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. Gaby appears courtesy of Cmar, my #1 fan. Thanks Cammy!
Saturday March 5th, 2005 7:05pm ... Reefside, California
"Is this really necessary?" Jen asked as she stood back, watching as Cam and Patrick put her mother in restraints. Her arms had been stretched out as far as they could be, and her wrists chained to the wall. There were restraints on her ankles as well, and a leather strap that went around her waist and connected to the wall as well. Ms. Fairweather had also taken the extra precaution of bringing in a contingent of security officers from the Aqua Base, all of them with disrupter weapons in hand, and each of them under orders to do whatever was necessary to stop Ms. Calboure.
"It's a necessary step, yes. We're still not sure if she's under the influence of any external forces," Cam mentioned.
"But its my mom, she…" she was interrupted.
"I understand sweetie, and they're right to be suspicious," her mother told her.
Patrick and Cam took a step back, sitting on the edge of the table as Ms. Fairweather and Dana scanned Ms. Calboure one final time.
"Again, everything seems normal, but I don't know enough about demonites to know whether or not its completely gone," Dana admitted.
"Oh come on, she wakes up and offers to help us defeat the demons. What kind of demon would do that?" Jen asked.
"One with a personal agenda. Remember, these demons can take the form of any and everyone they come in contact with if it will serve their purpose. And if you ask me, it seems a little too convenient that the one aspect about the demons we don't know she's willing to share with us for no reason at all," Cam brought up.
Jen folded her arms, sighing. "Fine, but if something does happen, I'll be the one to take my mother down. Send the guards away," she said.
"I don't think that…"
"Send them away," Jen repeated, this time in a firmer voice.
Ms. Fairweather nodded slightly, and one by one, the guards filed out of the room. With them gone, the others turned to Ms. Calboure, who still had a perplexed look on her face.
"I'm still not sure of what's going on here, but I want to help," she said.
"You can help but telling us what the Dragon Dagger as to do with all of this," Ms. Fairweather said.
"The only dagger that the demon continued to make reference to was the Dagger of Thoron, and it believed that its body was contained within it by a mystic energy. Belial was a general of a great army that fought against the demons, but his wife was killed and his troops were destroyed. One of the wizards had found a way to combine his lifeforce with the strength of a demon, but it went wrong, and the demon took over his body. His soul was lost forever, but the wizard was ready and was able to trap Belial's body within the dagger. Only the correct incantation can release it and bring Belial back to his true form," she explained.
"So Belial is in the dagger?"
"In a way, yes. The dagger also contains the life energies of fallen soldiers. Think of it as purgatory," she told them.
"Wait, so you're saying…"
"… that the dagger has the ability to restore life energy, but only for a limited time," she said.
"So we should be able to save Liz with it," Patrick brought up.
"I don't know if it works that way once someone is killed, but it's worth a try," Ms. Calboure said. "But it will be able to restore your friend Carl."
"How do you know?"
"Because at one point the demon that possessed me had also possessed Carl as well. I have some of his thoughts," she said.
"So how do I do the ritual to restore Carl and Liz?" Cam asked.
"I-I don't know. I'm sorry."
"You said you knew how to defeat Demorielle," Ms. Fairweather mentioned.
"Yes. The dagger is the only weapon that can destroy Demorielle and send her back to the dimensional prison she came from. Without her body, she will be unable to come back to this world in any form. But, there is a catch," she sighed.
"There always is," Jen said.
"You must use the dagger on her within the dark fortress, and in front of the symbol of Thoron to ensure that it holds. Otherwise she will be able to summon mystic energy and return," she told them.
Ms. Fairweather turned to Cam. "Hayley is down in the lab right now, head down there and coordinate with her, see if you can find anything to supports Ms. Calboure's claims. If it is, this could be the break we're looking for," she said.
"I'm on it," he said, walking out the room.
"Patrick, get the dagger and bring it down here. If there's a chance that it will save Carl and Liz, we have to try," she said.
"You got it," he said, rushing out behind Cam.
"And as for you…" she was cut short.
"… I know, stay here and keep an eye on the old lady. I got it," Jen said.
"Good. Oh, and just so we're clear…" she was interrupted again.
"I know, if she makes a move, don't hesitate to kill her. Trust me, I'm aware of that," she said.
"I was just going to say that Belial is known for being very deceptive. If this is a trap, we could be walking right into it. Just be careful," she warned.
"I will," Jen assured her as Ms. Fairweather walked away. As soon as the doors slid shut, Jen turned to her mother with a look of distain on her face.
"So, you're a power ranger, I take it," her mother said.
"Yes."
"I'd hate to see you in the spandex outfit, but…"
"You're really not in a position to talk trash to me, you know," she said.
"Are you that upset with me Jennifer? Are you that bitter that you would use this as an excuse to take your frustrations on me?" she asked.
"Why shouldn't I?" she moved closer to her, picking up a weapon and pointing it at her. "You constantly look down on me, never accepting who I am or the things I like. You always compare me to what other girls my age are doing. I'm not other girls mom, I'm my own person with my own ideas. I have my own plans," she said.
"You sound like your father," she sighed.
"W-What?"
"Your father and I use to argue about this all the time. He wanted to run off and do his own thing and often times left me at home to tend to you and your brother for days, even weeks at a time," she said.
"What are you talking about?"
She paused. "Jennifer, your father was a power ranger," she told her.
"Dad, we're running out of ideas here. Do you think you could spare any of your scientists to head back and help us out?" Hayley asked, sitting in front of a monitor.
On the screen was Commander Stanton. "I sympathize with your situation sweetie, I do, but we just don't have the funds to send a group of our scientists back to Earth to help you. You're talking about fuel, a shuttle, the scientists expect to be paid for their services as well, not to mention…" he was cut short.
"Dad, no one here right now is getting paid for what we're doing. We're all doing our part to ensure that the world isn't taken over be demons. That's all the payment we need," she said.
"I applaud you for your efforts, but these scientists have families here, and it…"
"Ms. Fairweather is married and has a three year old son. Cam teaches at a ninja school and has a fiancé waiting for him. I have my own business I'm suppose to be running, but we all took time away from our lives to do what we all thought was important. Dad, we're talking about the survival of all mankind. If the demons are able to break through to our world, we…"
"I understand what you're saying Hayley, but we have our own issues here as well. Restructuring the new world has been a long, drawn out and expensive process. I wish I could more to help you, but I can't," he said.
"Is your heart so cold that all you care about is the new world now? Have you forgotten about the old one that everyone here is still fighting to save? Jodie and I are still here, your family is still here. I'm telling you the world is at risk, that everyone here could be killed or worse, possessed by demons, and you're quoting policy to me? Dad, if the demons do win, where do you think they'll go next? They're coming to your precious 'new world' and taking over. And without people like us who are willing to fight and even die to save the world, you'll be doomed," she explained.
"I can see this means a lot to you, but my hands are tied here."
"I thought you were the commander? Doesn't that mean in command? You're telling me there's nothing you can do to help me?" she asked.
"I'm sorry Hayley, no. It would take days, even weeks before I'd even be able schedule a shuttle back to Earth," he said.
"Thanks a lot dad," she sighed, pressing the button and turning the screen off. As she turned around wiping the tears from her eyes, she saw Cam with a look of concern on his face.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she sighed.
"Family problems?"
"You would think my dad would be able to send us some help," she said.
"Your father is Commander Stanton from the Terra Venture project?" he asked her.
She nodded. "It was a big deal for our family too. When he was asked to command the station, it was a huge. My sister Jodie went with him, but when they made it to the new world, she came back," she paused. "I was hoping he would send some of their scientists who would be willing to help, but then he started talking about pay rates and protocols."
"They wanted to be paid?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"The nerve of some people, wanting to make a willing for their families," he said in a sarcastic tone.
"Are you trying to be funny?"
"No, but you have to remember who you're talking to. These people already risked their lives and their families to travel to a new world and build a society from the ground up. Everyone who went to the new world are heroes in their own rights, and now you're asking them to do it all again. I don't know if I'd be willing to dedicate my entire life to the betterment of a new planet, then give it all up to come back here and do it again," he explained.
"I guess you're right," she sighed.
"Besides, I doubt they'd be able to help us. They haven't been made any real advancement in the last two decades. Me, you and Angela Fairweather combined is probably the most technologically gifted group of all time. We'll be able to work it out without their help," he said.
"You're probably right."
"Of course I am," he paused. "Jennifer's mom is awake and gave us information on the Dragon Dagger. Can you pull up everything you can on the dagger and cross-reference it with Belial? If there is any truth to what she said, we have to try," he said.
She turned back to the computer. "I can, but it will take the computer a while to compile the data. I'll need an hour, maybe more," Hayley said.
"In the meantime, you should go back to the café and relax. I'm going to go home to Tori, see how things are in Blue Bay Harbor," he said.
"You and Tori are getting along okay?"
"Yeah, things have been great."
"Good, I'm happy for you," she said.
"Just go relax. When the computer is done compiling everything, I'll call you and you can come back," Cam said.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, it seems like Ms. Fairweather has everything under control here."
"If you say so."
"I do, now get out of here," Cam said.
With a smile on her face, Hayley stood up, walking out the room.
There was a stream of light, and the Red Predator Ranger materialized onto the island, looking around slightly. The sun was beginning to go down, and the sky was an odd, orange-ish color, but in the distance he could still see the Dark Fortress. He made his way towards the fortress as his mind raced. He blamed himself for Liz' death. 'I wasn't strong enough to stop Demorielle. I was weak, but that isn't going to happen again,' he thought, walking with a purpose.
As he walked, a large demon appeared almost from out of nowhere. At first glance, it was a little over eight feet tall with spikes along its arms and legs. It had a sinister glow in its eyes, and was drooling a green-ish fluid.
"Prepare to meet your doom," it snarled at him.
"Funny, I was about to tell you the same thing," he said coldly, not moving at all.
The creature lunged at him, but Predator Ranger side stepped him, grabbed his arm and used his blade to slice off the creature's hand. The hand fell to the ground, and Predator Ranger landed a sweep, knocking the creature to the ground. Before it had a chance to even attempt to make it back to its feet, Predator Ranger stood over him, putting the blade to the creature's throat.
"Game over you spikey bastard," he said, shoving the blade into the creature's neck.
Predator Ranger stood up, admiring the damage he'd done, but soon found that he was surrounded by, at first glance, at least a dozen more of the creatures. And, judging by the looks on their faces, none of them were too happy with what he'd done.
"Twelve of you and only one of me, huh? Hardly seems fair… for you guys," he groaned. "Lets get this over with. I have a date with Demorielle!"
Two of them charged at him, but he fell to his knees, driving the blades into their stomachs. He pulled them out, spun around, slicing their ankles and sending them falling to the ground. Another one grabbed him from behind as yet another one rushed at him with a sword, but Predator Ranger ducked, and the creature stabbed the demon holding him. Before it could react, Predator Ranger jumped over him, but landed on its shoulders, then swung around, snapping the creature's neck instantly. Two more grabbed his arms and held him place another creature hammered away on him. Predator Ranger managed to kick one of them away, then went for the blades again. This time, he stabbed one of them in the face, and as it fell to the ground, Predator Ranger used a tree for leverage, jumping over one of them and stabbing it in the top of the head. As it fell, the remaining creatures stopped, unsure of how to proceed.
"Come on your slimey fuckers, let's go!" he snarled, breathing heavily. The last of the creatures paused for a moment, but simply ran off, disappearing into the jungle. "Figures… lame ass bastards," he sighed, then continued on his way towards the fortress.
Elaine sat in the café as the last of the people were leaving. She'd been there for most of the day, simply taking the time to enjoy herself. There was no impending danger at the moment, and she was trying to relax, to rest up for what she knew would eventually be a big battle. Once the last of the customers were gone, Trent locked the door, then sat down at the table across from her, sighing with relief.
"I don't see how Hayley does this everyday," he sighed.
"You did okay. I would have helped, but…"
"Don't worry about it, everything worked out," he sat up straight in the chair. "I have just enough left for another smoothie, if you're interested," he told her.
"That sounds nice," Elaine sighed.
The two of them walked over to the counter, and Trent began working on her smoothie.
"So, tell me about yourself," he said, sparking up a conversation.
"Not much to tell really. I stay with my Aunt Carol, you know where I work, and I like smoothies," she said.
"What about your parents?"
She paused. "Well, I don't know my mom, and my dad was… um, lost during an archeological dig a few years back. I was pretty young, so I don't remember much. But I do know that my dad gave his life to make sure and I got out safe," she told him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he sighed.
"No one knows really. If it hadn't been for Mr. Mercer, I might not…"
"Wait… what?"
"I said that if it wasn't for Anton Mercer, I would have…"
"Anton Mercer, what does he have to do with any of this?" he asked her.
"My dad worked with Mr. Mercer for a while before the accident. As I remember it, he was up for a promotion, but he didn't get it," she said.
Trent paused, dropping the smoothie. "Is your father's name Terrence Smith?"
"Yeah, it was. Why?"
"Oh my God, Smitty," Trent sighed.
Cam sat in front of the monitor, going over the information about the dagger. There was so much of it, and some of it was in another language, which required him to translate a lot of it. Still, based on what he'd read so far, it looked like Jen's mother had been telling the truth. The dagger was told to contain the life energy of fallen soldiers, and everything he read about Belial seemed to back up her story.
"She is telling us the truth," he sighed, turning to the opposite panel. "Guys, this is Cam. The information I have here backs up her claims. We can use the dagger to save Carl and Liz."
"That's great. Bring it down here, and bring security with you just in case," a voice responded.
"On my way," Cam said as he stood up, picking up the dagger and rushing out the room.
"My father was a what?" Jen snapped.
Her mother let out a sigh. "It was a long time ago. He'd been tracking the demons for a while, trying to figure out how to prevent them from coming to our world. He discovered the Eyes of Thoron, but as long as the third one was hidden, the world was safe. When the location of the third eye was discovered, he stole the dagger from the museum he was working at and led a group of rangers to find the Eye. That was almost two years ago," she explained.
"That's why dad left?"
She nodded. "We thought it best not to tell you the truth. We wanted you to have your own life, make your own decisions, not try to follow in his footsteps. I did my best to raise you on my own, and I know I was hard on you, but I guess all my efforts were for nothing," she said.
Jen felt a tear roll down her face. "You should have told me," she cried.
"Why? So I could lose you too? So you could run off half cocked trying to finish what he started? I wanted you to be safe, to stay here with me. You're all I have left," she sighed.
"I deserved to know."
"I know that now, I'm sorry," she sighed.
At that moment, the doors to the infirmary slid open as Cam and Patrick walked in, making their way over to Ms. Faiweather, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room.
"Whats the word?" Patrick asked.
"I've been trying to give Jen and her mother some time to talk, stay out the way," she took the dagger, looking at it carefully. "You're sure you can make this work?" she replied.
Cam nodded. "Yes, the incantation needed to bring back Carl and Liz were in the mainframe. All I needed to do was translate it. My latin sucks, but I should be able to do the ritual," he said.
"Damn it, she was right!" Patrick said.
"Who?"
"What?"
"All those times when I skipped my latin classes and my mom told me that one day I'd need it, she was right," she said.
"You don't have to understand it, just be able to read it," Cam said, pulling a slip of paper out his pocket. "I can do it,"
"Okay, lets go."
The three of them walked over to Liz first, who had a sheet over her face. Ms. Feather pulled the sheet back slowly, staring down at her. She was so pale, not moving at all. There was something surreal about it; the sight of her there.
"What do you need from us?" Ms. Fairweather asked.
"Just quite," he read over the paper as Ms. Fairweather placed the dagger on Liz' stomach. "Nullus vestrum can lego is , quod vos don't vere have ut , quoad is vultus amo we're sententia quispiam callidus quod lepidus in alius lingua. Nullus vestrum can lego is , quod vos don't vere have ut , quoad is vultus amo we're sententia quispiam callidus quod lepidus in alius lingua! Arise!"
They all paused, simply waiting. Liz was still motionless, showing no signs of change at all.
"Maybe you do have to understand it," Patrick sighed.
"I don't think so, the last time I…"
He was interrupted as Liz sat up almost instantly, screaming to the top of her lungs.
"Oh my God," Ms. Fairweather wrapped her arms around her. "Elizabeth, calm down. Its okay. Everything is going to be okay," she turned to Patrick. "Go find Dana and get her in here."
Patrick rushed off as Cam walked a little closer to them.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
Liz paused, looking around as she attempt to calm herself. "Ever have an airplane land on your neck?"
"No."
"Imagine that, but the plane is full of fat people," she groaned.
"Well its good to see that this little experience hasn't changed your perception of overweight people and your fear of flying," Cam mentioned.
"What happened to me?" she asked.
"You were… killed. We were able to bring you back," he said.
"What? Killed?" she paused. "How long?"
"That doesn't matter."
"Just tell me, how long?"
"About twelve hours," Ms. Fairweather said.
"Oh my God," Liz cried.
Cam picked up the dagger. "I'm going to go see what I can do for Carl. Try your best to fill Liz in on what's been happening," he said, walking away.
"You mean me dying isn't the big news of the day?" Liz asked.
Jen and her mother watched as Cam tended to Carl.
"It seems to be working. They managed to bring that bitch Liz back, so Carl shouldn't be a problem," she said.
"Watch your mouth young lady."
"If I risk my neck to save the world, I think I'm entitled to speak my mind," Jen said.
"Now that you see I was telling the truth, you think we could get me out of these restraints. I have to go to the restroom," she said.
"Its not my call."
"But you're a ranger. You're saying you don't have any say so around here?"
"I do, but…"
"But what? You'll let them chain your mother up like an animal? Come help me down Jennifer," she insisted.
"I don't think I…"
"Jennifer, help me down," she repeated.
Jen took a deep breath, walking over to the base of the restraints. "Okay, but if you try anything funny, I'll…" before she could finish her sentence, the chains were released and her mother fell to the floor, landing on her feet. She rubbed her wrists slightly, and then grabbed the chain, whipping it towards Jen and hitting her in the side of the head. Jen was down, and the orange and black body armor began to form around Ms. Calbourne's body. Soon, she was completely covered in armor.
"Much better," she groaned.
Belial rushed over to Cam, shoving him against the wall before he even realized what was going on. With him down, Belial picked up the dagger, nodding with approval. "Yes! Yeessss!" he moaned. "Quod iam , vigilo mihi traho a lepus ex foramen in meus gallo," he chanted.
Within moments, the dagger began to glow, and there was a flash of light. As the light died down, Jen's mother was lying on the floor at Belial's feet. Ms. Fairweather hurried over to her.
"What have you done?"
"I have ensured your destruction human. I am whole again, and soon, Demorielle will purge this world of goodness, of hope, of happiness. Your time is coming," he warned them, then disappeared into a stream of light.
"Well isn't that just great? I come back to life in just enough time to get killed again," Liz sighed.
Red Predator Ranger kicked in the doors to the room, coming face to face with Demorielle.
"Surprise you ugly bitch," he said with a sinister tone in his voice.
Demorielle smiled slightly. "Surprise? On the contrary Rick, I've been expecting you," she said, nodding slightly.
Before he had a chance to react, several portals opened up, almost surrounding him, and demonites swarmed out. They all charged at him, finding their way into his body. A wave of disorientation washed over him, and he fell to his knees, doing his best to fight it. The more he fought, but more they consumed him, until eventually, all of them were gone.
He rose to his feet slowly, watching as Belial walked over to Demorielle, putting his arm around her.
"He will make an excellent addition to our forces," Belial said.
"Yes… he will," Demorielle sighed.