Disclaimer: I don't own the Rights to Power Rangers.
Chapter 1: Hero of Hope
The full moon shone big and bright over the mist covered plains, it's silvery light gleaming off of the fog in an eerie ethereal way. From high atop the cliffs surrounding the valley, it looked as if the mist was a vast ocean roiling and moving in waves. The mist originated from a large silvery whirlpool at the center of it all, which housed a giant black obelisk of a castle engulfed in flame.
Upon a closer inspection of the mist which surrounded the obelisk tower, it could be seen the mist was not entirely just water vapor. Hundreds upon thousands of creatures shambled around among the mist. They held the appearances of decaying humans. Where their eyes should have been there were nothing but inky black voids, which seemed to leak from the sockets like tears of tar. Where the skin had fallen from their putrid bodies, there was silvery goo which undulated like a living creature crawling across their bodies. From the goo the toxic mist around them came out like steam. Even some in the crowd were merely just monsters and demons which roamed around.
Deep underneath the ground below the spire, stood a man dressed in all white. He was breathing heavily and wounded. He stood at the foot of a large Demon engulfed in Silver flames. The Demon had the skeletal face of a human, except with multiple plated horns extending from his forehead and stretching back like a mass of hair. His hands covered in scaly lizard like skin, and the size of a small house. From the Demon's back a great pair of sharp spindly wing like bones extended.
"So You're the only one to make it all the way here?" The Demon said, his laughter booming through the air, and causing the entire ornate throne room around the two of them to shake.
The man wiped away the blood beading up at the edge of his lip. He tried to fight back the physical and emotional pain he felt remembering the deaths of his brethren at the hands of this Demon's generals. "Their mortal bodies may be gone, but I am not alone. As the Last of the Zenith Elysian Order I will avenge my friend's souls, and ensure that their sacrifices were not in vain."
The Demon laughed as it looked down at the sole human. He found it almost amusing to him such a pathetic creature thought he even stood a chance against him; and alone no doubt. "Fools they were for putting their hope in only one being, and one as pathetic as you. I almost feel pity I will have to destroy you." He said.
The man looked up at the Demon with a stern but confident smile on his face. " If you're so confident I'll lose to you. Then come at me. Or are you afraid, of me Briezora?" he asked.
"Unfortunate for me, little Angel, The time you wasted trying to get here to me, has given me more than enough time to come to full power. Your suffering will be quick." Briezora said.
Squaring his shoulders and moving his hand slightly to the pouch which hung from his long white robes the man looked up at the Demon. "Well, then what are you waiting for?" he asked.
With a mighty roar which shook the tower, and echoed through the sea of fog and monsters Briezora charged at the smaller human. The silver flames on his body becoming more intense.
As he drew close to him, the man reached into the pouch, with drawing an Eight pointed star shaped crystal. The Crystal began to glow with a rainbow light, resonating with an audible noise. He plunged the Crystal down into the Stone Alter which had been between them. The Crystal shattered into pieces letting off Rainbow colored light. The single glimmering white tear shaped crystal left in the alter. The whole castle began to shake and rumble, crumbling down upon the cavern.
Rainbow light burst from the crystal the second it touched the Alter. The light combined into a burst of pure white light radiating through the area. It's glow obliterating the shadows and the creatures which lurked around the misty valley. A solid two minutes passed; the light illuminated the darkness. When the light of the crystal cleared, darkness settling into the desert, only the crystal itself remained, glowing and pulsating with a opalescent white light.
The Crystal remained hidden in the chamber deep underneath the ground for almost twenty millennia. It lay among undisturbed, uninhabited desert until over a millennia ago. A powerful wizard caught in a time warp known as Zordon, had established a Command Center to keep a vigilant watch over the Earth and the forces of Good and evil in the Universe. Eventually establishing a group of individuals known as Power Rangers in the early 1990s when the Evil Sorceress, unleashed from her prison upon the Moon sought to take over the world. Unbeknownst to Zordon and his faithful robot companion, Alpha 5, deep beneath the caverns of the command center was the chamber of the Crystal.
Zordon's Command Center and Power Rangers came and went, until its final destruction in 1997 AD, at the hands of the evil Space Pirate Divatox. The ruins of the Power Ranger's Command Center lay undisturbed in what had come to be known as the Angel Grove Desert, a few miles outside of the city of Angel Grove, California.
Twenty-one years later, an alliance of Power Rangers and beings from all across the Galaxy working under the name of the United Alliance Of Heroes sought to carry on the maintenance of peace and order in the world as Zordon would have done. Led by former Rangers; they went into the desert to research the Ranger Power of the Past. They built their base of operations on the ruins of the old Command Center. Through their scavenging of the caverns below the Command Center they came across the Crystal Chamber.
The United Alliance of Heroes began their research on the Crystal. Intrigued by the aura of power it contained and it's mysterious origins. They called it the Zeo Beta after research upon it showed that it held many of the same properties as the Zeo-Crystal. A Crystal which had been in the Power Ranger's use briefly, and itself stored away for many years.
Which is where it stood today, ten years after it's discovery. It had become something of a intriguing and yet comforting presence to a seventeen year old boy named Liam McKenzie. He would frequently find himself standing in the Chamber alone staring at the crystal while he worked on his school work. He could spend hours standing there in the chamber looking at the Zeo Beta glimmering opal light, and staring at the tear shaped crystal
He had grown up around the United Alliance of Heores; his mother, father, sister, brother and grandfather were all Civilian Agents employed by the organization. Liam himself had intentions of joining the ranks of the organization whenever he turned eighteen and graduated from Angel Grove High.
There wasn't much he could do at his age, he was no skilled fighter, only trained in the most basic of martial arts. He was no weapon's expert-as the last time he had even touched one of the blasters he had almost fired upon another agent after having to ask how to turn the safety switch on. He wasn't even medically literate outside of basic first aid and god only knew they needed all the medics and scientists they could get.
It had probably been about two years ago whenever the United Alliance had to start making use of it's medical and military teams. It had all happened at once, a strage fog appeared from no where. It hung around the city for a while before clearing up. Then people started to get sick. Many hospitals were getting several similar reports of people coming in with a sudden onslaught of insanity, accompanied by a terrible silver rash which was starting to appear on the skin, eventually accompanied by high fever and paranoia, eventually lapsing into an outright coma. The number of the people falling ill with the same symptoms, had caught the attention of the Alliance, and they began researching the illness.
However the United Alliance's troubles had become greater as barely a year ago, they received a transmission from the moon. A group of machines from an alien planet had arrived, calling themselves the Machine Empire. They had become a menace of the Alliances Agents, and were using the evil mist to their advantage to power their army of robot creatures known as Metalliwisps, which the Machine Empire would send down every once in awhile.
As Liam looked down at the drawing in the folder in his hands he shook his head and frowned. He knew exactly what they needed. Something told him the schematic he had drawn up over the last few days, was exactly the thing to give the Alliance the upper hand against the Machine Empire.
He reached into his backpack and pulled out the prototype of the device he was going to present to his grandfather. It was a two part wrist mounted device, designed to connect to one another. One of the devices seemed capable of holding an object; the Crystal is what Liam had in mind during his designing of the device.
Giving a silent prayer of luck to himself he looked up at the metal door. Behind this door was his grandfather, probably sitting at his desk going over the recent data and information regarding the previous Metalliwisps attacks in the last few weeks. Liam could just picture it. His grandfather, dressed in his usual hawaiian shirt, and fishing cap just covering his greying, balding hair. His glasses practically sliding down his nose, as he looked at the tablet screen. His much younger secretary, Julia sipping on a cup of coffee, as she casually briefed him on the meetings today.
Liam knocked on the door, waiting for a few seconds to be signalled in. As he stepped in he found exactly the scene he expected.
"Ah. Liam. You said you wanted to talk to me?" His grandfather said as he sat the tablet aside on his desk and looked up at his grandson.
Julia, in her usual warm fashion, set down her cup of coffee, and looked up at Liam with a warm smile, as she offered him the seat she had been sitting in directly across from the older man. She straightened out her dress suit, and gathered up a few of the files upon the desk. "Mr. McKenzie, a pleasure to see you." She said as she shook hands with the seventeen year old.
"Can I get you two anything?" She asked.
"A glass of milk and some peanut butter crackers for me and my grandson?" The old man asked. Liam grimaced as he heard such a demand for a snack being made. He felt like kid being offered an afterschool snack. This was a serious organization and he had serious business there.
"I'll see what I can do Lieutenant Sir." Julia said with a curt nod and salute before she ducked out of the room.
"Thank you Julia-but I'm not a Lieutenant anymore. I haven't been one since I was on the police force, ages ago. It's Director Stone now." Mr. Stone said.
Julia nodded realizing her mistake. "Yes, Sir. Sorry Sir!" She said before she ducked out of the room quickly.
Liam bit his lip as he watched Julia go. He felt annoyance towards his grandfather. He could imagine Julia had felt humiliated by her mistake, and didn't need someone pointing it out to her to make her feel worse about it.
Director Stone clasped his hands together as he looked across the table to his grandson, allowing for the seventeen year old to begin to talk to explain his reasons for wanting to set up a private meeting. He wondered if something was bothering the teenager. After all, Liam hadn't stopped by the office just for a grandfather/grandson chat anymore like they used to, most of the days lately, people had been telling him his grandson spent most of his time sitting in the Crystal Chamber. It had become concerning to some of the Alliance's members.
"So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked.
Liam shifted in his chair slightly as he pulled out the papers containing multiple sketches and schematics for the device he proposing to be worn by Alliance Agents. He passed them across the table to his grandfather whom began to look at the drawings curiously trying to make heads or tails of them.
"Liam, these are nice drawings, but what exactly am I looking at here?" He asked.
"Well, I've been doing some thinking, and I think I know what I want to do when I turn Eighteen and can join the Alliance. I want to put my knowledge of computers and programming into some practical use-while I'm in college of course." He began, but stopped as he saw the stern look of his Grandfather, warning him to tread on the issue of post graduation life carefully, Liam already had promised his grandfather and his parents he was going to college, and no matter what he thought about joining the United Allaince wasn't going to get in the way of his education.
"Anyways, I think I might have a way to help in the fight against the Machine Empire's King Aradon and his army, and I think this device might be of some use." He said.
"And how exactly?"
"Well, you see, I think we might be able to utilize the Zeo-Beta's Power. See, this here, it's got a hallowed out chamber for the crystal." He explained.
Before his grandfather could interrupt he continued on excitedly. "I figure we'll only be able to use the one device. Sure it'll won't be much, but the crystal's power should enhance the capabilities of the Agent who wears it which should allow for an advantage against the Metalliwisps, but the device can allow for the regulation of the Crystal's power, allowing for it to be safely utilized without damage to them."
Director Stone looked down at the drawings again and then adjusted his glasses as he looked back at his Grandson. There was a stern look upon the old man's face.
"Liam, It's a good idea-but you're forgetting the Crystal's Force field. Obtaining the crystal will be next to impossible." He said.
Shaking his head a smile appeared on Liam's face, his eyes shining. "Well, see I've been thinking about that too. We've already proven that the Zeo-Beta shares a connection to the Zeo Crystal, which was-is- connected to the Universal Morphing Grid. It's just a matter of manipulating the connection into a computer chip and installing it into the device. The Zeo-Beta should recognize it's sister energy signal and allow for access to the crystal." He said.
His face fell however as he saw the unwavering stern look on his Grandfather's face. He knew the look all too well; the same look his mother would give him whenever he was asking her for something, and she was about to deny it. She had learned it well from her own father. Liam could feel the pit of his heart drop and his stomach anxiously doing somersaults.
"Things like what you're suggesting requires multiple levels of approval, there are committees, proposals which have to be written to the Supreme Council of the Alliance and reviewed before access to the morphing grid can even be allowed for testing purposes. Not to mention we haven't studied the Crystal's Abilities enough to know if it can even be harnessed into such uses."
Liam crossed his arms, "I'm willing to write up the proposals and have them sent for approval. Look, The Zeo-Beta has a forty nine percent similarity in energy reading to the Zeo-Crystal: and that similarity is becoming closer every day. They may even come from the same source. If the Zeo-Crystal could be adapted and manipulated for use-" He began but his grandfather cut him off.
"There was a reason the Zeo-Crystal stopped being used Liam. It was because the Crystal's Power was starting to grow too much to the point where it was starting to become dangerous. Even with the regulatory controls you've designed, you have to take into account the Zeo-Beta Crystal itself may have far exceeded the regulations-" The old man said.
"The Computer Archives only detail the Zeo-Rangers stopped using the Zeo Crystal's powers because of the advent of the first Human Manufactured Ranger Power; The Turbo Rangers. It was a successful test trial and the Zeo Powers were never returned to because of Divatox's Raid on the Command Center. The assumption the Crystal was gaining too much power is only speculation due to it's energy readings now, and garbled information from almost forty year old salvaged ruins and equipment. The information is vauge and breif and doesn't even detail the identities of Zordon's Power Rangers. Some of those details are only being revealed now through contacts with other Rangers working for the organization." Liam explained.
Director Stone picked up the pen next to him and leaned back in his chair as he tapped it against the grey metal of the desk. He then heaved a sigh. "The fact still remains, You're not a Full-fledged Agent of the United Alliance, and you won't be until May when you turn eighteen. It was difficult enough to fight against the board of directors to allow for you to even have clearance to some levels of the Base. They'd never approve of such a dangerous project proposed by a cadet." He said.
Liam put his hand on his chest as he tried to hold back the outburst of emotions he was starting to feel rising up. He was certain he was about to be denied. He wanted to tell his Grandfather he already had his mind set on where this meeting was going. He had been sure his Grandfather would have seen the worthwhile of the project.
His body shook briefly as he tried to suppress his anger. Didn't his Grandfather understand why this project was necessary? Liam felt a firm grasp on his shoulder, and looked up to see his grandfather now standing beside him with an apologetic look on his face. Liam couldn't accept the muted apology. He had worked his hardest on these devices, he had done all the math and calculations and research.
Shaking his Grandfather's hand off his shoulder, he marched out of the room, nearly bumping into Julia who was standing there in the doorway with a tray of crackers and milk. She looked curiously at the youth, making note of his angry expression as he left the room and of the saddened expression on her boss's face.
Setting the tray down on the desk as Director Stone returned to his desk, looking again at the drawings his grandson had left behind Julia crossed her arms.
"For the Record, Sir. I think his idea was brilliant." She said as she sat across from him, picking up one of the drawings and looking at it for herself, going over the data and information sketched out into the white space.
Director Stone heaved a sigh and helped himself to one of the peanut butter covered saltines on the plate. "It was...but It wasn't his idea." He said as he took a bite of the snack. His voice had a slight fearful shake in it
Julia looked up curiously. "Sir?"
Shaking his head Director Stone went back to the tablet in his hands and reviewing the information. "Never mind."
Giving a slightly concerned nod, before briefly looking back to the closed door, Julia heaved a small sigh as she tried to focus herself back on her assignment.
Upon the Moon, in the middle of the Sea of Serenity, the Palace of King Aradon and the Machine Empire was a buzz with excitement. After all today was a big day for the Machine King's Newly established Moon Palace.
The Machine King Aradon himself-a humanoid looking machine with the build and design of a Greek warrior, complete with a razor-sharp laurel crown upon his head, could barely contain his own excitement as he paced the throne room.
His wife looking more like a Machine imagination of a English Nobel woman from centuries ago, her silvery metal curls framed her silver face. Around her arms was a silken shawl. She sat upon a simple stool with her eyes closed as she played a metal violin. "Aradon, You must calm yourself. You don't want to accidentally burst a circuit." She said without even looking up from her instrument.
"I know Senphonea. But-"King Aradon said as he approached the balcony which overlooked Earth. He put his hands on the wooden balcony, running his metal fingers across the smooth wooden rails. "It's just that I cannot help but feel excitement! The next stage in our domination of Earth is about to begin!"
He then turned towards the other machines in the throne room, and clenched his fist. "I'll be the one to succeed where Mondo and the House of Gadgetry failed!" He said with a loud booming laugh.
"No offense to your dearly departed family Prince Gasket." Senphonea added as she looked towards the two Machines in standing in the corner. One of which was a human looking machine designed to look like Napoleon or some French General. His suit was green and white, and he had three light bulbs just visible on the top of his tricornered hat. He was holding the hand of a slightly shorter robot whom was female, and dressed in a pink leather with white frills. Her hair was a short black bob cut in design which framed her silver face and yellow eyes.
Gasket laughed, "None taken my dearest mother-in-law. My Father was a weak failure, and my baby brother would have been unfit to rule a kingdom. The fall of the House of Gadgetry was due to come. Archerina and I were only so lucky to make ourselves scarce before old man Zordon's energy wave happened, or else we would have been dust like my dear father! " He said as he brought his wife closer to him.
Another Robot, this one also female, but had the appearance of a teenage girl, rolled her eyes as she looked up from the book she was reading. " The Power Rangers had you running scared, you saw they almost had Mondo down for the count, and you took off running back home to daddy." She said.
Archerina stepped forward "Karmelody, how dare you say that! We were not scared of those humans!" She said.
"Were too!" Karmelody said.
"Were not!"
"Too!"
"Girls, Girls," King Aradon said as he stepped in-between the two bickering women. Each one stomping slightly in protest and annoyance of the other as they turned their back to each other, "Stop your arguing. What happened in the past isn't of importance right now! What matters now, is that we are here together and our family is on the brink of triumph conquering Earth." He said.
The dull clunk of approaching Cyborgs caught the group's attention as a band of machines entered into the throne room; Led by a tall Female Android who looked like a doctor, complete with a long doctor's coat fashioned out of metal. There were two behind her, one looking more like professional wrestler than anything else. The other was a smaller one, whom was wearing a form fitting bodysuit in appearance. He almost appeared to be out of a sci-fi fantasy, he had a blade strung up on his back, and his face was a featureless helmet, except for a mouth which was only designed on to the face for decoration like a helmet.
King Aradon held his arms out to the trio. "Ahh, and there she is now, the Machine of the hour, My Dearest General Galexia, and of course not to forget our two generals Invidia and Noh. What wonderful news do you bring?" He asked.
Galexia bowed briefly to the King and the royal family, as did her cohorts, before she began to speak. "The device is ready my lord. With it, we can utilize the Pandora Mist, and enhance our Metalliwisp Soldiers. I've already tested it on one of the Metalliwisps, with magnificent results." She said as she stepped aside to allow for another creature to make it's way into the throne room.
The Creature looked like a strange cyborg combination of an arabic genie and a clown, with metal spots upon it's body where it's skin looked torn away. There was a silver collar implanted directly into the creature's neck.
"He's gross!" Karmelody said as she looked at the strange creature in bewilderment. She poked the creature, "-not to mention kind of fleshy." she added.
"He's fantastic! What is he?!" King Aradon asked looking at his General and then to the monster.
Galexia laughed, covering her mouth in an almost arrogant manner, "This is Genjester. He's the second level of Metalliwisps solider. The CyberShade, If you will, created from just a simple Solider, but with cybernetic enhancement, and an injection of the Pandora Mist." She explained.
She looked over at the Genjester monster and put her hand on her hip. "With his increase in power and his capabilities of using the Pandora Mist to infect more humans, he is the perfect fusion of our machine technology and the ancient Demon magic, and should make quick work of quite a number of those United Alliance fool's agents, and make gathering human souls to power our empire easier." She said.
The Genjester bowed to the King, whom was clapping. "Splendid, Impressive work Galexia! Is he ready for combat?" King Aradon asked.
Galexia nodded. "Yes of course my lord! I'm am awaiting your command to send him down." She said.
"Well, then what are you waiting for? Take an army of Metalliwisps and send him down there! I'm anxious to see how he's going to perform!" King Aradon said.
With a nod the CyberShade disappeared. The Robots remaining in the room turned toward a large circular terminal which was in the middle of the room. With a few buttons, pressed a holographic screen flickered to life, showing an image of the CyberShade and a swarm of cyborg creatures, through small vents along the sides of them were unleashing mist in small bursts.
Director Stone looked up from the tablet as he heard the alarms ringing through out the chamber. He was quickly on his feet joining the other Military Agents of the UAOH in the headquarters to prepare for attack.
He made his way into the crowd, catching sight of his daughter and son-in-law who were among the other agents currently strapping on their armor and preparing for battle. "Alice, Willis." He said addressing the two as he approached.
The two adults quickly saluted him as he approached. "Dad. What are you doing here?" Alice asked as she briefly embraced her father.
"Just going to wish you two luck." He said.
"Thanks Dad, but it's just some standard Metalliwisps. It's nothing to worry about. Willis and I can take care of ourselves." She said as she loaded the energy charge into her blaster.
Director Stone looked down at his daughter. "You're still my daughter-and even the Metalliwisps can be dangerous. I don't know what I'd do with myself if anything were to happen to the two of you out there, so please...just take care out there." He said.
Alice nodded as she and her husband followed the other Agents out onto the field.
The Agents arrived on the scene in less than fifteen minutes, several agents stepped out and began quickly trying to escort terrified citizens out of the area and secure a perimeter . Others took a more offensive part in the battle, and began to attack the creatures which were emerging from the fog which was rising up from the streets and coming out in a steady burst from random cracks in the ground.
Alice looked over at Willis as they proceeded to make their way into the swarm. She fired a couple of shots at the creatures watching them burst into mist and goo as the condensed energy pulses hit them.
"Something doesn't seem right. The Metalliwisps seem more confident than normal. Aradon must have something plotted." Willis said as he scanned the battle through the visor on his helmet.
Looking across the street, to the monster coming down the street, and basically knocking the agents who were attacking it out of the way, Alice felt her breath caught in her throat. "I think I can see why." She said.
Willis's eyes became wide as the monster approached them. "What the-?" He asked as he readied his aim towards the monster.
The Monster stopped in the middle of the group which surrounded it, and let out a sadistic laugh, and began dancing in a clown like manner, causing all of the Agents to stare in confusion.
However as the Genjester stopped dancing, a lot of the Agents soon found their weapons were frozen in midair, suspended by seemingly nothing. After a moment of tense stillness the weapons exploded. The impact of which sending the agents flying backwards and landing with painful crashes onto the ground and other areas near by.
"Amber!" Willis shouted as he rushed over the Agent who closest to him.
The young agent coughed and grunted in pain as she tried to catch her breath as her comrades helped her to her feet. "Looks like Galexia's been...busy. The Blasters-they didn't even scratch it. I've...never seen a Metalliwisp like it before." She heaved out between pained breathing as they took shelter behind the car.
The Genjester shot another blast at the car.
Looking over the edge of the vehicle, Willis and Alice both fired blasts from their blasters, which only drew the Monsters fire toward them more as it began wildly dancing, sending bolts of energy out towards the car. They were the only agents whom weren't engaged with the swarm of Metalliwisp soldiers, or weren't currently rendered unconscious and injured.
"Shit! This is bad. Every Agent we've got is out here against his guy right now-and nothing is working. At this rate, this freak's gonna kill us all!" Willis shouted over the explosion which went off near the Sedan. He loaded another energy charge into his blaster.
Amber pressed her fingers to the side of her helmet. "I'm trying to radio the base, but there's some sort of interference! I can't get through!" She said.
Gritting her teeth Alice braced herself as another explosion caused the ground to shake near by as the monster continued firing upon them. "Try Code 21404-12!" She shouted as she shot another blast over the hood of the vehicle.
"21404-12? Hexagon? They're all the way in Reefside!" Amber said.
"Reefside usually has the better broadcasting signal outside of the Space Patrol Delta Headquarters-but SPD's usually tied up in their own broadcasts. Reefside's Base can patch you through to our base. " Willis said before he shot a couple of blasts to the monster, allowing for his wife to reload her blaster before switching out with him so they could continue to lay suppressing fire down on the monster.
Amber nodded as she adjusted the code on her headset. "21404-12, Hexagon. Come in. Do you read me? I repeat 21404-12, Hexagon. Please respond!"
A brief moment of static filled the receiver before it clicked as someone picked up.
"This is Hexagon. Agent Matt Gray. We read you. Proceed." A man's voice came over the speaker.
Amber let out a brief sigh of relief as she recognized the voice of her boyfriend." This is Agent Amber McKenzie of Alpha Division. We're experiencing problems in our sector with our communications. Requesting a communications patch to 82893-01." She said.
"Understood. Stand by for transmission."
A black motorcycle raced through the streets, opposing the civilians whom were being escorted past a barricade which set up a few streets away from where the United Alliance was having difficulty fighting against the CyberShade.
Two people were on the motorcycle, one wearing a black motor suit and the other dressed similarly except the suit had accents of red mixed with the black. Their faces covered by the helmets they wore.
They knew they had caught the attention of the regular police and the United Alliance Agents assisting in the evacuation process as they sped past them.
The two on the motorcycle didn't even seem to be afraid of the fact they were speeding towards the line of police vehicles and guard barriers blocking the road.
Nor did they heed the calls from the megaphone which one of the officers was using demanding they proceed no further.
The driver of the Motorcycle, gave a brief glance over her shoulder to the red rider as they neared the barrier, before she reached into the holster at her back where a pair of katana were. She unsheathed one of the swords, steering the motorcycle with only one hand.
The rider in red, brought his hand up to his face in concentration, flame began to emit from the tips of his fingers. With his fist engulfed in the flames, he held his hand out to the open air, where the trail of flames had begun to form up into a horse made of pure fire. He grasped onto the mane of the beast, using the semi corporeal horse running along side them to steady himself as he pulled himself into a standing position on the back of the bike and threw himself over and onto the beast.
Director Stone had been watching the entire battle from the base's main control room.
He had been trying to fight back his concern for all of the Agents under his command, and especially his Daughter and Son-In-law, and Granddaughter. His fist clenched tightly upon the chair of the communications officer whom was sitting in front of him; the bones of his knuckles were visible against the wrinkled skin of his hand.
He found it difficult to keep the calm, cool, and collected composure which he normally held in this position, in tact as he saw another wave of officers being knocked back by the Genjester's attack.
"Sir, we've got an incoming relay transmission routed through Hexagon Division's communications signal. Connecting now." The officer said as he pressed a few buttons on the console in front of him.
"This is Alpha Division, we read you." Director Stone said, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Director. It's Agent McKenzie. Listen, We've got a complete disaster on our end, and we need back up-Med teams needed!" Amber's voice came over the transmission.
In the background, Director Stone could hear his daughter's voice declaring she was running out of energy charges for her blaster. His heart tightened in his chest as he heard the distress in her voice.
"We can see the situation from here. Med Teams are in-route to your location Agent McKenzie." Director Stone said.
"What about backup?" Alice's voice came over the radio.
Director Stone felt the pit of his stomach drop. He couldn't promise them backup. All available agents were currently fighting. Even then he wasn't sure if it would be of any use to them as the Genjester had been making quick work of the agents.
"All our available agents are out on the field-"
"Hexagon Division is deploying Agents now. Hang in there until we get there Alpha." Matt's voice came over the transmission.
"What? Matt! No!"
"Thank you Agent Gray." Director Stone said.
"Hurry. I don't know how much longer we're going to be able to hang in here." Alice's voice said before the transmission cut off.
Liam sighed as he sat down against the wall of the Crystal Chamber and pulled his backpack off his back as he tried to focus on his homework for the night. The glimmering of the Zeo-Beta Crystal was a distraction to him. It seemed to glimmer as if it were talking to him, asking him about how the meeting had gone.
Shaking his head he shrugged, "Grandpa didn't like it. It's like no matter what I tried to do or say he just kept finding new ways to shut me down. It was always one excuse after another. Reviews, Proposals, the fact that I'm not an agent-the danger because we don't know much about you." He said as he set aside the book and sighed as he looked up at the glimmering crystal.
A few seconds of silence passed, as if Liam were expecting some sort of response. He clenched his fist as he got to his feet. As he approached the crystal he shook his head. Gently placing his hand against the invisible barrier surrounding the crystal.
He could feel the gentle warmth of the barrier underneath his fingers. He heaved another sigh. If the Crystal would just let someone close enough to actually touch it, then Liam knew he could prove to his grandfather what they had discussed was worth while. If the Crystal would just let someone near enough to it-
"What are you trying to hide?" Liam found himself asking aloud as he looked at the shining crystal. It's glow seemed to become brighter as if it were responding to his question.
Liam suddenly felt something smooth and almost glass like against his fingertips. As he opened his eyes, he realized his hand had somehow slipped through the barrier and his fingers were upon the tear shaped crystal itself. With a surprised exclamation, Liam felt a shock run through his body,
Liam found himself floating in a pure white room. For a second a bright glow filled his eyes, temporarily blinding him; A sudden and stark contrast to the dim blueish white glow of the Crystal Chamber which he had been in just minutes before.
This place almost seemed like a heavenly palace. As his eyes adjusted he saw he was standing on top of water, there was water all around him. A pond of some sort. Liam was surprised he had some sort of weightlessness to be capable for his feet not to break the surface of the water.
Something swooped by him, causing the teenager to brace himself defensively for a second. However an ethereal crowing filled his ears, causing him to open his eyes curiously. Ahead of him was a large white lotus flower, There was a large white phoenix perched atop the blooming flower.
Liam slowly made his way towards the lotus flower and the phoenix. As he walked along the pond, he noticed the glimmer of other lights against the walls, and could see other creatures lounging around at the edge of the pond. Liam almost had to stop and stare in amazement at the massive size and the appearance of these creatures.
There was a large yellow Bear, which let out a yawn as it lazily dipped it's paws into the serene waters. Next to it, just bobbing along the surface Liam was surprised to see a large pink armored scorpion creature. It seemed too preoccupied with it's own matters to give Liam any mind as he stood there watching the creatures.
Just behind him a graceful red-Pegasus dipped it's snout into the water for a drink. It's magnificent wings folded close to it's body. Liam let out a slight laugh as a bright large orange butterfly darted under his nose, landing on his finger briefly before flying off and leaping from flower to flower which floated on the water's surface. The butterfly darting over to a lounging blue lion-like sphinx, which lazily batted at the butterfly before returning to it's nap. Near by a large green bull swished his tail at the creature, paying it no mind as it grazed on some of the flowers. A a purple peacock crooned near it and shook it's brilliant violet plumage which almost seemed to glow and shine like silk in the light.
"Please pay them no mind for now Liam, and come closer." A gentle man's voice said.
Trying to muster up the confidence, and not let the confusion of this strange new place get to him, Liam approached the large white Lotus at the end of the room. As he approached the lotus began to bloom, revealing a man dressed in long white robes and a jeweled headdress to be sitting cross-legged in the middle of it. His face was just hidden by a white and gold veil.
"Where-Where am I?" He asked as he approached the man and the white Phoenix.
The man laughed gently as he ran his tanned fingers across the shimmering opal feathers of the Phoenix's draping tail feathers. He then motioned for Liam to sit.
Looking hesitantly at the water for a second, Liam knelt down.
"Welcome to the Light Realm of Elysia. I am Tenshii, the Zenith Aether Temple Guardian. Protector of the Zenith Aether Crystals. The leader of the Zenith Elysian Order." The man said with a slight tilt of his head.
Liam suddenly remembered he was still holding the crystal in his hand. He gave a quick look down to his hand. The Crystal was still there, glimmering in the ethereal light.
"Why am I here?" Liam asked.
"I've been watching you for a while now, Liam. You may not have realized it, but I have been empathically communicating with you through the Zenith Aether Crystal -what you call the Zeo-Beta- these last few months." Tenshii said.
Liam shook his head as he reached into his backpack and pulled out the device which he had built off of the blueprints he had sketched. "You...helped me build this, and draw up the designs." He said.
The Aether Guardian nodded, with a serene smile on his face.
Getting to his feet, Liam shook his head. "No. That's crazy!"
A small laugh came from Tenshii as he gently got to his feet and glided towards the young man. His long white hair lightly touching the top of the water, but not even creating a single ripple.
"Liam, listen. The Fragment of the Zenith Aether Crystal which you hold, is a part of a larger crystal, created in an effort to protect the Elysian Realm from destruction by the Evil Demon King Briezora." He said.
"Briezora?"
"Yes. A terrible Demon whom rules over the Dark Realm of Elysia. The King of Nightmares, who seeks to infuse the world with his darkness. Centuries ago, he appeared on your Earth, after the barrier which had separated the two Realms of Elysia from our reality, was accidentally opened. He sought to spread his evil to Earth, and conquer this realm with his evil mist." Tenshii explained.
Looking down Liam's brows furrowed as he realized what Tenshii was talking about. "The Pandora Mist. He's the one responsible for all the people getting sick."
"Yes. Ages ago, The other members of the Order and I came to your Earth, where Briezora had begun to establish his nightmare kingdom in this world." Tenshii said as he held his hand out over the water.
The reflections on the water disappeared, showing a group of warriors dressed in ancient looking otherworldly armor. fighting their way through a hoard of creatures whom Liam recognized as looking similar to the Metalliwisps, only without half of the cyborg look to them.
Metalliwisps in their purest form, Liam thought as he looked at the creatures. King Aradon has been using the power of the Pandora Mist to enhance his own robot soldiers, strange how similar they look to the Machine Empire's Design. A chilling thought came to Liam's mind as he considered this similarity. However he remained silent to allow for Tenshii to continue.
Liam looked over at the white dressed man, who's serene face seemed to be cracking with a slight hint of emotion as he looked at the scene playing beneath him. Looking down, Liam could see the muted scenes playing, where each of his fellow warriors were dying. "We raided Briezora's castle, but as we descended into the depths, one by one, my comrades sacrificed their lives to defeat Briezora's Generals." Tenshii said.
He then heaved a sigh as the scene changed, showing him facing off against the Demon. "I alone made it to Briezora's throne, aided by the powers of my friends, and the complete Zenith Crystal. I was able to force Briezora and his armies back into the Nadir Elysian Realm. The Nightmare dimension from which Briezora came, and close the gate."
"-then why-" Liam began.
Tenshii looked over at the younger man and gave a half smile, "-is the Pandora Mist appearing again?"
Nodding, Liam let the man in white continue.
"When the Crystal shattered, It seemed Briezora and his Generals tricked everyone into believing they had really been sent back. However, now it seems only to be half the truth. Their souls split in two, one half stayed with their physical body and returned to his realm in slumber, while the other disappeared somewhere in this realm." Tenshii continued.
The scene changed below them, now showing a group of robots gathered in a strange throne room with a balcony which overlooked Earth. Liam recognized them. King Aradon.
"Eleven years ago, Briezora and his Generals were able to resurface, and as you see, Briezora found host in a rather familiar being. The Machine King Aradon, and his Royal Court. He became a part of King Aradon." Tenshii explained.
Liam crossed his arms, "Let me guess, Briezora controlled King Aradon empathically as well, and showed him how to either synthesize or utilize the Pandora Mist to power his Metalliwisp solidiers, and he's the one truly behind King Aradon's interest in Earth. He wants to somehow open up this Nadir-realm or whatever again, to reunite with his other half, and pick up from where he left off?" He asked.
"I'm afraid that's exactly right, and that's what I fear most." Tenshii said as the water's reflection returned back to normal.
Liam put his hands on his hips as Tenshii turned away from him and glided back towards the Lotus throne.
"What does this have to with me?" He asked
Tenshii remained quiet for a second as he gently patted the shining phoenix whom was now perched on his outstretched arm.
"You have me build this thing, and you won't even tell me what it's for, or why I'm here. That's not very fair." Liam said.
Tenshii didn't even turn around as he spoke to the blonde haired seventeen year old. "It is my sworn duty as a member of the Zenith Elysian Order to defeat Briezora and stop him from seeking out and destroying the Zenith Aether Realm, and destroying Earth in the process." He began.
He turned around and looked at Liam as he continued. "However, I and the others are now physically unable to cross into your world, as our physical bodies have perished long ago. That is why I've instructed you to build the Crystallizers." He said.
Liam felt a cold chill run through his body as he looked at the white haired man. There was something unsettling about the way which he spoke, which made him feel uncomfortable. What exactly was Tenshii suggesting?
Looking down at the devices in his hand, Liam bit his lip. What exactly were these things for? He had believed they would only be power enhancers using the Crystal.
"Through them you will be able to act as my vessel in your world, and allow for us to fight together as one." Tenshii explained.
Liam frowned, "Sounds like some serious bullshit. You're basically telling me you want to use my body to carry out your mission? That's too creepy dude. Like, not so sure how I feel about having another person's soul like taking control of my body." He said.
Tenshii laughed. "Perhaps vessel was the wrong word-maybe I'd become like a mental doppelganger would be more accurate? You of course would be in control at all times-unless circumstance deems it absolutely necessary for me to be in control. However, through the Zenith Aether Crystal Fragment you'll be able to use my power and ability as the Elysian Zenith Aether Guardian." He said.
Taking a deep breath and looking down at the crystal and the device in his hand. He felt his head spinning. He still wasn't sure about all of this. Maybe his grandfather was right. Maybe creating the Crystallizers wasn't such a great idea: especially if this was the true purpose behind them.
"I-I've got to go." He said as he turned around and made his way across the pool. However, as his foot made contact with the water, the reflection changed once again. This one showing Liam a scene of a monster attacking United Alliance agents out on the street. He had heard the alarms going off earlier, and knew his mother and father had responded to the emergency.
The change in the reflecting pool seemed to catch Tenshii off guard too, Liam noticed as he heard the man make an audible gasp and turn towards him, approaching beside the teenager to view the scene as well.
Liam felt his heart drop as she saw the scene. A horrible Cyber Looking Genie-Jester crossbreed of a monster, which seemed to be giving the Agents a run for their money. The creature fired occasionally near one of the black transport vehicles, behind which Liam could just see his own mother, father, and sister.
"This is ridiculous. I've only got one energy charge left, and none of our blasts have been effective. It's like this guy is made of diamond or something." Alice said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking at the empty energy capsules on the ground. There had to have been a dozen of them between her and Willis's blasters alone.
Willis shook his head as he loaded his last energy charge into his blaster. "It's not too late for you two to retreat." He said.
Alice glared at her husband. She recognized the look in his eyes. He had something incredibly stupid and heroic in mind, and she didn't like it. Especially as she noticed he was turning up the output settings onto his blaster.
"Alice, Amber, I need what charges you've got." He said looking at the two women.
"Willis-what are you doing? It's dangerous to overload the energy charges in your blaster-and throwing the safety off is too dangerous. The Energy Charges will overload and the whole thing will blow up! It could kill you!" Alice said as she put her hand on the blaster, as if she were going to take the gun from his hand.
Looking at his wife, Willis nodded, "That's the plan. The bastard won't see it coming. The explosion should buy you enough time for you to get out of here." he said.
"Don't be an idiot!" Alice said.
"We don't have the luxury to play it safe anymore Alice. If we don't do anything extreme and reckless this guy might end up overrunning us, and taking over the town all before Hexagon could get here." He said.
Taking a deep breath, Alice nodded. "You're right. But I'm not going to let you go at it alone. I'll use what charge I've got left to provide you cover fire to get close enough to him. " She said. "We we get close enough to him, I'll set off my gun too...the resulting explosion from mine won't be near as big, but two blasts are better than one." She said.
Amber put her hands on her parents' shoulders. "You two, please be careful. For Micah, Liam, and Grandpa's sakes." She said.
Before the two of them could rush out into battle however their attention brought to the sound of a motorcycle screeching to a halt and a blur of Red and Black darting past them, leaping over the vehicle.
The two riders knew they had taken the Genjester Monster by surprise, the minute they had appeared on scene. They weren't dressed in military combat gear like the other officers.
"My don't we have some brave ones here today!" The Genjester commented with a large smile coming over his half metallic face.
The Black Helmeted Rider had her katana resting on her shoulder. She shrugged with a certain wordless confidence as she readied the blade, giving only a brief glance over to her Red Companion, whom was standing beside her with his fists clenched and the red flames coming from them.
"Well, come at me if you think you can do better! But I warn you-I've got a few tricks of my own!" The Genjester shouted as he charged at them.
The two Riders rushed at the monster, engaging in combat with him. The two of them actually seemed capable of holding their own against it, using a combination of martial arts techniques, swordplay, and the occasional fire blast from the Red Rider.
"Who are they?" Amber asked.
"Not United Alliance Agents-that's for sure." Alice said.
Willis looked over at his wife. "It doesn't matter who they are, or who they're working for if they're against this guy, I say we get out there and help them! Come on!" He shouted.
With a nod, Alice grasped her husband's hand and the two of them rushed out into the field, with a roar, Alice laying down what fire she could as the two of them rushed towards the monster.
The Red Rider and the Black Rider were surprised by them, in just enough time to get knocked back several feet, the Black rider getting knocked into an alleyway, and the Red Rider painfully crashing through the glass of a near by business.
The two got to their feet quickly, and rushed towards the two.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as the two Agents fired their blasters right at the Genjester monster as they came near it. However as they were making an effort to retreat before the blasters exploded, they found themselves tangled up in a mess of thick scarves which the Genjester had summoned from thin air.
Time seemed almost to stop as the blasters exploded, as the Genjester drew the two closer to him and the three of them became engulfed in the massive explosion, which sent a rippling shockwave down the street.
"NO!" Liam shouted as he saw the scene as the smoke had begun to clear, his parents were laying on the ground at Genjester's feet. The monster itself was only sporting a few missing robotic pieces, but didn't seem to be completely down yet. The Pandora Mist was starting to pour from the open wounds in his body.
Tenshii put his hand on the young boy's shoulder. He didn't need empathy to feel the emotions which were surging through the teenager's heart at the moment. He was terrified, angry, sad and anxious all at the same time. He was hoping his parents were okay.
Clenching his fist Liam looked over at Tenshii. "You're the only one with the chance to stop him right?" He asked in a demanding voice.
With a slight nod Tenshii looked down into the blue eyes of the teenager. "If we work together." he said
Liam returned the nod as if they two of them knew exactly what the other was thinking. "Together then?"
"Right! Lathi! Ready?!" Tenshii called out to the phoenix, whom glided down from the Lotus throne and began circling the two of them.
Taking a deep breath and bracing himself, Liam put the Crystal into the empty chamber of the device. He then raised his arms above his head, almost in sync with the motions which Tenshii was doing. He interlocked the two devices on his wrist bringing them down just over his heart, the devices glowing brightly with white light. He could feel the energy surging through his body as he extended his arm outward towards Tenshii.
Tenshii himself had transformed, into a form of light. His nearly translucent hand clasped Liam's and the two of them stepped into the same space. The feeling was definitely weird, Liam had to admit. He certainly felt stronger, more powerful, and more mystical.
Their body became engulfed in light as Lathi the Phoenix let out a choral song, as he flew towards them, Becoming a white specter of light which entered into them through Liam's forehead.
As the light cleared, Liam looked down at himself surprised to see his usual t-shirt, jeans and sneakers combination replaced with a strange suit of some sort. It looked like a body suit, in pure white, except for a golden stripe which arced down in an angle from around his shoulders to the center of his chest. Two golden stripes similar to the same pattern covered Liam's shoulders and looped under his arms creating what looked like shoulder pads, only they didn't stick out from the suit.
Around his upper arms there were two large golden cuffs, and on both his hands were a pair of gloves with a golden hem along the top and the bottom of the arm braces. Around his waist there was a gold belt with a star shaped belt buckle on it, and a golden holster at his hip which seemed to house a special blaster. On his feet there were boots which went half way up his calf, which were trimmed with gold.
Of course to top it all off, there was the helmet. It looked like some science fiction helmet with a wide visor strip which reached all the way back to his ears, where there were two similar star patterns designed into the dark visor around the ears in circles. In the center of the design was a white design of a phoenix. The visor was trimmed with a thin gold outline. On his back was a short white cape.
"This is amazing!" Liam said as he looked at his reflection in the water, barely able to contain the excitement and wonder he was feeling. "I look just like a Power Ranger!"
"That's because you are a Power Ranger, Liam! From this moment forward you are the Elysian Zenith Guardian Ranger. Otherwise known as Elysian Zenith Aether Zero: White." Tenshii's voice rang in his head.
Liam nodded. "Cool!" He said.
Instinctively, Liam put his hand on the side of the helmet, he felt a spark run through his body as light filled his vision briefly as the Realm of Light disappeared around him.
When the light cleared from Liam's vision only a second later, he found himself on top of a near by building looking at the scene from above.
The Genjester and the black rider engaged in combat as the red rider was trying to see if the two fallen Agents were okay.
Taking out the blaster at his hip, Liam aimed for the Genjester monster. He was surprised to see the white blast of energy actually had some effect. It tore a gash through the monster's arm.
It caught the attention of everyone in the area, as Liam leapt down from the building, landing with ease on the ground.
"You've hurt a lot of people today, Genjester...and that makes me mad and quite honestly, I don't like to be mad." He said as he got to his feet, casually shrugging at the monster.
"And Who are you?!" The Genjester said in disgust as he saw the white suited warrior.
Liam crossed his arms in a confident manner as he looked at the Genjester. "Me? I'm the Protector of the Zenith Aether Crystal! Guardian of the Zenith Elysian Realm of Light! With the Mystic Radience of the Phoenix! I am The Elysian Zenith Guardian Ranger!" He said. He wasn't sure why, but he found himself mimicking a posture similar to a phoenix as he announced who he was to the creature.
He then pointed his blaster towards the monster, "-and I'm the last person you want to see." He said.
"Or rather, the last person he's going to see." Tenshii joked his voice ringing in Liam's head.
"Good one!" Liam thought.
"I thought so. Now, let's get him!"
Liam rushed at the Genjester monster engaging in battle with him. Liam noticed he seemed to have adopted knowledge on a new fighting style. While Liam didn't know anything outside of basic gymnastics and only had a white belt in Martial Arts, he found himself expertly gliding through what he was sure was more advanced fighting techniques.
The Genjester was getting infuriated as he sustained more and more damage. What had happened here? This guy in a tacky white suit shows up and suddenly the tables turn! He seemed to have a resistance to almost all of the tricks he had been pulling against the Agents.
Whatever was going on General Galexia had certainly not mentioned that someone like him was going to show up.
The creature let out an angry grunt as he pulled out a flute from his vest, and began playing it, Liam backed up in a slight anticipation. Within a few seconds, he realized what was going to happen. Two large smoldering pieces of debris near the Genjester, picked up by the enchanted music and hurled at Liam.
"Use the Guardian Staff!" Tenshii said.
With a nod, Liam quickly touched the small metal plate on his helmet and held his hand out as the energy ran from the now glowing plate, and down into his hand forming up into a Elegant white staff which resembled a bamboo reed with a lotus flower and a Phoenix wing pattern on top.
Liam spun the staff around, hitting the oncoming debris and breaking them apart as if they were sand instead of solid stone and metal.
He then charged at Genjester, and began fighting him with the staff.
Liam put some distance between him and the Genjester after effortlessly flipping over him. He charged up power into the end of the Guardian staff and hurled it like a lacrosse ball at the monster.
"Phoenix Strike!" He called out as the energy blast formed into a phoenix shape before it collided with th Genjester.
With a large explosion, the Genjester became engulfed in flames, as the smoke and the flames cleared there were no remains of the creature except for a few charred pieces of metal wiring and programming.
The explosion had also seemed to destroy the remaining Metalliwisps.
"Alright! We did it!" Liam thought excitedly as he watched the smoke and flames clear away. He leapt up in excitement.
His excitement was short-lived as he remembered his parents. Quickly he looked around for them. They were being assisted by the Medical Team which had just arrived and was busily loading up injured agents into the trucks to return to base. His mother and father seemed to be okay, they were badly injured though.
The United Alliance Alpha infirmary was busy as they tried to patch up and take care of wounded Agents. Liam, (whom had separated from Tenshii and was back in his normal clothes) felt his chest tighten slightly as he saw many of the Agents whom had been out there being quarantined for suspected infection of the Pandora Mist. Finally he found his way to the room where his mother and father were in recovery for their wounds.
Looking through the glass window looking into the room, Liam noticed the room was more crowded than he had originally imagined it would be.
His sister Amber was sitting in the corner being held by a brown haired man whom Liam recognized as Matt Gray from the Hexagon Division-Amber's Boyfriend. He was explaining to Amber, he ignored the call for cancellation of back up and shown up any way to check on her.
Julia was standing near the entrance trying to stay out of the scene in the room as much as she could. She seemed so out of place when she wasn't being given a order, Liam noticed. She didn't know what to do with herself. Like she was torn between holding up her professional secretarial demeanor and just letting all her emotion come through.
Even Liam's older brother Micah was there. He was holding onto his mother's hand silently staring ahead. He must have come with Matt from Reefside when the distress call had come through.
However the face which Liam felt his blood run cold at was the sight of his Grandfather's, who seemed to notice him. The old man got to his feet and left the room, with Julia not too far behind. As he stepped out into the hallway, Liam felt his stomach turn as he looked up into the brown eyes of his grandfather.
"Liam. My office. Now." He said as he walked past his grandson.
Following his grandfather Liam's stomach was doing somersaults of terror. His grandfather knew! He had to have. The minute a Power Ranger showed up on the scene, after the discussion they had, he had to have known!
"Grandpa, how are mom and dad?" He asked, trying to sound casual, and more concerned for his parents.
His grandfather said nothing.
"They'll be okay. That guy who was throwing the fire around seemed to have done something which protected them from the full force of the blast, so they managed to survive. Lucky for us, even with their armor compromised, they didn't get infected by the Pandora Mist. The Zenith Aether Ranger distracted the Genjester in just enough time to allow for the Med teams to get them to safety." Julia explained as she walked beside the younger man.
Liam let out a brief sigh of relief. At least his parents were going to be alright. And we're going to make sure nothing like this ever happens to them again. He thought as he gave a brief glance over his shoulder to his mother and father. Now that I'm an Aether Ranger, It's my duty to protect them. I mean I wouldn't be called the "Guardian" Ranger if that wasn't the case.
It only took a few minutes to reach Director Stone's office from the Infirmary wing. Liam couldn't help but feel terror intensify inside of him as he sat across from his Grandfather.
"Look-Grandpa, I-"He began after a lofty two minutes of silence between them.
"What kind of stunt did you think you were pulling out there?" The older man asked looking at his grandfather severely.
Looking down, Liam bit his lip. So his grandfather knew. He remained silent however, waiting for whatever thing his Grandfather was going to say, which Liam was ultimately sure would end in his grandfather telling him to hand over his Crystallizer.
Director Stone shook his head. "Liam when you presented the blueprints for those devices, you neglected to mention to me that you already had one built." He said sternly.
Liam felt his breath caught in his throat.
"You deliberately undermined my authority, and the authority of the United Alliance. It was an untested, unapproved device with access to the Morphing Grid. You could have been killed." He said in a stern voice.
"But I wasn't, and if it weren't for me, Mom and Dad...and all those agents would have been!" Liam said getting to his feet.
He clenched his fist as he looked down at the older man. "Look, I know what you're going to say. It's too dangerous, I'm too young, I'm not an agent. It needs to go through approval. But I don't care. Sometimes, you have to put aside the rules and all of that, and just do what you feel is right as a person!" He said.
Liam looked down and closed his eyes for a minute taking a deep breath to steady himself. "Sir. My decision to become an Aether Ranger-it wasn't about just trying to prove to anyone that the Crystallizer worked. It had everything to do with family and protecting that family. " He began.
He then looked at his grandfather as he continued to speak, "I've grown up here and spent a lot of time here, sir. My point is; I've come to regard the United Alliance as part of my own family and all of the Agents as members of that family regardless of their actual biological relationship to me. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect that family, regardless of how dangerous it might be, or whatever regulation the Alliance and it's directors have." He said.
"Liam-" Director Stone began.
Unable to contain the emotion which was building up in him Liam slammed his fist down on the table. "No! Let me speak! King Aradon isn't someone to be taken lightly; you and I both know that after what we saw today. He's working with evil powers we can't even fully comprehend at this moment. Today wasn't a one time thing, and if weren't for me then things would have gone a lot worse." He was practically shouting. His voice cracking with emotion.
He continued, " There will be other attacks, which could potentially be worse than what we saw today. So if you're going to tell me to hand over my Crystallizer and step down as a Ranger. If you expect me to wait around until next year when I'm old enough to join the Alliance. To do nothing until the powers I've been given go under the approval process, then I'm sorry. I can't do that and I am willing to operate rouge." He said.
"Liam-"
Looking down at the device on his wrist, Liam shook his head, "Even if I were to give up my Crystallizer and wait I'm the only one who can use it. I doubt you would understand...I barely understand it myself." He said in a slightly calmer voice.
Liam crossed his arms and looked down, "I'm not the only Zenith Aether Ranger out there. I'm just the first to appear. Others are going to show up-with or without your authority and regulation. I don't know how many, but they've all got a piece of the same crystal as I do, and we're the only ones who have hope of standing a chance against King Aradon and his Nightmare Machine Empire."
Taking a deep breath and looking at the device on his wrist he shook his head. " This is the destiny we've been chosen for, and we're going to see it through to the end. Whatever end that may be, and I intend to keep that promise" He said. He could feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest at just the thought of those words.
He felt his whole body shaking, and his knees were beginning to feel weak from the stored up emotion finally being let out. He couldn't believe he had spoken this harshly to his own grandfather. He was sure he had upset the old man, and lowered himself in worth of respect from the old man.
He felt a firm and confident hand on his shoulder, looking up he saw Julia's smiling face as she nodded at him to show her approval of what he was saying. At least she supported him.
Director Stone sat across from them in silent contemplation for a second before heaving a sigh and shaking his head. He then reached into his desk drawer and drew out a peice of paper, and a pen. He began scribbling something down on the paper.
He then clasped his hands together and looked at Liam. "I know you will Liam. Which is why I'll be needing your Identification Card." He said.
With a frown, Liam pulled out the card from the wallet in his back pocket and laid it down on the table passing it to his Grandfather. Director Stone promptly took the card and placed it into the shredder built into the desk. Liam felt his heart tighten in his chest as he watched the scene.
Director Stone then passed the paper across the table to Liam. "-and you'll be needing this."
Liam was hesitant to pick up the paper. The paper seemed to be the same size and shape as a check, which made Liam uneasy. He's giving me money to basically go out and be on my own. He's kicking me out. Cool, Seventeen years old and kicked out of the family, he thought.
He picked up the paper, only to find his heart beating faster as he looked at the writing. "This-this is-!" He began but felt his words lost amongst the lump which had begun to form in his throat and causing his eyes to water.
"Julia, be sure to escort Agent McKenzie down to the personnel office as soon as we are done here, and help him complete the paper work to update his file. He'll need proper Identification and clearances, and he'll need gear assigned to him." Director Stone said.
"But-I'm-" Liam began.
"Liam. There aren't many people in the world who can say they've been in your unique position before. I've known a couple of them myself, who were your age, and even younger whenever they were chosen to become Rangers. It's something you are chosen for. No one can say anything about it, not the Supreme Council and the head director of the United Alliance; not your mother and father. Not even me. It's up to you to make the decision; do you answer the call of destiny, or do you step aside. You've chosen to answer that call Liam, and so the only decision that leaves me to make in your regards is whether or not to give you my support. " Director Stone began.
The teenager couldn't help but feel as if his heart had sprouted wings and was fluttering in his chest happily.
"Though as a Ranger, you and your team will be operating without the approval of the head offices of the United Alliance and the Supreme Council, until approvals and reviews are completed. The use of the Alpha base and it's facilities, information, and Agents will be at your disposal."
Director Stone got to his feet and made his way around the desk, as he walked he continued to talk. "However, bear in mind that the Alpha Division does not operate on a public basis like a few other Division: Light-Speed and SPD for instance. As such, your identity as a Ranger and an Agent of the United Alliance of Heroes is to remain strictly confidential to the general public." He continued.
The teenager got to his feet and saluted, "Yes sir. Understood!" He said, barely able to contain the smile on his face.
Director Stone saluted to the teenager before extending his hand out to his grandson. "Elysian Zenith Aether Guardian Ranger, Agent Liam McKenzie. On behalf of myself and Alpha's Division. Welcome aboard." He said.
Liam grasped his grandfather's hand. "Thank you!" He said.
Director Stone smiled warmly down at his grandson, before he looked over at Julia whom was standing by the door with a look of joy on her face. "Well, you two better get going, you've got a lot to do before the day is over." He said.
Nodding Liam followed Julia out of the room.
He could hardly believe the day he was having! It felt like a dream he almost didn't want to wake up from.
As the doors closed behind the two, Director Stone returned to his desk. He sat there for a few seconds, as if he were waiting for someone to come into the room. However no one came. He picked up the wireless phone at his desk, and dialed a few numbers, before taking the device and getting to his feet.
He reached into the pocket of his hawaiian shirt, and withdrew a small sliver key. Walking over to a small wooden box on a display case at the back of the room, he used the small key to unlock the box. Inside was a large white feather, which seemed to glow and shimmer with it's own light in the dim lamplight of the office.
"This is 20301-09, Silver Guardians Division. How can I direct your call?" A voice came over the phone.
"Yes, This Director Jerome Stone of 82893-01 Alpha Division. Is Director Collins Or Director Meyers available?" He asked.
There was a brief pause on the other end of the phone before they picked up again. "No, I'm sorry sir. Both Director Collins and Director Meyers are in the middle of field training exercises right now. Do you want me to leave them a message?"
Director Stone sat down at his desk, leaning back in his chair looking at the feather. "Yes, Just tell them that the Crystal Lotus is in Bloom."He said.
"The Crystal Lotus is in Bloom? Is that correct sir?" the woman on the other end of the phone asked, as if she couldn't comprehend.
"Don't worry. They'll understand." He said hanging up the phone.
He closed his eyes for a second as he held the tip of the feather to his head. He could hear a faint ethereal chorus ringing in his head for a second, and the crow of a bird. Heaving a sigh which rang through the empty office.
"Tenshii, take care of my grandson, and may the power protect you both."