Disclaimer: Belongs to Disney. Although my Starbucks franchise is starting to loom large in my future...

RESTLESS WARRIORS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Twenty-Five: Speed of the Wind

"Fools!" Vypra said loudly. One final blow from her sword sent Kelsey and Maya flying backwards onto the floor. Kira and Taylor ran in front of them as a defensive position. Taylor looked at the demon princess. Her eyes seemed gazed over from… something… She stepped slowly up onto the altar.

There were grooves that ran along the sides of the altar. They were also slick with fresh blood. Vypra gently ran a finger in it and the finger came back sticky with it. She smiled, staring at her finger as she walked the rest of the way up the altar. She stood over the place where Dustin's body had been.

"This ceremony will go forth," Vypra hissed. "Blood has been spilt and it is still hot… we can make allowances." She paused and gave all of them loathing glances. "The power will be mine! And nothing can stand in my way!"

She reached for a vial of… herbs of some type sitting on a low table by the altar. Surprisingly enough, that table had not been knocked over in the general chaos that had followed her killing Dustin. What… She reached up with the handful of herbs and cackled.

"There's still time."

"No!" Maya screamed, rushing forward.

But any attempts to reach the altar were in vain. Owling materialized in front of them and crossed his arms over his chest. "Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Owling!" Maya pleaded. "Stop this! You're not evil."

He cocked his head and smiled. That smile was nefarious. "Not evil?" He chuckled as if the very idea of that was amusing to him. "I serve King Jareth and Princess Vypra."

"They're going to destroy the world if this succeeds," Maya replied. "No one can harness that much power. It will spin out of control and destroy the world." She stepped closer to him and powered down. "Your own brother will be destroyed."

"I don't have a brother," he hissed. He raised a thin hand and slapped Maya away from the steps. She stumbled backwards. Taylor reached out and steadied her.

"Maya," Taylor said. "Whatever's wrong with this guy, we're not going to gain anything by letting him push us around or talking to him."

"I have no intention of letting him push us around," Maya growled. She held her morpher out. "Go galactic!" She was morphed once more.

Taylor looked around. The four of them standing in front of the altar were the four yellow rangers that were left. She, Kira and Kelsey stepped forward to form a line with Maya. She glanced down the line and smiled when she saw how they had arranged themselves. Maya was at the far end with Kelsey on her left. Taylor stood next to her with Kira on her left. It was the order in which they had become Power Rangers.

Conner, Tori and Eric were still up on the balcony.

It was up to them—the Yellow Rangers, the ones this task had been assigned to.

"You will not get away with this," Maya growled. She jumped up and landed in a defensive position. She almost looked like a wolf. "Galaxy Yellow," she said, announcing her intentions to the fairy before them. Rangers announced their color and team affiliation before large battles, when something could go wrong. It was kind of stupid, but all of them had done it and there was pride in it.

Kelsey saluted and landed into her defensive position. "Yellow ranger," she started. "Rescue ready."

Taylor pushed off the ground and landed into the defensive position she had used for years, even before becoming a ranger. "Soaring eagle!" she called.

Kira was the last one to go. She landed in her position and called, "Ptera power!" She paused and followed it by, "Yellow ranger!"

Owling smirked. "You chits think you can battle me to get to the altar?"

"We don't think," Taylor snapped. "We know."

After a moment's pause, the four of them rushed forward. Wherever this fairy had learned to fight, he had learned it from the best. Each move, he blocked, including weapons even though he, himself, had no weapon. It was insane how good this fairy was…

"Remember," Maya cried at him as she swung at him with her saber.

He grabbed the end of the saber and flung it away from him. "I remember nothing."

Kira ran at him with her Ptera-Grips. Sparks flew from where she hit him before he threw her backwards. Taylor fired with her crystal saber. He opened his palm and caught the energy in his palm, blasting it back at her. The force of it flung her backwards so that she landed next to Kira.

"Are you all right?" the Dino Ranger asked.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"You can't stop me," Owling said. "I'm immortal."

"That's nice," Taylor said sarcastically, firing her crystal saber. That caught him off guard and he landed on one of the steps to the altar.

"Looks like he's not so tough," Kira commented.

Vypra remained in the background, oblivious to them. Taylor wanted so badly to get around Owling and charge at the altar, knock whatever was in Vypra's hand to the floor, but each time she also succeeded, Owling would throw her back. The same thing continued to happen to the others. Vypra was muttering an incantation and sprinkling the herbs in the blood on the altar. Something was happening. Taylor could feel the energy gathering in the room, but she had to concentrate on taking Owling down.

"Quasar launcher!" Maya called. Immediately, a huge bazooka looking thing was on her shoulder. She fired a blast of yellow energy at Owling. It stunned him for a second.

And that second was all that Taylor needed.

She skirted around Owling and to the small table sitting beside the altar. With a deft kick, she knocked over the table, scattering the contents all over the floor. "You, silly girl," Vypra taunted. "I don't need that table anymore."

Taylor kicked at the vial she held in her hand. But she never made contact with the demon or what the demon was holding. Vypra threw out her free hand and Taylor felt like phantom restraints were holding her.

"You are bothersome," Vypra sneered.

She lifted her hand and Taylor felt herself lift with the action. Soon she was high in the temple. Vypra opened her palm and made a pushing action. Taylor felt herself thrown against the wall as the phantom restraints disappeared. As she hit the floor, she felt herself involuntarily power down.


Z haphazardly parked the Jeep in the camp. She had driven most of the way to Mariner Bay with the sirens on, giving her free clearance through the traffic. Of course, that was highly against the SPD handbook, but she didn't care. If Crugger or someone caught her, she would be able to explain… maybe… The camp site in Mariner Bay was crawling with Halloween crazies and little kids in costumes.

She jumped out of the Jeep and ran towards the camp site. Distant voices told her she was going in the correct direction. It was almost like something was calling her to go in the correct direction. She ran into a clearing that looked like it was full of old ruins of something. Skidding to a halt, she froze at the figure in the moonlight.

A thing that looked almost like a lion, except for the talon and the beak, was sitting next to a hatch in the ground. Someone was lying on the ground next to him. She ran forward and knelt next to the man on the ground.

He was dead… He was the one she had seen in the vision.

Z looked up at the creature. It nodded at her. He was guarding the man. She didn't know how or why, but he was guarding it. The creature also seemed to know she was another yellow ranger and there to help since he hadn't attacked her—and it was obvious that he could.

"A Space Patrol Delta officer?" a voice asked.

Z stood up and faced the voice. A woman was walking towards her. She was wearing a yellow sweater over a blouse. Her hair was light brown and pulled back into a simple ponytail. Something about her screamed 'mom.' Her eyes fell onto the man lying next to the griffin.

"He's the one that died," she whispered. She looked at Z. "You're a yellow ranger too?"

Z nodded. "SPD B squad Yellow Ranger." She paused. "I'm Elizabeth Delgado. But most people call me Z."

The woman nodded. "I'm Ashley Hammond." She held up a wrist with something that looked like a morpher on it. "The Yellow Space Ranger."

"Who was he?" Z asked, looking at the man again.

Ashley shrugged. "I don't know. I only know about the rangers up to the Galaxy Rangers and he's too young to have been with them."

"Hey!"

The pair looked up to see three African-American women coming towards them. One of them had long hair in tiny braids—most of which was tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing pale yellow scrubs and a white lab coat. Another one had shorter, straight hair and was wearing a yellow jacket over jeans and a shirt. The final one had curly hair and was wearing a strange white uniform.

"Ashley!" one of the women said and they embraced.

Introductions were done quickly. Z learned that the first woman was Aisha Campbell, the second yellow ranger on Earth. The woman who had known Ashley was Tanya Sloane-Park, the Yellow Zeo Ranger. The final woman had met up with the pair of them at the entrance to the camp. She was Katie Walker, the Yellow Time Force Ranger and from the year 3004. Any other time, Z would have been overwhelmed to see this many yellow rangers in one spot, but right now, it didn't seem important.

"Rangers."

A warm, deep voice interrupted the formalities. Z turned and saw a bald man wearing a black kimono standing behind them. It wouldn't have fazed her, except for the fact that the man was transparent and bluish. He almost looked like a ghost…

"Zordon?" Aisha and Tanya asked at the same time.

"Yes," he replied. "There isn't much time. The five of you must help your fellow yellow rangers stop Vypra and her madness."

"Who's Vypra?" Z asked.

Zordon gave her a compassionate gaze. "A demon. She is trying to destroy the gates between the mortal realm and the spirit realm. She believes that she will gain much power by doing this. However, the power is so great, that she cannot harness it. It will be sent into the world and destroy this realm and the spirit realm."

"That's great," Z said weakly.

"Aisha, Tanya," Zordon said. "Step forward. I will restore your morphing power to you so that you can help win this battle."

The two women stepped forward. Blue sparkles went towards them and a large device appeared in Aisha's hand. Two strange looking bracelets appeared on Tanya's wrists. However, neither of them looked disturbed. Z supposed that that was their morphers.

Zordon looked at all of them. "You have all served the legacy well. Now it is time for you to step up and help the others." His gaze went directly to her. Z felt uncomfortable under that gaze. It was like he could see to her very soul. "Elizabeth," he said. "You are the newest yellow ranger. The choice could not have been better."

"Where do we need to go?" Aisha asked.

Zordon motioned to the sewer pothole that was near the griffin. "The lair is through there. Take the north direction and it will lead you straight to where you need to go."

"Who was he?" Ashley asked, motioning to the still man.

"He was Dustin Brooks," Zordon replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. "He was the Yellow Wind Ranger." He paused. "I hope that his sacrifice will not be in vain." He glanced at all of them. "Good luck rangers. Morph here and then enter the lair. May the power protect you."

With that, he disappeared into blue sparkles.

"Well," Ashley said. "I guess we need to morph."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Z looked at them and realized that the morphing would start with the most experienced ranger—and that appeared to be Aisha.

Aisha stepped forward. "Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," the group confirmed.

"Ninjetti—the bear!" Aisha was transformed. Her uniform resembled a yellow ninja type outfit, her face completely covered save for two eye holes.

"Zeo ranger 2—yellow!" The Yellow Zeo Ranger appeared. She had a skirt on her uniform along with some strange gold marking around her collar and gloves.

"Let's rocket!" Ashley called. The Yellow Space Ranger came into being. She also had a skirt along with five different colored squares across her chest. Her helmet was also identical to the helmets that the A squad at SPD had.

"Time for Time Force!" Katie appeared as the Yellow Time Force Ranger. She didn't have a skirt, but the visor on her helmet was yellow. It made Z wonder how she could see.

It was her turn. "SPD emergency!" she called. In a second, she was transformed.

Aisha turned and looked at all of them, before each of them jumped down the hatch into a dark tunnel. "Let's go," Aisha said as they started to walk in the direction that Zordon had pointed them.


"Taylor!" Kira cried as the Wild Force Ranger powered down. Taylor was slumped against the wall on the far side of the temple. She was dirty and looked to be unconscious from the line of blood running down from her temple.

Owling shook his head. "When will you learn?"

"Kira!" Maya yelled as she swung at Owling with her saber. "Go to Taylor and make sure she's okay!"

Kira nodded and shot at Owling with her blaster. The fairy snarled and stepped back, only to be accosted by Kelsey and Maya. She ran across the room and knelt down next to Taylor's still form. She was breathing—that much was good.

"Taylor," she said, shaking her fellow yellow ranger. "Taylor!"

She blinked and focused her blue eyes on Kira. "Kira?" she croaked.

"Just stay here," Kira said. "Stay out of the way."

Something jumped from the balcony down to the temple floor. Kira looked and saw the sphinx heading straight for them. She smiled—this one had to be Taylor's ancient animal spirit. From what she had seen with the griffin and the way it mourned for Dustin, she knew that each spirit was fiercely protective of them.

"I will guard her," the sphinx said in her voice that almost sounded like singing. "Don't worry about her."

Kira nodded. The sphinx stepped forward and curled her body around Taylor. The Wild Force Ranger's fingers grasped at the soft lion fur on the sphinx's body. She turned and looked to where Maya and Kelsey were still battling Owling. On the balcony, Eric, Conner, Tori and the unicorn were fighting the never-ending stream of Batlings, various demons and goblins. The Pegasus was flying by the ceiling with the phoenix.

Where were all these goblins coming from?

Goblins poured from another door to the main temple. Maya and Kelsey wouldn't be able to take on them and Owling. She gave a shrill whistle. No one else turned but the unicorn. Those bright blue eyes alighted on her and there was a flicker of understanding. He reared back with a wild snort and jumped over the goblins on the balcony. In a graceful arc, he landed on the ground of the temple and galloped over to her.

"You're like the fighting unicorns from Narnia, aren't you?" she whispered, stroking the snow-white flank, before swinging herself onto the unicorn.

He whinnied and reared on his hind legs. She had to grab his mane in order to stay on. Turning in a half-circle, he charged at the goblins on the ground, swinging his horn in a long stroke. She had never noticed that a unicorn's horn could become a weapon before. She had always viewed unicorns as something pure and innocent, untouched by the world. But those horns were sharp and could impale something on it. Unicorns really were fighters and not something that was easily scared off.

She twisted on his back to see the sphinx smacking goblins away from her and Taylor with her large lion paw. The goblins would squeal as they went backwards. For their numbers, goblins sure were easily defeated. It made her wonder how all these goblins were being created—was if for every one that died two came about? She didn't know and she didn't care. This battle was slowly going downhill.

"Fire of night," Vypra was screeching, her arms raised towards the ceiling of the room. The crushed herbs in her hands went all over the place. Maya and Kelsey struggled against Owling to reach her and stop her.

"Don't!" Maya was screaming.

On the balcony, the Pegasus landed, flapping his large and powerful wings, driving back the goblins that were attacking Eric, Conner and Tori. The phoenix landed on Eric's shoulder and several large tears fell onto his shoulder. He grabbed it and rolled it, then saluted the phoenix.

"Thanks," he said.

The unicorn swung his horn in another wide arc. Goblins scattered, trying not to be in the path of that sharp, lethal horn. Kira pushed her legs against the unicorn's sides. "To the altar," she whispered to her animal.

He charged forward, causing goblins to jump out of the path. She hated to think what happened to the goblins that weren't quick enough to move. Another wide arc with the horn cleared most of the goblins away from Maya and Kelsey so that they could keep on fighting Owling. She steered the unicorn around so that they were standing in between Maya and Kelsey and the oncoming goblins.

"Hear my spell!" Vypra cried.

Dark clouds began to form at the ceiling of the temple. What was happening here? The goblins started to squeak and shy away, especially from the unicorn. Batlings flew around and a few were taken down by the unicorn's horn.

"We need help!" someone screamed.

Kira vaguely recalled Maya's web of dreams. If Dustin was dead, it would have come to life, but how would those other yellow rangers know where to find them? It seemed to her that their reinforcements had come in the shape and size of their ancient animal spirits. Could it be possible that the other yellow rangers would come?

"By the light of All Hallow's Moon," Vypra continued.

The dark clouds began to swirl around and streaks of lightening crossed them. Kira swallowed and hung onto the unicorn for dear life. The last thing she wanted was to go flying across the room and land God only knows where.

"Energy and blood spilt here—harvest thyself for my use!"

The herbs and blood on the altar began to rise and swirl. It was like that mixture and the dark clouds above them would combine to do… whatever it was Vypra was going to do to destroy the gates between the realms. Something had to be done, but what? She was protecting Maya and Kelsey.

"For this purpose, the gates must be destroyed…"

"No!" Maya was screaming. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"Silence!" Owling told her, throwing her backwards. She backed into the unicorn. He turned and looked at Owling. Kira suddenly had an idea. Whispering into the unicorn's ear, he snorted and pawed the ground.

The next thing she knew, the unicorn had rushed forward—Maya and Kelsey jumping out of the way—and had impaled Owling on his long horn. Owling was stunned for a moment, but a smile cracked his face.

"You forget. I'm immortal." He pushed himself off of the horn, the hole in his stomach healing as he did it.

"Look!" Maya yelled.

Kira turned and looked up on the balcony. Five other figures in yellow ranger suits were standing up there. Could it be? The other Yellow Rangers had heard their cry?

To Be Continued...


Author's Note: Midterms... whoever invented them should be shot! I just want to let everyone know that I've been reading the reviews. Thanks for all your kind words and support! I'm off to type the take-home portion of my 19th Century American Literature midterm... then it's spring break! Finally!