The End... for now
“So, Ruth told you where her magic came from,” Jenny asked. Hanim nodded. When the Hate Master had cast his spell of hate, only Spinal and Ruth were unaffected by the evil power.
They knew why Spinal didn’t fall under the spell, but when they asked Ruth about it, she told them that it was a story for another day. Hanim, Ruth’s closest friend besides her leader Jenny and her husband Carlos, found out from her why she didn’t fall under it.
Hanim said, “Ruth told me about it last night. She said that her magical possession was an inherited right. It could be used through anything that the inherited wanted. Her great-grandmother said that she wanted it through a special stone that she found on one of French beaches.
“Her grandmother expressed it through a starfish that was made into a pendant. Her mother said that the magic was going through an old computer keyboard that she in an alley. No matter what she typed, the magic obeyed her commands.
“Ruth said that she received 3 pieces of jewelry on the same day that she received the magic. She wanted it expressed through that necklace, that bracelet, and that ring she always wore. She called them the Pendant of Love, the Bracelet of Hope, and the Ring of Life. Cool story, huh?”
“Yeah,” Jenny agreed, almost giggling.
The two girls continued walking down the hall that led to the bridge. They weren't going anywhere. They heard someone speaking from the bridge. They went to see who it was. They saw Ruth sitting in a chair. She was watching something on the main screen. The screen had shown Ruth talking with an older woman. Ruth resembled the woman in many ways.
At first, Jenny and Hanim were confused. Then, Hanim remembered that Deca created a Memory Chip similar to the one that Jenny used to witness her birth. This Memory Chip recorded the night that Ruth’s parents were cremated (that is, being burned to death), and that Ruth had to survive on her own for the first time. The woman was Ruth’s mother.
“But, Mother, I don’t want to leave you,” the image of Ruth said to the woman.
“Ruth, dear, you must leave,” Ruth’s mother said. “You’re life is in danger here. You are a blooming rose, while your father and I are wilting plants. Must the rose be rose be cut too soon? No; you must leave.”
“Can even a rose truly survive without its kin close by? No, I can’t leave. I’ll be alone.”
“You'll have Shelly and Feather. And you will not be truly alone. I promise, we'll be there whenever you need us. Take everything you have; nothing must be left behind, especially your Jewelry.”
“Mother, I would leave you if I could, but I can’t, so I won't!” An explosion was heard from around a corner of the house. A yellow glow against the wall indicated that the house was beginning to go in flames. “I won't leave you! I won't!”
Ruth’s mother gathered everything that Ruth had into a backpack. Ruth was already wearing the Jewelry. Before Ruth could object anymore, her mother lifted her through the front window and pushed her out. When Ruth landed on the ground, she knew that she couldn’t go back, so she ran with Shelly and Feather following as fast as they could.
When she was about 20 feet from the house, the house exploded, and her parents with it. Jenny and Hanim gasped, but they didn’t make a loud enough sound to disturb Ruth. The screen had shown Ruth bursting into tears, as Shelly and Feather led her away from the burning house. A sinister laugh was heard. Since they knew who killed her parents, Jenny and Hanim recognized that laugh.
It was Ecliptor. Ecliptor realized that, although he tried to destroy her, he found that he was actually in love with her! In return, Ruth refused to love him for 3 reasons: (1) he was on the side of evil with Astronema, and she was on the side of good with Jenny, (2) she was already in love, and later married, Carlos the Black Ranger, and (3) Ecliptor killed her parents in his attempt to kill only her.
Ruth stopped the Memory Chip from continuing to show the tragic scene. Jenny and Hanim saw Ruth’s fist tightened in extreme rage.
“Uh oh,” Hanim whispered. “We'd better be careful. When Ruth is mad, she is mad. And very dangerous, too. We'd better warn the others.”
They left to tell the others about what they found out, while Ruth’s mind was troubled with the memory. “I never should have left the house,” Ruth said to herself. She kept shaking her head. “I should have brought them with me, taken them to someplace, anything other than what I have done. I shouldn't have left them behind.”
She was so disturbed by her thoughts that she went directly to the jump tube room. She picked up her Memory Chip and placed it in the locket that came with it. The Rangers had given the Spice Club Galaxy Gliders and lockers of their own as a Christmas gift. Now, Ruth had her own, too.
She went to her locker and removed something. It looked like a flag, black on one side, red on the other. It was Ecliptor’s cape. After she closed the locker, she went through her jump tube, just before Hanim went in to talk to her. She saw Ruth preparing to leave.
“Wait,” she shouted. Too late; Ruth had already gone through. Hanim was about to go through her own jump tube, when Deca stopped her.
“Hanim, you--yourself--told Jenny that when Ruth is angry, she is dangerous. I strongly suggest that you do not go after her. She could emotional damage to you.” Hanim stopped and thought. Deca was right. But what does Ruth want to do? What will she do? How will she react to other people?
Actually, Ruth seemed to be very calm in other peoples’ points of view. She walked to the Surf Spot. This was the first time she was actually there in enough time to just “chill out”. She sat at a table to herself. Adelle came in.
“Hello, may I take your order,“ she asked. Then, she got a closer look at Ruth. “Hey, I remember you. You’re Esther McCon. I’m sorry about your parents’ death; I went to their wedding, you know.”
“My name’s not Esther, anymore. It didn’t seem to be a significant name for me, anymore. So, I changed my name to Ruth. The two names are both Jewish names; Esther means, “star,” and Ruth means means, “friendship.” So basically, my name means, “friendly star,” or something like that. And my last name isn’t McCon, anymore; but that's another story. I didn’t know that you went to their wedding.”
“I was one your mother's friends after she moved here in Angel Grove. You look just like her.” Ruth giggled. “No, I’m serious.”
“I am, too. No, I don’t need anything. I just need to chill out. Thank you, though.”
“Nice talking to you, Esther. Oops, I mean, Ruth.” Ruth giggled again.
She thought about her parents. She knew that she looked just like her mother. She loved her more than anyone else, because her mother was, what was called, the Universal Magic Princess, because of the magic that existed for over 2 centuries. Now, Ruth was the inherited, and she is now known as the Universal Magic Princess.
She looked at Ecliptor’s cape. Now, she remembered why she had brought it with her. She ran out of the Surf Spot and into the park.
She looked around with a frown on her face. Hallie had told her what had happened the last time that he caught anyone with his cape. Kathy had been turned into a baby. Ruth had the cape in plain view, held in her right hand. She squeezed her left hand. That hand had the locket that held her Memory Chip.
She felt Ecliptor’s presence behind her. She spun around. Indeed, he was there. But he didn’t look as threatening as he did towards Hallie and Kathy. Maybe because it was held by Ruth. Maybe it was because Ecliptor hated Hallie. Ruth didn’t know why.
“I see that you have my cape,” Ecliptor politely said, breaking the silence between the two. “May I have it back?”
“You’re cape is not all that I have, Ecliptor. Just be satisfied that it was picked up by me, instead of an innocent person that I know you would have killed because it was yours. You love everything that is yours, and nothing else.”
“That must mean that you're mine, Ruth, because I love you.”
“Don’t you dare say that, because you know as well as I do that you don’t. I heard Darkonda saying that loving someone means to let go, and you will never let go of me.”
“May I have my cape back?” Ruth tossed it at Ecliptor’s face. He caught it before it could cover his face. “You’re angry at me?”
“Yes. You killed my parents, and almost killed me. I loved them, and you love no one. You cannot possibly understand how I feel about my parents’ death. I must warn you, Ecliptor, that when I’m mad, I’m very dangerous. I could kill you without the intention to. I could rip you apart as if you were tin foil.”
“You said that my cape was not all that you had,” Ecliptor asked, trying to change the subject.
“That's right.” She threw her left arm at Ecliptor as if she wanted to scrape his face the way that a cat would. Instead, she threw the Memory Chip locket at him. He caught it and looked at it. “You shall never have me, Ecliptor, because I’m already married to Carlos. But, I decided to be generous to you, for this time only.
“Whenever you feel lonely for me, you could place that Memory Chip into the computer and see what you have done to me the night my parents were killed. At least the Memory Chip has no feelings to hurt. You can do whatever you want with it; watch it, crush it, melt it; it doesn't matter to me.”
“I don’t want the Memory Chip, because I can never turn your soul on.”
“The Memory Chip means nothing to me. I have lived in the past for the last several months. Now, I have to go on towards the future, my future and the future of my friends. You, on the other hand, will have no future with me, so you must live in my past and your own future.
“I have a sense of distrust towards you. I would never have the feeling to believe you, unless maybe you have some important information about me. But other than that, forget it!
“Good-bye, Candyman. You shall have no future relationship with me.” She turned around and began to walk in the other direction. Ecliptor tried to call her back.
“Magica? Ruth. Esther!” At that moment he said that name, she stopped walking and gasped. Her eyes widened in complete shock. How did he know what her real name was? Was he secretly listening when Adelle was talking to her?
She turned to him slowly, and said slowly, “Where did you hear that name?”
“I have something that belongs to you.” He revealed an old notebook. Its cover was green, and it looked like one of the typical school notebooks. Nothing was written on the cover, but Ruth turned the pages to read. The words were in French, but she could read and understand every word written in it. The sentences were in her own handwriting.
Ruth looked up at him. “Where did you get this?”
“Where else could I have gotten it?”
“The house was destroyed, as well as most everything in it.”
“As the house was burning, I saw that notebook. I couldn’t understand the words, but at the bottom of every page, there were 3 words: Esther Ruth McCon. I assumed that it was yours.”
“Of course you couldn’t understand it; the words are in French. But, if you had this book all this time, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because you wouldn't have believed me. You had your own stuff to go through. I preferred to wait until you had something of mine, so that we could trade. But because you gave me two things and I gave you one, I owe you something.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Ruth replied, filled with anger again. “Besides, what could you do for us because you are evil?” Ecliptor held her hand, in attempt to comfort her, but she began to squeeze his hand tightly. “Hands off!”
She squeezed his hand even tighter. Ecliptor was caught in such surprise; he never remembered Ruth with such immense strength. But it didn’t matter where she received such strength; what mattered was that she was slowly crushing his hand!
He tried to break free, but Ruth’s grip was firm. Ecliptor finally was able to break loose when he struck Ruth’s cheek with the flat of his sword. Then, the two just stared at each other for a short while. As Ecliptor examined his hand, Ruth left for a different area of the park. Ecliptor realized that what she said was true; when she is angry, she is dangerous.
Astronema was watching and listening the discussion and fight between Ecliptor and Ruth. She was also surprised at her anger-charged strength. She began to think of how she could defeat such a person.
Then, knowing that her friends are demons, she thought, “Why not defeat demons using demons?” She finally came up with a plan. “Make contact with Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons.” It was at that moment that a horrible creature entered the bridge of the Dark Fortress.
His skin was clammy and a deep crimson red. His eyes were a glowing yellow- green. He had two horns, one over each eye, but both on the top of his head. They were also red, but with black stripes in a swirl. He had a tail about 7 feet long, with what looked like a spade at the end. He also had large red wings, but it was difficult to tell with them folded up.
At first, Darkonda, Elgar, and the Quantrons thought that this creature was a gargoyle. But Astronema knew better. “Greetings, Beelzebub, Prince of Demons,” she said. “You have fast service.”
The demon chuckled. Then, he spoke in a deep, dark voice. “Greetings, Astronema, Queen of Evil. I have heard so much about you. You have invited me to come to ask for assistance from me to defeat the Power Rangers?”
“Not just the Power Rangers. Have you ever heard of the Spice Club?” Beelzebub stared at Astronema. Then he began to scream. His skin was covered with orange fire, which means that he was furious. As the fire began to die down, he was still breathing heavily with rage. “I want you to assist me in defeating them as well.”
“Yes, I will assist you, but it will not be an easy task. The newest Spice Club Member, Magic Spice, she is the worker of the ones who are more powerful than I.”
Astronema looked confused. “More powerful? I have never known anyone who was more powerful than the Prince of Demons, besides Dark Specter. Who are the ones more powerful than you?”
“No human currently living have seen his face, but he is so powerful a being that I’m even afraid to mention his name. But I don’t want to talk about that. Let’s talk about the Spice Club, again. They are demon-possessed, and I, the Prince of Demons, can destroy them by driving out the demons. But the mortal ones; they are more difficult to deal with, but I shall deal with them, too.” He released a cruel chuckle.
With that, Beelzebub disappeared. Astronema turned around and smiled. Soon, the destruction of the Spice Club and the Power Rangers will be witnessed.
Ruth stopped walking. She reached a cliff, where there was a lake nearby. She stared at the water surface. There was her reflection. The gentle wind was being sifted through her long, light brown hair. Her piercing green eyes have calmed down, now that she was away from Ecliptor.
She looked up in the sky. There were only a few white clouds. Most other clouds were a light gray. They were bound for some rain. Her soul was filled with despair.
“Where has the starlight gone,” she began to speak to herself. When she was troubled, she either used ordinary sentences or metaphors. “Dark is the day. Home is an empty dream, lost to the night. Mother, I feel so alone. When will dawning break, oh endless night? I was strong when you were by my side, guiding my path. And now, I can’t find the way.”
She stood up and shouted to the clouds. “You promised that you'd be there whenever I needed you, whenever I called your name! You’re not anywhere. I’m trying to hold on! Just waiting to hear your voice again; one word will satisfy me in ending this living nightmare. You promised, Mother; you promised!
“Send me a sign, a hint, anything!”
She went into tears. She had no idea how to continue with the direction she must go without her parents guiding her. Now, she had no one to teach how. But her grief didn’t last long. She heard something behind her, something that sounded like flapping. She turned around, and saw Beelzebub. She didn’t recognize the creature.
“Who are you,” Ruth asked, cautiously.
“A worker of your greatest enemy.”
“You mean, Astronema?”
“No, I mean your greatest enemy, a lot more powerful than Astronema. He was once the beautiful one in the Holy Place. Now, he is the most wicked and evil heart that existed in the past, exists now, and will live forever.”
Ruth knew what he meant by the ‘Holy Place’: Heaven. The beautiful one in Heaven besides the God that she worships was the Devil, at the time that he was the most beautiful angel there and then. She gasped, and remembered the name of the creature standing before her.
“Beelzebub, Prince of Demons!”
“Correct! I came to rid of you and your Spice Club, and your Power Rangers!”
“Hold on; time out here! First of all, the Spice Club and the Power Rangers are never mine. They are themselves. And secondly, it's impossible to get rid of the Spice Club; they're immortal!”
“Immortal? Ha! They are possessed by demons, and I can drive them out, destroying them in the process. As for you, the mortal Spice Club member, I shall destroy you personally. But first, I must do some preparing.” He flew up into the sky. Ruth kept his eyes on him, even several seconds after he was out of sight. For a while, she thought that he was gone.
She turned to teleport to the ship, in order to warn the others. But Beelzebub returned. Using the claws on his toes, he carried Ruth off like a vulture. Her arms were too far apart to contact her friends.
It just so happened that Beelzebub's destination was what was left of Ruth’s house. The roof was still there; basically all that was destroyed were the colors of the wall (from an off-white to a deep black) and all furniture and cloth pieces. Darkonda and several Quantrons were waiting for Beelzebub.
When he placed Ruth on the ground, she was immediately tied up to a nearby tree. There was a chain around her ankles, and the other end of the chain was connected to a tree root, keep her to the tree trunk. Her arms were tied to two different branches, one on her left side, one on her right. The position was very uncomfortable.
When she knew that they stopped holding her back, she began to struggle. She tried to break the chains, but was unsuccessful. Everyone laughed at her, and in return, Ruth spat some saliva at one of the Quantron’s eyes. It screamed and jumped back in surprise. Ruth snickered.
Darkonda and the Quantrons soon took their leave. Now, Beelzebub was alone with Ruth. He gazed a curious look at her. She hoped that he wasn’t thinking that he could fall in love with her, the way Ecliptor did. It was bad enough with Ecliptor, especially since Ruth married Carlos.
Beelzebub was about to speak when they both heard thunder. The white clouds Ruth had seen before were gone, and dark gray clouds were covering the sky. An occasional lightening bolt was seen or reflected off one of the clouds. The rain began to pour, and Beelzebub went into insanity.
Whenever a demon was covered with water, rain water to be specific, it would go into insanity. It would run around, destroying everything in its path. But the situation was worse in Beelzebub's case. She spun in circles, going into madness.
Ruth kept her eyes on him, wondering if he would come near the tree. If he did, he would tear apart the tree, and tear her with it. But he didn’t go near the tree. He went into the house. He was still shouting with insanity. Even though his symptoms of his craziness were subdued, they were still severe enough to destroy the house, and she knew it.
It was at that moment that Ruth realized something. The night that the house was burning in flames, her mother told her not to forget any of her Jewelry. She didn’t forget the Jewelry, but she forgot the source of her magical power: a Power Pearl over 200 years old. If the Power Pearl was destroyed, Ruth’s magic would be useless in battle.
She began to tug at her chains. She yelled at the crazed demon that was inside the house. She told him to leave the house. He didn’t. He kept screaming in his inability to control himself. He went from one room to another, but didn’t destroy anything, even though he was still subject to his complete insanity.
Ruth’s voice became hoarse from all her screaming. She stopped, and so did Beelzebub. It was at that moment that Ecliptor came. All this time, he couldn’t return to the Dark Fortress, bearing the emotional pain Ruth gave him by himself. He heard her scream, and saw her chained up.
She noticed him when he asked, “What’s wrong, Ruth?”
“Beelzebub! He's gone into complete insanity.”
Knowing who Beelzebub is, Ecliptor became concerned. “Where is he, Ruth?”
Now, she became a little more confident in Ecliptor. For once, she felt pretty good towards him; at least, she felt better towards him than Beelzebub. “He's in the house. Probably in my room by now!”
“How do I get in? Beelzebub is controlling his privacy!”
Ruth looked at Ecliptor. She thought she found out what he had in mind. She thought that Ecliptor would take Beelzebub to the Dark Fortress, in order to restrain him better. ”There is a side door on the East side of the house. It is locked with an electronic security pad. Type in the word ‘McCon.’ M-c-c- o-n. That might get you in.”
Ecliptor tried it. Ruth was watching him, since the direction east was on her right side. It worked! He went in the house and out of Ruth’s sight. He went into the house. It was dark inside the house, but there were windows in every room and hallway, so whenever the lightning struck, Ecliptor could see well enough for a few seconds.
Ruth had told him to watch the Memory Chip if he wanted to know what kind of pain he gave her, but now he didn’t need it. Just by looking at the house was enough to make him feel piteous. He went from one room to another, searching for Beelzebub. He found him in Ruth’s room. The moment he saw the demon, he snarled. There he was, Beelzebub, standing next to a pearl about the size of his own head.
He looked a little different than when he first entered. First of all, his eyes were originally a glowing yellow-green, but now a piercing yellow color. Secondly, his voice was much more hoarse and rough; Ecliptor could tell because the demon quietly hissed at him in a deeper tone than before. And last, his horns appeared to be longer. Somehow, all demons do that when they are either in madness or preparing for battle.
Ecliptor approached Beelzebub, slowly. Beelzebub hissed again, knowing that Ecliptor was there. The demon quietly tried to get away, but the next moment that the lightning struck, Ecliptor attacked him. He slashed him with his sword, and he was clawed in the gut. The battle continued mercilessly.
Ruth tugged at her chains again. This time, she began to feel angry. At the moment she felt the anger, she began to loosen her chains. She broke them dangerously, and separated the chains on her ankle from the tree. She quickly contacted her friends, but waited for no reply. In fact, all she said was, “Alpha send as many as the others as you can!” She went into the house, extremely concerned for the Power Pearl.
She went into her room at the moment that Ecliptor removed his head from a large hole in the wall. The demon was on top of a dresser, right next to the Power Pearl! If the demon took one more step, the pearl would be knocked off the dresser! Ecliptor removed his head from the wall and lunged at the demon. The pearl began to fall to the floor during the struggle!
Ruth caught it in her arms, and she had to protect it from Beelzebub's claws and Ecliptor’s sword. The Rangers, along with Jenny, Hanim, and Hallie arrived just in time to see the resolution of the fight beginning. Ruth rolled away from them aggressors in a similar way that she would do “stop, drop, and roll.” But she dropped the pearl, and it rolled back to the dresser. Ecliptor chased the demon to a small, tight corner.
It was hard to tell exactly what Ecliptor did, but in a few more moments, Beelzebub fell down. He had the appearance that he was slain, but the demon was merely injured. He got up, but teleported to where he belonged. Ecliptor was scratched in several places on his face, chest, back, hands, and legs.
Everyone stood in awe, but none so astonished as Ruth. She didn’t know that he was actually going to attack him. Ecliptor found a towel and wiped his hands. He used to towel to pick up the pearl, and approached Ruth. “I believe this belongs to you.”
Ruth took the pearl in her arms again. But she didn’t take her eyes off Ecliptor. “You ... you were willing to attack him. You were willing to slay him. I’m awestruck.”
“Don’t be. I owed it you. You needed help, and he doesn't belong in this part of the universe. I had to do it, but he'll be back. I can almost guarantee it; he'll be back.”
Ruth gazed at Ecliptor. She was too stubborn to accept the truth before, but now she was able to accept it: Ecliptor really WAS in love with her. But he still couldn’t have her. She was vowed to Carlos. For the first time, she smiled at Ecliptor.
Ecliptor stepped back. “I need to wash off this blood and heal. And I’m sure your friends will want to take you back to your ship.” With that, he disappeared.
Ruth was walking down the hall, thinking. It was a few hours after Beelzebub diaappeared. Zhane caught up with her.
“Hey, Ruth! I wanted to find out if you were okay.”
“I’m fine; thanks. That was a wacky adventure, though, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. But what I don’t understand is how Ecliptor had the heart to besiege that demon.”
“Well, I had recently begun to understand. Remember when Jenny said, ‘There is good and evil in all of us.’?” Zhane nodded. “Well, I didn’t understand how that was possible before. But now...” She didn’t want to continue.
“That's okay, Ruth; you don’t need to explain. I understand now. Carlos told me that you were married to him. Is that true?”
“Yep. I married him more than three weeks before you arrived. Uh, Zhane, if you don’t mind; I'd like to be by myself.” Zhane smiled and left. Ruth looked out one of the windows that viewed the stars. She has realized the meaning of Jenny's favorite expression. So, there actually was good and evil in everyone.
And Ruth concluded that there are sometimes, even Ecliptor could help.