"Rings of Fate part 2"

The others stared at him wide-eyed

"Dan!" Jayse cried.

Miles watched with amusement as the green light began to fade. When it was gone, they all saw that in place of their friend stood what was unmistakably a Power Ranger. His suit was mostly green, but the arms and legs were black. He had a gold belt, and gold bands around his upper arms and around the rims of his green boots and gloves. In the center of the belt buckle was the shape of a letter "M". His visor was black and simple. On his chest were gold lines that formed symbols that Miles didn't recognize, but he figured that Alistair would know what they meant. The upper left corner of the suit had a small circle, and inside was a picture of a tailfin of some creature.

For a while, the Power Ranger didn't move. Then, he lifted his hands and scanned them over as if he had never seen such things before. Through the black visor of his helmet he gazed down at his chest and legs as well, taking everything in.

The others stared at him wide-eyed, at first too stunned to speak. "Dan, is that you in there?" Angie asked at last, tentatively. The Green Ranger laughed.

"Of course it's me!" he exclaimed. "Who did you expect, Superman?" He paused, taking a deep breath. "I feel so…powerful. Like the power is surging inside of me. It's so cool!" Miles grinned at him, standing up and giving him a playful slap on the back.

"Good for you!" he said. "I sure wish I could be a Ranger." He turned to the others. "So, are you guys going to let the youngest of you show you up, or are you going to morph too?"

Angie jumped up and raised her hand, looking excited. "I'm in!" she cried with child-like enthusiasm. She asked the professor which ones were hers, and he told her the blue ones. She took them eagerly and put them on. Michel scoffed and smiled darkly.

"Hey, if they can do it, so can I." He looked from Alistair to the case questioningly.

"Yours are Yellow," the historian informed him.

Michel paused and raised his eyebrows. "Are you serious? I hate yellow. It's too…bright and cheery." When the older man just shrugged and nodded, he took the yellow rings and put them on with a bit of reluctance. Then he glanced over at Dan's morphed form. "Oh well, at least there's a good amount of black too." Him and the others fixed their eyes on Peg and Jayse expectantly, who exchanged thoughtful glances. After a moment, Peg sighed.

"Well, I guess if it works for Dan, it will work for us too," she said slowly. She then reached over and picked up a pair of rings. "Plus, pink is my favorite color!" A grin spread across her face as she put her rings on.

Jayse let out a sigh as well, eyeing the last remaining rings. "Red, huh?" he said softly. "Guess that makes me the leader."

Alistair nodded. "Yes, it does. But don't worry. The rings would not have chosen you if they weren't sure that you were capable of leading the team."

With a grim smile, Jayse put on his rings and stood up. "If you're sure we're the only ones who can do it, then I guess we have no choice." He looked around at his friends. "Shall we?" Nodding, the three others walked over to stand next to him in a row. One by one, they called out their creatures, then at the same time, they did the motions to morph.

"Power of the Dragon!"

"Power of the Pegasus!"

"Power of the Unicorn!"

"Power of the Griffin!"

With these words, the four of them were surrounded in blinding flashes of their respective colors. When the lights faded, they each stood now morphed, their bright suits seeming to shine in the light of the drawing room. Each suit appeared similar to Dan's, except that they had different markings on the chest. In the circle on Jayse's suit, there was a picture of a claw. In Angie's was a horn, there was a wing in Peg's, and Michel's had a feather. The girl's suits were different than the boy's in that in place of the gold on the belt and other places, there was silver. Their visors were also shaped differently.

After they were morphed, the five new Rangers started talking all at once, excited about what had happened to them. Rolling his eyes, Alistair cleared his throat loudly, signaling them to be quiet. When they ignored him and kept talking, he tried again, louder this time. Still, they paid no attention. At last, a piercing whistle caused them to shut up. They all turned to Miles, who had obviously just caused the painfully loud sound. He grinned at them, then gestured towards the professor.

"Thank you, Miles," Alistair said before turning back to the others. "Now then, let's not forget why you became Rangers." He pointed at the computer screen, which still showed downtown being rampaged by the goblin-like things. The five friends looked at each other through the visors of their helmets. Without a moment of hesitation, they turned back to the older man and nodded.

Jayse and the others arrived downtown, still morphed, to see the goblin-creatures running around the streets and causing destruction. They seemed much more disgusting and threatening in person rather than on a screen. Jayse couldn't help shuddering, but he moved on, stopping only when he saw Her. Kurayami, the dark, evil beauty, noticed them immediately and fixed her black eyes on them. The new Red Ranger could see cruelty and hatred in those eyes that made his blood run cold, but he also saw that she appeared to be amused. The goblins also noticed their arrival and stopped what they were doing to face them, their ugly, beady eyes watching them with interest.

"So, it seems that not only was I released from the seal, but my enemies who sealed me as well." Kurayami's malicious yet beautiful voice sent chills up Jayse's spine, and he could tell that his friends felt it too. "Have you come to seal me again? I'm afraid you will not find it as easy this time."

For a moment, the five Rangers were silent. Then, the others all turned to Jayse. He couldn't see their eyes through their visors, but he knew they were expecting something from him. It was only then that he remembered that he was the leader. He sighed deeply, knowing that he should say something. Turning back to the woman in black, he took a courageous step forward.

"Actually," he began, trying and barely succeeding to keep his voice from shaking. "We're not the same enemies you faces in the past. We're just borrowing their powers." He paused and chuckled a little. "But don't worry, we're still here to fight you."

Kurayami just glared at him for a while, and Jayse felt as if she were looking into his very soul. Then, she burst into a clear, cold laughter. It was all he could do to not cower away from the horrible sound. But he managed somehow to stand firmly and not flinch.

"You are young and foolish, boy," she stated. "You have no idea what you are up against. But you will learn soon enough." Her gazed turned towards the creatures. "Goblinoids, attack!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the creatures, apparently called Goblinoids, obeyed her command, running towards the Rangers with amazing speed. Jayse turned to the others.

"Alright, guys, this is it!" he cried. "We can do it!"

"Right!" his friends answered in unison. With that, they rushed towards the Goblinoids, preparing to fight.

Jayse was instantly surrounded by the creatures, but he didn't hesitate to attack. He ran towards one and gave it a powerful kick to the chest, knocking it back into another. Then he turned and punched one at his side in its face. Suddenly, he felt two of them grab his arms from behind. As he struggled to get free, another came in front of him and punched him in the stomach. He groaned in pain and bent over, still being held in place.

Angie and Peg nodded to each other and attacked together, choosing a group of the gross creatures as their prey. The Blue Ranger kicked one of them in the shin, then as it leaned forward to clutch the hurt limb, the Pink Ranger shoved her fist into its face. It fell over, but immediately after, two Goblinoids attacked the girls from the sides, kicking them powerfully. They collapsed, and the rest of the beings moved in around them to attack.

Dan gave an excited and exaggerated karate cry as he moved to fight the Goblinoids. He threw quick punches and kicks around at them, dodging their attacks the best he could. With a high kick, he got one in the face, then he thrust his elbow back into the gut of another. However, his enemies moved quickly as well, and he soon found that he couldn't keep up. Two of them charged him from the sides, causing him to scream in pain and fall down.

Michel stood still with his arms crossed, waiting for the Goblinoids to come to him. When they were close enough, he charged one, knocking it over, then he leapt up again and punched to the sides, hitting two of them. Next, he kicked backwards, hitting one between the legs. It made a horrible sound of pain as it toppled back, and Michel just laughed darkly. Suddenly, he found two creatures rushing towards him from the sides. Before he could attack, they dove headfirst and grabbed his legs, pulling him to the ground.

Miles and Alistair watched the battle on the computer screen, grimly noting how badly the new Rangers were being beaten. They weren't terribly surprised, however. These five had after all only gotten their powers minutes ago, and they were not experienced in using them. Still, Miles turned to the historian, a look of worry on his face.

"Professor, they're getting their butts kicked," he said, stating the obvious. "They need help." Alistair nodded.

"Yes, they do." He put his hand to the headset on his ear, clicking it on. He was glad that before the five of them had left, he had given them each a headset so they could communicate with him and with each other. "Rangers, can you hear me?"

Jayse's pained voice crackled over the radio. "Yes, professor," he said. "We're not doing so great. Any suggestions?"

"Call out your weapons," Alistair said. "The stories mention that in addition to forming armor for their humans, the mythical creatures gave them weapons."

"Great." Peg's voice came in, sounding annoyed. "You couldn't have told us this before?"

Alistair rolled his eyes, forgetting for a moment that they couldn't see him. Then, with a bit of impatience, he told them how to call their weapons.

"Come on guys, let's do it!" Jayse called over the sounds of battle. The others responded in various ways, then they each called out their weapons.

"Dragon Blade!"

"Unicorn Daggers!"

"Pegasus Shield!"

"Serpent Mace!"

"Griffin Axe!"

With these words, the named weapon appeared in each of their hands. Jayse gripped his red sword and summoned all of his strength to break free of the Goblinoids holding him. He then twisted around and slashed at them with the blade, causing sparks to fly off of them as they fell back. He continued to attack in this way, defeating his enemies one by one.

The Blue and Pink Rangers eyed their weapons, then nodded at each other again. Angie, daggers in hand, crossed her arms then uncrossed them, slicing at the Goblinoids that hovered over her. Peg held her shield over her body, then forced upwards, sending the creatures above her flying to the sides. Next, she stood, reaching down to help her partner up. With the edges of the shield, she slashed at the enemies while Angie used her daggers. Soon, they noticed that the number of creatures around them was shrinking.

Dan grinned through his helmet at the weapon in his hand. He held a short green pole, and attached to the top was a chain leading to a spiked green ball. Standing, he took the ball of the mace into his other hand, then threw it towards a Goblinoid, hitting it in the chest. Quickly, while the ball was still in the air, he whipped the chain to the side, knocking over several other creatures. Then he dragged the ball back to his hand and threw it towards another group of the strange beings, defeating them swiftly.

Michel laughed in dark joy at the powerful axe. He slashed at the two Goblinoids who had pulled him down, chopping off their arms and heads with powerful strokes. He was disappointed when they simply faded away as they were defeated, showing none of the blood and guts he had hoped to see. Shrugging it off and standing, he gripped the axe in both hands and swung it at his enemies, cutting into them with his strong, deliberate blows. He continued to defeat them, watching as their bodies disappeared from sight.

Soon, the five Rangers stood alone on the empty street, having defeated all of the Goblinoids. They looked around at each other, silent at first, wondering if that was really the end. When no more creatures appeared, they began to cheer, rejoicing in their victory.

"Hah, that was so cool!" Dan cried cheerfully, showing few signs of the hard battle he had just fought. "We totally owned them!"

Michel scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "They were too weak for us. Never even stood a chance."

Angie twirled around, still clutching her daggers. "I thought we were going to lose for a moment, but we sure showed them!"

"That was pretty fun, actually," Peg said, a smile in her voice. "Really exciting, right Jayse?" She turned towards her friend, who wasn't looking at them. Facing the same direction as him, she saw what had distracted him. Kurayami still stood in the same place, her black wings flared out as she glared at them with dark hatred. Jayse took a step forward, pointing his sword at her.

"Still think we'll be easy to defeat, Miss Sorceress?" he asked firmly, sarcasm in his tone. "Your little monsters didn't even leave a scratch."

The evil woman just laughed again, the chilling sound echoing in the emptiness. "Those were only my foot soldiers," she informed him. "You've only begun to taste a drop of my power. Soon enough we will meet again, and you'll find that next time, it won't be so easy!" With that, she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"Yeah, well we'll be ready for you!" Dan called, shaking his fist at the spot she had just stood. He still sounded excited and confident.

Jayse stood silent and solemn for a moment, staring at the smoke as it drifted away. Peg moved next to him and put her hand on his shoulder gently. After a moment, he turned to her, then to the others. "Let's go back."

Back in the mansion and demorphed, the five friends sat around the table in the drawing room, talking all at once about the battle with each other and with Alistair and Miles. The professor was obviously very pleased at the outcome, and he couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh, it's so wonderful to have seen the rings in action," he said, a dreamy smile on his face. "While I'm not happy that Kurayami was released, I am glad that you five can use the power to defeat her. The rings definitely chose the right people."

"Of course," Dan said with a grin. "I've always thought that I'd make a good Power Ranger!"

"And I just love our suits and weapons!" Angie said cheerfully.

"They're all right," Michel agreed, trying to hide his smile. It was obvious that he had enjoyed it just as much as the others. He turned to Alistair. "By the way, professor. What do the markings on our chests mean? They seem kind of random."

Professor Gavin adapted his lecturing tone again as he answered. "The markings are runes, ancient forms of writing. The rune on each of your suits stands for the first letter of your color, in the language spoken in the area of the world where your creature came from."

"Ah, that explains it," Miles said, nodding. "I thought they looked kind of familiar."

Peg looked over at Jayse, who appeared silent and thoughtful. Then she turned to the older historian. "So, do you really think she's going to attack again?" she asked. "And what if she does? Obviously we'll all have to go home sometime. It's not like we have anywhere to stay."

Alistair nodded grimly. "Yes, I'm afraid that it is very likely that she will attack again. And it may very well be harder next time. So we'll have to be ready." He paused, smiling. "But as for where you'll stay, it's here, of course. There are plenty of rooms for all of you, and my staff, to whom I gave the day off today, will be happy to serve you when they return."

The others stared at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?" Angie asked in disbelief. "We get to live in a mansion? Score!" She gave Dan a high-five.

"With servants and everything?" the youngest boy continued. "This will be great!"

Michel rolled his eyes at them. "Don't forget that we still have to protect the world while we're at it."

Angie stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "Oh, don't rain on our parade."

Miles clapped his hands together, feeling very pleased. "This will be great! It gets so boring around here with only Gavin to hang out with." He gestured to the professor, glaring at him playfully. "He spends all his time in his studies and won't even play video games with me."

Dan raised his hand. "I'll play video games with you!" The computer geek smiled at him, reaching across the table to exchange high-fives.

Suddenly, Jayse broke his silence and spoke, looking straight at the professor. "I've been wondering," he said, sounding a bit suspicious. "You said there were seven warriors in the past, right? What happened to the other four rings?"

His friends fell silent, realizing that they had wondered the same thing. All eyes fell on Alistair, who exchanged a brief glance with Miles before answering.

"I don't know what happened to them," he said slowly. "They weren't at the site when we found the others. It's possible that they were stolen before we got there, or that they were never part of the original seal. Either way, there's no reason to worry about them."

Miles bit his lip and said nothing, hoping that no one would notice his discomfort. After a moment of awkward silence, Dan stood up, looking bored at all of this.

"Who cares about that?" he laughed. "Let's go explore the mansion!" He pushed past his chair and ran out of the drawing room, followed by the others. The sound of their excited chatter echoed through the halls. Miles looked at Alistair and shook his head.

"Gavin, you know you're going to have to tell them sometime. They're bound to find out eventually."

The professor sighed. "I know, I know," he said. "But until then, I'd rather not mention it, and you'd better not either." He gave his subordinate a firm glance.

"I won't," Miles assured him. "But you know they're more likely to trust you if you're honest with them."

"Well I'm sorry, Miles, but I can't tell them yet. Please, just trust me."

The younger boy smiled reluctantly. "You know I do, Professor."

Alistair returned his smile. "Yes, I know," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me." With that, he walked briskly out of the drawing room, following his five new young friends. Miles watched him go, then sighed, turning back to his computer to work.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the show! Keep an eye out for updates, and as always, comments and reviews are loved and appreciated.