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Episode Sixteen:

We rejoin the story in the dimension of Camlann as Mordred and Morgan le Fay come to terms with their latest failed attempt to destroy the Power Rangers. Mordred was frustrated with her lack of faith in him, but even more troubling was her seemingly calm demeanor towards the situation.

“Your plan has failed, my queen. The Rangers live, despite Duality’s best efforts,” Mordred observed.

“Fear not Mordred, for I always have a plan,” Morgan le Fay replied as she worked with a cauldron, bubbling with magical ingredients. Mordred was more than curious, and he tried to peak over to see what it could be.

“What is that my queen?” Mordred inquired.

“This? This is what will make those Power Rangers self-destruct…” Morgan said sinisterly as she scooped some of the potion into a tiny capsule, sealing it like a pill and admiring it in the light.

A few days later on earth, the Man in Black has had the time to circulate this new pill around the city, and it has become a brand new craze among the young people. It was called ‘Green Mist’ because of its color and the way it made your mind go into a euphoric haze, and in only a week almost 10% of the student body at Lakeside High was using it. It was becoming a major concern, and the parents were rallying to get this new drug off the streets and out of the schools. Nothing, however, seemed to be working.

The Rangers were sitting at the table where they usually congregated on the weekends at the Student Center, and each of them was getting tired of hearing everyone talk about ‘Green Mist’ and how great it was or how curious they were to try it. In a week’s time, no one was interested in hearing what they had to say no matter how the Rangers tried to warn their fellow students.

“This I ridiculous,” Dallas said, “how did this whole thing start?”

“I have no clue,” Dallas’ new boyfriend Justin replied, “It’s like it just came out of nowhere.”

“Yeah well I don’t like it,” Kelly spoke up, “I don’t think this just came out of nowhere. I think this came from somewhere more familiar than everyone thinks.”

“You think Morgan le Fay invented this?” Athena inquired, “Why would she do that? As far as we know it has no negative side-effects aside from making you lazy and high out of your mind. Why would she put this out if it couldn’t hurt us?”

“I don’t know, but I plan on finding out,” Kelly said resolutely.

The Rangers’ time to themselves was short lived, as they were soon interrupted by Brantley Summers and the rest of the Midnight Marauders. The Rangers stood, expecting some sort of confrontation, but Summers laughed and waved the notion off.

“You guys look like you’re looking for a fight,” Summers began, “we sure aren’t. All we want…is to collect on the debt you owe us. Specifically from you, Justin.”

“Yeah? And what could I possibly have that you want?” Justin retorted.

“Actually, it’s not a what…it’s a who,” Brantley said cryptically, “we want to have a word with Kyle.” The Rangers looked amongst themselves, confused.

“What do you want with me?” Kyle asked.

“Only to chat, we have an offer for you,” Summers explained innocently.

“If it’s about joining your stupid biker thugs, you can forget it. I’m not interested,” Kyle said.

“Not at all, we are on what you might call a…hiring freeze. Come with us, and we can get this all sorted out in no time at all,” Summers explained. Kyle looked to his friends and they gave them looks of confidence as if to say they would be there if things got hot. Kyle stepped forward and left with the Midnight Marauders, heading to another hidden base of operations for the gang which turned out to be another abandoned warehouse. When they were there, the Marauders forced Kyle off the bike and surrounded him, leaving him no room for escape. Summers dismounted his bike, approaching him face to face.

“Let’s get this over with,” Kyle said sternly, “what is it you want from me?” Brantley smiled and wiggled his eyebrows, thoroughly enjoying this situation. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bottle, tossing it to Kyle who caught it and looked at it strangely.

“That’s it,” Summers said simply, “take a pill, and our business with you and your friends is over.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me, I’m not taking this garbage,” Kyle said disdainfully.

“Yeah, you are, or we’ll be taking the price of our services out on you and your friends,” Summers explained.

“Are you threatening me?” Kyle said seriously, going nose to nose with Summers, who stayed as calm as ever.

“Yes.” Summers answered sternly, “look around you Kyle. You think you and your friends are safe 24/7? You think you can just abuse our kindness and just walk away without repaying the favor? I don’t think so. This is how things are going to go down: either you take that pill in front of God and everyone, or we put you and your friends in the hospital, making damn sure you never walk again. Comprende?”

Kyle was furious that he was being threatened by this little punk, but what made it worse that he couldn’t do anything about it. The only way they could defend themselves is if they morphed, and that would ruin their secret identities. Kyle weighed the options, and he decided that risking the safety of his friends wasn’t worth his sobriety. He opened the bottle and took a pill out, eyeing it in his hand. He then shifted his gaze to Brantley who wore a smile so large it should be criminal.

“I’ll get you for this,” Kyle swore before popping the pill. Summers waited for him to see Kyle swallow before backing off, gesturing for his crew to get moving and leave Dracious to find his own way home, “wait, don’t you want the rest of the pills?” Kyle asked.

“Nah, you keep ‘em, consider it a gift basket for being so cooperative,” Brantley said and he laughed as he rode off with his gang. Kyle was confused, but he was happy this whole mess was over with. All he had to do now was get home to his friends to help him with the side effects of the drugs. Kyle stepped out the door and began the long walk home.

But he never made it back…

Kyle spent his whole day and night wandering the streets as high as a kite, drifting from place to place and causing damage everywhere he went. Kicking in windows, knocking over garbage dumpsters, destroying gardens, it didn’t matter to him. Kyle was focused on doing what he wanted, and that was it.

The next morning, Kyle was strung out. He wore shades and an old ragged hoody, one he didn’t know how he obtained but probably stole from some poor guy on the streets last night. He felt terrible, but what happened next wasn’t about to help. The Rangers walked in, each of them worried sick since he disappeared the day before.

“Where have you been?” Athena asked in deep concern, trying to get a look at his eyes, but he kept moving away.

“Nothing…” the only thing Kyle could muster.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Justin said.

“SHUT UP!” Kyle shouted, stunning them all. There was a long silence, and Dallas reached out to his shoulder to calm him down, but he pulled away which slid his hoody off and knocked away his sunglasses, revealing Kyle’s incredibly bloodshot eyes. Kelly grew angry, grabbing his collar and forcing him to look him in the eye.

“You’re on the Green Mist,” Kelly said, releasing his grip but not before Kyle smacks his hands away.

“Yeah? What of it?” Kyle spat back.

“What of it? You’re BETTER THAN THAT!” King shouted.

“WELL I GUESS YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT ME!” Kyle screamed right back as the place went silent. The entire Student Center was looking at Kyle now, “You know, I only did it because if I did, Summers promised to leave you all alone…but now? Now I’m just going to do it for fun…” Kyle said as he stood up from his seat, shoving his friends away and walking right out the door. The Rangers felt terrible for upsetting him like this without getting the whole story first, and they knew they had screwed up. Kelly ran through the door and tried to catch up with Kyle, but by the time he was outside, Kyle was gone.

Kyle had used his powers to teleport to the woods where he knew he could be alone, opening the bottle to pop yet another pill. His eyes turned from a bloodshot red, to a peculiar shade of green as his frown turned to a smile and the high hit him right away.

“It seems you appreciate my little concoction,” a voice called out from the distance, causing Kyle to whip around and fall to his a**, trying to locate the source of the voice. From the trees, the Man in Black stepped out.

“Who are you?” Kyle asked, slightly afraid.

“I? You may call me…the Man in Black…” he revealed, giving a sense of urgency to Kyle’s situation.

“You…You’re the guy behind the Black Knight…You know he turned on you right? He’s working for Mordred now,” Kyle said defiantly.

“What the Black Knight does with his powers is his choice and his choice alone, I simply gave him the powers he desired to destroy the Power Rangers…to destroy you, Green Ranger,” the Man in Black explained, “and now, I’m willing to provide a similar offer to you. You like my little drug right? It makes you feel good…Well, I’d be more than willing to offer you a limitless supply of my Green Mist…if you only do one tiny thing for me: Show your Ranger friends that they can’t boss you around…show them the power of the Green Knight.” Kyle listened to the Man in Black’s offer, thinking it over carefully. He definitely liked the high he got from the Green Mist, and he was pretty upset with his friends for getting on his back when he was only trying to help. All of that mixed together with the debilitating mental effects of the drug he had just taken a fresh dose of, and that was all Kyle needed to agree to his crazy terms.

“Endless supply of Green Mist? Whenever I want it? And all I got to do is smack my friends around? Hell, you got a deal,” Kyle shook the Man in Black’s hand, but it wasn’t over there. The Man in Black charged his magical energy into Kyle, bringing him to his knees as he tried to escape the grasp. Soon enough, Kyle’s resistance faded, and the Man in Black ceased his spell. Kyle looked up, his eyes glowing a deep green and a smile on his face.

“Now…go and attack the Rangers, my Green Knight,” the Man in Black ordered.

“Yes…Master…” Kyle replied.

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

Kyle morphed into his Ranger form, but this time instead of a familiar white glow, an aura of darkness surrounded him as the black magic filled him. Once the transformation was complete, he teleported back to the Student Center so he could face his former friends head on.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Rangers were in the parking lot, using their cell phones to try and call and text Kyle and find out where he went. There was no response, but it didn’t seem to matter as seconds later, a fully morphed flail-wielding Green Ranger showed up in the parking lot. The Rangers put their phones away and ran up to greet him and apologize.

“Dude! What happened, why are you all morphed? Did you get attacked?” King asked. Kyle didn’t respond at first, but he did draw his sword, pointing it directly into the throat of Kelly. The Red Ranger held his hands up, backing up, but the other Rangers were outraged.

“Kyle! What are you doing? We’re your friends!” Athena pleaded.

The rest of the students in the Student Center saw what was going on outside and decided to evacuate. The place was already torn down from an evil Ranger, they didn’t want to be in it when it happened again. The Rangers were left alone with a renegade Ranger, and no one had any idea what was going on.

“Kyle, you need to stop this, we just want to talk,” Kelly said, trying to calm his friend down.

“That’s all Summers wanted…that’s all the Man in Black wanted…it seems talking can do more damage than you think, now can’t it?” Kyle said in a sinister tone. He swung his weapon high above his head, ready to strike, but his friends weren’t going to back down.

“Kyle, you don’t want to do…wait…the Man in Black? He did this?” Kelly was beginning to put the pieces together, but before he could finish his thought, Kyle smashed the pavement with his flail, throwing the Rangers several yards away. The Rangers began to stand, and they were just about done trying to reason with him.

“Okay bro,” Justin said, dusting himself off, “I’m sorry to say it, but I’m going to enjoy knocking some sense into you.”

“Justin, be careful, it’s still Kyle in there. He’s just under some sort of spell, like the Black Knight,” Dallas explained and Justin nodded.

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

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

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

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

The Rangers morphed and they squared off with the Green Ranger, swords drawn but unwilling to hurt him. Kyle was still swinging his weapon above his head, keeping the Rangers at a distance and letting them know he could strike any of them at any time. Justin charged in, intent on smashing the back of Kyle’s head so hard he snaps out of the spell. Kyle saw it coming, and lowered his swing so that the chain of his weapon would wrap around Justin’s body. He turned the Blue Ranger into a top, pulling on the chain and spinning Justin into Dallas, who was charging in to follow up. Both of them fell over, but Athena jumped over them and used her whip to try and grab hold of Kyle’s weapon. She did, but it was so heavy and Kyle was so strong that he was able to use it to his advantage and pull Athena in, only to clothesline her as she flew forward and turning her inside out. King was beyond furious and he pulled out his big weapon: Excalibur. The Red Ranger swung his blade with all his might at the ground, throwing rocks and bits of pavement up at Kyle’s face. Kelly used this moment of distraction to close the distance and use the butt of his sword to smash Kyle in the face, knocking him down. Kelly followed up, raising his sword high and slashing into the very pavement, bringing the blade all the way down to the hilt to where it was holding Kyle to the ground by his neck.

“KYLE! THIS NEEDS TO STOP!” Kelly shouted at his trapped
friend, “You’re under a spell! You have to listen to me!”

Kyle chose not to heed Kelly’s words, and kicked up at the Red Ranger, knocking him to the ground holding his chest, trying to get his wind back. Kyle was able to roll out from under the sword which was trapping him and looked down at the Rangers who he had defeated so soundly. He decided it was time to put an exclamation point on this, and that was by reaching over to Excalibur and pulling it out of the ground. Kyle approached King, who was on the ground and helpless to defend himself. He raised it directly over his friend’s head, ready to drop it like a nail into the coffin…but something stopped him. Excalibur’s energy began channeling into Kyle’s hand, surging through his body. Kyle screamed as the conflicting energy filled him, forcing him to drop the legendary sword and collapse to his hands and knees. He held his head as the white magic purified him of the demon magic, as well as the effects of the drug. Kyle demorphed and his head began to clear, staggering to his feet as his friends came in to support him. The rest of them powered down, trying to see if Kyle was okay.

“W~what happened?” Kyle asked.

“You were under a spell from the Man in Black. He must have done
the same thing to you that he did to the Black Knight,” Kelly explained.

“The Man in Black? Oh man…that’s right,” Kyle began to remember, “The Man in Black ambushed me in the woods…he offered me an unlimited supply of Green Mist if I agreed to rough you up. I shook his hand because I was so angry and messed up, but then he did something to me…he messed with my head, and then all I could think about was destroying you. I’m so sorry, I didn’t hurt anyone did it?”

“No, you didn’t,” Dallas said, “we’re just glad we were able to bring you back because something really bad happened.”

“Definitely,” Justin added, “but hey, this is good news. If Excalibur can bring Kyle back from the Man in Black’s influence, maybe it can do the same for the Black Knight!”

“You think it would work? I mean he’s been under his control for so long. What if we can’t bring him back?” Athena questioned.

“We can only hope. I don’t think we’re going to be rid of him unless we either break the spell…or kill him,” Kelly explained grimly.

Back in the dimension of Camlann…

“So close, my queen…we were so close to defeating the Rangers with one of their own,” Mordred observed.

“Do not worry my pet,” Morgan le Fay calmed her servant, “All is going according to plan…We have the human bikers solidly doing our bidding, a wave of new drug addicted teens who we’ve proven will do anything for another hit, and an army of monsters just waiting to be unleashed on the public. Yes…Lakeside, and soon the world…will be all mine to control…”

Episode Eighteen: ((Last episode before the Finale))

We rejoin the Power Rangers embroiled in yet another battle against the Fallen. All week they had been running themselves ragged responding to the Lady of the Lake informing them of yet another horde of Fallen attacking the city at seemingly random locations all around the city of Lakeside. Every time they would dispatch another group of the evil minions, another one would pop up clear across town. They were never a threat to the Ranger’s safety, but the repeated attacks one after another was wearing on them after a while. After Kelly dispatched of the last one of them, the Rangers looked around to see if there were any left, and waited to hear from the Lady of the Lake if there was another attack. When nothing happened, they let down their guard and let their muscles relax, each letting out a sigh of relief.

“How many was that today?” Kyle asked.

“Seven, which makes it the forty-ninth this week,” said Kelly in an exhausted tone.

“What the hell is going on?” Dallas asked, “we haven’t had to fight the Fallen in weeks, and now all of the sudden, it’s the only thing we see!”

“Honestly, I miss the monsters,” Justin added.

“Yeah, at least with them you knew when the fight was over,” Athena agreed.

“We have to figure out what’s going on,” Kelly said, frustrated, “Morgan le Fay doesn’t do something without a plan in place.”

The rest of the Rangers agreed, and they teleported to the castle beneath the lake to get some answers. The Lady of the Lake seemed to be curious, same as the Rangers and she was looking for the same answers in a mystical pool of water which was detailing the significant actions of each battle.

“Lady of the Lake,” Kelly called out, “please tell us you know what Morgan le Fay’s plan is. We’re stumped.”

“Unfortunately my Rangers, I am as lost as you are in this matter,” the Lady replied, “the attacks are completely random, and with seemingly no intent other than to cause some minor discord.”

“That isn’t like Morgan,” Athena said, “she always has some bigger picture in mind.”

“Yeah, I don’t peg her as the sort of person to just throw wave after wave of her army at us knowing she’s going to lose,” Dallas agreed.

“Maybe this is the plan. Maybe she’s just trying to tire us out before one big final attack,” Kyle pointed out.

“Well if it is her plan, it’s working because I’m exhausted,” Justin said.

At that moment, the pool of mystic water changed from a layout of the previous week’s battles into a dark mass. It was as black as night, and the Rangers backed the Lady of the Lake away in case it turned dangerous. The black pool turned into a face, and in it transformed into that of the Black Knight’s. The Rangers gasped in surprise, no one able to figure out what was going on.

“Greetings Rangers…” the Black Knight spoke.

“How are you doing this?” Kelly demanded to know.

“I have been searching for weeks to discover this particular magical frequency. With my powers granted to me by the Man in Black, it was quite simple,” the Black Knight explained, “but enough about that…I seek an audience with you…Red Ranger.” Kelly looked around, wondering what he could possibly want with him.

“What’s this about?” Kelly inquired.

“It is our destiny to fight, of that I am sure. Our fathers clashed in the ancient past, and now it is our time to renew the rivalry, but there is one problem. Every time we meet, your little Ranger friends get in the way. And so, I have set up an insurance policy,” the Black Knight explained as the image turned from his face to the visions of bombs scattered all throughout the city. Many of them in close proximity to civilians tied up and helpless, “if I so much as see a single color other than Red, or if my Fallen associates see you coming to save these people, we will flip the switch, and they will burn, the city will crumble, and you will be the only ones to blame.”

“You b*****d!” Kelly shouted as his rage mounted. His face was red and fist clenched, he was ready to tear the Black Knight’s head off right then and there.

“Calm thyself Red Ranger,” the Black Knight said with an arrogant tone, “if you choose to follow my orders and do as I say, then no one will be harmed. The Fallen are instructed not to touch a single hair on their heads, and to release them at my command. Once our battle is over, I will instruct them to untie my hostages and they will go free, as well as the bombs be disarmed.”

“And what if I win? How are they supposed to follow your orders if I cut your damn head off?” King barked.

“There is a spell in place,” the Black Knight instructed, “in the unlikely event of my demise, a pre-recorded message will appear in front of the Fallen and instruct them to let them go. All I wish is to fight you Red Ranger. Only one person has to die today. Don’t make it thousands.”

The image of the Black Knight disappeared, and was replaced by a map, detailing the location of the Black Knight. It was clearly an instruction for Kelly to meet him there, but he still didn’t know if it was the right thing to do.

“Kelly…” Athena said softly.

“I have to go,” he said before anyone could try and talk him out of it.

“Kelly no, it has to be a trap,” Dallas argued.

“He’s never lied to us before, why start now? He’s a straight forward guy, he won’t screw us,” Kelly explained.

“He’s also desperate. Every time he thinks he has the edge up on us, something happens that forces him to retreat. He won’t be above using that insurance policy should things turn south. He’ll use every trick in the book, and he won’t stop until one of you is dead,” Kyle tried to reason with their leader.

“No, that isn’t his style. He’ll keep his word, I know it,” Kelly said. He grabbed is morpher, preparing to morph and teleport to the location, but Athena grabbed his arm and looked into his eyes, as if to silently beg him one last time to stay. When his look told her that his mind was made up, she let go.

“Please be safe…” Athena said before backing away, and Kelly nodded in response.

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

The Red Ranger transformed and instantly teleported to the location he was given in the Black Knight’s instructions. He was taken to the center of the city, right in front of City Hall where the initial invasion took place. The Black Knight had been busy, as he found himself surrounded by black pillars jutting up from the ground, their origin and purpose unknown but surely was sinister. Kelly looked around, trying to find where the Black Knight hid, and sure enough he was there, sitting on top of one of the pillars, sharpening his halberd with a stone.

“Isn’t it grand?” the Black Knight asked, “I constructed these pillars from the very grounds where our ancestors had their first encounter…where Lancelot fought Arthur. Do you know what happened in that fight?” The Black Knight questioned further, but Kelly’s silence was answer enough for him, “Lancelot…defeated…Arthur. Now, my ancestor was not particularly inclined to finish him off, though he could have. Instead, my ancestor’s victory was knowing he could bring the mighty King Arthur to his knees any time he wanted, even when he is armed with the legendary Excalibur. But do you know what else he won from him?”

“Why don’t you get to the point,” Kelly said defiantly.

“His wife…Guinevere,” the Black Knight finished, as Kelly stood there confused, “oh it’s true…Lancelot and Guinevere had a lengthy affair, but don’t worry…Arthur had his fair share of trysts. You see, Arthur also has some very interesting relationships when Guinevere was not to be found, and he sired one very famous son. Do you know who that is?”

“I’m done with the talking!” Kelly shouted, summoning Excalibur and bringing it to bare, ready to fight. Kelly charged, shouting angrily as his emotions backed his attack. He was ready to take revenge on the Black Knight for putting those civilians in danger, as well as speaking ill of his family.

“Mordred.” The Black Knight said simply, not even raising a finger to defend himself. At that, Kelly was stopped in his tracks, dropping his weapon in utter shock, “That’s right. The ‘righteous King Arthur,’ defender of peace and all that is good, bared the most sinister man to exist, Mordred. And I’ll tell you who the mother is, just because I like to exploit your ignorance. Mordred’s mother…was King Arthur’s sister, Gwyar. Arthur raped his sister, who was married to another man…and the spawn of this unholy union was none other than the Prince of all Evil, Mordred.”

Kelly reached down, clutching the handle of his sword in his hand and standing straight up. He raised his blade up high over his head as absolute rage fueled his every muscle, before plunging it into the ground with a furious battle cry. The ground splintered all around them, sending the most powerful shockwave any of the Rangers have ever released in the direction of the Black Knight. He didn’t even try to avoid it, and he allowed himself to be struck by the attack as it hurdled him into the pillar. An invisible force stopped him in mid-air, and he was dropped to the ground. The Black Knight struggled to stand back up, but even in obvious pain he was still laughing beneath his mask.

“Good…good…” the Black Knight said between coughs as he tried to regain his breath, “your anger is great, and your focus is shot. I’m in your head, Red Ranger, and I don’t plan on leaving any time soon.”

Kelly was done with the games, and he rushed forward with Excalibur at the ready. This time, the Black Knight brought his weapon to bare and used it to deflect the Red Ranger’s attack, repelling him away as he charged like a wild boar. Again the Red Ranger swung, and the Black Knight backed up to avoid the shot, using his halberd to hold the sword down and thrust his foot forward to kick King away. Even during the battle, the Black Knight continued his onslaught of his derogatory history lesson.

“Do you know what happened to King Arthur’s family Red Ranger? His boy Llacheu dies, eaten by ravens. Loholt is killed by Sir Kay over who can take credit for the defeat of a giant. Gwydre is killed by a giant boar, along with Arthur’s uncles while he is off shirking his responsibilities. And most tragically, there is Amr…who King Arthur slays with his own two hands…” The Black Knight takes great pleasure in revealing, and each word drives Kelly into an even more crazed state. His attacks grow more desperate and uncalculated, while the Black Knight remains cool and collected. He uses this to his advantage, and he finds an opening to slash at Kelly’s armor with his halberd, forming a large scar in his outfit and throwing Kelly to the floor. The Black Knight backs off, twirling his blade playfully. He could have finished the job right there, but he wanted Kelly to hear his latest revelation, “That means, oh mighty Red Ranger, that you are the direct descendent of not only King Arthur…but Mordred as well…”

Beneath Kelly’s mask, his eyes are wide with shock. His breathing is short and quick, panting like a madman from trying to keep up with the fight as his mind tried to keep up with this terrible news. He couldn’t be a descendent of Mordred, it had to be a lie, all of it.

“You’re lying!” King shouted, “King Arthur was a pillar of justice! There’s no way this could be true!” Kelly reasoned as he got back up to his feet, using Excalibur as a crutch.

“Oh, but its well documented Ranger. Anyone who does their research can find the true story of King Arthur and his family,” the Black Knight explained, “the fairy tales you’re told in school are just sugar coated stories to make the hero look like someone to be admired, but they are nothing but lies. The real King Arthur was an adulterous, feeble minded, weak individual who was wrongfully granted his powers by Merlin through a misinterpretation of a prophecy. Excalibur was supposed to belong to Lancelot, and now…I’m going to correct that ancient mistake.”

Kelly’s blind fury grew to unprecedented levels, and with it his power began to grow. Fire began to erupt from all over his body, wrapping around the Red Ranger. The fire solidified, forming a brand new set of armor, including full arm chain mail and knee and chin armor. The chest armor wrapped around the back, unlike his Armor of the Ancients, and from the back armor sprouted wings, which King could manipulate at will. It was a more focused form of the armor and wings he developed in his quest to attain his Armor of the Ancients when battling the Black Knight. Even Excalibur was powered up, glowing red hot and consumed with flames. Even with the Red Rangers new powers, the Black Knight seemed less than intimidated. Beneath his mask, he was smiling a full grin. He had achieved what he had come to do, now it was time to test his limits.

“BY THE POWER OF DARK MAGIC! ARMOR OF THE ANCIENTS ACTTIVATE!”

The Black Knight summoned his armor to keep up with his rival’s new powers, and he prepared himself for the fight of his life. Kelly took one step forward, but that one step was all he needed to propel himself through the air all the way to the Black Knight. In the blink of an eye he was there, face to face with the Black Knight, swinging his fiery sword leaving the Black Knight just enough time to dodge the lethal strike. Even if he was unharmed by the blade, the shockwave of the blast propelled him backwards into the invisible wall formed by his magic pillars once again. He saw that his armor was singed, and it dawn on the Black Knight that the Red Ranger’s latent powers were more dangerous than he previously assumed. He was only just bringing himself back to his feet, but Kelly was already right in front of him. Kelly swung the butt of his sword into the Black Knight’s gut, doubling him over, then jabbed it upwards right in to the Black Knight’s helmet, sending him soaring through the air. The Black Knight crash landed into the pavement, and for a long moment he was unable to stand.

At that moment, the Rangers were seen running up to the pillars, only to be stopped by the invisible wall which apparently was powerful enough to keep all the unwanted participants out. The Rangers pounded on the force field, trying to get their leader’s attention.

“Kelly! Kelly stop! We’ve freed the hostages and disarmed the bombs!” Athena called out, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The incredibly powerful Red Ranger continued his march with malicious intent, dragging his flaming sword along the ground and cutting into it like butter with the greatest of ease.

“No…this ends tonight…no more innocent people being put in harm’s way because of him,” Kelly said resolutely.

“Kelly no! We have a chance to save him! We can bring him to our side!” Athena continued.

“And what if he’s not under a spell? What if he’s just that evil? Would you allow a man like him to exist and threaten everyone you love?” Kelly argued, “what if he was the one who killed Michael?” Athena gasped, holding her mouth as the thought crossed her mind. She shook her head, refusing to believe it was a possibility.

“No…no we can’t think that way! We have to try! Please Kelly!” Athena cried out once again.

Kelly refused to listen, and he finally approached the fallen Black Knight who was just now beginning to move. He had only made it to his hands and knees, and pieces of his armor were shattered. A large part of his chest piece was missing, his mouthpiece was destroyed showing that the Black Knight was coughing up blood, and even part of his visor was cracked, and the Rangers who were looking hard enough could look into one of his eyes. Kelly stood over the vulnerable Black Knight, his sword raised high with the point aimed directly at his neck. He had the power to bring the Black Knight to hell’s gate once and for all, but something held him still.

Athena was demorphed, and her eyes were filled with tears. Her hands were clasped together as if she was praying for him to stop. The sight of her like that caused him to stop, as he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her.

“Please Kelly…you’re not like this…you don’t have to kill him…you can save him…” Athena said once again. Kelly’s arms trembled as his rage began to subside, and with it his armor began to fade away. His flaming sword was extinguished, and suddenly a great weakness fell over him. Kelly collapsed to the ground in his normal Ranger form, and the Black Knight knew the fight was over.

The Black Knight looked up with labored breaths, looking to the woman who just saved his life. Athena locked her gaze on the Black Knight, and the sight of him brought chills down her spine. There was something…familiar about his partially revealed face, but she wasn’t allowed a better look. The Black Knight teleported away, taking his pillars with him. This allowed the Rangers to come forth and check on their weakened leader, who promptly demorphed along with the other Rangers. Kyle slid on his knees and caught Kelly before he could fall backwards and hit his head on the pavement.

“Come on fearless leader, you gotta talk to us,” Kyle said as he slapped his face a few times.

“I’m okay…I’m okay…” Kelly reassured them. The Rangers breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice, “let’s get out of here.”

The Rangers nodded and used their powers to teleport away, back to the castle beneath the lake where Kelly could rest and they could go over the events of the battle. Kelly told his comrades what the Black Knight had told him about his family and his relation to Mordred, and how his anger seemed to fuel his new armor. The Lady of the Lake seemed concerned over this development.

“Kelly, you must use great caution when you choose to call upon that armor,” she warned him, “that armor preys upon your inner rage. It puts a tremendous toll on your body, and it is rooted in Black Magic.”

“Wait…you mean?” Kelly asked, but the Lady of the Lake nodded before he could get the words out.

“That armor was forged by Mordred, and if you activate it, you will be a slave to your anger. You will be unable to control yourself, and it will sap your body of its strength with every second you use it,” the Lady continued, and she didn’t have to tell him twice.

“I understand. It was so easy to fight the Black Knight with that new power, but it almost killed him…I couldn’t control myself, and if it wasn’t for Athena, the Black Knight would be dead right now,” Kelly explained as he looked to Athena, “thank you for stopping me. You’re right, we have to try to bring him around and break the spell.” Athena smiled, just happy that she was able to make a difference before it was too late.

“Don’t worry about it,” Athena reassured him, “I know we’ll get the job done. Next time we meet the Black Knight, we’ll save him.” She said, but something deep inside of her made her continue her thought in her head, ‘whoever he is…’

Back in the Dimension of Camlann…

Mordred escorts the injured Black Knight through the castle, up the winding stairwell and into the chambers of Morgan le Fay. Morgan stands before him, eyeing him suspiciously before a satisfied smile creeps across her face. She spreads her arms wide and cried out with glee, and Mordred and the Black Knight laugh sinisterly.

“My Black Knight,” Morgan le Fay says cheerfully, “You’ve done your job well. You forced the full power of the Red Ranger to come to its surface, leaving just enough residual energy for my final plan to come into play,” she says as she swings her hand, throwing up a cloud of dust. Within the cloud, a vision is shown of the city from overhead. Black dots begin to form all over the map, and soon a perfect circle surrounds the city, as well as one bright red circle directly in the center, “I’ve sacrificed the necessary amount of my Fallen soldiers in strategic points all around this city, and forced the Power Rangers to expend all of their energy destroying them, as well as fighting you. Now…I will harness that power and bring forth our dimension into the real world! And with its power back on earth, I will harness it to bring an end to technology and science…and bring about a new age of magic! And this time, it will last into eternity…” Morgan le Fay let out a loud maniacal laughter, joined by her two seemingly loyal servants. Morgan’s plan was about to come to fruition, but little did she know that Mordred and the Black Knight had plans of their own.

Yeah I never bought into the whole battleizer thing. Besides, its magic, it activates in time of anger. Why does he need something mechanical?

Yes but you're forgetting one thing: that show was terrible.

No, no, no. If any Battlizer was bad... look up the SPD Battlizer.

Thus why I mentioned SPD's Battlizer being bad. The Cyber Diaper.

Episode Twenty One

The Rangers reengaged the Black Knight with their new powers and confidence in their abilities. The Fallen army was gone, and their Megazords were returned to them, and their new powers filled their every muscle with strength they’ve never experienced before. The Black Knight, however, was also enhanced by the realm that they now inhabited as the Rangers could almost feel his muscles flexing through the wind as he moved. He was faster and stronger than ever before, making it hard for even all five Rangers to land a single blow when attacking at the same time. On the counter side, the Black Knight struggled to strike any of his five targets. He grew frustrated, and slammed the butt of his weapon into the ground, sending out a dark pulse of energy that pushed the Rangers back, allowing him to recollect himself and choose his target to single out.

The Black Knight lunged towards the Prism Ranger, swinging his weapon to slice him straight down the middle. Kyle saved himself by separating into his seven clone Ranger form, surrounding the Black Knight. The Black Knight was surprised and caught off guard, giving Kyle the chance to strike. All seven clone Rangers swung their swords down, but the Black Knight ducked and swept the legs of each of the seven clones and they collapsed to the ground. The Black Knight kipped up and struck one of the clones down. It disappeared, and he continued to attack by letting go of his weapon and aiming two blasts of energy at two more clones, which were subsequently destroyed. The other four were able to stand and landed simultaneous kicks to the back of the Black Knight which staggered him into his weapon. The Black Knight picked it back up from out of the earth and swung it like a bat, eradicating three more clones before the original was able to grab the shaft of the massive weapon and keep it still. With his great strength, Kyle lifted the Black Knight into the air by his weapon and swung him around like a hammer before releasing and sending him soaring through the air. The Black Knight recovered in mid-air, and gathered up his energy so that he could strike the ground with all his might with his halberd and send a terrible shockwave through the earth directly at the Prism Ranger. Kyle panicked, and used his flail to try and counter the shockwave with one of his own. At the last second, his weapon struck the ground, but the energy left over from the attack sent him flying through the air and crashing through a distant tree. He was mostly uninjured, but his body was still weak from the battle.

The Black Knight smiled at his success, but was quickly greeted by the Gold Ranger who struck him with three arrows simultaneously in the back. The energy arrows caused him to stumble to the floor, but he quickly recovered so he could see the next three coming and roll out of the way. Dallas continued from her high perch, but her new-found confidence spurred her to follow as the Black Knight fled her attacks and gain a closer range as she fired round after round. Utilizing his shield, the Black Knight deflected most of the arrows, dodging the rest as he rolled away as he retreated towards the lake. Dallas followed him all the way to the beach, but would follow no further as he leapt into the water. She fired rapidly into the water in an attempt to leave him nowhere left to hide. Several hit, but he was merely gathering energy so he could counter attack. The Black Knight leapt up into the air as his blade swept through the water, sending a tremendous wave of water directly at the Gold Ranger. Undeterred, Dallas kept firing, knowing that the Black Knight was somewhere in that wave, and she was right. The Black Knight took several direct shots to the torso thanks to Dallas’ impeccable aim, but he was still able to withstand the barrage until the Gold Ranger was smashed into the ground by the wave of water, leaving her an easy target for his blade. He swung down with his halberd, but he was tackled from behind by an unknown force, sending him tumbling to the beach with a great weight on top of him.

The Black Knight turned to his back and kicked up, forcing the Phantom Cobalt Ranger off of him so he could get back to his feet. Justin wasn’t about to stand by while he watched his girlfriend get diced up, so he was ready to stand between the Black Knight and Dallas until the end. The Black Knight scoffed at his display of chivalry, but gave him no time of reprieve. The Black Knight attacked, but Justin smashed the ground with his gauntlet, throwing up a hail of sand that stood in the air and began behaving like a sandstorm. The Black Knight stopped, looking around to see where his newest target was hiding. He felt the heavy gauntlet dig into his gut, doubling him over, then into his side. His upper back was clubbed next, and his legs taken out from under him. The Black Knight could not foresee any of these attacks and they were accumulating damage quickly, and he needed a way out. He used the same dark energy from before to scatter the sand away from him and dissipate the sandstorm at a great expense of his energy. As he huddled over to regain his breath, he noticed that Justin was nowhere in sight. He wondered where his foe might have escaped to, but he was soon informed when he saw the Cobalt Ranger spring up from the very sand and uppercut him with his gauntlet, nearly sending the Black Knight into orbit. The Black Knight summoned his demon cycle and mounted it in the air, and its energy allowed him to glide through the air like a jet and aim itself back at Justin. He fired the energy cannons, blasting Justin directly and collapsing him to the sand. He drove his flying demon cycle at the Cobalt Ranger, weapon drawn to finish him off, but he was pulled off of his mount at the last moment and yanked to the ground, causing severe whiplash.

The Black Knight held his head, wondering what could have possibly caused his sudden halt of momentum, and that’s when he noticed the familiar whip around his waist. He grabbed it to untie himself, but as he did he felt a surge of electricity fill every fiber of his being. The White Ranger’s attack brought the Black Knight to his knees, smoking from the electrical attack. Athena pulled back on the whip, dragging the Black Knight into the air before slamming him back down again into the hard concrete. This force was finally enough to dislodge the whip from around his waist and the Black Knight was able to drag himself to his feet, severely weakened but not defeated. Athena struck again with her whip, but this time the Black Knight was able to avoid and grab the weapon before yanking tightly and pulling the White Ranger through the air and delivering a devastating strike with the steel shaft of his weapon into the side of his secret former lover. The blow nearly crushed her left arm and sent her tumbling over the ground like a rock skipping across the water. The Black Knight marched to the downed White Ranger, spinning his weapon in preparation for a finishing blow, but he never got the chance. Like a meteor, a flash of red energy crashed into the ground under the Black Knight’s feet and hurdled him through the air once again and he crashed into the very wall of Morgan le Fay’s castle. When he looked up, he saw the flaming body of the Blazing Red Ranger standing in the crater, ready to finish the battle.

The Black Knight collected himself, brushing the rubble from his shoulders. He noticed that part of his visor was cracked, and soon it shattered, leaving his eyes exposed, but not much else. He checked the rest of his armor for damage and it was then that the Black Knight realized just how much this battle had taken out of him as he saw his ancient armor, even his shield, cracked and heavily damaged. The Black Knight’s determination would not allow him to surrender, and he brought himself back into a fighting position as he prepared for the great powers that he knew that Kelly possessed. Kelly would not disappoint, and used his lightning-like speed to bring himself directly before the Black Knight where he swung his leg around and kicked the Black Knight thirty yards to the left. The Red Ranger followed up, using his speed once again to meet the Black Knight before he crashed into the ground to smash him with both fists straight down, creating a massive crater in the ground. Kelly swooped down into the crated and grabbed the Black Knight by his collar, using his wings to soar high into the air. Kelly looked right into the Black Knight’s eyes, which he was surprised to find were as black as night. He didn’t appear to be human anymore, as thick black veins appeared under his skin from what he could tell. Kelly felt sorry for him, as his heart must have been tortured by this evil spell. Excalibur began to glow white as the Red Ranger channeled his energy into it, and he raised it up gently over his head.

“I will purify you, Black Knight. Then this can all be over,” he said calmly, but this only served to enraged the Black Knight.

“I AM PURE!” He shouted in response, flipping a switch on his wrist. Kelly looked at him with a curious glance, but was soon blasted from behind by a massive laser attack which forced him to relinquish his grip on the Black Knight and send him falling to the ground. The Black Knight also fell, but was caught by the massive hand of his Lunar Knight Megazord, which was the source of the previous attack. He limped into the cockpit, deciding now was the time to finish this battle.

The Rangers, battered and bruised, reconvened on the ground to make sure everyone was okay. Each was injured, but still able to fight.

“He’s so strong,” Dallas noted.

“Stronger than he’s ever been before,” Justin added.

“It’s not just that,” Kelly interrupted, “it isn’t just his strength that has changed. I got a look at his eyes…he’s changed on a deeper level. I don’t know if there is anything human left in him.”

“There has to be,” Athena argued, “I don’t believe you can ever lose all of your humanity. We have to try and save him.”

“But who is going to save us from him?” Kyle said, “the guy is massively powerful. I don’t know if we can hold anything back this time.”

“We can’t. He isn’t going to quit until his body stops moving, so we have to do the same. It’s time to take this fight to the skies.” Kelly said and the Rangers agreed, leaping up into their Royal King Megazord which was waiting in the distance. Kelly on the other hand jumped into the Skyward Stallion Megazord, knowing it was going to take everything they had in order to win. He flipped the switch, and at once the Royal King Megazord and the Skyward Stallion Megazord combined into their ultimate form, the Armor King Megazord. They knew from experience that it was strong enough to go blow for blow with the Lunar Knight Megazord, but there was one thing they didn’t know.

“Rangers!” The Black Knight shouted from his Megazord, “I haven’t been sitting on my thumbs waiting for you to get stronger! I’ve been getting stronger as well!” He said as he flipped a similar switch, at which time the shadow clone of Hengroen appeared at the Lunar Knight Megazord’s side. The Rangers were stunned, looking on in utter disbelief. The clone of Hengroan that Duality created began to separate and change into armor, linking up and connecting with the Lunar Knight Megazord, “behold! My Lunar Armor Megazord!”

“That’s impossible!” Kyle shouted.

“No way, how did he get a copy of Hengroan?” Dallas asked.

“I have no idea, but he can’t be better than the original. Rangers? Let’s go!” Kelly ordered and they brought their powerful Megazord into battle. The Lunar Armor Megazord also engaged, his crescent blade now enhanced by Hengroen’s powers as was the Armor King Megazord’s. The blades clashed, and the tremendous spark of energy forced the two Megazord’s back several steps. It seemed at first glance that they were equal in strength.

“I can’t believe he can deflect our sword,” Justin exclaimed.

“We can’t just go blow for blow with him,” Kelly explains, “if we do, we’ll end in a stalemate again, and if that happens then Morgan le Fay and her army will finish us off.”

“He’s right,” Kyle agreed, “we have to end this definitively.”

The Power Rangers drew the bow from the Megazord’s back, placing the energized and hyped up sword in the quiver and taking careful aim. The Lunar Armor Megazord takes a step back, the Black Knight knowing how powerful this attack is from witnessing it personally. The Black Knight energized his own supped up weapon, readying himself for the coming attack. His timing had to be perfect, or else it would all be for nothing. The Armor King Megazord fired the blade from the bow and the Black Knight timed his shot, swinging his energized blade to deflect the sword into the air. Both the Rangers and the Black Knight looked up and saw that the Rangers’ sword was up for grabs, and each of them reached up with their Megazords to grab at it. Each of them grabbed the handle at the same time, and the Megazords exerted all of their strength in the struggle to rip it free from the other’s grasp. The Black Knight tried to take advantage of the situation by using his free hand to swing his blade at the Armor King Megazord’s torso, but the Rangers were able to grab the incoming blade with their Megazord’s free hand to block the potentially fatal attack. The Lunar Armor Megazord pulled its opponent close and its eyes lit up. The Rangers knew what was coming, but there was no way to avoid it. The Lunar Armor Megazord fired with its laser eye beams at point blank range, causing massive damage across the torso and forcing the two Megazords to separate. Fortunately for the Rangers, they were able to regain custody of their sword, and thrust forward with every ounce of power they had left to stab the Lunar Armor Megazord right through its torso while they were still close so it couldn’t avoid it. Sure enough sparks flew and the Lunar Armor Megazord was impaled on the sword, though the damage from the prior laser attack had drained the Armor King Megazord’s energy levels. Both massive metal monsters began to power down, and eventually both of them collapsed to the ground with a thunderous thud. The Rangers and the Black Knight were both ejected from their Megazords and fell to the ground below where they were helpless to watch both of their Megazords spark and power down. They had tried so hard to escape a stalemate, but that’s exactly what had happened.

The Black Knight began to stand, and the Rangers watched as he huffed and puffed, struggling with each and every step just to stay standing. His armor was in no better shape than his Megazord as pieces of metal began to chip off, even his helmet which was showing numerous cracks all over it, including the shattered visor and a newly busted mouth-plate. The Rangers watched as a black bile dripped from the Black Knight’s mouth like blood. The Rangers were disgusted and horrified as they too now saw the grotesque black veins on his face as well as his pitch-black eyes. Athena felt pity for him, even now after everything that had happened. She stepped forward, holding her nearly limp left arm in her other hand as she approached him carefully.

“Athena, what are you doing?” Kelly asked.

“I’m going to find out who he is,” Athena explained, “I have to try…I have to try and save him…”

Athena made it to about ten yards away from the Black Knight before he grew angry and lashed out with his hand, throwing a ball of dark energy at Athena. She threw up her arms to shield herself from the blast, but to her surprise, there was little to no energy behind the attack. She took another step forward, and was met but another energy attack, and again it had no damaging effect. After that, she stopped even deflecting the shots, which grew weaker and weaker until he collapsed to his knees. The Black Knight was coughing and choking violently on the black bile, spitting it out all over the ground. Athena kneeled down next to him, cradling the Black Knight in her arms. He struggled, but had no more strength left to fight.

“You don’t have to fight anymore,” Athena spoke softly, petting the head gently. She waited until she felt the time was right, where he wouldn’t attack her, and then reached down to unclasp the helmet. The Rangers were finally about to find out who the Black Knight was, but what they found was not what they expected. When the helmet came off, she immediately dropped it to the ground and it shattered instantly. Athena’s eyes widened as she looked upon the distorted and damaged face of her lost boyfriend, Mike Landry. She removed her helmet so she might look upon his face with her own eyes. She still couldn’t believe it. His face horrified her, even though he was weak and defeated, he still appeared monstrous with his black eyes and thick veins which spread all over his body.

“Athena! Get away from him!” Kelly ordered, but she wouldn’t, or possibly
couldn’t, hear him.

“How…how could you…” Athena asked as a tear dripped down her cheek. It was heartbreaking to know she had been fighting him of all people for so long, and yet it all made perfect sense. The way he knew who they were, the way he knew how to exploit their injuries every time and remain a step ahead, and why he always had to duck away just before every single attack on the city. Her dream was right, and she couldn’t believe how she could have been so blind to the truth.

“I…I can’t…control myself…” Landry spoke weakly, trying to stand although Athena held him down.

“Stop, you have to rest,” Athena insisted.

“I can’t…” Landry admitted, “Mordred…under his spell…I don’t want…gah!” Landry yelped as he was forced to stand up, pushing the White Ranger aside. The Rangers rushed to back her up, preparing for anything he might do next.

“Damnit! Why did it have to be him?” Justin cursed.

“Please…destroy me…” Landry called out to the Rangers as he raised his right hand weakly, forming an energy dagger with what was left of his powers.

“Now now, we all know that isn’t going to happen,” a voice called out from the distance, and when the Rangers found the source they found Mordred walking out of the castle and on to the battlefield, “the Black Knight is my personal servant, and he’ll do whatever I command him to do. And now that you know who he is, you won’t raise a finger to attack him. I really should thank you Pink Ranger, or White Ranger, whatever color you are now. I should have thought of revealing his identity weeks ago. You’ve saved me a lot of trouble. Now…” Mordred lifted his right hand, and Mike held his up as well like a puppet on strings, “it’s time to say goodbye.” And with that, Mordred flicked his wrist and sent the weakened Black Knight running head long into the attack with his energy dagger. The Rangers didn’t know what to do, and all scattered away to avoid the dagger but did not try and attack. They could all see that Landry was doing all of this against his will, and didn’t really want to hurt them. Landry was forced to attack again, and again the Rangers dodged backwards to avoid the blade. Mordred saw that this tactic wasn’t working, but he thought of a new one which made him grin from ear to ear. He forced his Black Knight to hold the energy dagger straight up to his own neck.

“STOP IT YOU MONSTER!” Athena shouted out angrily, “He’s not your toy!”

“Oh but he is. And if I don’t get to play with him the way I please, then I will break him,” Mordred threatened, forcing the blade to come into contact with Landry’s neck and drawing blood, “if you Rangers don’t fight him, I’ll make him slit his own throat right before your very eyes. So it’s your choice Rangers: either you kill him, or I do.”

The Rangers gritted their teeth, frustrated at the ultimatum, but Kelly saw that they really had no choice at all. He stepped up infront of his friends and comrades, though not without opposition. Athena reached out and grabbed hold of his arm, trying to hold him back.

“Kelly don’t,” she pleaded, “if you fight him you’ll kill him.”

“And if I don’t Mordred will make him kill himself,” Kelly said coldly. He looked her dead in the eyes and spoke confidently, “Athena, you have to trust me. I promise, I won’t let him be destroyed,” Athena tried to stop him, but she saw there was nothing she could do. She let go and Kelly faced Mike, and Excalibur began to glow a pure white. Mordred kept the blade at Landry’s neck as he forced him to charge, and Kelly ran forward to meet him. When they were close, Mordred forced Landry to draw the blade on Kelly and it slashed across the torso, the same thing that the Red Ranger did to the Black Knight. Each attack stopped the other cold, and they pressed their respective blades into each other with all their strength. Excalibur began to shine brilliantly, and the Black Knight’s veins and black eyes began to recede and return back to their original forms. The light grew brighter and brighter, consuming them both until everyone on the battlefield has to shield their eyes from the blinding light.

When the light died down, a single silhouette could be seen approaching the direction of the four other Power Rangers. When their eyes came back into focus, they could see it was the Red Ranger carrying Mike over his shoulders off of the battlefield. He dropped him on the ground in front of the Rangers, and Athena immediately ran forward to tend to him. The black veins had receded completely, the black bile gone. She pried open an eyelid, and she found that even his eyes had returned to normal. He was back, and barely breathing. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and the Black Knight’s armor disappeared completely. She wrapped her arms around his neck and prayed for him to return to her safely. Her prayers were answered, and he opened his eyes weakly.

“Hey beautiful…” Mike said weakly. It brought a tear to her eye to find out he was safe, and she hugged him tightly.

“I’m so happy you’re okay…” Athena said, “don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Landry replied with a weak cough.

“No! This can’t be happening!” Mordred cursed as he lost hold of his Black Knight, “I won’t let this happen! If he can’t be my slave, then I’ll destroy you myself! I’ll take your powers and become stronger than anyone!”

“No…you will not…” A booming voice interrupted just as Mordred took his first step forward to attack. He was shocked to find Morgan le Fay standing on one of the castle’s walls with a look of disdain. The Rangers were equally surprised, as no one had even seen her before.

“My lady…” Mordred stuttered, “what a surprise…what are you doing here? I was about to destroy the Power Rangers for you…”

“And then what? Use their powers to usurp and destroy me?” Morgan interrupted, “I’ve known about your foolish plan since the beginning you pathetic pawn. You’ve failed at your plan, and you’ve failed me. And now…it’s time for you to be dispatched.” Morgan le Fay raised a hand and let loose a spell to electrify Mordred. She cold-heartedly eradicated her most powerful former ally, blowing him to pieces. The Rangers were shocked at the sudden cruel display as they watched Mordred get obliterated before their very eyes. They had no idea that she could be so cold, but their problems had only just begun. Morgan le Fay began absorbing the remaining powers of her fallen servant Mordred, and with each ounce of energy her body began to glow and grow. The power surged through her, and the evil witch grew to gigantic size. Her body turned from a mostly humanoid figure into a monstrous visage, now three times the size of her castle.

“Oh man, this is not good,” Dallas said as the Rangers took a step back.

“Now she’s more powerful than ever,” Kyle added.

“And our Zords are toast,” Justin said.

“No…you can win…” Mike said as he tried to stand, but he fell back into Athena’s arms.

“You need to rest, there’s nothing more you can do,” Athena advised.

“No, there is,” Landry said, handing his morpher to Athena, “when my Megazord was built, it was designed to be able to combine with your zords once we stole it away from you. If you use it, you might have enough power to take her down once and for all.”

Athena took the morpher, eyes it curiously. She looked up to her friends, silently asking for advice. They all placed their hand on her shoulders and nodded, they were finally ready to believe Landry and take his last gift and make good use of it.

“We’re going to bring her down, don’t worry,” Kelly said. Athena laid Mike down on the ground and charged the morpher with all the energy she had left. The eyes of the downed Lunar Knight Megazord began to shine and the Rangers did the same. The Royal King Megazord also lit up with life, struggling to stand back up. Kelly jumped up into Hengroen, Athena into the Lunar Knight Megazord, and the remaining three leapt into the Royal King Megazord. With the Rangers now in control of all three Megazords, a new switch lit up as if it was begging to be flipped. Each of the Rangers flipped the switch, and a stunning new transformation took place. The Lunar Knight Megazord began to open up and fold in its limbs, offering itself as a vessel for the zords to combine to. The Royal King Megazord split apart, and each of the zords changed shape yet again so to fit into the new slots made available by the Lunar Knight Megazord. Hengroen too began to change into its armor form, attaching to the new massive frame of the combined zords. When the combination was complete, a new Megazord which stood nearly twice the size of any of the original Megazords now loomed over the battlefield, the combined strength of all three now surging through the circuits.

“I can’t believe this. Are you seeing these power levels?” Dallas asked.

“They’re off the charts!” Justin answered.

“The Eclipse Ultrazord…unbelievable!” Kyle said.

“Hold on guys, the fight isn’t over yet,” Kelly said as he gestured to the monstrous Morgan le Fay, who was using her powers to channel energy from her castle to grow even stronger.

“She’s going down…” Athena said sternly, who took hold of the controls and drew both the long sword from the Royal King Megazord and the crescent blade from the Lunar Knight Megazord. The crescent blade split in two, and each half of the blade linked to the long sword to double the size of the blade. The reins from Hengroan attached to the handle of the new massive sword, and then the Rangers drew the bow and loaded the weapon into it like a crossbow.

Morgan le Fay wasn’t about to stand still and wait for the Rangers to attack. She lashed out with two tentacle-like appendages, latching on to the Eclipse Ultrazord and beginning to sap its powers and add them to her own. The Rangers were running out of time, as any energy that wasn’t being channeled to the sword was being stolen by Morgan le Fay. They pulled back on the bow, taking careful aim as they knew they would only have one shot at this. The Rangers fired, and the gargantuan sword hurtled through the air at incredible speeds. Morgan le Fay’s eyes widened as she watched the sword fly at her, and she couldn’t release her hold on the Ultrazord in time to escape. The sword shot right through her, leaving a gaping hole directly in her chest. Lightning sparked from her body as she lost control of the energy she had stolen, and she staggered forward to desperately try and steal more of the Power Ranger’s precious energy. She made it two steps before falling to the ground, consumed in a violent explosion that rocked the entire landscape.

The castle of Camlann collapsed, and with it the entire landscape began to fade away. A great light began to shine, and before the Rangers appeared the familiar profile of Merlin the wizard, along with the Lady of the Lake.

“You have fought well my Knights. Your bravery and determination surely knows no bounds,” the Lady said.

“And now, the centuries old battle is finally over, and the souls of your ancestors may finally rest in peace,” Merlin added, “and now, it is time for Camlann to return to the dimension from whence it came, and for yours to be restored to normal.” Merlin said as he spread his arms and closed his eyes, and true to his word the dimension of Camlann faded away, and their world as they knew it was restored to its form from before the battle. Buildings were rebuilt and cement repaved, as if nothing had ever happened. Civilians found themselves freed from their hiding places in trees and caves and returned to their homes safe and sound. The zords all faded away and the Rangers were transported safely back to the center of town, their injuries healed and their powers restored, including Mike who was able to stand on the strength of his own body.

When everything was returned to normal the people of Lakeside emerged from their homes and the buildings and swarmed to the center of the city to congratulate and thank the Power Rangers, even the Black Knight as many witnessed his selfless act to try and save them. The Rangers, including the Black Knight, removed their helmets and looked about to see the city cheering them on, no longer afraid to reveal their identities as the threat was finally gone. The Rangers embraced and celebrated amongst the crowd, especially Athena and Michael who held each other tightly and kissed each other passionately. They could finally return to their lives as normal human beings, free from the constant fear of Morgan le Fay and her constant attacks.

Today was a day for celebration, and the entire city was going to indulge and live their lives, thankful that they all got to see another sunrise.