Mathais: Welcome!
Chibi Jun: Hello! Tenth Chapter!
Mathais: And about the same amount to come. *buries face*
Chibi Jun: Don't be sad!
Mathais: Yeah, it won't do.
Chibi Jun: Disclaimers are in previous chapter and they won't be repeated.
Justin: *pops out of no where* Enjoy!
* * * * * * *
Dear Journal,
Yeah, it's me, Justin. So much has happened today, it's not even funny or joyful. We clashed with the Astros again. This time, we managed to capture one, the Blue Ranger, and we found out that he was TJ! Wow! We sent TJ off to deal with the Astros with antidotes. We, here, had to deal with a monster attack! A huge one! Knightion and the Living Armors were so hard to beat. When he grew, we had to use both the Humanist and Beastist Megazords to take him down. And then, we had to deal with reporters. We're scheduled for a press conference tomorrow. Thank the Power that it's a Saturday tomorrow. I talk with the Astros later. Maybe we could visit the Power Chamber and remember it. Well, see you!
~Justin
Justin sighed as he tucked his pen into his journal. When did my life get so screwed up? The Fire Ranger shook his head. Not screwed up. Hectic. Yes, hectic. When I first moved to Boston, I guess. Justin let a few slow tears escape from his eyes. Sometimes I miss the old days. But, these powers are bonded with me. I can't give them up till death. Justin slowly shook his head, drifting off into sleep.
When he got up, it was morning. Justin went through his usual routine and changed into clothing better than the boxers he wore to bed. Racing downstairs, he slammed his pads and blades on before calling inside. I'm leaving dad!"
"Wait! Justin!" His dad rushed out. "We were planning on going out together today!"
Justin almost froze as he bladed out of there. The key word was almost. He acted as if he didn't hear, his heart hurting the whole way. Once out of sight, he teleported away in a column of orange, no one noticing.
Landing in the Command Base, he stripped his gear and greeted the two residents. "Good morning Kamion, Zeta."
"Good morning."
"Do you know when the others are going to get here?" Justin asked.
"Adriana is just waking up, Cassy is eating a quick breakfast, and Alex, Jace, and Lina are in the bathroom." Zeta reported.
Justin only arched an eyebrow. He decided to amuse himself by reading up on the Powers, something that he hadn't had a chance to do in a while. Leaving the main room of his base, Justin headed to the library. There, he pulled out a book in the language of Eltar, which was surprisingly almost the same as American English. As Justin immersed himself in the history and powers of the twelve Elemental Powers, he found a lot of things as he delved deeper into it.
"Justin?" The Orange Ranger of Fire started as he looked up from the book. Adriana was in the doorway, hugging the frame with one hand.
"Yeah?"
"The others are here. Kamion wants us now." The Silver Ranger of Wind explained.
"All right." Deftly, he placed a bookmark into it and stood. "Let's go."
The two made their way to the main room, neither speaking. When they entered, the two saw the other Rangers there already.
"You are going to make a press appearance, are you not?" Kamion asked.
"Yes," Justin nodded, "we are."
"It is scheduled for now?" Kamion received affirmatives. "So by all means, go!"
"Right!" Justin nodded as all six took their morphing stance. "Element Morph!" They teleported away in their Ranger forms.
* * * * * * *
The six columns of colored light called the attention of the reporters assembled.
Justin waved. "Hi!"
A security guard pointed to several seats set up behind a table, like in public speeches or conferences after sports games. "For you."
"Thank you." The six sat on the seats.
No one spoke for a lot of the time. Several nervous and bored habits were shown by the Rangers as they waited. Adriana twiddled her thumbs, Alex tapped his foot, Cassy shifted her eyes to everyone, even if on the outside no one saw, Lina tapped her fingers to an unknown beat on the table, Jace laid his head on his arms and yawned audibly, and Justin was sitting politely, hands folded, if his demeanor showed boredom.
"So," one daring news anchor started, "you're Power Rangers?"
"Yes." Justin nodded, pleased that the questioning had finally begun.
"What are your names?" another news anchor picked up.
"I'm the Orange Fire Ranger of Mind. This is the Aqua Water Ranger of Spirit." Jace waved. "Silver Wind Ranger of Mind." Adriana held up two fingers in greeting. "Gold Thunder Ranger of Body." Lina merely nodded. "Brown Earth Ranger of Body." Alex inclined his head. "Purple Ice Ranger of Spirit." Cassy tried to smile, but due to her helmet, she only waved.
"Do you know the identities of your predecessors of Angel Grove?"
"Yes," Justin slowly answered, "however, due to their inactivity, their identities are not to be compromised so they can live a normal life."
"Whom do you fight?" another one asked.
"Our enemies are spirits." Cassy answered. "Ethereal beings summoned from another dimension." She shrugged. "We haven't found the summoners just yet, but we've been defending the city from attacks."
"How long have you been defending us?" one woman asked.
The six exchanged glances. Jace poked Alex, who swatted his brother, but spoke up.
"We've been doing this for about a year. The previous holders did this for about a year also."
"Who were the previous holders?" one stupid reporter piped.
"Their identities are to be kept secret." Adriana answered, teeth and fists clenched.
"What kind of powers do you employ?" a man in a blue suit asked, eager to find out and eager to change the subject.
"The forces of the elements. Just plain magic." Jace held a hand into the air. "Aquatic Spear!" A javelin of pure water hovered above the Ranger's head before disappearing in a wink.
Many people gasped.
Lina sighed. "Remember the rules we stated. It's bad enough you all found out, but tourists will flock here upon mention of Power Rangers, which means it'll take more magic to revive people if they die." The girl sighed once more. "Aqua Water Ranger and Brown Earth Ranger have enough trouble."
They talked for a while until Justin stood up. "I'm sorry, but we have to leave."
The reporters and news anchors bustled around, getting footage and photo shots of the Rangers.
"Bye!" Jace waved as they teleported away.
* * * * * * *
The six landed in the Control Base and immediately slumped to the ground, demorphed.
Jace made a face. "I don't like putting up masks like that."
Alex nodded. "But we can't let them know that their defenders are a bunch of thirteen-year-olds either. I had to be done. I think the Japanese term was shitaka ga nai."
The Japanese boy nodded.
"You guys wanna hang out here until we meet the Astros?" Justin asked. He received a chorus of affirmatives, as all six broke apart. Cassy and Alex went off to practice a dance routine, Lina to the gym, Adriana to the book, and Justin followed Jace, who went off to sketch.
The Ranger of Fire stood silently to the side as Jace brought out a sketchbook that Justin had only seen the outside of. Inside were pictures of all the Rangers, including Brady.
Justin also noticed that there were a lot of Casey pictures compared to the rest of them.
"Justin?" Jace asked without looking up.
"Yeah?"
"I still need that body shot of you."
"No prob." Justin walked into the smaller boy's view.
"Okay. Bend your arm a bit and there! Perfect!" The boy began to sketch something.
"So," Justin conversed casually, "do you think we should do something? About the former Rangers, I mean."
Jace nearly froze in his drawing. He continued anyway. "Alex has some sculptures of the Rangers, morphed, even his own. We could make trophies or something. Maybe even, like, get some of their old projects. Just something so that the cold cases are closed."
"Secretly, of course." Justin nodded to the ideas Jace had said. "And cold cases are bad."
"Especially ones that aren't solved sooner or later and these will never be solved if we withhold the information." Jace stuck the tip of his tongue out of his mouth. "I'll get Alex to work on them when we get back."
"No problem." Justin smiled.
"Done." Jace held out the finished product and Justin admitted that he'd done an awesome job. Though he had to admit, his clothes didn't fit nearly as tightly as the pictures showed.
"Can I see your other drawings?"
"Sure." Jace handed the sketchbook over.
Justin flipped through the pages, marveling at the figures inside. Seeing what the majority of the pictures, Justin looked up. "You like Cassy and worship Alex, don't you?"
A blush tinged Jace's face. "Kind of..."
Justin smiled lightly, feeling like getting something off his chest. "Don't worry. I like Adriana like you like Cassy. I used to worship someone also."
"Really?" Jace returned with a brighter smile.
"Yup!" Justin nodded and glanced at his wrist. "Oh! It's time to meet the Astros!"
"It is?" Jace blinked. "Oh it is!"
"C'mon then." Justin led the smaller boy through the twisting corridors, both eager. They went through halls until they came upon a well-known door. Opening it, they entered the main room where the others were waiting.
"TJ said to wait for him at Angel Grove Park." Lina explained.
"All right." Justin put the coordinates and they teleported away.
* * * * * * *
Landing in the park, Justin looked around and was assaulted with memories. It's been almost a year since I was last here. Powers, it's as clean as ever.
With a small smile, Justin walked around it, feeling the sights again with both physical and magical senses.
"It's so pure." Alex remarked, placing a hand on the soft grass and feeling with his magic. "So full of life and magic."
"Citizens of Angel Grove are usually idol citizens." Justin admitted.
"Yeah, usually they are." A voice behind them admitted also.
The Rangers turned around in surprise, Adriana forming an orb of wind in her hand behind her back.
TJ stood with five other people. Adriana relaxed and let her ball disappear.
"Cassie? Ashley? Carlos?" Justin whispered, his knees going slightly weak.
"Justin?" One Asian girl took a step back.
"Oh god." A Caucasian woman also did so.
"I can't believe it." Another man whispered.
"Elementalists," TJ introduced, "I'm TJ Johnson and this is Cassie Chan, Ashley Hammond, Carlos Valgos, Andros, and Zhane." A teen with blonde hair and black streaks waved with another boy beside him.
"Hello Astros," Justin replied just as formally, "I'm Justin Stewart. This is Jace Mai, Adriana Budinski, Lina Rana, Alex Mai, and Cassy Lee." The five other Elementalists waved, some a bit shier than others. Jace hid behind his brother as Cassy did the same thing to Lina.
"It's all right Jace." Alex whispered, treating Jace like he always did when the younger boy met new, older people - like a frightened child.
"Yeah." Lina added, coaxing the suddenly shy Cassy out. "They won't hurt you."
"Sorry 'bout that." Justin threw a quick smile. "Jace's shy naturally and Cassy's wary of strangers."
"Yeah." Adriana enforced.
"It's no problem." Zhane nodded. "Some people just are."
"It's been a while, hasn't it Cassie? Ashley? Carlos?" Justin smiled weakly.
"Very long." Cassie added.
"Can we not talk in a park." Alex asked, shifting his eyes around. "It's too..."
"Open." Cassy finished, coming out from behind Lina.
"Yeah." Jace added. "The last thing I need today is a fight."
"How about we head to the Youth Center?" Carlos chipped in.
"Youth Center?" The non-Angel Grovians blinked.
"It's this place where people out age can hang out." Ashley explained.
"Oh." Alex nodded. "That's fine."
The group of twelve left the park, no one speaking. Inside the Youth Center, they grabbed a couple of tables and Ashley turned to Justin.
"Spill. I want to know everything about your new life."
And so, Justin started talking bout his adventures, shortened of course, with comments coming from the others occasionally.
"And just yesterday," Justin added, "we fought this knight. He was really hard and we had to use both of our Megazords, one in its first real battle, to beat him."
"Wow." Ashley leaned back in her seat. "Amazing."
"I've heard that Earth's Rangers are miracle workers," Andros breathed, "but this takes the cake."
"We've been really busy lately." Alex acknowledged.
"Very busy." Jace confirmed.
While the group conversed, Justin opened up a mind link with his friends. Should I asked them whether or not we should visit the ruins of the Power Chamber?
It's only fair. Adriana responded.
Besides, if people haven't picked any of it, there may be something salvageable. Cassy added.
Perhaps. Justin admitted. Storm Blaster?
Justin felt attention flow toward him and if didn't imagine it, a faint yes came with it.
Think you can Shift into Turbo and race over to the old site of the Power Chamber?
An affirmative was received by Justin as Storm Blaster left the Control Base.
"Guys?" Justin interrupted the current conversation.
"Yes Justin?" All attention was focused on the young Fire Ranger.
"How would you guys feel if we made one last stop at the Power Chamber, for closure and salvaging sake?"
That made all the former Turbos pause
"I guess." Cassie tried to shrug nonchalantly, but failed miserably.
"It could work." Carlos said.
"Maybe." Ashley bit her lip.
"For salvaging sake." TJ agreed.
"Let's go then." All the Rangers stood up, but something crossed Adriana's mind at that moment. Urgently, she led Justin to the empty hallway.
"What is it?" Justin asked, uncomfortable with being along with Adriana.
The Wind Ranger murmured a few words and brought her hand across Justin's eyes. The Fire Ranger felt magic flow over him, but couldn't find the effects.
"A glamour spell." Adriana explained. "To keep casual observers from noticing who you are."
"Good idea." Justin responded before walking back.
"What happened?" Cassie asked when they came back.
Jace gave Justin a critical eye. "There's a glamour spell over you. Easily rendered ineffective by people with any sort of Power with them, but chances are we won't find any, right?"
The former Turbos nodded before finding an empty hallway away from prying eyes and teleported away.
Two young men were watching scanning the room.
"Adam?" One man asked, his Hispanic features familiar to many.
"Yeah?" The Korean man replied absently.
"I thought I just saw Justin here." Adam blinked and came into focus at this.
"You do realize that Justin lives in Boston now." Adam reminded his friend.
"I talked to him online, so yeah I know that he lives in Boston. He seemed really anxious to keep us from visiting him." Rocky admitted.
"He did?" Adam blinked. "But Kat and Tommy are visiting him. Even Tanya is."
"They are?" Rocky smiled a bit. "We should too. Back to the point. Justin's here."
"Okay, say I believe you," Adam started, "how would he have gotten here midday when it takes about six hours to get here from Boston without telling us? Why would he be here?"
"Teleportation and there could be something wrong with the new team." Rocky instantly responded.
"They may need our help." Adam mused.
"Right." His friend nodded. "Can you drive us there?"
"Yeah, come on, let's go." Leaving a few bills on the counter, Adam and Rocky left the building and as quick as thought were out of the parking lot and off to the desert.
* * * * * * *
"It's horrible." Jace put a hand to his mouth.
"How could this have happened?" Andros asked, jaw hanging as they stared at the destruction before them.
They were at the ruins of the Power Chamber, looking just as if it happened yesterday. Stone and shrapnel were everywhere; none of it had eroded after the months that had gone by.
Justin closed his eyes as tears run down his face.
"It was horrible." Cassie agreed. "They swarmed us and our mentor wasn't here to help."
"Where is Dimitria anyway?" TJ wondered.
As if that set off something in Fate's work, a loud crash echoed throughout the area and a bunch of Quantrons teleported in, surrounding the Rangers instantly.
None had time to morph as they were swarmed.
TJ and Jace found themselves back to back. The Astro Ranger jumped into the fray with a flying kick, smashing into a Quantron with a flying kick. Jace, after his initial punch failed, started pouring magic into his arms and legs. TJ was a whirlwind of activity, punching one Quantron in the face before kicking one behind him. TJ ducked a blow before leaping over the next and landing on the head of one of his robotic foes, crushing it with his weight. Jumping off of the Quantron, he spun around and kicked the body into some of the ones that were rushing him, causing them to stumble into Jace's magic fueled punches. The boy back flipped and drove his feet through a robot then arched his leg and spun around his balance foot, killing a circle of Quantrons. Thrusting his hand out, Jace called his next attack. "Tsunami Uprising." His palms glowed an aqua color as a wave of magical water flew through the area, destroying Quantrons as it went. Finding themselves with breathing space, the two Rangers looked at each other. "Aqua Water Power!" "Let's Rocket!" Aqua Water and Blue Astro looked at each other before jumped back into the battle, Jace drawing his staff and TJ, his axe.
Cassie, Adriana, Ashley, and Lina were together. Cassy and Ashley were fighting them off by hand, but the Elementalists' bodies were still young and quick weak against metal, so they had resorted to magic. Ashley kicked one Quantron and another one exploded via a bolt of lightning from Lina. Several more found their mark as Ashley destroyed another few with punches and kicks. Cassie kicked a Quantron in the chest and threw another one over her head. Adriana used a gust of wind to blow the Quantrons in the air and destroyed it with gravity. They continued to wreak havoc, picking up makeshift weapons as they went. At last, they had a little time on their hands. "Let's Rocket!" "Gold Thunder Power!" "Silver Wind Power!" The four Rangers returned to kicking ass.
"Frozen Tundra!" "Earthen Quake!" A frost of pretty much lower than sub-zero temperatures covered a large section of the landscape and quakes swallowed some more of the Quantrons. Either they suffered a malfunction from frost or were eaten alive; those that survived quickly became prey to Carlos and Zhane. Carlos tossed one over his shoulder before ducking a slash and sweeping his enemy off his feet. He bounced off the chest of a Quantron and plowed into another one, leaving an open line for Zhane to rush. Cassy was shooting blasts of ice from her hands and was piercing the armor easily while Alex was creating gaps in the land and sealed them up after the Quantrons inside were crushed to death. "Purple Ice Power!" Cassy found the time to morph and started to create breathing space, allowing the others to morph as well. "Brown Earth Power!" "Let's Rocket!" Drawing their melee weapons, the four started to fight effectively.
Justin and Andros were working together. Andros tossed a Quantron to the side and watched as a group were bathed in flames via Justin. The boy flicked his wrist and two more Quantrons melted. Andros caught a punch and reversed it, knocking the Quantron down and jamming his foot into the head. A blast of fire turned a would-be surprise attacker into scrap metal as Justin continued to throw bursts of flame around. Andros quickly beheaded another Quantron before jumping up and dodging out, letting two Quantrons kill each other. Justin created a tornado of fire around himself, dispelling attacks. "Orange Fire Power!" In his morphed state, Justin quickly allowed Andros some breathing room. "Let's Rocket!" The two team leaders drew their swords and started to kill even more effectively.
"They just keep coming!" Adriana shouted.
"How come they can afford to waste so many soldiers on just us? This doesn't bode well for the future." Cassie grimaced, even as her Satellite Stunner obliterated several Quantrons in one shot.
"You want to know why?" A voice asked as the rest of the Quantrons vanished. "I'll tell you why." A figure came into view. She was seven feet tall and wore a black cloak covering her body, the fabric embroidered with the signs of speed and protection. Her face was beautiful, but her aura was stained with evil. She carried a pair of nunchucks and wore a knife on her belt. The woman stared into the blue sky, remembering.
* * * * * * *
"Larana, come here." A voice shouted.
"Yes, Dark Specter?" The woman bowed and kneeled.
"Divatox is coming." Larana couldn't stop the sneer from appearing on her face. Dark Specter went on, regardless. "She said that she has lost the sentient cars. However, she seemed to have gained valuable information."
"And sire?" Larana asked.
"If she was outlived her usefulness, I want you to end her miserable life."
"Of course. What would you prefer, a throat shot or magical fireworks?"
"Hmmm..." Dark Specter seemed to think. "I haven't seen fireworks in a long time. Make them pretty."
"Yes." Larana faded into the shadows.
"Divatox, sire." A guard called as the pirate queen entered.
"Dark Specter." Divatox bowed stiffly.
"Divatox." The evil monarch acknowledged.
"Excuse me while I forego the pleasantries and cut to the chase. What are you doing here?"
"As you already know, I recently lost me sentient cars, Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser." Divatox started.
"Yes, I am aware of that." Dark Specter admitted.
"What I didn't tell was that I lost them to a new Ranger team."
"Another Ranger team?" Dark Specter dismissed as he felt magic building up in the room. "They pop up all the time."
"But this one called themselves the Power Rangers Elementalists and employed magic. Humans with magic!" Divatox grudgingly admitted. "They defeated my foot troops with ease."
Dark Specter was beyond shocked. The Elementalists have awakened? And I didn't know? That means the Dark Avatars of the Elements have been awakened also. "Stationed on Earth?"
"Yes." Divatox nodded.
So the Dark Avatars are on Earth, the planet of ignorance yet so full of power. "Thank you for the information. You will be paid upon leaving."
"Thank you." Divatox bowed and left.
"Elementalists, sire?" Larana phased back in, returning her spell to her body.
"Powerful controllers of the elements. The Elementalists were created specifically to combat the Dark Avatars during a long war." Dark Specter sighed wearily. "Take ten squadrons of Quantrons and test the strength of the Elementalists."
"Ten squadrons?" Larana was surprised. "Are they that powerful?"
"Yes, yes they are." Dark Specter nodded.
* * * * * * *
"You effectively left half a squadron left out of ten, even with most of the battle in natural form." Larana praised. "You will not get past me, however. Split Form!" Larana copied herself into six formed, all wearing different colors. All six charged at the same time.
"Lava Pool!" A large expanse of lava covered the area in front of the Larana with a blue cloak, but a blast of water created a rocky walkway and Justin let the magic disappear. Andros had charged in, Justin as support, and gave a jump slash. Blue Larana dodged before tossing her nunchuck into Andros's stomach and twisting her end of the weapon around, blocking Justin's incoming fireball. The woman then raised her hand into the air and summoned several pillars of water that coursed through their small fighting area. Justin back flipped to avoid one, but Andros wasn't as lucky - he slammed into Jace, who was fighting with TJ against Yellow Larana. Jace gave a soft growl and clenched his fist, dispelling the rampaging waters before being blown into Andros's embrace by a large thunderbolt. TJ covered his friends and deflected the next thunderbolts into the sky before beginning his special attack. As he span, Yellow Larana shot more thunderbolts, but they deflected into Blue Larana, who stumbled in shock. Jace and TJ switched targets, going after Blue Larana as Justin and Andros pressed the attack on Yellow Larana.
Alex was blown back from a gust of wind by the Pink Larana and caught Cassy as she flew by from a particularly nasty blast of fire from Red Larana. Carlos jumped in and thrust his staff forward, but Pink Larana merely dodged and fired a wind orb. Red Larana's spiral ray of flame deflected it however. Alex focused a bit and thrust his hand forward. "Quake Stream!" The tremor ran through the Earth and sent the two Laranas sprawling, to get them slashed by ice daggers, a curved horn staff, and a particularly sharp sword. Red Larana rebounded and sent a swarm of fireballs at them. Cassy created a shield that melted, but still dissipated the magic. Alex growled softly and saw Yellow Larana. He charged at her and threw Justin and Andros out of the battle. Taking the hint, their leaders went off went off to find another enemy. TJ and Jace jumped away from Blue Larana and plowed into Red Larana, letting Cassy and Zhane head off Pink Larana and leaving Blue Larana confused.
Lina and Adriana combined their magic and called a thunderstorm. It didn't work that well on Purple Larana or Brown Larana. As they went for another go with their magic, Cassie and Ashley were keeping their enemies at bay with long ranged attacks. One particular hit from a Satellite Stunner's ring blast caused Purple Larana to shriek in pain as the Star Slinger knocked Brown Larana down. The two Astro Rangers twisted their right wrists, less used weapons appearing. Hitting command one, they leapt into the air. "Laser Punch!" With fists glowing their respective colors, the girls smashed their hands into the Larana's faces, forcing them back in time for a bout of wind and thunder. Justin and Andros leapt in then, taking care of Purple Larana. Adriana and Cassie went for Brown Larana as Lina and Ashley headed for the still confused Blue Larana.
All six Laranas drew back suddenly. As one, they raised their hands to the sky, a dark portal appearing above them.
Justin smiled grimly. "If it's a magic fight they want, it's a magic fight they'll get. Star Formation, Point Fire!"
The six Elementalists went into their main formation, the Astros readying their weapons.
"Power of the Mind, Orange Fire!"
"Power of the Spirit, Aqua Water!"
"Power of the Body, Gold Thunder!"
"Power of the Mind, Silver Wind!"
"Power of the Body, Brown Earth!"
"Power of the Spirit, Purple Ice!"
As one, all six Elementalists shouted. "We summon the Star of Light!"
Just as the void of darkness spouted a beam of darkness, a star shaped barrier surrounded the Elementalists, fueled by different colors that turned into white. The two magics clashed, the barrier turning into a force that drove back the black magic, but not completely. It was a game of tug-of-war, the midpoint pushing to one side before returning to the other. This was a game that the Astros didn't want to play. "Quadro Blaster!" "Spiral Saber Booster Mode!" "Super Silverizer Blaster Mode!" The three weapons fired, pushing the attack in the Ranger's favor and smashing it into the Laranas. A loud explosion took place, deafening to all.
She instantly returned into one person, coughing crimson up weakly. "I guess I was wrong."
"You don't split into elements against Elementalists." Justin tsked.
"It seems that mistake was fatal." Larana hacked up some more blood. "I'm glad to have met warriors of your caliber."
"It was a good fight." Andros nodded.
"I've always wanted to go out by fighting." Larana smirked weakly before closing her eyes. Adriana waved her hand and guided the soul to safety as the body decomposed at an accelerated rate.
"What do we do now?" Carlos asked quietly.
A bright sparkle caught all their attention. Justin cautiously walked toward it and put his hand to the ground. Digging a bit, Justin came up with artifacts just as Storm Blaster landed.
"Think you can hold some of this buddy?" Justin asked.
Storm Blaster honked an affirmative.
Justin placed the artifact, a crystal with a tyrannosaurus spirit inside of it, inside the car. Digging some more, with the other Rangers helping, they unearthed more crystals, ones with the saber tooth-tiger, triceratops, pterodactyl, mastodon, dragon, and tiger inside. The next thing that came up made him, Andros, and Zhane gasp.
"The Zeo Crystal." Justin breathed.
"It's still here."
"The Zeo Crystal is one of the most powerful artifacts in existence." Andros gaped.
"What's that?" Zhane pointed to one more thing.
Justin handed over the Zeo Crystal before digging further. "The Sword of Light."
This time, both Andros and Zhane truly gaped. "That's the Sword of Light!"
"It helps power transfers." Justin remarked.
"It's true power lies when a Light Rangers uses it for battle in the direst of situations." Andros explained.
Justin nodded and mulled over the idea as they continued loading artifacts into the Storm Blaster. After a sufficient amount of them were collected, the Astros and Elementalists stared at each other.
"We have to get back to Boston." Justin stared to the west.
"Yeah." Cassie nodded.
Each of the Rangers shook hands.
"Come back to us when you've saved Zordon." Justin asked.
"Of course." TJ nodded.
"Be missing you." Ashley walked over to Justin. The Fire Ranger soon found him swamped in a group hug by all the Turbos. Even with their masks, Justin could envision the tears sweeping down all of their faces.
"See you." The Astros teleported out.
The Elementalists gave a long at each other before Justin stared out at the ruins of the Power Chamber. Slowly, he placed his hand on the ground and sent his love in one pulse that quickly spread through the area. "Bye Power Chamber. We had good times." The Elementalists and Storm Blaster teleported out then.
* * * * * * *
He couldn't believe it.
All his work, the time spent here.
Gone.
All of it, gone.
Reduced to ruble.
He still couldn't believe it.
It wasn't something that he could fix.
It was devastation.
And it hurt.
Debris was scattered everywhere along with scraps of metal.
Nothing could be put together again.
He fell to his knees and wept.
Tears flowed down his cheeks, as he cried unashamedly.
It hurt.
It hurt to see that it was all gone.
He'd heard the rumors, you couldn't miss them.
I heard that Divatox finally defeated them.
Earth Rangers? But they lasted for so long!
Yeah, but I heard that they were alone. No one, not even former ones tried to help.
That must have been harsh.
Total destruction.
It hurt to see that it was all gone and he couldn't have even tried to help.
Sounds of battle quickly reached his ears. He turned to find many colored suits fighting a whole bunch of robots. Quantrons, if he recalled.
He stared. Fire flowed from the orange one's hands. Magic.
Suddenly, the Quantrons vanished. They were replaced by a woman. She split into six and started attacking.
"Billy?" The man turned to see two of his friends crouching behind the piece of stone he was hiding behind.
"Rocky?" His eyes widened in recognition. "Adam?"
"Here man." Rocky stared out at the fight. "That is brutal. But where are we?"
Adam gulped at the dark look in Billy's eyes. "Tell us."
"This," Billy gestured around him, "is the remains of the Power Chamber."
Both former Rangers' jaws dropped.
"When?" Adam croaked, his throat constricted by tears.
"Almost a year ago." Billy answered sadly.
"Almost a year?" Rocky's eyes flashed. "But when I talked to Justin just two weeks ago, he said that everything was fine."
"Could he have been lying?" Adam asked softly.
"It's probable." Billy shrugged.
The sounds of battle ceased as the three looked over their makeshift barrier. The twelve figures were loading stuff into a car. They soon stopped and five of them had a group hug. All twelve figures and the car then vanished.
"What do you think they took?" Rocky asked as they walked over to the spot where the figures had fought. Blood and metal lay scattered across the area, likely from the Quantrons and the woman.
"They probably took several artifacts that survived the destruction of the Power Chamber." Billy remarked, staring at the ground. "This place is totaled."
All three ex-Rangers closed their eyes, sending their love for the place through their hand into the ground so dear to them.
"I'm booking three tickets to Boston as soon as possible." Rocky murmured.
"Three?" Billy raised an eyebrow.
"We're not leaving you and I'm sure you're just as curious as we are as to why Justin lied to us." Adam smirked.
Billy just nodded.
* * * * * * *
The Elementalists and Storm Blaster landed in the Holding Bay. Storm Blaster immediately went into his version of sleep as they started to unload the artifacts.
"What is this?" Kamion's face appeared as Zeta entered.
"We come bearing gifts." Jace held up two crystals innocently as they demorphed.
"Interesting." Zeta muttered.
"We raided the Power Chamber's old storage." Justin explained. "These were the only things that survived the explosion."
"Place them in the vault Zeta." Kamion instructed.
Zeta did so.
"Kamion?" Cassy asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you know anything about Larana?"
Kamion nearly gaped in shock. "How do you know about Larana?"
"We fought someone by that name and killed her." Lina shrugged.
Kamion made a noise.
"Did we do something wrong?" Jace asked worriedly.
Kamion composed himself. "Larana was one of Dark Specter's most trusted generals. You're marked for death. The Dark Avatars are probably the only ones stopping him from going after Earth himself."
"The Dark Avatars." Justin whispered. "I'm going to go lay down now."
"Make it the same for the rest of us." Adriana spoke as they all filed out.
Kamion turned to Zeta, back in the main room. "What do the tracers say?"
"I recently had to add another one. An ex-Ranger had just teleported in not too long ago. Three were found near the site of the Power Chamber battle."
Kamion sighed. "All right."
* * * * * * *
The day of the full moon. Justin stared at the sky. The magic was invigorating him. It really did. Flames were burning just below his skin, wanting to break out. Justin tried to contain it and succeeded, though barely. Making sure he was alone with his telepathic senses, Justin let a flame dance around his hand. The glow emanating from it caressed his face, causing shadows to grow darker behind him. Justin clasped his hand into a fist and let the fire disappear. With a sigh, he pushed off the wall of the school building. It was after school and Justin had wanted to be alone. Where are you Zordon?
"You all right Justin?" The Fire Ranger turned to see Lina staring into the sky, Jace beside her. Both Rangers were blessed, or some would say cursed, with the ability of empathy. It caused them to go in two different paths. Lina had felt the pain and locked herself away from the world, while Jace had become really sensitive and open because of it. That, and combined with their natural affinity for electricity and water,
"Waves of sorrow are flowing off of you, like waves crashing onto a beach." Jace said softly.
"I'm remembering my old mentor." Justin looked to the sky once more. "Out there, in space. That's where he is. Humans have no idea what they don't know."
"Of course." Lina nodded. "Ever heard of cultural shock?"
"Multiply ten-fold and you'd probably get what everyone would be feeling." Jace added.
Justin nodded. "Do you want me to put my mental blocks up? I was a bit careless today."
Both Rangers shook their heads. It's much more fun to feel your emotions. was their silent answer.
The three just stayed there, quiet. Jace had begun watering plants, Lina and Justin letting their elements dance along their hands. Justin kept a sharp lookout for any presences with both his mind and his senses.
They soon stopped and let the breezes of the afternoon caress their faces.
"Guys?" All three turned as Adriana, Alex, and Cassy came toward them.
Justin pushed off of the wall. "Yeah?"
"You guys want to hand out at the Control Base?"
"It'll help siphon out your magic." Alex added.
"Sure." Both Lina and Jace shrugged.
"All right." Giving another wave of power with his mind, Justin nodded and the six teleported away.
* * * * * * *
"Boston is almost nothing like Angel Grove." A woman in pink said.
"I agree with that." A man in a red over shirt and a white under one nodded.
The couple walked around the different districts, blending in. They eventually stopped at this nice little café near a place called Cambridge Side Galleria.
The woman sipped her tea, waiting for their order. "It's a nice town. Doesn't beat Angel Grove or anything like that, but its good."
The man across from her nodded. "It's quiet too. It's like a nice escape."
"You can feel it won't last long, though, right?" Both young adults turned to see an African woman wearing a lot of yellow turned around in her seat to look at them.
"Tanya!" The woman in pink exclaimed.
"Kat, Tommy." Tanya greeted.
Tommy nodded. "It's the Ranger sense. Something's going down here, but I don't know what."
"Will we be drawn into it? We left our Ranger days behind in the Power Chamber, right?" Kat bit her lip.
"But it's there no more." All three turned to see Rocky, Billy, and Adam sitting at the table behind them.
"Billy!" Tommy's tone was amazed. "When did you get back?"
"A few days ago. Hopped a flight here with Rocky and Adam." The genius explained.
"What do you mean that 'it's there no more'?" Tanya asked, her tone a bit steely.
Adam closed his eyes. "The Power Chamber's gone."
All three ex-Rangers' jaws dropped.
Kat started sputtering. "How? When?"
"From the rumors, almost a year ago." Billy admitted.
Tommy narrowed his eyes. "That's only about half a year since we left. Where's Justin?"
Kat raised her hand to her lips. "Is he?"
Rocky shook his head. "No, he's alive. I spoke with him about two weeks ago."
"Then why didn't he contact us?"
"There's something about this city," Adam started, "that Justin wanted to keep us away from. We're here to find out what."
That question was answered sooner than expected when a bunch of humanoid wolves teleported in.
Kat upended the plastic table they were using, smashing it into one wolf's face. She whipped out with her foot and caught it in the chin, letting it fall into Tommy's punch. She gave a graceful back flip and dodged a punch before grabbing the offending arm and throwing it over her shoulder, letting it slam into a heap of the wolves. Tommy came in then, jamming his foot into a wolf's stomach it making it fly back into a pack. The two together continued to wreak havoc.
Tanya and Adam lashed out together in unison before each blocking a punch and slamming their enemies together. Adam threw his into the air and kicked it away while Tanya smashed hers to the ground and pummeled its stomach. Slamming another werewolf into a fence, she watched as it disappeared after impaling itself on the metal stakes. Tanya ducked as Adam threw a werewolf over his head and it landed on the same fence. That became their primary weapon.
Billy landed on the ground after a particularly vicious spin kick. Rocky plowed into the one that was at Billy's back before Billy himself blocked a punch, but was knocked to the side after a side hit. Rocky immediately covered his friend, sending wolves packing until Billy rebounded with a vengeance. As Rocky tripped one, Billy watched it disappear as his steel-tipped boot crashed into its chest. With a broken pole, Rocky shoved the sharp end into another wolf's chest and watched the thing fade.
Suddenly with some breathing space, the Rangers went to a quick decision.
"It's Morphin' Time!" Tommy shouted, drawing the morpher with the White Tiger coin inside of it.
Rocky drew the Tyrannosaurus coin and Billy did so with the Triceratops. Adam took the Mastodon coin out, saying a silent sorry to Alpha after he promised that he wouldn't use it anymore. Kat took out the Pterodactyl coin that Kimberly had transferred to her, saying that power loss was easier to handle when you take it in small steps. Kimberly and Tommy had retained relations, even if they were a bit strained. Tanya had the Saber tooth Tiger coin that Aisha had given to her.
Before they could morph, a hailstorm of metal sharpened bars flew into the area, each one finding their mark and killing each wolf. Several more foot soldiers teleported in, some of the avian type, others of the dryad.
An orange figure jumped down from a nearby building, beheading a dryad as he fell. A silver one followed, taking out an avian as she landed. Tommy recognized them as Rangers, but which, he didn't know. Orange Ranger held his hand over his blade and the sword ignited with flame. Silver Ranger had launched into the air and killed another avian, just as Gold Ranger launched bolts of lightning from her hand to take down another few avians. Aqua Ranger spun his staff and warded off a dryad's attacks as Purple Ranger sent a sheet of ice flying from a point that she drew on the ground. Brown Ranger absorbed a dryad into his hand and launched it as an energy sphere into an avian. These Rangers wreaked havoc as the ex-Rangers continued to watch. Finally, all of them were destroyed, but the Rangers weren't even tired.
"I'm still hyped." Purple Ranger giggled.
Aqua Ranger was bouncing on his feet. "Haven't had that much fun since the last full moon."
Brown Ranger immediately agreed.
Gold Ranger was staring at Orange Ranger. "Fire?"
"Fire?" Silver Ranger turned to their leader.
Orange Ranger was staring in shock at the six adults that still remained after the attack. "Rocky..." fell from his lips. Said man looked up and stared at the Ranger before him. Their eyes locked at that moment before Orange Ranger turned his head.
"Justin..." Rocky whispered, too low for anyone to notice.
Orange Ranger looked to the sky as a strange glyph opened up above them. If anyone would have seen his face, they would have noticed his eyes glazed over with orange. "The summoning of a black angel is coming."
All five other Rangers looked at their comrade worriedly.
The sky darkened as the glyph grew a hole in the middle of it. A dark figure swooped down on dark feathers, wearing a long red cloak. He had a gold face and black clothing, one that made Orange Ranger tense.
"It's fun to be back." The black angel licked his fangs.
"Goldgoyle." Orange Ranger growled.
The five other Rangers tensed at this.
Goldgoyle stared down at them. "How do you know who I am?"
A burst of fire from Orange Ranger's hand answered him as Goldgoyle quickly dodged, but didn't see Purple Ranger until it was too late. The woman had drawn her daggers and slashed an X across Goldgoyle's back. With a backhand, the monster had slammed the Ranger into the ground, leaving a crater that made cars explode. Aqua Ranger seethed and three glowing swords crossed Goldgoyle in midair, exploding as several bamboo shoots pierced the monster's stomach, courtesy of Brown Ranger. A blast of fire knocked Aqua Ranger off balance and the magic began. The six Rangers flung magic around, hurting Goldgoyle, but the monster kept regenerating and firing back. The six ex-Rangers had long since taken refuge.
"What is going on?" Kat asked.
"A battle." Rocky looked over their hiding place. "And I'm joining it. It's Morphin' Time! Tyrannosaurus!" With a flash of red light, Rocky turned into Red Dino and leapt into the battle after drawing his Power Sword.
"Why are you doing this Rocky?" Orange Ranger whispered as they both slashed Goldgoyle at the same time.
"It comes with the job description." Rocky smirked.
"Saber tooth Tiger!"
"Triceratops!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Mastodon!"
"White Tiger!"
Tommy drew Saba, the talking sword greeting his owner enthusiastically. Tanya drew her daggers and just missed Goldgoyle, but the monster fell prey to the archers of Kat and Silver Ranger. Tanya went for a rebound, but Purple Ranger zoomed ahead of her and Goldgoyle dodged right into Tanya's slashes. Adam and Brown Ranger slashed their axes in unison, making Goldgoyle scream in pain as his wings were ripped off. He launched several bolts of lightning, but Aqua Ranger deflected them into the ground as Tommy leapt for another slice. Goldgoyle dodged, right into Gold Ranger's rings and Billy's lances. That left him open for Orange Ranger and Rocky's sword techniques.
"What is happening?" Goldgoyle growled. "After I destroyed two Megazords, you shouldn't be that hard!"
"You bastard!" Orange Ranger shouted as flames sprung up around him. "Die! Fire Dragon Type 9!"
Goldgoyle gaped in horror as the high-level spell took form. Nine glyphs took form around Justin, each having the symbol of draco inside them. He could only stare in shock as a column of fire with a dragon's head shot from each glyph, slamming into him. His consciousness was filled with heat before he disintegrated in the wrath of an angry Orange Ranger.
The Orange Ranger collapsed to his knees, sobbing, as the Elementalists surrounded him.
The rest of the ex-Rangers demorphed before the chance of seizures became too risky.
Orange Ranger suddenly raised his head and started to run. The rest of the Elementalists followed, the ex-Rangers close behind, but were left in the dust way too quickly.
Tommy was panting. "What exactly?"
"That's why Justin wanted to keep us from here." Adam frowned. "He didn't want to get us involved."
"Because he knew we would." Kat said softly.
Rocky merely stared at the sky. Good luck Justin.
* * * * * * *
The six had quickly demorphed on an empty street and were currently running in a familiar neighborhood.
"What the heck's up Justin?" Alex asked as they followed the racing Justin.
Lina and Jace could feel the worry radiating form their friend, but couldn't place it.
They soon came upon Adriana's house, covered with a dark magical signature.
"Dad!" Adriana cried as she raced to it, the others not that far behind her. Inside, she found the six Dark Elementalists binding her dad by his hands and feet.
"Run Adriana!" Jonathan Budinski shouted. He then stared in shock as Adriana, his daughter, drew a star in the air and launch a volley of wind orbs after a cry of "Wind Orb Storm!" All six Elementalists dodged and the Dark Silver Ranger twirling her fingers and send twin gales that sliced Adriana's chest, drawing blood, as well as blowing her out the door. Justin seethed, but ducked a burst of flame that was easily countered by a jet of water firing from Jace.
"Don't have time to play." Dark Orange Ranger growled as he, the rest of the Dark Elementalists, and Jonathan teleported out.
"Shit!" Justin turned to their fallen friend.
"Mother of all life, Miliana, I call forth your powers. Father of the white, LeBlanka, entwine your powers with those of life. Heal the damage set before you." Jace chanted, naming the goddess and god worshiped on the main healing planet in the galaxy, Hitena. Instantly, a white glow surrounded Adriana's wound and stopped the blood flow.
"That didn't happen, did it?" Adriana gasped.
Cassy closed her eyes. "It did."
Their Wind Ranger burst out crying.
You'll pay! Justin snarled mentally. You'll pay!
* * * * * * *
Mathais: Again, real sorry about being so late.
Chibi Jun: Yeah!
Pyrogirl123 ~ Glad to see I have a faithful reviewer.
Silver Warrior ~ Thank you.
Mathais: See you in the next installment! *mutters* It'll take a while.
Justin: Bye!