"AH-YAH! HA! EEYAH!" Jason cut through the Putties as though they were made of butter instead of clay, striking at any warbling body that came for him. The sudden death threats that came from Goldar and Scorpina were quickly eclipsed by the girls' cries, telling him they would be taken care of for now. Now came the wall.
"Billy! Zack! Make us a hole!"
"Working on it!" the Black Ranger cried, smashing a Putty's face in with a fist. A shriek of annoyance drew the Red Ranger's eyes away from the horde, meeting the face of an irritated and enraged sorceress. "When will you puny Power Rangers learn to mind your own business?!"
"Your business is our business, Rita!" Jason shot back, slicing down another Putty that came at him with flailing arms. "What are you up to out here?" The witch only snarled in response. "You immature idiot, did you not hear a word of what I just said?! No matter! My spell is almost complete, you're too late to stop me this time!"
Jason jabbed a challenging finger at the sorceress. "We'll just see about that!"
"So be it! Putties! Rip him to red ribbons!" Heeding their mistress' call, a swarm of Putties converged on Jason like mindless zombies, forcing the Ranger into a defensive state. The Putties didn't last long against him, but they had one advantage: numbers. Two more replaced any that Jason cut down, and soon there were too many for Jason to handle. One Putty punched Jason from his blind spot and another parried the Power Sword with a rock blade.
With the Ranger's defenses down, that same Putty plowed Jason to the ground with a boulder fist, sparks flying from the blow. They were on him before Jason could get back up, fists and feet pounding him from everywhere. The Red Ranger could do nothing but attempt to defend himself poorly…
"HAI! GRAH! HA! AI-YAAAH!" Something cut through the Putties with a green flash of light. Powerful blows reduced them to rubble and others had their limbs and heads separated by a sharp weapon. When the last of the pebbles showered down around Jason's form, the Red Ranger blinked open his eyes with a groan… and the first thing he noticed was a white-gloved hand reaching out to him. The second was who the hand belonged to: a green figure with a dragon-styled helmet and gold shoulder plating.
"You okay, Jace?"
Smiling behind his helmet, Jason took his friend's hand and was pulled to his feet. "I'm good. Thanks for the save, Tommy." Kicking the Power Sword back into his hand, the Red Ranger turned to a defensive line of Putties that surrounded their mistress, whose staff was aglow with ethereal light. "Now let's cancel this magic show!"
"Right!" the Green Ranger called, following his friend's lead into battle.
…
"Jason? Earth to Jason! Hello?"
"H-huh? Wha-" Snapped from his thoughts, Jason was greeted by the sight of a hand waving in front of his face. That hand sharply retreated once the girl in yellow recognized that Jason was back to reality… and both her current look and the surrounding area reminded the Red Ranger of his current predicament. A regretful sigh escaped his lips. "Sorry, Trini. Just… thinking of stuff."
"Lemme guess," she said. "Your mind's still fuzzy?"
"Well… yeah. I remember that fight in the cave, but I'm still struggling to remember the outcome. In fact… I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this."
"Yeah, me too," the Yellow Ranger admitted, counting off on her fingers. "We wake up who-knows-where, our communicators and our morphers aren't working, our weapons can turn into guns, and we've… changed. And not just physically."
She had a point there. Jason would've remembered being able to produce a roar loud enough to blow monsters off their feet earlier, perhaps as a little something his Power Coin would have given him. "Yeah, and let's not forget those monsters."
He caught Trini shuddering from the corner of his eye. "Tell me about it. That thing looked like something a kid drew after having a nightmare. Brr…"
"At least you had to deal with one," Jason continued. "I had to fight a bunch of them, and it was only with the help of a gray-eyed girl who could-"
"Silver, actually!" The voice up ahead swiftly reminded Jason that they weren't alone, and for a moment he was worried about how much of that the two girls had overheard. From what he had remembered, the blonde- Yang- had told Ruby that she believed Trini had hit her head and wasn't remembering stuff clearly. In a way, that was true, so Jason was quick to assume she thought the same thing for him.
"Silver?" he repeated to Ruby. "That's a… pretty rare color for eyes." It had to be; he didn't recall seeing anybody with silver eyes before. What's next? Bronze? Gold? Diamond? Jason quickly stopped thinking about eyes for a second and dared to open the box of overflowing questions in his mind. Unloading too much now would be overwhelming for him, Trini, and the girls. He needed to start small.
"So, um… Ruby," he began. "What's Beacon like? Trini and I didn't really go there."
The gray- no, silver-eyed girl let out a blissful sigh like she had been waiting for Jason to ask that. "Oh, it is the best! It was built after the war like the other three Huntsman Academies! The professors are kind, the students are friendly… uh, most of them. Oh! And my parents went there, so me being a Beacon student? Oh, it feels destined to be!"
"And she got in early!" Yang added. "She was super nervous about it, too!"
"Okay…" Now Jason had even more questions, specifically about this "war" that Ruby had spoken of. Kicking himself for not being very specific, the Red Ranger tried again while being careful with his words. "But what kind of studying do you do there? Like history, math, science… anything that's your specialty?"
"Well…" Ruby began. "My favorite class would have to be Grimm Studies!"
Jason paused. "Wait… Grimm Studies?"
"Yeah! All the different types of Grimm, their weaknesses, how to deal with them… I still remember Weiss taking on that Boarbatusk!"
"She had a lot of team spirit," Yang explained. "Ruby was cheering so much she almost distracted Weiss." The girl spun around at her sister's words. "Hey, I was just excited for her! You gotta give me that, Yang!"
"Well, that's… an interesting subject," Jason spoke up, trying his hardest to suppress the shock in his system. "Thanks, Ruby." The dark-haired girl nodded in welcome before turning her attention back to Yang. With the girls occupied once again, Jason turned to Trini… who now had her jaw wide open. "They go to a school where they learn to fight monsters?!" she hissed as quietly as she could. "That's it! I am officially jealous! Why don't we have anything like that?! It'd make our lives so much easier!"
"A Ranger Academy does sound enticing," Jason muttered to her. "I mean, just think about the Zord-driving lessons!" That earned him an amused chuckle from them both: a school for Power Rangers… that is if they weren't the only ones. Those thoughts revolving around their friends put a stop to everything, both Rangers' smiles dropping while Trini stared at her feet. "I wish the others were here…"
"Don't worry," Jason whispered, putting a hand on the Yellow Ranger's shoulder. "We'll meet up with them soon enough. In fact…" The Red Ranger turned to the two girls ahead of them. "Excuse me, but how much farther to Be-" His words hit a wall when Jason noticed an unmistakable sight off in the distance: a massive white spire that equaled a skyscraper in height. At this distance, Jason could see an emerald illumination from within the tower, a light that acted as a beacon…
Whoever founded the school knew what they were doing when they named it.
"Ta-da!" Ruby's cheer brought Jason out of his trance. "See? I told ya you'd be amazed! Now come on! The main avenue's just through here!" She giddily sprinted the rest of the way, ignoring her sister's calls to wait as the blonde gave chase. Jason and Trini were forced to run after the girls to avoid losing sight of them.
Was it just him, or did Trini get somewhat faster? She didn't do track last time Jason checked… regardless, it didn't take him long to rejoin the others near a lengthy gray bridge, possibly the entrance to the academy. What surprised Jason first was the fact that he barely felt breathless from that sprint.
What surprised him next was that somebody was already at the bridge. Two people, actually. The first was a girl in black he didn't recognize, but somebody Ruby and Yang did. Both girls- particularly the blonde, who had an arm draped over her shoulders- were already chatting with her, the raven-haired girl slowly trying to remove Yang's limb as she explained something Jason couldn't make out. But his thoughts on the girls faded in a heartbeat when he turned his eyes to the second person there… and his eyes lit up when he recognized that person's face.
"Zack!" he called out, catching his friend's attention and seeing the Black Ranger's face go wide upon seeing him. Trini beat him to the other boy easily, wrapping him in a tight hug that squeezed the air from his lungs. "T-Trini? Jason? I-Is that you?"
"Yeah, it is," the Yellow Ranger admitted. "Admit it, it's good to see a familiar face." Zack's expression told Jason he couldn't complain about that. "Yeah, I guess. But… why do you guys look-"
"Seriously, Zack," Jason said with a mixture of a chuckle and a sigh. "I already have so many questions right now, and I'm gonna lose it if I get any more." Trini finally let go of Zack, who stepped back with raised arms. "Whoa, okay, got it. Because, ah… I've got a question of my own that neither of you would believe."
"I dunno," Trini countered. "We've seen plenty of crazy unbelievable stuff already. And…" She narrowed her eyes at the Black Ranger. "Zack… are those tattoos? When did you-?"
"Okay, enough. Now I feel like I'm gonna lose it," Zack stopped her before she could go any further. "This is… this is way too weird for me." Jason had half a mind to tell Zack that he felt the same way, but explanations would come once they found everyone else. In the meantime, Jason turned back to the three girls, expecting Ruby to introduce him to her black-clothed friend. The silver-eyed girl did look in his direction… but her eyes darted behind the Red Ranger and a wide smile crossed her face before she started waving.
"Ruby!" A different voice reached the Rangers' ears, prompting Jason to turn around. Coming in from behind him was a group of teens he didn't recognize. One of them was cosplaying as a knight (was that cosplay or did he have dreams of being one?) was returning the girl's wave while a girl skipped alongside somebody straight from Ancient Greece and a boy in green who looked rather moody. "You're not gonna believe who we found in Forev…" The boy paused when he took in the sight of Jason and his friends. "Um… who are they?"
"Guys?!" Another voice- this one familiar- cut off Ruby's reply and a new figure made its way to the front. A girl with a ponytail, dressed in pink, and holding a bow in one hand looked upon the group with wide eyes… before she broke into a smile and darted right for them. It was a smile that Jason returned. "Kim!"
Kimberly wrapped both him and Trini in a comforting hug, retreating before either of them could return the gesture. "I'm so happy you guys are okay! After the cave, I didn't know what to… Trini, what did you do with your hair?"
Jason's smile didn't fade as the Yellow Ranger scrambled to find a proper explanation for her shorter locks that had a yellow streak running through them, nor did Zack's as both boys felt happy to be in the presence of their friends. For a moment, Jason wasn't thinking about where they were, what had happened to them, or the billions of questions he had. The strangers that were chatting with Ruby, Yang, and the other one looked as confused as he had been previously. The Red Ranger heard glimpses of where they had found these "students" and questions about which academy they had gone to. A wave of pity washed through Jason, as he wanted nothing more than to explain everything to them.
Another noise cut through his thoughts, one that caught everyone's attention as they turned skyward. A white aircraft unfamiliar to Jason floated through the air until its speed decreased to a hover and a side door slid open, revealing two people Jason couldn't identify from his current distance. One of them, a girl in a white dress was speaking something to the other: a boy wearing blue armor and glasses, who looked like he was having second thoughts about something.
"Is that… Billy?" Zack asked out loud. Jason squinted to get a better look at the boy… and there was no denying the nervous expression on the teen's face. It was usually an expression he wore whenever he was threatened by a bully, and the boy was now saying something to the girl, probably an excuse. Whatever it was, it made the girl roll her eyes dramatically… before she promptly shoved Billy out of the ship and jumped after him.
Trini gasped. "Did she just-" Jason was about to move in and shout orders to his friends when specks of white light appeared in midair. The girl in white slid down those specks like a surfer riding a wave, pointing a rapier in the direction of a panicking Billy, his screams faint as he flailed his arms wildly. More platforms of light appeared in his current trajectory, and soon Billy was sliding down them like a kid snowboarding down a snowy hill… without a snowboard.
The girl in white summoned a whole path of the light platforms- embedded with images of snowflakes in them when Jason got a closer look at them that guided the two safely to the ground. But while she came to a perfect stop on her feet, the trail Billy was sliding down ended up dumping him unceremoniously in front of his friends. Jason caught some of the strangers snickering a little at the Blue Ranger's predicament, the brilliant young mind not bothering to lift his face from the ground.
"Ugh… I never ever wanna do that again…"
"You better," the girl in white told him. "Primary combat schools probably don't teach landing strategies, but the Huntsman Academies do."
"Weeeiiiiiss!" Ruby tackled the new girl from behind, but she was hardly bothered by the surprise and raised the corner of her mouth in a smile. "Hello to you too, Ruby." Yang and the girl in black joined in on greeting the girl in white while Billy climbed to his feet. He got past adjusting his glasses and brushing off his armor until he finally noticed the other Rangers standing in front of him. "Oh! Hi, fellas! I was told you would be here."
"And to be fair," Zack told him. "You had the most spectacular entrance."
Billy just groaned as the aircraft turned away. "Ugh! She couldn't have had the pilot land?! I haven't been in this world for a whole hour and I'm already getting sick of it!"
Kimberly looked stunned at those words. "Billy, hold on… did you just say 'this world'?"
"As in… not Earth?" Zack chimed in. "Oookaayyy, I guess that would explain those weird animal people."
"Animal people?!" Trini echoed in shock. "Alright, I can't take this anymore! Just… where in the universe are we?! What is this place?!"
"Guys, guys!" Jason butted in. "I get it. We all have questions. We want to know what happened. We want to know where we are. Most importantly, we want to know how we're supposed to get back. But there's something more important than that right now."
Kimberly blinked in confusion. "What could be more important than getting home?"
"All I'm saying is we need to take this one step at a time. But right now, there's only one thing that matters. We're all back together again." The Red Ranger's words were enough to calm everybody down. The other Rangers let their leader's words sink in before embracing themselves in a five-way hug. They knew Jason was right. They may have been dumped into a strange world they knew nothing about, but they found each other. Because no matter where they were, the Power Rangers would stand together. Just the five of them against whatever this world could throw at-
Wait… five?
Jason was the first to break away with a sharp realization, his eyes darting over each of his friends. Trini, Billy, Zack, Kimberly… somebody was absent. He couldn't believe he almost missed it, having been so caught up in his calming moment. "Jason? Is something wrong?" Trini was the first to pick up on it and the others quickly followed. The Red Ranger couldn't keep the worry down, but he tried to keep it out of his voice as he asked a question unrelated to the others in his head.
"Guys… have any of you seen-"
GRAAAAAAWWWRRR!
Howls that were almost demonic in nature breached the tranquil air, immediately alerting all who heard them. Every eye turned to the forest; some in confusion, others in alarm. At the edge of the treeline, creatures of darkness clambered from the shadows as if the blackness had birthed them. Monstrous forms that resembled wolves, boars, and bears emerged from the dark with blazing red eyes. Among them were tailed creatures that lacked any animal resemblance, standing on a single pair of legs while four crimson eyes glared at the humans before them.
"Uh…" Billy gulped at the sight of them. "Jason? What… What the heck are those things?" The Red Ranger never broke his gaze on the horde, glaring at the burning eyes with a challenge in his orbs. "They're called Grimm. And in case you're missing it, they're anything but friendly."
"Well, they sure do look grim!" Zack added in an attempt to lighten the mood. Jason looked over his shoulder toward the other teens, who were currently yammering over how that many monsters had followed them, and who they were drawn to. The one with the hammer appeared to be denying something like a kid found standing over a smashed plate. There was a glint in Ruby's eyes and her hand was reaching under her cloak…
"Hang back, kid!" Jason called out, stopping Ruby from making another move. "How'd you like a demonstration of what my friends and I can do?" His words sent a wave of uncertainty among the teens, as they all glanced at one another before the blonde knight raised a hand. "Uh, how much training did you do?"
"Plenty!" came Jason's confident reply. "Trust me when I say this: we can handle these creeps!"
He was trying to reassure them, but some of the kids didn't have the reaction Jason was looking for. A few of them looked baffled before the girl with the hammer cupped her hands over her mouth. "Don't forget the other ones!"
The Red Ranger just rolled his eyes as he turned back to his friends and the horde of monsters that were eying their next potential meal. Staring down the beasts, Jason cracked his knuckles together while the others slowly adopted fighting stances. "Alright, Rangers, I hope you're not rusty from whatever it was you've each been through."
"I fought a giant snake, Jace," Kim told him. "I think I'm good."
"Likewise," Zack added. "But for me, it was masked people with animal parts. Still, I think I can handle a bunch of monsters that belong on a KISS album cover."
"I just had to fight normal people," Billy spoke up. "So it'll feel good to get back to business!"
"Ready when you are, fearless leader," Trini finished. With that, Jason took a step forward and jabbed a finger at the dark creatures. "Listen up, uglies! I know you're all hungry, but we're not gonna be as easy a meal as you think we are! So, why don't you just crawl back to whatever deep, dark hole you came from and spare yourselves the humiliating beatdown!"
The only answer he got was a tremendous roar of rage from the pack, the first of the wolf creatures charging on all fours. The rest of the swarm followed with hellish snarls and bone-rattling bellows, but all Jason said to that was a disappointed shake of his head. "Didn't think so!"
A loud cry erupted from the Rangers' throats when they charged for the horde as one, meeting them with the force of an army colliding with another. Zack shoulder-checked one of the wolf creatures hard enough to knock it to the ground while Trini landed a flying kick to another's head. Kimberly slid beneath a claw swipe before grabbing a leg and throwing the beast onto its skull. Billy spun away from a lunging monster and swiftly engaged another, pounding its face with both fists. Jason ran to meet one of the bear creatures, leaping onto an arm that badly missed and kicking it in its bony face.
Fearless cries and shouts that emphasized attacks drowned out the almost-haunting growls and roars from the monsters, sounds that would turn a normal person's skin whiter than the bony armor that covered the beasts. The armor appeared to be more decorative and frightening than protective, as the Ranger's fists and feet formed fractures and cracks on the plates with every impact. The black beasts grew more agitated and frustrated at each blow, snarling and howling at how their victims weren't making things easy. They had no idea just what kind of power and force they had stumbled upon, and these five humans were all too happy to explain it through each hit they landed.
Zack struck a wolf-monster's jaw with a backhand, the blow knocking a few teeth loose and angering the creature further. It lunged at the Black Ranger with a hand that the teen quickly caught and twisted, earning a pained howl from the monster. Without releasing his grip on the spindly limb, Zack threw the beast to the ground and stomped on its head, shattering the bony armor in one solid movement and ending what excuse for a life the creature had.
Backflipping away from another wolf-thing's several swipes, Kimberly kicked one of the four-eyed monsters in the face before swinging herself onto its head. Locking her legs around its neck and cutting off an enraged snarl, Kimberly twisted herself to the side and fell to the ground, taking the beast with her.
Billy somersaulted over a bear creature's limb and clocked it across the jaw with his leg, rolling away from a slam that would've pulverized him. The Blue Ranger swiftly jabbed the beast in an eye, staggering it for a moment while he slid beneath its form. By the time the creature noticed the boy was gone, a strong kick to its hindquarters sent it face-first into the dirt.
Cartwheeling away from a wolf-monster's lunge, Trini landed a swift chop to another wolf's throat before spinning around and striking its face with her heel. Bellowing in primal fury, that monster slashed wildly at the Yellow Ranger only to feel nothing but air as the girl swiftly and fluidly weaved away from each swing. She stepped back from a downward swipe, pinned that hand to the ground, and flip-kicked the beast in the face. She was already off when the creature crashed onto its back, dazed from the blow.
Rolling from a boar creature's charge, Jason noticed one of the four-eyed bipeds stomping towards him with an open mouth. Unfazed by the guttural roar that emerged from that dark abyss of a throat, Jason landed a high kick that snapped that jaw shut. Darting to the creature's left side, Jason threw a hard punch on the leg, causing the limb to buckle. The creature collapsed, down but not out, allowing Jason time to ponder his next move. Vaulting over the beast's form, he charged toward two wolf creatures.
The eight teens who weren't taking part could only watch in a combination of stunned confusion and amazement. "Whoa…" whispered Nora. "Those guys are good!" While her teammates echoed the girl's comment, Jaune turned to Ruby with a curious expression. "Very good. I've never seen Huntsmen who can fight that well without weapons! Where did they say they trained?"
"They didn't tell us," Ruby replied. "But wherever they went, they must've had one heck of a teacher!"
"Tell me about it…" Yang uttered, unable to tear her eyes from the agile yellow figure who was evading every attack and retaliating with equal force. "She's very… impressive…" The blonde was too caught up in her observation to notice the stern look Blake threw her way. "Yang…"
"Wh-what?" The golden-haired girl jolted in alarm. "I-I'm just… thinking about our rematch, that's all!"
"They've gotten this far without weapons or Semblances?" Weiss noticed. "A foolish choice, yet they perform adequately…"
Uncaring of the nearby spectators, the five colored teens continued holding their own against the midnight-colored monstrosities that outnumbered them ten to one. This was a fact Billy was beginning to register, the Blue Ranger back-to-back with Zack. Judging by the Black Ranger's expression, he wasn't the only one picking up on that. "Man… these things just don't quit!"
"We need an opening," Billy stated. "An advantage. Something to compensate for…" That's when it hit him, the young genius' eyes brightening with an obvious idea. "Zack… are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The boys glanced over their shoulders, catching a knowing look in each other's gaze. "Time to even up the score?" Zack suggested.
"You read my mind," Billy confirmed. The boys reached behind their backs while keeping their eyes trained on the horde of Grimm around them, any of the monsters ready to attack in an instant. When their arms shot back into sight, a select few of the creatures were taken aback by golden glints.
"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!" the boys shouted in unison, immediately catching the attention of every monster in the vicinity… and every human. Weiss' impressed face turned into a perplexed expression that matched her teammates. "Hold on, what are they-?"
Jason, on the other hand, had a look of sheer horror. "Wait, guys, don't-!"
"MASTODON!"
"TRICERATOPS!"
Billy and Zack stood still with their morphers proudly displayed and activated… but it didn't take long for them to realize something was wrong. No energy surge, no colored light, no suit… nothing. A flash of worry crossed Zack's face while a confused Billy turned the morpher toward himself. "Wh-what the…?"
A deafening howl breached the boys' ears, alerting them to a wolf thing that had capitalized on that moment of distraction to leap at them. Zack and Billy had only a split-second to react, a split-second that vanished quicker than it came. Fortunately, something small and pink zipped through the air, lodging into the monster's throat and knocking it off course. The beast collapsed with a thud and disintegrated soon after.
Firing arrow after arrow at the beasts surrounding the boys, Kimberly kept them clear while Jason and Trini ran for their friends with sword and daggers drawn. The girl swiftly cut down a boar-thing and Jason lopped off an arm that a wolf monster swung at him, burying his blade in its midsection. Kicking herself away from a bear creature, Trini landed near Zack and Billy with concern- an emotion the boys shared- in her eyes.
"Our morphers!" she cried, slicing a wolf-monster's throat and ending it on the spot. "They're not working!" Zack's eyes went wide and he took a step back. "Wh-what?! How-?"
"That shouldn't be possible!" A shocked Billy finished for him. "Our morphers are perfectly intact! Why-"
"We'll work it out later, Billy!" Jason called, slashing another wolf-thing across the chest and bisecting it in half. "Right now, we need to keep up the pressure!" Knowing there was no time for debate, Zack and Billy equipped their weapons and faced down the swarm of Grimm. All five Rangers gathered in a circle, staring down the monsters that surrounded them from all sides.
All it took for the beasts to charge was a single howl from a wolf-thing that looked taller and tougher than its brethren. Before long, the teens were shrouded from view, with grunts and pained roars the only indication that they weren't immediately killed by the horde. Bodies that lacked limbs or a head hit the ground in an evaporating heap while others collapsed with arrows in their skulls.
"Um… what just happened?" Ruby asked her friends, who were just as lost as she was. "Was it me, or did those two try to scare off the Grimm with… belt buckles?"
"I'm starting to think those aren't toys…" Yang muttered, a hand to her chin in thought. "Especially after what the dude with the glasses just said." Blake focused her gaze on the team that had just broken from their confinement, absentmindedly asking the question everyone wanted to know.
"Who are these people?"
Jason separated a wolf creature from its right leg before doing the same to its head, its black body disintegrating before it fully met the grass. With a quick spin, he lopped off a boar monster's tusk before stabbing it in the skull, cutting off the pained squeal. One of the bear monsters lumbered toward Jason next, prompting the Red Ranger to ready his sword as it reared back on its hind limbs…
Suddenly, with a loud cry that Xena would be proud of, Trini leaped onto the beast's head and plunged both daggers into its crimson eyes. A tremendous howl of pain erupted from the creature, its forelimbs flailing wildly in every direction. Being blind didn't help it in the slightest, as Trini directed the beast to strike at its fellow beasts with powerful arms, steering it wherever she could. Once the bear was frantically trying to throw her off, Trini yanked out her daggers and planted them in the back of the monster's head. The Yellow Ranger somersaulted off and landed in a graceful pose, the bear beast collapsing behind her.
Billy was a bladed tsunami, his lance slicing up any creature that dared get close to him as he twirled it like helicopter blades. A leg belonging to one of the four-eyed monsters was lopped off before one end of the polearm impaled it through the forehead. Quickly extracting the blade, Billy danced around a wolf monster before cutting off its finger and stabbing it through the midsection. Ignoring the screech of pain, Billy darted to the monster's back and pulled the lance out the rest of the way, allowing the monster to fall and disintegrate.
A single swing from Zack's axe sent another wolf-thing flying before the blade chopped the tail off a four-eyed beast. Zack countered the raging monster's lunge by swatting it to the side, burying his axe into its neck. The creature moaned and thrashed about, but a quick twist was enough to silence it. A raging howl alerted the Black Ranger to another wolf-thing that lunged at him, prompting Zack to backstep from the pounce. Rushing over before the beast could stand, Zack separated the creature's head as if he was a medieval executioner, the burning red lights that were its eyes fizzling out.
Kimberly stayed on the move, firing an arrow into a wolf-thing's eyes before leaping off a charging boar monster. Airborne, she rained several more arrows that detonated into fiery blasts upon impact, staggering the Grimm caught in them. Landing atop a sprinting four-eyed beast, Kim split her bow into twin blades and drove them into the monster's skull, instantly ending it. The Pink Ranger vaulted off the moaning, still-moving body as it fell and slid along the ground, gracefully slicing off a bear monster's arm. Stabbing the beast in the thigh, Kim introduced her other blade to the monster's falling chin.
"Trini, is this how you feel all the time?!" she asked, looking over the blades with pride. Beside her, the Yellow Ranger shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much! But check this out!" Reconfiguring her daggers into twin pistols, Trini quickly gunned down the closest Grimm with precise aim, every bullet meeting its mark.
"Good thinking, girls!" Jason shouted. "Everyone! Our weapons have an alternate form! Use them to thin the herd!" Shifting his sword into its rifle mode, the Red Ranger opened fire on a charging wolf beast, downing it in three shots. Spinning away from a swiping claw, Jason sliced off the next monster's fingers with the bayonet and fired a round in its roaring mouth. Not hesitating to follow her friend, Kimberly charged towards another group of Grimm and began a deadly dance, cutting and slicing up each monster with her twin wing-shaped blades. After literally disarming a wolf creature, Kim hopped up to the beast's face and decapitated it with an outward slash, touching down gracefully as the dissipating body hit the ground.
Switching his axe to its shotgun state, Zack charged for another wolf monster that was barreling toward him on all fours. The moment it pounced at the Black Ranger, Zack dove into a slide and fired the weapon into the creature's stomach. Zack bounded up from his slide while the Grimm disintegrated, pumping the chamber before searching for his next target. With the majority of the horde occupied by their prey's resistance, another of the group maintained a safe distance.
"For once, a jock considers field testing," Billy chuckled to himself, the boy switching his weapon from lance to sniper rifle. "Who could've seen that coming? Or on a related note… who among those overgrown ink stains will see this coming?" The blue laser on the rifle's sight painted a cerulean dot on the bone-white forehead of a dazed wolf monster. The moment the beast noticed the light, Billy's finger gripped the trigger…
BANG! A single shot was all it took for the head to burst into dust, leaving the body to crumble away in seconds. Billy didn't let up and immediately kept firing round after round, nailing several of the monsters as they closed on his position. One shot managed to pierce through a wolf-thing's head and strike the skull of its packmate, downing two beasts with one bullet. Billy changed targets with ease and slew them just as fast, and by the time no more monsters were rushing at him, the Blue Ranger lowered the rifle with a partly-astonished, partly-stunned face.
"Okay, for the record, I did not think I could shoot that good," he admitted. "I never did any of those carnival games either, and… and now I'm a pro? Then again, I wasn't good with a lance before-"
"Billy!" Jason's call was enough to snap the Blue Ranger out of his muttering and he stammered a swift apology while making a run for his friends. Back at the brawl, the number of Grimm was dwindling steadily. Normal predators that possessed an ounce of sentience would have noticed their disadvantage by now and would have retreated, but Jason had a feeling these things were no normal creatures. Their continued attacks, uncoordinated savagery, and insatiable bloodlust were all he needed to prove himself right. It seemed that all these beasts cared about was the utter destruction of their target with no regard for their own well-being.
Good. Dumb, mindless monsters were a cinch.
One of the boars charged toward Zack, who stood like a linebacker and caught the creature's tusks in both hands. Almost effortlessly, the Black Ranger reinforced his grip and spun the beast around, hurling it into the side of a four-eyed bipedal form. "YEAH! That's right!" he hollered, pounding a palm like a pumped-up bruiser. "Who else wants some?" A sadistic growl gave the Black Ranger his answer: a bear monster lumbering for him with an animalistic snarl escaping its abysmal maw. With a scowl and a crack of his neck, Zack marched toward the bear as if he was walking into the jaws of death. His body immediately repelled the swinging limbs with strong strikes until his arms were locked with the beast's limbs. Burning hellish eyes threatened to scorch Zack's soul, and the deep roar that erupted from its throat was capable of rattling his nerves. With a ferocious glare in his eyes, Zack roared back and broke the struggle in his favor, grabbing the beast's torso with both hands…
…and hoisted the large mass over his head.
He had to double-check through his adrenaline, which was not a simple task. This thing was bigger than Zack was, but he could barely feel its weight: a weight that was supposed to be overbearing. One that was supposed to be squashing him flat. The beast was bellowing again, flailing about like a temper-stricken child that wanted to be put down. The noise forced Zack to quit listening to his brain, which was once again swarming with questions like how this was possible. Instead, the Black Ranger went with his gut and threw the black beast away from himself. Two of the wolves were crushed beneath the bear's mass, the wannabe grizzly unable to act when a red sword pierced its neck.
"Zack, how did you-?" Jason shook his head mid-sentence. "Y'know what, it doesn't matter! We gotta finish this fast!" The Red Ranger darted his eyes across the battlefield, taking note of the now dozen or so Grimm left for his friends to defeat. The first was a group of wolves and four-eyed beasts that had surrounded Kimberly, leaving her trapped. He was having trouble picking her out from the crowd, he needed to-
A pink blur shot into the sky at such speed it was almost like a rocket. Jason and the Grimm turned their heads skyward, where an airborne Kimberly proceeded to rain down arrows that bombarded the group with explosions. Twirling in midair to control her fall, the Pink Ranger touched down perfectly. "Ha! How's that for morphenomenal?"
"Kim?" Billy blurted in bewilderment. "What'd you… nobody can jump that high!" The girl just shot the nerd a satisfied expression. "Learning as I go, I guess!" Her face then tightened in alarm. "Billy, behind you!"
"Huh? AAAH!" The Blue Ranger spun around and yelped when a wolf monster lunged in his direction, too close for him to react in time. All Billy could do was raise his arms… and the beast collided with a bright blue arc of light that blasted it back. Billy blinked his eyes open and his jaw popped open… which became a delighted smile when he lowered his arms. "Whoa…"
The Blue Ranger spotted something from the corner of his eye; something he could only describe as a black-and-white boulder rolling his way. Ready for the ambush this time, Billy crossed his arms in a blocking position just as the creature connected with him. The beast hit a small blue barrier that surrounded Billy in a brief instant, vanishing as quickly as it came. The ball bounced back, uncurled to reveal one of the boar creatures, and struggled to right itself before Kim fired an arrow between its eyes.
"Cool!" Billy exclaimed, glancing at his hands with a giddy smile. "Instant forcefield!"
Lastly, Jason spotted Trini in the middle of a mad dash, pursued by four wolf creatures that were moving faster than a normal human. Jason recognized the pack leader: the devilish wolf-like creature with more armor, larger teeth, and longer spikes that had signaled the others to attack. They would have gained on Trini in seconds, but she was outpacing them easily at speeds outclassing any Olympic runner. The Yellow Ranger fired a few shots at the leader, who weaved between them easily while the other monsters broke off. They surrounded Trini from all sides, forcing the girl to a halt. Immediately, she spun to face the pack leader with both daggers, similarly to an animal choosing fight over flight. The larger beast crept on all fours, mouth slightly ajar as it closed in on the Yellow Ranger. Trini maintained her guard and stayed on high alert, watching the leader for whatever move it made.
Except the first strike came not from the leader, but from the monster Trini's back was turned to. That creature lunged for the girl with claws spread and jaws wide, intending to end her on the spot. But what it didn't expect was for Trini to spin around and jab one dagger in the creature's chin, halting its attack. Before any of the beasts could recognize what was happening, Trini drove her other blade into the beast's skull and twisted it like a key in a lock, shutting the monster down.
The other two wasted no time in attacking the girl, who reacted almost as if she knew the attack was coming before she saw it. She dropped into the splits, causing the two to collide with each other in midair. With her targets stunned, the Yellow Ranger struck and effortlessly dispatched the two with precise cuts. Three seconds passed and the wolf-things fell to her feet before dissipating.
"Your turn," she spoke challengingly.
The alpha wolf's response was simply an enraged bellow, the noise attracting the remaining Grimm. Trini darted away from a smashing limb and quickly connected a rising knee to the creature's jaw, flipping over its falling form before returning to the others. The large beast recovered in seconds, snarling at the Rangers as the few remaining Grimm gathered around it.
"Don't these guys know they're beat?" Kim asked with a roll of her eyes. "Or do they not have brains since they seem to know nothing at all?" Zack gave the monsters a disappointed frown. "Honestly, I thought they'd be more of a challenge."
Billy turned to their leader inquisitively. "Hey, Jason? Can we still do the Power Blaster? I mean, our weapons can transform now…"
"Only one way to find out!" Jason called out. "Rangers, bring 'em together!"
"Right!" One by one, the Rangers readied their weapons and tossed them into the air.
"Power Axe!"
"Power Bow!"
"Power Daggers!"
"Power Lance!"
"Power Sword!"
All five weapons came together… before clashing with each other in midair and clattering uselessly onto the ground in a scattered heap. An awkward silence filled the battlefield with the Rangers staring at their weapons in surprise, the Grimm's crimson eyes on the sloppy mess, and the other teens deciding how to react to what they had just witnessed. Ruby was blinking a few times, the girl in white and Yang were face-palming in embarrassment, and the rest were as still as statues.
"Uh…" Zack was the first to break the silence. "...anybody got a Plan B?"
GRAAAWWWR! The alpha wolf bellowed and broke into a fierce charge, the other Grimm stampeding it behind it. The Rangers had only seconds to act, but Jason knew gathering their weapons was a bust, especially thanks to the small pile. Thankfully, Jason had one last ace up his sleeve. Frowning at the rampaging Grimm, Jason gathered himself and took a few steps forward, ignoring whatever objections or queries his friends threw his way. He balled up his fists, took a deep breath, and…
ROOOOAAAAAAAAARRRR! The earth-shaking, thunderous call accompanied by the rapid red sound waves tore the Grimm off their feet and flung them backward with the force of a hurricane. The wolves and boars were blown away like leaves, the four-eyes bipeds and the bears struggled before falling, and the leader was sent crashing through a few trees that were instantly demolished. Whatever pained cries and howls the horde let out didn't stand a chance against the sonic smashing that was rattling them.
Jason finally collapsed for breath after a full fifteen seconds, the dinosaur-like roar devolving into exhausted gasps as he buckled over. Once Jason glanced at the forest, he saw wisps of smoke and black ash rising into the sky, leaving no trace of the demonic monsters he had just decimated. "Is… is everyone alright?"
There was no response. Jason looked over his shoulder and instantly noticed his friends were hunched over and covering their ears, a gesture he saw on the other teens nearby. Ruby was shaking her head as if she was dizzy but gave Jason a thumbs-up once she realized he was looking at her. The girl in black, on the other hand, was on the ground as if practicing a tornado drill… and her hands were covering the bow on her head instead of her ears.
"Jason…" gasped Kimberly, cutting off the Red Ranger's thoughts as to why the raven-haired girl chose to save a head garment rather than her hearing. "What… the heck… did you… just do?"
"I have no idea…" he simply replied with a smile. "But I like it!"
"Feel free… to warn us next time," Billy groaned. "I think you almost broke my glasses…"
"Guys, forget him!" Zack piped up. "What the heck did we just do?! That bear must've weighed half a ton, but… but I lifted it like it was nothing! And Kim, you couldn't jump that high!"
"And I know I'm fast, but not that fast," Trini muttered worriedly. "Guys… what happened to us?"
Jason's smile faded as he took in Trini's words. That was a question they were all asking right now. Their morphers weren't working right, which meant their powers were gone. No, that wasn't right. They weren't gone… they had changed. Their powers had fluctuated somehow; they had morphed instead of the Rangers. Jason was just as eager for answers as his friends were… which led his attention to the other teenagers near the bridge.
"Let's go find out," he instructed, gesturing for the others to follow. But before he could make a single step, he felt somebody grab his arm. "Wait!" Billy hissed. "Jason, we can't just… tell them!"
"Billy, you said it yourself," he readily replied. "We're not on Earth. You know what that means, right?" He could see the gears turning in the Blue Ranger's head, and it didn't take him long to realize it. "Zordon's… Zordon's third rule doesn't mean anything here, does it?"
"Well, telling them is still a bad idea," Zack whispered, only for Kim to glare daggers at him. "So was morphing in front of them! Now we have to tell them!"
Trini sighed. "Guys, we have no other option here. I know this feels wrong to you but think about it. Nobody knows about the Power Rangers here. And we're stuck with broken morphers, no way to contact Zordon… and no way home. We need help."
"Help…" Zack echoed. "I… I guess you're right. We don't know where we are, we don't know what happened to us, and we…" He suddenly bolted upright. "Oh crap, Tommy!"
That spark of realization jumped through the other Rangers in a nanosecond. Jason was in disbelief that he had allowed that fact to slip his mind, distracted by the Grimm. "We forgot Tommy!" Kim whispered, trying not to raise her voice. "How could we- is he-"
"Guys, calm down!" Jason uttered. "We do need help, but not from Tommy. We don't know where he is, or if he's even here to begin with. We need people to give us answers… and I think those people are our best bet."
"How can you be so sure?" asked Billy.
"Because they're locals. Trustworthy locals," Jason explained. "They know a lot about these 'Grimm' while we know nothing at all about them or whatever else is out there. Already, one of them's proven to be a good friend… and right now, we need all the help we can get. So no secrets. Remember, the rule doesn't apply here because no one knows who we are. There's nobody that can exploit it."
Each of the other four teens thought this through for a moment until Billy composed himself. "Okay… we trust you, Jason. Let's make ourselves some new friends, yeah?" The Red Ranger returned Billy's words with a relaxed nod before making his way to the bridge, his friends right behind him.
As he approached the others, he took notice of their reactions. Some were surprised, others were amazed, and there was a common question in their eyes. They wanted to know just who these strange color-coded people were. They wanted to know where they came from. And the Rangers wanted to figure out where they were and what they'd stumbled into.
In that case, Billy had a point: these people were their new best friends.
"That was… fun for you all, I guess?" Yang began, running a hand through her golden hair while the girl in white stepped forward. "I've never seen a level of battlefield coordination like that in students! Where-"
"I think we should start with the founding question here," the one in black interrupted. By her side, Ruby nodded with childish curiosity on her face. She turned back to Jason and his friends with a bright glint in her eye. If anything, she looked like a child meeting somebody who had just saved her life. Which was rather ironic, considering how Jason had met her.
"Who are you?"
Jason gave the girl a bright welcoming smile. "We are the Power Rangers… and we need your help."
"Power Rangers?" repeated the boy dressed as a knight. Jason gave him a comfortable look. "I understand that is a name none of you recognize. But we'll get to that in a moment. My name is Jason Lee Scott, and I am the Red Ranger; the leader of this team. These are my friends." He turned to the others, who got the message as soon as their eyes met. Billy was the one to step forward first, adjusting his glasses as he did so.
"I am Billy Cranston, the Blue Ranger."
"Trini Kwan, Yellow Ranger."
"Name's Zack Taylor, Black Ranger."
"And I'm Kimberly Hart, the Pink Ranger."
"Whoa, whoa, hold up!" Yang butted in, her eyes trained on Trini. "You're telling me it's not a show?" The Yellow Ranger immediately lowered her head with a regretful sigh, ignoring the confused looks from Billy and Kim. "No… no, it's not. Sorry."
"Well, that's a… an unusual team name," Ruby continued. "What academy did you go to again?" Jason had to take another deep breath at this question. The answer would be difficult for them to understand. He needed to proceed carefully.
"Whatever it is you're thinking of… get rid of it," he said calmly. "Whatever places you're guessing in your heads, they're all wrong. Because none of us are from those places."
The girl in black blinked with curiosity in her golden eyes. "What do you mean?"
"We come from a world beyond this one," Jason explained, pausing to await the group's reaction. Some were left more confused than ever, others were whispering to themselves… and the girl in white snorted in amusement.
"Another world," she repeated dismissively. "Sure, and it always rains in Vacuo."
A non-believer. Jason knew just how to fix that. He reached behind his back and held out his morpher for everyone to see… which made the smirk on the girl's face vanish. "What… what is that thing?" Off to the side, Yang was examining it suspiciously. "I dunno… but I'm beginning to think it's not a toy after all."
"And I've never seen a creature like that," the girl in black muttered, her eyes trained on the Power Coin within. "It… it looks like a Grimm, but… it seems natural."
"You two looked like you were expecting something out of those things," Ruby said to Zack and Billy. "Are they supposed to do something?"
"Our Power Morphers grant us abilities greater than anybody else where we come from," Jason explained, pressing down on the red switch only for the device to remain inert. "Or at least… they're supposed to. Ever since we came here, they just… stopped working."
"We come from a world called Earth," Billy said, his eyes scanning the crowd. "And judging from what I'm seeing, you're not very familiar with other planets, are you?"
"We've never been able to explore space," Yang answered. "Dust doesn't work out of the atmosphere." Trini didn't suppress the perplexed expression that crossed her face. "Alright, here's more proof. I do not understand what you just said in the slightest. Where I'm from, dust is just useless stuff that gathers on things that have been sitting around for too long."
Yang's lilac eyes widened. "You… you didn't hit your head at all, didn't you? You really had no idea what a Grimm was. Or an Aura." Trini shook her head in response, which made Yang's jaw drop. "Guys, they're telling the truth. They're not from here at all."
"Does this mean you're aliens?" the girl with the orange hair asked in a tone that made Billy slightly uncomfortable. "I mean… technically? B-but we come in peace and all that!"
"That sounds right," Ruby reinforced, her eyes locked on Jason. "You were protecting the people in that town all by yourself. Is that what you normally do?" The Red Ranger nodded at the girl. "That's right. We were given extraordinary powers- unlike anything our world has ever seen- to protect our home from forces that wish to conquer it."
"And we were in the middle of a great battle when we were brought here," Trini added. "We have no idea how to get back home, or where we are. You guys are our best bet right now. You look like you can handle yourselves against these 'Grimm' creatures… which, if I heard correctly, you go to a school specifically designed to teach you how to fight them."
"Wait, they do?!" Zack gasped. "Aw, that's so unfair! Now we need Monster Fighting 101!" The Black Ranger realized what he just said and attempted to clarify. "Uh, n-not that we need a class like that. We've fought worse. And defeated worse." He cleared his throat while looking over the crowd. "All I'm saying is you guys got off easy."
"Well, I did say I wanted to help people…" Ruby began. "Although I wasn't expecting this. Ahem! Hi!" She gave the Rangers a polite wave. "I'm Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY!"
Trini gave her a deadpan stare. "You lead a team named after yourself?"
"It's standard, I'll explain later!" She quickly shut her up before directing her attention to the tall blonde. "This is Yang Xiao Long, the best older sister ever!" The girl in question crossed her arms with a smirk, winking at the newcomers with gusto. Billy blinked a few times as his mind processed the name. "Wait, isn't that a Chi-" Ruby just kept talking, drowning out Billy's question. "It's completely understandable if you have a crush on her, a lot of guys do!"
"C-crush?" Zack repeated. "She could crush anybody stupid enough to make a move on her! N-no offense…"
"None taken, Black," the blonde replied, making a finger gun at him. "It's what I do best."
"...tell me you don't."
"And this is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the-" Ruby was rudely interrupted by an abrupt snort from Kimberly, who was trying to cover her mouth as best as she could. The girl in white glared at the Pink Ranger, who wore a horrified expression when she became aware of the eyes on her. "Sorry, sorry, so sorry! It's just… heh… quite a name…"
"Heh heh…" Ruby chuckled a bit- much to Weiss' annoyance- before continuing. "Anyway, Weiss is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the top supplier of Dust- that's our energy source, by the way- in the world! She's super rich, super spoiled, a little bit bratty-"
"I am not!"
"-but she works incredibly, ridiculously hard! You should see her grades! They have to keep coming up with, like, platinum and palladium and osmium medals because gold doesn't even cut it anymore!"
Jason smirked. "Hear that, Billy? You got competition."
"Oh, ha, ha."
"And finally, this is Blake Belladonna!" Ruby reached the girl in black who looked… nervous, for some reason. "She's cool, she's skittish, not-very-social-but-that-doesn't-stop-her, and she's a-" The silver-eyed girl froze mid-sentence, a look of realization on her face. "Oh… uh…" She leaned in close to Blake. "Should I, uh… tell them that you're a… you know…"
"They… are trustworthy, right?" she whispered, to which Ruby nodded. "O-of course! Which means they shouldn't mind… right?"
"Um… shouldn't mind what?" Kim asked. None of the girls replied verbally, but Blake reached up to her bow and carefully untied it, all while her face looked like she wanted to say that this was a bad idea. She was nervous, Jason realized, to reveal something she normally kept hidden. Was it a scar? A hairdo gone wrong?
The dark fabric fell into Blake's hand… revealing a pair of black cat ears nestled atop her midnight-colored hair. All of the Rangers fell silent, watching the appendages occasionally twitch. They began to flatten until they shot back in a forward-facing position, yet Blake's nervous expression remained.
"Whoa…" Kim breathed.
Jason wasn't sure how to proceed. "Well, that's… um…"
"Simply magnificent!" Billy exclaimed in delight, catching Blake by surprise. Whatever reaction she was expecting, it hadn't been this. "A lifeform containing a mixture of human and animal DNA! How is that possible? Is it evolutionary or a genetic mutation? Does it affect behavior? Are your senses-" He caught himself before he could go on any further. "Ah, m-my apologies. Am I making you uncomfortable?"
Blake blinked. "You mean… you don't hate it?"
Billy paused. "Hate them? Of course not! Why would- who in their right mind would disown a fascinating discovery like this?"
"Dude… you need to read more X-Men comics," Zack told him before turning his attention to Blake. "No wonder you knew so much about the Faunus. You're one of them."
"Faunus?" Jason repeated. "So, people with animal parts are common here?"
"Yes," Blake replied. "Physically speaking, we're superior to humans. Enhanced senses, greater reflexes… but throughout history, the Faunus have been mistreated and abused. Even today, humans look at those like me and they're… disgusted."
"That's… that's terrible," Kimberly whispered, a hand against her heart. Trini moved past her, looking into Blake's eyes comfortingly. "Hey… if it makes you feel better, you're not the worst thing we've seen."
"R-really?" Blake asked. "Like what?" The Yellow Ranger started counting off on her fingers. "Let's see… a skeleton, a minotaur, a sphinx, a monstrous pineapple, a ravenous pig with a big head, a creepy spider, a monster with a pumpkin head who does a terrible job at rapping, a monster made of eyes- he was super creepy-"
"Alright, stop," Blake interrupted with a disturbed face. "Y-you said you had experience fighting things, right? I'm sold."
"Good…" Trini finished. "Because that was just scratching the surface!"
Blake looked like she was about to throw up. "Oh gods…"
"Oookaaaayyyy…" Ruby zipped forward to the knight-boy, hoping to move past that as soon as possible. "Here's our sister team, Team JNPR! This is Jaune Arc, their leader."
"Hey," he said with an awkward wave that Jason returned. If this was their leader, he looked like he had a long way to go. Jason made a note to teach him some things. "And this is Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl and pride of Mistral! She's a celebrity!"
"As are you, from what I understand," the armored girl added. "You are devoted to your duties of safeguarding your world from threats not even I can imagine. And from what I witnessed earlier, you are skilled fighters. You may not be in your world anymore, but I believe you will fit in with this one very quickly."
"Thanks… I guess," Zack said.
Ruby was at the orange-haired girl next, who was grinning and waving. "Nora Valkyrie, a girl who lets her actions and enthusiasm do the talking for her!"
"I also like pancakes!" she added. "A lot!"
"And last but certainly not least, Lie Ren! He's pretty mellow and not much of a talker, but he's reliable when you need him to be!"
"Greetings."
Jason was about to give a greeting of his own when he took in Ren's full appearance. Dark hair, a focused face… and green. Not just on his tailcoat, but on the pistols on his hips and the small dagger-like blades that reminded Jason too much of the-
"Is there a problem?"
The voice snapped him out of it. "Huh? O-oh, no, no problem. You just… remind me of somebody." Looking around, Jason could see that everybody else was staring at Ren. No doubt they were having similar thoughts. "Somebody brave. Somebody strong. Somebody willing to do the right thing."
"Hold on…" Jaune spoke up. "Kimberly, you said there were six of you?" The Pink Ranger solemnly nodded. "Yeah… Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger. He was once our enemy… and now he's our best friend."
"The last time we saw him was right before we got here," Billy added.
"And how did you get here, exactly?" Weiss asked. None of the Rangers had a complete answer. Jason could tell as much by the silent conversations they were having. The least he could do was fill in the gaps. "On Earth, we were chosen by the sage Zordon to become heroes. He made us the Power Rangers and gave us three simple rules to follow. The first: never use the power for personal gain."
"The second," Billy went next. "Never escalate a battle unless you are forced to."
"And the third," Trini finished. "Keep your identity a secret."
"You're… you're secret heroes?" Ruby gasped in shock. "B-but why? Don't you want people to know who's protecting them?"
"The Power Rangers are well-known," Jason explained. "But we don't seek fame or fortune, although the reputation is a nice addition. Zordon made us Rangers to protect the Earth, and that's what we do."
"And why would you keep who you really are a secret?" a confused Yang asked only for Trini to step in. "Look, that's probably not how you do things here, but back home… if evil forces knew who we were, they'd find us and attack us when we were most vulnerable. I'm sorry I lied to you, Yang, but… you have to understand that I was confused. I thought I was still on Earth."
"Which reminds me," Kim said with a smirk. "A show, Trini? That was your cover story?"
"Sh-she had my morpher, Kim!" the Yellow Ranger blurted. "I panicked, okay?! Wh-what else was I supposed to say?"
"You said you were chosen to protect your people," Pyrrha said, hoping to get things back on track. "If you do not have Grimm where you come from… then who or what do you protect your world from?"
"Evil aliens intent on conquering the Earth," Zack replied. "They're led by Zordon's nemesis, a diabolical sorceress named Rita Repulsa." Weiss scoffed at this. "Sorceress? Really? There's no such thing as magic."
"Maybe not here," Billy replied. "But where we come from, it is very much real."
Weiss just raised a brow. "And what kind of name is Rita Repulsa?"
"Better than 'Schnee', that's for sure!" Kimberly clamped her hands over her mouth while Weiss's partly-offended expression returned. "S-sorry again! Still getting used to… all of this."
"Zordon's been fighting Rita for a long time," Jason continued. "He managed to trap her, but she escaped after ten thousand years. Now, we're the only thing standing between her forces and complete conquest of our world."
"Rita sent dozens of monsters to destroy us, but they all failed," Billy took over. "So she decided to try something different. She came down to Earth and began to recite a powerful incantation. We didn't know what she was trying to do, but we needed to stop her."
"She had a legion's worth of minions and her top generals protecting her," Trini added. "Getting to her alone wasn't easy and…" she clutched her head with a sigh. "Sorry, but… everything's still a little fuzzy." Jason could relate. The last thing he remembered was Tommy saving him from those Putties. Then they rushed for Rita and… and then…
There. That was it.
"Wait… guys…" Jason whispered. "I know what happened…"
…
Jason's Power Sword sliced through a Putty while Tommy's Dragon Dagger decapitated another. For every clay minion they destroyed, another was quick to replace it. From the way Rita sounded, she wasn't very pleased with the progress the Rangers were making. "What are you fools doing?! Quit dawdling and stop those meddlesome children!"
"Almost there!" Jason shouted as he cut down Putty after Putty. "But we need a little breathing room!"
"I'm on it!" Tommy shouted, twirling the Dragon Dagger before driving it into the ground with a cry. A green shockwave traveled through the ground, sending the nearby Putties flying… save for a few with bladed arms and boulder fists. The Red and Green Rangers paused their sprint, searching for a route around the elite minions. Unfortunately, they found none and were forced to defend themselves against the Putties' sharp and blunt weapons.
"We don't… YAH! Have time… HA! For this!" Jason grunted as he struck. "We gotta stop that spell now!" But this final barrier was proving tougher than expected, as the Putty he was facing blocked the Power Sword and sliced Jason across the midsection. Sparks flew from the hit, saving Jason from a worse fate yet hurting him nonetheless. Doubling over, Jason was left wide open to a downward strike that made him fall flat on his face. The Putty pinned him down with a foot, but Jason picked up the faint trace of a light that was constantly getting brighter… along with a shrill high voice.
"Yabarh-yob-shazar-hebah! Ob-zabrah-hez-yelezar! Za-reyla-oum-washaza!"
"The… the spell!" Jason struggled beneath his captor until he managed to grab his sword and strike the Putty's leg, staggering it enough for him to stand and cut it down. "She's finishing the spell!"
"Not if I can help it!" Tommy yelled, brandishing his Dagger and charging forward with it ready to strike. Jason's earlier command of relinquishing the staff from Rita replayed in his mind, but the moment he noticed what Tommy intended to do, a rare feeling seeped through his bones and his eyes widened beneath his helmet.
Panic.
"Tommy! Wait!" he cried out to the sprinting Green Ranger. "You don't know what'll happen!" He immediately rushed for his friend only to feel a heavy weight on his back. Putties, a handful of them, all trying to pin Jason to the ground. Struggling against them, Jason hacked one down only for another to leap onto the spot where it once did. Their incomprehensible gibberish rattled through his ears as he thrashed against the minions.
"Tommy, come back! TOMMY!"
If the Green Ranger could hear him, he wasn't listening. He was in a mad dash towards Rita and the intense light coming from her staff, slicing down any Putty that neared him. He didn't stop for anything, even as Billy and Zack paused in beating back more Putties.
"What is he doing?!"
"He's going to…" Billy took a step back in horror, his eyes going wide beneath his helmet. "No… Tommy, stop! Get outta there, she's gonna-ARGH!" A Putty socked Billy in the face and sent him spiraling to the ground, drawing Zack's attention. "BILLY!" He rushed to aid the Blue Ranger but was intercepted by another Putty that slammed a boulder fist into him, knocking Zack against the wall.
Kim and Trini were too busy dealing with Goldar and Scorpina to notice the commotion, and all Jason could do was struggle futilely against the Putties restraining him. One grabbed his sword arm and disarmed him of the weapon, the blade clattering at their feet. Even from here, the helpless Red Ranger could see the evil witch notice the approach of her former slave and scowl in sheer rage.
"Shirah-yerez-nezala! Remanta-exziam-zavasay!"
"Tommy, don't do it!" Jason screamed. "TOMMY!"
Near the girls' position, the Red Ranger spied the sorceress' top commanders finally noticing what was happening and halting their attack. "Empress!" Scorpina cried in shock.
"What are you doing?! You'll doom us all!" Goldar howled in fear. Finster was cowering behind a rock, peeking at the witch from his hiding place. "Oh, dear..."
"Nevaxa-otroza-faria! Bandora-vixium-nostra! Zogundum-relasha-noxus…"
The Green Ranger launched himself into the air, his trusted weapon aimed directly at the sorceress' scepter. For a moment, he locked eyes with the witch, who snarled in pure irritation while the other Rangers were frozen in shock, with Putties swarming Billy and Zack without care. Goldar and Scorpina looked on in a mixture of horror and fear, with Kimberly and Trini still recovering from their fight while Finster ducked behind the rock and out of sight. From behind his helmet, a tear managed to slide down Jason's face… before words broke the still silence and time resumed to normal.
"BANICIA-RENANTUS-SHAZABAR!"
"AH-YAAAAAAAH!"
The last thing Jason saw before the room exploded with light was the Dragon Dagger striking Rita's wand the instant the sorceress screamed the final words. Zack and Billy were the next to vanish into the light, then Trini and Kim… and finally, the light washed over him.
Jason was weightless, the Putties holding him down nowhere to be seen. He was floating yet falling, flying through a vast void of swirling color. Beyond the rushing and howling in his ears, he felt like his body was being torn apart. The red frantic pulses of light and the crimson arcs of electricity were all he could see, the terrible straining sounds and wrenching crackles louder than his screams. Through what little remained of his vision, Jason swore he saw his Ranger suit flickering away like a short-circuiting computer. Everything was going wild, the pain was excruciating, his senses were being attacked from all sides, something was tearing him apart…
With one final scream of agonizing pain, Jason felt his soul shatter and the red was gone. Then came the faint glow of something covering him, something… almost comforting. But it was too late, Jason was fractured, he was broken…
…and all was black.
…
"The next thing I know… I wake up," he sadly finished. "In a place that… feels familiar… but not as familiar as I thought. There are trees, there's grass, there's a bright sun in a blue sky… and then there's the monsters as dark as night and the girl who can turn into flowers and fly around."
Everyone was quiet, Rangers and… what was it they said? Huntsmen? Rangers and Huntsmen alike. Jason still couldn't believe it. Tommy tried to destroy the wand? Did that mean he messed it up? Was he responsible for all of this instead of Rita? And if the spell was tampered with, what was it originally meant to do? If it was meant to kill them… did Tommy save them?
More questions. This time Ruby and her friends couldn't answer them.
"I… I'm so sorry…" the silver-eyed girl whispered. "I-I'm sure your friend did everything he could."
"But you're all here…" Jaune pointed out. "And if he was in the middle of it… shouldn't that mean he's here, too?"
"It's possible," Billy said with a sorrowful look. "If he is, we have no idea where he could be. And we can't look for him if we don't know this world's geography."
"Guys, hold on…" Zack muttered. "If everybody in that cave was sent here, then… then that means…"
"No…" Trini muttered in fear. "No, no, no, no, you don't mean…"
"Rita," Jason said the name as if it was a curse, his fists clenched at his sides. "She's here. And not just her. Goldar, Scorpina, Finster… all of them are here somewhere. Who knows what they could do in a world completely unprepared for monsters like them."
Kimberly stepped forward eagerly. "We need to find them. And soon, before they-"
"No," Trini butted in. "We can't go after her and Tommy at the same time. If anything, they're just as confused about this place as we were. Besides, you heard Billy. We can't go anywhere or do anything until we know the lay of the land."
"But what about them?" Kim desperately pointed at the Huntsmen. "We could have one of them look for Tommy and Rita!"
"Out of the question," Zack refused. "A monster-hunting warrior- a student, at that- against a ten-thousand-year-old sorceress? She'll slaughter them. I don't like it, but… we need to let them be. For now."
"Kim…" Jason put a hand on the Pink Ranger's shoulder. "We'll find Tommy. I promise. And we'll stop Rita and find a way back to Earth. But right now… we need somewhere to settle. Somewhere to learn more about this world. And I think Beacon is our best choice."
"But… Tommy…"
"He can handle himself, Kim. Wherever he is," Jason reassured the worried girl. "And I bet you Rita is in a worse situation than either of us." That earned him a small smile from the Pink Ranger. "O-okay," she finally murmured, wiping a tear from her face. "But we better not keep him waiting for long."
"Hey… either we find him…" Billy added. "Or he finds us. Tommy's the best of us. With any luck, he'll be with us in a few days."
"And in the meantime…" Ruby approached them with a warm smile. "You'll have some new friends to keep you busy until then. Jason… everybody…" She spread her arms as if she was welcoming someone into her home. "Welcome to Remnant."
Trini perked up at the name. "Remnant? Is… is this a post-apocalypse, then?"
"That would explain all the monsters," Zack agreed.
"What- guys, no!" Ruby was quick to shut that down. "Just… follow us. My friends and I can answer any questions you have on the way to Beacon." She turned and started towards the bridge, both teams following her lead. On Jason's signal, the Rangers joined the group and followed them onto the bridge, on their way to the looming tower still surveying everything around it.
The Power Rangers were far from Earth and everything they knew, stranded in a world full of unfamiliar dangers. Fortunately, they wouldn't be alone. Jason hoped that Teams RWBY and JNPR would live up to their promise and help them as best as they could. And the people of this world had no idea what was among them now.
No doubt Rita would get any ideas about taking this world for herself, but Jason and his friends wouldn't hesitate to shut those plans down. Zordon once told them that the people of Earth were lucky to have them… and pretty soon, the people of Remnant would be lucky to have something that could fulfill what their defenders could not.
