Coming from just beyond his scope of vision, the foot slammed into his chest, forcing him to stumble backward a couple steps, just enough for the attacker to follow-through with another side kick and a series of punches. He threw up his defenses and blocked as quickly as possible, absorbing most of the force before it connected in more vital areas than his forearms. Air blowing over his feet gave away his opponent's sneaky foot sweep, giving him plenty of time to jump over it and stay upright.
Suddenly thoughts filled his mind, breaking his concentration. Mental pictures of a tall, ominous man, standing in a field of blood that used to be home, the silver of his suit reflecting the stained red color. The figure's eyes gleamed with intelligence, supremacy, and evil, refracted and refined into solid crystal. Arcanza.
He felt rage boil to the surface, raw and hot, anger and impatience and thirst for blood. His insides, physical and emotional, burned. How much he wanted to wipe that cold, satisfied smile from the bastard's lips. He imagined screams coming from those lips, begging for mercy.
"What is the matter with you, man?" someone screamed. A powerful combination of kicks and backhands sent him to the mat. Opening his eyes, he saw Alexander, blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth, panting heavily.
Cecil stood carefully. "Alex, I am sorry," he apologized. "I just started thinking about..." He glanced around the main floor of Sharpened Senses and took in the scene of people nearby, some looking at him curiously, and decided to stop speaking.
"It's okay, bro," replied Alex, grabbing a towel and wiping the blood and sweat from his face and walking toward the locker room. "Man, when you did start thinking about him, you became a freakin' animal. Knocked me over twice, split my lip, and you had this wild look in your eyes. Scared the hell out of me, Cece."
It had been a month since Ivory Glade's invasion, occupation, and liberation by the armies of Twilight Legion. Soon after Cecil's heated face-off with Arcanza, he had asked Alexander to start giving him martial arts lessons, something he had never really believed was valuable until now, when every method of defending yourself from evil was the most important. Lately Cecil had been dreaming about their villainous nemesis, their traitorous ex-ally, and the dangerous alien warrior that served them. An entire legion behind them as well. What chance did the Omni Rangers ever have of stopping them?
They were alone in the changing room, so Alex asked, "Did you come to a decision about the blue OmniTech power yet? I know you're going to give them to Patrick, but you said you needed to consider it carefully and it has been a month."
Cecil had considered it and made his decision quiet some time ago. "Yeah, it has. Maybe it is about time to gather everyone at Alpha Complex and officially announce the new Blue Ranger, eh?"
"Definitely," agreed Alex.
Neo Twilight City was completely rebuilt underground and ready for the grand resurfacing the moment of its master's command. Arcanza looked down upon it, but when once he would have felt pride and eagerness, now his thoughts were tormented by those damn Power Rangers. Especially the Red Ranger, an uncoordinated and inexperience leader who had foiled his greatest plans in spite of his shortcomings. Now Michael, the black knight in this intricate game of strategy, was unmasked. Sir Vesper was loyal only via pseudoine mind control. And his Twilight Legion forces had been reduced from thousands to hundreds, also thanks to that infuriating Cecil Mercuric.
"Trinity damn his rotten soul," Arcanza snarled, smashing his fist into the armrest of his imposing throne in the pinnacle of Digireign Spire. "I want him writhing in pain at my feet. Vesper!" He looked around and saw only a lonely, frightening Legionnaire girl. "Bring me Sir Vesper immediately," he screamed at her. She disappeared, going down on the platform connecting the floors of the Spire. Moments later the Fallen Star Conqueror, once more plated in his armor, was walking toward his master, looking at the floor and bowing elegantly.
"You summoned me, my Lord Arcanza?"
Arcanza locked gazes with the warrior. "I am out of options. You will inject yourself with as much pseudoine as you can handle and proceed to Alpha Complex. When they come to stop you, do not hold back. Everything you have, you will use against them. Do not flee the battlesite until they are dead and buried. Do you understand, spineless Shadow of War? Understand me and obey, you accursed slave!"
Dipping his body into another sign of respect, Sir Vesper answered, "Understood, my liege. Your orders will be carried out immediately."
"I..." Arcanza said slowly as his pawn departed. "...want the Omni Rangers DEAD!"
The scream shattered the crystiglass walls and echoed in the immense underground caverns, the sound freezing the blood of anyone who could hear.
In the door, Talyserys stood acting as guard, the bright light reflecting in his golden eyes and highlighting his gray-black hair to give him the appearance of a wolf in waiting. Or a hawk ready for its prey to make the wrong move. Bane, the twenty-year-old youth from New Omnis, son of Lady Felila and the villain Arcanza, shifted uncomfortably in his role of the prey. He was dressed in drab gray clothing that used to belong to Professor Donaldson, his long hair of ethereal light blue tied back, his defeated crystalline eyes—undoubtedly one of his father's traits—cast toward the floor. Though free of any restraints, the presence of the dark green robed warrior priest wolf was the next best thing, perhaps even better.
Seraide and Laurasia sat in seats in between Alexander, Rebecca, and Brittany. All of them seemed eager to conduct the small ceremony. "Where's Patrick?" Becky had asked Cecil earlier, but he had smiled and replied, "Time will tell."
Positioned in the center of Control Point, Pyrial waited patiently but nervously, holding the OmniTech Ability Band carefully. If he accidentally, out of habit or for any reason, drew on that power within, he would more likely than not lose his sanity instantly. Cecil trusted that the ex-Blue Ranger was beyond such an amateurish slip-up, but all the same he wanted to get this unpleasantness over with.
"In the absence of Craig Hopwood, the true Red Omni Ranger, it befalls me to oversee, witness, and establish the installation of a new Blue Ranger." His words came as formal as he could make them and he tried to mimic what his best friend might have said in this situation. "Michael Tracer was entrusted with the responsibilities of the incredible powers OmniTech grants its wielders. He failed to carry these through and turned against us in our darkest hour. However, we were able to maintain possession of the Ability Band, and now it is our duty to call forth someone to replace what we have lost."
The door to Control Point opened and everyone turned to see Patrick walk in. Instead they saw Talyserys move out of the way for Amber to enter the room, the doors sliding shut behind her. She withdrew to a seat of her own and gave her full attention to Cecil.
"Therefore..." Cecil breathed slowly and evenly, trying to calm his racing heart. "I present, to two generations of Omni Rangers, the new Blue Ranger."
Nothing happened. Nobody moved. The puzzled looks on the faces of everyone at the gathering were worth the short wait. Finally, gathering her courage to speak, Seraide asked as politely as she could without seeming irritated, "Well, where is he?"
"Here," replied Cecil.
"Do not be absurd," Seraide began scolding. "Unless OmniTech is already altering your mind, which is possible since your talent is mentally-based..." Her voice weakened to a whisper around the same time, her silver eyes shifting, she realized what he had meant. "No!" she snapped immediately.
Cecil bit back a satisfied smile. "Bane will be the new Blue Omni Ranger," he announced to the group. "Pyrial, if you would please...?"
"You must be bluffing," growled Talyserys.
Pyrial, the most shocked among them all, offered, "You must be nutty!"
"Why Bane?" Brittany wondered.
Burying his face in his hands, Alex muttered, "You're overboard this time, Mercuric."
With a dramatic gesture, a sweeping motion beckoning to the several monitors replaying the recent battles, Cecil defended him, "Bane is an incredible fighter. As the Pseudo Ranger, he learned several styles of martial arts and a general knowledge about how Ranger powers work. We need someone who can jump right into the battle alongside us, not an untested person who we would have to train. Arcanza was controlling him all along through the pseudoine link; I know because I could feel it destroyed when I used my Psychic Stream power. He had been controlled his entire life, so it took some time to wear off, but he is his true self now and realizes his father's intentions are wrong. The way I see it, Bane was a blessing in disguise."
Everyone turned to Bane to see what he had to say. He shrugged, brushing hair out of his eyes, and remained silent.
"How can we ever trust him?" demanded Seraide.
"Time will tell," Cecil answered.
The alarms went off almost instantly; synchronicity had never been so obvious. Pyrial sighed, lifting the Band with both hands and holding it out to Bane. "Will you accept the responsibilities that accompany the position of the Blue Omni Ranger?"
"I shall," Bane answered quietly, taking the Morpher and strapping it around his forearm.
Seraide spoke as she stared at one of the Control Point monitors. "Sir Vesper is on a rampage and heading directly toward Alpha Complex from the east. Arcanza's rage must be beginning to boil over!"
"Any enemy of Arcanza's is an ally of ours," Amber said, offering her hand. Carefully Bane shook her hand and nodded his acknowledgement.
Cecil lifted the Omni Morpher skyward and proclaimed, "Vesper has plagued our planet for far too long. It is time he tasted Earth's ultimate defense. It is morphing time!"
"Omni Cerberus!" Shadows rose up around Amber Donaldson, solidifying around her body into the armor of the Black Ranger.
"Omni Dragon!" Plant and stone wrapped itself around Alexander Revell, encasing him with the Green Ranger uniform.
"Omni Pegasus!" Electricity hissed as it coursed the length of Rebecca Spencer, endowing her with the abilities and appearance of the Pink Ranger.
"Omni Hydra!" Water and ice washed over Bane, energizing him with the forceful powers and equipping him with the armor of the Blue Ranger.
"Omni Sphinx!" Light radiated from Brittany Elliott, condensing into the outfit of the Yellow Ranger.
"Omni Titan!" Chaotic combinations of other elements swirled around Cecil Mercuric, slowly dissolving into the uncomfortably familiar figure of the Red Ranger.
As a team of six, a sight not seen for ages, since the days of legends Kerith and Daermos back on the world of Omnis, the Power Rangers teleported in beams of colored light out of Alpha Complex.
Sir Vesper was armored once more, dull silver mail protecting his entire body except for his eyes, that had once burned bright red with the blood of countless planets he had shed, now white and empty of everything but pseudoine. And by the absolute blank white stare it was a very high amount of pseudoine, indeed. Two large battle axes, one in each mighty hand, were his weapons, and from past battles the Rangers knew he brandished them well. Behind him, footprints were burned into the soft green summer grass. Trees lay splintered, roots ripped aboveground and scattered, a scent that could only be destruction lingering in the air. Cecil winced noticing the fate of an unlucky animal, no longer recognizable.
"Power Rangers!" the six exclaimed as they touched down and scattered into formation.
The conqueror lifted his head and looked away, clearly ignoring their dramatic entrance. "My lord wants the Omni Rangers dead!" he screamed. Both axes swung in a giant arc as he leapt at them, far too high and too far for something his size to jump.
Cecil and Amber summoned "Battle Shield!" and "Zenith Aura!" to protect themselves from direct hits that would have killed them with or without regular Ranger armor.
The new Blue Ranger was already loaded for bear. "Arctic Wave!" he cried. A torrent of water, ice, and light blue foam cascaded down from an invincible source in the sky, sending shards of solid waterfall groundward to harm Vesper. The warrior emerged in one piece.
Brittany chose her attack in the form of, "Lumina Cannon!" and fired a beam of light condensed to the point of being a deadly weapon. It struck the alien directly in the front of his helmet, an aim so perfect it should have ended his life there on the spot. Instead he shook his head slowly and barked a short laugh.
Close by, Alex and Becky were charging their OmniTech powers for a combined attack, focusing on catching their opponent off-guard. As their powers reached maximum, they shouted, "Electrocution Surge!" and "Environment Surge!" The ground underneath Vesper split, opening a wide chasm below him, sending him into the crust of the earth, where an intense field of raw electricity waited to incinerate him. He casually twisted himself into a upright position and, mere portions of a second before being zapped out of existence, wings sprouted out of his back, folded out, and halted his descent. Slowly he re-emerged from the abyss and set himself down on solid land.
"He has way too much pseudoine for our powers to match him," warned Amber.
Cecil tilted his head. "You think?" he said with a smile she could not see.
"We can try combining all our powers," Alex panted as he and Rebecca rejoined the rest of the team. "Becca and I were close..."
"You were not close," the Red Ranger corrected him. "Vesper is toying with us before the final strike. Amber is right; he is too powerful. We need bigger firepower."
Blue Ranger nodded. "Crush him with the OmniZords."
"Not yet," Black Ranger said, holding her hand up to slow Bane's bloodthirst down a bit. "Let Vesper grow, when his power is too high to contain. At this size he could sneak into one of the Zords and cause serious damage we can avoid."
"So we toy with him while he toys with us," Rebecca summarized. Amber nodded.
Lifting his hand and waving the team forward, Cecil cried, "Then let us get it done!" Charging forward he screamed, "Psycho Trance!" Usually at this point, Cecil would expect his target to lose touch with his mental process, as was the case when he used the power before. Vesper, however, sealed his mind off from the Trance, and wasted no time charging forward himself, the edges of the axes eager to be embedded in human flesh.
Sliding by falling and rolling while sliding, the Red Ranger diverted from his course and avoided a possible painful end. "Pulse Wave!" he used.
Behind him he heard shouts of "Dazzle Wave!" "Magnet Wave!" "Tremor Wave!" and "Arctic Wave!" and saw five powers combining to bombard Vesper with an incredible force. The Fallen Star Conqueror was knocked backward, but was on his feet again in the space of a heartbeat. His speed was too inconceivable to measure.
"Cannon powers!" Bane called out.
"Riot Cannon!"
"Hail Cannon!"
"Lumina Cannon!"
"Volt Cannon!"
"Stone Cannon!"
All five two-handed weapons fired simultaneously still could not stop Sir Vesper's assault, and the Rangers were forced to scattered as he flung one of the giant axes directly at them. Lifting two empty hands, a dark red-shaded energy began swirling around his fists, hissing as it disintegrated the air around it. He launched a fireball-like discharge toward Brittany. In desperation, the cannon dematerialized as she summoned, "Rainbow Reflector!" A barrier of seven colors formed between the Yellow Ranger and the fireball. As it struck the shield, the energy bounced backward, returned to Vesper and struck him with full force.
"Analysis!" Cecil said, aiming his palm at Vesper, an unnecessary gesture but one that felt right nonetheless. Statistics began to spring up, written directly in the air for his eyes only, showing the villain was rapidly approaching a through-the-roof energy level.
The Black Ranger moved to confront her nemesis, an aura of shifting color swirling around her entire body like a prism fire. The Shadow of War launched into a lightning-fast and mountain-strong series of martial artistic attacks; the wielder of ShadowTech avoided as many of the blows she could and retaliated when given the rare chance. It all moved too fast for the other Rangers to follow completely and no one dared interrupt. Suddenly Vesper fell back and screamed viciously; his helmet had been detached and a steady stream of blood coursing down his face and along his jaw. A deep gash down the left side of his face from brow, through the eye, and to the edge of the mouth had been opened. Amber was holding a sword with both hands. Sir Vesper's own sword.
"Don't you know it will take more than dirty tricks and wounds a baby could sustain to prevent me from serving the Trinity?" he laughed in a whispery threat. But before he could strike back, as he was clearly intending to do, his remaining empty eye went wide with shock. Vesper's size was increasing...and not slowly. In a matter of moments he was skyscraper-sized and staring at the ground trying to find the Rangers he was bent on destroying.
Cecil lifted his fist and called to the others, "We need OmniZord power now!"
"Pegasus OmniZord!"
"Hydra OmniZord!"
"Sphinx OmniZord!"
"Dragon OmniZord!"
The four Omni Rangers teleported inside their designated vehicles and piloted them to a safe distance away from Sir Vesper for the time being.
"I hope I made the right decision," Amber reflected.
"I hope we made the right decision," Cecil corrected her. "Let us find out right now. Titan OmniZord!"
She nodded and raised both hands to the sky, crying "Cerberus OmniZord!" The mythological hellhound and giant were soon alongside their companions.
Inside the piloting chamber, poised at the controls of the mighty Titan, Cecil reached up to touch the embedded black panel above him. "Initiate Omni Megazord formation sequence." Soon the five machines were reforming themselves into a single, increasing their strength dramatically. Almost immediately after it started the transformation was finished and the Megazord was ready for action, Omni Megasaber in hand.
"Ion Beam charged," Bane reported. "Firing now!"
The Zord lifted its hand, extended it palm outward, and discharged a surge of energy that affect Sir Vesper little if at all. "It will take more than a giant-sized piece of metal that shoots sparks to stop me, Rangers. I am hurt that you have not realized that by now." Gathering his cape in his fists and posing regally, ignoring the stream of blood on his face, he screamed, "The Destroyer ravages your world even now, the Betrayer hides behind masks and deception, and the Resurrector needs but to be freed. The hand of evil hovers over existence, children. All existence, including you." Narrowing his vacant stare, he growled, "Do your worst."
"Babel CarrierZord online," Amber's voice announced. Indeed, the imposing form of Babel had approached and was idle nearby. "Get ready for the grand debut."
Together, the Rangers cried, "Initiate Omni Ultrazord formation sequence!" Babel split down the center and opened, revealing a space for the Megazord to insert itself, followed by Cerberus shifting itself into three individual cannons. When all the elements of the Ultrazord were aligned, Vesper stepped back.
Amber teleported into the cockpit behind Cecil and exclaimed, "Load Omni Ultrazord's Ultimate Attack!" At the same time, Bane, Alex, Becky, and Brittany pressed their switches. "Five," Black Ranger began the countdown.
"Four," Alex continued.
With a grunt, the Fallen Star Conqueror punched the Zord with all his might, but failed to move it a fraction of an inch. "Three," said Rebecca.
Unsheathing the sharp blade of a dagger from his boot, the Shadow of War thrust the weapon forward with every bit of energy he could muster, supplemented by the pseudoine screaming for use as it ran his veins. The blade snapped. "Two." Bane sounded relieved.
"One." Brittany, however, sounded nervous as the moment approached.
Laughing wickedly, the alien warrior fell back and spread his arms wide open to receive the attack, expecting to be able to withstand whatever these children threw at him. It was strange how Cecil acknowledged and, perhaps remotely, admired that courage. Dismissing the idea immediately, he said, "Fire," and flipped the launch.
Energy of every type—electricity, light, sharp ice, stone, plasma, ion beams, and other he could not even identify—was discharged from so many places on the Ultrazord it seemed to come from everywhere. One second Vesper was welcoming his fate, the next he was being bombarded with an until-now unfathomable amount of power, and when the torrent died out...
Large pieces of armor lay scattered on the ground around the area where their enemy had last stood. Ash, too, was scattered and was floating down on top of those pieces.
The cockpit of the Omni Ultrazord was dead silent. They could see for themselves they were victorious, but it did not genuinely set in until Becky laughed, "We did it!"
"Vesper is gone!" Alex added excitedly, shaking his fist in the air.
Cecil allowed himself a private smile and leaned his head back with a sigh mixing relief, satisfaction, and exhaustion. Twilight Legion's commander was out of the picture now. Much of the Legion itself was disbanded. And the big guy was getting reckless and irrational because he felt threatened. Now that he knew the Rangers were capable of forming the Ultrazord, there was no telling what would happen next.
"INCOMING TRANSMISSION," Alpha System echoed in the Rangers' ears.
"Excellent job, Cecil," a familiar and welcome voice said, one of the few voices you could hear and know its speaker was smiling. Just when he thought things could not get better!
"Craig!" Cecil cried, reaching for his Omni Morpher and activating the teleportation power as quickly as possible. The others, too, followed suit. Bane remained with the Zords to program the auto pilot and return them to their hiding places.
As the team touched down inside Alpha Complex, they rushed to the doors of Control Point, already opened, Craig Hopwood standing in the entrance framed by an aura of light, dressed in black and red. Brittany rushed in for the hug; Rebecca and Alex settled for patting him on the back. Cecil stared at him for a long time, in semi-disbelief, then grabbed his hand and gave him a half-hug. "It is so good to see you, Craig."
"More so to be back," Craig replied with a smile. "Come on inside; I'm about to give the Omnians the surprise of their life."
Amber grinned and asked, "More surprising that naming Bane the new Ranger?"
"A thousand times more surprising." He had started to turn around and return to Control Point, but he froze and leaned toward Cecil, whispering, "I'm about to tell them everything they know is a lie. It's good I had such a gifted teacher in this subject."
Cecil knew the smile Craig wore was a reflection of his own.
And, he hoped in the distant back part of his mind, a reflection of the future.
Control Point was very hushed. The monitors were muted, displaying images of a peaceful city and surroundings, all of the panels deactivated save those that would warn of an attack from Arcanza. Even the lights, despite being set at their normal brightness, did not seem normal and comfortable as they used to. In the center of the chamber, a hologram of a massive underground city was wavering in the air. Maybe it was Point that changed; more likely it was Soleron himself.
He sat, reclining back slightly, head resting on his hand just so that two fingers went along his jaw to her ear, taking in the shifting mood of his friends. Seraide was engaged in a discussion with Professor Donaldson; they shared a love of science that had diminished little in their time apart. The feelings Soleron once felt for Seraide were still there, stronger than ever regardless of everything that could have kept them apart, but he knew not to act upon them until Arcanza was defeated. Leave it to that villain to complicate matters more. Laurasia was playing a beautiful melody on her charm flute, her method of clearing her mind of distress and worry. Pyrial was listening with wide-eyed interest to Rade, who was more than happy to share the story of establishing a life on Earth. Standing in the corner shadows, Talyserys satisfied himself with observing, too.
Craig and his friends were coming back inside Control Point; the moment was drawing near. Eagerly the young ex-Ranger motioned for his companions to sit and asked Cecil, "Should we wait for Bane? Will he be long?"
In answer to the question, the pallor New Omnian glided through the entrance and found himself a seat on the floor out of the way. "The Zords are secure," he reported and returned to his own thoughts.
"As you are all aware, the struggle with Arcanza is accelerating toward a conclusion as we speak, and soon the final battle will begin," spoke Craig calmly. Gesturing to the cityscape, he continued, "This is his base of operations: the underground fortress he calls Neo Twilight City. Well, it was underground, until about ten minutes ago when it rose up above ground, exposing itself to us. Our enemy is sitting expectantly directly east of Alpha Complex in the tall thin structure here called Digireign Spire."
Rebecca looked confused. "He wants us to go to him?" she asked.
"We will work on the details later," Cecil answered for his friend. "Continue."
With a nod, Craig shut down the hologram and moved to the secret tunnel behind the Alpha System mainframe. "Unless he attacks tonight, which the Professor, Soleron, and I agree he will not, we will launch our assault tomorrow morning. At dawn."
"Always darkest before the dawn," Bane sighed to himself.
The secret escape opened, revealing a person hidden behind it. "True," the figure agreed, "but all the brighter after."
Seraide, Laurasia, and Pyrial fell to one knee instantly. Both Craig and Cecil were smiling intently. The look worn by the Omnians was a combination of shock and disbelief, added to pain on Talyserys's. It was Seraide who eventually exclaimed, "Lord Oriquin!"
Oriquin, the presumed dead Lord of Omnis, stepped forward into the light of Control Point, the light of the living, the light of hope. "All the brighter after," he repeated softly.
Original Publication Date: 17 November 1999
