Note: Well,… I'm back from a nearly 6 month hiatus when it comes to this story. I'm confident I can finish this time around, yet we've been here before. Still,… this is an honest take on the situation right now.

Note #2: Also, I never remember if you should write a letter 's' after an upper comma when dealing with a possessive whose name enters with the letter 's'.

Chapter 13. Preparation is everything

On a journey through space. The Ranger quartet – Leo, Maya, Damon & Kendrix – were naturally on the track to return to Terra Venture in the coming couple of days. Everyone is immersed in some level of deep thinking, mostly aimed at their own or joint future; understandable, when they had barely, through tough grit defeated Exceer. The fearfulness of facing the Unknown once again grew in volume within the space in the blonde female's mind; this created dysfunction. The probable magnitude of their threat just proved to be too difficult to cope with at this moment in time.

"We are the space colonies only hope of reaching an inhabitable planet in one piece. They are all counting on us. Being depressing only hinders our combativeness, proactiveness, ability to our job together."

Yes, if someone threatened her life on the premise of telling the truth about the Unknown, Kendrix would be honest. In essence there is no easy way out of their current predicament/occupational hazard. Damon – the most relaxed of the quartet, simply due to the fact that he survived a near death experience. The gratefulness that he felt to the Universe for allowing him a way out of a completely dire state eclipsed any serious thinking aimed at their large scale opponents. The left duo shared some more 'intense' moments than the other two travelers.

"Ach! Ach!" – Maya softly moans.

The way that Leo's tung works on her breasts, more so – nipples, is ushering ways of pleasure to her mind, which she is more than happy to take in. The romantically involved duo were intertwine on a bed with the male sitting on it & the female sitting on top of his thighs, legs wrapping around the back as a precaution to falling backward onto the ground.

"I could have never imagined how good it would feel to have a caring man treat my breasts this way."

The current sexual act continues for a good minute longer before Leo gets tired & has extracted all of the joyous energy from it. Swiftly the duo's sights become just opposed to each other.

"You were brilliant, Leo."

A wide smile appears on the female's face.

"Glad you enjoyed it."

"I enjoyed it very much."

They share a soft kiss.

"The recent battle has changed my point of view on us."

Maya calmly places a bet on the most likely topic.

"You think we should tell them?"

"I do."

He takes in a bit of air.

"This would allow us to be less secretive, illusive to our desire for immense pleasure. It would create clarity around our 'unusual behavior'."

"Yes, I could see the benefit of it. Though, this type of reveal can bring up some emotions that are detrimental to our work as the Chosen Ones; for example – jealousy."

"You've seen them plenty of times, talked to them enough."

The Red Ranger lifts his left palm up and slowly places the fingers on the Yellow Ranger's right cheek. She remains still and accepts the vulnerability exclaiming gesture.

"You believe they'll act spitefully?"

A short analysis is conducted.

"Not really."

"Than I believe it is worth the risk. Our enemy has provided us with an objective value of our time, life."

"Alright, Leo. I only want us to inform them when we get back on Terra Venture."

"I can work with that."

The duo press their lips together once again.

On a somewhat red, orange planet. From two light specter cones appear two beings; one of them immediately uses the visual system to examine the place where they had just arrived.

"Emperor Scorpius was impressed by your passing of the challenge. So was I."

"Thank you, General."

"Come. We've got much to discuss."

The duo walk for a quite short period of time in an ascending path. At its end a massive impression is felt by one of them. The other foresees this reaction, so asks about it.

"Like what you see?"

"I'm a bit… stunned by what exactly is in front of me."

"Hmmm. Relax, Fazda. This is not you upcoming enemy. Its objective is multiple targets that our Emperor despises."

"I think I know them."

"Would be quite embarrassing if you didn't." – Vorgton states with a callous, superiority extruding facial expression.

What caused a massive impression? That would be a still not finished, at least 20 story building sized, primarily metal based machine. With the constant decline of proximity to the machine, more details became apparent to Fazda. There were Stingwingers working from the lower levels, all the way up to the top. At the precise midpoint of the machine stretched a contraption that puzzled the warrior, whose stock was rising within Scorpius's Army's ranks.

"With all due respect, General, whose idea was it to build this machine?"

"Mine, Fazda. I presented it to Scorpius about a week ago."

The duo come within touching distance of said contraption.

"Let's take a ride up to the top."

A press of a button and sound of metal parts brushing up against other metal parts ensues. Soon, a platform appears in front of them; Vorgton gets on it first, Fazda follows suit. The journey with an old fashioned, basic elevator is surrounded by silence from the duo. What comes apparent quickly is that the machine's incremental elevation was being conducted with it almost pressing up to a enormous cliff. It is exactly there were the duo get off at.

"Welcome, Vorgton."

"Trakeena. This is the valiant Fazda."

"A pleasure to meet you."

"The feeling's mutual."

The female duo shake hands. Scorpius's daughter is more impressed than disappointed at the sight of the appraised warrior within their collective; of course, some reservations are upheld. An overconfident outlook on someone's abilities, especially not the most strained ones, can be detrimental. You could classify Furio in that category, which is what Trakeena opted to do.

"What is the reason for me being here?"

"Quite simple. You'll receive some knowledge of how Scorpius chooses a warrior for the task of eliminating the Power Rangers."

"See that ring behind me?"

The other female glances behind she shoulder of Trakeena. About 30 meters (~100 ft) away from them, at a negligible lower level 'stood' a mahogany red painted circle with a continual bench going around it; the bench appeared to be proportionally placed so is to keep the viewers engrossed in some sort of performance, but not to the degree so that they would interfere with the performance.

"Yes."

"This will be the setting where the next combatant for eliminating the Rangers will be selected. Either Scorpius, Trakeena or me will be present when this… tournament, you could say, will be held."

"Whose next?!" – a male warrior shouts out.

A malicious, devious smile shows itself.

"I think it's your cue to get some experience, Fazda."

The female warrior has her wits and swiftly understands the underlying message.

"Alright. Till next time."

She sprints out; the duo rearrange their stances to a position where they can easily watch the fight from a far.

"You think she has what it takes?"

"She does show promise, Trakeena."

"That may be so, Vorgton, but we must be more careful with our expectations. My father is already disappointed with the death of Furio at the hands of the Unknown."

"Precisely. The Unknown. As you've probably heard, the Power Rangers are priority number 1, while the Unknown are 2nd."

"Fair enough. Let's just keep an open mind on the war's front."

"That's probably the best."

Within the boundaries of the Palace. Two beings' blood flow begins to slow down back to its normal, natural state.

"You were wonderful as always, Violet."

"Thank you,… My King."

The female deliberately uses a lighter voice at the end of the sentence. Consequently, the male reaches down and covers up his bare lower body in a flash. While stretching his arms, he says:

"Keep up your splendid body. Make sure everything remains as firm as it was today."

"Of course."

"That's my champion."

In less than half a minute the standing person exits the room. Said space sparkled with exuberance, liveliness; the sangria red, the Tuscan sun yellow, the chiffon white – all of it could be captured by a Human's eyes. A unusually long bed with poles on its corners stood in the center of the space. At least three light sources, which spread bumblebee yellow across the confined atmosphere without a window in sight, made the liveliness as strong as steel.

"Oh my…"

The remaining person in the room lifts her palms up from the bed sheet, spins around, refocuses the body to an orthodox sitting position. The adrenaline disappearance coincides with a striking truth, idea coming from the back of the mind.

"I've got to be valuing myself… more."

The female looks down on her naked body, rearranges some ideas.

"More than he… does?"

She could still feel his presence within her, yet the view on said presence… might have lost prominence. Safe to say, some turbulence enters the emotional mixture; clearness, certainty look to be wildering.

Suddenly, Violet remembers a large mirror that she incentivized to be put in the room. Guided by subconscious desire, instincts, she elegantly gets off the bed and slowly walks over to the mirror. The projection of her entire naked body instills more suspiciousness into the emotional sphere; said doubtfulness attracts friends whose characteristics are of an ill, destructive nature.

"I must take a leap of faith as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'll lose all of my self-value."

The fully reenergized, focused female dresses up and analyzes the best possible path for a drastic change. The frame of mind alluded to a place where the past is engraved in stone; meaning, the overview of it is unlikely to change again. To a curious person scout, the emotional shift from disappointment to activeness is mesmerizing, astounding; especially when knowing the extremely small amount of time this shift took to occur.

Somewhere else. Preference – a greater liking for something over another thing – can be treated as an intriguing aspect of Human life. One of the reasons being its underground nature; some preferences are engraved within a person's mind either so early in their life or so strongly in their life that they treated as a dead fact. A hot, controversial one is undoubtedly the sex liking. Since the Human race is a dual sexual race, meaning that two Humans can have two distinct reproduction organs, chromosome, hormone structure, but are at the end part of the same race. Obviously, the males in time will develop more vibrant relationships with other males, the females – with other females; this dynamic stretches through all Types of Humans (Crius's category system). So it should not came as any sort of surprise that champions of a different sex from the person to whom they are allied to might get treated less respectively.

"SHHHHH!"

A hollow, sawdust pressed pipe's end shoot up just barely shoot up before effortlessly falling down onto the floor. The tool that accomplished this feet is brought closer, close to its original place before the preformed action.

"I still have the edge."

Feeling a rush of self-satisfaction, the person with the tool allows it to flow to the physical domain, resulting in a chilled smirk.

"I will not let myself fade into mediocrity. I'm a champion, after all."

The appreciation of the specifically made, unorthodox shaped sword is halted by a faintly received sound. The information from it points to a possibility of someone attempting a shrewd, concealed step, but failing to accomplish it.

"Hah."

Abruptly, she spins around and screams:

"Eavesdropping on me will not end pleasantly for you!"

A lightning quick dash towards the perpetrator is caught by said person; just not enough to avoid being caught. The chase ends in fairly fast with the dasher viciously grabbing a hold of the other's neck.

"KCH!.. KCH!.. KCH!.."

"Violet! You have some guts sneaking up on me."

"KCH!.. KCH!.. KCH!.."

"Nod your head if your willing to explain yourself right now."

The grim reality experiencing female muster up two nods forward; fortunately, they are received. Therefore, she soon feels her neck being lessened from severe pressure.

"Hah… Hah… Hah…" – the female voices, head down, legs bent, hands pressing onto the knees.

"What has happened to you, Violet, that you'd behave in such a manner?" – the person asks naturally, without an overbearing emotion for the 1st time.

"I've come… to a realization… and I need… your input."

"Alright. What's the matter?"

Violet reshapes her back, makes it still in the least stressful position.

"I'm wondering if you could…"

She take a deep breath; probably aware of the consequences following the statement.

"…voice yourself to Lord Crius for accepting me into his ranks."

The listener opens and closes his eyelids for several times; said reaction speaks of the uncanniness of the situation. The Royals had, more or less, overseen a stable environment for the last 20 years at every level, this includes the champions that aligned themselves with each member. For one of them to inquire, suggest a reshaping of their ranks, which due to a lack of severe missions had been constant for a while now, is a groundbreaking, radical move.

"That's quite a favor, Violet."

"I know, Elektra. Please!... This might be my only chance of escape."

The last part was nestled with substantial sorrow, disbelief.

"Your extremely lucky that I'm not Nemesis's champion; otherwise, you'd be turned down immediately."

The seemingly stoic female spins one of her unique swords 360 degrees around; the maneuver is carried out with sublime precision.

"Is it safe to say that Atlas is not treating you right?"

"His… treatment of me is… far from noteworthy."

The sobbing is a hindrance to Violet's speaking ability. Also, several tears begin running down her cute, lively cheeks. Elektra finds herself at a crossroad. On one hand, this could be masterful tactic from Atlas to create friction between her & his cousin; on the other hand, the downbeat from the female is genuine and alludes to a much needed change of environment. Most intelligent people would grasp the concept that the Royals' interpretation of how to treat their particular allies had variability.

"Well why not go to Euphrosyne? She is a female just like you. Maybe her viewpoint could coincide together with yours."

"I highly doubt that Lady Euphrosyne is looking for another champion."

"And Lord Crius is?"

Abruptly, the tears freeze.

"Don't insult me, Elektra! I realize that I might have made the mistake of joining Atlas's ranks before, but I'm past overanalyzing that!"

A deep breath is taken; the other person within the room remains silent.

"The reason I want to be with Lord Crius is the evidence. The evidence of the way he treats you & Seismika gives me faith that he'd be a better leader than Lord Atlas. Yes, I know all of this is extremely risky."

An honest facial expression of proudness shows itself.

"Alright, Violet. It looks as if you've unchained yourself from the naïve perspective. Which gives me all the more assurance that we actually might pull this off."

She takes a step forward.

"So…"

Out of nowhere, a red light starts flashing on her right wrist. Obviously, this manifestation attracts attention from the greatly concerned one.

"What's that?"

"This red light indicates a specific situation with Crius. Said situation requires my presence."

"I should come to."

"Absolutely not, Violet. Even if the rules allow such a drastic shift, we must keep your intentions away from the eyes of the Royals for the current time."

A daffodil yellow card enters the frame.

"This will allow you access to my room. Stay there. Don't leave until I come back. Understand?"

"Yes, Elektra."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

The females interlock their eyes, with the confident one adding an enigmatic tint to them. Few seconds pass before:

"Alright. Go there now and remain dormant."

She turns 180 degrees around.

"Everything must remain in place just I left it."

"I fully understand the downside of it being anything different."

"Good. Until then."

Swiftly a distance emerges between the female duo, ever so growing with every seconds passing.

Coursing through a hallway. 3 beings are confidently making their way towards one of the hangars of the Palace.

"A truly tactical masterclass from Lord Crius. The way I processed the whole journey, given all the possible inconveniences, he reigned supreme."

"Hmmm. Maybe so,… Lauren. The key aspect all will want clarity is the scroll. Did he manage to acquire it?"

The entire ambience of a space for flying contraptions oozes: harshness, tension, anticipation, to a lesser extent – admiration. The entire austere floor is substantially more vibrant, laidback than usual due to the amassed quantity of people within the confined area. For some, such a gathering for one of the Royal's returns might appear silly, foolish, unwarranted. Of course, everyone had their own conscious basis for attending this event; key word – conscious. No matter how much powerful, stronger the Demigods were compared to other Humans within society, they did not stray from their innate subconscious drive. A Human is not compatible with staleness; something dynamic, whether positive or negative, will enter the picture regardless of what said Human desires.

Suddenly, a metal platform spears in a diagonal angle down to the surface. It takes less than a few seconds for bipeds to march out from a flying vehicle.

"Oh yeah! It's so good to be done with this road trip." – the male Royal analyzes.

His mood – at an all-time high; one hand gracefully lose, while the other unwaveringly still. A particularly crucial object rested in the latter's palm. The theoretically completely aligned group walk for about 200 meters (~650 ft) forward; thereby, eclipsing most of the ship's length before coming into contact with some… familiar figures.

"Look whose walking as if he has just witnessed a miracle." – a blocking the straight path, attractive female lets out enticingly, somewhat sheepishly.

"You look too glad to see me,… sister." – Crius utters playfully, arrogantly.

In a well-coordinated matter, the non-unique warriors split to the sides; whereby they allow their leader, Professor Eyelawn & his assistants direct confrontation with their 'hosts'.

"You're definitely going to draw attention from people with your… joyous demeanor, brother."

"Even without my wonderful temper, I'd doubt I make it about the Palace without recognition for an hour."

"I wouldn't give you that much, Crius!"

The 2 Royals shift their sight to the recent stater.

"Judging by the way you & your champions look, I'd bet you were rushing here."

"We both know, Lord Crius, that this is not something that should be lauded as an achievement."

An energetic, sharp mimic is laid out to the public.

"Well,…"

He slowly raises the Scroll of Genesis to his chest level.

"…This can outrank that."

"Without a doubt, my Lord."

"Even you came to greet me."

"Really? Was there anything more intriguing to do?"

"Probably not, Ezio."

"So you got the Scroll?"

"Oh yes! The map to the most incredible substance in the Universe will be analyzed as quickly as my great solvers take a day off. A real day off – without no noise or despair of space travel."

"Wise move, Lord Crius. Delaying deeply intriguing journeys is detrimental to the chances of success." – Horacio interjects.

"We can agree on that."

"Now…"

Euphrosyne takes a step forward.

"…You did mention you would deal with Mekasta's failing once you get back."

"So I did. Who were the ones who recaptured her from the possession of the Rangers?"

"You see them to my left."

The intellect profound female Demigod casually, nonchalantly angles her eyes towards the squad that delivered the disappointing champion back to the Palace.

"Delanfa, Horacio, Denirium & Yves."

"Congratulations, Champions, on mopping up the setback caused by one of your own. This does call to mind a warning and…"

A mysterious, callous smile makes an appearance.

"…An idea which I had on my voyage back."

"What of the Power Rangers, Lord? They might track down your activity on said planet."

"Entirely possible, Horacio."

"Though you seem unfazed?"

"I was quite methodical with my assessment, Lauren. If those Type I Humans set foot on that planet, they will be struck with a disastrous reality. That is a certainty."

The 'hosts' take in this information; the most mindful concluded that the parchment white skinned male Demigod left the irritative Chosen Ones a parting gift. Also, the sureness at which he said they'll meet an overwhelming block in their path alluded to a resilient, trained warrior being left as said gift.

A bit later.

"Please, my Queen! His new aura is a threat to our sanctuary! We must…"

"Enough, Bonelia. For now cousin Crius is off limits. So…"

An insanely swift stance shift.

"…No spying or listening on my cousin's conversations. Understood?"

The last word is relayed with substantial malevolence; some hidden, some not.

"Understood, my Queen." – Bonelia reluctantly answers.

A bow of the head.

"Splendid. Now you both are free to go. I'll summon you when I'm in need of your services."

"Very well, Lady Nemesis." – the other females retort.

Logically, the Royals separated and went their separate ways after a quite short brief by the hosts. In great coordination Professor Eyelawn, his 2 assistants walked on one side of the gingerbread brown haired male with Ezio & Elektra – on the other side. The aggressive female feels a tint of shame within her emotional sphere; different to Ezio, she arrived after the brief was almost over. Completely understanding the power hierarchy in the Palace and her role within her specific chosen occupation, the last to arrive person admitted to a careless, uncalculated appearance. With little nuance, the Lord took the apology soundly, warmly. He had no urge to slate the unique warrior's less than ideal effort; rather decided to focus on engross oneself in a conversation. Unsurprisingly, this underground behavior was primarily driven by the fact that an object, which was highly valued, had been found and tangibly safe in a palm.

"Finally,… a breakthrough."

"Well said, Ezio."

"With all due respect, Lord Crius, I trust we'll keep up the same ambition level before the acquisition of the Scroll." – one of the Professor's helpers relays.

"Without a doubt. The magnitude to which the discovery of this legendary substance could change our entire society is unparallel to almost every other achievement in our history." – the parchment white skinned male resoundingly states.

"We must remain vigilant then."

"As we will."

The group quickly come to a crossroad. At its center the hickory browned, tall male observes all paths.

"Professor."

"Yes, Great One."

"As I said in the hangar, you are due for a complete day off."

A shift in the eyesight.

"It starts now. You & your assistants get some rest, eat peacefully,… whatever else you wish to do. My only requirement is that your fully engaged the day after tomorrow."

A change in stance.

"Are we clear?"

"Clear, my Lord."

"Great!"

The Demigod feels a rush of pleasure; accepts to make it public in the physical domain with a warm, embracing, exuberant smile.

"I'll see you then."

With that exchange over, the group separates. A short period of silence rushes in; everyone, who is left standing at the crossroad, takes it as a positive sign. Relationships are unavoidable for Humans; to the vast majority of them a significant period of loneliness leads to psychological famine. In this scenario, the remaining beings are not complete strangers – far from it.

"I'm a bit… confused by one thing, my Lord." – Elektra lets out with a tint of shiver in her voice.

"Something's itching at you, Elektra?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Well,… our continual activeness. Why we must practice our ability to fight where there is no real urgency for it?"

No question that a still seeking Crius would not even entertain this inquire; though, that is not the conducive, conclusive reality anymore. So the topic at hand, which was laid in front of him by the female warrior, had enough momentum behind it to produce a positive outcome.

"Wait!" – a male shouts.

"I hear it too, Ezio."

In mere seconds a person blasts themselves to a spot in close proximity to the discussing crowd.

"I apologize for the interruption, Lord Crius."

"All good, Martin. Yet, I must say,… you're rush towards me is puzzling."

"There is a logical reason for it."

"Most likely so."

"I'm looking for Violet. Atlas is suspicious of her whereabouts."

A mischievous facial expression appears.

"You did not happen to run in to her? Or see her, by any chance?"

"No. I've not seen her for quite some time."

"Your leader might be too paranoid." – Ezio implies harshly.

"A good leader does not leave his allies unattended too."

"No push back there, Martin."

"My cousin is weary of her behavior?"

"Something like that. She did seem to be… isolated when we've talked the past few times."

"I wish you luck in finding her. Uncharacteristic behavior is usually presented by a subconscious, unseen force."

"I tend to agree, Lord Crius."

"Maybe she is disillusioned by the constant physical drainage for no apparent reason." – Elektra interjects.

The statement does not go unnoticed, unfiltered by the hickory brown eyed male. He is aware of the rise in malevolence towards his female champion for the unbewildering desire for an answer to the topic earlier.

"The situation does seem pretty accommodating."

A final levering of the scales is enacted. Later Crius takes a deep breath and says:

"I cannot speak for my sisters & cousins. Therefore, I won't. When it comes to my approach to all of your training, whether male or female, the reason is not so difficult to grasp. Sublimeness – it is what I expect my champions to value. If one triumphs in the tournament, that lets me know that they possess some quantity of the 'unbreakable will'. So, for me, it would be too wasteful to let that Will disappear. Great excellence should be pursued whether it is physical or psychological. This way your personalities and your bodies become aspiring to others; an overly… pessimistic,… unattractive,… mediocre Human is undeserving of a spot next to me."

The adjectives are expressed with ferociousness, callousness surging out of with the voice. Joy becomes apparent on his face.

"Truly. It can be boiled down to this. Sublimeness over mediocrity. Every. Single. Time."