Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. The Atlantean Rangers are my idea
and neither their costumes, Zords, or weapons are based off of a sentai
that has not made it to America yet. The Garnecia Elephantis is from the Yu
Gi Oh card game though I think it made a small appearance in the anime.
~~
It is the day after the battle the Atlantean Ranger's had with the Wolflord of Fire and Earth, the most powerful entity that the Atlantean Ranger's have faced yet. The six teenage superheroes had managed to defeat it, but not without sustaining heavy injuries. It would take the worst injured of them, Bethany Black the Bronze Atlantean Ranger, a few more days to fully heal.
But they did not have those days to rest and recover. During the fight, the Silver Atlantean Ranger had faced off against Darkonda, a powerful minion of evil, and learned that a monster known as the Garnecia Elephantis had arrived or would soon arrive. Either way, they were expecting an attack and they expected it today.
And to top it all off, tomorrow they had a banquet in their honor at Atlantis to introduce the inheritors of the Atlantean Morphers to the nobility. None of the Ranger's really knew what would happen if the nobility did not approve of them, but they were all gonna try to make sure that they didn't find out.
"Blast it dude, where are you?" Alex demands angrily. He was waiting in his backyard for Jesse to arrive. Once he did arrive, they would be heading for Atlantis to continue their quick training in Atlantean court etiquette.
"Right behind you." With a cry of surprise, Alex turns around.
"Darn it, Jesse, don't scare me like that!"
"We really shouldn't meet and then teleport to Atlantis," Jesse says, "it could make dark Specter think you're a Ranger if he's keeping an eye on me."
"I think I'll risk it," Alex replies, "and Connerly and I have been researching how the Morphers were made. If our luck holds out, we might be able to make one. Not as strong as your Morpher, certainly not, but perhaps somewhat weaker than Petite's."
"What about recreating the Green Morpher?" Jesse asks.
"No can do," Alex replies, "not sure why, but we can't. Something to do with the specific energies that the colors have. No, if we create a new Morpher, it'll be Red, Yellow, Gold, or Blue."
"Why those colors?" Jesse asks, puzzled.
"Dunno why those specific colors," Alex says, the same puzzled look on his face, "it'll require further research."
"Anyway, we'd better teleport," Jesse says, "Spectrons can come at us by the platoon out here and we wouldn't stand a chance."
"Quite," Alex agrees, and the two teleport to Atlantis in streaks of silver and white light.
~at Atlantis~
"No attacks so far?" Jesse asks as he and Alex walk up to Connerly.
"Nothing at all," Connerly replies, "we've even been checking as much as we can of the rest of the universe, and still nothing."
"How far can you scan?" Alex wonders.
"Up to the planet Phaedos at the farthest it ever is from Earth," Connerly replies, "we can pick up KO-35, Eltare, Edenoi, Aquitar, Inquiris, Triforia easily, so if they get attacked by Dark Specter, then we can rush to their aid."
Jesse nods his approval, then walks off to find Eleanor to continue the etiquette lessons. Alex, on the other hand, continues talking with Connerly and the discussion leads to Alex asking about more research on creating another Atlantean Morpher.
"I wish it were otherwise, Alex, but it cannot be done. The Atlantean Morphers are each powered by a special gem, and there are not many in existence. The gem is melted and mixed with the material that the Morphers themselves are made from. And each gem determines the color of the Morpher. There are only thirteen known gems in existence, and all of their colors are accounted for."
"What do you mean, accounted for?" Alex demands.
"There was another team of warrior's that protected Atlantis before the Atlantean Warrior's," Connerly replies, "there were seven of them, and they were the elite warrior's of the Royal House of Atlantean Empire, and were called the Imperial Warrior's, though now they could possibly be called the Imperial Ranger's as well. Anyone could use their Morphers. There was the Gray Morpher, which was the counterpart to the Green Morpher of the Atlantean Warrior's. Then there was the Brown Morpher, counterpart to the Aqua Morpher. Then there was the Orange Morpher, counterpart to the White Morpher. There was also the Pearl Morpher, counterpart to the Crystal Morpher. Also there was the Purple Morpher, counterpart to the Platinum Morpher. There was also the Copper Morpher, counterpart to the Bronze Morpher."
"You said there were thirteen gems, but if there were seven Imperial Warrior's and seven Atlantean Warrior's," Alex states, "there should be fourteen."
"The thirteenth gem had two colors in it, and it held unfathomable power," Connerly says slowly, "the two colors held within it were silver and black, and the colors were swirled together so tightly is was not possible to separate them even if it was melted. It was also somewhat larger than the others. Among the Imperial Morphers, it alone required the bearer to stand up to a code of ethics, because it was inherent in the gem itself and not programmed by the sorcerers and smiths who created them. It was also the first made. It created the leader of the Imperial Warrior's, who was simply known as The Warrior. The others were made, and the team was completed."
"So you had a powerful team to protect Atlantis," Alex says, "so what happened?"
"Well, as I said, the Imperial Morphers, save for that of The Warrior, required no code of ethics," Connerly explains, "as time went by, people with cruel hearts came to possess the Morphers, and later some were stolen. Finally, even the Morpher of The Warrior succumbed to the evil lure. At that time, it did not require such a stringent code of conduct and chivalry, so an evil person could gain its power. When that happened, the Council took steps and created the Atlantean Morphers, complete with the Codes of Honor as part of the activation magic. Six met seven in battle, with The Warrior merely standing back to watch. The Imperial Warrior's were defeated, and their very beings were encased in their Morphers. But none of the new Atlantean Warrior's were prepared to face The Warrior. The battle was long and gruesome, and all of those who had taken up the Atlantean Morphers had perished in battle."
"So what happened after that?" Alex asks.
"No one knows," Connerly replies, "The Warrior just vanished, and soon afterwards the Silver Morpher appeared with the other Atlantean Morphers. We don't know what happened. But after that, we had the seven Atlantean Warrior's until Dark Specter attacked."
"So The Warrior may still be out there, somehow?" Alex asks.
Connerly nods his head. "Perhaps. But I do hope that the Morpher is, and not the one who wielded it."
"How could he be alive?" Alex asks, "surely he's died of old age by now."
"Probably, but there is still so much about the power gems that are the true source of the Morphers powers that we don't know," Connerly replies, "much was lost over the years. We may eventually be able to make you a Morpher, if we can find some alternate power source, but for now you're stuck on the sidelines."
"I guess I'll just have to deal with it," Alex sighs, "well, thanks for helping me Connerly. I'd better go on and get on to the etiquette lessons."
Connerly nods his head and Alex takes off.
At the banquet hall, Eleanor and Petite were showing the Ranger's the proper table manners expected of them. So far, all of the Ranger's were doing exceptionally well with both Eleanor and Petite showing them. Petite worked with Jesse, Ben, and Nathan while Eleanor worked with Holly and Bethany.
"I ain't doin' it!" Alex easily identified that as Jesse's voice.
"But you must," Eleanor replies calmly, "you do want to make a good impression, do you not?"
"I can make a good impression without dancing," Jesse retorts, his disgust at the thought evident in his voice.
"You just don't wanna do it because you can't dance," Alex says with a smirk as he walks into the great hall. Jesse gives his best friend a betrayed look.
"I thought you were my friend," Jesse protests, "I can't help it if I can't dance."
"Jesse, you can't dance because you've only been to one party that had dancing since I've met you," Alex points out, "and that was Lindsey's birthday party."
"Yeah, so?" Jesse retorts.
"So you have not had a chance to learn," Bethany points out, "you could learn now."
"And if I don't wanna?" Jesse asks.
"Jesse, you're acting like a child," Alex says, exasperated, "just shut up and learn. It's not that big a deal."
Jesse grumbles but tries to learn. The other Ranger's quickly discover that, despite being a good fighter with the help of the Silver Morpher, he had two left feet when it came to dancing. An hour later and they decide to stop for a break. Mainly, a break from Jesse stepping on the girls' feet.
"How can someone so good at fighting be so lousy at dancing?" Holly grouses as she rubs her feet, sore from Jesse stepping on them for the last twenty minutes.
"I told you, I cannot dance," Jesse says fervently.
"We should have listened," Bethany grumbles. Her feet were sore from her turn at trying to teach Jesse to dance. In fact, of the three women who had tried to teach Jesse to dance, only Eleanor had gotten away without getting her feet stepped on.
"Eleanor, how did your feet not get stepped on?" Holly complains.
"She has faster reflexes than you do," Jesse points out, "now you see why I was so adamant about this?"
"Is he always like this when he gets to say 'I told you so'?" Bethany asks Alex.
"Yup," Alex chuckles, "saying 'I told you so' is one of Jesse's favorite things to do."
Connerly rushes into the Great Hall. "Big trouble in Los Angeles."
"How big?" Jesse asks.
"Zord big," Connerly replies, "you're gonna need everything you got. It's the Garnecia Elephantis."
Eleanor pales. "How did Dark Specter summon that horrible beast?"
"I have no idea," Connerly replies, "but we'll find out eventually,"
"Big or not, it's our duty to take it down," Jesse says as he and the other Ranger's summon their Morphers, "it's Morphin Time! Silver Power of Atlantis!"
"Bronze Power of Atlantis!"
"Platinum Power of Atlantis!"
"Crystal Power of Atlantis!"
"White Power of Atlantis!"
"Aqua Power of Atlantis!"
~Los Angeles, downtown
The elephant-like Garnecia Elephantis stomps through downtown Los Angeles, relishing the destruction he was causing. A single sword swipe destroys another building, cutting through the support structure and causing the upper floors to come crashing down on the lower floors. The impact causes the entire building the crumble to the ground. Anyone who was still inside had no chance of survival.
An array of energy blasts hit the Garnecia Elephantis in the back. He turns to see the Atlantean Zords, in their creature modes, facing him. He laughs and charges the Silver Dragon Atlantean Zord, slashing into its chest with his sword. The Silver Dragon Zord screeches in pain as its pilot inside feels the same pain. The White Gargoyle Zord and Aqua Golem Zord grab the Garnecia Elephantis from behind and teleport away with it so the battle does not do any more damage. The other Atlantean Zords soon follow in gigantic columns of multi-colored light.
~Mohave Desert~
The two Atlantean Zords and the Garnecia Elephantis appear in columns of white and aqua light and a whorl of purple and white energy. The Garnecia, now that it could move, shrugs off the two Zords like they were nothing. It turns around and slams its meaty left fist into the chest of the White Gargoyle Zord, sending the Zord flying. A blast of energy from the mouth of the Silver Dragon Zord hits the Garnecia Elephantis in the back, distracting it long enough for the other Zords to regroup.
"Silver Dragon Zord, Warrior Mode!" Silver Ranger calls out. The Silver Dragon Zord changes into its mighty Warrior Mode and draws its sword and advances on the Garnecia Elephantis. The Silver Warrior Zord slashes at the Garnecia Elephantis, but the monsters thick hide deflects the blade, stupefying the Silver Ranger long enough for the Garnecia Elephantis to ram its meaty fist into the chest of the Silver Warrior Zord, denting its armor.
"That hide is thick!" Silver Ranger exclaims as the White Gargoyle and Aqua Golem Zords help his Zord to his feet, "Bronze Ranger, White Ranger, got an idea. A sword is a mighty weapon, but the strength of the blow is spread out among the entire blade. Your weapons focus the entire force of the attack in a much smaller area. Convert to Warrior Mode and attack with your weapons. The rest of us will try to keep the Garnecia Elephantis distracted with energy blasts."
The Silver Warrior Zord returns to Dragon Mode and fires a breath blast of sizzling silver energy at the Garnecia Elephantis while the White Gargoyle and Bronze Griffin Zords change into their Warrior Modes and draw their weapons. The two Zords advance on the Garnecia Elephantis while the other four Zords take up strategic locations to fire energy blasts at it.
The Garnecia Elephantis blocks the White Gargoyle Warhammer with his sword and grabs haft of the Bronze Griffin Battle Axe. He proceeds to push back against the Zords, sending them to the ground. He is immediately blasted by the breath blast of the Silver Dragon Zord and an energy blast from the horn of the Platinum Winged Unicorn Zord. The Crystal Chimera Zord opens the mouths of the main head, that of the lion, and the goat head while the serpent tail moves up like a scorpion tail. The three heads each open their mouths and fire at the same point, which creates an even more powerful blast the slams into the Garnecia Elephantis, staggering it a small bit. The Aqua Golem Zord pelts it with blasts from its eye laser.
"So, you trying to work as a team and wear me down, eh?" the Garnecia Elephantis snorts, "try this!"
The Garnecia Elephantis raises its left arm and points it at the Aqua Golem Zord palm out. Purple and white energy coalesce into a sphere in its palm before shooting out and slamming into the Aqua Golem Zord, sending it down sparking from the heavy damage.
"Crap, this thing is just too strong!" Silver Ranger says, "let's try Ternary MegaZord Two and Binary Zord One."
"The Ternary MegaZord Two?" White Ranger asks.
"Combo of my Zord, your Zord, and Crystal Ranger's Zord," Silver Ranger responds, "Bronze Ranger, Platinum Ranger, you two keep this freak busy until we can get the Ternary MegaZord Two up and running."
"But we don't know how!" White Ranger protests.
"Like you didn't know how to form the Binary Zord Two?" Silver Ranger points out.
"Good point," Crystal Ranger says, "the Morphers will guide us?"
"The Morphers will guide us," Silver Ranger confirms, "okay ladies, show that elephant the meaning of girl power! Aqua Ranger, help them out."
"Thought you'd never ask," Platinum Ranger chuckles as she fires bolt after bolt of energy from her Zord's horn, raining down enough energy to pause the Garnecia Elephantis long enough for the Bronze Warrior Zord to slam its Bronze Griffin Battle Axe into the right shoulder of the Garnecia Elephantis, leaving an indenture that was easy to see. However, it did not penetrate the Garnecia Elephantis' thick hide.
Bronze Ranger gulps as the Garnecia Elephantis raises its left fist for a counter blow. It never comes as the Aqua Golem Zord slams itself into the Garnecia Elephantis with enough force to send the beast staggering, but not to its knees. The Garnecia Elephantis steadies itself and fixes an evil look on the two ground Zords.
"I hope the guys get back soon," Bronze Ranger gulps as the Garnecia Elephantis advances towards the two Zords.
"Okay, lets do it," White Ranger says, his Zord back in its Gargoyle Mode.
"Initiate Ternary MegaZord Two!" Crystal, White, and Silver Ranger's call out. The Silver Dragon Zord shifts its form, the wings folding over the front of its body. The legs and left arm retract into its body while the dragon head folds over the chest, forming a sort of armor, while the right arm folds over on itself, creating a thicker upper arm. The White Gargoyle Zord shifts its form, its arms sliding over the legs like a set of armor while the body opens up and parts move until the White Gargoyle Zord becomes a pair of legs. The wings of the White Gargoyle Zord slide over the newly made legs of the Ternary MegaZord Two and become smooth, like armored leggings of a medieval knight. The Silver Dragon Zord connects to the White Gargoyle Zord, forming the legs and torso of the Ternary MegaZord Two. The Crystal Chimera Zord goes through a startling change as the body splits apart, the part with the lion head reforming and connecting to the right arm of the Ternary MegaZord Two with the lion head connecting it directly to the upper arm formed by the right arm and hand of the Silver Dragon Zord while the goat head became the new left shoulder and the serpent head and body became a whiplike weapon connected to the new wrist while a panel opened up just in front of the new eapon and a hand slid out. The Silver Dragon Saber, White Gargoyle Warhammer, and Crystal Chimera Cutlass all come together, the Crystal Chimera Cutlass connecting to the end of the haft of the White Gargoyle Warhammer. The Silver Dragon Saber slides into the hammer head of the White Gargoyle Warhammer, forming a true scythe: the Ternary Scythe.
"Ternary MegaZord Two, power up!" the three Ranger's in control of the Ternary MegaZord Two call out in unison.
"White Ranger, your in charge of energy modulation," Silver Ranger says, "Crystal Ranger, your in charge of navigation. I'll take care of movement."
The Silver Ranger brings the Ternary MegaZord Two to bear with the manual controls, ready for action.
"Initiate mental link-up," Silver Ranger says. A headset lowers and covers his helmet and integrates with it. "Mental link-up established. Activate mental tracers."
The eyes of the Ternary MegaZord Two light up, blazing with sentience. It walks over to the battle between the Garnecia Elephantis and the other three Atlantean Zords. The Ternary MegaZord Two raises its left arm and striking out, the Serpent Whip shooting forth and lashing the Garnecia Elephantis across its left arm. The monster roars in pain and turns to face the Ternary MegaZord Two.
"You guys go and form the Binary Zord One," White Ranger says from the energy modulation consul, "Aqua Ranger, you stay put. We may need the Armor Ternary MegaZord Two."
"Okay," Bronze Ranger says, "take care." The Bronze and Platinum Warrior Zords move off, transforming back into their creature modes as they do so.
"Okay, let's rock 'n roll!" Silver Ranger says as he moves the Ternary MegaZord Two into battle position, Serpent Whip ready.
"That little whip actually stung," the Garnecia Elephantis mutters, "maybe this will be even more fun that I had originally thought."
The Garnecia Elephantis raises its sword and charges the Ternary MegaZord Two, ready to cut it in half with a single strike. The Aqua Golem Zord fires its eye laser, peppering the back of the Garnecia Elephantis with several direct hits but the behemoth continues on headless of the attacks. The Ternary MegaZord Two summons its Ternary Scythe and blocks the Garnecia Elephantis' attack, but the monster delivers a devastating left hook to the elbow joint to the powerful Zord's right arm, knowing it was a a junction point in the Zord combination.
The Ternary MegaZord Two staggers back, the elbow joint sparking slightly but still functional. It slashes at the Garnecia Elephantis' head, but the monster ducks and counters with a vicious heatbut. A blast of bronze/platinum energy from the side stops the Garnecia Elephantis from furthering the assault. The Binary Zord One had arrived.
Another blast of energy erupts from the spikes sticking out of the shoulders of the combination Zord. The Garnecia Elephantis sidesteps the stream of energy and charges the Binzary Zord One down, ramming into and sending it crashing to the ground with tremendous force.
"He's still too powerful!" Bronze Ranger groans as Platinum Ranger gets their Zord back on its feet.
"Judging by the power of the Ternary MegaZord Two, I doubt the Armor Ternary MegaZord Two would be powerful enough to stop this behemoth," Crystal Ranger says.
"What about the Silver Atlantean MegaZord?" Platinum Ranger asks, "shouldn't have enough power?"
"Yes, but do we have the time to separate our Zords and then reform into the Silver Atlantean MegaZord?" Silve rRanger asks, "and I don't think Aqua Ranger can hold him off long enough."
"I can try," Aqua Ranger says, "I can shift into my Warrior Mode. It won't boost my power much, but hopefully I can last until you form the Silver Atlantean MegaZord."
"You sure man?" Silver Ranger asks.
"I can take it," Aqua Ranger says firmly before the Aqua Golem Zord transforms into the Aqua Warrior Mode, "you guys just hurry up!"
The Aqua Warrior Zord summons its Aqua Golem Daggers and attacks with powerful energy slashes at the Garnecia Elephantis, distracting it enough for the Ternary MegaZord Two and the Binary Zord One to get away. The Aqua Warrior Zord circles the Garnecia Elephantis, prepared to fight to the bitter end.
The Ternary MegaZord Two and the Binary Zord One separate into their five component Zords, each in its creature mode.
"Silver Atlantean MegaZord transformation, activate," Silver Ranger commands, entering a button sequence into the control panel of his cockpit.
The five Zords flash in their respective colors before they begin to change. The limbs of the Silver Dragon Zord fold in on themselves before sliding into compartments in the body. The wings slide back until at the belly of the belly of the Silver Dragon Zord. The head straightens the partially slides into the body before the Zord itself flips upside down, the waist forming the new shoulders and upper torso of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord while the former shoulders and head form a the new waist and buckle. The White Gargoyle Zord folds in on itself, the wings sliding into the body along with the head. The arms slide into compartments in the body before the body itself slightly reshapes. The legs latch together before folding up, forming a foot, the Zord now being the right leg of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. It slides into the appropriate slot on the lower torso. The Crystal Chimera Zord goes through drastic changes as well. The serpent tail slides into the body while the goat head folds back into its own compartment, as do the legs. The lion head slides along a slot until it is on the back of the Crystal Chimera Zord, forming the left leg of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. The new left leg slides into its appropriate slot and latches. The legs of the Bronze Griffin Zord and Platinum Winged Unicorn Zords fold into their respective bodies. The wings of the two Zords fold in on themselves while the heads slide into their chests. The bodies of the two Zords strength about halfway and form elbow joints while hands sprout from the ends of the two Zords, the Bronze Griffin Zord being the new right arm while the Platinum Winged Unicorn Zord being the left. They slide into the new compartments for them in the torso of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. The new head, which is armored like a medeivel samurai, slides out of its compartment within the new chest of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. A light plays over the surface of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord, streamlining it as it moves down, making the connections smooth and as impenetrable as they would be if the MegaZord was one unit to begin with.
"Silver Atlantean MegaZord, power up!" the five Atlantean Ranger's call out in unison.
Silver Ranger takes command. "Bronze Ranger, you take care of energy output. Platinum Ranger, you take care of navigation. White Ranger, you take care of our energy shields. Keep them up as best you can, but be prepared to transfer all the shield energy we got to our reserves so they can then be sent into one big blast. We just may need it. White Ranger, take care of our secondary weapons. We should have a good array of weapons other than our main weapon, the Silver MegaZord Saber. I'll take combat control."
"You're not that good at manual control," Bronze Ranger points out.
"That's why I'm using the mental uplink," Silver Ranger replies, "I trust you guys to keep me from feeling a lot of blows. Keep energy in the shields. I feel the pain of the damage the MegaZord takes."
"Good plan," Bronze Ranger says, "you're the best for this situation. With the main weapon being a sword, Crystal Ranger is the second best option. The rest of us do not have many skills from our Morphers that relate to swordplay."
"I think they are designed that way," Silver Ranger says as the mental uplink begins to be established, "Crystal Ranger, if the damage becomes too much for me to handle, pull me out and take command the same way. This thing is too complicated for four people to run manually."
"Gotcha," Crystal Ranger replies as he checks over the secondary weapons, "whoa. Some of these weapon readings we got are top notch. We could nuke a city if we so chose with just the secondary weapons."
"And those are exactly the kind of weapons we're about to need," Silver Ranger grits his teeth as he prepares to guide the Silver Atlantean MegaZord into its first battle in untold millennia.
The Garnecia Elephantis is stomping on the Aqua Warrior Zord. Each stomp is slightly caving in the Zord's chest, bringing it closer and closer to a permanent shutdown of its systems, and thus killing the spirit of the Aqua Ranger. A laser blast rips into the Garnecia Elephantis' back, sending it staggering away from the fallen Zord. It turns to see the Silver Atlantean MegaZord standing there, its eyes blazing with residue energy from the energy blast.
"So, you have another combination, do you?" the Garnecia Elephantis snorts, "it won't matter."
"We'll see about that," Crystal Ranger declares as he fires off another eye laser blast. The beams slam into the Garnecia Elephantis, but do no more than stagger it once more. The giant behemoth continues its inexorable pace to the Silver Atlantean MegaZord and slugs it in the chest. The MegaZord takes a few steps back, its protective shields sparking from the energy they had had to produce to keep that punch from going through. The MegaZord fires back with another eye laser blast.
"Guys, prepare for the Silver MegaZord Saber," Silver Ranger says, "we'll run out of power before we pierce that thing's hide, and bludgeoning it with punches is too risky. This thing ain't exactly nimble."
"True, it was designed for power in mind," Bronze Ranger remarks, "but that just means that we have as much power as we need to deal with this guy."
"Short of Dark Specter, I don't see what can overpower us right now," White Ranger adds.
"Silver MegaZord Saber online," Platinum Ranger says, "begin transport."
The Silver Atlantean MegaZord holds up its right arm, its hand ready to accept the Silver MegaZord Saber. Light and energy begins to streak into the upheld hand, slowly taking shape into a broadsword. The entire sword almost seemed like it was spun into its basic shape, then the blade was hammered into shape. The hilt was all graceful curves that also hinted at incredible durability, while the blade itself seemed almost like a different piece of metal. The blade was a smooth silver, with every color of the rainbow flowing through over it at each angle.
"So, that is your primary weapon?" the Garnecia Elephantis snorts as it summons its own sword, a blade that had a spike on one end of the hilt, the end that was pressed against the forearm of the Garnecia Elephantis. The blade itself was straight until a point, then it curved inward until the tip, which was even with the straight part of the blade. "Doesn't look like much."
The Garnecia Elephantis charges the Silver Atlantean MegaZord, bringing its sword down in a powerful chop, only to be stopped mid-charge by a simple backhand blow from the Silver Atlantean MegaZord with the Silver MegaZord Saber.
"Silver Ranger, our power levels have gone up to 200%," Bronze Ranger exclaims, "that Silver MegaZord Saber is a conduit for raw, unfocused power. Records indicate that that power has never been used to its fullest. Instead, the Silver MegaZord Saber was always used to simply amplify the MegaZord's energy into a powerful slash."
"Let's try the traditional attack first," Silver Ranger says. He didn't need to be told that the Silver MegaZord Saber was a conduit for a LOT of energy. He could feel it through his mental link to the Silver Atlantean MegaZord! It was indescribable.
Energy pours into the Silver MegaZord Saber from the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. The Silver Atlantean MegaZord holds the Silver MegaZord Saber aloft as the enrgy charges up, then slashes at the Garnecia Elephantis, sending the energy pouring out. The energy slams into the Garnecia Elephantis, actually knocking it off its feet and sending it flying before it crashes back to the ground, creating a small earthquake and an indent in the ground itself. It slowly gets back up, dazed.
"Its still up?" Silver Ranger goggles. This was unexpected. The Garnecia Elephantis was far more powerful than they had expected.
"Perhaps we should try accessing that energy," White Ranger suggests.
"Good idea," Silver Ranger agrees.
"Too late!" Platinum Ranger cries out, pointing. The Garnecia Elephantis was charging them, too fast for the Silver Ranger to move the MegaZord into a position to block. Instead, the MegaZord takes a powerful slash across the torso starting low followed by a haymaker from the Garnecia's left fist. The MegaZord crashed to the ground, sending jolts of pain through the Silver Ranger. That punch ahd felt like a kick from a mule on steroids, before he had ever received the Silver Morpher!
As the Silver Ranger struggles to get the MegaZord back under control, the Garnecia Elephantis kicks it in the chest, sending it sprawling once again and shooting another wave of pain through the Silver Ranger. The Garnecia Elephantis bends over and grabs the Silver Atlantean MegaZord by the neck and lifts it up, forcing the neck to support the entire MegaZord's weight. The Garnecia Elephantis leers at its opponent for a moment before it proceeds to flip its sword around so that the spike is now protruding out instead of lying against the Garnecia's forearm. The Garnecia Elephantis then proceeds to beat the Silver Atlantean MegaZord in the chest, the spike sending up sparks from the mighty megaZord's shields before it penetrates and begins leaving dents, then holes in the MegaZord's chest armor. Thirty seconds of this renders the Silver Ranger unconscious.
"Silver Ranger!" Crystal Ranger cries out, rushing over to the team's leader. He quickly unhooks the Silver Ranger from the mental uplink and redirects power from the secondary weapons into the shields. The shields begin to raise again, sending out a shower of sparks as they hold agains the bludgeoning.
"We're running low on power and fast," Bronze Ranger says as she watches their energy levels plummet, "if we can't get him to let go of us soon, we're history."
"Can we move the legs enough to deliver a low blow?" Crystal Ranger asks.
"I doubt we'd be able to make the Megazord deliver enough force without the mental uplink, and none of us would be able to think clearly enough through the pummeling to do it," Platinum Ranger answers, "we need a miracle right now."
An aqua colored energy blast rips into the Garnecia Elephantis' back, scorching it where the Silver Atlantean MegaZord's eye lasers had blasted it a short time ago. The monster drops the MegaZord, letting it fall into a heap on the desert floor. It turns to see the Aqua Warrior Zord standing, its Golem Dirks still shimmering from the energy that had just been focused through them while its chest sparks from the damage the Garnecia Elephantis had delivered to it.
"Quick, initiate mental uplink!" Crystal Ranger commands as White Ranger eases the Silver Ranger into the Crystal Ranger's chair. The Crystal Ranger slides into the mental uplink with ease and gets the MegaZord back on its feet. It picks up the Silver MegaZord Saber and prepares to strike down the Garnecia Elephantis.
"Silver Ranger wasn't kidding," Crystal ranger says as he revels in the feeling of the Silver MegaZord Saber through the mental uplink, "this sword does possess an enormous amount of power. And I think we'll need to unleash the full power of it to destroy the Garnecia Elephantis."
The Garnecia Elephantis turns and lashes out at the MegaZord, its sword aimed directly for the chest. The MegaZord parries the attack, then follows up with a slash across the chest that penetrates the Garnecia's hide. Purplish blood seeps from the cut as sparks of raw magical energy flows out of the monster through the cut. The Garnecia Elephantis staggers as its strength begins to leave it a little bit at the time.
"Hey, look at this," Platinum Ranger says, "the Garnecia Elephantis is weakening. I think its blood is the key. I don't think its meant to bleed."
"It must need every bit of blood it has to keep its power up," Bronze Ranger says, then her eyes narrow within her helmet. "Let's cut this suckah up!"
"I hear that," Crystal Ranger says as he prepares for another attack.
Meanwhile, the Garnecia Elephantis touches the wound with its left hand, amazed. "You cut me. I have not been cut in thousands of years. I am supposed to be invulnerable. Well now, this was most unexpected. A sword that can actually penetrate my skin. How extraordinary. It appears that you Rangers are worthy opponents after all."
With that, the Garnecia Elephantis rushes the Silver atlantean MegaZord, swinging its sword around for a decapitating slash. The MegaZord blocks with its Silver MegaZord Saber, then pushes back against the Garnecia Elephantis, sending the mammoth creature sprawling.
"We'd better hurry," Bronze Ranger says, "our energy levels are still critically low. If this lasts much longer we may not be able to execute the finishing blow."
"Gotcha," Crystal Ranger says, "lets do it."
The Silver Atlantean MegaZord stands ready, energy beginning to swirl around its sword. Sparkles of energy in the color of the five Ranger's whose Zords made up the Silver Atlantean MegaZord flows into the blade until it is glowing a faint gold color. A well of power within the Silver MegaZord Saber is unleashed and raw power flows into the blade, sending a jolt through the arm of the Crystal Ranger.
"This.. is incredible!" Crystal Ranger cries out as he feels the power filling the Silver MegaZord Saber, "so much power.. its indescribable!"
The Garnecia Elephantis gets back to its feet. Its eyes widen when it sees and feels the amount of powr flowing through the Silver MegaZord Saber. It begins to focus its own power into its sword, prepared to send out a wave of power of its own. The Silver MegaZord Saber begins to glow a bright reddish gold as it enters the final stage of its powerup.
The Silver Atlantean MegaZord begins to carve a circle in the air with the Silver MegaZord Saber. When it finishes carving the circle, it slashes diagonally down from the left. It uses its own momentum to spin around and the slash upwards diagonally from, the left, forming a perfect 'X' within the circle. Its momentum continues to carry it as it spins around again, this time slashing horizontally. The Silver Atlantean MegaZord then brings the Silver MegaZord Saber to its side, the point of the blade aimed straight ahead, the hilt being held with both hands. It then thrusts into the circle, right where the lines of the three slashes cross, then it begins to raise the Silver MegaZord Saber up. When the Silver MegaZord Saber is fully raised over its head, then it proceds to launch a perfectly vertical slash at the Garnecia Elephantis. This unleashes the power that had been stored up within the blade, sending a wave of destructive power at the Garnecia Elephantis.
The Garnecia Elephantis prepares to launch its own attack to deflect the oncoming wave, but a blast of aqua colored energy manages to knock its sword out of its hand. It turns to look at the Aqua Warrior Zord beginning to collapse from expending too much energy in such a damaged state. Its Golem Daggers were still sparkling with the residue of the attack that had knocked the Garnecia Elephantis' sword out of its hand. The Garnecia Elephantis doesn't even have the time to scream in pain, fury, or hatred as the attack from the Silver Atlantean MegaZord hits it, tearing through its body and blowing it away chunk by chunk. The attack actually seems to stop for a moment when it hits the Garnecia Elephantis, but then it tears on through as it totally vaporizes the evil monster.
"Well, that was difficult," Crystal Ranger sighs as he disengages the mental uplink.
"Yes, it was," White Ranger agrees, then he opens up the communications to the Aqua Warrior Zord. "Yo, Aqua Ranger, you okay?"
"Nothing that a bunch of repairs won't take care of," Aqua Ranger replies, "lets head back to Atlantis. Silver Ranger needs some medical attention and I need to get my repairs started right away."
The two Zords teleport away in massive streaks of light, one aqua the other a myriad of colors.
~aboard the Dark Specter's ship~
"This is preposterous!" Dark Specter yells in anger, "the Garnecia Elephantis, defeated?! By a bunch of mere humans?! Wielding the Morphers of Atlantis or not, they should not have been able to defeat him."
"My lord, this is but a minor setback," Darkonda says, "the Rangers are obviously hurting after such a battle. Perhaps if we attacked again today we could still destroy them."
"No, attacking Ranger's after such a hard-fought victory would only prove futile," Dark Specter says as he simmers down a bit, "they would be psyched up from the victory and would obliterate almost any creature in my service, including you, Darkonda. As treacherous as you are, you are still valuable to me. And you know as well as I do what happens when you lose one of your lives: your power decreases."
"Yes, Dark Specter," Darkonda grovels, "so we shall wait for a time before attacking again?"
"Yes," Dark Specter says, "and we will need a plan. Continue to observe the Silver Atlantean Ranger and try to identify any weaknesses and fears he has that we can exploit."
"And the other Ranger's?" Darkonda asks, already knowing the answer to that question.
"Uncover their identities," Dark Specter commands, "then apply the same strategies to them that we are using on the Silver Atlantean Ranger."
"Shall I hire someone with mind reading abilities to uncover the information directly from the Silver Ranger's mind?" Darkonda asks.
"Not yet," Dark Specter says, "such abilities are expensive to hire.I am unaware of anyone in my armies with such abilities that are still alive, and I do not wish to pay a large sum simply to learn the identities of a few Ranger's. We shall discover their identities soon enough."
"Yes, Dark Specter," Darkonda bows, "it will be as you command."
~at Atlantis, a few hours later~
"That battle was harsh," Jesse murmurs as Alex forces him to drink down some vile-tasting concoction that would soothe any mental damage he had received through the beating he had endured while mentally linked to the Silver Atlantean MegaZord.
"But you won," Alex says, "barely, but you did win. That counts for something, doesn't it?"
"It does," Holly says, "but we were largely unprepared for a battle of that magnitude."
"You will be pleased to know that there are not many with the strength of the Garnecia Elephantis," the Elder states, "and some are not in Dark Specter's employment, but are rather mercenaries. Those that are in the Dark Specter's employ he will not be so eager to send against you after you destroyed one of his mightiest henchmen."
"These last two days we have been on the receiving end of some rather brutal attacks," Nathan comments, "we need to step up on our training."
"What about Petite?" Bethany asks, "he was severely damaged."
"Petite and your Zords will be fully operational once again by tomorrow evening, just in time for the banquet tomorrow," Eleanor states, "speaking of which, Jesse, you still need dancing lessons."
Bethany and Holly wince. "Can you give us some steel boots or something so our toes won't get smashed?" Bethany asks.
"Do not worry," Eleanor grins, "I will be the only one dancing with Jesse. You ladies shall practice with these gentlemen."
Bethany and Holly sigh in relief. Jesse really couldn't dance.
~the next day, the Royal Banquet Hall of Atlantis~
The Atlantean Ranger's, plus Alex, were in full regalia. Holly and Bethany were elaborately dressed in a shirt and tunic each, with soft breeches instead of hose. The tunics reached to their knees, with splits at the side up to their waist to ensure their freedom of movement. The seams of Holly's tunic were lined with strips of platinum colored cloth, while the seams of Bethany's tunic was lined with strips of bronze colored cloth. Holly's shirt was scarlet red while the tunic was dark gray. Her breeches were a bright green. Her Morpher was plainly evident in the buckle of the belt around her tunic. Bethany's shirt was a deep blue while her tunic was dark gray. Her breeches are flame red. Her Morpher was plainly evident in the buckle of the belt around her tunic.
Jesse, Nathan, Ben, and Alex were all appropriately dressed in Atlantean garb for such an occasion. They each wore a loose-fitting shirt, sleevless tunic, and breeches that allowed a full range of movement. Jesse's shirt was a shimmering silver while his tunic was a vibrant red with gold thread that denoted him as the leader of the Atlantean Ranger's. His breeches were a golden yellow. His Morpher was attached to the buckle of his belt. Nathan wore a light blue, almost white, shirt while his tunic was a forest green. His breeches were purple and his Morpher was attached to the buckle of his belt. Ben wore a snowy white shirt while his tunic was solid black. His breeches were deep blue and his Morpher was attached to the buckle of his belt. Alex, since he was not a Ranger, could wear whatever colors he chose. Since he was distantly a member of the Clan Green, he wore a green shirt with a bright red tunic. His breeches were a navy blue. His belt buckle, since he did not have a Morpher, held his badge of honor that showed that he was an apprentice wizard of the Clan Green.
Petite was dressed in simple tunic and breeches that showed that he was the Aqua Ranger. His story had already been filtered throughout Atlantean society, so he did not garner many stares of disbelief. The other Ranger's, on the other hand, were all regarded with curiosity by the nobility of Atlantis as they did their best to mingle with the crowd.
Except Jesse. He just stood back and watched.
"You really aren't good at social gatherings," Eleanor says as she walks up to the reclusive Silver Ranger.
"Never have been," Jesse replies evenly, "I'm not much of a social person. I gather around me a closenit group of people that become my friends. I used to make friends with ease, but moving and then being regarded as a nobody and ridiculed made me reclusive. And so you see me here avoiding people."
"Ah. Well, why don't you come with me? Perhaps a familiar presence can help you relax and socialize."
"It's worth a try," Jesse sighs, "I don't really like being reclusive, but I'm too shy otherwise."
"You aren't shy when you verbally spar with Bethany and Holly," Eleanor teases.
Jesse's cheeks tinged with a blush.
"I'm just teasing you," Eleanor laughs. Eleanor leads Jesse out among the crowd and introduces him to some of the nobles of the Clan Eldryn.
"Ah, so you're the new leader of the Atlantean Warriors, eh?" one nobleman remarks.
"Atlantean Rangers, actually," Jesse replies, "since the only one of us even remotely Atlantean is Petite, the Aqua Ranger, we cannot use the Atlantean Warrior powers. But we are by no means weak."
"I see," another nobleman says, "and you are the Silver Ranger, are you not?"
"I am," Jesse answers, "I was the first selected by one of the Atlantean Morphers. My best friend was pulled with me when I was teleported to Atlantis. He is currently in reserve, learning alongside us in case one of us, unfortunately, falls in battle and can no longer fight. In the meantime, he is also training to use Atlantean magic. He is proven quite adept."
"He is a descendant of Darien Green, the previous Crystal Warrior," Eleanor explains, "he is quite adept in his lessons and can hold his own against any of the Rangers when they are not morphed."
"Still, they are not Atlanteans," another member of the Clan Eldryn retorts, "how can you allow non-Atlanteans to wield the power of the Morphers of Atlantis?"
"Matthias, dear brother, we have been over this before," Eleanor says, "they were deemed worthy by the Morphers. We cannot question the Morphers judgment. Each of the Atlantean Rangers have proven themselves to be honest and trusthworthy. They have lived up to the standard set by the previous Atlantean Warriors and other heroes of Atlantean lore."
"My dear friend," Jesse says, irritated by Matthias' tone, "are you so shallow as to say we are unworthy simply because we are not Atlanteans? Or are you mad at us because you were not selected by a Morpher? I myself have questioned by own worth many a time, but when those who cannot defend themselves need me to protect them, I will not stop to think of myself to defend them."
"And are you capable of defending others?" Matthias retorts, "a contest, between the two of us, to see if you are worthy of the Silver Morpher."
Jesse's eyes narrow. "What are you, obtuse? What will fighting solve?"
"Are you afraid?" Matthias taunts, "or perhaps you are afraid to show yourself for what you are: a weak coward."
Jesse's eyes blaze with indignation. "How dare you call me a coward! My life has been upturned from being chosen to be a Ranger, but I haven't complained. I like protecting others, and I will protect them for as long as the Silver Morpher finds me worthy and that I am physically able to so. If you have a problem with me personally, then tell me. If it's just being a bigot over the fact that I am not Atlantean, then buzz off!"
Matthias, taken aback by Jesse's outburst, stares at Silver Ranger for a moment. Then his eyes narrow.
"Matthias, don't," Eleanor orders, but her words go unheaded.
Matthias takes a swing at Jesse, aiming for the teens jaw, but Jesse grabs Matthias' arm and uses it as leverage to toss Matthias over his shoulder. Matthias lands flat on his back, slightly stunned.
"If you ever want to spar with me, come and find me," Jesse says evenly, "a banquet is no place for a fight, my friend. Besides, we should be allies, not enemies."
With that, Jesse walks over to the table where the Atlantean Rangers were to sit. The feast was about to start.
"You handled that rather well," Alex comments.
"He's probably a genuinely good guy, but he has his faults," Jesse replies, "being a bigot is one of them."
"Actually, he doesn't respect authority figures like yourself unless they defeat him in combat," Eleanor says, "and thanks for embarrassing my older brother."
"Sorry," Jesse says, "but he just rubbed my nerves the wrong way."
"He's not an agreeable sort of fellow," Eleanor agrees, "but try6 to keep an open mind about him. He doesn't really dislike non-Atlanteans, but they have to earn his respect. You probably should spar with him sometime. Even if he beats you, if you may still earn his respect if you fight hard enough."
"I don't want to fight him," Jesse says, "but if I must, I will."
"What are his views about me?" Petite asks.
"You, he respects because of what you did before when Atlantis was attacked by Dark Specter," Eleanor replies, "but he does not respect the rest of you. Particularly you, Alex. You're not even a Ranger."
"Hey, its time to eat," Bethany points out, "lets have a joyful conversation, not this gloomy one."
The others agree and sit, ready to enjkoy a succulent feast. Roasts of lamb, pig, and beef, as well as various salads, fruits, and other delicious foods are one each table.
Elsewhere, two glowing red eyes open. A terrible evil has been locked away for twelve thousand years, and now it is about to be released once again.
~~
Well, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. It may be a while before I release the next chapter, but I will be working on it. However, I also have several other stories that I am working on, including some that I have not yet posted.
As always, please review. I like knowing what other people think of my work.
~~
It is the day after the battle the Atlantean Ranger's had with the Wolflord of Fire and Earth, the most powerful entity that the Atlantean Ranger's have faced yet. The six teenage superheroes had managed to defeat it, but not without sustaining heavy injuries. It would take the worst injured of them, Bethany Black the Bronze Atlantean Ranger, a few more days to fully heal.
But they did not have those days to rest and recover. During the fight, the Silver Atlantean Ranger had faced off against Darkonda, a powerful minion of evil, and learned that a monster known as the Garnecia Elephantis had arrived or would soon arrive. Either way, they were expecting an attack and they expected it today.
And to top it all off, tomorrow they had a banquet in their honor at Atlantis to introduce the inheritors of the Atlantean Morphers to the nobility. None of the Ranger's really knew what would happen if the nobility did not approve of them, but they were all gonna try to make sure that they didn't find out.
"Blast it dude, where are you?" Alex demands angrily. He was waiting in his backyard for Jesse to arrive. Once he did arrive, they would be heading for Atlantis to continue their quick training in Atlantean court etiquette.
"Right behind you." With a cry of surprise, Alex turns around.
"Darn it, Jesse, don't scare me like that!"
"We really shouldn't meet and then teleport to Atlantis," Jesse says, "it could make dark Specter think you're a Ranger if he's keeping an eye on me."
"I think I'll risk it," Alex replies, "and Connerly and I have been researching how the Morphers were made. If our luck holds out, we might be able to make one. Not as strong as your Morpher, certainly not, but perhaps somewhat weaker than Petite's."
"What about recreating the Green Morpher?" Jesse asks.
"No can do," Alex replies, "not sure why, but we can't. Something to do with the specific energies that the colors have. No, if we create a new Morpher, it'll be Red, Yellow, Gold, or Blue."
"Why those colors?" Jesse asks, puzzled.
"Dunno why those specific colors," Alex says, the same puzzled look on his face, "it'll require further research."
"Anyway, we'd better teleport," Jesse says, "Spectrons can come at us by the platoon out here and we wouldn't stand a chance."
"Quite," Alex agrees, and the two teleport to Atlantis in streaks of silver and white light.
~at Atlantis~
"No attacks so far?" Jesse asks as he and Alex walk up to Connerly.
"Nothing at all," Connerly replies, "we've even been checking as much as we can of the rest of the universe, and still nothing."
"How far can you scan?" Alex wonders.
"Up to the planet Phaedos at the farthest it ever is from Earth," Connerly replies, "we can pick up KO-35, Eltare, Edenoi, Aquitar, Inquiris, Triforia easily, so if they get attacked by Dark Specter, then we can rush to their aid."
Jesse nods his approval, then walks off to find Eleanor to continue the etiquette lessons. Alex, on the other hand, continues talking with Connerly and the discussion leads to Alex asking about more research on creating another Atlantean Morpher.
"I wish it were otherwise, Alex, but it cannot be done. The Atlantean Morphers are each powered by a special gem, and there are not many in existence. The gem is melted and mixed with the material that the Morphers themselves are made from. And each gem determines the color of the Morpher. There are only thirteen known gems in existence, and all of their colors are accounted for."
"What do you mean, accounted for?" Alex demands.
"There was another team of warrior's that protected Atlantis before the Atlantean Warrior's," Connerly replies, "there were seven of them, and they were the elite warrior's of the Royal House of Atlantean Empire, and were called the Imperial Warrior's, though now they could possibly be called the Imperial Ranger's as well. Anyone could use their Morphers. There was the Gray Morpher, which was the counterpart to the Green Morpher of the Atlantean Warrior's. Then there was the Brown Morpher, counterpart to the Aqua Morpher. Then there was the Orange Morpher, counterpart to the White Morpher. There was also the Pearl Morpher, counterpart to the Crystal Morpher. Also there was the Purple Morpher, counterpart to the Platinum Morpher. There was also the Copper Morpher, counterpart to the Bronze Morpher."
"You said there were thirteen gems, but if there were seven Imperial Warrior's and seven Atlantean Warrior's," Alex states, "there should be fourteen."
"The thirteenth gem had two colors in it, and it held unfathomable power," Connerly says slowly, "the two colors held within it were silver and black, and the colors were swirled together so tightly is was not possible to separate them even if it was melted. It was also somewhat larger than the others. Among the Imperial Morphers, it alone required the bearer to stand up to a code of ethics, because it was inherent in the gem itself and not programmed by the sorcerers and smiths who created them. It was also the first made. It created the leader of the Imperial Warrior's, who was simply known as The Warrior. The others were made, and the team was completed."
"So you had a powerful team to protect Atlantis," Alex says, "so what happened?"
"Well, as I said, the Imperial Morphers, save for that of The Warrior, required no code of ethics," Connerly explains, "as time went by, people with cruel hearts came to possess the Morphers, and later some were stolen. Finally, even the Morpher of The Warrior succumbed to the evil lure. At that time, it did not require such a stringent code of conduct and chivalry, so an evil person could gain its power. When that happened, the Council took steps and created the Atlantean Morphers, complete with the Codes of Honor as part of the activation magic. Six met seven in battle, with The Warrior merely standing back to watch. The Imperial Warrior's were defeated, and their very beings were encased in their Morphers. But none of the new Atlantean Warrior's were prepared to face The Warrior. The battle was long and gruesome, and all of those who had taken up the Atlantean Morphers had perished in battle."
"So what happened after that?" Alex asks.
"No one knows," Connerly replies, "The Warrior just vanished, and soon afterwards the Silver Morpher appeared with the other Atlantean Morphers. We don't know what happened. But after that, we had the seven Atlantean Warrior's until Dark Specter attacked."
"So The Warrior may still be out there, somehow?" Alex asks.
Connerly nods his head. "Perhaps. But I do hope that the Morpher is, and not the one who wielded it."
"How could he be alive?" Alex asks, "surely he's died of old age by now."
"Probably, but there is still so much about the power gems that are the true source of the Morphers powers that we don't know," Connerly replies, "much was lost over the years. We may eventually be able to make you a Morpher, if we can find some alternate power source, but for now you're stuck on the sidelines."
"I guess I'll just have to deal with it," Alex sighs, "well, thanks for helping me Connerly. I'd better go on and get on to the etiquette lessons."
Connerly nods his head and Alex takes off.
At the banquet hall, Eleanor and Petite were showing the Ranger's the proper table manners expected of them. So far, all of the Ranger's were doing exceptionally well with both Eleanor and Petite showing them. Petite worked with Jesse, Ben, and Nathan while Eleanor worked with Holly and Bethany.
"I ain't doin' it!" Alex easily identified that as Jesse's voice.
"But you must," Eleanor replies calmly, "you do want to make a good impression, do you not?"
"I can make a good impression without dancing," Jesse retorts, his disgust at the thought evident in his voice.
"You just don't wanna do it because you can't dance," Alex says with a smirk as he walks into the great hall. Jesse gives his best friend a betrayed look.
"I thought you were my friend," Jesse protests, "I can't help it if I can't dance."
"Jesse, you can't dance because you've only been to one party that had dancing since I've met you," Alex points out, "and that was Lindsey's birthday party."
"Yeah, so?" Jesse retorts.
"So you have not had a chance to learn," Bethany points out, "you could learn now."
"And if I don't wanna?" Jesse asks.
"Jesse, you're acting like a child," Alex says, exasperated, "just shut up and learn. It's not that big a deal."
Jesse grumbles but tries to learn. The other Ranger's quickly discover that, despite being a good fighter with the help of the Silver Morpher, he had two left feet when it came to dancing. An hour later and they decide to stop for a break. Mainly, a break from Jesse stepping on the girls' feet.
"How can someone so good at fighting be so lousy at dancing?" Holly grouses as she rubs her feet, sore from Jesse stepping on them for the last twenty minutes.
"I told you, I cannot dance," Jesse says fervently.
"We should have listened," Bethany grumbles. Her feet were sore from her turn at trying to teach Jesse to dance. In fact, of the three women who had tried to teach Jesse to dance, only Eleanor had gotten away without getting her feet stepped on.
"Eleanor, how did your feet not get stepped on?" Holly complains.
"She has faster reflexes than you do," Jesse points out, "now you see why I was so adamant about this?"
"Is he always like this when he gets to say 'I told you so'?" Bethany asks Alex.
"Yup," Alex chuckles, "saying 'I told you so' is one of Jesse's favorite things to do."
Connerly rushes into the Great Hall. "Big trouble in Los Angeles."
"How big?" Jesse asks.
"Zord big," Connerly replies, "you're gonna need everything you got. It's the Garnecia Elephantis."
Eleanor pales. "How did Dark Specter summon that horrible beast?"
"I have no idea," Connerly replies, "but we'll find out eventually,"
"Big or not, it's our duty to take it down," Jesse says as he and the other Ranger's summon their Morphers, "it's Morphin Time! Silver Power of Atlantis!"
"Bronze Power of Atlantis!"
"Platinum Power of Atlantis!"
"Crystal Power of Atlantis!"
"White Power of Atlantis!"
"Aqua Power of Atlantis!"
~Los Angeles, downtown
The elephant-like Garnecia Elephantis stomps through downtown Los Angeles, relishing the destruction he was causing. A single sword swipe destroys another building, cutting through the support structure and causing the upper floors to come crashing down on the lower floors. The impact causes the entire building the crumble to the ground. Anyone who was still inside had no chance of survival.
An array of energy blasts hit the Garnecia Elephantis in the back. He turns to see the Atlantean Zords, in their creature modes, facing him. He laughs and charges the Silver Dragon Atlantean Zord, slashing into its chest with his sword. The Silver Dragon Zord screeches in pain as its pilot inside feels the same pain. The White Gargoyle Zord and Aqua Golem Zord grab the Garnecia Elephantis from behind and teleport away with it so the battle does not do any more damage. The other Atlantean Zords soon follow in gigantic columns of multi-colored light.
~Mohave Desert~
The two Atlantean Zords and the Garnecia Elephantis appear in columns of white and aqua light and a whorl of purple and white energy. The Garnecia, now that it could move, shrugs off the two Zords like they were nothing. It turns around and slams its meaty left fist into the chest of the White Gargoyle Zord, sending the Zord flying. A blast of energy from the mouth of the Silver Dragon Zord hits the Garnecia Elephantis in the back, distracting it long enough for the other Zords to regroup.
"Silver Dragon Zord, Warrior Mode!" Silver Ranger calls out. The Silver Dragon Zord changes into its mighty Warrior Mode and draws its sword and advances on the Garnecia Elephantis. The Silver Warrior Zord slashes at the Garnecia Elephantis, but the monsters thick hide deflects the blade, stupefying the Silver Ranger long enough for the Garnecia Elephantis to ram its meaty fist into the chest of the Silver Warrior Zord, denting its armor.
"That hide is thick!" Silver Ranger exclaims as the White Gargoyle and Aqua Golem Zords help his Zord to his feet, "Bronze Ranger, White Ranger, got an idea. A sword is a mighty weapon, but the strength of the blow is spread out among the entire blade. Your weapons focus the entire force of the attack in a much smaller area. Convert to Warrior Mode and attack with your weapons. The rest of us will try to keep the Garnecia Elephantis distracted with energy blasts."
The Silver Warrior Zord returns to Dragon Mode and fires a breath blast of sizzling silver energy at the Garnecia Elephantis while the White Gargoyle and Bronze Griffin Zords change into their Warrior Modes and draw their weapons. The two Zords advance on the Garnecia Elephantis while the other four Zords take up strategic locations to fire energy blasts at it.
The Garnecia Elephantis blocks the White Gargoyle Warhammer with his sword and grabs haft of the Bronze Griffin Battle Axe. He proceeds to push back against the Zords, sending them to the ground. He is immediately blasted by the breath blast of the Silver Dragon Zord and an energy blast from the horn of the Platinum Winged Unicorn Zord. The Crystal Chimera Zord opens the mouths of the main head, that of the lion, and the goat head while the serpent tail moves up like a scorpion tail. The three heads each open their mouths and fire at the same point, which creates an even more powerful blast the slams into the Garnecia Elephantis, staggering it a small bit. The Aqua Golem Zord pelts it with blasts from its eye laser.
"So, you trying to work as a team and wear me down, eh?" the Garnecia Elephantis snorts, "try this!"
The Garnecia Elephantis raises its left arm and points it at the Aqua Golem Zord palm out. Purple and white energy coalesce into a sphere in its palm before shooting out and slamming into the Aqua Golem Zord, sending it down sparking from the heavy damage.
"Crap, this thing is just too strong!" Silver Ranger says, "let's try Ternary MegaZord Two and Binary Zord One."
"The Ternary MegaZord Two?" White Ranger asks.
"Combo of my Zord, your Zord, and Crystal Ranger's Zord," Silver Ranger responds, "Bronze Ranger, Platinum Ranger, you two keep this freak busy until we can get the Ternary MegaZord Two up and running."
"But we don't know how!" White Ranger protests.
"Like you didn't know how to form the Binary Zord Two?" Silver Ranger points out.
"Good point," Crystal Ranger says, "the Morphers will guide us?"
"The Morphers will guide us," Silver Ranger confirms, "okay ladies, show that elephant the meaning of girl power! Aqua Ranger, help them out."
"Thought you'd never ask," Platinum Ranger chuckles as she fires bolt after bolt of energy from her Zord's horn, raining down enough energy to pause the Garnecia Elephantis long enough for the Bronze Warrior Zord to slam its Bronze Griffin Battle Axe into the right shoulder of the Garnecia Elephantis, leaving an indenture that was easy to see. However, it did not penetrate the Garnecia Elephantis' thick hide.
Bronze Ranger gulps as the Garnecia Elephantis raises its left fist for a counter blow. It never comes as the Aqua Golem Zord slams itself into the Garnecia Elephantis with enough force to send the beast staggering, but not to its knees. The Garnecia Elephantis steadies itself and fixes an evil look on the two ground Zords.
"I hope the guys get back soon," Bronze Ranger gulps as the Garnecia Elephantis advances towards the two Zords.
"Okay, lets do it," White Ranger says, his Zord back in its Gargoyle Mode.
"Initiate Ternary MegaZord Two!" Crystal, White, and Silver Ranger's call out. The Silver Dragon Zord shifts its form, the wings folding over the front of its body. The legs and left arm retract into its body while the dragon head folds over the chest, forming a sort of armor, while the right arm folds over on itself, creating a thicker upper arm. The White Gargoyle Zord shifts its form, its arms sliding over the legs like a set of armor while the body opens up and parts move until the White Gargoyle Zord becomes a pair of legs. The wings of the White Gargoyle Zord slide over the newly made legs of the Ternary MegaZord Two and become smooth, like armored leggings of a medieval knight. The Silver Dragon Zord connects to the White Gargoyle Zord, forming the legs and torso of the Ternary MegaZord Two. The Crystal Chimera Zord goes through a startling change as the body splits apart, the part with the lion head reforming and connecting to the right arm of the Ternary MegaZord Two with the lion head connecting it directly to the upper arm formed by the right arm and hand of the Silver Dragon Zord while the goat head became the new left shoulder and the serpent head and body became a whiplike weapon connected to the new wrist while a panel opened up just in front of the new eapon and a hand slid out. The Silver Dragon Saber, White Gargoyle Warhammer, and Crystal Chimera Cutlass all come together, the Crystal Chimera Cutlass connecting to the end of the haft of the White Gargoyle Warhammer. The Silver Dragon Saber slides into the hammer head of the White Gargoyle Warhammer, forming a true scythe: the Ternary Scythe.
"Ternary MegaZord Two, power up!" the three Ranger's in control of the Ternary MegaZord Two call out in unison.
"White Ranger, your in charge of energy modulation," Silver Ranger says, "Crystal Ranger, your in charge of navigation. I'll take care of movement."
The Silver Ranger brings the Ternary MegaZord Two to bear with the manual controls, ready for action.
"Initiate mental link-up," Silver Ranger says. A headset lowers and covers his helmet and integrates with it. "Mental link-up established. Activate mental tracers."
The eyes of the Ternary MegaZord Two light up, blazing with sentience. It walks over to the battle between the Garnecia Elephantis and the other three Atlantean Zords. The Ternary MegaZord Two raises its left arm and striking out, the Serpent Whip shooting forth and lashing the Garnecia Elephantis across its left arm. The monster roars in pain and turns to face the Ternary MegaZord Two.
"You guys go and form the Binary Zord One," White Ranger says from the energy modulation consul, "Aqua Ranger, you stay put. We may need the Armor Ternary MegaZord Two."
"Okay," Bronze Ranger says, "take care." The Bronze and Platinum Warrior Zords move off, transforming back into their creature modes as they do so.
"Okay, let's rock 'n roll!" Silver Ranger says as he moves the Ternary MegaZord Two into battle position, Serpent Whip ready.
"That little whip actually stung," the Garnecia Elephantis mutters, "maybe this will be even more fun that I had originally thought."
The Garnecia Elephantis raises its sword and charges the Ternary MegaZord Two, ready to cut it in half with a single strike. The Aqua Golem Zord fires its eye laser, peppering the back of the Garnecia Elephantis with several direct hits but the behemoth continues on headless of the attacks. The Ternary MegaZord Two summons its Ternary Scythe and blocks the Garnecia Elephantis' attack, but the monster delivers a devastating left hook to the elbow joint to the powerful Zord's right arm, knowing it was a a junction point in the Zord combination.
The Ternary MegaZord Two staggers back, the elbow joint sparking slightly but still functional. It slashes at the Garnecia Elephantis' head, but the monster ducks and counters with a vicious heatbut. A blast of bronze/platinum energy from the side stops the Garnecia Elephantis from furthering the assault. The Binary Zord One had arrived.
Another blast of energy erupts from the spikes sticking out of the shoulders of the combination Zord. The Garnecia Elephantis sidesteps the stream of energy and charges the Binzary Zord One down, ramming into and sending it crashing to the ground with tremendous force.
"He's still too powerful!" Bronze Ranger groans as Platinum Ranger gets their Zord back on its feet.
"Judging by the power of the Ternary MegaZord Two, I doubt the Armor Ternary MegaZord Two would be powerful enough to stop this behemoth," Crystal Ranger says.
"What about the Silver Atlantean MegaZord?" Platinum Ranger asks, "shouldn't have enough power?"
"Yes, but do we have the time to separate our Zords and then reform into the Silver Atlantean MegaZord?" Silve rRanger asks, "and I don't think Aqua Ranger can hold him off long enough."
"I can try," Aqua Ranger says, "I can shift into my Warrior Mode. It won't boost my power much, but hopefully I can last until you form the Silver Atlantean MegaZord."
"You sure man?" Silver Ranger asks.
"I can take it," Aqua Ranger says firmly before the Aqua Golem Zord transforms into the Aqua Warrior Mode, "you guys just hurry up!"
The Aqua Warrior Zord summons its Aqua Golem Daggers and attacks with powerful energy slashes at the Garnecia Elephantis, distracting it enough for the Ternary MegaZord Two and the Binary Zord One to get away. The Aqua Warrior Zord circles the Garnecia Elephantis, prepared to fight to the bitter end.
The Ternary MegaZord Two and the Binary Zord One separate into their five component Zords, each in its creature mode.
"Silver Atlantean MegaZord transformation, activate," Silver Ranger commands, entering a button sequence into the control panel of his cockpit.
The five Zords flash in their respective colors before they begin to change. The limbs of the Silver Dragon Zord fold in on themselves before sliding into compartments in the body. The wings slide back until at the belly of the belly of the Silver Dragon Zord. The head straightens the partially slides into the body before the Zord itself flips upside down, the waist forming the new shoulders and upper torso of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord while the former shoulders and head form a the new waist and buckle. The White Gargoyle Zord folds in on itself, the wings sliding into the body along with the head. The arms slide into compartments in the body before the body itself slightly reshapes. The legs latch together before folding up, forming a foot, the Zord now being the right leg of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. It slides into the appropriate slot on the lower torso. The Crystal Chimera Zord goes through drastic changes as well. The serpent tail slides into the body while the goat head folds back into its own compartment, as do the legs. The lion head slides along a slot until it is on the back of the Crystal Chimera Zord, forming the left leg of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. The new left leg slides into its appropriate slot and latches. The legs of the Bronze Griffin Zord and Platinum Winged Unicorn Zords fold into their respective bodies. The wings of the two Zords fold in on themselves while the heads slide into their chests. The bodies of the two Zords strength about halfway and form elbow joints while hands sprout from the ends of the two Zords, the Bronze Griffin Zord being the new right arm while the Platinum Winged Unicorn Zord being the left. They slide into the new compartments for them in the torso of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. The new head, which is armored like a medeivel samurai, slides out of its compartment within the new chest of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. A light plays over the surface of the Silver Atlantean MegaZord, streamlining it as it moves down, making the connections smooth and as impenetrable as they would be if the MegaZord was one unit to begin with.
"Silver Atlantean MegaZord, power up!" the five Atlantean Ranger's call out in unison.
Silver Ranger takes command. "Bronze Ranger, you take care of energy output. Platinum Ranger, you take care of navigation. White Ranger, you take care of our energy shields. Keep them up as best you can, but be prepared to transfer all the shield energy we got to our reserves so they can then be sent into one big blast. We just may need it. White Ranger, take care of our secondary weapons. We should have a good array of weapons other than our main weapon, the Silver MegaZord Saber. I'll take combat control."
"You're not that good at manual control," Bronze Ranger points out.
"That's why I'm using the mental uplink," Silver Ranger replies, "I trust you guys to keep me from feeling a lot of blows. Keep energy in the shields. I feel the pain of the damage the MegaZord takes."
"Good plan," Bronze Ranger says, "you're the best for this situation. With the main weapon being a sword, Crystal Ranger is the second best option. The rest of us do not have many skills from our Morphers that relate to swordplay."
"I think they are designed that way," Silver Ranger says as the mental uplink begins to be established, "Crystal Ranger, if the damage becomes too much for me to handle, pull me out and take command the same way. This thing is too complicated for four people to run manually."
"Gotcha," Crystal Ranger replies as he checks over the secondary weapons, "whoa. Some of these weapon readings we got are top notch. We could nuke a city if we so chose with just the secondary weapons."
"And those are exactly the kind of weapons we're about to need," Silver Ranger grits his teeth as he prepares to guide the Silver Atlantean MegaZord into its first battle in untold millennia.
The Garnecia Elephantis is stomping on the Aqua Warrior Zord. Each stomp is slightly caving in the Zord's chest, bringing it closer and closer to a permanent shutdown of its systems, and thus killing the spirit of the Aqua Ranger. A laser blast rips into the Garnecia Elephantis' back, sending it staggering away from the fallen Zord. It turns to see the Silver Atlantean MegaZord standing there, its eyes blazing with residue energy from the energy blast.
"So, you have another combination, do you?" the Garnecia Elephantis snorts, "it won't matter."
"We'll see about that," Crystal Ranger declares as he fires off another eye laser blast. The beams slam into the Garnecia Elephantis, but do no more than stagger it once more. The giant behemoth continues its inexorable pace to the Silver Atlantean MegaZord and slugs it in the chest. The MegaZord takes a few steps back, its protective shields sparking from the energy they had had to produce to keep that punch from going through. The MegaZord fires back with another eye laser blast.
"Guys, prepare for the Silver MegaZord Saber," Silver Ranger says, "we'll run out of power before we pierce that thing's hide, and bludgeoning it with punches is too risky. This thing ain't exactly nimble."
"True, it was designed for power in mind," Bronze Ranger remarks, "but that just means that we have as much power as we need to deal with this guy."
"Short of Dark Specter, I don't see what can overpower us right now," White Ranger adds.
"Silver MegaZord Saber online," Platinum Ranger says, "begin transport."
The Silver Atlantean MegaZord holds up its right arm, its hand ready to accept the Silver MegaZord Saber. Light and energy begins to streak into the upheld hand, slowly taking shape into a broadsword. The entire sword almost seemed like it was spun into its basic shape, then the blade was hammered into shape. The hilt was all graceful curves that also hinted at incredible durability, while the blade itself seemed almost like a different piece of metal. The blade was a smooth silver, with every color of the rainbow flowing through over it at each angle.
"So, that is your primary weapon?" the Garnecia Elephantis snorts as it summons its own sword, a blade that had a spike on one end of the hilt, the end that was pressed against the forearm of the Garnecia Elephantis. The blade itself was straight until a point, then it curved inward until the tip, which was even with the straight part of the blade. "Doesn't look like much."
The Garnecia Elephantis charges the Silver Atlantean MegaZord, bringing its sword down in a powerful chop, only to be stopped mid-charge by a simple backhand blow from the Silver Atlantean MegaZord with the Silver MegaZord Saber.
"Silver Ranger, our power levels have gone up to 200%," Bronze Ranger exclaims, "that Silver MegaZord Saber is a conduit for raw, unfocused power. Records indicate that that power has never been used to its fullest. Instead, the Silver MegaZord Saber was always used to simply amplify the MegaZord's energy into a powerful slash."
"Let's try the traditional attack first," Silver Ranger says. He didn't need to be told that the Silver MegaZord Saber was a conduit for a LOT of energy. He could feel it through his mental link to the Silver Atlantean MegaZord! It was indescribable.
Energy pours into the Silver MegaZord Saber from the Silver Atlantean MegaZord. The Silver Atlantean MegaZord holds the Silver MegaZord Saber aloft as the enrgy charges up, then slashes at the Garnecia Elephantis, sending the energy pouring out. The energy slams into the Garnecia Elephantis, actually knocking it off its feet and sending it flying before it crashes back to the ground, creating a small earthquake and an indent in the ground itself. It slowly gets back up, dazed.
"Its still up?" Silver Ranger goggles. This was unexpected. The Garnecia Elephantis was far more powerful than they had expected.
"Perhaps we should try accessing that energy," White Ranger suggests.
"Good idea," Silver Ranger agrees.
"Too late!" Platinum Ranger cries out, pointing. The Garnecia Elephantis was charging them, too fast for the Silver Ranger to move the MegaZord into a position to block. Instead, the MegaZord takes a powerful slash across the torso starting low followed by a haymaker from the Garnecia's left fist. The MegaZord crashed to the ground, sending jolts of pain through the Silver Ranger. That punch ahd felt like a kick from a mule on steroids, before he had ever received the Silver Morpher!
As the Silver Ranger struggles to get the MegaZord back under control, the Garnecia Elephantis kicks it in the chest, sending it sprawling once again and shooting another wave of pain through the Silver Ranger. The Garnecia Elephantis bends over and grabs the Silver Atlantean MegaZord by the neck and lifts it up, forcing the neck to support the entire MegaZord's weight. The Garnecia Elephantis leers at its opponent for a moment before it proceeds to flip its sword around so that the spike is now protruding out instead of lying against the Garnecia's forearm. The Garnecia Elephantis then proceeds to beat the Silver Atlantean MegaZord in the chest, the spike sending up sparks from the mighty megaZord's shields before it penetrates and begins leaving dents, then holes in the MegaZord's chest armor. Thirty seconds of this renders the Silver Ranger unconscious.
"Silver Ranger!" Crystal Ranger cries out, rushing over to the team's leader. He quickly unhooks the Silver Ranger from the mental uplink and redirects power from the secondary weapons into the shields. The shields begin to raise again, sending out a shower of sparks as they hold agains the bludgeoning.
"We're running low on power and fast," Bronze Ranger says as she watches their energy levels plummet, "if we can't get him to let go of us soon, we're history."
"Can we move the legs enough to deliver a low blow?" Crystal Ranger asks.
"I doubt we'd be able to make the Megazord deliver enough force without the mental uplink, and none of us would be able to think clearly enough through the pummeling to do it," Platinum Ranger answers, "we need a miracle right now."
An aqua colored energy blast rips into the Garnecia Elephantis' back, scorching it where the Silver Atlantean MegaZord's eye lasers had blasted it a short time ago. The monster drops the MegaZord, letting it fall into a heap on the desert floor. It turns to see the Aqua Warrior Zord standing, its Golem Dirks still shimmering from the energy that had just been focused through them while its chest sparks from the damage the Garnecia Elephantis had delivered to it.
"Quick, initiate mental uplink!" Crystal Ranger commands as White Ranger eases the Silver Ranger into the Crystal Ranger's chair. The Crystal Ranger slides into the mental uplink with ease and gets the MegaZord back on its feet. It picks up the Silver MegaZord Saber and prepares to strike down the Garnecia Elephantis.
"Silver Ranger wasn't kidding," Crystal ranger says as he revels in the feeling of the Silver MegaZord Saber through the mental uplink, "this sword does possess an enormous amount of power. And I think we'll need to unleash the full power of it to destroy the Garnecia Elephantis."
The Garnecia Elephantis turns and lashes out at the MegaZord, its sword aimed directly for the chest. The MegaZord parries the attack, then follows up with a slash across the chest that penetrates the Garnecia's hide. Purplish blood seeps from the cut as sparks of raw magical energy flows out of the monster through the cut. The Garnecia Elephantis staggers as its strength begins to leave it a little bit at the time.
"Hey, look at this," Platinum Ranger says, "the Garnecia Elephantis is weakening. I think its blood is the key. I don't think its meant to bleed."
"It must need every bit of blood it has to keep its power up," Bronze Ranger says, then her eyes narrow within her helmet. "Let's cut this suckah up!"
"I hear that," Crystal Ranger says as he prepares for another attack.
Meanwhile, the Garnecia Elephantis touches the wound with its left hand, amazed. "You cut me. I have not been cut in thousands of years. I am supposed to be invulnerable. Well now, this was most unexpected. A sword that can actually penetrate my skin. How extraordinary. It appears that you Rangers are worthy opponents after all."
With that, the Garnecia Elephantis rushes the Silver atlantean MegaZord, swinging its sword around for a decapitating slash. The MegaZord blocks with its Silver MegaZord Saber, then pushes back against the Garnecia Elephantis, sending the mammoth creature sprawling.
"We'd better hurry," Bronze Ranger says, "our energy levels are still critically low. If this lasts much longer we may not be able to execute the finishing blow."
"Gotcha," Crystal Ranger says, "lets do it."
The Silver Atlantean MegaZord stands ready, energy beginning to swirl around its sword. Sparkles of energy in the color of the five Ranger's whose Zords made up the Silver Atlantean MegaZord flows into the blade until it is glowing a faint gold color. A well of power within the Silver MegaZord Saber is unleashed and raw power flows into the blade, sending a jolt through the arm of the Crystal Ranger.
"This.. is incredible!" Crystal Ranger cries out as he feels the power filling the Silver MegaZord Saber, "so much power.. its indescribable!"
The Garnecia Elephantis gets back to its feet. Its eyes widen when it sees and feels the amount of powr flowing through the Silver MegaZord Saber. It begins to focus its own power into its sword, prepared to send out a wave of power of its own. The Silver MegaZord Saber begins to glow a bright reddish gold as it enters the final stage of its powerup.
The Silver Atlantean MegaZord begins to carve a circle in the air with the Silver MegaZord Saber. When it finishes carving the circle, it slashes diagonally down from the left. It uses its own momentum to spin around and the slash upwards diagonally from, the left, forming a perfect 'X' within the circle. Its momentum continues to carry it as it spins around again, this time slashing horizontally. The Silver Atlantean MegaZord then brings the Silver MegaZord Saber to its side, the point of the blade aimed straight ahead, the hilt being held with both hands. It then thrusts into the circle, right where the lines of the three slashes cross, then it begins to raise the Silver MegaZord Saber up. When the Silver MegaZord Saber is fully raised over its head, then it proceds to launch a perfectly vertical slash at the Garnecia Elephantis. This unleashes the power that had been stored up within the blade, sending a wave of destructive power at the Garnecia Elephantis.
The Garnecia Elephantis prepares to launch its own attack to deflect the oncoming wave, but a blast of aqua colored energy manages to knock its sword out of its hand. It turns to look at the Aqua Warrior Zord beginning to collapse from expending too much energy in such a damaged state. Its Golem Daggers were still sparkling with the residue of the attack that had knocked the Garnecia Elephantis' sword out of its hand. The Garnecia Elephantis doesn't even have the time to scream in pain, fury, or hatred as the attack from the Silver Atlantean MegaZord hits it, tearing through its body and blowing it away chunk by chunk. The attack actually seems to stop for a moment when it hits the Garnecia Elephantis, but then it tears on through as it totally vaporizes the evil monster.
"Well, that was difficult," Crystal Ranger sighs as he disengages the mental uplink.
"Yes, it was," White Ranger agrees, then he opens up the communications to the Aqua Warrior Zord. "Yo, Aqua Ranger, you okay?"
"Nothing that a bunch of repairs won't take care of," Aqua Ranger replies, "lets head back to Atlantis. Silver Ranger needs some medical attention and I need to get my repairs started right away."
The two Zords teleport away in massive streaks of light, one aqua the other a myriad of colors.
~aboard the Dark Specter's ship~
"This is preposterous!" Dark Specter yells in anger, "the Garnecia Elephantis, defeated?! By a bunch of mere humans?! Wielding the Morphers of Atlantis or not, they should not have been able to defeat him."
"My lord, this is but a minor setback," Darkonda says, "the Rangers are obviously hurting after such a battle. Perhaps if we attacked again today we could still destroy them."
"No, attacking Ranger's after such a hard-fought victory would only prove futile," Dark Specter says as he simmers down a bit, "they would be psyched up from the victory and would obliterate almost any creature in my service, including you, Darkonda. As treacherous as you are, you are still valuable to me. And you know as well as I do what happens when you lose one of your lives: your power decreases."
"Yes, Dark Specter," Darkonda grovels, "so we shall wait for a time before attacking again?"
"Yes," Dark Specter says, "and we will need a plan. Continue to observe the Silver Atlantean Ranger and try to identify any weaknesses and fears he has that we can exploit."
"And the other Ranger's?" Darkonda asks, already knowing the answer to that question.
"Uncover their identities," Dark Specter commands, "then apply the same strategies to them that we are using on the Silver Atlantean Ranger."
"Shall I hire someone with mind reading abilities to uncover the information directly from the Silver Ranger's mind?" Darkonda asks.
"Not yet," Dark Specter says, "such abilities are expensive to hire.I am unaware of anyone in my armies with such abilities that are still alive, and I do not wish to pay a large sum simply to learn the identities of a few Ranger's. We shall discover their identities soon enough."
"Yes, Dark Specter," Darkonda bows, "it will be as you command."
~at Atlantis, a few hours later~
"That battle was harsh," Jesse murmurs as Alex forces him to drink down some vile-tasting concoction that would soothe any mental damage he had received through the beating he had endured while mentally linked to the Silver Atlantean MegaZord.
"But you won," Alex says, "barely, but you did win. That counts for something, doesn't it?"
"It does," Holly says, "but we were largely unprepared for a battle of that magnitude."
"You will be pleased to know that there are not many with the strength of the Garnecia Elephantis," the Elder states, "and some are not in Dark Specter's employment, but are rather mercenaries. Those that are in the Dark Specter's employ he will not be so eager to send against you after you destroyed one of his mightiest henchmen."
"These last two days we have been on the receiving end of some rather brutal attacks," Nathan comments, "we need to step up on our training."
"What about Petite?" Bethany asks, "he was severely damaged."
"Petite and your Zords will be fully operational once again by tomorrow evening, just in time for the banquet tomorrow," Eleanor states, "speaking of which, Jesse, you still need dancing lessons."
Bethany and Holly wince. "Can you give us some steel boots or something so our toes won't get smashed?" Bethany asks.
"Do not worry," Eleanor grins, "I will be the only one dancing with Jesse. You ladies shall practice with these gentlemen."
Bethany and Holly sigh in relief. Jesse really couldn't dance.
~the next day, the Royal Banquet Hall of Atlantis~
The Atlantean Ranger's, plus Alex, were in full regalia. Holly and Bethany were elaborately dressed in a shirt and tunic each, with soft breeches instead of hose. The tunics reached to their knees, with splits at the side up to their waist to ensure their freedom of movement. The seams of Holly's tunic were lined with strips of platinum colored cloth, while the seams of Bethany's tunic was lined with strips of bronze colored cloth. Holly's shirt was scarlet red while the tunic was dark gray. Her breeches were a bright green. Her Morpher was plainly evident in the buckle of the belt around her tunic. Bethany's shirt was a deep blue while her tunic was dark gray. Her breeches are flame red. Her Morpher was plainly evident in the buckle of the belt around her tunic.
Jesse, Nathan, Ben, and Alex were all appropriately dressed in Atlantean garb for such an occasion. They each wore a loose-fitting shirt, sleevless tunic, and breeches that allowed a full range of movement. Jesse's shirt was a shimmering silver while his tunic was a vibrant red with gold thread that denoted him as the leader of the Atlantean Ranger's. His breeches were a golden yellow. His Morpher was attached to the buckle of his belt. Nathan wore a light blue, almost white, shirt while his tunic was a forest green. His breeches were purple and his Morpher was attached to the buckle of his belt. Ben wore a snowy white shirt while his tunic was solid black. His breeches were deep blue and his Morpher was attached to the buckle of his belt. Alex, since he was not a Ranger, could wear whatever colors he chose. Since he was distantly a member of the Clan Green, he wore a green shirt with a bright red tunic. His breeches were a navy blue. His belt buckle, since he did not have a Morpher, held his badge of honor that showed that he was an apprentice wizard of the Clan Green.
Petite was dressed in simple tunic and breeches that showed that he was the Aqua Ranger. His story had already been filtered throughout Atlantean society, so he did not garner many stares of disbelief. The other Ranger's, on the other hand, were all regarded with curiosity by the nobility of Atlantis as they did their best to mingle with the crowd.
Except Jesse. He just stood back and watched.
"You really aren't good at social gatherings," Eleanor says as she walks up to the reclusive Silver Ranger.
"Never have been," Jesse replies evenly, "I'm not much of a social person. I gather around me a closenit group of people that become my friends. I used to make friends with ease, but moving and then being regarded as a nobody and ridiculed made me reclusive. And so you see me here avoiding people."
"Ah. Well, why don't you come with me? Perhaps a familiar presence can help you relax and socialize."
"It's worth a try," Jesse sighs, "I don't really like being reclusive, but I'm too shy otherwise."
"You aren't shy when you verbally spar with Bethany and Holly," Eleanor teases.
Jesse's cheeks tinged with a blush.
"I'm just teasing you," Eleanor laughs. Eleanor leads Jesse out among the crowd and introduces him to some of the nobles of the Clan Eldryn.
"Ah, so you're the new leader of the Atlantean Warriors, eh?" one nobleman remarks.
"Atlantean Rangers, actually," Jesse replies, "since the only one of us even remotely Atlantean is Petite, the Aqua Ranger, we cannot use the Atlantean Warrior powers. But we are by no means weak."
"I see," another nobleman says, "and you are the Silver Ranger, are you not?"
"I am," Jesse answers, "I was the first selected by one of the Atlantean Morphers. My best friend was pulled with me when I was teleported to Atlantis. He is currently in reserve, learning alongside us in case one of us, unfortunately, falls in battle and can no longer fight. In the meantime, he is also training to use Atlantean magic. He is proven quite adept."
"He is a descendant of Darien Green, the previous Crystal Warrior," Eleanor explains, "he is quite adept in his lessons and can hold his own against any of the Rangers when they are not morphed."
"Still, they are not Atlanteans," another member of the Clan Eldryn retorts, "how can you allow non-Atlanteans to wield the power of the Morphers of Atlantis?"
"Matthias, dear brother, we have been over this before," Eleanor says, "they were deemed worthy by the Morphers. We cannot question the Morphers judgment. Each of the Atlantean Rangers have proven themselves to be honest and trusthworthy. They have lived up to the standard set by the previous Atlantean Warriors and other heroes of Atlantean lore."
"My dear friend," Jesse says, irritated by Matthias' tone, "are you so shallow as to say we are unworthy simply because we are not Atlanteans? Or are you mad at us because you were not selected by a Morpher? I myself have questioned by own worth many a time, but when those who cannot defend themselves need me to protect them, I will not stop to think of myself to defend them."
"And are you capable of defending others?" Matthias retorts, "a contest, between the two of us, to see if you are worthy of the Silver Morpher."
Jesse's eyes narrow. "What are you, obtuse? What will fighting solve?"
"Are you afraid?" Matthias taunts, "or perhaps you are afraid to show yourself for what you are: a weak coward."
Jesse's eyes blaze with indignation. "How dare you call me a coward! My life has been upturned from being chosen to be a Ranger, but I haven't complained. I like protecting others, and I will protect them for as long as the Silver Morpher finds me worthy and that I am physically able to so. If you have a problem with me personally, then tell me. If it's just being a bigot over the fact that I am not Atlantean, then buzz off!"
Matthias, taken aback by Jesse's outburst, stares at Silver Ranger for a moment. Then his eyes narrow.
"Matthias, don't," Eleanor orders, but her words go unheaded.
Matthias takes a swing at Jesse, aiming for the teens jaw, but Jesse grabs Matthias' arm and uses it as leverage to toss Matthias over his shoulder. Matthias lands flat on his back, slightly stunned.
"If you ever want to spar with me, come and find me," Jesse says evenly, "a banquet is no place for a fight, my friend. Besides, we should be allies, not enemies."
With that, Jesse walks over to the table where the Atlantean Rangers were to sit. The feast was about to start.
"You handled that rather well," Alex comments.
"He's probably a genuinely good guy, but he has his faults," Jesse replies, "being a bigot is one of them."
"Actually, he doesn't respect authority figures like yourself unless they defeat him in combat," Eleanor says, "and thanks for embarrassing my older brother."
"Sorry," Jesse says, "but he just rubbed my nerves the wrong way."
"He's not an agreeable sort of fellow," Eleanor agrees, "but try6 to keep an open mind about him. He doesn't really dislike non-Atlanteans, but they have to earn his respect. You probably should spar with him sometime. Even if he beats you, if you may still earn his respect if you fight hard enough."
"I don't want to fight him," Jesse says, "but if I must, I will."
"What are his views about me?" Petite asks.
"You, he respects because of what you did before when Atlantis was attacked by Dark Specter," Eleanor replies, "but he does not respect the rest of you. Particularly you, Alex. You're not even a Ranger."
"Hey, its time to eat," Bethany points out, "lets have a joyful conversation, not this gloomy one."
The others agree and sit, ready to enjkoy a succulent feast. Roasts of lamb, pig, and beef, as well as various salads, fruits, and other delicious foods are one each table.
Elsewhere, two glowing red eyes open. A terrible evil has been locked away for twelve thousand years, and now it is about to be released once again.
~~
Well, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. It may be a while before I release the next chapter, but I will be working on it. However, I also have several other stories that I am working on, including some that I have not yet posted.
As always, please review. I like knowing what other people think of my work.