Gemma went into the main room, finding Gem already there. He was surrounded by people, all of whom appeared to be lazing around the room, some crashed out on comfortable cushioned couches. Others danced in a carefree manner in the middle of a room larger than the entire complex of the Garage. At the top end of the room was a large, golden throne, presumably where Julian sat while he wasn't racing out to rescue crash victims. Other than that, many chairs and tables were scattered around. Various foods and copious amounts of drink were littering the room.
Gem rushed over to her, carrying a handful of strawberries, and chocolate milk.
"Gemma, this place is great!" Gem said excitedly. "Look at all this food and drink and...well those guys are smoking, that's not really my thing, and it's kind of gross, but the music! The dancing..."
"Gem!" She snapped at him, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Focus, we have to get Ziggy!"
"It's alright, one of Julian's sorcerers just left with a hunting party." He informed her. "I saw them leave about ten minutes ago."
"I put my finest men on the job." Julian assured her, arriving behind her with another glass of wine. She just looked at it, then up at him a little uneasily. Given the encounter they'd just had in the bedroom, she didn't know what to make of the situation. "They've already located where they've taken him. He'll be brought back here. You just rest up after your ordeal."
"Ordeal?" Gemma asked. Julian just smiled at her, flipping his long hair out of his face.
"I'm talking about the crash of course." He reminded her. "Please, make yourselves at home."
Gemma wasn't sure about this. He had come into her room uninvited, and made a pretty intrusive pass at her. Now though, not only was he acting like nothing had happened, he was back to acting like the perfect host. Gem grabbed her sleeve, shaking it a little to attract his sister's attention.
"I watched them leave; it was like a small army!" He told her. "We've got nothing to worry about."
Gemma still wasn't entirely convinced, but Gem seemed to believe in Julian, and in any case, she couldn't exactly run out of the Spire dressed like this. It wasn't an especially cold night, but it was far too cold to go out dressed like that. Gem suddenly reached to his belt, pulling out his morpher.
"Dr. K?" He asked her. "How are you? We're..."
"Gem, I couldn't access the communications screen in your jet." She told him.
"Oh, that's because the jet crashed!" He told her matter-of-factly.
"It what?" Dr. K shrieked, causing everyone to look around at Gem. He smiled and waved apologetically.
"We'll continue this discussion somewhere more private." He told her, before killing the communications link. He looked around for Julian, finding him chatting to a couple of female guests.
"Julian, sorry to ask, but do you have a communication's screen I can use?" Gem asked him. He thought about it for a minute, before waving over a guard.
"Have the communications screen you salvaged from the jet taken to Gem's room." He instructed the guard. As he left, Gem and Gemma looked back to him. "It'll be there in a few minutes in working order."
"Julian, we really appreciate all this hospitality, but we're here to work." Gemma told him. "Can I just get my clothes back and...?"
"Please, just relax." He told her. "In Eden, night time is not a time of work. Why, with the exception of the guards, at night everyone's free to do as they wish. I'm sure you noticed the night life outside."
"It does look like a lively city." Gemma conceded. "But still..."
Just then, Julian held up a hand, and a glowing white orb appeared in his palm. A face grew out of it.
"My men have arrived at the caves we tracked the crash victim to." The face told him. "His life energy is still strong. Shall we proceed?"
"Bring him home." Julian instructed his sorcerer. "Bring Ziggy back to his friends."
As the orb disappeared, he smiled at them.
"Go to your room and make your call Gem." He told him as a woman hung off his shoulders. Gemma felt uneasy as she saw this. It had only been moments since their encounter in her room, and yet it appeared he had no qualms whatsoever about this other encounter. "Your friend should be back within the hour."
As they left to go to Gem's room, Gemma took one look back, noticing Julian and the other woman heading off to a side room. She noticed that some of the other guests were behaving similarly. She didn't want to be rude to her host, or risk causing offence, but she was beginning to get the impression that their ideas of how to act in a society were very different from hers.
Over at the caves, Ziggy was sitting in the corner of his cage when an almighty blast rocked the cave complex. Graeme, the mutant who had been watching him, ran into the room, brandishing his rifle.
"You brought them here, didn't you?" He snarled. Ziggy looked alarmed, but inside he was hopeful. It sounded like Gem and Gemma had come to his rescue at last.
"What are you talking about? I'm right here!" He insisted. "I haven't left. I haven't done anything, you can vouch for that!"
"Don't lie to me normal!" He hissed, bringing the rifle up and taking aim. Just then, another blast sounded, and the mutant girl from before, Graeme's daughter, came flying into the room. Ziggy watched as a man wearing dark green plated armour and a helmet came marching into the room. He brought his blaster to bear on the girl.
"Get away from her!" Graeme screamed, firing a couple of rounds, which rebounded off his armour, causing him to finch, though the hunter didn't appear to be slowed or halted at all by the attack. He turned towards Graeme, blasting him into the wall. He slid down the wall, clutching his ribs. As the hunter turned back to the girl, aiming at her head, Ziggy had seen enough. He morphed and immediately teleported, arriving beside the hunter and snatching his gun upwards, causing him to blast the ceiling instead of his intended target.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ziggy shrieked. This soldier appeared to be here for him, but Graeme and his daughter were clearly no threat anymore. The hunter just shoved him aside.
"Our orders are to rescue the human." He told him. "And wipe out any mutate scum we find!"
Ziggy called out his Turbo Axe, smashing the Hunter wildly before he could fire again. The Hunter flew into a wall, his armour saving him from serious harm. Ziggy rushed forth, bringing his axe overhead, and down in a destructive arc, smashing his blaster into oblivion.
The hunter got up, and rushed from that cave, leaving Ziggy standing dumbfounded. Graeme came over to him, using his rifle to help him walk.
"How did you do that?" He asked.
"It's a long story." Ziggy assured him.
"You could have done that at any time. You could have escaped." Graeme continued. "Why didn't you?"
"I liked the stew." Ziggy replied. "Come on, there's probably more of these guys."
"But...they're normals like you." Graeme commented. "Why would you help us against them?"
"If I don't, some of your people are going to die!" Ziggy stated flatly. "Come on!"
With that, they rushed from the side cave, back towards the site of the battle.
In Gem's room in the Spire, Gem had managed to repair and set up the communications screen, powering it up, before tuning it in to Dr. K's frequency.
"Dr. K, we got somewhere we can talk." Gem told her.
"What the hell happened?" Dr. K asked him. "What's this about the jet crashing?"
"We got shot down." Gem told her.
"Shot down?" Dr. K asked.
"We're fine though." Gem told her. "We got into the city, they call it Eden."
"What's the situation there?" Dr. K asked, stroking her forehead in frustration, knowing she wasn't going to get anything but the cliff notes on how or why their ship was shot down.
"The city itself...well...all I can say is it's awesome!" He told her. "The guy that runs things out here is amazing! He's a sorcerer, and he drove back Venjix. The city's almost untouched. They rebuilt it, and the cultivated a jungle and..."
"So everything's alright there?" Dr. K asked him. "Then why did they send out a distress call?"
"They didn't." Gemma informed her. "There are mutants who live outside the city and attack them, but no one takes them seriously."
"Come to think of it, they don't seem to take anything seriously." Gem commented. "I have to say it's an amazing city, but it's like one huge party. All anyone wants to do is eat and drink and do drugs and have..." He drew a little closer to the screen. "S-E-X"
Gemma suddenly thought about this, and something started to bother her. He had said it as a commentary of how the city was, but he had brought to her mind something she had only realised now. She had seen plenty of people in the city, and they all seemed to be having a good time. There was plenty of food, there was plenty of drink, and everything was clean and tidy, but so far she had yet to see a single person actually working. Who cleaned up? Who prepared the food?
As Gem concluded his report and signed off, he looked up to Gemma hopefully.
"Can I go back to the throne room?" He asked her. "I really want to get some more ice cream before Ziggy gets back."
"Sure thing Gem." Gemma replied. "I just feel like a walk. Tell me when Ziggy gets here."
Back at the cave, Ziggy and Graeme arrived in a large hall to find the Hunter team laying waste to the settlement. Some of the mutates had managed to grab weapons and were fighting back, while others ran around in blind panic. Ziggy called out his Nitro Blaster, and immediately rushed into the battle, sending a Hunter flying just as he was about to take out an unarmed mutant.
"What the hell is going on?" One of them called out. "Aren't we meant to be rescuing him?"
"He's gone native!" Another replied. "We'll have to..."
Just then, the whole cave began to rumble and shake. Some of the mutates stopped fighting and looked up to the roof of the cave, beginning to chant the name "Dragon Lord" repeatedly.
"Who is this Dragon Lord?" Ziggy asked. "Is he a powerful mutant?"
"The Dragon Lord is a mighty sorcerer." Graeme replied with a smile. "His strength stops us from being overrun by the normals."
"Then why's he called...?" His words tailed off as a section of the roof caves in and an enormous Dragon's head burst through the ceiling. It had a huge, red head, and massive mouth with razor sharp fangs like large daggers. Atop its head was a black insignia, which looked like a bird. The underside of its neck was a light blue. With a huge roar, it breathed fire into the cave, driving the hunters back. A large flaming bird came with it, circling the room, before coming to rest in the centre.
The flames dissipated, leaving a man in its place. He was tall, and powerfully built, wearing a red skin-tight suit, over which he had white gloves, white boots, and white shoulder pads. His helmet carried the same insignia as the dragon's head, and in his hand he carried a long staff, topped with a lion-headed motif that looked a little like a telephone dial.
"Leave now!" The warrior roared as the dragon shrunk and came into the room, fusing with him, forming armour around him. His staff disappeared, in lieu of a pair of batons. "If you value your lives you will leave!"
"It's the Dragon Lord!" One of the hunters screamed in terror. "Everyone retreat!"
With that, the Hunter team all turned tail and fled, leaving the cave. Ziggy stayed behind with the mutates. The Dragon Lord approached him, at which Ziggy de-morphed.
"Is this the human you said you captured?" The Dragon Lord asked. Graeme nodded.
"He stayed and fought with us." He told him. "He saved my daughter's life."
"That's about what I'd expect." He replied as he de-morphed, the dragon re-appearing a little way from him, and standing obediently. He was taller than Ziggy, and fairly well built. He had dark skin, and dark brown eyes that examined him intently. He appeared to be well into his thirties. "It's always nice to meet a fellow Ranger. I'm Nick Russell."
"Ziggy Grover." Ziggy introduced himself. "What's going on here?"
"Come with me." Nick told him. "I'll explain everything."
Back at the Spire, Gemma was making her way through the passageways, looking around, but not really sure what she was looking for. Something just didn't seem right about this place.
Making her way through the palace, it seemed like Julian was the perfect, though somewhat trusting host. There wasn't a single locked door in the whole place. She found entertainment rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries, music rooms, but so far nothing that seemed suspicious.
That was when she got to the bottom level of the palace, to where she would need to take the elevator down to the street. There was one door here that she hadn't really noticed when she was coming in. What was unusual about it was that in a palace full of open, unguarded doors, this was the only one that had a guard outside it.
Gemma approached the door, though the guard stopped her just outside it.
"Sorry, no access." He told her. Gemma turned to leave, but by now her curiosity was too great. She turned back sharply, striking him under the chin with the heel of her hand, before wrapping her arms around his neck, shutting off the veins in his neck. The guard struggled for a second, before passing out. Gemma took the keys from his belt, before heading inside. Her stomach turned as she saw what was inside.
She found herself on a balcony, overlooking an enormous holding area, lined with thousands, possibly millions of barred cells stretching as far as she could see across many levels. Heading around the balcony to one of the cells, she found a mutant inside. It hurried away from the bars, cowering in a corner as far from her as it could get.
"I won't hurt you." She said as reassuringly as she could. As the creature came towards her, she noticed that a pair of shiny steel bracelets were fastened around each of its wrists, a matching collar attached around its neck. The creature looked exhausted and frightened. Calluses and open wounds on its hands suggested it had been working hard. Too hard.
"That's why the mutants attack normal humans." She gasped. "That's why no one works. The mutants are slaves!"
"It's all they deserve!" She heard a familiar voice from behind her say. As her hand strayed to her morpher, she saw a bright flash, followed only by darkness.
Ziggy went into a secluded chamber with Nick, being shown to what amounted to a make-shift meeting room. A large, flat stone acted as a table, several smaller rocks serving as chairs. He gestured Ziggy to sit down.
"So you're a Power Ranger?" Ziggy asked him. Nick nodded in response.
"I was in this area during the first attacks." He informed Ziggy. "I used to travel a lot."
"What happened here?" Ziggy asked him. "How did the city end up so...?"
"How did it end up a paradise in the middle of Hell?" Nick asked him. "The citizens of this city were doomed. They had been cut off from escape, and so they resolved to fight to the end."
He paused as he thought about what had happened.
"I fought with them. There's a strong magical epicentre here which enhances all magic, including mine. While we were off fighting, one of the citizens and his friends discovered this epicentre too. They started studying magic and used it to their advantage. The citizens all cheered when they drove back Venjix. None of them knew what the price would be."
"What happened?" Ziggy asked him.
"Their magic was unrefined and ran rampant across the plains. The machines were destroyed, but the magic also affected the people. Those who were outside the city, fighting to protect it were twisted and mutated into what you see now. Only my strong magic stopped it from happening to me." He got up and started pacing the room impatiently.
"The citizens cheered him and made him their leader, trusted him to tell them how to live and rebuild their lives. Under his rule, he promised them luxury and comfort. They worship him like a God." Nick continued. "Their own decadence blinds them to his cruelty. He looked down on and despised the mutants, seeing them as unworthy of living with them. So, he rounded them up, and enslaved them. During the day while the revellers sleep, the few guards on duty during the day lead the slaves out into the city to clean up and prepare the food. Sometimes a few escape. That's when they end up here, fighting against his rule."
"My friends are in the city." Ziggy told him.
"Then just pray they don't end up on the wrong side of him." Scott told him. "Otherwise, we may not be able to help him."
Back in the city, Gemma woke up with a terrible headache after her attack. Looking around, she saw she was surrounded on three sides by solid walls. The only way out was barred by a door set with thick, steel bars.
Looking down, she found herself back in her own clothes. More than that though, she had steel bracelets attached to each of her wrists. Reaching to her neck, she realised she was also wearing a collar, just like the mutant slaves. She searched for her morpher, but found it was gone.
"Just think, if you hadn't been so nosey, if you had just accepted what I offered, you could have had anything you wanted, any time you wanted." Julian said in a casual drawl, stepping into view. Gemma rushed towards the bars, at which Julian pulled out an electronic device and activated it. A sharp electric current surged through her body, causing Gemma to drop to the floor in pain.
"That's it on its lowest setting." He taunted her. He activated it again, causing her to thrash around, screaming in pain. "Now, come to the bars, nice and slowly."
Gemma did as she was told, reluctant to repeat the experience. Julian reached through the bars, taking the dog tags out from under her t-shirt and looked at them, sneering in disgust.
"I tried magic, but that didn't work." He told her. "Your feelings for this man are too strong. I couldn't turn your heart."
With that, he pulled sharply, tearing them from Gemma's neck. She glared at him with a gaze that looked like it could set him ablaze.
"Just know that he can't help you here." He told her. "And that you'll never see him again!"
"Your highness, what should we do about the other outsider?" One of the guards asked him. "He's bound to ask questions when his sister doesn't come back."
"Kill him." Julian responded with as much emotion as he'd request a glass of wine.
"No, you can't..." Gemma's words were silenced by another shock, sending her to the floor. Julian smiled as he walked out of the door, leaving Gemma trapped in her cell. Outsiders would never understand the ways of his city, and there was no way he was going to risk them taking their secret away with them and destroying everything he had created through hard work and innocent blood.
