AN: Just a few more chapters to go and a gift to bestow and then this story will be finished!
Chapter 38: In the Beginning…
He certainly looked the part of destruction.
Xristi stared in horror at the metal that was covering her former team-mate, even forgetting about the critically injured monster behind her. Roughly seven metres (in human measurements) away, the Orange Ranger had stopped his duel with Drasil to gape in what she could only hope was extreme surprise. Even the Blue and, though he hated the name, Red Elders had stopped dead in their tracks and were exchanging glances filled with dread. The others weren't faring any better, half whispered prayers coming from Droas and Raluna were the proof of that. For a moment, a very brief pause in her concentration, her mind flashed back to the moment in which she had saved his life on the battlefield all those years ago. At the time, it had been a spur of the moment thing as the monster had killed so many…to have another die on her wasn't something she could take. It had resulted in a series of lectures from Ulani, Reefti and Zriac but it had been worthwhile…or at least she had thought it had. Staring at the monstrous metal form that was changing into a very intimidating set of bladed armour; she wondered if the better thing to do back then was to let him die.
"Battlizer Activate!"
The two words echoed over the battlefield, breaking the hold Lidars' transformation seemed to have over everyone as the majestic form of Weihan's Battlized form launched up through the atmosphere. Remembering that she had a monster to finish off, she pushed power into her Seeker Shotels and viciously stabbed the weapons into the creature's torso. For a moment, the Green Ranger mourned her decision all those years ago but, as she leapt away before the monster exploded, quashed them underneath her mental heel. The early battles had been trying for everyone as they had been brought in from various backgrounds to serve as the new team of Rangers. Back then, she had been the youngest Ranger and had, as such, had hidden behind the shadow of her sister for many of the earlier battles. In hindsight, that wasn't the best thing to happen as it meant that there was little to no chance of forming bond with the others, except for the very rare moments before and after battles.
For the Rangers that had come from extremely privileged backgrounds like Droas and Sradil, the team connection had come a very distant third after the 'more important' aspects of sizing up the other females and exaggerating their past exploits. That had stopped once Krewo had slipped something into their drinks that made them violently ill every time they mentioned a handful of certain words. What the substance had been, no one had dared to ask the Purple Ranger but she couldn't deny the results had been extremely effective…until the Breaking. Twirling away from a new creature that seemed to have sprung up from the very stone pavement, Xristi steeled her nerves as she plunged into the memories she had practically sealed off. Memories of being holed up inside her room, hearing the sounds coming from her sister's room and hearing, on more than one occasion, the voice of her future leader with her. At least Zriac had the decency to apologise for her loudness after the first time; which was when she had first began forming an actual bond with someone other than her imaginary friends.
Gradually, others had seen the bond the Black Ranger had formed with her and, in turn, they began to include her in other activities. Ulani showed her the intricacies of medical sciences, including a demonstration of what her Injector could and couldn't heal, while Raluna helped her with a few new moves she had been trying with her weapons and Krewo helped her with her extremely horrible aim. A small smile flickered over her lips as she recalled how many times they had been chewed out by the Blue Elder for almost damaging something on the wall…or accidentally disabling the air conditioning during a rather brutal heatwave. That day hadn't been fun for anyone after that – with the possible exception of her sister. Surprising everyone who had spent more than five minutes around him, Droas had been the next to connect with her after she had accidentally uncovered some data regarding some sort of trafficking operation in the recent past. He had clammed up about what the information was needed for but he had expressed his thanks in a slightly subdued way.
Quickly, she began to feel more and more like a part of the team and not like Reefti's shy sister. Her relationship with Zriac grew in leaps and bounds, something that was spurred on by a rather forgettable night of heavy drinking coupled with a night of blurred action…which had resulted in them waking up naked in bed. Of course, that had been laughed off and their friendship had grown deeper as they had literally bared all to each other. Only three other Hurans knew of what had transpired on that night: Reefti, Raluna and the Green Elder; a fact that had sent most of the blood in her body rushing up to her face when the news had been broken to the both of them. She had fervently sworn off any forms of alcohol after that, except in cases of celebration and, even then, to not drink out of anything bigger than her head. In the span of three cycles, she had gone from being the team wallflower to an accepted and trusted member of the Rangers.
And then, one day, the monster that had changed everything had arrived. She remembered it like it was yesterday and, if she wasn't currently engaged in battle with a strange creature that seemed to be able to meld to stone effortlessly, she would have immersed herself in a flashback or two. Bringing herself out of her thoughts as three blades raked across the front of her armour, her mind raced as she looked around to see is anyone could give her a hand. Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone that could have lent a hand were battling the remaining monsters so, for the foreseeable future, she was on her own; something she hadn't been in a fight for a very long time. Her mind raced once more as she looked for a way she could disable the melding properties of the monster and was about to give up when she spied the wooden beam. It had apparently been dislodged from one of the old buildings and was almost as tall as she was. Xristi had no idea if the plan forming in her mind would work but she supposed half-formed scraps of a plan were better than nothing. Dismissing any errant thoughts from her mind, she recalled the training that had been given to all of them by the Elders; to keep oneself in the present moment and not cast the thoughts to the past or the future.
Walking over to the wooden beam, the Green Ranger prodded it with her left boot to see if it was sturdy enough to work with. Satisfied that it was, she dismissed her Shotels and lifted up the beam, noting that it was lighter than it looked. Bringing up the HUD menu in her helmet, she switched viewing frequencies to recognise heat signatures. There were signals everywhere, ranging from the bodies of the Rangers and the cooling embers of destroyed monsters to ambient heat radiating off exposed metal and a rather worryingly large source of heat coming from one of the far-off mountain ranges. Shelving that last thought, she looked around her for the heat signature of the melding monster and, finding it attempting to sneak up on her, finished creating the plan. With all the explosions and sounds of battle around her, the Green Ranger closed her eyes and placed her mind deep into the Power; attempting to sense the monster's form from the stones and debris around her. Deeper and deeper she slipped her mind into the Power until she felt a familiar presence at the back of her mind.
It is time.
With a barely perceptible nod, her eyes flashed open and she slammed the beam down into the pavement in front of her. Normally, the wood would have splintered instantly due to the force used but Xristi had tapped into the ancient Ranger Powers that had been passed down within the Power Bracelets; powers that had been used by the very first team of Rangers in existence. The young Huran had encased half of the beam in a thin energy shield – one that allowed the beam to pass through the rock as easily as it speared through the chest of the monster. A soft sound that could have been a gasp or the start of a strangled scream reached her ears before the ground under her feet shook for a few seconds. Allowing her body to rest after the exertion, she fell onto her knees and waited for the temporary drain to fade away. That was one of the drawbacks to accessing the Power of the Ancients; the physical and mental drain could leave a Ranger incapacitated for as long as five Earth minutes. Looking up at the smoke filled sky, she could barely make out the flying forms of the two combatants as they fought in their second, and most likely final, battle.
It would all end today.
TBC…