Disclaimer: All known ranger characters belong to Saban. Everyone else belongs to me.
Author's Note: Things are still really busy for me but I am working on trying to get chapters done. It is slow moving these days between kids and other projects but the fics are still going. Thank you guys for being patient!
Dark Inheritance
"Fury Unleashed"
The Red Planetary Ranger thought for a moment about the evil Jungle Fury team on the screen before her. Her fiancé glanced toward her. "We need to go stop them." He said, knowing that task was going to be hard as he spoke.
"I know." She replied with a sigh. This was not what she had planned for the evening. Not that she wasn't used to Arius or someone else interrupting her plans, but this was obviously not going to be a quick battle then home for the night. This was going to be difficult. "We'll call everyone, have them meet us here. We'll head to the fight together."
She did not want them rushing in and attacking the Jungle Fury team. She doubted any of them knew anything about the new team unless they had caught a tidbit on the news. She wanted to make sure they understood whom they were fighting against and that these were not bad guys dressed as rangers, these were good guys who had been forced to do Arius's bidding one way or another.
Kim, Tommy and Billy all went to work, contacting the rest of the team and telling them to hurry and teleport. Despite what they were doing, the members of the team, as always, quickly dropped everything to do their part as rangers. After they received emergency pages to come to the Command Chamber, the rest of the team started to appear before them. The first to arrive was Jason, followed by Carri and Rocky, Jen, and lastly Zhane. Once they all materialized, the white ranger was the first to speak.
"So what's the emergency?" Carri asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. She and Rocky had just finished dinner and she was fairly certain there was going to be some proving to each other that things were alright between them that night. That was until Kim interrupted them. She almost hoped it was a battle, she would be glad to kick the crap out of something.
Kim ignored the attitude and pointed a finger toward the viewing screen. "That's the problem." She said as she drew everyone's focus toward the rangers.
Carri let out a sigh as she realized that anything she and Rocky were thinking about doing that night is now shot to hell. "Yup, that would be an emergency." It looked like tonight was now going to be filled with fighting rangers.
"Who are these guys?" Jason questioned as he looked at the three rangers standing strong by Arius. He had heard about a new trio of rangers but he had been so preoccupied lately between Emily, his books and his own ranger duties that he had not had time to investigate.
"Meet the Jungle Fury rangers. They are all Pai Zhuq students. You have Casey, the Red Tiger Ranger, Lily, the Yellow Cheetah Ranger and Theo, the Blue Jaguar Ranger." Kim gave them a quick synopsis. "Earlier today they left their mentor RJ and went out to do some sort of training. When they did not return, RJ contacted us. When we found them, they appeared on the surface with Arius."
"So evil spell?" Zhane questioned. It would not be the first time the bad guys had turned a ranger evil. He had been there before once with Carri when they were younger. It was tough with evil rangers. You did not want to hurt them because they were still rangers and your friends, but at the same time, they could do some serious damage.
"That's our assumption." Tommy replied, stepping up next to Kim in an attempt to share the lead on this with her. She could argue her status as a red all she wanted to, he was the expert on being an evil ranger.
Jen made a face. "So what, do we need to capture them and bring them here?" She assumed they had to take them down without hurting them. After all, they were still rangers.
"It's not going to do a lot of good to capture them without knowing what kind of hold Arius has on them." Kim pointed out. All that would do would be to put three pissed off evil rangers in their Command Chamber. In the time it would take them to figure out what was wrong, they could destroy the place or worse.
Tommy silently agreed with her. It was absurd to bring them here if they were still evil, even if they were supposed to be prisoners. He knew firsthand what an evil ranger could do to a command post. "We need to go fight them, see what their strengths and weaknesses are, and see if Arius has given them any additional powers." Tommy pointed out. That was step one. They could get a run down from RJ, but they needed to experience the Jungle Fury rangers in hand-to-hand combat to get a real sense of what they could do. Plus it was not unheard of for the bad guy to give their evil rangers a little bonus. They could not plan to do anything to help them until they knew for sure what they were going against.
"So we are going out there to scout?" Rocky questioned. They needed to hurry; the Jungle Fury team looked like they were getting ready to do some serious damage.
"For now." Kim replied. She hoped that Arius was doing the same thing. Testing his team, seeing what they could do. She was hoping for a stalemate, that both sides would retreat after a few minutes of fighting and they would have an opportunity to figure out what happened. They needed time to think, but the evil Jungle Fury team got sprung on them fast. Now they would have to scout them out and worry about how to stop them later.
Kim moved into position to start the morphing sequence, but paused before she did. "If you get an opportunity, try and talk them out of being evil." Depending on the strength of the spell, sometimes that was all it took. She doubted Arius used something that simple, but it was worth a shot.
"Let's do this." She said as her team fell in around her. "Planetary rangers, power up!"
They teleported to the scene of the impending battle and were immediately greeted by Arius, who looked directly at the Muirantian and smiled. "There you are. I was beginning to wonder who my rangers were going to have to kill to get your attention."
"They're not your rangers." Kim responded calmly, wondering if she could goad him into giving something away. "They're on our side, and we're here to bring them back with us." She seriously doubted that would be the case, but if Arius believed it perhaps he would tell them why that was not possible.
Arius gave her a sly smile and let out a little chuckle. "But you see, Kaycea, they are my rangers. They work for me, and they will do whatever I say." He said as he turned toward the red Jungle Fury ranger. "Will you please tell our demon friend to whom your loyalties lie?"
"We serve Arius." Casey called out, a level of confidence in his voice one would expect from a red.
"Oh brother." Carri mumbled, rolling her eyes from behind her helmet. No doubt, about it, they were playing on the other team now. She briefly wondered if a little lightning strike would jolt them back into their senses, but decided against it. For now.
Kim ignored the comment her friend and continued. "Perhaps they do for now. Whatever spell you put them on, whatever you did to them, we'll find a way to reverse it."
"Poor Kaycea." Arius said, shaking his head. "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into this time." Then he looked over at his team once more. "Would you all do me a favor and destroy the Planetary team? Minus the red. I need her alive." He was counting on the fact that this team was strong, and that the others would not do anything to harm a fellow ranger. He knew how much Kaycea valued human life, valued the lives of other rangers.
"As you wish." Casey replied. Then he, Lily and Theo ran to attack the other rangers.
Kim watched as they completely ignored her. The wave of Keresecks ran by, ignoring her as well. She glanced at Arius and made a face. She really wanted to help with the others, but she trusted her team to handle that. If he was going to stand there in the open, she was going to take a shot. "Fine, if that's the way you want it." She said, calling for her fire saber and running toward him.
As Arius and Kim started a fight of their own, the rest of the rangers were fighting against Arius's divided forces. Carri and Zhane ended up being pulled from the group by Theo, and were jumping into battle against him and several Keresecks.
"Give it up rangers." Theo hissed as he blocked Carri's oncoming attack. "You'll never beat us."
Carri rolled her eyes from behind her helmet. "You're rangers too you know." She pointed out, a hint of irritation in her voice as she attacked him with her lance. She really, really hated evil rangers. "It would do you a lot of good if you'd remember that." She snapped as she hit him hard with her lance and he flipped backward.
Before she could continue, Keresecks jumped on her and she found herself forced to fight them. Zhane had destroyed a few of them, and then took his shot at Theo. "You've got to fight this." Zhane said as he went to attack, remembering similar words being said to him when he was evil. Of course when it was Carri and him, the others could have said what they wanted, words weren't going to work. He had to assume it was the same case here but he would give it a shot.
Theo laughed as he shoved Zhane back a step and got ready to attack. "Fight what? Who I am?" he said as he lunged. He locked up with the green ranger and smiled. "I'm a warrior of Arius. That's not going to change anytime soon."
As Zhane let out a sigh and dove into battle with a fellow ranger, around the battlefield things were going about the same way. Rocky and Tommy were facing off against their own set of Keresecks, as well as the red Jungle Fury ranger.
"You will not make it off this battlefield." Casey assured him as he fought against them. He was doing quite well and he was pleased with the progress he was making for his master.
What he did not know was that during attacks, neither Tommy nor Rocky were giving it one hundred percent. They could fight him off like this and as long as things were going ok, they did not want to risk hurting him. Tommy knocked him hard, and as he stumbled back, the silver ranger spoke. "You are a red Power Ranger. Fighting for the forces of good. You cannot let Arius control you." He was not the first leader of the power rangers to fall prey to an evil spell, but that was not going to stop him from reminding the boy in front of him what being a red meant. Just maybe he could pull him out of Arius's grasp.
"I am a red ranger." Casey replied, a sly smile behind his helmet. "This means I have been awarded all this power. Why waste it doing something good?"
"You weren't chosen to have these powers to lead your team against other rangers. You were chosen to lead them against Dai Shi." Tommy tried to remind him as Casey attacked again. "Fight Arius, be the leader you were chosen to be." He said as they locked up in battle.
"I am being a leader." Casey replied with a hiss as he nudged Tommy back enough to give him an opening for a swift kick. Tommy stumbled and Casey continued. "As for Dai Shi…" his voice trailed off as he gave a slight shrug. Dai Shi could do what he wanted, except for getting in their way.
Before he could move back in on Tommy, Rocky hit him from the side and sent him flying. The blue ranger finished off the last of the Keresecks in his path and he was ready to help with Casey. He glanced over at Tommy, who gave him a nod and the duo moved in to do battle.
Jen also finished off the last of the Keresecks around her before running to join Jason fight Lily. She did not really have experience with evil rangers. Eric was a pain, but at least he fought on the same side. She would read all about them in the histories she studied, she knew they were not something she wanted to fight. "What's the plan?" she asked as she fell into place next to the black ranger. She was not sure if there was something in particular Jason had in mind.
"Keep holding her off for now." Jason said with a sigh. As he moved in to attack again, he felt the ground rumble. He turned in time to see lighting crash through the air. It did not hit the blue Jungle Fury ranger, but it was enough to zing him a bit and get him to back off. Leave it to Carri to go for the hardest hit. He noticed Tommy pause, and he could almost see him glaring at her from behind his helmet. A few seconds past, then he and Rocky followed suit. Jason turned toward Jen. "Let's give her what we've got." He said as the wind around them started to pick up.
"Stun, not destroy I assume." Jen said as the wind whirled around Lilly. She figured that was the plan since none of the other rangers looked like they were hitting the Jungle Fury team. She saw Jason give her a nod and she proceeded.
While all of the rangers were fighting each other, Arius found himself staring at the flaming end of Kaycea's Fire Saber. He saw the other rangers upping the ante a bit. He had expected their reaction. Do as much as they can to stop the Jungle Fury team without causing any damage.
This fight was probably going to end in a draw, which is what he expected. They were all testing his rangers. He imagined Kaycea wanted to see what they could do. He wanted to make sure that what he did to them was good, that they would stay loyal. He thought they would, but this was the first time he had tried this on a ranger. He did not know how they would react. He did not know if their powers could cancel out what he did.
Things started to get a little crazy around the battlefield, so he reared back and hit Kaycea, watching as she flew back. He held back against her and it frustrated him. He could not kill her, which defeated his mission. Now that he knew his rangers were good, he could take them back and move on to stage two. He would kill one or all of the other rangers, then take Kaycea with him, as he has wanted to do all along.
"Rangers." He called aloud and sharp across the battlefield. Everyone stopped briefly and he locked eyes with his red ranger. "Let's return. We'll be back for them later."
With that, Arius and his rangers left. Kim glanced at her team and frowned as she led the teleportation back to the Command Chamber.
When they returned to the Command Chamber, Kim could not shake the feeling she had gotten on the battlefield. She did not have time to dwell on it then, there was too much going on, but now she could think about it.
Being around the Jungle Fury team, she could sense the dark magic that flowed freely around them. Remnants of something Arius used something he had done to control them. However she was not sure what it was, she did not know how to combat it. She did not exactly learn spells to turn rangers evil when she worked with Mystic Mother.
"Is it just me, or did they give up way to easily?" The white ranger was the first one to speak up. Yes, they were using their planetary attacks, but she hit Tommy harder once and he still finished their fight.
"You're right." Tommy said, not believing that he was agreeing with her on anything now. This was about battle though, and Carri was usually pretty good when it came to battles. Besides he was a ranger first, their personal issues he had to put aside for later. "I have a bad feeling Arius has something else in mind."
"So why initiate the fight if you're not planning on finishing it?" Jen questioned. It made no sense to her. The element of surprise was gone now; they knew he had evil rangers. Unless... "Unless he was doing a dry run for something bigger." She brought her thought to its conclusion aloud.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Kim said as she frowned. There was more to whatever was going on here. They were going to have to put a stop to it and fast.
"So then we stop them now before they have a chance to move to phase two." Jason said matter-of-factly. Arius had evil rangers and he had no intention of finding out exactly what he wanted to do with them.
Rocky nodded his head in agreement. He did not want to see what was on Arius's agenda. "I think we can rule out talking them out of the spell." He pointed out. They tried with Casey; he had no intention on listening to them.
"Agreed." Kim said. She was not sure how to pull them out of the spell. However, she knew how she wanted to get started. "I'm going to go fill RJ in, see if I can get any insight from him. Then I'll stop by and talk to Mystic Mother."
Tommy made a face. Mystic Mother was not his favorite person. However if anybody would know about making rangers good and evil it was her. He frowned briefly to himself before moving on. "So how long is it going to take?"
Kim thought about it for a moment. She was not sure how long it would take. "I think I can be back in twenty minutes." She finally spoke. It might take a good bit longer than that, but she would bend time to get back as quickly as possible.
"Go." Tommy said giving her a nod. "We'll work on alternate strategies while you're gone."
Kim grimaced a bit. Last time they did that, he ended up getting into a fight with Carri. Now that the two of them are at odds, it could be a disaster. However, there was no time to worry about that now. "I'll be back." She said seconds before a red light engulfed her and she teleported off.
She teleported herself alongside a building, and leaning around the corner she saw the sign. Jungle Karma Pizza. Right where she wanted to be. Quickly she went into the building, and was immediately greeted by a girl with straight brown hair pulled aside into ponytails and glasses.
"Welcome to Jungle Karma pizza." She said as she walked toward her, stumbling over the leg of chair that was pushed out as she did. Kim jumped forward and helped her balance herself before she tumbled. "Thanks." She said giving her a smile. She really had to watch where she walked. The man was sitting on the edge of the chair; she had not noticed how far back she put it. "You here to try some of our amazing pizza?"
"Not now." Kim replied. Perhaps when it is all said and done. All the jumping around she was about to do, she was bound to be hungry. "I'm here to see RJ."
"Oh." The girl said, flashing her a smile. "Right over there." She pointed toward the counter.
Kim was somewhat surprised to find the leader of the Jungle Fury rangers working as though nothing was wrong. If her team was missing, she'd be on the warpath finding them even though other people had promised to help.
"Kim, nice to see you." RJ said flashing her a smile. "Although your stopping by probably doesn't mean good things."
"No… not good at all." Kim said as she looked around the busy restaurant. "Can we talk?"
"Follow me." RJ replied. He took off and led her to the back of the restaurant, through the kitchen and up the stairs. He headed for his chair and took a seat, waiting for her to make herself comfortable. "So what's up?"
"We found your rangers." Kim said her voice grim even though the news appeared to be good.
"And that's not awesome news?" RJ questioned, not missing her tone. He was hoping finding them would be a good thing. Apparently, it was not.
"The man we're fighting – Arius – recruited them to be his evil rangers." Kim replied. There was not much awesome about that. It was essentially a disaster.
"Oh. That's a bummer." RJ said as he frowned. To say that was not awesome news was an understatement. "So how do we get them back on our side?"
"That is a work in progress." Kim said and she could see the concerned expression on RJ's face. "I have some ideas; after I leave here I'm going to go see if my mentor can help." She supposed mentor was the right word. She was the one educating her in sorcery.
"So then what will we do until then? I'm not sure Dai Shi is going to take a break while you figure this out." RJ's immediate thought had been the safety of his rangers. However, what was most important was the safety of his town.
Kim thought about it for a moment. She had not really processed that far yet. She was just worried about her team, about stopping Arius and not creating another Kemora. "There are plenty of other teams with powers still." She said as she thought about Lightspeed in particular. They were always willing to help. She hoped that they could pitch in now. "We will put another team on call and monitor Ocean Bluff. If anything happens you will be protected."
"Awesome." RJ replied. At least that was one problem he didn't have to worry about. "If you need anything from me, just let me know."
"We may need you to help us win your team back." Kim replied. If it became a struggle, if she tried reversing the spell and it pulled back, a familiar face, someone the rangers would want to fight the spell for, would help. She paused for a moment before continuing. "Also I could use all the background on your team that you have." Any little bit could be helpful in reversing this. Some spells were not generic; some spells are tailored to fit the person they were attaching to. It could be specifically for the individual or even their powers.
"Not a problem." RJ said as he stood. He had plenty of information stored away on his team. He hoped that it would be enough to bring them back home where they belonged.
Arius stood in his room on the ship, looking through his personal safe for something he had for a long time. A small wooden box caught his eye and he pushed a few things aside to get to it. He pulled it out, glancing briefly at the symbols carved in the top of it and smiled.
He took a moment to close and secure his safe before heading out of his room, where his rangers were eagerly waiting for him. His rangers. He liked the sound of that. They were most certainly his. No amount of pleading the other rangers did had any effect on them. He thought the magic was good, but he had to make sure before he let them have this.
This was a treasure that could unlock whatever the mind could create. Inside his box three innocent looking gemstones were nestled safely. They had been there for years. Ever since he had killed three Power Rangers and stole them. Well he would not say stole. They were dead, what use did they have of them anymore.
The gemstones can be turned into any weapon imaginable. He had seen them use them against him. He thought they would be fun to play with. He tried to use one but had no luck. He had gotten others he trusted to try; none of them could do anything with them. The thought occurred to him that perhaps one had to be a ranger to use them.
At that point, most people would get rid of what are essentially three paperweights. Not him. He did not believe in tossing treasures. Every treasure could be unlocked. If his theory was correct, he was about to unlock his.
He walked into the main room, and the three Jungle Fury rangers stood tall and turned toward him. He smiled at them as he approached. "As a reward for your service, I have a gift for you." He said as he opened the box.
Rangers took a stone, and they were each carefully examining them. Arius shut the box and watched them for a moment before speaking. "Now, pretend you are going to attack me. I want you to focus all your energy into your gemstone, into picking your weapon."
He could see them concentrating. It seemed like forever, but simultaneously the once clear gemstones started to glow, their colors matching that of the ranger holding them. When the glow subsided, they each held a weapon in their hands.
"Perfect." Arius replied. Something was finally going his way. "Why don't you practice with the stones. Once you feel comfortable with them I'll let you show them to those Planetary Rangers." He said as he turned and headed toward his seat. It looked like his treasure was going to be of use to him after all.
Kim arrived on Phaedos thinking about her discussion with RJ. She had initially assumed that their animals are connected to their powers, but that was apparently incorrect. They had their own animal spirits and they would train in the ways of their animal spirit. It raised a question she wanted to ask Dulcea before she continued.
It did not take long for her mentor to find her. The guardian of the temple smiled upon seeing her student. "Kimberly." She said simply as she took in the puzzled look on the other woman's face. "What brings you here?"
"I have a question." Kim said, watching as the other woman nod as though the question was expected. "Do you know anything about the Pai Zhuq?"
"I know what I discussed with Zordon." Dulcea replied. She knew that Kim would cross paths with Pai Zhuq students eventually, and she knew that her student would have questions. She was curious as to what caused them to cross paths now however, she did not ask.
"They have animal spirits. Are they like the Ninjetti?" she questioned. Perhaps there was a connection tobe madethere.
"The Ninjetti have a strong bond between a person and their animal spirit. As the crane Ninjetti, you have a connection to the crane, to the Great Power and the spirit world, that is powerful and that cannot be broken." Dulcea explained. "If one is properly trained, they can learn from their animal spirit, but they will not have the same connection a Ninjetti has. This can be both good and bad." That was what Ninjor believed. That one could be trained in the way of their spirit animal but did not need to be a Ninjetti to do so. He used to put more faith in the power of the Ninjetti. In his old age he started to worry that there was not anyone who was worthy of the bond the Ninjetti create. Dulcea knew her mentor was wrong, she had proven that when Kim and her friends stepped onto Phaedos. Centuries ago, he would have seen her point, now he was simply stuck in his ways.
Kim waited a moment, and when Dulcea did not continue, she pushed her to. "How so?"
"They will never bond as strongly, or to be able to manipulate their animal spirit the way a trained Ninjetti can, the way you can. However they are open to learning from more than one animal spirit." Dulcea explained.
"So they can have multiple spirit guides?" Kim questioned. It did not make much sense to her.
"Not guides, however if other animal spirits see fit to assist them, they will be able to." Dulcea told her. She thought it was absurd. One could not learn what they needed to make themselves strong warriors by not committing to their own spirit guide. However it was good enough to lead the Pai Zhuq students and if that was all they wanted from their training then so be it.
"If three Pai Zhuq students were spelled into becoming evil, what would become of their animal spirits?" Kim questioned. Animal spirits she could possibly deal with easier than she could the actual rangers.
"If they were turned evil against their will, since they don't have that strong connection their animal spirits will be harder to manipulate. It would take a lot of power to get an animal spirit to fully embrace evil, and something like a simple spell wouldn't work."
Kim thought about that for a moment. "So if I turned evil…" her voice trailed off.
"You are a Ninjetti. If you chose to follow the path of evil, the crane would come with you." Dulcea replied. Should Kim one day embrace her demonic side, she would have to interfere. She would have to figure out how to break that bond.
Kim nodded. She had not thought that consequence about before. Of course, if she turned into Kemora, she doubted she would even care about her Ninjetti powers. She briefly wondered if Kemora had hers. She did not think so; she was old enough to have been stripped of all her ranger powers yet too young to have made her way back to them when she became who she was today.
"Thank you." She said, giving Dulcea a brief goodbye before teleporting herself to the Mystic Realm, where Mystic Mother was waiting for her.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." She said as she looked at Kim.
"How did you…" Kim's voice trailed off as Mystic Mother jetted her thumb behind her, stepping aside to reveal her daughter.
"Skull and I were watching TV and it was all over the news. Rangers fighting other rangers. I thought mum could help." Rhianna explained. She knew her mother knew all sorts of spells for creating evil rangers when she was Rita. Goldar had given her all sorts of ideas for conquering the rangers, and finding her mother's spell book was one of them. She figured she had to know how to reverse it if she knew how to do it.
"So then how do we reverse the spell on an evil ranger?" Kim asked. If Mystic Mother knew already, she figured the woman had to have been thinking about it.
"Just because I had your lover boy and Katherine wrapped around my finger doesn't mean I know everything about evil spells." Mystic Mother pointed out. She knew a lot, and she probably could help. Still she wanted to make her think about running to her and assuming.
"So then you can't help me turn the rangers back and save my team and possibly my planet?" Kim asked a hint of irritation in her voice. If the answer was no, she was fairly sure it would be because she wouldn't do it, not because she couldn't.
Mystic Mother put a hand to her head. She could feel another headache coming on. "Tell me what you know, and we'll see what I can do." She replied. Between her daughter and her student, sometimes she could go crazy. Hopefully she could deal with this quickly and get on with her day.
Kim made a face. She did not know much, and most of it was feeling and instinct based on her own abilities. Hopefully that would be enough for Mystic Mother to give her a way to counter Arius. If not, they could be in serious trouble.
It had been twenty-five minutes since they last saw Kim. Tommy was getting a bit on edge for several reasons. The first had nothing to do with the battle. The first was that he was tired of watching Carri and Jason go around and talk to the other rangers, when he had a lot to say to them. They were ignoring him, which was the smart thing to do on their part. He would stay away and not address the issue now. They had more important things to worry about. Still, he could not help but think about it while they had nothing to do.
The second was the battle itself. The evil Jungle Fury rangers could return at any minute. They had no idea what Arius had in store for them or how to help the team. He would have a better idea when Kim returned, which was supposed to been five minutes go. They spent the first ten minutes discussing possible alternatives, but nothing they could come up with was long term. Either kill or trap the enemy. Kill was not an option, and they could not come up with an effective way to trap them. If they go with an easier method, the rangers might escape. The foolproof methods are so strong they can do damage to the person they are holding on to. Billy was working on an alternate method, but he had not heard anything back from the former blue ranger.
Before Tommy could run through all their ideas in his head again, one of the things he was waiting for happened. The alarm sounded, and the rangers quickly moved to figure out the cause of the commotion. "So now what?" Jen asked, as she was the first to get a good look at the action on screen. Her mentor was not back yet and they had nothing.
"We fight." Jason replied. They did not have much of a choice in the matter. They were going to have to fight the Jungle Fury team until they could come up with a better solution.
Tommy did not want to acknowledge that the black ranger was right. Instead, he shifted toward the front of the team, assuming the role of absolute leader in his fiancé's absence. "Let's go." He said quickly as he started to go through the motions. "Planetary rangers, power up!"
Seconds later the six of them were on the battlefield. Arius looked them over, somewhat disappointed. "Kaycea isn't here?" he questioned. "It would be a shame for her to miss this, but I will make sure she gets to enjoy the carnage before we leave this pathetic world." It worried him that she was not here. He was going to have to stay on alert. "Rangers," he started, turning toward Casey, "make sure that Kaycea has nothing but bodies to find when she returns."
"Our pleasure." Casey replied as he and the Jungle Fury rangers ran to attack the others.
They split up in the same fashion they did before. This time the Jungle Fury team did not have any Keresecks to back them up. They did not really need them. They had been defeated the first time and they would get defeated again. It was much simpler just to skip that step. Besides, they had something new to keep the rangers busy.
They were quick to show the Planetary Rangers what they could do. On one side of the battle, the white ranger was leaping through the air when a hammer materialized in the blue rangers' hands, smashing into her and sending her flying. On another, the black ranger was fighting hand to hand when a yellow glow produced a whip, which wrapped around him. He took a few hits from the yellow ranger before she sent him sailing as well.
In the middle of the battlefield, Tommy watched as the blue ranger had his weapon ripped out of his hand by a claw. He ran to attack Casey, and before his eyes, the claw shifted, glowing in red light. When the light died down, Casey held a spear in his hands. He used the spear to deflect his attack, and then the spear became an axe that hit him in the back.
Tommy tumbled onto the ground, and rolled seconds before the sharp end of the axe made contact with him. Tommy reached for his daggers as he jumped up, and when he went to attack, he made contact with a large shield that pushed him back before turning and clocking the incoming blue ranger.
Casey let out a laugh, as his weapon became a sword. "There isn't anything you can do to me that I can't come up with something to counter you with."
"We'll see about that." Tommy assured him. There was a level of confidence in his voice, one that he wasn't sure he felt. Whatever Arius gave them, at least he assumed it was Arius since this was not part of their ranger arsenal, was allowing them to create weapons at will. It was hard to fight an enemy when you did not know what they were going to throw at you next.
The sword in his hands slashed to attack, and Tommy caught it in his daggers. The sword then curved and the chain it became yanked the weapons away, slinging them across the battlefield. Tommy moved quickly and kicked Casey in the stomach before flipping over him to retrieve his weapon. Casey turned and as he did, Rocky attacked from behind. It was not pretty, but they got the first good hits in since the fight started.
None of the rangers were doing any better. There were occasional hits on the Jungle Fury team but there weren't any rangers that were able to get any serious attacks going. Just as they were starting to get seriously frustrated, Tommy's voice came through the other rangers helmets. "Power up your weapons. Kim should be back soon but until then we can't keep letting them hit us." As he powered up his daggers he could see the other rangers move in with their weapons.
The Jungle Fury team was still able to make their own weapons to counter, but counter was all they could do; they were not able to get an attack in. Tommy was satisfied with that for the moment, but things were going to have to change.
A red light appeared off in the distance, and Tommy was hoping that somebody was granting his wish. "I hope you've got something." Tommy said, assuming the visitor was Kim without ever actually looking. When she did not answer, he called out to her. "Kim?" he said, stepping back from his own battle for a moment. Much to his surprise, it was not the red ranger standing there; it was the Pink Crane Ninjetti.
Kim was trying something. It was a theory, one she was not sure was going to work but it was worth a try. The magic was good; Mystic Mother had given her a direction to go there. She had not helped her, simply given her direction. Of course, Mystic Mother could not be sure of what spell Arius used. She knew what the base spell was, but that was ancient, every sorcerer who was worth a damn had changed it to fit themselves. What Kim was planning on doing would at least counteract part of the spell; she was hoping her idea would help the magic do the rest.
She headed to the middle of the fight. "Get the Jungle Fury team to me." She directed. Kim watched as the elements surrounded the Jungle Fury rangers, pushing them all in her direction.
She held a glass container in her hands, one she filled with everything she would need to start the spell. Once they were close enough, she lifted the container above her head before smashing it to the ground. The magic was released, and it surrounded the Jungle Fury rangers. She spoke a few words in a language that only Arius understood. The magic was complete. Now it was time for part B. The pink Ninjetti levitated above the rangers. She used her knowledge of animal spirits to allow the crane to flow through her, to reach out to them. She hoped that this would work.
Arius watched everything the red ranger was doing. He knew what she was doing was useless. He shared his magic with no one, and there was not anyone in the universe that could create the precise spell to counteract his. Still, his rangers dropped to their knees as they fought off her magic. He did not know what she was doing now, but he could not leave them here. He had to let what she did wear off. It was time to retreat. Once their heads were clear, they would return. This time Kaycea would not have anything to use. This time his weapons would work.
Up on Arius's ship, the rangers were lying on the bridge, fighting off the magic that surrounded them. They were trying to push through the spell. It was working, but they could all feel something nagging at them, something that was keeping them from fighting the spell like they should.
They felt it when the crane moved around them. Now the presence of the crane was gone but its influence was still there. There was another animal presence pulling at them, but they could not quite put a finger on it. Lily was the first to feel it. All the sudden at the forefront of her thoughts there was a cheetah. She studied it for a second, and then she reached out to it.
Then a wave came over her, Kim's magic taking hold, and she remembered. She was a Pai Zhuq student she was fighting Dai Shi. She did not belong on this ship, and she certainly should not be fighting for the man that approached them in the woods. She stood straight and looked tentatively at Arius.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked, as he looked her over, trying to assess the damage.
"Yes." She said tentatively. She did not know if she could fool him, but she hoped so. "As soon as the others are ready we will go back and attack." She figured if they could get back to the surface, she could get the other rangers' attention and get help.
"We will return soon enough." Arius replied as the blue ranger stood. He appreciated her enthusiasm, but he had to make sure they were ready. By ready he meant not going to turn on him, and able to defeat those rangers and convince Kaycea to come with him.
"Wh…" Theo started to speak, but Lily tried to give him a subtle jab in the side.
Arius noticed the behavior, and knew right away that something was wrong. "Perhaps the three of you should follow me."
It was then that Casey stood. He did not know what Arius had in mind. He knew that they were not behaving the same way they did an hour ago. Arius was sharp; he would notice that as well. He was afraid Arius was planning on either spelling them again or killing them. He had to get his team out of there.
"We should attack now while they think we are weak." Casey said as he took a brief look around the ship. He saw the console that one of Arius's minions had used to teleport them. He thought he could repeat the process but he was not sure.
"We will attack Kaycea's rangers again." Arius assured him. There was definitely something wrong with them. He feared that they were no longer his minions that somehow Kaycea had managed to reverse his magic. He was not sure what his next step was going to be. He needed to get them in a holding cell. "First you must follow me." He repeated his earlier statement. If they were not going to, he would have to take matters into his own hands.
Casey was not sure what to reply with. Arius, who could think of nothing but winning this fight, was now hesitant to continue this battle. He knew something was wrong. "I don't think so." Casey said as he turned and leaped toward the console. He hoped he had paid enough attention, and that this actually worked. He hit the button's he had seen hit earlier, and just like that the three of them were teleported to the surface.
"Where are we?" Theo asked, as they appeared somewhere other than home.
"I think it's Angel Grove park." Casey replied. It would make sense, that was the last place they were teleported too.
"So now what?" Lily asked. She supposed they could just take a bus home, however she was not certain that Arius was simply going to let this end here. Plus they still had these weapons, weapons that had a lot of power that she was not sure they needed.
Before Casey could come up with an answer, a group of multi colored streaks flew down in front of them. They materialized into what he assumed was the team they had fought.
Kim took a step forward and studied them carefully. "It worked." She said simply. Any traces of the magic she had felt before were gone now. The Jungle Fury team was back on their side. Arius was not going to be pleased.
Tommy was quick to step forward. He wanted to introduce himself to Casey. He was the newest red ranger; he needed to get brought into their fold. As he started to speak, Arius appeared with Shax and a group of Keresecks.
"Just because you ran off, doesn't make this over." Arius said. His voice was calm, but inside he was furious. He did not know how Kaycea defeated his spell. It should not have been possible. He was simply going to have to destroy those rangers now.
"Oh but it does." Kim said as she and her team immediately shifted. "Planetary rangers, power up!"
Casey watched them morph, then moved into position with his team. This was about them; it was their fight as well. "Jungle beast, spirit unleashed!" he called out as he and his two teammates morphed.
Arius watched as the fight broke out among the rangers and his forces. The red and silver rangers were both pushing toward him. He would defeat them both easily. "Just because you're bringing your little human toy doesn't mean you'll fare any better against me." Arius said as they approached.
"We'll see." Kim replied as she and Tommy powered up their weapons.
"What if you add a red ranger to the mix?" Casey asked as he came up alongside them. His teammates had split up to go help the other rangers. He wanted to take on Arius.
Arius laughed. "You think you scare me? You're just a child."
"I may be a novice ranger," Casey said as he grabbed the gem Arius gave them, "but that doesn't mean I can't take you on." He said, leaping toward him and creating a sword so that he could slash him on the way down. As Arius stumbled backward, the two Planetary Rangers quickly moved in to attack as well.
Meanwhile, the rest of the rangers were taking on Arius's forces. Carri was in the middle of a fight with two Keresecks. Theo appeared behind them, and created a weapon that could reach them both, destroying both of them at one time.
"I like you a lot more when you're on our side." Carri commented as she moved off to help Jen fight the group surrounding her.
"Me too." Theo said, smiling from behind his helmet as he went to join her.
Lily was also getting in on the action, taking a swing at Shax with the blue and black Planetary Rangers. "This guy isn't so tough." She said as she created a hammer and swung it upwards, catching him in the chin and knocking him backwards.
"Nope." Jason agreed, hitting him with his mace before he got back up. "I'm not worried about him."
"You should be." Shax replied, but before he could get a good attack going Rocky came in from the side, kicking him to stop him in his tracks and using his staff to knock him down once more.
All of the rangers were doing well in their battles. Between Jen, Carri, Theo and Zhane the Keresecks did not last long at all. The four rangers went to join the others, who were already giving Shax quite the beating. Once they joined in, Arius's first in command had no choice but to retreat.
That left seven rangers standing there, watching the battle between the past and present red rangers and Arius. "We should go help them." Lily commented, wondering why they had not already run over there.
"We should." Carri agreed, although she was not sure marching over there and attacking would do much good. Arius was powerful, and he was proving that he could hold his own against someone with a wide range of power, plus a red ranger with a weird new weapon and the man who has probably been a ranger longer than anybody.
Theo started to take off but Jason stepped forward. "How good are you guys with that weapon of yours?" Jason asked as he gestured toward their gems.
"We've learned how to manipulate it well." Theo replied. Arius made them learn, he would not let them attack the rangers until they could prove they knew how to use it.
"My team can provide a distraction. Mix up the elements, cause a little confusion. You move in there and hit him hard. You are going to have to move quickly and switch it up though. We can throw him off his game, but he is still good. The same style of an attack won't work twice." Jason said as the plan came together in his mind.
"Should we get the others out of the way first?" Lily asked. She did not want to unintentionally harm anybody on either team.
The white ranger snorted. "No." She said, not caring if Tommy accidently got caught in the crossfire. She was still mad at him; a little whack would not hurt him.
"We can't alert them, it will tip him off. But try not to hit one of ours." Jason said, shooting his head in his friend's direction. He was not that happy with Tommy either, but that did not mean they could attack a fellow ranger.
"What?" Carri asked with a shrug.
Jason rolled his eyes from behind his helmet. "You guys take off, we'll get started."
The battle between Arius and the three rangers was so fierce that none of them noticed what was going on around them, until the ground beneath them started shaking. The wind picked up and lightning crashed to the ground. It was enough to make Arius turn his head, and when he did, the other two members of the Jungle Fury team attacked him.
They kept turning to hit him, each time the weapon in their hands changing. The environment around them got worse; the commotion the team was causing making visibility nearly impossible. Casey wasted no time joining his team once he figured out what they were doing. Kim even added a few tricks of her own to the mix.
Eventually no one could see anything. The rangers were using a version of infrared to find Arius. He was beyond frustrated. He had no idea where the attacks were coming from and they were constantly changing. He could not get any sort of defense going, let alone a good offence. "Enough!" he finally bellowed, loud enough for Kaycea to hear him.
"Do you give up?" Kim called out over the wind.
"Give up? I think not." He yelled back. "However I do believe that this is over for now, until next time rangers."
With that, he was gone; however, the weather was not dying down. Kim teleported herself outside of the craziness that had become their battlefield and she jogged around the perimeter until she found her team. "He's gone." She called out toward them as she approached. The ground stopped shaking and all the weird weather events calmed down. "Good job guys. Let's get back to the Command Chamber." It had been a good idea. They could keep up the commotion, and they had a second team to attack. It would not destroy him, but it gave him a good ass kicking.
The others nodded, and her team teleported up. She went back to join Tommy, and the two of them grabbed the Jungle Fury rangers, teleporting them all up to the Command Chamber.
Twenty minutes later, Billy stood analyzing test results. Finally he spoke. "Looks like they are back to normal." As normal as a ranger could be anyway, they were free of Arius's magic.
"Good." Tommy said as he watched the Jungle Fury team stand there awkwardly. They did not have a command center like this. He could tell they were a bit in awe of what Billy had done here.
"So now what?" Casey asked as he glanced over at the silver ranger. Tommy had introduced himself earlier while Billy was running tests. Apparently, he was in charge of all the red rangers that had ever been on Earth. He said that when they had time, they would all meet and touch base. It would be his chance to meet all the other reds, assuming there were no emergencies before that. According to Tommy, they gathered for emergencies.
Much to his surprise, he was already in the presence of several red rangers. He was barely out of diapers when the rangers first popped on the scene in Angel Grove, and he only had vague memories of seeing them on the news growing up, but Tommy said that their black ranger, Jason, was the first red, and that Rocky, the blue ranger, had been his replacement. They even had a female red in Kim, who was the only female red on Earth.
"Now you go home." Tommy replied, breaking Casey away from his thoughts. "You have a city of your own to defend."
"What about these?" Theo piped up as he pulled a gem from his pocket.
Kim stepped forward and took a moment to really look it over. She had heard of these, she knew which part of the galaxy they came from. She had heard rumors about them, heard about the team of rangers they once belonged to. These were not weapons that could be simply dropped into the hands of the next ranger. The team that used them before was ancient by Earth's standards and had been trained in them. Without the proper training, there was a list of potential long-term negative outcomes ranging from physical harm to the power of the gem turning its user evil.
"Let me have them." She said as she held her hand out. "I'll put them somewhere safe where nobody else can use them." She would have to hide them. Several years after the rangers wielding them were destroyed, their home planet was taken over by a conquering empire and there was no one left to teach anybody how to use them anymore.
Casey glanced first at Tommy, who nodded, then he indicated that Theo should hand his over as he and Lily both produced their gemstones. Kim was somewhat irritated. Granted Tommy is considered the leader of the reds, but she was still the leader of this team and had a wealth of knowledge and experiences that Tommy could never obtain. She shook off the feeling as she collected the gems from the remaining two rangers.
"I'll be back." She said as she teleported herself away. No need to keep these around any longer.
"Sorry you got mixed up in all this." Jason said, not missing Casey looking to Tommy for approval. Even he was somewhat irritated. Not that he wanted the leader of the reds job, but still he was Zordon's handpicked first red ranger. Somehow, over the years Tommy managed to become the most looked up to, most idolized of Zordon's rangers.
"It's ok. It gave us a chance to meet more rangers." Lily said, giving him a smile.
Carri snorted. She could not see a positive in this experience; they would have met the others eventually, but good for the yellow ranger for trying. "Well if you ever want to meet everyone else, just ask. You don't have to get abducted and turned evil first."
"It worked for Tommy." Jason mused aloud. He glanced up and caught the white ranger's gaze, and she rolled her eyes. He chuckled and before the exchange could go further, Tommy interrupted.
"Anyway." He said sternly. He still had to talk to those two and he was not in the mood for any of that. "We'll go ahead and teleport you out. RJ is waiting for you. Good luck in your battle against Dai Shi."
"Thank you." Casey replied, wondering what in the world was going on here. He did not have much time to think about it though as the teleportation beams surrounded them and they were gone.
Once they were clear of the Command Chamber, Tommy turned his attention toward his teammates. "I believe we had a discussion to finish?"
Carri crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a cold hard look. "Do you really want to go there again?"
"You lied to me." Tommy replied, his voice rather even considering how fumed he was. Yelling was not going to get him anywhere but into an argument, and they needed to have this conversation.
"And?" Carri questioned. It was not the first time she had ever lied to Tommy and it probably would not be the last. "You broke into my studio. I could have you arrested for that."
"You'd never prove it." Tommy pointed out. She did not even know how he did it. She was about to argue the point when he cut her off. "The two of you left me no choice. All I wanted to know was who was writing the books. You should have told me."
"Why? So you could tell me to quit?" Jason questioned with a huff. Like hell he would quit. He made good money off the books they were huge hits. He was not letting Tommy take that away from him.
"It would have been nice to know that it was a ranger doing it. That it wasn't someone who learned our secrets, who knew more than any civilian should know." Tommy pointed out. It wasn't obvious to the world that they were plots constructed from ranger related things, but it was obvious to other rangers. If it was an outsider, he would have had to deal with that person. "You know I've been keeping track of the rangers on Earth. I needed a heads up."
"So then since I'm writing them you are fine with them?" Jason questioned, somewhat skeptical. It was not going to be this easy.
"It's too late for you to un-write them, and you can't quit." Tommy said his frustration obvious. If Luke Kirk never wrote another book, it would create more questions than the books themselves could ever create. "Don't think though that I'm not going to read all the books and keep a close eye on them and if I ever think that you have said too much you will be dealt with."
Jason gave him a cold hard stare. Dealt with. Tommy was full of shit if he thought he was going to deal with him somehow. Not that Jason would ever write anything that would compromise the team. Still the thought that Tommy thought he could do something about it ticked him off.
"As for you," Tommy said, turning toward Carri as Kim teleported back in, "don't lie to me again." Carri was not the one who wrote the books, she was not the one he had to keep a close eye on. She did have to refrain from lying to his face again.
The white ranger rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She said the closest thing to agreeing Tommy was going to get. "Just stay out of my studio."
Tommy gave her a look that suggested he would, however he did not say it aloud. Kim looked around the room, assuming that they came to some sort of agreement. She would have to dig into it later. "Ok." She said, somewhat cheerfully trying to break the dark mood. "Let's figure out if we can get all our coins working." With that, the conflict was momentarily forgotten.
While Kim was working on the coins, Arius found himself walking into Deimos's main chamber. He was not going to beg for forgiveness. He did not beg. However, perhaps he could talk Deimos into another chance. He knew it was a long shot, but he had to try.
"Deimos." He greeted giving him a slight bow.
"You failed me." He said, not wanting to bother with any standard greeting. Arius did not deserve it. This used to be his top general, the demon he went to when he needed something done. He had given him the simplest of tasks. Get the Planetary team out of the way and get Kaycea to come join him as his wife. Yet he continued to fail. Everyone he sent failed, and he had enough.
"I do not know how Kaycea countered my spell on those rangers. It will not happen again. There are other ways to get rangers to work for me." Arius replied. He had other ideas, ways to build teams of evil rangers. Kaycea would not undo his magic again.
"Perhaps." Deimos replied simply. The idea of creating evil rangers was a good one, however Arius had underestimated the demon spawn of Maligore and that was a mistake. "You, however, will not get the opportunity to test that theory. Take him to Cerchik."
Two of Deimos's strongest warriors went to grab Arius. "I can handle this. There is no need to"
"Don't bother." Deimos cut him off as he was dragged away. His slogot was hungry, and Xinas had not been enough food. "Secure him and throw him in the cage."
Before Arius could try to make his case, he felt the cuff go on his wrist. It was not a pathetic handcuff like the people of Earth used. This one was magical, and it bound his powers and kept him from using them. He was thrown out of the main room, and as he saw the doors shut in front of him he knew things were not looking well for him.
Deimos sat back in his seat as Arius was taken away. Evil rangers were something to think about. He would consider it as an option; however, he would have to figure out how to go about it. If he were to attempt it, he would have to figure out how to do it properly. He did not allow mistakes to happen.
That meant that perhaps that was not the best way to go. He would have to mull it over. For now, he would leave Kaycea wondering. He would let Shax stay, and let her spend her days thinking Arius could attack any minute. When she least expected it, he would show up and personally take her for his own.
Kim stood in the Command Chamber, watching as the yellow uniform overtook her friend. She was the last of the former rangers to get connected to the grid. The other six members of their former team were standing there fully morphed.
She found herself letting out the breath she did not know she was holding. Seven rangers were connected to the ancient grid that Cratus tried to destroy. "Well?" she questioned. She could reach out to the grid, but she found herself nervous to do so. She was afraid of learning something bad.
"The grid is holding strong." Billy replied. It had taken all of the coins, accepted those connections and was willing to allow the team to function. "I believe it will allow for the full set of rangers to enter into battle."
Kim closed her eyes and reached out to the grid herself. Billy's good news made her excited to verify it. She could feel the power of the ancient grid that had been so finicky. She could feel it surround her she could feel it flourish. She opened her eyes with a smile on her face. She and Billy had done it. They fixed the grid. They now had a surprise in their back pocket. Arius did not stand a chance.