Heart of Crimson
Summary: What if Hunter wasn't the first Ranger to wear Crimson. AU for MMPR Season 2. Dairanger powers, sorta. TommyKim, JasonOC slash.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I intend/desire to make any money off the Power Rangers/Super Sentai concepts and characters presented in this story. They are fully the property of their respective owners and are used with loving respect. Furthermore, this story utilizes concepts borrowed/adapted from Chris Claremont's run on X-Men. Certain aspects of the story are also due to my current obsession: Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger.
Chapter 10: Treachery
The next few weeks everything went back to status quo: Zedd sends monster, Rangers fight monster, monster gets Shadow charged, Brandon destroys monster, Zedd makes monster grow sans Shadow power, Rangers call the Zords and destroy monster completely. All through this, there was no physical sign of Dreaveus. Billy had come up with a device and a sub-dimension he felt confident in and the Rangers launched several plans to try to draw the Shadowmancer out, a few even involving, as Zack put it, "all but gift wrapping" Brandon. None had succeeded. Brandon now knew the frustration Jason felt in trying to figure his identity out.
And things were getting worse. The disruption to the Earth's electromagnetic field was building exponentially with every passing day, to the point that even civilians were starting to notice that something was wrong. Radio, television, and phone signals . . . anything not transmitted through a hard line were getting progressively more scrambled. The other Rangers had begun to sense the problem, although Brandon was the most sensitive to it, to the point that he constantly felt wrong in his own skin. The only thing that eased it was contact with Jason.
His awareness through his powers gave him an understanding of the problem, but as Billy finished a report of the hard data, Brandon found it all more than he could bear and, with a curse, smashed his fist into the console. His knuckles came away torn and bloody. Before anyone could even seem to blink, Kim was at his side, cleaning the wounds and applying a bandage. Brandon looked at her with gratitude, "Thanks. But, wow, that was fast."
"You're welcome," Kim smiled. "I keep the knuckle bandages handy up here."
"Why?"
Kim's smile switched to a rueful one, "Two words: Tommy and Jason."
"Hey!" the two named Rangers simultaneously responded with indignation.
Kim glanced at them over her shoulder, "Tell me I'm wrong."
Jason and Tommy shared a guilty glance as both young men blushed. Kim nodded and said, "That's what I thought."
The team shared a stress relieving laugh . . . until Brandon doubled over in pain.
Dreaveus stood before the collection device, his eyes alight, a near manic smile on his face, "At last, everything I have worked for is about to come to its fruition. All of my plans and dreams are about to be realized. At last, it's time." Dreaveus' expression shifted to smug and knowing as he then addressed the being behind him, "It's time to end this charade. Wouldn't you say so, Goldar?"
Goldar didn't respond, instead the Camian warrior drew his sword and lunged with a snarl. Dreaveus drew his own blade as he spun and deflected Goldar's attack, knocking him away. Goldar flipped in mid-air and landed in a battle ready pose. Now he spoke in a growling voice, "You are a traitor to Lord Zedd! I won't allow you to carry out your plans!"
Dreaveus took his own stance. It was relaxed, as if he didn't consider this more than a spar. He snorted derisively and then said, "Traitor? You have to at one time been loyal to be a traitor. Zedd has never been more than a means to an end, and he has fulfilled his role almost perfectly. I need but one more thing from him, and then he is of no consequence . . . just as you have always been."
Goldar attacked again in a flurry of sword slashes and strikes. Dreaveus blocked and parried with ease, his face never revealing even a hint of effort. Goldar launched another gambit of attacks, trying to find an opening . . . and instead he gave one to Dreaveus. The golden armored warrior brought down an overhead strike at the Shadowmancer who blocked, parried, and then spun. As he came out of the spin he retaliated with an upward cut . . . severing Goldar's right wing.
Goldar howled in pain and staggered back as blood flowed freely from the wound. Dreaveus smiled coldly, "Hmm, that was almost amusing. Maybe I'll keep you as a pet. Assuming you survive the chest wound."
"Wha . . ." was all Goldar got out before the blast of Shadow energy Dreaveus channeled through his sword slammed into the center of his chest, lifting the massive warrior off his feet and slamming him into the cave wall. Goldar sagged to the ground, smoke carrying the scent of burned metal, fur, and flesh rising from the hole in his chest plate.
Still smiling, Dreaveus sheathed his sword and strode over to his machine. His right hand stroked the display reading ninety-eight percent of capacity before he placed it in an opening next to the readout. The massive crystal in the center of the machine glowed even darker for a moment and then the Shadowmancer removed his hand . . . now sheathed in a gauntlet composed of the same silvery, organic-looking metal as the rest of the machine. "And now for Zedd," he commented with a chuckle before exiting the cave.
Zedd looked up from his place seated upon his throne as the throne room doors opened to admit Dreaveus. If Zedd could have scowled, he would have. The so-called Shadowmancer had arrived with such promise, but had shown he was just as much of a failure as the rest of Zedd's underlings. Addressing him in a harsh tone Zedd demanded, "I'm busy Dreaveus, what do you want?"
Dreaveus smiled as he descended the steps, "The Universe, but I can wait a little longer for that. Right now, I want you prostrate at my feet."
Zedd shot up out of the throne, his body glowing red with his anger, "How dare you address me that way!"
The Shadowmancer's expression didn't change, "I address you as I do all who are beneath me."
"It's time you re-learned respect!" Zedd extended his staff and tendrils of dark lighting leapt at Dreaveus. However, instead of striking the Shadowmancer all over as Zedd intended, Dreaveus intercepted them with a strange silver gauntlet on his right hand, which seemed to draw in the energy. Seeing that his first attack had somehow failed, Zedd tried to end the spell, but found he couldn't. In fact Dreaveus seemed to be pulling energy right out of the staff as he continued to advance. Zedd struggled in vain to regain control as Dreaveus climbed the central dais, took hold of the staff, ripping it from Zedd's grasp, and then used it to smash the dark Lord across the face plate, knocking him into a far corner of the throne room, where he then lay unconscious.
Dreaveus continued to hold the staff until its once-gleaming surface turned dull. Dropping it he commented to no one in particular, "Hmm, there was more energy in there than I thought. Pity I miscalculated, I could have done this days ago." He shrugged, "No matter . . ." as the Shadowmancer spoke, every shadow in the room moved, shifted, and coalesced into an army of humanoid Shadow warriors, "the endgame begins now!"