"Power Rangers: Psycho Matrix"
Book One: "Twisted Rebirth"
Chapter 5: "Silver Eclipse"
Disclaimer: The Psycho Rangers, Zordon, and Dimitria are utterly not mine. Everything else in this story is.
Author's note: That time has come. The time when a Ranger team must bolster its ranks with a sixth warrior. Why should the Psycho Rangers be any different?
The Psycho Rangers and their human hosts had seen something utterly unprecedented in their respective experiences. An enemy sacrificing himself to protect one he should have killed.
Kaitlyn Blackwell was on her knees in the battlefield that had just been vacated by the Kirai warriors. She was in shock, tears silently streaming down her face. Kieran placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Kait," he said. "We'll figure it out. And we'll find a way to save Tsukimaru."
"What?" Darien asked. "Save him? I thought we were supposed to take him and his buddies down!"
"Are you a freaking moron, Darien?" Faith asked. "Is your short-term memory somehow incapable of functioning? He just saved Kaitlyn's life!"
"And how do we know it wasn't really some kind of trick?" Darien retorted hotly. "For all we know, Kaitlyn could never really have been in danger at all and that was all just a show to make her trust him!"
"What is wrong with you?" Faith asked. "I know it doesn't fit with anything he's done so far, but do you really think he's that devious?"
"Darien has a point," Liam said calmly. "Who really knows what Tsukimaru is capable of doing?"
"You two are forgetting an important fact," Kieran said.
"And what's that?" Darien asked.
"Tsukimaru's powers over time and space allow him to move at speeds greater than even our Psycho selves can move," Kieran replied. "So if he really wanted to trick her into trusting him, he could've very well just warped that glaive someplace else. Instead, he chose to throw himself upon its blade. I get the feeling that these people aren't ones to put so much on the line when the risk-to-reward ratio is so obviously low."
"Never mind," Faith said. "We're not gonna figure out what the hell Tsukimaru did what he did for by standing around here arguing."
"You're right," Kieran said. The five Rangers teleported back to the Neji Chamber.
"I saw what just transpired," Dimitria said in her calm, ethereal voice. "And I can tell you right now that Tsukimaru's sacrifice was an act of love."
"Love?" Darien echoed.
"Yes, Darien, love," Dimitria confirmed. "Tsukimaru loved Kaitlyn, so much so that he gave his own life for her."
"He's . . . dead?" Kaitlyn asked, her voice dead.
"We do not know that for certain," Dimitria said. "But the Kirai are not very forgiving of disloyalty. In fact, disloyalty is a capital offense on their world."
"Then he really is dead, isn't he?" Liam conjectured. "They're not going to kill him for saving Kaitlyn, are they? They're going to kill him because he loves her."
"You would be very much correct," Dimitria said. "The Kirai are notoriously xenophobic as well. Any sexual relations with other races, outside the context of rape or what you would call white slavery, are seen as an atrocity in their eyes."
"So not only are the Kirai planet-sucking freaks, they're also racist bastards," Faith summarized.
"What will they do . . . to him?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Do you truly want to know?" Dimitria asked, concern and regret in her voice.
"Yes," Kaitlyn replied. "I need to know what I have to save him from."
"He will be tortured," Dimitria replied. "The kind of torture that will not only wound his body, but shatter his spirit. The Kirai have mastered tricks of torture in decades that took even the evilest of warlords, including Lord Zedd, centuries to learn. Unless he is saved quickly, he will be a shell of his former self. Then, at the apex of their torture, they will kill him."
"How?" Kaitlyn asked, repressed terror in her voice.
"They will drain him of the psychic force that gives him and all other Kirai their power," Dimitria said. "You see, the Kirai are extremely powerful psychics, but with different strengths. Some possess the power of telekinesis, or the ability to move objects with the force of their thoughts. Then there are telepaths, capable of reading, communicating with, and manipulating the minds of others."
"Making them see or believe anything they want them to," Kieran deduced.
"Yes," Dimitria confirmed. "Through that power, they can control people's minds, making them do whatever they wish them to do. The most dangerous of their powers is the power of astral projection."
"You mean they can extend their minds beyond the confines of their physical bodies and thus travel wherever they want," Kieran deduced.
"And in this way, they can attack from very far away," Dimitria added.
"You're saying that if they wanted to, they could just sit in that warship of theirs and kill us from there?" Darien asked.
"That is exactly what astral projection enables them to do," Dimitria confirmed.
"We are so screwed!" Darien declared. "If these freaks can use their psychic powers to sense us, then what the hell's to stop them from astral-projecting right into our bedrooms and killing us in our sleep?"
"They haven't done that yet," Liam said.
"Dare's got a point," Faith said. "We're up against people who can literally kill us whenever the hell they want."
"Liam has a point, too," Kieran said. "They can most likely do that, but they haven't."
"I don't care," Kaitlyn said in a low and determined voice. "I don't care if their minds can follow us to the ends of the earth and kill us. We're going to get on that ship, and we're going to save Tsukimaru."
"We know we gotta do that, but how?" Faith asked. "We can't take them by surprise, obviously; the last time we busted onto that ship, they knew we were on it. Hell, they already knew we were coming."
"It doesn't matter," Kaitlyn snarled. "We're going to get Tsukimaru off that ship and we're going to do it if it takes everything we've got!"
"I agree with you both," Kieran said. "We all know we gotta get Tsukimaru away from those bastards, but we also know that we can't go busting in without a plan."
"Here's a plan: We take the Slider Bikes in slider mode to the Kirai warship, thrash everyone who gets in our way, and get Tsukimaru out," Kaitlyn said tersely.
"That's no plan," Kieran objected. "That's just blind violence. We're not going to accomplish a thing that way."
"Then I'm going alone," Kaitlyn said. She raised the wrist that bore her Psycho Morpher. "Psycho Spirit Ex . . ."
Kieran grabbed her right wrist, stopping her from activating the morpher. "Get a grip on yourself, Kaitlyn. I know you're angry and you want Tsukimaru out of there badly. But I also know that if we don't have a working strategy, we'll end up dying with him."
Kaitlyn glared at him, her hostile hazel eyes burning into his violet-blue ones.
"I suggest the five of you take some time away from here to collect yourselves and prepare a strategy," Dimitria said.
"We can't wait," Kaitlyn said, her voice calmer but smoldering with restrained fury.
"We must," Dimitria said.
The five Rangers teleported out of the Neji Chamber. It was at that moment that Zordon's spectral form appeared to Dimitria.
"It is time, Dimitria," he said. "Time to bring out our secret weapon."
"Yes, but who shall wield such power?" Dimitria asked.
"You know full well who shall be the wielder of this weapon," Zordon replied.
On the Kirai warship, Tsukimaru's arms were chained above his head to the ceiling of the torture chamber. He sat there, waiting, his wound already almost completely healed. Such was the wonder of a Kirai's physiology. It wasn't that different from a human's physiology, except for the fact that the functions of a Kirai's body were far faster than those of a human's. For example, their bodies metabolized nearly 100 of the nutrients in food. This left hardly any room for unused fat, which was the reason why Kirai were stronger and faster than humans; they just didn't have as much fat slowing them down. Another result of their hyperactive metabolism was that they healed much faster than humans, so any wounds that would be fatal to a human would be a nasty inconvenience for them.
Right now, Tsukimaru didn't care much for the advantages that his inhuman physiology gave him. In fact, he hated himself for being born into this infernal race of murderous beings. Hell, he hated himself for leading the warriors of this race in the slaughter of innocent people across the galaxies. He'd much rather die than be the creature that he was.
"Oh, really?" a silky feminine voice inquired. "Would you prefer death? If so, I'll only be too happy to help you achieve your desire."
"Yuna," Tsukimaru snarled. "Plan on torturing me?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I plan to do," Yuna replied. "Kanika decided to leave your punishment to me."
She stepped out of the shadows of the torture chamber, and Tsukimaru could see that she wasn't wearing her usual white armor. Instead she was dressed in a white leather corset-style top and thong-style leather bikini bottoms with thigh-high white leather boots and elbow-length gloves. Not to mention the fact that she was carrying a black whip.
"You like?" Yuna asked.
Tsukimaru glared, trying not to evince any sign of exactly how much he liked how that outfit looked on her. Unfortunately, certain other parts weren't as willing to cooperate.
"Of course . . . you'd probably prefer it if I was your precious Kaitlyn," Yuna sneered in low, silky tones. "You didn't go down to that club just to take her energy, did you?"
"So what?" Tsukimaru replied coldly. "She hates me, anyway. And even if she didn't, there's no way her friends will accept me."
"Exactly," Yuna said. "You're a fool for love, but not an idealistic fool. You realize that there's no way you can fit in with them. So why not come back to us?"
"You want me to join you again?" Tsukimaru asked.
Yuna moved until she was so close to him that even the slightest motion would bring their lips together. She reached up and stroked his cheek. "Yes, I do. I want things to be the way they were before."
"Kanika won't stand for that, will she?" Tsukimaru stated. "As long as she is princess, she is supreme ruler on this ship. And we all know that our laws don't allow traitors to escape with their lives."
"That's true, sadly," Yuna said. "I'm afraid she won't let you live. And as her lieutenant, I'm afraid I must obey her. So sad. We could've been so good together."
She kissed him, then, and Tsukimaru could feel everything she was feeling in that kiss. Her hurt, her sorrow, her feeling that he had betrayed her, and . . . her love?
She loves me? Tsukimaru thought. All this time she loved me, and I didn't even know. He felt sad, then, sad that he had caused Yuna such heartbreak, for she was very dear to him. Ever since they'd been small children, she'd been dear to him.
His mind drifted back, back to happier times. They were being raised to be two-thirds of the trio that would faithfully serve the Kirai royal family and fight for them. They'd enjoyed playing together and coming up with mock war plans for their toy Kiraikure. Their respective parents and the royals were in awe of their strategic prowess. In fact, the Kiraioh, the King of Kirai, had sworn that once they were old enough, those strategies would yield real results that would bring glory to their planet. In a sense, they were the golden boy and girl of Kirai.
A long time ago, if Yuna had asked him to be her mate, he would have gladly accepted. Not because he was actually in love with her, but he cared about her and wanted her to be happy.
Perhaps I should have asked you, Yuna whispered in his thoughts. Then we could have been mates. But it's too late, now, I suppose. No worries, Tsuki-koi. You and Kaitlyn will be together in the afterlife. In fact, I plan to personally deliver her to you.
I don't care what you do to me, Yuna, Tsukimaru thought. But if you touch Kaitlyn, then death will not be nearly enough to stop me from exacting my vengeance on you.
Yuna broke the kiss, fighting back tears. Her jade crystal gaze hardened.
Then the whip struck him.
And the pain began.
Meanwhile, Kaitlyn laid facedown on her bed, sobbing into her pillow. It was then that someone knocked on the door.
"Kaitlyn?" her mother asked. "May I come in?"
"Sure," Kaitlyn replied, rising to a sitting position. She wiped away her tears.
Kaitlyn's mother came in. She looked very much like her daughter, except that her skin was tanned a few shades darker than Kaitlyn's. "Would you like to tell me what's wrong?"
Kaitlyn told the story of her tumultuous relationship with Tsukimaru, not mentioning his name or anything that might give away her identity as a Ranger.
"So this boy hurt you, but later he saved you?" her mother asked.
"Yeah," Kaitlyn replied. "At first I thought he was a selfish jerk, just trying to use me. Then his psycho friends tried to kill me, but he saved me from them. He got hurt pretty bad, and now I can't even see him."
Kaitlyn's mother gently stroked her hair. "So this boy's pretty important to you, isn't he?"
"Yeah," Kaitlyn replied. "I wish I could see him again, so we could patch things up. I thought he didn't care about me at all, but it turns out he did and now he's hurt and it's my fault."
"If things really happened as you said, then it's not your fault," her mother contradicted. "What this boy did he did out of love for you." She gave Kaitlyn a kiss on the forehead. "He'll be alright." She stood up and left.
"Yeah," Kaitlyn said to herself. "He'll be alright. He'll be alright because I'll save him."
Inside the Neji Chamber, Zordon communicated with Dimitria. "It is time. Time to bring forth our greatest weapon."
Meanwhile, in the torture chamber of the Kirai warship, Yuna was torturing Tsukimaru. Unfortunately for her, he wouldn't scream.
"Am I not punishing you enough?" Yuna asked silkily. "I'd like to hear you scream. So scream for me, love."
Then the torture resumed, even more hellish than it had been to begin with. Suddenly, a silver light engulfed the chamber, blinding Yuna. She raised an arm to protect her eyes from the light, and when it faded . . .
. . . Tsukimaru wasn't there anymore.
Yuna hissed. "Dimitria."
Needless to say, Kanika wasn't very pleased when she found out. "It figures. Whatever Dimitria and Zordon have planned for Tsukimaru, we all know the first person he'll go to after this is Psycho Yellow's human half."
"You want us to find her and kill her, don't you?" Yuna surmised, back in her white armor.
"Not just her," Kanika replied. "All five of those Psycho Ranger hosts. I'll have all their heads sitting on pikes by the end of this day."
In the Neji Chamber, Dimitria called the five Rangers. "Come, Rangers. There is something you must be made aware of."
The five Rangers teleported to the Neji Chamber. "Yeah, Dimitria?" Liam asked.
"I received an incoming message from the Kirai," Dimitria replied.
"What?" Faith asked. "How?"
"Through telepathy," Dimitria replied. "They believe that we have Tsukimaru with us."
"How can that be?" Kieran asked.
"I don't know," Dimitria lied.
"Well, we'll take care of them anyway," Kaitlyn said.
"Psycho Spirit Exchange!" the five Rangers shouted, morphing.
The Psychos met the Kirai in the warehouse district of the city. "You really think we have Tsukimaru?" Psycho Red asked.
Yuna said nothing to him; just glared at Psycho Yellow. "You took him from me twice! No more! You want him so badly? You can see him in hell!" That said, she drew her glaive and charged at Psycho Yellow.
Psycho Yellow drew her sling and fired at Yuna. Meanwhile, Xaran took on Psycho Blue and Psycho Black. Kanika fought Psycho Red, and Kokure fought Psycho Pink.
The fight between Psycho Yellow and Yuna was fierce. Yuna slashed and stabbed at Psycho Yellow, who blocked and retaliated with blasts from the Psycho Sling.
"He was supposed to be mine!" Yuna snarled, furiously striking Yellow with her Kirai Glaive.
Psycho Yellow got up, sneering. "Perhaps you just weren't his type. He might have a preference for nice human girls, actually, as opposed to psychotic bitches from his own planet."
"Bitch!" Yuna screamed and struck again. This time, Yellow grabbed the glaive and held it.
"You're jealous, aren't you?" Yellow mocked. "Perhaps it burns you that a pathetic human girl could do what you, a great Kirai warrior, couldn't: win Tsukimaru's heart."
Yuna struggled to free her glaive from Yellow's death-grip. "You want this?" Yellow asked in a mock-solicitous tone. "Then take it! Sofia Lightning Strike!" She sent a wave of yellow electricity through the Kirai Glaive, striking Yuna.
"You're not beating me again, Psycho Pink!" Kokure shouted, lashing with her Kiraihime Whip. Said whip wrapped around Pink's throat, and Kokure tugged it in such a way that it tightened around her captive's neck like a choke collar. "Looks like you're in a tight spot, huh?"
The twisted Pink Ranger merely reached up to grab the end of the whip that was currently wrapped around her throat.
"Trying to free yourself?" Kokure asked. "That whip will only release you when I want to release you."
Psycho Pink merely laughed.
"What's going on?" Kokure asked. "What's so funny? Stop that snickering!"
Psycho Pink grabbed the end of the whip wrapped around her throat and sent a charge of emerald electricity through the whip, shocking Kokure into releasing her.
"Shock to your system, isn't it?" Pink sneered.
Kanika and Psycho Red clashed swords. Kanika seemed to have the advantage in the fight so far, but the twisted Red Ranger was far from ready to give up.
Kanika's Kiraihime Rapier glowed blood red and in a sudden flurry of motion, she slashed Psycho Red from front to back.
"Did you like that, Psycho Red?" Kanika asked.
Psycho Red rose to his feet. "Good. But check out mine." His Psycho Sword blazed with unholy fire. "Psycho Sword, Phantom Fire Slash!"
Moving at what seemed like the speed of light Psycho Red slashed Kanika with the black-and-red sword that was his signature weapon. At the last minute, just as he was about to strike the killing blow, Kanika blocked and pierced him with a warped-air blade.
Xaran was handling Psycho Blue and Psycho Black with relative ease. The two twisted Rangers fought their hardest, but they were barely holding their own against the Kirai lieutenant. Psycho Blue spun around Xaran at super-speed, striking him with the Psycho Axe. He stopped and slashed the air, firing icy blue crescents of energy.
"Psycho Axe, Bizarre Ice Slash!"
The icy crescents struck Xaran, wounding him seriously. Psycho Black followed up with a strike from his Psycho Rod.
Xaran, having had enough, retaliated. He warped the air, vanishing into it, then reappearing above the two Psychos, striking them fast and furious with the Kirai Staff.
As for Yuna and Kokure, they had regained their footing and struck back against the twisted Yellow and Pink Rangers. Now all five Psychos were left struggling.
In a secret underground chamber beneath the Neji Chamber, Dimitria and Zordon worked. "We must finish this quickly if the Psycho Rangers are to have any hope of emerging victorious," Dimitria said.
"Do not worry, Dimitria," Zordon replied. "We are almost finished."
And just what were they working on? It was a suit of armor, which features were obscured by bright silver light.
"Now, install the gems," Zordon ordered.
Dimitria placed a gem in the left gauntlet of the armor, and the gem glowed silver before melting into the gauntlet. She placed another gem in the right gauntlet and the process repeated itself. A third gem found itself resting on the left boot of the armor and then melting into it. The fourth gem melted into the right boot, and the final gem melted into the armor's helmet. The armor glowed a bright silver color, further obscuring its features, and then the glow began to die down.
"The process is complete," Dimitria stated.
Meanwhile, the Psycho Rangers were barely on their feet, the four Kirai advancing on them.
"You've fought well, Psycho Rangers," Kanika said, "and I commend you for that. Unfortunately, you have crossed us far too many times and now it must end. You must end. Any last words?"
Just as Psycho Red was about to make a defiantly heroic retort, he was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass one floor above them. A second later, something sailed down toward the floor of the warehouse from the second floor. It looked very much like the Psycho Rangers' Slider Bikes, only black and silver. And the rider definitely looked like a Psycho Ranger.
"Auraslider, slider mode!" the "Psycho Ranger" shouted. Suddenly, the Auraslider converted from its bike mode to its slider mode.
"Get him!" Kanika ordered. All four Kirai warriors fired warped-air blades at the mysterious warrior, but he dodged them with ease. He jumped off the Auraslider and landed with a somersault.
Now that he wasn't moving, the Psycho Rangers definitely could see that he was dressed very much like one of them. His armor was black, with white wrist guards and knee guards, along with a white belt and collar. The torso armor and helmet were trimmed in silver, the apparent identifying color of this warrior.
Kanika sneered. "Let me guess. You're another punk human Zordon and Dimitria saw fit to endow with Ranger powers."
"I'm far from being a punk," Psycho Silver replied, his voice twisted and mechanical like the other Psychos but oddly familiar. "Wanna try me?"
Kanika pointed her rapier at the twisted Silver Ranger. Kokure held her whip in a manner suggesting she was ready to strike. Yuna and Xaran pointed their glaive and staff respectively at him.
"I think I'm going to need my own weapon," Psycho Silver said. He extended his arm and a weapon that looked like a silver sword-blade melted onto a silvery gun handle appeared on it. "Psycho Blazer!"
"Let's begin," Kanika said.
Psycho Silver shifted into a fighting stance. "Let's."
The four Kirai warriors charged at Psycho Silver, all of them striking with their weapons in quick succession. Silver merely seemed to vanish from sight, then one blur of motion later, all four were lying flat on their backs.
"What the hell was that?" Psycho Blue asked. "I didn't even see him move!"
"Neither did I," Psycho Black concurred.
"How did he move so fast!" Xaran asked, rising again.
The Kirai women rose as well. "Where is he?" Kokure asked.
"Right here," Psycho Silver's voice said from somewhere above them, and a microsecond later, Psycho Silver himself jumped down and slashed at the Kirai with super-fast strikes. He jumped back and held his left hand to the tip of his Psycho Blazer, then slashed said hand down the blade. Sparks exploded from the Kirai warriors' armor and they collapsed.
However, it seemed that they had endurance and determination to match the new Psycho Ranger's strength. They just got up again.
"You want more?" Silver asked, sneering. "Fine. Have some more!" He ran at them, firing silver energy blasts out of his Psycho Blazer. Once he got up close, the blade was charged with silver electricity and he slashed all four in a zigzag pattern.
"I've had enough of you!" Kokure shouted, and struck with her whip. Silver merely let it wrap around the Psycho Blazer's blade, then pulled her up close for a vicious knee jab to the stomach and followed up with a hard karate chop to her spine.
"Imouto!" Kanika shouted.
"I'll live, oneesan," Kokure replied.
Kanika looked up into the helmet of Psycho Silver. "You miserable bastard!" She charged at Silver with her rapier, ready to spill his blood on the warehouse floor. Silver blocked her attack, but she wasn't quite finished with him yet. In an unexpected move, she slashed him in a pentagram-style pattern. Then she reached into the center of her pentagram and punched him hard.
Psycho Silver was taken aback at this sudden display of strength.
"Good," he said. "Now let's take this outside!" In a blur of super-speed, he leaped outside the warehouse. Kanika, Xaran, and Yuna followed.
"Now, I want to know," Yuna said. "Who are you?"
"You really want to know, Yuna?" Psycho Silver asked. "Then know you shall. Exchange!"
In a flash of silver, the twisted Silver Ranger was gone . . .
. . . and Tsukimaru stood in his place.
The other five Psycho Rangers had made it outside, just in time to see Tsukimaru demorph from his Psycho Ranger form.
"You!" Yuna screamed. "Now you've done it, you miserable betrayer! You've become one of them!"
"Yeah, I have," Tsukimaru replied. "You have some kind of problem with that?"
"Yes, I do," Yuna replied, angry and heartbroken.
"Then bring it on," Tsukimaru invited.
Yuna charged at him in a screaming rage. Tsukimaru blocked her attacks. She tried to stab him with the Kirai Glaive, but he sidestepped the attack and knocked her feet out from under her. Yuna recovered with a flip and was back on her feet, ready to fight again.
"I can't let you do it, Yuna," Tsukimaru replied. "I can't let you destroy this planet."
"What led to the change of heart, Tsuki?" Yuna asked. "Oh, wait. I know. Kaitlyn!"
"Her heart is pure and good," Tsukimaru replied. "Yours is blackened with hate and evil. After all, isn't the honey of the bees sweeter than the venom of a cobra?"
Yuna snarled. "This isn't over, Tsukimaru! Mark my words! You and your precious slut will pay! With your lives!" That said, Yuna, Xaran, Kokure, and Kanika teleported away.
"Is that really you, Tsukimaru?" Psycho Yellow asked.
"Yeah," Tsukimaru replied, smiling. "It's me."
It was definitely Tsukimaru. The same violet-highlighted black hair tied in a long, thin ponytail. The same dazzling golden eyes. He wasn't dressed in his Kirai armor anymore. Instead, he was wearing a black T-shirt over a long-sleeved gray shirt and baggy black pants with pockets everywhere.
"Exchange!" the five Psycho Rangers shouted, reverting to their human selves.
Kaitlyn smiled. "Welcome to the Psycho Rangers, Tsukimaru."
"I humbly accept your welcome," Tsukimaru replied. Kaitlyn just gave him a strong hug.
End Book One
Book Two: The war between the Psycho Rangers and the Kirai has taken a dramatic new turn. The Psycho Rangers have a new ally, but the Kirai are not through with them yet. In fact, this war's about to go into overtime.