Chapter 14: Stand Together
New Harmony Business District…
Jessica Fox…
I knew the second I beamed to the city that I was basically on a suicide mission, Spyro was right that my electric powers made me best suited for crowd control. But I wasn't stupid, I knew I was the weakest fighter of the group. I was a musician, not an athlete like Dean, or a martial artist like Dylan or Kevin. I was weak… my ranger powers were the only reason I could even defend myself against Malefor's minions.
But yet, here I stood. Bow in hand, watching as The Sorceress and her Grublin army marched towards me. My heart was beating hard in my chest with a mix of anxiety and anticipation. I could only hope that I'm able to stall The Sorceress long enough for Dean and Kevin to finish their mission. I had to be strong… just for a little while.
The Sorceress noticed me in no time, approaching with a smug grin stretched across her face. "Only one of you? How disappointing," she laughed.
I had to put on a brave face, I couldn't let her know how frightened I truly was. "More than enough to handle you, Sorceress," I lied. I knew I couldn't take her, not by myself. My only solace was that I didn't have to win, I just had to survive long enough for Kevin and Dean to return.
The Sorceress wasn't fooled, "Cute, but I think we're forgetting how things went the last time we met little Power Ranger," she mused. "Honestly, I was kind of hoping for the red one, he and I have a score to settle," she snarled.
I readied my bow, "I'll tell him you said "hi"," I said.
The Sorceress chuckled, "It's cute you think you'll get the chance," she said before turning to the Grublins. "Kill her!" she ordered them before they all charged at me.
I pulled back on the string of my bow, an electric arrow forming in place. Wordlessly, I released the string and shot the bolt of lightning right at the horde. A large chunk of the Grublins were instantly downed by the electric attack, but far more just stepped over their former comrades bodies and continued their approach.
I was forced to resort to melee attacks. Punching, kicking, and using the blades on my bow as slashing weapons. But it was becoming abundantly clear that the numbers game was going to catch up with me a lot sooner than expected. "Foolish girl! Did you really think you of all rangers would be able to stand against me by yourself?" laughed The Sorceress.
Not exactly, but I was hoping I'd be able to stall her for a lot longer than this! The crowd was getting really hard to hold back. The Grublins began to land more and more shots, slowly but surely chipping away at my resolve. But I can't die now! Not like this!
I swung my bow around my head, enhancing the attack with some elemental magic seemed to thin the herd rather nicely.
The Sorceress was, of course, not impressed. "Well at least you still have some fight in you," she said before out of nowhere she shot me right in the center mass with a magic blast! The impact sent me flying in an explosion of sparks before I finally landed painfully on the cold hard concrete. "Let's fix that, shall we?" taunted The Sorceress.
Crap! She caught me completely off guard! I'm so stupid, I should have known she'd try something like that! The Sorceress slowly sauntered towards me with a sadistic grin stretched across her face. "You may not be the ranger I was hoping to kill today, but I'm anything if not… adaptable," she said before pointing her staff right at me.
Suffice to say, things were looking quite grim. What I wouldn't give for some backup right now...
Meanwhile...
Dragon Temple Infirmary…
Dylan Foutler…
My eyes slowly began to open… my body felt like it had gone ten rounds with a wrecking ball. I could tell I was in the Dragon Temple, I'd know those musty old stone bricks anywhere. I tried to get up, but was met with a metric ton of horribly screaming agony which forced me back onto the cot I had awoken on.
I remembered the fight with The Sorceress, how badly it went… how close I came to dying. The fact I was even still alive was a minor miracle. I'd hate to think what would have happened had I actually died back there… leaving the rangers without a leader… leaving my mom alone… the very notion sent a slight chill down my spine.
I decided to try getting up again, my attempt far less painful than the last one. I guess last time I was just dealing with the consequences of lying still in a bed for god knows how long. But that didn't mean it was a painless experience. I just wasn't overwhelmed by pain from every inch of my body was all.
"You shouldn't be standing Dylan, your body is not only injured, but drained from that Dragon Fury you used," lectured the voice of Ignitus. I just shook my head and kept going, I wasn't one for laying around and taking it easy. "Do not confuse stubbornness with courage, young ranger," scolded Ignitus, "You need more rest," he said.
"I'll rest when I'm dead," I said through gritted teeth as I continued down the halls of the temple. There wasn't much the old Fire Guardian could really do, he was just a voice in my head after all. "You'd be surprised by what I'm capable of Dylan," Warned Ignitus. "It is only out of respect for your free will that I resist the urge to force you back into bed," he said.
Hi, that's not creepy. Whatever, I had more important things to worry about than my mental roommate right now. Like where the hell the rest of my team was! I had expected at least one of them to be there when I woke up, but so far I haven't seen even a single sign of life in this place since I woke up.
Well… that wouldn't last long…
"Dylan! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
I had no clue where the hell Spyro even came from, but the second those words left his lips I suddenly felt his maw snare the back of my shirt. "Jou're in no condishin to be wanderin' aroun'!" Spyro lectured me, the effectiveness of which was completely undone by his speech being garbled due to the fact he had to keep his jaws locked onto the collar of my shirt.
Spyro then proceeded to drag me back to the infirmary, proving to be far stronger than I was as my attempts to even so much as slow Spyro were completely in vain. Spyro tossed me onto the cot, the bed making a rather alarming squeaking sound as my tush landed on it. "I'm fine!" I protested.
Spyro just glared at me before poking me in the rib with one of his claws. I tried my hardest to keep myself from yelping in pain but just couldn't hold it in. "Yeah, you sound fine," Spyro said sarcastically. "Look, I already have enough to worry about as it is, I don't need to worry about you re-injuring yourself on top of it," he lectured me.
Spyro then stopped himself, taking a deep breath and calming himself down before continuing. "I'm glad you're okay… I must admit, you had me worried for a moment there," he said.
I sighed, "Where is everyone?" I asked.
The look on Spyro's face was… odd. He looked like I had just stumbled upon a dirty little secret he really didn't want to share. This uncomfortable, nervous look. "Spyro… what's going on?" I asked.
Spyro spent an awkward amount of time just nervously darting his eyes around the room, looking for any excuse he could not to answer my question. But he couldn't seem to find one, so with a defeated sigh, he spilled the beans. "We may have found a way to defeat The Sorceress, a rare plant known as Magesbane… problem is it only grows in the Tall Plains… which is in the Dragon Realms..." he began to explain. "So I sent Dean and Kevin to retrieve it," he added.
Okay, that only accounted for three out of four of us. "And Jess?" I asked.
Spyro was really reluctant to answer that one… but he knew I wasn't going to be satisfied unless he answered my question. "Jess stayed behind in case Malefor tried to take the opening… and… well… he did," Spyro admitted. "The Sorceress is currently leading an army through New Harmony's business district," he said.
Wait… he sent Jess of all people to take on The Sorceress and Malefor's Grublin army by herself?! Is he out of his mind?! Almost out of instinct I stood up, ready to storm out of the temple and come to the yellow ranger's aid.
But the second I did, Spyro's uneasy expression turned aggressive in an instant. "NO!" he practically roared before forcing me back down. "You are in no condition to fight! You're staying here and resting!" he ordered me.
Like hell I am! I may be hurt but I can still fight! "I'm not sitting here while Jess gets killed!" I objected. Spyro definitely didn't look like he was going to back down. The very uncomfortable prospect that I might actually have to fight him was becoming a little too real for my liking. I took my morphing gem out of my pocket.
Spyro saw this instantly, "Dylan… do not do this," he growled, "I'm warning you, I will fight you if I have to, and you won't win," he warned me.
Sorry Spyro, but I'm not leaving Jess to fend for herself. "Dragon's Roar! RANGER FORM! FIRE!" I called as I slotted the gem into the morpher and soon enough I was the Red Ranger again. "I'm sorry Spyro, but I'm not leaving Jess to fight that army alone!" I said before leaping over his head, landing softly on the ground behind him.
"Don't be an idiot Dylan! You're mana hasn't recharged yet! I'm not going to sit and watch you get killed because you're too stubborn to know your own limits!" Spyro growled.
I tried to teleport out, but for some reason it wasn't working. "Don't bother, I'm blocking your teleportation," Spyro said. Seriously?! "Don't be stupid Dylan, de-morph and let your body heal!" he pleaded with me.
"Come on Spyro, you know Jess doesn't stand a chance out there by herself!" I said, hoping I could at least reason with him. "Let me help her!" I said.
However, I began to notice something… odd… happening to Spyro. At first I thought it was just a trick of the light, but it was becoming quite clear his scales were darkening. "NO! I won't let this happen! Not again!" he yelled. The room began to rumble and shake as Spyro's scales became jet black, his eyes losing their pupils, becoming pure white. "NEVER AGAIN!" he screamed, his voice becoming distorted.
Oh god… what have I done? I had no clue what the hell this even was. Some kind of evil demon mode? Was this a purple dragon thing I didn't know about? "Spyro… dude… calm down..." I said, slowly backing up from the clearly raging dragon.
However, the second I even came close to the doorway, a giant rock wall immediately rose in my path. "I have no intention of "calming down"!" Spyro growled, "You almost died Dylan! Do you have any idea what that was like for me?! Watching another friend knock on death's door? I've buried so many of my friends over the years… so many good people… but you don't care about that do you?! Who cares how I feel! What you almost dying did to me!" Spyro began to rant as the room began to shake more and more as his anger continued to build.
However, suddenly Spyro just… stopped. "No… no I can't… I can't let it control me again..." he said more to himself than me. His scales quickly returned to their usual purple color. "I'm… I'm sorry Dylan… I'm sorry you had to see that side of me," he apologized, his eyes having also returned to normal.
"What was that?!" I asked. It was a fair question, I didn't exactly expect my dragon mentor to turn into a rage demon before my very eyes!
"My brother Sparx always used to call it "Dark Spyro"," Spyro told me, "Do you remember the story I told you after you got defeated by Drillface? About the Well of Souls and me giving into anger? That's... what I was talking about," he confessed. God... don't remind of me of Drillface, those puns still haunt me. "Sometimes… when I'm under heavy emotional turmoil… I shift into a darker version of myself… I've been trying my best to keep it under control but..." he said, trailing off.
This was something that would have been nice to know about beforehand. That Spyro was basically The Hulk and became a rage monster when he got mad enough. But I'd worry about this later, I had a significantly more important problem to deal with and now that Spyro's calmed down, maybe he'll finally listen to reason?
It was worth a shot. "Spyro, I know you're just trying to protect me, and I appreciate that," I began. "But you and I both know Jess can't handle an entire army and The Sorceress by herself," I explained.
Spyro shook his head, "Dylan please, don't," he said.
"Spyro please… I know you just want to protect us, but you're not the only one who doesn't want to see a ranger die," I said. "Please… let me help my friend," I pleaded with him.
Spyro weighed his options, I could tell just by the look on his face, how much he really wanted to say no. But he knew it was pointless, so with a defeated sigh, "Fine… just, promise me you'll make it back," he said.
I nodded, "I will," I said before finally being allowed to teleport out.
Meanwhile…
Tall Plains…
Kevin Naton…
Kala had been leading us through the Tall Plains for what felt like an eternity. Not helped by the fact that everything here seemed to look exactly the same. Granted, the large wheat fields had quickly found themselves replaced by grassy hills. But it didn't take long for those to become boring and samey. "How much farther?" I asked.
Kala just rolled her eyes before turning to Dean, "Does the blue one ever stop whining?" she asked him. You do know I can hear you right?
Dean shook his head, "No, not really," he replied.
God did I want to sock Dean right in his stupid face right now! Why couldn't he be the one Spyro kept behind? At least Jess doesn't judge me or take cheap pot shots at my ego! "Maybe I just wanna get this over with? We do have a ticking clock ya know!" I said.
However, the two just ignored me as Kala finally came to a stop in front of some kind of stone door. "We keep our Magesbane crops in here, you won't believe how many people come here looking for this stuff," she said.
Dean looked over the door, "Cool, how do we get it open?" he asked.
"You don't,"
Crap! I knew this was too easy! I knew that voice belonged to Scorn, trust me… I've heard him ramble about how great a warrior he is enough to have it practically burned into my brain. Sure enough, the wolf mage was standing not too far behind us. "I should thank you for leading me to the Atlawa's Magesbane harvest, I'll be sure to burn it to cinders after I destroy you," he said before brandishing his sword.
Dean summoned his ax, "Looks like we're gonna have to fight," he said.
I summoned my lance, "Oh really? Are you sure we can't just ask him nicely to leave us alone?" I said sarcastically.
Dean turned to me, "Seriously? Are we seriously doing this right now?" he asked me.
"Hey! You and llama girl over there have been taking pot shots at me the whole way here! I'm owed a few zingers!" I snapped back.
Dean stormed up to me, "You are such a child! We're only "taking pot shots" at you because you wouldn't stop whining the whole way up here!" he scolded me.
Scorn…
This was not what I was expecting to happen when I came here. All I could do was stand there awkwardly as the two Power Rangers bickered like pups. Granted, I wasn't looking to win this fight, I needed them to get the Magesbane and defeat The Sorceress. But that couldn't happen if these two were more interested in fighting each other than me! "Hey!… Rangers! HEY!" I barked, but they didn't seem to hear me over their incessant arguing.
"You're always judging me dude!" complained the Blue Ranger, "What am I supposed to do? Sit there and take it?!" he asked.
"Dude when have I ever judged you?" cried the Green Ranger.
"How about right now for instance?!" Blue Ranger fired back.
Even the Atlawa girl didn't know what to make of this, just sitting there with her staff in hand, watching in disbelief as the two Power Rangers continued to tear into each other.
Dammit all! They're ruining everything! The one time I want the Power Rangers to defeat me and they instead continue to argue and argue! I couldn't resist sounding with a very loud growl of annoyance before my patience finally reached its breaking point! "WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP AND FIGHT ME ALREADY?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing throughout the plains.
The two rangers were startled by my sudden outburst. But I wasn't done, "Honestly! You two are acting like puppies! Barking at each other over trivial nonsense while Malefor has The Sorceress destroying your precious city!" I lectured them. I cannot believe I of all people had to set these two morons straight! I'm they're sworn enemy! But yet, here I am! Playing parent with two of my most hated foes just to make sure my plan doesn't go up in flames! Unbelievable!
The two rangers seemed shocked, "Wait… The Sorceress is attacking the city?" questioned the green one.
"Did you really think Malefor wouldn't notice you two leaving for the Tall Plains?" I asked dryly. How the hell have these fools beaten me so many times? These morons were too stupid to breathe! Let alone save their worthless world! I didn't think I could hate the Power Rangers anymore than I already did, but here we are!
The two dolts looked to each other, as if trying to combine their single brain cell to realize the glaringly obvious ticking clock I just informed them of… ugh… Lord Malefor, give me strength…
Kevin Naton…
I already knew we had a time limit looming over us, but now that we knew Malefor was having the city attacked right now just made things so much worse! Jess was probably out there right now getting the stuffing beaten out of her, wondering why we weren't back yet.
But even worse than that was the fact that Scorn of all people was scolding Dean and I for bickering like an old married couple, and he was right! God… Dean's right, I really am a jerk! Jess was out there right now, possibly knocking on death's door and here I am wasting precious time defending my delicate ego! You know when the villain is pointing out how much of a colossal tool you're being, you've really messed up.
"Dean, he's right, we need to set this… thing between us aside and take him down before it's too late," I said.
It was hard to tell from under his helmet, but it was clear Dean wasn't exactly feeling very virtuous right now either. "Yeah… we should be fighting the bad guy, not each other," he said before offering his fist for a fist bump, "Truce?" he asked.
"Truce," I said as I bumped his fist.
We both turned to Scorn, "Alright dog boy, time to send you back to the pound!" I said.
Oddly, Scorn almost seemed… relieved by that. As if he wanted us to get our acts together… why he would want that when he could have just offed us while we were arguing I'd never know. Villains are weird like that I guess. "Come then! Lets dance!" Scorn challenged us.
The three of us clashed, however things just kept getting weirder. I don't want to start assuming things… but it kinda felt like Scorn's heart wasn't in this fight as he was making obvious mistakes. Letting hits land that he really shouldn't. Maybe we just caught him on a bad day?
I managed to score a mean slash right across Scorn's chest, sparks flew as he flopped harder than a soccer player trying to get a red card! I give him a nine for perfect form though. "Argh! You have bested me Power Rangers!" he said.
Dean and I were both completely lost… Scorn was usually pretty tough. But here? One dinky slash across the chest and he's already crying for mommy? "But mark my words! I will be back!" he proclaimed before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
All three of us just stood there, not sure what the hell just happened here. "Is he usually that easy to beat?" Kala asked us.
"No… no he is not," I replied.
I know we should probably be questioning this more, but this was kind of a blessing in disguise considering the very tight time limit we currently had. Kala headed back to the stone door, she knocked her staff against four specific points of the door before it suddenly flew open, revealing several purple flowers sitting in pots. Kala took one and placed it in Dean's hands. "Here, one Magesbane flower," she said.
Dean nodded, "Thanks for helping us," he said.
Kala just waved it off, "Just make sure you guys stop Malefor and we'll call it even," she said.
With that, Dean and I said our goodbyes before teleporting out, hopefully we weren't too late.
Meanwhile…
Back in New Harmony…
Jessica Fox…
The Sorceress was getting way closer with that staff than I liked, but I was still too rocked by that magic attack she hit me with to do little more than just lay there and gawk at her like a dead fish. "Now little ranger… it's time to die," she said as she raised her staff high above her head, ready to deliver the final blow. I braced for the impact, but it never came.
"Elemental Power! BLAZING SLASH!"
Suddenly a wave of fire came from out of nowhere, startling The Sorceress and forcing her to jump to safety at the last minute. The Grublins that were with her at the time weren't so lucky and were incinerated by the blaze.
A pair of white boots landed right in front of my view, "Is this a private dance or can anyone join in?" joked the voice of my apparent savior. I knew the voice well, it was Dylan, swooping in for the last minute save. How he was in any condition to fight I'd never know, but considering he just saved my life I wasn't about to complain.
The Sorceress was at first furious, but her grin returned when she saw who it was that just arrived on the scene. "Ah… Red Ranger… I was hoping I'd run into you… we have unfinished business," she said.
Dylan turned to me and offered his hand, "Trying to take on The Sorceress and a Grublin army by yourself? Man Jess… you're even braver than I am," he said with a slight chuckle. I took his hand and he helped me back to my feet. "Figured you could use a hand," he said in a much more serious tone.
I nodded, "Yeah… thanks," I said. I suddenly found myself staring at Dylan a lot longer than intended. I don't know what came over me, maybe it was the fact he just saved my life, or how the light really brought out the brilliance of the red in his suit. He just looked so… "dashing" for lack of a better term. I then remembered the situation we were currently in and shook it off. "We still need to buy Dean and Kevin more time to get the Magesbane," I told him as I took a fighting stance.
Dylan nodded, "I'm sure I'll find out what "Magesbane" is later, but if it can help us stop The Sorceress, I'll buy us all the time in the world," he said.
However, we should have been paying more attention to The Sorceress, as she took advantage of the momentary distraction and fired a magic blast which sent the two of us flying back. "I don't know what it was you two were scheming, but it won't work!" she snarled. "I took on all four of you without even breaking a sweat! Imagine what I can do against just two of you!" she said.
Dylan seemed to be struggling to get up, I could hear him winching in pain from underneath his helmet. It was clear he was still hurt from his last fight with The Sorceress. But it was also clear he wasn't about to let that stop him from helping me either as he forced himself back to his feet. "That all you got you withered old prune?" Dylan challenged her.
The Sorceress said nothing, simply charging at us as she brandished her staff like a club. For how old and uh… "robust" she was, she was surprisingly efficient with her staff. She blocked and countered our attacks with ease, even managing to clock me right on the head with it at one point. Thank god these suits come with helmets.
"Do you two really think you can win this fight?" asked The Sorceress, "You can't even hope to hurt me! All you can hope to do is delay the inevitable!" she said before blasting us both back with another spell. "Enough games, time to end you," she said but once again found herself cut off by a sudden volley of ice shards.
"Someone's getting ended today, but it's not them,"
Suddenly Dean and Kevin landed in front of us, Dean holding some kind of potted plant in his hands. Dean turned to us, "Sorry we're late guys, ran into a little trouble along the way," he said.
They quickly got back to her feet, "I was wondering where you two were," she snarled, "Now I can kill you all at once and be done with it!" she said.
"We'll see about that!" said Dean before tossing the potted plant in the air, "Jess! Catch!" he said.
I leaped high into the air, catching the plant with one hand before landing softly onto the ground. This had to be the Magesbane! I ripped the flower from the pot and pulled back on the string of my bow, allowing the arrow to engulf the plant. "Hey Sorceress!" I called, getting the old hag's attention, "Time to take your medicine!" I said before firing the arrow.
The bolt hit her right between the eyes as the magic from the plant mixed with the arrow, causing a large and purple explosion that sent her sailing through the air.
Some bellowed from her body as shock washed over her face when she saw her staff, now disenchanted, shattered upon impact with the pavement. "Wh- What is this?!" she questioned before she finally pieced it together, "Magesbane! That's where you two went to the Tall Plains!" she said.
Kevin crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side, "Figured that out all on your own huh? You get a gold star!" he mocked her.
Dylan stepped to the front of the group, "Alright rangers, time to finish this old bag off! Form the Ultimate Dragon Roar Cannon!" he called.
"Ax of Earth!"
"Lance of Ice!"
"Bow of Lightning!"
"Sword of Flame!"
With Dylan's sword attached to the others, the final piece of the Ultimate Dragon's Roar Cannon was formed. We all lined up, ready to blast The Sorceress to smithereens.
"Ultimate Dragon Roar Cannon! READY!"
The Sorceress fumbled to her feet, but her eyes soon became wide as dinner plates when she saw our cannon pointed right at her. "No! Not like this!" she cried but it was too late…
"FIRE!"
The blast hit her at full force, she cried out in agony as the power of all four dragon elements tore through her. When it finally stopped, The Sorceress was a burnt and bloody mess, but somehow she managed to survive. It was only when I saw something vanish in a green mist did I realize she had tried to use a magic shield to protect herself, but her greatly diminished magical power had only allowed it to be strong enough to prevent her from dying.
But she was clearly in no condition to fight, and you know what, maybe this is for the better? It's one thing to kill a monster that was never really alive to begin with, but The Sorceress wasn't just a monster, she was a living creature… I don't know how I'd feel about killing her. "This… isn't… over… Power...Rangers," she said weakly before vanishing in a magic fog.
Everyone began to cheer as the realization that we had finally beaten The Sorceress registered to us. Finally… it was over… we not only survived… we won!
Meanwhile…
Mountain of Malefor…
Scorn…
I returned to the main chambers of the mountain only to find The Sorceress limping along the halls, I couldn't fight back a satisfied smirk as I realized my plan had worked to perfection. I never thought I'd ever be happy the Power Rangers won… but today… I was ecstatic.
Malefor came into the room, looking upon the battered and beaten Sorceress with an unimpressed expression. "So… failed again I see," he said.
"Not… my… fault..." The Sorceress stuttered. Oh, how satisfying it was to see this old crone as broken and defeated as this. I would savor this memory for the rest of my days. "How… did they… find out… about Magesbane?" she said more to herself than Malefor.
However, "I guess that's going to forever remain a mystery, isn't it?" Malefor said before grabbing The Sorceress by the throat.
"Wh-What are you doing?!" She questioned. A question I myself would like to know the answer to… although unlike her, I think I really did like where this was going.
"You thought yourself my superior… that you could come in here and show me how to deal with the Power Rangers… but instead they leave you like they have so many of my monsters… broken and useless," he growled before motioning for someone to give him something.
Rikor soon came from another hallway, holding some kind of crystal. He handed it to Malefor who grew a sinister grin as he brought it into The Sorceress' view. "Suffice to say, I have lost my patience with you Sorceress," he said before the crystal and The Sorceress both began to glow with purple energy.
The Sorceress and I both realized what was happening, he was sealing her in the crystal! I couldn't stop myself from laughing as the crystal sucked in my former mentor. The Sorceress saw this and finally pieced it together. "YOU! You did this! You told them about the Magesbane!" she accused me, but the second that accusation left her lips she was finally imprisoned.
Malefor then slowly turned to me, his glare made me remember… she just accused me of betraying her… betraying Malefor! "M… My lord… I… I can explain!" I tried to explain but kept tripping over my own words.
"Explain what? That you and Rikor went behind my back and gave the Power Rangers the keys to defeating your former mentor?" inquired Malefor. Oh no… he did know! He probably knew all along! However… a smile suddenly crept up his maw. "Good job Scorn," he said.
Now I was confused, "Wh-what? B-But my lord… I… I worked against you! I-I don't understand!" I said, completely lost.
"I knew about you and Rikor's little plan the second you sent them that message, I've become very keen at sensing magical energy," Malefor explained. "But I allowed it for one simple reason… the Power Rangers are mine to destroy… I wasn't about to allow some withered old crone take my chance at revenge against that infernal purple dragon Spyro away from me…" he revealed.
"So… so you knew," I said, "But you allowed it to happen anyway?" I added.
Malefor nodded, "I wanted The Sorceress humbled, and that is what I got," he smirked. But his expression quickly grew more serious, "But be forewarned, Scorn… if you ever try to go against me again… you'll wish I only trapped you in a crystal," he warned me before leaving me alone in the chamber…
Meanwhile…
Hallways of New Harmony High School…
Kevin Naton…
Going back to school after everything that had happened to day, trying to act like nothing happened, it was really weird. I'm just glad the old bathroom excuse still works…
I was cleaning out my locker and getting ready to head home when Dean suddenly leaned on the locker next to me. "Hey… Kev… can we talk?" he asked.
I sighed, I kinda had things I wanted to talk to him about too, but I really didn't want to bring them up in front of Dylan and Jess. "Yeah, I kinda wanna talk to you too," I said. Catching the rest of my classes had given me a lot of time to think about they way I had acted towards Dean, what my stupid ego had almost cost us. "I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you… I put my ego above my duty as a Power Ranger and it could have cost us everything…" I apologized.
Dean sighed, "You wouldn't have had to do that if I hadn't given you such a hard time, I should have known better than to fly off the handle on you over something Cyril said," he apologized. "I just… I hate that people think I'm dumb because I'm a jock…" he confessed.
"I don't think you're dumb Dean," I said, "I guess I was just jealous that you could look on the bright side of things while I could only ever find the bad stuff, and I guess I just convinced myself it was because you were naive instead of just a more positive person than me," I explained. It was one of the realizations I had come to while in class… that I wished I could be as optimistic about life as Dean was… that I could stop being a cynic for once and look at the glass half full instead of half empty.
Dean shot me a weak smile, "It's not easy being the positive guy, especially when I have my own baggage, but… I learned a long time ago that if you focus too much on the bad things, you lose focus on all the good things that make life worth living," he said.
I chuckled a little, "Look at you getting all profound," I said before offering him a handshake, "Friends?" I asked.
Dean smiled and shook my hand, "Friends," he confirmed. "Come on, let's go grab a bite to eat, my treat," he offered before we both walked out of the school together… both having learned a valuable lesson.
A/N: And finally, The Sorceress arch comes to a close.
I'm personally glad I can put this arch behind me and focus back on catching this story up with the original. Which means… those of you who are familiar with the original version of this story… yes… he's coming… soon.
I'm trying to see if I can get an "every other day" upload schedule going, something that's probably only going to last until the world stops being in quarantine and I can go back to my normal life, which will probably change to a "once a week" uploading schedule like this story used to have before I took my break.
Update: I'm re-reading the story to try to remember plot details and immediately I proved why this was important. Apparently I had forgotten that Spyro had mentioned his darker self earlier in the story, so I altered dialogue to reflect that.
