It was Halloween night and the air was positively filled with screams. A sound that made the local nightlife roll their eyes. They couldn't believe someone would, or even could, be that gaudy. That cliché. Especially in their town.
Attacking humans on Halloween of all days? It was so much better to just curl up on what was to be a quiet night and snack on a fresh kitten or two. At least that's what the local demon population thought. Ethan Rayne was never much for decorum, especially when it came to a good time. His good time to be more precise. Other people's enjoyment was much lower on his priority and care list.
He hummed to himself as he examined his spell, specifically the bust that laid at the focal point. He had been a bit unsure about invoking the name of Janus for his spell. The god was all about the orderly transition of things and he was a chaos worshiper. Not exactly the usual bedfellows there. But, despite his misgivings, things were going off without a hitch!
The very nature of the god, the one that worried him so, flowed seamlessly with his intent. And with a bit of siphoning from the local Hellmouth's ambient energy, well, he thought the results spoke for themselves. He even gave the air a chef's kiss to show his appreciation.
A whole town, or at least those who bought from his humble shop, had been transformed into their costumes. An easy enough concept to think of but hell and a half to pull off.
Hopefully, it would be enough to rouse the attention of his old friend. If not, well, at least he had a bit of fun.
Ethan blinked as the bell to his shop's front rang. "That was quicker than expected." He said. Tapping his lips. Not even an hour in and someone has already come banging at his door. It should have been longer, he took the usual precautions.
Peering into the main room he spied three figures advancing down the rows of costumes. There were three men, each terrifying in their own way, but one, in particular, struck a nervous cord in him.
"Oh, I most certainly did not sell those costumes." He muttered, interested despite the sinking feeling in his gut. Said interest fled as he was dragged from his feet to stare into a deeply scarred face.
It smiled at him.
-0-0-0-0-0-
She had never been to this planet, of that Maya was sure. The buildings and roads reminded her of Terra Venture, but she had never experienced the feeling of the land. That icy hot sensation that stabbed along her skin? She had never felt something so dark, something so starkly evil.
Not even Scorpius, Trakeena, or even the Psycho Rangers compared.
This was likely why she didn't find herself shocked to see monsters attacking people. How far said monsters flew when she kicked them? Now THAT was a surprise.
Shocking enough that the rest of the creatures scattered from the street, those that saw that is. Maya narrowed her eyes after them but her priorities, thus her attention, put the people ahead of everything else.
"Are you alright?" She asked, crouching down and offering her hand.
The woman, a teen really, ignored the hand and picked herself up. She then patted herself off and proceeded to rush away without so much as a thank you.
"Well, that was rude." She said, eyes tracking the girl as she ran down the street and into a nearby home.
Somewhat certain the girl would be safe Maya moved along herself. She crouched behind vehicles that seemed less bulky than those on Terra Venture, holding less purpose in their design. Or so it seemed to her. It felt a bit silly to be skulking as she was but circumstances compelled her to try.
Circumstances like somehow ending up on an unknown world, again. This time surrounded by dozens of strange creatures.
What she wouldn't give for half a clue on what was going on. Or a familiar sight to ground herself.
She soon found herself with a bit of the latter when a familiar battle cry rang through the air.
"Hiyah!"
She rushed to the sound, chasing after her first sign of normal. But instead of finding one of her friends, as she had hoped, she found herself looking at one of their brothers. And he was surrounded.
"Andros!" She yelled, racing towards the fight.
The creatures around Andris felt the same as the little ones she scared off a moment ago, exactly the same. They were ill placed and their presence seemed like a twist in the world. They weren't natural, they didn't belong. Every creature felt this way. The only difference between these and the ones she faced was that most were quite a bit taller. Not that it seemed to be helping them much.
The air rang with an electronic voice, "1" it called out along with another battle cry from Andros. Red energy ignited around his fist and connected for a devastating effect.
The hairy creature rolled across the pavement. Sparks trailing after it in a light show that made the other would be attackers search for easier prey. Leaving their once ally on the ground groaning in unconscious pain.
Andros, like her, stared after the creatures as they ran but did not move to follow. Instead, his head turned. His eyes focused on her face as she approached.
"Maya?" He asked, as if unsure it was her. And she felt much the same. He looked… different. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was but he was different. Maybe it was the shorter hair? Or maybe it was because he lacked his usual blonde streaks? Whatever the case she knew it was hiking, his usual uniform over a red shirt gave him away. As did his next question. "Is Karone here too?"
"I…don't know." She said, denial dying at her lips. If she and Andros had somehow ended up on this twisted version of Terra Venture, well, who was to say if Karone or anyone else could be there or not?
Andros gave her a long stare before bringing his wrist up to his mouth. "This is Andros, the Red Space Ranger. I'm here with the yellow Galactic Ranger. Does anyone else read me?"
As he spoke Maya heard a small echo coming from her own wrist. Looking down she spotted a silver bracelet that hadn't been there before. She squinted her eyes at it, suspicious, then jerked back as a new voice beeped through.
"Black Dino Thunder Ranger here." The voice said, older and sounding wistful towards the end as they muttered. "Man, it's been forever since I've used one of these."
A second voice cut in. "S.P.D. 5 Pink Responding. Does anyone have any idea what's going on here? Or where, or even when, this is?"
"Um," A third voice started. "This is the Blue Mystic Ranger, I think this is a spell but I can't get a good read on it. Everything is too chaotic and wide. What should we do?"
Andros clocked the sides of the watch like device again.
"Meet up." He said on chorus wiry the Black Dino Ranger. Both paused before Andros went on. "We'll meet up first. From there we can make a solid plan of action together."
"Sounds good." Dino Thunder said. "Where do we meet up?"
Andros looked around and spotted what looked like a street sign, the color offensively off to Maya's eyes. He read off the name he spied, asking if the others were nearby.
"I have no idea where that is." "Ditto." Two of the Rangers said while the Mystic Ranger let out a surprised sound.
"Oh! I'm on that street!" She exclaimed, "I'm waving, do you see me?"
They did, a red haired girl in a blue dress was waving and looking around. Maya waved back and beckoned the other girl over.
Andros nodded as he spotted the girl walking towards them. "Alright, I think it'd be best if we kept moving. Things are a bit busy wherever there was. Read out the street signs as you pass them, help who you can, and stay safe." He mulled something over for a moment before adding, "May the Power protect you."
Maya had never heard the phrase before but if that's heavy, important.
There was a pause followed by a heartfelt "You too. See you soon" from the Black Dino Thunder Ranger.
Andros turned towards Maya and the new arrival, jerking his head to the side. "Let's go."
As they jogged Maya found out the other girl's name. Maddison, or Maddie as she insisted, was a sorceress of some trying and power. Something she was using to great effect as they made their way through the strange settlement.
Globes of water and bursts of force scattered the attacked monsters as they passed. Her strange wand more effective than even Andros's Battlizer Gauntlet and its flares of red energy. But Maddie could do more than that. Something that both her fellow Rangers felt was vastly more important.
"There's magic here" She started to explain, stumbling a bit as she worked out what to say. "Like, more than any spell would call for. If I had to guess this town is on or near some sort of nexus of magical power. One that's not nearly as friendly as the Forest back home."
Maya nodded her head at that. The air was as Vile as anything she could imagine.
"Can you track the spell?" Andros asked, "Find the source?"
"Maybe? It's not exactly my specialty and it's kinda buried underneath all of-" She gestured her hand vaguely in the air. "This. It would be easier if I knew what to look for, what the spell did."
"It brought us here?" Andros offered
"These creatures as well," Maya added. "They don't feel as if they belong here."
"Well, yeah, most monsters don't."
Maya shook her head. "No, more than that. It's like, it's like someone blanketed them in something and wrenched them into place." Maya squinted at her flower Rangers, getting a feel for them. "You two feel like that too."
"So whatever this spell is, it's still going and affecting us?" Maddie muttered, waving her mechanical wand in the air with the blue tip glowing as she pressed a few buttons. "It is! You can feel that?"
"I've always been able to sense things." Though that extra sense of hers felt stronger since she arrived, heightened. Like her strength. Was it a part of the spell? No, no that didn't feel right.
It was something else, something within her not being caster on her. It wasn't the Quasar Saber or the Lights of Orion. It was a deep rooted thing, a shadow to their brightness.
Whatever it was, it wasn't malevolent nor was it one of her current issues.
"Could you track it?" Andros repeated, focusing them back on the task at hand. But she could only answer him with a shake of her head. He sighed and sweet back his short hair. "Okay, we're going to keep moving then. Hopefully, we'll find a direction to go by the time we find the others."
"Until you find that Black Ranger you mean." A brown haired woman said as she approached. She wore an outfit not unlike the Galactic Space Alliance. A crisp uniform accented with a color that likely signified some rank. In this woman's case, that color was Pink.
It was a bit revealing compared to GSA uniforms but who was she to judge?
The new Ranger gave them a winning smile.
"Sydney Drew, SPD." Offering a hand to each of them. "I'm assuming you're the other Rangers? Y'know, considering the color coding. The Academy's History lessons taught me that was to look for in case of temporal events."
The three looked down, taking note of their clothes. A red undershirt, yellow skirt and top, and blue witch's dress. Maya had never thought of it like that before but when she thought of her and Andros's teams she saw the pattern there too.
"History lessons?" Maddie asked.
"Oh, yeah, I'm from the future." She said with a bit of a shrug. "Just a few decades but all your teams are in the archives. Not going to be giving out spoilers though. Sorry."
There was a pause as they digested that but Andros pushed them on. Bringing up his communicator and contacting their last Ranger. "We just met up with Pink, are you close by?"
"Depends, are you guys near Elm or East Boulevard?"
"No."
"Then I'm still pretty far off. You guys keep going, I'll catch up when I can. I always do."
"Alright, try to stay in contact." Andros said before filling both him and Sydney, in on what they figured out. It wasn't much, not something to really go on, but it was progress. A clue.
Something Syd seemed to latch onto.
"And you can't track it?"
"No, everything that doesn't fit is blanketed by the same spell. Everything reads the same and it's spread out in every direction."
"And you scanned all of us? The monsters?"
"Not the monsters, not yet at least, but all four of us are basically radiating the same spell."
"A spell that you don't know the effect or origin of." Syd crossed her arms and gave Maddie a flat stare.
Maddie threw her hands up in the air with an exasperated, "Yes!"
To this Sydney only hummed, looking from the girl to around them. "Now, I don't know much about magic but I know a thing or two about decorations. Does anyone else notice what day it is?"
Maya looked around and it did indeed look as if there had been some festival taking place. Carved vegetables at the front of every home with a theme of bats and cobwebs just about everywhere. What day it was or what the decorations meant? Well, for that she could only share a blank look with Andros.
Maddison, meanwhile, slapped her forehead with a groan. "Halloween."
Maya shared another quick look with Andros. "Is that some Earth Holiday?"
"How don't you know about Halloween?" Maddie asked.
And, in her own way, Syd answered both questions. "Oh yeah, you two are aliens. Right."
"Aliens?" Maddie interrupted and was summarily ignored.
"Anyway, the basic gist of it is that people, usually kids, dress up in costumes today. Usually as scary monsters, or superheroes, or something cute."
"I think Ashley mentioned this once." Andros muttered before dragging himself back to the point. "You think this holiday has something to do with the spell that brought us here?"
"Well, yeah." She said as if it were obvious. And it was, for her. Maddison as well as she put the last pieces together
"People were turned into their costumes." Maddie's face twisted with the words. "Someone cast a spell to turn people into their costumes, and that includes us."
There was another pause as Andros and Maya made the connection themselves. Their faces twisting in a mirror to Maddie's disquiet.
"So, we're not us?"
Maddie shrugged, her face still contorted in thought and unease. "I don't know. Maybe we switched places with whoever dressed as us. Maybe our minds are overlapping or even possessing their... Or we are just approximations of what they dressed as."
None of those options sat well with them. And it was made no better when another thought bubbled out of Maya.
"Does that mean the creatures we fought…" Her eyes started to widen as something gripped her heart. She looked at Syd. "You said children dress up?"
The face she made told Maya that the other Ranger had the exact same thought. "I'd rather give them a few bruises now instead of just letting them hurt someone else."
While none of them could disagree, their grimaces remained. Maya made a private promise to herself to pull her punches as much as she was able for the rest of the night. Especially with how strong said punches were that night.
Was that from her… host?
And that brought up another question
"Why would anyone dress as us?" She asked out loud and received an immediate response.
"Why wouldn't they?" Syd asked rhetorically. "We're Power Rangers. And we're going to make whoever did this regret bringing us here."
That seemed to be enough of an answer for the group, it even elicited some smiles and smirks. Still, that didn't feel quite right to Maya. In fact, it felt profoundly wrong. But she ignored that feeling in favor of moving on.
And move they did.
Despite facing monsters and creatures straight from humanity's nightmarish imagination the unmorphed Rangers swept through. That same synergy of before was boosted further by Syd's own unique abilities.
Abilities that, with a single touch to a light pole, turned the woman's fist into literal steel. A fist of metal that she used with great experience and skill. It wasn't often that she had to strike anything more than twice.
Though Maya was glad to notice that the others, much like her, were holding back compared to before.
Not that the people they rescued seemed to notice or care about either way. Running away with little more than a scream or a backward glance. Which, in honesty, was a fair and smart reaction. But a thank you would have been nice.
They had just cleared another street when it happened.
A ripple swept through the air, unseen but latching. Gripping onto the magic that had wrapped around her, the Rangers, every creature on the street and kept going. The magic seemed to flicker then expand. Weaving into the vile energy that permeated the air and dragged it along. Maya looked up as the mingling energies stretched towards the sky and pierced the cloud, further.
"That's not good." She muttered as the others recovered from their shudders.
"What was that?" Someone demanded only for Maddie to scream the answer.
"Someone is altering the spell!" She yelled, her head swinging as she looked for the source.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know. '' She gripped her wand, the blue tip glowing fiercely. "But it can't be anything good! We need to find them!"
"And where are they?"
"I don't know!"
"I do." Maya pointed towards where the ripple started. Where the air seemed to pulse and darken. "It's that way!"
The others looked at her for all of a second before nodding, trusting her.
They started to run, following Maya's directions as they rushed down street after street. The transformed creatures seemed to be in a daze. Blankly staring forward or lashing out at literal nothing. Andros was on his communicator the whole run.
"-towards it now. Try to make it if you can."
"This is getting ridiculous." The older voice growled. "I'm going to try something. Hopefully, I'll be seeing you soon."
There was no response from him for all of a moment, then there was a crack of Thunder. A bolt of black energy slammed to the side of them, flaring in their eyes and then dissipating as quickly. When the spots left their eyes they saw what the bolt had left behind, a passenger in a black shirt.
Andros squinted his eyes as the newcomer started to stride toward them. "Tommy?" He asked incredulously.
The man nodded, giving Andros a tight smile. "Good to see you again. You look good, younger. We can talk about it when we have more time. But right now I believe we've got some running to do."
The two men gave each other another smile and clasped hands before bursting into a run. Maya bolted after them, quickly taking the lead as she was the one who actually knew where they were going. Meanwhile, Syd and Maddie hung back long enough to share an eye roll.
-0-0-0-0-0-
With the Rangers finally gathered they came upon the epicenter of the spell. It was an unassuming place, a costume shop in a half empty and ill repaired plaza.
"Ethan's." Tommy read out loud, the sight of the sign turning something ugly in his gut. He wondered why.
Maddison stepped next to him, eyes squinting as she tried to peer into the shop's darkened windows. "A costume shop? I guess that makes sense."
Tommy winced at the reminder. They had explained to him what they thought was going on while on their way over. He didn't want it to be true but he had seen stranger things and it had made too much sense
"So, how do we handle this?" Andros asked. "One group through the front, the other through the back?"
"Wait? Wouldn't it be better to stick together? Because, you know, strength in numbers." Maya asked, rubbing at her arms from the growing chill.
"I second that. It's always a bad idea to separate the group in horror movies. Which we seem to be in." Maddie said, backing her up.
"Not if they have their own numbers inside." Syd countered, her breath frosting. "We don't want to be boxed in with whoever is in there and a dozen of their closest friends. Better to pinch them in."
The wind hissed and ran a shiver down Maya's spine. "There's at least two of them in there. They are the worst things I've felt tonight." Maya gave a second shiver as the wind hissed again.
"Well, if we're doing this who's going with who? Maddie asked, frowning as the wind hissed louder. Only there was no wind, there wasn't so much as a breeze.
A bell rang, a small little door chime that grabbed everyone's attention. Five heads turned towards the source and each one of them jerked back as a large figure came striding out of the building.
Each of them disturbed by the black Armored figure approaching them but only one immediately reacted. Of the five only two recognized who was coming but only one of them truly understood the danger they were in. Only one of them worked in a comic book store and saw what the character could really do.
"Morph!" Maddie yelled, already typing the needed spell into her wand. "Morph now!"
There was no time to argue, nor was there a desire to. Not when a blade of red plasma ignited in the man's hand. He regarded the group behind a dark and expressionless mask. His hissing breath rang one last time before the battle started.
*
khuh-keer*
