Legal Disclaimer: This fanfic is roughly based on some old Norse legends and myths. I won't give away the plot, but this was just too good to pass up the chance to write. It might not look like it's a PR fic in the beginning, but just bear with me and you'll get to the Rangers! This takes place in the MMPR Ninja season, after the "Master Vile and the Metallic Armor" mini-series. Enjoy!!
In this multiverse we live in, there are a thousand different realities. Each is separate from the others, and each exists without the others knowing of them, save in those brief and rare moments when something causes them to cross.
There is something between these realities, though, an endless void of nothingness and everything, known as limbo. In this void there stands a palace of dark and splendid fury. Within this palace there dwells a twisted and foul being by the name of Wolan. For eons beyond counting he has dwelt there, with thousands of servants and slaves to do his bidding.
Wolan is the ultimate master of Limbo, with the power to travel to any universe he chooses, though seldom does he do so. He is content in his limitless realm, and rules over his people with a fist of purest iron and evil. His servants vie for position, with only a few rising high. Chief amongst his servants is Kyra, a beautiful humanoid woman. Few would believe such a vision as she could be evil in her heart.
Perhaps they are right. Only time shall tell.
"Kyra!" he ordered her before him one 'day', though such a word has no meaning in the realms between time and space. "I have a mission for you, my assassin!"
She marched before her lord and bowed low. "I am at your command, my liege!" she declared. Wolan nodded slowly.
"Go to here," he opened a gateway to someone's chamber. "You are to slay the two you find here, and bring me back their heads. Do not fail me, my Dagger!"
Kyra smiled at the term, given to her shortly after she joined his service. She could remember nothing of her own life before that time. Kyra the Dagger, she was known as, the personal assassin of Wolan. "They shall perish, my master!"
She leaped through the portal.
Kyra licked her lips softly as she selected a hiding place. Whoever this was, whoever had displeased her master enough for her to be sent would regret having such a nice roomy closet. They are fools. But soon they will be dead fools, and limbo shall be the better for their loss.
As stealthily as possible, she slipped one of her daggers out of a sheath and took a long, evil look at it. This would be an easy kill, she could sense it. For long moments she stared at the blade, enjoying the pale gleam of it in the faint light.
The sound of footsteps interrupted her reverie and she went still, far too still for anyone to have noticed her. Her attention and concentration went to her ears. All she wanted to do was hear, hear everything that went on in the room.
"You are the most beautiful woman in the world," she heard a male voice speaking, in tenderer tones than Kyra had ever heard addressed to another living being.
"As you are the handsomest," a female's voice replied. There were no tones of submission or servitude in her at all, what she said she believed with all her heart.
What is this? Kyra wondered. In all her life, she could not remember ever sounding or hearing someone else like this. Always there had been either fear or subservience to her master. She moved a little, to see better what was going on, and her jaw almost literally dropped.
Two figures, wrapped up in each other and a tangled mess of blankets, were writhing on a bed a few feet away. Kyra watched in mixed awe, fear, hate, and dawning wonderment. What are they doing? And why do they look so. . .happy about it? I've never been that happy over anything. . .
She stepped closer to them, the dagger in her hand forgotten as she wanted a closer look at this strange occurrence. Apparently she made a noise, a thing unheard of in all of her experience as an assassin, for the two people looked up. She didn't know them, she hadn't expected to. She knew very few outside of her master's domain.
"Who are you?" the man snarled, leaping up and in front of the woman. "What are you. . .wait. . .Wolan sent you! You're the Dagger!"
"Please. . .I don't mean any harm," she stammered, something else that had never happened. "What. . .were you doing? It. . .it's nothing I've ever seen before!"
The man and woman looked at each other in shock, then the woman jumped back, shrieking. Kyra turned to see one of Wolan's portals open up behind her. Before she could do anything, two of his guards had leaped through and seized her.
"The master wishes to speak with you, Dagger!" they hissed. A moment later, they had dragged her back through the portal.
She was taken straight to Wolan's throne room and shoved to her knees in front of him. She'd always suspected he'd watched her during her strikes, and this confirmed it. The moment she'd hesitated, he'd struck in his own turn.
"Why did you not kill them as I commanded?" Wolan growled. "You had them in a perfect position, they couldn't have fought back, they would have been the easiest kills you'd ever done! Why did you fail me, my Dagger?"
Kyra tried to explain. "My lord, I meant to carry out your commands. I arrived there and waited for them to return, and as I did, I heard them speaking strange words to each other. . .I couldn't understand the feelings involved in those words, they stirred something within me I can't explain. . .," her eyes softened as she thought of how those two strangers had looked, so peaceful, so happy, so. . .
"What you saw was love!" Wolan snarled. "It is the most sickening, depraved of human emotions, and has no place in the life of one of my warriors!"
"It looked so. . .beautiful," Kyra whispered, more to herself than to her raging lord.
Wolan stood up, eyes blazing with fury. "Kyra, known as the Dagger, my chief and personally trained assassin, you have angered me and disobeyed direct orders. As you have proven yourself weak and without the strength I believed you had, you shall be punished severely."
Fear chilled the assassin as Wolan pointed at her. "For your crimes, you are hereby stripped of all the knowledge and power I gave you to fulfill your duties, and you shall be sent from limbo into a random universe. There you shall be placed upon a mountaintop, surrounded by a circle of fire, and sunk into the deepest sleep possible. Any man who can cross the flames that surround you shall have you as slave, wife, lover, whatever he desires, for you shall belong to him from that moment onwards!"
Kyra went beyond pale as her sentence was pronounced. Wolan was still pointing at her; from the tip of his finger there exploded a ball of pure darkness to envelop her. It was the last thing Kyra knew for a very very long time.
"Rocky! Rocky!! Can you hear me??" the voice was sweet, pure, and so full of love. Rocky DeSantos looked around, trying to find out where he was hearing it from.
"Who are you?" he called out. "Where are you?"
The voice shifted direction often, calling out over and over to him. Suddenly a wave of fire flashed in front of him, but he was not burned. When his sight cleared, he saw a mountain higher than any he'd ever imagined in front of him. At the very top was a ring of fire.
"I'm here, Rocky," the voice called out. Another flash of fire took him to the top of the mountain, to within the ring of fire. There was a woman there, deep asleep. "Save me, Rocky. . .you're the only one who can. . .save me. . ."
"Who are you?" he asked again. But there was no answer, only a scream of purest grief and sorrow.
"Save me, Rocky!" he heard over and over. "Save me!"
Rocky sat up in bed, breathing hard. That same dream. Fifth night straight I've had it. What does it mean? He was glad no one had heard his thrashing in his sleep, by the way the sheets were tangled he'd been doing some serious tossing and turning.
The Red Ranger took several deep, lasting breaths, trying to calm himself down. The sudden soft beeping of his communicator interrupted his attempt to relaxation. "What is it, Zordon?" he asked softly.
OUR SCANNERS SHOW YOU'RE AWAKE, ROCKY, IS SOMETHING WRONG? IT'S THREE IN THE MORNING, Zordon's worry was evident in his voice.
"No, I'm fine," Rocky told his mentor. "Just had a bad. . .well. . .an unusual dream."
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT IT, I AM HERE, Zordon viewed all the Rangers as his children; if they had a problem, he wanted to help with it. Rocky almost protested that he didn't want to talk, then sighed.
"All right," he said. "Let me get some clothes on, then I'll be right there."
A few moments later, he had arrived in the Command Center. Zordon looked quietly down at him. WHAT WAS YOUR DREAM, ROCKY?
The Red Ranger closed his eyes for a few minutes, thinking over just what had happened. When he told the ancient wizard about it, Zordon seemed very surprised. "What is it?" Rocky asked.
YOUR DREAM IS NO DREAM, ROCKY, Zordon told him. SOME TIME AGO, IN THE REALM THAT EXISTS BETWEEN UNIVERSES, AN EVIL WIZARD OVERLORD BY THE NAME OF WOLAN TRAPPED HIS PET ASSASSIN, KYRA THE DAGGER, ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN IN OUR UNIVERSE, SUSPENDED IN A DEEP SLEEP AND SURROUNDED BY A CIRCLE OF FIRE.
"Why?" Rocky couldn't imagine someone doing something like that! His surprise increased as Zordon explained how Kyra had seen love for the first time, and been so touched by it she'd been unable to continue with her mission. "But why am I dreaming about her, Zordon?"
BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONE, THE ONLY ONE, WHO CAN AWAKEN HER FROM HER SLUMBER, ROCKY, Zordon told him. YOU MUST GO TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN ON WHICH SHE SLEEPS, CROSS THE RING OF FIRE, AND AWAKEN HER.
Rocky's eyes widened. "You're kidding!"
NO, ROCKY, the wise old mentor shook his head. YOU ARE THE ONE.
"Why me?"
Zordon was silent. I cannot tell him it is because they are destined for each other. He will know in time. IT IS YOUR FATE, was all he said at last. YOU MAY GO ALONE OR WITH THE OTHER RANGERS, IT IS YOUR CHOICE AND THEIRS. BUT SHE WILL REMAIN THERE UNTIL YOU AWAKEN HER.
Rocky didn't have to think on this one. "I want them to go with me, if they want to. But I'll go in the morning. We'll all need sleep if we're going to do this."
INDEED, FOR WOLAN WILL NOT MAKE THE ATTEMPT EASY ON YOU. REST, AND BE READY. THIS WILL BE THE BATTLE OF A LIFETIME. For your love that will last a lifetime.
Rocky nodded. He would be ready.
Five hours later, the Power Rangers stood in the Command Center. Rocky had explained to them about his dreams, and what Zordon had told him about Kyra and Wolan. Adam summed it up rather nicely for them all.
"If it's important to you, Rocky, we're with you all the way."
Rocky grinned cockily at his friends. "Then let's go. We can't use our Ranger powers for this, though, it's not Ranger business."
Kat looked a little nervous at that, and Billy tried to reassure her. "We've all had some form of martial arts training," he reminded her. "And there's more to all of us than just our powers, you know."
"I know," Kat smiled.
Tommy glanced over them all, his friends and teammates. "Let's do it," he said, looking to Rocky in the end. "If you're ready."
Rocky nodded briefly, and Tommy echoed the motion. He glanced at Alpha, who touched a button on the control panel. The Rangers shimmered into columns of their respective lights and vanished.
"Will they succeed, Zordon?" the little robot asked.
I DO NOT KNOW, ALPHA. BUT IF THEY DO NOT, THEN A GREAT WOMAN'S LIFE WILL BE LOST, AND ROCKY WILL LOSE HIS TRUE LOVE FOR ALL TIME.
They appeared on a high and windy mountain trail. Far above them there flickered a pale light. Rocky took in a deep breath. "That's the fire," he said softly. "Inside it is Kyra." The most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. . .
"Then let's get moving," Tommy said, starting up the trail. "Zordon said this Wolan guy would try and stop us. I guess we're going to have to find out how."
They hadn't taken ten more steps before a blast of fire and light exploded the ground in front of them. "Who dares to attempt to awaken my sleeping servant?!" a tall bearded man, dressed in armor, growled at them. Rocky stepped up.
"I am Rockwell DeSantos, the Red Power Ranger and Red Ninja," he declared. "I dare to awaken your ex-servant Kyra, whom you banished for learning of love and tenderness."
The man laughed. "I am Wolan, master of Limbo, and you and your friends will die this day, foolish child!" he waved a hand, to have hordes of warriors charge the six Rangers.
"Spread out and take them, Rangers!" Tommy snapped at them. With quick nods and motions, the battle began. Wolan vanished moments into it, trusting in his troops to take care of them. Long moments passed as the Rangers and the warriors fought up and down the mountain trail.
Rocky had just thrown another three of them to the ground, when his communicator beeped. "What is it, Zordon?" if it's Rita and Zedd, I'm gonna kill them, I know it!
LEAVE THE FIGHT, ROCKY, AND CONTINUE ON YOUR QUEST. THE OTHER RANGERS CAN KEEP THESE WARRIORS OCCUPIED, AND YOUR PATH CLEAR.
"You got it!" he broke away from those attempting to stop him, and ran up the trail as fast as he could. It widened out ahead of him to a broad plateau at the top, and the sudden blast of fire stopped him in his tracks. He stared through them, and could just make out a form beyond the flames.
Kyra, he thought. He took a deep breath and charged forward, not letting himself think about what he was doing. If he did, he'd never be able to pass the flames. A moment later, he stood within the circle of fire, next to the slumbering woman. "Kyra," he whispered her name. "You're even more beautiful in person."
She didn't move, her chest rising and falling with the deepness of her sleep. Rocky took a deep breath, wondering how he was to wake her up. His eyes suddenly fell on her full lips, parted slightly, and he knew. With a gentleness no one would have suspected he was capable of, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her full on the lips.
As he did so, the flames collapsed and faded away. Kyra's eyes opened, and she began to return the kiss with all her heart. She stared into his eyes, and both of them felt something very like recognition fill them. The barriers of time and space fell away, and they remembered. . .
Eons earlier, in another universe, on a distant world, in a realm ruled totally by magic, two young people had been incredibly in love. Prince Rockwell, heir to the throne, and Lady Kyra, daughter of the Captain of the Royal Guard, held a love that was the marvel of the entire planet. They had grown up together, and had known all their lives they were meant for each other.
Hand in hand they ran through the fields outside the palace, laughing and tumbling and leaping like a pair of gazelles. "You're silly, Rocky!" Kyra laughed, calling him by the nickname she'd invented for him when they were children. "You're absolutely insane!"
"Of course I am!" he replied, drawing her into a warm kiss. "But that's why you love me, isn't it?"
Kyra smiled. "You know it, handsome," she tickled him quickly, knowing all of his vulnerable spots. It was quite possible they would've went on to far more interesting things than tickling, had the air not suddenly exploded around them. "Rocky!" Kyra shouted, fear coloring her voice. "What is it?"
They looked up to see a tall, dark-haired and bearded man in front of them. "I am Wolan, Lord of Limbo, and I have come for you two!"
"No!" Rocky threw himself in front of Kyra. "I don't know what you're up to, but you're not going to touch Kyra!"
Wolan laughed and extended a hand in a contemptuous flipping motion, knocking Rocky away from her. "I always get what I want, boy-prince!"
Kyra growled. She would let NO ONE hurt her beloved. She saw the gateway this Wolan had come through behind him, and remembered her lessons about gateways and vortexes. If the person creating them was thrown off-balance, it would close. . .she weighed her choices, and knew she had only one. Rocky was still trying to get to his feet, Wolan was coming towards him. . .
And then he was flying through the air, knocked back by the hurtling form of Kyra as she threw herself into him, pushing him back through his portal. As she had expected, she couldn't twist away from him, and was carried with him.
"Kyra!" Rocky screamed in horror. "Kyra, no!"
"I love you, Rocky! Never forget that! I love you!" was all she had time to say before the portal, disrupted by Wolan's lack of concentration, dissipated. Rocky stared after her, tears pouring down his cheeks at the loss of his true love. ..
"I was taken by Wolan to his palace, and all my memories wiped of my life with you," Kyra told Rocky as after so long she was held safe in his arms again. "He trained me as an assassin, and I became known as Kyra the Dagger."
Rocky nodded, stroking her long locks of hair. "I couldn't live without you. I died of grief, quite literally, less than a week later, then was reborn in this universe about sixteen years ago."
Kyra smiled and nestled against him, peace returning to her mind after so long. "I missed you so much, my prince."
He turned her face to her and kissed her on the lips. "We'll never be parted again, my lady-love."
"Never again," she promised. "Never again."
And they never were.
