Author's note:This story begins in 2001. It takes place about a week after the prologue.
The Dragon's Rise: Chapter One
The Legacy Begins
Fifteen-year-old Jason Scott walked through the shoulder-packed crowd in Angel's Square with his jaw clenched and his hands rolled into fists.
The rush and commotion of the neon-light filled techno-maze put New York's Time Square to shame. Angel Grove was truly awe-inspiring, even for people like Jason, who had lived in the city his entire life.
He paid no attention to the sidewalk merchants selling stolen Rolexes to make a few bucks. Tourists were the only people who ever spared the salesmen a glance.
Jason kept his focus on the street ahead of him as it split off into a "Y." A skyscraper stood in between the two prongs of the "Y." The skyscraper had a massive television screen that was broadcasting a news update on the alleged terrorist attack in Angel Grove Central that had occurred a week earlier.
Jason shook his head. He knew for a fact it wasn't terrorists...it was Bandora.
What is that witch waiting for?Jason thought as he eyed each person that passed him with suspicion. Man...I wish I knew what I was getting myself into...wish this would just get over with.
The daily rush hour suddenly stopped. Cars screeched to a halt, and the crowd glanced towards the skies with gasps of shock and panic. The clouds above had turned into dark, twisted pools of neon-purple energy.
Purple lightning bolts shot from the clouds and tore through buildings with massive explosions. Everyone screamed and ran for cover to escape the fiery debris and shards of glass raining down around them.
Jason stood tall and still as he looked up at the sky. He buried his fear and covered it with grim determination
The streets eventually cleared, and the young teen found himself alone. The lightning stopped, and an eerie, unusual quiet hung in the air.
Jason looked around the empty streets. His impatience was growing. "Come out!"
An electronic billboard started flashing with static on a building behind Jason. An armored figure leapt from the billboard and jumped towards Jason while swinging a chained blade towards the teen's head.
Jason flipped out of the way as the blade struck the ground behind him. He turned and snapped into a fighting stance. "So...you finally decided to show up."
The villain held his chained blade at the ready. The warrior's bulky armor was dark gray and medieval-styled in nature. Two large spikes curved up from the warrior's shoulder armor, and smaller spikes stuck out from his elbows and knees.
"Fool..." the villain spoke from beneath a helmet that hid his true face in darkness. "Do you really think you are a match for Bandora's power?"
"You're about to find out!" Jason charged forward with a flying reverse sidekick that smashed against the villain's chest armor.
The warrior stumbled backward, recovered, and smashed the back of his fist across Jason's face. Jason crashed against the ground and skid backward across the pavement.
Nearby, a 9-year-old blonde-haired boy named Simon Kaden ran to the scene. He had been separated from his sister during the commotion of the attack and was trying to find her.
Simon skid to a halt and opened his eyes wide at the sight of Jason and the armored monster. Most boys would have been afraid. But Simon was not like most boys. "Whoa!"
"Simon!" an unseen voice called to him.
"Over here!" he shouted.
His older sister Maya Koji ran towards him from a nearby alleyway. Maya and Simon lived with foster parents in Angel Grove North. Simon had seen many brothers and sisters come and go, but Maya was a constant in his life. He often considered her his only real family, even though they were not related by blood.
Maya stopped in her tracks when she saw Jason standing up to the armored warrior.
"Is that...?" she said quietly as she brushed her long, dark hair from her face. She recognized the monster and could even remember its name: The DoraTitan. Her grandfather often spoke of such monsters and warriors, but she had always thought him crazy. Apparently she was wrong.
DoraTitan swung his chained blade towards the ground and shouted "Ground Quaker!"
The blade stabbed into the pavement, and a massive energy wave erupted that tore across the street towards Jason. He jumped out of the way, causing the energy wave to move towards Maya and Simon.
"No!" Jason shouted as he jumped back and pushed Simon and Maya out of the way. The energy wave barely missed them as it ripped across the pavement and exploded against a nearby building.
"Get out of here," Jason shouted to the two siblings. "Now!"
A chain suddenly wrapped around Jason's neck and snapped him off his feet. DoraTitan swung the teenager around in circles and smashed him against nearby buildings. Jason felt the wind knock out of him and several ribs crack before DoraTitan slammed him back onto the street and released his hold.
Jason, bruised and battered, struggled to get back onto his feet.
DoraTitan's mocking laugh sounded metallic and cold. "Pathetic human."
The monster threw his weapon towards the teenager's head. Jason stared at the blade as it spun towards his face. This is it...He braced himself for a death blow that never came. A foot snapped out and kicked the weapon away. It was another teen, Zack Taylor.
"Having trouble standing?" Zack said with a smile and reached his hand towards Jason to help him up.
Jason wrinkled his brow and stood on his own. He had only known Zack for a week and was already sick of his cockiness. Three other teenagers arrived on the scene: Kimberly Hart, Billy Cranston, and Trini Kwan.
They all stood behind Jason as Maya watched. The sight of the five teenagers was surreal, but familiar. "These five...these are the five that grandpa told me about."
DoraTitan swung his blade back into his hand. "Do you really think your friends will be able to help you? You are all nothing compared to me!"
Jason and the others readied hand-held devises, each with a different golden coin in its center.
"It's time to take it up a notch..." Jason said.
"Dino Buckler!" the five teens shouted as they thrust the bucklers forward and flipped them open.
Energy shimmered around the teenagers, and they transformed into multi-colored suits of skin-tight armor.
Maya's eyes lit up. "It is them!"
The teenagers snapped into fighting stances and shouted their names.
"Tyranno Ranger, Red!" Jason yelled.
"Mammoth Ranger, Black!" Zack called.
"Tricera Ranger, Blue!" Billy shouted.
"Tiger Ranger, Yellow!" Trini yelled.
"Ptera Ranger, Pink!" Kimberly shouted.
"Battle Task Force..." Tyranno Ranger called out. They shouted together: "Power Rangers!"
"So..." the villain said. "You show your true skins now."
"Let's get him!" Tyranno Ranger shouted.
The five Rangers rushed to attack DoraTitan. But their attack patterns were random and lacked any strategy.
DoraTitan blocked a kick from Tyranno Ranger and slashed him across the chest, blade sparking on impact and whipping the Red Ranger off his feet. The monster turned and swung his blade through an x-shaped pattern that slashed across Mammoth Ranger and Tricera Ranger, knocking them backward. DoraTitan swung his weapon through a wide horizontal arc that slashed across Ptera Ranger and Tiger Ranger's armor with a massive burst of spark.
The Rangers regrouped.
"We have to hit him from different angles. Distract him," Tricera Ranger said.
"No." Mammoth Ranger pushed Tricera Ranger away. "We just have to hit him low and take him off guard."
"Could you two stop?" Tyranno Ranger said with growing frustration in his voice.
DoraTitan swung a shockwave that exploded against all five Rangers with bursts of spark.
Nearby, Maya continued to watch. She shook her head at the sight of the Rangers getting blasted down. "No! Rangers! The five of you have to work together to beat him!"
The Rangers and DoraTitan looked towards Maya and Simon. The monster stepped closer to the two siblings. "So...it appears you wish to join in on our fun."
DoraTitan whipped his chain around the two siblings, snapped them off their feet, and pulled them in close. He held his captives up for the Ranges to see. DoraTitan pressed his blade against Simon's neck.
"Let them go!" Tyranno Ranger shouted.
"Very well." DoraTitan threw Simon and Maya backward into a television billboard. The two siblings were absorbed into the billboard and appeared as if on television.
Mammoth Ranger rushed towards the villain. "He's mine!"
"Zack no!" Tyranno Ranger shouted.
"Mammoth Breaker!" Mammoth Ranger armed his axe and leapt through the air towards the monster. He landed while slashing DoraTitan across the chest with a burst of spark. Maya and Simon screamed.
"What?" Mammoth Ranger said with shock. DoraTitan backhand slashed his blade across the Black Ranger's chest, knocking him backward. The Black Ranger rolled to his feet as the others regrouped around him.
"That was stupid, Zack." Tyranno Ranger said.
"What?!" Mammoth Ranger said.
"There appears to be some kind of connection now between the creature and the two civilians," Tricera Ranger asked.
"What kind of connection?" Ptera Ranger asked.
"If we hurt him," Tiger Ranger explained, "Those two will feel it!"
"You know what I hate about an itch?" the villain asked. "You just can't help but scratch it!" The villain scratched his blade along his armor, and Maya and Simon screamed with pain.
"Enough is enough!" Tyranno Ranger shouted. "Tyranno Sword!" He summoned his sword with a burst of red energy.
"Jason no," Tricera Ranger put a hand on the Red Ranger's shoulder. But Tyranno Ranger shrugged his teammate off.
"I know what I'm doing." Tyranno Ranger charged towards the monster. "Power Blade!" He chopped his sword down, and the blade emitted a massive energy wave that tore across the street, disintegrated the monster, and exploded through a nearby building.
Simon and Maya fell from the screen's pocket dimension and crashed onto the street below. Ptera Ranger ran to them to make sure they were okay. The others stared with amazement at the building Tyranno Ranger had cut through with his attack. They did not realize they had such power.
"That was cool!" Simon yelled as he stared at the damaged building.
A streak of light suddenly shot from the skies and struck DoraTitan's ashes, and the fallen monster reassembled into a giant that towered over the city.
The Rangers raised their hands into the air and shouted: "Dinozords arise!"
Five giant, armored dinosaurs appeared and stomped across the streets. Each beast moved as if alive, covered with shining armor. The Rangers leapt into cockpits embedded within the zords' armor.
"Simon, get back," Maya pulled Simon away towards cover.
Above, DoraTitan smashed a fist against the Tyrannosaurus. The red-armored zord went crashing backward and skid across the street, tearing up pavement along the way.
The Triceratops and Saber-toothed Tiger charged at the villain, but DoraTitan effortlessly kicked them away.
"He's too strong for our zords," Tricera Ranger said.
"Let's bring 'em together," Tyranno Ranger shouted. "Dinozord fusion!"
The five zords regrouped, stomped across the streets, and began to reshape. The Tyrannosaurus streaked forward, gliding off the ground, as the Triceratops and Saber-toothed Tiger slammed into position as legs. The Mammoth came in from behind, wrapped around the back of Tyranno, and formed arms. The Pterodactyl moved in and formed a shield of chest armor as the zord stood upright.
The Rangers joined in a central cockpit embedded in the Megazord's chest armor. "Megadinozord!" The Megadinozord snapped into a fighting stance as energy slithered across its armor.
DoraTitan swung his blade towards the Megazord, but Megadinozord blocked the weapon and smashed a series of backfist blows against the monster's armor, each strike sparking on impact.
DoraTitan stepped back into an offensive stance. "Do you really think you're safe inside that tin can?" The villain slashed his blade across the Megazord's faceplate.
"It's time to shut this metal head up," Tyranno Ranger shouted. "Megadinozord Saber! Battle Crash!"
Megadinozord armed its double-edged blade and lifted the sword to the air. Tendrils of energy lashed out from the blade as it swung downward with a powerful strike that cut through DoraTitan.
DoraTitan fell backward, his own energy overloading and exploding with a force that shook the earth below.
The Rangers hopped back down to the streets as Simon ran over to them with Maya not too far behind. "You guys are awesome!"
An evil laughter suddenly bellowed across the rooftops. The Rangers looked up to see an individual whose green armor looked a lot like theirs, except for a golden chest shield. Three others warriors stood on different rooftops along Angel's Square.
"You fools," the green-armored warrior shouted down to them.
"Who are you?" Tyranno Ranger shouted.
"We're the Dark Warlords..." the green-armored warrior said. "I am the Dragon Ranger, Warlord of Cruelty."
The warlord with dark-green, serpent-like armor lifted his head up high as he announced himself. "I am Secmet, Warlord of Venom."
The warlord with dark-purple, spider-like armor crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I am Dayus, Warlord of Illusion."
The final Warlord, who wore dark-brown armor and a red cape, held his sword in a casual fighting stance. "I am Kayl, Warlord of Deception."
"The creature you killed was but a pawn," Dragon Ranger said. "Bandora is ready to strike now...and when she does, nothing will stop your world from falling."
"We're not afraid of you!" Mammoth Ranger shouted.
"You will be..." Dragon Ranger and the other three warlords stepped backward and shimmered out of sight.
The seven below stared silently at where the warlords had vanished.
Tyranno Ranger rolled his hands up into fists. What are we getting ourselves into?
The next day, Jason kneeled at his twin sister's grave. It read that she died two weeks ago.
"You'll never guess what happened to me today." Jason sat silently for a moment. "I'm doing this for you...I don't want to see anyone else innocent die."
Tears streamed down his cheeks. "I couldn't save you... Master Ohm told me I can't save everyone...but maybe now I can."
To be continued...Chapter Two