Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. I do own the idea for the Atlantean
Rangers and the Zord designs, despite them being compared to previous Zords
in a few cases, though those are merely references.
~~
It is two days after Dark Specter had last attacked the Earth. He had sent down a monster that was a humanoid crab. It turned out the monster was merely an alien under a spell and with the combined efforts of Connerly and Alex back at Atlantis, the spell was broken and the alien was freed. He returned home in gratitude to the Atlantean Rangers and told them that if they ever needed his help to just contact him and he would gladly come and help.
"You know, its really too bad that Alex can't join us on the battlefield," Bethany says as they spar.
"Yeah, all of the Morphers have been discovered," Holly adds, "so he won't be as protected as we are if he goes into battle."
"He can't even protect himself as well as any other Power Ranger," Nathan says.
"You know, we could approach Lightspeed Rescue and ask them to build us a Morpher for him," Holly says, "we could power it with Atlantean technology and magic. He won't likely be as strong as an Atlantean Ranger, but he would be stronger than any other Ranger in existence."
"Except for maybe the Gold Zeo Ranger and the Silver Astro Ranger," Ben says, "weren't they the strongest Rangers to ever live besides us?"
"Except for various Red Rangers at certain times," Holly says, "the Red Astro Ranger when he became the Red Battleized Ranger, the Phantom Ranger, the Red Galaxy Ranger when he powered up, any of the Galaxy Rangers when they summoned the Lights of Orion to tell the truth. There was also the Red Lightspeed Ranger when he used the Transarmor Cycle. And possibly the strongest of them all is the Red Time Force Ranger when he uses the Battle Fire to become the Red Battle Warrior. And of course there was the Quantum Ranger when he summoned his armor."
"Do any of the Wild Force Rangers have anything like that?" Ben asks.
"There's only one of them right now, so my guess is no," Holly answers.
"Only one?" Nathan asks, surprised, "their monsters must be pretty weak."
"The Orgs are weak," Connerly says as he walks into the room, "at least, they are now. Magical scans have determined that the Master Org will soon arise. It will likely be next year though. But the Orgs are increasing in strength."
"Why don't any of the other Ranger teams go and help?" Holly asks.
"Since there is a Ranger present fighting them, they feel that they do not need to interfere," Connerly says.
"Can we help them?" Holly asks.
"We could, but if we draw attention to them from the Dark Specter before their full team comes together, they'll be destroyed and their potential will be gone forever," Connerly says.
"Why doesn't the Dark Specter just send an overwhelming invasion force to fight us?" Nathan asks.
"Because he must conserve his power until he is at his true full strength again," Connerly replies, "he is currently at his maximum strength, but he has no reserves. If he attacks full force and all of the Rangers of the universe join together and manage to defeat him and destroy him again, then he'll be gone for good. He's just biding his time until he has his reserves of energy built back up. Then we'll be in serious trouble."
~In Dark Specter's ship~
"My lord, you have a visitor," Darkonda says.
"Show him in," Dark Specter commands.
In walks a devilish-looking creature with dark gray skin, sparse yet wild white hair, and bony armor sticking out at joints and covering his eyes and knuckles. Dark Specter recognizes it immediately and stiffens. It is an Elemental. A Chaos Elemental to be exact. Even the Dark Specter, with the backing of every powerful sorcerer to have lived in the last three thousand years, would hesitate to try and summon forth a Chaos Elemental, much less control one.
The only known being to have ever lived capable of harnessing the power of a Chaos Elemental was the legendary Methus. But even though he was the mightiest mystic to have ever lived on any planet, even his power should have given away and allowed him to succumb to old age around the same time Atlantis fell.
"Dark Specter, I bring greetings from my master, Methus," the Chaos Elemental rumbles in a voice that resembling falling grains of sand on gravel, "he bids you good tidings and congratulations on surviving death."
"What does Methus, father of Lokar, bid of me?" Dark Specter asks, knowing that if Methus truly sent this Chaos Elemental, it would cut straight to the chase and skip the formalities when asked such a question.
"Ah, as impatient as ever," the Chaos Elemental grins, "this meeting will likely turn out just like last time we met."
Dark Specter, though he doesn't show it, begins to feel fear. If this Chaos Elemental was the same he had met the last time Methus had bid him do something, then his level of power would be greatly depleted. Depleted enough with his current level of reserves for that opportunistic Darkonda to try and take over.
"What does he wish of me?" Dark Specter asks again, gaining confidence in the fact that Methus never killed those he "asked" to do something for him unless he was dissatisfied with their work.
"He says that you must find for him the Staff of Kaishin, which is located on the planet you are attacking," the Chaos Elemental says.
"And what do I gain from helping the mighty Methus?" Dark Specter rumbles.
"Why, he will use his vast power to restore a full half of your energy reserves," the Chaos Elemental says with a toothy grin. It is a grin that few rational beings would take comfort in.
Dark Specter's eyes widen and glow even brighter at that prospect. At this current rate, it would take him nearly a hundred more years to gain that much power, though once he gained such energy in reserve the rest would be easy to achieve. While the Dark Specter was patient, he had had more setbacks in the last decade than he had had in the three millennia before he destroyed what he thought would be the greatest threat to his empire, Atlantis.
"Show me an image of this Staff and I will get it for you," Dark Specter says with a wicked grin, "and we will have a bargain made and struck."
"Very well," the Chaos Elemental chuckles, "you really are an impatient one, aren't you? Very well."
The Chaos Elemental forms a small ball of light in his hand and throws it up into the air. It forms a screen that shows a trident, with the staff made of the darkest ebony that seemed to suck in the light itself. The blades of the trident were each of a different color, red, yellow, and green.
The Dark Specter knew the legendary power of the Staff of Kaishin. Unfortunately, its power would do him no good. He did not possess the type of magic required to use its mighty power. Lord Zedd had, but then Zedd had been a sorcerer of great power. The Staff of Kaishin was supposed to be one of the many fabled artifacts capable of accessing a limitless source of power. But none alive knew how to access this fabled power if it truly existed. Then again, Methus was the oldest living being in existence. He probably had every piece of information concerning the artifacts that were linked to this ancient power.
"Where is the Staff of Kaishin?" Dark Specter asks.
"Somewhere on the bottom of the ocean," the Chaos Elemental replies, "apparently, it was on an oceangoing vessel that sank. I think it was called the Titanic."
"Will Methus have any other use for me after this favor?" Dark Specter inquires.
"Since you are the most dominant force of evil in the known universe, more than likely," the Chaos Elemental replies, "do-gooders are no good for jobs like this. It must have something to do with their morals, I guess."
Dark Specter immediately realizes that this Chaos Elemental was being kept on a very short leash. Methus was controlling its every action, including what it said.
"I have come to realize this in the past, revered Methus," Dark Specter says, getting up out of his throne and bowing to the Chaos Elemental.
The Chaos Elemental laughs. "So you figured it out, eh? You're not as stupid as I thought then. Good. That means you will actually stand a chance at completing this task and any future ones I have for you. If any more of the artifacts of the Kairo are in this immediate sector of space, I will come to you to retrieve them. Provided, that is, that these Atlantean Rangers do not destroy you first."
With a mocking laugh, the Chaos Elemental teleports away in a ripple of Space/Time.
"DARKONDA!" Dark Specter bellows.
Darkonda scurries into Dark Specter's throne room. He was afraid, very afraid. He knew that Methus was the only being in existence capable of controlling a Chaos Elemental. And if Methus was coming to the Dark Specter for help, then something big was up. Methus never helped anyone unless they helped him in ways far greater. This war for Earth was now going to come to a close.
"You summoned me, great and mighty Dark Specter?" Darkonda grovels.
"Look at the screen," Dark Specter commands, gesturing to the screen created by the Chaos Elemental, "that is the Staff of Kaishin. Go to Earth, find the place where the ocean vessel known as the Titanic lies, and find it. Take three platoons of Spectrons with you. And take Yado Karu as well. He's been growing restless."
"Yes, my master," Darkonda says with a bow. He turns to exit.
"And Darkonda," Dark Specter says. Darkonda stops and turns his head so he can sideways look at Dark Specter.
"When you find the Staff of Kaishin, leave Yado Karu behind. Let him have some fun in Earth's oceans," Dark Specter says.
"As you wish, mighty Dark Specter," Darkonda says with a maniacal grin.
~The next day, at the local mall, food court~
The four newer Atlantean Rangers had planned a meeting to discuss whom they think their leader was. They had been mulling over the subject for quite some time, but they couldn't come up with any solid evidence to point at any one person.
"Okay, so we know he's about your age," Holly says to Nathan, "he graduated when you did."
"Actually, he was one of those who have to go to summer school to graduate," Bethany reminds her.
"There was only five people there who didn't graduate," Nathan says, "two of them were girls."
"So that narrows everything down to three people," Holly muses.
"Since we stay the same height and relative build when we morph, it actually narrows things down to two," Nathan says, "Jesse is totally the wrong buld to be the Silver Atlantean Ranger. He's a little too flabby. I remember what he was like in the recent school physical: totally out of shape. Even with the Silver Morpher he couldn't trim down that much."
"And the other two?" Holly asks.
"Too tall and too short," Nathan replies, "of course, that's just our school."
"He's right," Ben says, "remember, Alex does have friends that go to the other two high schools, not to mention he likely has friends who go to that Crhistian academy."
"Well, I seriously doubt the Silver Ranger goes to Trinity," Holly replies, "if he failed, then he'd have been drummed out. From the sound of it, he barely passed all of his classes. Students there have to make a certain GPA to stay. So Trinity is out."
"That leaves JCM and Northside," Nathan points out.
"Well, since none of us are friends with Alex, we don't know who many of his other friends are," Ben says.
"By the way, I never asked you how you found us and our Morphers," Nathan says, "and how did the two of you become Atlantean Rangers?"
"Well, I was teleported from my living room on the day I first started my new 'career' as the Bronze Ranger," Bethany replies, "Holly was found out because he Morpher changed into its true form during nother monster attack. And the Silver Ranger found you two. How, we do not know."
"He could have been at the Project Graduation," Nathan says, "but the only people besides South Side students who were there were guests, and you know how we get along with people from the other two schools."
"The guys make idiots of themselves with rampant macho stupidity?" Bethany asks with a saccharine smile.
"And the girls treat each other like trailer park trash," Ben says.
Before they could take the conversation any further, their communicators beep. Bethany activates the speaker on hers after looking around to make sure no one was watching.
"Go ahead," she says softly.
"Guys, we've got a problem," Silver Ranger's voice says from the communicator, "a group of Spectrons appear to be looking for something at the following coordinates. Morph and meet me at the following coordinates: 49º 56' 54" W, 41º 43' 35" N."
"That's the longitude and latitude coordinates of the Titanic!" Ben gasps.
"Say what?" Silver Ranger demands, his voice sharp.
"I find the history of the Titanic fascinating," Ben explains, "those are the approximate coordinates of the stern section."
"Could it be that the Dark Specter is looking for something there?" Nathan asks.
"Who knows?" Ben asks, "people are still exploring the wreck. There's no telling what they could be looking for."
"Well, lets go," Bethany says, "we can't let Dark Specter have anything that he wants."
The four Ranger's quickly exit and find a secluded place just outside the mall.
"It's Morphin' Time!" Bethany calls out, "Bronze Power of Atlantis!"
"Platinum Power of Atlantis!" Holly calls out.
"Crystal Power of Atlantis!" Nathan calls out.
"White Power of Atlantis!" Ben calls out.
The four Ranger's teleport to the location they had been given.
~At the coordinates 49º 56' 54" W, 41º 43' 35" N~
In four streaks of bronze, platinum, sapphire blue, and white, the four Atlantean Ranger's arrive. The Silver Ranger and the Aqua Ranger were already they. They were on an iceberg that overlooked another iceberg. On the other iceberg was nearly sixty Spectrons and a strange monster.
"Hey, I recognize him from one of the newcasts from a monster attack on Angel Grove," White Ranger comments, "he gave the Astro Rangers a really tough fight with the help of another monster. It was in that battle that they got the Voyager Megazord."
"Yes, it is Darkonda," Silver Ranger says, "but that's odd. He was supposed to have been destroyed along with the Dark Specter just before the final battle with Astronema. And even if he had survived, the wave of pure energy from the shattering of Zordon's energy tube would have destroyed him."
"Either way, he's a tough opponent, right?" Platinum Ranger asks.
"The Atlanteans hardly have any information on him," Silver Ranger replies, "he was after their time. Needless to say, he will be a formidable opponent."
"Any idea what he's looking for?" Aqua Ranger asks.
"The wreck of the Titanic, obviously," White Ranger says, "this is where it sunk."
"I never did like that movie," Silver Ranger grumbles, "that song was extremely annoying."
"No, it was just Celine Dion's voice," Crystal Ranger says, "the song itself was good."
"You may have a point," Silver Ranger admits, "shall we wait for them to find what they are looking for, or should we just attack now and destroy them all?"
"There's sixty of them," Bronze Ranger points out, "even a spowerful as we are, they still hold the advantage."
"Then let's cut down their numbers with a few well-placed energy attacks," Silver Ranger says, summoning the Silver Staff.
The other Ranger's summon their Staffs as well.
"Group blast?" Aqua Ranger inquires.
"No, strategic shots," Silver Ranger replies, "draw your Blade Blasters as well."
The other five do so.
"Ready?" Silver Ranger asks, "and fire!"
As a unit, the Atlantean Rangers open fire on the Spectrons with their Staffs and Blade Blasters.
"What?" Darkonda growls, "it's the Atlantean Rangers! Destroy them!"
The remaining Spectrons swarm the Atlantean Rangers via teleport. A full third of them had been taken out by the surprise assault by the Ranger's, but they still had the strength of numbers. And Spectrons were superior to anything else any other Ranger team had so far come across.
Needless to say, the Atlantean Ranger's were having one big brawl.
Bronze Ranger had gotten a few quick shots off with her Blade Blaster before trading it away in favor of her Bronze Battle Axe. She carved her way through the swarm of Spectrons skillfully, but for each one she cut down, another took its place.
Platinum Ranger had immediately holstered her Blade Blaster and used her Platinum Partisan. She used her shield to hold off her attackers, preferring to set them up for her teammates to cut down.
White Ranger abandoned all subtlety and just used his White Warhammer to crush Spectron armor like it was paper.
Crystal Ranger used both his Crystal Cutlass and his Blade Blaster in Blade Mode to cut through the Spectrons.
Aqua Ranger immediately summoned his Aqua Double Dirks to cut a swath through the Spectrons.
Silver Ranger used his Silver Saber to take out Spectrons left and right, kicking up snow to obstruct their visuals and cut them down while they are blind while every now and then firing off an energy bolt at the far-off Darkonda who promptly returned fire which the Silver Ranger ducked and allowed to blast a Spectron.
Within half an hour all of the Spectrons are taken care of. The Rangers converge on Darkonda.
"Oh, so you're gonna gang up on me, are ya?" Darkonda sneers as he draws and elongates his sword.
"What are you doing here?" White Ranger demands.
"None of your business!" Darkonda snaps, "as soon as we find what we're looking for, we'll leave."
"We?" Bronze Ranger asks, "um, in case you didn't notice, we just aced your Spectron flunkies. You're alone."
"I don't think so," Darkonda sneers.
Behind the Rangers, a giant shellfish-like monster rises up out of the water. It had a spiral shell that was heavily spiked and was of a yellowish color. Its skin was a deep sea green and its head was almost draconic. It had two crab claws and in one of them was a strange looking trident.
"Ah, the Staff of Kaishin!" Darkonda gloats, "Yado Karu, give it here! Then destroy these pests!"
The monster lobs the trident at Darkonda, but the Platinum Ranger leaps into the air and intercepts the trident.
"Curse you!" Darkonda yells as he charges the Platinum Ranger to get the Staff of Kaishin from her. The Crystal and White Ranger's intercept him and double-team him with a kick to the gut followed by a slash from the Crystal Cutlass and a smashing blow to the back of the head from the White Warhammer.
Darkonda staggers back, obviously dazed from the attacks. He had not expected them to be this strong! They were stronger than that accursed Silver Astro Ranger! They were stronger than the Dark Specter gave them credit for being. Or at least stronger than the Dark Specter let on. It was no wonder that they had decimated the Dark Specter's forces so far. They were far superior to the Spectrons. Heck, they could easily be stronger than Darkonda himself was, and he was now at his prime once again!
Darkonda struggles to regain his composure. He glares at the Atlantean Rangers as the fight off Yado Karu. The Bronze Ranger was using her Bronze Staff to fire bronze colored bolts of energy at the monster's shell. Aqua Ranger was using his Aqua Double Dirks to ward off the monster's claws while having to jump around to keep from getting bitten by the monster's enormous head. The Silver Ranger was using his Silver Staff to send beams of silver colored energy into Yado Karu's eyes in an attempt to blind it.
The Crystal and White Rangers converge on Darkonda with their weapons ready. White Ranger with their weapons: White Ranger with his White Warhammer and the Crystal Ranger using boith his Crystal Cutlass and his Blade Blaster in blade mode. Darkonda parries the Crystal Ranger's attacks while avoiding the White Rangers slams. He parries a thrust from the Crystal Ranger and grabs the Crystal Ranger's right arm and twists violently. He then flings him over his head and slams him hard into the ground. Darkonda then blocks the White Ranger's White Warhammer and kicks him in the gut, sending him flying and crashing through a nearby pinnacle of ice. He sends off a few eye blasts just for the heck of it. Darkonda then starts walking over to the Platinum Ranger, who was holding the Staff of Kaishin, planning to just kill her and take the Staff.
The Silver Ranger, enraged by Darkonda's actions and seeing where he was headed, disengages fighting Yado Karu and changes his Silver Staff into the Silver Saber and launches himself at Darkonda.
"So, another Silver Ranger wishes to take me on," Darkonda sneers, "bring it, child."
The two warriors enter into a fierce display of swordsmanship skill and hand to hand fighting techniques. Darkonda had years of experience of the Silver Ranger, but the Silver Ranger's Morpher gave him reflexes far beyond those of most any sparring partner or opponent than Darkonda could likely find after Zordon's Wave. And the Silver Ranger knew a few tricks. In the end, however, the two were perfectly matched. Neither could gain a clear advantage over the other.
"You're better than I thought you'd be," Darkonda snarls as he locks blades with the Silver Ranger.
"Of course you wouldn't think that an average human teenager, even with the Powers of Atlantis empowering him, wouldn't be able to equal you," Silver Ranger growls.
"Still, you're nowhere near as good as the Silver Astro Ranger," Darkonda says as he frees his blade and kicks the Silver Ranger in the gut, sending him flying through the air. The Silver Ranger teleports midair and appears behind Darkonda, crashing into his back.
"So, you're incorporated your teleportation system into your fighting style, eh?" Darkonda asks, surprise and a small amount of respect apparent in his voice, "very good. Only Trey of Triforia has been able to do that before."
"I know," Silver Ranger says smugly, "I try to emulate all of the best Ranger's. Its harder than it looks."
"I'll bet," Darkonda agrees, "it takes a lot of practice and concentration."
"And a lot of willpower," Silver Ranger replies, "but I sure took you by surprise, didn't I?"
"You won't do it again," Darkonda promises as he prepares to resume the fight.
"We'll see," Silver Ranger replies darkly as he too stances to do battle.
"Silver Ranger, we need some help!" Bronze Ranger calls out. Silver Ranger turns to see that Yado Karu had ahold of the Bronze and Aqua Ranger's in its claws. A moment too late he remembers that you should never turn your back on the enemy in a fight. Especially if that enemy was reputed to be the most dishonest villain in the universe.
Silver Ranger turns back around just in time to see Darkonda's sword slicing down, cutting through his shield and knocking him to the ground, unconscious. Darkonda stalks towards the Platinum Ranger, intent on taking the Staff of Kaishin from her.
"Give me the Staff of Kaishin and I'll let you live, Platinum Ranger," Darkonda growls.
"Not a chance," Platinum Ranger says, drawing her Blade Blaster and firing several shots at Darkonda. Darkonda raises his left arm lazily and the blasts bounce off his palm.
"Pathetic," Darkonda sneers, "just give me the Staff of Kaishin and I'll leave."
"I don't think so," Platinum Ranger says as she converts her Blade Blaster into blade mode and charges Darkonda. Darkonda easily parries her short Blade Blaster expertly with his sword.
Without warning, Darkonda is smashed to the ground by a powerful blow to the back. He gets up to see the Crystal and White Ranger's standing between him and the Platinum Ranger, weapons ready.
"You two couldn't beat me a few moments ago together, so why do you think you stand a chance now?" Darkonda sneers.
"This is how," a feminine voice says from behind him as he is sent flying by a powerful blast of bronze-colored energy. Darkonda gets back to his feet once again, now seeing that the Aqua and Bronze Ranger's are free and Yado Karu writhing in pain.
Darkonda gives out a feral snarl. "You may have won this time, Ranger's, but the Dark Specter will destroy you all!"
Darkonda teleports away, leaving Yado Karu to deal with the Atlantean Ranger's alone.
"Atlantean Staffs, full power!" Silver Ranger commands. All six Ranger's either convert their weapons to Staff mode or summon their Staff and bring their combined power to bear on Yado Karu. The combined every of the six Ranger's completely incinerate the monster, leaving nothing behind.
"Well, that monster's dust," Silver Ranger grumbles, "lets get that Staff back to Atlantis. I'm sure Connerly would dearly love to examine this thing and see what it does, considering that Darkonda was so eager to get it for the Dark Specter."
"Agreed," Platinum Ranger says, "and I'm sure Alex would like to look at it as well. Who knows? With this, he just might be able to join us on the battlefield."
"We can only hope," Silver Ranger says. The six Ranger's teleport back to Atlantis.
~Inside the Dark Specter's ship~
Dark Specter was livid, to say the least. Even Darkonda had never seen him so angry. "YOU LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THE STAFF OF KAISHIN! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THIS WILL COST US? METHUS WILL HAVE BOTH OF OUR HEADS!"
"I know, mighty Dark Specter, but I was unprepared for their strength," Darkonda grovels, "I could have taken them with ease, but I was unprepared to even face them. They are indeed stronger than any other Ranger I have ever faced, including the Silver Astro Ranger."
"Darkonda, we must get the Staff of Kaishin from the Ranger's," Dark Specter says, a hint of desperation in his voice, "Darkonda, find the Ranger's and take the Staff of Kaishin from them. After that, kill them."
"But master, we only know the identity of the Silver Atlantean Ranger," Darkonda protests.
"Then go and capture the Silver Atlantean Ranger at the first chance you get," Dark Specter replies simply, "use him as blackmail to get the Staff. They cannot afford to lose him in this war, for even for the Atlanteans there were so few capable of wielding its incredible power. In the modern age that the Earth is in, only one in a billion would be able to wield its power. There is no telling how long it would take them to find another suitable to use the Silver Morpher. Go and capture him, and then send out a message to the other Ranger's. You know what spell to use."
"Yes, mighty Dark Specter," Darkonda grovels, "it shall be as you wish."
Darkonda teleports away to formulate a plan and then execute it.
"Darkonda, I will be most displeased if you fail me again," Dark Specter says to himself, "I will personally hand you over to my scientists to mutilate if you fail me."
~Back at Atlantis~
"So, you're saying that you don't know what it is or even if it has any power?" Silver Ranger demands.
"Pretty much," Alex says, "Connerly and I can find out nothing about it except for the metal is not from Earth. It is made of a metal that Connerly says is all but indestructible."
"It is also a spell amplifier," Connerly says, "if Alex used a destructive spell with it, he could very well obliterate a city."
"So it's incredibly powerful," Holly says, "can we use it against Dark Specter?"
"I'm not sure," Connerly admits, "its power is unfathomable. I really don't know of any way we can use it against Dark Specter as far as Alex using it in battle because we still haven't come up with the main problem of him joining you in battle: armor. We have no armor that he can use because only a pure blooded Atlantean can use the armor that would prove beneficial. Everything else that we have will not be enough, even with this trident."
"So we should just keep it here until we can use it in some way?" Nathan asks.
"It looks that way," Alex says.
"But why would Dark Specter want it?" Ben asks.
"To enhance his spells," Silver Ranger says simply, "his spells are already fearsome. He may even have planned to use it to bolster the abilities of his minion's, such as their subterfuge spells. If he had managed to get hold of it, there is no telling what he may have been able to do."
"How do you know all of this?" Holly demands, "you were only in two battles before Bethany joined, three before I did. You were only a Ranger a little over a week before any of the rest of us became Ranger's. How do you get your information?"
"Pure speculation, talking with Petite, and checking records," Silver Ranger replies, "I take this very seriously."
"So do we," Holly snaps, "you'd better start working with us more. You still haven't told us your name."
"I don't like you enough to tell you," Silver Ranger replies.
"But you need to work with us, Silver Ranger," Bethany protests, "you need to work with us!"
"I will work with you, I always have," Silver Ranger replies, "but it's my own choice that I don't tell you who I am."
"Enough!" Connerly yells, "quit this petty bickering! You're all on the same side! The Council respects the Silver Ranger's decision to keep his identity hidden and Petite has agreed not to tell anyone without the Silver Ranger's permission. Now, all of you, go home and get some rest. That was a pretty intense battle and you'll need to regain your strength in case the Dark Specter attacks again soon."
The room is lit up with the six teleportation streams of the Atlantean Rangers.
~A few hours later~
Darkonda spies on the house before him. His research had told him that this was where the Silver Atlantean Ranger lived. All he had to do was capture the Silver Ranger and ransom him for the Staff of Kaishin. A little overdone, since practically every villain who had ever attacked the Earth had done this at least a dozen times, but the Ranger's always followed through by providing the ransom.
Jesse was in the backyard, going through a quick kata. He wanted to get into a much better physical shape than hew as. He had never been in a good physical condition in his entire life, and now being a Power Ranger gave him the chance to improve himself. Unfortunately, he had some natural physical deficiencies so his Morpher had a considerable portion of its power going towards making him physically normal, so he didn't have as much potential as the other Rangers, morphed or not. Fortunately, Connerly had told him that when everyone reached their full strength, he would simply be a little stronger than the other five Ranger's. Not by much, but he would be stronger. His powers would eventually cure his eyesight, like the powers of the original Ranger's had done for the original Blue Ranger. But he was rather fond of his glasses, so he had talked with Connerly and they had redirected most of those particular healing energies so that his eyesight was simply stabilized. The power that would have gone towards the healing was now where it would have been in a normal person: everywhere else.
"Hello, little Ranger," a sinister and somewhat familiar voice says from behind Jesse. Jesse whirls around to see Darkonda standing there, sword ready.
Jesse summons his Morpher and prepares to morph. "It's morphing-"
But Darkonda blasts the Silver Morpher out of Jesse's hands and kicks him in the gut. Jesse doubles over in pain as Darkonda wraps an arm around his throat.
"And now, boy, you're gonna do me a favor," Darkonda whispers into Jesse's ear just before he teleports away.
"Connerly, whats wrong?" Holly asks as she, Bethany, Nathan, and Ben rush into the Hall of Heroes after being summoned by the Elder.
"Darkonda has captured a civilian, a friend of the Silver Ranger's in hopes to ransom him for the Staff of Kaishin," Alex replies.
"The Staff of Kaishin?" Holly asks.
"That's what the artifact you retrieved earlier is called," Alex replies, "now, please go to the following coordinates and save the civilian. You're taking the Staff of Kaishin with you because we're more than likely gonna just have to pay the ransom. Darkonda's reputation points to the fact that he'll likely kill the civilian rather than give him up if he can't get the Staff."
"So it's a lose-lose scenario?" Nathan asks.
"It is," Petite says, "because if we let this civilian die, it is likely that the Silver Ranger will quit. We'll have to find and train a new Silver Ranger."
'Actually, he won't quit, he'll be dead,' Alex thinks. He knows Petite knew this as well, but they had to continue to respect Jesse's desire to keep his identity a secret from the other Ranger's.
"Right then," Holly says, "come on, we gotta go save that hostage!"
"It's Morphin time!" Petite calls out.
"Bronze Power of Atlantis!"
"Platinum Power of Atlantis!"
"Crystal Power of Atlantis!"
"White Power of Atlantis!"
"Aqua Power of Atlantis!"
Connerly steps up with the Staff of Kaishin and hands it to Platinum Ranger. "If Darkonda reneges on the bargain, you're the best bet to keep it safe. Out of the entire team, only you precise knowledge on how to fight with a weapon like this."
"It is similar enough to the Platinum Partisan," Platinum Ranger agrees.
"Now go and save that hostage!" Alex says pleadingly.
"Right," Aqua Ranger says. The five Ranger's teleport out in streams of appropriately colored light.
~In the middle of the Andes mountains, Peru~
"The Ranger's will never go through wit this," Jesse says defiantly. Darkonda was keeping him under a tight watch. A barrier had been erected that scrambled teleportation signals going out. He was also being held in place by a pair of Spectrons and was surrounded by several others. And unfortunately, they were in some Incan ruins and that would make things a little hazy later.
"I think they will," Darkonda sneers, "you see, in my experience, the Ranger's always look after their own."
Jesse smirks. "One problem. They don't know that I'm one of them. I'm a bit of a distrustful kind of guy and none of them know that I'm the Silver Atlantean Ranger."
"You lie!" Darkonda yells.
"I'm a Ranger," Jesse says, still smirking, Ranger's do not lie."
"Oh, Ranger's lie all right, but I don't think you're lying," Darkonda says, "so as far as their concerned, you're a civilian. That's even better. Ranger's cannot allow others to die in their fight against evil."
"Acceptable losses," Jesse replies, "I've drilled it into their heads, as have our instructors. We have been taught that if we have to sacrifice a civilian to save many more, we will. And since we know what that trident can do, they'll see it as an acceptable loss."
"What kind of Ranger's are you?" Darkonda demands, "you're the most realistic and practical team of Ranger's I have ever met!"
"We don't hold up the ideals of Zordon of Eltare," Jesse replies, "nor do we have the rules of protecting the civilians like the Lightspeed Ranger's nor are we officer's like the Time Force Ranger's. And none of us can qualify for Humanitarian of the Year like the Wild Force Power Ranger's. We know this is a war, and we're prepared to do what it takes to stop evil. Besides, Atlanteans can really bear a grudge, even though it's been twelve thousand years."
"You have no contact with any Atlanteans!" Darkonda yells, "Atlantis was destroyed twelve thousand years ago!"
"You only think it was," Jesse grins, "the Atlanteans have been in hiding for the last twelve thousand years, watching and waiting for the chance to avenge their civilization upon Dark Specter. Now they have their chance, and we Atlantean Ranger's are their instruments in their vengeance."
Darkonda studies Jesse for a moment, then bursts out laughing. "You almost had me going there for a moment! But no matter what, Ranger's are Ranger's and they'll never let a civilian die."
"Maybe," Jesse concedes, "but you never know."
At that moment, the other Ranger's teleport in.
"Okay Darkonda, we brought you the Staff," Aqua Ranger says, "now let the hostage go."
Beneath his helmet, Crystal Ranger's eyes widen. His surprise is evident in his body language.
"What's the matter?" Platinum Ranger asks.
"It's nothing," Crystal Ranger lies. This definitely narrowed down who the Silver Ranger could be. Jesse did not have that many friends, and he doubted that many of them were also friends with Alex. They would likely find out who the Silver Ranger was before the day was out.
"Hand over the Staff and I'll hand him over," Darkonda replies, "he is of no real interest to me. Just a bartering chip."
'He's up to something,' Jesse thinks, 'he could have easily told them just now that I am the Silver Ranger. He's definitely gonna try something. Unfortunately, with all of these Spectrons holding me, I can't get away to morph. I hope they know what they're doing.'
"Here's the Staff of Kaishin, Darkonda," Platinum Ranger says, walking forward with the trident.
"Very good," Darkonda says, "now hand it over."
Behind the group of Spectrons, Alex teleports in an almost invisible streak of white light. He is wearing some Atlantean armor that will hopefully protect him well enough, despite the fact that it slightly lowers his maneuverability. The armor was silver with gold, crimson, and sky blue trim. He was armed with a high-powered laser rifle courtesy of the armory within the Hall of Heroes. He immediately notices the teleportation blocking barrier.
"Not bad," Alex mutters, "Darkonda definitely knows his spells. Now, let's see if I can get Jesse free. I'm glad this helmet does disguise my face so I can't say that I was risking blowing everyone's identity to a civilian."
Alex slowly creeps up behind the Spectrons, laser rifle ready. He carefully raises the rifle and aims it at one of the Spectrons holding Jesse. He squeezes the trigger, letting loose a powerful bolt of energy that rips through three Spectrons. He quickly takes aim and shoots the other Spectron holding Jesse and then scythes through the other Spectrons with deadly accuracy.
'I'm definitely glad Alex loves playing those shooting arcade games,' Jesse thinks, 'but he needn't have truly bothered with the outfit. I can't believe they still bothered to keep my identity a secret. And the secrecy is fun, but it's really annoying. I always have to watch what I say when I'm Jacob. No more.'
Jesse immediately leaps into action and tackles Darkonda, leaving the morphed Ranger's in shock.
"Okay, I knew Jesse was crazy, but I didn't think he was that crazy!" Crystal Ranger exclaims.
"That's the Jesse Plunk you said could be the Silver Ranger?" Bronze Ranger asks.
"He is," Crystal Ranger replies.
Jesse rolls off of Darkonda and crouches into a fighting stance. "Get up, you piece of rat bait!"
Darkonda gets to his feet and levels his sword at Jesse. "You'll pay for that!"
"I doubt it," Jesse says. He reaches into the Power that the Silver Morphers gives him and summons it from his backyard to his hand. "It's Morphin time! Silver Power of Atlantis!"
In a flash, the Silver Atlantean Ranger is in Jesse's place, ready to face Darkonda. The other Ranger's were surprised to say the least.
"Well, at least he's no longer keeping his identity a secret from the rest of the team," Alex mutters as he finishes the last few Spectrons off with a few well-placed laser blasts.
"Jesse IS the Silver Ranger?" Crystal Ranger gasps in amazement, "but how?"
"I'll explain later," Silver Ranger explains, "I was getting tired of all the deception anyway. Silver Saber!"
The brilliant silver blade appears in the Silver ranger's right hand, gleaming and ready for battle.
"You and me Darkonda, a duel here and now," Silver Ranger says, "winner gets the three-pronged stick."
Darkonda growls. "You're on! I defeated you before and this time I'll kill you!"
Darkonda charges the Silver Ranger and slashes at the Silver Ranger, who parries the attack and delivers a sidekick to Darkonda's chest. He then spins around and slashes at Darkonda's neck, but Darkonda blocks and backhands Silver Ranger, who goes flying through the air and crashes through a wall.
The Silver Ranger slowly picks himself back up, but not before Darkonda got to him. Dakonda kicks the Silver Ranger in the gut, lifting him off the ground with the force of the kick. Silver Ranger rolls out of the way of Darkonda's following stab and spins on his shoulders until he is in a kneeling position. He then leaps shoulder-first into Darkonda, knocking the larger alien off balance and then knees him in the gut. The Silver Ranger leaps back and prepares to fend of Darkonda's next attack.
Darkonda throws several energy blasts at the Silver ranger, but he simply blocks by creating his energy shield with his sword. The blasts pound the shield, driving the Silver Ranger back, but the shield holds. The Silver Ranger counters with an energy blast, but Darkonda blocks it with his hand.
"You are pathetic, Silver Ranger," Darkonda sneers, "you can barely hold off my simplest attacks, and you can't even hurt me."
"We'll see," Silver Ranger mutters as he changes his weapon into Staff mode, "fire!"
Beams of Silver energy emit from the tip of the Silver Staff. Darkonda tries to block the much more powerful bolts of energy, but instead gets sent flying by the resulting explosion. Darkonda staggers to his feet, his breathing short and ragged.
"You'll pay for that, boy," Darkonda growls, "hyah!"
Darkonda launches an incredible blast of energy at the Platinum Ranger, catching her unaware and sending her flying in one direction and the Staff of Kaishin flying in another. Darkonda leaps into the air and grabs the Staff of Kaishin.
"Ta ta, Ranger's," Darkonda laughs, "we'll meet again."
Darkonda teleports away in orange flames with the Staff of Kaishin just before more bolts of energy from the Silver Ranger's Silver staff could hit him.
"Blast! He got away with the Staff."
"Platinum Ranger, are you okay?" Crystal Ranger asks as he helps her to her feet.
"I'm okay, I think," Platinum Ranger replies as she rubs her helmet, "I hit my head, but I should be okay."
"If you hit your head, then don't worry," Silver Ranger says as he walks over to the other Ranger's, "there's nothing important up there to get damaged anyway."
Both of the female Ranger's glare daggers at their leader.
"Did I say something offensive?" Silver Ranger asks, an impish smile underneath his helmet.
"Let's return to Atlantis," Alex says as he walks to the group, "we've got a serious problem here. With the Dark Specter holding the Staff of Kaishin, his spells will get a lot more powerful."
"Right," Bronze Ranger says. The Ranger's and Alex teleport out in seven streams of silver, platinum, bronze, light sapphire blue, and aqua light and two streams of white light.
~Back at Atlantis~
"So you finally decided to let them know who you are, Jesse?" Jacolby asks. The Ranger's, Jacolby, Connerly, the Elder, Alex, and Eleanor are all sitting in a lounge within the Hall of Heroes, talking about what just happened and how to prepare for the onslaught of an even stronger Dark Specter.
"You know, there's something familiar about him," Holly says, "but I can't quite place it."
"Will this help?" Jesse asks, pulling out a small cylinder and focusing a small sprig of magical energy into it, activating it. Instantly, he changes into what he looks like when he is disguised as Jacob.
"Jacob!" Bethany exclaims.
"The one and only," Jesse replies, "I was getting tired of staying morphed, and I felt that it wasn't time to let you all know who I was yet, so I opted for a disguise. Plus, I like keeping secrets. Its always so much fun."
Jesse drops the disguise and becomes himself once again. "I gotta go. This has been a tiring day for me, plus my aunt may wonder where I was. If she does, I'll just tell I went out for a walk. In fact, I think I'll teleport to the park and walk home. It's only a ten minute walk back. Well, see you guys at the next battle."
With that, the Jesse teleports out in a stream of silver light.
"Is he always like that?" Bethany asks Alex.
"Pretty much," Alex replies, "Jesse just isn't comfortable in groups."
"Well, maybe he'll warm up to us," Holly says.
~In Dark Specter's ship~
"Very good Darkonda, you recovered the Staff of Kaishin," Dark Specter rumbles, pleased.
"It was nothing, my master," Darkonda replies as he presents the Staff of Kaishin to the Dark Specter.
At the same instant, the Chaos Elemental appears before them.
"I'll take that," the Chaos Elemental commands. Darkonda hurriedly hands the artifact to the creature. He knew he stood no chance against a Chaos Elemental. Even the Dark Specter, in the state he was in, couldn't defeat a Chaos Elemental in battle.
"My master Methus commends you on a job well done, Dark Specter," the Chaos Elemental says, "if he has need of you again, he will send me to contact you."
"As the Dark Sorcerer commands," Dark Specter replies with a bow. Darkonda was shell-shocked. This was all a job for the Dark Sorcerer Methus? Now he knew why the Dark Specter was so anxious to get the Staff. While it was dangerous to deal with the legendary Dark Sorcerer, the rewards were always more than worth it. Sometimes it was even unclear as to who got the better end of the deal. Darkonda himself knew what it was like to deal with the Dark Sorcerer. After all, that's where his various lives came from. He had done a job for the Dark Sorcerer Methus around seven thousand years ago. He obtained a magical talisman from the people of the planet Mirinoi. He had been driven back by the planet's defenders, the bearer's of the Quasar Saber's, but he had obtained the talisman.
"My master will send you the means to obtain your end of the payment in two months," the Chaos Elemental says, "even for him summoning such a large amount of energy is a formidable task."
"Tell your master that it was a pleasure to perform a task for him," Dark Specter replies, eyes glowing brightly at the thought of regaining a full half of his power.
With a hoarse laugh, the Chaos Elemental teleports out of the Dark Specter's throne room in a ripple of Space/Time.
"Master, what was to be your payment for this task," Darkonda inquires.
"A full half of my energy restored," Dark Specter replies with maniacal glee, "in two months, we shall see the end of the Atlantean Ranger's and conquer the Earth and then the rest of the galaxy! We shall even conquer the Lost Galaxy!"
The Dark Specter laughs evilly, with Darkonda soon joining him. Yes, in two months the whole face of the war would change. And the Garnecia Elephantis would be arriving in a matter of days.
~~
Sorry for the long delay in updating. Writer's block is the bane of the imagination. Well, please tell me what you think. Hopefully the next chapter will come out quicker. And please review. Reviews do help us authors, you know. Flames are welcome too. Maybe you can burn away whatever it is that's causing these blasted allergy problems that I'm having.
~~
It is two days after Dark Specter had last attacked the Earth. He had sent down a monster that was a humanoid crab. It turned out the monster was merely an alien under a spell and with the combined efforts of Connerly and Alex back at Atlantis, the spell was broken and the alien was freed. He returned home in gratitude to the Atlantean Rangers and told them that if they ever needed his help to just contact him and he would gladly come and help.
"You know, its really too bad that Alex can't join us on the battlefield," Bethany says as they spar.
"Yeah, all of the Morphers have been discovered," Holly adds, "so he won't be as protected as we are if he goes into battle."
"He can't even protect himself as well as any other Power Ranger," Nathan says.
"You know, we could approach Lightspeed Rescue and ask them to build us a Morpher for him," Holly says, "we could power it with Atlantean technology and magic. He won't likely be as strong as an Atlantean Ranger, but he would be stronger than any other Ranger in existence."
"Except for maybe the Gold Zeo Ranger and the Silver Astro Ranger," Ben says, "weren't they the strongest Rangers to ever live besides us?"
"Except for various Red Rangers at certain times," Holly says, "the Red Astro Ranger when he became the Red Battleized Ranger, the Phantom Ranger, the Red Galaxy Ranger when he powered up, any of the Galaxy Rangers when they summoned the Lights of Orion to tell the truth. There was also the Red Lightspeed Ranger when he used the Transarmor Cycle. And possibly the strongest of them all is the Red Time Force Ranger when he uses the Battle Fire to become the Red Battle Warrior. And of course there was the Quantum Ranger when he summoned his armor."
"Do any of the Wild Force Rangers have anything like that?" Ben asks.
"There's only one of them right now, so my guess is no," Holly answers.
"Only one?" Nathan asks, surprised, "their monsters must be pretty weak."
"The Orgs are weak," Connerly says as he walks into the room, "at least, they are now. Magical scans have determined that the Master Org will soon arise. It will likely be next year though. But the Orgs are increasing in strength."
"Why don't any of the other Ranger teams go and help?" Holly asks.
"Since there is a Ranger present fighting them, they feel that they do not need to interfere," Connerly says.
"Can we help them?" Holly asks.
"We could, but if we draw attention to them from the Dark Specter before their full team comes together, they'll be destroyed and their potential will be gone forever," Connerly says.
"Why doesn't the Dark Specter just send an overwhelming invasion force to fight us?" Nathan asks.
"Because he must conserve his power until he is at his true full strength again," Connerly replies, "he is currently at his maximum strength, but he has no reserves. If he attacks full force and all of the Rangers of the universe join together and manage to defeat him and destroy him again, then he'll be gone for good. He's just biding his time until he has his reserves of energy built back up. Then we'll be in serious trouble."
~In Dark Specter's ship~
"My lord, you have a visitor," Darkonda says.
"Show him in," Dark Specter commands.
In walks a devilish-looking creature with dark gray skin, sparse yet wild white hair, and bony armor sticking out at joints and covering his eyes and knuckles. Dark Specter recognizes it immediately and stiffens. It is an Elemental. A Chaos Elemental to be exact. Even the Dark Specter, with the backing of every powerful sorcerer to have lived in the last three thousand years, would hesitate to try and summon forth a Chaos Elemental, much less control one.
The only known being to have ever lived capable of harnessing the power of a Chaos Elemental was the legendary Methus. But even though he was the mightiest mystic to have ever lived on any planet, even his power should have given away and allowed him to succumb to old age around the same time Atlantis fell.
"Dark Specter, I bring greetings from my master, Methus," the Chaos Elemental rumbles in a voice that resembling falling grains of sand on gravel, "he bids you good tidings and congratulations on surviving death."
"What does Methus, father of Lokar, bid of me?" Dark Specter asks, knowing that if Methus truly sent this Chaos Elemental, it would cut straight to the chase and skip the formalities when asked such a question.
"Ah, as impatient as ever," the Chaos Elemental grins, "this meeting will likely turn out just like last time we met."
Dark Specter, though he doesn't show it, begins to feel fear. If this Chaos Elemental was the same he had met the last time Methus had bid him do something, then his level of power would be greatly depleted. Depleted enough with his current level of reserves for that opportunistic Darkonda to try and take over.
"What does he wish of me?" Dark Specter asks again, gaining confidence in the fact that Methus never killed those he "asked" to do something for him unless he was dissatisfied with their work.
"He says that you must find for him the Staff of Kaishin, which is located on the planet you are attacking," the Chaos Elemental says.
"And what do I gain from helping the mighty Methus?" Dark Specter rumbles.
"Why, he will use his vast power to restore a full half of your energy reserves," the Chaos Elemental says with a toothy grin. It is a grin that few rational beings would take comfort in.
Dark Specter's eyes widen and glow even brighter at that prospect. At this current rate, it would take him nearly a hundred more years to gain that much power, though once he gained such energy in reserve the rest would be easy to achieve. While the Dark Specter was patient, he had had more setbacks in the last decade than he had had in the three millennia before he destroyed what he thought would be the greatest threat to his empire, Atlantis.
"Show me an image of this Staff and I will get it for you," Dark Specter says with a wicked grin, "and we will have a bargain made and struck."
"Very well," the Chaos Elemental chuckles, "you really are an impatient one, aren't you? Very well."
The Chaos Elemental forms a small ball of light in his hand and throws it up into the air. It forms a screen that shows a trident, with the staff made of the darkest ebony that seemed to suck in the light itself. The blades of the trident were each of a different color, red, yellow, and green.
The Dark Specter knew the legendary power of the Staff of Kaishin. Unfortunately, its power would do him no good. He did not possess the type of magic required to use its mighty power. Lord Zedd had, but then Zedd had been a sorcerer of great power. The Staff of Kaishin was supposed to be one of the many fabled artifacts capable of accessing a limitless source of power. But none alive knew how to access this fabled power if it truly existed. Then again, Methus was the oldest living being in existence. He probably had every piece of information concerning the artifacts that were linked to this ancient power.
"Where is the Staff of Kaishin?" Dark Specter asks.
"Somewhere on the bottom of the ocean," the Chaos Elemental replies, "apparently, it was on an oceangoing vessel that sank. I think it was called the Titanic."
"Will Methus have any other use for me after this favor?" Dark Specter inquires.
"Since you are the most dominant force of evil in the known universe, more than likely," the Chaos Elemental replies, "do-gooders are no good for jobs like this. It must have something to do with their morals, I guess."
Dark Specter immediately realizes that this Chaos Elemental was being kept on a very short leash. Methus was controlling its every action, including what it said.
"I have come to realize this in the past, revered Methus," Dark Specter says, getting up out of his throne and bowing to the Chaos Elemental.
The Chaos Elemental laughs. "So you figured it out, eh? You're not as stupid as I thought then. Good. That means you will actually stand a chance at completing this task and any future ones I have for you. If any more of the artifacts of the Kairo are in this immediate sector of space, I will come to you to retrieve them. Provided, that is, that these Atlantean Rangers do not destroy you first."
With a mocking laugh, the Chaos Elemental teleports away in a ripple of Space/Time.
"DARKONDA!" Dark Specter bellows.
Darkonda scurries into Dark Specter's throne room. He was afraid, very afraid. He knew that Methus was the only being in existence capable of controlling a Chaos Elemental. And if Methus was coming to the Dark Specter for help, then something big was up. Methus never helped anyone unless they helped him in ways far greater. This war for Earth was now going to come to a close.
"You summoned me, great and mighty Dark Specter?" Darkonda grovels.
"Look at the screen," Dark Specter commands, gesturing to the screen created by the Chaos Elemental, "that is the Staff of Kaishin. Go to Earth, find the place where the ocean vessel known as the Titanic lies, and find it. Take three platoons of Spectrons with you. And take Yado Karu as well. He's been growing restless."
"Yes, my master," Darkonda says with a bow. He turns to exit.
"And Darkonda," Dark Specter says. Darkonda stops and turns his head so he can sideways look at Dark Specter.
"When you find the Staff of Kaishin, leave Yado Karu behind. Let him have some fun in Earth's oceans," Dark Specter says.
"As you wish, mighty Dark Specter," Darkonda says with a maniacal grin.
~The next day, at the local mall, food court~
The four newer Atlantean Rangers had planned a meeting to discuss whom they think their leader was. They had been mulling over the subject for quite some time, but they couldn't come up with any solid evidence to point at any one person.
"Okay, so we know he's about your age," Holly says to Nathan, "he graduated when you did."
"Actually, he was one of those who have to go to summer school to graduate," Bethany reminds her.
"There was only five people there who didn't graduate," Nathan says, "two of them were girls."
"So that narrows everything down to three people," Holly muses.
"Since we stay the same height and relative build when we morph, it actually narrows things down to two," Nathan says, "Jesse is totally the wrong buld to be the Silver Atlantean Ranger. He's a little too flabby. I remember what he was like in the recent school physical: totally out of shape. Even with the Silver Morpher he couldn't trim down that much."
"And the other two?" Holly asks.
"Too tall and too short," Nathan replies, "of course, that's just our school."
"He's right," Ben says, "remember, Alex does have friends that go to the other two high schools, not to mention he likely has friends who go to that Crhistian academy."
"Well, I seriously doubt the Silver Ranger goes to Trinity," Holly replies, "if he failed, then he'd have been drummed out. From the sound of it, he barely passed all of his classes. Students there have to make a certain GPA to stay. So Trinity is out."
"That leaves JCM and Northside," Nathan points out.
"Well, since none of us are friends with Alex, we don't know who many of his other friends are," Ben says.
"By the way, I never asked you how you found us and our Morphers," Nathan says, "and how did the two of you become Atlantean Rangers?"
"Well, I was teleported from my living room on the day I first started my new 'career' as the Bronze Ranger," Bethany replies, "Holly was found out because he Morpher changed into its true form during nother monster attack. And the Silver Ranger found you two. How, we do not know."
"He could have been at the Project Graduation," Nathan says, "but the only people besides South Side students who were there were guests, and you know how we get along with people from the other two schools."
"The guys make idiots of themselves with rampant macho stupidity?" Bethany asks with a saccharine smile.
"And the girls treat each other like trailer park trash," Ben says.
Before they could take the conversation any further, their communicators beep. Bethany activates the speaker on hers after looking around to make sure no one was watching.
"Go ahead," she says softly.
"Guys, we've got a problem," Silver Ranger's voice says from the communicator, "a group of Spectrons appear to be looking for something at the following coordinates. Morph and meet me at the following coordinates: 49º 56' 54" W, 41º 43' 35" N."
"That's the longitude and latitude coordinates of the Titanic!" Ben gasps.
"Say what?" Silver Ranger demands, his voice sharp.
"I find the history of the Titanic fascinating," Ben explains, "those are the approximate coordinates of the stern section."
"Could it be that the Dark Specter is looking for something there?" Nathan asks.
"Who knows?" Ben asks, "people are still exploring the wreck. There's no telling what they could be looking for."
"Well, lets go," Bethany says, "we can't let Dark Specter have anything that he wants."
The four Ranger's quickly exit and find a secluded place just outside the mall.
"It's Morphin' Time!" Bethany calls out, "Bronze Power of Atlantis!"
"Platinum Power of Atlantis!" Holly calls out.
"Crystal Power of Atlantis!" Nathan calls out.
"White Power of Atlantis!" Ben calls out.
The four Ranger's teleport to the location they had been given.
~At the coordinates 49º 56' 54" W, 41º 43' 35" N~
In four streaks of bronze, platinum, sapphire blue, and white, the four Atlantean Ranger's arrive. The Silver Ranger and the Aqua Ranger were already they. They were on an iceberg that overlooked another iceberg. On the other iceberg was nearly sixty Spectrons and a strange monster.
"Hey, I recognize him from one of the newcasts from a monster attack on Angel Grove," White Ranger comments, "he gave the Astro Rangers a really tough fight with the help of another monster. It was in that battle that they got the Voyager Megazord."
"Yes, it is Darkonda," Silver Ranger says, "but that's odd. He was supposed to have been destroyed along with the Dark Specter just before the final battle with Astronema. And even if he had survived, the wave of pure energy from the shattering of Zordon's energy tube would have destroyed him."
"Either way, he's a tough opponent, right?" Platinum Ranger asks.
"The Atlanteans hardly have any information on him," Silver Ranger replies, "he was after their time. Needless to say, he will be a formidable opponent."
"Any idea what he's looking for?" Aqua Ranger asks.
"The wreck of the Titanic, obviously," White Ranger says, "this is where it sunk."
"I never did like that movie," Silver Ranger grumbles, "that song was extremely annoying."
"No, it was just Celine Dion's voice," Crystal Ranger says, "the song itself was good."
"You may have a point," Silver Ranger admits, "shall we wait for them to find what they are looking for, or should we just attack now and destroy them all?"
"There's sixty of them," Bronze Ranger points out, "even a spowerful as we are, they still hold the advantage."
"Then let's cut down their numbers with a few well-placed energy attacks," Silver Ranger says, summoning the Silver Staff.
The other Ranger's summon their Staffs as well.
"Group blast?" Aqua Ranger inquires.
"No, strategic shots," Silver Ranger replies, "draw your Blade Blasters as well."
The other five do so.
"Ready?" Silver Ranger asks, "and fire!"
As a unit, the Atlantean Rangers open fire on the Spectrons with their Staffs and Blade Blasters.
"What?" Darkonda growls, "it's the Atlantean Rangers! Destroy them!"
The remaining Spectrons swarm the Atlantean Rangers via teleport. A full third of them had been taken out by the surprise assault by the Ranger's, but they still had the strength of numbers. And Spectrons were superior to anything else any other Ranger team had so far come across.
Needless to say, the Atlantean Ranger's were having one big brawl.
Bronze Ranger had gotten a few quick shots off with her Blade Blaster before trading it away in favor of her Bronze Battle Axe. She carved her way through the swarm of Spectrons skillfully, but for each one she cut down, another took its place.
Platinum Ranger had immediately holstered her Blade Blaster and used her Platinum Partisan. She used her shield to hold off her attackers, preferring to set them up for her teammates to cut down.
White Ranger abandoned all subtlety and just used his White Warhammer to crush Spectron armor like it was paper.
Crystal Ranger used both his Crystal Cutlass and his Blade Blaster in Blade Mode to cut through the Spectrons.
Aqua Ranger immediately summoned his Aqua Double Dirks to cut a swath through the Spectrons.
Silver Ranger used his Silver Saber to take out Spectrons left and right, kicking up snow to obstruct their visuals and cut them down while they are blind while every now and then firing off an energy bolt at the far-off Darkonda who promptly returned fire which the Silver Ranger ducked and allowed to blast a Spectron.
Within half an hour all of the Spectrons are taken care of. The Rangers converge on Darkonda.
"Oh, so you're gonna gang up on me, are ya?" Darkonda sneers as he draws and elongates his sword.
"What are you doing here?" White Ranger demands.
"None of your business!" Darkonda snaps, "as soon as we find what we're looking for, we'll leave."
"We?" Bronze Ranger asks, "um, in case you didn't notice, we just aced your Spectron flunkies. You're alone."
"I don't think so," Darkonda sneers.
Behind the Rangers, a giant shellfish-like monster rises up out of the water. It had a spiral shell that was heavily spiked and was of a yellowish color. Its skin was a deep sea green and its head was almost draconic. It had two crab claws and in one of them was a strange looking trident.
"Ah, the Staff of Kaishin!" Darkonda gloats, "Yado Karu, give it here! Then destroy these pests!"
The monster lobs the trident at Darkonda, but the Platinum Ranger leaps into the air and intercepts the trident.
"Curse you!" Darkonda yells as he charges the Platinum Ranger to get the Staff of Kaishin from her. The Crystal and White Ranger's intercept him and double-team him with a kick to the gut followed by a slash from the Crystal Cutlass and a smashing blow to the back of the head from the White Warhammer.
Darkonda staggers back, obviously dazed from the attacks. He had not expected them to be this strong! They were stronger than that accursed Silver Astro Ranger! They were stronger than the Dark Specter gave them credit for being. Or at least stronger than the Dark Specter let on. It was no wonder that they had decimated the Dark Specter's forces so far. They were far superior to the Spectrons. Heck, they could easily be stronger than Darkonda himself was, and he was now at his prime once again!
Darkonda struggles to regain his composure. He glares at the Atlantean Rangers as the fight off Yado Karu. The Bronze Ranger was using her Bronze Staff to fire bronze colored bolts of energy at the monster's shell. Aqua Ranger was using his Aqua Double Dirks to ward off the monster's claws while having to jump around to keep from getting bitten by the monster's enormous head. The Silver Ranger was using his Silver Staff to send beams of silver colored energy into Yado Karu's eyes in an attempt to blind it.
The Crystal and White Rangers converge on Darkonda with their weapons ready. White Ranger with their weapons: White Ranger with his White Warhammer and the Crystal Ranger using boith his Crystal Cutlass and his Blade Blaster in blade mode. Darkonda parries the Crystal Ranger's attacks while avoiding the White Rangers slams. He parries a thrust from the Crystal Ranger and grabs the Crystal Ranger's right arm and twists violently. He then flings him over his head and slams him hard into the ground. Darkonda then blocks the White Ranger's White Warhammer and kicks him in the gut, sending him flying and crashing through a nearby pinnacle of ice. He sends off a few eye blasts just for the heck of it. Darkonda then starts walking over to the Platinum Ranger, who was holding the Staff of Kaishin, planning to just kill her and take the Staff.
The Silver Ranger, enraged by Darkonda's actions and seeing where he was headed, disengages fighting Yado Karu and changes his Silver Staff into the Silver Saber and launches himself at Darkonda.
"So, another Silver Ranger wishes to take me on," Darkonda sneers, "bring it, child."
The two warriors enter into a fierce display of swordsmanship skill and hand to hand fighting techniques. Darkonda had years of experience of the Silver Ranger, but the Silver Ranger's Morpher gave him reflexes far beyond those of most any sparring partner or opponent than Darkonda could likely find after Zordon's Wave. And the Silver Ranger knew a few tricks. In the end, however, the two were perfectly matched. Neither could gain a clear advantage over the other.
"You're better than I thought you'd be," Darkonda snarls as he locks blades with the Silver Ranger.
"Of course you wouldn't think that an average human teenager, even with the Powers of Atlantis empowering him, wouldn't be able to equal you," Silver Ranger growls.
"Still, you're nowhere near as good as the Silver Astro Ranger," Darkonda says as he frees his blade and kicks the Silver Ranger in the gut, sending him flying through the air. The Silver Ranger teleports midair and appears behind Darkonda, crashing into his back.
"So, you're incorporated your teleportation system into your fighting style, eh?" Darkonda asks, surprise and a small amount of respect apparent in his voice, "very good. Only Trey of Triforia has been able to do that before."
"I know," Silver Ranger says smugly, "I try to emulate all of the best Ranger's. Its harder than it looks."
"I'll bet," Darkonda agrees, "it takes a lot of practice and concentration."
"And a lot of willpower," Silver Ranger replies, "but I sure took you by surprise, didn't I?"
"You won't do it again," Darkonda promises as he prepares to resume the fight.
"We'll see," Silver Ranger replies darkly as he too stances to do battle.
"Silver Ranger, we need some help!" Bronze Ranger calls out. Silver Ranger turns to see that Yado Karu had ahold of the Bronze and Aqua Ranger's in its claws. A moment too late he remembers that you should never turn your back on the enemy in a fight. Especially if that enemy was reputed to be the most dishonest villain in the universe.
Silver Ranger turns back around just in time to see Darkonda's sword slicing down, cutting through his shield and knocking him to the ground, unconscious. Darkonda stalks towards the Platinum Ranger, intent on taking the Staff of Kaishin from her.
"Give me the Staff of Kaishin and I'll let you live, Platinum Ranger," Darkonda growls.
"Not a chance," Platinum Ranger says, drawing her Blade Blaster and firing several shots at Darkonda. Darkonda raises his left arm lazily and the blasts bounce off his palm.
"Pathetic," Darkonda sneers, "just give me the Staff of Kaishin and I'll leave."
"I don't think so," Platinum Ranger says as she converts her Blade Blaster into blade mode and charges Darkonda. Darkonda easily parries her short Blade Blaster expertly with his sword.
Without warning, Darkonda is smashed to the ground by a powerful blow to the back. He gets up to see the Crystal and White Ranger's standing between him and the Platinum Ranger, weapons ready.
"You two couldn't beat me a few moments ago together, so why do you think you stand a chance now?" Darkonda sneers.
"This is how," a feminine voice says from behind him as he is sent flying by a powerful blast of bronze-colored energy. Darkonda gets back to his feet once again, now seeing that the Aqua and Bronze Ranger's are free and Yado Karu writhing in pain.
Darkonda gives out a feral snarl. "You may have won this time, Ranger's, but the Dark Specter will destroy you all!"
Darkonda teleports away, leaving Yado Karu to deal with the Atlantean Ranger's alone.
"Atlantean Staffs, full power!" Silver Ranger commands. All six Ranger's either convert their weapons to Staff mode or summon their Staff and bring their combined power to bear on Yado Karu. The combined every of the six Ranger's completely incinerate the monster, leaving nothing behind.
"Well, that monster's dust," Silver Ranger grumbles, "lets get that Staff back to Atlantis. I'm sure Connerly would dearly love to examine this thing and see what it does, considering that Darkonda was so eager to get it for the Dark Specter."
"Agreed," Platinum Ranger says, "and I'm sure Alex would like to look at it as well. Who knows? With this, he just might be able to join us on the battlefield."
"We can only hope," Silver Ranger says. The six Ranger's teleport back to Atlantis.
~Inside the Dark Specter's ship~
Dark Specter was livid, to say the least. Even Darkonda had never seen him so angry. "YOU LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THE STAFF OF KAISHIN! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THIS WILL COST US? METHUS WILL HAVE BOTH OF OUR HEADS!"
"I know, mighty Dark Specter, but I was unprepared for their strength," Darkonda grovels, "I could have taken them with ease, but I was unprepared to even face them. They are indeed stronger than any other Ranger I have ever faced, including the Silver Astro Ranger."
"Darkonda, we must get the Staff of Kaishin from the Ranger's," Dark Specter says, a hint of desperation in his voice, "Darkonda, find the Ranger's and take the Staff of Kaishin from them. After that, kill them."
"But master, we only know the identity of the Silver Atlantean Ranger," Darkonda protests.
"Then go and capture the Silver Atlantean Ranger at the first chance you get," Dark Specter replies simply, "use him as blackmail to get the Staff. They cannot afford to lose him in this war, for even for the Atlanteans there were so few capable of wielding its incredible power. In the modern age that the Earth is in, only one in a billion would be able to wield its power. There is no telling how long it would take them to find another suitable to use the Silver Morpher. Go and capture him, and then send out a message to the other Ranger's. You know what spell to use."
"Yes, mighty Dark Specter," Darkonda grovels, "it shall be as you wish."
Darkonda teleports away to formulate a plan and then execute it.
"Darkonda, I will be most displeased if you fail me again," Dark Specter says to himself, "I will personally hand you over to my scientists to mutilate if you fail me."
~Back at Atlantis~
"So, you're saying that you don't know what it is or even if it has any power?" Silver Ranger demands.
"Pretty much," Alex says, "Connerly and I can find out nothing about it except for the metal is not from Earth. It is made of a metal that Connerly says is all but indestructible."
"It is also a spell amplifier," Connerly says, "if Alex used a destructive spell with it, he could very well obliterate a city."
"So it's incredibly powerful," Holly says, "can we use it against Dark Specter?"
"I'm not sure," Connerly admits, "its power is unfathomable. I really don't know of any way we can use it against Dark Specter as far as Alex using it in battle because we still haven't come up with the main problem of him joining you in battle: armor. We have no armor that he can use because only a pure blooded Atlantean can use the armor that would prove beneficial. Everything else that we have will not be enough, even with this trident."
"So we should just keep it here until we can use it in some way?" Nathan asks.
"It looks that way," Alex says.
"But why would Dark Specter want it?" Ben asks.
"To enhance his spells," Silver Ranger says simply, "his spells are already fearsome. He may even have planned to use it to bolster the abilities of his minion's, such as their subterfuge spells. If he had managed to get hold of it, there is no telling what he may have been able to do."
"How do you know all of this?" Holly demands, "you were only in two battles before Bethany joined, three before I did. You were only a Ranger a little over a week before any of the rest of us became Ranger's. How do you get your information?"
"Pure speculation, talking with Petite, and checking records," Silver Ranger replies, "I take this very seriously."
"So do we," Holly snaps, "you'd better start working with us more. You still haven't told us your name."
"I don't like you enough to tell you," Silver Ranger replies.
"But you need to work with us, Silver Ranger," Bethany protests, "you need to work with us!"
"I will work with you, I always have," Silver Ranger replies, "but it's my own choice that I don't tell you who I am."
"Enough!" Connerly yells, "quit this petty bickering! You're all on the same side! The Council respects the Silver Ranger's decision to keep his identity hidden and Petite has agreed not to tell anyone without the Silver Ranger's permission. Now, all of you, go home and get some rest. That was a pretty intense battle and you'll need to regain your strength in case the Dark Specter attacks again soon."
The room is lit up with the six teleportation streams of the Atlantean Rangers.
~A few hours later~
Darkonda spies on the house before him. His research had told him that this was where the Silver Atlantean Ranger lived. All he had to do was capture the Silver Ranger and ransom him for the Staff of Kaishin. A little overdone, since practically every villain who had ever attacked the Earth had done this at least a dozen times, but the Ranger's always followed through by providing the ransom.
Jesse was in the backyard, going through a quick kata. He wanted to get into a much better physical shape than hew as. He had never been in a good physical condition in his entire life, and now being a Power Ranger gave him the chance to improve himself. Unfortunately, he had some natural physical deficiencies so his Morpher had a considerable portion of its power going towards making him physically normal, so he didn't have as much potential as the other Rangers, morphed or not. Fortunately, Connerly had told him that when everyone reached their full strength, he would simply be a little stronger than the other five Ranger's. Not by much, but he would be stronger. His powers would eventually cure his eyesight, like the powers of the original Ranger's had done for the original Blue Ranger. But he was rather fond of his glasses, so he had talked with Connerly and they had redirected most of those particular healing energies so that his eyesight was simply stabilized. The power that would have gone towards the healing was now where it would have been in a normal person: everywhere else.
"Hello, little Ranger," a sinister and somewhat familiar voice says from behind Jesse. Jesse whirls around to see Darkonda standing there, sword ready.
Jesse summons his Morpher and prepares to morph. "It's morphing-"
But Darkonda blasts the Silver Morpher out of Jesse's hands and kicks him in the gut. Jesse doubles over in pain as Darkonda wraps an arm around his throat.
"And now, boy, you're gonna do me a favor," Darkonda whispers into Jesse's ear just before he teleports away.
"Connerly, whats wrong?" Holly asks as she, Bethany, Nathan, and Ben rush into the Hall of Heroes after being summoned by the Elder.
"Darkonda has captured a civilian, a friend of the Silver Ranger's in hopes to ransom him for the Staff of Kaishin," Alex replies.
"The Staff of Kaishin?" Holly asks.
"That's what the artifact you retrieved earlier is called," Alex replies, "now, please go to the following coordinates and save the civilian. You're taking the Staff of Kaishin with you because we're more than likely gonna just have to pay the ransom. Darkonda's reputation points to the fact that he'll likely kill the civilian rather than give him up if he can't get the Staff."
"So it's a lose-lose scenario?" Nathan asks.
"It is," Petite says, "because if we let this civilian die, it is likely that the Silver Ranger will quit. We'll have to find and train a new Silver Ranger."
'Actually, he won't quit, he'll be dead,' Alex thinks. He knows Petite knew this as well, but they had to continue to respect Jesse's desire to keep his identity a secret from the other Ranger's.
"Right then," Holly says, "come on, we gotta go save that hostage!"
"It's Morphin time!" Petite calls out.
"Bronze Power of Atlantis!"
"Platinum Power of Atlantis!"
"Crystal Power of Atlantis!"
"White Power of Atlantis!"
"Aqua Power of Atlantis!"
Connerly steps up with the Staff of Kaishin and hands it to Platinum Ranger. "If Darkonda reneges on the bargain, you're the best bet to keep it safe. Out of the entire team, only you precise knowledge on how to fight with a weapon like this."
"It is similar enough to the Platinum Partisan," Platinum Ranger agrees.
"Now go and save that hostage!" Alex says pleadingly.
"Right," Aqua Ranger says. The five Ranger's teleport out in streams of appropriately colored light.
~In the middle of the Andes mountains, Peru~
"The Ranger's will never go through wit this," Jesse says defiantly. Darkonda was keeping him under a tight watch. A barrier had been erected that scrambled teleportation signals going out. He was also being held in place by a pair of Spectrons and was surrounded by several others. And unfortunately, they were in some Incan ruins and that would make things a little hazy later.
"I think they will," Darkonda sneers, "you see, in my experience, the Ranger's always look after their own."
Jesse smirks. "One problem. They don't know that I'm one of them. I'm a bit of a distrustful kind of guy and none of them know that I'm the Silver Atlantean Ranger."
"You lie!" Darkonda yells.
"I'm a Ranger," Jesse says, still smirking, Ranger's do not lie."
"Oh, Ranger's lie all right, but I don't think you're lying," Darkonda says, "so as far as their concerned, you're a civilian. That's even better. Ranger's cannot allow others to die in their fight against evil."
"Acceptable losses," Jesse replies, "I've drilled it into their heads, as have our instructors. We have been taught that if we have to sacrifice a civilian to save many more, we will. And since we know what that trident can do, they'll see it as an acceptable loss."
"What kind of Ranger's are you?" Darkonda demands, "you're the most realistic and practical team of Ranger's I have ever met!"
"We don't hold up the ideals of Zordon of Eltare," Jesse replies, "nor do we have the rules of protecting the civilians like the Lightspeed Ranger's nor are we officer's like the Time Force Ranger's. And none of us can qualify for Humanitarian of the Year like the Wild Force Power Ranger's. We know this is a war, and we're prepared to do what it takes to stop evil. Besides, Atlanteans can really bear a grudge, even though it's been twelve thousand years."
"You have no contact with any Atlanteans!" Darkonda yells, "Atlantis was destroyed twelve thousand years ago!"
"You only think it was," Jesse grins, "the Atlanteans have been in hiding for the last twelve thousand years, watching and waiting for the chance to avenge their civilization upon Dark Specter. Now they have their chance, and we Atlantean Ranger's are their instruments in their vengeance."
Darkonda studies Jesse for a moment, then bursts out laughing. "You almost had me going there for a moment! But no matter what, Ranger's are Ranger's and they'll never let a civilian die."
"Maybe," Jesse concedes, "but you never know."
At that moment, the other Ranger's teleport in.
"Okay Darkonda, we brought you the Staff," Aqua Ranger says, "now let the hostage go."
Beneath his helmet, Crystal Ranger's eyes widen. His surprise is evident in his body language.
"What's the matter?" Platinum Ranger asks.
"It's nothing," Crystal Ranger lies. This definitely narrowed down who the Silver Ranger could be. Jesse did not have that many friends, and he doubted that many of them were also friends with Alex. They would likely find out who the Silver Ranger was before the day was out.
"Hand over the Staff and I'll hand him over," Darkonda replies, "he is of no real interest to me. Just a bartering chip."
'He's up to something,' Jesse thinks, 'he could have easily told them just now that I am the Silver Ranger. He's definitely gonna try something. Unfortunately, with all of these Spectrons holding me, I can't get away to morph. I hope they know what they're doing.'
"Here's the Staff of Kaishin, Darkonda," Platinum Ranger says, walking forward with the trident.
"Very good," Darkonda says, "now hand it over."
Behind the group of Spectrons, Alex teleports in an almost invisible streak of white light. He is wearing some Atlantean armor that will hopefully protect him well enough, despite the fact that it slightly lowers his maneuverability. The armor was silver with gold, crimson, and sky blue trim. He was armed with a high-powered laser rifle courtesy of the armory within the Hall of Heroes. He immediately notices the teleportation blocking barrier.
"Not bad," Alex mutters, "Darkonda definitely knows his spells. Now, let's see if I can get Jesse free. I'm glad this helmet does disguise my face so I can't say that I was risking blowing everyone's identity to a civilian."
Alex slowly creeps up behind the Spectrons, laser rifle ready. He carefully raises the rifle and aims it at one of the Spectrons holding Jesse. He squeezes the trigger, letting loose a powerful bolt of energy that rips through three Spectrons. He quickly takes aim and shoots the other Spectron holding Jesse and then scythes through the other Spectrons with deadly accuracy.
'I'm definitely glad Alex loves playing those shooting arcade games,' Jesse thinks, 'but he needn't have truly bothered with the outfit. I can't believe they still bothered to keep my identity a secret. And the secrecy is fun, but it's really annoying. I always have to watch what I say when I'm Jacob. No more.'
Jesse immediately leaps into action and tackles Darkonda, leaving the morphed Ranger's in shock.
"Okay, I knew Jesse was crazy, but I didn't think he was that crazy!" Crystal Ranger exclaims.
"That's the Jesse Plunk you said could be the Silver Ranger?" Bronze Ranger asks.
"He is," Crystal Ranger replies.
Jesse rolls off of Darkonda and crouches into a fighting stance. "Get up, you piece of rat bait!"
Darkonda gets to his feet and levels his sword at Jesse. "You'll pay for that!"
"I doubt it," Jesse says. He reaches into the Power that the Silver Morphers gives him and summons it from his backyard to his hand. "It's Morphin time! Silver Power of Atlantis!"
In a flash, the Silver Atlantean Ranger is in Jesse's place, ready to face Darkonda. The other Ranger's were surprised to say the least.
"Well, at least he's no longer keeping his identity a secret from the rest of the team," Alex mutters as he finishes the last few Spectrons off with a few well-placed laser blasts.
"Jesse IS the Silver Ranger?" Crystal Ranger gasps in amazement, "but how?"
"I'll explain later," Silver Ranger explains, "I was getting tired of all the deception anyway. Silver Saber!"
The brilliant silver blade appears in the Silver ranger's right hand, gleaming and ready for battle.
"You and me Darkonda, a duel here and now," Silver Ranger says, "winner gets the three-pronged stick."
Darkonda growls. "You're on! I defeated you before and this time I'll kill you!"
Darkonda charges the Silver Ranger and slashes at the Silver Ranger, who parries the attack and delivers a sidekick to Darkonda's chest. He then spins around and slashes at Darkonda's neck, but Darkonda blocks and backhands Silver Ranger, who goes flying through the air and crashes through a wall.
The Silver Ranger slowly picks himself back up, but not before Darkonda got to him. Dakonda kicks the Silver Ranger in the gut, lifting him off the ground with the force of the kick. Silver Ranger rolls out of the way of Darkonda's following stab and spins on his shoulders until he is in a kneeling position. He then leaps shoulder-first into Darkonda, knocking the larger alien off balance and then knees him in the gut. The Silver Ranger leaps back and prepares to fend of Darkonda's next attack.
Darkonda throws several energy blasts at the Silver ranger, but he simply blocks by creating his energy shield with his sword. The blasts pound the shield, driving the Silver Ranger back, but the shield holds. The Silver Ranger counters with an energy blast, but Darkonda blocks it with his hand.
"You are pathetic, Silver Ranger," Darkonda sneers, "you can barely hold off my simplest attacks, and you can't even hurt me."
"We'll see," Silver Ranger mutters as he changes his weapon into Staff mode, "fire!"
Beams of Silver energy emit from the tip of the Silver Staff. Darkonda tries to block the much more powerful bolts of energy, but instead gets sent flying by the resulting explosion. Darkonda staggers to his feet, his breathing short and ragged.
"You'll pay for that, boy," Darkonda growls, "hyah!"
Darkonda launches an incredible blast of energy at the Platinum Ranger, catching her unaware and sending her flying in one direction and the Staff of Kaishin flying in another. Darkonda leaps into the air and grabs the Staff of Kaishin.
"Ta ta, Ranger's," Darkonda laughs, "we'll meet again."
Darkonda teleports away in orange flames with the Staff of Kaishin just before more bolts of energy from the Silver Ranger's Silver staff could hit him.
"Blast! He got away with the Staff."
"Platinum Ranger, are you okay?" Crystal Ranger asks as he helps her to her feet.
"I'm okay, I think," Platinum Ranger replies as she rubs her helmet, "I hit my head, but I should be okay."
"If you hit your head, then don't worry," Silver Ranger says as he walks over to the other Ranger's, "there's nothing important up there to get damaged anyway."
Both of the female Ranger's glare daggers at their leader.
"Did I say something offensive?" Silver Ranger asks, an impish smile underneath his helmet.
"Let's return to Atlantis," Alex says as he walks to the group, "we've got a serious problem here. With the Dark Specter holding the Staff of Kaishin, his spells will get a lot more powerful."
"Right," Bronze Ranger says. The Ranger's and Alex teleport out in seven streams of silver, platinum, bronze, light sapphire blue, and aqua light and two streams of white light.
~Back at Atlantis~
"So you finally decided to let them know who you are, Jesse?" Jacolby asks. The Ranger's, Jacolby, Connerly, the Elder, Alex, and Eleanor are all sitting in a lounge within the Hall of Heroes, talking about what just happened and how to prepare for the onslaught of an even stronger Dark Specter.
"You know, there's something familiar about him," Holly says, "but I can't quite place it."
"Will this help?" Jesse asks, pulling out a small cylinder and focusing a small sprig of magical energy into it, activating it. Instantly, he changes into what he looks like when he is disguised as Jacob.
"Jacob!" Bethany exclaims.
"The one and only," Jesse replies, "I was getting tired of staying morphed, and I felt that it wasn't time to let you all know who I was yet, so I opted for a disguise. Plus, I like keeping secrets. Its always so much fun."
Jesse drops the disguise and becomes himself once again. "I gotta go. This has been a tiring day for me, plus my aunt may wonder where I was. If she does, I'll just tell I went out for a walk. In fact, I think I'll teleport to the park and walk home. It's only a ten minute walk back. Well, see you guys at the next battle."
With that, the Jesse teleports out in a stream of silver light.
"Is he always like that?" Bethany asks Alex.
"Pretty much," Alex replies, "Jesse just isn't comfortable in groups."
"Well, maybe he'll warm up to us," Holly says.
~In Dark Specter's ship~
"Very good Darkonda, you recovered the Staff of Kaishin," Dark Specter rumbles, pleased.
"It was nothing, my master," Darkonda replies as he presents the Staff of Kaishin to the Dark Specter.
At the same instant, the Chaos Elemental appears before them.
"I'll take that," the Chaos Elemental commands. Darkonda hurriedly hands the artifact to the creature. He knew he stood no chance against a Chaos Elemental. Even the Dark Specter, in the state he was in, couldn't defeat a Chaos Elemental in battle.
"My master Methus commends you on a job well done, Dark Specter," the Chaos Elemental says, "if he has need of you again, he will send me to contact you."
"As the Dark Sorcerer commands," Dark Specter replies with a bow. Darkonda was shell-shocked. This was all a job for the Dark Sorcerer Methus? Now he knew why the Dark Specter was so anxious to get the Staff. While it was dangerous to deal with the legendary Dark Sorcerer, the rewards were always more than worth it. Sometimes it was even unclear as to who got the better end of the deal. Darkonda himself knew what it was like to deal with the Dark Sorcerer. After all, that's where his various lives came from. He had done a job for the Dark Sorcerer Methus around seven thousand years ago. He obtained a magical talisman from the people of the planet Mirinoi. He had been driven back by the planet's defenders, the bearer's of the Quasar Saber's, but he had obtained the talisman.
"My master will send you the means to obtain your end of the payment in two months," the Chaos Elemental says, "even for him summoning such a large amount of energy is a formidable task."
"Tell your master that it was a pleasure to perform a task for him," Dark Specter replies, eyes glowing brightly at the thought of regaining a full half of his power.
With a hoarse laugh, the Chaos Elemental teleports out of the Dark Specter's throne room in a ripple of Space/Time.
"Master, what was to be your payment for this task," Darkonda inquires.
"A full half of my energy restored," Dark Specter replies with maniacal glee, "in two months, we shall see the end of the Atlantean Ranger's and conquer the Earth and then the rest of the galaxy! We shall even conquer the Lost Galaxy!"
The Dark Specter laughs evilly, with Darkonda soon joining him. Yes, in two months the whole face of the war would change. And the Garnecia Elephantis would be arriving in a matter of days.
~~
Sorry for the long delay in updating. Writer's block is the bane of the imagination. Well, please tell me what you think. Hopefully the next chapter will come out quicker. And please review. Reviews do help us authors, you know. Flames are welcome too. Maybe you can burn away whatever it is that's causing these blasted allergy problems that I'm having.