Episode 19: Part 1
The sounds of birds chirping filled the air as a warm May breeze rolled into Somerset Valley. On that afternoon in late May, the five Knights gathered together to enjoy some much needed downtime and celebrate the end of the Spring term. While they were technically on Summer break, there were still part time jobs to work and in Quinton and Laura's case, an extra summer class for more credit hours. Before the five had to go back to their duties, they decided to try and enjoy a brief little vacation while staying close to home in case of a Fomorian attack.
The five had decided to go on a little camping trip and rent out a cabin at the wooded edge of the valley where some campgrounds had been set up. On that particular day, they had the whole place to themselves and they decided to make the most of it. It was a scenic location overlooking the town with some hiking trails nearby along with a small quiet lake for fishing and swimming. As the late afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees, Connor Walsh sat near a large outdoor fire pit preparing a campfire while Quinton and Stephen worked together to finish setting up a large tent alongside the cabin.
"I still don't see why we have to sleep outside on the cold hard ground," Stephen mumbled while holding up one end of the tent.
"Why? Because we're gentlemen," Quinton chuckled toward his younger friend as he worked, "You don't actually expect we'll make the girls sleep out here instead, do you?"
"When you put it that way… I guess not," Stephen admitted while Connor lit the campfire and stepped back contentedly.
"Well boys, this was a great idea for a relaxing break and we picked the perfect week to do this too. The weather is good, everything is in bloom…"
"The hamburgers are ready for grilling," Noelle chimed in with a laugh as she and Laura exited the cabin carrying the food they prepared for dinner. She handed the meat off to the Summer Knight and he began to cook the food while Laura sat down by the fire.
"You enjoying yourself so far Laura?" Quinton asked as he handed a can of soda to Noelle and took a seat nearby, "After all, we're going to be roughing it for a few days."
The Winter Knight smirked and poked at the fire with a stick, "I admit… I've never gone camping, but if everyone else enjoys it, I suppose I can tolerate it for a few days too. Besides, it might be interesting."
"That's the spirit!" Noelle said brightly while taking a seat beside her fellow female teammate, "Just think, tomorrow we can wake up early and maybe take a hike in the woods. Or maybe we could go fishing with the boys."
"Assuming she even wakes up tomorrow," Connor said with a good natured laugh while he grilled.
"Oh really? And why wouldn't I?" Laura said in a mild huff.
Connor smirked and gave his other friends a wink, "Because the Nightwalker might take you in your sleep."
"What nonsense are you going on about Connor?" Laura frowned.
The Summer Knight gave a sly look, "What? You've never heard of the Nightwalker? There have been a couple local stories about a sinister dark being that lurks in these very woods… watching and waiting for just the right moment to snatch an unsuspecting camper at night, preferably girls… but I'll save the grisly ghost stories for later when we go to bed."
Laura simply rolled her eyes and sighed while the others broke out into laughs and jokes before dinner was served. At this rate, she was sure it would be a very long night.
Elsewhere, the fading orange and red sunlight of the early summer evening hung over the valley as the Fomorian general Leanansidhe sat beside a small stream that ran through the verdant forest. She had come to clear her mind and enjoy some of the light and warmth away from the cold dark gloom of the Fomorian caverns. As she closed her eyes and dipped her feet into the cool running water, she was surprised when an object bumped against her ankle.
It appeared to have been carried downstream by the current and the witch reached down to pluck an intricate green colored glass bottle from the water. She frowned as she examined it and found that the top was sealed shut. It was too small to be a wine bottle and too large to be a perfume one too. She studied it a moment longer before her curiosity got the better of her and she undid the stopper and opened the bottle.
To her surprise, a billowing dark green jet of smoke erupted violently and swirled around the small forest clearing before it began to rematerialize into an ethereal humanoid shape. As the figure took form, Leanansidhe gasped in surprise as she laid her eyes on the familiar visage of someone from her past… a person who began to jog vivid memories. The figure was a woman with dark sinister features and a baleful gaze. She was the ancient Fey witch who had saved Leanne from the demon tithe when she was young. That very witch had guided her into the Faerie Realm and mentored her over several years until she fully embraced the way of the Faeries.
"Morgana… Morgana Le Fay," Leanansidhe gasped as the dark ethereal woman drew near, "What? How is this possible?"
The ghostly witch advanced and kept her gaze fixed on her former protégé, "Leanne MacClure… or rather Leanansidhe. It's been a long time child. I thank you for releasing me from my prison."
Leanansidhe held up the bottle in confusion, "I don't understand Mistress. What happened?"
Morgana cast her gaze out over the meadow, "Some bratty children had imprisoned me but now… now I can work to grow strong again and carry out my plans."
Leanansidhe frowned, "You're still ethereal. What will you do?"
"You will be my host body, child… until I grow strong again."
The Fomorian bit her lip hesitantly, "It won't be easy mistress… I've pledged my service to Lord Balor and the Fomorian Host. I have binding obligations to them."
"I see," Morgana said "We will work within those boundaries, but I'll have to ask you to trust me. Do you think you can do that?"
The younger witch took several deep breaths in silence before giving a nod and becoming engulfed in the dark green cloud of her former teacher's essence.
Later that night, after the campfire had burned down, all five knights slept soundly until Quinton gave a yawn and groggily sat up in the tent that he shared with the other boys. He looked over in the dark and saw Connor and Stephen fast asleep in their own sleeping bags before he moved to get out of the tent. He rubbed his eyes and mumbled to himself, "Shouldn't have had so much water before bed."
His attempt at going to the bathroom was stopped as he heard the sounds of movement outside. He froze and felt a twinge of fear as the sounds of rustling brush and shuffling footsteps seemed to be coming closer. The Spring Knight reached over and shook his two comrades awake while hissing quietly, "Connor! Stephen! Wake up! I heard something!"
"Oh geez Quin, go back to sleep. You must be dreaming," Connor mumbled as he tried to roll over.
He was interrupted as more sounds of movement rustled nearby in the darkness. Stephen blinked a few times and whispered quietly, "You guys don't think it's the Nightwalker, do you?"
"There is no Nightwalker. I made the whole thing up," Connor sighed as he sat up in annoyance at having been woken, "Seriously guys. It's probably just some raccoon and you're both acting like a pair of sissies."
He unzipped the tent and marched outside with a flashlight to confront the intruder. The moment the knight flicked on the switch, he nearly fell backwards in fear and surprise at the sight before him. Before him was a large hulking creature with a skeletal torso covered in shaggy fur. It had long arms, and wore a large animal skull over it's head where two glowing eyes burned and a pair of jagged antlers protruded from the sides.
"Whoah!" the Summer Knight shouted as he recoiled in terror and fell back to where Quinton and Stephen had joined him. The door to the cabin flew open and another flashlight went on as Laura and Noelle hurried outside in their pajamas to see what the commotion was about. As the monstrous beast turned its baleful glare toward them, they stopped in fright before grouping together to join the boys.
"What is that thing?" Laura gasped in fear while the creature got down on its haunches in a threatening position.
"I don't know, but if it's a Fomorian we've got to put it down," Stephen answered as he readied his archer's bracer.
The other knights followed suit and ignited the powers of their Celtic rings, "Athru!"
The large beastman gave a threatening snarl and padded closer as the armored knights drew their weapons and stood ready to face this unusual enemy. Before they could make any sort of counter move, they halted when they heard the voice of a familiar young woman from the darkness.
"I see you've met one of my new pets," Leanansidhe said as she stepped from the shadows. As she advanced, the knights could sense there was something a little different about the way she carried herself. It was more poised and filled with an eerily confident maliciousness. "The wendigos are hard beings to summon, but they're delightfully vicious creatures once they're tamed."
"I don't know what you've got planned here but you and shaggy over there picked the wrong campsite to mess with!" Connor called leveling his sword, "Let's go everyone!"
As the knights charged forward, Leanansidhe smiled and began to wave her own sword like a magical implement. While she did, she spoke in a double voice, mixed with that of the witch Morgana. "You don't know what kind of sorcery you're up against now!"
The witch fired a powerful rippling web of eldritch fey magic which surged across the campsite. Being at the end of the battle line, Noelle saw the attack coming and dove out of the way while the incoming blast struck each of her comrades and momentarily paralyzed them. The other knights cried out and immediately fell over to the ground. To Noelle's shock, she watched as the knights' armor dispelled and each of her friends were transformed into different animals, most of them small and harmless. Connor had become a reddish brown corgi dog while Laura morphed into a white and gray tabby cat. In place of Quinton and Stephen were a rabbit and a little falcon
"We'll make some sport of this," Leanansidhe-Morgana laughed as she signaled the Wendigo forward, "Easier prey for my pet to hunt down, but first…"
Noelle stood her ground and readied her sword, wondering how on earth she was going to take on the witch and a hulking demon at the same time.
Before anyone else could react, the headlights of a car lit up the campgrounds as a vehicle drove up quickly and stopped abruptly at the sight before it. The wendigo snarled and whipped its head toward the intruders while Leanansidhe and Noelle raised their hands to shield the glare of the light from their eyes. Both girls stood watching in wonder as two figures slowly stepped out of the car and turned to each other for a moment as if silently communicating. It was hard to tell in the shadows but one looked to be male and the other shorter one a female.
"Are you sure this is the right campground?" the female asked, "I don't remember reading about ugly witches and shaggy werewolves in the brochure."
The male shook his head in mild exasperation while Leanansidhe snarled "Who are you calling ugly?"
The two strangers straightened up hearing the familiar voice of Morgana and they stepped into the light. The male was a handsome young man who looked to be about the knights' age. He had short brown hair and wore glasses along with a red polo shirt and khakis. Beside him was a younger woman with similar facial features in jean shorts and a green tank top. Her long dirty blonde hair hung loose and lit up in the cars headlights.
"Aaron... you don't think that could really be Morgana... do you?" she said hesitantly.
He replied with an English accent, "I don't know Artemis. We'll have to figure that out later. Right now, there's a monster on the loose and people could get hurt. You ready to do this, sis?"
She nodded while producing a carved staff and giving it a wave while her brother Aaron pulled a device resembling a sword's crossguard and igniting it to form a red energy cross before him.
"Templar Power, Activate!"
"Druidic Powers, Unleashed!"
In a flash of red and green light, the two appeared to morph into new mysterious heroes to confront the villains. Aaron had become a knightly warrior in armor adorned in red and white while his younger sister Artemis took the form of a feminine green ranger bearing a nature motif of leaves and buds.
"The Templar Ranger and his bratty sister the Dryad Ranger... you two just have to keep getting in my way, don't you?" Morgana's voice called out angrily from Leanansidhe.
"The Mythos Rangers have beaten you once before Morgana and we'll do it again! As many times as it takes!" Aaron called while leveling a shining longsword at the witch.
"What the hell is going on here?" Noelle gasped in shock as she stepped back to the sidelines to try and shield her fellow knights that were now milling about the campsite as animals.
Leanansidhe waved the monstrous wendigo forward, "Go! Kill them!"
Noelle watched in awe as the Red Templar Ranger met the great beast head on and halted it in its tracks. His blade clashed with the jaws and nails of the snapping monster and momentarily deflected it away allowing for the Dryad Ranger to tumble past and smash her staff against one of the monster's ankles. The hulking wendigo buckled for a moment and stumbled to its knee from having lost its balance.
Without wasting a beat, Artemis twirled her nature staff and called upon several thick vines to erupt from the ground the blind the wendigo like living strands of rope. After seeing an opening, Aaron charged his blade and the Templar Ranger slashed the beast, wounding it in the neck with a vicious blow that sent it reeling to the side and dropping it in a stunned heap. After seeing her brute thoroughly trounced, Leanansidhe gave a frustrated growl and waved her sword, halting the two Mythos Rangers with a purplish pulse of dark necrotic magic to keep them back.
"Enjoy this little victory you two. I promise I will be prepared to deal with you properly the next time!" Morgana's voice echoed as Leanansidhe took on her gaseous form and swept over the battlefield. She scooped up the wendigo and evaporated from the battlefield leaving everyone coughing and momentarily blinded. Once the smoke cleared, Aaron kept his gaze on the night sky where the witch had retreated before turning to his sister, "Artemis, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said before pointing to the startled form of Noelle who approached and removed her helmet, "I... thank you for the help. Who are you?"
The two Mythos Rangers exchanged a look and powered down before offering reassuring gestures, "My name is Aaron Du Lac and this is my little sister Artemis. We were passing through on our way to the college and we came to spend the night here. Are you alright, Miss..."
"Noelle Moreau," she replied shaking hands with the two and powering down herself.
"I didn't know there were other Power Rangers here in Somerset Valley," Aaron said with a confused frown while adjusting his glasses.
"Well... not exactly Power Rangers per say," Noelle admitted while brandishing her Autumn ring, "My friends and I are more like fellow magic knights caught up in a war of the Faerie people."
"So... it looks like your friends were kinda asleep at the switch," Artemis said while poking around the trashed campsite, "You're the only one who bothered showing up to fight those monsters?"
"That's the problem. My fellow knights are here. You're looking at them," Noelle sighed as Stephen perched on the nearby tent while Quinton came hopping over to nibble at some roots. Connor gave a playful bark and started jumping around the visitors trying to get someone to pet him so Artemis obliged, "Aww, look! It's a cute little doggy!"
Aaron stopped and looked down as he saw the feline form of Laura come by and rub herself against his leg before giving a meow.
"I see. This is going to be a problem," Aaron grimaced, "Morgana's magic is incredibly powerful and if she's returned..."
Noelle scooped up Laura and Quinton, "You say you know what's going on here? That witch Leanansidhe is an enemy of ours, but she's grown significantly powerful. Who is this Morgana?"
"We may be able to fill in a few gaps but this might not be the best place to do it," Aaron shrugged.
"Then let's all head back into town. I can take us to place where we can get help," the Autumn Knight said as she began to try and wrangle her transformed friends, "Now if you'll excuse me for a few minutes here..."
Aaron nodded and turned in surprise to find his sister rummaging around by the remains of the campfire where some leftover S'more ingredients where set aside in a cooler. She had already begun helping herself to some marshmallows and graham crackers and stopped only when she met the reproving frown of her brother. He crossed his arms and gave a narrow look, "Artemis? What are you doing?"
"I'm hungry! It's not my fault we didn't stop for dinner on the way here!" she protested, "Besides, we can't fight monsters on an empty stomach, right?"
Aaron sighed and headed back toward the car while shaking his head, "I think you've been spending too much time with our own Pink Ranger Lexa."
A/N:
Thanks again to Stormasius for all the help in coordinating the plot of this last crossover and letting me borrow your Rangers for a little while. For anyone interested in Rangers who encounter and battle all sorts of mythical beings, be sure to check out his series PR: Mythos.