Asuka sits, eyes closed, in the Abaranger control room. It is dim, and there are electrodes attached to his forehead. The cords go down his body to a small table on which sits his blade, elegant and long. The room is filled with a soft whistling sound. On the other side of the table is Sanjo, working at a terminal. In front the central screen is a radar, the left shows what I think is a world-map. Suddenly the silence is broken. Ryouga and Ranru come in to look at the right-hand screen, which shows the sleeping Knuckles. Delighted, Ranru says, "Oh, after eating he sleeps, he's so cute!" Ryouga is with her on this and tells her it's great to have another one. "You're too noisy," Sanjo suddenly says firmly. They turn to him in surprise, and he hooks his head sideways to indicate Asuka. Extremely sheepish, they bow their heads and Ryouga apologizes. Asuka blinks and smiles, telling them it's all right. As he removes the electrodes and gets up he says it hasn't worked yet, anyway. Heading closer to Sanjo, who has folded his arms and looks as always slightly put out, Asuka explains that when he came to this world there were four more dinosaur eggs. But at present they've only retrieved the one. And what he's been doing with Sanjo is trying to feed his senses and the power of his sword into the system, to use it to narrow down the search. But still, they get nothing. He's going to have to go out and continue the search by himself.

The door of the restaurant opens with a cheerful jingle of bells and in walks their regular customer. "Hi - " he starts and comes to a surprised halt. The restaurant is empty. He stares around, then comes closer to the kitchen and calls, "Hey, isn't there anyone here?" Of course there is no answer. Rather confused and disappointed, he heads back out the door. Timing is just perfect, for as he leaves, the wall slides back and the counters move aside. Ryouga is at Asuka's back, gently pushing him towards the door. "We'll be all right," he tells him warmly. They give him their encouragement, even Sanjo sort of saluting him. He bows formally in thanks to them and turns, his large sword sheathed in his left hand. Turning to leave he walks straight into the arms of their customer, who had decided to give it another try (mighty loyal, this man). "Oh, I'm sorry! Go on in!" Asuka tells him quickly and races out the door. The man is stuttering his surprise, but now Ryouga bounds to him and squeezes his shoulders calling welcome as he stutters, "Where did you guys come from? You weren't here just a minute ago!" But Ryouga reassures him and gets him settled down. Ranru calls, "You want your usual, yes?" He is still stuttering and Ryouga fills in the blanks for him, "Dinosaur Curry!" he calls. "Yay!" she answers and starts getting it ready. Ryouga reassures the man that the curry will be the exceptionally delicious today, which might not be reassuring after the misadventure with the Sponge Curry. But just then Emi walks in. She slips her bookbag off her shoulders, looking unhappy as she walks by. Ryouga, surprised, notices and asks her with concern, "Hey, what's the matter? Every day you come in and shout good morning, this isn't our usual Emi-pon." She sheepishly glances at him, then decides she will try. "Well, I don't understand, but there's something really funny going on with one of my friends in class!" "Huh?" he responds to her in surprise.

Voffa's fingers touch his keyboard, musical notes weave into the air in discordant tones. "Oh, no good, no good at all!" he mourns furiously. Mikela is also at work. Yellow is a distorted girl's face, blue is a twisted pineapple. Red is... um... good question. Burukogi? Purukogi? "Kogal, purukogi and a pineapple," he says worriedly as he paints. But now in exasperation he wipes the images away. "Oh, it just won't come to me!" An artist's work is never done. Jannu arrives to glower at them. "Don't you have anything for me? We need to gather more tears of Another Earth's people." Just then, the chamber holding Rije creaks open. Jannu quickly turns and bows greeting with respect to Dezumozorlya. "You have found one of the vanished dinosaurs?" asks that mysterious one. "Yes. We can use it in the invasion of Another Earth." She is fized by the glowing, green gaze. "And that is why you want Another Earth's human tears?" "Yes." This confirmed, Rije/Desumozorlya turns to "Voffa," expectantly. He is uncertain and begs off. He isn't ready, yet. He turns to Mikela. "Um, this time it's your turn." Mikela frantically responds, "But I haven't got it yet!" Then he continues indicating, however, that one he's already got out there might be of use to them. Rije's eyes close on their green fire. Jannu listens to Mikela's explanation boredly as Rije looks about and says unhappily, "Today I don't kiss anyone?" She pouts and huffs out a breath. "What a disappointment."

There is a man loading up a box beside his car. He has some cleaning equipment in a bucket next to it, and he straightens up with a weary sigh. He takes some more folders out of the trunk to put in the box. It is to this scene that Ryouga arrives. He looks with interest, then turns to Emi who is behind him. "Is that her father?" he asks. When she confirms, he starts forward purposefully. Emi quickly catches his arm and pulls him back. "Where are you going?!" "Well, to Haru-chan's." "Now just a - oh, come on!" She drags him back around the corner, for Haru is coming out onto the balcony above her father's car. Looks like she's doing the laundry and exchanges pleasentries with her father. Ryouga comments, "They look pretty normal to me." Haru is wearing an apron and says something about tea to her father. "Really normal, nice even." Emi grabs his shoulders and peeps over them, glowering stubbornly at him. "But she got 100% on the last test!" Somehow this doesn't strike him as signs of evil, but she says that isn't the problem, and stands on something to get a better view as she tells him what she saw.

There they were, in class under the bright lights, doing their best on the test. She was leaning her head on her palm in thought when in the row on her left, ahead of her, Haru turned around. Her eraser lay far away from her on the floor, closer to Emi. Pink, with a rainbow wrapper. Haru held out her hand. The eraser twitched, skidded and then flew into her palm. Emi stared, stunned. And then Haru held her hand over her blank test paper. The paper glowed white under her palm and the answers appeared on it.

"That WAS wierd!!" Emi says firmly. "Well," comments Ryouga cheerfully, "Maybe it was just like this!" He has sliding through his fingers a bright red fuzzy things, that I can't remember what they're called. And one who cares to look can see the string stretching past his chin, but ignore that. Up on top of a stone Emi glares at him and says, "No, it's nothing like that!" But she glances back over her shoulder and sees Haru leaving the house, so she quickly pulls Ryouga back with her. Haru tells her father she's off and will buy groceries to fill up the refrigerator tonight. He apologizes that she has to do this, but she responds with good cheer and heads off. Ryouga folds his arms and says with praise, "She's one nice girl." "Ryouga-san, let's go," says Emi firmly. And she pulls him with her to trail Haru. The other girl walks along. She carries a white, canvas bag on which is a symbol which looks a bit like an E. Well, if you turn it sideways it looks like the top of a three-pronged spear.

The same symbol is at the center of a wall of screens, each filled with an image of high school students and their surroundings. The man watching the screens has a strange mask over his eyes, that completely disguises the upper half of his face, which is slightly chubby. He smiles, smug. One screen goes to Haru as she walks along a pathway green with new, spring leaves and the skeletal branches of trees which haven't grown new leaves yet. There are two people behind her in the image, one with a bright red jacket. The image has left them and followed her down the stairs of a subway tunnel or underground passage before the man watching realizes something is odd. He takes control of the image, panning it so he can see behind her as she walks down the stairs. The two people come into view, and yes they are clearly trying to be stealthy about following her. The image is slightly blurred, but that doesn't make them less suspicious. With an angry growl, he gathers his power in a swirl of violet energy. Haru is struck by it, she stiffens and her face goes blank. Now she hurries down the stairs, and her pursuers race after her. But at the bottom of the stairs they find she is waiting for them down the hall, and she is aglow with green light. She reaches her right palm out as wind whips her hair, and tells them in a double toned voice echoing with power that they should stay out of the way of a psychic. They are caught in the wind she generates, crying out as her power throws them back painfully against the walls. Now her eyes glow with purple fire and flames rise up around the pursuing pair, who are just getting back to their feet. They cry out and writhe in pain and terror as they are engulfed. Haru smiles a cold, heartless expression. She turns and walks away. Ryouga slaps his transformer. "Bakuryu CHANGE!" he cries. The red glow surrounds him, and in armor he snatches up Emi and leaps from the heart of the fire. When they land and turn, the flames are gone as though they'd never been. And so is Haru. "She's run off!" comments Ryouga breathlessly. "See, that's what I don't understand. Why did this happen?" Emi pants.

大天才予備校 Daitensai Yobikou. Great Genius Cram School is the name of the facility, with that E mark above. The center is an image of an eye, by the way. Kids are arriving for class, using their id cards to check in. The man watches his screen and gloats about the success of his work. He is bragging to the choir, for Jannu steps out of the darkness to receive his report. She points out sternly that this had better be aiming towards her goal of gathering human tears. He nods gravely and she leaves him.

They are blissfully unaware of the girl who pulls a brochure from its case. It is Ranru, reading the brochure about how this school would make the students into mighty geniuses. There is a picture of the man with his head gear. Ryouga takes the brochure next and reads it a little, puzzling over how this must work. Sanjo takes it next to read critically and here we are aware of a change. Not only is he wearing small, oval silver-rimmed eyeglasses, but his hair is not tied back and he's flattened it down. What he comments gets a concerned Emi to protest again about her worries. He tells her calmly that now she has to go home. When she utters a squawk of protest, Ryouga agrees with his teammate. "Leave it all to us, don't worry!" "But - " she starts to protest. "You be safe, okay?" says Ranru cheerfully. Emi's head sinks. "Well, I don't really think so." "No, really!" says Ranru. She bounces so as to give a better view of her. Though she is much too old for a high school girl's uniform, and perhaps that she's wearing the skirt long is kind of a giveaway that she's faking. They must have dug these uniforms out of their closets. Each one is of a different school. Ryouga's has silver buttons and no tie, but Sanjo's has dark buttons and a red tie. Emi reasons about her good record at school and pleads to be allowed to go in with them. Ryouga finally says, "Okay, then four of us will go!" Sanjo rolls his eyes up at the ceiling, but Ranru accepts Emi happily. Then Ryouga spots a secretary-like lady passing by and dashes over to her to ask where class is. She tells him, and they're off.

A classroom full of young girls and boys, Haru just about the only one not wearing a school uniform. At the front of the room there is a podium, and on that podium there are three bright blue er... white radishes. Daikon. The three Abaranger and Emi have settled at the far back of the room. The girls exhange uneasy glances. And the teacher arrives. His deep voice booms through the room making them jump. He tells them today they will increase their power. Then he turns his head sharply and one of the daicon levitates. It floats in front of him and with his will he slices it into many round pieces. The kids all hold out their palms and the pieces fly to them. They all say, "Thank you, Principal." And they put the slices in their mouths and eat them. "Very good, very good. Now we begin." He holds his leather-clad palm out. A flash of light and their faces all go blank and they are motionless. Laughing, he transforms into his true face. I'm suspecting a Daicon as the plant part. The animal part is a rhinocerous. The mechanical? Maybe it's the glasses. His is Torinoid 3. Tensaikikku. Tensai as in genius, sai as in Rhino. Kikku? Sensing, knowing. Hah, the puns, the puns! He has them all stand up, but then there is a mocking protest from the back of the room. The kids all turn around. The Abaranger toss off their school uniforms and leap onto the tables they were sitting at. Ranru holds a small box in her hands. "Look, everyone!" she commands. She opens the box and pushes a button atop it. Inside is a large flashbulb and the bright flash breaks the children from their trance. Stunned, they mostly fall or just slump down. Emi races to Haru's side. "I came to help you!" she cries, and the other girl stares at her. But at the front of the room Tensaikikku starts to laugh. "How very nice of you to be here, Abaranger!" The students all see him, now. With cries of terror almost all of them break for the back of the room, though Haru stands stunned beside Emi. They race to the doors and pound, struggling with the nobs which won't turn. They are imprisoned here. Their captor says amusedly, "There's no running away from here." Ryouga and Ranru leap from the tables and challenge him for whatever he's done here. But suddenly there are Barmia everywhere. A black one gets its arm around Ryouga's neck. A white and a black one grab his ankles. Another black one gets hold of Sanjo's right ankle, yanks him off his feet and with a white one pins him to the table, his face twisting with pain. A white one manages on its lonesome to get Ranru pinned, and Emi cries out in dismay as her friend stares in hollow-eyed confusion at the struggle. Ryouga shouts, "Emi-pon, help the others, please!" She moves to do her best, but then Haru jerks free and says, "No!" Startled, Emi wheels to look at her. And this sudden refusal amidst the panic gets the other students' attention, too. They all look at Haru. "No, no I'm not giving up my powers." She backs away towards the interested Torinoid. Emi gasps and grabs for her hands. "What are you saying? You all want to be part of the Evorian plans?!" Face twisting with anguish, Haru pulls free. "I'm getting one-hundred on my tests now!" "It's not real, though!" protests Emi. "These results are bad!" She points out harshly that it's just fine if it's not easy. But Haru counters that it's easy for her to say. But her father has problems, their family is in bad shape blahblah or something. And her arguments are swaying the other students, to whom tests have suddenly come easy and they refuse to believe that this can be an evil thing. They turn their will on the suddenly frightened Emi, and the Abaranger watch in dismay as the room fills with a kind of ugliness that can only come from pained hearts. But the Torinoid is amused again, and says she'll understand it all, once she's eaten the psychic radish. A flare of power from both hands whirls into the students, who all stiffen and come under his control again. They move to pin Emi, and Haru brings a piece of the radish for her to eat. She pleads with them, but they force it on her, and while the Abaranger struggle furiously, Tensaikikku laughs. It is Sanjo who calls for the change, and they are all too willing to go with him into armor. They punch their way through the Barmia to him and all three punch him, but as their fists touch, he teleports them away with him.

They land on hard-packed sand, him some distance away. "What's happened?" cries Ryouga. They are on their feet and he mocks them. So they race at him and strike, but he beats them back. With the other two at his support, Ryouga uses the Abare Laser and his shot breaks the Torinoid's horn. Unfortunately this doesn't seem even to sting his pride. He mocks them again. When they attack simultaneously again, he teleports once more. They tumble back to their feet and Ryouga protests, "Now we're in a forest?!" For they are, a forest of young trees. But they are not alone, for as Tensaikikku points out, their friend is here too. The students walk out from among the trees, still mesmerized. And Emi is there among them. They gather at his side, faces blank. And he will have them attack. They raise their hands, eyes filling with purple fire, and blast. Ryouga calls out to them to wake up, but words just aren't going to do it as they blast the trio again.

Emi's gaze falters. Or does it? The shift is so slight as to seem one's imagination. As Ryouga and the others try to recover, she lifts her left hand and adjusts the position of her glasses on her face, raising and lowering them a few times. This catches Ryouga's eye. He gets to his feet, and Tensaikikku mockingly tells his victims to... um... finish off their victims. Another blast of psionic power sends Ryouga tumbling.

Inside Bracchio is is Kera who asks the others, "What shall we do?!" Tyranno answers, "We should go help." Ptera counters, "But all those other people are too close, they'll be in danger!" Knuckles says, "Should we call Asuka?" Bracchio tells them "No, not yet." For Asuka is riding his Raptor along a beach, green weed on the stones nearby. The image of it hopping with him on its back is really, really pitiful this time, they haven't even tried. But when they switch to him reining it in, they're using real footage. The animal stands, shifting slightly, as he pulls out his blade and brings it to his forehead. A flare of white light and he lowers it. "Just a little farther," he says grimly. But when he flicks the reins for them to go on, he is hit by red lightning and knocked from the saddle. He gasps and curls around his wrenched shoulder. Jannu has found him again, and intends to keep him from his goal. She stands and he sees her. Gathering his legs under him he stands and calls her name in fury. She counters that he isn't getting what he wants. He realizes she has the dinosaur. And she tells him he'll never get it. He pulls out the key and transfers into armor to fight her. Leaping, he meets her blade but she gets the better of him (I like her a little for this toughness). But then she calls in the Barmia and leaves while he foolishly allows them to distract him.

Tensaikikku is amused, and now that his troops have tenderized the Abaranger, goes to fight them himself. Has a little fun doing some Aba Red bashing. Ryouga falls. His blade slides from his hand towards the mesmerized teenagers. When he turns to grab it back, it is too late, for the crowd as one is walking towards him, right arms outstretched. They step on his blade as they move over it, unaware.

And Asuka fights the small hoard of Barmia. They are no match for him, as he tumbles them into the tide pools. Another group is rushing him but he knows there is no time. He pulls out his blade, turns the dial on it to summon flame-mode. And he raises it above his head, blue-violet fire gathering around him, then plunges it into the rocks. Liquid fire rolls out and engulfs the Barmia, who melt into it in agony. They bust into flame and the fire-wave dies away, leaving black scorch marks on the beach. Asuka calls for his Raptor and leaps aboard.

Tensaikikku uses his own red fire to toss the Abaranger through the air and teleports them into an abandoned building. The tile on the roof are gone, the floor is broken and uneven beneath their feet. The area is dim, light streaming in through distant windows. They look around in a panic. Where are we now? they wonder. But then the children come screaming at them. But they aren't really there, or they are but not quite solid. They race through the trio, causing painful explosions where they touch. Tensaikikku's face appears in the ceiling to laugh at them and rain down fire. They fall weakly at last. And he's come to finish them off. "It's over," he crows. But then the fine Abaranger blade slips over his shoulder and taps for his attention. Startled, he turns around to find Emi behind him holding it in her hands. And with a scream of rage she attacks, slicing down and cutting his visor in half. The shining light of his eyes goes out, and all the other students slump bonelssly to the dusty floor. Emi crows in delight and Ryouga shouts his appreciation. She calls back, "Thank you Ryouga, you remembered our signal!" The others are confused, Ranru asking for explanation. He tells her that he'd known when she'd raised and lowered her glasses like that, she was not under the control of Tensaikikku. That one is most upset. "Cursed girl!" he snarls. But she responds, "Not cursed girl!" With a flourish she announces proudly, "I may be normal, but I have the heart of Abare Pink!" "But you ate the Psychic Daikon, how come you aren't controlled?" he asks in bewilderment. I'm not sure what she says, but it is to the effect that "Too bad," for eating and drinking blahblah. I think she relates it to the substance having been forced on her against her will and therefore not working so well. On his feet, he is after revenge against her, but our heroes pull out their personal weapons and attack. While Emi cheers them on, the Ryouga tells her to go for it. She fires the gun, perfect aim damaging their enemy and is delighted with her success. So are they. They assemble the Dino Bomber and destroy him. A surprised Rije notices that. And with his destruction they find themselves outside the school, under the light of the afternoon sky. Emi is literally jumping for joy, still holding Ryouga's gun. "Well, we're really back this time!" comments Ranru. And now the stricken students start to wake, confused. They look around.

But of course the energy hurtles into the sky, which then rolls with black clouds and rain drenches the area. To giant size he goes, to Rije's delight, and now they are able to call in their dinosaurs. Bracchio gladly brings them out, and they form Abarenor. This gets laughs from Tensaikikku , who attacks them with a powerful energy ball. But while he gloats, they don't let themselves go down. They attack with the drill and go right through him. He is utterly destroyed. Yay!

Late afternoon, the sky pink and gold. By the river stand two girls. One says quietly, "I'm so sorry, 'Miri. When you needed me - " "Oh, no it's okay," replies Emi. "Now it's all back to normal." And behind them on stairs up to a bicycle or strolling path are the three Abaranger. Sanjo comments stiffly, "If you're healthy and honest, then you don't have to study." Then he adds, "But I don't think that." Ranru glowers at him from the other side of the fence. "Why'd you say that?" He gives her an annoyed look and says, "Well if you think about things, you can enjoy life." And Ryouga seems to agree with him. Ranru is getting slightly annoyed with him. But he is wandering forward to give Haru encouragement (I think I have her name wrong). She smiles and nods acceptance of what he says. Emi bounds in front of him and says with delight, "Cool, Ryouga you always know the best things to say!" She whaps his chest affectionately and he grins at her. But the whapping is having a startling effect. Ryouga suddenly cries out in surprise as he starts to levitate. Emi's accidently sending him spinning, to all of their surprise. She makes the connection with her waving hands in shock, when she turns from him, he is released and falls several feet to the ground. And suddenly she crows with delight, "Now that I have the power, I can become Abare Pink!!" Ryouga dives behind Ranru and Sanjo to get out of the path of her power. They all watch as she moves, fist punching out and then in. "Bakuryu Change!" she cries. And Ptera, before the commercial, asks us "Is Emi really going to transform? Come back and see!"

"Bakuryu, Change!" Emi cries. And when she completes the gesture a puff of pink smoke rises around her. And a little voice starts protesting, "Buhi! Buhi, buhi buhi buhi!" For when the smoke coalesces what they see at their feet is a pot-bellied pink pig. "Why? Why?" is possibly Emi's cry. They all gape at her. "Emiri?!" gasps Haru. And Sanjo says, "That's YOU?" They all circle around the little pig. Ryouga leans down to her and gasps, "You're not Abare Pink, you're Abare Pig!" Sanjo starts it but together they finish, "You have to STUDY ENGLISH more!!"

第12話　アバレノコギリ、京都を斬る！ Abare Nokogiri, Kyoto o Kiru! The Abare Saw cuts Kyoto!
The search for the next egg has taken Ryouga to where he races through the grounds of a temple. Mai and Ryouga are in Kyoto, but something odd has happened. For it seems they've travelled back in time to an old village (either that of it's one of those period villages, that's quite possible). A guardman at the village goes after Ryouga with a blade. Sanjo is being flirted with by a woman in a kimono. Ryouga leads a race through the town, which looks reasonably as though no one is out of period clothes, but how would I know? And Mai wears a ninja suit, Blue. To be specific I think the is an ode to Red Shadown, namely the boy who was Blue Mask. Jannu has won the power, and the Abaranger in their armor (all four) are frightened as Ryouga holds a frightened Mai in his arms. For there is an enormous buzz-saw cutting through the old city. Our heroes bring out the Dyna Bomber to fight. Small thing against this enemy. There will be horse-backriding on a white horse with red tack. Ryouga, Ranru and Sanjo race through the town past startled women doing the laundry (okay, this has got to be a time-travel episode). The Enemy they face when giant seems in part to be made up of the ancient houses and bows as the fight against Abarenor begins. For to Asuka's dismay, Jannu has control of the Dimenocodon. And in Gileton's armor she faces a girl, young, sweet, with big ears... who may just possibly be the same girl who plays Rije. Maybe even Rije herself. Everyone is quite shocked.

Nearby, something can be seen through the shrubbery. There is a girl in white, watching the fires left in the wake of the enormous saw. She has a sweet, square face, her bangs are cut smooth and her expression is somber.

And at the Dinosaur Restaurant, Ranru reads the headline in the newspaper about something happening in Kyoto. The description of what appeared to be an enormous buzzsaw. On the TV there are pictures to be seen of where said saw had gone through a bridge in the scenic mountains. Now rather puzzled people sit in their cars on opposite sides of the collapsed area, unable to cross. "Could it be a Giganoid?" wonders Sanjo. "A regular one?" also wonders Ryouga. They think about it, frowning. Suddenly their bracelets go off. "Everyone, can you hear me?" comes Asuka's urgent voice. Glad of the distraction they answer him. Much to their shock he tells them he is in Kyoto. He is outside a gorgeous temple, the front of which has stone foxes standing watch. He heads up the steps, looking wonderingly around him. "Fushimiinaritashi"伏見稲荷大 reads the heading on the sign. The temple is red, modern glass, white signs probably of blessings. There are people come to see, some to pray. Enormous bells hang from the rafters with huge tassles dangling down. The statue of a man, or even a god, sites behind fencing to keep the birds and tourists away. The statue wears read robes, holds a bow, a quiver of arrows at his back and possibly a blade in one hand. The grounds are very empty and Asuka wanders them, telling his three friends that the signal was particularly strong, but that last night it had gone out. "Last NIGHT?" yelps Ryouga in worry and looks at the others. For the newspaper they've been reading was about things that happened last night. Looks like the paper is dated May 4, 2003. Heh. Asuka gasps when he hears about it. He stands in front of two red-gated pathways, and for the viewers Ryouga answering him appears framed in the gateway of one as he says they'll have to come down because it's probably an Evorian attack. At that moment, Mai comes out from the back. She wears a lovely pink light sweater with lace collar and teddy bears trimming the waist. "What's wrong, Ryo-chan?" she asks with concern. "Mai-chan!" he gulps and goes to reassure her. This leaves Ranru un-reassured. "What can we do? Suke-san isn't back yet." "And there's also Emi," points out Sanjo. He turns, folding his arms, to look critically at the adorable pig worrying in the traditional dining area. Whether or not they can understand her, she is apologizing for all this. But Ryouga grins and says, "Well, Mai-chan will go to Kyoto with us!" and bounces her up into his arms. She is delighted at the prospect. Ranru nods and gets them moving, "We'd better go right away." They all dash into the back to get ready. Emi-pig calls after them forlornly, "Don't forget to leave a meal for me, please!"

Asuka walks disconsolately along a path framed by pillars painted bright red. Some are older, their color lost. "It sounds like an enormous saw," he thinks to himself about what they'd told him. And then it hits him, the horrified realization and he breaks into a frightened run.

On Dino Earth, the enormous Evorian palace stands filled with the ringing odd melody Voffa has composed. He is beginning to sound quite please, for he says that this new Giganoid will, against the Abare Suits and Another Earth people - he's cut off as Mikela interrupts him to say sneeringly, "No, it's my next Torinoid that will defeat them!" Just then, the bean capsule opens to reveal Rije. She opens her eyes filled with green fire and steps out. Then the voice speaking through her says sternly, "Mikela, Voffa, where is Jannu?" Mikela cackles and tells her Jannu is still off trying to retrieve the Bakuryu. Her expression stern and forbidding, Rije/Dezumozorlya stares upwards.

Light falls through the sparse tops of spring trees. Jannu walks swiftly through the forest. Birds cry in the distance and ahead of her there is an enormous blue and black dinosaur, dozing and surrounded by mist. She holds up the curving shell-stone and gives a little snort. Then she brings that stone to her forehead, and it glows purple. Power sweeps around her, and soon a white glow flares in front of her forehead as she is answered. She opens her eyes and utters a low snarl, turning the stone to point it at the dinosaur, which snorts steam in irritated response. The leaves torn up on the harsh breeze whip around Jannu, and she is tumbled to the ground. She turns her head angrily, but the dinsaur has already plunged its head into the earth to tear away. She snorts with pleasure as she gets back to her feet. "As long as it works, that's all I want to see." She walks on.

The Kyoto JR Station. Our heroes have arrived and as they walk onto the street, Mai drags Ryo forward. "Look, look!" she cries. He follows the point of her finger with his gaze. "Ah, that's the Kyoto Tower!" he tells her happily. They are looking up at the enormous white pillar with a ring near the bottom and a smaller ring near the top. Naturally they go up there to look down on the city below. Mai is utterly transported by the view. "This is so great! Look there!" Ryouga hurries over and clasps her waist firmly. "Mai-chan, now remember we didn't come here today to play - " but the view captivates him, too. "WOW! This is really great!" he agrees with enthusiasm as they cuddle together. Ranru grins but Sanjo regards them with mild exasperation. "Hey you guys!" comes a call. "Asuka!" Ranru answers with delight as he bounds up the stairs to join them. "Lookit this!" Asuka holds in his hand the shattered shell of one of the Dinosaur Capsules and Ryouga gets terribly excited again. "Great! Now we can hurry up and find our new buddy!" But Asuka's face is drawn and troubled. Then he suddenly looks alarmed and dashes across the chamber. "What is it?" Sanjo calls after him alertly. Tearing his eyes from the view he looks at them wildly. "I can feel it! Out there, the sign of a Bakuryu!" Sanjo and Ranru look slightly worried, but Ryouga is eager and delighted.

And so they head towards a white entrance building. Outside a man calls to people. The front of the building has many vehicles parked, and the sign indicates that this place, well it's kind of like Universal Studios. This is a place that showcases the movie sets and things like that in Kyoto. Huge letters on one wall say PADios. Kyoto Studio Park. Asuka tells them it's somewhere in here. They trail him to one of the ticket booths, Ryouga carrying a very excited Mai in his arms. "You're sure about this?" asks Sanjo doubtfully. "Yes," Asuka answers. Ryouga sets a grinning Mai down. She is raring to go in, and the ever-spirited uncle of hers is just as wiling. So in they go.

To this place, which is filled with false store fronts. Where street prams let off happy tourists. Asuka stops and brings his pommel to his forehead, but there is no response to his signal. "All right?" wonders Ryouga. Troubled, he eyes the blade as he looks up and around. "The sign's disappeared again," he says worriedly. So has Mai, she's dashed off ahead of them. But Sanjo says grimly, "If there's no sign, then we'll have to search." Ranru nods agreement and points out, "It has to be somewhere nearby." Ryouga makes an agreeing sound. Then a voice bellows his name down the path. "Ryo-chan!! Hurry up, hurry hurry hurry!" Little Mai, who knows all too well where she is and what she wants to do. She's passed an elderly man in an old-style police outfit, giving directions to a pair of uncertain customers. As she runs on, Ryouga distractedly says "I guess that's what has to be," and goes off after her.

Their meandering takes them into a part of the lot where women walk in bright kimonos, where the buildings ache with simplicity of style from an older time, all made of wood to the naked eye. A trio of people walking past, one an old man dressed in purple and yellow, two holding straw hats and chatting to each other, catches the eye of a rather confused Asuka. He trots forward to get a better look at their backs. Finally he turns in helpless bewilderment and asks, "What is going on here? What is this place?" Grinning, hand in hand with Mai, Ryouga answers him. "This is the Edo Period!" "Huh?" the poor hapless fellow asks. Laughing, Ryouga explains. "This is the set for a movie. Come on!" and heads off down another street. Still somewhat bewildered but beginning to feel more wonder, Asuka trails along with the rest of the group, trying to take in all the sights around him. Walking backwards Ryouga explains, "This here is the Japanese Hollywood!" Behind him there is a man dressed in a guard uniform (blue and white kimono, shiny black hat) and talking to two lovely young girls. Ryouga is telling how this kind of reminds him of when he was in Junior High School when he bumps into the man. "Oh, so sorry!" Then he gets a good look and says in joy, "Oh, you're a SAMURAI!" The man grins back at him and stands proudly until Ryouga asks, "Can I borrow your Katana?" With a shout, the man draws his blade. Ryouga yelps and jumps back, but then the man grins at him. "Sure," and hands him the blade. "Oh, thank you!" Turning to find Sanjo behind him, Ryouga says, "This is so cool!" Then with a devilish grin he takes a quick swipe at Sanjo, who utters a cry and covers his shoulder, expression torn with pain. Then he remembers his dignity and straightens up with a sniff. "You're such a child." Asuka has watched all this with wide-eyes, but finally realizes they were playing and manages a weak smile. Ranru is laughing, too. Suddenly she looks about in dismay. "Where's Mai?" For she is gone and they all look about. Much to their surprise she is nowhere to be seen, and Ryouga hands the blade back to the samurai as they all dash off in different directions to look for her. Ryouga goes through a souvenier shop. Asuka past a fountain. They meet up near er... I think an entrance, but they haven't seen her. Then Asuka spots something which really startles him. Above them there is a figure inching along a thin wire from the second story of a building. "What is that there?" yelps the startled Asuka, grabbing Ryouga's shoulder and pointing. Looking close we see the figure is a animatron or whatever they call these things. Plastic form swathed in black, being pulled and pushed along by machinery. Ryouga says, "Oh, that's a Ninja. I'll go this way." He dashes off, his explanation not nearly enough to clarify things for the bewildered off-worlder. Ranru is in a building and dashes up a flight of stairs. All of them attract attention with their repeated calls of Mai's name. Up on the next floor Ranru wonders, "Where did she go?" But then she gives a gasp of delight and dashes forward. There is a display case full of classic cameras. A Franch Camiflex, and others. She knows her stuff. She is practically drooling on the glass when she shakes herself and dashes off to continue the search for the vanished Mai. A sculpture of enormous demon heads which rotates as a waterfall passes under it. A patio for weary tourists to sit and rest their feet. Sanjo wanders through, eyes sharp for Mai. Down a dirt street, he pauses to glance at something between the red buildings. This is to duplicate the um... well, ease and comfort district? "Yoohoooo!" says a sudden, bubbling voice. A woman heavily costumed and make up like a geisha, coiffered with a wig larger than her head, waylays Sanjo. "Oh, you're such a handsome man!" she says, and starts dragging the rather startled fellow into the building she's stationed at. Two friends help drag him in.

Asuka enters a dark building full of shadows, dust. The sound of wind whistling hollowly. "Mai-chan," he calls, voice trembling. Bodies lay in the dust. The corners are black and deep. A man caged behind bars shifts and moans, reaching for our nervous hero, who yelps and hops back. A woman rises like a ghost from a barrel, voice a wail. So is Asuka's but he still manages to call for Mai. A body hangs from one wall, face bloody and deep hollows under the white eyes. Suddenly with a groan the wall falls towards Asuka. He jumps away only to have another door open ahead of him and a screeching man with thin white hair leap at him. I'm afraid that was all he could take and he fairly flies, screaming, from the haunted house. Other customers on their way in gape at him as he dashes past them.

"Mai-chan!" calls Ryouga, passing an artificial pond full of green water. He is in front of a costume shop and finally gets an answer, her calling his name. He spins around and says her name with some frustration but she hasn't noticed. She bounds out to show him her costume. She is in black tights, colorful Y thong sandals with red and black ribbons anchoring her ankles. She has netted sleeves and a dark, dark blue tunic over which is belted a tunic and she has a bright blue scarf around her neck. Yes, she is Blue Shadow! Ryouga gathers her grinning form into his hold and says scoldingly, "We were really worried about you!" poking her with his finger. "I'm OK!" she says, cheerfully flipping her hand wide near her nose. This is a salute, not mockery.

This crisis over, the group meets together in a quiet part of town. Ryouga apologizes sincerely to the others, and Asuka shakes his head that it's all right. It seems he's managed to get the seriousness of it across to Mai, who looks truly embarrassed as she bows her apologies to them. Sanjo sets a hand on her forehead telling her not to wander off like that, when we notice something a little funny about his face. He has lipstick prints all over, from at least three different sets of lips. Ranru notices right away and points with effort holding a straight face, "What're those?" He realizes what she's looking at and he goes white, horror on his face. Then Mai turns and says, "Look, Bakuryu!" Asuka gasps and whips around, but to be sadly disappointed. The green head rising form the artificial pond is made of fiberglass, the hissing sound from a hidden speaker. A second, much smaller head rises. It, too, is mere artistry. Ryouga gently explains to Mai that they aren't Bakuryu, merely ordinary dinosaurs. Extremely disappointing for Asuka, who was really hoping. Perhaps he's beginning to think he was wrong all along. But then the screaming starts, almost loud enough to drown out a distant rumble. Ryouga snatches up Mai and our heroes dash off to investigate.

The giant buzzsaw tearing through the streets and buildings is moving terrifyingly fast. Customers and actors flee in terror and confusion. And so do our heroes as it bears down on them. They hurtle around a corner and change into their armor. Still carrying Mai, Ryouga leaps with the others up to the top of a wooden tower. Asuka calls Bracchio, who responds poetically, "To protect the small lives," as he comes out of the depths of the lake and goes on about love and snow. They have to listen more for the danger they are in than to him, though. The saw bears down on their position and they have to leap from it, terrified. They are just in time as the tower is cut in half. They land on the cement of a parking lot and stare up, stunned. And walking around a corner is Jannu, observing it all. They do not know she is nearby, but she knows where they are. She speaks to Asuka, though he cannot hear, that this is the first time he will fail to protect this world. The stone glows bright purple in her hand as she fixes her will to it. And then she sends out a signal to the buzzsaw, calling it's name. It cuts through a building and rolls to a halt in front of them and Asuka gasps with horror. For their is the sweet blue and gray Dimenocodon. It swings a head full of golden fangs to look at them. "Dimenocodon!" cries Asuka, "Why are you doing this?" "It's the Bakuryu?!" gasps a shocked Ryouga. But Jannu isn't finished. She tells it to go and destroy Kyoto. Then she teleports away. The dinosaur turns and starts walking away. Asuka cries, "Wait, please, Dimenocodon!" and runs after him. Ranru is quick on his heels. A police or security guard has arrived on the scene, looking quite confused and stunned. Ryouga quickly hands Mai off to him, asking him to take care of her. He straightens up and salutes, promising. She callls encouragement to her uncle as he dashes off.

And on Dino Earth Voffa completes his composition and hollars to Dezumozorlya about it, snatching a fruit to throw into the musical notes hanging suspended in the air. His Third Giganoid, named Tokei. It is far above them, a bit lizardlike. Dezumorlya comments, "The Tyrannosaurus and the others combining is troublesome. The Abare Suits and the people of Another Earth, too." Voffa bows to her. And Rije is allowed to manifest. Looking up at the looming giant she laughs. "How cute! Good luck!" and she blows the magic kiss at it.

Dimenocodon tromps through the city, its saw whirling and now everyone can see the horror of what is attacking them. Asuka cries frantically to it to stop. But then the Giganoid appears in their world. It wriggles and writhes, then starts tromping along. They see it in horror. Ranru calls into her bracelet, "Ptera, where are you now?" She is answered that they are coming, they'll be there soon. "HURRY!" Ranru calls frantically. Asuka turns to them. "You all go after the Giganoid, and I'll try to stop Dimenocodon!" They are quite willing. And off they all go. Asuka races on foot after the Dimenocodon, which is walking along and making all kinds of noise and destruction. And there is someone watching all of this with a troubled, stern expression. The beautiful girl, face a study in perfection, who also happens to look exactly like Rije. Well, except for that lack of the four gems on her cheekbones, for one thing. She stands amongst the trees, bushes and watches. And so too do the three bright-colored Abaranger, as the huge Giganoid starts taking bites out of a building. They are amazed. So is Rije, who is "watching." She leaps from her perch to go ask for an explanation from Voffa. He replies that it has to fuel up in order to work. More specifically, on old things. What he says reassures her and makes her grin. And the Abaranger wonder what they can do until their Dinosaurs arrive. Well, Ryouga suggests the Dino Bomber. This was probably not the brightest idea, for when the power hits the Giganoid, it turns on its attackers. The eating it's done has given it the strength to use its own magic. And by the way on its face is the word EVOLIAN. A beam of red light plays down at the trio, engulfing them and they cry out in fear and agony. Asuka hears their screams through his bracelet and this brings him up short. He calls their names frantically. And they, engulfed in an increasingly bright light, twist until they flare away. The angry monster tries to continue its rampage, but it is hit again by a blast. Bracchio has arrived, small head on long thick neck down to enormous body. He's come here so quickly he cannot be careful of his steps, and foliage is crushed and pushed aside under his mighty feet. "Answer me, please! Ryouga-san, Yukito-san, Ranru-san!" Asuka cries into his changer. But there is nothing, nothing except Dimenocodon rushing through the woods in one direction, and Tyranno, Kera and Ptera racing towards him from another. Tyranno shouts at Dimenocodon for explanation, for he is brightly colored and not the faded yellow they were. But he does not answer them. Ptera and Kera come head to head with him, his saw whirls in his back as he rages, then curls over to attack them with the deadly blade. Asuka sees and cries out to them. Bracchio, too, tells him the battle continues. He blows a fireball and the Clock Giganoid, which counters with blue firebolts. The two beams hit and Bracchio loses, getting a mouthfull of the other creature's bolts. "Bracchio!" cries Asuka. Receiving no response he looks up at the sky. "What are we going to do?!" But now he, too, is struck and this time by vicious red lightning. The power blasts him from his armor and he falls, landing hard he twists to look at his assailant. Jannu. She is so very pleased with herself, too. He scrambles up to face her, but she is pleased for she has Dimenocodon under her control. And with the shell-stone, she uses it to transfer into the ancient armor. But the armor, too, has undergone a change. It is more stream-lined, a sweeter balance of curves. More feminine but no less powerful. She tells him, "The Abare suits and the Another Earth people won't be coming back. And soon you will come to your end." She stalks at him. It is her voice we hear now, distorted by the power of the armor but recognizable. Shaking, Asuka demands "What did you do to them?" I'm no sure what she says.

But they are falling, falling down a tunnel of light, the marks of a clock that they pass through. And Ryouga lies on gravel and sand. There is a murmur of many voices. Leaning over him are six men and six women. Their gray, green and blue kimonos are not so bright as the ones we've been seeing. Their hair, though shaved and tied back in an ancient style, is not overly large or shining with plastic deorations. Their faces are clean. When Ryouga groans and stirs, the frightened people all leap back. He is not alone, for Ranru and Sanjo are there with him, scrambling to their feet and ready to fight while the nervous people who were hovering over them flee in all directions. The houses are wook. The roofs are tiled in ceramic. "Where are we?" gasps Ranru. The people are peering out at them from behind poles and around corners. Suddenly a voice calls out. There is the village samurai, his clothing heavier and grayer than the man we'd seen before and behind him a group of men without helmets, his men who follow him to challenge these strangely dressed outsiders. Ryouga concludes that they've stumbled into a movie set and bounces forward to point at the blade he assumes is real. Provoked, the man draws his weapon and those with him follow suit, faces hard. Ryouga instinctively dives when the man takes a swing, and skedaddles back behind a heavy, wooden sign. "What'd you do that for?!" he growls from this fragile protection. The man growls at him, steps forward and takes another swipe with his blade. The wooden sign is sliced smoothly apart. Ryouga gapes. "No way." As the man raises his blade again, Ryouga clings to the part of the board still hanging and yelps, "That thing's REAL?" Sanjo, eyes wide with panic, and Ranru looking horrified decide this is a good time to run for it. They take off at high speed and Ryouga, not too slow on the uptake, hotfoots it after them. It takes only an instant for the guardsmen to pursue. Our trio dives around the corner, while confused townspeople gape at the activities and the guardsman keeps shouting at them to wait.

"WHAT?!" cries Asuka. He is rather bewildered by Jannu's suggestion the others will never be coming back. And the battles outside keep going on, Clock Giganoid blasting Bracchio, who is forced to retreat slowly. And he reports that the others are having equal difficulty with Dimenocodon. But he believes in them, and Asuka chooses the same. He will believe that his friends will get back, or be gotten back, to him somehow. Jannu is not sympathetic of this, hahah. She launches herself at him, grabs him by the throat, pins him against a tree and starts kicking. He transfers into armor and starts to hold his own.

Our three lost ones are racing, and they are fast. The guardsmen are having to work just to keep them in sight. Around corners, between houses, along lanes cooled by the shadows of leaves. The three make a sharp left , terrifying a man and woman preparing a meal, and another set of people hanging up laudry on poles in front of their house. They make it into one open area and skid to a startled halt. For up ahead of them is a Daimyo's castle. It towers above, and the color, as well as the absence of annoying bright colors around them, finally makes one thing clear. This they state in horror and disbelief to each other but it is Ranru who finally comes out and says it. "We're in the Edo Period?!" But they hear the cries of the guards who are catching up with them. "Hide!" calls Ryouga. Sanjo dives into an empty bucket and slides the cover shut over him. Ranru slides open the door of the building and slips inside, sliding it shut, panting. Ryouga can find nothing but a wooden cart. He makes the best of it, though. He watches as the guards collect, and their commander sends them off in other directions. It is he who comes Ryouga's way. He goes to the end of the street and looks both ways, eyes sharp. However, he has passed by Ryouga who nervously gets up and just cannot figure out what he should do. But then he turns with an alert grunt. Ryouga tries uselessly to shrink behind the thin pillar he is standing at. Useless, he knows it and whimpers with fear. Suddenly a small child pops up in the cart. "Push me!" he commands imperiously. He has a topknot, a fringe of bangs, and the hair elsewhere is shaved. Ryouga stares up at him. "Eh?" he asks. "Hurry up!" the boy commands and settles himself firmly in the cart. Ryouga, confused as he is, obeys the imperious child. He rolls the cart out into the road and turns in to face the furious commander of the guard. Inside the cart there is a strong bamboo pole, and as Ryouga shouts a battle cry of "Go!" and runs at the guard, the little boy picks that pole up. And when they get to the man, the child cries out, striking forward with the pole and hitting the man hard. He is knocked over, lands flat on his bat and loses consciousness. The boy runs beneath his nose with a smug chuckle, and Ryouga grins his delight and applauds. The child twists around, looks slightly bewildered, then gives him a thumbs up. Sanjo is peeping out from the bucket and gives an impressed noise. Ranru from her hiding place is more vocal in her delight and they both come to give congratulations and stare at the child. Again with imperious firmness he tells them, "Get!" Ryouga thanks him and they start to dash off, but then pause. "What's your name?" Ryouga calls back to the boy. "Daigorou!" is the answer. For a moment, the three freeze and stare at him, recognizing the name. And then a man cloaked in a deep, gray light kimono steps out of the shadows. A huge rice-hat obscures his face, and a long katana hangs at his side. Never looking at them, he takes the handle of the boy's cart and starts away with him, calm measured stride. The Abaranger gape. Ranru stutters, "They are - " she can't bring herself to say it. Sanjo says softly, "So they were really real. The Lone Wolf and Cub." The pair disappear around a corner, passing by the unconscious man. Ryouga snaps out of it first, grabbing Sanjo's arm and reminding the others they must flee. With gasps, they all race away.

And in the present, Tyranno and Dimenocodon are holding each other at a standstill. But Tyranno is alone, and slowly giving ground. In response to the saw he uses his drill-tail attack. Doesn't work well, and Dimenocodon is able to knock him over. He lies next to the other two, energy crackling along his tail, and himself shifting in and out of consciousness. Dimenocodon shrieks in victory. Asuka is having similar difficulty with Jannu, who is cutting him to pieces. Not literally. But she takes him down and is ready to finish him off. But when she raises her blade to direct the killing energy blast, a child appears in front of her. Glowing white delicate dress. "Rije!" Jannu gasps and raises the blade to hold off. Asuka twists over to gape at the small form standing his protection. But the girl glowers at Jannu and shakes her head ever so slightly. That was not needed as such, for Jannu has already realized that this isn't Rije. "Who are you?!" she demands angrily. The girl's lips thin.

Ryouga leads the others down another narrow path between buildings hung with coils of... something, coiles at any rate heck don't ask me. There are baboo decorations, heavy gray bells. The panting trio keeps running. Someone else is running, too. Someone in a brilliant red kimon decorated with gold and flowers. The kimono is tight around her legs, making her take mincing steps but she hurries gamely on anyway. In her elaborately coiffed hair are decorations of red and white flowers, I'm just going to pretend I know they're not plastic. She is frantic, this girl, looking back over her shoulder and clutching her hands to her throat. And there is something rather familiar about her face and the pitch of her whimpers. She collides headlong with Ryouga under a blossoming cherry tree and they both go down, Ranru and Sanjo skidding to a stop. They are in front of a dark building with a watermill going around slowly. Ryouga gets back to his feet, apologizing profusely and checking to see if she is all right. Startled to be addressed, she pulls out a pair of glasses (yes, they did have glasses in Japan in that time period, not today's type as such but sadly they had to adapt a modern pair for this. "And the role of the glasses was played by..." sorry, I digress) and peers at Ryouga through them. It is then that, despite the hairstype and the powered face, the delicate red color to her lips, who she looks like becomes clear. The face is Emiri's. Ryouga, not always the brightest star in the sky, greets the girl with delight. "Emi-pon! What are you doing here? You were a pig!" This gets a very logical, if somewhat surprised, response. "I am no pig!" Outraged, she gets to her feet and informs them regally (with all sorts of cool 'Hi I'm way better than you low-born morons' vocabulary) that she is the daughter of so and so and a princess. She probably says her name, but what with their efforts to be realistic in ye-old vocabulary, I'm not entirely sure what she's saying. "Princess Saki," perhaps. They all gape at her. And then there is the thunder of hoofs. A white horse is racing on the hard-packed dirt of the streets. The princess hears it neigh and quickly takes the strange trio on as her er... protectors. Or at least as someone convenient to hide her. The four duck together into a building and hide behind bales of something. But the rider seems to have some psychic knowledge, for he reins in his horse right in front of the entrance. The princess whimpers and makes herself small. Ryouga gapes at the clothing he can see under the cloth sheltering the entrance. Blue top. White pantaloons with gray designs. Rice-straw sandals feet clad in white. Something out of legend. The man seems to have a cane. He turns and walks towards the entrance while Ryouga is getting more and more excited. For the symbols on his clothes are something very old and respected. All three Abaranger peer out, eyes round. They are afraid of what they will see, and yet terribly excited. Who? Who? Who is it?

Ryouga can't handle the suspense and bounds to the door to ask if it is who he thinks it is. But the man who comes in says he is not, but identifies himself as Tachinosuke. And guess who he is the spitting image of. Except his hair is darker, he is supposed to be younger and they did do a good job with that. "Suke-san?" Ryouga puzzles in surprise. The others pop up from behind the bales to stare at their friend's doppelganger. Gracious, they even did his eyebrows and beard! He, however, ignores them and calls out to the princess behind the bales. She has to return to her father. She minces out the door, fleeing him with all sorts of comments on how the trio messed up in hiding her. Tachinosuke pursues her, trying to reason with her. The horse stands and patiently waits, ears fanned out to the side as the colorful trio stands nearby and watches the scene. "I'm never going back!" she vows. The old man calls to her to wait. She rounds a corner near a bridge before he catches up with her and grabs her shoulders. She wriggles furiously. "No, no, NO! Let go of me!" she shrieks. And then shrieks again, wordlessly, when hollow wooden spears seem to drop from the sky to embed themselves in the dirt at her feet. The man screams, too. Naturally the Aba trio arrives to see what's happening. "What happened?!" Ryouga calls to the princess. She points a shaking hand beyond the spears and they turn to look. It was never the spears that frightened them. It was instead....

Three dark and sinister men. The man at the center in a black kimono, the two at his sides in dark gray. A menacing wind kicks up the dust around them as they stalk towards the princess and her dubious band of protectors. Each man looks murderous. The blakc-clad on has an eight o'clock shadow. His hair is thin atop his head, eyes looking small and beady. One man wears a lighter gray kimon, hair a shock of thick, smooth black. A beard shadow beginning, and a stick of straw or rice dangles from between his lips. The third, in a more silken kimono, has a bit of a widow's peak. His hair is long enough to be tied back. His is a handsome face, but no less menacing for it. Tachinosuke isn't sure what he's facing. Ryouga comes to the logical conclusion that they must be bad guys. They stalk towards our heroes. I wonder if they're also something out of legend or far older ninja/samurai stories. Our heroes and their two new companions huddle nervously close to each other. The Abaranger are shaking, their knees trembling, but then still position themselves protectively in front of the more vulnerable two.

第13話　アバレてチョンマゲ！ Abarete Chonmage! Abare Topknot!A Chonmage is the traditional hairstyle for samurai in the feudal era
Somehow they'll get the princess home and be presented officially to her. Sanjo does the best, most courtly bow. Trays are set in front of them, goodies hidden in cups. But will our heroes ever return to their rightful time? For in the present the battle continues. Dimenocodon. Jannu. The girl in glowing white who is not Rije, or a Dragon Human. And she has things to say. The Abaranger in their amor fight Barmia in ancient Kyoto, and Ryouga recovers his usual spirits. But they find they have to face human-sized a number of previous Torinoids. Looks like three, the Bakudandelion, the Sniper Crow, the um... not sure. I'll remember later. They will get the princess and hold her hostage. And the Sniper will take position on a bridge. To kill whom?! Abared races through the water, and their two new friends cheer them on. Ryouga says they will do it to save the princess! With their spikes out and personal weapons in hand they charge into battle in Kyoto. In their armor they will fight the three killers, destroying a katana at least. And the powerful Clock Giganoid takes on a more humanoid appearance. Asuka watches in horror as it engages Abarenor in battle.

But in the present, the battles are still going... going... well, the Clock Giganoid's blasts force Bracchio back. It trundles in pursuits and raises its head to continue blasting our mighty dinosaur. On Dino Earth, Mikela fiddles with a strange piece of technology, Rije bounces with delight and... the strange machine proves to be a makeshift camera. He calls the to pose and they all do as the camera snaps a picture. Flash. It blinks its eye and out comes a sweet photo of the three of them.

While they're fooling around, Jannu is continuing her campaign to slice Asuka into little pieces. She's a talented woman in that respect, I must concede. She gets him down and prepares to finish him off, only to find there is a little girl standing in the path of her blast. A little girl with long, black hair, dressed in glowing white. A girl who looks exactly like Rije. Except for not having a Dragon person's little gems on her face. "Who are you?" Jannu demands furiously. But the girl looks saddened for an instant. "Is it alright?" she asks. "Huh?" wonders Jannu. But she doesn't wonder for long. The girl suddenly levitates, and Asuka gasps in surprise as she floats away... into Jannu. Inside Jannu. And within the armor, the woman's eyes open wide and brilliant brown in shock. Within her mind she sees Asuka's face, his form obscured by brilliant light. His hand reaches for her and he is beautiful (though I doubt she's thinking that herself). He starts to turn away and a voice calls his name tenderly, teasingly. But it is her voice, a tone she's never used. And he swings back to face her with a smile. Within her eyes is the hidden reflection of... her own face, free of the red leathe. Not her own face, she might argue. The face of Mahoro, wearing a warm and loving smile. She hears him say her name tenderly and tilts her head back, eyes closed as though waiting for a kiss. And sheer, white light overwhelms the vision. The girl in white is now a bare few meters behind frozen Jannu. The armor Jannu wears starts to glow as it deactivates, and the girl turns around to face her. "Is it really alright?" she asks, her eyes puzzled. Jannu spins on her, free of the armor and free of the horrifying vision she's been shown. Her face is blotched and red, eyes shining with pain and fury. "WHAT did you DO to me?!" "Nothing," the girl says miserably. She fades away. And Jannu glowers as tears run down her cheeks. The sensation shocks her and she gasps, raising a hand to touch the moisture and stares at her damp fingertips. "I'm crying?!" she says shakily. "Why? Why me?!" She stares at where the girl had been and gone. Asuka has lost his armor and finally made it to his feet, favoring his injured ribs. "Jannu?" he says uncertainly, for this is certainly a new development for him. But she is furious and now in no mental shape to continue the battle. Without looking at him she snaps something and teleports away. Above him there comes a cry. He looks up to find Dimenocodon has stopped and then the giant bows its head and burrows into the ground. Bracchio has turned the tide of his own battle, blasts forcing the Giganoid to lumber backwards. It, too, burrows into the sheltering Earth. He tells Asuka he has done it. Asuka hears but there is no relief. For he is puzzled about the girl who had appeared, and what exactly had happened after that.

AAAAAaaaand in the past, some time during the Edo Period, another battle is going to have to be engaged. For the men in dark kimonos stroll menacingly forward at our three heroes and their two erstwhile companions. Ryouga bravely snarls "You guys have scary eyes. Keep that up and you'll never get a girl to like you!" The man in the center answers in a voice laced with darkness, "Princess Saki, we're going to kill you." Suke-not-same-san throws the frightened girl behind him. The three men draw their long katanas. But this doesn't get quite the reaction they surely expect. Sanjo's eyes blaze and a smirk crosses his lips. "I guess we have to," he says coolly. And Ryouga and Ranru are in complete agreement with him. For they change into their fighting armor. The brilliant, strange outfits stun the pair they protect. And Ryouga starts firing at the startled men's feet, causing them to jump to escape the flashing sparks. The princess and her retainer, cringing at the initial sound of the guns, start to get very excited. "ooooh!" gasps the girl. But of course the three men are only seriously infuriated. "Damn you!" curses the fellow who appears to be the leader. He goes at Ryouga with blade ready and a fire in his eyes. But Ryouga is quick and evades the blade. His armor is proof against this ordinary weapon, and he pins the man, then uses two fingers to snap the fine metal. Half the blade falls to the hard packed gravel under their feet. The man he's fighting gasps in shock, but has no time for more as Ryouga twists around, grabs his throat and flicks his face, sending him flying onto the lesser roof over the hanging paper drying under the rafters of the nearest building. He hits his head against a hard wooden strut and rolls back down to fall at Ryouga's feet. Their audience is gleeful at the easy victory. Ranru is against another of them, man in light gray kimono. She attacks with her feet, kicking him back, back and back. She finally kicks him through the fragile doors of a building. He lands among straw panels. The two watchers are very pleased. Sanjo, meanwhile, drags the third along the surface of the road. Getting the man up to speed, Sanjo gives an extra push and lets his body slide away. His head collides with a cart of some kind, and empty buckets rain down on him from above. He tries to protect himself, but gets hit hard and loses consciousness. The princess applauds them and asks them where they possibly could have come from. Ryouga tells her happily that they are the protectors of peace, the Abaranger. The girl giggles over that, and her retainer is delighted, too.

But hundreds of years later (okay, maybe only two hundred), on Dino Earth, someone else is not delighted. "Eh? WHY?!" asks a very confused Mikela. Rije, concerned for him, bounces over. "What's wrong?" He hands something to her, sputtering about it, and she takes a look with curiosity. It is the photo they had just taken. And their images are disappearing from it, slowly, from the bottom up. "Why, we're ceasing to exist!" gasps Rije. "That can't be right! Why?!" Voffa stutters, "What is going ON, Mikela?" "I don't know, I'll try to find out!" he whines in equal confusion. Off he goes. Rije continues to stare at the photo, from which their images are vanishing with disturbing speed.

And, in the Edo Period... in part of one of the extensive noble houses.... Ranru, Ryouga and Sanjo sit on their knees, on pillows, before the princess. They have learned they are three hundred and fifty years in the past and explained it to her. She is amazed, but she tells them that however unbelievable she still believes it. There are small tables in front of our young heroes. They thank her for her belief and bow to her. But her retainer wants to know how they came to be in this time. And are they going back to the future? Sanjo answers him with troubled brow, that they were time-slipped by the Giganoid, and he doesn't know if they will ever get back. Ranru looks distured when he says this. And the princess asks about the fate of the small child, which lends to Ryouga's unhappiness written on his face. But he rallies, for he always makes the best of his situation, and clambers to his feet. If he can't get back, he'll at least protect the future for Mai's sake! The princess is delighted.

The future. Mikela is reading a newspaper. Inside is a picture of when the Evorian fortress first loomed over and attacked Tokyo. The newpaper talks about the panic and just what the HECK was that thing. But in the midst of reading, it changes. Into an image of what looks suspiciously like the last shot of a war... and the headline sings victory... and the word Evorian is written in the paper sub-headings. All destroyed, it indicates. He reads the headlines aloud again to his two companions in total show. "We're completely destroyed?!!!" Voffa reads more, confirming the headline and Rije says in distress, "But this is terrible! What's happened?" But Mikela is not too slow. "Oh my heavens... those that we sent to the Edo Period... they must never have given up. And they changed the future...." Rije turns away from him in shock and stares down at the photo. The blackness has reached most of the way up their chest. "So you mean we will just disappear?" She drops her hands in distress and then dashes over to Voffa. "What'll we do, what'll we do?" she asks him, pulling at him. He doesn't know what to say. But then footsteps sound and she whirls to find a familiar face returned. "Jannu, it's terrible, listen - " she is cut off in mid sentence. Jannu has grabbed her by the collar. "Have you been here all this time?" the woman demands icily. Startled and frightened, Rije starts to ask "Why are you suddenly - " "You haven't gone to Another Earth?" Jannu accuses, eyes brittle and blazing at once. Rije, twisting in her grip, is becoming terrified. "I didn't go. I won't go." Finally, Jannu's expression twists and she shoves Rije away from her, then turns and stalks off. Rije stares after her in confusion.

Having achieved a moment to herself, Jannu thinks "I don't understand. Why would I cry?" For she remembers that battle with Asuka. The moment she'd pulled him to her and forced the soul-contact through their gems. Forced him to know that Mahoro no longer existed. Had she been contaminated somehow from doing that?

As if in answer to her thought Mikela suddenly yelps, "Ah, I know what happened!"

An inn, the Edo Period. Most people in dark blues, grays, a rare woman in red kimono. The subjects of attention, though, are the three assassins. They are drowning their sorrows in lunch and possibly some sake. Their leader is grumbling while the others drink. As he complains, someone enters the restaurant. Someone whose arrival has the servers quaking in terror. Someone with a big gun who hisses.... oh my, a familiar face. The Sniper Crow has arrived and already sought out people of like mind. And he wants to know more about what they were just speaking of.

On a rocky beach stands a red gate to a Shinto Shrine. Asuka wanders slowly towards it, mourning the loss of the other three and beginning to feel they might never return. But his misery has a voice to override it. Bracchio signals him, telling him not to give up hope. Telling him that they will win and return Dimenocodon to the fold as one of them. Asuka leans against one of the poles of the gate, thoughts turning to Jannu and the fact that he is still alive. Why are things happening the way they are? Bracchio, out in the lake, rears his head to talk to his companion. "Asuka, do you remember the Dino Harp?" Startled, Asuka lifts his gaze, eyes wide. Not a harp, as such. Well, a mouth-harp. Bracchio wants him to play. And he obeys, lifting his harmonica to his lips he plays. The music is sad, and the dinosaurs listen to it, sighing. Edo Period. The princess leads our heroes through a beautiful garden, across a bridge over a still, manmade pond. Her retainer trails them. She asks Ryouga more about the strange world of the future, or she's only commenting. When Ranru asks her something, she counters about her belief in what they're telling her. For they've told the darkness and the light. "But I believe people are not fools," she tells them. Her retainer nods agreement as she bends down to look at a flower blossom floating on the water. She laughs at their unease, and what she tells them gets Sanjo to ask about a flower. She chuckles and bends down. She writes kanji in the sand under their feet. Ranru reads "Warau Hime." 笑姫 "Laughing Princess." She relates laughter to the flowers, and Ryouga is impressed with her logic. "Laugher is not a dream," she tells them reassuringly. They are all blissfully unaware of the dark weapon being lowered to take aim at them. But Sanjo sees something. "Look out!" he cries, leaping into the path of the shot. He is changing into his armor and thus is protected when the mighty bullet hits him. Smoke rises all around them, the others have also switched into their armor. It is not the Sniper Crow alone. Two other Torinoid are with him. The Explosive Dandelion. The one that's kind of vaguely like a water bug. They laugh evily, while the startled Abaranger move to protect the two fragile, normal humans behind them. "What are they doing here?" The bug explains, "Well, we're here to make sure you don't change history and make the future into something terrible." "Huh?" ask our heroes. But the time for talking is long past. The battle must be joined. Sanjo hits the bug first with his Tricera Banker. Ranru goes up againt the Lion, this leaves the Crow for Ryouga. That gets him on the run and he is chased off. But the Lion gets a firm grip on Princess Saki and she struggles as her elderly retainer races to her aid. She calls for Ryouga desperately. But the Torinoid take her away with them.

The sad music flutters in the air. But it is interrupted by determined footsteps. Legs clad in red leather. Asuka lowers the harmonica when he realizes Jannu is nearby. He gasps and covers it protectively, eyes wide. But for once she is only staring at him. There is a hint of red in her eyes, cheeks slightly puffy. She stands on the other side of the gate, and Asuka scrambles to his feet, fighting to stay in place and not run from her. "Jannu!" he yelps. She steps forward. "Cut that out!" she snaps. But he pulls himself together. "How long were you crying?" he calls back. She haughtily replies, "That is only a reaction of this body." Like a legend. This body is only a convenience. Asuka's eyes widen in horror at the implications. Especially when she comments on throwing it away. Shaking with reaction himself, he clenches his fist around the harmonica. "So. I thought you had feelings. I was wrong." She snorts at him in contempt. And he glares. He changes into his fighting armor. She follows suit. And they begin to fight in the shallow water of the lake shore. They meet and slash at each other.

Our heroes find their enemies holding the princess on a bridge, and when Ryouga yells at them to let her go, they threaten to kill her if he fights back. They are frozen, while the Torinoid mock them. And they have to drop their weapons. The crow fires on them and all are being attacked mercilessly by the Barmia while the princess screams to them. The crow grins and says they'll protect the Evorian future. But in the future, though Mikela is feeling good about this, Rije realizes in horror that their images are still vanishing. Only the tops of their heads are still visible, and starting to fade. "Why are we still disappearing?" But neither of the males has a clue.A black Barmia has Ryouga pinned, is throttling him with its staff. The princess screams to him, "Ryouga, don't let them beat you!!" And she may be the reason. For she turns her head and sinks her teeth into the Lion's finger. "Ouch!" he protests. And then protests again when she stomps angrily on his foot and he lets her go. She dashes forward, yanking the gun right out of the Sniper's hands before he really realizes what's happening. And she spins around and starts firing at the three Torinoid, from really close range. "Now!" she calls to the Abaranger. Turns out all three of them were being throttled. But they rally at her call. They kick the Barmia off of them and leap into the fray with greater fervor even than before. They tear through the Barmia in their spined mode and go after the three Torinoid, hearing the princess cheer them on from the dubious safety of a nearby building. They attack with their weapons, slashing and tearing, destroying all three Torinoid. And Rije is horrified when their images vanish completely from the photo. And now so too do the three of them begin to vanish. In a last ditch effort to save themselves, Voffa calls to the Clock Giganoid to use its power. And it stands up laboriously and crosses its arms as the clock on its face twirls back, back....

Princess Saki returns home to the arms of her retainer, the three armored Abaranger at her back. He thanks them when they suddenly begin to glow. And they realize what that means. Ryouga steps forward to thank them and ask them to protect the future. When they ask why, he tells them they'll probably never see them again. And so they all step forward to wish both princess and elderly man well. She calls out Ryouga's name as they vanish from this time. And she looks up to touch wistfully the flowers. Her smile is the tender smile of a woman who had to say goodbye to the man she'd fallen in love with (Ryouga, for the less observant).

Asuka and Jannu are still engaged in battle, blasting powerful energies back and forth. She gets him a good one and he falls. But when she races to finish him off, he turns the handle of his blade and uses a wind attack. She is caught and thrown back away from him. His armor is lost to this process, but he struggles to his feet. His arm aches and he rubs at the pained muscle. Then a flare beyond him catches his eye. For suddenly the three others are back, still in their armor, looking quite surprised. He runs into their arms. Only they come under attack from the Giganoid. Before they can worry, the dinosaurs tear to their aid shouting scolding words through the bracelets about worrying for the three. Ryouga apologizes warmly to their concern. The three join with their friends and form Abarenor. The great machine uses the Ptera cutter, but the Giganoid's shell is proof against their attack, even against the Tricera Punch. It's tail is hard on them. When Ryouga wants to try the drill, Tyranno vetoes the move and explains that his tail was damaged in the battle against Dimenocodon. They can't use it. So what can they do? Well, Jannu knows what she will do. She uses her stone to summon Dimenocodon to fight them. Asuka stares in horror as he attacks them viciously, bringing Abarenor down. "Dimenocodon, stop!" he cries, and runs towards the battle. Jannu humphs in superior smugness watching him run. Dimenocodon sits back to let the Giganoid take over pummeling Abarenor. "What can we do?" cries Ryouga. As Dimenocodon charges to continue its attack, Asuka suddenly sees the light. Or rather, he sees his harmonica. And with that one brain-flash, he begins to play the aching, sad music. He thinks hard as he plays, hoping his inner voice will reach the mighty dinosaur. Jannu sneers, but then to her shock she sees Dimenocodon coming to a lumbering halt. He turns to listen to the sweet music. He can hear Asuka's voice, and the music. Another time. Another world. The yellow Dino Earth. The pale green grass and a warrior standing there playing the music just for them. He sees the same warrior on gravel rock. And the music, the sound makes the dinosaur weep. And with those tears the hold the Evorian - Jannu has over him is fading. She is stunned to realize it. Asuka is stunned with delight. But suddenly his bracelet grows another head, temporarily displacing that of Knuckles so Dimenocodon can speak to him. "Asuka, can you forgive me? I - I " and he breaks the bonds holding him. The spell shatters into pink fragments. The Giganoid stomping on Abarenor is not prepared to face the attack that comes. Abarenor gets back up. Ryouga calls for Abare Combiner, and Dimenocodon becomes their left arm. With his help they are able to slice, dice and totally destroy the Clock Giganoid.

And an utterly furious Jannu stomps away. She doesn't see the glowing child who watches her go, then vanishes.

But thank heavens for the Evorian on Dino Earth as they pour back into existence. Rije sighs her relief and looks at their photo. As she looks, their images return to it.

Out of the old-style part of the park the four run. Mai has been waiting for them this whole time with the police man. She is so happy, she races to Ryouga. He throws her up and apologizes, suggesting they go home. She's happy to agree. And when they exit the park, Mai points with shock at something. No, someone. The elderly man walking towards them has a cane. He is dressed in a dark gray suit, with a hat over his thinning, white hair. He greets them with a surprised laugh of delight. Ryouga gapes at him, setting Mai down. "Tatsunosuke-san, you were also brought to the present?!" The man stares at him as if he's lost his mind. "Tatsunosuke? No, my name is Ryunosuke," he tells them. Ranru's eyes open wide. "Suke-san? You came to Kyoto?" Amused by her surprise he tells her he's in Kyoto on business. "What kind of business?" asks Ryouga. Sanjo says coolly, "Sounds suspicious to me." Mai agrees, folding her arms accusingly. "Suspicious!" she says. Asuka, a bit confused, gives him a wide-eyed uncertain stare. Their reactions only send him into giggles and then he laughingly tells them it's time to go home and urges them towards the train station.

第14話　発掘アバレサウルス Hakkutsu Abaresaurusu Excavation of Abare Saurus
Ranru finds a huffy old man jealously guarding the fossilized remains of a dinosaur. He grins up at her in joy as he contines his work to uncover the bones from the forest loam. Ptera tells her, "That man has the Dino Guts." "You're saying he's a soldier?" "Well, no not that." The man appears on Ryunosuke's motorcycle and tries to fight Barmia with a stick. Jannu is there, and Ranru is trying to protect the rather confused old fellow. And far above them stands the proud skeleton, but oh dear... "I'll protect EVERYONE'S dreams!" Ranru says determinedly. She rides into battle. In armor. Out of armor. She fights. But she is not alone. And Abarenor attacks... less Ptera?! Troubles in the group? And a picture drawn with bright penciles. Of a yellow pteranadon, a red tyrannosaurus and a blue triceratops. The old man and Ranru stand together and smile into the sunset.

Ptera skims through the skies. "I'd say it's not okay," she comments to Ranru. Ranru is trudging through the forest below, passing a large boulder and assuring her companion that this is a worthwhile endeavor. Or at least a lot of fun. She has to jump over a gap in the path and finally finds a place where the whole path is cordoned off by light chains, ropes and eight or so wooden signs someone's put up basically all saying KEEP OUT. Go no further. She apologizes to the spirit of the signs and makes her way through the maze of this barrier. Finally she reaches the top of a rise and looks down to a clearing below. And what at first glance appears to be white boulders peaking up through the ground quickly resolves in her experienced eye to be the fossilized bones of a dinosaur. "It is a Bakuryu?" she yelps in excitement. She starts forward, but there are dark cloth-covered legs near hers. There is a sudden shout behind her and she whirls, lets out a cry as a very heavy hammer starts a downward swing at her head. She blocks the blow, changes into her armor and strikes back with a fierce kick... into the chest of a little old man who lands as though he's been hit by a wrecking ball and struggles to breath, coughing and clutching at his chest. Ranru goes into a frantic panic and leaps to help him. "Oh no, are you okay? Oh, no, what'd I do?!" She frantically tries to wake him up. The recovering man opens one bird-bright eye to stare at this bewildering yellow apparation. In the end she ends up back in her regular clothes, carrying him piggyback down to the dig. "You're an Abaranger?" he asks and she confirms. "Ryunosuke told you about this place?" "He's been here?" she counter asks. "Oh, no I haven't seen him in a long time." Just then Ranru abain gets a good look at the fossilized bones in front of them and her shock is so great she releases the old man's legs, tumbling him to the ground. She never notices, though he springs back up pretty quickly. "It's a Bakuryu - Oh no, a dinosaur's remains! There were dinosaurs in Japan - " While the man stands proudly, she reaches down to stroke the huge bones and he lunges quickly to pull her away. "Don't touch!" he half whines. He pulls her back a step and then draws a line in the soft loam with his foot. "Don't get any closer than this!" he tells her. She glowers at him, lower lip starting to pout. "Why?!" Then she opens up the paper she's carrying and stares at it, practically in tears. "I guess this isn't a treasure map, after all." But the old man sees the drawings on the other side and reacts with excited delight, bending down to pull the picture up so he can see it better. He takes it from her hands, eyes alight and turns it over to see the map on the other side. "This is Ryunosuke's!" Ranru stares in surprise while he flips the paper to the other side again, to chuckle in warm affection at the drawing. For this is a window to fond and chaotic memories.

This clearing, the woods a bit younger than now, and two boys dressed pretty much identically, in beige shorts, light shirts, light brown caps and sandals, are locked in combat. The old man voices, "I'm Denjiro Tatsuyoshi. And when we were kids, Ryunosuke and I fought like devils." The two throw each other around, end up tumbling in the grass. Their faces are identical (Ranru, imagining the battle, can't figure out which boy is which, so finally Denjiro tells her to shushup and listen). They drag each other back to their feet and exchange punch after punch to each others' jaws. Then, worn out, both boys fall over backwards. And one time, when they'd worn themselves to the ground, Denjiro let his hand fall limp and it brushed against something dry and hard. "That was the day I found my dream," his older self tells us, as we watch his younger forget everything but the curiosity he's found. He brushes aside the dried grasses around the strange spine. He's tried a little too hard and as soon as he's cleared some of the bone, the spine falls off. Amazed, he picks it up and stares at it. Ryunosuke gets back to his feet and comes to peer over his shoulder. Ryunosuke proves to be the one in the darker shorts. When he offers to help dig up the skeleton, Denjiro reacts with fierce obsession. "No! It's MINE! My fossil! Go home!" Much later, Ryunosuke returns. He's brought a cooked sweet potato as a bribe and Denjiro accepts it graciously. He gives in return a drawing he's done. That drawing, it is Denjiro's work.

He stands proudly, a sweet little old man with white hair. He still has the broken spine he's carried lovingly all these years and now he tells Ranru, "I call it Abare Saurus." Over the years he has uncovered much of the buried skeleton, and he allows her to approach while he tenderly brushes the bones of debris. He's been working on this for nigh on seventy years. He can't wait to show people. Everyone should live for their dreams. Ranru excitedly offers to help him, but he reacts as though scandalized by the suggestion. "No, never! I decided I will do this by myself!" Ranru looks wounded by that, but he ignores it to say huffily, "Even Ryunosuke only ever got to watch!" He continues, giggling innocently. Ranru cannot help but smile, he's so cute. "That's a real dream," she comments softly.

And speaking of dreams, guess who's go - er - coming around the bend. Jannu continues her mission to collect the missing Bakuryu. And now the stone glows in her hand. "A Bakuryu signal!" she snaps. "I'm not letting Asuka get this one!" She quickly moves forward, but a call in the sky gets her attention. It is Ptera swooping by overhead. Rather than alarmed, Jannu nods to herself and smiles. She is looking rather frayed around the edges.

Ptera speaks to Ranru, delighting in the presence of Dino Guts. When Ranru asks "But isn't this a fossil?" Ptera replies, "It's here! We were on Another Earth, too!" She swoops overhead, and her passing is enough to distract Denjiro, who gazes up in awe. "Oh, that's one of Ryunosuke's Bakuryu, isn't it?" he asks. When she nods and grins confirmation, he adds happily, "But my Abare Saurus is so much cooller!" Ranru cannot help but chuckle. She doesn't have to agree with him.

Jannu makes it to the rise, eyes searching for her missing dinosaur. The signal is strong, and her attention focuses on the strange duo in the clearing. "Abare Yellow," she identifies Ranru firmly. Then she holds out her stone shell and it shines brilliantly for her. It's signalling about the bones. "That's no Bakuryu," she comments tiredly, "But it is something special." Then Dezumozorlya's voice, projected through Rije, fills her head. "Ah, now you've found something interesting. This was a dinosaur evolving into a Bakuryu." Mikela echoes that statement with disbelief back on Dino Earth. Dezumozorlya explains, "The dinosaurs on Dino Earth evolved into the Bakuryu." Mikela is still stunned, "So Another Earth's dinosaurs were also becoming Bakuryu?!" I don't know quite what she says back, but Voffa is inspired and starts playing his keyboard a swift melody.

And above the valley the portal from Dino Earth opens wide. The refrain Voffa plays can be heard and it causes an alarmed Ranru to spin and look up. She gets Denjiro to clear the area with her, just as the threads of multi-colored music rain down and enter into the remains the old man has been digging up for so long. Skidding to a halt Denjiro whirls and says pleadingly, "You're an Abaranger! Protect the fossils!" Ranru agrees, but keeps protecting him from the stray lightning's skittering around them. They are eventually hit and fall. When Ranru looks up, she finds Jannu there with a crew of Barmia. "Jannu! What are you doing here?!" Denjiro ducks low behind Ranru, clinging to her shoulders in fear. "Stay out of my way!" Jannu snarls. She sends the Barmia to fight, and Ranru changes into armor to hold them off. Denjiro grabs up a thick branch and tries his level best, shouting curses at them for having disturbed his dig, his precious Abare Saurus. He can't hit any of them, they move very quickly and are more bemused by his efforts than anything else. One finally dives down and pins his ankles, soon toppling him. Ranru sees him fall and tries to get free to help him, but the Barmia is trying to throttle him. However, the calvary has arrived! Armored Sanjo flips in, kicking the Barmia off of Denjiro and fighting them back. Ryouga tumbles in with his armor, and Asuka leads the charge towards Jannu, demanding to know why she's there. Eyes wild, she counters that the fossil is very much like a Bakuryu. But that is no comfort, for the music has completely gone into the old fossilized bones, and now the remains become liquid light and rise into the sky under the portal. The skeleton reassembles, intact above them. There is a round, red object visible in the cavity behind the eyes, the brain. Gemstones in the spines on its back. And on Dino Earth, Voffa names his latest composition. "Giganoid number Four,復活 Fukkatsu." Resurrection. Its shriek cuts the air as the portal closes. Denjiro stares amazed up. "It's moving. It's moving!" He takes a few steps to see better. Ryouga, ever the optimist, is delighted. He thinks it's an Iguanadon. But Sanjo raises a cautioning hand. For Jannu has control and sets it to attack. Asuka calls Bracchio for help. Bracchio comes out of the water with a speech about fighting until the very last. And the lurching Abare Saurus goes to fight. Ranru in her armor stands behind Denjiro, who is gazing in ecstacy at the skeleton and babbling his delight. Finally, the others call her. "We have to assemble!" Ryouga says. She calls in Kera, but when she leaps up to join her companion, she is rejected and sent falling to land heavily on the ground below with a cry. Dismayed, Asuka leaps to her, comforting hands on her shoulders he asks, "You can't fuse with Ptera?" And the Bakuryu cries in the sky. "Ptera!" weeps Ranru. For Ptera is circling away from the battle. Sanjo asks from inside Kera, "Where is she going? We have to combine!" Fukkatsu utters a cry and then releases exploding spine-bones or something like that to bomb Tyranno and Kera. "Oh stop, Abare Saurus!" Denjiro cries out from the dubious shelter of the trees. He is practically in tars as the explosive bone pieces hurtle through the air. One missile falls towards his position. The explosion knocks him flying, a cut on his brow. He loses consciousness. Ranru races to him, calling his name, Asuka on her heels. Fukkatsu cries again and starts to dig underground, go into hiding. Jannu, furious, tries to call it back. Rije, watching this all through her powers, wonder where it's gone.

The Dinosuar restaurant has it's temporarily closed sign up on the door. Inside, Ranru stares with wide eyes and white face as they finish taking care of the unconscious Denjiro. His head has been bandaged in white cloth. Ryouga tenderly pats the frail old man's skin and smiles reassuringly at Ranru. They've put him in the raised dining area, a soft gray blanket to keep him warm, head on a cushion. As Ryouga puts away the first aid kit, Asuka talks asks Ranru, "It has Dino Guts?" Uncertain and still shaken she answers him, "Ptera said so. She said he's an ally." She uncertainly takes a step as they all listen to her, and softly says "So we shouldn't be fighting." Ryouga says thoughtfully something about the Bakuryu and dinosaurs. Sanjo faces away from them, arms folded and expression troubled. But he turns slightly when Ryouga points out that Tyranno and the others didn't do so well against it. Sanjo points out firmly, "It's not a Bakuryu, nor a dinosaur. It's a Giganoid." Ranru gets frantic, "But I know how Ptera feels!" They do not know that Denjiro is awake, listening to them argue. He closes his eyes on the grief he feels.

Inside Bracchio, the other four dinosaurs have their heads together to discuss this. Pachy is wondering about this creature really having Dino Guts as Ptera. Dime points out that it had fled them, afraid. Kera pridefully replies something about Ptera and history. Tyranno is worried about when Ptera will return. It is up to Bracchio as the oldest and wisest to soothe them. "It isn't only Ptera's fault," he tells them.

The city is at rest, ignorant of the dangers facing them. Jannu stands in a high place, her small fossilized shell gripped tightly. She slowly turns, and finally it picks up the signal, glowing brilliantly in her hand. Very pleased she says, "I found you, Fukkatsu! Come out!" And at her demand it, does, tearing out from under the train tracks. She smiles wickedly as the great beast rises from the ground. "Now, you will turn this world so that it is the same as Dino Earth!" Brain glowing brilliantly, it obeys her commands. Its breath bathes the near building of the city and the air turns yellow. The buildings start to crumble and calcify. Jannu lowers her hands and smiles, nodding her approval. "Go!" she tells it, and the mighty one turns and tromps through the city.

Ryouga and Sanjo watch this on the screen in the kitchen. Troubled, Sanjo closes it up and folds his arms thoughtfully. Asuka's eyes go wide. "That dinosaur is going to make Another Earth just like Dino Earth!" This is no small thing, for most of what's on this earth could not survive the environmental devastation. They are unaware that Denjiro only pretends to be sleeping, and is listening to every word they say. Quietly exasperated, Sanjo stands and speaks into his bracelet. "Let's go, Tricera." His friend is willing. And Ryouga calls Tyranno to help, too. "I'm with you, Ryouga!" he is answered. Sanjo turns and orders, "Ranru, you have to call Ptera." But she shakes her head, eyes haunted and miserable. Tearing the words from her throat she tells him, "I... can't." He stares back at her in shock. "Can't? But you - " he isn't quite sure what to say. She looks away from him, to Denjiro lying there. But Ryouga smiles understandingly and comes to put his hand against her back. "Ranru, take care of the old man, okay?" he tells her with a grin. And he leads the others off, while Ranru seems a bit shocked by the turn of events herself.

The enormous Fukkatsu strides through the city leaving destruction in its wake. The three Abaranger are catching up on their Ride Raptors when they're hit by furious red energy bolts. Thrown, they find Jannu come to stop them. Madly she calls, "Today is Another Earth's final day!" And she changes into her armor to fight them. She sends in the Barmia. Bracchio comes out onto the streets. From his packs race the other four dinosaurs to fight, but the terrible breath of Fukkatsu drives them back, making them cough and hack. Ranru paces nervously in the restaurant when Ptera calls. "The others are in a pinch!" she says worriedly. Ranru bites her lips as her companion continues, "I just can't keep holding out like this. Understand, I know you want to protect - " but her worried apology is interrupted. Denjiro asks softly, "My dream?" He pushes the covers off and sits up, staring at her with a sad, warm gaze. Ranru blushes furiously, but then she rallies and explains to him that she believes in people's dreams, and that her personal goal is to protect the dreams of other people. "Abare Saurus is Denjiro's dream, but if we destroy it...." She trails off, biting her lips again. But behind her she hears, "The two of us will have to combine!" It is Ryouga, of course. "What?" asks a startled Sanjo. They are visible in the viewscreen, standing there in armor. Ranru and Denjiro stare at the screen.

And they do combine. They look so light without the addition of Ptera. In the brain, with only the two of them in place, Ryouga says thoughtfully "Well, we can't call it Abarenor... ah!" And he dubs the formation Abarenorji. Sanjo makes a wry sound at that. They charge into battle, but Fukkatsu beats them back. They just don't have the power. But Tyranno says they'll keep trying. And they do. Ranru is at the computer panel and tries, but is told "Unable Communicate." She gasps in dismay. Denjiro watches alertly, sitting backwards on a folding chair. She's trying to reach Fukkatsu. And then Denjiro says, in a choked voice, "That thing is not Abare Saurus. It's not my dream." He reaches into his vest. The broken spine falls to the floor as Denjiro unfolds the paper to stare at the picture he'd given Ryunosuke so long ago. With finality, he tears it in half. Ranru gasps in shock. And then he explains quietly, "A long time ago, when Ryunosuke and I returned from the war, what we saw...." Tokyo in ruins. All the fragile homes of people made rubble. Only the hardier buildings of strong brick still standing. Weary people clearing up what remained of their belongings. "I wasn't free to dig out the dinosaur. We came into the city and helped rebuild. This city became my real dream." He stares around, lost in memory. Ranru picks up the broken spine and cradles in carefully in her fingers, listening to him. And then Ptera signals her. "Ranru. This is the same thing the Evorian did to Dino Earth." She says more, pleading with Ranru to pull herself together and fight the threat to this world. Denjiro turns and nods gravely to her. And she says she will go, determined.

The others are fighting, still in Abarenorji, when they hear Ptera's cry. The speedy flying dinosaur hurtles down to them. Ranru rides atop the head, held on by some magic. "Ranru!" Ryouga calls in delight. And she changes into her armor, brave and strong. Even Sanjo sounds passionate (for him) when he calls, "Ranru, combine!" "Okay!" she answers and enters Ptera. Abarenor is formed, they are at their strongest again. Sanjo says calmly, "I knew you'd come." Ryouga sputters indignantly, "Hey, I'm the one - " But Ranru ducks her head, surely smiling within the mask, and thanks them, calling them to go into battle. They blast Fukkatsu, and she points out that this is not Denjiro's dream. They use Ptera Cutter, slicing off one of its hands. But then to their shock the hand simply regenerates. And it hits them with its corrosive breath, then races in and grabs them. Horrified, Asuka is about to leap to their aid when Jannu comes up and slams him down. Knocked badly, he doesn't get up again quickly. She's smug, but then a surprise enters the field. Denjiro has ridden in on Ryunosuke's motorbike and sidecar. He leaps off and shouts to Fukkatsu, "Hear me, please! Those dinosaurs are your friends!" He steps closer to the raging battle and continues to shout. He shouts about its life, begs it to stop. "Abare Saurus, stop!" He begins to weep. And somehow, it hears him. The globe, the remains of the mighty beast's brain, begins to glow. It flares with brilliant light, responding to him. And then the beast drops its arms and stands motionless, allowing Abarenor to pull away. It cries out softly and Denjiro realizes it's responding to him. "Ah! Abaresaurus!" he whispers in awe.

Jannu and Asuka's blades are locked, they struggle but she looks up in surprise. "What it is, Fukkatsu?!" She slashes Asuka down and breaks from the battle to shout, "Fukkatsu! Go on the offensive!" But it does not respond to her call. In Abarenor, Ranru knows that this is their chance. She holds the broken spine and and uses her equipment to locate the place it was fallen from. A weak spot, a vulnerable point. Lock On. And they leap, drill spnning, and stab deep and true. Abare Saurus is destroyed. He explodes. And Jannu furiously releases her armor. With a hiss of contempt she snarls, "That fossil was no real Bakuryu!" and she teleports away. Asuka snarls and clenches his fists.

The sun is just starting to set, the afternoon tinged with red. Ranru races to Denjiro and calls, "Did you see?" She is grinning with joy. He turns and musters a smile for her. "Yes. You did a great job." He assures her again, then turns to gaze where Abare Saurus had been. A tear runs slowly down his cheek and Ranru is not blind. He quietly tells her that it really was Abare Saurus. And she realizes then that it was still his dream. But even as she starts to feel miserable he says softly, "Humankind needs dreams to live." The others race to join her, but they see her misery and stop, gathering close. She is starting to tear up as she shouts, "More than ever, I'm determined to protect people's dreams!!" But then Denjiro utters a startled cry and she turns alertly. "Oh, there!" He is standing next to the motorcycle and gazing in complete delight at.... (commercial break) He holds the two pieces of his picture in his hands and grins giddily. Ranru races to see what is gong on. "Look!" he tells her. There is the sweet picture of the blue triceratops, red tyrannosaurs and yellow pteranodon. She looks up at what he's been staring at, and realizes. They exchange grins of delight. For at the top of the rise beyond them are Kera, Tyranno and Ptera. Limned by the setting sun they duplicate the positions of the ones in his drawing. The drawing he'd made around about seventy years before. And it is enough for him. Ranru wipes tears from her eyes as the others join them under the proud scene.

第15話　アバレ世間は鬼ばかり Abare Seken ha Oni Bakari Naught but Demons Abare World
Sanjo's father arrives on the scene, and he is NOT a happy camper. One begins to see where he gets it, thoug. Men wearing demon masks, faces full of teeth, red lips and bulging eyes. "I'll wipe you out!" screams Sanjo, slashing viciously wiht his blade. He fights madly, blindy, the Tricera Bunker stricking armored Asuka and Ranru, knocking them away from the mad Abare Blue. Ryouga, out of armor, grabs him and tries to restrain the struggling man. And there is a child in the hospital who turned his head as a nurse pushes the distressed Sanjo from the sickroom. He is not in a position to see that a blue and white bag contains one of the dinosaur capsules, glowing. He sits miserable and shaken wondering why he's failed. Rije puts a daisy in her hair, grinning with delight. She kisses a shark-type Torinoid. Ranru is dancing clumsily with a man who... well, he's um. Got pigtails. In her armor she is moving to the dance he teaches her. Later, she's still doing those moves while Asuka peers over a very thoughtful Ryouga's shoulder. And Asuka is trapped in a tunnel. The four will fight.

Other people have eggs like this on their minds. Breakfast, and Asuka is studying his chopsticks grimly. "There are still three eggs, and we have to find them before Jannu does. Eggs are among the food on the table, looking suspiciously like raw eggs to be cracked open and spread over other parts of breakfast. Mai has just finished her serving, and sets her chopsticks on her bowl with a happy "Goshisousama!" (thank you I'm all finished) Ranru and Ryouga, her default parent-figures, echo it with her and just in time, for Emi has arrived to pick her up on the way to school. She bounds off and waves at them, but Ryouga urgently calls her back. She has eggy-rice stuck to her lips and he must wipe it gently off to keep her presentable. He tells her okay and she grins and laughs, heading away again. "Take care of her, Emi-pon!" he sings cheerfully. She just as cheerfully responds, "She's in my hands!" They leave together, Ranru waving wildly until they're out the door. And then Tyranno signals, pleased to praise Ryouga for being such a good father. "You really think so?" And Ryouga is embarrassed and grateful for the praise. He happily tells them that he's going to try to be a great father. Across from him at the table, Sanjo rolls his eyes and looks away. Ranru tells them with delight that her father was really worried about her, so they exchange messages all the time. Curiosity leads Ryouga to ask Sanjo about his father, but Sanjo lurches to his feet and says coldly, "I don't have a father." He stalks away, leaving them bewildered by what, for him, is a show of temper.

Jannu is bathed in furious lightning. It is Dezumozorlya via Rije in a heck of a fit, punishing her. But she is not the only one to feel the wrath. Voffa is next, for his failures with the Giganoids. And then she turns to attack Mikela, but he's quicker with the mouth than the others. "No, no the next one can do it!" he tells her. Out of the air comes his new Torinoid. A Shark/daisy/car exhaust pipe. Er, Torinoid Number 10. Sharkurumargaretto. Mikela introduces it, and Dezumozorlya decides to be pleased. "I leave it to you, Mikela," she tells him. And to Rije, who greets the Torinoid with delight. "Oh, may I have one?" she asks. Well, he's utterly pleased and gives her a daisy for her hair. She settles it in place and gives him the kiss to send him off.

School's out. Everyone is heading their usual way except this one boy, Jiro, who sneaks carefully off with his bag now rather distended on the side. He settles down behind a pillar and takes out the precious cargo. "What kind of an egg is this?" he wonders. "Some kind of really big lizard?" The egg, silent since he found it, pulses now. The boy sucks in a breath as he hears its silent voice. "I hear you again. So that was you?" It communicates with him insistently. "Take you to your friends?" the boy puzzles out.

Sharkurumargaretto walks the streets, so to speak. Terrified people flee ahead of it. He corners a small crowd in a covered parking lot and starts firing on them from his exhaust cannons. They cry out as the air fills with smoke that drops them, coughing, to the cement floor. He cackles, "Suffer, suffer!" Fortunately, the four Abaranger arrive to fight him. They challenge him enthusiastically, and change into their armor when he fires, much to his surprise. I guess they didn't really brief him before sending him out. "You guys!" They go into their presentation, and he sends the Barmia to fight them. In the meantime, young Jiro skims across the bridge on the wheels of his heels and comes to a halt. He opens his bag and peers into it, fretting. "Give you to them, you say. But who are they to give you to?" The egg pulses in response. The boy translates what he hears. "Your friends are nearby?" He stares around. The Abaranger fight with all their courage. They are really tromping on the Barmia, and Ptera has one pinned when Ptera calls through the bracelet, "Hey, can you feel that?" "Eh?" wonders Ranru. But Tyranno clears up the question by crowing, "It's a Bakuryu signal!" "Bakuryu?" repeats the startled Ryouga. Sanjo body-slams a Barmia and Kera speaks through the bracelet, something about Asuka and his power. "WHAT?!" asks the startled Asuka, still struggling. Sanjo, though, scolds Kera and the others for distracting them while the battle rages. They get through the Barmia and prepare to charge Sharkurumargaretto, who pulls out a huge white daisy to show them. Confused, they pause. "This is the kind of flower that shows everyone what they hate," he tells them gleefully. And he starts plucking the petal chanting, "Love, hate, love, hate," and they are confused, but he finally lands on hate and announces smugly, "Hate-beam!" And he uses the daisy to send out a power pulse towards them. Ranru is caught firmly in the blast, her body limmed in brilliant light as she cries out. And then... And then she finds herself out of her armor, in a dance studio. No one else is there but her until she sees the mirror ripple. Out of it floats a familiar figure. To her, that is. This is a man playing a woman. Heck, it may even be his life. "Ran-chan!" he greets her. "Sakeuchi-sensei!" she responds with horror. He has two things in his hands he handles as though they are bean-shakers and holds them out to her. Horrified she puts her hands out in defense "Oh, I hate those Natto-things!!!" And he tells her mockingly, "If you hate natto, you can never be an idol!" And then he goes straight into teaching her a routine, making her stand straight in front of him and moving to the beat of a bright song. Ranru follows the moves like a puppet, clumsily but trying. They're doing okay until she's supposed to swoop her torso left and instead goes right, colliding with him. He throws an utter fit, for they've been going over this routine for ages and she still messes up here. Ranru cringes in shame. He gets her going again, and of course the same thing happens. He nearly has an apoplexy. He yells at her, then gets her going again. He traps her between the natto shakers, trying to force her to go beyond her hatred of the stuff but she totally locks up. And, in the real world, the others watch in astonishment as Abare Yellow clumsily dances about, unaware of her real surroundings. Sanjo yells at her to come to her senses, but Sharkurumargaretto is only just getting started. He tells them happily that his Kirai-beam puts them right in the entrance to that which they hate the most. "Now which one will be next?" he ponders. Furious, Asuka leaps to attack him. He pushes our boy back and pulls out another flower. A quick plucking of the petals, and he fires on Asuka, who is totally engulfed. He is out of his armor and in a long, dark tunnel. No one else is around. Terrified, he looks for other people. "What am I doing here?" But then he senses a presence. Jannu teleports into the area and walks towards him. "Jannu!" he snarls. But she snorts at him and confronts him with the truth about Mahoro's death. About the fact that she now wears the body of that woman. Asuka shudders violently, and then for Mahoro, launches himself at her with a scream. And Abareblack swings madly at empty air, unaware of his surroundings. And this amuses Sharkurumargaretto no end. Now he turns to the other Abaranger. "It's your turn next," he calls smugly. Furious, they race at him.

It is to this that Jiro arrives. The yellow clad warrior keeps crying out dismayed apologies and dances, seeming unaware of the battle near her. The black clad warrior screams and slashes at empty air. The blue and red tackle the shark monster. Jiro stares, then opens his bag and asks the egg, "Are those guys the friends you're looking for?" The egg pulses urgently and he utters a soft, agreeing sound. He watches the battle. Sharkurumargaretto pins Sanjo, who ends up looking directly at Jiro. There being a child to protect, he starts struggling harder and the child utters a gasp and steps closer. Sanjo punches free of Sharkurumargaretto and races to him, while Ryouga holds off the monster. "You shouldn't be here, hurry up and get away!" Sanjo tells the boy, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him slightly. Jiro tries to tell him "But there's this - " However, he never gets to finish his explanation. Sharkurumargaretto manages to back Ryouga away and then fires the Kirai-beam at Sanjo and the child. Sanjo throws himself directly in the path of the beam, spreading his slight form as wide as possible to protect Jiro. He is engulfed. Sanjo finds himself in darkness. The ground beneath his feet roils with mist, there is nothing to see. He holds his blade and wonders aloud, "Where am I?" But then he sense something and peers nervously into the dark. And something ripples into existence. A demon mask. Two sharp, pointed horns, bulgin eyes and bright red lips, it hovers there. "You!" Sanjo gasps. And it swings in at him, mouth opening wide full of fire. It becomes huge and Sanjo frantically raises his blade to defend. But the enemy is intangible and he cannot touch it. "Disappear!" he screams again and again. Like the other two, he knows nothing of his surroundings and struggles against empty air. "Sanjo-san!" cries Ryouga, clinched with Sharkurumargaretto. But the most horrifying thing of all is Sanjo's wild swings take him towards the terrified Jiro. The boy has to dive to avoid the slashing blade. Sharkurumargaretto allows Ryouga loose, so he can take advantage of the moment and fires his cannons at Sanjo and the child. He scores a good hit. The rising smoke invades Jiro's lungs, and the little child lays on the cement, coughing painfully. With dismay and fury, Ryouga returns to the attack. Sharkurumargaretto is amused, but the unexpected happens. With a scream, Ryouga powers up, the white spikes out. Sharkurumargaretto laughs and shoots him with the Kirai-beam. But even more unexpected... Ryouga shakes the beam off, screaming with rage. "What, he isn't in another world? Why?!" But no answer is forthcoming as Ryouga leaps high and kicks hard, startling the Torinoid into teleporting away. And with him gone, the spell on Ranru, Asuka and Sanjo is broken. They shake themselves out into the perception of their world, totally stunned. Ryouga leaps to the child who lies, coughing. "You all right? Answer me!" But the boy cannot through the coughing. His face i