Hello everyone, I am so very sorry about the super long wait. I have been dealing with very bad writer's block among other things but I finally back hopefully for good. I plan on finishing this story and every other Ranger story I have planned. If you read this and review I want to thank you all for your constant support despite my horrible updating schedule.
*I do not own Power Rangers as they go with Hasbro. I want to thank Shadow knight1121, decoded9, LovingGinger30 and Deadman68 for their respective OC's in my Trident Force Series, Jungle Strike Series & Jurassic Storm Series.
Corey awoke to the sound of Christmas music coming from the living room, he let out a groan as he turned over and looked at the clock on his nightstand. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up. The more awake he became, the more the music got louder. He raised his eyebrow in confusion, his dad worked today, and CeCe wasn't home, she was over in Turtle Cove visiting some friend from high school that she hasn't seen since graduation. 'Maybe someone broke into the apartment, but why would they be singing?' Corey thought to himself as he grabs his morpher and straps it onto his wrist, he pulls open the bedroom door and that's when the singing got louder. Before stepping out into the hall, he made sure to grab the baseball bat his father had giving him when he ten hoping that he would be into sports, but that never happened.
He slowly made his way down the hall towards the living room with the baseball bat raised high up into the air. He stops when he reaches the end of the hall. He waits a few moments before jumping out into the living room but the moment he sees who standing there the bat slips from his hands and hits the floor with a loud thud.
"No… way" he murmurs in shock.
Standing before him wasn't his father or his sister, it was a woman wearing a pirate outfit but in Christmas colors instead of the traditional dark brown.
"Ahoy matey, Tis bout time you had awoken from your slumber" the Christmas pirate said smiling when she saw Corey standing there. The pirate placed the ornament that she had in her hand down back in the box. The pirate saunters over to where Corey is standing frozen in place. "What? Davy Jones got your tongue?" the pirate asked bemused.
"You… You're not real" Corey stuttered in shock.
The pirate chuckled then grabbed Corey on the shoulder which made the blue Trident Force Ranger jump in shock at the realization that the pirate was in fact real. Corey shook off the shock and pushed the hand away before stepping back away.
"Do you not recognize me mate?" the pirate asked the smile on her face receding.
"You're Captain Fairchild LaRosa… my imaginary friend I had when I was eight years old" Corey stuttered.
The Christmas pirate smirked then stepped back and bowed to Corey before standing back up, Captain LaRosa made her way over and picked up another Christmas ornament out of a box then walked back over and placed it on the Christmas tree. Corey slowly stepped backwards away from the living room, he continued to watch as Captain LaRosa continued to place ornaments on the tree. He had no idea what to do about what he was seeing in front of him, he tried to think if any past Power Ranger team had to deal with this type of situation before but at the moment nothing came to mind which irritated Corey.
Corey didn't know what to do, should he contact the rest of the team or should he attempt to handle this all by himself. After thinking it over for a few minutes he finally came to a decision, so he raised his morpher up.
"Guys, I could use your help" he said.
"What's wrong bro?" Marcus asked.
"I seem to have a, a ghost…" Corey said as he started to turn around only to stop in mid-sentence when he saw that he was alone in the living room and Captain LaRosa was nowhere to be seen. He looks around of the living room before heading into the kitchen, when he doesn't see the Captain, he runs back into hallway. He goes into his father's bedroom first before going into his own bedroom only to stop in the doorway when he sees Captain LaRosa laying on Corey's bed. The pirate was laying so that her legs and feet were up on the wall at the head of the bed, Corey quickly walked over and pushed the pirate's legs off the wall making the former imaginary friend roll off the bed and land on her feet.
"Why are you here?" Corey asked.
"What do ya mean mate? I'm here for you" Captain LaRosa responded.
"That's not possible… I stopped believing in you when I was nine years old it was the same day, I lost my…" Corey started to say only to trail off. The silence even caught the Captain's attention as she made her way around the bed and made her way towards where Corey was standing. The Blue Trident Ranger stepped back away as the former imaginary friend approached him, seeing his old friend brought back the nightmarish memories that he had buried six years ago.
"Please Corey, allow me to help you" Captain LaRosa said as she slowly moved towards Corey trying not to frighten him any more than he already was.
Corey opens his mouth to speak but before he can, his morpher goes off.
"Go… go ahead" he said.
"Corey, we got a Kringlar sighting and a possible monster, we need all hands-on deck" Abby said.
"I'm on my way" Corey responded, he looks over at Captain LaRosa then without saying anything he teleports out of the room.
(!)
When Corey arrived, he saw his friends fighting a large group of Kringlars, wanting to help out his friends, he raises his morpher. Before he could press the button the morpher, out the corner of his eye something caught his eye, so he turned and jumped in shock to see Captain LaRosa standing next to him. Corey's head jerks away from his former imaginary friend over to his teammates who were luckily too occupied fighting Kringlars to notice Captain LaRosa's sudden appearance.
"What are you doing here?" he whispered worried they would see her.
"You are my friend Corey and I help wherever I am needed" she responded sincerely.
Corey opened his mouth to retort but stopped when a portal opened up between him and his friends, and Ursulias stepped out. Corey narrowed his eyes and let out a small growl upon seeing the evil wizard. Corey's hands curled into fists and started to shake violently. He brought up his morpher and pressed the center button.
"TRIDENT FORCE POWER UP!"
[Morphing Sequence Begins]
Corey is suddenly underwater when a Trident appears in front of him. The trident begins to glow then a beam shoots out at his feet. The beam moves upward covering his feet with white boots, a blue form fitting body suit covers his body and arms while white gloves appear on his hands. The top of the trident comes off and flew onto Corey's chest as he did a back flip landing on the sea floor. Then a dolphin appears and as it gets closer to him it turns into a ball of light and finally becomes his helmet.
"BLUE TRIDENT POWER!" Yells Corey.
[Morphing Sequence Ends]
Corey now fully morphed summons his trident saber then rushes towards Ursulias who readies his trident for the incoming attack from the Blue Trident Force Ranger. Corey brought his saber up and brings it down hard upon the evil sea wizard, but Ursulias was ready as he quickly brought his trident up to deflect the attack away then swiped his trident at Corey's mid-section, but the Blue Ranger quickly leaps backwards narrowing avoiding the attack from his opponent. Corey once again brings his saber up again then rushes towards Ursulias once more, bringing his saber down towards the sea wizard who once again blocked the attack, but this time Corey had anticipated as he quickly pulls out his trident blaster and fires a few shots into Ursulias' mid-section making the evil monster stumble backwards holding his stomach in pain.
"That was a lucky shot Blue Ranger" Ursulias growls as he twirls his trident around then gets ready for the next round.
Corey grits his teeth behind his helmet then rushes towards the Sea Wizard, but Ursulias was ready as he fired off energy blasts from his free hand. One of the energy blasts hits the ground in front of Corey while the second one strikes Corey's foot making the Blue Ranger stumble. Corey tries to catch his feet but is not able to as he drops to the ground to his knee, Ursulias takes this moment to rushes towards Corey, he brings his trident up to land a devastating blow but just as his trident comes down, Captain LaRosa leaps between them and blocks the attack with her cutlass. The pirate shoves Ursulias back then bring her boot up and kicks the sea wizard in the chest making him back away from them.
"So, you need help to beat me?" Ursulias spat then quickly turned and fired off a dark blue energy from his trident and it hits Marcus square in the back sending the Black Trident Force Ranger flying into a nearby car. Ursulias turns and sends Corey a smirk then teleports away.
Corey watches in shock as Marcus has trouble getting to his feet, Corey's grip on his saber's handle tightens then he spins around to face Captain LaRosa.
"Who told you to help?" Corey said with venom in his voice.
"I will always be there to help you Corey" Captain LaRosa said with sincerity in her voice.
"I didn't need you when my mother died and sure as hell don't need you now" Corey spats then turned around and stormed off.
(!)
Zeltu watched everything unfold before him through the viewing orb. A smirk crosses his reptilian lips as he witnesses the Blue Trident Force Ranger lash out at the mysterious captain whom Zeltu had never seen before but seeing the tension between the Blue Ranger and this new arrival brought a new thought into his mind. If he would convince the Captain that the Blue Ranger was evil and planning to destroy the planet, then the Captain might help him destroy the Power Rangers once and for all. He waves his hand over the orb making the image dissipate before him. He turns and uses his magic to open a portal and pulls the hood up over his head before stepping through it.
When he steps out on the other side of the portal, he finds himself standing before a gangplank that leads up to a pirate ship which doesn't shock him considering who he was trying to recruit. He starts making his way up the plank onto the ship and stops when he reaches the deck. He looks around the ship to see that it almost appears as if the ship hadn't been used in years. Zeltu glances up and becomes disgusted at the sight of the cobwebs above his head.
His head turns slightly at the sound of a door being opened. He turns it completely and sees Captain LaRosa emerge from her cabin.
The Captain doesn't notice Zeltu at first as she makes her way towards the cellar but stops when she hears the sound of someone clearing their throat. She turns to see the lizard standing on her ship, she pushes back her coat then removes her cutlass from its scabbard and points at him.
"You have four seconds to tell me who you are before I remove you by force" she says.
Zeltu raises his hands.
"I mean you no harm. My name is Zeltu, and I have come to offer my assistance" Zeltu said measuredly.
Captain LaRosa narrows her eyes.
"What do you mean?" she asks narrowing her eyes.
"That boy…. He is not the boy you remember. He is being controlled and forced to help a dangerous enemy who plans on destroying the world" Zeltu says hoping to sway Captain LaRosa to his side.
"You lie, my boy would never work with someone so corrupt" Captain LaRosa says refusing to believe what she is being told by the stranger before her. "I know my boy and he would never hurt the people he loves" she says as she grips more firmly her cutlass.
Zeltu narrows his reptilian eyes at the sea captain, then launches himself towards her. His razor-sharp claws at the ready. He slashes his claws at her cutlass, she sidesteps the attack then strikes landing a cut across his arm. The mystical creature lands on his feet then turns to face her with a scowl on his face. He straightens out his body then lowers his hands to his side. 'It appears that this will acquire a more delicate touch' he thought to himself. He reaches up and grabs the robe then pulls it off revealing his dark green scaly body. He chants a few words in his native tongue and two cutlass swords appear in his hands. He twirls the swords around and lets out a roar as he launches himself into the air towards Captain LaRosa who was momentarily caught off guard from Zeltu's appearance.
The Xebrides native swings his right sword at Captain LaRosa's head and she has barely enough time to duck the attack and deflect the second sword with her own sword. Captain LaRosa goes for a spin kick, but Zeltu leaps backwards evading the attack. He comes right back at her in full force which again catches her off guard. Zeltu swings his sword but at the last moment, turns sideways and wraps his arm around hers stopping her from defending herself. She goes to speak only to let out a gasp of pain when she feels something prick her in the back of the neck, Zeltu steps back and again lowers his arms. He watches as Captain LaRosa stumbles around before dropping to her knees.
"What… what did you do to me?" she asks looking up at him.
Zeltu doesn't respond as he walks over and crouches down, so he was the same level as her. He looks into her eyes and watches as her eyes glaze over and then suddenly they became pure white.
"Welcome Captain" he says with a smirk before standing up again.
Captain LaRosa bows her head to him.
"What is your wish, my lord?" she asks.
Zeltu smirked.
(!)
Corey and the other Rangers walked into the Trident Force HQ. Corey rubbed his bruised shoulder while Abby along with Mikayla went to talk to Feroa and Sasha brought Marcus into the med room. He walks over and takes a seat at a nearby table. He sits there thinking about everything that has happened to today, his imaginary... no, his former imaginary friend coming back into his life after he had forced himself to grow up after that tragic day four years ago. Corey lowered his head and started silently sobbing to himself as he began to remember his mother who had been taken from him.
"Corey?"
His head shot up and he quickly wiped away the tears before turning to see Mikayla standing there looking at him with deep concern on her face.
"What's up?" he asked with a fake smile on his face.
"Are you okay?" she asked him touching his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm good' he lied.
She opened her mouth to argue but was cut off when they were called by Abby to gather around the main console. Corey stood up and started making his way over only to stop when he felt someone touch his arm. He turns his head to see Mikayla giving him a pleading look. He gave her a short nod then walked over to where the others were waiting for them.
"Okay today could've gone a lot better" Abby said.
"What I want to know who the heck that Pirate chick was?" Sasha said.
Corey let out a deep breath.
"She is… or was my imaginary friend when I was a kid" he responded. He waited in silence in case any one of them started laughing at him, but no one did not even Sasha. "I didn't have many friends growing up, except Hector and Rachael but even I couldn't see them every day, so I created her in my head, Captain LaRosa… she was my best friend growing up. Someone who I could play with all day when I couldn't hang out with Hector or Rachael but one day…" he stopped talking to take a deep breath then reached up and wiped away the tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "My mom was coming home from grandma's; she never saw the drunk driver coming…" he started crying and dropped to his knees.
Abby and others didn't need to know the rest, Corey lost his mother and so he forced himself to grow up forgetting about his best friend. Marcus walked over placed his hand on Corey's shoulder then helped his friend up to his feet, Corey wiped his tears then looked up at his friends.
"I'm sorry guys" he said.
"Don't be Thompson, you're not alone" Sasha said.
"Sasha is right, your father and sister have your back" Mikayla said.
"Rachael" Marcus added with a nudge of his elbow.
"And you have us… All of us" Abby said with a smirk and a nod of her head.
Corey smiles and looks around at his friends. He goes to say something but is interrupted by the sound of the alarms, so they make their way over to the waterfall. They watch as people are running away from Kringlars being led by Ursulias, but he wasn't alone, with him was a monster that they hadn't seen before.
"Feroa any idea who that monster is?" Sasha asked.
Feroa walked over and took a look but shook her head.
"Mikayla, any idea?" Abby asked.
"Sorry" the Pink Trident Ranger responded.
"Doesn't matter, they are hurting people and we have to stop them" Corey said.
Abby nodded then the five rangers teleported out of the cave.
(!)
Ursulias led the Kringlars and the newest addition to Zeltu's army through the town, he laughed as scared citizens ran away from them in terror. He turned and blasted a nearby car with his trident flipping it over and making it land topside. His attention was caught by the sudden appearance of the Trident Force Rangers which only made his smile grow wider.
"All right, Sasha take Marcus with you to deal with Ursulias while Corey and I will handle…" Abby started to speak only to be cut off by Corey.
"Captain LaRosa?" he said looking at the new monster by Ursulias' side.
The four other rangers turned their attention to look at the new monster, it was Captain LaRosa alright, but she no longer looked like her normal self.
"She looks like..." Abby started to say before getting cut off by Marcus.
"Like a Boogeyman…. It's like that Disney Movie, Don't Look Under the Bed" he said.
"Like what in what movie?" Mikayla asked confused.
"Oh, my dear confused future girl, remind me to show you that movie when we're done here" Marcus responded wryly.
"Guys focus" Abby said.
Corey shook his head then summoned his trident saber to him. He looked over at Abby who was staring back at him. He didn't need to see her face to know the way she was looking at him. He gave her a nod telling her that he was fine, and he could handle it.
"All right Rangers form up, us four take the fight to Ursulias and the Kringlars paving a path for Corey to get to the Captain" Abby said then summoned her shield. "I'll create the opening" she said then before Ursulias and the others could react, she brought the shield up in front of her. "Trident Shield Power Blast!" she shouted then a large red energy blast shot out of the shield, hitting any Kringlar in its path destroying them.
Marcus and Sasha rushed forward with their weapons at the ready, they cut down any Kringlar appearing in their way before they reached Ursulias, meanwhile Mikayla stood off picking off any Kringlar she could spot with her Sting Ray Bow.
Corey on the other hand made his way slowly towards where Dark Captain LaRosa stood staring back at him with her darkened eyes. He dropped his saber to the ground and raised his hands up showing that he was weaponless hoping that the friend he once knew was still there.
"LaRosa, I don't know what Zeltu did to you, but I know that you can fight it and I also know that you would never…" he started to say only to be cut off when Dark Captain LaRosa shot forward and slashed him across the chest sending him flying backwards to the ground.
Corey got to one knee but before he could get back fully to his feet, Dark Captain LaRosa appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the throat then lifted him up into the air.
"I'm sorry for forgetting about you, you were always there for me when I was alone and the one time, I really needed you I pushed you away" he muttered in increasing pain, still trying to get through to her.
Dark Captain LaRosa brought Corey down so that they were at eye level, she let out a snarl then threw him back down to the ground. She followed up by kicking his Trident Saber over to him which he caught.
She summoned her cutlass; the blade was now pure black and rustic looking. Corey shook his head then got back up to his feet and ready his own blade. Dark Captain LaRosa rushed towards him, blade held high and when she was close, she brought it down, but Corey tossed his blade up into the air then when she was close enough, he grabbed her. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her in for an intensive hug.
"You are my best friend and I love you" he said then released his hold and stepped backwards.
"Cor… Core" Dark Captain LaRosa started to say but suddenly Corey was blasted in the back from behind by Ursulias' trident.
Corey dropped to his knees then hit the ground powering down from the cheap attack. Dark Captain LaRosa looked down at Corey who was in pain from the attack then back up at the Sea Wizard.
"What are you waiting for Captain, finish the fool!" Ursulias shouted in anger.
Dark Captain LaRosa looked down at Corey again, she took a step forward only to stop when she felt her foot kick something. She looked down to see Corey's trident saber laying before her. She reached down and picked it up, her image appeared in the blade looking back at her. Her concentration on her reflection was broken when she felt someone grabbed her leg. She looked down to see that it was Cory who had crawled over to her. Seeing him lying there hurt, broke whatever hold that Zeltu had on her. Her sea foam blue eyes replaced the black color the spell had turned them to. Then sound of people screaming caught her attention. She looked up to see the other Rangers having difficulties against Ursulias.
Ursulias caught Marcus' fist then pulled him closer and placed his hand on Marcus' chest. He smirked at the Black Trident Force Ranger before blasting him backwards with an energy blast. The evil Sea Wizard looked over at Sasha and Abby who were helping each other stand up. He raised his trident and started powering it up when suddenly a fully revived Captain LaRosa appeared in front of him. She struck his trident away just before he fired off the blast making it miss its target. She followed that up with a swipe from Corey's trident saber across his chest making him stumble backwards. She rushed towards him not allowing him to regain his composure, as she dropped down and slid on her knees past him slashing at his legs with her cutlass. Captain LaRosa got back up to her feet then waited for Ursulias to get back up before tossing both blades up into the air, as they were falling back down, she pulled out her revolver and fired a shot at the two swords sending them flying directly towards Ursulias hitting him square in the chest. Captain LaRosa watched with a smirk on her face as the Sea Wizard got back up to his feet then with a snarl he teleported away from the battlefield.
(!)
"Are you sure you have to leave?" Corey asked as he stood on the dock next to Captain LaRosa's ship. The Captain laughed.
"Mister Thompson, you should know by now that I never truly leave you. I will always be here for you. If you ever really need me, you know how to call me" she said as she walked down the ramp towards him.
"I know but it feels like I just got you back" he replied slowly trying to hold back his tears that were forming.
Captain LaRosa stopped when she reached him and placed a hand on each of his shoulders, then pulled him in for a tight hug and closed her eyes recalling all their times together. As she slowly pulled away, trying to hold back her own tears, she smiled warmly at him and made her way back up the ramp onto the ship.
Corey stood there watching as the ship sailed off, waving as he watched it sail away from the port. He continued to stand there until he could no longer see the ship. As he turned around to head back towards home, he saw the other Rangers standing a few feet away from him. He shook his head with a smirk then walked towards them.
Thanks for reading. Please leave a review.
Up Next: Family Matters (Abby)