Abare Killer
08-10-2008, 11:40 PM
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/abarekiller1/PR%20and%20Toku%20Pics/prmythslogo1.png
:abakill At last, the beginning of a new Power Rangers show! Five friends from an Internet forum must join together to fight against an ancient evil, using powers of mythical creatures long gone, linked to them through magic rings.
Opening Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmAnmz_2njQ
Cast:
Rangers:
Ragnarok Kaiser/Jayse: Myth Red
Devil Hunter/Angie: Myth Blue
Alice Cullen/Peg: Myth Pink
Harvey Dent/Dan: Myth Green
Filthy Hearts/Michel: Myth Yellow
Others:
Abare Killer/Beth: ?????
Yuuto/Martin: ?????
Villains:
Kurayami: Dark, ancient sorceress
Mr. Kennedy/Steve: General of Fire
The Ice Angel/Ice: General of Ice
Original Characters:
Professor Alistair Gavin: Mentor/historian
Miles Holden: Assistant to Alistair and technology expert
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A/N: Alright, to start off, I will say that the first chapter is mostly talk, and isn't very exciting. There's more action in the second chapter, but it's still not the best. Trust me that things will get better and more fun as it goes on! Also, a few of the characters don't show up in this chapter, but don't worry. They'll make their entrance soon. For now, please enjoy the first two episodes! Comments, reviews, questions, and suggestions are all appreciated!
So, without further ado, I give you Power Rangers Myths episode 1! Enjoy!
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"Rings of Fate part 1"
A loud sigh escaped from the lips of Miles Holden, barely audible above the sounds of the dig outside. The small tent did little to hide the noise of the tools and machines and the worker’s voices. Miles pushed his glass up on his nose and straightened out the white T-shirt he wore with his blue jeans and sneakers. He rolled his eyes over to the older, better dressed, slightly graying man who stood in front of a nearby table, pretending to read a book. Miles knew him well enough to know that he couldn’t read at a time as exciting as this. He sighed again louder, hoping to draw some attention from the only other person in the tent. Instead, the older man just muttered, seemingly to himself.
“Yes, it’s only a matter of time now,” he said quietly in his prim, very British voice. “After all these years, this is it.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Miles answered, his American accent contrasting with the other man’s. “Or maybe it’s just another dead end, like always. Ever thought of that, Professor Alistair Gavin?” He used his full name in the hopes that it would get his attention. It worked. Professor Gavin put down the book he was holding and turned to his younger apprentice, an expression of annoyance on his face.
“Those other times I just acted on hunches,” he said, waving his hand as if dismissing Miles’ comment. “This time, we’ve got real proof, real evidence…”
Miles scoffed, interrupting him. “Sure, if you call ancient writing scratched on the walls of caves ‘evidence’. If you call stories passed down for countless generations and told by drunken sailors ‘evidence’. If you call…” It was his turn to be interrupted.
“I do call that evidence, Miles,” Alistair said firmly. “It’s all we’ve got. All of history is based on old writings and stories told from generation to generation. It’s how we know what happened before our time.”
“But Professor, you’re looking at a time that most people doubt even exists, except in fairy tales,” the younger boy said, shaking his head, his near shoulder length blonde hair moving with him. “There’s no real, tangible evidence. No artifacts, no fossils…” He counted the items on his fingers as he said them.
“Really Miles, I thought you believed in this as much as I do. That’s one reason I hired you as my assistant, besides your incredible mind for technology.”
The blonde held up a hand as a sign of peace, sighing again softly. “I do believe, Professor. Or at least, I want to believe. It’s just…” He paused, trying to think of how to word this. “I was with you at those other two digs, the one in Egypt and the one in England. Both times, you were terribly disappointed afterwards, and depressed for weeks.” He walked over to the historian and put his hand on his shoulder gently. “You’re not just my boss, but my friend. I just don’t want to see you disappointed again.”
The professor smiled faintly. “Thank you for your concern, but this time, I am very certain. All the evidence points to this spot on the island of Crete, and if it’s not here…”
He was interrupted again, this time by one of the workers entering the tent. He spoke excitedly in some native dialect that Miles didn’t understand, but Alistair answered in the same language, obviously growing excited.
He turned to Miles and said in English, “They’ve found something.”
* * *
Miles stared in awe at the huge cavern they had entered. A few days ago, a solid rock wall had blocked this cave, but the men had worked fast, encouraged by Professor Gavin’s money. He didn’t have much time to look around however. The professor hurried him along, his face pale with excitement. The young computer geek had to admit that this was pretty exciting. Alistair had spent a good amount of his life searching for this, and it seemed as if his efforts were about to be rewarded. And if that was true…if all the stories about this thing were true…there was no telling what would happen.
At last, they reached the end of the large cavern and entered a smaller one. What he saw there made Miles stop suddenly, causing a worker walking behind him to bump into his back. But he paid no attention. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the sight before him.
It looked like an altar of some kind. In the center there was something that looked like a podium. Surrounding it were sets of small finger rings, each set having two rings set with the same color stone. Miles counted seven sets in all, the sets evenly spaced on little podiums of their own. The amazing thing, however, was that from each ring, a ray of light the color of their stone shone towards the center podium, and right above it a ball of white light floated. It shone brightly and was almost blinding to look at.
Next to him, Professor Gavin’s voice cut into his awe. “My goodness…” he whispered breathily. “It…it’s exactly as I pictured it. All the rings are here. All seven colors; red, blue, yellow, pink, and green, and the black and white…so this is where they sealed her…”
Miles struggled to think for a second, and then stumbled out, “Oh right, the sorceress, um, Ku-Kura…”
“Kurayami. She was very dangerous. Which is why we must be sure not to disturb any of these rings. There’s no telling what will happen if…” But he was too late. As he was speaking, one of the workers reached out to grab one of the red rings, moving it only a few inches. Immediately, the white ball of light grew immensely stronger and larger, seeming to fill the entire cavern. A moment later, the light faded, and before them hovered the most beautiful and the most cruel-looking woman Miles had ever seen. She took one look at the worker who had moved the ring and he burst into a black flame, screaming in agony for a few moments before disappearing completely.
Everyone else in the cavern moved back several steps, some even fleeing entirely. Miles stared wide-eyed at her, studying her with both fear and curiosity. She wore a long, sleeveless black dress that revealed her shoulders entirely. Her hair was jet black and tied behind her head in a ponytail. From his angle, Miles couldn’t tell how long it was. The most interesting part of her was her large wings, covered in feathers. They resembled pictures he had seen of angel’s wings, except that they were black. Her face was truly beautiful, yet truly dark. And her almost pure white skin contrasted deeply with all the black on her person.
Suddenly, she began to speak, startling Miles so much that he jumped a little. Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice him. Her voice was clear as a bell, but laced with a harshness that he had never heard before. She spoke in an unknown language, using strange words and sounds that no one could comprehend. She seemed to notice this immediately, and she stared at the professor for several moments. He stared back at her with a firm, solid expression. After about a minute had passed, she spoke in perfect English, keeping her eyes on Alistair. It was obvious that she had learned the language just by looking at him.
“What is the year?” she asked, her voice keeping the same cold, clear quality in this new language. Miles noticed that she spoke with an accent similar to Professor Gavin’s, which made sense, he figured, since she had “learned” the language from him. “How long have I been imprisoned?”
“Madam, it has been over ten thousand years since you were sealed away in this altar.” If the historian was afraid, he didn’t show it.
“Ten thousand…?” The woman looked away for a moment as if shocked at this number. As she looked down, her eyes focused on the rings surrounding her. An angry expression flashed across her face and she pointed her arm at the ones closest to her, uttering some words in the language she had used earlier. Miles stepped back a bit more, preparing for the worst. However, to his surprise, and apparently to the surprise of the sorceress, nothing happened.
“What is this?” she asked in an angry voice as powerful as a storm. “Why did the accursed rings not cease to exist when I command them?”
“It seems, madam,” Alistair said, sounding cool and almost condescending, “that your spells do not work in this age.” Miles thought he noticed a sense of relief around his boss, but he remained silent.
The sorceress turned back to the professor with black fire in her eyes. “How dare you suggest such a thing!” She stretched her hand towards him an uttered another spell, but again, nothing happened. Then she sighed loudly, seeming to calm down a bit. “It seems as though you are right, human. But nevertheless I will have my revenge on these rings. I must learn the magic of your time, and then, I will take over this world, as it should have been in the past!”
With that, she darted towards them in the air, flapping her black wings slightly, moving swiftly towards the entrance of the cave. As she passed Miles, she glared at him, but said nothing, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
* * *
***Six Months Later***
Miles watched the young adults as they looked around the room with question marks on their faces. He grinned, knowing that each of them wondered why they had been called there, knowing that he already knew the answer. They had all arrived on schedule, thanks to the professor paying for their transportation here. It seemed as if they hadn’t even noticed each other at first. They were too busy gazing in awe at the beautifully decorated foyer of the mansion, with its amazing artwork on the walls, and the ancient jars and other artifacts placed around the room in glass cases on top of pedestals.
As they stood around on the plush, fancy carpet, Miles sat at the foot of the lavish staircase in the center of the room, feeling perfectly comfortable when he knew that they were not. He had lived in this mansion with Alistair for the last few years, as his friend and assistant, and he knew his way around it.
“The professor will be down shortly,” he told the five strangers, who gave a start and turned to him as if they had forgotten he was there. He wasn’t offended though. There were more interesting things to see here than a geek of a man around their age. They said nothing in return, so Miles continued to study them in silence.
Suddenly, one of the strangers cried out, breaking through the silence of the room and shocking everyone.
“PEG! Is that you?” The tall, African-American man had just noticed a shorter, thin girl with long brown hair. His face was full of anticipation and surprise, while she looked more confused and a bit cautious.
“Yeah, I’m Peg,” she said, sounding a bit annoyed. “How do you know my name?”
“Peg, it’s me, Jayse,” he replied. “Don’t you recognize me?” Peg squinted at him thoughtfully for a split second before her eyes widened with recognition.
“Jayse! It is you! I’ve only seen you in pictures, so I didn’t notice!” She threw her arms around her neck and he hugged her back. Before they had a chance to say anything else, a boy with short brown hair broke in.
“Jayse! Peg! What are you doing here?” They looked at him questioningly before he burst out, “It’s me, Dan!” There was another cry of excitement and an exchange of hugs before the other girl there, a dark-haired Asian girl, exclaimed, “Wow, I never expected to see you guys here. I’m Angie!” With that came another round of surprise and hugs.
Then, the last person there, a pale young man with black hair and a dark goatee, scoffed and said with a sarcastic smile, “Heh, I guess no one noticed me.”
The African-American man, Jayse, looked at him and smiled broadly. “Michel, is that you?” When he nodded, the others rushed to him and hugged him, and he smiled sincerely and hugged back. The room was filled with them talking excitedly all at once.
Miles watched all of this with silent shock, but at last, he found his voice. He stood up and looked around at them. “Wait, you guys already know each other?” They all turned to him as he spoke, again looking as if they hadn’t noticed his presence.
“Yeah, we do,” the youngest one, Dan, said in a hyper, fast voice. “We all met on the Internet and we’ve been friends for years.”
Jayse nodded. “And we’ve never met in person before. How weird is it that we all got summoned to this weird place?”
“Yeah, what are we doing here anyways?” Michel asked, giving Miles a suspicious look and folding his arms across his chest. Before the young genius could answer, Angie, the Asian girl, interrupted with a laugh.
“Who cares, as long as we get to hang out for a while?” She wore a huge grin on her face, which made her look cute and playful.
“Yeah, I hope we get to hang out,” Peg said. “But I’m sure we were called here for more than just that. It seemed important.”
“Yes, it is important. You were called here for matters of utmost importance to the future of our world.” All eyes turned to the top of the stairs, where Professor Alistair Gavin stood, looking down at them in his expensive gray suit. Miles gave a silent sigh of relief, glad that he was spared having to explain everything to these five friends. He turned back to them to see that they were confused, maybe even a little frightened, after the professor’s strange words. The youngest one, Dan, seemed undaunted.
“The future of the world, huh?” He shrugged. “Why not just call in a team of Power Rangers to help?” The others nodded and murmured in agreement. Miles couldn’t help but smile. At least these kids knew their stuff. But Alistair kept a straight, serious face as he started down the stairs.
“Yes, that is what I am doing,” he said casually. “Now, if you will follow me into the drawing room.” He headed to a room off to the right of the foyer, motioning to the others to follow, as they looked at each other in silent confusion, wondering what he could mean by that. Miles joined them, although he was not invited. He couldn’t resist watching to see their reactions to what Alistair had to tell them.
Once everyone had seated themselves around a long mahogany table, all eyes resting expectantly on the professor, he cleared his throat and began, speaking in the solemn, even tone he used when giving lectures. Miles knew that his students were always bored with this voice, but he felt certain that these “students” would not be so bored.
“As I said, I summoned you all here for a very important reason,” Alistair began. He looked around at each of the young adults as he spoke. “But in order to explain why, we’re going to have to go way back, to a time before commonly known history. I myself am an expert on this time period, because I dedicated my life to studying it. The majority of those in my profession do not even believe that this time period exists, but I always believed, which is why I continued to research. You may also be skeptical of it at first, but I promise that by the end of the day, you will know that it did happen and all of it is true.
“Now, I’m sure you all know about mythological creatures; dragons, unicorns, griffins, and the like. Well, it turns out that they are not just myths. A long, long time ago, these creatures actually existed. They lived with the humans, mostly in harmony, except for the few who didn’t, such as the trolls and goblins and other sorts of nasty creatures. Now…”
“Wait a minute…” Peg interrupted, staring at the professor with skeptical eyes. “You expect us to believe that dragons really existed? That would be cool, but it’s completely impossible.” Jayse put a hand on Peg’s shoulder, silencing her gently.
“Yeah, it does seem impossible, but we should at least hear him out, right? I mean, after all, he did spend all the money to bring us here. I’m sure he’s got some proof or something, right?” He looked over to the historian expectantly, but patiently.
“Yes, yes, there is proof, but you must hear the story first.” Alistair rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed. “Now please, no more interruptions.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “As I was saying, not all the creatures were good, and the worst of all of them was a terrible sorceress named Kurayami. She wanted to start a war against the humans and the creatures that helped them all over the world. She rallied armies of unsavory creatures to rampage the lands, burning and killing all that they could. It was a terrible time. The humans and creatures put up a resistance, but Kurayami was just too powerful.
“Finally, seven humans and seven creatures from different parts of the world came forward to battle the sorceress herself. They used magic to…”
Peg sighed loudly and deliberately. “Okay, now you want us to believe in magic? Why should we…”
“Peg!” her four friends cried in unison, causing her to fold her arms across her chest and stop talking.
Pretending not to be bothered, the professor continued. “They humans used magic to bind themselves to bind themselves with the mythical creatures, who were their partners, each using two magic rings of different colors. With this binding, the mythical creatures could form armor over the humans, similar to the suits you have seen on Power Rangers today. The armor protected the humans as well as granting them some of the powers of the individual creatures.
“With these new powers, the humans fought against Kurayami, eventually succeeding in sealing her using the rings. Unfortunately, they also had to seal their creature friends. They formed an altar with the rings and Kurayami’s spirit was sealed in the center. Now, the few historians who, like myself, believed in all of this have been searching for this altar for centuries, trying to prove that that really happened. All we had to go on were a few cave drawings and some stories that a certain race of people have passed down ever since those times.
“After decades of searching, and several wrong leads and useless archaeological digs, I finally found the altar and the rings.” He paused for effect, waiting for someone to respond. The others just looked at him incredulously, so he shrugged and continued again, after letting out a sigh. He explained to them everything that had happened at the dig, including finding the rings and how the sorceress was released. “So now, Kurayami is out there, somewhere.” He gave each of them a serious look. “She promised to learn the magic of our time. Of course, there isn’t any magic in our time that we know of, but I have a feeling that she’ll find a way to use her own magic. She’ll stop at nothing to take her revenge and take control of this world.”
Dan yawned sarcastically. “Okay, well, this has all been very interesting, but what does it have to do with us?”
“Yeah, what are we supposed to do about this sorceress lady?” Angie asked, looking confused.
Alistair groaned with annoyance. “It has everything to do with you, if you would just let me finish.” His harsh tone caused everyone to be quiet, except for Miles, who chuckled softly. He knew the professor well enough to be unfazed by his anger.
“Now, for the last six months,” the older man continued, shooting a silent glare at Miles and gesturing to him at the same time. “My assistant and I have been researching the rings. We discovered much about them and the powers they hold, and in our research, we were able to find out that they would chose people in any given time period to use them if it became necessary, such as if the sorceress broke free from the seal. With countless hours of research and a lot of help from technology, we were able to pinpoint the ones who the rings had chosen in this time; and that, my young friends, is where you come in. I called you here because you are the chosen ones, and the only ones who can use these rings to fight against Kurayami.” With that, he fell silent and simply watched the five young friends.
They too were silent for a moment, hardly believing what they were hearing. A minute later, they all burst into speech at once.
“What do you mean, we’re the chosen ones?” Dan cried.
“We’re just kids! Well, adults, but still like kids!” Angie insisted.
“We don’t know anything about saving the world, we’ve only seen Power Rangers on the news!” Jayse put in.
“How do we know that these ‘magic rings’ aren’t going to do something awful when we put them on?” Peg inquired.
“How are we supposed to trust you when we just met you today?” Michel asked.
The professor put his hands up in a way of asking for silence. “Please, please, just listen to me…” But they continued to talk all at the same time. At last, a loud, shrill whistle filled the room, causing complete silence amongst the humans. It continued to echo around them. Miles and Alistair exchanged anxious glances.
“That’s the sound I put on the alarm, in case…” Miles’ voice trailed off as he slid his chair over to a computer in a corner of the room. He tapped a couple of keys and the screen began showing a video. “This is showing downtown,” he explained. Everyone turned to the computer and saw something they never thought they’d see, except on the news. Each of the five young adults couldn’t help thinking that the Power Rangers would be there soon, until they remembered that THEY were supposed to be the Power Rangers now.
The screen showed a large group of strange creatures that looked for all the world like the goblins they had seen in fantasy movies. They were rampaging around the city; destroying cars, chasing people. But the onlookers only noticed that for a second before they saw Her. She wore the same long, sleeveless black dress that she had worn the day that Miles and Alistair had seen her released. In fact, she looked almost exactly the same as she had that day, with the one exception that her black hair was not in a ponytail, but was laying loosely around her bare shoulders. Her black-feathered wings were spread wide as she stood watching the carnage. And her face, her strong, beautiful face, wore the same serious and cruel expression.
The seven of them in the drawing room watched in silence for a moment, feeling shocked and horrified at what they were seeing. At last, Jayse spoke, saying in his own words what the five friends were thinking.
“Kurayami, I presume?” He chuckled nervously and turned to Alistair.
“Yes,” the historian said with a deep sigh. “That is Kurayami, and it seems as if she’s brought some friends with her.” He signaled for Miles to turn off the screen, then he stood before the others again. Their faces looked pale, as if they could hardly comprehend what they had seen. “That is what we are up against, and you can see now why we need you.” He nodded at Miles, who then opened a drawer in the desk next to him and pulled out a black briefcase, handing it to Alistair. Professor Gavin laid the briefcase on the table and opened it, revealing what seemed to be the inside of a large ring box. In fact, that’s exactly what it was, and everyone could see five sets of rings with different colored stones, just as the professor had described.
“These are the rings from the past, and they are your greatest weapon.” Alistair paused, his face softening from its detached seriousness as he looked around at the five young adults. “I know that I am asking a lot of you, but believe me that I would not if I had any other choice. You five are the only ones who can use these rings. You are the only ones who can save our world.”
A few minutes of uncomfortable silence followed as Jayse, Peg, Angie, Dan, and Michel considered all of this, keeping their eyes on the rings. Miles watched them with anticipation, as well as slight amusement, wondering what they would decide. Finally, Dan stood up and walked up to Alistair.
“I’m in,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve always wanted to be a Power Ranger. It sounds like fun!” The professor smiled at him, letting out a breath of relief. “So which ones are mine?” Alistair pointed to the green rings, which Dan picked up and quickly put on, one on each ring finger.
“Wait, Dan,” Jayse said, sounding anxious. “We need to think about this.”
“Yeah,” Peg agreed. “Who knows what we’re getting ourselves into?”
Dan just rolled his eyes at them. “Hey, you guys heard the man,” he said. “We’re the only ones who can do this.” He turned back to Professor Gavin. “Now, how do I use these things?” Alistair told him how, and he smiled again. “Alright, here goes nothing. Power of the Sea Serpent!” With these words, he spread his arms out in front of him, then bent his elbows so that his fists were facing each other. Then, he pushed them together so that the rings touched, and finally twisted his fists sideways in opposite directions. The others watched in shock as he was surrounded in a green light.
:abakill At last, the beginning of a new Power Rangers show! Five friends from an Internet forum must join together to fight against an ancient evil, using powers of mythical creatures long gone, linked to them through magic rings.
Opening Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmAnmz_2njQ
Cast:
Rangers:
Ragnarok Kaiser/Jayse: Myth Red
Devil Hunter/Angie: Myth Blue
Alice Cullen/Peg: Myth Pink
Harvey Dent/Dan: Myth Green
Filthy Hearts/Michel: Myth Yellow
Others:
Abare Killer/Beth: ?????
Yuuto/Martin: ?????
Villains:
Kurayami: Dark, ancient sorceress
Mr. Kennedy/Steve: General of Fire
The Ice Angel/Ice: General of Ice
Original Characters:
Professor Alistair Gavin: Mentor/historian
Miles Holden: Assistant to Alistair and technology expert
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A/N: Alright, to start off, I will say that the first chapter is mostly talk, and isn't very exciting. There's more action in the second chapter, but it's still not the best. Trust me that things will get better and more fun as it goes on! Also, a few of the characters don't show up in this chapter, but don't worry. They'll make their entrance soon. For now, please enjoy the first two episodes! Comments, reviews, questions, and suggestions are all appreciated!
So, without further ado, I give you Power Rangers Myths episode 1! Enjoy!
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"Rings of Fate part 1"
A loud sigh escaped from the lips of Miles Holden, barely audible above the sounds of the dig outside. The small tent did little to hide the noise of the tools and machines and the worker’s voices. Miles pushed his glass up on his nose and straightened out the white T-shirt he wore with his blue jeans and sneakers. He rolled his eyes over to the older, better dressed, slightly graying man who stood in front of a nearby table, pretending to read a book. Miles knew him well enough to know that he couldn’t read at a time as exciting as this. He sighed again louder, hoping to draw some attention from the only other person in the tent. Instead, the older man just muttered, seemingly to himself.
“Yes, it’s only a matter of time now,” he said quietly in his prim, very British voice. “After all these years, this is it.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Miles answered, his American accent contrasting with the other man’s. “Or maybe it’s just another dead end, like always. Ever thought of that, Professor Alistair Gavin?” He used his full name in the hopes that it would get his attention. It worked. Professor Gavin put down the book he was holding and turned to his younger apprentice, an expression of annoyance on his face.
“Those other times I just acted on hunches,” he said, waving his hand as if dismissing Miles’ comment. “This time, we’ve got real proof, real evidence…”
Miles scoffed, interrupting him. “Sure, if you call ancient writing scratched on the walls of caves ‘evidence’. If you call stories passed down for countless generations and told by drunken sailors ‘evidence’. If you call…” It was his turn to be interrupted.
“I do call that evidence, Miles,” Alistair said firmly. “It’s all we’ve got. All of history is based on old writings and stories told from generation to generation. It’s how we know what happened before our time.”
“But Professor, you’re looking at a time that most people doubt even exists, except in fairy tales,” the younger boy said, shaking his head, his near shoulder length blonde hair moving with him. “There’s no real, tangible evidence. No artifacts, no fossils…” He counted the items on his fingers as he said them.
“Really Miles, I thought you believed in this as much as I do. That’s one reason I hired you as my assistant, besides your incredible mind for technology.”
The blonde held up a hand as a sign of peace, sighing again softly. “I do believe, Professor. Or at least, I want to believe. It’s just…” He paused, trying to think of how to word this. “I was with you at those other two digs, the one in Egypt and the one in England. Both times, you were terribly disappointed afterwards, and depressed for weeks.” He walked over to the historian and put his hand on his shoulder gently. “You’re not just my boss, but my friend. I just don’t want to see you disappointed again.”
The professor smiled faintly. “Thank you for your concern, but this time, I am very certain. All the evidence points to this spot on the island of Crete, and if it’s not here…”
He was interrupted again, this time by one of the workers entering the tent. He spoke excitedly in some native dialect that Miles didn’t understand, but Alistair answered in the same language, obviously growing excited.
He turned to Miles and said in English, “They’ve found something.”
* * *
Miles stared in awe at the huge cavern they had entered. A few days ago, a solid rock wall had blocked this cave, but the men had worked fast, encouraged by Professor Gavin’s money. He didn’t have much time to look around however. The professor hurried him along, his face pale with excitement. The young computer geek had to admit that this was pretty exciting. Alistair had spent a good amount of his life searching for this, and it seemed as if his efforts were about to be rewarded. And if that was true…if all the stories about this thing were true…there was no telling what would happen.
At last, they reached the end of the large cavern and entered a smaller one. What he saw there made Miles stop suddenly, causing a worker walking behind him to bump into his back. But he paid no attention. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the sight before him.
It looked like an altar of some kind. In the center there was something that looked like a podium. Surrounding it were sets of small finger rings, each set having two rings set with the same color stone. Miles counted seven sets in all, the sets evenly spaced on little podiums of their own. The amazing thing, however, was that from each ring, a ray of light the color of their stone shone towards the center podium, and right above it a ball of white light floated. It shone brightly and was almost blinding to look at.
Next to him, Professor Gavin’s voice cut into his awe. “My goodness…” he whispered breathily. “It…it’s exactly as I pictured it. All the rings are here. All seven colors; red, blue, yellow, pink, and green, and the black and white…so this is where they sealed her…”
Miles struggled to think for a second, and then stumbled out, “Oh right, the sorceress, um, Ku-Kura…”
“Kurayami. She was very dangerous. Which is why we must be sure not to disturb any of these rings. There’s no telling what will happen if…” But he was too late. As he was speaking, one of the workers reached out to grab one of the red rings, moving it only a few inches. Immediately, the white ball of light grew immensely stronger and larger, seeming to fill the entire cavern. A moment later, the light faded, and before them hovered the most beautiful and the most cruel-looking woman Miles had ever seen. She took one look at the worker who had moved the ring and he burst into a black flame, screaming in agony for a few moments before disappearing completely.
Everyone else in the cavern moved back several steps, some even fleeing entirely. Miles stared wide-eyed at her, studying her with both fear and curiosity. She wore a long, sleeveless black dress that revealed her shoulders entirely. Her hair was jet black and tied behind her head in a ponytail. From his angle, Miles couldn’t tell how long it was. The most interesting part of her was her large wings, covered in feathers. They resembled pictures he had seen of angel’s wings, except that they were black. Her face was truly beautiful, yet truly dark. And her almost pure white skin contrasted deeply with all the black on her person.
Suddenly, she began to speak, startling Miles so much that he jumped a little. Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice him. Her voice was clear as a bell, but laced with a harshness that he had never heard before. She spoke in an unknown language, using strange words and sounds that no one could comprehend. She seemed to notice this immediately, and she stared at the professor for several moments. He stared back at her with a firm, solid expression. After about a minute had passed, she spoke in perfect English, keeping her eyes on Alistair. It was obvious that she had learned the language just by looking at him.
“What is the year?” she asked, her voice keeping the same cold, clear quality in this new language. Miles noticed that she spoke with an accent similar to Professor Gavin’s, which made sense, he figured, since she had “learned” the language from him. “How long have I been imprisoned?”
“Madam, it has been over ten thousand years since you were sealed away in this altar.” If the historian was afraid, he didn’t show it.
“Ten thousand…?” The woman looked away for a moment as if shocked at this number. As she looked down, her eyes focused on the rings surrounding her. An angry expression flashed across her face and she pointed her arm at the ones closest to her, uttering some words in the language she had used earlier. Miles stepped back a bit more, preparing for the worst. However, to his surprise, and apparently to the surprise of the sorceress, nothing happened.
“What is this?” she asked in an angry voice as powerful as a storm. “Why did the accursed rings not cease to exist when I command them?”
“It seems, madam,” Alistair said, sounding cool and almost condescending, “that your spells do not work in this age.” Miles thought he noticed a sense of relief around his boss, but he remained silent.
The sorceress turned back to the professor with black fire in her eyes. “How dare you suggest such a thing!” She stretched her hand towards him an uttered another spell, but again, nothing happened. Then she sighed loudly, seeming to calm down a bit. “It seems as though you are right, human. But nevertheless I will have my revenge on these rings. I must learn the magic of your time, and then, I will take over this world, as it should have been in the past!”
With that, she darted towards them in the air, flapping her black wings slightly, moving swiftly towards the entrance of the cave. As she passed Miles, she glared at him, but said nothing, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
* * *
***Six Months Later***
Miles watched the young adults as they looked around the room with question marks on their faces. He grinned, knowing that each of them wondered why they had been called there, knowing that he already knew the answer. They had all arrived on schedule, thanks to the professor paying for their transportation here. It seemed as if they hadn’t even noticed each other at first. They were too busy gazing in awe at the beautifully decorated foyer of the mansion, with its amazing artwork on the walls, and the ancient jars and other artifacts placed around the room in glass cases on top of pedestals.
As they stood around on the plush, fancy carpet, Miles sat at the foot of the lavish staircase in the center of the room, feeling perfectly comfortable when he knew that they were not. He had lived in this mansion with Alistair for the last few years, as his friend and assistant, and he knew his way around it.
“The professor will be down shortly,” he told the five strangers, who gave a start and turned to him as if they had forgotten he was there. He wasn’t offended though. There were more interesting things to see here than a geek of a man around their age. They said nothing in return, so Miles continued to study them in silence.
Suddenly, one of the strangers cried out, breaking through the silence of the room and shocking everyone.
“PEG! Is that you?” The tall, African-American man had just noticed a shorter, thin girl with long brown hair. His face was full of anticipation and surprise, while she looked more confused and a bit cautious.
“Yeah, I’m Peg,” she said, sounding a bit annoyed. “How do you know my name?”
“Peg, it’s me, Jayse,” he replied. “Don’t you recognize me?” Peg squinted at him thoughtfully for a split second before her eyes widened with recognition.
“Jayse! It is you! I’ve only seen you in pictures, so I didn’t notice!” She threw her arms around her neck and he hugged her back. Before they had a chance to say anything else, a boy with short brown hair broke in.
“Jayse! Peg! What are you doing here?” They looked at him questioningly before he burst out, “It’s me, Dan!” There was another cry of excitement and an exchange of hugs before the other girl there, a dark-haired Asian girl, exclaimed, “Wow, I never expected to see you guys here. I’m Angie!” With that came another round of surprise and hugs.
Then, the last person there, a pale young man with black hair and a dark goatee, scoffed and said with a sarcastic smile, “Heh, I guess no one noticed me.”
The African-American man, Jayse, looked at him and smiled broadly. “Michel, is that you?” When he nodded, the others rushed to him and hugged him, and he smiled sincerely and hugged back. The room was filled with them talking excitedly all at once.
Miles watched all of this with silent shock, but at last, he found his voice. He stood up and looked around at them. “Wait, you guys already know each other?” They all turned to him as he spoke, again looking as if they hadn’t noticed his presence.
“Yeah, we do,” the youngest one, Dan, said in a hyper, fast voice. “We all met on the Internet and we’ve been friends for years.”
Jayse nodded. “And we’ve never met in person before. How weird is it that we all got summoned to this weird place?”
“Yeah, what are we doing here anyways?” Michel asked, giving Miles a suspicious look and folding his arms across his chest. Before the young genius could answer, Angie, the Asian girl, interrupted with a laugh.
“Who cares, as long as we get to hang out for a while?” She wore a huge grin on her face, which made her look cute and playful.
“Yeah, I hope we get to hang out,” Peg said. “But I’m sure we were called here for more than just that. It seemed important.”
“Yes, it is important. You were called here for matters of utmost importance to the future of our world.” All eyes turned to the top of the stairs, where Professor Alistair Gavin stood, looking down at them in his expensive gray suit. Miles gave a silent sigh of relief, glad that he was spared having to explain everything to these five friends. He turned back to them to see that they were confused, maybe even a little frightened, after the professor’s strange words. The youngest one, Dan, seemed undaunted.
“The future of the world, huh?” He shrugged. “Why not just call in a team of Power Rangers to help?” The others nodded and murmured in agreement. Miles couldn’t help but smile. At least these kids knew their stuff. But Alistair kept a straight, serious face as he started down the stairs.
“Yes, that is what I am doing,” he said casually. “Now, if you will follow me into the drawing room.” He headed to a room off to the right of the foyer, motioning to the others to follow, as they looked at each other in silent confusion, wondering what he could mean by that. Miles joined them, although he was not invited. He couldn’t resist watching to see their reactions to what Alistair had to tell them.
Once everyone had seated themselves around a long mahogany table, all eyes resting expectantly on the professor, he cleared his throat and began, speaking in the solemn, even tone he used when giving lectures. Miles knew that his students were always bored with this voice, but he felt certain that these “students” would not be so bored.
“As I said, I summoned you all here for a very important reason,” Alistair began. He looked around at each of the young adults as he spoke. “But in order to explain why, we’re going to have to go way back, to a time before commonly known history. I myself am an expert on this time period, because I dedicated my life to studying it. The majority of those in my profession do not even believe that this time period exists, but I always believed, which is why I continued to research. You may also be skeptical of it at first, but I promise that by the end of the day, you will know that it did happen and all of it is true.
“Now, I’m sure you all know about mythological creatures; dragons, unicorns, griffins, and the like. Well, it turns out that they are not just myths. A long, long time ago, these creatures actually existed. They lived with the humans, mostly in harmony, except for the few who didn’t, such as the trolls and goblins and other sorts of nasty creatures. Now…”
“Wait a minute…” Peg interrupted, staring at the professor with skeptical eyes. “You expect us to believe that dragons really existed? That would be cool, but it’s completely impossible.” Jayse put a hand on Peg’s shoulder, silencing her gently.
“Yeah, it does seem impossible, but we should at least hear him out, right? I mean, after all, he did spend all the money to bring us here. I’m sure he’s got some proof or something, right?” He looked over to the historian expectantly, but patiently.
“Yes, yes, there is proof, but you must hear the story first.” Alistair rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed. “Now please, no more interruptions.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “As I was saying, not all the creatures were good, and the worst of all of them was a terrible sorceress named Kurayami. She wanted to start a war against the humans and the creatures that helped them all over the world. She rallied armies of unsavory creatures to rampage the lands, burning and killing all that they could. It was a terrible time. The humans and creatures put up a resistance, but Kurayami was just too powerful.
“Finally, seven humans and seven creatures from different parts of the world came forward to battle the sorceress herself. They used magic to…”
Peg sighed loudly and deliberately. “Okay, now you want us to believe in magic? Why should we…”
“Peg!” her four friends cried in unison, causing her to fold her arms across her chest and stop talking.
Pretending not to be bothered, the professor continued. “They humans used magic to bind themselves to bind themselves with the mythical creatures, who were their partners, each using two magic rings of different colors. With this binding, the mythical creatures could form armor over the humans, similar to the suits you have seen on Power Rangers today. The armor protected the humans as well as granting them some of the powers of the individual creatures.
“With these new powers, the humans fought against Kurayami, eventually succeeding in sealing her using the rings. Unfortunately, they also had to seal their creature friends. They formed an altar with the rings and Kurayami’s spirit was sealed in the center. Now, the few historians who, like myself, believed in all of this have been searching for this altar for centuries, trying to prove that that really happened. All we had to go on were a few cave drawings and some stories that a certain race of people have passed down ever since those times.
“After decades of searching, and several wrong leads and useless archaeological digs, I finally found the altar and the rings.” He paused for effect, waiting for someone to respond. The others just looked at him incredulously, so he shrugged and continued again, after letting out a sigh. He explained to them everything that had happened at the dig, including finding the rings and how the sorceress was released. “So now, Kurayami is out there, somewhere.” He gave each of them a serious look. “She promised to learn the magic of our time. Of course, there isn’t any magic in our time that we know of, but I have a feeling that she’ll find a way to use her own magic. She’ll stop at nothing to take her revenge and take control of this world.”
Dan yawned sarcastically. “Okay, well, this has all been very interesting, but what does it have to do with us?”
“Yeah, what are we supposed to do about this sorceress lady?” Angie asked, looking confused.
Alistair groaned with annoyance. “It has everything to do with you, if you would just let me finish.” His harsh tone caused everyone to be quiet, except for Miles, who chuckled softly. He knew the professor well enough to be unfazed by his anger.
“Now, for the last six months,” the older man continued, shooting a silent glare at Miles and gesturing to him at the same time. “My assistant and I have been researching the rings. We discovered much about them and the powers they hold, and in our research, we were able to find out that they would chose people in any given time period to use them if it became necessary, such as if the sorceress broke free from the seal. With countless hours of research and a lot of help from technology, we were able to pinpoint the ones who the rings had chosen in this time; and that, my young friends, is where you come in. I called you here because you are the chosen ones, and the only ones who can use these rings to fight against Kurayami.” With that, he fell silent and simply watched the five young friends.
They too were silent for a moment, hardly believing what they were hearing. A minute later, they all burst into speech at once.
“What do you mean, we’re the chosen ones?” Dan cried.
“We’re just kids! Well, adults, but still like kids!” Angie insisted.
“We don’t know anything about saving the world, we’ve only seen Power Rangers on the news!” Jayse put in.
“How do we know that these ‘magic rings’ aren’t going to do something awful when we put them on?” Peg inquired.
“How are we supposed to trust you when we just met you today?” Michel asked.
The professor put his hands up in a way of asking for silence. “Please, please, just listen to me…” But they continued to talk all at the same time. At last, a loud, shrill whistle filled the room, causing complete silence amongst the humans. It continued to echo around them. Miles and Alistair exchanged anxious glances.
“That’s the sound I put on the alarm, in case…” Miles’ voice trailed off as he slid his chair over to a computer in a corner of the room. He tapped a couple of keys and the screen began showing a video. “This is showing downtown,” he explained. Everyone turned to the computer and saw something they never thought they’d see, except on the news. Each of the five young adults couldn’t help thinking that the Power Rangers would be there soon, until they remembered that THEY were supposed to be the Power Rangers now.
The screen showed a large group of strange creatures that looked for all the world like the goblins they had seen in fantasy movies. They were rampaging around the city; destroying cars, chasing people. But the onlookers only noticed that for a second before they saw Her. She wore the same long, sleeveless black dress that she had worn the day that Miles and Alistair had seen her released. In fact, she looked almost exactly the same as she had that day, with the one exception that her black hair was not in a ponytail, but was laying loosely around her bare shoulders. Her black-feathered wings were spread wide as she stood watching the carnage. And her face, her strong, beautiful face, wore the same serious and cruel expression.
The seven of them in the drawing room watched in silence for a moment, feeling shocked and horrified at what they were seeing. At last, Jayse spoke, saying in his own words what the five friends were thinking.
“Kurayami, I presume?” He chuckled nervously and turned to Alistair.
“Yes,” the historian said with a deep sigh. “That is Kurayami, and it seems as if she’s brought some friends with her.” He signaled for Miles to turn off the screen, then he stood before the others again. Their faces looked pale, as if they could hardly comprehend what they had seen. “That is what we are up against, and you can see now why we need you.” He nodded at Miles, who then opened a drawer in the desk next to him and pulled out a black briefcase, handing it to Alistair. Professor Gavin laid the briefcase on the table and opened it, revealing what seemed to be the inside of a large ring box. In fact, that’s exactly what it was, and everyone could see five sets of rings with different colored stones, just as the professor had described.
“These are the rings from the past, and they are your greatest weapon.” Alistair paused, his face softening from its detached seriousness as he looked around at the five young adults. “I know that I am asking a lot of you, but believe me that I would not if I had any other choice. You five are the only ones who can use these rings. You are the only ones who can save our world.”
A few minutes of uncomfortable silence followed as Jayse, Peg, Angie, Dan, and Michel considered all of this, keeping their eyes on the rings. Miles watched them with anticipation, as well as slight amusement, wondering what they would decide. Finally, Dan stood up and walked up to Alistair.
“I’m in,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve always wanted to be a Power Ranger. It sounds like fun!” The professor smiled at him, letting out a breath of relief. “So which ones are mine?” Alistair pointed to the green rings, which Dan picked up and quickly put on, one on each ring finger.
“Wait, Dan,” Jayse said, sounding anxious. “We need to think about this.”
“Yeah,” Peg agreed. “Who knows what we’re getting ourselves into?”
Dan just rolled his eyes at them. “Hey, you guys heard the man,” he said. “We’re the only ones who can do this.” He turned back to Professor Gavin. “Now, how do I use these things?” Alistair told him how, and he smiled again. “Alright, here goes nothing. Power of the Sea Serpent!” With these words, he spread his arms out in front of him, then bent his elbows so that his fists were facing each other. Then, he pushed them together so that the rings touched, and finally twisted his fists sideways in opposite directions. The others watched in shock as he was surrounded in a green light.