Full summary: A thousand years ago, the demon Ahriman was sealed away by a group of nine great warriors. Before he was sealed, Ahriman vowed to return. However, he has now returned and declared Earth as his target. Going after Cotton Spirit, California, Ahriman's return forced the hand of Duša, the mentor to the original warriors. Calling upon the ancient animal spirits held, Ahriman recruits nine teenagers to become the newest group of Power Rangers. Enter the Power Rangers Ancient Animals.
AN: This is a rewrite of a story I originally wrote going on seven years ago (more, actually). The characters are all OCs, and the list of who the Rangers belong to is from when I originally published the original PRAA. If the author has changed the name since, then the name woudn't be right on here.
Zayna "Z" "Zay" "Na" Amanda Trueheart (Me) Pink Wolf
Liam "Lee" "Stevie" Stevenson (ULTRASAURUS123) Silver Snow Leopard
Daivd Ragendwarf (Pyrolion2) Red Lion
Calleigh "Cal" "Fek" Megan Fetkenhier (NCIS Band Geek) Yellow Bobcat
Stephan "Steve" "Galloway" "Phant" Galloway (The 4thEnthusiast) Blue Elephant
James " " "Jay" Wallace (White-Falcon-06) Black Orca (killer whale)
Malia "Lia" O'Hannah (StarWriter0303) White Snow Leopard
Aaron "Sparky" Sparkx (Silverdude217) Green Serpent
Timothy "Tim" "Birdy" Ryder-Drake (gardien1204) Gold Eagle
Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, only Zayna, Duša, and Ahriman.
Rise Up Evil Part 1 (Ep. 1)
Rise up rangers save the world/Put the demon in his place/Go Rangers/Go Rangers/Go rangers go/Use Ancient Animals to save the world/ Power Rangers Ancient Animals Rule/ Go Rangers/ Go Rangers/ Go Rangers/ GO!
It was the beginning of the school year in Cotton Spirit, California. Perfect California weather, the typical feelings of excitement and dread for the first day of school at Cotton Spirit High School, home of the Scorpions; summer was over. Didn't matter if you were an excited freshman, a near senioritis senior, or a member of the staff, the drama of high school was back.
"Hey nerd, you better listen and listen good." A varsity football player shoved the platinum blonde haired and blue eyed 10th grader walking down the hall and looking lost in thought. "You do what I say, otherwise Sparky ain't gonna be so sparky…"
"The Arizona State University mascot…? OH! You mean me." Sparky, or Aaron Sparkx, retorted pointing to himself only to get a blank look from the football player. Then he sighed in annoyance. "And just how do you plan on doing that?"
There was a beat of silence, then Aaron turned and started walking away, rolling his eyes and flashing a 'W'. "Whatever, let me know when you figure that out…"
"Oh that is it smart ass…" Enraged, the football player lunged after Aaron, only to have his arm suddenly twisted behind his back, falling to his knees as he cried out in pain.
"Leave him alone." A female voice commanded, causing Aaron to turn around in astonishment. He could barely hide his smile at the teenage girl with dark hair holding down a guy nearly twice her size. She leaned down closer to the football player's ear.
"You don't bother him for the rest of the year, or I twist your arm out of your socket. Got it?" She matter of factly stated, twisting the arm ever so slightly more, causing him to gasp. The football player hastily nodded and the girl let him go, the kid running off and muttering under his breath about wolf-raised freaks. Turning to Aaron, the girl's demeanor changed and she asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Z," Aaron said. Zayna Trueheart, or "Z" as she preferred, just smiled at her friend. Aaron smiled back, still astonished at what his friend could do. Zayna was still relatively new to Cotton Spirit, having moved to the town during the previous summer. From the moment she had moved, it seemed like everyone in town had known some version of her story, about how she was left in the forest as a child and raised by wolves.
"No prob… that jerk has no right to pick on anyone." She replied with a shrug just as the bell rang.
"Well, see ya at lunch." Aaron waved at her as he jogged away from her to his first hour. Smiling, Zayna briefly returned the wave before heading to her own first hour class, Room 304 for Mythology. When she finally found the classroom (after a couple of wrong turns and a quick stop at the water fountain) Zayna walked into the room to find the teacher had a seating chart and that she was to sit next to some girl named 'Calleigh Fetkenhier'.
Sighing, Zayna found her seat and sat down, waiting to discover what her tablemate would be like. As she dug through her bag for her notebook, another person plopped down into the seat next to her. Zayna stopped for a moment and watched the girl with shoulder length light brown hair, a cut not dissimilar from Lindsay Monroe on CSI New York (a show Zayna had discovered, and rather enjoyed over the summer), and glasses pull out a spiral bound notebook with sharpie decorating the front and a pen and set them on the desk before leaning back in her seat and dropping her heavily decorated messenger bag on the ground.
The girl rolled her neck and adjusted her glasses and the neckline of her yellow t-shirt before looking over at Zayna.
"Zayna, right?" She asked, sounding slightly nervous.
"Yeah. And you are…?" Z replied, raising an eyebrow at the girl.
"Calleigh, but call me Cal or Fek. Your choice… but if you make a CSI Miami reference I've had it up to here with them about my name." Calleigh raised her hand just about eye level. Zayna couldn't help but laugh slightly at that.
"Gotta admit, only ever seen the New York one. And that was just recently over this past summer. And please, call me Z, I hate it when people use my full name," Zayna said.
"Ah… well then, nice to meet you Z." Calleigh smiled and leaned over holding out her left hand.
"And you Fek," Zayna returned the smile and shook the other girl's hand. After they released hands, there were a few beats of silence as Z pulled out her notebook and a pencil. Then Calleigh asked, "So, what grade you in and why'd you take mythology?"
"I'm a junior, eleventh grade. And it just...it seemed like a cool class, I guess," Zayna shrugged, feeling slightly nervous around Calleigh's weird energy. Calleigh laughed and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much the same for me. Saw they were offering it and just went 'ah what the hell'. Oh, and I'm a senior. But yeah, mythology, crazy interesting stuff to me man, I mean Romulus and Remus, totally cool."
"Those are the brothers who were raised by wolves right?" Zayna questioned, knowing full well the answer, but was still wondering about this girl. She's never met anyone with so many mixed energies…"
"Yup." Calleigh adjusted herself in her chair. "Plus I just love that a couple of my favorite stories have a character or place named after them. I like odd little connections like that…"
"Hm. To me they show that just because you weren't raised by humans, or under 'normal' circumstances, doesn't mean you can't make a difference." Zayna finished her statement with a dark edge to her voice that Calleigh couldn't miss.
"How exactly do ya mean?" Calleigh leaned forward, looking at Zayna curiously. Zayna almost told her off, almost, until she noticed that the older girl is genuinely interested. Taking a deep breath, Zayna began her story.
"Well, when I was little…" and for the rest of the class period Zayna told Calleigh the story of how when she was four, her parents took her on a drive and left her in a forest. And how the wolves that found her seemed to have something of humanity in them and took her in as part of their pack to raise her. When she finished the story, she tried to read Calleigh's face to gauge her reaction. She had everything from 'You need help' to 'Liar' over the years. But she couldn't tell with Calleigh, aside from looking a tad impressed the older girl is difficult to read. Surprisingly, Calleigh let out a small laugh. "One question."
"What?" Zayna asked, her tone wary as she braced herself for the worst.
"As long as it is okay with you, I am going to call you Romola, the feminine version of Romulus?" Calleigh asked, completely serious. Laughing, Zayna couldn't help but smile.
"Sure," she agreed, realizing that Calleigh wasn't just serious but that her entire reaction was better than what she had expected. Calleigh grinned and was about to say something else when the bell rang.
"Well I'll see you later, Romola," Calleigh said and grabbed her notebook, pen and the syllabus that had been passed out, threw her messenger bag on and walked out a full 10 seconds before Zayna could even grab her bag. Zayna shook her head, smiling as she put her notebook and pen in her bag. Calleigh was a strange girl, but she seemed nice enough.
Zayna's next class was Trigonometry and she had to run nearly across campus to get to the classroom, barely making it thirty seconds before the bell rang. Shrugging off a few stares from that escapade, Zayna walked to the only open seat in the class, the one next to the guy with tan skin, short black hair and dark brown, almost black eyes.
As Zayna moved to sit next to him, she dropped her bag on the desk and felt his eyes watching her as she sat down. Ignoring the creepy feeling that it gave her, Zayna started pulling out her stuff and suddenly found herself with a piercing headache and a vision of a silvery formation looking into the trunk of a tree in some forest watching her.
"Zayna Trueheart." The teacher impatiently called. Zayna snapped out of her daze. "Yeah?"
"Just making sure you're here, but next time don't make me the teacher from Ferris Buller's Day Off," The teacher stated, earning laughter from the class. Zayna shrunk back into her seat and finished pulling out her stuff as the teacher continued roll call.
"...James Wallace," the teacher said.
"Here," the dark eyed boy next to Zayna said before turning to her, "Hi. I'm James."
"Kinda figured that." Zayna said, her tone sarcastic.
"Yeah… and you're Zayna." James rather obviously continued.
"No...what gave you that idea," Zayna said, her tone still sarcastic. James just laughed, smiling at her.
"So...do you go by Zayna or…?" James trailed off. Zayna sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Most people call me Z," she said, her tone slightly cold.
"Well then how about this, I call you Z and you call me Jay?" James asked, giving her a hopeful smile. Zayna sighed but couldn't help but smile back. It was already clear, the semester was going to be anything but boring.
Aaron walked down the hall, sighing as he did. He could already tell it was going to be a long year, even with his new friend, and Aaron knew that the bullies wouldn't leave him alone for long. He really wished, and hoped, that for once they would leave him alone. Sweeping his platinum blond hair out of his eyes, Aaron made his way to his first hour class in Room 511, World Religions.
Aaron got to his class just in time and looked at the seating chart that the teacher had made up. He knew that the class was an elective, so there would be students of all grades in the class with him. Looking at the seating chart, Aaron noted that he would be sharing a table with three other students: Stephan Galloway, Malia O'Hannah, and Timothy Ryder-Drake. Wondering exactly who and what his table mates would be like, Aaron took a seat and waited.
The first person to join him at the table was a girl on the taller end with tan skin, wavy blonde hair, and blue eyes. Aaron could tell that the girl was athletic since he could see muscles under her white blouse and jean shorts.
"Malia O'Hannah," Malia said, sitting down in the seat across from Aaron.
"I'm Aaron...Aaron Sparkx, but most people I know call me Sparky," Aaron said, flashing a smile at Malia, who smiled back shyly.
"Sparky, huh?" an unfamiliar voice said. The two teenagers looked up to see an older boy looking down at them. The boy was tall with a lean build, dark hair, and brown eyes. Aaron noted the boy was wearing a black shirt with black jeans. A belt with golden colored markings rested on the boy's waist while a gold necklace hung around his neck. The boy was grinning cockily, his smile almost a smirk.
"Who are you?" Aaron asked, his tone wary about the older boy.
"Name's Timothy, what about you two?" Timothy asked.
"I'm Aaron and that's Malia," Aaron said, motioning to himself and Malia. Timothy nodded at the two, taking a seat. Another boy walked up to them at that moment. This boy looked around Aaron's age, but was on the taller side. He had tan skin with light brown hair and teal eyes. The boy looked on the leaner side, though he had some muscles under his jeans and blue shirt with a leather jacket covering it.
"Hi?" the boy said, his tone somewhat nervous.
"Hi," Aaron grinned, "I assume you're Stephan?" Stephan nodded, "Yeah. I'm Stephan Galloway. My family calls me Phant though."
"I'm Malia, that's Aaron, and that's Timothy," Malia said, choosing to make the introductions. Timothy nodded at Stephan, who just smiled shyly and took a seat.
"So what grades are all of you in?" Aaron asked, "I'm a sophomore."
"I am too," Stephan said, pulling out his notebook and pen.
"I'm in eleventh grade, I believe that is a junior," Malia said, her tone unsure.
"Senior," Timothy said, not really sounding like he wanted to do much talking. Aaron looked at the others, who merely shrugged before the teacher began class. Once the class was nearly done, the teacher allowed the students to talk amongst each other.
"So, that class was interesting," Aaron said with a grin. Malia smiled shyly back at him, "Yeah, it was pretty cool."
"It was," Stephan agreed with a smile while Timothy just shrugged and said, "I guess."
"So uh...do you guys maybe wanna sit with me and one of my other friends at lunch…as long as you don't have anyone else you want to sit with that is," Aaron said, hastily adding on the last part when his nerves got to him. Timothy just shrugged while Stephan looked thoughtful.
"Maybe, I might sit with my girlfriend but if she doesn't have the same lunch as me, sure!" he said.
"I would like that," Malia said softly, "I haven't really met many new people and would love to meet some more." Aaron grinned, "Great! See you guys at lunch, then!"
Lunch came quickly and Aaron raced to the cafeteria, looking around. Grinning, he saw Zayna already sitting down at a table. To his great surprise, there were two other people sitting with Zayna, one girl and one boy. Aaron quickly got in line and got his food, heading to his friend.
"Z!" Aaron cheerfully greeted as he sat next to the dark haired teenager.
"Hey Sparky," Zayna grinned at her friend.
"Who are your friends?" Aaron asked, playfully wagging his eyebrows. Zayna laughed.
"Sparky, these are Calleigh and James. Cal, Jay, this is Aaron, though everyone calls him Sparky," Zayna made the introductions.
"It's nice to meet you," Aaron said before turning to Zayna, "There might be a few others sitting with us. Some kids from my first hour class, the World Religions one, are thinking of sitting with us."
"The more the merrier I say," Calleigh said. Aaron grinned, "Same here." James and Zayna just laughed at the two as Stephan, Malia, and (surprising Aaron) Timothy approached.
"Got some seats open?" Timothy asked.
"Of course, but I didn't think you were gonna come with with us," Aaron said. Timothy just shrugged as he, Stephan, and Malia took seats near the others.
"So Sparky, who are your friends?" Zayna asked. Aaron grinned, "These are Stephan, Malia, and Timothy."
"Hi, I'm Calleigh, that's Zayna, and that's James," Calleigh said and motioned to the others.
"Aren't you the wolf girl?" Timothy asked. Zayna's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Yeah, I was raised by wolves. What about it?" she snapped. Timothy raised his hands slightly, "I didn't mean anything about it, just curious." Zayna narrowed her eyes but said nothing as another teenager approached them. This boy was tall, very tall, and had short brown hair and brown eyes. He had on a pair of jeans with a red shirt and black combat boots.
"David, hey. Come sit," Calleigh said. David sat by Calleigh, looking at the younger students with interest.
"Guys, this is David Ragendwarf, he's in my grade," Calleigh said, "David these are Zayna, James, Aaron, Malia, Stephan, and Timothy." David pointed at Timothy, "You're a senior, right?"
"Yeah," Timothy muttered.
"I thought so, I've had some classes with you before, I think," David said. Timothy just shrugged, saying nothing.
"So anyone else joining us?" James asked, sitting back in his seat.
"Maybe one more kid. I met him last hour and he said he would try to sit with us," Zayna said. The others all nodded and they continued their lunch. As lunchtime neared its end, another teenage boy approached them. The teenager had dark skin, dark eyes, and dark haired styled into an afro-mohawk. Though the teenager looked young, he was tall and muscular with a diamond stud in one ear, and was dressed in a grey shirt and dark skinny jeans.
"Liam, hey. Glad you stopped by," Zayna smiled at the classmate she had met the previous hour.
"Hey good looking," Liam said, his tone flirtatious. Zayna just laughed, grinning.
"Guys, this is Liam, I met him in my science class last hour. Liam, these are Aaron, James, Calleigh, Malia, Stephan, Timothy, and David."
"Please, call me Sparky, everyone does," Aaron said, extending his hand to the dark skinned teenager. Liam grinned, shaking his hand.
"Cal or Fek, please," Calleigh said, pushing her hair back.
"Fek it is," Liam said, shooting her a wink. Calleigh just laughed, shaking her head.
"Lia, please," Malia said, her tone soft. Liam winked at her, nodding.
"You can always call me Phant, most people do," Stephan said.
"I'll use all these nicknames as long as you guys call me Lee," Liam said.
"Sounds good to me," Aaron said while the others just nodded as the bell rang.
"Hey, I heard a Juice Bar just opened up, wanna meet there after school?" Malia said as the students began heading out of the cafeteria and to their next classes.
"Sounds like a plan," David said, speaking for everyone.
"Sounds good, meet you there," Malia said as they all headed off.
AN2: This chapter has essentially combined the original two 'episodes' of the original Power Rangers Ancient Animals. In essence, the first two part episode was originally split into four chapter, but now I have them in two chapters. Next chapter will likely be up sometime next week.