Chapter Thirty Eight. Fury Of The Forest.
Previously On Poké Rangers Genesis Overload...
After the death of Paige, Crane went back to the future. Later, a shadowy figure wearing a golden gauntlet appeared in an alley. The same figure later saved Paige and Danni from a Dark Spectre attack. As the rangers tried to find out the figure's identity, Luke and Duo went off to compete in a golf tournament to win a strange trophy. Despite facing a Dark Spectre controlled Coppinger, they managed to triumph in the contest, while the others hunted down a Dark Spectre to try and discover the identity of the figure. After he vanquished another Dark Spectre, it was revealed that the figure was none other than Crane...
"What...?"
"The...?"
"Bloody...?"
"Hell are you doing here?" Paige finished, completing the shocked question that Xavier, Katie and Ryan had all started at the sight of their old friend. "I thought that..."
"Yeah, I know what you thought," he replied, getting to his feet. "Paige. It's good to see you again."
"Come again," Nahir suddenly interrupted, a little shocked by his comment. "Last time you were here, she was dead. You come back and..."
"You think I'm surprised by her reappearance, think again," Crane answered, a little colder than was probably needed. "I do know things. Put it this way, I knew that she wasn't dead."
"How?" Ryan asked, suddenly interested in what the former red ranger was saying. "Come on, let's hear it."
"Ah, it's not important."
"Did Dorlinda tell you?" Katie asked, pressing him on the matter. "Or Clarence...?"
"Yeah, I suppose," Crane said, softly musing on the question, almost as if he was far away from the conversation. "In a roundabout way..."
When he wasn't forthcoming with any other information, the rangers decided not to push him.
"Is it worth asking why you came here?" Xavier wondered, looking over at him. "Or..."
"Yes, come on, spill the beans," Paige insisted. "What are you doing here?"
"It's a long story," Crane admitted. "A very long one. And some of it isn't something that can be told. All you need to know is that I'm here to hunt Dark Spectres. A bunch of them escaped from the Prison Dimension where they were kept so I came back to the past to track them down and return them to where they need to be."
At this point, he held up his golden gauntlet, the lights in the alley reflecting off the surface of the metallic glove as he did so.
"And all that using this," he said. "Anyway, hate to say it, but this isn't the best place to talk. Any chance that we can go back to the Silver Gyarados?"
"I guess," Katie muttered, turning to lead the rest of the group out of the alley, only to again be delayed as Crane suddenly spoke up in surprise.
"So, where are Luke and Duo?"
Gen-esis Over-load.
Season logo appears. The seven element symbols appear.
Poké Rangers! Go!
Cities and towns of Verger appear. Peace occurs throughout.
Coming together to fight the evil
G-Force rangers face Regli. SDI rangers face Queen Misteria.
They will always save the day.
Katie flips through the air, firing Heat Blasters. Other rangers pose with weapons.
Poké Rangers! Go!
The Overload Megazord falls through the air, battling Garbot.
But then they lost their edge!
Rangers fall to the ground, old costumes vanish away. Dogbots celebrate their victory.
Poké Rangers! No!
The Coppinger logo appears on the horizon. Shadows fall across the land.
Gen-esis Over-load
Lance appears with his Dragonite. Bill and the Silver Gyarados appears behind him.
It's time to battle...
All seven rangers pose, the outline of the Coppingers glaring down at them.
Poke Rangers! Go!
Xavier picks up the Water Stone. Xavier Jackson. Blue Genesis Ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles.
Power of the Eevee!
Ryan picks up the Leaf Stone. Ryan Leopard. Green Genesis Ranger. Created by Hotrod198.
Poké Rangers! Go!
Nahir picks up the Thunder Stone. Nahir Moon. Yellow Genesis Ranger. Created by Famousgirl01.
Power of the Eevee!
Katie picks up the Fire Stone. Katie Myers. Red Genesis Ranger. Created by Blue Bongo.
Genesis Overload!
Duo picks up the Dusk Stone. Duo Roronoa. Black Genesis Ranger. Created by JMB2NAMI.
Poké Rangers!
Luke picks up the Sun Shard. Luke Sunderland, Purple Genesis Ranger. Created by MakubeDaKiddX.
Genesis Overload!
Paige holds up the NeverMeltIce. Paige Martinez. White Genesis Ranger. Created by Famousgirl01.
Power of the Eevee!
The seven rangers morph. Crane appears.
Poké Rangers! Go!
The Hover Chasers carry the rangers into battle. Explosions occur behind them.
Verger needs you!
Mal and Tim look around, inanely. Before being chased by Golbat.
To fight that evil!
Dennis, Arbok and other enemies appear. Dennis holds the Genesis Book up high.
And save the day!
Rangers search for artefacts. Dorlinda appears.
Poké Rangers! Go!
Katie transforms into her Battlizer.
Power of the Eevee!
Dark Spectres hover above Coppinger mutant monsters.
Fight! Fight! Fight! Win!
The Overload Megazord, North Wind Megazord and Silent Strike Megazord appear.
Power of the Eevee!
The Coppinger Aerial Platform crashes to the ground and explodes.
Poké Rangers! Go!
Camera pans out to show the rangers relaxing on the Silver Gyarados. Dorlinda watches over them.
Genesis Overload!
Poké Rangers Genesis Overload created by Blue Bongo. Verger region created by Blue Bongo. All other rights reserved.
Poké Rangers! Go!
"We are the champions! We are the champions! No time for losers! Because we are the champions... Of the world!"
As both Luke and Duo walked out onto the bridge, the trophy held high above them, they were both greeted with the sight of Crane stood in there, alongside the other rangers. Much to their surprise, they hadn't been expecting him to be here, Duo almost dropped the trophy in shock.
"Looks like you won something," Crane remarked, grinning at them. "TechBall?"
"Golf," Luke replied. "So... Think that there's probably a question we should be asking here..."
"Go on, I've heard it already," Crane said, his grin growing into a smirk. "I'll not be offended."
"Are you really here, or are you a figment of our imagination?"
"Well, that's a new one," the former red ranger groaned. "But, unless this is a mass hallucination, I'm here."
"He's hunting Dark Spectres," Lance offered. "Which is... Helpful. To say the least."
"Are you sure?" Luke asked, a little surprised at the revelation. "That would seem remarkably like the universe throwing us a break."
"Speaking of which," Bill interrupted, coming over. "But, we may have another problem. In the last few minutes, I've been picking up Dark Spectre activity."
"Really?" Crane asked, glancing down at his gauntlet to try and check something, something that apparently wasn't going to come up to him. "I didn't get that one. Maybe it's..."
"See, it's here," the PokéManiac remarked, gesturing over to the console in front of him. "You seeing this?"
"I believe that I am," Crane answered, dropping into the seat that had been vacated by Bill. "That would appear to be accurate. Dark Spectre reading in... Slowpoke Forest."
"Slowpoke Forest?" Nahir asked, a little sarcastic at the revelation. "There's nothing in the Slowpoke Forest. Other than the Slowpoke Lake..."
"And a few Slowpoke," Duo quipped. "So, what's the problem? We head on over there, kick some Spectre smoke and come back in time to head out again for a good old reunion celebration."
"That's sounds like a fine idea," Crane replied. "Good thinking, Duo."
"Or, we can take care of it," Ryan said, winking over at Crane before jerking his head towards Paige. "If you want to catch up with stuff."
It didn't take long for Paige to catch his meaning and reach over to slap him on the back of the head, the green ranger recoiling from her action.
"Hey!"
"Hey yourself!" Paige shot back, annoyed at what he was insinuating. "But, on the other hand..."
"I really should go," Crane said. "It's my duty to take care of this threat, it's not something that should be concerning you all."
"We've already taken care of several of them," Katie offered. "They're no trouble to beat. We do have the Cress Crystal, you know."
"Yeah, I remember," Luke said, raising an eyebrow at her. "We used it to defeat a Dark Spectre at the golf club after. Anyway, about this trophy..."
"Ah, yes," Bill remarked, glancing over at it. "I'd forgotten about that. Almost. So, while you guys are out, I'll see what I can find with this thing."
"I'd hate for our day of sacrifice to be for nothing," Duo commented, sarcastically. "So, what's the plan for going to the Slowpoke Forest?"
"If you guys think that you can handle it," Crane said, shrugging both shoulders in passive dismission. "Be my guest. But, if it turns out that you do need help, give me a call."
"Where are you going to be in the meantime?" Xavier wondered, looking over to the red ranger he had worked with on several occasions. "Out of interest."
"Well, I was hoping that I could borrow your white ranger," he said, with what he hoped was a winning grin on his face. "If it's not too much trouble?"
"I can't really give you an order on that one, Paige," Katie quickly said. "But, we can probably take care of this, no problem."
"Then it's settled then," the white ranger replied, smiling over at Crane. "Be good to catch up."
"That was my thinking exactly," he answered, returning the grin at her, a slightly goofy expression slipping across his face in the process.
"That was a bit of a let down," Luke remarked, getting out of the jeep onto the grass at the banks of the Slowpoke Lake in the middle of the forest. "Seriously, why couldn't we just drop in on the Hover Chasers? Driving is for regular people."
"Think of it as practice for when we're not rangers any more," Nahir commented. "Which will inevitably happen one day. How did you get around in that six months between SDI and the start of the Coppinger attack?"
"Chauffeured limo."
"That was a dumb question to ask," Xavier said, shooting a grin towards the back where Luke, Nahir, Ryan and Duo had been all sat. "Really, it was."
"Guess we don't have your foresight," the yellow ranger shot back, rolling her eyes. "So... What's the plan? Search the forest for leads?"
"That might take a while," Ryan muttered. "You want us to leave no leaf unturned?"
"No, but I would appreciate it if you left the joke telling to me," Duo said, quickly. "We have only the vaguest idea what we're looking for. I think the word tree and forest comes to mind."
"I know that it might take a while," Katie said, folding her arms. "But, I anticipated this. Which is why I had Bill check the area out. There's a cabin about ten minutes from here which is more or less abandoned. We can use it as a base of operations and..."
Even as she was finishing speaking, Luke began to climb back into the jeep, an uninterested look on his face.
"What?" he asked, seeing the looks that he was getting. "I didn't sign up for a camping trip."
"You were pretty eager to sign up for the golf," Xavier pointed out. "Think of this as your reward. An all expenses paid trip to the middle of nowhere."
"I'd have just been satisfied with a lie in in the morning," the purple ranger retorted. "So, what sort of state is the cabin in?"
"No idea," Katie replied. "Apart from the fact it has four walls and a roof, we're pretty much clueless."
"This gets better every time we hear it," Duo remarked, dryly. "I just hope that this Spectre is worth it."
At that, the six of them heard a rustle in the bushes behind them. In unison, they spun to see what was causing it, only to realise that nothing was there.
"Ominous..." Nahir said. "You want me to take a run over there and..."
"Not worth it," Ryan commented, quickly. "Probably the wind."
"What wind?" Xavier asked, giving the green ranger a surprised look. "A more gentle day you're not likely to find."
"Guys," Katie said, ignoring the argument. "If we're going to have an argument, might as well do it in the relative comfort of the cabin. Come on, let's make the walk."
"This is probably the most depressing mission we've ever had," Luke grumbled. "Seriously... What was the point of this. Should have just let Crane do it and get back to relative peace."
"So..."
"So indeed," Paige replied, looking across the table. "Back here again."
Having left the Silver Gyarados, the two of them had found their way back to the place serving coffee where they had first heard announcement about the Coppinger Dogbots in the area around Mount Corcus. Before the two of them had been captured, it somehow seemed a lifetime ago.
"I'm interested," Crane said, leaning forward to rest on his hands, his elbows arched on the table. Rather than wear his golden gauntlet as before, he had somehow collapsed it down into a ring, one that was currently around his finger. "How long is it?"
"How long is what?"
"Since we were here? Together."
"Nearly five months," Paige replied, softly speaking the words aloud as she meditated on the answer. "It's been a while."
"If it's been a while for you," he answered, suddenly letting his facade slip away for a moment, before the hardened exterior returned. "It's been a lifetime for me. Really... I went back thinking that you were dead."
"I wasn't dead!" she protested. "I was trapped inside a piece of NeverMeltIce by a Lord of Time possessing delusions of grandeur."
"Interesting take on Clarence," Crane remarked. "It was thanks to him actually that I knew you were alive."
"He told you?"
"As I said before. In a roundabout way."
"Are you trying to avoid the subject?" Paige asked, a little surprised at the evasive action he was taking to avoid speaking about what had happened to him. "Because..."
"Yes, it's not really something that I can tell you," he said, quickly. "Not now anyway. In several years, you will understand. I promise you."
"See, this isn't bad," Katie said, pushing the door to the cabin open to reveal a sparsely furnished room behind it, the only problem being the lack of light within the room. "It could be worse..."
Moving inside, she flicked the light switch to check that it was working, nothing promptly happening. Much to the disgust of Luke.
"Great," he remarked, sarcastically. "Middle of nowhere without light. Bring on the night, where we'll be fumbling our way around the room in the dark. Tell me we brought torches."
"Nah, there's some over there," Ryan pointed out, gesturing to a large cardboard box with the word 'Torches' written on it. "And, surely there has to be a generator somewhere."
"It's probably around the back," Nahir offered. "Maybe we should check it out. See if we can turn it on. It's nearly the end of the day, it's going to get dark soon."
"And if not, you can zap the thing with your Storm Staff," Duo remarked, helpfully. "Huh?"
"Duo, stop being helpful," she groaned, already heading off around the corner to check on the generator situation.
"Maybe I should go with her," Luke offered, breaking away from the rest of the rangers. "There could be... Rapidash. Ponyta. Whatever."
As he vanished, the remaining four rangers all rolled their eyes in resignation, shaking their heads as one.
"I just hope that this Dark Spectre isn't going to be annoying to find," Xavier said, softly. "Hanging around this place for a while is going to send you crazy."
"I'll see you," Katie said, looking down at her cards. With the lights now on, the six of them had decided to search the cabin for anything that could be useful. Apart from some stale water, mouldy bread and the torches, the only other thing of real use had been a deck of playing cards. With the night having fallen, they had decided to take full advantage of the cards and have a game of poker.
"I'm going to say it again," Luke remarked, dropping his cards face down onto the table. "What was the point of this? We got out here barely before dark, there's nothing to do. Might as well have stayed on the Silver Gyarados."
"It's been an interesting few hours for sure," Xavier commented. "It wasn't too long ago that we were in that alley meeting Crane."
"Get back to the Silver Gyarados, come straight back out again," Duo mused. "No rest for the wicked, huh?"
"Lucky that we managed to find that car rental place," Ryan said. "If nothing else, we got here quickly. Remind me why we couldn't use our Hover Chasers again?"
"The forest is too dense to make a safe landing," Nahir replied. "That's why. So... First thing tomorrow, we're going to look for the Dark Spectre right?"
"Well, it's basically shadow, so looking at night is pointless," Xavier remarked. "Unless it's taken on a host body..."
"Don't even joke about that," Duo groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Those things are incredibly tough when that happens. I'd rather not think about it."
"What was that about a Dark Spectre at the golf club?" Katie asked, looking over at the black and purple rangers. "Something that you mentioned earlier."
"It had... Get this, taken over a Coppinger," Luke remarked, grinning at the memory. "As I said at the time, it's ironic."
Falling silent for several moments, the six of them continued to carry on with the poker. All until Xavier tossed his cards down in frustration, annoyed at having gone bust.
"Stupid bloody game," he muttered, pulling his chair back away from the large table. "What was the point?"
"At least you haven't lost money," Nahir said, trying to placate him to no avail. "Because..."
"I'm starting to agree with Luke," the blue ranger muttered, getting up and heading for the door. "This was pointless coming here at this time. I'm going for some air."
"Storming out in a huff?" Duo asked, trying to suppress a snicker. "Huh?"
His only reply was the blue ranger slamming the door shut behind him, the silence hanging eerily in the air after him before Luke spoke up.
"This night just gets better and better."
Taking several deep breathes as he walked towards the edge of the clearing, Xavier found himself feeling slightly better. The confined spaces of the cabin had been starting to get to him, although he wasn't claustrophobic, there was something about it. Something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but it was enough to make him feel uncomfortable.
That was when he heard something. Another rustle in the bushes to his left, the sound enough to grab his attention. Moving over towards it, his attention well and truly grabbed, he began to smell something strange on the wind. It was... He didn't quite know where he had smelt it before at first, before it came to him. Several years ago, he had found himself in a slaughter house completely by accident. It was something like that that assaulted his nostrils right now. Taking another step forward, an almost horrible sense of curiosity overwriting his better judgement. Pushing out into the bushes, out of the clearing, he saw it. Actually, he felt it more first, his boots squelching away onto something that felt like a body part. To be honest, it felt more like a foot of some sort. A clawed foot, something that shouldn't be there.
That was when the moon moved, bathing the area in a slight light. And he saw it it, the entire area below him caked in blood. The red substance was already staining his shoes, the stuff having come from the mangled being in front of him. It could have been an Ursaring once, possibly even more than one. Judging by the blood and body parts, there could have been as many as five there, laid out in the clearing.
"What's going on with this forest?" Xavier wondered in horror, taking a step back from the mutilated Ursaring. "That's seriously messed up."
If there was something in the forest capable of doing that to five angry Ursaring, hanging around in the semi-darkness probably wasn't the best idea.
That was when he heard footsteps. Turning on the spot to face the being causing them...
"Fold," Nahir replied, dropping her cards onto the table. "No further bidding. Heh, this is just like old times. Remember when there were poker nights at SDI..."
Completely interrupting her, a scream rang out from the world outside the cabin. A voice that sounded unflinchingly like Xavier's, the howl of fear enough to bring all five of them up onto their feet.
"What the hell now?" Katie exclaimed, already heading for the door, the others close behind her. "What's he got himself into?"
Racing out into the forest, they found themselves alone in the clearing. As they fanned out to search the area, it was quickly apparent that there was no sign of Xavier.
"Where the bloody hell is he?" Duo shouted, searching around by the generator. "Not here!"
"Oh, for the love of... That's disgusting!"
By the sound of it, Nahir had found the mutilated Ursaring, the shock easily detectable in her voice.
It didn't take long for the five of them to meet up at that point, the carnage the focal point. As Ryan flashed a torch down onto the ground, the beam of light immediately picked up...
"There are foot prints here," the green ranger replied, tracing them with the light from the torch. "About Xavier's size... He was here. In this spot."
"You see any other footprints around?" Luke asked, glancing at the ground, before raising his eyes back up to the sky. "Or just Ursaring entrails?"
"Not a biscuit," Katie said, still examining the sticky wet earth below her feet. "Almost as if it came out of the trees."
"Please, don't even joke about that," Ryan groaned, taking a step back. "If that was a possibility, I'd be terrified."
"Never mind that," Nahir said, looking for all the world like she wished she was elsewhere. "I think we need a plan. We need to find out one way or another what happened to Xavier."
"Maybe we should give Bill a call," Luke suggested. "See if he can narrow it down on what we might be dealing with."
"You really think that's something that he can get for us?" Duo wondered, sarcastically. "We'd probably be better off asking Crane, see if he knows what we might be up against."
"Is it worth reminding the two of you that I make the decisions?" Katie asked, reprimanding both of them. "I'll call Bill and see where we stand here."
"Hmmm, that sounds problematic," the PokéManiac remarked, both he and Lance listening in on what the rangers had to say. "Very problematic. So, you say he had just vanished?"
"Worryingly, yes," Katie answered. "We know it's probably a long shot, but is there anything that you can tell us about this place? Anything at all?"
"Funny actually," Lance commented, shaking his head in bemusement at what was being asked of them. "Because we're currently unable to get anything done on the trophy for the lack of parts, we've just been looking at the Slowpoke Forest and what we can discover about it."
"There is a legend about that forest, you know," Bill added, sagely. "All I'm going to say is that I'm glad I'm not out there."
"Why, what's the bad news?" Duo wondered. "Because, with a comment like that, you just know it's going to be completely terrible."
"You're so negative," Nahir said, rolling her eyes at him. "Would it kill you to be positive for once?"
"About twenty or so years ago," Bill replied, ignoring the two of them to carry on with making his own point. "There was a summer camp in that forest, right next to the Slowpoke Lake. Children of pretty much most ages went there, coming from far and wide... It was a happy place is what I'm saying."
"Sounds lovely," Ryan remarked. "See, no negativity there. Unless you dislike the idea of kids having fun."
"That's not the worrying part of the story," Lance offered, quickly. "Before you get too relaxed. Well, there was a drowning. One of the kids ended up in the lake and... Well, the details are a little unclear, but there was a heavy suggestion that it was done by a mixture of several campers and councillors. As said, the details are a little unclear, everyone seems to follow the same story. Either it's true, or it's complete crap."
"That's the legend?" Luke asked. "That's more of a rumour. A mixed bag of councillors and campers murder a child? It could have been an accident."
"If you'd let us finish," Bill replied, the PokéManiac leaning back in his seat for comfort. "Then we'll finish the story. Several days after the boy drowned, the campsite caught fire. Quite a few people died in the attack, more were injured. Ever since then, there have been rumours, legends, stories that the vengeful figure of the boy who died rose out of the grave and takes his revenge on anyone who enters the forest. The bodies are never found..."
"Wait a second," Ryan interrupted. "If the bodies are never found, how does the tale get told? That just makes no sense."
"Exactly, it doesn't add up," Katie replied. "I think I can say with almost positive belief that we're not dealing with a mass murderer who has issues with people coming into the forest."
Right on cue, the lights in the cabin went out, bathing the five of them in darkness. With the atmosphere as it was, it was all they could do to avoid some sort of audible reaction.
"The generator has just coughed out," Duo said, softly. "It's not been tampered with, it just needs booting up."
"Nice of you to volunteer," Luke quickly pointed out. "It's just round the back."
"You want me to go out into there with a potential mass murderer on the loose?" the black ranger asked, giving him a reproachful look. "Have you never seen horror movies? The guy who wanders out on his own always gets it."
"Yeah, but this isn't a horror movie."
Still groaning, Duo turned tail and began to head for the door, slamming it shut behind him.
"Nice night, huh?"
After the all night coffee place, the two of them had decided to continue their catching up on the Silver Gyarados, rather than in the relative public areas of Verger. Despite her best efforts, Paige's curiosity had failed to be sated, no matter how hard she had tried, Crane wasn't revealing anything about the future he had come from.
When she didn't answer his question, remaining silent, he spoke up again.
"Come on," the former ranger insisted, reaching down to try and take her hand. "If I could tell you it all, I would do. What's with the interest, anyway? Last time I came to this time, you weren't really interested in my former life? What changed now?"
"I'm sorry, Crane," she replied, her expression unclear. "If you don't want to talk about it..."
"Not a question of don't, it's a matter of can't," he insisted, the walls suddenly coming up again. "If I tell you, it's going to ruin the surprise. Just know that if I could, I would. But, it's very important that I keep the secret."
"Fine then," she replied, allowing his hand to creep across hers. "If it's nothing that we need to know, then..."
Erupting out through the night, the two of them heard screams. Screams followed by mechanical roars, sounds that were almost recognisable for the frequency of which that they had been occurring lately
"That sounds familiar," Crane remarked, a sigh of regret in his voice. "Something I haven't heard for a while."
"Dogbots," Paige answered, already moving in the direction of the screams. "You still remember how to fight I take it?"
"You could say that I've had plenty of practice lately."
Five minutes passed. Five soon became ten, ten became fifteen, and neither Duo had returned or the lights had come on.
"Brilliant!" Nahir muttered, flicking one of the torches on. "You think he's coming back? At all?"
"Probably not," Luke replied, sarcastically. "The thing that got Xavier probably got him."
Even as he finished speaking, it took him a few seconds to register all the looks of disbelief that he was getting from the other three rangers.
"What?"
"So, this is the fantastic plan?" Ryan asked, looking down at the torch in his hand, the weak beam flashing out across to the rest of the remaining rangers. "We wander out with torches into the night and try to happen across the thing that did for Xavier and Duo? All in the middle of a huge forest with virtually a million places for the thing to come across us."
"Keep your eyes open?" Luke suggested, shrugging his shoulders in dismissive fashion. "At the sound of any snapping twigs or suspicious noises, run in the opposite direction all while screaming wildly in terror."
"Sometimes, I'm sure you've turned sarcasm into an art form," Nahir commented, shaking her head in amusement. "Let's get this done."
"Are you honestly sure that splitting up is the best thing that we could do?" Ryan asked, as the purple and yellow rangers began to head one way, while he and Katie went the other. His question remained unanswered, Katie instead focusing on what was in front of her.
"This has to be one of the worst missions we've ever done," he muttered, following her. "Seriously..."
"I don't know," the red ranger answered. "It could be worse. A lot worse. I think I had a worse task once..."
"Really, want to share?"
"You wouldn't believe me. I should say that you didn't believe me about my sojourn to the future."
"Ah, that again. That bad was it?"
"See, this hasn't turned out so bad," Nahir said, looking up at the moon high above the two of them, the rays bathing the path in subtle shades of light. "We got a nice walk in the forest in the moonlight..."
"What about that thing that's out there somewhere," Luke retorted. "That's a nice little addition to things, isn't it? Romantic semi date, complete with possible psychopath stalking you through the trees."
"You're considering this a semi date?" she asked. "Seriously?"
"I think it's getting worrying when you can't tell my sarcasm from my seriousness," he replied. "Come on, how long have you known me?"
"Luke, don't turn this into anything else," she insisted. "Since you so eloquently remarked that there was a psychopath in here, for want of a better term, isn't it better to focus on the task at hand?"
That shutting him up, the purple ranger began to increase his walking speed, determined not to get caught up in more idle chatter.
"It is sweet of you to even consider it," she said, across at him. "Guess you're not completely without romantic feelings. Contrary to popular opinion."
"That's not what you said before. At all," he answered, trying his best to look hurt by the insinuation. "I'm really hurt now..."
"Oh, get over it," she said, quickly. "Stop trying to make me feel guilty."
"Is it working?" the purple ranger asked, a manic grin on his face as the two of them found themselves making their way towards a gap in the trees, the outline of the lake up ahead of them.
"Definitely," she groaned, letting her head drop. "Really, it is."
Suppressing a laugh, Luke carried on walking, weaving his way through the trees to get to the edge of the lake.
"There, there," he replied, looking around to her as the two of them reached the water's edge. "The largest lake in Verger. It's a pretty obsolete title, since most of the competition is basically a collection of large puddles."
"I do know that," she replied, quickly. "I did grow up in this region, you know!"
"Yeah, I forgot," the purple ranger answered, both of them looking down at their reflections in the water. "Sorry about that."
"Hey," she said, letting her hand snake across empty space to meet his. "Not a problem. Know you can only cram so much in that tiny little brain of yours."
Before he could admonish her for the comment, Nahir stiffened, her body hardening like a plank of wood. Then he saw it, the reflection in the water of the figure behind them.
Seconds later, he felt himself being scooped up off the ground, a jarring pain shot through his skull before he blacked out...
"Look at that!" Crane yelled, running over to kick a Dogbot into the air with a single blow, the leg of the robot quickly shattering under his strike. "Exactly how I remember them."
Even after reaching through the chest of the Dogbot in front of her to rip several vital cables out of position, Paige turned to see him twist the head off the already damaged Dogbot, a little shocked by the display of strength that he was showing.
"Really?" she asked, before turning incorporeal to resist a physical blow thrown at her face from behind her. "Since when..."
The white ranger spun on the spot, turning to kick the attacking Dogbot in the face, her strike throwing the machine to the ground where it began to crackle in disrepair from the damage.
"... Could you do that?" she finished, watching him down another Dogbot with relatively little trouble. "That's..."
"Long story," he replied, stepping backwards to bring his elbow into the face of another one of the robotic creation. "Short version, I got better, faster, stronger."
Moving through the woods, both Katie and Ryan were still walking in relative silence. Other than a pair of massacred Ponyta, they hadn't really found anything of note.
"Maybe we're going the wrong way," the green ranger muttered. "Maybe whatever the thing is we're hunting is already after Luke and Nahir. Maybe he's following us, maybe he's using the tree's to do it in silence. Maybe..."
"Maybe if I'd been born a guy, I'd have been contributing to the seemingly endless rank of male red rangers!" Katie snapped, angrily rounding on him. "Maybe we're just hallucinating. I don't know."
After that little outburst, she seemed to calm, taking deep breaths, much to the surprise of Ryan.
"Something on your mind?" he asked. "Because... That was a bit harsh."
"Sorry," she apologised, still taking heavy breaths to try and regain some composure. "That was unfair on you. You didn't deserve it, you're only trying to be helpful. Just... Sorry. I'm really worried about the others."
"Duo?"
"All of them," she clarified, quickly making her point. "If they're in danger, it means that I failed as a leader. And..."
"But especially Duo," the green ranger continued, pressing her on the subject. "Right?"
"If there's something that you're trying to say," Katie remarked, giving him an evil eyed expression. "Then just spit it out."
"You know what I'm getting at," he replied, smirking at her. "Anything you want to admit to in the silence of nothing?"
"Nothing that comes to mind," she answered, still giving him a strange look. "But, go on and enlighten me. What do you think is going on?"
"There's that thing between you and Duo," the green ranger replied, smugly. "That thing that you can cut with a knife."
Before she could reply, the two of them heard a scream, the voice sounding eerily familiar. It was almost like it was...
"Xavier?" Katie asked, taking a step forward to try and get a better realisation of where the sound was coming from. "Where's that...?"
Not hesitating, her curiosity got the better of her, the red ranger began to run off the trail into the trees. Much to the shock of Ryan, as he hadn't expected her to do such a moronic thing in the middle of a tense situation.
"Where are you going!" he yelled, making to follow her, desperate to catch up with her. "Katie! This is insane! Come on back here!"
As she leaped over a fallen tree up ahead, he heard a yelp from his friend as she vanished out of sight. Increasing his running speed, he made his way around the fallen trunk of the large tree...
... And discovered that she'd vanished completely from view. The deep footprints where she had landed after hurdling the tree were the only signs that she had ever been there. Taking a deep breath, trying to regain some composure after the vanishing act that she had been subject to, the green ranger began to look around for any sign of a clue.
With nothing instantly leaping out at him, he began to turn to leave. And that was when he heard it. The rustling in the bushes, roughly moving away in the direction of the cabin that the six of them had started off the night in.
"Okay, this is it," he said, to himself, clenching his fist in anger. "I've just about had enough of this. It ends now!"
Making a step towards the cabin, Ryan saw the outline of a figure up ahead. Somehow, the lights had come back on, the rays emerging through the windows enough to make the figure seem even larger. Rushing forward, the full visage of what he had to be hunting came into sight, the smell hitting him sooner. It almost was reminiscent of rotten Magikarp, the scent somehow fitting with the figure. He wore filthy clothes, a brown jacket soaked with mud and rain, a pair of grey pants and a torn sweater. His face couldn't be seen, blocked by a mask similar to that of the Shelder upon the Slowbro's tail, while he had a huge pair of machete's at his waist.
"Guess you're not so secretive after all," he remarked, walking into view. "Where are my friends?"
Instead of responding, he was met with silence, as the being continued to watch him with interest, an almost eerie silence emanating from him.
"Oh, they're alive," the being finally said, folding his arms. "For now."
"Who are you, and what do you want?" the green ranger demanded, reaching down to his morpher. "Other than being a Dark Spectre. That I know."
"Reviver," the Dark Spectre replied, a laugh on his face, the sound coming through the crack in the Shelder mask. "This isn't my time, but I'm enjoying it. Before the Prison Dimension... I was a serial killer. Yes, I was. I was the greatest one that the galaxy ever saw."
"Good for you," Ryan retorted. "Where are my friends?"
"I wasn't just a regular serial killer though," Reviver continued, ignoring him. "I was a serial killer with a difference."
"Your parents must be so proud," the green ranger shot back. "Go on, I'll humour you."
"I travelled around. To places with local legends of those that had died horrible deaths. I took revenge for them. Just as I do here."
"The boy that drowned in the lake?"
"His name was Jason," the Dark Spectre laughed. "And today is his birthday."
Taking a step back, Ryan quickly wondered the best way to fight the thing. It appeared that it had a corporeal form, meaning that summoning the Cress Crystal wasn't an option. If he morphed... Well, he might have to in order to take it on. But, there was one thing left... One thing that he could try and utilise in hope for the best.
"Before you do attack," he said, quickly holding his hands up. "There is one thing that I need to tell you. We're in a forest. Great natural environment."
"What's your point?" Reviver demanded, levelling both machete's at him. "Get to it. Then we can..."
Dropping to his knees, Ryan activated his natural Genesis ability. Although he hadn't gotten much use out of it, he was actually relieved to have it behind him at this moment in time. And, as he slammed his fist into the ground, huge vines erupted out of it to wrap around Reviver's arms, completely snaring him. Twisting his hand, the vines mimicked the action, dragging Reviver down to the ground before hurling him back against a tree.
"Hmmm..." the Dark Spectre muttered, getting to his feet. "That's interesting. Really interesting. What sort of power is that? You got any other tricks up your sleeve?"
"Just one," he shot back, bringing his morpher up, ready to activate. "And, it's a good one. Genesis Overload!"
Morphing into his ranger suit, the green ranger took up a fighting stance, ready to carry on the fight.
Instead of retaliating, Reviver turned to run, much to Ryan's surprise. Of all the things that could have happened, this hadn't been one that he was expecting to happen.
"Hey! Get back here!"
Compared to his previous acts of fleeing the scene of an attack, Ryan thought that something was out of order, it somehow different than before. When he had taken Xavier and Katie, Reviver had managed to get away from the scene impossibly fast. Now that he was chasing him away through the trees, he seemed somehow slower.
All of this went through his head as he ran through the trees, the sight of the Dark Spectre far in the distance. Every time he lost track of the figure ahead of him, he would reappear for a few seconds to allow him to pick up the trail.
The other thing that was sneaking through his head was that this was a trap. That Reviver was luring him into an unholy mess, something that would spell the possible end of the Poké Rangers.
That was when he saw the cave up ahead, the movement of Reviver flitting away into the darkness beyond the entrance.
"Just know that I'm going to regret this," he muttered, charging towards the entrance of the tunnel. "It's not going to end well."
Racing through the darkness, knowing that his enemy could appear out of the black at any point, the green ranger just wanted to keep on moving. Far in the distance, he swore that he could hear voices, sounds that were vaguely familiar...
"Hello!" he shouted, trying to make himself heard across the distance. Even though he had no idea how far they were. And then, he heard the response.
"Ryan!" Xavier yelled, the voice of the blue ranger directing him through the dark of the tunnel. In the distance, he could still see Reviver, the being leading him towards his comrades. "Come on, man!"
"Hurry!" another voice screamed. That one was Nahir, the yellow ranger sounding incredibly worried. "He's back!"
"I know!" the green ranger shouted, bringing out his Genesis Blaster. "Don't worry, I'll give him a kicking."
Carrying on his run, he made his way into the chamber where Reviver had lead him. As he charged in, the immediate sight of the other rangers, secured to the ground with ropes fashioned out of a strange energy caught his vision. Unfortunately, that momentary distraction was enough for Reviver to charge him from behind, the blow taking him by surprise. As the blaster dropped to the floor and skidded away from him, leaving him unarmed. Desperately trying to recover, he was halfway to his feet when Reviver hit him again, the body check hurling him across the room. Jumping up again, he threw a kick at Reviver, the big figure barely staggered by the weakened blow. Not giving up, Ryan attacked again, tackling the masked figure to the ground before punching him in the face. Grunting in pain from the attack, Reviver managed to throw him off him, the green ranger landing on the dirt floor of the cavern from the attack.
"You're no match for the Legend of Slowpoke Forest," the figure taunted. "I'll destroy you slowly. And then your friends. Nobody screws with..."
"There's just one thing," Ryan groaned, climbing to his feet. "You're not the Legend of Slowpoke Forest. You're an irritating pest from the future, and you're not wanted here."
"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Reviver retorted, folding his arms in amusement as his opponent took up a fighting stance. "Burst into tears?"
"This!" the green ranger shot back, holding out his arms. "Toxic Armour!"
At his order, the new armour that Bill had fashioned from the remains of the Cobra Rangers began to cover his body. The silver helmet was combined with the Cobra helmet, giving it a slight Arbok appearance, while the arms became covered in a silver armour, large blades emerging out from the gauntlets while spikes erupted across the knuckles. Finally, more armour appeared upon the legs, while more spikes emerged across the side and tip of the boots.
"Go on, Ryan!" Duo shouted, all five of the trapped rangers struggling to escape from where they were secured with the strange ropes. "Kick his ass!"
Throwing himself across the small chamber, the green ranger hit Reviver with a kick, the poison tipped boots raking across his stomach. Not letting up, Ryan grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and tossed him to the ground, before the blades on his forearms began to glow with a bright purple energy.
"Toxic Slash!" he roared, leaping into attack with a pair of powerful slashes, each threatening to overcome the Dark Spectre. Instead of exploding, he shot backwards as if fired from a cannon, completely exiting the cavern. And, as he left, the ropes securing the five captive rangers vanished from view, allowing them to sit up.
"So, what took you so long?" Duo wondered, getting to his feet. "Stopped for a shower?"
"Might as well have done," he replied. "There's only so much that I can do. I would have been here sooner, but I thought I'd let you guys simmer."
"Not the time, guys," Katie replied. "Think we've still got to take care of a certain little pest."
As the six of them, all morphed into their ranger costumes, ran out of the cave, they were immediately greeted with the sight of the giant Reviver rising above the trees to glare down at them, the anger emanating from every fibre of his being.
"If nothing else," Ryan said, shrugging his shoulders. "I think it's time to crank out the heavy artillery."
"Get back, get even," Katie remarked, folding her arms. "Silent Strike Megazord!"
At the command, they transformed into six balls of coloured energy, energy that quickly raced up to form into the shape of a giant figure. The black and blue balls of energy created by Duo and Xavier moved to form the legs, the red energy formed by Katie was the chest, the green coloured energy that Ryan had become formed the head, while Luke and Nahir's purple and yellow energy became the arms. Solidifying out, the legs became coiled Arboks, the chest became a bright red Arbok's face, the arms became like the upper body of an Arbok, the open jaws becoming hands, while the green energy became a green generic head, with a band covered in six colours across it.
Violently laughing, Reviver began to make his way across towards the Megazord, both machete's up in his hands, ready to be used on his enemies.
"He wastes no time, huh?" Luke asked, one of the huge metal blades coming down into the chest of the Silent Strike Megazord, leaving a huge cut across the surface.
"Think it's time for some retaliation," Duo remarked, hitting a button in front of him. "Acid!"
At once, the giant machine responded to the command, the arms coming up to fire out a blast of corrosive liquid across the Dark Spectre, something that really didn't go down well with the monster, as he began to charge forward to attack again in retaliation.
"Tail Strikes!" Katie yelled, hoping to stop him before the out of control monster got out of hand. Immediately yanking the giant robot into action, the six rangers saw the arms whip out and strike several times against their enemy, the sharp blows leaving massive cuts and wounds in the body that the Dark Spectre had taken.
"This is getting old, real fast," Ryan replied, seeing the foe on the ropes. "Serpent Sabre!"
Not wasting any time, the giant sword appeared in the hands of the Megazord, immediately being brought up to clash with the two machete's that Reviver was trying to attack with. Unleashing all the power that it could, the Silent Strike Megazord managed to force the two weapons away, leaving a clear strike at Reviver.
"You're going to need a Revive when we're done with you," the green ranger quipped. "Toxic Slash!"
At the order, the sword began to glow with a bright purple energy, the blade dripping with pure poison.
"Let's hope that nothing revives him," Nahir said. Seconds before the giant sword came up, sweeping across Reviver several times before downing him. As he exploded into thousands of pieces, the Silent Strike Megazord took a victory stance.
"At least it ended well," Nahir said, closing the door to the outside world behind her, before moving to an empty seat. Along with Bill and Lance, Crane and Paige were already on the bridge, all looking over at the six rangers in anticipation of more of the story. A story that was already set to be told as Katie walked over to put the Cress Crystal back down where it belonged.
"As nights go," Xavier remarked, still a little uncomfortable with what had happened earlier. "It's not been a great one."
"Should have given me a call," Crane commented. "Could have given you some help. Those that take corporeal forms are the best to fight."
"Not really," Luke retorted, leaning back on his stool. "The best ones to fight are those that you can get with the Cress Crystal before too much crazy chaos goes down."
"The spectral form?" Crane asked. "Really? Are you sure about that? That's really the only point when the Cress Crystal works. It's not the most reliable thing out there."
"You're wrong there," Duo said. "When we were at the golf club yesterday, we managed to defeat one of the Dark Spectres with the crystal. And, it was in a host body..."
"What sort of host body?" Crane asked, his interest raised slightly. "One resembling its true form, or one that it was just taking control of?"
At his question, all eyes on the bridge went to both Luke and Duo. And, as it happened, neither of the two rangers had an answer.
"It's all complicated," Crane continued. "When they're in a host body that is close to their original form, they're a lot harder to beat. They can possess sentient beings, but it doesn't make them the strongest they'll ever be."
"Go on then, Crane," Katie said, looking over at him. "Tell us how it comes about that you know so much about these things."
"Yeah, good luck with that," Paige muttered, slightly bitterly. "I've been trying to get the full story all night."
"It's not something that I can reveal," the former red ranger replied, quickly. "It's just... Not. If I do, it compromises everything. Things have to go a certain way, otherwise it's all wrong."
"Come on, man," Duo said, rolling his eyes at his former team mate. "Play the game. Forget what you can't tell us, focus on what you can."
"I came back to this time to ensure that the Dark Spectres ended up back where they belong," Crane answered, before bringing his gauntlet up. "I used this to do it. The Solaris Gauntlet. It's a one way trip, I'm back for the long haul. Back where I was before I came here... It was a calling that was linked with these creatures. When we discovered that the Prison Dimension had been breached, I volunteered to come back here and check on the situation."
"Any particular reason?" Paige asked, unable to resist asking the question, a cheeky smirk flashed across her face as she did so.
"I think we all know why," he said, returning her smirk with a smile.
Author's Notes.
Hmmm...
Sort of a mixed bag. Bit like the series as a whole really. We've got the horror on the one hand, the thing between Crane and Paige on the other.
What is Crane doing his best to keep secret? All will be revealed in time.
Also, new credits. Slightly.
Another Dark Spectre bites the dust.
Anyway, on them, that particular arc will be over after the next two parter. Actually, the next one is entitled Doomsday: Rangers Of Syodia: Part One. Preview below, up at some point.
Not really a whole lot more I can think to say here... Other than I give no prizes for guessing where the inspiration for this chapter came from.
So, thanks for reading.
Don't forget to review! Please. Ryan is replying to this chapter.
Chapter Thirty Nine, Doomsday: Rangers Of Syodia: Part One, preview.
Lance: There's something in the sky.
Duo: You telling me you believe in UFO's?
Crane: It's not so unfeasible.
?: Greetings, Rangers of Earth.
Katie: I'm having flashbacks to last year.
?: We have come to investigate the Dark Spectre outbreak on Earth.
Luke: The cavalry's here? Better late than never.
?: There was the spirit of a Syodian in there. And I think it's found a host.
Coming soon.