Period 7: Go, Go, Baka Rangers!

"Hey, hey," Asuna said "Is this for real?" She was staring at a giant rock man, standing over Mero's bruised and battered form. "What is all this?"

"I've seen this before aru." Ku said. "On my brother's playstation."

"It's a golem." Yue said awestruck.

"L-Like the golem of Prague?" Nodoka asked.

"What are you guys talking about?" Asuna demanded.

"According to legend," Yue explained, "it's a man of clay brought to life by a word of truth written on it's forehead. Though I don't see any writing, so maybe that description isn't totally accurate."

"And what the heck is something like that doing under the school?!" The red head shouted.

"I always knew this school was weird, but isn't this too much?" Makie said.

The golem looked back and forth between Mero and the others, as if deciding which was the bigger threat. The others hadn't made any move towards the door, so the golem turned it's attention towards Mero.

"Makie-san, get Mero-san away from there." Yue ordered.

"Sure thing, Yue-chan!" She said whipping out her ribbon. The fabric wrapped around Mero's waist, but just before she pulled it taught, the golem moved to intercept her.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Asuna cried, and without thinking she ran up and tackled the stone warrior's chest. Despite his massive weight, the attack actually caused him to wobble a bit. Asuna winced and clutched her shoulder. Unfortunately the stone man was not hindered and grabbed her in his colossal hand as Makie pulled Mero in with her ribbon and caught her in her arms.

"Are you okay Mero-chan?"

"Y-Yes." She said dumbfounded.

"There's no way that's true, you're covered in wounds!" Nodoka exclaimed.

"Ahhh!" Asuna cried as the monster squeezed her in his grip.

"I'm coming Asuna!" Ku said as she rushed in.

She crouched right underneath it, and kicked upward. The sole of her foot hit the giant's wrist, and cracked it, forcing him to release Asuna. As soon as she was free Makie's ribbon caught her and pulled her to safety.

"Good work, Makie-san." Yue said. "Okay, now that our people are safe, our priority is to escape. Ku see if you can distract it."

"No!" Mero protested. "The magic book is behind that door. If you don't want this entire mission to be in vain, we have to defeat that golem!" Yue gave her a look, then turned back to the battle. The leader of the chinese martial arts club was trading blows with the giant. Despite striking the stone with her bare fists and elbows she didn't seem to be injuring herself.

"How's it looking Ku?" Yue called.

"I don't know, he's pretty tough aru." She parried an attack by the golem and lunged forward with her own punch. "Mati Bung Chuen!"

The punch exploded in the creature's abdomen, and it's massive body went sailing across the room. Mero was awestruck. Weather she was aware of it or not, that level of ki control was incredible.

"Your attacks are strong aru." Ku said. "But you're too slow!" She charged forward to deliver the final blow. The golem sat up and glared at her with it's single glowing eye. Kaede seemed to notice something that she didn't.

"Wait Ku!"

As she approached the enemy his eye glowed brightly, and a beam of light projected from it. Ku's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. Kaede jerked her arm back, pulling on a thin wire, and the giant shurriken in the ground behind the golem flew toward her. The weapon connected with it's back diverting the bean just enough for Ku to jump out of the way.

"Ngth! I was careless aru." She said cradling her left arm. It was burned where the beam grazed it. Kaede stepped in front of her.

"Stand back Ku."

She positioned the shurriken around her body, and dashed toward the enemy with the blade pointed forward.

"Don't be a fool." Mero thought. "A frontal attack is useless."

The sentinel fired another beam of energy. Kaede dove straight in and was enveloped in purple light.

"Kaede!" Asuna cried.

The sound had barely left her throat when the ninja girl appeared in mid air above the golem, with a knife in each hand.

"An afterimage?" Mero realized. Kaede descended on the enemy and slashed across it's back. It staggered quite a bit, but didn't fall. Kaede examined her knives, which were chipped and cracked.

"I may have underestimated this brute."

The golem swung his hand through her body, as he did her form flickered and disappeared. Her actual body appeared in front of it again. She held up her hand with her index and middle finger extended as she concentrated her ki.

"It looks like I'll have to get serious De Gozaru."

Her body blurred and flickered until there were four identical copies of her standing side by side.

"More afterimages?" Mero wondered. "No, those are actual dopplegangers. What kind of technique is this?"

The four Kaedes ran around their enemy, easily avoiding his attacks and slashing at his joints. Eventually the behemoth fell to his knees. With his movement restricted he began blasting at her with his laser beam. She jumped and dodged, but the blasts shook the whole room and reduced the walls to rubble.

"Ngth." Yue shielded her eyes from the debris. "You've got to disable that beam weapon before he brings down the whole island!"

Kaede threw her daggers at the creature's eye, but the blades bounced harmlessly off the stone.

"No good, De Gozaru?"

"Leave it to me aru!"

Ku ran back into the battle. The golem tried to counter her with a punch, but she casually leaped leaped over it. She was eye level with the monster as it prepared to fire again.

"Not this time aru!"

Ku pressed her palm to it's arm to support herself, and kicked him square in the face. The stone that made up his face cracked and splintered. Purple energy sparked all around him.

"The mana is leaking out." Mero realized.

The creature's body spasmed, causing Ku to lose her balance and fall to the floor.

"Gah!" She landed hard on her injured arm. The golem raised his fist. Before he brought it down Makie's ribbon tied around it.

"Leave Ku-chan alone!"

The pink haired girl wasn't strong enough to actually stop the attack, but she did slow it down long enough for Kaede to get into position and throw her shurriken. The giant razor edged disk flew through the air and cut clean through the wrist Ku had cracked earlier. More light sparked from the opening in his arm where his hand used to be.

"Thanks Kaede aru."

"It's become too unstable!" Mero warned. "We have to do something!"

"The river." Yue said. "We can drown it. Guys you have to drag it into the river somehow!"

"Understood, Yue-donno." Kaede and her three dopplegangers surrounded the target. They each threw a chain and ensnared the golem. All the cracks in it's body glowed intensely. The four Kaede's leaped toward the water, but even with the four of them they struggled to pull the dense stone behind them.

"Would you. Just. Go. Down!" Asuna shouted.

She threw her body at the creature and kicked out with both her legs, pushing it back. Kaede was then able to drag it all the way to the edge where he rooted his feet and grasped the floor with his remaining hand. The golem's entire body glowed. It seemed to be charging up one final attack.

"Let's finish it Asuna!" Ku said. They both ran up to it an punched simultaneously."Pao Chuan!" [cannon fist] Shouted Ku as she attacked.

"Take this!" Asuna cried as her knuckles bit into the stone.

Together they managed to dislodge it from the riverbank, and Kaede pulled it the rest of the way into the water. As soon as the giant disappeared under it's surface there was a huge explosion, spraying water and dirt across the room.

Mero was speechless. The enemy she had been struggling with, albeit in her weakened state, was defeated by these middle school girls.

"Is it . . . dead?" Asuna asked nervously.

"It was never alive." Mero confirmed. "Think of it as a doll, animated by magic and programed to stop any intruders here."

"How do you know that?"

". . ."

"She's right." Yue said. "In the stories, golems were used for all sorts of jobs and once the word of truth was erased from their forehead they turn back into ordinary clay.

"Wow, you really know you're stuff Yue-chan." Asuna said impressed.

"The more pressing issue," Mero continued. "Is how to get past this door."

"I assume it's sealed by some kind of magic." Yue said. "Mero-san, you got here ahead of us, did you see or hear anything that could help?"

"It mentioned a challenge." She said.

"A challenge?" Yue approached the tablet. "The door would probably have opened if we answered these, but now that the golem has been destroyed will it still work?"

"Why should we have to answer aru? We should just break down the door!" Ku ran up the the door and punched it as hard as she could.

Once again the door merely glowed and repulsed the attack.

"Owie!" She cried rubbing her hand.

"Looks like it won't be so easy De Gozaru." Kaede observed.

"Let me give it a try." Asuna said walking up to the entrance.

Mero was reminded just how stupid Asuna was. Despite being told that it was sealed by magic, and having just seen her classmate fail to do the same, why would she think she'd be able to break through?

"Hiyah!" Asuna kicked the door. Like before it glowed brightly, but this time the light stopped abruptly and the door flew off it's hinges.

"Asuna did it aru?" Ku said slightly confused.

"Impressive De Gozaru." Kaede nodded.

Mero was utterly speechless. She was able to break a multilayered ward with pure physical strength? Inconceivable! Even a skilled mage would take a considerable amount of time to disable that, and she just kicked it. Was Asuna even a mage? No, even if she was, there was no sign of the spell actually breaking. It was just there one second and gone the next. What was going on here?

"Hey, Mero-chan!" Makie called. "What are you spacing out for? Our goal is right in front of us!"

"That's right." Yue said. "The magic book should be right through here." She gave a wry smile. "Let's go claim it