Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban Brands.
AN: Thanks for all the great review! Enjoy this chapter.
During Once a Ranger, an evil from the past rises to join Thrax, causing the Sentinel Knight to call upon seven more rangers from the past to join Adam, Tori, Kira, Xander, and Bridge. Can a team of twelve past rangers handle the additional threats and restore power to the morphing grid for Operation Overdrive?
Pairings: Hunter/Tori, Adam/Tanya, Tommy/Kim, Billy/Kat, Conner/Kira and more.
Butterflies and Hurricanes
A Once a Ranger AU
Part 4
"Soul Divide"
As Hunter dispatched the Kelzack furies, he called on his new weapon afforded to him by his new power source. Twin sai, each crackling with crimson thunder on the gleaming blades appeared in his hands. He charged, slicing his way through his adversaries with his sights set on the dark ninjas in the near distance. But Tori's struggle caught his attention and he ran to her side, as she tumbled to the ground. His visor opened, as he helped her up.
"You need to charge your morpher with your prism," he told her.
"My prism?" she asked in confusion. He nodded.
"Sentinel Knight didn't give me my powers back. The crimson prism did and it gave me stronger powers," he explained. She canceled her morph and took the prism around her neck
She touched the glowing prism to her power disc and ribbons of blue power coursed all over her body. She looked at him and he nodded, as they stood up.
"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form, Ha!" she called, as she morphed again. Like Hunter's, her suit did not change, but she felt the increase in power and stronger link to the grid.
"The little power ups you just gave yourselves will be useless against me this time," Lothor hissed, as the dark prism bled an inky blackness from its place around his neck. Tamara and Zara handled the stolen red and yellow prisms and used them to fire air and earth beams at them. It blew them back, but they both flipped to evade the attacks and landed several feet away.
"Let's see what these new powers can do," Tori suggested. He nodded and new weapons materialized in their hands. In his hands were his new twin thunder sai, crackling with crimson thunder. In hers was her new hurricane bow. For close range fighting though, she attached it to her back and drew her ninja sword, before charging with him.
"Yeah! This is awesome!" Dax cheered, as they watched the virtual ranger army take on Thrax, his cohorts, Lothor, and his army of dark ninjas.
"At this rate, with this many rangers, they won't have any trouble winning," Ronny agreed.
"If Alpha can fix our morphers, then we'll be able to help," Will added.
"How's it coming, Alpha?" Rose asked.
"Slowly, but surely rangers," Alpha promised.
"You look worried, Cam. They're winning!" Mack said with enthusiasm.
"For now, but if these readings I'm getting mean anything, then we could have a serious problem," Cam replied, as they all peered down at the screen.
"What is that mass of blue?" Rose asked.
"It should be a map of the country," Cam responded.
"Any why is there a big blue blob spreading across it?" Dax asked, referring to the blue mass on the screen.
"It looks like a giant storm, but it's not raining," Ronny mentioned.
"It's a storm, just not the kind you're thinking of. It's like a blanket of evil," Cam stated.
"I don't understand. What does that mean?" Andrew asked.
"If the blood planet eclipses the moon, evil that has long since gone can rise again," Sensei recited.
"What does that mean?" Will asked impatiently.
"It means the world could be in more danger than ever," a new voice said. They turned, finding Spencer had let five new arrivals in.
Jason Lee Scott stood there with Trini and Kim, along with Shane and Dustin behind them.
"This is insane! How many more former rangers are there?" Ronny asked.
"A hell of a lot more than this," Jason replied.
"Dammit...no offense, but this is our time! We should be out there!" Will complained in frustration.
"This isn't about you, rookie. But there might be something Overdrive can do to help," Jason stated.
"Anything is better than sitting here," Mack said.
"I cannot restore the remaining three dino coins in my current state, but gaining the sword of Excelsior will restore me and foil Thrax's plan to gain the sword and use it for evil," Sentinel Knight stated.
"Here's the map," Andrew said, as he handed it to Mack.
"Let's go!" he called to his team.
"In the meantime, Dustin and I will go get our prisms back from these posers," Shane stated.
"Going out there now unmorphed would be a really bad idea," Cam warned.
"He's right," Jason agreed. Shane signed.
"Man, this is bogus! How did that freak even survive Mesagog's island exploding?" Dustin wondered in frustration.
"When one employs the use of dark ninja magic, they become privy to many unnatural powers and abilities.
"And the dark prism only makes him more unnaturally powerful," Cam said grimly, as they observed the battle with new wariness.
Adam tackled Thrax as they dueled fiercely. He threw Adam off, but Tanya was waiting and delivered a series of fierce kicks. Thrax raised his staff and blocked her leg. He swiped at her with his staff. Sparks ensued, as she was thrown to the ground. Adam countered meeting his staff with the blade of his axe.
"Give it up, black ranger. You never had a chance in defeating my father, so you have no chance against me," Thrax hissed.
"You like to hear yourself talk, don't you? Figures. Your dad loved the sound of his own voice too," Adam retorted. Thrax growled and knocked him away.
"I'll make you eat your words, ranger!" he growled, but was promptly pelted with blue laser fire.
"The only thing you're gonna eat is dirt," Rocky said, as he looked down at their enemy. Thrax raised his head and snarled at them. Rocky whistled in a low tone.
"Damn...he is butt ugly. Definitely Rita and Zedd's kid," Rocky joked. Thrax roared angrily and blew the three of them back with a flail of energy, as he got to his feet.
"Way to go, Rocko. You pissed him off more," Adam teased.
"Dude, if I had that face, I'd want to murder everything too," Rocky joked back. Tanya shook her head.
"All right, let's just end him already. Looking at his ugly mug is making me sick," Tanya quipped, as they charged again.
Conner battled two particularly nasty Chillers. They were snarling and foaming at the mouth. One snapped its jaws and latched onto Conner's Tyranno staff.
"That's right, eat Tyranno staff, buddy," Conner spat, as he fired a blast down the creature's throat, causing him to explode.
"Man, what is with these things?" Kira wondered, as she slashed at another with her Ptera grips.
"I think they've been altered. Mesagog used to do that with his mind control powers so it's safe to say that Lothor's putting his inherited powers to good use," Tommy suggested, as he fired green blasts of energy at another batch of Chillers with his dragon dagger. Once dispatched, they joined the others.
Hunter and Tori battled the oncoming slew of dark ninjas, trying their best to only injure, as they fought their way to Lothor. He seemed eager to accept the challenge, as the ninjas branched off and went to the attack the other rangers. Lothor charged Hunter, while Zara and Tamara double teamed Tori. Armed with the air and the earth prisms, they launched blasts at her, blowing her back.
"Poor little water ninja. Time to bury you," Zara hissed, as she held the glowing earth prism to her face. Tori's prism reacted and shot a torrent of water at the dark ninja, hurling her across the field.
"Only a true earth ninja can make that prism work like it's supposed to," Tori warned, as she summoned another beam of water, engulfing Tamara's attempt at an air beam and sending her into a soaking heap with her daughter.
Hunter slammed his thunder sai down on Lothor's sword, dueling him for control. Lothor blasted him violently in the abdomen with the dark prism's energy sending him slamming painfully into a tree.
"You're still pathetic as ever, crimson ranger, though I'll give you props for having the guts to take me one on one," Lothor drawled, as he slowly approached. Hunter got to his feet and leapt at him with a flying kick. Lothor growled and used his momentum to leap back to his feet from the ground. But Hunter was ready and powered up the new crimson blaster with an energy sphere of crackling crimson energy. Lothor was hit head on and slammed into a rocky outcropping. Black bled from his eyes, as he pulled himself to his feet. His dark energy gathered and the dark prism glowed, as the wind flailed around him, sending violent wisps at him. Hunter dug his feet in, trying to keep from being blown back.
"I should have gotten rid of you when I hacked your parents years ago. But now I can finally rectify that error," Lothor hissed, as he send the dark energy into the ground, barreling toward him. The ground beneath Hunter's feet began to crack and give way. He fell into the crevice, but began quickly climbing back to the surface. Lothor was waiting though and kicked him in the head. His head snapped to the side, but his helmet absorbed the rest of the attack he might have suffered to his head without it.
"Time to die, ranger brat," Lothor hissed, as he conjured another sphere of dark energy.
"Thunder shield!" Hunter cried at the last minute. The dark energy ricocheted off his shield and back at Lothor, tossing him back with a violent thrust. Hunter climbed out of the crevice, but suddenly felt like his body was on fire, as an electrified blinding cable wrapped around him from behind. He writhed on the ground in pain, as a masked thunder ninja hovered above him, holding the gauntlet that the cable was attached to. The ninja removed his mask and Nate smirked evilly at him.
"Good work Nate," Lothor said, as he approached.
"Do you want me to drag him back to your base?" Nate asked.
"No, the thunder prism is no good to us as long as he's still breathing. This one is going to die right here and now," Lothor said evilly, as he placed his foot on Hunter's helmet.
"Slowly, might I add. Time to squish you like the bug you are, crimson ranger," he growled, as he applied pressure. Hunter cried out in pain and a loud crack was hard, as his helmet visor cracked. Lothor ripped the helmet off.
"Raise him to his knees," Lothor ordered. Nate gladly grabbed a handful of Hunter's hair and forced him up to his knees. Lothor drew his sword and Hunter swallowed hard, as the blade hovered near his neck. He spared a glance at Tori, who fought to get to him.
"Don't worry, she'll be joining you really soon," Lothor promised, as he prepared to slit his throat.
"HUNTER!" Tori cried, as she activated her ninja sword gold mode and swiped at Zara and Tamara. The gold flails of power threw them back and she drew her new aqua bow, aiming for Lothor's hand. She fired an arrow and he yelped in pain, as it struck and he dropped his sword. He glared at her, as she began running for him and he conjured a sphere of dark energy from the prism.
"Tori...wait...no!" Hunter cried, as he prepared to fire at her. Despite the pain from the electrified binding, he knocked Nate away and tried to get to his feet. He shoved his shoulder into Lothor to knock him off balance. He fell to the ground and the energy his the tree behind him, blowing it to pieces and shaking the ground beneath them apart.
"That's it...there's about to be two dead ninjas," he growled, as he got to his feet with dark energy forming in his hands. Tori quickly picked up one of his sai and cut him loose, instantly relieving the pain and allowing him to stand. He saw the energy barreling toward them and grabbed her arms so they could get out of the way. Their prisms reacted to their closeness and the approaching dark energy, much to theirs and everyone's surprise. An amethyst shield exploded in front of them and they watched in amazement as purple fire ate away and nullified the dark energy.
"What's happening..." Tori wondered.
"Amethyst storm...it's what the scroll was talking about," Hunter recalled.
"Amethyst storm?" she asked.
"Fire storm...there's a reason why there is no school of fire," he replied. Suddenly everything he had been reading was making sense.
"I thought it was because it was too hard to control?" she asked.
"No...it's because it takes two elements which just so happen specifically to be ours," Hunter explained. She still had a lot of questions, but knew they would have to wait, as Lothor powered up more dark energy.
"Let's end him," Hunter said, as he picked up his thunder sai. She turned her bow horizontally and he attached his sai on either side, creating a new crossbow type weapon. The arrow became alive with amethyst fire, as they powered it up and fired it directly at Lothor. His eyes widened and he stopped his charge.
"No...not this time," he growled, as he grabbed Nate, who was only a few feet away and used him as a human shield.
"NO!" Hunter cried, as he realized Lothor's treachery. The blast hit and Nate was incinerated instantly.
"No..." Tori cried, as Lothor cackled evilly.
"You may have discovered your powers, but you're not going to defeat me that easily this time. And in a few days, not even your powers will be enough against me!" he roared, as he and the entire army, including Thrax disappeared. They canceled their morph and held each other close for a moment. Adam let them have a couple seconds, before walking toward them.
"Come on guys...let's get back," he urged. They nodded and joined the others.
"You guys were awesome!" Dax said exuberantly. The Overdrive rangers were especially keyed up, because they had managed to gain the sword of Excelsior.
"Yeah, we feel awesome," Adam said solemnly.
"What's wrong? You guys won," Dax pointed out.
"That wasn't a win!" Hunter snapped, but he calmed, as Tori put her hands on his arm.
"I'm sorry..." Hunter apologized.
"But Nate was one of my students. He was a jerk and a bad seed, but I still should...have done something," Hunter said, feeling guilty.
"It's not your fault," Tori insisted.
"Nathan made his own choices and knew what following the dark path entailed. All the students that have left us to follow Lothor have made a choice. None of you are responsible for their actions or choices," Sensei stated firmly.
"Yeah, he knew what Lothor is and he followed him anyway, knowing full well of his history of turning on his own any time it suited him," Cam reminded them.
"Yeah dude, so stop brooding," Dustin teased.
"Isn't that kind of like asking Hunter to stop being Hunter?" Shane joked. The crimson ranger rolled his eyes.
"All right," Hunter relented.
"Now, let's talk about those new powers!" Dustin said excitedly.
"You really need to lay off the caffeine," Tori mentioned.
"Except he hasn't had any," Shane replied, slightly annoyed by his best friend.
"Yeah, we all saw that purple stuff. What happened?" Ronny asked.
"We don't really know. We didn't actually do anything. The prisms just reacted to each other," Tori said.
"The scrolls are starting to make a little sense. But Lothor didn't seem very worried," Hunter mentioned.
"Sensei, do you have any idea what he's planning?" Adam asked.
"I'm afraid so, Adam," Kanoi said, as they all gathered around.
"In three days time, the planet Mars will be in close proximity to Earth. This is not as rare as some astrological events, but it is not common either," Kanoi stated.
"What does Mars have to do with any of this?" Will asked.
"Because it will allow Lothor to use the dark prism to open a sealed doorway that can only be accessed with the gamma rays given off by Mars when it is this close. This doorway is contained within the abyss of evil itself and could not be accessed before without these specific conditions," Kanoi explained.
"And when this doorway is opened?" Mack prompted.
"Every evil being that has once plagued the Earth in the past can return to this plane of existence. This is his plan. He will unleash a powerful demon army upon the Earth, enslave the human race and destroy us," Kanoi said gravely.
"All the past evil, including man that have an axe to grind with the power rangers," Cam added.
"Still want to ride this train solo, rookie?" Jason asked to Will. The black Overdrive ranger rolled his eyes.
"Okay...evil army. We need you guys," Will admitted.
"Can we talk about the cool purple powers now?" Dustin asked.
"I always thought there was no school of fire, because it was too hard to control," Tori mentioned.
"Partially. But the amethyst fire can only be conjured by the combined powers of a crimson thunder ninja and a water ninja. And yes, the power is fueled by positive feelings," Kanoi stated, giving them a warm smile, as Tori's hand found its way to Hunter's.
"I never wanted to burden your young love with duty and responsibility, but your combined powers will be essential in this war," he warned.
"Is that why the Wind and Thunder ninjas were forbidden to be together so long ago?" Hunter asked.
"Yes, because the child of a crimson thunder ninja and a water ninja has the potential to not only be incredibly powerful, but wield both elements, including conjuring amethyst fire as well," Kanoi stated.
"So they decided to try and tell people who they could and could not love, because they were scared of this power?" Hunter asked. Sensei nodded.
"Some were scared that such a child could be corrupted and then some of course feared that such a person could thwart those that chose to secretly practice the dark arts," Kanoi explained.
"Yeah, Lothor was worried. He was trying to hide it, but dude has a weak poker face," Dustin mentioned, as everyone looked at him in surprise.
"What?" he asked.
"We're just surprised that you're that observant," Shane teased.
"Whatever dudes, I'm a genius. Not so dumb after all, huh?" Dustin quipped, as he tapped his finger to his temple, as they scoffed.
"Let's not get carried away," Cam drawled.
"Green with envy?" Dustin challenged.
"No, just green," Cam retorted.
"Lothor may be worried, but Tori and I still aren't sure how we did all that. It just kind of happened," Hunter said.
"And the power will continue to aid you when needed, you will both train to control it, and trust in each other. Lothor should be worried," Kanoi told them. Tori leaned against him and he put his arm around her waist.
"And now that I am fully restored, I can reinforce our ranks," Sentinel Knight stated.
"Alpha says the Overdrive morphers will be reconnected by morning too," Adam mentioned.
"That's great, the more rangers the batter, mates," Xander said.
"Yes and with possible villains from the past, experience may be everything," Sentinel Knight said, as he approached Jason, Trini, and Kim, who each held their Dino morphers. Sentinel Knight's hand glowed and the morphers glowed too. The dull, dead coins now shined gold anew, as they were restored. Shane, Dustin, and Cam's were next, though they knew they still needed their prisms to give their morphers a needed upgrade.
"What about Blake?" Hunter asked.
"Kapri already called him. He's on a plane and he'll be here tomorrow," Cam replied.
"Let's just hope we can find a way to stop Lothor before that gateway is opened completely," Shane suggested.
"I've already contacted Lightspeed. They're going to meet us there that day," Billy said.
"Wes, Eric, and Jen too," Jason added.
"Well, I think it's safe to say that everyone needs to enjoy the down time while we have it. The Rec Room is available and I'll have Spencer order enough food to feed this brood," Andrew said.
"Yes...I'm starved!" Conner said.
"Yeah, I thought no one was going to suggest that we eat anytime soon," Rocky agreed, holding his stomach. The others simply shook their hands, as they slowly filed out.
The laughter coming from the Rec Room told their mentors that they had all managed to unwind a little. Pizza boxes were empty and discarded and stories were being exchanged, hence the laughter.
"So he's eating like everything in sight, including my fries, which I got pretty pissed about," Rocky said, as they listened.
"Cause you're a pig," Adam tossed in.
"Stuff it Froggie," Rocky commented. Tommy sighed, as he endured Rocky's stories, mainly about him.
"And then we find out he's got one of Rita's monsters inside his stomach," Rocky said. They made disgusted faces.
"Nasty..." Conner commented. Kira smacked his arm.
"Stop telling stories about me," Tommy said. Rocky shrugged.
"Sorry rainbow ranger, it's not my fault that there's so much material," Rocky teased. Tommy raised an eyebrow.
"Have you told them the story about the Pachinko machine?" Tommy asked. Rocky frowned.
"Pachinko machine?" Dax asked.
"What the hell is a Pachinko machine?" Conner asked.
"It was a weird pinball type machine that Ernie put in the Juice Bar. And Rocky got addicted," Adam answered.
"It was a spell!" Rocky insisted.
"Not at first. It was only a spell when we were fighting Pachinko Head and you were dancing around like an idiot," Tommy said, as they all laughed.
"Rocky just wants to have fun," Adam sung mockingly.
"Yeah, well at least I didn't fall in love with Scorpina," Rocky retorted.
"Trust me, the minute she went from being Sabrina to Scorpina, attraction went out the window," Adam promised.
"Yeah, but you were so shy and couldn't talk to girls. Nerd," Rocky poked fun. Adam playfully glared at his best friend, before turning to the others.
"Did I ever tell you about the time Rocko here turned himself into a plant?" Adam asked.
"No, no, no...that's not how it was," Rocky protested.
"Yeah, that's how it was. One botany class and all the sudden decided you were Captain Planet and cross bred a bunch of plant seeds. Next thing we know, we have a plant straight out of Little Shop 'O Horrors that's eating everything made of metal in sight and you're growing leaves out of your head," Adam said, as everyone laughed.
"Yeah and then you told Kat she had nice leaves and her stems weren't too bad either," Tanya reminded. Rocky rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, well at least I didn't get put under a singing spell. Talk about torture for the ears," Rocky commented.
"Hey!" Tanya protested.
"A singing spell?" Kira asked curiously.
"Queen Machina put Tanya and Tommy under a spell where they had to sing everything," Adam said, as they all cracked up.
"Tanya was bearable, but the esteemed Dr. Oliver sounds like a dying Tengu bird," Rocky added, as they all erupted in laughs.
"It's good to see them unwind a little after today," Andrew mentioned. Kanoi allowed himself a small smile.
"Yes...because the coming battle I fear will be their greatest challenge yet," he said ominously.
"You have two prisms!" Lothor screamed, as he paced before them.
"Yet you can't take care of one stupid girl!" he roared.
"She has a prism too, father and she caught me off guard. But it will not happen again," Zara insisted. He glared at her.
"It had better not or your fate will be the same as Nate's!" he threatened.
"Darling, we still have the dark prism. Nothing will stop us," Tamara said, trying to console him. But he batted her hand away.
"Except that now those brats have discovered that they can conjure amethyst fire if their prisms combine," Lothor growled.
"So what? It won't matter when you open the gates of Yomi," Thrax hissed.
"Trust me, it matters fool! Amethyst fire can ruin everything," Lothor insisted.
"So we eliminate those two first," Flurious suggested.
"Gee...why didn't I think of that? Were you not paying attention, your frozen twit? I was seconds away from executing that crimson insect when the water brat ruined it!" Lothor spat.
"That's it...we're done listening to you. We don't work for you!" Moltor hissed, as he challenged the dark ninja. But a simple spin kick sent Moltor flying back into a wall.
"Here's a demonstration of why I'm in charge!" Lothor growled, as a sizable sphere of dark energy formed in his hand and was fired at Moltor, who barely had time to scream before he was obliterated into nothing but ashes.
Flurious, Miratrix, Kamdor, and Thrax all held their heads in agony, as he used his mind meld powers on them.
"Would anyone else like to challenge me?" he asked. But he received no volunteers.
"That's what I thought," he hissed, as he grabbed one of the jewels of the Corona Aurora that they had acquired and tossed it to Kamdor.
"I have a mission for you and your lovely assistant," Lothor stated.
"What is it?" Miratrix questioned.
"Go to Onyx and find me a good bounty hunter, preferably not a smelly Sharkanian and hire him to eliminate the crimson and blue ninja rangers. I cannot have their interference when I open the gateway. Use the jewel as partial payment. They can have the rest once their lifeless bodies are at my feet," Lothor said.
"We've spent years looking for the jewels and you just want us to give one away?!" Kamdor exclaimed.
"Yeah and why are you so worried about those two?" Miratrix demanded to know.
"Well, if you must know, amethyst fire is the only thing that can seal the gates of Yomi once I've opened them and I'd rather make sure absolutely nothing and no one can stop me this time," Lothor said.
"Now go or you can join that lava loser in oblivion!" Lothor threatened, as they quickly left for their mission. Flurious remained in the shadows, silent, but furious that Lothor had taken over and claimed one his jewels, only to just give it away to a low life bounty hunter. He was not going to let this deed go unpunished...