Chapter Four: The Cover of night
Days after the Elemental Knights' attack, the Power Rangers are able to return home and rest; a rest that all of them truly needed. It's been over three months since they were in the alternate dimension and the appearance of this enemy, which is in a class of their own,has really exhausted the Rangers. But now the Rangers are trying to get back to some sort of normalcy.
In James and Mike's apartment, on a small brown desk an alarm clock hits eight and rings.A hand reaches up from under a blanket and slams on the desk until it lands on the clock, stopping the ring. James sits up from under his blanket and rubs his eyes, taking a deep breath before heading towards the window. The sun shines brightly into the room when he opens the curtain and the sight of the breathtaking Manhattan skyline fills James view.
'I'm glad to be home.' James thinks as he walks out of his room and down a hall. He approaches his brother's door and knocks.
"Hey Bro, I'm heading out with Wendy in a few, hit up my cell if you need anything." James says.
All that comes from Mike's room is a groan, whichJames assumes is a response and goes back to his room to change into a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans. After a few minutes, he leaves his apartment and heads down the street. The New York City sky is clear and the ground below is busy with people and traffic. James walks with his hands in his pockets and is deep in thought about what the next move the Rangers could make against the Knights.
'They are as strong as we are; we have to find a way to overcome them. Hopefully Justin has come up with a way to get more information on them. We can't go in blind; that will just cause us to fail which is not an option. No one can get hurt.'
James thinks more and more, going deeper and deeper into his past failures; attacking Justin, Mike and Wendy becoming evil and the attack on Phil. After an hour and ahalf of walking, James finally arrives at Wendy's place. He rings the door bell and waits as the door opens. Wendy comes out in a pink shirt and a pair of Capri pants.
"Hey." James saysas he smiles and waves his hand.
"Hey honey." Wendy says then hugs and kisses James hello.
"So what's the plan for the day?" Wendy asks as James and her walk off the steps of her house and down the block.
"Well I was planning on just going for a nice walk through Central Park." James says.
Wendy glares at James and says,
"The only reason you want to take awalk is because you don't have any money."
James smiles and shakes his head at the comment before saying,
"I have money; I just figured that we should take advantage of the day."
James takes Wendy's hand and starts to walk towards the park. While James and Wendy are on their outing, Justin is at home eating a bowl of cereal and getting ready for the day ahead of him. On the table arepapers spread out with notes written on them about the current Ranger'spower and the Knights. The notes looked like scribbles on apage, but to someone of Justin's intelligence it revealed formulas on how to increase the power of the Rangers.
"Think, think, think" Justin says as he taps his pencil on the table then eats a spoonful of cereal. "I just don't have enough information on these Knights to come up with a plan. Maybe some time away from my Ranger duties will be good for me."
Justin walks out of hishome, leaving his breakfast half eaten and runs out to his car. Justin picks up his phone and calls Phil to see what he was doing.
"Hey Phil, what are you up to right now?" Justin asks as he drives.
All that could be heard in the background was the sound of falling pots and pans and a screaming child.
"Phil, are you ok?"
"I'm busy watching my cousin Marcus, I'll call you later." Phil says before hanging up his phone in a hurry.
Justin looks at his phone, and then calls Mike. After several seconds of waiting, a groggy voice answers the phone.
"Hey."
"Mike, are you busy today?"
"I'm going to take this time to rest and hang around the house for the first time in three months. What are you up to?"
"I'm just trying to get away from work. Maybe I'll call Keri." Justin says with a slight disappointment in his voice.
"Keriisn't around; her family took her on vacation since she hasn't been home. But man I'm tired, so I'll talk to you later."
"Alright." Justin says hanging up the phone as he drives. Justin continues to drive until he makes it to a parking lot and drops off his car. As Justin walks around the parking lot, he takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh, 'So I guess I'm on my own for the day.'
As Justin makes his way out of the lot,the sunlight hits him in theface. The sun was bright and seemed to symbolize the start of a new day for him.Justin makes his way towards the park, where Wendy and James are still on their date.
"So what's on your mind?" Wendy asks as she looks into James' eyes.
"There isn't anything, baby." James says.
"You have that look of concern on your face; it's like you're not even enjoying yourself."
"I am. Hell, it was my idea that we go out today."
Wendy glares at James as his attitude seems to change and says,
"See, there is something eating at you."
"Look, I just want to enjoy the day. I'm sorry that my head is in another place right now."
"What are you thinking about?"
"Well, it's the damn Knights. I can't seem to get them out of my mind. Theblue one was on par with me."
Wendy pauses, turns James to face her and leans in to kiss him. She then whispers,
"You're our leader and you think too much. We will beat them James."
Wendy kisses him again,which brings James out of the feeling of gloom and anger that he was in. They continue to walk through the park which is filled with people whom seem to be enjoying the day and taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Above them in a pocket dimension next to ours, the Blue Knight is sitting at his round table; deep in thought.
'The Red Ranger… It's been a long time since I have battled someone that was my equal. I can't even say that about my own warriors. I want to test this Ranger.' The Blue Knight thinks as he gets up from the table and walks around the castle to check on his Knights.
He makes his way to a window that shows the courtyard where the Green Thunder Knight and the Yellow Time Knight were sparring with each other.
"Attention!" The Blue Knight says as the two knights below stop their training and turns their attention towards the window.
"Yes, Lord!" both Knights say as they sheathe their swords.
"Green come to the main hall, I have need of you." The Blue Knight orders, turns around and starts to head back to the main hall. After a few moments, the Green Knight is in the main hall standing at attention as the Blue Knight sits at the table.
"What is it that you need of me?" The Green Knight says.
"I need you to go through your army and find me a creature that I could use to test the Rangers on Earth."
"What kind of destruction are you looking to do sir?"
"I want something that will push the Red Ranger and the rest of his band of fighters to the edge."
"I have the perfect candidate. He will not only cause damage to those Rangers, but to the Earth itself."
"Good, sendit to Earth now!"
In the park, Wendy and Jamessit on a bench watching the people at play. They both are thinking about their lives and the new direction it has taken over the last couple of years. It has been a journey that the two of them took and yet they returnedback into each other's arms at the end of the day. Justin strolls in the park in his blue polo shirt and a pair of shorts when he notices James and Wendy on the bench.
"Hey guys!" Justin shouts and waves at the two teens.
James and Wendy turn their heads and see Justin. Both of them smile as they get up from the bench and walk over to Justin.
"What are you doing out here?" Justin asks as he gives a pound to James and then a hug to Wendy.
"Nothing really, just enjoying the day." Wendy says with a smile on her face.
"We are on a date, kind of." James says.
"But we weren't doing anything major, James." Wendy says with a stern tone in her voice. "What are you doing today Justin?"
"Nothing, I just needed to get away from all the work I've been putting in on these Knights." Justin says.
"I was meaning to ask you Justin, did you find out any information on them?" James asks.
"No, not really. Whatever information that I have gathered on them is from the Command Core's databanks."
"We need a good plan to go toe-to-toe with them."
"We will, I just need more time."
Wendy looks at both James and Justin shaking her head when she says said,
"I thought you both wanted to stop thinking about these Knights and yet you're spending time talking about them. Jeez, just enjoy the day."
Both James and Justin look at Wendy and understand the truth behind her statement;they came out today to get their minds off the Knights.
"You're right honey." James says.
"Yea." Justin says.
"Good, now let's just take a walk. Maybe in a few minutes we can try to call Mike and Phil to see if they want to come out and hang with us." Wendy says.
"Well it's just going to be the three of us today. Mike is probably asleep, Phil is watching his cousin and Keri is on vacation with her family." Justin says.
"Well that's fine, it can just be us and I don't want any more 'work' talk between the two of you." Wendy says with a smile on her face.
As the Rangers walk around the park, a sudden vibration comes from James' new Morpher. He reaches into his pocket and pulls it out to see Zordon's face on the screen.
"What's the problem, Zordon?" James asks as Justin and Wendy pull out their morphers.
"Rangers, we have a elemental proximity alarm going off. In your area, there seems to be an increase in the darknesselement. I need you three to check it out." Zordon says.
"We're on it." James says.
The Rangers look around but don't notice anything until the sky starts to grow dark and a black film starts to cover the sun. The people at the park look up and see a creature with medieval armor which covers its body except the right arm, which is bigger than the left, and has a large claw-like hand that is producing a smog-like substance which fills the air.
"To the citizens of the planet Earth, I request that you turn over your precious Power Rangers. If you don't, I will cover your sun and kill your planet. I know you humans need this ball of light to survive. Now which is more important, your lives or the lives of the Power Rangers?" The monster says as it floats in the air while more and more smog like substance flows from its hand.
The people below start to panic and run out of the park in fear as the monster starts to descend from the sky and lands on the ground.
"Well I guess that the lives of your Rangers are a little more important than your own." The monster says as it walks the park with his arm in the air. After the coast is clear, James, Wendy and Justin appear from behind a large bush and confront the beast.
"So you're the one that is blocking our sun!" James says as Justin and Wendy stand next to him.
"Yes I am,and in case you missed the announcement I made; if you give me the Power Rangers I will stop this. If you don't, I will continue this until your ball of light is covered." The monster says.
"First tell me your name." Jamessays.
"Fine, my name is Sir Veil, one of the Green Knight's personal soldiers." The monster says.
"Good, it's always better to know who we are fighting." Wendy says as she takes a fighting stance.
"You humans are going to stand up to me?" Sir Veil says as he lets out a laugh before the other two Rangers take their fighting stances.
"You wanted the Power Rangers, you got them!" Justin says.
"What?" The monster exclaims.
"Ready?" James says as he takes out his morpher.
"Ready" Justin and Wendy sayas they took out their morphers.
"Elemental Power Energize!" The three Rangers say in unison and they morph into their Ranger uniforms.
"Red Fire Elemental Ranger!" James says as he takes his stance.
"Blue Wind Elemental Ranger!" Justin says as he takes his stance.
"Pink Metal Elemental Ranger!" Wendy says as she takes her stance.
"Only three of you?I was hoping for all six, but Lord Blue will take this. Once I bring you back, I will be a Lord myself." Sir Veil says as he summons the Trogs around him to fight the Rangers.
"Let's go guys!" James commands as he runs into the crowd of Trogs that block off Sir Veil.
Justin runs into the crowd with his arm pulled back and punches one of the Trogs in the face as Wendy jumps over two of them and turns to sweep kick both. James is surrounded by Trogs and elbows one of them that are behind him and side kicks one that is in front of him. Two of the Trogs grab his arms while one starts to punch him in the chest. Justin leaps over the Trog that he is fighting and calls out for his weapon,
"Aero Lance!"
As his weapon completely formsin his hand, one of the ends stabs through one of the Trogs that is holding James. Once James is free, he punches the Trog that was holding his other arm while Justin slashes the one that had been punching James.
"Thanks Just." James says as he opens his hand and calls, "Pyro Sword".
The fire builds up in his hand until the sword is formed and he stabs one of the Trogs that is surrounding Justin and himself.
"Where is Wendy?" James asksas he shoves one of the Trogs that is reaching out for him.
"I think she is over there!" Justin says as he points towards Sir Veil whileWendy runs towards the monsterwith her Metal Flailswinging in the air.
"Metallic strike!" Wendy shouts as she swings her flail in the air. The spiked ball strikes Sir Veil in the face and then he turns slowly back to Wendy.
"You dare strike your better?" Sir Veil says as he holds his face.
"My better?I have more where that came from." Wendy says as she takes a fighting stance.
Sir Veil runs at Wendy with his claw hand swinging at her, but Wendy continues to jump back from the oncoming assault. Wendy swings her flail again and strikes Sir Veil on the side, but he grabs the ball end of the flail and turns the tables on her as he uses it as a handle and swings Wendy around on the other end. Wendy holds onto the handle of her flail as she is being tossed around and around. Wendy's efforts to stop the monster actually begin to distract the villain from producing the black substance that was blocking the sun. The sky started to clear as three beams of light teleported onto the battlefield.
"What took you guys so long?" Justin asks as he holds off more Trogs.
"Whatever that black substance covering the area was,stopped our teleportation here." Keri says as she fires Photon Arrow into three Trogs.
"Be happy that we're here." Mike says as he cuts through a few Trogs with his Gravity Sickle.
"It's always better to have the whole team here." James saysas he cuts more Trogs.
"Phil,how did you get away from Marcus?" Justin asks.
"I placed the kid in front of the T.V. which should keep him entertained for a few hours." Phil says as he cut a few Trogs with his axe.
"Now let's get to Wendy!" James says as he and the other Rangers fight their way through the crowd.
When the rangers make quick work through the Trogs, they find Wendy on the ground after being thrown with her flail away from him.
"Look what you have done!" Sir Veil says as he swings his large claw hand at Wendy.
As his claw is about make contact with Wendy, he is blocked by James' sword.
"Nice job Wendy." James says as he struggles to hold off the attack.
Wendy gets off the ground as she is joined by the other Power Rangers. James jumps back and stands with his team and Sir Veil walks towards them.
"I won't need these guys anymore." Sir Veil says as he teleports the Trogs away from the area.
"Ready Rangers!" James shouts as he takes his stance while gripping his sword in his hand.
"Let's get rid of this guy." Justin says as he spins his lance.
"I can't have a day to be a bum, can I? I'm going to make you regret that." Mike says as he tightens the grip on his sickle.
"Ruining my day off was a bad move." Wendy says as she swings her flail.
"First monster from the new baddies and all you can do is cover the sun, kind of weak." Keri says as she pulls back her bow.
"You're going down." Phil says as he holds his axe at his side.
"I'm going to claim my prize!" Sir Veil says as he runs at James.
James turns to his right to avoid the large claw. Justin, Mike and Phil run at Sir Veil and slashes him with their weapons from three sides as James jumps away from the monster. Wendy jumps into the air and swings her flail right onto the monster's head. Sir Veil grows darker and darker in color as he starts to surround himself in a force field of pure dark energy which pushes the Rangers away from him.
"He created a force field around himself." Phil says as he tries to cut at the field of darkness.
"Out attacks aren't working." Mike says as he slashes one side of the field.
"We need a plan." Wendy says as she swings her flail at the field before it bounces off.
Keri takes aim with her Photon Bow and fires.The arrow causes a crack in the field of darkness around Sir Veil.
"Maybe it's based on our elements; we can use this to our advantage." Justin says as he sees the crack caused by Keri's Photon Arrow. Justin takes out his morpher and contacts Zordon about what he saw.
"Justin; this is a great idea. You just need to combine elements; that will be able to break through the barrier." Zordon informs.
"I already figured out the elements that we can use; over and out." Justin says as he shuts off his morpher. "James and Keri, I want you guys to combine weapons."
"We can do that?" James asks as he tries to cut through the barrier, leaving a crack.
"I'm downloading the abilities from the morphing grid; now Keri and James get ready!" Justin says as the ability downloads into the Rangers.
James hands Keri his sword as she uses it like an arrow and takes aim, charging the sword with light energy. James puts his hand on Keri's shoulder and they both say "Elemental Strike, Photon Pryo Blast!"
Keri fires the sword from her bow as it glows bright with the light and fire energy which breaks through the barrier and impales Sir Veil. The barrier disappears and Sir Veil crashes to the ground with an explosion.
"We did it!" Wendy says as she jumps on James, giving him a big hug.
"We really did." James says letting out a sigh. "Keri, your aim was perfect."
"Sweet moves." Mike says as he walks over to James and Wendy.
"Thanks for the power boost Justin." Keri says.
"It was just great timing." Justin says as he gathers with the rest of the group.
"It's great being a team again, but I have to head home to make sure Marcus didn't destroy the house." Phil says.
He says his good-byes to his friends and teleports home.
"I have to get out of here too;I don't want my parents to worry about me. Later guys." Keri says as she teleports from the battlefield.
"I'm out." Mike says teleporting home.
"Well James and Wendy, I'm going to Zordon to talk about this new power. I'll see you guys around." Justin says as he teleports to the Command Core.
"It's just the two of us, I guess let's get back to enjoying our day off." James says as he and Wendy dimorph and continue to walk around the park to enjoy the nice weather.
In the castle of the Elemental Knights, The Blue Knight sits at the table looking over the battle in the viewing pool that lies at the center of the pentagram.
"I'm sorry Blue Knight for my soldier's failure." the Green Knight says as he stands over the Blue Knight.
"You didn't fail; it was just a test for the Rangers.I have already moved my piece on the chessboard, Red Ranger, now it's your move." the Blue Knight says as he intertwines his fingers together.