Magi Ranger
By: Tenstar12
AN: First things first. I want to give a shout out to ShadowXV. They have been invaluable to the creation of my Season 2 plotline, acting as a sounding board and helping with the development of many ideas. I salute you, my friend.
Editing of the First 39 chapters has been finished. Nothing super crazy really changed other than the removal of extra AN's and fleshing out the scene at the end of the previous chapter. Those interested in reading a more detailed version of Tommy's aftermath can return to Chapter 39 and search for "The Rangers left the park shortly after the band finished playing."
And now, on to what you've been waiting for.
I take you back, my morphinominal readers, to July of 1994, or at least those of you old enough to have been alive and aware then. Back when all of us young Power Rangers fans were excited over the next big thing: Power Rangers Prime Time! Over the course of three weeks, Saban gave us three episodes on Friday evenings that unveiled the Thunder Zords and sparked off MMPR Season 2. I, like many of you I'm sure, remember begging my parents to record it on VHS (on a tape that I probably still have around here somewhere), and getting a bit annoyed with them when they ended up recording an episode of the Simpsons before part 1. Ah… Good times… But by the Grid if Season 2 wasn't cheesy as all get out and, if possible, even harder for adults to watch than Season 1! I mean, heck, for a good part of the season, Saban was still dead set on using up the last of his Zyu 2 footage, so the Thunder Megazord never actually appeared on screen with the monster it was fighting. If you think there's a scene in the first bit of the season where they do, you're probably wrong. I found multiple instances where the Gen 1 megazord was hidden behind sparks and smoke and several more where it was a different monster hidden similarly on screen with the Thunder Megazord… *sigh* Anyway ladies and gents, it's time to get Season 2 started! Back to Action!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Power Rangers.
Chapter 40, or A New Evil…
Peaceful days were rather rare in Angel Grove.
Granted, this was to be expected when there was a vengeful space witch that had set her sights on the city for some reason unknown to the average citizen, but the fact remains.
One might think that people would allow themselves to relax a bit between attacks, for they weren't at all regular or predictable, and indeed that was the case for some time. After the first several attacks however, when the phenomenon was established to be more than a fluke, even the most relaxed of individuals couldn't help but stay tense. For most people who regularly walked the streets of the coastal city in California, there was a constant sense of unease. Stress permeated most people's day no matter what they were doing even through the general aura of happiness that also permeated them. Even though the Power Rangers were there to protect them, and nobody had technically been hurt since the battles really began, the constant worry had become a factor in everyone's life.
After the first few months though, most people adapted. Yes, there were always those few who were doomsaying every moment of every day. There were those who let the stress get to them and gave up hope. Yet many, many more had learned to live with the stress and make the best of the day when they could. Go out with their families when the weather allowed, typically to Angel Grove's massive park; enjoy the little things and generally live life to the fullest they could. So even though there was the constant threat of attack, the average citizen of Angel Grove had adjusted and they were actually happier for it.
And no matter what their outlook on things, everyone always celebrated each and every Power Ranger victory. And so despite the lack of peaceful days, the people of Angel Grove were largely content.
At least when a giant monster didn't stomp on their car or whatever.
Such also became the norm for the Power Rangers themselves. Not knowing just when exactly they would be called to battle, the five teens that made up the core Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, along with the Magi Ranger, Harry Potter, had learned to enjoy themselves and relax whenever the opportunity came up. Whether it be through practicing their physical activity of choice, be it martial arts, dancing, gymnastics, or what have you, or by just hanging out around the Youth Center or park.
Every once in a while, these activities took a different form, such as the current situation.
Trini and Harry were having a picnic.
It was an uncharacteristically warm day for Angel Grove in late January, with the high resting around seventy degrees, and everyone was taking advantage of it as they could. As such, the park was rather full, making it difficult for the two Rangers to find even a slightly secluded spot for their date, but they did what they could to block out the sounds of the people around them as they sat together beneath one of the large trees that dotted the park.
This particular tree was on a recently finished area of the park on the opposite side of the lake from the entrance, and was situated on a hillside with a winding paved path going down it. The gentle slope of the path had attracted many a biker and roller-blader and several people could be seen coasting down the hill, simply enjoying themselves.
Harry and Trini just enjoyed their moment and stared out over the lake, watching the sunlight glisten off the water. They had finished their meal more than an hour ago, but were too relaxed to even try to move, sitting as they were in what had become their normal position with Trini tucked up to Harry's side and his arm over her shoulders.
A few days after the Rangers had thwarted Rita's most recent attack and chased her once more off the Earth, Zordon had called them to the Command Center. The overall air had been fairly light, if a bit somber as Tommy's absence was once more felt as the Rangers gathered together again in the Command Center for the first time since he lost his Powers. It wasn't as though they hadn't seen the teen at all, as Zack had put it, they all still went to the same school, but Tommy had been spending a bit of time by himself. He claimed he just needed a few days to deal with no longer being a part of the team, but at the very least he hadn't blocked Kimberly out or rescheduled his Karate lessons with Harry, so the team was overall confident that he would be alright. All the same, the reality of the entire situation was still made that much more prominent now that the Rangers were all gathered in their headquarters again.
The group were drawn out of the doldrums, however, when Zordon began speaking. "Rangers… in the wake of Rita's most recent attack, I have done some thinking. Some time ago, Harry shared with us his history and made a point about purely reactionary tactics not working well. Since then, I have considered his words carefully…"
The Rangers' attention was firmly seated on Zordon at this point, aside from a few glances at Harry when he was mentioned. What the wizened sage was speaking of was a potential change in the norm for the Rangers. Not something to take lightly.
"I have come to the conclusion that Harry has a valid point," Zordon continued after a momentary pause to gather himself. "If we ever want to finish this fight and ensure the safety of Angel Grove and the Focal Point, plans must be made to engage Rita directly on the Moon. She must be defeated once and for all and we cannot hope to do that so long as we continue to wait and defeat her monsters and schemes on her terms."
Jason quickly stepped forward. "But Zordon, what about the oaths?"
Zack backed his friend up just as fast. "Yeah, won't taking the offensive like that count as escalation and cost us our powers?"
After the other Mighty Morphin Rangers had voiced their agreement while Harry merely stood silently to one side, Zordon answered the question. "I have meditated on this very topic for these last few days. My conclusion, one that is supported by the Morphing Grid, is that Rita's actions in her most recent attack, specifically bringing her palace to Angel Grove, warrant an equal response. This means that we can take the fight to Rita without risking violating the rule against escalation that was set into the Mighty Morphin Power when I negotiated for its creation."
For a moment, the Command Center was silent aside from the constant beeping of the computers and other electronic noises. Then, when Zordon's word's fully processed in the Rangers' minds they each reacted. Jason and Zack almost immediately began smiling, both eager to strike back properly at Rita. Kimberly and Trini looked rather worried, perhaps not entirely enthusiastic with the plan, but more than determined to go along with it, if only to protect those close to them. Billy looked absolutely ecstatic, though if Harry were to guess, it was more because of the chance to go into space than anything regarding the battle to come.
Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Zordon had gone over his theory with him just after the battle against Cyclopsis ended. He was actually rather surprised that the wizard had waited so long to share it with the rest of the Rangers. Though having had to commune with the Grid to make absolutely sure there wouldn't be any unforeseen consequences was a very likely explanation.
"So when are we gonna do this, Zordon?" Zack asked, near dancing in place in his excitement.
Zordon merely smiled at the Ranger's exuberance. "You will have to contain yourself for several more days, Zack. I will need time to plan and prepare before we can launch such an assault on Rita's palace on the moon. Not the least obstacle being getting you all to the moon in the first place." Zordon's eyes swept over the six teens before him before nodding. "In the meantime, I ask that you all ready yourselves as best as you can. I shall inform you when preparations have been made."
This had been a few days before. While Zordon was making said preparations, mostly involving stockpiling an absolutely massive amount of Power to the point that Harry almost preferred to stay away from the Command Center as of late to avoid the constant buzzing of his senses, the Rangers had been set to do the same as best they could.
For Jason and Zack, this meant practicing and fine tuning their fighting forms while helping Billy do the same. Kimberly and Trini had done much the same, but not with the same intensity as the other three had, mostly focusing on flexibility and gymnastics in Kimberly's case while Trini practiced her Kung Fu.
All fit in around going to school, of course
Harry had, much like Zordon, gathered as much Power as he could and finding that his capacity had actually increased markedly after synching himself with the other Rangers' Zords during the battle with Cyclopsis. The problem was that he still met his maximum capacity very quickly, a direct result of the short time he had been able to use the Grid's Power, and so Harry found himself merely returning to his regular schedule with his regular magical and karate exercises fairly soon.
But today, Saturday, January 29th and exactly one week after Rita kidnapped the citizens of Angel Grove and unleashed Cyclopsis, was to be a day of rest and recovery before the attack was made the next day. The Rangers had all set aside their practice and preparations and effectively took the day off so as to have the best chance of success in what might be the final battle in the war between Rita and Zordon.
Thus Harry and Trini on a picnic.
It's too bad it just wasn't to be…
-MR-
"Harry…" Trini said suddenly, breaking the pleasant silence. "Do… do you think we can do this? I mean… Can we win?"
Harry turned slightly to face his girlfriend. Based on the tension on her face, this was probably something that had been running through her head for a while. He smiled at her reassuringly. "Trini, I believe that we can. We've faced off against everything Rita has had to offer time after time and she won't be expecting an assault on her home turf. We'll be catching her completely off guard, much like she always has with us. On top of that, Zordon says it will take a lot more time for her to recover her strength after her last scheme. We've got this."
Harry squeezed her a bit tighter. "Now I'm not saying it won't be a tough battle. If nothing else there will probably be a bunch of putties there to deal with, not to mention Goldar and Scorpina, but we've always handled them before too. It's like Zordon says, have faith in the Power and let it guide and protect you and we can't help but succeed."
Trini giggled slightly before poking his side, making the Magi Ranger squirm and quickly bringing about a brief tickle fight.
The moment of levity was broken by a crack of thunder erupting through the sky overhead, making Harry, Trini, and pretty much everyone else in the park jump and cry out in surprise.
Shortly afterward, several people began shouting and pointing upward, letting out further exclamations of fright.
Harry and Trini exchanged a glance before quickly scrambling to their feet and out from under the cover of their shade tree. What they saw when they emerged shook them to their core.
Far above them, floating in the sky over Angel Grove, was a fear inspiring figure. The only thing visible was the chest up, but that was more than fearsome enough. Its skin was largely a deep, blood red color with lines of silvery metal running atop the muscled surface over the sternum and ribs and up over top of the shoulders to the back. The face was a mask of that same metal forming a grill where the mouth and nose would be with fully the upper half of the face being taken up by a red visor, again outlined by the metal. From the center of what would have been the figure's forehead, a silvery spike jutted up, only partially obscuring the view of what looked like the figure's exposed brain at the top of its head.
And then the figure spoke in a deep, gravelly voice that seemed to shake the very earth beneath Harry's feet. "Attention, citizens of Angel Grove. I am Lord Zedd, ruler over all that I see. If you thought that Rita Repulsa was the epitome of evil, then you're in for a nasty surprise. I hereby claim ownership over your city and your pathetic planet. You are ordered to vacate the city of Angel Grove or face total annihilation!" The figure, Lord Zedd, let loose with a laugh that sent a shiver down Harry's spine, along with those of several other nearby people if he were to guess.
Harry shot another glance at Trini, meeting her eyes before both nodded firmly. A quick glance around showed that everyone's eyes were riveted onto the sky where the image of Lord Zedd continued to stare down at the city. Taking advantage of the situation, Harry shrunk their picnic supplies quickly before taking Trini's hand and running with her to find a secluded place. They needed to get to the Command Center as quickly as possible.
It seems as though the situation may have changed rather drastically.
-MR-
Harry and Trini were actually the last to arrive at the Command Center, teleporting in to find the other four Rangers all talking loudly over each other. Apparently, they had all been at the Youth Center and so had only clearly heard the tail end of Lord Zedd's message by the time they were able to get outside.
Zordon, seeing that the final two Rangers had arrived, almost immediately spoke up. "Please, Rangers, now that the last of your number have arrived, the time for explanations is here."
Jason, predictably, stepped up to the front of the group again. "Who was that guy, Zordon? What's going on?"
"That, Jason, is the sum of my fears coming true," Zordon answered, a hint of regret in his voice. "I had hoped that you would never have to hear of, much less face off against Lord Zedd, but circumstances make that unavoidable now."
"Yeah, but who is he?" Zack said with a certain unease in his voice when Zordon seemed unable to continue.
Zordon sighed. It was rather clear to them all that he was worried. "Lord Zedd is the ruler of an Empire of Evil that spans across a substantial portion of the known universe. He is a Grid Magic user of great power and skill. He is also, ultimately, Rita's immediate superior."
"Say what now?!" Zack exclaimed, stepping back in surprise, an emotion shared by all the humans in the room. "Rita has a boss?"
Zordon nodded. "Yes, Zack. Rita is a general in Zedd's Empire of Evil who was set against me by Zedd himself long ago. Lord Zedd is the true villain I was facing, but Rita proved to be a substantial obstacle, too much of one as it turned out."
"You said that Zedd is a Grid user…" Kimberly asked in the silence that followed Zordon's statement. "Do you mean like you, Rita, and Harry?"
"Yes, Kimberly." Zordon replied, seemingly relieved to change the subject, even if only slightly. "Zedd is a being who has experimented for many thousands of years in the use of Grid Power. Indeed, his own form is the result of his experiments and is the reason he is still alive after more than ten thousand years. He has found a way to grant himself immortality, even if that meant sacrificing his original body in order to do so."
The Rangers were taken aback by the thought. Zedd had willingly turned himself into what looked like something out of a horror film in order to avoid death. Harry just shrugged it off. Voldemort had done something similar in his old world, sacrificing the reportedly good looks of Tom Riddle to become the snakelike Voldemort that Harry had known, all in the name of eternal life.
"In addition to this," Zordon continued. "Zedd's Power is not one to be trifled with. All Grid Magic practitioners have a specialization, a style of Grid Magic that comes to them easier and more powerfully than others. Rita specialized in magics of destruction and ritual magics. I specialize in illusions and stealth. Harry will one day specialize in kinetic magics. Lord Zedd specializes in magics of transmutation."
"Magics of change?" Billy asked. "How would that serve as a threat?"
"It is not so much the nature of the specialization that brings the threat, Billy," Zordon responded. "It is in how Lord Zedd has trained himself to use that specialization. It is the key to his success as an Emperor of Evil. Zedd has trained himself to use these magics of Transmutation to create monsters from anything he chooses. And because these magics fall into his specialization, the monsters he creates will be more powerful than any you have faced so far."
There was only silence from the humans in the room as they processed Zordon's words. A new, even more powerful villain to face in place of the old? It was quite a bit to take in.
"But wait," Jason said suddenly. "What about Rita? What about the plan to take her out once and for all?"
Zordon sighed again. "I'm afraid that, in light of the current circumstances, the attack on Rita's palace will have to be delayed indefinitely. I cannot condone such an attack with Lord Zedd now making his own play for Earth's Grid Focal Point. Especially since it is quite likely that Lord Zedd has taken over Rita's palace as his own. We don't know when he will begin his attack, so we must be wary."
As if the words were prophetic, the Command Center's alarms began going off almost immediately. Alpha was the first to react, true to form. "Ai yai yai yai yai! Zordon! Rangers! The computer's sensors have picked up a disturbance in Angel Grove."
Zordon nodded firmly. "Then Lord Zedd's attack has begun. Rangers, observe the Viewing Globe."
Moving quickly, though none quicker than Jason as he wove through his team to once more stand at the front of the group now facing the globing orb, the six Rangers gathered opposite Zordon to see what new threat they would be facing this time. What they saw instead was a house in a suburb, presumably nearby Angel Grove.
"Uh… Zordon…" Harry started, "What exactly-" Harry's words were cut off when a bolt of lightning arced through the air before curving sharply and entering the house through a window. Mere moments later, a fish monster of some kind busted down the front door of the house, accompanied by screaming that was probably from the house's owner, and ran off down the street.
The monster wasn't anything special really, basically just looking like a big fish head with a humanoid torso, arms, and legs. Its feet were a deep green, but the rest of it was largely grey with a while belly and some pink or red on the tips of the multiple fins that protruded from its form.
When the image in the Viewing Globe faded, the Rangers turned back to Zordon. "Unfortunately, Rangers, there is little I can tell you about Zedd's first monster."
"Huh?" Kimberly said, quirking her head to one side. "Why's that Zordon? You always had a whole list of things to tell us about Rita's monsters…"
"That is because Rita didn't make her monsters herself, Kimberly." Zordon said solemnly. "Rita's monsters were created by a being known as Finster. He is an alien that is from a race known through the universe for their sculpting ability. Finster uses his skill, along with a machine known as the Monster-Matic, to create Rita's monsters that she then empowered as she saw fit, though she was unable to change their base nature. The monsters created by Finster had been used by Rita in the past, and indeed had been created by many others of Finster's race over the millennia, so a great deal is known about them and their weaknesses."
"But Lord Zedd makes his monsters himself," Billy surmised, drawing everyone's attention to him. "So you don't already have information about them since each one is new."
"Indeed it is so, Billy," Zordon replied, nodding again. "And the fact that Lord Zedd can choose how he designs the various powers and abilities of each monster makes them even more unpredictable. Even if he were to create the same monster more than once, there could be no guarantee that it would have the same strengths and weaknesses as when last it was fought. Alpha and I will do what we can to modify the Command Center's sensors to help us learn about Zedd's monsters faster, but for now you will all have to do your best in the battle to come. Be vigilant, Rangers, and let the Power protect you."
Jason nodded before turning to face the other five. "Alright guys, let's go show this oversized tuna what the Power Rangers can do!"
"Right!"
Harry just sighed. The increased amount of Power within him had led to him joining the other Rangers in their chant and then squaring up with the others as they prepared to morph. He would never get used to this…
"It's Morphin' Time!"
"MASTODON!" "PTERODACTYL!" "TRICERATOPS!" "SABER-TOOTH TIGER!" "TYRANNOSAURUS!" "MAGI RANGER, POWER UP!"
-MR-
After their post-morph teleportation, the Rangers found themselves standing in the middle of a street running through a suburb. And there, a mere twenty or so feet from them was the fish monster Zedd had created.
"Oh ho!" the monster chirped in a surprisingly peppy sounding voice. "It looks like the Power Rangers have already decided to show themselves! This should be fun!"
"We'll see how much fun you're having once we're through with you, fish face!" Jason taunted as he took a fighting stance.
"Does anyone else find it odd that the fish already knows who we are?" Harry asked, manifesting the Magi Staff and taking his own stance as he did.
"Let's just not worry about that right now, Harry," Trini cautioned, sounding rather exasperated with him. "Let's focus on the monster instead, ok?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sorry."
"Alright, guys," Jason shouted, apparently ignoring Harry and Trini's conversation. "Let's do it!"
And so the Red Ranger led the charge.
As soon as Jason reached the monster, leading with a flying kick, the first problem was made apparent. Jason's kick did absolutely nothing to the monster. No sparks, no stumbling backwards, no reaction at all. In fact, the only thing that happened was that Jason himself ended up falling to the ground on his back in his surprise from the lack of reaction from the monster.
The other Rangers halted their charges and leapt back a bit, regaining some distance upon seeing Jason's general failure to have much effect.
"Was that it?" the monster asked, idly scratching at one side of its giant head with its right hand. "Then I guess it's my turn!" The fish then lifted up one foot in an attempt to stomp Jason into the pavement. It was an attack that Jason was able to roll away from, if only barely, leaving the monster to drive its foot several inches into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Oh man!" Zack shouted. "This guy is strong!"
"Yeah, no kidding," Jason replied as he rejoined the other Rangers while the monster seemed content to watch them in silence.
"Weapons, do you think?" Harry suggested, brandishing his own staff slightly as he did so.
Jason looked in his direction before nodding. "Right, weapons everyone! Let's go!"
Jason summoned up his Power Sword in a flash of red light before once again leading the charge, the other Rangers following with their own weapons appearing in hand.
This time the fish met them partway. Using its forearm to block Jason's sword, although there were some sparks this time to show some damage was done, the monster then drove its other fist into Jason's chest, knocking the Red Ranger back in a much larger shower of sparks.
It then ducked under a sweep from Billy's lance and sidestepped an attack from Zack before knocking them away as well. Kimberly and Trini didn't even get the chance to make an attack as the fish leapt into the air and toward them, meeting them with a pair of kicks that knocked them off their feet and leaving Harry the last Ranger standing.
"So…" the fish drawled, still in its annoyingly perky sounding voice. "You must be the Magi Ranger then, right? I hope you're more of a challenge than those other five were."
Said five were slowly climbing to their feet after the surprisingly hard hits from the fish monster, but Harry put them out of his mind as he summoned up his magic and Power. "Well, I suppose we'll have to see how we match up, won't we?"
With a burst of Power, Harry launched a fireball from the Magi Staff straight toward the fish. The monster merely crossed its arms before it, weathering the attack like it was nothing, but found itself completely unprepared for the follow-up fire whip that wrapped around it and bound it tightly.
Harry kept the fire whip fed with magic, increasing the intensity of the flames until he finally overcame the monster's thick skin, resulting in a steady stream of sparks falling off. "Hey guys," Harry called as the monster began struggling and crying out in pain, though with the interspersed laughter it was hard to tell. "Any help would be appreciated. Hit him hard and fast and we might be able to end this quick!"
There was a heartbeat's pause before Jason spoke. "Right! Guys, let's bring them together!"
"Right!"
"POWER AXE!" "POWER BOW!" "POWER DAGGERS!" "POWER LANCE!" POWER SWORD!"
As the Rangers combined their weapons to form the Power Blaster, Harry felt the fish monster's struggles redouble. He was feeling the strain now and had to feed still more magic into the fire whip just to keep the monster from breaking free.
"POWER BLASTER!" The Mighty Morphin Rangers chanted together as they stood slightly off to one side from Harry so as to have a clear line of sight on the trapped monster. "FIRE!"
A lance of energy shot forth from the power blaster, covering the distance between the Rangers and the monster in mere moments and causing an explosion that broke Harry's concentration as the shockwave caused him to instinctively cover his helmeted face.
For a moment, there was silence…
And then the monster emerged from the smoke, slightly singed perhaps but otherwise undamaged and flying straight at Harry.
The Magi Ranger blinked before quickly summoning up a silver shield with his offhand, blocking the monster's bodily attack, but still getting knocked back and over by the momentum of the charge. Harry found himself on his back with his shield pressed into his chest and the gaping maw of the fish monster mere inches from his face, only being held back by the shield he had summoned.
"Nice try, Power Rangers, but it'll take more than that to defeat Pirantishead!"
"Bloody… freaking…" Harry cursed under his breath, struggling with all his might to heave the flailing fish monster off of him as it simultaneously tried to bite his face off with its multitude of sharp looking teeth and grab ahold of him with its arms so as to better restrain him for said biting.
"Harry!" the Magi Ranger heard the simultaneous cry from several of the other Rangers, but was too focused on not getting bitten to really respond. His left arm was pinned beneath his shield, but his right was free for the moment, flailing around a bit in an attempt to try and keep the monster from fully pinning him down. He had lost the Magi Staff in the fall, but he wasn't especially worried about that at the moment.
With a grunt of effort and a burst of Power, Harry managed to heave the shield, and thus Pirantishead, up off of him far enough to get his other arm underneath. Then high enough to tuck his legs under it too. Then, with an unseen smirk, Harry kicked up and out, amplifying the motion with a pair of wandless banishing charms to the back of the shield, and launched the fish monster high into the air where it was hit with a multitude of blasts from the other Rangers' blade blasters before falling to the ground again.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Trini asked as she and Kimberly ran over to help him up.
"Yeah man," Zack said as the other three joined them, blade blasters still in hand. "You were almost fish food there."
Harry regained his feet with only minor help from the others and summoned his staff back to his hand while nodding. "Yeah, I'm alright, but this guy's a lot tougher than anything we're used to."
"Just like Zordon warned us." Jason said with a nod of his own. "We'll just have to keep at it until he goes down!"
"Right!"
Harry resisted joining this time through sheer force of will alone, instead looking toward where the fish had landed and seeing only a shallow depression in the pavement, otherwise empty of any monster, fish or otherwise. "Uh, guys…" Harry said, pointing toward the monster's last known location. "We may have a bit of a problem here…"
"What?" Jason asked, looking frantically around. "The monster is gone!"
Just then, their communicators went off. "Rangers," Zordon called sounding rather rushed. "The monster known as Pirantishead has been teleported away by Lord Zedd." Harry felt a spark of fear go down his spine at this. He hadn't even felt a teleportation spell… Harry's senses weren't necessarily the most fine-tuned, but he had been able to feel Rita's magic all the way from the moon from time to time. Just who was this Lord Zedd?
Zordon continued speaking, bringing Harry out of his thoughts. "Our sensors have located the monster in the middle of Angel Grove Park near the lake."
"Maybe we really did hurt it and its running to its natural habitat to recuperate." Billy theorized.
"I don't know about that, Billy…" Kimberly replied, sounding as worried as her posture suggested. "Zordon said Zedd is the one who teleported it there…"
"It doesn't matter why it's there, guys, we have to go after it!" Jason near-shouted once again, prompting another round of "rights" (again sans Harry) before the six Ranger teleported once more, this time heading for the park.
-MR-
If the suburban street the Rangers first fought the monster on had been strangely deserted, the area of the park they teleported to was almost too populated. The Rangers found themselves appearing in the middle of a crowded beach to the tune of screaming and panic as the beachgoers fled what could only be Pirantishead.
"Alright, let's go guys!" Jason shouted before running off, dodging past those people who didn't automatically move out of his way.
"Right," Harry scoffed to himself as he and the others followed Jason. "Just follow the screaming. This is bringing back some bad memories…"
It didn't take more than a handful of seconds for Jason to spot the monster from the head of the pack of Rangers. "Over there guys!" he shouted, pointing toward a lifeguard tower standing near the water's edge. Atop the tower stood the Pirantishead monster, laughing as it twirled a chain of some kind in one hand, the rest of the chain stretching between its hands where it was attached to the end of what looked like a fish.
"Ah! Power Rangers," the monster taunted between chuckles. "You've found me again!"
By this time the majority of the crowd had cleared off the beach, only a few stragglers hanging behind, although those were quickly out of sight of the battle to come. "I'm getting sick of your games fish face!" Jason shouted, once more summoning his sword before leaping toward the monster.
This time, Pirantishead released the twirling end of his chain, letting the chain stretch out to meet the Ranger in midair and knocking him backwards in a shower of sparks before resuming his twirling once he recovered his weapon.
"Jason!" Billy shouted as the other Ranger gathered around their downed leader, once more with Harry keeping his eyes on the fish monster. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Jason replied as he regained his feet, clutching at a scorch mark on his chest as he did so. "I'm alright, but that guy hits really hard."
"Of course I do!" Pirantishead shouted with another laugh. "I'm one of Lord Zedd's finest creations! You Power Punks will never be able to defeat me!"
"We'll see about that! Aiyah!" Jason shouted before leaping back into battle with the other Rangers right behind him while Harry began spinning his staff to gather some extra Power.
Jason, once more at the head of the pack, once again met with the monster's fish-chain weapon and was knocked back, but Billy and Zack were able to reach the monster itself. They delivered a few strong blows with their weapons as they flew past in their jumps, knocking the monster off balance enough for Trini and Kimberly to follow behind and landing hits of their own. Pirantishead teetered for a moment before finally losing its balance and falling off the lifeguard stand.
The monster slowly pushed itself up, the sand below it not helping with its stability. "I'll make you pay for that, Power Brats!"
Harry just smirked as the monster finally regained its feet in time to see the Magi Ranger with his staff glowing brightly. "I'm in the mood for a fish fry!" Harry shouted before jabbing the Magi Staff up into the air over his head. From the end of the staff, a bolt of Grid powered lightning arced upwards before turning and racing toward the off balance fish monster.
The bolt cut through the air in a millisecond, letting out a crack of thunder that partially deafened the Rangers, and struck the monster, causing yet another explosion that kicked up a cloud of sand and smoke. As the smoke cleared, the regrouped Rangers were surprised to see that the monster was once more on its feet. Harry was at least happy to see that it hadn't recovered enough to attack again after what should have been a finishing move, but was still rather irked that it only looked slightly more scorched than before.
"Woah…" Pirantishead slurred, its hands on either side of its head as it staggered around, the chain weapon on the ground at its feet. "That was a rush…"
Then, Harry felt a rush of Power, only the slightest of a sensation, but enough to register. At the same moment, the Rangers' communicators activated again. "Rangers!" Zordon's voice came through clearly. "Back away, quickly!"
Taking their mentor's words to heart, five Rangers immediately leapt back while Harry twisted on the spot and apparated a short distance away where the others landed shortly afterward. They then saw a small mote of light come flying down from the sky above only to be caught by Pirantishead. The light faded to show some kind of grey spherical object that the monster yanked something off of before jamming it into the ground at its feet, causing an immense explosion followed by a billowing cloud of smoke.
"So…" Kimberly spoke, sounding uncertain. "Did it… did it destroy itself?"
"I dunno…" Zack said, just as unsure.
Harry just blinked. When the monster had smashed whatever Zedd had sent it, for there was no doubt as to the origin of the sphere, he had felt a massive surge of Power in the form of a spell. A spell that was very familiar by this point yet still took him a few moments to place because of the difference in delivery.
Finally, it clicked. "Guys, Dinozords, now!"
"What?" Jason asked, turning to face Harry. "Why do we need the Zords? The monster just exploded."
"Bwahahahahaha!" Pirantishead's voice echoed out from overhead, deeper and louder than before. "Where are you little Power Rangers? We're about to start the next part of our game!"
"Oh…" Jason said quietly. "Ok, so not exploded. Let's do it guys!"
"RIGHT!"
"We need Dinozord Power, now!"
"I call upon the Silver Owl Zord, HEDWIG!"
Hedwig appeared in the familiar flash of light and Harry immediately apparated to a place atop her head and began gathering more Power. –Harry/Wizard ,- Hedwig sent, -This Fishy-Thing feels different from other enemies. Is made by new enemy?-
Harry nodded, though he knew Hedwig wouldn't see. "Yeah, Hedwig. This is Zedd's first try at Angel Grove. Nothing we've done so far has been able to do more than the barest hint of damage. Even the Power Blaster wasn't enough to destroy it!"
Hedwig clacked her beak for a moment as the two soared over the now arriving Dinozords even as streaks of light indicated the Rangers teleporting into them. –Thick skin only means you have to work harder to get at the softer insides, Harry/Wizard.-
Harry chuckled for a moment at Hedwig's simple logic before nodding. "Then let's let him have it, Hedwig, Magi Ranger style!" With a short grunt, Harry brought his staff down onto the top of Hedwig's dome head where the Resurrection Stone was housed. "Begin Silver Owl Warrior Mode Transformation Sequence!"
Damn if the Grid wasn't messing with him big time today…
All the same, Harry felt himself sink down into the dome, becoming one with his familiar/Zord even as she shifted form into something more comfortable for him to inhabit. By the time the Warrior Mode had been fully formed, they stood next to the Mighty Morphin Megazord, Power Sword in hand, and faced off against Pirantishead.
"Oh boy!" The monster cheered, brandishing its now Giant chain weapon by the two metallic looking fish at either end. "I get to tear open the hard shells to get at the juicy Power Rangers inside! All the more tasty for the work!"
"Alright guys," Jason's voice echoed through Harry's head. "Let's take this guy down!"
Before the others could chime in with their grid guided response (again), Harry spoke up, directing his voice inward though so as to avoid speaking aloud and tipping off the monster, only sending his words to the other Rangers through their communicators. "Keep in mind, Jason, that we're still in the park. We don't know how many people are around here still, so we need to get this guy out to the outskirts before we really lay into it."
"Dammit," Jason cursed. "You're right, Harry. Any ideas?"
Harry smirked, an expression that was reflected on the mechanical face he now wore. "I might have a few…" This last bit Harry spoke aloud even as the feather cape on his back split into a pair of wings again, the turbines in them already picking up speed.
The monster heard Harry's words and expressed its confusion. "You might have a few what? Are you losing your mind, Magi Ranger? Am I really that frightening?"
"Something like that, I'm sure." Harry replied before leaping up into the air and flapping his wings, quickly transferring into flight. For a brief moment, Harry relished the ability to fly under his own power (technically), but quickly shook the feeling off as he reoriented on the monster, now looking back and forth between the airborne Harry hovering high overhead and the still unmoving Megazord.
With a burst of Power, Harry shot forward, folding his wings and turning his hover into a dive that had him quickly gaining speed. Before the monster could react, Harry flared his wings again, leveling out with his speed intact and latching onto the monster with his clawed hands, jerking it off its feet and up into the air just high enough for Harry to deliver an aerial spin kick and launch it outside of the park's border and into the undeveloped land beyond.
"Nice job, Harry." Jason congratulated him as the Megazord stomped after the monster. "Now let's take him down. Since nothing we tried earlier other than finisher level stuff even scratched him before, I suggest we try the same now."
Harry was momentarily surprised at Jason making such a suggestion, but quickly went along with it. "Right behind you Jason. I'll lead if you don't mind."
"Got it, Harry. Alright guys, let's power UP!"
"RIGHT!"
Harry internally rolled his eyes again as he landed a short distance away from the Pirantishead monster, gathering Power within him once again as the monster struggled to its feet. "I'm gonna make you pay for that, bird brain!" The monster shouted, its voice far less amused now than it had been thus far.
"Let's see how you stand up to this!" Harry shouted, Hedwig's voice providing an eerie echo as she joined Harry's controlling consciousness for their finisher. Moving smoothly, they hunched over slightly as their wings spread wide, glistening with gathered Power that drifted up to form the image of a crescent moon behind them. With arms spread to either side, the claws on their hands began glowing with Power as well before the Silver Owl Warrior Mode shot forward in the blink of an eye with a burst of Power.
Only for Pirantishead to catch their first attempt at a clawed slash with its bare hand.
Harry/Hedwig let out a startled squawk as their synchronization failed, letting the Moonlit Claw Slash fade. Harry found himself too startled to react as the monster used its chain to restrain his free arm before spinning him around in its grip, the slightly taller monster holding him hostage as the Megazord came into view, the Power Sword glowing as it approached.
"I think I'm through playing with you now, puny Rangers! Lord Zedd has given me strict orders and I'll follow them to the letter!"
"HARRY!" Trini's shout echoed through Harry's head, making him wince a bit internally before replying.
"I'm alright," He said, again privately. "You know, aside from the being trapped thing. Be careful, this fish is also a lot faster than we gave him credit for."
"Can you get free?" Jason asked next, prompting Harry to try and break the monster's grip.
"Oh, no you don't," Pirantishead chastised, levering Harry's chained arm around behind him before doing the same with the one still held tightly in the fish monster's hand. The monster's strength was far beyond Harry's and the Magi Ranger/Warrior Mode Zord quickly found his arms entangled behind his back, the chain on the monster's weapon somehow stretching to have enough length to do so.
"Ah…" Harry said slowly, quite stunned at how fast the monster had managed to restrain him. "Yeah, that would be a no…" He hadn't really even had a chance to react before his arms were fully chained, and now the monster even had a hand free that it didn't before.
"No, no, no," the monster taunted as it brandished one of the fish attached to its chain in its now free right hand. "I don't think so little Rangers."
Thinking fast, Harry sent another message to the Rangers. "Guys, he hasn't done anything to restrain my legs. What I want you to do is come at him with the Power Sword. He'll probably move me like a shield, but if I drop my weight at the last second, and you guys aim right…"
"Then we'll be able to nail him with the Power Sword!" Zack cheered.
"And probably get you free again!" Trini continued.
Jason hummed for a moment. "I don't like it… It's risky… But it might be our only chance… Let's do it Rangers!"
Harry watched as the glow on the Power Sword faded slightly, enough that it wasn't quite at finisher level, but not so much that it wouldn't hurt if this didn't work right. Then, the Megazord started stomping forward.
Pirantishead was not impressed. "What do you think you're doing, Rangers. I have your friend here and I won't hesitate to use him…" When the Megazord didn't falter in its charge, the fish monster just shrugged. "Oh well, guess I'm moving things up a bit then."
Harry could only watch from the corner of his eye as the monster brought the fish from its chain up to its mouth and began working his fingers like he was playing a flute. What came from it was not music, however. Instead, from the monster's mouth came a blast of white energy that hit the unprepared Megazord in the chest and washed over it, giving it a white aura that seemed to blur it a bit to Harry's sight.
Then the other Rangers started panicking.
"What's going on?" Jason shouted. "The Megazord won't move!"
"Jason," Billy was next to speak. "I'm getting nothing from the diagnostic systems. Nothing appears to be wrong, but the controls aren't responding either."
"Nothing from reserve power either." Trini said.
When Kimberly and Zack reported their own lack of an explanation, followed by the Pirantishead starting to laugh, Harry began to really worry.
"It's all over now, Power Pests!" the monster taunted before giving Harry a shove and knocking him to his stomach, his arms still chained behind his back.
Harry managed to roll onto his side in time to see the fish monster standing next to the Megazord and patting it on the shoulder. "My new buddy and I are gonna have some fun terrorizing the city now, aren't we? And we're gonna start by destroying the bird brained Magi Ranger!"
Harry managed to get his legs back under him, rising up to his knees just as the Megazord, still with that strange white glow, turned to face him with the Power Sword once more at full Power.
"Jason, what do we do?!" Kimberly shouted.
Jason grunted a few times. "I don't know! I can't… move… the controls! The Megazord isn't responding to me anymore!"
Harry watched as the Megazord, weapon of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers stomped closer to him and raised the Power Sword up into the air. He watched as the Zord's eyes began rapidly pulsing with Power before it brought the sword down and his world went white.
"HARRY!"
-MR-
AN: So yeah, hope you enjoyed and all that. 7800 words of story isn't too bad for a return, yeah?
Yes, yes, I know Zedd didn't actually announce himself like that. In fact, I'm convinced that the only reason the public of Angel Grove knew that Rita wasn't the big bad anymore was because every monster seemed to spout off Zedd's name at the drop of a hat. But when I think back, I remember him doing this for some reason. I know now that he only appeared as an image to Rita and the crew on the moon, but I liked the way it presented itself. And besides, it kinda fits with Zedd's character. Go big or go home, ya know?
Also, Zedd somehow finding a piranha in a lake near a city in California makes no sense to me. So I had the monster get created from a pet some guy had in a tank in his house. : )
Just a heads up, I'm not really sure how the update schedule is going to go now. I want to try and stick to my every-other-Sunday deal that I had been using, but I just don't know if that's feasible for me anymore. You see, I was unemployed when I wrote the first 39 chapters. Now that I have a job, my free time has been greatly curtailed. I just don't know if I have the available time to keep up that schedule while still keeping up with the work that has to be done here at home on my limited days off work. I suppose we'll just have to see for now. I'll update you all when I figure it out myself.
Just for fun, here are my top five problems with Season 2 after re-watching it as an adult:
The corniness level was cranked up to 11. In an effort to use as much of the Zyu 2 footage as possible, the writers of MMPR were forced to create a lot more out of suit footage. As a result, we get more bad jokes, poor choreography, and random events that make little to no sense just so they could fill out their entire time slot for the episode. This phenomenon only got worse as the season continued, especially after the Power Transfer stuff happened. Many leaps of logic were made by the characters that made little sense if any and it was largely just painful to watch.
Rita adds absolutely NOTHING to the Season even after her full on return. She makes a brief cameo in an earlier episode, but that's not what I'm talking about. Aside from one episode after potioning Zedd where Rita's plot allows for Goldar to steal Saba from Tommy, thus allowing Rita to control the Tigerzord… somehow… Rita's only real purpose in the show seems to be as comic relief. I know there was some outcry from concerned parents about Zedd being a bit too evil early on, but things went a bit too far into the goofy side if you ask me.
Unsatisfying battles and poor flow therein. You could always tell where the monster came from as far as source material went within a few moments of the fight starting. If the Rangers appeared onscreen with the monster at the same time, then it was likely Zyu 2, unless White Ranger was included, at which point it was probably American footage and therefore much harder to guess the origin. If the Rangers fought putties while the monster taunted them, then it was from Dairanger and we would usually get at least a somewhat satisfying, if typically super short, Zord battle. This little game of "Guess Where it's From!" was fun for a bit, but it got very disappointing by the last episode. The entire thing just made every battle choppy, though I did chuckle a bit when I recognized a scene in the final episode wherein the monster, Vace Face, gets electro zapped by the Thunder Megazord as the same scene used for the Thunder Megazord electro Zapping Pirantishead in the third episode. Hidden by sparks, but distinctly NOT a fish.
Zedd's many monsters. One of Zedd's gimmicks, especially in the latter half of the Season, was sending more than a single monster after the Rangers at once. The only problem I had is that he sent the same bunch of monsters after them nearly every freaking time! Now I know that this is because those are (mostly) the suits that Saban had from the creation of the Zyu 2 footage, but it was still annoying. Somehow I can't build up any enthusiasm at seeing the Rangers fight the Invenusable Flytrap, Grumblebee, Peckster, Snizard, Dramole, Rhynoblaster, Soccadillo, Robogoat, etc. after the second or third time, much less even more than that… I guess what I'm saying here is that what could have been an interesting concept was turned into a farce by the overuse of the same monsters.
The Power Transfer. Yeah, I know the reasons behind it happening, pay dispute and all that, but it really should have been handled better. I get that Saban was letting the actors know that they weren't irreplaceable, and that the writers were basically told that the changes to the script needed to be made yesterday, but the voice actors brought in for the in suit scenes of Jason, Zack, and Trini didn't even really seem to be trying. Heck there were a few scenes where Jason or Zack, in suit of course, were bobbing their heads as if they were talking, but nothing was said (Episode 10: Welcome to Venus Island if you're curious). I actually backed up the video and rewatched it a few times just to make sure it wasn't a bug or something. And then there were the times they had physical doubles of the three for out of suit scenes, even though they never showed their faces, they weren't even terribly close to looking like them, outside of wardrobe and Zack's hair. Heck, even the hair was questionable since he changed the style in the second season and the double looked more like season 1 to the best of my memory. And then we get to the terrible excuses for why we don't see them until they teleport into battle already morphed. Oh, Jason, Zack, and Trini are off babysitting a bunch of kids and can't get away just yet. Oh, I already called them and they'll meet us there. Oh, Jason, Zack, and Trini got frozen/hypnotized/exploded by the monster by stupidly running up to it and just standing there and waiting for it to attack, I guess you're on your own until Alpha's technobabble thingamajig gets done. Seriously, I developed a bit of an affection for Trini and Zack after how I've written them in Magi Ranger (Jason not so much so as I'm sure you can imagine), and seeing them being treated like that in canon just irked me. And then there's the way the three replacements basically stepped into their lives like nothing had happened. Several times in later episodes we hear Kimberly talking as if she and Aisha had been friends for years as opposed to a few months at most. *sigh*
Random sidenote of randomness. I was reading a Harry Potter fic (Monsterous by The Mad Mad Reviewer. Check it out, it's rather interesting) recently when I came across a scene where Sirius, freshly proven innocent of the crimes he was imprisoned for as in many fics, spoke with Hagrid who was very awkward and apologetic about taking Harry to Dumbles the night the Potters were killed. I realized at that moment that in all the Harry Potter fanfiction I had ever read, that was the first time I had seen such a scene. It just struck me as odd.
Anyway, let me know what you think of this, my return to the world of Fanfiction and Magi Ranger.
Also, Merry Christmas to all, and may the Power protect you.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to review,
Tenstar12