Disclaimer: Not mine
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Um, did you mean Cathan and Aria? Zoe's the baby... What did I tell you again? I might have changed it since then... And I don't know who the random persons are because Jenny babbles a lot and it's lots of fun to read but not fun to try and understand. And then I think she made up more random people than I actually had in the story. : successfully shifts blame for not knowing what's going on in my story to Jenny. Sorry Jenny:P
Juzblue: You'll see. :P
Melissa: I updated! Yay, finally.
gobball: Another one for Justin... : )
Piper xox Leo: I'll keep going, I've got to get to the end. I know how it will end, I'm just trying to figure out the middle... :P
Jenny: I stopped watching SPD before Cruger got the Shadow morpher. And I love reading your tireless rants. Keep babbling! I've got nothing else to read. :P
stormcharger: If you're reading this, Part 2 will be up when I finish this one. Or when I get writer's block, whichever comes first. : )
the-power-of-love: A lot of people seem to think that. Too bad I don't listen... :P
Chapter 6: Destroying the Army
Lamya's surface
The gravitational pull on Lamya was minimal, allowing the rangers to sprint across the surface using little energy. Aria led them to the north, resisting the urge to glance over her shoulder. Samael was undoubtedly watching them, and it was only a matter of time before he showed himself.
Soon, Aria stopped abruptly, as did the others, their boots making a soft crunch on the rocks that composed the ground.
"What?" Karone hissed at her sister. "Did we go too far?"
Aria shook her helmeted head and pointed. They were standing at the edge of a sheer drop.
"Aria," Gabriel said. "Are you saying that the stones that we're supposed to destroy are at the bottom of the this?"
"Something like that, yes," Aria said calmly. This was much easier than she'd expected, considering everything. "I'll go first."
"You're not seriously expecting us to jump off the cliff, are you?" Zhane demanded.
"You can't climb?"
"I can't fly," Zhane retorted.
"There's footholds," Aria said. "You just can't see them. Go slow."
Carefully, she lowered herself over the side of the cliff, her arms straining as she searched for firm enough footholds. Finding them, she called, "Follow me," and continued lowering. Zhane went next, as Karone threatened to shove him over the edge if he didn't quit being such a baby. She followed him, Gabriel right behind her. Andros and Ashley went next, with Justin bringing up the rear.
"Karone?" Zhane asked, unable to keep himself from glancing at the seemingly bottomless pit below him. "How far do you think it is to the bottom?"
"Don't look down," Karone responded. "It's okay."
Zhane nodded his head, then realized that Karone was above him and couldn't see him. He'd never been afraid of heights before, but clinging to the small rocks on the side of a cliff a few hundred feet above jagged rocks didn't exactly make for a relaxing descent. He noticed that the lower to the ground that they got, the colder the temperature seemed to be.
After what seemed like an eternity, he heard Aria jump the last few feet to the ground. Relieved, he sped up, not looking forward to the return climb. When the ground finally came into sight, he let go, jumping the last six feet to solid ground.
"Are you all right, Zhane?" Karone appeared next to him, shaking visibly, although he wasn't sure if it was from fear or the cold. He nodded his head, and grasped her gloved hand tightly, not letting go as they rejoined the others. He felt a little better as he saw Andros pull Ashley into a death grip.
"Don't worry, we won't have to do that again," Aria said. "We can teleport out." She gave them a few minutes to catch their breath, then motioned them a few steps forward, pointing straight out in front of her.
"You have got to be kidding me," Justin muttered as the sight sunk in. Great dark blocks of stone, imprinted with identical images of warriors lined the ground for as far as he could see. "Aria-"
"Work in teams of two or three," Aria ordered brusquely. "Don't wear yourselves out. He's waiting for us to get tired. Then he'll attack. Shoot the stones a few times. They'll shatter." Swiftly, she drew her blaster, and fired several shots. The stone shattered cleanly, the shards vanishing. "See?" she said. "It's easy. Use the blasters, they work better than the swords."
"Swords?" Justin repeated. "Aw, I liked the Astro Ax."
"Think of it this way," Aria suggested. "You get your very own Light Saber."
Zhane shrugged at Karone and drew his own blaster. "I'll shoot, you keep watch?" he offered.
"If you want to do all the work, that's fine by me," his fiance agreed, drawing her own blaster for good measure. "What am I watching for?"
"Anything that moves and doesn't speak an intelligible language," Zhane suggested. He fired several shots, obliterating a half dozen of Samael's soldiers.
"So... you then?" Karone smirked.
"That's not nice," Zhane whined, pouting, before realizing that she still couldn't see him. Unable to send her a wounded look, he settled for, "Take it back... unless you want to do our wedding vows in mime."
"I hate mimes," Karone said vehemently. "And clowns."
"So why are you marrying one?" Andros shouted.
"Shut up, man," Zhane shouted back. "At least I didn't...Never mind." He decided that "At least I didn't get her pregnant" was probably not the best response to his friend's kidding. For one, there were still a few months left before he and Karone were married.
They worked in silence for another half hour or so, concentrating only on making a dent in the number of soldiers that Samael controlled. "Switch," Karone said finally. "My turn. I'm bored."
"But I'm having fun," Zhane protested.
"Switch anyway."
"I don't wanna."
"Switch anyway," Aria said, walking past him. "Think of it as practice for the rest of your life." Under her breath, she added, "Just ask Andros."
"Thank you, Aria," Karone said brightly. "And if you ever need anyone turned into a frog, let me know."
"I'm never going win," Zhane wailed.
"Nope," Aria said cheerfully. She stiffened, and her voice was hard as she shouted, "Regroup!"
"It's too late, White Ranger, I've already won."
"We're still here, Samael," Aria reminded him calmly, her heart pounding. "Are you too much of a coward to show yourself?"
"Enni," Karone muttered, as two figures appeared. "Aria-"
"Go," her sister said. "Your the only one who can counter the magic, anyway."
"Thanks," Karone said distantly, her attention already focued on the sorceress. As the other rangers took on Samael, Karone and Enni found themselves locked in a one-on-one battle.
Enni's magic was a deep rose color that shone brightly against Karone's purple spells. "So I finally get to fight the traitor Astronema," Enni laughed, shooting a wave of power that Karone managed to dodge.
"You know, I never understood why it was necessary to talk and fight at the same time," Karone commented, blocking another shot, and sending her own back at Enni. "Or if you insist on it, you could at least try some original conversation."
"You sound too much like the White Ranger," Enni said. She shouted in frustration as Karone hit her again, and shook her arm, summoning her staff.
"What can I say?" Karone shrugged, drawing her sword. "She's my sister."
"And are you two close?" Enni pressed.
"Is that any of your business?" Karone dealt Enni a hard blow, then stumbled as Enni's staff crashed down on her shoulder.
"Don't just stand there talking," Samael bellowed. "Release the army!"
"Or you could not," Karone suggested, planting her foot firmly in Enni's stomach. As the sorceress gasped for breath, Karone blasted half the stones with her magic. The instant she did so, she knew that she'd overtaxed herself, as her body protested. Weakened, she stumbled back into battle as Enni recovered.
"You're not as strong as you'd like to think, then," Enni taunted, as Karone faced her once again.
"Neither are you," she retorted.
"You all right, Karone?" Aria and Zhane asked together.
"I'm fine," she replied. Enni moved slowly enough for her to predict her next move.
As she drew back her staff for another blow, Karone's arm laced out, catching the end of the staff, her feet catching the sorceress in the back of the knees. Enni stumbled, and Karone yanked the staff out of her grasp.
As she'd suspected, Enni did what most of the weak sorcerers did: she's stored power in her staff. Instead of using the staff to channel her power, she drew her power directly from it.
Karone smirked, and swung the staff out towards the remaining stones, muttering a spell under her breath. The remaining army shattered, leaving Lamya's surface smooth and the horizon unbroken.
With a shout of frustration, Enni and Samael vanished.
"Are you all right?" Zhane appeared next to her, supporting her. She nodded her head.
"I'm fine," she said weakly. "Just out of practice, I guess."
"Let's go back," Aria said.
The Megaship
"That was well done," Cathan greeted them. "However, it was only a practice battle."
"I got that much," Justin replied. "Or else, we'd have killed him, not just his army."
"There will be other battles," Cathan continued, wisely ignoring Justin. "Samael has other resources to draw on other than an army frozen for ten thousand years."
"What now?" Ashley asked.
"That will come later," Cathan said, after a brief pause.
"Get some sleep, guys," Aria said. She turned and left the bridge, weak with relief.