I just want to remind people that this is rated T. So cursing, while rare, may occur in this story. Just don't want anyone to be alarmed by characters dropping curse words.
I want to thank JTWAS1994 for his continued support, DaughterOfSBWG for favoriting the story and you, the readers, for following the story so far. None of this would be possible without the support of each and every person reading. Anyway, enough sappy talk, let's see how this plot twist resolves...
Myth 18: Steeled Resolve
"I'm sorry, but what!?" Nate said as he looked at the screen then back to Hermes and then back at the screen again.
"I'm going to have to agree with Nate here," Jay said as he looked at Hermes. "You told us the Olympians didn't exist anymore. That the belief in them died and so they did too."
"That was a necessary lie, my successor," the white-haired and bearded god Zeus said.
"Oh, I want to hear this," Valerie said. "What possible reason could you have to hide your continued existence from us?"
The beautiful blonde goddess Aphrodite was the next to respond.
"If you knew we still could fight Hades, you might have not become Rangers in the first place," she explained. "We needed the 5 Rangers of Prophecy to join us of their own free will."
"5 Rangers of Prophecy?" Mera asked. "Please elaborate."
"I can answer that," Adrian said, "I foresaw that you five, Jay, Mera, Nate, Victor and Valerie, will be the ones to defeat Hades."
"And I foresaw the same thing," Apollo, a golden haired god with a laurel crown on his head, said. "You do draw your powers from me, after all."
"What makes us the 5 Rangers of Prophecy? Or even Rangers at all?" Jay asked.
"All of the Rangers possess part of a god's power within their blood," Zeus explained. "It has been passed down to you from us. That is why the Olympian Gems chose you in the first place."
"One problem with that," Valerie said. "I have parents, and neither of them are gods."
"I never said directly passed down," Zeus corrected. "You are all descended from demigods, who are themselves descended from us."
"Demigods," Jay repeated. "How far back are these demigods in our family trees?"
"Over two thousand years," Zeus said. "The godly part of your heritage is weak, diluted over the generations, but it is there."
"So say we're these descendants of demigods and these '5 Rangers of Prophecy' to boot," Nate said. "Why haven't you been helping us along the way? The battles would be way easier with the gods by our side."
"We have been there," the long white haired and bearded Poseidon said. "You may not have recognized us, but we were there."
In a flash, Zeus, Poseidon, Hephestus, Athena, Aphrodite and Artemis transformed into…
"The mechanic you guys found when trying to help me with my father?" Victor asked.
"The woman I met at the party?" Valerie asked.
"And gave us our Olympian Gems," Adrian added.
"The woman I met at the library?" Mera asked.
"The old man I found in the abandoned yard when I quit," Jay stated with a smile. "Of course it was you."
"Who the heck are you?" Nate asked. "Wait, you're that old man I met down at the pier!"
"And you're the girl I met in the woods," Diana said. "That makes sense now."
The gods and goddesses shifted back to their true forms.
"As you can see, we've been there when you needed guidance," Zeus said, "and Hermes was always keeping an eye on you for us."
"Then why reveal yourselves now?" Valerie asked.
"Because you figured out what Hades wants, and we need you to protect us," Aphrodite said.
"So basically, it's about your survival now," Diana said. "Makes sense. When it's your lives on the line, you want us to help you, but when we needed your strength…"
"Watch your tongue, girl," Zeus said as he raised his voice to become as booming as a thunderstorm. "Do not judge us by your standards. Without us, the sun would not rise or set. Plants would wither and die, and food would become scarce. Creatures of all kinds would perish. And Hades would only make these consequences even worse."
"OK, point taken," Adrian said as he pushed the protesting Diana away from the view of the screen. "Don't piss off the gods who could kill us with a thought, ok?"
"So, we know now," Jay said. "Now what? How do we protect you from Hades?"
"When the time comes, we will call, and you must come to Olympus. Until then, fight off Hades' monsters like you have been doing," Zeus said, his voice now back to normal. "Hermes, keep an eye on them. Rangers, we will speak again soon."
With that, the stones turned back to a blank screen.
"Well, that was interesting," Valerie said. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow. Jay, care to walk me home?"
"Of course," Jay said as he grabbed his own bag before moving to Valerie's. "See you guys!" -He tried to lift Valerie's bag and struggled- "Geez, Val, what did you put in here? Rocks?"
"Talking to the gods and finding out we're descended from demigods," Jay said as he and Valerie sat down together at the lunch table holding hands. "Wow."
"It makes me question if we're technically related," Valerie said.
"You are, but technically, everyone is related if you go back far enough." Mera clarified as she sat down.
"Ok, so it won't be like I'm dating my cousin," Jay said. "That makes me feel a lot better."
"Me too," Valerie said as she gave Jay's hand a squeeze before letting go. "I wouldn't want this relationship to die so quickly."
"Ugh, gag me," Nate said as he sat down. "We get it, you two like each other even more now. Get a room."
"Man, someone woke up on the cynical side of bed this morning," Jay retorted.
"Getting back on topic," Valerie said, ever the peacemaker. "We're descended from Demigods. That makes us, like what .1% god?"
"I suppose," Mera said, "it really depends on how far back we are talking. Over 2000 years? That number is not as random as it sounds. I could do a blood test…"
"Boring!" Nate said rudely. "Are we just going to talk about science and math the whole time? Lunch used to be my favorite subject. Now, I'm not so sure with all of this technical talk."
"Fine, what do you want to talk about?" Jay asked.
"I wanted to ask Victor here," Nate said as he put his arm around Victor's neck, "about those laser blades I talked about a few weeks ago."
"This should be good," Jay said to himself as Nate kept begging Victor for his dream weapon.
"The gods have spoken to the Rangers?" Hades asked himself as he watched the Rangers through his blue flame screen. "This could prove...troublesome. Gryphon! How is the Spartoi army going?"
"My lord," Gryphon said as he stepped out of the shadows. "The Spartoi army grows every minute. We shall be at the ordered size by the Winter Solstice, just as you commanded."
"Good," Hades said. "Now I need the Rangers out of the way in order to gain the gods' power."
"Might I suggest the power of the Nemean Lion?" Gryphon suggested. "Its impenetrable skin would prove a serious problem for the Rangers and its strength is nothing to scoff at either."
"Yes, yes!" Hades said as he reached into the brazier and pulled out a ball of blue flame. "That will be perfect! Nemean Lion! I summon you to destroy my foes!"
He hurled the ball at the black stone block wall, and it opened a portal. Out of said portal leapt a large bipedal lion. It was the size of a tall man, and had tan fur and a brown mane.
"Ready to tear my enemies to shreds!" it roared.
"Destroy the Rangers!" Hades ordered, "and don't come back until you have!"
"As you command!" the Nemean Lion shouted before turning around and leaping back into the portal, now set for Olympia Hills
"Alright guys, I think we should try some sparring today," Jay said as he gathered the other teens around him. "Let's try...Valerie and Diana, Adrian and Mera, and Victor and Nate."
"I'm sorry, you want me to fight Victor?" Nate asked, "the guy can barely throw a punch outside his Ranger form, much less keep up with me. There's a reason he avoids sparring so much."
Victor just remained silent and looked at the ground.
"Why don't we find out right now?" Jay asked. "Rangers ready? Fight!"
The pairs of Rangers faced off against each other. With a cry, Valerie and Diana charged and kicked at the same time, their legs clashing against each other.
At the same time, Adrian threw a punch and Mera blocked it before coming in for a counterstrike.
Meanwhile, Nate advanced and struck Victor, hitting him right in the face and sending him falling onto the mat.
"Dude, you've gotta block," Nate said as Jay came over.
"You ok, Victor?" Jay asked as he helped Victor stand up.
Victor nodded in response.
"Ok, good," Jay said. "Now go get 'em!"
Victor slowly advanced forward and threw a weak and slow punch that Nate easily dodged before kneeing Victor in the gut. Victor once again fell onto the mat.
"I told you he can't fight," Nate said as he relaxed his stance. "You might want to give him a new opponent. I almost feel bad kicking his butt."
"Victor, what's going on?" Jay asked as he helped Victor up again. "You fight fine in your suit. Why can't you fight outside it?"
Victor shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm going to need a lot better than a- what now?" Jay said as the alarm went off.
"What are we looking at?" Valerie asked as the Rangers gathered around the mosaic computer.
"Looks like some form of the Panthera leo," Mera commented.
"The what?" Nate asked.
"She means a lion," Jay said. "A really tall, really angry looking two-legged lion."
"Great…" Nate said. "I kind of liked it better when I didn't know what she meant."
"Well, time to get to work," Jay commented as the teens attached their morphers to their wrists and crossed their arms over their chests, "it's Morphing Time!"
"Silver Olympian Power!"
"Gold Olympian Power!"
"Pink Olympian Power!"
"Yellow Olympian Power!"
"Black Olympian Power!"
"Blue Olympian Power!"
"Red Olympian Power!"
The Rangers, now fully morphed, turned as one and ran out the Doors of Janus that opened for them, taking them into the city.
The Rangers ran down the street to confront the Nemean Lion and his army of Spartoi. They stopped about a football field away from them.
"Rangers!" the Nemean Lion said. "My master Hades has ordered me to destroy you! Prepare for battle!"
"We're prepared alright!" Jay responded, "Let's tell him who he's dealing with!"
"Artemis, goddess of the hunt! Silver Olympian Ranger!"
"Apollo, god of healing! Gold Olympian Ranger!"
"Aphrodite, goddess of love! Pink Olympian Ranger!"
"Athena, goddess of wisdom! Yellow Olympian Ranger!"
"Hephaestus, god of the forge! Black Olympian Ranger!"
"Poseidon, god of the sea! Blue Olympian Ranger!"
"Zeus, god of lightning! Red Olympian Ranger!"
"Using the powers of the past to protect the future! Power Rangers Olympian Force!"
The Rangers then summoned their weapons.
"Hunting Daggers!"
"Sun Staff!"
"Love Bow!"
"Battle Spear!"
"Blacksmith Hammer!"
"Ocean Trident!"
"Lightning Sword!"
"Let's go, guys!" Jay shouted as he led the Rangers into battle.
"Spartoi, destroy them!" the Nemean Lion ordered. The Spartoi charged forward as ordered.
"Man, I'm getting sick of Spartoi!" Nate said as he stabbed a Spartoi in the ribs before lifting him using the trident and slamming it into the ground.
"I agree," Mera said as she hurled her spear through three Spartoi before grabbing it and whirling it around her head to ward off another wave. "Their effectiveness must be called into question for Hades' army."
Victor slammed his hammer into a Spartoi's head with enough force to actually force it into the ground, with the pavement cracking from the Spartoi now trapped in it.
"What does that even mean?" he asked as he bashed another Spartoi.
"It means we're clobbering them really easily," Valerie answered as she shot a few energy arrows into the Spartois' heads, "and Mera's wondering what the point is."
"My guess?" Adrian said as he flipped over a Spartoi before smacking it in the back of it's bony leg with his staff, sending it tumbling to the ground. "It's just to exhaust us so the main monster can destroy us."
"Less talking, more fighting!" Diana shouted as she hacked and slashed through Spartoi left and right.
"So, who are you supposed to be?" Jay asked as he went in for a slash to the abdomen with his Lightning Sword. "The Sphinx's weaker cousin without the riddle gimmick?"
"Laugh while you can, Ranger," the Nemean Lion said as the sword bounced off its chest, "because you won't be laughing soon enough!"
Jay rapidly slashed across the Lion's torso, but each time it just bounced off its steel-like skin.
The Nemean Lion unsheathed its claws and slashed an "X" over the Red Ranger's chest, sending him flying. The other Rangers ran up to meet their fallen leader, with the Spartoi all but bits of dust on the battlefield.
"You OK, Jay?" Adrian asked as he and Victor pulled him up from the ground.
"Yeah, but we might have a problem," Jay said. "His skin is even tougher than Scylla's. I don't know if we're going to be able to get past it."
"We have to try!" Valerie argued.
"I never said we shouldn't try," Jay said. "Let's attack with everything we've got!"
"Right!" the other Rangers shouted in agreement.
Nate came in with a trident stab to the face, but the teeth just bent around the Nemean Lion's face.
Mera struck with her spear, but the spear head bent as well.
"He's just destroying our weapons!" Mera said.
"We have to try a new tactic," Jay ordered. "Valerie, Diana, Adrian. Try your bows!"
Diana and Adrian transformed their weapons to their bow modes and joined Valerie in a line.
"Ready…" the three Rangers announced as they drew back the bowstring, "fire!"
A pink energy arrow, a silver energy arrow and a gold energy arrow all flew at the Nemean Lion, but he just braced his arms and deflected them back at the Rangers. The Rangers cried out as sparks flew from their suits. They fell to the ground before quickly rising again.
"Let's try the Omega Olympian Crossbow!" Jay ordered as the Rangers formed their upgraded weapon. It wobbled slightly from the damage the teeth from the trident that served as the base had taken, but it was quickly corrected.
"Seven Ranger Omega Strike, charged!" the Rangers announced as they took their positions, the girls on the left side of Jay and the other guys on the right.
"Fire!" Jay announced as he pulled the trigger.
The Lightning Sword and Hunting Daggers flew out and tried to create a glowing Omega Symbol on the Nemean Lion, but the weapons just bent on contact with the Lion's skin, rendering the attack useless.
The Rangers separated their weapons and looked at the damaged Lightning Sword, Hunting Daggers, Ocean Trident and Battle Spear.
"Yeah, we're going to need to call a time-out," Jay said as the Rangers slowly turned and retreated.
"Cowardly Rangers!" the Nemean Lion shouted at the retreating Rangers.
"Damn it!" Nate shouted as he slammed his fist on one of the marble pillars. "We turned and ran like cowards!"
"We didn't have a way to beat him," Jay reminded, "if we didn't retreat, he might have destroyed us."
"Piercing weapons had no effect," Mera commented. "We never tried a blunt force, like Victor's Blacksmith Hammer, however."
"It says here in our database that Hercules had to strangle it to defeat it," Adrian said as he pulled up the information on the mosaic screen.
"That seems extra violent," Valerie commented.
"Hey, if that's what we need to do, then I'm up for it," Diana said as she cracked her knuckles.
"What do you think, Victor?" Jay prompted.
"I think…" Victor said as he thought for a minute, "that I have a lot of work to do."
He gestured to the four broken weapons.
"I have to fix all of these," he said. "It could take a while."
"How long are we talking about?" Jay asked.
"At most? Twelve to sixteen hours," Victor answered.
"In the meantime, we need a plan in case we run into the Lion again," Jay said as he turned to look at his fellow Rangers. "Any suggestions?"
"I think Victor's hammer may be the key," Mera said. "Blunt force to a vital point could prove most effective."
"We have to wait until the Lion appears again to try," Jay said. "He seems to have teleported away after a few minutes of us retreating."
"Well, Hades does want us dead," Valerie remarked. "There's no point in attacking the city if we're not going to fight back."
"Alright, Victor, get repairing," Jay ordered. "Everyone else, let's talk about potential strategies. Just in case the blunt force idea doesn't work."
Victor grabbed the Lightning Sword and his forging hammer.
I hope I can do this, he thought to himself as he lit the forge, the others are counting on me now, and in the upcoming battle.
The other Rangers gathered around the mosaic computer as Victor set off to work.
It was the next day before school, and the snow was slowly melting as Jay walked up to Victor.
"Hey big gu...whoa!" he said as he looked at the bags under Victor's eyes. "You don't look too good, Victor. Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Not really," Victor said. "I left out the part where I had to work most of the night to reach that twelve-to-sixteen-hour deadline."
"You didn't have to do that to yourself," Jay said. "We could have managed without the weapons if it meant you got some sleep."
"I have Study Hall first period," Victor said. "I can sleep in that. The important thing is that I fixed all the broken weapons. We're back up to full strength now."
The five-minute bell rang and the two started walking towards the school building.
"That's good, and all," Jay said as they entered the hall, "but you really didn't have to torture yourself to help all of us."
"You know I don't talk about my feelings often," Victor said, "and it might be the exhaustion talking, but I just feel so useless most of the time and this was my one chance to really help the team in the best way I can, you know?"
"Nobody on the team is useless," Jay said, "and we rely on you lots of times on the battlefield. This isn't the first time we've needed you, and it won't be the last. You'll always be a key member of the team, whether you feel it or not."
"Thanks, Jay," Victor said as he stopped next to a classroom. "That really made me feel better. I'll see you at lunch, ok?"
Jay continued walking down the hall as Victor entered the classroom.
That's probably the most I heard him talk, Jay thought, but it was a good conversation. I need to make sure no one ever feels useless. It's my duty as team leader.
"Somebody looks like they're deep in thought again," Valerie said as she caught up with Jay. "Everything good?"
"Everything's fine, Val," Jay said as he stopped in front of a classroom as well. "I'll see you at lunch."
"Victor stayed up all night?" Valerie asked as she and Jay sat down at the table together.
"Yeah, he stayed from whenever we left until about 4 in the morning," Jay answered. "He said he feels useless most of the time, and this was his big chance."
"You of course told him that wasn't true," Valerie said.
"Of course," Jay agreed. "Changing subjects, we didn't come up with many new strategies last night, did we?"
"Unless you call Diana's idea of cutting off it's head and sticking it where the sun doesn't shine a strategy, no," Valerie said as Nate said down.
"Hey, I seconded that idea!" Nate said, somewhat offended.
"We can't pierce its skin, remember?" Jay said. "How would we be able to cut its head off?"
"I don't know, but it's a good idea for when we figure that out," Nate said as he took a sip of his soda.
"The point was to figure that out!" Jay said, slightly annoyed.
"I believe I have a solution!" Mera said as she sat down at the table, with the rest of the teens joining right after her.
"You figured it out?" Jay asked.
"Yes," Mera said. "Hercules used the Nemean Lion's own claws to create a pelt out of the Lion's skin. If we can remove one of its claws, we should be able to hurt it!"
"So how do we remove a nail?" Adrian asked.
"Leave that to me," Jay said, "I think I know what to do, and we're going to need Victor's hammer to do it."
"Rangers! Come out from your hiding place and fight me!" the Nemean Lion said as it led a group of Spartoi down the street.
"You want us?" Nate shouted as the seven Rangers ran up and stood in a line, blocking the monster and minions' way. "You got us!"
"And we're ready this time!" Jay said as the Rangers crossed their arms in front of their chests. "It's Morphing Time!"
"Silver Olympian Power!"
"Gold Olympian Power!"
"Pink Olympian Power!"
"Yellow Olympian Power!"
"Black Olympian Power!"
"Blue Olympian Power!"
"Red Olympian Power!"
In a flash of multi-colored light, the Rangers summoned their repaired weapons and stepped forward to face their foes.
"Follow the plan!" Jay ordered as the Rangers charged forward.
Jay and Victor ran to fight off the Nemean Lion, while the others dealt with the Spartoi.
Valerie sidekicked a Spartoi away before sniping it with an arrow and turning to the next Spartoi.
Nate leapt into the air and brought his trident down on a Spartoi, stabbing it right where it's eyes would be. He used the leverage to pry the Spartoi's head off and kicked it like a soccer ball into a few Spartoi clustered together, knocking them all down.
Adrian and Mera stood back-to-back, the Spartoi closing in. They both looked back and nodded at each other before bringing their long weapons to the ground and spinning in a circle together, knocking every Spartoi off its feet.
Diana stabbed both her daggers into a Spartoi before using the handholds they created to rip the Spartoi in half and flinging both halves at small groups of Spartoi, knocking them down and out of the fight.
Jay did a flying kick into the Lion's face before flipping back and allowing Victor to come in with a mighty power swing with his Blacksmith Hammer to the Lion's head. The Lion looked dazed as it wobbled around a bit.
"Just as I predicted!" Mera said as she kicked a Spartoi away. "The skin might be impenetrable, but the internal organs and other internal parts of the body are still vulnerable! I figured it out when Hercules was able to strangle the Lion originally. That means that the inside of the Nemean Lion is not as tough as the outside!"
"Now, let's get one of these claws off," Jay said as he grabbed the Lion's paw with one hand and summoned his Lightning Sword with the other. Jay lowered his sword like he was cutting a vegetable before drawing it back again. With a cry, Jay brought his sword down on the claw, cutting it clean off the Lion's paw.
The Nemean Lion screamed in pain as it regained it's bearings.
"You'll pay for that!" it shouted as it slowly backed away from the Rangers.
"I think you're the one who's going to pay!" Jay said as the original five Rangers created the normal Olympian Crossbow. However, instead of the Lightning Sword as the ammo, the Nemean Lion's claw was used.
Jay looked to Victor.
"Would you like to do the honors?" Jay asked as he gestured to the Crossbow.
"It would be my honor," Victor said as the five Rangers took their positions, but with Victor firing and Jay supporting it. Adrian and Diana grabbed the arms of the Lion as the other Rangers took aim.
"Ready…" Victor said as he began to pull the trigger. "Aim...Fire!"
With that, he pulled the trigger, and the claw was fired at the Lion. It struggled against the two Rangers holding it but wasn't strong enough to break free. The claw flew right through its chest and into the building behind it.
"Guess none of you like Leos!" the Lion shouted as it fell to its knees before exploding into fire and ash, with Diana and Adrian rolling away from the explosion.
Suddenly, the remains of the Nemean Lion glowed blue before piecing back together. The Lion roared as he grew to the size of a small skyscraper.
"Hermes, it's Zord time," Jay ordered through his morpher.
"On their way," Hermes replied as he clicked a few keys on the mosaic computer.
With a screech, the red Eagle Zord swooped down from the clouds with the Fish Zord in its talons. The Owl Zord and Raven Zord were right behind it.
The Horse galloped onto the empty street, with the Deer Zord and Bull Zord racing to keep up.
The Rangers leapt into their Zords.
"Time to bring them together!" Jay ordered as he pressed the correct button. "Form Pantheon Megazord!"
"Right!" the other Rangers said as they pressed the corresponding button.
The Bull Zord was the first to change, as the head came off, the body split apart, and the legs flipped around 180ᣞ and the front and back legs combined.
The Horse Zord was next, as its head went into a chest cavity while the front and back legs combined together and connected to the Bull Zord legs, forming a complete waist, legs and feet.
The Eagle Zord was next. As its wings clipped off together in one long arc-shaped piece and it's legs slid into its body before it connected to the Horse Zord, it was now forming the entire body of the combination.
Next came the Owl Zord. As its head detached from the body and the body detached from the wings, the wings clipped onto the sides of the Eagle Zord and expanded, forming the arms.
Fifth was the Fish Zord. As the entire dorsal fin and tail came off, it popped open completely in half before coming onto the Eagle Zord's body as a chestplate and combining together again. The tail folded into a plume that went onto the Eagle Zord's head to complete the helmet look. The horns from the Bull Zord head attached together and became a straight point before combining with the dorsal fin to create a large spear that went onto the Megazord's back. The Owl Zord body lengthened itself a bit before the head slid into a hole in the center, finishing the shield, which went on the right arm.
The Raven Zord's legs came off before the main body and head of the Raven Zord clipped onto the front of the Megazord's chestplate, forming a gentle u-shape with its wings. The legs attached to the Megazord's arms to form small wristbands/ gauntlets.
The Deer Zord split in half vertically before both halves slid out and the center rose out from between them, revealing a gladius hidden in there. The Deer Zord reattached at the waist, forming the bottom of an armored tunic resembling the one a Roman soldier would wear. The gladius went into the Megazord's left hand.
The Rangers met up in a single cockpit. Jay was in the front row in the center with Nate and Victor on his left and right respectively. Diana, Mera, Valerie and Adrian were sitting in that order in the back row.
"Pantheon Megazord, ready!" all seven Rangers announced.
"Let's summon a little more power," Jay said.
"Summoning Donkey Zord!" Mera said as she removed one of her Yellow Olympian Gems and replaced it with one of the Orange Olympian Gems.
The Donkey Zord ran up to meet the Pantheon Megazord.
"Donkey Zord, combine!" Jay ordered.
The Donkey Zord turned into its arm configuration and replaced the right arm (the arm the shield was on).
"Pantheon Megazord with Donkey Power!" the Rangers cried out as the Megazord posed.
"You think that those puny blades are going to cut me?" the Nemean Lion asked. "Don't make me laugh!"
"He's got a point," Nate said. "What are these blades going to do?"
"This!" Jay shouted. "Aim for one of his claws!"
The Megazord unfolded its wings from back and used them to zoom forward at a great speed, hovering slightly above the ground. With one snip of the Donkey Zord's ears, the Nemean Lion lost another one of its claws.
"Not again!" the Lion shouted as it gripped its injured paw.
The Megazord swooped back around, the claw in its normal left arm. It pulled back it's arm and jabbed it forward, stabbing the Lion in the chest with its own claw.
"Let's force that claw in there!" Jay ordered. "Begin final attack!"
The Megazord flew up into the air as it summoned its gladius into its left hand. As the slowly setting sun's rays struck the Raven emblem on the Megazord's chest. The light collected on the emblem and fired it into the gladius, giving the sword a powerful glow.
"Light of the Olympians!" the Rangers shouted as the Megazord flew down and slashed the Lion in the chest, forcing the claw even deeper in.
"My skin was supposed to be unbreakable!" the Lion shouted as it fell to the ground and exploded.
"That's another monster down!" Jay said as the Megazord slowly powered down.
"How?" Hades shouted as he watched the blue fire projection of the Pantheon Megazord deal the finishing blow. "The Nemean Lion was supposed to be unbeatable!"
"My lord," Persephone said as she looked over at her husband, "Hercules was able to defeat the Nemean Lion, and the Rangers have proven more clever than him. Did you really not think this was a possibility?"
"Silence!" Hades shouted as the flames on his head intensified. "You are becoming dangerously close to spending a night in the dungeon instead of your chambers, my wife!"
"I apologize, my lord," Persephone said, "I just thought…"
"You thought wrong!" Hades shouted as his flames began to turn orange in his anger. "Gryphon! I need good news! Now!"
Gryphon appeared out of the shadows and kneeled before Hades.
"The troops are more bloodthirsty than any Spartoi created before, but we still need to create more to reach the ordered size," he said. "However, the ones we have will crush any who oppose them. Do we send them to fight the Rangers?"
"No," Hades said as he calmed down and the flames on his head returned to normal. "We stick to the plan. Besides…"- he stood up from his throne- "Why go after the servants when you can attack the masters? We have two weeks, then...we strike!"
"I am so glad that plan worked," Valerie said as the teens walked back into the Temple from the Doors of Janus. "I don't know what we would have done if it hadn't."
"If it weren't for Mera figuring out the Lion's weakness, I don't think we could have ever won," Adrian said.
"No, it was Victor who won us the battle today," Mera said as she clapped her hand on Victor's shoulder. "Well done, my comrade."
"Just doing my part," Victor said. "After all, nobody on the team is useless."
"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Jay said. "Hands in, guys."
He put out his hand, palm down. Valerie walked over and put her hand on top of his. One by one, the other Rangers came over and added their hands to the pile.
"1...2...3! Power Rangers!" the teens cried as they lifted their hands into the air as one.
Might be a bit '90s of an ending, but I wanted to show the Rangers really feel united as a team. I'm really excited to get working on the next chapter, as it's one of my favorite episode ideas, so it might come out at the end of this month or the beginning of the next month. Or, who knows, maybe I'll push it to the usual 15th of the month slot. The best way to find out when the next chapter's out is to follow this story. Well, until next time, may the power protect you.
