Chapter 26: Cyan Scion

Raised voices woke him from his sleep.

Blinking in the light, Weihan blearily rubbed his eyes and looked around for the buckles that held him in the upright position. Any celebratory plans he had hastily drawn up to celebrate the destruction of Dasur fell flat as many of the Rangers didn't feel like doing much. In fact, they seemed to be shocked by the last word that Dasur had said…even though his translator still hadn't figured it out. The arcano-tech device had been rapidly switching between two words that didn't seem to be that closely connected to each other: scion and cyan. Thinking about the two words once more, a chill crept down his spine as his mind considered the possibilities behind each word.

For the reveal to be scion, it could mean that someone else knew that Zriac was Jabarkas' daughter and was using that information to bring down a universe of hurt onto Huran. Apart from Xonix and Lothor, there were other evils in the Universe that were threatening the shaky peace and stability of the various planets following the destruction of Dark Spectre years ago. The rumblings of someone called Grumm were becoming louder and harder to ignore and, although the Astro Rangers were heading out to deal with the fallout, it wouldn't be too long until an independent operation was set up to deal with him. Whether that meant another team of Rangers, a group of intergalactic police or a few aliens with delusions of grandeur…he honestly didn't care. On the other hoof, he had a strange feeling that this Grumm would be headed to Earth sooner or later.

Stopping that train of thought, his mind turned to the other word as he fumbled with the latches. Cyan meant that the Ranger that had quit was back in the game in some capacity. Of course, he was ignoring the rather obvious meaning of the word and focusing on the less-destructive options. Popping open one clasp and readying his feet for the impact with the ground, he hoped that, for once, the obvious answer wasn't going to be the correct answer. A mysterious entity calling the shots was bad enough without him suspecting that it was actually the Cyan Ranger. And, if by some chance it was the Cyan Ranger, the motives behind the attack still didn't make a lick of sense. Supposedly the Ranger would have access to the building sized hunk of metal that was a Zord so, the question was, why go through the trouble of recruiting from the underbelly of society when a fist through the door would have the same effect? To needlessly overcomplicate plans didn't seem like a trait Hurans possessed, they seemed to dive straight in and grab what they wanted with both hands.

Pinching off that train of thought before it could turn into a mental recreation of the elevator ride the previous day, he undid the final clasp and dropped to the ground; wondering for the umpteenth time why the vertical sleeping bag was more of a sleeping tube. Shaking his head, he ran his fingers along the side of the slightly rough material, looking for the seam. As he did, his thoughts turned to what the effects could be if it really was the rogue Cyan Ranger behind everything. It would certainly explain the way he had moved when retrieving his servant and the colour of the energy beam that had practically decimated the Meteor Masher. Seeing as he hadn't received any frantic calls from the others demanding an explanation as to why two of his vehicles had been practically totalled, he had to keep believing that the others hadn't seen the devastation yet. That was probably the case as, with Jabarkas literally in the room next to him, it would be Yit and whoever else was left in the Palace.

"I'm telling you, it can't be him! He would never stoop to such a low position and band with the scum!"

Running a hand through his hair, he heard Droas' voice come from behind his door. The Yellow Ranger seemed to be slightly more melodramatic than he had been the day before, that made sense as he had seen his Zord literally wrecked right under his nose.

"Droas, just try to accept the possibility. He took his Zord with him when he left and that would explain that laser yesterday. Even if it isn't him, he has resisted all attempts at communication…and that's never ended well."

The second voice was deeper and somehow richer than the Huran voices he had heard. Maybe it was a good friend of Droas' that had been called in to help the Yellow Ranger deal with this shock. If that was the case, that would mean there would be other civilians in the Processing Core – one for each Ranger – and he seriously doubted the Elders would want to bring in that many outsiders. It couldn't have been a previous Ranger though the former bearers of the Huran Powers were still, presumably, alive. It was preposterous for him to think of Zriac's team being the only one since the 'original' team to be drafted into service. Walking to the chair, he shrugged on his jacket before looking out the window. The square had seen much better days but it didn't look like a psychopath's playground anymore. Running a hand through his hair once more to make him look slightly more presentable, Weihan prepared to step out.

"Krewo, you know as well as I do that Lidars cannot be Sradil! He was a Ranger of the highest regard and helped stop the Cult of Moltor from gaining the Apollo Diamond! If he was still around…"

"Droas, just keep an open mind. It is possible that the influence and isolation of his actions changed his mind somewhat. If, and for the love of everything holy I stress that word, he has turned, it will be up to the people who were friends with him to help him to see the error of his ways."

"What if it's too late for him?"

The two Hurans looked behind them to see the Orange Ranger step out of his room. Droas swallowed hard, as he had entirely forgotten that the Elders had assigned the off-world Ranger and his supposed enemy rooms in this section. He had to admit that the Earth Ranger could bring a fresh set of eyes to their problem but, in all seriousness, it was an internal matter between the Rangers. Plus, he still hadn't really scrubbed out the images from that torturous elevator ride from his mind and didn't really feel comfortable with his methods to separate the Cerberus Crystal from Dasur. Raluna, Reefti and Ulani seemed to be the most interested in the massive display of power inherent in his new Zord but he had his doubts about the raw power expressed.

"What do you mean if we're too late? He could be brainwashed for all we know or there could be a spell. Apparently the old grimoire of Rita Repulsa is still floating around the Universe somewhere. Even if the rumours of her defection to the side of Light are true, you would have thought that someone would have thought to destroy all copies of the thing."

Weihan nodded once, internally grimacing at the truth of the statement. Rita had told him a while back that she knew an old spell book of hers was circulating the Universe but it contained only the most basic of spells. This included the steps for one of the most basic mind control spells that could be used as a framework to create an unbreakable mental hold on someone. On the other hand, he was sure the Phantom Ranger had sent him a communication about it being recovered by the reformed Master Vile and it being held in the vaults on Eltare. Pushing aside that thought, he looked at the Huran that had spoken. Matching the name with Ranger Designation, the Orange Ranger could see the Purple Ranger was well muscled and had either cut off or filed down the points of his cranial horns. There was also no hair on the top of his head, rather there were two small tufts above the corners of his mouth.

He had lightly skimmed through the biographies of the other Rangers on the way back from the battle site; his brain hadn't allowed him to read too thoroughly for each one. Krewo was the brother of the White Ranger who had questioned his use of force before he had faced Droas and if his memory served him correctly, her name was Ulani. That made them the second set of siblings on the team; the first set consisting of Xristi and her sister Reefti. The last member of the team he had yet to see in action was Raluna, a member that the records had described as attacking with 'shock and awe'. He wasn't really sure if the translation on that was correct or not but, either way, he would have to find out in a setting better than the five step training he had given them the night before. He held up his hands and forced a light smile onto his face.

"I don't mean to intrude and I certainly hope we're not up against another evil Ranger but you have to be serious. Krewo, you mentioned the Cyan Ranger is blocking off all communication attempts?"

The Purple Ranger nodded once, slightly surprised that the Orange Ranger had remembered his name. On the other hand, he wasn't really sure when he would have had the time to memorise their names and appearances besides the battle simulation he had whipped up the night before. Shelving that thought, he chuckled to himself. Maybe it was a human thing…

"Correct. Sradil has blocked off his communication channel and cannot be contacted by any means. I would have guessed it was due to the way he left so suddenly but now…I am unsure."

Nodding, Weihan felt the gears in his mind begin to turn. The Cyan Ranger had left because of a dispute between leadership roles within the Rangers, something that was somewhat mirrored in the uprising. Yet, according to the late Dasur, the uprising hadn't been planned to its fullest extent and had only been in place for the sacrifice of blood. In the small amount of time that he had been on the planet and had seen the supposed 'masterminds', he had encountered most of them all within a day. He had been set upon by Frenter's goons during his recon trip, though the Huran himself had been nowhere near the battle. A battle with Drasil had been next and, if he had just a bit more time, he would have been taken out completely. Only an intervention from Lidars himself had saved his servant from being reduced to nothing more than scrap metal. The last one he had crossed blades with was Dasur and, given that he was now nothing more than an irregular scorch mark covering the ground, he wasn't likely to be any more of a threat. The only one out of the line-up that had been shown that he had yet to face was Rookac. He began to speak aloud, his words more for himself than the others.

"Rogue Rangers are always a tricky thing. In this case, the Cyan Ranger left due to an internal dispute but the matter of that dispute fits with the initial uprising. It's a bit of a stretch though and I don't want to jump to the wrong conclusion. There is also no clear link between the Cyan Ranger and Lidars that I can tell…but if there is, it's probably some incredibly obvious one that we're all missing."

Weihan shook his head again and looked up at the two Huran Rangers. It was too early in the morning for him to be thinking such deep and complex thoughts but, if he really wanted to be honest with himself, there was never going to be a good time for that. There was a veritable laundry list of things that needed to be done before their next battle with Lidars such as the Zords being fixed and the matter with the Cerberus Crystal. The Rangers needed more training as well and he had the strange feeling that time was running out, not only for him and his time on the planet but the time until Xonix broke through the dimensional barrier.

Today would be a big day for all of them.

TBC…