Scorpio: On the Horizon

On the Horizon is the first episode of the Scorpio arc, and the twenty-second overall of Power Rangers: Neo Zeo.

Summary
The Zodiac Emperors try to deal with a power vacuum. Tayisa takes on her son's role as he heals, and Sabrina discovers that she's not quite as changed as she thinks.

Plot
The Byrons' entertainment room was full. Several of the aliens Ezra had rescued—a species called the Pack—were scattered around, on sofas or beanbag chairs, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They had humanoid builds, fingers and opposable thumbs, but were covered in various colors of fur, had tails and wolflike faces. Lidian rested on a recliner, answering the aliens' questions whenever they came up, and Casey was teaching the youngest one how to play foosball.

"So this is how the people of this world speak?" One of the Pack said, turning towards Lidian.

Lidian shrugged. "More or less. If you sound too wordy people think you're being pompous."

The Pack male nodded, and turned back to the TV. "So, to counter that I should . . . be more mixy with my words?" He tried.

"Every once in a while. It's more an issue with the younger ones; you notice Giles and the other adults have better vocabularies," Lidian replied.

The door opened, and Tayisa walked inside, stopping at Lidian's chair and sitting beside him. She had exchanged her Scarab Rider suit for a loose blouse and skirt, which she'd borrowed from Sabrina. Her Scarab Amulet she wore around her neck. Now, unmorphed, the jagged, ugly scar that ran slantwise across her throat was fully visible. It was the reason she sounded like she'd been gargling diluted acid.

"Feeling any better?" She asked Lidian.

"Yeah, it barely hurts anymore unless I sit up too fast."

She pulled up his shirt and checked the bandages around his chest and stomach, prodding the wound beneath them. Lidian's face flickered a few times with pain, but he couldn't help grinning at his mother in spite of it. Tayisa seemed the same.

"Seven points! I win again!" Casey's opponent whooped.

"Great! Now, we do it with five balls," Casey said, running around the foosball table to gather balls from the chutes.

"You know you're not actually supposed to just spin all of the bars like that," Lidian commented, craning his neck to look at them.

"But it's way faster," Casey retorted.

"Assuming you don't send the ball flying into someone's face, yeah."

"It keeps us on edge. Just because this game is played on a table doesn't mean you're safe from getting a ball to the eye!"

"In what parallel reality is that considered a good thing?"

"Mine!" Casey yelled, throwing one of the balls at him.

Tayisa caught it before Lidian had the chance, and tossed it back. As the girls got back to their game, she turned to Lidian.

"Why her?" She asked in a low voice.

Lidian shrugged. "She makes me laugh. After everything I've been through, sometimes I don't think I can anymore. Then she . . . well, she acts like herself, and I remember that sometimes the universe can be funny or adorable, not just awful."

Tayisa smiled a small, sad smile, as she finished unwrapping his wound. It was now a clean red gash in his chest. "I'm glad you could find someone like that."

As she replaced the dressing, Lidian reached up and caught her hand. "Now you have too. You don't have to roam the galaxy alone anymore."

Tayisa didn't reply, but her smile grew a little less sad.

"Aaand GO!" Casey set the foosball bars whirling, and her opponent did the same.

"How much longer?" Lidian asked, as his mother pulled his shirt back down.

"A week, ideally longer. You shouldn't worry, I'll help your teammates fight—but honestly, I doubt we will have any trouble for at least a month," Tayisa said.

"Huh? How come?"

"You understand how the Emperors operate, correct? Each one takes a turn as their constellation comes into alignment with this world's sun—at their most powerful. Whose turn is it?"

Lidian had to think for a minute. Casey and her opponent finished their game, and something rumbled faintly in the distance, probably thunder. Ezra came down the stairs, glanced around the room, and paused. Tayisa made eye contact with him, her face carefully expressionless. He turned away first, going back upstairs without another word.

"Scorpio," Lidian said at last.

"And Scorpio is dead, with his heir on the other side of the galaxy."

"Oh yeah, right. Scorpio's heir—"

"Scorpius. He's actually in control of his empire, too far away to care about us," Tayisa replied.

Lidian nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful. His communicator watch beeped, and he flinched, looking down at it as Tayisa did. Slowly, he pulled it off and handed it to her.

"We really should get you one of these," he said.

Nodding, she took it and walked to the far corner of the room, away from the noise of the TV and Casey's game. After a moment of low conversation, she looked back to Casey.

"We're needed in the park."

"COMING!" Casey yelled back. "Sorry, Whiteclaw, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Take as long as you need, just don't tire yourself out. I want to defeat you properly," Whiteclaw replied.

"Yeah, keep dreaming." Casey teleported out as Tayisa did.

oZo

Ophiuchus slammed his fist down on a park bench, splitting it in half with a crash. He looked down at it in surprise; he hadn't thought he was hitting it that hard. Pulling his arm out of the splintered boards, he turned and looked around. Surely the Rangers would be here soon. How long had he been here already, six minutes? He'd taken out a couple of brand-new saplings, scared a few joggers and caused whatever chaos he could, but the park was cold and quiet.

A few icy drops startled him, and he looked up. It was beginning to rain. A breeze picked up, making the trees rustle. Stepping back, Ophiuchus saw a flash of light and spun around, but it was distant lightning, not a Ranger teleporting in. As the rain began to pour in earnest, he wondered what was keeping them.

He didn't have long to wonder. A gravelly female voice spoke up from directly behind him. "Ophiuchus, correct?"

Turning, he saw the Scarab Rider standing behind him. He drew a pair of kusarigamas from his belt, and moved into a fighting stance.

"Libra wanted to know why you abandoned your quest for justice," he said. "Especially after she gave you so much help, keeping the Rangers busy during your battle. She convinced the others I was the best one to 'ask.'"

Tayisa snorted. "I'm surprised they could agree even that much."

"Everyone likes the idea of a fight. You're just lucky Taurus and Leo don't feel their best," Ophiuchus said. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"No, I don't think I am."

"Good." Ophiuchus lunged, slicing at the Scarab Rider's chest with both weapons. She threw herself back, flipping so she kicked him in the head on her way up and over, and landed in a crouch. Drawing her Scarab Sabers, she caught his next blow and pushed back.

"Alone you won't be able to defeat me," Ophiuchus said.

"Did you really think I was alone?"

"HIYAAAA!"

Ophiuchus just had time to duck sideways to avoid the Yellow Ranger's volley of lasers. The movement pulled the Scarab Rider along with him, so unfortunately she didn't get hit by friendly fire. Adjusting quickly, the Yellow Ranger stopped shooting and holstered her gun.

"Okay, then, Zeo Power Nunchuks!"

"I thought those were Power Clubs," the Red Ranger put in. Ophiuchus had neither seen nor heard him coming, and was thus taken off-guard by the sword to the back. He grunted and stumbled into the Scarab Rider. Recovering, he caught her in a bear hug, pinning her arms to her sides so she couldn't stab him. He swung around and caught the Red Ranger's next blow on her back, drawing sparks.

"No, they're nunchuks, they're just labeled wrong and I finally figured out how to fix them," the Yellow Ranger replied. Reaching Ophiuchus, she swung for his head, but he ducked.

Shoving the Scarab Rider away he managed to slash her across the side with one blade. She staggered, but the Yellow Ranger caught her. It only took her a second to recover her balance and stand on her own. By now the rain was pouring down, soaking into the Rangers' spandex suits at the shoulders.

"Hello again, Ophiuchus." That was the Blue Ranger, finally joining the ring around the monster. "I don't think we got to finish our fight last time."

"No, we didn't, unfortunately. They wouldn't let me," Ophiuchus said. "Looks like this time your teammates will be the ones in the way."

"Oh, I don't know, maybe if I ask real nice." The Blue Ranger glanced around at the others. "I can take him if you guys want to make sure this isn't a distraction."

"Alone? Not a wise choice," the Scarab Rider said.

"Alpha's monitoring us, he'll let you know if things go south."

"They've tricked us before," the Red Ranger admitted. "We'll go and check with Alpha."

With concealed surprise, Ophiuchus watched as the trio teleported out. Summoning her Power Axes, the Blue Ranger faced her opponent. She moved first, slashing across the chest, but Ophiuchus deflected the blow and swung low with his other kusarigama. The blades clanged rapidly as they attacked and deflected. The rain sprayed off them as they fought, the Blue Ranger trying to move around and reach Ophiuchus's blind spots, him circling to back her into a corner. Neither stopped for banter this time; they were concentrating. Both of them began to breathe hard.

With a flick of the wrist, the Blue Ranger knocked one kusarigama out of Ophiuchus's hand. It buried itself in the muddy turf nearby. In the backcut of the same stroke, Zeo Blue brought her axe to Ophiuchus's throat. They stared at each other for a long, silent minute as the rain cascaded down both of them.

"Well played," Ophiuchus said. "Except for the dramatic pause."

Seizing her wrist he twisted it back, hard. With a cry of pain the Blue Ranger stumbled back a step, her grip loosening on the weapon. Dragging her in close, Ophiuchus kneed her in the gut, winding her. However, just as he thought he had her where he wanted her, something metal slammed into his shoulder. The blow threw the monster to his knees with a cry, and the Blue Ranger tore free of his grip. Dark blood began to ooze out of the wound as the sword withdrew. He didn't have to look; how had the Red Ranger gotten so good at sneaking up on him?

"Very well, then. No dramatic pauses," the Blue Ranger said, and swung at Ophiuchus with her remaining Power Axe. He caught the blow inches from his face—a lot closer than he'd actually intended, but there had been a lot of force behind it. He stood, swinging around to block the Red Ranger's followup blow on his forearm. The jolt was visibly painful, but he dug his feet in and braced against the blade. His feet started to sink in the trampled, muddy ground.

Abruptly, he ducked into a somersault, making the two Rangers fall off-balance and almost against each other. Springing to his feet, he snatched up his fallen kusarigama and threw them both at the pair. The Red Ranger recovered first, smashing the weapons aside with his sword.

"Is that it?" He demanded. "You're just attacking for the sake of keeping us busy now?"

"I'm trying to defeat you. Thought that was obvious," Ophiuchus replied.

"Why?" The Blue Ranger asked.

"To help the Zodiac Emperors in their—"

"No, no, don't give me the propaganda. What are you looking for from them? Respect? A promotion? Because I don't think you're going to get it doing grunt work."

Ophiuchus glared at her. His injury was actually bleeding a lot, though the barrage of rainwater thinned it out—and made it worse. However, his bravado turned out to be unnecessary, as once again, he found himself teleported out of the battle against his will.

"Look at you," Virgo said, hurrying forward and looking over his wounds. She shook her head, and taking him by the arm, started leading him away.

"Why did you bring me back?" He demanded.

Libra, who stood by the controls responded without looking up at him. "The Scarab Rider was gone, the Hex Rider did not appear, and you were injured. There was no purpose in allowing you to remain and fight."

"I could have won."

"I seriously doubt that."

"That's because you never give me a chance!" Ophiuchus protested.

Virgo halted.

Slowly, Libra straightened, facing Ophiuchus. Even blindfolded her glare was obvious.

"Are you claiming that I have treated you unfairly, Ophiuchus?"

He was good and mad now, so he snapped, "Yes! You keep saying you'll let me prove myself, but then you pull me out when I'm actually facing any actual test of my strength! If you sent me back right now I could still fight! I'm stronger than I used to be!"

"This battle is not about you, young one. Come with me. There is something I must show you." Libra turned and marched for the door, not waiting for a response.

Taken off-guard by the response, Ophiuchus followed, Virgo coming close after him. He gave her a questioning look, but she didn't react. The two headed from the main transport hall, roughly in the middle of the ship, to the bridge in the stern. During the walk, Ophiuchus noticed that his wounds had stopped bleeding, to his mild surprise. The monsters already there made way for Libra, who brought an image up on the screen. It looked rather like a radar, a black screen showing multicolored blips moving around.

"The Windjammers have identified these power signatures. Scorpius's auxiliary forces," Libra said, pointing to a cluster of red dots. "They're heading this way."

Ophiuchus looked at her in surprise. "Scorpius? But he's busy fighting the Galaxy Rangers!"

"Apparently not so busy that we were forgotten." Libra faced him. "We will need all of our strength to face him, particularly if the Rangers ally with him."

"The Rangers wouldn't—"

"What? Side with him?" Virgo put in. "Why not? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If the Galaxy Rangers showed up we would try to earn their aid."

Libra continued. "Part of that means not allowing our better fighters to wear themselves out in fights they cannot win. You are skilled, Ophiuchus, but not at fighting multiple foes at once, especially those with the arsenal these Rangers possess. You are needed here."

"Then . . . why send me down at all?"

Virgo stepped in, smiling again. "To keep the Rangers occupied. If they focus on us, they won't notice Scorpius moving in—or get too comfortable. One little attack like this will keep us in their heads for weeks."

Libra put a hand on Ophiuchus's shoulder, and then drew it back, looking at the blood on her fingers. When she spoke, her tone was surprisingly gentle. "Go to the sickbay."

He ducked his head respectfully. "At once, Empress."

oZo

Ezra found Sabrina in the backyard training area, panting, one arm buried almost to the elbow in a punching bag and soaked by the still-pouring rain. Bracing a foot against the ground, she jerked her arm free in a shower of sand and stepped back, shaking her hand. Her wet hair clung to her neck and face.

"The other Rangers had a fight. You never showed up. And what are you doing to my equipment?" Ezra asked, leaning against one of the posts of the sparring ring. He was still bandaged from his fight with the Scarab Rider.

Brushing sand off her damp skin, Sabrina looked back at him. "Sorry. Didn't think I was going to hit it that hard. Took off my communicator watch to train. They took care of the monster, right?"

Ezra raised his eyebrows. "I think you're beyond 'I don't know my own strength' territory, Sabrina."

Not replying, Sabrina turned to the tree, which was wound around the middle with rope. She struck a fighting stance, moving on the balls of her feet. Her fraying black braid bounced against her back. She threw a punch, then a kick that made the tree's branches quiver. Lightning flashed overhead, the light catching her wet skin, and thunder rumbled barely a second later.

"Come inside," Ezra said. "Training in a thunderstorm never turns out to be as cool as it sounds."

"I'm fine."

"Then why aren't you looking at me?"

Sabrina paused and half-turned towards Ezra. She wasn't even out of breath. "I'm fine, Ezra. Really."

"I respectfully disagree and seriously, I don't want you wrecking my stuff and telling me you're okay as you do it," Ezra retorted, folding his arms.

"Fair enough."

Abandoning her fighting stance, Sabrina returned to her gym bag. Stuffing her water bottle back inside, she slung it over her shoulder and turned towards the woods. Ezra moved to stop her, but she was too quick for him, already heading towards the fringe of trees.

"That's not what I meant!" Ezra yelled after her. "Sabrina!"

She didn't answer, ignoring his continued yells as she ran into the woods. They were dark, and drooped as if it had already rained. Pushing through the undergrowth, she found a trail and jogged up it. Even though she was working out, and had already been doing so for a while, her breathing stayed normal. It was as if she wasn't even exerting herself.

Finally, she skidded to a halt and caught herself on a rock. Lightning cracked the air with a deafening boom, directly overhead. Sabrina recoiled, shielding her eyes with an arm, and yellow energy shot down it. The electricity struck a tree, setting it ablaze.

Eyes wide, Sabrina lowered her arm, and looked at her hand in bewilderment. The tree continued to burn, crackling and dripping burning leaves. Oily black smoke began to stream into the sky. Slowly, Sabrina straightened, and the startled look on her face passed. Raising her arm, she thrust it outward, and a second burst of energy shot out. The electricity snared another tree and ripped it out of the ground with a shower of mud, dumping it on the ground as it started to burn.

Sabrina let out a funny snort. Her expression was one of incredulous delight. The snort turned into laughter, so loud and hard that she lost her balance and dropped onto the ground, shaking with helpless giggles. The storm raged on around her, blocking out the sound to all other ears.

Villains

 * Ophiuchus
 * Earth Empress Virgo
 * Air Empress Libra

Continuity

 * First use of the Zeo Power Nunchuks under that name.