Part Eleven
Chapter Seven
Despite the damage from the crashing spaceship, both the Iguanodon and the Dilophozord seemed to be mostly functional. Ian and Brendan pushed the giant metal beasts away from the village, across the grassy fields and up towards the ridge.
Reaching the crest of the hill, they came to a stop. On the other side was a wide valley, sloping down away from them. At the bottom was the spaceship. It was mostly intact, but debris was scattered around in a wide radius. Fire was breaking out even as they watched. Three old and crumbling mountains towered over the valley, all riddled with dark cave entrances, while the remains of an ancient riverbed snaked along the valley floor. The oddest thing was the complete lack of vegetation. While the countryside was green and alive, the entire valley was nothing more than red rock and brown dirt. There were no plants or trees, apart from a grove of bleached, skeletal trees on the far side, and not a single blade of grass in sight. There was no wildlife, and no birds flying overhead. The crashed ship and the two zords were the only presence of life in the entire valley.
"I'm still getting the weirdest readings," Ian said into the radio. "It's like the computers think we're in the middle of a storm or something. I don't like this."
"I don't either," Brendan replied. "Maybe the ship's messing with our sensors? Let's leave the zords here and head down on foot."
The boys tapped their wrists and teleported down to the ground. With that, they raced into the valley, following the trail left by the ship as it had come to a stop. The wedge-shaped craft was slightly smaller than the zords, but had been heavily damaged during the landing. The wings and tail-fins had been torn off by either the Iguanodon or the impact. They couldn't even see any access hatches as they reached the front of the ship, resting in a flat stretch of dirt strewn with debris.
"How do we get the Traxians out of this thing?" Ian said.
"Look!" Brendan shouted, pointing to the ship's hull. The ship's cockpit window was an odd metal, tinted in gold. The longer Ian looked, the more he could see distinct shapes moving behind it. "That's our way in!" Brendan continued.
The ship's hull was smooth but not steep, and the two Rangers easily climbed towards the cockpit. Once they were standing on either side of the glass, they raised their voices in unison.
"Power up!"
The ship shook from the combined might of their punches but the glass didn't break. It took another dozen of their strongest blows before the window finally gave way, and they could clear an entry into the ship. Beyond was a large control room with several people cowering in the back. They all looked injured. Seeing the Rangers, one of the men came forward. Blood was caked on the side of his face and he was holding his left arm awkwardly. He had blue hair with streaks of silver.
"Rangers?" the man asked in a shaky voice, then his voice fell. "Zordon."
"Who else?" Ian said, and beckoned the Traxians towards the smashed window. "C'mon. We have to get you out of here."
The man nodded. With that, Brendan and Ian began helping the refugees out through the window and down to the ground. There were about thirty people, several family groups, all wearing contemporary clothing but with unusually-coloured hair. Once everyone was on the ground, the boys waited until everyone had been accounted for. Once they were certain there was nobody left in the ship, the boys clambered down to the ground, stepping away from the refugees to give them some space.
"What next?" Brendan asked.
He spoke too soon. They heard footsteps and turned to see one of the Traxians rushing towards them. She was tall and seemed relatively uninjured, with long green hair. Neither of them could remember rescuing her from the front of the ship.
"Rangers!" she began breathlessly. "Rangers, I need your help! We're all in incredible danger! There was a saboteur onboard, that's why our ship crashed. He took my younger sister, and blasted his way out of the back of the ship! I followed them for a short while. They were heading for one of the caves in the nearest mountain."
"Maybe she was the target all along?" Ian said to Brendan, then turned to the woman. "Why would anyone kidnap your sister?"
"She wears a jewel," the woman replied. "It's a family heirloom. There's a legend that the amulet contains great power, but I thought it was just a story."
"Okay," Ian began. "We'll…"
One of the refugees screamed, and the Rangers spun towards the Traxians. A lizard-like creature was climbing down towards them over pieces of the wrecked ship. Covered in green scales, the beast had two arms and legs and a long serpentine tail. It had razor-sharp claws on its hands and feet, and a mouth full of jagged fangs with a flicking, darting tongue. Two glowing red eyes darted from the Rangers to the Traxians, while the beast had a third eye set in the middle of its forehead. Even as the monster reached the dirt, Ian stepped away from Brendan to put himself between the monster and the refugees.
"Another monster to keep us busy," Ian said. "Seems like the theme of the day," and he glanced back to Brendan. "Go and help that woman's sister! The others are on their way. I'll hold this thing off until they get here."
"Are you sure?" Brendan asked.
"We don't have a choice," Ian replied. "Go!"
Brendan nodded. Taking the woman's hand, the two dashed away, soon disappearing behind the crashed ship. As the beast closed in, Ian glanced over his shoulder to the refugees.
"Get out of here," he said tersely. "If you climb the ridge, there's a village about a kilometre away. Go!"
The Traxians didn't need to be told twice, carrying each other to safety, limping and stumbling back up the hill. Ian looked back to the monster, but had no more time to think as the beast leaped towards him.
The creature was faster than it looked, raking its claws for Ian's helmet. The Grey Ranger stepped around the move, striking away a second swipe and blocking a third, before slamming his palm into the beast's chest to force it back. The blow barely fazed the creature, and Ian dived over its claws as the monster retaliated. Rolling to his feet, Ian spun around with a high kick, throwing the beast sideways. But in one smooth motion, the beast climbed along the side of the ship and launched itself for the Grey Ranger, launching Ian backwards in a shower of sparks. While Ian was still off-balance, the beast closed in. Recovering quickly, Ian reached for a piece of the ship and swung it for the beast's head with all his might. The lizard slammed into the side of the ship, dazed from the blow, and Ian charged after the monster to continue the battle.
Across the valley, Brendan and the green-haired Traxian woman sprinted away from the crash and towards the base of the nearest mountain. The hills were old, Brendan thought. All the sharp edges had been worn down to gentle curves by thousands of years of wind and sand. Back in the day, the three mountains were probably imposing peaks. As they approached the base of the mountain, he scanned the area.
"I don't see any sign of your sister or the kidnapper," Brendan panted as they ran. "Where are we going?"
The woman pointed to a cave at the base of the cliff. It was a shallow grotto. Brendan could even see to the back of the cave wall. "In there!" she replied.
"Are you sure?" Brendan asked.
But as he approached, he ran through an invisible barrier that shimmered as he passed. It felt like a summer breeze had blown right through him, and he skidded to a stop. The small cave had disappeared. In its place was a gigantic cavern entrance, the cave roof held up by two enormous stone pillars that had been carved out of the red rock. On either side of the entrance were the remains of what had once been intricate stone carvings, but they'd long since been destroyed by either vandals or the elements.
"Whoa," Brendan breathed.
The Traxian woman had pulled ahead, and glanced over her shoulder. "We mustn't delay!" she called. Brendan jogged forward to catch up.
"We need to be careful," Brendan said, as the entrance loomed before them. "I get that your sister is in danger, but that was some pretty heavy magic we just walked through. In my experience, any place with this kind of disguise is protected for a good reason. Or a terrible one. Let's stick together."
Wary of danger, they made their way between the stone columns and stepped into the cavern. It was cool and dark. The columns continued all the way back to a wide staircase that seemed to lead deeper into the mountain. The space was enormous, the roof high over their heads. And it was unnervingly quiet. The only sound was their footsteps on the rocky floor. Brendan glanced around as they followed the cave deeper. Along the sides of the cave were smaller rooms, carved directly into the rock. They were all empty. But everywhere he looked were the remains of weapons, heaped in piles on the ground. Their wooden handles had long since disintegrated, the metal blades pitted and rusted.
"It's like a medieval storehouse," he said softly. "This whole place must've been a castle or something."
"Maybe a watchtower of sorts?"
"Yeah," Brendan nodded. "With all these weapons, I'd hate to think what they were watching out for."
"We must continue," the green-haired woman said.
Reaching the staircase, they ascended to the next level. Brendan was expecting the light to fade, but as they rounded a corner, they came to a long corridor with flickering torches lining the walls.
"Whoa," Brendan said, and put a hand on the woman's shoulder. She felt strangely cool. "Burning torches means somebody calls this place home. I think your saboteur is using this cave as a base."
"It seems like it," she replied. "We have to keep moving. We're close now."
The floor of the corridor was angled at a slight rise. For another few minutes, they followed the passageway deeper and higher into the mountain. Finally the corridor opened up into a huge chamber. Four stone columns stood in the corners of the room, while rubble and fallen pieces of masonry littered the ground. The Traxian woman held back as Brendan pressed further. In the centre of the chamber sat a pool of liquid. At first, Brendan thought it was water, but it was a deep-crimson and seemed much thicker. Brendan was wary of getting too close, and he had no way of guessing how deep the pool was, if it had a bottom at all. Strangely, the edge of the pool was lapping against the stone floor, but there was no wind and no way the pool could've been connected to a tidal current. Thoroughly creeped out, Brendan stepped away from the pool and turned to his companion.
"Your sister's not here," he called. "This place is empty."
The woman stepped towards him. "Possibly it's the wrong cave?" she asked.
"I doubt it," Brendan said. Standing to his full height, he raised his voice. "So how about you drop the act? You can start by telling me what your plan was. I know this was a scam. You're working for the Shadow King. You may as well admit it."
The woman's jaw fell open. For a second, she was frozen in disbelief. Regaining her composure, she nodded, and reached for her face. Her disguise peeled away like a snake shedding its skin. Underneath, she had green reptilian scales and narrow serpentine eyes that glowed yellow with a cool fury. Her hair was a cascade of hissing, twisting serpents, while her outfit became dark armour, with boots and a belt of pouches around her stomach.
She stepped towards him, slowly clapping. "Bravo," she hissed. "What gave me away?"
"The fact you knew way too much about this cave," Brendan shot back. "And the truth is, ever since that day in France, I'm still connected to the Shadow King's magic. You probably knew that already, but every time the Shadow King does his thing, I start having terrible dreams. When the nightmares came back this week, I figured something was going on. I just needed to keep an eye out. And here you are."
"Impressive," his opponent nodded.
"Plus, we knew one of the Shadow King's minions was still in play," Brendan continued. "Honestly, I was expecting you. I hope you brought your a-game. I mean, we beat Ag'reth and Luna, and the Toymaker wanted you to win so badly he tried to help us. So, what, you're Snakey McSnakeface?"
His adversary's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Very few people ever learned my name," the serpentine warrior hissed. "None lived to remember it. You see, I was always daddy's favourite. I hope none of my idiot brothers convinced you otherwise."
Brendan's face fell. "Wait," he said, and his stomach sank as he realised how much danger he was in. "Did you just say 'brothers'?"
"Earth's champions have called me many names," she continued. "But you, little Ranger? You may call me She Who Destroys Heroes."
To be continued.