Episode 28: Part 1

A spray of tiles and rocks erupted as Desmond Waihee tumbled away from another mighty blow of his opponent. The hulking avatar of Ku, the Hawaiian god of War, lumbered about and slashed at the air with his spear, warding the Red Ranger away from counterattacking.

"Damn!" Desmond growled as he leapt backwards and kept a defensive posture with his spear. While he backpedaled, Desmond could feel the intense heat of the flames that lined the arena floor and trapped him in the ring. Despite his own affinity for the fire element, he was still feeling a little uncomfortable from the stifling air. Across the arena, the volcano goddess Pele stood with an impassive expression, seemingly unaffected by the danger or the heat.

The Red Ranger edged around the periphery of the ring trying to come up with a strategy to fight back. So far, he had succeeded in landing a few blows with his own spear, but none of them seemed to do any significant damage to the avatar. That was probably to be expected though. Ku was a war god, so giving and receiving fierce blows was second nature to him. His current strategy obviously was not working and Desmond's mind worked furiously to come up with another plan.

From the looks of it, there was nothing in the immediate environment that he could use to his advantage, though it was also likely that Pele was challenging him in a different way. Desmond had needed to use Wisdom in the prior trial so it was possible he had to use another virtue now. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell what that was. Right now, he was "fighting for himself" and there were no "others" to help him either.

He stubbornly dug in his heels and took a ready stance as the imposing avatar of Ku trundled forward. Desmond waited patiently while fighting off the growing despair in his heart. Right now, it looked like he had one other option and he had to make it count. The moment that the tiki warrior was upon him, Desmond braced himself as Ku raised his weapon to slam it down on him. Just as the avatar opened his guard, Desmond rolled sideways and thrust his spear up to strike at his enemy's armpit. Unfortunately, the avatar seemed to anticipate the move and brought his other hand around to block Desmond's thrust.

As the Red Ranger's spear glanced off Ku's wrist, the avatar brought its weapon around and slammed it into Desmond, throwing him violently across the floor. Desmond felt his ribs explode in pain as he rolled to a stop along the ground and demorphed from the vicious blow. He had gambled and lost... and now, all he could do was to lie there while his enemy moved to finish him off.

Desmond struggled on the ground and desperately tried to rise, but he had the wind knocked out of him and he was still too stunned to move. Pele continued to watch solemnly while the avatar of Ku loomed over the Red Ranger and readied another searing breath of fire. Fear gripped Desmond as he stumbled backward on the ground, feebly raising his arm to shield himself. He realized the situation had become hopeless but he called out in desperation for the help of his absent friends.

"Cam! Naomi! Anyone... please help!"

To his surprise, the avatar of Ku reared back and the flames from its mouth abated. The tiki warrior lowered its weapon and stood motionless as the flames of the arena died down. From where he lay on the ground, Desmond looked around in confusion and saw Pele approach him with a satisfied nod, "Congratulations Desmond... you've passed your second trial."

The Red Ranger frowned as she helped him rise to his feet, "I don't understand Pele. I lost. Ku had me dead to rights just now."

Pele smiled quietly, "Yes, but this was a battle you were not supposed to win. You recognized that you couldn't do this by yourself and that you needed your friends. You demonstrated your Humility, which is an important virtue for any great warrior chief. They alone cannot win victories without their warriors and neither can you."

Desmond eyed the inert avatar of Ku and nodded. While Desmond had always been more of a team player, this near death experience only helped to reinforce that point to him. With that, Pele handed him his spear and gestured to the passageway leading further, "Come Desmond, your third and final trial awaits."

Desmond took another deep breath and ignited his spear to light the way. He had already come this far and now he was close to achieving his goal. He had come even closer to disaster in this test just now, and he couldn't help but wonder if this last test would be too much. The Red Ranger took another moment to gather his courage and focus on the task at hand. Whatever danger lay ahead, he would have to face it bravely like all the others that came before.


Upon returning their makeshift campsite, the other Ocean Rangers found the elderly groundskeeper Nalo lounging on a large rock, enjoying the sun and listening to the peaceful sounds of the chirping birds in the trees. He was likely taking a break from his duties and he lazily regarded them as they neared.

Alex was the first to push forward and confront the old man. She was still shaken from her own frightening experience earlier and she tried to suppress that fear with aggression instead, "Nalo, wake up. We have some questions for you."

The older man sighed in boredom and remained in his spot. As he slowly turned his head, Alex spoke again, "You've been stuck here long enough so you know these aumakua spirits. Why are they toying with us? What do they want?"

"I told you before, they're trying to punish you for trespassing on their land," Nalo yawned.

David crossed his arms, "Well, if they really want to fight and kill us, what are they waiting for?"

The older man glanced across the grove of tikis and gave a smile, "Perhaps you can ask them. It seems like they've come to finish the job."

The other Rangers all turned and followed Nalo's gaze to where a small group of the cloaked aumakua spirits had gathered. The Rangers watched as one of the spirits stepped forward with a second spirit close behind. The lead spirit gestured toward the Rangers and clenched a fist.

"Interesting..." Nalo mused aloud, "It seems they want to have a duel... probably with your own leader."

The five young people exchanged uneasy glances before the others turned toward the Blue Ranger. Cam tightened his features and stepped forward, "Well... since our Red Ranger is still MIA, I guess this is my fight."

"You can't be serious," Hannah said in concern while trying to stop him.

He shook his head and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "We don't have any other choices Hannah. While we're stuck on this island, we'll have to play by their rules now."

As he stepped past her and walked forward to confront the spirits, he said, "If we're going to duel, I'm going to need a Second to back me up."

Alex stepped up beside him and gave a brave nod, "I've got your back."

Nalo continued to watch in quiet amusement as the Rangers headed across the meadow to square off against the spirits. As Cam called upon his sharkfin saber, he regarded the others grimly, "Keep an eye on the other spirits. If they even make a move, take it to em."

A fearful looking Naomi stepped forward to give him a kiss before stepping back, "Be careful Cam."

He nodded and stepped forward to confront the leader of the spirits with Alex close behind him. The lead spirit waited patiently and extended a hand. In a puff of dark smoke, it summoned a long curved blade and took a ready stance.

The Blue Ranger gripped his own blade and waited for a long moment before he made the first attack. Both fighters locked weapons and the sounds of ringing steel echoed through the forested meadow. The other Rangers watched as the battle of the swordsmen raged back and forth. Neither one was able to land a blow or gain a clear advantage over the other.

As he dodged and parried another strike, Cam growled in frustration as he tried to break his enemy's guard, only to have the spirit warrior parry his attack with the same counter move he had used just moments before. The Blue Ranger feinted again and lowered his guard for a moment to bait his enemy. He saw the warrior shift its stance and open its guard on the opposite end. Cam saw his opportunity and slashed, only for the warrior to counter-slash just in time to block the strike. The blades clashed together in a shower of sparks causing both fighters to stagger back from the recoil.

Alex instinctively moved forward to help her friend and she saw the second warrior spirit move with her just as aggressively. "Oh no you don't."

Cam blinked in surprise as Alex hurried beside him and called her Ocean Dagger. The Pink Ranger locked in battle with the other spirit as it pulled a dark knife weapon of its own. The other Rangers held their breath as the duel suddenly became a two-on-two melee. Just like Cam, Alex found her opponent to be just as quick and agile as she was. She panted and took a defensive stance realizing her enemy was able to block and counter every move she made too.

While she locked in battle again, Cam glanced over to Nalo nearby, then observed Alex's battle for a moment. Of course... it was all beginning to make sense. Every time they made an attack, their opponent would counter and use the exact same moves back on them. It's like they were fighting their own shadows.

He decided to test his theory by stepping back and lowering his guard. To his surprise, his enemy did the same. When Cam raised his blade and made a quick fake-out jab, the warrior did the same. He studied his enemy again and lowered his weapon, "Alex! Fall back. I think we should take a breather."

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Alex grunted as she struggled against her opponent, "They're going to kill us!"

"No," he called back, "They're trying to get us to kill ourselves. Just trust me on this!"

Alex disengaged and stepped back, lowering her weapon. To her shock, her opponent did the same. "What... is going on here?"

"Looks like more illusion magic," Cam answered while casting a level gaze at Nalo. The old man was sitting up with a wide smile on his face.

"Are you guys ok?" Hannah called out to her friends in concern, "Are you hurt?"

Alex shook her head and turned back to the Blue Ranger, "Cam, how are you going to beat your enemy? It knows your every move."

"True," he smiled, "But that thing doesn't know yours. We're going to finish them with a surprise change up, on my signal. Are you ready?"

Alex gripped her dagger and took a deep breath, "Ok... let's do this."

Both Rangers sprung into action and locked weapons with their mirror enemies again. As he swept his foe's blade sideways, Cam turned his stance and shoulder rammed his opponent in Alex's direction, "Alex! Switch it up!"

The Pink Ranger nodded and grabbed her enemy's forearm. Using a swinging dancing move, she pulled her enemy toward Cam and recovered her stance to take on her new foe. Having been caught off balance, the new warrior stumbled as Alex rushed forward and used a flying takedown to surprise her enemy. The warrior fell to the ground and tried to being its sword arm up, but Alex pinned its shoulder with her knee and drove her dagger into its throat.

Meanwhile Cam moved on Alex's original opponent and disarmed it with a well placed sword strike. The spirit's dagger went flying off into the grass as Cam shifted his stance and slashed the warrior across the midsection. As it staggered, the Blue Ranger followed through and brought his blade around for a finishing blow. The saber cleft into the cloaked warrior's shoulder and it's head evaporated in a cloud of smoke, having been effectively decapitated.

The other Rangers gave a loud cheer of joy as Alex and Cam slapped five and put their arms over each other with relieved smiles. Their little victory celebration was interrupted as they heard the sound of clapping hands and turned back to where the old groundskeeper had been sitting. Instead of seeing the old man, the five Rangers were shocked to see a Hawaiian man wearing a deep blue tribal cloak. He was a tall older man, but he still had a powerful build and a muscular physique. His weathered face had lines of wisdom on it and his blue eyes sparkled with pride. This was Nalo's true form, the ancient sea god Kanaloa.

"Well done! Well done all of you," the god laughed as he sat up from the rock and walked over toward them. As he approached, the Rangers heard the sounds of other people applauding them. They turned in surprise and saw the forms of other Hawaiian gods emerge into the meadow: Lono and Laka, Maui, and the god of the winds, Paka'a.

The Blue Ranger lowered his sword and stared with wide eyes as his own patron god walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Kanaloa... it was you all along."

The god of the seas gave a serene smile, "You fought well Cameron Monroe, both in body in mind. I'm impressed and I'm sure Kanohi would be too... of all of you. You Ocean Rangers have proven yourselves truly worthy of our help."

Naomi stepped forward and bowed her head before the elder god, "Uh... great Kanaloa... sir, I think we're all still a little confused. What is going on here? Where is our ship, and where is our friend Desmond?"

Kanaloa looked to the other gods for a moment and gestured for the Rangers to follow him. "Come with us Rangers. You have many questions, and we have much to discuss."