Well, this was a slog. I'm sorry for the slow update. The next chapter is already outlined and just needs to be finished! Progress is being had!
Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy the continued adventues of Megaforce!
I don't own them. I just play in their sandbox from time to time.
All the best!
Kit
The sky was darker than they expected. The area around them was monochrome and slightly distorted. The sky was normal at first glance but a closer inspection showed that it was just as misleading as everything else around the two Rangers. Jake was calm in the face of all the strange and new sights, and he stood by watching Gia work. The pressure of the curse had faded slightly, and he was thoughtful as he looked on.
"Do you think we made the right choice?" Gia looked up from her work.
"Do you?" a shrug was the reply as Jake took another look at their surroundings.
"It's quiet here. I expected more movement from a place like this." A hum rippled the air around them. He looked over his shoulder to see the smirking face of his companion. "Was that really necessary?"
"You said it was quiet."
"He did." They popped up from their work at the sound of the new voice. "I apologize for my intrusion young Mages. I did not mean to startle you. You called?" the two teenagers looked at each other and then looked around. Soon, they were back to back any yet nothing could be seen.
"Called?" Gia's voice was sharp as she responded out loud. A soft chuckle came out of the air around them as they searched for the intruder.
"You rang the air for miles around. I was already in the area, watching. But your call went out and thus here I am. Do you know where you are?" the voice seemed to be moving around them. A flowing motion began to form, smoky and creeping in the air around them.
"We are in the World between Worlds. That was the outcome of the spell I cast. Thus that is we are."
"False." The figure gained more form though it was still undefined and fluid in motion. "You happen to be quite lucky little Wild One; the nature of your magic means that it is flexible. This is the grey place. As the description of what you want is contradictory, you landed here. To get where you need to go you need to pay the toll to cross. I'm surprised you did not bring a Lovely Death with you. They can cross as they please, with little cost to your magic. And they can use their magic in the area you are going. Your magic will be less accessible. Would you like a…guide?" the smooth voice was coy as it floated around them.
"I'm not sure that is a good idea. I don't know enough to tell if you are trying to trick or harm us." Jake frowned at the offer. Something was tugging at his memory. The figure moved again and it was this dark laughter that triggered his memory.
"Gia," she looked over her shoulder at the Black Ranger "don't say anything else to him. The being we are talking with could be a Fey. We need to keep going, or we will be trapped here with this thing for a long time."
This brought the smoke up short. It formed a humanoid shape and towered over the two teenagers, anger pouring off of every line of its form.
"How dare you compare me to one of those Things! I am far more than they will ever be! For that insult I shall claim from the two of you a toll far greater then would have been asked for-"
"WAIT!" Abby stood out starkly from the fluctuating background. "Wait Please Sir!"
"Abby?"
"Shut up! You two have caused me enough trouble today. And to find you in the process of picking a fight with a being that you don't even know? Your speaking privileges have been suspended for the rest of this trip!" she turned to the exceptionally angry being before them and bowed low.
"Greetings Traveler," her voice was smooth and polite, a sudden shift from the sharp tones gifted to Jake and Gia "I appologise for the folly of my students. They are still young in the ways of Magic. Reparations for any insult shall be made by myself and my shops. Simply name your price and I am sure we can come to a bargen."
"I wish for ten years off of their lives!" Horror crossed the faces of the Rangers at the proclamation
"I will not give to you anything of theirs. They are under my protection. The power of twenty years of life energy is substantial, perhaps I can give to you some of my own as a down payment and gift to you some Tears of Sunfire to cover the rest of their debt. I have four in my main shop at this moment. They are yours." The being contemplated.
"And if I fight you oh Lovely Death? You who stand before me unarmed and bare to my power? How would you stop me from simply taking what is mine, as dictated by the laws of this place?" the voice was full of dark humor and violence. Abby stood tall in the face of something the others did not understand. Though dwarfed in size, at that moment she exuded the confidence of someone sure of their victory.
"Sir Reaper. My kin of power. One of the lords of the Grey Place, traveler of the wastes, master of death." Her voice was proud and firm, inflexible in both word and tone. "I am Abbigail Fey. I am a Necromancer of the third tier. I am the Fey Death and I will fight you with my own life and soul as a weapon to protect the lives of my students. Young though they are they are powerful in their own right and will one day soon surpass my partner and I." the figure reached out a 'hand' and touched Abby's shoulder. Golden light passed into it and it before it drifted back.
"You speak boldly for one in your position. I accept your terms. I have taken five years off your life in payment, and I demand three of the Sunfire Tears upon your return to your shop." Dark laughter rang out. "Do not forget. Or I will come and see if you can hold up to your boasting." It vanished like fog in the wind.
Abby slumped down a bit before rounding on the now silent Rangers. Rage flashed across her face before she sighed in resignation.
"Hold out your left hand." Jake and Gia blinked and obeyed. "Good, your listening. Listen to this too. I could have easily made the jump to the Curse Breaker's domain by myself. Crossing the veil and passing through places like this is a cornerstone of my ability. The two of you ripped open the wall between dimentions and jumped without checking where you were going, without direction, and without making sure it was safe to get back! You didn't bring anything to increase your abilities' in a place like this and your only saving grace is the fact that you are carrying your morphers and could possibly teleport someplace else if your needed to. Many beings here are immune to the powers of the morphing grid. You could have been killed!" she wrapped gold cord around each of their wrists. It flashed briefly in the waning light and then sank into their skin. "This is a soul cord. It ties the three of us together and also anchors us to the real world so we can find our way back. If we are separated focus on it and it will lead you back to me. Let's go. We are this close. Might as well not waste the trip."
XXX XXX
Troy was calm. If he focused on being calm he could stay calm. He sat cross-legged on the floor with his back pressed against the wall. The curse that lingered in his system had suddenly amplified and he was not impressed.
"Im going to punch Jake in the face." His companions, where not any happier then him. Noah and Orion, sat nearby sweating and struggling just as much as he was. Lance stood by the door that separated them from Emma and Rianne. Fighting could be heard on the otherside as Rianne helped Emma burn off some of the extra energy provided.
Lance laughed at Troy's commet. His marks where lit up to the base of his jaw. Gold light was shimmering around his left hand.
"Not if I get him first. This, this sucks. This Really Sucks." Noah groaned. A sudden crash echoed from upstairs. The door was wrenched off its hinges by putties and two rather familier looking women waltzed in.
"Hello Rangers"
"Won't you come play with us"
"We gave you a special gift after all"
"And it was such fun to make"
Two voices intertwined coy in delivery with no distinction between them. Lance reached over and grabbed a staff.
"Yaga sisters two and three. Lovely." The three rangers stood on shaky legs and pulled out morphers.
"Go GO Megaforce!" armed and determined they jumped into battle, Emma and Rianne joining in upon hearing the commotion.
None of them held back.
XXX XXX
Three pairs of eyes glinted in the warped world called the Grey Place. Their target firmly in their sights. One thought was shaired between the mute creatures.
Soon.