Ranger Fall Part 2: Collapse
The monitoring system came on, if Jack didn’t know better he’d say it was howling in pain. The signal matched the one when the ‘Black Wyvern’ appeared, but there wasn’t just one this time. Three, all in the same location, the pier.
“Looks like my brother isn’t hiding his entry this time.” Talia spoke from the doorway. “We have no idea what this third entry is, so be on guard all of you.”
The team made their way to the pier, amongst the screaming crowd. Something felt wrong with the red ranger, he felt tired and off, that shouldn’t be possible.
The prince and Veronica emerged, already morphed, followed by a woman in a violet ranger suit, with a reptilian helm and more heads in the pattern of her suit. The green ranger eyes this one and scoffs. “So what’s her deal? Another crazy lackey?”
“Just another survivor of the princess’s treachery.” The Violet Hydra speaks, helmeted head tilting slowly as it does. “Sold us out to try and make a deal.”
“I have no idea what you’re going on about, you’ve clearly all lost it.” Talia raises her morpher, the others following her lead, transforming in brilliant bursts of colour. But not everyone.
Jack’s arm seizes for a second which results in him having to morph after the group, pressing the center to activate his morph instead of the wave of energy, red lightning ripples across and through his mechinical body. A pain unlike anything he’d experienced, nothing directly or through the memories of the original self felt anything like this. The twisted screams cause even the enemy rangers to pause in horror.
Aboard the Eternium warship, Eternus and his generals watch these events unfold, Witchling standing beside the leader’s throne, offering the explanation. “The insectoid I summoned are of a species known as the Terrorbytes, small but powerful techno-organic creatures capable of phasing into, and then, merging with other machines. Now they can’t completely overwrite a rogue AI such as this one, but as the Terrorbyte suggested to me, it’s merging process will block out the red gryphon zord’s connection to it’s ranger. Thus preventing his ability to morph. The pain this would cause was... Unexpected.”
As the screams echoed through the bridge of the ship, everyone but Eternus seemed a bit put off by them.