Streaks of Purple Saga Volume One - Heather Ray (phonics reader .txt) 📗

was truly strong.

And after one more glance at Scorpina, he realized it.

The cold smirk she wore as she mocked him. The fierce smile of a predator she flashed as she drew his blood. The giggle she released as she mercilessly pounded his bleeding wounds.

He hated

her.

And he

would wipe the smirk off her face.

He didn't even think about it. Erol stood erect, green energy channeling into his vibrating fist. Smoke poured off his empowered hand, and when he opened his fist, a ball of sparking green radiation formed from the fierce energy he had channeled.

Not enough to hurt him,

he cautioned himself. Just to get him out of the way...

"Dragonheart... Pulse!"

Kazu heard the familiar battle cry, a smile stretching upon his masked face.

Perfect timing, my friend,

he mused, swinging at Scorpina with her own saber again. She is too distracted by me to successfully dodge the Pulse. Once she is out of commission, we can-

Kazu's train of thought was lost in a wave of blinding pain. He screamed in shocked anguish, his body shuddering as waves of green light sparked his costume.

All strength leaving his body, the mighty Yellow Ranger collapsed to the ground.

Scorpina stared incredulously at the Green Ranger, who stood frozen with his hand extended.

He didn't move a centimeter since he threw that Pulse.

"You'd better work on your aim, boy," she giggled, her hands on her hips again, "Now there's no one to save you."

The Green Ranger slowly lowered his arm, his fists clenching. With deliberate slowness, he strode toward Scorpina.

"I don't plan on needing help," he commented.

Scorpina shuddered at the ice in his voice. It was an odd blend of bitter hatred, irrepressible confidence, and even... amusement??

He then reached for his golden belt, and pulled a small dagger.

It was all she could do to brace herself as the Green Ranger launched his body at her like a cannonball.

"Gods, no..." Kreia murmured.

The battle between herself, Goldar, and Zale had stopped when the piercing cry of pain reached their ears.

They had heard the Dragonheart Pulse, and Goldar paused his fight, watching anxiously to see if his partner would be able to dodge.

There was no end to the shock all witnesses felt when the sphere collided with the back of the unsuspecting Yellow Ranger.

Kreia was on the verge of tears. She watched impotently as Sener and Cherise dashed to Kazu, making sure he was still alive.

Surely, the others thought Erol had simply missed. After all, he was barely conscious when Kazu interrupted his duel with Scorpina. Perhaps he was still disoriented enough to misfire?

But Kreia knew better. She felt... pure, unadulterated rage. She saw that hatred and fury billow off Erol like heat off tar on a sunny day.

She could discern the magical distortion that surrounded Erol's body, injecting him with something powerful.

Something dangerous.

And as she watched her love mercilessly pummel the overcome alien, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

She weakly fell to her knees, watching the scene blankly as if it were but a dream.

It couldn't be real. This couldn't

be Erol...

No...

she mourned. The hate... it's because of... me...

"SCORPINA!" Goldar roared, his voice so heavy with fury and pain that it drew the attention of all the Rangers.

All except Erol, that is. For Erol was too busy tearing at Scorpina like a shark at a feeding frenzy.

It was too intense for Goldar to comprehend. Only moments ago, it looked like he had succeeded. Scorpina had managed to weaken the Green Ranger to the edge of defeat, and the other Rangers hadn't arrived before Goldar himself had recovered from the surprisingly powerful Dragonheart Pulse the Green Ranger had mustered. And with the Pink and Blue Rangers helping the civilians, and the Black Ranger attending the flames, it would've been child's play for him to defeat the frantic Purple Ranger.

Even the noble Red Ranger would have fallen. And he was confident

Scorpina could finally destroy the mighty Yellow Ranger.

But then, the unimaginable happened. The Green Ranger cracked.

Something inside him snapped... of that Goldar was certain.

The Green Ranger transformed into a rabid animal, knocking the Yellow Ranger out of the fight with one blow.

At first, it looked like mere human error. But when Goldar saw the ferocity with which Green attacked Scorpina, he knew it was no mistake.

Now, there was no way Scorpina would be able to recover her bearings enough to survive. The Green Ranger was so powerful, fueled with rage and frustration.

She couldn't match him... and he wouldn't show her mercy.

His blood boiling, Goldar managed to evade the thunderstruck Rangers. He urgently flew to the Green Ranger, roaring furiously while his heart beat in time with his wings.

The Green Ranger glanced at the oncoming beast, pausing before he delivered another fierce punch to the staggering Scorpina.

He assessed his situation in a heartbeat... like a true warrior. The woman was barely conscious, so he could afford to leave her unattended for a few moments.

Goldar was the immediate threat, but he was so blind with rage that he sacrificed the element of surprise by roaring so loudly.

A blood-chilling smirk appeared on Erol's pale face as he straightened out.

Goldar grunted angrily, swinging his sword where the Green Ranger stood. But Erol was too fast, and anticipated that motion. Goldar hollered with rage as the agile Ranger flipped into the air, landing on his back.

"Get off, Human!" Goldar fumed, spinning vertically in the hopes of shaking the Ranger off his back. The pair tore through the air at supersonic speed... flying past the city into the forest nearby.

Goldar's blood froze when he heard the icy laughter the Green Ranger released.

"Dragonheart Pulse," Erol said calmly, his smile evident in his tone.
Goldar screamed with agony as flaming power struck his back. But this wasn't just the force of the blast that so pained him... for his back had a weakness.

The rest of his body was covered in magical armor... but his wings were exposed.

Goldar began spinning uncontrollably, tears leaping to his eyes for the first time in his memory. His cries of agony simmered into pathetic whimpers as he fell from the moonlit skies, crashing into the dirt.

The force of the Pulse knocked the Green Ranger cleanly off Goldar's back. He fell to the ground, stumbling as he landed on his bad leg.
He clutched his bleeding thigh, biting back the pain while forcing himself to stand upright again.

His consciousness became hazy, all his strength leaving his body. A rising feeling of nausea built in his stomach, forcing him to fall to the ground.

He released a gasp of pain, once again grasping his bleeding wound. He blinked in confusion, shaking his head to recover his senses.

"What... what's happening to me?" he breathed.

"Now you die, Human."

Erol turned sharply to see Goldar stumble towards him. His wings hung uselessly from his back, and even in the darkness of the night, Erol could see the dark blood that stained Goldar's luminescent armor.
The scent of Goldar's blood reached Erol's nose. For some reason, knowing that he had dealt Goldar such a blow was... exciting.

A smile formed on Erol's hidden face, and he slowly rose to his feet, ignoring the pain that swelled his leg.

"That was a quick recovery," Green commented, bracing himself, "But it doesn't look like you'll be flying anytime soon."

Goldar released a final scream of fury before he pounced on the Green Ranger, his hands clutching the boy's throat with all the might in his pained body.

But before Erol could fight back, both combatants vanished in the blink of an eye.

Goldar sat on his knees, his arms hanging limply at his sides. His wings hung lifelessly from his back, still dripping blood onto his dulled armor.

Beside him, Scorpina kneeled on the cold concrete. She was in no better shape than he, for her blood poured from numerous gashes along her exposed flesh. Several pieces of armor were torn away, including half of her helmet, which cracked near her face. Her eye was swollen, as well her lip.

Rita Repulsa gazed at the two broken warriors that awaited her judgement. She folded her fingers pensively, leaning forward on her throne.

Goldar cringed at the queen's harsh laughter.

"Oh, I love

it!" Rita cackled, throwing her head back, "Goldar's brilliant master plan, thwarted by one Ranger! Even the mighty Scorpina couldn't stand up against one

little human!"

The shrill laughter grated on Goldar's nerves, but he had no energy in his body to offer any kind of protest. The queen was reveling in his failure, and there was no way to end the mockery.

"Well," Rita sighed, taking a breath to regain her composure, "Now I hope you've learned your lesson. The Power Rangers are quite the adversary."

Goldar grumbled something unintelligible.

At that display of disdain, all humor died in Rita's eyes. She glared furiously at her general, leaping to her feet.

"You have a lot