Episode 15: Part 1

Some time later, Samandriel sat with the other five Advent Rangers and Kara in the Mugshot Café. They had not wanted to take Samandriel to their tower and reveal its importance so they opted for a safe neutral meeting point in a public place. Kara scrutinized the Nephilim leader as she sampled a cup of coffee and wrinkled her nose a little bit at the taste. "I have to admit… I still can't understand how mortals consume great quantities of this drink."

"It's an acquired taste," Kara said patiently, "Now… you said you have a way to help us save Gabrielle."

"Yes," Samandriel nodded as she produced a golden key and placed it on the table, "Ithuriel is holding your friend in a pocket dimension and a temporary gateway has been set up in the arboretum. This key should allow you to activate the portal and open the chamber doors when you arrive."

"If you're so intent on helping, why can't you just spring her yourself?" Ethan asked.

Samandriel grimaced, "Ithuriel is keeping careful watch over that point. He's probably more focused on guarding that area than he is watching what I'm doing right now."

"Let's assume you're not leading us into a trap. What will you be doing while we go charging in guns blazing?" Amber asked.

"Misdirecting Ithuriel and shifting the blame," Samandriel answered calmly, "He has a Herald in reserve and planned to attack the city with it after you surrendered your morphers to Logan. I will just force Ithuriel's hand and make Logan look like he bungled the operation."

Kara nodded sagely, "I see. You want to drive a wedge between Ithuriel and Logan. Divide and conquer."

"Something like that," the Nephilim girl said as she forced down another sip of her drink.

"You realize you're taking a big risk here," Eli pointed out, "Why not just turn sides? Join with us."

Samandriel gave him a wistful look, "If only it were that simple. I cannot just turn my back on my brothers. I still believe in our goal of changing the world… to make a statement to the Heavens and to give the Nephilim a better existence. I just think my brothers are misguided and going about things the wrong way."

"So you'll be willing to undermine them unless they do things the right way," Tyler noted, "I admit… in its own twisted way, it makes sense and I can respect you for that. If that means we can have a temporary truce and work toward a common goal here, then I'm okay with it."

"So you actually trust her?" Danielle frowned as she recalled her own ordeal at the hands of Ithuriel.

"We don't have any other good options if we want to save Gabby and throw a spanner in the Sanctum's plot," Kara grudgingly admitted. "I'm not thrilled either, but we have to take that chance."

Samandriel waited patiently as the Rangers all quietly exchanged nods of assent before she cleared her throat, "If that's settled, then there are a few things you'll need to know."

The next morning, the Rangers returned to the arboretum and delved further into the wooded area while following Samandriel's instructions on which walking paths to take. Eventually, they came to a relatively secluded grove with a wide grassy clearing. In the center of it was a small reflecting pond with a few Sentinels standing guard around it.

"That looks like our ticket in," Eli quietly pointed out as they crept closer.

Tyler nodded, "All right. Once we the clear the way and get the Sanctum's attention, Dani and I will go and break Gabby loose. The rest of you cover our backs and be ready to respond in case another Herald shows up."

Ethan gave a thumbs up while Amber took a deep breath, "Good luck. Be careful."

Danielle gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before the five of them burst from the clearing and confronted the foot soldiers. "Let's do this!"

As the Sentinels rounded on them, the five Rangers pulled their medallions and swiftly morphed before springing into action. While another battle erupted at the gateway to the temporary prison space, Ithuriel frowned as he watched the scene unfold from his observation post's telescope in the Sanctum. "How is this possible? How did those brats find where I was keeping the Pink Ranger?"

Beside him, Samandriel stood with a neutral look as she folded her hands inside the sleeves of her robes, "Perhaps your own Ranger was careless. He had shown an unusual interest in that girl and was goading the others into a duel. It might have been his intention all along."

It wasn't exactly a lie and Samandriel was careful to phrase it as a misleading supposition to discredit the Nephilim Ranger, "I have a feeling his human element and pride got the better of him. It seems Logan may have endangered your plan to get the morphers."

Ithuriel scowled toward his sister's suggestion that his creation had become faulty.

"You said it yourself brother, the humans can be irrational and illogical… a source of their strength and weakness."

Ithuriel gritted his teeth and looked through his telescope again, "Whatever happened, I won't let those Rangers off so easy. Dispatch the reserve Herald. We'll draw them off in a diversion attack. I will send my own Ranger to clean up this mess."

In the grove, the last Sentinel fell as Amber gunned it down with her blaster pistol. "All right, that's the last of them."

Tyler walked over to the pond and held the key out that Samandriel had given them and saw it resonate with the water until it became a glowing portal. Danielle took up her Halo Cutters to be prepared and gave a wink behind her visor as she stepped forward first, "Age before beauty."

Tyler summoned his own Solar Saber to back her up with a shrug, "All right, ladies first then."

Before the Red and Purple Rangers could make their way into the portal, everyone looked up to the skies and saw a golden comet streaking down from the heavens and angling toward the city. Ethan cracked his knuckles, "That must be the diversion Samandriel mentioned. At least she's been honest so far."

Eli turned to wave the other three on as he looked to his other two comrades, "We'll take care of things here and hold the line. Good luck you two."

"Thanks Eli. We won't let you guys down," Tyler nodded before turning to the Purple Ranger, "Come on Dani. It's go time."

As they carried out their rescue operation and let the portal close behind them, Eli, Ethan, and Amber all took to the skies to confront the incoming Herald while hoping that that three on one matchup would be more than enough to protect the other civilians who were now at risk.

Tyler and Danielle rushed down the narrow passageway with their weapons drawn. When they finally came to the door leading in, Tyler took the key that Samandriel had given them and slipped it into the lock. He gave the Purple Ranger a quick nod before opening the lock and forcing open the door. As the door swung open, both Rangers burst through and surprised the guards on the other side. The two Cataphractos turned quickly and moved to intercept them, but not quickly enough. Danielle ignited her chakram Halo Cutters and parried aside the halberd of one guard. Slipping around the clockwork warrior's guard, she lashed out with the circular blades and sheared one of its forearms clean off while reversing her grip and hamstringing it in another leg.

The Cataphractos reeled and tried to spin sideways in recovery but Danielle used her other chakram to slice a deep gash in the side of its cuirass. Her foe dropped inert to the ground from sustaining such massive damage from the vicious assault. Nearby, Tyler dodged and parried aside the halberd of the other Cataphractos and slashed it back. The guard recovered its footing and shook off the damage of the blow before charging again, trying to run the Red Ranger through with its polearm. Tyler evaded and used his sword to knock aside the guard of the enemy setting Danielle up for a perfect finishing strike. The Purple Ranger hurled one of her spinning Cutters and it decapitated the vulnerable automaton. The headless warrior clattered to the ground near its companion as she caught the weapon when it returned.

"Nice shot Dani. Let's go."

The two Rangers hurried to the center of the large chamber where they found Gabby bound to the stone slab. She blinked her eyes in shock when she saw her friends and she looked like she was ready to cry, "Tyler? Dani? Is that you?"

"Save the waterworks girl. We're here to get you out," Danielle nodded inspecting the scene, "Are you hurt?"

Gabby shook her head, "No. I'm fine, but these restraints..."

"We don't have a lot of time. We'll have to force them," Tyler said bringing his sword to the edges of the stone which seemed to project the binding rays.

Before he could do anything further, the three heard a fluttering from above and looked up to the inky black void of sky overhead. From the skies of the odd prison dimension, the familiar form of the Black Nephilim Ranger swooped down and landed nearby. The dim lights of the chambers glinted off his gold armor and he turned slowly to unsummon his own wings that he had been using to patrol from above. Logan clenched a fist and summoned his double bladed weapon, "I don't know how you got in here, but I'm going to make sure you pay for getting in the Sanctum's way. This is your last chance. Surrender your morphers and I might ask Ithuriel to spare your lives."

Danielle stepped forward to confront him first and she took a fighting stance, "You want our morphers? Come and get them!"

She turned to glance over her shoulder quickly, "Tyler, get Gabby out of here! I'll hold this guy off!"

Tyler nodded and began to hack away at the restraints of Gabby while the Purple and Black Rangers leapt toward each other clashing weapons in the start of a furious duel.

As the golden comet landed in one of the industrial districts of Hyperion Falls, the newest Nephilim Herald paused to take a look around at the surroundings after its arrival. Several factories were located nearby and the Herald found itself in a wide open loading dock with trucks and containers full of raw ore that had been mined from the mountain quarries for steel.

The warrior Hofniel spread its wings which were lined with eyes to give it a better view while extending its arms which were lined with some stiff looking objects resembling feathers. The Nephilim pulled off two large feathers and they ignited before it threw them like darts at some of the nearby buildings. The bolts of energy exploded causing damage and fires to some nearby heavy equipment along with a few mobile construction office trailers.

As it continued its rampage, Hofniel stopped as the Blue, White, and Green Rangers landed on the scene to stop it. Eli drew his silver short sword and raised his guard, "Hold it right there. If you want to play a game of darts, why don't you make it a real challenge with us."

The facial expression on the marble mask of the Herald wrinkled into an annoyed scowl, "Just three Rangers? I was hoping for more target practice."

"Sorry to disappoint," Amber remarked as she drew her blaster pistol, "While we're here, we might as well got some target shooting in too. Let's go guys!"

Elsewhere in the pocket dimension, Danielle locked weapons in midair before she and Logan landed in a stalemate. They each took furious swings at each other with their weapons interspersed with kicks which they both deflected or blocked. Logan grunted, "We don't have to do this sister. There's no need for sibling rivalry."

"Damn it, stop calling me that," Danielle angrily replied as she pushed back against his weapon. She surprised him by summoning her wings and using the momentum to push him right out the door and down the hallway until they emerged through the portal leading back to the real world. Logan tumbled backwards and regained his stance as Danielle dispelled her wings and faced off again amid the tree-lined grove of the arboretum. "As far as I'm concerned, we have nothing in common. You tried to hurt my friends and I'm not going to let you do that to anyone else."

The Black Ranger idly ran his blade across the ground, "But we do have something in common. I was made from parts of you. Your special blood, your features, and your life force. Are you ready to destroy all that?"

Danielle hesitated a moment before raising her guard as he attacked again. Meanwhile, Tyler slashed the last of the enchanted projector stones which held Gabby in place. He helped her up and was engulfed in a relieved hug by her,

"Tyler... I... thank you."

"I'm just glad you're safe," he said as he let go of her and produced her pink morpher medallion, "Here. We figured you might want this back."

She nodded and took her Advent Morpher before they both rushed out of the chamber and out the corridor. As they emerged through the portal and emerged back in the real world, the portal closed behind them for good leaving them in the arboretum. Their attention was instantly drawn to the fierce duel that was still raging nearby.

Danielle hurled one of her chakram at her foe but Logan deflected it aside before closing the gap. He tripped her and tried to stab at her with his blade but she rolled clear and kicked his injured arm away before landing a punishing slash to his golden cuirass. Logan staggered back and blocked her next attack, turning it aside and counter slashing to send her to the dirt. He grunted and began walking toward his stunned sister, "You're a good fighter but your weapon is still no match for me."

"You're forgetting one thing," Danielle replied defiantly, "I've still got another."

She pointed over his shoulder and the Black Ranger turned just in time to see the other Halo Cutter return like a flying buzzsaw. The spinning cutter struck him full on in the chest and knocked him back several yards as a large cloud of sparks and armor plating erupted from the collision point.

Gabby immediately sprinted over to Danielle's side to help her up while Tyler covered them and leveled his sword at Logan. The Black Ranger growled and slowly rose gripping the severely damaged chest armor of his Ranger suit as it continued smoking. Danielle had done a number on it, but it was barely holding. Tyler gripped his blade, "This is your last chance Logan. We don't have to do this."

The Nephilim Ranger snorted in contempt and took up a fighting stance, "You said you wanted a chance to kill me and I'm going to give it to you."

Both Rangers sprinted toward each other and clashed their blades in a furious storm of steel. Both combatants stood evenly matched as they exchanged blows while parrying and evading each other's strikes. Despite Tyler having a faster weapon, Logan took advantage of his blade's greater reach and versatility as he beat aside the Red Ranger's guard and delivered a few slashes. Tyler took a few hits but grabbed one end of the polearm and used his own sword to slash it in half, spitting Logan's weapon.

The Red Ranger hammered Logan back with a slash of his own and drew his blaster pistol now that some space had opened up between them. Calling his wings, Tyler hovered and circle strafed Logan firing several bolts of energy but the Nephilim Ranger used his own wings as a defensive shield to absorb the damage of the shots. It gave him just enough time to pick up a half of his broken weapon and still use it as a single bladed scimitar.
Tyler swooped in and used his momentum to tackle the Black Ranger and they went tumbling end over end into the dirt.

After rolling off their fierce grapple, Logan recovered to his feet first and kicked out one of Tyler's legs as he was trying to rise. Logan brought his sword around in an overhead tomahawk strike but the Red Ranger stopped him with an upward backhand cut from his Solar Saber. Logan's blade went clattering away as Tyler jumped to his feet and did a half turn to slash the evil Ranger clean across the side before setting up for his own final strike.
Logan gasped as Tyler ignited his blade with red fiery energy and brought it down on his foe in a diagonal hack, "Solar Saber, Radiant Smite!"

Had Logan been a normal human, he would have been cleanly bisected from collar to hip. The smite shattered the Nephilim Ranger's chest armor where Danielle had weakened it and it cut through the suit to damage the morpher fused to Logan's chest. Amid the eruption of steel and sparks, Logan reeled and violently twisted sideways before collapsing facefirst into the dirt. As Danielle and Gabby walked closer, the Nephilim Ranger demorphed and Logan rolled over on the ground writhing in pain and panting. His shirt had been torn and the device on his chest was clearly damaged.

Tyler stepped forward and pointed his sword over Logan's throat in silence. The defeated Black Ranger grunted and tried to muster up a last bit of defiance, "Looks like you were the better man Hale. You got your friends back, you got the girl, and you got your revenge. What are you waiting for? Finish it."

Tyler turned to look back to Danielle and then to Gabby who stood silently to let him decide. The Red Ranger took a long moment before he lowered his blade and turned away, "No. I may have those things now, but I'll leave you with something too... your life, and a chance to redeem yourself."

"You're a fool," Logan spat as he painfully raised himself to a sitting position, "You would actually show me mercy?"

"It's more than you deserve, but it's more than the Sanctum would grant you if you were one of us. Make no mistake. If you try to hurt any of us again, I swear I'll kill you myself. Just don't make me regret this decision."

Logan could only lay in the dirt staring in silent shock as Tyler walked away from the battlefield to rejoin the Pink and Purple Rangers.

Gabby gave a relieved sigh as he approached, "Ty... you let him live. I didn't think you'd..."

"It was the human thing to do," he responded before turning to Danielle. He couldn't see her face behind her visor but he could tell she was a little unhappy with the decision. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Dani... I'm sorry I had to do that."

She remained silent for a moment before giving a sigh and nodding, "I'm not happy about it... but I understand."

She glanced to the fallen Black Ranger who lay helpless and wounded on the ground before Tyler spoke again, "There's still another Herald out there. We should go and help the others."

With that, the three left the grove to aid their friends in cleaning up the last remaining mess that the Triumvirate had made.