Finally, finally, finally! I have been working on this chapter for about 5-6 weeks and I can finally say it's finished! In all seriousness, I'm glad to get this off the "press" and give it to you guys. I saw my numbers spike on the 15th and I just felt bad that I had half a chapter to give, so I waited. Did I wait too long? Probably. Do I actually have a finished product to share? Definitely! School (including my new Creative Writing minor) just got in the way as well as...online Yu-Gi-Oh on Dueling Nexus (#notsponsered).
(2022 Spidey Here. I made a few minor updates to the descriptions of the Dark Olympian Ranger suits (the black parts had to be edited for what I have next chapter and I needed it to be consistent. Cronus's dialogue was also slightly updated. Thanks for your understanding!)
I want to thank JWAS1994, GoldenMewtwo and now xXRocketShark216Xx for being regular reviewers, as well as xXRocketShark216Xx (again), H3LLF1R3IIO5 and TheTrueErnie for following and xXRocketShark216Xx (again again) for favoriting. Without you guys, I would have never gotten to over 10,000 views! Considering my original goal was 1000, I can officially say we passed my goal tenfold.
I do want to stop a minute to talk about Rocket. I normally don't read fan-made adaptions of Sentai, especially one that's already been adapted like Go-Busters was for Beast Morphers. But I saw Power Rangers CPU on my "new PR fanfics'' feed and thought "what the heck?" Well, I'm glad I made that decision to read it, because I really enjoyed what I read. A good premise (an RPM follow-up that shakes up the plot of that story in some big ways), good characters and even good weapon names (no Beast-X Sabers and Beast-X Blasters here!) lead to an enjoyable experience. And they even update weekly! I wish more Fanfictions had frequent updates like that (including my own fic!). But I would definitely give it a read. Chapters are only about 5-10 thousand words long, but Rocket knows how to make the most of those words, so definitely check it out.
BUT!
Before you do that, please read what I have down below. I'm hoping you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
Myth 36: Like Day and Night
"Fascinating," Dark God Athena said as she watched the footage. She looked down at the keyboard and pressed a button before looking up to see the screen was now more like a doppler effect, with the Ranger's colors radiating off their black and white forms.
"Is this what you required?" Cronus asked as he walked up behind her. "I had to use quite a bit of my power to insert that automaton in the proper place in the timeline, so I would hope the answer is yes."
"This is exactly what I need," Dark God Athena said with a nod. "Their Morphing energy signatures are being shown perfectly. I should be able to copy it down to a t. But what do you mean 'insert into the timeline?'"
With that last question, she had turned around to look at Cronus, her glowing blue eyes looking at him with a curiosity burning almost like the fire that had given her this dark persona.
"Tell me," Cronus said as he paced around her. "Do you know what I am the god of?"
"Time," Dark God Athena said as she followed Cronus's pacing with her head turns. "I know that. It's how that power works that I am trying to understand."
"I can manipulate time in many different ways," Cronus said. "And one such way is the ability to travel through time and change little things. Things like say...a goddess being replaced with an automaton."
"That's hardly a little thing," Dark God Athena argued.
"Compared to other things I could do with that power, it is," Cronus said firmly.
"Fair enough," Dark God Athena said. "But when did you do it?"
"Back to before I was given my freedom," Cronus said. "I went back to the Battle of Olympus…"
Flashback
Past Cronus stepped out of the time portal and looked back at the dark-golden vortex to the present before closing it behind him.
"I knew with the battle that Zeus would be distracted from my presence, especially with my power less than it normally would be," Cronus narrated. "I also knew that Fortuna lived far from the center of Olympus, meaning that my presence would not be noticed by visual means either. With all of the gods fleeing for their lives, no one would notice me in my disguise, especially for the gods who had never seen me in my youth."
Past Cronus deaged himself with dark-golden glow to be even younger than he normally looked. His white hair shifted to brown as his wrinkles, though minor, disappeared completely. He took off running as the sounds of armored Spartoi marching echoed through the city. He walked past a few gods and goddesses running for their lives and not even giving him a second look.
"Fortuna could probably sense the danger coming to her door, but she had no defense against me," Cronus narrated as Past Cronus opened the door to one of the houses and let himself inside.
"We need to escape!" Past Cronus said in fake panic as he looked around the room. "Fortuna, where are you?"
Instead of getting an answer, Past Cronus got a swift kick to the backside. He stumbled forwards before righting himself.
"Who are you?" Fortuna asked, her cloud eyes still looking ever forward. "You don't sound or smell like anyone I know. You must be one of the invaders!"
"Fine," Cronus said as he dropped the panicked act. "We'll have to do this the hard way."
Fortuna lashed out with another kick, but Past Cronus dodged the attack with incredible speed. Fortuna tried to strike again and again, but Past Cronus dodged attack after attack, even moving around behind her at one point. Eventually, Fortuna was breathing hard while Cronus was just as composed as ever.
"How?" Fortuna asked. "How are you dodging my attacks so well?"
"That's my business," Past Cronus said as he opened a time portal behind Fortuna and fired a dark-golden beam from his hand, sending Fortuna flying into the vortex, "not yours."
Past Cronus closed the portal and looked around the room. He kneeled down and looked at the shifted carpet and some of the moved furniture from the battle. He stood up and waved his hand in front of the mess, with it glowing a dark-gold during the wave. The room seemed to rewind back to its previous state as it had been before he had even entered the house. Past Cronus opened another dark-golden portal and Fortuna stepped out. Or at least, a Fortuna stepped out.
"What is your bidding?" this new Fortuna asked as she kneeled down in front of Cronus.
"You will act like Fortuna normally would until I select you to become a Dark God," Past Cronus ordered. "Now go, my automaton. Blend in with the others as they attempt to flee."
"Understood," the Fortuna automaton said as it opened the door and stepped out before it 'wandered off' into the besieged city.
"The gods will be too busy being captured to even notice," Past Cronus said as a portal opened behind him. "And they'll be too depowered by being away from the Flame to be able to sense anything is amiss with Fortuna."
With that, he stepped into the portal before it closed behind him.
"It was all a simple matter of using Hades's distraction of an attack to my advantage," Cronus said, "and then making my move."
"But…" Dark God Athena said as she thought about it, "why not just help Hades destroy the Rangers right there and then? Or go back further and kill the Rangers before they become Rangers? Or, perhaps, even go back to the First Great War and help yourself destroy the Olympians then?"
"I could only go back so far with my still limited power," Cronus said, "and if I killed the Rangers or the gods, the paradox it would create would probably rip reality in two, not to mention what could happen if I met myself. There are spread out moments in time where I can change a few things, but a major change like that is too dangerous and could destroy everything, even me. We have to be strategic with the limited times we do have. That's why I need you. As goddess of wisdom, there are few gods smarter than you. With this data and Hephaestus's help, I am sure you can create the Rangers I require."
"Are you sure you want those twins first? They may not even be compatible with the power sets you want to give them," Athena warned.
"I am sure," Cronus said with a nod. "Apollo and Artemis are too predictable. We need something a little...different. That includes the little upgrades I've asked Hepaestus to do."
"Understood," Athena said as she put her head down in submission. "It will probably still take a few days, even with this data."
"You have 72 hours to get those Rangers ready," Cronus said. "I will not accept your failure, so I would start working."
"Yes my lord," Athena said as she straightened herself and began to work.
70 Hours Later...
Victor's eyes fluttered open as the alarm clock went off next to his cushiony bed. He sat up and switched off the clock before looking around at his still-new surroundings. The room was definitely more spacious than his old bedroom had been, and the silk-like sheets were a sure reminder of his upgrade. However, not everything had changed. Victor looked over to see that his alarm clock was still the pieced-together one he had made himself and the clothes hanging in his walk-in closet that could be seen from it's door in the wall were still his traditional black shirt and blue overalls.
Victor ran to get ready for his shower and, about fifteen minutes later, was walking down the stairs while adjusting the pieces of machinery he had in his pockets.
"Victor!" Victor's father said as he looked up from his newspaper. "How are you doing this morning?"
"Fine, dad," Victor said as he walked over to the cabinet and pulled out some Fruit Loops. "Just...adjusting, I guess."
"I'll say," Victor's father said. "We have staff waiting to make anything you want for breakfast and you're having cereal you got yourself for the third day in a row."
"What can I say?" Victor said as he grabbed a bowl and went over to the fridge to pour some milk into it. "I like to do things myself."
"That you do," Victor's father said with a laugh, "but when you have the luxury, shouldn't you take advantage of it?"
"I'm not having this argument," Victor said as he sat down at the table. "We just started to get along again!"
"Just asking a question," Victor's father said as he put his hands up in a placating gesture before putting them down. "So, what's the plan for today after school?"
"My friends and I were probably going to hang out," Victor said. "Nothing too exciting."
"Fair enough. Not every day has to be a big adventure like most of yours have been lately," Victor's father said as he stood up. "I need to get to Steel Works. I hear we've got a new steel alloy being created right now that's supposed to be stronger than stainless steel at half the weight."
"Keep me updated on that," Victor said. "I'm sure I could find a use for it once it's available to the public."
"I'll see if I can maybe get you a sample of it once we've refined the process," Victor's father said before he looked at his watch, "but I've got to get there and you've got to get to school. See you later, Victor."
"Bye, dad," Victor said as he waved at his departing father.
"I believe there was something more to Fortuna being an automaton that we have missed!" Mera said as she ran up to Jay as the two of them walked towards the school.
"Did you figure it out?" Jay asked. "Because we never came to a conclusion about that."
"Precisely!" Mera said. "I gathered the evidence I could on the mosaic computer and I think I have this complex conundrum solved!"
"And what is the answer?" Jay asked as the two walked through the double doors into the school building."
"I believe he created the fake Fortuna to gather data on us," Mera said. "When I rewatched the battle between her and the Ultrazord, I noticed that a small drone of some kind appeared out of her remains."
"Ok…" Jay said. "But what data could he really gather?"
"Well, I think…" Mera said before the bell for five minutes until class ran and she checked her cell phone's clock. "Cripes. I have to cross the school building in the next 4 minutes and 35 seconds, give or take. I will tell you later!"
"I wouldn't worry about it," Jay said. "Cronus gives long gaps between battles. He shouldn't attack again anytime soon. You can tell me at lunch."
"I indeed would, but I need to converse with Mrs. Martini during lunch," Mera said as she started to speed walk away. "I will tell you after school!"
"Got it!" Jay shouted to her as he gave a thumbs up before turning around and walking towards Mr. Ford's room. "First is math...yay…"
As he walked into the room, he saw something he had never seen before: Diana writing for a reason other than class. Her hand was crossing the page as she seemed to write word after word on said page in her pink book.
"Hey, Diana," Jay said as he walked to his seat in front of her and sat down. "What do you have there?"
"Nothing!" Diana said quickly as she pulled the book into her bag. "I mean...nothing you need to worry about."
"Speaking of worrying, I was wondering about what happened three days ago," Jay said. "You just got scared for a minute and then left. Is everything ok?"
"Everything's fine," Diana said. "Once again, nothing to worry about."
"If something's bothering you, you can tell me and the others," Jay said. "Or at least Adrian. He's your brother, after all."
"I said it's nothing," Diana said firmly. "And if it was something, I doubt you would understand anyway."
"You're never going to know that until you tell us," Jay said. "But if you really don't want to talk about it, I'm not going to force you."
The bell for the beginning of the school day rang as the last few students trickled in from the hall outside. Mr. Ford stood up from his chair and walked to the blackboard.
"Alright, last night I had you do the odd problems between 1 and 161," he said. "I picked what I thought were five good examples of the concept and I'd like to see what answer you came up with. I'm going to call some of you to the board and you can write out your answer, showing whatever work you need. Diana, why don't you come up first?"
Diana stood up and walked over to the blackboard.
"Show us what you got for problem 47," Mr. Ford said.
Diana picked up a piece of chalk and began to write out the equation. She heard a few whispers as she continued to write. She looked over and saw some kids looking at a video on one of their phones. She thought she caught a glimpse of the Gold Olympian Ranger on it and heard the words "Power Rangers" being whispered, but Mr. Ford quickly walked over and handed out detention slips.
"Continue, Diana," Mr. Ford said as he confiscated the cell phone.
Diana looked back at the board and finished writing down the solved equation. She put the chalk down before walking back to her desk and sitting down.
"That's correct," Mr. Ford said as he studied the equation before looking at the class. "Does everyone see how she got there?"
As Mr. Ford turned away, Diana pulled out her phone for a minute and went to Google. A few seconds later, she had an angry expression on her face. She put her phone away and raised her hand as her face softened for a minute.
"Yes, Diana?" Mr. Ford asked. "What do you need?"
"I need to go to the bathroom," Diana said, "and it's an emergency."
Mr. Ford quickly filled out a pass and handed it to her as she ran to the door and rushed out of the room.
"Kids should really go before school starts…" Mr. Ford muttered to himself as he looked at the class again. "Next, let's see what Dominic got for problem 73…"
About 15 minutes ago...
"Good work, Irving," Mr. Steel said as he patted the scientist on the back as they walked down the hallway. "The alloy is ready!"
"It was all thanks to your funding of our project," the scientist said as he carried the metal case with him. "And, as agreed, you'll get exclusive rights to use this alloy once we make enough of it. The amount we have in this case is all of it that exists right now, unfortunately."
"Understandable," Mr. Steel said. "These things take time. But have you decided what you're going to call it yet?"
"We were thinking of calling it 'Olympian Steel' after both the place it was made and the team of Power Rangers who protect it," the scientist said with a small smile.
"Sounds good to me," Mr. Steel said as they reached the elevator and pressed the button to go up. "Now let me go start the paperwork for registering it and we can start using it in a few weeks once it goes through the proper channels."
The elevator doors opened to reveal the Gold Olympian Ranger standing inside with his golden bow drawn sideways and two golden energy arrows nocked. The arrows were directly aimed at the two men.
"Better idea," the Gold Olympian Ranger said. "You give it to me and call it a day!"
"Run!" Mr. Steel shouted as he and the scientist ran down the hallway, away from the elevator. However, the Gold Olympian Ranger released his energy arrows and struck both men in the back of their legs, causing them to fall to the ground. The case slid a few feet before a silver booted foot stopped it.
"Going somewhere, gentlemen?" the Silver Olympian Ranger mocked as she picked up the case. "I'm sure you have no objections to us taking this."
"As a matter of fact, I do!" Mr. Steel shouted as he stood up. "That is Steel Works property and…"
The Silver Olympian Ranger summoned a dagger and pointed it to the businessman's throat.
"I said no objections, right?" the Silver Olympian Ranger asked as she continued to aim the dagger at Mr. Steel.
Mr. Steel growled.
"Fine," he said, "but your fellow Rangers will come to stop you!"
"We're counting on it," the Silver Olympian Ranger said as she kicked Mr. Steel down to the ground again before stepping over his prone body. "Ta ta!"
She stepped into the elevator her partner had been keeping open for her and it closed behind them.
"You know, he was kind of attractive in the 'older gentleman' kind of way," the Silver Ranger said.
"Forget that, what does Cronus even want with this alloy?" the Gold Ranger asked as the two demorphed into figures wearing white robes, the shadows of their hoods covering their faces.
"It isn't the alloy he wants," the female hooded figure said. "He just wants us to draw out the Rangers. You would know that if you had been listening to the instructions he gave us!"
"That's what I have you for, right?" the male hooded figure asked.
"...Shut up and create the mirage already," the female hooded figure said as she gestured to the case in her hand.
The male hooded figure's hand glowed gold as he waved it over the case and a second identical one appeared in his own hand in a flash of golden light.
"Just know that these mirages need light to maintain themselves," he warned. "They disappear after being away from sunlight for about 10 minutes. And they also can't be too damaged or they'll disappear as well."
"I know," the female hooded figure said, "but neither of those things will be a problem where we're going. At least not for now."
A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened and the two of them stepped into the main lobby with their cases swinging in their hands. They received a number of strange looks from guests and employees alike, but weren't stopped as they walked to the exit. The male hooded figure opened the glass door for the female hooded figure.
"After you," he said as he gestured for her to go through.
"Oh brother," the female hooded figure said as she rolled her eyes under the shadows of her robe's hood. Nonetheless, she walked through the doorframe and the male hooded figure quickly followed, allowing the door to close behind them.
"Let's split up," the female hooded figure said. "We can draw out more Rangers and defeat them easier if we divide them. They may be in school right now, but we can still draw them out."
"Sounds good," the male hooded figure said.
"And don't mor-" the female hooded figure said before there was a flash of gold light, "-ph yet."
She looked behind her to see the Gold Olympian Ranger running away, laughing.
"Or just do whatever you feel like," she muttered to herself as she quickly walked in the opposite direction. "Mother always said I was the smarter one."
Back to the Present…
The Gold Olympian Ranger whooped as he leapt over a food truck, causing the man in the truck to drop the breakfast sandwich to the pavement as he tried to hand it to the customer.
"I ain't paying for that!" the customer shouted.
"Get back here!" the man in the food truck shouted at the Gold Olympian Ranger as he ran away. "You owe me two bucks!"
The Gold Olympian Ranger finally stopped running right near a large plot of land between buildings. The plot had grass growing in between the pebbles that covered the dirt and there was a sign next to it that said a construction company was coming soon to work on it.
"Who are you?" a female voice shouted as Diana ran up between the Gold Olympian Ranger and the other side of the plot. "Because I've seen the videos of you around town and you definitely aren't the real Gold Olympian Ranger!"
"I was wondering when one of you Rangers would show up!" the Gold Olympian Ranger shouted as he whirled around and dropped the metal case he was still holding, "it'll be a pleasure to destroy you!"
"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine!" Diana said as she strapped her morphers onto her wrists and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Silver Olympian Power!"
In a flash of silver light, Diana morphed into the Silver Olympian Ranger and summoned her Hunting Daggers. With an almost animalistic roar, she leapt at the fake Gold Olympian Ranger.
"No one tries to frame my brother!" she shouted as she slashed wildly at the fake Gold Olympian Ranger.
The fake Gold Olympian Ranger just laughed as he dodged attack after attack with amazing agility.
"Who's trying?" he asked. "The video footage is already out there of the Gold Olympian Ranger stealing the alloy. Plus, Steel knows who took the alloy and is probably going to go to the press soon. You and your brother are wanted people now!"
"Me?" Diana asked as she stopped slashing for a minute. "There's a fake Silver Olympian Ranger too?"
"Yeah, and my sister can take on all of the Rangers that come her way!" the fake Gold Olympian Ranger said proudly. "But she also has a plan and I need to grab you to complete it."
"Buddy, you aren't going to lay a hand on me," Diana said as she handspringed away before combining her daggers into the Moon Bow, "especially when you've made yourself such an easy target!"
She nocked a couple of silver energy arrows before letting them fly. She quickly created more and launched those too. The barrage of arrows caused a few explosions to rock the ground, launching the dirt and pebbles into the air and creating a smokescreen.
"You think a couple of arrows can stop me?" the fake Gold Olympian Ranger asked as he walked through the smoke. Pebbles started to rain down on him as he continued forward.
Diana maintained her composure, firing even more energy arrows at the fake Gold Olympian Ranger that just bounced off his suit. She continued to back up, maintaining her distance from her foe. However, she soon found herself backed against a wall. It was then that she began to panic.
"Stay back!" she shouted as she split her bow into the Hunting Daggers again and pointed them at the approaching fake Gold Olympian Ranger.
"You couldn't hurt me if you wanted to," the fake Gold Olympian Ranger said as he pounded on his chest. "These suits are even tougher than yours."
Diana tried swinging with her daggers again, but they just bounced off the fake Gold Olympian Ranger's suit with a sound of metal against metal and some sparks flying.
The fake Gold Olympian Ranger laughed as he summoned an exact replica of the Sun Staff and swung it into Diana's gut. Diana doubled over in pain before the fake Gold Olympian Ranger swung again, this time into her helmet. Sparks began to rapidly fly as Diana crumpled to the ground and demorphed. She looked up at the fake Gold Olympian Ranger as he stood above her before her eyes lost focus and everything went to black.
"I'm telling you, she just disappeared after running to the bathroom," Jay said as he looked around at Valerie, Nate and Victor. "Ford was livid and even sent a girl to the bathroom to check on her, but she apparently wasn't there."
"Adrian stepped out of my science class just like Diana did for you," Valerie said. "He also didn't come back. It's really strange, though. Diana may not like school, but even she wouldn't ditch. And Adrian is pretty good at school and has no reason to leave either."
"Maybe this has something to do with it?" Nate asked as he showed his phone with an article on it.
"Gold and Silver Rangers "Steel" from Steel Works?" Jay read. "First of all, that title is awful. Second, where did you find this? I haven't seen anything like that."
"When's the last time you checked your phone?" Nate asked.
"Before school started," Jay replied. "I don't really have time to check it between classes."
"And that's why," Nate said. "This article came out around 10 o'clock this morning. Apparently Victor's dad hasn't given a statement yet, but word leaked anyway."
"But that can't be Adrian and Diana," Valerie said. "They would never do something like that!"
"I think this might be related to what Mera told me earlier," Jay said. "What if...what if that Fortuna automaton was gathering data on us so Cronus could build his own duplicate Rangers?"
"Well," Victor said, finally joining the conversation, "that would be really hard to do. Except...he did have access to those Olympian Gem shavings. That plus the data he gathered might be enough to do it, actually."
"Well, we need to find those doppelgangers fast," Jay said. "We can't let them just run around Olympia Hills."
"I'll keep an eye on the news," Nate said, "but they haven't been seen for a few hours. They're probably long gone by now."
"And that still doesn't answer what happened to the real Adrian and Diana," Valerie added.
"My guess is that they're trying to clear their names," Jay said. "It's what I would do. Unfortunately, we can't look for them until after school."
"Do we really have to stay in school for the day?" Nate asked. "The story would progress a lot faster if we ditched."
"Uh...I don't know what that means, but we're good citizens as well as Rangers," Jay argued, "so of course we're going to stay for the day."
"Besides," Valerie said, "you yourself just said they 'were probably long gone by now'. Do you really want to risk missing school, somewhere we're supposed to be, for a wild goose chase?"
"Uh, yeah," Nate said. "I'd rather do just about anything but school."
"Look, this isn't a debate," Jay said. "It's bad enough that Adrian and Diana disappeared. But if we all just ditch school, it looks suspicious and could threaten our identities. So it's not happening."
"Damn you and your logic," Nate said. "Fine, I guess we'll stay. But we're going to look for the two of them after school, right?"
"Right," Jay said with a nod before the 5 minute bell rang. "Glad we got that settled. Let's meet at the Temple after school and see if we can use the camera system to find our missing Rangers or their doppelgangers. I'm going to talk to Chiron quickly and see if he can start looking."
"Sounds like a plan," Valerie said. "See you guys later."
She and Jay gave each other a peck on the lips before she walked down the stairs.
"Chiron," Jay said as he lifted his morpher near his mouth. "I assume you've heard about the fake Rangers?"
"Yes," Chiron said from the other end, "but something seems to be wrong with the camera systems because they just disappeared about an hour ago and I haven't seen them since. I'm going to try and fix it, but I may need Victor to double check my work."
"We'll be by after school and he can help then," Jay said. "Now, I've got to get to class. We'll see you in a few hours."
The communication ended as Chiron stood by the computer, stroking his beard.
"What are you up to, father?" Chiron said to no one in particular. "Fake Rangers seems like the sort of shady thing you would do, but I don't get why. What goal does it accomplish?"
As there was no one else in the Temple, there was no one available to answer his question, leaving him thinking in the silence.
"Fake Rangers?" Hades asked as he watched the scenes from the last few hours on the blue flame screen. "Where in the world did father get fake Rangers? Unless those strange shavings have something to do with it…"
Persephone looked up from the stone floor as Hades walked over to her cell.
"Persephone," he said, "you know something about those shavings Aeolus gave Cronus. I saw it on your face when Cronus received them. What are they?"
Persephone remained silent for a minute as Hades's flames started to rise.
"Tell me!" he demanded as his flames turned red and began to rage on his head.
"And why should I help you?" Persephone asked. "You've already taken most of my power and my freedom. What more could you take from me? You have no leverage over me anymore."
"If you don't tell me, I will suck your power out again and I won't leave anything left!" Hades shouted. "Now tell me!"
If I tell him and he interrupts Cronus's plan, that could help the Rangers, Persephone thought, I guess I will tell him.
"Very well," Persephone said with a sigh. "Those shavings were from the Green Olympian Gems. I don't know how, but Cronus appears to have created duplicate Gems using those shavings to power new Rangers."
"So that's his plan…" Hades said as he walked away from Persephone and her cell. "But why has he only created two when he could create a whole army by replicating the Gems over and over!"
Hades doesn't know of the Morphing Grid only supporting one person per powerset, Persephone thought, but I don't have to tell him about that. I think I've said enough for now.
Hades continued to pace as his mind went through all of the possibilities having evil Rangers could have.
"We could have a thousand Red Rangers to electrocute the Rangers!" Hades shouted, "Or send them as sleeper agents out into Olympia Hills and have them morph at the same time! Or even..."
Eventually, his brainstorming ended and he looked towards the double doors.
"But none of that will happen until I find Cronus and where he's making these Rangers," Hades said, a crazy look in his eye, "I have to go find where he's hiding!"
The enhanced Spartoi manning the doors opened them for Hades as he set off to find his father. As soon as Hades left the room, Persephone let out a sigh of relief and laid back on the hard bed.
I hope I just helped the Rangers instead of making things worse, she thought, because things could go either way right now.
She looked over at the window showing the dreary Underworld outside the castle.
I just hope I get freed soon...
"Any sign of our missing Rangers?" Jay asked as the five core Rangers walked into the Temple to see Paul and Christina help Chiron plug some wires together.
"No," Chiron said as he looked over to the approaching Rangers, "and I'm not seeing any signs of foul play with our cameras. Victor and Mera, please check our work."
"Hey, you good?" Valerie asked as Christina walked over, worry written on her face. "I know it's stressful to have your boyfriend missing, but we're going to find him."
"I know," Christina said with a nod. "I'm more determined to find him than devastated that we haven't yet. Tell me what to do and I'll help."
"Well, the wiring wasn't the problem and you seem to have put it back together correctly," Victor said as the mosaic computer flashed back to life. "If it wasn't a problem with the computer itself, maybe the footage was masked somehow."
"Like a lens flare?" Nate asked.
"That would be an incredibly specific reason, but that would work," Victor said. "What makes you suggest that?"
"There's one right there," Nate said as he pointed to one of the many squares showing footage from the cameras as the computer tried to catch up from the time it had been shut down, "and one over there too."
"But we have never had glare issues before," Mera said as she squinted at the lens flares. "What would cause it now?"
"I'm not sure," Victor said, "but we would have to go to the areas to find the source. Looks like they're on opposite sides of the city. One's in the Warehouse District and the other's downtown. We'll have to split up to check both in a reasonable amount of time. However, I think Mera and I should be on different teams. We'll know what to look for once we arrive at the right area."
"Sounds good," Jay said. "So...Mera and Paul will come with me to the Warehouse District and Nate can lead a team of Victor and Valerie to check the downtown camera."
"And what do I do?" Christina asked, "I want to help in any way I can to find Adrian!"
"You can come with my team," Jay said. "We might need an extra hand."
The Rangers headed to the Doors before Chiron cleared his throat.
"Rangers, before you go," Chiron said as the Rangers turned around to face him. "Be cautious with these duplicates. Not everything may be as it seems."
"Understood," Jay said with a nod. "We'll be careful."
Chiron pressed a few keys and the Doors of Janus flew open to allow Jay's group through. The Doors slammed shut behind them before opening up again for Nate's team. They too stepped through and the Doors slammed shut once again, leaving Chiron alone once again to contemplate what his father may be planning.
"OK," Nate said as the three Rangers stepped out of the Door into the somewhat busy downtown street. "What are we looking for?"
"So the cameras are actually protected with an interesting camouflage technique that bends light and sound around it to make it almost invisible," Victor said as he reached into his overalls and pulled out a pair of swim goggles with some wires sticking out in funny places. "Luckily, I brought the infrared goggles I created to locate them. While there are some minor ways the cameras stand out, it's probably easier for me to look for it this way."
He pulled the goggles on as the lenses began to glow red. He scanned the area, both literally and metaphorically, before pointing to a spot on the wall that was shimmering a bit in the light.
"It's right there," he said as he, Valerie and Nate walked over to it before Victor turned around to look at where the camera was pointed, pulling the goggles off as he did so, "but I'm not seeing any reason for there to be a lens flare at this spot. The shade is pretty optimal here for the camera."
"Maybe it was to draw us out?" Nate asked.
The teens formed up in a circle as they heard slow clapping coming from above them. They looked up to see the Silver Olympian Ranger standing on the roof, clapping, while a weakened Diana laid at her feet.
"Point one to Blue," she said, "and they say you usually aren't the smart one."
"I have my moments," Nate said smugly before he thought about the exchange. "Hey...wait a minute! I…"
"Nate, now isn't the time to converse with the enemy about yourself," Valerie said quietly before raising her voice. "I assume you're the Silver Ranger that stole the alloy from Steel Works?"
"And what if I am?" the Silver Olympian Ranger asked. "You Rangers have so much power. Why not use it to take what you want?"
"Because then you're not acting like a true Ranger!" Nate shouted. "True Rangers never use their power for personal gain!"
"Nate, you used your suit as a Halloween costume," Victor reminded.
"...Most true Rangers never use their power for personal gain!" Nate said, editing his last statement.
"Your teammate here was saying something similar," the Silver Olympian Ranger said as she gestured to the prone Diana. "So I dealt with her in a language she understood: violence. Now I'm giving her back to you."
She kicked the weakened Diana off the roof to the ground. Both Victor and Nate rushed over as soon as she fell and helped break her fall with their arms, catching her instead and lowering her to the ground.
"You boys are quick," the Silver Olympian Ranger said. "I'm almost impressed."
Valerie looked at Diana's limp form and her brows furrowed.
"What did you do to her?" Valerie shouted as she looked back at the Silver Olympian Ranger.
"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," the Silver Olympian Ranger said. "I honestly lost track after the third or fourth major injury."
Nate and Victor stepped away from Diana for a minute and lined up with Valerie, with Victor putting the goggles that had been in his hand into his overalls pocket.
"That's my friend you're talking about!" Nate shouted, "and you're going to pay for messing with her!"
"Ready, guys?" Valerie asked as she prepped her morphers and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Ready!" the two boys said as they did the same.
"Pink Olympian Power!" Valerie shouted as pink light radiated from her Olympian Gems.
"Black Olympian Power!" Victor shouted as black light radiated from his Olympian Gems.
"Blue Olympian Power!" Nate shouted as blue light radiated from his Olympian Gems.
In a flash of multicolored lights, the three Rangers were transformed.
"Victor, let's go for it!" Nate shouted as he crouched down.
"Right!" Victor said with a nod as he did the same.
The two Rangers launched themselves to the sky and flipped over the Silver Olympian Ranger's head before landing on the roof.
"Hey, cuties," she said with a small wave.
"Uh...hi?" Victor asked, very confused.
In the blink of an eye, the two Rangers were on the ground, clutching their sides as pain shot through them.
"It's amazing what a little speed can do, isn't it?" the Silver Olympian Ranger asked as she ran one dagger along the blade of the other. "One second and you're already at my feet."
Meanwhile, back on the ground, Valerie was helping Diana to a sitting position.
"Ow ow ow!" Diana said as she slowly sat up. "Man, she really did a number on me."
"Are you going to be ok to get back to the Temple?" Valerie asked. "Because I can help you get there, but I'd need to be quick to get back and help the boys out."
"Yeah, I'll be good," Diana said as she gingerly stood up. "Help out the guys. They may be strong and handsome, but they'll definitely need a woman's touch to take that fake down."
"Got it," Valerie said with a nod. "Now get back to the Temple and make sure Chiron helps you heal. We can handle this."
"Thanks," Diana said before speaking into her morpher, "Chiron, I need a Door. I'm badly injured and need to get to safety."
"Right," Chiron said. "I still have a lens flare on the camera that makes it hard to exactly locate a potential Door point. I'm going to be as close as I can, but you might need to move a little bit to reach it."
One of the doors close to Diana started to glow blue as Valerie summoned her bow and fired a pink energy arrow at the Silver Olympian Ranger. Diana slowly hobbled over to the Door and opened it before stepping through.
Jay, Mera, Paul and Christina stepped out of the Door and continued walking forward as it closed behind them.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Jay asked. "Because I've never actually seen the cameras we use, even though I know they're there."
"They are hidden using a technology Hephaestus developed," Mera explained. "To put it simply, they were designed in a way that makes them almost undetectable to the naked eye."
"So how are we going to find it?" Paul asked. "Undetectable means...well, that we can't detect it. It's kind of hard to find something you can't detect"
"Please note that I said 'almost undetectable'," Mera said. "Christina and I know what to look for, so it should be easier for us to find it."
"I'll leave you to it," Jay said. "Meanwhile, Paul and I will…"
He didn't finish his sentence before a golden-suited figure smashed through the wall and fell to the ground.
"Adrian?" Christina asked as she looked from the hole in the wall to the Gold Olympian Ranger lying there, "Adrian!"
She ran over to his side as he demorphed. There were dark spots on his clothing from where the suit's protection had failed, but otherwise he seemed only lightly injured.
"Hey Christina," he said. "Looks like the script's been flipped, huh?"
"Who did this to you?" Christina asked.
"Him," Adrian said as he sat up and pointed at the figure stepping out of the hole in the building. To the teens' shock, it was another Gold Olympian Ranger that looked identical to the suit Adrian had been in.
"You guys up for a round?" the Gold Olympian Ranger asked as he made a 'come at me' gesture.
"Christina, you take care of Adrian," Jay ordered. "The three of us have got this."
He looked over at his two teammates.
"Ready?" he asked as he prepped his morphers.
"Ready!" the other two shouted as they did the same, with Mera rolling up her sleeves and Paul growing his sword and shield before twisting the Gems so the bands were vertical.
"Hades Knight Power!" Paul shouted as he drew his sword from the shield and pointed it upwards.
"Yellow Olympian Power!" Mera shouted as she crossed her arms over her chest, the Gems glowing a yellow light from the power being released from them.
"Red Olympian Power!" Jay shouted as he also crossed his arms over his chest, the Gems glowing a red light from the power being released from them.
In a flash of bronze, yellow and red light respectively, the Olympian Rangers were morphed. Paul was the first to reach the Gold Olympian Ranger and slashed horizontally with his Shadow Sword. The Gold Olympian Ranger flipped over the attack, before landing and attacking from the rear, laughing all the while. Paul turned around just in time to receive a punch to the helmet that sent him reeling.
"Paul!" Jay shouted before turning his head to Mera. "Alright, I guess it's up to us."
"Right," Mera said as the two of them activated their Hero Armor and summoned their weapons. "I think I will use a page from your book today."
In a flash of yellow light, Mera's spear turned into a longsword. The two Rangers charged forward and slashed repeatedly with their blades. The Gold Olympian Ranger ducked and weaved around every attack before summoning the Sun Staff to block the final swing. He grunted as he pushed against the blades with the Staff with a strength the Rangers were not ready for. They stumbled backwards as the Gold Olympian Ranger pressed the attack, swinging the Sun Staff repeatedly and striking the two Rangers in the areas their Hero Armor didn't protect them. He finished by thrusting the Staff against their armored chests, pushing them back even further.
As the three Rangers fought, Adrian's morpher activated, with Diana's voice coming from it.
"Chiron, I need a Door. I'm badly injured and need to get to safety," the morpher said.
"I need to go make sure Diana's alright," Adrian said as he stood up. "I'm worried. If she thinks she's badly injured, then it must be pretty bad."
"Of course," Christina said, "I'll come with you. I can help Chiron with using the nectar to heal her."
"No," Adrian said. "I think the others need help here more."
He gestured to the fighting Rangers as Paul thrusted his sword towards the Gold Olympian Ranger's chest, only for it to bounce right off with barely a scratch left on the armor.
"But I swore I wouldn't fight again," Christina said as she shook her head. "I can't…"
"Look at me," Adrian said as he grabbed Christina's hands. "I need you to do it, and so do the others. Please, do it for me."
Christina looked conflicted before finally nodding.
"I'll do it for you," she said, "and for the others."
"Good," Adrian said, "I'm going to meet Diana in the Temple and make sure Chiron doesn't need my healing powers. She could be really hurt."
"Alright," Christina said before she turned towards the Gold Olympian Ranger and took a deep breath. "Here we go."
She crossed her arms over her chest as the Green Olympian Gems glowed with power.
"Green Olympian Power!" she shouted before she morphed in a flash of green light. She summoned her scythe before running towards the Gold Olympian Ranger.
"Give me a Door," Adrian said. "I need to see my sister."
"Right away," Chiron said. "There might be a slight location error because of a lens flare, but I'll be as close as I can."
A door down a few houses began to glow blue and Adrian made a beeline towards it. He looked back towards the battle as Christina joined in before smirking and entering the Temple. Diana was already there and Chiron was trying to help her get to the medical center. Chiron turned his head to look at Adrian as he entered.
"Ah, Adrian," he said. "Good to see you. I could use your help getting Diana to the medical center."
"She doesn't need the medical center," Adrian said, "but you might when we're done with you."
Meanwhile, back at the battle...
Jay let out a battle cry as he slashed at the Gold Olympian Ranger again, this time aiming for the head. Like their previous attacks, it did very little damage. The Gold Olympian Ranger let out a laugh before he kicked Jay in the gut, launching him back towards his teammates.
"Are you ok?" Christina asked as she and Mera helped Jay up.
"I'm fine," Jay said. "But why are you morphed and fighting? I thought Adrian said you were done fighting."
"Adrian told me that you needed my help," Christina said, "and I couldn't say no to him."
"Understandable," Mera said with a nod. "However, I do not know if we can beat this imposter even with your added power. His armor appears to be too strong to allow us to damage him."
"I have to use the Hoplite Armor," Jay said. "I may be able to land a powerful attack on him with it and damage his armor enough for us to actually hurt him."
"That may not be necessary," Paul said as he pointed to the Gold Olympian Ranger. "Look!"
The three Rangers looked over to see the Gold Olympian Ranger beginning to fade.
"Heh," the Gold Olympian Ranger said as he looked down at his slowly disappearing body. "Looks like we fooled you, just like my sister planned."
"What are you talking about?" Christina asked. "What's going on?"
"You'll see," the Gold Olympian Ranger said. The other Rangers could tell by his voice that he was smirking under his helmet.
"Mera, what's going on?" Jay asked.
"I am unsure," Mera said, "but it appears that this was a copy of the copy."
"But that means…" Jay said as he thought about it before his eyes widened under his helmet.
"What?" Paul asked.
"We need to get back to the Temple NOW!" Jay shouted as he raised his morpher to his mouth. "Chiron! Open a Door!"
Instead of hearing Chiron's voice, there was static.
"You're too late!" the Gold Olympian Ranger said, his body almost completely gone now. "We've achieved our goal!"
"Chiron!" Jay shouted into his morpher, "Chiron, do you hear me?"
"See you real soon," the Gold Olympian Ranger said with a mock salute as he completely faded away.
"We need to get back," Jay said as he demorphed and started to walk out of the building. "Chiron's in trouble."
"I am so confused," Paul said as he and the others ran after him, demorphing during their sprint. "What just happened?"
"What happened is that we just gave the fakes exactly what they wanted," Jay said. "Now c'mon! I'll explain on the way to the school!"
With that, he took off into a run. The other Rangers looked at each other before following.
At the same time...
Victor and Nate cried out as they were slashed again by the Silver Olympian Ranger's daggers as she sped by.
"Come on!" the Silver Olympian Ranger said. "You can do better than this! Where are the mighty Olympian Rangers that defeated so many monsters and Dark Gods? Because right now, I just see two pushovers!"
"I'll show you a pushover!" Nate shouted. "A push over this roof!"
With that he bent down and charged forward. The Silver Olympian Ranger looked down in surprise as he grabbed her in a football hold around the stomach and pushed both of them off the roof. Nate angled them so that the Silver Olympian Ranger was on the bottom. She cried out as her body hit the pavement. Nate rolled off of the Silver Olympian Ranger and rose to a standing position.
"Hey, what do you know?" he said to no one in particular. "That move I saw on YouTube actually worked!"
Valerie aimed her bow at the Silver Olympian Ranger as she walked forward before moving to lightly kick the downed Ranger. To her surprise, her foot went through the prone Silver Olympian Ranger, causing her to stumble to right herself.
"She's starting to fade," Victor said as he finished climbing down the fire escape. "So she must have been some kind of decoy!"
"A fake of the fake?" Nate asked, "what kind of dumb plot twist is this?"
Victor pulled out his goggles and looked over to the Silver Olympian Ranger as she continued to fade away.
"She appears to be made completely out of photons," he said. "Photons that somehow were made to maintain shape and structure."
"So they were made of light?" Valerie asked.
"Precisely," Victor said as he pulled off the goggles again and put them in the same pocket as before.
"But did this fake made of light steal the alloy from Steel Works?" Nate asked.
"Unlikely," Victor said. "These 'light beings' are way too unstable to survive without the sun for long. Reports I saw say that the fake Rangers were in the building for several minutes. They would have started to break apart before they accomplished their goal."
"But where is the real-fake Silver Olympian Ranger?" Nate asked before shaking his head. "'Real-fake'. Wow. The situations we Rangers get into, huh?"
"I think I know where she is," Valerie said, "and I already gave Chiron the heads-up. We need to hurry to the Temple."
With that, she demorphed and started to run out of the area.
"What do you mean?" Nate asked as he and Victor followed. "Where is she? And why don't we just call Chiron to open a Door for us? It saves us running!"
"She's in the Temple right now!" Valerie said, "and Chiron's probably trying to hold her off right now and can't open a Door for us! That's why we need to hurry to the school!"
"...But you might when we're done with you," Adrian said before he began to brightly glow gold. The glow turned into a male figure of light that seemed to step out of Adrian's body, causing it to fall to the ground. He appeared to be unconscious.
"This should be fun," Diana said before she began to glow silver. The glow also turned into a figure, this one female, that stepped out of Diana's body. Just like Adrian's body, Diana fell to the ground, unconscious.
The figures stopped glowing to reveal their white robes and hoods. The figures pulled off their hoods to reveal a young man with spiky orange hair and a young woman with long black hair that flowed down her back after being freed from the hood. Both of them had glowing blue eyes to show their status as Dark Gods.
"I have to admit, Helios and Selene, that you weren't the Dark Gods I was expecting," Chiron said as he slowly circled around them. "But you'll find I'm not completely helpless. Especially when I get a little warning ahead of time."
"What are you talking about?" Selene, the female, asked. "Who gave you warning? And what are you doing?"
"I would never give up my students like that," Chiron said as he pulled a bow and quiver of arrows off the weapons rack he had finally reached after circling around the two Dark Gods. "And as for what I'm doing? I'm dealing with you."
"You? Deal with us?" Helios said. "Don't make me laugh. You can't beat us! Especially when we do this!"
The two pulled up their sleeves to reveal darker bronze wristbands with gold and silver stones respectively attached to them.
"Dark Olympian Power!" the two of them shouted as shadow radiated from them. In a flash of black light, the two were transformed into the Gold and Silver Olympian Rangers, though there were a couple changes. The gloves and boots, as well as the neck area, were black, while the morphers and shinguards were a muted bronze. The epsilon/bow symbol on their chests and belts were also a muted bronze. However, they still had the same sun and moon visors and Olympian Gems in their morphers, though there seemed to be a nebulous darkness in their Gems that their good counterparts did not have.
"What in the world has my father done to you?" Chiron asked. "While you are similar to the Olympians, you are not Olympians! Those powers should not be compatible with you, or at least not very stable!"
"Stop talking about things you know nothing about," Selene said as she summoned her daggers. "You're just an annoying obstacle for Master Cronus' plan."
"And while our mission wasn't to kill you, I don't think Master Cronus will mind if we do," Helios said as he summoned his staff. "If he does, we can always say you just got in the way."
The two Dark Olympian Rangers leapt at Chiron, forcing him to quickly back up away from their strikes while launching two arrows at them. To his surprise, the arrows bounced off and stuck into the floor in front of the Rangers. The Dark Olympian Rangers created their bows from their melee weapons and aimed glowing energy arrows at Chiron.
"Nice arrows," Helios commented. "But ours? They don't bounce off."
The two released their arrows and sent them flying into Chiron's chest. He stumbled back, clutching the injured area. He crumpled to the ground as the shadows of the Dark Olympian Rangers loomed over him.
"Hmph," Selene said as she turned away from Chiron. "I was expecting more of a challenge from you, centaur."
"Ok, we're in their base," Helios said, "what were we looking for again?"
Selene pushed him a little bit to allow her to walk past. She pointed to the brazier holding the Flame of the Gods.
"That," she said. "Now come on. The Rangers are probably hurrying here as we speak and we need to get the Flame to Master Cronus."
"Right," Helios said as he and his sister started over to the Flame.
They were almost there when black lightning started to crackle along their suits. They cried out as they fell to the ground and thrashed around as the lightning traveled over their bodies. However, as quickly as the lightning started, it just as suddenly stopped.
"What was that?" Helios asked as he stood up clutching his side. "I can still somewhat feel it!"
"It's probably just a power surge," Selene said as she stood up, "but we can't worry about it now. We have a mission to fulfill!"
The two Dark Olympian Rangers reached the Flame and looked into it as it blew away from them. It was as if an invisible wind was blowing it out of their reach.
"So how do we get it to Master Cronus?" Helios asked. "It seems to be trying to avoid us."
"Stop asking me questions!" Selene shouted, "seriously! It's driving me crazy! But to answer your last question, if it wants to avoid us, we're going to have to take the whole thing."
"That's not going to happen!" a familiar voice shouted.
The two Dark Olympian Rangers turned around to see Jay and the other teens standing shoulder to shoulder between the Rangers and the exit.
"If you want to get the Flame to Cronus, you're going to have to go through us," Jay said.
"Gladly," Selene said as she and her brother summoned their bows, which they had sent away before, back into their hands.
"Ready?" Jay asked as the Rangers prepped their morphers.
"Ready," the others said with a nod.
"It's Morphing Time!" Jay announced.
"Hades Knight Power!" Paul shouted as he pulled the Shadow Sword free from its compartment in the shield and raised it to the sky. Bronze and black light radiated from the Olympian Gems on the sword hilt and middle of the shield.
"Green Olympian Power!" Christina shouted as she crossed her arms over her chest, green light radiating from her Olympian Gems.
"Pink Olympian Power!" Valerie shouted as she crossed her arms over her chest, pink light radiating from her Olympian Gems.
"Yellow Olympian Power!" Mera shouted as she crossed her arms over her chest, yellow light radiating from her Olympian Gems.
"Black Olympian Power!" Victor shouted as he crossed his arms over his chest, black light radiating from his Olympian Gems.
"Blue Olympian Power!" Nate shouted as he crossed his arms over his chest, blue light radiating from his Olympian Gems.
"Red Olympian Power!" Jay shouted as he crossed his arms over his chest, red light radiating from his Olympian Gems.
In a flash of multicolored light, the Rangers were transformed
"Hero Armor, Power Up!" the five original Olympian Rangers shouted as their omega symbols expanded into their Hero Armor.
If the Dark Olympian Rangers were impressed, their body language didn't show it. Instead, they aimed their bows at the true Rangers and started to fire gold and silver energy arrows.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Jay shouted as the Rangers ducked and rolled to dodge the attacks. "Try to get close to them and stop the attack!"
Valerie ducked behind Victor's anvil as the arrows continued to fly. She summoned her bow and stood up to fire a few arrows of her own before ducking down again.
Victor dashed forward and slid behind a pillar before looking around again.
My Hero Armor should protect me from a few hits, he thought. Then I can end their attack and let the others come in to finish them off.
As the other Rangers tried to find some cover, Victor ran from around the pillar and took the attack head on. He grunted from the force of the attack, but still forced his way through the barrage. He summoned his Blacksmith Hammer and swung it horizontally at the Dark Olympian Rangers. The Dark Olympian Rangers were unprepared for the attack and were hit in the side. They skidded to the side a bit, but otherwise seemed unaffected by the attack.
"Was that supposed to do something?" Selene mocked before she transformed her bow into daggers again. "But if you really want close combat, I'll oblige."
She slashed rapidly in multiple places that were unprotected by Victor's Hero Armor: the feet, knees, head, elbows and forearms. She stopped the attack and ran one dagger down the other before Victor was bombarded by sparks in those areas. He fell to his knees as he tried to recover from the vicious attack.
"Get out of our way, you Hephaestus wannabe," Helios said as he smashed his staff sideways into Victor's helmet with a two handed strike, cracking the helmet with the power of the attack.
Victor finished his trip to the ground, sparks now rapidly flying from his cracked helmet. Helios and Selene stepped over Victor's prone body as he demorphed. His head had a large bloody spot where the staff had met his helmet.
"Victor!" Jay shouted as he summoned his Lightning Sword. "How dare you do that to my friend!"
"He got in our way," Selene said before she pointed to the wounded Victor. "That's what happens to those who oppose us!"
"That isn't going to scare us!" Nate shouted as he looked at Paul. "Any chance we can try that move you did with Jay in the battle with Eris?"
"You've got it," Paul said as he put his Shadow Shield at an angle.
"Here goes...something!" Nate shouted as he ran at Paul before using the shield as a springboard as Paul pushed up to give him more height. Nate aimed his Ocean Trident and landed with it striking Helios in the chest and pushing the three points in.
"Take that!" Nate said with a laugh.
Helios lashed out with his leg and kicked Nate away before pulling the Trident out of his chest and looking at it. There were some golden ichor spots on the bronze points, but he otherwise seemed relatively unharmed.
"That actually hurt!" Helios said angrily. "Nothing was supposed to hurt me in this armor! Hephaestus told me so!"
"Hephaestus?" Jay asked. "What did he do?"
"He only designed…" Helios said before Selene stopped him.
"Does the idea of not giving the enemy information mean nothing to you?" she asked. "Now shut up. You've said enough."
Helios moved to argue, but both of the Dark Olympian Rangers were interrupted by Christina charging at Helios and tackling him to the ground. She rapidly punched him in the helmet, knocking his head this way and that with every punch.
"You used my relationship with Adrian against me!" she shouted as she punched. "How dare you!"
"You know, for a pacifist, she hits pretty well," Nate commented as he slowly stood up, holding his side. "Not as well as me, but pretty well."
"Get off my brother!" Selene shouted as she aimed a punch of her own at Christina, hitting her clean in the side of her helmet. The force of the attack shattered a bit of Christina's visor and created an indent in the helmet as well as causing Christina to cry out as she went flying back.
During this time, Mera had moved to the mosaic computer and was typing on it, looking back every once in a while to see the status of the battle.
Valerie stood up to fire another arrow, but Selene was ready and fired a silver energy arrow into Valerie's chest as she stood up. Valerie fell back, sparks flying from the spot she got hit.
Jay looked around at Nate, Valerie and Christina as they tried to stand up and Victor as he laid there, not moving.
"Damn it!" he shouted. "Nothing we're doing is really working and the others are getting hurt. I need to get in there with the Hoplite Armor and finish this! Hoplite Bracers!"
He crossed his arms over his chest as, in a flash of bronze light, the Hoplite Bracers appeared on Jay's wrists. He then raised his arms to the sky.
"Red Hoplite Ranger!" he shouted as a few clouds appeared between him and the ceiling. Red lightning came down from the clouds and struck Jay, causing a blinding red light. When the flash of light ended, Jay stepped out with his bronze Hoplite Armor.
"So what if you have some fancy new armor?" Helios said. "We can still take you!"
"Helios, wait!" Selene shouted as she tried to put her arm out to stop him but it was too little too late. Helios ran at the Red Hoplite Ranger and struck him in the helmet with his staff, turning Jay's head to the side with the power of the strike. As Helios raised the staff for another attack, Jay's head slowly turned back to center.
"My turn," Jay said simply before he dashed at Helios.
Helios tried to swing his staff again, but Jay moved out of the way before summoning his spear and swinging it the exact same way Helios had into the Dark Olympian Ranger's stomach. Helios cried out as he went flying into his sister, knocking them both down.
"Get off me, you idiot!" Selene said as she used her enhanced strength to push Helios off of her. "If you had been paying attention to the lessons we were given, you would know that the Hoplite Armor increases the Red Ranger's power a hundredfold!"
"Then I'll just make a hundred and one of me!" Helios shouted as he aimed his hand in front of him and concentrated. One by one, Dark Gold Olympian Ranger mirages appeared in front of him and ran at the Red Hoplite Ranger. As he continued to create, he could feel the strain on his body growing.
"Now, while he and the other Rangers are busy," Helios muttered to his sister. "We need to grab the Flame and go."
"That's the first good idea you've had in a while," Selene replied as the two of them snuck towards the flame, making sure that the mirages were between the Rangers and them.
Paul grunted in frustration as he slashed a mirage, only for another one to smash its staff into the back of his helmet, sending him to his hands and knees. Quickly, the mirages began to swarm him and the other Rangers, including Mera, who was still working on the mosaic computer on something, and the downed and injured Rangers like Victor and Nate.
"Jay, I managed to shut the Doors down," Mera shouted through the mirages. "So even if they beat Janus' extra security measures before, it does not matter, as they cannot leave now."
"They didn't seem to get that memo," Jay remarked as he knocked a mirage aside. "Look!"
He pointed to the two Dark Olympian Rangers as Selene drew back an energy arrow with her bow and fired it into the marble wall, creating a portal.
"Didn't you say that Adrian and Diana created a portal for their Zords the very first time they summoned them?" Jay asked.
"I did indeed," Mera said, "but said portal should just lead to the Zord bay. Except they could…"
"We'll be taking those Zords off your hands!" Helios said as he and Selene grabbed the brazier holding the Flame of the Gods with both hands and slowly started moving it towards the portal. "See ya!"
"Jay, you have to go after them and stop them from causing damage!" Mera said, "do not let them take those Zords!"
"Got it," Jay said with a nod before he took off running, knocking the mirages aside.
"Go faster!" Selene shouted as she tried to pick up the pace. However, she was suddenly attacked by another round of the black lightning, causing her to drop the brazier with a loud bang.
"What happened to 'go faster'?" Helios mocked before he too was struck by another attack of the black lightning, causing him to scream in agony.
"What's happening to them?" Paul asked as he looked over at the two convulsing Dark Olympian Rangers before bashing a mirage aside with his shield. "It seems like his copies are getting weaker and they're getting attacked by some sort of black lightning."
"It was as I suspected," a familiar voice said as Chiron charged into the fray, kicking some of the mirages with his back hooves and firing some wooden arrows into others. "Their powers are ill-suited for them. While Apollo and Helios are both sun gods and Artemis and Selene are both moon goddesses, that doesn't mean the Rangers powers intended for Apollo and Artemis should be used by the other solar and lunar gods."
"Chiron!" Mera shouted as she turned her spear into a scythe and slashed through some of the mirages to get to the two of them. "You're alright?"
"Like I told Helios and Selene, I had some time to prepare," Chiron said. "That included preparing some nectar to help me heal when I was attacked. Luckily, the attack only did moderate damage, so I could use the nectar to heal quickly."
"If you were so prepared, how come Mera had to shut the Doors down?" Nate asked as he joined the group.
"I only had about three minutes to prepare," Chiron explained. "I couldn't do everything within that time constraint."
"Enough talk, we need to defeat these clones!" Mera said as she whirled around and swung her scythe into another few mirages. "We will have to leave Selene and Helios to Jay."
"Yeah, he can handle those two with the Hoplite Armor, no problem," Nate said as he stabbed his trident into a mirage and threw it over his head into a few more. "We'll just deal with this."
Meanwhile, Jay was forcing his way across the room while silently cursing Hermes for making the Temple such a large room that could fit so many people, both real and mirages, in it. As he finally reached the two Dark Olympian Rangers, the lighting had just ended and they were starting to rise.
"Crap, the Red Ranger's back!" Helios shouted, "and I can't create more mirages!"
"I've got it," Selene said as she raised a hand and sent a silver spiral out of her hand into Jay's visor. He seemed to stand there for a minute, entranced, before turning around. His eyes glowed silver through his visor as he summoned his shield and smashed through the mirages and into the Rangers.
"Fight them, my minion!" Selene said with a laugh as the remaining Rangers broke apart to try and beat the new threat. "That'll keep them occupied. It'll only last a few minutes, but that's all we'll need."
"Right," Helios said as the two of them grabbed the brazier again and started walking towards the portal again. "Next time, can you make the portal closer?"
Selene just grunted as she and her brother continued to move the brazier closer. They were now five feet from the portal and were rapidly closing the distance.
Meanwhile, Nate, Mera, Paul and Chiron were trying to deal with the hypnotized Jay. However, every attack seemed to be shrugged off by the Red Hoplite Ranger as his armor protected most attacks and his new enhanced healing factor was rapidly healing the damage he did take.
"Seriously, none of you made an off switch?" Nate remarked as he combat rolled away from the Aspis Spear. "You never thought of the event of mind control and/or hypnosis?"
"Not particularly," Mera admitted.
"Come on, Jay must have told you that was a common trope for Rangers!" Nate shouted as he leapt over a swing of the Aspis Spear.
"I have to agree with Nate," Paul said as he blocked a mirage's staff with his shield before pushing against the staff to knock the mirage off balance. "I've seen reports of evil Rangers before and I can only assume some of them were doing it of their free will. But some of them were probably mind controlled and…"
"Ok, point taken," Mera said. "It was just an error on our part."
"Maybe not," Chiron said, "I think I might have the 'off switch' you were looking for, Nate. I just need time."
"We can give you time," Paul said with a nod. "Just be quick."
"I'll be as quick and through as I can," Chiron said with a nod before he galloped over to the mosaic computer and started to type on it rapidly.
"Yeah, take on the most powerful thing in our arsenal," Nate said as the three Rangers. "This is a great idea. At least the clones are gone."
Paul didn't respond to either statement, instead focusing on blocking an Aspis Spear strike with his sword. He spun around and slashed Jay in the exposed arm, causing Jay to cry out in pain as he dropped the spear.
"Sorry Jay," Paul said as he grimaced at his friend's pain. "I just had to stop you from attacking us."
Jay picked up his spear and whirled it around in his hand before jabbing to the side to strike Nate as he tried to flank. He kept the spear in the same position and jabbed with the other spearpoint into Mera as she too tried to flank him.
"Not good enough," Jay growled as he smashed the edge of his shield into Paul's chestplate, leaving an indent and the shield lodged in. Jay backflipped away before leaping into the air and striking the shield with a kick, forcing it in deeper.
"Chiron, how's that off switch coming? Because we're kind of getting our asses handed to us!" Nate shouted as he tried to grab Jay, only for Jay to judo throw him over his own head and into the marble floor. "Ow!"
"Almost there…" Chiron said as he continued to type. "Just have to downmorph that command code and...done!"
Jay went to stab his spear into Mera's gut when his spear dissipated from his hand. He looked down as his Hoplite Armor and normal suit disappeared in a flash of bronze and red light. The shield that was still lodged in Paul's chestplate also disappeared.
Paul and Mera took Jay's momentary confusion and grabbed him by each arm, holding him in place. Nate walked over and looked at Jay as he struggled, even without his powers. His eyes were still glowing silver.
"What do we do now?" Nate asked. "We've got him de-powered, but he's still going to try to kill us."
Jay continued to struggle, but his pulling of his arms became less and less frequent as the silver glow in his eyes began to fade. Eventually, he completely stopped.
"..Or not," Nate said as he motioned for his fellow Rangers to let Jay go.
"What happened?" Jay asked as he held his head, "I remember we were fighting Helios and Selene and a silver light and that's it."
"You got mentally manipulated by Selene's moon-based mastery of her mystical powers," Mera said.
"Try saying that five times fast," Nate joked.
"But where are Helios and Selene?" Jay asked. "Don't tell me they got away."
"They unfortunately appear to have done exactly that," Chiron said as he slowly walked over to the group, "and they have taken out many Rangers while doing so."
"Taken out...oh god! Victor!" Jay shouted as he ran over to the large teen and started to shake him. "Victor! Talk to me, buddy!"
Victor didn't respond. His head was still bleeding, though it was not as bad as before.
"We need to move him and we need to do it fast," Chiron said.
"Nate and I can move Victor," Mera said, "but we might need to take multiple trips to carry them all. First, however, we should check their vitals."
Paul nodded and walked over to Christina, who had demorphed a little while ago due to all of the damage she had received earlier. He kneeled down and felt her wrist.
"She's still got a pulse, so she's alive," Paul said, "but it's weak. She definitely needs some nectar soon to help her heal."
"Adrian and Diana are just unconscious," Mera said as she stood up from checking them. "Nothing else appears to be physically wrong with them."
"And Valerie's suit took most of the brunt of the arrow," Nate said, "so she'll live."
"Good," Jay said. "So we only have two Rangers who really need help. Let's get them to the medical center."
"You did well," Cronus said as he looked to the brazier containing the golden Flame of the Gods that now sat in front of him before looking to Helios and Selene, who were still in their Dark Olympian Ranger suits but without their helmet and were on one knee in front of him. "You accomplished your mission and took some of the Rangers out of commission. I would call that a success."
"Thank you, Lord Cronus," Selene said as she bowed her head. "We simply used the tools you gave us to achieve victory."
"Brown-nose," Helios muttered as he glanced over at his sister.
"However, there are still Rangers left," Cronus said, "I want you to take the Zords you have stolen and destroy the Rangers."
"Yes, my lord," Selene said as she stood up. "Come along, brother. We have Rangers to crush."
Cronus reached into the brazier and hurled a blue fire ball at the wall that expanded into a blue ringed portal.
"Seriously, you are such a brown-nose," Helios commented as the two walked towards the portal.
"Shut up and get ready," Selene said as her helmet reappeared on her head by mere thought as she walked. "This isn't going to be easy. We only delayed them last time, so we need to be ready to destroy them this time."
"Yeah, yeah," Helios said as his helmet also reappeared on his head as he walked towards the portal, "but we have their own Zords that have never lost a battle! This'll be a sinch. Besides, they're going to struggle to fight us anyway…"
"What do you mean the Zords are damaged?" Jay asked as he looked at Chiron in disbelief.
"It means exactly what it sounds like," Chiron said. "The Olympian Zords are damaged. It's nothing I can't repair, but it would take some time and Victor to be conscious to actually accomplish it."
"While that is unfortunate, I would not be so worried," Mera said as she walked up to the two of them from the mosaic computer. "You forget that we still have the Hero Zords at our disposal. While we may not have the ability to form the Hero Megazord, the individual Hero Zords can be powerful on their own as well."
"Additionally, the Cerberus Zord appears to be repairing itself using the magical energy source Hecate created," Chiron said. "So it will be ready for battle soon."
"At least we have some options," Nate said, "imagine if all of the Zords were damaged or even destroyed."
"I'd rather not," Jay said with a small shiver. "But either way, we need to prepare for…"
He didn't get to finish his sentence before the alarm went off.
"...An attack," he finished, "I assume those are our missing Zords?"
Chiron galloped over to the mosaic computer and pressed a few buttons, allowing a video to pop on the screen showing the Gemini Zords attacking the city.
"Looks like it," Paul said, "I'll wait here for the Cerberus Zord to finish repairing itself and I'll come as soon as I can."
"Meanwhile, we'll do what we can with the Hero Zords," Jay said with a nod. "Sounds like a plan. Let's do it."
Helios whooped as he did a loop-de-loop in the Raven Zord before using the wings to slice into a skyscraper. The Raven Zord now had dark gold legs, head and sections of the wing, giving it a more sinister look.
"These things are great!" he said with glee. "Not only do we get to destroy the city to draw out the Rangers, we also get to have fun doing it!"
"Just stay focused," Selene said as she stopped her Deer Zord, which had darker silver highlights on the stomach and legs, for a second to look up at her brother in his Zord, "the Rangers still have their Hero Zords that can fight us one on one, so we've got to be ready."
"I was born ready," Helios said confidently. "Besides, the way I hit that Hephaestus wannabe, he's going to be out of action for a while. And you really hurt their Pink Ranger, so she's out too. They need all five of them to form their Megazord, right?"
"While you are correct, I wouldn't get too cocky," Selene warned. "The Rangers have lost this badly before and come back to fight their foe even stronger. We can't let our guard down."
Helios was about to answer when a large spear flew into his Zord's wing, sending it in a spin dive towards the ground. The Raven Zord flapped its wing rapidly and knocked the spear loose, allowing it to pull up at the last second.
"You hurt our friends," Jay's voice said from the Zeus Hero Zord as it stomped up along with the Poseidon and Athena Hero Zords, "and you're going to pay!"
"Cry me a river," Selene said before she used the controls to make her Deer Zord charge at the Zeus Hero Zord and knocked it over. The Deer Zord began to stomp down on the Zeus Hero Zord, causing sparks to fly from the areas the Hero Zord was hit in.
"Get off of him!" Nate shouted as the Poseidon Hero Zord leapt at the Deer Zord, knocking it off of the Zeus Hero Zord.
"Get...off!" Selene growled as the Deer Zord struggled to free itself from the Poseidon Hero Zord's grip. Eventually, however, it did slip free.
"Ah!" Nate shouted as the Poseidon Hero Zord was knocked back by a double kick from the Deer Zord, sending it flying into a skyscraper and creating an indent in the shape of the Zord's humanoid body. The Poseidon Hero Zord then disappeared in a flash of blue light with a demorphed Nate lying on the ground in front of where the Zord had been instead.
Meanwhile, the Athena Hero Zord and the Raven Zord were clashing repeatedly, with the Raven swooping in and attacking with its talons and the Athena Hero Zord jabbing with its long spear. Eventually, the Raven Zord wrapped its talons around the Athena Hero Zord's spear and pulled it out of the Hero Zord's hand. It flew about a mile away before dropping the spear and soaring back, crashing into the Athena Hero Zord as it passed. The Athena Hero Zord fell to the ground from the force of the attack.
"How do you like that?" Helios asked as he used his controls to make the Raven Zord circle above the Athena Hero Zord like a vulture.
In a flash of yellow light, the Athena Hero Zord disappeared, leaving a demorphed Mera lying in the street.
"Guys!" Jay shouted as he looked over at his two demorphed friends. "Not them too!"
"It's over, Red Ranger," Selene said as the Deer Zord walked up to where the Raven Zord was circling. "Especially when we do this. Zords combine!"
The Deer Zord leapt into the air as its body began to transform. The front half of the body slid into the back half as the front legs popped off. The Raven Zord flapped its wings once more before they bent in the center. They folded down, covering the body with the entire body splitting in two, with the wings forming a covering over the legs. The Deer Zord came down and connected to the now split Raven Zord body forming the legs The front legs of the Deer Zord reattached by connecting to the back legs, now arms, forming thicker arms. The Deer Zord mouth opened, revealing a face hidden inside the head. It now looked like a robot in an animal pelt of some kind.
"Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode!" the two Dark Gods shouted as a shadowy aura appeared around the Megazord. The aura accented the contrast between the brighter and darker shades the Megazord had.
The Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode charged forward towards the Zeus Hero Zord, coming in for a fast punch. The Zeus Hero Zord rolled sideways to dodge the attack before doing a sweeping attack on the Megazord's legs. To Jay's surprise, the attack had no effect, with the leg of his Zord just bouncing off the Megazord's leg. The Zeus Hero Zord stood up, only to be struck by the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode's fist and then its sword from the other hand.
The Zeus Hero Zord stumbled backwards as the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode raised its blades.
"Hunter's Fury!" Helios and Selene shouted as the blades gathered silver energy before coming down for an x-slash that sent the energy flying at the Zeus Hero Zord in that 'x' shape.
"Oh shit," Jay said before his Zord was struck by the attack and disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving a demorphed and beaten Jay lying on the sidewalk near where Mera and Nate were located.
"That's all the Rangers had to offer?" Selene asked. "I'm almost disappointed."
"We're...not...done!" Nate grunted as he tried to stand up, only to fall back onto his butt. "Ok, we're done."
"Let's destroy them!" Helios shouted. "Now, while we have the chance!"
"At last we agree on something, brother," Selene said as she used her controls to make the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode lift its foot over the beaten Rangers. The foot was so large that it cast a huge shadow that covered more than enough space that the weakened teens could not escape.
"Goodbye, Rangers!" Helios said with glee as the Megazord's foot came down.
"I don't think so!" Paul shouted as his Cerberus Zord, with him inside it, came out of nowhere and placed itself under the Megazord's foot, crouching to take the brunt of the attack. The Cerberus Zord's legs then extended back to its neutral position, knocking the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode off balance. The Cerberus Zord then leapt at the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode, biting and shredding with its three sets of teeth.
"But we damaged your Zord!" Helios shouted in surprise as the Dark Megazord knocked the Cerberus Zord off of it and backed up a bit. "How is it even walking, much less fighting?"
"*Cough* Plot convenience *cough*," Nate 'coughed'.
"I have my ways," Paul said. "Now, it's time to beat you! 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.
"Your Megazord can't beat ours!" Helios shouted as he used the controls in the cockpit to move the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode forward.
"Helios, wait!" Selene shouted as the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode slashed at the Cerberus Knight Megazord with its blades.
The Cerberus Knight Megazord raised its shield and blocked the attack before countering with a sword attack of its own on the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode's exposed flank. The two Dark Gods cried out as sparks flew in their cockpit from the damage the attack caused.
"What just happened?" Helios asked. "He just caused so much damage with one attack!"
"Once again, you weren't paying attention," Selene said as she shook her head in disapproval, "the Cerberus Zord has more power than the other Zords and its Megazord mode is at least on par with the Patheon Megazord. We can't beat it by randomly attacking. We have to be smart and plan out our strikes."
"Ugh, not this again!" Helios said. "Can't we just slash them with the swords, stomp on their weakened bodies and go home?"
"Shut up and listen," Selene said before she whispered something to her brother. He listened for a moment before sighing.
"I guess if we have to," he said. "Let's just get this over with."
"Funny," Paul said. "I was thinking the same thing."
The Cerberus Knight Megazord stomped towards the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode, raising its shield to block any potential attacks while swinging its sword at its foe. However, instead of attacking, the Dark Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode split back into its individual components to dodge, with the Deer Zord dashing between the Cerberus Knight Megazord's legs and the Raven Zord soaring over the Cerberus Knight Megazord. The two Zords then reformed back into Silver Mode behind the Cerberus Knight Megazord and slashed it in the back with its twin scimitars. Paul made his Megazord turn around, slashing as it did so, only for the Zords to split again. The Deer Zord leapt into the air over the Cerberus Knight Megazord and next to the Raven Zord before the two Zords changed to Gold Mode and fired its bow multiple times.
"Ah!" Paul cried as the arrows pelted his Megazord, its shield not raised to block the attack due to the unexpected nature of it.
"We need to help him!" Jay said as he tried to get up, only to fail.
"I doubt we can," Mera said. "The damage to the Hero Zords has damaged us as well. So not only do we not have any Zords to fight with, we also are too weak to actually pilot them."
"Besides, how would we counter them splitting and recombining?" Nate asked. "Speaking of which, how come we never did that?"
The Dark Gemini Megazord: Gold Mode split into its individual Zords again and prepared to outmaneuver the Cerberus Knight Megazord again when black lightning began to fly from the Zords themselves. The two Dark Olympian Rangers cried out as their bodies were bombarded by the black lightning in their cockpits.
"I believe that is your answer," Mera replied. "The Zords are not designed to combine and disassemble so rapidly. Thus, it destabilizes their integrity and allows other problems to occur, such as the low compatibility of those Dark Gods and their Ranger powers."
"So if we did it…?" Nate asked.
"All sorts of issues would occur," Mera answered. "There is a reason we only combine a few times every week or so and that is said reason."
The Cerberus Knight Megazord stomped forward again and swung its sword at the Dark Gemini Zords as they were assaulted by bolt after bolt of black lightning. Sparks flew from the Zords as the sword struck them.
"Paul, you've got to get them out of the Zords so we don't destroy them when we finish Selene and Helios!" Jay ordered.
"I've got an idea on how to do that," Paul said as he focused his power through his Onyx Olympian Gems in his sword and shield.
As the black lightning finally stopped, the two Dark Rangers looked around as a large shadowy hand appeared over their controls.
"What in the name of Olympus is going on?" Selene shouted before the shadowy hand grabbed her and pulled her into the shadow formed by her seat. Her body seemed to melt into the shadow as the hand pulled her further.
"No fair!" Helios shouted as he too was pulled into the shadow of his seat by the large shadowy hand, his body also appearing to melt into the shadow.
The two Dark Gods were deposited in front of the Cerberus Knight Megazord, appearing out of the large shadow it cast over the city. The two Dark Olympian Rangers looked around, disoriented by their trip until they looked up at the Cerberus Knight Megazord towering over them, even as it leaned down towards them.
"Activate Shadow Beams!" Paul shouted as the dog heads acting as the shoulder pads rotated around to aim directly at Helios and Selene as shadowy energy gathered inside the mouths.
"It can't end like this!" Selene shouted as the heads fired the Shadow Beams into the two Dark Olympian Rangers. "It can't! Noooo!"
The beams stopped about 20 seconds after they had started, leaving two smoking craters and Helios and Selene, sans suits or Dark God aura, lying inside them.
Paul leapt out of the Cerberus Knight Megazord and ran over to Jay, Mera and Nate.
"Are you guys ok?" he asked.
"Do we look ok?" Nate asked as he gestured to his soot-covered clothes and the fact he was still lying on the ground.
"He's exaggerating," Jay said as he slowly sat up. "We're fine. Nothing a little nectar won't heal."
"Wait, wait! Guess who I am" Nate said as he laid his head back on the ground before speaking in an almost emotionless voice, "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"
"What are we going to do with you?" Jay asked with a sigh as he shook his head, "Let's get back to the Temple. I'm more worried about the others than I am of us and besides, we need to help get Selene and Helios back where they belong."
A few hours later…
"So how did you figure it out?" Diana asked as she looked over at Valerie.
The two were sitting on the steps leading up to the mosaic computer, both given a clean bill of health by Chiron after some rest for Diana and nectar for Valerie.
"Figure out what?" Valerie asked.
"Don't play dumb," Diana said. "Something Selene said in my body tipped you off that something was up. What was it? It was all a blur for me, so I don't even remember what she said in my body."
"She made a comment on how Nate and Victor were handsome, which didn't make sense," Valerie said. "You've never made a comment about a guy like that, so I knew something was up."
"Just because I don't say it doesn't mean I don't think it," Diana said quickly as she stood up, "anyway, very interesting. I'm going to go now and…"
"Diana, I know," Valerie said to Diana's retreating form. Immediately Diana stopped and looked around at Valerie again.
"Know what?" she asked, a little uncharacteristically nervous.
"I know you like girls," Valerie said. "I didn't want to bring it up because of how much you avoid the subject, but you have to know that you can be yourself around me and the others. You don't have to hide it."
Diana looked like she was ready to argue before her body sunk down in defeat. She sat down on the mat and looked over at Valerie.
"Who else knows?" she asked.
"All of the other Rangers," Valerie said. "We talked about it when you left so quickly a few days ago, but most of us were pretty sure about it before then."
"I just…" Diana said. "I don't want you guys to reject me. I was already rejected by Hailey and the rest of my old friends at Olympia Hills Prep without them even knowing of me liking girls. They probably would have rejected me also for liking girls. I didn't want to risk it with this new group."
"First of all, we share a bond as Rangers that can almost never be broken," Valerie said, "but also those girls were bitches who shouldn't have treated you that way. Nothing you did was wrong. There was just something wrong with them. And you already know we accepted you before we figured it out. What really changed between then and now?"
"Nothing, I guess," Diana said. "it's just…I was really afraid that something would change. You might treat me differently."
"Because of your sexual orientation?" Valerie said, "I, and I think I speak for all of us Rangers, don't care if you're interested in boys, girls or flying spaghetti monsters. You're still Diana and you're still our friend."
"I...I don't know what to say," Diana said as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Thank you. I think, because of you, I'm ready to tell the others."
"We already heard," Jay said as he and the others barring Victor stepped out of the medical center and walked over to the middle of the room, near the girls, "and we agree with everything Valerie said."
"Diana," Adrian said as he stepped out of the group and walked over to his sister, giving her a hug. "I'm proud to have you as my twin. You could have told me from the start and I still would have been proud. Nothing can change that."
"Thanks," Diana said as she returned the hug. "I was just so scared of what could possibly happen."
"If we focus too much on the what ifs, we tend to drive ourselves mad and miss the true outcome," Chiron said. "Know that those who accept us for who we are are the best people to surround ourselves with, and you have a good group here who accept you."
"You definitely do," Jay said. "Because you're one of us, no matter what."
"I really appreciate that," Diana said, "I'm going to go home and tell my dad about my sexual orientation. I think I'm ready now."
"I'll go with you to support you," Adrian said, "I doubt you'll need it, though."
"Thanks bro," Diana said, nodding to Chiron for him to activate the Doors. He did so and the twins started towards the Doors.
"Good luck!" Jay said as he waved goodbye, the others voicing similar ideas as the twins stepped through the Doors that quickly slammed behind them.
"At least she gets something good out of this," Jay said. "Because Victor and Christina are still unconscious, our Zords are a mess and the Flame was stolen from our very own base."
"Yeah, what are we going to do about those things?" Nate said. "We can't just leave it to next chapter. Readers are going to have questions."
The other Rangers looked at Nate like he had three heads.
"What the heck does that even mean?" Valerie asked, utterly confused.
"Forget it," Nate said with a sigh. "The important thing I said was asking how we were going to solve those problems."
"Well, the Zords cannot be fixed until Victor is awake and Victor should be awake in between a few hours to days," Mera said before she was interrupted by the sound of a creaking bed.
"Or right now," Paul said as the teens looked over to see Victor slowly walking out of the medical center.
"What happened?" Victor asked, his hand going up to feel his bandaged head, "I remember fighting the Dark Olympian Rangers and then everything went black."
"Helios kind of smashed his staff into your helmet," Nate explained. "I'm kind of surprised you even survived with the power he put into that attack."
"The suits are stronger than most people give them credit for," Victor said. "But what was this I heard about damaged Zords?"
"Helios and Selene wrecked the Olympian Zords," Jay said, "we have the Gemini Zords they stole and we then recovered the Hero Zords and the Cerberus Zord. But we can't really form the Ultrazord without the Olympian Zords to form the main body."
"It'll take a lot of work," Victor said, "but I should be able to fix them up, especially with Christina's help when she wakes up. It really depends on what Helios and Selene damaged that determines how long it will take."
"Well, first you're going to take it easy," Valerie said as she walked over to help support him as he wobbled a bit. "Let the nectar do its job."
"Speaking of which…" Chiron said as he slowly walked over to the Rangers, "we have a serious issue to discuss."
"What could be worse than all of the things Selene and Helios already did?" Paul asked.
"Oh no," Nate said as he shook his head at Paul. "Never ask that sort of question! Never do the 'well, it can't get worse' thing!"
"Let Chiron speak," Jay said as he looked to the centaur. "Go ahead."
"The problem is that we are dangerously low on nectar," Chiron said. "After all of the injuries most of you took today, the amount we have has nearly been used up."
"Ok…" Valerie asked, "can't we just get more from Olympus? They have to have a lot of it."
"I'm afraid it isn't that easy," Chiron said. "The Flame of the Gods is used to create nectar, and Olympus gave us their Flame…"
"...That Helios and Selene just took," Jay finished. "That could be a problem. You're sure they don't have any more of it? They must need it to survive."
"The gods of Olympus eat nectar not because they require it, but because they enjoy it," Chiron explained. "So their supplies are low as well. We may be looking at a shortage the likes we have never seen before in the history of the gods."
"How much do we have?" Jay asked.
"We have perhaps enough to heal one more major injury or a few minor ones," Chiron said, "but even that may be pushing it."
"So we just have to avoid getting hurt," Nate said. "Easy peasy."
"I doubt it," Jay said as he crossed his arms, "not only can we not make more nectar without the Flame, but Cronus can also create things with that Flame."
Valerie nodded as she walked over to Jay.
"Hades and Cronus have used the Flame to make their monsters and Dark Gods grow," she said. "They've also made portals, mind controlled the gods they convert…"
"Lest we forget, the Cyclops created the Hoplite Armor using the Flame," Mera added, "as well as it granting extra power without any new armor or weapons having to be created."
"So what do we do?" Victor asked. "It's sounding pretty hopeless."
"We hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Jay said. "it's all we can do."
The other Rangers nodded as the room became silent, no one sure what to suggest or do.
Jay slowly walked over to the corner of the Temple the Flame had been in and the circle on the floor showing its exact previous location. Valerie quietly walked up next to him.
"It's not your fault, you know," she said as she looked over at Jay.
"I know, but I can't help feeling like it is," Jay said. "If I had been a little faster or dodged Selene's hypnosis or even…"
"What did Chiron just say to Diana about what ifs and them driving you mad?" Valerie said as she put a hand on Jay's shoulder. "We can still fix this, somehow."
"How do you know?" Jay said, "Cronus could literally do just about anything with that Flame now that he has its full power and we wouldn't be able to stop him."
"I just have faith," Valerie said before she turned around and started walking towards the group again. "Now come on. We need to start planning like you suggested."
"I guess you're right," Jay said as he followed. "Alright...Game time."
"Another unsuccessful attempt," Cronus said as he watched the end of his Dark Olympian Rangers on the blue flame screen before it snuffed out, "but my plan is still on track."
"Father!" Hades shouted as the double doors flew open, allowing the god of the Underworld into the room. "I've been looking for you! I know you're creating evil Rangers, but I don't know why you wouldn't just create an army. Why is that? Why not create 1000 Gold and Silver Rangers instead of two? Why not…"
"I think I've had enough of your questions and crazy plans," Cronus said as he fired a dark-golden energy beam at Hades and lifted him up with the energy.
"Father, what are you doing?" Hades asked, a bit frantic from the surprise attack. "Put me down!"
"I think not," Cronus said as he stood up and created a dark-golden portal in front of him and the floating Hades. Cronus stepped through and pulled Hades in behind him.
"What have you brought me now?" Dark God Athena asked as she turned around in her seat. "Oh, hello uncle."
"This is where the gods have been never coming back from!" Hades shouted as he struggled. "What are you going to do to me?"
"Well, I found in that trial run that even similar gods won't work," Cronus said. "I need the real deal. And you are one of the 'real deal' gods I need."
"I concur," Dark God Athena said. "The main reason the Dark Olympian Rangers failed was due to the incompatibility of their powers to their bodies. Using the real god should prove much more successful."
"Where do you need him?" Cronus asked as he looked around.
"Put him in chamber 3," Dark God Athena said, "I'm already working on Apollo and Artemis now that I have the power sets created. I can work on him next."
"Help!" Hades shouted. "Someone! Help!"
"You fool," Cronus said. "Your irrational emotions drove everyone away from you. No one will be helping you now."
"What do you plan to do to me?" Hades asked, getting more frantic.
"I thought I explained that already," Cronus said. "You will become one of my new Dark Olympian Rangers as the Onyx Dark Olympian Ranger. I already have Hephaestus making special plans for your powers."
"But...those Rangers had no will of their own!" Hades said. "They were Dark Gods. You can't do this to me! We're partners!"
"You were a pawn, nothing more," Cronus said, "but now I am promoting you to a rook. Be grateful, for I am allowing you to help me create my new world. A world just like you wanted: empty of all mortals. Especially the Olympian Rangers."
Hades started to protest, but Cronus quickly moved him into a tube and pressed the button to close it. He maintained an even face as Hades screamed at the chamber closing.
"I will see you soon, Hades," Cronus said before he walked over to Dark God Athena. "Do Apollo and Artemis, then Hades. I don't care for the order after that, as long as you and Hephaestus are last."
"Understood, grandfather," Dark God Athena said as she bowed her head.
"How long will it take?" Cronus asked.
"About two and a half weeks," Dark God Athena said before she noticed the fierce look in Cronus's eye. "Some of these Ranger power sets are rather complex. I'll work as fast as I can."
"Fine," Cronus said, "you have 17 days. Get to work."
"Thank you, grandfather," Dark God Athena said with another bow of her head.
Cronus opened another dark-gold portal and stepped through back into the throne room. He sat down and snapped his fingers. Hades's throne next to his disappeared, leaving him to sit on his throne wrapped in his own thoughts and his latest plot to destroy the Olympian Rangers once and for all.
As you can see, those extra weeks did not go to waste (ok, they kind of did, but don't tell anyone). I always enjoy a review, but even a follow or a favorite goes a long way to support me and make me want to keep writing (ok, I'd keep writing anyway, but it definitely helps!). But that's enough of me rambling! I've got more chapters to write! Until next time, may the power protect you!
