Ch20: Betrayal
It was a dark and stormy night in the town of Castelan. The weather had been bad all day and after night draw in, it just got worse. Thunder boomed and lightning tore the sky open in bright flashes. In the Du Lac manor, Shadai sat, fearing the worst. He turned to the golem and spoke up.
"Many millennia ago, I betrayed my master and took over his armies, banishing him to a realm from which none can escape, unless they are summoned. After my release at the hands of my former host, I thought I could truly conquer this world and claim the others, yet the ancient amulets, accursed things. They came back to stop me. Now, after all my planning, my second destroyed. I believe that this could be the last night I see this realm." He delivered the monologue to the soulless golem.
He gave a sigh and rose from his seat. "Enough of this moping around, it is time to deal with reaper once and for all. Traitorous scum, he soon shall know my wrath. First I must gather a guard, then I shall be ready for him if he pulls any tricks. Come." He ordered, ushering the golem to follow.
Once they had grouped up some shades, being close to their master, they weren't feral, unlike some. They stood, guarding Shadai, at the bottom of the entrance hall, just before the stairway. Then a horrendous banging came from the door, like a powerful force was attempting to force it open. The doors rattled, slamming as the locks eventually broke and the large doors swung open. There, on the other side stood the sorceress. Her face shadowed by the lack of light on the outside. She seemed to be wearing modern clothing. She held her hand out, like she forced the door open with it. In her left hand, by her side, was the staff she had stolen earlier.
Shadai looked at her in surprise. "I had heard that someone else had been causing havoc in this town, just didn't know it would be a girl. Though you seem to have power, it will be of no match for me. Therefore my golem shall deal with you. Shades, with me." He commanded, walking away whilst signalling the metal beast to attack her. The dark lord walked up the stairs with his minions to deal with his other problem.
[Command Center]
Aaron was still confined to the med bay of their headquarters, against his wishes, but he was finally allowed out of bed and was talking with the rangers on a rather important matter.
"So before Emlie came into the room a week and a half ago, I was about to tell Lexa and Ben what happened just as the battle ended. Now Percy and Tyson are doing better off than me. I'll let you all know what I saw. I know who she is. I just don't believe it." He told them, trying to keep it together.
"Its okay man, we're here for you if you need it." Percy reassured him.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." He replied before continuing. "With what strength I had left, I managed to pull off her cloak. I saw who she was and I froze up. The sorceress we fought. She's Artemis… She's my Sister…" He sighed, trying somehow to not believe his own eyes.
The other five were taken back by this. His first meeting with his sister and they were fighting against each other. There was an awkward silence that lingered after he said it.
"That's tough, I'm sorry this happened. It'll be okay." Tyson consoled.
Emlie shook her head and gave a reassuring smile to their leader. "It doesn't matter what she did back then. I'm sure that there must be a reason why she did what she did. Maybe it's not her fault."
"I'd like to think that, from what I know about her, there's no reason that she'd harm anyone. Thanks for staying positive for me guys. I'll need some rest if you don't mind. You can all leave now." He thanked them before tucking himself into the sheets of his medical bed.
"Sure. And if you need anything, from any of us. Don't hesitate to ask." Emlie replied as the five exited leaving the ranger alone, the last turned off the lights.
As soon as they left, he jumped out of bed and got changed. "If she's after more power. I know exactly where she'll be. Maybe I can get through to her, or at least find out the truth." He told himself. Heading out in the rain and unchaining a silver bike and heading off into the darkness.
[Du Lac Manor]
The sorceress, now known to be Artemis, the sister of Aaron, stood facing the iron golem. She gave a confident smirk.
"Stand aside beast, or face my wrath!" She told the creature, which slammed its metal foot into the ground and let out a roar. "So be it." She told the monster, raising her open hand, where she generated a fireball from it.
The monster charged forward and she sent the fireball hurtling towards it. It connected with the beast's face, causing it to stagger for a moment allowing her to move out of the way as the golem clashed with the floor. It proceeded to stand tall once again, turning to face her.
"Seems you have more power than I thought, yet that won't save you or your master." She told the creature, before sending a powerful force at it, causing it to fly out of the door and into the rainy courtyard.
She stepped out of the door, holding her staff up, to finish the golem. Once the creature recovered, the jewel atop the staff began glowing a vibrant green. Then the rain around them warped, forming into solid swords, made completely of water. Her eyes glowed a vibrant green, which sent the swords to perform rapid and vicious cuts to the golem, destruction at the hands of a thousand cuts. After each one stuck the golem, it would dematerialise back into its base element.
After the final sword slashed the golem, it collapsed to its knees. She gave a smirk before turning around just before it exploded. "Pathetic." She said, walking back into the manor.
Shadai and his warriors stood in the former study where the shadowgate was, reaper was surrounded by the shades. The old man was cowering and grovelling.
"Please, master, don't do this! I've been your loyal servant for so long!" He pleaded, the lord simply shook his head.
"You were once in service to my master, then when I betrayed him, you joined me. He is gone, yet you act as if you serve someone else now. I have heard you in the night, plotting, you and the witch conspired against me, now it has all come down to this." He told the former servant.
"Please. I don't want to die my lord, anything but this!" He begged, on his knees.
"It is too late, warriors, kill him." He ordered. The Shades drew their blades, pointing them at the old man.
As they swung, they were stopped by seemingly nothing. Then Shadai too froze, unable to move. "What is this? Why can't I move!?" He screamed
The sorceress entered the room with a sly smile. "I'm disappointed in you Shadai. Lord of darkness. What a joke. You are nothing but a fool. You only saw a traitor in your midst when it was too late. And you were defeated time and time again by those worthless power rangers. This is a fate which you truly deserve." She told him before clenching her fist, incinerating the shades in the room.
Reaper let out a maniacal chuckle and walked up to his paralysed former master. "You fool. You could have destroyed me while I was stalling, now your incompetence is your end." He told the other as he began uttering some kind of ancient dialect.
Shadai squirmed as a dark energy began to be drawn from him. "Reaper! Stop, what are you doing to me!?" The dark lord demanded.
"I am doing what I must." He said as he continued the chant.
As more dark energy was pulled away, Shadai's body collapsed to the ground. Above it was the dark embodiment of Shadai, his spirit essence. Red light lit up inside it and a furious and outraged scream came from the smoke cloud.
"My body! Why would you do this to me!?" It screamed.
"To begin, that was a stolen body. As for taking you out of it, it was, necessary for the ritual to be completed." Reaper informed it.
"What ritual!?" It demanded, struggling to break free of the still prominent paralysis.
"A ritual of summoning, one that demands your sacrifice." He told it, an evil smirk came over his face.
[Du Lac Manor Courtyard]
The rain had gotten lighter as the night went on. Finally, Aaron arrived at his former home, he was unmorphed, yet he had his templar blade active and ready. He saw the remains of the metal giant on the floor as he walked in and headed up the stairs when he saw flashes of light coming from within.
He swung open the door and saw the dark ritual going on, his father's unconscious body on the floor. The sorceress was using her magical powers to open up the gate and reaper kept Shadai's essence trapped. He turned to the young girl.
"Artemis. What're you doing? I finally find you and you're my enemy? Why?" He asked her, a glimmer of hope that she wasn't as evil as it was suspected she was. Yet her eyes showed no remorse.
"Stand down boy and let me eradicate this nuisance. I will let you live for now. Just never utter that name again. This vessel still has some fight in her. I'd hate to lose control now." She told him, her eyes starting to shimmer with green energy.
"I don't understand. Why do this?" He asked again.
"I am not who you think I am. Now leave this place, or I will smite you!" She raised her voice.
His head lowered. "Fine, I understand, I came to know something, and I did that. Now let me and the man on the floor leave." He said to her. Her eyes returned to normal.
"Go. But be warned, when next we meet, I shall destroy you." She told him as Aaron hurled his unconscious father over his shoulders and carried him away.
The sorceress turned and scowled at Reaper. "Let's begin." She said, opening the shadowgate fully.
Reaper held Shadai's spirit in front of the portal before the sorceress began speaking again. "Mighty lord of wrath. We, your servants pledge to you a sacrifice, the soul of a traitor. We plead you to take him to your purgatory so that he may suffer a well-deserved fate, and you can rise again, to set the world on fire! Arise, Lord Abaddon!" She chanted.
When she finished, a hand of fire came out of the portal and swiped the spirit into the realm from which it came. Then with a rumble and a single spark, a fiery maelstrom began to form around the two, where it spread to the rest of the building.
Outside, Aaron sat his father down. "It's okay now, we're both safe." He told the man.
He turned around when he heard the sound of something burning. Then he saw that in an unnatural manner of seconds, the whole place was ablaze. Aaron was caught with grief as the whole thing lit up and burned. Even if he wanted to go back inside, try and save anything. There was no use, the only entrance had collapsed. He looked on, trying to keep himself together before turning to his still unconscious father.
"I have to get you out of here." Aaron said, even with knowing that he wouldn't be heard. So he hurried to get the older man out of there.
[Command Center]
Aaron ran into the building, fatigued from the journey, cold, wet and holding onto his father, he managed to get as far as the first room before collapsing due to tiredness, then he passed out.
He awoke with a daze. The sun was shining through a window in the room he had been using and he turned to see Merlin, hood clutching to the rest of his head, sat down near the boy.
"Wh… What happened?" He asked. Getting up slowly.
"You managed to bring back your father from the manor and he is surprisingly free of Shadai's control. Care to explain what happened last night?" He asked, in more of a demanding voice than usual.
"I went there after the sorceress. She's my sister. When I got there I confronted her. They were doing a ritual with Shadai's spirit. I tried to reason, but she said she wasn't Artemis, she said that the vessel had some fight left in her. I don't know what that means. Then she let me go free, allowing me to take my father too. Then when I got outside. The whole place set ablaze. Does this mean anything?" He recalled to the old man.
"Yes. It does, and I fear what is to come is far worse than anything you have faced. Please, come with me." He told the young man.
"Where is my father? Is he okay?" Aaron asked, concerned.
"Yes, he is resting, don't worry you can speak to him soon enough, now come." He told Aaron again, who this time nodded and followed the man.
They arrived in the dark chamber with the font in the middle. They took seats side by side and Merlin turned to Aaron.
"In my years, I have learned something called spirit walking, it allows us to observe a day in someone's life. We must focus on your sister, Artemis, focus on the day she was reported missing, and close your eyes.
Aaron did so and then something happened, an odd sense of peace came over him and then the environment changed.
[Flashback]
Walking down the streets of Novaton was a young girl at the age of fifteen. She was 5'7 with a slight muscular build and lightly tanned skin. She had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She had a deep magenta tank top on, a long sleeve button up jacket layered over it with a Cyan skirt on and she wore white shoes.
The girl was indeed Artemis Domino, on the day she went missing. Merlin and Aaron stood behind her, the scene was frozen and Merlin turned to the ranger.
"These are events that have already happened. Keep that in mind. No matter how much you want to, you can't tamper with something that is simply an echo of the past. You should also know that we cannot be seen or heard. So shall we continue?" He asked, Aaron gave a quick nod before Merlin hit his staff on the ground and the environment began to come to life again.
They followed Artemis down the street until she heard someone call out to her, then call out for help. She looked around, hearing it come from a side street clearly. She ran down yet saw nothing, turning back around, she ended up being cornered. Yet not by any person or mortal. She was trembling with fear as a womanly spirit, composed of green energy, approached her.
"Don't be afraid child I will not harm you, I in fact have a gift for you." She called, her voice soothing.
"What do I get?" She asked, still scared of the spirit before her.
"It's a very, very, nice surprise. All you have to do is take my hand." She extended her ghostly arm towards Artemis. "It's okay. I'm family." The spirit smiled.
"You… You are?" She asked, the spirit gave a confident nod before Artemis took the spirit's hand.
"Good girl." The spirit said, more mocking in tone. "I didn't think this'd be so easy. Possessing a descendant of mine shall be far easier for my plans than this feeble form." She gave an evil smile. Then she flew into Artemis, merging with her. The girl went limp before getting up again. This time her eyes glowed green.
A womanly voice took over from the girl. "Oh, it's good to be back in a body again. Finally." She said, pleased with the new host she had, before walking off.
Merlin stopped the memory and turned to Aaron, whose mouth was wide open, he was petrified.
"I'm… Sorry… Yet I know now, who the sorceress truly is." He told the boy. Then a bright white light blinded the two.
[End of Flashback]
The two were sat back in the room. Merlin turned to the boy. "I am sorry what happened to her. Yet I finally know who the sorceress is."
"Who?" Aaron asked, his voice, monotone.
"She has gone by many names over the ages, you would most commonly know her from the time of your ancestor. Her name, is Morgana Le Fay. It seems that your sister is a descendent of hers. Going after her, Morgana wants only for power. I should've seen it sooner. I am truly sorry." He apologised to the young ranger who sat there, his face indifferent.
"Don't be. This won't stop me. I will get my sister back, no matter the cost." He declared to the old man, who was shocked by his determination even after seeing such a thing.
[Manor ruins]
Ash, burned bricks, charcoal lay in the ruins of the manor. It was completely silent. The fires had settled now. Then, from the ashes rose three figures. The first two were that of Reaper and the sorceress Morgana. The third was a rather imposing figure. It was eight feet tall, with a stocky build. Blood red skin, a dark complexion and black eyes. It had dark long hair and a dark moustache. The humanoid figure wore a twisted and spiked arcane battle garb.
The red skinned creature raised its arms up to the sky in triumph. He spoke with a gruff demonic voice "I am finally free!" He screamed to the heavens. The other two kneeled before the Demon.
"How can we serve you, Prince Abaddon?" Morgana asked, keeping her head low to the Demon Prince. Abaddon gave a dark smile.
|Mythos|
And that is chapter 20 which is a real milestone for me. It's a bit late, I had to focus on finishing some coursework that was due soon but everything's fine now. So, here we saw just how powerful the new villain was and they sacrificed Shadai's spirit to the eternal prison to free a new more powerful villain. Yet Shadai is not yet actually destroyed. Lord Du Lac is finally free and recovering, and Aaron is determined to free Artemis from the control of Morgana. And with the Demon Prince Abaddon now free, things are about to become a lot tougher for the rangers. I'll be back with more updates to things throughout the week.
Next Chapter: Winds Of Change
Synopsis: Aaron finally gets to speak with his father after all the time away and finally catches a break. Even if his mind is set on one goal at the moment. The rangers are finally let in on the bigger picture and find out about their new foe. Then the villains unleash a terrifying symbol that they are in Castelan and they are there to stay. Can they match Abaddon and his demonic forces? Find out next time on Power Rangers: Mythos.