Part Seven: Heroes in the Past, Heroes in the Present
[Around 8:30 am]
Andréa, dressed in battle armor similar to what she had worn in the first battle against The Master, led a large portion of the army out to the battlefield alone on horseback. Much of the militiamen and women were dressed armed in the same basic manner as the army that had been defeated thousands of years before, as there had been little use of the military forces since then. Andréa waited for Adam to arrive, wondering why he had told her to go ahead without him and that he would catch up. "What's taking him so long?" she asked herself, trotting up and down the front line and looking to see if he was coming. Many others in the army did the same, but they also wondered if the young woman who had led them out there was truly their long-lost princess and if her companion was really the long-lost Corinthian warrior prince. No one knew for sure, as they had never seen these legendary heroes up close. The two had lived long before any of them were even born, so the people began to wonder if it really was all a myth that they would have come back to lead them into battle.
But just then, Andréa looked up and saw another small army approaching, the two ancient flags of Corinthia and Tashalla—the golden dragon on a black background and the golden phoenix on a purple background—flying above them. Each and every member of the army looked all-out menacing, a few of them even wearing war paint in those two chief colors on their faces. Then she looked even harder at the one on horseback who was leading them. She didn't recognize him at first in the black and gold armor he wore that had once been common among Corinthian royalty, but then she realized that that was none other than Adam. "Now what is he up to?" she sighed, perplexed, as he stared back down at her while trying to hold his horse still.
The rest of his troops joined the already massive army as he rode up next to her. "Took you long enough," Andréa commented to him. "Just what were you doing anyway?—No, wait, don't answer that. I probably don't want to know." She looked him over some more. "But I must say, you do look good."
"Thanks," Adam replied coolly, brushing a stray lock of hair from his face.
Though most of the army stood silent as they saw the two for the first time ever in person, the various skeptics had their own opinions. "That can't be them!" someone shouted from the masses. "They've been dead for centuries! It must be a trick by The Master to deceive us!" Feeling pressured, other people began to join in. "If it's really them, why's it taken them so long for them to return? They're only a legend! They don't look like that! It's a trick, I tell you!"
Andréa looked at Adam in confusion. "Just who is this Master everyone keeps talking about?" she finally asked him.
He gave her no answer; something about the whole idea of "The Master" still seemed unusually familiar to him, and it was making Adam all the more ready for battle. All of a sudden, he turned away from Andréa and began riding up and down the field in front of the army. Now what are you doing? she asked him telepathically.
I'm gonna try to rally the troops and convince them that we really are the ones they've been waiting for all this time, Adam answered, looking back at her. Maybe then we'll find out just who this Master is.
Adam drew his sword from its scabbard on his back and raised it above his head, not to attack, but to attract attention as he cantered along the front line. "People of Khalterria, you have to listen to me!" he shouted out of character to the army, the crowd immediately falling silent. "Yes, it's been thousands of years, I know. But ask yourselves this: Would the two of us be standing before you now if we were not the ones the legends said would return and lead you into battle?"
The men and women in the army looked at each other, not quite sure what he was talking about while Andréa watched him, completely dumbfounded by Adam's actions. "Though we may not appear the same as we once did," he continued, "she still is your Princess Aurora of Tashalla, and I am still Prince Adrian of Corinthia." People began to comment amongst themselves upon hearing those names. "And if this truly was a trick, would I be telling you right now to take hold of what you truly believe in?" Andréa continued to watch him in utter disbelief as he rode past her again. "For centuries, you and your ancestors have all had to live in the shadows of The Master's evil empire, afraid to fight in fear of total annihilation. The two of us may not know who he is, but the time has come for us to rise up against these forces and take action. The time has come to tell them that if they want to continue to rule over our world and your lives, they'll have to go through us first!" Adam's last sentence was loud and fierce, his sword brandished high above his head as his horse whinnied and broke into a full-out gallop.
Andréa watched, totally stunned, as Adam returned to his place next to her, the army hollering and cheering thunderously. She had never heard him talk like that before, not even during their previous life together, and so she began to wonder if this was the same Adam she had been going out with since the fall, because he certainly wasn't like that back then. "Well, I think that fired them up a little bit," he said casually.
"A little bit?" Andréa asked, a strange look on her face. "All right, who are you, and just what did you do with the real Adam? And does Mel Gibson even know that you just ripped off that whole big scene of his from Braveheart like that?"
"Okay, so maybe it was a little more than a little bit," Adam answered, "I really am the real Adam, and no, I don't think he knows that I stole that scene. But did I do a good job of stealing it?"
Andréa couldn't help but laugh and roll her eyes. "Yes, you did." The two looked at each other silently for a moment, already able to see the dark army approaching, and their expressions changed. "You think we can handle them?" she asked.
Adam sighed, but it was a confident sigh. "I know we can handle them," he replied, watching the black-clad soldiers as they stormed the battlefield. "It's not gonna be the same as before. We're gonna bring The Master down once and for all this time."
Finally, the enemy forces were close enough. "Ready . . . now!" Adam called out, he and Andréa raising their swords in unison while the troops already started to charge after their opponents. "For Corinthia!" was his battle cry as he spurred his horse into a gallop and raced down the hillside, Andréa not too far behind.
The two armies quickly clashed, an all-out war between good and evil now under way. But unlike the first battle thousands of years before, the evil army gradually started to be pushed back. What Adam had said already was starting to come true; it wasn't the same as before, and they were bringing The Master's armies down. From not too far away, Andréa looked over at Adam and saw him driving away with ease each and every soldier who tried to challenge him. The two quickly glanced at each other and nodded determinedly, both knowing that the nightmare was not going to be coming true after all.
But suddenly, a large and dark figure appeared with a crack of thunder and a streak of lightning on a nearby hill. Adam and Andréa each looked up from their fighting, everyone else noticing what had happened as well. "It's The Master!" someone shouted above the clashing of swords and spears.
"So that's The Master," Adam said to himself, trying to get a better look. That was when he suddenly realized that he had seen that figure before and somewhat recently. In fact, Adam had fought him nearly two years before while still the Black Ranger. The one responsible for everything that had happened so long ago and for Aurora and Adrian being sent into the present time was none other than Master Vile, and it took Adam by complete surprise. "Oh my god, not him again!"
Andréa ran up beside him. "You mean you've fought this guy before?" she asked.
"Yeah," Adam said, "back in '95 when I was originally the Black Ranger. But I had no idea that he was the one who did all this!"
Master Vile laughed cruelly when he saw the pair. "Ah, I see that the two of you have at last returned like the so-called legend said," he bellowed. The two Rangers shot him an icy glare. "Do you really think you can defeat me? This time, you will not escape so easily!"
"Yeah, right," Adam growled under his breath. He had a plan to make sure what Master Vile had said wouldn't come true. "Rae," he said, still glaring at the dark warlord, "stay here and keep fighting while I go after Vile myself. I've got a score to settle."
Andréa looked at him, totally confused; it wasn't exactly like Adam to take anyone on one-on-one unless absolutely forced to do so. "But Adam, are you sure you can take him on all by yourself?" she asked. "I mean, remember what I said earlier about my nightmare and all and how my dreams keep coming true . . ."
"Don't worry," Adam reassured her, very determined. "I'm gonna make sure this one won't come true." He moved back and away from her in order to make it look like he was retreating, then advanced up the hill alone where Master Vile was standing and watching the entire battle. Andréa was still afraid to turn her back on Adam, but when someone attacked her from behind, that thought completely vanished from her mind as she immediately morphed and lashed out at her attackers, fighting off each and every one of them with little trouble.
* * *
Adam reached the top of the hill and waited for Master Vile to be caught off guard. He stood there with his sword in hand, trying to decide just when the best time would have been to strike. The wind blew Adam's long hair across his face and into his eyes, but he didn't care. He just wanted to see Vile get what was coming to him after all those years.
That was when Master Vile turned around suddenly and found Adam standing there in front of him. "What?" the dark warlord shouted. "What are you doing here?"
"Game's over, Vile," Adam said fiercely. "Your rule over Khalterria ends here and it ends now with me!"
"And you think you can defeat me all by yourself?" Vile retorted. "No one ever defeats Master Vile, especially not some mere boy who thinks he's the great Prince Adrian!"
"No one except for the Power Rangers!" Adam yelled back, pointing his sword at the villain. "And I don't just think I'm Prince Adrian, I am him! I was also the Black Ranger when you tried to take over Earth. We've beaten you before, Vile, and I'll beat you again even if it's the last thing I may ever do!"
Vile laughed. "Ah yes, I see the resemblance now," he said. "So that's what became of you, Adrian? From the heir to the great kingdom of Corinthia and leader of its armies to a common Earth Ranger who isn't even the leader? You've lost your touch, my boy! You're not the great warrior you used to be!"
Adam assumed a fighting stance. "Then you haven't seen what Andréa and I are capable of!"
"Your beloved Princess Aurora?" Vile laughed again. "Not even she's the same warrior she used to be! My armies will destroy her the same way I'll destroy you!"
"Never meant to be seen, Vile!" Adam shouted back ferociously. "They can't destroy us if they don't even know how to defeat us! The Purple Phoenix Ranger is no ordinary warrior, and neither am I!"
Master Vile turned and saw that his armies were indeed being driven back by the Purple Ranger and the other Khalterrians. "No! This is impossible!" he roared.
Adam saw this as a fitting time to strike. "This is for destroying my kingdom!" he raged, charging after the villain and lashing out at him with his sword. "And for robbing me of the life I never got to live!"
The warlord quickly whirled around and pushed the Ranger to the ground hard. "Is that your best shot?" he taunted as Adam got back to his feet and shot him another icy glare. "Surely you can do better than that if you truly are who you claim to be!" He then shot an energy beam from his staff.
Adam saw the beam coming right away and then threw himself to the side. After that, he held his hand out in front of himself and the beam ricocheted off the air in front of it, bouncing right back towards Vile. The warlord staggered backwards, unable to understand what had just happened, that Adam had used the telekinetic powers that he once thought had been forced upon him as the White Ranger but had actually been natural all the long. The Ranger stood up again, still glaring at Master Vile coldly through his long dark hair as it fell in his face. "You're right, Vile," he snarled. "I can do better, and I will!" And with that, he pulled out his crystal and thrust it out into position. "Black Dragon FireStar Power!" Adam shouted loudly, as if it were a battle cry.
Just like that, he became the Black Dragon Ranger, the powers he possessed long before any of the other Ranger powers he had ever used. "Does this look like a common Ranger to you?" Adam said, standing tall and clutching his sword in one hand while continuing to glare at Master Vile. "The Black Dragon Ranger is anything but common! The shadows I've had to live in of my defeat long ago are gone now, and so those are no longer important to me. This is the path that's been chosen for me, to fight for the freedom of all of Khalterria, to defend the honor of my homeland, and to remember who I truly am." A new feeling came over him as he struck an even more determined fighting stance. "I am Prince Adrian of Corinthia, the Black Dragon Ranger, and the one who will finally bring you down for good!"
Master Vile took a good look at the Ranger staring him down. This couldn't have been the same boy who he had once defeated thousands of years ago, he thought. Vile didn't want to admit defeat as he tried to call for his soldiers and none came. They were too busy being obliterated by the Khalterrian army. As a last resort, Master Vile tried to attack Adam again by shooting another energy beam from his staff only to have it bounce right back off the Ranger's armor as he charged after the warlord again, the one-time prince emanating a loud and savage battle cry. Leaping into the air, Adam kicked the staff out of Vile's hand and sent it flying over and down the hill. "This is impossible!" the evil warlord cried. "You should be down on your knees, begging for mercy!"
"Power Rangers don't beg for mercy," the Purple Ranger said out of the blue to Vile as she ran up beside Adam, well over a hundred members of their army following close behind, "because they never have to!"
"It's over, Master Vile!" Adam added. "Your army's gone, and you're trapped. If you want us to spare you, then leave Khalterria and never come back. The choice is yours."
Master Vile could tell that he had no other choices but to either have fled or have ended up being mauled by a pack of angry warriors. "Very well then," he said. "You have proven yourselves to worthy opponents, but this is far from over. I will end my rule over Khalterria and leave you to your freedom, but know that the Purple Phoenix and Black Dragon Rangers have not heard the last of Master Vile!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Andréa retorted as the one the people only knew as The Master vanished with a flash of lightning, the people all cheering.
Adam turned to face Andréa and removed his helmet; because the people already knew their identities, neither of them had to be concerned with anyone finding out what would've normally been their secret. We did it, Rae, he said to her telepathically. We finally won Khalterria's freedom back.
Andréa removed her helmet as well and smiled back at him. Yeah, we did, she replied, we really did. I still just can't believe everything that's been going on, that we really are these legendary heroes who all the myths said would really return and do something like this. She stared at Adam for a moment. And we both survived too.
As I said we would, Adam told her as he drew her into him and hugged her in celebration. "I love you, Rae," he then said out loud.
Andréa rested her head on his shoulder and gazed up at him as the crowd continued to cheer for their great and legendary heroes. "I love you too, Adam," she said back to him before he leaned in and kissed her.
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you . . .
[Kingdom of Tashalla, around 11:30 am]
The news of the victory had traveled very quickly across all of Khalterria, and so by the time Adam and Andréa, both demorphed, and the rest of their army returned to Tashalla, they were all greeted by cheering throngs and a grand celebration already in progress. Taliana was among the first to greet the two as they dismounted from their horses and stood next to each other. "Well done, Rangers," the woman said to them. "You truly are the finest warriors Khalterria has ever seen. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful we all are for what you have done for homeland. The legend has at last been made true that the lost prince of Corinthia and princess of Tashalla would someday return and win back their people's freedom."
Andréa smiled. "Well, we're just doing what Power Rangers are supposed to do," she said, "protecting Earth and all worlds from the forces of evil."
"We're both honored to have helped you," Adam added. "If you ever need us again, let us know."
Taliana looked up at them. "You do plan to stay, don't you?" she asked. "Now that The Master has at last been banished from Khalterria, and you are the last remaining members of your royal families, I know that the two of you would each be able to rule Tashalla in an honorable and just manner."
Adam and Andréa looked at each other, knowing exactly what to say. "Well," Andréa started, "as much as an honor that would be right now, we're Power Rangers, and we have a responsibility to the people of Earth."
"It's where we're needed right now," Adam continued, "and it's where our friends and families are. Perhaps someday when we're on our own and no longer Rangers, we'll come back."
"And trust me, it won't take a couple thousand years for us to come back this time!" Andréa then commented.
"You speak with truth," Taliana said. "Although there is a part of you that still remains loyal to your homeland, you know that there is a place which needs your help more than we do now. I know that you have done and that you will do well for the people of Earth the same way you have done well for us. Whenever you wish to return, we will be more than happy to have you."
Andréa suddenly remembered something. "Hey, can you excuse me for a minute?" she blurted out. "There's some stuff I want to get before we leave. I'll be right back." Before anyone knew it, she ran up in the direction of the palace, Adam wondering just what she was up to now.
A few minutes later, Andréa returned with a large sack slung over her shoulder. "What've you got in there?" Adam asked curiously.
Andréa grinned. "I . . . don't think I can tell you that quite yet," she said. "Maybe in a couple years, I'll let you know just what's all in here." What was actually in there was her old journal, a few other personal belongings, and the wedding dress that Aurora never had the chance to wear but Andréa still hoped to use in the future. "But trust me, Adam, you'll like it when you finally see it."
Adam looked at her blankly. "Whatever you say."
Andréa went over to Taliana and hugged her one last time. "Until next time, old friend," she said.
"Good luck, my princess, my prince," the woman said before opening the portal. The townspeople all watched as the two Rangers stepped into the portal and disappeared. "And may the power always protect you."
[Angel Grove City Park, about 2:30 pm]
"Guys!" Tommy called out to the other three Rangers as they ran up to him in the park. "Have you found the detonator yet?"
"We haven't been able to find a thing," Kat reported as Justin nodded in agreement, both of them trying to catch their breath.
"This doesn't make any sense!" Tanya said. "I mean, if Divatox keeps sending down one batch of Piranhatrons after another for an entire day, you'd think there'd be some sort of detonator involved!"
But of course, that was when Divatox and still more Piranhatrons appeared in front of them. "Having fun, Rangers?" she taunted. "Gee, I kinda thought you'd have been able to find my detonator by now. Too bad your friends won't make it back in time to help you!"
"Wanna bet?" two familiar voices called out, freezing Divatox and the Piranhatrons in their tracks.
The pirate queen whirled around to find Adam and Andréa standing there and staring her down, both of them still in their battle armor. The long broadsword Adam had in his hand especially freaked Divatox out. Even the other Rangers were rather stunned to find their friends there. "What?!" Divatox shouted. "No! How can this be? Y-you're supposed to be gone!" The rest of the Rangers were thinking the same thing, but they were greatly relieved to see their teammates back safe and sound.
"Our vacation's over, Divatox," Andréa shouted back, "and now so are you!"
The other four Rangers lined up on both sides of the two. "We already sent one villain packing today," Adam continued, threatening Divatox with his sword, "so we might as well go for a second one while we're at it!"
Divatox threw a fit. "Get them!!" she screamed, signaling the Piranhatrons to attack. They did as they commanded and charged toward the six Rangers.
The other four Rangers scattered and each took on some of the foot soldiers by themselves. Meanwhile, Adam and Andréa fought side by side against the Piranhatrons, basically showing Divatox they meant business by not morphing quite yet. But after a while, the two were surrounded and had their backs up against each other. "You ready?" Adam asked as he looked back at Andréa.
"You bet I am," she replied with determination. "Let's show 'em what a little firepower can do!"
Each pulled out their crystals carefully so that their opponents wouldn't know what they were up to quite yet. Finally, both stood side by side in similar positions and held their crystals out in front of them. "Purple Phoenix FireStar Power!" Andréa was the first to call out.
"Black Dragon FireStar Power!" Adam quickly followed suit.
In an instant, they became the Purple Phoenix and Black Dragon Rangers, appearing just as they did after first receiving the powers centuries before. And compared to what they had just been through on Khalterria, the Piranhatrons seemed to be little trouble for the two Rangers, almost cutting right through the foot soldiers like the proverbial hot knife through butter.
Moments later, all the Piranhatrons were gone, and it was only Divatox against the six Rangers. She started to back away as they all lined up beside each other again but then stopped, knowing she hadn't been defeated yet. "Love to stay and fight you, Rangers," she said sarcastically, "but I don't want to get caught up in that explosive little surprise I have waiting for you . . . that is, if you can get to it in time!" The pirate queen laughed and waved facetiously. "Been nice knowing you! Toodles!" She then vanished, leaving the Rangers there in the park.
"The detonator!" Justin shouted. "It's probably somewhere here in the park!"
"Of course!" Tanya added. "It's like what Kat said yesterday, that Divatox was trying to split us up so we couldn't find it!"
"Do you have any idea where it is?" Andréa asked.
"No, we don't," Tommy answered, "but . . . wait a minute!" He then spotted something hidden in the bushes. "There it is!" The six ran in that direction and found it quickly, but very little time was left on it. "Oh man, it's gonna blow! We don't have enough time to deactivate it!"
"Rae and I'll take it from here, Tommy," Adam said, picking up the device. He hurled it up toward the sky, the seconds still ticking away. He and Andréa then drew their swords and crossed them, shooting a bolt of energy into the air. Once the bolt hit it, the device exploded into a massive fireball in mid-air, harming nothing but itself. The rest of the Rangers could only stand there in amazement as their two teammates showed their combined power.