Deep in the untamed jungles of South America, a team of around eight people were stationed at a small research camp, with four tents pitched up for the crew to sleep in. There were dozens of crates, filled with research equipment and food rations. Inside one of the tents was a researcher on a laptop searching through the research notes on it. This was Owen Holland, a man of about twenty-nine years. He was wearing a tan colored vest with a green T-Shirt underneath. He had medium stubble with slightly graying hair and a buzzed haircut, along with a small pair of eyeglasses. Owen was reviewing the notes he and his team had compiled on The Tusked Throne, or at least what little information they could possibly gather. From what little the notes had said, The Tusked Throne was one of many creations of a race of beings known only as the Precursors. They existed hundreds of millions of years ago, well before even the Dinosaurs.
The Precursors were unimaginably powerful beings that created an expansive civilization that spanned across the entire Earth, and then they vanished without a trace, as if they never existed in the first place. Even the smallest of artifacts like pots or tools are next to impossible to find, much less a temple of all things; this is because all Precursor relics are believed to be buried deep below the Earth, where no one is able to find them. However, about five years ago there was a mining operation that discovered a set of runes that were unlike any known civilization. Owen had managed to obtain one of these runes and spent the last half a decade trying to learn about the Precursors' way of life, what their technology was capable of and why they disappeared in the first place. An organization Owen was a part of was also interested in the discovery and preservation of Precursor artifacts, and thus funded the expedition.
Scanning through the notes, and remembering what the runes had said through a long two years worth of deciphering and translation, The Tusked Throne was an ancient temple, believed to have served as a museum of sorts, housing relics from a powerful clan of Precursors. Its estimated location was about an hour at walking distance, and they should be able to reach it without much trouble... or so he thought. He soon noticed everything was strangely quiet, even for the jungle. He put the laptop down at his side and stepped outside the tent, and soon discovered the crew was completely missing; all of the equipment was still there but the researchers were nowhere to be found. "Where could they have gone?" he thought to himself, taking a few steps forward to investigate. At that moment, Owen felt something slither over his left foot... and it wasn't a snake.
Just as he was about to look at his foot, he was quickly snatched up and flipped upside down, as thick vines quickly tangled him up, hanging him upside down. Before he was able to find out what happened, a large mound of dirt sprung up in front of him, which suddenly shifted and molded itself into a humanoid being, while giving a devilish chuckle. She was tall, dark being with bark-like skin and massive rose like plants growing out of her shoulders, with a hood like design over her ever grinning face. Her name was Vithornia, the next monster Arcadyx had sent down. Owen struggled as the monster slowly strutted up to him, chuckling quietly. "Don't worry, little weed..." she said, putting a finger to Owen's lips, before more vines quickly wrapped around his head, silencing him. "I'll be sure to come back for you." she chuckled, before shifted back into the ground, leaving Owen to struggle in vain.
Meanwhile, back in Spring Shallows, as several construction crews continued their repairs on the Conservation Center after the Rangers' battle with Spikester and the Tentycons, the Center's team of employees were gathered at the entrance. Standing in front of them was Director Mikhaila, the Center's owner and their boss. She had short brownish-black hair, with olive colored skin and brown eyes. "Everybody, I have good news and I have some bad news." she said, her hands kept behind her back. "The good news is, thanks to the efforts of a new team of Power Rangers, the Center is mostly intact; the majority of the animals are okay, and our fellow crew members are as well." she said, as the crowd gave a cheer filled applause. "Unfortunately, there is still a lot of damage done to the center, and it will take several weeks before we're ready to start operations again." she said, with a stoic expression.
"Thankfully, we do have two new members here who are willing to help us once the center is fully rebuilt and we are ready to bring in civilians again. Please welcome our new crew members Nathan Morrison and Joshua DeMarco." she said, pointing to the two standing in the center, as the other crew members gave them a welcoming applause; Nate and Josh gave a warm smile in response, while Miranda gave a nod in approval. "We were all new to the Center's ideas and routines once, so I hope you'll show them the ropes and help them reach their full potential." said Mikhaila. "As of now, however, construction crews still need time to rebuild the center, so... you'll have a couple weeks off from work for now. I will let you know if any new developments happen. Thank you." she finished, as the crew began to disperse. "Hey, uh Miranda?" said a voice, as Miranda turned around.
It was Simon, one of her co-workers and a good friend of hers for a while now. He had long blond hair with a slight bit of stubble on his face, with dark black glasses covering his brownish eyes. "Hey, Simon!" she responded, giving the man a welcoming hug. "I'm glad you're alright." he said, returning the hug. "Listen, um... I'm sorry about what happened to Mizu." he said, as her bright expression dimmed slightly. "I know she was really special to you." he finished, while she gave a nod in response. "Yeah. At least wherever she is, she's safe and not hurting anymore." she replied, giving a small smile. Simon gave a small nod, before averting his attention to Nate and Josh. "You're the new guys the Director mentioned, aren't you? I'm Simon Burke." he said, holding out a hand, as the two gave it a shake. "Glad to be here, man." responded Nate, giving a small chuckle.
"Good thing those Power Rangers came by, didn't they?" asked Simon, smiling. "Yeah, I don't know what we'd do without them." replied Nate, also chuckling nervously. "Well, anyways I gotta get going. It was nice meeting you, and can't wait to work with you guys!" finished Simon, as he left the group. "If only he knew the truth, eh?" sighed Nate, turning towards Josh and Miranda. "Yeah, no kidding." replied Josh, crossing his arms. It was then a ringing echoed out, sounding like chimes in the wind. "Sounds like our cue." said Nate, as the two headed towards the sides of the Center, away from the crowds. Nate pulled out his Cube, opening up and establishing a connection with Talonwing. "Go ahead." said Nate, staring into the Cube. "Rangers, I have located the fourth Spirit Cube. Return to the Sanctuary immediately." responded Talonwing. "Gotcha, we're on our way." finished Nate, as the team punched in the transport code and quickly disappeared in flashes of Red, Blue and Yellow.
Over in the Sanctuary, the three Rangers quickly headed to the center of the room. "What did you find, T-Dubs?" asked Nate, as Talonwing raised a confused eyebrow in response regarding his new name, as the team stood in awkward silence. "You know, T-Dubs, like T and W as in your... name, but it's just a shortening of it...?" awkwardly stumbled Nate, as Talonwing's expression remained unchanged. "Nevermind." he finished, awkwardly clearing his throat. "The fourth Cube is surrounded by stone, in a place far from Spring Shallows. From what the spirits tell me, it is located in the jungles of the Amazon Rainforests." he said, as the trio's eyes lit up in surprise and shock. "The Amazon?!" blurted out Josh, his jaw almost hitting the floor. "Are you serious?!" said Miranda, her composure completely shattered. "That's awesome!" finished Nate, his face lightening up brighter than the sun.
The other three and Talonwing all gave a stern look toward the excited Red Ranger, as he quickly recomposed himself. "Sorry." he said, before clearing his throat once more. "The spirits have also warned that Arcadyx's forces are already beginning their search for the Cube, and a monster has also captured a team that was on a research expedition." said Talonwing, ignoring Nate's quip. "Though you have proven yourselves in battle, an extra measure will be required for future combat. That is why I have now deemed you worthy to wield these." he said, slowly waving his hand in front of the trio. In a flash of light, three weapons appeared in front of the Rangers. They were shaped in the style of pistols, with two block attachments on the top."These are your Cube Blazers, your new sidearms." said Talonwing, as the Rangers picked them out from the air. "Not only useful in long range combat, they can also be used in close range encounters."
As Talonwing said this, Nate pulled off the blue block and slotted it into the red block, and as soon as it was attached, a blade quickly swung out from the block. "Wow!" said Nate, with a doofy grin on his face. "Rescue the researchers if possible, and retrieve the Spirit Cube from Arcadyx's forces." said Talonwing, as the Rangers unsummoned their Blazers and activated their Cubes. "We won't let you down." responded Nate, as the trio punched in the transport code, and with that the Rangers teleported away to their next adventure. Back over in the wilds of the Amazon, three bright flashes of Red, Blue and Yellow shone out and our Rangers arrived at their destination, the teleporting scaring off a few birds. Miranda took a few steps forward, taking in the breathtaking surroundings. "Wow, this is... this is incredible!" she said, almost out of breath, staring at the lush trees and plants across the ground.
"No kidding."responded Nate, pulling out his phone and taking as many pictures as he could, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "I can just imagine what kind of cryptids we could find out here, eh Josh?" he said, as Josh just rolled his eyes. "Cryptids?" asked Miranda, walking up to Nate. "Oh, me and Josh did a web show called Cryptoseekers. We investigated reports of mysterious creatures. You know, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster, or the Chupacabra; monsters that defy expectations." responded Nate, putting away his phone. Josh gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, the last thing we investigated, the Wolf Pack of Lorenwood County? It was an honest to goodness Furry convention!" he said, as Miranda had a good chuckle, "Okay, I will admit that one was a mistake on my part, but hey the episode got good views.`` responded Nate with a stern, yet smug expression.
"You know, perhaps not everything is as mysterious as you think." said Miranda, folding her arms. "Maybe, or perhaps everything has a mystery to it." responded Nate, turning to her. "Okay, enough chit-chat, we got a Cube to collect." he said, pulling out his Cube to track the signal while the other two gave a quick nod and followed behind him. Meanwhile, back in the reaches of the atmosphere, Arcadyx continued watching the trio trot through the wilds of the Amazon through the holo-screen in front of him, a devilish grin having grown across his face, "My, are these little pukes in for a surprise, aren't they?", he chuckled, letting one of his many Megadallions roll across his black, armored knuckles. As he stared at the Rangers on their quest, sitting out of sight by the left door was Cuborax, watching intently. "It's only a matter of time." he thought to himself, as he withdrew himself from the doorway, pushing past a Tentycon.
The Rangers continued their journey, at least half an hour's worth of walk it had taken so far, and before long they had reached the now abandoned camp from earlier, coming in from the east, and as they approached they noticed a small battalion of Tentycons rummaging through the crates. They crouched down behind one of the boxes they hadn't already scavenged, with them slowly peeking out to see two of the foot soldiers standing in front of a now unconscious Owen hung upside down and covered by vines. Josh caught a glimpse of the helpless researcher dangling, as a third Tentycon from occasionally poked and prodded at him. He gently tapped his compatriots' shoulders and pointed at the scene unfolding. "There's someone still here!" he whispered, as the other two took notice. "He might know something." responded Miranda, as Nate gave a silent nod in response.
"Alrighty, if we do this quietly we shouldn't have much trouble." he said, as the trio dispersed in three different directions. Miranda snuck behind two Tentycons that were rummaging through some equipment boxes, blissfully unaware of what was going to happen to them. She quietly stood up straight, her arms stretched outward to the sides and her hands just inches from their tendriled heads. Suddenly, she slammed the two goons' heads together, and they quickly dropped to the dirt with a headache they'll probably be feeling for a little while. The Tentycons guarding the main tent both heard a disturbance and decided to investigate, and they would've found out some of their compatriots had been taken out, were it not for Josh quickly pulling them aside and making sure they wouldn't be bothering anybody anymore. As for the last, Nate snuck behind it as quietly as he could; he had experience being stealthy from hunting wild cryptids of course.
Crouching mere inches behind the dust-born goon, Nate raised his arm high above his and its head before bringing it down like a hammer in a heavy chopping motion right on the Tentycon's skull. A moment passed before the foot soldier fell to the floor, with a hard thud. Nate gently patted the Tentycon's head, "Good night, sweet prince!" he said sarcastically along with a smug smile. Nate dragged the fallen monster away to a pile of its now dusted compatriots that Josh and Miranda had previously dealt with, and it was a pretty big pile; if Nate had to guess, he'd say about six or seven Tentycons were in it. "Well, that should do it." said Josh, dusting off his hands with a smile. "Nice job, guys." said Nate, tossing the unconscious Tentycon into the Tentycene pile. "Now let's find out what these dustbins were lookin' for." he said as the others quietly nodded. The trio headed to the main tent, where Owen was still hanging.
"Okay, I'm gonna cut this guy down, get ready to catch him." he said, readying his weapon as the others grabbed hold of Owen. With a quick and graceful slice, the vines split apart and the others lowered Owen down to the ground. Owen slowly stirred back into consciousness, rubbing his face to try and wake himself up. "Are you alright?" asked Miranda, concern growing over her face. "Yeah... I think I'll be fine..." responded Owen, shaking his head and also retrieving his glasses. Adjusting them, his expression changed from pain to confusion. "...What are you kids doing out here?" he asked, sitting up. The three all looked at each other, just as confused as Owen was. "...Uh..." blurted out Josh. "...We were out on a field trip... with university and, erm, we just happened by here..." he said, as convincingly as he could manage. Owen simply sat there, an unimpressed expression across his face, which was shared with his Ranger comrades.
Miranda's arms were folded with an eyebrow raised. "Seriously?" whispered Nate, sternly. Owen slowly picked himself off the ground. "Well, whatever reason you three are there, I'm glad you came when you did. First my crewmates disappear, then some monsters show up and knock out like a light..." he said, putting a hand to his chin. "It could be connected to the Throne..." he pondered, as Nate raised an eyebrow. "Throne?" he asked. Owen diverted his gaze to the trio. "My team was looking for a temple that was supposedly hidden in the Amazons known as The Tusked Throne... From what I could decipher, it was some kind of vault by a race of beings that existed millions of years ago, housing artifacts and relics and whatnot." he said, pacing back and forth and also pulling out a notebook from his pocket. "One such relic, was this..." he said, showing a sketch of a very familiar looking design.
In fact, it seemed to be a Spirit Cube made of stone. "This one in particular keeps appearing in a lot of translations." Owen pointed out, as the three Rangers leaned in closer. "I've seen around five references to this relic, my guess is that it's extremely important." he finished, closing the notebook and putting back in his pocket. "I'd say important is a bit of an understatement." quipped Josh, as Owen raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What do you mean?" he asked. Nate quietly sighed. "Because the truth is, we're not students, and we know what that is." he said, summoning his Spirit Cube. Owen's expression lit up like a Christmas tree, as he carefully took the Cube from Nate's hand. "...Incredible..." he quietly said to himself, his breathing starting to get heavy. "Is this from The Tusked Throne?" he asked, eyes widened. "Not exactly." answered Miranda, as she and Josh summoned their Cubes as well.
Owen's expression lit up even more. "These are called Spirit Cubes, they're powered by Animal Spirits and they are VERY powerful. So much so that some guy named Arcadyx is looking for them, sending down monsters to try and retrieve them. Our job is to make sure that doesn't happen." said Nate, retrieving his Cube from Owen, who was flabbergasted at his explanation. "How... how do you know all this?" asked Owen, stammering. "Because we've fought Arcadyx's forces before, we're what you'd call Power Rangers." said Josh, unsummoning his Cube. "You're Power Rangers?" asked Owen, confused. "You mean, the same group that fought the Armada six years ago?" he inquired, folding his arms. Nate looked at his comrades. "Well, yeah you could say that, but it was other Ranger teams that fought them... we're uh, we're kind of the new kids on the block, as it were." he said. Miranda just shook her head.
"We're getting off track, guys. What do you remember of the camp attack?" she asked. Owen scratched his forehead. "I was in my tent studying when I noticed everything had gone quiet, I stepped outside, saw nobody was here, that was when I was attacked by some plant monster that strung me up in vines, it disappeared and then a bunch of those tentacle monsters appeared and knocked me out cold, and the next thing I know I'm talking with you three." he carefully explained. "Plant monster?" asked Josh. putting his hands to his hips. "I'm gonna hazard a guess and say that's the next big baddie Arcadyx sent down." responded Nate, folding his arms. "That thing must've also captured the other researchers!" said Miranda. Nate's arms fell to his sides. "Any ideas where that plant monster went?" he asked, though Owen just shook his head. "I'm guessing it's heading for the Tusked Throne, it's where we were supposed to go." he said.
"Well, if there's a Cube in the temple, I say we keep following our signal." responded Nate, pulling out his own Cube, as the high pitch pings emanated from it, and the trio resumed their search along with Owen. "So... who are you three?" asked Owen. "My name's Miranda." she replied, smiling. "The guy in front is Nate, and he's Josh." pointing at the other two. "What's your name?" she asked. "My name's Owen. Owen Holland." he replied, adjusting his glasses. Pushing past what felt like an endless ocean of leaves and trees for hours, the quartet arrived at a large clearing that surprisingly had nothing of note in it. The team could see a dozen Tentycons surrounding the now vine bound researchers as Vithornia examined the surroundings, standing as still as a tree. "Yes... It's here..." she proclaimed. Owen quitely pointed her out. "That's the plant monster I was talking about earlier." he said.
Vithornia slowly raised her arms into the air, and the area began to shake and rumble as if there was an earthquake. Suddenly, the earth below began to split apart as colossal vines the size of a small house erupted upward, and right in between them was a massive stone entrance sprouted upward like a tree. Vithornia slowly let her arms down, while the rumbling continued for a good minute before stopping, as the now fully revealed entrance stood proudly in front of the plant monster. It was made of dozens of stone blocks, shaped in the style of a pyramid. Within each of the stone blocks were veins of energy similar to that found in the Zord cockpits or the Sanctuary. "Tentycons, do watch over our guests; I will return with a reward for our dear Arcadyx." she cackled, as the three Rangers watched in silence. "Alright, you ready to do some gardening?" asked Nate, as the other two Rangers nodded.
He turned to Owen. "We'll take care of these creeps, you get the researchers out of here. Sound good?" he whispered, as Owen quietly nodded. "Alright, let's do it!" proclaimed Nate as he, Josh and Miranda all leapt down from the embankment with a shout, landing three-point style. All of the Tentycons readied their shield-like swords at the Rangers, while Vithornia turned to them. "Well well well, the three little Ranger weeds have finally shown themselves. Oh, how I will adore removing you disgusting vermin from my garden." she shouted, arms held out to her side. The trio simply stood their ground. "The only weed that's getting whacked around here is you!" said Josh, pointing at the villain. "You guys ready?" asked Nate, summoning his Spirit Cube. "Ready!" proclaimed the two, also summoning their Cubes. "Spirits Within, Awaken!" they all exclaimed as they prepared to morph.
Twisting the top section of the Cube, they quickly thrust the device forward in a punching motion, letting the bottom section flip down and revealing a bright white light inside. Streams of spiritual flame spewed outward, consisting of Red, Blue and Yellow colors for the respective Ranger, and quickly enveloped the Rangers with their suits. An image of the chest symbol radiated forth in front of their faces, shifting into the respective helmets. With that, the morph sequence was complete and the Rangers charged into battle. A look of shock exploded over Owen's face. "They are Power Rangers..." he thought to himself, as Nate quickly summoned his Whipblade, gracefully flipping over two Tentycons while the sword sliced through them like a hot knife through butter. Miranda made several front aerial flips past three more, managing to land a punch to one unlucky enough to be in her way, before landing with a leg sweep.
The two foot soldiers both fell to the dirt with heavy thuds. "How about we give those Blazers a try?" she said, giving the boot to another unlucky Tentycon. Josh landed an uppercut at a charging foe, seconds before giving a roundhouse kick to another. "Sounds good to me!" he called out, as he swung out his arm and in his hand came his Cube Blazer in Blade Mode. He swung around counterclockwise with the savagery and speed of a lion, the blade slicing through the surrounding Tentycons with ease. "That's what I'm talkin' about!" he said, slashing his way through two more. Nate carved his way through three more, spinning like a cartwheel with his Whipblade out, the elongated blade whirling around him in a tornado like fashion. "You're on the chopping block!" he taunted, as he summoned his Blazer as well. Five more Tentycons readied their weapons, the blades extending into a spear-like combination.
They each held out their weapons as though they were rifles, and as if on cue, they started firing lasers. With lightning fast reflexes, Nate quickly leapt into the air, swapping out the Blade Block for the Blaster, and gracefully dodged the laser blasts while also taking out the five Tentycons in mid air. "Bullseye!" he quipped as he landed, watching the monsters fall to the ground in and right into dust. "Nate, pass me your blaster! I got an idea!" Miranda called out from behind, performing a clockwise roundhouse kick to several more unlucky Tentycons. Nate quickly nodded and tossed her his side arm, just as she pulled off a massive butterfly kick to two more foot soldiers, catching the Blazer right out of the air. "Spirit Surge!" she called out, her Shark fin emerging on her back. She quickly went into her Shark Spin, and as she spun like a top once more, she also released a hailstorm of shots from the dual Blazers.
Both Nate and Josh ducked for cover as the lasers shot out from every single direction, with the former racing over to the researchers, trying to shield them with his body. The laser and lightshow continued for a good five seconds, striking down most, if not all, of the remaining Tentycons in one fell swoop. She landed with a spinning slide, as the Tentycons all collapsed into dust, while Nate and Josh quickly joined her, confronting Vithornia. "Time to turn you into mulch!" proclaimed Nate, as he swung his Whipblade at the monster, only for her quickly summon a wall of vines, with the sword simply bouncing off the flora. "You will regret daring to take on the beautiful, yet deadly Vithornia!" she proclaimed, as she bolted down into the temple, the vines beginning to surround the entrance. Owen hastily jumped down the embankment, and started to free his colleagues.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "We're bound, but we're alive." responded one, Tanner. "Can't believe Owen managed to find some Power Rangers to help us!" responded Shay, another researcher. "Yeah, well. Long story..." responded Owen, finally managing to pull apart the vines. The Rangers also came by to check on them. "How are they?" asked Josh. "They're okay, thankfully." responded Owen, wiping his hands. "We need to get past those vines." said Nate, readying his weapon. "Josh, want to sharpen your claws?" he asked, as the Yellow Ranger nodded, summoning his Lion Slashers and the two charged forth, beginning and slash and tear at the vine wall. "Talonwing, the researchers are okay, and we're on our way to the Cube." said Miranda, speaking through her Cube. As she finished speaking, the sound of crumbling vines and flora boomed out, as Nate and Josh finally finished cutting their way through.
Nate quickly turned to Miranda. "C'mon, let's go!" he called out, racing off into the temple. "We'll be back as soon as we can!" said Miranda to Owen, as he quietly nodded and she raced off to join her comrades. Soon, the researchers were alone. "She sounds cute." said Shay, smugly. Inside the temple, the three Rangers sprinted down the steps and through the main hall at full force. The insides were made of ancient, browned stone with familiar energy veins faintly glowing throughout the structure, also damaged significantly with rubble littering the ground, whether it was caused by Vithornia or not was unknown, but there was no time to admire the scenery; the three Rangers had an artifact to recover. Ancient stone torches, holding spiritual flames illuminated the hallways, tinted in beautiful orange and blues, flickering brightly as though they had never gone out.
Meanwhile, in the innermost chamber, sitting on a single pedestal right in the center of the room lay the prize Vithornia had sought; the Spirit Cube. She slowly walked down the five steps leading into the center, a single hand extended outward. "Yes... you are exactly what Arcadyx wants..." she said to herself with a devilish grin, as a vine slowly grew from her arm, reaching for the Cube. Just as the vine was about to curl it's way around the artifact, like a python about to squeeze its prey, the tip of a familiar blade managed to slice the vine right off of her arm. As Vithornia recoiled in pain, she turned to the entrance and there stood the three Rangers, with the Whipblade retracting to its owner. "Didn't your momma ever tell you to say please?" quipped Nate, as he rested the blade on his shoulder. Vithornia growled as she summoned another monster-vine to crush these pests, however the three managed to roll out of the way.
Josh backflipped his way toward the monster, his Lion Slashers still out and letting out sparks of lightning as he prepared to slash at Vithornia, giving out a battle cry not unlike a lion. Just as he was about to strike down his foe, a second vine broke its way up from the stone and tackled him, sending him into a spin before he crash landed on the stone floor, and before he could react it quickly slammed into him, pinning him on the ground. Outside at the entrance, the researchers could hear and feel the rumbles and shaking above. Owen turned to the entrance, he was getting worried; those three may be Power Rangers, but they might be in grave danger. He quickly turned back to his colleagues. "Stay here, I'll be back!" he said, before bolting off into the temple. "Wait, Owen! It's too dangerous!" cried out Shay, to no avail. Back in The Tusked Throne, as the battle below continued, the Rangers continued their struggle.
Nate suddenly took notice of his friend in peril. "Josh!" he cried out, as he leapt up with his Eagle Boost activated, trying to get to his friend, a second vine rose up from underground, wrapping itself around his right leg, and violently thrashing him against the ground for a good six seconds before hurling him against the wall like a piece of garbage, slamming against the ancient stone with enough force to make cracks in it. Miranda quickly bum rushed Vithornia, activating her Shark Spin once more. The villain raised her hand once more, as a third vine sprung outward and batted the Blue Ranger away, and as Nate managed to pry himself from the wall he was soon smashed aside by the out of control Miranda. The two grunted in pain, falling to the ground as the vine laid itself on top of them, making sure they couldn't escape.
Vithornia gave a satisfied laugh, watching the Rangers vainly try to free themselves. "How adorably pointless of you..." she said, walking towards the Blue Ranger. "Struggle all you wish...", standing over the helpless Ranger, "...because all it will do is make your demise all the more SATISFYING!" she said, while stomping on Miranda's helmet, as Nate tried wiggling himself free to help his partner. "...what's the matter, roseface? Can't fight us on your own?" he grunted. "Quiet!" cried out Vithornia in disgust, as she booted the Red Ranger straight in the face. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the villain, Owen quietly arrived at the main chamber's entrance. He observed the carnage that had ensued, seeing the Rangers defeated and the villain revelling in her apparent victory. He carefully adjusted his glasses and turned his attention to the Cube sitting on the pedestal.
As quietly as he could humanly manage, he tried sneaking his way toward the Cube; he was well aware of the danger he was in, but he also knew that the Cube falling into the wrong hands could spell disaster on an unprecedented level. "To think your suffering could have been avoided if you had simply complied with Arcadyx... he would have given you a place in the universe, aside from this disgusting backwater wasteland you call Earth..." monologued Vithornia, as Owen's hand was mere inches away from the Cube. "...a heap of nothing filled to the brim with VERMIN!" another vine burst out from behind Owen, grabbing his right leg and raising him up, just as he was before he met the Rangers. The villain turned to him. "Well, if it isn't the little weed from before...", stepping towards him, "How I have missed thee..." she spoke, sarcastically, rubbing her fingers across his cheeks.
All Owen could do was wince as her razor sharp nails ran across his face. "This however, poses a new question..." she said, turning to the Red and Blue Rangers, "which of these four little parasites should I destroy first?" she pondered; they were all at her mercy, or lack thereof, she could do whatever she pleased with them. Owen glanced upward at his bound legs, as he was just out of arm's reach of the Cube, he noticed his right pant leg had been torn, and that gave him an idea; what Vithornia didn't realize was that Owen's right leg was actually a prosthetic, thanks to an accident from a few years ago, and it could be removed at will. He hastily reached up, trying to reach the pin that held his leg in place; there was just enough of a gap in the vines for him to hit the pin, as he suddenly fell to the ground with a heavy thud; Vithornia quickly turned around. "What?!" she cried out, as Owen hastily rolled out of the way of the villain.
At a speed Owen didn't even know he could achieve, his hands scrambled their way up the pedestal and greedily grabbed the Cube, before he rolled down the steps leading up to the center of the room. Owen landed on his back, staring at his newly acquired artifact. "No!" growled Vithornia, but Owen wasn't having any of that, as the Cube quickly lost it's stone exterior. "Return the Cube, you VERMIN!" screamed the monster, as she shot out several vines from her hands. Just as fast as he grabbed the Cube, he quickly spun the top section of the Cube to match the front symbols with it suddenly opening up, and before the vines could reach him, out came yet another Cube animal, deflecting the incoming tendrils; this one being an Elephant, and it too dived right into Owen's body with a bright flash, granting him his Ranger form. He quickly staggered up to his feet, examining his new form.
"...Impossible..." he thought to himself, also noticing his form granted him a new leg. "Yet another Ranger parasite to return to the dirt!" wailed Vithornia, as more vines arose from below. Owen sprinted full force at her, jumping into a dropkick position, and as he did so, two massive elephant feet appeared. The resulting kick was enough to send Vithornia flying into the back wall, and as she grunted in pain, the vines keeping the Rangers pinned retracted down into the earth once more. The three Rangers struggled back up on their feet. "Are you alright?" asked Owen. "Yeah, just peachy." responded Josh, as the four Rangers readied themselves for a fight. Vithornia also picked herself up from the ground. "You will SUFFER FOR THIS." she ferociously growled. "Any ideas on how to stop her?" asked Miranda, in a fighting stance. "Just one." responded Owen, taking a step forward.
He really didn't want to do this, but in this case, he had no choice. "I'm going to bring down the Temple." he said, reluctantly. He raised his leg up, as high as he could possibly manage. With a roar, he slammed his elephant foot down as hard as he could, and a colossal shockwave alongside green spiritual flame radiated outward, as the temple began to shake and crumble. Massive chunks of debris came crashing down from the ceiling. Vithornia screamed as rubble fell on top of her, seemingly burying her. "Unless y'all are keen on getting squished, I'd say we should book it out of here!" yelled Nate, as the four Rangers quickly hightailed it back out the entrance. Outside of the temple, the researchers could only try to keep on their feet as the landscape shifted and rumbled even harder than before. The shaking kept on for a good three minutes before everything went silent.
The temple entrance was nothing but rubble and destruction. All the researchers could do was stare at the destroyed entrance, fearing the Rangers and their friend Owen were lost. But, as they were about to mourn the loss of their friend and saviors, some of the rubble at the entrance started moving... and bursting out with a roar came the four Rangers! The quartet had managed to dig him and his partners' way out of the debris with Nate's Whipblade, Josh's Lion Slashers, and the Cube Blazers' Blade Mode, and in spectacular fashion, they all landed in front of the surprised group. "Owen?!" blurted out Shay, running over to the new Green Ranger. "You're a Power Ranger too?!" he said, shocked. "Well, I guess I am now..." responded Owen, shrugging. Nate bent over, now completely out of breath. "Okay, is anybody as sick of temples as I am?" he jokingly asked, as the others had a small chuckle.
But just before the thought of relaxing crossed his mind, an explosion of debris shot out from what was left of the temple entrance, and out came Vithornia, surviving her burial. "Did you miss me?" she quipped, her arms held out to her sides, as the Rangers all turned to her, readying themselves once more. "I say it's about time we finish this!" said Nate, as the others nodded in unison. The four heroes charged at the monster, as she summoned more vines from her hands. Josh rushed ahead of the group, ferociously slashing at the vines, making Vithornia recoil in pain as the tendrils dropped to the ground. Miranda summoned her Blazer, and fired a volley of shots straight at the villain's face and chest. Nate swung his Whipblade, with the stretched out jagged blade wrapping itself around Vithornia and in an impressive fashion, he swung the villain above his head in a hammer throw like fashion and launched her hundreds of feet in the air.
Owen launched himself in the sky, with his Elephant Crushers activated. With both feet pressed against her, he brought him and the villain back down to Earth with a battle cry, culminating in a massive explosion of fire and green spiritual energy. Owen leapt out from the fire ball, no worse for wear than before. He turned around to see what he had destroyed, and noticed there was nothing but ash and dirt behind him; Vithornia had been utterly vanquished and obliterated. "That takes care of that." he calmly said while turning back to the others, all while dusting off his hands. "Well, remind me never to skip leg day, huh?" joked Nate, putting his hands to his hips with a chuckle. The Rangers quickly teleported themselves and the researchers back to their organization's headquarters, situated around the San Angeles area. The organization, though disappointed at the loss of The Tusked Throne, was glad to have the researchers safe and sound.
The head of the organization, known as International Archaeological Searcher's Foundation, also agreed to keep Owen's identity a secret, due to him being "familiar with Ranger operations", though what he meant was never elaborated on. With the researchers safe, the Rangers teleported back to the entrance of the Sanctuary. "I think you're gonna like our little base, Owen." said Nate, confident, as he stuck his Cube in the slot right next to the stone door. As the rock had slid upward, a look of unbridled shock and awe washed across Owen's slightly wrinkled face. He slowly stepped forward, looking around the ancient refuge with his jaw almost being dragged across the ground. "...This is... this is incredible..." he stuttered to get out, watching ancient energy flow through the veins of the Sanctuary walls. "A few months ago, I was looking at nothing but runes on a piece of a pot, and now... this..." he softly spoke.
"...Actual, working Precursor technology; it doesn't look a day past its creation..." said Owen, taking in the sights. Josh raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Wait a second, this whole place is by the Precursors?" he asked, folding his arms. "Oh yes, this matches all of my reports and findings to a tee; the square based architecture, the runes across the walls, and the flowing energy... It's all right on the money." responded Owen. "Your knowledge of the past has served you well, Owen." said a voice from behind him, it was Talonwing, silently watching him take in the surroundings. Owen's face lit up in shock once more; he could feel his heart beating like a drum in excitement. "...I-Impossible...", struggling to get the words out of his mouth, "...Y-You're... you're a Precursor..." he said, as the other three Ranger's expressions changed to surprise. "Oh yeah, that's Talonwing, he's our boss of sorts." responded Josh.
The bird man remained stoic as Owen approached him. "An actual, living, breathing Precursor..." said the man, almost about to lose his mind in excitement. "Man, he's like a kid in a candy shop!" said Nate, with a big grin across his face. "I've spent so many years studying your people, your civilization, your way of life... I could never find anything, except for The Tusked Throne... but we..." spoke Owen, before Talonwing raised a feathered hand. "I had seen what happened to The Throne, and your battle with Vithornia... you have all survived and retrieved the fourth Spirit Cube." he spoke. "...but... all the knowledge or artifacts that could've been down there, aren't you concerned about what was lost?" asked Owen. Talonwing softly closed his eyes, pondering. The whole Sanctuary went deafeningly silent for a minute before he opened his eyes again.
His sharp gaze returned to Owen. "Some memories, and the places we remember, are best left forgotten." he spoke to him, and the other three Rangers. "The Throne's loss was more than necessary." speaking to the group, as Nate grew curious. "Why? What was in there?" asked the Red Ranger, as Talonwing's eyes moved toward him. "Whether you trust me when I say this or not, know that its burial is for the best..." he spoke, as the others simply looked at each other in confusion.