Welcome to Gaia! ::

and were not even half done yet. xd

Episode Nine:

The Rangers returned that day to the castle beneath the lake to discuss what happened, and what to do about it. They were shaken, but not deterred. The reconvened at the Round Table as the Lady of the Lake joined them.

“Lady of the Lake,” Kelly began, “how is this Black Knight so powerful? None of us were able leave a scratch on him.”

“Rangers, all is not lost,” The Lady began, “The Black Knight is strong, but his strength is not out of your reach. I can sense the source of his power is deep within himself, a power not yet tapped by yourselves. He too is a descendent of the original Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot. His soul is tortured, and so he fights with ruthless precision because he has obsessed over what he would do to you with all the time he has to himself. You must find what gives you your greatest power if you wish to defeat him.”

“And how are we supposed to find that?” Kyle asked.

“That question is something only you can answer,” The Lady explained regretfully.

The Rangers took this advice with them out of the castle, returning home to sleep on her words. It was a restless, sleepless night for them, each of them searching deep within themselves to find what could give them that extra power to come out victorious.

The next morning the Rangers met back at the Student Center, helping to clean up after the earthquake caused by the Rook the previous day. They didn’t discuss what the Lady of the Lake had said last night because frankly none of them knew the answer to their problems just yet.

“How’d you guys sleep last night?” Dallas asked her friends.

“Not good…I was up all night,” King replied.

“Me too,” Athena said, “I couldn’t sleep, so I tried calling Mike, but he wouldn’t answer his phone. I got worried he might have been hurt in the earthquake.” Athena explained, but her fellow Rangers merely looked on.

“Athena, it was late. He was probably just sleeping,” King said.

“Wow you got his number already?” Dallas asked, causing Athena to blush, “you sure work fast.”

“He gave it to me…in case I ever wanted to talk or…something, you know?” Athena weakly replied.

“Uh huh, or something,” Justin said with a dirty look.

“How many times do I have to tell you,” Athena said defensively.

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!” The Rangers paused as they realized that not only Athena, but King said the same thing at the same time.

“Um, thanks Kelly…” she said awkwardly as Kelly nodded his head, pretending to just be sticking up for her.
It was painfully obvious what Kelly’s feelings for Athena had turned him into, and it had turned this situation very awkward. Someone had to break the silence.

“Anyway huh,” Dallas spoke up, “I’m sure Mike is fine. He’s probably looking at his phone right now and seeing how much you called him,” she said reassuringly, patting Athena on the shoulder. Athena nodded, and she was comforted for now.
Her comfort was short lived, however, as the televisions blared to life with the image of some strange clown on the screen.

“Hello there humans!” the strange clown began, “My name is Freakshow! And I’ll be exterminating you today! Doesn’t that sound like a blast?” The Rangers looked around to see if the monster was somewhere closer by, hacking the televisions, but there was no trace. The rest of the kids in the Student Center were just as confused and wondering if it was some kind of malfunction or joke. “No? Well…HOW ABOUT THIS!?” At that moment, explosions rang out from all across the city from bombs planted secretly over night. One even went off right in front of the Student Center, stirring the entire place into a frenzied panic, all while the clown on the screen cackled in a demented laugh. The citizens in the Student Center evacuated quickly, guided to safety by the Rangers. When all was clear, they decided to go find this Freakshow and take him out in person.

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! GREEN KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! PINK KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! BLUE KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! YELLOW KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! RED KNIGHT ARISE!”

The Power Rangers teleported to the scene, Freakshow was waiting for them with his own personal army of Five Fallen demons, dressed in ridiculously poor Power Ranger costumes.

“Rangers! So happy you could make it to my costume party! Do you like my costumes? I worked ALL NIGHT on them! Hahahahaha!” Freakshow welcomed the Rangers in a typically demented fashion.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Justin said in disbelief, “he thinks five Fallen in dime store costumes are going to beat us?”

“HEY! I WENT TO THE DOLLAR STORE FOR THESE!” Freakshow yelled out, no one entirely sure how angry he actually was or if he was just joking, “Anyway, they’re plenty good enough to defeat you Power Punk,” Freakshow began laughing uncontrollably, “how are you going to beat my Fallen…when you CAN’T EVEN TELL THEM APART FROM YOURSELVES?! AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!”

The Power Rangers were baffled by his behavior. After all, the Fallen’s costume consisted of body paint sloppily spread over their armor and rubber swords at their sides, alongside their normal weaponry of demonic swords.

“Let’s just get this over with, Rangers? Let’s put this guy out of our misery,” Kelly said and the Rangers charged in. Freakshow seemed to be prepared, and snapped his fingers, instantly shuffling the location of each of the Rangers and the Fallen on the battlefield.

“Did my tactic work? Are you all confused now?” Freakshow asked. The Rangers shook their heads in disappointment, then squared off with the closest phony Ranger to them. Justin caught up with the phony Green Ranger, brandishing his gauntlet and squaring off like a boxer.

“Hey Kyle,” Justin called out, “Lemme know if this hurts!” He said before winding up and delivering a heavy straight right. The Fallen didn’t budge, but Kyle was sent flying back into Kelly. The Rangers stopped, confused as they watched Kyle and Kelly get back up to their feet.

“What was that about? He didn’t even touch me!” Kyle exclaimed.

“I don’t know! All I did was punch that Fallen and next thing I knew, you were off like a cannon ball,” Justin explained.

“You’re kidding,” Athena said, “you mean if we hit one of them, we get hurt? That’s nuts!”

“THANK YOU!” Freakshow spoke up, “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you said –I- was nuts! Haha! Sorry, my ears are still ringing from the bombs!”

“There’s got to be a weak spot on these guys, let’s keep at it, but don’t use your weapons alright!?” King ordered and the rest nodded in agreement. The put their weapons away and once again faced off with the Fallen, this time hand to hand.
Athena dodged a sword swipe from the Blue Fallen, countering by sweeping its legs. Its legs didn’t budge, however, and the next thing she saw was Justin tripping over himself and falling to his back. The Green Fallen attacked Justin on the ground, as did the Blue one to Athena and they both rolled away just barely. At the same time, Kyle was struggling to stay from the Yellow Fallen’s sword and stumbled upon a strategy. He kept falling back until he was back to back with the Red Fallen. When the Yellow one struck again, he moved out of the way and it ended up hitting his Pink comrade. Unfortunately, the Red Fallen didn’t flinch, but King fell forward after he felt a stinging pain shoot up his spine. This gave the Green Fallen attacking King the chance to strike, but before it could Dallas swept in to kick it off of its mark. Once again, it was like kicking a brick wall, but Kyle was sent flying.

“AAAAAHHAHAHAHAHA!” Freakshow laughed as the Rangers regrouped, “Had enough Rangers? You know, I should give you credit! You ARE good! AT BEATING YOURSELVES UP! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“You guys this isn’t working, we need to fall back before we kill each other,” Athena advised.

“But we can’t just leave this guy alone here,” Justin argued, “he’ll blow up the whole damn city!”

“Guys, I think I know what’s going on, but you have to trust me,” Kyle begins, “I know who can help us, but someone has to stay behind and hold these guys off so we can figure it out.”

The Rangers looked among themselves, but no one knew who could survive this long by themselves, but someone had to step up.

“I’ll stay,” King said, and instantly Justin spoke up to try to argue against him, but Kelly shot him down before he could get two words out, “I’m the leader, I stay.”

“You won’t be able to use your weapon offensively, can you handle it?” Kyle asked, but King nodded without a second thought, “Okay, let’s go guys.”

“Hurry back,” Kelly said as he watched his friends teleport away, “Kyle you crazy b*****d I hope you know what you’re doing. Kelly then turned to face Freakshow and his Power Ranger knock offs, sword drawn and ready to fight.

“Looks like your friends have abandoned you Red Ranger,” Freakshow called out, “don’t feel bad, if I were them…I’D LEAVE YOU TOO! AAAAHAHAHAHAHA! GET THEM MY RANGERS!” The Fallen Charged, and all King could do was deflect the blows with his own sword. He was doing alright, but he couldn’t stop every blow.

Back with the other four remaining Rangers, they find themselves deep in the woods on the other side of the Lake, back in their normal un-morphed form.

“Kyle, where are you? What are we doing out here?” Dallas said.

“This is Lakewood, the marsh on the other side of the Lake. As to why we’re here…” Kyle said, “my aunt lives out here…and she’s a voodoo practitioner…” Kyle said with a tremendous amount of shame in his voice as his fellow Rangers looked on in confusion.

“Voodoo?” Justin asked, “as in…Voodoo dolls? Witch doctors? Bones in the nose?”

“She doesn’t do that! I mean, the bone things, but other than that? Yeah…She’s full on voodoo,” Kyle explained, “Look, voodoo dolls transfer pain from one object resembling the image of something else to that something else. I think that’s what’s happening, it’s the only thing that makes sense. Freakshow turned his Fallen into voodoo dolls!”

“How could he do that?” Athena asked.

“I don’t know, but that’s what we’re here to find out,” Kyle said. He lead the Rangers through the woods until they came upon a cabin in the middle of the brush. “Now when we go in there, don’t act like she’s all nuts or nothing. As far as she knows, I’m into all of this stuff…and…she kind of has…held on to the thought of passing on the magic to me…” The other Rangers rolled their eyes, snickering under their breath. Kyle sighed, and reluctantly knocked on the door. After mere seconds, the door swung open, and standing in the doorway was a forty year old woman with ragged braided hair in a dress made of tattered clothing. Her eyes laid upon Kyle, and the seemingly crazed woman turned gleeful and embraced him.

“KYLE! My heir! I knew you’d come to see me one day! Who are all your friends? More believers? Oh you’ve made me so happy!” the aunt yelled out, squeezing the life out of the largest Ranger.

“Aunt Belle!” Kyle cried out, “Aunty Belle! I can’t stay long! I just need your help!”

“Help? Help with what child?” Aunty Belle asked.

“Well…for starters…you could stop…crushing my lungs!” he said as his face turned purple, and Aunty Belle broke her hug and Kyle took deep breaths, “phew…okay, Aunty Belle, we need to know how you defeat a voodoo doll.”

“Defeat the voodoo doll? Child you can’t defeat the voodoo! Voodoo is all powerful! Real magic! You can’t escape it!” Aunty Belle explained, talking herself up in hopes Kyle would come to join her.

“Aunty Belle please! We think we’re being targeted by voodoo dolls and we need to know how to make it stop,” Kyle explained.

“Ooooh I see child, come in come in! Aunty Belle show you how to stop that amateur voodoo!” Aunty Belle said concretely, leading them inside her dank and crowded home, “nobody messes with my nephew, no sir! ‘Specially no amateur wannabe voodoo baby!” Aunty Belle led them to a sitting area, turning on a gas lamp and gathering them around.

“Nice place,” Justin remarked, only to be knocked in the gut by Kyle’s elbow.

“Gather ‘round children, I tell you how the voodoo dolls work,” she said as she grabbed a blank doll, pulling some hair from Kyle’s head, then smacking him for yelping, “man up child. Now every voodoo doll has something personal taken from the target, something like blood, clothing,” she explained.

“Or hair…OW!” Kyle said before being smacked again.

“The voodoo dolls derives their powers from that deep personal connection from the target. Without the personal item, the voodoo dolls holds no powers at all,” Aunty Belle finished.

“That’s great news Aunty Belle…HEY! I have it! I saw vials on the…uh…dolls...I think they have something from us in the vials. If we get rid of those, we can defeat the dolls!” Kyle explained.

“That’s it man! Let’s go!” Justin said.

“Aunty Belle, you’re the best. I can’t thank you enough,” Kyle said, hugging his aunt.

“You’re welcome boy, just make sure you don’t wait so long to come see me again you hear?” Aunty Belle advised.

“I will, now come on we got to go,” Kyle said, leading his friends out of the cabin and back into the woods where they could morph once again and get back to Kelly.

“Ready?” Kyle asked.

“Let’s do it!” The Rangers replied.

““BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! GREEN KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! PINK KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! BLUE KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! YELLOW KNIGHT ARISE!”

The Rangers teleported back to the battle, ready to take down the living voodoo dolls. When they returned, however, they found their Red Ranger on his knees, held up by his sword alone. He was panting, trying to catch his breath after holding off the Fallen for almost half an hour. The Rangers rushed over to him, helping him to his feet as they surveyed the battlefield. Amazingly, Kelly had used Excalibur not once to attack, but had used his supersonic sword slash to dig a trench large enough to keep his enemies at bay for now.

“King, you did great. We didn’t feel a thing, I can’t believe you didn’t hit them once,” Kyle said.

“Oh…it wasn’t like I didn’t want to,” King said.

“We know, and we’re about to help you do it,” Kyle said, patting his friend’s chest as he drew his sword.

“Kyle no,” King said, “they’ll just use it against us,” King pleaded.

“Trust us man, just lay back and rest. You earned it,” Kyle said as his fellow Rangers stepped forward, ready to fight.

“Oh? The Rangers are back to die are they? No problem! It’s always more fun when there’s a party!” Freakshow said, once again sending his Fallen forward after they had climbed through the trench.

Kyle Justin Athena and Dallas rushed forward, sword fighting with the Fallen and searching for an opening to cut the vials off their strings and severing their connection. One by one, the Rangers cautiously found their opening and sliced the strings with ease, watching the vials fall to the ground and shatter.

“NOOOO! YOU’RE BREAKING MY TOYS! NO FAIR! YOU DON’T SEE ME BREAKING YOUR STUFF!” Freakshow called out, before pulling out an overly huge cannon from seemingly nowhere, “EXCEPT RIGHT NOW! AAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!” Freakshow laughed manically as he lit the fuse, targeting the Rangers who had fallen back to protest their weakened leader.
Kelly stood up, using Excalibur as a crutch and pushed through his fellow Rangers who tried to hold him back.

“Kelly, no! You have to run!” Kyle pleaded, but he paid him no heed. Kelly stood before the cannon without fear, and when the cannon fired he choked up on his sword like a bat. He timed his shot, and waited for the cannon ball to get as close as possible before swinging with all his might with Excalibur, smacking it broadside with his sword and hitting it back to the cannon. The ball landed right back in the barrel, exploding with a terrible force.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Freakshow screamed as he was consumed by the fires, along with each of the Fallen. Freakshow was destroyed, as well as the threat of the voodoo dolls.

Back in Camlann…

“Impressive…I can’t believe the Rangers figured out how to destroy my jester,” Morgan admired, “it is time for act two of his performance…” Morgan said as she placed her hands on the crystal ball, sending her magic to earth so she could revive her fallen clown.

Back on earth, the remnants of Freakshow began to recombine, growing as tall as a skyscraper just like the other monsters before him. The Rangers stepped back, knowing what they had to do.

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! ARISE THE SKYWARD KNIGHTS!”

At the sound of the magic words, the dimension to Camlann opened up once again and out sprang forth the five mystical zords. The Rangers jumped up and took their position in their cockpits, and instantly flipped the switch to gain more power.

“ROYAL KING MEGAZORD!”

The zords reformed and combined, forming up into their most powerful weapon, the Royal King Megazord. Freakshow wasted no time, hurling knives at the Megazord. The Megazord brought up its shield, protecting the Rangers from the deadly knives. The Megazord spun its shield, sending the flails attached to the edge like a buzzsaw. The Megazord marched forward, deflecting Freakshow’s knives with its sword. Freakshow backed off, trembling with fear as the buzzsaw-like weapon got closer and closer.

“No wait! Hold on! Don’t destroy me! I’ll…I’ll be your best friend?” Freakshow pleaded…right before the buzzsaw plunged its way into Freakshow’s giant sized face. “AAAHHHHH NOOOOOOO!”

The Megazord raised its sword and slashed down once again, decapitating Freakshow and silencing him for good as he exploded before the Ranger’s eyes.

“Was that really necessary King?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know man, but there was something therapeutic about hurting that Freakshow,” Kelly said and the Rangers laughed. Another threat was defeated the moment Freakshow was killed, and the Rangers were free to resume their lives as normal citizens.

After the battle, the Black Knight looked over the remains of the Freakshow monster, standing over the crater left behind in the valley outside of the city. The Man in Black approached him from behind, curious as to his presence there.

“What bothers you now my mighty Black Knight?” The Man in Black inquired.

“The Rangers…I cannot follow them to their giant battles…every time a monster is destroyed it grows, and they choose to battle the massive monster instead of me no matter how much destruction I wreak upon the ground. I need a Megazord like them in order to destroy them…or else they will escape every time,” The Black Knight explained. The Man in Black mulled it over, and nodded his head.

“I agree my faithful Knight…I will use my resources to bring you a zord of your very own. And with it…you will finally exact your revenge…”

Episode Ten:

“It seems that once again, our monster has failed to destroy the Rangers my queen,” Mordred observed.

“Is that doubt I hear in your voice dear Mordred?” Morgan le Fay inquired.

“Not at all, empress…but perhaps there is yet another way to go about our plots,” Mordred implied, “maybe our old friends from days gone past haven’t the power sufficient to destroying the pesky Rangers. My Black Knight has gotten closest to defeating the Rangers than any of your demonic soldiers, so perhaps we should continue in that line of thinking.”

“What did you have in mind, Mordred?” Morgan asked.

“You leave this to me, my queen…I will find something on Earth with the power sufficient to destroying the Rangers,” Mordred assured his queen, “I already have something in mind. I have been observing a teen much like our Ranger pests, with a mean streak…and the capacity for tremendous violence.”

“Your ideas intrigue me…proceed with your plan Mordred. If you succeed, your efforts will be vastly rewarded,” Morgan promised and Mordred bowed to his queen, exiting his chambers to put his plan into action.

Back on earth…

A moonlit night shines down on a stretch of highway where a lone biker rolls along the streets that night. Bright lights shine before him, nearly blinding the biker and forcing him to stop. The biker takes off his helmet, trying to get a better look at who could possibly behind that blinding light. He can make out another man, sitting on a sinister looking motorcycle waving something in his hand, though precisely what it was he could not be sure.

“What’s your problem man? Turn off that bright light! I can’t see!” The biker called out.

“Why don’t you just make me? Huh kid?” The stranger replied.
The biker unlatched a chain he was using as a belt, swinging it threateningly.

“I think I might do that you punk a**,” the biker shot back.

“That’s the GOD of Punks to you, punk,” the stranger corrected. The so-called God of Punks revved his engine, squaring off with the other biker who in turn placed his helmet back on his head and revved his motorcycle’s engine as well. The two burnt out their tires, speeding off towards each other. The first biker swinging his chain, and the ambushing God of Punks holding a steel baseball bat calmly at his side. Faster and faster they two came at each other, neither backing down until finally they passed by, and the God of Punks smashed his steel bat into the gut of his opponent. The first biker was sent flying from his bike and crashing onto the cold cement. The second biker stopped behind him, looking over his fallen adversary.

“Tell your boys, Matt Shanahan did this to you,” Matt said before speeding off carelessly into the night.

But that was not the end of the night for Shanahan. After he had rode for a few miles, he was stopped by a mysterious man in a black trench coat standing in his way. It seemed suspicious, and perhaps like someone was stealing his M.O, which he did not appreciate.

“Hey, old man, no one steals my gimmick! Now get out of the way or get run over!” Shanahan ordered.

“Surely my boy, but you should listen to what I have to offer you,” the Man in Black explained, “you may call me the Man in Black, and I can bring you enough power to go from petty street side muggings, to becoming the most feared man on this planet…surely a man with such strength and potential has aspirations to match?”

Shanahan was intrigued, but he was also smart to know not to take anything without a grain of salt.

“Sounds sweet…what’s the catch?” Shanahan asked. The Man in Black simply chuckled, twirling a cane theatrically.

“No catch, all I ask of you is one simple thing that is mutually beneficial. Destroy the Power Rangers,” The Man in Black instructed, “you do this for me, and you gain more notoriety and infamy than you’ve ever imagined. The world will bend to your will.”

Shanahan had to admit that this sounded like a no-lose situation, and he quickly agreed.

“You got it dude, the God of Punks is at your service,” Shanahan said.

The Man in Black smiled, and waved his cane, directing a bolt of magical energy in the direction of his new servant. Shanahan screamed as the energy coursed through his veins, and in moments he and his bike were transformed into demonic servants of Morgan le Fay and Sir Mordred.

The following morning at school, everyone was talking about the biker who was attacked, especially his fellow gang members, the Midnight Marauders, lead by Brantley Summers. Three of their members had been taken out in three consecutive days, and Tim, the latest victim, makes four. They were in an uproar, and ready to take revenge on the guy who was doing this. And now, they finally had a name.

“You guys, I want this Shanabannana, or…Hanna Shantana, or whatever his name is, taken out. I mean off the streets, out of the city, and out of my hair! If I so much as see his tire tracks in my city again, I’ll make sure each and every one of you pay for it! You got me? This ‘God of Punks,’ is dead!” Brantley instructed his gang, and they all agreed that this new guy had to be taken out. The Power Rangers had overheard the conversation, and they knew it was bad news.

“You guys, we can’t let this city get torn apart by some gang war,” King said, something everyone could agree to.

“Yeah, if the Midnight Marauders want something, they usually get it. They’re animals, and they don’t understand anything but victory. If we don’t find this Shanahan guy before the Marauders do, or if Shanahan strikes again, then someone else will be ending up in the hospital…maybe the morgue,” Justin
said.

The other Rangers turned to study Justin as he spoke with such passion and conviction.

“Justin, how do you know so much about these guys?” Dallas asked. Justin hesitated, but it wasn’t something he could hide from if he wanted to do the right thing.

“I…I used to be in the Midnight Marauders,” Justin admitted shamefully, “I was young and stupid, and easily influenced by people I used to admire. I got out while the getting was good, and since then I’ve been on their s**t list.” There was an awkward silence as Justin had never admitted this to anyone before, “Look, it’s in my past! That isn’t me anymore understand?”

“No one blamed you Justin, we don’t think any less of you, we just wonder why you never told us before today,” Kyle asked.

“It wasn’t relevant. Besides, it shouldn’t matter what I DID,” Justin argued, “It’s what I’m doing now.”

“You’re right man, we’re sorry alright? But is there any way we can get some information from the Marauders on this Shanahan character?” King asked.

“Doubtful, I burned a lot of bridges when I left,” Justin said before hesitating, “but…I may have one person I can ask. Come on.” Justin instructed and lead his fellow Rangers behind the school where some of his old Marauder pals usually hung around.

“Why are we back here?” Athena asked as they snuck up on three Marauders, two guys and a girl smoking in some trees behind the school.

“That’s our only shot at getting any info from the Marauders,” Justin said, pointing to the girl, “her, the only one who will ever talk to me after what I did.” Justin stood up, and his four friends followed closely behind as backup.

“Well well well…if it isn’t A-Maze,” the girl spoke up, “what are you doing back here kid? You know this is Marauders Only.”

“Nice to see you too, sis,” she said, prompting surprise looks from his fellow Rangers, “Guys? I’d like you to meet my sister, Justine.”

“You’re…you’re really named Justin and Justine?” Kyle asked.

“Our parents REALLY liked the name…” Justin explained.

“OUR parents?” Justine exclaimed, “Please, I left that home and that life years ago. When you left the Marauders, you weren’t my brother anymore.”

“Justine stop it, stop being such a drama queen,” Justin scolded her, “we need your help. We know you guys are going after Shanahan, and we need to find him before you make a big mistake.”

“We don’t make mistakes! The last one that we made was letting you walk out on us with both your kneecaps,” Justine shot back.

“Stop being so bitter,” Justin shouted, “You and I both know that Shanahan has the ability to seriously hurt you and everyone else in the Marauders. If you get caught alone you’ll just end up in the hospital like the others. I’m only looking out for your safety, now just tell me what you know!”

“You think you know what’s best for me? You think I can’t handle myself?” Justine replied.

“No! I don’t! I think there is more to this Shanahan guy than any of us know, and I need to make sure you’re safe! You might not care about our parents, but they still care about you, and I promised them I’d look out for you. So if you don’t want to do it for them, or for me, do it for yourself! All I need to know is how to find him, then I promise it will be first come first serve. Whoever finds him first gets to take him out. Deal?” Justin proposed. Justine thought it over long and hard, sending the other two boys away so she could discuss this matter in private.

“Matt Shanahan, calls himself the God of Punks. He always attacks on the same stretch of road around midnight, the I-90 heading into town. He puts on his brights, then rushes you, like some sort of weird joust. He always uses a steel baseball bat, and only recently has he given his name. He’s getting bolder. I can give you guys one night to deal with him yourselves, but that’s all I can hold the gang back. Oh,” Justine paused, looking around before reaching into her purse and tossing the Rangers a few keys, “we keep a set of backup motorcycles in a lockup downtown, just in case we get jacked. He only attacks Midnight Marauders motorcyclists, so you’ll need them to draw him out.”

“Thanks sis, I appreciate it…but why are you doing this?” Justin asked.

“Like you said, for myself. If you rough him up, I don’t have to get my hands dirty. Better get the job done, or the Marauders will be after you next,” Justine explained, “Now get out of here, before I change my mind.”

Justin nodded, taking the keys and handing them out to the Rangers. From there, they headed to the lockup using the address on the keys in order to find it. They opened the lockup, revealing five pristine cruisers with helmets to match. The Rangers mounted the bikes and revved the engines.

“Alright guys, let’s find this guy before the Marauders can,” King said, and they sped out of the lockup and onto the streets, searching around the possible hiding spots located near the I-90 bridge that Justine told them about. They searched for hours, until a jarring explosion rocked the city. The Rangers looked up and saw successive explosions roll down main street, and it appeared they had a new priority.

“You guys, looks like Morgan le Fay has another monster. We have to go stop it,” Athena said.

“But if we don’t find Shanahan, the Marauders could get hurt or worse,” Justin argued.

“If we don’t stop whatever is destroying the city, EVERYONE could get hurt,” King said in a stern voice. Justin knew what they had to do, but he didn’t like it. The Rangers rolled out in the direction of the explosions, intending to stop whatever was causing them. They routed in front of the explosions, and eventually something did come into view. A monster with devil horns and a flaming leather jacket rolled up to the Rangers on his devilish motorcycle to confront them. The monster came to a halt about ten yards away, pointing his humongous baseball bat-like lance out in front of him.

“RANGERS! It’s about time you showed up,” the monster spoke, “I was wondering if I was going to have to level the entire city just to get your attention.”

“You know who we are?” King asked curiously.

“Oh yes, and you know me…while you have been clumsily petering around on those pawn shop bikes searching for me, I’ve been making quite the name for myself. In fact,” the monster reached back into one of his bike’s saddle bags, pulling out a handful of headlights, “I’ve already put quite the dent in your pathetic Marauders.”

“Oh man, it’s Shanahan, and Morgan le Fay must have turned him into one of her monsters,” Athena noticed, “how could she do that to someone?”

“I don’t know about Morgan le Fay, I got my powers by a slick gangsta. The Man in Black,” Shanahan corrected, “and he said all I had to do was off you losers to keep em’. Sweet deal right? Well now I’m going to make good on my end of the deal. So get ready, I want your helmets to keep on my mantle.”

“Well? He asked for it,” King said as they reached for their morphers in unison.

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! GREEN KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! PINK KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! BLUE KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! YELLOW KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! RED KNIGHT ARISE!”

The Rangers morphed in their usual fashion, but this time their motorcycles transformed as well, turning them into even more powerful multi-colored vehicles to use at their disposal.

“Whoah, these are awesome! I wish we’d known about this sooner!” Kyle said.

“Not that it matters in the slightest, I’ll run you all down!” Shanahan said and he revved his engine, taking off in the direction of the Rangers. He had his baseball bat swinging over his head, and he was timing himself for an attack.

The Rangers rolled off at Shanahan, though not wanting to hurt him, they had to defend themselves. The Red Ranger led the charge, Excalibur drawn as the blade dragged across the ground sending sparks flying. When they two reached each other, King sliced with his sword and cut the baseball bat in half. Athena and Dallas rode in right on King’s bumper, leaping off their own motorcycles to take Shanahan off of his own, and smashed him to the ground. Kyle and Justin were last, and dug a trench with their swords to misdirect the motorcycle and sending it careening into the ditch. Shanahan was held down by the Rangers, struggling with all his monstrous might to escape.

“We don’t want to hurt you Shanahan, but we have to get you back to normal,” King said sympathetically.

“But how can we do it without destroying him?” Athena asked cautiously.

“Rangers,” The Lady of the Lake’s voice rang in their heads, “Excalibur has the power to purify the corrupted souls of humans from dark magic. Place your sword on his shoulder and concentrate, and you will achieve your goal.”

King nodded and calmed his mind, gently placing his trusty Excalibur on Shanahan’s shoulder and attempted to channel his magical energy into him. Shanahan resisted, but soon his eyes began to shine white, and his monstrous form began to dissipate. Shanahan’s monster powers faded away until only his human form was left, and he lay there unconscious in the
Ranger’s grasp.

“Alright, we did it!” Dallas exclaimed, celebrating the non-violent solution.

“Yeah, you did Rangers,” a voice shot out from behind a building, and soon Justine and the rest of the Midnight Marauders came into view on their motorcycles, “just like he said you would.”

“Who said? What are you doing here?” the Blue Ranger demanded to know.

“We’re here because we were told Shanahan wouldn’t be able to finish the job, so we’re here to do what he couldn’t. We we’re promised all the powers Shanahan had if we can,” Justine explained.

“That’s crazy, why would you accept such a ridiculous promise?” Justin asked.

“Well, you have to admit, the guy has a persuasive presence about him,” Justine explained, motioning to the next on to enter: The Black Knight. The Rangers gasped in surprise as the Black Knight appeared once again, seemingly in control of the Midnight Marauders.

“That’s right Rangers, now it’s time for you to surrender your powers to me, or face the consequences,” The Black Knight threatened.

“Or what? You think a motorcycle gang can defeat us when those monsters couldn’t?” Kyle asked.

“No, not on their own, but surely you benevolent Power Rangers wouldn’t harm innocent bikers, even if they threatened to destroy you,” The Black Knight reasoned. The Rangers cringed as they Black Knight revealed his plan to hide behind human shields.

“You’re pitiful! Fight us by yourself!” King shouted out.

“What? One on five? Hardly a fair fight. Marauders, attack the Rangers and claim your reward!” The Black Knight ordered, and the biker gang dismounted their bikes and jumped on the Rangers, dragging them off of their bikes knowing they would not fight back and risk harming them. There were over thirty of them, but the Rangers were able to resist, if only by so much. The Black Knight took full advantage of the situation, swinging his deadly halberd down onto the ground, sending a shockwave of energy in the direction of the trapped Ranges. Electricity shocked each of them, as well as the Marauders who were holding them in place. The Rangers fell alongside the bikers, much to the outrage of Justine.

“Hey! What’s the big deal? Why are you attacking my guys?” Justine demanded.

“The less there are of your gang the more powers I can distribute to you once the Rangers are destroyed,” the Black Knight explained calmly, “Now, do you want those demonic powers, or should I find one of your rival gangs to do this for me?”

Justine gritted her teeth, then made the only decision she thought possible.

“Marauders! Fall back! Shanahan is done, the Rangers are none of our concern!” Justine ordered, and the Marauders collected themselves and retreated on their bikes, much to the outrage of the Black Knight.

“FOOLS! How dare you turn your backs on me!? You are turning down immeasurable power!” The Black Knight cursed, turning back to the Rangers, “I guess if you want a job done, you must do it yourself…” he said as he brought his halberd to bare, approaching the fallen Rangers and ready to finish the job. He raised his weapon high above the Red Ranger, then swung with all his might, but something deflected his attack. Shanahan dove at the Black Knight, grabbing the halberd and forcing it to miss wildly. The Black Knight stumbled to his feet, kicking Shanahan away. “What have you done you foolish biker!?”

“Shanahan, stop! It’s too dangerous!” King shouted out as the Rangers got back to their feet.

“You guys spared my life, as far as I’m concerned, we’re even,” Shanahan explained, “now take this fool out!” Shanahan said as he ran off to safety.

“With pleasure,” the Red Ranger said as he pointed Excalibur at the Black Knight, and he in turn prepared to battle once again.

“Black Knight, the plan is compromised,” The Man in Black’s voice rang in the Black Knight’s head, “fall back, and live to fight another day.” The Black Knight was reluctant, but he nodded obediently. The Black Knight vanished in a haze of purple and black fires, and the Rangers had won the day.

“That was close,” Justin said, “I’m glad no one got hurt.”

“Yeah,” Athena agreed, “Matt really saved us back there. Hey, where is he by the way?”

The Rangers looked around, but he was nowhere to be found, and neither was his bike.

“All we know is he’s safe, that’s all that matters. And as far as the Marauders know, Shanahan is a non-factor,” Justin noted.

“That’s right! Looks like it’s a job well done,” King congratulated his fellow Rangers.

“Oh man, I’m late!” Athena yelped, “I’m supposed to meet Mike for dinner soon, I have to go!” The other Rangers nodded and waved Athena away.

“Go have fun, we’ll take care of cleanup here, make sure everyone is okay,” Dallas said. Athena nodded and teleported away.

When she arrived back at her house, she was de-morphed. She scrambled into her room to change and make herself ready for her second date with Landry. She was surprised she had time to put on her makeup and do her hair, because Landry was supposed to pick her up almost an hour ago. She looked out her window with despair, wondering if he’d ever show up. Finally, he did arrive in front of her house, and with a brand new and more comfortable two-seater Gold Wing motorcycle. Athena perked up immediately, climbing out of her window and down the tree to her lawn. She straightened out her dress, and remembered to reach into her purse to grab a remote control, pressing a button to turn on the stereo in her room so that her parents wouldn’t think their little girl was out all night.

Athena ran up to Mike and gave him a sweet kiss, climbing on to the new bike and wrapping her arms around his chest.

“You look great Athena,” Mike said.

“Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself,” Athena replied, “where did you get the new bike?”

“Oh, I got it off a new friend, it was practically a steal,” Mike said with a sinister undertone, but it was lost on Athena. They rode off into the night for their date, leaving singed tracks behind them. The headlights of the bike had a sinister glow, for hidden below its innocent exterior, laid the latent powers of the God of Punk’s old Demon Cycle.

Chapter Eleven:

The following morning at Lakeside High, the Rangers met up at their normal spot before classes, only this time, Mike Landry showed up as well tagging right alongside Athena. It was unusual, sure, and the Rangers didn’t know exactly how to handle the situation, but they figured anything was better than when they first met. Mike sat down on a wall, Athena on his lap. This time, Kelly wasn’t the only one uncomfortable with the closeness of their relationship, Dallas was as well. Justin and Kyle noticed how awkwardly silent the situation had become and they looked at each other silently asking for ideas on how to break the ice.

“SO! How was your date last night?” Justin asked.

“It was great,” Athena answered as Landry was still uncomfortable around the Rangers, “we went to dinner on his new bike, then we went back to that cliff he took me to that first day and watched the city light up in the night. It was so romantic,” she said as she squeezed his hand. Mike blushed, turning away. He supposed it was a good cover, letting the Rangers see him as a softy instead of the dark warrior who was trying to kill him, but it still made him uncomfortable letting others know he was really like that, other than Athena.

“Sounds like a fun night,” Kyle said with a smile on his face. The Blue and Green Rangers had actually started warming up to him, Kyle a little more than Justin. Dallas liked him too, but there was clearly something else bothering her. The first bell rang, and the Rangers had to scatter, heading off to their first period. They waved goodbye, and Justin ran ahead to catch up with Dallas who had walked off a little faster than usual.

“Hey,” he said as he grabbed her shoulder, “what’s going on? You’re being really quiet today.” Dallas was reluctant to respond, as the problem didn’t make much sense to her either.

“It’s Athena and Mike,” she said and Justin rolled his eyes.

“Hey, you don’t have to worry about those two. By the sounds of things, he’s treating her right,” Justin explained.

“No, it’s not that,” Dallas waved the notion off, “I’m happy for her, I really am. I guess you could say…I’m a little jealous…”

“Jealous? Ah Dallas, don’t feel bad. You’re a great girl, you’ll meet someone soon. I mean come on, you’re captain of the Volleyball team. You know there are guys who come see you at every game. Just give it time,” Justin said reassuringly and patted her on the back, “hey, I got to head to class. Are you okay?” Dallas smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, thanks Justin that was really sweet of you,” she said.

“Yeah well don’t tell anybody, I got a rep to maintain,” Justin said jokingly and jogged off to class, along with Dallas to hers.
Meanwhile, in the dimension of Camlann…

“Ahh,” Morgan le Fay grinned as she observed the Rangers through her crystal ball, “it seems the Yellow Ranger is lonely…perhaps I can fix that…”

“What is your plan my queen?” Mordred inquired.

“I will revive the spirit of Iseult, Tristan’s Lover…I will coerce her to possess the Yellow Ranger’s heart, forcing her to fall head over heels in love with the Blue Ranger as he is the descendent of Tristan. We will attack the Blue Ranger when he is alone with her, and she will surely sacrifice herself to save him. And the best part is, once the Yellow Ranger is dead, the Blue Ranger will be easy to dispatch with,” Morgan le Fay explained, much to the delight of Mordred.

“Most excellent plan my queen, I will instruct the Black Knight to be ready to attack upon our command,” Mordred replied, marching off to his personal chambers and sealing it shut, “foolish witch…you only allow me to empower my Black Knight, and once he is strong enough…your head too will be upon his weapon.”

Morgan le Fay returned to her crystal ball, placing her hands upon it and chanting an ancient and forbidden spell. The room’s lights were extinguished, and the only thing illuminating the room was the black magical fire that was burning from her fingertips. The spell was exhausting, but finally a result was realized. From the crystal ball, a spirit arose and faced its conjuror.

“Are you the spirit of Iseult?” Morgan inquired.

“Yes…” the spirit said solemnly, “why have you awakened me?”

“I propose to you…a chance at a second life. The descendent of Tristan lives on earth, and he is much like his ancestor. The spitting image of your legendary lover. There is a girl, who desperately wishes to be in love, the descendent of Vivian. All you must do is possess the young girl’s heart, and Tristan will surely be yours once again,” Morgan explained.

“My Tristan? He has returned to me? Oh my…I’ve dreamt of him every day since I have passed over…so much have I longed to feel his touch once again…Thank you gentle witch, your kindness is truly worth reward. What is it I may do for you?” Iseult professed.

“Oh, no reward is necessary my dear, I simply wish to see true love once before I die…now go, and seek out the girl so you might hold your lover in your arms once again,” Morgan replied, and the spirit left the chambers. Morgan le Fay cackled evilly, certain that this plan would succeed and two Rangers would be dead by the end of the day.

Back on earth, Dallas and Justin use their lunch period to go out and grab some fast food. Justin still felt bad that Dallas was jealous of Athena, so he thought that this would cheer her up. They were driving along the road which had the most choices closest to their school.

“What sounds good to eat today?” Justin asked Dallas. Dallas would have replied, but something strange overcame her. At that moment, the spirit of Iseult possessed the heart of Dallas Cruz, and her body became all warm and tingly. “Dallas, are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine Justin, you’re so sweet to worry about me,” Dallas swooned over him, “I’m happy with anything, you have great taste!” Justin thought the behavior was odd but wrote it off as unimportant. He pulled into Burger King and up to the window.

“Hey, yeah I’ll take a number seven and a sprite…what would you like?” Justin asked Dallas.

“Oh, I don’t care, something small…trying to watch my weight,” Dallas said, swaying in her seat, “just a small fry and a lemonade would be fine.” Justin shrugged and ordered for her as well. He picked up the food and paid for both, pulling into the school’s lot to eat. Justin ate his food quickly, but he couldn’t help notice that Dallas was taking her sweet time and eyeing him the entire time.

“That was sweet of you to buy me lunch Justin, thank you,” Dallas said.

“Hey, no problem. Least I could do to make you feel better,” Justin said. He caught sight of the clock and noticed it was time to head back to classes. Grabbing all the trash he and Dallas got out of the car. They made it back to the campus, Dallas following her like a puppy dog. He stopped and pointed to his class, “alright, I got to head off…you going to be okay?” Justin asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine now,” Dallas said and she hugged Justin tight, leaning up and kissing his cheek, “see you later…” she said before walking off happily to her next class. Justin was more than confused, holding his cheek as he walked off to his.

“This might be a problem…” Justin said.

After classes, the Rangers walked home. Dallas lived near Justin, so naturally she walked with him almost every day. Today, however, she chose to walk just a little closer. Justin had had enough, and needed to know what the deal was.

“Dallas, is everything alright? You’re acting a little weird,” Justin asked.

“I’m fine Justin! I just really like being around you, you’re kind and sweet to me, what’s wrong with that?” Dallas replied.

“Nothing, I guess, I mean…you’ve never acted like this around me before,” Justin explained.

“Well, maybe because I just started feeling differently about you,” Dallas said cryptically.

Justin was going to try and sort the whole situation out, but they were interrupted by an explosion flaring up right in front of them. Justin leaped to knock Dallas out of the way, then looked up to see what was going on. When the dust cleared, the Black Knight was positioned before them, saddled up on his new Demon Cycle. The barrels of the mounted cannons were smoking from the last blast, and Justin was in no mood to deal with him.

“What the hell? Where did you get that? I thought Shanahan was purified!” Justin shouted.

“He was, but the bike remains under the Man in Black’s influence,” The Black Knight explained in his regularly cool and calm demeanor, “and now, if there are no further questions, I’m going to destroy you.” The Black Knight unlatched his halberd from the Demon Cycle, approaching the Rangers with malice intent. The Rangers stood up and prepared for battle.

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! BLUE KNIGHT ARISE!”

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! YELLOW KNIGHT ARISE!”

The Rangers morphed, and then immediately tried to call their friends for help, but for some reason their communications gave only static.

“What’s going on? How come we can’t contact the others?” Justin asked.

“That would be my fault,” The Black Knight gestured to his motorcycle, noting a strange new device on the back, “that is a mystical jammer. No signals can come in or out of her, including radio, video, or telekinetic. Your Lady of the Lake will not pass the message along either. Which means…you’re all mine…”

The Black Knight brought his halberd to bear, charging the Rangers. Justin drew his sword, as did Dallas, swinging them to deflect the Black Knight’s attack. The Black Knight stuck the butt of his weapon into the ground, stopping his momentum and swinging around the shaft to deliver a kick to both of his opponents. Justin and Dallas stumbled backwards, but shot back in to attack. The Black Knight brought up his weapon to deflect both blades, pushing them high over their heads so he could jump up and dropkick the two of them, knocking them to the ground. Both Rangers kipped up immediately, but had to duck backwards right away to avoid the Black Knight’s horizontal swipe with his halberd. Dallas thrust forward to try and stab the Black Knight, but her arms was caught under his shoulder and he wrenched it out, causing her to cry out in pain. Justin charged in to save his friend, but he was knocked back by a side kick to the upper chest. Dallas used this division in his concentration as an opportunity to throw her body up and wrap her legs around the Black Knight’s head while her arm was still trapped. Using all the power and leverage she could to flip the Black Knight onto his back. Dallas got to her feet and went to check on Justin, but it didn’t take long for the Black Knight to move back to his feet. He was outraged that the Yellow Ranger was able to knock him over, and he swung his deadly weapon with all his might, sending a purple energy blade through the air at the Rangers. Justin was still disoriented, and Dallas threw herself in front of the attack. Dallas’ armor sparked from the impact of the blast, knocking her back with great force. Justin saw what happened and was infuriated, causing him to summon his gauntlet to bring this fight to the next level. Justin struck the ground with all his strength, sending fissures in the ground directly at the Black Knight. However, the target seemed calm, and before the attack could reach him the Black Knight slashed at the ground, separating himself from the incoming earthquake. Justin couldn’t believe what had just happened as no one had been able to avoid that attack before, and it caused him to make the mistake of not following up.

“Your technique is pitiful, and your emotions make you weak and clumsy,” The Black Knight called out across the battlefield, “but don’t worry…I’ll put you out of your misery soon enough. And then? I’ll finish that pitiful Yellow Ranger as well.”

The Black Knight leapt into the air, his halberd high over his head and coming down like a guillotine. Justin was so furious that his emotions took over, and he thrust forward with his gauntlet at full power, colliding with the chest of the Black Knight and sending him tumbling to the dirt.

“EMOTIONS DON’T MAKE SOMEONE WEAK! CARING DOESN’T MAKE YOU A FOOL!” Justin called out angrily, “It’s…what makes us human…and you cold selfish b*****d, are not human.” Justin rushed forward, calling out with an angry battle cry, intending on cutting the Black Knight down with one last strike. The Black Knight was hurt, but was able to reach to his glove and press a hidden button, which called over his Demon Cycle to intercept Justin. The motorcycle collided with the rushing Blue Ranger, sending him crashing into some rocks behind him. The Blue Ranger wasn’t moving, and the Black Knight was able to stand back up. He mounted his motorcycle and made some adjustments, readying himself to finish the Blue Ranger off once and for all.

“Your emotions may allow you to summon great brute strength, but it clouds your head. And now…I’m going to spread your head all over the ground!” The Black Knight declared, revving his engine and speeding off in the direction of the fallen Blue Ranger. His halberd drawn, dragging along the ground and ready to slice him in half. Closer and closer he drew, and Justin watched as the blade came flying at him like a jet. He couldn’t move, and he prepared until the end, but something incredible happened. Justin watched as Dallas flew through the air and tackled the Black Knight, knocking him off of the Demon Cycle and forcing it to crash harmlessly in a ditch. The Yellow Ranger and the Black Knight also flew through the air, and they both collapsed to the hard ground below, neither one moving, and Dallas had demorphed. Justin looked up, trying to see if his fellow Ranger was okay, but when the Black Knight began to stir and she did not, a new feeling of dread filled him. Dallas rolled over, revealing an energy dagger that was stabbed into her chest, dissipating soon after.

“NOOOO!” Justin cried out, struggling desperately to return to his feet, but still his ribs troubled him and the motorcycle crash didn’t help. The Black Knight was clearly wounded, his shoulders rising up and down as he struggled to breath beneath his mask.

“Valiant…it seems that this girl has feelings for you Blue Ranger…fear not, you will both be together again…very soon…” The Black Knight explained with a menacing tone, raising up his weapon once again to finish off Dallas. All seemed helpless, until from seemingly nowhere at all, three beams of light shot out and struck the Black Knight, knocking him away from the fallen Dallas. Justin looked to see who it was, and the Pink Green and Red Rangers rode in on their own motorcycles to save the day. The Black Knight looked up and saw this as well, cursing his luck.

“NO! How could you be here!? My jammer should prevent you from finding us!” The Black Knight shouted.

“Well from the looks of your bike,” King gestured to the battered machine in the dirt, the jammer sparking, “I don’t think your jammer is functioning anymore. When we called their homes and no one answered, we knew something was up. We checked it out with the Lady of the Lake and she told us our friends were in danger.”

“But by the looks of things now,” Athena began, “you’re the one who is in danger now.”

The Black Knight slammed his fist into the dirt, and he knew he had to retreat. Before the Man in Black could say a word he teleported himself, as well as his Demon Cycle, back to safety. He was so close, and he hated to leave it this way, but he had no choice. He was too injured, and would never survive a fight against three more fresh Rangers.

The Rangers dismounted their motorcycles, Kyle running to check on Justin and King and Athena ran to check on Dallas. Justin was helped to his feet, but Dallas was still unconscious, and demorphed with a wound in her chest. Strangely enough, from the wound a strange blue cloud emerged, hovering over the unconscious and barely breathing Ranger. Justin hurried over to her side, hoping desperately that she was okay. She wasn’t moving, and her breathing was becoming more and more scarce.

“No…no this can’t happen! She was just trying to save me! NO! IT’S NOT FAIR!” Justin cried out, consumed with rage. The blue cloud hovered, and soon began taking shape. In its place, the form of a beautiful woman hovered over the Rangers.

“Tristan…you truly care for this woman…” the spirit spoke, drawing the attention of everyone, including the teary eyed Blue Ranger, who has since removed his helmet.

“Who…who are you?” Justin asked.

“My love…you still do not recognize me? It is I, your lover, Iseult,” the spirit explained, “you and I were once the greatest lovers the world had ever known. Surely you know me.” Justin stared at the spirit, and for some reason a feint memory emerged from the depths of his mind.

“I…I feel that…what you’re saying is true…I don’t know why, but I feel like I know you,” Justin replied, but it was the best he could muster. The spirit appeared disappointed, then looked up on the fallen Ranger.

“Of course…you are only my love’s descendent. You hold his spirit, but not his memories. You are not the man I love, no matter how much I wish it to be so. But her,” the spirit gestured to Dallas, “I feel that you hold similar feelings for this girl. I may wish you to be mine, but if it is not to be so, then I will do whatever it takes to bring you happiness.” The spirit opened its arms wide, wrapping them around Dallas in a deep embrace. He spirit began to reenter her, instantly revitalizing her. Dallas’ wound began to heal instantly, and her eyes opened up once again. Justin hugged her tight, thankful she was okay.

“Dallas! You’re alright! Oh thank God! I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you died saving my life,” Justin said.

“I…saved you life? Justin, I have no idea what’s going on. What happened?” Dallas asked.

“We were walking home from school and the Black Knight attacked. You jumped in front of a blast for me, then knocked the Black Knight off of his bike before he could slice me up. He stabbed you, and then some spirit named Iseult healed you,” Justin explained.

“Justin…I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. The last thing I remember was getting in your car for lunch,” Dallas replied.

“That…that was when you started acting weird,” Justin recalled, “Iseult must have possessed you and made you fall in love with me…”

“I fell in love with you?” Dallas asked, “I’m sorry Justin, you should have known something was up.” The Rangers laughed, and Justin let Dallas up to her feet, “thank you Justin, that was sweet of you to save me.”

Justin nodded and rubbed his neck, walking off with the other Rangers. Dallas stayed back as something distracted her.

“Yeah…Iseult made me…” Dallas said sarcastically to herself.

“Hey Dallas! You coming?” Athena called out.

“Yeah! Coming!” Dallas ran forward and joined her friends. They had a hard fought battle today, and they had all earned some rest, though Dallas and Justin had other things on their minds.

“How did the Black Knight know who we were?” was the question on both of their minds all night.

Episode Twelve part 2:

The Rangers opened their eyes and they found themselves separated from each other, levitating and surrounded by a blinding light. At some point, each of them wondered if they had died, and it didn’t help when an old bearded man dressed in long robes appeared before them. The same man approached each of the Rangers, though in this world each of them were completely alone.

Blue:

“Am I dead?” Justin asked.

“No son of Tristan, you are merely in a world manifested by your soul. You wish to obtain greater power from within, and so here you will face your greatest faults and demons. If you succeed, you will be granted the powers that lay dormant within you, but if you fail, you will cease to exist, and everything you’ve sworn to protect will be destroyed,” the elderly man explained.

“Alright, so who does that make you?” Justin questioned further.

“I…am Merlin. King Arthur’s loyal wizard. I am no longer of the world you inhabit, and so I reside in the magical dimension, waiting to assist those who seek my assistance,” Merlin replied.

“Wow…Merlin…Wait, so what am I supposed to do? I don’t see anything here,” Justin asked.

“I am simply here to explain your task. You and each of your friends will experience a different test. If any of you fail, you all fail, but if you all succeed, the powers of the ancients will be open to you,” Merlin explained before fading away into the light, leaving Justin and the other Rangers thoroughly confused.

Suddenly, the bright light slowly turned into darkness, and just as the light made it hard for Justin to see, now he sat in total and complete darkness. Justin felt around for some sort of way to navigate, something to hold, something to reference himself. His eyes began to adjust, and he grabbed on to some odd formation he found in front of him. He used his hands to try and discover to what he was holding on to until his eyes had adjusted properly, and he realized he was grabbing on to a skeleton in blue medieval armor. Justin shouted and backed away, whipping his hands on his clothes. He soon realized he was no longer in Ranger form, and was back to his public street attire.

When he calmed down, he took a longer look at the skeleton which sat before him, and he realized that it had to have been his ancestor, Sir Tristan. He didn’t know why, but he recognized the coat of arms on his shield, as well as the gauntlet on his hand. It was similar to his own, and he decided it would be safer to remove the gauntlet and take it for himself in case he needed to protect himself. He also unlatched the sword from around his waist and latched it around his own. His eyes were now at optimal night vision, and he took stock of his surroundings. He was in the middle of a battlefield, grass stained red with blood with bodies strewn all around him. Fog was heavy on the ground, making it hard to see where he was stepping. Justin still had no idea what he was supposed to do, but his answer came soon in the form of the Black Knight.

The Black Knight rode quickly at him, mounted on a black horse with his halberd drawn. Unlike the other knights who laid at his feet, the Black Knight was still in his modern evil Ranger form. Justin drew his sword, knowing he would have to fight the Black Knight in order to pass his test. He just didn’t know how. The Black Knight charged, and Justin had to roll away to avoid being trampled or sliced in half. The Black Knight turned his steed around and came back for another run, and Justin used his gauntlet to smash the ground and send his earthly tremors in the direction of the Black Knight. His foe was stirred not, however, and the Black Knight’s steed leaped over the shaking earth and nearly landed directly on Justin if he hadn’t rolled away at the last second. Again the Black Knight charged for an attack, and Justin decided that he would just throw all his strength behind one head-on shot. Justin rushed head long into the Knight, rearing back to strike the Black Knight off of his horse, but the horse reared up and kicked out with both front legs, nailing Justin square in the chest and knocking him back several yards, sending him tumbling like a rag doll. Justin sat there, completely motionless as he struggled to breath.

“I can’t do it…I’m not strong enough…” Justin said as he gasped for air, “my body…my strength…I’m supposed to be stronger…why can’t I beat him?!” he cursed himself, smacking the ground with his armored gauntlet. He noticed that even with his slightest tap, with almost zero muscle behind it, the ground began to crack. His eyes widened, and he realized there was another way. “I don’t have to be stronger than the Black Knight…I can be smarter…”

The Black Knight rode up to where he saw Justin fall, and to his surprise, Justin had vanished. The Black Knight scoured the battlefield, searching for his prey. Justin was crawling along the ground, hidden by the fog as he made his way away from the Black Knight. When he surmised he was far enough, he began tapping the ground quickly and lightly with his gauntlet, making the ground unstable and weak. The Black Knight finally located Justin, and he knew his time was up. As carefully as he could, Justin stood up and shouted at the Black Knight.

“HEY! You want me? Come and get me!” Justin cried out, and the Black Knight did indeed charge. His horse was moving as quickly as it could and the Black Knight ordered his steed to leap into the air so he could strike down with extra momentum with his deadly blade. Justin bided his time, until it was all or nothing time. Justin jumped with all his strength directly at the Black Knight, leaping and bounding off of the horse and the Black Knight’s head. Justin landed behind the Black Knight, and the Black Knight landed in the middle of unstable rocky terrain which crumbled beneath him. Justin could hear the cries of despair as the Black Knight fell into the endless abyss that formed in the earth, and he knew he had succeeded. At that moment, the battlefield disappeared and returned to the bright light.

Yellow:

Dallas received the very same speech and explanation from Merlin before he faded away. Dallas was left alone as the scene turned to darkness once again. Like Justin’s experience, Dallas too found herself on the same God-forsaken battlefield. She surveyed the area, and the sight of all the dead bodies horrified her. She staggered backwards, trying to escape this place but she ran straight into the shore of a lake, causing her to fall backwards into the murky water. Floating next to her was the skeleton of a facedown woman, holding onto a bow much like her own with a satchel of arrows around her shoulders. Dallas cringed, whimpering slightly but she found the strength to take her weapon off the corpse and equip it to herself. Dallas trudged out of the water, looking around for something, anything that would tell her what to do, but she only heard a dull voice, ringing in her head from seemingly nowhere.

“You’re weak…” the voice said, causing Dallas to look around frantically to find the source of the voice.

“Whose there?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“You are a detriment to your friends,” the voice continued.

“Where are you?!” Dallas shouted.

“Your weakness will be the death of your friends,” the voice pushed further. Dallas clutched her ears with her hands, trying to block it out.

“Stop it!” She cried.

“You lack the ability to kill,” the voice persisted, “you have the opportunity to end a battle and obtain victory, but you refuse to take it. Your lack of the killer instinct will bring you and your friends to you graves.”

Dallas fell to her knees as tears streamed down her face. She shook her head, helplessly trying to dispel the voices from her mind. An unknown force compelled Dallas to open her eyes, and before her stood the Black Knight. Dallas forced herself to stammer up to her feet and draw her sword as the Black Knight swung down at her. She could barely bring her sword up to deflect the blow. Dallas stumbled backwards, and the Black Knight raised his weapon up high, slowly and deliberately, before slashing down again. Dallas blocked, causing her to continuously backpedal. She watched as the halberd was deflected, and the blade lodged itself in the back of Kyle. Dallas screamed as she watched the image of her friend fall lifelessly to the floor. The Black Knight continued relentlessly, raising up his weapon slowly and deliberately before attacking again. Dallas blocked, and the halberd deflected, this time into the back of Athena. Dallas watched her eyes turn from happy and jubilant to agonized and lifeless in the blink of an eye before her best friend fell to the ground.

“STOP IT! PLEASE DON’T!” Dallas screamed pleadingly, but the Black Knight pressed on. Again he raised up his weapon and hacked down again. Dallas dodged, and in her place she saw Kelly, who was cut down just the same. Dallas turned tail and ran, but she didn’t get far. She was caught by Justin, who held her tightly as if nothing was happening.

“Hey,” the apparition spoke, “what’s the matter beautiful? Why are you crying?”

“Justin!” Dallas cried out, “We have to go! The Black Knight it here! Kyle Athena and Kelly are dead! We have to go! Now!” She tried desperately to make Justin move but nothing she could do could budge him.

“I know,” the illusion spoke calmly, “He got me too. If only you would stand and fight. Your cowardice killed us all.”

Dallas let go of Justin, and he fell to his death as well, and in his place stood the Black Knight and his bloody weapon. Dallas screamed as a feeling of hopelessness overtook her. She was the last one left, and she knew she didn’t have it in her to kill. She threw down her sword into the mud, and the Black Knight began to laugh.

“Don’t you see you foolish girl?” The Black Knight spoke sinisterly, “you do have the ability to kill, for as you stand there and refuse to fight, you also cut down everyone I kill. You are responsible for the deaths, I am merely the reaper you have let loose. Apathy is death…apathy…is…death…APATHY IS…!”

The Black Knight was silenced by an arrow to his skull. He froze for several moments before teetering and falling to his back, his body going limp and his weapons falling from his grasp. Dallas lowered her bow, panting like a mad woman as she came to terms with what she had just done.

“I didn’t want to destroy you…But I won’t let you hurt innocent people…” Dallas spoke solemnly. At that instant, the darkness was illuminated by light, and she felt herself pulled from that dark and evil place. She too had accomplished her task.

Green:

Kyle watched as Merlin faded away after receiving the same speech his fellow Rangers did, and again he was seemingly transported to this dank and blood filled battlefield just like the others. Unlike the others, Kyle was seemingly unafraid to explore the area, but when he too came across the boney remains of Gawain with his flail impeded into his skull, he grew angry and took a moment to mourn the death of his ancestor before taking the flail and the sword from his corpse, equipping them to himself.
Instead of wandering aimlessly, Kyle stayed put and barked out into the darkness.

“Alright! I’m here!” Kyle shouted, “So test me already! I can take anything you throw at me you creepy wizard!”

Kyle could make out a long approaching figure. He squinted to try and make out who it was, and to his delight it was indeed the Black Knight. Kyle began swinging his flail in preparation for the battle, he couldn’t wait to get his hands on him after the last few battles they’ve had. Kyle noticed something else, and shook his head for surely it couldn’t be true, but his eyes did not deceive him. In the distance, another Black Knight was marching alongside the first.

“That’s fine, I’ll take you both out,” Kyle said confidently, but the trend continued. Another Black Knight appeared, and another, and another, and another, until the horizon was filled with Black Knights marching towards him. There must have been hundreds, and Kyle’s confidence was wavering. The army stopped only five yards away, and the outlying lines began surrounding him, forming a circle of Black Knights all around him and leaving him with no escape. Kyle grew frustrated with this turn of events, and decided that if he was going to go down, he’d go down fighting. Kyle rushed straight ahead of him, throwing his flail on its chain to clear out four Black Knights directly in front of him. He charged into the hole he made and started swinging his flail like a mad man, knocking them down left and right. However, with every Knight he knocked down, another one took its place, slowly encroaching on him each wielding a deadly weapon. Kyle had no armor, and so he knew he had to be batting a thousand in order to come out alive, but inevitably, as Kyle grew tired, the Black Knights got closer. Kyle arched his back as he felt jolts of pain shoot of his spine and he fell to his knees. The Black Knight had cut him from behind, and Kyle went into panic mode. He let out all the slack in his chain as he swung the spiked ball over his head with as much distance as he could, keeping them at bay. However, Kyle’s strength was fading, and he knew in mere moments he’d be helpless to defend himself.

“Why…” Kyle asked in a raspy and weak voice, “Why am I all alone? Why do I have to do this by myself?”

Kyle’s strength finally gave way, and he dropped his weapon. At that moment, all of the Black Knights piled on top of Kyle in a massive heap, crushing him beneath their collective weight.

“I can’t do this on my own…I can’t do this without my friends…” Kyle said, and suddenly a blue light shone, and beneath the pile with him was Justin, holding the Black Knights off, “Justin…” suddenly, a yellow light appeared next to him, and Dallas too took her share of the weight, “Dallas!” A pink light lit up next, and Athena was there to relieve the pressure as well, “Athena!” And finally, the red light shone and Kelly was right next to him, and together they were able to get some breathing room under the mountain of Black Knights.

“You don’t have to do it alone Kyle,” Kelly said, “you don’t have to rush in to win the fight every time. We’re here to help you. We’re a team, remember?”

Kyle nodded and began to stand, placing his hands on the mountain of Black Knights above him and nodded to all of his friends.

“Thank you,” he said, and at once the Rangers heaved the Black Knights off of them, throwing them to the sky where they all disappeared, defeated. Kyle looked around to thank his friends, but once again he found himself alone, but this time he was being consumed by the white light, letting him know he had succeeded.

Pink:

Athena watched as Merlin faded away, and once again the Pink Ranger
was transported to the strange and dark battle field. It was cold and eerie, and the ground was strewn with the bodies of fallen warriors. One body caught her attention, as a skeleton in a tattered pink dress was laid out before her, surrounded by several others. She approached it cautiously, and she noticed it had to be the body of Guinevere, as she was holding a whip similar to her own in her hand. Athena was reluctant, but she reached forward and gently retrieved the whip, fearing she might need it soon.

Athena wandered the strange place, and for quite a while it seemed completely deserted. There was no one in sight, and not a sound aside from the sound of her feet stepping on the grass. Athena came over a ridge after a long walk, and off in the distance were two warriors clashing. She couldn’t make out who they were, so she climbed down and ran across the field to see who it could be and if she could help. When she was close enough, she began making out familiar images. One of them was her fellow Ranger, Kelly King. The other one was her boyfriend, Mike Landry. Each of them had identical long swords, and the ferocity of their battle was sending sparks of electricity bounding off and striking each of them repeatedly. Eventually, the two warriors swung their swords in unison, and their swords matched right in the middle of them. Each of them pressed with all their strength to try and gain the advantage, but neither could gain so much of as an inch of ground against the other. Bolts of lightning arced from the swords and onto King and Landry, causing them to suffer immeasurable pain.

“Kelly! Michael! What are you doing? Stop!” Athena pleaded, but it seemed as if her cries were falling on deaf ears. Neither responded, they were completely focused on destroying one another.

“One of these men will not survive this encounter, Athena,” Merlin’s voice echoed in her mind, “to defeat the other, they require…your heart.”

“What? What do you mean?” Athena asked, confused.

“Each of these men are competing for your heart. You must pledge it to one, or both will be destroyed. Michael needs your heart, because without it he will fall into his inner darkness and despair, and there will be no hope of bringing him back to the side of light. Kelly requires your heart because without it, your team is not complete, and if your heart is not with the Rangers, they will eventually fall. You must choose, before both of them are destroyed.” Merlin explains.

When Merlin’s voice is silenced, Athena falls to her knees as a ripping pain shoots up inside of her chest. She clutches her chest and magically, Athena’s heart exits her body and ends up in her hands. Athena is stunned, then looks to the boys fighting for her heart and sees that both of them are rapidly deteriorating. She reaches out to Kelly, but the moment she does Landry’s deterioration exponentially accelerates. She withdraws and reaches out to Landry to try and help, but Kelly begins to fade away as well. Each of them were on the brink of destruction, and she had no clue what she could do to save them both with only one heart to give.

“I…I can’t choose…I love them both! The Power Rangers have the ability to save the world! There are so many lives at stake! But I can’t let Michael’s heart die, he means too much to me! I can’t choose…I can’t choose!” Athena cried out, praying for a new answer to present itself, but she knew nothing would. She had to make a choice, and each one would tear her apart.

Tear her apart…

Athena made a snap decision, and threw her heart into the sky. She snapped her whip and the tip of it struck the heart dead center, and before her very eyes her own heart was torn in half. Athena collapsed to the ground, but the pieces of her heart gently drifted down to the two combatants. Each half embedded itself into the warriors, and instantly both of them dropped their swords. Their wounds healed quickly, and the apparitions turned to Athena who had fallen to her chest. Kelly and Mike reached down, grabbing her arms and helped her to her feet. She looked up weakly, smiling to see that her tactic had worked.

“I knew it…I knew I could save you both…I don’t have to be just a Ranger, or just a lover, I refuse to let either one define me. My heart is big enough for both, and we can all live together harmoniously,” Athena said and her strength returned to her. Landry and King faded away, as did the battlefield, and she was engulfed by a warm and cleansing light.

Red:

Kelly King found himself transported to the same place as Merlin faded away, and when he was there one thing became immediately apparent to him: he was in the center of the battlefield, because directly in front of him was Excalibur, stuck in the legendary stone from which it came. The body of King Arthur was clearly grasping at the handle, and he was surrounded by hundreds of other bodies.

Kelly approached slowly, stepping over the bodies in order to reach the sword he’d come to know as his own, the one that’s gotten him out of so many bad situations. He stepped up to the stone, and gently removed King Arthur’s hand, placing it over his chest. He turned his attention to the sword of legend, and placed both hands on the handle. He pulled, but the sword did not budge. Again he yanked on the sword, but it would not move an inch. Once more he pulled with all the strength in his body, but the sword remained still.

“Why…why can’t I remove the sword from the stone?” King asked himself, but soon he had a whole new problem. Riding over the bodies of the fallen soldiers was his old nemesis: the Black Knight.

The Black Knight dismounted his steed, unlatching his halberd from the saddled and in one swift strike, cleared out dozens of bodies, leaving a straight path between himself and Kelly. King’s sense of urgency increased, and he tried desperately to extract Excalibur from the stone, but still his efforts were in vain. King could hear the Black Knight laughing as he watched him struggle, and it only made him hotter under the collar.

“Your dependence on that sword is your undoing Red Ranger,” The Black Knight decreed as he marched forward, “you would remain here, vulnerable and defenseless if it meant you had one more chance to extract your sword and have a chance to defeat me. Your faith is misplaced. That sword will not come to your rescue, and just like your ancestor, you will die trying to retrieve it.”

Kelly tried to ignore the Black Knight’s antagonizing words, but his focus was split. All the strength in his body went to trying to retrieve his sword so he could fight, but with every passing second the Black Knight drew closer, spinning his blade confidently and ready to strike.

“I can’t give up…I need to take Excalibur so I can defeat the Black Knight…I can’t let him win!” Kelly cried out as he continued his failing effort to extract the sword. Finally, it was too late, and the Black Knight was upon him. King had no time left, and the Black Knight swung down with his weapon, and Kelly had to roll away to evade. King was forced to watch as the Black Knight struck his sword, and in a brilliant flash he saw as his only weapon turned to dust right before his very eyes.

“NOOOOOOOOO!” Kelly shouted as his weapon was destroyed, but the Black Knight showed no remorse, stepping in the dust and kicked it into the dirt.

“You’ve lost son of Arthur,” The Black Knight declared, “You and your friends depend on the strength of Excalibur to save them, and now…it is gone forever. You’ve failed…and now your head will be my trophy.”

“Excalibur…we’ve depended completely on its power to win our battles…That’s it isn’t it? I have to use the power inside of me, not the power I’ve taken for granted…” Kelly reasoned to himself. The Black Knight approached him and reared back with his halberd, ready to deal the fatal blow.

“Say goodbye…Son of Arther…” The Black Knight said grimly. Kelly looked up and clenched his fist, and a knowing grin stretched across his face.

“Goodbye,” King said, and his body became engulfed in flames. Wings of fire spouted from his back, and the power inside of him was unlocked. Kelly punched forward into the chest of the Black Knight, using a power inside of him that he previously thought was impossible. The Black Knight recoiled and tried to shield himself from the blast, but it was overwhelmingly powerful. The Black Knight was blown away, completely destroyed, and in his place…stood Excalibur, reformed.

Kelly stood back up as he relished the new power he had unlocked, then grabbed on to his old friend, the legendary sword and held it high. The white light returned, and now the time had come to share the powers that all five Rangers had obtained and unite them, ushering in a new age of White Magic.

The Black Knight was back in the city, reeking aimless havoc upon the buildings in the industrial district with his blade. With a single slash, the Black Knight could hack an entire warehouse completely in half. He was determined to draw the Rangers out for another encounter, but it seemed as if his destruction would go unpunished.

“WHERE ARE YOU RANGERS?!” Landry shouted, “ARE YOU SUCH COWARDS? WILL YOU LET ME LEVEL YOUR WHOLE CITY? WILL YOU LET INNOCENTS DIE TO SAVE YOUR OWN LIVES? YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF THE POWER! AND I SWEAR THAT I WILL TAKE IT FROM YOU IF I HAVE TO TEAR DOWN EVERY ONE OF YOUR BUILDINGS AND STRIP YOUR SKIN FROM YOUR BONES!”

Landry’s tirade was interrupted by a shockingly powerful blast to his back, causing him to tumbled forward and hold his shoulder in significant pain.

“What? What was that?” The Black Knight demanded. He looked to see where the blast had come from, and what he saw surprised him greatly. The Rangers had returned, and their new armor and weapons caused even the Black Knight to second guess his next move.

“It’s over…Black Knight…”

Episode Twelve part 3

“How…how can this be?” The Black Knight asked as he gazed upon the Rangers sporting their brand new armor and weaponry. Each Ranger was now equipped with shields on their left arm, extra chest armor with a matching colored crystal in the center, as well as longer and more deadly edged swords. Their helmets also had added protection, along with their thighs, shins and forearms. Their new capes topped off their look as they fluttered in the breeze.

“You’re finished, Black Knight,” Kelly declared, brimming with confidence after what each of them had just gone through, “surrender, and we’ll allow you to live.” The Black Knight became enraged, and he shouted back.

“I WILL NOT SURRENDER TO YOU! You’re dependence on new armor and weapons PROVES you are not worthy of the power!” The Black Knight barked back and he slashed with his halberd, sending a black wave of energy through the air and directly at the Rangers. An explosion lit up the night sky and smoke filled the air, and the Black Knight truly thought that he had defeated them so easily, but his hopes were dashed by what he saw next.

Through the smoke, the five Rangers charged through together, shields drawn without a scratch on them. They rushed down the street heading directly at the Black Knight, who for the first time was taking a step back as he contemplated retreat. He stopped, however, as his pride would not allow him to leave this battle when just hours ago he was inches from victory. The Black Knight chose to run at the charging Rangers, and when they met he swung with tremendous force at the Red Ranger, but to his surprise he missed by a mile as he embedded his blade into the concrete. From his right, Kyle attacked by shoving his shield into the Black Knight, knocking him to his side away from his weapon. The Black Knight staggered to his feet and he watched the Blue Ranger rush in to try and swipe with his sword. The Black Knight avoided two slashes, but he walked backwards right into the Yellow and Pink Rangers, who delivered twin sidekicks into his back, knocking him into Justin who slashed at his chest and finally hit the mark, sending sparks flying everywhere and the Black Knight to a knee, holding his chest.

The Black Knight regained his weapon and charged it with his black magic as his fury built upon itself. He smashed the blade into the ground, sending electrical energy along the ground and towards the Rangers who surrounded him. The Rangers stuck their swords into the ground, catching the magical energy in the blade before swinging it out towards the Black Knight, who was forced to bare the pain of his own attack, causing his armor to smoke and his body to fall to his hands and knees. The Black Knight panted heavily, trying to catch his breath as pain and rage consumed him.

“It’s time to surrender,” King proposed once again, but the Black Knight shook his head.

“I will never…EVER SURRENDER TO YOU!” The Black Knight shouted, and he used his remaining strength to bound out from the circle of Rangers and onto the seat of his approaching Demon Cycle.

The Black Knight turned and sped off in the direction of the Rangers, intending on cutting down or running over any who got in his way. The Rangers had no time to counter attack, and so they rolled and bounded out of the way to avoid being struck down. When he passed, the Rangers looked to each other and decided it was time to fight fire with fire.

“WE NEED THE KNIGHT CYCLES, NOW!” The Rangers called out, and from the horizon the five Ranger’s motorcycles rode themselves to their owners, ready to offer their assistance. The Rangers mounted their cycles, and by that time the Black Knight had turned around and was making another pass. The Black Knight had his halberd pointed straight out like a jousting lance, and so Kelly unsheathed Excalibur to match him. The other four Rangers held back but followed behind to offer their support as the Red Ranger and Black Knight careened towards each other at maddening speeds. Neither one was backing down, each determined to unseat their opponent and destroy them. The Black Knight accelerated to full speed, as did King, and when they met the Black Knight thrust forward with his lance, but he missed completely. King swerved to the right at the last possible second and turned his sword from a stabbing motion to a slashing one, catching the Black Knight square in the chest and sending him falling off of his mount, his Demon Cycle crashing into a nearby building.

The Rangers stopped and dismounted their bikes, thinking the Black Knight defeated…but to their horror he once again began to stand, fueled by his unending fury. His muscles were weak and his body sore, but it seemed nothing was going to keep him down.

“Black Knight!” King called out, “This needs to stop! You’re so powerful, we could work together! I can see that you are a Ranger, we do not need to fight each other. We don’t want to destroy you.”

“You…you cannot destroy me…” The Black Knight responded, “The Man in Black has made me invincible…”

“Who is the Man in Black?” Athena asked curiously, but the Black Knight completely ignored her.

“It does not matter…you’re dealing with me, and I am not yet defeated!” The Black Knight declared, once again picking up his weapon and charging blindly back into battle.

The Rangers felt bad, but they knew they couldn’t allow this battle to continue or the Black Knight to escape. They too rushed back at their foe, weapons drawn as their crystals on their chest began to glow, as well as Excalibur. The Rangers noticed this as they felt a rush of power fill their bodies, and they decided to try and harness the power. Soon, their entire bodies began to glow with a brilliant golden light, and in one moment they were transformed into a magical blade of energy, and they slashed through the air and cut through the Black Knight. After the attack, the Ranger retook their physical forms and turned to see the damage they had caused. The Black Knight had been stopped in his tracks, and he dropped his weapon to the ground. The Black Knight fell to his knees, and then slowly to his chest as a thunderous explosion erupted at the source of his wound. Smoke billowed into the air, and it appeared as if the Black Knight was finally destroyed.

“It’s over,” Kelly said sternly, and he and the Rangers approached the fallen warrior to try and discover just exactly who he was. However, what they saw when the smoke cleared astounded them.

The Black Knight began to stand back up.

He was shaky, barely able to even stay on all fours, but his indomitable resolve was refusing to give up, or demorph to allow his body to rest. Eventually, he stood up on both feet, his shoulders sunken as he struggled to even accomplish that. His body was spent, but to the Black Knight, the battle had only just begun.

“I…will not lose to you…” The Black Knight declared as he reached for his morpher, pointing it out before him.

“BY THE POWER OF BLACK MAGIC! ARISE THE LUNAR KNIGHT!”

The Black Knight called out, summoning his Megazord which had finally been completed. A portal from the dimension of Camlann opened, and though it stepped out his dark Megazord. It appeared to be similar to the other Ranger’s zords, just much larger, the size of the Royal King Megazord. Its weapon appeared to be a two handed weapon, a crescent blade that resembled the moon. The Black Knight leaped up on top of his new Megazord, stepping into the cockpit and relaxing his battered body in the pilot’s seat.

“I can’t believe he’s still fighting…” Athena spoke, stunned.

“I can’t believe he has a Megazord!” Justin added.

“Well, there’s only one way to stop him,” King said and his Rangers
agreed.

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! ARISE THE SKYWARD KNIGHTS!”

The Rangers summoned their zords, and leapt up into their respective robotic Knights. Immediately the Rangers went on the attack, trying to catch the weakened Black Knight off guard. Athena lashed out with her whips, trying to tie them around the Lunar Knight Megazord. While the cables were strong, it wasn’t resilient enough as it was able to swing its crescent blade to cut the whips and free itself. The damage from the cutting of the whips sent electric shocks up the cables and shocked the zord, disabling it momentarily. Dallas fired several arrows from her zords giant bow, but each arrow was deflected by the dexterous Lunar Knight and its blade, bouncing them back into the chest pieces of the other zords. Kyle tried to lash out with his flail, sending the spiked ball right at the Lunar Knight’s head, but it was caught and the chain wrapped around the crescent blade. The Black Knight yanked back on the chain, causing Kyle’s zord to stumble forward, close enough for it to be hit by the Lunar Knight Megazord’s upward swing of its massive blade. Justin reached out with the extending arms of his zord, grabbing onto the Lunar Knight’s wrist. The Lunar Knight would not be restrained, and it let go of the blade with one hand, and use that free arm to forcefully pull the Blue Ranger’s zord closer to him so it too could taste his blade. Justin and his zord fell to the ground, leaving only King and his zord to contend with the Black Knight. Kelly marched forward conservatively, swinging with his massive blade, but it was blocked and deflected. The Lunar Knight slashed out when the Black Knight saw an opening, but Kelly was able to parry. In a fit of frustration, the Black Knight commanded his Megazord to slam his blade into the ground, and like his halberd it too send magical electrical energy through the ground and electrocuting the Red Ranger’s zord.

“Ahh! This isn’t working!” King remarked.

“You’re right, we need to link up!” Justin remarked and his fellow Rangers quickly agreed.

“ROYAL KING MEGAZORD!”

In a last ditch effort, the Rangers combined their zords into the Royal King Megazord in order to compete with the Black Knight at their full power. The Ranger’s Megazord drew its mighty blade, facing off with the Lunar Knight and his own deadly weapon. The Rangers slashed down with their blade, but it was blocked by the crescent weapon. The Lunar Knight shoved the Rangers away and slashed at the chest, sending sparks flying. The Rangers wouldn’t give up, and they were able to land a blow down the front of the Lunar Knight Megazord, causing it to stagger back.

“This battle is over Rangers!” The Black Knight called out from his Megazord, ordering it to charge the blade using the reserves of his Megazord, preparing for one last strike. The Rangers noticed the glowing blade and decided it would be wise to do the same, channeling their reserve power into their own sword. The Lunar Knight swung its blade, firing a massive blade of magical energy flying through the air at the Rangers. At the same time, the Royal King Megazord slashed at the air, sending a golden magical energy of its own in the opposite direction. Both attacks passed by each other, and both attacks landed on their targets, prompting fiery explosions from both Megazords, and both of them collapsed to their backs. Each Megazord was vulnerable, each side in danger of being destroyed with one more strike, but neither was able to bring their Megazord to stand.

“No! NO!” The Black Knight shouted angrily, pounding the console, “I won’t lose to them! I have them beat! You must stand you worthless hunk of machinery!”

But nothing the Black Knight could do would bring his Megazord to stand. In his head, a familiar voice spoke.

“Black Knight, you have fought well, but you must not sacrifice everything you’ve fought for for a shallow victory today. Retreat, and you will have your revenge another day,” The Man in Black ordered.

Begrudgingly, the Black Knight accepted the reality of the situation, and he indeed did retreat as he dismounted his Megazord and sent it back through the portal to safety.

“I swear Rangers,” The Black Knight spoke to himself, “if it takes my whole life, I will make you pay for what you did…”

And with that, the Black Knight teleported away, leaving the Power Rangers victorious this day. The Rangers breathed a sigh of relief as they watched their opponent escape, not knowing if they had the power to continue the fight themselves. They chose to dismount their Megazord and send it back through the portal to be repaired, but there was something else on their minds that had to be taken care of. The Rangers transported back to the castle beneath the lake to discuss it with the Lady of the Lake. When they arrived, she was there to offer her congratulations.

“Rangers, rejoice, you’ve found the powers within yourself to defeat the Black Knight!” The Lady of the Lake spoke joyously.

“Well yeah, we defeated him on the ground, but that new Megazord of his is something else. I don’t know if we can beat it,” Kyle admitted.

“Fear not my Rangers,” the Lady of the Lake spoke softly, “you do have the powers required to bring the Black Knight to his knees. I believe that each of you is strong enough to conquer him.”

“Thank you Lady of the Lake,” Athena said gratefully, “but that isn’t what is most concerning to us…”

“We need to know who the Man in Black that these guys keep talking about it,” Kelly demanded. The Lady of the Lake looked confused.

“I know not who this Man in Black could be. He is not a character from my time, nor is he one I’ve seen since then,” the Lady admitted, “though his power is…familiar. I’ve felt feint traces of an old foe in the enemies he has created, though its source is still foreign to me. I am sorry Rangers, but I fear that to find the identity of the Man in Black, you must either face him yourselves, or you must extract the information from the Black Knight.”

“If we can ever keep the guy down and capture him, I mean the dude is like the Terminator, he just kept getting up even when he was half passed dead,” Justin replied.

“Your time will come where all will be revealed to you Rangers, of that I am sure. Now go and rest, you have accomplished much today and have so much to be proud of. You deserve a rest,” the Lady of the Lake said serenely, urging them to go home. She knew there would be much to do the next day as the Student Center was destroyed and they would surely pitch in to help fix it up.

Athena didn’t go straight home like the others. Instead, she made her way in the late hours of the night to her usual spot atop the cliff where she and Mike usually would meet. She waited for what seemed like hours, until finally the reliable bright light of his motorcycle shined through the trees. He parked, and she ran up to hug him. It was then she noticed that he was distracted, and wasn’t moving as freely as he usually would

“Hey, I got your message, what did you need?” Landry asked.

“In a minute…you look like something is bothering you,” Athena observed, “is there something wrong? What happened?”

“Nothing,” Mike quickly tried to change the subject, but he saw in her eyes that Athena wasn’t buying it, “I got in a fight with some punks in my neighborhood,” he said, coming up with the most convenient lie possible, “they’ve been trying to jump me for a few days now. I’m just trying to figure out how to get rid of them.” Athena’s eyes were filled with concern and she checked him for any major wounds.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Athena questioned him.

“No, I’ll be alright, don’t worry about me,” Landry replied reassuringly, “I’m just having trouble finding the right thing to do. These guys have some bad things coming to them…but…I don’t always know if it’s the right thing to do,” Landry continued in a vague sense. He could see Athena racking her brain to try and figure it out so she could help, but he didn’t want her to think too hard and risk discovering what he was really talking about, “so, what was this big thing you had planned? It sounded important.”

Athena smiled and placed her hands behind her back playfully, and that made Mike smile. She looked so cute in the moonlight swaying like that.

“Close your eyes, I have a present for you,” Athena said cryptically. Mike obliged and covered his eyes with one hand, and Athena guided him carefully off of the motorcycle with his other, “I had a lot of time to think today, and it made me realize that you’re more important to me than I realized, and that I didn’t want to lose you,” she began, leading Mike to a location she had set up previously, “and when I realized that, I knew there was something I needed to give to you.” Mike was confused, but he allowed her to lead him wherever she wanted.

“What is it?” Mike asked, his curiosity peaked. Athena lowered Mike’s hand and he opened his eyes, and he saw Athena standing directly in front of him with an expression of happiness he’d never seen before, and behind her was a comforter laid out on top of a blanket in a place hidden deep in the woods where no one would possibly see it.

“My heart…”

Episode 13 part two:

When the battle began, Mordred, the chain monster and the Black Knight charged at the Red Blue and Green Rangers. Justin squared off with Mordred, Kyle with the chain monster, and King with the Black Knight. Separating into one on one battles, the Rangers were confident they could still win even without the Yellow and Pink Rangers.

Kyle had to deal with the chain monster lashing out with lengths of chains, striking at him like whips. Kyle’s shield helped greatly with the task, allowing him to time the attacks. When he saw his opening, he lashed out with his edged sword and cut the chain lengths away like he was hacking through the thick of a jungle. He took a step with each swing of his sword, getting closer and closer to the monster until he was only a few inches away. Kyle thrust forward to stab the monster in its chest, but it didn’t seem to harm him at all, unlike the cutting of its chain lengths. Instead, the monster’s chains began to move, pulling Kyle closer. He tried to let go of the sword, but it was too late as the chains wrapped around his arm and pulled him in closer. The monster spit Kyle’s sword out the other side as he pulled his arm all the way into his chest. The chains sped up and grinded against Kyle’s arm, causing him to scream out in intense pain. He had to escape before he his arm was torn right off, and so he swung with his shield arm right at the monster’s head, forcing him to let go and back away. Kyle shook out his arm to bring feeling back to it.

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” Kyle noted.

Meanwhile, Justin engaged Mordred, who was proving to be an even tougher match. With his lance as long as it was, Mordred made it nearly impossible for Justin to close in and attack with his sword. Every time he got close, Mordred would thrust forward and force Justin to bring up his shield so not to be impaled. Justin waited for Mordred to strike, then put his shield up again, but this time it was at an upward angle. Justin pushed up with his shield, pushing the lance over his head so he could have a straight shot at Mordred. Justin rushed in, intending to cut Mordred’s head clean off, but he was cut off by an abnormally powerful left punch which knocked Justin to his back. Mordred raised his lance over his head and thrust it down, and Justin was just able to bring his shield back around to avoid being threaded like a needle. The impact, however, did compromise the concrete beneath him, leaving the Blue Ranger in a hole. Justin abandoned his sword and summoned his gauntlet, pounding the ground and sending a rippling shockwave through the ground, sending Mordred flying away from him and giving him an opportunity to stand back up. Mordred landed on his feet and squared off, ready to go again.

“Damn…this guy is good…” Justin admitted.

Kelly was having no greater luck with the Black Knight, who was matching him move for move with his halberd against his sword. Kelly had learned that if he was able to frustrate the Black Knight, then he would be vulnerable, but that wasn’t the case today. The Black Knight has somehow transformed into a cold, calculating machine. It was as if he possessed no emotions at all. King was unprepared to fight him in this state, and it left him open for a split second for the Black Knight to slash at his chest and knock him to the ground. Instead of following up like he usually would, the Black Knight simply stepped back and allowed Kelly to stand. The Red Ranger was perplexed, usually the Black Knight went for the kill every time, but for some reason he was holding back, as if he knew he could avoid the blow and leave the Black Knight vulnerable to a counter attack. The Red Ranger stood back up, dusting himself off and preparing to re-engage, but something was bothering him deep inside.

“He’s changed…this isn’t good,” Kelly said to himself.

“That’s not all that’s changed, Red Ranger. I have a few new tricks you should see,” The Black Knight teased as he held his halberd high in the air, “BY THE POWER OF BLACK MAGIC! ARMOR OF THE ANCIENTS ACTIVATE!”

The Black Knight shouted the same spell that the Rangers used, and instantly he was granted the same armor as the Power Rangers possessed. Kelly took a step back, not believing his own eyes.

“No way,” King shouted in astonishment, “this can’t be true!”

“It is, and I have to say, I am truly enjoying this new power. I can understand now how you defeated me in our last encounter,” The Black Knight gloated, “and now, the very same power you used against me is going to be the end of you.”

Kyle was re-engaging the chain monster, now using the razor sharp edge of his shield to cut away the chain lengths that the monster was throwing around. He noticed that as he cut away at him, the chain monster was growing smaller and smaller. That gave Kyle an idea. The Green Ranger summoned his flail, swinging it over head to build up power. He threw it forward and it connected right with the chain monster’s chest. As before, it seemed to be ineffective as the chain monster absorbed the spiked ball and began to take the chain too. Kyle had anticipated this, and began swinging the chain over his head once again. The monster was tangled in the chain, and as Kyle spun his weapon he continued to unravel the monster link by link like spaghetti on a fork. The chain monster panicked, and soon the entirety of his chain form was tied up on the Green Ranger’s weapon, and out from the depths of chains fell a red ball with two eyes.

“So that’s the big bad monster huh? Take this,” Kyle said and he smashed his enlarged weapon down on the monster with all his might, smashing the mini monster into pieces, “alright! One down!”

Meanwhile, Justin still had his hands full with Mordred, but now he was getting the hang of how to fight him. Until then, Justin had been fighting with the gauntlet just as a fist, using brute strength to defeat his enemies, but he felt it was time he fought smarter and not harder. He unclasped the latch on his gauntlet, allowing the fist to open up and give him more dexterous movements with his fingers.

“It doesn’t matter what you do Blue Ranger, I’m going to run you through on my lance and carry you like a flag to all my future victories,” Mordred threatened before stabbing forward again with his lance. Justin brought up his gauntlet and caught the tip with his palm, squeezing it beneath his fist and crushing it like a soda can, dulling the point and making it worthless.

“Looks like you have a problem keeping it up, you know they have pills for that,” Justin said in a smart alec tone.

Mordred gritted his teeth and withdrew his arm from the lance, revealing a hidden sword from within it. Justin was already charging and preparing to finish Mordred off, but he had to adjust himself in mid stride to avoid being stabbed by Mordred’s hidden sword. He jumped down and placed his shield arm under him, using it like a sled to slide under the swipe, and used his gauntlet to take Mordred’s legs out from under him and causing him to fall right on his face. Justin got back to his feet, then pounded the ground with his gauntlet sending tremors Mordred’s way. Mordred saw that he was about to be sucked into the abyss and chose to live to fight another day, teleporting back to the dimension of Camlann where he would be safe.

“Missed him by that much,” Justin cursed, “that’s okay. When he comes back, we’ll be ready.”

Meanwhile, the Black Knight with his new powers was overpowering the Red Ranger. They seemed evenly matched before, but now the Black Knight had the same abilities as the Power Rangers, and that was giving him the edge. Kelly was knocked off balance, and he saw that the Black Knight was rushing in to attack. King thrust forward with his sword, but it was knocked from his grasp by a swing of the Black Knight’s halberd. The Red Ranger fell to his back, but instead of following up and finishing him off, the Black Knight simply kicked him in the ribs, rolling him over to his gut.

“It’s time for the Red Ranger to fall,” The Black Knight says grimly before slicing down with his halberd, but the shaft of the weapon was ensnared by a whip. The Black Knight turned his head to the source of the weapon, and witnessed as his prisoners had been released. Both the Pink and Yellow Rangers were free and powered up, ancient armor and all.

“I suggest you run Black Knight, you know you can’t win,” Athena spat defiantly. She still believed that the Black Knight would refuse to hurt her, and that would leave him vulnerable to her fellow Rangers’ attack. But then something happened that she didn’t expect, and that was the Black Knight channeling his magic into his blade and cutting through the air, sending a blade of energy directly at her. She was shocked, and unable to avoid it. Athena was heavily damage from the direct attack, and fell to her back, releasing her whip.

“ATHENA!” King called out to her. He used this chance to kick up at the Black Knight and knocking them backwards so he could escape and check on her.

“You’re the ones who are defeated Power Rangers,” the Black Knight said, cold as ice.

“I…I can’t believe he attacked me,” Athena spoke in complete disbelief, “he’s never…”

“Athena, something has changed. This isn’t the same Black Knight we’ve been fighting. All he cares about is doing as much damage as possible,” King explained.

“I don’t believe it, there has to be something left of him,” Athena said as she stood back up with the help of her friends, “I’ve seen it, good in him, he’s had the chance to kill me before but he hasn’t, so why is he changing now? I don’t understand.”

“Maybe it has something to do with working for Mordred, maybe he’s under some sort of spell or something,” Kyle suggested.

“Spell or not, he’s still dangerous. We have to stop him before he destroys the city, and us,” Justin said.

Meanwhile, in the dimension of Camlann…

“The Black Knight is not your only worry Power Rangers,” Morgan le Fay spoke in a sinister tone as Mordred re-entered the fortress, “Mordred, how disappointing that you couldn’t even defeat the Rangers with reinforcements at your side. No matter, I’m about to do something that will give us the advantage,” Morgan explained as she once again channeled her magic into her crystal ball so that she might revive her fallen chain monster.

Back on earth…

Morgan’s magic reached the chain monster and caused it to come back to life, growing to tremendous heights as it towered over the Rangers.

“Ahhhh…this power!” The chain monster spoke, “it’s time to eliminate the weak links you Power punks!”

“Oh no, guys we have monster problems!” Dallas noticed as she gestured to the towering chain monster.

“That’s not your only concern,” the Black Knight interrupted.

“BY THE POWER OF BLACK MAGIC! ARISE THE LUNAR KNIGHT!”

The Black Knight summoned his Lunar Knight Megazord, and it responded quickly, entering through the dimensional portal and standing tall next to the chain link monster. The Black Knight entered the cockpit of his Megazord, waiting patiently for the Rangers to enter the battle.

“Oh no, this isn’t good,” Kyle said.

“We need to go big,” Kelly said and the Rangers nodded.

“BY THE POWER OF WHITE MAGIC! ARISE THE SKYWARD KNIGHTS!”

Right on cue, the Power Ranger’s zords appeared through the portal, and they jumped into their cockpits to take control. They knew the Lunar Knight Megazord was too strong to take on in their smaller individual zords, so they decided to link up right away.

“ROYAL KING MEGAZORD!”

The Rangers flipped the switches on their respective zords, signaling for them to reform and link together to form their most powerful weapon, the Royal King Megazord. The Black Knight and the Chain monster seemed less than intimidated, as they knew the Lunar Knight Megazord was every bit as powerful as the Royal King Megazord, and now it was two on one. The Rangers drew their sword to combat their two opponents, but the evil ones had brought guns to this knife fight. The chain monster wrapped its chains around the arms of the Ranger’s Megazord, tying it up and restraining it from any attacks. While it was constricted, the Lunar Knight Megazord zoomed in and sliced at the vulnerable Rangers with its crescent blade. The Megazord sparked and flared up from the precision cut, knocking it over.

“We have to get up! Come on Megazord, we have to get up!” King called out as the Rangers struggled to get their Megazord back in the fight. The Rangers succeeded, but they were still badly damaged. The chain monster once again tried to bind the Megazord for a finishing blow, but the Megazord was able to cut them down with a swing of his blade.

“OW!” the chain monster cried out, “Hey! That hurts you know!”

“It’s not supposed to tickle!” Kyle retorted.

The Rangers were confident, but they had neglected to keep track of the Black Knight and his Megazord, who had snuck up behind and slashed at the back of the giant Megazord, sending sparks flying once again and collapsing it to the ground.

“We’re not strong enough, we can’t fight them both at the same time!” Justin said.

“We can’t give up! There has to be a way to stop them!” Kelly declared.

“Rangers!” The Lady of the Lake called out to her Rangers telepathically, “I have recently located an old ally of Arthur’s who will be able to lend its considerable strengths to your side.”

“An ally? Who is it?” Athena asked.

“It is Arthur’s steed, Hengroen,” the Lady of the Lake explained, “I have found it roaming the dimension of Camlann, and now it will come to your aid.”

As the Lady of the Lake spoke, the portal opened once again and out leaped a gigantic mechanical white horse. Hengroen flew through the air and landed on the Lunar Knight Megazord which was taken completely by surprise.

“Awesome! That horse is incredible!” Kelly admired as it trampled their nemesis, “hey, I have an idea,” King said and he pressed his fingers to his mouth, whistling loudly and calling for Hengroen to come to him. Hengroen obeyed, galloping at full speed towards the Royal King Megazord. The Rangers commanded their Megazord to jump, and it landed right in the saddle of their new friend. The Rangers powered up their massive long sword as they charged directly at the chain link monster, who was quivering in fear.

“No! No wait! Down boy! Good pony!” the chain link monster pleaded, but Hengroen nor the Rangers listened. Their sword began glowing with their reserve power, and the extra speed added even more force to their attack. The Megazord swung its sword and cut right through the chain link monster, reaching all the way through and cutting the red ball in half with ease. The chain link monster collapsed to the ground and erupted in a fiery explosion.

“Alright! One down, one to go!” Kelly and the Rangers celebrated as Hengroen turned and they faced the Black Knight, who was bringing his Lunar Knight Megazord back to its feet.

“Black Knight! Retreat!” Mordred ordered, “your Megazord has sustained far too much damage, it is not worth risking against this new weapon. You will live to fight another day.”

The Black Knight was reluctant, he hated having to retreat over and over again, but he too felt this could be a losing battle. The Black Knight and his Lunar Knight Megazord retreated through the portal to Camlann, leaving the Rangers victorious once again.

The Rangers abandoned their Megazord and sent it through the portal to be repaired safely, and the Rangers transported themselves to the castle beneath the lake so that they could discuss the events with the Lady of the Lake.

“Rangers, you fought bravely. It took great courage to continue to fight even with the odds against you,” the Lady congratulated them.

“Thank you Lady, we are truly grateful for your help. Hengroen is really an amazing ally,” King spoke modestly, “but something keeps bugging me: how did the Black Knight get access to the Armor of the Ancients? And a Megazord? Or the Demon Cycle? It seems like every time we gain a new power, the Black Knight is right behind us, breathing down our necks.”

“And that new fighting style,” Athena noted, “he’s so much more ruthless than he used to be. He’s cold, calculating, and he doesn’t care who gets hurt anymore. And now he’s teaming up with Mordred and the monsters instead of fighting them? I don’t know, something doesn’t feel right.”

“Your fears are well placed Pink Ranger,” the Lady of the Lake admitted, “I too sensed the new ferocity with which he fought, and when I analyzed the source, I detected the hint of black magic fogging the Black Knight’s mind. He no longer fights for reasons of his own, he fights under the complete control of Morgan le Fay and Sir Mordred.”

“So do you think we can break the spell? Will it bring him over to your side?” Athena asked curiously.

“There is no telling for sure, but the possibility is there that he might choose to fight alongside you Rangers should he break free of the black magic. Only time will tell,”

“I really hope it works, but to do that, we still have to defeat the Black Knight, and that won’t be easy,” Justin admitted.

“I hear you, definitely. But for now, all we can do is hope,” Dallas said.

The Rangers left the castle and returned to their homes. Athena was sent straight to her room by her father, who was still furious about her whereabouts the night before. Athena knew what she did was wrong, but she still wished she could leave to see Mike again. She closed the door and turned on her music so that her father couldn’t hear her get on the phone. Athena called Mike’s cell phone, but there was no answer. She tried texting, but even after hours there was no reply. Athena worried for his safety, but even more troubling was the chance that he had used her like her friends has implied, and the mere thought of it caused her to shed a tear as she lay in bed that night.

“Please…please come back to me…”