A/N: Wow, I am so sorry this took so long to write. I was having trouble with writer's block, and maybe a part of me was afraid to end this for whatever reason. It is the first fanfic I've ever finished.
Anyways, I'd like to thank everyone who's ever reviewed this fanfic. Your support and encouragement has helped me along the way so much, and I appreciate it fully. This fanfic has been an amazing journey for me, and I thank you all for sharing it with me. Writing this has helped me to improve as an author so much, and it was so much fun to write. I hope you've enjoyed reading this fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing it.
One more thing, remember to look out for the prequel to PRES: Power Rangers Trienith Destiny. I'll start writing it as soon as I get out of my current writing slump. Also, keep an eye out for the epilogue to this fanfic itself, Five Years Later, which will be written and posted in this fanfic soon hopefully.
To keep up with the tradition of what I've posted before almost every chapter...
Anyways, without further ado, I give you Power Rangers Element Storm Chapter 22. Enjoy!
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Episode 22: Fall of Chaos part 2
The afternoon sun was barely visible through the thick gray clouds that had settled in the normally blue sky. While they did not appear to threaten rain, they looked as if they brought some strange tidings, as if foreboding some ill fate. The weak light created by the sun hardly warmed the hearts of the Power Rangers as they stood together at the park, waiting for their enemy to appear. The battle was to begin at 3:00, and it was now 2:53. In seven minutes, the Element Storm Power Rangers and the Trienith Power Rangers would face the toughest battle of their lives; the battle to end all battles. It seemed too much to hope that it would end in their favor.
As they waited, Will stood a bit apart from the group. He had spoken to no one since last night, and no one dared to speak to him. His face showed no emotion as he stared off into space, lost in his thoughts. His teammates were just as silent, hardly knowing what to say right now. No words could fit such a dire situation.
Sean was leaning against the trunk of a tree, holding Beth tightly in his arms and stroking her hair gently. He wished they could stay that way forever and that he never had to let her go. Jorge held onto Angela just as firmly, softly assuring her that he would protect her. Erica stood near Rufus, leaning against him as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders. They had been together in the Chaos Three for so long, but now that they had admitted their love, it all seemed too short a time. Dan and Peg stood together, holding hands silently. Jud and Tiz stood next to each other away from their team mates, feeling a bit lonely as the only ones without someone to hold.
Time seemed to drag on in slow motion as 3:00 drew nearer and nearer. Every minute seemed an hour of torture to the waiting Element holders. During the painful final minutes, they reflected on their past Rangerhood, knowing that however this battle ended, it would be over.
Stephen stood in the center of the main room of the tower, his eyes closed as he focused intensely. His body was wrapped up in Dark Fire, causing the normally dimly lighted room to glow brightly. Minutes from now, mere minutes, the final member of the Chaos Three would take out his enemies once and for all and fulfill his ultimate plan. Earth would be his for the taking, and next, he would move on to Trienith and take it over as well. The possibility that he might lose today's battle never even crossed his mind. Sure, the Power Rangers had beaten him countless times in the past, but they had never fought against him alone with the power he had now gained.
At last, it was time; time for the Rangers' ultimate destruction and his ultimate victory. Stephen grinned to himself, then his eyes shot open and he teleported out of the room, leaving it in bitter darkness.
No sooner had the Rangers' watch-morphers changed to 3:00 when a bright red flash filled the area, blinding them for a moment. When the light cleared and they could see again, they saw Stephen standing not far away from them, his entire body engulfed in almost black flame.
"Well, Rangers," he began, his voice taking on a horribly dark, evil quality that none of them had ever heard before. "This is it. This is the battle to end all battles. Here and now we will finally see which of us is more powerful. I will see just how strong you have gotten with your Elements, and you will experience my ultimate power!"
Will took a few steps towards him, his eyes glowing with Light Fire.
"Pyric," he said, his voice thick with emotion and hatred. "You took from me what was most precious to me. And now, I swear on my life and on hers, I will make you pay for this! You will regret ever crossing me. You're right when you say that we'll finally see which of us is the most powerful. And I promise it will not be you!"
Stephen laughed a sinister, wicked laugh that seemed to echo through the surrounding trees.
"Alright then," he said. "Let's go!"
"Yes, let's do this!" Will cried. He turned to look at his team mates behind him. "Ready, guys?"
"Ready!" they cried out in unison.
"Element, Fire!"
"Element, Water!"
"Element, Wind!"
"Element, Earth!"
"Element, Thunder!"
"Element, Light Fire!"
"Element, Light Water!"
"Element, Light Wind!"
"Element, Light Earth!"
"Element, Dark!"
With that, the ten Power Rangers morphed into their respective colors, each jumping into a fighting position as they prepared for the fight of their lives. Erica stood next to Rufus, ready to fight as well. Although she wasn't a Power Ranger, she still had her Dark Water.
Pyric laughed again as he watched them morph. Lifting his hands into the air, he created a large number of Crodus, whose black forms surrounded him instantly.
"Here's a little appetizer for old time's sake," he said, snickering. "Have fun!" He took a few steps backwards to watch.
"Ah, too chicken to fight us yourself," Will said, shaking his head. "But okay, we'll play your little game. Let's go, guys!"
With that, the Rangers plunged into the thick group of Crodus and began fighting. Beth and Erica teamed up at once. While the Green Ranger still slightly resented Erica for attacking her so harshly before, she was more than willing to forgive and forget her new team mate.
The two of them attacked quickly, using karate rather than weapons against the footsoldiers. As a Crodu rushed towards Beth, she kicked it away towards Erica, who thrust the side of her arm into its back, making it fall forwards hard. Beth punched another one near her and then twisted around to kick one that was about to attack Erica from behind. The older girl smiled in thanks and continued to fight. Holding her hands out in front of her, Erica shot out a powerful blast of Dark Water, knocking away several Crodus in an instant.
Near them, Sean and Angela were teamed up. They were using their bows as usual, destroying several of their enemies with ease. Unfortunately, they didn't notice the Crodus sneaking up behind them until they felt their powerful kicks into their backs. Falling over, both white Rangers dropped their bows, which were knocked away from them by their enemies. Jumping back to their feet, the friends nodded at each other and began fighting hand to hand, having little trouble with the almost mindless footsoldiers.
Jud and Tiz were fighting together as well, using their weapons against the Crodus. Sparks flew everywhere as the Rangers threw their enemies away from them left and right. Crodus had rarely actually been a threat to them. They had mostly been used to soften them up for the real battle, and that was what Stephen was using them for today. The two Rangers fought hard, trying not to use too much of their strength at this point. They knew they would need it later.
Rufus and Will fought side by side, using their respective weapons. This part was easy for them. Will slashed a Crodu across the chest, then knocked it away with his arm. Rufus tossed Crodus away from him with the broad side of his lance, using its thick strength to his advantage. The number of footsoldiers surrounding them began to lessen as they defeated them with little trouble.
Next to them, Dan was teamed with Peg and Jorge against quite a large number of Crodus. They went straight to using their Elements to fight, wanting to save their real strength for the battle against Stephen. Dan shot Fire out rapidly at the oncoming enemies while the two blue Rangers used their Water and Light Water respectively. It wasn't long before they had defeated all the Crodus surrounding them. Looking around, they saw that their team mates had done the same.
Having destroyed the Crodus sent up against them, the Rangers grouped together and stood facing Stephen, who was watching them with a smirk on his face, the Dark Fire still burning on his body. He clapped slowly at them.
"Well done, Rangers," he said, sarcasm rippling through his voice. Then, his tone changed to a serious and dramatic one. "But that was the easy part. The real battle is about to begin. I hope you're ready! This battle will not end until either I destroy all of you or I am destroyed myself, the latter being the least likely. So let's go."
Will nodded, then he turned back to his team for a moment. "We can do this, guys," he said firmly. "No holding back. He's going to give us everything he's got, and we have to do the same." One by one, they nodded at him, each ready and determined.
Focusing hard, Pyric suddenly released the flames on his body, shooting them towards the Rangers. They tried to dive out of the way, but it still hit some of them, knocking them to the ground hard. The Rangers' suits gave them some protection against the powerful fire, but the sheer force of it was still enough to do some damage. Those who had not been hit, Jud, Rufus, Beth, and Erica, charged at Stephen, whose body was now free of the fire. Laughing, he knocked the two girls aside easily with one strong arm. Jud was able to kick him in the chest, making him stumble slightly. He was about to kick the Trienith Green Ranger back when he suddenly felt Rufus' hand on his side. Soon, his whole body was surging with Dark Thunder as Rufus focused hard.
Getting up painfully, Erica shot out Dark Water at Pyric, causing the electric pulses to intensify greatly. The Dark Fire wielder screamed horribly in pain as the Rangers who were hit by his first attack stood up as well. They watched as he writhed painfully, wondering if it was possible that he would be defeated by this one attack.
All of a sudden, his body once again burst into flame, sending everyone near him flying away from him. When the fire faded, the Rangers saw that he seemed nearly unhurt by Rufus' attack.
"Nice try, Oscuro," he said, glaring at the Chaos Ranger as he stood up. "But it will take more than that to defeat me!"
"How about this?" Will cried, taking a few steps towards him and putting his hands out in front of him. A forceful burst of Light Fire shot out of him towards Stephen, glowing in the dim, clouded light. Pyric easily pushed this to the side with his own Dark Fire. The Rangers could only stare in awe at the ease with which he had stopped the attack. Clenching his fist, Tiz stepped forward.
"Well, if Rufus' Dark Thunder wasn't enough for you, why don't you taste some of mine?" he spat out. He sent a powerful surge of Thunder towards Stephen, but he moved easily out of its path at the last second before it hit.
"Tsk tsk, you'll have to be faster than that, Yellow Ranger," Pyric smirked. Growling in frustration, Tiz called out his sai again and ran towards his enemy, pushing past Will as he tried to stop him. Tiz charged up his sai with electricity and stabbed it at Stephen's chest. Sparks flew from the sai's blade as it hit the older boy, but it seemed to hardly affect him. Grinning, Pyric picked Tiz up by the neck and threw him back towards the others. The Yellow Ranger flew into Dan, who was barely able to keep from falling as his friend hit him.
Moving a bit closer to her enemy, Angela called out her bow. "Let's see if this will work, Sean," she cried. Nodding, Sean ran up next to her and called his own bow. The two began rapidly shooting energy arrows towards Stephen. He burst into flames again before they hit, and the arrows seemed to melt into the Dark Fire. Seeing that this wasn't working, Angela threw her bow to the ground angrily.
"Maybe some Wind power will work," Sean suggested, also dropping his weapon. The two of them put their hands out in front of them and created strong tornados. They sent them towards Stephen, and they fused together to form one intense whirlwind as they reached him. Pyric couldn't avoid being caught in the wind, and they lifted him high above the park.
"Let go on three!" Angela cried above the noise of the wind. "1…2…3!" They both ceased controlling the wind at the same time, and Stephen began to fall quickly towards the ground. The two white Rangers crossed their fingers as he approached the Earth. Thrusting a hand downwards, Stephen shot a thick pillar of Dark Fire at the ground. He used this to slow himself down until he was able to land with no problem.
"Ha, learned that trick from you, Adus," he said, grinning at the Trienith Red Ranger. "And now it's my turn to attack."
With this, he ran towards the Rangers, knocking them to either side of him quickly before they had a chance to attack or defend themselves. He ended up on the other side of them, smiling as he watched them struggling to stand up again. Before they had a chance, Pyric let out a wave of Dark Fire towards them, sending them flying backwards several feet. This caused the Rangers to all demorph as their power waned. After a moment, they forced themselves to stand again the best they could.
Clutching her arm painfully where Stephen had hit, Beth gave Will a desperate look. "Now what do we do?" she asked. "None of our Elements seem to work against him."
"Not alone at least," Dan said, determination in his voice. "Maybe if we used all of our Elements at the same time it would be enough."
Will nodded. "Good idea. We need to work together to do this, guys!" he cried. He gestured for the Rangers to surround Stephen. They formed a circle around him, but he didn't look at all intimidated. "Alright guys, we have to focus and use all of our strength. This is our only chance, so give it everything you have!"
Each Ranger focused as hard as they could, closing their eyes and putting their hands out in front of them. Unexpectedly, they began to glow their respective colors; Dan and Will red, Peg, Jorge, and Erica blue, Sean and Angela white, Beth and Jud green, Tiz yellow, and Rufus purple. The glowing seemed to form an aura around each of them. These auras slowly lifted a bit above their bodies. Pyric stared at them wide eyed, hardly believing what he was seeing. Now he was getting scared, not knowing what was going to happen with this.
Suddenly, the Rangers all opened their eyes at the same time, and their auras shot towards Stephen at an incredible speed. Their enemy let out a scream of pain as the whole area began to glow a whitish color, forming a dome around him. The dome grew immensely in size until it seemed to fill the whole park. The sound of an explosion burst out, and there was a bright flash. When the light faded, the Rangers saw Pyric lying on his back in front of them, his eyes barely open.
"I…I never knew the Elements held such power," he said weakly, his breath coming in struggled gasps. "You win, Power Rangers. This is the last the Earth will ever see of the Chaos Three, or the Dark Fire. My…my plan has failed, and I am defeated." He looked to Will, who was gazing at him with a stern expression. "You led them well, Adus," he said respectfully, his eyes closing. "Farewell…" With these last words, Pyric, the former leader of the Chaos Three and the wielder of the Element of Dark Fire, disappeared in a flash of red, never to be seen again in this world or any other.
"Farewell," Will answered softly.
About an hour later, the Rangers were all in the café crowded around their favorite table. Only Will, Erica, and Rufus were nowhere to be seen. Del had made smoothies for everyone as they celebrated their victory.
"We did it, guys," Dan said proudly. "Finally, our Power Ranger days are over, and we can go back to our normal lives."
"It will take a while to get used to that," Tiz laughed. "It already seems like we've had the power forever."
"Well technically we have," Jud said matter-of-factly. "The Elements have been with us all our lives, even though we didn't know it."
"Yep," Angela agreed. "And they revealed that to us when we were needed."
Dan rolled his eyes, a smile still on his face. "You know what I meant."
"Of course they did," Peg grinned. "It's just fun to pick on you." This brought laughter to the whole table. Del sighed softly.
"I only wish I could have been a Ranger," he said. "It looked like fun."
"Well it's a lot of responsibility," Sean replied pointedly. "And you have to be careful or it might endanger the ones you love." He hugged Beth who was on one side of him and Marie who was on his other side. She smiled at him and nodded.
"And it sure cut into my video game time," Tiz said, folding his arms across his chest. Peg reached around Dan to punch her friend in the arm lightly.
"Is that all you ever think about?" she asked, laughing with the others.
"No, of course not," Tiz insisted, pretending to look hurt. "It's only almost all I think about." He stuck his tongue out at her playfully and laughed.
"So, what are you guys going to do now?" Beth asked suddenly, looking around at the Trienith Rangers.
Jorge looked down at Angela in his arms for a moment before looking back at her and answering. "Well, we were thinking of going home to our planet," he began slowly.
"But we decided to stay here with you guys," Angela finished with a smile. "It's been so long since we've been on Trienith it wouldn't really feel like home anymore."
"Yeah," Jud agreed. "Plus we'd miss you guys too much." He was standing behind one side of the booth-like table, leaning over the back of the seat. Smirking, he ruffled Sean's thin hair. "And someone has to be here to keep this one in line," Jud laughed. Sean glared up at him but said nothing in response.
A pleasant silence filled the table as the Rangers each became busy with their own thoughts. Before long though, Beth broke the silence again.
"Hey, does anyone know where Will is?" she asked. "And Erica and Rufus aren't here either."
"I think I saw them go into the back room," Del said. "It looked like they were talking about something important."
"Hmm, that's odd," Dan said. "I wonder what they could be talking about that we're not supposed to hear."
"Who knows?" Tiz said. "And right now, who cares? We should be happy right now and enjoy our final victory." He lifted his glass with his smoothie up towards the center of the table. "A toast, to defeating Pyric and saving the world."
The others lifted their glasses towards his, and they all drank happily to this toast. After every thing they had been through to finally fulfill their mission, it seemed the least they could do to celebrate.
Later that evening, the friends and past Power Rangers were all standing outside the café, staring at Will in the shock and disbelief of what he had just told them. At first, they didn't know what to say, but at last Peg spoke up.
"You're going back to Trienith?" she asked sadly. "But you can't just leave us. We need you…"
"Our mission is over and complete now," Will answered firmly. "And I'm going home."
"You may not be our leader anymore," Tiz said. "But you're still our friend."
"Of course," the older man replied. "I'll always be your friend, and you'll always be mine. But after everything that happened, I…I can't stay here anymore."
Jud gave him a serious look. "Adus, going back to Trienith won't bring her back."
"Don't speak of what you don't understand, Cirin," Will snapped back, glaring slightly at him. "You have no idea what it's like. I had to lose her not once but twice. It's too much for one person to handle." His voice calmed a bit and grew more sad than angry. "No one should have to go through this, but I do." He looked away from them to try and hide the tears forming in his eyes. After a moment, he continued. "I'm leaving the café to Erica and Rufus. They will run it now and it belongs to them."
Rufus smiled softly as he held Erica's hand beside him. "Now that Pyric is gone, his spell on us is broken," he began. "We'll start aging normally now. We could go back to Trienith as well, but Adus asked us to take over the café, and we figured it was the least we could do."
"And Earth is home-like enough," Erica put in. "I think we'll get along just fine here."
Will nodded, forcing a smile. "You will, and I thank you for taking over for me," he said. Then, he turned back to the former Rangers, looking specifically at his friends from Trienith. "I've contacted Mak, and he's coming here to take me home."
Angela's eyes widened and she grinned at him. "Really?" Will nodded in response. "Awesome. It will be great to see him again."
"Yeah, it's been so long," Jorge agreed. The Earth Rangers looked at them in confusion, but Jorge just shook his head. "Long story. We'll tell you later."
Suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the small parking lot. When it cleared, a man who looked to be a little older than Will was standing there in front of them. He wore a long white cloak with strange gold markings on it. On his feet he had tall white boots. His light blue eyes seemed to pierce the heart of anyone he looked at, and his short black hair seemed to glow on his head.
While the Earth Rangers just stared at him in awe, Angela ran forward immediately and hugged him.
"Mak!" she cried. "It's so good to see you!" He smiled as he hugged her back.
"It's good to see you again too, Angela," he said. His voice sounded both kind and strong at the same time, and it seemed to almost echo off of the side of the café. Jud and Jorge went towards him and shook his hand in greeting, looking very pleased. Will said nothing as he looked at his friend. Erica and Rufus avoided looking at him and they almost seemed to be ashamed.
"Don't worry," Mak said. "You both used your powers for good to help defeat the ultimate evil. I forgive you for once being my enemies." They turned to him and smiled a little.
"Thank you," Rufus said softly. Mak then turned to Will.
"Let's go home, Adus," he said. Will nodded and stepped closer to him. Before he reached him, though, Beth ran over to him and threw her arms around him.
"I'm going to miss you, Will," she told him sadly. "Thank you for everything, and I'll never forget you!" He looked down at her, surprised at first, before hugging her back gently.
"I'll miss you too, Beth," he said. The others took their turns in saying goodbye to Will as well. Even Del hugged his former boss, saying a sad goodbye himself. At last, the Trienith Red Ranger was ready to go. He went over and stood next to Mak, who put his hand on his shoulder. Both of them waved to the others before slowly fading away.
As soon as the two disappeared completely from sight, the others turned and one by one went back inside the café. Only Beth and Sean remained outside, staring at the spot where their friend had just been standing.
"The Overclocked Café won't be the same without him," Beth sighed, smiling sadly. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
"No, it won't," he said. "Nothing will ever be the same after all of this. Everything has changed so much in all this time we've spent as Rangers. But I think we all changed for the better, and from where I'm standing, the future looks bright." She smiled up at him as he looked down at her lovingly. Turning around in his arms, Beth stretched herself up to kiss him lightly on the lips. Then, hand in hand, the two of them walked back into the café with their friends, closing the door behind them.
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A/N: And there we go! I hope you all enjoyed the ending (even though part of it was rushed), and once again thanks for reading this. If you're confused about Mak, don't worry, because he will be explained more in the prequel. Thanks once more for reading! I love you all! I hope you liked it! Leave a review!
