Rise of the Ninetailed Dream Fox

Synopsis:  With exams looming around the corner, our heroes find themselves bedraggled, stressed and ultimately sleep deprived.   Galvanix creates his most heinous villainess yet, a nine tailed ninja kitsune named Yume.   Her powerful lullaby puts anyone to sleep.   How will our Rangers survive her gorgeous lulling melodies ?   

Chapter 1--Feeling the Pressure

Calvin wasn’t one to complain, and neither were his friends but he could tell everyone was feeling a bit on edge.   Mick didn’t quite understand why everyone was so apprehensive.  

‘What’s going on with everyone ?   It seems like everyone I bump into is either snappy, snarky, sleep deprived or walking around like one of of your so-called Earth zombies.’, he quipped.   

‘We’re all worried about exams.’, Brody began.   

‘We’ve been studying our rumps off !’, Preston lamented.   

‘Hey, don’t be so down in the mouth, guys.  We’re going to ace our exams.’, Sarah chimed.  

‘Are you suggesting we study as a group ?’, Hayley countered.   They had to admit, it was a tremendous plan.    Out in space, Cosmo Royale had been spying on them by buzz cam.  

‘The Rangers are feeling more tired than ever, Sire.’, he observed aloud.   Galvanix stroked his monstrous chin thoughtfully.   

‘I have a plan.  None of my past monsters even stood a chance against them but this time I’m going to use a different tactic.’, he said, his voice more sardonic and sadistic than ever.   It was enough to make the Cosmos flesh crawl.   For once in his pathetic little existence he was happy that Galvanix considered him valuable.   

‘This is Yume.   She’s sure to knock those Rangers out when they least suspect it.  Once they have all drifted into a peaceful slumber, she’ll infiltrate their dreams and find the location of the Prism.  Those ninja stars will most assuredly be mine !’, Galvanix rejoiced.  Perhaps it was a bit preemptive to be celebrating, but he knew Yume would be his ace in the hole.   Activating the card, the ninja kitsune appeared.   

‘You know what to do, Yume.’, he said.   With an austere, deferential bow, the purple kimono wearing fox demon disappeared in tongues of purplish black flame with a hyena’s cackle.  

‘She’s stunning, but ooo, does she give me the creeps !’, MC said out of earshot.   

Chapter 2--Listen To My Lullaby !

Yume was stealthy and walked about the human world unseen with her ancient runes of enchantment protecting her.   Her nocturnal eyes could see for miles and even though she was a night owl by nature, the daylight didn’t harm her at all.    At a table in the park she could see Hayley and Calvin studying together, actually spending more time on their test questions than necking, much to the relief of the rest of the gang.   Brody was getting assistance from Mick, who helped him understand Calculus so much easier than anyone else good.   He was finally getting the hang of the algorithms and formulas.    Hayley had no trouble with any of her subjects and Sarah was confident that she was going to stomp any question into submission since she knew her teachers so well.   All of them had gotten straight A’s this year and nothing would stop them from excelling in this semester either.   

Preston felt the hackles on his neck stand at attention.  

‘Guys, I feel kind of strange.   Sort of like someone’s watching us.’, he mentioned.  

‘No one’s watching us, Pres.   Maybe your sleep deprivation is getting to you.’, Sarah answered, with a bit of a laugh to add levity to the situation.    Preston knew he was being foolish and waved off the feeling that he had felt another presence in that park lurking somewhere in the forest.    It was probably a coyote or maybe a lost dog.   It’d go its own way sooner or later.  

Waiting until the last moment, Yume  sneaked to another hiding spot, thinking over her plan.  She followed the Rangers back to their homes and hit them all with her morphine shurikens that emitted from her mouth.   

‘Let the medicine take its course.  Before long, you’ll be in my clutches.’, she vowed.  Levitating from the ground she followed them back to their homes and began singing her lullaby.  

One by one the Rangers fell prey to her beatific melody and she started to infiltrate their dreams.

‘I can almost taste those power stars.’, Galvanix said, watching his monster’s success from afar.   This foolproof plan she was enacting was almost certain to work.   

Chapter 3--All Are Susceptible

Redbot couldn’t understand why Brody wasn’t waking up to the smell of freshly baked orange muffins, fried eggs, pancakes, French toast and sausage.   Even Mick wasn’t allured by the fragrance of bacon.  

‘Something is indeed terribly wrong.’, he thought aloud, trying to rouse them both by gently jostling them.   Nothing he seemed to do awakened them.   Yume, watching from the distance with a sly smile, started singing an ancient tongue.   Redbot felt strange and suddenly found himself yawning.

‘Yes, that’s it, fall under my spell.’, Yume said.  She knew that Redbot would be the key to finding the Prism and now that he was fast asleep, he would lead her right to its location, since the Rangers had been no help in their ludicrous dreams.   

Hayley had a reverie about legendary characters like Somnibot, Alpha 5, Beta 1, Pashieta, Morpheus and the Rangers that proceeded her.    Calvin dreamt of riding in classic cars, cruising down the beach, looking unquestionably handsome.   Sarah’s dreams were on the mechanics of trains and hoverboards, amongst other useless things.   Preston’s dreams were no better, but Brody and Mick were a gold mine.    With Redbot joining them in a shared dream, she knew the Prism couldn’t be far behind.    

Chapter 4--Hayley Awakens Her Friends

From the minute her alarm clock sounded, Hayley started heading off to Summer Cove.   She went to wake Calvin first, then Sarah, Preston and lastly Brody, Redbot and Mick.

‘I was having the most etheric dream.’, Mick yawned.   

‘Similar here.  I didn’t even know robots could dream.’, Redbot remarked.   None of them knew what had caused their sleepiness, but it had been warded off for the time being.  Annoyed, Galvanix sent out Kudabots to surround them.   

‘Man, right when we’re on our way to school.’, Calvin complained.  

‘Better out here away from prying eyes than in front of everyone !’, Sarah chimed in.   In a number of milliseconds, they transformed and took the Kudabots on.   Yume was infuriated, especially by the poor reception she was getting from her viewers on Galactic Warrior.  

‘Cosmo, please, just give me another chance.  I’ll prove myself worthy.’, she begged.  Galvanix sighed, wondering why he was giving her a reprieve.  

‘You did come rather close in your first attempt.  I’m usually not merciful, but request granted.’, Galvanix replied with a smile over a small-screened data comm Yume sported on her wrist.  Feeling more confident, she waited until after school to catch the Rangers unaware.

‘You might have been victorious this time but next time you won’t be so lucky.  Not with my new attacks !’, Yume thought, watching them perched atop a mighty conifer.   Feeling tired herself, she took a bit of a snooze until school was out for the day.   

Chapter 5--Caught in the Crossfire

Normally Victor and Monty wouldn’t follow after Brody and the gang but Monty’s curiosity had gotten the better of him.  

‘Have you noticed that sometimes some of those losers are slightly late for class ?’, he began.  

‘Yeah, so Brody was late to class once.  Big deal.’, Victor said.   

‘I’m thinking he might be the Red Ranger.  See this data here ?  It proves it.’, Monty stated, proudly showing off a pie chart he had created on his laptop.    Victor rolled his eyes.  

‘We don’t really have time for that.   I have varsity football to occupy my time.   Big game’s going to be this weekend and we’re gonna wallop the opposing team.   I’m counting on you to root for me.’, Victor threatened slightly.  Monty was far too scared to oppose him, even though he knew it was a manipulative relationship.   Had it not been for Monty’s coaching, Victor wouldn’t have nearly been so popular with the student body.   

Class ended several hours later. The Rangers headed into the shop room to meet up with Mick and Redbot about what had happened the night before.  Monty happened to catch sight of Redbot and nearly squealed with delight about his hunch being correct.    It wasn’t typical for a robot to be walking around and he had always felt Brody was unique from his friends.   Every little detail was beginning to add up, he thought.   Eagerly, he got Victor to follow him quietly, trying not to draw attention to themselves.

‘They’re in the garage with a robot.   I’m telling you, my statistics on them can’t be far from the truth.’, Monty said.   Victor was rather impressed with Monty’s dedication.   

‘You’ve got a lot of time on your hands, but I’m glad you spent it looking into what could be Summer Cove’s biggest story in a decade.’, Victor whispered.   

‘What do you think made us fall asleep so quickly ?’, Haylee questioned.  

‘I don’t know but I think it has something to do with the lullaby we all heard.’, Preston surmised.   

‘Who do you think was singing it ?’, Calvin inquired.  

‘I don’t know, but when I was in sleep mode, I was dangerously close to revealing the location of the Prism.  Whoever it is, they have malintent.   We can’t afford this enemy getting inside our dreams again.’, Redbot quipped.  

‘I knew it !   Those 5 are most definitely the Power Rangers !’, Monty said, feeling brilliant, exuberant and bolstered that his theories were correct.    

‘None of what they said really proves anything.  We have to see them in action.’, Victor countered, obviously.   Monty felt a sting to his ego, as if he had been backhanded, but he shook off the slight and soldiered on, continuing to take notes.   

Victor was getting bored listening to the quintet babble incessantly.   

‘Come on, this is lame.  They’re not doing anything.’, he whined.  

‘You can be such a brat sometimes.’, Monty murmured.   

‘What was that ?’, Victor recoiled, a somewhat agitated timbre to his usually merry voice.  

‘I said, Yeah, maybe we are wasting our time.  Let’s ditch this lame-o garage.’, Monty agreed, begrudgingly.  

Before they could leave, Yume appeared and shot pillows directly at their faces from her bottomless sleeves.    

‘Goodnight, you gawking buffoons.’, she said, mellifluously as she caught the Rangers off guard.    One by one, the Rangers fell into a deep sleep and were experiencing a shared dream about the Prism.   

Chapter 6--Nearly Deceived

Taking the guise of a fellow student they knew as a friend named Hana, Yume kept begging the quintet to show her where the Prism was.    Hayley caught on rather quickly and realized the true Hana didn’t know their secret and secondly, wouldn’t ask them about the secret source of their powers.  

‘You aren’t who you say you are.’, Hayley said.   Yume revealed her true nature out of a puff of dark lavender mist.   

‘So you found me out.   I wanted to go about this nice and easy but you forced my paw.’, Yume groused.    The 5 of them were left little to no chance to transform but they fought against her and ultimately defeated her, even though it nearly enervated them.    The stalwart ninja was evenly matched to the Ranger’s.   Calming down and recuperating, Yume brushed herself off and sighed, wondering what would happen to her now.    She waited to be deleted and obliterated on sight for failing.   When that didn’t happen, she wanted to commit hara kiri.  

‘No !  No, stop !’, Haylee said, preventing the demon from taking her own life.  

‘That’s not the solution.’, Sarah concurred.  

‘Why wouldn’t Master Galvanix just end me though ?   I failed !’, she lamented aloud, trying not to cry.   However, her rageful tears flowed down her vulpine face.   Calvin offered her a kleenex.   It seemed that even in the dreamworld, her communicator was destroyed.   

‘Now what am I going to do ?’, Yume asked, a bit downtrodden.    

‘Have you ever thought of using your ability for good ?’, Sarah asked.   Yume had only known following orders and being true to her Master’s cause.    She had never acted out of free will but Sarah had posed a rather intriguing question to her.    She became pensive.  

‘Give me more time.’, she said.    The sun’s rays came down upon them and they all awakened but by the time they awoke, Yume had once again vanished.

‘She’ll be back.  I have a feeling.  She’s wrestling with quite a bit.’, Haylee admitted, astutely.    It was understandable, too, seeing that her world had been turned completely upside down.   At least now she could make her own decisions and something told the quintet that inevitably, she would, in her own time.    

Chapter 7--Another Battle

Yume, being a shapeshifter, had decided to start attending school.   There was so much she didn’t understand about being a human, so learning about them and coexisting with them would give her more insight than just trying to hide under invisibility runes the rest of her life, lest Galvanix try looking for her.   

She went by the name Kit, and oddly enough, it suited her well.   At first, the close-knit friends hadn’t recognized their past enemy in civilian clothes but Kit had a sensational sense of style and grace.  She learned quickly and little by little, started to trust her former enemies as friends.   

‘I still think there’s something unusual about those 5.’, Monty said, out of earshot of Brody and his buddies.  

‘I don’t care.   It was all a dream, don’t you see ?   We got tired and fell asleep in the garage.  What more could it have been ?  Come on, we’ve got, well I’ve got practice.  You’re cheering me on from the sidelines, Monty.’, Victor said, as the two brought their finished trays back to the conveyor belt and walked out of the cafeteria onto the football field for practice.   

‘Whew.  At least those two goons will be off our case.’, Calvin stated with a hearty laugh.   

‘Maybe we can hang out at the arcade ?   We did ace our exams after all.  I think we deserve a little award.’, Preston suggested.     They agreed and went their way to the Sultan’s Lair, a favorite hangout of theirs.

‘Dude, it’s been ages since we’ve been here.’, Calvin reminisced.   Brody had never been to an arcade so everything was an object of fascinating.   Calvin and Preston quickly explained the rules of all the different games that were available but he gravitated to an air hockey table.

‘What’s this ?  I want to challenge you to a duel, Preston !’, he boasted.   Preston couldn’t turn down his request.   Brody whipped him pretty good with his laser reflexes, though.

‘Good thing you’re on our side.’, Preston joked.    There was another monster summoned into battle, one named Halitosis.  

‘Ewww, this one is really gross.’, Sarah complained.

‘No kidding.   What died in his mouth ? Blech !’, Calvin agreed.    

‘Never a dull moment.’ Brody said, sighing.   With that the 5 of them left the arcade, transformed and called upon their Zords, seeing the disgusting Halitosis was already enlarged.

‘Time to stink up this town !’, Halitosis bellowed, towering over the city.   Panicked bystanders ran for cover, cowering in abject horror.   

Without wasting any time, the Rangers went right to business.   Kit could see this was a tough foe, but she hung in there, enacting her ability to make Halitosis sleepy.

‘I’m in no need for a nap now !’, he kvetched, teetering and tottering about.  With one final blow, the Rangers had become victorious.  

‘That was incredible, Kit !   You have to teach us some of your ninja techniques.’, Sarah suggested.    Kit had never had apprentices before but she didn’t mind sharing with her friends.  It gave her a whole new sense of purpose.  

Epilogue

After the end of a long, enervating day, the sextet headed to the ice cream parlor and indulged in whatever treats their hearts desired.    Mick, Brody and Kit had never had ice cream but now they knew exactly what they had been missing.   The silky smooth coolness of the soft serve chilled them slightly but it was enough to take away the heat of battle.   All the friends departed for their homes, but Kit was given sanctuary by Hayley.  

‘We won’t let you go homeless.   Pretty soon you’re going to fit in just like the rest of us.  You already integrating so well.’, she said as she got ready for bed and started snuggling under the covers.    That night, Kit only had good dreams for once and wondered what her future with the Rangers would entail…

To Be Continued…