Episode 13: Ranger Obsidian: The Rebirth(PR: OF)

This is the thirteenth episode of Power Rangers: Omega Force. This episode mainly brings forth the return of Dominic as a mindless slave and as a returning member of the Ranger team.

Story
The Kraken emerged from the sea, still in the Bermuda. It quickly appears on the beach, behind the rangers. "I SHALL SINK YOU INTO OBLIVION!" screams the Kraken. The Kraken roars, slamming it's tentacles on the beach. "Sink?" said an unknown voice. "They're on land idiot." The Nidhog slowly descends form the sky and spread it's wings. Star turned around to see the Nidhog and the Kraken. She quickly looked around as if to see Fenrir or more importantly, Dominic. She looked at the Kraken with puzzling expressions and said, "O...kay. Since when do giant squid-like things talk?" The Kraken annoyingly spotted Star. "A bug? My master has bad taste." He prepared to slam one of his tentacles down on Star. "Bug?" She dodged the tentacle. "Excuse me? BUG?" She was fuming. "You called me a bug you overgrown slice of calamari?!" She picked up a twig and threw it into the Kraken's head. The twig hit the Kraken dead on in the eye and pried it free. "Ow! Watch where you throw that thing!" The Nidhog sighed and shook it's head unexpectedly. It flew up and then rammed into the Kraken's eye. "Ok, ok! You win!"

Joe stepped forward holding the genesis blade in hand. "You know Dominic huh?" asked Joe. "Well are you an enemy of his? What do you want?" "Enemy?" asked the Kraken. "Why would I be an enemy of his?" The Nidhog sighs and flies upward, out of site. "I am his loyal servant of the seas!" "So why are you attacking us? We were his friends, I mean it didn't really start that way, but we became friends in the end. If anything you want Loki." "You really think I would be stupid enough to attack a God?" "Well we found Dominic with sword marks that could have only come from Loki. It appears that Loki has possessed the body of Odin. I realize this looks extremely bleak. But there could be a way to set everything straight. However, we will need your help. We must try to get Dom back. It can be possible. I fought through Tartarus to find a blade and came back. I believe anything is possible. But we need all the assistance we can get. Dom has the spirit of Fenrir right, so he should be able to do the impossible. We can bring him back, get revenge on Loki, and set everything straight. Loki has corrupted a fellow deity, he has now made enemies on both sides. He must be stopped. There must be some way we can help each other."

The Kraken looked blankly at Joe, before breaking out in a laugh. "You think I don't know this?" asked the Kraken. "There is one way to get him back. But it will require an extremely large amount of time. And someone that can bend time." "Got Dom back," said the unknown voice again as a portal opened on the beach and Dominic appeared form it, scratching his head. "Okay, so first up in space, and now I'm her in Earth," said Dom. "The heck?" An unfamiliar girl appeared next to him, yawning. "Hey, my species CAN manipulate time," said the girl who appeared to be the unknown voice. Dom sighed. "I hate it when you do that ya know?!" "What the heck?" asked Joe. He looks at the Kraken and says sarcastically with a friendly smile, "You were saying?" Joe runs up to Dom and shook his hand, much like when Jason shook Tommy's hand when he joined the team of the original Power Rangers. "Hey buddy, where have you been, what happened?" Star stared at Dom apprehensively. A flush of relief and happiness washed over her and in a moment or two, she fainted on the floor.

Dom just gave a confused look. "Who exactly are YOU?" he asked with a tinge of fatigue in his voice. The girl shrugged and slapped him on the back of the head. "Gah! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" The girl smiled. "To wake you up," said the girl. Dom looked at Joe. "Oh, hey Joe, how have you been?" Joe laughed. "Welcome back buddy. You had me worried there a second. And I'm not the only one." He turns to point to Star, but he doesn't see her in his field of vision. They then notice that she passed out. Dom ran over to Star and picked her up. "Ah great. What now then?" Star woke up. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared Dominic in the face. "You..." She slapped him so hard he fall backwards. "YOU IDIOT! YOU WENT AND DIED AND LEFT ME!" She was crying, tears dripping down. "DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" She was huffing and trying to steady her breathing. Dominic sighed. He slowly got up and walked over to Star. He was quite speechless, but he pulled himself together. "Yes, I'm sorry. Dieing wasn't intentional though. Look, I promise that won't happen again?" The Kraken rolled his eyes.

Star dropped her arms. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked as she hugged him. Noticing the Kraken's eyes roll she added, "Um, could you excuse me for a second." She walked over to the Kraken. She whispered, "Make one comment, make one more gesture about my relationship and I WILL fricassee you and serve you for tomorrow night's dinner got it?" She also added, "I'll enjoy it too." She gave him an evil grin. "Real smooth, Dom," said Sean. Dom whispered to Sean. "Hey, it wasn't easy..." He then turned to Star and smiled. The Kraken looked at her with frightened eyes and sank lower in the ocean in shame. "W-What just happened, Dom?" asked Sean. "Why did it sink?" Star giggled. "Oh I think it was just a little overwhelmed." She muttered to Dom, "And scared out of his mind." Dom chuckled. The new girl turned towards him and flicked his head. All at once Dom grew fur and shrunk. He was about the size of a gray wolf, and looked like one. The only difference was that his fur was pitch black, with a blue tinge. He looked up and barked. Star was used to weird things so that didn't phase her. "I gotta say Dom, you're kinda cute for a Demonic wolf of doom." She pet his head.

Dominic barked once more, and waged his tail. The girl sighed and backed away, transforming herself. The familiar shape of the Nidhog appeared and she flew upward. With a flash of light she disappeared. "I would make a smart-allec remark along the lines of the base not having or something bout you being house broken, but I'd be afraid you'd bite me and give me rabies, or worse," Joe said as he laughed. "Okay, but on a more serious note. Can someone please explain to me all that is going on right now. And perhaps we should move this conversation to the Ranger Base. So a certain evil possessor happy Loki or anyone doesn't over-hear." The Kraken was of course listening to everything. He then raised his head again. Joe turns to the Kraken. "You can come as well. There's a huge underwater entrance. If my Lio zord can make it you can as well. I'll call him and he can lead you there." He summons his blade to get ready to call the Lio zord. But waits for a response. The Kraken shakes his head. "It's fine, I know where it is anyways," said the Kraken. "How do you think I make sure Star won't kill my master?" Before Star could respond he sunk down into the ocean and disappeared. She scratched Dom's ears. "What do you think? Fried calamari for dinner? Or perhaps Squid Shish-Kebab?" She laughed. "But yeah, let's go to the base." Joe spoke into the blade to the Lio zord. "Lio buddy ol' pal, prepare yourself. You're no longer the big beast on campus." He laughs. He then puts the blade away and turns to the others. "Shall we? And Dom, I mean Fenrir, I mean..." He was confused. "Wow, might take a while to get used to this. Anyway, can you teleport or do you need some help? Oh wait, you're a deity. Do you really need a morpher?"

Fenrir looked blankly at Joe but then shook his head. A hole appeared from the ground and skeletons popped out. They dragged a deathly black carriage. Fenrir walked in and sat, before the skeletons started to chat to themselves. The rangers teleport back to the command center. They decide to talk in the zord area. The Kraken emerges from the water next to the Lio zord. "It's a good thing this room is so freakishly large," said Joe. He laughed. The skeletons chuckled and they disappeared, and Dom appeared by Joe. "Norse Mythology was never clear on how the Gods went around," he told Joe. He was back into this regular, human form. "Yeah, seriously, gonna take a while to get used to that. So what's been going on. We found your body and assumed Loki had something to do with it, but aside from that we're lost." Meanwhile, Caoimhin was training as much as he could then he suddenly stopped, walked out of the temple and stared at the silent city that stood nearby. "Maybe this is the start of proving my worth as protector of this world and Earth," he told himself. Star looked from Dom to Joe and smiled. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "Loki killed his son. What's not to get?" They stared at her. She shrugged. "Seriously, you guys need to read your mythology. Fenrir is Loki's son." Joe gave Star a blank look. Then looked at Dom, then back at Star. "It's not the mythology I don't get, it's the coming back to life, the 20 ton talking piece of calamari, and the Nidhog that can turn into a woman that I don't get." Star opened her mouth to answer, but decided against it. "Dom should explain. It is HIS area of expertise."

Caoimhin was still staring at the city. "Don't blame yourself for what happened that day, all that time ago," a voice said to him. "I'm sorry but i just can't do that," said Caoimhin. "Not until I've fixed it. I'm a lot stronger than I was that day, now I just have to wait for them to appear again." He then remembers what happened to the city. Dom slowly facepalmed. "Nidhog is actually my cousin," said Dom. "The beasts in Norse Mythology actually have a human form that is much weaker than their original version. Kraken happens to be my guardian. I was originally, and still had to be, chained to the Kraken under the sea in some trench. Hence my fear of sharks. The coming back to life thing is one of the Nidhog's specialties, so can't explain that much." "Wow, in an odd way, that makes sense," said Joe. "So lets see: You've kicked our buts, joined us, fought with your father, so whats next for you? I'm gonna guess vengeance on Loki." "Bingo. First I have to get my brothers and sisters together." Star looked thoughtfully. "That would be Jormundgar and, Hel," said Star. "She bit her lip. "Well, Jormundgar is here on the base with Nidhog. It's Hel that's the problem."

Suddenly a towel clad figured walked by, humming a tune to a song. He had brown hair with a tinge of gold. He was well built and had dark brown eyes. Dom paused for a second before turning into a wolf. He slowly stalked the man and then jumped, transforming back to his regular farm in mid air. The guy turned around and kneed Dom as he fell. "Bro, you'll never get the chance to catch me off like that," said the figure. "Dom winced as he got up. "That was unfair!" Joe immediately took a fighter stance. "Dom, you know this guy?" he asked. "And how did he get into the zord enclosure with us?" Sean observed the man. He thought to himself. "I think he's one of Dom's brothers," he said out loud. "He IS my brother." The older guy cuffed him across the head. "Your OLDER brother." "Well then, it certainly seems like a family reunion then." Joe extends his hand. "The name's Joe. Nice to meet you. So where do we go from here?" "I'm gonna take a wild stab in the back and see if my knowledge of mythology serves me well. I'm aware of Fenrir's only brother was Jormundgar. So, if Nidhog and Fenrir have human states, are you Jormundgar's human state? Oh yeah, whether you are or if not then sorry to you Dom, but there was a massive tidal wave before, so I used the Genesis Blade to control Jormundgar zord and my Liopleurodon zord to take care of it. Crisis averted and your zord should be under your control again. I'm sorry, we needed the extra power and it was just sitting there." The guy rolled his eyes and punched Joe in the shoulder. "Yea, that wasn't very helpful." Dom rolled his eyes similar to his brother. "Ignore him, and yes, he's Jormundgar." Joe holds his shoulder and gives Jormundgar a sarcastic smirk. Then turns to Dom. "So what's next?"

Gods are getting far too involved in this fight, thought Caoimhin. This may even make things worse for Earth. He then began to sense more strong entities appearing on Earth. Then suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. "What's going on?" asked Sean. "Oh you shouldn't worry about that," said Star. "It's nothing major." She shrugged as the quake subsided. "For now, we should concentrate on getting the rest of Dom's relatives. Speaking of which, where is Hel? She should be here seeing as she is your sister." "YOUNGER sister," Dom corrected. "She should be under us, probably talking to some demon or whatever," Jormundgar said as he materialized cloths on him, and throwing the towels somewhere else. The quakes intensified and Dom looked startled. "Bro you think...?" Jormundgar shook his head. "Nah..." Suddenly the ground shook hard and a hole opened up from under it. "How in the world is everyone getting into this base?" asked Joe. Dom actually fell back from the opening. A large snake appeared from it. Joe grabbed Dom and pulled him backwards to avoid from falling into the gaping hole. "Is it morphing time, or is this another relative?" Dom kicked the snake back in and sighed. "No, my sis is done there, 'somewhere'." Jormundgar shrugged and quietly stepped down into the hole. "Dom, where did that snake come from? And does your bro need help down there?" "If I would venture a guess, I would assume the underworld? That is where Hel lives after all." She nodded. "I wouldn't worry about Jormundgar, he's pretty tough." She was only talking from a mythological stand-point. "Good point."

Just then Zedren walked in. He nods to everyone. "Dom, glad to see you're back," he said. "And I see you're doing a little family reunion." He then turns to Joe. "Joe could I see you a minute?" "Sure." They then both walk off. "I wonder what Zedren wants with Joe," said Sean. Dom shot a 'shut up' look at Star. But he was too late as Jormundgar grinned. "Of course! I mean, a serpent is much stronger than a pesky little wolf..." He started to walk down into the hole and Dom facepalmed. "Ah great! Now he's going to brag for months." "Are you guys coming or not?" Dom rolled his eyes and followed his brother. On the way Joe passed Diabolico and told him about what was going on in the zord room. "I'll check it out," he said as he then continued to the zord room, was caught up on all that happened, and descended into the hole with the rangers. "Being a fellow demon, I should be of some service."

Meanwhile, Joe and Zedren walked into his office. The door closed behind them and locked shut. Tommy and Ecliptor were there, too. "Joe, I think its about time you knew the rest of the Lio zord history," he said. "You mean there's more?" Joe asked. "Haven't you wondered why Vile didn't take control of the Lio zord sooner. He knew and even seen it, how could he not recognize it?" "Maybe he's gotten senile?" Zedren laughed. "Considering he's still my pain in the neck father-in-law, I personally like that answer. But seriously, it's because the zord you have right now isn't the true Lio zord." "WHAT???? You mean I have to go find a new zord?" "No, no, no. More like unlock it." "You lost me." "Aside from locking away the Lio zord to keep it from Vile, I also concealed it and weakened it. The zord you have is merely a substitute form of it. A locked form. So much technology and weaponry was taken from your old zord. In fact, me using it for Serpentera wasn't the only. Long before my wife and I got married, she had tried her hand at creating a war zord called Cyclopsis which would mirror the true Lio Zord's megazord form, but of course, she fell very short." "So how do I unlock it, and why am I hearing this now?" "Ecliptor has agreed to take you where you need to go. You must first go to Triforia. You and Tommy must seek out the original Gold ranger. Then you three will search out the magician Auric. The dual Gold Ranger powers, plus Auric, and the Genesis Blade will break the seal i placed on the Lio zord." "OK. And how bout my second question. Why now?" "Vile is reaching a breaking point. He's gonna snap and do something or somethings drastic. For now, very few can be trusted. Even me. Remember, I used to have evil in me. Even though Zordon purified me, I don't want to take any chances. Vile can certainly do the unthinkable. He even stopped time once and turned the old rangers into children. He's not to be taken lightly. That's why you and the rangers will need the extra power. Now hurry, they are waiting and time is running out." "Thanks Zedren. I'll make you proud. And don't worry bout what Vile may do. We can handle it, and we got your back." Zedren nods. Joe, Tommy and Ecliptor then leave for Triforia.

Ecliptor brought Tommy and Joseph to Triforia. As they wandered around they were met by some armed guards, but they immediately dropped their weapons when they noticed Tommy and Joe. The presence of Ecliptor had frightened them. They brought them to the king's chamber where they met the new king, Trey. Trey had remembered Tommy and they shook hands. Trey then sensed a power much like his own within Joseph. "Ah, so you're the new Gold Ranger?" asked Trey. "It is an honor and privilege to meet you." "The honor is all mine," said Joe. "Tommy and the other past rangers told me about you. I tried to follow in your footsteps, as well as Jason's, in using the Gold Ranger powers." "And you have done well. Even though our Gold Ranger powers aren't exactly the same, they do have common origins. Thus why I imagine our ranger forms look slightly similar. But time is wasting. I imagine that Zedren sent you two." "Yeah," said Tommy. "Master Vile has returned as well as a monstrosity known as Gargantia." "Ah, yes. I've heard of this Gargantia. An evil spirit who tried to destroy Zordon but was sealed away by Zordon's guardians. And as for Vile, this cannot be good. On our planet we have sensed many disruptions within the balance of the universe. We've even sensed a new breed of evils." "New breed?" asked Joe. "I wonder if that Jesterix or whatever it was called was a part of this new breed." "I wish I could tell you more, but even we do not know of these things. We have various libraries on this planet which record all events. It is the most complete library there is, obviously due to the fact that each of us are three times the being of anyone else. And even our libraries mention nothing of them. But I digress. It certainly seems you have your hands full. Come. Let us proceed." Ecliptor, Tommy and Joe followed Trey towards a huge pyramid. "Wow," said Tommy. "It's been a long time since I've seen Pyramidas. This was quite an awesome zord in battle. Got us out of a lot of tough times." "Yes, Pyramidas has served well. But with the destruction of the Axis of Evil, there's been no need to reactivate it. However, with all that you're telling me, perhaps we should prepare ourselves in case the extra strength is needed." "That would certainly be a help." Trey led the others into Pyramidas and within the zord cockpit, Trey retrieved his Golden Power Staff. "Ahh. It's certainly been a while. Gold Ranger Power!" Just then Trey once again became the Gold Ranger. He then looks at Joe and knows what to do. "Gold Ranger Power!" Joe morphs as well, this time in full form with the Genesis Blade in hand. "Now all we need is the Gold Key to summon Auric."

Back at the base, Diabolico turns to Dominic while they are descending into the hole. "So what are we supposed to be looking for?" he asked. "This place looks like one of the demon pits that used to house me and my brethren." Dom scratched his head before leaning on the pit wall. It slowly opened up and Dom walked through it. "Hey bro, isn't sis supposed to be here?" Dom yelled to Jormundgar. "Yea, what, she isn't?" Jormundgar asked. Dom sighed. "Nope."

Meanwhile, Caoimhin thought to himself, Maybe I should look more into Norse Gods as there seems to be a few of them showing up right now. I think I'll go to the library in Triforia. I'm sure they'll have some information about them. He created a portal to the library, walked through it then closed it. I wonder where they keep information about the Gods on Earth. As Caoimhin entered he startled the Rangers. But Joe recognized him immediately. "Caoimhin, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Joe, you know him?" asked Trey. "Yeah. He helped me on the path to get the Genesis Blade. Well actually he was the path." "He's one of the keepers of the power itself. More specifically the zords." He turns to Tommy. "Remember when I brought you the Super Zeo Zords? Well, I got them from him. Same with the Delta Megaship and all the other zords Zordon placed for you rangers. At some time or another they were all under his watchful eye, or at least those like him." He turns to Caoimhin and bows slightly with respect. "How may I be of service to you? We are slightly busy at the moment, but if i may direct you in any way-" Caoimhin bowed back at Trey. "Well I'm here to find more information on the Norse Gods as I see many are appearing on Earth. Also one of them looks like the person you were mourning before you left the island, young Joseph." "Oh yes. That was Dominic. He has the spirit of Fenrir. And his father Loki is apparently old friends with Vile. He's getting his brothers and sisters together to help as well." "If the Norse gods are getting involved as well this must be bad. It appears that the Axis of Evil is reforming in a new way." He turns to Joseph. "We must continue on and find Auric." "Trey, trust me when I say things WILL get worse," Caoimhin stated in a serious tone.

Dom and Jor stared at each other for a couple of seconds before snapping their fingers in union. "Of course!" they said together. In the middle of the small chamber another hole opened up. This time a young girl came out. She was about 9 and looked like a miniature Medusa. "Bros, why are you here?" she asked curiously. Jor grinned and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her out of the pit. Dom followed, seemingly annoyed by what Jor was doing. As soon as everyone was out, the pit closed.

"As I was afraid of," began Trey. "You have full run of the library. It is in the main palace entrance hall to the left. Only a Tri-Fold being can enter, but assuming your power spirit that should be no problem for you." "Thank you Trey. I shall head there right now," replied Caoimhin as he bowed at him then turned to Joseph. "And young Joseph take care in your quest." Caoimhin then walked off to the library. Trey turns back to Joe. "Let us continue and summon Auric." "But we need his key," said Tommy. "And I think Jason still has it." "When Jason returned the gold ranger powers to me, he as well transferred the key." Trey held a golden key in one hand and materialized a stone idol in the other. He placed the key into an indent on the statue and turned it. Just then the statue grew to over 50 feet tall. "I am Auric the Conqueror, defender of all that is good and true." Trey shoved Joe and motioned him to speak. "I am Joe, the Gold Ranger. And I come here to ask for your assistance." "What is it little golden ranger?" "Master Vile has returned as well as Gargantia and Loki." "Great Galaxies! Go on my child." "Someone told me that with your help as well as Trey's, I can unlock the rest of my Liopleurodon powers. Earth and the universe needs all the help it can get now more than ever." "Of course. My cause is to protect the weak and innocent. If there is any way I may help, I shall do all I can. But first..." Auric then shrinks to human size. "...allow me to become more travel size." The three of them walked to a desolate place on the outskirts. There was a triangle on the ground. "This is where we shall enact the ritual." Trey, Joseph, and Auric each took a place on the triangle, each on a point. Joe then summoned the Genesis Blade. Auric summoned his mythic saber, and Trey summoned his golden power staff. They all made some hands motions and a bubble of golden energy encircled all of them, including Tommy, and then a beam of golden light was shot from the center of the triangle towards earth.

Caoimhin entered the library and searched for books on the Norse Gods. He eventually found a book, opened it and began to read everything about them. "It's probably for the best if I keep a close eye on them as I'm still unsure which side they are actually helping," he told himself.

Meanwhile back in the zord area, the bright golden beam shone through the ceiling and struck the Lio zord under water. It's eyes glowed gold and a Tri-Fold insignia was revealed on its shoulders. Meanwhile back on Triforia, "There, it is done," said Auric. "So the Lio zord is stronger now?" asked Joe. "Yes it will," replied Trey. "I assume it has 2 forms now, the form it usually had, as well as its true form. You may change between them as you like." "Thanks guys." He sees Tommy to the side knocked over and they all run over. "Tommy, you okay?" "Yeah," he replied. "Guess I was a little too close. I'm just happy that energy didn't vaporize me or anything." He turns to Joe. "Shall we head back?" "Sounds good." They all exchange their goodbyes. "Should you ever need, call. I have a feeling we will all be needed to stop what is about to come. Farewell." As Joe and Tommy are walking away Auric runs up to them. "Wait my friends, wait!" he yelled. They stop and listen. "I've been locked up for quite a time. Allow me to become useful again. Allow me to fight with you and should you need me just call." He turns to Joseph. "Might as well keep with tradition." A gold key appears on a chain around Joe's neck. "Use this to summon me should you need anything." Auric then disappears and the eyes on the face of the key glow blue. Tommy and Joe return to Ranger Base.

"Okay, Dom, you have your siblings," said Sean. "So what's next?" "Yea that's it I guess..." Jor said. "I'm so tired for some reason..." said Dom as he yawned. "Well actually, you're sick." Jor laughed. "Resurrection sickness?" "Yup." "Great." Star laughed and said, "I didn't expect to see your family or YOU for that matter so soon." She winked. "So then, what news do you have Joesph?" She addressed the now present Joseph and Tommy. "Well my Lio zord has been returned to its original form, but its present form uses less energy, so I want to keep him on reserve," he began. "And we met a great warrior named Trey." He says nothing about the key around his neck and hides it under his shirt. "Trey of Triforia? He is certainly a wonder to behold. Then again I always thought Triforians were interesting..." She let her mind wander. "Oh well." She smiled gently. "Well, Dom's relatives are gathered here. You didn't miss much on that side of the coin."

Farther from the base, Loki chuckled. "Ah this is all good... All good... Flayer, present yourself." A thin Creature wearing a large gray cloak soon appeared. It had no legs and hovered, and it's mouth extended into several duck like bills. It was white save for his cloak. "Go and cause mayhem for me..." "Yes master," it said, and disappeared.

It appeared behind The Rangers and chuckled. "Now, how about a quick brawl rangers?" It extended its long pointed fingers and strings shot out. They focused in on Dom, who was too tired to notice. They struck his head and he paused. His eyes changed color, from red to pure white. "Go my servant." Dom lunged out at his brother, who dodged and uppercut him, but more strings attached to his head. Now both brothers turned, Jor threw himself at Joe. Joe dodges. "Oh great, now we got two demons to mess with. Joe ran to the new monster, morphed in mid run, and tried to cut the thread between him and Jor. "Looks like my new powers are already starting to take effect." Star ran back inside, fllowing the weird appearance of the monster. Dom was throwing himself at her. "Your POSSESSED now?!" She drop kicked him, landing on the floor with a large thud. She pointed at the monster. "You do NOT mess with my demon-wolf boyfriend you phantasmal freak!" She morphed and held out her hand. "Dreamer's Arrow: Hundred Downpour!" She shot into the air, which turned the arrow into several hundred small ones. Flayer wasted no time and disappeared as the arrows rained down. Dom and Jor were normal for a couple of seconds, but then the threads took their hold once more. Flayer laughed. "My species revolves around mind control..." Dom shape-shifted into seemingly a werewolf, and Jor shifted into a lizard-man. They both lunged at Joe this time, deeming him the greater threat. "Ok. Enough fooling around." Joe extends his hand and summons the Genesis Blade. He moves out of the way to avoid Dom. Then he slashes Jor 4 times with the Blade. Leaving behind 3 of those electromagnetic charges that he destroyed those other monsters with. The blade made wounds on Jor, but he didn't react to the pain. Suddenly, the room was turned pitch black and everything was quiet. "Dang it. Where did they go?" Joe walked around cautiously. A growl erupted and Joe was knocked to the ground by Dom. Star looked around, careful not to make a move. She thought to herself. Okay, a wolf is still a wolf, so excellent hearing... She she turned her head in the direction of the door, at least what she thought was the door based on coordination. She smiled, still not moving much to make a sound. She felt around and flipped a switch, causing the roof above them to open and using an artificial weather system, made it rain. Dom growled once more and before he could make the finishing blow, it started to rain. Jor licked the air around with his tongue and singled out Star. He dashed towards her, making sure his brother didn't notice. Star heard Jor running at her through the rain and was about to react when she heard a snap.

"That's it!" yelled Joe as he retracted the Genesis Blade and whispered, "Auric, you're up. Auric quickly appeared and helped Joe up. "Why are we whispering?" quietly asked Auric. "Auric the Conqueror doesn't need to hide." "We're whispering cause every sound we make is heard and reacted upon. And also, I want to keep the fact that I possess your key a secret." "How so?" "We can play 20 questions later. But for now, something called a Flayer possessed my two friends." "What odd friends you keep. Very well then." Auric became calm and collective and sensed where Dom was moving. He then sent a shock-wave from his sword that evaporated the string controlling. Also sending a shock back to Flayer. "There. And how was that?" "Awesome. Your the man." "Actually I am the conqueror. I will never understand your usage of language." "Fair enough, now go back into hiding." "Very well. But I'd like an explanation for this later." He was shaking his finger at Joseph. Auric then returned as quietly and unnoticeable as he had arrived. And Joe walked over and helped up Dom where it appeared that he had fallen. "You okay buddy?" Dom shook his head. "The heck?" he asked. As he got up he felt his brother. Running? "Ah great!" He dashed towards Star, and being faster than his brother, knocked her away. Before Jor could react Dom sent a punch to his chest, sending him flying backwards. "Gotta love the dark."

Star jumped in the air. "Joe did it!" she yelled and smiled. But straightened herself out and flipped the switch again, stopping the rain. Joe heard a whooshing sound and quickly ducked. Jor then sailed over his head and kept going. Joe looked and smirked "Nice to have the old Dom back," said Joe as he then made his way over to where Dom and Star were. "Yea, whatever controlled me was pretty strong. "I couldn't get past his mind block, which should be easy for a demigod." Dom then coughed. "We got some problems if you aren't strong enough to stop something. OK. Time to try to get rid of this darkness and shed some momentary light on the situation. Cover your eyes you two. Golden Radiance!!!!!" A golden light filled the room for about 15 seconds before going dark again. Joe looked around to see if he could spot the Flayer during that instance of visibility. Flayer was in midair, in the middle of the room, with his 8 eyes closed. "Super Panther Mode!" yelled Sean as he activated his battlizer once more. "Super Panther Strike!" Sean's Panther Spear becomes a spear of energy. Sean lunged it at Flayer, pierced his body, and obliterated him, or so it seemed. Before Flayer could die, he laughed menacingly. "You think this is the last of me?!" yelled Flayer. "Ha! I shall be back! And I curse YOU Sean! Until you die must you be haunted by my curse!" Flayer slowly drifted away into oblivion. Sean, ignoring what Flayer had said, powered down. "I could get used to this."

Before the odd things happened, Sean saw Joseph put something in his shirt. "Hey, Joe, what you put in your shirt?" he asked. Star stepped in. "I doubt it's of much consequence," she said. She gave Joe a knowing look. "Probably a trinket from Triforia." Joe laughed. "Actually Star, it's just an anniversary gift from Izabel," he began. "I'm gonna see her later on and she freaks when I'm not wearing it. So did any more of Dom's relatives show up?" She walked towards the exit. Turning her head slightly she said, "I'll be outside for a bit." She continued through the door, outside the base, staring at the peerless starry sky. She gave it a look of wonderment and longing. "I wonder..." She sat down, admiring the stars in the clear night sky.

Meanwhile, Caoimhin, after finishing reading up on the Norse Gods, was still confused so decided to walk around the library while thinking, Even with the book's information I'm still no wiser as to what they're all doing here. As he was thinking very hard as to what the answer was, he stumbled upon a book which had his name on it. "I guess that there would be a whole book about me considering how long i have lived for," he told himself as he smiled. He opened the book reading through some of his past fights and other events he had done so many years ago.

Jor pounded Dom in the back. "That was nice," he said. "Better than what happened at Asgard once." Dom grunted. "You were only 800 years old then!" Jor continued, laughing. Dom sighed and backhand Jor's head. "I sense a warm and fuzzy family story coming," began Joe. "Well as much as I'd love to stay and chat, believe me, I'm going out. Call me if you need me." Joe walked towards the Lio zord and hopped in. "We're going for a spin buddy." Joe and the Lio zord headed down towards the deepest depths of the ocean. He let the Lio swim on its own will. Then Joe again summoned Auric. "Well, are we still whispering or can Auric speak freely?" asked Auric. "Sure. Go ahead. Just us down here." "You are acting quite peculiarly. I sense you are hiding something and wish to ask a question." "Well you're right about both. And what exactly does one gain from possessing your key?" "Watch your tongue. For no one possess Auric. Auric serves as he seems fit. It will do well for you to remember that, young Joseph." "I didn't mean any disrespect. I meant, you merely protect the one who holds the key, right?" "Yes. For example, since you now possess the key, and you appear goodhearted, I would protect you from any force that wishes to harm you. Or steal the key. Even if someone would try to take it, it is bound to your spirit. The chain around your neck is connected to your spirit. And as I already stated, I'll protect you from any outside force, unless I see some reason that you cannot be trusted. And I must say young Joseph, you act very differently from how Trey and the others spoke of you. Just be warned, that Auric does not like to be deceived." He waves his finger again at Joe. "No worries. All will work perfectly. But no one can know of this." "That is what makes me question you. Auric does not hide. Auric stands and defends, and strikes fear in the hearts of evil, if they had hearts." He gives a triumphant laugh. "Don't worry. They'll find out in due course. But first I have to take care of something. Once that happens I could care less if the others know." "Fine. But just know I'll keep my eyes on you. Auric sees all. Even while he's sealed in a key. Perhaps I should peer into your soul and just see for myself what your intentions are." Joe and Auric stare at each other for a few minutes, neither backing down.

After Caoimhin finished quickly reading about all the good times and even things he has forgotten about in his life, he decided to look for Trey to find out why young Joseph was in Triforia. Trey was sitting in his thrown room taking care of some political things. "My lord," said the Diplomat. "I have to you from the M51 galaxy. We seek some help from you in establishing an alliance." "I had no idea either of us was at war," said Trey. "Speak." "We are not. However, some of our main celestial planets have become 'corrupted'." "How so?" "It is as though they have disappeared. Without a trace. As thought they have been erased. And worse yet, some of these planets were our agricultural centers. We may begin to starve." "Peculiar. We Triforians will help in any way we can. We have an abundance. We shall set up trade routes and help you as best we can. I shall as well contact the Aquitians. They may be able to help as well." "Thank you gracious king." He leaves by escort. Trey sits and ponders. "Could this have anything to do with the unknown force we've been sensing. Or have anything to do with the troubles Joseph and Tommy spoke of? These are certainly grave matters."

He then noticed Caoimhin walk into his thrown room. The guards in the hallway knelled as Caoimhin passed to show respect. Trey stood up. "Ah, great knight of the zords," he began. "I hope our library was able to accommodate you." Caoimhin bowed down to Trey. "They were of some help but the answer is still unclear to me," said Caoimhin. "I really have come here to ask why was young Joseph here? Is he in any danger at all?" "Apparently the earth is, and after what I just heard, possibly the universe. Whether this is by one force or many conflicting forces with a similar goal, I don't know. We have been usually able here on Triforia to keep in touch with many time periods using our advance technologies. However, the future is a strange one. We usually had a connection with a group of rangers known as Time Force and an earlier bunch known as SPD, but its been like history was rewritten. We can't even find their frequency any more. We can't see what is in the future. All we know is that they aren't there. Very strange. And as far as Joseph, he came here to release the binds that were placed on his Lio zord. As you are probably well aware of, the original form Zordon intended was much more powerful. However it had fallen into evil hands. And then used as the basis for monstrosities such as Cyclopsis and Serpentera. When Zedd became good, he sealed its powers in a latent form, hoping to disguise it from Vile. But now since Joe has the Genesis Blade, he need not worry of Vile taking it, so we released its powers. Myself, Joseph, and Auric the Conqueror." "Firstly, has anyone time traveled at all because that may have caused the disturbance? Secondly, you mentioned Auric helping yet I cannot sense him being in the area. What have you done with the key?" "Well you do make a point about the time travel. However, it would not have been a normal travel. I mean time force and SPD have certainly traveled through time alot. However, perhaps when Vile traveled from the past he probably would have had to tamper with it to keep it open for him to transport his resources. A corruption of the time stream could have something to do with it, but I guess time will tell. And as far as Auric, I figured you'd all need the help, so I transferred the key of Auric to young Joseph." "You think he could be responsible enough to hold the key?" "He appears trustworthy." "But is he wise enough not to overly use this power he's been given? I don't really want to fight him if he does become irresponsible in the way he uses the power from Auric." "Well with everything in life, I assume time will tell."

"That's another thing. Is it possible to truly change the course of time?" "Scholars from various planets and galaxies have all pondered that same question. Free will or determinism, as they put it on earth. Are we guided by a higher power or not? Well, they actually can both co-exist in my belief. Some events will happen no matter what. So, you see we know that the future has been changed due to these disappearances. However, what if this is merely a different path. What if a certain future is set, but instead of taking path A, which was the originally set determined one that would immediately lead to the Good Future, perhaps we will proceed down path B, perhaps we will proceed down path B (in which the future was corrupted and will become the Bad Future, but since it has been deemed that the Good Future is the true one, we will be successful in turning things back the way they were supposed to be. Thus the Good Future will still occur, even though we will have to proceed through a very indirect way. I am sorry. Did that make any sense?" "In some ways it did but what if both paths ultimately involve sacrificing many lives, which do you pick?" "Apparently the choice has been made for us. Now we must proceed to the best of our abilities. There is another form of ideologies on earth called fatalism. It involves that we can sit back and all will work out. I do not believe this the case. We must do everything in our power to stop them and set things right. Whether it is futile or not, we must try. Now then, I hate to leave you like this but I must be off. I have to go speak on these matters with the Aquitians, as well as the residents of KO-35 and Tera Venture. You may come back and we can finish this conversation then, but for now, I bid you farewell." He bows and begins to depart.

"Farewell," Caoimhin said still in confusion. "I guess not even Trey could understand the challenge Cronus has left me." He then created a portal to go back to his planet.

''' To Be Continued... '''