//------------------------------// // Episode 22: Part 1: Frienemies // Story: Power Rangers SUPER Starfleet (Starfleet Humans) // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// EPISODE TWENTY-TWO The rangers hardly got any sleep, still worried over their friends being captured by the minions, and wondering what had become of them. Sunset felt the most worried of all, worrying about all her friends, and especially Artie. “They were going to wake up.” she cried to herself. She felt ready to burst into tears of shame and fear, wondering what was happening to her friends now. At the prison tower, Artie, Starla, Dyno and Myte, along with Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, were actually starting to awaken. Artie was the first to slowly open his eyes. He felt so incredibly weak and sore. His head ached and his vision was a little blurry. “Where am I?” he wondered “…Who am I? Why can’t I remember?” The others began to come to, but they all felt the same as he did. “Who am I?” wondered Rarity. “I… don’t remember.” said Pinkie. They all soon realized there were contained in large glass tubes that were contacted to a machine of Bronc’s that was actually syphoning their magical energies. They were all still too weary to really complain or fuss and just remained where they all were, curled up on the bases of the tubes. “Interesting.” said Bronc, and he turned to face The Sirens, “They seem to retain no memories of their past lives. Quite possibly due to the sizeable concussions they suffered in the explosion that knocked them out.” The Sirens didn’t seem to mind a bit. “Never mind…” said Adagio “Their minds mean nothing to us. All that matters is we get their energy.” Keto was still confused, “There are lots of other humans in the world,” he said “Some even bigger and stronger than these kids. Why taketheirenergy?” The Sirens gawked at him in dismay, and Marla flicked Keto’s hat off. “Is there anything you keep under this besides your empty head?” she mocked, “These are the humans that have powers from Starfleet.” “Exactly.” said Aria “And they also possess Equestrian magic. The very magic we all once used to empower ourselves.” Sonata snickered, “With this kind of power, we’ll finally be able to take the fight straight to the rangers. They won’t be able to resist what we’ll have for them this time.” As the magic and energy continued to drain from the humans, all of them were still looking pretty weak, and still couldn’t think straight or remember who they were. This gave Keto an extreme idea. “I think I know another way we can use these creatures.” he said to everyone. “Speak up…” said Adagio, and Keto whispered to her his idea to which Adagio grinned wickedly, “Do it!” Keto snickered and went off to prepare his plan, but the others wondered what he was up to. (Que Intro) In Africa, Zecora was preparing for her special-ritual to help Lightning in his quest to find the villains tower. She mixed a whole bunch of herbs and liquids her caldron and set them to burn. The mixture made all kinds of multi-colored fumes that smelled rather horrid. Lightning covered his nose. Krysta covered her face with her wing and groaned, “My nostrils feel shriveled.” “You don’t have a nose.” said Lightning. “You get the idea anyway.” grumbled Krysta. Zecora was used to all this, having been through this countless times. “I understand dat you can’t stand da smells of the dust and grime, But it’s all necessary to make things work. It won’t take much time.” Suddenly, the candles and lanterns went out as a soft breeze actually fluttered inside the burrow. “Da spirits begin to speak You can hear dem as dey creak The breeze actually made soft howling sounds. Krysta felt chills run down her back, and made her feathers stand up. Lightning held her close to comfort her. Suddenly there was a big glowing from the caldron and the fumes seemed to show a shape of the villains’ tower. Lightning and Krysta stared in awe at the images, and Zecora began to slowly see the picture coming together. “Da spirits began to speak to you, Somewhere out in the da ocean-blue, Da tower of the enemies you brawl, It sits on an island that is very small.” “An island…” whispered Lightning “Of course! Such an isolated for privacy, and regular planes and ships could never hope to see it in the vast ocean.” “Well, that’s fine and all…” said Krysta “But exactlywhere isthis island? It could be anywhere in any ocean.” Zecora hushed her and said, “Just concentrate my dear, Soon all will become quite clear.” Outside of the burrow, that evil creature was moving closer and closer, following Lightning’s footprints in the soft dirt, his shadow loomed in on the big rock near Zecora’s secret entrance, and the creature snickered wickedly. Meanwhile, back at Mystic Island, the rangers all met up in the park, they all sat together on the bench, but none of them really felt like doing much. All of them sat with their heads down, their eyes half open in sad expressions, while everyone else in the park were happy and giddy and playing and having the time of their lives. “So…” Rainbow said finally breaking the silence. “Um…” said Fluttershy, but she couldn’t think of much else to say. Finally Rhymey stood up, “Look, this disturbs me to no ends, We’re all very worried about our friends.” “That’s an understatement.” agreed Buddy “I just wish we knew what The Sirens want with our friends. Then again, knowing those freaks, they’ll want to use them against us.” Sunset cringed, and she spoke softly, “Please don’t say that.” All her friends looked at her, she sounded so down hearted, so lost. “I just can’t bear the thought. I mean what if The Sirens are torturing them, hurting them? What’s to stop them from doing that anyway?” Now Fluttershy felt her insides aching with worry, almost to the point of tears. “She’s right.” she cried. “There’s got to be something we can do!” “Yeah, but what CAN we do?” asked Rainbow. “I’m not trying to be insensitive or anything, but if you stop and think about it, all this feeling sorry for ourselves won’t really help.” “Rainbow’s right.” agreed Buddy “If anything, we ought to train and prepare ourselves for what may come.” Fluttershy wiped her eyes, knowing her friends were right, and Rhymey agreed too. “I hear your words and I agree, We better prepare quite quickly.” Sunset was still looking down, worrying about her friends, and especially Artie. “Sunset?” said Buddy, “I know it’s hard. We all feel the same, but we do need you.” Sunset drew in a deep breath and found her courage to get up to her feet. “You’re right,” said bravely “Let’s go!” The best place they could possibly train and practice was in the school yard and the track-stadium at Canterlot High. Even though the school was closed for the summer holidays, Track Teams and Athletics Groups loved to use the track field and the stadium for training. Provided they got permission from Celesto first as he owned the grounds and property. When the rangers had contacted him and explained their training plans, Celesto was only too obliged to grant them permission, and soon the rangers were training hard-- leaping over hurdles, dodging obstacles, and even taking time to spar with one another… all to the tune of their theme song. Elsewhere, there was more preparation going on…! Keto had lined up a row of monsters he had released from their cells. Some monsters were big and burly. Some were armed with weapons. There were even a few who had a few magical powers to launch fireballs, or lightning bolts and things like that. “What are we doing here?” “I thought we were being released to fight the rangers.” “QUIET!!” shouted Keto “You won’t ACTUALLY be fighting the rangers yourselves, but you will be helping us.” The monsters didn’t understand. Keto snickered and rubbed his hands together. “Okay, come on, baby, let’s do this.” He whispered to his staff.“…DECOMPOSITION!” The monsters gasped, and remembered Keto using this mugic before-- His most powerful and deadliest one, that had the power to steal strength, courage, intelligence and power from subjects and transfer them to the caster of the mugic… though at great risk as it meant Keto could get extremely weakened from overusing the power for too long. The magical music played, and the monster along with Keto all glowed brightly as the energies were transferred from the monsters, leaving them all weak, frail, and practically useless, while Keto absorbed the powers into a special mugic hex rather than absorbing the power into himself. He would never be able to handle that much, not even with his enhanced strength. He’d likely blow himself up just absorbing half of it! Never the less, the magical hex now stored all the power obtained from the monsters “Excellent!” Keto hissed, but then he felt rather woozy from such a strain and nearly collapsed, but a pair of Lingos caught him. “Thank you.” he said to them. He ordered the monsters to be sent back to their cells, and then he was escorted to the top of the tower and brought the Hex to The Sirens. “It’s worked, Mistresses.” he said “With this, we can now create monsters that even the rangers can’t defeat.” The Sirens snickered, and Adagio carefully took the hex from Keto. “If this works, Keto,” said Adagio “We’ll have to talk about a handsome reward for you.” Bronc and Marla felt cross and jealous of the greatness Keto was receiving, but they couldn’t really complain. Adagio then activated the hex, which began to transfer the power into all of the humans they had captured. “What the?!” cried Applejack. “What’s going on!” shouted Starla. Dyno groaned, “I feel… I feel…!” “So strange!” added Myte. Pinkie Pie screamed as she and all her friends began to transform, taking on monstrous shapes. “It’s working!” cried Bronc. Marla backed away whimpering softly as the snarling creatures busted through the tubes that held them. The combined powers of the monster energies gave each human a different shape and power. Rarity: A stunning, yet wicked sorceress. She wore a dark purple robe and hood, with a monster silver mask across her face. She has the ability to unleash gem missiles and white lightning bolts. Pinkie Pie: A nightmarish looking clown monster. Her body was a little chubby, but extremely durable and she wore a birthday hat that could shoot cannonballs out of its top, and she could also throw exploding pie-bombs. Applejack: She took on the form of a Chaotic Code-master, like Bronc. She wore the same armor, helmet and robe like he did; only her robe was red, white and bronze colored, but just like Bronc, she had huge fists and could shoot lasers from her helmet visor. The Twins: They had taken on the form of two huge iron warriors. Dyno wore black armor, and Myte wore grey armor. Both of them were fully armored from head-to-toe, front to back, and they each held a strong mace and shield. Starla: She had taken the form of a spiteful enchantress, with silvery skin, black hair, a black robe, and a magical scepter that house dark magic that could be used offensively and defensively. And Artie: He took on the form of a strong and fierce-looking beast. With claws, horns, fangs, and was able to breathe fire. The Sirens gazed in astonishment at their newest legion of monsters, and the best part of it all was, because the humans already couldn’t remember their former lives, and now had the intelligence and minds of monsters, as well as their loyalty to the villains. “How may we serve you, Oh, Empresses?” Starla said, taking her place as the leader of the monsters. “Mmm…! I like this.” said Aria. “I wouldn’t want to be in the rangers’ shoes now.” Sonata snickered. In Zecora’s hideout, the cauldron was now producing a rather odd image of the Pacific Ocean. “Da Spirits will now search the ocean blue, Dey will close in on da tower for you. Watch as now da narrowing of da field. Soon da position of da tower will be revealed.” The smoke then showed a red glowing image, like a circle that slowly began to enclose on an area near Mystic Island, much to Lightning and Krysta’s astonishment. “It’s that close to the island?!” Krysta whispered. Lightning could hardly believe it himself. The circle had just enclosed within a five-hundred mile radius near Mystic Island, when suddenly the images vanished, and then the cauldron glowed red. Zecora gasped in fright. “What’s happening?” asked Lightning. The red glow pulsated brighter, and took on the shape a monstrous face. Zecora explained… “Da spirits are broken, and I know why. Dey are warning us… of a great evil is nigh!” Before anyone could say another thing, the burrow rumbled as if someone or something was slamming onto the ground above. “I’ll go check it out.” said Lightning. Zecora directed him to her special way out, through a doorway that lead to another secret panel in the ground. “Krysta, you stay here with Zecora.” “But Lightning…” Krysta protested, but Lightning had already gone, and Zecora quickly lit p some candles to make it easier to see. Lightning made it to the surface and was now standing outside under the night sky. “Well, well…!” called a familiar and wicked voice, “Fancy running into YOU here.” Lightning couldn’t believe his eyes, “Nacluv!” “That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.” Before Lightning could even ask, Nacluv explained how he was there. “After my minions betrayed me to those silly Sirens, I found myself swimming endlessly for my life through the ocean, and braving those dangers. But it was somewhat worth it.” He flexed his muscles, and the fiery veins on his arms pulsated brightly. “I found good strength as I reached the shores of Africa, and have been training in secret so that I may return and exact my vengeance! …And what do you know, I run into a ranger right here. It’ll be nice for me to have a little brawl before I return.” Lightning had heard enough, and he looked ready to rumble. Nacluv then unleashed a huge fiery blast, stronger than anything he had once. Lightning leapt out of the way casuing the blast to hit the ground… …The force of which shook Zecora’s burrow below, knocking the lit candles all about, and one of them landed behind a pile a sheet curtain, setting it ablaze. “Oh, no!” cried Krysta. The fire began to spread to the bookshelves, much to Zecora’s horror, and all the water she had in buckets wouldn’t help put it out. “We must get out of here, Come with me little dear.” She scooped Krysta in her arms and ran for the exit, but at the same time... “Take this!” Nacluv fired another blast which Lightning dodged, and the blast hit the ground again, causing a small rockslide below, and Zecora’s exit was blocked off. “No!!”Zecora and Krysta shouted. The exit was completely blocked, and the fire below was spreading, and the smoke was unbearable. With no windows or openings to leak out, the whole place was soon all fogged up. Krysta and Zecora began to cough and wheeze. “We… trapped!” choked Krysta. “No… not, yet we’re not. Dere’s one idea… that’s worth a shot…!” She tucked Krysta into her robe sash, fastening her down, and made her way over to the entrance slide, and very carefully began to shimmy her way up. It was a good thing her hands were dry to keep her from slipping. She made it to the top and burst her way through the trapdoor, and she and Krysta gasped and coughed for the fresh air. Lightning was glad to see they made it out, “Are you two okay?” he called. Zecora nodded and Krysta perched herself on her shoulder, but she was shocked to see, “Nacluv?!” Nacluv snickered, “Ah, a pair witnesses to see your destruction.” he said to Lightning, and then he rushed straight for him. Lightning rushed at him as well, morphing along the way! “Power… On!!” The two collided together, and began to punch and kick at one another, while all Zecora and Krysta could do was keep well out of the way and watch Lightning brawl with the evil creature. Their fists collided, and Lightning kicked at Nacluv hard. Nacluv dodged and slashed at Lightning hard with his claws knocking him away. “Lightning!” cried Krysta as she saw Lightning just lying on the ground. Nacluv laughed as he approached him, “It seems you’ve lost your touch for having left your fellow rangers for so long.” He grabbed Lightning and looked deeply at his helmet, “Take a deep breath. It shall be your last.” He was about to deliver the kill, but Lightning pulled a fast one on him, by raising his foot up and kicking him hard in the chest sending him back a few paces, and then Lightning bolted up right and shot him with a strong force from his gauntlets, making a big explosion and knocking the creature back hard. “You were saying, Nacluv?” Lightning taunted “Guess you’re the type who never learns.” Nacluv was furious. This battle was far from over. Meanwhile, the rangers had long since finished their training session. It was not beneficial for them to overdo it, or they would be too tired to get into action. Sunset took a moment to look all around at the open school-field, and the city in the distances. “Sunset?” said Fluttershy. “I was just looking…” Sunset said. “Looking for any signs of danger?” asked Buddy. Sunset sighed, “I wish they’d show themselves already, and we can find out about our friends.” Suddenly, the skies began to grow a little dark with evil clouds. “I think they just heard you.” said Rainbow. Surely enough, The Sirens appeared, “Well, hey Rangers.” said Adagio. Aria and Sonata snickered. The rangers all stood together with strong and stern expression. “Ooh, some people look a little sour today.” said Aria. “Maybe we can cheer you up… with the last concert you’ll ever hear!” The rangers all glared furiously at the villains. “What have you done with our friends?” Sunset asked. The Sirens snickered, and Adagio replied, “Oh, you could say “Nothing”… compared to what they’re going to do to you.” The rangers were confused, and suddenly, bright flashed of Lightning struck the ground making bright flashes, and the seven monsters all appeared. “What the Who…?!” snapped Rainbow. “No! It isn’t so!” cried Rhymey. Even with their monstrous forms, the rangers still recognized their friends anywhere. “Artie…” cried Sunset, but Artie just glared at her with smoke coming through his big monster nose, “No, Ranger. I only inhabit his body and mind.” “We all do.” hissed Applejack, “Figured you rangers would wanna see your ol’ chums again.” Buddy clenched his fists in extreme inner anguish. She sounded like Applejack behind that helmet, but seeing her as well as the others in their monstrous forms really hurt him inside. The others all felt the same, and The Sirens were only enjoying this, and they agreed as Adagio said, “…It’s show time.” and she ordered the monsters to attack. The monsters roared and lunged forth. “Look out!” shouted Fluttershy, and the rangers all leapt out of the way before they were all slashed or blasted at. The Rangers made no attempt to fight back, and they didn’t even morph. “What, no Morphin’ Time.” hissed Starla. “No Hiyas or Keyohs!” taunted Rarity. Buddy looked at the girls, “Girls, come on! Snap out of it.” he said to them, but Starla and Rarity merely zapped at him with their powers, forcing him to dodge again. “Hey, come on.” Rainbow said “We’re all friends here.” “We can’t fight you!” added Fluttershy. The Twins just swing their maces at the girls. The girls leapt away as the maces slammed the ground hard. The boys turned to face the girls, “Haven’t you been listening to what we said?” sneered Dyno. “We are not your friends.” added Myte “We serve The Sirens, and we will destroy you!” The swung at the girls again… Rhymey stared down Pinkie, and she snickered at him, “You’re such pests to us, I think I’ll blow my top.” And she fired a cannonball out from her hat that Rhymey dodged, and avoided a big explosion. Much as Rhymey hated the very thought, he looked over at The Sirens who were snickering-- enjoying at seeing the rangers suffer-- he knew there was really no other choice. “I do not wish to fight you, my friend. But we must defend ourselves, or face our end.” Fluttershy couldn’t believe what her boyfriend had just said, “Rhymey…!” “He’s right…” added Buddy “I don’t like this anymore than you do, but we can’t just sit and do nothing and let them destroy us.” Rainbow cringed softly, but she knew he was right, and Fluttershy and even Sunset herself were inclined to agree. “So you’re going to fight after all?” jeered Artie “This ought to be interesting.” The rangers all stood together and were ready. “It’s Morphin’ Time!” said Sunset. “Morphing Sequence Ready!” “STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!” Once they morphed, they did their roll-call. Sunset:“Evil’s Dread! Starfleet Red!” Buddy:“Let’s make the scene. Starfleet Green!” Rainbow:“We’ll see things through. Starfleet Blue!” Rhymey:“Though peace and Woe! Starfleet Yellow!” Fluttershy:“Quick as a Wink! Starfleet Pink!” And altogether they shouted“…POWER RANGERS… SUPER STARFLEET!!” The monsters growled, and The Sirens laughed, “Let’s do this.” said Aria. Sonata snickered, and Adagio shouted, “ATTACK…!!” The monsters and The Sirens themselves all rushed forth. “Go!” shouted Sunset, and the rangers all rushed as well. The Sirens began to hum a few notes, and the rangers were suddenly all forced back by powerful energy waves. “Whoa! What was that?” asked Sunset. “Just another little trick we’ve perfected.” replied Sonata, and she sang more notes blasting lightning bolts at the rangers, hitting them all hard and knocking them over in big explosions. “Good one, Sonata.” said Adagio. Sonata grinned, but the rangers all got up just as the long row of monsters stood before them, and Artie was snickering at them. “You rangers have met your match.” The rangers all got up, and Sunset tried to get through to Artie and the others. “I know you’re all in there. We don’t have to do this!” “Silence…!” Artie shouted and he breathed a wave of flames at the rangers, making them all step back hard. The monsters all rushed forth, and the rangers had no choice but to fight. However, they only fought defensively, merely to block or avoid being punched, kicked or blasted by the monsters. “What’s wrong, can’t throw a punch?” taunted Applejack “Well I sure can!” and she aimed her huge fist, knocking Buddy back hard, and before he even had a chance to get up, The Sirens sang another note, lifting Buddy high and then blasting him hard, causing him to crash on the ground and his suit powered down. “That’s one down.” said Aria. Rhymey fought valiantly with his sword against the Twins, and managed to keep them both at bay for a short while. In the end, Dyno knocked Rhymey’s sword out of his hand giving Myte the opening to bash him hard with his mace, sending him rolling along the ground and de-morphing. At the base, the friends all watched in horrors. “I can’t believe this is actually happening!” cried Spike “I mean… those are our friends!” Twilight and Celesto felt the same, and Celesto gripped his cane tightly, “So THIS is what the Sirens wanted.” he said. Twilight scanned the monsters. “Their power levels are rising through the roofs.” There was a loud noise on the screen. Rainbow fired her cannon, while Starla and Rarity nodded at one another combined their magic, producing a wave of energy, reflecting the blast back at Rainbow, hitting her hard and de-morphing her! Pinkie Pie then laughed at Fluttershy as she glared her down, “What? You’re still scared of clowns?” she hissed. Fluttershy tried not to tremble in fear and raised her shield when Pinkie started throwing her pies at her. Big explosions erupted, one after another; Fluttershy couldn’t take it much longer. Finally, Pinkie blasted her with a cannonball, blowing her back hard and she was de-morphed. Sunset was the only ranger left, and she fought against Artie alone. Artie punched and kicked while Sunset blocked his every attack. The finally met together in a struggle, “My goodness, are you still trying to get through to me?” mocked Artie. Sunset said nothing. She just gazed at him deeply through her helmet. She could actually see the face of her boyfriend behind that monstrous feature. This of course allowed Artie to bash her hard with his head, knocking her back hard. “Our turn…” Sang Adagio, and she and the others sang a strong note, blasting Sunset with lightning all around. Explosions and sparks flew all around her, and she flipped over and onto the ground, un-morphed! “Sunset!” cried Rainbow as she and the others dashed over to help her. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I am…” replied Sunset, but the monsters were all laughing at them, and The Sirens stood in front of them all, and the minions joined them. “My, how the tables have turned.” teased Bronc. “How does it feel to lose, Rangers?” Marla sneered at them. The rangers said nothing. What was there to say? “Oh, I’ve waited for this moment a long time.” hissed Keto. “So have we.” agreed The Sirens. The friends at the base saw this on the monitors. “It’s no good! They’re outnumbered and outmatched!” said Twilight. “Man! I sure wish Lightning was here!” cried Spike. “So do I, Spike…” agreed Celesto “Right now we’ve got to get the rangers out of there.” Meanwhile, Lightning rushed straight at Nacluv, but the evil creature blasted him hard with his flames, sending him skidding along the ground. “Lightning!” shouted Krysta. “Oh…!” cried Zecora. Nacluv laughed and approached the fallen ranger. “This has been quite the warm up for me, and this new strength of mine feels great.” he paused and gazed down at Lightning, “Soon, I’ll return to finish what I started, but first… I’ll destroy you!” Lightning could only gaze up at the evil creature, panting softly and slightly in fear! To Be Continued…!