Summary: The end of the story is at hand…can Hayden do what 8 others failed at?
A/N: This is it, ladies and gentleman. The end of Spectres of the Past. The next story will Power Rangers: Special Police Deltaranger – Season 1 rewrite. Enjoy this final chapter…
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Hayden Christopher James.
The Power Ranger that no one expected to exist. A teenager who was as ruthless and as hard as they could come. Look him straight and the eye and you would run with fear. After acquiring the Golden Dino Gem his attitude took an even further dive…straight into the depth's of hell itself. He had murdered two innocent people. A Power Ranger had committed the ultimate wrong.
But he didn't care then and he didn't care now.
But what he did care about…
Their fists cracked together and Hayden slipped his other arm up, grasping the massive demon's hand and yanked him forward with unfathomable mighty. Darius gasped, jerking forward and cried out, feeling the massive, spiked knee crash into his gut. Pain was all the demon felt…was all he could feel. It had felt like someone took a sizzling hot spike and jammed it into his stomach with the force of bulldozer. He suddenly cried out as the lightning cackled across Hayden's body and snapped into Darius. He threw his head back, letting out a scream as his muscles convulsed painfully.
"G-Give it up, Demon." Hayden hissed and suddenly whipped Darius to the ground. The crack that followed sounded like the first, loud snap of thunder rolling across the sky. Rocks sprayed against Hayden's body and face, but the Ranger did not flinch. "Y-You c-can't b-beat me…y-you never could…"
Darius' eyes flashed open at the insult and kicked his massive, hulking leg up into Hayden's left side. He staggered away with a cry of pain but had no time to even think about centering himself before Darius was looming over him, fist raised and ready to fall. Hayden stared Darius down for one split second. That was all the Golden One needed.
Still falling, Hayden had twisted, landing on both hands and thrust a single leg into a vicious, rising sidekick that nearly tore through Darius' gut. Blood spewed from the monster's mouth as it splattered against the rubble. Hayden retracted his leg a second later and pushed off the ground into a flip, landing a dozen meters away.
Darius hit the cold, hard ground with a loud thud and the Earth literally shook. Hayden panted lightly, staring at the motionless Darius. His chest rose and fell with each breath as sweat trickled down front of his face, leaving behind a long, warm wetness. Another blue-white cackle of lightning sparked around his body and Hayden cried out, clutching his shoulders as he fell to his knee. Another and another volt stroked through his body as he shivered with pain. His sharp blue eyes flickered to the Morpher as it sparkled several times.
"Tch…it's going to blow." His eyes returned to Darius as he began to stir. His lips curled into a thin grin and Hayden shook his head at the irony. "I'm going to be killed by my own damn suit…god, where's the irony in that?"
Darius was halfway up now, shaking the cobwebs out of his head and he staggered back to full height now. Hayden panted hard and suddenly cried out as another volt surged through his body. He fell onto one hand now as the other clutched his chest with a vicious grip. Was this how it was going to end? His morpher was going to explode and in the process he'd take Darius with him…but along with the rest of the Rangers? No…that wasn't fair. "Don't you dare explode yet…" Hayden hissed and forced himself to his feet. He heard the first thunderous step of Darius and he looked up to see the hulk beast panting hard; fire flaring from his nostrils.
"I guess…" Hayden said allowed as the two were now only a few meters apart from each other. Another hulking step brought them a meter and half away. "This is the end…" Hayden whispered and fell into stance. "…of everything."
And then they met…
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Tommy twitched and he shook his head lightly. He raised one hand to his head and winced, feeling the throbbing in deep in his skull. "Concussion most likely." He thought and groaned, trying to move his muscles. They protested by tightening on him. So, he slapped his body and legs – further bringing pain to himself – and stood up. He let out a gasp and then sighed in relief as he felt his back crack in several different places. "Who needs a chiropractor? Just go out fight your local neighborhood Hulk and have him crack your back…for free."
Tommy dusted his clothes off and let out a see, seeing all the fall bodies. Trent came staggering out of the hole in the wall, shaking his own cobwebs away and Kimberly began to stir, albeit painfully. He glanced to Ethan as his Gem flashed and his eyes flickered open. They began to search the area and then locked with Tommy's. A moment later, he began to stand.
"My Dino Gem isn't enough." Tommy frowned, looking down at his palm as the gem burned a deep, deep green and then slowly melted into his hand as the Dragonzord coin. "It looks like we're going to need extra fire power…"
"Hey, look!" Ethan shouted, pointing towards the street. Tommy looked up and saw Conner and Kat helping the stumbling Kira and Wes back to the group. "They're alive!"
Tommy smiled, but it was only a thin one. There was still one ranger missing…and he figured by the sounds of the battling in the distance, it was probably him. He looked down at the coin again and gripped it tightly. Righting behind his back, he gripped the handheld morpher and jammed the coin into it. He hoped, he begged, he prayed this would be the last time or the last day he would have to morph. There was a new set of Rangers coming around and it was to lay the morphers down.
He gripped the morpher again and drew his arm back. Trent, Kimberly, Kat, Wes, Kira, Conner and Ethan watched with wide eyes as their friends, mentors, or lovers face twisted into one of pure, undefined rage. "It's Morphin' Time!" He cried out and thrust his arm forward and twisted his wrist. The morpher flashed an emerald-golden hue as it encompassed Tommy with its warming light. "DRAGONZORD!"
Tommy flipped through the air and landed in the middle of the street. He glanced at the other Rangers, eyeing them through the black visor and then looked ahead again. He could see the splashes of lightning and heard the thunderous cracks from the battling ahead. He let out a low hiss and charged forward.
Darius' end was at hand.
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"Hayden, Tommy has morphed into the Dragon Ranger." Hayden hissed angrily, pushing blade for blade against Darius. This wasn't what he needed. He just needed the other Rangers to stay out of the battle. He needed the other rangers to get away from her so when the Morpher finally detonated…they wouldn't be caught in the blast. "Dragon, can you tell the other's to stay back?"
"Not without Darius hearing me."
"Fuck…"
Hayden jumped away as Darius staggered forward, walking right into the upward slash from Hayden. The massive beast cried out and staggered back, clutching his face as blood seeped between his fingers. He whirled around to see Tommy running up to him. He suddenly slashed his blade out, keeping him at bay. "Tommy, leave!"
Tommy gasped, his eyes widening beneath the mask. What did he say?
"Tommy, leave me now!" He raised his left hand, showing the cackling morpher. "The thing's going to explode any minute, and when it does, half this city is going with it!"
"What?" Fear was the only thing Hayden could distinguish in Tommy's voice: 100 pure, genuine fear. "B-But then…you…"
"Tommy…you can't save me." He said and rested his golden gloved hands on his shield. "You have to come to terms with that, Tommy. Now matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, say or think…you can not save me." He shoved him away and turned. "Now go. Get the other Rangers out of here." He raised the morpher, seeing the cackling lightning become thicker and brighter. "I say you have about a minute or two before this thing explodes." He lowered his hand and looked towards the recovering Darius. "Now go Tommy…and…do me a favor…" He glanced back at him a final time. "It's not fair to Conner…but tell him I loved him…tell him…he was the only person I ever considered a brother…and Tommy…thank him." He said and looked away one last time. "Farewell, my friend." He gave him a two finger wave, gripped his sword and rushed into battle.
Tommy's mind was blank at this point. He didn't know what was powering his legs to move, but they were. Was it because he believed Hayden? Or maybe because he had a duty – a promise – to do or to tell? He didn't know and he figured he may never know. The tears streamed down his face as the stumbling, aching figures of his companions – of his wife – came into view. They all stopped, watching as their mentor half ran, half stumbled towards them.
"We have to go." He said, choking back any signs of crying. "This city is about to be decimated." He said, gripping Ethan and Kimberly's shoulder.
"But what about-" Ethan back but was cut off by a firm no from Tommy.
"We can't save him now, Ethan. Come on, we don't have much time." He said and raised his arm.
But the brilliant yellow-white flash that blinded everyone brought the worst of the fears out.
Too late…
But then a miracle happened. Or maybe it was a stroke of luck? All Nine Rangers were consumed by their respective colors before the yellow-orange fire could rip them to shreds. They had been saved…and to Tommy? It just wasn't enough…
For not everyone would come home that day…
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A minute earlier…
"Perhaps I should have told him the truth…" He looked down at the morpher. Tommy has less then one minute to run a hundred feet to the rangers another thousand to the out skirts of town. The Dino Gems increased speed…but you'd a miracle to get far that quick. Or maybe perhaps have super human speed. "Oh well…not that it'll matter in the next few seconds anyway…"
Darius was standing completely now and he wiped the blood away from his face. "I'll get you for this, Power Range-" He stopped at seeing Hayden hold up his arm. He saw the lightning cackling even harder around it now.
"In about 15 seconds, it's not going to matter." He said and let his hand fall. "You, me, this town and the rest of the rangers are about to go up in smoke." He shrugged his shoulders. "Go ahead. Throw some bricks at me, crush me with your massive strength. Hell, I don't even care if you beat me to death with my own weapon. Once this blows…we're all gone."
The cackling stopped and a yellow white light flashed from the Morphers eyes.
"No…no…" Darius began backing away. "It can't be…I DIDN'T COME THIS FAR TO DIE!"
Hayden took a deep breath and raised his eyes to the sky. A single, painful tear trickled down his face. "And this is the end…" Hayden thought, smiling thinly. "This nightmare finally ends." The sky was lit up with a yellow-orange flash and he felt the pain first. The intense fire ripped through body like a wildfire through a forest. He felt his skin melt first, then his organs and muscles…and finally his bones.
Yet, through the entire thing…he was simply smiling.
Even in the face of death Hayden Christopher James could not cry, could not scream or protest in any ort of way. He could only smile and life. He was going to where ever it was God chose for him – albeit Heaven or Hell. He no longer cared.
And then it was over…
The Last Ranger had died…
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A/N: I decided to extend it one more chapter, the epilogue. And what I mean by "The Last Ranger" is, he's the last ranger to die by evil forces period. Well, for this set of stories anyway. Enjoy.