Chapter Six. Journey Of Power.

"Sir!"

Looking up to the shout from one of his other soldiers, a dark blue haired figure wearing a lab coat and glasses, Dennis awaited his response. Although the man in question was one of his top scientists, the tattoo of the Arbok across his throat disturbed him slightly. Even though he would never have admitted it to anyone. That was where his moniker came from.

"What is it, Arbok?" he demanded, leaning forward in his seat. Narrowing his eyes at the scientist.

"We may have a lock on the Genesis Book," Arbok replied. "Our scan of the topography of the region shows that it is not above land. Even factoring in all that time. So, we're currently scanning the oceans."

"Excellent work," Dennis said, throwing a disparaging scowl at Noland. "Good to see that somebody is doing their job around here."

Right on cue, another figure walked into the room. One wearing a black suit, which went well with his same coloured hair, beard and moustache. He was also wearing a gangster type hat, something that the head Coppinger privately felt was ridiculous.

"Jake," he said. "What do you have for me?"

"Just checking that our prisoners aren't going to escape," the figure replied. "I've kept Fuller on guard outside their quarters. She'll keep a watchful eye on them."

"Don't want to mess with that one," Noland remarked. "She's psycho."

"You wouldn't just be saying that because she rejected you, huh?" Jake smirked. "Poor little Noland."
"Who you calling little?" Noland demanded, getting up to his feet. Even from a distance, easily towering several inches above Jake.

"Calm it down," Dennis said, icily. "Now's not the time to argue."

"Copper is ready to depart when we have a lock on the location," Jake said. "Just thought that you should know."

"Good, good," Dennis mused. "Okay. Keep posted until then."

"The scanner we're running across the Verger region is 98% accurate," Noland offered. "As soon as we find the location, we'll head on down to it."

"Sure you can accomplish that?" Arbok sneered. "Are you sure that it won't get away from you before..."

"Do you really want to continue?" Noland demanded, cracking his knuckles. "Because..."

Hitting the ground, a dirt path in the middle of what seemed to be a forest, each of them began to violently cough. The ground soft and spongy underneath them, seeming to gently cushion their landing.

"Man, that's funky," Luke choked. "Jeez. Feels like I drank a whole bottle of Nanab juice through the nose with a straw."

"Why would you do that?" Xavier wondered, rolling over onto his back. "Just... Why?"

"The good old days at boarding school," Luke said. "Great days."

"What did that voice mean, anyone?" Ryan asked. "I mean... The power to protect the Genesis Book? We don't even know what the Genesis Book is, so..."

"I'm sure all that will be explained in time," Katie commented. "I mean, right now, I'm more interested about the other things that it said. The special powers now lay within us. What does that mean? And that thing about trials."

"Errr... Katie," Nahir said. "I think..."

"I mean, with what that implies," she said. "It could be anything. Anything at all. I mean, it could be..."

"Quicksand!" Nahir shouted, everyone looking down to see that they were sinking into the ground. Tipping themselves up, they began to flail wildly. Trying to escape frantically.

"Don't struggle!" Duo yelled. "You'll sink faster!"

"What do you suggest we do?" Luke shouted. "Jeez!"

"Guess we screwed the Growlithe," Xavier commented, sagely allowing himself to try and achieve some sort of inner peace. "Well, I guess that it's been..."

"Come on, there's got to be something that we can do!" Katie bellowed. "Anyone..."

Looking around from where he was sinking, Ryan saw a huge root across from him. Reaching out, he let out a groan as his fingers grasped empty air. Still at least a handful of inches away from the root, desperately willing himself to try and pull himself closer.

And then the root moved. Bending up, elongating out towards him, allowing him to clasp his hands around it.

"What!" he yelled. "Did any of you guys see that?"

"See what?" Luke asked, looking around. "What the hell? Where did you get that branch from?"

"Never mind" Nahir yelled, her head almost under the ground. Her voice muffled, followed by a choking sound. "Just..."

Reaching over, Luke grabbed Ryan's hand. His other hand pulling Nahir up, yanking her out of the mud as Ryan managed to start to move himself towards the land. Pulling the two of them on, Nahir threw out her hand to take Xavier's. Xavier did the same for Duo, Duo going for Katie. Slowly but surely, Ryan managed to drag himself out of the bog, Luke following suit. As he helped Nahir out, Ryan gave Xavier a hand. Then, the rest of them gave Duo and Katie a lift.

"Anyone else wondering what the hell that was?" Nahir shouted. "I mean... Grrrr!"

Throwing her hands up, she began to shake her head.

"First step's a doozy," Duo commented. "Very clever. And interesting. Things are starting to make sense now."

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked. "You're all welcome by the way."

"The fighting statues," Duo said. "The big scary voice. The dimensional portal. Mythical trials. This all reeks of something that the Lords of Time would come up with. It wouldn't be the first time that something like this has happened. Just like the five stones all over again."

"Something definitely strange is happening," Ryan said, looking at the root. As if by chance, the marshy quicksand behind them vanished. "This isn't a natural place."

"Adds credence to the thought that it's a Lord of Time construct," Duo commented. "Something isn't quite right here."

"Guess we'll have to watch our steps then," Katie said. "Let's keep moving."

As she started to walk on, she quickly paused, looking around at Ryan.

"What were you saying earlier?" she asked. "About something strange?"

"I could have sworn that..." Ryan said, looking at the root again. "Never mind. It's probably nothing."

"Oh terrific," Nahir said, looking at the blocked path in front of them. Several huge rocks piled up on top of each other, completely stopping any chance of getting past. "Guess we're not going this way."

"Quitter," Luke commented. "There has to be a way past them."

"Not unless you have some sort of heavy lifting equipment hidden in your pocket," Xavier remarked. "You don't, do you?"

"Of course I don't," Luke replied, gritting his teeth. "There has to be..."

Throwing his arms up in frustration, one of the rocks at the top of the pile sailed up off into the air, coming crashing down in the thick jungle around them. Much to the surprise of the watching rangers.

"What the fudge?" Duo asked. "Did you just do that?"

"I don't know," Luke said, looking back at the pile of rocks. "Let's see."

Squatting slightly, throwing out both arms and waving his fingers at the rocks...

... Nothing happened.

"You look like you're trying to lay an egg, you dumb cluck," Nahir commented. "Put your back into it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Nahir," Luke said, rounding on her. A rock behind him instantly flying up much in the same fashion as the first one had. "Wait, that just happened."

"Something's definitely strange here," Ryan insisted. "When I was in the quicksand, I made that root extend out to me."

"You think that these are the powers that we got?" Katie asked. "That the voice mentioned."
"What, I can control plants?" Ryan wondered. "Be serious. That's impossible. I only did it once, but..."

"And, I might have telekinesis," Luke said, his face lighting up. "That's fricking awesome."

"What does having the ability to read minds have to do with what you just did?" Duo wondered.

"That's telepathy," Nahir said. "Telekinesis is the art of moving things with your mind."

"So, you're essentially psychic?" Xavier asked, smirking at Luke. "Not the word that any of us would probably have used."

Returning the smirk, Luke jerked his hand above Xavier. A shower of leaves falling down, instantly covering him in the green stuff.

"That's mature," Nahir commented, rolling his eyes.

"But cathartic," Luke said, turning his attention back to the rocks. "I think I'm getting the hang of it now."

Focusing back on the task in hand, he began to move the rocks with the power of his mind. Something that took no time at all, the path eventually becoming clear.

"See, I have my uses," Luke remarked, a grin on his face. "Hold your applause."

"You think we all get an ability?" Xavier asked, dusting himself off to knock the leaves away from him.

"Only one way to find out," Katie said. "Guess we keep walking."

Walking down another path, the six of them soon arrived upon a strange place. One with several wounded and dead Pokémon laid in the middle of it, the suspicion growing by the second.

"Something's not right here," Luke said. Reaching out with his mind, he picked the prone form of a wounded Pidgey up off the ground...

... The Bird Pokémon instantly squawking in pain as several darts riddled its body. Flopping back down to the ground, it let out another squawk of agony.

"You can't just leave it like that!" Katie exclaimed. "It's in pain!"

"You want me to whack it against the ground a couple of times?" Luke asked. Much to the disgust of some of the listening rangers. "What?"

"So, you honestly don't see anything wrong with what you just said?" Katie asked, angrily.

"Well, I'm only trying to help," Luke said. Seconds before Nahir let out a giggle.

"I feel a bit different," she mused, reaching down to rub her legs. "Kinda..."

Throwing herself forward, she sprinted across the relatively short distance at a lightning fast speed. Several darts all shooting out, easily missing her. In no time at all, she was at the other end of the path, waving at them.

"That's neat," she said. "Guess I got super speed."

"Ah, a staple super power," Duo commented. "Good for you. Now, how are the rest of us going to..."

Even as he was speaking, several explosions rang out across the trees. The dart launchers instantly fading away into nothing, much to the surprise of the rest of them. Reaching forward, Katie pressed her hand into the clearing. Nothing happening to hurt her, no darts sailing out through the air to pierce her skin.

"Guess we passed another test," she said. "Good job, Nahir."

"I rock," she smiled. "I guess we already knew that."

"Now, you're starting to sound like Luke," Duo commented, a wry smirk on his face.

Returning the grin, Nahir quickly vanished away at a supersonic fast speed. Duo suddenly partly losing his shirt from around him.

"Hey!" he complained. "If you want me to get it off, then just ask."

"You can't keep him down, can you?" Xavier wondered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Wow. That's..."

"I know, right?" Duo grinned, as they started to walk again. "Well, I'm only giving her the option. Rather than..."

"Seriously, knock it off," Katie ordered. "You're making us all feel uncomfortable now."

"I'm not," Ryan said, as Luke leaned over to whisper something in Duo's general direction. Something that caused the former blue ranger to burst out laughing.

Arriving before a clearing, the six of them instantly saw their next obstacle. Something that made them all groan, quietly. As not to wake up...

"Hmmm," Nahir whispered. "Sleeping Ursaring. You want me to run past them? Because I'm feeling pretty flexible right now."

"Nah, that could be a stupid idea," Ryan said, as Luke began to snicker at what Nahir had just said. "A friend of mine has an Ursaring. Their hearing isn't that great, but if you sprint past them, they'll wake up. And we don't want to get attacked."

"I can outrun them," Nahir replied.

"Yeah, we can't," Luke said. "So..."

"My plan exactly," she remarked, winking at him. "Everyone just needs to run faster than you."

"Hey, guys," Duo said. "I feel kinda strange. I was thinking about how we could get past this and..."

Looking around to where he had been stood, Katie let out a snort of annoyance. Seeing that he wasn't where he had been.

"Very funny, moron," she commented. "Where are you?"

"What do you mean?" Duo's voice asked, sounding out of nowhere. "I'm stood right here."

"No, you're not," Xavier said, rolling his eyes. "That ventriloquist trick is pretty good though."

"Wait a second," Luke remarked. "I don't think that's what he can do. Isn't it obvious what's wrong with him?"

"Maybe to some," Katie muttered.

"His power has activated," Luke said. "It's invisibility, or camouflage or something."

"Let's just call it invisibility!" Duo remarked, starting to walk off towards the clearing. "I'll see if I can get past them."

"Might want to be quiet!" Xavier called, in a loud whisper. "Otherwise..."

"You want to wait until he gets in the middle of them and then start yelling stuff at him?" Nahir said, looking at Katie with a smile.

"Nah, this is more important," she replied. "But..."

Looking over at Luke, she gave him a small glare.

"What did you say to him earlier?" she asked. "That thing that made him laugh."

"Let me guess," Xavier remarked. "Something about you being jealous because he was flirting with Nahir."

"Oh, was that flirting?" Katie shot back. Reaching over to high five Nahir, both of them grinning.

"Yeah, that was more or less it," Luke said. "Pretty much practically."

In the middle of the clearing, Duo saw an Ursaring open its eyes. Watching it sniff the air in front of it, sensing something, he froze on the spot. Hoping and praying. Much to his relief, the Pokémon started to scratch itself before falling back asleep. Exhaling sharply, he began to quicken his step across the ground, eventually reaching the end of the clearing with time to spare. As he took one step outside the clearing, all of the Ursaring exploded, leaving no trace that they had ever been there.

"Was that really neccesary?" Ryan wondered. "Killing them all."

"Ah, I don't think that they were ever technically alive in this place," Xavier said. "Strange."

"Either way," Katie commented, as Duo reappeared at the other end of the clearing. "We can continue on right now. Guess it's just you and me that need to see what we get now, Xavier."

"Could be anything," Luke remarked. "But, I bet it's not as cool as what the rest of us got."

Hearing a tremendous series of crashes up ahead, the six of them looked at each other in surprise. Pushing on for another few metres, they saw several huge logs swinging from the trees, smashing against each other with thunderous blows. With two of the heavy timber objects on each side, probably about five or six in all, they continued on their constant swing. Each blow causing the watching humans to flinch.

"Right," Nahir said. "You think that I can run through this?"

"Is that going to be your solution to everything?" Luke wondered. "Run at it and hope for the best?"

"Nah, I don't think that's it," Xavier said, scratching his arm. "Jeez, what's wrong with my skin? Suddenly, it feels so itchy."

"Are you okay?" Katie asked. "You don't have an infection, do you?"

"Well, now I'm worrying," Xavier muttered, looking across to the logs. Stretching forward, trying to get a better look at it, he let out several small sounds of musing. "There has to be a way to get past..."

Having stretched too far, he felt the sinking feeling fall through him. That of falling, he instantly knew he was about to fall between the logs. Groaning in frustration, he prepared for the inevitable release of what was going to happen...

... Only for the two logs to hit him in the head, a strange sound erupting out before they bounced off.

"Okay, that's attractive," Ryan commented, as Xavier reached up to rub his head. Realising that he was completely unharmed by what had just happened.

"What just happened?" he wondered, half turning to look back at them. Only for the logs to hit him again in the face. "That's..."

Getting hit again, he shook his head off. Wondering why his head hadn't been crushed like a berry.

"Whatever it is, don't question it!" Duo shouted. "Get to the other side."

Taking several steps forward through the gauntlet, more blows bouncing off him every time he took a step, Xavier finally reached the end of the trail. The logs instantly falling down off their ropes, exploding as they landed. Still trying to work out what had happened.

"Well, we're back on the road again," Nahir said, as the other five of them began to join him over on the other side of the gauntlet. "Great job with that. Guess you're finally using your head."

"Ha!" Duo exclaimed. "Good one."

"Strange," Xavier muttered, looking down at his skin. Pressing against it, he quickly realised that it felt like liquid. Walking over to a tree, he struck his fist against it, not feeling anything.

"That looks like an Acid Armour," Katie said. "Heh, they all seem to mirror Pokémon attacks. Ryan has... something. Earth Power, or Frenzy Plant, or Vine Whip or something. Nahir has Agility. Luke has Psychic. Duo has part of Faint Attack."

"The part where I turn invisible?" Duo said. "Still can't believe it."

"So, wonder what I get," Katie mused. "But, if everyone else has it, mine should be next."

"You think that we're almost there yet?" Xavier asked. "Because, this is starting to get old."

"Guess this is the next trial," Luke commented, the six rangers stopping in front of the obstacle in question. "And, I left my gardening sheers at home."

"Overgrown or what?" Duo asked, looking at the huge knot of vines and fauna in front of them. "Now, if only we had..."

Striding forward, Ryan threw out his hand. Trying to dispel the vines, he watched them fly away to the side. Turning around to the other rangers, he flashed them a grin.

"Now, whose the daddy?" he asked. Only to hear a scraping sound behind him, craning his neck to see the vines reform in their knot from before.

"Not you, apparently," Duo said. Seconds before Katie began to rub her skin, a strange look on her face.

"Is it me?" she asked. "Or, is it getting hot around here?"

"No," Luke said. "You're imagining things."

"I'm not hot," Xavier remarked. "Just room temperature."

"We're not in a room," Duo commented. "But, I'm fine."

"I'm good," Nahir replied, reaching out to place a hand on Katie's arm. "You okay, sweetie?"

Upon completing that action, she immediately snatched her hand back, yelping in pain.

"Is she hot?" Duo snickered. "Well, apart from the obvious..."

"Duo, seriously, give it a rest!" Katie bellowed, staggering back. Throwing out both hands in pain, a searing invisible wave of heat erupted from her palms, completely immolating the vines beyond all recognition. Instantly turning to ash and dying, they didn't return.

"You're a regular hot head," Ryan commented. Holding out his hand for a high five, a gesture that nobody returned. "Oh come on!"

Taking a step out into the next clearing in front of them, the six saw another huge temple awaiting them. Again, closely resembling the building that they had entered back on Ragnar Island, the one that four of them had been to back in the past. A huge stone slab blocking their way to the entrance, the whole building a brilliant shade of white.

"Oh great," Nahir said. "What now?"

"Knock?" Luke suggested. "Whatever's in there might let us in."

"They might not as well," Xavier commented. "Let's break a window."

"What window?" Katie asked. "There aren't no windows. Plus, I can't see whatever is in there being pleased if we did that."

"True," Duo said. "Unless we're not supposed to try and break in."

Taking a step forward, he quickened his pace and placed his hand against the door. A black energy starting to rush out across the door, restoring some colour to it.

"This might be the way," he remarked, as Nahir came after him. Placing her hand against the cold surface, a yellow energy began to shoot out across the stone. Slowly but surely, the rest of them came forward, placing their hands upon the surface. Red, blue, purple and green energy covered the stone structure, the slab finally glowing in all six colours.

And then, it began to descend. Withdrawing their hands, they watched it collapse into the ground, revealing the interior of the temple beyond them. Allowing them to see who or what was awaiting them. The actual presence surprising them all.

"You!" Katie exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Sat in the middle of the temple, a plate of food in his hand which he was eating from, was Clarence. The conduit of reality, of time and space.

"What took you all so long?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

Author's Notes.

Anyone see it coming?

And what's with the powers that they seem to have? Answer being other powers than their ranger ones. Just a little enhancement for their human forms.

But, yeah, it should be pretty much obvious what their colours are right now. Almost pretty much obvious. Especially where Duo and Nahir are concerned. The next chapter will confirm it beyond any shadow of a doubt.

But, a lot of fun with this chapter.

Also, more of the Coppingers revealed.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews. All appreciated. Thanks guys.

I'm a little unsure as to what the title of the next chapter will be at the moment, so no news there.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!

Please!