Sorry, this is a bit later than I meant to be, but it is out before my self-imposed deadline. I started out really excited for this episode, and then things (very slowly) began to die down and I finally finished. Besides that, my summer job got a little crazy with all the shifts and I just started watching Super Sentai as well. I've gotten through Jetman and Zyuranger, and I am currently watching Dairanger. For anyone who wants to watch the official subbed series, TubiTV has them for free, as long as you don't mind ads every 10 minutes or so.
Anyway, I want to thank JTWAS1994 for his continued support, and want to also thank GoldenMewtwo for reviewing every plot-driven chapter, and even a few filler ones. You should definitely check out his Poke Rangers: Kanto series. I just started reading it, and it's really good.
That's enough out of me. On with the story!
Myth 19: Mirror, Mirror
It had been about a week since the attack of the Nemean Lion, making it now the 19th of December, and the Holidays were right around the corner. Jay and Valerie walked down the busy streets. There was a large Christmas tree next to City Hall, and the department stores were overflowing with customers.
"Man, I guess everyone waited until the last two weeks to do their shopping," Jay commented as the two teens walked past another full department store.
"You already completed your shopping?" Valerie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I finished it a few days ago," Jay said as he and Valerie pushed past a few people just standing in the middle of the sidewalk. "I know you didn't. That's why we're here, right?" -he gestured to all the busy stores around him- "Where are we headed, anyway?"
"You'll see," Valerie said as they turned around the corner. "It should be right in front of us now."
"What do you me… whoa," Jay said as he stopped.
In front of the two was one of the largest buildings in the city, the Myers department store.
"You can't be serious!" Jay said. "Myers is literally the biggest store in the city, and their stuff is super expensive!"
"That's why we'll be using my credit card," Valerie said as she grabbed Jay's hand and pulled him into the store.
"Alright, I need something for Victor and Nate and Diana and…" Valerie said as she went through the list in her head out loud for a few seconds, "and Mom and…"
She suddenly stopped.
"What?" Jay said. "and who?"
"And you," she said. "I still need a gift for you."
"OK, should we split up and meet up later? Say...half an hour?" Jay asked.
"Good plan. I'll see you in half an hour. Bye!" Valerie said as she rushed to the escalator.
"I said I got all my shopping done," Jay said to himself, "but there's one gift I didn't get yet. Valerie's."
He looked around at all of the items around him
"What do girls even like?" he asked. "Jewelry?"
He walked over to the Jewelry section and saw the four-digit price tags.
"Yeah, a bit outside my budget," he said as he felt around in his wallet and pulled out a few twenties.
"Clothes!" he said as he walked over to the women's clothing section, "but I don't know her size…"
"Uh...think, think, think," Jay said as he started to panic, "what about…"
He looked at the section across the way, the makeup section, and saw the perfect gift.
"How about a compact mirror!" he said as he rushed over and looked at the compact mirrors. "Right in my budget, too!"
He grabbed a pink one and took it to the register. A few minutes later, the mirror was in a bag and hidden from Valerie's sight.
Jay walked back to the main lobby before looking up at the large clock on the wall.
"It's been half an hour," he said. "Where is she?"
"Someone looking for me?" Valerie said as she walked down the escalator and over towards Jay. She had multiple bags in each hand and was struggling to lift them all.
"I might have gotten a little too much," she admitted as she dropped the bags in front of Jay so she could rest for a minute. "I see that you grabbed something. Last minute gift?"
"Yeah," Jay admitted. "Now, let me help you with some of these bags…"
He bent down to grab some before Valerie stopped him.
"I appreciate it, but it's the 21st century. I don't need a guy to carry all my stuff for me all the time," she said as she bent down and grabbed all of the bags again.
"You're the boss," Jay said as he backed away. "Now then, let's get these to your house before we find out what breaks first: the handles or your back."
The two teens laughed as they headed out into the cold outdoors once again.
"The Red and Pink Rangers are separated from the others." Hades said to himself and Persephone, who was in her normal seat next to his, "I have two days until my big plan is set into motion, I must get rid of these Rangers so they can't interfere, and I'll start with those two."
"Perhaps you shouldn't focus on destroying the Rangers, and instead try just stopping them," Persephone offered. "You don't have to destroy something to stop it."
"More of your 'peaceful campaign' talk?" Hades said. "It makes me sick to hear such talk. Unless…"
"Unless what, my lord?" Persephone asked as she looked to her husband.
"Unless I use Medusa to turn the Rangers to stone!" Hades said. "Unlike Midas's touch, Medusa's cursed gaze has no way to be reversed! Once frozen, the Rangers will be trapped forever!"
He turned towards the wall in front of him and created a ball of fire from the brazier next to him before throwing it at the wall, creating a blue portal.
"Medusa, I summon you!" he shouted as a green snake woman slithered through the portal.
She had green skin and a tail instead of legs that somehow balanced on the ground and supported her weight. She wore an armored chest plate that looked like a bra and had on dark sunglasses over her eyes.
"Yessss master?" she hissed.
"I have an offer for you," Hades said. "Turn all seven Rangers to stone, and I will lift the curse that Athena placed on you."
"You can do that?" Medusa asked as she looked at Hades through her thick sunglasses.
"I can and I will," Hades replied. "Just bring all seven Rangers to me as statues."
"Assss you command," Medusa said as she turned around, and slithered through the portal now aimed at Earth.
"Only a few more blocks to my house," Valerie said as the two teens walked down the empty sidewalk. "Once there, I can have James make us some hot chocolate or something."
"You won't be going anywhere, Rangerssss," a female voice hissed from behind them followed by the sound of sunglasses hitting the pavement.
Valerie dropped her bags and was about to turn around to face her when Jay grabbed her arm.
"Wait," he said. "Look at the glass in front of us."
She looked and saw the reflection of a green snake woman.
"So?" she asked.
"I recognize her from the Monster Database," Jay explained. "That's Medusa! One look into her eyes and you get turned to stone!"
"So how do we fight her?" Valerie asked.
"We can only view her through reflective surfaces," Jay said. "Luckily…" -He gestured to the glass buildings around them.- "we happen to be on an empty street where there's glass everywhere. If we just see her through the glass, we won't turn to stone."
"Sounds like a plan!" Valerie agreed.
"It's Morphing Time!" Jay announced.
"Pink Olympian Power!" Valerie shouted as the gems on her wristbands glowed a bright pink.
"Red Olympian Power!" Jay shouted as the gems on his wristbands glowed a deep red.
In a flash of pink and red light, the Rangers were morphed.
"Love Bow!" Valerie shouted as the pink-bodied bow appeared in her open right hand.
"Lightning Sword!" Jay shouted as the red-hilted zig-zag blade appeared in his open right hand.
"Let's go!" Jay shouted as he raised his sword and Valerie aimed her bow behind her. Valerie let go of the bowstring and shot an energy arrow at Medusa. Unfortunately, her aim was very off.
"Damn!" she shouted as she prepared another energy arrow. "I can't shoot my bow backwards!"
"I'm going to go for it!" Jay shouted as he did a twisting backflip over Medusa, trying to slice off her head.
Medusa just ducked and the snakes from her hair fired the fangs from their mouths at the Red Ranger. Jay cried out as the fangs struck him and he hit the sidewalk hard.
"Man, that smarted," Jay commented as he got up, clutching his shoulder.
"You ok?" Valerie shouted across the street as she continued trying and failing to hit Medusa with her energy arrows.
"Yeah, but I think we need...look out!" Jay shouted as he saw the reflection of Medusa fire fangs out of her snake hair again.
Valerie cried out as sparks flew from her suit, but she remained standing. However, her guard was now down.
Medusa slithered over and wrapped her tail around Valerie while she was blasted, immobilizing her. She coiled around the Pink Ranger and looked into her eyes through her visor. Gray beams shot out of her eyes and flew into Valerie's eyes through her visor.
"Jay!" Valerie shouted before she quickly turned to stone. Medusa laughed as she removed herself from the statue that had been Valerie and started slithering up to Jay.
"You can't beat me, Red Ranger," she hissed, "and you can never get your Pink Ranger back!"
Jay growled from under his helmet and turned around with his eyes closed before slashing wildly with his Lightning Sword.
"You'll pay for that, you snake!" he shouted as he continued to slash.
"And now…" Medusa hissed as she prepared to coil around the closed-eyed Jay.
"Gemini Arrow...Fire!" two voices called out as a large gold and silver energy arrow struck Medusa in the stomach, blasting her back.
Adrian and Diana rushed up to Jay and pulled him up.
"You ok, Jay?" Adrian asked. "Good thing we were close by."
"Otherwise, you would be screwed," Diana said with a nod.
"Yeah, but you guys need to look away before she...Look out!" Jay shouted as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.
Unfortunately, Adrian and Diana didn't heed Jay's warning in time and looked into Medusa's eyes. Gray beams fired out of her eyes and flew into their eyes through their visors. In an instant, they were turned to stone.
Medusa got up and saw the wound on her stomach.
"I'll get you for this, Red Ranger!" she shouted as a portal appeared and she slithered into it before it closed behind her.
Jay opened his eyes and looked at the three Ranger statues.
"No...guys…" Jay said as he fell to his knees and demorphed before speaking into his morpher, "Mera? Nate? Victor? I'm going to need some help getting the rest of the team to the base."
"What?" Nate asked through his morpher, "their legs broken or something?"
Jay didn't answer as he looked at his girlfriend's statue before running his hand over her stone helmet.
"I'll get you out of there," he vowed. "Whatever it takes."
"So how do we fight her?" Jay asked as Mera typed away at the mosaic computer.
"The only way to avoid petrification is reflective surfaces, like you used in your fight," Mera answered. "Perseus defeated her with a reflective bronze shield that he used as a mirror."
"Petrifi-wha?" Nate asked.
Victor just shrugged.
"It means turning to stone," Jay said in a somewhat angry tone.
"They seem to be totally stone," Hermes said as he flew around the three Ranger statues, observing them. "Not hollow, as I had hoped."
"That is my conclusion as well," Mera said as she stepped away from the computer and chipped off a small part of Adrian's stone helmet, "but I believe an analysis of the stone is in order."
"Man, Hephestus thought of everything when he built that computer," Nate commented as he stood off to the side, arms crossed. "Think he's got a smoothie machine somewhere in there?"
"Knock it off," Jay snapped. "We don't have time for jokes. We need a way to reverse this, and fast."
Mera placed the sample in a small drawer and pushed it in. A digital replica of the stone appeared on the mosaic computer's screen.
"It appears to be a form of limestone," she said, "and it appears that their entire chemical make-up is now changed into said material."
"Ok, so we know what it is," Jay said. "How do we reverse it?"
"Got a one-track mind, huh?" Nate commented.
"I want our friends back," Jay argued as he came up to stand right in front of Nate.
"I think you just want your girlfriend back and don't care about Adrian or Diana," Nate countered as he moved forward to stand directly face to face with Jay.
"You know that's not true!" Jay shouted.
There was silence for a moment as Jay's shout echoed throughout the Temple.
"Arguing is going to get us nowhere," Mera said as she stepped between the two. "As Valerie is not available right now, I suppose I must act as peacekeeper now. Right, Victor?"
Victor looked away from the mosaic computer quickly and looked at the group.
"Uh...right," he agreed.
"In my research," Mera said as she walked back to the computer, "There was no way to reverse Medusa's curse. I do have a theory, however. I believe that Gorgon blood could do it. With it, we could possibly get our friends back."
"Am I the only one who's going to ask?" Nate asked the group, "what the heck is a Gorgon? A type of cheese?"
"No, Nathaniel," Hermes said. "A Gorgon is the species Medusa and her sisters were cursed to become by Athena for ruining her temple with Poseidon. However, Medusa got the worst curse: whoever she looks at, whether she wants it or not, is turned to stone."
"Well, we're trying to defeat Medusa," Jay said. "So we can't get the blood from her. Where are her sisters?"
"The only thing I know for certain is that they managed to escape both the gods and Hades," Hermes said. "So they are somewhere on Earth."
"Maybe we do have a way to search for them," Mera said. "We just need a bit of DNA to search with…"
Jay's face lit up.
"I think I know where to get some," he said as he walked over to the displayed Red Ranger suit and pulled out one of the fangs that Medusa had fired at him from the snakes on her head, "would this work?"
"Perfectly," Mera said as she removed the limestone from the drawer and placed the fang inside. "It should only be a minute before…"
The computer made a chiming sound as Mera looked at the screen.
"I've got them located in a cave in Greece near Macedonia," Mera said as she looked towards the group.
"Makes sense," Jay said. "They were hiding right under the gods' noses. I'll use the Doors of Janus and get there in an instant."
He started to walk towards the Doors before Nate stopped him.
"Whoa," he said. "What do you mean 'I'? We're a team. We don't need you going off on a quest by yourself. I'm at least coming with you."
Jay put his hand on Nate's shoulder.
"Look, I need Mera here in case Medusa attacks again," Jay said, "I also need Victor to build me a bronze shield, and I especially need you here to lead while I'm gone. You are second-in-command, after all."
"I do not like it," Mera said, "but he is right. It makes most sense for one of us to go, and the rest of us to prepare for Medusa."
Nate looked like he was about to argue more before he gave up.
"Fine," he said. "Best of luck to you, fearless leader."
"I have a feeling I'm going to need it," Jay admitted before running through the open Doors of Janus.
Jay found himself on the beach. There was a house behind him that had served as his entrance into this strange new land.
"So this is Greece, huh?" Jay said as he looked around. "Looks very peaceful."
He looked around and saw many other shore houses lined up. Overall, this part of the country looked fairly untouched by humans.
"I am detecting the cave north of your location," Mera said through Jay's morpher.
"Got it," Jay responded. "Heading north now."
"What is the Red Ranger doing in Greece?" Hades asked. "This wasn't part of my plan!"
"Relax, my king," Persephone said, "there is nothing that can reverse Medusa's curse, remember? You have nothing to worry about."
"My sistersss are close to hisss location," Medusa hissed. "He could be going after them."
"Gorgon blood is one possible way to heal almost any wound or curse!" Hades said. "I thought there was no way to reverse Medusa's curse, but if there was, Gorgon blood would be the best way to try."
"If you are so worried, my lord," Persephone said, "send some Spartoi to stop him."
"We both know that Spartoi won't stop him," Hades said, "but if I can slow him down long enough to warn the other Gorgons...That might work. Gryphon!"
Gryphon appeared in his signature black smoke.
"Yes, master?" he said as he kneeled before Hades.
"Warn the Gorgons of the Red Ranger's arrival," Hades said, "but don't let him see you. I want your survival of the battle you had with the Rangers to be a surprise."
"As you command," Gryphon said as he stood up and vanished into his smoke again.
"Meanwhile, Medusa," Hades said as he created a portal out of blue fire. "You can still get the three other Rangers still in Olympia Hills. Your sisters will destroy the Red Ranger for you."
"Yesss," Medusa hissed as she slithered through the portal.
Jay wiped his brow as he stopped and looked at the caves placed throughout the mountainside.
"Hey Mera," he said into his morpher. "I've got something like a million caves here. Any chance you can point me in the right direction?"
"I sincerely doubt there are a million caves there, but I understand what you mean," Mera said. "Unfortunately, I cannot pinpoint any closer. You are going to have to search each cave."
"Great…" Jay said before he looked up in surprise as a bunch of Spartoi flipped towards him, "and it just got even better."
Jay ran forward, crossing his arms over his chest as he did.
"Red Olympian Power!" he shouted as he morphed mid stride before flipping over some Spartoi and landing in the center of them.
"I don't have time for this! I need to save Valerie and the twins!" Jay said as he raised his right arm, "Lightning Sword!"
The Lightning Sword appeared in his hand, and he set off to work on the Spartoi. He did a horizontal strike on one Spartoi before kicking it into a few more of them, sending them falling to the ground in a heap. He did an x-slash on another, before flipping in the air and kicking it in the chest to slam it into the mountain base behind it.
Jay looked around at his opponents.
They must be trying to block me from reaching the Gorgons! he thought as he punched the head off of another Spartoi. So they probably know where they are!
Jay looked at the caves that the Spartoi were blocking and saw a shadow of a figure with wings on the wall of one of the cave entrances.
"Gryphon?" he asked as he marched towards the cave, slashing any Spartoi who got in his way. He quickly reached the cave, the Spartoi proving to only be a minor annoyance to the Ranger. Jay slashed the last one standing across the chest and continued into the cave as the last Spartoi fell.
He found two snake women just like Medusa, but one was a lighter green, and one was a darker green. Both lacked the sunglasses she wore. He also saw Gryphon standing in front of them, his back to Jay.
"Gryphon, I thought we destroyed you!" Jay shouted as he took a ready stance.
"Hades ordered me to stay hidden and surprise you with his grand plan," Gryphon growled as he turned around and brandished his sword, "but I would rather destroy you now!"
"I need someone to take my anger out on!" Jay shouted back. "I guess you're as good a target as any!"
The two charged at each other and clashed with their swords. Jay forced Gryphon into a standstill clash, with neither fighter gaining or giving an inch as they pushed against each other, both trying to break through.
Jay quickly whirled around his leg in a sweeping leg attack, but Gryphon leapt over it before taking to the air and using his new leverage to force Jay back.
Jay leapt at the wall and kicked off of it, gaining height to reach Gryphon. Gryphon, surprised by the Ranger's new attack, landed back on the ground.
"You've improved, Red Ranger," Gryphon said, "but so have I!"
He raised his sword as it began to glow with a bronze-colored light.
"Gryphon's Fire!" he shouted as he quickly slashed an "X", creating two arcs of glowing bronze energy. He then stabbed through the middle, blasting a jet of bronze-colored fire at Jay from the glowing tip of his sword.
Jay cried out as he was blasted backwards by the flame, hit the wall and collapsed. There was a flash of red light as he demorphed.
"Nothing can stop me from destroying you now!" Gryphon shouted as the glowing "X" faded and he raised his sword above Jay's head.
"Leave now," the darker green Gorgon said.
"No one will be killed in our cave," the lighter green one said as both slithered over in between the two warriors.
Gryphon growled before summoning his signature black smoke behind him.
"Next time, Red Ranger," he said as he stepped back into the smoke and disappeared.
Jay groaned and felt the back of his head.
"That's going to leave a bruise," he said as he stood up before looking at the Gorgons. "You saved me. Why?"
"We have no love for Hades and his forces," the darker one said.
"However, we have no love for the Gods and their warriors either," the lighter one said.
"All we want is for our curse to be lifted, and us to be able to be reunited with our sister, Medusa," the darker one said.
"I am Stheno," the lighter green Gorgon said.
"And I am Euryale," the darker green Gorgon said. "Now, what do you want with us?"
"I require your blood," Jay said, "I want to save my girlfriend and friends from your sister's curse."
"And what would you do once your friends are free?" Stheno asked. "Destroy our sister?"
"Well…" Jay said as he trailed off, "she kind of decided to try and destroy me and my friends, the Olympian Rangers, so…"
"Can you find kindness in your heart to forgive her and try to save her instead of trying to destroy her?" Euryale asked.
"All she wants is to be free of her curse," Stheno said. "Just like us. We never chose to be monsters. Athena thrusted that fate upon us. However, we have learned to forgive and be understanding instead of vengeful. Can you do the same?"
Jay stood there for a moment, pondering, before finally speaking.
"I guess I have to try," Jay said. "It is the right thing to do."
"Then we will happily give you the blood you require," Euryale said as she slithered further into the cave. "How many doses do you need?"
Stheno quickly followed her sister, and Jay wasn't far behind.
"Three," he said as he joined the sisters at a small poorly crafted table. He looked down at the table itself. "Did you make this yourself?"
"We struggled with our new forms when we started 2000 years ago," Stheno said as she grabbed a vial from what appeared to be a sort of chemistry set. "We never could work the tools right."
Euryale grabbed a poorly crafted knife and pressed it into her right arm.
"You don't need much of it for each person," she said. "Three drops ought to do it."
Stheno placed the vial under her sister's arm and caught the green blood dripping out before putting a cap on the vial and offering it out to Jay.
"These vials are from our attempts to turn ourselves human using human science instead of the gods' magic," she explained. "We had to steal these from empty human homes, unfortunately."
"Hey, you did what you had to do," Jay said as he accepted the vial and put it in his front right pocket , "I promise I'll do what I can to bring your sister home safe, and to turn all three of you human again."
"When you see our sister, tell her that she need not throw in her lot with Hades," Stheno said.
"She can always return home to us, and we can work on fixing our curse again," Euryale finished.
Jay waved as he stepped backwards before turning around and leaving the cave.
"This is Jay," he said into his morpher as he walked. "Mission accomplished."
"Oof!" Nate grunted as he slammed into a bench, breaking it in half and causing both halves to tip over.
"Are you well?" Mera asked as she helped Nate stand up.
"Those fangs of hers have a nasty sting," Nate said as he brushed himself off, "but it's almost impossible to fight an enemy that we can't see."
He then spoke into his morpher.
"Hey, Vic? How's that shield coming?"
"Almost done," Victor said into his morpher as he brought the hammer down on the bronze shield again in the Temple, slowly bending it into shape.
The Doors began to glow and then burst open, allowing Jay to run in with a vial in his hand.
"Hey, Hermes," Jay said as he handed the vial to Hermes. "The Gorgons said three drops should do it."
Hermes grabbed a dropper from the medical center and poured the Gorgon blood into it. He flew over to the Ranger statues and used the dropper to drop three drops onto the statues.
Quickly, the statues glowed green and shattered, leaving three very confused Rangers in their place.
"Who?" Adrian asked as he looked around.
"What?" Valerie asked as she did the same.
"Seriously?" Diana asked as she crossed her arms, "I was aware of what was going on the whole time."
The three demorphed as Valerie ran over to hug Jay.
"You saved us!" she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Aw...Anyone would have done the same…" Jay said.
"No, you're the only one I would trust on such a mission," Diana said as she came over and patted him on the shoulder, "and I don't trust people easily."
"Good job, Jay," Adrian said. "Now, I hate to break this up, but wasn't there a snake monster or something?"
"There is," Jay said, "and I need to handle her alone."
He put his morpher close to his mouth.
"Nate, Mera," Jay said, "I need you to keep Medusa contained until Victor finishes the shield. Then, I need to face her alone."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Nate said through the morpher. "Medusa is one tough customer."
"Victor," Jay said as he walked over to the teen, "how's that shield coming?"
Victor slammed it one more time with his hammer before putting the hammer down and flipping up his face shield.
"Ready for battle," he said as he gave a thumbs up.
Jay looked at the shield for a moment.
"It looks sturdy," he said, "but doesn't seem very reflective."
"What if we used the Gorgon blood to 'heal' any impurities in the bronze?" Victor asked.
"Wow, that's...actually a good idea," Diana said, very surprised, as Jay grabbed the vial of Gorgon blood from Hermes and walked up to the shield. He pulled out the dropper and put a drop on the shield. In a flash of green light, the shield started to glow from the reflections of the light.
"I think it worked," Jay joked before becoming serious again. "Now, it's time for me to deal with Medusa."
Mera and Nate rolled away from where they thought Medusa was. Medusa lashed out with her tail and slammed both of them in the back, sending them flying through the air.
A door on a nearby building glowed blue before bursting open and Jay stepped out.
"Red Olympian Power!" he shouted as he crossed his arms in front of his chest while running towards Medusa. In a flash of brilliant red light, he was morphed.
"Mirror Shield!" he shouted as the bronze shield appeared on his left arm. He turned around and looked at Medusa through the reflection on the shield.
"Nate, Mera," Jay said. "Back off. The two of us need to chat."
"I'm sorry, we've been getting our asses handed to us and you want to talk?" Nate asked, very annoyed.
"I have to agree with Nathaniel," Mera agreed. "Medusa does not appear to be the talking type."
"She'll talk to me," Jay said. "Stheno and Euryale sent me."
"You dare ssspeak my sssistersss namesss?" Medusa hissed. "What givesss you that right?"
"They told me that you just want to be free of your curse, and you think that revenge and allying with Hades is the only way to do it," Jay said, "and I wanted revenge against you for turning my friends to stone, so I understand how you feel. But revenge is only going to hurt you in the end."
Medusa looked at the Red Ranger's visor, through the mirror shield.
"I sssense that you ssspeak the truth," she hissed, "but the godsss have cursed me to be a monster. Without them, I cannot go back to the way I wasss."
"We work with the gods," Jay said. "We can try and appeal to them. Maybe Athena will reverse your curse if you just apologize."
"Lies!" Hades' voice boomed next to Medusa as a floating ball of blue fire appeared out of a portal, with the voice originating from it. "the gods will never restore you or your sisters to your true forms! Only I will do it! Bring me the Rangers as statues and you will be able to look at beings again without turning them to stone!"
Medusa looked conflicted.
"I don't know…" she said. "I prayed to the godsss for forgivenesss a long time ago, and they ignored me… But my sssistersss ssseem to trust you..."
"Yes, they do," Jay said. "Because I promised to try saving you instead of destroying you. Please, just surrender. We don't have to be enemies."
"You know what you have to do," Hades said through his fireball as it flickered out.
"If it meansss anything," Medusa said. "Thisss isn't personal. I just want to be human again."
The snakes on her head opened their mouths and fired fangs at Jay, who rolled out of the way while keeping an eye on Medusa through the shield.
"Please...don't do this," he begged as he summoned his Lightning Sword into his right hand. "I just want to help you."
"You can," Medusa said, "by ssstaying ssstill!"
She fired off more fangs from her hair, but Jay raised the Mirror Shield and reflected it back at her. Medusa cried out as the fangs pierced her body, scratching it up in several places.
"I gave you a chance," Jay said as he raised his sword, "but you give me no choice. Lightning Sword! Red Lightning Strike!"
He raised his sword into the air, where red lightning struck it. The lightning sparked along the blade as Jay charged forward and slashed Medusa across the front with the glowing blade.
There was an explosion that blasted Jay back, with him landing helmet first into the grass.
He looked back and saw Medusa slowly slithering towards him. He continued to look at her as he stood up again.
I hope this works… he thought as he looked into Medusa's eyes. Gray beams shot out of Medusa's eyes but before they could hit Jay in his eyes behind his visor, Jay raised the Mirror Shield and reflected the beams back at Medusa. Medusa continued to fire the beams as Jay slowly pushed forward against them, putting the Mirror Shield between them and his eyes.
Quickly, Jay had gotten within sword range, and he slashed at Medusa's neck with his sword. There was a spray of green blood as Medusa's head separated from her body. The body fell over and exploded as Jay posed in front of it, Mirror Shield and Medusa's head in one hand and Lightning Sword in the other.
Jay quickly kneeled down, set down the head and lowered the eyelids, removing the danger of Medusa's gaze.
"I'm sorry I had to do this," Jay said as he looked at the severed head, still kneeling, "but you chose to attack me when I gave you a chance to surrender."
Nate and Mera ran up to Jay, still morphed.
"C'mon," Nate said. "Don't feel too bad. We won, right?"
"But I promised the Gorgons I would try to save their sister," Jay said.
"And you did indeed try," Mera said. "Some people are just beyond saving."
Jay nodded as he stood up, "I guess you're right. Let's head back to base."
The three Rangers walked to the glowing blue Door and stepped back into the Temple before demorphing. Jay still held the head of Medusa in his left hand.
"Hey, Hermes," Jay said. "What the heck do we do with Medusa's head?"
Suddenly, a green light glowed from Medusa's head. Jay dropped it in surprise as the Rangers gathered around it.
A green-glowing humanoid appeared out of Medusa's head. It was a woman in a white dress. She smiled at the Rangers, who were all in fighting stances.
"Greetings, Rangers," she said. "You do not need to worry about me hurting you. I am simply a spirit now."
"Who are you?" Valerie asked as the Rangers relaxed their stances.
"I am Medusa," the green-glowing woman said. "This is my true form from before Athena cursed me."
"Why are you here?" Adrian asked.
"I have come to warn you," Medusa's spirit said. "I feel remorse for attacking you Rangers. Especially you, Red Ranger. You were merely trying to help me, and I chose to ignore it."
"It's ok. I forgive you," Jay said, "but what did you want to warn us about?"
"Hades has a major plan taking place on the Winter Solstice," Medusa said, "I saw it in the Underworld. He has tens of thousands of Spartoi waiting to attack."
"Where would this attack take place?" Mera asked.
"That I do not know," Medusa said as she began to fade away. "My time runs short. Beware the Winter Solstice, Rangers!"
With those words, Medusa's spirit was gone, and her monster head turned into green, glowing balls of light that flew up and through the ceiling, into the heavens.
"Well, that was strange," Nate commented as the Rangers broke up the circle they had formed around the head.
"Yeah," Jay said, "but it worries me what she said about the Winter Solstice. That's in two days."
He looked off at the Ranger suits lining the wall.
"We'll need to be ready," he finished grimly. "Especially with Gryphon back."
"Medusa couldn't remove those god-empowered pests?" Hades shouted, "I gave her every chance to destroy the Rangers, and she blew it."
He looked over at Gryphon, who was sharpening his sword with a whetstone.
"And you," Hades said as he reached into his brazier and created a blue fireball before hurling it at Gryphon, "you ruined part of my final plan! The Rangers were not to know of your survival!"
Gryphon deflected the fireball with his bronze sword. As it hit the wall next to him, he kneeled in front of Hades.
"I beg for your forgiveness," he said as he bowed his head.
"I ought to let someone else lead my assault," Hades said, "but I guess I do need you, so I'll give you one more chance. My attack must go off without a hitch."
"And where are we attacking, my lord?" Gryphon asked.
"Yes, you have been very vague about it," Persephone agreed.
"I thought it would be obvious!" Hades snapped, "we are going to strike at the heart of my enemies. We will be assaulting Mt Olympus in two days' time!"
"Olympus?" Gryphon asked, very surprised. "Are you mad? The gods can use all of their powers on Olympus!"
"Not on the Solstice," Hades explained, "the gods are weakened on the Winter Solstice and my powers are strengthened, making it the perfect time to strike!"
He began to laugh maniacally.
"And not even the Rangers can stop me this time!" he said in between fits of laughter.
Persephone looked at her husband, very concerned.
Could this plan of his really work? she thought. Can the Rangers really stop an army of that size?
Uh oh! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys next month for the epic conclusion to the first half of the series! I say "half", but I sometimes reorganize my episodes and episode count, so who knows if it's really half or more than half. May the power protect you!
