Disclaimer: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and anything related is property of Saban. Soul Caliber and anything related is property of Namco. Anything original is mine, but you can use it if you ask nicely. Finally, if it ain't mine, I ain't makin' money off of it.
Author's notes: Let's see, it's another crossover, this time with the video game Soul Caliber. It doesn't take place during the game though, except for the opening scene. Special thanks are at the end, 'cause it has spoilers. Rated R for violence, language (worse than usual,) torture, and demonic possessions. Timeline is a week and a half after "Ranger Files." Lastly, Xianghua is pronounced "shawn-GWA," with a slight accent.
Edges of the Soul
By :
Al Solomon
The ruins of Ostrheinsburg Castle in Germany, roughly 400 years ago
Xianghua recomposed herself and straightened up. Her opponent did the same. She looked at the twisted, morbid knight in front of her. Knightmair, owner of the legendary sword Soul Edge, looked back. She briefly thought of what he was. She had heard his name was once Siegfred, a 16-year-old knight who accidentally killed his father and let his mind snap like a fragile twig. That was three years ago. He was perfectly sane now, but at such a hefty price.
From what Xianghua had heard, he had stumbled upon Soul Edge's previous owner, and somehow managed to best the demon in combat. At the time he supposedly picked up the sword, a column of white light shot into the air from the Spanish port, and a man often referred to as the Azure Nightmare began to roam Europe and spread the seed of Evil.
Knightmair was exactly what his play-on-words name implied. His mere physical appearance was enough to keep one awake with fright at night. His armor was a dark, dark blue, and he was covered in it, save for his right arm. The arm was seriously malformed and sinewy, showing itself to his shoulder blade. His hand on that arm was abnormally large, with two pointed fingers and a large thumb.
Lastly was Soul Edge. Some called it the "patriot sword," and others called it the "sword of salvation." But it was the worst manifestation of pure evil ever known.
Presently, it's form was that of a living zweihander to fit it's owner's favorite weapon. It was nearly as long as Knightmair's height, and as wide as his waist. The edges were sharp enough to cut through a block of solid steel. While the proportions were common for this type of sword, something else about it was not. The blade's vertical axis from the hilt to about six inches below the tip was a mass of living tissue, and near the hilt was a pair of huge eyes, one on each of the blade's flat ends. They were piercing, evil things, and in it's current form, Soul Edge's eyes were the point of entry for the souls it sucked out of Knightmair's victims.
Xianghua glimpsed at one of the eyes staring back at her, and was now more afraid than ever. She knew she should have been dead right now. Her small Chinese sword was only a fraction of the size and weight as Soul Edge. But when the inevitable came and she was forced to directly block a swing from Knightmair, she was not cleaved in half. Rather, her sword had easily parried the blow like it had come from a tiny dagger.
"You are tricky, female!" Knightmair taunted as he shifted his stance. "You are indeed an excellent fighter. Ah, how my sword will feast on your soul after you are no more!"
"Monster! You shall never have my soul!" The two moved closer to each other, more to their sides than ahead.
"Oh no?" Knightmair mocked. "I have taken countless others who have been far more skilled than you!"
With that, he spun on his heels and swung Soul Edge in an upward motion. Xianghua was caught off guard, as she hadn't noticed that Knightmair had come close enough to strike. But the attack was purely vertical, and Xianghua sidestepped away just in time. She felt the rushing air from the swing on her back, but didn't hesitate to mount an offensive. Despite Soul Edge's lack of realistic weight to the owner's perception (an opponent would feel it as though it weighed several tons,) Xianghua had the speed advantage. She leapt and spun in midair, landing two very hard kicks to Knightmair's head. Wasting no time, she moved to the side again and spun her sword in her hand, opening up several holes in Knightmair's armor. That feat had yet to be accomplished for the three years of Knightmair's existence.
"What is this!" Knightmair yelled in frustration. "Your pitiful excuse for a sword… cutting my armor? How is this possible!" He thought aloud. Indeed, he was truly surprised. Anything manifested by Soul Edge should not have been pierced so easily. It was now obvious that Xianghua had a very special sword, and it made her an even more appealing target.
Xianghua stared at her sword in wonder… but was broken out of her thought by Knightmair's next statement.
"Foolish women. You don't even know what you have! Soul Edge shall take it from you and merge it to itself!" Knightmair bellowed. He slammed the large sword into the ground and backed up. Both he and Soul Edge now had their minds fixated on Xianghua's sword. Making it a part of Soul Edge would be easier for the sword itself to do, and Knightmair intended for exactly that as he yelled, "WORLD GAP!"
Xianghua watched as the Azure Nightmare took a few steps back from his living weapon and stopped. A rumbling started to sound, and the ground shook. Knightmair floated off the ground, hovering in the air a few inches up. Xianghua's sword fell from her hands, and she fell after it. She watched as Soul Edge demonstrated to her that it was Knightmair's master and not the other way around, as the sword had done to all of it's opponents when it possessed Cervantes De Leon. This time, however, it used Knightmair's body as the simple catalyst it needed, rather than also basing it's form on him. Soul Edge was the physical manifestation of Inferno, the fire of Hell. Motes of white-hot flame gathered on Knightmair, and his body turned to living fire as Inferno emerged from the sword. As it did, the sword contorted. It's size remained, but the hilt was now a distorted skull stretched out in stone. The blade squeezed into a constant width as the organic elements disappeared.
As it sunk into Xianghua that the sword had transformed because Inferno had left his shell, she also realized that she was no longer at the old arena in Ostrheinsburg Castle. She was on a huge slab of stone, with no ground beneath it. Everything in the "sky" was a pink tint, with the exception of what looked like the aurora borealis directly overhead. She stood, and suddenly remembered that her sword was still on the ground. A stagnant wind blew across her as she looked to where it had fallen.
Xianghua stared in shock as her own sword raised itself up and floated in front of her. A heartbeat later, it expanded into a transparent, three-dimensional diamond shape. As the shape contorted, the sword reformed. It was now light blue in color. The hilt was designed like a pair of bird's wings spreading down from atop a crystal blue sphere and above that were two strips of metal that twisted twice around each other and formed the blade. The blade itself was a "punch blade," two long prongs with no middle. The sword, while the same length and weight as before, pulsed a soothing energy into Xianghua. Along with an interesting bit of knowledge; if Inferno itself were defeated, Soul Edge's owner would be ripped free of it's possession.
"So…" Inferno cackled, his voice more intimidating than even Knightmair's. "The little girl's sword is the Krita-Yuga! This is indeed a surprise!" He picked up the sword in front of him. "I will now feast… on both you, little girl, and your sword!"
Xianghua raised the legendary Krita-Yuga, more commonly known as Soul Caliber. The young girl and the Flame of Hell squared off at one another in this gap of the world. Xianghua hoped that the legends about the Krita-Yuga were true… she would need them.
Angel Grove Youth Center, present day
The Youth Center was it's usual busy place, with Ernie serving everyone and everyone generally having a good time… almost every one.
"Billy, I'm about ready to take this book and slice it in half."
Billy chuckled at the remark. "I have often been on the brink of performing that very act. Try it again, Joseph."
Joseph sighed. He was in desperate need of help with his math, and Billy was always happy to play the role of tutor for his fellow Rangers. But Joseph's utter inability to do anything with numbers had at one point led Billy to wonder if he was dislecsic.
Later, they planed to go over an interesting piece of fiction Joseph had found at the library. There was no author, and the book seemed to read like documentation from what the first couple of pages looked like, with intricately drawn pictures on every other page. It looked as though it came out of the 1500s with the decorations on the covers and bindings, and the only thing on it was a title: "Book of Soul Edge." It was presently leaning on Joseph's backpack where he had put it when he went looking for his math book.
Joseph went over the same problem for what seemed like the millionth time before checking the answer in the back of the book. His eyes went wide with shock.
"Well whadda' ya' know! I actully got it! Now we can move on to 2 + 2!"
The two shared a laugh. Joseph was one of those people who could take his personal faults and make stunning jokes about them, a trait that was enjoyed by anyone around him.
But before they could move on, a familiar six-note chime came from the devices on both their wrists, and they moved to the Youth Center's one secluded corner as they had done so many times before.
The lake, same time
"Ahhh… this is the life." One of the two girls remarked as she rolled over on her towel, careful not to roll on to the sand. "Hey Aisha! Why don't you come into the sun?"
Aisha laughed at Kimberly. "Cause I burn in five seconds or your money back!" She remarked from her shaded spot a few feet away.
The two had chosen a secluded spot of the lake's beach for the sole reason of wanting quiet. Off in the distance were the usual people enjoying a rare weekday off.
"I can't believe the water main at the school exploded! I here it'll be closed tomorrow, too." Kimberly stated.
"Yea, that was weird. We're there for one class and all of a sudden we have to leave!" The Yellow Ranger responded. "I think I'll come right back here tomorrow. I don't mind the city, but your head can only take so much noise! Hey, what's everyone else doing?"
Kimberly thought, remembering some of her short conversations with the other Rangers. "Billy's helping Joseph with his math, I think. Tommy's taking me to the movies later… ow! Quit it!" She snapped as Aisha ribbed her. "Rocky and Adam… actully, I haven't seen them yet today. Ah, well, at least Zedd attacked yesterday, so he'll probably leave well enough alone until tomorrow at least"
As if on cue, the communicators around the girls' wrists went off.
"You just HAD to say something!" Aisha commented, rolling her eyes in sarcasm.
Tommy's house, same time
Tommy lay sprawled on his bed, still in most of his clothes. The White Ranger hadn't gotten much sleep due to a massive headache he had had all the previous day. After he finally winked off and woke up, the sinus pain had turned into an exhaustion pain, which he considered worse. With a normal headache, he was awake. With this, he was liable to fall asleep at some time during the day, and that's just what he did as soon as everyone was sent home from school. His communicator, lying on his nightstand next to his overturned morpher, went off.
Tommy awoke slightly from the sound, but was nowhere near his right mind and immediately threw the nearest heavy object at his alarm clock. As soon as he realized what he did when he missed and his morpher bounced off the wall, he got up.
The Park, same time
"Rocky! Watch out!"
Within a split second, the Red Ranger leapt backward behind the Tenga warrior that was sneaking up on him.
"Thanks Adam!" Rocky acknowledged as he knocked the Tenga off it's feet. Adam meanwhile was busy with something Zedd hadn't used since Rito arrived; putties. One of them landed a punch on his arm, which, despite accelerated healing from Alpha, was still sore from his experience with his government kidnappers not long ago.
As even more of the purple birds and putty patrollers appeared, so did the Calvary. In a rainbow streak came the other five Power Rangers, forming a line and facing down Goldar, Rito, and, even more rare than the putties, Scorpina.
"Who's that?" Joseph thought aloud. He had seen the putties on the news broadcasts before he started Rangering again, but Zedd and Rita stopped using them shortly before he made his entrance. Scorpina, however, hadn't been part of an attack for a long time.
"Someone we can live without." Tommy informed him "She's a much better fighter than the dunderheads. I'm surprised Zedd doesn't send her down more often."
Lord Zedd's palace
Rita, as usual, was criticizing Zedd's plan.
"Zeddy, do you really think that the Rangers are going to be stopped by the old putties! And Scorpina! Brilliant to ignore her until now, since she's always been able to wipe the ground with the Rangers even after Goldar started to lax!"
"Will you SHUT UP!" Zedd screamed back. "I know all of this already! I just want the Rangers to know that something's going on! One of them has exactly what I need, and they always get paranoid enough to not pay attention to things they think don't matter when we plan something big!"
Zedd walked over to the balcony, and stared at the table where Joseph and Billy had been sitting at in the Youth Center. His gaze shifted to the floor.
"Ah… so the little Green Ranger has it! We seem to be building up quite a rivalry, he and I."
Rita looked through her Repulsa 'scope. "Zedd, it's a book. If you want a stupid book, and Evil knows why, why don't you just send down a monster to get it?"
"This is no ordinary book, Rita. Only a human can open it. I'll have to wait until one of them reads the information I need and then get it through other means." Zedd answered. From his tone of voice, Rita guessed that, had he had a normal jaw, he would be grinning from ear to ear at the thought of his newest plan. Without saying another word to Rita, Zedd recalled the three warriors and the multitude of Putties and Tengas.
The Youth Center, a few minutes later
Joseph and Billy returned to the Youth Center to gather their multitude of things.
"That was bizarre." Joseph commented.
"Indeed." Billy responded. "It's been a long time since Zedd has used his putties or Scorpina in one of his attacks."
"Hey! We almost forgot about this thing!" Joseph exclaimed as he picked up the antique book.
"Yes, I have been curious about that all day. My place or yours?"
"I'd prefer yours, if you don't mind." Joseph answered. "My arm is starting to turn a very deep shade of purple from Scorpion Lady's boomerang thing. I'd rather avoid my parents going hysterical over it for as long as I can."
Command Center
"Aiyaiyai! Something's got to be going on Zordon!" Alpha piped up as he putzed around the consoles as usual.
"I agree Alpha." The ancient being responded. "Zedd would not put so many resources into a single attack only to simply cancel it unless he was planning something big. But we can do nothing until he acts."
Alpha went over to another one of the consoles and did a double take. "Huh? Aiyaiyai!"
"What is wrong, Alpha?" Zordon asked.
"There's some kind of strange energy coming from one of the rangers… wait, it's coming from an object… a book!"
Zordon checked his scanners. There was indeed some kind of energy coming from a book that Joseph was carrying.
Billy's lab, that afternoon
Billy sat with the book open, a device clamped onto the cover. Joseph had read the first half with Billy scrutinizing the pictures on every other page. They were very well drawn, and went along perfectly with the events described on each facing page. It documented the travels and "owners" of some sort of demonic sword.
They had switched, and Joseph asked Billy if he had something that could determine the book's age. He said he had a feeling, and Billy didn't need to go through much trouble to find out, but it took awhile for the scanner to work.
The Blue Ranger was about to start one of the last pages, when a chime on his computer went off.
"It's finished." Billy said as he put a bookmark in the tome and moved to the computer. He suddenly appeared very puzzled, and went over the data several times.
"What's wrong?" Joseph asked.
"According to this… the book is actully repairing itself! Watch…" Billy pulled a pocketknife and scraped a peel off of the cover. Joseph watched, and sure enough, the damaged portion repaired itself in seconds.
"Well, that explains why it looks brand new… Billy, this thing could be who knows how old if it isn't affected by everyday wear n' tear!"
"It is a possibility…" Billy agreed. "It's a large guess, but the sentence structure, penmanship, and cover decorations suggest it could have been written in the mid to late 1500s. Medieval times, as it were."
Joseph picked up the book. "Maybe it's not fiction at all… who would preserve something like this if it was?"
"Joseph, it talks about a demon sword that possesses it's owner to do evil deeds…" Billy trailed off when he realized Joseph's logic in the assumption, and became more open minded. "…Then again, seven teenagers protect the earth from magical aliens."
Joseph opened the book. There were only two more entries, each about three pages. The first picture was of a young boy in knight's armor holding the sword's latest form. The far side of the blade had an image of a demon skull inside, as if it was looking out through the blade. Joseph read the passage.
"Alas, no more battles need be waged. Soul Edge now lay in front of him. This warrior, this armor, this sword, may finally rest. But at such a cost." Joseph turned the page. The new picture was of the same scene from a different angle, but something was wrong. The hilt of the sword seemed to be growing over the boy's hand, and he was trying desperately to get it off.
"Weak was his body, wounded a dozen times or more. No strength had he. Evil was the spirit of Soul Edge. Like poison it leaked from his bloody hand and into his mind. Visions of grief, terror, and pain were what he saw. Demons of Evil lived in the sword. Have pity on poor Sieg for he screams in agony. But vein are his screams for no one can hear."
Joseph turned the page once again. It was just like every other entry in the book, although it seemed worse, more evil, in a way. The last picture for the entry was a full-color portrait, the only one so far in the book. It was a knight in deathly blue armor. His eyes glowed red from behind the helmet, and his right arm was inhumanly disfigured. The huge hand rested on and balanced a massive sword, with what looked like muscle and an eye in the middle. The knight stood on a cliff of some sort, the full moon glaring behind him.
"Now, peace has returned to this land. Harvests are plentiful and sounds of life fill the air. So brief be this solitude for Evil is back. High upon the precipice overlooking the village stands the worst Knightmair yet. Wearing the armor of death, he wields a monstrous sword in a malformed hand. The full moon is but a warning of the danger ahead."
Joseph gave the book back to Billy. There was still one more entry, but the one that Joseph had just read disturbed them both for some reason.
"Man… that one sent chills up my spine. That damn book feels like it's staring right back at me." Joseph admitted.
"Likewise…" Billy started as he looked over the entry, particularly interested in the portrait of the "Knightmair." He turned the page to the last entry.
"As if aware of the decisive moment, her sword, the Krita-Yuga, revealed its true form. She channeled her true spirit through the sword and it gave her unparalleled power. The grueling battle ended as Zee-ann… something or other…" Billy paused slightly as he realized he was slaughtering the name, and skipped past it. "…Stood in victory over the fire of Hell." The picture was of a young girl, holding an odd looking sword, and slaying some kind of fire demon. Billy turned the page.
"The demon sword lay banished from it's owner, in a place where evil infests but is never released. And the Krita-Yuga hid itself once again, slumbering until it should ever be needed." This time, the picture showed Knightmair's sword and Xianghua's sword driven into alters in separate locations. When Billy turned the page, he found it was a map, with two locations marked off.
"Do you know where this is?" Joseph asked. Billy studied the map for a second, before pointing to one of the marks.
"This looks like it's in Central China," he pointed to the other mark, "…and this looks like Germany, close to the ruins of an old fort called Ostrheinsburg Castle. I can't be certain; I'm just going by the geography."
"I'm tempted to go see if there's anything there… I just thought of something. If this evil sword is as powerful as this book says, why hasn't Zedd tried to find it? I'm sure he'd love something like that." Joseph wondered.
"Perhaps he isn't aware of it's existence. Or, it might not be true at all." Billy responded.
"Yea, maybe. Why don't we see if Zordon's ever heard of anything like this? He's been here for what? Ten thousand years? If it is true he's probably heard of it." The Green Ranger suggested.
"Why not?" Billy said back, as he picked up the book.
Lord Zedd's palace
"No no NO!" Zedd roared as he spied on the two Rangers. "Damn it! Damn THEM!"
"Zedd, you really should learn some more colorful curses than this earth profanity." Rita remarked. Zedd ignored her statement.
"Damn them, Rita! Two of those wretched Rangers have read through that blasted book… and where do they go? The Command Center! Where I can't get to them! ARRRGGHHHH!"
"Zeddy, first, you need to stop the alliteration. Now, just watch and wait, and when they leave, I'll send them to my Dark Dimension!" Rita yelled.
Zedd continued to watch. Rita, despite her voice's decibels, was very good at sending someone to the Dark Dimension without much of a hassle, and that was his best bet for getting the information he needed.
Command Center
"Billy, Joseph… What is wrong?" Zordon asked as the two Rangers teleported into the Command Center.
"Zordon, have you ever heard of a sword called "Soul Edge?" Billy asked.
"What makes you ask?" Zordon replied with a hint of surprise.
"I found this book at the library…" Joseph answered, holding up the book. "It's strange. Billy did a test on it, and it doesn't damage. I thought it was just some kind of weird fiction at first, but the thing actully repaired a piece of the cover that Billy cut off!"
Billy explained the rest. "It documents the journey of some kind of demonic sword, called Soul Edge. It seems to possess every owner, forcing him or her to do it's bidding. Every three pages is an explanation of how the new owner defeated the last and in most cases was taken over by the sword."
Zordon sighed. "Yes, I have heard of this sword. It's existence is known by very few today. No one knows where it came from, or where it is now. The stories of the sword's magical properties are more or less true. However, it has been without an owner for at least four centuries."
"Well, now that we know it is real, it brings up another question." Joseph started. "How come Rita and Zedd have never tried to find it? It sounds like something they would use for one of their grand schemes." Joseph asked.
"It's most likely that they do not know of it's location." Billy asserted. "They are probably aware of it's existence."
"You are correct, Billy." Zordon informed him. "Rita had started an initial search for the sword only minutes before Lord Zedd's original arrival. Zedd himself has known about it for a long time, but he, like Rita, does not know it's present location."
"Wait a minute," Joseph said to himself as he opened the book to the last page. "It's right here. That has to be what this map is for."
"Perhaps it would be wise if we were to retrieve this sword, and keep it from Zedd." Billy suggested.
Lord Zedd's palace
"Why are they taking so long!" Zedd screamed to no one in particular. Despite having only waited for five minutes, his patience was wearing thin.
"Why don't we just send down a monster?" Rita suggested. "That'll get those Rangers out!"
"No, then they'd morph. We have to get Joseph and Billy into the Dark Dimension with their powers inactive so they won't be able to use them. Hmm… I've got it!" Zedd suddenly yelled.
Command Center
Before anyone could contemplate Billy's idea, the alarm rang. Zedd's putties, and only the putties, were running around downtown. Joseph and Billy left immediately while Alpha contacted the other Rangers.
Downtown
The putties saw the two Rangers arrive, and immediately left. Joseph and Billy exchanged a confused look.
Joseph took a step forward. "That was different. Maybe they… Oof!"
Billy spun around, and saw Goldar hovering over Joseph. The Green Ranger was on one knee, grabbing the back of his head. Joseph had managed to accumulate his second concussion from Goldar, and the Golden Ape snapped in Billy's direction.
"Now, Empress!" he yelled as he swung the flat end of his blade at the Blue Ranger's head. Billy, however, rolled to the side just as three beams of red light came down: one hitting Joseph, one hitting Goldar, and one hitting the spot that Billy had occupied seconds before. Joseph and Goldar vanished as the light faded, and almost immediately after that, the other five Rangers arrived in the teleportation beams of their colors. But they had arrived all too late.
The Dark Dimension
As soon as Joseph realized he had been attacked from behind, another blow came from a flat edge, this time to his forehead. Already on one knee, Joseph ended up flat on his back, with a migraine that made him feel like his head would explode through his temples. He felt a chilly mist around him, and the ground felt like a cold slab of marble.
"Welcome, Ranger!" Goldar yelled. "It's been awhile since I've had the pleasure of holding one of you in this dark dimension. It would seem that Green Rangers are attracted to this place for their defeats. I'm sure you have heard that story enough from Tommy!"
"Are you going to give me a history lesson…" Joseph mocked with his fading strength as he staggered up. Goldar had hit him in the right places to weaken him considerably. "Or are you gonna fight back while I kick your ass?"
Joseph may not have been at full strength, but Goldar had made the mistake of letting him get up.
"Talk is cheap, Green Ranger! Your powers won't work here!" Goldar taunted.
A chill ran up Joseph's spine at the thought, but he didn't believe Goldar for a second. Still, it would not have been good. "Yea, whatever…"
The Green Ranger held his hands up, willing his weapons to form. But, after the waves of energy that passed over the weapon outlines disappeared, nothing had happened. Joseph looked at his empty hands in shock.
"You see?" Goldar bragged. "You are doomed!"
Joseph tried again, to no avail. Definitely not good.
Command Center
"Aiyaiyai! Rita sent Joseph into her Dark Dimension!"
"I know Alpha." Zordon assured the little robot. "Bring the other Rangers back here immediately!"
Zordon had read their minds, and the Rangers teleported in seconds later. Billy briefly explained what had happened.
"Joseph has been sent to the Dark Dimension…" Zordon informed them. The Rangers, Tommy most of all, cringed inside. "Alpha has already started the location process. Billy, it would seem you and Joseph were the intended targets because of your recent discovery."
"What discovery?" Tommy asked. Billy handed him the book.
"This." He explained. "It documents the journeys and current location of some sort of evil sword." He continued as Tommy thumbed through the pages.
"I believe that Zedd is more interested in Soul Edge than I originally thought." Zordon admitted. "Much like what he did with Ivan Ooze, he has kept an eye out for the sword for a long time, in case something should turn up. The book tells where it is now, but only a human can open it. It is likely that Zedd is attempting to retrieve the information from Joseph."
No one could quite think of anything to say as Zordon's words sunk in.
The Dark Dimension
"Where is the sword?" Goldar demanded to know for the twentieth time, slugging Joseph with his armored fist. The Green Ranger was sent sprawling again, raising slower every time.
"Go to Hell, Goldar! Find it yourself!" he yelled back. Goldar attacked Joseph once again, and once again the Ranger went down. It wouldn't be long before he wouldn't be able to stand at all. Joseph got up again, refusing to stay down. It did seem like Goldar was trying to hurry, and Joseph remembered stories of some of the other Rangers' experiences in the Dark Dimension. From what they had said, the place was constantly moving, and had to be relocated every time. Unfortunately, it always took a while. Joseph concentrated on trying to avoid Goldar, hoping he could last until then.
Command Center
"Why don't we go get this sword ourselves?" Rocky suddenly piped up.
"I doubt we could use it, Rocky." Tommy replied as Alpha worked to find the Dark Dimension. "If it's anything like this book says…"
"Maybe we could. If it is anything like that book says, maybe we could use it to find the Dark Dimension faster. If not, we would have something that Zedd wants bad, and we could use that against him." Rocky answered.
"I suppose it's worth a shot." Tommy agreed, shaking off the last of his earlier fatigue. "I doubt it would take us longer to find it than for Alpha to normally find that place anyway. Zordon?"
"Perhaps it would be to our advantage to find the sword before Zedd." Zordon agreed.
Tommy flipped to the last page in the book. "Now… which one do we try for?"
Billy, remembering one of the passages, suggested the trail in Germany. Realizing they'd be gone for awhile if they were to follow the map, they stopped off at their houses to make some alibis before Alpha programmed the teleporter. The Rangers were off.
The Dark Dimension, several hours later
Joseph somehow managed to stay standing in front of Goldar despite his now-severe injuries. He was bleeding from several places, and was racked with cuts ands bruises. This time, when he tried to attack Goldar back, the armored ape grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to his own eye level.
"Where is it!" Goldar screamed. Zedd was undoubtedly becoming impatient by now, and Goldar was steadily becoming frustrated with Joseph's unwillingness to cooperate.
The Green Ranger had managed to get in a breath before Goldar grabbed him, and the monkey wasn't squeezing hard enough hard enough for him not to be able to talk.
"You wanna'… know… where… it is, Goldar?"
Goldar's red eyes grew wide with anticipation, thinking he had finally broken his adversary. "Where is it! Tell me!"
"Well… Fuck you!" Joseph reeled back as much as he could and planted a solid head butt on Goldar's forehead. The ape dropped him and roared in pain as a purplish liquid oozed from his injury. Joseph struggled to stay on his feet, suddenly wondering if giving himself another blow to the head was a good idea. As he waited for Goldar to calm down and come after him again, a sudden low-pitched, yet still loud sound overcame his hearing. A second after that, a massive pain stabbed at Joseph to the bone, and he fell in agony as the light-blue energy vanished.
"You idiot, Goldar!" Zedd yelled. "It's been seven hours, and you still haven't gotten him to talk? You couldn't even get both of them!"
Seven hours… Joseph repeated in his thoughts, realizing that he had lost track of time. Joseph managed to prop himself up on one knee as Goldar went through his usual groveling for forgiveness.
"Shut up and get out of here!" Zedd yelled as his lackey. "I'll do this myself!"
Joseph did not like the sound of that at all. He liked it even less when the Lord of Evil picked him up and effortlessly tossed him into the wall, just between the electrified sets of bars. Before he could clear his head, more magic bolts came out of Zedd's staff and sent the Green Ranger to the ground, twisting in pain. Zedd kicked him onto his back, and held the blade of his staff at Joseph's throat.
"Now, WHERE IS THAT DAMN SWORD!" Zedd yelled.
"Bite me hard, Zedd…" Joseph spat out.
Furious that his enemy had the gall to insult him, Zedd pulled Joseph up and threw him again, but this time the armored tips of his fingers dug deep into Joseph's forearm as the Green Ranger went flying.
Joseph didn't know about his latest injury until he felt blood going down his arm, and he looked only to see his worst injury yet. There were four deep gashes in his arm, which was now shaking and twitching from muscle trauma. He wasn't feeling the pain yet, but he would.
"Hmm… insults, insults. These earth insults of yours are annoyingly hard to think up of comebacks for. What was it you said to Goldar?" Zedd rhetorically asked. He spun his staff, bringing the "Z" above Joseph's head.
"Ah, yes." Zedd commented as he brought the staff down hard, knocking Joseph out cold. "Fuck you."
The forest outside of Ostrheinsburg Castle, two hours later
"We should almost be there…" Billy commented as he looked at the map. The pointer leading from the castle stretched, bent, and ended at a spot close to their location in the forest. A cascade of 'phews' came up.
The Rangers had been walking for nine straight hours. It would have been easier to teleport, but they didn't want to risk missing something important on the way. Finally, there was a small clearing, although the forest, while large, wasn't very dense anyway. In the clearing was a simple, ordinary cave entrance. Billy checked the map again.
"It's in there."
The Rangers wasted no time entering.
Elsewhere…
"What… what the Hell are you doing?" Rocky managed to yell; realizing that Joseph had morphed.
"What I have to do." Green Ranger replied coldly as he approached.
Rocky went for his morpher, but he wasn't fast enough. Green Ranger pulled the saber off of his belt and smashed it away with the end of the handle, and immediately rushed Rocky with his shoulder. The edge of the Dragon Shield met with Rocky's chest, and the Red Ranger staggered back against the wall as he realized that the enchanted metal had broken half of his ribs.
Damn Zedd for making me do this! Damn him to HELL! Green Ranger shouted in his thoughts as he drew the Dragon Dagger off of his back. He lunged, and Rocky felt the blade go through his shoulder and stop in the wall. Most of the pain came from the flute pipe splitting the wound farther open to the sides. Rocky managed to raise his leg and push Green Ranger over a coffee table, sending various breakable objects crashing to the floor. He pulled the dagger out of his shoulder and let it clatter to the floor. He hadn't realized it, but he was bleeding from somewhere on his head, and the pain from his now broken ribs was setting in. To top it off, he was now too injured to fight back effectively, and would soon be at Joseph's mercy.
Rocky appeared to have forgotten that it would take more than a fall over a table to stop a Power Ranger from getting back up. Green Ranger walked over to where Rocky was leaning against the wall. The Red Ranger looked up in time to see his attacker pull back his arm, saber in hand.
Joseph watched Rocky scream as his blade embedded itself in his side, and turned around after removing it, unable to look at the other Ranger. Rocky felt his knees give out, and he slowly sank to the floor as he clutched the wound.
Joseph willed himself to turn around; realizing that the wound he had just inflicted would kill the Red Ranger if he didn't receive medical attention quickly. Rocky was starting to go into shock as Joseph dropped to one knee and pried one of his bloody hands off the wound.
"Jo-Joseph…why d-don't you just hurry up and k-k-kill me?"
Joseph's eyes snapped open. He didn't have the strength to bolt upright as one normally did from a nightmare. Or one of them repeating five times, for that matter.
That's over… Joseph tried to tell himself. I didn't have a choice, Rocky's fine. That was a month ago…
The Green Ranger looked at his arm. His blood had clotted and dried over the wounds. He suspected Zedd must've accelerated the process, so he wouldn't die in his sleep (for lack of a better term) from blood loss, although the pain felt quite fresh. Next to him, almost shrouded in mist, was a very odd looking syringe. An empty syringe.
"Ah, so the little Ranger is awake. Did you have pleasant dreams, Joseph?" Zedd asked in a mock-concerned tone. His sarcasm was broadcasting the fact that he had been responsible for Joseph's recurring nightmare. "Now, I bet you're wondering what was in that little object."
"Not… really." Joseph stammered out as he forced himself up. His head was throbbing like there was no tomorrow, his arm was sore, and he felt like every joint in his body was sprained.
"Well, you're going to find out. A little mix of science and technology." With that, Zedd leveled his staff at the Green Ranger. The "Z" glowed a dull purple, and Joseph half expected to be hit with more of Zedd's magic. But that didn't happen.
"Very pretty, Zedd… why don't you… AHHHHHHGGGGG!"
Joseph screamed as pain worse than any he had ever felt ripped through his skull. He clutched his head in vein, falling to his knees.
Zedd lowered his staff, the glow disappearing. Joseph's screams faded and turned into heavy breathing. He had to prop himself up on his arms.
"I thought you would like that." Zedd mocked. "The nightmares were just to soften you up. You see, unlike Goldar, I prefer blatant torture to get information. That syringe contained a tiny little device. So fragile, in fact, that it will fall apart in a few hours. But it lets me send you an impulse of pain: any sensation, any intensity, anywhere, anytime. And I assure you, it gets much, much worse."
The cave in Germany
The Rangers walked along the damp ground in the near dark, looking for anything unusual.
"Did you guys just, like, hear something?" Kimberly asked everyone. The other Rangers listened for something, but came up blank.
"I guess it was just me…" Kimberly started to say. Before she could finish, a yelp came from behind her. She spun to find that Aisha was not where she had been, bringing up the rear. Instead, she was hanging on for dear life on the edge of a trap door; a floor of spikes about 20 feet below.
"Aisha! Hang on!"
Rocky and Adam were the first ones there, but the platform that had slid back was starting to close. Kimberly, seeing the Red and Black Rangers run over, grabbed a long stick off the ground and jammed it into the corner of the panel. Surprisingly, it held it there, allowing Rocky and Adam to pull Aisha up safely.
"That… was… close…" Aisha panted out, looking down the pit where she would have been if she fell. "Thanks, guys!"
"No prob, Aisha. We're just glad you're not Swiss-cheese." Rocky commented. Noting the spikes at the bottom of the trap.
"We'd better keep our eyes open…" Tommy started to say. Before he could finish, his foot suddenly sank an inch deeper into the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a long slit in the cave wall. Realizing almost to late what had happened, he dove forward. The White Ranger felt a whoosh behind him, and looked back to see a bladed pendulum swinging back and forth, looking like it had come straight from the mind of Edgar Allen Poe.
The Dark Dimension
Zedd paced around Joseph, his staff glowing brightly. The Green Ranger was struggling to at least stay on his knees, his body wracked with the extremely unpleasant sensation of being set on fire.
"Y-you can burn m-me alive for r-real Zedd… I w-won't say a word…"
Zedd threw his arms in the air in frustration. Joseph's small indications of pain faded. Zedd was fed up. His enemy wasn't talking, and Joseph was most determined to not give Zedd the satisfaction of screaming anymore. So far, he had been successful.
"Oh yes you will!" Zedd pointed his staff again. Much like his original demonstration, pure pain stabbed Joseph anywhere he had a nerve. Zedd's staff grew brighter, and Joseph fell completely. Zedd took some minor satisfaction when the Green Ranger lost at least some of his resolve, and his screams bathed the Dark Dimension in what Zedd wished he could listen to forever.
Germany
A fairly large door swung open. Written on the front were the words, "Altar of Soul Edge," in Latin. Air that had not been breathed in 400 years rushed out, sending a breeze past the Rangers. They had all morphed when Zordon called and informed them that Goldar, Rito, and Scorpina had taken the putties and Tengas again, but they hadn't attacked yet. If they did, the Rangers could leave and teleport back to where they left off afterwards. So far, they hadn't reappeared.
The six of them went inside. An eerie light bathed the room, with no apparent source. The chamber was circular, and the lone decoration was a large stone altar in the center. Imbedded in the altar perpendicularly to the stone was a huge sword. It was a perfect match to the sword Knightmair was holding in the picture.
"I'd say we found it…" Tommy remarked as he stepped forward.
"I'd say you did, too!"
Tommy whirled around. Goldar was standing in the doorway, and Scorpina and Rito were on the far side of the room. In a flash, the chamber was filled with putties and Tengas.
"We owe you a thanks, White Ranger! You did all the dirty work of setting off this places traps to let us through easily!" Goldar rubbed in.
A fight started immediately, of course. The Rangers were soon at the disadvantage with a combination of close quarters and being outnumbered. Scorpina managed to take down Kimberly and Adam, while Rocky, Billy, and Aisha were occupied with Rito. Tommy was the only one doing even remotely well, as was usual with his fights with Goldar. The armored monkey managed to get a lucky shot, and pinned the White Ranger against the wall, their swords locked together.
Tommy glanced up from his deadlock with Goldar to see Aisha land on top of the altar. For a few seconds, she wasn't engaged.
"Aisha! Grab the sword!" Tommy yelled, forcing Goldar back. His plan was simple; get the sword, and get out.
Across the room, Billy heard Tommy's order and realized that he and Tommy forgot about something important. "Aisha! Don't-" he was cut off as a group of Tenga's pounced on him.
Aisha reached for the weapon, and gave it a tug. It came out of the stone with no trouble, but she pulled so hard she flew back and slipped off the altar, catching herself and landing on her feet.
"Give me that!"
Aisha turned to see Goldar less than a foot from her. He had apparently broken off from Tommy when he saw her pull the sword. Instinctively, Aisha swung the weapon at the monkey. It weighed almost nothing in her hands, but Goldar was hit dead on. He went flying back into the wall, and was buried several inches into it. Whimpering in fear, Goldar teleported away.
The Dark Dimension
Joseph writhed in agony on the floor. Zedd wasn't letting up at all, and he wasn't going to last much longer. He had sent Goldar to Germany, but that didn't stop Zedd from having the time of his life. He stopped the pain impulse and hovered over the Green Ranger.
"I've rather enjoyed this, Joseph. To bad we can't do this again sometime!" With that, Zedd raised his staff; the blade aimed at Joseph's heart. Joseph had nothing left: he couldn't defend himself, couldn't move, and he didn't even have the energy to tell Zedd off one last time. As Zedd brought the staff down, however, Joseph forced himself a second wind. He rolled to the side, Zedd's staff missing by mere inches. In one motion, he grabbed the staff with both hands and kicked Zedd hard in the stomach. The Lord of Evil fell back, leaving Joseph with the staff in his hands.
Zedd stood up fast. "GIVE ME THAT BACK!" he yelled, as if desperate enough to see if it would actully work. Seeing Zedd's reaction, Joseph grinned. Zedd had beaten him, broken him, but he refused to let the crimson villain have the last laugh. Hoping his assumption about the staff was correct, he raised it into the air and willed a spell. Green energy crackled from it, and Zedd lunged. He grabbed only empty air.
The Altar of Soul Edge
"Wow… no wonder Zedd wants this thing!" Aisha commented, looking over the sword in her hands. Rito, Scorpina, the putties and the Tengas retreated as soon as they saw what happened, thoroughly uneager to be on the receiving end of the sword.
"I guess so…" Tommy remarked as the other Rangers stepped over for a closer look. As they neared, they received the shock of their lives. The two bulbous muscles on either side of the blade suddenly shot open, revealing two huge, bloodshot eyes. The Rangers jumped back in shock, including Aisha, who forgot that she was holding on to the sword. The eye closer to her rolled to face her, and a sudden, hissing voice came from the sword itself.
"You're MINE!"
Before any of them could register that the sword was actully talking, the spikes that made up the hilt grew long and clamped fiercely over Aisha's hand. A sudden pain reached up through her arm, and she started shaking uncontrollably.
"G-guys… help… ge-get it off me!" She yelled, shrieking in pain. Her knees gave out, and as the other Rangers rushed to help her, a massive white light erupted from the sword, knocking them all into unconsciousness…
To be continued…
NEXT: Tears of the Soul
Special Thanks to: KrazieKat, who thought up of the idea to give Joseph nightmares in the Dark Dimension. Also to the frequenters of the AGYC message board for helping me decide to have Aisha pick up the sword at the end.
Soul Caliber fans will notice I made a few minor tweaks, like Siegfried's entry to the Book of Soul Edge. And for those that don't know as well as those that are wondering why, I spell "Knightmair" like that because one of the first screenshots I saw of the game was of that character highlighted on the select screen, and it was spelled like that. I know Namco changed it to "Nightmare" before it was released; I just can't resist a good pun.
As always, comments and constructive criticism welcome at: beater@bcn.net