Chapter 12: She Who Watches & a Very Old Story.
Time Unknown
Dulcea’s Plateau
Phaedos
Dulcea is kneeling in front of a small round pond. The edges of it sparkle but the center shows
a different face. It’s Dulcea’s window
to the world and in it she is observing the Pink Rangers’ progress along the
Path. The wind ruffles her bright hair
and she brushes it away impatiently.
The pond shows no dangers on the Path and she relaxes. She smiles slightly in response to her
thoughts. ‘Thank the Power the dangers
abated. Kat can only handle so much more.’
She raises her fingers to the water and draws them along Kat’s
face. The result is a faint pink
shadow. ‘I was right. She has no more
of her own reserves left and her connection to the Power is tenuous at best.
Damn.’ Dulcea shakes her head and rests
her fingertips on the image of Kim’s face.
This time two strong pink shades appear, one bright and the other almost
violet. She nods in satisfaction. She still has much of her strength to rely
on. The Power, too, guides her solidly.
Her fears die down and she clutches her hands together tightly, praying
that the young women can have a breather before the next challenge. This Quest is unique and untested. Never before has this situation arisen. ‘Zordon chose wisely in these young women…
but there are no guarantees… there are never any guarantees.’
She sighs, remembering her youth, the time when she never
imagined that she would be the last Warrior left to guard the ancient secrets
of the Ninjetti. Only her belief in
what’s right keeps her here, in a place where she is alone with only the ghosts
of her past to keep her company.
The images in the water are monotone, just Kim, Kat and
greenery. Yet she is held
spellbound. Minutes after minutes tick
by, though time has no real meaning on the Plateau. She watches Kim begin to tense and reacts in kind. ‘She’s right. Something should be happening…
unless the anticipation is a test of its own… No… there is a terrible danger
coming. Beware.’ Her knuckles pale as
she squeezes her hands together. She
has almost as much invested in this Quest as does Kim. She wants them to succeed. Dulcea catches the cracking sounds coming
from the jungle and her breath hitches in her throat. She can only think of one or two possibilities and her skin feels
chilled as if the season inexplicably changed.
‘Oh-no-no-no!!! Power, protect them! Please don’t let the Beast have
awakened! So much Pink Power… it would have… oh no… I have to be wrong!’
The reality before her
fades as she falls backwards into the time when she could still participate in
the Good Fight actively…
<
Dulcea leans on her staff, facing a tall, lithe young woman dressed in pink. She is the Pink Ranger, Aliesienta of the planet Karadio. “Alie, we have to be careful,” she says, trying to calm the Pink Ranger, who is visibly fuming. “The Beast is the strongest and the smartest minion that He has. We have to plan ahead.”
Alie tosses her teal colored hair impatiently. “D, we don’t have time I tell you. We are getting tired and frankly Veridan… you do remember our injured Yellow Ranger… well she can only function for so long before she needs to go back to Phaedos for serious medical attention.”
Dulcea sighs and sits down on the glittering silver bench. “Computer, a glass of juice please.” A glass full off red liquid appears on the high table next to her. She takes a long swallow. “Well, Alie, it’s on your conscience, you’re the leader.”
~*~
Dulcea watches silently as Alie shouts her Morphin signal, the last one to do so.
“PINK DRACONAS POWER!”
The four-person Ranger team stands before her solemnly and Alie nods before they all teleport to the planet surface. Veridan is too weak to join them and she sits in front of a computer screen, her hands folded in her lap, waiting for the fight to begin. Dulcea strokes her short, spiky, black hair and Ree looks up with a guilty smile. They both turn to stare unwaveringly at the screen. In a moment It shows up, thinking the weakened team easy prey. It glows golden and Dulcea shudders in revulsion, the shade of gold turned sickly and greenish.
Ree sees the ugly color as a perversion and an attack on her own Power. Her hands clench tighter and her cerulean eyes almost glow with rage. It is a hated minion of He, whose name is best left unmentioned. Many think He is the Devil, but even the Devil’s Power is checked by the balance of Good and Evil. His is not. The only hope is the Rangers and their fearsome leader.
Alie shouts a war cry and the battle breaks loose.
~*~
The team has been fighting the Beast for the past three hours and Dulcea has lost much of her hope. Ree has tried to teleport down to help several times but her injuries make her a liability and Dulcea has threatened to tie her down if she doesn’t give up on the idea. Zealeg, the Red Ranger, has had to teleport up because he has been injured too severely to be of any further use in the battle. The Green Ranger, Faroc, is weakening too, with only her determination not to leave her friends unaided keeping her in the fight. Alie refuses to notice any of her injuries.
~*~
Another hour has passed. Bolen, the Blue Ranger, has just teleported up. He has lost control of his left leg and his attacks would have embarrassed the martial arts expert yesterday.
“Len,” Ree speaks gently, “It isn’t your fault.” He chuckles bitterly.
“You tell me not to blame myself? Look who’s talking. You’ve been mentally whipping yourself since we teleported down.” Ree blushes and drops her eyes. Dulcea lays a hand on his shoulder and guides him gently toward the Med Room.
~*~
Two more hours have gone by as if they were minutes. Alie now fights alone. Faroc has been knocked unconscious and now lies in the Med Room next to Zeal and Len. Dulcea wants to cry to Alie to stop this insanity, to tell her to come back and fight again tomorrow but she knows that the effort would be scorned. They all know. Alie fights for the memory of her family, who lie in their graves as a silent testament to the brutality of the Evil that is here represented by the Beast. The great hulking form of the creature lunges at the scratched up Ranger. She attempts a knife hand block, but is thwarted and finds herself bleeding on the ground, this new injury making the continuation of the battle an impossible dream. Yet the High Queen of Karadio will not accept that.
She suddenly tears of her
helmet and the creature halts Its charge in confusion. Her eyes begin to glow pink and Dulcea
instantly recognizes what Alie is attempting. Her stomach turns leaden as she watches the pink glow surround the
young woman. The glow turns brighter
and brighter and soon Alie’s form seems to dim, slowly disappearing into the
glow. The Beast lacks the information
required to assess the situation properly and is reduced to just standing by
and watching, Its eyes wide open golden orbs.
Soon, there is no evidence of the Pink Ranger other than a giant ball of
pink light hovering in front of the Beast.
It seems to be transfixed and, despite Its vast mind, It doesn’t seem to
recognize the danger It’s in. The ball
that used to be Alie slowly approaches the creature and surrounds It with her
gleam. A moment later, Its eyes close,
the pink is absorbed into It, and the golden glow disappears. It settles heavily onto the ground and the
battle is over. It is not destroyed,
but contained by the greatest sacrifice that can ever be made.
~*~
Dulcea and the remaining
Rangers bring the Beast to Phaedos to leave It within the jungle, lost to Its
Master forever… hopefully. They then
travel to Karadio to inform the people that their Queen is gone. Her name will live on there forever.
Many centuries later
Dulcea will still fondly remember her teal haired friend and the name of the
Beast will never fail to evoke a shiver from the great Warrior.
>
Dulcea shivers now and prays to anyone who’s listening to allow Alie’s control to remain unbroken. She maintains her vigil, her lungs almost unmoving. Another creak sounds and then the roar… that roar which she would recognize anywhere. She freezes as the Beast comes ambling towards the young women. Dulcea stares at the quickly moving images and suddenly catches a glimpse of Its eyes. They’re… empty. ‘Alie, my beloved friend, you bound Its mind in a trap hardier than I have ever seen. Thank you.’ She sighs and continues watching. She flinches at every injury Kim and Kat suffer. Then the strands of the golden glow emanate and Dulcea’s blood rushes quickly away from her face. She has seen this happen too many times to count. A tear escapes out of the side of her eye as she waits for the end. Then, as Kim sparks with pink, Dulcea’s eyes snap wide open. ‘Can she do it? Oh Alie guide her…’ Kim breaks away and manages to rescue Kat. Dulcea collapses into a mass-less heap, her eyes an inch away from the water. The escape attempt holds her motionless and her skin burns with the desire to see them safe. Their feet flash and the distant roars come closer. The river takes Dulcea by surprise as well and for a moment she worries that they can’t swim. They seem to do just fine and their twin attack brings color back into her cheeks. As the creature retreats she shakes her head, knowing that It will be back. She catches sight of the waterfall a second after Kim and the events seem to play out in slow motion. Kat’s body disappears first, then Kim’s. All she can see is the raging waters.
“Noooooo!”