Wild Force Power Rangers: Ancient Warrior Saga

Episode 28 (A) Tales of a Lost Queen

The night was peaceful in the city of Turtle Cove. It was late, and most of the city's residents were asleep. Miles above them, hidden from sight among the clouds floated the Animarium, a large, turtle shaped island. On the island, lived the Wild Force Power Rangers.

Six Rangers in total, along with Princess Shayla, their mentor. She guarded the Rangers most powerful weapons, the Wild Zords. Although the evening was calm, there was an air of danger on the Animarium. The Rangers and Princess Shayla were crowded around a small fire, one Ranger regaling his friends with a tale from long ago.

"3000 years ago, before the Orgs, before the war, before any of it..." he began. "Animus was the Lord of the Wild Zords. A God, and a friend, at least to me and the other Ancient Warriors. An ancient Megazord, wise and powerful, Animus kept watch over Earth, keeping an eye on us from the heavens. Now, you'd think between Animus, Princess Shayla, the Wild Zords, and the Ancient Warriors, that the Earth was pretty well protected," Merrick, The Lunar Wolf Ranger, paused his story to chuckle a bit to himself. He was allowing the memories of a woman to come flooding back. In his mind, she was still as clear and vivid as if standing in the sunlight.

"Mother Nature usually finds a way to defend herself."

A young woman in dark blue robes, adorned with body armor appears alone on a hilltop overlooking an ocean. She pulls back her hood to reveal her face. Her brown eyes narrow on something in the distance. Her dark, curly hair blown behind her by the sea's air.

"Her name was Lila, Queen of Animaria."

"Wait, Animaria had a Queen, and a Princess?" asked Alyssa, the White Ranger.

"Yes," Merrick explained, knowing this was news to his friends. "Lila presided over the Kingdom itself and her people, while Princess Shayla cared for the Wild Zords. It's always been written that there were only six Ancient Warriors, but Lila also insisted she be trained to fight if Animaria ever needed her."

Lila pulls a staff sitting at her waist from its holster and thrusts it towards the sea. The water churns violently, as if something huge has been awoken deep within.

"An immensely powerful warrior, whenever we were overrun in battle, she would appear with her Wild Zords, and form the Terrazord."

A three-part Megazord joins Merrick's Predazord on a battlefield. Together they take a fighting stance and charge their enemy, easily defeating it.

"For a long time, it was peaceful. Then, the Orgs started appearing. One at first, weak, easy to defeat but after a while, more came. That's when the first Duke Org ever appeared, far smarter than the other Orgs we had faced. Lila tracked the Duke Orgs whereabouts and for some reason, chose to try and take it on alone."

A monstrous Duke Org attacks Lila and sends her body flying. She attempts to fight it off alone but is overpowered as the Org relentlessly continues its assault.

"She paid for that mistake with her life. Lila was gone, her Zords... disappeared."

The six Ancient Warriors and the Princess gather at the scene of the attack. They solemnly come together as Merrick finds Lila's body. He holds her, his back to his friends.

"Now, here lies our problem. We don't know how many Wild Zords have survived these 3000 years. There's no way for us to know which ones were destroyed or if there's some still out there. Without being on the Animarium, there's a real chance of a crystal, or a Wild Zord itself, being damaged or worse. I personally have no doubt the Orgs would try and attack a rogue Wild Zord directly, if they thought it would make things easier for them."