Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, Disney does and in the old days, Saban did. It was his creation after all. Anyways, I do not seek a profit off this work of fiction, I do however, write this story out of love for Power Rangers and I do it purely for my own enjoyment. Emails and criticisms can be sent to
shaunstegall@yahoo.com. As always, enjoy.
Author's Note: This saga has elements from a lot of different ideas. The parallel Earth thing comes from the television show Sliders, while the suits of the Rangers and their weapons, zords, etc comes from Shinkenger of Super Sentai. Charachters are of my own creation, I just chose who I'd like to see portray them. If you don't know who these actors are, Columbus Short is the black guy from the movie Accepted, Danielle Savre and Michael Angarano are in the movie The Final Season, as is Brett Claywell, and Maria Thayer is also from the movie Accepted, she played Rory in that movie.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Power Rangers Samurai Lightning
by Shaun Stegall
Prologue...
Harris Lee Park was, by his own definition, an accomplished man. Everything he'd alwasys set out to do in his life, he'd done. When he was younger, he'd told himself he would settle down with a lovely young woman and marry her and raise himself a family. And he'd done that. He'd met and married Anita Wilson, a lovely young woman and he'd had two children.
He'd also told himself that he'd do something with his life, find something fulfilling. A career. And he'd succeeded with that as well. In his early twenties, he had become a Police Officer for the city of Angel Grove. And it had been a very fulfilling career. He'd done a lot, seen a lot and accomplished a lot in his thirty years with the AGPD.
But now, he was a retired man. A man in his seventies now, he'd lived his life on his terms and he'd lived to see his two children grow up to have children of their own. His grandchildren. Harris's dark brows drew together. He didn't like what he was going to be doing today. But he knew it had to be done.
For generations, the truth had been revealed to the Park children when they came of age. And today, Harris Lee Park would do that honor. He would honor his ancestors by keeping to that tradition. He would tell his grandson, Adam Park, of the truth of the Park family origins. He wished, of course, that it was Chris he could entrust this to, but Chris just wasn't ready for the responsibilty that the truth would entail. Harris knew this much to be true. He'd seen Adam fight as a Power Ranger, seen the honor in his eyes and the courage to do what was right. It was that fortitude that convinced Harris that his eldest grandson was the one he was to reveal the truth to.
He knew Adam had received his call. Adam opened his dojo every morning at seven o'clock and checked his messages right away. Adam would be here soon. And Harris Park walked over to a cabinet that was lying against a wall and he ran his hand over a box that lay there. "He'll be here soon." he whispered.
*****
Adam Park sat behind the wheel of his black Ford Explorer as he drove the truck down the familiar roads towards his grandfather's house, located in the hills on the outskirts of the city. He'd arrived at his dojo early that morning and, after hearing his grandfather's voice, became increasingly agitated. His grandfather never called him on his phone. It was always Adam who came to see him at his house or saw him at the various family gatherings the Park family planned.
And to top it all off, Adam hadn't even been back in Angel Grove two days. Not since the Sentinel Knight had recruited him to help out those Rangers in San Angeles. Adam was happy to help out there, temperarily, but he was glad to be home. But now, his grandfather had sent for him and Adam's mind was in overdrive trying to figure out what was going on.
Don't get him wrong, Adam loved his grandfather, but he knew his grandfather was a tough man. He was a strict man. When he wanted to move way out here, nothing could sway him. Adam's mom tried to convince him not to, but Harris Park would not be swayed in his decision. And now, here Adam was, pulling into the road that would take him to see his grandfather.
A few minutes later, Adam's black truck slowed to a stop in front of an old one bedroom house that looked like it had seen better days. As Adam pulled the keys from the ignition and opened his door, the door to the house opened and his grandfather stepped out onto the porch.
Adam shut the truck door and put his keys in his pocket. "Hello, grandfather."
Harris Park exhaled. "Hello Adam. Thank you for coming."
Adam looked at the tall grass that surrounded his grandfather's home. "You don't call me too much, so when you do, I can guess it must be important. At least to you."
"Please," Harris gestured to his door. "Come inside. There's.....there are things I need to tell you. Important things."
Adam studied his grandfather's face. It was sincere and serious. Adam nodded. He walked up the steps and followed Harris through the door into the old house.
Inside, the living room was small, but tidy. A small couch was against a wall, and pictures adorned his walls. Picture frames of various members of the Park family were there. Adam saw himself, his brother Chris, his mother, his grandmother, he even saw a picture of his father there. And oddly, around the house, he spotted picture frames of a wierd emblam. He wasn't sure what the emblem was and meant to ask, but his grandfather was leading him towards his study.
Closing the door, Adam walked over to a wall where there was a cabinet with several pictures there. He studied one of them.
Harris saw Adam looking at the picture. "That was one of the better days this family's had." he said.
It was a picture of the entire family, together at the city park. Harris, Adam's grandmother, his parents, and his brother Chris, all together. Adam nodded. "It was the last time we were all together. Dad died a few months afterwards, then grandmother died and you moved out here."
Harris sat down in one of the two chairs that faced his desk. "I never liked the city, Adam. Everyone knew that. The only reason I lived there for as long as I did was for your mother and your grandmother. But when Alice died..." Harris felt the familiar lump in his throat every time he thought of his deceased wife and he stopped. "When she died, I just couldn't stay any longer. It felt like the city was suffocating me."
Adam faced his grandfather. "So," he started, "what was so important that you wanted to see me right away."
Harris looked at his grandson, then he reached to his desk. On top of it was a magazine. Harris picked it up and handed it to Adam. Taking the magazine, a US Weekly, Adam scanned the front page. On the front page, a young woman with light brown hair was wearing a pair of eye glasses and she was smiling. "She's pretty." Adam said, but he knew who she was. The story about her was already flooding the television and radio. It was hard not to know who Sienna Wright was.
"That woman has made a very remarkable discovery in Los Angeles." Harris said.
Adam nodded. "I know. I've been watching the news lately. She's discovered that there are a limitless amount of parallel Earths that exist on the same plane of existance as the one we live on. And she's found a way to travel in between them. It's an amazing discovery based on well known alternate dimension theories."
"You know about her?" Harris prompted.
"Not much," Adam said, "just what I hear on the news and radio. Don't know much more than that." Adam paused. "Why are you bringing her up and what has it got to do with you calling me this morning?"
Harris Lee studied his hands, which were lying in his lap. "Adam, there are things I've never told you....about your heritage, your ancestors."
Adam leaned back against the wall, right next to the cabinet that had the pictures on it. And he listened to his grandfather tell him what he knew his grandfather believed, of a truth about where the Park family heritage originated.
It began with the realization that Dr. Wright's discovery of parallel Earths is, in fact, a true discovery, meaning that millions of parallel Earths does in fact, exist. The Harris's story begins with two individuals, on one of these parallel Earths.
Of two protectors of an ancient power known as the Samurai Lightning. They were Kaeto and his wife, Lita. On this parallel Earth, for the most part, there was planetary peace. You had your petty bickerings between cultures and countries, but it was very peaceful on that Earth.
And Kaeto and Lita, that Earth's guardians, had been the guardians for many years, but their bloodline had been the protectors for many generations. There had been a few invaders that had come from deep space to try and take the Samurai Lightning, but it was Kaeto and Lita's warrior skills and knowledge that stopped each invader that had tried.
And it was during the days when they were finally ready to settle down and begin a family of their own when a new invasion arrived. This time, however, it would be an invasion that Kaeto and Lita could not overcome. They were Shadow Legions, led by a diabolical, sadistic, maniacal ruler known as High Lord Onslaught. He led his Shadow Legions into full assaults on all of that Earth's major cities.
Cities fell to that assaults in mere days and Kaeto and Lita's efforts to protect their homeworld were in vain because the numbers were simply too strong for just the two of them to handle. Onslaught had vicious foot soldiers called Wraiths and fleets of flying ships with powerful weapons that took buildings down in minutes.
The invasion lasted twenty three days and it was on that last day that Kaeto and Lita were overcome. Onslaught captured the planet as his own and enslaved all of humanity and made that Earth his new home. What Kaeto and Lita didn't know was that Onslaught had not come here to get his hands on the ancient power, he wasn't even aware of it's existence. No, he was just out to conquer and destroy. And he did, adding another planet to the list of planets he'd conquered and destroyed.
Months passed by as all of humanity were now slaves to Onslaught's tyranny. Onslaught wanted a massive castle built in his honor and he used his human slaves to build it. One day, news passed among the human slaves that Onslaught's scientists had made a remarkable discovery. They'd discovered the very thing that Sienna Wright had only just discovered. That multiple parallel Earths existed and it was possible to travel between them. Onslaught saw this is the perfect opportunity to conquer other universes, not just that one and he ordered a machine built that could open the vortex massive enough to launch his forces through.
And that's what happened. The Shadow Legions began conquering parallel Earths and adding more human slaves to his ranks. Each Earth he conquered, he assigned one of his High Generals to oversee the running of that planet. For five years, Onslaught was conquering Earths and Kaeto and Lita were living as slaves, forced to remain in secret or else, Onslaught would discover the Samurai Lightning ancient power.
But Kaeto and Lita, they witnessed first hand Onslaught's greed and cruelty and they knew the same thing was happening on all of these Earths. They made a decision to protect the power, but also to try and stop Onslaught's tyranny on these other Earths. And also to prevent other Earths from suffering the same fate.
They planned an escape. One day, they deliberately incited a riot among the slaves. When the High Generals and Shadow Wraiths came to control the situation, Kaeto and Lita used the confusion created to escape. They returned to the temple where the ancient power was kept and they took it with them, later stealing a ship and flying it towards the vortex in space that would bring them to an parallel Earth.
The High Generals realized what was happening far too late. By the time they had ships in the air to track them down, Kaeto and Lita had already flew through the gate, leaving their home behind forever.
The vortex took them to another Earth, where their ship ended up crashing into the side of a large cavern. Kaeto and Lita found themselves in a land rich with greenery and blue skies. Land that would later become Japan. It was that land that they would make their home and keep the ancient power safe and protected. They feared that one day, Onslaught would find this Earth and come to conquer, but that day never came for them. They had children and they raised their children to the best of their ability.
When their eldest son came of age, they revealed the truth to him and made him promise that he would likewise reveal the truth to his firstborn when the child came of age. And for generations and generations, the truth was handed down. From child to child, in hopes that one day, the destiny of the Samurai Lightning would be fulfilled.
By the time Harris had finished his telling of the truth as it had been revealed to him, Adam's face had drained of color and he was sitting, slumped in the other chair. He stared at his grandfather with disbelief. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that my ancestors are from another Earth." he stated.
"It's the truth, Adam." Harris replied. "Do you think I would make this up?"
Adam stared at his grandfather. "I don't know." he paused. "You sitting there, telling me everything I've ever known about my family is a lie."
] Harris stood, scoffing at Adam's words. "Adam, I'm telling you no such thing. I'm just explaining to you about the origin of our family's ancestors. As it was passed to me, I'm passing it to you. Your mother wouldn't hear this when I tried to pass the truth to her, so I'm bringing it to you."
Adam shook his head, not saying anything. He really didn't know what to say.
His grandfather walked over to a cabinet on the far side of the study and he picked up a wooden box. He placed the wooden box on the table. "Your too much like your mother, Adam. I can see you don't believe me. That's why I'm thankful I have this." he opened the box and turned it so that Adam could see.
Despite himself, Adam found himself walking over and he looked at what was inside the box. There was one item inside. A rolled up piece of parchment. Adam picked the piece of parchment up and carefully unrolled it. There were lines and markings on the surface of the parchment.
His grandfather spoke. "If you don't want to believe me, that's fine. This is a map drawn by Kaeto himself, passed down along the generations of our family. Find the truth for yourself Adam."
It was all his grandfather said before he slowly made his way out of the study. Adam stood there, holding the parchment in his hands. Adam knew the parchment was genuine. He could see that much just by feeling it. He didn't want the rest of the story to be true, he really didn't. But he would find out for himself if his grandfather was beingt truthful. Then, he'd deal with whatever came later. He really would.
*****
Chapter 1 - One year later...
Angel Grove, California, as it always has, survived and thrived in the years following Dark Spectre's numerous attempts to destroy it. In the years since, buildings were rebuilt and lives begun again, with hope for the future restored by the Power Rangers. And the city was indeed thriving.
Here it was 2009 and Angel Grove's economy was at it's best that it's ever been. New businesses were opening every month. Some of them lasted, and others didn't. It wasn't anyone's fault really, just the way some things went. In west Angel Grove, there was a martial arts training dojo called The Park Dojo.
The Park Dojo had been around for a little over six years now and there were more people enrolled in the classes now, than there had ever been. Inside the dojo now, however, wasn't a class. It was merely a one on one sparring session.
Seventeen year old Chris Park stood in the center of the blue mat, a blindfold over his eyes. He had his arms outward, testing the area around him, feeling. He used his his ears to sense the movements of his attacker.
Without warning, he felt the air around him shift and he moved, just in time to avoid a fist to the face. But a knee to his solar plexis caught him and he doubled over, then a leg sweep caught him and he suddenly found himself flat on his back, grunting from the impact.
And as Chris lay there, the blindfold still ocvering his eyes, hie older brother Adam put his hands on his hips and stared at him. "You need to concentrate, Chris." Adam said as he stared down at his brother.
Chris removed his blindfold. "I am concentrating."
Adam stepped back as his brother got to his feet. "No, your not. What your doing is thinking about something else. Or someone else." he quirked.
Chris glared at Adam. "That has nothing to do with anything."
Adam smiled. He always enjoyed pulling Chris's sleeves a little bit. "You ever asked that girl out?"
Chris shrugged. "Why bother, it's not like she'd ever even notice me anyway. She's a Worthington."
Adam knew the name, knew it well. Marcus and Sarah Worthington were two of the most recognizable names in all of Angel Grove. They owned the most successful chain of hotels in Angel Grove and lately, they'd been trying to buy the block that Adam's Dojo resided in. And their daughter Rory, was somewhat of a mystery to him. Though Rory was like her parents in that she enjoyed the finer things in life, she shared asperations that her parents did not. She wanted to help people, a trait her father really didn't like.
Adam shook his head, bringing his attention back to his brother. "Let's try it without the blindfold." he said.
Chris nodded, tossing the blindfold aside as he took up a fighting stance. Adam, likewise, took up his stance and the two Park brothers began to spare in earnst.
As they spared back and forth, eighteen year old Parker Quinlan entered the dojo. He almost six feet tall, taller than most kids his age. He was wearing his normal karate working clothes and he walked over to the far wall, were a bench was and put his bag down. He knew Chris a little bit. He'd seen Chris Park around at school, but had never really sat down and talked with the other senior student. He spent most of his time in training with Chris's older more famous brother, Adam.
Parker and his sister Cindy had moved to Angel Grove from Mariner Bay a year earlier, and it had been a scary adjustment, as well. Not just for Parker, but his sister as well. They both had given up their friends, everything they'd known, and had to try to make new friends, new lives here in Angel Grove.
But Parker had managed and Cindy was doing a lot better lately. She'd even made friends with the Worthington daughter. Parker remembered reading about the Worthington family. But Parker didn't have time to dwell on it as he saw that Adam and Chris were winding down their one on one sparring session.
Adam clasped his hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed. "Your doing better with your speed, Chris. That's good. Alright, go ahead and clean up and head home. Tell mom I'll come visit this weekend, okay?"
Chris nodded as he started walking away. "Cool...I'll see you tomorrow Adam. And come by, you know mom misses you."
Adam watched his brother walk towards the back, then he shook his head. "Parker, your a little bit early." he mentioned.
"I know, is that a problem? I had some time to kill and I thought I'd just get over here a little early." Parker said.
Adam gestured to the mat. "Not a problem at all, Parker. Let's get started."
Parker smiled and joined Adam in the center of the mat. And, they started the beginning routines of the training session that Adam had designed for Parker.
*****
The next morning, with a backpack slung over his shoulder, Chris Park walked down the cement walkway that led into the Angel Grove High School. This high school had seen hundreds of students go through it's halls, none so more famous than the Power Rangers themselves. And Chris Park was just another number lost in those statistics.
That was how Chris saw it as he looked at the hallway he now walked down. He stopped at his locker and entered in his combination to his locker. Opening his locker, he pulled out his books and put them into his bag. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something that he just couldn't look away from. It was Rory Worthington. She was about the same height as Chris with long glowing red hair and emerald green eyes. She was simply beautiful to look at and Chris had developed a crush on her early on.
He'd tried talking to her once, but it hadn't lasted that long. She seemed to be too busy to want to talk to him, so he had never tried again.
As she neared him, he turned back to his locker. And she walked past, completely unaware of him or much else for that matter.
Rory Worthington had other things on her mind. She was looking to get this day of school out of the way so she could do her volunteer work at the shelter done. She was so unlike her parents it was amazing. Rory Worthington believed in the goodness in people, always had and she figured she always would.
Her father, though, he always looked for the worst in people and brought the worst out in everyone he met. Rory's mother, was similar and she refused to be anywhere near people she felt were beneath her. And both her parents tried to make Rory into a kind of person they wanted, instead of who Rory wanted to be. And Rory would be damned if she would let herself become the snobbish type, who cared more about appearance than helping the next person who needed help.
A couple hours later, as third period came around, Rory entered her classroom and walked to her seat. Looking to the far row, she saw Chris Park talking to a black kid she'd heard through the rumor mills was his closest friend, Darnell Haggans. The two of them were laughing about something.
Taking her seat, Rory recalled the one and only time she'd talked to Chris. He'd stammered and stuttered as he tried to talk to her. Of course, that day was the first day her parents had really hammered her about her volunteer work. She'd been side tracked and her mind was clearly on other things and she's kind of given off the air that she wasn't paying attention. But the truth was, she'd noticed him then, and since then. She found the stammering sweet and adorable and she herself liked Chris, even though the two never really spoke.
The teacher began the class and Rory turned her attention to her class. But she felt it when Chris would look at her. And each time, she almost smiled.
*****
On a planet not in this universe, but in a similar one, a massive fortress sat upon desolate ground. Inside the largest antechamber of the fortress, massive computer terminals adorned one wall, with alien creatures sitting at each terminal, their hands or claws dancing across the keys.
Near the back wall, a large stone throne sat there with a single occupant sitting on it. He was the High Lord of the Shadow Legions Dynasy, a ruthless army alien races joined together under a single banner. That banner belonged to the occupant of the throne, the High Lord of the Legions.
He was Onslaught and he was responsible for the Shadow Legions being the single most powerful entity in the entire universe they resided in. But, it wasn't enough for Onslaught to rule all he surveyed. He wanted more, demanded more. And long ago, he'd discovered how to get more. His science experts had discovered the inter-Earth traveling vortexes and since then, the Shadow Legions had added more and more of the alternate universes to his domain.
Onslaught himself had personally decimated at least fifty Earths single handedly and taken the lives of five teams of Power Rangers. Nothing could stop him, would stop him. And he'd yet to actually find the Earth he was really hunting for. The one that the slaves had escaped to all those years ago. He knew by now, they were dead, but he would never stop until he found that Earth they traveled to and found the ancient power they hid from him. He wanted that power as his own, added to his own power. To be invincible. That's what it was about for Onslaught.
"High Lord Onslaught?" the voice came from the largest screen in front of him. On the screen was a being that resembled a octopus, but shaped more like a man. It had tentacles were the mouth should have been and he carried a sword at his waist.
"Report, General Octus." Onslaught ordered.
"My liege, we have detected the next Earth target specified by Ziktos." General Octus stated, indicating the Shadow Legions' chief sceintific mind, Prof. Ziktos, a reptilian humanoid of the planet Lizilia. "With your authroization, High Lord, we will open the Earthgate to begin the invasion process."
Onslaught stood, his massive frame overshadowing the smaller creatures that manned the terminals. "You have authorization, General. I want this Earth to fall like the others. Let's begin with the city.....Angel Grove." he ordered.
Octus bowed his head. "It will be done."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Update: Adam fears the invasion nears as a massive vortex appears in the sky over Angel Grove.
Linear Mode
