Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban. The original idea of Aztec Storm belongs to WolfsbaneX. I own Neo Zeo (which, by the way, is composed of David Trueheart, Red; Violet Cannon, Blue; Casey Cannon, Yellow; Lidian Byron, Green; and Sabrina Kawai, formerly Scorpina, Pink. See the wiki for more details if you want.)
A/N: This multi-parter was originally a crossover with a slightly expanded version of Lightspeed Rescue, as found in the fic A Shade of Orange by Pink Lightspeed Ranger. However, she changed her mind, so it's been altered. There are now no non-canon siblings for anyone, good or bad.
Yes, yes I am early. I won NaNoWriMo early on the 27th (hooray!), and thus had time to write ahead. As I worked, I discovered that this crossover will be at least a four-parter, and I'd like to get it out of the way before I start Mesozoic Giants in January (I'm still recruiting for that, by the way). Plus, as you may have noticed when I went on "hiatus," I have practically no self-control in this area. Oh well!
o
Sabrina stood in the school gym, hands on her hips, watching her PE class disperse. She took one final glance around the room, and collected her rucksack from the corner. Slinging it over her shoulder the Pink Neo Zeo Ranger dug her car keys out of her pocket and headed out the door.
She heard the whoosh of air behind her, but kept walking. The other Rangers wouldn't teleport in such a public place—monster. Whirling, Sabrina tornado-kicked the creature in the face, and it fell back with a howl. Sabrina dropped into a fighting stance, and looked the monster up and down in bewilderment.
It looked nearly skinless, like Lord Zedd had been, but with a skeletal head. Its shell skirt and bone cape clattered as it moved, and it glared at Sabrina with empty bluish eye sockets. Its cry changed into a strangely hysterical laugh.
"Plenty of fight, good," it said in a shrill voice. Then a pair of arms seized Sabrina's, and she backflipped instinctively. Her captors, violet creatures speckled with white, clung on grimly. More swarmed the Pink Ranger, and then they all teleported away in a flash.
They materialized in a dark, cold, mist-filled place, and Sabrina tried to break free again.
"Sabrina?" She heard a familiar voice, and twisted around to see Violet captive nearby. The Blue Ranger had a bloody lip, and her hair had nearly all fallen out of its ponytail.
"Present," Sabrina replied. "I have no idea where we are or what these things are, I'm sorry."
Violet blew out a huff of air. More clattering rose up, and Sabrina and Violet looked up to see Itzpapalotl and Jinxer advancing on them. The Tzitzimime Queen was smirking.
"But why these two?" Jinxer asked, gesturing to the pair of Rangers.
"Because they were once on our side," Itzpapalotl replied smoothly. "With our combined strength, we can re-create their powers."
"Not a chance!" Violet snapped.
"Over my dead body!" Sabrina growled.
"You don't have a choice, silly Rangers," Itzpapalotl drawled, and gestured with one talon. A pair of Batlings appeared and walked forward. Sabrina craned her neck to see what they were carrying, and her eyes widened.
"Beautiful," Itzpapalotl said, taking a copper scorpion from one Batling and holding it up. "I must find help like you, Jinxer; you really have outdone yourself."
"Why thank you," Jinxer replied with audible pleasure. "Very few ever notice how hard I work."
"No," Violet said, spotting the gleaming scarlet mask in the other Batling's hands. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"Shut up," Itzpapalotl said in a conversational tone.
"Don't worry, she will," Jinxer replied gleefully, taking up the mask. Grasping the Dark Stars' arms, Sabrina swung up and kicked at the advancing demons. Dark Stars caught her by the ankles and shoulders, holding her still. A hand caught her throat and squeezed, and Sabrina choked. Violet writhed against her captors like a snared fish, continuing to shout as Jinxer grasped her chin with one hand.
"Hold still, this shouldn't hurt—much," Jinxer said.
Then Itzpapalotl set the scorpion on Sabrina's chest. There was a burst of energy, and Sabrina convulsed. Heat and cold flashed through her, and Itzpapalotl's minions let go. The chains burst, and Sabrina fell forward, still glowing.
Violet screamed as the mask came down on her face, but the cry was cut off. The edges of the mask glowed, and light rippled down her body. Her yellow shirt and capris were replaced with a black full body suit, and then a layer of scarlet armor. It was of the same mold as her Wraith outfit, but lacked the black streamers. Her hair was up and away from her face, except for a few loose curls.
The light around Sabrina faded, and she stood up and looked down at herself. She was again clad in scorpion-based armor, but it was copper instead of gold. The under-tunic was black, with red straps over it, and her tights were black as well. Sabrina raised a hand, and her old crescent-shaped sword appeared in her grasp. Slowly, she began to laugh.
"Go cause the Lightspeed Rangers some trouble—and bring the Red Ranger back here," Itzpapalotl said to the pair. "Xipe Totec is waking up, and he'll need some warriors to bring him to full strength." They teleported away, and Itzpapalotl summoned a row of Dark Stars.
"What now?" Jinxer asked, as Itzpapalotl went to her table of experiments. The Tzitzimime Queen had taken the lid off a wide trencher full of greenish slime, and was running a claw through it. Something black twitched in the goop, and Itzpapalotl smiled, showing her teeth. She hooked it with a claw and drew it out, revealing a black, sluglike creature twice the size of a man's thumb.
"Lovely," Jinxer laughed, and Itzpapalotl smirked. Dripping green ooze, the sluglike creature was dumped into the hand of the nearest Dark Star.
"Wait until the Rangers are distracted with Cuitlachtli," Itzpapalotl began, removing the other slug-things one by one and passing them to Dark Stars. "Then get as close as you can and attach the leeches to them. Simple mission. Got it?" The Dark Stars nodded, and zipped off towards the Earth.
"Now, what was the rest of your Queen's deal?" Itzpapalotl asked Jinxer, activating her viewscreen.
"Create a powerful monster to destroy Mariner Bay," Jinxer replied. Itzpapalotl stroked her chin thoughtfully, and smiled.
"Right," she said. "Jinxer, be a dear and make me a life force draining device."
"At once!" Jinxer said, and hurried off. Chuckling darkly, Itzpapalotl turned to her screen to watch her plan unfold.
o◊o
The Rangers were going at it with a vengeance. Cuitlachtli, a Tzitzimitl who wore a bearskin cape and the skull of a wolf as a helmet, was nearly overwhelmed by the time the Dark Stars arrived.
"Goody, you brought enough friends for everybody!" T Lock exclaimed, and charged the newcomers. He slashed two of the creatures in passing, and they exploded into clouds of ash. As he swung around, laughing triumphantly, sparks glinted off the black leech clinging to the back of his arm.
Tammy whirled and sliced a Dark Star's arm off at the shoulder, following it up with a spinning kick to its head. It staggered back and fell flat without a sound. Tammy landed on one knee, breathing hard. A leech dropped through the air, unnoticed, and landed on the side of her boot. It clung there as the White Ranger jumped back into combat.
Alexandria threw Xochiquetzal Arrows at any Dark Stars that got too close, and Mitch and Tez kept up the attack on the Tzitzimitl. A Dark Star caught the Pink Ranger by an elbow, and managed to smack a leech into place just above her belt before Tez walloped its head clean off.
"I've got this one," Quentin shouted, swinging his Quetzal Staff around his shoulders. Tez promptly somersaulted past him and slammed his sword into the Tzitzimitl's shoulder. It exploded and staggered back. "Hey!" Quentin protested.
"Shut up and help," Mitch said, charging past the Green Ranger. With a "what gives?" shrug, Quentin followed, using his staff to vault over his teammates and slam both feet into the demon's chest. It stumbled back.
"All at once," Tez ordered. The three Rangers quickly surrounded the demon and struck. The explosion flung Tez, Mitch and Quentin flat on their backs, pelting them with monster debris. The remaining Dark Stars swarmed them, but the other three Rangers bounded to their aid. A few swings and slashes later, the Rangers had won the fight.
"Power down! Another one bites the dust," Tez said with immense satisfaction.
"Totally!" T Lock whooped.
"I've got to get to work," Tammy said, and started away. Mitch was already gone. Shrugging, the others went their separate ways. None of them looked at their Encrusted Bands. If they had, they probably wouldn't have even noticed the dark blurs stirring sluggishly inside the center jewels.
o◊o
Quentin stood in the temple plaza, unmorphed and alone. A violently purple-and-orange twilight spread across the sky, and the occasional cloud of bats flitted around the rocky outcroppings in the distance. The air still smelled like rain from T Lock's experimenting with the upgrade Tlaloc had granted him. Speaking of which, that was what Quentin had been working on since the battle earlier.
Holding both hands out, palms-upwards, Quentin closed his eyes and tilted his head forward slightly. His fingers twitched, and he shifted his stance, crunching pebbles beneath his boots. For a very long minute, nothing happened. Quentin clenched his teeth, and sweat began to glitter on his face.
Then the two Aztec symbols on the Green Ranger's palms began to glow. A breeze wafted up from his hands and tugged at his light hair. Smiling, Quentin breathed deeply and opened his eyes as the glow brightened. His fingers tensed and curved inwards, and the wind intensified. Then it faded away again.
With a growl of frustration, Quentin ran both hands through his hair and started towards the road. He'd been at it for hours, and his excitement was starting to wear off. According to Quetzalcoatl, it would take a lot of practice for the Rangers to be able to use their new powers unmorphed, but it was proving harder than Quentin had guessed. He just kept getting distracted.
As he reached the edge of the plaza, though, Quentin saw someone standing in the desert. It took him a moment to recognize Tez, silhouetted against the sunset. By the red light emanating from his hands, the Red Ranger was also trying to master his new powers. He looked over his shoulder, and raised an eyebrow at Quentin.
The Green Ranger paused, and locked eyes with Tez. After a moment, the Red Ranger turned back around, with a slight smirk. Taking a deep breath, Quentin turned to face the other way, and gave himself a little shake. Then he held up his hands and concentrated again. He tried to hold the image in his head—the hand symbols glowing, the feel of the wind on his face, the smell of the blown dust—the way Quetzalcoatl had shown him earlier.
As his hands began to glow again, Quentin risked a glance over his shoulder. Tez was focused on his own magic. Crouching on one knee, he held his hand out over the ground, and clenched his teeth. His palm began to glow red, and the sandy ground before him trembled. A crack zigzagged across the earth, and a slightly more orange light shone forth—but just for a second. Then the ground closed back up again, and Tez dropped his hands to his sides.
Tez sensed Quentin's eye on him, and threw a venomous glare over his shoulder. Quentin merely smirked a little and turned around again, holding his hands up so the breeze rippled through the sand in front of him. With a hiss, Tez turned back around and held out both hands, trying to draw up the lava again.
As the sky darkened, the Rangers found it harder and harder to draw on their new powers. They tried to concentrate harder, but kept being distracted by the other's progress or failures. Neither one of the pair noticed the six lights streaking into the sky as their mentors went to battle more Tzitzimime in the sky. They weren't even aware of the Dark Stars coming up around them on all sides.
o◊o
Alexandria was sitting up in her kitchen, waiting for her mom to get off work. Someone's dog was barking elsewhere in the apartment complex, and a baby was having night terrors upstairs. Despite the lack of silence, the crash of breaking glass was still deafening.
Alexandria whirled around as a cluster of Dark Stars began flooding in the kitchen window. There was a solid, splintering thunk from the other direction as the door was beaten down. A rust-colored Tzitzimitl stomped inside.
"Okay, this is too far," Alexandria said, sliding into a fighting stance. "Aztec Storm, Chosen Form!"
Nothing happened. The Dark Stars, which had stopped, began surrounding the Pink Ranger again. Startled, she looked down at her morpher. It was glowing very faintly, but the black thing inside had swollen and nearly filled the jewel. It cracked with a loud pop as Alexandria touched it, and black ooze began to drip out.
"That's not good," Alexandria said in an unnaturally high voice. Then a Dark Star seized her from behind, and Alexandria somersaulted to knock him off. The demons piled on her, the Tzitzimitl urging them on and laughing.
"Don't even bother, Pinky—the Teotl can't hear you with your morpher out of comission!" It taunted.
Then there was a commotion at the door, and Alexandria glimpsed a head of red hair through the swarm of demons.
"Tammy!" Alexandria screamed. "What's going on?"
"Don't know—maybe we're being attacked by demons!" The White Ranger yelled back, catching a Dark Star under the arms and swinging it around in a circle.
"Is your morpher broken too?" Alexandria called, taking up a chair and slamming it into a Dark Star. The creature crumpled into ash, and then Alexandria was facing the Tzitzimitl. It raised its claws, cackling.
"Great—now they know!" Tammy shouted. "Thanks for ruining my bluff!"
"You're welcome!" Alexandria cried shrilly, dropping into a fighting stance and glaring at the demon. "Bring it," she growled.
"I was hoping you'd say that!" The Tzitzimitl shrieked, and charged.
o◊o
T Lock was woken up by a loud crash, and began to sit up when a gnarly, clawed hand clamped down on his throat. It shoved him flat on his back, and two pairs of what felt like gloved hands seized the Blue Ranger by the wrists.
"Easier than I thought!" The Tzitzimitl shrieked with laughter. T Lock writhed and tried to free himself, but the Tzitzimitl merely tightened its grip. Gasping for breath, the Blue Ranger managed to kick the demon in the shoulder.
"Hold his feet, you idiots!" It shrieked, and another Dark Star seized T Lock's flailing ankles. "Now, you can stop fighting, or I can choke you into unconsciousness," the Tzitzimitl said mock-sweetly to T Lock, as it continued strangling him. "Which do you prefer?"
o◊o
A pair of Dark Stars dropped Mitch onto his driveway with a thump. The beetle-like Tzitzimitl who was in charge of the operation nudged the Black Ranger with a clawed foot. His head lolled limply, and a narrow rivulet of blood trickled down the side of his face. Behind the Tzitzimitl, the eviscerated hall lights spewed sparks.
"Did you have to knock him out?" The Tzitzimitl chittered. The Dark Stars, being unable to speak, didn't really respond. However, the Tzitzimitl did a quick head count. "Ten gone, I guess so. Glad I wasn't out there with you. Bring him."
Two Dark Stars grabbed Mitch by the ankles and began to drag him after the Tzitzimitl, into the garage. Neither one noticed that his eyes were slightly open.
o◊o
Trivia: Most of this chapter—Itzpapalotl's slug attack and the house raids—originally were the chapters introducing Quentin. However, I decided that this amount of drastic action should be saved for the crossover.