A/N: This one didn't take too long. It's a pretty good episode if I do say so myself! lol. And I see I'm getting less reviews now. I'm guessing it's partially because I can't respond to them in here. Oh, well. Please review, though, guys! Your comments mean a lot to me!
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. The characters are based on real people who own themselves.
And now, without further ado, I give you Power Rangers Element Storm Chapter 14. Enjoy!
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Episode 14: Small Victory at Last
Will opened his eyes slowly, the lids feeling heavy and weighed down. Glancing at the clock next to his bed, he saw that it was 7:34 am. Today was Saturday, he knew. It had been three days since the Ranger's last battle with the Chaos Ranger, and three days since he had seen that girl who looked so much like Anaia…
He shuddered automatically at that thought, trying to block it from his mind. He had already suffered enough because of it these past few days, and he knew that he should try not to let it get to him so much. If he wasn't careful, his guilt and his memories would destroy him.
Suddenly, another thought came to him that made his heart skip a beat. Ever since he had first awoken he had felt that today was not an ordinary day. There was something special about it, although he couldn't put his finger on what it was. But, now, he realized exactly what today was. It was an anniversary; a horrible, painful one, but an anniversary all the same. He closed his eyes again as the thought of what had happened on this day 18 years ago flooded his mind. This was the 18th anniversary of the last battle with the Chaos Three on Trienith, and it was on this day 18 years ago that Stephen had killed Will's team mates and friends. 18 years ago that Stephen himself had been defeated, but still 18 years ago, he told himself, that he had let his friends die.
Stephen awoke with an unusually happy and evil smirk on his face. His heart felt light and happy, and it fluttered slightly with excitement. Today was a special day, he knew. Although it was the anniversary of his horrible defeat by the Trienith Red Ranger, today signified something great as well. Yes, he thought. Today would be a good day, no matter what.
Stretching and yawning a little, Stephen climbed out of his bed and went out into the main room of the tower, the same satisfied expression on his face. Not surprisingly, Rufus was already awake, and he stood gazing out of a window at the world below, watching as the sun continued to rise on the eastern horizon. The older boy laughed internally, knowing that neither of his companions had any idea of what would happen this day. It was a secret he had kept for 18 years, but now, when the time was right, it would be fully revealed.
As Stephen made his way to the telescope, Erica came out, the sleepiness still evident in her face. She crossed the room quickly and stood next to Rufus, looking up into his eyes and smiling. The boy put an arm around her shoulder and smiled back down at her before the two of them turned back to the window. The tower filled with a peaceful silence, until at last it was broken by Erica.
"You guys know what today is, right?" It was more of a statement than a question, and the girl already knew the answer.
"Of course," Stephen responded, turning to look at the two of them. "Today is very special."
"You mean very horrible," Rufus remarked pointedly, facing his leader.
Stephen tried not to show the excitement and anticipation that was burning in his heart. "Well, yes," he said simply, turning back to the telescope. "But we shouldn't think about it that way." A tell-tale grin spread across his face as he said this, and he was glad that his team mates could not see his face. Rufus and Erica exchanged confused glances, each wondering what he meant by that.
After a moment, Rufus shrugged, deciding that they would find out what he meant in time.
Erica continued to watch Stephen curiously, unable to imagine what was going through his mind right now. Even though she had known him for so many years, he was still such a mystery to her. She never really understood his reasoning in certain things, and it was hard to ever tell what he was really thinking. Some people Erica found easy to read, such as Rufus, or at least most of the time. But, she had never been able to read Stephen or figure out the thoughts behind his words. He was so strangely mysterious that Erica felt she couldn't entirely trust him. She tried to ignore the feeling, but it left a sense of uneasiness and foreboding on her heart.
Dan smiled as he looked around at the extremely crowded table. Along with himself and his four team mates, Angela, Jorge, Jud, Kimber, and Marie were all seated around him, all talking at once, it seemed. Even Del was standing near them, talking with them as well. There were many different conversations going on at the same time, which made sense since there were so many people there. The Red Ranger didn't mind, though. He loved the feeling of chaos that existed in such a small and noisy area, crowded with people he considered friends, although he knew some of them better than others.
As Dan held Peg next to him in his arms, he took it all in, enjoying the moment of peace. Of course, the table was anything but peaceful, but compared to the horrific battles they had fought lately against the Chaos Three, this was the epitome of peace, he thought. Being a Ranger was the hardest thing he had ever done, but, still, he wouldn't have it any other way. As difficult and seemingly impossible as it was at times, he had to admit that he enjoyed the challenge and excitement of this new life, especially since Tempus, California was normally such a boring town.
Beth sat next to Dan and Peg on their side of the table, smiling at her friends but not really joining in on any of the conversations. She had a feeling of strange unrest, but she couldn't explain why even to herself. Something seemed off somehow. She didn't know what or why, but she couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong. Glancing across the café at Will, she could almost sense that he was feeling the same thing, or at least something similar, although she couldn't really see his face. She sighed, trying again to rid herself of these thoughts.
The Green Ranger looked around at Angela, Jorge, Jud, and Kimber in turn. She remembered what she had seen or thought she had seen in their eyes the other day, and she couldn't help but think that that might have something to do with her odd feelings now. Suddenly, as if in response to her thought, she noticed their eyes glow again for a split second, the same colors they had glowed the day before. Then, much to the surprise of the others, the four of them stood up all at once and wordlessly left the café. A confused silence filled the table as the five Rangers watched them go. At last, Tiz spoke.
"Well, that was weird," he said, looking around at his team mates.
"Yeah," Peg said. "What the heck was that about?"
"I don't know," Dan replied, standing. "But I'm going to find out." Peg, Sean, and Tiz nodded and stood up as well, intending to follow him. Beth stayed where she was, staring blankly at the now empty table, her brow wrinkled in thought. Sean went over behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Beth, are you okay?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice. Shaking her head as if breaking out of her thoughts, she looked up at him.
"I'm not sure," she said, softly and slowly. The others stopped and were now eying her curiously as well. "I just have the strangest feeling…" Suddenly, her voice was cut off by a small explosion coming from outside of the café. Pausing for a moment to look around at each other, the Rangers nodded and ran outside, followed by Del and Will, who had leapt over the counter and was now coming with them.
When the seven of them got outside, they saw to their annoyance, but not really surprise, the menacing form of the Chaos Ranger, pointing his lance at a pile of smoldering rubble that was once a car. Del stood near the door of the café while the Rangers continued on towards their enemy.
"Oscuro!" Will called. At the sound of his Trienith name, Rufus turned around to face him, smirking from under his helmet. "What are you doing here today of all days?" Will continued. "Don't you know what today is?"
The other Rangers exchanged questioning glances, wondering what he was talking about. What was so special about today?
Rufus scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "Of course I do," he replied hotly. "Do you really think I could forget a thing like that? I just thought it would be fitting to have today be the day of your defeat, since it was the day of another defeat 18 years ago on Trienith." His voice faltered a little, but he quickly regained his composure and continued. "You may have defeated us then, but I will defeat you now!"
With that, he dashed over to the Rangers, darting quickly in between them, stabbing at them with his lance each in turn as he came near them. Sparks flew from their bodies as they cried out in pain each time they were hit. Eventually, he stopped this attack and stood on the other side of them, watching as they collapsed to the ground.
"Ha," he laughed. "That was easy." But, moments later, the six Rangers struggled to their feet, the pain mixed with determined looks in their faces.
"Yeah right," Tiz said. "You won't get us that easily."
Dan took a step forward and looked around at his team. "We can take him, guys." The others nodded at this, their confidence showing in their expressions. "Ready?" the Red Ranger cried.
"Ready!" his team mates responded.
"Element, Fire!"
"Element, Water!"
"Element, Wind!"
"Element, Earth!"
"Element, Thunder!"
"Element, Light Fire!" Will finished with his morphing call, and the six of them morphed into their respective colors, becoming the Element Storm Power Rangers once more. They stood in fighting positions, ready to attack.
Rufus was grateful that his helmet hid the disappointed look on his face as he sighed softly. IOh, well/I, he thought. II should have known it wouldn't be that easy./I He decided that he should at least be the first to attack, so he charged at them with his lance, preparing to strike. He went up to Will first and tried to slash him with the lance, but the Trienith Red Ranger deflected the attack with his sword, which he pulled out quickly. Pushing back against the lance, he forced Rufus back, then sliced him sideways across the chest with his sword. The Chaos Ranger keeled over a little and clutched the area where he had just been attacked.
The others took this opportunity to call their own weapons and move in. Beth went first and stabbed him in the sides with her daggers. Peg came in next and jabbed the tip of her trident into his back. Tiz slashed his sai against the Chaos Ranger's chest, making sparks fly from his suit. Dan and Will used their swords at the same time, cutting them down from the tops of his arms to the base of his hips, causing him to fall backwards in pain.
Growling a little in anger, Rufus stood up quickly and swung his lance around, hitting all of the Rangers who now surrounded him. They fell backwards from the force, giving Rufus a chance to take a few steps backwards and out of the way. The Rangers got up fast as well and prepared to fight again. Before they got a chance to do anything, though, The Chaos Ranger pointed his lance at them, shooting a strong pulse of electricity out of it and hitting them all at once, sending them flying back and hitting the ground hard again.
While this was happening, something else was going on at the back of the café, hidden from view. Angela, Jorge, Jud, and Kim were standing there, a silence between them as they looked around at each other. Jud was the first to speak.
"Guys, I remember," he said, a strange and somewhat confused quality to his voice.
Angela nodded. "So do I," she agreed. "I remember that we are not from this planet. I remember we came from somewhere else. I remember Trienith."
"Me too," Kimber agreed, shivering slightly. "We were Rangers there. We had the powers of the Elements. We had entirely different names." She paused for a second. "Guys, what happened to us?"
For a moment no one spoke, as no one seemed to have an answer. The silence pierced the darkness of the alley between the café and the building behind it as the four of them tried to think.
"I think I know," Jorge said at last. "That huge attack by Pyric is the last thing I remember of Trienith. After that, everything is pretty much a blur until I remember my childhood here. I don't know what he did, but Pyric used some sort of spell on us."
Jud looked at him curiously. "What sense does that make?" he asked. "What kind of spell?"
Jorge shook his head. "Not sure, but that's the only logical explanation I can come up with. I mean, we all remember that we used to live on Trienith as its Power Rangers, but then we somehow ended up here as children. I don' know how that is possible, but whatever happened, it is most certainly Pyric's fault."
"You're probably right, Feanaro," Angela said, leaning a bit closer to Jorge, who put his arms around her. "It's the only thing that makes any sense."
There was another moment of silence before Kimber spoke again.
"Wow, I wonder if this happened to Adus as well."
Jud shook his head. "No, it didn't. I saw him the day I first came here. He lives here on Earth and owns this café. I know it didn't happen to him too because he is like twice our age, it seems." He thought for a second before going on. "I believe Sean called him Will. He must have taken a different name when he came here."
"I suppose that would make sense, Cirin," Kimber said slowly. "But if that is true, we need to go talk to him and tell him what happened. He must have recognized us when he saw us."
"You're right, Anaia," Angela said. "We have to talk to him." All of a sudden, a deep, evil laugh sounded from the midst of the darkness of the alley. The four teens stepped back a bit, automatically getting into defensive positions. Jorge moved in front of Angela protectively as the stared at the space where the laughter had come from.
Footsteps echoed in the alley as Stephen suddenly appeared, seeming to melt in out of the shadows. An evil grin was spread across his face as he watched them.
"Feanaro, Alassea, Cirin, Anaia, it's been so long."
The six Rangers stood up painfully, the electricity still coursing through their bodies. Tiz was not as affected by it, so he was the first to recover.
"My turn!" he cried, pointing his sai at Rufus. He sent his own surge of Thunder through it and out towards the Chaos Ranger, who dove out of the way of the blast.
"You missed me!" Rufus laughed, his tone mocking and sarcastic.
Beth glared at him from under her helmet. "But I won't!" she said. Focusing hard, she lifted up a large chunk of earth from the small hill near the café and threw it at her enemy. It hit him head on and covered him in the earthy debris. He screamed in pain, then all was silent for a moment. Soon, though, a white glove forced its way through the earth, then another. It wasn't long before the Chaos Ranger climbed entirely out of the earth his body still tingling with pain. He stood shakily, trying to recover from the attack.
After a moment, he dashed over to Beth quickly, pounding his lance into her. She collapsed in pain and let out a small cry. Rufus leaned over her and prepared to strike again. But, before he got a chance, Sean shot him with one of his arrows, hitting him in the back hard. As he ran over to them, he shot several more arrows at the Chaos Ranger, at last forcing him away from Beth, who had not gotten up yet. The White Ranger shot one final arrow at Rufus before setting his bow down and helping Beth to her feet.
"Thank you, Sean," she said, her smile hidden beneath the visor of her helmet. He simply nodded and turned back to their enemy. The other Rangers ran up to them as well. Dan looked over to Tiz.
"Hey, how about some double teaming?" His voice showed that he was smiling, and the Yellow Ranger nodded.
"All right. Let's go!" With that, the two of them charged at Rufus with their weapons, sword and sai ready to strike. They each slashed the Chaos Ranger on either side in the front, then they twisted around and cut their weapons across his back. They were about to strike again when Rufus blocked them with his lance, each of their weapons touching its broad side. As he forced them away, he sent a surge of electricity through the handle, making it circuit through the lance and through his enemies' weapons into their bodies. Dan and Tiz flew backwards a ways, landing on their feet not too far from him, the Dark Thunder still coursing through them. Tiz recovered quickly and sent his own Thunder at Rufus, who dove out of the way.
Dan looked around at his team mates. "Guys, it's going to take more than this to defeat him," he said thoughtfully, pausing for a moment. "Hmm. I think I have an idea."
Jud glared at the boy before him. "Pyric," he said, his teeth clenched in anger. "I see you're still around."
"Of course I am," he said, a tone of mock surprise in his voice. "I may have suffered a defeat on Trienith, but I was not completely destroyed."
Angela laughed a little. "But you were defeated, eh? Not too surprising. I guess even without the rest of us Will was too much for you."
Kimber held a hand towards Angela, silencing her gently. "What did you do to us, Pyric?" she asked almost breathlessly.
Stephen laughed again as well, the dark, eerie sound echoing through the alley. "I was wondering when you would ask that. It's quite simple, really, but quite a bit of genius on my part. You see, I used a powerful spell on you, one that took me quite a while to learn. I'm sure that the last thing you remember from your lives on Trienith is a massive attack by me. It was that attack that did the spell exactly as I planned. Everyone thought that the attack had destroyed you. Will, Raine, Oscuro, they all thought that I had destroyed you. But, they were wrong.
"In reality, you were still alive, but no longer on that planet. The spell I used sent you to the nearest inhabited planet, which was Earth. But, not as the ages you were then. You appeared on this planet as babies, infants, newborns. I made sure to send you particularly to an area where you would be found and adopted, and where, hopefully, you would remain close together, even if you didn't know each other personally. And it worked, because here you are.
"And now, exactly eighteen years later, you all remember your lives on Trienith, the lives you have had no memories of all these years you've spent here. The reason it all happened specifically eighteen years later is because you were all eighteen at the time you were sent here and your lives were restarted. Now, you've gained all your memories back, and your powers." He paused, letting his words sink in.
"Why did I do that, you ask?" he continued, a dark quality to his voice. "I knew that I would be defeated that day. There was no way that the Chaos Three would last another battle on Trienith. I knew that our plans would not yet be achieved. But, I also knew that doing what I did would give me a chance in the future. Sure, I have had to wait eighteen years for this, but it is all worth it, because now, I have four perfect weapons against the current team of Rangers, and that is you four."
The others looked around at each other, hardly able to believe their ears. Was what he said really possible? How could it be? But, it was the only thing that made any sense. How else could they have ended up here and lived here for 18 years? And what did he mean by having four weapons? So many questions flooded their minds at once, but only one was actually asked at that moment.
"If it has been eighteen years," Angela began slowly. "How is it that you look exactly the same age as you did when we had our last battle? You should be at least as old as Will."
Stephen chuckled a little. "That's easy," he said. "Knowing it would take so very long for you four to be ready, I preserved our ages; Raine, Oscuro, and I are exactly the same age we were eighteen years ago on Trienith. I put a spell on us that would keep us the ages we are now until you got your memories back. Since that has happened now, we will begin to age normally again, although we won't go to the ages we were before."
Angela looked away, understanding. Her mind was still full of questions, but it was Jud who spoke next.
"And what did you mean by the last thing you said, Pyric?" he asked, looking at Stephen curiously and suspiciously. "You don't have us. Whoever the new Power Rangers are, we won't help you fight them."
"Of course not," Jorge agreed. "We'll help them fight you."
The leader of the Chaos Three laughed yet again. "That's what you think," he said. "I have yet to initiate the final part of my plan. But, now that you know everything, it is time." With that, he formed a circle with his hands. Suddenly, a ball of light appeared in the center, gradually growing larger and larger until he had to spread his hands out farther to hold it. Once it was big enough, he shot it at the four teens before him. They screamed and flew backwards, hitting the ground hard. After a moment, they got up again and stood in a line, facing him. Their hands clenched at their sides and their faces hardened, all emotion draining from their expressions as their eyes began to glow their respective colors.
"We are ready to serve you, Master," they said in unison, their voices blank and toneless. A wicked grin spread across Stephen's face as he looked at them each in turn.
"Perfect."
"Guys," Dan continued. "Maybe if we combine our weapons, we can defeat him! It's been a long time since we've done that."
Will nodded. "You may be right, Dan," he said. "You guys should try that." The others nodded as well and they prepared to put their weapons together. The Red Ranger held his sword out in front of him as Peg laid her trident on top. Sean placed his bow sideways across sideways near the top. Beth attached her daggers on the underside of the bow, the blades facing towards Dan. At last, Tiz put his sai on the top of the bow, the hilt facing backwards.
"Alright!" Dan cried. The others stood behind him, focusing their energies on the weapon. "Ready. Aim. Fire!" With the last word, the Red Ranger released a powerful blast from the weapon, which burst out towards the Chaos Ranger and hit him head on. He flew backwards, screaming in agony, until he hit a nearby telephone pole and collapsed to the ground, demorphing.
Struggling painfully to look up at them, Rufus sighed. "You've beaten me today, Rangers, but don't get used to it!" Reaching his hand up above him, he teleported away in a flash of yellow.
"That was awesome!" Tiz said with a smile as he demorphed. "We haven't used that weapon in a while, and it really did the trick."
"Yep," Peg smiled, demorphing as well and putting her arms around the Red Ranger, who had already powered down. "That was a great idea, Dan," she added, looking up at him.
"I know," he said, beaming. "I'm so cool." He laughed at this and the other joined him as Will walked up to them.
"Excellent job, Rangers," he said. "You have won for today, and let's hope that we will have several more victories like this one."
As Rufus appeared in the main room of the tower, he forced himself to stand, hardly able to do so. Erica ran over to him and helped him, letting him lean on her. He smiled at her gratefully until he noticed the strange expression on her face.
"Erica, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"It's Stephen," she answered with a sigh. "Come and see." Carefully leading him with her, Erica walked over to another door that branched out of the room. She knew that it led to a room that Stephen often used for things that he would never tell his team mates about, but she also knew that it was where he was now.
As they entered slowly, Rufus saw right away what Erica had been concerned about. Standing next to Stephen, with eyes glowing the colors they had once worn, were four of the Trienith Rangers. Staring at them each in turn, he remembered their names and Ranger colors. Feanaro, the Trienith Blue Ranger, Alassea, the Trienith White Ranger, Cirin, the Trienith Green Ranger, and Anaia, the Trienith Yellow Ranger. Rufus felt his heart skip a beat. How was this possible? He had watched Stephen destroy them 18 years ago. How in the world could they be here now?
As the leader of the Chaos Three turned to look at the newcomers, Rufus began to feel faint, both from the difficulty of his battle and the shock of what he was now seeing. After a moment, he couldn't take anymore, and he collapsed backwards into Erica's arms, unconscious.
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A/N: I hope you liked it! Leave a review!
