Chapter 53: Machinations

"Were you aware of this Siren Wraith?"

Bloodless Mary shook her head in confusion and turned away from the viewing portal. Thanks to being connected with Zarenshy and the Wraith energies, she knew exactly how many Wraiths were ready to be released into the world. Every single Wraith that had been unleashed had gone exactly to her specifications and plans; however, there were two anomalies that had popped up and thrown her off balance. The first was the pseudo-Wraith that had named itself Slashing Vengeance. While it had the hallmarks of being one of her brood, down to the transformative blood and mirrored armour, her records showed no trace of a rotting zombie horse creature. A strange frisson of energy surrounding it had left her scratching her head in puzzlement, even moreso when Jabarkas had identified that energy as Interdimensional. Her right hand monster had left her side for a while, trying to find out what had happened from his information network but everything just left her with more headaches.

According to a reputable source, the walls of their dimension were weakened by something extremely powerful that had passed through the Multiverse with extremely poor shielding. Added to that someone, or something, called Master Xandred was close to breaking free of the river he was imprisoned in but that was a minor issue as those 'Samurai Rangers' that had been seen before would be taking care of things. Jabarkas had even said the whole mess would be wrapped up nicely in a matter of hours. The second such anomaly was the existence of this Siren Wraith; as all of her sources had confirmed it to have been destroyed by wayward cannon fire during the Gallipoli Landing, it had apparently hidden away in three gems or something…and that sounded extremely preposterous. The Siren Wraith that had been in the roster had broken free thanks to the combined negative emotions in the area and had, promptly, been destroyed by a high-impact artillery shell. Whatever this imposter was, it certainly hadn't originated from Earth…which was something that the thing had said upon emerging.

"What does the word 'Equestria' mean to you?" She questioned, brow creasing lightly.

Jabarkas internally cursed the supernatural hearing of his Master. The word conjured up images of two mechanical horses driving their hooves into the creature Xonix had sent down in a fit of rage at their presence. It also brought to mind the place where Creeper had vanished after a failed showing to the Ultra Rangers. It was, of course, the place where Xonix had spent some years forming up a rebellion before being blasted back to their dimension. He had often wondered what would have happened if his Master had survived the Battlizer attack and retreated to Equestria but, and with some reluctance, he only had to call up the images of the three impossible Rangers he had most recently seen. After he had sighted those Rangers and the sheer ferocity they fought with, he honestly didn't know which of the two 'worlds' he would rather be in. Steps had been made to forge a replacement for his battleaxe and, if the Elebonian weapon smith would hurry up, he would be armed and dangerous once again. The newest scars on his body ached and the slowly healing scab on his chest itched with the fury of a thousand spiders. As much as he wanted to teleport down to the house of the Rider and his slut, he had to wait until he was healed up and that would be mental agony every step of the way.

"It is a place I have heard of several years ago." The Huran warrior slowly said. "Shortly after the full contingent of Ultra Crystals came together, two of their numbers were sent through what I surmised then to be a naturally occurring Interdimensional portal. Upon later study, one of the scientists under Xonix's employ found out it was a purposefully created portal that originated in another world. That world was Equestria and, from what I recall of Xonix's ramblings, it is a world populated entirely by equines. Several smaller subspecies exist and many mythological animals make a home there. However, it has been under attack from an evil alien from yet another dimension and, if I am to believe the last report that was received, there is another threat. As the dimensional walls are sealed, there is no way to tell whether that Wraith is telling the truth."

"But I am."

Both of them spun around to see the Siren Wraith ooze out of the walls, her heads still a smoking and charred mess and silvery rivulets of blood pooling in her undamaged cleavage. Running a scorched tongue over her mouth, the Siren Wraith spat out a globule of congealed glass and growled under her breath. The warrior that had faced her was stronger than anything she had ever faced: dwarfing both incarnations of Starswirl the Bearded in sheer power and fighting spirit. The female had been an easier target and had demonstrated earlier that she could be placed under a thrall of some kind but she was retreating from the area. The three former Sirens could talk all they wanted but nothing could prepare the mortals on the ground for the power she had and was continuing to build. Having passed the stage normal Wraiths called 'Awakened' many centuries ago, she was stronger than anything on the planet – save for the two beings in front of her. Bloodless Mary would always be her Master, no matter how strong her power made her. The alien was an unknown entity and, judging from the scars and wounds on its body; it was extremely powerful to survive several battles.

Adagio, Aria, and Sonata had served their purpose in delivering food to her while she was sequestered away in those gems and, in turn, she had imparted onto them a small portion of energy. What she hadn't counted on was the energy building up over time or the retention rates gained by their building resistances. Whispering sweet nothings into their ears about the powers they would share had been fillies play. The trio had been bought in hook, line, and sinker and she had borne witness to their rise in the new Equestria they had found themselves in. She could have done without the front seat into their shared sexual experimentations but she figured they would become bored soon enough…which swiftly turned out to be the opposite. As gouging her eyes out hadn't been an option, she was forced to sit through every single one of their perverse and stomach-churning fetishes – fetishes that she had played around with once or twice. Of course, her plans to make the world submit under her rule were now as destroyed as the left side of her face but she had another goal in mind – to utterly destroy the warrior and the girls who had broken her control over her slaves.

"As I said before," she snarled somewhat brokenly, "I am an Equestrian Siren Wraith and I am reaching my Overpowered state rapidly."

Mary's eyes widened as she realised what this meant. Normal Wraiths were weak when they originally came out of the mirrors – a side-effect of the curse cast upon their kind by the sorcerer – but, in time, they would reach the same level of power they had before being sealed away. They called this their 'Awakened' form but it was more akin to a baby maturing into a child. Continuing the metaphor, the child would then continue to mature into an adult with amounts of power never seen since before the Sealing. Only one Wraith had ever reached an Overpowered state; only to be unceremoniously destroyed minutes later by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why the Lobster Wraith had broken out in Hiroshima in early August 1945 was anyone's guess but, as it was now literal dust in the wind, she wasn't going to second-guess the machinations of the Wraiths that escaped before her. The Joining was all that mattered for the foreseeable future and it was something that she was determined to make happen – no matter the cost.

"An Overpowered Wraith," she shook her head slowly as a ball of ice formed in her stomach. "One from another world as well. How did you come to form?"

"You are no doubt aware that we Wraiths are spirits in our natural state." The Siren Wraith began, her tone crackling as the white-hot patches began to cool slowly. "Wraith spirits exist in Equestria as well; or I should say they existed. When I emerged, I made it a point to devour all that I could find in order to cement my power and enslave three 'normal' Sirens to make them think they were the brains behind the operation. Together, we were a force to be reckoned with and fed on the chaos and discord we sowed amongst the ponies. All was well and we were well on our path to overthrowing the monarchy when he showed up."

The Siren Wraith growled deep in her throat as she thought back to those days. Discord and Night Shade were growing their fanatical power base in the Everfree Mountains but the towns on the outskirts were ripe with aggressive ponies ready to argue at the drop of a hat. Indeed, there were several arguments and fights instigated by the dropping of hats but those were other stories altogether. The quartet had breezed through every quaint and Podunk town, growing stronger and stronger but little did they know that their abilities had caught the eye of a Unicorn called Starswirl the Bearded. In an almost comical showdown, the bearded Unicorn had wielded powers unlike anything ever seen before and had cast them out of that Equestria…into another one. The same cycle had started up with their powers continuing to grow, thanks to the underlying amounts of anger and hatred the towns seemed to have for each other. And, as had happened before, Starswirl the Bearded had shown up and had used a strange kind of magic to bind her into three nearby gemstones and cast the three Sirens out of Equestria – with her being an unwilling passenger.

"A wandering wizard cast us out into another version of Equestria. The magic there was subtly stronger and leaning more into the darker side. The doppelganger of the wizard cast us out yet again into this world. The rest, I'm sure you already know."

Jabarkas rubbed the top of his head, his brain starting to hurt. Much like before, he was dealing with an immigrant from Equestria – one that had seen two different variants with a slight difference in the underlying magic. Not Grids, as they wouldn't have been created until whenever those Rangers had popped up. Magic from three worlds powered the creature in front of him but Ultra Crystal infused energy had smashed through all the natural defences and destroyed what beauty the Wraith could have had. Added to the mix that he could sense some sort of enlargement magic that seemed to have been implanted without her knowledge…well, it seemed like a massive disaster waiting to happen. The only good thing he could think of was that the Rider, Ranger, or whatever he seemed to be these days, couldn't call upon any of his Zords for fear of blowing his past identity. He had managed to give Gabriela only the barest hints that her Primary Rider was hiding something big from them but that would all come to light once the TYRANT System was freed. With no outside Ranger or Rider help for when the destruction happened, the dinky town and its strange residents would be wiped off the face of the Earth forever.

"So, what are you proposing?" Bloodless Mary ran a critical eye over the Wraith, failing to see how it could be of any use now – even so close to an Overpowered state. "You destroy the Kamen Riders and the town and we share the world equally?"

"Even with the Riders destroyed, there is still a threat from the groups of Power Rangers on Earth." Jabarkas noted with an air of finality. "Not to mention the Masked Rider of Edenoi is still residing here and can call for help from the Masked Rider Warriors. I'm not trying to dissuade you from your path – just inform you what you'll need to prepare for."

"I care nothing for this world or the defenders," the Wraith began, "I just want to feel the blood of the Rider run down my throat as his life fades from his eyes."

Jabarkas nodded sagely at that, remembering the time when he had seen exactly that. The Orange Ranger had been killed once but he had returned stronger than ever with terrifying new abilities and a fearsome Zord to boot. He had often wondered what other surprises the young man would have continued to accumulate if Xonix hadn't been destroyed but, as with most things, that musing had been answered by the appearance of the impossible Rangers. Well, that was something that he wasn't going to dwell on again. Twinlobe would have to be pulled from his research into his new monster creation abilities to create armour and weapons for the Siren Wraith and several groups of Splinters would need to be created for the upcoming battle. There was only a short window of time available until the Wrath reached its Overpowered state and he had to ensure it was destroyed before the barrier was breached.

His Master would understand.

TBC…