm!"

"Harpy Blade! Feather Bolts!"

SphinxSilver & HarpyPink were the next ones to attack. From their swords they unleashed a tornado of smoke and bolts of lighting which mixed together in an unusual fashion. Sukeru cried out as the tornado came upon his torso and head while striking him multiple times.

"Dragon Blade! Frost Torrent!"DragonBlue was next. She aimed her Blade at Sukeru's torso and head while unleashing a blast of ice which encased his body in total frost.

"Phoenix Blade! Lava Flash!"PhoenixOrange was set to deliver the final blow against the Remless. Springing up high like a jackrabbit, he slashed downward upon Sukeru's body which soon became engulfed an a hellish lava.

"Damn you IkariRangers!" Was Remless Sukeru's final words before his body exploded from the attacks he had received.

The moment that Sukeru went down in destruction, the IkariRangers de morphed and began celebrating amongst themselves. The entire village soon joined them and began to express their appreciation for saving the village. Madam Sora merely nodded in pleasure watching her students try to grasp the fact that they were apart of something bigger.

-Amagi Castle-

-War Room-

While the five IkariRangers were celebrating their first victory as a team, the Amagi castle was the latest hotspot for rage. Emperor Taoshi sat on his throne silently huffing to himself while the rest of his members were arguing unsensible like they usually do.

"Everyone calm down, this fighting isn't getting us anywhere." Solaro softly spoke trying to get everyone to calm down, but his words were drowned out by the shouting among his peers.

"This is all your fault Ashrah!" Kagami spat while pointing an accusatory finger at the witch, who hid behind Kintaga to escape her venom filled rant. "Your magic failed us. Sukeru should have been powerful enough in that giant form the kill them!"

"Don't blame me, Satoshi's the one who picked the Remless card!" She whined

"How dare you accuse me of faliure witch, I'm royalty here!"

"She is correct Satoshi!" Kintaga remarked. "Sukeru was so weak he couldn't handle those children!"

"Silence all of you!" Emperor Taoshi suddenly shouted in rage as he pounded his fist on his throne. Satoshi, Solaro, Kintaga , Ashrah and Kagami immediately ceased there arguments and bowed before him. They had been humiliated, and the last thing he wanted to hear was there useless prattling.

"Father." Prince Satoshi vocalised sheepishly. "What is your will of us?"

"For starters stop looking so dejected." He said as he finally calmed his anger. "This is a minor setback, nothing we need to worry about."

"But Father the Ikarirangers they-."

"The Ikarirangers are a bunch of inexperienced children, who we will destroy and rip the StormBlades from their corpses!" He beckoned with force. "They may have won today, but I guarantee you we shall be victorious, the StormBlade and the world shall be ours!" Emperor Taoshi's eyes glowed a bright blood red color as he spoke with his determined goal. So they had stopped his plans so what, they had hundreds of more warriors at their disposal alongside more force that wasn't even untapped. In Emperor Taoshi's eyes, the fun was just beginning.

-Hagakure Village-

The StormBlade Tribes had suffered much in 13,000 years and today was no exception. With the Shadiranu attacking they had sustained more damage then they ever thought they would have too. The entire village was in ruins, most of their homes and societal structure was now up in flames. There was a somber aura that coated the village as it wasn't just the buildings they lost, just like in the past many StormBladers had been slain. Villagers fished bodies out of the river while others picked up the hacked remains of their loved ones, symbolizing once again how much the Shadiranu took from them. For some the scene reminded them of the first time StormBlade Isle fell, for others is was just a constant reminder of the persecution they would receive as long Emperor Taoshi and his tribe were alive.

As the villagers were processing how they would once again rebuild, the Ikarirangers sat near Mystic Tower watching a roaring fire that Blaze lit himself.

"This has been a helluva day man, still can't believe everything that happened!" Blaze sighed as he inhaled a puff of his cigarette he secretly kept in his pants. Fighting with that armor and sword may have been adventurous but it was also exhausting. Like they had deduced before, this warrior business was going to definitely interfere with their personal lives.

"I've never felt anything like that in my life." Naoki responded. "I guess we really are the StormBlades chosen warriors!"

"Does that mean we have to face those meanies again?" Yuma implored.

"Don't be naive Yuma!" Aqua scolded with a eye roll. "Emperor Taoshi will obviously come back."

Being the ever most optimist Kazu got to his feet and began swinging his sword around wildly as if he were fighting another monster. "I hope he does come back, I'm ready to take them all down with my Chimera Blade!"

"That's the spirit Kazu!" The groups conversation was interrupted by Madam Sora. In her dog form she hobbled over toward the five while wagging her tail in an excited fashion. Being a dog had not kept her from her duties, and she did her best to still give out wisdom & hope to her brethren. " "Your Ikarirangers now, you'll need that momentum if your going to defeat the Shadiranu!"
"What about you Madam Sora, how do we turn you back to normal?"

"Unfortunately until I get my hands on Ashrah I'm stuck like this, I'll still be able to help you with some of my magic, though."

"What about the village?"

"Even without the magic gate, well have to rebuild and move on just like we did 13,000 years ago."

"Besides rebuilding, I guess we need to train as well." Blaze replied. "I don't know about you guys, but my back aches from all that fighting."

"We can train tomorrow." Aqua said. "For now lets get out of this village and go back to Tokyo!"

"Right Aqua lets go gang!"

"Where do you think your going? The groups moment was once again interrupted by outside forces.

Incoming toward the group was Ryuusuke followed by all the parents of the Ikarirangers and then a dozen or more tribesmen.

"Dad." Kazu called out as his father came upon him. Since the battle against the Remless, the parents of the Ikarirangers went silent. They had retreated to an unknown section of the village to discuss 'certain' matters, now that they were back however perhaps they would share what was so private, maybe even come to there senses. "What's the problem now?"

A harsh silence fell over the concil as they found themselves unable to speak. The Ikarirangers parents had emotionless expressions as they stared down their offspring. Madam Sora was even baffled about the sudden silence. Even though they had lost their village, they now had saviors to fight and win the battle. This was a joyous occasion, so why were they so quiet?

"Who died?" Blaze questioned, his thoughts bewildered toward the sudden change of emotion.

"Mom, dad." Yuma looked at her parents for answers but was still met with silence before all parties present turned their attention to Ryuusuke.

"For starters against our better judgment, we'd like to thank you for saving our village, had it not been for the five of you we would surely have died." Ryuusuke started. "While we are grateful, we ask that the five of you hand over the StormBlades immediately."

"What?"

"No way!"
The IkariRangers huddled together while exchanging confused looks. They had just defeated the Remless and saved them all, yet they still didn't think they were worthy to carry on the mantel. Their own parents were once again enforcing there beliefs as well as there outdated opinions on them

"What is the meaning of this Ryuusuke?" Madam Sora inquired angrily. "I already told you they are the chosen ones destined to stop the darkness."

"You violated village rules by bringing them here Sora, while they may have unlocked the powers they still are considered traitors in the eyes of the council."

"You can't possibly mean that?" Kazu questioned angrily. "First were brought here against our will, then we save your sorry asses and now you just expect us to give up our birthright."

"Those swords were your birthright when you obeyed StormBlade laws." He stated arrogantly. "Your mark of exile keeps you from legally becoming recognized as warriors by us."

"To hell with legality!" Aqua shot back

"This is your only warning, hand over the StormBlades and leave the village quietly!"

Kazu's fists were balled tensely as the veins in his neck throbbed. He couldn't believe that once again his father was acting like this. Was he really so prideful that he was going to keep carrying this grudge? After he put himself on the line to counter the threat, after unlocking the magic that they could not, even after all that they still wanted to treat him as a traitor.

Kazu's thoughts were soon interrupted as he felt a brush against his shoulders. On his right Naoki & Yuma, while on his left their was Aqua and Blaze. While they did fight alot as friends tend to do, this was one of those times were they were equally in union on their feelings.

"No." Kazu replied softly, his eyes full of determination as he stared down his father. "The StormBlades belong to us!"

"Don't be foolish Kazu, hand the Blades over!" His father urged.

"No!"

"Then prepare yourself for combat!" With a snap of his fingers, the tribesman and women suddenly mobilized as they surrounded the group. Each StormBlade tribe member had their own normal swords drawn out as they pointed them in a threatening manner.

The Ikarirangers stood back in the circle as the troops turned on them. This couldn't be happening, not again. They already had an enemy in the Shadiranu, but now their own people, their own parents were turning on them for the second time in there lives. They wanted the StormBlades and it seemed like they would do anything to retrieve them, even if it meant trying to slay them via battle.
As night soon fell, the Ikarangers were left to ponder a single thought.

What would they do now?

End of Chapter 1

*Ubeat Adventure Music*
Annoncer: "Next Time on Episode 2!"
............an unexpected mutiny.
*Cut's to scene of Ikarirangers fighting the Tribe*
Yuma Voiceover- "We've can't give them the StormBlades!"
Naoki Voiceover- "But they're our family!"
Announcer: "But the Shadiranu aern't finished yet either!"
*Cut's to scene of Emperor Taoshi addressing his troops*
Emperor Taoshi Voiceover- "We will set this world ablaze!"
Announcer: "And Kazu sets out on a journey."
*Cuts to scene of Kazu holding his Chimera Blade fiercly at an unknown Remless.*
Kazu- "I will defently show them I can fight!"
*Last cutscene is of an unknown Mecha*
IkariRangers: "Formation Complete! ArashiKing!"

Next Time: "A Test of Leadership! Kazu's Journey! "

Chapter Text

__________________________________________________________________________________

Episode 3: A Test of Leadership! Kazu's Journey!

Traitors

Defined as a single person or a group of persons that sell out their country, people or principals. To the StormBladers of Hagakure Village, the first traitors on their list was the Shadiranu for attempting to covet the holy StormBlade. The second traitors on their list were the group of five young adults that stood before them right now. Despite the fact that they had saved the village from extinction that didn't matter to them, on the councils words they turned on them still seeing them as traitors.

Kazu, Blaze, Aqua, Naoki, Yuma & Madam Sora in Shiba form stood back to back as they were surrounded by the entire village. These people they once called family were the real traitors, however. Having no appreciation for what was done for them they're goal now was to kick them out of the village and steal their Stormblades, something they were not going to let happen.
"I think this is the part where one of us should have a plan!" Aqua commented as she griped her StormBlade tightly while holding it offensively. The standoff had been for a few moments now with both sides not backing down from the other. The Ikarirangers needed to come up with a plan soon, or they would be forced to face down these individuals who could easily swarm them with their superior numbers.

"I say we transform, it be easier to kick their asses!" Blaze suggested

"But they're our family!" Naoki cried. "We can't use the powers against them, what If we hurt them?"

"Better them then us!" Kazu added.

"Last chance Kazu!" Ryuusuke's voice was mighty and prideful as he addressed the group. "Hand over the StormBlades and leave quietly!"

"Go to Hell Father!"

"Seize them!"

Tired of his sons insolence Ryuusuke gave the command, ordering his troops to attack the group. The villagers attempted to attack all at once with their own swords but was stopped by Aqua who used her ice powers to swirl together a dome like shield around her and her friends.
The villagers were bewildered by the ice shield for a mere moment before they started to use their brains to counteract it. Members of the Argus tribe fired bolts of lightning while the Pyru tribe members unleashed Hellfire from the palm of their hands. Both attacks came with full force and started to break down Aqua's Ice Dome.

"What are we going to do?" Yuma questioned. "We can't give them the StormBlades!"

"Everyone prepare yourselves!" Madam Sora suggested as she put one paw on her cane, which started to glow with it's magic.

"What are you going to do Madam?"

"Raba Nuka, Raba Nuka, Raba Nuka, Raba Nuka, zin, zin, zin, ziofin!" The Madam did not answer the group, she merely recited a series of strange words as her magic went to work. Kazu and the others looked up to notice that storm clouds started to gather within the sky bringing rain upon the village. The Villagers weren't sure where the rain came from but as the rain droplets hit them, their bodies began to glow with a purple aura for just a few seconds before returning them to their normal states.

"What's happening?" Lady Ahim questioned as her body felt weak. Her inquisitive mind suddenly lead her to try and summon her powers over Hellfire but to her surprise her powers did not come.
The Villagers stopped after seeing Lady Ahim not being able to use her powers and attempted to use their own abilities. All around the Villagers cried and cursed Madam Sora's name as they realized that they didn't have their nature born abilities.

"She castrated us!" Ryuusuke bemoaned dramatically. While not the correct use of the word, Ryuusuke felt like less of a man now that his lifetime powers were now gone.

"Everyone now!" Madam Sora instructed to her students now that they had a fighting chance.

Naoki was the first to react to this development. The bookworm inhaled air before exhaling a cloud of dense smoke in the atmosphere. The Villagers became blinded as the others started to knock their way past them as if they were bowling pins. Kazu, Aqua, Naoki, Yuma, Blaze & Madam Sora soon had a clear path and started to run away toward the entrance to the village.

"What's the plan Kazu?"

"We need to get back to Japan!" Kazu answered while slighty running ahead of his comrades. "Once were back home they won't follow us there!"

"Ouch!" Yuma suddenly screamed out as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"What's wrong Yuma?"

"Some kind of bug I gu-." Yuma was set to answer her friends but couldn't as she suddenly felt weakness in her legs. The room started to spin rapidly like a bad LSD trip, Yuma tried to hold herself up strong but found the strange sensation overwhelming which soon knocked her out cold.

"Yuma what's wrong?" Naoki stopped running to check on Yuma but he too instantly felt drowsy and slumped to the floor.

"What the hell's going on?" Kazu, Blaze and Aqua were unsure of what was happening to their friends but soon had a full fledge answer as they saw two colorful darts sticking out of their necks. The quartet squirmed in horror as they saw StormBladers from far away in the trees shooting darts at them.

"Bastards!" Aqua cursed. Together, the girl swirled a small shield of ice to protect them from suffering the same fate as Yuma & Naoki. "They've been hit with sedatives!"

"You will fall Traitors!" Another StormBlader cried out as he fired more darts which this time pierced through the shield. Aqua and Blaze were the next two victims to fall as they were soon hit with darts in their shoulders.

"Guys!" Kazu cried

"Kazu we have no time, grab the StormBlades and the Yoyo's before it's too late!" Madam Sora urged. "We cannot let your father get ahold of the Blades!"

"They're my friends I'm not leaving them!"

"Kazu please, if you don't you'll be captured as well!"

"But-!"

"Kazu!"

Kazu didn't have much time to think the decision over as he saw his father and the other StormBlade villagers start to get closer with every waking moment. The Red Ranger found himself dodging several more darts as the tribes attempt to make him subcomb like the others.

"Kazu please we must flee!"

Kazu bit his lower lip in frustration as he looked down at his helpless friends. The last thing he wanted to do was run away in the heat of battle, but Madam Sora was right, if he didn't give up then he would be caught in the snare of his fathers treachery. The world needed the Ikarirangers and he couldn't let the StormBlades fall into the hands of the real traitors..

Against his better judgement Kazu called forth his powers over telekinesis. He quickly levitated his friends StormBlades to him alongside their transformation Yoyo's before running like a speeding bullet out toward the village entrance and out onto the forest.

"Damn he escaped!" Jin yelled as he and the others surronded the bodies of the Ikarirangers.

"Don't worry we have his friends, he'll be back!" Ryuusuke commented while looking down at the out cold young adults before him.
As the villagers started to drag away the Ikarirangers, unbeinknowest to them a sinister figure was watching them in the shadows. The warrior known as Solaro was hanging upside down in a nearby tree observing the actions that had just unfolded. With his assignment now completed the Ninja vanished into thin air from whench he came.

-Amagi Castle-
-War Room-

Within Amagi Castle Ninja Solaro transported himself to the War Room where his brethren gathered. He bowed before Emperor Taoshi in respect before he started to ramble on about his observations while once again being the Hagakure Village.

"Remarkable!" The Emperor spoke with calm interest as he stroked his face. "So the five Ikarirangers are exiles are they?"

"Yes my Emperor, right now they're refusal to give up the StormBlades has put the village in disarray."

Kagami couldn't help but snort at this news. "Those StormBladers are dumber then a sack of bricks, they're infighting will allow us to triumph with ease!"

"I couldn't agree more Kagami!" The Emperor stated. "While they are busy chasing their tails, we will set this world ablaze!"

"Emperor!" Ashrah began. "With the human world being on one side of the Hagakure Village, it's best we concentrate our forces there!"

"Father allow me to redeem myself from Sukeru's failure." Prince Satoshi brought fourth a Remless card, this one had a Kanji Fire symbol that with a volcano in the background. "This Remless is powerful enough to access every volcano in the world, with that type of firepower we can easily destroy earth and obtain the StormBlades."

"Kintaga, Ashrah, take Satoshi's card and find a weak point in the surface where the Remless may start it's attacks."

"Leave it to us Emperor!" After taking the Remless card from Prince Satoshi, General Kintaga & Witch Ashrah vanished out of the war room, taking themselves to the one place they knew they'd be most useful.

-Mt Sakurajima-

Within instant teleportation the duo brought themselves to the very top of the Super Volcano known as Mt Sakurajima. Known as one of the deadliest of volcanoes in Japan, Kintaga & Ashrah grinned evilly as they looked at the crater inside the volcano which housed the still but liquidy hot lava. This particular volcano had not been a threat to Japan for sometime but knowing the Shadiranu, this one piece of mother nature was going to be the starting point where they declare victory over the StormBladers.

"We haven't a moment to waste Ashrah, the sooner we melt away this planet the sooner we can defeat the Ikarirangers and get the StormBlades!"

"Don't worry Onii-san, I'm ready!" Using her magic Ashrah summoned her flute in one hand while tossing the Remless card on the ground just a few inches away from her. "Remless Solgoil, I invoke your power!"

This was her favorite part of the job, the moment when she could use her love of music combine with her skills in witchcraft. Just like she did for Remless Sukeru, Ashrah played the sultry tune on her flute while the summoning card levitated in the air. Once the sounds reached it's peak the card violently exploded bringing forth the shape of Remless Solgoil.

"Remless Solgoil, ready for a barbecue!" Remless Solgoil was a creature that was made out of solid jagged molten lava rocks that emitted hot steam. The creature had a set of long leathery gargoyle wings on it's back combine with long sharp bird like talons. The head of the beast was three dog like animals that almost resembled Cerebus the Guard Dog of the Underworld. The Creature carried a quadruple tipped trident at it's side and had a large devil like tail that swung from its backside.

"The Emperor wants to turn this planet into a firepit Solgoil. We expect you to make it happen!" Kintaga stated.

"One scorched earth, coming right up!"

With his orders now set Remless Solgoil wasted no time in trying to turn earth into a burnt wasteland. Lowering himself into the volcano using his wings, Remless Solgoil began using his trident to blast the molten lava with a strange dark energy. Kintaga & Ashrah watched in delight as the lava began to boil intensely as if it were hot water. With the villagers and Ikarirangers busy fighting each other, this would be the opportunity that would allow the Emperor to destroy them all.

-Hagakure Village-
-Unknown Hut-

"Wa..."

"W...a...k.."

"Wake....u."

"Wake...up...t."

"Wake up traitors!"

A faded voice soon became loud and obnoxious as Blaze felt the cold sensation of ice water being thrown across his face. The Pyru tribe member instantly woke up from the assault and found himself in the land of the awake once more.

He grunted in frustration as he soon noticed he was standing on a large piler overlooking a large pit of spikes, while his hands were kept apart from a series of chains that were bolted to the ground. As his eyes adjusted to the dim setting he noticed one of two very important things. One was that his comrades, Yuma, Naoki, & Aqua were standing beside him chained to the very same pillar, they also had water splashed on them causing them to awaken slowly. The second important aspect was that Ryuusuke and the other tribe members stood watching them beyond a darkened wall made of a mineral type material.

It soon clicked with Blaze that the group was being held in some kind of prison cell while their parents watched them like animals in some kind of zoo.

"What's the big idea?" Aqua interrogated groggily.

"Where are we?" Yuma quizzed also

" Right where all traitors belong in chains!" Ryuusuke answered in an almost proud tone of voice. "I hope you are all comfortable with your present accommodations as you'll be here for quite a while!"
"So Ryuusuke what's next, torture, brainwashing or perhaps another one of your boring lectures about how we betrayed the tribe!"

"Silence!" Hikari ordered. "You will respect Ryuusuke Blaze!"

"I'd sooner obey a cactus, it least that has brains!" He quipped back

"Why you little disobident-."

"Enough!" Ryuusuke commanded. "Since you five are so intent on being stubborn, you shall remain in bondage until my foolish son attempts to rescue you!"

"It's not an attempt; Kazu will rescue us!"

"Your faith in my son is misguided." Ryuuskue smugly spoke. "The entire village is under watch for him, the minute he comes to rescue you we will finally end your traitorous ways once and for all."
"Then the StormBlades will go rightly back to the tribes in which they belong!" Lady Ahim haughtily added

"Dream on,you'll see, Kazu will save us!"

"You'll learn in due time children, you'll learn!" Feeling like there plan was indeed perfect the Ikarirangers parents finally departed through the single door leaving the group in the confines of the cell they were in. Once the coast was clear the group tried hopelessly to break the ties that bind them but could not find the means to get free.

Out of the four members Aqua was the one that tried to escape the most. The girl pulled her chains while straining her muscles but found herself unable to break them. "These chains are so damn tight, I can barley feel my wrists!"

"Blaze can't you melt the chains off?" Yuma solicited

"Won't due us any good!" Naoki interrupted with a gesture of his head. "Take a look at what the chains and that wall are made of."

Blaze, & Aqua meditated on Naoki's words for a mere moment before they eyed the mineral wall and mineral chains that bind them. As they looked at the jagged structure and the blackish grey color formation, the duo instantly knew what Naoki was talking about.

"it's Zirconium!" Aqua groaned

"Zir what?"

It's called Zirconium Yuma!" Naoki said.

"What is it, though?"

"It's a very strong mineral that the Shadi tribes used to bind their foes back in the day."

"It's heat resistant, electrical resistant, frost resistant, water resistant, durable and strong enough where smoke powers can't pass through it!"

"You gotta be kidding me."

"Wish I was but sadly we can't get out!"

"What do we do then?"

"We count on Kazu to get us out!" Blaze declared

"But where is he?"

"I don't know, but I hope he's ok!"

"Me too Naoki, me too!"

With that the four Ikarirangers were left to ponder the fate of their lost comrade. Wherever he was, they hoped he was ok and more importantly they hoped that he would have them out of this place soon.

-Tokyo Japan-
-Docks-

It seemed like their was no safe haven for those that went against the StormBlade villagers. For Kazu and Madam Sora it seemed like they were transversing the Soju forests for the longest time. The villagers gave chase on them for several hours before Kazu used his powers to cause a distraction which allowed them to escape.

Once they left the dangers of the forest, Kazu traveled throughout the streets of Tokyo until he managed to get to the waters edge. Madam Sora stayed quiet throughout the journey, unsure of where they were going to hide but got her answer as the teen went toward a huge boat with colorful painted polka dots on the side. As they got closer Madam Sora noticed that on the side of the boat was black writing that spelled out 'S.S Nakumara'

"What in the world is this?" She asked as she followed him up the gangway and inside after he unlocked the door.

From the door there were five steps going downward that led into to an inside cabin. When you come inside the cabin, you were greeted to a small table and booth that overlooked a television that was mounted to the wall. Next to that television was also a small photo frame which housed the picture of an elderly gentleman that Madam Sora did not recgonize. In the same room, was a small refrigerator next too a countertop that contained a small hotplate like device. Going pass these features led to four separate rooms, two of the doors were closed while the other two were open. One of the two doors led to a extreme small bathroom while the other one led to the control room where the entire boat was operated.

"Remarkable!" Madam Sora commented as she took the entire room in. So this is where the Ikarirangers lived all these years, on this small cramped boat. While it didn't compare to the spaciousness of the village they grew up in, they obviously loved it as they were staying here. "So you live on this boat eh, well it's quite something!"

Although she addressed Kazu directly, the teen did not answer her. Instead he stood in place with his head down almost as if frozen in time.

"Kazu, what's wrong?"

Without warning Kazu dropped his friends StormBlades and transformation Yoyo's before dropping to his knees on the thick carpet. With a single balled fist, he pounded on the ground before him while cursing his fathers name.

"Kazu-." Madam Sora called out to her student. As she walked closer to his face, she could see the frustration in his eyes. The pain that he was feeling in that moment. "Kazu what's wrong?"
"I left them-." He managed to say. "I promised I would never leave them!"

"Kazu you didn't have a choice!"

"There was always a choice!" He snapped back. "I gave them my word that I would never leave them, and I did, I left them to be taken!"

"Kazu well get them back we'll-."

"I told them I would never leave them, ever since we were exiled I promised them."

-Flashback-
-7 Years ago-
-Soju Forest-

"Momma, Papa, come back please!" Yuma's tears stained her face as well as the rain soaked grounds before her as she pounded desperately on the Hagakure gate. Being the youngest member of the group, Yuma hoped her cries would reach her parents ears and touch there hearts so they would return but sadly they did not. It seemed the more she cried the harsher the silence became from behind the magical gate.

"Yuma come on, there not coming back." Naoki sighed sadly before he grabbed his friend and brought her over to the nearby tree with the others for protection.

Having been just sentenced to exile by there so called 'loving parents' the group sat underneath a tall bushy tree to try and keep warm from the heavy winds, rain and the lighting that struck above them. Never in their young minds could they ever begin to imagine a fate would be passed on them, all due to violating the village laws. For tasting the joy that was Earthrealm they were now forever exiled from the culture, family and the world that they knew.

. Five young kids, alone against the world. With nothing but the clothes on there backs, and one another they had to figure out some way to survive for the rest of their lives.

"It's s-s-so c-c-cold!" Naoki cried as the harsh winds brushed against his face.

"What do we do now?" Blaze questioned

"What are you waiting for Blaze?" Aqua inquired. "Get those fingers moving and start a fire!"

"Yeah that sounds like a great Idea!" Kazu seconded the idea while trying to sound positive.

"I c-can't I d-don't know how." He confessed.

"What do you mean you don't know how?" Naoki questioned. "Your from Pyru tribe, you should know how to start fire!"

"Don't look at me, I didn't get that far when Madam Sora was teaching."

"Why not?"

"Cause it's hard, I know how to start sparks but I can't exactly make the flames last very long."

"Could you be anymore useless?"

"Shut up Aqua!"

"You shut up, what kinda Pyru doesn't know how to make fire?"

"I wanna go home!" Yuma sobbed

"Will you stop being such a baby Yuma!" Blaze quipped

"Stop yelling at her you big bully, it's not her fault were in this situation!" Naoki said

"Stay outta this bookworm!"

"Don't talk to him like that?" The tension suddenly reached a high point as Aqua shoved Blaze to the ground. The Pyru boy would not be so easily defeated and snatched her hair in an attempt to assault her. Naoki soon joined the fight to get the two too stop fighting while Yuma lay on the sidelines crying.

"Guys no stop!" Kazu waved his hands defensively while trying to calm down the ticking time bomb before him.

"Idiot!" Aqua barked

"Witch!" Blaze shouted

"Can't you two just talk this over civil?" Naoki wondered as he tried to hold them back from one another

"I want mommy!" Yuma cried heavily

"CUT IT OUT GUYS!" Like the lighting that struck overhead, Kazu's voice was loud and damaging. His loud call seemed to stop everything in sight. Kazu, Blaze and Aqua stopped fighting while Yuma ceased her crying, all eyes were effectively on him now. "We shouldn't be fighting like this!"

"Your one to talk!" Blaze snapped back. "Us going to Earth was your idea in the first place and it was your dad that convinced our parents to exile us!"

"Blaze is right, this is your fault!" Aqua agreed

"Alright then blame me, blame my dad, I don't care who you guys blame!" While Kazu hated to admit that he felt personally responsible for his fathers action, his blood boiled as he noticed his friends were missing the bigger picture at hand. "Your all so focused on everything thats happening now your forgetting the bigger picture, were exiled, were outcasts, we have no place to stay. Instead of thinking of ways to make this better, were taking it out on one another!"

"B-but our parents-."

"Don't love us, if they did they wouldn't have left us out here to fend for ourselves like were animals !"

Aqua, Blaze, Naoki & Yuma let Kazu's words sink deep into their souls. He was absolutley right, here they were fighting like cats and dogs while they're parents were safe inside the village, not giving a damn about their saftey. Despite the circumstances they were in he was totally right, all they had was each other now.

"Guys I know it looks bad, but we can do this!" Kazu began. "We don't need them , we can survive on our own, we need to survive in order to make our dreams come true."

The kids peaked up about Kazu mentioning the dream. For these youths, there dream was to live on earth far away from StormBlade traditions. They wanted to be free, they wanted to have fun, but more importantly they wanted to shape their own destinies. While it may not look like it but being exiled was the first step, without their parents around they could travel to earth to become the people they wanted to be.

"How can you be sure, well be ok?" Naoki suddenly questioned as he interrupted Kazu's speech.

"I give you my word!" Kazu stated with a smile. "I'll always be there for you guys and as long as we stick together, there is nothing we can't overcome!"

Each of the kids took a minute reflecting on Kazu's words before they each batted him there best toothy grins.

"Ya know thats pretty cheesy stuff, but you actually might have something!" Blaze was the first to break away from the group to rejoin Kazu, a deep sign that he trusted his friend with his determination to survive.

"I guess we're stuck with each other forever huh?" Aqua sighed slyly. While her response was not as wholesome, the group knew that that was as close as Aqua gets to showing any signs of emotion.
"Forever doesn't sound so bad, especially if we can accomplish our dreams!" Naoki added as he and Yuma alongside Aqua joined the duo.

"No more crying for me." Yuma said. "I'm gonna be a big girl, I'm gonna be strong enough to accomplish my dreams!"

As apologies went around, the group huddled together for warmth before beginning to walk deeper into the forest. It didn't matter that it was raining, or that they were cold, hungry and alone. In that moment they knew that they were going to survive, like Kazu had told them as long as they were together they could withstand anything.

-End of Flashback-

"Since that day I always promised them I would never leave them!" As he concluded his story Kazu's face was painted with guilt. With his friends being captured by the villagers, it reminded Kazu that he had indeed broke his promise. He was supposed to be the great leader of the Ikarirangers yet he had failed his team, if he had only had been faster or smarter against his fathers actions maybe he wouldn't have been forced to leave them behind.

Madam Sora couldn't help but feel the intense weight of guilt over her. It was her fault that they were in this mess to begin with. Granted she had no choice but to recruit them, she soon realized that they gave up alot to help save the world. By having them become Ikarirangers they not only earned the Shadiranu's ire but the StormBlade villagers as well. She now understood why Kazu was upset, he had just lost his family and wasn't sure if he could see them ever again. "Kazu I'm sorry."

"Say what?" He questioned the tearful Shiba inu that was before him.

"I'm sorry I uprooted your lives and I'm sorry I made you leave your friends." She cried. "It was my fault that you left your friends, don't blame yourself, I should have thought of something else to get out of that situation!"

"But-."

"No please listen Kazu, your a great leader !" She begged. "I know you feel guilty but you still have a chance to save your friends, as long as your alive you have a chance to always keep that promise!"
"But I'm by myself, and dad has an army."

"Your not alone Kazu, you have me!" She smiled. "I can guide you, I may not have been there for you guys as kids but I can be here for you now, if you'll let me!"

Kazu paused for a moment as he took in Madam Sora's honest words. He couldn't explain it but seeing Madam Sora seemingly admit her role uplifted him slightly. While he and the others harbored some anger at Madam Sora for not defending them as children, seeing her show emotion made him realize that she indeed was sorry for what she had done.

She was also right in the aspect that he wasn't a bad leader. He could stil keep his promise to his friends but he had to get over the guilt/pity party and find his inner strength to continue. He knew his father would be expecting him to fail his task but he knew he couldn't. He had to prove to them that he could fight, he had to prove to them that he would always protect his friends no matter what.

"Good doggo!" Kazu laughed loudly as he suddenly rubbed her atop his head.

Madam Sora couldn't help but snort in response as she played the role of Shiba and jumped on Kazu playfully. The two seemingly bonded over their laughs for a matter of moments before Kazu stood up so he could address her seriously.

"Looks like we've got a jailbreak to plan!"

"I wonder If I can get a lock on the others!" Grabbing her magic cane, Madam Sora placed a single paw on the item before chanting one of her usual encantations. Kazu backed away slowly as magic erupted from the tip, which soon generated a mirror like portal that showed the other Ikarirangers trapped in the jail cell.

"Everyone!" Kazu shouted. "My dad's got them trapped inside the jail hut!"

"Well we know where there at, lets head their and bust um out!"

"Look again Kazu!"

Scanning the image again Kazu sucked his teeth in frustration as he noticed that his friends were being kept by the mineral known as zirconium. "Serioiusly Zirconium, I thought the tribes got rid of that stuff when the Shadiranu revolted."

"Im just as surprised as you are Kazu, but knowing that Zirconium is involved we need to find Mountain Orchids." She said as she closed the magical viewing portal.

"Mountain Orchids?" He asked

"Yes Mountain Orchids, they have magical properties that can be used to break through Zirconium!"

"Where would I find these Orchids anyways?"

"They're acidic in nature and only grow in extremly hot areas like volcanos or deserts!"

"Volcano's!" An idea suddenly popped into his head. "Mt Sakurajima!"

"Mt what?"

"I'll explain on the way, come on!" After locking the StormBlades and Yoyo's away in a safe place on the boat, Kazu and Madam Sora found themselves leaving the saftey of their home and going back toward Tokyo in the direction of Mt Sakurajima.

-Elsewhere-
-Underground-

"No please, I have a family!" A frightened mine worker screamed out as he tried to beg for his life. Before him a hulking figure covered in the shadows crept closer and closer to him until he was standing over him. Behind the figure lay a trail of skeletons each one dressed in the same garments as the mine worker. "Please, I'll do anything please!"

His cries would be cut off, however, as the figure grabbed him by his throat and began to drain him of his energy. The man cried in agony as his youthful skin began to sink in on itself like a deflating balloon. The figure laughed at the man's pain as his skin suddenly evaporated into nothingness, leaving behind a dry skeleton like the others.

After tossing the bony corpse aside, the figure turned his attention to a large trunk nearby that was marked with a red tape outline. This trunk contained the item that the mine workers had found during one of their excursions. While he was grateful to them for finding his treasure, he couldn't let any of the workers at the digging site live. If they reported there findings to the news, they might alert the attention of both the Ikarirangers and the Shadiranu. This was something that he did not want, well not yet anyways. He would reveal himself to both sides in due time, but first he had to make sure everything was in place. He had to make sure he had the weapon of choice when he started his game.

Upon opening the trunk, the figure got a close look at the contents inside before shutting it. With his prize now in hand he dragged the trunk behind him and started to fade into the darkness from whence he came.
He couldn't wait to face his foes in battle. To see the look on the Shadiranu and Ikarirangers faces when he brought this item into battle would be something he would cherish for all eternity. He couldn't stop smiling at the thought of all the chaos he would cause. Like a stalker in the night he would just keep observing, watching and waiting for the right moment to strike.

-Mt Sakurajima-

Aside from the sounds of birds chirping and flapping there wings, a slight breeze blew through the rocky pathways that lead up to MT Sakurajima.

It was here that Kazu & Madam Sora scaled through the rocky terrain in an attempt to get to the mountain base. Thanks to Madam Sora snapping Kazu out of his defeated spell, he now had a renewed sense of determination to save his friends. All they needed was the Mountain Orchids then they could mount a rescue attempt before Ryuusuke and the tribes decided to escalate their kangaroo justice on the others.

After he projected his anger onto her earlier Madam Sora had expected Kazu to be silent for most of the way up the mountain, much to her surprise however he was anything but. To pass the time the teen broke into a catchy tune that was a combination of both English and Japanese. As he sang the songs, he kicked up the rocks, shuffled, tapped and flipped in several different directions, never missing a single beat.

"Sakebitee yatsu wa atsumaree! Minna de bakushou! Bakusou!"
"Everybody say Ohoooo!! Hip Pop Step Jump!"
"Sawagitee yatsu wa atsumaree! Minna de bakushou! Bakusou!"
"Everybody say Ohoooo!! Hip Pop Step Jump!"

"My my, what a catchy song that is." Madam Sora commented. "Kazu what is that masterpiece your singing!"

"It's called Hip Pop Step Jump, it's from Bobobobobo Season three!"

"Bobobobobo?" Madam Sora introgated. "What in heavens is that?"

"It's an Anime Madam Sora, happens to be one of my favorites!"

"An Anime?"

"You know a cartoon except made for teens and adults."

"Oh dear." She sweatdropped. How embarrassing for him to still be watching something so childish.

"What's a matter?"

"By the way what was that boat we were on?" She questioned, changing the subject. "It was called the S.S Nakumara right?"

"What brought on that question?"

"Im just curious as to how you found that place to live." She confessed. "Also who was that man in the picture on the boat?"

Kazu was set to answer her question but fought against it with a deep shake of his head and a changing of the subject. "So is there anything else about being an Ikariranger that I should know about?"
Madam Sora blinked in confusion, wondering why he avoided such an easy question. Perhaps the truth he just didn't want to talk about at this moment, perhaps it was something else. Whatever the case she accepted his privacy and decided to go along with the subject at hand. "Well now that you mention it, we never did go over the Aura Beasts and your special weapons."

"Aura Beasts & Special weapons?"

"Yes their an essential part of your gear as Ikarirangers!" She said while beginning to give Kazu a full explanation as they walked.

-Amagi Castle-
-War Room-

"It seems as though everything is going according to plan my son!" A very pleased Emperor Taoshi congratulated as he watched his sons ongoing mission through the magic portal that Ashrah had conjured up. With their own eyes they could see Remless Solgoil inside the volcano, string it repeatedly as if it were a steamy cup of tea. With the dark magic coming off the Solgoil, the group knew that their victory was in hand, soon they would be able to wipe humanity off the face of the planet.

"It all seems too easy don'tcha think?" Lady Kagami questioned. "I thought those Ikarirangers would at least given us a challenge."

Prince Satoshi shot the woman a pointed glare. Lady Kagami hated when others got praise from the Emperor and often used the first thing on her mind to throw salt on a perfect moment. "Couldn't just let me have my moment could you?"

"What became of those fools anyways?"

"Ashrah, if you would!"

"But of course Emperor!" Like a television, Ashrah instantly changed the viewing station for her comrades in arms. Her magic soon brought fourth an image of the four Ikarirangers trapped within the Hagakure Village each one of them still bounded by the Zirconium bands.

"Oh la la isn't this exsquiste!" Lady Kagami said. "If only those brainless StormBladers believed in torture then this would be an excellent spectacle to watch all night long!"

"Cease your gaiety woman, we have a problem!" Kintaga spat

"What problem, they have all the Ikarirangers trapped!"

"Guess again the villagers have captured four, the red ranger is still missing!"

"But if he isn't there where could he possibly be at?"

On Ashrah questioning the situation at hand the viewing portal changed back to Remless Solgoil who was no longer in the volcano but this time he was out back on the top. He stared right into the viewing portal as he turned his attention to the group. "Emperor I'm afraid we have intruders near the mountain top!"

Prince Satoshi bared his teeth in discomfort as his idyllic plans had seemingly came crashing down upon him. "Please don't tell me it's ChimeraRed?"

"I'm afraid it is, he's getting closer to the mountaintop and it wont be long before he discovers our plans!"

"This is unacceptable!" Emperor Taoshi spat as he slammed his weapon toward the ground, causing the entire castle to shake as if their was an earthquake. "Satoshi, Kintaga get down there and take care of that nuisance before he disrupts everything!"

"Yes Father!"

"As you command Emperor!" With panicked bows Prince Satoshi and General Kintaga departed from Amagi Castle heading back to Mt Sakurajima. Having Kazu in the area could have spelt a negative end for their plans, this was something that Prince Satoshi had to avoid. He promised his father he would redeem himself after the last Remless failed, this time he wasn't going to let anyone stop him especially not some novice ranger.

-With Kazu-

Just as the forces of evil set off on their journey to stop them, Kazu & Madam Sora had finally made it all the way to the top of the volcano. From that vantage point the duo could easily see all of Japan, including the Soju forest where the Hagakure village was at. If you were one for natural beauty then the site was something to behold, but for these two they had no time for sightseeing.

"Gotta find those flowers!" Kazu thought to himself as he quickly started to scan the rocky badlands all around him for any sign of them.

"Kazu look, over there!" In Madam Sora's Shiba form she was much sharper with her instincts then he was. In no time her canine eyes managed to get a lock on the mountain orchids. Like she suspected the flowers were over by the Volcano's crater. From their position she could see the long stem purplish gold orchids swaying from volcano's heat.

"Good eye Madam!"

It seemed at first the mission was a complete success. Kazu quickly but carefully managed to unroot several flowers from their base, but as he and turned to leave with his prize he stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't explain why he did so, but he knew something was off about this area. Soon Kazu got his answers as his nostrils were invaded by the stench of rotten eggs, sulfur, and burning coals.

A normal person probably wouldn't have thought nothing of the smell, but if you were Kazu and had to live with Blaze for most of your life then you know serious burning smells can only mean trouble. In an almost hypnotized state Kazu walked close enough to the edge of the carter to look inside the volcano. The boy became heavily alarmed as the magma on the inside was bubiling fiercly while emitting more steam then it ever has before.

"Kazu what's wrong?" Madam Sora quizzed. "We've got the flowers, lets go!"

"Somethings wrong, the volcano it smells really awful!" He said. "Volcano's only get this way when their about to erupt!"

"What's wrong with that, Volcanos are a natural occurrence in this world."

"Yeah but MT Sakurajima it hasn't erupted in centuries, and the last time it did it almost wiped out all of Japan!"

"Your a little too nosy for your own good ChimeraRed!"

"That voice!"

"Kazu look!"

Madam Sora gestured to behind from where they just came. Just as they thought, Prince Satoshi was now standing in there way, at his side was also General Kintaga, the Remless Solgoil and a small group of Raptors Imps.

"Satoshi!"

"You just couldn't mind your own buisness could you?" Satoshi asked. "You just had to try and ruin everything didn't you!"

"Let me guess the volcano's your doing, that's why it's acting this way?"

"All thanks to my friend Remless Solgoil!" He gestured to the monster. "Thanks to his dark magic, we've charmed this volcano and once it erupts it will trigger every other volcano in the world!"

"But if that happens -."

"Global extinction yes, then the StormBlades will be ours for the taking!"

"Dream on freak!" Kazu shouted. Knowing that this was about to turn ugly, Kazu handed the mountain orchids to Madam Sora who scooped them in her mouth and fled behind some rocks for safety.

"Kintaga, Solgoil, kill him!" The Prince ordered and with that the group charged at Kazu.

"Stardust Rush!" Kazu called out as he went for their yoyo's and unleashed it. In nanoseconds the teen was fully morphed in his ranger armor with his ChimeraBlade in his hand.

Now equipped for battle ChimeraRed charged at the foes head on. After slashing a few Raptor imps with his blade, he sent a few flying with his telekinesis before turning his attention toward General Kintaga.

"Chimera Blade! Psychic Strike!"Trying to end the battle quickly, ChimeraRed went for his ultimate blade attack. He focused his telekinetic powers upon Kintaga to force him to stand still. Once his target was seemingly venerable ChimeraRed flung his body at his foe, while delivering a barrage of slash attacks that ended in an explosion around Kintaga.

"Too easy!" ChimeraRed gloated as he watched the aftermath of his attack swallow General Kintaga. His victory celebration would be short lived however as the beast fighter soon walked through the flames without a scratch on him.

"No way!" Kazu exclaimed.

"Is that the best you can muster little ranger!" Kintaga laughed as he raised his Hook Swords to strike. ChimeraRed prepared to defend himself with his Blade but it was no match for the beast warrior. As his swords came down, he knocked ChimeraRed's Blade away from him before slashing him mercilessly several times. To add insult to injury Kintaga landed a nasty punch to the boys face which sent him flying across the battlefield.

As ChimeraRed was down, it was Solgoil's turn to join in on the fun. The Remless pounced upon the ranger with his trident, stabbing him in the torso and his hips. To end his assault he summoned a powerful dark energy beam and blasted ChimeraRed head on. The Ranger stood helplessly as the dark energy sparked across his suit endlessly until the pressure caused him to demorph.

"Damn!" Kazu cried out in pain as he now lay on the ground, exposed for his enemies to pounce on him.

"Kazu!" Madam Sora called out from her hiding place. How she wished she could have helped him in some way. Seeing him at the mercy of the Shadiranu put a deep fear in her that the teen was not going to survive this encounter.

As Kazu tried to get up from his downed state, Remless Solgoil romped on him once more. After stomping on his back a couple of times, the Remless sent a single knee to the teens gut before kicking him. This kick was hard enough to send Kazu flying through the air, and near the Volcano's crater where he made a crash landing.

"M-m-m-adam S-s-ora." Kazu said weakly as the assault laid heavy upon his body. He knew that being a member of Super Sentai was difficult, but it wasn't until he actually faced a stronger opponent that the statement was made true.

"Allow me to finish him my Prince!" Kintaga offered.

"No it's alright Kintaga, I'd like to finish him!" After picking up Kazu's discarded StormBlade the Prince eagerly walked over to his downed victim. A sickening evil smile was upon the Princes face as he put his foot on Kazu's throat. "Well I guess it's the end of the line for you!"

"Y-y-ou w-won't w-win!"

"I already have Kazu!" He responded. " I have your StormBlade and once MT Sakurajima burns this place to a crisp, I'll be free to collect the other blades without your interference!"

"N-Nooo Y-y-ou c-can't!"

"I suppose I should thank you!" Satoshi admitted. "Thanks to your faulty leadership, I'll win, and my father can finally be proud of me!"

At this point Kazu tried to speak but couldn't muster a word as the Prince increased the pressure upon his foot.

"I think were done here, Goodbye Kazu!" After removing his foot from Kazu's throat, Prince Satoshi reacted and knocked his foe over the edge. Kazu screamed out as gravity did the rest to seemingly draw him to his doom.

As Kazu's body went toward his impending death, the rangers mind went into overdrive. His brain was flooded with the memories of his friends and all there experiences. After all thats happened he couldn't die, not like this. He couldn't die knowing that his friends were still at his fathers mercy, he couldn't die knowing that he failed to keep the promise to the only family he's ever known, but more importantly he couldn't die knowing that the world would fall into darkness.

His determination and thoughts of his friends suddenly caused Kazu's magic to take over. The teens body all of a sudden stopped before directly hitting the lava. Without him even lifting a finger, he suddenly was lifted out of the volcano and back toward solid ground.

"What the hell?" Prince Satoshi exclaimed upon seeing his foe still alive. The Shadiranu became more baffled as the ChimeraBlade levitated from Prince Satoshi and went back toward Kazu.

With his Blade back in hand, telekinetic energy surged through Kazu's body as he felt himself becoming stronger then he was once before. With this newfound power in hand Kazu pointed his Blade at his foes and let out a blaring war cry. His ChimeraBlade reacted to his emotions and such pelted his enemies with telekinesis.

Prince Satoshi, Remless Solgoil, General Kintaga & the Raptor imps tried to stay firmly planted on the mountain grounds but the power was too much and forcibly sent them flying off the mountain top in a variety of directions. After they were gone, the power stopped surging and put Kazu back to his normal state once more.

"Kazu, you're alright!" Madam Sora cried. Like the Shiba dog she was, she nestled against her student with a happy tail that swung wildly. "I thought you were done for!"

"Nah, I had it all under control!" He lied. He knew luck had nothing to do with it, but decided to play it cool in front of the worried Madam Sora. "You still got the Orchids!"

"There behind the rock where I was hiding!"

"Good lets go free the others and get back here, something tells me the Shadiranu aern't done with this volcano yet!"

"Got it, lets go!"

Now realizing what was at stake, Kazu and Madam Sora grabbed the Moutain Orchids before dashing down the path from wench they came. Now that the Shadiranu were involved Kazu had to hurry, the world needed the Ikarirangers to face down the threat before earth surcame to the volcanos wrath.

-Hagakure Village-
-Prisoners Hut-

"What do you guys think we should eat for dinner tonight?" Yuma questioned as a matter of factly, breaking the silence between the other core members. Up until this point the group had sat without conversation, having the unpleasant experience of being under Ryuusuke's watchful eye. It wasn't until Yuma brought out the odd question that the tense atmosphere began to change.

"I'm in the mood for Curry Rice!" Aqua commented. "Doesn't that sound good!"

"It does, but I got a taste for Miso Soup." Naoki said

"I could go for some kabobs tonight!"

While the conversation was ordinary between the friends, their words annoyed Ryuusuke to his very core. Although they were having a conversation about food, they were speaking in the sense that they would be returning back to the Earthrealm tonight. They spoke as if there confinment in the prison cell didn't matter, they spoke as if he capturing them was some kind of joke. Were they that ignorant of the fact that they would now escape his clutches?

"How about Sashimi!" Yuma suggested gleefully. "We can stop by that fish market on the way back home!"

"Alright enough!" Ryuusuke ordered as he banged on the Zirconium wall in anger. "Cease this babbling."

"Sashami sounds great Yuma, we can also get some soda and-."

"Enough! I will not be ignored !"He screamed again

"What's with you?"

"Do you foolish teens not understand, you will not be returning home tonight!" He pressed again. "You will not escape my clutches. Kazu isn't coming to save you!"

As he uttered that statement a loud agonizing scream filled the entire building. What was to follow was the sound of bones breaking, slams and swordplay which seemed to go on forever.

"You were saying?" Blaze smugly responded

The color drained out of Ryuusuke's face as he continued to hear the destructive noise coming from beyond the door. In an attempt to capture his son, he made sure the entire village was on alert with warriors and traps, anything to bring his son to justice. Hearing the sounds made him realize that his son had managed to bypass everything that he laid out so carefully.

Ryuusuke's instinct implored him to go toward the door to defend it, but he didn't get his chance as it was suddenly blown off his hinges with the power of telekinesis. Kazu alongside Madam Sora soon busted through the door making an anything but subtle entrance.

Upon entering Kazu managed to catch his father off guard, subduing him with his telekinetic powers while Madam Sora rushed to save the others. As she reached the Zirconium, she slammed the stems directly into the wall and backed away.

On contact with the wall the Mountain Orchids glowed with magical energy that spread throughout the entire Zirconium structure alongside the chains holding the Ikarirangers. In no time the flowers power spread thought the Zirconium, shattering the wall and the chains into a million pieces. No freed from their binds, the four Ikarirangers escaped the pillar they were on before it collapsed into the sea of spikes below.

"Free, where finally free!" Naoki cheered.

"Geez man, what took you soo long!" Blaze asked as he playfully punched Kazu in the arm.

"Yeah, we were beginning to think you chickened out!" Aqua added

"Sorry guys had a little problem on my hands." He confessed. "Which reminds me the Shadiranu are at it again!"

"Geez as if we didn't have enough on ours hands!"

"Naoki, give us some cover!"

"You got it!" Inhaling the fresh air deeply, Naoki blew a stream of smoke that flowed throughout the building, soon leaving it cloudy enough for them to escape. While the team wasted no time in fleeing from captivity, Kazu stayed behind for a mere moment while still holding his father at bay. Having not finished their confrontation from earlier, both father and son stared each other down with intense hatred.

"Consider this a warning father!" He growled before sending a single punch across his fathers face, when that was done Kazu vanished in the smoke to join his friends leaving a angered Ryuusuke to lick his wounds.

-Mt Sakurajima-

"Hurry up Solgoil!" Prince Satoshi urged to the Remless as he kept concentrating all his energy on the lava below. Kazu's interruption of their plan earlier had alerted them that they needed to speed up the process as fast as possible before he found his way back to interfere once more. Princes Satoshi's nerves were on edge hoping that they would not have to endure the sting of failure again, especially seeing as how he was heading his operation. Such a failure would not only disappoint his father but also make him seem unworthy in the eyes of the others.

"I've got it!" The Remless answered back with one last blast from his trident before joining the others on the Volcano's edge. From the time he had been summoned to now, his magic had been effecting the Volcano intensely, now it was time that his magic was going to pay off. It might be a few more minutes but soon every Volcano would erupt and destroy this world for Emperor Taoshi.

"Excellent nothing can stop us now!" Ashrah gleefully cheered.

"Not if we got anything to say about it! " And their it was. The voices they dreaded to hear so badly. The voices of the Ikarirangers that were now on the volcano top with them. The forces of Shadiranu grimaced as they saw the cocky smirks of their foes before them.

"Hope you guys are happy to see me again!" Kazu said with a tone of taunting. "And this time I brought the family with me!"

"Now that were all together, I think it's time we give you guys the proper ass kicking!" Blaze added

"I'm ok with that!" Aqua stated

"Me too!" Naoki agreed.

"Me three!" Yuma chanted with excitement.

With the five in agreement, they each went for their yoyo's and unleashed them with a single finger. "Stardust Rush!"

-Henshin Sequence-

After calling out their famed transformation phrase, each of the Ikarirangers was shrouded with StormBlade energy from their yoyo's before their suit's helmets were formed neatly on their heads.

-End of Henshin Sequence-

"The Swordsman of Mighty Telekinesis, ChimeraRed!"

"The Swordsman of Unyielding Frost, DragonBlue!"

"The Swordsman of Shinobi Smoke, SphinxSilver!"

"The Swordsman of Fatal Hellfire, PhoenixOrange!"

"The Swordsman of Vengeful Lightning, HarpyPink!"

"The Allure of Justice strikes like our blades!" The five transformed rangers announced in union before they twirled their swords in a fancy fashion. "Arashi Sentai Ikariranger!"

"Damn Ikarirangers!" Lady Kagami cursed

" Solgoil, do something about them!"

"Yes my Prince, Raptor Imps!" Remless Solgoil called forth his powers and brought a small squadron of raptor imps into existence. Upon being materialised they followed the Remlesses orders and charged into battle. The Ikarirangers also followed suit as they bum rushed them with open blades.

"I think we better split for now!" Solaro suggested. "Solgoil will handle the rest!"

"Good idea Solaro, lets jet!" The decision was unanimous as Lady Kagami, Solaro,Kintaga and Prince Satoshi teleported back to Amagi castle. The only one who didn't leave with them was Ashrah who instead stood on the sidelines, watching incase her talents were once again needed.

"Get outta my way!" DragonBlue declared mightily as she slashed three Raptor Imps in front of her and kicked one in the face. She was soon joined by Sphinx Silver who had linked up his StormBlade with his sheath to create his Storm Sniper. Once the gun assembly was complete the ranger dodged multiple slashes from the imps before blasting them to pieces.

A few feet away HarpyPink was engaging in several footsoldiers as well. After landing two well timed slashes across their torsos she performed several acrobatic flips and started to slash the Raptor Imps right across their heads until they exploded into nothingness.

PhoenixOrange took his fight near the Volcano's edge. For a change the Ranger decided against using his StormBlade and opted for using his fists. He sent choice sucker punches against the Raptor Imps he was up against and then proceeded to to hurl them into the volcano below. The creatures started out might in numbers but PhoenixOrange was quick and soon reduced their numbers to virtually nothing.

ChimeraRed stood in battle against Remless Solgoil as he did earlier. Having learned his lesson from earlier he was easily able to dodge the stabs and dark energy blasts from the creatures trident. Once he saw an opening ChimeraRed counteracted and broke Solgoils trident with a single slash before landing six more slashes on his torso and kicking a few feet away.

"Damn you ChimeraRed!" Remless Solgoil snarled as he whitered around on the ground before him.

"Kazu!" The others called out to him as they regrouped from their own battle against the Raptor Imps.

"Lets finish him guys!"

"Right!"

As they did in the previous battle the Ikarirangers sheathed their blades to create their Storm Snipers. Like a firing squad the team charged their weapons with elemental energy before proceding to take perfect aim as the downed Remless Solgoil.

"Prism Crusher!" The Rangers called out as their weapons unleashed powerful beams which created a giant Star. The Star was then launched fast like a rocket as it made contact with the Remless.
Unlike Remless Sukeru however Remless Solgoil was not going to suffer the same fate. The creature got to it's feet and bravely withstood the attack as the Star collided with his monstrous body. Summoning dark energy to his body Solgoil was soon able to expel the attack away from him making it utterly useless.

"What the hell?" PhoenixOrange cursed while in shock.

"Hey you cheated your not supposed to deflect it!" HarpyPink cried

"I'm not through with you brats yet!" It was Remless Solgoil's time to retaliate. The creature opted to open each of it's gigantic maws and unleash a stream of fireballs which struck the Ikarirangers on contact while knocking them on their butts.

"Ok I think we need a new plan!" SphinxSilver suggested.

"Gee what was your first clue?" DragonBlue sarcastically asked

As if having Remless Solgoil deflecting their attack wasn't enough, the entire mountain top suddenly started to shake violently while the steam from the Volcano began to rise rapidly.
"Oh no the Volcano!" ChimeraRed exclaimed.

"We've got to do something, before it erupts!"

"You fools are too late!" Bellowed Solgoil. "Within minutes this entire planet will be burned to cinders and Emperor Taoshi will take his rightful place as ruler of all realms!"

"I think now would be a good time to break out the hardware!" SphinxSilver suggested.

"Good call Naoki, lets do it!"

The Ikarirangers weren't to be counted out of the fight just yet. After getting back up to their feet they sidelined their StormSnipers and mentally called out to their respective elements. Within seconds the team now had the individual special weapons that Madam Sora had been telling them about.

"Mind Lance!" ChimeraRed's personal weapon was a long Bo Staff/Lance combo with crescent moon like grabbers on the end of it.

"Frost Knuckles!" DragonBlue's personal weapon was a pair of oversized claws that were modeled after a dragon's talons.

"Vanish Shield!" SphinxSilver's personal weapon was large steel shield that resembled a ninja's shuriken.

"Flare Hammer!" PhoenixOrange's personal weapon was a intimidating sized sledge hammer.

"Sparkle Bow!" HarpyPink's personal weapon was a medium sized archer's bow.

"You think those toys can stop me?" Remless Solgoil questioned with a laugh before he once again fired a round of fireballs at the team.

With their own personal weapons in hand now the Ikarirangers were ready to face down the Remless. SphinxSilver was the first up to bat, with his Vanish Shield in hand he stood at attention blocking the fireballs with also reflecting them at Solgoil who barley dodged them.

DragonBlue initiated the next part of attack. With her Frost Knuckles outstretched she went at Solgoil while landing numerous punches over his torso, face, legs and back. The Remless grunted in much displeasure as he was at the mercy of her attacks, she was quick like a championship boxer making it impossible for him to counteract.

"Let me at him Aqua!"

"Got it, he's all your's Kazu!" DragonBlue landed a final punch on Solgoil before scrambling out of the way for ChimeraRed to have at him. With his Mind Lance in hand, ChimeraRed snatched the Remless by his torso and began rapidly spinning like a tornado.

"Release me you crtien!" Solgoil hollered while getting dizzier.

"Ok you asked for it!" ChimeraRed shouted before he let go of Solgoil while effectively hurling him high in the atmosphere.

HarpyPink was waiting for him the minute he was airborne and helpless. The Pink Ranger used her Sparkle Bow to fire multiple energy arrows at Solgoil, effectively piercing him all over.

"Endball!" PhoenixOrange was the last ranger to attack and got the privilege of delivering the final blow to Remless Solgoil. With his Flare Hammer in hand he waited for the Remless to come crashing down near him. Like a pro baseball player he swung his weapon with determination and force. The Flare Hammer's massive weight combined with Hellfire energy hit Solgoil directly in his chest causing him to explode on contact.

The Remless was no more as his body had been reduced to a pile of black ash which fluttered into a big pile that was nearby. The moment that Solgoil was destroyed the Volcano began to calm down returning to it's natural state before it was bewitched.

"Alright guys, awesome job!" The Ikarirangers soon regrouped and began to celebrate his defeat with high fives and loud chants.

"Damn Ikarirangers!" Ashrah bellowed as she stepped forward to be noticed.

"Ashrah!" HarpyPink exclaimed.

"You've think you won, guess again!" Ashrah was ready to do her part for the mission. She generated the cyan stone and threw it into the sand pile before also bringing forth her violin. "With shadow powers from Shadi Kin, let this nightmare arise by my violin!"

Ashrah aggressively strummed her violin, letting forth the sounds of her violin. The Ikarirangers covered their ears best they could as the villainess used her magic to revive the Remless. In no time the Cyan stone leaked gushes of water upon the sand which soon recreated Solgoil in gigantic form.

"You Ikarirangers are gonna feel the burn now!" Solgoil laughed as he was reborn in his new form.

"Awww crap here we go again!"

"Ikarirangers!" On cue Madam Maya dashed to them from seemingly out of knowhere. "It's time to call forth your Aura Beasts!"

"Were on it Madam Sora!"

Each of the Ikarirangers followed suit on Madam Maya's advice and threw their StormBlades into the atmosphere. "Aura Summon!"

On contact the StormBlades swirled together in a whirlwind of colors bringing fourth five giant size mecha. Each of the individual mechas resembled bulky humanoid samurai, save for the faces which slightly resembled the tribe animals. Each mecha had it's individual tribe printed on its chest and had colored that matched their respective owners.

"Holy crap, that actually worked?"

"That's so cool!" HarpyPink cooed upon seeing her IkariHarpy Mecha for the very first time.

"Come on lets take him down!" ChimeraRed ordered. Following suit each of the rangers jumped into there own mecha and taken to the control panel in order to command the armored weapons.

"Prepare to die Ikarirangers!" Remless Solgoil barked as he charged toward the group of mecha.

"Alright guys lets put Solgoil down!"

Each of the Ikarirangers manned there control panels closlely, remembering what Madam Maya had told them. As Solgoil got closer to the mecha, they sprung into life and immediately jumped out of the way of his onslaught.

IkariHarpy was the first mecha to go into battle delivering choice hits across Solgoil while IkariPhoenix kicked him in the face, which sent him crashing to the ground before him.
"Lets get in on the action guys!" DragonBlue suggested.

"Gotcha Aqua!"

IkariChimera, IkariDragon and IkariSphinx went into battle next. After picking up Solgoil from the ground the trio of mecha surronded the Remless and took jabs at his body all around.
"Enough!" Remless Solgoil called out as he blasted the mecha away from him using his trident. It was his turn to fight back, and he did so by slashing his enemies and stabbing them away from him.

"Damnit!" DragonBlue cursed as her mecha was struck by Solgoil's trident and thrown away from the others.

"He's tough!"

"Not for long, guys lets bring them together!"

"Right!"

"Ikari Gattai!" ChimeraRed called out. As one the mecha ascended into the sky and began to hover around one another. IkariDragon and IkariSphinx folded components there inward, and they suddenly began to resemble two arms which attached to IkariChimera. IkariHarpy and IkariPhoenix also followed suit like the others but this time they formed the legs of the mecha. Once attached IkariChimera's head submerged below it's chest and seconds later brought forth a new much more intimidating robot head.

"Formation Complete! Arashiking!" The team announced as the metal colossus struck a boxer like pose. Inside Arashiking the Ikarirangers were now brought together in a single cockpit with an overwhelming number of control panels in front of them. The cockpit was stationed where ChimeraRed sat in front, DragonBlue and PhoenixOrange behind him while HarpyPink and SphinxSilver sat in the last row.

"You think this tin can will stop me?" Remless Solgoil questioned angrily as he charged at Arashiking. The mecha counteracted with a single punch leaving the mad warrior stumbling. To add insult to injury the ArashiKing leaped into the air with a spinning kick which sent the Remless flying.

"Lets finish him while he's down Kazu!"

"Sounds good to me, lets bring out the heavy artillery!" After slamming his fingers down on a series of controls ChimeraRed initiated a powerful command to the mecha. Arashiking stood at attentively as two giant weapons formed in it's hands. In the left hand was a large hulking machine gun and in it's right was a gigantic bazooka.

"I love this!" PhoenixOrange couldn't help but squeal as he saw the two gigantic gun like weapons from out the cockpit window. He had expected Arashiking to get a saber like all the other mecha from Super Sentai, but to his surprise they were getting the heavy artillery. With this kind of firepower Arashking's power level was equal to that of the atomic bomb.

"Time to test these babies out!"

"Oh no!" Remless Solgoil whimpered as now noticed the mecha aiming it's weapon right at him.

"Victory Blitz!" The team announced. As they did the machine guns twirled and the cannon charged up. It wasn't long before a barrage of bullets left the left hand and a large hulking missle of power came out the right one. As they left their respective weapons, both attacks came together to form one gigantic energy beam.

"NO, THIS CAN'T BE HAP-!" Was Remless Solgoil's final words as the bullet and missle attack overwhelmed his body. As the attack subsided, he collapsed and exploded for the final time, leaving not a trace of him too be seen.

Unseen by the Ikarirangers a flustered Ashrah cursed there names before using her magic to flee the earth realm. Also unseen by them was a very pleased Madam Sora, who nodded her head in delight at their first robo victory. Perhaps she was wrong about them after all, perhaps they did have what it takes to be defenders of the earth.

-Amagi Castle-
-War Room-

"Father please, forgive me!" Prince Satoshi knew he had messed up as he failed his father. Even before Remless Solgoil was destroyed by Arashiking, he got the feeling from watching the battle that this was going to turn against him. Now that Solgoil was dust, his nightmare had become a reality, his only chance to escape was to plead for his fathers forgiveness. He had to plead, so he wouldn't be killed like so many others before him.

"I gave you one order Satoshi, and you failed me!" He roared before putting his sword close to his sons neck. "Do you remember the penalty for warriors that fail me?"

"Emperor please!" Ashrah cried. "Give him another chance!"

"I say execute the little twerp, would give us more space around here anyway!" Lady Kagami suggested with a smirk

General Kintaga & Ninja Solaro stay quiet as the Emperor contemplated his sons fate. It wasn't long before the Emperor ceased his escalating tension and walked into one of the nearby portals, leaving the group by themselves. While he wanted to punish his son for failing him, Taoshi knew that he needed to complete his invasion of earth. Killing or maiming him would just decrease the amount of help he needed around here, he was going to need all the warriors he could get if he was going to rid of those Ikarirangers.

"This isn't over ChimeraRed, you'll pay for this!" Prince Satoshi growled as he invisoned the red ranger in his head. The next time they met that interloper would pay for making him look bad in front of his father. Once he killed ChimeraRed only then he would be in his fathers graces once again.

-S.S Nakumara-

"Well that was an exhausting day!" Blaze bemoaned as he sat on the edge of the boat railing. "I hope we never have to deal with that again."

"Knowing Ryuusuke, he'll be licking his wounds for a while!" Aqua said.

"I wouldn't count him out however children he'll be back!" Madam Sora stated

"And we'll be ready for him and the Shadiranu!" Kazu stated confidently.

"Thanks for saving us again today Kazu!"

"Think nothing of it Yuma, I'm just glad were together again!"

"Dinner's up!" Naoki called out as he came from beneath the deck with a steaming plate of Sashami as discussed.

"Alright grubs up!" The team grinned before following Naoki down below deck for dinner. As their laughter and conversation filled the entire boat, the days of stress and saving, the world seemed to melt away. None of that mattered at the moment , the only thing that mattered was that they were together.

-Bonus Scene-
-Elsewhere-
-Unknown Dimension-

Another successful mission spelled great news for the Ikarirangers. While they were still reckless in nature, they were starting to get the hang of being rangers. Hopefully, under Madam Maya's teachings, they would become the Sentai that the world needed.

And none to soon though as catastrophe was striking elsewhere, far away from the safe zone of Tokyo. This catastrophe wasn't being caused by the Shadiranu however, instead it was being caused by a band of miscreants who were apart of a separate faction of darkness.

In the confines of a murky quarry like dimension, three heroic faces were dealing with a horde of too familiar creatures. Kamen Rider Ryuki, Space Sheriff Gavan and NinjaRed of Kakuranger stood in a fierce battle against hordes of Barlo Soilders, Gormin, Buglars, Ular Solders, Jimmers, Miracles Soldiers and Golem Soldiers. While their numbers were great, the three warriors kept fighting throughout the odds, trying to hopefully drive the enemy back.

"Dimension Bomber!" Space Sheriff Gavan cried out as he flung his body upward into the air and into a downward position at his enemies. Covered in cosmic energy as the Sheriff crashed down he sent shockwaves throughout the foot soldiers, destroying some and blasting a few backwards.

"Ninpou Shadow Dance!" NinjaRed followed suit like Gavan, upping the power in order to take on the threat. After summoning his ancient ninja art, the ranger split himself into several clones which began to take on the enemy in droves.

"Guys watch out, I've got this!" Ryuki declared while drawing for one of his cards in his advent belt. Gavan and NinjaRed layed a few more attacks on the soldiers before jumping out of the way as Ryuki inserted a card into his visor.

"Final Vent!" His Visor called out. Suddenly Ryuki's advent beast Dragreder descended from seemingly know where and onto the battlefield. Ryuki found himself leaping up in the air as high as he could while Dragreder got behind him. Using his dragon breath, the advent beast blew streams of fire on Ryuki while he got in a kicking position. Once the flames reached a certain intensity, Ryuki was launched like a speeding rocket toward the foot soldiers. On contact his attack was mighty with it's flaming energy decimating the rest of the enemies they had been facing.

"That's the last of them!" NinjaRed sighed heavy as the trio was finally alone in the midst of the quarry. "What do we do now?"

"We need to get out of here and meet up with the others!"

"The sooner the better." Gavan added.

"Going so soon!" A woman's voice echoed throughout the quarry grounds, startling the three heroes who then stood back to back for protection. They knew that voice, they hated that voice, they knew that voice had been causing destruction for their brethren ever since she first arrived on earth. If it weren't for her, they would be able to go on peacefully with their lives, instead every day now had become a constant battle for survival as well as recovery for the ones they lost.

"We need to go now!" Ryuki urged.

Before the three could make a move however, the woman brought herself down into the quarry just a few inches away from them. Gavan, Ryuki & NinjaRed prepared themselves mentally as they stared down the woman who had foiled their plans to save the others.

The figure before them was a youthful Japanese woman who looked to be in her late thirties. She had a pale complexion; she was about six feet in height with a slender body small nose, light brown eyes and long light red hair. The woman wore a sleeveless black dress with matching gloves and boots while having accessories that included a ruby necklace, bracelet and a pair of stud earrings. In her hand she carried a Victorian style fan while on her back she had a weapon that resembled that of a paint brush. While she didn't look like much of a threat from the outside, the trio new better then anything that this woman was pure evil. Out of all of the foes they had faced over the years, she topped them all in terms of power and knowledge. This woman was a threat to all Super Sentai, Kamen Riders and Metal Heroes. This woman was the ruler of the Outworld dimension; this woman was Queen Rabenda.

"Queen Rabenda!" Gavan exclaimed.

"By all means please go ahead and escape my dimension!" She sarcastically suggested. "Not that it will do you any good mind you!"

"What have you done with the others?" NinjaRed questioned.

"Why don't you kill me and find out!" She cackled.

"Alright then, have it your way you old cow!"

"Ryuki no!"

But it was too late. Ryuki had tired of this game of cat and mouse that she was playing with them. Wanting to teach her a lesson, Ryuki loaded a card into his visor to summon his strike vent card. Without warning the Kamen Rider fired a burst stream of flames from the weapon, with his intention being to smolder Queen Rabenda with the fire.

Queen Rabenda merely waved her fan back and forth as the flames came near her and shockingly began to redirect the flames back in the trio's direction. Gavan, Ryuki and NInjaRed were soon caught off guard as they were blasted by the attack.

"Simply pathetic." She uttered. "You three aren't putting up much a fight, tell me did all my masterpieces tire you out?"

"You haven't won yet, we can still take you!"

While she was right about them being tired, they couldn't give into her, not with the others lives at stake. Gavan, NinjaRed and Ryuki soon drew for their weapons once more as they charged into battle against the Rabenda. As the trio came close to her Rabenda swiftly drew for her weapon and took aim. Unknown energy soon erupted from the tip and began to attack the heroes. Almost like a gun Rabenda's weapon sparked itself across the armor of the three, attacking them continuously for several moments until they were knocked out cold. Once the three were now out of her way Rabenda used her magic to make them, disappear from her sight, while also conjuring forth a small book with a quill pen.

"Lets see now." Opening the book slowly, Queen Rabenda flipped through the pages which contained a ultimate picture list of Super Sentai, Kamen Rider and Metal Hero members. Most of the pictures in this book had black X's across them, signaling her ongoing conquest to take all these heroes down had been successful. For today's hunt she had a evil grin plastered on her face as she crossed off Sheriff Gavan, Ninja Red and Kamen Rider Ryuki.

After exing them off her checklist, the Queen skimmed through the book once more. Her excitement grew as she realized that most of the names on this list were now in her possession. Soon her ultimate plan to finish off the heroes of earth would be complete, only then would she have everything her heart desired. She licked her lips wickedly as she reached the end of the book, and the final sixteen members that she needed to eliminate.

The first picture was of Lucky AKA Shishi Red of Uchu Sentai Kyuranger.

The second picture was of Nanami Nono AKA Hurricane Blue of Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger.

The third picture was of Tametomo Imizu AKA Kiramai Yellow of Mashin Sentai Kiramager.

The fourth picture was of Jun'ichi Aikawa AKA Green Sai of Choujuu Sentai Liveman.

The fifth picture was of Kaori Rokumeikan AKA White Swan of Chōjin Sentai Jetman.

The sixth picture was of Kaito Goshikida AKA Zenkaiser of Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger.

The seventh picture was of Shu Karasuma AKA Space Sheriff Shaider.

The eighth picture was of Yousuke Jou AKA Time-Space Warrior Spielban

Pictures nine, ten, eleven were three unknown persons, two men and 1 woman.

The final five images were that of Kazu, Aqua, Yuma, Naoki and Blaze.

End of Chapter 3

*Upbeat Adventure Music*
Announcer: "Next Time on Episode 4!"
Kazu Voice-over "Why does Aqua insist on doing everything by herself?"
*Cut's to scene of Aqua playing sports and fighting the Shadiranu by herself*
Blaze's Voice-over "She considers it her greatest strength!"
Lady Kagami Voice-over "That's brat's honor shall be here downfall!"
*Cuts to scene of Kazu, Blaze, Naoki, & Yuma trying to reach Aqua through a barrier*
Yuma's Voice-over "Why are you fighting by yourself, aren't we friends?"
*Cuts to scene of a badly beaten Aqua about to be killed by a Remless*
Aqua's Voice-over "I don't need anyone, I can do this myself!"
*Last cutscene is of the Ikarirangers banning together to fight the enemy*

Next Time: "The Price of a Prideful Heart!"

Chapter Text

Episode 4: The Price of a Prideful Heart!

-Tokyo Japan-
-Mizuno Park-

"Hello Soccer fans!" Yuma projected her voice in a high pitched overly exaggerated manner that nearly killed the microphone that was in front of her. "We're here at the Parrots vs Iguanas game. I'm your announcer Yuma and we're right in the middle of this afternoon's Soccer game!"

"Geez Yuma, could you tone it down a bit?" Beside her an annoyed Naoki plugged both his ears with his fingers, trying the best he could to drown out her loud demeanor. He really regretted signing up to be announcer with her; She was already an energetic person by nature but during a sports game the organizers asked her to amp it up for the crowd, much to Naoki's displeasure.

"Sorry Naoki!" She whispered before going back to the microphone. "If you're just tuning in, let me tell you folks we have one exciting game here today!"

The sun blared overhead in the noon sky shining on the park soccer field. While she and Naoki had been made announcers for the event, nearby Kazu & Blaze sat in the stands stuffing their faces full of food truck edibles. The crowd in the stands was lively, consisting of many sports fans, families and strangers who had gathered together to make their Thursday afternoon a little more livelier.

The real buzz, however, was going onto the field where the players were at. The Parrots and Iguanas were locked into a tied game 8 - 8, with Aqua leading the charge on the Iguanas team. Aqua per usual was playing the striker position as she was often held by her team to be the best. Beside Aqua was her comrade Umeko, who was intensely backing her up on offense. The duo stood together firmly trying to make the game winning point, much to their chagrin', however, the other team was giving them a real rough fight.

"I've never seen a game so intense before!" Kazu commented as he dug into a footlong American hotdog. "Aqua's really tearing it up out there!"

"Tell me about it and it's tied, I'd hate to be those Parrots right now!" Blaze spoke before gobbling down a single burrito and a handful of nachos chips.

"and it looks like the Iguanas have just called a time out!" Naoki announced. "With only two minutes on the clock to go, it's anybody's game folks!"

"GO AQUA GO!!!" Yuma screamed.

"Alright ladies, here we have it!" An elderly woman coach started to say as she brought the group together for a last minute huddle. "We need a score and we need it now!"

"Leave it to me coach, I've got this!" Aqua said confidently.
"I think I should take the shot!" Umeko nervously suggested. "They'll never expect it coming, plus I know I can make that shot!"

"You girls talk it over and decide, I have faith in you both!"

"But-." Umeko tried to interject.

"Alright ladies let's win that trophy!" With that the coach broke up the conversations leaving the girls to their own vices. As Aqua tried to head toward her position, she felt a small tug on the back of her soccer uniform. Much to Aqua's surprise Umeko was holding on tightly, her face full of insecurity..

"What's up Umeko?" She questioned in concern.

"Look Aqua." She studered over her words, wanting to choose how to say things the right way. "I was wondering, well could you maybe let me score this goal!"

"Um what?" She asked, almost seemingly taken a little back.

"Well it's just that you've done everything on your own this entire game!" She replied. "I've been trying to assist you but you just won't let me help!"

"Well I um-?"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you Umeko!" She answered.

"Then why've you been playing solo this entire game!"

Aqua chomped on her tongue hard as she tried her best not to tell the truth. She did trust Umeko that wasn't the problem, the issue lied in a very personal shortcoming that Aqua had within herself. A shortcoming that only those closest to Aqua knew about, a personal problem that she herself had been struggling with since childhood. While that problem was currently being brought to the homefront, Aqua tried to bury it best she could in order to save face.

"Alright well do it your way, when the play starts i'll pass it to you!"

"Awesome!" Umeko squealed in delight. She gave Aqua a pat on the shoulder before departing to take her place on the field. Aqua sighed heavily before following suit, now that she made her promise lets hope she would be able to keep it.

"And we're back folks, with this final timeout done it's time to see the exciting conclusion?!"

"GO AQUA, KICK THEIR ASSES!!!"

"YUMA!"

"Oops sorry Naoki." She sweatdropped.

As the final play was about to begin, both teams lined up at their respective points on the field and awaited the starting signal. At the sound of the coaches whistle the game sprung to life once more as Aqua initiated kickoff.

Like a hot pistol being fired from a gun, Aqua sped off across the field, her legs full of stamina as she controlled the ball perfectly with the sides of her foot. Having made a lot of scores earlier in the game, Aqua was easily able to dodge, spin and slide past a few of the defenders that were in her way.

Aqua could see the goal before her, it was just a few more feet down the way. Her superstar streak would come to an end however as four defensive players huddled closer near the goal, determined to not let her score the winning goal. Aqua clenched her teeth in frustration at their defense plan, while she may have been a good player even she could not get past all those players.

"Aqua over here I'm open!" Umeko called out to her from a diagonal position across the field. Her teammate was waving her arms wildly trying to get Aqua to pass the ball to her. While Umeko wasn't in a position to get past the defenders either, passing to her would have kept the pressure off Aqua from having to do it herself.

Aqua constantly kept up the rhythm and pace while trying to defy her fate. Would she pass and accept Umeko's help? Or would she try and take on the obstacles herself?

It took a matter of an extra twenty seconds before Aqua decided against accepting Umeko's help. Much to Umeko's saddened reaction, Aqua took off running toward the four players before her.

She had only one way to win this game and as much as she hated to do it, it needed to be done. Using her natural born magical abilities, Aqua generated a small stream of ice from her fingertips which she released into the air before her. The stream combined with the natural winds in the park created a small chill which went past the four players.

On contact with their skin the four players shivered in place, keeping them distracted for a moment. This was all the opportunity that Aqua needed to get around them and head toward the goal. Once in striking range, Aqua delivered a devastating final kick that slid past the goalie and into the netting.

"GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!" Yuma screamed, doing her best interpretation of a spanish soccer announcer.

The crowd erupted into applause and blaring cheers as the scoreboard went to 10 - 8, signaling that the Iguanas had won the game. The team hovered around Aqua with thunderous excitement as they began to chant her name in union.

At first Aqua enjoyed the overwhelming attention she got but her smile faded quickly as she locked eyes with a dejected Umeko who had a deep frown on her face.

"Good job today Aqua!" The coach commented as she came close toward the group. "Alright everyone, victory dinner on me!"

The news of the coaches free dinner excited the group which caused them to disperse away from Aqua so they could get ready. As Aqua tried to head toward Umeko to explain herself, she couldn't help but notice that her friend was already halfway down the park heading toward the parking lot.

"Umeko!" She slapped her forehead hard at the realization of what she had done. She really had stepped in it this time. To add insult to injury as she turned around, she came face to face with Kazu, Blaze, Yuma & Naoki who each had equally disappointed looks on their faces.

She might have been able to hide it from the others, but she couldn't hide it from her friends who knew exactly what she had done. The girl sweatdropped hard realizing how screwed she was and how screwed she'll be even sooner.

As Aqua tried to deal with pending problems before her, in the shadows Ninja Solaro was watching the group. Having seen the whole event unfold before his eyes, the goon vanished into nothingness to find the others.

-Amagi Castle-
-War Room-

"It appears your assumptions were correct Kagami!" Solaro spoke in his usual hushed tone as he brought himself before Lady Kagami in the war room. The duo surprisingly were the only ones in the War room this time of day as the Emperor, Satoshi, Ashrah & Kintaga were nowhere to be found. "While the Ikarirangers are strong, DragonBlue has an achilles' heel!"

"That's glorious news to hear!" Lady Kagami stated. "This will give me ample opportunity to kill those damned teens and make the Emperor happy for once!"

"What's gotten into you?" Solaro questioned with a stern look. She obviously must have not been feeling good, since she was acting out of character. The Kagami he knew would have done anything to get out of work, yet here she was hatching a scheme.
"I'm feeling generous today Solaro, plus my scythe could use a few drops of blood on it!" She said with a smile. "Where is Ashrah by the way, I need her services?"

-Moments Later-
-Orchestra Park-

The question posed by Lady Kagami led her search to the human world, or more importantly the Orchestra Park. Better known as the music building of Tokyo, the building sold instruments, taught classes on how to make music, and hosted orchestral parties that were enjoyed by city residents. Ashrah could be found sitting on the rooftop of the building, swaying back and forth in delight as she tuned into the sounds of fresh percussion instruments.

"There you are, you little hag!" Lady Kagami snorted loudly as she teleported herself next to her on the rooftop.

"Nice to see you too Kagami!" She groaned in disgust upon locking eyes with her comrade.

"What do you want?"

"I need this Remless summoned!" She replied by handing her a new Remless Card with Ice Kanji symbols on the front. "I'm going after the Ikarirangers so I'll also need a bit of your magic for my plan."

Ashrah studied the card for several seconds before giving a slight shrug. She couldn't stand working with Kagami but unfortunately per the Emperor's request she had to follow whatever orders they gave her. This meant she had to leave her own vices and use her magic at it's fullest potential.

"Well come on I don't have all day!"

"You don't have to be so rude ya know!" Ashrah bellowed. The Witch then brought forth her flute to start summoning process, while tossing the card before her. "Remless Hielahiela, I invoke your power!"

As per normal summoning the card levitated in the air before her and exploded as her flute playing reached it's full peak. Remless Hielahiela's summoning was met with a series of cackles and ooh's as she brought her full form before the two Shadiranu women.

"Woohoo here I am baby!" Remless Hielahiela was a female humanoid monster with a slender but slightly muscular baby blue colored body. She has silver and blue harlequin patterned armor that covered her chest, feet and hands. She was bald and her face was covered by fancy Victorian style masquerade mask. Hielahiela carried a large double tipped lance for battle and like the Remless before her she had a set of wings on her back.

"Great to have you back Hielahiela, your services are needed for my very important plan!"

"As you command Lady Kagami!"

-S.S Nakumara-

"I can't believe you did that Aqua!" Have you ever did something incredible stupid as a teen? We probably all have in some shape form or another. When ether it's something incredible mellowed out or extreme, each of us probably has had one experience where we've done something stupid and ended up getting scolded by a higher power.

This was the case for Aqua. Her little stunt at the soccer field had not gone unnoticed by her friends, especially Naoki & Yuma. Like parents talking to their reckless daughter, the duo had Aqua cornered Aqua in the ship's control room as they vocally reprimanded her for her actions.
"Will you guys lay off, it wasn't that serious!" Aqua quipped. While she may have said it wasn't serious, deep down in the pit of her stomach she knew what she did was wrong, especially in the eyes of her friend Umeko. She didn't know how but she needed to find a way to make this right with everyone.

"It is serious Aqua!" Yuma chided with a wag of her finger. "You not only cheated but you used your powers, what if someone saw you?"

"We agreed that after the mall incident we would restrict using our powers in public!" Naoki added.

"What's the point of having powers if you can't use them?" She questioned.

"That's not the point, you could have easily still won if you passed the ball to Umeko but you didn't!" Yuma said. "Instead you choose to possibly expose us to the world, now why would you do that?"

"Help!" Before Aqua could even answer, the trio heard the sound of Blaze and Kazu groan together from within the next room. Naoki & Yuma departed toward the boys room to find Kazu & Blaze slumped over the bed, looking gazed and groggily. On the floor next to the bed Madam Sora lay with a small cauldron and two glasses, stirring constantly while reading a book that was beside her.

"Keep it down guys, we're trying to talk to Aqua!"

"B-But S-Stomach." Blaze tried to say.

"H-hurt's so much!" Kazu groaned

"This is what the two of you get for eating all that junk food at the soccer game!" Naoki stated.

"It was only some burritos and hotdogs!"

"What about the three burgers you guys had on the way home?" Yuma questioned

"Or the cotton candy alongside that box of chocolates!" Naoki added

"I wouldn't worry about them too much!" Madam Sora expressed as she kept her eyes focused on the book. "I have a stomach ache cure all set and ready for them, they'll be better in no time!"

"Speaking of which Madam Sora, did you ever find the spell to turn you back human?"

"Unfortunately no Yuma!" She answered. "Ashrah's the only one who can reverse the spell so until we defeat her, I'm afraid I'm stuck like this!"

"Madam Sora!!!"

"S-Stomach h-h-hurts!"

"Alright alright boys settle down, I'm finished!" Madam Sora called out. The Shiba woman found herself pouring the contents from out of the cauldron and into the two glasses beside her before handing it to the sick boys. "Drink that, I can guarantee that will cure your stomach ache in no time!"

"What is it?" Blaze inquired as he looked into the glass. The formula she created was thick in consistency, smelled like mushrooms and greasy looking yellow.

"Looks nasty!"

"I don't know about this Madam Sora!"

"Oh come on boys, give it a try!"

Kazu & Blaze gave each other hesitant looks before they both clinked their glasses together and began to chug the substance down until the last drop. Much to everyone's surprise the elixir did the opposite of what Madam Sora said it was going to do. Both boys felt fine for a few seconds before their cheeks started to flush with a sickening greenish color. Without warning they sprung up and crashed into the bathroom across the hall. Yuma & Naoki rapidly closed the bathroom door in horror as they were treated to the ghastly sight of the boys 'losing their lunch' in the toilet.

"I thought you said that was a guarantee to cure them?" Naoki asked.

"It should have, that recipe has been a part of StormBlade Heritage for years." She said. "Of course, I've never seen anyone actually drink it!"

"Oh no!!" Yuma & Naoki both sweatdropped.

-Sometime Later-
-Mizuno Park-

Aqua couldn't help but keep her head down, constantly sulking as she walked along the grassy path leading back toward Mizuno Park. With her friends on her back about what happened earlier, Aqua was forced to find Umeko and remedy the broken situation that she had caused. If she were being honest Aqua felt she had done nothing wrong. She couldn't understand why everyone was coming down on her for refusing assistance. If she didn't want the help then she shouldn't have had to take it, especially when she was capable of handling herself just fine.
Regardless of how she felt on the situation, she had to apologize. It was one thing to have Umeko upset with her but she really didn't feel like having the others constantly give her the evil eye. By feigning some sort of apology she would be able to keep all her relationships stable without compromising her own beliefs.

Soon enough Aqua found herself back where she was. As she reached the location, from a distance she spotted Umeko furiously kicking soccer balls into the goal all by herself. As Aqua started to step forward in order to get her attention, she sweatdropped heavily upon noticing that the Soccer balls Umeko was kicking all had her name scribbled on them. If that weren't scary enough there was a graveyard of deflated balls lying nearby, these ones having Aqua's portrait crudely drawn on the front.

"Hi yah!" Umeko gave a war cry before slamming her foot against the nearest soccer ball, vaulting it past the soccer goal and halfway through the park before landing through a car window.

"Oh crap." Aqua gulped with fright. Seeing her take her anger out on those balls soon convinced Aqua that perhaps she didn't want to see her right now. Soon enough Aqua started to inch away from her objective, she wouldn't get far however as Yuma & Naoki were standing right behind her.

"And just where do you think you're going, Aqua?" Naoki questioned with his arms folded while giving her a disapproving look.

"Oh come on!" She groaned. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Naoki said you would try to chicken out and once again he was right!" Yuma said

"Look I'm not chickening out, I just need more time!" Aqua explained. "Besides she seems angry, I don't think now would be a good time to talk to her."

"She can't be that angry."

As Naoki uttered that statement a soccer ball came flying from the other direction and ultimately knocked him straight in the forehead. Yuma & Aqua gasped in surprise as Naoki was knocked a few feet away from them, while his glasses went flying off his face and further through the park.
"Naoki!" Yuma exclaimed as she ran over to her down friend, who had a glossed over look in his eyes. "Naoki, are you ok?"

"G-G-G-G-G-Glass-sses." Was all he could mutter as his eyes started to resemble carnival lollipops

"Oh my goodness Naoki!" Umeko shouted out as she noticed where her ball suddenly went.

"Nice going Umeko!" Aqua scolded. "You could've killed him!"

"To be fair I wasn't aiming at him!" She snapped back before glaring at Aqua

"Could've fooled me, and you wonder why I didn't pass the ball to you!"

Umeko's face flushed deep crimson before she turned her attention away from the trio and started to gather her belongings. Seeing the change of emotion rush through her face made Aqua slap her forehead in frustration

"Don't let her get away, go say your sorry!" Yuma urged

"Wait Umeko-."

"You got a lot of nerve Aqua!" She screeched. "First you hog the glory then you mock my Soccer skills, I swear I don't even understand why I'm friends with you."

"Look Umeko were friends, I didn't mean for any of that to happen."

"You say that but you haven't said those two little words!"

"W-w-w-well!" Aqua stuttered. "That's because I was hoping we could just gloss over it and maybe just trust me to do better next time."

"Not gonna happen either say the words or I'm out!"

As Umeko tapped her foot impatiently she gave Aqua an angry glare in an attempt to pry the words directly out of her. In Aqua's mind however she couldn't process the situation at hand, in her mind saying those two little words would mean that she was wrong to begin with. Being the person that she was, the StormBlade girl hemmed and hawed as she found herself unable to say those words.

"Just as I thought goodbye Aqua, I hope you and your pride will be very happy together!"

"Umeko wait!" Aqua tried to get her friend to say but Umeko was fed up at this point. After grabbing the rest of her things, the girl started to strut away from Aqua toward the exit of the park. She would not get far however as she suddenly froze where she was at. In mid walk Umeko's body came to a complete halt, almost as if time had stood still on her.

"Aqua!" Yuma & Naoki called out to their friend. After retrieving Naoki's lost glasses the duo managed to get to Aqua just in time as Umeko was frozen.

"What the hell's going on?" A puzzled Aqua questioned. Much like a wax statue trapped behind the walls of a museum, Umeko's eyes were glossed over as she stood in that one position.

"It appears to be some sort of Thaumaturgy." Naoki said

"Thaumaturgy, what the hell is that?"

"It just means magic!" Yuma replied.

"Where there's magic, there's usually a sorcerer!"

"Or a witch!"

"Correct you are Ikarirangers!" Ashrah's sinister laugh echoed out through the air as she suddenly appeared up in one of the trees nearby.

"Ashrah!"

"I do not know what you're up to, witch but turn Umeko back this instant!" Aqua ordered.

"If you want that dull girl returned back to normal then you'll have to accept Lady Kagami's challenge!"

"What kind of a challenge?" Naoki questioned.

"A showdown if you will, DragonBlue against one of our Remless!" Ashrah said. "That is if she's strong enough to take the challenge!"

"What the hell do you mean by that you little twerp?"

"Oh not much, It's just I know how much you rangers like to travel in packs!"

"If you really want to prove yourself then step into the arena and let's have a go!"

"Fine I accept your challenge and I'll show you I don't need anyone to beat your ass!"

"Aqua no!"

"It's a trick!"

But it was too late. Ashrah could feel the blaring pride illuminating from Aqua and prepared accordingly. Going for her flute the witch played a few solid notes as dark energy started to erupt from it's tip. Suddenly without warning Naoki & Yuma were flung back a few feet away from Ashrah while a dense gray fog started to cover the atmosphere around Aqua.

"Aqua!" Naoki & Yuma quickly recovered and got to their feet to save their friend but it was too late, Ashrah's spell went into full effect and smothered Aqua. Soon the fog created a dense dome that now started to expand until it was covering most of the park.

"I hope you said your goodbyes because that's the last you'll see of your friend!" Ashrah's laugh could be heard from beyond the barrier taunting the worried duo.

"Emergency, can anyone read me!" The situation reached a critical point, making Naoki realize that they were going to need help for this moment. Going for his Nova yoyo the bookworm pressed the large star button on its face to initiate call mode. "Anyone we need help!"

"Naoki what's wrong?" Madam Sora was the one to answer the call.

"Ashrah just trapped Aqua behind some fog barrier, we need help immediately!"

"Oh my goodness, don't worry I'm getting the boys now!"

And with that Madam Sora ended the communication leaving Naoki & Yuma to their own vices. Unfortunately the duo could only exchange worried glances as they were wondering what horrible fate could have possibly befallen their friend.

-Inside the Barrier-

Now sealed within the barrier walls, Aqua stood firm as the murky sky covered all around her creating a dreary atmosphere in which she would do battle. As she looked back for her friend Aqua realized that Naoki & Yuma had been left behind in the fog which couldn't be penetrated from either side.

"Welcome to your challenge Ikariranger!" Aqua was so focused on the witch's magic that she failed to notice Lady Kagami had joined Ashrah inside the tree that she was at.

"Lady Kagami!" Aqua exclaimed

"Now that you're here I'd like to get down to business!" Kagami replied. "The rules are simple: if you can beat the warrior I have planned, you'll go free, if not your life and your StormBlade belong to me!"

"I accept your challenge Kagami!"

"Are you absolutely sure you don't need your friends help?"

"Hmph!" She scoffed. "I don''t need anyone's help to take your sorry ass down!"

"Very well then, Remless Hielahiela take it away!"

"Of course Lady Kagami!" Remless Hielahiela snickered as she suddenly teleported herself onto the battlefield. If that wasn't bad enough a small squadron of raptor imps also materalissed and were ready to fight. "I hope you're ready to play Ikariranger!"

"Oh I'm ready freakshow, Stardust Rush!" Going for her Nova Yoyo and unleashing it, Aqua was shrouded in StormBlade energy before she was fully transformed into her ranger armor."The Swordsman of Unyielding Frost, DragonBlue!"

"Annihilate her!" Lady Kagami ordered.

The ranger showed no fear as she charged into battle against Remless Hielahiela and the Raptor Imps. With her storm blade in hand DragonBlue began sending numerous swordsman-like slashes against her prey in an attempt to quickly subdue them. DragonBlue was never one to back down from a challenge, despite the odds. Even though Lady Kagami had her cornered and outnumbered she was going to show them her pride as a Zena woman, she was going to show them how tough she can be.

-Amagi Castle-
-War Room-

"Where are they?" The Emperor questioned as he banged his weapon on the platform in frustration causing it to shake slightly. "Where are those troublesome women!"

"Please father calm down!" Prince Satoshi urged. "I'm not sure where they can be but I'm sure they'll be here soon!"

"It's not like Ashrah to miss a meeting, if anything Lady Kagami possibly roped her into something. " General Kintaga stated.

"Wherever they are both are trying my patience!" He bellowed again. "How are we supposed to defeat the Ikarirangers if we are not unified!

"You summoned me Emperor!" Ninja Solaro said as he teleported into the War Room. Up until this point Kintaga and Prince Satoshi were so focused on finding Lady Kagami & Ashrah that they failed to notice the ninja servant was not around. Him suddenly appearing before there eyes meant that he could possibly know where they were, after all if there was anyone who knew almost anything it was the great spy Ninja Solaro.

"Solaro, do you know what has become of Kagami & Ashrah?" Emperor Taoshi asked

Solaro nodded in response before gesturing to the magical viewing portal. The Shadiranu men watched in awe as the sight of Aqua fighting Lady Kagami & the remless came up. "Lady Kagami has isolated DragonBlue, with Remless Hielahiela's help she hopes to weaken the team by destroying this ranger first!"

"A divide and conquer strategy eh."

"Lady Kagami is always full of surprises isn't she?"

"This is interesting!" The Emperor replied with a few strokes of his chin. "Where are the other Ikarirangers Solaro?"

"I'm not sure where the other two are but SphinxSilver & HarpyPink are isolated as we speak!"

"Excellent, Satoshi, Kintaga take the raptor imps down to earth, if we destroy them we can make Kagami's job a whole lot easier!"

"Yes father!"

"Of course Emperor we shall get to it posthaste!"

-Inside the Barrier-

"DragonBlade! Frost Torrent!" The cold steel of DragonBlue's blade glowed with her ranger color as she mightily stabbed her weapon into the ground. Calling upon her powers the blade began to unleash a wave of jagged ice toward her opponents. The raptor imps couldn't scramble out of the way fast enough and soon they were encased in a wall of sturdy ice.

With the opportunity now open, DragonBlue charged at the captive minions before starting to deliver numerous slashes and swipes. The raptor imps cried in pain as they were helpless to defend against DragonBlue's attack. The slashes of her StormBlade kept intensifying until the ice exploded taking the raptor imps with it.

"Any more subordinates for me to kill Kagami?" DragonBlue questioned as she waved her sword at the general in a threatening manner.

"Sorry to burst your ego DragonBlue but this challenge is far from over!" She declared. "Remless Hielahiela, beat her down!"

"With pleasure Lady Kagami!" The Remless agreed before stepping in front of her commander.

"Man you sure are ugly!" DragonBlue stated.

"Well see about that smart mouth of yours once I'm finished with you!" The Remless counteracted with energy shots from her lance. DragonBlue was quicker however and rolled out of the way before the attack had a chance to hit her. Once she had a clear opening the Zena warrior sprinted full speed at her target

Getting within striking distance, DragonBlue delivered a slash across Hielahiela's chest, back and legs. While this was a great strategy to open with, DragonBlue soon noticed that the remless was not being hurt by her attacks, instead she merely stood in place laughing.

"What the hell?" DragonBlue questioned in confusion before slashing her five times once more.

"Is that the best you got?" She asked. "And you call yourself a warrior!"

Without warning Remless Hielahiela sprung to life and blocked an oncoming attack from the ranger. To follow up she jabbed DragonBlue in the stomach with her lance before kicking her just a few inches away.

"You think your tough, well try this on for size! DragonBlade! Frost Torrent!" Calling upon her powers a second time DragonBlue sent another wave of ice at the enemy.

As the Ice attack came close, Remless Hielahiela stood unfazed as she absorbed the energy with the tip of her spear.

"How's that possible?" She asked with a startle.

"It looks like you've met your match DragonBlue!" Lady Kagami bellowed with laughter."Remless Hielahiela has the ability to absorb your pitiful Ice powers!"

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes Ikariranger!" The Remless said. "Thanks to your foolishness I'm practically invincible!"

Remless Hielahiela's wings suddenly sprung to life as she flew. With her lance the warrior slashed DragonBlue several times before picking her up by the arm and tossing her high in the air.

Lady Kagami was set to join in on the fun and jumped high up in the air. With DragonBlue suspended midair, Lady Kagami hacked away at her ranger armor several times, until they both hit the ground.

Despite DragonBlue being double teamed she was determined to not give up against the enemy. Composing herself she prepared to strike again with her blade. Lady Kagami & Hielahiela saw through the attack however and huddled up next to each other. When the ranger was in their sights the duo both sent powerful beam attacks with hit DragonBlue directly, this time the intensity of the attack was so great that it caused her to demorph back to Aqua.

"Damnit!" Aqua cursed as she rolled to the ground.

"What's the matter DragonBlue, do you need your friends to help you?"

"I don't need anyone, I can take you both down!"

Once again Aqua's pride got the better of her. As she prepared herself to transform again, she was bombarded with metal claws across her body causing her to be ejected a few feet away. Aqua's nerves went into overdrive as she saw another set Raptor Imps had been summoned to get in her way, not only that but she panicked upon noticing that she dropped her StormBlade & Nova Yoyo when she was attacked.

"Jackpot!" Lady Kagami cheered as she picked up Aqua's belongings. "This was easier than I thought!"

"Give those back!"

"Lets see you take them from me, destroy her!"

Remless Hielahiela took charge of the battle once again. She and the raptor imps suddenly swarmed Aqua and began taking hits at her every chance they could.

With her transformation gear and weapon now in the hands of the enemy, Aqua had no choice but to high tail it out of there. The moment she got a clear shot Aqua began running further into the park with the Shadiranu hot on her trail, Lady Kagami found herself laughing in triumph as her plan was seemingly succeeding.

-Outside the Barrier-

“This is definitely not good!” Even in her Shiba form Madam Sora was still smart as a whip. With her spellbook down on the ground in front of the barrier, she began to read the text as fast as she could while Naoki & Yuma looked over her shoulder with anxiousness.

“What’s not good?” Naoki questioned

“My, my this isn’t good indeed!” She repeated

“What isn’t good madam?” Yuma questioned

“My word this is for sure not good!” She repeated for a third time

“What is it?”

“Well I can for sure tell you that it isn’t good!” She stated flatly.

“Oh for the love of -.” Yuma cried out before picking up Madam Sora and shaking her violently. “Tell us, tell us, what isn’t good, what isn’t good?”

“Yuma stop your going to make her dizzy!”

“Ohh sorry!” She apologized before placing the dog back down onto the ground. Madam Sora was still shaken up by the incident and saw nothing but stars before she managed to compose herself.

“The verdict Madam?”

“It’s an Essolock.”

“What’s that?”

“An Essolock is a spell that creates barriers based on certain emotions.” Madam Sora began. “It appears that Ashrah has bewitched Aqua based on her certain emotion, that’s what’s causing the barrier.”

“How do we get her out?”

“The barrier is a mental manifestation, the only way for it to go away is for Aqua to expel whatever emotion she is currently feeling.”

“Great, so we're back to square one again!” Yuma groaned. “Can this possibly get any worse?”

Yuma’s pointed question garnered a swift answer as a Shadiranu vortex suddenly opened up in the park. Much to their annoyance Prince Satoshi, General Kintaga & a small horde of raptor imps jumped from out of the vortex and onto the park grounds.

“Prince Satoshi!” Naoki yelled

“Hello Ikarirangers!” Prince Satoshi greeted with a sinister grin. “Hope we’re not interrupting anything!”

“We don’t have time for this!” Madam Sora commented.

“Two little rangers all alone, well don’t worry we’ll keep you company!”

“Count again freak!” Kazu’s voice cut through the tense moment as he and Blaze suddenly appeared from out a nearby bush.

“What the hell took you guys so long, you should have been here a long time ago?”

“Sorry but we still had alot of throwing up to do!” Blaze said

“And then we got hungry on the way and stopped for a another burger and-

“You stopped for a burger when we were in the middle of a crisis?” Naoki asked with a bug eyed expression

“Well we had to regain our strength somehow, can’t fight evil on an empty stomach!”

“Enough of this babilling!” General Kintaga suddenly hissed. “Raptor Imps destroy them!”

“Ikarirangers, transform yourselves!” Madam Sora ordered

“Stardust Rush!” All the teens shouted with their Nova Yoyo's, transforming them into Ikarirangers. Now ready for action the group went to fight against the Shadiranu.

-Inside the Barrier-

The footsteps of the Shadiranu troops as well as Aqua’s own heartbeat overwhelmed her eardrums. It’s amazing what the human body can endure when it's in a state of fright. While Aqua would never admit that she was afraid, her body was showing different signs. Adrenaline pumped through her veins while her brain was overloaded with ideas of how to escape the situation.

No powers

No Nova Yoyo

And more importantly no StormBlade.

All she had was her sense of urgency to keep her alive. As she sprinted faster than an olympic trackstar, she zigzagged past trees, bushes and playground equipment in an effort to keep herself safe.

“You won’t escape DragonBlue!” Hielahiela screamed out as she ran behind Aqua. Trying to get the girl to stop, Remless Hielahiela pointed her staff unleashing a beam of energy toward her target. The attack seemingly hit the Ikariranger head on causing a spark of explosion.

Remless Hielahiela expected the ranger to be dead where she stood after the attack hit but surprisingly when the sparks cleared there was no sign of her. As they finally caught up to her position the Shadiranu looked in confusion, wondering what had just happened.

“Where did she go?” Lady Kagami questioned as she caught up with the group.

“I’m not sure Lady Kagami, she was just in front of us!” Hielahiela replied. “I just struck her with my lance, she couldn’t have gotten far!”

“Damnit!” She cursed. “Don’t just stand there you idiots find her!”

As the Shadairanu scrambled deeper into the park grounds, Aqua who was up in the trees above breathed a sigh of relief. She thought they would never leave. Thank goodness for her she saw the attack coming when she did and took cover, if she didn’t she would have been a dead duck for sure.

“Now what do I do?” Aqua murmured to nobody. Adjusting her body to get comfortable on the branch, her brain went into overdrive trying to figure out the situation at hand.

If only she had some backup.

But no. Aqua refused to even garner the thought. Despite not having any weapons, powers, or her suit she still would not give up. Lady Kagami was challenging her pride to the fullest extent, she’d be a fool to admit defeat at this rate.

Even though she was outmatched in every way possible, Aqua would never admit failure. Somehow, someway she would take out Lady Kagami and the Remless before her friends even managed to pierce the barrier. When they finally reached her they would be amazed by how great she was, she was going to show them why she was an all powerful warrior.

For now though all she could do is rest within the trees until she garnered the strength to continue her journey.

-Outside the Barrier-

“You can’t catch me nah nah!” Even in her ranger form HarpyPink still kept her playful childlike personality. As the Raptor Imps tried to slash her with their daggers she gracefully leapt out of the way in a repetitive motion. The minute she saw an opening she fired a short cascade of lightning that forced her pursuers away from her. From then with her StormBlade the pink ranger began slashing the foot soldiers in swift motions until they succumbed to their injuries and exploded.

ChimeraRed and SphinxSilver decided to double team the raptor Imps with their Storm Snipers. As the creatures surrounded them in a swarming formation, the duo sent out high powered shots which either blasted them away or destroyed them on contact.

While his brethren handled the lower members of the Shadiranu, PhoenixOrange bravely took on both Prince Satoshi & General Kintaga. It was broadsword and hook swords against the Phoenix Blade as the trio went at it.

Using his massive strength and size, General Kintaga took powerful slashes and swipes in an attempt to get his foe to surrender while Prince Satoshi went wild with his sword in a frenzy. Luckily for PhoenixOrange he was quick on his feet, as every swipe came toward him he easily contorted his body out of the way like a cirque du soleil acrobat. Much like HarpyPink, when he got an opening he retaliated by cutting across General Kintaga’s chest before sending an uppercut slash to Prince Satoshi’s shoulders.

“Damnit!” Prince Satoshi bellowed as he and Kintaga had to retreat backwards in order to catch their balance.

“Is that all you losers got?” PhoenixOrange questioned as he egged them on with a wave of his sword.

“We’ll show you puny ranger!” Unexpectedly both Shadniranu members put there swords together in a musketeer like stance. On contact with one another the swords began sparking with dark magic which was ejected toward PhoenixOrange.

“Ooo crap!” PhoenixOrange wasn’t prepared as the attack hit him head on, sparking across his ranger armor and sending him a few yards back.

“Bow before the might of Emperor Taoshi!” Prince Satoshi commanded before he and Kintaga united there swords again for another ball of dark magical energy

“Not again!” PhoenixOrange muttered to nobody as the attack came toward him like a speeding bullet. Instead of being attacked like he had been before, this time SphinxSilver vaulted in the way. Having summoned his vanish shield in his hand the silver ranger was able to block the attack before it hit his comrade.

“Thanks for the save Naoki!”

“Anytime Blaze now take care of them!”

“With pleasure!” PhoenixOrange quipped. “Phoenix Blade! Lava Flash!” Springing up high in the air, the orange ranger came crashing down with his weapon which stabbed itself hard into ground. On contact the weapon glowed with elemental energy before unleashing a wave of hellish lava.

Prince Satoshi & General Kintaga tried to stand strong against the oncoming attack but were unable too as they were soon scorched by it’s fiery might. Like dynamite exploding on the fourth of july the attack combusted directly across their bodies again and again. The two were trapped in the blaze for more than a minute before General Kintaga was able to expel it away from him and the prince.

“Damn you Ikarirangers!” Prince Satoshi sneered as he kneeled on the ground. He clutched his arm in agony as he found himself too weak to stand. “Kintaga, we must retreat!”

“Yes master!” Following the prince's orders the beast general summoned a portal which whisked both of them away back to Amagi Castle.

“Whew, I thought they would never give up!” HarpyPink gave a full sigh of relief as she and the others de-transformed back to their normal states.

“Everyone!” Madam Sora called out. Having hid during the fighting, the Shiba woman reappeared with her spellbook in her jaw.

“Please tell me you found a way to get Aqua out of there?” Kazu interrogated

Madam Sora shook her head in a solemn manner as she opened the book section she was reading. “I’m afraid it’s no use, there is no way to get around an Essolock unless the emotion is expelled.”

“What kind of emotion could Aqua be feeling that she can’t get rid off?”

“Her pride!” Naoki deduced.

“Wait what?”

“Earlier today!” He explained. “Don’t you guys remember her fight with Umeko? She refused to admit that she needed her help, she was being too prideful!”

“Pride huh, no wonder Ashrah was able to use that against her.” Kazu said

“Well that should be easy, all Aqua has to do is lower her pride and this barrier will be banished!”

“Wrong Yuma, that won’t be easy.” Blaze sighed. “Aqua’s never been one to ask for help as she considers it her greatest strength.”

“But-.”

“It’s not just her, it’s the fact that she’s a Zena warrior, the members of that tribe are known for being prideful!” Naoki added

“But we're friends!” Kazu interjected sadly. “Surely she wouldn’t be willing to face all that without us!”

“Look at the barrier Kazu.” Madam Sora explained. “The fact that it’s remained up this long proves that theory, unless Aqua admits she needs assistance we won’t be able to reach her.”

“Aqua please!” Yuma cried as she went toward the fog barrier and seemingly pounded on it. "Why are you fighting by yourself, aren't we friends?"

The Ikarirangers exchanged nervous glances before they each stared into the deep abyss of the barrier. The sad truth of the matter was they definitely couldn’t help Aqua, she had to help herself in order to stop the Shadiranu this time. Surely she wouldn’t risk facing the grim reaper just to prove that she is powerful.

Or would she?

Whatever the case all the team could do was pray that she came to her senses soon only by dropping her pride would she be allowed to end this nightmare.

-Inside the Barrier-

“Yuma!” Even though she couldn’t see them, surprisingly Aqua heard the cries from her friend echoing deep from the other side of the park. “Yuma is that you?”

“She’s up there!” Lady Kagami exclaimed. Aqua sweatdropped in nervousness as she soon realized that she gave her position away by yelling so loud.

Soon without warning the tree she was in began to shake violently. Aqua tried to hold onto the top of the tree's branches but ultimately found her body crashing downward to the grass below.

“Gotcha!” Remless Hielahiela laughed evilly as Aqua came crashing down. Not letting the girl get a break she slammed the butt of her weapon against her face forcing her a few feet away.

“Damnit!”

“You didn’t really think you could escape me, did you DragonBlue?” Lady Kagami asked as she appeared on the side of Hielahiela with the rest of the raptor Imps. “You look a little tired by the way, perhaps you may need your friends to back you up!”

"I don't need anyone, I can do this myself!" Even though she was beaten, injured and without the proper equipment Aqua refused to give up. Her muscles strained in agony as she tried to summon her powers over ice to her. Anything to escape or anything to buy her more time, whatever it was she just couldn’t admit defeat, she just couldn’t.

Lady Kagami and Remless Hielahiela watched in delight as Aqua tried her damndest to summon her natural powers, unfortunately for her nothing came. No snowflakes, no ice shards not even a small blizzard, none of her powers had come to her.

“What the hell?” Aqua cried out in disbelief. She once again tried to focus and summon her powers but to no avail, she was powerless.

“My goodness you are quiet stupid!” Lady Kagami gave a slight giggle. “Don’t you know when you’ve reached your limit. Between losing your StormBlade and Remless Hielahiela, your frost powers have dried up for the time being!”

The realization suddenly hit Aqua as she remembered the events of early. When she used her frost torrent attack Remless Hielahiela drained most of her powers. Combine that and the loss of her Nova Yoyo she had nothing to replenish her powers. As much as she would never admit it out loud, Lady Kagami was right she was without options.

“This time I’ve got you, you little brat!” Without a place to run Remless Hielahiela took charge of the fight once more. Pointing her lance weapon at girl, she fired a beam of energy. Aqua couldn’t get out of the way and was forced against a nearby tree.

“What the-” As Aqua tried to recover from the attack, she felt her body paralyzed and unable to move. Looking downward she noticed that her entire body was encased in a wall of frost, no doubt the same frost magic that was stolen from her earlier.

“The Emperor is going to love me for this!” Lady Kagami gloated as she took a few steps closer to her target. “Imagine the look on his face when I tell him I killed an Ikariranger, not just that but with her own blade nonetheless!”

“You won’t get away with us!” Aqua shouted in defiance.

“My dear I already have!” She said with a boisterous tone. “Hielahiela, kill her!”

“With pleasure Lady Kagami!”

Aqua’s heart dropped into her stomach as the Remless prepared her lance to strike again.

This was it.

There was no fighting back or escaping this time. Her struggle meant nothing, all her attempts to prove that she was superior had backfired, instead now she would die at the hands of the enemy.

“Goodbye DragonBlue!” Remless Hielahiela charged her weapon and prepared to strike while Lady Kagami stood back and watched the spectacle.

The attack never came however as the unthinkable happened. From seemingly knowhere several white balls of energy blasted Remless Hielahiela, Lady Kagami and the raptor Imps backward and away from Aqua. Swooping down from the shadows an unknown figure stepped in the way blocking Aqua from the enemies that pursued her.

“Who dares attack us!” Lady Kagami sneered.

“Who the hell are you?” Aqua questioned upon seeing the figure.

“The Wandering Swordsman of StormBlade, StallionWhite!” The figure was dressed in sparkling white ranger armor that ran through their entire body. The armor had golden boots, gloves and a golden belt with the Sele, Zena, Canry, Pyru, Argus Shadi and Ranu crests on its front. Across the armor was a black sash with the emblem of a StormBlade on the front. The back of the armor had a black flowing cape that reached the floor and the helmet of the ranger armor was modeled after a unicorn. In his hands the stranger known as StallionWhite carried a blade that was identical to that of the original StormBlade that was broken years ago.

“Ikariranger?” A bewildered Aqua couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw a white Ikariranger before her.

Leaping into action the figure known as StallionWhite went at the Shadiranu. With his StormBlade in hand he sent quick swipes across the raptorImps bodies before turning his attention to Lady Kagami. The Swordsman made quick work to swipe Aqua’s Nova Yoyo and her StormBlade before going at Lady Kagami. Once the objects were securely in his possession, he sent a deep slash across her face before firing at her with white holy energy.

“Ahhh!” The Shadiranu woman screamed in agony as she went flying across the park.

Remless Hielahiela was the next victim on his list. After cutting the creature in the back, he grabbed her by her throat and pelted her into the park soil.

“Where the hell did you get that Blade from?” While Aqua was impressed by the warrior's appearance as well as his fighting skills, she couldn’t help but wonder why he had the original StormBlade in his possession. It was impossible since the sword had been shattered years ago, but there it was. So many questions were surrounding the stranger warrior but there were no answers.

After using his StormBlade to extinguish the rest of the raptor imps, StallionWhite turned his attention to the captive Aqua. After busting the Ice that held her captive, he returned her Nova Yoyo as well as her DragonBlade.

“Who are you?” Aqua wondered

“DragonBlue!” He began. “While you may be a strong warrior, your pride blinds you too the truth!”

“What the hell are you talking about, I don’t have any pride!”

“I’m afraid you do, a prideful heart such as yours is sure to lead you to destruction.” He retorted. “Did you ever stop and consider what might have happened if you admitted your weaknesses early?”

“Weakness well I-.”

“If you had called forth your comrades early you wouldn’t be in this predicament just like if you had trusted Umeko you and her would still be friends!”

An aura of shame cloaked itself over Aqua at the mention of Umeko. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, StalionWhite was right. She was so focused on proving her superiority that she not only hurt her friend but put her life in jeopardy.

Even when the Remless was about to kill her she couldn’t admit defeat. She would rather be slaughtered than ask for assistance.

“Have I been that foolish?” She murmured to herself.

“There is a time for self reflection and a time for action, if you really wish to correct your prideful heart, start by admitting the obvious!”

“You little nuisance wait until I get my hands on you!” Remless Hielahiela snarled as she finally managed to pull her body from out the dirt.

“Quickly DragonBlue!” He ushered.

Aqua bit her lower lip in frustration. Even though she knew how to get herself out of this predicament, swallowing her pride still hurt in more ways than anyone would ever know. “ I can’t do this by myself, I need help, I need my friends!”

As the last part of the sentence escaped her lips, flashes of light exploded all around her as the barrier began to evaporate. Aqua’s expression lit up to one of hopefulness as the sunshine broke through the darkness that trapped her.

“Oh no, the Essolock!” Having been attacked by StalionWhite earlier, Lady Kagami managed to compose herself and rejoin the fight. Much to her horror however as she came upon her Remless, the barrier she had Ashrah create was no more. “Remless do something or my plans will be ruined!”

Before the Remless could even try to attack, the rest of the Ikarirangers swooped into the fight. With their StormBlades gripped tightly each member delivered a choice slash at Hielahiela before going to check on Aqua.

“Everyone!” For once in her life Aquas cold demeanor melted away. As she saw her friends she couldn’t resist the urge and hugged each of them accordingly. “I’m so glad to see you guys!”

“You had us worried there for a sec!” ChimeraRed admitted.

“We thought you didn’t want our help, we thought you were too prideful to need us!” SphinxSilver added.

“I was too prideful, but lucky for me StalionWhite showed me the truth.”

“StalionWhite?”

“Whose that?”

Before she could even go into the speal about how she was saved by an unknown ranger she noticed that he had vanished. She was so relieved to see her friends that he must have escaped from whence he came. Whatever the case she would tell them about him later, for now it was time to get the job done

“Never mind I’ll tell you guys later!” Aqua replied before going for her Nova Yoyo. “Stardust Rush!”

Once Aqua was transformed into her blue ranger armor the team stood together with fixed blades ready for roll call.

“The Swordsman of Mighty Telekinesis, ChimeraRed!"

"The Swordsman of Unyielding Frost, DragonBlue!"

"The Swordsman of Shinobi Smoke, SphinxSilver!"

"The Swordsman of Fatal Hellfire, PhoenixOrange!"

"The Swordsman of Vengeful Lightning, HarpyPink!"

"The Allure of Justice strikes like our blades!" The five transformed rangers announced in union before they twirled their swords in a fancy fashion. "Arashi Sentai Ikariranger!"

Now fully together as a team once more the Ikarirangers surrounded Remless Hielahiela. Once she couldn’t escape the rangers brought forth Storm Snipers and immediately began to charge them with element energy.

“Come now surely we can talk about this?” Remless Hielahiela nervously asked as she knew what was going to happen next.

“Prism Crusher!" The Rangers granted no mercy to the Remless. As their weapons became fully charged they unleashed beams overhead. The energy came together to once again form a rainbow star which soon came crashing down on her.

“Forgive me Lady Kagami!” Was Remless Hielahiela’s final words before the star exploded while also taking her body with it.

“Another one bites the dust!” DragonBlue floated as she high-fived her teammates.

“Ashrah, get out here!” Lady Kagami cried.

“ What do you want?” The witch asked as she teleported herself next to her.

“Bring back Hielahiela now!”

“Alright, alright would it kill you to say please?” Following orders reluctantly, Ashrah threw done her cyan stone before conjuring her favorite musical instrument. “With shadow powers from Shadi Kin, let this nightmare arise by my violin!"

Ashrah aggressively strummed her violin, letting forth distasteful musical notes. As always the cyan stone rose to the occasion, leaking rushes of water until the sand rebirthed Hielahiela.

“It’s time for the deep freeze Ikarirangers!” Hielahiela announced upon her revival.

“I think now would be a good time to call in cavalry!” HarpyPink replied

“Say no more!” ChimeraRed said in agreement.

“Aura Summon!” The Ikarirangers called in union before they diagonally tossed their StormBlades into the skylight.

"Ikari Gattai!" As soon as the Aura Beasts we’re summoned, the group wasted no time in bringing them together. In no time the titanic mecha was formed and ready for battle. “Formation Complete! Arashiking!"

“Welcome to my winter wonderland Ikarirangers, I do hope you like it!” Remless Hielahiela cackled. The creature took first hit at the team by opening her jaw as wide as it could go. What came out was a flurry of snow that was akin to a blizzard.

As the mecha started to take steps to attack the snow came on contact with it. Almost immediately ArashiKing became encased in a field of ice from head to its neck. The only part of the mecha left unfrozen was the head part.

“This isn’t good, my controls aren’t responding!” PhoenixOrange alerted

“Temperature levels are dropping rapidly!” SphinxSilver added

With ArashiKing unable to fight back, the remless had a field day. Landing hits with her fists, foot and lance she caused maximum damage.

From inside the cockpit the Ikarirangers held on for dear life as there mecha shook violently and sparks fluttered from the control panel.

“We gotta do something, we’re sitting ducks here!” HarpyPink declared

“I got an idea Yuma don’t worry!” SphinxSilver announced.

As Remless Hielahiela prepared herself to attack ArashiKing once more, the ice around the mecha began to crack. Within an instant the hulking colossus broke apart and reformed back into its five individual Aura Beasts.

Now free from the Ice trap the AuraBeasts went on the offense. The IkariHarpy and IkariSphinx mecha grabbed Hielahiela by both her arms and held her still so she couldn’t move.

Once that part of the plan was done, IkariDragon and IkariChimera stood together with their arms interlocked.

“Take her down a peg Blaze!” DragonBlue called out

“You got it, watch this!”

IkariPhoniex started off running from a far distance and jumped at the other two mecha. With great ease IkariChimera and IkariDragon boosted the robot high up in the air as it can go. Once airborne IkariPhoenix shrouded itself in the flames of hellfire before it came crashing down upon it’s foe. Remless Hielahiela became engulfed in flames while her body started to peel away in sections.

“Alright everyone time to bring out the big guns!” ChimeraRed shouted

While Remless Hielahiela was trapped within the wall of flames, the five mecha took the opportunity to reform back into there bigger form. On ArashiKing being remade the Ikarirangers summoned mecha’s shooting weapons.

“Try this on for size Hielahiela, Victory Blitz!” DragonBlue declared. As ArashiKing raised it’s weapons, the machine guns unleashed a hailstorm of bullets while the cannon unleashed it’s oversized military style missile.

“Damn you Ikarirangers!” Remless Hielahiela cried out before both attacks combined and hit her straight on. Combined with the flames that surrounded her, the bullets and missiles caused her to explode on contact. The Ikarirangers soon found themselves cheering as Remless Hielahiela ceased to exist, marking another tally for their victories as heroes.

-Amagi Castle-
-War Room-

“What a waste of a Remless!” General Kintaga stated as he closed the viewing portal they were watching.

“What have you got to say for yourself Kagami?”

“Shut up Satoshi!” She snapped. “ I almost had DragonBlue right where I wanted her!”

“Do not fret, we'll deal with Ikarirangers another day!” Emperor Taoshi stated. “For now tell me more about this fool StalionWhite!”

-Few Hours Later-
-Mizuno Park-

“Come on Aqua go for it!” From the stands Kazu, Blaze, Naoki, Yuma and Madam Sora cheered on the latest game for Aqua’s Soccer team. Much like how the previous game played, the score was tied with a total of 8-8, with Aqua’s team the Iguana's going on the offensive.

Like the natural born sports enthusiast that she was, Aqua had little to no trouble dribbling the ball between her feet. So far she managed to keep it away from the opposing team, all she had to do now was get it into that goal and the team would have won yet another game.

“Gangway!” Aqua screamed as she used her fast reflexes to barrel through a player trying to get to the ball. She was soo close, she could see the goal just a few yards away where that lone goalie sat.

And then it happened. Seemingly from out of nowhere Aqua’s path soon became blocked by three opposing members on the Rhino’s team. Covering all sides of her, the trio etched in closer as they tried to mess up her good vibe.

“Damnit!” Aqua thought. So close yet so far, there was no way she was going to get through these guards unless she resulted to some underhanded trickery like she did last time.

But then it hit her.

Not too far away off in the field sat Umeko, staring at the ground. Most of the action was upon Aqua leaving her not a chance to really play the game. Having learned a valuable lesson from her encounter earlier, Aqua knew what she had too do.

“Umeko, heads up!” With a firm but sturdy leg Aqua thrusted the ball to the unsuspecting and seemingly shocked Umeko.

Although the passing off the ball caught her off guard, Umeko reacted accordingly. As the ball fell at her feet she dribbled it between both the sides of her heels and torpedoed down the way toward the goalie. Once she got within striking distance, Umeko used all the power she had in her muscles to kick the ball.

What a kick it was. Flying upward into the left section of the net, the opposing goalie tried to block the ball only for it to land safely in the netting.

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLL, IGUANAS!!!”

The crowd erupted in thunderous applause as the scorecard changed from 10-8, signaling that the Iguanas won once again.

While the rest of her teammates celebrated their victory, Aqua found herself walking over to Umeko and high fiving her.

“That was some kick girlie congrats!”

“You actually passed the ball too me?”

“Yeah about that!” Aqua sheepishly started to say. “I’m sorry about before, you were right I was too prideful to pass the ball to you. I didn’t mean to upset you, I promise from now on i’’ll start trusting you and others alot more!”

“Holy crap, did hell just freeze over!” Umeko laughed. “The Ice queen herself is actually apologizing, I must be dreaming. What’s next, more hugs, baked goods, puppets?”

“Don’t push it Umeko!” She stuck her tongue out.

“I guess I can accept your apogee this time, but since I made the winning goal perhaps maybe I could take your spot for the next game!”

“You want to be on offense, seriously?”

“Why not you said you trusted me!”

“Not that much!” Aqua bellowed with laughter

“Hahaha, all’s fair then!”

As the two girls begin to laugh and rejoice in their renewed friendship, StallionWhite lurks from behind a few trees, nodding approvingly towards Aqua’s rejection of her pride.

End of Chapter 4

*Upbeat Adventure Music*
Announcer: "Next Time on Episode 5!"
Naoki voice-over: “I’m tired of being the smart one!”
*Cuts to scene of a lonely Naoki admiring his popular friends*
Unknown stranger voice-over “Don’t you want to be cool like your friends?”
*Cuts to a scene of a cooler looking less bookish Naoki.*
Unknown Remless voice over “You brats shall fall to my riddles!”
*Cuts to a scene of the Ikarirangers fighting raptor Imps and a new foe*
Kazu voice-over “We can’t do this without Naoki!”
Naoki voice-over “I’ll show you how cool I am!”
*The final scene is off a well dressed Naoki fighting the Shadiranu by himself*

Next Time: The terror of ten thousand riddles