Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. The Atlantean Rangers are my idea. Many of the monsters that appear here either come from my own imagination or are from either the Yu Gi Oh card game or Magic: The Gathering. Some monsters will be based off a monster from one of those card games, but the name will have been changed. I do not own those monsters.
Author's Note: Please don't kill me for not having updated in so long. I just got so distracted with all of my other stories. I didn't want to leave this story behind, but inspiration dried up. You know, I started on this chapter when Dino Thunder aired, or shortly before that. Now I'm updating again AFTER the entire season is over. Though what a season it was! At least this time Tommy willingly lost his powers.
- -
"DORIT!" Dark Specter was not in a pleasant mood. It had only taken three of the Atlantean Rangers to destroy Dorit's prized creation, the Driel. Three meager Atlantean Rangers. Not just any three, but the three weaker Rangers at that!
Dorit enters Dark Specter's throne room, quivering in fear. "Yes, my lord Dark Specter?"
"Dorit, your Driel failed!" Dark Specter roars, "it only took the Bronze, Platinum, and Aqua Rangers to destroy it! Explain yourself!"
"Well, my lord, the Driel was not fully mature," Dorit explains, his fear evident in his voice, "if we had waited for it to fully mature, I have no doubts that it would have destroyed the Rangers."
"And how long would it have taken for it to fully mature?" Dark Specter demands.
"T-two years, my lord," Dorit quivers.
Dark Specter scoffs. "Two years? I cannot wait two years for such a weak monster."
"F-forgive me, my lord," Dorit whimpers, "I shall get to work on something else even more powerful than the Driel."
"See that you do, Dorit," Dark Specter warns, "you do not want to fail me again like you just did."
"Yes, my lord," Dorit bows, "I will not fail you again."
Dorit turns and exits Dark Specter's throne room, leaving the room empty save for the Dark Specter.
And one other occupant.
"I would say you handled that with your usual ruthlessness," a dry, raspy voice says. It sounded very much like falling grains of sand on gravel. "However, I would let him live. Genius such as his is such a rare commodity, and sooner or later one of his plans is going to work. In fact, that Driel would have worked perfectly had it been allowed to mature. In the time it would have taken to mature, he could have easily devised a way to speed up its maturing process. You may have only had to wait a few months. Though by then, you would likely not need the Driel."
Dark Specter turns his flaming gaze to the shadows the voice was coming from. Out stepped the Chaos Elemental, a devilish looking creature with dark gray skin, sparse yet wild white hair, and bony armor sticking out at joints and covering its eyes and its knuckles like a set of claws. Its black eyes seemed to emit an unholy radiance, and Dark Specter immediately knew that the Dark Sorcerer Methus was there to keep a tight rein on his minion.
"Greetings, Dark Sorcerer," Dark Specter rumbles politely.
"Greetings, Dark Specter, Monarch of all that is Evil," the Chaos Elemental replies, "it seems that your Ranger problem has grown more powerful since I was last here a few short Earth weeks ago."
"Yes, it has," Dark Specter grumbles, "and to make matters worse, I only know the identity of their leader, the Silver Ranger! And he has such powerful wards around his home that I cannot have him killed in his sleep."
"Do not Rangers keep to themselves?" the Chaos Elemental asks, a little puzzled, "they tend to stay together. Have you not discovered who he is by watching who he spends his time with?"
"I cannot," Dark Specter admits, "when I obtained the Staff of Kaishin for you, it was revealed that until then his fellow Rangers did not even know his identity."
"A Ranger unwilling to trust others?" the Chaos Elemental laughs, a decidedly unpleasant sound, "what a novelty. Or perhaps it merely takes time to earn his trust. No matter. What about those he does spend his time with? Kidnap one of them."
Dark Specter knew he was treading on dangerous ground. If he asked the Dark Sorcerer why he was aboard his ship, then the Dark Sorcerer might unleash his hold on the Chaos Elemental and it would then proceed to destroy everything on the ship. If he did not take the initiative and ask why the Dark Sorcerer was gracing him with his presence, then the Dark Sorcerer might be tempted to take his deal to one of the foolish evil villains on Earth; Ransik, or perhaps the newly arisen Master Org.
"Mighty Dark Sorcerer, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Dark Specter rumbles politely.
"Ah, to the point," the Chaos Elemental chuckles, "very well. There is another artifact of the Kairo on Earth, and I want it. It is in Norway."
"And what shall be my payment?" Dark Specter demands. If he did not ask, he would not receive. The Dark Sorcerer would freely give anything promised, but it must first be promised. You had to be precise with the Dark Sorcerer, or he would not fulfill his end of the bargain. He was worse than an Onyx tavern merchant in that way.
"I shall lend you one of my minions to help you destroy the Atlantean Rangers," the Chaos Elemental says off-handedly, "I shall lend you Psyblaze."
Dark Specter's eyes widen in astonishment. Psyblaze was one of the most powerful psionics in the universe. His power in the realm of the mind rivaled Dark Specter's current power, though it was nothing compared to the Dark Specter's full power. His aid would be highly useful.
"Give me the location and I shall send Algoric and Doza to retrieve the artifact," Dark Specter promises, "what artifact of the Kairo will they be searching for?"
"The Hammer of Kaigin," the Chaos Elemental answers, a magical hologram appearing. It showed an elegantly crafted warhammer with a vibrant indigo hammerhead and an ebony haft that seemed to absorb light.
"I shall send Algoric and Doza immediately," Dark Specter promises.
"Very well," the Chaos Elemental says, "you have three days to appropriate the Hammer of Kaigin for me. If you are unsuccessful, then I will be most… vexed."
Dark Specter gulps and nods. Anyone who had gotten the Dark Sorcerer vexed with them always ended up dead… or worse. Master Vile used to have an older brother whose power made Master Vile look weak. Methus had eliminated him without a second thought, or any real effort.
"Of course, Dark Sorcerer," Dark Specter says. The Chaos Elemental laughs and vanishes in a ripple of Space/Time. Dark Specter lets out a sigh of relief. One day, he would be powerful enough to destroy Methus, but until then he was at the mercy of the Dark Sorcerer.
"Algoric! Doza! Get in here!"
Two large beings rush into Dark Specter's throne room. One was about six and a half feet tall wearing a black armor that gleamed almost like burnished bronze. The helmet left his face open, but it was unadorned, but it framed his face with a cruel countenance. He was wielding a seven foot long spear with a rust-colored blade, though the blade was far from rusty. In fact, it seemed almost newly forged. The other was shorter, a little under six feet tall wearing armor like that of an ancient Roman centurion, though it was rose pink. The helmet was of medieval English style, like that of a knight. His spear seemed no different from the one wielded by Divorx.
"Master, what do you wish of us?" the taller warrior asks. He was Algoric, 3rd ranked Master of Spears.
"Yes, please tell us," the other says. He was Doza, 4th ranked Master of Spears. Though he was of the same rank as Divorx, he was far more skilled and stronger in his own right. Divorx had barely held his rank.
"You shall go to Earth," Dark Specter commands.
"Earth?" Doza asks, "why there? It is such a crude place, and unworthy of the presence of one such as I."
"You will go where I order you to!" Dark Specter bellows, "you will go to the place known as Norway and locate the Hammer of Kaigin. You have three days."
"Yes, Dark Specter," Algoric grunts. He was not a very intelligent warrior, possessing more brute power than finesse. He was as strong as a second ranked Master of Spears, just as Doza was as skilled as one. Algoric did not have the skill to become a second ranked Master of Spears, just as Doza did not have the power to become even a third ranked Master of Spears, much less a second ranked one. The two made a hardy team, with Doza's brains and skill and Algoric's muscle. The two teleport out in whorls of orange and yellow light.
-Atlantis, the next day-
"They're doing pretty good," Jesse observes. Alex and Matthias were sparring. Matthias had sparred with each of the Atlantean Rangers except for Petite, and found their personal skills lacking. They relied heavily on the skills given to them by the Morphers, but they were slowly learning how to fight without them. It was slow going, too slow. They could now perhaps fight one of Rita's Putties to a standstill, but they would only be able to take one on in a one-on-one fight.
Alex, however, was better skilled than the others for two reasons: he did have a bit of self-defense training before Jesse became the Silver Atlantean Ranger and he did not have the ability to cheat in training by accessing inherent fighting knowledge in a Morpher because he did not have one. He had also been trained longer and more intensively than the others.
"Alex is quite skilled," Petite comments, "if we still had the Green Morpher, it likely would have chosen him. As it is, he could be my successor."
"Your successor?" Bethany asks, "how could you retire? Aren't you permanently bonded to your powers?"
Petite sighs. Well, what passed for a sigh with him. Petite was in truth the Aqua Golem Zord. During the first war with Dark Specter twelve thousand years ago, he had been Gary Drake, a member of the Clan Drake and the Aqua Warrior. When Dark Specter had attacked, the Atlantean Warriors had been overwhelmed. In a fit if desperation, he had merged his spirit with that of his Zord during the final battle. The end result had been his spirit being sealed to his Zord, though his Zord gained the ability to shrink to a more human size. He was still able to morph, and he was able to transform using his Aqua Morpher, but he was growing weary. He could not handle using the Atlantean Ranger powers after having used the Atlantean Warrior powers. He felt so much weaker. Too weak.
"I don't know," Petite admits, "but I will find a way. I cannot continue going on like this. I should have died twelve thousand years ago, with the rest of the Atlantean Warriors. Yet I did not. I ended up being sucked into a time vortex and landed in Pompei, just as the volcano erupted. I was trapped there until a couple of months ago. It was pitch black, so when I morphed I had no idea that I was using the Aqua Ranger powers and not the Aqua Warrior powers. I had been trapped for so long that any amount of power felt incredible. Plus, the first morph always brings out considerable power, and it was my first morph into the Aqua Ranger. I think it may have been the same day that Jesse was chosen and Dark Specter attacked that I awakened."
"I'm guessing that me morphing awakened the power in you," Jesse muses, "and I'm guessing that because of the structural composition of the lava flow that you ended up being buried in, Connerly and anyone else scanning for you were unable to detect you. You got out the day we found you, right?"
"Correct," Petite replies, "but I do not intend to be the Aqua Ranger forever. With the Green Morpher gone, the only Morpher Alex could be a candidate for is the Aqua Morpher. He does fit the requirements to be an Aqua Warrior, so he can definitely be an Aqua Ranger. Possibly even better on than I ever could be."
"But aren't you permanently bonded to your Powers now?" Jesse asks.
"Not quite," Petite admits, "though if I extracted myself from my powers now, some of my personality would carry over into Alex, or whoever got my Morpher, and I do not want that. It would be unfair to them and I do not want any more than my memory lingering in the land of the living."
"Well, we could still use your help for now," Jesse says, "we need someone who understands what we're going through as Rangers. We can't risk going to any previous Rangers lest we attract Dark Specter's attention to them. They couldn't handle Dark Specter's minions."
"Also, you do need a Ranger constantly on call," Petite adds, "Dark Specter attacks too sporadically, and we need someone to be on duty to go and hold off Dark Specter's forces long enough for Connerly to contact the rest of you."
"Yeah, we're still trying to come up with a good way for the communicators to wake us up," Jesse says, "I keep suggesting wearing them to bed and putting something to deliver an electric shock to wake us up, but I keep getting overruled by Bethany and Holly."
"That's because that is a cruel way to wake someone up," Bethany tells the older teen, "why not rig up a spell to drop a bucket of ice water on us instead?"
"How would you explain the ice water to your parents?" Jesse counters, "we've already improved the communicators vastly over the ones Billy Cranston originally developed. Vibrating function for when we're in a large group, clock so they can actually be passed off as watches, and a less obvious design. I'm telling ya, it wouldn't require much of an electric jolt. Just enough of one to drag you into consciousness."
"I still say it's inhumane," Bethany retorts.
"That it may be, but I would rather go through a slight physical discomfort than be late and end up costing a civilian their life by being late," Jesse responds.
"Be that as it may, perhaps each of you can develop a personal way to awaken yourself in case of a need?" Petite suggests, "Jesse can implement his electro-shock wake-up call while the rest of you make your own decisions."
"While he's at it, he could go through some electro-shock therapy," Holly says a bit acidly.
"And what would I need that for?" Jesse asks, "I'm not insane."
"You're not?" Bethany asks with some obvious disbelief.
"No, just a little crazy," Jesse admits, "there's a difference."
"Not much of one, if you ask me," Holly mutters while the other Rangers snicker at their leaders' glare.
"Oh joy," Jesse grumbles, then notices that Alex and Matthias are wiping the sweat from the brows, finished with the sparring match. "So, Matthias, how do you find Alex's ability?"
"He is quite competent," Matthias admits, "he's not up to the level you Ranger's are at, but he's not far behind. He has plenty of potential. Given time, he could probably develop shielding spells that will enable him to fight just as effectively as you Rangers, perhaps even create an alternative Morpher that will at least bring his powers up to that of the Atlantean Rangers. No force except the force that powers the Morphers can power another Atlantean Warrior."
"What would he do for a Zord?" Bethany asks.
"Your Zords have far more potential than you Rangers do," Matthias says, "your Zords are supposed to go along with the powers of the Atlantean Warriors. You know that if they reflected only the full power of the Atlantean Warriors, there is no way you could have taken on some of the monsters that you have if you had that much trouble against them with your Zords. But for a Zord, we can make do with something. He could take over one of the abandoned Zords of one of Zordon's teams. Or we could perhaps build him one."
"I wouldn't mind being a Ranger," Alex says, "I feel helpless not being able to join you guys in battle."
"Alex, you do know that Rangering is perhaps the most dangerous profession in the universe," Jesse says, "it's slightly less dangerous for the other Rangers because they don't have to worry about ambushes when they are alone or amongst a group of people. I do. I am glad that you're able to help me when it's just the two of us that are attacked, but still, you shouldn't be involved."
"But I am involved," Alex argues, "we can't change that. Whenever you need back-up, I will be here to give it to you. If something happens to one of you and you need a someone to take over for a while, or are in need of a replacement, I'll be here."
"Which is fortunate," Connerly says, "if one of you does happen to fall in battle, Alex can take up your Morpher for at least a short time."
"He can also do that when one of us has to go on a vacation or something with family," Bethany says.
"Good idea," Jesse says, "though he would still have to be a possible candidate and make the qualifications."
"Yes, otherwise it would be most dangerous to use the Morpher," Connerly agrees, "if he does not fit the requirements set by the Morphers, then he will not be able to use them."
"So, the only question is, which Morphers I can take up in an emergency, is that it?" Alex asks.
"It is," Petite says, "you can use the Aqua Morpher and the Green Morpher, if the Green Morpher were still viable."
"He should be able to use any of the Morphers," Eleanor says from where she was sitting, "I have observed in him the primary qualities needed to use any of the Morphers, even the Silver Morpher."
"Then why didn't he get the Silver Morpher?" Jesse asks, "he's a lot better than I am."
"It's not a question of the way you are now, but your potential," Connerly explains, "each of you has in your character now that draws your Morpher to you. However, there probably are several people out there that have the qualities in greater quantities than you do. But, you have the potential to become the idealized user of your Morpher or very close to it."
"So your saying that we have the potential to become ever better people?" Nathan asks.
"You do," Eleanor says, "you are all good people. Its your potential that is greater than that of anyone else on Earth."
"And someday soon, Alex will be joining your ranks by taking my place," Petite says, "I cannot continue living like this. It's too depressing."
"We'll find a way to help you," Jesse promises, "we're a team, and we look out for one another."
-the next day-
The Atlantean Rangers, minus Jesse and Petite, were playing a game of basketball, girls against guys. Currently, Bethany and Holly were whupping Nathan and Ben.
"I take back what I said," Nathan gasps for breath as the game comes to an end, "you girls are really good."
"Of course," Bethany says smugly, "we girls are better than you guys."
"Man, why couldn't Jesse join us?" Ben groans, "or Alex?"
"Dark Specter is likely keeping an eye on Jesse and is trying to find out who we are," Holly answers, "if he hangs out with us, Dark Specter will discover our identities. We need to keep our identities a secret for as long as possible. It'll enable the rest of us to at least keep semi-normal lives. We won't have to worry about Dark Specter making plans specifically for one of us."
"So he's protecting us by staying away," Nathan muses, "good excuse, but I think he just doesn't want to be around us. And it still doesn't explain Alex."
"Dark Specter has likely seen Alex teleporting to Atlantis with Jesse on a few occasions," Holly says, "and thus thinks Alex could be one of us. Since we don't wear out colors like previous Ranger teams did, Dark Specter won't be able to figure out which one of us Alex is supposed to be."
"I think we had better get some modern games set up in the Hall of Heroes," Ben muses, "that way we can spend time having fun with Jesse and Alex that doesn't involve sparring."
"Which Jesse does too much of," Nathan adds, "and is it just me, or is Jesse immersing himself in the knowledge provided by the Morpher a little too much and not taking the time to learn things himself?"
"He is relying on the Morpher too much," Bethany says, "he always has. He wasn't cut out for the role of the Silver Ranger at first. From what Alex has told me, he couldn't fight unmorphed when he first became a Ranger, and he still can't without the aid of the Silver Morpher. He comes up with new weapons and other things quicker than the rest of us because he immerses himself in the knowledge of the Silver Morpher, but he doesn't try to master those same abilities without the Morpher. It is possible for Dark Specter to create a barrier that blocks our morphing abilities or our access to the knowledge of our Morphers. Should that happen, Jesse will be nearly defenseless and easy prey."
"Should we try to get him to start learning things the hard way?" Holly suggests, "it is for his own good, after all."
"No good," Nathan sighs, "Jesse is a stubborn rascal. When he sets his mind on something, he doesn't let it go. He's still declaring that the games on the SNES are better than the ones on the Playstation."
"Some of them are," Ben points out.
"True, but not many," Nathan admits, "the point is, we won't be able to change Jesse's mind if he doesn't want to learn things without the benefit of the Silver Morpher. And that could end up getting him killed, or worse."
"What could be worse than being killed?" Ben asks.
"Captured and enspelled to become evil," Bethany answers, "the Morphers protect us from most mind control spells, but some are just too powerful for even them to ward off. The spell that Rita Repulsa used to create her Evil Green Ranger was one of the most powerful mind control spells in existence. And it doesn't take a spell. Prince Gasket brainwashed the Red Zeo Ranger using technological means."
"I hope Dark Specter doesn't try to enspell Jesse to be evil," Holly shudders, "if he succeeds, then we'd be doomed. Jesse is stronger than any of us, and he knows all of our weaknesses. Combine that with the ruthlessness of being evil in a situation like that and he'd kill us all before we would have a chance to defend ourselves."
"Could we defend ourselves?" Ben asks, "could we fight Jesse and possibly have to kill him to stop him?"
"He'd tell us too," Nathan points out, "he would tell us to kill him because protecting others is more important than any one of us."
"And that would be a win-win situation for Dark Specter," Bethany grumbles, "he kills us, Dark Specter wins. We kill him, we're down a Ranger and a leader and Dark Specter wins."
"He's not much of a leader," Holly comments, "sure, he directs us in battle, but he generally lets us do whatever we want."
"And when does he tell us what to do?" Nathan chuckles, "right when we need it. We're not a military unit, we're a team. We're supposed to trust in each others' abilities. He trusts in our abilities and merely gives us direction when each of us doing our own thing will not work, or we need a coordinated attack pattern."
"True," Bethany agrees, "and you know what? I think his leadership abilities come entirely from his Morpher."
"Agreed," Holly says, "every suggestion or idea he's ever come up with has come from his Morpher."
"He's only the leader because being the bearer of the Silver Morpher makes him the default leader," Ben says, "if not for the bearer of the Silver Morpher being the traditional leader, then he'd probably let Petite be leader."
"He'd likely welcome it," Nathan says, "in school he always made sure that in group activities he wasn't put in charge."
"So our leader doesn't want to be the leader," Bethany muses, "and its being forced on him. Well, we can't help him there. Petite is next on the chain of command, but he is unable to take over as leader. The bearer of the Aqua Morpher is third in the chain of command, and can only take over as leader if there is no one to bear the Silver Morpher."
"You asked Connerly about that, didn't you?" Holly asks. Bethany nods and Holly continues. "In any case, we're stuck with things as they are. Hopefully, our 'leader' will mature and this team'll reach its full potential."
"Only time will tell," Ben says as he picks up the basketball, "up for another game ladies?"
Bethany and Holly grin savagely. "You up for another butt-whuppin', boys?"
-later that day-
Algoric and Doza appear just outside of Oslo, the capital of Norway. They had detected some faint magical energies in the Norwegian National Museum and were there to investigate.
"I cannot believe that we have been sent to such a crude and uncivilized planet," Doza protests, "I am far to noble to be subjected to this."
"Dark Specter ordered us to come here and find the Hammer of Kaigin," Algoric grunts, "I am not about to make him mad at us."
"Agreed," Doza says, "Dark Specter is far too powerful for us to ever defeat. He is our lord and master, and when he orders us to do something, we do it."
"We should search for the Hammer of Kaigin," Algoric reminds his partner, "Dark Specter will kill us if we don't find it before our remaining two days are up."
"Then we should hurry," Doza says, "not just to please our master, but to get off of this wretched little planet. I'm getting filthy just being on this worthless mudball."
With twin whorls of light, the two teleport into the city.
-elsewhere-
"How much further to the museum?" Jesse asks his friend. The two of them were heading for the Atlantean museum because Alex was curious about Atlantean culture, which was part of his heritage, being a descendant of all of the previous holders of the Atlantean Morphers, save Petite the bearer of the Aqua Morpher. He was of a direct lineage to the previous holder of the Crystal Morpher, Darien of the Clan Green. As such, he was an important member to the team, despite not being a Ranger. He was a cultural link. All of the Atlantean Rangers, save Jesse, were descendants of the previous bearers of the Atlantean Morphers, but Alex had more Atlantean blood than the rest of them combined. The two of them were dressed in traditional upper class Atlantean garb:
"Its not much further," Alex says, "hopefully there are some magical artifacts there that could possibly help us create me a set of powers. Perhaps several items that, when used together properly, could form the needed energy matrix for me to base a set of Ranger powers off of."
"Well, why didn't you say so?" Jesse demands.
As the two finally locate the museum, they discover that it was a lot bigger than they thought it would be. A LOT bigger. It would easily be the largest building either of them had ever been in, except perhaps the Hall of Heroes, which was the de facto headquarters of the Atlantean Rangers.
"Now that is a museum," Jesse says appreciatively. He liked museums in general, and one that would be as interesting as one on Atlantis would be well worth visiting. He would not be surprised at all if they came across live dinosaurs in there. Well, maybe in the zoo. But he would not be surprised at anything they found in there.
"It does look pretty good," Alex agrees, "just imagine what we'll find in there."
"I am imagining," Jesse says. Indeed, he was. His imagination was working overtime.
The two walk up to the large structure and into the entrance. Before they can take three steps into the building, a force field erects around Jesse and one of the guards steps up.
"I'm sorry, sir, but you must be carrying some sort of high-level magical object," the guard says politely, "you will have the relinquish it to enter."
"I'm sorry, but I can't," Jesse says evenly, trying to hide his surprise at the force field. He throws a quick betrayed look at Alex that said 'why didn't you know about this?'.
"Sir, you will have to relinquish the magical item or you will not be allowed to enter the museum," the guard repeats.
"And I can't give it to you," Jesse repeats.
"Sir, hand over the artifact now or you will not be able to enter the museum," the guard repeats again, "if you do not relinquish it, then you will have to go elsewhere."
"Go ahead and give it over," Alex sighs.
"Fine," Jesse mutters as he reaches for his belt and detaches the Silver Morpher. He hands it over to the guard.
"This is," the guard begins, looking closely at the Morpher, then he yelps. "This is the Silver Morpher! You're the Silver Warrior?"
"Ranger, actually," Jesse replies, a bit shocked, "but yes, that is the Silver Morpher of Atlantis and it is mine."
"Sorry, its just that its been so long since any of the Atlantean Warriors were on Atlantis that the spells that allowed their bearers to bypass any barriers such as this one have been shut down," the guard apologizes, handing the Morpher back to Jesse, who returns it to his belt.
"Its okay, we should have known about these barriers," Jesse says, "its no big deal."
"I will take care of this problem immediately," the guard says as he lowers the barrier, "go on in sir. Have a good day."
"You too," Jesse says as he and Alex walk into the museum. The sight that greets them the moment they walk in is incredible.
In front of them is a group of seven statues. For some reason, Jesse recognizes them immediately for what they are: statues honoring the Atlantean Warriors.
The Silver Warrior was wearing silver samurai-style armor, armor like the shoguns of feudal Japan wore. It was not elaborately made, but it was easy to tell that it was practical for battle. A Japanese straight sword was held firmly by both hands.
The Bronze Warrior wore golden-bronze armor, solid and impenetrable. Yet at the same time it gave off an impression of being light and flexible, just like Ranger armor. Crimson shoulder armor with blue-white trim and white ringed chain mail protected the torso. With one hand just under the blades and the other at the end of the haft, the Bronze Warrior held an ornate double bladed battle-axe.
The Platinum Warrior wore armor that was a set of simple brown leather trousers, platinum dragoon armor1. The helmet wasn't as obtrusive as a standard dragoon helmet, but it did fully protect the Platinum Warrior's face. Clasped in the right hand of the Platinum Warrior was an ornate partisan.
The Crystal Warrior wore an outfit like that of the old French musketeers, a cutlass with a crystal hilt and unbreakable crystal blade held aloft in their right hand. The over-tunic was a pale blue made of a shimmering clothe.
The White Warrior wore armor that was like that of a medieval English knight, with gold and sapphire trim. An ornate warhammer was held in both hands.
The Aqua Warrior wore armor that appeared to be a blue bodysuit with an aqua colored tunic over it and metallic aqua armor (envision the armor that Merric and the other ancient Warriors of Animaria wore in Merrick and Princess Shayla's flashbacks colored like that) over that. An exquisite pair of dirks were held in the Aqua Warrior's hands.
The Green Warrior wore a gleaming white bodysuit made of enchanted Atlantean cloth, which would clearly be enhanced by the magic of the Green Morpher in real life, shown like a star on the horizon. Wearing an emerald and forest green breastplate and a jade green helmet, the Green Warrior looked impressive. The Green Warrior held no weapon, since the Green Warrior was always either an outstanding hand-to-hand combatant or a powerful mage. The Green Warrior was standing beside the Silver Warrior, their arms crossed in front of their chest.
"Wow," Jesse says simply. That was really all that he could say. Alex nods in agreement. They walk past the tribute to Atlantis' heroes and find the gallery holding the various magical artifacts and weapons.
"Hey Alex, think this would work?" Jesse asks, indicating a sword. The blade was thirty-nine inches long and two and a half inches in width. It was double-edged and shined with a brilliant sheen. An emerald, the size and shape of an egg, was set in the hilt. It was highly polished, and seemed to glow with a subtle radiance.
Alex examines the history and knowledge of the sword that was displayed before them. "No, its power isn't compatible with our needs. It can close and heal rips in Space/Time that are not controlled. Hopefully we'll never have to requisition this blade."
"Ah," Jesse says, then moves on to look at the other magical battle gear while Alex examines the various magical talismans and jewelry. He finds several rings, three sets of earrings, a necklace, three pendants, an amulet, and a circlet that would work, but they did not possess enough power in and of themselves to suit the needs they had or were drained of energy. The same was said of the magical battle gear. Jesse found dozens of weapons that may one day be beneficial to them, but none that could help Alex and Connerly develop powers for Alex to use to join them in battle.
Finally, they give up and move on to another section of the museum. Things that were regarded as 'relics of the ancient past' was little more than a dim memory outside of Atlantis. Artifacts from the civilization on the island of Mu, another one of the lost civilizations that sank beneath the waves untold millennia ago, as well as artifacts from several Central and South American and several coastal African nations of the ancient world could be found. Artifacts from ancient Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and even far-off Japan and China could be found. Atlantis had had contact with virtually the entire world in addition to beyond the stars themselves, alliances with Eltare, Edenoi, Triforia, Xybria, Mirinoi, Aquitar, and even the M 51 galaxy before it fell the Master Vile. There were even records of some slight assistance going to the last wizards of the M 51 galaxy in creating the mighty Zeo Crystal. Stories of how the sorcerers and blacksmiths of Atlantis had aided in the forging of the Transdaggers, the Quasar Sabers, the powers of the Magna Defender, and even guiding Ninjor early in his career in creating some Power Artifacts, morphing devices to be used by great and mighty heroes and warriors all over the universe. The Power Coins of the Aquitian Rangers were made in Atlantis' own forges.
The duo went their separate ways within the museum, Alex going off to look at the various tomes and just general information about Atlantis and its natural history while Jesse studied the history of their defense. He learned in intricate detail how the gems that gave the Atlantean and Imperial Morphers their powers were discovered, how the various Morphers were created, and the fate that had befallen those who had last wielded the Imperial Morphers. He had wanted to see the Morphers themselves, but they were under the mightiest protection spells on Atlantis, with enough power flowing through those spells to power half of Earth for decades if transferred into electricity. And even he, the leader of the Atlantean Rangers, was not allowed access to them. He had asked Connerly if Alex could perhaps use one of the Imperial Morphers, but he had been told that the Imperial Morphers had been tainted with far too much evil to risk being used. It would not do to take down Dark Specter only to have a far, far more dangerous evil take his place. Or to have to kill one of their own.
While looking through an exhibit on how Atlantis first came into contact with the ancient Egyptians, Jesse's communicator went off.
"This is Jesse," Jesse says into his communicator, "whats the problem?"
"A pair of Dark Specter's henchmen have appeared in Oslo, Norway," Connerly answers, "teleport to the Hall of Heroes first."
"Okay," Jesse replies, then teleports out. A few moments later, Alex follows him.
-Hall of Heroes, Atlantis, Limbo-
"This is not good," Bethany murmurs as she watches the viewing pool. Doza and Algoric were trashing the Norwegian museum, obviously searching for something.
"What are they looking for?" Alex asks.
"Apparently, this," Connerly replies, shifting the image in the pool to a warhammer. It was simple in appearance, with a haft made of the darkest ebony and the head appearing to be a vibrant indigo.
"That resembles the Staff of Kaishin," Holly remarks.
"It is the Hammer of Kaigin," Connerly explains, "similar to the Staff of Kaishin, and with a similar origin too. And similar powers. We cannot let Dark Specter get his hands on this."
"I can retrieve it while everyone else distracts clown one and clown two," Ben says, "I'm the best among us with a hammer, so if I get it and they attack me, I can use it to defend myself."
"Good plan," Jesse agrees, "the rest of us will take care of whatever flunkies Dark Specter has sent down."
"Then lets go," Petite says, "call it out, leader."
"Don't call me leader," Jesse scowls, "but anyway. It's Morphin time!"
The six Ranger's teleport out after morphing.
The Rangers arrived just in time to keep Doza and Algoric from getting the Hammer of Kaigin, teleporting in right between the two Spear Masters and the Hammer of Kaigin.
"Stop right there," Silver Ranger orders.
"And if we don't?" Doza asks lazily. Yes, the Silver Ranger may have defeated Divorx on his own, but both Algoric and himself were far superior to that pathetic lump. Algoric had the skill of a 4th ranked Spear Master and the strength of a 3rd ranked Spear Master. Doza had the skill of a 2nd ranked Spear Master, but not the strength of even a 3rd ranked Spear Master. They had nothing to fear from these uncouth humans.
"If you don't, well, you'll end up dead," Silver Ranger says flatly.
"Like you could kill us," Algoric snorts, "leave and we will spare your lives for now."
"White Ranger, grab the Hammer," Silver Ranger orders, "we'll cover you."
"I think not," Doza says as White Ranger moves towards the Hammer of Kaigin, "Spectrons! Attack!"
A full platoon of fifteen Spectrons teleport in and attack the Rangers, who instantly spread out to cover the way to the Hammer while White Ranger heads for the Hammer itself. Aqua Ranger moves in to face Doza one on one while Algoric moves in with the Spectrons to attack all of the Rangers.
Aqua Ranger summons his Aqua Double Dirks to fend off Doza's spear. The two of them are comparatively skilled, but Aqua Ranger is a little stronger and a little faster. Neither one can get the upper hand on the other.
The other Rangers could have easily dealt with the Spectrons if Algoric wasn't fighting alongside them. Algoric, though not very smart, knew how to win a fight. While the Spectrons were able to fight the Rangers three or even four on one, they still were no match for the superior power and skill of the Atlantean Rangers. So Algoric evened the odds for them by attacking a Ranger from behind, or distracting a Ranger so a Spectron could get in a cheap shot. Needless to say it was not an easy battle.
Silver and Platinum Rangers end up fighting back to back to ward off the Spectrons and Algoric while Crystal Ranger and Bronze Ranger end up in a similar position. White Ranger was still trying to make it to the Hammer.
"Any ideas, Silver Ranger?" Platinum Ranger asks.
"Only one I can think of is someone engage the big guy in single combat while the rest of us mop up these Spectrons," Silver Ranger answers as he parries a Spectrons sword.
"That's fairly dangerous," Platinum Ranger remarks as she twirls her partisan and clubs a Spectron in the back of the head with the bladeless end. "Who would be crazy enough to do that?"
"Well, you do know the kinds of tactics they would use," Silver Ranger remarks, "you use a long weapon, same as them. Slightly different techniques can be used, but the principal is the same."
Platinum Ranger nods. "I'll do it. Bronze Ranger, Crystal Ranger, and I couldn't hold off this many Spectrons if you engaged him. And neither Bronze or Crystal Rangers could face that big guy alone. He looks too strong. I would know the kinds of moves he can pull though. I just hope I'm strong enough."
"You'll do fine," Silver Ranger assures her as he manages to land a solid kick to the chest of a Spectron, sending it flying.
Platinum Ranger moves in and engages Algoric, Platinum Partisan whirling in a blur of motion. The two long weapon wielders fight back and forth, using every scrap of skill that they possessed to try and one-up the other.
Meanwhile, White Ranger has managed to get hold of the Hammer of Kaigin, but he is assaulted by Spectrons from all sides. A teleport barrier has been erected, keeping him from teleporting out with the Hammer. So instead of retreating, he uses the Hammer as his weapon. Slamming it into the chest of one Spectron, he completely obliterates the Spectron's chest armor. Spectron after Spectron charge him, but he knocks them away easily with the Hammer of Kaigin. Pulling out his Blade Blaster, White Ranger blasts several charging Spectrons, sending them to the ground, their chestplates demolished.
Silver Ranger, Bronze Ranger, and Crystal Ranger fight with every available bit of strength and skill they possessed. Crystal Ranger fights with his Blade Blaster in Blade Mode in his left hand while using his Crystal Cutlass in his right hand to take down Spectron after Spectron. Bronze Ranger uses her Bronze Battle Axe to cleave a Spectron in half, using the momentum to decapitate another, its head sparking as it rolls on the floor. Silver Ranger's Silver Saber whips to and fro, slicing through Spectron armor easily.
"Give it up, Aqua Ranger," Doza sneers, "you cannot hope to defeat me!"
"I disagree," Aqua Ranger replies, moving his Double Dirks in a cross block, stopping Doza's strike. The two break off and circle one another, trying to find an opening. "Give it up, scum, you will not defeat me!"
"We shall see!" Doza snarls as he leaps at Aqua Ranger.
Meanwhile, Algoric and Platinum Ranger were trading blows. Platinum Ranger, while not as strong as Algoric, had more skills to implement. She was quicker than the large Spear Master and could dodge his strikes more easily than he could hers. With a twirl of her Platinum Partisan Platinum Ranger parries Algoric's attack and slices him across the torso. He recovers quickly and slams the blade of his spear against the floor, sending blasts of energy through the ground to hit his goody-goody opponent. Platinum Ranger is rocked by the blasts, but manages to maintain her footing. Algoric charges, his spear whirling before he slashes Platinum Ranger across her shield, sending her sprawling.
A blast of bronze energy distracts Algoric long enough for Platinum Ranger to get to her feet. She slashes Algoric across the gut before stabbing him. She then applies a little leverage and sends Algoric flying over her head and into the wall. The large Spear Master gets to his feet, gazing at his diminutive opponent carefully. She was much stronger than she looked. Not as strong as he was, but she was faster, perhaps more skilled as well. But not more experienced, and Algoric knew he had the size and strength advantage. He just had to use what he had in the best way against his smaller opponent.
"Had enough?" Platinum Ranger asks.
"No," Algoric snaps, spinning his spear, Alachachlel, over his head before bringing its point down, aimed at the Platinum Ranger. Orange lightning arcs around the spear before shooting out right at the Platinum Ranger, who spins her Platinum Partisan in front of her, her magic barrier holding off the attack for a moment before it breaks through, slamming into the Platinum Ranger and knocking her to the ground. Algoric charges the fallen Ranger, readying his spear for an upslice that was cleave her in to, but the Bronze Ranger body checks him to the side.
Algoric scrambles to his feet to find all of the Silver, Bronze, Crystal, and Platinum Rangers facing him. He knew he was in trouble. He might have been powerful, but he was not skilled enough to take them all on. And Doza was busy with the Aqua Ranger. He would have no help with them since they had finished off all of the Spectrons, with the only ones left keeping the White Ranger busy.
Algoric snarls. "Don't think you've won just yet, Rangers!" Algoric slams the butt of his spear into the ground. Bolts of energy travel up and down the weapon before the blade begins to shimmer.
"Behold the power of Alagachlel!" Algoric roars as he sweeps his spear at the Rangers, sending a large wave of energy slamming into them, driving them to the ground. Crystal Ranger makes it to his feet first. He charges Algoric, his Crystal Cutlass clashing against Algoric's spear, Alagachlel. Sparks erupt as the mighty magical weapons meet, their wielders trying to outmatch one another. Algoric twists his wrist and sends Crystal Ranger flying, another flick of his wrist making his spear rake across the young heroes body as it comes crashing down into the floor. Silver Ranger delivers a dropkick to the side of Algoric's head, knocking the large Spear Master aside. Algoric quickly recovers and unleashes a bolt of orange lightning that Silver Ranger blocks with his Silver Saber.
Bronze Ranger jumps in, slamming her Bronze Battle Axe into Algoric and creating a large gash in his armor. A vicious backhand sends her flying but leaves Algoric open for Platinum Ranger to slice open his armor again with her Platinum Partisan, this time opening up a spot over his stomach. Algoric slams the butt of Alagachlel into Platinum Ranger's side, twisting his wrist to send her flying, bringing his arm down fast to slice her across the torso, sending sparks flying as her protective barrier strains to keep his blade from opening up her armor and piercing her flesh. Algoric swings Alagachlel around, catching Silver Ranger in the side of the head with the butt of the enchanted weapon, the blade of the spear slicing into Crystal Ranger as he tries to get to his feet.
"FOOLS!" Algoric roars, "I am invincible with Alagachlel!"
"Then we'll just have to take that toy away from you," a voice says from behind Algoric. The large Spear Master turns just in time to see White Ranger bringing the Hammer of Kaigin down on his right wrist, shattering his bones and forcing Algoric to drop Alagachlel. Algoric roars in pain, driving his left fist into White Ranger's gut and sending him flying into the wall. He drops the Hammer.
"Your friend is losing," Aqua Ranger says as he circles Doza.
"He is merely a lackey, brute force to complement my intellect," Doza replies civilly, "I would not even look at him if he did not wield the legendary spear Alagachlel."
"You mean the same weapon that has been knocked from his hand?" Aqua Ranger asks.
Doza almost freezes. Algoric had dropped the Alagachlel? This could be his chance to take the spear and finally have the power to be ranked as a 2nd Level Master of Spears. Doza turns and dives for the spear, surprising the Aqua Ranger. Aqua Ranger immediately realizes what Doza is doing and follows, but Doza beats him to Alagachlel. He hefts the spear and sends bolts of energy at the other Rangers, driving them away from Algoric. Doza tosses Algoric his own spear, a spear that had many strong magical properties, but it was far inferior to Alagachlel. Algoric takes it, knowing that it wasn't his spear but right now they needed their better fighter with as much power as he could achieve. Plus, he figured that Doza would give him Alagachlel back once they were back on Dark Specter's ship.
"Algoric, grab the Hammer!" Doza orders as he sends out more bolts of energy at the Rangers. Algoric swats the White Ranger aside and grabs the Hammer of Kaigin. He immediately teleports out in a whorl of orange light.
"Well Rangers, it looks like you failed!" Doza laughs, "ta ta!"
After one last parting shot, a bolt of energy that arcs over all six Rangers, nearly forcing them to demorph, Doza teleports out in a whorl of yellow light.
"Damn it, he got away!" Aqua Ranger growls.
"Let's head back," Bronze Ranger says groggily after she gets back to her feet, proceeding to help Platinum Ranger to hers, "we need to inform Connerly of this development."
"You guys are gonna find a way to blame this on me, aren't ya?" Silver Ranger asks sarcastically as he surveys the damage.
"Yep," the other five Rangers say in unison. Silver Ranger just grumbles and lets loose a burst of magic guided by his Morpher, the magic repairing most of the damage done during the battle. With a nod to one another, the six Atlantean Rangers teleport back to Atlantis.
-Dark Specter's ship-
"Alright Doza, give me my spear back," Algoric growls to the smaller Spear Master.
"I don't think so, Algoric," Doza replies lazily, "I think I'll keep Alagachlel for myself."
"What do you mean?!" Algoric demands, "return Alagachlel to me!"
"I think not," Doza says as yellow and blue energy sparkles around Alagachlel's tip. A split second later Algoric is staring at Doza with wide eyes before his vision becomes black and blurry. Algoric turns gray as Alagachlel drains away his life force and turns him to stone. Moments later Algoric crumbles away into dust. Doza smirks and leaves his remains for a cleaning unit to take care of. Yes, today had been a good day, even if he had had to go down to a grubby little planet like Earth. He got high praise from Dark Specter for attaining the Hammer of Kaigin for the Dark Sorcerer Methus and he had eliminated that oaf Algoric, taking the mighty spear Alagachlel from him. He was now accordingly ranked as a 2nd ranked Master of Spears. Yes, it had been a good day indeed.
-Dark Specter's throne room-
"My lord, I bring good news," Dorit says as he hurries into Dark Specter's throne room, "an accident earlier in the lab created a very interesting specimen. Allow me to introduce Gidokar."
The clanking of footsteps was in a pattern that Dark Specter easily recognized. It was reminiscent of one of the greatest evil warrior's to ever live, Goldar. The clank of armor was just off, but it was unmistakably the evil champion's style of armor, which only he wore. Dark Specter knew that this would be amusing. Had Dorit tried to resurrect Goldar?
In walks a rather large creature, approximately seven and a half feet tall, covered in spikes and golden armor. The armor was almost identical to Goldar's with just a few black emerald stones set into the armor in an intricate pattern and changes where it had spikes. The creature was decidedly gorilla-like in appearance. Despite its armor, the creature moved with a fluid grace that showed that despite its large, bulky size, it was also incredibly agile. However, its eyes did not show much in the way of intelligence. This thing, Gidokar, was strong, but it was far too stupid to be of use.
"Dorit, you fool, this thing has no intelligence whatsoever!" Dark Specter rumbles, "it would be useless against the Atlantean Rangers. Perhaps one on one, but that won't happen."
"My lord, that is easily corrected," Dorit replies smoothly, "your magic can certainly increase his intelligence. Gidokar can certainly use his natural abilities well, but he could not strategize to use his abilities to take your enemies apart the way he is obviously meant to."
Dark Specter nods. "Dorit, take Gidokar and throw him into the training simulators. I shall need time to erect the spells."
Dorit nods and leaves with Gidokar. Dark Specter turns his gaze out the window to his throne room, his smoldering eyes fixed on the Earth. Soon, he would conquer Earth and then conquer the rest of the universe.
-Earth-
"So, you feeling alright Ben?" Holly asks.
"Yeah, I'm doin' alright," Ben responds, "I'm a little upset at myself for letting Algoric get away with the Hammer of Kaigin, but I guess it couldn't be helped. They were pretty strong."
"No, they just had a lot of back-up," Holly says firmly, "if there hadn't been so many Spectrons, or just one of them, we would have done a lot better. They out-maneuvered us, that's all! We'll get them next time, I promise!"
"Holly, they nearly caused us to demorph!" Ben cries, "if they had done that, they would have killed us without a second thought! Next time could be our last!"
"Ben, we're Rangers, sworn to defend and protect!" Holly says sternly, "we are supposed to be ready to lay down our lives to stop Dark Specter and anyone else who comes after Earth."
"I know that!" Ben exclaims, "but I don't think that I'm cut out for this."
"You are," Holly insists, "the White Morpher chose you because you were the best for it.
Over a hundred miles away, a young man with long brown hair walks across a bridge, completing another major step of his journey. The sign on the bridge says "Welcome to the State of Tennessee."
"They are here, somewhere."
- -
1 Imagine the armor that dragoons wear in Final Fantasy Tactics, or possibly the armor that Kain wears in Final Fantasy IV.
AdvertisementStory Name: Fade to Darkness
Author: Tsukino Akume
Story ID: 15741456/1/
Summary: Tskino Akume's Fade to Darkness is one of the best Power Rangers stories I have ever read. Character development is great, and there are more romantic couplings than you can shake a stick at. Some are shocking, and some involve original characters, but plenty of depth is given to each original character that you feel for them just as you feel for the canon characters. Everyone gets a soul mate.
Story Name: Always A Ranger Series
Author: JTrevizo
StoryID: 1745270
Summary: As the Dino
Thunder team begins its career, how will Tommy's past affect his
present?
My opinion: One of the absolute best stories I have ever
read! JTrevizo is a genius of the highest caliber. Its sequel is also
a work of sheer genius. One of the best Power Rangers stories written
in the last year.
Author: Dagmar Buse
Author ID: 7429
About: Dagmar Buse is one of the best Power Rangers authors around. She doesn't write many series, but she is well known for her one-shots and mini-series. Any one of her stories is good.
If you know of a fic that deserves attention, or an author who write Power Rangers fics or crossovers that are good, leave the story ID or author ID in a review or e-mail it to me.
On a side note, I must say that in this fic Power Rangers Dino Thunder will not happen, and that there are a lot of things that will be very different. You are welcome to make guesses as to why this will be the way it is. Kudos to anyone who can guess the identity of the guy at the end of the chapter.
Well, I hope you review and tell me what you think. I don't know when I'll update again, it depends on how much Power rangers fan fiction I read to keep me in the mood.