Disclaimer: Saban used to own them, but they sold them out to Disney. I am neither Saban nor Disney.

RESTLESS WARRIORS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Twenty-Four: Flight of the Pegasus

The white stallion stamped impatiently, as if to say that it thought they needed to be going. Kelsey slowly got to her feet and placed a tentative hand on the horse's muzzle. It nudged her hand, as if allowing her permission to pet it. Raising her eyes further, she took in the large snow-white wings that rose gracefully from the horse's back. The Pegasus… she had succeeded in bringing her ancient animal spirit to life. She looked back for Trini, but the original yellow ranger was nowhere in sight.

"You're the Pegasus?" she asked him.

He shook his head in a distinct nod. His brown eyes were full of a fiery passion. Kelsey smiled, knowing that this was the key to their success.

"Can you help me?" she whispered.

The Pegasus snuffed, blowing hot horse-breath onto her face.

"All right, I believe you," she said with a smile.

He threw his head back, as if motioning in a direction. She looked in the direction that he was pointing. Four other creatures were headed for them. Kelsey's jaw dropped open as she turned back to the Pegasus.

"Are they the other's animal spirits?" she asked.

The Pegasus nodded.

Kelsey turned to watch the four other animals come forth. One of them was another white stallion, but, instead of the large wings that the Pegasus had, it had a pearly-iridescent horn rising from the center of its forehead. It had ice blue eyes that portrayed its desire to protect the person he had chosen. A unicorn… she wondered which one of them belonged to this unicorn. Perched on the horn of the unicorn was a large red bird. Its feathers were shades of red, orange and yellow so that it looked like a flame shaped like a bird. Its beak opened and it let out a distinct war-cry. That had to be a phoenix. She had been a mythology buff in high school and had learned about these creatures.

The other two creatures were even more fantastic than the two stallions and the phoenix. One of them had the body of a large feline, but her face was that of a beautiful woman. Framed by a halo of gold, the sphinx stepped forward, her tail twitching back and forth as her green eyes studied Kelsey. Next to the sphinx was a griffin. This creature had the hindquarters of a lion with the front part of its body including its head and wings being that of an eagle. It was huge—larger than any of the other creatures and looked to be the fiercest. It matched the phoenix's war-cry, using its body to create unbelievable volume.

The Pegasus nudged her shoulder. She absently placed a hand on its head, cradling the warm, large body against her. The sphinx stepped forward.

"We serve the five yellow rangers," she said in a melodious voice.

"Which ones?" Kelsey asked.

"I belong to the Eagle," the sphinx said. She turned to the others, her tail still tapping out a rhythmic time. "The griffin belongs to the Lion." She paused and gazed at the remaining two. "The unicorn serves the Pterodactyl and the phoenix serves the Wolf."

Kelsey thought for a minute. The Eagle had to be Taylor—she had an Eagle-Zord when she had been an active ranger. Kira was definitely the dinosaur. The Lion had to be Dustin… and that left Maya as the Wolf. She wondered at the euphemisms the creatures used for them. It made her wonder what the Pegasus called her.

"There isn't much time," the sphinx continued. "The Lion has been slain. The demons must be stopped before they complete their ceremony. We must hurry."

She nodded. The Pegasus nudged her again and sank down on his front legs, unmistakably giving her an invitation to climb aboard. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a handful of his mane and swung herself onto his back. The sphinx nodded.

"You must get the body of the Lion away from them," she said. "We will follow you. Do not fail us."

Kelsey nodded. The Pegasus tucked his wings close to his body, covering her legs and giving her no chance to escape, even if she wanted to. He then took a dive straight down into the tunnel. Kelsey bit back a scream, waiting the impact crash when he hit the ground of the tunnel. But it never came. She didn't know what he did or how he did it, but they were upright, standing in the tunnel, looking at the long path in front of them.

He gave her an over-the-shoulder glance. "What?" she asked. He snuffed again, this time hitting her left wrist. Her morpher… "Oh!" she said with sudden realization. "You want me to morph." She pushed the button on her morpher. "Lightspeed rescue!" In a moment, she appeared morphed, still sitting on the Pegasus' back.

Without warning, he took off down the tunnel. For some reason, the tunnel didn't seem as narrow as it had. The Pegasus' had an impressive wing span and it was barely brushing the tunnel walls he flew along at breakneck speed. A squawk hit her ears. Twisting around, she saw the phoenix and the griffin close on their tail. Further away, she could make out the unicorn and the sphinx following them.

"Faster, Pegasus," she urged the winged horse forward.

He complied and his wings spread straight out to glide down the tunnel. She wasn't sure where the air currents were coming from that enabled him to fly. She had a feeling that someone in Fairyland or the spirit realm was giving them a push in the correct direction. The torches came into view and the constant torchlight almost startled her.

"We're almost there," she whispered.

The battle began to come into view. Eric and the others were still where she had left them, although most people were moving slowly and looked ready to power down involuntarily. Eric, Conner, Kira, Tori, Taylor… Maya must still be on the floor battling with the demons and goblins down there.

"What the hell?" Eric shouted.

"Tricks," Owling hissed.

The Pegasus flew over the battle just as the griffin landed and threw back several demons with a mighty roar. He was a fierce fighter, using his deadly talons to tear through the demons and using his back paws to kick at things. The phoenix flew up to her and nibbled on her ear, obviously urging her to do something.

Kelsey nudged the Pegasus around. She looked down at the temple. Vypra was holding up some herbs and saying an incantation, oblivious of the raging battle around her. Jareth was laughing. Maya was still surrounded by demons and was doing her best to battle them off, but she was quickly losing ground and energy.

"May the Darkness be merciful," she heard Owling scream.

The unicorn and the sphinx had just joined the fray. The unicorn was using its horn to impale demons and throw them into the walls. The sphinx was using her paws to her advantage, clearing demons away from the rangers.

"Take the Wolf and the phoenix," the sphinx called to her. "They can help you get the Lion out of the clutches."

"It talks!" Conner cried.

"It's the only one," Kelsey shot back, before urging the Pegasus down from where he had been hovering near the ceiling. "To the Wolf," she whispered. He shot straight down to where Maya was trying to fight out the demons.

"Maya!" she screamed, reaching out a hand. The Galaxy Ranger shot a final arrow at a demon and then reached out towards her.

She caught her hand tightly and, using her remaining strength, swung her around so that she was seated behind her on the Pegasus. The phoenix flew next to them as the Pegasus abruptly pulled up from the dive and headed towards the ceiling again.

"The ancient animal spirits," Maya breathed.

The phoenix landed on Maya's shoulder as the Pegasus began to hover near the ceiling again. Kelsey surveyed the room, looking for the best way to approach getting Dustin's body away from the altar and away from Vypra.

"We need to get Dustin's body away from them," Kelsey said to Maya.

"But, they've already killed him!"

"No, they need the body for the rest of the ceremony. If we get it away from them, then it won't go forward as planned."

"Who told you all this?"

Kelsey pointed to the balcony where the sphinx was almost lazily tossing demons towards the griffin. The griffin was ripping them to shreds as they came his way. Kelsey knew why he was so impassioned. The one he served had fallen.

"No wonder the griffin is fighting so hard," Maya said.

The Lightspeed Ranger looked down. Vypra was holding a large knife over Dustin's chest, like she was about to slice through to his heart.

"What is she doing?"

"No," Maya whispered.

"Pegasus," Kelsey cried. "We need to get down there!"

He complied by pulling them into a tight, fast dive down towards the floor. Demons and goblins looked and saw him coming. With a scream, they scattered as his hooves scrapped the ground. It looked like they were parting the waters of a sea. Kelsey held onto the Pegasus for dear life as he came to a skidding stop in front of the altar.

"Good job," Kelsey whispered to the Pegasus and she and Maya swung themselves off of the winged horse and began running towards the altar.

"Stop!" she cried, holding her V-Lancer at the ready.

Maya fell into step with her as they ran up the stairs that led to the altar, her saber in one hand and her trans-dagger in the other.


Vypra screeched and dropped the knife as the two of them came up the stairs to the altar. Maya held her saber out as Kelsey did the same with her V-Lancer. Her stomach churned at the sight of what they had done to Dustin's body. No… she had to be strong.

"Don't touch him!" she said in a low voice.

"What do you care?" Vypra taunted. "He's already dead!"

"Unlike you, we care," Kelsey said.

Vypra gave them a sneering look and unsheathed her sword. "You Lightspeed Rangers were always a thorn in my side," she hissed.

"Sorry to spoil your fun," Kelsey shot back.

Jareth suddenly disappeared from the altar. Maya followed his flight and he ended up in the middle of the fray on the balcony, trying to stop the terror of the griffin. The next thing she knew, the griffin jumped off the balcony and sailed gracefully down to the floor. More demons began to shriek and scatter. He raised a talon and eliminated half a dozen of them with one swipe. Maya snapped back to the altar.

Vypra was slowly rounding the altar, her sword at the ready. "You are going to pay," she hissed to Kelsey.

"Try me," Kelsey replied.

The demon princess let out a screech and charged towards Kelsey. In the chaos, Maya left them to their battle and studied Dustin's body. He had been chained to the altar, even though he had been unconscious the whole time. Using her saber, she quickly hacked away at the chains and removed them from around his wrists and ankles. The skin on both places had been worn raw from previous struggling and the wounds were still visible.

Maya quickly touched her morpher. "Power down," she commanded.

Her uniform disappeared and was replaced by the khaki pants and Kendrix's pink sweater that she had been wearing the entire time on Earth. She gently touched the raw skin on Dustin's wrist. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was at peace.

There was a squawk.

She turned as the phoenix stood on the altar next to her. "He's gone," she said softly to the phoenix. "We can't bring him back."

The phoenix stepped over to Dustin's gashed throat. The mythical bird leaned and a pearly tear fell from his eye. It came into contact with one part of the gash. A slight hissing noise accompanied by some steam occurred and the place where the tear had landed was healed. The skin was as it was and the blood disappeared. Another tear followed and the same thing happened. She watched in wonder as the tears fell onto the tender skin and soon the entire gash on his throat was healed.

"Phoenix tears," she whispered.

How could she have forgotten? Phoenix tears held healing qualities. Could the phoenix heal his body and bring him back to life? She had known so much about the creature, but as much as she had known, she had forgotten so much about phoenixes… but she didn't know if that would work. Phoenixes were able to resurrect themselves, but was it possible for their tears to bring back someone else.

"You rangers don't know when to stop!" Vypra was screeching. Her sword came down violently on the V-Lancer, causing an explosion of sparks.

"You're not going to get away with his," Kelsey was retorting. She threw the V-Lancer upward, forcing Vypra to take several steps back.

The phoenix gently bent forward and his tears fell on the cuts back on Dustin's chest. Each different cut with its different meaning became nothing as the tears fell. Maya almost wondered what Vypra had carved into his skin, but that would only make it worse. The cuts healed and the demon writing disappeared from the body. Maya gasped back a sob. His body would not hold the scars from what had happened to him. None of them or any of the ninjas needed a reminder of what had happened to their friend and teacher.

The bird was on his feet, circling to his wrists and ankles, healing the wounds there. The raw and bleeding skin went back to its normal form. His skin still looked pale and ashen. She looked to the phoenix. Did it have something else it would do? But even once all the visible scars were gone, his chest still remained still and his eyes remained closed. Maya tried not to begin crying. Her hopes had been dashed once more.

"Even you can't bring him back to life?" she asked the phoenix sadly.

The bird shook its head, laying itself on Dustin's chest. She saw something in that gesture. The bird was protecting his heart—a heart that Vypra had been ready to cut out only moments before.

"Maya! Watch out!"

She turned just in time to duck a sword blow from Vypra that would have been fatal. The sword crashed with the edge of the altar, thankfully missing Dustin and the phoenix.

"Go galactic!" she cried to re-morph just before another blow almost hit her. She pulled out her saber and blocked the blows, sparks flying as the battle raged.

"Vypra!" Jareth yelled from the balcony.

He and Owling looked to be on the losing end of a battle from what was going on up on the balcony. Shots from various laser guns and loud voices indicated that no one had been defeated yet. Suddenly, part of the balcony crumbled and fell forward. People froze, not expecting that particular architectural failure. The next thing she knew, Eric was shooting demons off of the balcony and down onto the floor below.

"Stupid demons," he was muttering.

"Don't like demons," Jareth asked sarcastically.

"Sorry," Eric replied. "But no."

That battle continued to rage.

With Vypra distracted by Jareth and Kelsey attacking again, Maya went to the altar and hauled Dustin's body off of the stone slab. The phoenix nudged his head as he rolled over onto her shoulder. Maya felt tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't carry him out of the temple and get his body to safety—not by herself. No… she would not let these demons win! There had to be a way to get him out of here without doing more damage.

With a roar, the griffin charged through the demons and landed in front of her at the altar. He gracefully fell to his knees, his talons clicking across the stone floor. His intent was clear. He would carry Dustin to safety. She moved his body with the phoenix nudging and helping her along. Finally, she got the Yellow Wind Ranger settled in a nest the griffin had formed between his wings.

"Take him to safety and guard him," she said to the griffin.

The griffin nodded his head and would probably have bowed if it hadn't been for the precious cargo on his back. She smiled and laid a hand on his head. He nodded again and then took off for the balcony. Maya didn't know how he was still able to fly and hold Dustin steady on his back. She didn't have time to wonder at it. Vypra swung at her again. She blocked the blow, watching Kelsey come up from behind.

This intricate dance was not good.

"You took the sacrifice!" Vypra screeched.

"Not the brightest one, are you?" Kelsey retorted. Her V-Lancer came at Vypra from behind and the demon screeched again.

"Dustin is safe!" Maya cried, blocking another unsteady blow from the sword.

"You lie," Vypra hissed.

Far above on the balcony, they could hear Jareth yelling at the demons and at Owling. "Get them! Why can't you people hold five insignificant humans!"

"It's the creatures!" someone yelled.

The sphinx suddenly dropped a couple different demons over the edge of the balcony. The next thing they knew, Kira and Taylor were in their powered up modes, gliding down over the balcony to help them.

"Staying the spirit realm got too boring?" Taylor asked.

Vypra continued her screeching and swung at them. The phoenix had left them and was managing to stop the demons on the ground. More things continued to fall from the crumbled balcony.

"I hate rangers," Vypra hissed as she took a swing at Taylor.

The Wild Force Ranger expertly ducked it and responded with a shot from her crystal saber. Kira came through in that moment and narrowly missed Vypra with her blaster.

This was a battle that Maya was not sure they would win…


The Magna Defender exchanged a glance with his son before turning his attention to Zordon. The leader of the Council of Light was standing by one of the windows in their chamber, looking out to the eternally green land they had created. The spirits of two yellow rangers stood in the chamber as well, looking to the long-time leader of the Power Rangers.

Lucivar cracked his knuckles by the table.

"This is ridiculous," the Prince of the Demons said. "I could go down there now and finish off Vypra before this madness goes any further."

"What about your code of honor?" Dimitria asked.

"I would break it," he said. "And then step down as Prince of the Demons."

"That would prove nothing," the Magna Defender said. "These yellow rangers have proved more than capable. There is no reason no to trust them." He paused. "They will send Vypra back to the grave."

Silence fell over them once more and everyone turned their attention back to Zordon. He had not moved throughout their entire exchange. The Magna Defender was worried. This was entirely unlike Zordon. He was never this quiet or brooding. Something was the matter and it wasn't that one of the yellow rangers had joined their ranks in the Council of Light. What was going on?

"Reinforcements are coming," Zordon said finally. He turned to all of them. His expression was unreadable. "I will meet them and restore the powers of those who have lost their powers."

He turned and left the chamber.

Zinka turned to his father. "Will they win, Father?" he asked.

The Magna Defender shook his head. "I don't know."

To Be Continued...