Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all its related logos are property of Saban and/or Disney Entertainment. I am using them without permission, but I do not intend to make a profit. I mean it, I don't. If I do happen to make some quick cash from it, I promise to sponsor a child for seventy-five cents a day with the money I made. Possibly even two of them.
A/N: This fic takes place with the assumption that power rangers are and always were real, though the secret identities of the rangers have remained secret over the years. You may see cameos from other rangers, but this will deal primarily with original characters. It is set some time after Dino Thunder, but before SPD.
Thank you to everyone who has made this fic a bigger success than I ever thought it would be. I will continue to write it as long as there are so many of you who will continue to support it.
Friday March 4th, 2005 7:01pm ... Reefside, California
The four of them stood surrounded by a white light as a portal appeared and Ethan stepped through. No sooner than he was through, the portal vanished. "Welcome back rangers," Ethan said as he stood in front of them with his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth. Each of the rangers stood side by side as Ethan nodded with approval. "I've asked you here today because…" he paused. "Wait, we're missing someone. Where is White Blizzard Ranger?" he asked.
"Caught in traffic maybe?" Spectra asked.
"I contacted him, he should have been here by now," he said.
"Are you herehere, or is this just holographic you?" Aqua Tech asked, reaching out and poking him in the chest, surprised to see that her hand didn't go through him.
"No, I'm actually here. My holographic emitter is offline," he said.
"Maybe we should wait for him?" Tempest suggested.
Ethan shook his head "No, we'll just have to proceed without him, we're running out of time. I wanted you all together so I could tell you exactly what you're dealing with," suddenly, they were no longer surrounded by a light, but found themselves in a jungle of some kind. "This is the lost island of Marianthis, which we believe Demorelle and her minions are from. This island is one of many that were thought lost inside the Nemesis Triangle. I've been doing my research, trying to find out as much as I can, and it turns out that Demorelle is not a magma like creature as Dark Spector and Maligore were, she is something much worse; Demorelle was an Enchantress of sorts, once considered a powerful witch by many in the universe. Her soul was possessed by demonites, and for years they have twisted her soul, making her more demon than anything else," he explained.
"Alright, I don't get it. So these floaty things play invasion of the body snatchers with you, but if she was so powerful, why not just cast a spell or say a chant or something to get the demon out?" Allumier asked.
"Once inside, a demonite will fuse itself with your life energy, making it almost impossible to remove it. There have been cases where demonites were removed from a human host, but the hosts themselves never survive," he said.
"So this Demorelle chick is human, but possessed by demons?" Tempest asked.
"Not quiet. Demorelle isn't human at all, she is an Allurian. Her world was invaded and eventually conquered by demons, and she was considered the last of her people. She was possessed by not one, but hundreds of demonites. Her name before she was possessed is unknown, nor do we know anything about the role she played on her world. Make no mistake about it, Demorelle is evil and beyond saving. She will stop at nothing to escape her prison and come to our world," he told them.
"But she needs the Eye, right?"
"Yes. Lerigo was a clever wizard, and when she placed Demorelle in her prison, he put safeguards in place. For one, you need all three Eyes to open the portal that will bring her here. Secondly, and most importantly, the Eye, once in the possession of good, cannot be taken from you. The Eye must be given willingly by whoever holds it," Ethan said.
"Who would be stupid enough to hand the Eye over to a demon?" Aqua Tech asked.
"Demorelle is very… how can I say this? Very persuasive. She'll try to deceive you at every turn. It's more than likely that you won't realize you're being manipulated until it's too late. That's why its important that none of you reveal your identities to anyone, not even each other. To do so would put your families and friends at risk. Demorelle has agents in our world working for her, and they will stop at nothing to obtain the Eye," he said.
Spectra raised her hand. "Is it just me, or does that have foreshadow written all over it?"
"Agents of Demorelle won't know who you are while in civilian form, but they will be able to track energy signatures as they try to find the Eye," he said.
"So we're safe as long as we're not in here," Tempest said.
"No. Agents won't be able to recognize you, but they're out there, looking. Because of that, your morphers have been designed to let you morph even in our world. Just remember, guard your secret and let no one see you morph. To access the power, press the button and say 'Log on! Virtual Upload, Ranger Mode!'," he instructed.
"What?"
"Are you serious?" Aqua Tech asked.
"Why can't we just push the button? We don't really need a witty catchphrase," Allumier added.
"The morphers are voice activated and will respond only to your voice. Because of that, you have say 'Log on! Virtual Upload, Ranger Mode' in order for it to work. You push the same button for communicating with one another, but its pushing the button and saying the morphing call in conjunction with each other that allows you to morph," Ethan explained.
"Is upload really the right term? I mean, we're not really transferring data of anything, so…" Aqua Tech was interrupted.
"As long as we don't have to do a gay ass pose or anything, its okay with me," Spectra said.
"Hey! I want to do a pose. Oh, and do we get to say HA right after? You know, to add some ump to it," Tempest brought up.
Ethan couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, the HA is kinda cool, isn't it?"
"Besides, Log on! Virtual Upload, Ranger Mode is pretty long? Won't the bad guys jump us while we're doing our little routine?" Spectra asked.
"No, I think bad guys respect our need to strike a pose," Tempest said.
"Surprisingly enough, they do," Ethan added.
"You'll all missing the point. We're here to give you the full scoop on Demorelle and her baddies. Now that you know, we need to find Demorelle's fortress, save Rick and get the other two Eyes. While you guys are busy making jokes, Rick could somewhere being tortured. Or worse, possessed by those demon things. If it were one of you, you wouldn't want the rest of us standing around trying to be sarcastic, you'd want us to get our asses in gear and find you."
It was enough to make all of them stop, giving Allumier than undivided attention.
"She's right guys. No more tom foolery!" Tempest mocked.
The rest of them giggled.
"How about some shenanigans?"
"There's always time for shenanigans!" Aqua Tech said.
Allumier turned to Ethan. "I knew that recruiting video game geeks was a bad idea. I'm going to find Rick with or without your help," she said, storming off.
"Liz…" he tried to catch himself, but it was too late. "Allumier… come back," he called out, but she continued on her way.
'Wait, I've heard that name before, but where?' Spectra wondered. 'I remember, in Mr. James' office. He was talking to a woman, I think her name was Liz. Its her, Liz is Allumier Ranger.' Though she'd figured it out, she chose to keep the information to herself. 'For now,' he sighed inwardly.
"Listen guys, I know you're just trying to have a little fun, but Allumier lost someone very special to her. He's here, somewhere, and…" he was cut short.
"Okay, we get it. We were being silly," Tempest turned to the group. "Okay guys, lets go find this Rick guy and bring him home."
"The three of you go, I'm going to go back to the café and see if I can track down Blizzard Ranger. Which one of you has the Eye?" Ethan asked.
"I do," Tempest said.
"You'll need it to enter Demorelle's fortress, but be careful. Remember, she will try to deceive you," he said.
"Don't worry, we'll be back with Rick in time for another strawberry banana smoothie before dinner," Aqua Tech said.
'Wait… strawberry banana smoothie? It couldn't be,' Spectra thought to herself, but again, decided against saying anything. 'When we get back home, I'll find out once and for all.'
"And maybe some of those breadsticks, too," Tempest said.
"Ya know, I've never had those. Are they good?" she asked as they walked away.
"The best! You've gotta get the dipping sauce too. There's nothing else like it in Reefside," he bragged.
Ethan couldn't help but crack a smile as he watched them walk away. He recalled laughing and joking with his friends as well, but hoped that when it was time for them to get serious, they'd be able to.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," he sighed.
"Which is more than I can say for you," a voice said from behind.
Ethan turned around only to see Belial standing behind him.
"Alright tall, dark and ugly, lets go!" he said, standing ready.
"I would take great pleasure in destroying you here and now, but my master has other plans for you," he waved his hand slightly. Before Ethan realized it, a portal opened up beneath his feet, and he fell through. "My master will be pleased," Belial said as he fell into the portal as well just before it disappeared.
The four of them walked through what seemed like an infinite jungle. For as far as the eye could see, there were nothing but trees and vines. Alluimer led the way, using a sword to cut a path through the jungle.
"So, what's the deal with you and this Rick guy anyway? I get that he's a friend of yours, but you seem awful determined to find him," Tempest brought up, trying to break the silence between them.
"I'd do the same for either of you," she responded, never looking back.
"That's a load of crap and you know it. Ten minutes ago we were video game geeks, now you want us to believe you'd put your neck on the line for us? Assume for a minute that we're not complete idiots and tell us what's going on," he said.
Allumier sighed. "Red Predator Ranger… I mean, Rick and I dated for about eight months. We worked side by side at Operation: Lightspeed in Marnier Bay trying to perfect new ranger powers. His original design and my original concepts were the basis for a new type of ranger in the event the world ever needed them again. We met Ethan at a cybergenics convention a while back, and we got to talking. When he told us that there was a new threat that needed our immediate attention, we combined our efforts to perfect the morphers so that we could put a stop to this demon invasion," Allumier explained.
"How did the video game come about though?" Aqua Tech asked.
"The video game was simply a way to recruit you. The game is just that, a game, and has no ties to the Nemesis Triangle in anyway. Once you were chosen, you were given morphers. This isn't playtime kids, this is the real deal. There are no cheat codes or hacks you can use here. You die here, and that's it, you're done," she said.
"But you still haven't told us the whole story about you and Rick," Spectra said.
"Theres nothing else to tell. We dated, it didn't work out for us, but we stayed good friends. If I were trapped in this hell hole somewhere, he'd try to save me. I owe him to try to save him as well," she said.
"Why didn't it work out?"
"Stop," she said. The three of them stopped behind her as they came to a clearing. "Just over those mountains is the Dark Fortress. Who has the Eye?" she asked them.
"I do," Tempest said.
"Hold on to it for now, but to get through the protective barrier, we're going to need it," she said.
"Next time, you think we could teleport a little closer to the damn fortress? All this Kangaroo Jack shit is not working out for me," Spectra sighed.
Belial walked into the master's chamber again, bowing down in front of the symbol on the wall. The two guards on either side of the wall seemed to pay him no attention at all as Belial layed his sword down in front of him.
"My Lord, I…"
"IS THE CREATOR IN OUR POSSESSION?" a voice asked, shaking the entire room.
"Yes, Ethan James is on our custody. And, I was able to destroy one of the chosen warriors as well while in his civilian form," he announced.
"HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO RECOGNIZE HIM IN THE OUTER REALM?"
"The warrior was…my brother," he paused. "Rather, my human host's brother. The memories still in this shell were strong enough to lead me straight to him," he told her.
'My brother…Jake,' he thought to himself. There was a sense of disorientation in his mind, clouds of confusion began to get the best of him, but it passed.
"EXCELLENT WORK. YOU HAVE SERVED ME WELL. DESTROY ETHAN JAMES AND BRING ME HIS REMAINS."
"My lord, forgive me, but we can use him to lead us to the others. Would you not…" he was cut short.
"THE HUMAN SOUL IS A PERSISTANT ENTITY, THE CREATOR WILL NOT BETRAY HIS CHOSEN WARRIORS AND WOULD SURELY DIE BEFORE REVEALING THEM TO US. WHILE HIS TORTURE WOULD BE ENTERTAINING, IT WOULD SERVE NO PURPOSE. KILL HIM NOW AND BE DONE WITH HIM," the voice ordered.
"As you wish my Lord. It will be done," Belial said.
"IS OUR PLAN READY TO BE EXECUTED?"
"Yes my Lord. The chosen warriors are on their way here, and walking right into our trap," he said.
"SOON I WILL BE FREE OF WRECHED PRISON, AND THE OUTER REALM WILL FEEL MY WRATH!"
"Are we there yet?" Spectra whined.
"We'll be there when we get there," Allumier told her.
"Don't make me turn this car around and take you home!" Tempest added, then paused. "Sorry, my mom use to say that to me all the time."
The four of them stood at the outskirts of the fortress, amazed at how big it was. None of them could see around it or over it.
"Let me guess, we have to go in there, don't we?" Tempest asked.
"Yeah, this is the place," she extended her hand towards the fortress, but was stopped as a force field appeared. "We're going to need the Eye to get in from here."
Tempest took a step forward, presenting Allumier with the Eye. Before she could take it, a portal opened, and a group of Quantrons stepped through, standing between them and the fortress.
"I assume they're not here to escort us in," Aqua Tech said.
"That's a safe bet. Spread out and lets take these fuckers out!" Alluimier said.
Two Quantrons charged at Spectra, but she side stepped one, then reached her hand out towards the other one, emitting a beam of energy, knocking the Quantron backwards. "Whoa… that was sweet as hell," she said. "My ranger powers must be kicking in." She tried again, but this time she missed and hit Tempest in the shoulder.
"Hey!" he called out.
"Sorry, still workin' out the bugs," she sighed.
The Quantrons landed a kick to Aqua Tech, knocking her into a small stream. Before she got up, she nodded slightly, and the water around her began to rise up. Then, with a flick of the wrist, the water shot towards the Quantrons, taking them down. "That's right, don't mess with Texas!" she snapped.
"Texas? We're in Reefside," Spectra reminded her.
Just then, a bolt of lighten came out of the sky, hitting three Quantrons and destroying them on impact. "Actually, we're not in Reefside either. Technically," he told them.
"I see you're all learning how to use your ranger powers. That's good, we're going to need them when we…" Allumier was cut short as another portal opened, and this time a dozen Quantrons stepped out, each of them with phaser riffles in hand.
"Okay. Its safe to say that Demorelle knows we're coming," Tempest pointed out.
"Surrender or be destroyed," one of the Quantrons told them.
"Oh please, we're about to…" Spectra was cut short.
"Do as he says," Allumier told them.
"What?"
"We're outnumbered. Its not going to do us any good to go down fighting," she said.
"But…"
"No buts, that's an order," Allumier said.
"Order? Who the hell made you Captain Picard? I say we beat the hell out of these tin cans!" Aqua Tech said.
Just then, another portal opened, and yet another group of Quantrons stepped out, taking their positions.
"Okay, giving up is starting to sound like a good idea," Tempest mentioned.
"They're not going to destroy us, at least not yet. They'll have to find a way to trick us into giving up the Eye first," Allumier pointed out.
"Sure, that means Tempest is safe, but the rest of us are prime candidates for being killed off," Spectra noted.
Before anyone could respond, three of them Quantrons fell back, exploding on impact.
"What the…"
Another Quantron exploded, and then seemingly raised up in the air and flew into another Quantron, taking him down.
"Its Red Predator Ranger!" Allumier said eagerly.
At that moment, Red Predator Ranger materialized in front of them with blades in each hand. "Miss me?" he asked. "Wait, hold that thought."
He charged at the Quantrons, stabbing them both in the stomach, but kept the blades in place. Using them as leverage, he did a back flip, kicking another Quantron in the chest. As he removed the blades from the Quantrons, they fell to the ground and exploded. The remaining Quantrons regrouped, stepping through a portal and disappearing.
With all of them gone, Allumier ran over to Predator Ranger, wrapping her arms around him. "I thought I'd lost you forever," she sighed.
"Not a chance," he said.
It was Spectra who walked over to him, staring him up and down. "So, you're the big bad Predator Ranger, huh? Let me guess, your special power is cloaking," she said.
He nodded. "Among other things. I engaged the cloak in my cell when they came to check on me. At the right time, I took them out and made my escape. Besides, I had to know that Liz was safe," he said.
"I'm fine. I never gave up looking for you," she sighed.
"Okay, enough of the One Life to Live moment. We got what we came for, can we get out of here now?" Aqua Tech asked.
"No, not yet. Demorelle doesn't know I've escaped yet. This is the perfect time for us to go in there and get the other two Eyes of Thoron. Once we have all three, we'll be powerful enough to seal all the portals to our world, and Demorelle will never be able to escape," he told them.
"That sounds like a plan, but how?"
"I'll engage my cloak and go in first. The rest of you will follow and distract the demonites while I find the Eyes and bring them back out," he said.
"You can't do this alone, you're going to need help," Spectra said.
He shook his head. "No, I know this fortress like the back of my hand now. I can get in, get the Eyes and get out before they even know I was there. I'm going to need the rest of you to hold off any baddies who might to patrolling," he said.
"Okay, I'm with you," Allumier said.
"I knew I could count on you. Which one of you has the Eye?" Predator asked.
"I do," Tempest said.
"Give it to me so I can use it to open a hole big enough for us to get through. I'm going to need one of you to remain here just in case we fail," he said.
"I'm not missing the action, you can forget that," Spectra said.
"Me neither. After all the drama we've gone through, I have to be there when it all goes down," Aqua Tech said.
"Liz, you stay here," Predator said.
"What? Why?"
"I don't know these new warriors, and I trust you. If something goes wrong, I'm going to need you to find another way in," he told her.
She nodded. "Okay," she sighed.
"Now, lets get this overwith so we can go home," he said, extending his hand to Tempest. Tempest handed him the Eye, and it began to glow. Predator approached the barrier, and a small hole opened up. "Hurry, inside."
Aqua Tech, Tempest and Spectra jumped through, followed by Predator as the hole closed.
"Okay, now what?"
"Now… all you die!" Predator said.
"What?"
"Fools! All of you. Demorelle will rise again, and the Earth shall perish!" he snarled.
"Rick? Noooooo!" Liz screamed from the other side.
At that moment, there was a flash of light as Red Predator Ranger was replaced by…
"Belial," Tempest sighed.
"Disguising myself as your friend and tricking you into giving me the Eye was easier than I thought," he raised the Eye over his head, and a beam of light shot out of it, hitting the three rangers in the chest, knocking them out. "You were the only threat Allumier, but now you have no way inside and no one to help you. My Lord will rise, and you will bare witness to the destruction of your home world," he told her.
"I'll find a way to stop you, I'll…"
"You will do nothing," a portal opened as Quantrons stepped out, picking up the unconscious rangers and dragging them away. "You're alone, and you have no one to help you. Not that it matters, there is no force in the universe that will stop Demorelle," he said, stepping through the portal and disappearing as well.
Belial walked into the chamber with the Eye in hand, standing in front of the symbol on the wall.
"My Lord, I have the Eye, and I am ready to free you from your eternal prison," he said.
"EXCELLENT WORK BELIAL. DO IT, FREE ME!" the voice said, echoing through the entire fortress.
He approached the symbol slowly, inserting the Eye into the last remaining opening on the wall. The symbol began to glow, then eventually began to disappear. There was a flash of light, a light bright enough to fill the entire chamber. When the light subsided, a figure emerged from the symbol on the wall.
She was wrapped in white cloth, but not very much of it. Her red hair seemed to flow around her, and her eyes were a sinister red. Her hands were more claw-like than anything else, and she had wings on her back that seemed to extend outwards.
"You… are beautiful," Belial sighed, unable to take his eyes off her.
She smiled slightly. "You have served me well my friend, and now, you will get what's coming to you," she said.
Belial noticed that her voice was nothing at all like he'd heard when the master spoke to him. It was much softer, much more soothing, but he didn't seem to care. Demorelle was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. "I live to serve," he said.
Demorielle reached outward, touching his shoulder slightly. At that moment, the demonites that had possessed him left his body, and the armor he wore disappeared, leaving behind his human form, which fell to the floor. "Yes, you do. And now you will die," she sighed.
"But…" he called out, but was too weak to move.
"I have no use for you human. My domination of the human realm begins now, and there is no one in this universe or any other that can stop me!" she groaned in a sinister tone.
There was field of some kind, with nothing but grass as far as the eye could see. The sun was shining, but there was no heat, only a light breeze from the wind as it blew. Everything was calm, peaceful, and serene.
Just then, a portal opened overhead, and Jake fell through, landing in the grass.
"Whoa, that was intense," he moaned, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Welcome Blizzard Ranger." A young woman said.
"What?" he paused. "How did you know who I was?" he asked her.
"We're running out of time, and we have to get moving if we have a chance at stopping the demon invasion," she said as she approached him.
"W-Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Angela Fairweather," she said.