The Gathering: Black Cyber
In a different reality, where Earth had been ravaged to the point of near destruction by a sentient computer virus, the last of humanity found refuge in the domed city of Corinth under the protection of the Power Rangers RPM.
The robotic foot-soldiers known as Grinders swarmed in through the hole they had blasted in the dome. They were led by a bulky monster and what appeared to be two humans, a man, and a woman, both in dark grey combat suit and cybernetic implants on their foreheads, underneath M shaped headbands.
The loud honking of a car dew their attention.
Tenaya 7 and Silas 6 smirked as the unmorphed rangers jumped out of their vehicles, running up to them.
"Stop right there!" Scott ordered.
"Make us!" Tenaya challenged, pointed her arm, more specifically the blaster attached to her wrist at them and opened fire.
The rangers jumped out of the way only to be encroached by the grinders.
"Ready team?" Scott asked, slamming his elbow against a grinder's face while kicking another.
"Ready!" The others responded, taking out their morphers.
"RPM, Get in Gear!" They shouted, bright light condensing around their bodies, temporarily blinding the optic sensors of the robots before explosions rocketed around them, taking out a few grinders in the process.
"Power Rangers RPM!" The seven rangers announced, not wasting any time to attack the robotic forces with extreme prejudice.
"We will win this time!" Tenaya growled, the blade extending out from her wrist gauntlet as she jumped in front of the orange ranger and swung wildly at her.
"Your track record says otherwise!" Nini snarked, leaning back to dodge the attack before summoning her crossbow and pointing it pointblank at the robot's chest and fired.
She yelled as the energy blast sent her flying back. She groaned on hitting the ground.
"You will pay for this!" She snarled, getting up and running at her.
The green, white, blue, and yellow rangers took out the grinders while the red ranger was taking care of the attack-bot, leaving the black rangers to fight Silas 6.
"Pathetic!" He spat, throwing a punch at Dillon, which he sidestepped before grabbing him in a wristlock.
"Care to repeat that?" He drawled, pinning the enemy against him, and restraining his other arm as well.
"Let go!" Silas struggled against him, but the strength of his ranger suit added to his hybrid enhancements held the infiltrator in place.
"You are not going anywhere, except behind bars." Dillon said, only to be silenced as Silas stopped trying to wriggle out of his hold and turned his head to look directly at him. They were so close that Silas' breath fogged a part of his visor. He smirked at him, and for a moment, that unsettled him so much he was tempted to let go just so he could move away from him but he stayed where he was.
"I hope you enjoyed this charade." Silas said before pressing his lips against the helmet.
"What the hell are you doing?" Dillon headbutted him.
"Just a goodbye kiss." The infiltrator winked just as his wrists detached from his hands and he slipped out of Dillon's hold.
"What the-" The black ranger blurted, realizing he was holding two wrists while Silas was standing at him and raised his arms to reveal two cybernetic stumps where his wrists should have been.
"Can't believe you didn't see it coming!" Silas laughed heartily.
Dillon tossed the wrists aside, glaring at the villain.
"And you certainly didn't see this coming…" He whistled, wires piercing through his stumps and metallic nanites crawling out as two giant blasters appeared instantaneously where his wrists should have been.
Dillon barely had time to activate his invincibility shield as Silas fired at him repeatedly and even the wrists that were crawling towards their owner, stopped in their tracks to raise their fingertips at him, which not unsurprisingly also had inbuilt blasters and joined in the assault.
He saw as cracks started to appear in the shield and braced himself from the impact. No matter how hard the blasts would hit, he knew his suit would protect him from the worst of it.
The shield shattered and the energy beams crashed against him, making him grunt in pain as it flung him to the air.
"Dillon!" He heard Summer and Ziggy shouting his name, but instead of him falling on the ground, he saw everything blur seconds before darkness enveloped him.
Even Silas was shocked at the black ranger disappearing in thin air. He stared at the spot blankly.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
His attacks were not strong enough to disintegrate a normal human, let alone a fully morphed power ranger. Sure, his blasts could have killed a normal human but killing someone was different from reducing someone to atoms.
"What have you done!"
Ziggy yelled, charging at him. His normal juvenile acts gone, replaced by blind rage.
"I didn't…" He was cut off as the green ranger swung his axe, slicing through his arm blasters and he felt pain sear through his body, lowering him to his knees.
He looked up to see the green ranger raise his axe and he closed his eyes.
He deserved what was coming.
He felt a strange sadness coming over him. No matter how much he thought he had despised the black ranger, existence without looking forward to meeting him in combat and exchanging insults felt meaningless.
The attack never came.
He heard the green ranger cry out as a blast tossed him to the side.
He opened his eyes to see Tenaya running at him.
"Have you gone mad?" She snarled angrily, hauling him to his feet. He looked up to see the other rangers gather around the green ranger and look at him.
The attack bot and remaining grinders surrounded the rangers.
"I destroyed him." He murmured softly.
"You did." Tenaya agreed. "Master Venjix would be pleased."
He looked at her shocked. She should have been gloating at their victory, yet like him, her voice felt sad, remorseful even.
He looked down to see his wrists near him, having 'walked' up to where he was, on their fingertips. Tenaya picked them and gently held them near his cyber stumps, where wires and nanites shot out, putting them back in place.
"Look out!" Tenaya yelled, shoving him to the ground, just in time to avoid getting his head blasted to bits by the yellow ranger's zip charger.
"You killed him!" Summer growled, leaping at them with her nitro saber.
Tenaya tackled her to the ground, while he stood where he was, listless.
He should be happy. He had killed the black ranger, served the purpose his Master had created him for, yet all he felt was something weighing down on his chest and clouding his mind.
He felt sad when he should be rejoicing.
"We need to go."
He barely registered Tenaya grabbing his arm and leading him out of Corinth and into the wastelands. He just followed her without saying a word.
It was only when Tenaya stopped, when he noticed something was wrong. He felt something on his cheeks… moisture, maybe even a liquid.
Was it rain?
After Venjix's victory, Earth's biome was destroyed, one of the aftermaths being a stark change to its climate pattern. It hardly rained.
He looked up.
The skies were filled with dust clouds, and the sun glared down at them.
Then, what was this.
Tenaya touched his cheeks, wiping whatever was there with her gloved fingers.
"You are crying." She said blankly.
They were infiltrators, designed to appear like humans, but never to imitate their weaknesses.
"We will wait here till you get a grip on yourself." She sighed. "Master can't see you like this."
The implication was clear.
If Master Venjix saw him dysfunctional, he would be destroyed.
"The black ranger…" He croaked. "I did not predict his destruction."
"I know." She replied curtly but did not say anything else.
They waited in silence and Silas let the tears fall freely.
The Mystic Force rangers fought against the Wolfblades, even though they were losing badly, they kept on fighting, ensuring that all the civilians had the time to get to safety.
"Give up!" Koragg snarled, swinging his sword and summoning arcs of dark lightning that shot at the red ranger only for the Gatekeeper to dispel them with her staff.
"Ah, so nice of you all to bring me the Gatekeeper." He ran at the silver warrior.
"You won't lay a hand on her!" Darien yelled, bashing the wolfblade attacking him with his hammer, and jumped in front of Clare. He slammed his hammer to the ground and a shockwave rippled through the ground, the quakes tossing Koragg to the ground.
"I can take care of myself, Darien." Clare said softly.
"I know, fair maiden, but as a knight, it is my sworn duty to protect you." He replied.
"Get a room, guys!" Nick interrupted them. "The fight is not over yet."
The three looked up to see Koragg stand up and his visor lit up with crimson light.
Wolfblades swarmed around them, leaving only Darien to face the Wolf Knight.
"A fellow knight." Koragg mused. "I hope you will be a worthy opponent."
"Don't flatter yourself by calling yourself a knight." Darien spat, lifting his hammer, and charging at the warrior. "Knights are not defined by their might, but their light and heart, and you have none!"
"Naïve elf, let me educate you!" Koragg snarled, his sword clashing with Darien's hammer, forcing him back before he swung his sword in a wide arc, that sent sparks across his armour. "There is nothing in this world except power, and I have all the power there is!"
He hoisted his shield, the Master's eye bursting forth.
"Wolf's Attack!" He yelled, spectral wolves leaping out of the red orb and slashing their claws at the elven knight, throwing him skidding back before he ended the attack with a final strike.
Explosions tore through Darien, knocking him out of his ancient mystic mode and he fell upon the pavement unconscious.
"Darien!" Clare screamed, silver light bursting from her staff and incinerating the wolfblades surrounding her. Black wisps of shadow energy rose to the air before spiraling towards Koragg and merging with him, his armour turning a darker shade of purple.
"Even if you manage to discorporate my wolves, their power returns to me!" He laughed, sheathing his sword, and snapping his fingers. Another two wolfblades appeared beside him in bubbles of dark energies. "And I am always able to create more."
"What?" Clare stuttered in disbelief.
"Don't you get it, mystic ones?" He sneered. "I have already won."
"We wont stop fighting!" Daggeron grunted, striking the wolfblades with his mystic sword and ran beside Clare.
Koragg laughed as more dark energies seeped into him from fallen wolfblades before he resurrected the creatures.
"Take Darien back to Rootcore." Daggeron told her.
"But-"
"Clare, he is right." Lena said, coming beside them, holding her bow.
"We can't stop him." Lena told her as Daggeron met Koragg in battle. "But we can buy you and Udonna time. You are the Gatekeeper, and even your powers cannot destroy these creatures."
"So, there is no hope?" She asked.
"Of course, there is." Lena assured her. "However, it is clear we are in over our heads. We need the other Guardians – the Samurai, the Ninjas, the other ranger teams… Heck, even the Vancuria Clan! You need to go back and with your powers, you can gather our allies faster."
Clare nodded, running over to Darien, and holding him tightly. She looked up at Lena.
"I will be back with help." She promised before they vanished in a shower of silver sparks.
Lena took a deep sigh, converting her bow to sword mode and joining Daggeron in fighting Koragg.
Madison swung her trident, letting a tidal wave crash over the wolfblades.
Vida clapped her hands and a pink hurricane scooped up many wolfblades.
Chip fired at the creatures with his crossbow while Neil did the same with his bow.
Xander and Ryan sliced through them with their axes.
Nick struck them down with his sword.
Just as they thought they had conquered their enemies, shadowy tendrils shot out of Koragg and the wolf army appeared once more.
"We can't fight them like this." Madison gasped.
"Our powers are getting drained." Xander added, his voice betraying his exhaustion.
"Every time we destroy them, Koragg brings them back." Vida grimaced.
"At this rate, this fight will go on forever till they tire us out." Nick said.
"Maybe we should try something else." Neil offered.
"What can we try? They attack us and we defend ourselves." Xander rebuffed. "They end up destroyed and Koragg snaps them back. A vicious cycle that continues till they beat us."
"Maybe not." Ryan mused, turning his axe to blaster mode, and blasting at the feet of the creatures, forcing them away from him. "Koragg only brings them back after their bodies are destroyed. Maybe you can use your magic to trap them instead of destroying them?"
"That sounds like a good idea." Nick said. "Except most of our attacks are destructive. Fire burns. Lightning incinerates. Winds tear them down and Water drowns them."
"Then it is on us." Neil said, motioning to him and Xander. "I will freeze them and Xander can tie them up in vines or maybe trap them under rocks?"
"That sounds doable, luv." The green ranger elbowed him, converting his axe back to a staff while he did the same. They nodded before pointing their staffs at the encroaching wolfblades.
A chilly wave passed over them, encasing many of the creatures in slabs of ice, while the others sank to the ground as if it were quicksand, the earth solidifying right underneath their heads.
Neil felt his armour shatter as he fell on his knees. He looked besides him to see the same thing happening to Xander, the spells having drained all their magical reserves.
"We did it!" Xander smiled, slipping an arm around him.
"Yeah!" He grinned, kissing him as the others surrounded them, rejoicing.
"Now what?" Nick asked Ryan.
"I don't know." He shook his head. "If it were any other demons, we could send them to some hell dimension, but I have a feeling no matter where we send them, they will find a way back because they are tethered to Koragg."
"So, the only way to get rid of these things is beating Koragg?" Chip asked.
"We can do that, I think?" Vida shrugged.
"Think again, sis." Madison said, pointing nearby where Daggeron and Lena were struggling against the Knight Wolf.
"He is powerful." Neil said. "But with all of us together, we might be able to do it."
"Right." Xander said, as the two struggled to get up, only to fall back on the ground.
"You are not in any condition to fight, guys." Madison said, taking out her morpher and pointing at them. "I am sending you guys back to Rootcore. Take rest while we finish this."
"Okay." Xander said and Neil nodded.
A blue spell circle appeared underneath them, whisking them away from the battle and the five rangers turned towards where the three knights were fighting.
"This is it, guys." Nick said as they ran towards the battle.
Clare watched the fight through the crystal ball where Udonna tended to Darien, Neil and Xander's wounds. Darien was still unconscious while the other two were otherwise okay but still too weak to use any magic.
"I think we can win this now." Xander said.
Udonna sighed.
"I fear it will not be that easy. Even with your spells holding the creatures for now, I fear it wont last." The white witch said, turning to Clare. "I am afraid Lena was right. We cannot win on our own."
"I am ready." Clare said. She tapped the crystal ball and golden strands shot out of the orb to form multiple holographic projections in the air, each showing different places and different people.
"Wow!" Neil gasped on seeing two of the projections showing rows of ninjas in black robes training in front of a building in the middle of the mountains.
Another showed a young boy with Asian features yet blond hair train with a bokken in front a building that had distinct elements of Japanese architecture in it, much like the buildings in the other two projections had.
The next one showed a Shaolin temple and multiple students in grey robes fighting against each other, some of their fists glowing in coloured lights and Neil squinted as he saw spectral projections of several animals fighting each other above the students.
The following showed Nai and Mea teaching several novice vampires how to channel dark magic in a forest that resembled the mystic forest, except the skies were purple.
"Who are these people?" Neil asked.
"The Wind and the Thunder Ninjas." Udonna said, pointing to the first two projections before moving on to the next ones. "The Samurai. The warriors of Pai Zhua, who channel the power of their animal spirits to fight demons and you already know of Nai, Mea and the Vancuria Clan."
"The Samurai… You mean the red ranger who helped us bring Nick back when he was trapped in a Dark Dimension?" He asked.
"Yes." Udonna sighed. "The other Guardians have their own battles to fight but the Wolfblades are ancient threats that our archives don't have any information about, but maybe they have encountered these beasts and even if not, with our combined powers, we might be able to stop them."
"Right." He nodded.
"Go on, Clare." Udonna told her niece, who took a deep breath. Silver tendrils arose from her fingertips and extended towards the projections.
Once her magic touches these projections, she would be able to astral project her consciousness to these locations and inform them of the situation, and even bring some of them back to Rootcore. All of what she was doing was based on the knowledge her mother and her predecessors had passed on to her when she became the Gatekeeper, however this was the first time she was attempting such advanced magic on her own. However, she had no choice. Her friends and Darien were all counting on her.
She steeled her mind and closed her eyes. However, just before the silver strands linked with the projections, they blinked out and the strands turned purple before ricocheting back into her. She let out a yell before she lost consciousness and fainted.
"Clare!" Udonna yelled, running up to her.
Xander and Neil stood up in alarm.
"What happened?" Xander asked as the two of them knelt beside Udonna as she cradled Clare.
"She is okay." Neil said, checking her pulse. "Just unconscious."
"The spell… Maybe something went wrong." Xander said.
"With the powers she possesses, it was not that difficult of a task but something prevented her from completing it." Udonna shook her head worriedly.
Neil and Xander picked up Clare and gently carried her over to a cot. Udonna pursed her lips in concern.
"Her magic was silver but right before it went back to her, it turned purple." Neil noticed.
"Purple… The only people we know whose magic is purple are the bad guys… Koragg and Bandora." Xander pointed out.
"No." Udonna said. "It is not that easy to hijack someone else's spell, not without a tether of some kind. Someone prevented Clare from reaching out to the other Guardians, but I do not think it is any of our enemies. To have this much power… If I am not wrong, only someone from a different plane can manipulate a spell like this."
"What do you mean by a different plane? Like the spirit world?" Neil asked.
"Yes." Udonna bit her lips. "And many others. It could be someone from the celestial plane or even the Astral Plane but the question remains why would someone from the Higher Planes interfere in events of the mortal world?"
"Things just got weirder. First demonic werewolves and now ghosts?" Xander sighed in frustration.
"Not ghosts, the being who might be responsible for this may be something close to what we think of as Gods." Udonna rectified him and the two rangers exchanged worried looks.
Clare blinked, seeing herself standing in a mysterious place. The skies were dark and she was standing on a barren terrain. She looked down to see her hands appear transparent.
"Where am I?" She murmured. The spell had not worked and had backfired on her for some reason.
"You are in the Astral Plane." She turned around to see someone walk towards her. Unlike her, this being was not transparent and was practically glowing with light. They wore a purple cloak with a hood, that obscured their true form and face. "I apologize for bringing you here but I had to stop you before you completed the spell."
"Why?"
"Because the Guardians cannot help you. The only ones who can are on their way." The being said. It was difficult to say if their voice was masculine or feminine.
"Who are you?" Clare asked, baffled.
"A friend." They said simply, before taking his hand out of the cloak and extending it towards her. "Though I have recruited the champions of your universe, I fear it will not be enough for the upcoming battle against the Dark Wolves. I am bound by the cosmic rules to not interfere any more than I already have, but we need more champions… Warriors from other realities. I may not be able to reach them, but you can."
"I don't understand…" She took a step back.
"Please." They pleaded. "Trust me. They might be the only ones who can turn the tide and save your world."
"What do you need me to do?" She gulped.
"Take my hand and I will channel your powers to reach the ones we need for this war." They promised.
Clare looked at them closely. She had no way of knowing who this being was, but if there was a chance they could help her friends, she needed to trust them.
"Fine." She said, taking his hand as her form started to glow with silver light, which shot out at the skies.
She looked in awe as portals started to open where the lights had struck the dark infinitude around them. Warriors and rangers unlike any she had seen before and she felt hopeful.
"Thank you…" She said softly to the being, as they let go of her hand.
They nodded, just as everything faded away.
"Two knights against one." Koragg chuckled. "Doesn't sound very fair, does it?"
"Neither does the cursed magic you wield or the demonic hounds you have summoned to your aid!" Lena snapped, as she and Daggeron crossed their swords and let loose beams of amber and gold energies at him.
The knight laughed, blocking the attack with his shield.
"The rangers told me that the times they fought you, you always fought with honour yet now, you act like any other villain!" Daggeron said, jumping at him with his sword.
"I was deluded but my Mistress showed me the truth… There is only power!" He bellowed, sidestepping the attack and firing a beam of dark magic at Lena, who had been running at them.
"Lena!" Daggeron shouted on seeing the Saffron Sentinel being pushed back by the dark energies. Explosions tore through her armour, forcing her to her knees.
"Your turn, knight!" Koragg snarled, turning to him, only for a torrent of red and pink magic to slam against him.
Daggeron turned his head back to see the other rangers arrive. The yellow and blue rangers helped Lena up while the others joined Daggeron.
"This ends now, Koragg." Nick said as all the rangers regrouped.
"You may have stalled my army through trickery…" The knight said, looking at the trapped wolfblades. "And now you fool yourselves in thinking you can best me!"
"Rangers, all together now!" Lena said, transforming her mystic sword to staff form.
The other mystics drew their staffs as well while Daggeron and Ryan took out their Laser Lamp and Titanium Laser respectively.
"Fire!" She commanded and the mystics shot beams of elemental magic from their staffs. Ryan and Daggeron shot beams from their blasters.
The energies combined into the gigantic beam of blinding white light that crashed against the knight and resulted in a huge explosion, that threw the rangers back.
"Is he gone?" Madison asked, getting to her feet. The attack had drained all the power from their suits and forced them to demorph.
"I sure hope so…" Chip coughed from all the dust around them.
The rangers stood, looking for a sign of their enemy.
"No…" Daggeron murmured, seeing an outline of a figure coming at them through the smoke and they all heard an all too familiar laughter accompanying it.
"You have failed, rangers!" Koragg chuckled, stepping out of the smoke. He snapped his fingers and the ice and earth restraining the wolfblades shattered. The dark creatures howled as they surrounded the rangers from all sides.
"How?" Nick stuttered.
"We gave it all our power… all our magic!" Chip said in defeat.
"Isn't it obvious, rangers?" Koragg told them, his voice dripping in derision. "Dark magic is always stronger than light and now, you pay the price for standing in the way of my Mistress' will."
He raised his sword, which glowed in purple light and was just about to swing it down and unleash an energy attack that would have obliterated them all, when a burst of blue light appeared in front of them before the light dissipated to reveal a man in a blue business suit and blond hair, who seemed just as surprise at being here as them.
"Who are you?" Koragg snarled at the stranger. "Step out of the way or face my wrath!"
The man turned around to see the damaged surroundings and the weakened and wounded warriors, who were struggling to stay afoot before turning to look at the wolfblades and the evil knight, who held his sword menacingly.
"I may not know what is going on here, but I can discern that you are responsible for all this destruction and the wounds inflicted on these people." He said calmly. "I am not going to let you hurt them anymore than you already have."
The knight started laughing.
"The great mystics have fallen before my might and you think you, a mere human can stop me!" He growled, raising his sword.
The man smirked at him.
"I assure you I am more than just a mere human." He said, putting his hands behind his back.
The rangers saw a grey oval metallic device, holding a golden coin within it appear in his hands, and Ryan gasped, remembering why the man seemed so familiar.
"It's Morphin Time!" The man shouted, rotating his arms, holding the morpher steady with both hands in front of his chest before thrusting it outwards as it glowed in a bright blue light. "Blue Ranger Power!"
Hope you liked this chapter and please review.
Silas 6 and Nini the Orange Ranger and the White ranger are original characters who will feature in my upcoming RPM story. I hadn't intended on showing them in this chapter aside from small cameos but decided to keep them as a small teaser for what's to come.