~HQ~
The Rangers all gathered on the training floor with Xander. At 6 AM, the Teens weren't too thrilled about meeting Xander for a training session.
"You ready?" He asked, arming them all with two wooden rods.
"Ready," They each muttered in varying tones. Without warning, Xander charged forward swinging the sticks. Alicia and Liam jumped away from him, avoiding the strikes. Noah and Jared blocked the attacks with their own sticks and counterstruck.
However, Xander easily spun around them and knocked them to the floor. Sonia tried to use the opportunity to get a drop on her mentor, but he saw this coming and, through a series of fluid movements, easily took her down.
"Stick fighting…" Sonia muttered, getting up, "Is dumb."
"Come on, guys," Xander lightly teased, "I know you can do better than that."
The Five circled around Xander and lowered themselves into fighting positions.
"Okay," Jared grinned, "New game. Survolant!" The spell caused Xander to be tossed into the air, which caught him by surprise. "Now, guys!"
"Motus!" Alicia chanted, disarming an airborne Xander. Noah reached into his back pockets and pulled out small two pieces of paper. One piece of paper depicted a sword while the other was a rose. He concentrated his Mana and willed the pieces of paper to glow. Metallic chains erupted from the papers and wrapped around Xander.
The man landed with a thud and a loud grunt.
"Liam! Sonia!" Jared called out.
"Right!" Liam grinned while Sonia hesitantly stepped up next to him. Liam clapped his hands together and slammed them onto the floor. He willed his Mana to reshape the steel floor below Xander mold around him like a stencil, further immobilizing him.
Sonia placed her hands over Xander and hummed a few song notes. Her Mana flowed out of her hands as wisps of yellow light. However, the wisps quickly died away much to her dismay.
"Sonia!" Alicia shouted in alarm.
"I'm trying!" She called back, but she couldn't get her spell to work. Suddenly, Xander began to glow a bright green. With a cocky smile, Xander burst outward as a green shockwave, knocking the Rangers over.
The mentor floated in the air and gracefully landed on his feet. "Almost had me. I'm impressed." Ever since their Ranger Powers manifested their Active Abilities, each Ranger had naturally taken to a specific field of Spell Casting. Jared and Alicia practice Classical Magic through incantations and rituals. Noah found his calling in Symbology. Liam had a talent for Alchemical style Spell Casting while Sonia did her best to grasp the basics of "Mugic," or "Music Magic."
Xander lectured, "You all had these natural affinities from birth. Usually, you would've had your entire childhoods to develop these skills. But, since the magical bind on you has been released, you have to start from square one. My advice? Be patient with yourselves, yeah? Training's over. Get ready for school."
- Bayview Auditorium -
The Bayview High Auditorium lit up for auditions. What were these auditions for? The performing arts department was performing, "Shrek," the Broadway Musical adaptation. Sonia had waited patiently for her turn to go on stage and show the directors her stuff.
Jared, Tobias, Alicia, Noah and Liam watched in the audience.
Sonia confidently walked on stage and cleared her throat. "My name is Sonia Ford, and I am auditioning for Fiona."
She immediately started to recite lines from a chosen monologue. It was merely a minute long, and she confidently went through it. Her nuance and emotion felt real to everyone in the audience, captivating everyone. She then jumped into singing, "Suddenly Seymour," as her song of choice. She smiled as she rocked out to her song with confidence and enthusiasm. The girl from the morning training session was no longer there.
"She's killing it," Liam grinned, clasping his hands together.
Alicia smiled and nodded, "Only the best. She'll totally get this part."
Tobias told Jared, "She's gotten the lead role in every show since Middle School."
Noah smiled in agreement. He loved watching Sonia perform, enjoyed seeing her come alive as she owned the stage. He was pulled away suddenly when Jared's wristband went 's did as well, and she hid it without looking suspicious.
Jared nodded at Sonia letting her know it was okay to finish her audition. With a quick excuse to Tobias, the four Rangers took off.
"Alright…" Tobias nodded and sighed, "Leave me… again…"
-Cue Theme-
-Dark Void-
Medusa walked through the halls of the Twilight Castle and felt a pulsation in the atmosphere around her.
"What's happening?" She asked, feeling the energy wrap around her like a Boa Constrictor.
Wiseman appeared and informed her, "There has been a shift in the waves of magical energy."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, more and more creatures are to be drawn to Bayview." Wiseman then summoned a Crystal Ball between his hands. As he and Medusa stood before their king, Wiseman gazed into the ball. "The flow of magical energy is growing. These currents of energy are causing… some sort of disturbance in Space-Time. What this could mean for us, I cannot say."
Roxas asked, "Father, what should we do?"
Phoenix proposed, "We go up and crush the humans of course! This is a perfect chance."
"No!" Cepheus replied with a start. He relaxed in his chair and stated, "We'll simply wait and see what comes to Bayview. Creating Shadowlites and Twilight Beasts uses up a large sum of energy. It is more prudent to send specters to enhance whatever creature finds its way to the Nemeton."
"Yes, Father," Roxas bowed alongside Wiseman and Medusa.
Phoenix left with searing rage. When he was out of earshot, he said, "We'll see..."
-Bayview-
Phoenix had gone against orders and attacked the city anyway. He led a squad of Shadowlites in a procession down Main Street. He laughed in glee as he let off Fireballs that blew up whatever he pleased.
"Stop right there, Phoenix!" Jared called out as he and three of his teammates arrived.
"Red Ranger…" Phoenix grinned, transforming into his Twilight Form. "I want to continue our battle."
"That's a lame excuse to attack the city." Noah spat, pointing at the Twilight.
"Spirit Legend, Awaken!" In a flash of lights, the four had transformed.
"Let's take them down in one shot!" Jared called out.
"Right!" The others agreed.
"Soul Fire, Ignite!"
"River Rush!"
"Hurricane Wave!"
"Earth Breaker!"
The four attacks blew up the entire fleet of Shadowlites. Phoenix flew from the smoke and summoned dual swords. He sliced forward at Jared, but he back flipped away, laughing like a maniac.
Weapons drawn, the Rangers charged. Jared clashed blades with Phoenix a few times. Moving like blurs, the two struck at each other, leaving spark trails everywhere. The two eventually parted, leaving an opening.
Alicia shot an arrow, but the Phantom leaned his head back and the projectile flew by his face. Liam swung his axe while Noah sliced down with his Staff. Jared jumped above the two and axel flipped forward, gaining momentum for his blade. Phoenix blocked all three and set himself on fire, sending flames in all directions. The four rangers were sent into a wall.
Sonia appeared and fired from her X-Defender, but Phoenix blocked the shots and sent her flying toward the other Rangers.
"You okay, Sonia?" Liam asked, helping her up.
"Yeah... sorry I'm late." She answered with a sad tone. "But I'm here now. Let's take him down."
"Our attacks aren't working!" Alicia frantically called out.
"I have a plan..."Jared breathed out, calming down.
Noah walked up to Jared and said, "Two questions. Is it risky? And will we like it?"
"Yep, and probably not," Jared replied.
"Super…"
The Rangers circled around Phoenix and fired with their X-Defenders. Phoenix sliced the beams apart with ease. Alicia then shot an arrow and struck Phoenix in the back. Noah, Sonia, and Liam slashed him with their X-Swords and held his arms.
Jared, still morphed, dematerialized the spandex on his right arm, leaving it bare. He also dematerialized his helmet and stared into Phoenix's eyes. The red symbol appeared under the two and a blue portal appeared on his sternum. Jared thrusted hard into the portal and pulled out Phoenix's True Soul.
He jumped back and into the air. The crystal structure broke apart and formed a silver rifle. He pulled the trigger and a sphere hit Phoenix. He was suddenly lifted into the air in an invisible force bubble.
Jared explained, "His 'True Soul' is an anti-gravity gun!"
Phoenix couldn't attack or move properly due to his True Soul being used against him. The shock and the fact that a piece of him was being used against him significantly slowed him down.
The five charged up their X-Swords with Mana.
"Spirit Slash!" Five slash waves were sent at Phoenix and we blew up.
"We did it!" Liam cheered.
"All right!" Noah exclaimed, high fiving his best friend.
Sonia felt a convulsion in her chest. She wrung her hands together, her eyes downcast. "They have it under control..."
Suddenly, Phoenix's voice announced, "I'm far from gone..." Phoenix appeared in his human form. "I am the immortal Phantom. The more you destroy me, the stronger I become when resurrected."
"No way," Alicia whispered in disbelief.
"Oh yes." Phoenix shot a burst at Alicia. The flames made her scream, the heat overwhelming her. She fell onto her back, making her de-morph.
"Alicia!" The others shouted in worry. Noah supersped at Phoenix with his X-Sword and clashed with him. The immortal threw him into the air and charged up more crimson fire.
Noah put his hands together. "River Rush!"
The blast of water was instantly defeated by Phoenix's fire. The attack seared Noah and made him drop. He de-morphed as soon as he hit the ground.
Phoenix looked at the remaining three. "You're next." He sent another wave and Liam raised his barrier.
He was able to block all the attacks. But, the Phantom jumped over him and drove his swords into the top, shattering it. He sliced at Liam and caused him to fall where he stood. He de-morphed at Phoenix's feet. Sonia fired her X-Defender, but Phoenix dodged them all. He sent the Yellow Ranger into a wall, but she was still morphed.
"Now it's just us," Phoenix commented, his tone indicating an unseeable smirk.
"Fine," Jared plainly said, gripping his weapons.
The two fire warriors entered a heated battle, fire flying in all directions.
-HQ-
Dr. Bly, Rachel, and Devon entered HQ, looking on as Jared fought with Phoenix.
"We've got to do something," Rachel commented, wringing her hands together.
Devon remarked, "I know this is important, but I'm totally gonna fail my Geometry test tomorrow. Anyways, Phoenix isn't in our database here. Can you check the Destiny Book?"
"I can try," Rachel nodded, going up to the pedestal that held the Gordon Family's tome. However, before she could touch it, it opened on its own.
"What the-"
"Yeah," Devon casually stated, "Jared said it sometimes opens itself."
Dr. Bly studied the book and said, "If the tome is acting on its own accord, it usually means something important."
A page illustrated by one of Jared's ancestors, who had power of premonition, depicted the Legend Rangers fighting alongside hundreds of armored warriors.
"What does this mean?" Rachel shook her head. "This… isn't gonna help us."
"I'm not familiar," Dr. Bly admitted.
"I'll explain," Came a soft voice. A black cat landed next to her.
Xander's face lit up. "Raven!"
"Yes, Xander, long time no see." The Cat nodded, landing on a table.
"But how?" Rachel asked, "And why do you look like that?"
"Never mind the how and why. Just listen..."
~Jared Vs Phoenix~
The two fought with equal intensity. Phoenix sent a wave of crimson fire at Jared, but the Slayer countered with his own flames.
Sonia wanted to help, but she felt useless. Suddenly, a roar was heard coming from the sky. She heard a growl and turned around. Purple energy swirled around and formed a monster.
"What's this feeling?" Sonia whispered to herself. She felt tons of pressure weigh down on her body, as if she were suffocating. Suddenly, a black cloud appeared and combined with the monster. (A/N:Look up Parallelmon)
"What?" Her vision blurred and she found herself on the ground, watching the monster attack Jared.
"What is that?" Jared asked, jumping over the monster's many arms. And kicked it away.
Phoenix was going to strike, but another voice screamed with rage, "PHOENIX!"
"Lord Cepheus?!" Dark smoke surrounded the Phantom as he struggled. Everything seemed to have stopped for the Rangers. They all looked on, feeling chills run down their spines as the very air seemed thick, heavy, and… evil.
"Whatever that thing is, we have to stop it quickly. You good to go, Sonia?" Jared asked.
"Yeah..." She replied, standing up.
The two charged forward. Jared sent a punch, but the monster caught the attack and tossed the ranger aside. Sonia jumped into the air with her X-Defender and X-Sword. She fired away, her rounds being blocked. She landed and sent slash after slash, but her attacks weren't cutting it. The monster fired lasers from its eyes and sent Sonia flying back.
"Soul Fire, Ignite!" Jared's flames roared at the Monster, but it shot a tendril out. It extinguished the flames and wrapped around Jared.
The Slayer felt his energy being sapped out of him. "They're taking my energy!"
"Jared!" Noah coughed, "No!"
Sonia stood by, her legs shaking. "What do I do? I..."
Before anyone could react, Alicia sprinted forward with her X-Defender and slashed the monster in the back, making it drop Jared to the ground. Crying out in pain, it disappeared in a swirl of black clouds.
"Thanks, Ali." Jared nodded, de-morphing.
"Least I could do..." Alicia trailed off. She de-morphed as well, but she began to sway in place. Losing vision, she fell forward into Jared's grasp. "You alright?"
"I... I'm just tired."
-HQ-
Dr. Bly explained, "Things are changing. The force that dragged Phoenix back to the Void was King Cepehues himself."
"He was wicked scary," Liam shuddered at the memory.
"And that monster is one of his personal puppets. It was created within the Void, so there's no data on it. However, we did find this." He opened the Destiny Book to the page one of Jared's ancestors drew out with her abilities. "I got a tip from a friend… The circumstance has shifted."
Xander cast a spell, causing a projection to open up, floating above the open floor. It was a map of Bayview in its entirety. However, superimposed on the map were trails of green light.
"These green trails are known as 'Telluric Currents,' they're geomagnetic currents of energy that flow through and around the world. Due to Bayview's special properties, more Currents gather here than usual. This, combined with the Nemeton's power, is causing a rift in Space-Time."
"So what does this page mean?" Alicia asked, tapping the book.
"The tip I got was a small one," Xander replied, "It spells out some sort of change. What is it, I'm not sure yet."
The Rangers took turns mulling it over, but they couldn't figure it out at all. Sonia, realizing the time, quietly snuck off.
-Bayview High-
"I'm sorry Sonia, but you left too early. The callbacks have been announced and you didn't make them," Said Sonia's Director.
"But I-"
"No buts... Maybe next time."
Sonia walked through the halls with a dejected look on her face. Tobias saw her from the computer lab and walked to the door. The girl barely noticed him. He wanted to say something, but Sonia's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Sonia? Hey, it's Uncle Pete!"
"Hi, Uncle Pete! How are you?"
"Everything's fine. Are you at school right now?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I want to talk to you about something exciting. I'm outside right now." With bubbling joy, Sonia ran for the doors. Her uncle was a famous actor and musician who lived in Hollywood. He barely had time to visit.
Sonia saw her uncle and hugged him. He was her Father's brother, and had the same hair color and eyes.
"How've you been?" He asked.
"Everything's been great."
"So Uncle Pete, what'd you want to talk about?"
"You're still aspiring to be an actress, right?"
"Yeah, that's not going away anytime soon."
"Then how would you feel if I asked you to come back with me to Hollywood and go to their famous arts school?"
Sonia's insides burst with excitement. "That'd be great!" Then, her conflicting ranger duties echoed inside her head. "But I... How long do I have to decide?"
"I can give you until tomorrow if you want."
"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Uncle Pete."
-Later that Day-
Alicia caught up with her best friend, wanting to spend time with her. After hearing her friend's predicament, she wanted to get Sonia's mind off the offer. To do so, Alicia took Sonia around the City, doing all her favorite things including eating Frozen Yogurt, taking a walk in the park, and visiting animal shelters. Sonia wasn't amused at all.
She thought to herself, "I can't do this, any of it."
It didn't take long for Sonia to say, "Okay, enough!"
"What?"
"Why are we messing around?"
"It's called 'taking it easy.' It's good for the nerves." Alicia explained delicately.
"Easy? My Ranger duties are costing me everything! My life, my future, all of it! And you should understand, but… but we're wasting time doing all this!"
Alicia frowned and crossed her arms. "Sonia..."
"I'm just gonna go with my Uncle. The others would be fine without me. Besides, I'm the only one who hasn't gained control over any of my powers anyway!" Without another word, Sonia ran off down the street.
"Wait! The Spirit of Lightning chose you for a reason!" Alicia called after her friend, but to no avail. However, the beeping of their wristbands stopped them both.
-Dark Void-
"Phoenix, what'd I say about leaving?!" Cepheus roared in anger. His dark powers pulsated from him, gripping all his subjects in fear.
"I only-"
"No excuses! Your act caused a larger flux in the energy currents. One of my own personal Phantoms has gone off the grid. I cannot bring it back here! Do you know what this means?!"
"Sir, I-"
"If it continues to attack, it will cause a bigger disturbance! Numerous worlds continue to collide, and everything will be obliterated! Including us!"
Medusa said, "My Lord, could your Phantom destroy the Rangers? I believe that if it does, we can regain control of it and bring it back here. We could then wait out the current's flow until it normalises."
"A good thought, Medusa." Cepheus replied, fiddling with a pendant around his neck. "Let us sit back and watch."
-Later that Night-
It was around sunset when the storm clouds gathered. This new creature roared at it. Sonia and Alicia were closest to the monster's location, which was on the beach.
"Stop!" Alicia shouted, raising her Morpher.
The monster roared and raised its claws. It bared its teeth, ready to take the girls down.
"Spirit Legend, Awaken!"
Alicia summoned her bow and took a few shots, nailing them monster in the shoulders, paralyzing the arms. "Thank you, Dr. Bly," Alicia whispered in gratitude.
Sonia rapidly fired with her X-Defender. The multiple blasts were either blocked or evaded. The hybrid recovered from both attacks and extended its left arm like a cable to smack Sonia away.
"Sonia!" Alicia shouted, firing more arrows to knock the monster off balance.
Sonia watched as Alicia never gave up, even though she was clearly out matched in strength.
Sonia then echoed Alicia's words, "The Spirit of Lightning chose me for a reason..."
As Legend Yellow stood up, Alicia was smacked toward her.
"Are you okay, Alicia?"
"Yeah… It'll take more than that to take me out."
"You won't win, you creep." Sonia said. "It's clear now. I know what I have to do." She raised her arms to the sky. "Lightning, hear me now!" The skies started to roar with thunderclaps. "I won't worry about the future! I'll do what I can do now!" A bolt of Lightning soared down and struck her hands.
"Lightning Crash!" Sonia generated her own Lightning and sent both bolts at the creature, electrifying it.
"Sonia!" The others arrived in time to see the attack.
"That was amazing!" Liam exclaimed.
Jared high-fived her, "I knew you had it in you."
"Thanks, guys."
"Let's finish this." Noah said materializing the Legend Burst Cannon.
"Legend Burst Cannon, Final Strike!"
The two attacks destroyed the creature, but Wiseman was watching from the other side. He sent the millions of orbs once again, causing the creature to grow to skyscraper size.
"Legend Mechazords!"
The cockpit to each zord looked like the PR Samurai cockpits, except the pedestals resembled the Wild Force pedestals.
The Lion and Wolf jumped into the air and struck the creature back. The Rabbit Zord kicked the creature toward the Gorilla who punched it in the air. The phoenix came down and struck the monster.
The hybrid got up with ease and fired lasers from its eyes, hitting all the zords.
"Out attacks aren't working!" Liam said.
"What're we gonna do?" Noah asked.
Suddenly, Rachel's voice came through. "Rangers, now that you've all established your elemental connections, you can form the Megazord!"
"The Megazord?" Alicia asked.
"Let's do it!" Sonia said.
"Alright! Legend Combination!'
The Lion Mechazord converted to Warrior Mode but its legs did not come down all the way. The Gorilla Zord twisted itself and formed the waist and legs. The Wolf and Rabbit zords folded their legs in. The wolf head and rabbit head pushed back on to the top of their respective bodies.
Black hands emerged from where the heads used to be. The Phoenix made its wings widen and attached itself to the back of the Lion parts. The Gorilla Zord chest plates attached themselves to the Lion Zord chest, fitting like pieces around the Lion Head. The Phoenix tail feathers flew to the head and formed a new mask. The golden feathers pointed up, resembling a crown.
"Rise up! Legend King Megazord!"
The Rangers teleported to a shared cockpit. The Cockpit was a bright, shining room. Each Ranger stood on a pedestal and controlled the Megazord through the use of a pedestal. Each pedestal held a small Tome that corresponded to the color of a single Ranger.
The Hybrid charged forward, letting out a titanic roar.
The Rangers looked at their tomes and saw that each was open to the same page. The page was written in the language of the Mystics, which they could instinctively understand.
"This controls movement," Jared noticed. Using their minds, they were able to control the Megazord through the tomes as a team.
Legend King left hooked the creature away. Noah's Tome flipped itself to a pair of pages that depicted the Wolf Zord's numerous functions. "I like this," Noah grinned, causing the Wolf zord arm to sprout its cannons.
"Wolf Assault!" Blue projectiles with lots of power struck the creature over and over.
"Let's take him down!" Jared ordered.
"Right!"
Together, the Rangers willed Legend King to fly high into the air. The pages of their tomes flipped to a page that depicted the Zord's final attack. When they focused their Mana into the pages, the entire room began to glow with rainbow light.
"Legend Mecha Sword!" A black hilted sword with a silver blade appeared in the right hand.
"Target locked!" Alicia announced.
"Mana, fully charged!" Noah informed.
"Leg boosters and Phoenix wings ready!" Liam said.
"We're ready for top speed!" Sonia said.
"Right!" Jared said, "Let's do it!."
"Mystic Legend Slash!" The LKM dive bombed forward. Speed cones could be seen around the Zord as it broke the sound barrier.
The sword glowed a bright gold. The zord sliced through the Creature, destroying it.
"We did it!" Sonia jumped to Alicia and hugged her. "We really did it!"
-The Next Day-
"So, you turned down your Uncle's offer?" Alicia asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I decided to stay here."
Tobias said, "But this is your dream, Sonia. Hollywood Arts is like, the best of the best."
"I know... but I think I can wait for a little while longer."
Sonia was going to say something else, but her director approached.
"Sonia, may I speak to you?"
"Sure."
"Caroline is sick and can't audition for Patrice. Would you mind taking her place in the callbacks?"
"I'd love to!"
"Thanks so much, dear." The Director walked away while brushing her hair over her shoulder.
Sonia walked back to her friends feeling overjoyed and triumphant.
"We're so proud of you!" Everyone hugged Sonia.
Tobias said, "Wait, wait! Let's celebrate somewhere! Let me grab my wallet!" The boy sprinted away with glee.
"And that's not all the good news, guys," Sonia whispered with a wink. She hummed a few notes and willed a few flowers to levitate from the ground and float around her hand.
Noah smiled, "You cracked it!"
"Better watch out," Sonia teased, "I'm coming for you guys."
Jared smiled at his teammate, but then felt a cold chill. It was a familiar chill, one he hadn't felt in over a year.
An especially powerful Vampire was observing from the Shadows. "Soon..." He said, his eyes glowing a malevolent crimson.
~Downtown~
The Rangers and Tobias walked down a busy street, taking the night off. They walked into a small restaurant and took a booth. Tobias looked around at his friends pensively.
"Hey Toby," Jared smiled, "You alright?"
Tobias shrugged, "Same old, same old... Well, aside from the weird stuff going on these past few weeks. I'd say things have been a bit... Supernatural." The Rangers froze up, and stared nervously at their teammate.
Tobias set his phone down on the table for all the Rangers to see. He opened up an internet page and showed them a document he had written. It had pages upon pages of folklore, the Supernatural, and the like. "You guys... have some explaining to do."
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