Disclaimer: Don't own.
Episode two: The beginning.
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Sky looked up from his book as a young, B-squad cadet knocked at the door frame.
"The Commander wants you to report to the Command Centre," the cadet said softly.
"Thanks," Sky smiled and got off the bed, following the cadet to outside the Command Centre. He entered it to see Bridge already standing in front of the
console with his Commander.
"Hey Schyuler!" Bridge smiled warmly. Sky smiled back and then turned his attention to the Commander, who was eyeing them with an amused smile.
Does everyone know about us except us? Sky thought.
"Cadets, you are to report to the ruin site at exactly twelve noon today. You have an hour to prepare and I think I should brief both of you on the reason why we want the ruins to be protected," the Commander showed them a picture of the ruins along with some pictures of odd creatures skulking about.
"These ruins are said to be home to a great power, one so powerful, it could change the world. We fear that someone wants that power for themselves and I doubt that is a good thing. Bridge, you have been guarding these ruins for a while, please show cadet Tate his way around and-"
"Be careful," Bridge finished. The Commander smiled at his favorite cadet and nodded. Bridge turned to Sky with a big grin on his face.
"Come on! We have to change and get going! Wear something casual! You do have something casual, right?" Bridge happily babbled on and grabbed Sky's wrist, dragging him out. The Commander simply shook his head and returned his attention to his files.
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"Kat, tell me again where you're going?" Cruger followed his old friend as she walked towards the shuttle bay.
"Something's going on in Japan. I can feel it," Kat scowled.
"What something?" Cruger frowned and then stood in front of her, blocking her way, "Kat?"
"Doggie," Kat sighed and then looked up at him before gesturing to go inside the shuttle bay. The two of them entered and the doors close behind them as Kat began her explanation.
"As you know, aside from being a scientist, I was also the High Priest of my world. I've been able to sense power and often had a sense of foreboding before a large event. I felt this same vibe before my world was destroyed. Something big is going to happen and I know it!" Kat explained.
"Does it have to do with Bridge?" Cruger asked softly.
"Yes. I told you before; Bridge has an incredible power, Doggie, one that can change the world! He doesn't know that he has it, but he does! When Sky first came to this Academy, I felt uneasy around him. I felt coldness," Kat almost looked ashamed to mention it, "but once he met Bridge, and as he started opening up to him, started showing emotion, that feeling faded."
Cruger nodded and put his paws on her shoulders, "I know. You spoke to me about it several times. You also said… that Bridge and Sky are destined for each other."
"I felt it the moment when Sky learned to laugh again, thanks to Bridge. I sensed adversity in the future, one even greater than Grumm and Omni. The two of them will have to join together to face it. The only thing is, Doggie, they're just children! Barely adults! Bridge is eighteen and Sky is twenty-one! What they have to do in the future…" she trailed off and began making her way towards the ship.
Cruger followed her, "I'm coming as well…"
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"There it is!" Bridge pointed out as he leaned out of the jeep Sky was driving.
"Bridge, be careful!" Sky nearly yelled as he had to take a turn and Bridge nearly fell out.
"Sorry! It would not have been nice to fall into this sand…" Bridge grinned sheepishly as he sat back down. The ruins were just ahead, jutting out of the desert sand. They were shaped like two curved horns, jutting out of the ground to form a sort of gateway.
"What do you know about them?' Sky asked as he parked the jeep and hopped out, walking around to Bridge's side.
"No more than you do, oop!" Bridge attempted to hop out of the jeep, but tripped on the edge of the door, nearly falling down, but Sky saved him from a rather painful descent.
"You okay?" Sky asked, trying to hide his blush at holding Bridge in a bridal carry.
"Y-Yeah, thanks," Bridge hopped out of Sky's arms quickly and began walking, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing as well.
"Are we the only ones here as security?" Sky attempted to change the subject.
"Nope. There are other cadets, but they're hiding as well," Bridge nodded. Sky looked around, but all he saw were archaeologists.
"I don't see them," he frowned.
"Then they're doing a good job as undercover, huh?" Bridge smiled. Sky shook his head and followed Bridge, who headed towards one of the tents.
"Tama-san?" Bridge asked politely and a man who appeared to be in his late forties looked up and smiled at the teen.
"Bridge-kun! How are you?" he smiled and gestured for them to enter and sit, "who's your friend?"
"Tama-san, this is my friend, Schyuler," Bridge pointed to Sky who shook Tama's hand.
"I go by Sky," the Newtech Red Ranger nodded.
"Fine," the old man smiled and turned to grab his notes.
"Bridge-kun?" Sky whispered to Bridge with a grin.
"It's an honorific. You normally add those to a person's name at the end. They're called 'honorifics'. I add 'san' to Tama-san's name cause it's the same as adding 'Mr.' or 'Miss' to another person's name. 'Kun' is an endearment mainly used for boys and 'chan' is used for girls and occasionally boys and family. If you don't add an honorific to someone's name, it can be taken as an insult if you don't have a close relationship with the person. If you can say someone's name without the honorific and with permission, it means you have a really close bond with that person," Bridge explained quickly.
Sky nodded and grinned, "Okay, Bridge-chan."
"Schyuler!'" Bridge huffed and whacked him on the arm, "no need for honorifics!"
"How come you and I never used them?" Sky asked.
"Cause we were close friends before I learnt about them!" Bridge smiled, "if you really care for someone, there's no need for honorifics, so just call me 'Bridge', okay?"
"Fine," Sky smiled.
"Bridge-kun," Tama came back to them and took them to the ruins, showing them a passage in the side of one ruin that led downwards.
"What's down there?' Bridge looked at him.
"We found a rather odd symbol down there. We think these ruins signify a gateway to somewhere."
"Can we go down and examine it?' Sky asked.
"If you want. But be careful," Tama warned and both Bridge and Sky walked down the stairs towards the symbol.
Sky looked around as they reached the end of the staircase and spotted the a large circle in the ground with a drawing of a pair of wings in the centre. The drawing was just as big as the symbol.
Bridge didn't look anywhere else, besides at Sky. Bridge finally decided that, while they were alone, he would finally tell Sky about his feelings.
"Schyuler?" Bridge called to him and the Red Ranger walked up to his friend.
"Yes?"
"Schyuler, I wanna tell you something," Bridge blushed deeply, "I lo-" he stopped short as he looked away and saw the symbol on the ground.
"Bridge?' Sky basked, concern lacing his voice as well as anticipation. He had a damn good idea of what Bridge was saying. The Ranger walked towards the centre of the circle.
"I saw this in my dream…" Bridge said softly and knelt down, touching the drawing with his fingertips.
"Bridge-" Sky began, but was cut off as the ruin began to shake violently and light began to shine from the symbol. Sky covered his head and watched Bridge simply kneel there, unmoving.
Bridge looked at him, a blank look on his face, along with a warm smile. The
ground suddenly split in the center and Bridge fell through it.
"BRIDGE!" Sky screamed and jumped in after him.
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Far away, in another dimension, a man with white and black hair, ice blue eyes and a monocle on one of them was viewing the disturbance in a mirror.
"At last," he muttered in a cold voice, "the power to span dimensions has been awoken." He gazed at a cylinder in which the body of a young man floated.
"And I shall take measures to ensure it is within my grasp. I shall possess that power no matter what and no one will stand in my way."
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In another world, a thin man with feathery blonde hair and ice blue eyes climbed out of a pool of water and looked down at a glass coffin at the bottom of the pool. In it, the body of a man with midnight blue hair that was nearly knee length appeared to be sleeping.
"I hope you sleep well, my king," the man smiled as he dried himself off and then put on a long, fluffy coat, suitable for the bitter cold in his world. He then grabbed his staff and drew some symbols in the air around him. Each symbol glowed as he finished and then magic began to surround him.
"Time to go see the witch."
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In yet another world, a man with dark raven hair and red eyes and wearing armor that had a protective shield on his sword arm, covered by a cloak, slaughtered yet another adversary who was attacking him.
"You're weak, you're all weak!" he laughed as he sheathed his long silver katana, "you're supposed to be assassins, am I right? Can't you send anyone with guts to fight me?"
"You didn't do what I said again, did you Kurogane?" a soft female voice came from behind him and he turned to see a woman with long black hair tied with bells and dressed in royal robes, looking at him disapprovingly.
"Princess Tomoyo?" Kurogane muttered and then straightened, "every assassin has been dealt with! How can you have a complaint against that?"
"I asked you to avoid unnecessary death, were those not my words?" she said softly.
"It doesn't matter to me. I just want to become stringer than I am. If my opponent dies in the process, it's not my concern," Kurogane grinned wolfishly, the moonlight illuminating the blood on his face.
Tomoyo smiled sadly, "Then I have no choice."
Kurogane didn't even have time to react as the floor began to liquefy and he began to sink into it, "Cut this out, Tomoyo!"
"One more thing before you go," she made a symbol in the air and it flew onto Kurogane's head guard, glowing before disappearing.
"The hell?"
"That was a curse. From now on, the more people you kill unnecessarily, the more your strength will decrease."
"Tomoyo!" Kurogane yelled in rage as he continued to sink into the floor.
"One day, you will surely find true strength,": she smiled.
Kurogane thrust his fist up as he sank completely into the ground, "I'LL BE BACK AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!"
Tomoyo smiled sadly and then looked up at the star-studded sky, "Your journey has just begun, Kurogane…"
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Sky landed with a crouch on the ground and he looked up to see the symbol which had been on the ground now on the wall about twenty feet off the ground. Bridge was floating in front of it, his eyes blank and Sky had a feeling he was completely unaware of what was happening around him.
"I have to save him," Sky growled and took out his morpher, "SPD EMERGENCY!" he yelled, but he didn't morph.
"Great!" he yelled and then put his morpher away and relied on his cadet training to climb over the falling beams and rocks. He saw something white light coming from behind Bridge and his mouth dropped as magnificent wings sprouted from the Ranger's back, resembling the drawings.
"Bridge!" Sky yelled. He didn't notice as a blue light appeared around him, his attention focused on saving his love.
Bridge began to sink back into the wall, the wings along with him and somehow Sky knew that if that happened, he would never see his friend again. He braced his foot against a small crease in the rock face and leapt up nearly seven feet, managing to grab Bridge around the waist and with a hard pull, freed him from the wall. He landed with a crouch and all of a sudden, the wings seemed to shatter with sound of glass breaking and Sky watched in shock as pure white feathers flew towards the sky and disappeared. At the same time, he felt Bridge's body temperature decrease until he was nearly freezing.
"He's as cold as ice," Sky muttered before picking him up in a bridal carry, "I have to get him out of here!"
Sky looked up at the ledge leading towards the stairs, which was a long way off the ground. He felt some sort of power push him and he made the jumps with ease and was out of the collapsing cave in seconds. He ran out of the cave, only to be greeted with a sight of the dead bodies of the archaeologists spread about the ruin site. A large robot with metal wolf-claws attached to its hands leaped at him and Sky was almost sliced, but saved by a very familiar sword
"Commander!" Sky said in shock as the Shadow Ranger took a defensive stance in front of them and herded them towards a path which led towards a cave. Sky carried Bridge in and was surprised to see Kat standing there with a long staff which had a sun and moon symbol on it.
"Kat?" Sky asked, confused.
"Put Bridge down here," Kat said softly. The Ranger obeyed, but his confusion increased as Kat put her hand on Sky's forehead and closed her eyes.
"I've read your memory," she announced to his surprise. Kat looked at Bridge with slight pain in her eyes, "His wings have taken flight."
"Wings?" Sky asked, confused.
Kat looked at all of him, "Bridge's heart and wings are one, but his heart is nowhere on this world. Without it, his body is nothing more than an empty shell. If nothing is done, he'll die."
Sky felt like a serpent had coiled around his heart, he couldn't breathe and shook his head frantically, "He can't die, Kat, I won't let him."
Kat turned to him, "Sky, there is a way to save him but it is very deadly. I will send you to a person called the Space-Time Witch. If you pay an equal price, she will give you the power to travel to different dimensions but you have no way of knowing how many memories are left and be rest assured, you won't be able to fight while morphed since there might be no morphing grid. Bridge's feathers are a source of great power. If anyone possesses the feather, there will be a fight. You may find a friendly world or one with nothing but war or even one where SPD is evil and Grumm is good. People you've met in one world may have developed under completely different conditions. All that said, do you still want to leave?"
Sky looked at Bridge and knew his answer. He nodded, "Yes."
"Fine, but you may as well hand over both your morphers as they won't be of any use," she pointed out. Sky handed them over and then picked Bridge up again, holding him tightly against his body. Kat began her incantation and almost immediately, a large wind blew up and a sheet of opaque magic surrounded both Bridge and Sky. Once they were covered, it melted back into the ground and the wind died down. Kat smiled up at the sky.
"I pray for you safe return."
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At a place far away, in front of a palace, a woman with marble white skin and jet black hair stood awaiting her 'guests'. All of a sudden, the sky and ground warped like three tear drops which burst to reveal a young man with pale blond hair and blue eyes in one, another burst apart to reveal a man with raven hair and red eyes, while the final one burst apart to reveal two teens, one with blonde hair and blue eyes and the other one with brown hair and looked to be unconscious.
"Are you the Space-Time Witch?" the awake teen asked.
The white woman nodded, "I am called that by some and am also called Yuuko."
The blue-eyed man clutched the body in his arms tighter and looked at her with a fierce determination in his eyes, "Please help me! I need you to save Bridge!"
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And another chapter is done! Things are heating up now! The stage is set and the soon, the quest will beginning! Does Sky have what it takes?
P.S: I'll be using a few Japanese words here and there, but don't worry, I'll tall you what word means what beforehand!