This one took a little longer to upload but I finally made it.
A little warning though, it does switch between POVs often but hopefully it isn't confusing.
Enjoy
Chapter 13: The Switching Hour
"Dr. Yang please report to the fourth floor nurse's station. Dr. Yang please report to the fourth floor nurse's station."
Dark eyes flew open, but almost immediately narrowed before blinking as they adjusted to the bright light. The blank stare of a white ceiling was the first thing that came into focus, followed by pale blue walls as the faint buzzing grew louder, distinctly sounding like muffled voices, footsteps, squeaking wheels and a dinging noise that recurred every few minutes, followed by loud voice of a woman.
Their owner shot up, one hand reaching for the necklace around her neck, the other grasping the railing. Her eyes widened as she looked from left to right as people shuffled around, many of them dressed in pale green scrubs or long white coats. She blinked and patted down the gurney she was sitting in. This was definitely not her friends' basement plaguing her with the question of how she got to the hospital? And what happened to the others?
She scrambled off the gurney and stopped the nearest nurse, ignoring the startled, disapproving look she received as she demanded to know how she got there. The bewildered woman simply pointed to her right, "Believe it or officer, the Flash brought you here."
"The Flash?" she repeated, letting go of the nurse as she stepped back to turn in the direction she pointed, where a man in a bright red suit was talking to a young boy being attended to by a doctor. She whipped her head around when she felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder to find the curly haired woman offering her a sympathetic smile. "You're not going crazy hun, the whole damn city it is. And I thought it was bad when we had those dreadful mutants running around. As the nurse continued talking her eyes took in her surroundings, men, women and children, some wrapped in blankets, some sporting injuries and others just holding on to each other as the doctors and nurses ran to and fro.
"As you can see, we're a little overwhelmed, but you just sit tight, I'll get a doctor to come check you out. Thank goodness Halloween is almost over, hopefully all this madness will go away with it."
Her eyes widened as the nurse's words sank in and she pushed past her, stepping closer to the clock on the wall. The hands ticked away moving faster and faster and her body froze she realised that there was less than an hour to midnight.
"Hey you're awake," a cheerful voice rang in her ears, snapping her out of her trance and bringing her face-to-face with her so called scarlet saviour. "That's good. You were out for ages, I was starting to get worried...," he said, speaking so quickly she barely understood a word.
"Stop," she declared, interrupting his rant. "How did you find me?"
"Oh I didn't, Commander Myers and his friends did. The scary blonde chic asked me to bring you here and stay put while they deal with whatever witchy-vodoo stuff is going on. Speaking of which I'm supposed to tell them you're awake."
But she just pushed past him, her hand clutching her necklace as she made a beeline for the entrance, unapologetically shoving past people and ignoring their outbursts. Her hurried steps slowed to a stop as she stepped outside, her wide and as they gazed upon a towering pillar of light in the distance. Her hand fell to her side, revealing an emerald pendant as she whispered into the night, "I'm too late."
Quantum Defender in hand Eric carefully treaded through the trees with jaw clenched and eyes slowly drifting to his watch before shooting forward as he navigated the uneven trail, a bright light shimmering through the trees showing him the way.
Danny floated behind him with Ashley scanning the woods with a sleek pair of night vision binoculars, stark reminders that in the 20 minutes or so it took them to get there and hike through the woods, the witches had yet to find a way to reverse the spell. Taylor who was bringing up the rear hadn't said a word since they left the costume store. And though they weren't quite in sync at the moment, he knew she was thinking of the same thing he was: What was the endgame of all of this? And were they already too late to save their friends and the rest of Silver Hills?
He held up his fist signalling the others to stop as they neared the clearing. Shuffling over to the line of trees he peered through the branches, immediately spotting two standing apart, facing the pillar. Ashely joined him and crouched down on one knee and held her binoculars to her eyes. "There's another one of the other side of that," she informed them. "And I can't make out what, but something is going on inside that pillar. There are more people in there." She leaned forward and fiddled with the controls but dropped the binoculars with a sigh. "All I can see are burly shapes though."
"It looks like some kind of ritual," Danny offered. "Though there should probably be more chanting. But I guess, whatever they actually wanted to do is happening in there."
Taylor looked down at her hands staring at them as they trembled just a bit before clenching them into fists and closing her eyes. "Then we stop it. I'm all for beating the crap out of them but something tells me that's not going to put an end to it," she stated as she joined them.
"Rituals and witchcraft are more Strange's thing but taking those three out is not going to be a problem," Ashley weighed in as she pocketed her binoculars and pulled out her gun. "Them I can hurt right?"
"Hurt, yes. Let's avoid a bloodbath though," Eric insisted.
"You should have thought of that before asking an assassin to join your little troupe."
"You wanted in."
"Hmm… true. It beats taking all of Bond's money."
"Guys focus," Danny intervened. "Ticking and everything. How do we stop this?" All eyes turned to him and he blinked back at the expectant stares he received. "Why are you looking at me like that?'
"Well Dan... right now you more about this stuff than we do," Taylor pointed out. "What do you think we should do?"
"I don't know," he shot back immediately. "I don't know the first thing about real magic, let alone how to stop a spell in progress…"he trailed off as his watched the pyres burn before them. "The fires!" he exclaimed. "Taking out the fires might help."
"The fires? Are you certain?" Ashley asked as she turned to examine them herself. "There's nothing special about them."
" In the shows Kendall watches they light candles because it's a part of the spell. To purify the area or contain the magic or something like that," the ghost defended. "But on the other hand a circle of fire is sometimes used to contain spirits or demons. I don't really know, it's just stuff I've seen on TV."
"Tonight TVs kinda becoming reality Dan," Eric stated as he snuck a quick look at Taylor before fiddling with the controls on the Quantum Defender.
"We don't know that. What I do know is that there are rules to this kind of thing. If we put out the fires, we could either make things better or worse."
"I say that's a risk we take," Ashely added as she raised her gun. "Either way we will get their attention and if they are really witches and they're not focusing on what they're doing…"
"There's a chance this spell or whatever it is doesn't work," Taylor concluded. "I'm in. It beats waiting for them to finish and letting them control what happens from here on."
"Guess that makes three of us," Eric declared as he shifted his weapon. "I'll take care of the fires, you two keep the witches busy and Danny, see if you can find out what's going on inside that glowing pillar."
"I don't get a say in this, do I?" the ghost groaned.
"Not unless you have a better plan Dan," Taylor offered as she stepped beside Ashely. Eric turned to him and once he received a hesitant nod raised his weapon and took aim. He fired at the pyre closest to them hitting it dead on and quenching the flame with an icy blast.
"Has it always been able to do that?" Danny asked as Taylor and Ashley stepped into the clearing.
"Trip might have made some upgrades," the Quantum Ranger shot back before ducking into the line of trees and firing another shot.
Callista, Callico and Camryn stood back, each with a wicked smile on their face as they watched the magic run its course. The transference ceremony they had chosen was a lengthy one but it was only one that ensured minimal side effects. But it wouldn't be much longer and soon this night would end and the real fun would begin.
The pillar flickered and Callista's eyes widened, she immediately turned around to find one of the pyres frozen in a block of ice. "Sisters, it looks like we have company. Deal with it, we've come too far to let insects interfere now."
The two witches nodded and turned as another shot sprang from the trees quenching another flame. Callico snarled, her fists erupting in flames as two figures stepped out of the tree cover.
"Who do you think they are?" asked Camryn
"It doesn't matter, they will pay for meddling with my flames." Without warning she charged a guttural yell ripping from her throat as she sped forward. The red-head ran forward to meet her, firing some sort of weapon. One of the projectiles whizzed past her ripping the side of her top. She snarled and flung a fireball at her, hitting the weapon and forcing her opponent tot toss it aside.
But as she neared her the woman and drawn two sticks from her back and used them to block her fiery strike and launch one of her own. Callico turned away to avoid it and once again ignited her fists as she leaned forward to strike her opponent's back, but the woman moved swiftly, gracefully turning around and crossing her sticks in front of her to keep her flaming fists at bay.
Camryn watched her sister trade blows with the intruder before turning her eyes to her accomplice. The blonde woman locked eyes with her and flexed her fingers before curling them into fists as she stepped forward. From beyond the trees another shot rang out, extinguish another flame. Her snapped in the direction it came from before turning back to the blonde who was approaching her and the red-head who was locked in a stalemate with with Callico. "There's more of you," she hissed.
"I wouldn't worry about that right now," the blonde stated as stepped into her path. "You're going to have to deal with me first. And I have a few questions."
Camryn's lips curled into a smug smile as she assessed the taller woman. "Is that so?" she teased. "I'll be happy to answer them, but first you have to catch me."
She snapped her fingers and watched with glee as blue eyes widened before moving from left to right searching for something. She hadn't moved an inch but to the woman standing before her she had completely vanished from sight.
"You talk tough," she chuckled as she began walking around her. "But let's see if you can really live up to it."
A punch cut through the air just in front of her and she tilted her head, mildly impressed that she had come so close but before she had the chance to pull back she grabbed her outstretched arm and used it as leverage to aim a kick to her stomach, letting go just as she doubled over. When it didn't appear to have done too much damage, she rushed her, hooking her leg to trip her and send her crashing to the ground.
Her opponent groaned but was already pushing herself back to her feet. Undeterred, Camryn reappeared beside her and brought her heel crashing down on her back before snapping her fingers and vanishing from sight once again.
"C'mon guys, undo this spell already," Danny mumbled as he stared at his hands which were still translucent enough to see the forest floor through them. His head snapped up when he heard a grunt and his eyes widened as he watched Ashely roll on the ground, narrowly missing the stream of fire thrown at her. Not far off Taylor was having wasn't faring much better, from where he stood it looked like she was punching the air, at least until her opponent materialised behind her, tapping her on the shoulder but then vanishing as she turned around. He wanted to help but as he looked down at his hands again there was so little he could do in his current state.
A blast shot out of the trees and doused another pyre drawing his attention back to the situation. Eric was currently running along the border of trees taking out as many flaming pyres as he could without being seen but he would have to leave cover eventually and that's when he would get his chance. Right on cue Eric darted through the trees, firing off a shot as he ran.
Without hesitating Danny launched himself forward, flying past Ashley and Taylor and heading straight for the pillar of light where he stumbled to a stop in front of what looked like an altar. His eyes widened as he realised that the burly shapes Ashley saw were four people kneeling around it, two appeared to be humans but the others looked normal, apart from the fact that they had pumpkins for heads. They were each engulfed in a cocoon of light that was connected to the mirror sitting on top of the stone.
He looked up to meet the emerald eyes of the third witch who was standing just beyond the pillar with her arms outstretched. When she saw him, her lips curled into a smile and she called out telling him he was too late. But even as the words left her mouth the pillar flickered, the light dimming as yet another pyre went out.
"No!" Callista cried as she watched the pillar of light flicker before her eyes. "What are those two doing?" she grumbled as she dropped her hands and stepped around the pillar where she found her sisters engaged with the two intruders. The sharp sound of energy cutting through the air reached her ears and she turned around to find another one pointing a weapon of some kind at the pyres. He fired another shot but she waved her hand, deflecting it so that it hit a tree, turning it into a block of ice.
He hesitated and she curled her fingers, pulling them back towards her, forcing the weapon to fly out of his hands, straight into hers. "What kind of strange magic is this?" she questioned as she twirled it between her fingers.
"Careful that is not a toy," the mortal declared as he stepped forward.
She scoffed and tossed it aside, her lips curling into glee-filled smile as she watched his eyes widen with horror as it followed the trinket to the ground. "Pathetic mortal, you do not tell me what to do. You've caused enough trouble for one night. Allow me to show you what happens when fools meddle with things they don't understand."
She took a step closer and held out her hand, a wicked smile making its way to her lips as she watched him tilt is head back, his mouth opening and closing as his hands clawed at his neck.
Taylor panted as she pushed herself to her feet, the witch's laughter filling her ears as continued to evade her. To her left, Ashley was pinned by her opponent, her baton the only thing keeping her fiery palms away from her face. Across the circle, the third witch had managed to stop Eric and from the looks of was somehow strangling him.
"Darn it" she grumbled as she felt something move past her but as she turned around, she heard giggling behind her. "Okay, that's it. I've had enough of you."
"Aww… that's too bad," the witch teased as she materialised. "The fun's just getting started. You could try a little more though. Though I suppose all the tough talk in the world can't help you fight someone you can't see."
She snapped her fingers and disappeared once again putting Taylor on alert. She stumbled forward when she felt something push her but managed to keep her footing but as she turned around her eyes widen as she sees the grass bend as if a weight was pressed against it. "I might not be able to see you, but I can fight you," she declared as she closed her eyes.
The sound of the wind stirring around them filled her ears, slowly Ashley's gasps and the witch's grunts floated over to her as did Eric's struggle but she forced herself to drown them out focusing only on the wind. She looked up when she heard it, gentle breathing and the slightest shift in the air. Grounding her right foot, she lashed out with her left sweeping it through the air until she hit her target.
The witch materialised as she fell to the ground, rolling over as she hit the ground and gasping for air when she ended up on her back. Taylor took a step forward and looked down at her before her eyes sought out Eric who was still trapped by the witch. She stepped forward, determined to run across the clearing when his opponent waved her hand and tossed him aside, turning around, a ruby amulet glowing around her neck. She turned around and saw the same happen to the witch laying on the ground and the one fighting Ashely.
The moment she noticed the blue glow of her amulet she used all the strength she had to push Ashely aside as she turned around and raised her head to the sky, throwing her arms into the air, unleashing a loud cry. All around them the pyres reignited, melting through the ice and rising into the air like erupting volcanoes.
Taylor was forced to raise her hand to shield her eyes as the pillar grew brighter and brighter until the wind picked up, swirling around them as the pillar unravelled, sending ribbons of light circling around the clearing. Lower and lower they descended forcing her to dive to the ground beside Ashley to avoid being hit.
Callista laughed as the pillar of light began to unravel around them, slowly peeling away as it revealed the altar. She revelled in the feeling of the energy that was being unleashed, her amulet absorbing it as flew over her. She turned to see Camryn rise to her feet and together she and her sisters approached the altar. The warlocks' bodies fell back on the ground in a crumpled heap, the hollows of their eyes a dark void while the two men her sister had lured to their table rose to their feet.
She stepped forward as they came around the altar looked up into their eyes. Gone were the rims of blue and brown, replaced by a menacing yellow, she knew all too well. With a wave of her hand their bonds were undone falling away she took a step back, joining her sisters. "It is done."
Danny froze, his eyes following the men in suits as they rose from beside the altar before falling back to the pumpkin-headed men who now lay on the ground, lifeless. He wasn't sure what he had just seen but as the light around him grew brighter all he heard was muffled screams, followed by the cracking of glass before the light faded entirely.
He stiffened as he watched the witches greet the men and gulped when the blonde one looked passed them, her eyes locking with his as a mischievous smile made its way across her face. With a short bow she broke away from the gathering and took a step towards him before turning her attention to the two fallen, leaning in close and prodding them with her finger.
"They've lost consciousness," she announced, turning back to the others. "Such a shame, I was looking forward to playing with them a little before they went bye-bye for good."
His eyes widened as he forced himself to move, ignoring the two men who had turned to assess him with glowing yellow eyes and flew straight to where Eric was pushing himself to his feet with Taylor and Ashley making their way towards him, eyes fixed on the group of people behind him.
"Are you okay?" Taylor asked as she helped the Quantum Ranger get to his feet.
"I'll live," he grunted, rubbing his neck with one hand. "What the hell happened?"
"Dan did you get a look at what was going on in there?"
"I'm not sure what I saw, but I think the bad guys did a body swap."
"Body swap? All this for a body swap? There has to be more to it."
"Let's just ask them," Eric growled as he started marching towards them only to be stopped by Ashley who held out his Quantum Defender. "You're going to need this."
He thanked her and accepted it before resuming his march with her right behind him. "We're just going to walk up to them and ask them what their plan is? No plan?" Danny whispered to his teammate as they followed the others.
Her eyes swept over her watch before rising up to look ahead. "At this point that's all we have. But villains do love their monologues, so hopefully one of these morons will spill something that can help us turn the tables on them, before we run out of time."
The witches and their associates turned around as the four of them approached the altar, Eric and Ashley's hands clasped around their weapons. The red-headed witch sported a victorious smirk as she folded her arms and met Eric's glare with one of her own. But she was not the first to speak. "And what do we have here?" the blond man inquired as he pushed past her to take the lead.
"Interlopers," the fire wielding witch scoffed. "They tried to interfere with the ceremony."
"Yet one of them is a spirit," the dark-haired man added, a curious smile adorning his features as he stepped beside the red-haired witch. "A victim of your spell, perphaps. Most interesting.
Tell me what business do you have here? Why would you want to meddle with things beyond your understanding?"
"The only one aswering questions here is you. And you can start by telling us who the hell you are? And why you're doing all this?" Eric demanded, tightening his grip around his weapon.
A scathing look crossed the blond man's face as he opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder as the dark-haired man stepped forward. "Ahh… you are protectors of this realm, I presume. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Kayn and this is my brother Kazak. We are simply here to take back what is rightfully ours and your efforts to interfere with that, no matter how valiant are futile."
"We'll see about that," Eric growled as he raised his Quantum Defender.
Kazak laughed as he joined his brother. "Careful boy, you damage these mortal shells and we will return to our original forms. But these poor souls who so generously loaned us their bodies will have nowhere to go."
Dark eyes hardened as Eric lowered his weapon while Ashely demanded to know what they wanted. "What every immortal being who had been unjustly locked away for millenia wants. Freedom, power and most of all revenge."
"And thanks to our lovely friends here," Kayn added, gesturing to the three witches, "As Hallow's Eve fall, so we shall rise and have it all."
"Revenge?" Danny echoed. "What does that have to do with our world?"
"Nothing," Kayn replied. "This world, so often mocked by our kind and squandered by its own inhabitants has much potential. It is the perfect place to begin our new reign."
"So you're going to let thousands of people suffer for some twisted revenge scheme?" Taylor voiced.
Kazak's eyes widened as he stepped forward, the smile wiped from his face as his lips pressed together."What is a few mortal lives to a world free from the control of those vile arbiters who saw fit to rob us of our power, our standing and left us to rot in that abhorrent place," he seethed.
Kayn held out his hand and he stopped, pulling back to stand at full height as he looked down at them once more. "You must forgive my brother, the last few millennia have been trying," he said calmly, fixing them a cold yellow stare. "I must confess that we have no love for mortals but our battle is with those who imprisoned us, not with them. Stand aside now and those that are left behind will not be allowed to waste away. When our army gathers there will be much use for them."
"You're insane," Ashley yelled. "Whoever put you away had good reason. Go back to wherever it is you crawled out of. This world will never be yours."
"Not without a fight," Taylor added.
"You insolent fools," Kazak growled but Kayn once again stopped him.
"If it is a fight they want, then who are we to deny them brother?"
"Why should we waste our time with these pitiful creatures? We have more important things to prepare for."
Kayn walked in front of him, his eyes assessing each of the four rangers standing before him, lips curling into a smug smile before turning back to his brother as he flexed his fingers. "Our true power will not return until the veil descends, until then we can do nothing. So why not use the time to see what these mortal shells can do and amuse ourselves a little, it has been so long.
He turned around to face the rangers and held out his hands, the witches stepping forward to join him as he locked glares with Eric. "Do what you must protectors. The hour of reckoning is upon us and it is we who shall reign supreme, this time it is we who shall be judge, jury and executioner."
That's it for now. Please do review and share your thoughts.
Till next time...