Power Rangers: Arcane Warriors
Chapter 2: Evil Returns part 1.
Nick led the charge with his sword ready. Olympius seemed to expect this, for when the rangers attacked, he was well on his guard. He blocked Nick's attack and countered with a downward slash, which knocked the red ranger back. The demon prince jumped back for a ranged attack, then spat two fire balls, each landing a hit on Vida and Daggeron. Chip used his Mystic Crossbow and fired a finely charged shot at the demon prince. Olympius caught this on his spear with relative ease and with a strong swing, threw it back. Udonna couldn't get out of the way and took a direct hit, which knocked her to the ground.
When Leanbow saw Udonna hit the ground, Something snapped. "No!" He charged at Olympius with all his fury.
The demon prince gave a slight laugh. "Ha! Now this looks like it'll be interesting." When the wolf warrior was in close enough, the two clashed in a battle of blades. Leanbow hit fast and hard, but Olympius was ready to block every one of the strikes. When he saw an opening, Olympius kicked his opponent with enough force to knock him back, but when he went in to continue the blow, Leanbow raised his shield, blocked the hit and countered.
While the stalemate went on, the other rangers tended to Udonna. Nick knelt down to help her up and asked. "Are you okay?"
Udonna held the point of impact tho lighten the pain. "I'll be fine. Where's your father and Daggeron?"
Xander answered. "Well, Leanbow's taking it to that Demon guy, but...I'm not to sure where Daggeron is."
No one was, for Daggeron was trying to sneak around and flank Olympius while Leanbow had him distracted. Jengi had chosen this moment to stick his head out of the lid of the lamp to see what was going on. "Is it over yet?"
Daggeron closed the lid shut onhis frien so he wouldn't spoil the plan. "No, now hush." He picked the perfect vantage point, when he had the shot, all he had to do was wait for Leanbow to get clear. "Come on now, old friend. Step out of the way." He knew Leanbow couldn't hear him, but three seconds later he did just that. The solaris knight had his chance "Right!" He moved out of hiding and fired five shots from his Lazer Lamp.
Each shot hit Olympius right in the face. "Gah! My eyes!...Can't see!"
Leanbow took this oppertunity and made his move. He swung his blade with all his might and slashed the Demon prince four times across the chest, causing him to fall back in pain.
The Rangers rejoined in front of the fallen demon and readied themselves. The wolf warrrior placed a thankful hand on Daggeron's shoulder. "Nice shot."
The Solaris knight gave a nod. "Thanks."
Olympius pushed himself off the ground. "Very clever rangers, but your not the only ones with a trick or two." He thrust his open right hand at them and a gust of black smoke shot from his palm.
The rangers coughed and gaged on the smoke, then Vida used her magic to clear it. When they got there vision back, chip was the first to notice the demon prince,in the air, making a break for it. "He's heading down town"
Nick lead the charge. "Let's hurry andbring this guy down before he does any more damage." With that they raced after Olympius as fast ast they could.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, the cloaked figure that had devised this little plan was trudging down the street in the direction of the forest. He seemed rather peeved about his travels. "Six elavators in that building and every single one was out of order. No wonder everyone I passed looked so miserable." Passers by couldn't help but glance in his direction. The figure was getting annoyed, so when a little boy with an ice cream cone started to stare, this grim individual swatted the child's cone right out of his hands and kept on marching, despite the loud cries from the boy.
As he continued on he passed by a coffe shop and something caught his eye. He didn't quite understand what it was about, but he could see that there was some kind of argument going on. Being curious he stepped inside and took a seat close enough so he could listen.
Our troblin friend Phineas was looking pretty sorry. "Leelee, please. Let me make it up to you."
Leele was clearly in no mood to hear it. "Sorry? Of all the times when I have been humiliated, this was the worst." She took a sip of her coffe. "Not only did you make a scene at the fanciest restaraunt in the city.."
Phineas interupted. ",But my allergies! Those flowers on the table were making me itch really bad."
The angry blond gave a glare and went on. "Then you go and spill hot tomatoe soup all over my new dress. All of this on my birthday no less!"
The poor troblin was begging for her forgivness. "Please Leelee, sweetheart, honeybun. I'll do anything, just give me a chance!"
She was still too furious to listen. "I have to make a trip to the ladies' room. It would be alot safer for you if you were just gone before I got back." With that she left in a huff.
The cloaked man sat back in his chair as he watched the scene end and he just had to comment to himself. "And people say I'm cold when I'm miffed" He got up and relocated to the seat next to the broken hearted troblin, who didn't notice the stranger through his misery. The cloaked figure made his pressence known to the defeated creature. "Hitting a rough patch in the old relationship, my friend?"
Phineas looked up and finally saw the stranger in black. "Oh, sorry sir. I didn't see you there."
The mystery man went on. "Oh don't apologize. Face in palm grief is common among incidents such as this."
The troblin looked down and shook his head. "I don't know what happened. I used to be her hero. She called me brave and didn't care how I looked, while everyone else is...a little repulsed."
The cloaked figure seemed sympathetic. "Surely you have some friends."
Phineas nodded. "Yeah I do and there the best pals a guy could ask for, but Leelee was, or I hope she still is more than that. You know?"
The strange man in the dark cloak nodded. Really he wished he did know, he never really had anyone like that, but he knew what he wanted it to be. "Tell you what. I'll help you win her back."
Phineas smiled. "Well thank you kindly stranger, but I don't know if anything can fix this."
The dark figure placed a hand on the troblin's shoulder. "Never say never."
Phineas seemed puzzled. "I didn't."
The figure brushed it off. "Be that as it may. I still have the solution to your prediciment." He reached into a poket in his cloak. "I picked this up from a fine fellow in the troll market by the name of Torgis."
The troblin reacted to the name. "Wormwood?" The figure nodded and Phineas smiled. "That's my uncle! I always did like him. His heart didn't seem in it when he and my pa tossed me out of the village.
The cloaked man was pleasently surprised. "Oh so your Phineas. Alot of hate flying around about you in the market. Anywho..." He pulled out a vile of rose colored powder. "This little bit of wonder was mixed for just such an occasion. Put a bit of this in her coffee like so," He uncorked the vile and sprinkled a little in Leelee's drink. "When she drinks it, she will become more aware of the traits that attracted her to you in the first place. Every little detail that makes her swoon will light up like a fire golem. And on the opposite side of the spectrum, all the negatives will fade from her notice."
Phineas smiled at the idea. "Gee, thanks."
The cloaked man shook the troblins hand. "No trouble at all, I was glad to help. Here, keep the vile. Just in case the unforseen occurs again."
The troblin was even more thankfull. "Heh, like I always say. Put your faith in others and they will rise to the occasion." He took a moment to look at the vile and when he looked back up his new friend was leaving. "Oh, wait a sec. What might your name be friend?"
The figure paused. He didn't want to reveal his identity to the public yet, so he gave his father's name. "Simon. It was a pleasure meeting you Phineas." With that he continued on with his dark quest.
When his new friend left, Phineas turned his attention back to the coffe shop, as Leelee returned from the restroom. Her attitude seemed a bit more stable, but still cold. "Alright, I've beeen thinking about this all week and I think it'd be best if we see other people."
Phineas was in a panic. "Leelee, please. Let's talk about this." He handed her her cup. "Drink some coffe, have a seat, clear your head. You'll feel better."
Leelee didn't react to the display. She accepted the coffee and took a sip, then went on. "Phineas, don't make this harder than it has to be. Sure it was fun while it lasted. We had a few laughs and we spent some great time together." She seemed to relax a bit and, to the well trained eye, there was the faintest glow about her. "You did some pretty great stuff for me. When you took me horse-back riding, after I told you it was the one thing I always wanted to do, but never got to. Heh, when I fell off the first time and you dove into the mud to make sure I was okay. Not alot of guys would do that. Come to think of it, not alot of guys are as sweet, or funny, or caring, or protective."
The troblin blushed a little and gave a slight smile when he figured out the powder was kicking in. "Awww, it was nothing. Just trying to make you happy when I could."
Leelee was smiling too now. "And you always do. I can't believe I almost gave this up. You're the best guy a girl could ask for and I almost lost you over a stupid little accident that wasn't even your fault. I'm such an air-head." She hugged him. "Can you ever forgive me for being so mean."
Phineas hugged her back. "Oh, darling, you know I'm not one to hold anything against anyone."
The two were happy and back together. All thanks to a mysterious figure who took time out of his grand scheme to help them.
Olympius landed in an alley way somewhere on the east side. He was out of breath from the fight and still in pain from the cheap shots the rangers made. "Urgh! I underestimated them. I didn't expect them to be so crafty, so strong." He pulled out the bag that his accomplis had given him on the roof. "Perhaps now is the time to awaken the secret weapons. Then again, there are the risks. Wait...Hah, of coarse! I don't need these yet." He hid the bag away once more, then began to focus his energies while aiming at the shadows. "It's been awhile, but this should still work." He threw a ball of dark energy into the ground and the darkness of the alley began to converge into heaps gathered before the demon prince. He smiled at his handy work. "Yes, it's working!"
The black, shapeless forms began to solidfy and took form as they did. When the show was done, thirty Batlings were present and accounted for. They stretched their newly formed muscles and moved around to shake out a bit of stiffness. When they caught sight of Olympius they almost seemed to be cheering and a few were worshiping him.
Olympius thumped the ground with the end of his spear, causing a loud clang that brought his minions to order. "Listen up! I need the lot of you out there distracting the rangers while my injuries heal. Do your best to destroy them , or suffer my wrath!"
They didn't even need a second to prepare, they just ran out of the alley and started causing havok until the rangers showed up. The rangers were more than capable of dealing with a few goons, but these were a bit smarter than the hidiacs and styx-oids.
Nick and Xander were back to back fighting off the swarming creatures. The batlings were moving fast, only two out of the pack took a hit so far, while the others seemed to either block or dodge by the soles of their boots. Nick was getting annoyed. "Man, these things are quick!"
Xander got lucky and nailed three of them in one combination of swings. "Fast, but fragile. We just have to pick up the pace a bit."
The red ranger gave a nod, focused his magic, and charged through the batlings in a blaze of mystic fire. A few staggered back to their feet, but most dissolved into swarms of bats that turned to smoke in the sunlight.
Udonna felt she needed to make up for taking the hit earlier. So she put her snow staff to good use when she had the remaining batlings in her sight. She summoned a mighty blizzard that froze the creatures where they stood. The rangers took the chance as soon as they had it. In a few seconds, the batlings were smashed to bits.
A fire ball shot out of the shadows and knocked the rangers off their feet. Olympius leapt out with a triumphant laugh. "Ah ha! You miserable rainbow wretches. Now that I've regained enough of my strength, let's see how long you can last!"
The hooded stranger found himself navigating through the trees in the forest. "Let's see, take a left at the short one with moss near the roots. Then turn north at the stump. Hmph, that Daggeron fellow made this seem so much easier. Come on now, Alastair, think. Where to go?" About two days prior to his diabolical plan being put into action, our dark new friend had followed the Solaris Knight right to Root Core. Now the only reason he didn't take what he needed then was because he wasn't quite equiped for confrontation yet. Alastair took a moment to remember how it all started.
He was about the same age as Nick. Nothing special, long brown hair, blue eyes. The only thing that made him stand out was that he believed in magic, when everyone around him frowned upon such interests. He could handle the mockery and ridicule, but when the truth came out in Briarwood and news made it back to his town, making everyone accept it hands down, he snapped under the hypocracy of it all. No one even appologized for treating him like dirt. Alastair started to practice dark magic, but unfortunately, he couldn't do anything more than memorize spells and master use of some flashy tricks and potions. His first act of real dark magic was summoning a spirit and boy, did he hit it big in the evil of the void beyond. Imperious apeared before Alastair and agreed to help him formulate a new plan in exchange for resurection.
Alastair didn't trust him anymore than he could touch the demented fool, but he definately out-smarted him. The warlock-to-be got all the information he needed to put together a plan. All he needed to pull it off was some back up and a lot of heart. His musings passed enough time that he finaly stumbled on the entrance to Root Core, where he would take the next step in phase 1 of his master plan. "Excellent. I just need to get in and out without causing a scene. I wonder how Olympius is doing against the rangers." He reached into his cloak and searched around. Soon he removed a palm sized, circular mirror with a silver, skull themed back. Think of it as a compact version of the mirror from beauty and the beast. Alastair held it before his face and spoke. "Show me Olympius." A cloud of haze swirled and enveloped his reflection, then cleared, showing Olympius locked in brutal combat with the rangers. He seemed to have the upper-hand, but they were fighting back hard.
"Uh oh, I better hurry this along." He returned the mirror to his cloak pocket and moved for the entrance. To his surpise, the massive dragon's head opened it's jaws, opening the doorway for him. He wondered why it would just let him in, but he was never one to look a gift horsein the mouth. Through the entrance, he navigated the hallways leading to the main room. On his way he passed by a very large opening. As he did, Alastair heard a very low, very present growl. He turned and was amased by the sight of Fire Heart. The massive reptile reared up, sread his wings, let out a brief roar, he came back down with a loud thud. He apprroached Alastair with an air of caution, keeping up his growl as a warning.
Alastair remained as calm as he could, still in awe over the encounter. Ever since he was aboy, he wanted to see a real dragon and now there was one just inches away. He calmly raised his hands to his chest and turned his palms out, motioning for the great reptile to be calm. "Easy, boy. I don't want any trouble." Alastair made sure to keep his voice relaxed with a soothing tone. Fire Heart inspected him for a minute or two, then his growl stopped. He lowered his head and touched his snout to Alastair palm. Alastair smiled at the sign of trust. He ran his palm over the side of the dragon's face, then gently scratched back of his head. "Good boy. Heh, I'm just making friends all over the place today. Hold on a sec." He reached for a brown pouch tied to his belt. From it he removed a chicken wing and a drumb sitck. "I was saving these for later, but I can always get more."
Fire Heart happily accepted the girt and let Alastair pass without any trouble. After making a few more turns, he found himself just where he wanted to be. The heart of Root Core was a sight to behold. On the walls were shelves holding artifacts that Alistair recognized from various books he had read. There was a large crystal ball in the center of the room, and up a small set of stairs, resting on a pedestal, was the Xenotome, the vary item our cloaked friend saught. He approached with a gleam in his eye. All that magical knowledge, just waiting for him to reach out and grab, he found it...intoxicating. Alastair pulled back his hood and smiled in triumph as he went to pick up the book.
"Hello?" Asked a voice behind him thjat made alastair turn in surprise. Clare wasn't too sure what to make of the young man in the black cloak. "Mind if I ask what you're doing here?"
He had worried about this. If clare found out what he was after she would never hand it over willingly. Alastair thought of a lie and right quick. "Oh, I'm with the Briarwood Post. I'm doing a story on the rangers and I wanted to stop in and see if I could get an interview."
Clare wasn't what one would call trained for picking up a lie, but he sounded honest enough. "How exactly did you find this place?"
He kept up with the charade. "I'm an investigative journalist. I have to do a bit of snooping here and there."
She still wasn't convinced, but thought she might as well turn it on him. "Well, the rangers aren't here. You'll have to come back another time."
Alastair put on a smile. "But I came to see you, my dear." He approached her with a charm about him. "This is where they train, where all the magic happens. And you keep it running smooth."
Clare blushed. "Well, I do my best. Really I'm just trying to find my place as a sorceress."
When he got close enough, he gave a wicked grin. "You work too hard." He quickly pulled a blue powder from his cloak and blew it in her face. She coughed a bit, then Clare began to lose her balance. Alastair moved just in time to catch her. "Sweet dreams." He placed her down gently. In a quick idea, he took her wand. It seemed like such a simple thing, but Alistair saw it as a holy grail. "At long last. The means to real magic. No more pretend, no more smoke bombs, or cheap card tricks. Just a flick of the wrist and a few words, I could do anything I wish...if the rangers weren't around to muck up the works."
He returned his attention to the Xenotome. Alistair opened it with exitement that began to fade as he flipped through the pages. "Blank? No, no no no, you are not doing this to me now! I've come too far. I went on a trip across multiple states multiple times, I risked my neck in the shadow zone bringing in super powered back up and now you're telling me that this thing can't tell me anything about the underworld?"
Without warning, the pages started to flip on their own. The phenomenon took Alastair by surprise, making him fumble with Clare's wand. Onc he regained his composure, the pages settled and the open book began to glow. Upon inspection, the rightside of the book held the title of a section on the underworld and alastair thumbed through quickly to find it had all the information he could have hoped for.
A big smile spead across his face. "Now that's more like it. Origins, history, inhabitants, locations of entry points on the surface world. Don't have the time for travel. Can I get a map for when I'm there?" As if on cue, a single page came out of the book and drifted into his hand. Alastair was surprised to see the full detailed map of the underworld. He turned back to the book and stated. "I'm coming back for you."
He readied the wand and in a loud, clear voice said. "Basilichi Infredo" A dark seal appeared before him, which then became his portal. "Into the dark I go. Hang on, Olympius. When I get back, the rangers are going down." He stepped in and the portal closed behind him.
