CHAPTER 9 — A Royal Acquaint
|| Aquila Hyperion Galaxy, Planet Xybria
A satellite lens rotated, recording the events that transpired in crystal-clear detail.
An attack on Yaive dam, northeast of Illumise, had commenced on the fifteenth solar movement. According to Tensou 5.0, a Syndicate ground force with the intent of causing a rupture would inevitably lead to a tidal wave capable of leveling the Xybrian capital.
The Supersonic Power Rangers had mobilized in an instant.
'When I said I could use a good bad guy beatdown, I didn't mean it literally!'
A pincer blade rushed at Brute, headed squarely for Supersonic Blue's helmeted head. In the quarter of the second he had left before impact, Brute had managed to calculate the weapon's velocity, phase his Supersonic Shooter and successfully parry the blow. Knocking the blade aside, he backhanded the Silencer and answered back with a three-round laser burst to the sternum. Brute decided to bite back his protest as he shifted his focus to the next Silencer batch.
Each Supersonic Ranger had a unique weapon. Ace had the V-Sonic Sword, Star the Supersonic Baton, Pyre the Supersonic Flute, and Gent the Supersonic Saber. Brute's Supersonic Shooter was different. Where the color-coded weaponry had been pre-programmed into the Sonic Morphers, the young Xybrian had done away with his weapon. In its place, Brute had chosen the standard-issue Sonar Blaster and had elevated it to new heights.
With his unique firearm held tight between both hands, Brute dashed leftward. He raised the Shooter, activated the lock-on feature and squeezed the trigger, peppering the lined-up alien menaces with a targeted flurry. The interaction between condensed light particles and the Silencers' solidified resin armor produced a series of cascading sparks that lit the lackeys up like a fireworks display.
'I was thinking something more along the lines of virtual reality practice,' Brute shrugged.
Ace rolled up behind the Blue Ranger, blocking an unarmed strike as he rose. 'My gogo would always warn me about wishful thinking, Blue,' he said.
Ace gripped the assailant's arm, rolled it under his shoulder and added pressure, crippling the Silencer. He then elbowed it in the chest and followed up with a palm fist. The strength behind the strike was enough to steal the ground from underneath the Silencer's feet.
'Besides,' Gent added from a short distance away, 'there's nay most wondrous an experience than field practice.'
A Husher aimed its barrel hands at Supersonic Black. Wet plasma spewed out in a stream, but Gent deflected it, promptly redirecting the flow with the Supersonic Saber's blunt side. The knight spun gracefully as he advanced, chopping sideways to carve a spark-filled gash from the green Silencer's shoulder to its groin.
'Knightly Code of Conduct, rule number forty-four,' Gent spun his blade as he revised the mantra. 'The duel is a personal affair; a dialogue with your opponent.'
'At least there's noise coming out of these jerks' mouths,' Pyre chimed in on the communications channel shared between the Power Rangers. 'This guy's the silent type.'
The leader figure behind this most recent Syndicate assault was a hulking, humanoid reptile. A hunched mass of emerald scales, the monster's reinforced back brandished a pair of squamous wings. Its long-necked head was topped by a curved horn twice the length of its cranium.
'You know, rookie,' Star noted, running to Pyre's side, 'I think Arnolf is running short on business money to hire intelligent goons.'
Pyre let out a snort-guffaw. 'Works for me. I wasn't feeling quippy today, anyway.'
'Let's allow our boots to do the talking!' Star suggested. Pyre nodded, prompting the two rangers to leap in the air, do a frontflip and kick at the monster.
Their joint move successfully sent the reptile monster flying.
A M'kala-class Carrier hovered over Xybria's atmosphere. The lead manufacturing company for interstellar transport in the Alcyoneus subsector, the majority of M'kala's shares — and in turn its funding — belonged to a sir Nolfar, great archduke of planet Zolv IV. The name was one of the Intergalactic Merchant's many aliases.
'No, Arnolf, you're absolutely not going to watch the fight,' Arnolf the Magnificent grumbled to himself. 'Every time you watch your monster fight the Power Rangers, it always ends up being blown to smithereens and it's you who's flung into outer space by that hunka junk they call a Megazord!'
The pudgy alien waddled back and forth, oblivious to the fact that a monitor, placed conveniently in front of his throne, was broadcasting the fight directly.
'Oh! I got it,' the Intergalactic Merchant suddenly exclaimed. 'Mother used to say that the greatest distraction in life is food!' Excitedly, he trudged to the throne's right side, pulled a lever and opened a hatch, out of which he lifted a bowl filled with meat and a separate section for the gooey sauce. Still steaming, Arnolf grabbed a piece, dipped it in the sauce and tossed it in his gigantic maw.
'Wise words, mother,' he said after smacking his giant lips.
It was not long before Arnolf's appetite peaked. Starting with one piece at a time, the Intergalactic Merchant eventually settled for four pieces per scoop. Skewering them on an oversized pin, he sunk the kebab in a hefty amount of copper sauce and then gobbled everything down with barely any chewing done.
'I just love this Triforian Kiminanga meat,' Arnolf mused with a burp. 'Such a delicacy.' He made to dip his hand into the bowl again before he noticed another, smaller palm sneakily reaching for a piece. Immediately the Intergalactic Merchant fished for a can and assaulted the hand with a furious spray.
'What are you doing, you plonker?!' Arnolf roared at the culprit: a Silencer that had strayed from its duties. 'You have no idea how deadly this compound is! There's a reason I've dubbed it the Silencer Repellent! Now get back to work before I feed you another mouthful!' Arnolf tapped at the can's tip, chasing away the minion with menacing whiffs of the repellent. 'Little do these numpties know this fluid is just a commonly found compound from Planet Aquitar,' he huffed. 'H2O or some other strange name. Anyway…'
The Intergalactic Merchant trailed off. Having forgotten what he had gotten so upset about in the first place, he chose to shrug it off, got comfortable in his throne and fixed his attention on the monitor.
The reptile's tail came down.
Dust shot from the ground with a deafening thud, forming a grainy barrier between Pyre and her opponent. Her retinal display went haywire, processing the shape rushing towards her as a jagged distortion of sand particles. Pyre raised her hands in a block to absorb the impact as best she could, but there was enough force behind the strike to hurl the Yellow Ranger several meters back. Pyre landed on her side and tumbled until she hit a boulder. The reptile monster let out an ear-piercing cry.
'Guys,' Pyre said once she had risen, 'a little help here!'
Star and Brute rolled forward, blasters at the ready, and opened fire on the creature. The monstrosity went berserk, the laser beams bouncing off its scaly hide. Ace and Gent charged after the cover fire and met the monster with a twin slash, but neither the V-Sonic Sword, nor the Supersonic Saber left a scratch. The reptile mutant swiped with its claws, its spread-out wings offering no room for the rangers to dodge. One strike, then another, and the melee was broken. Ace and Gent fell over their allies, breaking the team formation.
'Stay vigilant!' Ace cried. He helped Star get on her feet. Brute and Pyre did the same for Gent. 'Blue, what do you think?' he said and readied his sword in a defensive stance.
'Tensou says he's at the ready, so it's go ti—'
'Mayhaps I can be of assistance!' a voice boomed from behind the Power Rangers.
A volatile sphere of electricity, maneuvering with the agitated grace of forked lightning, jolted past Gent, spun around Pyre, slipped underneath Brute's feet and between Ace and Star to fire itself at the monster. The ball zipped through its torso and the creature roared in pain as its hulking form was overloaded with electric power.
'A mute, ay?' the voice sounded again. 'I have encountered such monsters aplenty. Fear not, Power Rangers, for this threat will soon be no more!'
The orb pinged from one spot to the next, redirecting its trajectory so as to loop around and collide with the monster one more time. It whizzed across the creature in a flash, leaving behind it a severed wing. Green goo poured from the open wound.
'Sorry, but ew!' Pyre commented, masking the sight with her hand.
Gent craned his head forward to take a better look at the stump. 'A sword strike,' he observed.
The monster struggled to maintain its footing, inadvertently reeling out of the way to reveal the Power Rangers' mysterious ally: A warrior disguised in a ragged, cream coat. Cerulean lightning danced along his lithe figure, and odd cybernetic enhancements trailed down his arms. His face, smeared with an oily face-paint, was topped by an open, blue helmet.
'Who are you?' Ace asked.
'A friend, Red Ranger,' the warrior replied, his voice soft and courtly.
'Whoever you are, we are more than delighted to have your help,' Star said.
'The pleasure's mine, though I do believe your priorities lie elsewhere,' the man said and pointed to the sky.
'He's right,' Brute relayed on a closed channel. 'Tensou hit me up. He says Arnolf the Cheapskate is still here.'
Pyre smacked her palms. 'Guess it's time for Megazord power.'
Ace turned to the warrior. 'And what about the monster?'
'Fear not, for I will handle it,' the mystery man replied.
Ace gave the matter some thought. He nodded affirmatively. 'Please excuse us. We will be back.' Then, tapping at the side of his helmet, he said: 'Tensou 5.0, deploy the Zords!'
The press of a button on the Sonic Morpher activated the authorization signal, leading to the Volcanic Base on distant Gwenga to unlock its docking bay. Klaxons bellowed as Tensou 5.0 tapped away at the keyboard. The robot assistant raced past safety procedures and coordinated last-minute maintenance runs in mere seconds. Registering the final command, Tensou boarded the vehicles inside a disposable armored shell, loaded them into the Zord Transference Cannon and fired away.
To ensure no civilian property was damaged, Tensou allowed for the protective layer to come loose once the Zords had flown over the Yepamu Soro mountain range. The Supersonic Fighter Zord's turbines flared to life, trailing twin streaks of engine wash as it soared. The Supersonic Carrier and Jeep Zords landed on the mountain's foot with a booming crunch of tires on salt-rock, the engines bellowing on fresh fuel reserves. The autopilot function guided the monstrous vehicles to the Power Rangers and handed over control once every color-coded ranger had entered their designated Zord.
'Triple Supersonic Formation!' the Power Rangers cried in unison.
The Supersonic Fighter Zord folded in on itself. Parts on both the Carrier and Jeep Zords split, turned and rearranged themselves to form arms and legs. Everything came together in a polished display of technological remodeling. With the characteristic V shining vividly on its chest, the Supersonic Megazord flew into low-orbit, directed by coordinates that would lead it to Arnolf the Magnificent's isolated Carrier.
'All together now!' Ace encouraged his team.
The rangers followed their leader's lead. 'One!' they counted. 'Two! Three!'
The giant robot pulled back its fist, added a boost to its thrusters and punched, sending the Carrier flying away into outer space.
'No!' the Intergalactic Merchant screamed. The newfound velocity shook the ship, throwing Arnolf's pudgy form from his throne. 'This is bad for business! Curse you, Power Rangers!'
From the rangers' point of view, the Carrier floated away without any intention of stopping.
'Best not to make a habit of such practices,' Gent said.
'It's already getting old,' Pyre agreed. 'Besides, why can't we just arrest him?'
Brute scrunched up his nose. 'Yeah, let's not get into intergalactic red tape. The sheer idea gives me a headache. Trust me, I know. I've tried to crack it.'
'Blue's right,' Ace added. 'There's more important matters at hand.'
The warrior was gone and so was the monster.
The Supersonic Megazord had landed a short distance away from the dam. As per standard Syndicate clean-up procedure, any functioning Silencers had been phased. Among the remainder of the downed aliens, the dirt had eroded. Brute had deduced it was due to a toxic substance found in the lizard mutant's spilled fluids. Through the readings, he had also surmised that the characteristic explosion caused by the monster's life energy overloading had never happened.
'Was it because of that guy?' Pyre thought out loud.
Star spent several minutes casting a mental pulse as far as her sight allowed, scouting the surrounding area for stray thought residue. 'He's not here, that's for sure,' she said after she had caught her breath. 'We didn't even get to thank him properly.'
'Bummer,' Pyre huffed, 'but it's not like we can do anything about it.'
'We shall remain humbled by his noble assistance,' Gent said and bowed his head as an added sign of appreciation.
'Ditto.' Pyre mimicked the gesture. 'Anyway, let's head home. I'm starving! Zords dep—'
'Woah! Rookie!' Brute cut her off. 'That's not your line to say! Don't get cocky!'
'Blue is correct. It's my line,' Ace rolled along with the joke, a subtle smirk crossing his lips.
Raising a hand, Supersonic Red said, Zords, deploy! and the Megazord separated into its three Zord counterparts. Ace boarded the Fighter Zord, while the rest of his team headed for their respective land-based Zords. On the way to the rumbling machines, Pyre sneaked up behind Brute and grabbed him by the shoulder.
'For your information back there,' she purred, 'we're both rookies here.'
Brute swallowed. He was smart enough to acknowledge the underlying menace in Pyre's honeyed tone. 'Well, technically, I was first, you see, so…'
Pyre squeezed tighter, forcing a yelp out of Brute. 'Really?' she cooed. 'Well, technically, my fist, you see—'
There was a noise; the clearing of a throat. Sensing a menacing presence behind them, both rangers froze and turned in unison. Gent's image loomed over Brute and Pyre, a sinister shadow in the knight's regal features as he observed the two rookies with a cocked brow and a soft pout.
'Aren't we… gentlemen?' Gent asked his fellow rangers with a severity that rivaled the grimmest of situations.
In a display of instinctual coordination, born out of their mutual fear for this previously unknown side to Gent, both Pyre and Brute faked a wide grin, nodded once and hurried to the Zords.
The Power Rangers headed northward.
They traveled along the coastline, and once there was no more land the wheeled Zords crossed the ocean by propeller. Fishermen out at sea admired the iron colossi with slack-jawed awe, mighty engines splitting the waves like chaff before the wind. All the while the Xybrian sun beamed down at the Supersonic Fighter as it soared aloft, painting a red streak across the horizon.
They had reached Gwenga in under twenty minutes' time. Docking the Zords, the rangers allowed for the vehicles to cool down and awaited confirmation from Tensou 5.0 that all was okay. Couplings were fastened and special cooling gel was applied to the exposed engine parts while Tensou ran background calibrations. A green klaxon echoed across the wide chamber soon after; a positive confirmation to go ahead and board the elevator.
Star let out a contented exhale after a long stretch. 'No place like home,' she said.
'Seconded,' Brute said, massaging his temples. 'I'm beat.'
'Should I prepare a treat with our robotic companion's assistance, sire?' Gent suggested.
Ace nodded to that. 'Good idea. We can let Tensou know soon as he's done in the hangar.'
'Nice!' Pyre exclaimed. 'The rangers save the day and have room for a snack!'
The elevator halted with a ding! and the doors parted to reveal the warrior who had helped them out on Yaive dam, lounging on their couch.
'Finally, you have arrived!' he said and took a bite out of a Tangarian tangerine.
With the open helmet by his side and the messy war paint cleaned, the warrior seemed like a completely different individual. Close-cropped silver hair crowned a soft, oval face decorated with a pair of slender eyes, a hooked nose, thin lips and the faintest trace of a mustache.
'Honestly,' he swallowed, 'you have such delectable comestibles! I would never guess Xybrians appreciated their cuisine so. Why, had I known beforehand, I'd have arrived with delicacies from mine own homestead!'
The rangers had drawn their weapons in a heartbeat. Immediately the warrior dropped the fruit and raised his arms. The tangerine fell on the tip of his pointy boot, splattering the polished marble floor with violet juice.
'Drat,' he swore under his breath, bothered by the waste of food.
'What are you doing in our base?!' Pyre demanded, Sonar Blaster trained at the stranger.
'It's a misunderstanding!' the warrior protested. 'Please understand?!'
'She's asking the questions here, bud!' Brute nodded at Pyre, pressing with his own, modified Shooter.
Oh, frolicky fate, Gent thought. Though he kept the Supersonic Saber's tip aimed at the mysterious man, he still allowed for a moment of respite in order to gift his fellow rangers a smile. Their confrontation still fresh on their minds, both Brute and Pyre tensed at the gesture.
'Tensou!' Star called.
The pudgy robot waddled in from the back entrance. 'Hey-yo, rangers, what's—' Tensou froze. Behind the layers of bulky white plating, the robot's positronic brain analyzed the situation. How unusual for the Power Rangers to have their weapons phased in the family room, much less primed to attack. 'I got it!' Tensou exclaimed.
'Well, spit it out, my guy!' Brute said. 'Is he dangerous, or what?!'
'Brute! You know I'd never support trespassers, hey-yo! But him? He's—'
'Eldrak,' the stranger finished for Tensou 5.0. 'I am Prince Eldrak, royal prince of Draumosa.'
'Draumosa,' Gent repeated in a hushed tone. Struck by the realization, he turned to Ace. 'Sir Red, ask the gentleman to present his birthright.'
Ace's gaze remained fixed on the supposed prince. 'You heard Black,' he told the visitor. Eldrak nodded and fished for something buried underneath his cloak. He pulled out a brazen amulet. It was chained around his neck, a rune carved on its flat, round surface. Ace's eyes darted from the trinket to Gent. The knight examined it thoroughly and silently.
'It is him,' he decided.
'Then he's our ally.' Ace lowered the V-Sonic Sword. Reluctantly, the rest of the rangers followed his and Gent's example. 'Forgive me,' Ace continued and offered his hand. 'Both the base and our planet's safety is very important.'
Eldrak accepted the shake. 'Nay, friend. I am well aware that one should never wear their heart on their sleeve. Especially when the homeworld is undergoing trying times. Might I ask how long it's been?' he ventured.
'Five Xybrian years,' Ace replied.
'Twelve in Divine Calendar time,' Pyre mused.
'The Divine Calendar?' Star rounded on Pyre. 'You really believe that legend?'
'Maybe,' Pyre said with a sheepish smile.
'Five years,' Ace repeated. Then, he added: 'Seems like forever.'
Star rested a hand on his shoulder. 'Makes sense. You've been fighting this war even before we all became Power Rangers.'
'And speaking of the rangers,' Eldrak said, using Star's words as a springboard to stir the topic of discussion. 'I have long admired the Power Rangers' feats; triumphs scattered across the galaxy.' Here, the prince had waved his arm in a long-winded arc. 'Their determination, camaraderie and loyalty had me inspired since childhood to join the field of battle.'
'Say,' Brute said. Up to that point, he had been drinking in Eldrak's interaction with his fellow rangers, opting to remain silent along with Gent, though the latter seemed more so lost in deep thought. 'You mentioned you're the Draumosan prince,' Brute continued. 'I thought the name rang a bell. It was the first planet conquered by the Syndicate.'
Prince Eldrak's smile faded from his face, replaced by the sourness of grief. 'Yes,' the prince admitted. He proceeded to tell the Power Rangers everything.
According to the Galactic Database, Draumosa was classified as an aquatic planet, its kingdom a singular nation stretching across three interconnected island chains. With limited land came territorial conflict, which in turn prompted Eldrak's distant ancestor, Elmoll Bilzoth I, otherwise called The Great Inventor, to establish long-range communications with the neighboring planet of Khid. By managing to outsource material production to their shared moon, he balanced the quantitative disparity between islands and eventually united the early Draumosan tribes under the Bilzoth banner. Since then, the Bilzoth dynasty had ruled over a prosperous empire that thrived off of trading and extraterrestrial tourism.
It made for a perfect first victim.
The Syndicate had arrived under the guise of a joint company. It exploited the loose manufacturing parameters to produce weapons capable of leveling civilizations, and later smuggled said weaponry to Draumosa's southernmost islands, swaying the local populace to rebellion.
This series of events had transpired during the reign of Eldrak's noble father, king Elmoll Bilzoth IV. The fateful attack commenced during the annual lunar festival. The previously festering insurrection seeds flourished into a chaotic bloom. Supplemented by orbital bombardment from the moon's surface, as well as incoming battleship reinforcements, entire islands sunk to the ocean floor, tearing Draumosa's tectonic plates asunder. The only solution was escape to the subsector's outer reaches; a luxury few could afford.
'On that day,' prince Eldrak said, biting back sorrowful tears, 'I lost my sister and dear parents!'
No longer capable of properly articulating his thoughts, Eldrak stopped and buried his face in his hands. The steadfast, composed warrior the Power Rangers had encountered on Yaive was gone, replaced by a fractured survivor.
'Say no more,' Star said, her voice low and comforting.
'Truly a horrible happenstance,' Gent added, his own tone pained by the prince's recollection.
Eldrak rubbed his eyes. 'Forgive me, Power Rangers. I meant not to upset you by harping on the past. I must carry forward and show the Syndicate that Draumosa lives on in my defiance.'
'That is why we fight,' Ace assured Eldrak. 'So that one day we won't have to anymore.'
'To make the Traitor King realize that the universe belongs to everyone, and that freedom is the right of all sentient beings,' Star said
'To ensure no kid ever has to suffer again,' Pyre grinned.
'The sword's purpose is to forever defend the noble cause. Knightly Code of Conduct, rule number twenty-two,' Gent cited.
Brute did not contribute. He had distanced himself from the conversation, haunted by a creeping thought he could not properly discern. When he approached them again, prince Eldrak was sharing with the rangers his vision of hope and optimism for a better future. Xybria's victory, he claimed, would spell prosperity for the whole universe.
'Rookie!' Brute whispered from a safe distance.
Pyre looked over her shoulder. Brute was pointing to his open mouth with one hand and gesturing behind him with the other. A moment alone, that was the implication. Pyre examined Brute with a cocked brow, but gave in to curiosity nonetheless.
The two rookies relocated to the nearest corner. Brute dialed a sequence into his Sonic Morpher and a planetary hologram popped up in a three-dimensional display. 'Check this out,' he whispered. 'This is Draumosa. Eldrak claimed the Syndicate attacked at the dead of night, but this planet doesn't have a solar cycle. It's always night time.'
'Dude!' Pyre pressed on the word. 'Eldrak just poured his heart out and you're nitpicking?!'
'Shh! Lower your voice!' Brute stopped and recomposed himself. 'What I'm trying to say is, don't you think it's a tad strange how quickly and nonchalantly he opened up to us? How he appeared on Xybria at such a crucial time to save the day? And most importantly, that he came from Draumosa, the very first planet ever conquered by the Syndicate?'
Pyre pouted. 'He said he admired the Power Rangers. Of course he'd want to assist us, let alone prove he's on our side.' She paused to stare at Brute. 'You're not jealous, are you?'
'No!' Brute made a shrill noise that was not quite a shriek. 'Don't you get it?! This is like what the chief said: You can never be too safe.'
Pyre crossed her arms. 'You're picking at straws. And honestly, I trust the prince, so if you got any other conspiracy theories, talk them over with Ace.'
'Pyre, wait!' Brute had not even finished his plea than Pyre had left to chat with prince Eldrak. 'Stupid,' he sighed, unsure whether he was directing the insult at Pyre or himself.
'A restaurant owner?' Star giggled.
'Indeed,' Eldrak assured the Pink Ranger. 'Fair mister Jinkeloor found compassion in his blessed heart to care for me when I was all alone. To repay his kindness, I assisted in his gastronomical affairs by keeping the establishment bereft of dust and crumb. The cuisine was divine, might I add!'
'I've met Draumosans before, but none of them displayed powers like yours,' Ace said. 'Does it run solely in the royal family?'
'The secret family spice,' Star said, her mind lingering on mister Jinkeloor's restaurant.
'Why,' Prince Eldrak indulged them, 'during my time on G-15, the planet was wracked by mighty thunderstorms. One fateful night, as I ventured into the wilderness in search of a special root for dear mister Jinkeloor's newest dish, lo and behold, I was struck by lightning!' The prince allowed for Pyre and Star's gasps to build up suspense. Belatedly, he went on. 'Since I differed from my G-15 peers, I myself cannot fully understand the reaction it had on my biology, except that it resulted in a majestic set of powers, many of which you have not yet witnessed. I was suddenly capable of breezing through my restaurant errands in seconds. The patrons, of course, were quick to notice, and granted me the title "Thunderstruck".'
Ace's heavy brows lifted in a rare display of surprise. 'Wow,' he said.
Star nodded, mimicking Ace's amazement. 'What he said.'
'It's like a Xybrian awakening,' Pyre said, feeling the gem embedded on her forehead.
'Pardon my intrusion, sire,' Gent said to Ace as he entered their circle. He turned to the prince and bowed. 'Prince Eldrak, allow me the pleasure of introducing mine self. 'Sir Nyoro Ne Mutsa, at your service.'
'Ah!' Prince Eldrak exclaimed. 'Could it be, my late friend Nhema's royal knight? Why, the pleasure's all mine! I've admired knights aplenty during my youth, but only today have I really acquainted with one formally.'
'And here I thought one frilly talker was a handful,' Pyre chuckled.
'What motivated you to become a rebel?' Star ventured. 'I can understand being inspired by the Power Rangers, but the way you're describing life on G-15, it sounds like you could have turned a new leaf.'
'Indeed, G-15 was under no threat from the Syndicate,' Eldrak agreed, 'but the passion to avenge my family and people bested the promise of a peaceful closing chapter. Alas, I departed with mister Jinkeloor's blessing and used my newfound powers to enforce the growing resistance, until I came across my first Power Rangers team: you lot!'
'Hey, uh, prince guy?!' Brute's voice sounded. Everybody turned their heads to face the back of the room. Brute's head was poking out from behind the couch. 'I wanna run some tests on your speed capabilities!'
'Why is he hiding?' Ace asked Star. She shrugged. Ace's gaze moved on to Pyre and Gent. The two rangers mimicked the Pink Ranger.
Prince Eldrak laughed. 'Of course, lad, let's! Friends,' he addressed the Power Rangers, 'if you'll excuse me.'
Lightning danced along Eldrak's cybernetic enhancements, trailing forked arcs that soon covered the entirety of his figure. In a blink the prince had zipped past the rangers, grabbed Brute and had exited the room, his electric enthusiasm seemingly following suit and leaving behind a stale silence.
'So, Tensou,' Star turned to the robot assistant. 'Any special dinner plans?'
'None whatsoever, hey-yo!'
'I got something in mind. Wanna come with?' she suggested.
'Sure thing!' Tensou exclaimed. 'Also, rangers, are you guys on edge? Hey-yo, you haven't even demorphed!'
The Power Rangers collectively looked down. They had removed their helmets as soon as they had entered the Volcanic Base, but had not realized the suits had stayed on all this time. They shouted a synced, Power down! and the ranger get-up disappeared in a multi-colored flash of light.
'I'm bouncing,' Pyre told Ace. 'Eldrak's got me fired up with his speech, so if you want me, you can find me in the training area.'
'Apologies, sir Ace and lady Star, for I, too, will be departing,' said Gent.
Star, Tensou 5.0, Pyre and Gent went their separate ways, leaving only the Red Supersonic Ranger in the family room.
Few things brought Gent solace.
Devoted to knightly service since childhood, Gent's mind had been honed much like his fine blade. Scholars specialized in all fields of life had taught him physics, chemistry and practical mathematics, but also history, philosophy and art. Each lesson was a stepping stone that would shape Gent into an honorary swordsman, conditioned to filter out sentimentality that would otherwise cloud his judgment, and instead replaced it with a tranquil optimism.
Prince Eldrak's appearance, however, had stirred a melancholic recollection within the Black Ranger. Where Gent would ordinarily utilize the remainder of his days in the training area, reciting a randomized sequence of thrusts, lunges, parries and ripostes in a superb display of martial discipline, today had been different. Compelled to gaze at Gwenga's barren landscape, the knight had visited the Volcanic Base's rooftop in hopes that the Xybrian sunset would wash away his thoughts.
'I had a hunch I'd find you up here,' Ace's voice sounded.
Gent's gaze remained fixed on the horizon. Supersonic Red perceived the gesture as a silent acknowledgement for company and crossed the helipad to stand by his friend's side. Immediately he was captivated by the shawl hanging loosely around Gent's neck. It was floral-patterned and made up of several warm shades of copper, red and gold. The spare fabric that trailed down Gent's left arm depicted a lone warrior overlooking a vast flowerfield. A Rashon heirloom, Ace assumed. He chose to not call attention to it.
'Something on your mind?' he asked instead.
'I reminisce,' Gent replied, his regal features softened by the setting sun, 'about the glory of days gone, and ponder about the battles of tomorrow.'
'Is it because of Eldrak?' A cool breeze blew past them. Gent's shawl danced to its whims. 'Are you worried about him?' Ace pressed.
'It is not my duty to prohibit the fair prince from chasing after his heart's desires. No, I fear more so for the young sir, Dracondian Cain,' Gent confessed. 'I wish to know what ails his heart for him to mistreat the sword so.'
Ace put his hands in his pockets. 'Perhaps the past haunts him, but as Power Rangers, we can't let that control us. We let it guide us—'
'Into a brighter tomorrow,' Gent finished for Ace, turning to him with a comforting smile.
Ace repaid the gesture with a small grin. 'That's my line…' He trailed off, a passing thought crossing his mind. He started over. 'Say, Gent, do you remember my battle with Kolverox?' The knight nodded. Ace went on. 'I saw him again. Villain encounters seem to attract him. I can't control it. Maybe I don't want it to stop. I don't want to forget,' he finished and his gaze fell.
'It is not your obligation, sire,' Gent reassured Ace. 'Mayhaps the time has come to confide in your allies.'
Ace shook his head. 'No. Not yet.'
'Whatever may transpire, you can trust in my loyalty.'
Ace craned his head to look at his fellow ranger. 'Thank you, Gent.'
Gent's smile broadened. 'All in a knight's duty, my liege.'
Prince Eldrak ran. The circular treadmill spun in an endless loop, the generated electricity converting into data. They traveled along snake-like cabling, feeding Brute's computer with information. The counter had clocked over nine light years, with no signs of slowing down. But the Blue Supersonic Ranger was nowhere to be found.
In the deeper, darker confines of Brute's private chambers, glass display boxes stirred as a plastic key pressed against an undisclosed part of the wall. There was a click, a slide, and a hidden compartment revealed itself, the content hidden within a book with a hard, magenta cover and a skull insignia, fashioned after a long-since extinct alien race.
'You will believe me,' Brute muttered in the darkness, his cyan eyes brimming with firm determination. 'I'm not gonna stand by and let fate decide. Not again!'
Brute then activated his monitors, brought the satellite footage to the forefront and started watching.
Never again.