A/N: Well, here is the second part to the first chapter of the story! In this one we see less OCs and more Power Rangers as promised! Sorry for being so long but I have to work around school and other commitments! Anyway, a big thanks to anyone who reviewed, favourite or put this on story alert!
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my story and my OCs. The rest belongs to Saban/Disney/BVE respectively and I make no profit from this. I do NOT own Power Rangers, just so we're clear. But I can dream.
And now, enjoy chapter 2!
Sky awoke with a groan. Pressing a hand to her head, she felt the cold smooth plastic of her helmet. With a moan, she slowly sat up, using the rocky cave wall to prevent her from collapsing. As she shifted position, she heard a crunching sound. Looking down, Sky saw her communicator lying in bits on the floor. Reasoning that it must have broken on impact, the thanked her lucky stars that she hadn't ended up in a similar state. However, she realised with a sinking sensation she was now cut off from the others. Glancing up she couldn't see exactly how far she'd dropped down, or if there was any way to get back up. Clambering to her feet, she stood unsteadily. Running a hand over the wall, she found a crevice and dug her fingers into it, finding another spot for her foot. With great difficulty, she pushed herself up the rock face. Then the rock broke away from the wall and she was sent careering back down again. Turning around, she decided to venture deeper into the darkness, hoping to find another way out. Slowly, she took tentative steps into the unknown.
Some time later, Sky was still walking down endless passages. Growing tired, she felt like giving up and returning to where she had started. But, after a couple more minutes, she noticed a speck of light in the distance. Encouraged, she continued, increasing her speed. Sky slowed down when she realised that the light was actually coming from something beneath the ground. Curious, she bent down, running her fingertips across the hard rock. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. For the rock surface seemed to change. It would go from the expected hard, uneven surface to smooth and almost polished, like marble. Her headlight now fading a little, she tilted the helmet to reveal that there was actually a circular structure in the floor with a symbol in the centre. Intrigued, she noted that the symbol was raised above the rest of the circular panel. Curiosity peaked, she pressed down on the little emblem. The whole panel quivered and shook as soon as she'd pushed the seal down and she backed away. She watched in rapt fascination as the panel lifted a good couple of inches off the ground before moving sideways a little, exposing more light. Moving closer again, Sky pushed at the panel with all her strength and moved it slowly until a hole was exposed, just big enough for a person to fit through. All sensible thoughts were eclipsed from Sky's mind as she lowered herself down through the floor, dangling in mid air for a second before she dropped to the ground, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. She shielded her eyes as they adjusted the unusually bright light in front of her. Squinting, Sky realised that the light source was strange. It seemed to be hovering near the ceiling, but not quite touching it. She took her hard hat off, no longer thinking of her safety and let it drop to the floor with a clatter. Then, the light moved. She frowned.
"Impossible..." She murmured. Shifting position, she knocked her helmet, the sound echoing. Once again, the light leapt from one point to another. Then it swung right into Sky's face. With a yelp she put a hand over her eyes and staggered backwards, moving away until her back hit the rock wall. Screwing her eyes shut, Sky felt spots dance and flash under her eyelids. Finally, the ball of light seemed to retreat and she cracked open her eyes a fraction. Satisfied she wouldn't be blinded, Sky pushed herself off the wall once more. She then took in her surroundings. The walls weren't normal; she was sure of that. Although the rock was the same as it had been at the surface there were now rivers of some kind of brand new type of stone, thin streams of rock carving through the caverns walls. She looked at the walls again. The new rock ran in thin rivers down each side of the wall in a variety of colours. Red, blue, yellow, green, white, pink, black were common colours but she noticed other streaks in the normal rock face as well. There was one river of crimson with a navy one close by. She saw a gold one, a silver one, all of them simple in their path. That was the part that puzzled her most. Had these carvings been formed naturally, then she was sure they would have split off, cutting through the rock into little tiny roots from the main river. But instead they remained in a single line, disappearing into the shadows. She ran her fingers over the normal rock face, then over the unusual coloured markings. Then the ball of light caught her attention. She stared at it, determined to ignore the instinct to cover her eyes, as she tried to figure out exactly what it was. Whatever it was, she decided, it seemed to be...alive. It moved jerkily, moving in sharp spurts. It edged towards her. Suddenly, she felt an odd presence ghost over her, making her skin crawl. She wondered what the orb felt like. She stared at it, enthralled by the mystery which surrounded it. Then, as if in slow motion, she lifted her arm up, stretching her fingers out. Soon her hand was a hairsbreadth away from the glowing, pulsating light source. Then she leaned over and pressed her hand against it. At once a burst of light came from the centre of the orb and she felt an electric current run through her hand.
"Argh!" She screamed. Staggering away from the orb, she accidently brushed her injured hand against one of the coloured rocks embedded in the wall. In amazement, she watched as each individual strand lit up in turn, as if in a specific order. The orb itself had now dimmed slightly and was hovering near her once more, as if it wanted her to touch it again. So, without thinking, she did. This time there was no electricity. No, only a warmth that spread from the orb into her. To Sky it felt as if the light had somehow got under her skin and was now lighting her up from the inside out, making her feel warm and pleasant. However, her curiosity at these developments continuously nagged at her so she followed the coloured ribbons, the orb now residing just in front of her, guiding her through the dark.
Soon enough she came across what looked like stone steps. Her heart jumped at the thought of another exit, so she began to climb. As she continued her upwards descent, her thoughts turned to how much time had passed. She had no way of telling from the sights, and her watch had broken with the communicator when she'd first found herself in these caverns. She wondered if the others were worried. Her thoughts were erased at that point as she spotted a ledge. The little ball of light indicated she should go that way so, instead of continuing upwards Sky took a detour. Stepping onto the ledge, Sky looked and saw a small yet ornate basin. Approaching, she used the light orb to peer into it. The basin was filled to the brim with water. She grasped the edge with both hands and watched in shocked fascination as the waters rippled and darkened. Then, out of the inky black liquid, a person appeared. Her face was hidden by a large hood, but the long dark hair spilling out from underneath it suggested that the stranger was female.
"Greetings." She addressed Sky, her tone friendly. "I see that you have found your way into our sacred chambers." She noted.
"What?" Sky breathed. "This can't be happening." She muttered, looking away. "I must have hit my head when I fell. I'm hallucinating and this all just one really whacky dream." She consoled herself, eyes closed as she spoke aloud to herself. "There is not a woman in a bowl of water talking to me about sacred chambers." She insisted. The anonymous woman laughed softly.
"I am afraid that it is happening and I am talking to you." She apologised. Sky opened her eyes abruptly and whirled back to the basin, staring into it.
"You're...real?" She checked dubiously. The woman nodded. "Well...alright then." Sky decided eventually.
"You're fine with this?" The woman checked, surprised. Sky smiled.
"I believe anything's possible, I just don't like to get my hopes up until I'm certain." She explained with a cheeky grin. The strange image nodded approvingly.
"A wise philosophy." She remarked. "So, how did you find yourself in these caverns?" She asked. Sky recited her story from the beginning, not missing out a single thing. The woman listened intently, staying silent up until the point where Sky mentioned touching the ball of light. "You touched the orb?" She questioned suddenly. Sky nodded slowly. "And you survived?" She gasped, her voice awed.
"Yes..." Sky started slowly, still looking at the dark waters. "Is that unusual?" She asked.
"Very. But please, continue." The stranger motioned with her hand. Shrugging it off mentally (her day was already bizarre, she couldn't say what was odd anymore. She was talking to the image of a hooded woman in some water in a basin inside a cavern after all.) Sky continued, finally finishing her story. The woman nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, you are the one." She muttered, more to herself than to Sky. Looking back at the girl, who was stood with a confused expression, the woman straightened up to her full height. "It is time you knew the history of the 'colours in the wall' as you so put it." She declared.
"Great!" Sky exclaimed. "So...what are they?"
"Each colour represents a Power Ranger." The woman announced. Sky looked at her, not buying what she said.
"Erm...Power Rangers are a TV show for kids. They're not real." She stated matter-of-factly. The anonymous figure crossed her arms.
"Oh really?" She said, annoyance evident. Suddenly, an image burst forth from the water, hovering a few feet above it like an ancient hologram. It showed 6 teenagers all suddenly morph into colourful spandex suits before running off. Sky stood with her mouth open. The image retreated into the water once again. "Convinced?" The woman asked smugly. Sky swallowed and nodded.
"Sorry." She muttered.
"Anyway, I cannot convey the entire Power Rangers history by word of mouth, it would take far too long so instead I will implant the information into your head." She told Sky formally.
"Sounds painful." Sky mumbled but the mystery woman shook her head.
"Not at all. Simply touch the orb once again. Be warned, you may feel disorientated after and you will have a really bad headache, but those are normal." She rushed through, brisk. Shrugging, Sky turned, flipping her ponytail back and watching the orb. Pushing her worries and fears to the back of her mind, she reached out and touched the orb once again. All at once her mind was assaulted with countless images and a barrage of information came tumbling into her head.
"No wonder she said I'd have a headache." Sky thought distractedly as more pictures flowed into her mind. Finally, after a few painful minutes of download information, Sky retracted her hand and staggered around a bit, her headache intensifying and dizziness setting in. "Wow." She gasped out. "That's... a lot to take in." She admitted. "Ugh..." She moaned, putting a hand to her head.
"You'll be fine in a few hours." The stranger shrugged off, uncaring. "Now, I showed you that for a reason."
"What reason?" Sky asked.
"This is the chamber where the idea of Power Rangers was first conceived, and the idea behind them was born." The woman stated proudly. "A long time ago, at the beginning of Creation, there was a tribe of people known as the Nameless. They were beings, nothing specific, just beings that were there to bring goodness to the entirety of Creation. But there must be a balance between Good and Evil, otherwise everything would collapse." She continued on, voice wistful. "And so Creation compensated. To match the pure goodness of the Nameless, it created a being made purely of Evil. It was never named, so we simply called it the Evil. For years the Nameless fought the Evil and they would have succeeded; except the Evil was made of energy."
"And energy cannot be created or destroyed." Sky filled in, realisation filling her mind. The cloaked woman nodded.
"Exactly. For a long while this battle raged on until the Nameless came up with a plan. They sealed the Evil inside a separate creation, a universe. And they sealed it within a galaxy, and in that galaxy inside a planet. They sealed it inside Earth." She clarified to a stunned Sky. "So, the Evil rebelled and vowed that whilst trapped in Earth he would send minions to destroy the planet that trapped him so he would be released once more. In order to combat this, the Nameless created the Morphing Grid, along with Ninjor and the Power Rangers. But they needed a way to monitor the Evil, to ensure he wouldn't have a single opportunity of escaping. So they created two new things. Space and Time." The figure narrated, retelling the events.
"So, what does this have to do with me?" Sky asked, still confused as to why she was being told all this.
"What I haven't mentioned," The woman carried on as if Sky hadn't spoken. "Is that these events did not take place in your universe. Instead they took place in one parallel to yours. The Nameless created many universes as an added precaution, so the Evil would have even more barriers preventing its escape. Everything that happens in the Ranger's universe has an effect on yours. But, lately the Evil has become more restless." The lady under the hood fixed her gaze on Sky, though she kept her eyes hidden. "You are the first to discover these chambers since the Nameless set foot in them. Though we don't know why, we believe that the next minion that the Evil will send out will be more challenging to the Rangers than before, and that they will need help. Not only that, we know that this minion will try to obtain control of more than one universe. Namely, he will come into this universe."
"What!" Sky exclaimed, headache forgotten as she gripped the bowl.
"I know. Which is why we need you." The woman said patiently. "As I said, you are the first to have set foot in these caves. You would not have been able to were you not the right person. Your DNA is just right for what we need you for."
"But what do you need me to?" Sky asked again.
"Your DNA has the slight instability in the base code so that you can travel across universes. Which is why we want you to take the amulet the Nameless left behind. It will turn you into the Ultimate Warrior, and the Ultimate Dragon Ranger. Should you take the amulet, then you will need to travel to the Ranger's universe to help them. Do you agree?" The woman asked. It was clear that this was the point she had been most anxious to get to, for she leaned forward in her seat. Sky turned away from the image in the water, biting her lip.
"If I agree, then I have to leave everything behind. I lose everything. I will have to start from scratch." She thought. "Could I really do that?" She wondered. Then she reviewed the information now stored in her brain. "But if I don't, then the other universe will be taken over by Evil, and then who knows what could happen! I can't let that become a reality. I just can't." She realised. Nodding, she turned around.
"I'll do it." She agreed. The woman smiled.
"In that case, you only have one last thing you must do to prove yourself." She announced.
"What?" Sky asked warily. As if on cue, the orb moved and illuminated a sheer rock face, with jagged rocks below, only a few flat ones allowing her to travel across to the wall.
"You must retrieve the amulet from atop the ledge." The anonymous woman stated assertively. Sky swallowed hard. This was bigger than anything she'd ever done before. "Do you accept the challenge?" She asked Sky. Sky paused, glancing up and down the rock face, then smirked.
"Bring it on." She said, already leaving the bowl, barely registering the waters disappearing. Glancing at the rocks, she jumped onto one stepping stone which wobbled beneath her weight. Realising this challenge, Sky immediately began hopping as quickly as she could between them. However, as she stepped on one, a section of the ceiling opened up. Reflexively, she glanced up to see large sharp rocks falling from the opening. Like lighting, she darted to the next rock. "Phew, close one." She muttered, still hopping towards to wall.
Eventually, she reached her intended destination. Looking around, Sky recalled her rock climbing skills from before she started scaling the rock face, albeit with some difficulty. She was around half way up when she reached for a hand hold once more. Suddenly the rock crumbled away and Sky found herself falling. Reacting fast, she reached out and clung on to a nearby rocky outlet, jutting out away from the rock face. She knew without looking that the trouser leg of her suit had ripped and she had gashed her knee badly. Gritting her teeth, she started hauling herself back up again, determinedly ignoring the pain from her leg. "Come...on," She grunted to herself. "You can do this." She reminded herself. "Do it for the Rangers." She scolded herself, pushing further up the rock face. "I can do this." She affirmed, talking to herself as she managed to climb past the part of the wall which had defeated her before. By the time she was nearly at the top, Sky was in excruciating pain. Having suffered several mishaps on her way up, her arm was bruised and throbbing, her head had a profusely bleeding gash near the hairline after a collision with a sharp rock when she lost her footing and her leg was now worse than before, the gash now stretching down her calf. But she didn't stop. Crawling up, she heaved herself over the edge. Finally there, she stood up, grinding her teeth against the pain, hissing when it flared up in her leg. Hobbling around, she surveyed the area before spotting a pedestal at the back of the ledge. Limping over, Sky saw the amulet was set in the stone, an old silver medallion. The medallion was in the shape of a crescent moon, the two ends of the crescent joined together. Tired, injured and reckless, Sky didn't think as she pulled the amulet from the stone. The platform then began shaking violently. Realising the cave was collapsing, Sky looked round and spotted another ledge a bit further away. Running to the back of the platform, she gripped tightly to the amulet. Running, she took off from the edge, stretching out her hand. By the tips of her fingers, she managed to grip the edge.
After she had pulled herself up onto her shelter as the platform sank into the cave floor, the stone which once held the amulet disappearing with it. Raising her eyebrows at the spectacle, Sky started examining the amulet. With wide eyes, she watched as it began glowing in her grasp. It got brighter and brighter until the light engulfed her. The light faded after a moment, leaving Sky exactly as she was. Except now there was a morpher on her wrist, and the amulet was now a pendant, a simple material chain attached to it. At that point the mysterious woman's voice rang out again.
"You have proved yourself worthy. But now you have to go." She called out, voice echoing. At these words a portal appeared, green and black colours swirling together. Taking a deep breath Sky jumped headlong into it and found herself tumbling through a kaleidoscope of colours before she felt herself hit the ground with a thump. Standing up, Sky felt nausea consume her and she was about to fall until she felt two arms catch her. Sky turned and found herself looking into the face of a concerned young woman with warm brown eyes and matching hair.
"Hey there, you okay?" The woman asked. Sky disentangled herself and stood up slowly.
"Oh, I'm...fine." she replied, taking in her surroundings. "Though something tells me I'm not in Kansas anymore." She muttered to herself.
"What?" The woman asked sharply.
"Nothing." Sky replied quickly. "Listen, this might sound like a bizarre question, but where am I? And what country is this?" She asked, staring around at the unfamiliar surroundings. The woman seemed puzzled at this request, but answered all the same.
"You're in Silver Hills. And, if you want to know exactly where you are, you're in California, USA." She replied. "Hey, are you sure you're alright?" She asked again as Sky blinked once, not reacting. Without warning, Sky ran over and plucked a newspaper off a random stall. One look at the front page confirmed the woman was telling the truth, but something else threw Sky off guard.
"Okay...what year is this?"
"What?" The kind stranger replied, caught off guard at the odd question.
"What year is this?" Sky repeated.
"2001. Why?" The stranger asked, now suspicious. Sky threw the paper back onto the stall.
"Er, no reason." She replied vaguely.
"Listen, why don't you come back to where I'm staying with my friends? Maybe we can help." She explained, walking towards Sky. Realising this was a very bad idea, Sky shook her head quickly.
"No that's fine I...I need to go." She stuttered, already backing away.
"No really, I insist." The woman persisted, following Sky. "My name's Jen, Jennifer Scotts." She introduced herself. "What about you?"
"Erm, I'm Sky." Sky replied, looking about for an escape route. Noticing a side alley, she smiled at Jen. "Well, Jen, thanks for your concern but I'd really better be going now." She excused herself hurriedly, still backing away. "Maybe I'll see you around at some point. Anyway, see you!" She called out, before turning and sprinting away, never more grateful for her ability at running. She heard Jen follow.
"Wait! I'm not going to..." She trailed off as Sky rounded a corner and continued to pelt away into the distance. As soon as the footsteps stopped, Sky breathed a sigh of relief and ran down to the beach, ready to find some solitude and sort out her head.
Meanwhile Jen had stopped and stared at the retreating figure of the girl. She knew that something wasn't right about Sky. Her outfit looked like caving gear and she was bleeding and filthy whilst stood in the middle of the street. Her accent was British so it was obvious she wasn't from America and there was something that just seemed off about her. However Jen didn't know why, but she knew that Sky wasn't dangerous. "...Hurt you." She finished sadly as the teenager rounded a corner. As she stood pondering the mystery that had presented itself, she heard Wes come up behind her.
"Something wrong?" He asked in a friendly manner. Shaking her head, they turned and began to walk away. But even as she returned to the Clock Tower, Jen decided she would find Sky and figure out exactly what was going on.
Okay, did you like it?
Well, we're in the PR universe at last and Sky has run into Jen. I know I said there would be more PR in this and I hope I delivered!
Leave a review to let me know what you think and, if you review, I will send each reviewer a sneak preview of chapter 3- where the REAL storyline begins!
So go on, press that little button and make my day!
Thanks,
JJ x