Chapter 4
Ambush at Northlake Pass; An Oath Kept; A Path Chosen
Northlake had once been the premier vacation spot for all of Backwater state. It's tranquil, crystal clear waters had been ideal for family outings, teenage parties, and an all-around good time. The mountain pass that lead to Northlake from Backwater gave a breath-taking view of Northlake and the surrounding area; or at least it had. Now, the pass only gave viewers a clear scene of the destruction that had claimed Backwater, as well as the rest of the world. The Northlake beach had been littered with broken branches of the trees that had enclosed most of the lake; the mighty Northlake Forest was now nothing more than burnt timber and ashes. The cool breeze coming off the lake towards the mountain pass reeked of smoke, and chilled the six rebels as they made their way to the ambush point. Much to the Rangers surprise, Pine, Briggs, and Rathburn had not let a single word of complaint escape their lips the entire trek to Northlake. It was good they hadn't, since Pine had been 20 minutes late for the start of the operation. When questioned, Pine had replied that he had been scouting around Delta and had in fact seen the caravan of slaves being prepared and sent this way. It had taken all of the rebels greatest efforts to reach this pass before the advance Balien scouts did. On the way to Northlake, Stone and the Rangers had already reminded Pine of the consequences if he and his group should decide they did not want to follow the orders, which they had also been reminded of. Stone had been assured by Pine that he would not fail; and that was what worried him. For Pine to be so…nice…wasn't natural; something had to be up. For now, however, the Rangers would have to trust Pine; they didn't have time to question him. They would almost have to fly to reach their holding point at Northlake if this mission was to going to be a success. Seeing that Pine and his group were settled and hidden, the Rangers set off to their holding point on the edge of what had once been Northlake Forest.
"With all due respect sir," Briggs said rather loudly, considering they were indeed lying in wait for an ambush, "I can't stand that Stone and his merry little band of his do-gooders."
"Yeah", Rathburn grunted in, tearing himself away from his dreams of a thanksgiving meal, "I know we're supposed to be on the same side and all, but this guy is ridiculous. There's no way he's going to be able to do half the things he says he will. And why are we even on the same side as him…I mean I'm not one for dying and all that and my math isn't so good, but even I know that there are far more Baliens than there are of us."
"See, this is why I don't let you to do the thinking," Pine snarled quietly, "Do you really think I was out at Delta scouting this morning? I indeed was at Delta, but I was sealing a deal that will keep our corpses warm and breathing for a long time."
"What do you mean by that sir?" Briggs questioned, taking his eyes off the road he was supposed to be watching.
"What I mean by that, you numbskull, is that the Balien leader, General Auron, and I have reached an agreement. We will unfortunately be 'captured' while on this mission, leaving only Stone and his friends to stop the Baliens that are guarding the caravan. And since I casually mentioned their location, and the fact that they were planning an ambush, Auron decided that the Balien cause would be best served by sending four squadrons to guard the caravan."
Briggs and Rathburn were both stunned by their leader's decision, but at the same time they were also impressed. This meant that they didn't have to fight a losing battle or live in a hole in the ground anymore. And at the same time Stone and his little group got the reward that was coming to them…even prophetic Stone wouldn't be able to stop four squadrons, totaling 80 Baliens, with his two friends. Their only hope was that the mythical Power Rangers would make an appearance to save their sorry hides.
"Now, if you two are quite done staring at me like fish out of water, I believe it's about high time that we take the long way to Omega and meet our most gracious benefactor there. If Stone and his friends somehow live through this, which they could only do if they pulled another miracle, and they see us with the Baliens, we'll have all of Bastion hunting us down," Pine said, as he moved to get up. His timing, however, was too late. The Balien caravan was already approaching the group, and Auron himself was coming up to speak to Pine; all in plain view of the Rangers.
The remaining slaves stationed at Delta had been awake since Stone had spoken to them through the fence of the adjacent domicile area. At the time, they had wondered why Stone and the boy with him had been unable to save them, but it had soon become apparent. All the slaves had seen the Balien guards coming to attack Stone and the slave, just as they had all seen the two disappear in a flash of blinding red light.
Zoe Ashenvale had been one of the slaves awoken by Stone's rescue attempt last night. It seemed to her as though her emotions were run by Stone's exploits at Delta. She, like all the others, had openly cheered when they learned of Stones escape, despite the punishment they knew they would receive. Zoe, however, had been upset as well…despite swearing to have nothing to do with men anymore, seeing as she had been hurt far too many times, she found herself falling for Stone. They had never touched, or even spoken for that matter, but he had taken the lashes from a Balien slaver in her stead. Well, even that wasn't entirely true. She had been on her knees, waiting for the bite of the whip on her back when she saw Stone rush up and tackle the Balien slaver. In all the confusion that followed, she escaped back to her domicile where she rocked and cried herself to sleep. She learned later that Stone had been sent to the stockade for his insubordination, and she couldn't help but feel responsible. The impressive part was that Stone returned from the stockade, as he did every subsequent time he had been sent there.
With Stone's return last night, she had felt her heart pounding at just the sight of him. Stone freeing her, along with the rest of the slaves, would have been a pure bonus in relation to being near him again. Now, however, her hope of seeing him was slowly fading.
Zoe now sat in the back of one of the many trailers that housed all of the Delta humans en route to Omega, where no human had returned from. She also knew that the caravan was being guarded by no less than 80 Baliens, including the big lion himself. No one knew the lion's name, but all of the humans knew that he was the one in charge of Delta and likely the entire Balien invasion. Most whispered that not even Stone could get them out of this one. Still, she hoped that Stone would show up to try just the same. As the caravan trundled over the Northlake Pass, she closed her eyes and began to pray, hoping that the tears would not flow.
Please, Zoe prayed, let him come and fight. Give us a chance…not just for me, but for everyone here. Just this once.
BOOM!
Almost simultaneously all the slaves, including Zoe, stood up looking for the source of the explosion. Glancing towards Northlake they saw three lone figures rushing towards the caravan. Much to Zoe's pleasure, Stone was leading the charge.
"I knew it! Pine and his goddamn sergeants are working for the Baliens…and that leaves only us against…lemme see here…carry the four…80 Baliens. Why can't things go according to plan just once!" Chris groaned as he got up to blow the charges he set in the side of the mountain to block off the Baliens escape, should Pine fail. Waiting for the entire caravan to be through the Pass, Chris flicked the switch that would block the Baliens path back to Delta.
"One day, whether it's today or a decade from now, I'll see that Pine pays for this," Stone roared as he too got up in preparation of the charge they would make towards the caravan. For all any of them knew, this would be the last charge they ever made in the name of freedom.
Stone glanced at Johnny, making sure the young teenager was prepared for what would come. One look was all Stone needed; Johnny was ready. They had already taught Johnny how to morph as they were waiting for the caravan…they had nothing else to do and they had figured that they would need their powers in the assault.
"Ready boys?" Stone asked as he inhaled deeply. "There's no helping it now…the Baliens guarding the caravan will see us morph no matter what we do. We'll morph when we need to." Johnny and Chris nodded their assent and began to charge the caravan along side Stone. They could see the Balien guards shouting and pointing in disarray at the confusion created by the distracting explosion. Glancing at Chris, Johnny could see the smile on his face as the distraction he had set had more than done its job. The Baliens didn't know whether to look at the destroyed mountainside or whether to look down the road at the approaching figures. The few, precious moments of confusion afforded the Rangers the time they needed to bridge the distance between their holding point and the stony Pass where the caravan had halted. Drawing their weapons, the Rangers crashed into the mass of Balien guards that had moved to intercept them. It felt strange to both Stone and Chris to be fighting the Baliens without using their Ranger powers, but they figured they should try and avoid being dependent on them, for fear that one day they would not have them. In fact, they were surprised that they were doing quite well in their human forms…their Ranger weapons were serving them well. Fighting in a tight knit group, Stone looked to see how Johnny was doing.
The newest Ranger was holding his own rather well, using the Lunax to destroy and push back every Balien that tried to strike him. It was a large relief that Stone and Chris would not have to watch out for the young black Ranger. Strike by strike, foot by foot, the Rangers moved closer and closer to the trailers that housed the human slaves. Soon enough, however, the Rangers realized that they simply were not moving fast enough. The Baliens were beginning to organize themselves in a way that would not be of any help to the Rangers.
"Chris, Johnny, you hold the Baliens here and work towards the trailers. I'm going to move ahead and work at the Baliens surrounding the trailers themselves…we'll meet in the middle," Stone said as his Ashblade dispatched yet another Balien. Chris spun his Skystaff before him, disarming three Baliens in a single pass.
"Why do I always get stuck in the group that gets to do all the fighting and you get to do all the public relations? Moreover, why am I always left to be the hero?" Chris said breathlessly as he fended off yet another Balien intent on skewering him on his blade.
"Just go Stone," Johnny said as his Lunax sliced through the arm of the Balien closest to him. "I'll make sure Chris doesn't let the glory of being a hero go to his head." Chris couldn't help but laugh as he brought his Skystaff down on the head of a tiger-faced Balien. Stone nodded and ran towards the nearest trailer, ready to meet whatever fate was set for him.
"You see General?" Pine said as he bowed to Auron, "My information was indeed true."
"Yes, pathetic human, it was," Auron sneered, "However your three meager rebel friends are killing my Balien troops far faster than I can recruit them from Bali!"
Pine backed away from the mighty lion General, figuring that if he said anything further his life might be forfeit in the eyes of the Balien. Auron sighed heavily…it was so hard to find good help these days. He would have to use the weapons he had been saving for the final assault on the human stronghold far earlier than he expected, but at least his project at Omega would be kept on schedule.
"Captain Kong," Auron said, motioning towards an ape Balien, "Send a relay to Omega…we'll be needing the squad of Gigans at this location immediately." Kong saluted and rushed off to the command trailer at the end of the caravan, hoping he would have enough time to send the message.
Last time five humans couldn't kill one Gigan, and they were Rangers, Auron thought to himself with amusement. Let's see how three humans do against twelve of them. No…twelve is a waste…one should indeed suffice this time. I just hope the blood doesn't dirty my uniform.
Through the steel slats of the trailer, Zoe and the other slaves in the first trailer watched Stone as he cut a bloody path towards their trailer, his blade seeming as if it was a part of his body.
"Graymane, attack that human scum!" Zoe heard the big lion roar. Immediately, the wolf that had stood beside the lion Balien rushed forward with his spear and struck at Stone. Zoe's breath seemed to be caught in her throat as Stone dueled with the Balien. It seemed as though despite Stone's best efforts of deflecting, attacking, and vaulting over the Balien with all his energy, the human was fighting a losing battle. To Zoe's relief, Stone's friends, she thought he heard Stone call the wiry one Chris and the younger one Johnny, were on their way to help him fight. Before Zoe knew it, however, Graymane's spear had caught Stone's arm, leaving a deep gash along his forearm that dripped blood all over the ground. Stone stumbled back, nearly dropping his sword in surprise.
"Stone!" Zoe called out to him as he glanced her way and smiled. He had seen her; that was for sure.
"See what happens you leave me to be the hero?" Chris said, setting himself in a balanced stance to fight Graymane. With a growl, Graymane advanced towards Chris, who charged out to meet the Balien. Spear and Skystaff met in a resounding crack as the blue Ranger and the Balien jockeyed for position. Growing bored with the deadlock, Graymane took a clawed paw off the spear and slashed Chris' chest, leaving four bloody scratches. Chris groaned and fell to the ground. Feeling the anger flowing through him, Johnny leapt forward to block Graymane's spear from delivering the fatal strike into Chris.
"Are all Baliens as ugly as you, or are you the exception?" Johnny said, kicking Graymane back. Even Johnny however, did not escape the encounter without wound. As Graymane fell back he lashed out with his spear, knocking Johnny to the ground with a thud. Regrouping, the three humans got to their feet. Zoe closed her eyes and began to pray.
"Give up humans," Graymane said as he brought his spear in front of him, ready to attack again, "You cannot beat me!"
"You know what fur-brain? You're right. We can't," Chris said with a faked resignation, "But as Rangers we can."
Zoe felt her heart skip a beat. Rangers…she thought, but that means…
Standing together, the Rangers extended their arms before them and cried "For freedom!"
In flashes of red, blue and black light, the humans were gone and in their place stood Power Rangers. A resounding silence fell on the Pass as both the Baliens and human slaves took in the scene they had just witnessed. Thunderous cheers erupted from the humans, complete with tears of joy. The Rangers had returned to save the humans.
"Now," Stone, the red Ranger said, "where were we?" The Rangers set themselves to attack Graymane, brandishing their weapons in their attack positions. Graymane snarled, waiting for the Rangers to attack.
"Unfortunately, wretched humans, I must interrupt you there," Auron snarled from his command vehicle, "I have a little present for you that I must insist you accept." Auron pointed to the sky as a Balien airship began to descend over the battlefield.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Johnny sighed as he turned his attention to the airship.
"You two get the humans out of here…teleport them back to Bastion…our secret's out anyways. I'll handle whatever Auron's got for us. No arguments Chris. Just go!" Stone said as he charged, once again, to the airship.
Johnny and Chris set themselves to opening the human trailers, releasing the human slaves. Zoe was one of the first slaves to be freed. She moved forward to watch Stone fight, but was soon marshaled into a large grouping of humans by the blue Ranger. All the slaves had been freed and the blue Ranger was yelling orders.
"Everyone listen, we have little time! Join hands with the people next to you. And no, we're not getting a camp fire going and singing Kumbiya," Chris said as he physically joined the hands of those that weren't moving fast enough for his liking.
"Hurry, do as he says!" Johnny said as he fended off the few Baliens that were attempting to reach the humans. With the last one killed, Johnny joined the circle.
I only hope this works, Chris thought.
Focusing on the gathering area of Bastion in his mind, Chris could feel the black Ranger lending his mental effort to his. Slowly, the Rangers felt the group being pulled into Bastion.
Opening their eyes, the Rangers saw the stony walls of Bastion surrounding them. Many of the slaves were on the ground kissing the dirt beneath their feet. It was far from the Hilton, but it was far better than their slave domiciles. Zoe rushed to the Rangers, who were standing in the middle of the crowd of humans, being praised and thanked for their heroics.
"What about the red Ranger?" Zoe called. The Rangers didn't hear her over the tumult of noise coming from the group. Pushing and shoving her way through the Rangers, Zoe finally caught the black Ranger's attention.
"You're just going to leave the red Ranger?" she demanded of the Rangers.
"Look I'm sure you're upset about a guy you don't even know, but he charged that airship so you and the other slaves could reach this far. And seeing as he ordered me to stay here and take care of you all I'm doing as he wishes. He'll be fine."
Zoe sighed, hoping that she would see Stone again, and that he was indeed fine.
Stone, however, was far from fine. The airship had dropped a gigantic bull-like Balien onto the battlefield, to the cheers of the remaining handful of Baliens. Auron had mocked Stone as he called the Minotaur a Gigan and told him that the Rangers of the last millennia had been unable to defeat it without the aid of a sixth Ranger. Stone thought that Auron was bluffing, seeing as there were only five power statues. He soon found out, however, that Gigans were near impossible to injure.
Stone was unsure how long he and the Gigan crossed blades. Hours and days both seemed likely. The red Ranger found himself lying on the ground; bloody, bruised and broken. Put simply, he knew he was going to die.
At least the slaves are safe Stone thought with a smile. He had seen the girl that he had saved during his tenure at Delta. He learned from other slaves that her name was Zoe. He had wished that before he had escaped he could have seen her one more time and said goodbye. Be that as it may, there was nothing he could do now. He looked to the sun one last time, feeling his face bask in the warmth it provided. Something was wrong though…it looked to Stone as if something was coming out of the sun. I probably have a concussion from when he slammed me into the mountains with his horns Stone thought sullenly. As his angle of vision changed, however, he knew he was right. Something had come out of the sun; a golden dragon with a rider that were approaching from behind the Baliens and the rocks that blocked off the pass.
"And so you see, feeble human, that even as a Ranger you cannot stop a Gigan," the Gigan growled as he moved forward to finish Stone off. Faster than he thought possible, the dragon and its rider were standing upon the rocks that blocked the pass.
"He might not be able to," the rider called, "but I can!" With a roar, the dragon swept down and used it giant talons to claw the Gigan to the ground. Swooping up, the rider flipped off. To Stone's shock, the helmetless rider was Rion, their Protector, clad in golden armour with a dragon emblazoned on his chest in silver. In Rion's right hand was a saber whose hilt was a dragon with its jaws open, as if the blade of the saber was it's fire.
"No…not you….you can't be…" Auron murmured as he stepped out of command vehicle, "You're the…"
"Gold Ranger? Yeah I'm aware," Rion said as he turned to face the Minotaur, "And you, Gigan scum, are about to die."
Rion charged the Gigan, attacking the monster with a downward slash. The strike left a deep slash, finally drawing blood from the giant bull-like creature. After that, however, the battle seemed to be rather evenly matched. Gigan and Rion met each other blow for blow, strike for strike. After what seemed to Stone like hours, which in reality had only been minutes, Stone pulled himself to his feet. Reaching down to pick up his Ashblade, he began to move towards the battling Gigan and Rion.
Those gold Ranger powers must have been the ones that Auron was talking about when he mentioned the sixth Ranger Stone thought, Must be pretty strong for them to be able to hurt that thing.
"I will not see that Gigan defeated!" Auron growled, "If it can't destroy the red Ranger then I will!" Auron grabbed Graymane's spear and hurled it like a javelin towards the red Ranger. Stone, focused on the Gigan, didn't see the spear hurtling towards him. Rion, however, did. In the blink of an eye, Rion had knocked the Gigan down and had dove to knock down the spear with his saber. Standing with his back to the Gigan, Rion got up.
"Guess I owe you one huh?" Stone said, trying to joke off the shock of nearly dying.
"Yeah you…argh!" Horns protruded from Rion's belly, impaling the gold Ranger instantly. Time seemed to slow for Stone. The smile on Rion's face vanished only to be replaced with an anguished look of extreme pain. Auron laughed in triumph, as the only threat to his Gigan menace had been removed in a single fight. Stone screamed, and the Gigan roared, hurling Rion's corpse off its horns. Stone acted without thinking; he picked up Rion's saber and thrust it into the Gigan's stomach, pulling up until the blade was free of the Gigan's body. The Minotaur grunted as blood and entrails oozed from the Gigan's body as it fell to the ground in a limp mass. Turning to face Auron, Stone flourished the two swords.
"You may have one this battle Ranger," Auron rumbled, "But you haven't won the war!" With that, the remaining Baliens boarded the airship and rocketed off. Removing his helmet, Stone rushed over to Rion's body.
"This is all my fault Rion," Stone said raising the Protector's head, "I should have looked…If I had you wouldn't have…"
"Quiet young one. What is meant to be will be. I have little time left and there is much for me to say," Rion said as he coughed blood onto his golden armour. "Most important is the fact that the circular crest on the floor of the cavern will give way to another alcove. There you must seek out your destiny," Rion wheezed. "When I took the mantle of Protector, I swore that I would not only protect the powers for later use, but that I would protect the Rangers themselves should the need arise. That is what the gold Ranger powers are for… In fact, they are more powerful than all of the other powers combined…the golden powers are Force of Ages Ranger powers."
"Force of Ages? What…"
"Please do not interrupt Stone! My time is fading as it is! When I'm gone take the dragon bracer and the Dragonsaber and go the Cavern of Power. Stand on the circular crest and summon forth the dragon. That will be the beginning of your Journey of Ages. The alcove that will open is where you must hide the golden powers when you no longer need them…" Rion began to fade, both in spirit and physically, "You must be Protector when the time comes…may…the power…protect…you…" With a deep sigh, Rion disappeared from Stone's arms.
"And you too, dear friend," Stone said, wiping the tears that stung his eyes. He rose to his feet, looking around at the scene before him. The trailers that had housed the human slaves in the caravan from Delta to Omega stood empty; the humans rescued and presumably in Bastion by this point. The rotting carcass of the Gigan began to stink in the heat of the late morning sun, reminding Stone that he and the other Rangers would need these Force of Ages powers to even stand a chance of winning against these Gigans. His destiny, it would seem, lay in the same Cavern where his life as a Ranger had began. For now, however, he would return to Bastion to a hero's welcome.
The gathering area was full of boisterous noise and celebration, as the survivors that called Bastion home welcomed the slaves that had just arrived. Tears and affection could be found in every corner as families were reunited after a long period of fear and separation. It was in all this excitement that Chris and Johnny stood, once again, before Faymore and Striker. They had told the councilors about Pine and his sergeants' betrayal and how it nearly led to the failure of the mission. The councilors were shocked, but not overly surprised at the fact that Pine had joined the Baliens to save his own skin.
"Your actions should be commended gentlemen," Faymore said, walking out from behind the council table to shake the Rangers' hands. The Rangers tried to smile, seeing as they saved over a hundred lives, but…
"Sir, we're worried about Stone," Johnny said, as he shook Faymore's hand.
"We'll send a squad out to see if we can find him, but he is a Ranger, like you two after all. I'm still shocked at the fact that you three are Rangers and didn't tell us…but I guess that comes with the job eh?" Striker said, leaning back in his chair.
Before Chris could thank the councilor for his concern, the gathering area erupted in tumultuous cheers and applause. "Don't bother councilor, I assume the commotion means that Stone is home," Chris said with a grin. The group of four walked out of the council chamber to view the scene of celebration in the gathering area. Stone was in the middle of the group of humans, being thanked, praised, hugged, and cheered as he shook hands with anyone that thrust one towards him. In truth, he felt like a celebrity.
Despite all the people thanking him for his actions, Zoe wanted to thank Stone more than anyone else in the room. Slowly, she worked her way through the mass of people thanking Stone until she was face to face with him.
"I never got to thank you for saving me," Zoe said as she offered her hand to Stone. He smiled, and took her hand.
"I never got to say goodbye," Stone said, shaking her hand and kissing her softly on her cheek. "But for now, I have to go…there's something I have to do." Squeezing Zoe's hand, Stone walked through the crowd towards the Rangers and the Councilors.
"Well, well…looks like the hero gets the girl…as usual…so where's mine?" Chris joked, drawing laughs from everyone but Stone. "What's the matter pal, don't like competition?"
"Rion's dead," Stone said as he lowered his head. "I have to go…we don't stand a chance against the thing I faced that killed Rion. They're called Gigans…they're giant monsters that our weapons have no effect against. Rion told me what I have to do with his dying breath. I need you two to hold the fort here while I go find the Force of Ages he was talking about. I don't expect you to understand, just please accept that this is how things have to be for the time being. I promise I'll be back." Stone turned to go when Chris spoke up.
"You gonna be ok chief?" he asked, knowing that there was something very wrong with his friend. Stone slid the dragon bracer on and slid showed them the Dragonsaber.
"With these, I should be fine. This power is what Rion used to fight the Gigan…it worked until the Gigan killed him. I start my journey in the Cavern. Chris, you're in charge while I'm gone…remember we still need two more Rangers. Be on the lookout while I'm gone. May the power protect you." Stone walked away, hoping that the rescued slaves would let him pass without incident, which luckily they did. Reaching the mouth of one of the entrance tunnels to Bastion, Stone formed a clear picture of the Cavern in his mind and vanished in a flash of light.
"Please be careful Stone…I love you," Zoe said just above a whisper, wiping away the tears that came from watching Stone leave her once again.
The Cavern of Power had changed since Stone had seen it last. It now had a waterfall in the corner, whose thunderous sound seemed to calm Stone down despite what had happened. He walked over to the circular design and looked at it carefully. The crest itself had runes in it that he didn't understand, nor ever would, and pictures of beasts that he couldn't make out due to the wear of the crest.
Something else was missing from the Cavern though. In knowing Rion the few short hours, he had been such a large part of Stone's life. He had given the three Rangers their powers, which they in turn had used to save the lives of all the slaves at Delta…and their fight wasn't over yet. Although it was great so many lives had been saved, the Rangers, as well as the Councilors, faced the problem of both housing and feeding all the freed humans. Bastion simply didn't have the resources to accommodate so many people. They would have to find somewhere else to house humans and create a new stronghold…maybe they would move back into one of the cities. There was so much that needed to be done that in truth Stone could ill afford this journey he had to go on to find the Force of Ages; assuming it still exists and that he can find it. Just the thought of the journey he was about to embark on made him tired. His stomach rumbled its agreement, making Stone realize he hadn't eaten in a good 24 hours.
What I'd give for a steak, some mashed potatoes, some gravy and a cold beer, Stone thought, closing his eyes, visualizing the meal and all its tantalizing smells. Sighing at the thought of not eating for a few more days, Stone opened his eyes and found, to his surprise, the meal he had imagined in front of him. Then he remembered…the Cavern gives you what you want…that was the answer! He ate his meal rather hastily and focused on the thought of crates of food appearing in Bastion's eating area. Although he wasn't there to see them appear, he was sure that they indeed did. He figured that the crates of food would last for months…hopefully he'd be back long before their supplies ran out.
Putting the empty plate aside, Stone walked to the statue of Rion, placing the bracelet back on his stony wrist and putting the Ashblade back in his hands. It needed to be done, but Stone still felt that by giving the statue back the power bracelet and Ashblade that Rion was truly gone, leaving only his statue as a memento of his deeds. He knew that Rion wouldn't have wanted him to dwell on the past whilst there was something that needed to be done. Moving to stand on the circular crest, Stone held the Dragonsaber high.
"I summon forth the dragon!" Stone shouted.
Instantly, the Cavern began to change before his eyes. The wall of statues rumbled inwards at one corner, revealing a passage way lit by golden flamed torches. Sheathing the Dragonsaber in its place over his shoulder, Stone began to walk down the long passage. Stone half-expected the passage to close behind him, sealing him in to face whatever was at the passage's end. To his delight, however, it did not. Like almost every other passage related to the Cavern, this one ended in another open area. Five golden discs adorned the circumference of the area, with a golden circle in the exact center of the room. Looking around, Stone saw, like usual, runes engraved around the five golden discs as well as around the golden circle on the floor of the room. Standing in the circle, the air before him dancing with light; no, not light…words written in light.
"Those who stand true, are not many but few - To harness the power against darkness you must not cower - To hold the Force of Ages you must be ready to travel the galaxy's pages - Across the galaxy the powers lie guarded by the Eltar High - Stand forth young mortal, your destiny lies beyond this portal" Stone read aloud to the tranquility of the room. Unfortunately, Stone didn't have time to even consider what the verses meant, for he was gone in flash of white light, leaving only the fading words to illuminate the emptiness of the room.
Since the arrival of the Delta humans, Bastion had been a hub of activity. Johnny had been set to the task of finding places where all the humans could stay. Chris volunteered to be the one to speak to the full council the next afternoon to discuss long term plans of Bastion. The chamber was ripe with stale air from all of the hotheads that had decided to attend the meeting to make sure their two cents were heard, even though their opinions mattered little to the full council. Chris, however, realized that there was a far greater threat than finding accommodation for all of the humans.
"Believe me when I say that I would like to believe that we're now winning this war, but I was never one to live a lie," Chris said despite the dagger glares he got from the council. "Now that Pine is on the Baliens' side that means that this location has been compromised. He not only knows where this stronghold is but also where both the entrances and the defenses are located. We have to abandon this location! We no longer have the privilege of choice," Chris cried, needing to get his point across.
"And where would you have us go?" a councilor whose name Chris did not know said as she got up from her seat.
"Honestly? I have no idea. But the city seems as good an idea as any," Chris said, once again ignoring the looks on the councilor's faces…this time they were of absolute shock. "Now I know that that's a lot of territory to cover and I'm not suggesting that we inhabit all of our old homes. We use the downtown core to our advantage and turn office buildings into living space. I'm sure Johnny and I can scrounge up some weapons to defend the city with…big laser cannons and aircraft. In terms of manpower we have more humans living here than we ever have. That's more humans that can be trained to fight. Hell, I'm sure some will volunteer. And besides, now you have Power Rangers on your side," Chris finished with a smile.
"Yes, and we all heard the faith that Stone put in your powers…seeing as he went off to find some Force he doesn't know exists!" the same female councilor said. Chris was about a half heartbeat away from telling the councilor what she could do with her ideas when Striker intervened.
"Please Councilor Browning, be civil. Power Rangers are far better than what we had before their arrival and I'm sure everyone in this chamber feels that way except you. As for Chris' idea, I say we put it to vote. All in favour?" Striker asked, looking around with a smile as all Councilors raised their hands except for Councilor Browning. "Then it's settled. This council meeting is adjourned so that we plan our return home to Backwater City. It is my recommendation that the Rangers be placed in charge of the military and open recruitment immediately," Striker said with murmured assent from the rest of the council.
"Great now everyone is going to want to be a Ranger," Chris said as the council laughed. Chris turned to leave the chamber with all the other slaves. He had not taken six steps before humans from Delta were volunteering for active duty. Chris managed to announce that he was going to open a kiosk for sign-up the next morning and that for the time being everyone should retire to their beds. Chris excused himself and moved through the crowd to the living area. He stumbled in the room he shared with Johnny and closed the door behind him.
"Honey, I'm home," Chris said with a smile. Johnny glanced at him and couldn't help but laugh. "How'd you make out getting the Deltas settled?"
"Not bad, I think I've had 13 offers of marriage within the last hour and some more…unique shall we say…ones," Johnny said with a roll of his eyes. Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Better get it; only ones who know where we reside are the councilors."
Chris shrugged and opened the door to see Zoe standing in the corridor. Before either of them could say a word Chris saw Zoe standing in the Cavern before the statue of the warrior woman wielding two daggers. That could only mean…
"Before you say anything about being followed, hear me out. I know you said you were going to have a kiosk in the morning but I want you to know that I want to fight. I want to be like you two. I want to use whatever powers you two have to help others…it's not about me. It's about protecting the unprotected and watching over the people I care about," Zoe said.
Glancing at Johnny, Chris was the first to speak. "Did you see what I just saw there J-dog?" Chris said, using Johnny's new nickname around Bastion.
"I think I did…I just don't believe that it could be that easy," Johnny said, getting up to his feet.
"What are you two talking about?" Zoe asked, trying to figure out what the two Rangers were getting at.
"Zoe, I think you had better sit down for this one; your wish is about to come true. Now before you throw yourself at us in thanks listen to us first. We are Power Rangers; that isn't something to be taken lightly. You've seen the odds that we face. That Rion character you heard Stone talk about was the Protector, which meant he taught us about our powers when we got them. Now all that's left is us Rangers to pass along the information and teach you what you need to know. Now, if you'll come with us, we'll explain more," Chris said, moving towards Zoe to hold her hand for the teleportation.
"One thing though Zoe; the in-flight meal is less than satisfactory," Johnny said as he prepared to focus on the Cavern.
"I'm ready," Zoe said, taking Chris' hand. Chris looked at Johnny, who gave his approval with a nod.
"We hope so too," Chris said as they all vanished in flashes of light.
Author's Note: Hi all, and thanks for reading. Writing this has allowed me to relive my childhood and write a story I've wanted to write for a long time. So you know, the next few chapters will be part of a series about Stone's journey and the relocation of Bastion. Please feel free to review; I enjoy reading your comments. Look for the next chapter in a few days to a week.