The video began to play.
The scene opened with a bombastic swell of overly heroic music and a sweeping view of a massive Starglider tearing through warped space in an explosion of star and glory.
A booming, way-too-enthusiastic voiceover erupted. “In the vast expanse of space and beyond, where the horrors of the deep abyss dare to challenge us, only the brave—only the fearless—only the absolutely perfect rise to fight for the Onryō!”
The scene cuts to a stoic ranger gleaming under perfect lighting, he’s wearing a sleek black uniform with crimson highlights that converged on his right breastplate, coloring it in a crimson red that extended into his right arm. His face was concealed by a helmet, featuring a glossy finish that stretched from the middle of the back of his head down to where his nose would be. A crimson cross marked the right side of the otherwise featureless visor, while fierce, decorative red teeth adorned the lower part of the helmet. Covering his ears were protectors shaped like sharp, pointed ears, with the right one in crimson red and the left in black. The ranger strode confidently past other men, women, and what looked like dinosaurs training together in the fanciest military base you’ve ever seen.
The voiceover continued, “We have been blessed by the ENN.KORR, given the right to soar beyond the stars, and now more than ever we need to conquer the wild, untamed, and, honestly, completely terrifying worlds of our universe.”
A quick whiplash-fast montage of rangers exploring strange alien landscapes. The landscapes shifted so fast, you’d swear they were on every planet in the universe. The lead ranger remained perfectly unfazed, while his crew—some humans, some very committed dinosaurs—handled whatever absurd terrain came their way.
The voiceover continued, “The Onryō is calling,” the voiceover declared dramatically, “for heroes! Men, women, and sagaxsaurs of vision. Warriors with the will to defy the horrors of the outer world and the encroachment of the abyss. Those with the hearts of conquest and liberty!”
The scene changes as the music takes on a darker, more ominous tone. Rangers in uniform, accompanied by what looks like theropod dinosaurs in the same uniforms, mow down waves of grotesque monstrous aliens. Despite their efforts, they seem on the verge of being overwhelmed; exhaustion is evident in their movements. Suddenly, with a series of thunderous booms, Stargliders—like the one from the intro—descend from above, unleashing a hellish barrage of artillery and precision strikes that tear through the alien horde.
The music swells in triumph as the dust clears, revealing the rangers climbing a pile of slain aliens. Hoisted high is a black flag, emblazoned with a symbol—a sword with an ornate hilt, its blade formed by two twisting strands of DNA. A ranger stands proud next to the flag as he removes his helmet in slow motion, revealing a ridiculously handsome man. The Stargliders jump into warp speed behind him, leaving behind a trail of blue light against the orange dawn of the sky.
“For discovery and freedom!” The ranger shouts triumphantly.
The scene shifts to a woman mowing down an alien, sticking her gun barrel into its jaws. Blowing its brain matter through the back of its head. She turns to face the camera as she takes off her helmet (also in slow motion). Revealing yet another incredibly attractive ranger.
She shouts, “For discovery and freedom!”
Behind her, an alien tries to ambush her before one of the dinosaur-like creatures catches the creature, crushing it with a bone-snapping crunch.
A device on the dinosaur's uniform flickers on with a green light and a voice comes forth, “For discovery and freedom!” The dinosaur posing with a crude thumbs up.
The scene shifts to a Starglider landing on a planet where a massive crowd of humans and sagaxaurs waited, cheering and roaring. As the lower bridge of the Starglider opens, victorious rangers emerge; their presence is met with thunderous applause and triumphant cries from both species, celebrating their hard-fought victory.
The voiceover continues, “ The enemy is out there.” It warned ominously. “Spreading its filthy influence over what rightfully belongs to us. Only together can we take what is ours. Only together can we secure our future among the endless stars.”
The scene shifts again now to a colossal space station orbiting a planet, bathed in the golden sunlight of a new dawn. The logo of the Onryō Ranger appears.
The voiceover continued, “Join the Onryō. Your limits? We ignore them. Sign up today, or stay at home and miss out on freedom!”
Finally, as the scene is overtaken by the light of the sun. Another devastatingly handsome man in a more advanced version of the uniform appears on screen. He’s more stern, as he seems to stare into the viewer’s souls.
“For freedom. For honor. For the excitement of discovery. Enlist today.
Lucas turned to Dr. Xizu with a confused look and said, “Uhh, you played the wrong thing.”
“My bad,” Dr. Xizu said, a little flustered as she quickly exited the video. “They’re all labeled with weird dates instead of proper titles. Bern practically lost his mind the last time I even suggested changing them. You know how he is with his precious media collection.” She muttered under her breath as she went back to scrolling through videos, trying to find the right one.
“THAT WAS AWESOME! I wanna be a ranger too!” Gira suddenly erupted, his excitement snapping out of the trance he’d found himself in when watching the video.
“Not to crush your new dream, but the Onryō Rangers were absorbed into the ORPA ages ago,” Lucas said, carrying the weight of disappointment. “Even if they’re still around, they’re nothing like in the video anymore. Plus, we’re stuck here because of the Shattering remember.”
“Aww, that sucks.” Gira groaned, shaking his head. “What’s the ORPA anyway? You keep bringing it up but it seems like a pitfall for more annoyingly long exposition from you.” Gira said, shaking his head.
Xizu pipped up from her video exploration, “ Lucky for you, I’m here to explain.” She pointed at herself, her main hand still clicking in and out of videos, “No one really knows what ORPA even really stands for but it's the system that serves the Supreme Entity.”
“Supreme Entity?” Gira asked, tilting his head.
Dr. Xizu continued, “The Supreme Entity is a being that appeared during the end of the First Expansion War. With most of the Symbols of Creation either trapped in the Throne Aeternum or missing altogether, the Supreme Entity took control over most of the upper Planura. Securing its control over any planet within the reach of the cardinal Translates. All you have to really know is that it's super powerful and that it's pretty close to a God Incarnate.”
“Wow,” Gira said bluntly. “That explanation sucked! I’ve got, like, 90 more questions now.”
Lucas smirked, his tone patronizing. “Explaining things is harder than it looks, huh, Doctor?”
Dr. Xizu pouted, still flipping through videos. “Well, explaining these bigger topics is hard, alright?”
"Hey, can I leave?” Gira interrupted. “I’m bored and hungry. Plus, all this history is making me wish I stayed in the forest.”
“Well, I guess you can go…” Dr. Xizu pouted, her disappointment clear. “But what about the video?”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“The cool rangers aren’t a thing anymore so I lost interest.” Gira expressed himself bluntly as he began to slowly slink away.
“But the video I wanted to show you would explain Kyyr more?” Dr. Xizu explained, pointing at the screen.
“I’ll figure that stuff out on my own later. I want food and water.”
“He hasn’t eaten or drunk anything since I found him; can we at least go to the cafeteria?” Lucas asked Dr. Xizu.
“I can take you guys down to the café on the 15th floor, but we need to get him some clothes.” She said, pointing at Gira and his drab little cloak.
“Right… weird how I was starting to get used to that.” Lucas muttered under his breath.
Dr. Xizu summoned a new, small crystal device and slid her fingers across it before speaking into it, "Fred, can you get me some adjustable clothes, please.”
“Yay, I won’t be naked and free anymore.” Gira said in a dead-pan tone.
“You don’t seem too thrilled,” Lucas remarked, raising an eyebrow.
“I kinda liked the breeze.” Gira replied with a shrug. “And, why do I need clothes just to eat?”
“Because other people might be eating.” Dr. Xizu answered flatly.
"Oh, yay, more people!” Gira shouted excitedly.
"Lucas, were you planning on keeping him at your house?” Dr. Xizu asked, ignoring the happy Gira that was imagining what other kinds of people he might meet.
“I thought about it and—”
“What about your sister?” Dr. Xizu inquired while narrowing her eyes.
“Ah—you’re right,” Lucas admitted, remembering in shame the tragedy that was his sister. “He needs another home... Can you keep him?” he asked, offering Gira like a stray dog.
Dr. Xizu thought for a second, looking over at Gira, who was having a made-up conversation with the wall. “I could keep him. He reminds me of Aria.”
“You noticed too, huh,” Lucas said with a nod, watching Gira talking to himself. “Gira, what are you doing?”
“I was practicing for the café people,” he said with an innocent smile.
“Right…” Lucas responded, turning to face Dr. Xizu. "Well, Dr. Xizu I have to go deliver what I collected today to Old Gon,” he said, relaxing as he felt the burden of Gira leave him. “Oh right! Get him an ID before he gets turned into paste by the machines on the upper floors! He’s really dead set on going up there.”
“Don’t worry, Lucas. I’ll get all the paperwork ready for him.” She said with a reassuring smile.
“Thanks,” Lucas replied, bowing his head slightly before turning to face Gira. “Hey Gira.”
“Yeah?” he replied, snapping out of his little delusion.
“I’m going to finish my work for today,” Lucas said softly, his tone unusually tender. “You’ll be in Dr. Xizu's care for now, alright.?”
“Why are you being so gross?” Gira replied, tactlessly. “It’s not like I’m dying or anything.”
Lucas frowned, taking in a deep breath and then smiled, letting go of his desire to smack Gira across the room. “See you around, bud,” he said with an overly cheerful grin, waving lazily as he walked out of the room at deliberately slow pace.
Xizu watched him leave with a soft smile. Just as selfless as his old man, she thought to herself, a hint of warmth in her gaze.
“That was weird a goodbye,” Gira said, tilting his head to the side. Then, as if nothing happened, he perked up. “Anyway, Dr. Xizu, when do I get food?!” he asked, rubbing his stomach dramatically and closing his eyes.
“Once Fred brings you some clothes,” Xizu replied with a calm smile. “And by the way, you can start calling me ‘Mommy’ from now on, since I’ll be adopting you,” she added nonchalantly, sending items back with a wave of her hand.
“WHAT?!” Gira’s eyes flew open, his face twisting in shock. “I’m not calling you ‘Mommy,’ lady. How about just Xizu?” he said, frowning.
“Awww, but I’ve always wanted a son to call me that!” She pouted.
“Yeah, but I just met you! Plus, you seem more like an older sister type to me,” Gira explained while looking her up and down.
“Fine… Xizu will do... ” she muttered, “ Why are none of the kids I have cute?” She grumbled to herself.
"Oh, right! You said you were a mom earlier. How many other kids do you have?” Gira inquired.
“I have three daughters!” Xizu exclaimed, her face lighting up with a huge smile.
Oh no, a dialogue land mine. Gira thought to himself, bracing for what was coming.
“My oldest is the wild Aria, then my sweet Holly, and finally my cute but antisocial Alice.” Xizu continued, pulling out a small crystal device and eagerly scrolling through pictures. Images of the girls flashed by, each showing them smiling or caught in various activities. "And this here,” she added, pointing at a photo of a man giving one of the girls a piggyback ride, “is my husband, Bern. He used to be an ORPA ranger.”
“A RANGER?! But Lucas said they got absorbed or something?”
“The Onryō Rangers, yes,” Xizu clarified, still scrolling through family pictures. “But Bern’s a ranger for the ORPA’s colorless branch—Quartz. His job was running maintenance on Tartarus Gates.” She paused on one image, showing a recent family photo. “This is our family as of this year.”
“Wow, why are you so tall?” Gira asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. A quick flick to his forehead answered the question before he could even process it. “Ouch! What was that for?” he yelped, rubbing his hand over the strike zone.
“That’s not a nice thing to point out…” she said with a soft scowl.
“Sorry, but you really are tall…” Gira muttered under his breath, still nursing his forehead.
“That’s because I’m not your run-of-the-mill human,” Xizu replied with a smirk. “Anyway, Aria here is 16, Holly is your age, and Alice is 12.”
“What about your husband?” Gira asked, only to be met with another quick flick to the forehead. “Ouch!”
“You can ask him that yourself later,” she replied with a teasing smile.
“Okie…” he responded, rubbing his forehead.
Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted the conversation as Fred the Hollow slithered into view, his massive head looming in the doorway. “ Dr. Xizu, the requested attire has arrived,” he announced, dropping a tidy set of clothes from his mouth.
“Thanks Fred!” Gira waved as the Hollow disappeared into the red glow of the hallway.
“So you’ve gotten acquainted with Fred, have you?” She asked with a smile, picking up the clothes from the floor.
"Yeah, he’s my favorite thing I’ve seen so far—other than those wicked-looking robot-lizard things.”
"Oh, you saw some Rak’da?” she asked, handing the clothes over to Gira.
“Yeah, they were all dead, though. I wonder what a live one looks like.” He said as he awkwardly fumbled with the clothes, trying to put them on.
Dr. Xizu glanced up at the ceiling, her tone somber. "Unfortunately, you’re bound to see a couple live ones as long as you live here.”
With his shirt half on, he turned to ask, “Are they scary?”
“They’re a mixed bag,” Dr. Xizu said, pulling her lollipop from her mouth and holding it up to the light, inspecting it absentmindedly. “Ever since the local Kyyr density dropped, they’ve become a real problem. Every now and then they try to attack the city, but they’re so disorganized. It’s not too hard to fend them off.”
She glanced at Gira, her tone shifting to something more serious. “But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re about three times the size of a human and loaded with all sorts of weapons. They might seem dumb, but they’re crafty. Individually, they’re pretty industrious as well. Their main problem is, unlike us, they’re not social at all. They struggle to form any form of actual society, but they’re smart enough to know they’re stronger when they group up. Still, they’re plagued with infighting.”
“What about shoes?” Gira cut in, interrupting her detailed monologue.
“Oops, I forgot to ask for those,” Xizu admitted, glancing down at the now-dressed Gira. A grin spread across her face. "Oh, look at you! A handsome little guy, aren’t you?”
“I'm not little; you’re just hu—” Before Gira could finish his sentence, a sticky, wet lollipop struck him in the forehead. “Ewww! Why’d you do that?!” he groaned.
“We’ll be working on your manners when we get home.” Xizu said, glaring at Gira with a scary smile.
“Yes ma’am.” Gira muttered, suddenly much quieter.