I'm back! Only a few days behind my normal schedule! Ok, maybe like a week, but classes have been getting harder, so I have less time to work and sometimes I'm not inspired and I've been watching Dino Fury (when it's on) and Zenkaiger (when it's translated) and GoGoV (when I have nothing else) and...
Anyway, you get the idea. I'm glad to get this chapter out. It's actually part of the reason I'm going past the 32 chapters I originally planned. You'll see why soon enough…
(2022 Spidey for one of the last times. I edited Cronus's dialogue in this too, as his personality somehow mutated over the coming chapters and I would prefer it to be more consistent. As such, I am going back and fixing Cronus' dialogue. The premise will be the same, but the way he says it will be different. Thank you for your understanding as I wrap up these edits to the story in preparation for the final chapter! We now return you to your regularly scheduled Author's Note)
I want to thank JTWAS1994 and GoldenMewtwo for their reviews and summer490 for favoriting and following me and the story.
Here's chapter 31!
Myth 31: Road to Redemption
"It's been 3 days," Jay said, "and you still can't find him?"
"Paul is either somewhere our detectors can't reach, or hiding very well," Chiron said. "Remember that we're having the same issue with Hermes. We still haven't found him either."
"Yeah, but Hermes is a god," Jay said. "Paul's just a human...right?"
"Mera, I think you should be the one to tell him," Chiron said as he gestured for the redhead to come over.
"I have been looking into Hades's Olympian Gems," Mera explained, "and I found out that in order to wield them, the wielder's blood must be more godly than our gems require."
"So basically, Paul's more of a god than we are?" Jay asked, "I assumed he had to have some god blood in him to wield any pair of Gems. I didn't realize that Hades' Gems were special."
"Very much so," Mera said. "My hypothesis is that Hades never assumed that anyone else would get his Gems, so he put a lot of power into them. Only someone with powerful blood themselves could handle that power. I researched Paul's family tree. There is a large gap in his family's history on his father's side. It is as if his great great grandfather didn't exist."
"Or was a god," Valerie said as she finally joined the conversation.
"That was my hypothesis," Mera said. "The only question is: if he had this power, why did he seek help from Gryphon?"
"Maybe he didn't know of his power?" Jay said. "He never showed any signs of godly blood as a kid. There was that one time, though…"
"Please elaborate," Mera said. "Any information may be helpful."
"We were running through the woods in the park," Jay said, "and Paul tripped on a tree root and cut himself on it. From what I remember, it was fully healed in five minutes. Neither of us thought much of it. I completely forgot until now, to be honest."
"That's convenient," Nate muttered. "You think you would remember something like that."
"I was a kid!" Jay said, "I didn't know how weird that was!"
"Getting back on track," Valerie said. "Paul has godly blood. Could that be why Gryphon wanted to bond with him in the first place?"
"The only people who would know are Gryphon and Paul," Mera said.
"And one's in Tartarus and the other is missing," Jay said, "so we won't be getting our answers until we find Paul."
Paul looked around the empty room. He had been here for three days, and hadn't eaten in the same amount of time. It wasn't like he had his wallet when he and Gryphon separated, and any food in the house was probably rotten in the year it had been since he had been in said house. He thought again of maybe going back to Jay, but, like every other time he had, he just remembered all of the horrible things he had done.
"Not only did I try to kill Jay on multiple occasions," Paul said to himself. "I worked with a madman to try and do even more harm! I attacked Mt. Olympus with an army! I worked with that monster Gryphon's family! I kidnapped Jay's girlfriend!"
You told Nate how to defeat Hebe, a small voice in Paul's mind said. You freed the Rangers when they were in trouble with the armored Spartoi. You pulled your punches against Jay. You were the one to send Gryphon back to Tartarus. Not everything you did was evil.
No, Paul thought, but enough of it was. The bad outweighed the good. I deserve everything that's happening to me right now. The hunger, the cold, all of it.
He heard footsteps going down the sidewalk through the hole where the window used to be and stood up to look. He saw some kids playing with a ball as they ran down the sidewalk.
Paul smiled as he listened to their laughter and the bouncing of the ball. He allowed himself to sneak out onto the porch and watch for a minute. As long as there were no adults around, he could be out for a little while.
Then the cold wind started to blow again, and one kid cried out as the ball rolled into the street. One of the kids went out to get it, but it kept rolling away from him.
Paul could feel something was about to go wrong and ran towards the kid.
"Hey, kid!" Paul shouted. "Get out of the street!"
The kid looked up just as a car came from around the curve and headed straight for him. Paul could see the driver wasn't able to see the kid while the child was bending down to grab the ball and Paul knew what he had to do.
Paul ran into the street and grabbed the kid, pulling him away from the car as it went past. The ball went right under the car and kept rolling, but Paul had just saved the child's life.
"Be careful of what's going on around you," Paul said as he put the kid down. "You never know when something's going to come at you."
"Thanks!" the kid shouted as Paul grabbed the ball and tossed it to the kid before he got out of the street himself.
Paul watched as the kids continued down the sidewalk as if nothing had happened. He shook his head in disbelief that there were no parents out for a group of kids that young. But the last thing Paul wanted to do was get attention, so he wasn't going to tell anyone, much less the kid's parents, what had happened.
Would a bad person do that? that same small voice in Paul said.
Fine, Paul thought. I may not be a bad person, but I still did bad things. I need to make it up to all of the people that I've hurt. It's time to stop hiding.
"Hades," Cronus said coldly as the God of the Underworld walked up to the barrier around Tartarus. "How exactly do you plan to free me when Gryphon is trapped in here with me again?"
"Tell me what I need to do," Hades said. "There has to be some way to free you by myself."
Cronus thought about it for a minute before he came up with an idea.
"While the power of one god may not be enough to break this barrier, the power of two might," he said.
"Great!" Hades said, "I'll go get one of the minor gods from the prison and…"
"There is a better way that ensures that you will not fail, and you will prove your loyalty in equal measure," Cronus said. "Drain that power from another god or goddess. Make their power your own. Then, and only then, will you be able to break through this wretched barrier."
"You said something about proving my loyalty?" Hades asked. "What would do that? Because I really want to prove to you how loyal I am."
"Steal that power from one specific goddess," Cronus said as he looked into Hades's eyes, "and you know who I'm referring to…"
"So, how about them Flyers?" Jay said as he and Valerie sat down on the steps. The other Rangers were scattered around the Temple. Diana was sparring with Nate, while Victor and Mera were talking over by the mosaic computer and Adrian and Christina were talking over by the Flame in its corner.
Valerie giggled before answering.
"Do they even play right now?" she asked.
"I honestly have no idea, just seemed like a good conversation starter," Jay admitted, "because I honestly don't know what to say right now. My old best friend just got separated from my worst enemy and I don't even know where he is now. It's kind of worrying."
"Yeah, I completely get it," Valerie said as she put her hand on Jay's, which was resting on a step. "If it were me, I'd be really worried too. But you heard how powerful Paul is. Plus he has that sword and shield. He'll be fine."
"That power and the sword and shield are exactly why I'm worried," Jay said. "How long will it be before Hades goes after him for taking his Gems, or looking to exploit his power somehow?"
"Yeah…" Valerie said as she thought about it for a minute. "But don't you think Paul can take care of himself?"
"Not really," Jay said. "He always relied on me in elementary school. It was almost a dependency. That's why he got so mad when I became friends with Mera and we went to different middle schools."
"Maybe you need to think about something else," Valerie said, "why don't I come over tonight and we can watch a movie or something? I could also finally meet your parents. They're back from their trip, right?"
"Yeah, they're back," Jay said, "and finally have recovered from their trip. I think tonight would be a great night for you to come over."
"Great, it's a date," Valerie said. "Literally."
As the two of them were talking, Victor, Mera and Chiron looked over at them before looking back at the mosaic computer.
"You're saying those burns don't heal quickly like mine had before?" Victor asked.
Mera nodded.
"Chiron and I looked at his burns earlier and they have not healed nearly as quickly, even with the amount of Nectar we have been using," Mera said. "I am quite worried that too much use of this 'Hoplite Armor' could prove dangerous to Jay's health."
"It's only been three days," Victor said. "Maybe they just need more time to heal?"
"Time might prove to be something we don't have," Chiron said, "I am worried about Hades' relative lack of action over the last few weeks. It's very unlike him."
"Indeed," Mera said. "He seemed to have a pattern of once every week or so, but that has changed and could mean he's planning a larger attack."
"It's for that exact reason that we need to keep an eye on Jay," Chiron said. "I can only hope that the Hoplite Armor is not needed while he heals…"
Meanwhile, over by the flame, Christina and Adrian were continuing their conversation.
"See, I knew you would figure it out," Adrian said with a smile.
"Yeah, I figured out my place on the team," Christina said, "but you guys are still down one Ranger you could otherwise have fighting with you."
"Don't worry about it," Adrian said. "We've fought all of Hades's Dark Gods before and won. Besides, we have the Reserve Rangers to come help if we need it."
"Not really," Christina said, "I've been keeping an eye on the Reserve Rangers and talked to them. They're really caught up in their own problems right now.
"Like what?" Adrian asked.
"Mostly the same reasons they had before," Christina said before she remembered, "but you weren't there. Jasmine is studying for exams. Mikhail's parents are still really mad and won't let him out of their sight. Marcus is caught up in some personal matter he won't talk about. He's actually been kind of distant when I try to talk to him. Virginia's on standby, but both she and I are unsure how much help she'll really be on the battlefield."
"Well...we've won without them before," Adrian said. "As long as no one on Typhon's level shows up to face us, we'll be fine."
"I can only hope," Christina said as she looked back at the Flame. "I keep feeling like there's more to the Flame than we've seen. Like it has unknown power that we just need to tap into somehow."
"Where's this coming from?" Adrian asked as he looked to the Flame. "It can boost our powers. Virginia's power and Jay's new armor have shown us that. What's giving you the feeling that there's more?"
"You haven't actually used the Flame like I did," Christina said, "when I used it to bring you guys back to this dimension, I just felt this...potential."
"If you say so," Adrian said. "Anything else you wanted to discuss?"
Christina was about to answer when there was a loud thud in the room. She and Adrian looked over to the mat and saw Diana's body twisted around Nate. She was twisting half of him one way and half the other.
"Uncle! Uncle!" Nate shouted as he struggled to get free.
"I should probably step in before one of them kills the other," Adrian said as he walked towards them. "Diana, let him go."
"Fine, if you insist," Diana said with a sigh as she let up and helped Nate stand up.
"I insist!" Nate said as he stretched. "Jeez! I thought you were going to tie me into a knot!"
Everyone laughed as they watched Nate make sure everything was still functioning in his body.
If we can just keep this peace a little bit longer, Jay thought. Maybe we'll be able to find Paul.
Hades marched into the throne room, two armored Spartoi flanking him, and then over to the side where Persephone was being held in her cell.
"Persephone, do you have any pleas for me today?" he asked as he looked at the goddess sitting on her hard bed, looking towards the black stone walls.
"I still wish for you to stop this madness," Persephone asked, "but I know that to be futile now. You are truly mad. If only you would speak to your family, maybe they could help you!"
"I have been speaking to my family," Hades said as he put his hands up and they began to glow blue, "Cronus has been a great listener."
"Cronus doesn't count!" Persephone shouted as she whirled around and noticed him coming closer. "What are you doing?"
A hole appeared in the bars as Hades stepped in and motioned for the armored Spartoi to restrain her. They held her arms behind her as Hades stepped towards her, his hands glowing blue again.
"I'm taking your power from you," he said. "You are no good to me or Cronus as a fighter. You have no offensive power! But as an energy source, you will do just fine."
He placed his hands on the sides of her head and slowly began to absorb her powers from her. She struggled, but the armored Spartoi's grip was strong, and she couldn't break free. She could feel her godly strength being sucked out of her. Soon, he would suck out her life energy, and she would be nothing but an empty husk.
"No!" Persephone shouted. "You can't do this! I am your wife!"
"You are a traitor! And I should kill you for that fact!" Hades shouted as he pulled his hands away at the last second "but I won't."
The armored Spartoi let go of her wrists and she fell to the floor weakly. She looked up at Hades as he walked out of the cell, his armored Spartoi behind him, before the hole in the bars disappeared and the bars joined together again.
"Be proud of your new service to me and Cronus as a living battery," Hades said as he walked away.
Persephone could only gasp. Every breath hurt, but was also slowly giving her a little strength back. While she wouldn't be back at full strength for a long, long time, both she, and apparently Hades, knew that her power would slowly return over time.
"No…" Persephone quietly said as she watched Hades leave the throne room. "Come back…"
Then she collapsed, her energy spent.
Valerie walked up to the Parkers' house. While it wasn't as big as her own, it was a decent size for a middle class family. She looked to the left of the house and saw an abandoned house. She thought she saw a flicker of movement in the hole where the window should be, but she wasn't sure. Valerie knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before knocking again.
"I'm coming, jeez," Jay said as he opened the door. "Hey, Valerie! Come on in!"
Valerie followed him into the house. After she removed her shoes and put them on the mat, she followed Jay into the living room. There were a few bookshelves on one wall and a flatscreen TV mounted on the wall across from the couch.
Jay's parents were sitting on the couch, but they stood up and smiled as Valerie walked in.
"You must be Valerie," Jay's dad said as he shook Valerie's hand. "We've heard a lot about you every time we've been home. It's nice to put a face to the name."
"Why don't you take a seat?" Jay's mom offered as she gestured to the chairs set up facing the couch.
"Here we go again," Jay muttered just loud enough for Valerie to hear.
Valerie, to her credit, didn't laugh but she did smile.
"I heard that you're looking into Psychology as a major," Jay's mom said. "Have you been thinking about schools at all?"
"Well…" Valerie said, "I've looked at a few. I'm leaning towards Rider University, but The College of New Jersey looks good too."
"Not really looking out of state?" Jay's dad asked. "I've heard that your family is quite wealthy, so money shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"Not really," Valerie said. "I just don't want to be too far from home or my friends, especially your son."
"How's it been going with you two?" Jay's mom asked. "I know Jay's said it's been going well, but what do you think?"
"Oh, I think it's been going great," Valerie said. "We're involved in the same...group, so we see each other a lot outside of school."
"That's good," Jay's dad said, "now, who wants dinner? I was thinking pizza tonight, just to make things easy."
Everyone voiced their agreement.
As Jay's dad went to order on the phone, Jay's mom looked at the two teens before starting the conversation again.
"Anything else you wanted to share?" Jay's mom asked.
"I...what?" Valerie asked, "I just assumed you'd have questions for me. My mom grilled Jay pretty hard when they met."
"No, we assume Jay has good judgment," Jay's mom said. "You're actually the first girl Jay's brought to us as a girlfriend. I always wondered about him and Mera, but I guess it wasn't to be…"
"Anyway," Jay said as he cleared his throat, "I was going to take Valerie upstairs to talk for a little bit. Just call us when the pizza's here."
"Ok, have fun," Jay's mom said.
"Wow," Valerie said as she and Jay went up the stairs. "They're really laid back. They're basically the opposite of my mom."
"Yeah," Jay said, "I've had to take care of my brother and myself for years as they've gone on their trips. It was hard at first, but they taught me everything I needed to know, so it worked out. Ah!"
He grunted in pain as he reached his room.
"What?" Valerie asked, "what's wrong?"
"My burns," Jay said as he led Valerie inside and closed the door. "They've been hurting pretty bad. They're healing, just very slowly."
"Does Chiron know?" Valerie asked as she sat down on Jay's bed.
"He does, but even with both the nectar and Adrian's healing, we've only gotten this far with the healing," Jay said before he pulled off his shirt.
Valerie looked more concerned than flustered by Jay's undressing as she looked at Jay's burned skin. It was very pink and, like Jay said, appeared to be healing slowly. However, the Ranger life had really been working for him. He now had a more toned body than he had had a few months ago. He wasn't a bodybuilder by any means, but he still had some muscles to show his improvements.
She reached a hand out and lightly touched his shoulder. Jay grunted, but it didn't seem like he was in serious pain from her touch.
"It looks like only a first degree burn now," Valerie said, "there has to be a way to make the Hoplite Armor not hurt you so much."
"I wondered if part of it was me being unprepared," Jay said. "I need to ask Victor and Chiron on a way to reduce the heat somehow."
"Is that even possible?" Valerie asked. "I mean, aside from increasing your heat resistance in your suit, I can't think of many ways to do that."
"Well...that's one more idea than I had," Jay admitted. "It's a start."
"What makes it hurt more?" Valerie asked as she stood up and looked into his eyes, "or better yet, what makes it hurt less? Because I think a small distraction could help…"
The two teens slowly got closer to each other before someone knocked on Jay's bedroom door before slowly opening it.
"Pizza's he...am I interrupting something?" Jay's mom asked as she looked at her son without his shirt on and his girlfriend with her mouth inches from his.
The two quickly backed away from each other and Jay put his shirt back on.
"We were just checking an injury I got a few days ago," Jay said. "That's all."
"Mm hm," Jay's mom said. "Just...make smart choices, ok? Like I said, pizza's here. Come down when you two are ready."
She closed the door again and the two teens looked at each other again.
"Did I say 'really laid back'?" Valerie asked. "I mean SUPER laid back."
"Yeah, I'm not complaining about being born, but they don't seem like the type who should be parents sometimes," Jay admitted. "C'mon. Let's get downstairs before the pizza gets cold."
Paul walked down the street of the city. People were giving him a wide berth, and he didn't blame them. It wasn't like it was normal for a teenager to be walking around with a sword and shield strapped to his back. He could feel the stares from everyone around him and he could assume that at least one person was recording him with their phone. As he got to the poorer side of town, the amount of people began to dwindle and the staring and pointing slowly stopped becoming as frequent.
"This is all I have!" he heard a voice in an alley say. "Please don't hurt me!"
Paul looked into the alley and saw a man holding another man at gunpoint. The man being mugged looked terrified and the man holding the gun looked angry.
"I know you have more!" the gunman said. "Give me all of it!"
"Help!" the other man shouted before the gunman poked the gun into the man's chest.
"Be quiet!" the gunman said. "Noone's coming to help you!"
"You're wrong," Paul said as he walked into the alley. He stuck to the shadows, not allowing either the assailant or the victim to see his face.
"Who the hell are you?" the gunman asked. "Some kind of hero?"
"I'm no hero," Paul said as he drew his sword. "Just someone trying to make up for past mistakes."
The gunman aimed his gun at Paul.
"Stay back!" he shouted as he shot the gun.
Paul just walked forward, raising his shield to block the bullet, which ricocheted into the ground, before continuing on his path forward.
The gunman fired a few more times, but each time it was blocked by the shield. The gunman ran at Paul and tried to pistol whip him, but Paul moved out of the way before slashing with his sword. The gunman looked away, afraid to see what Paul was going to do to him, before he realized that no part of him had been sliced off. Instead, his gun had been cut in half, just above the gunman's hand.
The gunman whimpered before dropping the gun and running for his life. As he passed the man he had been trying to mug, the man put his foot out and tripped him. The now unarmed mugger fell to the ground before standing up and running away again.
Paul put his sword back into his shield's compartment as he looked to the man who was almost mugged.
"You ok?" Paul asked.
"I'm fine, now that you've saved me," the man said. "Who are you?"
"Like I told the other guy," Paul said as he turned away and started to walk away. "Just someone trying to make up for past mistakes."
"Thank you!" the man shouted to Paul's retreating figure. "Whoever you are…"
"I can see the power coming from you," Cronus said as he watched Hades walk up to the barrier to Tartarus again. "I can only assume you have done as I said."
Hades nodded. He now had a bit of a golden aura around him from Persephone's power and the flames on his head seemed to grow just a bit stronger.
"I have," Hades said. "Tell me what I need to do."
"Shoot your power into the barrier while willing it to open," Cronus said, "I will be able to do the rest."
Hades nodded again as he charged up his power before firing it as a powerful beam of blue fire straight into the barrier, aiming right in front of him. He noticed there were also flickers of gold in his flames, but didn't pay it much mind. Instead, he concentrated on the barrier opening. And, slowly but surely, the barrier began to waver where Hades was firing before finally disappearing in one section. Hades's power was now holding the hole open, with the beam not coming out the other side of the barrier.
"I can't hold it long," Hades said, "I thought the power of two gods would break the barrier!"
"I misspoke," Cronus said as he started to pull against his chains. "It won't break the barrier, but it would weaken it enough for me...to do...this!"
He gave one last mighty pull on the chains and they shattered around his ankles and wrists as the wall they were connected to cracked from the strength Cronus had exerted. Cronus snapped his fingers and Gryphon appeared in front of him.
"I'm leaving Tartarus," he said, "and I want you to come with me."
"I am still weak from splitting from Paul," Gryphon said. "How would I help you?"
"I have a use for you," Cronus said. "Come with me."
Gryphon nodded as he stepped out of the barrier. Cronus tried as well, but found he was being pulled back by a bright golden rope-like energy emanating from the wall he had been attached to. He pulled against it, but the energy pulled back harder.
"So, the Olympians had a back-up plan," he mused. "That's actually clever for them. I cannot bring my full power with me. I'll just have to take what I can and leave the rest behind."
"Hurry, father!" Hades said, "I can't hold it much longer!"
Cronus fired a stream of dark-golden energy at the wall, causing it to glow even stronger and the energy holding him back to falter. He pulled against it quickly and shattered it. Cronus stepped through the barrier just as Hades finally gave out and the hole refilled itself.
"Father," Hades said as he kneeled. "You are finally free!"
"I am," Cronus said, "and there is much to do. Let us go to the palace."
Hades stood up and gestured towards the cave he had come from.
"This way," he said.
And with that, the three villains walked into the darkness, with Cronus only looking back once to see the power he had been forced to leave behind.
"I will have to return for it," he said to himself. "For as I said, there is much to do now."
"Man, does your brother ever come up for air?" Valerie whispered as she watched Jay's brother devour slice after slice.
"He's growing?" Jay said unconvincingly.
Valerie and the Parker family were sitting at the table as they ate. Luckily, it appeared that Jay's father had prepared for Jay's brother's appetite, as he had ordered three pizza boxes.
As Jay's brother reached into the box for another slice, Jay and Valerie's morphers went off.
"You two have matching ringtones?" Jay's mom asked as she looked at the two teens.
"Yup!" Jay said. "Valerie and I just need to take this. We'll head to the living room. We'll be back in a second."
The two teens stood up and walked into the living room.
"What's up, Chiron?" Jay whispered into his morpher.
"I just received word that a criminal might have seen Paul," Chiron said. "I was thinking all of the Rangers should know."
"What do you mean?" Jay said. "How did you get the information? And what makes you think he saw Paul?"
"I watched the criminal run into a police station and turn himself in," Chiron said. "He was shouting about some guy with a sword and shield stopping him from mugging a man and how the swordsman was probably after him."
"And unless that's someone from the Renaissance Fair…" Valerie said.
"...It's probably Paul," Jay finished. "Did the criminal say where?"
"It was in Nate's neighborhood," Chiron said. "I have him looking for clues at the scene now before the police get there. He only has about five minutes. I'd better talk to him before he gets caught at the scene. I'll keep you informed as things happen."
"Right," Jay said before he put his arm down. "Man, Paul's fighting criminals now? But why?"
"Maybe…" Valerie said as she thought for a moment. "Maybe Paul is trying to make up for all the bad things he's done by going after criminals? Maybe he thinks good deeds will cancel out the evil ones."
"I can only hope that Nate finds something," Jay said, "because being a vigilante isn't a good way to do good deeds. We need to find and stop him before he or someone else gets hurt."
"I'm not seeing much," Nate said into his morpher as he looked at the scene. "There's some bullets on the ground and the broken body of a gun."
"Any indication of where Paul went?" Chiron asked.
"What do I look like, a bounty hunter?" Nate asked. "I don't know!"
"Alright," Chiron said. "Take a few pictures and send them to Mera and Victor. Maybe they can find something you missed."
Nate moved around a little while taking pictures with his phone. He pressed a few buttons and texted them to Victor and Mera. His eyes widened as he heard police sirens getting closer. Nate morphed quickly and jumped towards the wall before kicking off it and grabbing the fire escape. As police swarmed the scene, no one noticed the Blue Olympian Ranger as he used the fire escape to get to the roof.
"Really hope Mera and Victor can make heads or tails of what happened," Nate said, "because Jay really wanted to find Paul. And our fearless leader won't stop until he finds him."
"Avengers or Spider-Man?" Jay asked as he held up the DVDs, "or X-Men or Justice League or…"
"I'm noticing a theme," Valerie said with a laugh, "do you guys only have superhero movies?"
"Well, technically…" Jay said as he thought about it before putting his head down in defeat. "Yeah. Pretty much."
"Come up here," Valerie said as she patted the couch cushion next to her, "I assume you have Netflix?"
"Who doesn't?" Jay said as he stood up from the floor and moved to the couch cushion.
"We're going to find a normal movie to watch with less sky beams and punching," Valerie said as she looked through the Netflix titles, "what about…this?"
"'Ferris Bueller's Day Off?'" Jay asked. "What's that about?"
"Why don't we watch and see?" Valerie asked in response.
"Ok, let me get the popcorn and we can start," Jay said as he stood up and headed to the kitchen.
He looked around the cabinets until he heard a noise by the window facing the abandoned house. He slowly walked up to the window and looked out. He thought he saw a figure walking into the ruins. Originally he was going to assume it was just another looter, but then the light reflected off a shield-like shape on the figure's arm.
"Val?" Jay asked as he went to grab his shoes. "I think I just saw Paul! We've got to go!"
Paul grunted as he stumbled into the wall. His limbs were heavy, especially the one holding the sword and shield combo up, and his head was getting fuzzy. He hadn't slept very well the last few days, thought it was no wonder given his living situation, and his last few hours of vigilantism had sapped most of his energy. He was ready to just take a rest.
He was about to lie down on the hardwood floor when he heard footsteps in the grass. Suddenly, he was more alert and he drew the sword from his shield's compartment. He had hoped no one in the neighborhood had noticed him, but it appeared that that wasn't the case. He stood behind the wall at a right angle to the doorframe, ready to either strike or run.
Jay walked into the ruins, looking around as he shone his phone's light into the darkness. However, this did cast a shadow near his face, meaning that Paul couldn't see if this intruder was friend or foe.
Paul inched around the wall before swinging at the intruder, trying to hit him with the flat of his blade. However, Jay's reflexes, while not as sharp as they were in Ranger form, were still enhanced and he quickly moved out of the way. However, the flat of the blade did knock his phone from his hand. The phone, luckily, fell straight down onto it's back, meaning that screen wasn't damaged, but the light was now extinguished from the room.
Paul lashed out with a kick on his right, sword-side leg, which hit Jay in the gut. Jay doubled over as he grunted in pain. Another light source came into the room as Valerie entered through the doorway. She could see the shadows of two figures fighting, and one had a weapon, while the other didn't. The two were engaged in battle, exchanging kicks and punches with the occasional sword swing or shield bash thrown in by the armored figure.
"Hold on!" Jay shouted as Valerie walked into the room and shined the light on the two of them, showing the combatants' faces to each other. "Paul, I don't want to fight you!"
"Jay?" Paul said as he took a closer look at the person he had been fighting before putting his sword back in the compartment in his shield. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought I saw you in the darkness," Jay said. "Turns out I was right. What are you doing here? Why are you back in your old house?"
"I don't really have anywhere left to go," Paul said. "I haven't eaten in three days, barely slept and life's been kind of all-around shitty. I thought I'd try and make up for my past mistakes, and where does that take me? Back to fighting you. It's like it's all I'm good for. That and hurting people. People who deserved it, but people all the same."
"It sounds like you're thinking very negatively right now," Jay said. "I've had those days, but I got past them. I think we should take you to Chiron."
"Maybe food first?" Valerie suggested to Jay.
"Food sounds good," Paul said, "I could really go for...well, anything at this point. I haven't technically eaten in a year."
"Let's get you fed and then we're off to get you some help," Jay said.
"Thanks," Paul said as Jay helped steady him as he stumbled for a second. "You're a good friend. I don't deserve your help, yet you're trying anyway. Guess Gryphon was wrong."
"Wrong about what?" Jay asked as the three teens walked out of the ruins and down the street.
"That you'd abandon me," Paul said. "That you'd never accept me after all of the bad things I did while I was in Gryphon."
"No, I'd never blame you for that," Jay said, "you had no choice in the matter. How much do you actually remember when you were combined?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Paul said as he looked away.
"Hey, I'm not going to force you," Jay said, "but if you ever want to talk about it, Valerie and I are pretty good listeners."
Valerie nodded in agreement, showing this was true.
"Maybe someday," Paul said, "but not today."
"I understand," Jay said. "Now let's see about that food."
Cronus stepped into the throne room with Hades and Gryphon on his heels.
"While I see logic in minimalism, this is a bit too plain," Cronus remarked.
"I worked with what I had," Hades said. "One of the reasons I hate the Underworld: there's nothing here."
Cronus stepped up to the throne and sat down in it.
"My power may be less than usual," he said, "but, as I am the most powerful one here, I believe this throne is mine."
"That's my throne!" Hades said.
"Don't get emotional about it," Cronus replied. "I can create one for you too."
He put out a hand and a new, but smaller, throne appeared next to his.
"Thank you, father," Hades said as he sat down on the smaller throne.
Persephone, who was lying on her bed, weakened, looked at the scene playing out in front of her.
Hades is so quiet now! she thought, and with the aura Cronus is giving off, I don't blame him. What power! And he said it was less than usual!?
"Now, onto business," Cronus said, "I want to tie any loose ends that you left for me, Hades. That means taking out the child who stole your power out before he can join with the Rangers. And I think that you, Gryphon, would be glad to do it."
"You have no idea," Gryphon said as he kneeled before Cronus. "Never have I been so humiliated! Paul will pay for squirming out of our deal!"
"In order to be a match for the Rangers, should they get in your way again, you need a new being to be bonded with," Cronus said. "A new being to draw power from. And I am willing to give any minor god to you that you request to fulfill that role."
"Hercules!" Gryphon said quickly, "I will be able to use his strength to crush Paul and anyone else who gets in my way!"
"Very well," Cronus said, "Hades, go fetch us Hercules!"
"Yes, father," Hades said as he stood up and walked out of the throne room.
A few minutes later, he came back with a large, muscular man who was chained and flanked by two armored Spartoi. His muscles were almost ridiculously huge and he had a clean-shaven face and blond hair.
"He's really hard to...whoa!" Hades said as Hercules tried to break out of the chains, only for Hades to blast him, knocking him to the ground, "really hard to control! He has godly strength, but that's built on his natural strength, so he keeps almost breaking out of the restraints."
"That won't be a problem in a minute," Cronus said as he gestured for the armored Spartoi to bring Hercules forward. They led him up to right in front of Cronus.
"Hello, Grandfather," Hercules said, "I thought Hades was in charge here. He let you loose, even though he must have known that you'd take his place as ruler?"
"Your efforts to outsmart us are in vain," Cronus said. "I am much more intelligent than my brother Atlas. You cannot fool me with your words."
Hercules fell silent. Just as Persephone had, he could sense the aura of power Cronus was giving off. As dangerous as Hades had been, Cronus was hundreds of times worse, and the two of them together were even worse than that.
"Gryphon, prepare to be fused," Cronus said as he fired a beam of black energy at Hercules. Hercules grunted in pain. The beam seemed to be trying to crush him in on himself.
Cronus gestured for Gryphon to come forward. The bronze armored being did so, walking towards his new unwilling host. Hercules became transparent as he transformed into a ball that flew into Gryphon's chest. The effects were immediate. Gryphon roared as his muscles grew, with the armor growing with them. By the time the muscle growth was done, Gryphon was almost as buff as Hercules had been. While he hadn't been very weak before, he was definitely in a new weight class now.
"How do you feel, Gryphon?" Cronus asked as he admired the fusion's effects.
"Stronger!" Gryphon said with a roar as he flexed. "I almost feel like I don't need a weapon anymore! I am a weapon now!"
"Nonetheless, a weapon would be more logical to have," Cronus said as he put out a hand and a bronze sword appeared in it. It was a lot larger than Gryphon's old sword had been while not being too large to wield. It looked more like a longsword than the short sword Gryphon had used before.
"Thank you, my lord," Gryphon said as he accepted the sword. "Now, I must search for Paul before he turns to the Rangers for help. I have a feeling that my words only scared him for a little while."
"Just go quickly" Cronus shouted as he gestured for Hades to use the Flame of the Gods to create a blue portal, "Every second Paul is out there, it becomes more likely that he will encounter the Olympian Rangers."
"Of course," Gryphon said as he stepped through. The portal closed behind him and Hades looked at it as he sat down in his new throne.
Soon, he thought. We just need to get my Olympian Gems back. Then we can destroy the Rangers and the world!
"Now," Cronus said as he stood up, "I may not have my full powers, but I can still restore myself."
His body glowed with a dark-golden aura as he started to change. In an instant, he was completely different from before. His hair was now short and brown and his facial hair was gone. His simple white robe had changed into a regal purple tunic with a purple cape with dark-gold lining on it. All in all, he looked like a very powerful young man now, even younger than Hades looked.
"You used your power over time on yourself?" Hades asked.
"Yes," Cronus said. "My natural frail body won't do in this conquest of the mortal realm. Logic dictates a younger form will be to my advantage as I take over the mortal realm.
"What about me?" Hades asked, "I'll be by your side, right?"
"Of course," Cronus said reassuringly. "You will absolutely be by my side."
Hades was about to say something else when a new blue portal appeared and Gryphon stepped through. He kneeled in front of the new and improved Cronus.
"My lord," he said, "I searched the city and found nothing. I fear that Paul may have already gone to the Rangers."
Hades looked very frightened as he looked over at Cronus, but Cronus had a face of stone.
"Very well," Cronus said. "We will just have to draw him out. What plan do you have? I wouldn't imagine you coming to me without one."
"I do have a plan," Gryphon said as he stood up, "and I think it will require both of us to complete."
One meal later, Jay and Valerie were taking Paul into the Temple. As the doors slammed shut behind them, Paul looked around in wonder.
"Wow," he said. "This place is huge! And you're saying it's in another dimension?"
"A sort of pocket dimension, but yeah," Jay said as he walked over to Chiron, who was currently monitoring the city on the mosaic computer, "and this is Chiron. He's been acting as our mentor ever since Hermes was captured and then disappeared."
"Yeah…" Paul said. "That's kind of my/Gryphon's fault…"
"What do you mean?" Valerie asked. "Do you know where Hermes is?"
"I know the general direction," Paul said. "I kind of drained the Dark God power out of him and launched him towards the west."
"Hermes was made into a Dark God?" Jay asked. "We figured he just escaped Hades's clutches somehow."
"No, he was sent to find me when I went to find the Cyclopes," Paul said. "The sword drained his Dark God power to power itself up. Then he started talking about the goodness in Gryphon and he didn't like it, so he sent Hermes flying."
"Well, we're still searching for him," Jay said, "so either Gryphon really sent him flying or he doesn't want to be found. Anyway, like I was saying, this is Chiron. Don't let his appearance startle you, he's just a centaur."
"Greetings, Paul," Chiron said as he bowed his head as a sign of respect. "I commend you on breaking free from your bond with Gryphon. It must have taken a lot of willpower to do something like that."
"I guess," Paul said, unsure on how to take this comment. "Do you have somewhere I can crash for the night? I'm just exhausted at this point. The food helped, but I still need some sleep."
"I'm sure we can find proper accommodations for you," Chiron said. "Come, I will show you."
"I'll see you after school, Paul," Jay said as he watched the two walk towards the medical center, "just...please don't disappear again, ok?"
"I don't plan on going anywhere for a little while," Paul said as he looked back, "I promise."
"You found him?" Adrian asked in surprise.
Jay nodded in response.
"So I went to the crime scene for nothing?" Nate asked in annoyance.
"Definitely not for nothing," Mera said as she pulled up a video on her phone. "Based on what you discovered and the layout of the footprints, Victor and I were able to construct a simulation to show what happened."
She showed the video to the teens. On the screen was a crude 3D-animated version of what had transpired between Paul and the mugger, from the shots being blocked to the gun being cut in half.
"I knew Paul was being a vigilante," Valerie said, "but I didn't know exactly what he did. I'm honestly a little worried because he really could have hurt that mugger if he wasn't careful with that sword. What do you think, Jay?"
"I think…" Jay said before pausing for a second, "I think that it's good we have Paul in our care now. He can't do that sort of thing if he's being watched by Chiron. We have to help him find a better way to help people and make up for any evil acts he thinks he's done."
"You said 'thinks'," Adrian said. "You don't think he did those evil things?"
"I think Gryphon is more to blame than Paul is," Jay explained. "Paul had no choice in the matter."
"I do wonder something, though," Mera said. "How did Paul and Gryphon combine? There must have been some action on Paul's part in order for the fusion to occur."
"We can ask him after school," Jay said. "He should still be in the Temple, and I told Chiron to contact me if he tries to leave."
"Guys, are you having any problems with your phones?" Diana asked as she looked at her phone's screen, "because mine's acting strange right now!"
All of the Rangers pulled out their cell phones and watched as a young man appeared on the screen. All around them, phones buzzed and the students pulled them out to see the exact same man.
"My name is Cronus, god of time," the man said, "and this is a message to the Rangers, wherever you are. I know you have something and someone that belongs to me. You will bring him and those items to the industrial district in four hours, right where Ellis Ave meets Wilson Road or I will destroy your city with one wave of my hand. And if you even think of hiding him, remember that the whole city is seeing this video. They will know that you abandoned them intentionally. I hope you make the right decision. Your time starts...now."
With that, the video turned off and everyone's phones were back to normal.
"Cronus?" Nate asked. "I feel like I've heard that name before…"
"Both Hermes and Chiron mentioned him," Jay reminded him. "Hermes said he was the father of some of the Olympians and the grandfather of the others. He and Chiron agreed that he was locked in Tartarus for fighting the gods."
"Chiron also said it was one of the hardest fights the Olympians ever had," Valerie added. "He's even stronger than Typhon! But what did he mean by 'something and someone that belongs to me'?"
"He has to be talking about Paul and Hades's Olympian Gems," Adrian said, "didn't Paul bond to them? But why does he want both Paul and the Gems?"
"The Gems are useless without the host," Mera said, "so it stands to reason that he would want both."
"I'm hoping Chiron knows more than we do," Jay said as he stood up. "Let's go see him before lunch ends. We need to discuss our options."
"This is indeed concerning…" Chiron said as he stroked his chin, thinking. "Cronus was never supposed to be free of the barrier around Tartarus. I'm honestly surprised that he only introduced himself and threatened the city. I would have assumed he would just wipe out the city immediately."
"Maybe he can't" Victor suggested. "maybe he doesn't have his full power for some reason."
"It's an interesting theory," Chiron said. "I heard that the Olympians took extra measures to ensure Cronus couldn't be a true threat again. However, knowing how little emotion he shows, it likely hasn't affected him too much on the outside."
"You seem to know a lot on how Cronus thinks," Valerie said. "Why is that?"
"Guess I never mentioned that Cronus is my father," Chiron said.
"He's what!?" Nate asked. "How did you forget to mention that!?"
"I assumed he wouldn't be a threat anymore while he was locked in Tartarus," Chiron admitted, "so I didn't think it would matter."
Nate looked about ready to throttle Chiron, and Mera didn't look too happy either. Valerie stepped in between the teens and the centaur.
"Let's think of the positives here," she suggested. "We now have someone who really knows Cronus and knows how he might operate."
"In that vein of ideas," Chiron said, "combining my knowledge and Victor's theory, Cronus would have destroyed the city immediately if he could. That makes it likely that he can't."
"Which means we don't need to worry too much about his threat," Adrian said. "That is, unless he sends a Dark God to collect Paul and then the Dark God attacks the city when we don't show up."
"My plan is to just show up with nothing and fight whatever Cronus sends to collect," Jay said. "There's no risk and a reward of one less Dark God to fight."
"Do I get a say?" Paul asked as he walked into the room from the medical center, "because it sounds like it's me or the city if Cronus isn't lying."
"No, I'm not giving you up," Jay said. "Chances are he's going to torture and kill you or combine you with Gryphon again. You were already combined once unwillingly. I don't want you to be forced into that again."
"Jay, I have to tell you something," Paul said. "I chose to be merged with Gryphon. There was nothing unwilling about it."
"What are you telling me?" Jay asked. "You wanted to be merged with Gryphon?"
"I guess I had to tell the story to you eventually," Paul said, "so here goes."
The room was dark, and a younger Paul was sitting in candlelight at a desk. There were books around him, many of them with strange titles.
"It was the beginning of the school year in 2018," Paul narrated, "and I was angry. Really angry. Jay and I had our friendship ended years ago by circumstances like time and going to different schools. I didn't understand those circumstances, though. I just assumed that Jay had replaced me with Mera and the rest of you guys, and I wanted revenge."
"Soon," younger Paul said as he looked at the black books in front of him. "Soon, I'll make him pay for abandoning me!"
"I had tried making new friends," Paul narrated again, "but no one was willing to give me a chance. They claimed I was too needy. I just wanted someone to fill the hole Jay had left, but no one was interested. I first reflected on exactly what I wanted and I decided that I wanted Jay to suffer. I couldn't hurt him myself. I didn't have the power. So I turned to the occult to get that power."
Younger Paul began to dig through the books before finally finding the one he was looking for.
"This book claims it'll summon a dark being who can give me power!" younger Paul said. "I just need to draw the right symbol."
He reached into his backpack and pulled out some chalk he had stolen from school. He opened the book on the floor and copied the hexagram on the page right next to it on the wood floor. He put the book in his bag and shoved the entire bag under his bed before kneeling in the empty space in the hexagram and closing his eyes.
"Ancient beings of darkness, hear my call!" younger Paul called out. "I summon you from the great beyond to aid me in my quest of vengeance!"
He opened his eyes and looked around. He saw that nothing was happening.
"I knew that book was junk!" he said as he stood up. "Guess I'll just have to look at another one...whoa!"
He looked around as the hexagram glowed white with power before turning black. Younger Paul cried out as the light swallowed him up. In a flash, he was gone. Only a hexagram, now burned into the ground, remained.
Younger Paul opened his eyes and looked around. He noticed that there was no sky, only blackness, and that around him was black arid land.
"Where am I?" he asked out loud as he looked around. Then he noticed the white haired man chained to the wall. When he stepped forward to examine him, he bumped into a transparent barrier. There were white spires around the outline of the barrier.
"Do not attempt to get closer," Cronus said. "The barrier will not let anyone enter.
"Who are you?" younger Paul asked, "why am I here?"
"You sure ask a lot of questions for one who asked for a dark being's help," the man said. "It's so illogical, considering I thought you wanted this."
"I wanted them to come to me!" younger Paul said. "So why am I here instead? For a matter of fact, where is here?"
"Welcome to the Underworld," the old man said, "I am Cronus, god of time, and I think you should consider yourself lucky. I usually ignore calls to me from the mortal world. But with your bloodline, I decided to make an exception."
"My bloodline?" younger Paul asked. "What about it?"
"You have had some powerful people in your family," Cronus said. "Some would even have called them...gods."
"Ok, you're delusional," younger Paul said as he turned and walked away, "I'm finding a way back home. See ya!"
"You wanted something from me, did you not?" Cronus called after him. "Some form of power to crush your enemies?"
Younger Paul turned around and looked at him.
"I do," he said. "So what? You're chained up. You can't help me."
"Even in these chains, my power is still great," Cronus said. " All that is required is that we make a deal."
"Let me guess," younger Paul said, "you want my soul?"
"I have no need for a soul," Cronus said. "No. I want my freedom."
"How can I give you your freedom?" younger Paul asked. "I'm just a 16 year old kid. I don't even know where to start!"
"I can tell you, if you would just be patient," Cronus said. "I can combine you with one of my partners and he will grant you the power you crave. Then, at the end of 18 months time, you will give control of your combined body back to him. He will know how to free me."
"Who do you want to combine me with?" younger Paul asked.
"Meet Gryphon," Cronus said as Gryphon stepped out from behind the wall Cronus was chained to. "He is a mighty warrior with great power."
Younger Paul turned around and thought about it for a minute before turning around again to look at Cronus.
"I'll do it," younger Paul said.
"So you agree to the deal given to you?" Cronus asked.
"I do," younger Paul said with a nod.
Cronus's hands began to glow a faint dark-gold as the weak stream of energy flowed into Gryphon and then from Gryphon to the barrier.
"While I can't free myself or Gryphon normally," Cronus explained. "It gives us a kind of loophole if we combine my energy with yours and create a circuit."
"My...my energy?" younger Paul asked.
"Yes, stick out your hands and concentrate!" Cronus ordered.
Younger Paul closed his eyes and stuck his hands out as he was ordered. He felt a strange sensation as golden energy from his hands began to flow into the barrier at the exact point that Cronus's power was flowing into. The energy somehow combined, turning a bronze as Gryphon became incorporeal and slowly flowed through Cronus' stream into younger Paul's and, as a result, through the barrier.
Gryphon began to laugh triumphantly as he flowed into younger Paul. With the transfer complete, the steam of energy from both sides stopped.
Younger Paul opened his eyes as they glowed bronze. Half of his body changed into that of a lion-like griffin before bronze armor appeared around him. He looked down at his hands through his new visor and saw that he was now completely enclosed in this new bronze armor.
Gryphon let out a roar before it turned to laughter.
"Finally!" Gryphon shouted. "I have the power!"
"However, you do not know how to use it," Cronus said. "Let me train you to use this form to its greatest potential."
Gryphon looked at Cronus suspiciously.
"Trust me when I say you will need it," Cronus said. "A lot can change in a year. I would know. Time is my domain."
"Very well," Gryphon growled. "Train me in the way of combat with this new form!"
"For the next year, I trained with Cronus," Paul narrated. "It was tough work, but I assumed my revenge would be worth it."
"Enough!" Cronus shouted as Gryphon swung his sword one last time.
"What is it, master?" Gryphon asked. "Have I not been doing well?"
"You have been doing fine," Cronus said, "but our time together is over. One year has passed. You must now go to that palace over there and tell the king, Hades, that you are now free and wish to fight the Olympian Rangers."
"Olympian Rangers?" Gryphon asked. "Like Power Rangers?"
"Yes," Cronus said, "your target, Jason 'Jay' Parker, has joined them as their Red Ranger. You must fight him in his Ranger form to kill him now."
"You...if I had just left before you trained me, I could have killed him before he became a Ranger!" Gryphon shouted. "You tricked me!"
"You chose to train with me," Cronus reminded him, "but now you will be able to face him in combat and win!"
"Whatever," Gryphon growled. "I just have to go meet Hades, right? Guess I'll see you in six months."
With that, he extended his wings and soared into the air towards the palace.
"I met with Hades and he drafted me into his army as his general," Paul explained. "He sent me to face you guys. I fought hard, but then was forced to fly away."
"And that's when 'H2 Oh No!' happened," Nate said.
"What does that mean?" Paul asked, utterly confused.
"Just ignore him," Diana said. "The rest of us do when he does that sort of thing."
"But...wow," Jay said as he ran a hand through his hair. "We looked for months, but there were no clues. The hexagram on the floor stumped the police, even with the books they found under your bed. We had no idea you went to the Underworld."
"Can we just talk for one minute about the fact that he chose to make a deal and work with Cronus?" Diana asked. "How do we know he won't just betray us to him now?"
"Paul's source of anger is gone," Jay said. "He's realized that I didn't abandon him. I thought you would understand most of all, given what happened to you."
Diana fell silent for a minute as she thought about it before speaking again.
"But still," she said, "I didn't turn to one of the most dangerous beings to get revenge. I was depressed, but I dealt with it. Paul went to really drastic measures. Who's to say he won't do it again? Right, bro?"
"I actually agree with Jay," Adrian said. "Paul no longer has a reason to work with Cronus, and he's proven that he definitely doesn't work for Hades when he stole his Olympian Gems. I think we can trust him."
"I agree with Jay as well," Mera said. "Without cause, there is no effect. He has no logical reason to betray us, especially now that he is not mad at Jay anymore."
The others nodded in agreement.
"There's one other thing, actually," Paul said, sighing before continuing. "I was in charge of Gryphon's body for the last 17ish months, so that means I made the decision to attack Olympus and try to kill all of you on multiple occasions. Gryphon was talking to me in my mind and suggesting some of the ideas, but I still did most of those actions on my own accord."
"I know," Jay said, "and I forgive you."
The others nodded again.
"Like you said," Valerie said, "Gryphon was suggesting ideas. Who's to say he wasn't influencing your decision-making abilities to be more evil?"
"I appreciate it, guys," Paul said, "but I will never forgive myself for what I did. Maybe I should just go back to Cronus and save you guys the trouble."
"We're not letting you give up," Jay said. "At least I'm not. Guys?"
"Not a chance," Valerie said. "If Jay really wants to help you, then we do too. Anything important to him is important to us, and he considers you important."
The others nodded in agreement with her statement, even Diana, though she was rather reluctant at first.
"So we're not giving up Paul," Nate said, "so what are we doing?"
"We're going to face whatever Cronus is sending our way and win," Jay said, "now let's get back to school. We'll meet here at 2:45 and prepare the best we can."
"Where is that Dark God?" Nate asked as he looked around. "I'm not saying I have plans or anything, but I'd rather not waste my time here if I can help it."
Jay just ignored him and spoke into his morpher.
"Christina?" he asked, "are you seeing anything on the cameras?"
"Nothing yet," Christina said as she focused on the cameras pointed on and near the corner of Ellis and Wilson. "I assume they'll be there exactly at 3:00. That's exactly four hours since Cronus sent out the ultimatum. That gives you about two minutes to get there. I should also warn you that our reserve situations haven't been resolved, so you're on your own."
"Thanks for the update," Jay said as he lowered his arm and led the team around the corner. "Alright, team. Let's keep a look out. We have no idea which Dark God Cronus will be sending at us."
They arrived at the corner just as the clock struck three. The teens looked around, but didn't see anyone or anything unusual.
Then, a blue portal appeared and Gryphon stepped out. He still had his new massive muscles and he was even a little taller since the Rangers had last seen him. He was across the street from the Rangers, keeping his distance for now.
"Where's Paul?" he demanded.
"He's not coming," Jay responded. "How'd you come back to life? And where'd you go to get so jacked up?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Gryphon said. Jay could tell he was smirking under his helmet.
"Well, however you came back, you're going right back to Tartarus!" Jay shouted as he pointed, "and all those muscles aren't going to help you! It's Morphing Time!"
The Rangers nodded as they lined up and crossed their arms over their chests.
"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 multicolored light, the Rangers were morphed.
"Hero Armor, power up!" the five core Rangers shouted as their omega symbols expanded into their Hero Armor.
Gryphon let out a roar and spread his wings before dashing right through the Rangers. He collided with Jay, sending both of them flying forward through the wall, and slashed the remaining Rangers with his wings. Valerie, Nate and Adrian went flying to the left and Diana, Victor and Mera went flying to the right.
Gryphon dragged Jay along the ground before hurling him into some crates. Jay grunted as he got up, holding his side.
"Damn, someone got a power boost," Jay said as he summoned his Lightning Sword. "Let's see what else you can do."
As Jay ran forward, Gryphon slammed his fist into the ground, creating a tremor around and inside the warehouse. Jay stumbled as the ground shook and that was all Gryphon needed to draw his sword and dash forward again, now slashing with his sword instead of grabbing his opponent. Jay barely blocked it with his own sword, but Gryphon quickly overpowered him with his now superior strength and knocked Jay to the ground. Gryphon stabbed downwards at his prone foe, but Jay rolled out of the way. Gryphon tried again with the same result.
"Stay still!" he shouted.
"Why? So you can stab me?" Jay asked as he rolled between Gryphon's legs and summoned lightning before slashing Gryphon with his sword. "No thanks!"
Instead of doing damage, the sword just scraped along Gryphon's armored back. Jay looked down at his blade, surprised.
"I just did a Red Lightning Strike!" he said. "Why didn't it work?"
Gryphon just laughed as he used his wing to swat Jay to the side. He turned to face Jay as he laid there on the ground.
"Cronus has given me more power!" he said, "and there's nothing you can do-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as a large pink energy arrow hit him from the side and exploded in a large heart shape. Gryphon slid sideways before stopping himself and looking over. Valerie stepped through the hole Gryphon had created in the wall, followed by Nate, Victor and Mera.
"Step away from him," Valerie said, "before I make you."
"How sweet," Gryphon sneered. "I'll just destroy you first!"
Mera pointed her spear at Gryphon and fired a barrage of spears at him as he walked towards the Rangers. The spears just bounced off before dissipating when they hit the ground.
"Alright, Victor," Nate said. "You're with me!"
The two of them leapt at Gryphon, with Nate stabbing with his trident and Victor swinging his hammer over his head. Both attacks just bounced off. The two Rangers landed in front of Gryphon just as he put his sword back in the sheath. He then punched each Ranger with one fist and used his strength to send them flying.
At the same time this was happening, Valerie and Mera had made it over to Jay and were helping him stand up.
"Diana and Adrian are still dazed," Valerie said, "I guess this armor isn't just for show."
Jay smiled under his helmet before turning to Mera with a determined look.
"I'm busting out the Hoplite Armor," he said. "I think I can overpower him with it and..."
"Jay," Mera said, "I am unsure that is the best course of action. Remember what it did to you last time you used it!"
"I just have to end it quickly, then," Jay said as he crossed his arms over his chest again, "Hoplite Bracers!"
In a flash of bronze light, the bracers appeared on Jay's arms. He raised them to the ceiling.
"Red Hoplite Ranger!" he shouted. A bolt of red lightning engulfed Jay and he stepped out of it in his Hoplite Armor.
"I was hoping you would use that!" Gryphon said with a laugh before he gestured to Jay. "Come on! Come at me!"
"If you insist!" Jay shouted as he dashed at Gryphon at a faster speed than he had before. He slashed with his Lightning Sword as he went by. He slid to a stop a few yards from Gryphon and waited for the explosion. But no explosion came.
"Impressive," Gryphon said. "Just as impressive as when we last fought. But I was prepared for you this time!"
He turned to face Jay. His suit was still as undamaged as ever, even with Jay's mighty blow. Gryphon dashed forward at a similar speed to Jay's and grabbed Jay by the neck. Jay tried stabbing his sword into Gryphon's muscled arm, but, like everything else, it didn't work.
"I suppose I never explained my new powers," Gryphon said. "They come from the mighty god Hercules and grant me great strength, durability and stamina. I can overpower you, withstand any attack and I never tire! What do you say to that?"
"You talk too much," Jay said as he raised his hand and summoned his spear. He grunted in discomfort as the armor started to heat up. He used the spear to pry Gryphon's hand open and pulled himself out of Gryphon's grip. He rolled out of the way as the girls attacked.
Valerie fired another explosive arrow at Gryphon, but it only seemed to annoy him instead of damage him. Mera turned her spear into a ball and chain before spinning the ball above her head. She launched the ball at Gryphon, but Gryphon just caught it with one hand and pulled on the chain, causing Mera to come flying into his waiting fist.
Gryphon walked forward towards Valerie until Jay, Victor and Nate got in his way again. He swatted Nate aside and tried to do the same to Victor. Victor, however, held his ground and pushed back. But even his enhanced strength from his suit wasn't enough to withstand the attack for long. Gryphon grunted as he swatted again and knocked Victor to the ground.
Jay stabbed with the spear in a mighty thrust, but Gryphon moved out of the way before it could hit him. The Hoplite Armor was starting to burn Jay again, and he was ready to put it back in the bracers when Gryphon drew his sword and slashed an "x" into the air before stabbing into it.
"Gryphon's Fire!" he shouted as bronze flames flew from the tip of the blade and engulfed Jay. He cried out. Both Gryphon's attack and his own armor was burning him now, and the pain was almost too intense.
Finally, the flames let up and Jay fell to his knees. He sent the Hoplite Armor back into the bracers as his last action before he fell on his side.
Gryphon raised his sword to stab into Jay, but Valerie shot him with another explosive arrow to knock him back a little.
All of us can only use our abilities so much, Valerie thought, and I think most of us are at our limit!
Nate pointed his trident at Gryphon and focused on drawing the moisture out of his armor. The armor started to crack and darken. Gryphon started to walk forward before slashing Nate with his sword, sending him to the ground and ending his attack. To the Ranger's shock and dismay, the armor somehow regenerated, with the cracks fusing back together and the color returning.
The Rangers regrouped in front of Gryphon, battered and bruised.
"Anyone have anything else?" Jay asked as he looked around. "I'm open to suggestions."
"I've got nothing," Nate admitted.
"We can't overpower him," Victor said.
"All of our powers are ineffective," Mera agreed. "The five of us need help."
"But we can't call any of the other Rangers because they have their personal problems!" Valerie reminded her.
A silver blur streaked through the hole in the wall and at Gryphon. It whirled around him, attacking from all sides, before stopping in front of the Rangers.
"Man, I owe this bastard one good hit," Diana said as she looked at the other Rangers, "but I can't seem to get one."
Adrian ran in from the hole in the wall and over to the other Rangers.
"Sorry we were out so long," he apologized. "Those wings really hit us good."
"You're here now," Jay said, "I have one more idea, but it's all I can think of."
He whispered three words to the other Rangers before they turned to face Gryphon.
"Omega Olympian Crossbow!" Jay shouted.
Nate's Ocean Trident bent 90 degrees as the "teeth" spread out and bent to form a handle. Victor's Blacksmith Hammer landed on the ground handle side up as Valerie's Love Bow clicked onto the former trident, which then clicked onto the hammer handle. Mera's Battle Spear was bent around the bowstring to make it thicker. Adrian's Sun Staff helped the hammer hold up the crossbow, and Diana's Hunting Daggers went on either side of Jay's Lightning Sword as both were loaded into the crossbow.
"Seven Ranger Omega Strike!" Jay shouted as the Rangers lined up diagonally on either side of Jay. Nate and Victor put their hands on Jay's shoulders, then Mera and Valerie put their hands on their's respectivly. Then Diana put her hand on Victor's shoulder and Adrian put his on Valerie's.
"Fire!" Jay shouted as he pulled the trigger.
The Lightning Sword and Hunting Daggers flew forward towards Gryphon but just as they reached him, he swatted them away with his wings.
"That won't work on me!" Gryphon said with a laugh.
"Uh, Jay," Nate said. "We might be screwed."
Jay just remained silent as he thought through the Rangers' options. There weren't many things the Rangers hadn't tried yet. Basically every weapon and attack had been used against Gryphon, but none of them had been the least bit effective, with him either dodging or being immune to the attack.
"Christina," Jay said into his morpher. "We could really use help. The sooner, the better."
Christina and Chiron had been watching the battle in dismay. Even the Hoplite Armor that had beaten Gryphon before was useless.
When Jay's call came in, Christina was already typing rapidly.
"I told you before," Christina said. "Unfortunately, the other Rangers are wrapped up in personal matters. We have nobody to send!"
Chiron looked over at Paul as he walked over to the Flame of the Gods in the brazier located in the corner.
"I wonder…" Chiron said as he slowly galloped over to Paul, who was looking at the Flame of the Gods in its corner of the room in the brazier. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Hades has one just like it," Paul said. "I never understood all this god crap. I just wanted my friend back."
"Your friend is fighting for his life right now and is losing," Chiron said. "He saved you once. Will you save him now?"
"How?" Paul asked. "I keep hearing about how powerful my bloodline is, but I have no way to tap into it. I'm powerless! Besides, I've screwed up so much. I can't be a hero with the things I've done."
"While you cannot change what you did before, you can influence what happens now," Chiron said, "and you have that sword and shield to use your power. In fact, they will allow you to tap into the power of Hades, Gryphon and yourself, all at the same time. Not only is Hades's power now within you because of the Olympian Gems, Gryphon left traces of himself in you. Use that power he has accidentally given you!"
Paul looked conflicted for a second before nodding.
"Tell me what I need to do," he said as he grabbed the sword and shield from the pillar and put his hand on the handle.
"Put the sword into the Flame of the Gods," Chiron said, "Hades has been using his portion for too long against us. It's time for us to use its power as well."
Paul unsheathed the sword from the shield's compartment and put it into the Flame. Slowly, the Flame's power caused the sword to glow. Paul watched in amazement as the glow flowed all over him, turning black and bronze. As the glow faded, Paul put the sword back in the shield.
"The Rangers are in serious trouble now!" Christina shouted from her seat in the mosaic computer.
"Do that Door-portal thingy," Paul said, "and tell them help's on the way. I know what I need to do."
The Rangers cried out as they were sent flying into a wall of crates, smashing through them and causing even more injury. The core Rangers were no longer in their Hero Armor, as Gryphon's attacks had forced them back to their base suits.
"We have no way to win!" Diana shouted as she struggled to rise. "Whatever we do just bounces off or fixes itself quickly!"
"Things do indeed look grim," Mera agreed as she too tried to get up but failed.
"This can't be the end!" Valerie said. "There must be something we can do!"
"Doesn't look like it, Val," Jay said. "I hate to admit it, but we might have met our match."
"That doesn't sound like you, Jay," a male voice said as a dark figure walked from the shadows. "You never give up. That's why I like being your friend."
"Paul?" Jay asked as he looked up at the young man in surprise. "I thought I told you to stay in the Temple. We're not giving you up!"
"Who said anything about giving up?" Paul asked. "I'm here to help you."
"My old host," Gryphon said. "How are you going to help them? All you're good at is blaming others for your problems!"
"I've gotten better at taking responsibility for my actions," Paul said, "and I may never be able to redeem myself completely…"
He pointed to Gryphon as he pulled the shield off his back. It now had an omega symbol on it in bronze that went over where the Gem resided. The rest of the inside of the shield was now black, but the border around it was still bronze. The hilt of the sword that could be seen had a band of bronze where the Gem was and the rest was black.
"But I'm going to try by destroying evil! Starting with you!" he shouted as he turned the Olympian Gems in the shield and sword so the bands were vertical before drawing his sword, "Hades Knight Power!"
In a flash of black and bronze light, Paul had transformed. He was now encased in a black suit of armor, which was bulkier compared to the other Ranger's suits. The knees and elbows were bronze, along with the design on the chestplate of a sword crossed behind a shield. He had shoulder bands that looked like dogs barking, with his arm going through the "mouth". His helmet was the only part of him that resembled the other Rangers, with a black dog head visor surrounded in bronze.
"Hades, god of the Underworld! Hades Knight!" he shouted as he posed.
"What?!" Gryphon shouted in shock. "You look just like…"
"You did?" Paul asked. "You know, before your upgrade. Turns out I still had traces of your power in my body from when we were combined. I combined them with Hades' Onyx Olympian Gems and this is what I got."
"Big deal!" Gryphon shouted as he ran at Paul. "Your fancy new armor won't protect you from me!"
Paul raised his sword and Gryphon's shadow flew into it. Gryphon froze where he stood.
"What's going on!?" Gryphon asked as he struggled.
"Hades's Olympian Gems create the power to manipulate shadows!" Paul announced. "Something which you should remember! We used it together on Valerie and her mother to knock them out and then to trap Valerie in that shadow barrier! I just thought of a new use for it. Taking your's away."
"You think this helps you?" Gryphon asked as he struggled again, "I may be stuck, but you Rangers still can't get through my god-powered armor!"
"They couldn't," Paul said, "I can."
He ran at Gryphon and gave a mighty slash to his front in a diagonal direction. A piece of Gryphon's armor fell to the ground.
"This sword was built to defeat gods," Paul said as Gryphon's shadow flew from Paul's sword back to where it belonged, allowing Gryphon to move again. "It can handle you."
Gryphon drew his sword and slashed at Paul. Paul raised his shield to block it before coming in for a roundhouse with his right leg. Gryphon stumbled back from the force.
"No mortal can handle that power!" Gryphon shouted as he stood up. "You saw what it did to Jay!"
"You kept talking about my bloodline, so I'm surprised you forgot," Paul said, "I'm more god than he is. I should be able to handle it."
Gryphon roared as he ran at Paul again before leaping into the air and attacking with a flying ax kick. Paul backflipped away from the attack, causing Gryphon's heel to strike concrete instead. Some shards flew up from the impact. Paul dashed forward and slashed with his sword again, knocking another piece of armor off.
"That's it!" Gryphon shouted. "Playtime is over! Gryphon's Fire!"
He slashed an "x" into the air before stabbing his sword into it. A stream of bronze fire flew from the tip of the blade towards Paul. He continued the stream for about 30 seconds before ending it and turning around. The bronze flames continued to burn on the ground around Paul's general area.
"So much for the Hades Knight," he said as he began to walk away. He whirled around when he heard a voice coming from the flames.
"Not so fast!" Paul shouted as he stepped out of the flames that were dying down. "I still have to make up for my mistake of ever releasing you."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Gryphon asked as he walked up right in Paul's face. "You don't have the guts to destroy me! Even if you do, it proves nothing! You still released me into the world and allowed many people to be hurt or die!"
Paul looked down at the ground.
"I may not be able to change the past," he said as he lifted his head, "but I can still change the future!"
He raised his sword again as a shadowy aura appeared around it.
"Shadow Slash!" Paul shouted as he slashed downwards.
Gryphon cried out in pain and shock as the blade completely bisected him before he exploded.
The other Rangers managed to finally stand up, but were definitely still injured. Jay was the most damaged with the burn marks on his suit both from Gryphon's attack and his own Hoplite Armor.
"Good job, man!" Nate said as he tried to high five Paul before they both realized the sword was getting in the way. Paul put the sword back in the shield compartment before accepting the high five.
"I was unprepared for the idea of a Hades Ranger," Mera said, "but I am impressed. Good work."
"You showed Gryphon his place!" Diana said as she slammed her fist into her palm.
"Paul," Jay said as he walked over to Paul before putting his hand on Paul's armored shoulder. "Thank you. We were hopelessly outmatched and...ah!"
He cringed as he felt the burns on his body flare up.
"...And you came to our aid. I would be glad to offer you a spot on the team. It'll be a healthier outlet than your vigilantism and you'll be able to help more people," he finished as he reached out his hand.
"I'll never be able to completely make amends to you guys," Paul said, "but I'd be glad to try."
The Rangers heard a groan and looked over to see Hercules lying on the ground where Gryphon had been. They walked over and Victor and Nate helped pull Hercules up.
"I'm so sorry," Hercules said, "Cronus forced me into Gryphon's body and that gave him my powers and...it just happened so fast that I couldn't even stop him if I wanted to."
"It wasn't your fault," Paul said. "Speaking from experience, sometimes the bad guy doesn't give you time to really think."
"Does the bad guy do this?" Hercules asked as his eyes glowed bronze before his shape changed back to Gryphon. "Cronus! Make me grow!"
Blue fire appeared around Gryphon and overwhelmed him before he grew to the size of a skyscraper, smashing through the ceiling of the warehouse and causing the Rangers to run out of the hole in the wall to look up at him.
"Chiron, we need the Olympian…" Jay asked before he fell to the ground and demorphed.
"Jay!" Valerie shouted as she kneeled to check on him, "I feel a pulse. I think he's just exhausted and damaged from the Hoplite Armor."
"Well, we have a problem," Nate said. "We can't form the Megazord, either Megazord, without Jay."
"We still have the Hero Zords!" Victor offered.
"But I do not think we have the energy to sustain our Hero Armor," Mera pointed out.
"And I think all of us are exhausted," Adrian said. "So I don't even think the Gemini Megazord would be a good idea in our current state.
"Guys. I have an idea," Paul said before speaking to where his Olympian Gems were on his shield. "Chiron, did Hades have a Zord?"
"He did," Chiron said, "but it's probably in the Underworld with him now."
"Damn it!" Paul cursed. "There goes that idea."
"What if we created a new one?" Christina asked.
"Is that even possible?" Valerie asked.
"Obviously someone forgot the first Dark God we ever fought," Nate said. "Hecate could do it with her powers."
"Nate, Christina, you're geniuses!" Victor said. "Chiron, we need to call on Hecate one more time."
"Rangers?" Gryphon roared as he stomped through the warehouse district. "Where did you go?"
He looked over to the city and started to stomp towards it. He had just reached the first row of buildings when he heard Paul's voice.
"That's far enough!" he shouted as a large, black and bronze three-headed dog ran up and stood between Gryphon and the buildings. It was large, even larger than the other Zords that had been created before it. It had bronze claws and teeth, as well as a bronze head covering over each of the three heads and a bronze curved tail. The rest was a shiny black color, except for the Zord's red eyes.
"What is this?" Gryphon asked. "It looks like…"
"This is the Cerberus Zord, modeled off Hades' dog that guarded the Underworld," Paul said. He was in a similar cockpit to the Hero Zord's cockpits, but there was a place for him to place the sword to his right and the shield to his left. The Gems were already attached to the pillars with their bronze bands being vertical.
"I know that!" Gryphon said, "but why would you have a Zord?"
"I don't have to tell you!" Paul said as the Cerberus Zord snapped its jaws and barked at him. "Let's go, boy!"
The Cerberus Zord ran at Gryphon and used its massive size to slam into his legs and waist. Gryphon cried out as he fell over onto his back. The Cerberus Zord climbed on top of him and began to bite at his armor with its three heads.
"Get off me!" Gryphon shouted as he struggled before finally throwing the Zord off. The Zord landed on its feet and prepared for attack again.
"Let's try your Megazord Mode!" Paul said as he pulled the sword and shield from their places. "Activate Cerberus Knight Megazord!"
The Cerberus Zord barked before it began transforming. The back legs swung around to become human legs, allowing the Zord to stand up straight, as the claws rotated around to reveal hands. The tail detached and straightened to become a sword. The two side dog heads rotated around on a pivot to become shoulder pads and a shield like design on the Zord's belly came off to become the shield in its left hand. The middle dogs head moved down to become a chest piece and a head popped up from under it. The head was silver with red eyes and a black helmet that looked like a knight's helmet.
"Cerberus Knight Megazord, ready!" Paul shouted as the Megazord posed.
If Gryphon was impressed, he didn't show it. Instead, he drew his sword and charged at the Megazord. The Cerberus Hero Megazord raised its shield just in time to block the sword strike before slashing with its own sword at Gryphon's exposed flank. The sword cut into the armor, causing sparks to fly.
Gryphon growled as he held his side.
"You'll pay for that!" he shouted.
"I'm going to pay for a lot of things someday," Paul said, "but not today and not from you!"
He slashed again with the Cerberus Knight Megazord's blade, this time attempting to slash at Gryphon's chest. Gryphon raised his sword and blocked the attack, but wasn't ready for a second attack from the Megazord swinging the opposite way. Gryphon fell to the ground as the blade hit home.
"I'm not done yet!" Gryphon shouted as he stood up and spread his wings. He took off into the air before dive bombing at the Megazord. The Megazord moved out of the way before the dog head that now acted as the chest piece opened its mouth.
"Shadow Beam!" Paul shouted as the Megazord fired a beam from the dog head's mouth. The beam flew through the air and hit Gryphon just as he was turning around to attack again. He fell to the ground again before getting up again.
"Nothing can keep me down!" Gryphon laughed. "Your attacks may hurt me, but even your final blow won't be able to kill me!"
"Let's test that," Paul said as the Cerberus Knight Megazord raised its sword and shadows began to gather around it. "Activate Shadow Restraints!"
The Megazord's dog head shoulder pads turned towards Gryphon and fired a shadow beam each at Gryphon's body. They looked like black energy chains and acted like normal chains, wrapping Gryphon up and not letting him escape.
Gryphon tried to flex his muscles, but the chains were putting out an inhibiting aura, stopping him from moving.
"Not again!" he shouted as he watched the Megazord finish charging its attack.
"Time to send you back to Tartarus!" Paul shouted. "Cerberus's Fury!"
The Megazord slashed with its sword three times, forming an "x" with the first two before bisecting it, and Gryphon, with the third strike.
"I was supposed to be invincible!" Gryphon shouted as he fell to the ground and exploded.
"One mistake off the list," Paul said. "Many more to go."
"I can't believe you had Hecate create a new Zord!" Jay said as he laid there on the bed, "I never would have thought of that!"
The Rangers, including Paul, were sitting in the medical center, talking to Jay about Paul's victory.
"Hecate was glad to help," Victor said. "Though she did start talking about something with 'the spirits of nature' again."
"She is clearly delusional," Mera said, "but even with that sidebar, she was most helpful."
"But it was Paul who really saved the day," Adrian said.
"I just did what you guys recommended," Paul said. "I'm sure if Jay had been able to fight, things would have gone just as well."
"Don't sell yourself short," Nate said. "You did great for someone piloting their first Megazord within five minutes of getting it."
"Yeah, you beat Gryphon just as well as we could've," Diana said. "We just got the crap beat out of us this time. I'm looking forward to helping next time, though."
"Paul, you did a great job," Jay said, "but have you thought about what you're going to do when you're not a Ranger? Are you coming back to school?"
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Paul said. "What do I say to explain my absence for the past 18ish months? It's not like I can explain what really happened."
"We'll think of something," Valerie said. "Jay, how about he just stays in the Temple for now? I'm afraid if we call his parents, he'll be forced to fly to Florida and, like school, he can't really explain things."
"I don't know what to do," Jay said. "If you don't tell your parents, they'll still think you're missing or dead. But if we do call, things get really complicated…"
"I'll just stay in the Temple for now, like Valerie suggested," Paul said. "It'll keep things simpler. Maybe we can figure something out later, but I'll remain here."
"If you're ok with it, I guess it's fine," Jay said. "I just hope Cronus doesn't pull anything for a little while. I've got to heal from even more burns now."
"If anyone can do it, it's you," Valerie said. "Plus, we'll have Paul to help fight now, so maybe you can use the Hoplite Armor less."
"One can hope," Jay said, "but you guys don't have to crowd around me, go home and get some rest. We need to practice with our new teammate tomorrow."
As the others walked out, Paul looked to Jay.
"We're friends again, right?" he asked.
"Of course," Jay said, "but I have other friends too. You're going to have to get used to that."
"I understand," Paul said as he stood up. "Get better, my friend."
With that, he walked out with a smile on his face.
"How…unfortunate," Cronus remarked as he watched Gryphon being destroyed. "I had so hoped to avoid another Ranger joining their team. However, it won't be a problem."
"Of course, father," Hades said as he bowed his head. "Shall we press the attack? I'm sure the Rangers will still be weakened tomorrow and…"
"Just as the Rangers are weakened, so am I," Cronus reminded him. "I will wait until I can infuse a Dark God with some of my power again. That should only take a week or two. Then we can continue our conquest.
"But that gives the Rangers time to recover!" Hades protested.
"Are you questioning me?" Cronus asked as he gave a cold look to his son.
"N-no, father," Hades said as he looked down.
Over in her cell, Persephone was still recovering and overhearing the conversation at the same time.
Why is he giving the Rangers time to recover? she thought. I hate to agree with my husband, but pressing the attack makes more sense. It's almost like...he has some sort of endgame in mind.
And that thought chilled her to the bone.
I hope that was worth the slightly longer wait! The Cerberus Knight Megazord is mostly based off the Tigerzord/ Won Tiger from MMPR Season 2 and Dairanger. The Hades Knight himself is mostly based on Houou Soldier from Kyuranger in his weapon (a sword and shield) being his morpher and also being the second of the same color (with Houou Soldier being a Red Ranger and Hades Knight being a Black Ranger) of a Ranger on the team already.
If you liked what you read, consider reviewing. That's the only way I know what people like and dislike. Following and favoriting are always a great option as well.
That's it for now. May the power protect you!
