What's up, Ranger Fans? It's been a busy few months for me, but that's mostly because I've been pumping these chapters out alongside school and my new Disney Lorcana obsession. Now, you might be wondering what that part about pumping out chapters means, considering I haven't updated since late August. I'm so glad you asked! I have actually been holding chapters back for the last few months so I would be able to better line up certain plot points that would be occurring over the next few chapters. Now that Legend 12 is almost done, I'll be releasing all three over the course of the second half of December. Think of it as a reward for being so patient. I'll admit I considered releasing them one month apart, but that feels too mean considering how long I've made people wait. If all goes well, this should go out December 17th, followed by Legend 11 on December 24th (yes, I know it's Christmas Eve) and Legend 12 on December 31st (my birthday). That's going to be a big chapter for reasons that may or may not be obvious as things continue to unfold. I'm looking forward to sharing all of my chapters, but Legend 12 is going to be a banger and that's part of the reason the releases are set up this way.
Another important note is something you've likely noticed if you use this website at all: things are wonky with the system. I can't check some things (views) and others I have to check manually (reviews and the like). I don't plan on jumping ship unless I have to, but the way things have been the last few months with this website, it isn't looking great. Hopefully the admins figure things out soon.
Final note, and the last one for now, is that "Magical Dimension" in Legend 7 has been changed to "Magical Realm". I feel like the word "Dimension" makes it sound more scientific than a magical season of Power Rangers should be. "Realm" sounds like it belongs much more in the category of fantasy that I'm going for.
That's enough out of me. On with the story!
Legend 10: Hypocritic Oath
"She's totally unresponsive!" one of the female nurses shouted as she and the other medical personnel rolled Lyn down the hospital hall. She was currently on a gurney as a doctor and multiple nurses surrounded her and pulled her along. The Rangers were right behind them.
"Do we have a heartbeat?" the doctor asked.
"We do," one of the male nurses said as he felt Lyn's wrist. "It's within safe parameters at 64 bpm."
"Prepare her for a CAT scan immediately," the doctor said. "After that,
we're running the full set of tests. I'm not seeing an immediate cause, so we're going to test everything, just to be safe."
"Roger," another female nurse said as they pushed Lyn into a room and closed the door. The Rangers stopped as they reached the door and looked through the window as the doctor and nurses wheeled Lyn over to a large machine.
"Excuse me?" a nurse asked as she walked up to the Rangers. "I'm going to have to ask you to wait in the lobby. Our medical staff needs the doors to be clear."
"Understood," Arthur said as he led the way. Wayne was the last to turn and walk away, but soon was following the others.
"What do we do now, Arthur?" Lance asked as he caught up with the Red Ranger.
"We do the only thing we can," Arthur replied. "We must wait and pray."
"I hope you have an explanation for lying directly to my face," Morgana said as she looked down at the kneeling Whipvern. "You told me you had no plans and immediately went behind my back."
"My intention was never to betray you, my queen," Whipvern said, bowing her head. "I merely saw an opportunity to capture the wizard and I took it."
"I see," Morgana said. "I have to admire your initiative, if nothing else. However, I do not appreciate-" She suddenly stopped.
"My queen?" Liecanthrope asked from the tree he was leaning against. "Are you not going to punish this brute for disobeying you?" His tone suggested he was almost trying to egg her on.
"Something has shifted again," Morgana said as she stood up and walked over to the cauldron. "I need to investigate." She created a few green runes before dropping them into the cauldron and looking in.
"Is your vision blocked like it was last time?" Liecanthrope asked.
"No, I can see it quite clearly," Morgana replied. "They are no longer in the Caves, and it appears that something is wrong with the wizard. Come see."
Liecanthrope and Whipvern walked over to the cauldron and looked in to see an image in the liquid of doctors and nurses performing tests on the unconscious Lyn. From what the two generals could tell without any sound, the medical staff was failing to find the issue with the white-haired girl and while her vitals were mostly stable, there were still a few drops here and there that were becoming more and more frequent.
"She's dying," Morgana said simply as she stepped back.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Whipvern asked. "We'll have one less enemy, and a very powerful one at that. I say let her die."
"No, you reptile-brained idiot!" Liecanthrope replied. "If she dies, our queen will no longer be able to steal her powers to revive her sisters! This is terrible news!"
"I actually believe it is somewhere in between," Morgana said as she sat back on her wooden throne. "While it is good for the Rangers to lose their mentor, we also still need that power."
"So, what do we do?" Liecanthrope asked. "We need to capture her before she dies!"
"Not quite," Morgana replied. "We need the power, not the user. If one of you creates a Fae Beast, we can draw the power from her and have them bring it back here where I can take it for myself. The process should also kill the wizard. It's not a question of whether she dies, it's a question of whether we get the power or not."
"I will devise a plan at once," Liecanthrope said. "Perhaps if we use the choice rune, we can have the Fae Beast disguise itself and sneak in."
"I have a better plan," Morgana replied. "I can feel the potential for a Fae Beast being created in that healing center. Someone has the correct mix of emotions to allow them to be a Fae Beast. One of you needs to go in there and create that Beast."
"I'll do it!" Whipvern said.
I need to finish the job so I can get the credit, she thought. I can't let this tricky wolf steal-
"No," Liecanthrope said, interrupting Whipvern's thought. "This plan requires more finesse than you are capable of. Let me go, my queen. I will disguise myself and create the Fae Beast we require."
"Liecanthrope is right," Morgana said. "Whipvern, I may need you yet, but this mission should not be yours." She turned to Liecanthrope. "Go and do not fail your queen."
"Understood," Liecanthrope said as he bowed his head. Black runes surrounded him before forming an energy field he disappeared into.
"You can't be serious!" Whipvern complained as the black runes dispersed. "Why is Liecanthrope always the one being chosen?"
"Like I said, I may need you yet," Morgana said. "Prepare your whip for battle. If the Fae Beast can't get close enough, I may need you to distract the Rangers…"
"I hate waiting," Wayne said. "It just reminds me that we can't do anything."
"I am not enjoying this either," Arthur said. "That being said, we would only get in the healers' way if we watched."
"I know, but I'm worried about Lyn," Wayne said. "We still have no context for why she was passed out on the ground and that bothers me."
"You realize you have a girlfriend, right?" Percy asked. "Should you really be so worried about another girl?"
"I'm honestly not sure what Jenna is," Wayne said. "We hang out sometimes, but I wouldn't consider it too romantic. I'm not quite sure what to make of her."
"Sounds like a problem with you, not her," Percy replied.
"Gee, thanks," Wayne said sarcastically.
Gwen continued to glance around the room, a nervous look on her face. She never really liked hospitals, not since-
"You ok?" Lance asked the White Ranger, interrupting her thoughts. "You seem really distressed."
"Not a fan of hospitals," Gwen said. "I had a bad experience at one a while ago."
"Anything you want to talk about?" Lance asked with a concerned tone. "I don't want to force you, but-"
"Then don't," Gwen interrupted. "Please, just…don't. Ok?"
"Fine," Lance said. He thought about it for a minute before turning to the White Ranger again. "Would me holding your hand help at all?"
"It actually would," Gwen said as she took Lance's outstretched hand. "Thanks."
"Any time," Lance said before the two sat in silence. In fact, all of the Rangers did until a nurse made her way out.
"Are you Lyn's friends?" she asked.
"We are," Arthur said as he stood up. "Is there news?"
The nurse nodded. "The doctor would like to discuss it in her room. Follow me, please." She started back through the doors.
Wayne sprang out of the chair, causing Percy to roll his eyes, before leading the way after the nurse. Lance and Gwen were next, still holding hands. Arthur frowned when he noticed this before following after them. As the nurse led the way, Percy brought up the rear.
"She's in here," the nurse said as she opened a door and ushered the Rangers in. In the bed with a heart monitor hooked up was Lyn. She was still unconscious and didn't appear any better than before. However, her heartbeat was steady, as was her breathing. There was a male doctor standing by her bed. As the Rangers walked in, he nodded at them.
"Thank you for coming in," he said as he pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to give it to you straight. Things aren't great. In fact, they're pretty bad."
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked. "What ails our friend?"
"Not only is she completely comatose, but her temperature has also reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit and seems to be rising," the doctor said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she breaks a record soon with the rate she's rising at, even with the medicine we've given her. And that's not the worst of it." He sighed. "I don't know how to tell you this, but your friend's body seems to be breaking down at the cellular level. I don't know if it's because of the fever or separate from it, but it's some sort of degeneration of the body that we've never seen before. It's not in any of our medical journals either."
"So, how long does she have?" Lance asked.
"We're estimating that if the fever doesn't kill her first, the decay of her vital cells will finish in about four hours," the doctor said. "Strangely enough, her brain seems almost completely untouched thus far. If anything, she could wake up before she goes."
"She's not going anywhere," Arthur said. "There must be something we can do!"
"Even if we knew the cause, I'm afraid we don't have the equipment here to even start to fix the issues," the doctor said. "I'm truly sorry. Does she have any family we can inform of the situation?"
"No," Arthur said. "She has no family. She just has us."
"Well, I'm supposed to say that we have designated visiting hours and guest limits, but considering the situation, I suppose you can just stay," the doctor said. He started to exit the room before stopping and looking at the Rangers again. "I wish there was more that we could do." With that, he turned and left the room.
"What do we do now?" Lance asked. "This has to be magical in nature, right?"
"It would explain why the doctors are unclear about the cause," Gwen agreed. "But considering we don't know anything about magic, I'm not sure that knowledge is going to help." She took a look at Lyn again and grimaced.
"Maybe some of us should see if we can find anything in the Caves," Wayne suggested.
"Yes, because that went so well last time Lyn was in trouble," Percy remarked sarcastically. "Why don't you think for once instead of just spouting stupid-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Arthur roared. The Rangers looked at him with shocked expressions. They had never heard him sound so angry before. His hands were balled into fists and he was trembling.
"Arthur, you good?" Lance asked as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"My best friend is dying," Arthur said. "So no, I am not 'good'."
"I mean, she died before and then came back," Lance said. "Sure, it was when she was an old man, but the point still stands. Maybe the same thing will happen again."
"We can't just hope things will work out," Gwen said. "We need to make an active effort. Maybe there's something we can do. We should follow Wayne's idea: go to the Caves and see if we can find anything to help."
"Let's go, then!" Wayne said as he sprang up. "It's not like she's getting any better."
"It's better if some of us stay here," Percy said. "Morgana might try something desperate when she discovers Lyn's dying." Arthur grimaced at the word 'dying'.
"Sir Lance and Sir Wayne, you should go to the Caves," Arthur said. "Sir Percy, Gwen and I will remain here."
Lance looked over at Gwen. She was still looking over at Lyn with a painfilled look on her face. While he didn't know for sure, he was pretty sure this was triggering a painful memory for her. He looked back at Arthur and steeled his courage.
"I think Gwen should come with me," he said. "I think she'd be better off that way. Especially if we need to go through Lyn's personal things."
Arthur nodded. "Very well, Sir Lance. You will have Sir Wayne and Gwen at your disposal. I can only pray you will find something that will help Lyn."
Lance led the way out of the room, with Gwen right behind him.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "I was kind of struggling in there."
"I figured," Lance muttered to her. "I just didn't want you to remain there if it bothered you so much."
"I appreciate that," Gwen replied. "It's nice to have someone who cares."
"So, what are we talking about?" Wayne asked as he walked in between them.
"Nothing for you to worry about," Gwen said. She and the others continued down the hallway. As they turned the corner, Gwen bumped into a nurse. As they both fell to the ground, Gwen looked down to see a giant empty syringe next to her that the nurse had dropped. "Oh god!" The needle was rather thick and long, yet still proportional to the size of the plastic part. There was a safety on it, but the size still scared Gwen a bit.
"Sorry, so sorry!" the nurse said as she grabbed the syringe off the floor. "Are you alright, miss?"
"I'm fine," Gwen said. "Just keep that thing away from me and we'll be good."
"My bad!" the nurse said. "You're ok, right? I just don't want you to get hurt and I don't want you to sue and-"
"Breathe," Gwen said. "It was an accident, right? No harm, no foul. You just startled me a little."
"Ok, good," the nurse said with a sigh of relief. "I need to get to my next patient before the doctor gets mad again. Bye now!"
As the two parties went their separate ways, Lance looked back at the nurse as she ran into a room next to Lyn's. "She seems really nervous. Like, more than one person should be."
"We don't have time to worry about that now," Wayne said. "We do have a ticking clock, remember?"
"You're right," Lance said as he led the way towards the exit. "Let's go save our friend…I hope."
Lyn looked around at the white infinity around her. There was no sense of space here, as the whiteness just seemed to go on forever.
"Hello?" she asked. "Oh no. Please tell me I'm not dead!"
"You are not dead, wizard," an echoing female voice said as purple flames started to swirl in front of Lyn. They quickly formed into a large purple bird made entirely of the flames. Lyn gaped as the bird continued to grow until she was tiny compared to the bird.
"Oh shit," Lyn said as she looked up at the flaming avian creature in front of her.
"Though you might wish you were soon enough," the female voice added as the bird shrieked in anger.
"Oh man, I'm late again!" the nurse said as she ran into another room. Inside was a man lying in a bed. "Hi, I just need to get a blood sample."
"I have food poisoning," the man said, slightly annoyed. "I don't think I need blood taken from me."
"But the doctor told me…" the nurse said before a male doctor, different from the one who had diagnosed Lyn, poked his head in.
"Oh, Sue," the doctor said. "I meant to tell you that we just shuffled around a few patients again. My bad." He quickly made his way down the hallway, leaving a panicking nurse behind.
"Then where is my next patient?" she said as she ran to the hallway, equipment in hand. The doctor was gone. "Oh, what do I do now? I have no way to know where the next patient is! As if my anxiety wasn't bad enough…"
"Maybe I can help," a figure in an empty room across the hall from the nurse said. They had a shadow cast over their body due to the window shade being down, making it hard for the nurse to see the figure. As she inched towards the room, she prepped the syringe and hid it behind her back, just in case. She had no idea who this figure was or what they wanted with her, but she didn't trust this person offering help. No one had ever really helped her in the two years she had been in this hospital and thus she was wary of it being offered now. Sure, the syringe wouldn't do much, but it would be a nasty surprise if the figure tried something.
"Who are you?" she asked as she stepped into the room. "Why are you offering to help me?"
"Because you look unhappy," the figure said. "No one should live in fear like you do."
"Even so, there's nothing I can do about it," the nurse said, still hiding the syringe behind her back. "I can't change who I am."
"Oh, but you can," the figure said as they stepped forward towards the light-filled hallway, revealing themself to be Liecanthrope. "You can be like me."
"Monster!" the nurse shouted as she whipped out the syringe and tried to stab it into Liecanthrope's arm. While her plan was to flee while he was in pain, the needle simply snapped against his skin. She was so shocked that she forgot her own plan and instead stood there, frozen in fear.
"I wasn't expecting such a display of bravery from you," Liecanthrope admitted as he examined his fur for damage, thankfully finding none. "It's a pity it didn't work, though. Perhaps I can give you better equipment."
"Give? Why would you give me anything?" the nurse asked. "You're a monster. You want to kill me, right?"
"I don't want to kill you," Liecanthrope said. "I want to offer you a deal. The tools for a better life in exchange for a little mission for me. You'll be able to do whatever you want once you've accomplished your goal. You could even have a fresh start, if you wanted."
"That doesn't sound too bad," the nurse said as she tilted her head, considering the deal. Her anxiety had been getting worse as she continued her medical studies before graduating and coming to this hospital and it continued to grow with every complication and misstep. Maybe she needed a fresh start, like the monster was offering.
"Well?" Liecanthrope asked expectantly.
"I'll do it," the nurse said with a nod.
"Good," Liecanthrope said as he created a rune in the palm of his hand. "Let's get started."
"You seem so angry. Why is that?" Lyn asked as she looked up at the large flaming bird in front of her.
"You stole me from my home!" the voice said as the bird shrieked again. "All to draw me into your body so you could cheat death!"
"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" Lyn asked. "My brain's still a bit fuzzy at some points and I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Perhaps it would be better to show you," the voice said as a purple screen of flame appeared in front of Lyn.
On the screen was Merlin as he hiked up a mountain. Though he likely had the power to make his trip easier for his old body, he still walked like a normal person, though he did lean on his staff every once in a while to rest. By the time he reached the peak, he was breathing heavily. After a few minutes of resting, he focused his power and raised his staff.
"I summon the great power of the immortal Phoenix Spirit! May they hear my spell and be drawn into it! Heed my call and appear! Spirit Summon!" Merlin chanted as he swirled his staff clockwise above his head.
There was a flash of purple as the same flaming bird that was showing Lyn this memory appeared on the screen in front of Merlin.
"Who dares call me, the immortal Phoenix Spirit?" a voice, now identifiable as the Phoenix Spirit's, asked in anger. "Who wastes my time by drawing me from my home in the Magical Realm?"
"I do," Merlin replied. "Though I will not waste your time. I need your great powers. My body is already centuries old, but even it will not last forever. I fear I will die before my mission is complete. The wicked Morgana will be free eventually, and I need to be there to guide Arthur and whoever else will fight her so we can protect the Earth. I simply request that you grant me your power of rebirth. Let me see my mission through."
"Morgana is no threat to my realm," the Phoenix Spirit replied. "I see no reason to help you. I will be leaving now. Do not summon me again." The spirit began to concentrate, trying to send itself back to the Magical Realm. However, it quickly found it was unable to do so.
"I'm afraid I cannot let you leave," Merlin said, his staff glowing with a white light. "Your powers are too important to me to allow you to flee."
"You dare?!" the Phoenix Spirit said as the flames making up its body began to rage more fiercely. "No one holds me to this plane of reality and lives!" It shrieked at Merlin as it swooped down at the wizard.
"I asked nicely," Merlin said. "I will now have to use force."
He raised a white barrier that blocked the Phoenix Spirit's attack before launching a barrage of white energy spheres at the Spirit. The Phoenix Spirit let out a shriek of pain as it felt the spheres drain its power from itself into Merlin.
"What…what are you doing?" the Phoenix Spirit asked as Merlin launched another round of spheres, draining its power even more.
"I said it before," Merlin said as he pointed his staff at the Spirit. "I need your power. If I must draw you into myself with my magic instead of a contract, then so be it."
"No one is that powerful!" the Phoenix Spirit replied as it launched a barrage of purple flames at the wizard, only for Merlin to raise a white barrier again. "A contract must be formed or there will be dire consequences for both parties! Those are the rules!"
"You're technically right," Merlin replied as he lowered the barrier and leveled his staff at the Spirit. "However, while rules like that cannot be broken, they can be bent." He fired a beam of white energy from his staff that struck the Phoenix Spirit in the center of its body. The flames forming the Spirit began to flicker as the Phoenix Spirit was slowly drawn inside Merlin.
"You can't do this to me!" the Phoenix Spirit shouted as it pulled against the stream of energy. "I am more powerful than you! I am the ruler of all Mythic Birds!"
"You underestimate how desperate I am," Merlin admitted. "Sometimes we achieve our greatest feats when we are desperate enough to try."
"I will have my revenge, wizard!" the Phoenix Spirit said as it tried to resist his pull even harder. "If not in your current life, then in another! I will make you pay!" The Spirit let out one final shriek before being fully absorbed into Merlin. Merlin let out a cry of pain as purple flames sparked around him before slowly dying down.
"As you can see, you stole me into your body," the Phoenix Spirit said as the flame screen dispersed into embers, leaving Lyn standing there, shocked. "You have held me for millennia now."
"No, that…that can't be right," Lyn said as she fell to her knees. She didn't even consider how she could do that in a void, she just did. "I'm…I'm one of the good guys, right?" Her voice echoed across the void but gave no answer back. "Right?"
"So, do we have any idea what we're looking for?" Gwen asked as she led Wayna and Lance into the Caves.
"Not really," Lance admitted. "When you and Lyn were captured, we looked around. We didn't really find much, though."
"Hey, guys?" Wayne asked as he walked over to the table and looked down at the papers and books sprawled across it. "Are these important?"
"They were out when we found Lyn on the ground," Gwen said as she grabbed a book and flipped through it. "That being said, I have no idea what they say. Whatever language they're in, it's not English."
Ruby let out a mew as she leapt onto the table. She nosed one book over to Lance, who had walked up to join Gwen.
"You want me to read this?" Lance asked as he took the book. Unlike the others that looked more professionally written and/or copied, the lettering in this book was more jagged and sloppy, as if written by an old hand that was losing strength. To Lance's relief, it was in English.
"'To my next life, I wish to inform you of the situation you now find yourself in. I will admit that I am unsure how much the process will change me or my memory when I become you. In case you need to know, here are the basics: Your name is Merlin. You are guarding a…'" He tried to make out the next few lines but was unable to. "Let's just skip that part…'You seek to protect the world from Morgana, whose seal will most undoubtedly come undone eventually. As you guard Arthur, you must also keep an eye on these families: the Marlows, the Pierces, the Yuns and the Chambers. They are destined…'" He once again found the lines hard to read, so he paused for a minute.
"Ugh, destiny," Gwen remarked as she walked around the table to look at more of the papers. "I've never liked that word." She looked at Lance. "Sorry. You can keep going."
"There's not much more to say," Lance said as he flipped through. "I'm starting to wonder if these lines are screwed up on purpose so we can't read them. Everything is either blurry or some sort of gibberish I don't understand."
"Those look like some kind of equations," Wayne said as he looked over Lance's shoulder and pointed at the pages Lance had stopped on.
"Not any kind of equation I've ever seen," Lance replied as he turned the book clockwise to follow the writing. "It's in the shape of a spiral. And all of these words mean nothing to me. I mean, I see 'Fae Energy' a few times, but that's it." He looked down at Ruby as he gestured to the book. "Why'd you want me to read this?"
Ruby pawed at the pages near the end, which Lance flipped to. On the page was a drawing of some kind of staff. Unlike the wooden one the Rangers were used to Lyn having, however, this was sleek and modern. It had a large crystal head at one end of the drawing.
"What kind of staff is that?" Wayne asked as he looked over Lance's shoulder again.
"It doesn't say," Lance replied. "In fact, it doesn't say much at all about it beyond some of what it can do and what types of Fae Energy are needed to create it. Wait a minute…"
He read and reread the description before looking over at Lyn's staff against the wall and smiling.
"I think I may have just found a way to save Lyn," he said as he closed the book. "We need to get back to Lyn quickly and we need that wooden staff. And look in that drawer for a large Fae Energy Crystal."
"Got it," Gwen said as she grabbed the staff and reached into the drawer. She fumbled around for a minute before pulling out a decently sized crystal. "This good?"
"Honestly, I have no idea," Lance admitted. "I don't know if you guessed, but I'm kind of winging it right now."
"I know," Gwen asked. "Do we need anything else?"
"A little faith in Merlin," Lance said with a grim look as he led the way out the Caves.
Arthur looked down at Lyn's unconscious body from his standing position over her bed and grimaced. Her condition hadn't really changed in the last few hours and he was now very worried that he was going to lose his mentor again. Sure, Merlin had seemed rather close to death before being reborn as Lyn, but this felt…different.
If there was one thing he regretted doing in the last few hours, it was shouting at his knights. Even he could tell that he let his emotions get the better of him in that moment. He just wasn't sure what to do at this moment. He was a warrior, not a healer. He was more useful on the battlefield than he was in this sterile hospital and the fact that he couldn't just slash through the problem like he would a Fae Beast bothered him.
"Are you just going to stand there and brood?" Percy asked.
"What would you have me do, Sir Percy?" Arthur asked as he looked over at the Yellow Ranger. "Our mentor is dying in front of us and I have no idea how to help her. So indeed, I will 'brood'."
"Ugh, this is why I avoided making friends for so long," Percy said as he leaned his head back against the wall. "Everyone else is so illogical."
"I repeat, what would you have me do?" Arthur asked. "I see very little options in this situation."
"You honestly think she's going to die from that cellular degeneration BS?" Percy asked. "She's going to pull through. Either our friends are going to find something to help her or she's going to recover herself. There's no other option."
"I do not recall you being the optimistic type, Sir Percy," Arthur replied.
"I've said it before, I call it as I see it," Percy said as he leaned forward and pointed at Lyn. "And her? She's a fighter. There's no way she's going to roll over and die on us. She's going to see us through to the end."
"I sincerely hope you are correct," Arthur said.
"Excuse me?" a nurse asked as she knocked on the door. "I just need to take some blood. The doctor said we need to get some more information. I really hope you can understand."
"Very well," Arthur said as he stepped back. The nurse walked over to Lyn and, after a few minutes of prepping, pulled the needle out of her arm.
"Alrighty, I'm just going to run this down to the Lab," the nurse said before exiting the room. As soon as she was gone, Percy shot up.
"What is it, Sir Percy?" Arthur asked. "Is something the matter?"
"She barely pierced the skin when she inserted the needle," Percy said as he led Arthur out of the room and pointed down the hallway to the nurse. "And that isn't the way to the Lab. Something's not right here."
He took off after the nurse, with Arthur right on his heels. As the nurse turned the corner, she caught the two young men running towards her in the corner of her eye and took off as well. As the Rangers turned the corner, they found that the nurse had disappeared.
"Damn it," Percy said. "She got away."
"How did you know about the needle?" Arthur asked. "Or that she went the wrong way?"
Percy was about to answer when a woman stepped into the hallway from one of the rooms and started towards the Rangers. Her eyes were on her clipboard until she looked up on a whim to see the two young men in front of her.
"Percy?" she asked as she stopped in front of the Asian man. "What are you doing here?"
"Hello, mother," Percy said simply.
Liecanthrope grinned as he watched the green runes form an energy field that dispensed the nurse in front of him. He had been waiting in the trees, expecting the nurse to return. He wanted results.
"You have returned," he said. "Then the mission was successful?"
"The Yellow Ranger got suspicious and chased me," the nurse said. "I got away, though. But yeah, I got the power sample."
"That is wonderful news," Liecanthrope said. "And you sound more confident already! That being said, there is no reason to stay in your human guise. Morgana will want you in your true form when you deliver that to her."
"If you insist," the nurse said as the rune branded in the back of her neck began to glow. She became more bird-like, but unlike the other bird monsters, she maintained her human clothing of teal scrubs. Over her beak, a surgical mask appeared, though her beak still protruded a little, and over her head a surgeon's cap appeared, leaving just her beady eyes visible. The syringe in her hand attacked itself to her wing-like arm and grew in size until it was the size of an arm-mounted weapon. The now giant syringe was full of a purple liquid.
"Maladrius has completed the operation!" the Fae Beast, now identifying herself as Maladrius, shouted.
"I'm glad to see you embracing your new form," Liecanthrope said as he gestured the Fae Beast forward. "My queen will be pleased that you have accomplished your mission. You have no idea how valuable that liquid you drew from the wizard is."
The two Fae Beasts exited the tree line and made their way over to Morgana's throne. They kneeled in front of their queen as she looked down at them. Whipvern was standing a little ways away, watching the events unfold.
"You have taken the wizard's power?" Morgana asked.
"It is within Maladrius's syringe," Liecanthrope said as the bird Fae Beast nodded.
"Put it into the cauldron," Morgana ordered.
Maladrius stood up and placed the syringe's needle into the cauldron before focusing her will. The syringe's stopper pushed down as the purple liquid flowed into the cauldron. As she stepped back, Morgana stood up from her throne and walked over to the cauldron. She peered into the purple liquid and growled in frustration at what she found.
"What is the matter, my queen?" Liecanthrope asked. "Did Maladrius fall short somehow?"
"It's too diluted," Morgana said. "There isn't enough here for me to study it." She turned to Maladrius. "You must steal the wizard's power again and take it all this time. If she dies with that power in her, we lose it forever. If you drain it all, we will be one step closer to our objective and the Rangers will lose their mentor."
"I heard in my human form that she has about an hour left," Maladrius said. "I will head back at once. However…"
"However?" Morgana asked.
"I kinda need to be in my true form to steal all of her power," Maladrius replied. "There's no way the Rangers will let me get close again, even if I tried using my human form to make them leave. The Yellow Ranger saw right through me and likely will warn the others."
"Whipvern," Morgana said as she looked over at her general. "It appears you will finally get the fight you desire. Go distract the Rangers so Maladrius can steal the wizard's power."
"I thought you would never ask," Whipvern said as she cracked her knuckles.
"We are running out of time," Morgana said. "I refuse to let the wizard's power slip through my fingers when fate has granted me such an opportunity. Go now!"
"As you command," Whipvern said as she bowed her head. Silver runes surrounded her before creating an energy field she disappeared into.
"I guess I should go too," Maladrius said as green runes surrounded her. "The wizard's power will be yours soon enough." With that, the green runes created an energy field that Maladrius disappeared into.
Morgana glanced over at the tree behind her throne and smiled.
"Soon," she said simply. "You will be free soon, my sisters."
"You? One of the 'good guys'?" the Phoenix Spirit said with a laugh. "From what I have seen of your mind, you have always twisted things to your advantage. Arthur Pendragon's conception was only because of your deception."
"That was for the benefit of all of England!" Lyn argued.
"And it had nothing to do with the fact that it gave you a job as an advisor for many more years? Or controlling the destiny of England?" the Phoenix Spirit retorted. "Uther Pendragon was only going to rule for another couple decades at the most. Arthur gave you a new way to manipulate the crown and the entire country at the same time."
"No, you're wrong!" Lyn shouted, though she sounded a bit unsure.
"Is that what you believe?" the Phoenix Spirit asked. "Or is that what your previous incarnations told you in that journal of his?"
"How do you know about that journal?" Lyn asked. She hadn't told anyone about that and there was no way this Spirit should know about it.
"While I've been trapped, I have been keeping track of what you do," the Phoenix Spirit replied. "How else do you think you gained that extra power when the Wyvern woman attacked you? If you die, you draw on my power again and I grow weaker in the process. That being said, I have finally found a way to get my revenge and free myself from this place."
"What are you doing?" Lyn asked as she looked at the Spirit, puzzled.
"I'm destroying your body from the inside," the Phoenix Spirit said with an almost malicious laugh. "Soon, your body will be a husk and I will be able to burst out. Then I will return to my home in the Magical Realm. I will be free to go back to Yggdrasil at last!" The Phoenix Spirit looked down at Lyn as the girl stood there. She seemed to be pondering something. "You seem awfully quiet for someone who has just discovered they are about to permanently die."
"Maybe I deserve it," Lyn said as she looked up at the Spirit again. "I don't know why I don't remember capturing you, but I did do it. That makes me responsible for your suffering. I'm truly sorry."
"You're…sorry?" the Phoenix Spirit replied, a bit surprised, before becoming defiant again. "Don't make me laugh! You have no empathy! Otherwise you wouldn't have captured me in the first place!"
"I can't explain the actions of my previous incarnation," Lyn said. "I only know what I feel now, and I feel your pain."
"Don't act like you understand me!" the Phoenix Spirit shrieked. "You know nothing about me!"
"Maybe not," Lyn said with a shrug before sitting down cross-legged in front of the Spirit. "But now, I'm willing to learn. Let's talk. It's not like we can really do anything else in this place."
"Even as you die?" the Phoenix Spirit asked.
"Especially as I die," Lyn replied. "I might as well understand my killer's motivations." She gave a small smile. "Because I know there's more of a story here than simple revenge. You have a reason for doing all this. Might as well tell me while you have the chance."
The two Yuns looked at each other for a minute as Arthur stood there, a little confused.
"Percy, I thought I told you to never visit me at work," Dr. Yun said sternly.
"I'm sorry, mother," Percy said as he bowed his head. "My friend needed to come to the hospital, so I came too."
"I see," Dr. Yun replied. "I suppose things couldn't be helped, then. But why were you running? I've told you to never run in the halls."
"There was a-" Arthur said before Dr. Yun put up a hand.
"This is a conversation between me and my son," she interrupted. "Why were you running, Percy?"
"One of the nurses was acting suspicious," Percy replied. "I thought that I should pursue her."
"That doesn't excuse you from running in a hospital," Dr. Yun said. "I expect better from you."
"I know, mother," Percy said, keeping his head bowed. "It won't happen again."
"It had better not," Dr. Yun said sternly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another patient."
With that, she walked away. Arthur looked from Percy's bowed head to the retreating woman in shock. Arthur had never seen anyone who could humble Percy so.
"What are you looking at?" Percy snapped as he raised his head and glared at Arthur.
"Nothing," Arthur replied. "I was just…surprised by your mother."
"Yeah, well, no family's perfect," Percy said as he looked around. "Now where did that nurse go?"
"Rangers!" a familiar voice shouted from outside. "Come and face me!" The two Rangers ran to the open window and looked down to see Whipvern drawing her whip before cracking it into one of the concrete pillars holding up the entrance pavilion. While the concrete didn't shatter instantly, a large fracture appeared on its surface. The people under the pavilion screamed as miniature shards of concrete fell towards them and the pavilion shuddered.
"Face me or these people die!" Whipvern shouted as she lashed her whip out again towards another one of the pillars.
"I don't think so!" a voice shouted as a helmeted figure flipped off of a Pegasus Cycle. "Legendary Knight, Ready to Fight!" As they flipped, they morphed into the White Legendary Knight Ranger, revealing herself as Gwen, before slashing the whip with her sword. Although the White Ranger couldn't cut through the whip, she deflected it enough that it slammed into a bush. All of the leaves on the bush flew off, leaving it bare. Gwen landed in a crouch under the pavilion.
The Pegasus Cycle, still propelled forward, slammed into Whipvern, pushing her back. She grunted a bit as the Cycle pushed against her before she dug her heels in and slammed one fist into the body of the Pegasus Cycle, ripping into it. The Cycle let out a whiney as Whipvern ripped a sizable Fae Energy Crystal out of the Cycle. Without its power source, the Pegasus Cycle slowed to a stop before dissipating into bronze orbs of light.
"This will make a great present for my queen," Whipvern said as she tucked the Crystal into her belt. "But I think your heads will make an even better one!"
"Does she come up with those on her own?" Lance asked as he and Wayne walked towards Whipvern, already morphed.
"Nah, she can't be that creative," Wayne replied. "She's supposed to be the physically strong one, remember?"
"You mock me, Rangers?" Whipvern asked as she pulled her whip back to her. "You will regret it."
Arthur and Percy looked from the battle downstairs to each other.
"Are we having the same thought?" Percy asked.
"I believe we are," Arthur replied. "Because it is strange that Whipvern would try to draw us outside…"
"...Unless they don't want us near Lyn!" Percy said as he and Arthur took off down the hallway again.
Meanwhile, Gwen was trying to get people to safety and away from the pavilion as Lance and Wayne fought to contain Whipvern's attacks.
"Why couldn't she have a sword like all the other generals of villains past?" Wayne complained as he struggled to get close to Whipvern. "You know, like Goldar or Boomtower?"
"You'd rather be fighting a blue winged monkey-man right now?" Lance replied as he deflected another whip-strike and was knocked back for it. "Ah!"
"Is he a monkey?" Wayne asked. "I always saw him as more of a manticore."
"I guess," Lance said. "But-" He and Wayne cried out as Whipvern lashed her whip sideways and raked the diamond tip across their chests. As they fell to the ground, Whipvern looked down at them.
"For ignoring me, I will punish you severely," she said as she prepared to lash out again. As she raised her arm, a silver energy arrow flew and struck her in the hand, knocking it out of her grasp.
"What?!" she demanded. "Who dares?!"
"I dare," Gwen said as she stepped forward, a Legend Bow in her hand. She looked down at the Blue and Green Rangers "Can you two stop talking and be serious?"
"You've got it!" Lance said as he and Wayne stood up.
"You want to defeat me?" Whipvern asked. "You're going to need more than a puny bow to do that!"
"I'm telling you, these one-liners are-" Wayne said before he looked at Gwen glaring at him through her visor. "Sorry."
"You want to get serious?" Lance asked. "Well, there's nothing more serious than this!"
He pressed the button on his belt buckle as Wayne did the same. The two inserted the Shield Emblems into their Legend Blades.
"Number Eight! Dwarf! Time to Start the Legend!" the Legend Blades announced as the Emblems glowed a strong golden color. Both Rangers pressed the button once and rock music began to play. Finally, the music stopped. "Activate Ax Power!"
Lance and Wayne leveled their swords as they morphed into Legend Crushers.
"I'll go low," Wayne said as he ran towards Whipvern, slashing at her with his ax.
"Then I'll go high!" Lance replied as he leapt into the air and came down with a mighty overhead swing at her own head.
Whipvern grinned as she blocked each of their attacks with her armored forearms. The force of her deflections knocked both Rangers back. As she moved towards them, Gwen launched another energy arrow right at her exposed face. Whipvern snatched the arrow out of the air and shattered it by squeezing her fist.
"You caught me by surprise before," she said as she continued forward. "Now that I know what you can do, that won't happen anymore."
"Oh, trust me, you don't know anything about what I can do," Gwen replied as she pulled the Elf Shield Emblem out of the Legend Bow and inserted a duplicate Unicorn one.
"Number Five! Unicorn! Time to Start the Legend!" the Legend Bow announced as the Emblem glowed white. Serene flute music began to play before the entire bow began to glow white. "Activate Light Power!"
"Now, how about round 2?" Gwen asked as she drew back the string and created a white energy arrow before aiming it at Whipvern.
"Sounds fun," Whipvern said as she charged towards Gwen.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Percy had already morphed and drawn their swords and were now running towards Lyn's room. Thankfully, there was no one around to get in their way and when they got to Lyn's room, they immediately pushed open the door to enter. They found Maladrius standing over Lyn's bed, her giant syringe stabbed into Lyn's arm and drawing out a purple liquid.
"What is the monster drawing out of Lyn?" Arthur asked.
"I don't know," Percy said. "It doesn't look like blood."
"I suppose it doesn't actually matter," Arthur replied. "Whatever Morgana wants out of Lyn, we must want it inside her. Let us move forward!"
"Stay back, Rangers!" Maladrius shouted as she continued to draw out the liquid. "I may be drawing her power now, but I could easily change to taking her life force instead!"
"What do you want from Lyn?" Arthur demanded as he stopped. "She's already dying! Why do you have to torture her more?"
"Me? I don't want anything from her," Maladrius replied. "My queen, though, wants this girl's power and if that's what it takes to get my fresh start, then I guess I don't have a choice."
"We cannot let you take Lyn's power!" Arthur said as he tightened the grip on his sword. "However, we also cannot allow Lyn's death."
Percy remained silent for a minute before marching towards Maladrius.
"Sir Percy, we cannot risk Lyn's life!" Arthur said.
"She's bluffing," Percy replied. He slashed into Maladrius, knocking her into Lyn's IV drip. Both the drip and the Fae Beast fell to the floor. The syringe was now free from Lyn's arm and appeared to be a quarter full at the most. If anything, Lyn actually looked better from the removal.
Arthur, seeing his friend no longer in danger, grabbed Maladrius by the collar of her scrubs and slammed her into the door-side wall.
"You would dare to threaten my friend?" Arthur asked. "I will make you pay dearly for that."
"Any chance we can talk about this?" Maladrius asked.
"The time for talking is long past," Arthur replied. "As soon as you stuck that needle into my friend, we became enemies, and I have nothing to discuss with my enemies."
"Uh oh," Maladrius said as she saw Arthur's fist coming towards her face.
"So," Lyn said as she looked up at the Phoenix Spirit. "What's the backstory here? Why are you obsessed with killing me? There's got to be more of a reason than you're letting on."
"If you don't recall, then it appears that your previous incarnation's spell was successful," the Phoenix Spirit said. "You only have him to blame for your imminent death."
A purple flame-screen appeared in front of Lyn, showing Merlin floating cross-legged as purple flames swirled around him.
"Let memory be lost and never be found," he chanted. "Know never what you have forgotten and know never to seek it out. Erasure!" As purple flames flowed into his head, he let out a sigh. "May my future incarnations never know of the terrible things I have done for their sake." His eyes suddenly glowed purple as he was lowered to the ground.
"Thanks to his Erasure spell, you have forgotten all of the terrible deeds you have committed," the Phoenix Spirit said. "You may have forgotten, but I have not. You have abused my power." The flame-screen shifted images to show Merlins of various ages (including some young variants) in various time periods burning buildings to the ground, attacking people with magic and committing other malicious acts.
"What is this?" Lyn asked. "What are you showing me?"
"What your incarnations have done over the centuries," the Phoenix Spirit replied. "They all claimed they were doing this in the name of moving the game pieces to defeat Morgana when she rose again, but I believe differently." The flame-screen's image shifted to show one of Merlin burning someone with a magic spell. "You used me to kill potential enemies." The screen shifted to show Merlin using his powers on someone's mind. "And you used me to manipulate allies." The flame-screen dispersed again. "You did whatever you wanted with my power, all for the sake of the future you believed was correct."
"I did all that? This is awful!" Lyn asked as she watched the images play again and again. "No wonder you want me dead. You never wanted to be used like this."
"Why are you so empathetic towards me?" the Phoenix Spirit asked. "I have had this conversation with five of your incarnations now, and none have had this reaction."
"F-five?" Lyn asked. "But I was just reborn for the first time! Why did you say five?"
"Because," a male voice said as Lyn heard footsteps behind her, "you are the seventh incarnation of Merlin." She turned around to see six Merlins, all in the same purple robes. While each of them had slight differences to them, such as beard length and the style of their staves, it was plain to see they were all the same man. One was a little more forward than the others as they walked towards her.
"What is going on?!" Lyn asked as she looked at each Merlin in shock. "Who are you?"
"Your past incarnations," the head Merlin replied. "And we will not allow you to free this beast."
Whipvern grunted as another white energy arrow flew into her exposed flank. The two Rangers wielding the Legend Crushers capitalized on her momentary weakness to strike again at the same point, dealing even more damage.
"Damn it!" Whipvern growled. She hadn't expected the White Ranger's energy arrows to get faster or the Legend Crushers to actually break her armor. However, it appeared these new weapons of the Rangers were stronger than their Legend Blades that she could so easily beat. As Lance leapt back to prepare another attack, Whipvern lashed out with her whip and wrapped it around the Legend Crusher's handle before yanking it out of the Blue Ranger's hands. It clattered on the ground next to Whipvern.
"That's one," she said before lashing out at Wayne and stealing his weapon the same way. "That's two."
She was about to lash out at Gwen when Maladrius came flying from the third-story window and crashed to the ground in front of the Wyvern General. Arthur and Percy gracefully leapt down and landed next to Gwen.
"About time you showed up," Gwen said as she glared at the two Rangers. "Seriously, Arthur. Are you just avoiding battles at this point?"
"Considering the circumstances, I will ignore that comment," Arthur said. "It appears as if this Fae Beast has stolen some of Lyn's power, yet it actually helped stabilize her a bit."
"That's great to hear," Wayne said as he and Lance joined the others.
"I told Queen Morgana we should have just let her die," Whipvern remarked. "If she's stabilizing, then we still have an enemy!" She walked over to the downed Maladrius and grabbed her by the collar of her scrubs before lifting her up. "Can't you do anything right? If you're going to take her power, take all of it and kill her!"
"I tried!" Maladrius said. "It was just a slow process because the power flow was weak and I was trying to ensure I got it all before she died from the process and…"
"I don't care about your science and logic!" Whipvern shouted. "I want results and so does our Queen!"
"Come now, Whipvern," Liecanthrope said as he appeared in a flash of black runes next to Whipvern, putting his hand on the arm holding up Maldrius. The Rangers tensed up as the werewolf appeared. "Don't treat my dear Maladrius that way. She's doing her best."
"Liecanthrope," Whipvern said as she dropped the Fae Beast and faced the general. "You've stepped in for the last time. Your Fae Beasts are the reason we keep failing in our goals!"
"I don't recall Gaming Troll doing any better than any of my Beasts," Liecanthrope said. "But that isn't the point I'm trying to make right now. You had one mission: keep the Rangers occupied and you've already bungled that. It appears that I will have to step in."
"You wouldn't dare," Whipvern hissed as she readied her whip.
"I would dare, and I don't see you in any position to stop me," Liecanthrope replied.
"They do remember we're here, right?" Wayne whispered to the others.
"Even if they do, now is the perfect time to retrieve your weapons," Arthur said.
Lance and Wayne nodded as they snuck forward. The two generals were so focused on their argument that they completely missed this. By the time they realized their mistake, the two Rangers were already back with the others, their Legend Crushers changing back into the Legend Blades as Gwen's Legend Bow did the same.
"You see what you've done?" Whipvern complained. "If you hadn't gotten in my way, the Rangers wouldn't have gotten their weapons back!"
"You should have more battlefield awareness," Liecanthrope retorted. He turned to Maladrius. "Go. Take the wizard's remaining power. I will deal with the Rangers." The avian Fae Beast nodded as she started towards the hospital.
"You will not!" Whipvern shouted. "Our queen gave me specific orders and-"
"And you failed to complete them," Liecanthrope replied. "The Rangers are aware of our plot now. We need a new strategy and considering you aren't the strategic type, it has fallen to me to fix everything."
Meanwhile, the Rangers had moved to block Maladrius's way.
"We heard what you said about killing Lyn by stealing her power," Arthur said. "We will not allow that to happen!"
"And who are you to stop me?" Maladrius asked.
"Oh, she totally asked for it," Wayne remarked before the Rangers began their roll call.
"The Noble Dragon! Red Legendary Knight Ranger!" Arthur shouted as he drew his sword and posed.
"The Honorable Hippogriff! Blue Legendary Knight Ranger!" Lance shouted as he drew his sword and posed.
"The Vigilant Gargoyle! Green Legendary Knight Ranger!" Wayne shouted as he drew his sword and posed.
"The Cold-Blooded Basilisk! Yellow Legendary Knight Ranger!" Percy shouted as he drew his sword and posed.
"The Free-Spirited Unicorn! White Legendary Knight Ranger!" Gwen shouted as she drew her sword and posed.
"The Legend Begins Anew!" Arthur shouted.
"Power Rangers Legendary Knights!" the group shouted as they posed together.
Maladrius smiled as she pulled the syringe with Lyn's power off her arm and placed a new one on. This one was full of a sickly green liquid.
"If you're going to be heroic like that, I'm glad I took a pit stop before I visited your friend," she said. "All of the illnesses in the hospital are mixed into this one super-virus. Let's see how you handle it."
She aimed the syringe like a wrist mounted gun and fired a stream of the green liquid at the Rangers. The Rangers cried out as the liquid caused sparks to fly from their suits as it dripped down. However, they quickly recovered.
"Time for you to taste the cold steel of justice!" Arthur shouted as he pointed his blade forward before leading the other Rangers in a charge. As Maladrius tried to fire more jets of the green liquid at the Rangers, they cartwheeled or flipped out of the way, all the while making their way closer. However, they suddenly stopped and began to cough as fumes rose off of the green liquid that was currently bubbling on the pavement.
"What's the matter, Rangers?" Maladrius asked. "Not feeling well?"
"These fumes," Arthur said. "They are spreading the illness in a way that our suits cannot protect us from."
"I'll just blow it away," Lance said as he prepared to press the button on his belt buckle.
"Are you stupid?" Percy asked in between coughs. "That'll just spread the super-virus further! We need something that can remove it completely."
"I have an idea," Arthur said as he inserted a Dragon Shield Emblem into his Legend Blade.
"Number One! Dragon! Time to Start the Legend!" the Legend Blade was announced before rock music began to play. As the music stopped, Arthur pressed the button once. "Activate Fire Power!"
Arthur's sword became coated in flames as he slashed vertically.
"Dragon Fire Cutter!" he shouted as an arc of fire flew out of the blade as he slashed. The arc flew over the piles of oozing green liquid and dropped embers onto them. The super-virus ooze hissed as it disintegrated at contact with the fire. The Rangers let out a sigh of relief as the fumes disappeared. There were still a few sudden coughs for the Rangers, but they appeared to be fine for the moment.
"This can't be happening…" Maladrius muttered as she backed away. She fired a few more jets of the super-virus, but Arthur just used his fire to burn them away as the Rangers approached. "I just wanted a new life!"
"It does not matter what you wanted," Arthur said as the fires grew on his sword again, becoming a raging inferno. "You hurt my friend!"
He quickly pressed the button on his Legend Blade twice. "Dragon! Legend Break!"
He let out a cry of rage as he dashed forward at superspeed, his sword leaving a trail of fire behind him, before slashing into Maladrius's midsection as he passed.
"I'm not healing from this…" Maladrius said as she fell to the ground and exploded. As the explosion went off, the syringe containing some of Lyn's power flew over the Rangers' heads and fell at Liecanthrope and Whipvern's feet. The two stopped their bickering at once as they looked over and saw the ashes that had been Maladrius.
"Queen Morgana is going to be furious," Whipvern remarked.
"Perhaps not," Liecanthrope said as he reached down and grabbed the syringe. "We still got some."
The Rangers rushed forward to try and recover the syringe, only to stop as Whipvern lashed into the ground in front of them, leaving a gash in the pavement.
"Not one step closer, Rangers," Whipvern said before looking to Liecanthrope. "We'll settle this later." Silver runes surrounded her before creating an energy field she disappeared into.
Liecanthrope looked at Maladrius's remains as the Rangers started towards him and smiled. He opened his palm as a rune appeared in it before flying above the ash that had been Maladrius.
"It's me or everyone in the hospital," he said with a shrug. "You decide, Rangers."
Arthur growled before whirling around to face the whirlwind that was picking up around the rune. The others quickly joined him as Liecanthrope was surrounded in black runes that formed an energy field he disappeared into.
The rune reformed Maladrius before branding itself into the back of her neck.
"This is one biiiig growth spurt!" she laughed as she grew.
"How long does Lyn have?" Gwen asked as she looked at Percy.
"Based on what the doctor said, we have about half an hour left," Percy said. "But with what Maladrius did to her, it could be more or it could be less."
"Then we'd better hurry," Wayne said as the Rangers inserted their Zord Shield Emblems into their Legend Blades.
"Dragon Legendzord! Hippogriff Legendzord! Gargoyle Legendzord! Basilisk Legendzord! Unicorn Legendzord! Time to Start the Legend!" the Legend Blades announced as beams of light flew out of the swords and flew into the sky.
The beams flew into a cave where statues of the Rangers' Legendary Creatures were standing. The beams struck the statues as their eyes began to glow. Cracks appeared as Zords broke free from their statue shells. They ran or flew out of the cave and towards the Rangers.
The Rangers leapt into the Zords' heads, the metal morphing to allow them entry, before immediately stabbing their swords into the contraption to their right. The Zords let out cries in recognition of the link.
"We need to defeat this monster quickly," Arthur said as he pulled the Dragon Legendzord Shield Emblem from his belt buckle before holding it up and then hurling it forward. "Zords Combine!"
The Gargoyle Legendzord's body rotated upwards as the wings folded onto its back and its back legs folded into the body. Its front arms supported the weight that the head was now bearing. A large hole opened in the end of the Legendzord's body that was up in the air.
The Unicorn Legendzord did a similar thing, its legs also folded into the body as its front legs bent to support the weight that the head was now bearing. A large hole opened in the end of the Legendzord's body that was up in the air.
The Basilisk Legendzord's head came off as it curled into a "u" shape. Each one of the Legendzord's ends slid into the holes in the Gargoyle and Unicorn Legendzord's bodies and clicked into place, forming the hips and upper legs.
The Dragon Legendzord and Hippogriff Legendzord arced upwards. They let out a roar and a screech respectively as their bellies slammed together. The heads and necks of the Legendzords rotated around to create arms, while the heads detached and attached to the shoulders. However, there was still a large shield-shaped hole in the chest of the Megazord and two large bumps right where the head should be. The main body of the Megazord slammed down onto the legs as the Basilisk Legendzord's head connected above the waist. For the final steps, the Dragon Legendzord Shield Emblem slid into the shield-shaped hole in the chest and the bumps, half red and half blue, opened up to reveal a Knight-like helmet with a robotic mouth visible under the visor.
"Gallant Legend Megazord!" the Rangers shouted as they landed on the platforms, each one in their own color, before inserting their Legend Blades into the contraptions at their sides. "Ready for Battle!"
"I may not have my super-virus anymore," Maladrius said as she attached an empty syringe to her arm, "but I can still cause you pain!" She ran forward and raked the needle across the Megazord's chest before stabbing it into the Dragon Legendzord Shield Emblem on the front.
"Ah!" the Rangers cried out as sparks flew around the cockpit. Maladrius pushed deeper, causing more sparks to fly.
"We can't do anything as long as she keeps pushing," Percy said. "We need to stop her from doing that first."
"I have just the thing," Wayne said as he pulled the Qilin Legendzord Shield Emblem from his belt buckle and held it up before inserting it into the Legend Blade he had drawn from the contraption. "Alright, Qilin Legendzord! You're up!"
"Qilin Legendzord! Time to Start the Legend!" the Legend Blade announced as the blade glowed gold. A beam flew out of the tip of the sword and flew towards an abandoned cave, where it struck a statue of a Qilin. The stone cracked before shattering, releasing the gold Qilin Legendzord from its slumber. The dragon-like Legendzord bellowed as it ran on its stubby legs towards the battle, reaching it in a few seconds. As it ran towards Maladrius, it leapt up and headbutted her in the side. The Fae Beast grunted in pain.
Now that she was distracted for a minute and no longer pushing the needle deeper, the Gallant Legend Megazord summoned its brilliant silver saber and smashed the hilt into the syringe's needle, causing it to shatter.
"Tis time to join forces with our dependable ally," Arthur said.
"In other words, Zords Combine!" Wayne shouted as he hurled the Emblem forward.
The Dragon Legendzord Shield Emblem flew out of the body, taking what was left of the needle with it. The Qilin Legendzord let out another bellow as its body and head separated. The body split in half and, as the Dragon and Hippogriff heads came off, went onto the shoulders with the legs in the air. The head split in half also and each half flew into the Megazord's hands. A gigantic Qilin Legendzord Shield Emblem flew into the hole in the chest, finishing the combination.
"Defensive Legend Megazord!" the Rangers shouted as the Megazord posed.
"You really didn't think I had another?" Maladrius asked as she replaced the syringe on her arm and came in for another stab.
"That's not it at all," Wayne replied. "It just doesn't matter now."
The Defensive Legend Megazord raised one of its shields to block the attack. As the needle drove in again, the Megazord brought its other shield around and bashed Maladrius in the face with it. A shockwave of force burst from the impact that knocked Maladrius back.
"Let me finish her for hurting my friend," Arthur said. "I beseech you. Let me do this."
"I don't even know what 'beseech' means, but ok," Wayne said. "Finish her."
"Thank you, Sir Wayne," Arthur said as he pressed the button on his belt buckle, causing them to open like double doors. He pulled the Qilin Legendzord Shield Emblem out and inserted it into his Legend Blade. He pressed the button on the hilt twice as the Qilin Legendzord's recombined head opened its mouth and started to gather golden energy. "Prepare yourself, fiend! Your Legend is Over!"
"Qilin Legendzord!" the Legend Blade announced as a brilliant golden beam flew out of the Zord's mouth and flew into Maladrius. "Legend Break!"
"Talk about ill will!" Maladrius shouted as she fell to the ground and exploded.
"My knights," Arthur said. "Victory is ours!"
"We need to hurry," Wayne said. "We have a plan to save Lyn. Come on!"
"I was wondering when you would show yourselves," the Phoenix Spirit remarked as it looked towards the head Merlin and the five near-identical duplicates behind him. "Have you come to convince your new self of your lies?"
"We are here to remind her of what is at stake," the head Merlin said before turning to Lyn. "I understand you see these things we did as horrible, but they were necessary to ensure the best future for the world." He gestured to his brethren. "We all have seen what will occur next if Morgana is not stopped soon."
"That justifies killing and manipulating people?" Lyn asked as she gestured towards the flame-screen, still showing the images of the atrocities committed by Merlins of the past, before pointing at the Phoenix Spirit. "That justifies keeping this poor Spirit trapped in our body for millennia?"
"We are talking about the downfall of civilization as we know it!" the head Merlin shouted. "It is our mission to protect the world and that was the only way to do it!" The other Merlins voiced their agreements.
"You were wrong!" Lyn shouted back. "All of you were wrong to do this to those who disagreed with you! If the future we're fighting for requires those kinds of things to be done, then we're looking at the wrong future!"
"Hold your tongue, little girl!" the head Merlin said. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Well, maybe if you hadn't erased my memories, I would know!" Lyn fired back. "I'm done working for this 'best future' you're so hung up on! I'm deciding the best path for the future to take from now on!"
"You are a Merlin," the head Merlin said. "Why are you defying yourself?"
"Because I'm not just a Merlin," Lyn replied. "Unlike your groupies, I've made my own identity as a person, as Lyn, instead of just following in the footsteps of those who came before me. I've gotten to know the Rangers as more than just a mentor. They're my friends."
"This is what we get for letting a woman get control of our body," the head Merlin said. "She ruins all of our plans with her talk of making her own path and friendship. She had lost sight of the mission." The other Merlins nodded in agreement.
"Your 'mission' is bullshit!" Lyn shouted in a defiant tone. "If we have to stoop so low, are we any better than Morgana?"
"I've heard enough. I don't know why the reincarnation process hit a hiccup this time, but it is time we correct it," the head Merlin said as he gestured the Merlins forward. They formed a large circle around Lyn. "If we cannot get you to think our way, we will just have to force you to reincarnate again. Once you are gone, we will get this rebellious Spirit under control and then our eighth incarnation can pick up where we have left off."
The six wizards pointed their staves at Lyn as purple energy gathered around the heads of those staves. The Phoenix Spirit shrieked in pain as it felt the Merlins draw its power into themselves to use their spell.
"It is time to remove this female stain from our legacy," the head Merlin said. The other Merlins nodded as they all launched their spells, a purple fireball, at the same time. Lyn shut her eyes as the fireballs drew nearer…
The Rangers, unmorphed, ran into Lyn's hospital room, shut the door and made their way to her bed. The white-haired woman was glowing with blazing purple fire sparking along her body and her eyes were twitching rapidly. The heart monitor was spiking at a frantic pace.
"What's going on?!" Wayne asked.
Gwen grimaced and looked away from the dying woman. It was still hard to be in the same room as her.
"We're running out of time," Percy said simply. "We need to hurry."
"I agree," Lance said as he placed the staff vertically across Lyn's body, careful to not singe his hand, as well as the large crystal on the head of the staff. He pointed to the crystal. "We need to direct our elemental powers there. That should create this new staff and save her. I think."
"You think?" Percy asked.
"I have no idea if this'll work," Lance said. "The notes were very vague."
"We still must try," Arthur said.
The Rangers nodded before they summoned their Legend Blades and inserted their personal Shield Emblems into them.
"Dragon! Hippogriff! Gargoyle! Basilisk! Unicorn! Time to Start the Legend!" the Blades announced. The Rangers waited for the music to end before pressing the red button on their hilts once. A small beam of their element fired from the tip of their blade into the crystal. The power gathered in the center of the crystal before refracting that power into the staff itself. The Rangers continued to pour power in, even as the glow around Lyn and the roar of power became almost too intense to handle.
"Something's not right!" Lance shouted over the roar of energy. "It should have worked by now!"
"Maybe we missed an element?" Wayne asked.
"Just keep pushing!" Arthur ordered. "This is our one hope!"
Lyn screwed her eyes shut, ready to feel the fireballs wipe her out of existence…but they never came. As she slowly opened them, the Phoenix Spirit was in front of her, its wings wrapped around the young woman.
"You…saved me?" Lyn asked. She certainly wasn't expecting this. Well, she wasn't expecting any of this to happen, but this surprised her the most.
"You dare?" the head Merlin roared as he raised his staff again before launching another fireball, followed by the other Merlin's next fireballs. "You need to know your place!"
"I do," the Phoenix Spirit replied before shrieking from the pain of the attack. "I know my place: by this girl's side."
"It cannot be!" one of the other Merlins said. "She has tamed the beast?"
The other Merlins muttered among themselves as they stopped the attacks.
"More than that," the Phoenix Spirit said. "I wish to make a contract with her."
"Are you sure?" Lyn asked.
"You have shown me compassion that no one else has," the Phoenix Spirit replied. "I would be honored to have you as my partner."
"I refuse to allow this!" the head Merlin shouted as he launched another fireball. However, the five other Merlins raised a protective barrier of white light, not drawing on the Phoenix Spirit's power, to block the attack.
"Our time is over, ancient one," one of the five other Merlins said. "You have become too blinded by hate to see that. You may be angry that our descendent is not living the life you planned, but we have learned to respect her wishes. Perhaps she has a point."
"I…suppose you might be right," the head Merlin said with a sigh. He walked over to Lyn. The Phoenix Spirit unwrapped its wings but was still being vigilant. The head Merlin put a hand on Lyn's shoulder.
"The new generation must replace the old eventually, and with them comes new ideas," he said. "I seem to have forgotten that. My obsession with the 'best path' has blinded me from other options. However, I must warn you of what lies ahead-"
"You mean The Great War," Lyn said. "I know. But I also know that some things about the future can be altered. The Great War may be coming, but I can still change certain circumstances. It will not end the way it did last time."
"I certainly hope you are right," the head Merlin said before turning to the Phoenix Spirit. "And I am sorry for using you the way I did. I was truly desperate and I took a shortcut I should not have. For that and your suffering, I am sorry."
"I will never forgive you for what you did," the Phoenix Spirit replied. "That being said, I do appreciate the apology."
"I understand," the head Merlin replied before turning to his successors. "It is time to go, then. Back into the subconscious where we belong. Let Lyn take the baton and may she find a better path than we ever did."
The other Merlins nodded as they started to walk away, with the head Merlin right behind them. Right before he disappeared into the white void, one of the Merlins turned around and winked at Lyn, as if keeping something secret from the others.
Lyn smiled before waving as he and the others disappeared.
"Now then," the Phoenix Spirit said. "Let us discuss the form of this contract. We will need a conduit to focus our powers to merge them correctly."
Lyn looked up as glowing particles came down to form a staff in front of her. It was long with a silver body and a translucent diamond-shaped crystal as the head.
"This staff…" Lyn said. "I saw it in a dream once. But why is it here?"
"I have been watching what is occurring outside your body," the Phoenix Spirit replied. "It appears that your friends have been working to save you from the cellular degeneration I caused. However, now that I no longer wish to kill you, we will use it to serve another purpose: as the conduit to combine our powers. Let us begin…"
The Rangers looked in amazement as the purple flames flaring along Lyn's body flowed into the crystal on the staff's head. The staff began to glow before combining with the crystal and morphing into a duplicate of the staff that had appeared in Lyn's hands in the void. However, as the flames continued to flow into the crystal, now acting as the head of the staff, it changed from its translucent white coloring to a translucent purple. The flames completely died out as they were absorbed into the staff, leaving just the purple crystal head.
"Did it work?" Wayne asked as he looked at the white-haired girl with concern.
"Her heartrate's back to normal," Percy said as he pointed to the monitor.
"Oh, thank god," Gwen said with a sigh of relief.
"My friend," Arthur said as he kneeled down in front of Lyn's bed. Tears were in his eyes as he smiled. "We have saved you."
"I never doubted you," Lyn said as she opened her eyes and grinned. "Not for a minute."
"How are you feeling?" Wayne asked as Lyn sat up in bed. "Do you need us to get you a doctor to check everything?"
"Everything's perfect," Lyn said. She looked down at the staff laying on top of her and the purple crystal that now formed its head. "Just perfect. Though, I do need to talk to you guys about something I need to do."
"Anything," Arthur said. "What do you desire?"
"I need to leave," Lyn said. "I need to visit the Magical Realm."
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Morgana asked as she glared down at her two kneeling generals. "Your petty squabbling allowed the Rangers to stop Maladrius and save the wizard. We have failed again!"
"We managed to gather some of her power," Liecanthrope said as he gestured to the quarter-full syringe in front of the generals.
"And I got a large Fae Crystal," Whipvern added. She pointed to the large crystal lying next to the syringe.
"That is not the point," Morgana said as green runes swirled around her hand. Energy gathered from the runes into her palm as it began to glow. "The point is that the wizard still lives and looks to no longer be in danger. We have lost our opportunity to remove her from the game board completely!"
"I apologize, my queen," Liecanthrope said as he bowed his head again. "We will correct this at-"
"No!" Morgana interrupted. "There is no way to correct this mistake!"
She launched an arc of green energy at her generals, sending them flying backwards.
"Get out of here, you idiots!" Morgana roared. The two generals quickly scrambled up and took off into the woods. As soon as they were gone, she sighed. She stood up and made her way over to the crystal and syringe. As she carried them over to the cauldron, she glanced over at the tree.
"I have to try," she said softly. "For their sake."
She picked up the syringe and pushed the stopper down, releasing the liquid into the cauldron. As she peered into the liquid, she smiled.
"I should be able to work with this," she said.
A few hours of experimenting later, she reached into the liquid with a flask and gathered some of it into the container. She carried the flask over to the base of the tree and poured it on the trunk. The tree hissed a bit as a medium-sized hole opened where the liquid had touched the tree, almost like the liquid was acting as an acid towards it. Morgana moved closer to the hole, ready to look inside, when a shadowy hand placed itself on the edge of the hole from the inside. Morgana stepped back and prepared a rune in her hand to attack as a black figure made entirely of shadow slowly stepped out of the tree. He was wearing a robe of pure shadow that covered his entire body, including a hood that covered his head.
"Who are you?" Morgana demanded of the shadowy figure as she stepped back one more step. "Where are my sisters?"
"Oh, they're in there," the figure said with a laugh. They made the final step onto the roots of the tree and watched as the hole closed behind them. "But you'll need a lot more Fae Energy than that to save them."
"That doesn't answer my first question," Morgana asked as she leveled the rune-bearing hand at the figure. "Who. Are. You?"
"I've been known by many names over the years," the figure said. "I have been called the Destroyer of Camelot, Slayer of Arthur, Shatterer of the Round Table. But there is one name you're certain to know me by."
"Quit stalling and tell me! I order it as Queen of the Fay!" Morgana shouted.
"Now, now, that's no way to talk to your ultimate warrior," the figure replied as he stepped forward again, leading Morgana to back up a final time. "Come now, Morgana. Do you truly not recognize me?"
Morgana searched his face as her rune continued to illuminate his haunting and hooded face. Her eyes quickly widened in recognition.
"It cannot be," she said in a small voice.
"It can!" the figure said. "Mordred has returned!"
So, that's Legend 10! I have to say that the Merlin backstory was a little weird to write, given that Merlin is always so perfect in Arthurian Legend (if he's mentioned at all, honestly). However, I feel this is the best way to go with the story and I hope you agree!
As stated above, the next chapter goes out in exactly one week, around this time. Check that out to see the unraveling of Lyn's storyline, the mysteries of Mordred and…a date? This should be interesting…
Until next time, may the power protect you!
