JSCR-ep 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Zero, the infinity crystals, the Crystal Animals, and the monsters.

A/N: I might refer to the team as either "Sentai", "Super Sentai", "Crystalrangers", or even just "Rangers".

(Opening theme: "Colors" by FLOW. OST Code Geass)

*music*

As the music starts, several flashes of light begin collecting into a ball, before flashes of red, blue, yellow, white, and black begin coming out of the ball, followed by pulsing waves and more flashes. Finally scene changes to show quick pictures of Red, Elh, Mamoru, Waffle, and Alicia (in this order).

Jibun wo sekai sae mo kaete shimaesou na Shunkan ha itsumo sugu soba ni...

A ball of light breaks apart to reveal the five Infinity Crystal, which dance around the screen before splitting up into three directions. Scene then changes to show images of Shephered Republic, Prairie Kingdom, and Nippon (in this order).

Kakusenu iradachi to

The scene shows Red and Elh standing back to back (background: night sky, presumably on top of The Asmodeus), looking up at the sky, before the silhouette of Crystal Red and Crystal Blue appear next to them in the same position.

tachitsukusu jibun wo

The scene changes to show Waffle and Alicia holding hands as they stand side by side a top Resaca Tower, looking down at the scenery (background: morning, specifically sunrise), before the silhouettes of Crystal White and Crystal Black appear behind them.

mitsume

Scene changes to show a quick shot of Mamoru with Crystal Yellow by his side (both of them mirror each other).

Mayoinagara

The scene shows Chocolat, Panta, Stare, and Flare standing on top The Asmodeus.

nayaminagara

The scene shows Princess Terria, Cyan, Chamberlain, Hound III, and Russel Ryebread standing in Prairie Castle (specifically the Throne Room).

kuyaminagara

The scene shows Merveille, Beluga, Opera, Gren, and Calua standing in The Golden Roar.

kimereba ii sa

Scene changes to show a flock of birds flying above the many floating continents.

Kimi ga kureta kotoba hitotsu tomadoi ha kiesari

The scene shows a group shot of Red, Chocolat, Elh and the entire Kurvaz guild in Pharaoh. Then the scene changes to show a group shot of Mamoru, his father, and several rescue workers in Nippon. The scene changes again to show a group shot of Waffle and Alicia with the Prairie Police, the Prairie knights, and the rest of the black cats gang, along with Princess Terria in Porto. Finally the scene changes to show Zero standing alone in a meadow, before the meadow changes into the remains of a battle field.

Karappo datta boku no heya ni hikari ga sashita

The Infinity Crystals shine as the Rangers raise their weapons and release a bright light, which travels into the sky.

Miageta oozora ga aoku sumikitte yuku

The Crystal Animals are seen emerging from a portal in the sky, before joining together to form Crystal Knight.

Tozashita mado wo hiraku koto wo kimeta

The Rangers are seen combining their weapons into the Crystal Blaster, before firing at the screen.

Jibun wo sekai sae mo kaete shimaesou na

Crystal Knight is seen fighting with its Crystal Saber against an unseen enemy.

Shunkan wo kanjiru ima koko ni...

Crystal Knight is seen charging up for its finisher, before bringing the saber down, executing the Spectrum Strike, which causes a bright flash of light. The light then changes into the title.

(Opening song finish)

-JSCR-

Episode 4: Plans Unveiling. Door to the Unknown

Enemy Base…

Fool and Bruno watched as the void that had once been their base began to take form. Ever since their master fully awakened within his crystal, the void around them had started to solidify, before forming what it was now.

"I give you, Castle Abyss," The Demon Heart said as the structure solidified.

Deciding to get a better look, the two Shard Beast Generals levitated up above the now named Castle Abyss, just as it took form into a massive crystalline castle. The entire structure, along with the interior looked like it was made from the same crystal that comprised the Demon Heart (the crystals that were a venomous shade of purple).

"Not bad," Bruno commented, as the two of them stepped toward the Demon Heart, which had embedded itself on one of the walls, which gave it a clear view of the viewing globe.

"Colors nice, though I can do without the Gothic theme," Fool commented.

"Not like we get to choose," Bruno commented.

"Come, my Generals. The time has come for the next phase of my plan," the Demon Heart said, its booming voice echoing through the minds of the two Generals, snapping them out of their conversation. "However, for that to happen, I require just a little more negative energy. Go! Gather me that energy!" it ordered.

"Understood," the two Generals responded, as they began coming up with more schemes to harvest said negative energy.

-JSCR-

Meanwhile, at the Golden Roar

"Okay, that's the last of it," Red said, as he set down a box filled with a few personal belongings. He and the other Rangers had been busy helping Waffle, Alicia, Mamoru, and Matoi set the rooms they would be using throughout the duration of their mission. After their trip to Nippon, Mamoru's parents had requested that they take Matoi with them, as they felt that given the situation, she would be safer with them rather than in Nippon. Of course, the team had agreed, especially Mamoru, who was more than happy to be able to protect his younger sister.

"Thanks again for loaning us the rooms," Waffle said to Opera, as he was busy helping the others set up the rooms.

"Think nothing of it, darling. After all, this is the fate of the universe we're talking about, so a few rooms is a tiny price to pay," Opera replied with her usual flirty tone, before leaving the Sentai to their own devices.

"Speaking of universe, has anyone seen Zero?" Elh asked, as the other Rangers sighed at their 'mentor's' habit of appearing and disappearing at a moment's notice.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since we got back from Nippon," Red commented.

"Honestly, that guy just ups and vanishes whenever he wants," Alicia sighed, as they silently agreed that Zero's habit really was annoying.

"Well excuse me if I need to keep monitoring for any Shard Beast activity," Zero stated, his monotone voice laced with a hint of annoyance, as he suddenly appeared in the hall.

"Gah!" everyone else cried out, having been once again surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Would it kill you to use a door?!" Alicia exclaimed as she and the others clutched their respective chests, trying to slow down their beating hearts.

"No, but it's more efficient for me to teleport straight to your locations," Zero stated in his usual no nonsense manner.

"So, do you have anything to report?" Elh asked.

"So far nothing yet. However, I believe this is just the calm before a storm. Be on guard," Zero stated.

"Speaking of being on guard, we're supposed to be a superhero team, right?" Mamoru asked.

"Yes, that's correct. Is there something you wanted to know?" Zero asked.

"Yeah, I was wondering. Since we're a superhero team, shouldn't we get some cool catch phrase, or maybe a roll call, like on those shows?" Mamoru said.

"Why would we need a roll call?" Alicia asked, curious as to Mamoru's reason for the question.

"Well… I just thought that since we're supposed to be heroes, wouldn't it be easier to be heroes if everyone knew that we are here to help them," Mamoru explained.

"I don't really see the point of it, but I guess a roll call would be pretty cool, plus it shows that we're supposed to be superheroes," Red said with a sweat drop.

"Personally I think a roll call is unnecessary, but I suppose Mamoru has a point. It would certainly be easier to save lives when the people know who the hero and who the villain is, even if actions speak louder than words," Zero relented.

"If that's the case, I guess we should start thinking up a roll call," Waffle said.

"While I still believe a roll call is unnecessary, I do have something for ideas," Zero said, as he pulled out a disk.

"What's that?" Elh asked.

"Your predecessors," Zero stated, before placed the disk on a console he had fished out from his cloak, and playing the disk, causing a holographic screen to appear. On the screen, the Crystalrangers could see various other Super Sentai. "This disk contains recordings of the various Super Sentai that have come before you," Zero explained. "I figured you could use their catch phrases as a base."

"Cool. So what do you suggest?" Mamoru asked.

"Well, first there is the simple roll call, such as the one used by the Sentai known as the Gokaigers," Zero suggested, as he selected said Super Sentai team.

(Begin recording)

"Gokai Red!"

"Gokai Blue!"

"Gokai Green!"

"Gokai Yellow!"

"Gokai Pink!"

"Kaizoku Sentai: Gokaiger!"

(Recording end)

"Simple and straight to the point, but tells nothing other than your identity," Zero explained.

"Hmm, seems like a lot of trouble just to tell everyone who we are," Red commented.

"Well, there is the longer version that includes personal titles, along with a mission statement. One example would be the Goseigers," Zero suggested, before selecting the recording of said Sentai team.

(Begin Recording)

"The Skick Power of Storms! GoseiRed!"

"The Skick Power of Breath! GoseiPink!"

"The Landick Power of Rocks! GoseiBlack!"

"The Landick Power of Buds! GoseiYellow!"

"The Seaick Power of Waves! GoseiBlue!"

"Protecting the planet is an angel's duty! Tensou Sentai: Goseiger!"

(Recording end)

"Well… that was long," Waffle commented.

"Though you have to admit, it was pretty good," Alicia commented.

"Okay then, I guess we could use something like that," Red said.

"While it's good that you all picked one, do you really think the enemy is going to stand still until you finish the speech?" Zero asked, voicing his concern.

"Zero does have a point. By the time we finish those speeches, we'd be overrun by Frags. If anything, I'm surprised that our predecessors actually had enemies that were 'polite' (or dumb) enough to wait for them to finish their roll calls," Elh agreed.

"True, but I've got an easy fix to that," Red said with a grin.

"How so?" Zero asked.

"Simple. Instead of just standing and finishing the speeches, we can say the roll calls while we fight," Red said.

"That's not a bad idea," Waffle agreed.

"It also makes us different from the other Sentai," Alicia commented.

"It certainly eliminates my main concern," Zero nodded.

"It's settled then. Now we just have to think of a roll call for everyone," Mamoru said, as the team began brainstorming.

-JSCR-

Meanwhile, at Basset

It was a rather uneventful day in Basset. The residents of the slums were going about their usual business like any other day. Too bad that was about to come to an end.

Within one of the abandoned battle ships, a small portal opened above one of the many hermit crabs (the middle sized ones that have junk shells) that inhabited the ship. From the portal, a Core Shard came out, before embedding itself in one of the crabs. Immediately, the shard took effect, as the hermit crab began mutating, causing all the other crabs to run away as they sensed that whatever was being formed would be a danger to them, and thus better off left alone.

The hermit crab had finished mutating, revealing a Shard Beast that looked like a humanoid crab with a large spiral shell on its back. The Shard Beast was black in color, with the shell being a dark green. Its arms were two large claws that looked sharp enough to cut through steel, while its lower body was insect-like with six sharp legs.

As though in response to the completion of the mutation, a portal appeared, before Fool stepped out of the portal. "Ah yes, a fine Shard Beast," Fool commented as he stepped closer to his Shard Beast.

"I am Compacean. What are your orders, master?" The Shard Beast, now known as Compacean asked.

Fool smiled a devious smile, before giving his order. "Tear apart Basset, till nothing left remains, and dispose of anyone who gets in your way!"

"At once," Compacean nodded, before walking towards a portion of the battleship he was currently in. "I shall start with this!" he roared, before firing a beam from his eyes. The portion of the ship that was hit immediately broke apart, before it was pulled toward the Shard Beast, where it compacted into a ball. Compacean then swung his right arm, causing the ball to fly as though it were thrown, before it impacted against another wall, drawing in any broken pieces of metal.

"Excellent," Fool said with a dark smile, satisfied at the abilities of his Shard Beast, as he stepped back into another portal that had appeared, leaving his Shard Beast to do the dirty work.

-JSCR-

Meanwhile, Golden Roar

"So basically according to the legends, each Infinity Crystal is supposed to represent a certain aspect necessary for balance and strength?" Red asked, as Zero had finished explaining another part of the legend regarding the Infinity Crystals. Earlier, while they were able to think up a mission statement for their roll call, they still hadn't thought up on personal titles. In that situation, they had asked Zero if he knew any part of the legend that might have something to help them think up personal titles for themselves.

"Correct. The red, blue, and yellow crystals represent aspects of the heart. The white and black crystals represent aspects of the world. And the last two crystals, the silver and gold crystals represent aspects of reality," Zero nodded.

"So my crystal represents courage," Red stated.

"The courage that gives the heart strength to overcome all obstacles," Zero answered.

"My crystal represents wisdom," Elh added.

"The wisdom that guides the heart through trials," Zero nodded again.

"My crystal represents hope," Mamoru said.

"The hope that sees the heart through even in despair," Zero confirmed.

"My crystal represents light," Waffle said.

"The light that balances the darkness, reveals truth, and brings understanding," Zero nodded.

"And my crystal represents darkness," Alicia concluded.

"The darkness that balances the light, protects allies, and conceals all from your enemies," Zero confirmed.

"And what about the last two?" Waffle asked curiously.

"According to the legends, the silver crystal represents existence, which maintains reality. In other words, it represents the stability of order that shapes a stable, but at the price of stagnation if nothing is done to bring change to reality. The gold crystal on the other hand, represents miracles that change reality. It's basically the power to make the impossible possible that brings about change. You could say that the gold crystal's power represents the chaos of change and evolution, but at the price of destruction if reality were to change and evolve too fast," Zero finished.

"Okay. Thanks Zero, this will help us out," Mamoru said.

"No problem. Just don't waste too much time thinking about a roll call, since it really isn't all that important," Zero said.

"Don't worry, we know that. Besides, the day an enemy keels over from just words is the day the world ends," Red said with a grin.

Zero nodded in response. "Very well, I shall continue monitoring for any Shard Be-huh?"
It was at that moment that the sensor Zero carried went off. "Another Shard Beast has been detected," he stated.

"Where is it?" Elh asked.

"Scanning…Scanning… Location confirmed! Basset!" Zero said.

"Alright then, let's go guys!" Red exclaimed, before the five of them ran out of the room and teleported to Basset.

"Dude, did we miss something?" Calua asked when he, Gren and Opera stepped into the room a few seconds later, having heard the commotion.

Zero sighed at that. "Shard Beast. Basset," he stated before teleporting up to his ship.

-JSCR-

"Gwahahaha! I'll tear this place apart till there is nothing left!" Compacean laughed as he fired more beams from his eyes, which impacted against several of the battleships (thankfully those were the ones that were off-limits to the general public), breaking them apart, before the pieces were drawn toward the Shard Beast, which compacted them into a ball. "Now, roll!" he roared, as the balls started chasing after the civilians, who were screaming their heads off as they ran from the metal spheres that were trying to make road kill out of them.

Amongst the civilians who were caught up in the chaos, were the four children (Arzane, Charlotte, Biscotte, and Albert) who lived in the local orphanage. "Everyone, hurry!" Arzane called out to his friends. Earlier they had wanted to sneak into one of the battleships to play, so when nobody was looking, they had snuck out of the orphanage. However, they had only gotten as far as the port when they started hearing explosions coming from one of the battleships, followed by the wall of said battle being torn open as the crab monster that was terrorizing the town stepped out of the ship and started tearing apart the town. Now, they were running for their lives, as the monster had thankfully not noticed them yet.

"Why did a monster have to show up now?" Charlotte said, as the four of them were about to exit the port. Too bad Compacean saw them.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled, before sending one of his balls towards them at high speed.

"Kyaaah!" the four kids screamed as they saw the metal ball that was headed right for them. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to dodge, they closed their eyes waiting for it to hit.

"Look out!" a voice called out, before the sound of something cutting through something else could be heard.

Barely daring to open their eyes, the four kids looked to see their savior, and found themselves staring at the back of Crystal Red, who was crouched down, having just cleanly sliced the metal ball that was about to squash them in half.

"An Infinity Crys-gwah!" Compacean cried out as he was suddenly assaulted by several flashes of light, which revealed to be the other Crystalrangers. When the assault stopped, he was quickly acquainted with the blade of Crystal Red's Courage Sword, causing sparks to fly as he was sent sprawling to the ground.

"Keep your grubby claws (and your over-sized marbles) away from these kids!" Red growled dangerously as his sword glowed brightly, ready to slice the Shard Beast in half.
If he could, Compacean would have sweat dropped, as the five Sentai members surrounded him with their weapons ready. "Tch. Frags!" he called out, throwing the familiar marble, which shattered and turned into a squad of Frags.

"These guys again? Don't they have anything new?" Alicia commented as the five of them charged at the Frags. Summoning her whip, she wrapped it around one of the Frags, before using it as a wrecking ball against the other Frags, breaking through several lines.

"Oh well, at least we already know how to deal with these guys," Mamoru said, as he smashed one Frag on the head with his shield.

The Crystalrangers were busy making short work of the frags. Red had grabbed one of the Frags, before throwing it into a line of Frags, causing them to fall like dominos. Waffle was busy slicing through the Frags with the bladed ends of his Bow, while Mamoru continued to smash Frag after Frag with his shield. At the same time, Elh and Alicia were double teaming on a bunch of Frags that had tried to blindside them, throwing the Frags against each other, smashing every last one.

"Grrr, in that case, try this!" Compacean growled as he summoned all the metal balls that he had managed to create, causing them to levitate around him.

"I don't think so! Spread Shot!" Waffle said, before firing a large number of arrows from his Bow. The arrows made contact and destroyed the metal balls, creating a massive cloud of dust. The rangers readied themselves, but when the dust cleared, the Shard Beast was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd he go?" Alicia asked.

"Signal lost. The Shard Beast got away," Zero said as he suddenly contacted them.

"Oh well, we'll get it next time," Red sighed when he heard that, as the five of them immediately relocated to a more secluded area, before changing back into their civilian forms.

-JSCR-

"Is everyone ok? What happened here?" Elh asked, feigning ignorance. After they had confirmed that the Shard Beast had escaped, the five of them changed back to their civilian forms, before coming back to the port. When they got there, they noticed the kids from the orphanage and decided to check up on them.  

"Waaah! Red, Elh! It was so scary!" Charlotte cried as she ran to the two Hunters.

"Yeah! There was this scary crab monster that tried to flatten us!" Albert added, as Elh was busy comforting Charlotte.

"Children! Oh, thank heavens all of you are alright!" came a familiar voice.

"Waaah! Ms. Fraisier!" the four of them cried as they ran to the kind old Felineko.

"Don't worry. It looks like the kids are okay," Alicia said with a smile. She had heard about Ms. Frasier from Waffle when he told her about the time he had been giving safety lessons to the orphanage in Basset, and from what she had heard, the old Felineko was about as nice as they come.

"That's good to hear. Thank you for taking care of the kids," Ms. Fraisier said, assuming that it was them who had saved the kids.

"Uh, thanks, but it wasn't us who saved the kids," Red lied. Even though it was them who had saved the kids from the Shard Beast, they still had to hide their identities.

"Yeah, it was those people with colorful costumes," Biscotte commented.

"Yeah, it was really cool how they beat that crab monster," Arzane agreed, almost instantly forgetting how scared he had been feeling.

"Sounds like the kids were saved by the Crystalrangers," Waffle said, deciding to at least let them know about that.

"Crystalrangers? Who are they?" Charlotte asked, as the four kids went closer to him.

"The Crystalrangers are a hero team that suddenly showed up when these monsters started appearing. We've seen them fight a few monsters already," Mamoru said.

"Is that so? Then I must thank them for saving the children if I ever see them," Fraisier said with a grateful smile.

"You might just get your chance," Elh said, before turning to the kids. "Tell me, did the Crystalrangers hit the monster with a laser beam after they combined their weapons?"

"No, I think the monster disappeared after the white one hit it with some arrows. Why?" Albert answered.

"Well, every time they fought a monster, it only went away permanently after it was hit with that laser, so maybe the monster only ran away," Red said.

"Oh dear! That means the monster might still be around. Come along everyone, let's go back," Ms. Fraisier said, as she quickly lead the children back to the orphanage. "You're all welcome to come as well."

"We'd appreciate that," Elh smiled, as the five of them followed.

-JSCR-

Castle Abyss, Viewing Room

"Hm… Again we sent a Shard Beast, and again that meddlesome group came to fight it. How are they even tracking the Shard Beast so quickly?" Fool mused in annoyance. "Oh well, at least Compacean managed to escape."

"It would seem that they are only able to track a Shard Beast when it is harvesting. Otherwise, they would have been able to track the Shard Beast after it ran away," Bruno commented.

"A most troublesome predicament. However, it means that they are only able to respond to our actions, so at the very least, they will be unable to make any preemptive strikes," The Demon Heart stated, its voice booming in the two Generals' minds.

"Yes, at the very least, we will still be able to harvest a decent amount of negative emotions before any interference happen," Fool agreed.

"For now, continue to harvest the negative emotions of the people. Go, Compacean!" The Demon Heart's voice boomed through the minds of all the Shard Beast.

-JSCR-

Basset, amongst the battle ships…

"Understood, my lord," Compacean thought, having received the Demon Heart's orders.

-JSCR-

Basset, Fraisier Orphanage

Earlier, Ms. Fraisier had to leave to run a few errands, so right now, the five rangers were busy watching/playing with the kids while they were at the Orphanage, along with Chocolat and Matoi, who had come to Basset with Zero. Of course, Zero stayed out of sight as much as possible as always.

"I see the five of you are enjoying this reprieve," Zero said from behind one of the trees.

"Yeah, it's always fun to act like kids every now and then," Red nodded, as he and Elh were taking a break, while watching Mamoru, Matoi, and Chocolat play tag with Arzane and Charlotte, while Waffle and Alicia were drawing along with Albert and Biscotte.

"Don't forget, the Shard Beast is still out there. I know these kids mean a lot to you, but for their sakes, you'd be better off not getting too close for now," Zero said, a small tone of empathy creeping into his otherwise monotone voice.

"You sound like you have a lot of experience in this," Elh said, noticing the slight empathy in Zero's voice.

Zero remained silent for a moment, but decided to answer anyway. "I lost someone who was important to me because I was too close to them, and my enemies took advantage of that," Zero said, trying to hide the pain in his voice.

Red and Elh's eyes widened in surprise when they heard the normally stoic Zero express emotions like that. "We're… sorry for your loss," Red said, not sure what else to say.

"It doesn't matter anymore. That was years ago. However, this is another reason why I don't want you revealing your identities more than necessary," Zero sighed.

Red and Elh didn't answer, as they thought about what they had just been told. "So, any word on the Shard Beast?" Elh asked, trying to defuse the tension in the air.

"So far nothing, but I'll go back to my ship to run more scans," Zero said, before turning to leave. He was about to teleport back to his ship when Elh stopped him.

"Hey, Zero…" Elh started.

"Yes?" Zero answered.

"Thanks for looking out for all of us," Red said.

"That is the reason I was sent here. Also, even though it's been years since it happened, I've never forgotten that feeling. Nobody deserves to feel that way," Zero said as he turned to face them. It was then that they noticed the lower half of his mask had retracted, and they saw for the first time, the small smile he had underneath. Zero then closed his mask again, before teleporting up to his ship.

-JSCR-

The Wanderer, Bridge

Zero walked over to the scanner, as he initiated another scan. "Why did I tell them that so easily?" he thought, as his thoughts wandered back to the conversation he had with Red and Elh. 'Because even if you don't realize it, you know you can trust them' a little voice said to him from the back of his mind.

Closing his eyes, Zero reached into his cloak, and pulled out 3 military name tags. The first two had been crudely scratched out, leaving only their first names visible, while their family names were unreadable. The last name tag had remained untouched, showing both the first and last name of the owner.

"Kyle… Amelia… Wendy…" Zero thought, as a single tear fell from under his mask.

His thoughts were cut short when the alarms went off.

-JSCR-

Basset

"Thank you very much for watching the kids. I hope they weren't any trouble," Ms. Fraisier said, as the Sentai, along with Matoi and Chocolat were about to leave.

"Don't worry. It was our pleasure to help. Right, everyone?" Red said, earning nods from everyone else.

Saying one last goodbye, they left the orphanage. They only got as far as the Path of Fishing, when their communicators started beeping.

"What is it, Zero?" Waffle asked.

"The Shard Beast is back! The signal is coming from the battleship right next to you," Zero said.

"Alright, this time we're not letting it get away!" Alicia said, as they headed toward the battleship.

"Chocolat, you and Matoi wait for us in the Asmodeus. We'll meet you there after we deal with the Shard Beast!" Red ordered.

"Okay, you five be careful out there!" Chocolat said, as she and Matoi headed for the Asmodeus.

What none of them realized, was that after they had left, the kids had decided they wanted to at least see them off to the port, so they had decided to follow them.

"Why are they headed to the battleship?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"I don't know, but let's follow them. It looked important," Arzane said, before dashing off after them.

"Ah! Arzy, wait for me!" Charlotte cried in surprise.

"Hey, wait up!" Biscotte exclaimed.

"I just know this is a bad idea…" Albert frowned, before following his friends.

-JSCR-

Inside the battleship

The Crystalrangers (still in civilian form) had gotten deep into the battleship.

"I think we're getting close to the engine room," Mamoru commented.

"Judging by the signal, I'd say it is in the engine room," Zero said over the communicators.

"Right! And this time, there's no escape!" Red nodded, as they approached the engine room.

True enough, when they got to the engine room, they noticed Compacean busy tearing up parts of the walls and engine, which he was compressing into his metal balls.

"Mwahahahaha! Once I've collected enough metal, I'll use them to really wreck the town. Once I do that, the fear and panic I'll harvest will be massive!" Compacean laughed, as he continued to tear away at the engine room.

"Not if we have something to say about that! Crystal Access!" the five Sentai members yelled, as they jumped down whilst activating their Crystal Braces.

(Insert Henshin sequence)

Each of the Sentai was encased in a larger version of their respective Infinity Crystal, before the crystals broke apart to reveal each of them in matching uniforms that were colored red (Red), blue (Elh), yellow (Mamoru), white (Waffle), and black (Alicia) respectively (in Mamoru's case, he had actually gone through a growth spurt, resulting in him becoming only slightly shorter than Red). The suits they were wearing looked like basic Sentai suits, with a black and white upside down triangle on their chest, which had a silver frame. Gold lines ran down their shoulders, and around their collars. On their arms and legs, they wore white gloves and boots with silver lines around the wrist and ankles. The finishing touch was their helmets that appeared on their heads.

(Henshin sequence end)

The five Crystalrangers landed, ready for battle.

Up on the rafters, the four kids from the orphanage could only stare in shock at what they had just seen.

"They're the ones that saved us," Albert said.

"Wow…" Biscotte said in awe.

"Wow, Red and Elh are…" Charlotte started, but Arzane beat her to it.

"Real superheroes cool!" Arzane yelled in excitement. Thankfully, nobody seemed to hear him over the noise that the old ship was making.

Down with the Sentai, Compacean was not pleased. "You again?! Just who do you think you are? Not that it matters, Frags!" he roared, as he summoned a squad of Frags.

"Heh, you want to know? Then we'll tell you!" Red said, as the five of them charged at the Frags.

"Blazing Courage!" Red called out, as he struck several Frags across the chest, before going into a pose with his sword (he lifts his sword up, like a triumphant warrior). "CrystalRed!"

"Ancient Wisdom!" Elh called out, as several Frags were mowed down by a blast from her staff, as she too went into a pose with her staff (she holds her staff in a straight up position, with her right hand grasping the staff, while her left hand placed behind the crystal end of the staff, as though she were preparing to fire a spell). "CrystalBlue!"

"Endless Hope!" Mamoru called out, as he threw a Frag down towards another group of Frags, before going into a pose with his shield (he holds his shield forward, like a defender ready to charge into his enemies). "CrystalYellow!"

"Shining Light!" Waffle called out, as he struck several Frags down with the bladed tips of his bow, before going into a pose as well (he holds his bow horizontally in his right fist, with the fist facing downward, with his left hand stretched behind it, as though he was about to fire an arrow). "CrystalWhite!"

"Protecting Darkness!" Alicia called out, as she lashed out at a group of Frags with her whip, before going into a pose as well (she holds the handle of her whip in her right hand, while stretching out the whip with her left hand, as though she is about to give her opponents the whipping of their lives). "CrystalBlack!"

The five of them then stood together, before pointing at the Shard Beast.

"Shattering the false power of evil! United, we shine! Jigen Sentai Crystalranger!" they called out together, as a multi-colored explosion went off behind them, signaling the end of their entrance.

"Huh? We get an explosion too?" Waffle said in surprise.

"Must come with being a Super Sentai team," Elh shrugged.

"Next time we ought to use that," Red added, before they faced the Shard Beast.

"Tch. You have been a thorn in my master's side for long enough. Die!" Compacean roared, as the metal spheres he had already finished went flying towards the five of them.

"Duck!" Waffle yelled, as the five of them dove for cover, narrowly avoiding the spheres.
The spheres that had missed them turned around to try again, only to be shot down by a rapid fire shot from Waffle, added by a whip lash from Alicia. "We'll handle these over-sized marbles!" Alicia said to Red, Elh, and Mamoru.

"Yeah, so you three focus on the Shard Beast!" Waffle added, as he was busy shooting down both the spheres, along with any of the scrap parts that were still flying around.

"Okay, thanks you two!" Red said, as the three of them charged at the Shard Beast.

"Well it aint gonna be that easy!" Compacean said, as he swung his claws around, trying to hit them. One of his claws was about to hit Mamoru, but he managed to block with his shield.

"Ugh! This guy packs a punch! Careful not to get hit!" Mamoru grunted as the claw impacted against his shield.

"Heh, he may be strong, but he's really slow!" Red said, as he jumped over Compacean and delivered a strike to his back. However, his sword was stopped short when it hit the shell.

"That's what the shell is for," Compacean sneered, before hitting Red with his claw, sending Red tumbling back.

"Red!" Elh shouted, as she fired magic bolts from her staff, only for them spark harmlessly against Compacean's shell.

"Ha ha, my shell is impervious to your attacks!" Compacean laughed.

"Impervious this! Pierce shot!" Waffle yelled, before firing a single arrow at Compacean. The arrow impacted against the back of his shell, but unlike the other attacks, it managed to pierce the shell, leaving a crack in it.

"What? Impossible!" Compacean roared in dismay, as Waffle and Alicia, who had already destroyed all of the floating scrap, joined their friends.

"It's called the Pierce Shot for a reason. It may be my weakest attack, but it can pierce through nearly anything, and in this case, that includes your shell," Waffle said.

"Great job Waffle, now we know where to hit him!" Red exclaimed, as he jumped up, and promptly drove his sword into Compacean's shell, causing the Shard Beast to scream in rage, as he tried to dislodge Red from his shell.

"Take this!" Red roared, as he converted the Courage Sword into blaster mode while still embedded in Compacean's shell, and fired several shots, with devastating results.

"Gyaaaaaah!" Compacean roared in pain, as the force of the shots dislodged Red, but severely damaged the shell inside and out.

"Alright, let's finish this!" Alicia said, as the five of them stood together.

"Right!" was the unanimous response.

"Assemble!" they called out as they put their weapons together. The Light Bow was attached on top of the Courage Sword's barrel, followed by the Wisdom Staff, which was split into two halves, before being attached to the two edges of The Light Bow. Following this, the Hope Shield was attached on top of the Light Bow, locking it into place. The finishing touch was the Dark Whip, which was placed under the Courage Sword's barrel.

"Crystal Blaster!" they called out, leveling the weapon. "Prism Wave!"

The beam was fired, and headed straight for Compacean. On instinct, the Shard Beast turned around to try and block with his shell, but when the beam hit, his already weakened shell couldn't take anymore, as the beam broke through, taking out both the shell and Compacean along with it, leaving a pile of crystal shards as remains.

-JSCR-

Castle Abyss, Viewing room

"Mraaah! Not again!" Fool cried in outrage, before he pointed his cane towards the viewing globe, and began chanting whilst waving his cane. "Ancient darkness, evil light, bestow this beast with strength and might!" he chanted, causing his cane to spark with purple lightning, before thrusting his cane towards the viewing globe. "Core Resurrection!" he called out, firing the lightning towards the viewing globe.

-JSCR-

Battleship, Engine room

The children had been watching in awe as the Crystalrangers defeated the Shard Beast.

"Alright! They won!" Arzane cheered, as the others joined him. However, Albert saw the portal appearing in the sky.

"Huh? What's that?" he asked to no one in particular.

Down below, the Rangers were thinking along the same lines. Their questions were answered when the familiar purple lightning came out and struck the pile of shards. The shards pulsed with energy, before the shards suddenly multiplied and flew up into the sky. The millions of shards came together, before they glowed with an eerie light, as they fused together to form a gigantic version of Compacean. "Gahahaha! Time for round 2!"

"I can see Fool decided to step in," Alicia commented, as they pulled out their weapons.

"Jigen Shokan! Crystal Animals!" they called out, summoning the Crystal Animals, and immediately jumping into them.

"Crystal Animals! Crystal Gattai!"

(Insert Gattai sequence)

Crystal Dragon's legs folded together, before the upper body did a 180 degree twist, as the wings folded together to form a sort of chest plate, while the neck, head, and lower body remained the same, followed by the neck pulling back into the torso, leaving only the head, which bent down, completing the head and torso. Following this, Crystal Rhino unfolded to form the legs and waist, with the Rhino's head becoming the right foot, while the left foot had a blunt shaped foot. The legs of the Crystal Wolf and Crystal Lioness folded into their bodies, before the heads bent downward into a 90 degree position, as their tails folded upward, revealing hands, completing the arms, with the heads of the two Crystal Animals becoming the shoulders. Crystal Eagle straightened out, before all the Crystal Animals came together, with Crystal Eagle's talons locked between the torso and the waist, as Crystal Eagle attached to the back of the torso, and the wings folded in, while the legs and arms were securely locked in place (Wolf used as right arm, and Lioness used as left arm). To finish off, a golden helmet appeared and fitted itself on to Crystal Dragon's head, as the horns grew longer, completing the Gattai.

(Gattai sequence end)

"Crystal Knight! Shine-On!" the five Rangers called out, as they inserted their weapons into their individual consoles.

"Let's take him out before he gets a chance to collect more metal! Crystal Saber!" Red called out, as the Crystal Saber appeared in Crystal Knight's hand.

"Charge!" the five of them roared as Crystal Knight immediately charged at Compacean.

"Try this!" Compacean sneered, before lunging with his claw. Crystal Knight easily blocked the claw, before pushing it away, causing Compacean to stumble back. Taking advantage of Compacean's lowered guard; Crystal Knight started slashing at the Shard Beast.

"Take this! And this and this!" Red roared, as Crystal Knight struck Compacean with the Crystal Saber for the fourth time, finishing with a stab, that sent the Shard Beast sprawling to the ground.

"Let's finish this while he's down!" Waffle said. "Right was the unanimous reply.

"Crystal Saber! Spectrum Strike!" they called out, as they brought their sabers down, as Crystal Knight executed its finisher.

The saber came down, but right before it struck, Compacean quickly turned around. The saber hit, but bounced off harmlessly against Compacean's shell.

"No way!" Alicia yelled when she saw what had just happened.

"That shell is just as strong, if not stronger than when he was in his normal size," Elh grunted, as they tried to steady their Gattai, which had been thrown off balance when the attack was deflected.

"Hahahaha! I told you my shell was impervious to your attacks!" Compacean laughed, conveniently forgetting how Waffle had managed to pierce his shell. "Now, my turn!" he added, before his entire body was seemingly sucked into his shell. The shell then started spinning, before flying towards Crystal Knight, impacting the Gattai several times. Hard.

"Uwaah!" The Crystalrangers cried out as Crystal Knight took a lot of damage from the attack.

"Darn it! We've gotta do something about that shell!" Red growled, as they steadied the Gattai.

"But the Crystal Saber couldn't even make a scratch on that shell," Mamoru said, gritting his teeth.

"If only we had something that could pierce that shell…" Elh said, just as her crystal started glowing. "Huh?" she said in surprise, as her crystal started feeding her new information. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Alicia asked curiously.

"The Spectrum Strike isn't our only finisher. We have another one that will do the trick," Elh explained, before grabbing hold of the handle on her Wisdom Staff. "Crystal Eagle, Striker Mode!" she called out, as Crystal Eagle flashed, and reappeared on the back of Crystal Knight's right arm.

(Insert battle theme: "Best of The Best of The Best" (Instrumental version) OST Power Rangers in Space)

"Woah! That's new!" Mamoru commented.

Elh nodded in response, as she tightened her grip on the console. "Alright, follow my lead!" she said.

"Eagle Striker!" Elh called out, pulling back he fist, as though she was about to throw a
punch. The others followed her lead, pulling back their fists as well, causing Crystal Knight to follow their movement, as Crystal Eagle began to glow.

"Eagle Dynamic!" Elh called out, as the five of them threw a punch forward. Crystal Knight followed their movements, throwing forward a punch, as Crystal Eagle was sent flying towards Compacean, igniting with a blue fire along the way.

"You don't scare me!" Compacean declared arrogantly, before turning around to block with his shell again. The Eagle Dynamic barreled straight towards Compacean and hit his shell, going right through.

Having done its job, Crystal Eagle flew back to Crystal Knight, before re-attaching itself to the back of the Gattai.

"Grah-!" Compacean gasped as he was left with a gaping hole in his chest that went right through him. "I-Impossible!"  He managed to groan out, before falling over and exploding. Down below, the Hermit Crab that had been used to make Compacean landed on the ground, before the Core Shard was ejected, and shattered.

(Theme End)

-JSCR-

The five Crystalrangers had went back to the port, and were about to enter the Asmodeus that was parked at the port.

"Hey!" Arzane's voice caught their attention. Turning back, they saw the four kids from the orphanage.

"Yes?" Elh asked.

"We just wanted to say thank you for saving us!" Arzane said with a big grin.

"Don't worry; your secrets are safe with us!" Charlotte added, much to the surprise of the Rangers.

"Good luck!" Albert added.

"Beat up those bad guys for us!" Biscotte finished, before the four of them headed back to the orphanage.

"They must have seen us when we were fighting in the battleship," Waffle mused.

"Though I'm not too thrilled about them knowing, I think we can trust them," Elh said, as they nodded in response.

"Okay, let's go-huh?" Red was about to say, when the ground started shaking violently.

"W-what's going on?!" Chocolat asked, as she and Matoi got off the Asmodeus and joined the group.

"We don't know!" Mamoru yelled, as Matoi latched on to him in fear.

Suddenly, Zero appeared in front of them. "It can't be!" he said in surprise.

"Well tell us! What's going on?" Alicia demanded in panic as she and Waffle hugged each other, both very much afraid thanks to the unnatural earthquake.

"Something or someone is forcing open a dimension gate!" Zero answered, though he had a pretty good idea who was responsible. Suddenly, a large tear appeared in the sky, as a void opened, and out came a massive castle that looked like it was made out of purple crystal. Behind the castle, a massive circular gate appeared. A Dimension Gate.

Suddenly, a massive eye opened from the surface of the castle, as the pupil seemed to focus all around, before the castle started moving towards the Dimension Gate.
Zero saw the eye, and recognized it from the carvings that told of the legend of the Infinity Crystal. "That's the Demon Heart!" he exclaimed.

"Wait, what? That thing is what we're supposed to fight?" Mamoru asked in surprise, as the others gasped when they heard that.

Zero just nodded, as he whipped out his scanner and immediately locked on to the Demon Heart's signature, before relaying it to the computer aboard the Wanderer. Fortunately, the Wanderer had enough time to lock on and save the signal to its permanent database, just as the castle disappeared into the Dimension Gate, before the gate closed.

"Now the real battle begins," Zero thought grimly, already having an idea about what was to come.

(Scene freezes, as the episode ends)

-JSCR-

(Ending theme: "Mirai Iro" by Plastic Trees. OST Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's)

*music*

As the music starts, we see shots of Red, Elh, Waffle, Alicia, and Mamoru (in this order), before the scene changes to show silhouettes of the five of them in Sentai form, with the shadow of Crystal Knight in the background.

Hatenaki Sekai naraba kono Mune ni wa Akashi o

We see a scene zooming out, revealing Red holding the Courage Sword, pointing it at the screen. He has his usual cocky expression on his face. Along his arm, a faded picture of Crystal Dragon is seen.

Onaji Namidanuretara Bokura Waraiaou

The scene then changes to another zoom out scene, with this one showing Elh with her back turned, as though walking away. On her skirt, a faded picture of Crystal Eagle is seen.

Toki Hanattetta Genjitsu de kizamu Kodou ni Fureezu o

The scene changes to show a zoom out scene of Waffle who is seemingly doing a backward flip with a grin on his face, while pointing his Light Bow at the screen. On his leg, a faded picture of Crystal Wolf is seen.

Kyoumei shiteku Kokoro ni Oto o tatete Saku Namae no nai Hana

The scene changes to show a zoom out scene of Alicia, who is seemingly doing a cart wheel, while pointing her Dark Whip at the screen, as though lashing out with it. On her pants, a faded picture of Crystal Lioness is seen.

Osoroi no Ibasho Bokura Mitsukeru

Another zoom out scene is shown, with this one showing Mamoru, who looks like he is about to leap out of the screen. On his uniform, a faded picture of Crystal Rhino is seen.

Yume miruyou ni Mezamete Mirai madette Nobashita Te

The scene changes to show Alicia who is holding her hand up, as though she is falling. Around her, many crystals float around, with each of them having faded close up pictures of Stare (with her usual calm appearance), Flare (with her usual cheerful expression), Panta (looking determined as always), Princess Terria (with a gentle smile on her face), Cyan (with his usual confident smile), and Fool (looking like he is planning something). Most noticeable of all is a silver colored crystal with a faded picture of Beluga (with a stoic look on his face).

Tsukamu hanasu Kurikaeshi Sagashite

The scene slowly shifts up to show Waffle who is holding out his hand, as though trying to catch Alicia before she falls. Around him, many crystals float around, with each of them having faded close up pictures of Opera (in her usual pose with her fan), Gren (dutifully standing with his arms crossed), Calua (with his usual big grin on his face), Merveille (smiling slightly), Chocolat (with her usual cheerful appearance), and Bruno (laughing insanely). Most noticeable of all is a gold colored crystal with a faded picture of Zero with his mask on.

Omoi tsuiteku Iro de Kurayami datte nurikaenagara

The five Infinity Crystals are seen circling each other, before a hand reaches out for them, causing them to scatter

Kioku KIZUNA Kibou to Kasanetara

The scene zooms out to reveal two figures standing in a forest bathed with golden light.

Mirai Iro zutto Bokura wa egaiteku

The two figures reveal to be Red and Elh, as both stand side by side, watching the source of the golden light with their hands intertwined. The scene then shifts to reveal the light to be coming from the shining silhouette of an unknown Gattai, as the Infinity Crystals are seen revolving around it.

-JSCR-

Author's Note:
Finally finished. The Demon Heart has finally made its move. As such, the Crystalrangers' journey is about to begin. Stay tuned for the next episode.