Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yes, i'm getting involved in this as well, because as you all know: if I have a story buzzing around in my head, the only way to get it out is to write it.

So here's the premise:
Five Rangers, direct descendents of the Knights of the Round Table and guided by the Lady of the Lake, battle against the revived witch, Morgan le Fay. Morgan plans on destroying the world of science and bringing back the world to the days of Anarchy and Magic. To do this, she must kill everyone who still uses and believes in science, and destroy everything that is a result of science.

Morgan, finding that destroying the five Rangers is more difficult than initially planned, recruits a ranger of her own by disguising herself, and tricking a young man to fight against the Rangers.

Red Ranger: Kelly King
Blue Ranger: Justin Amaze
Green Ranger: Kyle Dracious
Yellow Ranger: Dallas Cruz
Pink Ranger: Athena (Phoenixfire)
Black Knight: Mike Landry

Feel free to make comments on the story.

Episode Two:

Back in the city of Lakeview, the assault continues from Mordred and his army of Fallen. Fires are rampant, and rubble lines the street…all the way up to City Hall.

“Ahh…the seat of power for his pathetic kingdom,” Mordred declares, his arms spread wide as he takes in the sight, “it will be mine!”

As Mordred marches towards the steps, a blast of energy strikes him in the back of his shoulder as sparks fly and he stumbles forward slightly. The evil man pauses, then turns sharply with rage written in excess all over his face to discover what had happened.

“Who DARES strike the Dark Prince?!” Mordred exclaims, but when the smoke settles, his rage turns into disbelief as the vision of his assailants come into clear view. Five knights wielding weapons much like his own, dressed in armor similar to his in five vibrant colors.

“No…it can’t be possible!” Mordred declares ignorantly.

“Mordred! This is over! Take your armies and go crawling back to your queen!” The Red Ranger declares, pointing Excalibur directly at the draconic knight. He was visibly shaking with rage and frustration, and it took him only but a moment to raise his lance to direct his army.

“Fallen! Attack them! Bring them to their knees!” Mordred orders and the army rushes forward, waving their short swords violently.

“What’s that? 40? 50? Fallen freaks?” Kyle observed.

“And we took out 5 by ourselves,” Justin said.

“Without super powers,” Dallas added.

“So these guys should be…?” Athena began, leading Kelly.

“Practice,” said the leader.

In charges the five Knights, weapons in hand and ready for battle. None of them had any experience in actual combat aside from their martial arts training, but suddenly their minds were filled with the tactics and techniques of a time long lost, guiding their hands in battle.

Athena leaped up, swinging her whip in disorienting fashion before lashing out and wrapping it around the neck of one of the Fallen. She landed on one more, crushing it’s chest in an instant. Three more rushed in, and she swung her whip with deadly precision, using the Fallen she had trapped at its neck as a weapon, and swinging him into his comrades, knocking them all out in a flash.

“Whoah, that was amazing! I didn’t know I had it in me!” Athena celebrated joyfully.

Dallas fired off two rounds from her bow, nailing two targets with energy arrows right in their center of mass. Two more Fallen came running in behind, using their fellow soldiers as shields. They were too close to fire at, and with weapons raised over their heads Dallas had to act fast. She pressed her bow forward into their arms, knocking their swords back into their own helmets and disorienting the Fallen. Dallas jumped and flipped over the demons, wrapping the string of her bow around their necks and dragging them right down to the ground. One more appeared above Dallas, ready to strike her down with a swing of its sword, but in a last ditch effort she pulled the string of her bow and fired at the ground, blinding the Fallen in a brilliant flash. When its vision cleared, Dallas was back on her feet and had it in her sights, point blank. She fired, and it was instantly destroyed.

“Wow! These powers are incredible!” Dallas cried out, bouncing around.

Justin was in the thick of it, drawing his sword as well as wielding his mighty gauntlet and taking on 5 Fallen at the same time. Swinging his own short sword to keep them at bay, using the gauntlet to strike like a boxer. One foolishly rushed in to try and strike Justin from behind, but the Blue Ranger saw him coming. He raised up his left sword arm and caught him around the neck, bend the Fallen backwards and torturing its spine. At the same time, he sliced with his sword at the back of its neck, and brought down a powerful punch into its exposed midsection, tearing the demon to pieces. He used the decapitated head and hurled it like a baseball into another enemy, knocking it over. The Fallen held the head in front of its own while it lay flay on its back, and the last thing it ever saw was Justin’s gauntlet smashing through the head, and into its own. One more rushed forward from in front of Justin, and two more followed up from behind. Justin hurled his sword like a knife right into the Fallen’s head, and then her turned around and punched the ground as hard as he could, opening up two fissures in the ground which swallowed up the advancing Fallen like a shark. Justin stood back up and retrieved his sword from the demon’s face.

“Oh yeah, I make this look goooood…” he said confidently.

Kyle swung his flail above his head, keeping his enemies at bay for now. They grouped together, fearing the big man’s devastating weapon. Kyle lowered his flail and cocked his head to the side, and beneath his helm he had a confident grin. He took out his sword and brought it to bare, motioning with his hand for them to ‘bring it on.’ Two Fallen did rush in, one after the other and the Green Ranger simply waited for his moment. In one simple fluid motion, he brought his sword down vertically, splitting the Fallen right in half, then continued his motion to bring his flail up over his head and down into the skull of the second Fallen, crushing it instantly. Kyle used the momentum of the swinging of the flail to jump up and land both of his big heavy feet right into the shoulders of two more Fallen, bringing them down like rag dolls. In the leap, he passed over one last enemy, and it charged in to take advantage. Without looking, Kyle brought up his sword and jabbed it behind him, catching the point directly in the Fallen’s neck. He retracted the blade and the Fallen fell.

“I can get used to this…” Kyle said, swinging his flail back to him and admiring his handiwork.

King charged right in for Mordred, ready to fight. However Mordred was not above sending more Fallen between himself and the Red Ranger in order to gain some sort of advantage. Kelly struck them down with ease, slicing two clean in half with one swing of his massive long sword Excalibur. Mordred sent three more between himself and the Red Ranger, but he was in no mood to deal with the small fish. He used his sword like a pole vault, bounding over the minions and landing directly in front of Mordred. The dark knight lunged forward with his deadly lance, but King was able to block it with his own mystic weapon. Back and forth they went, exchanging blow for blow until King’s raw power was able to back him up against the steps, causing Mordred to trip and fall to his back against the steps of City Hall. Kelly raised his sword, choking up like a baseball bat and swinging for all he was worth. Mordred, in a cowardly panic, cast his spell to teleport in retreat, falling back to his castle’s safety in its unknown dimension. While missing Mordred, the backswing of King’s blade was so fierce is generated a sharp wind, which was sharp enough by itself to cut down the three advancing Fallen who were coming up behind him. Kelly turned to see what had happened, and though he was frustrated he was unable to finish Mordred off here and now, the aftermath of the battle was a success as the Rangers destroyed half of the invading force in mere minutes.

“Next time…” Kelly promised to himself.

The Fallen, noticing Mordred’s retreat, decided to follow their leader and fall back through their portal as well. The Ranger’s had won the day.

The Rangers reconvened, checking to see if they were all okay.

“Everyone alright?” Kelly asked.

“This is amazing!” Athena shouted out.

“Incredible!” Dallas agreed.

“I can’t believe these powers!” Justin chimed in.

“I’ve never felt this good!” Kyle added.

“Looks like we’re all in one piece, but this isn’t over. Mordred escaped, and so did half of that army. We have to be careful from now on. This city…this whole world is depending on us. We’re Power Rangers now. Knights of the Round Table…” Kelly began, but his inspiring speech was interrupted.

“But most of all, we’re friends,” Athena spoke for him.

“And like the Knights of the Round Table,” Dallas said.

“We fight for eachother,” Justin finished.

“United as one,” Kyle said, pointing his sword high, as the rest of the Rangers followed suit.

“POWER RANGERS!”

Away from the celebration, another teen searches the battlefield frantically for his lost loved one.

“Dad! DAD! Where are you? Dad!?” He turned over rubble left and right, peaking into abandoned buildings to find his missing father. Down in the alleyway, a terrifying sight took form: the sight of his father, laying face down in the street.

“DAD!” The teen ran forward as fast as his legs would carry, sliding in the water and muck next to his father to examine him, try to save him, but it was hopeless. In his back the boy could see a 2 foot gash which was bleeding profusely. His father was long passed dead, and tears welled up in the young man’s eyes as he mourned his father’s loss.

“Michael…is it?” A mysterious voice in the distance called out to him, and the boy brought his head around to see who it was.

“Wh~who are you?” He asked, fighting through his tears.

“I? You may call me…The Man in Black,” the figure began, “and that, my young friend, is a tragedy that need not have occurred,” the Man in Black said in a sympathetic tone.

“What are you talking about?” Michael asked, cynical of many things, least of all nameless strangers at this point.

“I see many things, my young friend. Among those things, was the death of your dear father. His death was the result of a careless, and excessive, use of force and power from the new Power Rangers. An accident, it was, but an accident that didn’t have to happen. An accident…that the Power Rangers will not soon claim responsibility for,” the shadowy figure spoke calmly, approaching Michael slowly before wrapping an arm around his shoulder in condolence, “however…though they will not take responsibility for this heinous misuse of power, one who is powerful enough to stand up to them…could force them to take responsibility.” The words spun in Michael’s head, and his sorrow soon turned to blind furry.

“Tell me…how can I become so powerful?” Michael asked the Man in Black. The Man simply chuckled under his breath as a devilish grin etched across his face.

“Come with me…and I will give you the means to exact your revenge,” the Man explained, and Michael nodded in agreement. The two disappeared into a black fiery portal, into the magical dimension where the darkest forces reside.

Oh, it's not over yet Harli.

Episode Three:

The Rangers returned to the castle beneath the lake, powered down and still in celebration mode. They approached the main chamber, high fiving and congratulating each other. Even The Lady of the Lake was proud of her Knights.

“Well done Rangers, you’ve sent a message to Morgan and Mordred. They will think twice before invading the Earth once again,” The Lady explained.

“Damn right! Hahah! We kicked a** today!” Justin said in a jubilant fashion.

“Heheh, look at you! You didn’t even want to listen to The Lady of the Lake, now you’re singing her praises!” Athena pointed out.

“Hey, that was before I knew it would make me even MORE amazing!” Justin explained.

“You may be able to punch the ground, but I took out my guys WAY faster than you did dude,” Kyle spoke up.

“Oh yeah? You think that hammer of yours is stronger than my gauntlet?” Justin challenged him.

“Guys, knock it off. We aren’t fighting each other. We have bigger things to worry about,” King tried to settle the egos between them.

“Kelly is right, Rangers. Morgan is far from defeated. She will come back much stronger than she was today,” The Lady warned.

“It’s no worries, we have five Power Rangers! Plus Excalibur, and we sent Mordred running,” Dallas reasoned, “what could she possibly do to us?” The Lady of the Lake shook her head, waving her hand to reveal an ornate tapestry on the wall.

“This tapestry depicts the lifelong war between the original Knights of the Round Table and Morgan le Fay and Mordred. Both sides suffered tremendous loses time after time, and the Knights on multiple occasions were on the verge of total defeat. It was only by staying focused, and fighting with all their heart and strength that they were able to win…and even then…” The Lady motioned to the final picture on the tapestry, “King Arthur, and many of his Knights, paid the ultimate price.”

The mood and energy of the Rangers dropped quickly as they observed the legendary and bloody battle between the two sides. It was humbling to say the least.

“None of that matters,” Kelly spoke up, “Arthur may have had an army of Knights, but I have my four best friends. As long as we’re here, nothing can beat us. Morgan le Fay can say her prayers, because I’m coming after her.” The Red Ranger said resolutely, to which the rest of his teammates and friends nodded along.

“I’m glad to see you believe so strongly in your abilities, but even so, you should take advantage of the time you have to train, become stronger, so that you might be ready for anything and everything Morgan and her armies have to throw at you,” The Lady advised.

“Well that’s good and all,” Kyle spoke up, “but…we’re still in High school. We can’t just abandon our lives to be full time Power Rangers. People would get suspicious, not to mention we’d throw our futures away.”

“I understand your concern Green Ranger, but you must understand that the future of this world is important as well, and if you are not prepared then there will be a future for no one,” The Lady remarked.

“Look, this isn’t like the world when the original Knights were fighting. There wasn’t a ‘social life’ to speak of, or a regulated school for that matter,” Justin defended Kyle’s point, “we appreciate the powers, and your help. We just can’t leave everything behind to train.”

The Lady sighed, but she conceded the point.

“I understand…I cannot force you to abandon your lives back home. As long as you understand that this is a part of your life now as well,” said the Lady.

“We understand. We have to learn to make time in our days to come here and work on controlling our new powers. Not being able to control and use our powers properly is just as bad as not having them at all,” King explained, to which the rest of them promptly agreed.

Meanwhile, in a dank mystic forest somewhere in Morgan le Fay’s magical dimension, the Man in Black and the distraught Michael Landry discuss their new agreement.

“What the hell is this place? Where are we?” Mike demanded.

“Your new home, my dear boy. This…is Camlann,” The Man in Black explained.

“Camlann? What’s that?” Mike inquired.

“Camlann was the location of the final battle between King Arthur and Mordred. It lasted for days, and there were many casualties, including Arthur and Mordred themselves. The location was considered sacred in honor of all the brave warriors who gave their lives, and Merlin used his magic to transport this place into its own dimension, so that no one could defile these grounds,” The Man elaborated further.

“Right…Camlann…Arthur…what does all of this have to do with me? I just want the powers to make the Power Rangers pay!” Mike shouted out. The Man in Black merely chuckled.

“This will be the source of your power. You see, this spell had never been cast before, and Merlin put too much of his magic into casting it. It was ultimately the end of him, but as a result…this place is saturated with residual magical powers. Enough…to make one more Ranger. One strong enough to challenge all five at the same time. That is what you want, isn’t it?” The Man in Black asked. Michael too a moment to ponder the offer, before turning back to him with fire in his eyes.

“Yes…I want to destroy the Power Rangers. I want to take everything from them! Just like they took everything from me! They aren’t suited to defeat that army! And so once I’m done with them, I’ll take down those monsters by myself!” Mike declared resolutely.

This caught the Man in Black off guard. He had expected to be able to persuade the young man into fighting for Morgan le Fay’s army, but apparently he was determined to fight for the side of ‘good,’ aside from his sabbatical to gain his revenge on the Power Rangers. None of that mattered though, once the Rangers were destroyed, he could easily dispatch of this naïve boy.

“Wonderful. Now, take this. It will be your morpher. Use this…to become the Black Knight, and you will have your revenge.” The Man in Black explained and handed him a miniature handheld shield, emblazoned with the seal of a Raven. Michael took it, and instantly felt it’s power surge through him.

“By the Power of Black Magic! Black Knight arise!” Michael exclaimed and held out his morpher, instantly transforming him into the Black Knight. His armor was much like that of the other Rangers, though black and with a flowing cape and broad shoulder armor. In his right hand was a massive and ominously decorated halberd which emanated a ghastly glow. Michael admired his new armor, relishing the powers he now possessed.

“Incredible…” The Man in Black said, “So it’s true…you are the descendent of Lancelot, only a true descendent of a Knight of the Round Table could bring out that sort of power in the morpher so soon after acquiring it. And there were none more powerful than Lancelot.”

“Is that so? All the more power for me to use to destroy the Power Rangers…” Michael said.

“Indeed, but you cannot hope to simply wait for the Rangers to show up and attack. You must attack them on your terms,” The Man in Black explained before waving his hand and causing a series of five mystical mirrors to appear. In each of them, a face formed, “these are their true identities. These five were able to stand up to the Fallen during the initial invasion, then vanished…and reappeared as the Power Rangers of the Round Table. To destroy the Power Rangers, you must destroy these five teenagers.”

Michael took a long moment to study the five faces, memorizing them. Once he had their faces burned into his memory, he raised his deadly weapon and cut all of them to pieces in one brutal blow.

“The Power Rangers…are as good as dead.”

PLATINUM RANGER!

Episode Four:

The Man in Black walks through the forest of Camlann after just creating his own Black Knight. He had sent him back to Earth with knowledge of the Power Rangers of the Round Table, and the mission to destroy them all.

A hooded figure appears before the Man in Black, but he shows know fear. Instead he bows before it, and the hooded figure abandons its hood, revealing it to be Morgan le Fay. At that time, the Man in Black transformed into his true self: Mordred.

“Has he succumbed? Will he fight for us?” Morgan asked.

“Yes…but there is a problem my queen: the son of Lancelot will indeed destroy the Power Rangers, but he is also determined to destroy US as well. What should we do?” Mordred asked his queen.

“Do you doubt me? Michael’s power comes from my charity. Let him destroy the Power Rangers. Then, when he is fatigued…we will take his powers from him…and then his life,” Morgan le Fay cackled aloud, as did Mordred. Their plan was in place, now all there was left was to sit back and watch.

Back on Earth, the five rangers resume their lives at school. The citizens are still rebuilding, trying to come to terms with what had just happened to their fair city. Many were lost, and more damage was sure to come, but they had to resume their normal lives. Shaken, but not broken, the citizens of Lakeside picked up the pieces, and went back to work.

Among them, was the new resident: Michael Landry, who was about to participate in his first day at Lakeside High.

There was an assembly that day to discuss what had happened, and honor those who were lost in the tragic invasion. Those related to those lost went up on stage and spoke about their loved ones. When the principal passed the microphone to Mike, he simply raised his eyes from the ground and scanned the crowd. He noticed the five responsible for his father’s death instantly, and he sat there were a silent glare, refusing to speak. It was uncomfortable for everyone involved, but one saw the sadness in his eyes and felt sorry for him.

After the assembly, Athena broke off from her friends to try and find Michael. Navigating the exiting crowd wasn’t easy, and once she was outside it was still a sea of students making their way back to their classes. She spotted him heading to the locker room, and was able to stop him before he went inside.

“Hey,” Athena said, moving her vibrant red hair out of her face and catching her breath, “look, I know you’re hurting a lot right now. I just wanted you to know, if you ever needed someone to talk too, I’m here.”

Michael examined the young woman with a skeptical glance. He knew this was one of the people responsible, but still…why would she be so kind to him? She and him had never even met. Still…if it would help him succeed in his mission to destroy them, maybe it would help if he got closer to them.

“Yeah…thanks…” Michael said tentatively. Athena stuck out her hand to shake.

“I’m Athena, it’s nice to meet you,” she said kindly. Mike hesitated, but accepted the handshake.

“Mike…I guess I’ll see you around…” he offered. Athena smiled brightly, then turned back to meet her friends. At the last second she remembered something, then turned sharply to shout out to her new friend.

“Hey! Me and some friends of mine are meeting at Student Center after class! You should come by!” She offered. Landry thought it over, and for the first time he let a grin sneak across his cheeks.

“Yeah…I think I might. See you there,” to which he turned and entered the locker room. This plan might take longer than he thought, but for now he was going to let out his frustrations on whatever poor soul got in his way today in gym class. Athena went back to her friends, who were all in their English class together.

“Who were you talking too?” Kelly asked Athena when she returned.

“That guy, you know the one who didn’t talk at the assembly just now. I felt bad for him, so I invited him to hang out with us after school,” Athena explained.

“That was sure nice, but that’s not the only reason you did it,” Dallas said, “I saw the way you looked at him. Our lil’ Athena has a crush!”

“Shut up!” Athena smacked Dallas playfully, though her face turned red at the accusation, “I just felt bad for him…he looked so hurt and lost. I just wanted to help him, that’s all!” Before her friends could further the accusations she dove into her work, though it was hard to concentrate as with every denial, there was a hint of truth. Her friends merely snickered and shrugged, letting the issue go…except for Kelly, who couldn’t help but become uncomfortable at the prospect of the object of his affection having eyes for another.

Michael wasted no time releasing his pent up frustration, quickly making a reputation for himself during his gym class in which the activity today was amateur wrestling. Not many there had any real experience save one or two, but Landry made them all look like children the way he was slamming them down and stretching them out. By the end of it, everyone was glaring at him. No one was supposed to get hurt, but apparently Mike didn’t get the memo. He didn’t care, this was just a warm up for him.

After classes, word has already spread of Landry’s mean streak. Word had even reached the five Rangers, who were growing more and more anxious about meeting this guy in person for the first time. Eventually Landry did show up, sporting his backpack lazily hung over his shoulder. Athena waved him over, eager to dispel the vicious rumors being spread around about him.

“Mike! Over here!” She said all too eagerly. Mike made his way over and dropped his bag. Athena went over and hugged Mike, but he didn’t return it. Instead his eyes were fixated on the four other Rangers who were glaring at him, convinced he was no good. Athena let go and composed herself, fearing she might have revealed a bit too much in her sudden display of affection. “Uhmmm…anyway! This is Dallas, that’s Kyle, that over there is Justin, and…” King approached Athena and Michael before she could finish, comfortably putting his arm over Athena’s shoulder.

“Hey, I’m Kelly King. Good to meet’cha Mike,” he said with more than a bit of spite for the rumored bad egg.

“King…heard about you,” Landry said, but he was cut off before he could continue.

“Likewise,” King said, not taking his eyes off of Landry. Athena was getting uncomfortable, and she removed King’s arm from her shoulders.

“Heard you hurt a few of our friends today in gym. What’s that all about man?” Justin asked. Landry didn’t even move his eyes enough to acknowledge Justin.

“Can’t blame me for those guys being out of their league,” Landry said confidently.

“Well how about competing against someone who IS in your league,” Kyle shot back quickly. Again, he kept his eyes on King.

“How do you mean?” Landry asked.

“There’s a martial arts exposition soon,” King began, “we’re all going to be there representing Iron Fist, the school we were taught at. How about you show up…you know, for some friendly competition?” He offered. It didn’t take long for Landry to realize that getting close to the Rangers wasn’t going to be an option, at least not these four. Even still, another chance to beat up these kids before their day of reckoning comes would only make this sweeter. Landry couldn’t help but grin.

“I’ll be there,” he said, backing up slowly and grabbing his bag again, “but for now, I feel I’ve worn out my welcome. How about a rain check Athena?” Landry turned around and waved without waiting for an answer or another comeback from the Rangers. He stepped out the door, and Athena turned around with a look of severe disappointment.

“What the hell is wrong with you guys?! All he wanted to do was hang out with us and you jump on him like rabid dogs just for letting out a little frustration! It’s his first day and he just lost someone close to him! You couldn’t be a little more sympathetic?” Athena scolded her friends harshly.

“Athena! The guy is no good! Did you see him? He didn’t care that he hurt anyone! He’s just a jackass,” Justin said, trying to defend himself.

“He was just sticking up for himself! What would you do if three guys like you accused him of something like that and acted all dumb and macho? You’d try to act tough too! Now you got him involved in a martial arts expo, and you don’t even know if he knows how to fight!” Athena barked back. She had to calm herself so she wasn’t shouting, “we’re supposed to be Power Rangers, protecting people in need. If we can’t even be nice to the ones clearly hurt, then how are we supposed to help anyone?”

And with that, Athena stormed out with her things. King tried to grab her to calm her down, but she shrugged him off and made for the door. She was going to try and find Mike before his anger stopped him from ever wanting to speak to her again. The rest of the Rangers were left in a state of shock and disappointment. Rumors being true or not, what they did was wrong.

“Mike! Wait!” Athena called out, catching him in the parking lot on his motorcycle, about to peel out. Against his better judgment he stopped to hear what she had to say.

“What is it? You sure your friends back there won’t mind you talking to me?” He said cynically.

“Don’t worry about my friends,” Athena replied reassuringly, “let’s just talk. You don’t have to be alone…but…we can be,” she said with a hidden meaning which Landry caught immediately. This would be a perfect opportunity to do away with the Pink Ranger with great ease and privacy, but if he did, then the remaining Rangers would surely seek vengeance upon him with great rage and fury. Possibly with such powers that even he could not overcome them. Instead, he simply accepted her company, motioning for her to hop on the bike and grab a helmet. Athena looked around, making sure her friends weren’t following her before she hopped on and took the helmet, wrapping her arms around Mike’s waist and holding on as they sped off.

They arrived at a grassy cliff that overlooked the city. Landry parked the bike and helped Athena off of it. He and her walked to the edge of the cliff, she thinking of how pretty the city looked and how romantic this was, him thinking about the probability of getting away with pushing her off of the cliff.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Athena spoke up, breaking the silence, “I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ll never forget the way I felt when I went to that lake for the first time.” Landry shifted his eyes from the cityscape to Athena, hearing what she had to say.

“I was seven, I think, my dad took me there for a picnic with my family. It was so beautiful, and the water was so clear. My dad took me swimming, and it was the most amazing day of my life. Now every summer, I spend as many days as I can there,” she reminisced, her smile beaming the entire time. Landry was upset with her talking about her father, but in a way…her doing it was soothing. So much so he found the strength to speak up.

“My dad died in the attack yesterday,” he said solemnly, causing Athena to turn her head in shock.

“I’m…I’m so sorry, I didn’t know…” Athena said apologetically, which Landry found a tad ironic.

“We had just moved here, away from my mom. She left us for someone else, and we thought we’d start a new life here,” Landry couldn’t help but smile uncomfortably at that last statement, “Irony is a cruel mistress.” He said coldly.

Athena was about to reach up to comfort him, but an explosion which could be seen from their secluded outlook rocked the city. Athena recoiled, and her morpher began to buzz off the belt loop. She stumbled backwards, holding her hip to hide the morpher, but Landry also seemed to be distracted with finding a way to get out of there without sounding suspicious.

“Oh God…I have to see if my friends are okay! Can you give me a ride back? Please, I know it’s dangerous but…” Athena pleaded with him but once again she was interrupted.

“Let’s go,” he said sternly, already jumping on the bike to head back into the city. Athena smile and climbed on as well, and they sped off to head back into the center of the city.
In the center of the city, the Rangers were still in human form trying to escort the citizens to safety, waiting for an opportunity to morph in private and make sure no one was hurt, all the while waiting for Athena to show up to make sure she was okay as well. Landry and Athena rode in on the motorcycle, and she quickly dismounted to join her friends. They were happy she was okay, but not so happy that she was riding in with Landry. Mike got the hint quickly and he sped off to safety, or so they thought.

“You okay Athena?” King asked in deep concern.

“Yes, I’m fine! I was with Mike the whole time,” she explained.

“That’s what we were worried about,” Justin spoke up.

“Come on! Would you lay off! We have better things to worry about, like who is attacking the city!” Athena barked.

“She’s right, let’s get going. It looks like everyone is safe, so it’s time to go to work!” Dallas said.

“Alright, we all set?” King asked his team before taking his morpher in grasp, the rest following in time.

“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 pulled out their morphers and spoke their words of power, instantly transforming them into their Power Ranger form. The team leaped into action, discovering the source of the violence to be a massive monster which seemed to have a horse head on its body, reminiscent of a chess piece.

“Welcome Rangers…” The monster spoke, “I was wondering how long it would take for me to get your attention. I must say, I am not impressed. I am the Knight, and my queen Morgan le Fay has called upon me and my fellow warriors to destroy you. Unfortunately for you, you will never live to meet the rest of them.

“You keep saying that, and we’ll keep taking you down. No matter what you do, Morgan le Fay will never win!” King declared, drawing his blade and pointing it at the Knight, “pardon the pun, but you’re about to be toppled!”

To be continued…

Episode Six:

The five Rangers found themselves entrenched in a battle with another member of the Chess Piece Monsters. This time, it was the Bishop, a tall, lanky monster with a laser mounted on each arm, and one on the point of his helmet which could seemingly fire in any direction. The Rangers were having trouble doing any serious damage to the Bishop, as every time they got close, or even behind him they would get blasted.

“Guys, this isn’t going well,” Athena pointed out.

“Yeah we can’t get anywhere close enough to land a shot,” Justin agreed.

“And if I try to hit him with my arrows, he picks me off before I can fire,” Dallas added.

“Got any ideas on how to capture a Bishop, King?” Kyle asked.

“It’s not that simple,” King began, “chess is a game that can be won and lost on the first move. Every capture can be initiated five moves ahead. Sometimes to capture a piece, you have to lose three of four. This guy is different. We need to think outside the box to take him out.”

“Having trouble Rangers?” The monster mocked them, “it seems that you find yourselves in quite the sticky situation. Worry not, I will remove all your problems from your shoulders…the very moment I remove your heads!”

“Think again,” King shot back and he swung his sword with all his strength, sending a shockwave through the air. The Bishop put up his arms to block, but he needn’t worry as the shockwave landed in the ground about 10 feet before the monster.

“Hahah!” The monster scoffed, “your aim is as poor as your battle strategy!”

“That’s what I’m counting on,” King said and he nodded to Kyle, who waved his flail high over his head, then threw the spiked ball forward. It too also landed into the ditch that King carved out with his sword.

“I see what you’re doing, I’ll be right back!” Justin called out as he caught on, jumping forward and leaping into the hole Kyle carved out for him.

“I don’t think so. It’s time for this little dog to be put down,” The Bishop called out, aiming with the two lasers on his arms, but his fire was misdirected by Athena’s whip wrapping around both arms and causing him to miss wildly.

Dallas was running off from the group, climbing walls to get a better vantage point with her bow. The Bishop took notice and fired upon her with his head laser, but King was able to cover her with another supersonic swipe of his trusty Excalibur, deflecting the shots and giving Dallas enough time to get off a few shots of her own. However, Dallas’ energy arrows didn’t hit the mighty monster, instead they formed four corners of a perfect square directly around the Bishop.

“What are you fools trying to accomplish!? What do you plan to gain by missing?” The Bishop demanded to know.

“We aren’t missing Bishop,” King answered, “were just playing
the game a few moves ahead of you.”

And with that, Bishop felt some rumbling beneath his feet. His arms still bound by Athena’s whip, and there was no escape. From directly below, the Blue Ranger shot up from the ground leading with his mighty gauntlet, and landed a punch directly on the jaw of the Chess Piece monster. Athena relinquished her grip on the Bishop’s arms, allowing him to fly through the air…and be met by King and his blade, being struck right through the monster’s chest and implanting him into the ground. At impact, the monster exploded in a violent blast, and when the fires died down, King was standing strong.

Back in Camlann…

“M’lady, the Bishop has been destroyed by the Power Rangers,” Mordred informed his Queen. Morgan le Fay merely scoffed and once again approached her crystal ball.

“They may have defeated him with their swiftness on the ground, but let’s see those clumsy robots match up against my monster at full size!” Morgan proclaimed, surging her energies into the crystal ball to bring her precious monster back from the dead.

Back on Earth, it grew to skyscraper size, ready to once again wreak havoc upon the vulnerable citizens.

“You know what happens next guys,” King said and they lined up beside him.

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

Once more the five zords came forth through their extra dimensional portal, surrounding the monstrous Bishop. The Rangers leaped up, taking their place inside of their cockpits and prepared for round two for the fight. However, as soon as they were powered up and ready to fight, the Bishop fired from his head laser in each direction, nailing the rangers with powerful blasts of energy. The zords fell back on the ground, trying to recover from their wounds.

“Is it just me or is this guy even MORE powerful than he was when he was small?” Kyle asked.

“Rangers,” The Lady of the Lake chimed in with another
telepathic message, “your powers are not limited to what you see. Just like when you combined your efforts when you were small, if you combine your zords you will unlock a power you’ve never imagined.”

At that point, a new switch appeared on the control panel, shining brightly as if it was begging to be pressed.

“You all seeing what I’m seeing?” Athena asked her friends.

“Oh yeah, we see it,” King replied, “I think we go for it. Everyone set?”

“Yeah!” The Rangers replied in unison.

“ROYAL KING MEGAZORD!”

The Rangers flipped the switch in unison, and the eyes lit up on their zords. Together they began transforming from knights into body parts, linking together into a Megazord which was twice the size of any of the smaller zords alone. When it was finished, the Royal King Megazord was finished, the sword of Kelly’s personal zord in one hand, and a shield lined with Kyle’s flail in his other hand.

The Bishop stood, confident as ever as the Megazord formed before him.

“You think that cutting your numbers from Five to One will help you? It just cut your odds to 1 in 5! I will still destroy you! And my King and Queen will reward me with unlimited power!” Bishop claimed as he pointed both his arms at the Megazord, charging both them and the laser at the point of his hat for one last blast at the Rangers.

The Rangers commanded their Megazord to take the bow from its back and place it in its hand. They loaded the bow with none other than their massive version of Excalibur. They pulled the quiver to its snapping point as the blade began to glow as it collected power from all systems on the Megazord. The Bishop fired, sending a tri-beam of energy hurdling towards the Megazord. The Rangers released their weapon, sending their sword flying through the air. The two projectiles connected, and the sword easily cut through and destroyed the laser attack, continued on and plunged itself right into the chest of the Bishop, the exact same place that King placed it just a few minutes ago. The Bishop grasped at its chest, but there was nothing he could do. The Bishop fell to his knees, and then to his face, where he erupted into flames once again, finally destroyed for good.

The Rangers dispatched their zords and fell back down to earth, congratulating each other on another hard fought victory. However, another message was left for them once they were there, this time in the form of a note on the ground. The Rangers were hesitant to approach it, but finally their leader did and grasped the note. Unfolding it, King read out:

“Look up.”

“What the hell?” Kyle said as the Rangers looked around for anything that could be out of the ordinary. Athena found the problem, and she pointed it out for the rest.

“LOOK OUT!” She shouted as she and the rest of the Rangers saw where the danger lied, and that was in the Black Knight standing on a building behind five strategically placed magical cannons. The Black Knight fired as soon as his presence was revealed, and the Rangers could only stand there and try to shield themselves from the blast. The ground exploded at their feet, and the Rangers were battered by debris as the fires surrounded them.

When the fires cleared, the Rangers were relatively unharmed. They looked around to make sure they were okay, and sure enough everyone was still standing. The Rangers looked up, and the cannons, along with the Black Knight, were gone. Then they looked to the floor where the cannons had hit, and exactly three feet in front of each and every Ranger was a perfectly placed cannonball crater.

“What…what the hell was that about?” Dallas asked.

“It’s another message…he was just telling us that…that he COULD have destroyed us,” Athena offered her explanation with a shaky voice.

“Then why didn’t he?” King asked, more angry than confused.
The Rangers recouped at the castle Camelot beneath the lake, then returned to the city to resume their normal lives. Today was the day of the Martial Arts Expo, and they were going to use it as an opportunity to see what this new guy Michael had, as well as what kind of person he was. Everyone but Athena, that was. She had already made up her mind.

The team arrived in their training gear, workout pants and tank tops all colored corresponding to their Ranger colors. The team signed in for their respective competitions, Athena and Dallas competing with the women, Justin Kyle and King with the men. Time was drawing closer and closer to the beginning of the competition, and they were beginning to wonder whether or not the mysterious Mike Landry was going to show up. Then, just minutes before start time, Landry emerged in the entry way in full competition gear. He had a black wife-beater on, as well as loose fitting Nike workout pants. He walked right through the crowds, passed the five Rangers who kept their eyes on him the entire time. He didn’t acknowledge any of them…any of them except for Athena, who he gave a slight nod too. He signed up in the men’s competition, and it was time to go.

“It’s time to begin! Can we please have numbers 15 and 16 up at the main stage?” the official announced, and Justin made his way up to the stage, followed closely by Mike Landry. Justin was surprised that he’d be facing off against him in the very first round, but it was fine by him. He wanted a chance to beat some respect into Landry. Mike seemed to not even notice he was there, instead his attention was focused on Athena, who was warming up for her first match as well. He didn’t smile, he didn’t frown, he simply stared at her…studying her, until he was interrupted.

“Hey! Spaceman! Get your head in the game! Only things you should be worried about are how bad I’m going to beat you, and how you’re going to pay for your hospital bills!” Justin called out.

Landry turned his head and gave Justin the same cold look, which only succeeded in making Justin angry.

“Bow to your opponent,” the official instructed, and they complied.

“Bow to me,” the official said next, again they complied.

“Get ready…FIGHT!” Landry and Justin circled in their fighting stances, feeling each other out. Justin, be it from arrogance or pride, shot in to try and hit a double leg takedown, intent on pounding Landry’s face into hamburger meat. Landry sprawled, making it impossible for Justin to grab hold of his legs, then brought both arms down in a swinging motion, colliding both forearms into Justin’s ribs. Justin’s arms quickly went from trying to grab Landry’s legs to holding his own ribs, making it all too easy for Landry to grab him around the waist, lift him up and deliver a stiff powerbomb. The thud was sickening, and the injured Justin tapped the mat as he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. The official stepped in, and he raised Landry’s hand as the victor.

“JUSTIN!” Kyle shouted and he jumped up on the stage, checking on his friend, “that was uncalled for! What were you thinking?!” He barked. Michael merely huffed and turned his head to address him.

“It’s legal. Besides, you hurt him. He wanted to put me in the hospital,” he replied calmly.

“HE WASN’T SERIOUS!” Kyle shouted, but before he could get it out of his mouth he was cut off.

“Don’t worry, no serious injuries, though I could have made it much worse,” Landry replied, still cool as ice. He stepped down from the stage as Justin was helped off by Kyle and into the medics tent.

Landry took a seat at a tree, away from the competition to relax, only to be disturbed by Kelly King and Athena.

“You know, you didn’t have to go that far,” King said, “we all know Justin has a mouth on him, but he didn’t deserve bruised ribs.”

“Yes, because I intended to bruise his ribs, and I knew when I did so I stopped. That makes sense, doesn’t it?” Landry replied sarcastically. He stood up to face King, “so why don’t you just calm down. Don’t blame me because your buddy isn’t as tough as you thought he was. You and I know I could have done much worse, but I chose not to.”

“And why is that?” King questioned.

Landry didn’t reply, but he did turn his glance ever so quickly from King to Athena, then back again. King must have noticed, as he put his arm around Athena to guide her back to the main lawn where the competition was taking place. Athena again shrugged him off, and when he turned to ask what was wrong, she just gave him a look as if to say, ‘its okay.’ He didn’t like it, but King didn’t have a choice. He had a match to participate in. When King was off in the distance, Athena turned back to Mike.

“I’m sorry about my friends,” she began apologetically, “they can be a bit protective of each other. We’re a bit of a close-knit group, and they are having problems letting you in. Just…give it time. I’ll put in a good word for you, I promise.” She said sincerely.

“I don’t need your friends to like me,” Mike replied simply.

“Well…it sure would make things easier,” Athena answered, leaning in and kissing Landry on the cheek. This caught him off guard, and his face turned red as he held his cheek in deep confusion. “I’ll see you back at the competition…just promise not to hurt anyone else, okay?” she finished before skipping back to the crowd so she could resume warming up.

Landry stood back, watching Athena leave. He didn’t know how to proceed, all he knew was…things just got a little more complicated.

I apologize there wasn't a ranger fight scene in the last, and a few other episodes, but don't worry.

NEXT TIME ON POWER RANGERS KNIGHTS OF ANARCHY:
The Power Rangers and the Black Knight face off in their first full scale battle!