Ultimate Legacy: Recap
Reality shattered, leaving shards of time and space. The Ultimate Power Rangers journeyed through the fragments to unravel the secrets that led to the destruction of the Wheel of Time. Using mysterious Ranger Keys, they hoped to uncover the truth about their past, and restore their universe.
Before the Shattering: The Witch of the Askani, Udonna, came to our time from one of many possible futures. In that future, the Dark One's Grand Army, led by Morticon, conquered everything.
In our time, Udonna gathered four teens by saving them from supernatural events, wiping their memories of those events and keeping them safe in Briarwood, Indiana. A fifth teen with no memory, Nick, joined them. Udonna gave them the powers of the Mystic Rangers.
Still trapped in Hades, Morticon gained a mysterious ally, the Wolf Knight Koragg, who could use magick to send Hades Beasts to the mortal world.
Udonna morphed into Mystic White and fought Koragg, who killed her during the battle.
Nick later learned the truth of his origin: He came from an alternate future, the son of Tommy Oliver and Ashley Hammond. As an infant, he became infected with a darkness called the Blight. The Heavenly Saint Mikhail took him into the 31st Century to cure him. Once Nick reached 16, Mikhail brought him back to our time, as he did Udonna, so she could form the Mystic Ranger team. Koragg, a twisted clone of Nick, followed them from the future.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
THE ULTIMATE POWER RANGERS
Seth Park- Blue Ranger
Kira Hart- Yellow Ranger
Tyler Oliver- Red Ranger
Mat DeSantos- Green Ranger
Kym Cranston- Pink Ranger
THE MYSTIC RANGERS
Chip- Mystic Yellow
Madison- Mystic Blue
Nick- Mystic Red
Vida- Mystic Pink
Xander- Mystic Green
Ultimate Legacy: Chapter Five
What are Friends For?
PART ONE: Mystic Downfall
Images flashed through the Ultimate Power Rangers' minds as vividly as living through them. The Time Shard unlocked the history of the Mystic Rangers, and the Ultimate team couldn't help but wonder: Were they about to see N'Ma cause the Shattering?
(*New Generation: Year Five)
Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, Rocky DeSantos, and Jason Scott stood in a circle with their backs towards one another. Green fissures opened throughout the city, spitting demons and evil creatures across the streets.
In the middle of the city, a dark fissure, like a black hole, floated where N'Ma devoured time.
Rocky sighed as a wave of demons rushed towards them. "See, this is why we never visit."
The former rangers attacked with reflexes and skills honed by years of experience.
"Hand of Fate!" Adam thrust his fist with a beam of pale green light, blasting through several demons with massive bursts of spark.
Rocky faced a trio of demons that charged towards him. "Tenma Flash Kick!"
He snapped an energized tornado kick that bashed the demons from the air.
Jason lunged forward with a jump-kick upside a demon's head. He laced his hands together. "Ninpo Fire Assault!"
He fired a twirling burst of flame that incinerated several demons.
Tommy armed his sword. He slashed through several demons and looked over his shoulder, towards the black void in the center of the sky. "We have to find out what happened to the Rangers..."
"You want to know?" a voice asked from the shadows.
Suddenly, black flames cleared the demons from in front of Tommy. The fire incinerated the creatures into ash.
"I'll tell you..." the voice said.
Simon Kaden walked slowly towards his former mentor.
N'Ma spread his arms wide over the decimated landscape. The giant snapped his tentacles. "This world, this future, is purified with darkness…" he grumbled. "Once I have devoured your souls, my legion will reign supreme over this realm."
"Not going to happen!" Mystic Red shouted.
"It already has…" N'Ma fired tendrils of crimson energy that exploded around the Rangers with massive bursts of fire.
The Rangers dove aside and armed their morphers. "Maagi Giruma Goolu Jingajin!"
They morphed into zords and formed Magi Legend. The Manticore Megazord snapped into a fighting stance and faced off with N'Ma.
"Magical Climax! Screw Calibur!" The Megazord’s staff blade spun like a drill, generating fiery energy. "Fire Tornado!"
The Megazord thrust its staff, firing a twirling beam of flame. N’Ma swallowed the flame and laughed at the Mystic team.
Mystic Red cursed beneath his breath. "Our magick is useless!"
"Worse than that," Mystic Yellow said. "It's feeding him!"
N’Ma lashed his tentacles, shattered Magi Legend’s staff, and swatted the Megazord off its feet. The Megazord crashed and skid across the barren ground.
"Your despair fills my heart…" N’Ma said as he stabbed his tendrils through Magi Legend's back. "When your souls are stained with fear, pain, they will have the greatest flavor!"
N’Ma stomped onto the Megazord’s head, again, and again, each stomp sparking on impact and rocking the Rangers within their cockpit.
N’Ma opened his maw and started devouring the power of the Megazord and Rangers. Their bodies glowed with golden energy that flowed into N’Ma, empowering the villain.
Magi Legend burst into light that dissipated and vanished into N’Ma's maw. The power drain stripped the teens of their armor, and they crashed onto the surface.
They lost not just their energy, but their courage, and will to fight.
N’Ma laughed at the fallen teens. "Yes! Sing! Dance! This is your final show! Fill me with your shame!"
The villain fired strands of crimson energy that exploded around the teens, hurling them off their feet. They crashed and skid across the dirt.
Slowly, Xander climbed to his feet and helped his teammates stand. "OK, time to run, time to run…"
The rangers scrambled for cover, ducking beneath a fallen building and finding shelter within a dark vestibule.
"Alright..." Xander said as he struggled to catch his breath. "Udonna's captured again. Daggeron's out. No idea what happened to Tommy. Our magick is useless...And we're stuck in some nightmare. What do we do?"
Vida shook her head as the hopelessness sank in. "This can't be the end..."
"Well, it sure feels that way..." Chip said.
Xander looked to Nick. "I don't suppose Tommy said anything useful when he pulled you aside earlier."
Nick shook his head. "Nothing to help with this...whatever this is...He tried to teach me something called the Fatal Blade. A last-ditch move that can make a miracle, or something."
"Sounds promising," Xander said.
"Except our magick doesn't work," Nick said. "He eats it!"
"Look, Nick," Madison said as she touched his arm. She pointed to a small patch of grass that grew from between the concrete, where a flower stood. "Even in a world ruled by Hades...it doesn't lose to the power of darkness. There's still life. Potential is something you create...You can make a miracle happen. We all can..."
In human size, N'Ma crashed into the vestibule and stepped onto the flower.
"A miracle will not happen," N'Ma said as he thrust his hand with bursts of crimson lighting.
Xander, Chip, Vida and Madison flipped open their morphers. "Jinga Majuna!"
They formed a barrier of multicolored light that blocked the blasts with massive bursts of spark.
"Nick..." Madison said as she and her teammates struggled to keep the lightning at bay. "We trust you...Do what you have to do."
N'Ma thrust his other hand with another burst of lightning. The combined blasts shattered the barrier, tossing the four teens to the ground.
"Guys!" Nick shouted. He glared at N'Ma and flipped open his morpher. "Magical Source! Mystic Force!"
He morphed into Mystic Red. The Red Ranger hopped forward and armed his Magi Sword and Legend Staff. He stepped into a defensive stance and stood between N'Ma and the teens. Xander...Chip...Vida...Madison...
"I understand, Dad..." he whispered as he tightened his grip on his weapons. "I know what my courage is..."
Mystic Red flared with fiery light that circled around him and N'Ma, creating a pocket dimension of flame.
N'Ma laughed mockingly. "I will devour this dimension...and you!"
N'Ma lashed out with his tendrils.
Mystic Red twirled his staff and sword, slashing the tendrils with bursts of spark. "Is that the best you've got, N'Ma?!"
The Red Ranger leapt through the air and ignited his weapons with power. He landed with a chop of his staff, smashing the shell on N'Ma's head. Mystic Red pressed forward and stabbed his sword through the villain's gut with a burst of spark.
"Spit out that time you swallowed!" Mystic Red shouted.
The Red Ranger twisted his sword, which ebbed with energy that thrashed N'Ma from the inside.
Golden light pulsed from N'Ma and splashed across the landscape.
Mystic Red kept one hand on his sword and reached his other hand towards his teammates.
"Come on, guys!" he shouted. "Take my hand! Let's get out of here!"
The teens leapt to their feet and grabbed hold of Mystic Red.
The light flared around them and dissipated the landscape, which vanished into a maelstrom of energy.
"Hold on, guys!" Mystic Red shouted as the storm raged, threatening to tear them apart.
The light flared bright white, nearly blinding the teens. And when it vanished, they found themselves back in the city, in their normal flow of time.
The shift knocked the teens from their armor, and N'Ma staggered backward.
"This is..." Chip started to say. "This is it! We're back!" He hesitated. "Right?"
"Right," Nick said.
N'Ma growled with anger. "You would underestimate me? The ultimate legion?! Die!"
The villain lashed out with his tentacles. They whipped towards the teens, but lunar light burst through the air, blasting the tendrils aside.
"What?!" N'Ma shouted.
A portal flashed above the street; Sailor Moon and the Sailor Guardians leapt through, along with Snowgel.
"Serena!" Nick shouted.
"And Snowgel!" Madison shouted.
Snowgel snapped her fingers, summoning walls of ice that surrounded the battlefield. "N'Ma..." she said. "The Heavenly Realms have already started to rebuild. During your battle with Sungel, Mikhail slipped past your defenses, and struck at the heart of your demonic army."
N'Ma cursed beneath his breath. "Then I will simply return to Hades, rebuild my army, and strike again!"
A voice spoke from nearby. "The Grand City of Hell is no longer yours to enter."
The teens looked to see Udonna step onto the street.
"You..." N'Ma hissed. "How?"
The Hades Lord Sphinx stepped out from behind her.
"I have defeated Dagon..." Sphinx said. "And taken control of Denzoberranzan myself..."
"You traitorous creature..." N'Ma grumbled. "Why?"
"I want to learn more of this concept called courage," Sphinx said, "along with those from the mortal world."
N'Ma looked into the shadows. "Koragg! Necrolai!"
"They've fled," Udonna said. "You stand alone."
Sphinx armed her gauntlet cannon and fired a burst of energy. The blast smashed N'Ma and hurled him backward with bursts of spark.
Udonna looked towards Sailor Moon. "Serena, help Sungel. All of us will fight together..."
"Right!" Sailor Moon shouted as she leapt towards Sungel. She lifted her scepter, which ebbed with moonlight. "Moon Healing Escalation!"
Rays of lunar energy rained across Sungel, energizing his body. Slowly, he climbed to his feet and shifted into his human form.
"Serena..." Daggeron said. "Thank you."
"Daggeron!" Madison shouted as she and the others ran towards him.
"I am alright," Daggeron said.
Magi Lamp appeared in his hands, with Smokey inside the weapon.
"Smokey..." Daggeron said with a smile. "You're still alive."
Smokey burst from the lamp with a cloud of mist. "I told you I would keep them safe!" Smokey said. "It looks like your wish to defeat N'Ma is about to come true."
Suddenly, N'Ma erupted with a stream of dark energy, tinted crimson. The villain expanded and grew giant, shaking the earth.
"You think you are strong?! You have yet to face the true power of darkness! Cry! Suffer! Be afraid!"
Chip tilted his head. "Is it just me, or is he not so scary anymore? Like, at all?"
Nick grabbed his morpher. "Agreed," he said as everyone stood alongside him. "Our bond...our courage...let's show N'Ma what real power is!"
"Heavenly Saints!" they shouted. "Grant us the power of magick! Magical Source! Mystic Force!"
Energy wrapped around them as they morphed into their Ranger forms.
"Sparkling Ice Elemental! Magick of the Frost! Mystic White!"
"Shining Solar Elemental! Magick of the Sun! Mystic Gold!"
"Burning Flame Elemental! Magick of the Flame! Mystic Red!"
"Howling Earth Elemental! Magick of the Forrest! Mystic Green!"
"Galloping Thunder Elemental! Magick of the Thunder! Mystic Yellow!"
"Rippling Water Elemental! Magick of the Water! Mystic Blue!"
"Blowing Wind Elemental! Magick of the Wind! Mystic Pink!"
"Askani Task Force!" Mystic Red shouted. Together, they called out: "Mystic Rangers!"
The Sailor Guardians joined the Rangers.
"Sailor Moon!"
"Sailor Mars!"
"Sailor Mercury!"
"Sailor Jupiter!"
"Sailor Venus!"
"And now..." Sailor Moon shouted. "In the name of the moon...I'll punish you!"
N'Ma spread his arms and fired strands of energy that lashed towards the heroes. The blasts exploded around them with massive bursts of smoke and flame.
The Rangers jumped through the flames, and the Sailor Guardians leapt upward.
"Moon Halation!" Sailor Moon's wand glowed with golden power that washed towards N'Ma.
"Fire Soul!" Sailor Mars folded her hands and fired a twirling burst of flame.
"Supreme Thunder!" Sailor Jupiter crossed her arms over her chest and fired a massive bolt of lightning.
"Aqua Mist!" Sailor Mercury fired streams of bubble that burst into mist.
"Venus Chain!" Sailor Venus snapped her Venus Chain, firing a bolt of orange energy.
The Sailors' attacks combined into a tidal wave of power that smashed N'Ma's chest with massive bursts of power, forcing him several steps backward.
Mystic Red grasped his morpher. "This is it!" he shouted. "Our final spell!"
The Rangers thrust their wands towards the villain. "Maagi Magi Magiend!"
They fired a multi-colored wave of power that surged towards N'Ma.
The villain opened his maw and devoured the light. But the Rangers kept pouring on the power.
N'Ma staggered backward. "What...What is this light?!"
The Rangers kept firing, intensifying their energy wave.
"It's our magick!" Mystic Red shouted. "Our courage! And it's infinite! So devour it all you want!"
N'Ma collapsed to his knees. He couldn't stop himself from swallowing the energy, which thrashed his insides with massive bursts of spark.
"It...It can't be!" N'Ma growled. Holy light stabbed from his body as the power tore into his maw. The wave of light and energy expanded the villain, as if about to burst. "I am N'Ma! I am legion!"
"Stop!" a voice shouted from nearby.
Tommy landed on the street with his sword in hand. He ran towards the Rangers. "Guys, stop your attack!"
N'Ma's energy overloaded and exploded with a massive flare of holy light. The creature scattered into fiery pieces that rained across the skies.
Simon Kaden stood on a rooftop. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched N'Ma explode into a cloud of light that covered several city blocks.
"That's it..." Simon said. "They've done it..."
The voice of the demon that shared his body, DaiShi, whispered into his mind. "Do you understand what has happened?"
Simon nodded. "I do..."
Above, across the whole world, comets of light flared from the skies and crashed across the planet. The lights belonged to the bodies of angels and gods, falling from the Heavenly Realms.
"With the Fifth Seal broken, the barriers keeping the gods from the mortal realm have fallen," Simon said.
"Including the Gods of Hell, from Lucifer to Yama," DaiShi said.
"N'Ma..." Simon said. "The combined form of all the Gods of Hell. Once imprisoned. Now, with N'Ma's death, released..."
"The Hell Gods are free," DaiShi said. "The Apocalypse has come. Are you ready for what comes next, young Forsaken?"
PART TWO: Father's Son
"What...?" the Green Ranger asked as he looked at his Mystic Green Key. "What was that?"
"The Time Shard," the Red Ranger said as he looked at the shard of light hovering in the cockpit. He reached out and took it.
"So what happened?" the Yellow Ranger asked. "After N'Ma...what happened?"
"And who the heck's Simon?" the Green Ranger asked. "And what's a Forsaken?"
"Do you think the Hell Gods caused the Shattering?" the Pink Ranger asked. "Or maybe the Dark One?"
The Blue Ranger shook his head. "Seems too obvious."
"We'll have to unlock the other Time Shards to find out," the Red Ranger said.
"That means we have to master all the other Grand Powers..." the Green Ranger said. "Doesn't it? How many are there again?"
"Too many," the Red Ranger said. "Let's get started."
The Ultimate Megazord stomped into an empty area of the Flux World.
"Alright..." the Red Ranger said. "Everyone ready?"
"Let's get this over with," the Blue Ranger said. "Which one's first?"
The Yellow Ranger sorted through her keys. She grasped the key of the Yellow Masked Ranger, a Ranger posted on Eltar as part of that planet's SPD unit, before the Shattering.
"Let's start with this one," she said.
The Rangers pulled out their Masked Ranger Keys.
"Masked Rangers!" they shouted as they inserted their keys. "Grand Power, set!"
The Megazord whined with power - but that power died down. Nothing happened.
The Yellow Ranger sighed. "I knew it wouldn't work...Let's try the Aquition Ranger Keys."
They inserted the keys into their wheels. "Aquition Rangers!" they called together. "Grand Power, set!"
The Ultimate Megazord whined with power. But the power died down. And nothing happened.
The Green Ranger sighed. "Well that was embarrassing."
The Megazord returned to its ship form - the Legacy Galleon - and soared through the skies.
Kira sighed as she sat in the crew area. "Nothing worked..." she said with disappointment. "I guess all we can use for now is the Mystic Dragon."
"We're talking about each Ranger team's Grand Power..." Seth said. "We're not going to unlock them that easily."
Kira sighed. "I hate it when you're right..."
Mat nodded. "Something special must need to happen for us to unlock each power. Like when I found courage."
Kira arced an eyebrow. "Is that what happened?"
"Did you not notice? When we went up against the Twilight's Hammer? I found courage," he said.
Seth shook his head, as did Kira.
"No," she said. "We must have missed that."
"But I-" Mat scoffed and shook his head. "Great. My big moment. And it's overshadowed just because Tyler happens to find his kid brother from the future past or something. Which I still don't get, by the way."
Tyler walked into the crew room during the middle of the conversation. "We'll talk about it later..." he said as he took his seat. "Right now...Seth, Kym...it's your turn for a supply run."
The Armada flagship hovered in the center of its fleet. An Action Commander strode onto the bridge and saluted with his fist over his chest.
"Action Commander Zodomas, reporting as ordered," he said.
Vekar rose from his control station. "Argus praises you as being some sort of...master swordsman?"
"That I am..." Zodomas said.
"Good..." Vekar said. "Go down to that Flux World while it's still material. Cut down everything in sight until you've lured out the Rangers...then kill them."
Seth and Kym left a convenience store in a section of the Flux World that mirrored the Holy Britannia Empire, an imperial monarchy from an alternate version of Earth, where Great Britain conquered most of the world, split into three superpowers: Britannia, the Chinese Federation and the European Union.
Seth carried two bags of groceries.
Kym followed behind him. "Seth, let me take one."
Seth shook his head. "I'm being a gentleman."
Kym rolled her eyes. "Don't be sexist."
Seth kept straight ahead, down a street that led downtown. He thought back to the Mystic Rangers' history, revealed by the Time Shard. He remembered the sight of the world ravaged by N’Ma, and the green portals through which demons and creatures erupted into the mortal world.
Through those images, he saw something the other Rangers didn't: His father, Adam Park. Adam used his powers to close the rifts as battles raged around him.
Seth rolled his hand into a fist, which pulsed with cyan energy. He had the same power. After the Shattering, the Armada recruited Seth to close similar rifts that opened within the fragments of space and time. My first memory…
He never asked why. He didn’t know the purpose of the rifts. He assumed his actions protected the remnants of humanity.
Was I wrong…? Now he wondered if, by closing the rifts, he somehow made matters worse for the survivors of the multiverse. He again thought of Adam, his father, a gallant hero on the fields of battle, risking his life to stop the world from falling apart around him.
I’ll never be like him…Seth thought. He felt guilty for serving the Armada, even out of ignorance. And now that guilt intensified, knowing the role his father played in the unknown wars before the Shattering.
Kym nudged him. "Are you even listening?"
"Hmm?" Seth asked, having not heard a word.
Kym sighed with a smile. "You're hopeless sometimes. I was talking about that Time Shard. The battle we saw…I've never seen anything like it."
Suddenly, slashes tore through two buildings, which slid and exploded into flame and rubble.
Zodomas stood on a rooftop and slashed through streaks of energy, ripping through buildings. The monster led a group of X-Borgs and looked out upon the skyline.
Seth and Kym ran onto the rooftop and faced off with the enemy.
"What do you think you're doing," Seth demanded.
"Displaying my swordsmanship to this joke of a world," Zodomas said. He pointed his blade at the teens. "If you get in my way...I'll cut you down."
Suddenly, the Legacy Galleon floated overhead. Tyler, Mat and Kira lowered on grappling lines and dropped onto the roof.
Tyler knitted his brow at the sight of the Action Commander. "Are you the one interrupting our supply run?"
The teens armed their morphers and Ranger Keys. "It's morphin' time! Ultimate Transform!" They inserted their keys into their morphers: "POOOOOWER RANGERS!"
They morphed into their Ranger forms and stepped into fighting poses.
"Ultimate Red Ranger."
"Ultimate Blue Ranger."
"Ultimate Green Ranger."
"Ultimate Yellow Ranger."
"Ultimate Pink Ranger."
"Ultimate Task Force..." They called out together: "Power Rangers!"
Zodomas looked over his shoulder. "X-Borgs."
The grunts rushed to attack.
The Red Ranger unsheathed his sword. "Let's make this showy."
The Green Ranger sighed. "That's a thing now, isn't it?"
The Rangers gripped their blades and charged to attack. They slashed and hacked through X-Borgs with bursts of spark, chopping through their armor and slicing through their staffs.
The Blue Ranger slashed down a pair of X-Borgs, hopped towards Zodomas, and chopped. The monster parried the sword; the Blue Ranger stepped back with a spin and slashed towards the monster's midsection. Zodomas blocked and twisted the Blue Ranger's sword aside.
The two opponents spun, slashed, and parried, dueling with bursts of spark as their swords clashed.
Zodomas chopped at the Ranger's chest; the Blue Ranger blocked hard. The opponents spun around each other while keeping their swords locked, and they leapt off the rooftop.
The Blue Ranger and monster landed with a roll on the street below. They somersaulted beneath an outcropping, rose to their feet, and clashed swords with bursts of spark.
"Not bad," Zodomas said with a lunge. The Blue Ranger parried and slashed, but Zodomas blocked. "But you have no swordsmanship, whatsoever."
The monster swung a flurry of slashes the Blue Ranger blocked. "I don't know who taught you the basics," Zodomas said, "but he must have been rather incompetent."
"What was that?" The Blue Ranger twirled his blade and charged. He swung a volley of blows the monster blocked with bursts of spark.
Argus stared at the Earth through the viewport of the Armada flagship.
General Damaras stepped beside his comrade. "Are you worried, Argus? This is the Action Commander you selected, after all."
"No," Argus said, his voice cold and mechanical. "I do not worry. Everything I do, I do for Prince Vekar."
The Blue Ranger swung high. Zodomas parried, sending the Ranger staggering forward.
The monster slashed towards the Blue Ranger's head. The Ranger ducked beneath the blow, then rose in time to block a pair of strikes.
Zodomas swung his hilt, smashing the Ranger's gut and sending him stumbling backward.
The monster slid into a defensive stance. "Enough playing..."
He swung his sword through a slow circle, creating a ring of shadow sabers. Zodomas swung his blade; the shadow sabers lashed out as fast as lightning. The blades thrashed the Ranger with bursts of spark, singing his armor before he could block or parry.
The monster lunged with a stab, whipping the Blue Ranger off his feet. He crashed and rolled aside, and his armor powered down with a flash of blue light.
Zodomas lowered his blade as he looked down upon Seth. "You are a novice..."
"Seth!" the Pink Ranger shouted as she and the other Rangers regrouped with Seth.
Zodomas tilted his head. "Five against one? Just the kind of thinking you'd expect from weaklings."
"Seriously?" the Yellow Ranger said. "You sent, like, five dozen X-Borgs against us."
"I don't have time to waste on you..." Zodomas said as he sheathed his sword and turned to walk away.
"Trying to run?" the Red Ranger said as he and the Yellow Ranger started to charge after the monster.
"Stop!" Seth shouted as he climbed slowly to his feet. "I'll fight him...myself."
He again thought of his father. Adam. A lone soldier fighting a dying world. Seth didn't need help. He needed to prove himself worthy of that legacy.
Instead, he carried the legacy of a traitor. A traitor to humanity when he allied with the Armada. And a traitor to his one true comrade within that army: The comrade who taught him swordsmanship. The comrade that Seth had to kill.
"This is my fight," he said.
The rangers returned to their ship, and Mat prepared dinner: Scrambled eggs with avocado, sausage bits and bacon.
"Thanks for waiting," Mat said as he and Kym set the table. "Not that you waited patiently, but still..."
"Oh hush," Kym said with a smile. "That didn't take long at all."
Tyler took a seat and grabbed a fork. "Speed's more important than taste."
"You don't care about taste?" Mat asked. "Then why do I slave over a stove every day?"
"This is the first time you've cooked in six months," Tyler said as he forked up a scoop of eggs.
"Do we even have months? Or is time just an illusion at this point?" Mat said. He sighed and took a bite of eggs. "Oh, the Shattering: You and your mysterious ways."
Kym took a seat across from Kira. "Where's Seth?"
"He's out," Kira said.
"Out?" Mat asked between bites of eggs. "We don't go out."
Kira shrugged. "Well...He's out."
"In his condition?" Kym asked with worry.
Seth stood in a wooded area of the Flux World. He carried his Power Saber in his right hand and a flimsy sword in his left hand. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, surrounded by a contraption of his design: Ropes spread from the ground and into the branches, all around him.
Kym walked to the scene but kept her distance, not wanting to disturb him.
Seth snapped open his eyes and chopped the ropes free, releasing a swarm of daggers and spears that shot towards the ranger.
Seth spun and swung his swords, slashing the blades from the air before they could strike. He strained every muscle as his reflexes struggled to keep up with the assault.
Kym noticed his strain. "Seth...!"
"Stay back!" Seth shouted as he parried a saber, which nearly knocked him off his feet. He stumbled but kept his balance, slashing another volley of daggers.
A blade slipped past his defense and slashed his arm. Another dagger cut his leg, dropping him to the ground. The last dagger shot towards his head, but he swatted the blade aside.
"Seth!" Kym shouted as she ran to his side. "You're going to get yourself killed!"
He pushed her away. "I said stay back..."
"Why...?" she asked. "Why are you doing this?"
"To beat him," Seth said. "He overwhelmed me with all his swords...but next time...I'll be ready. Two swords are better than one."
"I can't believe you," Kym said. "It's just another monster. Besides...you're saying he overwhelmed you with numbers? Two swords may be better than one...but two Rangers are better than one, too."
Seth sighed. He stood and turned his back to Kym. "This isn't any of your business, Kym."
"None of my business?" she asked. "We're teammates..."
"Please go," Seth whispered. "I don't have time for this..."
Kym lowered her head and walked away, leaving her teammate in the woods.
Prince Vekar stormed across the bridge of the Armada flagship. "Those damn renegades...You were supposed to finish them."
"I didn't anticipate a real fight," Zodomas said.
"A real - That was the whole purpose of being there!" Vekar shouted. "Get back to the Flux World. Then bring down that Blue Ranger, and the rest of the Rangers, quickly!"
"I will, without effort," Zodomas said. "Now that I know what I am up against, I will defeat the Blue Ranger in five seconds, no longer."
Argus stepped forward. "Don't underestimate him," he said. "He practices the dual-wield style, with great skill."
"What?" Zodomas asked. "How would you know that?"
Argus said nothing.
Kym returned to the Legacy Galleon and met with Tyler, Mat and Kira in the crew deck.
"He told me to leave him alone..." Kym said.
Tyler leaned back in his chair. "He doesn't want us to fight that Action Commander..."
"But why?" she asked. "We're his teammates, aren't we?"
"That doesn't mean we have to do everything together," Tyler said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Kym asked.
Tyler crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing.
Kym sighed and stormed from the crew deck. "What is wrong with everyone on this ship?"
Kym leaned on the lookout post on the Legacy Galleon's sail. Kira walked behind her and placed a blanket over her shoulders.
"You'll catch a cold out here..." Kira said as she leaned next to her friend. "Do you know why Seth's obsessed with swords?"
Kym shook her head. "No..."
"I don't either," Kira said. "But...this is what I think: He probably has some painful memory he's not telling us about...about the person who taught him swordsmanship."
"Why would you think that?" Kym asked.
"I asked him about it once," she said. "When I did...he had this expression. One I hadn't seen on him before. He said 'don't ask me about that, please.' That's why I didn't say anything about it again, and left him alone, like he asked. Because we're teammates. Comrades...I want to believe that, if he wants to be alone, he has a reason for it."
Seth stayed in the woods until nightfall. The forest shifted from a thriving woodland, to a dead wasteland, and then back again.
The ranger cut the ropes around him, unleashing a flurry of swords and daggers that shot towards him. He closed his eyes and pictured the attack of Zodomas.
Seth snapped his eyes open and slashed through the blades, parrying and blocking with speed and elegance.
A dagger shot towards his head. The ranger chopped his power saber, splitting the blade in two.
Seth breathed heavily as the split blade clattered to the ground. "Alright..." he said between breaths. "I can do this..."
Navi flapped across the crew hold of the Legacy Galleon. "The Armada! The Armada! They've sent down an Action Commander!" the navigation droid warned. "Point 346 Mark 7!"
Kym stirred awake on the couch.
"Seth..." she whispered as she ran from the ship.
Seth walked through a forest of bamboo trees within the northern hemisphere of the Flux World. He stopped when he noticed Kym standing in front of him.
"You're persistent..." Seth said as he started to walk around her.
Kym grabbed him gently by the back of his jacket.
"Seth..." she said. She pulled out her Power Saber and handed Seth the weapon. "Here..."
Seth arced an eyebrow. Reluctantly, he reached out and took the weapon. "You're OK with this?"
She shook her head. "No...but since we're comrades..."
She smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Thanks..." Seth said.
With his weapons in hand, he walked off to face the Action Commander.
Zodomas stepped onto the barren, white sands of Hueco Mundo, a fragment of a realm inhabited by evil spirits called Hollows. The desolate wasteland spread across the northern pole of the Flux World.
Seth carried his two Power Sabers and stalked towards the monster.
Zodomas shifted into a defensive stance. "So...You've come."
Seth nodded. "And this time...I'm cutting you down."
"Try it..." Zodomas said.
Seth tossed his swords into the air and armed his morpher. "POOOOOOWER RANGERS!"
He morphed into his armor and caught his swords.
The Blue Ranger and Action Commander charged towards each other. They clashed swords with bursts of spark, weapons clanging, as they circled around one another.
Kym had followed but kept her distance. She crouched behind a white rock and watched as the two opponents dodged and parried each other's blows.
Zodomas stepped back to gain distance. "Have a taste of my deadly sword technique!"
The monster moved his sword through a circle, forming a ring of shadow sabers. He thrust his sword; the sabers shot at the Blue Ranger like arrows.
The Blue Ranger twirled his Power Sabers. He blocked and parried the shadow swords with bursts of spark. Focusing his power, he moved with precision and speed, wasting no movement to hack the enemy's sabers away.
Suddenly, a trip of Zergs pounced as if from nowhere. Two grabbed the Blue Ranger by the legs, and the other grabbed the Blue Ranger from behind.
"What..."
The shadow sabers speared the Blue Ranger with bursts of spark.
Zodomas lunged and slashed the Ranger off his feet. The Blue Ranger crashed and tumbled aside.
Kym narrowed her eyes. "You coward!" she shouted as she stood from behind the rock. "That wasn't fair!"
"Foolish girl," Zodomas said. "There's no fair or unfair in a duel...only winning."
The monster stepped closer to the fallen Blue Ranger and stomped on his back.
"Seth!" Kym shouted as she ran towards him. She inserted her Ultimate Pink Ranger Key into her morpher: "POOOOOWER RANGERS!"
A group of X-Borgs swarmed across the sands and charged at the Pink Ranger. She smashed through them with punches and kicks, trying to fight her way closer to her comrade.
More X-Borgs blocked her path and used their staffs to hold her back.
Nearby, Zodomas lifted his blade to strike the fallen Blue Ranger. "Goodbye, novice."
Suddenly, bullets blasted the monster's armor with bursts of spark, sending him staggering backward. The monster crashed and tumbled aside, and when he rolled to his knees, he looked up to see the Red Ranger, Green Ranger and Yellow Ranger arrive on the scene.
The Zergs regrouped and charged towards the three Rangers.
A Zerg chopped its mace-like fist at the Red Ranger. The Ultimate Red Ranger parried and slashed the Zerg backward.
The Yellow Ranger ducked beneath a strike and slashed the Zerg to the ground.
The Green Ranger kicked and slashed a Zerg backward.
Nearby, the Blue Ranger climbed to his feet. He saw that his comrades had the grunts occupied, so he lifted his swords and charged towards Zodomas.
The other four Rangers slashed and shot through X-Borgs as they regrouped.
"You guys came!" the Pink Ranger shouted between strikes.
"Of course we came," the Yellow Ranger said as she slashed the last X-Borg to the ground. "We're comrades."
The four Rangers stood alongside each other and faced the remaining Zergs.
"Time to go Legendary," the Red Ranger said as they pulled out their Jungle Fury Keys.
"Jungle Beast! Spirit, unleash!" They inserted their Keys into their morphers: "JUUUUUUUUNGLE FURY!"
Tyler shifted into the Red Tiger Ranger, Mat shifted into the Violet Wolf Ranger, Kira shifted into the Yellow Cheetah Ranger, and Kym shifted into the White Rhino Ranger.
The Zergs fired bursts of blue energy that exploded around the Rangers. The Rangers leaped through the explosion t attack.
Red Tiger landed with a flurry of palm-heel strikes that bashed a Zerg several steps backward. The Red Ranger dodged a counterstrike, and then bashed both hands against the Zerg with a burst of spark. The blow hurled the grunt off its feet.
The Violet Wolf Ranger lunged with a knee blow that bashed a Zerg's chest. The Ranger kneed and elbowed the Zerg, forcing the grunt back with each blow, which sparked on impact.
"Grr. Argh." The Violet Wolf Ranger spun with an elbow strike that whipped the grunt off its feet.
Yellow Cheetah armed her Geki Bow and swung the weapon to parry a Zerg's punches. She stabbed the grunt and hurled him overhead.
While the Zerg flailed through the air, White Rhino armed her fist weapon: The Rhino Blade. She leaped upward and swung through streaks of orange energy, slashing the grunt with bursts of spark that knocked him from the air.
The Zerg crashed alongside his fellow grunts, as the four Rangers regrouped.
They armed their DECA Ranger Keys.
"SPD! Emergency!" They slid their Keys into their morphers. "DEEEEEECA RANGERS!"
Nick shifted into DECA Red, Mat shifted into DECA Green, Kira shifted into DECA Yellow, and Kym shifted into DECA Pink.
DECA Red pulled out his twin blasters. "D-Magnums!" He combined the weapons into a short-rifle. "Hyper Magnum!"
The other rangers combined their D-Knuckles and D-Batons. "D-Blasters!"
"Let's make this showy," DECA Red said.
They opened fire with bursts of energy that tore through the Zergs, scattering them to pieces with massive bursts of spark and flame.
Nearby, Zodomas fired another wave of shadow sabers at the Blue Ranger.
The Ultimate Blue Ranger twirled his blades, slashing through the sabers with bursts of spark.
"I've seen through your attack," the Blue Ranger said as he parried and slashed through shadow blades.
The Blue Ranger charged through the assault and stabbed Zodomas with bursts of spark, knocking him backward.
"You're finished," the Blue Ranger said.
"Oh really?" Zodomas asked as he climbed to his feet.
His chest fired tendrils that stabbed towards the Blue Ranger. The attack surprised him; he staggered backward and slashed the tendrils with bursts of spark.
The Blue Ranger dove and rolled for cover. But the monster sprouted more bladed tendrils that lashed towards him.
Zodomas plunged two tendrils into the sand. The tendrils sprouted behind the Blue Ranger and slashed him to the ground.
The monster stalked towards the Blue Ranger. "It's time we finished this..."
"Seth!" the Pink Ranger shouted as she started to run towards him.
The Red Ranger held him back. "Wait..." he said. "He's fine. He just needs a few more."
"A few more what?" the Pink Ranger asked.
The Red Ranger unsheathed his Power Saber.
"Seth, catch!" the Red Ranger shouted as he tossed his teammate his sword.
The Yellow Ranger tossed her own blade towards the Blue Ranger. "I'm charging a rental fee."
The Green Ranger tossed his sword. "You're going on the next 10 errand trips."
The Blue Ranger stood and caught the three blades. He held them in his left hand, and grasped the other two swords in his right hand, as he stepped into a fighting stance.
Zodomas tilted his head. "A five-sword style? You can't be serious..."
The monster extended his arms and launched another volley of tendrils. Several shot towards the Ranger from the front. Others arced around him from behind.
The Blue Ranger jumped and spun like a tornado, slashing the tendrils with bursts of spark. He landed and swung his swords through streaks of blue energy, shattering the monster's blades.
Zodomas staggered backward.
The Blue Ranger flipped open his buckler. "It's time for the finisher."
The buckler snapped out five Ranger Keys: Mystic Blue, Galaxy Blue, Samurai Blue, Hurricane Blue, and Seraph Blue.
The Keys snapped shut and landed in the Blue Ranger's five swords. The swords ebbed and pulsed with blue energy. "FIIIIIINAL WAAAVE!"
"Five-Sword Style! Blue Slash!" He spun and swung his swords through streaks of blue energy.
The blades burst with hydro energy that fired the auras of five Blue Rangers: Mystic Blue, Galaxy Blue, Samurai Blue, Hurricane Blue, and Seraph Blue - each slashed past the monster with massive bursts of spark.
The Ultimate Blue Ranger spun towards the villain and swung all five blades through streaks of blue energy, tearing through the monster's body with massive bursts of spark.
The impact hurled the monster off his feet as secondary explosions ripped through his armor.
From orbit, the Armada Flagship fired its enlargement beams. The beams splashed against the fallen monster and Zergs. The four enemies expanded and grew giant.
The Zergs shifted into fighter mode, and Zodomas leapt onto the vehicles.
"Huh," the Red Ranger said as he looked up. "Stubborn bastards, aren't they?"
The Zergs fired blue energy beams that exploded around the Rangers with massive bursts of flame.
The Red Ranger rolled to his feet, flipped open his morpher, and pressed a series of command codes that summoned their vessel. "LEEEEEGACY GALLEON!"
The ship flew through the skies and lowered grappling lines. The Rangers grabbed the lines, which reeled them onto the vessel.
The Rangers gathered in their cockpit.
The Red Ranger grasped his wheel. "Ultimate fusion."
"ULLLLLTIMATE FUSION!" The ship split into five different zords, which twirled through the air and combined into a massive robo.
"Ultimate Megazord!" the Rangers shouted.
The Red Ranger pulled out his Mystic Red Key. "Let's bring out the Dragon."
The Rangers inserted their Mystic Keys into their wheels and shifted. "Ranger Keys, set!"
The Megazord flashed with energy. Compartments flipped open, and the Mystic Dragon appeared on the Megazord's chest, its wings spread.
"Ultimate Mystic Megazord!" the Rangers shouted.
The Megazord shot through the air and looped in behind the monster. Ultimate Mystic Megazord fired bursts of flame that Zodomas swerved to dodge.
Zodomas spun around and fired bladed spears that shot towards the robo.
The Rangers snapped their wheels; the Megazord dodged as the blades exploded around them.
The Ultimate Mystic Megazord fired a stream of flame that punctured through the Zergs, blowing them to pieces and hurling Zodomas through the air.
The giant crashed and skid across the surface.
The Rangers twisted their Mystic Keys. "Mystic Bind!"
The dragon flashed with golden energy, separated from the Megazord, and shot towards Zodomas. The dragon circled the monster and surrounded him with three rings of magical power.
Zodomas tried to break free from the rings, but they bound him with strands of energy, thrashing him with bursts of spark.
Mystic Dragon swerved, surged forward, and recombined with the Megazord.
The magick rings circled the monster with flashes of power. Columns of light erupted from the center of the circles, ripping Zodomas to pieces.
The monster collapsed to his knees as the rings tightened, cutting through his body with bursts of spark. Zodomas screamed as he exploded into ash.
The Ultimate Blue Ranger snapped. "Checkmate."
The teens returned to the Legacy Galleon following their battle. Seth pulled Kym aside on their way to the crew quarters.
"Thanks," he said softly. "For...you know...understanding...and not prying."
"You're welcome," she said with a smile. "After all, we're teammates, right?"
"Right," Seth said with a grin.
They went into the crew quarters, where Tyler stood next to Navi. He crossed his arms over his chest and finished a conversation with droid.
"You're saying we have to look for an island in the sky?" Tyler asked.
"That's right!" Navi said. The droid often saw snippets of visions, which guided the Rangers on their journey to discover the truth behind the Shattering. "That's where you'll find Simon! The one from the Mystic Force Time Shard! He's the next step..."
Tyler sighed. "OK, then," he said. "Mat-"
Suddenly, the galleon trembled. The teens looked out the viewport, and below, the world itself began to unravel.
Seth narrowed his eyes. "Another Flux World falling apart..."
"Not just any Flux World," Kym said. "An Earth."
"There are others," Tyler said. "Come on. Let's go find this Sky Island."
The rangers went into their cockpit and snapped their wheels, flying away from the Flux World as it unraveled into strings of energy, which shattered into infinite pieces.
To be continued...Chapter 06