Power Rangers 1. Prologue: Beginnings

The Ultra Crystals

By Megazord Master

D/C – see my bio. Ultra Crystals/Crystal Coins/Dorzon are mine, ask b4 using. Please Review!!!

Eltare – Zordon's War with Rita.

With a mighty clang, the hammer came down on the anvil once more. The figure looked at his work and used a pair of tongs to drop the metal into a pool of cold water. Outside him he heard the sounds of battle, the fire of lasers, explosions, and people screaming. He heard a commander screaming out orders before screaming out in pain. He fished the metal items out of the pool by hand and carried them out of his workshop to where his mentor was waiting. 

"Are they ready?"

"Yes, sir. They need to be infused with energy and then they will work."

"I hope so, Ninjor. We need the extra firepower if we are going to survive in this war."

Ninjor bowed his head, looking at Zordon. Brown eyes met an opaque visor, Zordon looking away at last a shudder running through his body. It was because of him that his best friend Ninjor was confined to wear restrictive armour for the rest of his life. Granted, the armour did have a pretty cool battle mode – but Zordon wished that he wasn't in the armour at all. The darkening of the sky alerted their attentions to outside. 

"This is it. Ninjor, infuse the coins."

With a crackle of arcane energy, the Ninja Master energised the coins, where they fell into Zordon's palm. He looked at them carefully. Six colours, six animals of Eltarean Mythology. Black Mastodon, Yellow Sabre-Toothed Tiger, Blue Triceratops, Pink Pterodactyl, Green Dragon and Red Tyrannosaurus. Suddenly, the sage looked up again, his steady gaze meeting Ninjor's. his voice was low, but calm.

"What of the…other project? Have you completed it?"

"Yes, Zordon. I have, but before they could be tied to Eltare, Goldar attacked the lab. I was forced to send them into space."

The mentor looked grim. His hand automatically went to the sheath on his belt, where he drew out a small white sabre with a tiger's head on top. He looked at the sword sorrowfully. He knew who this weapon was and what it held inside. 

The soul of his father.

His father had always told him that he saw great things in his destiny, great victories and also crushing defeats. He had fought side-by-side with the sage during the early years, where the battles had been fierce, bloody and brutal. His father had challenged the commander of the assault force, a fledgling witch by the name of Rita Repulsa. They had fought tooth and nail against each other, even switching to using magic, until they fought to a stalemate. But Rita always had a trick up her sleeve. Calling on the Supreme force of Darkness, she had unleashed a torrent of magic at Zordon's father, destroying his physical body and encasing his soul and spirit into a nearby crude scimitar. Then, she had razed the grounds with millions of putties, together with her fearsome monsters and henchmen – the apelike Goldar and the scorpion woman Scorpina, until they had broken off the attack, mercifully – choosing to let their victims bathe in their defeat. 

Except one. 

When the battle was over, the Zordon had run amongst the dead, calling out his fathers name. he had sensed his presence, but could not find where he lay. He fell to his knees and cried openly, until he saw the transformed scimitar. He had plucked the weapon up off the ground, staring into its feline features carefully. Then, the eyes had opened and the wonderfully lustrous sound of his father's voice had erupted from the toothed maw. Ever since that day, Zordon had worn the sword into battle – granting him glorious victory every time. Now, he stared at the sword once again, before placing it in a wooden box, which he then held out to his friend. Ninjor looked at him quizzically. 

"My friend, it is time that the Prophecy came true. I, the mighty Zordon – son of Dorzon, must challenge the vile sorceress Rita Repulsa to a duel. I might not come out of this unscathed, so I wish to give you my sword until I am able to use it again."

Ninjor nodded gravely, as the full effect of Zordon's words sank into him. He placed an armoured hand on the sage's shoulder, causing him to look at the ninja warrior.

"Do not worry about me. You have your own battle to face, your own demons to conquer. I will await your call in the future."

With those words, Zordon smiled. Then, summoning up his willpower, he streaked off in the direction of his arch-enemy. Watching him go, the noble Ninja master felt a sense of grief overcome him, then forced himself to walk down the steps to the battle.

***

The twelve crystals continued to drift in space for a very long time. Shifts in their structure allowed the lead crystal to separate from the other twelve, while pieces of the crystals broke off, forming flat discs that dissolved into the lead crystal. They were completely cloaked from any radar, working on their own power to fly through the empty air.

After seemingly decades of flight, they came across a planet similar to the one they left behind. They entered the atmosphere flawlessly, with not even any orange fires to mark their entry. After a while, they moved towards their chosen home.

And where the first Champion was waiting.

TBC…


	2. Chapter One: Awakening

Chapter One: Awakening.

Many Millennia Later, Angel Grove – 1998.

As the team teleported back into the chamber after beating back one of Lord Zedd's most dangerous monster, the ancient sage looked at them from his vantage point. His mind drifted back to the battle he had shared on Eltare with the vile witch called Rita. He had slain many legions of her monstrosities before facing her henchmen in a bloody duel. In that battle, he had managed to knock the armoured simian off the balcony of Rita's palace, leaving him with a clear shot at Scorpina. Using most of his knowledge, experience and power, he had entombed the creature into a giant boulder and had cast her into space to theoretically drift forever. At least it worked in theory.

He had then burst into the main hall of the witch's diabolical castle, sword swinging. He had been surprised that the hall was empty, but not for long as a spell of the darkest evil ripped into his side. He spied the form of his father's killer and had abandoned all self-restraint. The witch had not expected him to assault him in a blind rage, and was momentarily caught off-guard. When she had finally regained her bearings she quickly took the offensive, swiftly drawing her sceptre. In the merest instant, the one sided battle became an all-out clash between Good and Evil. Rita, not one to normally lose, gathered up all of her court in the arena – her monster maker Finster of Giot, the alchemist Baboo of Prosem, the gunslinger Squatt of Harkar and Goldar from a fairly large dent in the ground. Together, with the exception of Goldar, they gathered up all their arcane energies to send Zordon into another dimension.

But Zordon wasn't the type to let this go by easily and without a fight. He successively dodged five of their blasts, weakening their defences so that he could cast the imprisonment spell on them. The problem for him was that they needed something to be put into, otherwise they would only be trapped for a few thousand years. Inspiration hit when he had seen a highly jewelled canister ironically behind them. Focusing his thoughts, he drew a tight bead on the group, unleashing his blast almost at the same time as the witch's entourage had. The two beams had flown past each other, missing by microns, and had slammed into their intended targets. Fortunately, fate was on Zordon's side as his spirit was not cast into another dimension but, rather, into one of his own pocket dimensions. As the sight faded from his physical eyes, he saw Rita and her ghastly company sucked into the canister, which, he realised dimly, was nothing more than a wastepaper basket. 

When he finally saw light once more, it had been ten million years since his imprisonment. He learned that Rita and her motley crew had also been blasted into the cosmos to drift for eternity. His friend Ninjor had contacted the mechanical mastermind Prince Lexian on the distant planet of Edenoi, and they had come the Zordon's aid by creating a tube of impenetrable crystal around his dimension. The fact that they had managed to shrink his pocket dimension down was incredible, but they also were the bearers of bad news. It seemed that as a final act of defiance, Rita had snatched the Green Dragon coin from Ninjor and had corrupted it with her evil, prior to her imprisonment. Also, Dorzon had had a mental breakdown while in the scimitar, and has duly changed his name to Saba – the name of a mythical Eltarean War God. He still remembered who he was and retained all his experience, but simply did not want to be associated with the name Dorzon. He had put it simply.

"Dorzon is dead. That's not me anymore."

As he settled in his new surroundings, he noticed a few remarkable things. His entire body was encased in the tube, or "Time Warp" as Ninjor dubbed it, but only his head could be seen. Ninjor was nervous about describing his appearance to the outside world, but was shocked when Zordon started laughing. The thought that he was just a disembodied head was just too funny to be taken seriously. He also found out that he could cast spells and infuse people with energy, although it would seem like he was doing it from his head, another factor that Zordon laughed at. Suddenly, after ten thousand years of adjusting, a message had been sent through. It seemed that Rita's flight had ended, the dumpster crashing into a small body of rock orbiting a fledgling planet. This planet was millions of years old, but already had the potential of powerful magic. The Higher Council had decreed it necessary for Zordon to be stationed on the planet to await Rita's return. Travel arrangements were…hasty to say the least.

He had been unceremoniously carted off to an awaiting starship from the planet KO-87 with plans for a "Command Centre" and an Alpha robot. A dizzying trip through various black holes later and he had finally arrived on Earth. When he had set down, the sudden appearance of a robot and a floating head caused a stir with the local natives. Basically put, they ran like Hell away from him. A few hours later, the Command Centre was fully operational and his tube was set in the centre. It was only then he saw that he had the five coins in his back pocket, apparently slipped there be Ninjor prior to his battle. He looked at them and sighed, knowing that they would be needed in the far future. Strangely, he'd sensed a very familiar energy source slowly coming closer, probably arriving around the year Two Thousand and Ninety Seven, if his timing wasn't off – but then it probably was.

Bringing himself back into the present, he congratulated his fine warriors on a job well done, beaming at his "Power Rangers". Jason, the Red Ranger – strong, brave and iron willed – he reminded Zordon of himself; Trini,  the Yellow Ranger – gentle, caring and fierce; William, or Billy, - the Blue Ranger, almost as smart as Lexian; Zack – the Black Ranger, carefree, funny and reminding the ancient sage of Ninjor; Kimberley – the Pink Ranger, graceful, flexible and sharp-tongued. And then, he set his gaze on the sixth Power Ranger, still reeling after his first battle – Tommy. He sensed great things in his future, but he had made no sense out of the images – a falcon, a red star, a racecar and a Brachiosaur. He was the one that was partnered with his father, Saba, and they apparently had "put the smackdown on that bad-assed Nimrod" as he had so eloquently put it. So far, his father was behaving himself.

As his charges teleported out, he sensed a wave of evil sweep over him. It was so immense that the scanners momentarily gave out. He looked down at his faithful assistant and spoke, his deep voice resonating around the cavernous Chamber.

"Alpha, what was that?"

The little droid looked up at his master, with an expression that could almost be described as fear. The usually high-pitched voice came out low, announcing three words that sent a deep, blood-freezing terror into the ancient master's bones.

"He is coming."

TBC…


	3. Chapter Two: First Blood

D/C – look in my Bio. Thanks to anyone whose read, but not reviewed! And reviews are good as well!

Chapter Two: First Blood

The next day, in a small building called the Youth Centre, six teenagers were resting after a tough battle. Kim and Trini were at a table, watching the rest of the team spar. All of a sudden, the ground quaked with an intensity that rivalled Rita's escape – the wooden floor splintered, glass blew out and all electrical appliances blew up simultaneously. Screams and shrieks were heard as the patrons scrambled to the exit in a near-blind panic. The only people that didn't scream were the six teenagers, only because they were trying to contact their mentor. Jason was speaking into his wrist communicator, trying to get a signal out.

"Zordon, do you read?"

Almost immediately, the booming voice of their bodiless mentor rang out from the tiny speaker.

"Yes, Power Rangers. Teleport to the Command Centre right away."

Sensing an urgency and panic in their mentor's voice, they streaked out in six columns of blinding light. When they reached the futuristic Command Centre, they expected anything than what they saw when they rematerialised. Sirens were blaring out everywhere, warning lights were flashing and Alpha 5 was trying desperately to bring the system under control. In the middle of this chaos, Zordon was looking down gravely, barking out orders to the small android, then asking the Rangers to help out. In a matter of minutes, the combined efforts had made a drastic improvement on the amount of noise level in the confined space. Tommy looked at the sage, his voice laced with worry and concern.

"Zordon," he began. "What was that? Is it Zedd?"

The sage looked down from his position in his tube and spoke, his own voice echoing the concern in Tommy's. 

"No. I am afraid not. What you just felt was an unstoppable force of evil being awakened. I fear that your powers will not be enough to stop this menace."

Jason spoke up next, his voice holding a thin thread of desperation.

"Then what can we do? What is this new evil anyway?"

As the last syllable was ejected from Jason's lips, the ancient wizard's eyes unfocused, as if he was staring at something the rest of them couldn't see. He knew that he would have to answer this question if He ever escaped, but he could not bring himself to tell the truth to his Power Rangers. He opened his mouth to speak, when all of a sudden, he was interrupted by the blaring of the alarm. As data flooded before Zordon's eyes, thanks to the screen Lexian installed, the viewing globe sprang to life, bathing the chamber with images of unspeakable horror.

On the football grounds of Angel Grove Park, a group of…things were ambling across the field. They were humanoid in shape, but any resemblance to putties ended there. Their faces were set in a twisted, deformed mask and their thin limbs concealed tightly packed bands of muscle. They seemed to be made of the same substance as Rita's Rock Putties but, unlike the knobbly surface of those, they were more streamlined and refined. Some had two arms, others one and others more than four! They all had two legs, which was a small relief, but that was the only relief that they had. Almost as if sensing that they were being watched, the creatures opened their mouths, ejecting a stream of fire that torched the nearby bleachers to ashes. It was only as one of the creatures spied a group of children did Jason act.

"All right guys, let's put out the trash. IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"

As one, the teens swiftly pulled out their Power Morphers and morphed, pure Morphin Grid energy coursing through their veins and muscles, transforming them into the nearly invincible warriors known as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Only Zordon knew of the slight damage that occurred every time when they morphed, but was sworn to secrecy.

"TIGERZORD!"

"MASTODON!"

"PTERODACTYL!"  
"TRICERATOPS!"

"SABRE-TOOTHED TIGER!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS!"

As the pulse of light died down, the six heroes teleported to the park to face their foes. When they arrived, they could only watch in horror as the creature reached the first child. Possessing a strength that no Putty possessed, the creature lifted the child up and calmly threw the child, head first, into a tree. The body slumped at the base, the child either knocked out or dead. As before, Jason acted on instinct. He charged into the group of creatures, punching and kicking at anything that entered his range of vision. Zack, Trini, Kim and Billy took after their leader and dove into the fray, while Tommy withdrew Dorzon, now called Saba, and pointed him head first at the thing in front of him. The ancient sabre opened his eyes sleepily before widening them in fear. 

Gathering up all the strength his new form possessed, he sent a telepathic message to his son, but was unsurprised when he found that it couldn't go through. Steeling himself, Saba found himself looking at the battle upside down as Tommy slashed the creature with his blade. The monster fell apart, its body cleaved cleanly in two. Tommy looked satisfied underneath his helmet, which is why the sudden punch to his gut made him gasp. For a few seconds, he found himself completely weightless. He looked down to see that he was a few metres off the ground, but flying horizontally. He slammed into the concrete ticket booth hard, before blacking out with blood seeping from underneath his armour.

Jason saw his best friend's plight, but was powerless to stop it. In a blast of red, he withdrew his Power Sword and wielded it expertly against the creatures. One by one, he saw his friends being knocked out, or injured, before he was the last one standing. Zack took a nasty blow to his head, destroying the left side of his helmet completely, before being emergency-teleported out. Trini's body was bent in the most excruciating ways possible, before she was thrown onto Tommy's body, where she lay deathly still. Kim and Billy had to withstand the pain as their attackers repeatedly slammed them together and onto the ground. When they finished, they threw them up into the air, then breathed a large gout of fire at them, leaving their suits badly charred. They landed in a heap, their suits sparking madly. Jason's temper rose to a fever pitch as he ran inside the mob, slicing, slashing and jabbing at anything that moved. 

The last thing he saw were five jets of flame rushing at him.

TBC…


	4. Chapter Three: The Who

See previous bits for disclaimer. Extra points to anyone who spots all the ADOM references! Golems, Fiends and Jarbarkas are mine.

Chapter 3: The Who

As Jason slowly regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was the dull blue and white ceiling of the Command Centre. He found himself lying on a med-bed in the main Command area. Around him were his teammates in various stages of healing. Zack's face and head were swathed in bandages while Alpha ran a flesh regenerator over the most damaged portions. Trini was in a recovery tank, her body immersed in a nanobot-infested healing goo, her head being the only exposed part of her body. Billy and Kim were off to one side, drying off the last remaining traces of the healing gel, watching a mostly healed Tommy. Zack was the first to notice his leader's return to life. He turned his head, staring out of his good eye.

"Hey man. Welcome back. You were out of it for a while, but now you're all right."

Jason licked his lips and tried to speak, his voice coming out raspy and hoarse.

"Wha…what happened? The last I remember is being thrashed by those hyper Putties."

Zack looked uncomfortable. After the battle, he had learned that they had all been teleported back to the Command Centre and placed in the regeneration tanks immediately. Zack, who had been the least injured, had been told of the situation. He had also been instructed not to reveal anything until the team was fully healed, but Zack thought that that might be a bit too late. He had argued with Zordon that someone would have noticed their disappearance, and then they could not go home without being hounded. Zordon had calmly stated that there was no need to worry about their parents, for they thought that they had gone on a camping trip. Zack had then reluctantly conceded that he was right. Now, it seemed that Zordon could give them some information about who, or what, had attacked them now that Jason was in the land of the living. Cautiously, as to not injure himself further, Jason slowly sat up, while Tommy wearily lifted his head.

For the first time, Jason saw the injuries that had befallen his "bro". Tommy's chest was a roadmap of scars and bruises, the worst of it being the long vertical scar that stretched from his navel to his collarbone. He weakly grinned at Jason, then they all looked up to see what Zordon had to say. For the first time in his life, Zordon didn't know what to do. He cleared his throat, and spoke.

"I know you all want answers. I will tell them to you. Those unstoppable creatures that you faced are known as Golems, one type of foot soldier that our new enemy has. Observe the Viewing Globe."

The six teens turned as fast as they were able to and saw more images in the crystalline ball. They saw the Golems along with a second type of monster fighting against a blackened city. They were lizard-like in shape, with armoured tails swinging behind them in a broad arc. Their clawed hands grasped crude knives and swords, while their taloned feet lashed out at anything that moved. The Rangers watched in horror as they reared up, their reptilian lips pulling back to reveal rows upon rows of needle-like teeth. The most striking thing about them, however, were their eyes. They did not possess the normal eye structure of any lizard, or even any human or monster, but were gaping black holes. The sight of them made Jason shiver with fear. Zordon continued.

"The Golems are not unlike Rita's Putty Golems, but they are tougher than anything. When they are paired up with the Fiends, they provide a force to be reckoned with. As you have experienced, the Golems can shoot fire out of their mouths. While the Fiends cannot, they possess a unique skill similar to the Drakelings of the Drakalor Chain."

As they watched, mesmerised by the images, they saw a Fiend sharply jut its head forwards, opening its maw to shoot out a ball of phlegm. Kim wrinkled her nose in disgust, but the disgust quickly turned to fear as the phlegm stripped the flesh from a warrior on screen. Zordon bowed his head in respect for the fallen warrior. It had been one of his father's best friends – Aruk. What they had found after the demons had retreated was a badly stripped warrior, barely alive. Like Ninjor, they had constructed a metallic shell around his brain and sent him to fight under the name Auric. Zordon wondered if he would ever see his friend again. He quickly brought his head back to the present and spoke to his rangers.

"Their unique ability to spit acid has killed many good warriors. They do not share any weaknesses with ordinary lizards, so fire and ice cannot hurt them. Their skin is impervious to all but the sharpest of blades, and their gaze is said to have driven an entire battalion insane. Defeating them will not be an easy task, but I am sure that you will do it."

On the globe, the image shifted to a terrifying one. A hulking creature vaguely humanoid in shape smashed through a populated village. Its heavily muscled body was covered in a shining blue and silver armour, grasping a huge broadsword. Every single inch of the body was covered in armour of some sort, only leaving the head exposed. The head was a monstrous visage, sharp horns pointing out at diagonal corners, so the face was set in a crude rectangle. Its eyes were like the Fiends, bottomless gaping pits. The teeth, Jason thought, were very similar to what a cross between a Tyrannosaurus and a Great White would have. With every step it took, Jason could almost feel the ground trembling. Zordon blanched as he saw the creature that had very nearly skewered him on the Battleground. 

"That, is the Hurantic Warrior, Jarbarkas. He is galactically ranked as the top warrior in Sector QF159. the sword in his hand is the Legendary Glass Breaker – a sword fabled to have slain the Karmic Dragon Grath. In the breastplate of his armour is the also Legendary Chaos Orb of Fire. He will prove to be more than a match than Goldar. I will now meditate on the events."

As he vanished, he couldn't help to think that this was only the tip of the iceberg, and that there was more to things than it seemed. 

He could only pray the prophecy was right.

TBC…


	5. Chapter Four: New Legacy

D/C – See my bio. The chars of Weihan, Alex and Moss are mine, as well as any teachers names. Yes, my Yr 8 maths teacher was really like that. Updated and revised. Tsukino – here's your explanation about the damage.

Chapter Four: New Legacy

Sydney, Australia

"Goddamn it! If I get another fucking detention from Johnsy, I'll kill him myself!"

Weihan Liang looked at his ranting friend with amusement. It was true that the teacher known to all as "Johnsy" was a bit hard-edged, but also a tad rash when it came to discipline. Already, Weihan had gotten two detentions for mindless, trivial things. He was a quiet fellow, not that many friends – those who DID know him often spread word about his awesome karate skills, but with being a black belt in Karate plus forming his own unique brand of fighting it was to be expected. Anything less and he would start questioning people. He walked together with his friend, Alex Burns, through the rigidly straight corridors of the prestigious St Andrew's Cathedral School on their way to their next class – maths. Forty five minutes of mind-numbing agony, not to mention that their teacher seemed to be a bit off the rails.

At thirteen, Weihan had already gotten into his fair share of schoolyard scuffles, usually resulting in him being the victor. Those had also resulted in him being suspended for a few days to "cool off", then returning to repeat the process a few weeks later. He figured, it was either him skipping a few days here and there or sending people to early graves. He liked the latter and chose it. Despite what he told others, Weihan enjoyed school, but only the parts that interested him – mainly science and English. Christian Development was a pain in the ass, considering their teacher was Evil incarnate, History a total drag and Sport was an unnecessary evil. German was all right – it allowed him to sleep. Personal Development and Physical Education were all right, but not worth going to each day.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a call from behind. Turning his head, he groaned inwardly as he spied a rotund form wheeling towards him. Steven Moss – one of the richest and fattest people in SACS – waddled up to them and squinted closely. His whiny voice was tinged with some concern.

"Weihan, are you all right? You still owe me money."

Alex's voice was laced heavily with sarcasm, as he rolled his eyes at Weihan.

"Yeah, he's fine. And he DOESN'T owe you money! You still owe him $50!!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

As they continued to banter back and forth, Weihan gave Alex a quick, but tired, smile. He wouldn't reveal this to anyone, but he had been having strange dreams. Stuff about a war in a far away place, some guy in blue armour, crystals and dinosaurs. It seemed likely that the dreams were meant for someone else, rather than him. Probably some luckless sap from Angel Grove, where all the Power Ranger action was. Unlike most of the others, he believed in the Power Rangers. He desperately wished that he could be swept away into their world and do the things they did. Battling monsters would be a blast compared to sitting through Mr Steele's jaw breaking rendition of all the "wonders" of Pythagoras' Theorem. Hell, even travelling around the Earth would be better than anything! 

Suddenly he was overcome by a brief nausea spell. Breaking off from his friends, he went to find the sick bay. On the way, he was distracted by a soft glow coming from the inside of the boy's toilets. Curiosity overcame fear, and he was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Inside, he found that it was pitch black, but the light seemed to light up the entire bathroom. Cautiously, he opened each cubicle to determine where the light was coming from. With each opened door, there was nothing behind each one. Rolling his eyes at whoever was watching, he kicked in the last and final door. As soon as he did so, he had to shield his eyes, because a bright orange pulse of energy flashed out. As the light died down, he saw a 30cm crystal float towards him. As his fist closed over it, his body suddenly reeled back and he felt his spirit flying. Flying out of the school, flying to God knows where.

When he stopped, he saw that he was in a circular room with stars for a ceiling. He walked around for a while before screaming out in confusion.

"Why am I here?"

To his surprise, a disembodied voice answered him.

"You are here, Weihan Liang, because it is your destiny to do great things."

"Am I going to be a Power Ranger or something?"

The voice laughed.

"No, you are not. You are going to be greater than a Power Ranger. That crystal, the one that brought you here, has travelled the timestream, adding Powers to itself. You are the most Powerful Ranger in existence – an Ultra Ranger fuelled by the Power Of the Mighty Utahraptor and filled with the essence of Fire. Do You accept? This is not a decision to be taken lightly."

He nodded once, then furrowed his brow in confusion.

"What is it about this crystal? Where did it come from? Are there any rules?"

The last question was said quietly, so quiet in fact that Weihan wasn't sure if the being had heard him. Loud, booming laughter shattered the quiet calm and the voice spoke once more.

"No, Weihan. Since you have been granted a Power higher than normal, you and your team will be exempt from the rules and the Morphin Madness."

Weihan nodded, then did a double-take. He blinked, then reeled back, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Wait a second. Team? My team? What's this about a team? And what's the Morphin Madness? Some kind of cola or something?"

"No, the Morphin Madness is a disease that occurs every time a normal Power Ranger morphs. As the Powers held by that person increases, the damage increases steadily, until the body cannot hold any sort of Powers ever again. There are only two ways to reverse this condition. One is to have your system cleansed by a Morphin Master. The other way is to be energised with a power so extreme, it will immunise you and your descendants forever."

"And the team? How do I know who to pick?"

The voice spoke again, softer than before.

"You will know when the time is right. Now, it is not the right time for all the Ultra, Crystal and Sentinel Powers to be activated. You will command a hefty fleet of Zords, vehicles and weapons to aid you in your task. Now, rest and I will tell you about the Evil approaching…"

TBC…


	6. Chapter Five: Defeat

AN/DC – Man, two chapters in one update! That's something. Good, bad or worse? More action coming up in later chaps. Stay tuned!

Chapter Five: Defeat.

"_In times of darkness, the warriors six will fall_

_One city will be shadowed in pure evil_

_One flame will rise_

_One flame will win_"

Zack stared at the words on the screen with confusion. The prophecy made no sense to him, but he guessed it was just his interpretation. After meditating, Zordon had brought up the subject of an ancient prophecy heralding the destruction of Earth. Naturally, the team were curious and so, Alpha had, reluctantly, brought it up on screen. Passing a quick glance around the Chamber, he saw that they were taking this hard. He looked back at the screen and tried to think about what the words meant. 

"Warriors of six" – that could mean the Power Rangers, but they had always stood up against evil. "One City" – quite possibly Angel Grove or even Stone Canyon. But the phrase that really caught his attention was "One flame". For all he knew, the "One flame" could mean a bushfire or a flamethrower attack, but he doubted that. "One flame" had different meanings, it could be an animal, a vehicle or even a person. He slowly shook his head, then headed over to where Jason and Tommy were sitting. He smiled at them and sat down, injecting himself into the conversation.

"So," he began. "You feeling better? That prophecy thing's really knocked us back for a loop." 

"I know." said Jason, looking up. "The thing that irks me the most is that anything and anyone could be this "flame", but we have no way to find out who or what it is! Don't forget we have a new bad guy on the block. The last thing that we need is an attack or something."

At that precise moment, the attack alarms started blaring again. All six Power Rangers pulled themselves tiredly to their feet and stared up at their mentor. The sage looked at them, debating on whether or not he should tell them about the Morphin Madness, but decided against it. Opening his mouth, the wizard began the brief on the monster du jour. As he took in a breath, the dark energy from the monster reached his pocket dimension, causing him to jump slightly. To the Rangers, it seemed like someone had kicked the bottom of his Dimensional cylinder and jolted whatever was inside – namely Zordon. Composing himself, he began to speak once more, his booming voice holding the tiniest trace of fear.

"Rangers. Our new enemy has sent down a monster. Look behind you at the Viewing Globe."

The Rangers turned to see the image reflected in the crystal sphere. Taking the same route as the Golems had that morning was a large, hulking two-headed giant. In each of its four massive fists, it carried a brutally heavy club. Slime dripped from its fanged mouth, while its eight eyes seemed to burn with an unholy light. It stopped, then let out a roar – a purely animalistic sound of challenge. Zordon started again.

"I do not know anything about this monster. I have never encountered anything like it in my life. I can only pray that the Power will protect you."

Tommy smiled, but the grin faded as the ogre on screen started to jerk uncontrollably, red lightning bolts running across its body. He was fixated to the screen and was dimly aware of Kim asking what was going on and Zordon's reply. His eyes widened as the monster started to grow by itself until it towered over the buildings. He swallowed hard and said a quick prayer before squaring his jaw.

"That thing's gonna fall hard and fast. Ready guys?"

As one, the five remaining teens nodded, their hands reaching behind their backs to the pocket dimension stored there. They weren't aware of it, but every time they reached for their morphers, their hands actually were _inside_ Zordon's own dimension. Suffice to say, the first time they had reached behind their backs, it had scared the crap out of the wizard – but he was all right with it now. Together, they pulled out the six devices crafted by Lexian and held them in front of them.

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"

"TIGERZORD!"

"MASTODON!"

"PTERODACTYL!"  
"TRICERATOPS!"

"SABRE-TOOTHED TIGER!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS!"

Their vision disappeared in a wash of coloured light and when it cleared, they found themselves on a cliff facing the monster. Slowly, they reached deep into the core of their Powers and drew on the Thunder inside. Contrary to what Zordon had told them, the Thunder Powers and Thunderzords were bonded to them for life. The only way that the bond could be broken was if the Powers were transferred or the bearer was killed. Although they had no knowledge of that particular fact, that didn't stop them calling upon the six Zords once more.

"WE NEED THUNDERZORD POWER, NOW!"

"MASTODON LION THUNDERZORD POWER!"

"PTERODACTYL FIREBIRD THUNDERZORD POWER!"

"TRICERATOPS UNICORN THUNDERZORD POWER!"

"SABRE-TOOTHED TIGER GRIFFIN THUNDERZORD POWER!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS RED DRAGON THUNDERZORD POWER!"

"WHITE TIGER THUNDERZORD, POWER UP!"

On the horizon, the six Zords appeared. Another piece of information that they weren't aware of was that the Thunderzords were separate entities to the Dinozords. If it wasn't for the fact that Lord Zedd had all but destroyed the Dino Powers, the Rangers could very well have had two sets of Zords to call upon in battle. Wasting no time on individual battling, Jason called for the gestalt transformation.

"THUNDER MEGAZORD POWER, NOW!"

In a brilliant display of pyrotechnics and lightning orchestrated by Zordon and Alpha, the five main Thunderzords combined into a samurai-looking robot, while the Tigerzord initiated a transformation of its own. In another flash, two giant battle mechas stood to face the monster. Seeing its opponents for the first time, the creature smiled and laughed, sending chills down the Ranger's spines. It opened both of its mouths to speak in a deep chilling voice that had a strange echo-like effect.

"Ah, Power Rangers." It breathed, stressing the words _Power Rangers_. "I am a messenger sent by my master to crush you and claim this world His!"

"Yeah right! Tell your master Earth'll never surrender to him!"

The creature wheezed out a dry laugh and directed its paralysing gaze at the White Ranger before speaking once more.

"Who said anything about surrender? My master will take this world and crush all life!"

Any further bragging was halted as the energised blade of the Thunder Sabre crashed into its shoulder. As the sabre was removed, all four of the monster's clubs lifted up and slammed hard into the central command cockpit, where the Rangers stood. A gargantuan explosion of sparks and fire erupted out of the gaping wound, and the Rangers were surprised to see that the armoured glass "bubble" had actually cracked under the intense blow. As the five struggled to regain command of the crippled robot, Tommy made his move. Calling upon the Tiger Sword, he slashed the blade twice, both strikes carving the belly of the ogre. The creature bellowed in pain and rage, swinging two clubs at the Tigerzord. When the fully powered clubs impacted with the armour, the effect was frightening. The clubs cut deeply into the metal as smoothly as a chainsaw through wood, severing important components and causing red and black lubricant to spray everywhere. Apparently, Tommy had severed his psychic link to the Zord and was fighting on, despite the warning lights flashing in his cockpit. Saba would have swallowed if he still had a throat. This would be a battle no one would win.

Capitalizing on the giant's temporary distraction, Jason manoeuvred the Thunder Sabre so that the blade was pointed at the creature's back. Then, as he was about to run it through the back, something incredibly startling happened. The monster spun on its heel and cleaved all clubs through the middle section of the robot. If the effect the first time was startling, the second time's attack was fatal. For the first time ever, the Thunder Megazord was bisected in half at the waist. The top half was flung back, sparks streaming out of the "wound". In the cockpit, the Rangers were being violently thrown around as their Zord was torn apart. At the last second, before the Zord was swallowed in a giant fireball, the five Rangers teleported out, leaving Tommy on his own. Inside the White Tigerzord, Tommy was desperately trying to regain some semblance of control. The hits had almost destroyed the reactor, but he still held on. As the ogre smiled and began trudging his way, he snapped back to reality and teleported out. The monster laughed, then vanished in a flash of fire and brimstone.

The Power Rangers had lost.

TBC…

Another ADOM ref there – the ogre monster was based on the description of the Ogre Magus (Damn hard to kill if you can't see invisible!)


	7. Chapter Six: Upgrades

Usual Disclaimers…New Zord structure is mine, original concepts aren't. Xonix (pronounced Yo-nicks) is also mine. Sorry 'bout the delay – my comp crashed.  

Chapter Six: Upgrades

"Shit! I can't bloody believe it! We had him!"

Jason paced the circular hall of the Command Centre, cursing at this new monster that had practically destroyed their Zords. Only Tommy's Tigerzord was left, but that if the creature chose to attack again, they would be majorly short-handed. Zordon looked at his charges and spoke.

"Rangers. I am deeply saddened by the loss of the Zords, but it seems that I have not been truthful to you concerning these Zords."

Jason looked up confused. Not truthful? As far as they had known, Zordon always spoke the truth to them, and they had respected his need for secrets. This revelation was stunning to say the least. Billy was the first one to snap out of his daze and stare at Zordon.

"What do you mean? What is the truth anyway?"

Zordon sighed. Ever since being confined, he had dreaded the day when he would have to explain his worst mistake – using his premiere Zords as crude transformers. He knew that he was in the wrong, but as an apprentice Zord creator, he had not thought about it until that day that Lord Zedd had shown up. The evil overlord's ability to crush the outer shells of the Dinozords had left him with little choice but to initiate the Thunder energy. The Thunder energy that was infused in the Dinozords were the energies of the dark side of the Morphin' Grid. Left in the reactors of the Dinozords, it had been only a matter of time before a darker energy would try to seek it out. The entire battle with Piranisthead, Zordon had been holding his breath to see whether the Dark energy would escape or consume the Zords. So far, it hadn't – until now. Now, the Zords had been all but destroyed and the Dark Thunder energy inside the White Tigerzord completely diminished. It was time to upgrade their arsenal – hopefully for the last time. He swallowed, then spoke.

"Rangers, I have hidden this secret from you since Lord Zedd arrived. The Thunderzords you have been using these past few battles are not the real Thunderzords."

Kim's and Trini's head snapped up at the mention of the Zords being fake, and even Jason and Tommy frowned in disbelief. Zordon continued.

"I will now infuse you with the real Power of Thunder, then you will sense the difference in your powers and your new Thunderzords. The Dinozords were an experiment that I deeply regret doing. Still, they have served their purpose. The wreckage will go to an Academy in the mountains, the Sensei and I are good friends. Now, prepare yourself!"

In a bright burst of lightning, six streaks of pure white power flowed into the still stunned Power Rangers. At first, they felt no change, but then the power started to work. It burnt away the old Power relays inside their bodies and constructed newer, more efficient ones. Their bodies grew stronger, more athletic than before. Their movements grew swifter, their thoughts more sharp. As the energy died down, they felt as though they were supercharged – even more so then when they received the Dino powers. Zordon looked at them as they looked at themselves in wonder. He concentrated on their morphers, willing the real Thunder Powers into them. In six colour-coded flashes, the Dinosaur symbols were now replaced with stylised Thunder Animals. Zordon smiled.

"I am sorry that you were deceived, but it was the only thing to do at the time."  

They nodded as one, not bothering to brood over past mistakes. Together, they brought out their morphers, noticing the new changes. No longer were the morphers octagonal in shape – now they were circular, with the Power Coins taking up the entire area. Outside the Command Centre, storm clouds brewed and lightning flashed as the newly upgraded Mighty Morphin Power Rangers used their new powers for the first time. Tommy looked over at his morpher, as the information began piling into his brain. Not for the first time, he wondered why all information Ranger related stuck, while everyday trivial things went in and out. Oh well, another thing to ask Zordon again.

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"

"TIGER!"

"LION!"

"PHOENIX!" 

"PEGASUS!"

"KIRIN!"

"DRAGON!"

Six brightly coloured lightning bolts suddenly smashed through the ceiling, each one slamming into each teen, energising them with more power than their bodies could handle. In a dazzling flash and an ear splitting crack of thunder, they stood in their…Morphin costumes. Apart from the change in the coins and morph calls, there was little difference at all. Seeing their puzzlement about the changes and the calls, the ancient sage nodded sagely at them, his voice blanketing their doubtful silence.

"The reason for the change is simple. No longer are you drawing the Thunder powers from the Dark side of the Grid. Simply put, it is not yet time for these Dark energies to fight on the side of Light. You are now drawing on the full unsullied potential of the Thunder Power. You will also notice several changes to your Zords, none in the structural sense – but you will find the new improvements to your liking."

The Rangers nodded, then teleported to the Zord Bay, where they saw their renewed Thunderzords for the first time. They were almost virtually unchanged, with the exception of several new and distinguishing features. Zack's Lion Zord was still the same as before, but it looked more streamlined somehow and more menacing. The Firebird had changed colour from its pinkish red shade to a more vibrant reddish-orange with an aerial flame trail behind it. The Zords that were the most changed were the Griffin and Unicorn Zords – the Unicorn now had visible wings, moving legs and it was also more streamlined. As it raced above the ground, the Ranger's could see its mane billowing out behind it. For the Griffin's change to the Kirin, the metal structure was completely revamped to look like a smaller version of the Red Dragon Thunderzord, except that it was coloured yellow, black and red. The eyes burned with intelligence – something that wouldn't be seen in any Zord for at least another eleven years. Thick steam gushed from its mouth and nose – signifying a red-hot core.

The only Zord that stayed remarkably the same was the Red Dragon and White Tiger Thunderzords. The only change in them was that they now were more streamlined and looked more deadly. The Power Rangers cheered when they saw their new Zords.

"Yes!" Zack whooped. "We can beat that thing now!"

"All right guys," Tommy and Jason started. "Let's show that goon what the Power Rangers are all about!"

As they teleported into their Zords, Alpha looked up at Zordon, who seemed to be in a meditative trance. A split-second later, he snapped out of his haze and nodded. His worst fear had come true.

Xonix was coming.

TBC…


	8. Chapter Seven: Bad News

A/N: Very sorry for the long wait! I had written most of this up, but hit a brick wall. It's here now! Note: I don't own PR. Or Channel Ten. Or John Howard (who'd WANT to own him anyway?). Enjoy! Review Please!!!!

Chapter Seven: Bad News

The first thing Weihan noticed when he woke up was that he was still in the toilets. He looked at his watch and his eyes widened. He had only been out of it for two minutes! Picking himself up off the floor, for the first time, he noticed that he had an orange shimmer running around his body – like an aura of sorts. It was only then that he looked at his watch more closely. The slim watch had expanded lengthwise, so it looked like a rectangular box was set on the band. Looking even closer, he saw a few buttons, switches and crystals set into the box. He shook his head to clear his mind, then looked at his wrist again. The box was still there. It was only then that he heard a soft voice inside his head.

_"That is your Ultra Morpher. It allows you to call upon any one of your powers, or all at once – if you choose. Now, go about your daily business. I will contact you if there is any danger."_

Rolling his eyes at the voice that sounded like Jeff Goldblum, he left the toilets and walked off to his next class. He paused as the voice came to him once more.

_"Thank You, I think. Anyway, remember all I have told you. It will soon be time to make your debut."_

Man, he was really going to have to focus on his work and not on the multitudes of information spinning around his brain. Evil warriors from outer space – he could deal with them, but the fact that they had their sights set on him alone? The thought was enough to send cold shocks down his spine. He looked down at his watch once more. 10:45. He knew that he had to take some time off school to think about his new power – but he also had to show up for his next class. Fortunately, it was PE and the teacher knew that he never brought his gear anyway and had all but struck out his name from the roll. That brought him some temporary relief as he trudged down the stairs to his locker. When he reached it, he saw an orange flash out of the corner of his eye.

Looking down at his left wrist, he saw that his morpher had shrunk back into his watch – which now resembled something out of a sci-fi show. Big, heavy and clunky were the words that leapt into his head as he opened his locker and pulled out his bag. He paused to think what he was doing for a split second before quietly slamming his locker. He deserved a day off – even though he had been caught "jigging" once too often. He didn't worry about it too much – after all, he had "perfected" his art so that he could be in school, but people would think he wasn't. He just…blended into the shadows. After stealing a quick look around him, he slowly walked to the Eastern fire stairs. Eight storeys worth of fire stairs. As he started down them, he strained his ears to hear ANY sound from above or below. He grinned mirthlessly, then looked at his morpher.

To his surprise, and relief, his watch looked the same as it had that morning. He sighed, then continued down the stairs. Around the third floor, he heard a dull buzzing from the upper floors. With a groan, he realised what it was – the bell signifying the change of periods. A few seconds later, he heard a cacophony quickly descending. Weihan braced himself, and all but ran down the remaining flights – the floor numbers whizzing past him. Level 2, Level 1, Level M – what was that all about? – and finally, Ground Floor with the fire exit looming in front of him. Without thinking, he bodily slammed into the double doors, sprawling onto the paved concrete of Town Hall Arcade. Fortunately for him, there were no other people around to see his fall. He blinked in the harsh sunlight and made tracks for the Train Station. On the way there, he passed a small television, that quickly gained his attention. On screen, the news reporter was hastily skimming through Breaking News that was just handed to her.

"_This just in.__ The world famous Mighty Morphin Power Rangers of Angel Grove are alleged to have fallen against a new foe."_

Shown on screen were the familiar Thunder Megazord and White Tigerzord fighting something that looked like a hideously deformed statue. Weihan was barely aware that a small crowd had gathered behind him. Luckily, he could not spot any familiar faces. He winced as the monster – or whatever the hell it was – was shown to be cleaving the Thunder Megazord in half. As the two halves exploded, he prayed that there was no one on board. An explosion of that magnitude would reduce anyone to ashes – Power Ranger or not. His wide eyes also surveyed the damage the Tigerzord had faced. Deep gouges ran along every exposed surface, marring the white paint.

_"We urge anyone who has family in Angel Grove to not panic. The mayor has assured the rest of the world that outside assistance will not do anything to these…monsters. Needless to say, the Prime Minister is not impressed."_

The view changed again, now to Canberra, where the weasel-faced John Howard was speaking to the many cameras and microphones pointed in his ugly mug.

_"No, this is the last and final straw. We have insisted on aiding Angel Grove to repel these invaders, but they have been pushing us away! Now, their renowned defenders have fallen, so we can presumably come in and offer a hand – right? Wrong! They say that the Power Rangers will return. Well, I'm sorry, but that's just not good enough for me!"_

Bringing himself back to reality, Weihan started walking to the direction of the trains, when the scene changed back to the news room.

_"The PM gave the nod for troops to be mobilised to Angel Grove within the next few hours. Channel Ten will keep you up-to-date with the War on Aliens as and when it occurs. Now in local news…"_

He shook his head in mixed disbelief and disgust. War on Aliens indeed. He stared at the timetables, brought out his travel pass and passed through the gates.

Unaware that he was being watched by eyes.

Eyes from Space.


	9. Chapter Eight: Visions

A/N: After a long wait, the next chapter of The Ultra Crystals is here! Read and Review! I don't own the Power Rangers, although it would be cool to own them.

Chapter Eight: Visions

The eyes looked at the retreating figure on Earth from behind an opaque shroud. They studied the young boy carefully. After all, it didn't know where those accursed crystals had landed – or if they had chosen a bearer yet. But this young boy…he pulsed with a power unseen in most humans. A power so great, it dwarfed the power of the other six figures he had seen. It didn't care for them; the Ogre would take care of them. From what it had seen, the Ogre had destroyed their arsenal as easily as it had destroyed the Tuber system. No fuss or mess. Slowly, its reptilian lips drew back in a malevolent grin showing rows and rows of teeth that glistened wetly in the dim light. It lifted a scaly hand up and drew back the hood. Hideous laughter echoed around the ship, causing Fiends and Golems to flee in fright.

The figure stopped suddenly – as if sensing something. It rolled its eyes and pressed a few buttons. A screen sprang to life and flickered once, then twice. Finally – after what seemed like an eternity – a figure materialized on the tiny screen. It was a skinless body, adorned with what looked like steel, but was really Zycordian silver – an indestructible metal. The silver adorned large areas of its body, the chest, the legs, arms, face, feet and fingers. Even the ornate staff it carried was made of silver. With the price of even one gram of Zycordian silver well over six trillion kiams, the figure in front of it would have to be either very, very rich – or very, very broke. But the reptile knew who was behind the mask. He had to know, really.

A slow hiss came from its mouth as it looked over the fleshman. Finally, it spoke to the figure in a reptilian hiss.

"Zedd. Why call now? Upset that I'm intruding on your turf?"

Harsh laughter came from the grill of Zedd's face mask. The alien shook its head, its exposed brain slowly throbbing in the dim light. When it spoke, its voice was gravelly and grating.

"Hardly. I'm just checking up on you. Why are you here? I thought you were trying to conquer the Satiuqea system?"

"No duh, braniac. Theoretically I'm still doing that. I've got two of my trusted lieutenants there – Twinlobe and Yit. I'm sure you remember them."

Zedd paled under his mask. Twinlobe and Yit – two of the three fiercest fighters on the western side of the universe. He tried to recruit them long ago, but was beaten to the punch by the figure in front of him. The third fighter was Goldar, but his skills were deteriorating. It was only a matter of time before he would go "out of fashion" – as the humans liked to say. But, he guessed he'd cross that bridge when the time came. He was aware that Goldar had loyalties to Rita, and could not be trusted – that much, but then it was him or use Squatt or Baboo…but only as a last ditch resort. He took in a sharp intake of breath, recalling a long forgotten memory.

"Ah, what about your foot soldiers? As I recall, you were trying to make your own breed of Putty. Or what about those things you made on Hom'World?"

Independently moving eyes rolled upwards in their sockets, a sign of sarcasm and boredom. He knew what the fleshman was talking about. His last creations had been a total disaster – with the blame being nailed on him. It wasn't really his fault, the creations had been good but they lacked finesse. They resembled humanoid mudpies and smelt like them as well. He grimaced and turned back to the figure on screen.

"Those golems were a complete disaster, that's true, but my new golems are…how do those humans say, up to the challenge. Also, I have been experimenting with some fusion technology that I found in the Tubser System. The results have been…interesting. I am sending you the results now."

He saw Zedd look down on his screen and saw the red visor temporarily flash white – a sign of surprise mixed with the tiniest bit of fear. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the fleshman looked up at the reptilian beast.

"Interesting. These Fiends seem to have a chilling quality to them. What happened to the eyes?"

"Well, we all make mistakes. I've decided not to change them – they seem to strike fear into every living being that sets their sights on it. Including you, I might add."

Underneath his heavy facemask, Zedd winced. He knew the Fiends were not of this world, but it was not his place to speak of it. As he thought of what to say to the beast on screen, he shuddered as he heard a crash from the direction of the monster pens. He looked up, seemingly apologetic but the creature waved a hand dismissively.

"Go, we'll talk later. I need to check on the Ogre as well."

Zedd nodded, then ended his side of the transmission. Looking at the screen, now filled with static, Xonix shook his head, turning off the screen with a press of one of his talons. He would seize what he came for and leave all who opposed him dead or enslaved, including Zedd.

He owed his brother that much.

TBC…


	10. Chapter Nine: Unexpected Action

A.N: Hmmm…2 chapters in a week…I'm on a roll. Please review!

Chapter Nine: Unexpected Action

In Angel Grove, things were not panning out well. Since the Power Rangers had run off with their tails between their legs, the Ogre was causing general chaos – some people dead here, a building down there – nothing much in the way of major, but in its gargantuan state, well, nothing was minor. In a word, the Ogre was bored. Causing destruction was fun, but it became really tedious after the first fifty buildings had collapsed. It almost wished the Power Rangers were still around. It cracked its necks and walked out of the city, towards the expanse of desert that marked the end of civilisation. As it scanned the city around it, it was both amazed and puzzled over how these people could live – thick forest in one direction and vast emptiness of sand in the other. It supposed that it made life here very interesting. Too bad its master had told it to crush any resistance that it might encounter. As it stepped into the desert, it hissed in slight pain as the burning sand seared off the first layer of skin on its feet. It shook its head, and continued into the desert, for the first time noticing the absurdness of its actions. Why go into the desert and not stay in the city? It mulled over this and decided not to think about it anymore. Standing in the desert, it swung its clubs in a wide arc, killing several buzzards in mid-flight. It stooped over to look at the tiny corpses, then paused.

In the distance, it saw something racing over to it. It couldn't be the Power Rangers; it had destroyed their Zords easily. Maybe it was that other thing that had so worried its master. As it cam closer, the Ogre's jaws dropped. It _WAS_ the Zords, but they looked…different somehow. More streamlined – sleeker. Ogre gripped its club, its tiny brain finally uncovering the answer. Zordon had unleashed the true Thunder powers into the Zords, rather than repairing the destroyed Zords for another futile assault. It smiled, this was going to be fun. Inside the Red Dragon Thunderzord, Jason grimaced. They had been pacing themselves inside their Zords, trying to see what everything did – since this time the Power wasn't helping them as per usual. He quickly zeroed in on the monster, and radioed the others.

"All right, this time we go in and finish it. I want a clean sweep. Let's go in."

Noone answered him, they didn't have to. In unison, six targeting scopes zoomed in on the Ogre. A nanosecond later, the sky lit up with lasers, rockets, RPGS, EMP waves and just about everything in their vast weapon racks. The cloud of ammunition shot across the desert sky and impacted against the Ogre's skin. It roared in pain, which surprised it a lot. It growled back before shooting out a gout of fire from both mouths, smiling in apparent victory when the immense firecloud swallowed up the six robots. Its smile dropped as the Zords rocketed out of the blaze, unscratched. To say the Ogre was shocked was the understatement of the week.

"How?" It sputtered. "That flame was strong enough to destroy ANYTHING!"

"Well," Tommy taunted. "It didn't destroy us, now did it!"

Ogre growled, then lifted all four clubs into the air. Roaring at the top of its lungs, it raced towards the six Rangers, wildly swinging. It expected the bulky weapons to do at least some damage to the metal armour – maybe even shatter a few shields or so, but it didn't exactly go as planned. As soon as they saw the grotesque brute rampaging towards them, all six Rangers scattered, their Zords moving out of the path of the muscled monster. The Ogre stopped, then hesitated. The Rangers were learning how to dodge after all. Two pairs of eyes narrowed as each head picked a target. Both mouths opened, ready to deliver an energy beam that would melt Godzilla.

Fortunately, Zack saw the attack about to happen. Acting swiftly, he activated the only other weapon in his arsenal that was not exhausted – his reflector cannon. Aiming at both mouths, he shot out two spheres of oddly glowing energy. The two spheres then burst over the mouths, the energy contained in them spiralling down the Ogre's throat. Then, he waited for he had absolutely no idea what would happen next. The Ogre prepared to shoot…but nothing happened. No beam of fiery death. No destruction of life. Nothing, for the reflector cannon had reflected the energy back into Ogre's heart – accidentally powering up the monster. In a bright flash, thick armour materialised on Ogre's body, complete with shoulderpads, upper arm gauntlets and armoured boots. Tightly packed muscle sprouted from its arms, chest, legs and everywhere else. A heavy, black helm covered bothheads, with the clubs replacedby razor-sharp swords.Ogre lookeddown and saw what the Black Ranger's foolishness had done to him. Revelling in his new, armoured form, the towering monsterthrew both helmeted heads back, cackling maniacally.

"Foolish Ranger, now nothing can stop me!"

Zack paled under his helmet, but kept cool. He keyed his Zord-wide mike.

"Uh guys, what now?"

For once, Jason nor Tommy was able to answer him. For once, it seemed like their luck had finally run out.

TBC…


	11. Chapter Ten: Power Awakened

Chapter Ten: Power Awakened.

Weihan stirred from his nap. Thankfully he had not been caught skipping school and had made it back to his house easily. He was now in the living room of his spacious 2-storey house in Castlecrag, resting after walking from Chatswood. In the last moments of his half-remembered dream, he could recall the Power Rangers fighting the Ogre in what seemed like brand new Zords, but they were still losing badly. He shook his head, trying to clear it, when the voice spoke again.

__

It wasn't a dream. It said. _They are actually losing. You must help them._

Weihan swallowed, looking at his wrist and at the controls that were on it. Suddenly, faster than he could think, streams of data poured into his brain – powers, weapons, Zords – so much at once. When the waterfall was over, he knew everything about all of his powers. Morphin Power – Utahraptor. Thunder Power – Hydra. Ninja Power – Crocodile. Zeo Power – Basilisk. Turbo Power – Raptor Rider. Space Power – Meteors. Galaxy Powers – Funnelweb Spider. Rescue Powers (whatever _they_ were) – Raptor Flier. Time Force Powers (another mystery) – Chronos. Guardian Of The Earth Powers (Wild Powers, the voice told him) – Giant Squid, something that he would have to see to believe. Ninja Element Power – Fire. Prehistoric Power – Spinosaurus. Weihan wasn't quite sure why he had two types of dinosaur in his lineup, but when no answer was forthcoming, he accepted it. What the crystal _did_ tell him was that Chronos was basically time itself, and the powers would allow him to basically manipulate time to a certain degree. The Guardian Powers and Rescue Powers were a mystery to him, but when he asked all the crystal told him was,

__

You will learn in time.

Great, just great. A crystal that talks to him and gives advice like a damn school teacher. He had to admit, from the flashes of images he caught, the Zords did look cool – except the Chronos, which looked like a giant skeleton with wings. Freaky stuff that was, but he didn't care – that much. He checked himself. He was home alone, no one would come back for another three hours – four was when his sister's school finished, so he was set. He twisted his wrist, causing his funky morpher amalgamation to vanish to god-knows-where. He paused, then concentrated. In a flash of fire, his crystal appeared in his hand. Apart from the split second that he had seen it in his "dream sequence", this was the first time that he had seen it up close.

For one thing – it was a bright orange lightning bolt. Or rather, what a 3D bolt would look like. It was also surprisingly light, weighing in at around fifteen grams – or that's what he guessed anyway. He slowly nodded for no reason, then slowly lifted his crystal up into the air. Outside, the sky darkened a fair bit, nut Weihan didn't notice anything – his gaze was hardened, his mind set and focused. He took a deep breath in and thrust it up, calling out his morphing call.

"ULTRA CRYSTAL, ENERGIZE!"

An inferno exploded around him, coming from within the crystal itself. Weihan felt an odd sensation – as if he was rotating in the air, in the centre. In another flash, he found himself clad in a bright orange costume that seemed to be made out of spandex. He mentally groaned to himself before gasping at what was coming towards him. It was three ghostly images of a Utahraptor, a Hydra and a Crocodile. He steeled his body for impact, but it never came. One by one, the spirits eased into his semi-morphed form, each one granting him select strengths – Raptor – speed; Hydra – super strength; Crocodile – stealth. He felt damn good – so good that he felt that he could take on a thousand Megazords and win. But there was one final step to complete – the Crystal knew this and so did Weihan. He nodded once more to an unseen watcher and finished his morph.

"BATTLE ARMOUR, ACTIVATE!"

With the sound of a million roars, Weihan's sequence was complete. He looked into the foyer mirror at his new look. What he saw blew him away – well, not really. His armour consisted of a large White Ranger style vest with a crystal set in the middle of it and it was coloured Orange and black. His suit was a solid orange, with no white anywhere, the monotony broken by his golden arm and leg bands. His belt looked like white leather, with his symbol on it – the back foot of a Utahraptor. His helmet was another thing altogether. Instead of the stylised helmets of the Power Rangers, his helmet was meticulously detailed to show the image of a snarling Utahraptor – right down to the veins on the "eyes". Had he not have been expecting this, he would have had a shit fit there and then – mostly due to the realism. He flexed his arms and found that, even with the shoulder-plates, he could still move his arms in a 360 degree of motion.

He also knew how to fight, which was amazing considering that he had never stuck to any formal training in any sort of martial art before. The Power also told him that he could call upon a Zord that was extremely unique to him and his Power. What it was, it wouldn't say either. The Powers were becoming extremely frustrating, but Weihan thankfully had a lot of patience. He smiled under his helmet and readied his teleportation to the Angel Grove Desert.

As was lowering his hand to his belt, the phone rang. Cursing whatever deity had it in for him, he walked over and answered it. It was from his school. After answering a few questions – where he was, was he all right, did he want someone to get his homework for him – No to that one, sparking a long conversation about why, he teleported off.

This time, he switched on the answering machine.

TBC…Please review!


	12. Chapter Eleven: Power Overwhelming

A/N: 4 years of putting off has gotten me to finally update this story! Remember: Reviews help the stories get written faster!

The Ultra Crystals

Chapter Eleven: Power Overwhelming

The first thing Weihan noticed after his teleportation ended was the heat. In itself, that wouldn't have been strange – except his skin was now behind a few layers of armour. The second thing he noticed was the thing in front of him. It was the same ogre, but it was now encased in thick armour…and was decimating the Megazords. He had no idea what had happened to it from when he had seen it last, but he knew that if he didn't do something to distract it – the Power Rangers were going to be destroyed. His mind raced through all the weapons he had available, frowning when most of them were revealed to be close-combat. To get up close and personal with that armoured…thing would be sure suicide. He silently railed to himself about his lack of a blaster, when an image flashed up before his eyes.

It looked like one of the guns the Power Rangers had on their belts, but it looked different. It was a bright orange and had mini flames racing along the sides. He looked down on his belt and saw a holster gradually materialize. He swallowed hard and drew the weapon concealed within. Unfolding it, he raised his arm up and aimed it at one of the Ogre's heads. He paused for a split second – wondering what he was doing. Sure, he had accepted to become an Ultra Ranger but would he have a moment's rest…or would he be fighting evil until he died? Shaking his head, he willed those thoughts out of his head. He'd deal with them later – after he was sure that the Power Rangers had tomorrow. After making sure he wouldn't accidentally hit the Megazord, he fired his blaster. The fiery bolt slammed into the left head, melting the armour and fusing it to the flesh.

Weihan winced at the roar of unearthly pain. Whatever the weapon had discharged – it had to have hurt. He saw the Ogre whirl around – giving a final glancing blow to the Zords – and stare at him in a murderous rage. Weihan saw that the eyes had been rendered useless by the blast and the right head was out for blood. Another scream of pain ripped from the monster – the unintelligible shriek forming words.

"YOU! YOU! You did this to me!"

Weihan raised an eyebrow. Of course he had – there was no one else that could have done it. He smirked and opened his mouth.

"Yeah, I did. What are you going to do?"

He internally winced. All he wanted to do was drive the monster away, but it looked like he was going to have to fight. He swallowed hard as the monster stomped towards him. He showed no outward sign of fear, but internally his mind was racing. He could summon his Zord, but that would reveal all his cards too early. He would have to defeat this beast on his own.

He swallowed hard and put his plan into action.

TBC…


	13. Chapter Twelve: Spirit Flares

A/N: Woo - Yet another update! I'm on a roll! Read and review folks! Read and review!

Chapter Twelve: Spirit Flares

As the Ogre bore down on him, Weihan took in a slow breath. He reholstered his blaster and tensed up. He would only have one shot at this. The beast raised its weapons up and brought them down on the Ranger with a devastating amount of force. The cliff he was standing on literally disintegrated as the clubs pulverized the sandstone. The dust settled, revealing that the Ranger was nowhere to be seen. The Ogre smiled through its pain and turned to the crippled Megazords again. However, any move it might have made was truncated – as a searing pain shot through its right leg. It glanced down and was met with a strange sight. Most of the leg from the knee down was on fire and the source of the fire was…the Ranger that it killed.

Weihan's teeth ground together as he poured everything into projecting fire from his hands. He had no idea what he was doing – he had just reacted when the clubs came down. He guessed it was something to do with the Power and that was why the information came to him. He laughed to himself sarcastically – the knowledge had come to him all right, but it was also controlling his body. He couldn't blame the Power or whatever it was though – if it hadn't seized control of his mind, those clubs would've left him a stain on the rock. As he poured more power into the fire, he tried to think up a new strategy. Fire probably wouldn't work on a giant creature and would probably annoy it more. He didn't want to call on his Zord yet and he couldn't use his blaster at such close range.

Once more, images flashed over the inside of his visor. He had several Power specific weapons that he could call upon and one unique weapon for his combined powers. His eyes widened as he came across the perfect weapon for the job. As he prepared to pull it from its subspace pocket, a thought bubbled up to the forefront of his brain.

_How the Hell am I gonna pull it out? If I stop the fire, this guy'll nuke me. Oh well…maybe if I move really fast. Here goes nothing…_

In one fluid movement, Weihan stopped the flow of fire and jumped away as a very charred foot slammed into the ground. Surrendering his mind to the Power, he flipped away just in time as the Ogre's feet tried to crush him. As he tried to find cover from the monster's roving gaze, he tapped into his Crocodile spirit – turning his body and movements into blurring illusions. As he approached a relatively safe distance, the Crocodile spirit relinquished its hold and he called upon his weapon of choice.

"Raptor Sabre!

In a burst of fire, the blade appeared in his right hand. The blade was about 2 feet in length with the width being around five inches. There were two fullers running on either side of the central ridge. There was no cross guard and the blade extended from a flat circular disc that was flanked on both sides by a row of curved spikes. The symbol on the disc was the same as on his belt – the back foot of an Utahraptor. As his fingers tightened on the grip, the blade seemed to shimmer with fire. The Ogre looked at the blade and stopped dead in its tracks. It knew the Power that came from the blade was enough to destroy him and his Master – but if he could destroy the Ranger before he had a chance to reach his full potential…

Weihan stared at the weapon in his hands. He didn't even blink as the broken Megazords vanished in a shower of sparks. He had no training with any kind of sword or sabre, but he hoped the Power would compensate. He breathed in deeply and strode towards the gargantuan beast. He would have to move fast if he wanted to destroy the creature for good. As he neared the monster, he stopped and stared up at it – feeling surprisingly little fear. The wind whipped at the two figures and sand obscured their visions of each other. Out of the corner of his eye, Weihan could see a news helicopter hovering in the distance – making him immensely glad he had thought to morph beforehand. At that thought, he paused. The Crystal had told him that he was exempt from all known Power Ranger rules – including the secret identity. His mind whirled around the faces of his family and friends – people who would be caught in the targeting scope sooner or later.

Them not knowing who he was would mean that they would be less of a target. Them knowing wouldn't place a target on them so much as a giant neon sign with a flashing arrow reading "Attack Me Now!". He decided then and there that he would not jeopardize their safety. He would adhere to that rule until a time where he could tell them who he was and what he did. He prayed that his mother wouldn't have a heart attack when she found out. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he swallowed hard. If he didn't attack now, he would certainly lose his nerve. With only a second of hesitation, he raced towards the armoured creature. He didn't waste his breath with a battle cry – it wouldn't be heard over the roaring wind anyway. He tensed his legs and unconsciously tapped into his Dinosaur spirit, causing him to run faster than he had ever done. Before his mid could process what his legs were doing, he felt himself jump higher than any normal human could. He willed himself not to look down and moved both of his hands onto the grip, bringing the weapon up over his head.

He reached the apex of his jump over the heads of the Ogre and felt gravity pull him down. Instead of freaking out, he swung the Raptor sabre out in a downward arc. To his amazement, the blade seemed to turn into fire, which seemed to burn white-hot. As soon as the edge of the blade touched the exposed flesh of the creature, Weihan consciously channeled his Hydra spirit into his arms. Judging from the screech of pain that emanated from the monster, the weapon was doing its work. Weihan's mind raced as he fell towards the sandy ground. White-hot blade or not, the sword attack alone wouldn't be enough to topple the behemoth in front of him. As his feet touched the ground once more, he tapped into his Crocodile spirit again to move back quickly. As he reached a safe distance away, he looked back at the monster.

The Ogre was still standing, but it was wavering slightly. Its hands relaxed suddenly – releasing the clubs and dropping them to the ground in a series of thuds. Smoke started to leak out of the joints of its armour and it started to take one drunken step forward. It struggled to speak or to make a noise – only managing a choked gurgle. As it fell forward, it exploded in a powerful flash that almost blinded the Ranger watching. As the dust settled, Weihan blinked once and then looked down at his Sabre. The blade had morphed back to metal and it wasn't even singed. He shrugged and sent the Sabre back to its dimensional pocket. As he did so, he noticed the news helicopter coming closer. He sighed to himself and shook his head.

He needed to get home before someone noticed his absence – or worse: told his Mum about his skipping of class. Ultra Ranger or not, he would be in the doghouse if that happened again. Unconsciously, his hands moved to the symbol on his belt and the camouflaged buttons. Hitting them, he teleported out in a flash of fire – never knowing three interested parties were watching him.

TBC…


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Aftershocks

A/N: Wow...lots of updates! You can thank my muse Ultraris for that. Anyway, look for my profile for the full disclaimer and all that jazz. Enjoy! Edited again due to the walls of text that were in the originally uploaded chapter.

Chapter Thirteen: Aftershocks

Tommy didn't know what to think. Even with the upgraded power of Thunder, they had been defeated. Granted, Zack had a small amount of guilt about accidentally powering up the monster – but he would get over that in time. Their brand new Thunderzords had barely stood up to the creature and – if he wanted to be totally honest with himself – had been beaten so badly that they used up their last 10% of power for the emergency teleport. Upon their arrival into the Command Centre, their morphs had shattered. Zordon had been strangely quiet and seemed to be deep in thought – or whatever he did when his tube wasn't lit. He wondered what he was thinking about and then dismissed the thought. He lay back against one of the consoles and thought about the battle. His mind was racing around the identity of the mysterious Ranger that had saved their butts.

It was a figure dressed in armour similar to his but it was orange. If he wasn't mistaken, the stranger was probably the first Orange Ranger in the Universe – if not in history. He sighed again and leant back against the metal. Whoever he was, he had destroyed the monster without use of a Zord. Just one swipe from his sword or blade had cut through the armour. Armour that the Thunderzords couldn't even scratch. Not to mention what a single shot of his blaster did against it. One of the heads – very nearly obliterated in that blast. Not even the Rangers Blade Blasters on the highest setting could generate that much power.

He looked to the Medical table – affectionately called the "Med-Bed" and looked at the figure on it. Kimberley had taken the brunt of the blow when the Thunder Megazord's central command console had exploded. Of course, he hadn't noticed it at the time – he was busy trying to ensure that the Tigerzord's reactor didn't go into the red. His eyes flicked over to where Jason was pacing. He closed his eyes and wondered what his friend was thinking.

The identity of a Ranger was supposed to be a closely guarded secret but at this point, Jason didn't care. Supposedly, this new guy was on their side and wouldn't have destroyed the monster just to stab them in the back. He didn't know what they would have to give to the new Ranger for his help. If they couldn't even scratch that new beast that this…Jarbarkas had sent down. That is, if he was the mastermind behind the recent attack. He doubted it as he recalled what the warrior looked like. He guessed that Jarbarkas was a henchman to an even greater evil – like Goldar to Zedd. He hoped they were up to the task of defeating whatever evil was coming, but between Zedd and whoever this new force was…he didn't think they would stand a chance.

Jason suddenly swallowed hard as a new horrifying thought wormed its way into his brain. If Zedd had been watching the fight, he would know that their Zords were out of commission. And with the wreckage from their old Zords transported to some academy in the mountains…they would be screwed if Zedd made his monsters giant. A small part of him hoped that the new Ranger would help them out but an even larger part of him thought otherwise. Until Zordon told them what was going on, they were stuck up the creek without a paddle. As Billy and Trini stepped back into the main chamber, he acknowledged them with a nod.

Billy sighed as he wiped his oily hands on his jeans. The new Zords were fantastic in battle and had hundreds of differences from the old Thunderzords. The only problem was that repairing them was taking too long. With help from Trini, he had been able to get the outer shells repaired, but some of the internal mechanics were too far in for a human to reach. He sighed and made a mental note to activate the nanomechanical repair systems before they left. Cracking his knuckles, he stole a quick glance at his communicator/watch. It was getting late and he was sure their parents wouldn't worry much – but he was certain an explanation was forthcoming about the mysterious Ranger.

Thinking back to their battle, he had to repress a shudder. The creature had effectively disabled their only means of protecting the planet in a couple of blows. Were they to face another attack soon, he was sure that they would be killed as their Zords needed at least 24 hours repair time. Like Jason, he was wondering why they hadn't faced Jarbarkas yet. If he was the head Evil, then he would have come down to face them – or at the very least gloat at his victory. Nothing had come from him or from Zedd. He didn't know what to expect.

Unbeknownst to Zordon, Billy actually knew the damage being done to them. He had made tentative connections between the duration they stayed morphed and their energy levels the next day. He didn't want to say anything to the others in the fear he was wrong; or worse – if he was right. How did you explain to your friends that the Power that was protecting you in your battle was also doing irreparable damage to your body? Of course, he had no proof that anything was being done. If he was to use the Command Centre's computers, Zordon or Alpha would know what he was up to. He couldn't do that, but he knew a strong dose of an impossible energy would cleanse their bodies completely. He didn't want to look for this "impossible energy" in the fear that it might effectively destroy any chance he had at holding his Power.

A dull beam of light alerted all of them to the fact that Zack had teleported in. He had left soon after they had arrived, claiming that someone needed to make up an excuse to the various parents. As soon as Zack had materialized, Zordon's tube lit up, causing all the Rangers to take notice. They watched their mentor take in a deep breath and swallow hard. He opened his mouth and his voice issued forth.

"Rangers…there is something you all should know about the mysterious Ranger…"


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Emergence

Chapter Fourteen: Emergence

He watched the Ranger teleport away and growled deep in his throat. He had expected the newcomer to be strong, but to destroy a powerful beast such as that in one hit? That sort of thing only existed in badly written holo shows. Switching off his vision, Lord Zedd shook his head. It was clear that this new Ranger had been chosen to stand up to his brother and the Power he possessed was enough to make Zedd shiver. Not in fear though – but anticipation. If there was any way that this Ranger could be converted to evil then it would mean his name would go down in History. He allowed himself to dwell on that thought for a short time, before shaking his head in disgust.

The Power that was wielded wouldn't be converted easily – if ever. And his name was already in the history books for adding the planet Midmret to his Empire. Of course, stipulations in the contract meant that any part of his Empire was added to Dark Specter's Empire…but he guessed that was the price for working with the so-called "Monarch of Evil". He couldn't care less though, his main concern was what his brother would do. Turning away from the balcony, he stretched his neck – allowing the bones to crack and pop. He paused in mid-turn as another thought wormed its way into his mind. If he went after the Ranger in question, his brother would certainly try to have him destroyed – if the Ranger didn't destroy him first.

No, it was wiser for him to break down the resolve of the Rangers he was currently fighting against. He would give his brother all the support he needed to defeat this Ranger. He was slowly starting to understand why that witch kept having headaches all the time. The damage from the Morphin Madness was extremely subtle and he would have to keep sending monsters down to make sure those Rangers succumbed to its effects. Unfortunately for them – there was no way to cure that ailment and those rumours about a potential cure were baseless. He paused in his musings, finally regaining forward momentum as he strode toward his throne.

No, that was wrong. There was a potential power source that could be used, but chances were that it wouldn't be used for millennia. After all, the Rangers were drawing the pure and unadultered Thunder Powers now. He laughed out loud at the thought. Zordon was a fool if he thought those powers could be forcibly bonded onto his Rangers. Light or Dark, the Thunder Powers weren't meant to be used this early. He had no idea how he knew that – it had come to him in a vision one rest cycle. Something about them being on the side of evil and empowering two brainwashed students. The vision had only shown him a very brief glimpse at their Zords, but what he had seen had him rolling his eyes for weeks afterward. Bugs. Huge bugs that formed some sort of gestalt on their own. He could only guess at what they would be called. Thunder Bugzords? The Beetlezords? No, that was a comic or something on Earth. The Insects? He didn't know and after a while, he didn't care anymore.

He stifled a yawn as he looked over the balcony to the slowly spinning blue sphere outside. Such an insignificant planet – yet it held one of the most powerful wizards in the universe. Killing Zordon would make him a God…but if was fully honest with himself; Godhood didn't have the same gleam as it did when he was starting out. What would he do with all that power? He would have to be continually on guard to make sure he wasn't defeated and that was no life for him at all. He settled in his throne and let the slow breeze wash over his exposed muscles. Thoughts drifted from his past to his brother and finally to his mother. His long-deceased mother would be spinning in her grave if she knew what form Xonix had changed into. He sighed and closed his eyes, visor dimming slightly. Thinking of the past and his mother made him nostalgic for those days when he had been fully humanoid. Zedd slightly shook his head and tightened his grip on his staff.

He couldn't think of those days any more. No longer was he Zeddotop, Prince warrior of Aisalar. He was now Lord Zedd, the feared conqueror. He would have no love in his heart for the lesser beings he ruthlessly exterminated. He even had no loyalty to Dark Specter – planning and plotting to overthrow the lava-beast the moment he showed the slightest weakness. But that had been before he had set his sights on Earth and Zordon. It seemed his brother was intruding on his turf, but he couldn't let it get the better of him. He heaved a deep sigh once more and fell into deep thought. What could his brother possibly want with Earth?

And what lengths would he take to get it?


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Comprehension

Chapter Fifteen: Comprehension

A clawed hand slammed down on the metal railing, cracking it. The owner of the hand roared loudly and swung away from the observation deck, grinding its teeth. Powerful legs strode across the Rapsarian marble floor with a thud-click – the sound of its poisonous claws hitting against the stony surface. Behind it, a thick tail swung agitatedly around. Seemingly pupil-less eyes narrowed in rage and the creature let out another thunderous bellow that shook the walls of the room around it. Fiends and Golems scattered in sheer terror as Xonix unleashed his full fury at the Universe.

The Orange Ultra Crystal had chosen its bearer. A bearer who had pretty much unlimited potential and innovation. Not to mention he was someone who kept his cards close to his chest. Xonix bellowed again, his nostrils flaring in pure rage. He was not going to be defeated that easily. He took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He leaned against a wall and squeezed his eyes shut. He had lost his temper again and flown into an animalistic rage, but his last outburst had been seven thousand years ago. In his mind, he was long overdue and it showed what would happen to any creature that failed him. Well – if any creature did fail him, the Power Rangers would destroy them. Although it wouldn't be so much Power Rangers as Ultra Rangers… he growled softly at that last thought.

There was still a brief window of hope though. Hopefully the bearer wouldn't work well in a team dynamic. Hopefully the bearer would hold off on his team for a long time – if he was lucky, it would be a couple of years at least. Hopefully the rumours that were circulating around the galaxy would turn out false. He didn't put much stock into those anyway – not since he had followed up on one. That particular one had told of a warlord that was invincible and had crushed all opposition before him. That warlord had turned out to be his brother – Zedd – back when he still had skin. He had given up on listening to intergalactic rumours after that. Plenty of them had been started on Onyx after some monsters had too much to drink. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. He knew that the monster wouldn't stand a chance against a Ranger powered by the Ultra Crystal – so why was he getting angry? He knew the answer all too well.

_Flashback – Eltare – Zordon's War with Rita_

_Xonix watched the witch leave the chamber with a sneer on his face. The woman was deluded if she thought that an all-out attack on Zordon's Command Post would flush the old codger out. If anything, it would make the wizard more determined than ever to destroy what he viewed as "evil". He stifled a laugh at that. What did the old fool know of "evil"? Everything was based on viewpoints. At least, that was what his mother kept telling him before her death. Even if there were something of value besides Zordon, it would probably be destroyed in the ensuing struggle. He sighed again and turned to face the main viewscreen. He didn't know why he was here – Zedd was supposed to be on the ground keeping the witch in line, but he was investigating something or another. He didn't really care anymore._

_As he faintly heard the massive outer doors creak open, his eyes were on the energy scanners that were poised on Zordon's Citadel. If that fool Rita thought that she would get anything out of an attack, she was delusional. He considered talking to Dark Spectre about sealing her up when all of this was over, but decided against it. Old crone or not, Rita Repulsa was still an asset to the Evil cause. And if he were to talk to Dark Spectre about containing her…he shuddered, deciding to not think about that. He still had night terrors about witnessing Maligore's betrayal. Fiery imprisonment and solitude was not his idea of fun – even with a native tribe worshipping you. You couldn't even do anything to them and if their crops failed, then they still blamed you. And they were humans as well. Filthy, stupid beings who had no place in the Universe. He imagined what weak fighters they would make before shaking his head._

_No, that wasn't true. Humans had heart, courage and would fight to the last breath. They weren't the type to just roll over and die. He sighed and then stopped, his eyes drawn to a minor fluctuation. There it was – a brief flash of power coming from Zordon's main lab. It had just been a small burst – probably Zordon testing some new…_

_There it was again. And again. His eyes slowly widened to saucers. The power sensors had totally gone offline, but what they had "seen" in their last moments was scrolling down the screen in front of him. If it was possible, his eyes would have opened wider. The power was immense! It was greater than the fabled Zeo crystal, more potent than the Quasar Sabres and more majestic than those rumours of that mechanical beast on that one planet. It was there, ripe for the taking. If she had been there, Rita would have imploded with joy – that much Power in the hands of Evil. It would be like throwing homing blades at peasants. If they could just grab at that power…but no, the temptation would be too great for any one of them – even Dark Spectre. He already had a great amount of power – he had limits hammered into him after seeing what the Grand Monarch had done to Scorpius. The now-bug monster would forget that he had been painfully mutated into what he was and would remember that he had willingly submitted himself to the change._

_He was rocketed out of his thoughts by the speaker to his left. Out spewed the vile tones of Rita along with various explosions and odd grunting sounds._

_"What? A power surge? That power will be ours! Goldar – charge!"_

_He hit the switch with a sigh. Rita would either end up in an asylum, shackled at the bottom of a deep sea trench or spinning around in space in a dumpster. If they were lucky, it would be all three. If she thought she could use that power, she was insane…well, even more insane. She had swiped the prototype coin from the Ninja's workshop and was binding it to the side of Evil. In the right hands, it would become a weapon of untold power and strength; the evil Ranger cutting a swathe of destruction all around him or her. In the wrong hands, it would have the same effect, but the evil spell would be easily broken. That Ranger would then become one of the strongest forces for Good ever known. Of course, the odds of that happening were too miniscule to even bother with. He stood up and stretched, feeling the bones in his spine crack and pop. He was tired of this battle, tired of the fight against Zordon and tired with his appearance. A seven foot skull-headed warrior didn't really scream out respect. It screamed out cheap. He would have to think about what to change it to later, but for now, he had to get out of this place before it sucked the life out of him._

_As he activated his teleporter, one last thought invaded his mind. The amount of power that had been sensed was too much for one side alone to handle. If the "Evil" side had it, they would completely conquer all universes anywhere and in any dimension. If the "Good" side had it, they could make the universe into a peaceful place – a Utopia. Combined with the Zeo crystal, Zordon would have a formidable weapon on his side. The best they had was Dark Spectre or his brother._

_He needed to destroy that Power. For the good of both sides, whatever that surge had been needed to be destroyed._

_End Flashback_

_After that little bit of comprehension, he had gone about amassing his own Empire. His brother had chastised him for abandoning his post on Eltare and had announced that he was too building up his own Empire. Dark Spectre hadn't minded either way and still sent him periodic updates via one of his servants. Publicly, he had announced that his goal was to seize whatever had caused the power surge – the Ultra Crystals – and use them to conquer the Universe. In reality, his goal was to destroy the Ultra Crystal once and for all…and then to beat a hasty retreat as everyone started attacking him. He had even changed his form to a humanoid dragon to look more menacing. That had taken up the bulk of his reserve magic, forcing him to lay low for a few centuries…on his home planet; or Hom'World as it was generally referred to. He had also travelled the Universe – seeking out the most powerful warriors who could teach him to fight. He had fought with Loyax, crossed blades with the Sentinel Knight, imprisoned Kamdor and trained with Darkonda. _

_And so, he was ready for battle. One of his eyes swiveled to the shadows on the wall and he motioned with a claw. Out stepped Jabarkas, bare chested and helmetless. Although Zordon never knew, the images he had of Jabarkas were old images taken thousands of years ago. The Glass Breaker had been shattered and the Chaos Orb of Fire had to be destroyed after it cracked. Ironically enough, both items had cracked or shattered after Grath had come back as a Dracolich. Even more ironic, the method of which they had destroyed Grath – fossilized and shattered by accidental ingestion of his own Chaos Orb. He had no doubt that the remains would be found and eventually dug up by some inhabitants of some far off world. His loyal warrior looked at him expectantly and he turned to face his warrior. _

_"__The Orange Crystal has chosen its bearer. I will create a monster to lure out the bearer. You will go down to the planet and kill the bearer. No mistakes this time."_

_Jabarkas nodded once and turned to leave. Xonix chuckled to himself. Jabarkas was a good warrior and would get the job done quickly and easily. And if the other Power Rangers got in his way, he would crush them as well._


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Temporal Secrets

A/N: Of course, what you don't recognize is mine. Power Rangers isn't mine. Oh, how I wish it was. Also, sorry to those who read the previous chapter when the formatting was all screwed up. Fixed that now. Read and review!

Chapter Sixteen: Temporal Secrets

"The mysterious Ranger's identity is unknown to me at the moment, but his Power source is not."

Tommy frowned. Of course, he had expected that the identity of the Ranger wouldn't be known by him, but how did he know what was the Power source? It must have shown on his face, as Zordon continued – his eyes gazing at some event in the far past.

"The Ranger is powered by the Orange Ultra Crystal. It is one in a set of twelve powerful crystals that was originally designed to defend Eltare from the invading hordes of Rita's army. I, along with a friend, created these crystals and together with a group of the planet's best sorcerers poured almost all of our power into them. We wanted to tie them to the planet, but Rita attacked us in a last-ditch effort."

The sage sighed – a great sound that seemed to bubble up from the depths of his soul. He remembered the battle all too well. The clash of weapon against weapon, the ear-splitting shriek of arcane bolts and the cries of pain over the deafening explosions that ripped through the battlefield. His eyes cleared and he looked down on his Rangers. He sifted through the memories, remembering what the Ultra Crystals would have meant for Eltare.

"The energy bombardment we subjected them to changed their internal structure. They flared up with energy and completely disconnected from the Universal Morphin Grid. We feared the worst – that the Crystals had been rejected by the Power. Instead, what we discovered was unprecedented."

Flashback – Zordon's War with Rita

_Zordon coughed and waved the smoke away from his face. He looked around him at the faces of the Eltarean High Council. Dimitria was on the ground and was the least phased of all of them. The look on the Inquirian's face told him that she was prepared for this situation. He sighed; it would take a lot to faze her. He shook his head and pulled his father out from his resting place on his hip. Dorzon had insisted on overseeing the magic infusion even though he couldn't manipulate energy the way he had before. The flares of energy from the crystals were unexpected and had set off a few alarms._

_Thankfully, the energy flares hadn't sapped power away from the core systems. If the shields had fallen, they would have been at the mercy of Rita's forces. A startled cry brought him out of his musings. His head whipped to the source of the noise and he struggled to get to his feet. Some random technician was looking at one of the output screens. It seemed to be flashing one word over and over – "Disconnect". Zordon felt his heart clench in his chest as he thought of what that word could mean. It could mean that the crystals had been rejected from the Morphin Grid or their internal energy had been nullified. Both choices spelt doom for the future, as Rita would more than likely be staging a last push to weed them out._

_His father floated up until he was eye-level with his son. The crystals could be remade into coins and given out to their chosen candidates. Of course, only six coins could be made – but that was better than nothing. Even if the crystals were undamaged, they would be unusable to them. If that was the case, why was that damned technician so excited? Carefully, he maneuvered himself to see the screen and the information that was scrolling across it. What he saw made his eyes widen in surprise._

_"By the moons of Xenon! The…the Crystals!"_

_Zordon stood from his position over Lexian. His brow furrowed at his father's proclamation. Why would his father want to reap the fruits of failure? It didn't make any sense. The warrior slowly made his way to where his father hovered. He glanced briefly at the screen before looking at the counter where he was sure the ruins lay. He rubbed his eyes at the sight and looked again. On the counter were all twelve crystals – apparently undamaged. Each crystal was softly glowing with a white light that seemed to emanate from within the crystal. Zordon gasped and looked at the information screen again before speaking._

_"This is an unprecedented development. Our magic infusion has changed the way the crystals generate Morphing Energy. No longer will these crystals be connected to the Universal Grid; instead the seem to be running off their own Grid."_

_His father made a sound of acknowledgement in what passed for his throat. He would have his son talk to Ninjor to tie up the loose ends in the Grid. At this point, no one knew how much energy would be produced by the new Grid. It could be enough for three morphs or even a lifetime's worth – they would have to study it. Perhaps even tie them to the planet to repel the forces of Dark Specter. They would have to wait and see._

_End flashback_

"We discovered that the twelve crystals had produced an even stronger matrix of energy than the Morphin Grid. The main source of energy was the Orange Ultra Crystal. We were about to run tests on it the day Rita made her final push."

Billy's mind reeled. Zordon had created a set of crystals that could single-handedly defend an entire planet from evil, but had sent them off the planet on the day of his imprisonment. It was an incredible thought and now one of them had turned up. The question was – did the Power choose who wielded it or were they going to have another Green Ranger on their hands? He voiced this opinion to Zordon – leaving out the Green Ranger part – and wasn't surprised when the ancient sage spoke again.

"We originally planned for the bearers to be hand-picked from the Eltarean army, but because of the energy infusion that was impossible to do. The Crystals possess a limited amount of sentience, so it is entirely possible that the Power has chosen its Ranger. The chances of this Ranger being evil are highly unlikely, as he destroyed the monster that was attacking you."

Jason nodded his head and went into deep thought. The power that was possessed by the new Ranger meant that if he were ever to attack them head on, they would be defeated – even destroyed. The Ranger certainly operated on a much different level than themselves and if he was able to destroy a monster in one blow…he couldn't finish that thought. The power his weapons must possess was enough to give him a headache but then his thoughts turned to the monster they had fought. He looked up at his mentor.

"Zordon, if that Ranger hadn't come when he did, we would have been toast. Even with the new Zords, we didn't stand a chance."

Zack piped up next, still feeling a twinge of guilt for accidentally energizing the beast.

"Man, if it had stayed the same, we still would have had a slim chance. I wasn't expecting that monster to swallow the attack."

Zordon nodded, letting his Rangers sort out their feelings. In truth, what he had just told them was a lie. He knew the boy that was underneath the Orange armour, but he would not reveal it to them yet. One reason was that they were still learning about what they could and couldn't do. His rules were there to keep them in line in case temptation grew too great, but if they were to meet a Ranger who had no rules what would they think then? In their inexperienced eyes, the only Rangers who had no rules were the Evil Rangers – and they would attack him without question. The second and most compelling reason was the age of the new Ranger. Although his Rangers were close to that age when they had started, the constant attacks had worn down their innocence. To be told of a boy just out of his childhood; going head to head with one of the darkest evils in the Universe would send them into waves of despair. He also knew what he would have to do in the end to ensure peace for Earth. He hadn't forseen it – rather, it had been told to him by the mysterious Ranger and his new team.

_Flashback_

_Zordon paced the ground wearily. All of his forces were being beaten back by a new creature that had come out of Rita's forces. Whatever this creature was, it was plowing through his forces like a madman. Shots from the battle had shown the creature as a biped with three eyes, powerful arms and strong legs. The being called itself Drakor and had shown no mercy to anyone around it – friend or foe. He almost wished the stabilization on the Ultra Crystals was complete; they would need that power to seal away the creature. Moles in Rita's forces had garnered nothing usable – save for the fact that it had shown up one day out of a swirling vortex – almost like a time hole. He had sent out a few telepathic messages of his own, but all of the allies he knew of were on Eltare…or being reconstructed. He didn't even know what he was saying to whoever was listening. Something like "You must come quickly! I am on Eltare and it is the final battle" or something like that. He didn't even know what help would come – if any. So focused was he that he didn't notice a small vortex opening up near him until it had opened all the way. He eyed the opening warily, preparing himself if enemies should appear._

_However, from the vortex came four flashes of light; one red, one yellow, one blackish purple and one orange. They shot from the mouth of the vortex and solidified into four figures wearing some sort of clothing; but none like Zordon had ever seen before. They were wearing jackets of some description with an odd symbol on the sleeve. Under the jackets were coloured shirts and hanging on their belts were strange devices – almost like digital trackers. Zordon said nothing to them but kept quiet. The one in Orange had an aura of power around him – like nothing he had sensed before._

_They looked around in some degree of confusion and one of them – a mere teenager clad in a yellow shirt – turned to speak to the one in Orange._

_"Where are we? For that matter – what the hell was that? Did you know she could do that freaky shit?"_

_The one in Red – a woman – slapped the speaker on the arm and replied with a tone of annoyance._

_"Of course he knew. Being tied to a vast reserve of power lets you do lots of things. We need to do this to ensure time flows correctly. Weihan, what's our status and where – or when – are we?"_

_The man in orange looked around and pushed his glasses up his nose. Zordon could see that he was the leader and that a diminished spark of power burned within him. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and determined, but held a faint tinge of awe._

_"We're on Eltare, around the time of the Final Battle – if I know my history. I can't believe it, but I need to do this. Dulcea needs my Ultra Crystal to be at full for us to charge up your new Ninjazords and to do that we need to come here."_

_Zordon cleared his throat, causing all four of them to spin around. He slowly stepped forward, noting that the ones in black and yellow stepped back slightly. The woman in Red stood her ground whilst the one in Orange was at him with respect and sadness. The sage took a small step back and swallowed a small lump in his throat. He didn't know these people, but the gaze the one in orange was giving him was enough to want to give them his counsel. And the orange clad one had mentioned the Ultra Crystal, but that was impossible, the Ultra Crystal was sitting on a bench in one of the labs. So many questions swirled around in his mind, but he knew he had to have one answer before anything else._

_"Who are you and where did you come from?"_

_They looked at their leader, who nodded once at them. He stepped forwards and held his right hand up in front of his chest. Closing his eyes, the stranger slightly bent the fingers around a mysterious object that was slowly coming out of his chest. It was in the shape of a jagged lightning bolt and Zordon marveled that it could have been inside his chest without him feeling any pain. Finally, when it was fully extracted, the man opened his eyes and spoke; his words rocking Zordon to the core._

_"My name is Weihan Liang, the Orange Ultra Ranger. We have come from the future."_

_End Flashback_

Of course, the Ranger and his team didn't stay on Eltare for long; only enough time to trap Drakor in the only prison strong enough to hold him – the Light side of the Morphin Grid. Weihan had told him about the future and had disclosed details of what would happen and when. Of course, his memory had been a bit fuzzy, but he had managed to convey most of the details. He knew that he would have to keep his Rangers away for most of the fights, but Weihan had warned him that they would fight alongside him at the start. And that was the thought that chilled Zordon to his bones – that his Rangers would go up against creatures similar to the Ogre without any sort of protection or guidance from him.

He was shaken from his thoughts yet again by the blaring of the alarm. It seemed Lord Zedd had reached an agreement with his brother. As the Rangers prepared to morph, he sighed. How long would it be until the Rangers had to face one of Xonix's monsters again?

And would they accept their new ally?


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Puzzles and Headaches

Chapter Seventeen: Puzzles and Headaches

The first thing Weihan noticed when he solidified was that he wasn't at home. He looked around at his surroundings, blinking to adjust his eyes to the darkness of…wherever he was. He experienced a momentary feeling of panic before relaxing. Wherever he was, it was secluded and quiet – a perfect place for his Command Chamber or something like that. He tried to talk to the voice that had helped him before, but it was oddly silent. He rolled his eyes at the silence and took a step forward. When he didn't plummet to his messy doom, he let out a sigh of relief. He walked toward where he hoped the wall would be – feeling out with outstretched limbs. Around the fortieth step, his palms hit cold and unyielding rock. He smiled slightly to himself and let his mind relax. He needed to find either a way out or some sort of power or light source.

He sighed, wishing he hadn't have left his mobile phone charging at home. Then again, if he had it with him and was able to get a signal…who would he call? Calling his mum or any of his relatives was out and since his friends were in class, they were out too. He heaved a frustrated sigh and lightly hit the wall in front of him. Maybe it was just his imagination, but the rocky surface moved in slightly. That was impossible – rock didn't move that easily unless the cavern was about to collapse. He swallowed loudly and tried to force all morbid thoughts out of his head. He shook his head and inhaled sharply. Despite his mental training, he was starting to panic. At that moment, a new sound assaulted his ears. It wasn't the sound of falling rocks or of footsteps, but of something humming to life. He instantly dropped into a defensive stance and attempted to face the sound – extremely difficult as it was almost pitch-black. That and the sound seemed to come from everywhere at once, making facing a bit of an issue. A blinding light lit up the entire area, forcing Weihan to squeeze his eyes tightly to avoid being blinded. After the spots had faded from his eyes, he looked around in shock, awe and a feeling that could only be described as "Super-villain glee".

The cavern he was in had completely transformed into a techno-geek's wet dream. Electronics lined the walls and multiple screens showed real-time images of Sydney. There were even screens that showed him what he was missing in class. From the looks of it, Johnsy was going through the circulatory system of a rat again. What use that would be in the real world he hadn't the foggiest idea; unless he became a derro or a sewer mutant. There were cameras showing the traffic on the Harbour Bridge, the shoppers in Pitt Street Mall and even some of the seedier parts of Kings Cross. As he looked on, the screens flicked images showing various landscapes that were very familiar to him – Darling Harbour, Manly and even Eastern Valley Way. He had no idea why these locations were being monitored, but going on what Angel Grove had been through, monsters could pop up anywhere.

Taking his eyes off the monitors, he looked around at the rest of the cavern. Consoles glittered with lights and switches, while devices that looked like printers stood dormant. Along one wall were flat beds of some kind; each next to a flat screen mounted on the wall. He reckoned that that was a medical bay of some description. Feeling a rush go though his body, he looked down and saw that he was in his school uniform again. He swallowed hard, the reality of the situation starting to sink in. In the past ninety minutes he had gone from ordinary schoolboy to the most powerful Ranger in the Universe, morphed, teleported to Angel Grove, stared down a monster, defeated said monster with one stroke of his sword…and now this technologically advanced cavern. He had no idea what would be next, what would happen tomorrow, next week or even in a year. His body moved automatically, checking out the security features of the cavern, while his mind raced at a million miles an hour.

He was a Ranger. An Ultra Ranger with no rules whatsoever. Potentially, he could use his power to make himself King of the Universe, to destroy all evil in the Universe or make him irresistible to women. Chuckling slightly, he dismissed those thoughts from his mind. If he did that, he'd be no better than the evils attacking the Earth. He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes and sinking into deep thought. He was at a crossroads to what to do with his new gift. Telling others was a huge no – not unless they liked walking around with targets on their backs. He had seen the news reports of what had happened the day Angel Grove had thrown Power Rangers Day and the thought of the entire city of Sydney vanishing was enough to make bile creep up his throat. He sighed again, remembering other lines from that half remembered dream. What were they? Rules of some kind…but why were they given to him? Using his Power for personal gain…there was a very thin line between what personal gain was and what wasn't. Was it personal gain to use the Power to save the life of a family member? Was it personal gain to accept a reward from an alien planet for helping them? Sure, the exchange rate of Aussie dollars to whatever currency was used might be non-existent, but wasn't it the principle behind it that mattered? Escalation of battle. He laughed humorlessly at that. Since there was evil at his doorstop, as far as he was concerned, he was already in a war. Anything he did wasn't an escalation – just an act in the war.

He stopped and lifted his left fist in front of him. Jerking it counter-clockwise, he saw a device appear on top of his knuckles. If he knew his Power Rangers, he was clutching one of their belt buckles. From a distance, it looked like an ornate buckle but up close he could see the details that made his unique. Firstly, the faceplate was bronze – not the silver or gold of morphers past – and the "teeth" were jagged not smooth. The only thing similar between the morphers – as far as he could tell was the activation button, which was within reach of his thumb. As he looked at the centre of the morpher, he noticed that the coin was missing. The surface the coin would have sat on was smooth and seemed to pulsate with an internal heartbeat. Concentrating on the depression, he noticed the coin seemingly coming up out of the morpher. Acting on instinct, he thrust his fist out in front of him, placed his right palm on the top of his fist – fingers splaying out – and pressed the activation button.

Immediately, a bright flare of fiery light burst from the coin and seemed to arc back to him. His morpher disappeared from his grasp and reappeared on his waist as fire engulfed his body. His arms moved to his sides and he let the energy from the Grid seep into him. Nerves flaring, he dimly registered strange pains shooting through his veins as though his blood was being pushed aside to accommodate the vast expanse of Power. He reckoned it was just his body registering and welcoming the power once more, but it was different this time. He didn't know what it was or how to describe it, but it was.

_It is your body accommodating the Morphin spectrum. In total, there are two major spectrums of Power that all past, present and future Rangers draw their power from._

Great. It was that voice again. A thought occurred to him – if there were Rangers in the Universe that had their own Powers and weapons separate from Earth, how could they possibly use the same source? Was this Grid Earth based or was it a universal energy source? Again, the voice answered in the same calm, Jeff Goldblum-like tone.

_The Morphin Grid is omniversal. It transcends all known and unknown boundaries of time and space for beings on different planes of existence and dimensions to tap the spring of the Power. I guess you could compare it to the sun in the centre of your solar system. The power of the Grid is not infinite but will last well after the end of all existence. Your Ultra Crystal acts in the same way but provides a stronger source of Power than the Morphin Grid. Therefore, you draw upon Power from the Ultra Crystal first before the other Grid taps come into play. An object this can be compared to is a generator in the event of a blackout. In the unlikely event your Crystal runs out of power, you can still use your few links to the Morphin Grid to morph – only you will be limited to a very limited amount of forms._

As the voice was talking, Weihan noticed that the energy running around his body had solidified into an orange bodysuit with the same White Ranger-esque chest armour as his Ultra Form had, only with minor differences. The crystal was gone, replaced with a white diamond and an enlarged representation of his Power Coin. The gold sparkled in the light and seemed to glow. His gloves had small indentations between the knuckles and small spikes were protruding out of his boots. The helmet closed over his head and for a split second he swore he saw his own face staring back at him. Closing his eyes, he let his body adjust while listening to the voice.

_For your other question, the Grid has two distinct layers or spectrums. Each spectrum has a dark and a light side, but the two dark sides meet in the middle – a type of double bell curve, if you will. Some powers draw from the dark side, but the majority draw from the Light. One thing that has to be noted is that the two dark points do not touch directly – rather there is a small space separating both spectrums. The power there is too evil for anyone to harness – save one being who you will meet in due time. The Morphin spectrum is animal based and contains several elemental power sources. The Zeo spectrum draws from the opposite side; using technology and techno-organic constructs as Zords. This categorization is not fully understood even by the Grid scientists, as there are areas in which the spectrums overlap. As for my previous silence, I am merely here as a guide and a source of information until such time when you no longer require my services._

Behind his helmet, Weihan blinked slowly. His mind was reeling with all the information that had been imparted to him. Running a hand over his helmet, he squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. All this power and the weight of the world on his shoulders. He felt the familiar rush of power as he demorphed and he sunk to the ground, facing the wall of monitors. Replaying the fight over in his head, chilling thoughts struck him.

How much power did this new enemy have?

Would he be enough to stop it? Who would he have to recruit to form his team? Would they be willing to lay down their lives to protect the planet? Would they challenge his leadership? If they went rogue, how would he stop them?

Too many questions…it was making his head hurt. He would deal with the answers later, but for now he needed to prepare for the next attack.

TBC...read and review!


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Normality

A/N: Places, bus numbers and the like are real. Yes, Sydney is freezing in July. And to the guy who made the suggestion of the next Ranger...your character will get a cameo in the next chapter.

Chapter Eighteen: Normality

The first thing Weihan noticed when he opened his eyes was the pale yellow of his ceiling. Stretching an arm up, he pulled the ring on his blinds down before releasing it. Pale morning light streamed into his room and he slowly sat upright and reflected on the events in the newly dubbed "Ultra Cavern". After wrapping his head around the responsibility entrusted to him, he had teleported back to his house and tried to calm his mind. His sister had arrived back an hour later and had promptly gone up to her room to study. His mother had arrived four hours after that, by which time they had already cooked dinner. His sister had commented on his earliness that afternoon, but he had dismissed her with the ever-present excuse of an "early bus". Well, it wasn't much of an excuse as the truth. There were early buses, but he had to walk in from the main road. After dinner, he had gone outside for his nightly exercise and gone to a secluded park down the road. After he was sure he was safe from any curious onlookers, he began to experiment with his new powers.

Manipulating fire had been surprisingly easy after he got it to flow from his hands. He had also discovered he could dim the colour of the flames without increasing the heat; something that proved valuable in the later hours of his training. By the time he had collapsed in his bed, he had mastered basic attacks like augmenting his punches and kicks with fire. Judging by the amount of charred tree trunks in the park, he had done a good job. He made a mental note to avoid that park for a while; even though he knew he hadn't been seen, there was always a risk one of the people in the houses nearby had made some sort of connection.

Either that or the park would be on the 5pm news for "random unexplained burning" or something like that. As his body went through the motions of waking up, showering and getting dressed, he kept thinking about the battle and what had happened. Of course the battle had been in the Angel Grove desert and that had no cameras there but he still had to be careful. Whoever had sent the Ogre down wouldn't wait for him to be in a secluded spot before the next attack and where there were people, there would be cameras.

He would have to be ready for whatever trials lay ahead. He knew that sounded the height of corniness, but it was the truth. Going on what he knew, the Power Rangers had only been around for a few weeks before the Green Ranger had shown up. They had scraped through, but Weihan didn't want to "just scrape through" – he wanted to plow through whatever stood in his way. Reaching for his school tie, he shook his head. He couldn't plow through the enemy – not yet. Doing so this early in the game would be suicide. He had to take things one step at a time; the first being to know his enemy. He highly doubted that Lord Zedd would be attacking him so that left either Rita or that giant blue floating head she summoned. Luthor? Lothar? He couldn't remember the name for the life of him, but he knew that whoever it was hadn't been destroyed. As he did last minute checks that he had everything he needed, a chuckle escaped his lips. With his power, he could defeat anything that came at him. He just needed to flick his wrist and they would be burned alive.

Burned alive in the fires of Hell

He stopped in mid-step. He had no idea where that though had come from. Weihan wasn't a religious kid by any stretch of the imagination, but he had a gut feeling that Hell existed. And it wasn't on the fields of war or even in those Hellraiser movies. He banished the thought from his mind as he raced down the steps. Hell was just an abstract image with no reality to it. As he pulled open the door, he shivered as the cold July air hit his exposed skin. He glanced down at his left wrist and squinted at the hands on his watch. 7:25. If he was lucky, he could hop on the next bus and be in the city at around 8 or so. As he walked across the road, he could faintly hear the roar of the bus as it sped down the hill. He held out his arm to signal it and noticed a lick of flame shoot out of his pointer finger. He swallowed hard and prepared to get on the bus – hoping that the driver didn't notice. As the doors opened, he noticed the driver looking at him strangely but allowed him on. As he sat down, he looked at his left wrist again and glanced around the bus. Apart from another student at the front, it was empty. He pulled up his sleeve and twisted his wrist to the left – concentrating on his watch. In a muted flash, it changed into his Ultra Morpher.

Looking closer at the morpher he saw thirteen buttons. Peering closer at the images engraved, his mouth dried up as he registered the images. Utahraptor, Hydra and Crocodile – his main 3 spirits. Two bursts of flame and a car. A meteor of some description and a squid. A freaky looking lizard and a winged skeleton. His head pounded as the new information swam through it. He was aware of everything and nothing at the same time. It was a rather disconcerting feeling, but he dealt with the brief spell of nausea. He was brought back to awareness as he felt the bus screech to a sudden halt at the traffic lights…at the main road. Casting his eyes over the interior of the bus, he was surprised to discover that it was still empty. Not wanting to call undue attention to himself he twisted his arm again to make his amalgamation morpher disappear. He sighed and sank back into his seat. Adjusting the bag on his lap, he tried to make sense of everything. His "Power High" was leaving him with a heavy weight settling in its place. It wasn't the weight of the entire world, but it was close enough. Destroying that monster with a single stroke of his blade had transferred responsibility to him.

The Power Rangers had a duty to protect Angel Grove first and then the world, but him? If his fight in Angel Grove had proven something to him it was that whoever he was up against had no qualms with attacking anywhere in the world. He tried to tell himself that he was the primary target and that the bad guys would attack him first and foremost. That didn't comfort him one bit. He would always be the one walking round with a giant target on his back simply because he was the one that was chosen first. That chilled him to the core. When…no, if he created his team, he would be the main target. He mentally shook his head. Having a target on his back could have its advantages in strategy, but he couldn't think of that just yet. For one thing, that would require more than one person to be on his team – and that voice didn't tell him how he would know if he was near a potential team member. Would his eyes flash? Would he hear a mental signal of some kind?

He was jerked out of his thoughts by the sudden stop of the bus. He looked out the window to see they were stuck in traffic on the Harbour Bridge. The bus was also packed to bursting point with businessmen and women all going to their jobs. Sitting next to him was a young Spanish woman who was talking on her mobile phone about being stuck in traffic and not able to get to an interview in time. Weihan laughed mirthlessly to himself. There was no way that he would have that sort of life now. The life that included running to a job interview or running to get on a bus in time. He could easily teleport, but he had to be careful that he wasn't seen on both departure and arrival. He wasn't entirely sure but having to run off to save the world every day would prove tiring for even the most lenient of bosses. Unconsciously, he rolled his eyes at his thoughts. Rita Repulsa had attacked Angel Grove for close to ten months before being driven off, so why would his nemesis be any different?

Of course, he had no idea who his nemesis actually was. He highly doubted the next batch of monsters would be defeated by one sword slash – so he had to brush up on his martial arts. He also needed to learn how to fight with a sword; flailing the blade around only got your so far after all. He wondered if he had any other weapons in his arsenal or if it was only just his sabre and his blaster. And of course whatever allowed him to conjure up fire from his fingertips. Weihan didn't think it was magic although it could very well be. He really didn't have much to go on and he couldn't teleport to the base of the Power Rangers to talk to them. As the bus stopped at Wynyard, he disembarked and looked up at the cloudy sky.

As he slowly trudged his way towards the high rise of St Andrews Cathedral School, he knew that today would be the day when everything changed.

For better or for worse.


	20. Chapter Nineteen: The Odyssey

Chapter Nineteen: The Odyssey

"And now, watch closely, as I blow into this solution. See that? It turns milky. This is due to the carbon dioxide in my breath. Carbon dioxide, or CO2 is the opposite of oxygen…"

Weihan could barely keep his eyes open. To him, science was exciting and a fun challenge, but his teacher was anything but. He had toyed with the idea of not coming today but since he had skipped out during 3rd period he needed to. Besides, the teachers were used to his absences and planned around them. His History teacher had told him that they held bets on the number of times that he would be away on any given week. He would have taken it as a joke if he hadn't seen the betting sheet. He had smirked and rolled his eyes. He didn't really care about what his teachers got up to after class and he didn't want to know. Stifling a yawn, he looked around to see if anyone else was awake. If they weren't, they were doing a remarkable job of pretending to be.

He glanced out the window for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. The feeling of foreboding hadn't left him; only grown stronger. Something was going to happen – though he wasn't exactly sure what. He shook his head and looked to the person sitting on his right. The new kid in school; the American exchange student Steven Johnston…and no relation to the teacher with that surname either. He could feel an aura radiating off him; a fairly powerful one. So far, no signals had come to him to say that he would be a Ranger. As he pondered on that thought, he realized he didn't even know how the team would be created. As far as he knew, he had the only crystal; so unless the Power was split or shared in some way…

A faint rumble on the floor woke everyone up. Usually, faint rumbles were the calling cards of the trains that ran under the building and were normal all times of the day. That is – if you were on the ground floor. Rumbles that traveled up to the eighth floor meant one thing – earthquake. Except that Sydney didn't get earthquakes. His body tensed in anticipation and he inhaled sharply. His teacher had stopped talking and was looking at the floor curiously. Another rumble came from outside the building and almost everyone raced to the window to see what the fuss was about. Weihan looked out the window – just in time to see the building closest to them explode.

Ducking instinctively, he heard the glass windows crack as they were assaulted by chunks of steel, concrete and – sickeningly enough – body parts. Most of his classmates screamed and his teacher tried to get them to pack up and leave in an orderly fashion. Gathering up his books and shoving them into his bag, Weihan was the first out the door. The corridors were packed with students screaming, some of the younger students were crying and the teachers weren't much help. Across the hall, the Visual Arts room was open and unlocked. Slipping his arm through the other strap, he ducked into the VA room and strode to the window. Next to him was Alex Burns, but no words were spoken between the two friends – they just kept looking out at the destruction happening. Fires were sprouting up everywhere, buildings were crumbling and chaos was in the streets. As he scanned the smoldering wreck that had once been Town Hall Square, he saw the culprit.

It seemed like it was a guy in a replica of Roman Hoplite battle armour, except that normal people didn't have four arms and they couldn't shoot lasers from their eyes. He knew he had to go down there – if the Power Rangers showed up, they would be slaughtered. Reliving yesterday's battle in his mind, he shuddered and swallowed hard. The Thunderzords had been no match for the Ogre, so what could the Rangers do? Making up his mind on the spot he turned around and headed out the door, ignoring the chaos around him. He placed a hand on the fire escape door and was about to push it open, when he was stopped by a crackle coming from the unused speakers in the hall.

"All students, please remain calm. Years 7, 8 and 9, please proceed to the library. Years 10, 11 and 12 – report to the gym. You will be required to check attendance and then you can leave."

Weihan rolled his eyes as he made his way towards the library. Leaving early was a good thing. Leaving early while a monster raged downtown? Not so good. He started as someone placed a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Steven Johnston staring at him, The American was clearly unimpressed with the entire situation – and it showed in his voice.

"Dude, what the Hell is going on? That building just exploded and…"

Weihan sighed and prayed to whoever was listening that he would be able to get out of the building soon. First, he had to deal with the Yank who was slightly hysterical. Not that he could blame him.

"No idea what's going down mate. Now, we gotta go to the library and see what to do from there."

Steven nodded and turned to leave. Weihan pursed his lips and exhaled in frustration. No one said being a superhero was easy, but to have to go through processing before being allowed to leave was ridiculous. The floor was still shaking as building after building crumbled in the relentless assault. He grasped at his mobile phone as it vibrated in his inside pocket. Pulling it out, he read the message that was on the screen.

_Son, I am safe in the QVB car park. The office was evacuated and the car park is the securest place in the building. Take care. Mum_

He rolled his eyes at the message. Only an office full of Asians would think that an underground car park would be a safe and secure place. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing and stepped into the library. He blinked wordlessly at the sight in front of him. Row upon row of students were at the back of the library, peering through the windows at the carnage below. A handful of teachers stood to the side with class lists. He recognized one of them as the quirky Drama teacher – Mr. Goldrick – and went over to mark his name off. As the tall man bent over to tick Weihan's name off, the building shook as more buildings crumbled. From outside came a deep and rumbling voice, slightly muffled by the glass.

"Here's what I want. I want the Ranger that destroyed my brother to show himself! Here and now! Every five minutes I have to wait, a building falls. How many will have to die before I get what I want?"

Weihan swallowed hard and slowly inhaled. He had thought it was a good thing that there were no images of the battle, but now he wasn't so sure. Already there were whispered questions bouncing around the students and teachers alike. Who was this mysterious new Ranger and who was the creature's brother? Silently pushing past the crowd, Weihan looked down at the creature once more. He could see some similarities between the creature he had fought yesterday and the thing tearing up the city. One thing he was sure of was that he needed to get down to ground level and move the monster from the city.

If he kicked with the right amount of force, theoretically he could punt it over to Homebush. Barring that, he supposed he could kick the monster's ass down George Street and into the abandoned worksite of World Square. It certainly would be deep enough to contain the monster's blasts and subsequent explosion. The only problem there would be getting out of the pit before the press swarmed it. He mentally shook his head; there would be no getting around the fact that he would be subjecting himself to the public. He only hoped he could stop any more damage happening.

As the teachers shouted over the din to try to quiet the room, the building shook with unimaginable ferocity. Weihan used the chaos caused by the shaking and swaying to run out of the library and headed to the Eastern fire stairs. Pushing open the doors, he was about to begin his flight down when a hand clamped him on the shoulder. Jerking back in surprise, he whirled around to face the exchange student looking at him with a mix of curiosity and bewilderment. Biting back a vile curse, he warily asked the American what he was doing following him.

"Well, you're insane to go out. Better to stay here and be safe, right? Let the Power Rangers handle this."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the kid, Weihan sighed and shook his head. He knew that the Power Rangers wouldn't stand a chance against the creature outside; they had done a bang up job of the monster yesterday anyway…but the student in front of him didn't know that. He sighed under his breath, shrugged out of Steven's grasp and inhaled in surprise. As he was looking at the student, a faint image seemed to superimpose itself over the face and body of Steven. It looked very similar to the helmet of the Black Ranger, though there were streaks of green around the sides and on the tusks. He knew he had found his Black Ranger…or Black and Green Ranger. He exhaled slowly and sucked on his front teeth. Explaining this would be a challenge and it would be a bit of a shock to him. He motioned for him to walk with him down the stairs. Hearing the door clang shut, Weihan opened his mouth to speak.

"Steven, I can see great potential in you. You have the potential to do great things with your life; but do you want to abandon everything you knew and step into a new and dangerous world? Where you hold not only your life, but billions of lives in your hands?"

Steven looked at him like was insane and he mentally kicked himself. He had to slowly explain things to people to make sure they knew what they were getting themselves into. He chuckled to himself; one day of being an Ultra Ranger had fried his normal way of thinking. He took in another deep breath and was about to explain when there was a loud explosion a few floors below them. The ground rocked and the thick concrete stairs cracked and started to crumble away. Grabbing the back of Steven's collar, Weihan pulled the American off the steps as they crumbled away along with a good chunk of the wall. Swallowing hard as the morning sun poured into the broken stairwell, Weihan peered over the edge and looked at the ground far below him. Swallowing his nerves, he looked up to the door which they had come from to see it had been blocked off by various slabs of concrete. Looking over the edge again, he did a few quick calculations in his head. He could easily morph in freefall and land in one piece, but Steven? He'd probably die from this height – even if he landed on his feet.

All calculations were swept away violently as the ground literally exploded beneath their feet – throwing them up…and out. Weihan's stomach leapt into his throat as he was pushed up higher and higher by the concussive force. His heart raced, but he knew he had to keep calm and to safely get out of this situation in one piece. Below, he could hear Steven's yell of sheer terror as he plummeted to Earth. The exchange student hadn't been flung up as far as him and he would be splattered on the ground very soon. He knew he had to act, but he was exposed. Suddenly, he felt the forces pushing him up drop off sharply as gravity took hold. Drawing in a shaking breath, he twisted his left arm clockwise – manifesting the morpher he had summoned yesterday in the Ultra Cavern. Not wasting any time, Weihan pressed the activation button and let the Power wash over him. He could see Steven's eyes widen in awe and surprise – a split second before his body hit an uncracked section of pavement.

Weihan's eyes closed in sorrow and regret as he saw the blood fly out of Steven's body. Even as the last of the armour closed around his body, he could hear the sickening crunch as bones bent in ways they were not meant to bend. He hit the ground in a similar way, but he landed in a crouch – his momentum upon landing cracking the pavement for two meters around him. A billowing cloud of steam, smoke and dust obscured his vision, but he knew he had attracted the attention of the monster. He spared a glance at the body of Steven and could see that the student was rapidly expiring. Knowing that there was nothing he could do for the student, Weihan kept his eyes straight ahead; not even giving anything away as he heard Steven's death rattle.

First blood had been shed – and there would be Hell to pay.


	21. Chapter Twenty: Gladiator

A/N: I think you can expect an update a month or so. Hope you all like this! And, Steven Johnston is dead...but not gone.

Chapter Twenty: Gladiator

It would be one of the life changing moments in history. Years later, people would be still talking about it – like where they were when JFK was shot, what they were doing when 9/11 happened or what they felt when Michael Jackson died. No one knew how the footage was shot or where the cameras were set up – but on July 14, the world changed again. The first video was blurry – lots of smoke and fire intercut with snippets of screams and blasts. A quick shot of a building showed two people who had either jumped or who had been launched out…falling to their apparent deaths. The camera was trained on the one closest to the ground and missed the flash or flare of light. The image jerks away as the other body hits the ground – throwing concrete, smoke and dust everywhere and creating a loud crash that reverberates in one's ears for hours afterward. The image drops to the ground as the smoke starts to clear; the cameraman apparently dropping the camera in shock.

A shaky hand picks up the camera and Japanese is spoken in the background. The image steadies as the smoke clears to reveal a figure clad in an orange spandex suit with an armoured vest. The figure brings its head up to look at an approaching figure and then runs at the other figure. The image then retreats quickly and shouts are heard. The new cameraman stops, despite shouts of protest and raises the camera for what would be the first clear shot of the newest Ranger battling a monster. Stills of the image would show the Orange Ranger with his right fist drawn back, his left arm held diagonally across his chest and his body slightly off the ground. Other shots would be a regular occurrence, but that first shot would be something magical.

Inside the suit, Weihan winced as he heard shouts to his left. He knew that this was his debut fight on his home turf as it were, but it would be an unorthodox fight. For one; he hadn't let the monster identify itself – he had just charged in on an emotional high. Another odd thing was that he didn't try to help Steven or shield his body from the impact of the ground. He had thought about it, but the ground had hit Steven before he had a chance to act. He was sure that the press would have a field day with this fight and he hoped they were intelligent enough to stay back. If they didn't…then too bad for them because he was pulling out all the stops with this monster. Information flashed across his visor as the internal radars tried to pick up on any weak or vulnerable spots on the creature; so far, they were turning up empty. Weihan didn't care anyway – his philosophy was if you hit something repeatedly, it would eventually drop. He hoped that he had enough stamina to keep hitting this thing. Any more internal musing was cut short as he felt four large hands clamp onto his abdomen followed by a sensation of weightlessness.

But even that was brief – as he felt his back slamming into the sandstone wall of Town Hall. Even as he fell, he positioned his body so that he would land on his feet and be ready to spring up. Unfortunately, he forgot to take into account the laser eyes and was repeatedly blasted on the way down. Warnings about damaged armour flashed on the inside of his visor; the light dazzling him temporarily. He shook his head to clear his vision and looked straight at the creature. He supposed he would have to let the creature introduce itself sooner or later; but before that there was one thing that was annoying the shit out of him. He opened his mouth and spoke – noting with amusement that the voice issuing out of the helmet started a full second after him.

"Alright ugly, who are you anyway? And that creature yesterday – that wasn't your brother; no matter how many ways you try to spin it. One similarity I can see – you're both ugly as sin."

And his voice was also slightly distorted so for now his identity was safe. As he looked at the monster, he was beginning to think that taunting it wasn't such a good idea. A crackle of static was all the warning he had before four beams of superheated plasma flew out of the creature's palms. Throwing himself to one side, he missed three of them but gasped in pain as the fourth smashed into his chest. The momentum threw him back against the wall – where he heard a loud crack. Swallowing hard, he tried wiggling his toes as he warily watched the monster. When they responded to his thoughts, he knew he was safe. As he slowly got to his feet, the monster growled at him through the gap in its helmet. When it spoke, the voice was low and dripping with forced calm.

"Yes, human, he was my brother. Not by blood, but by purpose. I am Apollonia the Destroyer of worlds. You are no match for me. Behold the weapons of your destruction!"

Upon saying those words, Apollonia thrust its upper arms out and clenched its hands into fists. In two bursts of light, two weapons appeared in its grasp – a wickedly sharp gladius made from what looked like gold and a javelin made of bone. The creature laughed hoarsely and took a step toward Weihan, spinning both weapons efficiently. Weihan steeled himself and mentally planned his next move. Town Hall square was littered with debris; which could work to his advantage but they could also be used against him. Looking past the Roman themed creature, Weihan could see the usually bustling George Street empty of life. Doing a quick set of calculations in his head, he leapt over the monster and delivered a spin kick to its back. The monsters roar of rage was somewhat muffled under its helmet and it lashed out with its javelin, catching him on his right side. Sparks flew into the air as Weihan struggled to keep the shaft from skewering him and barely managed to move the weapon away from his body before narrowly avoiding the blade of the gladius.

Reaching to his side, he pulled out what he was starting to dub his Raptor Laser and fired a point blank shot at the creature's chest. He had absolutely no idea what would happen but he wasn't expecting it to do much other than make it mad. Tensing his muscles, he sprang up and over the monster; hoping his shots would do something like blind the monster. So far; no such luck. He had half a mind to try shooting fire out of his hands again, but he needed to make sure his fire blasts didn't cause more damage. Ducking behind a waist high pile of rubble, he holstered his laser and silently summoned his Raptor Sabre. He only had one shot at this; to see if the hellish monster from God-knew-where would actually bleed. Tensing his legs, he peered over the mound of rubble – straight into the monster's helmet. Biting back a yelp of surprise, Weihan thrust his Sabre into the gap of the helmet; hoping its eyes – or its brain – would be destroyed.

Apollonia let out a howl of unearthly fury and pain as a searing brand of fire punctured its flesh. Jerking its head back, it dropped the javelin and clutched at its head. Blinking through the blood, it was unprepared as the Orange Ranger launched a series of kicks at it that pushed it toward the empty street behind them. It couldn't lose; it had been chosen by the master to destroy the fleshlings that opposed it. The Ogre had been a bad choice and it was sure to make up for the mistake of its brother; but the human who had killed the Ogre had done the unthinkable – wounded it. It didn't feel the pain as the damned blade sliced through one of its wrists; didn't feel the pain as two flame covered fists powered into its armoured torso and didn't feel the pain as a series of slashed utterly destroyed the arms on its left side. It wanted to destroy this human who had spoiled its fun; to drink his blood as it dribbled from fresh wounds. Of course, it was all a bit melodramatic, but it had been created with creativity…and melodrama was all part of that gruesome package.

Weihan's foot struck the creature again and he stood back, panting slightly. The monster didn't look even close to being weakened, but he was almost out of energy. He needed some reprieve; something to allow him to catch his breath, but somehow he didn't think the world worked like that. As the creature reared back for a gladius strike, he brought his arm up a fraction of a second too slow. A surge of pain raced up his left arm; causing him to loose his grip on his Sabre. As the creature slammed its remaining arms into his armour, Weihan was forcefully reminded of gladiators in Ancient Rome that would fight until the death. He was probably muddling up reality and his computer games again; but he couldn't think of anything more apt. Cradling his arm to his chest, he looked around for anything useful that he could use. Rocks and chunks of rubble probably wouldn't phase it and hurling its own javelin at it would only cause it to gain another weapon. The only options he had left were his Laser, his feet or his fire powers. Throwing a roundhouse at the creature, his mind raced furiously. The foot alternative hadn't worked well and he was on his last legs. Literally. The laser option was too weak to actually have any merit whatsoever, so that only left the fire option.

Flexing the fingers on his left hand, he was pleased to find that moving them didn't hurt. That was good, but he only had one shot at it. Waiting until the creature was at arms length; he tackled its upper torso and wrapped both legs around its waist. Using the extra leverage and somewhat stable anchor, he clamped both hands around its blood slicked helmet and did his best to concentrate. Contrary to the beliefs spread in the movies, concentrating on the fire was surprisingly easy to do. His armour was absorbing most of the hits and while they hurt; they weren't much. He was sure that he would be feeling it in the morning though.

Apollonia didn't know what the Ranger was trying to do. His hands were clamped on both sides of its helmet and the metal was starting to heat up slightly. Of course, it had been heating up throughout the battle (being near raging fires did that), but not as fast as it was now. It hissed in pain as sweat intermingled with the blood and ran into its eyes; obscuring its vision even more. Suddenly, a greater pain lanced up both sides of his head as the metal began to turn white-hot and become malleable. The pain became less of a concern as he heard the Ranger move his hands across the helmet; obscuring its vision as the now molten metal closed up around its "visor". Strangely, the weight of the Ranger had vanished and lightning could be heard somewhere close. Apollonia wished it could regenerate limbs as removing its helmet was proving quite difficult.

Weihan watched the monster struggle comically before deciding on his next course of action. Technically the creature – while blind – was still a threat. He also had no idea if it would regrow any of its limbs or not. He carefully walked over to his Raptor Sabre and picked it up; keeping a careful eye on the monster at all times. Sighing, he relaxed his body and mind and let the Power move his body for him. In a distant corner of his mind, he knew that sounded somewhat perverted; but he didn't care. As he felt his fingers wrapping around the grip, his mind drifted back to the start of the day. Everything was quiet and he was confident in his abilities. Right now, he wasn't so sure of anything. Both the battle yesterday and the one now had been extremely lucky shots for him. It certainly didn't seem like the easy breeze the Power Ranger battles he had seen had been, although he chalked it up to a new enemy. Hell, he had to save their butts yesterday before their Zords were destroyed. It was extremely overwhelming for him; a fourteen year old teen barely coping at school. He wasn't sure if he had what it took to save the world.

As he mused, his fingers brushed against a hidden button – energizing the blade. Fire raced up along the metal; superheating it in the same way as the helmet had been. The metal of the blade wasn't made to melt; just channel whatever energy the user pumped into it. Although Weihan would never know until much later, the first time the finisher was performed was the moment that the Powers fully sealed onto him. It had been one of the safeties Ninjor had installed into the crystals; that although the Power had chosen its wielder – the bond would not fully be cemented until the user willingly tapped into the next level. Exhaling sharply, Weihan started to spin on the spot, closing his eyes so he wouldn't get dizzy. As he spun, he held out his Sabre as the momentum gathered slowly; allowing him to reflect once more.

Steven Johnston. He had shown a lot of promise as the next Ranger he would have chosen. It was too bad that he had to die like that. Someone with that much power potential could really have been an asset and it would be hard to fill the void he now had. On the bright side, he now knew how to spot a potential team-mate. That would be a great help to him…if he hadn't decided not to recruit any more members into his team. He was resolute in that decision and it would take something jarring to snap him out of that decision. Something like that was bound to happen to him, but that was in the now-murky future. For all he knew, he could be killed by a lucky punch or be killed in a more…pedestrian way. Finally gathering up enough momentum and energy, he opened his eyes and flung his Sabre at the monster.

Moving off the remaining momentum, he turned his back on the creature and automatically struck a pose. Judging by the massive explosion behind him, the final attack had worked. Snatching his Sabre as it returned to him, he exhaled once more and hit the button on his belt.

Excitement was over. It was time to go back to the real world and see what the repercussions would be.


	22. Chapter Twenty One: Media Storm

A/N: After uploading the previous chapter, I started writing this one, so it's a bit sluggish at the beginning. Please review! I'd love to hear what you think! And to JW Appel, the Angel Grove Rangers will make appearances, but the story doesn't center on them.

Chapter Twenty One: Media Storm

Weihan materialized inside one of the toilets on Level Seven. Thankfully, there was no one around him because he was still morphed. Touching his Power Coin, his suit dissolved in a shower of sparks. He wearily sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He got lucky. He knew it and the next battles wouldn't be as easy. Fighting with a sword or a blade was a foreign experience for him and he desperately needed to get better. Plus his aim needed a lot of work; that shot at the monster's chest was a combination of a lucky break and the chest being the only thing wide enough to be hit. He wondered if the Power Rangers faced these kinds of problems in their battles; but dismissed the idea as stupid. His strange mental voice…type…helper…thing had told him that all the knowledge was downloaded into a brain instantly when a Ranger morphed. Of course, there were cases of the power knowledge failing…but that was a once in a hundred year thing.

Pushing the door open, he stepped out into a busy and full hall full of shouting, pointing and yelling. Walking through the crowd, he could only catch snippets of what everyone was talking about.

"…right out of nowhere, after that explosion…"

"…yeah, I think two people were blown out…"

"A new Ranger? Why would a Ranger protect us?"

"…man, that last attack was cool!"

"…maybe he's a lone wolf or something. Or maybe he's an evil Ranger!"

Hmm…he'd have to do something a bit later to squash that assumption. He couldn't blame the speaker though; everyone had thought the Green Ranger was one of the good guys for a short time there. For all of five seconds sure, but he had to call on a press conference at some stage. The only issue was how to do it and when…and why did that sound really dirty? He shook his head and walked to the library where almost everyone was talking at once. And they were all talking about one thing: him. Well, not really him; but the new Ranger…which was him but not. It was making his head hurt along with the other parts of him that were. Pushing through the crowd, he made his way to the window and looked out over the square; or at least what was left of it. Now that most of the battle and smoke had cleared away, the damage was glaringly apparent.

Gaping holes dotted the once pristine pebbled surface and rubble was strewn everywhere. The police had come out of wherever it was they were hiding and had cordoned off the entire square. Various news crews were also there filming the damage and probably speculating about the new Ranger. Weihan winced as he spied a particularly large crack in the side of the Town Hall…the one he had made upon his impact. Shaking his head at the destruction he had inadvertently caused, he almost missed the wheeling in of a TV – with Mr. Goldrick trying to calm everyone down. Giving up on the impossible task, he resorted to switching the box on and turning up the volume. Weihan turned away from the window and focused on the screen at the front of the room.

"And behind me, we have the aftermath of Sydney's first monster attack. Town Hall Square has been totally torn to shreds and the Town Hall didn't escape damage either. Eyewitnesses claim that the large crack was made when what appeared to be a new Power Ranger was thrown into it."

He had expected that eventually the news would break…but not directly after the battle. It would be interesting to see what normal people made of the battle though. Judging from the newspapers, people in Angel Grove had become used to the almost daily attacks quickly and knew what to do when one started. Unfortunately for him, most of the advice they had to give was to run away or to stay put; since the battles usually happened in the abandoned warehouse district…which Sydney didn't really have – so battles would be more destructive than in Angel Grove and the city council would have to adjust. In all honesty, thinking about what would go on behind the scenes was adding to the headache, so he focused his gaze on the screen again. The image had switched to a fuzzy recording of the battle and the newsreader's comments.

"And here it is folks. For those of you who missed seeing it – there's your very first shot of the new Power Ranger in action. His armour is clearly similar to Angel Grove's own group, but so far three has been no formal statement made by the team regarding a new member. You will recall that the last time a press release was distributed was when the White Ranger appeared. In a matter of minutes, we will cross live to Canberra to see what the Prime Minister has to say about what has just occurred."

Closing his eyes, Weihan leant on the bookcase behind him as he tried to process the aftermath. If he; or more accurately the Orange Ranger; was branded a national threat then battling whatever evil force was hell bent on destroying him would be a tad hard. He scanned the throng of students coming in through the doors to try to spot a familiar face. What he saw instead shocked him even more so than the quick response of the media. Alex Burns was walking in the doors…with a clearer image of the Mastodon helmet superimposed on his features. He could see that the "eyes" on the helmet were much like they were on his "Ultra form" – complete with veins. It looked much more realistic and solid than what he had seen on Steven Johnston. He blinked hard and looked again. The helmet image was still there but when his friend walked closer, he could see vague impressions of the rest of the armour. He sighed to himself and smiled. Even if he chose not to form a team, he could still see who would resonate the best with the Power.

"Hey man, did you just see what happened?"

Of course, he had seen what had happened, but he couldn't let anyone in on his secret just yet. Still, he had to say something to avoid suspicion. He wondered if this was how the Power Rangers felt…if they had human identities in the first place.

"I saw what happened. Was stepping into the fire stairs to get a better look on the ground when they exploded. Do you know who got thrown out?"

Well, that was true. He was in the stairwell when it exploded from under him and he was one of the people thrown out. Of course, he couldn't say that – it would raise some pretty hairy questions about how he was able to survive. Whatever Alex's reply was going to be, it was cut short as the face of the Australian Prime Minister – John Howard – filled the screen; as well as a long shot of the room – which was filled with news reporters. Weihan internally shuddered as he thought of what a monster version of the Prime Minister would be.

"Ladies and Gentlemen and people of Australia. We have witnessed an attack on Australian soil by two combatants of an extra-terrestrial nature. We are sorting through conflicting reports about the identity of the Ranger-like figure that was seen and we are trying to determine his stance. If, indeed, this so called 'Ranger' is an ally, we will open our arms and hearts to him in his mission. If he is not, we will use every resource we can to hunt him down and destroy him if necessary to ensure the safety of the public. If the Ranger wishes to tell us that he is an ally, we have conditions for him to operate under."

Weihan shuddered at that thought. Working for the Australian government or any government would be torture. Being under the thumb of that idiot was the last thing he wanted, but he still had to think of how to say he was an ally without complying with whatever demands were placed on him. On the screen, John Howard continued.

"We want him to reveal his identity to the public. Then and only then will he be accepted as an ally."

As soon as the Prime Minister had finished his sentence, the room erupted into indignant shouts and protests by the journalists. Most of the noise was indecipherable, but Weihan could hear small fragments of the protests.

"…can't be serious! No Ranger would…"

"…impossible to even think of something like that!"

"Are you going to ask that Angel Grove's Power Rangers reveal themselves as well?"

The room silenced abruptly; leaving the Prime Minister looking stunned. Everyone waited to see what his response would be. Weihan held his breath and stared at the screen – wishing that the man on it would burst into flames. He blinked and suppressed that urge. He had no idea if it would actually happen or not and even though he despised the cretin on screen; he had no desire to see him burst into flames. Although it would be fun…

"At this point, I will not ask the Angel Grove Rangers to reveal their identities. If they wish to do so, that is their business. At this point, the Orange Ranger must reveal his identity to the public or he will be shot on sight upon his next appearance."

Weihan barely heard the rest of the press conference. If he revealed his identity, he would be forced to act under the whims of the Australian government but if he didn't reveal it, he would be branded a threat and hunted. Pushing everything to the back of his mind, he shook his head mentally.

He had a lot of work to do.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two: The Zord Master

Chapter Twenty Two: The Zord Master

Two weeks had passed since the first attack. It had become clear to all that either the attack had been a one-off thing or the attacks wouldn't be regular occurrences. Actually, everyone was hoping that the attack had been a one-off thing. Town Hall Square was slowly being rebuilt and preparations were being made to convert some abandoned subway tunnels into makeshift monster shelters. Sydney City Council was also talking about monster-proofing the buildings in the city or constructing monster shelters underneath them. Of course the taxpayers would have to foot the bill, but it would be better than being killed. John Howard had also backed down on his previous statement; saying that the sudden attack coupled with the shocking and amazing appearance of the new Ranger had taken him off guard. He said if the new Ranger wanted to reveal his identity then he was free to do so, but he wouldn't be treated like an enemy if he didn't. The Power Rangers had eventually put out a press statement claiming that the new Ranger was loosely affiliated with them. With no word from the new Ranger, the public was forced to put their trust in the Rangers again.

Life in Sydney was back to normal for almost everyone. No matter how hard Weihan tried to push the issue away, the question of allegiance always came up. He couldn't confide in anyone about his reluctance to reveal his identity because that would blow his cover…not that he had much time to talk to people at school anyway. The day after the battle, his body had been in total agony. He was able to blow off any concern by saying it was due to the shaking of the building and crashing into the walls; but his left arm had given him some problems a few days later. After getting out of class his usual way, he teleported to the Ultra Cavern and looked around to see what would help him out. Making his way toward the medical bay, he paused to look at the equipment more closely. Something made him reach out with his right hand to grab something that looked like a hybrid gun/vacuum and point it at his arm. After hesitating for quite a while, he pulled the trigger; sending a beam of orange light at his arm. It was only a few minutes later that he noticed that he could move his arm without feeling any pain.

Injury healed, he could now think of how to say that he was an ally. He wouldn't reveal his identity, but he wanted to distance himself from the press release given out by the Power Rangers. Carve out his own niche…except he had no idea how to pull it off. He could morph and stand in front of Town Hall, but that would attract a lot of unwanted questions. Teleporting to Canberra was another option, though it might be considered as an act of terrorism. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind just gave him headaches; but thinking about them wasn't much better. School was all Pythagoras this and Biology that with a few doses of English comprehension thrown in for good measure. Stuff that would be practically useless in the real world or even battling giant monsters. He didn't think that to defeat a giant monster he would need to solve a calculus problem; just slash it a few times with his Sabre. If that failed, he could use the trick he used to kill the Ogre…but if that failed he was out of options.

He knew the Power Rangers had their giant robots they used to stomp around in – their Zords – but he didn't know if he had any available. The freaky mental voice thing had said he would command a fleet of Zords but if they weren't finished, all he would be commanding was his own death. He guessed that he would have to trust in the Power. If he wanted to stretch the culture reference, he guessed he could say to trust in the Force…but somehow trusting the Power in him resonated better than some intangible energy. Which was the same thing if he thought about it. He chuckled to himself as he stared up at the Huntsman spider on his ceiling. He didn't know why, but ever since that battle with the Ogre and Apollonia he had been less scared of spiders than he had ever been. Not only that, some of them seemed to gravitate toward him…only to be killed swiftly. He was less freaked at them; but he didn't love them more either. If Zedd or whoever had sent down the Ogre ever made a monster out of spiders; they would have him running scared. For about five seconds.

His train of thought had a point though. He had to find out if he really was a Ranger or if he just had the suit. Fancy armour would only get him so far in a giant monster fight and he doubted that the monster du jour would wait for him to get to the top of a high building or tower so he could kill it. Carefully, he got out of bed and looked outside. All the lights on the second floor were out and the only light from the first was due to the faulty sensor light outside. Closing the door, he snuck a quick glance at the digital clock. Just after ten. If he was quick about it, he could be back in his bed by eleven. Quickly grabbing his watch/communicator/morpher from the table, he hit one of the buttons on the side and visualized his destination. As his body began to dissolve into the teleportation stream, he chuckled to himself at how fast he was accustomed to the slight tingling sensation. The sensation lasted for a second or two and he was back on solid ground. He winced at the cold floor, but it was his fault for not wearing socks beforehand.

He walked toward the wall of monitors and looked at each of the images individually. Most were of the city at night but a few caught his interest. One screen showed the surface of a planet with purple rocks and clear shards of what appeared to be crystal or ore of some kind. Judging from the buildings, there seemed to be some sort of life there – squatters or bandits. Quickly typing on the keys in front of him, he swung the "camera" around the surface while looking for other life. Nothing except strange caves surrounded with scorch marks and a strange symbol carved onto one wall. Disregarding that image, he looked to another monitor; this one showing something strange as well. The images kept changing every five minutes, but they all seemed to be of the same thing – a mirror with an unusually ornate frame. Zooming in on one of the images gave him a shock. Inside the reflective surface it looked like something was trying to get out. Squinting at the image, he could barely make out the wolf-like features, sharp teeth and claws – it looked like the werewolf from Hell. A shudder of fear rippled through him as he saw the thing beat against the glass to the point where cracks were appearing. If the creature was to break out he would have to stop it any way he could.

Stepping away from the screens, he walked to the very end of the Cavern to a section of rock that was coloured differently. He had discovered the discolouration a few days ago, but didn't know what it meant. As he looked over the patch, he pressed his palm into the wall – starting in surprise as he heard a low rumble. To his amazement, the rock façade shimmered away and he was left staring at a well lit hall that stretched off a fair way. Shaking off his nervousness, he stepped into the hall and started walking. About halfway down, he looked back to see that the opening had closed off and the lights were becoming brighter. Mentally shrugging his shoulders, he kept walking with his eyes straight in front, barely noticing when a door opened in front of him, only stopping when the ground under his feet shifted from the smoothness of the metal to rocky and uneven. Snapping out of his focused march, Weihan looked around him in wonder. He was in a cavern larger than the main area and (to him anyway) seemed several times larger than the Sydney Football Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground combined.

And it was dark. It seemed the only light source he could see was the dim lights on the edges of the path he had just stepped off. The logical part of his brain was screaming at him to get out of there; but he felt…_safe_. As if this was the only place in the world he could strip away the burdens of being a kid and the burdens of his identity and be himself. As if something was reading his thoughts, the atmosphere changed from dark and foreboding to calm, soothing and secure. Soft lights lit up the entire cavern, illuminating things that made Weihan gasp in shock and wonder. He had just wondered if he would be able to see his fleet of Zords before he called upon them in battle; to see them in an inert state. He wondered how they would look like in frozen positions – would they be menacing to him as they would be to the enemy…and what the Chronos Zord looked like.

Incidentally, it was the first Zord he saw.

Looking back on that moment, Weihan swore up and down that his jaw detached from his face and smashed onto the ground below. He craned his head back to look at the mighty winged skeleton standing in front of him. The metallic bones were protected by what appeared to be an energy cloak of some description and two of the wings were folded beneath the strange…energy-type…material. He wasn't sure why that description just floated in his brain, but it seemed apt. Turning around, he stared into the gaping beaked maw of his Giant Squid Wildzord. The tentacle animal Zord bobbed gently; almost as if it were in the water. Weihan slowly walked through the cavern, noting that all of his Zords had his primary colour on them somewhere. Some had it on their crests, some in their eyes and the Funnelweb Galactabeast had orange fangs. He quickly looked over his Zords and focused on the four bays in front of him; two of which held Zords. One of the Zords was a sleek orange and black Hydra with three heads and twin serpentine tails. Though lifeless, the Hydra seemed to radiate power and majesty from its core. Weihan knew that the moment he took that Zord into battle, it would be a sight to behold.

Stepping away from the mythical Zord, he looked at the bay that held the robotic replica of the dinosaur on his helmet – his Utahraptor Dinozord. The Zord was a brilliant orange and red and it reminded him of the Velociraptors in the movie Jurassic Park. The only thing that detracted from the menace of the Zord was that the claws on both arms and the legs were retracted into the sockets. Just looking at the Zord caused a chill to go down his spine because it looked…real. It didn't look as clunky or as angular as the Power Rangers' and it didn't look…what was the word he was looking for? It didn't look manufactured. In fact, all the Zords didn't have any angular qualities in them…with the possible exception of the Chronos Zord. Under the soft lights, the Dinozord looked like it was sleeping or just dozing. In the heat of battle, it would look like the Raptor from Hell. He couldn't wait to test it out on a monster but an overwhelming curiousity came over him as he looked at the two empty bays. He picked the one to his right to step into first, noting the four depressions on the ground – presumably where the feet of the missing Zord would go. Under the simple process of elimination, he deduced that the Zord that was supposed to go here was the Crocodile; but that didn't explain the other bay.

Stepping out of the Zord Bay he readied himself for teleportation back home when something caught his eye. A light next to the bay that would hold is Crocodile Zord was steadily blinking on and off. Furrowing his brow in confusion, Weihan walked over and brushed his fingers over the light. Instantly, an image appeared out of the LED. The image was of a strange figure in ninja themed blue armour. When it…he…spoke, the voice made Weihan want to start laughing.

"Greetings, friend. My name is Ninjor and I hold the answers to the questions you seek."

Weihan peered closer at the image and was about to ask a question when the image started talking again.

"You are standing in what is to be the Zord Bay of your Ninjazord. I do not know what animal your Ninja Spirit is but you will know if you have used the crystal to transform. Your Ninjazord is ready and waiting for you, but there is a small catch."

In the main chamber, a console hummed to life and a line of numbers flashed onto its screen. The images changed from various shots of Sydney, different planets and the mirrors to two still images. One was of a desert floor that had sheer rocks on either side while the other showed a brown and red planet with two moons orbiting it. Weihan couldn't see any of this but he stared at the image. Finally, Ninjor spoke once more.

"You now have the co-ordinates of where to go to activate your Ninjazord. The Desert of Despair and the planet Phaedos. One small tip – you might want to go to the Desert of Despair first. You will meet me and I will be able to connect you to your Ninja Spirit in full."

The image flicked off and Weihan turned to leave. However, Ninjor's image appeared once more and the words he spoke sent a shudder down Weihan's spine.

"You will face many challenges in the Desert. Should you choose to come, you will be tested in ways you never thought of but the results will transform you into a mighty warrior. I look forward to seeing you in person, Weihan Liang."

The screen blinked out with an audible snap and would not open again.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three: Horde

Chapter Twenty Three: Horde

Fourteen solar cycles had passed since Apollonia was destroyed. During that time, his brother had been more active than usual. He had seen Serpenterra lift off from the surface of the moon a few cycles before only to limp back a few Earth hours later. It seemed Zedd was still using magic to power all of his constructs and not the raw power he had inside him. Upon reflection, that made sense to him; to access any of their internal power would mean being hooked up to a power siphon of some kind and those were usually painful. The conquest of the Satiuqea system had finished and his lieutenants were building some sort of structure on the dark side of the moon for him. He supposed it was better than hanging out on his ship all the time, though it felt strange to be in one place. It felt like he was advertising the fact that he was on the same moon as his brother and he would be attacked at any moment.

Of course, that was all false – Zordon's little Power Rangers had those rules imposed on them. Woe betide them if they should break the grip Zordon had on their fragile lives. It was as if the Morphin Madness wasn't enough – that Zordon had to control every other part of the Power as well. The only Rangers he had to worry about coming up to storm his fortress were the Ultra Rangers…or whoever that Ranger was. He was actually hoping he would come up here alone. That way he could kill the nuisance in a heartbeat. Jarbarkas was looking through the monster reserves to find a strong beast that could take out the Ranger easily and efficiently. He claimed he had found one such beast but hadn't found how to release it from its prison yet. He was sure his head warrior would find a way eventually but he needed to strike now. His scryings on the Power Rangers revealed that they had just swapped out three members for three newer and less experienced members. If he wanted to destroy any and all opposition, he had to strike now. The question was where would he attack? Not Angel Grove, he had already attacked there and while the area was quite accommodating for large battles…it was Zedd's stomping ground. The city where he had sent Apollonia down was a good choice.

Lots of labyrinthine streets made good places to hide his forces. Lots of people on said streets made for a high body count. And a high body count meant that the streets would literally run with red. He had to plan out his attack though. The Orange Ranger had the advantage on the fact that it was his turf and he would know how to run through the streets with ease, but he would be only one person…so there would be not much of an advantage after all. He grinned wickedly and stalked towards his War Room. A monster would be good to send down with the grunts, but he wanted to sink his claws into the Earth personally. He growled under his breath as he thought of the training he would have to do to polish his skills. Upon entering his War Room, he walked to a rack and withdrew a replica of Apollonia's blade. Unbeknownst to the monster, he had been wielding a copy of Xonix's own sword…but further use had been aborted after the arm holding the sword had been cut off. He held the blade by the handle and hissed under his breath. One piece of preparation down…around sixty or seventy to go.

He glanced at his worn and rusted battle armour that was hanging on a hook and shook his head. While he was sure he could easily fit into the armour, he had evolved to the point where he didn't need it anymore. Maybe he would give it to Twinlobe to make into a monster or something. He certainly didn't want to be continuously reminded of his earlier years. Those years – after he had taken on his reptilian form but before he had assembled his world-conquering armies. Back then, his reptilian form had been similar to an Earth iguana whereas now it was similar to a crocodile or even a dinosaur. A loud beeping caught his attention and he growled softly. Someone was attempting to contact him on the viewscreen but it was probably his brother again. Irritably, he hit the switch and waited. The image that was on the other side, however, surprised him greatly. On the other side of the screen was a something that could only be described as a monster made of magma. Every movement the monster made – from the tiniest of twitches to great gesticulations – caused cracks to form on the cooling surface; exposing the white-hot material inside.

It was, of course, Dark Spectre. The being whose army he had left right after Zordon had fallen. At the time, he had let Xonix go on the belief that he wouldn't amount to much. Now, a few thousand years later he would probably try to get him back into the Alliance. He waited for Dark Spectre to say the first word. He didn't have to wait long.

"Xonix. Why are you attacking Earth? Your brother had already laid claim to it via the contract he had with Rita. So why attack?"

Xonix heaved a sigh of annoyance. He had outlined the reasons for his departure when he left all those years ago. Evidently the Grand Monarch had forgotten or was testing him. He would bet his sword that it was the latter, but he decided to play along for now. He took in a deep breath and spoke, barely concealing the annoyance in his voice.

"I attacked because I was following the so-called "Ultra Crystals" that were created during the final battle on Eltare and sent into space shortly after. They dropped off my radar a few decades after I started my search and I started building up my power base; with your explicit permission."

That was mainly true. He was tracking the crystals, but they had dropped off his radar a few standard hours after they were launched into space. He had guessed that they would be headed to be near Zordon, but at the time Zordon had been thought dead. His next guess was they would be headed toward some uncharted, uninhabited planet. When he heard that Rita's dumpster had been placed on a moon in the Sol System, he had stepped up creation of his army. He correctly theorized that Zordon would be sent there to stand guard and he would probably be ready to choose his warriors when she eventually broke out. In that time, he had left the creation of his army to the then-newly recruited Jarbarkas and had travelled the galaxy honing his skills. Unfortunately for him, battling Flurious and Moltor were out of the question – as they had both been imprisoned in their respective elements – but he could still cross blades with the Sentinel Knight. About five thousand duels later and here he was…orbiting around Earth, waiting for his fortress to be built and talking to a creature made out of magma.

It would all have felt surreal…if he wasn't in a reptilian form.

"I'm here now because the Ultra Crystals have made planetfall and the lead Crystal has chosen its bearer. Any one of the Crystals choosing their bearers would be a bad thing, but the Orange Ultra Crystal is different."

Dark Spectre looked intrigued. How would a simple Crystal be any different than the other hundreds of magical Power crystals out there? The Zeo crystal was locked away in the chambers beneath Zedd's moon palace and the legendary Crystal Eyes were presumed lost. He asked as much, but was surprised by the answer he received.

"The Orange Ultra Crystal is the strongest of all twelve crystals by accident or design. It has the power to create and power the other eleven crystals in their own Grid; separate to the Morphin Grid. Not to mention it has near-unlimited power and potential. On its own, it is a menace. When it powers a team of twelve fully Chosen Ultra Rangers, it will spell out the destruction of all Evil. Only I can hold off the coming tide and maybe attempt to stop it wholly. Dark Spectre, you would just be destroyed in an instant."

The Grand Monarch reeled back in shock. If they could convert the bearer of the Orange Crystal to their side, the Universe would be theirs. Maybe he could force the bearer to break one of the cardinal rules – the rules all Rangers were governed by. As if sensing these thoughts, Xonix shook his head.

"The Rangers and all Rangers under the banner of the Ultra Crystal are not governed by Zordon's rules. That was programmed in by Zordon himself. Something about wanting the bearers to be able to straddle the line between Good and Evil and not have to worry about the rules. Something I learned in my travels."

Dark Spectre pondered over this before coming to a decision.

"Very well, Xonix. Continue with your attacks, but you are only to attack the area in which the bearer lives. Nothing more and nothing less. What is your next move?"

Xonix smiled and muttered a short incantation under his breath. In multiple flashes of light, seventy Golems and thirty Fiends stood around him; ready to spill blood. Jarbarkas appeared in a swirl of energy and heaved a mighty battleaxe on his shoulder. He swiveled an eye socket to his head warrior and received a slight nod. So, Jarbarkas had found a way to release the imprisoned creature. He just had to wait for the most opportune moment to release it. His horde was ready to attack and they would do so…in two Earth minutes. His lips curled back, exposing his sharp teeth and he chuckled wickedly.

"My next move? To introduce myself and my power to the world."

TBC...

A/N: The next chapter will see the streets run red with blood as Xonix "introduces" himself to Sydney.


	25. Chapter Twenty Four: Blood of the Innoce

A/N: Short chapter to set up the first confrontation between Rangers and Xonix. And I know the prophecy sounds cheesy.

Chapter Twenty Four: The Blood of the Innocent

**Location: The Ultra Cavern, Sydney**

Something was on the horizon. He could feel it. It wasn't the feeling he had felt when Apollonia was sent down or even the feeling he had that drew him toward his destiny. It was more a feeling of pure dread with a small amount of shock mixed in. An ancient being whom he had never met knew his name and had created the mechanical marvels around him. A glance to his left caused him to stare eye to eye with a giant orange and brown Basilisk while looking to his right was his Dinozord. That was what was causing the shock. Well, that and the thought of having to leave the planet to go to another planet to retrieve his missing Zord. However, something nagged at the back of his mind.

Where was the feeling of dread coming from? It felt like his stomach was twisting in knots. If there was an attack coming, what would he do? What could he do? He was supposed to be at home – asleep. He was sure his mum would freak out if he wasn't at home. Then again, he could probably try to divert or deflect any incoming teleportation signatures…but he wasn't sure where they would go. Practice was a good thing but at 11PM it was the last thing on his mind. Weihan shrugged his shoulders as he prepared to teleport back home.

Whatever it was, he was sure to hear about it sooner or later.

**Location: The Command Centre; Angel Grove.**

A dark tremor roused Zordon from his rest. Blinking the drowsiness from his eyes, he looked around the darkened chamber. There was nothing on the screens to show what had caused the tremor. Worrying about the departed Rangers, he stretched out his senses to encompass the world – trying to find their bio-signatures. They were still at the Peace Conferences; settling into their dorms it looked like. So they were all right…but where did the dark tremor come from?

Scans of the Moon came up blank – with Lord Zedd having expended most of his power trying to stop the Power Transfer, Zordon didn't expect many attacks from the self-styled Emperor of Evil. However, from the purported "Dark Side" of the Moon; there was a lot of activity. Something was being built on the surface, but the level of power and menace it radiated was enough for him to stop looking. There was only one answer to the question of who was building something: Xonix. Thoughts of that monstrous being lead him to think about the mysterious Ranger who had appeared not less than two weeks prior. Of course, he already knew it was Weihan under that helmet – thanks to his visit in the Past. His Rangers hadn't known and as such, bombarded him with questions.

_Flashback_

_The six teens looked up at their mentor in shock. They had heard the news of a monster attack in Australia and seen fuzzy footage that looked like another Ranger. This Ranger was different though; he was more brutal and actually sliced off the monster's limbs. He didn't seem to care about the surrounding areas and he seemed to take great delight in defeating the monster and teleporting out without a word. Questions flew fast and furious and the sage didn't know how to answer them all._

_"Who is he?"From Tommy_

_"Friend or foe?"From Jason_

_"How is he fighting with fire? Is he the one from the prophecy?"_

_The room silenced and all eye turned to the asker of the question – Kimberley. The petite gymnast looked to be deep in thought as she recited the prophecy they had struggled with._

_"In times of darkness, the warriors six will fall,_

_One city shrouded in pure evil,_

_One flame will rise,_

_One flame will win…what if this Ranger is the One Flame? He controls fire easily, we were defeated battling that thing and Angel Grove wasn't the target of the monster."_

_Zordon was silent as he seemingly processed the information. He knew that the prophecy had other verses to it and they were in his databanks. The only issue with showing the Rangers the rest of it was that it didn't end on the high note of the first verse. Sighing, he addressed the Rangers._

_"Rangers, there is something you should know. There is more to the prophecy, but it does not bode well for us. The rest of it goes:_

_The Flame will burn brightly as he journeys through the night._

_An unexpected trip will force him to see the Light._

_Twelve flares in total there will be_

_Joined with the six warriors over the sea_

_A battle will be fought and a battle will be lost_

_Comrades will be found with a lot of cost_

_The fight will take the flames around the bend_

_And up until the World's End"_

_End Flashback._

With the revelation of the last two verses of the prophecy, the Rangers had fallen silent and pushed the information to the back of their mind. He supposed that he would have to tell the new members the full prophecy soon. He could feel the time was nearing.

The alarms sprang to life suddenly, shattering the still air with harsh noise. Alpha tottered out of his recharging booth and an electronic swallow issued from him. Without saying a word, he looked up at Zordon and nodded once. The ancient sage cursed under his breath. He didn't want to do this, but fate had forced his hand.

"Alpha, contact the Rangers immediately."

**Location: George Street; Sydney.**

In the city, three was still activity. People came in for the late shift, bidding farewell to the people leaving. Men at bars drank beer and leered at the women walking by outside. Council workers started blocking off streets for late night roadwork. Uni students went into clubs, karaoke bars or into the cinemas for a late night screening. Even the police were on the streets; keeping an eye out for any trouble caused by drunks. They thought they were ready for anything.

They were wrong.

In a bright flash that temporarily lit up the entire street and surrounding buildings, an invading alien force appeared. Pausing only for the tiniest of moments, they raced towards the defenceless people. Screams filled the air as claws and teeth shredded flesh and rocklike fists pulverized bone. And amidst the chaos and destruction, Xonix laughed.


	26. Chapter Twenty Five: Bloody Fire

A/N: Man, my muse has a firm grip on me! And yes, the address in here is where I lived before.

Chapter Twenty Five: Bloody Fire

**Location: 205 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag**

"Weihan, son, wake up. Wake up, quickly!"

Weihan opened his eyes slowly and looked outside. It was still dark outside. He tried to roll over, but was shaken awake by his mother. As he swallowed to try to get rid of the dryness in his throat, he looked at the clock. Three in the morning…and he had gotten back at around eleven. So, why was his Mum waking him up at this early hour? He brushed her arm off his shoulder and nodded to show that he was up. As she left his room, he shook his head and tried to clear out the cobwebs that had formed during his short sleep. Much to his disdain, the feeling of dread that had been in the pit of his stomach hadn't gone away, but had intensified. He shook out his arms and legs to release any tension before sliding off his bed. For his Mum to wake him up at an unearthly hour meant that something bad was happening.

He just hoped it wasn't another evil Ranger scare.

After changing into some reasonably lightweight clothes, he went downstairs to find his Mum and older sister sitting around the TV. He glanced at the screen and the feeling of dread intensified. The screen showed pure and utter chaos. It was George Street but it looked like something out of Dante's Inferno. Horribly mutilated corpses littered the street with reptilian creatures feasting off them. Rocklike golems lurched toward anyone still living, swinging their fists and causing the bodies to fly off into the distance. And in the middle of the carnage was an upright figure. The gauzy robe or cloak it was draped in gave the monster an aura of mystery and menace. Weihan's eyes narrowed on the sword it carried. It looked to be the same one as that Hoplite monster had carried; but this one looked older and more battle scarred. As if sensing the presence of the camera, the monster turned and growled. An instant later, the scene turned to static and the image returned to a badly shaken newsreader behind a desk.

"And that is the only footage we have of the chaos in the CBD of Sydney. We don't know who the creature is or what it wants. We only know that so far there have been at least fifty deaths in the span of three hours. The mysterious Ranger hasn't made an appearance, which leads some to believe that he is a wandering Ranger and only helped us that one time."

Weihan was torn. On one hand he wanted to confront the invaders and drive them out; but on the other, he knew he had a responsibility to be with his mother and sister. He wished there was some way he could be in two places at once…but that would probably rip apart the space/time continuum or something.

There is a way. You can make a solid replica of yourself with the Power. This duplicate will act like you and will be reabsorbed into you whenever you return.

He breathed in. To create a duplicate of himself would be so simple and easy and it would allow him to keep an alibi. He smiled to himself and said something to the effect of getting something to eat. Not bothering to hear the replies, he walked to the kitchen and opened to door that lead to the laundry. A smell of distant smoke assailed his nostrils and made him cough. He wondered how he would be able to pull a copy of himself out of thin air when the helpful voice spoke up again.

Just think of being in two places at once. Focus on being in front of you and the Power will do the rest.

Anything was worth a shot, so he closed his eyes and thought of looking into his own eyes. The whole concept seemed kind of "out there", but if he was accepting being an Ultra Ranger and that some ancient Ninja sage guy knew his name…then he could believe anything. A small shudder went through his body and he felt slightly weaker than before. Opening his eyes, he was startled to see himself looking at…himself. So he should have expected that, but it was freaky all the same. He nodded at his double; who nodded back and made a motion that he should leave as quickly as possible. Summoning his communicator/morpher/watch/whatever else was in there, he hit a button and was consumed with energy. The last thing he heard brought a smile to his face.

"Mum, we're out of milk again"

**Location: Hoyts/Greater Union Cinemas, George Street**

It was a scene of pure chaos and horror. The images he had seen only minutes before didn't catch the atmosphere and tension. And it didn't convey the smell. Smoke belched out from storefronts, fires crackled around burnt out cars – exploding some of the surrounding areas. And there was the blood and bodies of those slaughtered in the first few minutes of the attack. Limbs lay scattered everywhere, eyes staring up unseeing at the sky and some of them had holes where they weren't supposed to have them. Weihan swallowed the rising bile and ducked down behind the raised wall of the roof. Whoever the new evil was, it wasn't playing games or fucking around.

He dared to peek over the wall again and cursed himself as he saw the destruction. If he had gone with his gut feeling and teleported into the city, none of the deaths would have happened. Or if they did happen then they wouldn't happen to this extent…for one thing the streets wouldn't be running with the blood of the innocent. But that thought was neither here nor there; for all he knew he would have been overrun and this would have happened anyway. Better that he was here and able to help drive the menace from his home. Taking a chance, he stood up and summoned his Ultra Crystal in a muted flash of light. Holding the jagged crystal close to his chest, he took a deep breath before steeling himself.

"ULTRA CRYSTAL, ENERGIZE!"

The familiar inferno engulfed him, lighting up the area around him like a beacon. He was aware of the heads of the creatures turning as soon as he shouted his morphing call and hoped that the light flare would blind them. Somehow he didn't think they would be affected, but he was hoping anyway. He felt his legs move as he ran towards the edge of the roof. As he jumped off the edge, he felt the Power envelop him. Asking him to complete the sequence for him to fully power up. He decided not to summon his armour for now; to see what could be done without added protection. He silently called upon his Raptor Sabre and plunged it into the side of the building, slowing his fall. He ran towards a group of misshapen reptilian whatevers and delivered a jumping kick to the head of one. The creature's head snapped back and its body followed suit, comically causing the others behind it to trip over. Weihan would have laughed if he wasn't fighting against a quartet that had literally appeared from nowhere. Unlike the Putty fights he had seen on TV, they weren't attacking one at a time; rather, they were rushing him from all sides all at once. So far, spinning in a circle with his blade extended was a good tactic but was making him dizzy.

As he finished spinning once more, he noticed that every time they were about to lunge forward, their legs moved in a certain way. He groaned to himself that this trick was never going to work…but he had to try it anyway. And on the off chance it failed, he could shoot fire out from his palms. He was bound to chew through a few waves of enemies with that. Steadying himself, he paid close attention to the legs of the creatures as they tensed. Doing a quick crouch, he jumped up as soon as they lunged and swung his Sabre in a wide arc. The enchanted metal cut through the necks of the creatures and sent the heads flying. As he paused to enjoy his minor victory, he was slugged from behind and sent flying down the street. Pain flared through his body as he struggled to get back onto his feet to see what had struck him. Fortunately, he had stopped near one of the only remaining working streetlights. Leaning on the metal pole, he saw his attacker – the emotionless rock soldiers that were lumbering toward him. "Sheathing" his Sabre, he pulled out his blaster and fired it a few times at the rock monster closest to him. To his utter disdain, the shots did nothing more than to crack the surface of the skin. Trying a different tactic, he grasped the barrel of the blaster with his left hand and jerked it in a clockwise direction. Noticing that the first soldier had almost reached him, he flung his left palm outward to impact against the rocky chest of the beast. The Golem looked down momentarily, but continued its slow trudging. Concentrating hard, Weihan fired out a wide stream of fire that not only pushed the Golem away but destroyed the parked cars on the sides of the street.

Swearing under his breath, he refocused his energy into his weapon. He would worry about the collateral damage later, but now he had to try to destroy the…things invading Sydney. Locking the barrel into position, a quick smile formed beneath his helmet before he pulled the trigger once more. He quickly had to jerk his head back as a beam of…something snapped up. It looked like there was nothing there at all, but when he tested it against some broken masonry it sliced through without any effort. He swallowed and reverted the weapon back to blaster mode; not wanting to use the weapon out of the fear that he might slice off something…vital. He had noticed that he did a lot less damage in his lesser modes than when he was fully powered up. Maybe it was a design flaw or it hid something better. He didn't know, but he figured that he'd learn to move around better in his other modes more efficiently. If Saturday morning cartoons had taught him anything, it was that knowing was half the battle…or something similar.

He decided to hold off on summoning his Battle Armour for a few more minutes – wanting to know what more could be done in his half-powered form. Spying a group of the mutants, he stuck to the shadows as he crept up on them. Seeing them up close and not in battle was an amazing sight. He saw the sharpness of their teeth and claws, the way their muscles moved under their skin and – most worryingly – the way their saliva ate into the asphalt of the road. He tried to think what the best way of dispatching them would be; but his musings were cut short as the wall behind him was struck with a glob of saliva. His head turned involuntarily to stare at the wall that was being eaten away before realizing his mistake. He felt a burning sensation in his chest as it was repeatedly struck by the acidic spit. He bit down on the inside of his cheek, fighting the urge to scream. He was sure that the acid wasn't going to stop until it burned through him…and he had no thought to die. He wasn't even sure what would happen then. Would his consciousness and spirit be transferred to his duplicate? Or would he just be counted as one of the casualties of the night? The whole thing would have given him a headache if his chest wasn't being scorched by the acid.

Breathing in shallowly, Weihan ran head on at the creatures. He didn't have any plan whatsoever and he was blinded by the pain. Cupping a hand to his chest, he scooped up as much of the spit as he could before flinging it into the face of one of the nearest creatures. As the pain overtook his senses, he turned around and was met with a rather grisly sight. It seemed that the creatures weren't immune to their own acids and the fluid was eating into the head and neck of the unlucky creature. Of course, it was fascinating to watch, but it didn't really do anything for the acid eating away at his suit; judging from the image display flashing wildly on his visor, the acid had already penetrated the first layer of armour and was only seconds away from chewing through the second. Given that that spandex-like bodysuit had only four super thin layers of armour, he had to find a solution fast.

"BATTLE ARMOUR, ACTIVATE!"

Well, that was one way to counteract the acid. As the heavy-looking armour materialized into place, he pulled his Raptor Sabre out and grinned wickedly under his helmet at the remaining creatures. He was about to start his forward charge when he heard a slow clapping from his left. Peering though the darkness, he was able to make out a slowly approaching figure. As the figure drew closer it opened its mouth and spoke in a hissing voice – reminiscent of a snake.

"Well done, Ranger. You have defeated a few of my Fiends and Golems, but let me introduce myself. I am known by many names on several planets: The Destroyer, The Conqueror and Corruption are some of them but my true name is Xonix."

The figure stepped out of the shadows and into the light cast by a burning car. Weihan could see that the creature was a humanoid reptile of some description; oddly crocodilian in appearance. He belatedly recognized it as the figure he had seen a few minutes ago on the news. Craning his neck up to look at his new foe, he smirked under his helmet.

'You're the new force who wants to take over the world? Fat chance buddy, I bested your so called Fiends and Golems and I'll best you as well"

Xonix chuckled and soon he was howling with laughter. As he threw his head back, Weihan could see his form more clearly. The arms, neck and tail were lined with short spikes, the arms were well muscled and the teeth were sharp and numerous. Maybe taunting the beast wasn't a smart thing to do; but it was either that or charge at the creature. Finally, Xonix stopped laughing and addressed him.

"Ah, thank you for that. I haven't had that much of a laugh since my brother told me he wanted his skin stripped from his body. You have only 'bested' a few of my grunts, but if you think you're up to the challenge…just say the word."

Weihan steeled his shoulders and nodded once. He couldn't help but laugh at the surrealism of the situation he found himself in. It was only a few hours ago that he was staring face to face with a giant mechanical Utahraptor, found out that some guy in blue armour called Ninjor knew his name and where to find his missing Zord, felt something off but had gone to sleep anyway, been woken up by his overbearing mother and seen the destruction, made an energy duplicate and now he was facing off against the crocodile from Space. It all seemed like it would make a good movie or show…but this was reality. Seeing his nod, Xonix lifted his left hand and snapped his fingers.

Almost immediately, a literal flood of Fiends and Golems swarmed out of the surrounding buildings and lanes. The dancing light from the flickering flames cast dancing shadows over every lightly painted surface, seemingly doubling their numbers. Sensing his disorientation and confusion, the reptilian overlord laughed once more.

"Now, Ranger, your battle truly begins!"


	27. Chapter Twenty Six: Mirrored Aid

A/N: This chapter is a bit unstructured at the end (Monday-itis strikes again!), but it's a transition scene. And if you're confused about the new morph calls, go read the story from the start

Chapter Twenty Six: Mirrored Aid

**Location: Command Centre, Angel Grove**

His worst fears had been realized. Xonix was on Earth and there were deaths. As a Guardian of the Planet, he had a solemn duty to never let human blood be spilt due to any action or inaction of the charges under his care. Technically, the Orange Ranger wasn't under his care but he still bore the name of a Ranger; and as such was automatically shunted under the banner of "Power Ranger". He would have to ask the Eltarean High Council to separate the two groups, but there would be the issue of bias…since he was the head of the Council. No pun intended, of course. Zordon heaved a sigh of worry as he looked at the Viewing Globe.

_"Now, Ranger, your battle truly begins!"_

He watched as the grunts charged in and swarmed over the Orange Ranger. He switched off the Viewing Globe and waited for his Rangers. Since the Power Transfer, he had been monitoring the new Rangers to see if the Thunder Powers had fully integrated themselves. So far, it looked as they had – but there was still that moment that nagged at him. The exact moment of the transference, there had been nine morphed Rangers. From the readings he saw after, the suits over Trini and Zack were just holographic remnants, but Jason's suit was fully there. Fully there, but half powered. What that meant in the future, he didn't know. Six flashes of light announced the arrival of his Rangers, in various states of dress but all looking ready for anything. As always, Tommy was the first to step up.

"Zordon, what's wrong? Is it Zedd?"

Zordon shook his head and scratched his chin – although he was sure the Rangers couldn't see his hands. He wasn't sure how to tell his Rangers that the creator of the Ogre was on Earth. It was a miracle that the systems in the Command Centre weren't shorting out, but he guessed that was something to do with the upgrades that Billy had done. He debated with himself on the information he would tell them, but finally relented. He knew what was going to happen in the future anyway thanks to the information he had received. Of course, his memory was a bit fuzzy after the initial meeting. He opened his mouth and spoke in a solemn voice.

"Rangers, I believe you remember the battle with the Ogre monster a few weeks ago. The creator of that monster and the one that was seen in Sydney the next day has come down to Earth."

Tommy swallowed hard and nodded. He remembered the toughness of the Ogre creature that had almost destroyed their Zords and allowed them to receive the real Thunder powers. Of course, the repowered Zords had been almost scrapped as well and the unlikely intervention of a new Ranger had saved their skins. Billy, Alpha and the ZARS (Zord Automated Repair System) had to work overtime to get them repaired in time for the monster Zedd had sent down the next day. During that battle, everything had been touch-and-go and they had to ensure that they didn't overload the systems. He had caught the footage of the fight in Sydney on the news and had wanted to ask Zordon about it…but he had forgotten. When Jason, Zack and Trini left, they had told Rocky, Adam and Aisha of the battle against the Ogre and the new Ranger who had shown up. Glancing at the three, he was unsurprised to see the determination and focus on their faces. Rocky spoke up at Zordon.

"Zordon, from what Adam, Aisha and I heard from Jason and the others, whoever sent down the Ogre has to be extremely powerful. So what can we do against him? For that matter, where is he anyway?"

Zordon sighed deeply, causing the assembled Rangers to look at each other worriedly. For Zordon to hesitate in telling them the information meant that there was nothing that could be done to stop the threat. Zordon opened his mouth and flicked a switch on the inside of his tube – switching on the Viewing Globe. As the glass orb sprang to life, sounds of battle were heard from it.

"The images you are seeing are real time. This is a battle going on in Sydney, Australia. The figure in Orange is the same Ranger you saw before. He is the bearer of the Orange Ultra Crystal and, as such, is the Orange Ultra Ranger."

Of course, Kim, Billy and Tommy knew the information; it was just for the benefit of Aisha, Adam and Rocky. He had seen other interesting things in their futures as well; an ape and a blue triangle for Rocky, a yellow bear and an African savannah for Aisha and a frog, a green rectangle, a mini-van of sorts and a strange circular symbol for Adam. It seemed that Adam would have the most excitement in the future…provided they survived the experience he was about to put them through. They probably would, but the future could change as a result of his actions or inactions…and he was getting a headache again. He opened his mouth to speak to his Rangers.

"Even though his powers are far stronger than yours, he will not be able to last for very long against those enemies."

Even as he spoke, he saw the Orange Ranger unsuccessfully dodge a blast of fire from a Golem. He fell to the ground, his armour smoking. Over the sounds of battle, a voice was heard snarling at the Ranger.

"Is that the best you can do? My Fiends will tear you to shreds!"

"Zordon, can our powers even do anything to those creatures? Tommy told us about what happened the first time going toe to toe with them."

Zordon smiled shakily down at Kim and the rest of the Rangers. The truth was; he had absolutely no idea what would happen to them when they arrived. They would be fighting in near total blackness and on unfamiliar territory to boot. The night vision scopes that Alpha was hurriedly working on would provide some small degree of help but they would be fighting blind until then. Noticing his mentor's hesitation, Tommy decided to step up to the plate.

"Zordon, we're the Power Rangers. We help others in times of need. Whoever that guy is, he helped us when we needed it the most. Whoever he is, we owe it to do the same."

Zordon felt a surge of pride rush through him upon hearing those words. It showed that Tommy was slowly maturing into the capable leader he would be someday. He nodded sagely and spoke once more.

"Rangers, I have never been prouder of you that I am right now. All of you have shown exponential growth in the past few weeks. Good luck and May the Power protect you."

Tommy nodded back and glanced to his friends. They had the same look of determination, confidence and excitement on their faces. He steeled his shoulders and began the morphing process.

"It's Morphin Time!"

"TIGER!"

"LION!"

"PHOENIX!"

"PEGASUS!"

"KIRIN!"

"DRAGON!"

Six flashes of coloured light later and the teens were gone. In their places stood the heroes known as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. As the post-morph glow faded, Rocky looked at the image in the Viewing Globe and then back at Zordon; confusion in his eyes.

"Zordon, how are we supposed to fight in the dark? It's barely light in Angel Grove as it is but if we're going to fight in Sydney…"

Alpha chirped happily, causing the Rangers to turn around. He addressed them with something akin to delight in his electronic voice.

"Rangers! You can fight in the dark now. I have uploaded a special night-vision module into your helmet optical sensors. It should make fighting in the dark a breeze!"

The Rangers congratulated and thanked the little robot and prepared to teleport off. Zordon hoped that they would be all right. History could change in an instant if any of them were to die or be critically injured; he was sure that he had changed the timeline for sure upon channeling the true Thunder Powers. He wasn't too worried about the changes though; events were in motion that could provide useful in the future. The Sensei's of the Wind and Thunder Ninja Academies had contacted him to give their thanks that he had teleported the wreckage of the Zords to them. They would start creating massive Zords that would be used by the Chosen six based upon their most sacred of animals. Of course, two of those animals were actually insects…but he doubted anyone would care what they looked like.

The interior of the Command Centre lit up in a blaze of colour as the six Rangers teleported out to help the Ranger who had helped them.

Zordon could only watch them leave and pray they would be safe.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven: Baptism of Fire

AN/Disclaimer: 2 years later and a chapter is churned out! Pinkie Pie (who is now my unofficial Rangers of Equestria muse) has worn herself out and is slumped in a corner, so ROE updates will come whenever she wakes up and pesters me again. Power Rangers is property of Saban, but Xonix, the Fiends, Golems, Raptor Cannon and everything you don't recognise is mine.

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Seven: Baptism of Fire

**Location: George Street, Sydney**

He couldn't breathe, move or blink. He watched the wave of grunts come towards him; invoking images of swarming locusts. He was aware of his body moving automatically and the impacts of his fists against the chests of the creatures. Acting fully on automatic, he ducked and weaved against the tide of claws and acid. He only snapped back to the present moment after he was sent sprawling after a particularly lucky blow by two Fiends. Blindly slashing out with his Sabre, he bisected three or four Fiends easily and backed up to fire at the bleeding bodies. He was very much aware that this wasn't something that a regular Power Ranger would do, but he was fresh out of options. His "Big Bad" was standing a few feet away from him and watching him flail wildly. He was out of his depth and Xonix was waiting for his lackeys to tire him out so he could kill him.

Swallowing hard, he focused on the front line of Fiends and gritted his teeth. Logic and education had taught him that all creatures feared fire in one form or another and seeing as how he could shoot fire from his palms. Well, it was worth a try. Either it worked and he had a weapon or it didn't and he was hamburger. Trying to calm down his hyperventilating, he extended both arms in front of his body; palms facing the approaching line. He felt a slight recoil as the first fireball left his right palm and saw it impact against three of the creatures; resulting in a very un-hero like leap into some debris to shield himself. After the dust had cleared, he peeked over the rubble to see what his fireball had done. What he saw didn't fill him with much hope. Sure, the three Fiends that had been in the blast zone were scattered bits of charred flesh and smouldering bone…but that still left about a hundred or so in their place. And that wasn't including the Golems that were behind the Fiends. Raising his hands again, he fired off six shots in different directions into the crowd. On the edges of his vision, he could see the bright light and could feel the wash of heat from the explosions. But as the first shot had shown him – the numbers were too great for him to make any real damage.

He stood up and faced the horde. He was determined to put a stop to this attack even if it killed him. A small part of him wished that he was able to save Steven Johnson but he dismissed that idea as silly. He was having enough trouble as it was learning about what he could and couldn't do; and then there was that whole secrecy issue. He recalled the expression of pure disbelief and shock on the exchange student's face and sighed to himself resignedly. No matter what he wished he could have done, there was nothing he could do now…except fight. Flinging a few fireballs was a very slow way of thinning the horde and he was desperate. Summoning his Raptor Sabre, he charged it with energy and ran head on into the crowd of grunts. At once he knew that wasn't a very smart thing to do. Claws slashed his body and thick, rocky fists pounded at his armor. Swinging the charged blade in a wide arc, he removed the offending appendages of around eleven Fiends. His frustration and desperation was fuelled by Xonix's taunting remark that floated over the deafening sounds of the battle.

"Is that the best you can do? My Fiends will tear you to shreds!"

He didn't doubt that for a second. He continued to duck and weave past the razor sharp claws, pausing every few seconds to dodge an incoming glob of acid and to swing his blade against the encroaching hordes a couple of times. Of course, this had little effect but he didn't care. He needed to buy time for…something. He didn't know what, but he knew that help was on the way. Whether that help would be of any use to him or against his foes he had no idea. He just knew he had to persevere until then. This was his baptism of fire; which was a pretty apt title, since he had fire powers. Sweeping his right palm around in an arc, he was amazed to see the aura of energy double in size. Releasing the bolt into the crowd, he staggered back as the resulting explosion took out around thirty Fiends…and ripped up a large section of George Street as well. Grinning wickedly, he was swinging his arm back for another go, when he was slammed from behind.

He turned around to see a hulking Golem shuffling toward him; this one having apparently having broken off the pack at the front. Straining to find his footing, he inwardly cursed himself for being so foolish and only looking in front of him. Looking above the heads of the creatures, he searched for a well defended area or somewhere where he could gather his bearings. He could lead them into the construction site of World Square, but the labyrinth would place him at a disadvantage. He supposed he could fight inside St Andrews Cathedral but that would mean somehow plowing through the throng of creatures. And then going hand to hand with the freaky lizard/dinosaur/dragon hybrid thing that was their leader. Something inside his mind told him that idea wasn't a good one. For one thing, it would mean a drastic shortening of his life span. On the other hand, it would allow him to assess the strength of the enemy commander.

For once, the rational side of his mind won out and he dived into a nearby alcove as the ground erupted with a flash of fire. Rolling along the ground, he jerked out of the way as claws and rocky fists came from all directions at once. Jabbing his Sabre at one of the creatures, he rolled to his feet and growled softly. There was no real way to win the battle that he had foolishly run into and if he were to surrender…well, that would be it for the world. He had formulated an exit strategy when Xonix's voice rang out again.

"Well, Ranger, it looks like your time here on Earth is at an end. An inglorious end to a wannabe hero. This will ensure you will no longer be bothering anyone ever again!"

Weihan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and looked around frantically for the source of the feeling. Around him the Fiends and Golems had nervously backed off to create a clear path from him to Xonix. The Orange Ranger could see the overlord was holding an orb of crackling energy in his scaly grasp and was aiming it in his direction.

Careful, I sense that spell holds powerful energies! If it hits you, it will more than likely destroy you from the inside out!

Being destroyed from the inside out was last on his list of priorities. He swallowed hard and relaxed his mind and body. He felt a light tingle engulf his body and he readied himself for what was to come. Moving his arms in the same sheathing motion, he concentrated his energies into…something more powerful than his blaster. As the energy coalesced into an ornately designed cannon, he shouted its name out into the air.

"RAPTOR CANNON!"

Without missing a single beat, he squeezed the trigger and held it down. There were no rapid-fire bursts of energy, only a soft humming sound and a new display that popped up on the inside of his visor. He watched the numbers slowly tick upward and he suppressed a smile of glee. As soon as the charge reached around 75 percent, he released the trigger without any form of attack declaration. A fraction of a second later, Xonix fired his own orb of magic. Weihan held his breath as time seemed to slow to a crawl. Noticing a flashing light on his wrist, he glanced down to see a timer on his wrist counting down from two minutes.

Your Ultra Crystal is unlocking new powers for you to use in battle. This is your ability to move extremely fast – so fast that you will see everything moving at a snail's pace

He nodded to himself and chuckled under his breath. Whipping the Raptor Cannon up again, he let loose with a flurry of shots into the crowd around him, watching with interest as the colourful blasts slowly cleaved the night air. Another glance down showed that he had a little over thirty seconds left on his time slowing power. Looking at the two spheres of energy move toward each other, an idea flashed through his mind and he acted upon it. He pulled the trigger on the Cannon again; this time charging up the shot to close to 90 percent. As soon as he released the trigger, his perception of time returned to normal. The recoil from the excessively charged shot almost threw him off his feet, but he watched behind his visor as the orange and white energy ball hurtled towards Xonix.

Xonix's eyes widened as his mind processed what was happening. Instinctively, he ducked his head as the two energy orbs from before impacted against each other, literally melting the concrete underneath. Somehow, the Ranger had moved at the speed of sound and had sent half a dozen energy blasts into his surrounding forces...and then there was the matter of the dangerous-looking energy sphere that was careering towards him. This was an unprecedented move by the rookie Ranger and in some small way, this pleased him greatly. If the Ranger could think for himself, outsmarting him in battle and crushing him would be sweeter. For now, one on one battles against him would be unworthy of his time and, although it pained him, he would have to revert to the 'standard' method of Ranger conquest – monsters. Swiftly, he teleported to the balcony of a nearby building and averted his eyes as the powerful energy destroyed a good chunk of his 'invasion' force. Snarling at himself, he shouted above the din of destruction.

"You fight well, Ranger. I have announced myself and my intention to you, so now I must bid you farewell. Good luck in the future, but I will crush you in the end!"

Weihan looked and narrowed his eyes. Xonix had made every intention clear that he wanted to see the world burn. The Overlord had evaded his charged shots and seemed to have another few tricks up his sleeve. As his mind processed these thoughts, he swallowed hard as he realised one crucial fact.

He had taken his attention off the Golems and Fiends around him.

As he began to raise his Cannon, eight large fists pounded into his chest accompanied by several claw slashes on his back. He dropped his Cannon on the pavement, where it dematerialised back into his arsenal. Raising his fists in a futile gesture, he was caught unprepared as a brutal uppercut caught him under his helmet and he saw stars flash in front of his eyes. He fell to the ground again, winded beyond belief – but through the pain, he smiled weakly.

Streaking through the night sky were six beams of coloured light.

His backup had arrived.

TBC…


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight: Identity

A/N: Woo, another chapter! Power Rangers aren't mine, but everything you don't recognise is. I'm assuming you've read this from the start and remember who Dorzon is. If not, read the first 2 chapters again! Pinkie woke up and prodded me until I slipped in the Equestria reference. More chapters in the pipe!

Stay tuned and enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Eight: Identity

The first thing Tommy noticed was the noise. It wasn't like their battles where the only noises were of screaming people, the blubbering of the putties and whatever crazy laugh the monster of the day had. There were cries and screams of frightened people mixed in with pained shouts and panicked yells as people tried to move the dying. Explosions ripped through the air and added to the raging infernos that added to the hellish scene in front of them. Out of the shadows of a nearby wrecked car, an injured man staggered out and Tommy moved forward to catch him before he fell. He could see that the man was barely clinging onto life and, even with the advanced medical equipment at the Command Centre, would not survive for long.

"P-Power Rangers? They came from everywhere…the bulk of the force is over th-there"

As the last word fell from the injured man's lips, he slumped over. Tommy gently placed the body on the road and looked over to his friends and to the surrounding area once more. With the ambient light coming from the fires, the night-vision module would be practically useless. He scanned the area once more, before letting out a stifled yelp of surprise as Saba detached from his belt and hovered in front of his face, a serious look in his eyes.

"Rangers, be on your guard. Xonix is close."

In five flashes of light, the Rangers pulled out their weapons and held them in ready positions. Zordon hadn't told them what Xonix looked like or what he could even do. All they knew was if they had to face the Golems again, they would be ready for them. As they crept down the street, a noise behind them caused Kim to whirl around and shriek in fear. Poised behind them were seven Golems and they looked ready to charge. A low laugh reached their ears and they spun around again…only to be met with a heavily armoured, bipedal crocodilian of some sort standing in front of them. As the Rangers stared at this new arrival, they were barely aware of the Golems slowly closing in around them.

"Power Rangers, yes, the fabled Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I know your kind well…"

Its voice was smooth, but held a note of malice as its eyes raked over their morphed bodies. As it stepped towards them, Tommy could see small, thin spines jutting out of its neck, arms and legs. Behind it swung a similarly-armoured tail. He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by – of all things – Saba's voice.

"Xonix. You of all beings should know that once the Power chooses its bearer, it cannot be taken away by brute force."

The crocodilian threw back his head and laughed loudly as the Rangers stared in shock. The being in front of them was Xonix, but was Xonix a monster or was he the commander? Xonix spoke again, his voice low and raspy.

"Well, well, if it isn't Zordon's dear old dad imprisoned as a talking sword for all eternity. I'm sure you must be enjoying your lack of limbs, eh Dorzon? Isn't it ironic that even though your son is trapped in his time warp, he has full use of his limbs but you don't?"

Saba growled under his breath and wrenched himself out of Tommy's grip. Of course, he would apologise to the boy later, but Xonix was dredging up memories and feelings he had long since accepted and discarded. Mumbling an ancient Equestrian spell, he felt his blade charge and glow with the pure light of the Morphin Grid. Flipping a few times through the air, he hurtled towards Xonix – only veer off sharply at the last second and shear through all seven Golems. In bright bursts of light, the rocklike creatures crumbled into pebbles – leaving the Rangers awestruck by the amount of power he possessed. For his part, Xonix chuckled darkly.

"Did I hit a nerve there? Oh well, you should really have a better handle on your temper there, Dorzon. I will say one thing to you and to your son, who I am sure is monitoring his Rangers. Stay out of my business and you will live to see another day."

In a fiery eruption, Xonix teleported away from the battlefield. The Rangers stared at Saba in shock, before Tommy violently shook his head – as if to clear the information he had just heard from his mind. Plucking the hovering scimitar from the air, he spoke to it in a tight voice.

"We'll talk about this later. Right now, I think we should –"

"WATCH OUT!"

As one, all six Rangers dived for cover moments before a figure crashed into the ground. Crawling out of his cover, Tommy's eyes widened as he saw it was the strange Orange Ranger…but the suit looked trashed. Scorch marks dotted the armour and one part of the helmet seemed to have melted. Around his gloves danced glowing embers, but the rest of him was relatively untouched. Tommy's eyes roamed over the suit of the Ranger and he shivered involuntarily. Seeing the suit from afar was one thing, but to see it up close and personal…and to stare at those hyper-detailed 'eyes' was another. The Ranger groggily rose to his knees and drunkenly shook his head.

"Man, that was some hit. Mental note – watch for massive fist pull backs on the rocky things. Then again, that delayed bomb should be going off any second now"

The Ranger rose to his feet, patting himself to check for injuries. Satisfied there were none, he looked up and became acutely aware of the six other Rangers around him. To his credit, he didn't jerk back in surprise or yell out, but seemed to blink in surprise before relaxing. He straightened his back and spoke to them – just as a distant explosion boomed out from the direction where he had come from.

"The Power Rangers? Why are you here?"

Behind his helmet, Billy blinked. From his voice and vocal mannerisms, it would seem that the Orange Ranger was much younger than they were. He didn't know about the Ultra Crystals and their methodologies of selecting bearers, but surely it would be prudent to choose a bearer that had a bit more life experience than a young boy. On the other hand, Zordon had chosen them at a relatively young age as well…and going down this line of thinking was starting to make his brain hurt. If the Power thought it was a good choice, who was he to question the choice because of his perceived ideas? He would keep quiet until the mysterious Ranger decided to open up.

"We're here to help you. You could at least be thankful."

Apparently Rocky didn't have the same restraint. Billy heard Adam groan and saw him run a hand over the front of his helmet. Tommy stepped forward and placed a warning hand on Rocky's shoulder, but the Red Ranger didn't seem to notice. He stepped closer to the strange Ranger and looked him over quickly. Billy had informed him that the Orange Ranger had taken down a fully grown monster with only one strike, but all the moves in the world didn't compare to having hard battle experience. Or in other words, two battles did not a Ranger make.

"Oh yes, Mr Red Ranger, sir, thank you very much for showing up with your band of friends and having to have a sword save your ass."

Now Billy was convinced more than ever that the 'man' behind the mask was a young boy. Upon hearing the words, both Aisha and Kim were sent into a fit of silent giggles and even Tommy looked like he was having a hard time keeping his mirth under control, but had to step in to prevent any further damage. Before he could get himself under enough control to diffuse the situation, Saba hovered in once more. His voice was filled with grave seriousness with a hint of great respect.

"Orange Ranger, bearer of the Orange Ultra Crystal, please excuse them as they have had a tiring day. By the power of the Grid, would you be so kind to tell us of your name and intentions?"

Adam had to roll his eyes at how pretentious the sword must have seemed to the Ranger, but he awaited the reply. He was sure that the Ranger wouldn't reveal his identity so freely but they had to ensure he wasn't an Evil Ranger either. After a moment of hesitation, the Ranger spoke.

"I am a friend. That's all you need to know."

TBC…


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine: Wraith

Disclaimer: Power Rangers belong to Saban, not me. Short chapter to set up the Wraiths (from Kamen Rider Tyrant) for the 'first time' and the next battle.

Chapter Twenty Nine: Wraith

As he gazed down at the blue sphere, he had to admit his first public appearance had gone over well. He had taken down a hundred grunts and painted the town red. Red with the blood of tens of human lives that is. Xonix sat on his throne and reviewed the night's events. The Orange Ranger had agreed to a battle right off the bat, but had then changed his strategies on the fly. If it were a holo-novel, he would have thought that the author took a long break while writing that chapter. No, the Ranger had simply lured him into a false sense of superiority and had tricked him with his mock terror and bad fighting.

That had to be it. If it was anything else, the Ranger was a fool.

He was brought out of his musings by Jabarkas, who was carrying something in his claws. The Hurantic warrior had wanted to go down to Earth and wreak havoc, but knew pleasing his master came first. He had already seen the majority of his species slaughtered for resisting Xonix and he had made the choice to loyally serve in exchange for the safety of his species. From what he had heard on the intergalactic grapevine, the Hurans had prospered and were searching the galaxy for the Sentinel Knight for the whereabouts of the great warrior Moltor. When he heard that rumour, he had snorted and shaken his head. The Sentinel Knight could only be found by those worthy…and those who displaced the resting place of the Corona Aurora.

Xonix raised an eye ridge as the object came into the light fully. It looked to be some sort of reflective surface of human make, but this looked different. He could see something inside the surface that was both there and not there. Suddenly, a voice issued forth from the object.

"Release me!"

The voice was gravely and had a strange quality to it – something like breaking glass. Xonix swivelled an eye at Jabarkas and the warrior shrugged. Finding this mirror had been a stroke of luck but freeing the creature within was not as easy as it seemed. He had lied to Xonix about being able to free it as the creature had demanded to talk to its Master. Xonix had waved away the lie easily but was intrigued at what the mirror-thing had to say.

"What are you?"

The thing in the mirror seemed to draw back in shock and seemed to straighten itself to its full height. Of course, the intimidating effect this was supposed to have was somewhat diminished, but it didn't seem to care.

"Long ago, I lived freely in the wild. I feasted on the flesh of humans and changed them into copies of myself. The humans spun stories of me slowly changing my name until it became werewolf. I am the Wolf Wraith and a loyal soldier of Bloodless Mary, the Queen of the Wraiths."

Bloodless Mary…Xonix's eyes narrowed as his mind placed the name. Supposedly she was an ancient sorceress who had delusions of grandeur. She had created a loyal army of creatures and had gone on a destructive rampage around the galaxy and had been stopped by some old man on some backwater planet. It was all very 'interesting', but he cared nothing for old ghost stories. If the Wraith was powerful, he would sic it on the Orange Ranger and watch sparks fly.

Or he would see the Wraith destroyed.

He didn't care. Either way, it meant one less monster for him to worry about in the long run. He nodded once to Jabarkas and looked the so-called Wolf Wraith in its eyes…or where he thought its eyes were.

"I will release you in a few hours. Kill the Orange Ranger and I will free your mistress. Fail and you will die."

The Wolf Wraith nodded and then retreated from view. For the third time that night, Xonix threw back his draconian head and laughed out loud. Come what may, he was going to enjoy this battle.

TBC…


	31. Chapter Thirty: Watching Eyes

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise as copyrighted isn't mine. Anything not recognised is mine.

A/N: 30 chapters already. I get the feeling this story will be 100+ chapters at least.

Chapter Thirty: Watching Eyes

Weihan suppressed a groan of pain as his alarm clock woke him up. His body ached all over and a noticeable bruise was beginning to form on his upper left arm from where it had impacted with the concrete the previous night. He would have thought that the Power would heal him but the little voice in his head told him otherwise. Something about the Power already healing him and that his body had experienced a large rush of power when he first morphed…or something like that. He stretched his arms up and let out a groan as he heard the story on the radio.

"If you're just joining us, we have news on the breaking story that we've been covering about the attack in the early hours of the morning. Witnesses have come forward to say that Angel Grove's Power Rangers made an appearance and exchanged words with the mysterious Ranger. Authorities were not able to arrest or detain the mysterious Orange Ranger, but the Power Rangers did have this to say…"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. No matter what the Rangers had to say, the authorities wouldn't rest until he was shackled to some government contract. That was not what he imagined his Ranger future to be. He wanted to be racing to a battle to save the current damsel in distress and blow up the monster with a flick of his wrist. Of course, if he didn't put in a lot of practice, that scenario would be gone in a puff of smoke along with a good chunk of the world. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stifled a groan as he heard a familiar voice from the radio.

"Right now, we have eliminated the possibility that he is an enemy and we ask that the Australian Government rescinds the order to force him to reveal his identity."

He choked back an ironic laugh. The Red Ranger was saying that he was an ally after being an ass last night. The rest of his team had probably pressured him into saying that statement as a way of apologising to the 'strange' Ranger. He listened intensely at the next words of the report.

"The Prime Minister has not yet reported on this turn of events, but his office sent out a short message saying that the Ranger is still considered a threat if he does not reveal his identity. John Howard will be visiting the damage today and we will keep you posted with updates when the Prime Minister arrives."

Well, that was life. Another day, another monster down and another problem that kept cropping up. It was also a good thing that it was a Sunday and he didn't have to get dressed for school. As he trudged down the stairs, something odd struck him about the fight the night before. Xonix had seen him fight against the Fiends and Golems, but he had left about five minutes away from the delayed energy bomb. He almost wished Xonix would send down a monster to attack the PM and show him how much the Orange Ranger was really needed. He regretted the thought a few seconds later. After all, Angel Grove's Power Rangers had to save the city a few times before they were accepted as defenders of Earth.

He wondered if he could use the power of his crystal for uses other than attacks. His 'lightsaber' mode of his Raptor Laser would be interesting to test out in battles, but he would really have to practice with it first. He also had to try out his other modes and use them to his advantage during battles. As cool as it would be, he couldn't always rely on his fully powered mode – mainly because it took so long to put together. The previous battles were good as he had morphed before jumping into them, but he couldn't always rely on the monster of the day standing still and twiddling its thumbs while he went through the entire sequence.

It was decided then. Starting from the next battle, he would use his other forms and only go full Ultra if and when the situation called for it. He was sure some forms had better battle strategies, but he couldn't take an hour off just to cycle through the various forms…could he?

Why not?

He jumped slightly as his 'Ultra Mentor's' voice reverberated in his head. While he had accepted the voice popping up whenever he had an issue with his Powers, it was still as freaky as Hell. Plus, the voice wouldn't tell him who this Ninjor guy was or where Phaedos was in the solar system. For all he knew, he would have to leave the solar system to get there…which seemed to be the most likely option. He just hoped he could leave Sydney for a while unattended. He would have to see about temporarily disabling Xonix somehow – if he survived the next few battles.

Stepping outside his room, he had the strangest sensation of being watched. He turned slowly and scanned all the surfaces around him. No peeking eyes stood out in any cracks or crevices and he couldn't hear any breathing around him. Slowly, the sensation faded and he allowed a small laugh. Maybe Mum was right and he was watching too many horror movies. As some form of self-reassurance, he twisted his left wrist once and felt the weight of his 'combo' morpher almost instantaneously. Breathing a sigh of relief, he walked down the stairs but paused in the middle. How was he going to explain the bulky thing on his wrist to his Mum?

Carrying on down the stairs, he mulled over the decision…until he saw the note on the door. It seemed that his mother had taken his sister to some family gathering an hour ago. She had apparently left without waking him up as his magical copy had been up all night or something like that. It seemed that having a magical copy of him would be useful whenever he decided to go see that Ninjor character. Well, if Xonix attacked Sydney, the city would be screwed as he was pretty sure the magical copy couldn't morph. Ah well, something to think of another time.

Turning around, he looked at himself in the mirrored wall. Apart from a few light bruises and his combination morpher, he still looked the same. The Power hadn't drastically changed his body and given him new muscles or better eyesight…but it had given him some strange facial twitching. He would have to ask someone about it as his inner guide didn't seem to know what had caused it.

Shrugging once, he turned to find something to eat when a low chuckle reached his ears. It sounded like breaking glass or something grinding against rock. Settling into a ready stance, he scanned the area around him, mentally cursing. He would have to see about placing some sort of ward or alarm around the house to ensure he wasn't attacked in his sleep.

"Where are you?"

More chuckling. A movement in the corner of his eye made him whirl around and face the mirrors again. His eyes widened as he saw a shape behind him and he lashed out with a back kick and hit…nothing. Sparing a glance behind him, his eyes narrowed as he saw nothing but the front door. Growling under his breath, his eyes scanned the mirrored wall for any sign of the creature. It was frustratingly difficult to see anything other than the reflections but slowly, something else came into view.

It looked like a werewolf of some kind, but its body seemed to be studded with reflective shards. Wickedly curved claws were on the end of its fingers and as it smiled horribly, Weihan could see dozens of needle shaped teeth in its muzzle. Seemingly knowing that the Ranger could see it, the beast chuckled once more and spoke in the same, grating voice.

"Well done, Ranger. Xonix told me you were a smart boy and he was correct. But all the smarts in the world won't save you from your fate."

The Ranger bristled at the creature's words and quickly looked about him to see if any more creatures were hiding. He didn't want to be attacked in his own home as that would blow whatever cover he had. Sensing his hesitation, the creature smiled again.

"Tomorrow, we will do battle. I am the Wolf Wraith and will be your destruction."

Swallowing hard, Weihan opened his mouth and asked who or what a Wraith was. He had some idea they were a new type of monster, but he was not prepared for the Wraith's answer.

"I am a possible future…"

TBC…


	32. Chapter Thirty One: The Hunt Begins

Disclaimer: Really? You need one after 32 chapters? There's one on my bio. Go look.

Chapter Thirty One: The Hunt Begins

The next day, Weihan was a wreck as he staggered into school. The rest of the day after the Wolf Wraith had vanished had been spent in the Ultra Cavern, looking through the archives for protection wards. After he had found a few that looked good, he had tried them out at home. That was a bit of a mistake as the protection wards left some sort of residue on the side of the house that looked like dried egg. After confirming that the spell actually would hold, the remainder of the day was spent attempting to wash said residue off.

All in all, the experience had left him jumping at mirrors and reflective surfaces. He was unsure what the conditions were for it to be released, but he didn't want to find out anytime soon. The Wraith's proclamation that it was a possible future also irked him, but he had a feeling he didn't have to worry about that for a long while. As he trudged to his locker, he listened to the conversation around him about the battle, the damages and the PM's visit.

He surveyed the area with weary eyes and sighed. Was it only a few weeks ago that he had been just a normal schoolboy? With the only problems being good marks and attendance and making sure Johnsy didn't piss him off anymore? When the weight of the world wasn't resting on his shoulders and the slightest mistake meant death? Chuckling mirthlessly, he tried to shrug off the sudden melancholy that had settled around him when a hand slapped him on the back hard.

Turning around, he was met with the hard-set face of the local bully; Dragan Kisacanin. The stocky Australian looked down on everyone who wasn't in his inner circle and treated them roughly. The last time they had met had left Dragan on crutches and Weihan with little more than a black eye. He knew Dragan was itching for a rematch, but he had bigger things on his mind than a wannabe gangster. Sneaking a peek to the sides of Dragan made him heave a sigh of annoyance. Flanking Dragan were the other two main bullies of Year 8, James Ross and David Johnston. The latter was the older brother of the ill-fated Steven Johnston and had taken his brother's death hard, lashing out hardest at Weihan, who he blamed his death on. Of course, it was correct of David to blame him for the death, but he couldn't know that. He had to protect his secret at all costs – even if that meant hiding information from his classmates.

"Hey, I'll give you $500 if you will suck me off."

At that statement, Dragan looked at him with a wicked leer in his eyes. Weihan suppressed the urge to roll his own and shook his head at the Australian. It was no real surprise that Dragan would make such a crude statement in public as the School Sergeant couldn't do much without Dragan's family making a fuss. Weihan opened his mouth to fire off a retort, when a strange sound filled the air.

It wasn't the dull buzzing of the bell nor was it like the rumbling that signalled Appolonia's attack. It sounded like…crackling glass or something breaking. His eyes widened as he made the connection and he looked around him for a place where he could morph. Although he didn't find anyplace, he did find the source of the sound – a small mirror placed in one of the music rooms that branched off from the main hall. Swallowing hard, he peered into the mirror and looked for what he was dreading he would see. He was aware of people crowding behind him to try and pinpoint the sound. He took a step back when he saw it.

The mirror was buckling outward.

He took a step back and then another one. He was in the process of turning around to get away from the danger zone when he heard the mirror shatter and the screams of the crowd. Seconds later, he ducked as bodies flew overhead as the Wolf Wraith burst through the door. Now, the screams became louder and more panicked as everyone tried their hardest to get away from the monster. He allowed himself one small smile of satisfaction as he spied Dragan scurrying down the stairs as the Wraith screamed again. As he followed the panicked crowd, he ducked into a side hall and waited for the students to fully clear the area. Hearing the telltale heavy clunk of the doors to the Western fire stairs close, he took a deep breath and stepped out.

Directly in front of him was the Wolf Wraith in all its 'glory'. It was a dull silver in colour, with a golden breastplate similar to the one worn by the Green Ranger. Shards of mirrored metal were dotted all over its muscular frame and a thin band of bronze chain encircled its waist. Seeing its quarry in front of it, the Wraith chuckled.

"Little Ranger, you were wise to protect your place of residence from Xonix's eyes."

It stepped toward the Ranger, noticing as he moved back in eerie unison. Xonix had promised freedom for his brethren and his mistress. What would happen after that would be anyone's guess, but surely the Wraiths would emerge victorious. If not, they could always return to the mirrors and build up their army again. It would be a victory in the long run…if he could kill the brat in front of him.

"What will you do now? Please, run as it will make your death all the sweeter as I hunt you down."

Weihan swallowed hard. The Wraith in front of him was deadly serious about hunting him, but he would be damned if he let anyone get hurt because of his own cowardice. Turning around, he lifted his right hand to his chest and concentrated. Within a few micro-seconds, a small ball of white fire formed in his palm. He only had one shot at crippling the Wraith, but he had no idea what the white-hot fireball would do to the surrounding area. Well, the good thing was there would be no way it could be pinned on him as humans usually didn't have the ability to shoot fire from their hands.

As the Wraith took another step closer, he put his plan into action. Whirling around, he hurled the fireball at the Wraith with all of his might. Not stopping to see if the fireball had hit, he raced to the steps that would lead him to the rooftop area. As he hit the top of the first flight, he heard the Wraith bellow out angrily behind him.

"Ranger! The hunt is on!"

TBC…


	33. Chapter Thirty Two: Changing Locale

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise isn't mine. Also goes for trademarked names (Bubblers). And Sydney locations. Anything else is my creation.

Chapter Thirty Two: Changing Locale

With a mighty push, the doors to the rooftop area finally opened. Thanks to the recent attack, the rooftop area had been labelled as strictly out of bounds. The doors had also been closed, but they were not locked as the latch tended to stick; making them hard to open without a lot of force. Shaking his head, Weihan mused at what the principal may have been thinking about – probably something to do with protection from the monsters dropping from the sky. The next decree would probably be that all mirrors would be banned from school premises…which would be a great rule if the Wraith had more friends running around.

Suppressing a shudder at that thought and what it would mean, he scanned the area for hiding places. Unfortunately, since it was an open air design, there wasn't much in the way of support structures. The only good place was in the rooftop classroom, but that had only one way in and out. While it was good for keeping students in for the full duration of the lesson, it would be a bad decision if he wanted to continue to live. Scrapping that idea, he looked to the other area that would keep him out of sight for a short while – the rooftop change rooms and bubblers. He was about to dismiss that suggestion when a crackling voice roared from below.

"Ranger, you will satisfy my hunt! I can detect the slightest change in the energy around me, so when you transform I will find you and kill you!"

Dashing from the mouth of the stairs, he felt an icy chill go down his spine. He couldn't morph unless he wanted to see his guts on the outside, but with a clear dearth of hiding places; he was on the back foot. Pressing himself up against the wall of the change rooms, he snuck a quick peek outside. The Wraith was nowhere to be seen – but the doors were strangely bulging outward at regular intervals. Pressing back against the wall, his mind raced for a good plan. He was aware that there were stairs on the other side of the roof, but that meant he would have to run across open space with no cover. Throwing fireballs was also out of the question as the Wraith could detect changes in the air around it. The only other option would be a straight hand to hand fight, but with no protection and no weapons…well, it wouldn't end well.

_Ninja mode_

Well, that was an option, but he hadn't been to see that Ninjor guy yet to get his Zord. He already knew his Ninjetti spirit animal was a saltwater crocodile, but with no real knowledge of the Ninja abilities he would be dead Ranger walking. On the other hand, he had resolved to see what his other modes were like. The question was – how could he morph into his Ninjetti mode?

_Concentrate on the Ninja Animal within you. Words are not needed for this transformation. You will be able to hide in plain sight._

Hidden in plain sight. That thought appealed greatly to him as it meant he could evade the Wraith. Sighing softly, he peeked around the corner again and saw that the doors had stopped bulging. Frowning softly, he risked another quick look around the area while searching for the Ninja Animal within him…whatever that was. Seeing nothing, he breathed out slowly and relaxed – all while keeping on his guard in case something was behind him.

He was unsurprised when the doors exploded in a burst of fire and smoke and used the noise of the splintering wood to clench down on his Spirit Animal. As he concentrated on its core, he could feel a warm sensation washing over him and wrapping him into his Ninjetti mode. Ducking against the wall once more, he looked down at himself and stifled a shocked gasp.

There was no armour covering him anywhere. Instead, he was clad in an orange fabric that felt like cashmere. The arms and legs were studded with golden diamonds of varying sizes as well as miniature representations of what he was beginning to call his 'Core Three Powers' – a Utahraptor, a hydra and the crocodile. Placing a hand at his back, he could feel some sort of weapon there but he didn't dare pull it out just yet. He wanted to keep his cards, as they were, hidden close to his chest. As before, his mind raced as information poured into it and he knew with sudden clarity everything his Ninjetti form could do. Looking in the mirror, he smiled as he saw the large coin in the centre of his chest that bared a fearsome image of his Ninja Animal.

His smile dropped as he cursed his stupidity. If the Wraith could come out of a mirror, there was a chance it could go back into one at will. Rolling away from the mirror, he looked outside again and saw smoke billowing out from the splintered hole that was the stairwell. He squinted through the smoke and relaxed a tiny fraction as he saw the silhouette of the Wolf Wraith sniffing the air. Keeping an eye on the Wraith, he conjured up a small ball of fire to test the Wraith's claims. A split second after the ball formed, he saw the Wolf Wraith burst through the smoke and swing around, snarling.

"Ranger, I know you're close by. You were foolish to show your location to me."

Biting his lip to control his breathing, Weihan looked at the Wraith again and noticed the damage that had been done. A large section of its chest had melted away and the edges surrounding the melted area were still red-hot. Strangely, a silvery liquid was dripping from the wound and as the Ranger looked on in horrified fascination, the Wraith did something most unexpected. It stood to its full height, howled into the open air and plunged its left hand deep into the melted section. Disgust turned swiftly into horror as Weihan saw the Wraith pull out two thin daggers from the hole, which stopped bleeding immediately.

Swallowing hard, he decided to try to hide in plain sight and stood as still as he could. In an instant, he felt warm tendrils of energy wrap around his body. Breathing slowly, he saw the Wolf Wraith step forward and sniff the air once more, before looking straight at him. It let out a slow laugh and walked forward, brandishing its two daggers like some deranged killer. He suppressed the growing panic that he was feeling and concentrated on hiding from the creature in front of him, feeling the energy intensify as the Wraith drew closer. As it came up close to him, he saw its expression change from bloodlust to confusion.

"Decoy? No matter as I will feast on your flesh soon enough!"

The Wraith turned and to walk away when it spied something out of the corner of its eye. There was a fresh hole in the mesh that surrounded the edges of this open area and he could spy something dropping down. Convinced it was the Ranger it was hunting, it raced forward to the hole. Reaching the gap, it sniffed the air before letting out a bellow of rage. It had fallen for a basic trick but the Ranger would pay dearly. It would eat the arms first and then feast on his righteous heart. It paused once more and growled in triumph. There was a lot of energy massing somewhere near him and whatever it was, it was weaving into a complex transportation spell. It slinked around a corner and saw the Ranger in front of it.

He was clothed in some strange garb which closely resembled the decoy seen earlier and was mumbling something to himself. It didn't matter much as his blood would soon cover the artificial ground they stood on. It lunged forward with its daggers outstretched as the Ranger finished the spell. It felt a powerful wave slam into it, but it kept moving forward. In one last burst of speed, it howled in triumph as it felt the first of the blades tear through the Ranger's uniform and sink deep into the flesh below.

It was over.

It had won.

TBC…


	34. Chapter Thirty Three: Zordon

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. Neither is Pinkie Pie who is property of Hasbro. Yes, she has a cameo here. Enjoy, read and review!

Chapter Thirty Three: Zordon

Weihan was floating.

He had cast the spell as it was dictated and after the burst of light, there had been a sharp stab of pain. Then everything had faded to white and he was floating somewhere. He wasn't sure where he was but his eyes had closed instinctively at the bright light. He just hoped he hadn't transported them somewhere inhospitable…like space. That would kind of suck. A tentative breath crossed that out as a possibility – but he was rewarded by a fresh wave of pain from his abdomen. Swallowing up his courage to face death head on, he opened his eyes.

And wished they stayed closed.

He was in the air, high above some city and the Wolf Wraith was below him with its daggers still embedded in his abdomen. He could feel the Power trying vainly to heal his wounds but it would be a futile effort unless the blades were removed from his body. As it seemed like the Wraith was unconscious, getting the monster to pull back was a moot point. Clenching his teeth together, he gripped the hilts of the daggers and slowly pushed them out millimetre by millimetre. The pain was immense, but with each centimetre he could feel the healing energy wash over the wound. As the tips eased out, he found himself wondering if his school uniform would be damaged – and if it was how he would explain it. With all the force he could muster up, he pushed himself off the damaged chest of the Wraith and looked straight down yet again.

Weihan realised he wasn't floating but falling.

Fighting back the scream of unholy terror that threatened to burst out from his throat, he twisted his wrist once and summoned his morpher over his Ninjetti outfit. He reached out a hand to hit one of the buttons but crashed on a hard surface seconds later. More pain flared through his senses as his bones cracked under the force of the sudden stop. He was sure that had he not had the protection of his Ninjetti outfit, he would be dead. Rising to his knees, he heard another crash behind him as the Wraith smashed down onto…whatever he was standing on. Whatever it was, it was metallic, pink and flying surprisingly smoothly. Dismissing his morpher, he accessed his Ultra Crystal and morphed in a flash of fire and light.

Summoning his Raptor Sabre, he felt a small twinge of remorse but quickly dismissed it. The Wolf Wraith had every intention to hunt him down and had wounded him in cold blood. Melting the damned thing with fire wouldn't work as it would keep pulling out more weapons – so it had to be destroyed. He only wished he knew where the transportation spell had taken them. A flash of inspiration struck him and he channelled white fire into his left hand, which he then ran down the blade. Like a match falling into gasoline, the blade blazed with white-hot fury. Spinning the blade once to test its power, he ran toward the barely conscious Wraith, while dragging his powered up Sabre behind him. When he was an arms length away, he swung it in an upward slice that caught the surprised Wraith under its left arm.

"Your hunt is over!"

With that proclamation, he pushed the blade clean through the Wraith and used his forward momentum to kick it off the side. He turned away as a fiery explosion signalled the destruction of the Wraith. Heaving a sigh of relief, he walked over to the side to see just exactly what he was riding on. A voice behind him made him jerk in surprise.

"Why did you attack without being attacked? What sort of Ranger are you?"

Standing right behind him was the White Ranger, arms folded across his chest. Weihan dismissed his Raptor Sabre, but moved his hand close to his Raptor Laser, noting with interest as the White Ranger's gaze followed. The Wite Ranger stepped forward and spoke again.

"Why did you attack first? That's not the Power Ranger way. We use our powers to defend – not to attack. A fair match would have been if you let the monster recover after the fall. With your disregard for the rules, you shouldn't even be a Ranger!"

Weihan snorted behind his helmet. So, the Rangers of Angel Grove operated under a set of rules. If he were to take a gamble, he would bet that they were the same three that he had been told of: no revealing your identity, no using powers for personal gain and no escalation of battle. So far, in the eyes of the White Ranger, he had shattered the escalation rule…but he didn't really care. He opened his mouth to respond, when the White Ranger spoke again.

"You will answer to the creator of the Power Rangers. I will teleport you to him and he will decide on what to do with you."

With that arrogant statement, the White Ranger grabbed Weihan's upper arm and tapped his belt buckle once. As they dissolved into a shower of sparks, the Orange Ranger was finally able to get a good look at what he landed on and he felt his jaw drop; not only at the sight but at the complex flight machinations that had to have been involved. The metallic surface was the Firebird Thunderzord.

Milliseconds after he dissolved, he reformed in a room that seemed to be much smaller than the Ultra Cavern. The floor was dull blue stone and around him was computer consoles artfully arranged in a circle. Columns of light flickered on and off in strangely hypnotising ways and the wall around them were painted to look like endless stretches of stars. Looking behind him, his eyes widened as he saw an honest-to-God crystal ball on top of a thin platform. Images of Sydney flashed on it and he was drawn to the sight of the police taking statements from his classmates. Cursing under his breath, he realised if he didn't come up with a plausible excuse of his whereabouts, he would be in deep shit. So caught up with coming up with an excuse was he that he didn't notice the White Ranger teleporting out.

"Welcome, Orange Ranger."

The deep voice behind him made him jump up in surprise. Acting on reflex, he drew his Raptor Laser and spun around to see the source of the voice. As his eyes settled on the giant blue-white face in a tube, he felt his blaster slip through his fingers and heard it clatter harmlessly on the floor below. He ran a hand over his visor – as if to clean it – and looked again. The floating head was still there…and it looked amused. Weihan felt himself getting angry, but forcibly calmed himself. The White Ranger said that he would be answering to the creator of the Power Rangers and while a giant head in a tube wasn't on his list of likely candidates, he couldn't deny the power behind the voice.

"You may demorph in my presence. It is quite safe here."

Something in the voice and tone soothed his frayed nerves and he wordlessly dismissed his armour. As it fell off him with a wave of orange light, he checked his uniform to see if anything was amiss. Apart from the scuffs that he had gotten while running away from the Wolf Wraith, everything seemed to be in order. Satisfied that he didn't have to shell out for yet another new uniform, he faced the head in a tube and asked the most pressing question.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Zordon of Eltare and many consider me to be the creator of the Power Rangers."

So the White Ranger had been telling the truth and this head was the creator of the Power Rangers. As his powers had chosen him as their bearer, there wasn't much that Zordon could do about that. Strangely, the vocal advisor seemed to have gone silent on that matter, but he was still confident that there was nothing the ancient wizard could do. Weihan paused at that thought. How did he know that this Zordon was an ancient wizard? And why were strange faces flashing through his mind? And why was Zordon chuckling?

"I am allowing you to see the faces of my Rangers, so you will not be threatened by them. Their names are theirs to tell, but I would like to know your name, good sir."

"My name is Weihan Liang and, as you must know, I am the Orange Ultra Ranger."

Zordon smiled warmly down at him. Thanks to the young man's future…past…visit, he knew all about him and what he would do. Of course, he was sworn to the highest levels of secrecy not to tell his past self. He knew it would break the bond of trust that was built up in the past and he considered the breaking of the bond the fastest way to lose a friend.

"Forever…"

Zordon started slightly as he heard the strange voice that always seemed to pop up right after he had those sorts of thoughts. Lexian and Ninjor had theorised that there was some sort of cross-dimensional interference and it was nothing to be concerned about. Still, it was disconcerting to hear the voice on its own as it was more often accompanied by an image of a shocking pink pony. Dismissing those thoughts, his attention returned to the young man in front of him. The information he was about to tell him would be of great assistance to him in the future to ensure everything progressed how it was supposed to.

"I am not going to strip you of your Powers as that is now impossible. I will tell you the full story of how these Powers came to be and what their full potential is."

TBC…

A/N: As of 4/11/2011 this is now my longest story on here!


	35. Chapter Thirty Four: Calculated Risk

Disclaimer: …its on my bio.

Chapter Thirty Four: Calculated Risk

Xonix howled in pure rage as he saw the Wolf Wraith destroyed. Golems and Fiends ran for cover as their master fired bolts of pure plasma from his hands; destroying all those unlucky to get hit. He grasped the railing hard and took in a deep breath, calming himself minutely. He had decided that he wouldn't care about the Wraith but after he saw it wound the Ranger, he had swiftly changed his mind. Now, the Wraith was lying in the desert sands of Angel Grove in two pieces and the Ranger who held Dorzon had spirited his quarry away – presumably to see Zordon.

The old sage would be telling the young Ranger about the history of the Ultra Powers and of Drakor, the only creature to rival himself in sheer evil. At least the alien warlord was locked away in some sort of chamber presumably for good. If Drakor did escape, he would be crushed – either by Xonix's own hands or by whatever new Power Ranger team sprang up on that barren world his warp was encased in. all in all, it didn't seem like something he would have to worry about for a long while.

Bringing his focus back to the problem at hand, he growled darkly. The Wraith was still in good shape but all life signs had ceased. Its spirit had escaped its mortal shell the very moment the explosion of Morphin energy had engulfed it and if he were to make it grow, it would only have one thought in its mind – destruction. The pitiful Thunderzords couldn't hope to make a dent in it even with the new addition of Tor, but they could drain some of its energy away. The drained energy would strengthen the Morphin Grid for future generations. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not as ordinary Power Rangers would be crushed underfoot.

Shaking his head, he ran a hand over his snout and sighed. Yit and Twinlobe were putting the finishing touches on his Moon Fortress, but they had promised to research matter manipulation spells and enchantments. If worst came to the worst, he would ask his brother for some of his Growth Grenades…or he would attempt an energy transference. That option was incredibly risky, but if the Wraith wasn't destroyed it would be most beneficial. As if reading his mind, a viewscreen sprang into existence, bearing the image of his brother.

"Xonix, your monster is on my turf. Why attack on my claim?"

The draconic creature snorted in amusement. If he knew Zedd, he had been watching the battle in Sydney and already knew all about what had happened. He decided to not waste words and told his brother what he was thinking of. Instantly, Zedd's visor flashed white – betraying his great fear for his brother.

"You cannot be serious! If your creature is destroyed, the backlash could send you into a coma! I can send over a Growth Grenade so you won't take this foolish risk!"

Xonix waved away his brother's offer. Of course transferring his own energy would be extremely dangerous, but he had plans in case anything went awry. As long as he pulled the plug – so to speak – on his end before the destruction, he would be fine. He would have to undertake a recharging rest for a couple of solar cycles, but that would be a much better option than the power coma. It was an immense risk, but it was a well calculated one. He turned to his brother and injected forced levity into his voice.

"If this doesn't plan out, I hope that when I do wake up you'll finally have found the perfect wife."

His brother growled, but shook his head. Even when they had been fully…whole, they had a brotherly competition about who would be the first one to settle down. When they had begun down their respective paths of Evil, the competition had slowed down somewhat but had not fully gone away. It had only been when Zedd had his skin stripped from his body and Xonix's transformation into a humanoid lizard that the contest had stopped. Still, he had to answer that jab with one of his own.

"Yes brother. And she will have a sister to match your charming looks."

Xonix shared one last look with his brother before closing the screen and focusing his power at the Wolf Wraith. Inhaling deeply, he drew upon the well of magic inside him and muttered a few ancient words under his breath. As his magic increased, he could sense the auras of those around him. Golems and Fiends gave off a slightly shaky aura whereas the aura of Jabarkas was strong and pulsed with a rhythmic beat. The warrior was off to one side and Xonix knew he would step in if and when his master needed. Exhaling through his mouth, the reptilian overlord focused his long range vision on the bisected Wraith and carefully tapped into its aura.

If the aura of Jabarkas pulsed, the weak aura of the Wraith fluttered spasmodically. There would be just enough energy to create the connection and the infusion of energy would take place a split second later. Inwardly, he wondered why the Wraith's spirit had left its body, but he shook it off. The Wraiths were probably supposed to only be destroyed once and not grow to great heights. Any warrior that could destroy a Wraith flat out would be a good challenge for him, but he knew that if such a warrior were to exist, it would be in the far future. Seconds after the thought had faded from his mind, the connection was made and energy flowed through easily.

Opening the eyes that he had closed, Xonix watched on as the body of the Wraith reformed and grew in one fluid motion. It reared up to its full height and bellowed a challenge to the world…and to the Power Rangers. Staggering slightly, Xonix maintained the flow of energy between himself and the mirror monster and waited for the ensuing carnage to commence.

It was time for the world to burn.

TBC…


	36. Chapter Thirty Five: History of Power

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. Everything you don't recognise is mine. Now, we delve into the history and creation of the Ultra Crystals with lots of flashbacks and surprises. Yes, some of this chapter is copied from my earlier chapters but reworked slightly.

Read, review and enjoy!

Chapter Thirty Five: History of Power

"How much do you know about your powers?"

Weihan blinked and thought about it. Other than what he was told, he knew next to nothing about them or what the true potential might be. He relayed this information to Zordon, who nodded in agreement. On one hand, he didn't need to know a full history of his powers and such information would be forgotten pretty much in an instant. On the other, if some information was to be retained, he would have an advantage if he ever decided to…travel to the distant past to help with something. As unlikely as that seemed, there was always a small possibility of that happening. As he motioned to Zordon to begin, he wondered if he should take notes.

"The story begins approximately twelve thousand years ago, on a planet called Eltare. I was just a young man by your standards but I was a fierce warrior and a Ranger mentor in training."

Flashback

_Zordon raced through the halls of the Command Post, hot on the heels of his father. Dorzon had received some dire news regarding Aisalar's exiled prince – Xon'ixia. The young warrior had been sent into exile after directly disobeying an order for non-aggression on the world of Xionad some two hundred years ago and had promptly dropped off the radar until recently. Zordon swallowed hard in an effort to keep his breakfast down as his mind recalled the terrible details he had read in the report._

_The world of Huran, with its proud warrior race, had been reduced to near-ashes by Xon'ixia. The prince had renamed himself after Aisalar's god of death – Xonix – and had created an army of loyal fighters. If the pictures were to be believed, Xonix would be a terrible death for all Power Rangers alike. Out of the twelve Hurantic Power Rangers that had been stationed there, only two had survived…barely. They had told of the Captain of the Guard facing a terrible choice to swear undying loyalty to Xonix or watch the planet destroyed around him. He had sworn loyalty to Xonix and had discarded the mantle of the Red Ranger ever since._

_Pushing through the double doors that lead into the Council's Inner Sanctum, they were met with the face of Aruk the Conqueror. The normally extravagant warrior was unusually subdued as he looked at his closest friend and nodded once. As the trio stepped into the centre of the room, a great voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once._

_"We are aware of the situation. Zordon, son of Dorzon, we are setting you with a task of utmost importance. We, the Morphin Council, ask of you to create Ranger powers strong enough to take on Xonix head on. You will be the head of a team to accomplish this task of most importance. These powers are our only hope to battle Xonix on an equal footing. Zordon, son of Dorzon, will you accept the task in front of you?"_

_He answered instantly._

_"I, Zordon, son of Dorzon, accept this task."_

_End Flashback_

"I would only find out my team much later. They consisted of the best and brightest from all over the Universe. From the distant planet of Edenoi, home of the Masked Rider power, came Prince Lexian, a most talented inventor and innovator. Ninjor of Phaedos came next. The talented Zord Master brought with him his cousin Dulcea – a feared Ninjetti warrior in her own right. Together, they allowed the creation of the thirteen Crystals from one of Zycor's many diamond mines."

Weihan, who had been listening intensely, snapped his head up at the mention of the thirteenth crystal. He was sure that the internal guide had only mentioned twelve crystals, so what did that mean for the thirteenth? Sensing his question, Zordon spoke again.

"The thirteenth Ultra Crystal will not be in the rest of your story, but I will tell you of its history and what powers it would have possessed. Now, after Ninjor and Dulcea came Dimitria of Inquiris. Her status as a fledgling Ranger Mentor meant she was not able to contribute much, but she created the 'evolution' protocols in the armour. In time, you will see the fruit of her labours."

Zordon already knew what one of Weihan's armour forms would look like as he had seen it in the distant past…in an event that would take place in the young man's future. Time travel and manipulation sometimes gave him a headache but he didn't dwell on the temporal aspects that much anyway. He smirked as he heard a communication channel open up between the Command Centre and his Rangers. He would have to be careful to not reveal the Orange Ranger's name.

"The second last member was Aruk. My father's friend was as great of a scientist and energy manipulator as he was a warrior. Together with my father, they pieced together the intricate and unique Power signatures of each crystal and devised the Prophecy of the Crystals, now known as the Prophecy of Ultra. This partnership lasted even after my father was caught up in one of Rita Repulsa's attacks and was transformed into his scimitar state. You have seen what he looks like recently."

The Orange Ranger nodded, recalling his amusement as a sword with a tiger's head spoke to him. The thought that such a small sword could be the father of the giant head in front of him both amused and intrigued him. he motioned for Zordon to continue.

"The final member of the core team was the recently purified Lord of the M-51 Galaxy. His name was Master Vile and, although he had used these abilities for evil, he was a gifted weapon smith and spell caster. After five hundred years, we were able to create the outer shells of the powers…yet the early results of containing the power seemed less than promising."

Flashback

_Zordon coughed and waved a hand in front of his face to clear away some of the thick smoke from his face. Around him lay the rest of his team in various states of shocked amusement. Once more, the thirteenth crystal had taken up the overflow and had violently expelled the excess instead of gently allowing it to flow back into the Grid. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked to his left to see Vile shaking his head slightly. The purified being spoke, filling the smoky air with his grand voice._

_"Back to the drawing board, it seems. I may take the thirteenth crystal for study and observation as I have seen it pulse with a dark energy."_

_Zordon looked around for signs of approval and all he saw was resigned acceptance. Ninjor and Aruk had informed him the thirteenth crystal was gradually undoing Vile's forced purification and nothing could be done to stop or slow it. It would only be a matter of time before he returned to the M-51 Galaxy to aid his daughter in her conquest. Since learning this, Zordon had been very selective with information around Vile and had encouraged the rest of the team to do the same._

_"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way. We should feed Grid energy directly into the twelve crystals, not push the internal power of the crystals onto the Grid. Remember what happened on Chysannas?"_

_Zordon sighed and nodded once. An exploratory mission to Chysannas with the thirteen crystals had resulted in the total transformation of the planet into a dead world. Worse than that, it had piqued the interest of Dark Spectre who had recently assimilated Xonix into his Alliance of Evil. They had been forced to flee the planet, but reports had surfaced of a massive surge of energy there._

_Zordon ran a hand over his face and sighed. At the rate they were going, it would be a thousand more years until they had a working prototype. Xonix was becoming stronger under the service of Dark Spectre and had perfected his two types of grunts – Golems and Fiends. Ninjor and Aruk had set out for Zycor in order to protect the diamond and silver mines from his onslaught. So far, there was no news from either of them. Pushing himself up from the floor, he looked over and nodded once._

_Time to try again._

_End Flashback_

Zordon paused as he felt a minor disturbance in the desert. It seemed that Xonix had used up some of his own energy to make the Wraith grow. Silencing the alarms before they could blare, he sent out a quick telepathic message to his Rangers to engage the Wraith. It was of utmost importance that he finish his tale. He took in another breath and lost himself to the sands of time once more.

"A few months after that, Vile's purification reversed and he was Master Vile once more. Out of respect for us, his team and one time friends, he left Eltare with little fuss but he didn't take the thirteenth crystal with him. I was the last person he saw on Eltare."

Flashback

_"I am sorry it came to this, Zordon."_

_Zordon stood at the door to his ship and said nothing. In one hand, a blaster hung loosely and he could not find the strength needed to shoot the evil in front of him. He hung his head and sighed deeply._

_"What of the thirteenth crystal? Is it with you?"_

_Master Vile shook his head and let the snakes fall free. He had been tempted to take the thirteenth crystal with him, but he had barely resisted. Saving the lives of Ninjor and Aruk were topmost priority, but they had known when the purification failed. He had seen them and they had made small talk over the past and what may come in the future. Vile had also designed twin sets of transforming battle armour for them to wear based on old Eltarean designs, but they would never breathe fresh air again. After showing them the designs, he had seen Dulcea and had told her that Ivan Ooze was setting sights on Phaedos. He had used his innate power of precognition and had told her all that was to pass if she went back to the planet, but she had smiled at him and kissed his cheek gently._

_She had left a few hours ago, leaving him to mourn her future fate. It didn't last long as he knew she would be all right in the long run. Lexian had been next, but no long sentences were exchanged…just a simple handshake and a simple warning about expanding the empire too fast. Vile had rolled his eyes at that and had promised to do his best. Zordon was the last member, as Dimitria had gone to Inquiris to prepare her young team of Rangers to defend against Divatox. Shrugging himself out of the memories of the past few hours, he returned to Zordon's question._

_"No, I did not take the thirteenth. My daughter may rail at me for leaving it, but that much dark energy in the hands of Dark Spectre…truly terrifies me."_

_Zordon nodded once, looking at his former friend wistfully. He was cheered somewhat by Vile's admission of the thirteenth crystal not being with him but it wasn't much. Clasping arms one final time, Zordon stepped off the ship and watched it blast off. The next time they met, they would be enemies._

_End Flashback_

"In a way, I was correct in my assumption that a thousand years would pass before there was any progress. After the departure of Master Vile, we worked tirelessly to connect the crystals to the Grid…except the thirteenth which seemed to absorb evil energies. It was placed into storage soon after but we kept monitoring it. Finally, we were able to tap the Colour Spectrum and reap the rewards…so to speak"

Flashback

_It was complete. The twelve crystals stood on their pedestals glowing with the colours that the Grid had picked. As Zordon ran a critical eye over them, he noticed the Black and Green crystals were warping somehow. He made a mental note to consult Aruk about them, but his father's friend had become slightly deranged after Vile had left. He had changed his name to Auric and had become more extravagant and flamboyant in battles. He had also requested that a key be made for him to shrink down in his resting state and had asked that Master Vile himself design it._

_Vile had designed it and had sent it in secret along with a message that Rita would set her sights on Eltare soon. He had exchanged a few messages with Zordon but those had been few and far between and had not contained any information about Project Ultra, although the thirteenth crystal was almost always mentioned using code words. As he turned to what little of his team remained, he sighed as he recalled Dulcea's fate. Ivan Ooze had run roughshod over the planet and had rendered it inhospitable to most forms of life._

_Dulcea had been captured and gravely wounded. In an act of cruel irony, Ivan Ooze had bound her to the ruins of the ancient Ninjetti Temple overlooking the monolith of the Great Power. Over time, this boundary would expand to the edge of the coast, but the Monolith would be forever inaccessible to her. The warlock had also decreed if she set foot outside the Temple, she would begin to age rapidly and all of her wounds would reopen. Soon after, the Morphin Council had intervened and had locked Ivan away into a hyperlock chamber and had cast him to a planet filled with barren wastes of fire and choking smog._

_Zordon knew of this, but also knew what the Morphin Council did not. The so-called 'barren' planet was one that was rich with life and one that would soon develop intelligent life. He would have to keep an eye on the planet to ensure Ivan did not break free. The Morphin Council were planning to step down and create an Eltarean High Council comprised of a few handpicked individuals. His spot was riding on whether he could get the colours to permanently bond with the crystals._

_Twelve crystals with twelve distinct colours. The Black and Green crystals had stopped warping and had settled into their respective shades. The five main colours were represented: Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink and an odd mix of Black and Green that looked like a strange form of camouflage. Another five to represent the wide scope of the Grid: Brown, White, Silver, Purple and a dazzling emerald Green. One with a slowly swirling mass of colours which represented…something Zordon wasn't aware of yet. And the last one that seemed to pulse with internal power – the Orange crystal. As the colours had been chosen and seemed to be holding steadily, it was time for one last thing._

_End Flashback_

"I, together with Lexian, Ninjor and Auric, began to infuse the Crystals with vast reserves of our own magic. Dimitria helped us whenever she was on Eltare and – although we cannot prove it – we suspect Master Vile helped somewhat as well. As they were hooked up to monitoring equipment, we could track in real time how close they were to a full Grid connect. During this time, Rita was attacking with a vengeance, but we were able to defeat her time and time again. However, one day changed everything completely."

Flashback

_Zordon coughed and waved the smoke away from his face, suppressing the strong sense of deja vu. He looked around him at the faces of the Eltarean High Council. Dimitria was on the ground and was the least phased of all of them. The look on the Inquiran's face told him that she was prepared for this situation. He sighed; it would take a lot to faze her. He shook his head and pulled his father out from his resting place on his hip. Dorzon had insisted on overseeing the magic infusion even though he couldn't manipulate energy the way he had before. The flares of energy from the crystals were unexpected and had set off a few alarms. So far, everything had held – thanks to the barriers Vile had constructed years ago, but there was always the chance that Rita had detected the flare-up._

_Thankfully, the energy flares hadn't sapped power away from the core systems. If the shields had fallen, they would have been at the mercy of Rita's forces. A startled cry brought him out of his musings. His head whipped to the source of the noise and he struggled to get to his feet. Some random technician was looking at one of the output screens. It seemed to be flashing one word over and over: "**Disconnect**". Zordon felt his heart clench in his chest as he thought of what that word could mean. It could mean that the crystals had been rejected from the Morphin Grid or their internal energy had been nullified. Both choices spelt doom for the future, as Rita would more than likely be staging a push to weed them out. If the research lab fell, they would be forced to relocate to the main Citadel._

_His father floated up until he was eye-level with his son. The crystals could be remade into coins and given out to their chosen candidates. Of course, only six coins could be made – but that was better than nothing. Even if the crystals were undamaged, they would be unusable to them. If that was the case, why was that damned technician so excited? Carefully, he manoeuvred himself to see the screen and the information that was scrolling across it. What he saw made his eyes widen in surprise. So…Vile had been right…_

_"By the moons of Xenon! The…the Crystals!"_

_Zordon stood from his position over Lexian. His brow furrowed at his father's proclamation. Why would his father want to reap the fruits of failure? It didn't make any sense. The warrior slowly made his way to where his father hovered. He glanced briefly at the screen before looking at the counter where he was sure the ruins lay. He rubbed his eyes at the sight and looked again. On the counter were all twelve crystals –undamaged and unmarked. Each crystal was softly glowing with a white light that seemed to emanate from within. Zordon gasped and looked at the information screen again before speaking._

_"This is an unprecedented development. Our magic infusion has changed the way the crystals generate Morphing Energy. No longer will these crystals be connected to the Universal Grid; instead they seem to be running off their own Grid."_

_His father made a sound of acknowledgement in what passed for his throat. He would have his son talk to Ninjor to tie up the loose ends in the Grid when the Ninja master returned from Phaedos. At this point, no one knew how much energy would be produced by the new Grid. It could be enough for three morphs or even a lifetime's worth – they would have to study it. Perhaps even tie them to the planet to repel the forces of Dark Spectre and Xonix. They would have to wait and see._

_End flashback_

"After that day, we used the project's name to call the crystals the Ultra Crystals. Hooking them up to builders, we were able to construct a great number of Zords and connect them to the crystal…except the Ninjazords. Even I do not know what Ninjazord you will possess. Only Ninjor in the Desert of Despair will know."

Weihan nodded absentmindedly. He was transfixed with the information and the scenes he swore were happening right in front of him. Zordon smiled slightly and continued.

"About a century later, I learnt that the Ultra Crystals were going to be transferred to the Eltarean Vault of Rules and would be shackled by the three rules every Power Ranger must adhere to. As I was on the Council, I could remove them from the list but I had to have a good excuse as to why.

Flashback

_"To make sure they straddle the line between Good and Evil wisely? Who comes up with this stuff?"_

_Zordon paced nervously outside the Vault of Rules. The twelve Ultra Crystals were scheduled to be placed inside in a few hours but he did not want the future Rangers to be burdened by the rules. After all, was it personal gain to save the life of a family member or to get to an appointment that much faster? Wasn't everything done after an overlord declared himself an act of war and not an escalation of conflict?_

_He was shaken out of his dark reverie as he heard Auric coming down the hall. The eyes of his father's friend relayed confidence and a hint of laughter. Placing a metallic arm around Zordon, he spoke in his distinct way._

_"Do not worry, friend. I, Auric the Conqueror, have discovered that the Ultra Crystals have been taken off the list as the energy has not yet stabilised. Furthermore, their energy signatures need to be suppressed so that Rita does not detect them whenever they are launched,"_

_End Flashback_

"Eventually, the crystals were stabilised, but by that time the Vault of Rules had been destroyed by a new enemy that had appeared in Rita's forces. Thankfully, Drakor was no more than a nuisance and was defeated during the final battle."

Of course, that wasn't the entire truth. Drakor had been a tough fighter and had almost defeated Auric in single combat. If it wasn't for the timely intervention of Weihan's future self…well, he didn't have to worry about that. The Ranger had described it as a self-fulfilling prophecy or a stable time loop; one that was destined to repeat infinite times.

Zordon felt his Rangers be defeated by the Wraith and silently sent out Tor. He would have to wrap up his history lesson quickly to ensure the Ranger in front of him fulfilled his destiny.

"Soon after, Vile managed to warn us that his daughter was planning an all-out assault and he provided plans for the creation of the Mighty Morphin powers. After that, no messages were sent from him again. At this point, myself and Ninjor were the only members of Project Ultra still on Eltare. Dimitria had left for Inquiris, Lexian for Edenoi and Auric had gone off into the galaxy."

Flashback

_With a mighty clang, the hammer came down on the anvil once more. Breathing heavily, Ninjor looked at his work and breathed a sigh of relief as explosions were heard outside. Rita's push had breached the West Gate and had almost taken out the Zord Bays. Thankfully Auric had managed to stow the Ultra Zords away into their respective crystals' subspace pockets before he had left. Creating the coins while the power was being connected to the Morphin Grid had been a bit of a challenge, but Zordon had placed implicit faith in him._

_Fishing the cooled coins out of the water, he reflected on the events leading up to this moment. The High Council had decreed that the Ultra Crystals would be tied to Eltare and the Rangers would defend the secrets of the Morphin Grid from Xonix. That was all good in theory, but the crystals had rejected any attempt at cementing them to the planet – even the thirteenth crystal. He, along with a group of sorcerers and mages, had been in the process of trying for the umpteenth time when Goldar had broken through the wall. In the middle of fighting, he had accidentally hit the release button on the gravity well and the thirteen Ultra Crystals had rocketed off into the inky depths of space. He supposed it was for the best as the Power Coins only needed one last infusion of energy until they were ready for use._

_Placing the coins in a velvet bag, he walked outside and stood by Zordon, who was watching the battle outside. Monsters exploded as robotic walkers fired upon them – only to crumble as Putties swarmed them from below. Lexian had heard their plea for help and had sent along the legendary Masked Rider Warriors. They were a great help, but Zordon knew the battle was lost._

_"Are they ready?"_

_"Yes sir. They only need one last infusion and then they will work."_

_Zordon chuckled mirthlessly. The battle was a lost cause and everyone knew it. The Power Coins were just a way to placate the civilians into thinking they had a chance._

_"We'll need the extra firepower to survive the war. Ninjor, infuse the coins."_

_As Ninjor prepared the final infusion, Zordon looked outside to where the sky was darkening. If what the future Ranger had told them was correct, then the Power Coins would be of help, but not in this battle. As the coins fell into his hands, he looked around for spies as he spoke._

_"What of the…other project? Have you completed it?"_

_He knew the answer, but he needed confirmation from Ninjor. He relaxed minutely as the Ninja master shook his head. The future was on the right track and it was time for him to confront Rita._

_End Flashback_

"I was then encased in my time warp and have not heard anything about the Ultra Crystals until now. You are a great warrior and you will only continue to grow in leaps and bounds."

Weihan shook his head slowly. Zordon was saying that as if he knew something he didn't. Burying the thought at the back of his mind, he opened his mouth to thank the sage when a panicked voice broke over the speakers. Weihan instantly recognised it as the White Ranger's.

"Zordon, we're getting our butts handed to us! We need help!"

He looked pointedly at Weihan, who understood the unspoken message. As he prepared to morph, he heard Zordon's ancient prayer for safety in the battle and inexplicably felt…lighter.

"Go now and may the Power protect you."

TBC…


	37. Chapter Thirty Six: Dawn of a New Era

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is Saban's. Everything you don't recognise is mine.

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty Six: Dawn of a New Era

Tommy was nervous.

After he had left the mysterious Ranger alone with Zordon, his anxiety had shot up tenfold. Something in his heart told him that the Ranger could be trusted and Zordon would be fine. He jumped slightly as a hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking to one side, he saw Kim looking at him with a frown on her face.

"You left him there? You trust him to not trash anything?"

He sighed softly as Rocky's voice reached his ears. Ever since the Red Ranger had been forced to make the statement identifying the Orange Ranger as an ally, his friend had become more standoffish against any mention of the pseudo-Power Ranger in Sydney. Tommy couldn't really blame him; the Orange Ranger had been rather rude to him a few minutes ago as well. A small voice inside his head told him that was partly his fault for letting Rocky's comments get the better of him, but he forcefully dismissed it. The truth was; everything about the Orange Ranger's demeanour screamed out 'young kid' in big red letters.

He knew the Power would never willingly choose a young kid to handle the great responsibility and he had his suspicions that the Ranger was a sleeper agent that was sent by Lord Zedd. Of course, this had been disproven when the Ranger was actually able to set foot inside the Command Centre without the alarms being triggered. Still, he had his doubts about the person under the helmet. Motioning Billy to come close, he asked one question.

"Is there any way we could listen in on what is happening in the Command Centre? I don't trust the new Ranger."

Saba rolled his eyes and sighed. Ever since his identity as Zordon's father had been revealed by Xonix, the Rangers had been subtly treating him differently. Tommy hadn't even spoken to him during battle once and had been using him as a normal sword instead of getting him to shoot lasers from his eyes. Without even bothering to hear the Blue genius' explanation, Saba patched into his private one-way communications channel and Zordon's voice rang out.

"The second last member was Aruk. My father's friend was as great of a scientist and energy manipulator as he was a warrior. Together with my father, they pieced together the intricate and unique Power signatures of each crystal and devised the Prophecy of the Crystals, now known as the Prophecy of Ultra. This partnership lasted even after my father was caught up in one of Rita Repulsa's attacks and was transformed into his scimitar state. You have seen what he looks like recently."

Tommy's mind was reeling with the information his mentor was freely giving. The Prophecy of Ultra was what Zordon had given them to read after the first disastrous fight against the Golems. Who was Aruk and what was Zordon talking about? He snuck a glance down at the sword hanging from his belt and felt a tinge of regret. Saba knew who Aruk was, but probably didn't want to share the information because of Tommy's childish attitude towards him.

With a start, he realised he had missed most of Zordon's next words and was interested to see what secrets his mentor would divulge to the Orange Ranger.

"I thought at that time that we would have a working prototype of the crystals in a thousand years. Even then, it would be too long as reports had surfaced of Xonix perfecting the foot soldiers of his army: Golems and Fiends. Ninjor and Aruk had gone off to defend the diamond and silver mines of Zycor from his attacks."

Saba chuckled under his breath. Those were the better days when Ninjor, Aruk and himself had been in their original forms. His eyes widened as the communication channel shut off abruptly. As his son's voice echoed in his head.

Xonix has engaged in the Ritual of Da'Lana and his monster has grown. Send the Rangers out to meet the beast and hold it off for as long as you can.

Saba closed his eyes in acceptance and, when he opened them, he saw all six Rangers looking at him expectantly. He would have a lot more explaining to do, but hopefully his son would be able to back him up. A loud screech pierced the air, causing all eyes to look in its direction. Blood drained from everyone's faces as they saw the defeated Wolf Wraith rise up from the sands, looking as menacing as ever. Recovering his nerves quicker than the others, Tommy raised Saba into the air to summon his Zord. Six subvocal calls later and the six Thunderzords were racing through the sands to intercept the giant monster.

Standing in the cockpit of the Tigerzord, Tommy ran his scanners of the monster and frowned under his helmet. From the scans, the monster seemed the same but it wasn't acting like it had been. Granted, he only had seen it barely conscious, but there had been a strange sense of animalistic intelligence about it whereas the creature in front of them only broadcasted mindless rage. Swallowing hard, he keyed the Zord communication system.

"Go in one at a time, guys. We don't know what we're dealing with."

As the Rangers responded positively, he charged in – guns blazing. In hindsight, he would realise what an incredibly idiotic move that was as the lasers easily bounced off its many reflective surfaces. Gritting his teeth, he reached behind him to grab a crystal sphere from the rack. Ignoring the startled shout from Saba, Tommy slid the sphere into its port and placed his right palm on top of Saba's head.

"White Tiger Thunderbolt!"

The ball of crackling energy sped out of the Tigerzord's mouth and impacted against the monster with a flash of fire. Tommy smiled smugly under his helmet and turned the Tigerzord away…when it was struck from behind by a powerful blow that knocked it off its feet and sent it crashing into the other five Thunderzords. Shouts of pain and surprise came from the communications system as the Wraith blasted the downed Zords with energy from its fingertips.

"Thunder Megazord Power, Now!"

At Rocky's command, the five main Thunderzords began the transformation into the mighty Thunder Megazord. So far, the only monster that had defeated it outright had been the Ogre. On the other hand, the Ogre had been sent down by Xonix – not Lord Zedd and the difference between the two was staggering. Within seconds, the transformation was complete and the giant samurai-themed gestalt stood ready. With a mighty flourish, the Megazord drew the Thunder Sabre and prepared to charge it up.

That's when everything went to Hell.

Looking like a Wraith-shaped stream of liquid, the Wraith jumped into the Thunder Sabre – stopping the charging process in its tracks. As it leapt out at the still-transforming Tigerzord, it opened its mouth and shot a rapid-fire stream of metallic shards at the Zord. The shards punched through the thick armour and into the vital systems of the Zord, sending sparks flying into the dry air of the desert. As Tommy punched the non-functional console in frustration, he felt a sharp jolt as the Wraith jumped off his wrecked Zord and crash-tackle the Thunder Megazord.

The ear-splitting screech of rending metal filled the air as the Wolf Wraith bared its claws and tore into the gestalt with unparalleled savagery. By some minor miracle, the claws managed to miss the main cockpit every time though they came close one or two times. Wrenching open its arms, the Wraith ripped the remaining armour from the torso of the Zord and howled in triumph. Lowering its head, it began to rip into the Red Dragon Thunderzord's exposed body. Waves of pain crashed into Rocky via the mental link he shared with his Zord, mimicking Adam's pain as most of the Lion Thunderzord had been ripped apart. Falling to the floor of the cockpit, he managed to scream out the next words.

"Tor! We need you!"

In a flare of green light, the massive Carrierzord dropped from the sky and landed on the Wraith. Green lightning crackled between the two as Tor began draining energy away from the monstrous beast. But the Wraith wasn't going to stand there and let it be drained. Grabbing hold of the mighty Zord with both hands, the Wolf Wraith wrenched it off its body with a powerful scream that blew out all of the Thunderzords' radar systems. The Power Rangers scrambled in their cockpits as they tried to get their Zords up and running again, but it was no use.

Tommy focused his will into the controls of the Tigerzord, trying to make something – anything – work. All he received in return was a feeble lurch and a shower of sparks. He tried again and received nothing except for a worrying grinding sound from the internal systems. Saba rolled his eyes and sighed. He knew that the Thunderzords were useless against a monster empowered by the Ritual of Da'Lana; even when the Thunderzords were drawing on the full Thunder Powers.

"Tommy, Rangers, listen to me. You cannot defeat the enemy in front of you with your current powers."

Adam's pain wracked voice filtered through the radio system.

"We need new powers? Stronger ones?"

Saba shook his head as best as he could – which wasn't much. The next strongest powers after the Thunder Powers would be the Ninjetti powers but the Rangers couldn't leave Earth to receive them from Dulcea until…well, he knew what would have to happen for that to occur. He sent out a prayer of hope that it wouldn't happen, but he knew it had to occur for history to flow on its correct course.

"No, Adam. Your powers will be fine for the foreseeable future. Just wait and all will be revealed."

There was a disgruntled grunt from the Rangers, but they accepted that. The true Thunder Powers had helped greatly defend Angel Grove from Lord Zedd, but if Xonix was attacking them as well…they would all be killed easily. Tommy screamed in anger and punched the console next to him. He was about to order that Saba or Dorzon or whatever his real name was to tell him all he knew of Xonix or the strange Ranger when six words he thought he'd never hear again came from outside.

"I Need Dinozord Power, Now!"

TBC…


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven: Utahraptor

Chapter Thirty Seven: Utahraptor

Weihan stared at the scene in front of him and sighed.

Again, the Power Rangers had launched into a hopeless battle against an enemy they didn't fully understand. As with before, their zords were defeated. He guessed it couldn't be helped. The Wraith had ripped into them before they could come up with a cohesive strategy and implement it. On the other hand, the plan he had put into action at school hadn't worked out the way he wanted it to…but it had provided him with an unexpected windfall of new information. As he felt his helmet form around his head, he reached inside himself and thought about which Zord he wanted to summon for its debut battle.

It was achingly obvious to him that defeating the Wraith with the same technique as the Ogre wasn't going to cut it…no pun intended. The mirrors on its body would reflect any lasers fired onto it and would make his attack harmless or worse – would reflect it onto the Power Rangers or himself. He had no intentions of dying in a repeated move, so he chose his actions wisely. He could choose his Hydra Thunderzord as it would fit the "mythical animals" theme of the Zords but it didn't feel right to bust that out just yet.

Sitting down on the rocky outcrop, he watched the Wolf Wraith begin crunching into the exposed metal of the Thunder Megazord. His Ninjazord would be a good match for the agility of the Wraith…except it was in the custody of Ninjor in the Desert of Despair. The Chronos Zord was a good option as he could rewind time with it…but he didn't particularly relish the thought of being in two places at the same time. The more he thought about it, the more he knew there was only one choice that could be made.

Standing up, he brushed the sand off his uniform and raised him right hand into the air. Taking in a deep breath, he shouted out six words that came to him naturally.

"I Need Dinozord Power, Now!"

A split second later, a primeval screech ripped through the air. Weihan turned to see the majestic Utahraptor Dinozord thundering toward the battle scene. It looked the same as when he had seen it in the Ultra Cavern, complete with all claws retracted, but in the light of day it gained a new level of life altogether. Summoning his Raptor Sabre, he ran toward the machine and jumped up. He felt a tingling sensation go through his body as the on-board teleportation system brought him up to the cockpit. Taking a few seconds to familiarise himself with the controls, he pulled on the shoulder straps and slid his Sabre into the slot in front of him.

Behind his helmet, his eyes widened as he felt new information pour in from the Grid generated by his Ultra Crystal. He would call it the Ultra Grid for future use as the Morphin Grid was separate…at least that's how he understood that part of Zordon's story. As his hand gripped the control stick his Sabre had become, his nerves flared as the mental link activated and the Power created new pathways throughout his body. If he concentrated hard enough, he could swear he was one with his Zord and could feel the scorching heat of the sand beneath his feet. Jerking the control stick up, his stomach dropped as the Zord leapt into the air, jaws agape.

Swallowing back his breakfast, he resolved not to do that again unless the situation called for it. It was too late to abort the leap so he might as well do some damage. Knowing that lasers would be reflected, he jammed his finger down on a button with a flame on it. He prayed hard that he didn't accidentally hit the self-destruct button but his fears were alleviated as his guide 'spoke' up.

_No self-destruct buttons here. For an Ultra Ranger, senseless sacrifice is never an answer._

He made a mental note to remember that but wondered what the button did. He was sure the control scheme was somewhere in the infodump and it would come to the forefront of his mind when he really needed it. His question was answered as a large jet of flame shot out from the Zord's open mouth. As they impacted against the Wraith's armour, it started to heat up quickly and turned white-hot within seconds. Watching the destruction for a few seconds, something nagged at Weihan's mind for a few moments before forcefully rushing to the forefront of his mind.

The Wraith seemed unaffected.

Now, the armour was starting to liquidise and thin rivulets of white-hot metal dripped onto the sand and onto the heavily damaged Thunderzords. However, the Wraith stood there and took the damage unflinchingly. In a matter of minutes, the armoured breastplate of the Wolf Wraith was little more than a pool of molten gold cooling in the sands. It clicked in his mind that what he was facing was a mindless drone and something that had little to none of the Wolf Wraith's original personality. Stopping the flamethrower, he sent a mental command for the Zord to ready its claws.

Although he couldn't see it, three claws on each hand fluidly slid out of their sockets and glinted dangerously in the sun. On the feet of the Zord, two claws also slid out. To anyone watching, the absence of the 'killing' claw would be puzzling if they knew their Dromaeosaurids. Flexing its new weapons, the Dinozord roared out a challenge to the mindless Wraith which was answered a second later. Holding onto his breakfast, Weihan made the agile Zord leap forwards with arms and claws outstretched. The Wraith flung its arms out to meet the attack and managed to connect both of its fists on the Dinozord, sending it tumbling back. The Orange Ranger's world went spinning as he tried to get his Zord back on its feet frantically. Finally succeeding after a few failed attempts, the Zord circled the Wolf Wraith warily.

"Hello Ranger."

Weihan blinked in surprise before steeling himself. The voice that had come out was nothing like what he had heard back in Sydney. It wasn't as growly, gritty or resembling anything like shattering glass. In fact, if he thought about it more, it sounded a lot like…

"Xonix. Possessing your monster are we? Makes it easier for me to destroy you here and now!"

From the cockpit of the Tigerzord came a shocked shout and was closely followed by the frantic voice of the White Ranger.

"What? Stop! This isn't the way of the Power Rangers!"

Weihan wanted to blast the White Ranger and make him shut up. He was suddenly very glad there were no rules holding him down and making him second-guess his actions. Targeting the White Tiger Thunderzord with his weakest laser, he fired off a warning shot that struck the downed machine on its back.

"You have your rules. I have none. I do what I want to do…and why the fuck am I wasting my breath with you?"

Shaking his head, he focused his attention back to the Xonix-possessed Wraith. He didn't know how the alien was doing it and he didn't care. If the Warlord was stupid enough to come down and possess his monster…well, he wouldn't have to worry about assembling a team in the future.

"Foolish Ranger. My energy is powering this shell, thanks to an ancient ritual I stole from the planet Minxtras."

Minxtras…and that would be the name of some plant he would probably never set foot on. Dismissing whatever complaints the Power Rangers had, he focused his sights on the Wraith…Xonix…thing in front of him. Sensing a shift in his mood, the killing claws finally slid out of their sockets and began charging with energy. Whipping up a cloud of sand and dust, the mighty machine ran forward with its mouth open. Twin jets of fire shot out of its maw as the Wolf Wraith feebly attempted to defend its head from the searing flames. Whatever game Xonix was attempting to play wouldn't work on him.

In one fluid movement, the Dinozord leapt up and kicked the Wraith's chest with both legs; sending the monster flying off the downed Thunderzords. Standing protectively over them was the Utahraptor Dinozord and it bellowed out another challenge to the Wraith. Hearing none in return, Weihan narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the control stick and moved a finger over one of the buttons. Activating the Zord to Zord communications system, he spoke directly to the other Power Rangers.

"This is how an Ultra Ranger rolls. _CLAW SHRED!_"

As the Zord rocketed off, Weihan rolled his eyes at the attack name. Well, if he was perfectly honest with himself it wasn't the name that was a problem…just the whole business with calling it out. It probably made sense in alerting the enemy to its imminent destruction, but it felt really idiotic. As he pressed the button on the control stick, he vowed to have a minimum of attack calling in the future…except if there was a situation that really called for it. As he was musing, he noticed that the claws had become sheathed in some sort of laser coating.

Nearing the Wraith, the Dinozord reared up and slashed its chest with two powerful swipes from the front claws and then turned to let its tail strike the monster. Swallowing down his breakfast one more time, he launched the Zord into the air and readied the final blow. Maybe it would be better if he didn't eat so much in the mornings…but it would depend on what time Xonix sent down future monsters. He certainly couldn't fast all the time. Maybe soup would be a viable option. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it…again. Seemed like he was building a lit of bridges he'd have to cross in the future. That either made him a bad planner or an architect.

Faster than the Wraith could see, the Zord came crashing down, leading with its killing claws. As the claws ripped through the Wraith's upper chest, the front arms came crashing down on its shoulders. As the inertia drove the claws down deeper into the dying monster, the head on the Dinozord came up and around and down onto the neck of the Wraith – where the jugular vein would be on any normal being. As the jaws snapped shut, the charged energy surrounding the claws released into the Wraith in the blink of an eye. Detaching the Zord's claws from the Wraith, the Orange Ranger raced away a split second before the Wraith froze, turned into a solid sand sculpture and exploded.

Smirking under his helmet, his eyes suddenly widened as he noticed the time. Opening up a private communication channel to Zordon, he explained his situation to the ancient sage.

"You must do what you wish, as you are the future."

TBC…


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight: Decisions

Disclaimer/AN: Power Rangers is Saban's. Everything else is mine to some degree. For those waiting on an update to Rangers of Equestria, I hit a brick wall after the last chapter but am working around it.

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty Eight: Decisions

Maybe a blind teleportation didn't always work out.

That was the thought running through Weihan's mind as he picked himself up from the fire stairs. He had demorphed upon impact with the concrete stairs, so his uniform was a bit more scuffed than before. Getting to his feet, he looked above him and heard the noises of people yelling out and gingerly made his way up to the Level Seven fire exit doors. Looking up, he was met with the face of Alex Burns and he sighed in relief while trying to come up with a plausible excuse for his whereabouts. As always, he had that damn black and green image superimposed over his face. Weihan wondered if the image would still be there if Xonix had been destroyed but shrugged it off.

"Where did you go? There's massive damage near the Gym. Something like a fire went through there. Maybe it was that monster."

Weihan chuckled to himself while keeping his face perfectly straight. Maybe he had made the fireball a bit too strong, but he had needed the time to escape. Most of the heat had gone into the Wraith anyway so there wouldn't be much burning of the surrounding areas…

Oh crap.

The Wraith had come out of a mirror. The giant Wraith had deflected the laser blasts from the White Tigerzord. Mirrors could reflect heat. Well, that just meant he would have to limit indoor fights to hand to hand combat. It would mean that there was less chance of something being destroyed around him which meant less chance of people connecting the dots.

Walking into the locker area, his nose was assaulted by the smell of burning wood, scorched metal and some strange chemical smell that he assumed was paint. Around him were people in various states of injury including Dragan who had apparently tripped down the stairs and was nursing a large gash on his head. By comparison, Weihan looked almost injury-free apart from the minor scratches he had received upon his less-than-stellar landing. A noise down the hall caught his attention and he formed a fireball behind his back out of instinct. Thankfully, no one saw or else he would have to do a lot of explaining.

The noise revealed itself as a large TV that was being wheeled by two members of the choir – Sam McNeil and Jeremy Deasey. As they set the TV next to a wall, Alex looked at him quizzically.

"Mate, spill it. Where were you during the attack?"

He hated lying to a future Ranger, but he had to keep his Ranger status under wraps from prying eyes. Since the battle with Apollonia, he had overheard some of the more money-hungry students saying that they would get great rewards for leaking the identity of the Ranger out into the public. One of those people had been Steven Moss, which puzzled Weihan as Moss was already one of the richest kids in school. He supposed some people needed the most money to be happy.

"Ducked down the Northern Fire stairs. You know how the door doesn't open from the inside there. Went into Town Hall station and came up the Eastern stairs."

Alex opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the sound of the TV switching on. To Weihan's amazement, footage of the Zord battle was being shown. His mouth hung open as he heard the banter between himself, Xonix and the White Ranger being broadcast repeatedly and groaned to himself as the shot at the Tigerzord was shown. Well, so much for being a friend of the Power Rangers. The Prime Minister would have a field day with a shot of him blatantly attacking the Rangers when they were down but hopefully, his declaration of being an Ultra Ranger would throw him off track. At least that was what was happening with the news team.

"And there it is. If you're just joining us, we have exclusive images from Angel Grove where the mysterious new Ranger has defeated a monster with his new Zord. Officials from Angel Grove have confirmed that the zord is a Dinozord, the last usage of one being several months ago at the first appearance of Lord Zedd. He has also declared himself as an Ultra Ranger leading many to believe that he is not affiliated with the Power Rangers in any way, despite the Red Ranger informing that he was."

Weihan's mouth quirked upward as he saw the Claw Shred finisher on the screen. He thought the head bite was overkill, but having the teeth clamp around the next was the fastest and most efficient way for the energy to be transferred. He just wished there was another Wraith for him to fight so he could answer his question of the Wraith having mirrored insides. For one thing, it would make for a really short battle if it wasn't allowed to grow. His amused musings were cut short as he heard the announcer's next words.

"This Dinozord is – compared to the new Thunderzords – an ancient relic. It is true that it succeeded where the Power Rangers failed but in a real combat situation, the Dinozord would be outclassed."

He wondered if the announcer knew what he was talking about. The monster battle had been a real combat situation and he had to choose his weapons wisely. Plus, there was the small detail that the Thunderzords had been defeated and were lying on the ground in shattered wrecks. He found it highly amusing that most of the criticism in the report was about his 'archaic' Dinozord and not about the laser he had shot at the Tigerzord, the F bomb dropped or even the incredibly violent finishing move. Granted, having a sword slice deep into you wasn't the most 'family friendly' move around but it would be preferable than the Claw Shred.

"The thing is; we don't know what the Ultra Ranger's motivations are. We want to understand where he came from and what his appearance means for the rest of the world. If he wants to reveal his identity, it's his decision to make. We just want to know."

Weihan inhaled deeply at those words. He knew that the Power Rangers had done some sort of press conference a few days after their appearance and had continued to do so after every major change. If he were to hold his own then he could answer almost every question to the best of his ability…except maybe the identity question. The only problem he could think of was if the PM had the Federal Police try to arrest him, but a few guys in uniform didn't scare him.

He knew what his next move would have to be.

TBC…


	40. Chapter Thirty Nine: Storm Front

A/N: Just a quick chapter to set up the next one…and an insight into Tommy's head about the new Ranger.

Chapter Thirty Nine: Storm Front

Tommy Oliver was in a bad mood.

This had started a few days ago when Saba had been revealed as Zordon's father and had snowballed from there. It had reached its peak about an hour ago when Zordon had asked him to teleport the mysterious Orange Ranger to the Command Centre…after he had seen the mysterious Ranger destroy a monster that was barely conscious. After that, he had learnt that Zordon knew about the creation of the Ranger's powers and had apparently developed them in response to Xonix's rise. He could understand that part and knew why Zordon hadn't told the Rangers about him creating an entirely different set of powers.

And then came the Zord battle, or 'Crushing Defeat: Part Two' as Kim had so eloquently put it. Even with the assistance of Tor, they had been thoroughly trounced. The monster wolf had been possessed by Xonix who had used some sort of Ritual of De Llama or something. Tommy didn't know if that gave it extra strength in the battle, but it had been somewhat scary to see a giant mirrored wolf chewing on their Zords like Rocky at a buffet. The mysterious Ranger had shown up again and had called upon – of all things – a Dinozord. Tommy had been sure the archaic machine would be easily defeated in battle…and then he had seen it.

God, when he had seen it he thought he was dreaming. The way the machine moved was so realistic and its movements weren't clunky and reminiscent of some guys in rubber suits as the original Dinozords were. It hadn't relied on any other weapons than the claws, teeth, tail…and the flamethrower. The power of the flamethrower on such a – relatively – small Zord was astounding. The temperature it would need to be to melt the monster's gold breastplate was well in excess of one thousand degrees and while the fire of the Red Dragon Thunderzord was hot, he didn't think it would have melted the breastplate in one blast.

While the Zord was incredibly agile, the Orange Ranger seemed to be operating under an entirely different set of rules. He had willingly engaged the enemy instead of hanging back to see what it could do and had used and extreme amount of force to destroy it. Of course, if the Ranger hadn't have charged in like that the Thunderzords would be history…but that was beside the point. And maybe he could excuse the amount of force as well – seeing as how shooting lasers at a mirror monster had gone over so well. Flames and fire seemed to be the only things capable of defeating a Wraith. He would have to remember that for the future reference.

The Ranger had acted ruthlessly and without rules. As far as Tommy knew, all Rangers had to follow the same set of rules. It was what kept the defenders from becoming the monsters. Even though the public image was that the Power Rangers endorsed the Orange Ranger and his actions, Tommy was beginning to think that was a mistake. A Power Ranger protected the people and didn't endanger them with stupid stunts or rip up their streets with destructive battles. He guessed he was lucky in Angel Grove and the battles could be taken into the woods or to the desert.

He grunted in greeting as he saw Billy emerge from one of the hatches that lead into the Unicorn Thunderzord's auxiliary cockpit. Since the Zords were too badly damaged to be directly teleported back into the Zord Bay, Billy had to repair what he could in the desert with help from Alpha who had teleported some prototype ZARS. Looking up to the Tigerzord, he sighed in resignation. Saba knew all the answers but wasn't speaking to him; rather the talking sword has said something along the lines of "cool down and we'll talk"…which was what he needed to do.

Alpha had said that when the Wraith was destroyed, the excess energy snapped back to the source and would put Xonix into a "power coma". How long that would last, Tommy didn't know but it would mean one less distraction. He idly wondered what the Orange Ranger would do in the lull before deciding it was none of his business. Besides, he had bigger things to worry about like applying for the trip to Sydney in a few weeks. Hopefully the damage would be cleaned up by then as the Mayor was sending a special company of monster shelter builders to the newest town to be targeted by monsters. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Adam, who was racing out of the Lion Thunderzord with a portable radio.

Billy intercepted him and the two started talking animatedly. Tommy absentmindedly listened until a few words caught his attention. Jumping down from the Tigerzord, he raced towards Adam just as Kim and Rocky teleported in from Angel Grove. Tommy blinked once as he processed all the information and slapped his face with a palm. No way could the Orange Ranger be that stupid.

There was just no way.

TBC…


	41. Chapter Forty: Going Public

Disclaimer: Power Rangers isn't mine. Neither is John Howard, Alex Burns or Steven Moss. Humanised Applejack is taken from a number of artworks on DeviantArt so isn't mine either…and obviously Applejack belongs to Hasbro. Jabarkas and anything not recognised is mine.

Chapter Forty: Going Public

This was either one of the greatest things he had done or one of the stupidest.

Looking at the quickly gathering crowd, Weihan was starting to think it was more the latter. After making up his mind, the Principal had given an announcement over the school-wide intercom that all classes for the day were cancelled and they were free to go or stay. He had packed his bag there and then and had brushed off invitations to see movies – giving some sort of excuse about catching up on his studies at home. He had then walked down the lesser used Southern fire stairs and teleported to the Ultra Cavern to drop his bag off before putting his plan into action.

Swallowing hard as various news crews began to assemble their equipment, he wondered if he could have maybe given the city a few more hours notice. After morphing into his full Battle Armour, he had received a transmission from Zordon. The head in a tube had somehow known what he was going to do and had given his seal of approval and had given him much needed information concerning Xonix. When the Wraith was destroyed, the energy backlash had happened so fast that Xonix wouldn't have had time to set up any sort of defence against it and was now in a "power coma". How long it would last, Zordon hadn't told him. However, the head had hinted at the fact that he could complete his power set during this time.

If the visions Weihan had seen were accurate, he was itching to go to Phaedos first and drool over Dulcea…and be left staring at the sky as the Ninjetti warrior kicked his butt. What was it the hologram of Ninjor had said? To visit him in the Desert of Despair before seeing Dulcea? Well, he could abide by the Zord Master's wishes and see him to get everything sorted out first. He suppressed the urge to tug on the collar of his uniform as a podium was hastily assembled in front of him. Nodding politely at the crowd, he swallowed once again and spoke.

"Greetings citizens of Sydney. I, uh, apologise for my sudden appearance but wanted to make a formal appearance to, uh, answer any questions."

The crowd exploded in a sea of overlapping questions. A multitude of voices came from everywhere at once and Weihan held up his hand to quieten the rabble down. Sighing to himself, he shook his head. Although he had no game plan; there was one topic that was off-limits.

"Let me make one thing clear. I will not be revealing my identity. If the Prime Minister has a problem with this, I will simply lay down my arms when the next monster comes calling."

A voice rang out from the crowd.

"Are you threatening the PM to not attack you for not revealing your identity?"

"Ah, no. I am merely saying that…well, yes. I am saying that I will not defend Sydney if John Howard continues to make idiotic demands of me."

More voices arose from the throng of reporters and civilians. Weihan groaned under his breath as he spied Alex in the crowd next to Moss. Unsurprisingly, the next question came from the fat one.

"So are you, like, here for good? And if you are, will you be revealing your identity later?"

He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and settled for summoning a fireball in the palm of his right hand. The crowd went silent as they watched his apparent mastery of fire. Flicking his wrist, he moved the fireball from one palm to the other with growing boredom. From the thermometer inside his helmet, he could see that the ball of fire was only a dull 700 degrees. If he tried summoning the white hot fireball, it would probably blind all the people watching and destroy the recording equipment…which was a bad thing to do at one's first press conference. As he continued to do minor tricks with the fireball, he answered the question.

"For the final time, I will reveal my identity whenever the time is right. I will not be forced into revealing my identity by the Government or by any other special forces. If they use force on me, I will respond in turn."

He wondered if the information was getting through to them. Dismissing the fireball with an unnecessary flourish that left the crowd wide-eyed again, he exhaled tiredly and checked the time. He had only been speaking for a grand total of five minutes.

"Next question from…the blonde reporter with the green eyes in the front."

The reporter blushed lightly and spoke up. To Weihan's amusement, she had a mild Southern accent to go with her blonde hair.

"Ah was jus' wondering who your enemy is and why is he or she after you?"

"What's your name, beautiful?"

The reporter blushed again, drawing whistles from the men in the crowd. She looked up at the Ranger and smiled sweetly.

"Mah name is Jacqui Apple, but mah friends call me AJ."

Under his helmet, Weihan grinned broadly. It was too bad AJ appeared to be six years older than him as she was rather cute. He wouldn't mind having some time alone wither her and getting to know her on an intimate level, but he had a duty to the world. Clearing his throat, he answered her question.

"Well, AJ, my enemy is a being called Xonix. I'm not too sure why he is attacking but I'm sure it has something to do with my powers and how he wants them. I'd guess it's something generic like that."

A light chuckle rippled through the crowd. AJ smiled again and patiently waited for the Ranger to continue.

"However, I have just been informed that after his last attempt, his planning went awry and he has gone into some sort of 'power coma' or something. This means he'll be out of action for anything from a few weeks to a few months. Personally, I'm hoping for the latter, but…"

He let the sentence trail off as AJ chuckled under her breath. He was about to ask for other questions when she raised her hand again. Nodded at her, she asked the question that was probably on everyone's mind.

"Ah was jus wondering again, was it you in the giant dinosaur robot recently? And how many other of those Zords do you have?"

He wondered how to answer the question. He knew he had a large number of Zords but was it wise to say the entire number now or just stick to the three that he would be using regularly? Well, it would be three once he hauled ass to the Desert of Despair. Opening his mouth, he spoke the first thing that came to his mind.

"I have a couple of Zords, but most of them are still being built off-world. I have only two available to me right now, though in a week or so I will have three."

Technically, that was true. If he was being entirely honest with himself, he would probably only need his Dinozord to fight with. He looked down at AJ again and silently cursed the age gap once more. It was probably for the best as a relationship with a non-Ranger would go downhill pretty quickly – even if she knew his identity. Seeing her nod, he looked up at the crowd and his eyes widened.

The crowd had tripled in size.

He could see the police were hastily directing traffic away from George Street and the scaffolding on the construction site opposite the QVB had people trying to get a better look at him. He swallowed hard as an official looking black 4WD pulled up and a man in a crisp suit opened the door. The crowd moved forwards and erupted in cheers as John Howard stepped out of the 4WD and began walking towards him.

"I hope you will drop your demand of my identity. This includes getting me to work for the government."

The crowd quietened rapidly as everyone gaped at his statement. He had gone from a jovial Ranger to all business in the span of a few seconds, a fact that made the Prime Minister stop dead in his tracks. Recovering his composure, the PM stepped up to him and leaned in close.

"We'll get to that in private. Now smile and we'll get the press here to take some –"

"No."

The crowd silenced itself once more and leant in. The PM blinked and looked at the Ranger. Weihan would have laughed at John Howard's expression but didn't think it would go over too well. He wanted to get this issue cleared up here and now.

"No. we will talk about it here and now. In public where everyone can hear what you have to say."

The PM seemed to sweat silently before extending his arm out to the crowd.

"Yes, yes, but all that can wait for later! Now is time for – "

Weihan growled loudly and summoned his Raptor Sabre to him in a flash of fire. Pointing the weapon at John Howard, he stared dangerously at the PM and ignored the flashes that sprang around him.

"Now is for you to drop your demands. I'm serious."

He ignored the bodyguards demanding that he stand down and drop his weapon. He knew that they wouldn't dare fire their guns as the bullets could ricochet off the armour and hit the crowd or the PM. He watched the PM squirm and sweat before he saw the defeat in the older man's eyes. Resting his Sabre on his shoulder, he stepped aside and let the PM take the podium.

"Ah, well. Ladies and gentlemen, ah, I am formally dropping my request that the Orange Ranger reveal his identity to the public and he is free to work with whomever he chooses to. The Australian government will stand by the Orange Ranger and provide him with whatever support he needs."

"And what if what he needs is to die?"

All eyes looked for the identity of the speaker and found nothing. Suddenly, AJ pointed at something and screamed. Weihan turned around to see a hulking creature step out of the shadows. The monster was green with a dull orange chest. Its legs were clad in some sort of leather armour and it held a double-edged broadsword. The sunlight glinted off its facial horns and numerous rows of shining teeth. When it spoke, its voice rumbled ominously like a volcano about to erupt.

"My name is Jabarkas, young Ranger. I have been sent for one purpose – to snuff out your life."

TBC…


	42. Chapter Forty One: Desperation

Chapter Forty One: Desperation

Metal clashed on metal as people screamed.

After his proclamation, Jabarkas had launched himself at the PM and only a quick push had saved the PM from being skewered. After seeing that the PM and AJ were safely away, Weihan had launched himself at Jabarkas and soon after the both of them were clashing swords. There was no lull in the battle as both fighters tried everything to defeat the other. Weihan had already exhausted his own move set and was relying on the memories and moves that were given to him by his Ultra Crystal. He had lost count of the number of fireballs he had flung at Jabarkas or the number of energy bolts he had deflected.

Out of the corner of his eye, Weihan could see a few members of the Army working together with the police in making sure the entire crowd was safely evacuated from the site. That was a smart move by the PM, but a small part of him knew that the Army was there to coerce him into joining them. Well, that was before he had strong-armed John Howard into dropping his demand. Flipping out of the way of a low slice, he infused his Sabre with fire and swung it in a wide arc. He immediately regretted doing so as the strange alien jumped out of the way and responded in kind.

Knowing he couldn't jump out of the way or else the civilians behind him would be hurt, he turned the flat side of his Sabre to face the laser wave and took the attack head on. His suit sparked as the energy tore through his armour and he gasped in pain as thin streams of blood began to leak out. The Power would heal him, but he would have to either stall for time for the healing to begin or he would have to end the fight soon.

Breathing heavily, he glanced at Jabarkas again and noted that the warrior looked barely winded. He wondered where this guy had come from and if Xonix was really in his 'power coma' as Zordon said he was. As if reading his mind, the alien rose up to his full height and spoke.

"I am Xonix's top warrior. He has charged me with the mission of destroying you while he is recuperating in his power sleep."

So, Xonix truly was in a state of recovery. Well, that was one less problem he had to worry about. Provided he got out of this battle alive, he would make plans to go straight to the Desert of Despair and get his Ninjazord sorted out. After that, he would go to Phaedos and see what he could learn from a hot warrior priestess or whatever Dulcea was. If he played his cards right, he would also see if he could get laid…but that didn't seem likely. Plus, there was the fact that everything in the future hinged on the present battle.

"Don't let your guard down, human."

He blinked in surprise and leapt back just as Jabarkas' blade slashed down viciously. By now, the crowd was no more and whoever was left was either still on the scaffolding of the construction site or was part of the small police and army detachment. His mind froze up as he realised that he had been ousted as a human to whoever was listening. He relaxed as he didn't care anymore. Flinging himself at the warrior once more, he smirked behind his helmet.

"So, you know I'm a human under this armour? Big deal. You'll have to do better than that to make me slip up."

Jabarkas ducked under a swing a laughed. Seeing the rows of teeth up close, Weihan gulped in mild fear, but stood his ground. He wanted to get away from those teeth as soon as possible but as before; the only way to get away was to win. Sensing the uncertainty in the Ranger, the Huran smirked.

"I will make it easy on you. If you manage to wound me, I will withdraw. If I land a hit on you…well, that will kill you so you won't have to watch your world burn."

Weihan ground his teeth together and tightened his grip on his Sabre. To score a hit on a warrior that skilled seemed like a gamble…and one that he wouldn't be able to cash in on either. Plus, there was that little issue of getting close enough to pierce the skin of Jabarkas. Whatever Xonix's warrior was, his skin didn't look as fragile as a human. Then again, he might have something in his arsenal to pierce it…provided he didn't skewer himself first. Ducking behind a reasonably thick column, he dropped his hand to his Raptor Laser and withdrew it. Keeping an eye out for the maniacal warrior, he attempted to turn the barrel as best as he could with only one hand. After a few tries, he finally heard it click into position. Focusing his power onto the weapon, he smiled as a gauge appeared on his helmet showing its power level.

Stepping out from behind the column, he looked around and saw that the alien warrior hadn't moved from his spot. Depressing the trigger, Weihan blinked once as a beam of orange light snapped up from the barrel instead of the nothingness of before. Jabarkas eyed the laser blade warily, unsure of what it could do. Feinting left, Weihan whirled and sliced his Sabre only for it to hit Jabarkas' broadsword. He brought the laser blade up from below only to have it intercepted by another blade the alien had pulled out of a groove in his armour.

"This is hardly a challenge for Huran's best warrior! I thought an Ultra Ranger would be more of a challenge!"

Snarling under his breath, Weihan kicked the warrior's chest. The Huran staggered back, exposing his chest for the barest of moments. Using his momentum, the Ranger spun around with both blades and struck the warrior's chest. Jabarkas roared in pain as the blades bit deeply into his chest, drawing purple blood. Staggering back, he slumped against a column and breathed heavily, staring daggers at the Ranger.

"Surprise attack. Good move. I concede defeat for this round."

The Huran vanished in a shower of sparks and the Ranger sagged against a wall, breathing heavily. He wouldn't show it, but the last attack had been an attack made out of sheer desperation. He would need to have training on how to fight efficiently with two blades or the next battle with Jabarkas might be his last. As the crowd came back and launched into applause, he thought about his next move.

He would see Ninjor.

TBC…


	43. Chapter Forty Two: The Ninja Master

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is Saban's. AJ = humanised Applejack (Hasbro). The Orange Ultra Crystal and its Ranger = mine. Remember to review!

Chapter Forty Two: The Ninja Master

Zordon looked down at the young Ranger in front of him and sighed. He knew why he was here, in the middle of the night instead of eating dinner at his home in Sydney. He had know what the Ranger had done to secure he would not be missed and he approved it. Making a solid magic image of one's self took considerable skill and power, especially if it was going to be maintained for five days. He had one thing to ask before the map was handed over.

"Are you sure this is what you wish to do?"

The young Ranger nodded solemnly. After his battle with Jabarkas, he had checked out the crowd to see that they weren't hurt by the evacuation. The first time he was confronted with an injury on a civilian, he found that he had the power to heal the wound. However, this exhausted him greatly and as a result; he stopped healing wounds after the first five injuries. The PM had then come out of hiding with AJ and had whipped the crowd into a euphoric frenzy of support for the Orange Ranger. For her part, AJ had pulled him aside and told him that she hoped she would see him in the future and had given him her private number. Of course, he had cursed the apparent age gap, but there was nothing he could do about that.

Excusing himself, he had teleported to the Ultra Cavern to retrieve his bag and look at the empty Ninjazord bay and had planned out his absence. Consulting with his inner guide, he had learnt that the more energy and magic he infused into the copy, the more real it would become. That meant if it learnt anything, he would absorb it instantly wherever he was. That would be a great help for any upcoming tests or exams as that meant he didn't have to do any more studying. Well, if he was going to be honest with himself, he would have to do the studying anyway in order to improve his weapon skills.

Sending his magical copy home with his bag, he had then checked his Utahraptor Dinozord for damage and had repaired it as best as he could. Since his Zord repairing skills were next to none that involved hitting the button on the automated repair system and watching the nanobots do their work. That got boring quickly, so he had poked around the Ultra Cavern to see what else was hidden within. Empty Zord bays for the other Rangers, living quarters, food replicators and something rather interesting called a Simul-Deck. Apparently it would do a scan of his brain and replicate people and monsters he had recently seen to an extremely high degree of internal accuracy.

He had no idea what the last bit meant, but was keen to try it out on the memory of AJ. Unfortunately, just as the brain scan finished, the Cavern's chronometer chimed to let him know that it was nearing midnight in Angel Grove. Cursing his luck, he saved the scanned images in a secure folder and had teleported out. He was sure he would get back to those images someday in the future when he had some spare time. What he wasn't sure was if he would ever get used to the crawling sensation inside his head during the scan. Teleporting out, he had materialised in the…well; he didn't know what the building was called. Zordon's home on Earth maybe.

"I need to do this, Zordon. As it stands now, I have a pretty full complement of Zords but I'm lacking one. I need to have the full set."

Zordon nodded again and sighed. It would be so much easier for him to teleport the young man to the Ninja Temple directly, but Ninjor had all kinds of safeguards against that. The Desert of Despair was to truly test the wills of the Rangers that sought out the Ninja master, just as the Neola Jungle and the Monolith guards on Phaedos tested their worth. If one had the true will of a Ranger, finding the Ninja Temple would be a breeze. If one was filled with doubt, the trip would be full of pitfalls and traps. He hoped his Rangers would forget about Ninjor and think of him as a myth when the time came.

Reaching into the rear of his time warp, his fingers brushed against the two copies of the map to the Temple. Holding it in front of him, he concentrated his magic to send it into the hands of the Ranger in front of him. He was very aware that it looked like the map was coming out of his forehead. He would have to see what could be done with the columns on either side of him as they hadn't been used since he revealed himself to the original five. It would look better for one thing. Ah, another thing to worry about when there was free time.

Staring at the map, Weihan attempted to commit it to memory. He had a strange feeling like it would be lost or destroyed fairly early on and wanted to have a crude backup. If that didn't work, he would resort to his old backup plan: pick a direction and keep walking. He'd come across it sooner or later. Shouldering a light backpack, he nodded to the head.

"All right, Zordon. I'm –"

Location: Desert of Despair

"– ready…huh."

Weihan stared at the bleak expanse of sand around him. So, Zordon had teleported him without warning to the Desert…which was to be expected. Despite the searing heat around him, he shivered as a chilling wail sliced through the air. Pulling out the map, he looked around for familiar landmarks. Nothing…except in the distance something looked like a gate made with rocks. He couldn't articulate what it was, but it looked important. Either it would lead him to Ninjor or it would lead him to Alaska. Either way, it would get him out of the heat. Stuffing the map inside his pocket, he set off for the strange set of rocks.

The journey there was peppered with the same howls and wails as he had heard earlier. Figures appeared in the distance only to vanish mere moments later. The wind pushed aside sand to reveal inhuman bones and mummified corpses. Resisting the temptation to stop and stare, he trudged on through the blinding sandstorms that seemed to be whipped up at a moment's notice. He was sure Ninjor was sitting in a control room somewhere pushing buttons and laughing in that strange voice of his, but he doubted it. Staggering over a dune's crest, he blinked as the sand cleared from his vision and swallowed hard. In front of him was a wide canyon that was only spanned by a rickety-looking rope bridge. His legs locked up and he couldn't take another step.

Willing himself to move forward, he slid down the dune until he reached the edge of the canyon and looked down. He did **not** want to fall down there, but going around the canyon wasn't an option either. Stepping onto the wooden planks of the bridge, he thought about his highly ironic predicament. Here he was; a guy with a near-debilitating fear of heights who was an Ultra Ranger. Since gaining the powers, he had destroyed a giant monster with the mother of all high jumps, fallen head-first out of an exploding seven storey stairwell and had recently fallen onto a Zord after a gross spell miscalculation. All those done without a single thought…but all that confidence washed away by a simple wood and rope bridge over a massive hole in the ground. Gritting his teeth together, he slowly moved forward keeping one goal in mind: the acquisition of his Ninjazord.

He didn't know how long he spent inching his way over the bridge, but he chuckled once or twice as information about photosynthesis and cross-pollination was transferred over from the magic clone. He also stood up and cheered near the end of the bridge as his double relayed some very interesting information to him: next year would be co-ed for Year 9 to Year 12. He didn't know how many of his future team would be girls, but he didn't really care as long as there was at least one girl. Yeah, that way of thinking was a bit sexist but it was either think about that…or reflect on the fact that he was inching his way across a rope bridge to receive a giant metal crocodile from a guy in blue armour.

Finally, after a Hell of a long time, his feet stepped onto solid rock of the other side. Rolling off the bridge, Weihan lay on his back and stared up at the blue sky above. It had taken him almost every ounce of willpower he had to make it across the bridge, but he had made it. Peering through the desert mirages, he saw that the rocky…gate or whatever was only a short distance away. Willing his legs to move, he stood up and took a bottle of water out from his backpack. As the cool liquid refreshed him, he patted his pockets for the map.

As expected, he couldn't find it.

Shaking his head and chuckling lightly, the Orange Ranger moved forward until he came to the rocky structure. Looking around, he saw that there was a whole lot of nothing all around him except sand and more sand. Climbing up over the rocks, he saw that there was a passageway of some sort that looked hand-cut. Warily, he walked down it and noted that the walls around him were ice-cold despite the heat around him. As he moved farther into the passage, he spread his arms to touch the walls. He stumbled as his right arm went through a seemingly solid wall and a smile wormed its way across his face.

Emerging on the other side, his eyes widened in astonishment as he looked around. Plants of every variety grew around him and stone statues of various animals covered dotted the area. In the centre of it all stood a figure wearing blue and gold armour. The simple visor seemed to radiate both warmth and expectation and Weihan felt at ease as he stepped towards the figure who spoke in a crystal clear voice.

"Welcome, young Ranger, to the Ninja Temple of Power."

TBC…


	44. Chapter Forty Three: Crocodile

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. The mini grappling hook is based off the Spider Shock from Kamen Rider W which is also not mine. Everything else that isn't recognised is mine.

Chapter Forty Three: Crocodile

Weihan stared at the figure warily. He knew that it was Ninjor in front of him but didn't say anything. Instead, he slowly circled the Ninja Master and looked him up and down. Nodding once, he asked Ninjor how he knew who he was. Ninjor replied instantly.

"It came to me in a Ninja trance. I will teach you to calm your mind so images from the future will come to you. However, these images are always in motion and the things you see may not always be what will happen."

All right. So a straight out answer wasn't in the cards. He could work with that. Dropping his backpack, he nodded once and was about to speak when Ninjor held up a hand.

"All your questions will be answered in good time. First, I will take you to your Zord and connect you to your inner Ninja fully."

Weihan didn't know what to say, so he nodded and followed Ninjor into the gardens. As he looked around, the more he saw. Giant redwoods stretched up into the sky while eucalypts and paperbarks competed for the remaining sunlight. Stumbling over small rocks in the path, he was amazed to see various animal statues peeking out from the bush or even nesting in the trees. An ape peeked out from behind a tree trunk while an anaconda slithered through the undergrowth. A lion defended its kill from hyenas. A dragonfly hovered around a pond and, amusingly enough, a statue of a St Andrews Cross spider was feeding off a webbed up stone…something.

Eventually, they reached a wooden door set in a stone wall. Ninjor opened the door and motioned for Weihan to walk in. As he stepped through the portal, he found himself standing in a wide cavern. At least, that's where he thought he was as there was no light to speak of – except what was coming in from the open door. Warily walking forward, he spun in surprise as the door closed behind him and plunged the room into total darkness.

This was not in the plan.

Concentrating hard, he summoned his Raptor Sabre in a flash of light and held it in front of him. He was slightly amazed he could summon the weapon while unmorphed, but chalked it up to something to do with self defence. Twirling it in one hand, he prepared himself for whatever was to come…but the obvious problem was his lack of vision. Deciding against creating a fireball to light the area, he concentrated on what was around him with his other senses. He heard the rustle of cloth and the soft clinks of metal moving. It was faint, but it was gradually coming closer in fits and spurts. If he was correct in his hypothesis, Ninjor was moving toward him and was intent on surprising him.

Slowly slipping out of his backpack, he let it fall to the ground silently but kept it near his right foot. Crouching low to the ground, he placed his free hand on the ground and strained to feel any vibrations. Moving around silently was one thing, but heavy armour had to make some sort of vibration upon touching the ground. Taking in slow breaths, he concentrated on what he could feel from the ground and smiled. It was faint, but there were tremors coming from the direction of the sounds.

As quietly as he dared, he slipped his right foot into one of the shoulder straps and waited for the sound to come closer. Breathing quietly, he waited until the sounds were close before striking. Kicking out with his foot, he felt the bag fly off and heard it strike Ninjor, who let out a grunt of surprise. Flipping forward, he lashed out with the flat side of his Sabre and struck the armoured chest of Ninjor. Landing on an angle, he dismissed his Sabre and used the momentum to roll forwards until he regained his bearings. Standing upright, he channelled heat into his hands and waited for the Ninja Master's next move.

Acting on instinct, he leant back as the air in front of his was cut by a blade. Weihan dropped silently to the ground and struck out with his palms outstretched. Hitting a solid surface, he twisted his palm and grabbed hold of it as the metal armour around Ninjor's lower leg started to heat up. Letting go at the Ninja Master's gasp of pain, he rolled back before summoning his Sabre and jabbing up.

"I give in!"

At those words, the cavern flooded with light. Blinking rapidly to adjust his eyes, Weihan stared at the damage he had inflicted on Ninjor. His backpack was hanging limply around the neck of the Ninja Master and he had a medium sized scorch mark on his lower left leg. He also had the Raptor Sabre pointed at his chest and if Weihan had stretched his arm any more, it would be in said chest. Removing the blade from Ninjor's chest, the Ranger got to his feet and reclaimed his bag. As he did so, his eyes widened as he looked at his clothes or rather, his Ninjetti uniform.

The orange fabric was still the same, as was the symbols and the coin on his chest, but everything else was different. Hanging on twin loops on both sides were twin sai that were stylised to look like open crocodile mouths. On the tips of his gloved fingers were small claws that looked sharp enough to rend solid steel. Running his hands over his head, he felt that the top half of his head was encased in a half helmet with an opaque visor that protected his eyes. His mouth was hidden behind a cloth guard and was easily pulled down. Putting a hand on the small of his back, he pulled out the object he had felt there previously. To his delight, it was a palm sized grappling hook launcher with an extendable wristband. His mind was whirling at the possibilities and strategies and almost missed Ninjor's next words.

"You have proven yourself to be a worthy opponent and one that is quick to adapt in any situation. You became a silent predator and used the element of surprise to attack. You are one with the Crocodile."

A rumble from behind him caught Weihan's attention and he turned to see what it was. Rising out of the floor was a platform that held his Ninjazord. The silver and orange crocodile looked alive and its sides rhythmically heaved in and out in a facsimile of breathing. Light shone off its armour plating that barely hid an arsenal of dangerous looking weapons. As he stepped closer to it, he felt a rush of power enter his body and something clicked into place inside him. New information poured into his brain and he instantly knew what the abilities of his Zord were. He wasn't too sure what the "Shogunzord Mode" was but, as always, he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He wondered absentmindedly how many of those bridges he would cross in one battle but he decided that going down that train of thought would be too depressing.

He turned back to Ninjor and the Ninja Master beamed with pride.

"Well done, young Ranger. I have connected you with your Ninjazord and you are ready to visit Phaedos to fully complete your Ninjetti training."

Weihan took another glance at his Ninjazord and nodded. It was time to train.

TBC…


	45. Chapter Forty Four: Ninjetti Worth

A/N: Very introspective chapter here. I am not like this in real life and I am pretty much the opposite of almost everything below…except the part about girls. Also, the bit in that dream references TinyWarz Rangers!

Enjoy!

Chapter Forty Four: Ninjetti Worth

Weihan lay on his back and looked at the stars above him.

It was his fourth day on Phaedos and he was still no closer to finding Dulcea. He was just lucky that the climate was warm all the time and didn't spontaneously rain. As he shifted his back against the grass, he thanked the stars above that he had gotten off the rocky beach before nightfall on the first day. He wasn't complaining that he couldn't find Dulcea…even if she was a hot warrior chick; she wasn't really his type anymore. Ah, what a difference a day made. He wasn't going hungry either as Ninjor had graciously filled his bag with dried foods before initiating the teleportation. Some of the dried meat was...interesting to say the least, but it was edible and kept him going.

His mantra of "Pick a direction and keep walking" had also helped him find good spots for resting. He had also taken to changing into his Ninjetti outfit and practicing with the sai. The first couple of times were horrendous and he had to go and retrieve one or both of them where they had landed. On more than one occasion, he had been forced to kill whatever wounded creature that was on the other end of the weapon. He had done so quickly and painlessly and then eaten what he could of them. He didn't know what it was they ate, but the things that looked like mouths on legs were surprisingly good. He hoped they weren't Phaedos' natural garbage disposals.

Ninjor hadn't given him a map. He had said that when he was ready, Dulcea would come for him. That sounded more like a threat than anything else, but he was all right with it. He hadn't the slightest idea how that would work as Zordon had told him that the Ninjetti warrior couldn't leave the Temple but he had a feeling it would be all right. So now that he wasn't being taught by a hot chick, he was teaching himself. He had been forced to unlearn every fighting technique he had known and to start from scratch. The information in his mind had helped him with his stances and techniques while the environment had helped with his dexterity and agility.

The previous day had been focused on speed training. Seeing how fast he could go while still being able to judge the terrain. He had made it pretty far and was nearing the thick growth of the Neola Jungle. In the middle of it, he saw the disturbingly phallic monument to the Great Power rising up like some sort of…well; he didn't want to think about that. Having mental images of Dulcea mixed in with his fantasies of AJ were enough to raise his blood pressure through the roof so if his mind continued down that…the future would be pretty bleak.

Poking the fire with a nearby stick, he reflected on himself and what he was like in the past. He was always a troubled kid, getting into fights he couldn't finish and being mean-spirited to those who weren't like him – which was pretty much everyone. The lies that were told could fill up the entire Pacific Ocean twice over and the tears that others had shed because of him could fill up the Atlantic. He had attempted to kill himself twice and had been forcefully thrown into counselling for the last attempt. The counsellor had said that he was a lost cause and his father had agreed. Detention after detention had piled up, days of school were missed and he didn't care anymore. Everything was just starting to blur together into one multicoloured mess.

And then he had received the Power.

It had been a fluke that he was even at school that week. He had decided to miss the entire week as learning about the wonders of Pythagoras' Theorem and facing the music with the old Christian Development fart wasn't his idea of fun. Something had drawn him to class and he remembered not knowing what it was and having a feeling of something calling him. He had brushed it off as his imagination going on overdrive then but in hindsight…seems like the Power was his calling after all, no pun intended. He hadn't even gotten to wrap his mind around the responsibility of being a Ranger when he had been whisked away for his first battle against the Ogre.

Getting to his feet, he shook the numbness from his legs and summoned his Raptor Sabre. Standing in a ready pose, he began his kata while reminiscing. The only good things that anyone said about him involved his determination at getting what he wanted. Unfortunately, what he wanted involved him doing unmentionable things to members of the opposite sex. Over the course of the previous year, he had been redirecting that determination into his studies…or at least his attempts at skipping class. That hadn't gotten him anywhere except learning new martial arts moves. The same moves that he had to unlearn. So in the long run, that wasn't such a good idea. Neither was looking up to the Power Rangers.

He was certain they had their good points, but their first impressions sucked. The Red Ranger had been abrasive and arrogant and obviously hadn't held the Power for too long. He had heard about the selections for the World Teen Peace Conference and had wondered what would happen if the Power Rangers were chosen. Meeting and talking with the Red Ranger had confirmed that they would be replaced by the next worthy. He hoped to patch things up with them sometime. He had a strange feeling that they would be working together in the near future and wanted the working relationship to be the best it could be. He also needed to thank the Pink Ranger for saving his ass and catching him in mid-air. He was also hoping she would be extremely welcoming to him and…his mind was going way off track.

Pivoting so he was facing away from the phallic monument, his thoughts turned to himself again. The Power Rangers had been chosen by Zordon to be the stalwart defenders of Angel Grove from the continued attacks of evil. On the other hand, he had been chosen by a crystal in a toilet cubicle. Not the most glamorous start, but he was hoping that it could be improved on for future team recruitment. Either that or he would forget what to do every time and it would all turn into a huge comedy of errors. He paused and made a face, hoping he wasn't jinxing himself.

What would make him worthy of the responsibility? When he was in the privacy of home and was all alone he was a completely different person. There were no random fights at home or girls to chase. He was a well read kid and could work a solution to any problem in roughly ten seconds flat. As Ninjor said, he could adapt easily in most situations he was thrown into and always had his senses on sharp alert – just in case. To make the enemy underestimate him and his abilities. That was the name of the game from here on in.

He didn't need to live up to other expectations of him. He remembered something from a half-forgotten dream he once had; something about having to face two tests in the future. One was to be about will and the other was for worth. The rest of the dream had made no sense at all – a humanoid alligator, a wolf-like robot and some strange alien guy with robot legs – but that part had stuck out vividly. He supposed it would all make sense in the future when he had forgotten the dream entirely. Finishing the kata and bowing to an invisible sensei, he dismissed his Sabre and leant against the trunk of a nearby tree.

He wondered why he was on Phaedos to begin with. The Ninjetti Powers would be good to add onto his arsenal, but he didn't really need them. He was only here to see if the images he had of Dulcea stood up to the real deal and if she would fuck him. Being stuck in one place for millennia had to be Hell on one's sex life. Violently shaking his head to get his mind back on track, he chuckled to himself. Getting back on topic, the obstacle in the Desert of Despair had been all about willpower. He had found the willpower to keep on going across the rope bridge to get his Zord. So if the Desert had been the test of willpower, what was this? Wandering on an alien planet for four days didn't seem like much of a test of anything.

Slumping on his back, he exhaled slowly before his eyes lit up. Worth. He had been thinking about being worthy to hold the power. To hold the lives of billions in his hands and shelter them from the evils outside. To be seen as worthy in his own eyes and not anyone else's. God, the more he thought about it, the more it sounded like some sort of cheesy love song.

"Do you have your answer?"

Weihan jumped to his feet, summoning his Raptor Sabre to him in a flash. Turning around, he saw the source of the mysterious voice and let his blade drop to the ground in shock. Standing in front of him was an incredibly beautiful woman wearing what appeared to be a leather bikini holding a long staff. His eyes gave her a quick once-over, before he nodded.

"I am worthy to have this power and if I'm not, then those who say it can go to Hell. I hold the power and I will be the only one to decide whether or not I am worthy to have it."

Dulcea nodded and waved a hand at the Monolith. It began to glow before a beam of light shot up from its peak. Weihan had only enough time to raise an eyebrow before the beam of light slammed into him and the world faded to black.

TBC…


	46. Chapter Forty Five: Trijor

Chapter Forty Five: Trijor

Xonix groaned as he groggily awoke. Sometime during the power backlash and his awakening, he had been moved from the balcony of his ship to a room with an actual bed. Running his tongue over his lips, he hissed in pain as he found a chunk missing from his lower lip. With any luck, he would find that he had either swallowed it or it was floating in the inky depths of space. If it was the former, he was fine. If it was the latter…well, he was also fine as he could theoretically use it in the future as a regenerating body. It was all good in theory anyway – the top scientists on Aisalar had been very thorough in their research and he had volunteered himself as a test subject for their regeneration shot.

He would cross that connection when it cropped up again.

Staggering to the balcony, he peered out onto the sandy surface of the moon and rubbed a claw over his snout. Calculating the position of the Earth from where it had been previously, he deduced that a period of seventeen Earth rotations had passed. That matched up with his initial estimates that he had calculated in the milliseconds before…well, the Ritual of Da'Lana acted swiftly in both its beginning and ending. Especially when the ending involved magical and energy backlash; well, it wasn't good either way. He supposed he should check up on his brother and tell him that he had awakened. Sniffing the airless void outside, he grimaced. Someone or something out on the moon was either about to weaponize perfume or Zedd was creating another perfume monster again. For the sake of all the Earthlings, he fervently hoped it was the former.

Walking gingerly to his bed, he sat on the edge and summoned up a communications screen. The next image he saw gave him a bit of a shock.

"Rita Repulsa? What are you doing there?"

The witch on the other side stared back with equal amounts of shock and fear. He noticed that she looked considerably younger than when he had last seen her and had more of a magic look about her. He did the calculation in his mind and shook his head. She was probably at Zedd's palace to initiate some wacky plan to control his empire by tricking him with some sort of potion and making him marry her so she would have a controlling interest. It sounded like something out of a really trashy holo-show and he told her as such. Instead of laughing nervously and changing the subject, he saw the witch's face drain of colour and he slapped his face with a hand.

"I guess I should congratulate the two of you then. I will send you one of my best monsters as a wedding present."

Rita's face returned to normal and she swallowed hard.

"Master Xonix, that is not necessary. We have our own plan for dealing with the Rangers. They are in Sydney for an exchange trip and there is an abandoned theatre in one of the outlying suburbs. I believe it is called Picton. We will herd them there and the power vortex will block their powers!"

Xonix could think of several things that could go wrong with the plan, but he kept them to himself. So, Zedd had gotten married and was concocting a plan of his own to deal with the Power Rangers…that were in Sydney. Well, the Power Rangers were no real threat to him. He opened his mouth to say as such when Rita moved aside to reveal his brother.

"Well, I see you have woken up from your power coma. I tried to warn you about that, brother."

Xonix snorted and lay back on his bed. For something so hastily constructed, it was remarkably soft and easy to relax in. it was a pity that he would be mostly stationed inside his Battle Room and sitting on whatever hard throne was waiting for him. Exhaling through his mouth, he flicked a wrist and let the magical energies around him do their work. As Zedd watched, entranced by the magic his brother was using, Xonix carefully manipulated the energies to form a monster worthy of a present to his brother. Slowly, it formed next to him.

The Zedd's eyes, the monster looked strikingly like the Ninja Master Ninjor…only crossed with a ceratopsian of some kind. Three horns formed on its head and a bony frill burst from the base of its head. Broad shoulders tapered off into short, but powerful arms adorned with black and brown scutes. Two heavily muscled legs formed next together with a thick tail that had a serrated edge. The last thing to form was a heavy double bladed battleaxe, which the monster gripped tightly.

Xonix breathed heavily and sat up on the edge of the bed to admire his handiwork. The monster in front of him greatly resembled the Triceratons that lived in the TR-X38 sector but had a quiet menace to it. He also noticed the similarity to Ninjor and chuckled under his breath. With the way information spread around the intergalactic community, it wouldn't be long until the Ninja Master heard…even if he was still cooped up inside that bottle of his.

"What is your name and your mission?"

Maybe he didn't have to ask that of all the monsters he created, but it was good to know for the record. And if the monster gave a bad answer, he could destroy it then and there. The monster replied in a deep, throaty growl.

"My name is Trijor. I live to serve Xonix and Lord Zedd."

Zedd gave a small sound of approval and pointed his staff at the monster through the screen. In a flare of light, Trijor disappeared from Xonix's recovery room and appeared next to Rita, giving the witch a fright. Xonix asked Trijor once more what its mission was. The answer that was given made Xonix chuckle darkly.

"I will kill all who oppose me."

TBC…


	47. Chapter Forty Six: Meeting a Mystery

A/N: This chapter references Jordan's in Darling Harbour which is where they shot the celebration scene in MMPR: The Movie. Not sure if it's still open or not.

Chapter Forty Six: Meeting a Mystery

Adam Park whistled to himself as he walked down Pitt Street Mall, looking at the various shops around him. They had been in Sydney for a few days and had only now been allowed to venture out on their own before they were scheduled to depart for Picton. Billy had gone off to visit the Powerhouse Museum, Rocky had hilariously chosen to go to The Rocks (for the food), and Kim and Aisha were hitting the shops in a frenzy. He was taking in all the sights and sounds of Sydney and hoping that the booking for the Sydney Tower restaurant would go through. If not, there was always Jordan's in Darling Harbour or a few places in The Rocks.

He slowed down to look at a stuffed kangaroo and his thoughts turned to Tommy. The leader of the Rangers had gone off the check out the areas that had suffered since the debut of the Orange Ranger. His last check-in had him around Town Hall, where the stonework was being painstakingly repaired by the Council's best stonemasons. Come to think of it, the White Ranger had been obsessively reading up on reports of the attacks and their locations and had deduced that the Orange Ranger was someone from the nearby school. Tommy just had to find out which boy it was and see if he was evil or not. If the kid wasn't evil, Tommy would instil in him what it meant to be a Ranger. If he was…well, he didn't want to think about it.

He was startled out of his thoughts as someone bumped into him. Hearing a hasty apology, he turned around to see a group of kids walk past. One of them was an Asian in a bright orange shirt and he narrowed his eyes for a split second before relaxing. There were plenty of people around him wearing brightly coloured shirts and he had learnt quickly that wearing your Ranger colour on the outside had some drawbacks. Especially when the colour was black and it was an extremely sunny day. Fortunately, it seemed that a southerly change was on the way and was due to bring an extreme lightning storm in the late afternoon. Billy had conversed with Zordon and their mentor had told them that the lightning storm would make it almost impossible to communicate with the Command Centre.

All of them had their Power Coins on hand in case of an emergency but they didn't think they would need them. The only things in Picton worth making a fuss about were the alleged ghost sightings in and around the old town. The most haunted place seemed to be the abandoned theatre on the outskirts. Apparently it was a popular suicide spot and the spirits of the dead were said to lure people there to re-enact their deaths. It seemed rather garish to Adam, but he would go along with it either way. He was just glad they weren't going to the Monte Crisco house in Junee as that was reportedly more haunted than the entirety of Picton put together – excluding the theatre. It would certainly give Tommy something else to think about.

His mind shifted to the impromptu press conference they had heard the Orange Ranger give a week or so ago. In Adam's mind, the press conference had been sloppily slapped together…or the Orange Ranger had appeared on the steps of Town Hall and begun speaking. And then after the Prime Minister had appeared everything had gone to Hell with the Ranger publicly threatening the PM into dropping his ruling for the Orange Ranger to reveal his identity. Zordon hadn't put them on high alert, which was very strange, but he had said to watch the situation carefully. As it turned out, them not interfering was a good thing as Jabarkas had finally come down to Earth and had engaged the Orange Ranger in a fierce fight. Hearing the fight over the radio had been one thing but it hadn't been until he went home and saw the aftermath on the news that it had sunk in that Xonix meant business. It had also been revealed that the Orange Ranger was human…a thought worth looking in to.

He shook himself out of his thoughts as a scream pierced the air. Whirling around, his eyes scanned the bewildered crowd until he saw it. It looked like a swirling eye on legs. Everywhere it looked; people were vanishing in streaks of light and reappearing a short distance away. Walking quickly away from the monster, he ducked into a side alley, put his back against the crowd and brought up his communicator to his mouth.

"Zordon, there's a monster in Pitt Street. Can you inform the others?"

"I will. Evacuate whomever you can but do not engage the monster."

Adam dropped the call and brought out his Power Coin. In a flash of dark purple light, the octagonal morpher shell appeared around it and he brought it up in front of him. He paused as he thought about the best way to morph without revealing his identity when he heard an explosion behind him followed by shouts. Dropping caution to the wind, he thrust out the morpher in front of him and sub-vocalised the morph command. As the black armoured spandex materialised on him, he sent a note of grateful thanks to Billy and Alpha who had designed the silent morphing system. Coming out of the alley, his eyes widened as he saw the Orange Ranger fighting the monster.

The mysterious Ranger seemed to have the upper hand throughout most of the fight and was favouring slashes of his blade coupled with quick kicks. As Adam watched, the Orange Ranger reached behind his back and speedily flung a fireball at the monster. Adam's jaw dropped slowly as the Ranger reared up for the killing blow…just as another monster teleported in behind him. Adam ran out to warn the Orange Ranger but the new monster struck down with a blow that sent the Orange Ranger flying. As he pulled out his Power Axe, he heard the other Rangers teleport in behind him and they rallied in front of the downed Ranger. The Orange Ranger looked up from his position on the ground and shook his head.

"Another hit and I would've…oh, Power Rangers. Um, welcome to Sydney?"

Despite the monsters in front of them, a chuckle escaped from the mouths of the Rangers. The Ranger was trying to make up for being so standoffish but after being attacked from behind, it was a wonder that he could speak at all. As Adam helped the Ultra Ranger to his feet, the Black Ranger looked at the new monster with a wary eye. It looked like a strangely armoured and bipedal Triceratops. It reached behind its back and pulled out a long shafted, double headed battleaxe. As it stepped forward, it spoke to them in a throaty voice

"Rangers, you will be the perfect wedding present for my Master's brother."

"Xonix has a brother? What the hell does he look like?"

The monster chuckled at the words of the Orange Ranger and said Ranger took an involuntary step backward.

"The brother is Lord Zedd and he has been married to Rita Repulsa."

Billy's eyes widened again as the words sunk in. Zedd was now married and to Rita of all people. It was all he could do not to laugh at the thought of the evil dictator living with Rita's screeching and headaches. However, all humorous thoughts were ceased when the humanoid dinosaur spoke again.

"All seven Rangers in one place. Yes…this is perfect. Eyeporter, transport them to the theatre"

A flash of light was followed shortly by a pulling sensation and Billy's world plunged into darkness.

TBC…


	48. Chapter Forty Seven: Ghostly

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. Picton is not mine. One character who is a major character in Kamen Rider Tyrant is mine…

Enjoy!

Chapter Forty Seven: Ghostly

Weihan Liang was having the mother of all bad days.

His mother had flown off the Melbourne in the early hours of the morning and his sister was off on some school camp. So, he decided to head into the city and walk around…and avoid the school at all costs. And keep a lookout for mum's 'secret spies' that loved to bust him when he took an unauthorised field trip. He had changed into a bright orange shirt and ditched his bag in the Ultra Cavern and had roamed the city for a couple of hours. The only sights of interest he had seen were a pair of hot chicks browsing around the QVB and some guy in white looking at the damage to Town Hall.

From the information and images Zordon had shown him; he knew that they were the Power Rangers but he couldn't waltz up to them and tell them outright. He had peeled away from them and made a beeline to Pitt Street Mall where he could always hang out in Borders until it was time to go home. Theoretically, he could have gone home right then and there, but he had wanted to hang out in Borders and escape the heat for a small while. He had accidentally bumped into some Asian wearing black and had recognised him as the Black Ranger, before walking down the Mall…and bumping into the first monster.

He had ducked behind a large dumpster and morphed silently. He was extremely grateful that bonding with the Ninjetti power had given him the ability to morph without saying anything. His internal guide had told him that the words focused his thoughts but were not necessary for those who had Ninjetti power in them. Of course, he had profusely thanked Dulcea on Phaedos and she had responded that no thanks were needed. She didn't say it in exactly those words or in any words at all, but the feeling was there behind the actions. And he needed to stop thinking about that night right now.

He had engaged the eye-teleporting thing quickly and was on the verge of defeating it when he had been struck from behind by the new creature. Apparently Xonix had a brother who was attacking the Power Rangers and the new monster was a wedding present or something. Or the seven of them were supposed to be the present. He didn't get it nor did he want to. And before he could think of getting away, the strange Eyeporter had sucked him and the others into some strange-ass place. Some sort of theatre or something. Apparently the evils in space thought they weren't getting enough culture or something.

And that was where he was now. Laying on some wooden floor in a dark room with…a skeleton hanging from the rafters. He paused and squinted at the skeleton. It didn't look like a fake. He swallowed hard and stood up, running a hand over his face. Yup, the bones were yellowed and were barely connected by thin tendons that hadn't rotted away. There was no metal connections or wire; only a smell of rotted meat and dried blood. He clapped a hand over his mouth and forcibly swallowed back the bile that was creeping up. Looking down at the spot where he was laying, he saw the remains of a dress of some kind. Something that had frayed to the point where it had fallen off the body. Steadying himself against a wall, he looked around the room for a door or a window of some kind before he froze.

He was unmorphed.

He certainly hadn't unmorphed when Eyeporter had been working his magic and he had blacked out soon after. The only explanation was that something in the room or in the building had made him demorph. The only good thing was that he was with the Power Rangers…except they wouldn't really know who he was. Sighing and shaking his head, he held his hand out and tried to summon a fireball. Since his pyrokinesis was technically connected with his powers, he didn't know if it would work. After a few spluttering sparks; a brilliant orange and yellow ball appeared in the palm of his hand. Looking around the room once more, he spied the outline of a door and he walked towards it.

"Caution young man."

Weihan whirled around and ignited his other hand. He saw nothing except the flickering shadows on the walls around him and the freaky hanging skeleton and some transparent chick in a pale orange evening gown. He blinked and refocused on the woman in the gown and swallowed hard. She had long blonde hair and crystal clear emerald eyes. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that she was a relative of Jacqui Apple. Slowly, he let the fire on his hands die down to a low burn and took a shaky breath in. The ghost smiled sadly and looked at him.

"Where am I? Why am I unmorphed? And who are you?"

The woman smiled again and caressed his cheek with a ghostly hand. Where she touched, he felt warm and not the icy coldness that was associated with ghosts. Her voice had an odd echoing quality to it and a strange accent he couldn't place.

"You are in Spectre Theatre in Picton. The theatre is haunted by the ghosts of those who have died here both purposely and accidentally. This has created a Power Vortex that blocks most Good magic."

Weihan attempted to protest and tried to draw out his Ultra Crystal from its subspace pocket. When that didn't work, he tried to call upon his Power Coins. Much to his surprise, the only coin that responded was his Ninjetti coin. The icy ball of fear and horror that was growing in his gut grew bigger and he tried to control his breathing. After all, ghost or not, the woman in front of him was damn hot and he didn't want to be passing out again anytime soon. He licked his lips to moisten them and looked at the spirit again.

"OK, so there are ghosts and other things that go bump in the night here. Why are you helping me?"

The ghost drifted closer and Weihan saw for the first time the ugly rope burn around her neck. Moving on instinct, he lifted a hand up in an attempt to heal the wound but his hand passed through her. He blinked back tears as he realised that the woman was wearing the same dress as he had found under the skeleton. She nodded at him and caressed his cheek again.

"You have a good heart and a strong will. I know you will be able to be the one who manages to escape this dark place"

He nodded once and opened his mouth before closing it again. He desperately wanted to tell the spirit that he would destroy the place so they could have their rest but she put a finger to his lips and shook her head slowly.

"You wish to do the impossible. We are bound to the theatre and the theatre is bound to us. Neither will go if the other still stands. As long as there is a shred of the theatre remaining, we will always be here. We belong here while you and the others do not."

Weihan took in a shuddering breath and nodded in resignation. He couldn't help the spirit, but he could help the other Rangers. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he looked up at the ghost who nodded slowly. Her hands dropped down under her skirt and she drew out a tightly rolled up piece of parchment. Weihan noted that it seemed solid and took it from her spectral hands – after fully extinguishing the fire on his hands. He tried hard not to think about where she had kept it. The woman quirked an eyebrow at him and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from blushing. So it seemed that ghosts could read minds…an interesting thought to keep in mind.

Unrolling the parchment, he saw that it was a two page blueprint of the entire theatre. Summoning up a free-floating fireball, he could see that while the main entrance and the back entrance seemed to be either barricaded off or destroyed, there were a few small entrances on the sides that looked to be used by cleaners or the actors. Scanning the diagram, he saw that he was in the Observatory and that the room opened up into a long hall that overlooked the ticketing area. That would be a good place to begin looking for the other Rangers. Looking up, he began to thank the woman but stopped; the words dying on his lips.

The woman had vanished.

Rolling up the map again, he stuck it in his pocket and made sure to secure it down. Looking at the door, he was about to cross to it but realised he had one last thing to do. Walking over to the hanging skeleton, he carefully brought it down from the beam and removed the remains of the rope around its neck. Laying it gently on the floor, he picked up the remains of the gown and draped it over the bones. He wished that the woman had given him her name but decided it didn't matter what her name was.

Striding to the door, he opened it and stepped out into the darkened hall. As the door closed behind him, he never heard her voice.

"My name? My name is Mary Apple but in one future, you will know me as Bloodless Mary…"

TBC…


	49. Chapter Forty Eight: Forced Hand

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. The true forms of the ghouls are based on the Chatterer Cenobite from the Hellraiser movies. Also not mine. Anything not recognised in one way or another is mine including the Tinywarz Rangers shout-out.

Chapter Forty Eight: Forced Hand

This place had issues.

If he didn't already know it was haunted, Weihan's imagination may have been going into overdrive. As it was, he was already going to have nightmares for a week after he got out. Every shadow hid a rotted face peering out; dead eyes peeked out from the knotholes in the wood and he could swear there was something behind him. He hadn't seen anything pop up in front of him since the chick in the room, but he knew they were out there.

"Ranger…"

And there were the voices that echoed from the darkness. Voices that were hoarse whispers that came and went like chilling winds through headstones. Voices that spoke of things beyond the graves and of the torment and pain of whatever remained. Pausing, he smirked at the last thought. If the Ultra Ranger gig didn't work out he could always try a career in writing.

"Never end…"

He wished the voices would shut up. He blinked once as the hovering fireball next to him winked out and was glad it was magic fire as real fire would have sucked out all the oxygen around him. He was about to light another fireball when a different voice caught his attention.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Crossing over to the balcony, he peered down at the ticketing area. Squinting through the near-darkness, he could see one of the girl Rangers walking around uncertainly. Ignoring the whispered threats from the ghosts, he took a deep breath and leapt over the railing. As his feet hit the floor, he grunted under his breath as a sharp pain flared up his ankles. Shaking off the tingles, he looked up to see the girl looking cautiously at him.

"Who are you? Are you human?"

Weihan smiled and nodded once. Taking a step forward, he grunted again as the last of the pain subsided. Crouching down, he rubbed his hands against his legs and willed whatever Power was still in him to heal his legs. Thinking about his options, he grimaced lightly. If he didn't want to blow his cover too early, he would have to refrain from lighting hovering fireballs and he would also have to be scared of the voices and moving shadows around them.

"Like, where did you come from? You don't live here, right?"

He shook his head. He wouldn't want to live here as it was too damn dark. The ghosts around him were also a downside, but he could probably get used to their presence. Standing up, he looked at the girl again. She was about his height with light brown hair and wore a light pink singlet top with white shorts. Self-consciously, he looked down at his own attire and winced. The bright orange shirt was muted somewhat but the colour was easily visible. Once again, he wondered what had been going through his sister's mind when she bought the day-glow orange shirt for him.

"I think you came with us. The Power Rangers, I mean."

Weihan blinked and looked at the girl. He had to seriously fight the urge to slap his forehead in exasperation. If she slipped up in front of him, it was a wonder all of Angel Grove didn't know who the Power Rangers were. He hoped it was just a one-time thing and she normally didn't blurt out their secrets to whoever asked. For one thing, it would mean a lot of lost friends.

"Forever…"

As the girl jumped, Weihan sighed and shook his head. The voices were down here as well…which was to be expected as the ghost of the chick had said as much. The only thing that worried him slightly was the spirits of the deaths that had happened purposely…whatever they were. Were they the ghosts of those who had taken their own lives or where they other, darker spirits that had haunted men for centuries? He had no inclination of sticking around to find out.

"Come on, we're getting out of here."

Sticking a hand in his pocket, his fingers rubbed over the surface of his Ninjetti coin and the feel of the gold coin gave him some reassurance. Pulling out the map again, he squinted at the floor plan for the first floor and looked around him as the Pink Ranger cautiously came closer. Glancing up at the map, he peered into the darkness and barely made out the outline of a door that lead into the main amphitheatre. Stuffing the map in his pocket and securing it again, he nodded in the opening's direction.

"That way will lead us to the main stage. Hopefully, we'll find the rest of your friends there."

"Thanks. Oh, my name's Kim."

Weihan nodded once at that but chose to not say his. It was a miracle in and of itself that she didn't recognise his voice, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Seemingly put off by his silence, Kim followed him through the darkness.

"Final battle…Drakor is here…"

Weihan paused at the voice, noticing Kim do the same thing. It was strange, but he could swear that the voice was Zordon's. The only problem was that as far as he knew, the floating head was still alive and well – and he wasn't bound to the theatre. He shrugged it off and continued forward. If it was truly meant for him, he would deal with it when the time came.

Pushing the rotting door aside, he stepped into the main amphitheatre and stopped dead. In front of him was the main stage and standing on it were four figures. Just looking at their faces, Weihan knew that they were the male Power Rangers; but they weren't. Each of them was bathed in a sickly light that seemed to come from within their bodies and they all seemed to have the same ugly rope burn around their necks. As he stepped forward, he saw that the quartet was standing over four bodies that were slumped over.

"Welcome Ranger. We have been waiting…"

Weihan steeled himself and positioned himself between Kim and the…whatever they were. The apparitions seemed to laugh at this display and in the blink of an eye, they surrounded the two Rangers. Up close, Weihan could see that their bodies were in a serious state of disrepair; their jaws were barely hanging on to their skulls and large patches of skin had been removed.

"We have absorbed the memories and thoughts of those four there. There is one other left…and you."

Weihan slowly reached into his pocket and palmed his Power Coin. He calmed his mind as he remembered what Dulcea had taught him about channelling his Ninjetti outfit from the coin. He would have to act swiftly but his identity would be revealed. He was about to stow the idea when the ghoul that wore the White Ranger's face spoke.

"Little girl, you should know about the thoughts running in your boyfriend's mind. All those thoughts consuming him about what he wants to do to your body."

Glancing at Kim, the Orange Ranger saw that her face had gone completely white and she was starting to tremble. He swore under his breath as he realised what the ghoul was trying to do – demoralise the Pink Ranger so she would let her guard down and another one would drain her. He hoped that the ghouls hadn't tapped their Power Coins or he would have a hell of a fight.

"Kim, don't listen to them."

Raspy laughter emanated from the dry throat in front of him.

"Lust is one thing but teenage lust is quite another. Oh, the ways the White one wants to bend you over and make you scream is…infinite. If I still had a body, I would try them out on you. One of his ways is to hoist –"

"Kim, don't listen to them! Keep your guard up!"

Stealing a glance at the girl, Weihan could see that she was becoming more and more unnerved by the sight in front of her. He couldn't really blame her. If the ghostly chick didn't appear in front of him, he would be freaked out like she was as well. Still, he couldn't help but be amazed at the thoughts and descriptions that the White Ranger seemingly had in his head. Some of them were actually pretty interesting…if a bit Phaedosian. Not that it was any less unnerving hearing them come out of a rotting corpse's mouth. He supposed that Kim and her boyfriend would have a lot to talk about later. As the ghouls moved the remnants of their lips in rictus grins, Weihan acted on instinct.

Pulling the Coin out of his pocket, he summoned and launched a fireball at the ghoul wearing the White Ranger's rotted face. Barely registering the look of shock on Kim's face, he grabbed her around the waist and jumped over the heads of the ghouls and ran for the stage. Pausing to push the Pink Ranger up onto the platform, he jumped up and landed nimbly next to the comatose bodies of the Rangers. Summoning up whatever Power was remaining, he launched a barrage of fireballs at the four ghouls until the magic fire exposed their true forms.

All four of them were extremely rotten – almost to the point of full body collapse. Somehow, they were still standing upright. Their hands were almost completely skeletal and some of the fingers had rotting fingernails still attached. The worst part was their heads. The skin was tightly stretched over the skull and seemed to be ripped over the eye sockets. Their noses and lips were missing and white maggots squirmed in and over the rotting holes. A smell like decaying pork fat washed over the Rangers and Weihan had to fight to keep his brunch down.

"You harmed us…now you must die."

Weihan took a step towards the ghouls and gripped his Power Coin tighter. No turning back now.

"Crocodile!"

TBC…

A/N: Changed the way the theatre scene went as the original plan in The Wedding 3 parter wasn't scary or frightening enough. Just showed Zedd and Rita to be insecure that the plan wouldn't work (a ton of monsters to guard six Rangers?).


	50. Chapter Forty Nine: Escaping Hell

Disclaimer: Power Rangers isn't mine. Reminder: This is set in my "Dark PRU" Universe so expect things to get a lot worse from here on in.

That said, enjoy!

Chapter Forty Nine: Escaping Hell

Kim blinked once and rubbed her eyes at the scene in front of her.

The strange boy she had met a few minutes ago was still there. He was still tearing into the zombie things with no hesitation. He still had fire dancing around his hands and he was controlling it like it was an extension of himself.

And he was still morphed.

She was rooted to the spot above her team as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. She already knew, but she was having a hard time making her brain believe it. After so much time between classes talking about the identity of the Orange Ranger and wondering whose side he was on…now all of it was revealed. He could morph when she couldn't and was obviously doing some major damage to the creatures via his fireballs and weapon strikes.

A low moan below her caught her attention and she saw Tommy slowly open his eyes. Thinking quickly, she shifted her body so she was blocking the fight behind her. She hoped that the Ranger wouldn't be too loud in destroying the…whatever they were. Leaning down towards her boyfriend, she tried to put as much concern in her voice as she could while blocking out the words that the creature had said to her before.

"Tommy, are you all right? What's the last thing you remember?"

Tommy blinked back at her and shook his head. Everything was just a jumble of images and feelings. He remembered the fight in the mall and the teleportation. After that it was a blur, but he had the distinct feeling something had been copied from him. Something akin to thoughts and feelings…he couldn't remember what but he knew it was important. Squinting up, he saw Kim roll her eyes at him and he struggled to stand up. He could hear the others next to him shift as they came to and he could hear something else…fighting. Who was fighting what?

"Kim, get the others out of here! Find your friend and go! Exits are past the stage!"

The voice was muffled but Tommy knew instantly that it belonged to the mystery Ranger. Ignoring Kim's protests, he slowly stood and glanced in the direction of the voice and felt his jaw hit his knees. His brain scrambled to try to make sense of what he was seeing. There was a figure fighting four rotting corpses. He seemed to be controlling fire like water and the fire seemed to come from within him. And he was dressed very similarly to a Ranger. He could feel Kim trying to push him along the path behind the stage, but he continued to stare at the battle in shock. A feint from the Ranger allowed him to fire off a stream of fire at one of the things. In a blaze of ash and dust, the thing disintegrated with a low wail. Pausing a moment, the Ranger dropped his hands to his sides and withdrew the weapons hanging there.

"What the..."

Tommy glanced out of the corner of his eye at Rocky, Adam and Billy who had finally become vertical. Kim was doing her best to pull them along but she was starting to see that it would be a lost cause unless she did something.

"The fuck? Get out of here! Kim, move it!"

"What about you?"

Tommy's senses seemed to snap into gear as he heard the desperation in his girlfriend's voice. Forcing himself to look away at the scene, he started moving down the stage and toward the door he could barely see. He couldn't hear the Ranger's reply but the next thing he knew, the others were next to him. throwing open the door, he raced outside and looked around.

The area was near-pitch black.

Shadows danced in corners and a cool breeze was felt coming from everywhere and nowhere. Turning left, he could barely make out a thin horizontal shaft of light in the distance while on the right was nothing but echoing darkness. Lowering his voice, he spoke to the others.

"We make for that light on the left. We'll figure out what to do when we get out of here."

Tommy took one step left and felt his blood chill. The shadows around him seemed to move closer and seem more threatening. Not lowering his guard once, he continued down the hall and looked around him. Pale faces with shadowed eyes loomed out of seemingly empty spaces and large shadows slithered in front of him and on the ceiling above. Low chuckles came out of solid walls and whisper light touches caressed his skin.

"Don't leave us…"

And there were the voices that seemed to ooze out of every crack in the building. Voices that promised power, wealth and extremely graphic sexual acts. They also wanted to slowly strip the skin from their flesh and see what it would take for each individual nerve to break apart. They promised Heaven but delivered Hell, but they were honest about their intentions. Some breathed out their life stories and others wailed in the distance. Tommy kept his eyes straight ahead and didn't look away once…not even when he felt a hand grasp his leg.

"Aisha!"

Tommy blinked at Kim's shout and looked down at the hand. The fingertips were raw and bleeding and the nails were chipped and cracked. The owner of the arm looked up at him and he squinted in the dark to make out the damage. The African-American girl's face was badly scratched around the eyes and throat and her clothing was ripped. Averting his eyes, he could see what looked like rope burns on her legs and arms and – most disturbingly – bite marks. In short, she looked like she had gone through Hell and back and was barely clinging to life. Adam and Rocky both bent down and looped an arm over their shoulders and stood up. Aisha moaned at the movement, but she saw the urgency in their eyes and nodded once.

A muffled explosion behind Tommy caused him to look back just in time to see a tongue of flame shoot out of the door they had come through. The hallway lit up briefly and he swallowed hard as the light was swallowed up quickly by the darkness. The sounds of fighting grew louder and the voices responded in kind. Some of them cheered at the impending death and others wailed in mourning.

"Get out of here!"

Tommy jumped at the voice next to his ear. He looked around for the source but saw nothing but darkness. Summoning up all the courage left in him he ran at the door at full speed and heard the others following behind him. Flashes of things caught his eye for split seconds before retreating in the darkness once more. A rotten eye, a lewd gesture, a severed finger…all of it seemed to blur after a few seconds. Hearing another set of footsteps next to him, he turned his head slightly and saw the mysterious Ranger running next to him. The strange Ranger kept glancing behind him where slurping sounds could be heard.

"Run and be prepared to fight. Kick down the door!"

Nodding as he neared the door, he leapt up, twisted his body slightly and extended his right leg. His foot slammed into the door and it burst off its rusted hinges letting bright sunlight flood the hall. As the White Ranger regained his footing, he bit back a yelp of surprise as two objects shot past him. Diving to the ground, he felt a rush of Power enter his body as a howl of pain and shock rang out in front of him. Holding a hand over his eyes, he saw that the Eye monster that had warped them to the theatre was attempting to pull out two sai that had embedded themselves in its main body. As its main body was an eye, Tommy couldn't help but wince slightly.

As the last Ranger exited the doorway, a clanging sound caught their attention. The Triceratops monster was next to Eyeporter and he had yanked out the sai and thrown them onto the ground. Laying Aisha onto the ground next to the theatre, the Rangers regrouped and Kim looked at their saviour.

"You never told me your name."

The Ranger looked puzzled for a split second but chuckled under his breath. As the Ranger gripped and flung away his Ninja costume, Adam's eyes widened as he saw the same boy in the orange shirt. As they prepared to morph, he heard the boy speak.

"Call me Weihan."

TBC…


	51. Chapter Fifty: Blast from the Past

Disclaimer: Power Rangers = not mine. Ultra Crystals = mine. Future spoiler for an as-yet-unwritten chapter of Tinywarz Rangers = mine. Kamen Rider Tyrant mid-season/fic battle spoiler = mine. Amazement of me having hammered out 50 chapters of this fic and not even having scratched the damn surface yet? Priceless.

A/N: Italics and bold italics are voices from the past.

Chapter Fifty: Blast from the Past

The battle was fierce and Weihan focused on the creature in front of him.

After the light show of the seven Ranger morph, the evil overlords had apparently been watching as a pack of Golems had teleported down along with a familiar foe for the Power Rangers: Goldar. The gold armoured monkey had made a beeline for the Orange Ranger and was now charging. Summoning his Raptor Sabre, Weihan held out the blade and swung in down to meet Goldar's gem encrusted sword. The first few thrusts were exciting as he was crossing swords with Goldar. However, by the sixth attack it was starting to become boring. He could pick out flaws in the monkey's style and there was no variation. If he wanted to be honest with himself, it was like fighting a guy in a rubber suit.

It was kind of ironic, actually. He was duking it out with a fighter that was probably one of the best in the Galaxy and he was bored. The White Ranger could enjoy this better than he ever could but the White Ranger had his hands full with the Triceratops creature…and it looked like he was getting his ass handed to him. Growling under his breath, he took a step back and summoned his Raptor Cannon. Pointing the barrel of the weapon at Goldar, he shot blast after blast of energy at the golden monkey. Shifting his stance slightly, he held the trigger down and charged up a shot. Seeing the meter rise quicker than before, Weihan grinned. So it seemed the Ninjetti power was allowing a quicker and stronger charge. He absently wondered what other changes would happen now but dismissed the thought with a shrug.

Goldar's eyes widened as he saw the charge building up. He had no intention of dying today. Even if he didn't like the idea of Rita being married to Zedd, it was better than being dust in the wind. In a flash of gold, the armoured warrior teleported back to the safety of the moon. The Ultra Ranger watched his foe vanish and he shrugged dismissively and turned to face the battling Rangers. He supposed that he could leave the battle now that he had scared Goldar off…but it didn't seem right. They were fighting two monsters that had pretty much been sent down to destroy him, not to mention their Yellow Ranger was not in the best shape. He didn't want to know what she had to endure in those minutes before her rescue and something told him he was better off for that. Drawing a bead on Eyeporter, he waited until the Rangers were clear and then let the charged shot fly.

Adam breathed heavily as he regrouped with the other Rangers. Tommy was battling the other creature and the Orange Ranger was going toe to toe with Goldar; so that left the wounded Eyeporter to the four of them. He snuck a worried glance at Aisha and swallowed hard. She needed to go to the Command Centre and be looked at, but all communication so far was met with static. He pulled out his Power Axe and started shifting it into its cannon mode…when Eyeporter exploded.

No one moved as charred monster rained down.

"Get out of here. I'll deal with the other."

Eyes snapped towards Weihan as the Ranger dismissed the bulky cannon. Tommy disengaged from the remaining monster and nodded. Although he didn't like it, he knew the reasoning behind the words. Aisha was out of commission and they weren't faring that well either. On the other hand, the Orange Ranger had sent Goldar into a retreat and had easily destroyed a monster in one shot despite having spent a longer time in the haunted theatre. Making his way to the others, he nodded grimly.

"Just call if you need any help."

Weihan nodded and barely blinked as six streaks of coloured light shot up into the air. Cracking his neck, he turned towards the ceratopsian monster and snorted at its ridiculous look.

"What is your name anyway? I want to know what to put on your headstone."

The monster looked impassively at him and tightened its grip on its battleaxe. When it spoke, its voice was low and breathy.

"My name is Trijor and it is you who will be interred under the ground."

Great, so the monster actually had a brain in its elaborately decorated skull. On one hand, this meant he would be able to try out some new battle strategies and moves he had learnt on Phaedos. On the other, it meant that he could easily lose whatever advantage he had quickly. His eyes widened and he ducked to avoid a blow that would have decapitated him. Christ, the creature moved fast! His radar showed that the creature was behind him…no, now it was in front of him or was it next to him? Pulling out his Raptor Laser, he converted it to its 'lightsaber mode' and lashed out randomly. He felt it connect with something and Trijor flickered into view holding its chest. Apparently, he had destroyed some sort of cloaking module. Grinning under his helmet, he twirled the beam sabre and stood in a ready position. It was always a good thing whenever life threw you a lucky break – especially in the heat of battle.

Trijor charged forward and hoisted up the battleaxe. Weihan sidestepped the blow, turned and lashed out with his left leg. The kick impacted against Trijor's scaly hide and the saurian monster staggered slightly before lashing out with a powerful hit from its tail that struck the Ranger across the lower back. Pain exploded through Weihan's nerves as his suit tried in vain to repair the armour before he was struck again. Forcing his legs to move, he rolled away from the monster just in time to avoid a vicious headbutt that would have turned his own head into a bowling ball. He was painfully aware that his advantage was slipping away quicker than sand in the wind. With a flick of his wrist, he transformed his Raptor Laser back into its original gun form and let loose a bevy of shots. To his growing horror, Trijor deflected or blocked all of them.

He was screwed and the monster knew it. He couldn't even fire another charged shot from the Raptor Cannon as the weapon was still cooling down from the blast that had destroyed Eyeporter. His Raptor Laser wasn't doing as much as he hoped it would and he still needed some more practice with his Sabre.

He was fucked. And not in a good way either.

_Are you sure you want to do this?_

He blinked at the voice in his head and scrambled out of the way of another blow. The voice wasn't like his inner guide. It was deeper and held a much more regal tone to it. Kicking away Trijor's tail, he concentrated on the voice and tried to work out where it was coming from.

_**I need this to be done. It's the only hope for the future. I mean the…well, you know what I mean.**_

Strange…that voice almost sounded like his. That was impossible as he was here in the present and not talking to some regal kingly person somewhere. He paused and ran the first voice through his recent memory again. It was a bit of a stretch, but that voice could be…but it couldn't. Zordon was stuck inside a giant sized test tube. Suddenly, an image flashed into his mind. An older version of himself was in a chamber of sorts with a handful of other people. He was wearing a jacket with some strange and trippy symbol on it – a compass-like circle with a flaming V in front of it. In front of him was a tall man with a balding head and he was standing in front of fourteen crystals. From what Zordon had shown him earlier, he knew that the figure in front of…him was Zordon. It didn't make sense and he tried to focus on both the image and on the fight.

_Very well. I will re-energise your crystal. However, some of the excess power may overflow into the future. I do not know when or where the power will be expended. Knowing this, do you still wish to proceed?_

_**I have to. We need all four Rangers to seal away Drakor. Plus, Dulcea needs me fully powered so the new Ninjetti zords can be granted.**_

New Ninjetti zords? Who was Drakor? Was this happening in the past or the future? These thoughts sent his mind into a jumble and he shook his head violently to force them out. Gritting his teeth, he summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and ran at Trijor with the voices still ringing in his mind. If he could hear them, then maybe he could use the link and tap into his future self's brain to siphon off some new fighting techniques. It was worth a shot. He would deal with the temporal headaches that would surely come when he overanalysed the situation.

_Very well. I will open a direct link to the Morphin Grid. Are you ready?_

_**Lay it on me.**_

As he neared Trijor, Weihan felt an incredible amount of raw energy pulse through his Ultra Crystal. Through whatever link he had with his other self; he could hear him screaming in pain as well as the concerned shouts of the other people with him. Releasing his Sabre, he balled up his left hand and punched at Trijor as the monster raised its battleaxe. The energised blow hit the heavy weapon and shattered it, sending red-hot shards of metal and wood everywhere. Weihan's fist continued on and struck the monster in its right shoulder. A sickening crack filled the air for a brief moment as the monster's shoulder broke under the impact. Reaching down with his free hand, he scooped up the dropped Sabre in a backhand grip and slashed it through Trijor's arm. The white-hot blade cauterised the wound on both sides and the dismembered limb dropped to the ground with barely a sound. Trijor bellowed in pain and fear at the sudden surge of power coming from the Ranger.

As the monster staggered back, Weihan felt the 'overflow' reach its peak and decided it was time to finish the job. Righting his grip on his Sabre, he charged it with the excess power and it burst into flame. Holding the flaming blade in front of him, he was dimly aware of some sort of energy image forming behind him. Strangely, it looked like the compass symbol he had seen. Slowly, he rotated the blade counter-clockwise as if on instinct. Once he had reached a full revolution, he turned the blade so the edge was pointing toward Trijor. The next words that came out of his mouth seemed like second nature.

"Neptune Strike!"

Bringing the blade down, he watched as an energy wave ringed with fire shot towards Trijor. The monster never stood a chance as blazing hot fire destroyed every cell in its body instantly. Well, there went his promise of not calling out any more attacks; although it hadn't really been his fault. Another thing to chalk up to the temporal power-up and whatever headaches were in his future.

As he felt the power finally leave, he stepped towards the burning patch of ground that had been Trijor and waited expectantly for whatever device would make the creature grow. After about five minutes, he shrugged to himself and turned away. He guessed even magic dragon overlords couldn't make something out of nothing. Looking at the haunted theatre, he shuddered once.

He had a feeling that one day, he would be back.

TBC…


	52. Chapter Fifty One: Hell Beckons

A/N: Short chapter to set up the "Evil Future" that was described in Tinywarz Rangers.

Chapter Fifty One: Hell Beckons

It had been three weeks since the destruction of Trijor and he was bored.

Weihan walked through the Botanical Gardens and looked out into the Harbour. Since then, he had only sporadic contact with the Power Rangers and he hadn't yet had a chance to ask Zordon about his vision. The last time they had spoken was a request to hand over the map to Ninjor. A new villain had shown up and their Thunderzords had been trashed again. He doubted the sage would give him a straight answer anyway…like the explanation he had given for the random facial twitches that had started popping up after the power burst from the past had faded. He had a good laugh about that in the Ultra Cavern afterwards. Power veterans…maybe something had been transferred into him from the mind link after all.

He shook off that thought as it often lead to him thinking about time loops and things that made his head hurt. So much for knowledge being the key to defeating Xonix. Maybe it would make more sense to him in the future but he doubted it. The future would mean forming a team and although he knew where to start, the idea left a bad taste in his mouth. His friends deserved better than to spend every second of their lives battling monsters or constantly on the edge waiting for the next ball to drop.

Besides, he was doing pretty well on his own. He was now training a great deal more and was starting to see what he could do with his fire projection and manipulation. An interesting side-effect was that he was using the stove at home less and less. He still had to act like he was using it to keep up appearances but a finger on the meat worked wonders for sealing in the juices. He would think about maybe signing up for a cookery school in the future…provided Sydney was still standing in the future. He chuckled as he kicked a stone across the pavement. Knowing his luck, he would find the next generation of Rangers and would have to recruit them into another team.

He stopped short at that. Knowing a team would have to be put together was one thing, but doing it was entirely another. He would be asking total strangers to place their lives in his hands and to count on him to lead them to victory. He was just starting to realise the responsibility of becoming a Ranger and to suddenly have the responsibility of leading a team thrust onto him? It would take something massive for him to even consider changing his mind.

A strong wind whipped around him and he looked around. The morning joggers had already left the area and the only people around him were on boats. Absentmindedly, he wondered why he had chosen to come to the Gardens on a skip trip as it was usually deserted in the early mornings. Shaking his head, he made his way to the stairs that would lead him to the main road when the wind almost knocked him off his feet. Puzzled, he looked around to see what it was doing to the trees and his eyes widened in fear.

Whatever was happening was only affecting him.

He took one step forward and then another one. Each step was like swimming in concrete. Behind him a swirling portal irised open and the Orange Ranger struggled to move away before he was pushed in. Snarling like a rabid dog, he turned around and began running towards it. If this was a plan of Xonix's, he would make damn sure that it was never tried again. Hitting the edge of the portal, he summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and leapt in.

Weihan would never know, but the next few hours would change his life forever.

TBC…


	53. Chapter Fifty Two: Rangers Extinct

Chapter Fifty Two: Rangers Extinct

Weihan was in Hell.

He was sure of it. It seemed like there wasn't a single living thing around him. Buildings lay around him totally destroyed. Robotic parts lay strewn everywhere and only the wind sang its lamentations. He dropped his Sabre to the ground; hearing it clatter once before disappearing back into its subspace pocket. The sky overhead was choked with thick black clouds and lights roved overhead in lazy patterns. The portal behind him had long since closed and he stared at the destruction around him. Shakily inhaling, he forced his legs to move and he walked down the dark pavement that once must have been pure white. He didn't understand what he was seeing. He knew that he would be alive and well in the future, or the past, but this was…something he didn't fully understand. Hearing a noise up ahead, he crouched flattened himself behind a large chunk of masonry and waited.

After a few seconds, two…things stumbled into view. One looked like a tall vampire bat with a monocle and the other was a short and squat…blueberry troll hybrid thing. He felt some degree of recognition as he saw them, bit couldn't remember their names. Both were talking to each other in quiet voices but Weihan tapped into his Ninjetti spirit to enhance his hearing.

"They'll be back. It's only been about five centuries since it happened. They've got to come back to see what that energy surge was."

The blueberry nodded in agreement and poked at something it held in a hand. Whatever it was, it looked broken in some way.

"But what do we do then? The positron generator is destroyed so whatever we pulled through can't go home again."

Pulled through? Pulled through what? And five hundred years had passed since what? He wanted answers and wanted them now. Silently, he snuck around the rubble until he was right behind the tall one. Leaping out, he slid his right arm around the creature's neck as the short one squawked and fell back. Tightening his hold, his eyes narrowed at the blueberry.

"Who are you? Where am I? What happened here?"

As the tall one struggled to break free, Weihan could see the short one's eyes focus on his face and narrow in thought. A split second later one of the lights washed over them and the blue one's mouth dropped open in shock. It stammered and backed away, while reaching for a snub nosed pistol on its belt. Not wanting the shot to draw anymore monsters to them, the Ranger let go of the tall one, vaulted over its head and grabbed the short creature by its rubbery neck. He glanced over at the tall and narrowed his eyes as the bat monster fell over in shock.

"Can't be…you were killed. I saw it."

Unceremoniously releasing the blueberry troll, Weihan spun around and summoned his Raptor Sabre and pointed it at the bat creature. Seeing the weapon up close, the thin monster squeaked and scooted away from him. Behind him, the blueberry rubbed at its throat and spoke five words that made his stomach turn to lead.

"You're supposed to be dead…"

Whirling around at the distant sound of engines, he squinted through the smoke to see a slowly moving vehicle move towards them. Seeing the two monsters become more agitated, he sighed and rolled his eyes. He needed answers, but the only source available was from the two of them. Monsters or not, they knew what had happened to the world around him. Sending his Sabre back into its pocket with a flash, he bent over and grabbed the upper arms of the two cowering creatures and ran away from the approaching vehicle. Eyes scanning for possible cover, he chanced upon what seemed to be an old monster shelter and kicked the door in. Throwing both monsters in, he dove in and barricaded the opening as best as he could. After hearing the vehicle slowly rumble past, he looked at the two monsters – only to find them hunched over the same small hand-held device he had seen earlier.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

The tall bat creature turned to face the Ultra Ranger and held out the device. Weihan warily took it and examined it. It looked like a jumble of wires and parts to him, but there was a small metal tank the size of his thumbnail that looked – for lack of a better word – busted. Turning it over, he could see a keypad and a crude screen. On the screen was a date that made his blood turn cold – September 17, 1998. Turning suspicious eyes toward the two aliens, he spoke in a low voice.

"What is this? And why the fuck does this damn thing say today's date?"

The bat creature spoke up nervously.

"That date is one from exactly five centuries ago. By your reckoning, today would be September 17, 2498. A few weeks after this date in 1998, Xonix sent down a tough and dangerous monster. After thirty minutes, you were dead and Xonix destroyed the Ultra Powers. He paraded your body down the main roads and started hunting down your family across the globe. A day later and everyone you knew was dead."

Weihan felt his knees go weak and he staggered back. He didn't feel the bat steady him or lead him to a reclining couch. He couldn't believe it, no, he didn't believe it. There wasn't a thing that Xonix could send down that he couldn't beat easily. He didn't need to drag other people into this – even if there were other Crystals for them. He would step up to the plate and crush anything that came at him. Seeing the denial in his eyes, the bat monster shook its head sadly.

"Stop whatever bravado thoughts you have. The monster Xonix sent down was death incarnate. You needed help and in the last few seconds of the battle, I think you knew it. As for what the device is…it's a portable time hole generator but the positron generator was damaged. There is only one location where the last one is known to exist."

"Earth."

Weihan said it flatly and unquestioningly. Wherever he had landed, it wasn't his home planet and he knew it in his heart. It was confirmed by the two aliens nodding in unison. Sighing, he looked out one of the windows at the destruction around him. Five centuries had passed and he was dead but not really…and he should stop thinking about that before he ended up with another migraine. He opened his mouth to speak when a voice rang out from the blueberry's wrist.

"**The last pocket of resistance has been destroyed. The Power Rangers are forever extinct!"**

Weihan shuddered. Power Rangers…extinct forever. His skin crawled and he swallowed hard. He wanted to go back to his own time and stop this from ever taking place. To do that, he needed to go to Earth. Using a Zord was right out unless he wanted to be hunted like a dog. Long range teleportation was a no-go as well. He turned to the cowering aliens and spoke.

"Show me how to get to Earth. Now."

TBC…


	54. Chapter Fifty Three: Orange Knight

Chapter Fifty Three: Orange Knight

Weihan steered the armoured shuttle through another clump of debris and sighed. Since leaving the dead world – which he had learnt was Eltare – he had been seeing the results of his loss throughout space. The two aliens had given their names in full – the bat creature was Baboo of Prosem and the blueberry was Squatt of Harkar. They had explained that they were the last of Rita's court and had only survived by fleeing to Eltare and making a living there as joint metal collectors and tour guides. It seemed even the future for Rita and Zedd were bleak as Baboo had explained.

"After your death, Earth was conquered and Xonix split it with his brother. Zedd became increasingly concerned that Xonix was becoming a loose cannon and this was cemented when Xonix announced that he was taking over Zedd's empire. The brothers fought viciously and Goldar killed two of Xonix's other henchmen before being killed. Rita and Finster fled on Zedd's request while myself and Squatt hid in the bowels of the Moon Palace. Xonix and Zedd battled for many hours until Xonix killed Zedd by using your fallen weapon. He then set his sights on turning Earth into a place for the dark and depraved."

Weihan had asked what Earth had become. He wished he hadn't upon hearing the soft answer.

"Xonix transformed it into a floating brothel. A place where all aliens of any size could enjoy the delights of human women in either sexual activities…or other things."

He didn't ask what "other things" meant. He didn't want to. As they neared the planet, Weihan's heart sunk as he looked upon the once green and blue globe that was his home. If such a thing were possible, the planet looked like it had lost hope. Boiling red clouds raged the skies and the light of the sun was shrouded at all times by a large shield that was made up of various colours. Weihan felt the bile creep up his throat as he realised the shield was made out of Zord parts. He could see ships entering and leaving the atmosphere at a near-constant rate and his eyes darted around for any security patrols.

Seeing none, he squared his shoulders and tried to commit every single image to memory. He didn't want to do this and his mind protested, but he had to do it. This was what would happen if he didn't man up and bring a team together. He looked behind him at the two aliens and sighed. They had done so much to help him…even with the meagre amount of information they had shared. He felt obligated to help them in some way, but he didn't know how.

"You two all right? Want to be dropped off anywhere?"

Baboo shook his head and Weihan shrugged. Since leaving the former Council Planet, the two of them had been real quiet. He understood that they wanted to stop this future from happening and had wanted to send a message to the past…instead they drug him through. The both of them thought that finding a positron generator on Earth was a lost cause as the planet had been stripped more times than the best sex slave. Weihan couldn't think like that and he knew where there was one…except he didn't know if the structure was still intact. One thing was certain – he wouldn't morph unless it was an extreme emergency.

The Power Rangers may have been extinct, but the Morphin Grid wasn't destroyed. Weihan could feel its power pulsing through him and could hear it begging to be unleashed. Through repeated questioning, he knew that Xonix had died peacefully in his sleep a few months back and would not be ruling Earth anymore. Slipping the shuttle past a patrol, he began the descent down to the surface over Sydney. Strangely, there was no turbulence and within seconds, they had cleared the thick cover...and he fought hard against the urge to throw up.

Garish signs in all languages imaginable dotted the landscape promising delights and fantasies of every possible kind. Signs proclaiming the sale of the elderly for their "last rites" peppered the destroyed CBD while loud beats pulsed through the air at the strip clubs. Blocking out all the sights and sounds, Weihan concentrated within him for the link that would take him to the Ultra Cavern. Switching on the cloaking mechanism, he piloted the shuttle to a thick bunch of trees on a rare empty expanse of land and set the shuttle down gently. Swallowing a few times, he turned to Baboo and spoke, his voice thick.

"Thank you for telling me what I needed to hear. I don't know what you two are doing, but you don't want to be around me."

Baboo nodded slowly and opened his mouth to speak.

"I hope you will remember this trip when you do go back to your time. Sear these images into your heart and brain for this is what will happen if you fail."

Weihan nodded again and opened the door next to him. Dropping out of the shuttle, he spent a few moments on the ground as it carefully lifted off, smelling the dirt and running his hands over the trunks of the trees. He was dimly aware of the shuttle exploding as the defences re-activated and he smiled sadly. Perhaps it had been their intention all along to help them and die in some way. He shook his head at the grim thought. Maybe it was better this way. Pulling out the device from his pocket, he trudged into the thicket and pulled out his Ultra Crystal. The familiar weight of the lightning-bolt shaped crystal comforted him and made him feel…at ease.

Stashing his crystal in its subspace pocket, he began walking in the direction of the lights. Once or twice he was stopped by the local patrol but he dismissed their concerns by saying he was a lone traveller and his ship had been shot down. The insectoid patrols had let him go after that and soon he was on the outskirts – where all the women lived. Thunder boomed overhead and a split second later, rain poured down and sent aliens running for shelter. He stood in the middle of the shanty town and watched in amazement as dozens of women came out of their hovels to stand in the rain and bathe in it. He felt like he was intruding on a private moment and turned to leave. At that moment, he felt a light tap on his arm and he turned to see a young woman looking at him.

She couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen, but the look in her eyes made her look older. She circled him slowly and he wondered what she was doing. By now, a few others had noticed him and were creeping closer. They spoke in hushed voices, but Weihan could hear their words.

"Human male…"

"Not possible..."

"Orange Knight save us…"

At the mention of the Orange Knight, his head snapped up and he looked at the girl who had spoken and was immediately struck by her resemblance to the spirit he had seen in the theatre…and to AJ. She had the same blonde hair, the same green eyes and even had the barest hint of the same accent. Shaking himself out of his shock, he moved closer to her and noticed she didn't slink or shy away. As he opened his mouth to speak, he didn't notice the crowd moving closer to him.

"What do you mean 'Orange Knight'? Who was he?"

The girl cast her eyes down and Weihan swallowed hard. He had to know what the stories were of him…even if it was in this bleak place.

"The Orange Knight was supposed ta be our saviour. He fought hard a long while ago and my great, great, great grandma AJ had said he was a real sweetie. He…he went into battle one day and never saved them again. Stories popped up of Xonix parading a body down the streets, but a few believed that the body wasn't the Knight. We hope he'll return one day from his exile and save us from this Hell. How come you don't know the stories?"

He thought fast.

"I was part of an experimental cryogenic experiment a long time ago and I just woke up. I feel like I've been asleep for five hundred years."

The girl looked at him strangely but shook her head and smiled at him. She took him by the arm and led him to a strangely familiar rock wall. Pulling him close to her, she pressed his hand on the wall and waited expectantly. Weihan had no idea what was happening, except his pants were becoming extremely tight and he was having trouble controlling himself. After what seemed like an eternity, he heard a very familiar beep and the wall moved away to reveal the interior of the Ultra Cavern. He sagged in relief as his eyes scoured the familiar structures, not noticing the girl narrow her eyes in thought.

He had returned.

TBC…


	55. Chapter Fifty Four: The Impossible

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. Everything you don't recognise is mine.

**WARNING**: This chapter contains blood and semi-graphic death. There are also mentions of global genocide and extreme amounts of destruction. If you are offended by these things, read Tinywarz Rangers chapter 8 for the 'cliff notes' version.

Chapter Fifty Four: The Impossible

Sweat trickled down his brow as he worked on the device.

By his reckoning, he had been slaving over it for about a day and a half. The girl who was apparently AJ's great, great granddaughter had been by his side the entire time, not saying much. Looking up from the circuitry, his eyes roved the mostly empty Zord Bays again as he tried to remember which Zords had gone where. In an ironic twist of fate, the only Zord that was in its position was the Chronos Zord. He had wanted to take the Zord and go back to the past with it…but something inside him had stopped him cold. That would be the easy way out and he was damned if he was going to take it. He had already cannibalised the Simul-Deck for the positron generator and had reconnected all the wires to the main power source. Closing the back cover, he sighed deeply. He would only get one chance at going back to his own time.

But…he wasn't ready.

He knew he was leaving this future behind and it would soon cease to exist…but he couldn't help but think about the world he would be leaving behind. If the future didn't blink out of existence, the women here would still be forced into a lifetime of sex slavery. From what he had heard from the girl, the males were sequestered in labs for experimentation and breeding purposes. He didn't want to do it, but there was only one option he had to take.

World-wide genocide.

The idea sickened him to the core. To destroy a monster was one thing as they threatened the peace and stability of the planet. It was great to hear and see an exploding monster and know that the world was safe once more. It was another thing to take another human life…especially when he knew he had to use the Power to do so. The women had told him the story of the Orange Knight was believed everywhere by all women and men alike and was their only bastion of hope. He also knew that any hope they had in this hell-hole was a hope of a quick and painless death. For them, death would be a blessing. For him…it would make him into the very things he fought: a monster. Visions of Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust flashed through his mind and he squeezed his eyes shut at the thought of adding his name to the list of mass-murderers. Even the thought of it being for the best didn't help at all.

Placing the complete time hole generator down, he stood up and walked towards the open door. Thankfully there were no security patrols out in this area so the door had remained open. He looked out onto the hovels that the women lived in and then up at the sky filled with red and black clouds. He saw the hopelessness in their eyes and the forced emotions they wore before heading off to 'work'. Glancing behind him, he saw the girl tracing her fingers delicately over his workplace with the same look of hopeless wonder in her eyes. He had seen the injuries that most of the women came back with – bruises, burns and deep flesh wounds that would take weeks to heal. Their eyes also had lost the faint glow of happiness and hope that they seemed to develop at 'home'. Looking down at his trembling hands, he forced them into a fist and drew in a shuddering breath.

_"I hope you will remember this trip when you do go back to your time. Sear these images into your heart and brain for this is what will happen if you fail."_

He blinked as Baboo's last words echoed in his mind. Flicking his left wrist, he summoned his Utahraptor Power Coin and looked at it. The gold disc shone in the muted light as he flipped it up into the air a few times. Hearing a muted squeak of surprise, he turned around to see the girl staring at him with wide eyes. No, not at him; she was staring at his Power Coin. He closed his eyes and quirked his lips upward. She had probably figured out who he was the moment she saw him as he had heard her muttering to herself while he worked. AJ had done a good thing in drilling the stories of the Rangers to her family. Come to think of it, she had probably snapped a shot of his body and had kept it somewhere…and he didn't want to think about that anymore. For one thing, it wasn't him who had died…even if it had been.

Catching the Power Coin as it landed in his palm, he felt a warm hand slide over his fist. Opening his eyes, he saw a pair of brilliant emerald eyes looking at him. He sighed, but made no motion to release her had from his.

"The cryogenic experiment…that was a lie, wasn't it? You…you're the Orange Knight, right Sugarcube?"

He nodded slowly, seeing her emotions shift from confusion to shock and finally acceptance. Removing her hand, she led him just outside the door and in the middle of a small crowd. Earlier, she had told him that the true believers would be coming out of the woodwork now as the door to the Ultra Cavern had been closed for years. He had asked how she had gotten in or out and she had just given him a strange smile. That had puzzled him greatly, as the security system ran a check on DNA…but that was impossible. Unless Xonix had done some freaky shit with his body, he didn't know how that would be possible.

"Ladies, our prayers have been answered. The Orange Knight has returned from his exile and will save us!"

Shocked silence settled over the crowd for a few minutes. Then the screaming and pleading began. As if reading the mood, a torrent of rain began to fall from the skies above. The women surged toward him with their faces contorted in agony and sadness. The emotion in their voices was gut-wrenching…as were their pleas.

"Kill me!"

"Kill us, please!"

"I want to be with my husband again, kill me!"

"Release us, please!"

Weihan staggered back as the frantic women clawed at each other to be the first to die. His mind raced as he looked around him and at their faces. The raw emotion battered and bruised his spirit and it was all he could do not the start crying in front of them. One woman made it to the front of the mob and threw herself at him, arms outstretched. Acting on instinct, he summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and slashed out at the flying figure, swallowing hard as he felt the blade slice through flesh and bone. As the woman fell to the ground in two pieces, Weihan stared at the now silent crowd and then at the blood dripping off his blade. Dropping it to the ground, he turned around and vomited up everything he had eaten over the past few hours. He flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder and didn't look up as the tears broke free.

He looked up at the storm and forced down the emotion. The women behind him stopped, as if stunned that their saviour was nothing more than a mere man. Clearing his throat and spitting out the last of the bile, he spoke in a heavy voice.

"I may not like this, but it is my duty as a Ranger to end your suffering. You will all see the glory of the Orange Knight, no, the Orange Ranger as your last images."

Pushing himself up from the muddy ground, he summoned his Ultra Crystal to him and lifted it above his head. He could feel the eyes of the women on it and could sense their desire to be freed from the Hell of their lives. Lightning flashed overhead as the rain fell heavier, soaking him to his skin. Shaking the water out of his eyes, he inhaled deeply.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise."

The words were spoken flatly and with no triumph. As he brought the Crystal down to his chest, he heard the gasps and yelps of the women as the Power enveloped him. As his Battle Armour slid on, he heard the cries of the Utahraptor, Hydra and Crocodile but they sounded mournful. As soon as the transformation ended, he picked up his blade from the muddy ground and turned towards the women. Swallowing hard, he strode toward them and lifted his blade.

The next ten minutes flew by in a blur of rapturous cries, sobs and the ironically melodious ring of his Sabre as it cut through the air. Explosions rang out everywhere as hovels imploded in balls of gas and flame. Weihan kept his eyes open the entire time, committing each act and each face to the video memory of his suit and the emotional memory of his heart. As the last woman stopped moving, Weihan looked around him and at his gloves which were soaked with blood. Falling to his knees, he kept staring at the blood until his hands were closed by two others. Looking up blankly, he saw that AJ's great whatever granddaughter had survived. She smiled gently at him and lightly kissed the side of his helmet.

"Ah will be right here when you finish. Ah will wait for you no matter how long it takes."

Swallowing hard, he nodded. He didn't want to…end her suffering just yet, but wouldn't it be cruel to leave her in a place where death had swooped down so recently? She shook her head at him, as if reading his thoughts.

"Ah will wait for you in your cave. Ah will be there, ah promise."

Nodding once, he stood up again and lifted a shaking hand into the air. He glanced at the Chronos Zord and shook his head, realising the temptation to use its time travel technology would be too great. Wordlessly, he summoned his Dinozord to him and it appeared in a bright flash. Looking over it, he saw that it was heavily damaged as great gouges were all over its armour and large chunks of metal from the head and legs were missing – as if chewed out. Lowering his hand, he looked over at the girl and she gave him a shaky smile. Jumping up into the cockpit, he saw that there was massive damage inside as well. The control panel had been ripped out and there was a note crudely taped to the seat. Picking it up, he stowed it in a subspace pocket and willed the Zord to move.

If the ten minute massacre flew by quickly, the next seventeen hours crawled by at a snail's pace. Building after building exploded as the ravaged Zord tore through them on remote as Weihan rampaged on the ground. Women cried in relief as their tortures ended and men praised his emotional strength as they died. Monsters and bounty hunters cried out in terror as they were destroyed and the most perverted cried out in pleasure as the blades pierced their flesh. He had lost count of how many he had killed and had lost track of how many times he had thrown up. The tears kept flowing, but he kept his helmet on at all times; only taking it off the throw up or to spit on a monster before it was destroyed.

Much to his surprise, there were some monsters who welcomed death as it signalled the end to what their lives had become. Some spilled out their life stories and had spoken of Xonix's total annihilation of the Wraiths. They praised his strength and determination and one monster in particular had known that he wasn't the Orange Ranger who had died centuries ago. That monster had been Jabarkas, now reduced to the Head of Human Dissection at the main lab. The Hurantic warrior had grown fat and old and had smiled at him through his tears of pain before dying in an energetic explosion.

Finally, it was almost over.

Leaving the rest of Earth a burning husk, he set down the Dinozord next to the Ultra Cavern doors. Leaping out of the Zord, he walked slowly inside as he heard the battered Dinozord finally fall apart. Hanging his Sabre onto his belt, he looked for the girl and found her viewing the archives of past battles. Walking next to her, he saw himself on the viewscreen and heard the words spoken.

_"Xonix has sent down a big and mean mother, it looks tough as fuck, but I'll destroy it. I always do. I wonder why I'm recording this. It's like a last will or something…but I'm not going to die. Not just yet."_

He chuckled at his youthful idealism and once more at that thought. There was no doubt that the past seventeen hours had aged him well past his years. There was also no doubt that it was ingrained into him that he couldn't save the Universe – or Earth – by himself. According to what he had heard from Jabarkas, Zordon's Rangers had only lasted a few days before they had been destroyed. Hearing the sound behind her, the girl turned around and pressed a button behind her. In a crackle of static, the image of himself was replaced by an image of a dishevelled AJ. His throat constricted as she began to speak to…him.

_"This is a message to the future you. You know who ah'm talking about. Ah jus' saw your body bein' paraded down George Street and ah had to know. You gave me a copy of your bracelet after that night and, well, ah'm here. Seein' all this…it's true. You're dead an ah'm still here. Now, ah don't know what ah did, but ah'm willin to bet that ah just put a security lock on this message so that mah kids and grandkids will be able to access this. An' you as well."_

Weihan blinked behind his helmet. He had spent a night with AJ and had told her who he was? That was…well, it wasn't impossible as AJ had given him her private number. Whatever it was, it was surely something that would probably come to pass now.

_"Now, ah know you're gone. You jus' did your thing but you need a team. Ah don't know how ah know you'll see this, but ah know in mah heart that you will somehow. Ah love you an ah'll never forget what we shared. Our kids are gonna grow up in a world filled with evil, but someday one of them will find you again. Ah love you, Sugarcube."_

As AJ's image winked out, Weihan felt tears start flowing again. Stepping back, he leant against the worktable and looked at the ground, the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. He didn't even blink once as the Main Power finally failed, only leaving the lights of the work table on to illuminate the cavern. As she stepped closer to him, he looked up and cursed his blindness as he saw the remarkable similarity between himself and the woman in front of him. She took one of his bloodstained gloves and led him outside where the rain was finally beginning to ease up. Reaching up, her fingers found the latches on the sides of his helmet and she pulled it off, allowing the cool air to hit his face. Weihan bowed his head from his great, great, great granddaughter – not wanting her to see his red and raw eyes. He felt her lift his chin up and she looked him in his eyes.

"You did good today. You showed me what my great, great, great grandfather was like in his youth. You also showed extreme courage in taking up this task; a task no one should ever have to do. Wear your tears with pride as they are a symbol of your true emotions, bravery and honesty. All of their wishes, you have honoured them – every single last one."

Her hands dropped down and unhooked his Sabre from his belt. Weihan protested weakly, but she silenced him with a look. Holding the blade with one hand, she pressed the portable time hole generator into his hands and smiled softly.

"Remember this day when you go back to your own time. Remember it not as a time of sorrow, but as a time of strength. Celebrate life and the loved ones around you, but remember that darkness can come at any moment. Whatever you choose, I will be watching over you."

In a swift movement, the girl raised his Sabre and ran it through her stomach. Wrenching the blade out with rapidly weakening hands, she fell to the ground. Snapping out of his stupor, Weihan leapt forward and caught his kin to cradle her in her last moments. She smiled up at him as he asked what her name was. Shaking her hear, she answered.

"Ah'm named after mah great, great, great grandma – Jacqui Apple Liang. Grandpa Weihan, always remember that strength comes from both within and without."

As the last word fell from her lips, she gazed up at the clouds and smiled softly. Weihan looked up to see what she had seen and saw a small break in the clouds. Brilliant blue sky shone through for a second and when he looked back, she was gone. Her face was fixed in an expression of pure peace and a brilliant smile was on her lips. Cradling her body close to him, he walked into the Ultra Cavern and laid her on the shattered remains of the Main Console. In the silence of the night, he opened the portal back to his time and stepped through.

On the dead and barren world, only the memories remained.

TBC…


	56. Chapter Fifty Five: Ranger Crossroads

A/N: In one month, I have written around 28 chapters. I've gone from meeting Xonix face-to-face to the first Zord battle and throwing in a Hell of a lot of references to my other works. It would be great to know people are reading this so any reviews are welcome. Even ones similar to ZeldaTheSwordsman that just say "WRONG" over and over ad nauseum.

Enjoy!

Chapter Fifty Five: Ranger Crossroads

Weihan strode down the halls looking like death warmed over.

It had been two whole weeks since his jaunt into the future and he had spent those two weeks doing everything he possibly could to prepare for the "big and mean mother". He had also dropped in on AJ and much to his surprise, she had promised to keep his identity a secret. According to her, it was probably going to cost her a fortune to keep it secret but the world wasn't ready to know just yet. He had withheld the story on the hellish future from her as he wasn't ready to share those memories to someone just yet. If and when he did, he would have to be sure the girl was the right one for him. Barring that, he would probably have to tell it to some smart-ass Ranger wannabe as a lesson on responsibility or something like that. He only hoped it would be far in the future and not too soon.

The wound was still too raw.

He had an idea on who he would pick for the second Ranger. Well, it wasn't so much of an idea as a giant neon sign every time he was in the same room as him. That person was Alex Burns and if that damn image was correct, he would become the Black and Green Ultra Ranger. He wondered absentmindedly if he could shorten the colour name down a bit. Maybe he could ask Zordon. Looking around for his quarry, he spied him near one of the classrooms…talking to Moss. Weihan sighed and stepped closer. Much to his chagrin, Moss spotted him and called him over.

"Weihan, just in time. Alex is about to agree to become a Ranger for my father's company!"

Weihan blinked and shook his head with a laugh. Ranger Powers couldn't be built by any company no matter how rich they were. The only way Ranger Powers could be built using terrestrial materials was if the company had secured a direct link to the Morphin Grid or they had a shitload of generators handy. If Moss wanted to indulge in his delusions, then that was fine but if he wanted to drag in Ranger potentials…

"Really? What does the armour look like and will it stand up to the Orange Ranger?"

Moss blinked once and then shook his head. It was obvious that he didn't have a clue about it and was just pulling things out of his ass like usual. Rolling his eyes, Weihan glanced at Alex and was fully convinced that he was the correct choice. The image of the suit had fully covered the boy and if he concentrated hard enough, he could hear the trumpeting call of the Mammoth, the growling of the Lion and a croaking of a frog or a toad. He would have to ask Zordon why the Thunder Animal was so close to Adam's but apparently they had their own problems involving time travel. He was about to disprove Moss' claims when another voice broke in.

"Now, now, if Steven says that his father can create a Ranger, we should give him the benefit of a doubt."

Weihan nodded in mock agreement at the voice. William Hoyle, an English transfer student from London, was one of the smartest people Weihan knew but he was extremely arrogant and loved to brag about everything and anything he could. He also loved to confuse people with long words that made no sense whatsoever. To Weihan's eyes, however, he was a dysfunctional Billy. He turned to face his friend and all the jovial thoughts left his mind. Instead of the sandy haired boy he was used to seeing, he saw a White Ranger. The design of the helmet was very similar to Rocky's except it had a more angular visor. The armour was white with gold and black highlights and the coin on the breastplate had the image of a snarling Allosaur. Concentrating, Weihan could only hear the snarling roar of the theropod with no other sounds. He guessed that a visit to Ninjor would connect him to his Spirit Animal…or something like that.

Reeling from the imagery, Weihan took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Great, now he had two potential Rangers to recruit. The only problem would be giving them their Ultra Crystals and telling them of their new responsibilities. The only spanner in the works he could think of was his Ultra Crystal. After the time hole had sputtered closed, he had demorphed and summoned the Crystal to him. It had looked dull and…bruised, if a crystal could look bruised. He would ask Zordon for help if it didn't improve. Shaking his head slightly, his mind turned to finding a solution to his two potential Rangers. Maybe if he grabbed them after school. He dismissed that thought as there would be too many damn witnesses and too many questions after that. If only there was an emergency of some sort…

As if hearing his prayers the recently installed "monster attack" alarm started wailing. Sending up a quick prayer of thanks, the Orange Ranger raced into the library and looked out the window to Town Hall Square. The damage from the first attack had only recently been completed and Weihan was sure the Council would raise a huge stink about this battle. Seeing the small group of Golems rampaging through the Square, he had other things to worry about than a group of pissed off politicians. As he darted out of the library, his eyes darted for his two potentials.

"Come on, Burns! It's morphing time!"

Rolling his eyes, he unceremoniously grabbed the collars of both Alex and William and yanked them away from the fat businessman. Pulling them to an unused stairwell, he ignored their shouts and questions as he raced down the stairs as quick as he dared. As he neared the third floor, he summoned his Ultra Crystal to him in a flash of light and glanced down at it. To his great relief, whatever had afflicted it was gone and it was back to its usual shine. As he jumped down the last four steps, he heard his companions stop and gasp at the sight of the Crystal.

"What the hell…?"

"What is that thing? Weihan, what is it?"

Ignoring them, he held the crystal up and swallowed hard. For the briefest of moments, he wondered if he was doing to correct thing but the images of the bad future flashed to the forefront of his mind. Even if they quit after their first battle, if they allowed him to survive whatever monster would kill him then…he would worry about that when it happened. Right now, the perfect opportunity was presenting itself…and why was his Ultra Crystal glowing like that? Slowing his pace, he allowed his two friends to catch up with him as he stared at his Crystal. In twin flashes of light appeared two crystals. Unlike his own, they were straight and were tinged with their Ranger colours.

"Guys, I am offering you a once in a lifetime chance to become part of something greater. I am offering you the chance to become Ultra Rangers."

Alex and William blinked once and then burst out laughing. Weihan wanted to hit them as they had clearly seen the Crystals materialise from thin air and had also seen his own Ultra Crystal pulsing with light. He shook his head and forced his anger down.

"Believe me or not, but those crystals are yours until you decline. I won't pressure you into making any decision and the choice will be entirely up to you. I'll be waiting downstairs."

Turning away, he began walking down the stairs and heard their disbelieving laughter fade away. Holding the Crystal above his head, he took in a deep breath.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

The bad thing about morphing in a confined space was that sound echoed a damn lot. For the second time in a row, he hadn't shouted out his morphing call. As the armour formed around him, he looked down at his gloves and his eyes widened. The once white cloth was now splattered with red, giving the impression of a dropped plate of tomato soup. A chill ran through him as he realised that his armour was changing to ensure he never forgot about what he had to do in that future. He hoped that his gloves were the only thing that had changed.

Behind him, he heard the shouts of surprise as his friends had seen him morph. Without sparing them a glance, he bolted down the stairs as his Battle Armour formed silently at his wordless command. In his mind's ear, he could hear the angry bellows of his Main Three Animals and realised they needed to take their revenge on Xonix. He gritted his teeth and snorted angrily. He couldn't worry about the two of them and their decision was completely out of his hands. One of the unwritten conditions about his team was that they had to make the decision themselves. While it made a damn lot of sense…it also allowed a damn lot of variables into the mix. As he neared the door that would lead out into the Square, he wondered if they had the guts to make a difference.

And if they didn't…what would he do then?

TBC…


	57. Chapter Fifty Six: Mammoth Decision

A/N: Yes, the people at my school were really like that in 1998. No, I'm not sure how I survived without Ranger Powers either.

Chapter Fifty Six: Mammoth Decision

Alex Burns stared at the figure in shock.

His best friend had just turned into the Orange Ranger. If he were to leave right now and go to the press with that information, he would be set up for life. Even Moss' money would be no good to him. He would be able to see all the rugby matches he wanted in the VIP seatings with access to the cheerleaders at the end of the game. To make things better, if Will took up the offer he would have the identities of two Rangers in the bag. Then it would be smooth sailing, get out of school free and have money pouring in from all directions. If he played his cards right, he could also try to snag that hot reporter chick that had been in the impromptu press conference.

Would it be worth losing his friend over?

He stared at the slowly spinning Crystal and sunk deep in thought, not even looking up as the doors to the Square opened below him and the sound of battle echoed up. The Black and Green Crystal entranced him and called out to him in a way that nothing before ever had. His friend had been granted an opportunity to protect the Earth from invading forces and against some being called Xonix. Having seen the earlier battles, he knew that his friend was quickly running out of ideas and strategies to use against the monsters – but also knew that his friend had access to a wealth of power in his Zords. After seeing footage of the mechanical dinosaur fighting in Angel Grove, he had convinced himself that he would do anything to be in command of one of those machines.

Slowly, he extended a hand towards the Crystal and watched as its spinning picked up speed. He withdrew his hand and looked over at William. The young man looked to be deep in thought as well and was showing no signs of accepting. If he was entirely honest about it, saving the world seemed to be something that was too big for him. He would be better off taking the Crystal and being a one Ranger mercenary or contractor. Only doing the jobs that suited him and that paid well for him to live in luxury and have all the women he wanted.

Being a Ranger wasn't about money. Or fame.

In his heart, he knew this and that part of him was squeezing tighter and tighter in protest as his fantasies grew. If Weihan had truly been in it for the fame, he would have revealed his identity then and there to the hot reporter. He wouldn't have pressured the PM to drop his order of his identity being revealed and would certainly have jumped at the chance to work with the government. If he was in it for the money, he would have flown to Canberra and broken into the National Mint or something along those lines. Instead, he had forgone those options and was protecting the public from whatever came at them.

His mind went back to Moss' proposal to make him into a Ranger. He knew that Moss was full of bullshit and that he couldn't have made that proposal come true even with all his money. Looking at the Crystal in front of him, he knew it was the real deal. Weihan couldn't have scraped up this much trickery and deception in such a short amount of time and scientists hadn't come up with full body photorealistic holograms just yet. Extending his hand again, he let his fingers brush lightly over the spinning surface and his mind exploded with voices and images.

_"She should be the Purple Ranger. I can see it."_

_The Orange Ranger looked to where his friend was pointing and thought it over. Concentrating on the Asian girl, he tried to feel how much power resided within her and how the Purple Crystal would resonate. Shaking his head, he nodded in the direction of her friend who was talking with Judd._

_"The Crystal resonates more with her. I'll go talk to her and if it doesn't pan out, we'll go with your decision. We gotta choose fast though. Kaijor's still on the loose."_

Removing his fingers from the Crystal, Alex stared in shock and tried to sort through the images and words. In the future, he would be picking the next Ranger. In those few seconds, he had seen his own future and had known the direction he had to walk in. He would do it for the planet and not for his own selfish motivations. Snapping his head toward the Crystal, he grabbed it confidently with his left hand.

Power engulfed him as he was changed forever.

TBC…


	58. Chapter Fifty Seven: Fire and Ice

A/N: Thanks to the…one…of you who reviewed! Good to know people are reading this. Changed the rating from T to M as the next few arcs will be extremely dark.

Chapter Fifty Seven: Fire and Ice

The second the doors opened, he knew he had underestimated his foes. Again.

Six streams of fire raced toward him and he slammed the door on instinct. As he felt the fire impact against the other side, he clenched his teeth and threw the doors open again. Vaulting over the heads of the first few, he channelled fire into his hands and rolled along the ground to centre himself. Hearing screams and shouts from extremely close by, he took a few seconds to glance at his surroundings and groaned under his breath. What he had forgotten was that the stairs didn't lead directly out into the Square – only opening out to a hall that led to the Square. The hall was usually quiet in the mornings but it became busy as the shops on either side opened.

As he watched in stunned horror, a Golem blew out a strong stream of fire that instantly torched a packed café. He moved to see if there were any survivors but was stopped by a blow to the back of the head. Stunned, he fell to the ground and lashed out with a drunken kick. His poorly aimed blow struck one of the Golems and the animated sculpt shattered like clay. Weihan blinked in surprise at the Golem's destruction and curiously looked down at his boots. The non-descript boots had changed to reflect the bestial nature of his Power Animals and now bore a striking similarity to Raptor feet. The killing claw was present but – just like on his Dinozord – it seemed to be sheathed in metal.

Weihan chuckled as a thought ran through his head of a program he had seen on television – Masked Rider. Apparently it was a Japanese show that had been adapted by some Israeli businessman. The title hero had a "Rider Kick" that could destroy enemies. If his feet could do the same thing…but destroying grunts was one thing. A monster had armour and way more muscle mass…unless it was one of those Wraiths. As he stood up slowly, he dismissed the thought. The Wraith had been only a one-off thing. When would he get the chance to fight another one?

Dismissing the fire from his hands, he summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and glanced at it. Like his gloves and boots, the design of the Sabre had changed but only slightly. It was still the same general shape and length, but looked sleeker and more streamlined. Twirling it in his hand, he grinned evilly and ran at the Golems. With one destroyed, the others should be a breeze.

"Ranger!"

Or not. Whirling on his heels and taking down two Golems, the Ranger turned to the voice and his eyes widened again. Standing just a few feet away from him was what could only be described as a hideous mix of a payphone and a cockroach. He honestly didn't know whether to laugh or throw up and it seemed the Golems were having the same problem. Disengaging from the Golems, he turned to the monster but stayed in a ready stance.

"The fuck are you supposed to be?"

The monster gave a high pitched giggle and the Ranger rolled his eyes. With a laugh like that, it was extremely clear that Lord Zedd had sent down this particular…thing for him to fight. Without changing his posture, he spoke into his communication system.

"Zordon, any information about this monster. I think it's one of Zedd's. Or Rita's."

After a few seconds, Zordon's voice issued forth. The ancient sage sounded weary and Weihan mentally cursed himself. He knew the majority of the team were stuck in the past and Tommy was fighting the Green Ranger clone in Angel Grove. Zordon had to be worried sick and didn't have time to look into his 'monster encyclopedia'.

"The monster is a creation of Rita's. It is called Payroach. I am unable to provide more information at this time."

"No worries Zordon. I'll handle it from here."

Without waiting for a reply, the Ranger cut off the connection and looked around for the monster. A distant whir caught his attention and he followed it, noting with some degree of amusement that the Golems had teleported away and Z Putties had teleported in. At least Zedd's putties couldn't spit fire or do anything too horrific…and they had a big target on their chests that made destruction a breeze. Blitzing through the group with his Sabre extended, he didn't even stop to watch as they crumbled to dust behind him. If Zedd thought he could honestly conquer the world with those putties, he was more deluded than his brother. Skidding around the last corner that led out into the Square, Weihan stopped dead.

Payroach was in front of him, all right, but the creature wasn't alone. Flanking the monster on both sides was a large group of Fiends, their fangs gleaming in the sunlight. The monster chuckled and raised one of its spindly arms. A split second later, Weihan staggered back as his chest plate was assaulted by a barrage of metallic objects that was fired out from the arm. Ducking and weaving to avoid the powerful attack, he dove behind a thick stone wall and pried one of the objects out of his armour. He swallowed hard as his fingers felt the familiar dodecagon of a fifty cent coin. He noted with some degree of relief that the edges hadn't been sharpened and that his armour was already repairing itself but the relief turned to horror a split second later at the first scream.

Moving from behind his cover, he saw Payroach lift up another arm and point it at a young woman. The whirring sound he had heard before started up and Weihan swallowed hard as a powerful stream of coins flew out. He wished he could shut off his helmet's audio receptors as the coins bounced off…and eventually imbedded themselves in the young woman's flesh. Drawing his Raptor Cannon in a fit of rage, he ran towards the group firing wildly. A couple of shots hit a small number of Fiends but the majority missed by a wide margin. Upon later reflection, he would be horrified to see one wayward energy bolt strike the wounded woman and completely incinerate her. But that didn't matter to him as he rushed toward the monster.

Ducking under slashing claws, he pumped blast after blast into the reptilian Fiends around him, grinning in a berserker rage as their bodies buckled under the energy attacks. Payroach leapt out of the way laughing at the random attacks. The sound of teleportation filled Weihan's ears as he saw more and more Z Putties, Fiends and Golems teleport from the heavens. Returning his Raptor Cannon to its subspace pocket, Weihan brought out his Raptor Laser and transformed it to the Laser blade mode before slashing it out in an attempt to deflect an acid glob. Striking down hard, his eyes flicked to the grunts around him and a bone-chilling thought entered his brain.

He was losing and was about to die.

Shaking his head viciously, he channelled power into his legs and leapt upward. Springing over the heads of the foot soldiers, he converted his blade back to its original form and rained down blasts of fiery energy. After around seventy shots, the Raptor Laser ran dry and he had reached the apex of his leap. As gravity took hold of him, he reached for his Raptor Sabre and felt his fingers brush against another hidden switch. Marvelling at how many hidden switches his weapon seemed to have, he watched in amazement as the metallic Sabre seemed to change into a crackling energy whip. Cracking it over the heads of the remaining grunts sent shockwaves of fire and light through their bodies; frying them from the inside out. He turned his attention to the monster and pulled his arm back for a final swing…and was promptly shot out of the sky.

Landing heavily on the ground, he gasped in pain as he realised a few coins had penetrated his armour and were more than likely sticking out of his chest. Pushing aside the extremely unsettling thought, he tried to push himself off the ground but a heavy foot on his back prevented him from doing so. Straining to peer upward, he groaned as the boxy head of Jabarkas grinned down at him.

"Well, I must say this is a refreshing look for you, human. It seems Zedd's wife is useful for something after all."

As Weihan struggled to get free, his mind flashed to the Jabarkas he had seen in the bad future. The old warrior hadn't relinquished any details about future battles but had said that he was the one to personally kill him and it was an odd irony that he would be killed by the one killed. Shaking his head in denial, he strained up…and saw an odd sight.

Ice was forming on the Huran's armour.

Jabarkas looked down and his eyes widened at the ice crystals rapidly forming. A few seconds later and the warrior was completely encased in thick ice. A strong push up later and Weihan was free and looking around for the source of the ice. If it was another monster, he would be semi-fucked. Trepidation turned to stunned relief as a familiar voice rang out.

"You saved the best for me! Now, let's kill them!"

TBC…


	59. Chapter Fifty Eight: 1 Last Parting Shot

Disclaimer: Is on my bio and is on a damn lot of chapters here. Read and review!

Chapter Fifty Eight: One Last Parting Shot

All combatants froze as they saw the speaker.

It was another Ranger. The Ranger was clothed in solid black armour with green highlights. On the chest was a similar armoured vest – complete with crystal – only coloured green and black. The gloves bore the same random blood spatter as Weihan's and the boots bore designs of elephant feet. The golden leg and arm bands shone in the light and the helmet bore a hyper-realistic design of a Mammoth's head – complete with realistic eyes and tusks. In one hand, the Ranger gripped a strange weapon. It took up half the Ranger's forearm and from what Weihan could see; it was attached similarly to his 'combination morpher'. The weapon was styled in the form of a Mammoth – complete with tusks and trunk, which hung over the front of his fist. Stepping forward, the Ranger bent down and extended a hand to Weihan.

"Made up your mind, eh?"

The Ranger nodded his head confidently.

"No sense waiting around for Moss when there's bad guys to bust! Luckily I got here just in time with the Mammoth Buster here!"

Weihan cocked an eyebrow at the name. Well, Mammoth Buster was a better name than the one he had thought of when he had seen it – the Head Boomer. Taking the proffered hand, he hauled himself up and stretched out all the aches. A glimmer of light to his left signalled the forced teleportation of Jabarkas out of the battle. Resummoning his Raptor Sabre to him once more, he looked pointedly at his friend.

"You ready, mate?"

Nodding back, Alex ran forward at the monster while shooting blasts of ice. He was so engrossed in his Power Rush that he didn't hear his friend's shout. After he had grabbed the crystal, the light had changed him into his costume and he had spent a good few minutes just looking at it. The strange red splatters on the gloves were intriguing and he would have to ask Weihan about them later. William had stared at him open mouthed and that seemed to make a positive impact on the Brit. When he had left the stairwell, the Brit was still staring at his crystal but seemed to be closer to making a decision.

Of course, he had seen that the stair ended at the pseudo-food court and had seen the raging fire. He had also spied a few hot girls near the area and while he knew he couldn't reveal his identity, there was nothing to stop him from looking all heroic in front of them. There was an off chance that one of them was good friends with the blonde reporter and could easily hook him up. That's when the freaky voice had told him about his gauntlet blaster and extinguisher. It had appeared in a shine of green light and he had easily extinguished the flames…and seen the bodies.

Suddenly, being a Ranger didn't seem like a good idea at all.

But he had accepted the Power and, hey, death was a part of life. You either bought it choking on a bagel, being hit by a car…or incinerated at breakfast. Sure, it was an unnatural death, but the enemies up there were as unnatural as they came! It all evened itself out in the end, so why worry? Jumping over the monster, he punched down and encased the monster in a thin layer of ice. Stepping back, he saw his friend run up and do some fancy footwork and snazzy sword strikes. The roach monster staggered back and lifted up an arm. Alex saw his friend dive out of the way and yell at him to do the same. Not wanting to take the chance, he hit the ground…just as a veritable hail of coins whizzed millimetres above his head.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he drew a bead on the monster's arms and let loose with a barrage of his own. With pinpoint accuracy, each of the freezing blasts impacted against Payroach's arms – freezing them solid. Rolling up off the ground, the Black and Green Ranger was treated to the extremely hilarious sight of the monster beating itself on the ground to shatter the ice. Chuckling under his helmet, Alex reached over and pushed the trunk in on his Mammoth Buster. As he did, the tusks on either side grew longer and sharper and – to his eyes at least – it looked like a bull's head was growing out of his glove. Letting go of that rather disturbing thought, Alex ran toward the beast and punched its chest. The tusks sank into the creature and as the Ranger ripped the weapon out; they drew grey 'blood'. He didn't know whether to be elated or nauseous but all thoughts were forcefully pushed out as the monster shot a laser blast out of its mouth, clipping the Ranger on the right shoulder.

As he fell to the ground, he could see Weihan leap up behind the monster and slash down powerfully. The blade raked across the monster's tough carapace and sparks flew. The Orange Ranger flipped away and threw his Sabre at the monster. The fast moving blade tore through its torso before boomeranging around and over to land neatly in his friend's hand. Alex wondered how many hot reporters' number his friend had amassed with moves like those. Although he was starting later, he could easily catch up to his friend in terms of asses tapped. Rolling back on his shoulders, the new Ranger flipped up onto his feet and blinked in surprise.

The monster was still standing. It wasn't in the best shape but it was still standing. Muttering under his breath in frustration, Weihan stowed his Raptor Sabre for the umpteenth time and pulled out his Raptor Cannon. As the shot began charging, he decided to try something new and focused his Ninjetti Power to augment the shot. The ball of energy at the end of the barrel began glowing and pulsating in a way that made it look like a mini sun. If it was able to get the job done quicker, he would continue to use it in future battles…or find a way to tweak his Raptor Cannon so it was the default finisher. Something to ask Billy about later whenever he and the others came back from the past…whenever they were. Everything about time travel gave him a massive headache. He had seen himself in his future in the past and had then found himself in an alternate future where everything had gone to Hell…well, except for the bit about him having kids with AJ; but his great, great, great granddaughter had killed herself in front of him and…he shut the door on those memories. He could mull over them as much as he wanted to later but he was in the middle of something and couldn't afford to lose focus.

Nodding once to his friend, Weihan gripped his cannon as the charge reached 100 percent. Bracing himself against the recoil, he watched as Alex fired off a thick beam of ice that struck the monster's chest again. This time, the ice that covered the monster was thicker and made movement impossible. Narrowing his eyes at the ice statue, the Orange Ranger depressed the trigger and sent the deadly sphere rocketing towards Payroach. As soon as the sphere made contact with the frozen creature, it exploded in a billowing cloud of smoke and steam. Blinking at the destruction, Weihan's lips quirked upward. It seemed like Rita's monsters exploded with a lot less vigour than Zedd's or Xonix's. Turning away from the cloud, he walked over to Alex and placed a hand on his shoulder as the people started to come out of hiding.

"So…first fight. Not as giant as mine, but you survived. How was it?"

Alex opened his mouth to answer, but a shout cut him off.

"Look out!"

Jerking away from Alex, Weihan blinked as a bolt of pure white energy flew by him – narrowly missing him – and impacted against something in the slowly dissipating cloud of stem behind them. His head snapped around to catch a glimpse of a heavily damaged Payroach falling backward and exploding with enough force to shatter most of the windows of St Andrew's House. Shaking his head in relief, he looked over to who had fired the shot and felt his jaw unhinge.

The White Ultra Ranger stood with his blaster outstretched.

TBC…


	60. Chapter Fifty Nine: Ninja Quest

Chapter Fifty Nine: Ninja Quest

Three days later, three streaks of light entered the Ultra Cavern.

Weihan stepped onto the stone floor and eyed his two friends warily. After the battle, he had pulled them aside and told them that he would explain everything to the best of his abilities…right before the throng of reporters had descended on them. He had spent an agonising forty five minutes talking to the assembled reporters all the while wishing he could teleport to the Ultra Cavern and remove the coins stuck in his chest. Will had handled the reporters excellently and had shown great promise with his answers on where they had come from. On the other hand, Alex only seemed interested in answering questions from the cute reporters and trying to get Jacqui Apple to give him her number.

To her credit, she had taken his advances quite well but she had given Weihan an earful and a half over the phone. He knew his friend was pretty much interested in everything female with two legs…if his little misadventure with their English teacher had been any indication. Much to AJ's disappointment, he couldn't teleport to see her as he had done the last time. He knew she was very interested in him, but the age gap between them made any physical intimacy very…illegal. He silently shook his head in amusement. If Alex knew about them, he would have a shit fit tight then and there. Thinking about his friend made him lose all joviality. He knew that Alex's constant chasing of anything female wasn't really an issue now but if left unchecked it could spell disaster. He had already woken up too many times in the night in a cold sweat with images of the bad future coming to pass...all because Alex didn't take his duties seriously. He knew one Ranger could make a great difference and that was why he was impressed that Will seemed to have his sense of duty well in hand.

The White Ranger suit was incredible to both Alex and Will; but as Weihan had seen it before, it wasn't all that great. He knew Rocky would have a field day comparing his suit to Will's and he was waiting for Billy to teleport in to…pick his brains or something. He smirked at the thought of recording the conversation to look up the words later. Seemed that becoming an Ultra Ranger was making him learn more than school was teaching. On the other hand, school wasn't going to teach him how to repair the 34th junction on an Eltarean heat sink or how to bypass a faulty power coupler with a paperclip and some gum.

As the lights flooded the chamber, Weihan noted the addition of two new Zord Bays that contained the new Dinozords. One was a giant black Mammoth with green highlights along its body and gleaming silver tusks. It was much different than the Mastodon Dinozord the original Black Ranger had used, looking more like a real Woolly Mammoth than an elephant. He couldn't wait to see it in battle. The other Zord Bay contained Will's stark white Allosaurus Dinozord. The metal theropod was crouched down but Weihan could see the deadliness that was barely hidden behind the seemingly docile façade. If his own experience in piloting his Dinozord was any indication, those two Zords would be nigh-unstoppable.

As Alex and Will both marvelled at their new Zords, a red light on the main console began to blink on and off steadily. Weihan frowned and walked over, his eyes lingering briefly on top of it. Shaking himself out of his brief melancholy he pressed the button for the main screen. After a brief burst of static, Zordon's face appeared looking more worried than Weihan had ever seen.

"Zordon, is everything all right?"

"No, I am afraid it is not. My sensors indicate Rita's brother – Rito Revolto – has landed on the moon."

Weihan nodded gravely. He wondered what Rito looked like but reminded himself with all honesty that he would probably be meeting him soon. The next words from the sage filled his stomach with lead.

"The Thunderzords are engaging him in the woods. They have been ambushed by four other monsters."

The transmission began to break up as Zordon's image faded in and out. William and Alex had stopped admiring their Zords and were looking at Zordon's image with a look of shocked fear on their faces. Weihan spared them a glance and tried to increase the reception of the transmission.

"Zordon, you're breaking up. Come in."

"Alpha, proceed with caution. The power accelerator is almost at its peak level."

The image dissolved to static and Weihan pounded the console in frustration as he tried to decipher all the information given. Rita's brother Rito was fighting the Power Rangers and they had presumably called their Zords. Rito had led them into an ambush and they were losing. The power accelerator in the Command Centre was almost at its peak level…Weihan's eyes widened as the information pointed to one direction: the Power Rangers were going to be destroyed. A split second later, the lights dimmed for a fraction of a second and he swore he heard Kim scream in anguish and he closed his eyes in sympathy.

For the fourth and final time, the Thunderzords had been destroyed.

His mind raced. If the Thunderzords were destroyed, the power backlash would have all but destroyed the power banks and converters. Zordon would have a hard time recreating the Zords…if they could be recreated at all. The next option after that would be either Ninjor or Dulcea, but he didn't think they were ready to see Dulcea just yet. Racing to another part of the console, he opened up a private communications channel to Ninjor. He was just lucky the Ninja Master had the foresight to give Weihan his private frequency.

"Ninjor, do you read?"

After a short grumbling delay, the Ninja Master's voice issued from the speaker. He could hear Alex and Will struggling not to laugh at the voice, but ignored them.

"I'm here. What is it?"

"I've gotten two more Ultra Rangers that need connection to their Ninja Spirits. Send them over?"

Ninjor seemed to think about it for a few seconds.

"Yes. Send them over with the other Rangers. I will connect them to their Ninja Spirits together."

Weihan nodded once and closed the connection. He turned to face his friends and placed both hands behind his back.

"Guys, I am sending you to a place called the Desert of Despair. You will go on a quest to discover and connect with your innate Spirit Animal as well as receive your Ninjazords. The journey will be tough and there will be moments where you will want to give up. Persevere and you will gain a Power greater than anything else. Do you wish to proceed?"

Alex and Will traded looks and nodded in unison. Weihan sighed and walked over to a wall. Placing his hand on the rocky surface, a small beep was heard and soon after a drawer slid out. Placing a hand inside, he withdrew a neatly folded piece of paper and opened it up. It was a crudely drawn map of the Desert of Despair with Ninjor's temple marked with a big black cross. After his own map had mysteriously disappeared, he didn't want his new Rangers to have to take any chances. After all, Zordon's Rangers would probably lose their copy of the map in some spectacularly idiotic fashion – possibly involving fire. Handing the map to Alex, he walked over to the main teleportation console and punched in the co-ordinates for the Desert of Despair.

"All right. Hang on to your dinner."

As the two Rangers vanished in streaks of light, Weihan slumped against the teleporter controls and breathed a sigh of relief. Ninjor would be able to sort them out better than Dulcea. Actually, Dulcea would probably run her staff through Alex within five minutes of their meeting. As he looked around the Ultra Cavern, an alarm began to wail. Eyes widening, he raced to the radar screen and swore under his breath. In the middle of Centennial Park were three figures. One was the familiar armoured form of Goldar, one was a walking skeleton painted in camouflage and the other was a monster rat with rocket parts sticking out of it. They weren't doing much in the way of destruction but Weihan knew that if he left them alone they would go on a rampage.

Time to hold the fort.

TBC…


	61. Chapter Sixty: Triumph

Chapter Sixty: Triumph

Xonix was close…he could feel it.

Lifting his head up wearily from the books, the draconian overlord stretched his neck out. He needed a safe way to make his monsters grow. The Ritual of Da'Lana was good if the monster was strong enough but if the monster was destroyed…well, he didn't want to go into another Power Coma when the monster was inevitably destroyed. The problem was monster enlargement spells were a dime a dozen in the Universe but most of them required the caster or impart some of his or her own life force into the spell. The only spells that didn't have that requirement were enchantments on objects like staves or wands. There were also a few other strange methods he had come across that involved DNA tampering, organic growth and strange chemical rain but he wasn't going to touch those methods with a ten foot pole.

He had been on the verge of giving up on the idea of giant monsters altogether when the moon had shaken violently. He was thrown unceremoniously to the ground and had been pelted with various scrolls and books. Breaking free like a leviathan, he was about to see who or what had made the moon shake when he had seen it. It was a non-descript scroll bound by an unbroken black wax seal but the parchment looked to be very old. He had plucked it out of the pile and very carefully broken the seal. The power that had flowed through him had instantly turned those closest to him into ash and he could still feel the nerves inside his teeth tingling.

Unrolling the scroll, his eyes widened as he read the incantation within. When done correctly, the spell would allow the caster to enlarge any monster of his or her choosing whether they were created by the overlord or not. From what he could gather the only side effect would be a gradual mutation of his body into something grotesquely hideous. Seeing that he was already in a hideous form, he dismissed that concern with a wave of his hand. Clearing the messy workspace with a sweep of his tail, he began gathering the ingredients needed. Three drops of venom from the Fa'tlo Worm, powdered talons of an M'lotto Flyer, two live Gn'id beetles from the planet Yx'oit…he wondered why most of the extremely old incantations and spells required so many insects. As he worked, his thoughts turned to the Orange Ranger and what he had seen a few rotations ago.

He had been spying on the Orange Crystal's bearer to see if he could learn more about human behaviour when a strange portal had opened up and sucked the Ranger in. He had Twinlobe run all sorts of tests, but the Anishan hadn't been able to decipher where or when it led. He had considered sending down a monster to destroy the city when another portal had opened up and the Orange Ranger had staggered through. He had been morphed and he was clutching at a strange device.

His armour was also covered in blood.

He had watched in stunned silence as the Orange Ranger had looked at his armour and promptly jumped over a short wall into the salty water below. A streak of light a minute or so later had signalled the retreat of the Ranger. He had Jabarkas cloak himself and gather up some of the blood from the ground. He hoped it would have been the Orange Ranger's and he would be close to learning how to destroy him. Instead, the information received had temporarily overwhelmed his computers. There were literally hundreds upon hundreds of different DNA strands from the few drops collected. All of the strands bore trace elements of Chronoton particles which was a hallmark of passing through a time hole. More surprisingly, Jabarkas' DNA had been amongst the millions of human strands and seeing as how the Orange Ranger hadn't fought face to face with Jabarkas recently…well, if it – whatever it was – happened, then it was going to happen far into the future.

He hadn't had time to send down a monster after that as Dark Spectre had called him away to train his apprentice in magic. There was a lot of potential in the young girl, but there was also something in her that longed for family. He had tried his best to extinguish that spot as long as he could but ultimately, it remained so deep in her psyche that neither he nor Dark Spectre would be able to completely get rid of it. Well, not without drastic mind-altering robotics. He had wondered why he was even doing it for the Monarch of Evil but thought it wise not to ask. Besides, it would be good luck to have a favour from the Monarch to call in on times of extreme need.

He had come back to utter chaos. Jabarkas had sent down a group of Golems to terrorise the populace of the city and the Orange Ranger had come out guns blazing. Then Zedd had called in a near panic as Rita had sent down a monster of her own design to attack the Orange Ranger. It seemed as though they had easily forgotten the debacle with Eyeporter, though Rita's new monster seemed to be on the right track. He had pulled out the remaining Golems and had sent Jabarkas down to kill the Orange Ranger. The Huran had waited, out of sight, as Rita had sent down a large group of Z Putties and he had actually taken bets on how long they would last. A few minutes later and he was out of pocket by ten thousand kiams; which was pretty much loose change. He had watched in growing interest as Payroach soundly defeated the Ranger and Jabarkas moved in for the kill.

And his jaw had hit the ground.

No, it was impossible. From the attitude of the Ranger, he would have thought that it would be about three years for him to hand out the other crystals. But it was impossible to deny – there was another Ranger in the picture. He had gawked at the abilities of the Ranger before he had come to his senses and had teleported Jabarkas out of there. From the last report, Yit had just finished chipping away the last of the magical ice only a few hours ago and had unceremoniously dunked the Huran into a vat of boiling water.

The new Ranger had some pretty slick moves for a newbie. He was able to almost single-handedly disarm the monster and set it up for the Orange Ranger to destroy…or so they had thought. Xonix had seen the smoke and steam and knew that the powered charge shot had only melted the magical ice. Still, it had brought the monster to the very brink of death and it was teetering on the brink as it had aimed toward the two celebrating Rangers.

And then his jaw detached and landed on the surface of the moon.

Another Ranger had emerged. The power in that blaster shot was immense, but it didn't come close to the power that the Orange Ranger had. Did that mean that the Orange Ranger was the lynchpin and if he died, the rest would follow? It was certainly worth looking in to. He had just finished the potion off and was about to start the incantation when Zedd had teleported in, almost causing him to drop the vial. His brother was celebrating the…no, that was impossible. The true Thunder Powers wouldn't have been destroyed that easily, but Zedd was saying it was so. A quick check revealed that the Thunder Powers had been destroyed…but they were regenerating in the Grid. Zordon's Rangers were down, but not out.

They would go to see Ninjor. He was sure of it. The old sage was the closest source of Ranger Powers and it was reasonably close as well. Zedd had elaborated on a plan to destroy the teens in the Desert of Despair and Xonix had said nothing. In all actuality, there would be a very good chance that the Orange Ranger would send his two new charges to seek the Ninja Powers with the Power Rangers. If they would receive the Ninjetti Powers later…well, that was still unclear. He still questioned the mental stability of Dulcea as while guarding the Great Power was one thing, guarding it in a large phallic monolith was another entirely different kettle of fish. The thought of Zedd wanting to claim that Power for himself from said phallic monolith…well, he didn't want to think about those thoughts concerning his brother for the rest of his natural life. The rumours about him and some alligator creature were almost too much.

A quick energy scan had confirmed his suspicions. The Black/Green and White Rangers had teleported to the Desert of Despair from an indeterminate area outside the city. The Orange Ranger was now all alone without any backup. Grinning wickedly, he concentrated his magical energies and unleashed them on an unsuspecting palace rat that was scurrying near some discarded weapons. In a blue flash of light the rat was transformed into a six foot tall monster. Various gun barrels protruded from its furry hide and in the place of its left arm; there was a large rocket launcher. In short, it looked like it would eat the Orange Ranger for breakfast. The Orange Ranger would soon learn why he was the Master of Evil.

Especially if he could make it grow…

TBC…


	62. Chapter Sixty One: Extinguished Flame

Disclaimer: On my bio. Enjoy!

Chapter Sixty One: Extinguished Flame

Skeleton or not, it packed a hell of a punch.

Groggily, Weihan picked himself up off the ground for the thirteenth time and channelled more fire into his fists. He could almost smell the cloth smoking but he didn't care. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Goldar milling about in the background. The golden monkey had brought along earplugs and was wearing them to ward off the seemingly endless stream of inane chatter coming from the skeleton. Briefly, he wondered how it could even talk without lungs.

"And then I went pow, bang, boom! Those machines never stood a chance against me! Of course, I had help but they set them up for me to knock down!"

Weihan wished he brought earplugs. Whoever it was, the skeleton just would not shut up! He kept an eye out for the rat monster, but couldn't see it anywhere. That meant either it was setting up an attack or it had gone to get earplugs. Biting his lower lip, he formed a fireball and launched it at the skeleton. The sphere passed through its open ribcage and detonated harmlessly behind it. Swearing under his breath, he brought out his Raptor Laser and pointed it at the creatures head. Shooting off several rounds, he suppressed a triumphant whoop as its head was blown right off its neck. Turning toward Goldar, he shot the ground in front of him to get the attention of the monkey. The warrior took out his earplugs and pointed his massive sword at Weihan and…smiled? Ice water flowed down the Ranger's back a split second before a blaze of fire sent him crashing to the ground for the fourteenth time. Focusing through the haze of pain, he could hear the skeleton's voice behind him.

"Nah, that trick doesn't work on me. I'm the great and feared Rito Revolto and you are…someone who is obviously a Ranger. Wait, why are you a Ranger? I destroyed them!"

Rolling onto his back, he saw a rather odd sight. Rito's scorched head was hovering next to his body. With a slight flash of light, the head and body reconnected and the skeleton rolled his shoulders and summoned a strange-looking weapon. Pointing it at the downed Ranger, a long tongue of flame sprung from the barrel and the Orange Ranger leapt out of the way. As the flames licked at his feet, Weihan grumbled and ran harder away from the flames. His eyes darted for quick and easy cover but found none. The only available cover was the trees that lined the roads and they weren't fireproof.

"Come on, Ranger. At least attempt to fight back! Ooh, I know! I'll torch this area so you don't have any place to hide! Hey, what's that sound?"

Looking up, Weihan felt his stomach tighten. Hovering close to the battlefield was a news helicopter. He hoped that it wasn't AJ up there. Bracing himself, he ran at Rito – through the flames – and slashed at the skeleton wildly with his laser blade. The skeleton grunted in surprise and was pushed back by the ferocity of his attacks. Lifting up his left leg for a roundhouse kick, Weihan briefly saw a flash of silver as the killing claw on his boot revealed itself and raked across the ribcage. Using the momentum, he spun around and unleashed a powerful sidekick with his right foot – seeing another flash of silver as the other claw unsheathed. With both blows knocking Rito back, he took a moment to look at the claws that had just emerged. As expected, they were metallic silver but had strange splotches of red on them…almost like dried blood. Suppressing a shudder at what that meant, Weihan readied himself again.

"Hey, you know what? That's a helicopter up there with people in it! Ed's brother sent down that rat monster but it went off somewhere and I don't know where it went. Goldie, you see where it went?"

Actively ignoring Rito's babbling, he summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and hit the button for the energy whip. Hearing the Sabre transform into the whip, he cracked it in the air a few times before aiming it at Rito. The skeleton gulped nervously as the weapon hummed and crackled in the air. Drawing a tight bead on Rito, Weihan drew back his arm…only to quickly pivot on the spot and attack the rat monster that had snuck up behind him. He felt a small surge of satisfaction as the energy whip wrapped around the rat creatures' throat and snapped tight. Yanking the whip towards him, he ducked slightly as the rat-on-a-rope flew towards Rito. The two monsters collided with each other and Weihan quickly tugged on the whip to release its death grip.

"Huh? Owie, oh, that's where it went. Why don't you have a go at him, little guy? What's your name anyway?"

The Rat monster looked at the skeleton and spoke. To Weihan's ears, it sounded deep and husky while still having the ear-splitting quality of a mouse squeak.

"I am Rattos. Young Ranger, you are on your own and you will die here."

He wondered if Xonix's monsters had the special ability to be masters of the obvious. Of course he was on his own! Zordon's Rangers and his new duo were in the Desert of Despair looking for Ninjor and presumably getting their asses kicked by the traps and illusions there. Rolling his eyes under his helmet, he snapped his wrist once to reform his Sabre and held it in front of him. He silently switched on the radar system to keep tabs on Goldar, Rito and the news helicopter. If any of them moved, he would know. The Ranger circled the rat monster warily and made a feint left while shooting out a thin beam of fire from his palm. Rattos countered by pointing its launcher at him and the next thing he saw was a bright flash.

He flew back through the air as the energy blast struck his torso. Landing awkwardly in the boughs of a nearby tree, he only had enough time to shake his head groggily before hearing the dead branches crack ominously. As the branches fell, Weihan tumbled unceremoniously out of the tree and landed on his back. Squinting up at the news helicopter, he groaned as he zoomed in and saw AJ peering through the windows with a sly grin on her face.

Chuckling wryly, he looked around for the trio of monsters. Much to his surprise, they hadn't moved during his impromptu flight and were standing around. Grinning as a plan came together; he dismissed his Raptor Sabre and concentrated on the power and potential of the Ultra Crystal. Slowly, the spikes between his knuckles extended about six inches and stared glowing red hot. Rolling his head around to loosen the muscles, he crossed his fingers and ran toward the group with his fists extended. As they slowly turned towards him, he jumped towards them and drove his left fist into Goldar's chest.

The red hot spikes penetrated the armour and sunk into the flesh below. Goldar bellowed in pain as rivulets of dark green blood slowly trickled out of the wounds. Ripping out the spikes, Weihan struck the golden monkey again – this time hitting with a right uppercut that cut deeply into Goldar's face. The spikes tore into the muscle and he could almost feel them scrape across the winged warrior's skull. In other circumstances he would have felt nauseous; but he had the power of the Utahraptor flowing through him. Well, that and he didn't want any of them to hurt AJ. Pulling back both fists, he aimed them at Goldar's heart…and was struck from behind by another blast from Rattos' launcher arm. Weihan felt himself tumble over the relieved monkey and slam painfully against a nearby parked car; denting the metal severely.

Picking himself up, he made a move toward Rattos but was attacked from the left by Rito. The motor mouth skeleton was gripping a bone sword and was pointing it at the stunned Ranger. Weihan moved toward Rito but was struck again – this time from a badly bleeding Goldar. Drunkenly summoning his Sabre to him, he ran towards Goldar and feinted right. When the monkey took the bait, he vaulted over the warrior and slashed his Sabre across Goldar's wings. Having had enough, Goldar teleported out…but not before grabbing the Ranger by his throat and brutally slamming him to the ground hard. Weihan couldn't move as the slam had temporarily paralysed him and he willed feeling back into his limbs. Lifting his head up, the sun was blocked out by Rito and Rattos who levelled their weapons at his head. Weihan kept his eyes open – determined to see the end coming.

"Well, it's been fun and all and it really has, seeing as how you got Goldie good! No offence, but you have to go and die now. Sorry."

At point blank range, they wouldn't miss.

TBC…


	63. Chapter Sixty Two: Striking Dawn

Chapter Sixty Two: Striking Dawn

"What the…"

Weihan looked up. The blast hadn't come and he was still alive. Rito and Rattos' weapons were still trained at his head – but the monsters were looking at something in the distance. As Weihan craned his head to look in the direction of their stunned gazes, two energy bolts streaked overhead and blasted the duo off him. Finally regaining some semblance of feeling in his body, Weihan strained to free himself from the ground when he felt two hands grab under his arms and lift him up. As his legs touched down on solid ground, he looked behind him to thank his rescuers…and felt his jaw drop open.

In front of him were two figures dressed in gear extremely similarly to the Ninja suit he had transformed in during the fight with the Wraith – one black with green highlights and the other a solid white. The details were almost identical and they even had small representations of their own Power Animals on them. Looking at the coins on their chest, he inclined his head to the images in confusion. One of them was an eagle of some kind and the other one looked like a frog with spikes jutting out over its body. Seeing his confusion, Alex's voice issued from under the mask of the black and green clad figure.

"Will has a wedge tailed eagle as his Spirit Animal. I am the proud bearer of the horny frog."

Weihan bit down on the inside of his cheek to contain his laughter. Horny frog…it seemed Ninjor had a strange sense of humour after all. Sneaking a quick peek into the air, he saw the helicopter ascending up to the heavens. Zooming his vision to the cockpit, he could see AJ arguing with the pilot and he chuckled. If his team was going Ninja, he might as well join them.

"Ultra Down!"

In a wave of sparks, his armour melted away from his body. Summoning his Ninjetti Coin, he flipped it up into the air before morphing.

"Ninjetti! Crocodile!"

With a muted burst of sparks coupled with the echoing growl of a Crocodile, the lightly armoured Ninjetti suit materialised on his body. He could see their shock at his uniform but composed themselves quickly before settling into ready stances. Weihan admired their energy and determination but chalked it up to the fact that they hadn't been battling Goldar, Rito and Rattos for the past thirty minutes. Well, there was also the fact of not having their ears worn down by Rito's incessant rambling. He looked around for the skeleton but only saw the closing sparkles of a teleport spell. Seems the skeleton was needed elsewhere.

Reaching down, he unhooked the twin sai from his belt and saw the others draw out weapons of their own. Alex brought out a wickedly sharp kusarigama while Will brought out a cricket bat sized kanabo. Marvelling at how interested Ninjor must have been with Samurai weapons, Weihan stood in a ready stance. He nodded once to Alex and his friend swung the weighted chain over his head while he ran at Rattos. Dodging the wild shots of the rat monster, he nimbly leapt over its head before driving the sai into its furry back. He winced as his eardrums rattled at the screech of pain and then jumped back rapidly as Alex's chain wrapped around its waist. Quickly tearing out his sai, he flipped away just as the knobbed end of Will's kanabo smashed onto the back of its head.

Removing their weapons from the monster, the two Ninjas and a Ninjetti leapt away from the beast to see what their weapons would do. Hearing the news helicopter, Weihan looked up to see it hovering just out of range of their weapons. Well, he hoped it was just out of range. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling AJ would be important to him in the future – besides the obvious relationship thing. Wrenching himself away from those thoughts, his eyes widened as he saw that Rattos was still standing.

"Wow. Ok, that didn't work. Any ideas?"

Weihan eyed the monster and silently turned on his Ninjetti Monster Scanner. A green grid appeared on the inside of his visor and a small representation of the monster appeared soon after. He grinned as he remembered talking about the Ninjetti helmet gadgets with Dulcea after he had shown his appreciation at the Power. The Monster Scanner allowed one to see the weak areas on a monster. Unfortunately, it could only be used on an already damaged monster and it couldn't pinpoint any internal weaknesses. The Ninjetti warrior had inferred that more options would be unlocked when more Ultra Rangers held Ninjetti Powers…but he didn't want to send Alex up to Phaedos just yet. Well, not until he could keep an eye on him and make sure Dulcea didn't run him through.

Staying on guard, he barely noticed the news helicopter touching down close by or seeing AJ run out with her camera crew. Alex noticed and was torn between chatting up the blonde chick and staying to finish the battle. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the Monster Scanner found two weak points. Weihan groaned under his breath at their locations; one was the launcher arm and the other was its armoured tail. Hooking one sai back onto his belt, he reached behind him to grab the grappling hook and saw Will do the same. They would only get one shot at it and if they failed, they would have to go into full Ultra. Of course going full Ultra meant they would have access to more power but Weihan wanted AJ to have exciting footage for her report.

As his silent count reached zero, he moved quickly. Racing toward the monster, he vaulted over it once more but twisted mid-air and fired the grappling hook at its back. As the small hook imbedded in the mass of metal, he snapped the line taut. He could see Will firing his own hook forward, but his poorly aimed shot bounced off Rattos' launcher arm. Knowing it would take too long to reel in the hook and try again, the White Ranger twirled the line around his head and threw it at the launcher arm. To the relief of the Rangers, it snagged onto the twisted mass of fur and pulled taut.

"Go!"

At Weihan's yell, Alex stepped forward and started slowly spinning the weighted chain over his head. A few revolutions later and a green tinged energy started to surround the end. Moving his hands deftly, Alex flipped the kusarigama so that the sickle was being spun. Weihan clenched his teeth together and channelled pure Grid energy into his hook and saw Will unconsciously do the same. Finally, when the whirlwind above Alex's head reached its peak, the Black/Green Ranger ended the spinning and sent the sickle soaring through the air.

Seeing the sickle bury itself into Rattos' chest, Weihan and Will both released their hooks and leapt away from the monster as the Grid energy destroyed the monster from the inside out. As the burning monster finally exploded, Alex turned to Weihan and smiled under his mask.

"Aw, I was hoping to use the Zords."

Weihan smirked and slapped his friend on the shoulder. Turning around, he saw AJ run up to them with a wide smile on her face.

"Trust me, you'll use them soon."

TBC…


	64. Chapter Sixty Three: Kaiju

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. Neither is Godzilla. Or the Sha'Kahr. Apart from that…everything you don't recognise as being trademarked or copyrighted is mine.

Chapter Sixty Three: Kaiju

"Why didn't it work? The spell worked perfectly. It should have grown."

Xonix paced his study angrily. The monster growth incantation had worked perfectly. True, the potion hadn't gone down smoothly and had the faint aftertaste of eyeballs and the spell had ingrained itself into his brain; but it hadn't worked on the first try. Rattos was a burning pile of rat fur and not a towering behemoth of doom. The spell was supposed to be foolproof – just point and boom! Instant giant monster. Except somewhere along the line, it hadn't worked. This discovery had landed him in the foulest of moods; one even his brother couldn't shake him from.

"My lord. I have analysed the spell and components. You need to hear this."

The voice from behind the door brought him out of his thoughts. It was the almost-robotic voice of Yit. The Universe's second best warrior rapped on the door again and Xonix telekinetically opened it. As the door swung open, Xonix took a small moment to admire his work on Yit. Originally, Yit had been Xitro-Y and a mere drone of the Sha'Kahr. Xonix had plucked him from the dusty plains of Hadeas as a generic warrior and had gone off to attack Fengaus. There the seemingly generic drone had shone as a fierce warrior and tactician…but a close encounter with a transmutation beam had almost killed him. Xonix had shipped him off to another one of his worlds for treatment and had eventually forgotten about the alien until he was scouting for the top two warriors in the Universe.

To say he was surprised at Xitro-Y's new appearance was a gross understatement. The once insectoid creature had been changed into a mainly bipedal brawler with energy claws on each hand – as well as another set of arms that folded seamlessly into his shoulders. The asymmetrical face was now hidden behind a strangely Y shaped faceplate made from the strange purple ore that was native to Hadeas' sister planet, Hellion. Metallic alloys of the same ore had been sculpted into an armoured vest which rested comfortably and allowed the extra arms to unfold smoothly. Xitro-Y had remembered Xonix and had sworn loyalty pretty much the second he had seen him and had informed the overlord of his new name – Yit – taken from the Sha'Kahr legend Yitra'las.

Yit's techniques seemed to be deadlier as well. As a test, Xonix had pitted him against three Golems in a fight to the death. Less than twenty seconds later and the Golems were lying on the ground in several bite-sized chunks. Another thing that had surprised Xonix was Yit and his love of the magical and mystic arts. The Sha'Kahr had thrown himself into studying every spell, component and incantation in the Galaxy; both to better himself and to serve his Master well. Yit had given Xonix all of the scrolls and books on monster enlargement that he had and had spent centuries poring over their contents.

"Well, Yit, what's the problem?"

He watched the Sha'Kahr potter about with the scrolls in his hands until the warrior spoke again.

"You need to wait around thirty minutes for the spell to fully absorb into your cells."

Xonix blinked and then slapped a hand over his snout. Thwarted by a cool-down period. He supposed it happened to everyone sooner or later; but he was still pissed. Exhaling slowly, he walked over to the open balcony and focused his vision to the Earth below. He could see Rita shadowing some blonde girl in Angel Grove and immediately focused his vision elsewhere. He didn't want to know what Zedd's new plan was to forcibly deny the truth…especially if it involved sending Rita to Earth to kidnap and brainwash some poor human female. Barring those thoughts from entering him mind, his vision roved to where the three Ultra Rangers were talking to the reporters that had gathered.

Jabarkas had informed him of his first attack on the Orange Ranger and his defeat. Xonix had just nodded and asked his top fighter to train harder for next time. Jabarkas had accepted his advice and the training area had been filled with grunts and wet noises for the past few rotations. As he gazed at them individually, he could see the small cracks that were starting to form between the Orange one and the Black/Green one; especially as the latter started talking to a blonde woman that clearly wished to speak with the Orange Ranger. Twinlobe had done some research on the reporter and had come up with a name: Jacqui Apple. The woman seemed to have some sort of connection to the Orange Ranger but Xonix had learnt very early on to not go after the obvious targets.

Doing so tended to end messily.

Privately, he wanted the Ultra Rangers to come together as a team. At the very peak of their power would be when he would destroy the Ultra Crystals and the Ultra Powers. He had no idea with what to do with the bearers after that. Maybe gloat a bit and assimilate them into his army or parade their bodies down the street. He'd deal with that when it came but for now, it was back to the drawing boards for the next monster. He wanted something that would challenge the Rangers and make them beg for mercy. Something sleek and powerful that could easily overwhelm a single Ranger…like Rattos had almost done. He scanned the city for inspiration…but only found disappointment. He was about to switch off his vision when something caught his eye. It was an entertainment figurine that the humans commonly referred to as an 'action figure', yet the design of his figure was unlike any monster he had seen before.

It liked like a green saurian with jagged spines pointing out of its back. The small, plastic arms showed the toned muscle and the segmented tail was practically brimming with power and strength. Even the clear plastic eyes showed some form of animalistic intelligence. The overlord chuckled evilly and pointed a finger at it to teleport it to him.

It was a damn shock when the figure began to animate and grow rapidly.

Xonix stepped back in astonishment as the small action figure changed into a destructive giant before his eyes. Armour plates exploded out of its chest and rows of teeth slid out of its gums. Humans scattered as the beast bellowed its distinctive roar into the air – challenging the world. Gradually, the beast's growth slowed as it towered over the buildings surrounding it and its reverberating roar changed into a growling voice filled with malice and anger.

"Feel the wrath of Kaijor!"

TBC…


	65. Chapter Sixty Four: March oftheDinozords

A/N: Something tells me this story will be at least 200 chapters long. Reviews are welcome! Enjoy!

Chapter Sixty Four: March of the Dinozords

"Yeah, we are pretty damn awesome. What's your name sweetie? We saved our leader when he was in a great pinch!"

Weihan watched in sheer exasperation as Alex roved through the crowd of reporters. He was clearly making a beeline towards AJ even though the woman was hovering close to the Orange Ranger. Weihan had told Will that AJ could be trusted with his identity, but the British boy had declined to reveal it and had spilled most of the details of their quest for the Ninja Powers. As expected, Zordon's Rangers had lost their copy of the map and had been forced to rely on the crudely drawn copy. Will had also told him that the White and Pink Rangers' relationship was stronger than ever and that the Yellow Ranger's injuries had healed over nicely. He had been very glad to hear that and his mind briefly flashed to seeing Aisha all bruised and banged up in the theatre. She still hadn't told anyone what had happened before she was found, but they weren't prying.

"My animal? Yes, it's the horny lizard or the horny toad. That's only my Ninja Animal though. The animal which I draw most of my power from is a Mammoth…"

"Does he ever shut up?"

Looking next to him, Weihan suppressed a bark of laughter at the young woman's words. In all truth, Weihan had never heard his friend shut up about any subject that he had on his mind – except in class and during exams. He shook his head and AJ suppressed a giggle of her own. He knew that she wanted nothing more than to lean on his armour for a place to rest but couldn't as it would raise some…interesting questions. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the last remnants of Rattos finally stop smouldering and he sighed in relief.

And then he heard it.

It was a roar from somewhere close by; but it was a very familiar roar that caused his brain to temporarily seize. It couldn't be…there was no way that he could have heard what he thought he heard. Turning to Will to get a second opinion, he saw that the White Ranger was looking off into the distance with a hand over his visor.

Slowly looking in the same direction, Weihan felt a hard ball of icy fear form. The towering creature had a very familiar shape but it had to be a trick of the light. Lifting his left wrist up, his fingers automatically ran over the holographic pad that formed and an image slowly formed above the pad. He felt AJ come closer to him and wrap one of her hands in his. Gazing at the image, Weihan shook his head in disbelief. The dark green skinned creature roared again and the sun gleamed off the long dorsal plates that lined its back. It turned and the thick muscle of the tail whipped through the side of a building, sending explosions rippling through the interior. Opening tis mouth again, it blasted out a light blue energy stream that punched a straight hole through the office buildings in front of it.

"Feel the wrath of Kaijor!"

Weihan blinked at the name and relaxed slightly. So, Xonix hadn't taken a dive off the deep end and summoned Godzilla to destroy them. Still, Xonix had sent down a fully grown monster that looked like one big and bad mother…and that thought filled him with ice water. It seemed Kaijor would be the monster that had killed him in the timeline of the bad future and the thought made him unconsciously squeeze AJ's hand tighter.

"Black Ranger, we need to go. It's game time."

Alex blinked and nodded once. He broke away from the throng of reporters and jogged over to Weihan, throwing a dazzling smile AJ's way…before realizing that she wouldn't see it. He raised an eyebrow seeing their hands clasped together, but thought nothing of it. The hot blonde would come to realise soon that he was much better in relationships and had much more experience than his friend would ever hope to have. All thoughts of his future with the blonde reporter fizzled out as he saw the image on the screen.

"Is that…Godzilla?"

Weihan shook his head and released AJ's hand. He withdrew his Ultra Crystal and concentrated hard. In a rush of power, he was fully morphed in his full Ultra Ranger armour. Two muted flashes of light signalled that his friends had done the same and were awaiting his command. Shifting his body slightly to block her from the crowd of news reporters and camera operators, Weihan ran his fingers down AJ's face softly.

"You need to get out of here quickly. Go to someplace safe and well protected. I'll call you later."

Nodding silently, AJ turned and ran towards the helicopter. Weihan smirked as he heard the shouts of the pilot and her camera crew as they scrambled after her but he focused his mind on the task at hand. Stepping forward, he thrust his right hand into the air and saw his friends do the same, albeit somewhat hesitantly. Inhaling deeply, he shouted out the summons and his voice was joined by the others.

"We need Dinozord Power, Now!"

Barely a second later, their cry was answered by three distinct bellows. One was the high pitched screech of the Utahraptor, one was the deep rumbling roar of the Allosaur and the other was the trumpeting call of the Mammoth. Squinting through the sun, Weihan saw their Dinozords racing toward them. His heart leapt into his throat as he saw the news chopper that held AJ swerve violently to avoid the Mammoth and Allosaur zords, but he chuckled briefly as his own Dinozord allowed them to gain enough height before continuing on. Calling on his Raptor Sabre, he jumped into the air and allowed the teleportation system to beam him onboard.

Inserting the Sabre into the slot in front of him, he settled in and keyed the communication system to patch in a direct line to both the other Zords and to the Command Centre.

"Zordon, we are engaging a giant monster in Sydney. Do not send the Rangers. Tommy, don't come charging in."

Over the channel, the White Ranger groaned as Kim and Billy started cracking up. His voice was laced with mock weariness.

"Copy that, Weihan. That huge Godzilla knock-off is all yours. Good luck."

Closing the channel to the Command Centre, Weihan gripped the handle of his Sabre and pushed forward. He was extremely glad his mother was in Melbourne again for business as Kaijor was really tearing up the CBD. In another minute or so, they would be wrangling it up with the creature in downtown Sydney. He didn't want to think of the damage bill at the end so he had to think quickly. Yanking back on the control lever, he stopped his Dinozord and rapidly scrolled through what seemed like dozens of menus before he found an option that greatly appealed to him – Emergency Monster Teleport (or EMT for short). Selecting the option, his eyes blurred for a second as new information entered his brain. Based on the amount of power charged up, the monster would be teleported anywhere from three to thirty kilometres away. As the other Rangers stopped their Zords as well, he opened up the external speakers to those watching them.

"Attention all civilians. Please evacuate the area immediately as the monster will be headed this way. Take only what you can carry and do not linger or return. Thank you."

Shutting down the external speakers, Weihan confirmed the selection of the EMT and targeted the giant saurian monster. As the selection was confirmed a map showing the estimated landing zone of the monster overlaid the information on the screen. Not taking his eyes off the monster, he slowly slid up the charge bar until the charge was just over three percent. That made the landing zone smack bang in the middle of Centennial Park. Grass, trees and general vegetation were much easier to replace than brick, steel and human lives. Moving his hand off the charge bar and onto the control lever, he exhaled slowly and prayed it would work.

A ball of white energy shot out of the mouth of his Dinozord and rocketed toward the rampaging monster. As it struck Kaijor's leathery hide, the energy expanded and enveloped the bellowing creature in an orange tinged sheath. With a sound akin to a sonic boom, the energy sheath rocketed off and deposited the confused creature directly behind them. Turning the Zord around, Weihan inhaled sharply as he stared at it up close.

"Well boss, now what?"

Weihan gripped the control lever with both hands and clenched his teeth together.

"Now, we fight."

TBC…


	66. Chapter Sixty Five: Raptor Warrior

A/N: **Now** we hit 100K words on 5 December 2011! Reviews are always welcome. Enjoy!

Chapter Sixty Five: Raptor Warrior

Centennial Park was a raging firestorm.

Kaijor hadn't let up since the initial attack and had been blasting beams of energy left, right and centre. The Mammoth's trunk had been useful to extinguish the initial few fires but Alex had decided to extinguish the fires at the source instead of wasting the energy of the Mammoth zord. Will was also doing his best to fight and had launched a dozen successful attacks at the giant lizard. He had figured out that stomping the ground would send an energy wave racing toward the monster and had spammed that attack at every available opportunity. The problem was that besides himself, the others had no experience in their Zords and were basically learning on the fly.

Rolling away from another attack, Weihan fired the Zord's lasers at the beast and swore for the millionth time. After the battle, he would have to get Alex and Will on the Simul-Deck for Zord training…provided they survived. He couldn't really blame both of them. He was in the same boat as them but at least he had logged in some time in his Zord so he had some idea as to what he was doing. His eyes flicked over the array of buttons and switches in front of him as he mentally ticked off each one. Fire, lasers, claw rockets – no idea what that one did, tail cutter, tail whip, fire whip, ice breath, laser breath, fire pulse…the choices made his brain hurt. Leaping over a tail strike, he winced as he saw Kaijor's tail dig a deep trench in the ground and wondered if it would revert to its original state like what happened normally in Angel Grove.

He dismissed the thought the moment it formed. Of course the damage wouldn't revert. That oddity only happened in Angel Grove for some unfathomable reason. He had asked Zordon about it and the ancient sage couldn't give an answer as to why it happened. He didn't care after that; chalking it up to another one of those oddities that seemed to happen to other people. Ducking and weaving the seemingly random blasts of energy, the Zord jumped up and landed on Kaijor's back; its claws digging into the unprotected spines. Weihan held on for dear life as the monster violently shook its body to try and dislodge the Dinozord. Pressing the button for fire breath, he was rewarded with a gout of superheated energy shooting from the mouth of the Zord and onto the monster. Weihan held onto his breakfast as the rapid swaying made him sick; something that wasn't helped by the smell of burning flesh that assaulted his nose. Disengaging from the beast, he kept the crosshairs locked onto Kaijor and keyed the communication system.

"Alex, I need a concentrated ice shot on its chest. Let's see if we can't freeze the bastard from the inside out!"

With a trumpet of acknowledgement, Alex moved the Mammoth into position and aimed its trunk at the chest of Kaijor. He was still a bit annoyed with Weihan, but he would have to deal with his problems later. The blonde would be his eventually and she would be lying against him in bed. Smirking at the thought, he keyed in the command for the Ice Blaster and rapidly pulled the trigger. A series of blasts shot out of the end of the trunk and impacted the ground around the monster. Alex swore under his breath and moved the Zord to a better firing position. Keeping the trigger down, a blast of supercooled liquid nitrogen splashed against Kaijor's chest. Alex kept up the attack as the frozen area expanded to cover Kaijor's upper arms and legs.

The Godzilla-themed beast roared weakly as the liquid nitrogen seared its chest and froze its lungs. Sensing that he had the upper hand, the Black/Green Ranger stopped the attack and waited for further orders.

"Alex, don't stop firing!"

Inside the cockpit, Alex blinked once and looked at the saurian beast. The frosty coating of the liquid nitrogen was still there so why was Weihan worried? He probably wanted to go back to his blonde lover and warm her up from the inside. Well, he wouldn't stand for that and he would wait as the monster was clearly –

A powerful blast of energy tore into the front of his Zord and shredded the front armour. The legs of the Mammoth buckled from the impact and the Zord fell onto its side hard. Another blast ripped deep into the exposed side and Alex screamed as a small percentage of the pain was transferred over the psychic connection. Peering up through the pain he saw Kaijor, free from its icy trappings, lean over the Mammoth Zord and rip a large chunk of armour off the metal frame. Lifting the trunk in a desperate move, Alex fired a blast of liquid nitrogen at Kaijor's face and down its throat. As the beast recoiled in pain and surprise, Alex forced the broken Zord to move away from the creature.

Weihan motioned for Will to stay back and ground his teeth together. From the shape of Kaijor's mouth and the ease of which it had savaged the Zord left no doubt in his mind. Kaijor had destroyed his Dinozord and had wounded him enough for Xonix or Jabarkas to deal the finishing blow. As his hands tightened around the Control Stick, he didn't notice the coin on his Sabre start glowing. Firing off another blast of fire, the Zord leapt into the air and slashed its front claws twice on Kaijor's face. The giant lizard fire off a powerful blast of energy the he barely dodged…but Will didn't. His insides tightened as the white Allosaur Dinozord fell to the ground hard with a squeal of twisting metal. Kicking off Kaijor's chest, the two titans circled each other warily.

The Orange Ranger aimed his lasers at Kaijor once more but stopped as new information made itself become known. A wide grin stretched over his face as he pulled the Control Stick back and ran his fingers over the brightly glowing coin. Inhaling deeply, he hoped AJ was watching and recording.

"Initiate Utahraptor Warriorzord transformation!"

The controls went slack as the powerful onboard computer flared to life. He felt the Zord take to the skies as the cockpit shifted and rotated. The images on the screen in front of him shifted to an external view of his Zord so he knew what was going on. The legs didn't change much – only becoming flatter and sturdier – as the body rotated upward so the head was pointing at the sky. The front arms connected with each other and shifted to the left side of the Zord as the tail connected with the right side. Panels on the Zord's chest slid aside to reveal an open space where the Dinozord's head swung down to rest snugly in. Finally, a head reminiscent of the original Megazord's rose from the shoulders of the Zord and locked into place with a mighty clang. As the legs touched down on solid ground once more, Weihan felt control of the Zord return to him and he grinned in anticipation. There was just one thing left to do.

"Raptor Warriorzord – transformation complete!"

TBC…


	67. Chapter Sixty Six: Public Viewpoint

Disclaimer: Channel 7 is not mine. Included it as an in-joke to those in Sydney who woke up at 6:30 every Saturday morning for their Power Rangers fix. Since the story is M anyway, the violence and gore is par for the course. Time for a different point of view!

Chapter Sixty Six: Public Viewpoint

"And if you're just joining us, we have reports of a large-scale Ranger battle happening just outside the city near the Showgrounds against the monster that called itself Kaijor. Centennial Park is the location and we urge all of you that have family in the area to contact your loved ones to ensure they are all right. The giant robots have just come out and we are seeing two new battle machines joining the Orange Ranger in his own Dinozord. John, you have the details?"

The second newsreader nodded and shuffled the papers in front of him.

"Yes I do, Chris. As our viewers and those in the CBD are aware, a few minutes ago saw the appearance of a gigantic dinosaur-themed monster. Sources have said that it erupted out of a small toyshop in Pitt Street Mall which was the spot of an attack earlier this month. That attack saw the capture of Angel Grove's Power Rangers and the Orange Ranger. Reports that have come out from Picton say that the battle was concluded there but until we have concrete reports we will not report on that speculation."

The first newsreader faced the cameraman and nodded once. The studio had already caught a lot of flak earlier for reporting an attack at a local school that eventually turned out to be the work of some pranksters. One of their best field reporters didn't think it was and she had tried to get her hands on some actual evidence from the scene. The big boss had frowned on her little excursion but then she had gotten an exclusive scoop on the Orange Ranger and had continued to get exclusives since. An intern handed Chris a fresh report and as his eyes skimmed over its contents, his face paled.

"Um, we just have some breaking news. It seems that the Mammoth Zord has been incapacitated by an attack by the new monster. We will now go to our reporter on the scene. Jacqui, can you hear me?"

In the chopper, AJ nodded once as the voice erupted over her earpiece. She prayed that Weihan could get a few good hits in or even destroy the monster with the finisher he had used in Angel Grove. She looked at the damage that the Mammoth Zord had sustained and winced internally. Creep or not, she wasn't used to seeing so much damage being inflicted to something so damn quickly. Finding her voice, she tried to keep calm as the battle raged below her.

"Yes, I can hear you. From what I saw the Mammoth Zord attacked the monster with its trunk weapon and seemed to stop as if the Ranger had run out of ammunition. The Orange Ranger seemed to not want him to stop and was about to do or say something when the monster acted first. We were able to capture this attack on film."

The image switched abruptly to the battle a few minutes earlier. The Mammoth Zord stopped firing and the Utahraptor Zord started forward but was interrupted by the monster blasting the front of the Zord. Horrified shouts of the crew could be heard as well as AJ muttering to herself. Suddenly, the image switched off and AJ's face filled the screen. Her voice was tinged with a hint of excitement and anticipation.

"Sorry to cut off the video from earlier, but something is happening to the Utahraptor Zord! It seems to be transforming and…Joel, get a shot of that!"

The image jerkily moved to show the Utahraptor Zord in the last stages of its transformation. Audible gasps were heard as AJ caught sight of the downed Allosaurus Dinozord but that was followed by cheers as the Warriorzord completed its transformation.

"Raptor Warriorzord – transformation complete!"

AJ smiled as she heard Weihan's voice clearly. She didn't know why she could hear his voice when everyone else heard a distorted voice, but she chalked it up to the Powers unfaltering the voice. She didn't really know or care but it seemed that her prospective boyfriend would be safe inside the new configuration. She respected his wishes of not becoming physical as the age gap would lead to extremely awkward questions…but she was damned if it wasn't frustrating. She couldn't wait until he was of age and she suspected neither could he.

"It's amazing, Chris. The Orange Ranger now has a new Zord configuration that is very similar to the White Tiger Ranger's Tigerzord Warrior in Angel Grove. The two of them are circling each other and waiting for the other to make the first move…"

AJ's voice trailed off as Kaijor fired off an energy beam at the new Warriorzord. The Zord tumbled to the side and shot a barrage of lasers from its own head. The blasts struck Kaijor and the image shook as the beast roared in pain. The Zord raced forward to deliver a powerful strike to the chest of the monster with its claw-arm. The thick muscle parted easily as the tip of the tail sunk in and delivered what appeared to be an extremely powerful electric blast into the flesh. Kaijor staggered back, twitching as the powerful current seized its muscles and immobilised it. Taking advantage of the opening, the Dinozord's head rose from the opening and spat a stream of plasma at the open wound – searing the flesh with the heat.

"Now the Orange Ranger's Zord has dealt first blood. Kaijor seems to be on the ropes, though this may be a diversionary tactic. One can only guess at what the Orange Ranger is thinking now and what his next move will be."

As the words left her lips, she yelped in surprise as the helicopter sharply ascended. She turned to the pilot and was about to scream at him when the tip of Kaijor's tail flashed into view. She sat back against the chair as her heart pounded hard in her chest. If the pilot hadn't reacted as quickly as he did…she didn't want to think about what may have happened. It seemed the thought had occurred to the Orange Ranger as well as the tail-arm chopped down hard on Kaijor's tail. AJ winced as she heard the sickening crunch of bone but internally cheered as the tail stopped moving.

"The new zord configuration is attacking Kaijor and seems to be protecting his downed team mates. It doesn't seem like the battle will be over for a while –"

"Chain Whip!"

For the second time, AJ's words trailed off as she saw the Raptor Warriorzord's tail arm transform into a multi-segmented whip. She could see the basic tail structure still there as well as a fist that was gripping the end on the whip. Fire shot out of the segments and AJ bit back a yelp of shock. The Zord cracked the whip at the monster, sending tendrils of fire wrapping over its leathery hide. Pulling back its arm, the Zord thrust the whip toward the monster and the sharpened tip ripped through the monster's throat. The deadly attack didn't stop there – it continued on through the neck of the beast until it protruded gruesomely out the other side. Kaijor opened its mouth the fire off a blast of energy, but screamed in pain as the energy reflected back due to the metallic surface of the tail in its throat.

"Now, you will die! Fire Cataclysm!"

Ripping out the bloody weapon, the Zord held it over its head with both hands. Large bolts of fire and electricity jumped from the main body of the Warriorzord to the weapon and AJ saw it burn with white fire. Swinging the weapon over and over, the whip gained power and momentum for what she was sure would be the killing blow. Sensing she still had a small amount of time, she quickly spoke into her headset.

"The Orange Ranger is preparing the finishing blow after the first attack took away its ability to shoot energy blasts. Wait…here it comes."

With a noise like a freight train, the Zord brought down the charged whip onto the injured monster. The weapon cleaved through its skull and almost neatly bisected the monster in two. The whip was whisked away and the Zord leapt away as the monster started to explode. The chopper had already reached a fair distance away when the monster erupted into a massive explosion – complete with mushroom cloud. The pressure wave rocked the helicopter violently but passed after a few seconds. Below them, AJ could hear windows shatter and car alarms start blaring and she absently wondered if her own car would be all right. After a few seconds, the Orange Ranger's voice came out of his Zord.

"Attention civilians. Uh, it's all right. The explosion wasn't nuclear despite the mushroom cloud. Um…I'm going to get my team out of here and then I'll have another Q and A session with the others at Town Hall. Yeah…until then."

The Warriorzord turned to the two downed Zords and she could hear exasperation in his voice. Apparently he had forgotten to turn off the external speakers. The only good thing was the Power or whatever it was changed the names of the other Rangers to their colours. Well, that and Weihan hadn't turned on the Zord to Zord communication systems as well.

"OK, after the press gig, it's the simulators for the both of you. I don't want to hear anything Black. You need practice to ensure the next time goes smoother. Yes, I need the practice as well. Look, do you want a protected Sydney or a destroyed Sydney?"

In a sparkle of light, the three Zords vanished from the charred battlefield. AJ blinked once and suppressed a giggle before realising she was still live. Turning to the camera, she smiled and tried to keep the laughter out of her voice.

"All right, Chris. As you heard, the Orange Ranger and the others will be hosting another session at Town Hall. I will be there live to answer any and all questions. Back to you in the studio."

Chris blinked as AJ's image winked out and he smiled shakily at the camera.

"Well there you have it, folks. The Orange Ranger will be giving a press conference on the steps of Town Hall in a few minutes. Channel Seven will bring you the session live and without commercials as we commemorate the official addition of the two new Rangers and their Zords."

"And now to other news…"

TBC…


	68. Chapter Sixty Seven: Bad Things Come In

Chapter Sixty Seven: Bad Things Come In…

Weihan sighed as he looked at the sea of faces.

Alex and Will had agreed that they needed experience behind the 'wheel' of their Zords and had been pretty good-natured about it. He was just damn glad that Zordon and Billy had teleported over some of the ZARS nanobots that could properly repair the damage to the Mammoth and Allosaur. As it was, the two Dinozords would be out of commission for a couple of weeks at best. You couldn't just make Eltarean grade carbon-fibre armour plating with integrated weapon controls overnight. Swallowing nervously, he stepped up to the hastily set up lectern and tapped the microphone warily.

"Testing, 1, 2, 3. Testing but I'd expect it to be tested before I got here."

A ripple of laughter swept through the crowd and Weihan saw AJ push her way to the front of the throng. Chuckling under his breath, he spoke again.

"Uh, hello. Thank you all for coming on short notice. Actually, there was a bit more notice than last time. All right, as you may be aware there are two new Rangers. The one on my left is the Black/Green Mammoth Ranger and the one on my right is the White Allosaurus Ranger. We'll try to figure out a shorthand version for the Black/Green Ranger so it isn't a huge mouthful of words."

A louder burst of laughter issued from the crowd. Weihan could see police at the back, ready to evacuate the people at a moment's notice. He didn't think Xonix or Jabarkas would send down another monster so soon. Xonix would probably be out of ideas and Jabarkas wouldn't want to face the two new Rangers until he was sure that there wouldn't be any more surprises. Something inside him said that he could be wrong as Rita and Zedd could still send down a monster – if they weren't too busy berating Rito and Goldar for their failure. Besides, the area directly under them was full of police ready to act at a moments notice. Still, he felt a bit off...

"All right, I'm sure all of you are tired of hearing my voice so I'll open the floor to questions and hand the answers over to these two."

A surge of voices made him shake his head and lightly chuckle. He should have expected this. Holding up a hand, he waited for the rabble to quieten before speaking again.

"That went over well…how about I take the questions and these two here will answer. First question will be from…you, the guy in the grey suit."

The man in question nodded once, arranged his thoughts quickly and shouted out his question.

"This is for the Black/Green Ranger. We have reports that you were a bit of a ladies man with a few reporters earlier today. Will this behaviour interfere with your duties as a Ranger?"

Inwardly, Weihan grinned. He knew Alex would have to answer that question eventually and given his behaviour earlier, it wasn't a moment too soon. Nodding to his friend, he stepped back and let the Ranger take the lectern. Judging from his body movements alone, he could tell his friend was nervous but, as he predicted, Alex's arrogance overrode his nerves.

"Well, of course I won't let it interfere. After all, if I did let it interfere, the ladies won't know how great I am! Leave the leading to the Orange Ranger and let the ladies come to me!"

Weihan rolled his eyes and saw AJ do the same. He knew what Alex was trying to do and while he wasn't happy about it, Alex had to learn that there were just some women you didn't go for. The crowd cheered at Alex's proclamation and he saw the asker nod smugly to himself. Gently pushing his friend aside, he pointed to another reporter; a young woman with dark brown hair.

"This is, again, for the Black/Green Ranger. Can you please tell me your age and how that will affect your duties?"

Weihan cut in before Alex could answer. If Alex answered, he would have a damn lot of questions to answer regarding his age and random stuff like that.

"The topic of our respective ages is off limits, just like our identities. As for the duty part, I will personally ensure that Sydney is protected in the same way that Angel Grove is. Well, maybe with a minimum of the whole town getting kidnapped."

Another ripple of laughter spread through the crowd as Alex retreated. Finally, Weihan pointed at AJ, noting her wide smile as she was chosen. Before she could speak, he held up a hand.

"All right, seems that I'm the one doing most of the talking now. Last question as I've been in two consecutive battles within minutes of each other and need to get out of this suit. And no, I'm not demorphing in front of everyone as I'm naked underneath."

Well, that wasn't true but he needed to say something. He could see light blushes form on the faces of the female reporters as well as a seeing AJ's face turn a deep crimson. He could also sense the death glare Alex was sending his way but he shrugged it off. If Alex wanted to make sure he was the ladies magnet, Weihan would let him - but only after the monsters were dealt with. He let AJ compose herself before nodding at her.

"Ah'm Jacqui Apple from Seven. Can you tell us if you will be recruitin' more Rangers?"

Weihan cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak, when he was interrupted by the radar in his helmet flashing wildly. Someone or something had entered the atmosphere and was headed to them at terminal velocity. Whatever it was, it was coming down fast. Giving an inaudible tired sigh, he nodded once before speaking.

"At this time, no, I will not be recruiting more Rangers. If the future if and when they appear, I will induct them but until such a time when more are needed, it will just be us three –"

A loud explosion nearby sent heads turning as a thick cloud of smoke washed over them. Weihan summoned his Raptor Sabre and held it in a defensive position as an oozing laugh rang out…followed by a thin, slimy voice.

"Rangers, my mistress Rita sends regards. Now, be a good Ranger and die!"

TBC…


	69. Chapter Sixty Eight: Weapon Workout

Chapter Sixty Eight: Weapon Workout

He wondered if there was something about press conferences that attracted monsters.

Weihan held his Sabre up as he waited for the owner of the voice to reveal itself. Slowly the smoke cleared and the monster was revealed. It was a similar size and shape to one of Zedd's earlier monsters – Octophantom – but the similarity ended there. The skin of the monster was studded with small clear crystals and the arms extended out into spine tipped tentacles. Breathing heavily, he stepped forward but stopped as two hands held him back. Looking behind him, he was unsurprised to see Alex and Will shaking their heads at him as they overtook him and faced the monster. Chuckling under his breath, he nodded to his two friends and keyed the comm. System.

"No names. Even though the Power protects us, its better to not take the chance."

As Alex nodded, Weihan dismissed his Sabre and leant heavily on the railing behind him. The battle with Rattos, Goldar and Rito had worn him out and the Zord fight had nearly drained his energy completely. AJ moved next to him and he nodded wearily. Alex and Will needed to learn how to use their weapons and develop battle strategies on the fly. Their weapons wouldn't be as strong as his but against one of Rita's monsters; it wouldn't be much of an issue. Besides, if things really went out of hand, he would be there.

Alex stepped toward the octopus monster and sneered. In all truth, the freak in front of him didn't seem to be much of a threat compared with the others. Flicking his wrist, he raced towards the monster and barely registered Weihan's warning shout. It seemed whenever he raced ahead, he was shouted at; well, it wasn't his problem if he was so damn good that the others were overshadowed. After three steps, he stopped and looked down. His arms were pinned against his body by one of the monster's tentacles and he was about a foot off the ground. Desperately struggling to free himself, his viewpoint rose as the monster lifted him higher and higher into the air. He wondered if the monster had a limit on its arms, but any thought was brought to a halt as he slammed into the concrete pavement. Pain shook his body as his armour tried vainly to repair itself.

Will looked at the still form of Alex and swallowed nervously. A direct assault on the creature would just lead to more damage and even death for the hastily evacuating crowd. Pulling out his blaster, he pointed it at the creature and fired off a test shot. His mouth dropped open as the bolt reflected off its skin and he fired again in disbelief. Bolt after bolt of energy bounced off the creature and it laughed at its apparent invincibility.

"Mere blasters won't hurt me! I am Dia Octo and I am your worst nightmare!"

An orange bolt of energy struck the creature on its face, causing it to recoil in pain and fear as the bolt burnt its flesh. Turning to the direction of the bolt, Will saw Weihan with his Raptor Laser extended. His leader was leaning heavily on Jacqui Apple and it was obvious that the strain of being morphed for so long was taking its toll. Blinking, the White Ranger did a double take as he saw smoke rising from the monster's face. While his own laser hadn't done any damage, the laser of the Orange Ranger had pierced the protective armour of the monster…which probably meant they would have to draw out their own Ultra Weapons.

Turning his back on the monster, Will closed his eyes and searched himself for the weapon that resonated within his Ultra Crystal. It would be the one that complemented his strengths and somewhat shielded his weaknesses. As the image of the weapon floated out of the fog, he summoned it to his hands with words that seemed to come out of the ether.

"Allosaur Pulsar!"

Opening his eyes, his jaw dropped at his new weapon. It was about the size of an old Thompson submachine gun, but it was shaped much like the theropod his power was based on. Protruding from the fanged mouth of the weapon was a small rotary barrel that started to slowly spin even before the trigger was pulled. Bracing himself, Will positioned the tail stock against his chest, aimed at the monster and squeezed the trigger.

A burst of white energy bolts spat out and he was amazed at how little recoil there was. Taking his finger off the trigger, he watched in stunned amazement as the bolts tore through the armour of the octopus just as Weihan's blast had. Dia Octo screeched in pain as its defences were painfully bypassed by the searing energy bolts. Turning his head to look at a groggy Alex, he nodded at the monster and fired on it again. Once again, the creature screamed as more of its defences were blasted away. Drawing a tight bead on the torso of the beast, he held down the trigger to fire off an extended stream.

Much to his surprise, nothing came out. The barrel started to spin faster and faster as a charge built up. Taking his finger off the trigger when the gauge was at twenty percent resulted in a ring of white hot energy impacting against Dia Octo's chest. The blast completely destroyed the armour there and badly burnt the flesh below. Nodding again to Alex, he moved away to get a better shot.

Alex looked at the monster and at the strange new weapon Will held in his hands. If someone as brainy as Will could pull a new weapon out of his ass, so could he. Well, not literally. Blocking out the blasts from Will and the screams of the monster, he closed his eyes to look within his Crystal to see what he would receive. As he saw the shape of the weapon, he grinned to himself and summoned it.

"Blizzard Axe!"

When he opened his eyes, a wicked grin broke out over his face. The weapon was a double bladed battleaxe with the blades styled after Mammoth tusks. Swinging it through the air a few times, he chuckled under his breath and ran at the monster again. When the first tentacle shot at him, he vaulted over it and swung down with his axe – severing the tentacle completely. Dia Octo howled with rage and pain and fired a glob of ink at the Ranger. Alex deftly sidestepped it and shot a quick thumbs up toward the blonde chick near Weihan.

As he gained speed, he almost didn't notice the green glow that started to cover the blades of the axe. Laughing wildly, he sped up and swung the axe in a wide arc. The blades impacted against the monster's chest and injected their deadly payloads into the flesh of the monster. Leaping aside, the Black/Green Ranger watched in amusement as the monster started to cough as it froze from the inside out. His work done, he stood on the sidelines and waited for Will to deliver the killing blow. Less than a minute later, it came.

The monster literally shattered into a thousand pieces as a fully charged blast from the Allosaur Pulsar peppered it from behind. It exploded in a burst of icy mist which quickly chilled the air around them. Alex turned to give the blonde reporter some of his warmth but made a face when he saw that Weihan was shielding her. There were always more fish in the sea, but they all seemed to pale in comparison to the prize his leader seemed to have. As he waited for the inevitable blast that would make the monster grow, he wondered what it was his leader had that he didn't have. As far as he knew, they were extremely similar…except he wasn't the one getting into trouble for fighting or skipping out on detentions. Even their English teacher had remarked on their similarities during his failed attempt at courting her. It just didn't make sense to him…

After a while, it became increasingly obvious that the monster wasn't going to grow. As the press conference was pretty much over, the Rangers grouped around their leader and helped him up. Weihan nodded at AJ and allowed himself to be helped up. As they teleported away, Weihan heard something inside his mind. It was similar to what he had heard before…but it was much fainter.

I am on Eltare. Hurry! Drakor is here!

TBC…


	70. Chapter Sixty Nine: Notes from theFuture

A/N: Chapter 69…but no explicit material. No lemons here! Enjoy!

Chapter Sixty Nine: Notes from the Future

Weihan lay on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

The damn Huntsman had returned and was lazily making its way to the corner of his ceiling where it had set up a temporary shelter for itself. He hoped that the spider wasn't a female with a clutch of eggs after the disaster that had happened a few days ago. Sighing, he sunk back into the pillows and thought about the past few weeks.

The ZARS had completed repairs on the two Dinozords and had fed the information back into the computers in the Ultra Cavern. Alex and Will had familiarised themselves with the basic operations of their Zords and had strengthened their psychic links with them. Their Thunderzords had also formed out of nowhere; Alex's being a realistic Lion and Will's a towering Cyclops. Weihan had begun training them with their Thunderzords a few days prior and they were taking to them like a duck to water.

On the personal front, things were strange. His mother and sister had met AJ after a series of seemingly unrelated incidents and had made plans to set her up with him almost immediately. They didn't seem to care about the large age gap but had wanted them to keep the physical side out of it…for now. He didn't know what was creepier; that his mother and sister were actively dipping their hands into his relationships or that they were thinking about him eventually…and that thought was just too disturbing to continue. The two of them had gotten some private time with each other and had spent it talking about the future and what may or may not happen.

He had learnt that she had family back in the United States that kept trying to set her up with a family friend. The family friend in question had confessed to AJ that he only saw her as a friend but would do what was right by his family…if it ever came to that. The family friend was loaded and lived in a large mansion on the outskirts of San Angeles but was already married to his high school sweetheart. AJ had told Weihan that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him no matter what happened in the future. He had smiled and said the same thing but he hadn't told her of the disturbing dreams he had been having.

Images of untold destruction and death. Screaming faces of girls as they were assaulted and raped in dark rooms. Fire and destruction raining from the skies, Will freezing in mid air as a beam of metal impaled him and a duo of humanoid cats. There were other images as well; screams and squeals of twisted metal, impossibly loud blasts coming from giant mechanical walkers and most disturbingly of all; his dead body with his face contorted in a mask of pain and agony. He rationalised it as the images from the future finally coming to light…but that didn't seem to be the case.

The images seemed too ominous and too relevant to him to have been from some abandoned timeline. That knowledge left him torn between telling her to go back to the US and having her stay with him…and possibly die with him. He would see how she handled the pressure as time went on but if things became too dangerous, he would do what he had to do. A faint smile played over his lips as he remembered the phrases they had used to describe each other. AJ had called him 'The way to my heart' and Weihan had said AJ was 'The apple of my eye'. They had ingrained those phrases into their minds and hearts so forgetting them would be next to impossible…or so they had said.

Shifting on the mattress, he pulled out a wadded piece of paper from his pocket. It was the note he had found in the damaged cockpit of his Utahraptor Dinozord in the future. He had retrieved it from the subspace pocket soon after arriving back in the present, but hadn't had the time or strength to read it. Looking at the yellowed paper, he made to put it back in his pocket, but stopped. His mother and sister were out of the house so it was the perfect time to read the note. Sitting up on his bed, he carefully unfolded the paper and his eyes flicked over the printed words concealed within.

_To whoever reads this;_

_I am in my Zord and don't have long to live. The monster that calls itself Kaijor just came out of nowhere a while ago…just after the defeat of Rattos by my Raptor Cannon. That damn rat bastard sapped most of my strength and I was unprepared for this thing. One of its blasts destroyed the transformation circuits so I was unable to change my Zord into its Warrior mode. That probably would have destroyed it._

_Who am I kidding? I would have been dead quicker. I needed a team to fight it but my damn pride got in the way. The worst thing is that damn Payroach could have been defeated without the massacre. I should have just grabbed Alex and Will from Moss. All this could have been avoided. Oh AJ, you warned me about this a few nights ago. You're in the damn chopper and I can see you as Kaijor waits for…something. I don't know what. I love you and I hope you don't suffer too much._

_I don't even know why I'm recording this. It's the same with the blurb I recorded in the Ultra Cavern a few minutes ago. When I'm done, I'll print this out and wad it up somewhere and…stick it to something I guess. Will figure it out then. Who am I talking to? Myself in the future after some crazy time hole opens up or some poor bastard trying to resurrect the Orange Ranger? God, I don't know…shit. Xonix and Jabarkas teleported down._

_Better finish this quick. I'm going to die soon. I know that as a fact and I…am all right with it. I wish I was given a bit more time with AJ but what happened that night I take with me happily. One last thing; if by some crazy chance a version of myself is reading this; then for fuck's sake – get a team together! Make your time as a Ranger last longer than mine…and tell AJ how you feel about her._

_Make a difference to your world._

_Orange Ranger, Weihan Liang_

Weihan bit back tears as he read the words over and over. Kaijor had defeated him and Jabarkas had killed him…and yet, he had faced death with dignity and strength. His last thoughts were of his loved ones and the memories of whatever had happened between him and AJ. Refolding the note once more, he slipped it in a secure subspace pocket and stood up.

For the Weihan that had died in that timeline – he would ensure that his memory and last moments were avenged.

TBC…


	71. Chapter Seventy: Warning

Chapter Seventy: Warning

"Whoever sent these down on a Sunday morning should be shot!"

Weihan chuckled and ducked under a blow from a Tenga Warrior. For the past couple of weeks, Xonix had been strangely quiet which meant he was cooking up something big. From the news reports that were coming out of Angel Grove, it seemed that Rita and Zedd were anything but. From new Zords to the return of Titanus, it seemed Tommy and the others had a damn lot on their plate. Plus, the thought had occurred to Zedd that it would be a good idea to randomly throw down a few groups of Tengas at Sydney every now and again. It was an annoyance at best but it kept their senses sharp. It also allowed the residents of Sydney to hone their evacuation skills but in doing so it also forced the three Rangers to get creative with excuses to slip away.

Summoning his Raptor Laser to him, he fired a few bolts at the surrounding Tengas and wrinkled his nose at the smell of charred feathers. As the last of the Tengas around him fell to the ground, he looked around to see how the others were faring. Alex was finally getting the hang of using his Blizzard Axe and was only beginning to realise there were hidden buttons on the shaft. His area-wide air cooling attack had been a staple of his but he only used it when he was sure that there were no civilians around. As always, after the Tengas had been defeated, he would soak up the praise of any females that happened to be in the area. Alex was starting to let the fame and heroics of being a Ranger get to him and Weihan had to always be close by to ensure his friend didn't blow their identities.

Looking away from his showboating friend, Weihan focused on the figure of Will. He was the one Ranger Weihan didn't have to worry about and he was damn glad for it. The only thing Will had to work on was his aim; and he had improved greatly thanks to the use of the Simul-Deck. At the sound of an explosion, Weihan looked around him to see the still bodies of the Tengas teleport out. Shaking his head in amusement, he jogged over to his friends and looked around. Already the civilians who had hid were coming out of their hiding places and were approaching the trio cautiously. Although monster shelters had been built, some Council member had decreed that they not be open on weekends…a move that made people everywhere want to bash his head in.

Stepping back from the public spotlight, Weihan mused on the latest call he had received from Kim. She had been given an opportunity to train for the Pan Global Games and had accepted the opportunity. The training studio was in Florida, but a powerful hurricane had swept through the area and utterly destroyed it. Her coach had been devastated at the loss but had settled on another location: Angel Grove. Kim and Tommy were ecstatic about the choice yet the Pink Ranger had to face another hard decision: her place on the Power Rangers. Zordon had allowed her a short amount of time to choose her successor but that time was rapidly coming to an end. He knew she would pick the correct person in the end and had complete faith in her.

"What the hell?"

Blinking himself out of his thoughts, he looked up and saw…pitch black. Switching on his helmet's night vision module didn't help either as the ground ominously shook. A deep haunting laughter wafted over the area and the shaking intensified. If he didn't know any better, he would have said it was an earthquake. As suddenly as if had swept over, the laughter stopped and the darkness lifted. Much to his dismay, he saw that Alex had demorphed and was currently untangling himself slowly from a quartet of girls. He would seriously have to reel in his friend and make him understand that the task at hand was much bigger than getting laid. Touching the side of his helmet, he attempted to reach the Command Centre.

"Zordon, do you read? Orange Ranger to Zordon, do you copy?"

Static answered him. He decided to try the others but knew he couldn't use their names.

"White Ranger, Pink Ranger, anyone copy?"

He was about to scream in frustration when Kim answered her communicator. Her voice was tight and worried.

"Pink Ranger here. We've just been paged by Zordon and you need to come and hear this."

Weihan nodded and walked over to where Alex was exchanging numbers with the quartet. He rolled his eyes and raised his voice slightly.

"Copy that. I'll gather up the others and teleport there soon."

Ending the communication, he looked at the quartet of girls and his eyes widened. Two of the girls in the group had the same Ranger image on them. One of the images was much more translucent than the other…which probably meant that girl didn't hold as much power or resonance as the other one. He would work it out later but caught the urgent glance Alex sent his way. If Alex had seen the same images as he had, the Power was acclimatising to him fairly quickly. Or he was going to interpret the images wrongly. Either way, he would deal with it when the time came.

Nodding to the public, he hit his belt buckle and teleported to the Command Centre. The others would follow when they were able to slip away from the crowd. Rematerialising in the circular area, he slipped of his helmet and nodded in greeting to the other Rangers. Aisha beamed at him and he let a small smile cross his face for an instant. The sound of two other beams behind him heralded the arrival of Alex and Will. The two Rangers spent a moment gaping at their surroundings before all heads turned to Zordon's tube. Weihan noted that the ancient sage looked worried – an emotion that shone in his voice.

"Rangers. Master Vile has arrived."

TBC…


	72. Chapter Seventy One: Ram Rock

Chapter Seventy One: Ram Rock

Xonix grumbled to himself as he studied the reports.

The Satiuqea system was revolting against his rule and the small guard he had left there was in danger of becoming overwhelmed. The contingents of Golems and Fiends he had sent there had made some difference but he was far from having the system completely under his thumb. He sighed and leant back on his throne. If they continued to revolt, he would have to leave Earth for a while to crush all resistance. If it came to that, there was nothing he could do.

The moon shook and he rolled his eyes. The last time the moon had shook was to herald the arrival of Rita's idiot brother. While the walking skeleton was useful sometimes, his lack of brains made him incredibly gullible. Stepping towards the balcony, he swore in surprise as he saw the familiar shape of the Space Skull hovering above the surface. So, the great Master Vile had come to Earth to visit his newlywed daughter. He sighed through his teeth and walked to the Monster Labs. Any second now, Vile would be paging him to see what he was doing on the Moon; if he wasn't berating his brother and daughter about their failures. Pausing at a nearby opening, he groaned under his breath as a familiar blue streak flew past. Someone had smashed Ninjor's jar and had let the blue Master out. Shaking his head, he continued on his path.

Opening the door to the Monster Labs, he coughed as a blast of steam obscured his vision for a split second. He could hear Yit and Twinlobe working on the newest creation and he smirked. The metallic monster would be effective against the magic based Zords but would all but fall apart when faced with a tech-based Zord. From what he had seen of the Ultra Rangers, he didn't think they had access to tech Zords yet. Passing a large tank, he squinted into its murky depths at the monster prototype within. It had been child's play to retrieve the remains from where they lay and animate them once more. The being had retained all of its memories but was psychologically unstable. If the bugs weren't ironed out then the soul of the human would rebel against the monstrous instincts.

Yet another thing to worry about later.

Moving past a set of double doors, he winced at the horrific sounds coming from within. The monster had volunteered for augmentation and it was getting it. Of course, a full body dissection wasn't always in the fine print but it was for the greater good. Hearing a low buzzing sound coming from his wrist, he sighed and activated the portable comm. screen. A split second later, he was greeted with the image of Master Vile and a slightly bored Zedd.

"Xonix. What business do you have here?"

Xonix moved away from the dissection room as the subject within screeched. He wondered how much information he should tell the self-proclaimed Master. On one hand, Vile would need to know that the crystals he helped create were on the planet below. On the other…well, it was advantageous to keep his cards close to his chest. And if he had a third hand, he would wonder what was in his food.

"The Ultra Crystals. Most of them are on the planet below."

Master Vile's eyes widened as he digested the information. The Ultra Crystals were on Earth. An incredible amount of power at his fingertips…and that wasn't counting the thirteenth crystal. He closed his eyes in apparent thought but was instead thinking of the past. When he had left Eltare, his daughter had railed at him for months regarding his decision to leave the thirteenth crystal behind but he had stubbornly stood his ground and Rita had conceded defeat. After his daughter had been sealed away, he had tried to get in contact with his former allies to see what he could help them with. They hadn't allowed him to do much, but he had seen and commented on the designs of Zordon's tube as well as the first prototype Power Morphers.

Then it was off to the M51 Galaxy to perfect the Orb of Doom for the next few centuries.

He had been finally roused from his work by a tremor in the Morphin Grid. A tremor that could only have been made by something of greater power than the Zeo Crystal. He had prepped his Space Skull for intergalactic transport and had set off immediately. On the way, he had received word that his daughter had married Lord Zedd in an unfathomably stupid move and had sent Rito ahead. In the past five minutes, Rito had freed Ninjor from his bottle, he had learnt Xonix was attacking and now this. It was all enough to give him a massive headache. He cheered himself up with the thought that the Globbor monster would destroy Zordon's Rangers…but he knew better. Tube or not, his old friend always had a trick or two up his sleeve.

"Have they chosen their bearers yet?"

Xonix ran his tongue over his teeth.

"Only three have. Orange, White and Black/Green."

Master Vile nodded and snapped his fingers. A small whirlwind began to form next to him containing rocks and small shards of bone. Moving his hands about, he began to shape the whirling clod into something humanoid. Broad shoulders tapered off into two rocky arms that ended in spiral horns. Hooves formed on powerful legs that grew bony spikes. Finally a head shaped like a ram's formed out of the cloud. Slapping his hands together, the rocky beast stood completed and Master Vile grinned proudly, if a bit winded.

"Ram Rock will test the strength of the Ultra Rangers. If all goes well, they will die!"

TBC…


	73. Chapter Seventy Two: Spectrums

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. After seventy three chapters, you should know this by now. Back-story of Master Vile and his involvement in Project Ultra was explained in Chapter 35. Spectrum and sides of the Grid were explained in Chapter 10. Enjoy!

Chapter Seventy Two: Spectrums

Alex looked around, confused. He didn't know who this 'Master Vile' was or why Weihan looked like he was about to pop a vein. The Power Rangers also looked confused…but Will looked curious.

"Who's Master Vile?"

Much to their surprise, Weihan spoke up. His voice was tight, but held a curious note of respect.

"He is the father of Rita and Rito. A damn long time ago, he was purified temporarily and helped create the Ultra Crystals."

An uproar descended as everyone started shouting at once. Zordon closed his eyes and sighed heavily. What had been said was true but at the time it was seen as the best thing that could have been done. Without Vile's assistance, Project Ultra would never have been seen as a viable alternative to fight Xonix. His eyes snapped open as he heard the Orange Ranger take a stance that surprised everyone – except him.

"Shut up! Vile may have had a hand in the Ultra Crystals, but it was the best thing that could have been done. Besides, it's in the past now so why worry?"

"The Crocodile is correct."

Heads turned to the voice and stunned glances were traded as Ninjor stepped out from the shadows. Weihan knew that Ninjor had been captured by Zedd and Rita but to see him walking free…well, that was most unprecedented. Apparently the Power Rangers thought so as well as they started talking at once but were silenced as Ninjor held up his hand. The ancient Ninja Master walked to the trio of Ultra Rangers and nodded once before speaking again.

"Although Master Vile had a hand in creating the exteriors and the early stages of Power containment, he chose to leave after his purification reversed. He did not attempt to take any of the Crystals with him out of respect for his former allies and, as such, I do not believe he knows how strong the Ultra Powers are."

Tommy shook his head vehemently. Past or not, Rita's father had a hand in creating the strongest Powers he knew. For all Zordon knew, Vile could have implanted a time delayed spell into the crystals to shatter them or something. He didn't know and he hated doubting his mentor, but the truth was that anyone on the side of Evil wasn't to be trusted. He had that lesson drilled into him with his experiences as Rita's Green Ranger and more recently with the Green Ranger clone. Thankfully, the latter had ended much more favourably but still…

"Master Vile will be sending down a monster to test the strength of the Ultra Crystal. You will not be able to use your Dino, Thunder or Ninja Zords against it."

Weihan inhaled sharply but nodded. It was pretty repetitive if he used the same three Zords over and over again. He thought back to what his internal guide had told him about the different spectrums of the Grid; but as expected, his internal guide butted in.

_As I said earlier, the Morphin spectrum is animal based and contains several elemental power sources. The Zeo spectrum draws from the opposite side; using technology and techno-organic constructs as Zords. In layman's terms, you can see it as magic and technology. Many of your powers dwell in the Morphin side of the Grid as they have animal spirits or elemental manipulation powers. There are only a handful of Powers that you have in the Zeo spectrum. These will be useful in defeating Master Vile's monster._

Well, that took care of his Power lesson for the day. Bringing his left wrist up, he flicked it and his 'multi-morpher' appeared in a muted flash. Next to him, he saw two similar flashes followed by gasps of excitement as Alex and Will summoned theirs for the first time. Running a finger over the buttons lightly, his internal Guide told him exactly where in the Grid the selected Powers drew from. Exactly five of his powers drew from the Zeo spectrum: Zeo (obviously), Turbo, Space, Rescue and Time Force. As he had seen the Chronos Zord in its dormant mode, he made up his mind to try out the Time Force powers next.

"Wait, how can we fight Master Vile's monster? Can the Shogunzords defeat it?"

Ninjor turned to Tommy and shook his head gravely. With the Falconzord still in the hands of Zedd, the Ninjazords were useless and the Shogunzords wouldn't stand up to what he had heard Master Vile talking about. His heart ached at what his old friend had become but on the other hand, the transforming armour that he had designed had seen quite a bit of action. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Billy.

"I have been exchanging notes with Weihan and have strengthened the Shogunzords significantly. Also, I have been working on a power up mode for all of us that I call the Metallic Armour which will grant us temporary protection from –"

The alarms started blaring as everyone looked at the viewing globe. Weihan's eyes widened as he saw the location of where the monster was rampaging.

"Aw shit. Evil has finally attacked the cathedral and on a Sunday as well. Wonderful…"

Alex slapped his face and groaned. Sunday mornings meant there would be a lot of people at the cathedral for morning services. They would have to be very careful to avoid destroying the building completely and it would just add more fuel to the anti-Ranger campaign.

"Shit. What do we use, boss?"

Weihan demorphed out of his Ultra armour and pointed to a button on his morpher. Alex and Will both nodded in unison and pressed the same button. Looking up at Zordon, he nodded at the sage and called upon his power.

"Time Guardian Power!"

TBC…


	74. Chapter Seventy Three: Guardians of Time

Chapter Seventy Three: Guardians of Time

The three Rangers teleported into religious chaos.

Stone pillars were cracked and broken and a few statues of religious figures had been smashed into barely recognisable pebbles. Even the strange stone coffin that depicted a figure lying down clutching a sword of some sort was broken apart. Weihan narrowed his eyes as he saw the yellowing bones amidst the chunks of stone. Screams of worshippers rang out over the ringing bells as the monster tossed them everywhere without mercy.

"Is that…a rock and a ram?"

Squinting through the plaster dust, he saw the monster. It looked like the twisted and biologically impossible offspring of a rock and a ram. Shaking his head in disbelief, he looked down to see what his Time Guardian powers looked like. As expected, he was still in an orange bodysuit with the same red splattered gloves and boots and white belt. His armoured vest was much sleeker and seemed to be made of a flowing metal of some kind that remoulded itself every time he moved. The only difference in his team was that Alex was in a solid black bodysuit with almost no green anywhere on his body.

Holding out his hand, he summoned his Time Guardian blaster to him and noted that it looked very similar to a snub-nosed revolver. Briefly, he wondered what change would be made to his Raptor Sabre…and if he could even summon it in his tech-based forms.

Nodding to the similarly clad Rangers on wither side of him, he fired a warning shot in the direction of the monster. The charged bolt skimmed way off target, but it caught the attention of the monster. As it turned slowly to face them, Weihan caught a glimpse of his helmet on the reflection of a broken mirror. The visor extended out past the 'borders' of the helmet and curved up and inward. It looked very similar to the Green Power Coin…or at least the image of it that he had 'seen' in Zordon's explanation of the Power. A small grin crept over his face in reminiscence before the creature's voice snapped him back to the present.

"Rangers, Master Vile and Xonix send their greetings. I, Ram Rock, will be the death of you three!"

Three laser blasts impacted against its shoulders and it staggered back as a veritable barrage of lasers assaulted it. As the smoke cleared, it started laughing as the lasers had no effect on its rocky exterior. Lifting one of its arms up, bolts of magic energy streamed out of the spiral horns and blew the three Rangers away. Ram Rock opened its mouth and shot out a thin beam of energy that effortlessly cut through the last of the stone pillars supporting the roof. With an unearthly groan, the roof of St Andrew's Cathedral fell in, burying the three Rangers in a cloud of dust and debris.

Striding out of the destruction, Ram Rock laughed heartily as the morning shoppers screamed and fled in fear. They had seen their Rangers killed and now they would all be crushed underfoot by Xonix. It would be more of a victory if the Globbor monster that had been sent down was able to crush the Power Rangers of Angel Grove. Earth would become like Phaedos; a barren rock floating through space. Or it would become a haven for sex slavery of human females who would be raped on an hourly basis with the promise of death just out of reach. Either way, it would be a fitting end to a troublesome planet.

A stabbing pain made it look down to its chest. Its eyes widened as it saw a pointed orange spike protruding from its chest. It felt itself be pushed from behind as the spike was yanked roughly out. Shakily turning around, its mouth fell open as it saw the three Rangers ready…and the weapon that was in the Orange Ranger's hands. It was a short spear that looked like the minute hand of a clock. The blade was orange and silver and the shaft was jet black. The weapons that the Black and White Rangers held were short swords shaped like arrows. Whatever they were, they looked deadly but it didn't have anything to fear. It knew that it if fell in battle, Master Vile or Xonix would revive it into a giant. And when it was a giant, it could only be truly destroyed by a Power that came from the Zeo spectrum.

Weihan glanced behind him to the settling pile of rubble that was the cathedral and sighed. Thankfully the blast from the monster had knocked them back away from the majority of the collapsing roof but it was still a pain to dig out. Well, until Alex remembered the passage that was connected to an emergency set of stairs leading to the Square. He had summoned the funky looking spear – which his guide had called the Spear of Time – and had flung it at the back of the monster.

Twirling the Spear of Time in his hands, he looked over the Chrono Blades in the hands of the other Rangers. In all truth, he had no idea what they were capable of but Alex and Will seemed content in figuring out everything as they went along. His eyes lit up as an idea struck him and he quietly conveyed the information to his two team mates. Will nodded in agreement while Alex groaned aloud but went along with the plan.

"Guardian of Time – White!"

"Guardian of Time – Black!"

"Guardian of Time – Orange!"

Weihan took in a deep breath and prepared to finish their roll call. In unison, all three Rangers spoke aloud.

"We are the Guardians of Time and Space! Ultra Rangers: Time Force!"

A massive double explosion rang out behind them and Weihan groaned, looking back on the pile of rubble. The first explosion had been an energy discharge from their roll call and was to be expected. Unfortunately, it seemed to have ignited the cathedral's ruptured gas main and had now turned into a raging inferno that was devouring the ruins behind them. Grimacing, he turned away from the debris and pointed the Spear of Time at Ram Rock, moulding his face into an impassive mask.

"Let's go. We've got a rock to grind."

Alex looked at him.

"Even for you, that was bad."

TBC…


	75. Chapter Seventy Four: New Trick

Chapter Seventy Four: New Trick

Staring up at the sky, Weihan wondered why he always got the short end of the stick.

It seemed Ram Rock had a counter for everything they tried. Laser blasts bounced off its rocky armour and their blades only penetrated so much. The power boost they had received after their roll call had worn off fairly quickly and it was obvious to anyone watching that they were running out of ideas. Thankfully, there was no one watching as the police had closed entry to the entire block. News helicopters were keeping a safe distance away and Weihan distantly wondered if AJ was in any of them.

"Stop moving so much! It's bad enough that you're hit and now Alex is fighting by himself!"

He sighed and stopped moving. The monster had fired stone bindings from its mouth and Weihan had been the unlucky bastard caught in its sights. Alex was now battling the monster as much as he could while Will used his Chrono Blades in conjunction with his Chrono Blaster to chip through the rock. With nothing to do except lie there, Weihan tried to control his breathing and work out a way to free himself quicker. Sighing, he looked at Will and spoke.

"Help Alex. I'll figure out a way to free myself somehow but Alex needs help or he'll be a smear on the sidewalk."

Will looked torn for a split second and then nodded once. Firing off a few shots at the monster, he charged into battle…leaving Weihan pinned to the ground with no idea how he was going to free himself. A few experimental tugs left him with the understanding that the rock wasn't going anywhere. If he morphed into his full Ultra armour, he would probably have a chance at freeing himself, but he didn't know how the magic based power would work against Ram Rock's bindings. At best, he would be free with a few tugs. At worst…well, the rock would probably entomb him and he would suffocate pretty quickly.

_The Metallic Armour can help you._

Well, that was one option but the Metallic Armour was only good for magic based Rangers and could only work for an extremely limited time. There would be no telling when it would cut out or what said cutting out would do to his morphed state. He exhaled in frustration and winced as a large explosion came from the still burning rubble. If they were to lure the monster into one of the explosions, it would knock it off balance for them to destroy it. That seemed like the best option so far…but the only problem was escaping from the goddamn rock shackles.

_The Metallic Armour can help. It is much more stable than the version the Power Rangers are using and it is designed to work with all of your Powers._

Well, that clinched it. He inhaled deeply and shouted out.

"Metallic Armour, Power up!"

In a crackle of energy, he felt the magical armour plates snap into place. Flexing his left arm experimentally, he was more than pleased to see it break the rock surrounding it. Rising up from the ground, he brushed the remnants from his armour and called the Spear of Time to him. Stepping towards the monster, he could see tiny shimmers of light running on top of his bodysuit and he willed some of the power into his weapon. Rolling his head to loosen up the stiffness in his neck, he drew his right arm back and threw the Spear of Time at Ram Rock. The monster barely had time to react as the energised spear tore a gaping hole through its body; barely missing Alex as he reared back for another run.

As his weapon retuned to him, he summoned his Chronos Blaster and flicked a switch near the trigger. A magnetic charge ran through the Spear of Time and it compacted itself to slide on top of the Blaster seamlessly. Weihan raised an eyebrow at the amalgamation but said nothing as the remaining Rangers ran toward him. As one, they aimed their blasters at Ram Rock and prepared to finish him off. Weihan chuckled under his breath as he realised that the plan he had thought up would be relegated back to the drawing board.

And then it happened.

From the clear skies above, a bolt of purple energy struck Ram Rock, making the monster scream out. Lowering his combined weapon, Weihan thought Master Vile had seen enough and was destroying his monster for them. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The three Rangers took a step back as Ram Rock's screams of pain turned into cackling shouts of glee…and the monster began to grow. The policemen that had blocked off the entire block ran in terror as the creature towered over them. Some fired their guns at the rocky beast, but their bullets either bounced off or fell back to Earth.

The Rangers looked at each other with fresh fear in their veins. For Weihan in particular, the scenario in front of them was one that chilled him to his bones as he saw it in his darkest nightmares. It was a fully grown monster in a crowded area, ready to destroy everything in sight.

And there wasn't a thing he could do.

TBC…


	76. Chapter Seventy Five: Toki O Koete

A/N: Take 2...Not sure what happened the first time either.

Chapter Seventy Five: Toki O Koete

Time to face facts.

The CBD was going to get trashed no matter what happened and if the Rangers stood around fiddling while Sydney burned they would be labelled public menaces again. Then there was the issue with logistics. One Zord in the CBD would more than double the amount of damage done so having three would utterly annihilate Sydney. Seeing as how Sydney didn't have any wide open spaces like Angel Grove did the Zords wouldn't have a lot of room to move.

As Ram Rock trudged toward The Rocks, Weihan eyed the spaces between the buildings. They were too narrow for an animal based Zord yet a humanoid form seemed to slip in between them easily. To ask Alex and Will if they had humanoid Zords in their arsenal would take too much time…wait. There was something about time and a humanoid Zord that was on the tip of his brain but what was it? He looked down at his Ranger suit for any clues and smiled as he remembered. Turning towards Alex and Will, he spoke in a low voice.

"Guys, tend to the civilians still outside and see what you can do about finding shelters for the wounded. I'll handle the overgrown boulder."

Both Rangers nodded once and turned to see what they could do for the wounded. Weihan told them that if they concentrated, they would be able to use their powers to heal but he had warned Alex not to get too carried away and risk public demorphing. To limit his friend's…excitement, he had given them hand-held versions of the strange gun/vacuum healing device and told them how to use it. It was quite simple really: point, shoot and wait a few seconds for it to recharge; lather, rinse and repeat. One problem was taking care of itself and it was time for him to see what a Zeo-based Zord could do.

"Toki O Koete – Chronos Zord!"

The words seemed to spill automatically from his mouth and his internal translator deciphered the words as "Crossing through time – Chronos Zord"…which really didn't make sense as the Chronos Zord was in the present. As what looked like a time hole opened up in the sky, he didn't really care about the semantics anymore. The sight of the winged skeleton gliding through the portal evoked strong images of what the end of the world would look like. With a slight chuckle, he realised the shimmering energy cloak didn't help matters either; nor did its four wings: two skeletal and two angelic.

Snapping himself out of the apocalyptic undertones of the imagery, Weihan refocused his attention on the monster. It hadn't seen the arrival of the Chronos Zord so he still had some element of surprise. Leaping up towards the Zord, he felt the teleportation system beam him aboard. Settling into the cockpit, he took a moment to familiarise himself with the layout. The slot to slide his Raptor Sabre in was absent and the viewing screen was slightly larger and shaped like a T. There were two L shaped control sticks along with two pedals on the ground. Running his eyes over them, he felt instructions enter his mind and inform him of what did what. Well, there went the problem of not accidentally vaporising the CBD. Settling his hands on the control levers and his feet on the pedals, he planned out his attack.

Attacking from above was now a viable option as the monster wouldn't think to defend itself from above unless it had a direct line to Master Vile. Adding to the ominous appearance of the Zord were the rather chilling names of the weapons: Sightless Beam, Banshee Wail and Agony Rip were some examples. He was rather intrigued at what the Time Shield and Guardian Scythe would look like but he could wait. Pushing down on one of the pedals, the Zord silently ascended and silently moved forward. Waiting until he was directly above Ram Rock, he pressed the button for the Sightless Beam – whatever that was.

He jumped in surprise as a bright light flashed on the screen in front of him and he instinctively threw up his hands in front of his face. A split second later, he heard the crumbling of rock and a distorted wail from the monster below. Lowering his arms, he fought to control his breathing and pressed the button again. Flinching at the burst of light, he willed himself not to move as he saw twin circular holes appear on the monster's shoulders. As it was pretty obvious that the Sightless Beam hadn't come through the cockpit, he deduced that there were small micro-blasters around the 'eyes'. Plus, the lasers or whatever they were seemed to do some damage to Ram Rock. Swallowing back his bile, he angled the Chronos Zord down into a steep dive and extended its arms. He noticed small claws on the tips of the fingers extend a split second before they impacted against Ram Rock.

The Zord shuddered to a halt as Weihan was thrown out of his seat; impacting against the screen in front of him. Shaking his head to clear it, he winced as Ram Rock wailed in pain inches away from him. Climbing back into his seat, he pulled the shoulder straps over his armour and settled back to see what the creature was wailing about. Hie eyes widened as he saw that the claws on both arms had somehow impacted within millimetres of each other…and the target was Ram Rock's head. Wrenching the claws out of the monster, he fired off another Sightless Beam and tapped in the command to summon the Guardian Scythe.

He felt a weight detach from the back of the Zord and struggled to regain its footing. Finally succeeding, he was treated to the incredible sight of the skeletal wings joining together to form the weapon. Bringing up a wire frame model of his Zord on the main screen, he could see that the angelic wings had moved up its back and were folded against the energy-cloak. As the Zord grasped the eerily skeletal scythe, Weihan was reminded of an image he had seen somewhere of the Grim Reaper with angel wings and a scythe made of the bones of the damned. Moving his thoughts away from the slightly disturbing image, he readied the blade for the final strike.

"Atropos' Shears!"

Well, that was another attack name that just came out of nowhere. He was starting to resign himself to the idea that attack names would just pop up whenever needed. AJ would get a good laugh at that and would probably pop it into her next exclusive report. Maybe Alex or Will would have better control over what attack names came out. So far, the only cool name he had heard was the "Neptune Strike" and that had only been a one-off thing…for now anyway. He watched a thin strand of gold thread silently slide out of the blade of the scythe and shimmer in the sunlight. In a lightning fast motion, the Zord drew back the blade and swung it horizontally at Ram Rock. Weihan felt a slight tremor as the blade cut cleanly through the rocky monster and also through the gold thread.

With a low wail, Ram Rock half crumbled and half exploded into a fireball. Blinking to clear his sight, Weihan sighed in relief and slumped against his chair as he stood triumphantly over the smouldering embers of the defeated monster. Sure, he had gotten time in the cockpit of a relatively unfamiliar Zord, but that was the easy part. Tomorrow was the start of the final term but the Principal had told them that a few prospective female students would be walking through the halls to see what studying in the school would be like. He hoped the prospective Purple Ranger would be there and he hoped that Alex wouldn't challenge his decision.

Only time would tell…

TBC…


	77. Chapter Seventy Six: Private Meetings

Chapter Seventy Six: Private Meetings

It was midnight in Angel Grove and Zordon was deep in thought.

Master Vile's Globbor monster had challenged the Rangers greatly. Tommy and Kimberly had gone to the moon to retrieve the legendary Zeo Crystal and Tommy had been captured by Zedd and Rita. Instead of turning him evil then and there, the evil duo had hooked him up to some strange device that would gradually turn him evil again. Kim had retrieved the Zeo Crystal in the nick of time and had saved Tommy and retrieved the Falconzord.

In the end, the Zeo Crystal had been split into its subcrystals and scattered throughout time and space. He already knew they would be needed in the future and had kept tabs on their precise locations…even though he had told the Rangers that he wouldn't be able to. Weihan's future self had told him of several major events that would happen in the next few years and he had to prepare for them…no matter what they were. He stifled a yawn and stretched his arms out in front of him. He wished there was a chair or something in his time warp, but he supposed he should be grateful that he was even alive at all.

He was shaken out of his musings by a blinking light on the communications console in front of him. It wasn't the steady blinking of a message; instead it was blinking in a semblance of Human Morse code. He waited for the message to finish and his eyes widened. Switching off the tube's external imaging system, he closed his eyes, focused inward and took deep breaths at regular intervals. He felt his spirit leave his body around the sixth breath and as he opened his 'eyes' he saw the familiar form of Vile in front of him.

"Zordon. Glad to see you received my message."

The sage nodded once and snapped his fingers. Two chairs popped into existence and he sat down, relaxing into the soft leather. In the dream void, anything was possible. Looking at his former friends, Zordon noted that the years had taken their toll on Vile. The snakes that had slithered around his head animatedly now hung down and occasionally moved. The glasses weren't a new addition yet the lenses seemed to be thicker. Vile smiled softly and a cup of steaming tea appeared in his hands.

"The dream void. I thought you discarded the lessons you learnt when you left."

Vile shook his head and sipped his tea. After Ram Rock had been destroyed, he had focused his attention on Globbor in Angel Grove and had even set foot on Earthen soil to give his creation magical assistance. As they had in the past, Zordon's Rangers had soundly defeated his monster and had attempted to destroy him. He had beat a hasty retreat after being struck with the Zords and had been forced to listen to three hours of Rita's commentary of why she knew his plan would fail. Tending to his injury on the Space Skull, he had received a progress report from his field general that was conquering a star in the Dark Galaxy. Professor Longnose had passed along some interesting information in the form of Goldar's many-times removed cousin Mordant. The pig creature (who was just visiting for the summer or so he claimed) had discovered the location of a great evil and was travelling to tell Lord Zedd about it.

"No, I didn't forget this one. I forced myself to forget everything else. Being here gives me a measure of peace and it helps that the innate goodness suppresses a lot of my evil power."

Zordon allowed a small smile to cross his face and he summoned up a mug of Eltarean coffee. Sipping the intensely bitter liquid, he looked at his former friend again.

"What is your important news?"

Vile sighed and adjusted the wire frames of his glasses. This information would not be easy for him to tell his friend, but it had to be done for his friend to prepare.

"Ivan Ooze has been found. On Earth."

Zordon chuckled under his breath. Seeing Vile's incredulous look made him lose all composure and the ancient sage erupted in peals of laughter. After a few minutes, he regained control of himself and attempted to compose himself again, but the mirth shone through his voice.

"My friend, I have known that he is on Earth for years – even before my imprisonment. The Morphin Council withheld the information but I did some digging and found his chamber was placed on a planet filled with fire and smoke. A few days after this, we found the scattered remnants of the Ectomorphicon Titans and the Morphin Council 'disposed' of them in the same place…and right on top of the chamber."

"Are you prepared? He will come directly for you as Phaedos is too far for him to journey in his natural form. He will be very thorough and your Rangers will not stand a chance against him without powers – even the powers Ninjor granted them will be of little use."

Zordon sipped his drink and nodded once. He had come to the conclusion that the Rangers would have to go to Phaedos to gain the Great Power. Dulcea would ensure that the Ninjetti Animals would bond to them for life and that they were always protected. Ninjor's Power Coins could be traded between users but the Ninjetti Power would remain.

"Does Xonix know?"

Vile snorted derisively.

"Even if he did know, I doubt he would care. He has to leave for one of his recently conquered systems early tomorrow. Natives are getting restless and he has to crush them. The Huran will be in charge for the duration."

Zordon nodded and noticed that Vile's image was becoming transparent – a sign that his body was being woken up. Vile noticed his slow disappearance and smiled sadly at his former friend. His last words before he vanished were full of emotion.

"Take care, my old friend."

TBC…


	78. Chapter Seventy Seven: Tension

A/N: And now we see a potential problem and a potential rift in the Rangers. Although, if you've read my other stories set in the 'future', you'll know who gets chosen. Anyway, enjoy and review!

Chapter Seventy Seven: Tension

He couldn't believe the hilarity of it all.

Weihan walked through the school corridors and listened to all the talk around him. Almost all of it focused on the destruction of the cathedral and the appearance of the skeletal Chronos Zord; and how it was a sign that the apocalypse was just around the corner. Funnily enough, he had heard that the three Ultra Rangers would be the saviours of all as they had abilities that 'only the Almighty had' or some religious shit like that. He wasn't religious or a believer but he doubted that whatever was up there would want to go toe-to-toe with Xonix on an almost daily basis.

The other point five percent of the talk around school were the small groups of girls that were walking around. The Principal had assigned a few model students to take each group around and show them what the school had to offer. Being that he was in detention a lot, Weihan didn't expect his name to be on the shortlist. He had already seen a few potential Rangers in the few girls that he had seen and the colours were varied as were the dinosaurs.

One red headed girl named Aimee Dawson was clad in the armour of the Yellow Smilodon while the girl she was chatting animatedly to – a Heather Collins, if he had heard the name right – had the image of the Pink Pteranodon about her. A perky blonde named Rachel or Rachelle gave him a flash of a Silver Ankylosaurus Ranger and two similarly named girls gave him two flashes of Green – one a Dilpohosaur and the other the helmet of the Green Dragon. If he were to put a bet on it, he would put his money on one of them having the crystal with the swirling mass of colours that Zordon had described.

"Weihan, mate, wait up!"

He turned around; half expecting Dragan to be there. Instead, he saw the tall figure of Ben Shine jogging towards him. Weihan nodded once at him and waited for the other boy to catch up. Ben was a good sort: a hard worker, loyal to friends and a good leader. In short, he was everything the Orange Ranger wasn't…in Weihan's defence, he had improved a bit since taking up the Power.

"Hey, was looking all over for you. You've been picked as a tour guide."

Weihan blinked, shook his head and blinked again. He must not have heard correctly and asked for clarification. The tall Australian smiled and nodded.

"I couldn't believe it either, but apparently there's a group upstairs asking for you."

Weihan chuckled and shook his head. Nodding his thanks, he bolted up one of the stairwells; ironically noting that it was the same one he had rushed up during the Wraith's hunt. Rounding the corner on the eighth floor, he stopped dead and looked at the group in front of him. The two potential Purple Rangers were there – as was the potential Silver Ranger and another girl. Narrowing his eyes at the last girl, he focused within and tried to feel any resonance with…anything within. She resonated with a very faint echo of power but he didn't know if she would be a Ranger in the near future or in the far future. With an internal grimace, he also realised that she could become a Ranger in the past as well…and that was why time travel gave him headaches.

All four girls were chatting with Alex and he waved Weihan over with a wide smile. The Orange Ranger approached and gave his friend a questioning glare. The Black/Green Ranger shook his head minutely and he sighed in relief. Alex hadn't spilled the beans yet to the potentials. That was a good thing but he hoped there wasn't attacks again as reporters other than AJ were starting to become suspicious.

"So, Alex, who've we got here?"

His friend grinned at him and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. He noted that the more 'solid' Purple Ranger's armour was based on the Argentinean theropod Carnotaurus. Nodding slightly at the more solid image, he had picked his choice of the two. Alex waited until he had finished looking before speaking.

"Right. Here we have Rachel Lee, Eliza Maddock, Rachelle Cole and…let me see if I get this name right; Giulia Lombardo. All four are new students and are awaiting the tour. Of course, I'll hang around to hand out better information."

Weihan rolled his eyes at his friend and shook his head. He made a mental checklist of what Crystals would be going to which person. His internal guide had told him the night before that all but two of the Ultra Crystals had arrived on Earth and were awaiting their bearers. Any of the Ultra Rangers could draw out a potential crystal and present it to a bearer. Smiling warmly at the four girls, he nodded again. He would have to check his nodding habits as the Power seemed to have amplified them.

"My name is Weihan Liang and I will be your tour guide around the wonderful halls of St Andrews Cathedral School. Hmm…maybe the name has to be changed as the cathedral is no more. Oh well, something for the bigwigs to decide."

He led them down the same flight of stairs to the gym and pointed to one of the walls.

"This is a wall. Ordinary but it keeps us from falling to our deaths. Triviality aside, the walls were blackened and charred when a monster attacked the students in this hall. One of its attacks set fire to the surrounding areas; thankfully it burnt itself out but the damage was still done. On said wall, you'll see security camera images of the Orange Ranger-like figure that mysteriously vanished with the monster."

As the girls looked at the images, Alex leant in close to him and spoke in a low voice.

"The girl there, Rachel Lee? She's got a great power in her. More power than Eliza. She should be the Purple Ranger. I can sense it"

Weihan made to shake his head but stopped himself. He sighed frustratedly at Alex and waved his hand slightly in a 'no' motion. If he was to give an Ultra Crystal to someone, they would have to be able to handle the rush of raw power during the first morph. He was sure Rachel was a strong girl; he just doubted that she was strong enough to achieve a stable morph. He also wasn't sure if that made him sexist or over-protective.

Looking up at Eliza, he saw that she was chatting animatedly with Ashley Judd; one of the 'model' students. He smiled at the obvious attraction between them and reconsidered his decision. A relationship with a non-ranger would be hard on Judd and while Weihan didn't overtly dislike him, he was painfully aware of the strain that would be evident on the two of them. Of course, the Ultra Rangers didn't have any rules imposed on them so she could tell him about her other job…provided he didn't tell others. He looked at Alex and minutely shook his head.

"The crystal resonates more with Eliza. If she doesn't pan out for some reason, we'll go with Rachel. We gotta choose fast though. No knowing when Xonix will attack next."

As Alex saw his friend walk away, he was struck with a strange sensation of déjà vu. He had seen this scene in the vision that had made up his mind to take the Power. The dialogue was a bit different thanks to the destruction of Kaijor but the intent and tone was still evident. Weihan would choose Eliza even though Rachel outshone the other girl. He narrowed his eyes at his leader's retreating back.

He would get his choice and Weihan would see that he was correct.

TBC…


	79. Chapter Seventy Eight: Caged Heat

A/N: And now the tension rises…Enjoy!

Chapter Seventy Eight: Caged Heat

"And that concludes the tour from top to bottom of St Andrew's House – well, the school part of it anyway. The BBC…uh, Bishop Barry Centre not the other BBC, well it's survived reasonably unscathed during the recent attacks compared with the cathedral behind me."

Alex stifled a yawn and regretted tagging along – even if it did get him out of class. Weihan had skimmed through the history of the school and had opted to explain the current events and destruction of the past three or so months. It was news that anyone could have pulled out of the newspaper, but the girls seemed to be lapping it up. They were now in the Square and were looking at the ruins of the Cathedral. Already the Council was planning to rebuild it into a fortified place of worship. That meant for the next few months everything assembly related would be moved to the Chapter House located next to the cathedral. Alex marvelled that it was able to stay undamaged during Ram Rock's attack.

"That's pretty much it. Nothing much else. I hope you will choose to study at St Andrews. Barring all the monster attacks, it's a damn good school with good teachers and if that doesn't convince you, you always know that the Orange Ranger is looking out for you!"

Weihan finished off his spiel with an exaggerated ready stance and Alex rolled his eyes in annoyance. He knew in his gut that Rachel was the perfect candidate for the Purple Crystal. She had grace, beauty and if he could just weaponize her eyes then they would win every battle. Weihan was just going for the first pretty face he saw as he did with the blonde reporter. He just focused on the exterior and that was that whereas Alex fancied himself as being able to look beyond the pretty face and see the soul beneath.

In all honesty, that didn't work out so well but Rachel was the perfect Purple Ranger! Eliza would just be a flaky girl and run off at the first sign of danger or if there was a small chance she would break a nail and ruin her image. Plus, the newspapers and channels would go wild at seeing two of the Rangers dating each other and protecting each other in battle. They would call them 'Sydney's Pink and White Rangers' or something like that. Weihan was now answering questions posed by the girls and seemed to be favouring both Eliza and Rachelle over the others.

"Weihan! Ah knew it was you!"

Weihan paused in mid-sentence and turned around. He felt a wide smile blossom on his face as he saw AJ walking toward him and ran an approving eye over her choice of clothing. The leggy blonde was wearing a white and orange striped shirt with figure hugging jeans. He willed his breathing to slow down and was very aware of the giggles from the girls around him. Walking towards the reporter, he nodded behind her at her camera crew before slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey AJ, what's up?"

"Nothin' much, Sugarcube. Just doin' follow-up on the destruction of the cathedral. You wouldn't happen to know how that happened?"

Weihan laughed and slowed as they reached the group. He could see Eliza and Rachelle looking at him with sly glances and waved them off. Alex and Rachel were talking while Giulia half-heartedly listened on. Shaking his head, he opened his mouth to reply but closed it as a strange feeling washed over him. Giving AJ a wary smile, he turned so that her body would be blocking his and summoned his Ultra Crystal. The blonde woman's eyes widened as she saw the jagged crystal up close and gasped softly as a strange purple tinge appeared within its depths.

_It is a warning. Something is coming and you need to prepare for it._

Something was coming…what? Xonix wasn't going to attack for a while; Zordon had beeped him in the early hours of the morning to tell him that the draconic overlord had gone off to finalise the conquest of some far off system. Maybe it was a sign that Jabarkas was coming down? He doubted it; purple armour wouldn't go well with his mottled grey skin or the seemingly bottomless pit eyes. Silently sliding the crystal back into his body, he carefully scanned the area for any signs of danger or imminent attack. With some interest, he noticed Alex doing the same thing while Rachel and Giulia looked on; confused by the sudden shift in his attitude.

"What is it? Trouble?"

He shrugged but kept lookout as he walked over to the group. Glancing at Alex, he motioned with his eyes to move the group back to St Andrews House. The Black/Green Ranger nodded in confirmation and abruptly stopped his surveillance of the area and spoke in a forced tone.

"Well, we'd better leave the two lovebirds to…do whatever they want within the legal boundaries of the law. The Cathedral is toast, so I'll show you girls around the Chapter House so you know where we'll be having assemblies in the foreseeable future."

Nodding in agreement, the quartet of prospective students followed Alex and Weihan trailed behind with AJ as he scanned the area once more. There were no figures hiding behind the rubble or coming from below them. Weihan sighed in relief but glanced up and stopped in his tracks as his face paled.

"Motherfucker…"

Descending from the skies were humanoid figures covered in some sort of purple slime. With a start, the Orange Ranger realised they weren't covered in it; they were made out of it. Shooting a quick look at the group in front of him, he pushed AJ past Alex's group and into the Chapter House. He urged Alex to hurry up and the quintet grouped around him – talking at once while Alex closed the door behind them. Weihan pushed their concerns and questions aside and withdrew both the Purple and Silver Ultra Crystals from their subspace pockets. He knew it looked like they were coming from within his body but he didn't care. Eyes widened as the quartet realised what they were seeing.

"Alex. She's the one."

His friend shook his head in protest and Weihan exhaled in frustration. Outside, he could hear the first of the figures crash to the ground followed by screams of fright.

"We don't have time for you to fuck around!"

"No! I'm telling you she has the power and control! What, do you have a direct link to the Grid and have a better idea of who to choose or something?"

"YES!"

Everyone blinked in surprise at Weihan's shout. The Orange Ranger pointed to the Chapter House doors.

"Everyone in there. Now. If you want to trust the power to Rachel, then go right ahead. I hope for your sake she survives the initial morph. Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

A brilliant flash of light signalled Weihan's morph into the Orange Ultra Ranger. As the armour finished forming, Weihan pulled out his Sabre and walked to the door. Inhaling deeply, he looked to the others and forced himself to be calm. He looked at Eliza and Rachelle and spoke with a tired voice.

"Eliza and Rachelle, the two of you have the potential to be great Ultra Rangers. The only choice in front of you is if you want the chance to be part of something bigger or not."

Rachelle nodded shakily and reached out for the Silver Crystal. As her fingers touched its mirrored surface, Weihan threw open the door and scrambled back as AJ's camera crew pushed past him; babbling in fear. Alex snatched both Crystals out of the air and hurried the quartet into the Chapter House and all but bolted the door behind them. AJ sighed and pointed to her lead cameraman.

"Chris wants a live report from you and only you. We can leave a small camera here but we're not sticking around!"

Weihan nodded as he heard muffled blasts from outside. Either Will was fighting out there or the ooze…things had access to lasers inside them. He spied the floor hatch that led to the underground station and nodded at it.

"The hatch will take you under the Chapter House and will lead you straight to Town Hall station."

The camera crew nodded and opened it just as Will burst through the back doors; fully morphed and carrying the Allosaur Pulsar. His White Armour was speckled with purple slime and, disturbingly, fresh bloodstains. Nodding once at Weihan and AJ, he turned back to the opening and fired a short burst outside. Slamming the door closed, he helped the remainder of the crew down into the passage before closing the hatch and locking it. His next words chilled Weihan's blood.

"We can't get out. We're trapped."

TBC…


	80. Chapter Seventy Nine: Choice of Worth

Disclaimer/AN: Power Rangers is not mine. And 69 chapters after detailing the Orange powers, it's time to see what the Black/Green Powers are made up of!

Chapter Seventy Nine: Choice of Worth

Inside the Chapter House, Alex was running out of ideas.

He had barricaded the door to the outside with chairs and sealed any gaps with the Mammoth Buster…which he could somehow summon without being morphed. As the girls were checking for any other openings, he pulled out both crystals and gazed at them. The Purple Crystal seemed to sympathise with him on his choice but had also flashed an image into his mind when he had grabbed it. If Rachel tried to morph, she would die in agony as the raw power consumed her from within. She would have a stable morph in the beginning but it would rapidly destabilise and after that…he closed his eyes in sorrow.

He opened them to see Rachel and Eliza looking at him curiously. Now that he thought about it, Eliza had a much stronger vibe about her than Rachel. He couldn't explain it but giving Eliza the Purple Crystal felt…right. It was much the same feeling he had when looking at the Silver Crystal and Rachelle. Whether it was fate or destiny, he didn't know but he was starting to get the feeling Weihan had opened all of them to a new path to an unknown destination. That sounded extremely cheesy but felt right. He exhaled slowly and ran a hand through his hair.

"The crystals choose you by calling out to their chosen bearer. If the chosen bearer is not in this room…we're fucked."

He paused to let that sink in and thought about his friend. Weihan had subtly changed over the past few months; even before he had recruited Alex and Will to be Rangers. He seemed more focused and driven than before and had even improved his grades by the slightest of margins. The greatest change seemed to occur right after the first attack on the school and the death of Steven Johnston. His friend's eyes seemed to age beyond their years and he had been in that strange mood for days after. The thought of something like that happening to him was…chilling to say the least. He had every intention of enjoying whatever small amount of youth he had left.

He watched as the Purple Crystal levitated to hover between Eliza and Rachel. It seemed to gravitate more towards Eliza as if attracted by some magnetic force. It seemed Weihan was correct and Eliza was more suited to become the Purple Ranger. Absently he wondered how it felt to be directly connected to the Grid and to instantly know who would become a Ranger or see who had the most potential. It would be great but would also probably be a huge pain. From Weihan's side of the door, he could hear laser blasts being fired as well as muffled yells and the blonde reporter chick talking to someone. She would have her exclusive and would probably shack up with Weihan for life while he got the short end of the stick.

"Alex, is it worth it?"

He looked up and saw Eliza looking at the Crystal. On the balcony above, he could see Rachelle staring at the Silver Crystal curiously but she listened to the conversation below. He rolled the words over in his mind slowly. Was accepting the opportunity to become a Ranger worth the pain and danger of the path? Honestly, he didn't know but he was willing to bet it was all for the greater good. Of course, he couldn't really bet on anything as he had only held the power for an incredibly short time. He knew his own reasons for taking up the Power were shaky at best but they seemed to hold water in the past few battles. He sighed and looked up at the thick stained glass windows.

"For me, it has been worth every second of the fight. I accepted the Power so I could save all the girls from a fate worse than death. I don't know what that fate is and I think Weihan knows…but he won't tell me. Will joined to protect the world and to make a difference and Weihan…well, he hasn't shared his motivations yet."

He stood up and looked at the girls. He felt the weight of Weihan's expectations crush down on him and he rolled his shoulders as if to throw it off – even just for one second. He pulled out his own Ultra Crystal and watched it slowly spin in the air. Skimming his fingers over its glassy surface, he smiled as the spinning accelerated slightly. Reflecting on the words he had said, he slowly realised that his excuse only focused on a small part of his desire. Yeah, saving girls was good but the greater reward was seeing everyone safe…even if a small part of the CBD had to be sacrificed in a Zord battle.

"For each one of us, the decision is different. The choice is still the same. Weihan explained to me that the Ultra Rangers are free from the rules that Angel Grove's Power Rangers have to adhere to. Since we have no rules to follow, the Ultra Rangers walk along the thin line between good and evil. We fight the battles that the Power Rangers can't and we take the greater risks for the safety of those we love."

Alex slid his left hand over his Ultra Crystal and rested his palm on the flat top. He brought his right hand directly under it and turned his palm up below the pointed end of the Crystal. In one fluid motion, Alex clapped both hands together; re-absorbing it into his body. Twisting his left wrist, he summoned his own version of the combination morpher and looked at the symbols on it. Mammoth, Lion, Horny Lizard: those were his 'Main Three' Morphin powers. Taurus, Desert Thunder and Galaxy Dragon: his other 'Main Three' from the Zeo spectrum…whatever that was. The other symbols didn't interest him that much except his Time Guardian Power and the Guardian of the Earth Power (which was represented by an image of an emu). Even his Prehistoric power didn't excite him that much as there was only so much excitement that one could generate over something called Sauropelta.

"Once you accept the Power, the world comes first. With more Rangers come greater risks as the stakes are raised higher. There's more danger and the attacks come more and more frequently and leave almost no room for any personal time. However, Weihan seems to have some sort of balance between his duties and…that blonde reporter."

Turning back to the girls, he started as he noticed Rachelle and Giulia had come down from the balcony and were listening intently at his words. He entertained the idea of getting onto the stage for a brief moment before shooting it down as silly and pretentious. Seeing the determination in Eliza's eyes and the hesitation in Rachel's allowed him to discard all his prior thoughts of Rachel being the Purple Ranger; the ones that the image hadn't erased.

"Eliza and Rachelle, the two of you now have a decision to make. It will be your decision to make whenever you choose. If you want to mull over it for a while, the Crystal will come to you when you call. You can reject the Power and go on with your life or you can accept and become the next Ultra Ranger."

Twin flashes of light gave him all the answers he needed.

TBC…


	81. Chapter Eighty: Pinned Down

AN: 80 chapters. I thought I would be farther along than I am now…and then the My Little Pony references and existential musings started coming to the fore. Enjoy!

Chapter Eighty: Pinned Down

Explosions rattled the room as AJ attempted to compose herself for the camera.

"This is Jacqui Apple coming to you live from the St Andrews Cathedral Chapter House. As you can hear, I am in the middle of a heated battle between two of the Ultra Rangers and the mysterious enemy that dropped from the skies a few minutes ago."

Weihan bit back a curse as a slimy bolt impacted against the wall next to him. Whatever these things were; they were deadly and could use parts of themselves as crude projectiles. He had long since stashed away his Sabre and had resorted to a combination of fireballs and blasts from the Raptor Laser. So far, it was working but he didn't know for how much longer. That was the good news. The bad news was that his continued calls to the Command Centre had gone unanswered for the past ten minutes. Either Zordon was asleep, which wasn't very likely, or there was a major attack that had happened. Looking behind him, he yelled over at the White Ranger.

"Will, how you doing back there?"

The White Ranger ducked behind a makeshift barricade just as ten ooze bolts smacked against it. Growling under his breath, he snapped up and fired off a wide-angled shot from the Allosaur Pulsar that knocked back seven ooze creatures.

"Peachy. You have a long range plan for this?"

"I'm thinking! I'm thinking!"

Weihan shot a quick glance at the door that Alex and the girls had gone through. He wished his friend hadn't questioned his decision so publicly but he dismissed the thought. Alex would need to ask himself exactly why he had accepted the Power in the first place and if that reason was enough for him. If it was, then good for him; but if not…well, Weihan would have to send his friend off to Phaedos to quest for the Ninjetti power. He would have to send him eventually but he wanted to send him with someone…so Dulcea wouldn't castrate him messily. He let a smile grow on his face as he heard AJ speak.

"And that's all Ah know at the moment. Ah was pinned down here and thankfully the Rangers stepped in and saved me but we're in here together an' it doesn't seem that we'll get out soon."

Ducking behind one of his own barricades, Weihan agreed with that statement. It didn't seem that he would be getting out anytime soon but he had prepared for the possibility of an attack happening. He had made magical clones of himself, Alex and the quartet of girls and had formed them on Level Seven just moments before the shooting had started. His magic skills were starting to freak him out slightly but he supposed he would get used to it with time. He also realised if he concentrated on his magic double, he could see through one of its eyes. It was incredibly disconcerting and disorientating and he had stopped using it after a minute…but it had been useful.

Whatever the purple ooze beings were, they had the Chapter House surrounded on all sides. They were actually ignoring the public milling around and were actively attacking the Rangers with a single-minded focus. Reflecting on the images, it was actually quite scary and he didn't want the think about what would happen if Alex didn't get the Ranger choice correct. Rising from behind the barricade, he flung four fireballs at the crowd and saw twelve creatures explode in a gooey mess.

"The Ultra Rangers will keep me safe. Ah will report back if there is any more news. This is Jacqui Apple for Channel Seven, signing off."

AJ dropped the camera on the ground and hurried to Weihan's side. Snapping his head up, the visor retracted and he blinked in surprise.

"Well…that's a new trick. One question – can you shoot a handgun?"

At AJ's nod, he grinned broadly and wrapped her hands around his Raptor Laser before she could protest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Will looking over at them strangely and with a snort, realised that the scene could be taken way out of context. Shaking his head, he jerked his head down to reset his visor and stood up. Summoning up a large burst of fire, he unleashed it at the wall of ooze beings in front of him. Turning away as they exploded, he was jerked out of his planning by an incoming communication signal from the Command Centre.

"Zordon, what's going on?"

"Ivan Ooze escaped containment. The Command Centre has been heavily damaged and the Rangers have gone to Phaedos."

Weihan swallowed as AJ shot off a few bolts of energy at the ooze things. Zordon's voice seemed weak as if the great sage was dying…which was impossible. Zordon couldn't die at the hands of some second rate villain. And he had sent the Rangers to Phaedos to receive the power of the Ninjetti? Was this Ivan Ooze so powerful that Ninjor's Power Coins couldn't defeat him outright? No, the Ninja Powers could easily defeat Ooze. That wasn't the real reason and he knew it. It was because of Kim and Tommy and the bond that they had. Ninjor's Power Coin could be transferred easily but the Ninjetti Powers were for life.

"Crap, just hang in there Zordon. We're under siege from Ooze beings but one of my Rangers is recruiting one, maybe two, new Rangers. Once we get out of here, we'll port to Angel Grove."

There was no reply from Zordon. Weihan cursed Ivan Ooze and fired off an extended burst into the crowd of creatures. Several fell but more kept falling from the sky in a seemingly unending torrent of purple rain. Worse yet, they seemed to be coming closer to the barricaded opening. Taking his eyes off the opening for a split second, he glanced at the doors to the Chapter House and wished Alex would hurry up with whatever he was doing in there.

He knew it wasn't his fault and that the bearers of the Crystals had to accept the power on their own terms. He had accepted the Power the first time he had morphed and teleported to Angel Grove to face down the Ogre. He had done it because the alternative option was unacceptable to him. Given that the alternative option was to sit back and let the world burn; he would hope that it would be unacceptable to anyone. Jerking out of his thoughts at AJ's scream, he spun back to the opening and fell back as a slimy hand reached for him. Pulling AJ out of harm's way, he slowly backed up and fired blast after blast at the encroaching horde. When that didn't work, he summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and held it in an offensive stance.

"AJ, if we don't get out of here alive…"

He let the sentence trail off as AJ pressed a finger to where his lips would be and shakily smiled at him. Looking to his right, he saw that Will had been similarly overwhelmed and was retreating to their position. Weihan swallowed hard and readied himself for the final charge. He was so intent on the enemies in front of him, he didn't notice the twin flashes of light that briefly shone under the door to the Chapter House; nor the doors swinging open.

What he did hear, was a familiar voice filled with energy and determination.

"Let's rock."

TBC…


	82. Chapter Eighty One: Sloppy Seconds

AN: If you need an explanation of what 'Sloppy Seconds' means, why are you reading an M rated fic?

Chapter Eighty One: Sloppy Seconds

Alex had outdone himself.

Of that, Weihan was sure as he marvelled at the two Rangers that stood in the doorway in shining suits of Purple and Silver. He ran an appreciative eye over the way the armour clung to their bodies but forcefully reminded himself that AJ was next to him. And that there was a wall of slimy humanoids in front of them. As he tightened his grip on his Sabre, he slowly nodded once and shifted his weight to his right leg. Seeing the shift, AJ crouched down and aimed the borrowed Raptor Laser at the legs of the Ooze beings. Slowly inhaling, he closed his eyes and waited for the right moment.

Without any warning, he leapt up and over the heads of the Oozemen and fired off an energy slash from his Sabre that cleared his landing area. Upon landing, he slashed out with a flurry of stokes that cut down the grunts that swarmed in, feeling ooze splatter his suit. Behind him, he heard AJ and Will start firing into the crowd; while the two new Rangers made short work of the Oozemen in front of them. Ducking under a poorly mistimed swing, he put a fist through the attacker and watched the two new Rangers in action. The Purple Carnotaurus Ranger was merciless in her attacks; preferring brutal kill moves rather than disarming her opponent. So far, he had seen Eliza rip out the throats of several Oozemen as well as turn a few of them into living weapons. He couldn't wait to see what she would do against Golems and Fiends or see what her personal weapon was.

On the other side of the spectrum, Rachelle favoured flashy moves that wore down her opponents gradually. It was incredible to see what abilities the Power enabled a Ranger to do. In a flurry of energised kicks, she had decimated the Oozemen around her while gracefully evading the blasts from AJ and Will. From the Chapter House, Weihan heard the groaning and splintering of wood; followed by Alex's muffled morph and weapon summon. Tapping a button on his Sabre, he transformed his blade into the electro-whip and cracked it over the heads of the beings in front of him. The effect was both interesting and disgusting. The energy flowed into the bodies of the Oozemen and boiled them from the inside; liquefying their bodies entirely. Weihan made a mental note not to eat any Lindor chocolates for a while. After a few minutes, the horde of Oozemen around them had thinned considerably.

Weihan pushed past the new Rangers and into the Chapter House where Alex was fighting in a desperate battle. His friend was outnumbered but had made considerable progress with his mastery of his ice powers. Around the Chapter House were frozen Oozemen and shards of frozen Ooze. Drawing back his whip, he cracked it loudly – sending a shockwave of energy through the air to shatter the statues. Nodding at the huddled figures of Rachel and Giulia, he reformed his Sabre and held it in a ready position as four Oozemen broke off and ran toward him. He took in a deep breath, relaxed his body and let the Power flow through him.

As the first grunt came within arms reach, he put his blade through its chest. Using the momentum, he pivoted right and slammed his left foot into its face. Ripping his Sabre free, he somersaulted over the second attacker and slashed at the back of its legs. As it fell forward, he grabbed the top of its head, grimacing slightly as his fingers sunk into its oozy depths and blasted an energy pulse into it. It exploded into a shower of purple slime, but the Orange Ranger kept moving and ran his left hand along the blade and charged it with fire. Purposely falling onto his back, he slid along the ground and into chairs as he evaded the flying ooze globs thrown by the third attacker. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see AJ filming the entire scene and hoped Giulia and Rachel were staying hidden.

As his shoulders impacted against the far wall, he rolled to the left and threw a fireball in the direction of the two remaining attackers. They were smart enough to jump out of the way, but not smart enough to do so in opposite directions. One of the ooze beings jumped into the path of the fireball and was stuck by the projectile. The unlucky grunt wailed in agony as its body was consumed by the magical fire. Smiling grimly under his helmet, he slowly got to his feet and looked around for the last Oozeman. He could see Eliza, Rachelle and Will talking to the camera AJ was holding and hoped no more Oozemen would come crashing through the barricades. It seemed that the flow of Oozemen from the skies had dried up and the remaining grunts were being mopped up by himself and Alex.

A movement to his right made him turn in that direction to see an oozy fist fly at his head. He ducked under the punch and brought his Sabre up and around to strike at…nothing but empty air. He looked around for the fist and found it resting on an upturned chair. Sheathing his Sabre, he crouched down to look at it but kept his guard up. Prodding it lightly with a finger, he saw it twitch but it seemed dead. Not wanting to take any chances, he torched it with a thin stream of fire and turned on the radar in his helmet. As he had thought, there were no more Ooze energy signatures near the Chapter House; save for the ones Alex and he were fighting. He looked around for the final Oozeman and frowned at his radar. From what he was seeing, the final attacker was right on top of him…but he couldn't see…crap.

Diving to his right, the floor where he had been standing exploded upward as the final Oozeman attacked from below. Calling on his Raptor Cannon, Weihan ground his teeth together and fired a charged shot at the ooze being. With a sickening squelch, the humanoid exploded in a shower of burning slime. Rising from the ground, the Ranger looked at Alex just to see the Mammoth Ranger shatter the last of the Oozemen. Making sure that Rachel and Giulia were all right and relatively unscathed, the Black/Green Ranger made his way towards Weihan and spoke in a low voice.

"Sorry for before. You were right about your choice."

Weihan waved away the apology and shook his head. He knew the reason why Alex had wanted Rachel to be a Ranger and it slightly cheered him that his friend was moving on from his slight obsession with AJ.

"You didn't know but now you do."

He dropped the conversation as he felt a tremor shake his body. Hearing the surprised shout from AJ, he guessed the same tremor had shaken the others outside. Turning on his communication channel to the Command Centre, he asked Alpha what was going on. The next words of the robot echoed through the air.

"Zordon is dead."

TBC…


	83. Chapter Eighty Two: Training Lecture

Chapter Eighty Two: Training Lecture

"We all wonder what the Ultra Rangers will do next. This is Jacqui Apple, signing off."

Weihan switched off the screen and leant back on his chair. He had to admit, AJ had done a wonderful job editing her report together and had covered everything well; including the resolution of the Power Ranger's battle in Angel Grove. Fortunately, Zordon's death was only temporary and he was able to be revived thanks to the Great Power his Rangers had acquired. Shortly after that, Kim handed her Ninja Power Coin over to the formerly evil Katherine Hillard and had started her training for the Pan Global Games. The new Pink Ranger was doing well in the first few battles, but still had a ways to go. That was why he was sitting around in the Ultra Cavern on a Friday afternoon waiting for the others.

Pushing away from the communications area, he stretched his arms in front of him and looked to his left. Inside a clear chamber was his Ultra Ranger helmet with wires coming out of it. Two screens sat near the helmet and showed different things. One was a progress bar that was idling around fifty five percent and the other…the other was playing the recording of the future massacre. He blinked back tears and lightly touched the screen when the image of his great, great, great granddaughter came up. Closing his eyes, he whispered to himself.

"I'm forming a team, sweetie. Do you see what I'm doing now? I hope you can see…"

He let the sentence trail off as the image dissolved to the fight with the Golems and Payroach. Rubbing a hand over his eyes, he swallowed down his sorrow and attempted to compose himself. Any second now, the Rangers would be teleporting in and he wanted to be ready to help them any way he could. He slowly turned as he felt a change in the air pressure around him and was unsurprised to see five beams of light descend from the ceiling. Switching off all the lights in the Ultra Cavern, Weihan picked up something from the ground, pressed himself against the wall and waited patiently.

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Pretty sure. These are the co-ordinates Zordon gave us and he also gave us the code to pass through the shield."

As they came closer, he tightened his grip on the object and readied himself. In a swift movement, he launched from his position on the wall and lightly kicked the figure nearest to him. As the first figure fell to the ground, he dove on top of it and turned on the lights to see who he had 'killed'. As they flicked on one by one, he groaned under his breath and allowed Adam to get up from the floor. The Korean boy rubbed the back of his head and chuckled at the Orange Ranger.

"Guess I need to work on my reflexes, eh?"

Weihan sighed and let the replica Sabre fall to the ground with a clatter. The Sabre had a dull edge but other than that, it was an exact replica of his personal weapon. He looked at the blonde Australian girl and sighed. The poor girl was scared witless at the surprise attack and was leaning to Billy for support. The Power had allowed him to move as fast as he did and no matter how much Adam trained, he wouldn't even match the bottom speed of an Ultra Ranger. He was sure Adam knew this and didn't care either way. Rita, Zedd and Master Vile had been lying low since the defeat of Ooze and were probably planning something big. He feinted a punch at Adam and was pleased to see the Black Ranger move to intercept.

"Seeing that, you don't need to work on anything Adam."

"Are you sure, I saw the report on the siege and your moves. Man, if I could've moved like that on Phaedos…"

Weihan held up a hand and chuckled lightly. He was sure that they had to face more challenges than he had to but he seriously doubted they had to kill their own dinner or wrestle with existential matters. Mentally pushing those thoughts aside, he stepped towards Kat and smiled softly as the blonde turned to him. He summoned his Ninjetti Power coin and held it up in the light. The Rangers gaped in amazement as the static Crocodile image seemed to take on a life of its own and slowly breathe in and out. He spoke in a low voice.

"The Crocodile spends most of its time on the riverbanks sunning itself or swimming in the water. When it spots potential prey from the water, it stops almost all movement and becomes as still as a log. Carefully, it floats toward its prey while staying as still as possible. At the last possible second…it strikes."

Weihan clenched his fist around his coin, summoned his Raptor Sabre to him, whirled around and brought it up…to meet the blade of Alex's Blizzard Axe before it could take off his head. The Power Rangers' mouths dropped open and they blinked in surprise as their attentions had been solely on the Power Coin. Weihan continued to parry the strikes of the Black/Green Ranger and slowly pushed him back towards the Zord Bays. His friend broke off the attack and nodded once before grinning slowly. Anticipating an attack, Weihan dropped into a crouch – just as the bulky head of a war hammer swung above him. Turning his head, he saw Rachelle step out of the shadows; holding her Ankylo Hammer in one hand. Like Alex, she was unmorphed and holding the weapon in one hand despite its weight. Smirking, he stood up and addressed the Power Rangers.

"An attack can come from any direction and can catch even the most prepared fighter unawares. The battleground is changing rapidly and I fear you will be swept into more of Xonix's attacks."

Hearing a light footstep behind him, Weihan allowed himself to fall on his back and pushed off the ground. In a near-perfect copy of what he had done the day before; he propelled himself along the ground and shot between the legs of a stunned Eliza. The unmorphed Purple Ranger was holding a pair of three-bladed sickles that she called the Carno Claws and she brought them down a second too slow. Rolling onto his shoulders, he flipped up and held the point of his Sabre gently on her back. She dropped the Carno Claws and nodded once. Dismissing his Sabre, he stepped back; only to throw up his right hand to catch a roundhouse kick from Will. The White Ultra Ranger was the only one morphed but was visibly fighting for control of his caught limb. Releasing the leg, the Orange Ranger watched his friend stagger slightly and attempt to attack with a flying side kick. Weihan dodged the clumsy blow easily and retaliated with one of his own; striking Will in the back and sending him to his knees.

"If you would like to stick around for the next few hours, we will teach you what we can. You will be trained intensely and will know how to handle yourself in most unknown situations. That seems like impossibility 'most unknowns' but we will drill you in every situation we can possibly think of…and some we can't. We will teach you everything your Powers can't."

The Power Rangers looked at each other uncertainly. They had only come along to support Kat and to find out where the Ultra Rangers were stationed. To be given the opportunity to train with the Ultra Rangers was a rare gift and would surely give them an edge in future battles. Looking at the rest of the Rangers, Adam spoke up.

"Let's get started."

TBC…


	84. Chapter Eighty Three: Doubts

Warning: This chapter contains implied supernatural sexual assault and implied supernatural rape. Don't read if this bothers you in any way. Other than that, read on.

_Italics_ and words in **bold** designate telepathic conversation.

Chapter Eighty Three: Doubts

"All right. Once more and we'll call it a day."

Kat nodded to the Silver Ranger and tied the blindfold around her head. During the past three hours, she had been punched, kicked, slashed at, shot and chased all over the Ultra Ranger's base. Despite her young age, the Silver Ranger – Rachelle Cole – was a surprisingly good teacher. At the start of the training, Kat had remarked that the only reason she was so skilled was due to the experience she had over her. Rachelle had shrugged and commented off handedly that she had only just received her Powers a few days ago as well and today was her first time in the Ultra Cavern. As she focused her energy on her other senses, she wondered how the others were faring.

"Even though your previous Powers were seemingly destroyed, that may not be the case. As a man on science, you should know that energy cannot be destroyed; only transferred."

Billy nodded as he dodged an attack from the White Ultra Ranger. The British boy had astounded Billy with his knowledge on the inner workings of the Power; specifically his knowledge that the Morphin Madness had been eradicated thanks to their exposure to the Great Power. The latter had been something Billy had speculated but he didn't have proof of. Feinting a left jab, Billy grunted as his attempted knee strike was parried by the White Ranger's own knee.

"Focus Billy! You think your previous powers were destroyed, but they are still available to you! Those who touch the Power are bound to the Grid for life. You only need to harness the connections you have!"

Billy shook his head and backflipped away from a high kick. Even if he could still access the Dino and Thunder powers, the Zords were still destroyed. Defeating a giant monster without a Zord couldn't be done by a normal Power Ranger. Sure, Weihan had done it; but without access to the Ultra Crystal it was next to impossible. Still, it would be something to play around with for a few hours. As a high pitched shriek rang out, Billy's head whipped around and he fell to the ground again as he was hit with a light kick.

"All right, sorry! Please stop!"

Rocky was in a world of hurt as the Purple Ranger twisted his arm tighter around his back. Although she was short, the Purple Ranger was anything but a pushover. The session had started pretty well but had devolved into something out of a slapstick martial arts movie. It was a wonder he wasn't a smear on the ground and as Eliza released his arm, he wondered why that was the case. He also had wondered why the Orange Ranger wasn't training him…but he guessed it was better off that he learn while he was still conscious. Rubbing the strained muscle, he didn't know what had gone wrong as he had made a light crack about Weihan starting up a private harem. The next thing he knew; he was in a very uncomfortable position.

"Think with your upstairs brain, Red Ranger. Doing that will allow you to judge your enemies better especially if they are of the opposite gender."

As Eliza came at him with a flurry of kicks, Rocky swallowed hard and tried to defend against the attacks. Three hits later and he was down on the ground again. Picking himself up, he settled into an attacking stance and leapt at the young Australian. A second later, he reconsidered the move as he was flung across the chamber; flying by Billy and Kat and landing in a painful heap by Adam's hands. The Korean looked at his Hispanic friend and chuckled as he flipped onto his feet from his handstand. The Black/Green Ranger had him do the handstands to increase his arm and back strength and was telling him about different ways a Ranger Potential could be felt.

"For me, it's a kind of…vibrational feeling. Sort of like when using an electronic massager, you know the feeling? The all-over-your-body tingling sensation. For Weihan, he sees an image of Ranger armour over the person but he also sees their resonance or their compatibility."

Adam nodded as Rocky gradually made his way back to the Purple Ranger. He wondered what could be taught to Tommy but he knew the White Ranger was visiting Kim at her training centre. She would have to suppress the Ninjetti Power inside her to compete on an equal footing but there were small bits that slipped through. He rubbed his arms as Alex brought out two replicas of his Blizzard Axe. Handing one to Adam, the young boy nodded as he practiced various offensive moves and stances. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Orange Ranger talking to Aisha. Unlike the rest of the Rangers, the duo had spent hardly any time practicing moves. Absentmindedly, he wondered what they were talking about then narrowed his eyes as Alex came at him with a swing.

Weihan crouched down and looked at Aisha. The African-American girl looked back and he sighed as he saw the indecision in her eyes. She was still mentally tortured by her experiences in the theatre and wished she would open up…even though he didn't really want to know what she went through. The few moves they had practiced had told him more than enough as they dealt with extreme close-quarters combat and involved variations on the one-inch punch. So far, he had talked about channelling energy into the fists and feet for energised strikes but there was one private conversation that needed to be done. Reaching out, he lightly tapped Aisha on the side of her head and focused his thoughts.

_Aisha, can you hear me?_

Her eyes widened as she heard Weihan's voice in her head and she saw him grin triumphantly. The sensation felt strange but it wasn't overly uncomfortable. Inwardly, she was grateful for this private conversation as she could tell him what happened without her friends overhearing.

**I hear you. I'm sorry if I've been a bit listless for the past few hours.**

_You don't have to apologise for anything. You need to understand that a Ranger's greatest strength is his or her ability to power through any situation, no matter how bad it may seem._

Aisha knew that but even waking up in the middle of the night in the dark with shadows around her…she could still feel the hands and…other appendages touching, feeling and tearing. If she remembered any more of that time, she would hear the ghostly voices that accompanied the rough caresses and the…the…she shook her head at the memories. As she shook her head, she felt a strange warmth spread over her body. Looking up, she saw Weihan bowing his head slightly with his fingers lightly touching the top of her hand.

_I dream about the future all the time. What will happen if I fail, what will happen if I died? The images my brain produces are with me all the time and are what drive me to defeat Xonix one way or another. They helped me accept that I needed to form a team so if I fall, it won't be the end of the line._

**It's not that simple. My time in the theatre…it was filled with suffering, pain and fear. I…I can't relive the memory again. I'm sorry.**

Weihan closed the connection and stood up. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened and if he was really honest with himself, he didn't really want to hear it. He looked up at the ceiling and wondered what to do. The theatre was only the tip of the iceberg so what was the underlying issue?

**I'm not good enough…**

His head snapped down at the errant thought that he had picked up on. She doubted her place as a Ranger and was presumably looking for a way out. Sighing under his breath, he crouched down again and looked Aisha in the eye again. His voice was firm, but held a note of compassion.

"If you want me to validate your own worth to the team, I can't give it. Your own self-worth has to be decided by one person only: you. If you doubt your actions then the best advice I can give you is to live for the present moment. Don't bother about what may happen down the line; leave that to worrywarts like me. Don't live for others. Just live for yourself."

He saw her silently repeating the words to herself and smiled as he saw the decision in her eyes.

TBC…


	85. Chapter Eighty Four: Crystal Clear

Chapter Eighty Four: Crystal Clear

The monster exploded in a ball of fire and the figure rolled his eyes.

Striding to the side of the battlefield, Xonix retrieved his sword from its resting place and growled. The routing of the rebellion was taking far too long and he was antsy. Jabarkas had reported the week before that his brother had found and freed the great Ivan Ooze from his hyperlock chamber. Predictably, Ivan had taken over and trapped Zedd and Rita in a snow globe; giving him a great idea for a future monster. He had trashed Zordon's Command Centre and had all but destroyed Ninjor's Power Coins and had forced the Power Rangers to flee to Phaedos while he had attacked Sydney with a torrent of Oozemen.

Of course, the Power Rangers had defeated Ivan but not before that blasted Orange Ranger was able to recruit two more Rangers to his cause. His top warrior had reported there was some temporary dispute between the Orange and Black Rangers but they seemed to have sorted out their differences. And now, he had heard there was some sort of time dilation affecting Earth; everything and everyone had regressed a few years including the damned Ultra Rangers. They still had their Powers but they were be easy prey…or would be if the rebellion could be destroyed soon.

The time dilation had Master Vile's fingerprints all over it. Vile had been talking about his Orb of Time for centuries and how it would turn back time for one planet so it could be conquered easily. Any changes made in the dilated period would stick when the spell was reversed or the Orb destroyed. He had sent a message to Jabarkas to send down Destructor to hunt down the Orange Ranger's woman and kill her. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about her. That solved one problem but the rebellion was a different story.

Satiuqea IV was the main stronghold of the rebellion. Unfortunately, it seemed that Twinlobe and Yit hadn't been as thorough as they thought they had been and the rebellion had been able to steal one of their prototype monster machines. The contraption had fallen apart after the first three uses but the rebellion had been smart; they had made twenty monsters each time and had been throwing them at Xonix's attacking forces. So far, he had personally destroyed no less than eight of the monsters and was starting to wonder if this was what being a Ranger felt like.

They were making progress though. The Golem-piloted fighters were shredding the meagre air defences and the Field powered walkers were tearing through the rebels' armoured tanks. From what his moles were telling him, the rebels were making one last stand and were transferring their leaders to the distant planet of Konu. From the purplish planet they would presumably build up their forces again or create a utopia to live in. He didn't know nor did he care. He wouldn't touch that system with a six foot pole anyway as one of the Drone Queens was gunning for him.

"Xonix! Show yourself you murderer!"

Well, that was a refreshing change of pace. A rebel was challenging him directly and, for once, didn't seem despaired at the prospect of his imminent death. Wiping the blood off his sword, Xonix strode forward to see who the rebel was. In front of him stood a young female Satiuqean clad in the dull bronze armour of a Royal Guard. In one hand, she held a silver necklace and in the other…he narrowed his eyes at the object. No…there was no way that the whelp in front of him was strong enough to wield that. As the female brought it up into the light, he felt a wide smile creep across his snout.

The object was roughly the size of the combined Zeo Crystal but seemed to be polished all over. Tiny bolts of energy ran across its surface and it pulsed with an incredible amount of power. The light from within seemed to shine a blinding bronze but Xonix knew it was another different colour. For him to have one within his reach was…pleasurable. The feeling was amplified as the woman in front of him activated it.

"Crystal of Power, fill me with your energy!"

As a brilliant burst of brown light enveloped the girl, Xonix cackled with glee. He readied his sword for battle as the light dissipated. At once, he could see that the transformation was very unstable. The uniform kept flickering like a faulty light to reveal the scared woman beneath. The armour design was actually very intricate and instead of the usual dinosaur head on the helmet, it was moulded in the shape of the sacred animal of Satiuqea – a horse.

"Rider Crop!"

In a sputter of light, a long riding crop appeared in the girl's hand. Like the armour, it was brown with bronze highlights. She twirled it in her hand and waited for Xonix to make the first move. It was a decision she instantly regretted as the lizard alien sprung at her, jaws open. She rolled out of the way to strike at his back but was forced to duck for cover as his tail whipped at her head. Intercepting an energy blast, the girl leapt forward to strike at the draconian's head. Xonix hissed in surprise and pain as the tongue of the crop sliced into his snout; drawing blood for the first time in centuries.

Slapping a hand over his wound, he looked at his own purplish-black blood and roared at the girl. If she wanted to be a hero, he would give her a hero's death: messy and fighting against a stronger foe. Bowing his head, he raced at the girl and felt a flicker of satisfaction as the uniform around her sputtered out. Twisting his head, he clamped his jaws down onto her unprotected midsection and felt his teeth pierce her skin. He felt a mild stinging sensation as she whipped the necklace at him in a vain attempt to free herself. Turning his body left, he released the mortally injured female and licked his teeth; the taste of her blood sending shivers of ecstasy down his spine. Swallowing the bitter fluid, he reached down to pick up the crystal from the sandy ground.

He expected it to burn his hand or shock him but it did nothing. Its pulsing did not stop and he felt himself be hypnotised by it. Stepping towards the dying Satiuqean, he crouched down and waved the crystal in front of her face. Seeing her at her most vulnerable, he felt a small twinge of pity. She hadn't asked for this death but it had been chosen for her the moment she had picked up the crystal. She looked up at him with closing eyes and smiled shakily; her voice was weak and he had to strain to hear it.

"I do not apologise for my actions. That crystal came to me one day and now…it has gone to you."

She took in a shuddering breath and wetly coughed. Death would take her soon. She smiled at Xonix again.

"That crystal…will bring you great fortune or it will destroy you. Choose wisely…"

Her eyes fluttered shut and Xonix saw her body relax for the last time. He nodded solemnly to the female and then looked at the pulsing Ultra Crystal in his hands. It would be so easy to crush it now…but he would return to Earth and study its power. In time, he hoped to siphon off its power to strengthen him.

And then the Orange Ranger would die.

TBC…


	86. Chapter Eighty Five: Devolution

Chapter Eighty Five: Devolution

There were marked downsides to being de-aged.

One downside was that no-one really took him seriously. Weihan guessed that was to be expected as the wisdom of a 13 year old didn't really sound right coming from a six year old. Another downside was that his phone conversations were either very limited or were monitored which meant he couldn't talk to AJ without checking around first. It was easier on her calling him, which was something she did a damn lot; either on the landline or on her mobile.

The good thing was that he could be left on his own for long periods without supervision. He had used the time to see what would happen when he morphed. Much to his amazement his morphed form grew to his usual height and he found that, while morphed, everything was back to normal. He was pleased at that development as it meant he could fight without worrying about his Sabre being bigger than him. Either due to his de-aging or his smaller size, his magic duplicates lasted for much longer without recharging. He knew this because for the past week and a half, he had been living out of the Ultra Cavern while his magic duplicate pottered around at home doing god-knew-what.

Living at home de-aged had lost whatever small amount of novelty value it had about an hour after the Orb of Doom had been activated. He had been whisked away from another wonderfully interesting lecture about pi and had appeared in his room just as he was about to fall asleep. His mother had come up to check on him and then had left for work while his sister had gone over to a friend's place. Neither had seen anything amiss, but Weihan hadn't expected them to. He had tested out his Ultra Crystal then and after demorphing, he had created his magic duplicate and teleported to the Cavern. He only knew about his mother monitoring his calls during one of her daily lectures to his clone.

Rolling around to the radar station, he began a systematic sweep of the Sydney CBD then expanding out at regular intervals. He had scanned for the biorhythms of the Rangers the previous day and had found them scattered around the globe…or at least their Ninja Spirits were there. The closest and strongest signal was from Kat; the Pink Ranger being somewhere near Bathurst. The farthest was Tommy's; the White Ranger's signal was somewhere on the outskirts of present-day Los Angeles.

Flicking on a screen, he caught the last few minutes of a news broadcast detailing the defeat of a monster in Angel Grove and the appearance of five figures in coloured armour. From conversations with Zordon, Weihan knew that the five figures were the Alien Rangers that had come from Aquitar. The concept of Rangers on other planets wasn't as far-fetched to him as it proved that there was life on the other planets fighting their own evils. Already, he had heard of NASA forming a small subgroup that they were calling NASADA and their development of a shuttle based on blueprints they had found in one of their empty hangars. He had an inkling Zordon was planning to do something with it…he just wasn't sure what.

On the enemy front; everything had been quiet so far. According to Zordon, Xonix was still in the Satiuqea system routing out the last of the rebels. Jabarkas was lying low so far and hadn't made any moves but Weihan couldn't count on the quiet lasting for long. He watched as the news broadcast finished and walked over to the food replicators. Punching in a code, he listened to the machine quietly hum as it reconstructed his meal. He had asked Zordon how the food replicators worked but had decided on not hearing the answer once the topic turned to matter conversion. It would probably turn out to be something mundane like rocks or metal but he didn't want to know otherwise. Pushing aside those thoughts, he reflected on the strange dream he had the night before.

He saw an image of himself in the future looking at AJ and another man on a street somewhere. He felt some element of sadness coming from his future self, but it seemed shadowed by concern and worry for someone else. Around the edges of the image were flames and at the very end a voice whispered his name. Weihan had woken up in a cold sweat and had sworn he heard the same whispering around him before realising that it was just his imagination. The images bothered him though AJ had assured him that there was nothing between herself and her family friend. He knew that there would be a time in the future where he would have to force AJ to leave Sydney for her own protection. He also knew that they would more than likely end up together after the separation. How long it would be until their reconciliation, he didn't know.

The monster alarm shook him out of his melancholy and he rushed to the radar station. Flicking on the screen that showed the CBD, he swore out loud as he saw a monster walking casually along the street flanked by a squad of Fiends. The creature looked like it had transformed from a tank and it was mostly mechanical in nature. Around them were civilians looking curiously at the creature as if not believing what they were seeing. As Weihan pulled out his Ultra Crystal he saw the monster raise one of its arms; the metal morphing into a long turret. With little fanfare, the monster started firing rounds into the air and the crowd around it. People screamed as they were hit in non-vital areas of their body and those that could attempted to run from the creature.

Gripping his Ultra Crystal in one hand, he checked the time and swore again. In roughly thirty minutes; it would spell the end of work for most people and they would come out of their offices only to be mowed down by one of Xonix's monsters. The others would join him when they had free time to slip away from their parents. Until then, it was time to get to work.

"Ultra Crystal…Energise!"

TBC…


	87. Chapter Eighty Six: Deep Freeze

AN: 86 chapters in. I;m sure you'll know the disclaimer by now. Anything in square brackets denotes a message on screen.

Chapter Eighty Six: Deep Freeze

She ran as fast as she could; but it was too late.

The literal walking tank bore down on Jacqui 'AJ' Apple, her mother and her younger sister and moved quicker than it looked. Cutting off their only route of escape with the twisted reptilian beings with no eyes, it seemed to be the end for them. AJ wondered where Weihan was and why he hadn't come down to save the day…but remembered that he had been de-aged as well. As she huddled next to her mother, she wondered for seemingly the last time what had happened and where her would-be lover was. As the walking tank drew nearer, she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the end.

"Eat this ugly!"

AJ snapped her eyes open to see the walking tank get struck from behind by an extremely familiar burst of orange energy. A cheer nearly burst from her throat before she remembered that she wasn't supposed to know who the Rangers were; but she did as her exposure to Weihan and his Ultra Crystal had apparently rubbed off some of its magic…or something like that. As the creature fell to the ground, she gaped in amazement as she saw the changes in the familiar Orange armour. The White Ranger-esque vest had changed to a heavily armoured breastplate with upwardly curving spikes for shoulder pads. The crystal in the centre had changed to a medium sized version of his Dinosaur Power Coin and the 'teeth' lining his visor now had red spatter on them.

"Run! Get out of here!"

Forcing her legs to move, AJ all but drug her mother and sister away from the battle zone. As she ran, she kept glancing back to silently send love and luck to the Orange Ranger as well as a silent prayer that none of the camera crews ventured too close.

"Please get the fuck away! Do you really want to die that badly?"

Weihan growled under his breath as another news crew scurried off. Twirling his Raptor Sabre, he slashed the blade against a leaping Fiend and barely blinked as its purple-blue blood splashed against his visor. The Fiends weren't the real threat but they were keeping him from the tank robot creature…whatever. For its part, the robotic monster was revelling in his 'freedom' and was busily blasting whatever he could in an attempt to block or kill the fleeing people. Of course, the Fiends were a very real threat to the helpless news crews that seemed to be coming out of the woodwork everywhere to record this new hero and his enemies. Summoning his Raptor Cannon to his free hand, he fired three quick headshots to the remaining Fiends and vowed not to eat chunky salsa for the next few days.

Turning to the tank creature, he fired off a few blasts to get its attention. As it slowly turned, Weihan swallowed hard as his eyes ran over the various weapon turrets prominently displayed around its body. He fired another blast at it when it did something completely unexpected…it absorbed the energy. The Ranger blinked, shook his head and fired again after charging the shot. Again, the monster absorbed the energy and started emitting a low humming sound. Dismissing his Raptor Cannon, the Orange Ranger ran at the monster with his Sabre held ready. Leaping into the air, he slashed the Sabre down at the metallic creature and swore as the blade bounced off its armour.

"Silly Ranger, all alone with no backup? Pathetic insect."

The echoing voice of the monster swept over him and he felt a strong hand grip his throat. Dropping his Sabre, he reached around the hand in an attempt to pry it off and to stop it from breaking his neck. Weihan felt himself being lifted off the ground as he struggled to breathe. Thinking quickly, he charged up a white fireball in one of his free hands and flung it at the creature's mid-section. The superheated energy ploughed through its armour and out the other side. As its grip weakened, Weihan kicked off the monster's upper chest to free himself. It worked after a few more kicks and he gulped in a lungful of air to soothe his burning lungs. Re-summoning his Sabre to him, he charged the blade up with energy and flung a few energy waves at the monster while it was wounded. While the first three energy waves were absorbed, Weihan kept flinging them at it in the hope that its energy tank…or whatever would become overloaded.

It was on his tenth swing that his brain remembered what would happen to ammunition exposed to extreme heat.

He swore under his breath and tried a different tactic. Changing his Sabre to its whip mode, he cracked it around the monster's head in an attempt to blind it. Checking around him, he was reassured that there were no more civilians hiding in the surrounding areas and, more importantly, that AJ was safe. Tightening his grip on his Sabre, he wondered when backup would arrive. He had already warned Zordon not to send the Alien Rangers as the heat would cause them to run out of water almost instantly. Circling the monster, he snorted as his mind thought what it would be like for a monster to have that weakness. The Rangers would win all battles if they blocked its means of escape and dropped it in the desert or shot microwaves at it.

[Sorry, Wei. Can't slip away just yet. Others can't leave either. Will come when I can. Alex]

He growled as the message flashed on his visor but focused his thoughts. Alex was on his way and would be at the site soon…or so he had said. Summoning his Raptor Cannon, he aimed it at the monster's head and snapped off a few quick blasts. Apart from three shots the rest of the bolts were absorbed. Sparks and fire belched out of the hole in the monster and Weihan flipped on the scanners and inhaled sharply. The earlier fireball had blasted through the monster's internal cooling systems and the beast was becoming dangerously overheated. Worse, the energy absorption tank was extremely close to the cooling system and had been ever so slightly breached.

As his breathing increased, his mind raced as he tried to think of how to destroy the creature. His weapons couldn't do the job as they shot out fire and said fire would only speed up the whole boom scenario he was hoping to prevent. Dousing the creature in water or covering it in ice would work if it wasn't for the fact that the Ranger that had the ice powers was currently en route. Suddenly, his head snapped up as his brain metaphorically exploded with information. New techniques, attacks and strategies poured into his brain and his hands moved automatically.

Holding out his Raptor Cannon, he slid the blade of his Sabre over the top of it and watched as it locked into place via hooks that extracted themselves out of his Cannon. In what should have been an impossible move, he flipped the handle of his Sabre horizontally so it was pointing toward the monster. As everything clicked into place, he swore he could hear the far off trumpeting of the Mammoth Zord as it raced toward him. As he held the combined weapon in front of him, his mind cycled through a list of names until he found the perfect one.

"Raptor Launcher, ready!"

The monster roared and took a step forward. Less than a second later, it was engulfed in a white energy ball in snap-frozen. Blinking at the sudden turn of events, Weihan looked out of the corner of his eye to see Alex standing on top of his Zord, waving in the direction of the crowd. Chuckling under his breath, the Orange Ranger levelled his new combination weapon at the robotic tank and squeezed the trigger. The recoil almost blew him off his feet but it was worth it to see a shell-shaped blast of energy tear through the monster and destroy it in a large blast of fire and ice.

Regaining his footing, he watched as Alex leapt from his Mammoth Zord and stand next to him. As the crowd began to come out of hiding, he smiled underneath his helmet as his friend started lapping up the praise from the adoring crowd. As he made a move to leave, a news reporter asked him who he was. giving a quick thumbs up, he spoke in the most dignified voice he could muster.

"We are the Ultra Rangers and we are here to protect you."

TBC…


	88. Chapter Eighty Seven: Transitions

AN: Pony reference here. Deal with it.

Chapter Eighty Seven: Transitions

Weihan smiled at the figure next to him and she melted into his embrace.

After the battle with the tank-like monster, whatever time effect that had plagued the Earth had mysteriously vanished and he had 'snapped' back to his normal age in an instant. Going to class the next day after ten days of living in the Ultra Cavern was…interesting. Everyone around him had no memory of the past regression and had even asked him about things that he had supposedly said or done during that period. Even his mother and sister hadn't asked anything about his whereabouts or what he had been up to.

From what he could tell, the only indication that they had been in the past had come a few hours ago when he had been at home, bored out of his brain. He had been aimlessly flicking through channels until a special report had caught his eye – a Saturday afternoon documentary. He had stared open-mouthed at the program which had retrieved footage of his battle with the tank monster and was analysing it. His sister had wandered in at some point and had explained the recovery of the footage.

"Yeah, apparently seven or so years ago there was an attack and the Ultra Rangers saved people. The chick who recorded the footage said that the Rangers came and left in a big hurry and that everyone just sort of…forgot about them until the footage was discovered in an old room. There's a big debate going on about if those Rangers were the Rangers of today and if they are then where they went for seven years."

He had nodded and continued watching the program. At the end, he had smirked when the host had expressed his opinion that the two Rangers were different from each other and were two entirely different people. AJ had remembered every second of the battle and had called directly after the show ended and had teased him about changing the past and the Butterfly effect. He had taken everything in good humour and had countered her lecture with one of his own stating that if he hadn't been there; she would be gone. That had sobered up the both of them quickly and they had made hasty arrangements to meet soon after.

On the pretence of an afternoon walk, he had teleported directly to AJ's apartment where they threw all laws of decency out the window. Somewhere in the middle of their first…session, Weihan had the good measure to create a magical duplicate of himself and send that one home. After that small errand, he had thoroughly lapped up everything that AJ was teaching him. A few more intense sessions later and he was lying next to AJ as the sun was setting.

"Ah gotta say, Ah never thought you'd be ridin' me like that. You thoroughly exhausted me!"

He smiled over at her and tried to commit the way she looked now into his memory. Her hair fanned out on the pillows behind him and she traced her fingertips over his chest; feeling the healed scars of various injuries he had sustained in his battles. He shuddered lightly and then ran her words over in his mind, chuckling.

"Riding you? What are you, a pony?"

She lightly swatted him and he laughed, relaxing as AJ drew herself closer to him. He knew what had caused the timeline to snap back to normal – the Zeo Crystal. The second most powerful Crystal in the universe had been reassembled and that had cancelled whatever magic Master Vile had enchanted the Orb of Doom with. Ironically, Vile, Zedd and Rita had fled the surface of the Moon shortly after another evil empire had emerged from hyperspace. They called themselves the Machine Empire and the Ninjetti Powers were useless against them. The Ninjazords and Shogunzords had gone into storage and Zordon had created the Zeonizers to harness the Zeo Crystal's energies. Billy had turned down the chance to become a Zeo Ranger as his Ninjetti Powers were battling against an internal energy imbalance caused by the temporary destruction of the Command Centre.

Instead, a new person had been given the chance to become a Ranger. While on the comm. with Billy, who had been explaining the recent changes, he had asked if Aisha or Kim would take up the Powers. Kim was too busy with her training and Aisha…the girl had chosen to stay where her Zeo Quest had taken place: Africa. Her Crystal had been sent back with a local girl she had met called Tanya Sloan and she was taking quite a liking to Adam. Interestingly, Kat was taking a shine to Rocky and the feeling seemed to be mutual. Weihan had been saddened to hear of Aisha's departure and silently hoped she found the peace she was searching for. So far, the Machine Empire hadn't made a move on Sydney yet but it was only a matter of time before they did.

Billy had asked for the schematics of the Ultra Zeo Zords – if such things existed – as well as examples of the connectors used for the Megazord configurations. When he had jokingly asked if the Zeo Zords would be made to link up to the Ultra Zeo Zords, Billy had gone silent and then he had begun furiously scribbling down notes and started mumbling about energy converters and how a more condensed positron generator would enhance the power more. Billy had shut off the communication and Weihan was awaiting Billy telling him what Zords would link up together and what their unholy powers would be.

Ultimately, thinking about the new combinations had led to wanting to recruit the rest of the Ultra Rangers soon. His walk around school had shown him who was most suited to be a Ranger and who…wasn't. Hilariously, it seemed that everywhere he looked; he found a strong Potential Ranger. A girl called Linda showed him what an Ultra Crystal Triceratops Ranger would look like while another girl left him reeling at the sight of a realistic Tyrannosaur helmet. Even one of Rachel's friends named Jenna Mayhew had given him the same strange feeling he felt around Giulia…so she would be a Ranger in the future.

Looking over AJ's head at the time, he chuckled as she lightly tickled his chin. The blonde girl had the same strange feeling as well but Weihan was determined to not let it come to pass. Oddly, her 'power echo' had flashes of White Allosaur armour and seemed stronger than Will's. He briefly wondered what it could mean when a chill ran down his spine. The only ways an Ultra Power could be released was if the bearer willingly gave up his or her claim to it…or if the bearer was killed. Death would sever the connection of the bearer and wipe the Crystal clean of almost all Powers associated with the previous bearer. It was something he really didn't want to think about until the far off future.

Smiling at AJ again, he dipped his head down to kiss her and forcefully banished those thoughts from his mind. Tomorrow was a Sunday and he could spend the day with AJ and teleport home at night. Monday was school and where he would recruit the rest of the Ultra Rangers.

And hopefully avoid another attack.

TBC…


	89. Chapter Eighty Eight: UnholyResurrection

AN: Bit of backstory into Twinlobe's past here plus the return of a formerly dead character!

Chapter Eighty Eight: Unholy Resurrection

The screams were getting louder as the creature beat against the glass.

Xonix raised an eye ridge as he looked at the tank. Twinlobe had hurriedly called him back from the re-conquest of Satiuqea as the ghoulish figure had awakened early. A quick teleport back and he had been ushered into the Monster Labs by the Anishan to see what the fuss was about.

"Have the bugs been ironed out?"

Twinlobe shook his head causing the prominent bulges on his braincase to jiggle slightly. Xonix curled his upper lip in frustration. Anishans were a pacifist race of highly intelligent beings spread out on five planets orbiting a red giant. Four of the planets housed the pacifist population and they prospered in peace. The fifth planet, the one closest to the red giant, was the domain of the outcasts. Anishans who used their intellect for war and destruction and only revelled in the thrill of the hunt. Twinlobe's mother had been exposed to a highly concentrated wave of GR-654 particles and had mutated her DNA. When the spawning time came, she had all but exploded due to the power her child possessed.

"Master, you must understand that the mental state prior to its death was one of confusion and fear. Coupled with the violent reanimation procedure it would be wise to note that the psychological damage was too great to be fixed."

Initially welcomed into Anishan society, the young Twinlobe had been pivotal in solving many of the long-standing pacifist equations and had been hailed the greatest Anishan born. However, the lasting effects of the GR-654 particles became exceedingly hard to ignore. Although Anishans had two serpentine tails they walked on, Twinlobe had only been spawned with one which he slithered about on. That was an interesting change but it wasn't the only one. Since Anishans had embraced the pacifist lifestyle, their brains had expanded slightly. This gave them slight bulges on their heads to accommodate the extra brain mass. Twinlobe's bulges were more pronounced and much larger than the ones that the highest academics possessed. Frightened by what this could mean for the future, the Head of the Anishans decreed that Twinlobe would spend the rest of his days on the fifth planet.

"Well, the glass tank won't hold him for long. Set him free in a day or so and see what happens. With any luck he'll attack the Rangers and get lucky. Ah, I'll have to go back soon for the final push on the stronghold. Should be back in a week or so. Here, study this for when I get back."

Confused and frightened by the Head's orders, Twinlobe attempted to flee into the Anishan Underground but was captured after a few days. Upon his initial discovery, he killed several members of the pacifist guard; including his own father. The grief and pain of this act allowed him to be deposited onto the fifth planet with little fuss. In the first few months, he had hidden from the outside world and had mourned the death of his father and had eked out an existence as a weapons designer. Slowly, his thoughts turned from weapon designing into bio-engineering and creating bio-mechanical life. He created powerful creatures used in the gladiatorial arenas; whose deathmatches were broadcast to the entire galaxy. He would fight in the arena to hone his skills and to test out new strategies that could be implanted into his creations. It was in one such fight that he was named the galaxy's fourth best fighter. Unfortunately for Twinlobe, his newfound success came with a heavy price.

"This is…how did you find this master?"

A powerful crime lord had come to him one day. He was interested in buying Twinlobe's services and offered a generous sum. The young Anishan had declined and had attacked the crime lord with his own praetorian guard. The crime lord had been killed and he was forced to relocate to an old war bunker where he made a name for himself as a professional hit man. Soon after, he sent his monsters to completely destroy the arena while it was fully occupied; an event that would come to be known as the Bloody Shield Massacre. Unfortunately, in his haste to flee his former home, he had not had the foresight to dispose of the crime lord's body or destroy the evidence of his offer. A few hours before sunset, the most loyal Anishans had stormed his bunker and had drug him out into the open.

"It was on Satiuqea, if you can believe it. See if you can leech off some of the power for future uses."

There, under the blood red sky and rolling black clouds, they viciously attacked him with their claws and teeth. For all they were worth, his praetorian guard only lasted a few minutes against their sheer brutality. A few seconds after the last of his guards had fallen; he had thrown himself at the former crime lord's goons and had killed seven before they could gather their wits. Their moment of confusion and hesitation cost them again as Twinlobe finally achieved a power that all Anishans on the other four planets wanted to suppress; the power of psychic attacks. Their brains exploded under the unrelenting psychic barrage and they died instantly…except one.

"Yes Master. By the way, does the creature have a name or is it just an undead ghoul?"

The last of the bodyguards had enough control over his dying spasms to fatally wound the power-mad Twinlobe by tearing out half of his spine. Twinlobe had fallen to the rocky ground to stare up at the sky for what would have been the final time…if Xonix's flagship hadn't landed just meters from his position. Acting swiftly, the warlord had dropped the Anishan into a healing tank where he had been pumped full of enhancements that had greatly increased his already vast intelligence and strength. Xonix wouldn't tell Twinlobe that he had died numerous times in the tank and had only fully 'come back' after Xonix had blasted his dead body with a necromantic spell.

That meant Twinlobe was – for all intents and purposes – a walking, talking corpse. As his intellect had increased, the viciousness and lethality of his creations escalated until they culminated in his first world-destroying monster: the Ogre. Xonix had been forced to take Twinlobe off the front lines to serve as his chief monster creator and scientist. He had grown in leaps and bounds from what he was on the fifth planet and Xonix knew Twinlobe was itching to travel back to Anisha to destroy the worlds that had cast him out. Staring at the glass tank as the beast beat its skeletal hands against the glass once more, the draconian overlord smiled.

"Once, he was known as Steven Johnston…"

TBC…


	90. Chapter Eighty Nine: Contenders

AN: *evil chuckle* Dead but not gone…70 chapters later he returns!

Chapter Eighty Nine: Contenders

So far, it was all quiet on the Western Front.

Monday morning hadn't brought the expected attack, but Weihan was still on edge. Alex, Will, Eliza and Rachelle had all sensed something on the horizon but were mainly excited about bringing more Rangers into the fold. They knew what to look out for and could produce the other Crystals whenever they had convinced a bearer with the most potential. As Alex had demonstrated in the battle with the Oozemen, the Rangers could summon their weapons unmorphed. Although they had limited functionality and strength, they could be useful in defending against Golems, Fiends or the grunts of the Machine Empire: the Cogs.

Looking up from his list of strong Potentials, he walked closer to the girl he had seen wear the armour of the Yellow Smilodon Ranger: Aimee Dawson. He gave an ironically amused chuckle as he saw Alex walk off with her friend Heather. He waited until she was finished shaking her head and then walked up behind her. Hearing his footsteps, she turned around and gave him a small, yet curious, smile.

"Weihan, right? What's up? Your friend Alex just walked off with Heather…should I be worried?"

Chuckling under his breath, he shook his head. In all actuality, Alex had about as much chance at 'scoring' with Heather as Xonix teleporting down dancing the Macarena. Suppressing a shudder at the mental trauma that image caused, he stretched out his senses to feel her resonance. As expected it was strong and pulsed with a regular beat. If he wanted to lose sleep over it, he would have said it was akin to a heartbeat…then again; insomnia had been a regular caller since his return from the hellhole future.

"No, Aimee, you shouldn't be worried. One question I need to ask you. Have you ever wanted to be a part of something bigger?"

He watched the girl in front of him crease her brow in confusion. If she needed, he would give her time to think it over but the choice to accept the Power had to be hers alone. From his morning conversation with Billy, he had learnt that the Zeo Zords were almost complete and that all of them could link up with the Ultra Zeo Zords…despite Weihan having no idea what his own Zeo Zord looked like let alone anyone else's. As his senses continued to stretch out; he felt that strange feeling again. To him, it felt alive but not and was very similar to the ghouls that he had fought in the theatre. He laughed internally as he realised that he would have to get used to recruiting potential Rangers during or after an attack.

"By something bigger what do you mean? Are you recruiting for the Army?"

He stopped short and sobered up. Recruiting for an Army; was that what he was doing? In a way, he supposed it was as he would be protecting the populace first and foremost. Instead of protecting one nation, ideal or religion they were protecting the very ground they stood on. As the situation was now, Zordon's Power Rangers only protected the small town of Angel Grove against attacks but he was sure that Ranger teams of the future would pop up wherever evil tended to strike. Even when evil attacked other planets, Ranger teams would be created to stop them in their tracks. On the other hand, being an Ultra Ranger was worse than being in the Army. At least on the field of war you fought or you died. The enemy wouldn't capture you and slowly drain your power in an attempt to strengthen themselves; the enemy wouldn't brainwash you and send you off into cities to kill millions and the enemy certainly wouldn't throw giant monsters repeatedly at you.

"No I am not recruiting for an Army although it seems like it. Have you ever wanted to see an Ultra Ranger up close?"

She thought about it. To see an Ultra Ranger up close and personal. To run her hands over the chest of the person underneath and pull him close…it was every girl's fantasy to be saved by someone so strong and brave. Unfortunately, it seemed like the Orange Ranger had something going on with the Channel Seven blonde reporter so that just left the Black/Green or White Ultra Rangers. The Black/Green one reminded her of Alex as he was always saving the women and flirting heavily with them. Whoever he was, he probably wasn't the right one for her but the White Ranger turned her off even more. To her, it seemed like he was always over-analysing the battles he fought in and that always ended poorly. She nodded once to the boy in front of her, noticing his orange shirt underneath his uniform.

"Yes, I've always wanted to see the Orange Ranger and get to know the man underneath."

She watched curiously as his cheeks flushed with colour and he coughed under his breath. Rolling her eyes slightly, she realised Weihan was a great fan of the Orange Ranger and probably knew where to get the good spots to see him. She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by a sharp scream from the direction that Alex had gone in. She started to run in the direction Heather had gone in when a strong hand on her upper arm held her back. She looked to Weihan and her eyes widened in shock. The slight businesslike expression on his face had been replaced by a muted look of surprise and panic. Tightening his grip on her upper arm, he shot her a look that told her not to run off.

"Stay here."

Weihan let go of Aimee's arm and ran in the direction of the scream. Pushing past alarmed students, he hoped he wouldn't have a repeat of the Wraith incident. Based on the secrecy of the Ranger recruitment process, there was only one place that Alex would have chosen to go to – the indoor gym. Thanks to his hasty fireball weeks earlier, the windows that had overlooked the indoor gym had all shattered and the frames were warped. Thick metal and wood plates covered the openings and blocked almost all sound coming out. Turning a corner, he almost slammed into Eliza and Rachelle who were running in the opposite direction. Behind them, he could see the panting forms of the Potentials they had selected: Sarah John for the Green Dilophosaur and Paris Nielson for the Red Tyrannosaurus. Nodding once to confirm their resonance, he shot a quick smile in their direction before charging at the closed gym doors with his shoulder.

"Fucking…you've gotta be kidding…"

Heather and Alex were squeezed against the far wall; the latter had his Mammoth Buster drawn and he was pointing it at…Steven Johnston. Or at least an undead ghoulish monster version of him. Weihan stepped closer to look at the monster. Whatever it was, it was still dressed in the clothes that Steven had died in and had retained all the wounds as well. That was impossible as Steven's remains had been taken away after the battle and been buried soon after…unless Xonix had cloned the body. Hearing his footsteps, it slowly swung towards him and Weihan swallowed hard as the light shone on the ghoul's face. The front of the head was all bone. No skin, muscle or anything fleshy remained except one eye that rolled loosely in its socket. Its rictus smile sent waves of pure terror crashing into his body but he found the courage to stand tall. Even its voice was a shadow of its former self and contained the same raspy quality as the ghouls.

"Well, look at what we have here. You gave my Powers to someone else and now you will watch as the Contender kills him!"

TBC…


	91. Chapter Ninety: Necrosis

AN: 90 chapters…already. And I'm less than a quarter of the way through! Coming up in later chapters: Monsters, deaths, abductions, new upgrades and a forceful parting. Enjoy!

Chapter Ninety: Necrosis

He circled the abomination warily.

Xonix had gone too far in his books. To take the body of an acquaintance and twist it to serve evil was unforgivable. Whether there was anything left of Steven's spirit in the monster was a moot point. To save his soul, he would destroy the monster personally. He had always felt a tinge of regret at Steven's death; if he had moved quicker or morphed sooner…those were all what-ifs and could-be's. Dimly, he was aware of Eliza, Rachelle and Will coming through the doors and assess the situation. After a moment of conferral, they nodded at each other and split up. Eliza moved slowly towards Alex and Heather, Rachelle barred access to the gym and Will dashed off somewhere. Hearing the doors close, he minutely relaxed but kept his guard up. Steven or Contender or whatever the thing in front of him was called seemed intent on killing Alex just to get his crystal.

"What do you want?"

The ghoul in front of him sneered and chuckled darkly. His Master had given him the power he needed and a suitable target and he was invincible. The only obstacle was the cheeky Asian in front of him who had promised him the World but had killed him quickly.

"I want what is rightfully mine. To step into that new world and grasp the power to control the fate of billions. You promised that to me!"

Weihan narrowed his eyes as he processed the words. He had promised no such thing to the young boy and he remembered the words he had said to Steven mere minutes before his death.

Flashback

_"Steven, I can see great potential in you. You have the potential to do great things with your life; but do you want to abandon everything you knew and step into a new and dangerous world? Where you hold not only your life, but billions of lives in your hands?"_

End Flashback

Those words hadn't been the greatest recruitment spiel in the world, but they seemed to have stuck in Steven's brain even after death. There was no promise in them; just an initial proposal. The only promise he could think of was one of showing him the Crystal later to see if he could sustain a stable morph. Summoning his Raptor Sabre to his hands, he held the blade in a defensive stance and stepped closer to Contender.

"I never said any such thing. I never promised you the Powers or anything! I said you had the potential to hold them. That's it."

Contender sneered again and harshly laughed at the words. The Ranger was deluded. He had promised him the world on a silver platter and all the power he could want to crush whoever was in his way. In truth, he remembered little from the period following his resurrection; just floating in a tank as burning liquids were forcefully injected into him. And the pain had been excruciating. He had ripped off his face to stop it and had gouged out one of his own eyes…just to see what it would look like. The continuous pain had changed him as had the torture he had been forced to endure because the Orange Ranger hadn't given him the power that was rightly his. No more would he be the one always left out and sitting on the sidelines waiting for a ride home.

He would start with the girl the fake was protecting. She looked delicious in her uniform and he would rip it off her in front of them. He knew his equipment was still working as it hadn't been destroyed like his legs had been…so he would take his sweet time in front of them. Her screams would be music to his ears as she slowly succumbed to his movements. After she was knocked out in pleasure, he would submit her to the same agony he constantly felt by slowly flaying her alive. He was sure the canteen still had supplies of salt…and that would make their collapse all the sweeter. After he finished the girl, the fake would be next. He would humiliate him as the Asian had humiliated him. After the fake had been consumed, the other Rangers would be next. The Silver one looked to be the type that could…play…for a very long time.

The strike of a blade against his arm brought Contender back to his senses. Right, before he could start with his play he had to deal with the annoying shit in front of him. Howling with rage, he lunged at the Ranger and lashed out with a tightened fist. Whether it was a lucky shot or if he purposely let his guard down, the ghoul didn't care as it crashed into Weihan's chest, sending the Orange Ranger staggering back. As an icy blast smacked into his back, he shuddered in ecstasy as the ice numbed the pain…except for the thing beating against the dark corners of his mind.

"Little man that was a very stupid deed. I have full rights to your Power and will take them from your dead body. Your leader never told you he promised me the Power, eh?"

A sharp stab of pain caused him to look down. Protruding from his chest was the Orange Ranger's weapon and the wound didn't hurt. He felt a crawling sensation as the edges of the wound smouldered from the magic fire enchanting the blade. Snorting in derision, he yanked his body off the blade and faced the object of his desire. He grinned maniacally as she shrunk away from him but he shrugged his shoulders uncaringly.

"Ah well, this isn't over and I will have my power by the week's end."

He turned to leave out but felt something inside him snap. Contender crashed to the floor as the Rangers watched warily. Struggling off the wooden floor, he felt a new consciousness envelop him. Screaming in fear, he thrust his hands inside his chest; searching desperately for the teleporter. As his decaying fingers brushed against the activation button that would send him back to his crypt, he heard a voice that was his but not his issue forth.

"Release me! Kill me!"

TBC…


	92. Chapter Ninety One: Rank Expansion

Chapter Ninety One: Rank Expansion

"What the fuck was that?"

Ignoring Heather's panicked question, Weihan dismissed his Sabre and looked at the spot where Contender had stood. On the wooden floor were two greasy spots where the metal and bone feet had touched the ground. Crouching down, he saw small drops of oil mixed with strips of dead and waterlogged skin. Punching the floor with a stifled yell of anger, he stood up and looked directly at Alex and Eliza.

"Gather up the Potentials and meet me in the Cavern. Now."

Not bothering to hear a response, he activated his own teleporter and vanished in a stream of light. Rematerialising in the Ultra Cavern, he strode over to an unused terminal and connected it to the internet. Reaching a search page, he typed in Steven Johnston's name and began reading all the articles that flashed up on the screen. Most of them were of his death and the sudden appearance of the mysterious Ranger that had destroyed the Greek-themed monster that had appeared. However, some of them detailed the life he had lived in Ocean's Bluff before his transfer. What he read made him want to be violently ill.

Within the handful of articles were descriptions of abuse; both physical and psychological. The young Steven had been beaten many times while his father had hurled insults at him. His eyes narrowed as he read that his brother David had been implicated in many of the beatings while looking down heavily on his younger brother. Rubbing a hand over his face, the Orange Ranger groaned aloud. No wonder Steven – no, Contender – wanted power. He wanted it to feel strong enough to banish his past feelings of hurt and misery…and longing to belong. As he thought about Contender's past, his mind flashed to what the ghoul had said right before it vanished.

"Release me! Kill me!"

Maybe it was the eternal optimist in him talking, but Weihan was sure that whoever had been speaking was the real Steven Johnston. Maybe it was his soul or something…some part of him that hadn't been corrupted by whatever Xonix had done to the body. Closing the browser window, he stood up as several beams of light touched down inside the Ultra Cavern, materialising into the four Ultra Rangers, Heather, Aimee, Sarah and Paris. The Potential Rangers looked around them in wonder while Alex walked up to the Orange Ranger. Leaning toward him, the Black Ranger spoke in a low tone.

"I don't want to know what that guy's obsession with me was. From what I could understand, you gave him the chance and the Power didn't take. That's in the past for you and for me and I don't want to hear anything else."

Weihan nodded, relieved that he didn't have to rehash the information over again and looked over the group of girls. Heather seemed to be doing slightly better but kept very close to Aimee, causing the Orange Ranger to suppress both a grin and the very dirty thoughts that appeared in his mind. Forcefully shaking those images out of his mind, he reached within himself and brought out four Ultra Crystals: Green, Red, Pink and Yellow. Stepping toward the group, he noted that the four girls didn't gape in amazement as the Crystals were produced.

"It's clear that Xonix has stepped up the ante with his new…monster. That means we need to step up our game as well. Whenever you have free time, come here and train either by yourself or with a fellow Ranger. There are holographic monsters in the Simul-Deck as well as cockpit tutorials for Zords."

The four girls didn't bat an eyelid at Weihan's casual mention of Rangers and Zords and he wondered what they had been told. Whatever it was; he would have to think of some sort of bonus to be given to the Ranger responsible. With a wave of his hand, the four Crystals hovered near the Potentials. Weihan hoped to whatever was listening that the four girls were up for the task ahead. Stepping toward Heather, he conferred silently with his internal guide before nodding once.

"Heather Collins, unlike the others, you have had slight experience with the monsters and dangers that we, the Ultra Rangers, face on a fairly regular basis. Should you choose the Power, you will be granted the Pink Pteranodon Power and will be a valued addition to our team."

Leaving the girl to contemplate the Crystal in front of her; he moved toward Aimee and smirked as the redhead's gaze never left his. He would probably have to nip her crush on him in the bud before it got out of hand…or before AJ found out.

"Well, Aimee, you now have the chance to see an Ultra Ranger up close after all. If you accept the responsibility placed upon you, you will be granted the power of the Yellow Smilodon. And yes, you can admire yourself in the mirror as much as you like after that."

Blushing slightly at the Orange Ranger's words, Aimee ducked her head and focused on her Crystal. If she concentrated hard enough, she swore she could see images of the future on the polished surface. Seeing the redhead entranced, Weihan moved in front of Sarah John and smiled at the bespectacled blonde.

"Sarah, I'm not sure what you have heard about the Ultra Rangers but we are the only force standing in the way of a much deadlier threat than Rita, Zedd or even the Machine Empire. We help the Power Rangers fight monsters they can't destroy and in return, they help us with…uh…training. Although whatever you hear from Eliza about the last session is probably true. Including the part with Rocky attempting to climb the walls."

Sarah and the other Rangers chuckled slightly while Eliza shot a death glare at him. The mess with Rocky hadn't entirely been her fault and Weihan knew it…but he loved to tease his friends and team mates. Shaking her head, she listened to Weihan's next words.

"The Power chose you but you have to accept it to unlock its secrets. Should you accept, you will be granted the power of the Green Dilophosaurus Ranger…although we'll have to find another name to call Alex by."

A louder stream of laughter rippled from the assembled Rangers. Weihan knew he had to hurry this along as Contender was still out there. He was itching to get stuck into the archives and see if there was a way to separate a soul from a monster and if said soul had a degree of self propulsion. If the soul of Steven Johnston was indeed present inside Contender, maybe it could be extracted and take possession of another host – no matter how temporarily it would be. Tucking that thought to another corner of his mind, he stepped in front of the final girl.

"Paris, should you take up the Power; you will never have anything resembling a normal life ever again. You will be expected to be ready and alert at all times and – if need be – face a monster alone until help arrives. However, you will still have days or weeks of no attacks where you can either choose to train or have fun with your friends. One day, you may even have to morph in front of your friends to save them from an attack. Taking that chance will net you the Power of the Red Tyrannosaurus Ultra Ranger and the induction into one of the most exclusive Ranger teams in history."

He stepped back and looked at the four Potentials again. Each girl was mesmerised by the slowly spinning Crystal in front of them, but their faces showed confusion, hesitation and the slightest hint of acceptance. Nodding to the Rangers, Weihan spoke again; his voice filling the room.

"This is not a choice to be made lightly. We can only guide you up to this point but the decision must be made by you for you. Grasp your Crystal when you have made your decision and the Power will do the rest."

A blinding flash gave him the answer he was looking for.

_TBC…_


	93. Chapter Ninety Two: Decomposition

AN: Really random mind going slowly insane. Kind of fun to write though…

Chapter Ninety Two: Decomposition

He didn't want to believe it…but all signs pointed to his continued existence.

Contender flung himself against the thick stone walls of his crypt as he digested the news. The spirit…soul…of the weakling he used to be still 'lived' inside him. He knew this but it didn't make it any easier to take. The soul of the brat was gaining strength slowly and would probably escape on its own in the next few days. He would have to take care of it first but from what unnatural knowledge had been pumped into his brain he knew it would be incredibly risky. The slightest deviation from the allocated path would mean total destruction of his body and his spirit; or worse, it would mean that the damned soul would escape confinement.

He needed the soul as leverage. The Orange Ranger wouldn't dare harm him while that weakling's soul still remained. He was counting on him pulling back his attacks…while Contender punched through the armour and into the warm living flesh. As the Ranger died, he would force him to stay alive as he brutally tortured and raped his team in front of him. It would be magnificent to hear the screams of the helpless and weak as they fell under his massive power. Once he had killed them, he would bend the Ultra Crystals to serve him and he would destroy Xonix for his hand in his…reshaping. After that was all said and done, he would pay a visit to his dear ol' dad and repay him for his teachings.

His father had been right; the world was a cruel and vicious place where people lied to gain trust only to have that trust ripped away cruelly. He growled as he remembered placing his trust in the Orange Ranger to save him from death but that rotten bastard had betrayed him. He had let him fall to his death while he casually leapt out after in some attempt to look cool. No, he wouldn't let the Orange dick die so easily. His eyes would be stapled open and he would be forced to watch the degradation of the female Rangers as they served Contender's every need. He would force them to flay their leader from the toes up, to rub salt deep into his fresh wounds and to drink up the lifeblood that dribbled out. He would pioneer the torture methods that would be used on his father and his brother.

His name would be heralded as a hero in the Universe. Together with the bodies of his father, brother and the Ultra Rangers he would carve a name out for himself and be recognised and respected. He would gain trust and take it away viciously and without mercy.

_And what of Earth?_

Contender spun around; reaching for the shadows to catch the speaker. He was alone and there was no one around him for miles. No, he wasn't going to lose his mind just yet. He had grand plans and he wasn't going to let something as petty as insanity get in the way of completing them. Earth would be spared for the most part. He would be a benevolent dictator and let the puny inhabitants live in relative peace and security. He would even allow them to carry out their pathetic wars and battles against each other in an attempt to prove who had the bigger dick. Or whoever had the better imaginary friend. It was all so strange how he was once a human weakling. Always being beaten down by his tyrant father and always running from his wrath. Always on the bench alone waiting in fear for his maniacal father to pick him up so the beatings could start once more.

_And now you're different? Don't make me laugh you sick psychopath._

No! A psychopath he wasn't, nor was he an omnicidal homicidal monster. He was a full human who had somehow been transformed into this by the twisted experiments of the Orange Ranger. The only way he could be fully cured was the Black/Green Crystal that had been promised to him. Yes, that was it. He would use it to kill his father and any opposition he faced on Earth. Ruling the planet and having the ladies under him was too good for them. He would burn them all to ashes and ingest them so their spirits would become one with him. He would repair the damage the collaboration between Xonix and the Orange Ranger had dealt and he would rule as the Contender.

Wait…no. Shaking his bony skull, Contender tried to focus his thoughts. He was the animate corpse of the boy he had been. The degradation his father and brother had inflicted on him ran deeper than he thought if the delusions of grandeur were starting to surface. He would remember who he was during the rape and torture of the Rangers. He would not let the sweet smell and tang of fresh blood invade his mind and devolve into a crazed beast. He would let the feel of freshly torn flesh do that for him…ah it would be great once he was able to free himself of the trappings of the Old World and start anew.

He would be the Alpha and the Omega and would devour all.

TBC…


	94. Chapter Ninety Three: Deliverance

AN: This will probably by the final chapter before Christmas. Will write the next chapter after Xmas sometime. Safe Holiday season, folks and this will be back after the break! 22/12/11

Pinkie Note: And so will the other stories! Yay! I get to fight more now!

AN: …*facehoof* Enjoy…

Chapter Ninety Three: Deliverance

Weihan rubbed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

For the past six hours, he had been poring through Zordon's archives, looking for a way to separate a soul from a body. The simplest way dealt with six individual machines, a thread of pure gold and something called 'The Holder of the End'. The second simplest involved destroying the body with a blade made out of pure Zycordian silver. According to the information in the archives, the mines had barely survived Xonix's attack but all those who had knowledge of how the mining operations worked were all dead. An addendum revealed that if the memories of the soul's past were awakened, it could theoretically escape the body of its own accord.

Based on the information he had read, he really didn't think Steven Johnston would want his memories of abuse resurfacing. The only thing that seemed to have any sort of sway was the Crystal but he couldn't ask Alex to give it up so easily so a rotting corpse could take his place. First up; that didn't seem right that a friend would have to relinquish the Power to a zombified being. There was nothing in the archives about an undead Ranger except some strange writings on the Phantom Ranger…whatever that was. He had no idea what the initial surge of energy would do; for all he knew the body would destroy itself and the Ultra Crystal as well. That seemed like the worst case scenario, but he was keeping all options open.

Behind him, he could hear the clashing of metal on metal as the new Rangers trained. They had allowed the Power to flow through their bodies and had mastered hand-to-hand combat very quickly. The information would retreat to the darkest recesses of their minds but it would be there if needed. Alex and Will had been great instructors on hand-to-hand fighting as well as impulsive tactical training. Upon switching to the weapons section of the training, they deferred to Eliza and Rachelle who had almost intuitive knowledge of their own weapons. Weihan turned away from the information scrolling on the screens to look at the four new weapons.

Like Kim and Kat before her, Heather wielded a bow that was called the Terror Bow. He had rolled his eyes at the name but supposed his Raptor Sabre had the same level of originality. Unlike the Power Bow, it was shaped like the flying reptile her power came from. Energy arrows could be formed and fired with reasonable speed and the head of the Pteranodon could shoot out small laser blasts. Interestingly, the limbs of the bow could be used as a dual bladed staff of sorts. Right now, she was working on accuracy with Will and was firing energy arrows into a target. Amusingly, the target was his Dinozord but the energy arrows wouldn't even begin to scratch the toughened armour. If anything, it would be interesting to see how well the ZARS did their job on minimal damage.

Aimee was off to one side sparring with Eliza. The Purple Ranger was defending herself well against the repeated jabs of Aimee's Sabre Claw; a claw-like weapon that could be separated in the middle to form two kama-like weapons. The blades of the combined claw greatly resembled the 'fangs' of the Smilodon Dinozord that was resting in one of the new Zord Bays that had appeared out of the ether. Weihan really didn't want to know what the food in the replicators was made out of after seeing it appear. Absentmindedly, he wondered if he could bring AJ to the Ultra Cavern so she knew where it was if anything happened. He shook his head after that thought; if anything were to happen to them, the Earth would be fucked either way.

Shaking the dark thoughts out of his mind, he looked to where the Green Ranger was practicing with her weapon. The Venom Shield was an interesting weapon as it propagated the myth of a Dilophosaur having a neck frill; something her Dinozord did as well. In the centre of the shield was a representation of the crested theropod's head with open jaws. Through some experimentation, Sarah had discovered that an energy ball could be fired from the mouth whenever the shield was forcefully thrust forward. When it struck against any surface, the energy ball would have mild acidic properties and would eat into whatever it hit. Weihan was very keen to see it used against the Fiends; even if he thought their acidic spit would be stronger. It had been a few seconds after seeing the Venom Shield that the Orange Ranger had spied a potential problem.

Seeing as how none of the Ultra Rangers had any experience with using a shield as an offensive weapon, Weihan had called up Billy to see if any of the Zeo Rangers had a shield in their arsenal. Thankfully, it seemed Kat had a Power Disc that doubled as a shield and she was teaching Sarah how to block attacks effectively and to channel energy to the Shield. According to her, the Zeo Zords' final test run had been against a monster called Staroid and that they had run brilliantly. She had also let slip that Billy was working on something special for Tommy but was only in the initial design phase.

Moving his field of vision, he looked at the last new Ranger practicing with her weapon. Paris twirled her Tyrant Blade effortlessly and held it in a ready position against Alex's Blizzard Axe. The double-edged broadsword looked similar to the Power Sword that Rocky had used but it had subtle changes. The changes were too small and numerous to list but just by looking at it, Weihan knew that it was different. As she knocked the Axe out of Alex's hands for the twelfth time, he let a small smile cross over his face as he saw Rachelle waiting in the wings for her turn.

Slumping back in the chair, he thought over the problem of Steven's soul again. He could possibly appeal to its greater good and extract it…but where would it go then? Turning back to the screens, he groaned in frustration and looked over his shoulder to where the Rangers were practicing. He was riding them hard but they had to be ready if Xonix was going to be throwing undead monsters at them. Forcing himself to look back at the screens, he wondered what the upcoming battle with Contender would hold.

And what the cost would be.

TBC…


	95. Chapter Ninety Four: Allowance

A/N: Well, hope you all had a good Xmas/holiday break! This is it: the last chapter of 2011! In the past couple of months there's been 68 chapters written that show the first quarter of the…first story. Yeah…I have a lot more to write on with a full plan of where I'm headed (and a few filler chapters along the way). So, ring in 2012 and let the next year begin!

Pinkie: Yay! Party time! Again!

Chapter Ninety Four: Allowance

He was turning into a paranoid wreck.

Five days had passed since the attack and Contender wasn't showing up on any radars. The training of the new Rangers was progressing nicely, but Weihan was on an edge even AJ couldn't shake him from. Doing more research had unearthed a surprising tidbit of information on Steven Johnston; he had been in Angel Grove the day that the Power Rangers first appeared. Piecing together a rough timeline and comparing notes with Billy made him want to both laugh and cry. Steven Johnston had left the Youth Centre literally seconds before the teleportation beam had swept up the first five. He had run past Jason – the first Red Ranger – and accidentally jostled him.

A few seconds later and he would have been the Red Ranger instead of Jason.

Also from the hacking that Alpha had been able to do on her palace during the Cyclopsis incident, it seemed that Rita had debated on picking Steven as the Green Ranger instead of Tommy; even attempting to stop his application to transfer to St Andrews before citing that it was too much trouble and dropping her attempt completely. Seeing as how well Tommy had turned out, Weihan couldn't help but wonder why it was that Steven kept being targeted by the Power. Obviously, it had plans for him but now that he was dead and transformed into a monster…well, he didn't know what to think anymore.

Lifting his eyes from the mountain of books in front of him, he wearily blinked up at the fluorescent lights of the library and sighed. Stirring memories in Steven seemed like the best choice for saving his soul; yet the information he was digging up made it seem almost impossible. To give Steven the knowledge of those times he was so close to being a Ranger seemed overly cruel and would possibly only antagonise him even more. His brother hadn't given up any more information on Steven's past either and had shut down AJ when she had attempted to ask.

"Any luck?"

Turning around, Weihan blinked as he saw Alex walking towards him. The Black/Green Ranger was carrying the books for his next period and had popped into the library probably to check up on him. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and shook his head.

"Not as much as I'd like. Even if we get the soul out of Contender then what?"

Alex set his books down and looked at his leader. Even though he had denied wanting to know what happened he still wished Weihan would tell him. He supposed it was to do with being the Black/Green Ranger and the first monster attack. He had been doing some research of his own at the Ultra Cavern and was looking on ways that a temporary body could be made to accommodate a separated soul. Unfortunately, it seemed that that was how the first rulers of the Machine Empire had been created. The thought of a friend's soul turning into a member of the Machine Empire was truly sickening. There was another prospect but he was wary of how it would be accepted.

It did involve his body after all.

"I've been doing some research on that. One option is that we construct a mechanical or robotic body that – "

"No. No mechanoids of any way, shape or form. The last thing we need is for Mondo to butt in. Next option."

Alex nodded and unfolded a sheet of paper from his blazer. Handing it to Weihan, he outlined the next few suggestions. Each involved sending the soul into a casing of some kind or cloning a body from Steven's own DNA. The only problem with that proposal was how they would explain his sudden reappearance in the land of the living. Well, there was another problem due to the inherent nature of cloned bodies being very unstable. They would eventually begin to break down unless they were transported through a very refined time portal. The date that the portal led to was also very specific; either five hundred years in the past or five hundred years in the future. Also, any temporary shape shifting spells would be permanent.

"Christ on a stick, there's no viable ways we can store the soul then. Shit…all right. I'll keep looking for a solution if there's no other way…"

"Wait. There may be one more way. I didn't want to bring it up now, but for a last resort I will offer my body for him to temporarily inhabit until we can find a better option."

Weihan narrowed his eyes in concern. He had also considered that as a viable alternative but he wasn't sure if Steven's soul would relinquish control. Alex's body had the Black/Green Powers flowing through it and could be easily used for good or evil. The same look and concern was mirrored in Alex's eyes and he realised that his friend had considered the possibility of losing himself entirely. Dropping his head to rest on the pile of books and tomes, he exhaled deeply.

"Keep that as a last resort. Maybe we'll get lucky and the soul will extract itself on its own or…something. Christ in a blender, I don't know what to expect at this point. All this waiting is making me stir-crazy."

Alex smiled, picked up his books and turned to leave. Weihan turned his head and spoke to his friend.

"Hey, I'm glad you were the one chosen."

"So am I. So am I"

TBC…


	96. Chapter Ninety Five: Soul

AN: Happy New Year to all! 2012 at last but the world is due to end this year (if you believe the hype). Until then, enjoy!

Chapter Ninety Five: Soul

Explosions rang out as people cried out in terror.

Contender had finally made its move and had been ripping up Chinatown for the past twenty minutes. Well, actually it was more like the past fifteen. During that brief rampage, he had racked up thousands of dollars in damage but Weihan didn't care about shopkeepers bitching about their shops. He was more worried about the civilians lying on the ground with various injuries. To make things worse, Xonix had apparently struck up some sort of alliance with King Mondo; the result being that there was a group of Cogs fighting alongside the Golems. Thankfully, fighting the mechanical constructs in their full Ultra armour wasn't a problem but he had asked Zordon to stand by just in case they needed an assist.

Flipping to one side to avoid Contender's fists, he flung a fireball at the creature's face. The monster had been aggressively attacking himself and Alex…which was to be expected and was why they had planned for such an occurrence. Contender bellowed in pain as several energy arrows slammed into his back followed by a light green energy ball. The undead monster's annoyance and pain turned to fear and anger as the acidic energy ate into his decaying body. For a brief instant, Weihan thought he saw something shine out from the wound but dismissed it as a trick of the light. After all, if Steven's soul was really going to come out from the beast it would more than likely emerge from either the head or chest. Nodding at Paris, the two Rangers summoned their blades and ran towards Contender. Swinging in unison, both blades slashed across its waist and cut deep into the rotting muscle.

The monster that had once been Steven Johnston howled in pain as his defences were breached. The soul still remained inside him but had removed itself from its mind. Days of searching for it had revealed that it was moving around his torso and was growing stronger. As it wasn't clouding his thoughts with rationality any longer, he was able to move forward on his goal of destroying the scourge of the Ultra Rangers. He would make them beg for their pathetic lives as he drained them of their life and then he would throw their desiccated bodies at the world and bellow in victory. The only obstacle in the foreseeable future would be if the dammnable soul of his former self escaped; something was close to being achieved thanks to the multitudes of cuts, blasts and slashes that his abdomen was now adorned with.

No. it wouldn't end like this. He would fight to his second death before that soul escaped from his body. It was his by right; even if he was now a twisted and gnarled monster. He would use everything in his possession to fight back against the oppressive forces in his way and stand atop a mountain of dead bodies and relish in the cries of the dying. He would…he…what…what was that pain? His eyes widened as a voice that was not his own issued from his throat.

"Get back!"

Weihan jumped at the voice. It seemed to have come from Contender but it wasn't his raspy voice. It almost sounded like…but it couldn't be. From what he had read it was only in extremely rare circumstances that souls possessed their original voices; voices that existed after the destruction of the lungs and vocal chords. It was extremely rare as the soul would have to be filled with incredible amounts of strength and power. Only a handful of such entities existed in the known Universe and had chosen not to move onto their final rewards. As the Ultra Rangers gathered around him, he watched in fascination as Contender's arms moved of their own accord and resisted his attempts at stopping them. As the skeletal limbs stopped mid-chest, Contender howled in fear as fingers dug into the rotting meat and began to pull slowly apart.

"Weihan, what is happening to it?"

Shaking his head, the Orange Ranger looked at Alex and nodded once. Every single plan he had concocted flew out of his mind then and there; leaving them with only one option. For his part, Alex nodded back and prepared himself for the eventual merge to take place. Glancing around, Weihan sighed in relief as the paramedics took away the last of the injured civilians from the area. Keeping an eye on the possessed Contender, he took out his Raptor Laser and calmly blasted the security cameras around them – as well as a few stray Cogs that were still standing. If Alex had to demorph to accept Steven's soul into his body; his identity wouldn't be revealed.

"Stop! You don't know what you are doing!"

Contender raged in fear and anger as his arms continued pulling his chest apart. He knew what would happen after the soul left his possession. He would be changed into a mindless beast only focused on the goal of destruction. While he was interested in the destruction of all, he knew when to stop and survey the damage that he had dealt. Transformed into the bestial state of a creature without a soul…he would kill all around him and would only be stopped by destruction. In some dim corner of his mind he rationalised that in becoming a monster, he was technically without a soul anyway…but he didn't want to take that chance. Unfortunately, it seemed like the choice was being made for him.

Weihan almost passed out as Contender unwillingly ripped his chest open; exposing his decaying organs for the world to see. From the hard swallows and gags of his friends beside him, it seemed they were also feeling the same way. Pushing the nausea down, his eyes slowly widened as he saw the same shimmering light burst from the gaping hole and coalesce into a shimmering ball of light. Contender slumped to the ground convulsing as the ball of light floated towards the group of eight Ultra Rangers. As it drew closer; it began changing into a roughly humanoid shape. Flicking his visor up, Weihan's mouth dropped open as the soul smiled.

Steven Johnston was saved.

TBC…


	97. Chapter Ninety Six: Temporary Armour

Chapter Ninety Six: Temporary Armour

It was a rush unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Even death and the painful process of changing into an undead monster paled in comparison to the amount of power at his fingertips. Well, if he was perfectly honest with himself; the fingertips weren't his. He temporarily possessed the body of the true Black/Green Ultra Ranger to fulfil the longing inside him. Weihan had changed so much since he had seen him months ago. He was focused and seemed to be filled with an inner strength that eclipsed those around him. As Steven Johnston marvelled at the changes in his friend, he gaped in awe at the sights around him.

Chinatown had changed – hell, the entire world had changed. From one Ultra Ranger to three and now to eight new Rangers that stood in the path of Xonix; the evil that threatened their world was one that no other being seemed to want to mess with. Angel Grove's Power Rangers had tangled with Xonix on a few occasions and knew to stay well away from his monsters. Armour plated monster shelter entrances dotted the streets and it seemed the police were more competent than they had been before. The air tasted sweeter but maybe that was because he hadn't breathed it in for so long. Hell, up until a few weeks ago he hadn't done anything in a long while. Due to the violent nature of his first death, his soul had been bound to his body by thick bonds created by pain and shock. The bonds had only started to break during the injection of power Xonix and Twinlobe had subjected him to.

Staring at the twisted remains of his former body, he felt a wave of sadness ripple through him. Contender was a monster born out of his own self-loathing and delusions of grandeur. In his own fantasies, he would be the hero and fly away from his father and brother to save some nameless blonde girl from a fate worse than death. In its own twisted way, Contender had taken those feelings and multiplied them so saving the world from evil became saving the world by destruction. Forming a hand into a fist, he snarled under his breath and forced all sentiment down. Dealing with his own issues would have to wait. The shockwave of energy that had come from his possession of Alex's body had violently demorphed both Alex and Weihan and had weakened the others.

"Steven, are you ready? You will finally get your shot in the spotlight as one of us; as an Ultra Ranger."

Hearing Weihan's words filled his heart with pride and he nodded once. In the back on his borrowed mind, he could feel Alex giving his approval to access the Green/Black Ultra Powers. As he accessed Alex's memories, he felt grateful that the Ranger had allowed his soul to temporarily control his body and wondered what his final reward would be. He could sense the subtle force pulling him up to the portal only he could see; leading to a place no living being was ever allowed to go. Shaking himself out of his thoughts he squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes at Contender. Lifting up his left hand, he drew out the Black/Green Ultra crystal from Alex's chest. He could sense the Crystal's split second of confusion before accepting him as a Bearer – no matter how temporary. Holding the obelisk-esque crystal above his head, he spoke three words to establish his soul's connection to the Ultra Grid.

"Ultra Crystal…Energise!"

Bringing the Crystal down to his chest, he slammed it into his chest, crossed his right arm over his left…and his first morph began. Bolts of Black and Green energy surrounded him and wrapped around him like an energy hurricane with him as the eye. In the distance, he could see all three of Alex's Power Animals and they seemed to nod once to him before vanishing in the miasma. Steven was confused for a second…and then heard the reason for their departure. Walking out of the energy storm was an animal that looked extremely similar to the Mammoth; the only difference being long tusks instead of inward curving ones.

It is called a Stegodon. It is related to the Mammoths.

OK…that was slightly freaky. If Alex was hearing voices as a daily occurrence due to the Power, maybe it was a good thing that he would only use the Power for a short time. As the Stegodon marched closer, he saw a feline beast slink out from behind one of its mighty legs. It was a lion – of that he was certain – but it looked different. The look in its eyes was one of strength, power and the knowledge that it was invincible. Its fur reflected the energy and light around itself and at once he knew what it was. It was his Thunder Animal: the mighty Nemean Lion. Upon the realisation, the lion seemed to smile and nod. Darting out from under the colossal Stegodon, the Nemean Lion bowed close to the ground and opened its fearsome jaws; allowing something small to jump out.

As the animal hopped towards the immobile soul, Steven noted that it was a frog of some kind…but it was larger than any frog he had ever seen. Before the voice could interject with its name, he settled on one for it: the Goliath frog. It only seemed fitting that a frog that large was a Goliath amongst frog-kind. With a start, he realised it was also his Ninja Animal and his eyes widened as his mind clicked to what was happening. Somehow his personal Power Trio had stayed connected to the Ultra Crystal in the hope that he would one day morph with them. They would have been undoubtedly saddened by his sudden death but had continued to hold onto the faint hope nonetheless. As his trio moved closer to him, they turned into energy outlines and crashed into his chest – filling him with strength and power. It was time to finish the Morph and face his destiny head on. Suddenly, he felt a different set of words enter his mind followed shortly by a warm sensation of hope. Yes, the Ultra Rangers would eventually gain this armour but that time would be far in the future.

His time was now.

"Assault Armour Activate!"

Flinging his crossed arms out to the sides, he felt the bulky armour materialise. As the energy cyclone died down, he looked at himself and felt his mouth drop open. The Black and Green bodysuit was now covered by thick armour that was dotted with blasters, blades and weapons. Testing his range of motion, he found that he could easily move despite its bulkiness and added weight. Overlaid on his left arm was a bulkier version of the Blizzard Axe with both its blades softly glowing green. Peering through his visor, he looked at the undead monster and grinned triumphantly as the power flowed through his body.

It was a rush unlike anything he had ever experienced.

TBC…


	98. Chapter Ninety Seven: Ascendance

AN: And the Contender/Steven Johnston arc finally comes to a close. Enjoy!

Chapter Ninety Seven: Ascendance

Well, he wasn't dead and that was a good thing.

Contender squinted through the haze of pain and tried to focus his thoughts. The damned soul had escaped his grasp by taking control of his body like a damned puppeteer. He had ripped his decaying chest open and let the soul fly out…and then he had seen up close what an ant really looked like. After 'admiring' its grotesque beauty, he was getting back onto his feet when he saw a sight that enraged him. The weakling's soul had entered the body of the Black/Green Ranger and was controlling it…and he was in the early stages of morphing with his powers.

"Assault Armour Activate!"

Wait…Assault Armour? That wasn't right…the Rangers only had access to the Battle Armour; not some super-duper heavy artillery armour power-up. As the light died down, Contender swallowed in fear at the Ranger that stood before it. It looked like a walking tank and as it looked at him, he swallowed again before bellowing in rage. If he was going to die then he would take the soul of the weakling with him.

"Nitrogen Slash!"

Steven sliced the blades through the air as he raced toward the monster. A freezing wave of energy shot towards the undead monstrosity and impacted the gaping wound in his chest. Behind him, he could hear Weihan issuing orders to the other Rangers before catching up with him. In a flare of light, he summoned his Raptor Sabre and charged the blade with fire. Nodding at the Orange Ranger, Steven raised his left arm and channelled icy energy into the blades. In unison, both Rangers leapt op into the air with their blades raised. Contender tried to counterattack but he was too slow.

"Sub-Zero Strike!"

"Fire Slash!"

Twin attacks – one of freezing ice and the other of incinerating fire – sliced down into Contender's body. Recovering quickly, Steven drove the blades of the Blizzard Axe horizontally into the monster's flesh and activated his Assault Finisher.

"Ice Crush!"

As the last syllable left his lips, the weapons on his armour started to fire off one by one into the helpless creature. Icy blasts froze various parts of the monster and Steven could see the pure terror in its eyes. A small part of him screamed that it was overkill but Alex approved of the attack. As the blasts began to speed up, Steven retracted his energy back into his spherical state and prepared himself for ascension. It was tempting to stay inside Alex's body and live again through him…but that was impossible. The Black/Green Ultra Powers had bonded with Alex and they weren't going to allow him to usurp his body that easily. His life had ended all those months ago when he had died as the first fatality of the Ultra Ranger's long campaign against Xonix. His soul had anchored itself to his deceased body and he had resigned himself to a fate of becoming unable to live again.

To be wrenched from the grave and having his body reanimated was an experience he wouldn't want to go through again. As his heart began to beat once more, he held onto the notion that he would be able to see his family again. Despite the beatings that his father and brother had doled out; he had forgiven them during his long rest and wanted to tell them…when he had seen Xonix and learnt what they were planning for him. He had resisted mightily but had been confined in a tank deep inside the Monster Labs where stimulants and steroids had been dissolved in the fluid he floated in. It had been there that his body had developed a separate consciousness and had twisted his own memories, warping them to fit his view of the world. As one of the last memories he had was of Weihan offering him the chance of…something and then morphing as he fell; the monster had assumed the Orange Ranger was the one to blame.

From the viewscreens in the Monster Labs, the monster had seen the chosen Black/Green Ultra Ranger and had reacted violently. He had renamed himself Contender and had doubled his efforts in escaping the tank. Steven had discovered that the magical stimulants coupled with the frequent infusions of pure magical power had broken most of the bonds that adhered himself to his decayed body. This had allowed his soul to move freely and take control of his own undead limbs. Contender had fought bitterly against his intrusions so he had set up shop inside his decayed brain and patiently waited for the right time to break the last bond.

As Contender literally shattered under the continued barrage of ice blasts and lasers, the Assault Armour melted off the Ranger as if vanishing to wherever it had come from. From Alex's chest emerged Steven's soul sphere and it seemed to radiate with warmth and happiness. Hovering above the shattered remains of Contender, a bright light issued from the sphere – instantly cremating the body. Content that his body wasn't going to be used for evil again, he hovered toward the group of Rangers and stopped in front of Weihan and Alex.

"Sorry guys, but this is where I get off. Where I'm going next, you won't be able to follow for a long time."

Visors slid up as the Rangers exchanged glances with each other, confused by his words. It was pretty obvious that Steven's soul couldn't hang around even if he wanted to stay but where was he going? Heaven was one option – if it existed. As if sensing their puzzlement, Steven's voice issued from his soul once more.

"I am going to join the multitudes of fallen Rangers that make up the knowledge of the Morphin Grid. Past, present and future Rangers will benefit from our collective knowledge. This is my final reward…but I will leave you with an important piece of information."

Steven's soul began to dissolve, the glowing particles being pulled upwards to vanish in the sky. Before completely vanishing, Steven Johnston's last words filled each of the Rangers with utter dread.

"Xonix has an Ultra Crystal."

TBC…


	99. Chapter Ninety Eight: Cyber Threat

AN: Short chapter to set up the next part. Enjoy!

Chapter Ninety Eight: Cyber Threat

"Well…that went about as well as expected."

Xonix turned away from the image of Contender's destruction and dismissed the viewscreen with a wave of a claw. He had honestly hoped that the corpse would be able to destroy one or all of the Rangers but it seemed that it was just a pipe dream. The new armour of theirs was worrying but he had the strangest feeling it wouldn't be an issue for a long time. He turned from the main console to stare out at the stars that streaked past the window. The conquest of Satiuqea was finally completed and he had even managed to uncover lost technology that would be of use to him in the future. He wasn't quite sure what the Psycho Enhancer would do but with a name like that it was surely worth having around.

Reports from his spies in Angel Grove had told him that the annoying Prince of Triforia – Trey – had arrived a few rotations ago and was apparently looking for someone to receive the Gold Powers – if they weren't already transferred. If he wasn't already pursuing the Ultra Rangers, he would have gone after the Gold Ranger himself…but in all honesty, comparing the Gold Ranger powers with the Ultra Crystals was like comparing a candle to a raging inferno. The damned Power Rangers had also forced his brother to do the unthinkable: help them. It was all the fault of King Mondo anyway. The damned machine had allowed the Zeo Rangers to gain the upper hand too many times and now they had three sets of Zords: the normal Zeo Zords, the Super Zeo Zords that had been brought with Trey and some strange boxing robot for the Red Ranger.

And now it seemed that King Mondo himself had bitten the dust thanks to the Super Zeo Megazord; leaving quite the power vacuum on the Moon. Zedd and Rita had taken up residence in his Moon Fortress and were plotting some robotic bomb to do away with the rest of the Machine Empire…which was a plan that would probably go belly-up sooner or later. His own temporary alliance with the Machine King had allowed him to do long-distance collaboration on his next creation up until the point where Mondo had gone off ranting about a Damocles Sword and how it would be the perfect weapon. And now Mondo was in the scrapheap.

Whatever or whoever rose up to receive the throne of the Machine King wouldn't have it for very long as Mondo was sure to be rebuilt sooner or later. He wouldn't concern himself with the Machine Empire any more as the Cyb-Org would run through the Ultra Rangers slowly but surely. Eight Rangers wouldn't stand a chance against a purely mechanical beast that rendered their magical weapons and attacks useless. If he could make it grow before they destroyed it…the possibilities were endless. The only reason the previous attacks had failed was that he was attacking with purely magical monsters or hybrids that could be destroyed by a powerful magic attack. Even Master Vile's Ram Rock had some element of magic in its design that made it easily destroyed by the Time Guardian Powers.

Cyb-Org had no such magical quality within its inner workings. The only non-mechanical part that it had was its 'heart'; a wandering Org spirit that had been easily coerced into a mini fusion reactor. Its consciousness had been destroyed during the powering-up process but the spirit energy would give the monster limitless power. There would be no lasers for this robot; ballistic weapons with actual bullets and rockets would cause the most collateral damage to the civilians that the Rangers were so intent on protecting.

The only issue most pressing was when and where to attack. He could send it down now but, apart from the Black/Green and Orange Rangers, the Rangers were at full fighting strength. As he continued thinking, a slow smile made its way across his snout. As Zedd wasn't actively attacking the Zeo Rangers, technically he could unleash it on Angel Grove. Throw in a few squads of Golems and Fiends and he would have a blast as the Rangers attempted to beat back his mechanical monster.

He could wait.

TBC…


	100. Chapter Ninety Nine: Grinding

AN: Shit…including the Prologue, this is one hundred chapters. Well, that's one New Year's Resolution done and dusted. Enjoy!

Chapter Ninety Nine: Grinding

He sank back in the chair and tried to relax.

It had been a full nine weeks since Contender's destruction and Steven's ominous warning about Xonix having an Ultra Crystal. It was now the beginning of the summer holidays and he was on a plane for his yearly trip to Malaysia to se his father. During that time, there had been almost no attacks by Jabarkas or Fiends and only an attack by a group of Golems had broken the monotony. After the battle, Weihan had aggressively started recruiting the rest of the Ultra Rangers and had started them on their training. The Blue Triceratops Ultra Crystal had gone to Linda Capolupo and she had become a master of her Tricera Tonfas. As the five 'core' Rangers were now assembled, Weihan had them see if they could combine their individual weapons to form a combination Blaster of sorts. So far, it had resulted in mixed success – a Power Blaster weapon could be formed but the recoil was incredibly massive. It was a good thing the ZARS nanobots could keep up with the collateral Zord damage…and that none of the reactor casings had been breached.

Incredibly Eliza had shown up with the second-last Ranger. Sarah Patterson had accepted the Powers of the mysterious Ultra Crystal and had been subsequently dubbed the "Super" Ranger by all. Of course, the name of Ultra Super Ranger was a bit of a mouthful to say but at least it was better than the name Will had come up with: the Ultra Dragon Ranger. The Ultra Cavern had almost doubled in size due to the various Zords that had materialised and Weihan found himself wondering what their underlying theme was. Her weapon was equally strange to the others as it was apparently imbued with an AI that could impressively calculate winning battle strategies on the fly. However, Weihan knew otherwise. The sword actually contained the transplanted soul of Zordon's father Dorzon whom he had not seen since the battle at the theatre. So far, Dorzon was giving Sarah all the guidance she needed to properly wield him in battle; as well as finding amusement at scaring the crap out of him at random moments.

He was set on his next course of action. He would have to storm Xonix's Moon Fortress and take back the Ultra Crystal by force before it could be used for evil. He would have the Rangers summon their Dinozords and Zeo Zords to destroy the Fortress while he took the fight inside to Xonix. The thought of facing the evil lord again scared the shit out of him even though he knew he had his friends backing him up. It also struck him strange that Xonix would have left him alive to fight another day. It would have been easier to kill him then and there…but he didn't want to follow that train of thought any longer as it would inevitably end up thinking about the Evil ruled future.

He adjusted the cushion behind his head and stared out the window. Below him he could see the red sand of the Central Australian desert stretching out in all directions and sighed. As far as fighting with other Powers went their best bet was to keep using the combined Ultra Powers for the seven new Rangers and for himself, Alex and Will to use the Time Guardian Powers if things were to get really rough. That thought also left him unsettled. The Ultra Powers were made up of eleven…maybe twelve…differing Power Types. The Power Types had varying uses depending on the situation they were facing. From long conference calls with Zordon, Ninjor and Billy; he had come to the conclusion that the Morphin Power Types could still be used against a purely mechanical monster. They would be weakened greatly, but still could be used to stall for time. In the same vein, a Zeo Power Type could damage a magically created monster but it would take a lot of Zeo Type Zords to fully destroy it.

Thinking of Billy, he sighed and looked above the plane to the brilliant blue sky above. The genius' body had succumbed to the energy imbalance and had begun to age rapidly. After a few failed ideas an answer had finally been discovered and agreed to: Billy would go to the water planet of Aquitar for immersion in the Eternal Falls. Thanks to the Ninjetti Power in his body the treatment would only last for a few years, instead of the twenty that had been initially predicted. It was during one of his many teleports to Angel Grove that Tommy had finally introduced him to Jason. The first Red Ranger – now the Gold Ranger – had accepted that his actions in the battle with the Ogre were par for the learning curve.

He had also expressed marked surprise when Weihan inadvertently repowered his Tyrannosaurus Power Coin. Of course, it wasn't connected to the Morphin Grid but it he could hold a steady morph for around fifteen minutes. Zordon had told him something about the Power of the Ultra Grid being used to recharge drained Power Coins and something about a slight chance that the Powers could be reconnected to the Morphin Grid upon a second recharge. Whatever it was; he would figure it all out later.

Closing the shutter he settled back into the seat and closed his eyes. He hoped that his holiday would run smoothly and without incident…although in his gut he knew otherwise. Kuala Lumpur wasn't equipped for a massive monster battle to occur and had only recently held the Commonwealth Games. The eyes of the world were still fixed on KL and a monster attack would only highlight their inadequacies of civilian safety. On the one hand, apart from Angel Grove and Sydney, monster attacks weren't a regular occurrence anywhere else in the world. Thousand of different companies were trying to come up with ways to create their own Power Rangers but many had dropped the project in favour of other designs to protect their cities. There were even rumours floating around the Internet about some sort of Battle Group being set up to explore the 'farthest reaches of the Universe' which sounded interesting. Dismissing all thoughts, Weihan settled into his seat for the umpteenth time and attempted to sleep.

If the feeling was correct, he would need it.

TBC…


	101. Chapter One Hundred: Zeo

AN: Chapter One Hundred. Finally here at long last. Ninety chapters after the Ultra Zeo Powers were introduced, they come back. And, yes, she is really like that in real life.

Enjoy, and here's to 100 more chapters!

Chapter One Hundred: Zeo

It was a truly magnificent sight to behold.

Weihan leant back and craned his neck up to see the spires rising above his head. The twin Petronas Towers were truly a majestic sight to behold as well as the shopping mall beneath. Lifting up his cheap camera from its neck strap, he clicked off a few photos before sighing in utter frustration as he heard a grating voice behind him.

"Weihan, come on! I can't walk out because of my back!"

Rolling his eyes, the Ranger turned to face the woman speaking. Jade Choo had been introduced as his father's girlfriend and he had disliked her right away. Her appearance always looked haggard and run down and she spoke in an incredibly whiny and nasal voice that grated the nerves of all around her. She also had a slight back condition which she delighted repeatedly telling everyone about; not to mention continually whinging about it every five minutes. His sister had flat out told her that she didn't like Jade and would probably punch her if she came too close to her personal space. Out of that confrontation, somehow he had been appointed as Jade's shopping assistant while his Dad helped his sister with her legal studies.

He almost wished for a monster attack to happen. Shaking off that thought, he walked past the whining woman and into the air conditioned interior of KLCC. Ignoring her sputtered protests, he walked to the centre circle and looked up at the different levels and the large glass dome that was the only skylight. Lifting his camera up, he took a quick picture before turning to see what the annoying one wanted. As he drew nearer, he could see that she was on one of her many mobile phones and was talking a mile a minute at someone regarding some business deal. Apparently she had a job but didn't disclose any details. She was a job all right – a whack job. He looked around for any excuse to ditch her and go off on his own and grimaced as he saw nothing. As Jade hung up her phone, she looked at his face and made a noise that sounded like a cross between a mosquito's whine and a dog bark.

"Weihan, you have to be more vigilant about your surroundings. I am injured and as such cannot move down slopes or stairs. I am taking the time out of my busy day to take you here…"

He tuned out her incessant droning and sighed. Jade was beginning to wear out his last nerve and if he didn't leave…well, Jade would be a bloody smear on the ground and the world would know who the Orange Ranger was. Taking in a deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak to Jade when the screams came from behind him. Spinning on his heel, he raced back to the central skylight and looked around. There were no monsters in sight anywhere around him. Quickly looking up, he felt his blood run cold. Rappelling down one of the Towers was a creature that could only have been described as a Terminator's nightmare. It was humanoid in shape and covered in metal. Lifting up his left wrist, he rolled back his sleeve and pressed a button on his communicator…and heard static.

Growling under his breath he looked around at the civilians around him. They were staring up at the metallic man and talking animatedly amongst themselves. The screams had come from a small group of American tourists who were running for the nearest exit. Chuckling at their initiative, he continued to try to get in contact with the other Rangers as Jade came up next to him. The motormouth looked up and visibly gaped at the sight above her.

"Is that a man? What's he doing up there?"

Rolling his eyes at her apparent lack of sense, Weihan saw that the metallic humanoid was now standing on top of the skylight and was drawing one of its arms back. Throwing out his arms, he pushed Jade out of the way as the monster punched through the reinforced glass skylight. Long shards of glass rained down on the shoppers and Jade screamed in terror as Weihan grabbed her collar and drug her to one of the exits. Shouting at her to get away, he ran back to the central area despite her protests. Muttering curses under his breath, he looked up to see how much damage had been caused to the skylight. There was a human-sized hole in the skylight and the monster was lowering itself through slowly. As it dropped down, Weihan saw the soles of its 'feet' fire several puffs of smoke and his eyes widened in fear.

**"RUN!"**

He screamed out that word while he flipped away from what he knew was coming. Shoppers everywhere dropped their bags and bolted away from the central space…just as the explosions began. Scorching balls of fire and smoke rang out as the monster's foot mines detonated mid-air. The shockwaves knocked people over and Weihan saw several shoppers plunge over the fourth level railings. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block out the sickening sound of their bodies slamming into the tiled floor. The only thing that cheered him slightly was that they weren't likely to end up like Steven Johnston and would more than likely live. He hoped they would anyway. Somewhere behind him, he could hear Jade screaming into her phone about something and he grunted in frustration. He couldn't create a magical duplicate of himself as that woman still had him within her sight. He needed a diversion of sorts.

As the monster landed on the cracked tile, it spread its arms out and discharged its weapons into the surrounding shops. Plaster and concrete dust flew everywhere and Weihan's vision was obscured by the billowing clouds. Seizing on the chance, he ducked behind a nearby column and created the duplicate of himself; mildly disturbed at how much of second nature it was becoming. Shaking it off, he pulled out his Ultra Crystal but shook his head at the crystalline structure. He was relying on it too much and that was becoming a crutch that he was leaning too heavily against. As the smoke started to clear, he slipped his cheap camera over the neck of his duplicate and slipped away to look for a more protected spot. Behind him, he chuckled as he heard Jade blow up at his duplicate for his 'rough actions'. That was one problem out of the way…but what Power Type could be used on the monster?

Catching glimpses of it through the dust cloud; he saw that it was just standing in the centre area watching the destruction and chaos around it. From the way it moved, Weihan inferred that it was a purely robotic beast made of iron ores. Iron would severely weaken all Morphin Power Types and would leave him at half strength in his combined Ultra Armour; something that would end rather badly for everyone involved. He could transform into his Time Guardian armour again but he wanted to see what the other Powers did…and if he could access them from an unmorphed state. Relaxing his mind, he let his Ultra Crystal assess what was needed.

In twin flashes of light, two objects materialised and secured themselves to his arms. One looked like a simple gold ring that had a large orange gem set on it. The polished top of the crystal bore the image of a single flame and it gave the impression of flickering. The other object was a nondescript black and silver box that was strapped to his left forearm. On one side was an indentation that was shaped like the top of the gem.

_These are your Zeonizers. They will allow you to access your Ultra Zeo Powers._

Ultra Zeo Powers…that name had a good ring to it. Shaking his head at the unintentionally terrible pun he looked around the area. Most of the shoppers had evacuated and the ones that hadn't…weren't going to be moving anymore. His gaze darkened as he looked at the metallic creature and his hands balled into tight fists. In a single motion, he thrust both fists out in front of him before drawing in his left arm to his chest. The words seemed to spill from his lips automatically.

"Basilisk Zeo Power!"

With a shockwave that blew away the remaining smoke and dust clouds, he morphed into his Ultra Zeo armour. His suit was solid orange with the same circuitry patterns around the neck that the Zeo Rangers had. Strangely, the circuitry patterns ringed his red streaked gloves and at the top of his clawlike boots. As the HUD on his helmet flickered to life, he felt his Battle Armour materialise over his Zeo Suit. An external image showed his helmet design was adorned with the outline of a single flame which seemed to have the same flickering effect like the image on the ring. Smirking to himself, he stood in a ready stance.

Time to see what his Zeo Powers could do.

TBC…


	102. Chapter One Hundred One: Power Firestorm

Chapter One Hundred One: Power Firestorm

Sparks flew everywhere as the two combatants fought hard.

Now that his Ultra Zeo Powers had been activated, Weihan was able to reach the outside world. The news he received was shocking but not that surprising. Xonix had sent down waves upon waves of Golems and Fiends to Sydney and the mindless grunts were tearing up the CBD. The rest of the Ultra Rangers were doing their best to stem the tide but Alex, Heather and Rachelle had been forced to call on their Zords to deal with the onslaught. Angel Grove wasn't doing too well either; an old friend of Zordon's had arrived on Earth and had drawn the Rangers into conflict with some space pirate. The space pirate had launched a brazen attack to kidnap Jason and Kim and was currently en route to some place with a whacked out name that was in the Nemesis Triangle…wherever that was. An audibly drugged up Rocky was taking him step-by-step through the events of the past few hours.

"Yeah and I hurt my back and can't go to help them. All is not lost! I have sent a replacement in my stead but as Billy is currently swimming with the fishes; I couldn't bring him along!"

Stifling a chuckle under his breath, Weihan ducked under a punch from the metallic beast. So far, the battle had moved from the central area to one of the wings. They had battled past the wounded, the dying and…the dead. Weihan had directed emergency paramedics to the most critical cases and had implored that they run for their lives. Breaking out of the robot's grip, the Orange Zeo Ranger delivered a crushing roundhouse kick to the monster that knocked it into the open doors of Isetan. It crashed against a clothing rack of women's blouses, sending the rack and monster clattering to the ground. Amidst the noise, he could still hear Rocky talking over the secure line.

"I picked a kid in my place. A smart guy but still a kid; but he's a good guy. He knows not to spill any secrets but Zordon blew our cover. He was real cool about it though and said my Zeo Powers would help with the healing process. Too bad I won't be healed enough to help against that monster…Cyb-Org I think Zordon said its name was. What a strange name…is fitting but strange."

Twisting his left arm, Weihan summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and tried to keep up with Rocky's ramblings. So Rocky had hurt his back and Zordon had inadvertently revealed that he was a Power Ranger to some kid genius who was taking Rocky's place in a Ranger team? It sounded like something out of some poorly thought-out kid's show story arc. Twirling the blade, he slashed the monster a few times; noting with delight as the strength of the attacks wasn't diminished in any way by the Ultra Zeo Powers. In fact, the only change he could see of the Sabre itself was the symbol had changed to a flickering flame. Rolling back after a blow from the metallic creature caught him in the stomach, he absentmindedly wondered where the whole Basilisk motif was.

Jumping at Cyb-Org, he kicked the monster again and it staggered back to the lingerie section. Weihan groaned under his breath as his hormones began running rampantly through his system. Fighting a monster while hearing Rocky act like he was drunk was one thing…but it was entirely another to do the same while thinking of those days with AJ in her apartment. That was extremely counter-productive and would probably end up with much more damage as he…began flying? He shook his head again and his eyes widened a split second before he smashed through the glass doors that lead to the KLCC Gardens. Rolling on the ground his suit sparked as the glass cut into the topmost layer of armour. Falling off one of the nearby steps, he groggily stood up and held out his Sabre as the civilians around him ran for a better hiding spot.

"But the Zeo powers won't work on this pirate. Billy wired us some plans from Aquitar and the ZARS were reconfigured as instant Zord builders. The Zeo and Super Zeo Zords are in storage but Zordon asked if they could be moved to the Ultra Cavern for safekeeping. He had one of his strange vision/premonition things before he got me to call you. Get this; the Zords aren't based on animals or humanoids any more. They have a car motif and are called the Turbozords! Maybe that's just me but…"

Rocky's voice seemed to grow silent as Cyb-Org came closer. As Weihan held up his Raptor Sabre to attack again; a strange voice echoed through his mind. It wasn't the calm voice of his Power Guide but sounded like his own. If it was another power overflow from the past; he didn't know but whatever it was, it would be most welcome.

_**What happened? I feel the same. It didn't work?**_

_It worked, young Ranger. That was just the Morphin Power Link._

_**Well…ah yeah. That'd be about right. Is there any way I can…**_

_What is the matter? Remember, no one should know too much about their future._

_**Heh. Fat chance of that happening now but anyway. Zeo Powers need to be charged.**_

_Please stand by…and brace yourself._

As with the battle with Trijor, Weihan felt a colossal surge of energy flow through him. Sheathing his Sabre, he summoned his Raptor Cannon just as the flame on his helmet exploded into a ball of fire. A cape of shimmering energy unfurled from behind his shoulder blades and swirled around him as an unnaturally strong wind whipped around him. The gale whistled eerily through the ears of everyone present and even seemed to bat away a stream of magic that shot down from the sky. The magic beam – now devoid of its original target – slammed into a dead leaf and caused it to grow to immense sizes. Now a giant, the leaf was picked up by the breeze and tumbled lazily into the air.

Cyb-Org raised its arms and launched off a mighty barrage of rockets and missiles – all of them aimed at the city. With lightning fast reflexes augmented by the surge of Power, Weihan blasted all of them down and activated his 'speeding up' power. Jumping at Cyb-Org, he rapidly kicked it away from the Towers to the middle of the fountains. Relaxing his body and mind, he was aware of the same compass-V symbol forming behind him yet again and smirked. As with before, the words that came out of his mouth seemed…right.

**"Supernova Shoot!"**

As his perception of time returned to normal, he squeezed the trigger of his Raptor Cannon and sent out a blazingly intense stream of pure Zeo Energy at the monster. Cyb-Org, who was a collaboration between Xonix and the Machine Empire and had been designed to shrug off the most devastating of Zeo Energy attacks, never stood a chance. The power shot through him and utterly decimated his reactor and the remains of the Org spirit within. As it crumpled to the watery floor, it let out one sorrowful wait before vanishing in an earth-shaking explosion that set off car alarms as far off as the Train Station.

Weihan's legs gave out and he slumped to the ground as the adrenaline surge petered out. Xonix had attacked Sydney and Malaysia on the same day. The evil overlord had demonstrated that his reach wasn't limited to Sydney and that he could strike anywhere he wanted. Looking up at the smoky sky, Weihan vowed to pay the reptile back for his misdeeds.

And he would begin tomorrow.

TBC…


	103. Chapter One Hundred Two: Gathering

Chapter One Hundred Two: Gathering

"Are you sure this is a wise idea?"

Weihan nodded once at Rachelle and hunched over the satellite images he had procured of Xonix's Moon Fortress. It was a fortress in every sense of the word: towering turrets reached into the air and deep moats and pits were scattered near the front walls. Flicking a button next to him, the image was overlaid with specific locations of where the offensive weaponry was inferred to be. Zordon had contacted Billy on Aquitar and brought the Blue Ranger up to speed on the most recent developments.

It had been a shock to all when the Blue Ranger had sent through initial plans for Xonix's Moon Fortress the Alien Rangers had stolen from a fleeing Mordant. Supposedly the plans had been intercepted by Lord Zedd who was curious about what his brother was constructing on the Moon and had since surveyed the area using his own forces. The information on the weapons was both fascinating and utterly terrifying. Gatling lasters that could shred tanks within microseconds were paired with rockets powered by a fusion core that would relentlessly seek out a target no matter where it was in the universe. Massive particle cannons faced in all directions and could spray out a concentrated beam of destruction that would literally melt the armour off their Zords. They would have to either be very careful on approach or rain down on Xonix like a ton of bricks.

Tommy had volunteered the help of the Turbo Rangers; fresh from their victory over Maligore. Weihan, Eliza and Paris had created magical duplicates of them and had told Jason, Kim and Rocky their plan. The three Rangers had offered to help but Weihan had declined; citing that they were needed on Earth in case Rita, Zedd or the space pirate Divatox decided to attack. Also, Kim needed to go back to her training as the Pan Global Games were just on the horizon. Reluctantly, they had complied with his wishes but were keeping an ear open for the chime of their communicators. He flicked his eyes over to the Zord bays, where the new Blue Ranger was working on strengthening the armour of the Turbozords with Will.

"Weihan, are we going for the direct attack or is there a stealth option?"

Eyes skimming the defensive placements one more time, he absentmindedly shook his head. Even if a stealthy option was utilised, Xonix would have to be blind to not see the armada of Zords that would be converging on his position. A grand total of twenty seven Zords would be utilised in the attack: eleven Dinozords for strength, eleven Ninjazords for speed and the five Turbozords for diversionary attacks. The Zords would hit in one wave first and then break off to engage the separate defensive emplacements. Running over the attack plan again, he hastily scribbled out notes on a small pad of paper and replied to Tommy.

"No stealth option here. We're going to hit him hard and fast."

The 'core five' Dinozords and Ninjazords would form their respective Megazords and attempt to disable the main particle cannons. If needed, Sarah P would send over the Dragonzord and Gyrfalconzord for added firepower. If it was really needed, he would have Rachelle tap into her Ultra Crystal to summon Titanus; even though only one Ultrazord could be formed at once. She had discovered her ability to summon the Carrierzord the day before during the battle in Sydney and it was her backup Dinozord in case the Ankylosaurus was ever knocked out of commission. Eliza and he would put their Zords onto remote and infiltrate Xonix's Fortress with specially designed Ultra Energy Trackers that had been constructed overnight by Justin and Ninjor. Once they had the Ultra Crystal, they would make their way back to their Zords and see how much damage they could do to the Fortress.

After they were safely back on terra firma, the Crystal would go to its chosen bearer and they would be at full strength and would be taking the fight to Xonix…again. Or they would rest a while and help the Turbo Rangers with the monsters Divatox sent down. Nodding to himself once, he pushed himself away from the maps and surveyed the Ultra Cavern. Kat was helping Heather with her bow's aim while Tanya was weapon sparring lightly against Aimee. Will gave him a thumbs up which meant the Turbozords' armour had been reinforced and strengthened. Nodding back to the White Ranger, he spoke to the gathered Rangers; his voice filling the vast Ultra Cavern.

"Rangers, in a few minutes, we will undertake a dangerous mission to storm Xonix's Moon Fortress to retrieve what is rightfully ours: an Ultra Crystal that has somehow fallen into his grasp. There is no guarantee that we will survive the next few hours and if we do, there is no telling what will happen after that. Any of Divatox's attacks will be repelled by our backup Rangers: Jason, Rocky and Kimberley. All three have access to their powers and their Zords if things get too hairy.

There's no telling what awaits us on the Moon, but that is why you all were briefed with the plan. We hit hard and strong and never let up for one second. The moment we weaken our offensive attack for just that one second is a moment that Xonix will capitalise on. Myself and Eliza will be infiltrating Xonix's Fortress and searching for the Ultra Crystal. Core five – Alex, Heather, Linda, Aimee and Paris – will be forming the Dino and Ninja Megazords to take out the particle cannons. Will, Sarah P and Rachelle will be attacking from the left to disable the Gatling lasers and fusion rockets. Sarah J and the remotely controlled Zords will attack from the right to take out the sonic emitters and moat control. Turbo Rangers will be running guerrilla attacks against whatever they can find. Are you ready?"

A resounding cry lightened the burden on his shoulders and the Orange Ranger smiled.

"Then let's show Xonix how strong us Rangers are!"

TBC…


	104. Chapter One Hundred Three: Onslaught

AN: Next chapter will see the arrival of two unexpected Rangers from Equestria…

Chapter One Hundred Three: Onslaught

He didn't like this; not one bit.

Xonix reviewed the footage from Cyb-Org's fight and couldn't suppress the growl that threatened to break loose. The amount of energy that had been in the so-called Supernova Shoot had been off the charts and had caused his scanners to temporarily shut down. In fact, it was comparable to the attack that had decimated Trijor a few months ago: the Neptune Strike. The obvious fact of the Orange Ranger not being able to pull the attack off twice in a row didn't fill him with any ease; instead it filled him with worry. The Orange Ultra Crystal had much more power than he had originally anticipated…even if the energy was filled with Chronoton particles.

Dismissing the screen, he pulled out the Ultra Crystal and gazed at it. He wondered how something so small could be used for so much destruction but shrugged. Studying human history had taught him that humans could and would use anything they could for the most amount of destruction. Even the simplistic act of splitting the atom wasn't used for anything except death and devastation. If the humans pushed just that bit further, they would have seen that the energy of a splitting atom could be used for offensive laser technology. Well, when he ruled Earth, he would teach the ignorant masses a thing or two about that.

He was brought out of his musings by a violent rumbling beneath his feet. Looking around him, he stretched out his senses to try and find the disturbance…and stopped dead. It couldn't be possible. Zordon would never allow such a valuable group to leave…but somehow the Morphin Master had. Staggering to the balcony, his eyes widened in a mixture of shock and astonishment as his brother stumbled into the room behind him.

"By the moons above…"

Xonix felt his jaw drop open as the twenty seven assorted Zords fired their weapons at his palace. Lasers, rockets and missiles impacted against the atmosphere shield of the Fortress; causing those inside to shake violently and lose their footing. His mind – for once – went blank as he saw ten Zords break off and combine into two Megazord configurations that marched steadily towards the forward particle cannon emplacements. Returning to his senses, he called up a map of the perimeter defences and let out an undignified squeak of shock as black marks turned white; indicating their destruction.

"Return fire! Destroy those Zords!"

The void outside the atmospheric shield lit up as laser blasts and particle beams fired into the crown of remaining Zords. One of the fusion rocket launchers was hit by a flailing tail club and finished off by a shot from one of the car-like robots. A sound like thunder exploded out as one of the main particle cannons was destroyed by an energised Sword strike from the Dino Megazord. Even the hidden moat controls were destroyed before one could be filled with destructive mines. Summoning his sword to him, he pointed it at the group of Zords and fired off an energy blast that slammed into the green crested Dinozord and the Purple Siberian Tigerzord. Both Zords were knocked off their feet and while the Green Dinozord leapt back up, the Purple Zord didn't move.

"Intruders! Goldar, Rito, destroy them!"

Ah, so that was their plan. Xonix felt a wave of calm wash over him as he dropped the Ultra Crystal on his throne and walked up to a frantic Zedd. He mentally called to Jabarkas, Twinlobe and Yit to stealthily retreat back to his flagship in the bowels of the Fortress with whatever equipment they could carry. The Rangers would probably destroy the Fortress but would not touch the foundations. Buildings could be rebuilt and defences strengthened. In the long run, the Ultra Crystal would have probably garnered him more unwanted attention from Zedd and Dark Spectre. Even the washout pirate Divatox had been snooping around his transmissions…and she had only arrived a day or so ago.

"Brother. You should leave. Recall your forces and retreat back to your Moon Palace. They will win eventually, you know that."

Zedd furrowed his brow in indignation but relaxed and nodded. Ever since moving into the Moon Fortress, he had been waiting for the inevitable attack to happen and had thought up many strategies for defeating the Power Rangers. Now that it was happening; Zedd found himself oddly lacking foresight and strategic ability. Sending out a telepathic command to retreat, he looked out of the balcony opening one last time at the attacking Zords and chuckled as his brother left. The continued onslaught had now destroyed roughly three quarters of the outlying defences and judging on what he could hear from the levels below; the Rangers were well on their way up.

He would retreat…for now.

TBC…


	105. Chapter One Hundred Four: Vortex

AN: Here's the start of the crossover between The Ultra Crystals and The Rangers Of Equestria! Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Four: Vortex

He was ready for anything as he turned the final corner.

Twenty minutes of fierce fighting had suddenly yielded to empty halls and unmanned stations. Glancing at the Ranger next to him, they readied their weapons and jumped into what should have been Xonix's throne room…only to find that it was deserted. Narrowing his eyes, Weihan looked around and cautiously walked forward. Through the opening that led to the balcony, the Orange Ranger could still see the attack progressing nicely. The Utahraptor and Carnotaurus Dinozords were doing an admirable job of drawing the fire from what automated defences remained so the Crocodile, Siberian Tiger and Leatherback Turtle Ninjazords could destroy them. Hanging back behind the attacking Zords was Sarah J's Dilophosaurus Dinozord; the emergency capsule of ZARS nanobots repairing a large scorch mark on its left side after a run-in with a wayward fusion rocket.

On the other side of his vision, he could see and feel the explosions coming from the attacks of the Allosaurus, Ankylosaurus and Green Dragon Zords. They had long since destroyed their set targets and had split off into two groups to help the Megazords with destroying the last few particle cannons. From the random flashes of colour, light and wheels he could see passing in and out of what he assumed was the atmospheric shield, he assumed that the Turbo Ranger were doing their hit-and-run attacks on whatever they could find. As Xonix, Jabarkas and whoever else had occupied the Fortress was now gone; he didn't think they were doing too much damage.

"Weihan, here it is."

Turning away from the one-sided battle, he walked over to where Eliza was and looked at the object she held in her gloved hands. As with the other Ultra Crystals, apart from his, it had an obelisk-like appearance but pulsed with a rich brown light. Staring into its polished surface, he could see the its chosen bearer and was pleased to see that it reflected his own choice. Nodding to Eliza, he lifted up his left wrist and spoke into the communicator there.

"All right, we've gotten what we came for. The Fortress is deserted and everyone's buggered off. We'll teleport back to the Cavern."

Hearing the affirmations from the Rangers, he watched as the Zords vanished in streaks of multicoloured lights. He would probably have to call AJ to inform her of what had happened as he was sure NASADA had picked up the explosions on the Moon. Nodding once more to Eliza, he pressed the teleporter on his belt and his world dissolved into streaks of light. As his vision cleared, he saw Eliza placing the last Ultra Crystal on the Main Console and he flipped his visor up; staying in morph as he would probably have to give another press conference to explain the explosions on the Moon. Actually, maybe he would record a message to send to the networks instead of holding another press conference. He was sure the Council of Sydney didn't need another monster attacking so soon after the horde of grunts.

Suddenly, a tingling sensation washed over him and he looked around to ensure he wasn't anywhere near the Simul-Deck. He still had to get used to the strange crawling sensation the memory download caused…but this was more of a light electric shock instead of the freaky bug-like sensation. Strangely everyone else seemed unaffected…except Eliza who was also looking around herself. Thinking quickly, he walked over to Alex and nodded at him. His friend looked over at his quizzically before reluctantly leaving the enchanting conversation he was having with Tanya…much to Adam's relief.

"What's up?"

Weihan rubbed a hand over his helmet and looked around the Ultra Cavern. Nodding at his Dinozord, he concentrated his energy on it and, just as his internal guide had told him, the massive machine disappeared in a muted flash of light. Seeing another muted flash next to his now-empty Dinozord bay, he turned to see Eliza's Carnotaurus Zord vanish as well. The Zords had gone into a 'subspace pocket' within the Ultra Crystal where repairs, refuelling and re-arming would happen within minutes…but would put a slight drain on his own Powers. As the other Dinozords were still in their respective bays, it seemed that Eliza was the only other Ranger affected by…whatever it was.

"I need to tell you the chosen bearer for the Brown Crystal. I have some strange feeling something is about to happen and you're next in charge after me and Eliza."

The Black/Green Ranger nodded as he tried to process what his friend was saying. He was third in charge of the Rangers; a thought that both excited and terrified him. He would defer to the girls for major decisions and would be firm in overseeing the safety and security of the Ultra Rangers. He noticed that Weihan and Eliza had transferred their Dinozords to their Ultra Crystals and that intrigued him; but he shrugged it off.

"You can count on me. Who's the choice?"

"Sam Perry's girlfriend – Rebecca Riley-Ward. She's a perfect match of the Brown Ultra Crystal."

Alex thought about it before nodding once. It had been a massive surprise to all when the two of them had paired up; especially since one of the football players, Steven Gilles who was a friend of Dragan, had been seen in a few intimate positions with her. He guessed she had seen Sam as a pillar of stability or something like that. He felt a pang of sorrow as Weihan would be asking another 'taken' girl to be part of the Ultra Rangers…then again; Eliza and Ashley weren't showing any signs of strain or pressure. She probably hadn't told him about her 'day job' even though there were no rules against it. Nodding again, he saw the Orange Ranger smile before his friend turned to walk near Eliza.

A crackling sound filled the air; causing everyone to look up. The Rangers reached for their weapons as Weihan snapped his visor down and prepared himself for…something. Switching on his external radar, he could see some sort of distortion forming directly above him and Eliza. Scanning it, his stomach dropped as it returned a description of a multiversal portal. Portals like this could drop a person off anywhere in the infinite number of alternate dimensions that were constantly appearing. Something as simple as turning left instead of right could split off an alternate dimension…as could something major such as the creation of the Ultra Crystals. He was in the middle of thinking of something to say when he felt a violent jerking sensation that snapped his feet up to his chin.

In an instant, a multitude of colours and images flashed before his eyes and he was dimly aware of Eliza next to him. The journey through what he assumed was the multiversal vortex lasted about a minute but during that time, Weihan saw various dimensional images that all revolved around himself. He saw himself holding off a horde of Alien-like creatures in a darkened street, battling some computer controlled beasts in a room of sorts and even saw himself sitting in front of a computer typing out some sort of story…which chronicled his adventures so far. It was strange to see himself in an environment that didn't involve destroying monsters but he guessed that anything was possible.

Bright green grass rushed up at him as his journey through the dimensions ended abruptly. Coughing out the stale air in his lungs, he inhaled deeply and blinked at the sweetness of the air. Rolling on his back, he looked up at a brilliant blue sky that was obscured by thick black smoke coming from oddly Victorian buildings. Hearing Eliza 'land' next to him, he slowly got to his feet and checked himself for injuries. He could feel none but he guessed it was due to the fact he was still in morph. As he shook the cobwebs out of his head, he helped Eliza up and listened hard to the strangely familiar sound of battle wafting over the crackle of fire.

"Weihan, where are we?"

"Not sure. There's a fight going on somewhere ahead. We'll check it out and see what the locals look like. maybe they know how to get us back home."

As she nodded shakily at him, the Orange Ranger used the smoke cover to head closer to the sounds of battle. As he did so, he looked at the sights and shops around him. For such a small town, there was a strange overabundance of blacksmiths that sold horseshoes and saddles. There were even stores that sold hay, apples and alley stalls that sold large blocks of salt. There was another strange peculiarity – all the shops had images of horses on them. It was rather like one of the planets he had read about in the archives that revered horses and all horse-related items. That was reassuring to him; if they were on that planet then there was a very good chance the portal had somehow malfunctioned…

"Friendship Stampede!"

Or maybe not. Rounding a corner, the two Ultra Rangers stared in shock and amazement at what they saw. Six brightly coloured ponies in Ranger armour were charging headfirst into an insectoid monster; trampling it with some sort of combination energy attack. He sighed in aggravation as he realised there was probably very little chance of humanoid life wherever they had ended up. As they saw the last Ranger trample the monster, it exploded in a large puff of smoke.

"Should we help them?"

Weihan shook his head and turned away from the celebrating Rangers. An appearance so soon after the defeat of a monster heralded them as Evil Rangers. He was about to reply when a strange sound lanced through the air; the sound of metal slicing through Ranger armour and the cries of the injured. He glanced back to the battle just in time to see their Red and Blue Rangers vanish into a rapidly closing portal and he clenched his fist in anger. With two Rangers down, there would be no way in Hell that the remaining Rangers could defeat the…whatever it was.

"Follow my lead. We need to distract the monster long enough for their mentor to teleport them away."

Eliza nodded and readied herself. Weihan waited a few seconds for the monster to gloat. He saw the Purple Ranger lift her head up and silently call out the names of her missing team mates as the monster spoke in a strange, chittering voice.

"Ranger, two of your number have vanished. Now what will you do?"

"Simple. Destroy your ugly ass!"

TBC…


	106. Chapter One Hundred Five: EquestriaGirls

AN: And here are the reactions of Applejack and Rainbow Dash! Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Five: Equestria Girls

She was floating in a dark void.

There was darkness all around her but she could barely hear unfamiliar voices taking to her. The last thing she could remember was fighting against Parascythe and feeling the blades slash her flesh and then…nothing. Just some strange sensation of pulling, a tumble and…nothingness. Her brain struggled to process the voices around her but then zeroed in on a very familiar voice.

"Rainbow, please wake up. Come back to me; Ah don't want to be the only one here."

Applejack…that was Applejack calling for her. She struggled against the void and the void fought back with equal intensity. Slowly, she began to overpower the opaqueness around her and struggled to open her eyes. Managing just a crack, she saw a pair of familiar green eyes staring back down; eyes that were brimming with tears. Applejack managed a shaky smile before lunging at her, wrapping her front hooves around her neck and pulling her into a tight hug. Returning the hug as best as she was able, Rainbow Dash struggled to sit up, noticing for the first time her surroundings. Giant metallic beasts lined the walls and strange robotic arms moved about overhead; consoles beeped and whirred and large screens showed bustling city streets that put Manehattan to shame. Voices near Applejack focused her attention and she struggled to gain some height over her captors.

"Let me out of here! Where're the others? Where are we?"

"Rainbow, please! We're the only ponies here!"

Blinking at that statement, Rainbow Dash lowered herself to the ground and looked around. Everyone around her was human, like Billy, but was clothed in Ranger Armour. Applejack trotted over and placed a foreleg over her shoulders; the simple act causing the Pegasus' heartbeat to quicken. Looking into her friend's green eyes, she felt herself calming down and relaxing…only noticing then that the wounds from Parascythe were fully healed. Looking quizzically at the cowpony, she asked the only thing that was on her mind.

"Where are we?"

"You're on Earth. And in another dimension."

Her head turned to see who had spoken and narrowed in on a Ranger in shining Silver armour. The Silver Ranger pressed something on her belt and her costume vanished in a shimmer of sparks; revealing a petite blonde girl with a somewhat impish smile. Dash took a liking to her immediately before allowing the Silver Ranger to continue. Subconsciously, she moved closer to Applejack for strength and stability.

"Two of our Rangers vanished and the two of you tumbled out a few minutes later. You were both extremely injured and violently demorphed. Applejack managed to make a quick introduction before she passed out from the wounds. We managed to heal the both of you as best as we could, but we couldn't replace the blood loss…so you should drink plenty of fluids to speed up the healing."

Rainbow Dash nodded at the explanation and shot a sidelong glance at Applejack. For her part, the blonde cowpony was soaking in all the information that was being said and nodded to allow the Ranger to continue.

"As for where you are in more specific detail; you are in the Ultra Cavern, the home base of the Ultra Rangers. We are a highly specialised branch of Power Rangers that fight against the evils that the regular Power Rangers can't. I am the Silver Ankylosaurus Ultra Ranger and my name is Rachelle Cole."

Rachelle stopped her explanation and looked at the two ponies in front of her. She had glossed over the argument that had been held when after Applejack had passed out. Alex had shouldered the wishes of the Ultra Rangers and heal them before asking them where they came from and what could be done to get them home. Tommy and the Turbo Rangers had argued that they needed to detain them before healing as they could be dangerous enemies. Heather, Aimee, Linda and Will had lifted and moved the injured ponies to the Medical Beds before Tommy could react. Luckily, Zordon had agreed to the notion of the two Rangers being healed as he was sure there would be a wealth of information that could be learned from them. Will had roped Justin into helping him analyse their blood to see if there were any unique dimensional markings they could use to pinpoint their home dimension while Alex was using the scanners to track down the final Bearer.

Looking at the two ponies again, she suppressed a heavy sigh. Weihan and Eliza were more than likely in their home dimension and were probably assisting their team in any way they could. They had their Dinozords if things got rough and, in theory, they could use the unique energy signatures to track them. Billy, Zordon, Ninjor and the two Sarah's were analysing that possibility but the success rate seemed tragically small. She looked at the blonde pony just as she spoke, her voice soft and small.

"So, what do we do now?"

For once, she didn't have an answer for her.

TBC…


	107. Chapter One Hundred Six: Musings

AN: Just a few more pony-related chapters and then it's back to normal Rangers! Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Six: Musings

All things considered, it could have gone better.

Xonix paced the main cockpit and rolled his eyes as more debris bounced off the top of his flagship. For the foreseeable future, they would be sending monsters from the ruins of their Fortress…until Twinlobe and Yit managed to design and construct a stronger Fortress that couldn't be demolished as easily. Well, ruins were such a strong word and it didn't fit with what the Rangers had done. They had left the structure of the Fortress more or less intact while the inside was relatively clean with the possible exception of the Monster Labs and Main Computer Area.

In fact, the only area of the Fortress that had been thoroughly trashed was the external defences. They could be rebuilt but the plans and placement would have to be kept under tight wraps. Still, the damage wasn't anything to be scoffed at. Three out of five particle cannons had been destroyed and the fourth looked like it would explode at any second. All of the Gatling laser emplacements had been shredded as had the anti-air guns. The fusion rocket launchers and their protected factories had been turned into slag and the sonic emitters had somehow been turned into microwave emitters. They could be reconfigured either into weapons or into microwave ovens. Everything else was a complete and utter train wreck, to borrow the human phrase.

A loud rumble made him look up and he shook his head in frustration as the fourth particle cannon finally exploded, sending chunks of moon rock raining down on the flagship. His brother had asked him to stay at the Moon Palace until the new Fortress was complete and he was thinking about taking him up on his offer. He didn't know why, but something inside his gut told him that his brother wouldn't be around for much longer…which was insane. Zedd was the cockroach of the Royal Family; no matter how many assassins were sent after him, he always emerged mostly unscathed.

"Master, news from the front!"

Xonix shook himself out of his musings at Twinlobe's voice and tried to remember which 'front' it referred to. The attack on the Aowei system was one such front, but Jabarkas was en route there to finish up the…negotiations regarding their complete and utter surrender. Another more likely front would be Muitlet as the natives had finally completed their War Robot and that had made giant monsters a less effective target. Shrugging his shoulders, he nodded to let Twinlobe open the communications channel. The face that met him was a rather surprising one – Dark Spectre. The self-titled Monarch of Evil stared at Xonix and spoke in his iconic rumble.

"Xonix, word has it that your Fortress was destroyed and you are fleeing Earth. What is your motive now? The Rangers you were chasing have lost two of their number and you run like a coward!"

Xonix ground his teeth together and opened his mouth to retort when Dark Spectre's words sunk in. Closing his mouth with a click, he stretched out his tendrils of magic to feel for the Rangers. He could feel eleven Rangers; yet two of those Rangers seemed to have slightly weaker Power Sources compared with the other Ultra Rangers. They were still stronger than the Turbo Rangers that had cropped up and, as such, would have to be dealt with in due time. Lightly brushing their Power Signatures, he swallowed in apprehension as a strangely familiar energy washed over him. Turning away from Dark Spectre, he searched his mind to pinpoint the energy.

No…it couldn't possibly be. A multiversal energy source that he was very familiar with…as he had temporarily been entranced by the creature that had been imprisoned by their magic many years ago.

_Flashback_

_Xonix growled and flicked his tail in annoyance at the messenger pony in front of him. He had to be in this form until he found out a way to escape the dimension he had been flung into by one of Rita's wayward spells. He had been in the M-51 Galaxy at the final request of Master Vile before the purification had taken place. For a warrior prince to baby-sit a spoiled brat like Rita was beneath him…yet it was a request from a family friend. A reflected dimensional spell later and he had found himself here in the world of Equestria…wherever that was. He had stealthily seen the inhabitants and had changed himself into a pitch black unicorn with a yellow and white streaked mane and tail. An image of a shrouded moon had appeared near his butt…something that puzzled him immensely._

_The name Night Shade had been given to him by one of the many guard-ponies of the ruling Monarch: Princess Celestia. With a name that exuded evil, he had been shunned from everypony around him…except one. He was a curiously bipedal winged unicorn, an alicorn as they were called, and his name hinted at a sinister future: Discord. To Xonix, his plan to overthrow Celestia was extremely shaky and full of holes; which made it all the more surprising when it had actually succeeded._

_For the past three months, Discord had been unleashing his unique chaos magic on those around him. Celestia had fled into the Everfree Forest to one of her outposts and was no concern to Discord. Xonix knew it was a bad idea to allow her freedom but the alicorn would hear nothing of it; taking the mentality of 'out of sight, out of mind' a bit too far. Still, it didn't concern Xonix that much either as he was the head of the Eyes of Discord and one of his most trusted advisors…second only to Shining Light who was hiding something. Delving into Canterlot's vast archives and magic vials, the displaced warrior had come across a mention of the Elements of Harmony: six magic crystals that held the most powerful magic in all of Equestria. There were even small vials that contained samples of siphoned magic…as he had found out when he had accidentally shattered the vials of Honesty and Loyalty magic._

_He groaned out loud as he read the message one more time. After three months of full access to the Canterlot archives, Discord was packing up his operation and moving to the barren wasteland of Deinos Terra Firma; home of the Zebras. Snorting in disgust, he reached up to adjust the Circlet of Discord around his head; changing his front hooves back into fingers and claws. Deinos Terra Firma was an accident waiting to happen…he just knew it_

_End Flashback_

As it turned out, he was correct in his assumptions. Shining Light had gone missing during the move and had shown up less than three months later leading an army with Celestia. He had been promoted to Discord's bodyguard and had been in the chamber when Celestia had unleashed the full power of the Elements of Harmony at Discord. The magic had reacted with his own and had flung him back to Master Vile's dwelling within seconds of his original departure. Rita had reacted in amazement that her dimensional spell had seemingly turned him into a unicorn but she had the incident wiped from her memory with a simple mind spell. Of course, Rito had seen him in his unicorn state, but the poor child was already transformed into a skeletal state with a completely free (and insane) mind.

"I know that energy…I will deal with them in due time."

Turning off the communication screen before Dark Spectre could react, he growled under his breath as his old black unicorn horn appeared on his reptilian head. Ignoring the looks of Twinlobe and Yit, he began plotting out an attack that would surpass the Conquest of Canterlot...

And even surpass Celestia's invasion…

TBC…


	108. Chapter One Hundred Seven: Outsider

AN: Heh…let's hope this chapter isn't the one that gets my friends pissed at me. Much doubtful though. Anyway, Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Seven: Outsider

"Are you insane or something?"

Alex sighed and shook his head at the couple in front of him. Seeing as Rachelle and Paris were taking care of the two ponies in the Ultra Cavern, he had enlisted Heather and Aimee's help to bring in Rebecca as the Brown Ultra Ranger. Finding her walking along the sand of a secluded beach, they had teleported down unmorphed in front of Rebecca. They had explained the situation to her; once she recovered from the shock of seeing three people materialise out of thin air. She had seemed interested in taking up the mantle and had a ton of questions to ask. The good thing was she realised that talking in an exposed area wasn't the best thing for secrecy's sake and managed to hem in her curiosity. Alex was pleased to know that even on a secluded beach; the future Ranger was wary of potential onlookers.

And then Sam Perry had arrived.

He had been in a rather good mood and had expressed light shock upon seeing three people from school on what he thought was a secluded area. His jovial mood had vanished slowly as Rebecca had explained to him that she was needed elsewhere and she would be leaving with Alex and the two girls. It had evaporated in an instant when he realised his girlfriend would be leaving with Alex Burns – the self-styled 'Romeo' of the school. Even repeated assurances that Alex wasn't trying to steal Rebecca were of no effect. He had flown into a rage right then and there and had tried to punch the Black/Green Ranger…which would have worked if he hadn't expected it. A swift motion later and the taller boy was on his back on the grass. Alex had helped him up and, seeing no alternative, had explained why she was needed.

"You mean to tell me that my girlfriend is needed to be part of a team of Power Rangers? What sort of drugs are you on that can get you this stoned to say such ridiculous things?"

Needless to say, he wasn't taking it well.

Alex sighed in frustration and wished for a monster attack as morphing would probably cement the truth into their minds. At the very least, it would shut Sam up for a few minutes. He knew Xonix wouldn't attack but he wasn't so certain of what other evil villains were circling Earth. Rita and Zedd wouldn't attack as their forces had been inside Xonix's Moon Fortress during the onslaught. An attack from the Machine Empire was still possible but he could morph into his Time Guardian powers to deal with any Cog attack. The only thing he could do, barring an attack, was attempt to explain to Sam that it was all true.

"I'm not on any drugs. I am part of an elite team of Rangers that face off against the evils that the Power Rangers can't. Well, they can face off against him but they lost horribly those times."

Sam Perry blinked disbelievingly at the trio in front of him, noting their appearance for the first time. Their hair and clothing was dishevelled and they had the faint smell of sweat wafting around their bodies. No doubt the Power Ranger thing was just an excuse to initiate Rebecca in some sick orgy. No way was he letting her out of his sight, especially when the people in front of him had such hard eyes. Even if Alex could somehow fight better than him he would save her from the fate of…what was that sound? Turning around, Sam felt his jaw drop open as his mind struggled to process the sights he was seeing.

Out of strange water spurts that appeared from nowhere appeared a small group of metallic fish creatures. They were shaped like ancient piranha and burbled mindlessly. The two girls dropped into fighting stances while Alex summoned his Mammoth Buster; ignoring the surprised shouts from both Sam and Rebecca. Slowly; the trio spread out to encircle the two civilians within a very rough circle. Taking aim with his Buster, Alex fired off an ice shot into the stomach of the grunt closest to him. Impacting with a flash of white, the grunt froze solid and toppled over backwards; shattering into fragments as it hit the ground. Alex grinned lightly but refocused on the grunts charging at them.

Ducking a poorly executed blow, he swept out his right leg to knock the grunts around him off their feet. Flipping over the downed foot soldiers, he kicked one square in the chest and grunted at the pain that raced up his leg. Fighting these things was worse than Cogs as the internal mechanisms of Cogs meant that there would be a dampening effect to the unmorphed blows. Whatever these things were, they were clad in strong armour which made normal unmorphed fighting a bad idea. Trying to use his good leg whenever he could, he looked over to see how Heather and Aimee were doing. The two girls seemed to be working as a team efficiently; although they sported cuts and bruises of their own. Pushing aside a grunt, Alex hobbled over to Sam and Rebecca and withdrew the Brown Crystal. Holding it in front of Rebecca, he released it to let it levitate under its own power. Rebecca's fingers brushed the surface of the Crystal and Alex idly wondered if that was a confirmation method of some sort.

"Rebecca, only you can make the choice. You are the only person out of more than six billion individuals that can use the Crystal to morph into an Ultra Ranger. When you make the choice, do it for yourself…not for what others want you to do."

Alex turned around and punched a grunt hovering behind him with his Mammoth Buster. Firing off several shots of ice, he effectively froze half the attacking troops solid. Warily glancing at Sam, he ground his teeth together and decided to throw caution to the wind. If Sam couldn't accept what would happen next, well, he would deal with it when the time came.

"Heather, Aimee, it's go time!"

As the two girls nodded, he withdrew his own Ultra Crystal from his chest and held in above his head. Seeing two other Crystals being held aloft, Alex threw a quick smile at the two confused civilians behind him and took in a deep breath.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

In an instance, the three Rangers were enveloped in energy spheres. Alex could see his own Power Trio coming towards him and was also dimly aware of six other animals racing to their respective Rangers. One trio ran by his field of vision with streaks of yellow and it consisted of a yellow streaked Smilodon, a white headed griffon and a yellow Polar bear. As it ran by, the bear seemed to convey the simple message of "don't ask" to the Black/Green Ranger. Stifling a chuckle, Alex looked to the other trio of beasts just as the Mammoth entered his body. Heather's group consisted of a pale pink Pteranodon, a flaming Phoenix and a pink-headed Sarus Crane

"Battle Armour, Activate!"

With three explosions of light and sound, the three Rangers completed their morph and drew their weapons. Sending a quick text message to the Ultra Cavern, Alex twirled his Blizzard Axe as the remaining grunts looked at each other nervously. As Heather drew back the energy drawstring on the Terror Bow, the grunts vanished as quickly as they had appeared. Blinking in surprise, Alex shook his head in disbelief before powering down with a ripple of Black/Green light. Exchanging glances with Heather and Aimee, the Ranger turned around to see how Rebecca – and by extension, Sam – was holding up. She was still transfixed with the slow spinning of the Crystal despite the chaos that had surrounded her. If she could hold her cool in battle; that would be a great asset to the Rangers…seeing as how Weihan and Eliza had presumably ended up where the Pony Rangers had come from. On the other hand, Sam was standing still and was gaping at the spot where the mini-battle had taken place. Thinking quickly, he opened up a communication channel to the Ultra Cavern.

"Coming in with Rebecca…and Sam. Any word from Weihan yet?"

The response he received lightened the burden in his heart.

"We're about to open a direct line now."

TBC…


	109. Chapter One Hundred Eight: Adjustments

AN: Takes place directly after Rangers of Equestria Chapter 22. But if you're reading both stories, you'd know that already. Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Eight: Adjustments

As the communication faded into static, Applejack felt herself relax.

Her friends were all right and were coping with their sudden departure. Excuses would have to be made…the way the Orange Ranger had said it made it seem like normal procedure. It probably was for them but if they didn't go back soon, the Princess would have to speak directly with Granny Smith and Big Macintosh about her absence. She didn't know about this world, but revealing the identity was a breach of the rules…even though their Zords looked like mechanical copies of their own bodies. She still wasn't quite sure what that meant or if they would be eventually revealing themselves to the public.

Shrugging off those thoughts, she chuckled as she saw Rainbow Dash loop lazily around the various 'Dinozords' and shook her head as she narrowly avoided slamming headfirst into the far wall. Taking her eyes off the Blue Ranger, she looked to see the new Ranger being checked over and over by someone the pony assumed was her boyfriend. Looking up at the Silver Ranger, she smirked as she saw her shake her head in exasperation at the young boy's antics. She had an idea based on what the Orange Ranger had said that being an Ultra Ranger was more dangerous than being a normal Ranger but couldn't see what it was. Sensing a presence behind her, the Red Ranger turned to see the person known as Tommy looming over her. His voice was directed at her, but had lost most of the rough edge it had earlier.

"Are you all right? It can't be easy being separated from your family and friends; even if you're with a fellow Ranger."

She shook her head and took off her Stetson, placing the wide-brimmed hat onto her back and watched Rainbow do another lazy lap of the Cavern. Her voice was soft, but the amount of raw emotion it held made her rise a few notches in Tommy's eyes.

"Ah know it's hard for me an' Rainbow bein' here. We're in a strange world surrounded by strange critters and we probably can't go outside without causin' a commotion but we're adjustin' all right. Of course, we've only been here for about a half hour. After this…all bets are off Ah'd guess."

Tommy nodded. To be separated from your team by means of distance was one thing, but to be separated by a dimensional barrier was another. Even the two-way communication had been a fluke as Justin had latched onto an idea that Will had proposed; something about using the unique dimensional markings in the ponies' blood to narrow the dimension down. It sounded extremely macabre to the Ultra Rangers and the ponies, but it had been their best option and bore the sweetest fruit…although Tommy had to keep Justin working despite the Piranhatron attack. He nodded as she continued speaking.

"Ah guess it would be harder for those Rangers to be in our dimension than it is for us. Over in Equestria there aren't any humans around 'cept for Billy and he's always holed up in the Zord bay. He can't even go outside…except at night."

Tommy locked eyes with Rachelle, who nodded her head and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. The Silver Ranger had spent the most time with the Equestrian Rangers and, as such, had heard the entire history of their battles. Tommy and the rest of the Turbo Rangers had heard bits and pieces and were unsurprised to learn of an alternate Billy having his hand in their team. It seemed fitting for the Blue Ranger to be helping create and defend another world in an alternate dimension. Sighing, he looked over to where the Brown Ranger was admiring the holographic uniform the Crystal had projected on her; while the Pink, Green and 'Super' Rangers tried to calm her boyfriend down.

"No! This isn't what I want for you! You need to be protected and these…lunatics can't do that!"

Sam Perry was livid. He had been so close to not allowing Rebecca to become a Ranger…only for her to make the decision of her own accord and become a part of the Ultra Rangers. To make matters worse, one of the strangest people in the school – Weihan Liang – was the Orange Ranger and the leader of the Ultra Rangers. All respect and admiration he had felt prior had all but vanished and he found himself extremely worried for Rebecca's safety. However, there was a sense that he could easily manipulate the Rangers at school by blackmailing them with their identities.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop right now."

He blinked as Alex came up to him and stared directly into his eyes. The Black/Green Ranger had seen the idea start to sprout in Sam's mind and had decided to kill it then and there. Nodding at the trio holding Sam back, they let him go; but stayed close by. Weihan had told him that with him and Eliza gone, he was in charge and he could exercise the power in any way he wanted. Of course, he wouldn't betray his friends trust in him; he might be a constant flirt with the girls around him but he would never betray the Rangers for anything. Seeing Sam blink in shock, he continued.

"You betray our trust in placing our identities in your hands and we will ensure that you never say anything again."

Sam blinked again at the ominous warning in the boy's words and swallowed hard. If he did betray their trust, he would also be betraying Rebecca's and that was something he wasn't comfortable in doing at all. Nodding meekly, he turned to look at his girlfriend's armour and noted the sleek lines and sharp edges. The helmet design was something else entirely; a photo-realistic dinosaur head with detail down to the veins in the eyes and the faint chipping on its 'beak'. Swallowing again, he tried to relax and think about all the positive aspects dating a Ranger would mean…but all he could think of were the negative traits.

"Sam, am I correct in assuming you love her?"

Openly gaping at the boy's lack of tact, he nodded. Seeing the nod, Alex narrowed his eyes and looked sternly at Sam yet again.

"Then accept that this is her destiny. For everyone here, including the two ponies, becoming a Ranger was always our destiny. It is the destiny of the Ultra Rangers that one day; we will destroy Xonix and return to our normal lives."

He knew that what was being said was the truth and yet…couldn't accept it. Feeling an immense weight of worry and concern settle on his shoulders, he wondered if this was the burden that was carried by those in on the secret. Taking in a few deep breaths, he felt his worry over her safety slowly lessen, only to be replaced by another more pressing concern – his own safety. He had heard about the reports of Power Rangers Day in Angel Grove when the entire town had been kidnapped to ransom for the Power Rangers and, after that, of the fiasco of Angel Grove High's Parents Day. He had thought it odd that the parents of the students had been kidnapped to draw out the Power Rangers but had dismissed it as a quirk of Rita Repulsa's. Now, he knew better.

Retreating from the intense gaze of Alex, he leant against one of the far walls and watched the large group in front of him. Five of them vanished in coloured streaks of light while the others milled about, sparred or checked on the massive Zords that lined the walls. Rebecca, noticing his wallflower state, dismissed the holographic armour and slid her Ultra Crystal into her chest; hardly flinching as the Power surged through her body. Walking to her boyfriend, she slid an arm around his waist and leant in close to him. Her voice was low but conveyed her determination.

"I know you didn't want this for me, but I've made my choice. Helping people, defending the world…this is what I was meant to do. I told you before that I was searching for somewhere to belong. I belong here."

Sam nodded slowly. She had made her choice and it was the least he could do to understand her situation. Kissing her cheek lightly, he whispered into her ear.

"I'll always be there for you. I accept you."

TBC…


	110. Chapter One Hundred Nine: Tsunami

AN: Slight crossover communication, AJ meets AJ and a great battle begins! Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Nine: Tsunami

Xonix was planning something big.

Even Applejack could sense it. In the two weeks since her arrival, there had been literally no attacks. She and Rainbow Dash had been using this time to hone their strategies on the Simul-Deck; fighting against the monsters that had been downloaded into its holographic memory…including monsters she had seen in Equestria. Her Buckin' Cannons had even been tweaked by the White Ultra Ranger for a more explosive output. From the data collected from the system, they were perfect for destroying a Z-Centaur outright without having to strike its head. Rainbow Dash also had some weapon upgrades done to her Lightning Cannon. Now it could fire much faster than it had originally been designed to and could store up energy for a charged shot. Amusingly, in upgrading their flank cannons, they had tapped into their Element Control ability. Now, their weapons could be charged with elemental powers. The Rangers had been testing them outside the Ultra Cavern at night and the effects had been utterly devastating to the surrounding areas.

From what Tommy had been telling Alex, the situation in Angel Grove had turned strange. Their long-time mentor Zordon had been granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leave the time warp he had apparently been encased in. The downside was that for him to do that, he needed to be transported back to his home planet of Eltare. He had accepted the invitation and had left with his assistant in tow. The Turbo Rangers were now being mentored by Dimitria and her Alpha unit. The two Equestrian Rangers had little conversations with the Inquiran but they had always ended up in confusion due to her constant questions.

The situation with the newest Ranger was all right as well. Rebecca had been in combat training with Aimee and both Sarah's. Her boyfriend had been present in all sessions and had lightened up considerably in his attitudes to the Rangers. The talking ponies still creeped him out a bit but Rainbow Dash was beginning to grow on him. Her personal weapon was a large launcher-type weapon called the Spike Cannon. Herself and Rainbow Dash had laughed themselves sick over the name but decided it was for the best if Spike wasn't informed.

From the communications the Ultra Rangers had exchanged across the dimensional barrier, she knew the situation in Equestria. Zedd was still laying low after Parascythe's destruction but his non-activity had all the Rangers on edge. Amusingly, the Ultra Rangers had also managed to destroy the walls of the Training Room twice with their highly energetic sparring; of course, Billy had been unamused but had been calmed somewhat when he was given a gift of a small capsule of…something called ZARS. While he had been analysing that for reproduction, Weihan had been allowed access into their Zords and was tweaking a few systems to ensure their power flowed better…or something like that. He had also hinted about a few other surprises but had been extremely tight-lipped about them but had assured Applejack and Rainbow Dash that their Zords would get the same upgrades the next time they were called upon.

Two streaks of light entered the Ultra Cavern, causing both ponies and Will to lift up their heads in surprise. The streaks coalesced to reveal Rachelle standing with another woman that was unfamiliar to the ponies. She was dressed in a white shirt that was tied just above her stomach and black pants. Her long blonde hair was tied up into a ponytail and she openly gaped at the sights around her. Will snorted and called over to the newcomer.

"Welcome to the Ultra Cavern, Miss Apple. Sorry but Weihan's not exactly in this dimension at the moment."

Jacqui "AJ" Apple nodded absently as she turned slowly around to take in the incredible sights. She had been in Town Hall Square covering a random report on a drive-by shooting when she had bumped into Weihan's magical duplicate that was back from his Malaysian trip. She was extremely amazed by the way his mannerisms and speech patterns were copied but the duplicate had let slip that his original wasn't on the same dimensional plane anymore. Sensing his mistake, the duplicate had uneasily explained everything he had heard about since his creation. As a reporter, AJ knew about the explosions on the Moon and had expected someone from the Rangers to eventually fill her in.

Luckily, any further explanation on the duplicate's part was cut by the appearance of Rachelle who was there to give him a much needed magic infusion. The Silver Ranger had taken up the narrative once they were in a secluded place and informed her of the presence of two Rangers from another dimension; the same dimension her boyfriend had been pulled into. The thought of talking to Rangers from another dimension was exciting enough but when the Silver Ranger had mentioned they were talking ponies…well, she had to see it to believe it.

"Ah can't believe it…and you do everything from here?"

Rachelle nodded and crossed over to the Communications console. Since the initial communication channel had been established, Will and Justin had been working tirelessly to keep the channel open at all times. Communicating with a specific dimension was incredibly tricky but anchoring a signal to Weihan's communicator had allowed them to open channels of communication quickly and without the static that had plagued the first call. Pressing a button for the signal to be sent out, she waited. Cross-dimensional communication was extremely slow to connect but, as Weihan never really took off his communicator, they would be hearing his voice soon.

"Who are you and why do you have Applejack's voice?"

She turned her head to see Rainbow Dash hovering in front of a surprised AJ. The reporter's eyes were wide as she struggled to process the small Pegasus in front of her. Tentatively extending a hand, she jumped back in surprise as her trembling hand came into contact with the pony's silky rainbow mane.

"Whoa Nelly, we're real all right. But it is interestin' how you sound exactly like me. Ah can't work it out but it is a mite strange."

Will groaned under his breath as he realised the situation had become a tad stranger for the blonde reporter. Now, she was looking quickly at Applejack and Rainbow Dash like spectators at an intense tennis match. In hindsight, it would be hilarious to him; but in the present moment all he could do was roll his eyes and keep working on minor tweaks to his Zord. He had a strange feeling that they would need to be busted out soon and wanted to be prepared.

"Ah guess maybe…you're mah dimensional counterpart? Somethin' that Rachelle explained tah me earlier. Ah think Ah might have to stick around for a mite longer and talk with you."

Any further reply was cut off by the familiar crackle of white noise that accompanied a cross-dimensional transmission. A faint alarm could be heard in the background and Weihan's voice seemed…slightly off.

"Guys, can't talk! Zedd just went all out on Ponyville and all of us are about to teleport down and head him off!"

Rachelle exchanged worried looks with Applejack as Rainbow Dash raced to the Communications console. She could hear shouts in the background and turned pale as the words filtered into her brain. Two monsters, a large group of Centaurs, Discord, Gilda and…she shook her head. That couldn't have been correct. It was probably a similar sounding word or something. She turned to see Applejack and AJ come up behind her in eerie unison and fought back an eye roll. AJ narrowed her eyes as her ears picked up on the same phrase that kept being repeated in the background. When she said it out loud, the Loyalty Ranger knew she had heard correctly the first time.

"Lord Zedd appearance? How could Zedd be over…oh, alternate dimension. Oops."

Weihan let out a sound that was a cross between a groan and a sound of amusement. After an exasperated sigh, he spoke in a strained voice.

"Nice to hear your voice, AJ. Hope you're not too freaked out by what you see and from what I've heard about her, Applejack is your dimensional counterpart."

AJ smiled and opened her mouth to respond when the alarms blared to life. She jumped back as Rachelle ran to the Scanning station and madly typed in a few commands. Screens slid up from various consoles and flickered to life. The images that could be seen struck dread into their hearts. Xonix had apparently teamed up with his brother yet again for an all out attack in the middle of Homebush Bay. Two monsters could be seen – one was a bipedal insectoid creature similar to Parascythe while the other was…

"Oh God, is that an Iguanodon? Bec's going to be pissed."

A monstrous Iguanodon creature was in front of a massive horde of Tengas, Golems and Fiends. Goldar and Rito were at the head of one group and Will could easily see Jabarkas' form next to the insectoid monster. However, that wasn't the terrifying part. In the heart of the crowd was a strange creature. It looked similar to a bipedal crocodile but any similarity began and ended there. Its face was more saurian than reptilian and there were spaces on the back of its bulky armour for small wings to pop out. A ridge of spines extended from the middle of its neck and continued down, under the armour to its long tail. As it smiled, rows of needle sharp teeth flashed in the sun's light. It opened its mouth to talk to those watching and its voice was rough and hissing.

"Rangers, come out and face me! Show me the strength of the Ultra Rangers!"

Weihan sucked in a sharp breath and swore loudly. When he next spoke, his voice was hard as steel.

"Xonix. All of you need to be very careful with him. He's extremely dangerous. I have to go now and may the Power protect you all."

The communication channel cut off and Rachelle slammed her palm on the mass alert button. As Will fielded the calls coming in, she looked at the horde of creatures and her first look at Xonix. The rest of the Ultra Rangers teleported in; as did the Turbo Rangers, Rocky and Kim. Tommy turned to Will and spoke to the young boy.

"Dimitria informed us that you might need the help. Divatox is pretty quiet so we're here to lend a hand. Kim is on break from her training and Rocky…"

"Rocky wants something to do so he doesn't go stir crazy"

Stifling a chuckle at the Blue Zeo Ranger's response, Will turned to Alex for further instructions. The Black/Green Ranger scanned the area Xonix and his crew were in and confirmed there were no cameras in the area. Turning to AJ, he spoke to the blonde reporter in a businesslike tone.

"Can you make sure no news crews go near the area? We'll be porting there unmorphed and I expect a large battle. It'll be dangerous for them if they approach the area. In return, you can use whatever images of the battle you want for exclusives."

AJ nodded slowly and stepped back as the Rangers hit their teleporters in unison, filling the Ultra Cavern with flares of multicoloured light. As the last of the sparkles faded from her vision, she settled down in front of the scanners and pulled out her mobile phone.

It was going to be a long battle.

TBC…


	111. Chapter One Hundred Ten: Morphin II

AN: Morphin I happens in Rangers Of Equestria pretty much seconds before this one. Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Ten: Morphin II

He felt his stomach churn at the sight in front of him.

Seeing the massive army on a screen was one thing but seeing it in person was entirely another. Alex's eyes roved the army in front of him and he tried in vain to control his breathing. Even with nineteen Rangers backing him up; he didn't think their chances were good. Of course, if they were able to defeat Xonix; it would improve greatly but the Overlord seemed to make everyone's legs turn to lead. Forcing himself to take a step forward, he pointed at the army in front of him and shouted to the Rangers.

"Our enemy is there! Our objective is to destroy them!"

As the Rangers shouted in affirmation, he pulled out his Ultra Crystal from his chest and saw the others pull out their own Morphers in flashes of light. He could see Xonix look at the assembled Rangers and snort at the sight. He didn't care what the reptilian creature thought of their Ranger Army; he just wanted Xonix to be destroyed. Sparing a quick thought for Weihan in the other dimension, he took in a deep breath and raised his Ultra Crystal in the air – starting the long morph sequence.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

"Shift Into Turbo!"

"It's Morphin Time! Zeo Ranger Three – Blue!"

"Pink Ranger Power!"

"Loyalty!"

"Honesty!"

In nineteen flashes of dazzling light, the Rangers morphed into their respective armours. At Alex's mental command, the Battle Armours of the Ultra Rangers materialised on their shoulders. Holding their morph stances for a second longer, they lapsed into the time-honoured tradition of a group roll call…even if it ate up time.

"Black/Green Ultra Ranger, Alex!"

"Pink Ultra Ranger, Heather!"

"Blue Ultra Ranger, Linda!"

"Yellow Ultra Ranger, Aimee!"

"Red Ultra Ranger, Paris!"

"Silver Ultra Ranger, Rachelle!"

"Green Ultra Ranger, Sarah!"

"White Ultra Ranger, Will!"

"'Super' Ultra Ranger, Sarah!"

"Brown Ultra Ranger, Rebecca!"

"Powered by the Mighty Ultra Crystal, we are the Destroyers of Evil; Ultra Rangers!"

"Red Turbo Ranger!"

"Pink Turbo Ranger!"

"Green Turbo Ranger!"

"Yellow Turbo Ranger!"

"Blue Turbo Ranger!"

"Power Rangers Turbo, Ready!"

"Blue Loyalty Ranger, Ready!"

"Red Honesty Ranger, Ready!"

"Elements of Harmony, grant us Power! Rangers of Equestria!"

"Blue Zeo Ranger, Ready!"

"Pink Ninjetti Power Ranger! Ready!"

Alex held his pose for a few more seconds; enough time for a phrase to appear in his mind. Briefly, he wondered if Weihan was saying the same words but dismissed the thought. Words couldn't possibly traverse through the dimensional barriers but he would ask his leader when he returned.

"Crossing dimensional walls and crushing evil, we are Power Rangers!"

A massive explosion bloomed behind the morphed Rangers; causing Xonix to take a small step back. Nineteen Rangers was nothing to sneeze at but if he played his cards just right, he could possibly destroy them all in one fell swoop. Performing the Ritual of Da'Lana again wouldn't be easy to do in the heat of battle, but it could be done. Iguanador would make short work of the Rangers in its powered up form…

"Rangers, Attack!"

Assuming he could survive the coming wave.

TBC…


	112. Chapter One Hundred Eleven: Bucked Up

AN: Battle viewpoint 1…Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Eleven: Bucked Up

"Yeehaw! Bucked you good, eh?"

Applejack whooped in delight as her back legs hit the monster again before Rainbow Dash fired her Element Blaster at it. Pausing as the monster flew back into a group of Golems, she glanced around her to see how the others were doing. The Black/Green and White Ultra Rangers were tangling with the head honcho, Xonix. Waiting on the sidelines for their chance was the Green Turbo Ranger and the Blue Zeo Ranger. Dash had voiced some concerns about her using the same Power source but their version of Billy had spouted off something that had seemingly made sense to the rest of them. When Rachelle had explained it to them, she had said something about different dimensions and different time periods. It made as much sense to her as Pinkie's Pinkie Sense but she accepted it without question.

Off to one side, the ugly reptilian humanoid was being beset upon by the Red Turbo Ranger, Pink Ninjetti Ranger and the 'Super' Ranger. The Red and 'Super' Rangers had their swords out and were keeping it busy while the Pink Ranger fired off energy arrows in its general direction. The insectoid monster was being attacked by the Blue, Yellow, Pink and Red Ultra Rangers and they were holding their own surprisingly well. She made sure her helmet camera was recording the entire battle as her version of Billy would love to see them –

"Watch out!"

Applejack blinked back to the present moment and leapt to the right on impulse. A brown spotted energy ball impacted her previous position; throwing up chunks of dirt and grass. Narrowing her eyes under her helmet, she drew a bead on the monster and fired off a few blasts from her Element Blaster. As the charged bolts struck the monstrous saurian, it crumpled to the ground with a wail of pain. She looked around to see who had called out only to see the Green Ultra Ranger nod once before using her Venom Shield to beat back some of the Golems attacking her. Shaking her head, she refocused on the monster in front of her and flattened herself on the ground as it blasted the air just millimetres above her helmet.

Sharply inhaling, she rolled onto her back and aimed her Blaster at the monster yet again. Somewhere behind her, she could hear Dash groan in pain and she felt her heart constrict. No, this wasn't the time to be thinking about what she would say to Rainbow when the time came. Heart pounding in her chest, she sub-vocalised the firing command on the full automatic setting. Bolts of energy shot out of her Element Blaster and impacted against the monster's scales…but it seemed as the critter was getting used to the blasts. Shrugging off the pain, the beast roared once and started charging at Applejack. The pony switched off the automatic setting on her Element Blaster and channelled energy into her hind legs. When the time was right, she would smash the head of the monster and that would hopefully destroy it.

"Ankylo Hammer!"

Applejack blinked in surprise as the Silver Ultra Ranger vaulted over her head and brought her weapon down on the back of the rampaging monster. The Red Ranger dissipated the energy as she winced at the sickening crack that echoed across the battlefield. She saw Xonix jerk his head up at the sound; only to be struck by the blade of the Black/Green Ranger's Axe. Flipping away from the monster, the Silver Ranger landed lightly by the Brown Ranger's side. The newest Ranger had her Spike Cannon out and it was pointing towards the twisted mockery of her Dinosaur Power. Rachelle's voice exploded over her internal speakers and the cowpony nodded in agreement of the explained strategy.

"Summon your flank cannons and charge them up with as much elemental power as you can…"

In twin silent flashes of light, the flank cannons of Applejack and Rainbow Dash were summoned. The Blue Pegasus landed on the ground just as her Lightning Cannon fully materialised. Rainbow Dash hated that her ability to fly was negated by the weight of the Lightning Cannon but if it meant the monster would become a smouldering crater on the ground, she could bear it for a short while. Coloured light surrounded the barrels as the two Equestrian Rangers channelled energy into the blasts. Under their hooves, the ground trembled slightly and thunder rumbled overhead – despite the cloudless sky.

"I will also charge up my Hammer for an energy wave and I'll tell Rebecca to charge the Spike Cannon…"

Rachelle closed her eyes behind her visor and inhaled deeply. Despite her confidence in telling the ponies, she had absolutely no idea how the channelling process would work for her. During her training sessions, Weihan had always asked them to visualise the flow of Power within them as water rushing through an open channel and if she concentrated hard enough; she could feel it as such. Silently willing the Power to collate in her Ankylo Hammer, she opened her eyes to see her weapon faintly glowing. Smiling at the sight, she looked over at Rebecca and saw that the energy tank was pulsing slowly with brown light. Dismissing the faint revulsion caused by the pulsing light, she hoisted her Hammer above her head and waited for the monster to regain its footing.

"And then we'll destroy it. With Xonix down here, it probably won't grow."

Without the traditional cry of 'Fire!' the Rangers unleashed their attacks. Twin streams of red and blue energy shot from the flank cannons of the Equestrian Rangers; the mystically charged energy creeping together before they combined with a slight purple flash. A split second later, the purple stream was joined by a bronze energy blast in the shape of a railroad spike. About half a second after that, the ground quaked slightly as a silver wave of energy cleaved through the ground, kicking up dirt, grass and the occasional worm; rocketing towards the groggy monster.

The monster never stood a chance.

The purple ball of elemental energy crashed into it first; wracking its body with lightning shocks and tumbling rocks. Next, the spike of brown Ultra Power ploughed into it and its destructive power was amplified tenfold. The Rangers were unaware of this fact but Twinlobe had managed to siphon off some power from the Brown Ultra Crystal and had inserted a meagre fraction of it into the monster. Finally, the silver shockwave slammed into the stomach of the monster, throwing it back into the last few Golems and Fiends that remained. Directly after its fall, the insectoid monster that the Ultra Rangers had been fighting staggered near it and fell on top of the critically injured creature. Two seconds later, all remaining combatants blinked at the explosion that signalled the destruction of both monsters.

Howling with rage, Xonix jumped into the air and rained lasers down on the Rangers and cast the growth spell on the grasshopper themed creature. As the energy poured into the husk and brought the monster back from death, he staggered to the side of the battlefield and chanted the ancient words under his breath. A large pressure wave slammed into the Rangers as they tried to stop Xonix from completing whatever he was doing. Seeing his Master start the Ritual of Da'Lana, Jabarkas pushed back the attacking Rangers and stood in front of Xonix until the Ritual was complete. Looking from the growing monster to the glowing form of Xonix, Applejack swallowed hard.

They were bucked.

TBC…


	113. Chapter One Hundred Twelve: Creeps

Chapter One Hundred Twelve: Creeps

Honestly, she would never look at a grasshopper the same way.

Ducking under a wild swing from the insectoid monster, Aimee pulled her Sabre Claw apart and blocked another punch. The insectoid monster was relentless but was strangely familiar to her. She searched her memory thinking where she had seen it, before giving up on the fruitless search. Whatever it was, it was live and in colour…whatever that meant. She made a mental note to hit the Blue Zeo Ranger for getting that stuck in her mind before rolling aside to let Heather shoot at it. Regaining her footing near Linda, she allowed her friend to help her up before waiting to see what would happen.

As the Blue Ultra Ranger rushed in for a quick strike, Aimee reflected on the changes in her friend. Prior to the recruitment, Linda had been looking for other schools to go to as Aimee and Heather weren't always around when she needed someone to talk to. Always flirting with boys, she had quickly gained a reputation as being easy; something which she had done little to quell as it reminded her of her job. She had been living in Angel Grove until a few months ago as her immediate family had been killed in one of Lord Zedd's attacks. She had stowed away on a cruise ship for Sydney and had lied about her age to being work as a prostitute. After saving up enough money, she had bought a small one-bedroom house and had looked around for a school.

Meeting Aimee and Heather had been a fluke and they had instantly become fast friends. The bond between them had been so strong; Linda had eventually revealed to them her past but hadn't wanted them to make a big deal out of it. They had chosen to study at St Andrews after hearing rumours that the school was protected by the Power Rangers and…then Heather and Aimee had been chosen as Rangers. Blinking back to the present moment, Aimee threw her kamas at a Fiend and spin kicked it away from her. Retrieving her weapons, she retreated to a safe distance to watch the fight between Paris and the insectoid monster. The Red Ranger had pulled out her Tyrant Sword and was parrying the monster's blows.

To say Linda had been shocked that her two best friends were Ultra Rangers was an understatement. She had practically screamed the house down and had only been quietened after a concerned neighbour had asked if she was all right. Then again, teleporting right in front of someone wasn't a good way to start the recruitment process. She had accepted right then and there without having to see the Rangers in action; something that made Weihan shake his head and mutter something about random attacks truly being random. Introductions had been next, followed by a brief history lesson on the Ultra Crystals – something that had interested all Rangers present – and then it was to the Simul-Deck for combat training. After honing Linda's skills of seemingly endless waves of Z Putties and Oozemen, Weihan had upped the ante by creating a holographic simulation of Goldar for the new Rangers to fight against.

They had gotten their assess thoroughly kicked.

After that, Weihan had moved onto weapons training before calling in the Blue Zeo Ranger to help Linda. Rocky had mellowed considerably since the earlier training session and had warmed up to Weihan…even apologising for some remarks made in the past. The Orange Ranger had accepted the apology easily and had even given one of his own for his attitude during a past battle. As she watched Paris charge up her Sword to slice off the monster's arms, she reconnected her Sabre Claw and reflected on the training Rocky had given Linda. Despite his happy-go-lucky attitude, the Blue Ranger had been a stern sensei and Linda had mastered her Tricera Tonfas within four hours of intense training.

As the insectoid swayed on its feet, Aimee knew it was time for the finisher. Running to the battle, she nodded at her friends and Paris before channelling energy into her Sabre Claw. As the blades glowed yellow, her fingers pressed a hidden button in the handle. Instantly, the metal of the blades retracted and were replaced by short beam daggers. Taking off into a run, she smiled wickedly as three energy crescents raced in front of her – one red, one pink and one blue. As the three crescents slammed into the monster, she leapt into the air and soared upward above the battlefield. On one side, she could see the ponies, Rachelle and Rebecca setting up for their own finisher. On the other, she saw a Xonix and Jabarkas tag-team battle against seven Rangers. Reaching the apex of her leap, she angled her body down and let gravity take hold.

Twisting her body, she started to spin on her descent and held her charged Sabre Claw in front of her. She had no idea, but across the dimensional wall, a being called Discord was attempting the same move with a very different result. Resembling a large energy drill, the Yellow Ultra Ranger slammed down on the insectoid and both vanished amidst a large fireball. When the flames cleared, Aimee could be seen walking away while the monster staggered over to its defeated partner and collapsed on top of it.

A few minutes later, the Rangers were looking up at the two towering giants. Jabarkas was protecting Xonix from something and the two giant monsters were eyeing the CBD in earnest. Aimee swallowed hard at the sight and chewed on her lower lip anxiously. Weihan was still in the other dimension and probably had his own problems with the battle. She didn't know if the ponies had brought their Zords along but she couldn't wait for them to find out. As Alex jogged over to them, he nodded at them and raised his left hand into the air. In unison, the Ultra Rangers followed suit and called out for help.

"We need Dinozord Power, now!"

TBC…


	114. Chapter One Hundred Thirteen: Da'Lana

Chapter One Hundred Thirteen: Da'Lana

So far, everything was going to plan.

He had managed to split them up into small groups and his monsters would…well, they would do all right. They would certainly last longer against four Rangers than they would against a fully united front. Xonix didn't know about that though; he had the data gathered from theoretical experimentation and countless conquests but he was sure that there was some creature in his army that could easily take on twelve Rangers at once. Ducking a wild swing from the Black/Green Ranger, his mind ran over the intricacies of the Ritual of Da'Lana. Since his earlier attempt, he had researched it extensively and was secure in the knowledge that it was the best 'backup' option available to him.

The history of the Ritual had entranced him as the origins were on Yit's homeworld of Hadeas. The Ritual started as a way for the Sha'Kahr to drive off the various wandering aliens that would harvest the rare ores on the surface of the planet. Whereas before it had taken many drones to drive off three vehicles, it now only took one Death Howler to send them fleeing. The evolution of the Death Howler was a precursor to the many evolutions unlocked by the Ritual. One of the evolutions in particular – the Harbinger – bore a striking resemblance to one of the Sha'Kahr's greatest warriors: Drakor. The more he dove into its history, the more intrigued he became at the revelations.

The mystics had theorised that the energy could be used to remotely harvest the ores and construct large bases to defend themselves with but the idea had been disliked by the nomadic populace. If they were to build the bases, they would have to need a good reason to do it. In one of his visions, Xonix had foreseen giant purple and green buildings reaching up to the skies and raining down death on some strange vehicles. Whatever that was, it wasn't any of his concern as it he would have probably conquered earth by then.

Pausing his thoughts momentarily, he swung his sword around in a wide arc; blasting the four Rangers away from him. Pausing a moment to catch his breath, he looked around the battlefield to see what was going on. Jabarkas was steadily working his way towards him as he fended off an Ultra Ranger, a Turbo Ranger and the Pink Ninjetti. The Huran had been slightly disgruntled at being called back from the Aowei system to attack but he would be going back after the battle anyway. Despite everything going to plan, Xonix knew the attack would probably result in the destruction of both monsters, the Golems and Fiends. He would probably be in a Power Coma again but that didn't concern him. Focusing his thoughts, he lifted a claw and pointed to the Red Equestrian Ranger and muttered some words under his breath. Unbeknownst to the pony, the spell would hibernate in her uniform until she next saw Discord. What would happen then would be anyone's guess.

Swiping his tail at the Rangers, he mulled over the possible ramifications of the second Ritual. One such ramification was that his Power Coma would possibly last longer than before. That was the worst case scenario but he could think of something much worse than a late awakening – an early one. Delving further into the history, he had found out that the Ritual had made its way off-world when one of the mystics had been captured by the Ru'Kahr. The Ru'Kahr were the less aggressive 'cousins' of the Sha'Kahr and had used their resources on Hellion to finally free themselves of their over-dependence on the ores. They had heard of this magic that was wielded by their 'cousins' and had wished to use it for themselves.

Resorting to guerrilla tactics, they had infiltrated the mystic's fort and, after a fierce fire fight, had captured one of them alive. This mystic was named Da'Lana; named after the Sha'Kahr word for energy transfer. He had struggled violently but had been captured. The records indicated the mystic as becoming mute while being forced to write out the Ritual on parchment. The parchment had been scanned and sent off-world…and Da'Lana had struck. It turned out that the muteness was an act that allowed him to store up his energies. He had performed the Ritual but without a suitable target, the energy had backlashed onto the caster. The sudden and rapid growth he had experienced signalled the destruction of the transport vessel and the deaths of all on board…including Da'Lana.

Although the original and most powerful caster was dead, the Ritual still remained as a 'forbidden' spell to only be used in the direst of circumstances. More tests revealed the Power Coma 'feature' as well as more extreme forms of energy backlash. What these were, none of the texts said but it was described as a 'fate worse than death'. Through his viewings of Earthlings, he had his own idea of what a fate worse than death was…something called 'It's a Small World' in a place called 'Disneyland'. Xonix sincerely doubted anything was worse than that…especially as he had lived through the horrifying experience first-hand.

Shaking away those terrible thoughts, he groaned to himself as he heard the two combined explosions that signalled the defeat of his monsters. Roaring in preparation, he leapt into the air and fired off a few bolts of energy down at the Rangers. He would only have enough energy to perform the Ritual once and he knew exactly which monster to perform it on. Accessing the growth spell, he pointed a claw at the downed insectoid monster and cast it. At the same time, he traced intricate patterns in the air in readiness for the critical words. Landing on the ground, he started chanting the words under his breath while allowing the power and magic to gather on the topmost layer of scales.

A large pressure wave expanded from the soles of his feet and he saw the Rangers fall to the ground as it slammed into them. He knew Jabarkas was in front of him; protecting him from future threats but he wasn't worried. Soon, the initial Ritual would be complete and he could retreat to the flagship and watch.

Watch the Rangers fall…

TBC…


	115. Chapter One Fourteen: Rangers Return

AN: And we're back…literally! Enjoy!

Chapter One Hundred Fourteen: Rangers Return

They were a truly terrifying sight.

Applejack's mouth dropped open under her helmet as her eyes ran over the ten mighty Dinozords that were racing towards them. If the Harmonyzords were majestic in nature, the Dinozords were downright fearsome. Their version of Billy had shown them clips of the original Dinozords in action but the Dinozords in front of her completely blew the old ones out of the water. There were no tracks or wheels on any of them and they moved with a gracefulness that belied their metallic construction. Five of them split off and combined within seconds to form a Megazord formation similar to what she had seen in the recordings. The Megazord started attacking the insect monster while the other five hung back to strike the dinosaur monster head-on. Roars and shrill calls rang out as the Dinozords reared back before attacking with a strangely graceful savagery. Even the other Rangers were entranced at the sheer dominance of the Ultra Ranger's Dinozords.

"Hey, shouldn't we go out there and mix it up, AJ?"

The Red Ranger blinked out of her stupor and looked at her friend. Oh yeah, their Zords were with them at all times and weren't always in the Hangar Bay. As they separated themselves from the others, Applejack prayed that their Zords would come when called.

"We need Harmonyzord Power, Now!"

In twin flashes of red and blue, the Loyalty and Honesty Harmonyzords appeared. While the outward appearance hadn't changed, they looked sturdier than before. Dismissing the thought with a shake of her head, Applejack leapt up towards her Zord and let the teleport system take her in. From Fluttershy's descriptions, it looked like the cockpit hadn't changed but there was still something…whatever it was, she would figure it out later. Pressing a hoof against the Zord communication system, she spoke to her team mate.

"Individuals ain't gonna work here, Rainbow. We need the Apple Flyer to do some serious damage to this critter. You up for the task?"

"You got it!"

As if reading her thoughts, both Zords started moving towards each other. Applejack swallowed hard and tried to get those images out of her mind before concentrating on the battle became an issue. If she didn't know better, she would have said Billy had purposely paired them up as an experiment to further their friendship and relationship…but he had always deflected the subject after their talk. Honestly, there wasn't any clean way to look at two mares merging together, robotic or not. As the merging ended, she looked around her cockpit; half expecting Rainbow to pop up from somewhere. Not seeing the Blue Ranger anywhere near her, her heart sunk a bit with disappointment before she quickly refocused on the HUD in front of her. So far, the Warriorzord was holding together nicely but it would soon endure its first real battle. Hilariously, she had full control of mobility and was about to move the gestalt forwards when the other AJ's voice erupted from the speakers.

"Guys, Ah don't know what Ah'm seein' here…it's a vortex of some sort above the Iguanodon monster. Scanners say it could possibly lead back to…Equestria. If you want to take the chance to go home, well, Ah'd take it."

Nodding in response, Applejack chewed her lower lip before making a snap decision. Whether it led to their version of Equestria or not was anypony's guess but sometimes you just had to take a gamble. Mentally steeling herself for yet another alternate universe, the Warriorzord raced towards the creature and kicked it into the opening vortex. Crouching down, the massive machine leapt into the air, spreading its wings for greater lift. Ignoring all the shouts from the watching Rangers, she keyed on the command for the finisher – the Lightning Kick. Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth to speak…but was cut off by Rachelle's voice.

"Girls, I hope you get home safely. All of us will miss you, but we'll be in contact if you need us."

Biting back the tears, Applejack nodded in response; knowing the Silver Ranger couldn't see her. Taking a few moments to compose herself, she manoeuvred the Zord under the falling monster and the two combatants were engulfed in a blazing fireball. All Rangers bowed their heads silently, hoping that they made it back in one piece. A mighty explosion signalled the destruction of the insectoid and a crackle of energy near the remaining Rangers signified Xonix's retreat.

All was calm for a few minutes…before three figures tumbled from the skies. One was a monster that looked extremely similar to a walking water-heater with gaudy flame-like protrusions and a seemingly melted arm. The other distinguishing feature of the monster was the fact that it had been bisected lengthwise and both halves were slowly falling apart. The other two figures landed on the ground with an earth-rattling thump and made the Rangers cheer for joy as the monster exploded.

Weihan and Eliza were back.

TBC…

AN2: Story isn't over yet for these two…that's why Equestria 101 exists!


	116. Chapter One Fifteen: Questing

Chapter One Fifteen: Questing

"So you will wait for us there?"

The figure on screen nodded once before ending the transmission. Weihan let out a sigh of relief and slumped back on his bed. It had been two days since his and Eliza's return from the other dimension and he had been trying to catch up with all that had happened. After accepting that his communicator was now beyond his grasp, he had set about creating two more; one as a replacement and the other for AJ. The blonde girl was busy editing the footage from the fight into some sort of coherent report but had promised him a more…enthusiastic welcome when she finished. Cross-dimensional communication with the other Rangers had been successful but he had received an energy scan of the monsters that greatly worried him. The Billy in that dimension had asked him not to worry about it but he had his doubts. The energy scan looked mighty familiar…

Moving away from those thoughts, his mind returned to the current task at hand. Apparently the monster that the Red and Blue Equestrian Rangers had destroyed had been enlarged the same way as the Wraith had been and its destruction in another dimension had apparently multiplied the after-effects. Xonix was out of the picture for the next few months…which made it all the better to fully complete their Power Sets. Although Alex and Will could summon their Ninjazords, they didn't have certain features and attributes that his Ninjetti Zord possessed. The others couldn't even summon their Ninja suits and were puzzled when they saw random animals in their morph 'images'. Making things more surreal was that the Dimitria of his dimension had replaced Zordon; who had gone to Eltare to be released from his time warp…and who was apparently asking for an audience with the completed Ultra Rangers. Weihan took completed as meaning fully powered…which explained the communication to Ninjor.

A dual trip to the Desert of Despair and Phaedos would chew up too much time; especially since three of them had been to the Desert once before. Communications with Ninjor had also highlighted the issue with his status. He possessed both Ninja and Ninjetti Powers and, as such, couldn't help the others with their double helping of quests. His passing mention of 'double helping of quests' had Ninjor explaining that they could be combined for larger groups. Accepting the rather flimsy explanation, Weihan had rolled his eyes and asked when they could leave.

"Three days. I will wait for all of you in the Ninjetti Temple Ruins."

Pulling the blinds up, he looked out onto the darkened street and rested his forehead on the window. After recombining with his duplicate, he had learnt what the aftermath of the KL attack had been. The Petronas Towers had been undamaged but most of the interior was undergoing a mass rebuild and redesign to ensure the safety of shoppers. The same designs were being implemented in another ongoing development project in the Mid Valley. The PM of Malaysia, Mahatir Mohamad, had declared a state of emergency in Kuala Lumpur and had been awaiting a statement by the Orange Ranger. The statement had been put together by Will using image projection and voice modulation and had stated that the attack was an attempt at attacking the Rangers when they were least expecting it and the appearance of the Orange Ranger meant that the attempt had failed. The PM had released the state of emergency soon after but was still urging Malaysians to watch out for alien activity.

The family fallout had been rather…interesting. Following the rough treatment of her, Jade had bared her fangs and had attacked Weihan in front of the family. His father had walked out of the room in apparent anger but had returned to slap her across the face. He had said that the actions taken were appropriate in the confusion and chaos…and after a few minutes of false thought, she had agreed in his favour. Amusingly, she had avoided his double like the plague for the remainder of his trip and had barely seen him on the last day.

Taking his eyes away from the window, he settled back on his bed and mulled over Ninjor's words. Dulcea was flesh and blood…but could induce extremely vivid hallucinations. A wry smile floated over his face as he realised that the 'enthusiastic thanking' probably hadn't taken place at all and the Ninjetti Warrior had been just having a bit of fun at his expense. He didn't hold a grudge towards her as it meant that…well; he had to try to not think of that as his brain would lose all coherent thought for a while. The effect was slightly lessened when he thought about Applejack, AJ's Equestrian counterpart. He wished he was able to meet the cowpony face to face instead of seeing her through a communications screen but he guessed it was for the best.

Pulling down the blinds; he sunk into his pillows and looked up at the ceiling. It seemed like the past few months were only a build-up to the present moment and things would become worse after the Ninjetti Powers were gained. His dreams had shown him some images of concern; namely himself walking through a fire-filled room where shouts and screams were heard. Turning off the lights, he suppressed a shudder and rolled over.

Whatever it was, it was coming soon…

TBC…


	117. Chapter One Sixteen: Eltare

AN: Am sure you can imagine what the others went through on their Ninja/Ninjetti quests…Enjoy!

Chapter One Sixteen: Eltare

He stared in shock at the figures in front of him.

They had pulled it off. Eleven Rangers walking through the Neola Jungle had somehow gained full Ninja and Ninjetti Powers without even touching the phallic Monolith. Running an eye over their suits, he looked at the coin in the centre of their chests and studied the animal on its surface. Siberian Tiger, Polar Bear, Leatherback Turtle, Gray Wolf…even a giant Huntsman Spider for Rebecca. He was sure there was a connection aside from the Ninjetti but what it was; well, he didn't know just yet. He turned to see Dulcea smile warmly and motion to Ninjor. The ancient Ninja Master nodded once and spoke.

"Well done Rangers! The twelve of you now possess the ancient power of the Ninjetti. This power cannot be taken away except in death. As I cannot foresee death in the immediate future, you will be fine. Now, please stand by to transport to Eltare where Zordon will be waiting."

Weihan nodded in reply, but mulled over Ninjor's rather ominous words. To have no death in the immediate future was a good thing; then again the immediate future only covered the next few weeks. He dismissed the thought just as the transport begun. Forcing himself to not throw up, he felt his body slowly dissolve into particles that flew through a tunnel of sorts at near light-speed before reconstituting on the other side. As the spots faded from his vision, he hung onto his knees and willed himself not to be visibly sick. From the retches he heard around him, the others weren't holding in their lunches as easily. Taking in slow, deep breaths, he straightened up and looked around him.

He had seen Eltare before…but that was in the bad future and everything had been destroyed. His eyes roved around the sights and his nausea was forgotten as a low-flying vehicle rumbled overhead. Looking above him, he saw that it was a strange cylindrical vehicle and that there were beings of all shapes and sizes inside it. The buildings that stretched up to the impossibly blue sky looked like they were carved out of delicate white crystal and the path gleamed in the rays of the sun. He was reminded of the beauty of New York, Sydney and San Francisco everywhere he looked and he was very much aware of those around them openly gaping at them. Pulling his Ninjetti armour away from his body, the crowd cheered as he blinked in surprise.

Standing in front of them was a Ranger clad in strange armour. It was styled as simplistically as possible and had no distinguishing features whatsoever – save for a silver chest plate that held a single blood-red ruby. He waited until the other Ultra Rangers had demorphed before walking at the group, stopping in front of the Orange Ranger. The voice that came from the helmet was soothing and strangely calming.

"I am the Phantom Ranger. Please, Zordon has requested an audience with all twelve of you."

Weihan nodded at the Phantom Ranger and walked behind him. At least, he thought it was a male under the armour anyway. He had heard about the Phantom Ranger in the archives but what had been written down didn't contain much detail; only that the Ranger had shown up in times of great need and always brought along a present greater than any Zord or Power Source: Hope. Of course, nine times out of ten the 'hope' was in the form of new Zords as Rangers always seemed to equate hope with giant metal robots. As they walked, he looked around him and absorbed all the beauty of the buildings around him. Mustering up his courage, he asked the Phantom Ranger if all of Eltare was like this. The answer he received was surprising.

"No. This is the main city which also served as the front line base in the Power Wars. In total, there are seven major cities on the planet: Eltare, Ultraris, Zeo, Celestia, Ridre, Forge and Structor. Each city has its own unique purpose and defences. For example, the city of Celestia is defended by large solar cannons that absorb the sun's rays and fire them in strangely equine blasts. Ridre is where Edenoi's Masked Rider Warriors are housed and where they train. They defend their city with the powers of the Masked Rider and do not rely on giant robots as Rider J can use his ability to grow to giant sizes."

The Orange Ranger nodded as the group passed what appeared to be a Zord factory. Peering inside, Weihan could see humanoid robots transform into strangely familiar vehicles. It seemed extremely surreal to see Zords being put through their paces but it was probably necessary to understand what could be done in battle. Following his gaze, the Phantom Ranger let out a sound that was a cross between a snort and a laugh.

"These are the new Rescuezords for the Turbo Rangers. They will be finished in around a week and I will personally deliver them to the Angel Grove Rangers. These Zords were commissioned by Zordon himself so even I do not know what these will be used for."

Nodding, the Rangers left the Zord Factory behind them and walked down a lavishly decorated road. Peering at the images as they rushed by, Weihan could make out Ranger helmets of past and present. Even his own helmet was immortalised in the stark white of the road.

"We are on the Road of Legends. This leads to the High Council Chambers."

Weihan lifted his eyes from the road and stared in shock at the building in front of him. It was an exact replica of the Command Centre's exterior; right down to the strange runic markings on the walls and the cylindrical shaft in the middle. The Rangers gaped at the sight; especially Alex and Will who had been inside the Command Centre. The Phantom Ranger nodded at the building and his voice seemed to convey pride and a wistful sorrow.

"There it is: The High Council Chambers."

TBC…


	118. Chapter One Seventeen: Thirteenth

AN: Call forwards to TW Rangers and Primal Fate (which I'm finally getting around to updating). Enjoy!

Chapter One Seventeen: Thirteenth

"Rangers! Welcome to Eltare!"

Zordon's voice made everyone look towards the Ultra Rangers. For the ones who had not seen Zordon before, their reactions were priceless. Aimee, Heather and Rachelle stared at the head in a tube; the two Sarah's eyes bulged out and the rest of them practically fainted on their feet. Respectfully bowing his head to the Morphin Master, Weihan walked towards Zordon and looked at the sage closer. Although he was still in a tube; more of his face could be seen…as could the sage's ridiculously long hair which two four-fingered hands tried to tame it. Poorly stifling a grin, the Orange Ranger stopped in front of the tube and tried in vain to control his voice.

"Zordon. You look…more…uh…you look well."

Zordon nodded once and smirked as he gave up on styling his hair. The room he was housed in was a near-perfect replica of the interior of the Command Centre; the only differences being the long table that was being constructed on both sides of the tube and the consoles and screens that dotted the walls. Whenever the dust settled, this room would become the Main Chamber for the High Council of Eltare. The remaining members of Project Ultra would become the Councillors; as well as any truly purified villains. Vile would fight tooth and nail for a seat and if what he had overheard from Weihan's future self, Lord Zedd would be on the Council as well.

"I would hope so. For the first time in millennia; people can see more of me than my head. Unfortunately, I have not learned the proper way to curb the growth of my hair since Ooze burnt my hair off. Anyway, that is neither here nor there."

Weihan nodded sagely before allowing a short chuckle to escape his lips. Zordon rolled his eyes and looked at the young Ranger. He had heard from the galactic grapevine that two Ultra Rangers had been flung into either the past or a different dimension and two others had taken their place. For one, Zordon knew that the Orange Ranger hadn't gone into the past just yet. While natural anomalies did form from time to time, the creatures that came through either died off rapidly or – in the rare cases that a family unit appeared – were protected by various government forces. Amusingly, most of the anomalies were centred around the United Kingdom and he had foreseen a private research centre being set up to study the strange rips.

Anyway, Dimitria had told him of their location. His old friend had been conferring with some Rangers from that dimension and had transmitted the images to him. To think that Rangers came in all shapes, sizes and species through the dimensions…it was equally interesting and astounding.

"I see you have returned safe from your dimensional jaunt. If you wish to contact the other dimension, we have the capacity to show both sound and images."

Weihan nodded his head and the technicians began their work. Watching them was strangely hypnotic, but the Orange Ranger snapped out of his trance as Zordon's words sunk in. Fortunately, Eliza had also caught onto his strangely specific wording.

"Wait, how did you know we were in another dimension? Furthermore, how can you contact the other dimension without knowing the specific frequency?"

Zordon nodded at the young Ranger and spoke.

"The transportation process you went through allowed the scientists to scan specifically for any dimensional signatures. As you and Weihan have recently returned; the particles from the other dimension are still present within your system. It is all rather complicated and that is the best I can explain it."

One of the screens suddenly flickered to life as a burst of static spurt from the speakers. A split second later, the static on the screen cleared to show a deep indigo alicorn peering down in surprise. The trained ears of the Rangers could easily pick up on the sounds of battle behind her. Before the shocked pony could speak, Weihan inclined his head and spoke in a respectful but slightly panicked tone.

"Princess Luna, I apologise for this…impromptu call. Is everything all right?"

The Princess of the Night shook her head and chewed her lower lip. Weihan was itching to jump through the screen and help the ponies who had recently befriended him…but he knew it was an exercise in futility.

"The Rangers are in battle against one of Zedd's monsters. My sister and Spike have taken a small complement of guards to investigate an energy disturbance in Deinos Terra Firma. I will show you a live image of the battle and patch you through to them."

Nodding once, Weihan moved forwards as the image on screen changed to the battle taking place. Eyes scanning the image he saw the monster and…Discord. The humanoid pony was on the battlefield but still bore wounds from his earlier fight. As Discord staggered back from a concentrated blast from Twilight's Magic Launchers, the monster burst from the Everfree and flung the Pink Ranger aside. As they watched, Pinkie summoned her Boomer Blaster and fired off a stream of pink pellets that exploded into what appeared to be glue. Bouncing merrily away from the stuck monster, the Pink Ranger suddenly looked straight at the screen and waved frantically. Lifting his hand up in a rather pathetic wave, Weihan closed his eyes and was suddenly very glad that the pink pony was on the other side of the screen.

"Holy fuck…what the hell is that?"

Eyes snapping open at Rachelle's murmur, his eyes zeroed in on the monster that was gradually freeing itself from the sticky mess. It looked like someone had crammed a humanoid tyrannosaur into Roman armour. It had no external weapons; but the rows of teeth Weihan could see in its mouth were weapons enough. Roaring to the heavens, it slowly started to grow until it dwarfed the Rangers below it. Running to one of the nearby consoles, Weihan tapped a few keys to bring up a real-time energy scan of the monster and pulled out the printout of the energy reading taken from the two monsters he had seen previously.

They matched perfectly.

"Shit. This is not good."

TBC…


	119. Chapter One Eighteen: Inherent Evil

AN: Call forward to TW Rangers! And 83 chapters after History of Power; here's the history behind the 13th Crystal! Enjoy!

Chapter One Eighteen: Inherent Evil

"What is the thirteenth Ultra Crystal?"

Ignoring the shouts of surprise from the cross-dimensional communication, Weihan looked at Zordon expectantly. From what he had gathered from the images the sage had shown him before, he knew it was a crystal of unlimited power; like his own Ultra Crystal but that power was devoted to Evil...or at least the more negative emotions. He heard Rachelle in the background saying something to the ponies but all of his attention was devoted to Zordon and his response. After a few minutes of expectant waiting; the ancient sage closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"It as like I explained before. The thirteenth Crystal was created with the main twelve as a back-up if the team needed. As explained, Master Vile was the first to see it pulse with a dark energy. He took it upon himself to study the crystal and see if the darkness within could be suppressed. Unfortunately, it couldn't."

_Flashback_

_"What are you saying, Vile? That we cannot control the thirteenth Crystal anymore?"_

_Zordon looked at the reformed alien in front of him as he pushed his glasses up his nose. Vile had been studying the thirteenth crystal for a week as the team tried to find ways to connect the Grid to the other twelve Crystals. The thirteenth seemed to be more receptive to forceful attempts and, as such, had been sequestered in Vile's quarters for the past week. However, Vile had burst into Zordon's quarters fifteen minutes earlier proclaiming that the thirteenth crystal was becoming stronger. The formerly evil being nodded once and placed his head in his hands._

_"Yes, the Crystal is getting stronger. The Power Scans do not lie. I feel as it has absorbed some of my former evil energy but I cannot prove it. I am removing it from my quarters and placing it in the Power Vault. I only hope that it slows the growth down somewhat."_

_End Flashback_

Weihan jerked away from Zordon's words as he heard a shout of surprise behind him. Taking his eyes away from the tube, he saw the final stages of what looked like a Megazord on the communications screen. Whistling low at the sight; he grinned broadly as the combined Megazord summoned a sword and held it in a ready stance. At Zordon's voice, he turned back and listened in.

"The Power Vault was, and still is, one of the closest points of contact to the Universal Morphin Grid. Vile hoped that the inherent goodness and purity in the Grid could negate the evil. Unfortunately, we forgot that the side of Light is not the only side that draws from the Grid…"

_Flashback_

_Zordon looked at the sealed case in disgust and disdain. The Power Vault had not curbed the growth of evil energy in the crystal; rather it had been magnified by the forces of Evil that drew from the Grid. Vile had been extremely apologetic but the Morphin Master had waved aside the apologies. In truth, even he had forgotten about the many teams of evil Rangers that roamed the Galaxy; especially the Ultra Psychos led by the demented killer Psychogre. The thirteenth crystal had been removed from the Power Vault and placed in a silver and lead case where all future experiments would take place._

_"Any news from Zycor?"_

_Turning to look at his father, Zordon shook his head with a sigh. The mining planet had received a warning from Xonix that they were to surrender their materials at once upon his arrival. Aruk and Ninjor had left for the planet some time ago but had not reported back. Scouts were reporting heavy fighting across the planet. Regrettably, thirty diamond mines out of seventy had been either lost or destroyed and twelve Silver mines had also fallen. The Morphin Council had decreed that a full squadron of Warriors be dispatched to reinforce Ninjor and Aruk; but had been forced to rescind the decree after a strange energy surge was recorded in the M51 Galaxy._

_"No news from the front. Father, this crystal…what will become of it? We created it so we can probably destroy it. It is too dangerous to be left unchecked. I have seen the effects it has on Vile. Soon, he will revert to Evil once more and will probably steal the thirteenth when he leaves. We must destroy it"_

_End Flashback_

"We could not destroy it. Whether by fate or by design, the Crystal proved to be extremely difficult to crack – let alone break. Lexian and Dimitria inferred that it would take a massive blow or an extremely rapid power drain to crack or destroy the crystals."

Weihan took a small step back as the Rangers behind him erupted into cheers. The thirteenth Crystal was fully evil and possessed almost as much power as his Crystal – the strongest of the thirteen. Not only that, it seemed that it drew and magnified the evil energies of those around it to unpredictable levels; making them even more dangerous than what they would originally be. In the hands of someone like Xonix, it would make him the King of the Universe; a thought that greatly unnerved him. However, in the hands, or hooves, of their Zedd or Discord it would mean a world-wide massacre…

Sensing the conflict in the young Ranger, Zordon sighed. Vile had passed on a short message before he had activated the Orb of Doom. The message had contained a short recording that chronicled the last act Vile had done to the thirteenth crystal.

"There is one thing that Vile did to the thirteenth crystal before the purification reversed entirely…"

_Flashback_

_Master Vile stared at the thirteenth crystal as sweat formed on the snakes. His purification was reversing at an unprecedented rate and he would revert back to evil at any second. The thirteenth knew this and was enticing him greatly. He would fight it to the last possible moment; but had a trick up his sleeve that could potentially neuter the evil in the crystal. It would only take up a slight amount of energy but it would be energy that he could be using to save the lives of Ninjor and Aruk._

_Making a snap decision, he mustered up the remains of the Light energy magic inside him and directed it inside the Crystal. The mental strain was almost too much as he forced the Light over the evil but it would be better than the alternative. It would ensure that any evil being that tried to use, or even merge with, the Crystal would be repelled and destroyed unless their power exceeded his. The odds of that happening were astronomically slim as not even Dark Spectre would possess the power needed to bypass the barrier._

_He didn't know what sort of magic the thirteenth Crystal held within; but he was willing to bet that it knew how to pass the dimensional wall. The energy he was putting into the Crystal had to be strong enough to withstand the pressures of the dimensional transit as well as any external forces that may sap the strength. Worryingly, he could feel the last vestiges of his reformed state disappearing the more magic he poured into it. He wouldn't take the Crystal with him._

_He owed his friends that much_

_End Flashback_

"The Thirteenth draws evil to itself like a magnet. The only one that can use the Crystal to its fullest potential is its chosen bearer; one person out of countless trillions upon trillions of people in the Multiverse. Even if the Crystal is in another dimension, as you claim it to be, its energy will make itself known in this dimension."

Weihan's mind was reeling as he looked up at Zordon from his spot on the floor. Even if the Thirteenth was in another dimension, its power could still reach out to ensnare its bearer. The only question, of course, was what the conditions were for it to choose the bearer. Upon hearing the question, Zordon sighed heavily and his eyes took on a slightly glassy appearance; as if he was looking at something far off in the distance.

"The Bearer will be one who has embraced deceit willingly as a way of life."

TBC…


	120. Chapter One Nineteen: Shatter

AN: Taking a few liberties with the PR timeline here. Oh well, I'm sure you all know what's coming up next but enjoy!

Chapter One Nineteen: Shatter

It was amazing how the six fit together.

Studying the schematics for the third time, Weihan chewed on his pencil thoughtfully as he added a few notations to the document. They had been on Eltare for the past three weeks training, visiting the other cities or talking with Zordon. He had opted to study Zord blueprints of the past and research any 'lost' Zords of the Galaxy. Right now, he was looking at Billy's blueprints for a Super Zeo Battlezord: a combination of the Red Battlezord and the Super Zeo Megazord. Amusingly, the design of the finished product looked very similar to the Omega formation of the Harmony Megazord which further cemented his theories of dimensional counterparts and subtle mental connections.

Another incredible design he had come across was a drastic redesign of the original Dinozords; although the designs for the Mastodon, Sabre Tooth Tiger and Dragon Zords were too badly corrupted to be read. From what he could piece together, Zordon had collaborated with Billy on a redesign that used the Dark Thunder energies in the Grid. Their version of the Megazord could only be formed with three Zords but was lacking the traditional sword; instead it used a drill formed by the Tyrannosaur's tail as a weapon. The only drawback was that the Zords couldn't be powered by the links of the Power Coins. There was an addendum on the last page by Zordon stating that the designs were to be given to Billy to give to Tommy in some indeterminate time in the future. The thought of highly detailed and confidential documents being in the hands of Tommy Oliver did not fill Weihan with any great deal of confidence; even if Kim would be holding onto them.

Taking his eyes off the designs, he leant back and stretched the aches out of his body and looked around his quarters. Alpha had managed to find a temporary living space for all twelve Rangers that were close to the Council Chambers and Primary Archives. It was an old temple that had once been the location of the Vault of Rules; a fact that made him roll his eyes. Through some exploration of the temple, he had stumbled across a bronze plaque that had adorned the Vault and had learned the reasoning behind the three Rules of Power. The rule about identity was pretty straightforward as it dealt with loved ones in the firing line and sparing the fighters the heartache of family deaths. The rule about escalation was even more clearly defined as it stemmed from the days when new Rangers were recruited as the old ones died or retired. New Rangers were also more prone to making horribly rash decisions that would endanger the lives of those around them…which would break the identity rule with that loophole. He thought it was horribly convoluted but it seemed to work for centuries.

The most interesting rule that was explained was the Rule of Personal Gain. While it was explicitly stated that a Power Ranger could not use his or her power to steal, kill or 'incite violence'; there was nothing to say that it couldn't be used for mundane purposes such as teleporting from place to place. Rather, a Ranger teleporting from place to place unmorphed was encouraged if the colour protocols in the teleportation effect were disabled. For non-public identity Rangers, this practice was also encouraged but only if the Ranger started and ended his or her teleportation from a secluded area.

"Excuse me, are you all right?"

His eyes snapped to the door; instantly on alert. As he registered who – or rather what – was in the door, he nodded once, finally finding his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine TJ."

As the figure nodded and walked away, Weihan rolled his eyes at the robot's mannerisms. The robot Rangers had been a project by Zordon and Dimitria as an experiment to see if robots could replace human Rangers. Apparently Dimitria had sensed that the four 'veteran' Rangers were nearing the end of their Rangering careers and had asked them to choose their replacements. After one last battle as the Turbo Rangers, Tommy, Adam, Tanya and Kat had stepped down although they still kept their Zeo Powers. The new Turbo Rangers had slightly distanced themselves from the other Rangers although Justin still kept in contact with the others.

From their communications, the Ultra Rangers had learnt that the Phantom Ranger had made it onto Earth and had given the Rescuezords to the new Turbo Rangers. So far, it seemed Divatox was biding her time for something. Whatever that 'something' was, neither Dimitria nor Zordon had any idea. Pushing away from the desk, he pressed a few buttons on the side. Immediately, the piles of paper that had been littering the desk were compressed into a small data packet and absorbed into his Ultra Crystal. Rolling his head around, he stretched once more before deciding to go and find something to eat. Surprisingly enough, Eltarean food was rather tasty…if rather deep fried.

A sudden explosion outside made him dash to the door. The others were crowded around the portal, looking out as a great sphere of fire and smoke erupted from the shuttle bays. Dropping down from the skies were strange jet-like vehicles that were randomly shooting at everything and nothing at once. Without thinking, Weihan ran out the door and summoned his Raptor Cannon. Aiming the weapon up at one of the jets, he fired off a few rounds; missing the first few times. Inspired by his disregard for his own safety, the other Rangers poured out of the Temple and summoned their wrist blasters or weapons; filling the skies above with blasts of fire, ice and light.

"Scatter! Make your way to the Council Chambers!"

As they nodded at his command, he ceased firing to see a strange saucer shaped ship descend from space. It looked like a warship and half of it looked like a wire-frame model. A beam of light shot down from the ship to reveal strange robotic foot soldiers carrying B shaped blades. Groaning under his breath, he summoned his combination morpher and hit the button that would allow him to fight on even terms.

"Time Guardian Power!"

Vaulting over the heads of the robots, he summoned the Spear of Time and thrust it down into their bodies. On the radar in his HUD, he could see the signatures of the other Rangers as they morphed to deal with the oncoming wave. Swinging the Spear in a wide arc, he flipped away as a wayward blast from one of the fighters decimated the group he was about to attack. Shrugging, he ran in the direction of the High Council Chambers but faltered when an impossibly growling voice erupted from the sky.

"Zordon, Dark Spectre has come for you!"

TBC…


	121. Chapter One Twenty: Foreshadowing

AN: Mass foreshadowing here…a line here, a monster there…all in future chapters. Of course, if you've read any of the stories in the future timeline, you'll know what happens already…Enjoy!

Chapter One Twenty: Foreshadowing

In hindsight, scattering wasn't the best idea.

He was surrounded on all sides by the strange robotic soldiers that were led by some strange green and black crystalline being. The being had introduced himself as Ecliptor and he was the main warrior for some chick called Astronema…whoever that was. Hand to hand fighting had almost knocked him out of his Time Guardian armour so he had been forced to morph into his full armour. Thankfully, there were no new additions or colourations with the exception of small spikes running down his forearms. Pulling out his Raptor Sabre, he made a feint at the warrior before slashing his chest with a powerful strike. To the warrior's credit, he didn't flinch and took the brunt of the blow head on. As the smoke and dust settled, Weihan gaped in shock as he saw the deep gash on Ecliptor's chest was slowly repairing itself.

"My self repair mechanisms can keep up with the damage you inflict. Fortunately for you, you are not our intended target. Quantrons, proceed towards the Council Chambers."

Holding his Sabre in front of him, Weihan channelled fire into the blade and transformed it into the electro-whip mode. Cracking the 'blade' over the heads of the robots, he watched in detachment as they crumpled to the ground before erupting in fire. Staring at the being through his visor, he spoke in a rather deadpan voice.

"Can't let you do that."

"Yeah, but he can let me do this!"

Turning around at the sudden voice, Weihan was struck off his feet by a powerful punch to his chest. As he slammed painfully into a wall, he looked up at his surprise attacker. It was a strange humanoid figure with orange skin and reptilian eyes. There was no clothing or armour covering its body and it was unremarkable…except for a strangely coloured tattoo or scar on its chest. Spikes ran down its back all the way to its spade shaped tail. When it spoke, its voice was deep and rich…very reminiscent of the voice of Discord.

"Pathetic insect. You call yourself an Ultra Ranger; yet you cannot stand up to Psychogre. I will leave you alone…for now."

As Psychogre turned to stalk off, Weihan blinked in surprise as Ecliptor hauled him off the ground. It seemed the cybernetic warrior had a strong sense of honour programmed into him. Making sure Psychogre was out of earshot, the warrior turned to the Orange Ranger and spoke.

"Be very wary in the future, Ranger. I doubt our paths will cross after today but with him…I pray you will become stronger for if you don't, he will kill you."

Nodding at the warrior's words, Weihan shrugged himself out of the onyx warrior's grip and resummoned his Raptor Sabre. Nodding at the offensive move, Ecliptor drew his own blade and prepared to attack…when a voice erupted from Weihan's wrist.

"Weihan! Change of plan! We're going to the Intergalactic Teleporter before it falls!"

Flipping away from the warrior, Weihan lifted his Sabre in a salute before turning around and sprinting in the other direction. Twirling and twisting his body through the crowds of Quantrons, his Blade made short work of their robotic shells. From somewhere behind him, he heard the loud laughter of the monster that had called itself Psychogre and ground his teeth together. Flipping over a small group of Quantrons, he made a vow to become stronger so that that creature would not kill him so easily.

"Weihan! Over here!"

Snapping his head up, he saw the other Ultra Rangers gathered in front of a veritable ocean of Quantrons and assorted monsters. Jogging up to them, he saw that all of the Rangers were in their full Battle Armour and they had their weapons drawn. Squinting in the distance, he could just about make out the sealed doors of the Intergalactic Teleporter behind them…as well as the soldiers defending against the seemingly endless army. Dismissing his Sabre, Weihan summoned both his Raptor Cannon and Raptor Laser in twin flashes of light. Rolling his shoulders, he pointed to the Teleporter with the barrel of his Raptor Laser before addressing his Rangers.

"Straight ahead is our goal. We'll plow through the Quantrons and whatever you do – don't stop for more than a few seconds."

As the others nodded and positioned themselves behind him, Weihan idly wondered if a roll call would eat up too much time. It wasn't as if talking was a free action, no matter how much the enemy stood and stared at their performance; all it would take was one blaster shot for it to be interrupted. He also wondered if there would be some internal urge that would force the rest of the roll call out if it was cut off early. Well, he would have to find out in the future after they 'ported back to Earth. He drew in a deep breath before calling the start of the plunge.

"Attack!"

TBC…


	122. Chapter One Twenty One: Eltare's Fall

AN: Well, it can only go downhill from here. Enjoy and please review!

Chapter One Twenty One: Eltare's Fall

To say it was a massacre would be insulting to massacres.

The twelve Rangers tore into the crowd of Quantrons with all the force of a pack of charging horses. Blades flashed, blasts rang out and explosions blossomed as the forces of evil tried to feebly fight back. Keeping on his straight path, Weihan leapt over a group of Quantrons and turned them into flying metal with a few shots. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Alex cleaving the limbs off a few Quantrons with his Blizzard Axe before freezing a few more of them with the Mammoth Buster. Seeing his friend was all right for now, he ducked under a sloppy punch and spin kicked a monster back before ending its life with a barrage of charged shots. Seeing something come out of the sky, he flipped away as the mangled body of a Quantron smashed the ground where he had been standing. He chuckled under his breath as he saw the familiar dents that Rachelle's Ankylo Hammer had caused. The blonde was starting to become quite the wrecking ball and he found himself being drawn to her…though he would never consider cheating on AJ.

Leaping away from the destruction that the Silver Ranger was causing, he surveyed the battlefield from his perch on the shoulders of a very startled Quantron. The Ultra Rangers were causing a great deal of damage as they steadily pushed towards the Intergalactic Teleporter…but their progress was too slow. As he looked around, his eyes widened as he saw a monstrous figure run out of one of the Weapons Vaults. Aiming his Cannon at the figure, he snapped off a few shots but none of them hit. As the figure vanished in a burst of flame, he pounded the head on the Quantron in frustration. Zordon had told him that one of the many Vaults on Eltare contained the key cards to an extremely powerful weapon that was hidden on one of Jupiter.

It was out of his hands now. He hoped it would eventually fall into the hands of the Power Rangers; if not, he would have to destroy it personally. Leaping off the slightly dented Quantron, he charged up a ball of energy to ninety-nine percent before firing it in front of him. The charged energy ball literally stripped the armour off the Quantrons it passed until it struck a trio of monsters head-on. The resulting explosion and shockwave knocked down most of the remaining Quantrons and allowed the Rangers to power ahead without much interruption. As the twelve Rangers neared the doors; twelve very different Quantrons materialised out of nowhere.

They had the same silver torso armour as the regular Quantrons but their bodies were gold with bronze circuitry patterns and their helmets were solid red in colour. Instead of the normal B shaped blades, they carried an assortment of one-handed weapons that ranged from maces to energy crossbows. If the normal Quantrons looked silly, these looked downright menacing – a fact that their voices affirmed.

"Rangers, we are the Q Elites. We have crushed many Rangers and we will crush you!"

As the fighters streaked overhead, Weihan didn't miss a beat. He charged at the closest one and swung his Sabre in what would have been a deadly blow. Quick as a flash, the supposed Q Elite lifted up its cleaver and intercepted the blow. Trying a different tactic, Weihan jump-kicked the Elite's chest but was surprised at how solid it was. In his brief moment of stupor, the Q Elite slugged his chest with a powerful blow that was comparable to the Golems. Rolling along the charred ground, he could hear the cries of his friends as they were brutally beaten back by the Q Elites.

You must prevail, young Ranger. The fate of the world will be decided in the next few minutes.

Great, his inner guide wasn't helping by heaping the pressure on. As his opponent backed away, his eyes picked up on the subtle jerking of the limbs. If these Q Elites were still robots, they could be taken down using long range attacks. Hand to hand fighting would just wear down the Rangers until they made one wrong move…which the robots would probably by waiting for. After that it would be all over and Earth would be Xonix's for the taking. Dismissing his Sabre, he rolled away from the robot in front of him and summoned a fireball. Flinging it in the direction of the robot, he was rewarded with an electronic scream of surprise and shock as its weapon melted to fuse over its hand. As the metal was still red hot, he wondered what would happen if the so-called Elite fused its hand to its body. Chuckling at the mental image, he decided to try something new.

Blocking out the sounds of the battlefield, he focused only on his breath. Closing his eyes, he focused on channelling a small amount of fire energy into his right palm on each exhale. When his palm started to tingle, he knew it was working. When the armoured glove started to smoulder, he knew it was charged enough. Snapping his eyes open, he screamed an inarticulate battle cry as he slammed his palm down onto the ground – willing the energy to shoot in a straight line. He watched in a sort of evil fascination as the energy surge powered through the white road until it was directly under the Q Elite. There was a pause of around five seconds where the Q Elite stopped flailing its melted limb around and looked straight down in something approaching horror.

Then the ground erupted.

A tall geyser of purplish-orange fire blasted up from the ground; causing all combatants to stop their battles. Within the geyser, he could just about make out the silhouette of the Q Elite as it literally melted away. When the smoke cleared, the only indication anything had ever stood in the firing line was the Elite's half-melted helmet. Picking himself off the ground, Weihan dusted his hands off and looked to the battlefield. In an instant, the other Ultra Rangers leapt away from their opponents and began a long-range assault on them…with the possible exception of Heather, Will and Rebecca who initiated hand to hand combat with their long-range adversaries. So far, the gauntlet weapons of the others seemed to be much better for long range than hand to hand; although it seemed to be the other way round for the trio with long-range weapons. The arms of Heather's Wind Cross were useful in their other role as short blades and the Spike Defender was living up to its name…if the shrieks of pain coming from the Q Elite was any indication.

Explosions rocked the ground one after the other as the Q Elites fell to the change in tactics. One exploded after almost being dissolved in half by the Venom Shield; while another shattered under the concentrated ice blasts of the Mammoth Buster. Seeing that their numbers were rapidly shrinking, the remaining three Q Elites broke away from their battles and banded together. Lifting their weapons into the air, Weihan realised with a sinking feeling that they were all the long-range attackers…and they were combining their weapons. The crossbow locked to the underside of the small hand cannon which, in turn, locked onto the dual hand blasters. As the combined weapon fell into the hands of the remaining three, Weihan looked at the Rangers and issued a command he hoped would work.

"Main Five, form Ultra Blaster!"

Without the normal fanfare associated with forming a combination weapon, the main five Rangers summoned and threw their weapons into the air where they combined. The resulting gestalt looked similar to the original Mighty Morphin Power Blaster but slightly bulkier due to the added components of some of the weapons. The remaining Ultra Rangers stood back in case the resulting blast went wide. Suddenly, Saba appeared in a flash of light; startling Sarah P who hadn't summoned him. The enchanted sabre flew towards the Blaster and locked himself onto the top of the Ultra Blaster; sending a surge of energy through the weapon and all six Rangers. Weihan's eyes widened as he mentally smacked himself for missing the obvious omission previously. Of course it would make sense for Saba to be included in the Ultra Blaster – even if he wasn't in the original Power Blaster. Nodding at the Rangers, he summoned his Raptor Cannon and prepared to help if needed.

"Ultra Blaster, Fire!"

From both combination weapons shot mirroring beams of multicoloured energy. As they met in the middle, a blinding light erupted out over the city of Eltare, giving hope and strength to the defenders while sending jolts of fear through the forces of evil. From his position on the steps of the High Council, Ecliptor suppressed the fright and chuckled lightly at the outlandish display. The Q Elites were nothing more than glorified Quantrons with slightly augmented strength and they wouldn't last long against the Ultra Rangers. It would be worth losing those warriors if they allowed Dark Spectre to achieve his goal. He looked to the blasted doors of the High Council Chambers and kept an eye out for any defenders of Zordon that would want to save him from his fate. The Robot Rangers had been a challenge but they had fallen easily to the weight of the opposition. A large explosion from the Intergalactic Teleporter made him look in that direction just in time to see a six-coloured mushroom cloud hang in the air for a few seconds before dissipating.

Turning away at a sound from behind him, he saw the massive bulk of Dark Spectre confidently pulling a covered cylinder behind him. The Grand Monarch of Evil was in his original form of a glowing lava monster and he grinned down at Ecliptor before looking up at the sky with a snarl. Turning away from the Monarch, Ecliptor looked up just in time to see a small group of Velocifighters explode as twelve beams of light ploughed through them.

"Let them go. It's too late anyway."

Ecliptor looked back at Dark Spectre and nodded once. Astronema would want to hurry to the Cimmerian Planet in the Dark Fortress to celebrate the capture of Zordon. Whether Xonix would be there was anyone's guess as there were rumours floating around that the Overlord had used the Ritual of Da'Lana a second time and was in another 'power coma'. As the lava-beast vanished into a point of light, Ecliptor turned to the remaining security forces and spoke to them.

"Eltare…has fallen."

TBC…


	123. Chapter One Twenty Two: UAE

AN: More foreshadowing and my version of Ecliptor's backstory. Enjoy!

Chapter One Twenty Two: UAE

"I don't believe it!"

Lord Zedd couldn't believe his eyes at the being that appeared in front of him. He had just escorted his wife away from the boasting Divatox and was about to confirm the information in her boasts when the haggard form of his brother materialised in front them. To say that he had seen better days would be a slap in the face to those better days. Xonix looked like utter Hell. The scales on his body were dulled, the spines on his neck and back were drooping slightly and his eyes were glassy and exuded an immense lethargy.

"Brother, you look like shit as the humans say. What happened to you?"

Xonix shook his head and growled in response. His worst fears had been realised upon waking up sooner than expected. The Interdimensional backlash from the violent ending of the monster should have sent him into the power coma for at least five months…but he had awakened after three and a half weeks. He had used the past hour researching the 'fate worse than death' but every lead he found turned up empty. He had been on the verge of screaming out loud when Dark Spectre had summoned him to the Cimmerian Planet to celebrate a 'mighty victory'. Whatever that victory was, it was enough for the Grand Monarch to gather up all the members of the various factions and amalgamate them into a United Alliance Of Evil. Clearing his throat, he opened his maw to reply when a booming voice silence all the gathered forces.

"Now entering is Astronema; the Princess of Evil!"

Xonix rolled his eyes as the young woman appeared from twin points of light. He could hear Divatox muttering something to her henchmen as the so-called Princess of Evil approached him. He hadn't the slightest idea what she would want with him as Dark Spectre was aware that he was fixated on the Ultra Rangers. Before she could come any closer a rebuilt King Mondo appeared right in his face and started screaming incoherently at him. Xonix rolled his eyes again upon the realisation that the Machine King was extremely upset about the easy defeat of Cyb-Org. Growling tiredly, he lashed out with his tail – striking the rotund machine's chest and sending him flying into a nearby support column. As the robot crumpled to the ground, Xonix stalked over and lifted the machine up by the neck; denting the freshly forged metal easily.

"Shut up, Mondo. You failed yet again. Don't piss me off."

Letting the disgruntled machine drop to the floor, he was very aware of a sudden silence around him. Shaking his head in annoyance, he walked over to Astronema and grabbed her upper arm. As he pulled her along, he was aware of the robotic warrior Ecliptor trailing behind at a safe distance. Flicking an eye to the young lady, Xonix nodded appreciatively. Human women weren't his cup of tea but he had…enjoyed them on time to time. Of course, that enjoyment was derived from hallucinatory images and the fear surges they emitted. No physical contact would be made between him and the…plaything; which was good to avoid those unsightly diseases carried by those humanoids. Once he was satisfied that they were out of earshot, he turned to her.

"What does his Highness want now? I'm going after the Ultra Rangers and he should know that by now."

"You are wanted as a member of the United Alliance of Evil."

He couldn't help himself. Despite the uncertainty of the future and the possibility that he may drop into a deeply unconscious state; he threw his head back and laughed out loud. The very thought of chaining himself back to Dark Spectre was unimaginable in its audacity. He would promise safety and security but would end up controlling every little thing that was done either himself or via a servant of his. Even the threat of Dark Spectre ending his life was a joke as Xonix had tendrils of influence that swept over the entire Universe…and one of those tendrils was connected to Psychogre. Even Dark Spectre was afraid of pissing off Psychogre and the Ultra Psychos.

"Are you finished?"

As his raucous laughter died down, he wiped his eyes and looked at Astronema again. She didn't seem perturbed by his sudden laughing fit; rather she looked bored and was idly fingering the locket on her neck. If she was serious about her offer, she had to sell it better than that. If Dark Spectre wanted to fight his army again for the deal to be cemented, so be it. Xonix would decimate him again and utterly destroy the mind of Astronema; leaving her a drooling and gibbering mess for future generations to use as a cosmic sex toy.

"The answer is no. I'm not slaving myself to Dark Spectre again. Honestly, this UAE thing he's got going on is a joke."

She asked why and he inhaled deeply. For an explanation like this, he was going to take a while. Absentmindedly, he wondered if lava juice would cure the lethargy in his muscles.

"Evil can't be united. We cheat, lie and backstab like it's going out of style. If anyone tries to 'unite' the various factions, they'd better have a hell of a lot of power to back up any threat they make. Sure, Dark Spectre has that power and could, in theory, make it work but there are a lot of things that both can and can't happen in this 'UAE'. As Evil beings, we thrive on the infighting between our various factions. We occasionally help each other out but we return back to the fighting when the 'help' sours. If we turn 'good' along the way, we'll eventually be dragged back into the fold of evil, sometimes kicking and screaming. We scheme, murder and rape our way through the universe and…and this isn't convincing you, is it?"

As she giggled behind her hand, he rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Well, anyway, it's a good offer but I'll have to decline it. Now, where's the buffet table? I just woke up from a power 'nap' and I'm starving."

Walking in the direction the Princess of Evil pointed, the reptilian being snarled in annoyance as Ecliptor stepped out of the shadows. As expected, the cybernetic warrior blocked his path and raised his sword. Rolling an eye, Xonix summoned his own blade to him and rested it on his shoulder.

"You should not talk like that in front of the Princess. She may start to get ideas."

Xonix snorted in derision and dismissed his blade.

"Doubtful. She's been raised by Evil pretty much her entire life so she knows the ins and outs. With a body like that, she would know all the ins and outs but I'll stop only because I'm as hungry as hell. Lighten up Ecliptor; you were looser a few centuries ago."

The cybernetic warrior lowered his blade and shook his head in resignation. He had been looser years ago as Dark Spectre had not chosen him to bring up the Princess of Evil. Also, there was the point that all those years ago he had still been in his original, organic body. Pillaging, looting and raping planets was so much easier and better when one had an organic body…except that situation had been too good to last. An experimental bomb left behind on an uncharted planet had stripped pretty much everything from his body; leaving him nothing but a brain in a jar. His partner at the time – a humanoid Demonian named Darkonda – had delivered him to Dark Spectre in return for 'unimaginable power'. That 'promise' had been a lie but the Demonian hadn't minded as the Monarch had resculpted his body into something truly fear-inducing.

For him, however, Dark Spectre had seen great promise and potential. He had his top scientists create a powerful robotic body with extremely advanced technology. The green lines were his new nervous system and they allowed him to control his body remotely as well as access the illusionary powers that had somehow been unlocked within. Then, Dark Spectre had plucked him out of thousands of warriors a few years back to serve as a teacher and guide for the new Princess of Evil. It was a job he had embraced wholeheartedly…even if Xonix didn't understand. Settling down at the long buffet table, he glanced at Astronema who smiled back. Princess of Evil she may be, but she was still a young girl at heart and Xonix would not sink his claws into her. He paused as Dark Spectre emerged at the head of the table and proclaimed the long-awaited news.

"I have captured the mighty Zordon and am draining him of his power!"

TBC…

AN2: We all know what happens after. Why doesn't Xonix participate? He just awoke from a Power coma and is too busy stuffing his face to care about one lone Power Ranger.


	124. Chapter One Twenty Three: Fax

AN: Ah, Year 9 in St Andrews. Glorious year that could only have been improved by daily monster attacks. Anyway, Enjoy!

Chapter One Twenty Two: Fax

As he stepped into class, Weihan marvelled at the news they had received.

Concurrent with the attack on Eltare, the Power Chamber had been targeted by Divatox and had been destroyed yet again. Dimitria and the Blue Senturion had left the Turbo Rangers to fight on Eltare and had arrived literally seconds after they had left. Justin had been forced to call upon the retired Rangers for assistance as he couldn't get in touch with the Ultra Rangers, but the overwhelming forces of Divatox had eventually won in the end. The Turbo and Rescuezords had been destroyed and the Turbo Rangers had lost their powers. The four powerless teens had left Earth using one of Zordon's shuttles to either go to Eltare or somewhere called the 'Cimmerian Planet'. Before leaving Angel Grove with his father, the preteen genius had managed to salvage some components from the Power Chamber and install them into the Ultra Cavern; including the communications frequency for something called the Astro Megaship.

Upon learning that they had been on Eltare, Justin asked them why they hadn't been able to do anything except run. Weihan had amalgamated all of the footage from the helmet recorders and had shown it to the young boy. Viewing the footage had shown the kid what a true all-out battle was like and had effectively shut him up about the siege of the Power Chamber. There had been interesting news from the other Rangers as well. Tommy had taken up stock car racing in an effort to fund his newfound interest in palaeontology and Kim would be supporting after the Pan Global Games were held. Apparently the interest stemmed from a set of blueprints that Billy had sent him from Zordon. He chuckled under his breath as he thought of Tommy as a Ranger mentor. True, he would probably be helped considerably by Kim – but it was still a hilarious thought.

Looking around the computer room, he marvelled at the difference in classrooms. The BBC's rooms were more spacious than the ones in St Andrew's and most of them had windows overlooking Druitt Street. Unfortunately, the monster protections systems were woefully lacking in his opinion. Suppressing those thoughts, he looked to the front of the class where a small, nerdy-looking man was about to speak.

"All right; for those not in the know, this is Year 9 Computer Studies and we have been looking at different methods of communication over the years. Today, we will be looking at the fax machine."

Rolling his eyes, Weihan settled back into the seat and opened his book. He was surprised to see notes written in extremely neat handwriting and groaned inwardly. His magical duplicate had better handwriting than him…then again; he could explain it away as a mental thing. Looking over his shoulder at the other Rangers, he subtly motioned to his book while skimming his eyes over theirs. As expected, the same neat handwriting was prevalent on the pages and he rolled his eyes while shaking his head. Withdrawing a pen from the inner pocket of his blazer, he began writing down the notes as explained by the teacher – a slightly quirky man called Mr Corke. To be in class again and not being thrown into battle was starting to become an extremely rare occasion.

A loud bang from the street made him roll his eyes and sigh in exasperation. Attacks at the school were getting out of hand but the students were managing to cope somewhat. Mr Corke looked at the students and started dictating instructions to them about what should be done and where the emergency meeting place was. In actuality, it was incredibly fascinating to know just what happened in a monster attack and how the civilians kept safe. Standing up, Weihan stretched his arms and shook the tiredness out of his legs and saw the others do the same. He was pretty sure that they would soon –

"The Power Rangers!"

Wait…Power Rangers? He didn't think that Tommy, Kim or even Adam would have known about the danger and teleported to Sydney in less than five minutes. Ignoring the protests of the teacher, he walked to one of the windows and pulled up the blinds. His eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of sunlight and widened as he saw the scene. A cyclopsid creature that looked extremely similar to a fax machine was attacking five brightly coloured figures. The supposed Rangers were slowly gaining the upper hand but they were causing a great deal of damage to the surrounding areas. Narrowing his eyes, he growled under his breath as the Red Ranger blasted the monster into the nearby Post Office with his dual blasters.

"Mr Liang, please evacuate the building calmly and without fuss."

Rolling his eyes yet again, he complied but hung back with the others as the sounds of battle grew closer.

"I don't like this one bit. There are new Rangers out fighting a monster and causing a hell of a lot of property damage. I think that – "

His sentence was cut off violently as the Red Ranger was thrown through the windows. As they were the only people still in the classroom, Weihan created a wall of fire around them that destroyed the shards of glass, wood and steel that flew towards them. As the Ranger tumbled to the ground, he demorphed in a violent burst of light and they gaped at his identity. He was a young man in his late teens and he was wearing a strange grey and red flight suit. His jacket was dotted with strange symbols and colours…and the morpher on his wrist was sparking slightly. Brain racing, he leapt into action and started issuing commands.

"Rachelle, Paris and Alex, you're with me. The rest of you watch from the Ultra Cavern and try to get this guy some help. Will, check his Morpher and see if you can fix it in some way. If the situation deteriorates, you jump in and save our butts."

Time to see who the new guys were.

TBC…


	125. Chapter One Twenty Four: Astro

AN: I wish I was at the Countdown Battle already…I have so much planned, it's going to be great when I get there. Enjoy!

Chapter One Twenty Four: Astro

"We've gotta retreat!"

TJ's strangled statement came as no surprise to the other Rangers. They had returned to Earth in the Megaship and had been in the process of informing their parents when the call had come through. Astronema had apparently sent a monster down but it wasn't in Angel Grove. This monster was rampaging through the Sydney CBD and with civilians around, there would more than likely be casualties. Andros had given them a crash course on how to fly on the Galaxy Gliders; but they had chosen to teleport directly onto the scene. The monster had wasted no time in introducing itself as Faximile before launching into them with a flurry of attacks.

The fight had been brutal and had moved quite a ways from its initial location; but they had been steadily gaining the upper hand against the creature. Andros had pulled out his Astro Blaster to shoot it into a nearby building but it had recovered quickly and thrown the Red Ranger through the wall of a nearby office block. Judging from the bright flash of red light, he had demorphed. TJ hoped there weren't any people around or they would have broken one of Zordon's cardinal rules. Flipping away from a new trick of the monster – firing razor-sharp sheets of paper – he remembered Justin saying something about Rangers in Sydney and Tommy also informing him of that fact. Well, Rangers or not, there wasn't any team that could stand up to a creature like this…

"Hey, freak, wanna tangle with some real Rangers?"

The Astro Rangers looked around for the source of the voice and saw four strange figures jump down from the hole where the Andros had been thrown. As they landed, TJ felt his eyes widen further as he absorbed their coloured armour and terrifyingly detailed helmets. Unlike what he had been told, there were only four Rangers in front of him: Orange, Red, Silver and a strange combination of Black and Green. Without bothering to check if the Astro Rangers were all right, the quartet rushed the monster. They didn't waste time on fancy yells or flashy moves; they began pummelling the monster with nothing but their fists and feet. Regrouping, the Astro Rangers could only watch in amazement as the Rangers fought.

In four flashes of light, four different weapons were summoned wordlessly. The blades cleaved through the air silently and dug deep into the flesh of the monster, while the Silver Ranger flipped away holding a mighty war hammer. As Faximile howled in pain, the three attacking Rangers leapt away as the Silver Ranger's hammer struck the ground extremely hard. From the impact site came a shockwave of energy that rippled through the ground and making a beeline for the monster. As the energy slammed into the monster, it let out a slight electronic wail before falling back and exploding. The Rangers seemed to wait around for the monster to grow before the one in Orange shrugged his shoulders, pulled out a strange cannon-like weapon and began the task of fully destroying the remains of the monster. The other Rangers assisted by summoning strange gauntlet blasters that took care of the remaining electrical components that were scattered about.

"Who are you? Where's…the Red Ranger?"

Unsurprisingly, Ashley had asked and TJ had to stifle a smile. The Yellow Ranger was extremely interested in the aloof Red Ranger and, although he kept an appearance of a distant leader, he suspected Andros was beginning to feel the same way. Then again, they had only been Astro – or Space – Rangers for a few days and he could be looking into things too much. Mulling over the dual names they seemed to have, he made a mental note to ask Andros whether they were the Astro or the Space Rangers. There was another name that DECA had referred to them as: Lightstar Rangers…which gave him a headache trying to work that one out.

"He's at our base. We'll teleport you there now."

TJ creased his brow in thought. For these Rangers to trust them within seconds either showed their extreme trust in Rangers or their extreme stupidity – especially if there were only four of them. Apparently Carlos had the same idea.

"What if we're going to take over your base? You can't trust us that easily!"

The Orange Ranger turned around and stared at the Astro Rangers. TJ shifted under the intensity of both his gaze and the life-like details on his helmet. After a few moments of silence, the Ranger shrugged once just as a news helicopter buzzed overhead.

"If you attack us in our own base where we have your Red Ranger…well, you won't get very far. There's five of you and twelve of us. It won't end well."

TJ nodded slowly and swallowed hard but slowly started to lighten up. Twelve Rangers meant it would be easier to search the Universe for Zordon. The total would be increased to seventeen once the genius on Aquitar finished repairing the Robot Rangers that had been heavily damaged defending Zordon. If TJ succeeded in contacting Tommy, the number would rise dramatically as the 'retired' Rangers would definitely want to search for their mentor. Glancing at the others, he made a decision.

"We'll go with you."

TBC…

AN2: Spoiler for future chapters – Ultra Psycho Rangers and Ultra Psycho Zords.


	126. Chapter One Twenty Five: Diverging Paths

AN: Mini clip show ep…kinda. Not so much detail as in flashes of images. Enjoy!

Chapter One Twenty Five: Diverging Paths

"This place is amazing!"

Weihan rolled his eyes at the reactions of the new Rangers as they teleported into the Ultra Cavern. He honestly hadn't expected the monster to go down so easily but shrugged it off. If it had been a monster sent by some new evil force; the person or monster probably hadn't been briefed on the Rangers in Sydney. He doubted it was Xonix as there hadn't been any accompanying Golems or Fiends and Jabarkas hadn't teleported down for a rematch. Nodding once to the others, he demorphed while walking to the bedside of the supposed Red Ranger. Despite being close to unconsciousness before, he was awake and was talking to Will as the White Ranger connected some wires inside his Morpher. Upon seeing Weihan walk over, the Red Ranger inclined his head and spoke is a strong tone.

"I thank you for taking me in and assisting me with my wounds. My name is Andros and I am the Red Space Ranger, also known as the Red Astro Ranger. Our mission is to search the Universe for Zordon."

"Wait, Zordon? What happened to him?"

At Rachelle's question, Andros nodded once to the four morphed Astro Rangers who demorphed in shimmers of light. Seeing the human forms of the Rangers, Weihan held up a hand and explained that they didn't need to reveal their names as the Robot Rangers on Eltare had informed them of who they were. Seeing the nods and general relaxing of the Rangers, he returned to Rachelle's original query. Andros looked strangely at the Orange Ranger.

"You were not aware that Dark Spectre had taken Zordon from Eltare? I guessed that you would have known because you were on Eltare"

Weihan shook his head, explaining that they were only there to meet Zordon after the 'completion' of the Ultra Powers. Upon hearing the words 'Ultra Powers', Andros' eyes went wide and he looked at the other Rangers with a mixture of surprise, awe and extreme reverence. Weihan shifted uncomfortably under at the look of the Red Ranger as it felt like he was missing a lot of information. Upon prompting by Will, Andros began speaking.

"The Ultra Powers were an urban legend that was widespread around the universe. Supposedly during Rita's final battle with Zordon, he created twelve crystals to combat her magic but they were lost after a spell sent them away. These crystals were said to contain enough power and potential to destroy Dark Spectre for good. You must help us search for Zordon! The Rangers on Earth can defend against your enemy!"

Weihan sighed heavily and shook his head. To think that Zordon was captured and in the hands of some Grand Monarch of Evil was bone-chilling; it defied all sense of belief. It was true that the Space Rangers possibly needed their help in searching the universe, but the Earth would be placed under serious jeopardy if they left it undefended against Xonix. The Zeo Rangers wouldn't last five minutes against Xonix – Zords or not. Even if their ranks were bolstered by the remaining Rangers, Xonix would still be too much for them. He had conferred with the others after the teleport had ended about the orders to leave Eltare. Eliza had said that she had received them directly from Zordon and she had contacted the remaining Rangers.

Why didn't Zordon want them to defend Eltare from Dark Spectre? It seemed absurd that he would tell them to leave him to his fate and not lift a finger to help. He suddenly shuddered as an image of Psychogre flashed into his mind. If Psychogre attacked the High Council Chambers head on then there wouldn't be a force in the Universe that could stop him. Letting out another sigh, he looked the Red Ranger in the eye and began speaking.

"I wish we could go with you but we can't. Just as you Space Rangers have a duty to search for Zordon, we Ultra Rangers have a duty to protect the Earth from Xonix. Sure, there are other Rangers on Earth but all of them have been up against Xonix at one time or another…and they were beaten back by his power and brutality."

"You're just scared of Dark Spectre, aren't you?"

He looked over his shoulder to see the Yellow Ranger be lightly elbowed in the side by the Pink Ranger. The Asian girl threw him an apologetic glance and he nodded in reply. Seeing as there was no other alternative, he walked over to the Main Command console and tapped a few keys, resulting in screens rising up from the tops of the consoles and descended from the ceiling. Tapping another sequence of keys, the screens began to turn on slowly; each showing different images of the past battles. Weihan tapped another set of keys; this time barring the images of the dark future from being shown. The Space Rangers had a small amount of innocence in them; even though they had been scarred by their previous battles. Seeing the dark future would rob them of that innocence completely.

As the Space Rangers looked at the images, they began to understand the brutality of the foe the Ultra Rangers faced. A group of Golems torched a small gathering of children before being attacked by the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers…who lost spectacularly. The Ogre beat back the original and upgraded Thunderzords without breaking a sweat. Apollonia sent two figures tumbling to their deaths after blasting a nearby building. Golems and Fiends ran rampant through George Street in the Sydney CBD and they saw the Orange Ranger's attempts at defeating the horde. The final image was of the massive Ultra and Turbo Zord assault on Xonix's Moon Fortress

"Actually, I would love the chance to attack Dark Spectre head on. It would be a refreshing change of pace and would be a pretty easy battle for us. It's not our responsibility. Our responsibility is protecting the Earth against Xonix and I hope you understand that someday."

As the battle footage ended, Weihan retracted the screens and turned towards Andros. The Red Ranger nodded once and reclaimed his Morpher from Will. The White Ranger leant over to explain the new changes, but the Ranger waved him off. The Red Ranger retrieved his flight jacket from a nearby console and rummaged around in the pockets for a slip of paper. Walking over to the salvaged Communications console; the Red Ranger proceeded to punch in a few digits on the paper. Finishing with his inputting of…whatever it was, the Red Ranger nodded in thanks to the other Rangers before walking past Weihan to rejoin the other Space Rangers.

"I've saved our communication frequency onto your system. We will call you whenever we require assistance. In turn, you can contact us whenever you need help or if you come across a new lead."

Weihan nodded at the information and made a mental note to ensure it was ingrained in all of the communicators – including AJ's. Before they initiated their teleport, he inclined his head to Andros and spoke.

"Good luck out there. You'll need it."

TBC…


	127. Chapter One Twenty Six: Warped Image

AN: Introductions to a few of the Ultra Psychos here and mini backstories for a few of them. Enjoy!

Chapter One Twenty Six: Warped Image

So much for a post-coma effort…

Xonix snapped off the viewscreen in disgust. Faximile wasn't designed to attack the Ultra Rangers head on and that was why he had been given to Astronema with implicit orders not to attack Sydney. Unfortunately, the little girl had gotten the idea to send it to Sydney while saying some bullshit about the Ultra Rangers not going to be able to defeat the monster because of an army of Quantrons. Before the Ultra Rangers had jumped in, he had gotten a call from the stuck-up bitch herself claiming that the Quantrons were refusing to attack after they had mowed through the Q Elites during their escape from Eltare. He had been intrigued by the revelation that the Ultra Rangers had been on Eltare and had asked if any of his army had been attacking the planet. She had shrugged and ended the call; leaving him wondering exactly where his freelance forces were in the Universe.

Three or four of the original five teams had been destroyed in fierce fighting with various Ranger teams over the years. He was sure that one had been destroyed by Drakor as a test of his strength or something. Of course, he had heard that information third-hand as the witnesses had been afraid of his wrath…or something like that. The fear was not unfounded as he hadn't learnt to control his rampaging temper then. Of the remaining three, he was only completely sure of the fate of two units. The Threshers – a group of repurposed harvesting machines – had been destroyed in a suicide attack against Hercuron's Rangers. The resulting shockwave had all but ensured no living being sans plants would be able to live on the surface ever again. The Sun Storms – humanoid representations of solar flares – had been killed in another suicide attack on Aquitar's sister planet Gratha, although the fallout was much better. Sure, the planet had been covered in a large ocean before…but now it was a lush tropical rainforest and was seen as a neutral holiday destination. If an evil force was going to attack there; they would be ripped apart by the intergalactic press…if the Aquitian Rangers didn't destroy them first.

The team whose status he was unaware of were the Trotters; a small group of horse-like beings which he had found prior to his dimensional jaunt. The last news he had of them was a small report that they were investigating news that a Ranger team on Efas was working on a powerful new weapon. He wasn't too worried about them as they could take care of themselves and if things got too out of hand, Psychocorn would deal with them all with Slashing Vengeance right on his heels. Slinking onto his throne, he looked up as a large explosion sounded from the rock above. Twinlobe and Yit were designing and building a new and improved Moon Fortress that could easily withstand the force that had destroyed the previous one. Slabs of reinforced armour were being made on site and being assembled within days of the plans being laid. The two scientists were also designing new weapons and subtly improving the ones that weren't destroyed. He rested his head on a hand as he realised what he had to do.

He was sure they had fought on Eltare and their paths would have crossed with the Ultra Rangers at least once. The mere fact that the Ultra Rangers were still breathing was a testament to their ability to hold back when commanded by an inferior evil. Whether all six of them had been on Eltare wasn't known to him but as the planet was still in one piece; he assumed only one had been on the surface – his strongest creation ever: Psychogre. The creature had been created after a long and agonizing process and had shown little to no regard for its new master…at first. After years of honing its strengths, the creature had been presented with an empty energy transmorpher and vague instructions. Forty years later, it had returned with the Psycho Gems: six powerful gems rumoured to be able to withstand anything pitted against it. Even Xonix had great difficulty overcoming his minion's armoured form. So sure in the fact that no others could stand against Psychogre, Xonix dubbed him to be the first of the Ultra Psycho Rangers; giving the reptilian beast the Orange Psycho Gem and sending him on his first mission.

The next member of the Ultra Psychos to be recruited was Kryosis, the Freezard. The creature had been imprisoned on the planet of Dromads by the Red Barbarian Ranger who went by the overly long name of ZeldatheSwordsman. Apparently the natives didn't believe in spacing the name out or some crazy superstition like that. After a long and tiring battle where every single imperfection in his fighting style was pointed out and needlessly explained; Psychogre had jumped onto the Ranger and messily devoured him in front of the other Barbarian Rangers…who had promptly surrendered after cheering profusely. Xonix had taken the extremely rare step of allowing them to live on the planet without their Powers and was apparently worshipped in the new civilisation as their new god…which was somewhat disconcerting.

The new Ultra Psycho Ranger had complemented Psychogre's fighting style well as the Blue Ultra Psycho would freeze the weapon emplacements while the Orange Ultra Psycho shattered them with a flick of a wrist. It was during one of their many planet raids that the Ultra Psycho Pink Ranger had been found. She was a humanoid shape-shifter whose true form Xonix had never seen. Her real name was something that was extremely unpronounceable by any of them so she had renamed herself Lustor; which was an extremely apt name for her considerable…talents. She would draw in the male Rangers with her ample…charms…before draining them of their energy in a rather disturbing way.

Since coming to Earth, Xonix had been reading up on the past scholars in an effort to understand humans and had decided that the one called Freud would run in the other direction if he were to face Lustor. From the reports Psychogre had sent; it seemed as if Lustor had discovered a better way to feed…though he wasn't too keen on seeing that as he occasionally still had nightmares from accidentally seeing her…blowing technique. It had also put him off any sort of long and thin foods for a few centuries. The only monsters who could withstand her draining techniques were the Ultra Psychos but Xonix didn't want to think about what happened behind closed doors.

There were no two ways about it. He had been charged with the task of keeping the Ultra Rangers on Earth for as long as possible. He hated bowing down to Dark Spectre but it had to be done to ensure he didn't have to fight the lava creature again. It would also allow him to keep his mind off the potentially fatal consequences of coming out of a Power Coma early and perhaps he could ask Creeper or Nekros about what could possibly happen. Arachno and Premil would have to stay as far away from him as possible but they were used to that happening and could spar together or in a three-way battle with Lustor…which wouldn't actually involve much battling.

Shaking his head to rid himself of those disturbing images, he brought up his right arm and tapped the integrated circuit only he knew was beneath his flesh. It had been a bitch to install – even with Kryosis' help – but it ensured he could contact them near-instantly.

"Ultra Psychos, it is time."

TBC…


	128. Chapter One Twenty Seven: Gone Psycho

AN: No, the character at the end isn't Psychogre…

AN2: And this is 100 chapters since I picked up this story again! Woo...and holy shit!

Chapter One Twenty Seven: Gone Psycho

"All right, this is getting out of hand."

Weihan stepped in between the arguing individuals with a sigh. Even though Sam had accepted the fact that his girlfriend was an Ultra Ranger, he had gotten it into his mind to interrogate the male Rangers to stay away from her. His own 'conversation' had gone along surprisingly well as AJ had been present and Sam had been trying to look everywhere but straight at them. It had also hammered home the point of using AJ's apartment for their more…energetic…activities. Rebecca had given him a bit of teasing about it but he had mostly waved it off…and deleted the security logs of that very embarrassing moment. Sam was also treating him slightly differently but he had explained that he was trying to process the thought of the giant underground base with no additional rooms for living quarters for…that activity.

"I'm just saying that you don't need to be worried, mate."

"Don't 'mate' me just yet, Burns. I see the way you look at the girls around you; Hell, I see how you look at Rachel! You just keep away from her!"

Weihan chuckled under his breath and lightly stepped back. In battle, it would be next to impossible to ignore one's comrades and not help them in a tight spot. The only times the entire team were gathered was for battle and for full team trainings. The rest of the time Rangers came and left the Ultra Cavern as they pleased; the only times they came in groups of more than three was if they had scheduled in some time on the Simul-Deck fighting against the monsters Weihan had uploaded or against the holographic zombie horde that was installed.

In truth, the zombie horde was a drastically changed 'Future Massacre' with the dialogue removed and generic grunts and moans added in. He had debated long and hard with himself on its addition as he didn't want to sully the memories of those who had fallen to his Sabre. Finally, the training potential couldn't be ignored…which necessitated the changes. He still had the raw footage locked away deep within the computers of the Ultra Cavern. To even access it required a ridiculously long and convoluted unlocking sequence that took more than three hours to complete. It was more than overkill but those images were sure to fuck up those not ready to see them. Then again…

"Look, she's a friend and a team mate! If she calls for help in a battle and I'm the closest one there; I'll help her!"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you – "

"Shut up, Sam. I thought we went over this before?"

Weihan's voice was stern and caused everyone around to look at him. He was suddenly very grateful that the school had chosen a pool next to an open oval for this year's swimming carnival. As swimming wasn't his forte, he was cheering from the sidelines for the third year in a row. Gaining House Points for event participation just didn't seem like an important thing somehow. Actually, the only good thing the swimming carnival was good for was seeing hot chicks in their swimsuits but he had AJ and had seen her in things that were better than swimsuits. He had slipped away to the oval with Alex, Rebecca, Rachelle, Eliza and Heather for a quick training session when Sam had noticed them. When Weihan had paired up Rebecca with Alex; Sam had begun his 'talk'.

"We did but that was just for you…and you weren't really in any mood to talk and –"

He opened his mouth to reply when a strange crackle made him look in the direction of the pool. The pool had been cleared for the next race but everyone was looking at the surface of the water in growing terror. Motioning for Sam and the others to stay where they were, he jogged back to the pool and scanned the surrounding areas nervously. Everything seemed to be in order and everyone was roughly in the same position as before…except they were staring that the pool. Swallowing nervously, the Orange Ranger looked towards the glassy surface of the water but called upon his Power just in case. Squinting through the glare of the sun, his eyes widened as the shouting and pointing began. He fought hard to control his breathing as he saw the figure emerging from the pool.

It was a Ranger of some sort. He could tell from the armour alone but it wasn't anything he was familiar with. There were no smooth lines or rounded edges; it looked like a living weapon of destruction. The colour on its armour was black as space but the armour lines were a mixture of orange, red and white. The helmet design wasn't based on anything natural or manufactured but looked like a demon's head with jaws bared wide. Everything about its armour screamed 'demonic' and 'evil' from the horns on both sides of its helmet to the jagged blade it held in one fist. Its voice was loud, booming and held a strange robotic echoing quality.

"I am the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger and you will all die!"

TBC…


	129. 128: Rise of the Psychos

Chapter One Twenty Eight: Rise of the Psychos

"RUN!"

Rolling his eyes as he blended into the crowd, Weihan shrugged to himself. He supposed that was the only thing anyone could do after an entrance like that. Slipping to one side of the fleeing crowd, he ducked into a side alley under the bleachers and waited for the majority of the crowd to pass. Lifting his communicator to his lips, he was about to speak when a voice came from behind him.

"Weihan, have you seen Eliza anywhere? I was going to meet her but the monster showed up and…"

He groaned under his breath. Eliza had said she wasn't going to tell Ashley Judd about her Rangering but it looked like he would find out very soon. Secrets always came around to bite people in the ass

"Ranger! I can smell you! Come out and face your death!"

He was torn between morphing in front of a civilian and finding a place to hide. The flipside to the latter option was that Eliza and the others would possibly face this…Ultra Psycho Ranger unmorphed. It wasn't going to be something like recruitment where the civilian would become a Ranger; instead it reeked of a decision that Alex had to do when recruiting Rebecca in front of Sam. He turned to the young boy and opened his mouth to speak…when the shadows around them came alive. The two boys yelped and ran as inky black hands stretched out at them and a hissing voice came from them.

"You cannot hide from me, Ranger."

Running out of the bleachers, Weihan pushed Ashley forwards as they stumbled up the seats into the sun. He wasn't sure what the shadow being had been but he was willing to be it was a new monster by Xonix. That cemented the thought of Xonix having awakened from his coma. He could see the others in the oval looking at him and he waved at them urgently. Whatever was happening, one Ranger wasn't going to be enough – even if that Ranger was himself. A strange chittering noise behind him made him whirl around and step back in fear and revulsion. A strange brown and white humanoid spider hung from the roof, suspended by a thin silk strand. Despite the lack of a mouth, the creature seemed to grin wickedly at him. Not caring about Ashley's presence, he channelled fire into his palms and flung a powerful fireball at the monster. As the fireball exploded against the armoured carapace, he pushed Ashley back the way they had came and ran towards the others.

"We've got trouble. Two monsters and something calling itself an Ultra Psycho Ranger. Eliza, take your boyfriend and Sam and get out of here."

A low, seductive laugh wafted through the air and sent a shiver down his spine. The group turned to see a tall slender blonde woman walk out of the nearby bush. The woman wore a low cut black top that showed off her considerable bust and a very short skirt that Weihan thought was made out of a napkin. She held a strange pink staff that was very phallic in nature and gazed at the boys in the group with obvious lust. Weihan felt himself be drawn in by her beauty but resisted by thinking about AJ and their time together. As he could see Alex, Ashley and even Sam being drawn in, he took a drastic step to snap them out of her trance.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

In five flashes of light, the Orange, Purple, Silver, Pink and Brown Ultra Rangers stood in front of the entranced males. Switching on the air filters, he saw that there was an extremely strong pheromone that was exuded from the humanoid in front of them. The filter was able to block most of the effects but if they didn't leave the area soon then he would be under her spell again. Seeing the Rangers in front of them, Sam and Ashley snapped out of their trances but Alex didn't budge. To their horror, he took a step forward in her direction and staggered towards the woman. Weihan yelled at his friend while his mind fought against the pheromones.

"Alex! Think with your upstairs brain…not working. Not working. Sam, you and Ashley grab hold of him and hit the red button on the bracelet on his wrist."

"That won't be necessary. Lustor, release the Ranger."

Weihan froze as the voice washed over him. It was a smooth voice that oozed like fresh honey but held an undercurrent of menace. Controlling his breathing, he forced himself to turn around and face the being that had brutally beaten him down on Eltare. The reptilian beast grinned at him as if guessing his thoughts and laughed as more monsters gathered around him. Leaping from the bleachers was the humanoid spider – now with a blackened area on its chest – and it held up a strange brown tinted Gem. From the Rangers' shadows came a barely-humanoid figure draped in a long black cloak and carrying a short handled sickle. In one shadowy hand, it gripped a black Gem that looked to be pure onyx. Having stopped her flow of pheromones, the blonde humanoid called Lustor sashayed next to the spider, turned around and bent over seductively to expose her bare bottom. In one fluid motion, she pulled out a Silver Gem from…somewhere he wasn't sure of.

"Did you see that? She pulled it out of her ass!"

He shot Alex a disgusted look but realised that it couldn't be seen through the visor. If Lustor could fit a fairly sizeable gem in her anal cavity…he forcefully shook his head to rid his mind of the images that produced. There were bigger problems in front of them. Squaring his shoulders, he took a step towards the trio when the ground softened beneath his feet. Tumbling to the ground, he looked up just in time to see what looked like a humanoid mudpie rise up from the ground and reveal a blood-red Gem in what he assumed was a hand. As the creature seemed to grin, a rotting arm burst up from the ground in front of the Rangers. Drawing his Sabre, Weihan held the weapon out in front of him and expected the worst. Steven had made certain that Contender couldn't be resurrected but there was no telling what these new creatures were capable of.

As the body dragged itself from the ground, the Orange Range relaxed slightly as he realised that Steven Johnston's body hadn't come back from destruction…yet he wished it had. The body in front of them barely resembled a human and was even more rotted and decomposed than the ghouls he had seen in Spectre Theatre. Mottled green flesh hung loosely from yellowing bones as its remaining eye leered at the group. Plunging a bony fist into its stomach, the zombified creature withdrew a glimmering Green Gem from the decaying sack. He wrinkled his nose as a stench of rotting meat and lemons washed over them. He was aware of the other Rangers pulling out their weapons or – in the case of Alex – morphing into Ninjetti form. Aware that his every hand movement was being watched by the psychotic beings, he accessed the emergency menu with his eyes. Scrolling down the options, he selected and activated the emergency beacon that would send a signal out to all Rangers with a communicator.

He shivered as the air temperature began to steadily drop. Concentrating the energy in his hands, he wrapped the two civilians up in a warm energy blanket and looked around for the source of the chill. A strange figure stepped out from behind the group and the strange chill lifted. Dismissing the energy blanket, Weihan summoned his Raptor Cannon and formed the Raptor Launcher. It was a short, squat creature with spines all over its body and the faint odour of rotting fish. It looked similar to a fish and had a long thin tail that ended in a scorpion's stinger. In one fin-like hand, it gripped a deep blue Gem and bared rows of razor-sharp teeth at them. The strange Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger was nowhere to be seen; yet Psychogre gripped a fist-sized Orange Gem in one powerful hand.

In unison, the seven monsters raised their Gems into the air and screamed something unintelligible. The ground quaked violently as gouts of magma sprayed up from deep cracks and the wind whipped about violently as if the end of the world was nigh. Jagged bolts of electricity crackled overhead and slammed into the figures and covered them with pieces of Ranger-like armour. Their chests were covered by the same breast-plate; a single piece of seemingly golden metal which bore the image of bloodstained fangs. Half-helmets covered their heads and the opaque visors were lined with the colour of their Gems. From the base of their necks, short capes unrolled from their armour and red and black belts encircled their waists. Stepping towards the shocked group, Psychogre lifted his fist and bellowed a challenge to the world.

"We are the Ultra Psycho Rangers and you will die!"

TBC…

AN: And so it begins…the Hellfire Arc.


	130. 129: Fall of the Ultras

AN: Shit gets even more real. Enjoy and review!

Chapter One Twenty Nine: Fall of the Ultras

No words were spoken as the battle commenced.

Running towards Psychogre, Weihan somersaulted over the beast's head and blasted downwards. The fiery beam barely missed skewering the reptilian beast's head but carved a long gash down the side of his neck. Purplish green blood leaked out of the non-cauterised areas of the wound as the creature howled in agony. Grinning madly, Weihan separated the Raptor Launcher and swiped at Psychogre's knees with his Sabre. He was aware of the other Ultra Rangers teleporting in and joining the battle but he was too busy with the creature in front of him. Flipping away from the mad beast, he paused for a second to catch his breath and think of a new strategy.

The moment cost him dearly.

A freezing blast smacked into his back and sent him flying into Psychogre's fists. Rolling on the ground in pain, he was horrified to see the back of his armour had frozen solid. To make matters worse, it wouldn't thaw no matter how much heat was applied to it. Looking up, he saw the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger grin at him while batting away attacks from Rachelle and Will. Flipping onto his feet, he crashed to the ground yet again as two powerful fists smashed into his back; shattering the ice and denting the armour. Rolling along the ground in a vain effort to catch his breath, he pulled out his Raptor Cannon again and fired off a stream of blasts in Psychogre's general direction. Most of the blasts impacted against his scales but – other than a bit of charring – did no visible damage. Gaping at the ineffectiveness of the Cannon, he struggled to come up with another solution quickly.

Running away from the crazed monster, he leapt into the air to deliver a powerful kick to the creature called Lustor. The slutty monster was battling against the combined forces of Eliza, Rebecca and Alex and didn't see his clawed boots flying towards her. Lustor shrieked in pain and fear as the claws on his boots dug deeply into her face, sending thin rivulets of neon pink blood. However, his victory was short-lived as Lustor swung the phallic staff at his head. Ducking the blow, he flipped away from the monster and blasted her with the Raptor Launcher. Unfortunately, this had little effect other than the blasting away of the 'clothes' on her bottom half and sending the monster into a fit of highly pornographic screams and moans. Fighting the blush rising on his cheeks, he dismissed the combined weapon to pull out his Raptor Laser and converted it to the laser blade. Waving the others back, he leapt towards the slutty creature – fully intent on destroying her then and there.

Evidently, Xonix had taught the monsters well on how to use surprise shock tactics against them. Lustor did some leaping of her own and Weihan found himself in the downright embarrassing position of having his entire lower right arm – Laser Blade and all – jammed up Lustor's…backdoor compartment. As he gaped at the openly pornographic move, she grinned at him and started squeezing tightly. Praying with all his might that AJ wasn't watching and reporting, he summoned his Raptor Sabre and plunged it through the monster's neck. A fountain of neon pink blood splashed onto his visor but he wrenched out the blade and held it over her breasts. A rather unpleasant sensation later and his arm was free and out of its rather…tight spot. Staggering away from the rather disturbing battle, he shook his arm to regain feeling into it.

Stealing a glance over his shoulder, he saw that Psychogre was standing in the same spot as before and looking around nonchalantly. None of the other Ultra Rangers were attacking him as they couldn't get past the thick wall of ice that blocked the monster from all direct attacks. Whatever indirect attacks went past the barrier were of no consequence to Psychogre as the creature absorbed lasers into its body. Summoning his Raptor Sabre yet again, Weihan turned to run at Psychogre again but was yanked off his feet by the spider monster. Turning to face the Brown Ultra Psycho, he pumped fire into his Sabre and sliced though the web strand on his back.

"You hurt me. Now I kill you…"

Blinking at the chittering voice emanating from the Ultra Psycho, the Orange Ranger blinked in fear and wonder as six extra arms unfolded from its main body. Each of the arms ended in two or three flexible claws that dripped a strange yellowish substance. As the Brown Psycho stepped closer, Weihan acted on impulse and swung his fire-infused blade in a wide arc. The blade cut through three of the new arms and badly mangled the main two. He fell onto his back and prepared to drive the firebrand through the insect when the Brown Ultra Psycho teleported away with a wail of pain. Blinking at the sudden exit of the evil Ranger, he leant against a nearby tree and rested his aching muscles in its shade.

Two bright bursts of light where Sam and Ashley had been standing confirmed that someone was in the Ultra Cavern and was monitoring the fight. The two civilians were probably in the Ultra Cavern being debriefed by whoever was there. He hoped it was Tommy or even Jason as those two would be easily able to assess the situation. Leaning against the trunk of the tree, he slowed his breathing down and thought about the Ultra Psycho Rangers. Each of them had differing strengths and weaknesses to battle their enemies. He was sure that if he did some research, he could easily find out how many galactic Ranger teams they had destroyed. Surveying the battlefield, he looked to see how his Rangers were doing. The Power trio of Eliza, Rebecca and Alex were doing nicely against Lustor although the half-naked monster had started producing the pheromones again. He was very glad Sam had left the battlefield as it seemed Alex and Rebecca were fondling each other rather than fighting the monster. Even Eliza was affected by the pheromones as she kept making feeble attempts to grab the phallic staff.

Firing off a few concentrated fireballs in Lustor's direction, he turned away from the battle to another part of the field where Will and Rachelle had been joined by Heather and Aimee in their efforts to attack the Blue and Red Ultra Psycho Rangers. The fishy beast had an unpredictable fighting style and loved to freeze them to the ground where they would be vulnerable to an attack that would quite literally knock them off their feet. It didn't help that one of their opponents was literally as slippery as a wet fish and the other could merge into the ground at will. Rachelle was swinging her Ankylo Hammer at the ground to disorientate the Red Ultra Psycho and force him to pop out of the ground; it was like some crazily surreal version of whack-a-mole…with monsters. If Steven Moss was nearby; he would probably take the idea from his head and market it himself as a 'ripped from real life' game.

A green glob of venom smacked into the tree trunk making his duck instinctively. Turning in the direction of the blast, he saw the rotting body of the Green Ultra Ranger nimbly leap out of the way of another blast from Sarah J's Venom Shield. As he watched, the rotting corpse scooped up a handful of dirt and flung it at the Green Ultra Ranger who leapt out of the way to let Paris jump in with her Tyrant Sword. A few good slashes later and the Green Ultra Psycho was seemingly down for the count. As the two Rangers turned away from the fallen body, it twitched once and Weihan's eyes widened. Summoning up a fireball, he aimed it at the undead monster but could not get the chance to fire.

Thick arms shot out of the shadow of the tree and wrapped themselves around his body and head. Allowing the energy to dissipate, he cursed himself for forgetting what the Black Ultra Psycho Ranger was capable of. Struggling to free himself from the arms, he focused every iota of power he could into his Battle Armour. Tongues of flame burst out of the seams and joints and wreathed his upper torso in crackling fire. The shadow monster screeched in pain as its arms were scorched and it retreated back into the shadows. Weihan breathed heavily and took a second to admire himself. In actuality the fire would be a good permanent addition to the Battle Armours of all the Rangers. There would possibly need to have some degree of fire or flame-like offensive decorations but it could work. The only problem he could think of was the Power Source for such an upgrade. The Rangers surely couldn't always rely on him to give them the boost needed for a stronger monster and if he used his power all the time, he would literally burn himself out. Or he would burn up…and that was a thought that he wanted to get out of his brain as soon as possible as it reminded him of a strange dream where he was walking through Hell to reach…something.

"Little Ranger, don't let your guard down!"

Spinning at the electronic voice, he swallowed hard as he saw the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger standing in front of him. Carefully backing away out of the reach of the shadows, he snuck a quick peek over his shoulder to where Xonix was standing. He was sure that the creature in front of him wasn't a duplicate of Xonix but a literal Psycho Ranger – a fact cemented by the mystery Psycho pulling out a twisted version of the Raptor Sabre. Wordlessly summoning his blade for the umpteenth time, the Psycho Ranger threw its head back and cackled maniacally.

"Ranger, you will meet your end here! You will surely fall down a deep hole!"

Rolling his eyes, he leapt over the ranting Psycho and slashed his blade down its back. Shrieking in surprise, it whirled around only to be met with a kick to its head. As it fell back, he 'sheathed' his Sabre and tackled the falling Ranger with all of his power; tightening his grip as the flames on his armour burnt and scorched the Psycho Ranger. Impacting against the ground, Weihan focused all of his power into the emblem in the centre of his chest. Even though he couldn't see it, he felt a rush all over his body as a massive amount of energy surged up into the Utahraptor emblem on his armour and the meter on his HUD was going crazy.

"Eat this!"

With those two words, a blazing column of fire and energy erupted from his chest insignia. The Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger didn't stand a chance as he was blasted into the air by the force of the blast and exploded in a ball of fire and circuitry. Rolling up off the ground, Weihan felt his limbs sag heavily as he realised that attack had almost drained him of his usable Power. Staggering to his feet, he focused his remaining energy into standing upright although he wasn't sure how long he would last as he could see various warnings in the HUD flashing like crazy. Taking an unsteady step towards Psychogre, he saw the reptilian monstrosity grin before speaking.

"Oh well, you destroyed an easily replaceable asset. That one was designed to draw you out and drain you of your energy anyway. It wasn't a real threat to anyone except the very old and very stupid."

Weihan blinked and tried to focus his blurring vision. Opening his mouth to speak, his tongue felt incredibly heavy in his mouth and even his vocal chords didn't seem to want to work.

"Why send it out then? What…was the point?"

Psychogre threw his head back and laughed raucously; the sound causing all combatants to pause in their battles.

"To crush your wills to protect this planet."

"No!"

Spinning around at the shout, Weihan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as Lustor ensnared Alex, Rebecca and Eliza with a short-handled whip. Yanking them close to her heaving body, the woman removed her half-helmet and winked once at the Orange Ranger before teleporting away in a splash of oily pink. He took a few steps toward the place where the monster had stood before backing away in alarm as the unmoving bodies of the rest of the Ultra Rangers were thrown in front of him. They had demorphed and their bodies were covered in horrific wounds that were leaking – even gushing – blood. Balling up his fists in anger, he turned to face Psychogre and ran at the monster in desperation to avenge his fallen friends.

The last thing he saw was a powerful fist rushing at him.

TBC…


	131. 130: Playthings

AN: Use your imagination as to what Lustor is doing. Mental images are a fic writer's best friend.

Chapter One Thirty: Playthings

"How long is she planning to keep them here?"

Psychogre shrugged as another round of screams echoed through the ship. So far, Lustor had been at it for the past ten hours and showed no signs of stopping. He had peeked in to the room and had seen the three Rangers she had taken completely under the control of her pheromones. Actually, they had been all over each other and using methods and techniques that would have possibly been fatal. He wasn't sure how a foot actually fit…there…and if he was completely honest with himself, he didn't want to know.

"Not sure, boss. Why? You worried or something?"

Xonix looked at his strongest monster and growled under his breath. He wished Twinlobe and Yit would hurry up and complete at least the outer shell of the revised Fortress so he didn't have to spend all of his time on the flagship. Well, it wasn't that he hated being on the flagship; it was more the close proximity with Arachno and Premil…and now with Lustor and her captive sex slaves. The only reason why the Rangers probably hadn't come up guns blazing was that they were probably still recovering from the thrashing the Ultra Psycho Rangers had inflicted on them. From his scans of them combined with what little he knew about human biology the Rangers wouldn't have lasted long without help. Indeed, after the Orange Ranger had fallen, they had been teleported away by some other allies. Although the Ultra Rangers had been on the brink of death, the Ultra Psychos weren't all in one piece either.

The Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger, whose designs had been taken from a possible future project of Dark Spectre's, had been destroyed in an unforseen move from the Orange Ranger. Psychogre had just been bluffing when he had said that they had more in reserve as the creation of another one would take more than a few weeks to complete…and would set back the completion of the Fortress by a few months. It could be done on the Dark Fortress but he was loathe to send such an important project…there; especially after he heard that Divatox's idiot nephew Elgar had been transferred there. Although, word had it that the Dark Fortress was making its way to Hercuron for something and Ecliptor would be there to keep Elgar in check. He would think about it.

Creeper was in the Medical Bay under the watchful eye of Nekros. The shadow monster had third-degree burns over almost all of his upper body and had to be sedated upon his arrival back on the ship. His body was recovering nicely and although his wounds were severe – he was in better shape that both Arachno and Premil. All eight of Archno's arms had been severely injured in some way or another and three had even been sliced off by the Orange Ranger. He was now scrounging through the scrap metal yards on the surface of the Moon looking for viable replacements. An easier alternative would be to not use them until they regenerated but on the other hand the last lost limb had taken a lengthy period to grow back. Xonix didn't want to think about how the arachnid monster would attach the replacement limbs to his body as it would probably mean the forceful removal of the remnants of the arm…and there went his stomach again. He would have to dispatch a few Golems to help with the limb removal or the cleanup.

Premil on the other hand…was a literal mess. He had just been able to reconstitute himself for the teleport back and had spilled onto the floor nearly a second later. The Silver Ranger's attacks had liquefied the liquid monster…which meant the mudpie wasn't gunning for Xonix all the time. He couldn't blame him as Premil was the last remaining golem from his first disastrous attempt. The humanoid mudpie had escaped the mass culling and fled into the stars where it had grown in strength on the harsh quicksand pits of Voicin. It had attempted to ensnare the newly renamed Xonix but Psychogre had freed him from Premil's suffocating grasp. After a short scuffle, the mud creature had somehow slipped past Psychogre's defences and claimed the Red Psycho Gem…yet Xonix was sure there was no such Psycho Gem. The truth was revealed when Premil had been forcefully recruited into the ranks of the Ultra Psycho Rangers – the mud based monster had created the Gem from iron rich sands and duplicated the powers of the Orange Psycho Gem. The Orange Power had bonded with the iron ore and created a pseudo-Ultra Psycho Ranger. The cohesiveness of the Power had also allowed him to assume a solid form when he was 'morphed'…which led to the current problem.

Sound waves or earth tremors of any kind would disrupt the tenuous connections the Powers held with his internal structure. Repeated sound waves would make it nearly impossible for him to reconstitute himself into any form other than a giant wet sand puddle. Effectively, Premil was out of action for the next few weeks while he literally pulled himself together. Unfortunately, the Silver Ranger would probably keep using that attack until Premil was finally destroyed.

"Oh yeah, that's it right there!"

Shuddering at the yells coming from Lustor's private chambers, Xonix slumped on his throne as he considered the Power the Orange Ranger had shown. Wreathing the Battle Armour in flames had been a rather unorthodox move to escape Creeper's Shadow Grip but it had worked to the advantage of the Ranger. What had come totally out of left field – as the humans liked to say – had been the chest blaster used to destroy the Orange Psycho Ranger. It had drained the Orange Ranger completely but if that was the amount of power that the Orange Ultra Crystal contained…then he was correct in wanting to destroy the immense power they held. Looking at the chronometer on the wall, he shook his head as another minute ticked over. They would come soon; he was sure of it.

It was only a matter of time.

TBC…


	132. 131: Reasoning

AN: Beginning of this chapter is strange as I was listening to music and Hey Ocean's song 'Fish' came on. Next think I know there's a fish shaped like Fluttershy…Enjoy!

Chapter One Thirty One: Reasoning

He was drifting in the ocean.

Around him were fish of all shapes, sizes and colours. There were some with big fins, little fins, one was on fire and another shot its eyeballs out as weapons. There was a red fish and a blue fish and a fish mating with a cactus as well as frozen fish, fried fish, fish fingers, fish monsters and a fish that looked disturbingly similar to Fluttershy. There was also one that was trying to speak to him. Swimming closer to that one zombie green fish, he motioned for it to speak up but it swam away, never to be seen or heard from…

"WAKE UP!"

Weihan's eyes snapped open and he winced at the bright light shining from above. His whole body ached and was covered in watery gel from the Healing Tank. Above him were the worried and angry faces of Sam and Ashley. He wondered why they would be in the Ultra Cavern and why Ashley seemed to know who they were. Come to think of it; wasn't today the day of the Swimming Carnival? He stretched his arms out before noticing the light bruises that covered them. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he remembered the events of the day. Images of Psychogre, the blue fish, Ultra Psycho Orange and Lustor's disturbing attacks sprang to his mind and he scrambled off the Medical Bed he lay on.

"What happened? How are the others? How long was I out?"

"Answers to your questions are as follows. You got your butt kicked; they're healing but fine and around nine hours."

Turning at the sound of the voice, Weihan gaped as the familiar figures of Tommy, Kim, Kat and Rocky came into view. He noticed that the three Zeo Rangers had their Zeonizers strapped to their wrists while Kim had a death grip on her Ninjetti Power Coin. Blinking at the sight of the other Rangers, he looked around the Ultra Cavern and saw most – if not all – of the inactive Earth based Rangers around the Ultra Cavern. Some were manning the scanners while others – namely Zack – were looking up at the towering Ultrazords along the walls. However, the most distressing sight was the eight Healing Tanks that contained the other Ultra Rangers. Absently wrapping a towel around his waist, he walked over to the tanks and lightly touched each one as he looked at the Rangers inside. Seeing his distress, Tommy walked up next to him and spoke in a low voice.

"We received your emergency distress beacon. You're just lucky Trini and Zack were given a last minute reprieve from their Ambassador duties; although Trini's Ambassador Replacement was just in a horrific car crash; she teleported out to be with her in her final moments a while ago. We teleported these two here when things started to get really ugly. What happened out there?"

Weihan sighed and leant against the Med Bed as he gathered his thoughts. He should have sensed that there was something on the horizon but had chalked the feeling up to the attacks around the Universe.

"We got our butts handed to us by six Ultra Psycho Rangers and a wanna-be Evil Ranger robot. Tommy, these Rangers are not under any spell."

Tommy's face paled as he recalled his memories of being under Rita's spell and remembered all he had done. If these evil Rangers were evil by choice then there was no limit to the amount of damage and depravity that would occur. He was already feeling slightly queasy after seeing the Pink Ultra Psycho's attacks and forcibly blocked out any thought of what may be happening to the captured Rangers. If any of the other Ultra Psychos had access to the three Rangers; then he knew what would happen – training dummies. The Pink Ultra Psycho Ranger however…he felt Kim squeeze his shoulder lightly and he smile down at her.

"Well that's all great and all; but what the fuck happened to our girlfriends?"

Suppressing a weary sigh, he glanced over to where Sam and Ashley were. For his part, Sam's anger had died down somewhat and he looked more worried than annoyed. The boy was also looking at the still forms of the other Rangers in the Healing Tanks and obviously trying to wrap his head around the injuries sustained. Weihan's heart went out to him as being caught up in an evil Ranger attack slammed home the dangers and violence of being an Ultra Ranger.

"I promise you, I will bring them back even if I have to go up to the moon myself."

Sam nodded once and lapsed into silence; while Ashley stalked up to him and punched his jaw. Tumbling over the Med Bed, the Orange Ranger crashed in a heap onto the floor as Tommy and Jason restrained the angry boy. Gingerly touching the throbbing spot, Weihan allowed Kim and Kat to help him off the ground. Rolling his eyes at the smug look Sam shot him, he approached Ashley who shouted at him.

"What the fuck is this shit? Why the fuck is Eliza a Ranger? Who are these people and why the fuck didn't she tell me?"

Walking over to the restrained civilian, he raised his right hand and backhanded Ashley across the face. He honestly didn't have time to deal with any long explanations now as he was planning his next move. It may be a rather suicidal move but he would have an ace up his sleeve. Hopefully…he would flesh it out when he crossed that bridge.

"Quiet little boy, the world doesn't revolve around you. You should be proud that Eliza is a member of the Ultra Rangers but instead you're whining and whinging because it doesn't fit into your future plans. You have one of two choices – get used to it and keep quiet or deny it and I'll wipe your memory."

Ashley stopped struggling and went slack as he tried to process what the other boy was saying. In some way, it made sense to know her identity as he could potentially make a lot of money from the knowledge. And knowing who the Orange Ranger was…well, that would become a great money-maker for him if he played his cards just right. Not to mention he had a rough idea of where the 'Ultra Cavern' was and a lot of companies would pay top dollar for extra-terrestrial technology and the plans for the Zords. He would be a loaded man for the rest of his life and not have to work for…

"Stop right there. You're about to fall into the same pit I fell into."

Jerking his head up, he saw Sam looking at him. The look in his eyes unnerved him greatly and he fidgeted under the strong holds of the two Rangers restraining him. He looked around for where the object of his ire was and saw him on a strange raised platform pressing a few buttons on a side panel. As he watched, he saw four monsters materialise out of thin air – the strange Greek Warrior monster that had attacked a while back, the Wolf monster, a metallic bug with blades sticking out its back and something that looked like a walking water heater. All four monsters charged at the unmorphed human and the boy went to work. Tearing his eyes away from the one-sided battle, he looked at Sam with weary eyes.

"What pit? I'll accept the fact that she's a Ranger and that's all."

Sam shook his head and nodded once to Tommy and Jason. Immediately, the two Rangers released their hold on Ashley but stayed close…just in case. As Ashley rotated his arms in an attempt to regain circulation, he listened to Sam's words.

"I'm talking about those thoughts about exposing the identities of the Rangers. Don't play dumb with me, you know what I mean. Sure, you'll be rolling in enough cash to fill an Olympic swimming pool; but you'll be swimming in it alone."

Ashley blinked at those words. He wouldn't be alone…he would have Eliza by his side and be able to fulfil a great life with her as his wife and as a Ranger. As if reading his thoughts, Sam shook his head.

"Yes, alone. If you reveal the identities of the Rangers, there is a very good chance they will leave Earth. Rebecca explained to me that if their identities were ever exposed, they would soon have to be so careful with not destroying anything that the monsters would completely trample over them and they would lose. If they stay anonymous, they can use whatever force they need to destroy their monsters. If their identities are revealed…"

He let the sentence trail off as the words sunk into Ashley's mind. Hearing a muffled explosion, he turned his head towards the sound to see a cloud of pixelated smoke engulf one of the monsters. He finished off his sentence in his mind. If their identities were revealed, Sydney City Council would impose rules against where they could fight and how much damage they were allowed to do. As the monsters of Xonix wouldn't follow such rulings, they would be free to rampage wherever they liked and the Rangers would be smacked with all the blame. They would find ways around the ruling but would still be restricted greatly and would leave the planet after the destruction of Xonix. If the government were to get their hands on the blueprints for the Zords, Weihan would pack up the Ultra Rangers then and there and leave Earth to the mercy of Xonix. Well, they would leave Earth but stay within orbit he guessed. He saw Ashley nod once but before the boy could speak, Weihan spoke with grim determination.

"I'm going out to reclaim our Rangers."

TBC…


	133. 132: Dimensional Help

AN: ROE Chapter 45 is happening concurrent with this chapter. One of Psychogre's Power Animals is an Ahuizotl. No idea where the two-headed shark came from.

Chapter One Thirty Two: Dimensional Help

"Anyone think this is a bad idea?"

Looking around him, Rocky saw the raised hands of everyone present…even the two civilians.

"I thought so too."

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and looked at the viewing screen where Weihan was walking out in the open. Tommy, Jason and himself had spent the past thirty minutes hashing out a viable strategy that was more than 'walk out and get ass whooped'. Unfortunately, it didn't extend on the basic premise that much. Looking nervously at the Healing Tanks, he hoped at least one or two of the injured Rangers would wake up in time to stop Weihan from becoming a smear on the ground. The Orange Ranger had also barred the other Rangers from coming unless their assistance was required. From the exhaustion on the young man's face, Rocky wondered how long he would last in a battle against all seven Ultra Psycho Rangers.

"Lustor! Come out and face me you little shit!"

Weihan stood in the middle of the empty oval and shouted again in the sky above him. He had no idea if the nymphomaniac monster could hear him or if she wanted to give them back. Not getting them back wasn't an option and he was sure that Tommy and Jason understood what he was feeling. For the first time since receiving the Ultra Powers, he felt the weight of leadership bearing down on his shoulders. He always had the weight of saving the world on them but hadn't given much thought to the very real possibility that his team mates could be captured while 'on the clock'. He had lost them and he would bring them back safely.

"She is busy, Ranger, so she sent me in her stead."

Growling at the voice, he turned to face Psychogre. Eyeing the creature warily, he noted that the massive creature was alone. Bristling with anger, he channelled fire into his hands; sculpting the flickering flames into bladed gloves. Without his Ranger armour, he knew he wouldn't last long in a one on one fight but he had to try something to stall for time…to do anything to buy some time.

Without warning, he ran toward the Ultra Psycho Ranger and vaulted over his head; slamming both feet into the monster's back on his descent. Rolling to his feet, he brought his arm up to intercept a punch that would have caved his face in; struggling even with the added power and strength of the fire around his hands. Finally managing to push the appendage off its dangerous course, he dropped to the ground and slammed his right leg into Psychogre's chest. The unpowered blow didn't cause any damage but it made the monster stop in amazement; allowing the Orange Ranger to roll away. Flipping onto his feet, he heard the steady thumping of a news helicopter coming closer and knew that he had to conceal his identity before his identity was exposed.

Bringing his left hand up to his chest, he summoned the Orange Ultra Crystal from its subspace pocket as Psychogre brought out his own Psycho Gem. In unison, both Rangers held their crystals into the air and shouted out their respective Morphing calls.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

"Psycho Gem, Armour On!"

Six bolts of lightning slammed down from the cloudless sky and impacting against the two Rangers. Weihan felt the energy explode outward and saw his Main Three Power Animals charge forward at him with claws and teeth bared. He relaxed his body – expecting them to flow into him but blinked in surprise as they leapt over his head and began attacking three other animals that had appeared within the energy vortex. One looked like a brown striped Velociraptor; only with four legs instead of the usual two…and each leg was tipped with razor-sharp claws. It was attacking his Utahraptor spirit with an equal ferocity and protectiveness. Directly in front of him, his Hydra was savagely ripping into a strangely wolf-like creature with a strangely human hand on the end of its tail. Whatever it was, it was losing the battle with the bigger and fiercer Hydra. On his right he saw his Crocodile Spirit attacking something that could have only been described as a two headed Great White Shark. Mentally channelling energy into his Main Three, he cheered silently as they wounded their opponents heavily before sliding into him to complete the sequence.

As his helmet formed, he ducked to avoid an armour plated fist from taking off his head. Rolling along the ground, he heard the snap that signified his helmet had fully encased his head and he narrowed his eyes. Psychogre had dared to attack him during his Morph – something which no previous monster had attempted to do. Summoning his Raptor Laser, he converted it to its laser blade mode and held it in front of him; noting that the previously clear blade now held the same red spatter as his gloves. Twirling the blade, he lunged at the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger and ducked under Psychogre's own lunge with his twisted Raptor Sabre. Rolling under the blade, he dove through Psychogre's legs and stabbed the laser blade into his upper thigh. Ripping the blade out, Psychogre stomped down hard on his chest – knocking the wind out from his lungs and stunning him momentarily. Fighting for oxygen, Weihan wheezed out the words to complete his morph sequence.

"Battle Armour…Activate!"

Psychogre lifted his foot in pain as a burning fire scorched it. When the spots cleared from his eyes, he saw the Orange Ultra Ranger fully morphed in front of him. He grinned evilly and sent a telepathic message up to his Master. This one on one battle wouldn't last long but before it ended, he would make things interesting for the Ranger.

"Orange Ranger; if you defeat me in combat, I will personally give you your Rangers back. If I defeat you…I will kill you."

Weihan considered the words of Psychogre and nodded once; ignoring the explosion of chatter that came from his communications system. He had a strange feeling that the monster in front of him would keep his word on both accounts and prepared himself for the worst. Dismissing his Raptor Laser, he pulled out his Raptor Sabre and held it in front of him; motioning for Psychogre to make the first move. Less than a second later, he brought his blade up to intercept Psychogre's powerful strike. Three slashes later and he fell onto his back as smoke rose from his breast-plate. Blinking rapidly to clear his vision, Weihan rolled back as the Psycho Ranger stabbed his blade down where his chest had been milliseconds ago and flung a fireball at Psychogre's head, watching with a muted bloodlust as it exploded against his unprotected flesh.

"Time to mix the rules up a bit! Golems! Fiends! Attack!"

Weihan hardly had time to blink as two groups of Golems and Fiends leapt out from behind the Psycho Ranger. Charging his blade with fire, he swung his blade in a wide arc; blasting out a wave of searing fire that easily destroyed the first few foot soldiers. Summoning the Raptor Cannon, he pumped several shots into the seemingly unending wave – taking great care not to hit the news helicopter above. Flipping back to put some distance between him and the minions of Evil, he saw Psychogre grin through his roasted face and step forward.

"Ranger, you are defeated! Accept this and die with some iota of dignity!"

Shaking his head, Weihan opened his mouth to reply when a strange burst of Purple light impacted against Psychogre's chest and blasted him back while destroying most of his summoned forces. Blinking at the light, Weihan carefully looked behind him; half expecting Eliza to be there. Instead, he saw a strange swirl of colours and – incredibly – an image of Twilight Sparkle firing her Magic Launchers at some strange mechanical monster near an apple orchard of some kind. As the purple blast stopped, Weihan turned back to Psychogre and made a mental note to contact Equestria and thank Twilight for her inadvertent help.

Now, the battle would truly begin.

TBC…


	134. 133: Lucky Break

AN: Kind of explanation why Weihan didn't call Twilight directly after her attack…Enjoy!

Chapter One Thirty Three: Lucky Break

AJ couldn't believe her eyes.

Below her was her boyfriend battling against a creature that looked suspiciously like an evil Ranger. The fake Ranger had summoned a horde of Golems and Fiends but the majority of those forces had been destroyed by a combination attack from his Sabre and – if she could believe the image that flashed across her eyes for a split second – a Purple Equestrian Ranger. She truly regretted not having the time to sit down with Applejack and discuss the differences between their lives and dimensions but the blonde cowpony had left their dimension rather abruptly. She couldn't even attend the debriefing session as she was piecing her report together for both Chris and John. They had marvelled at her ability to get the exclusive footage and the station had gotten a flood of praise from international networks. They had begged her to reveal her sources but when she had said the Orange Ranger had given her the footage himself; their eyes had widened so much, she was almost afraid they would drop out of their sockets.

She had been covering a follow-up story to the random drive-by shooting at the beginning of the year when the call had come through of a mass monster attack at an open-air public swimming pool. The event wouldn't have cropped up on her radar – had she not remembered that the site was the annual St Andrews Cathedral School Swimming Carnival. After delegating her previous report to a junior member, she had rushed to the helicopter landing pad and pretty much jumped in the nearest one. Thankfully she had been appointed the top anchor for any Ranger related news, so it hadn't been a problem. What was a problem was the amount of time that all the previous activities had taken – almost nine hours. The attack had started at nine in the morning and the sun was just beginning to set. If needed, there was a powerful searchlight on the helicopter but she would refrain from using that as long as possible as it would make the helicopter a target. She just prayed whatever crazy plan Weihan had come up with would work.

"Stay still and accept your death!"

Weihan flipped out of the way of a series of laser bursts and retaliated with a few fireballs of his own before running behind a tree to catch his breath. Although the sudden dimensional help from Twilight had wiped out the majority of the Golems and Fiends, there were two really pressing issues that were the consequences of the attack. One was that Psychogre was extremely pissed that any attack had come at all and was disregarding any form of 'honourable' combat…if the Ultra Psycho possessed any honour at all. The other worry was that the dimensional walls were still extremely thin and fragile; even weeks after they had come back from Equestria. While it would be good for creating the stable doorway; it would also pose a great risk as monsters from either dimension could potentially be blasted through. The thought of an Ultra Psycho Ranger in Equestria sent great chills down his spine and he prayed Psychogre wasn't up to date with current happenings.

"Tommy, are the others awake yet?"

Hearing a footstep behind him, he dove away from the tree seconds before it exploded into toothpicks. Bringing up the Raptor Cannon, he fired a 50% charged blast at Psychogre and grinned as the blast engulfed the Ultra Psycho Ranger in a ball of blazing light. Rolling to his feet, he leapt over the heads of the remaining Golems and leapt away as they spewed fire from their mouths. Scooping up some dirt from the ground, he flung it at their 'eyes' and watched with interest as they shied away from the flying dirt particles. Flipping a switch on his Raptor Cannon, he blasted orange and red streaked lightning out of the barrel to fry the Golems in front of him. As they crumbled to dust, Weihan looked at the Raptor Cannon and wondered how many other settings had been installed into it.

"Some are waking up now. Sit tight."

Grunting in response, he dismissed the Raptor Cannon and brought out his Sabre. Transforming it to its electro-whip, he swung it behind him and heard it wrap around one of the remaining Fiends. Twirling around, he flicked his wrist once and sent the reptilian beast crashing to the ground. Ducking under a stream of acid, he charged the whip with fire and watched with malicious glee as the Fiend writhed in pain for a few seconds before its body relaxed completely. Dropping to the ground to avoid a blast of flame from Psychogre, Weihan flipped over the body of the Fiend and flung it at the rampaging monster. The Psycho Ranger brought up his blade and cleaved the Fiend in half; while charging at the Orange Ranger at full speed.

Reforming his Sabre, Weihan also ran at Psychogre and wreathed his armour and Sabre in flames while also readying his…other trick. Bringing up his Sabre, he winced in pain as Psychogre brought down his blade with crushing force. He swore he could hear the Sabre creak and crack under the pressure but he held firm for just a bit longer…enough for him to get closer and –

A kick to his side sent him flying away from Psychogre. Rolling on the ground, he looked up to see the sensuous form of Lustor materialise from thin air. The Silver Ultra Psycho Ranger had morphed into her armour and had the three captured Rangers in a net of some kind. Through the holes in the net, he saw that they were unmorphed…and naked. Blood boiling with anger, he combined his weapons into the Raptor Launcher and locked onto both monsters with a sub-dimensional tracker. Even if they teleported away, the shot would still reach them no matter where they hid.

"Ah, no Ranger. You don't want to fire your weapon too early. You can hold off can't you or does my being here get you all too excited?"

Steadying his breathing, he relaxed slightly as the three Rangers vanished in streaks of coloured light. He could hear Ashley and Sam's worried shouts as they ran to their girlfriends but blocked the noise out. Pressing down on the trigger, he braced himself as the blast started charging and slowly stepped back to find something he could use to brace himself for the recoil. Fifty percent was too little for the monsters in front of him and he continued charging up the blast as the Raptor Launcher whined and sparked in protest. Glancing behind him, he noted that he was up against a reinforced concrete wall of one of the Monster Shelters. Hopefully the walls would hold up against the immense recoil.

"Weihan, we're not sending anyone in. Just…hurry back."

Nodding at Kim's words, he timed his attack with his breathing. He could see Psychogre and Lustor carefully moving towards him and – for good measure – locked onto their energy signatures as well. They wouldn't escape from the resulting blast…but to call out the attack name would surely tip them off. As the energy transformers in the Raptor Launcher reached full capacity, Weihan muttered one single word under his breath; although the stillness in the air meant that the two Ultra Psycho Rangers heard it as clear as day.

"Fire."

Releasing the trigger, Weihan had only enough time to gasp in surprise before two individual balls of orange fire discharged from his weapon; the recoil pushing him through the wall of the Monster Shelter and into the protected chamber within. As his vision rapidly darkened, he saw both Ultra Psycho Rangers teleport away – with the blasts chasing after the teleport streams.

Xonix was in for one hell of a surprise…

TBC…


	135. 134: Phantom Delta

Chapter One Thirty Four: Phantom Delta

"Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten into, brother."

Xonix snarled under his breath as he looked at the smoking ruins of his flagship. Psychogre and Lustor had retreated from the attack the Orange Ranger had fired on them and they thought that the flagship would be safe. It was a rather rude awakening when two balls of highly destructive energy had impacted against the armour of the ship and cleaved through to hit Psychogre and Lustor. The resulting explosion had pretty much signed the death warrant of his mighty centuries old flagship as only an emergency teleport to Zedd's Moon Palace had saved everyone on board. Twinlobe and Yit had narrowly escaped the destruction as they had been on the surface; but the progress they had made on the new Moon Fortress was wasted as the underground cave had…well, caved in.

"Look on the bright side, you now have more time to train your warriors for the next battle!"

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head with a chuckle. It was true that the skills of the Ultra Psychos were second to none, but since their arrival on Earth; they had become lazy and unmotivated. At least Lustor had been able to capture three Rangers and 'train' with them…but he didn't want to think about the sex-starved Silver Ultra Psycho Ranger. Walking out onto the balcony of the Moon Palace, he stared at the slowly spinning blue and green globe before chuckling mirthlessly. Due to the remnants of magic from the Elements of Harmony; he knew what the strange purple blast was and where it had come from. It was unlikely that any form of matter other than energy could penetrate the dimensional walls except if they had built a stable doorway. Oh well, anything was possible but he doubted he would see Discord on this side of the wall anytime soon.

"Tell me, brother; where is the Dark Fortress?"

Zedd turned and stared at Xonix and scratched his head curiously. He had heard that the robotic Ultra Psycho Ranger had been destroyed by a powerful attack by the Orange Ranger but didn't know all the details. He also had heard that Dark Spectre was aiming to create his own team of Psycho Rangers but needed some raw materials. To think that his brother would be aiding the same being he had violently rebelled away from was…unthinkable. Then again, his brother had been acting slightly oddly since his attack on the two dimensionally displaced Rangers and had even cast a sending spell onto the Red Ranger for some unfathomable reason. Well, if his brother wanted to dig his own grave then he would help him.

"Hercuron from the last transmission sent. Apparently Divatox was given custody of Zordon and the Phantom Ranger followed her there. Rumour has it that the Phantom is carrying the key to a powerful weapon so we will want to capture him alive. What are you planning brother?"

"Yes, Master Xonix…what exactly are you planning?"

Turning at the strange crackling voice, Xonix nodded as Kryosis stepped out of one of the side passages. Out of all the Ultra Psycho Rangers, he was relatively undamaged and was more than a match for the Phantom Ranger on his own. Plus if Kryosis went to the Dark Fortress, Xonix wouldn't have to put up with Astronema's screeching about how Faximile had failed in its mission.

"Kryosis, take the remains of the robotic Psycho Ranger and travel to the Dark Fortress to rebuild it. The Phantom Ranger is on the planet Hercuron and is tracking Zordon. You are free to engage him if you like but do not kill him."

The fishy Blue Ultra Psycho bowed to Xonix and nodded at Zedd and left the Throne Room. Zedd shook his head as he looked at his brother. After seeing the Ultra Psycho Rangers at work, he was very leery of having them under the same roof as him. Having the majority of them injured in some way was a great weight off his shoulders but he wondered what would happen when they healed from their wounds. In fact, the only Ultra Psycho Ranger that made any effort to be friendly to him, Rita and his crew was – strangely enough – Lustor. The Silver Ultra Psycho Ranger told him that she respected him as an Overlord in his own right or some bullshit like that.

"Brother, is it wise to send him out alone? If he engages the Ultra Rangers alone…"

Xonix nodded thoughtfully. Even after all this time with the others, the Freezard wasn't acclimatised to fighting in a tropical environment – let alone without competent backup. The Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger was more used to being backup for stronger fighters but if push came to shove – as the humans liked to say – Kryosis would do his job. If he was lucky; the Orange Ranger himself would become frozen solid. In one corner of his mind, he hoped all the Ultra Rangers would be frozen but hardly dared to put stock into the idea. After all; freezing one's legs to the ground could theoretically count as 'frozen solid'. On the other hand, there would be competent backup in the form of Ecliptor and even Elgar could do some damage when his mind was set on it…and didn't Divatox have another warrior? He distinctly remembered seeing a brown…thing…in a suit of hulking blue and red armour.

"I doubt the Ultra Rangers will want to send their full force to aid the Phantom. The Orange Ranger will probably send two or three at maximum. Anyway, what is so important about this weapon?"

Zedd's answer made him freeze in his tracks.

"It is rumoured to be the Delta Megaship."

The Delta Megaship was one of Zordon's mighty weapons constructed before his capture. If the rumours were true then it could easily provide enough firepower to defeat that majority of evil forces in the Universe…with the possible exception of himself and the Ultra Psycho Rangers. What was more worrying was that Yit had told him that it could potentially combine with the Astro Rangers' Astro Megazord to create an even stronger Megazord. Such power in the hands of Evil was one thing…but for it to be in the hands of the Power Rangers? The forces of Light were becoming stronger and would soon eclipse Dark Spectre. On the other, other hand the Ultra Rangers already eclipsed Dark Spectre but that was a moot point. Growling to himself, he turned to reply to Zedd.

"Kryosis will be fine. He'll slaughter them all."

If he didn't…he would die.

TBC…


	136. 135: Ice Sculpture

AN: And running concurrent with this chapter is the episode "The Delta Discovery"…if you hadn't already figured it out. Enjoy!

Chapter One Thirty Five: Ice Sculpture

"And you don't remember anything?"

Weihan ran a hand through his hair in frustration as Ashley asked Eliza again. In the five minutes after he had awakened, it had already been established that the captured Rangers didn't know what had happened to them after they were taken by Lustor. He had tried communicating with the Equestrian Rangers to thank Twilight for her inadvertent help, but no one picked up after a while – not even Princess Luna. The other Ultra Rangers were in various states of awakening although Rachelle seemed to be the most healed and awake of all of them.

Rubbing his eyes, he reached for his glasses – only to be interrupted by a strange three-toned beep coming from the Communications Console. Sliding his glasses over his ears, he pushed himself off the Med Bed and unsteadily walked toward the console. Sliding into the chair almost bonelessly, he opened up the screen and felt all weariness drain away from his body. On the screen was the familiar black and silver armour of the Phantom Ranger.

"Ultra Rangers and Power Rangers, I am sending you both this message to come to the jungle planet of Hercuron in sector 446.78. Zordon is held on this planet under the eyes of Divatox. Please come quickly…wait…"

Weihan watched as Piranhatrons burst from the jungle and began attacking the Phantom. The black armoured Ranger's image fizzled off into static and Weihan swore under his breath. Pushing himself away from the console with renewed strength, he looked around him at the assembled Rangers. The only Ultra Ranger that he could feasibly take with him would be Rachelle as the others were still recovering from the earlier attack. Striding over to the Transportation Station, he punched in the co-ordinates that Phantom had and spoke aloud in a voice that caught everyone's attention.

"All right, I am going to Hercuron to see if I can't free Zordon from Divatox. Rachelle, you're with me. The rest of you – try to rest, recover and regain your strength. Will, talk to Justin and Ninjor and see if you can't find a way to open a doorway between our dimension and Equestria. I have a feeling we'll need it in the future. We leave in thirty seconds."

Nodding at their affirmations, he heard Rachelle walk up to him and he turned to face the Silver Ultra Ranger. With her eyes, she asked him if he was all right to fight and he nodded back. Leaning in close, he spoke in a hushed voice.

"Keep a finger on your communicator at all times. Our objective is to get in, find the Phantom Ranger, find Zordon and get out with our lives. Sure, we'll only be fighting against Piranhatrons but keep your guard up."

At her nod, he transferred the co-ordinated into his communicator and hit the red button. His vision dissolved into sparks and he felt himself being pulled up for a few moments before the sensation ended and they were in a thick jungle of some kind. Weihan rubbed his eyes and coughed the stale air out of his lungs as he looked around at their surroundings. The Intergalactic teleport had gone smoothly but judging from the strange cramping of his stomach; the bugs still needed to be worked out. Placing a hand on a nearby tree, he marvelled at how soft and silky the bark felt under his hands but listened intently for any sounds that would be carried on the wind.

Straining his ears, he could just about pick up the grunts, yells and sounds that were associated with battle. From the sounds of things; the Phantom Ranger was in a bit of a pinch. Nodding in the direction of the sounds, Weihan flash-morphed and ran in unison with Rachelle toward the battle. Inhaling deeply, he somersaulted over the heads of the Piranhatrons and Quantrons to deliver a powerful flaming kick to the one striking the Phantom Ranger. The ground quaked as grunts fell from Rachelle's powerful strikes with her Ankylo Hammer. Flipping off the nearest Quantron, he spun to the Phantom's side.

"Phantom Ranger, are you all right? Where's Zordon?"

"I know where he is…but you'll never get close to him!"

Weihan turned at the voice and saw the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger step out of the jungle. Absently, he wondered if the psychotic creature had been tailing them since their arrival but dismissed the thought as he summoned his Raptor Sabre. Behind him, he could hear Rachelle fighting her way through the crowd of grunts and quirked his lips in a semblance of a smile. Pushing the Phantom Ranger back, Weihan strode towards the creature and took a fighting stance.

"Tell me where he is or I swear you won't leave in one piece."

The Psycho Ranger cackled insanely and Weihan felt a shiver race down his spine. He had a strange feeling he would be sitting out the coming battle…and he didn't like it one bit. As he prepared to attack the fish Ranger, three streams of blue energy froze his muscles and made it impossible to move anything but his eyes. From the shouts of Phantom and Rachelle, he could tell they were fighting desperately to free him from…whatever was happening. Straining to move more than his eyes, he felt a strange cool sensation creep over him. Flicking his eyes to his raised arm, he inhaled sharply as he saw a thick layer of ice form on his limb. A quick check on his external radar showed that his entire body was being enveloped by a thick coating of unyielding ice.

And yet…it felt soothing. Relaxing and inviting him to take a long rest. Yes, he would rest; after all he had just been in a fierce fight against Psychogre and Lustor and had pretty much used up all his strength with the final attack. Judging from the light scorching on the Blue Ranger, the explosion had been quite hot and intense. As his eyes drooped and finally closed, he could hear someone shout his name.

He would deal with it when he woke.

TBC…


	137. 136: Thunderclap

AN: Temporarily halting Rangers of Equestria until I catch up. Enjoy!

Chapter One Thirty Six: Thunderclap

"Wait! Shit!"

Rachelle pounded the nearest Quantron in frustration as the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger teleported away in a blaze of light. Ducking under the wild swings of the Quantrons around her, she was dimly aware of some strange black and green humanoid taking pot-shots at the Phantom Ranger. Some small part of her wanted to help the mysterious Ranger but the majority was focused on the literally frozen Ranger in front of her. Snarling under her breath, she charged up her Ankylo Hammer and slammed it into the ground; destroying all the grunts surrounding her. As the smoke cleared, she blinked in shock as the ice that encased her leader hadn't even cracked under the shockwave. Rolling her eyes under her helmet, she walked past the weakly twitching bodies around her and placed a hand on the glassy prison. The ice didn't seem to be going to break anytime soon and she wondered how on Earth she was going to transport him off the planet.

"Is he all right?"

Rachelle turned slightly to see the Phantom Ranger leaning against a nearby tree, nursing a small wound on his side. Around him were the other Astro Rangers looking nervously around as if they were itching to leave. She sighed and lightly tapped the side of her helmet.

"Ultra Cavern; come in. We have a slight problem here."

Nothing but static answered her call and she bit back a scream in frustration. She could see that the Red Astro Ranger had slipped away into the jungle and shook her head. Running her hand down the ice covering, she tried a different tactic – one that she was pretty sure would work.

_Weihan, can you hear me?_

Silence answered her telepathic call and she tried again. She was aware of the Astro Rangers being informed of a monster attacking Angel Grove and she absently waved them off. Demorphing in a shimmer of Silver light, she closed her eyes and tried again. This time, there was a long pause that was followed by the faintest of replies.

**Rachelle…what's going on? Why can't I move?**

She wanted to jump for joy but was aware of the curious stare the Phantom was sending her way. Regaining her composure, she nodded once at the Phantom before allowing him to turn back to communicate some directions to the Red Astro Ranger. Circling the ice statue yet again, she noted that the ice wasn't frozen to the ground and it would be probably easy to lift it off the ground. The obvious problem was how she would do it on her own. The Phantom Ranger was obviously injured and although the wound wasn't serious, he was still slightly winded from the earlier fight. Barring all thoughts from her mind about what could have happened if they hadn't been there; she summoned her Shield Bunker to her left hand. The gauntlet weapon that bore a marked resemblance to her Dinozord's armour gleamed in the light and she crouched down to her leader's feet.

_**Rachelle…what's happening? Is the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger still around?**_

She shook her head absently, forgetting that he probably couldn't see her. Pressing the small button on the grip, she watched in amazement as the 'tail' flipped over and the club turned into a brilliant ball of energy. Not wanting to touch the ball to her unprotected flesh, she carefully flattened herself onto the ground and touched the energy ball to the ice on the ground. She smiled to herself as she saw it start to melt away slowly but frowned as she realised that it was faster to yank him off the ground and just be done with it.

_You're coated in a thick layer of ice. I'm going to have to summon my Zord and pull you off the ground. Zordon has probably left the planet. Just sit tight._

_**Wait, I…yeah, you're probably right. Just…be careful.**_

She smiled to herself and reached her left arm up to the sky.

"I need Dinozord Power, Now!"

Instead of the flash of light and the roar that signalled the coming of her Dinozord…there was silence. In the back of her mind, she remembered Will saying that he would be taking it off the grid to strengthen its armour and offensive capabilities. Taking it off the grid probably meant that she couldn't summon it for a while – especially if Will was taking with Justin and Ninjor about creating a steady dimensional doorway. She could theoretically summon her Ninjazord to her; but she doubted the appearance of a giant Elephant Seal would go over well with whatever natives lived on the planet…if there were any. She swallowed as she realised the only other Zord she could call upon…except no other Ultra Ranger had called upon their Thunderzord for anything.

_I can't do this. It's all wrong to summon the Thunderzord in a non-battle situation…_

_**Says who? You summon a Zord to save people in need. Tell you what; the next giant monster battle I'm involved in, I'll summon my Thunderzord so you don't feel left out.**_

She rolled her eyes and turned to the Phantom Ranger. He was crouched over some sort of device and was recording a short message to the Astro Rangers. Turning away from him until he finished recording, she looked at his helmet and spoke.

"You're not going to wait for them and tell them yourself?"

The Phantom Ranger shook his head and glanced down at the slowly healing wound on his armour. His left hand balled into a fist and he sighed – as if in emotional distress.

"I wish I could but I have my own mission and they have theirs. You Ultra Rangers also have your own mission; one that I am not privy to. Do not give up hope, Silver Ranger. Zordon believes the Ultra Rangers will survive whatever battles come until the far future. Until we meet again, Ultra Ranger, I bid you farewell."

She watched as the Phantom Ranger vanished into thin air before smiling and shaking her head. Obviously the 'Phantom' part would allow him to become invisible but she had assumed it was because he was part ghost or something like that. Flash-morphing, she raised her left arm up to the sky yet again and wondered how to summon her Thunderzord. Reaching deep insider herself; she searched for the words that sounded…right.

"Werewolf Thunderzord; Arise!"

A baleful howl answered her cry and she felt the ground quake as her Thunderzord landed on the jungle planet. Craning her head up to look at it, her jaw dropped as she drank in its fearsome appearance. It was almost like every image she had of what a werewolf looked like was present on the Zord – from eyes that reflected animalistic intelligence to the five fingered paws with razor sharp claws on the ends. A tail even protruded from its backside but was jagged and seemed to have a phantom edge to it. It raised its head up to the sky and howled yet again; the chillingly mournful wail sending shivers down her spine. After the howl's echo had faded away, it dropped its head and four energy chains dropped from its lower jaw.

It was time to leave this planet behind.

TBC…


	138. 137: Last Man Standing

Chapter One Thirty Seven: Last Man Standing

"Maybe we could use him as a lawn ornament."

Tommy chuckled to himself as the Black/Green Ranger was hit in the upper arm by the Purple Ranger. He had left the Ultra Cavern when Weihan and Rachelle had teleported to Hercuron and was about to have a small nap while waiting for the monster battle to finish…when another call had come in. Both Rangers had encountered some sort of trouble on the planet and had gotten in some trouble and the Orange Ranger had been incapacitated. Extremely curious to lean exactly what had knocked Weihan out of commission, he had teleported to the Ultra Cavern to see the Orange Ranger encased from helmet to boots in a thick coating of blue-tinged ice. He had lost all humour and had gone into what Kim affectionately called 'Red Leader' mode.

"Is he all right in there?"

He directed the question to Rachelle; who nodded wearily. They had attacked a large group of grunts that had ambushed the Phantom Ranger – whoever he was – and had been ambushed themselves by the sudden appearance of the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger. The evil Ranger had apparently then blasted Weihan with a blast of ice that had quickly enveloped the Ranger while he was rushing at the Ultra Psycho Ranger. On the surface, it seemed like a routine evil Ranger attack but when he thought about it more…it didn't make sense. Zordon was on the planet but he was 'guarded' by Divatox's forces and then apparently Astronema had made an appearance although she hadn't been sighted directly by the Ultra Rangers. Actually, the more he thought about it; the more his head hurt.

"Is there any good news here?"

Blank faces answered his question and he ran a hand over his face in frustration. It seemed that with Weihan out of commission, they were powerless to act on their own. He knew this wasn't the case and that they were slowly digesting the fact their leader had been casually frozen but they should have had at least some amount of good news to balance out the overwhelmingly depressing. After a beat, the White Ultra Ranger raised his hand and began speaking.

"There is one thing. The dimensional doorway has been completed. Theoretically, it should allow a stable two-way passage multiple times but only to and from our dimension. It just needs to be tested but the testing may produce very small cracks in the dimensional walls."

Tommy nodded his head and opened his mouth to reply when the alarms started blaring. Old Ranger instincts kicking in, he ran over to the scanners and brought up an image of the Sydney CBD. The sun had sunk lower on the horizon, bathing the city in a beautiful orange-red glow…that contrasted heavily with the thick clouds of black smoke rising from various places. He reached into his personal subspace pocket for his Zeonizers and summoned them to his forearms. Seeing their confused and worried looks, he nodded at them.

"You're a Ranger down. My Powers may not be suited for this guy, but I can at least get the civilians out of the way."

As the rest of the Ultra Rangers nodded, Tommy pressed a button on his communicator – the same distress signal that had been sent out earlier. Nodding to the Black/Green Ranger, he watched as the Rangers morphed wordlessly and he began his sequence.

"It's Morphin Time! Zeo Ranger Five – Red!"

His vision was obscured in a blaze of red light and when it cleared, he found himself standing pretty much where he had met the Orange Ranger for the first time. Much like the first time, explosions ripped through the air from burst gas mains and he was treated to the wonderfully ironic sight of duelling explosions from a gas and water line that was placed next to each other. However; there were no mindless grunts roaming the streets and no injured or dying people strewn across the ground. Tommy almost breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of something that made his breath hitch in his throat. Two civilians were huddled close together…and were entombed in a similar coating of ice. Shaking his head slowly, he pressed a glove to the outside of their prison and attempted to see if they were alive…even though he knew it was an exercise in futility. A Ranger's suit would protect them against the majority of the ice's frigid temperatures and keep their internal temperature high. Naked skin…he didn't want to think about it.

"Rangers…where is the Orange Ranger? Did he get cold feet?"

Turning at the strangely crackling voice that reminded him strongly of a moving iceberg, Tommy found himself staring at the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger. His hands shot to his hip and he assembled his Zeo Laser Rifle and pointed it at the evil Ranger. Seeing the Laser Rifle being pointed in his direction, the Psycho Ranger smirked.

"Come on, now. Don't be like that. I'm really an ice guy when you get to know me."

Tommy groaned to himself…and the moment cost his greatly. His head snapped up at the sensation of cold growing on his chest and he looked down in horror to see the same thick coating of ice slowly spreading over his body. Determined not to be entombed without putting up at least some form of fight; Tommy rapidly pressed the trigger on the Zeo Laser Rifle. Shots of red light streaked towards the monster…revealing the blood curdling sight of the other Ultra Rangers entombed in their own icy coverings. Only the Black/Green Ranger was free…but he was slumped against a concrete wall and didn't look like he would be getting up anytime soon. A numbing sensation in his chest and back informed him that his entire torso had been frozen but he could still attempt to engage the Psycho Ranger. Summoning up his remaining strength, he charged at the monster while firing shot after shot from the Zeo Laser Rifle.

He was rewarded by an increase in the areas that were swiftly encased in ice. His legs and feet were first; then his arms and hands and finally his head. He knew he would be all right as long as his Zeo armour held out but didn't want to be in a situation like this ever again. What would be worse was if his Zeo Crystal polarised somehow and he was stuck in morph for a while…but that was a technical impossibility in and of itself.

His vision went dark and he thought no more.

TBC…


	139. 138: Necessity

AN: Character focus/development here!

Chapter One Thirty Eight: Necessity

"I think he's coming around."

Alex Burns groaned softly and tried to focus on something other than the rhinoceros that had apparently used his body as a football. He opened his eyes slowly – only to shut them as a bright light shined into them. Forcing his eyes open, he began to gather his thoughts; the last of which being the battle with the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger while the Red Zeo Ranger looked at the frozen civilians in shock. He remembered the others leaping into the freezing attacks with the only thought of protecting civilians from an early death. He had pulled out his Blizzard Axe but had been distracted in the discovery that both blades could be lowered to form a sort of gun mode. And then he remembered the sudden, powerful hit that had come out of nowhere and flung him head first into the nearby wall of the Hoyts Cinemas…and then nothing.

"Are you all right? Are the others alive?"

He struggled to focus on the voice in front of him through his pain and distress. It was the Pink Zeo Ranger…what was her name again? Kat…that was it and her boyfriend was the goofball Blue Zeo Ranger with the inhumanly large appetite. Opening his eyes once more, he found himself unmorphed on one of the Medical Beds in the Ultra Cavern. Looking around him, he could see the other frozen forms of the Rangers around the Cavern. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the Med Bed; ignoring the screams of protest from his strained muscles. Clenching his teeth in determination, he stepped forwards and looked around what should have been an empty Ultra Cavern. He saw the inactive Rangers at the consoles and he stumbled slightly as a great wave of relief washed through his body. Turning back, he saw the concern in the blonde's face and he smiled slightly and nodded.

"I am all right. The others…are fine and alive under all the ice. The only issue now is when that Psycho Ranger will be back."

He wobbled over to the Radar station and all but fell down into the chair. Wearily, his fingers cycled through the views of the city at night and he sighed in defeat. In less than five minutes, the Ultra Rangers had been defeated. He was the only one remaining that could feasibly stand up against Xonix's forces…if he didn't find a way to unfreeze the others first. A hand dropped onto his shoulder and he glanced up and saw a young man wearing a strange red and black shirt with short black hair. His voice was quiet but made Alex sit up straighter.

"It wasn't your fault. Before you face the Psycho Ranger – whatever that is – again, you need to rest your body and mind."

A short woman with long brown hair came up next to the man and nodded once. Alex knew that she was Kimberly Hart and Tommy Oliver's girlfriend – as well as the Pink Ninjetti Ranger.

"Jason is right. Alex, you need to tend to your body first. Don't worry about the battle ahead, you know what they always say – necessity is the mother of all invention. I'm sure you'll do well."

Nodding to the two Rangers, Alex walked over to one of the cots under his Mammoth Zord and lay down. Even though his body was screaming at him to rest, he just couldn't. Not when his friends were all frozen into blocks of ice and when Weihan had pretty much risked life and limb to save him from Lustor's grasp…even though he couldn't remember what exactly had happened. He had woken up in the Ultra Cavern, naked as the day he was born with a lingering sensation of…something…he didn't know what but then Weihan had been teleported in and the interrogation had begun.

Moving his mind away from those events, he thought about what had happened on the battlefield. More specifically; the amazement he had felt upon seeing that his Blizzard Axe could transform into a gun mode…without having the Ultra Blaster formed. From the news footage that had aired from Angel Grove, he knew that the Black Ranger could change his Power Axe into the Cannon Mode at will…but seeing and knowing were two different things. Checking that all eyes were off him, he summoned his Mammoth Buster to him and slipped it off his wrist. He wondered if it could somehow be attached to the Blizzard Axe's gun form and what the effects would be. If it could blast out a beam of ice, he could theoretically encase the Blue Psycho Ranger in a thicker layer of ice and destroy him. The only issue with that would be whether the ice would shatter upon his defeat.

Magically created ice would shatter and return his friends to the states they were in previously. He didn't know if they would be ready and willing to leap into a battle soon after breaking free but he wasn't willing to bet anything on it just yet. That, in turn, led to the issue of his Zords and if there was some way that his Main Three could feasibly link up to create a Warriorzord…without looking like a dog's breakfast. He was willing to try although he would probably be forced to call on his Zeo and Time Force Zords for stability. He knew there were other Zords in his arsenal so he could theoretically call upon those as well.

Shaking his head, he dismissed his Mammoth Buster and turned over to face the rocky wall. He knew that Weihan was the first Ultra Ranger and wondered if he ever had his moments of doubt in his abilities. He was sure that it would have happened at one time or another but he remembered seeing the Orange Ranger's impromptu press conference and being amazed at how natural everything had seemed. Well, with the exception of drawing a blade at John Howard and the attack that happened soon after. As with all the other Rangers, he knew there had been something that happened to Weihan to – for lack of a better word – mould him into the person he was but he didn't know what it was…only that it involved the strange zombie apocalypse scenario on the Simul-Deck. He remembered accidentally eavesdropping on the Orange Ranger as he uploaded the program.

_Flashback_

_"Can I do this? Is this the right thing to do?"_

_Alex flattened himself near the wall next to his Dinozord and looked at the sight in front of him. Weihan was next to the Simul-Deck with his helmet in one hand; looking at something on a small monitor nearby. Holding his breath and straining his ears, he could hear what sounded like screams or shouts but couldn't make out the words. He saw Weihan take in a shuddering breath, before looking to the ceiling in a strange manner._

_"What would you tell me to do? To upload it because of the training potential…but I can't. It happened months ago…but I still can't. That's one wound that will never fully go away…and one memory that I will never forget."_

_The Orange Ranger closed his eyes and smiled – as if receiving some sort of divine intervention. He nodded into the empty air and began to type in a series of commands on the monitor. His voice was low and quiet, yet in the near stillness of the Ultra Cavern, Alex could hear him._

_"I'll change it to a zombie horde. God, I hate doing this…but they're not ready to learn about that just yet. Maybe in the future but…not now."_

_End Flashback_

And that had been it. He had teleported out and had debated informing the others about what he saw and what was said. In the end, nothing had been spilled as whatever it was that was haunting Weihan wasn't for them to know about. His friend had changed a great deal in the past few months and he knew Weihan would change even more in the future. They all were changing under the responsibility of being Ultra Rangers – both mentally and physically. He wondered what other secrets their powers held – apart from the strange Assault Armour that Steven Johnston had summoned in his first and only battle as an Ultra Ranger. As his eyelids drooped and the oblivion of sleep overtook his body, he smiled slightly as an idea came to him.

Tomorrow…it would all change.

TBC…


	140. 139: Heat Sink

Chapter One Thirty Nine: Heat Sink

"Are you all clear on what you need to do?"

At their nods, he smiled and mentally prepared himself. Alex had awoken after five hours of sleep and had rounded up the inactive Rangers that still remained. The remaining Rangers consisted of the Blue, Green and Pink Zeo Rangers and the Red Morphin Ranger that Weihan had inadvertently repowered. The former Blue Turbo Ranger was also present but he would be sitting out the battle to do final checks on the Dimensional Gateway and make sure that it didn't blow up when it was activated. There was just one thing that was required for him to put his plan into action and, unfortunately, it couldn't be controlled…

The alarms went off; startling everyone except Alex, who grinned to himself. It was true that the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger couldn't be controlled but there was something about being on the side of Evil that made you susceptible to clockwork attacks. This attack by the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger was the scare tactic of 'Attack the city when everyone's injured in some way and can't fight' and if he were a lesser man, he would probably fall for it hook, line and sinker. Fortunately, he wasn't that lesser man and knew when it was prudent to ask for the assistance of those with a bit more experience than him. Hurriedly switching off the alarms, he took one last look at his frozen comrades and silently promised to free them from their icy prison before nodding at Jason. The Red Ranger nodded back and brought out his Power Morpher as the morphs began.

Alex felt the Ultra Power rush over his body like a surging flood and felt the familiar weight of the Battle Armour settle on his shoulders. He closed his eyes to block out the brilliant light show of the other five Rangers' morphs and when he opened them again, he saw that they were battle ready. Nodding one last time at them; he teleported to the battlefield – making sure to gain enough momentum to launch a flying kick at the Blue Psycho Ranger's back. The evil Ranger stumbled forward and whirled around to see Alex standing behind him with his Mammoth Buster pointed at him.

"Pathetic Ranger; that snow shooter won't do a thing against me!"

Alex swallowed hard and aimed the trunk blaster square at the torso of the Blue Psycho Ranger. He knew he was slightly deviating from the planned strategy but he didn't care…even if he had been the one to hash it out in the first place. There was also an image nagging in the back of his mind; something about seeing Weihan battle a Ranger while being protected by flames. If the Orange Ranger could somehow channel fire onto his armour, there was a good chance that Alex would be able to do the same thing. Of course, it wouldn't be with fire but with ice or whatever his element was supposed to be. His mind made up, he flipped away from the Psycho Ranger to give the signal to the other Rangers – three short blasts of ice that were grouped around the Psycho's chest. Not wasting any time to see if they hit, he rolled away from the predicted line of retaliation and behind a thick mound of rubble. He could see panicked civilians running away from the battle and could see the magical doubles of himself and the other Rangers getting others to safety. His double threw a thumbs-up in his direction before getting behind some protection himself.

"Fire!"

Alex jumped slightly at the loud cry as bolts of green, blue, pink and yellow Zeo energy lanced the air over his head to strike the Ultra Psycho Ranger when he was off guard. The Psycho growled and let loose three containment blasts at the Rangers…but they had anticipated this move. The four Rangers scattered and let the blasts pass harmlessly over their heads. Alex silently summoned his Blizzard Axe and, with a slight sense of trepidation, folded down both blades to form what he called the Blizzard Laser. Not wanting to reveal his idea too soon, he popped up from the debris pile and fired off two shots from his 'new' weapon. The icy blasts streaked through the air and impacted against the Psycho Ranger's breast-plate dead on. He watched in stunned fascination as the blasts seemed to drill through the armour and strike the monster underneath…well, judging from the horrific scream of fear and pain coming from the fishy creature.

Suddenly, the Blue Psycho Ranger screamed in pain as sparks flew from his back. The evil Ranger fell forwards to reveal Jason holding his Power Sword. The Red Ranger lifted up his blade and stabbed the Psycho Ranger in the lower back, eliciting a warbling screech of pain…that slowly started to turn to low laughter. Jason withdrew his Power Sword from the Ranger's back…only to see that the blade hadn't penetrated the armour of the Psycho Ranger. The Red Ranger only had time to shout in shock before being blasted into a nearby tree. The Blue Psycho Ranger flipped onto his feet and extended his hands toward the scattered Zeo Rangers; a threatening blue glow surrounding them as the air cooled. Muttering arcane words under his breath, the Blue Psycho Ranger blasted out a wave of freezing energy that was specifically created to kill.

It never reached its target.

After seeing Jason attempt to stab the Blue Psycho in the back, Alex knew he had to work quickly. The strategy of blasting the Psycho Ranger with a charged shot from the Blizzard Laser wouldn't really work that well if the monster was expecting it and if he was hit with the freezing beam then it would be all over. He was almost out of options and anything tried would either make or break the battle…so he decided to go for broke. He had no idea how to channel his energy into something like his armour – the blades on his Blizzard Axe were one thing but his armour was an entirely different matter. If he fucked up, there was a very real possibility he would kill himself. Closing his eyes; he began his attempt.

He visualised his Battle Armour being covered with a thick layer of ice that would protect him from ice-related attacks and would absorb them if they were strong enough. The ice would also allow him a free range of movement and be able to channel energy into his Blizzard Laser, Axe and whatever he called the combination weapon. He could feel something happening but to see what would mean opening his eyes and the visualisation method would promptly end…however Jason's yell made him snap his eyes open and look at what had happened to his armour.

His mouth fell open in shock. Where the familiar black and green breast-plate had been was covered with a thick layer of shining white ice. Quick testing of his arms showed that he could still move his arms in a 360 degree range and that something was happening with the Psycho Ranger and the Zeo Rangers. Stepping out to protect the Zeo Rangers, he was hit with a large blast of blue-green energy that was both burning and freezing. Momentarily forgetting that he was wearing a helmet, he threw his arms up to protect his face from the onslaught – still gripping his Blizzard Laser in one hand. As the ice formed around him, he could swear he heard the Blue Psycho Ranger's laughter turn into a shout of shock and alarm. Slowly lowering his arms, Alex saw that the energy was slowly being absorbed into he armour and further powering up his Blizzard Laser. Firing off a test shot at the Psycho Ranger, he was pleased to see the icy blast drill into the upper leg of the fish creature – sending a spray of grey-green blood into the air.

"Damn you Ranger! I'll kill you! No more Mister Ice Guy!"

Alex shrugged and lowered the Blizzard Laser as the Blue Psycho ran towards him. Standing stock still, he didn't even flinch as a powerful punch slammed into his stomach. Shrugging off the blow, he forced the Blue Psycho Ranger's head down and brought up his right knee to smash the monster's head before kicking him away and preparing for the final blow.

Sliding his Mammoth Buster off his left hand, Alex held the Blizzard Laser by the barrel and slid the wrist-mounted weapon onto the Laser. With a slight whirring sound and a flash of light, the combined weapon was complete. Alex held it in both hands and aimed it squarely at the recovering Psycho Ranger. Locking onto the Psycho Ranger, Alex called out the combined weapon's name as the finisher was initiated.

"Blizzard Blaster; Cryogenic Smash!"

A spiralled torrent of green energy fired from the end of the Blizzard Blaster and honed in on the Psycho Ranger. The Blue Psycho threw its arms up in a futile gesture to protect itself but the energy was too powerful. Freezing from the inside out, he felt the containment hold he had so lovingly placed on the other Ultra Rangers and civilians shatter like glass before he fell over with a wail and his Psycho Gem shattered – engulfing him in a burning explosion of pain.

Yet it wasn't over yet by a long shot…

TBC…


	141. 140: Trizord

AN: More introspection and a new combo! Enjoy!

Chapter One Forty: Trizord

The destruction of the Psycho Gem was only the beginning.

With the unearthly powers no longer fuelling the ice prisons that had been formed, they all shattered at the same time. The Ultra Rangers and Tommy were relatively unharmed by their forced imprisonments although the frozen civilians weren't so lucky. Most of them had died from exposure and the ones who hadn't were suffering from extreme hypothermia. Alex motioned for the Zeo Rangers and Jason to help those civilians who were barely clinging to life while he waited for the inevitable growth. The ice that had formed around his armour had disappeared and he was wondering how exactly he would fight a giant monster…let alone a giant Psycho Ranger. He seriously doubted his Mammoth Dinozord could transform into a warrior mode but there was an idea that was floating around in his head.

"Ranger! Die!"

Huh…when had the Ultra Blue Psycho Ranger grown? He hadn't been paying that much attention to the flaming debris anyway and he was sure he would have heard the magic crackle that accompanied most of the growing monsters. Whatever the reason, he would look into it later…when the not-Psycho Ranger had been defeated.

"Mammoth Dinozord Power, Now!"

Leaping into the cockpit of his Dinozord, he separated his Blizzard Blaster and slid his Blizzard Axe into the slot in front of him. He was about to dismiss the Mammoth Buster when he spied a strange depression near the left keypad. Acting on a whim and sincerely hoping he didn't activate the Zord's suicide attack, he slipped his Mammoth Buster in. Instantly, he felt a shockwave of power thrum through the Zord and he knew it was the correct decision. Lifting the trunk of the Mammoth up, he blasted the former Psycho Ranger with a stronger version of the Ice Blaster that had been extremely effective against Kaijor. The stream smacked the fish creature in the chest and formed a thin layer of ice over the torso…but it wouldn't hold for long. Already he could see large cracks forming as the monster struggled to free itself.

"Guys, can I get some backup here?"

He wasn't going to run from his idea if he was forced to use it but destroying the monster in front of him would go over a Hell of a lot easier with four or five Ultra Rangers backing him up. He gave up that notion when he heard the exhausted voice of Weihan come over the line.

"Sorry mate, you're on your own for this one. We're all pretty out of it. Just hang tight and let your imagination run wild."

Blinking as the communication was shut off; Alex shook his head as his mind registered the reason for why his leader sounded so exhausted. He had been in near-constant battles since the Ultra Psycho Rangers had shown up the day before. Moving the Zord to one side to avoid the shards of ice being fired at him, Alex shook his head in disbelief. Had it only been a day ago that the Ultra Psycho Rangers had shown up and everything was sent to Hell? It certainly seemed a lot longer than that but he guessed time really slowed down during moments of increased stress…or something like that.

Strafing left, he fired more beams of ice and lasers at the monster and listened to it scream in agony. An appropriate finisher would be good to perform right about now…but his Dinozord wasn't really built for one-on-one bouts with monsters. His Thunderzord or even Ninjazord would be more useful…or even acting on that idea would be a good opportunity to see if it could be done. On the other hand; it could also be a good way to see how badly he could fuck up his Zords. Well, there was one way to find out for sure and that certainly wasn't sitting on his ass firing piddling shots of ice at the monster.

"Lion Thunderzord Power! Horny Toad Ninjazord Power!"

As his Zords appeared on the horizon, he briefly wondered why it sounded strangely wrong to yell out Horny Toad before dismissing the errant thought with a shake of the head. As his Zords came closer, he looked at his Thunderzord and noted the extreme similarity between it and the 'First Gen' Thunderzords that the Power Rangers of Angel Grove once used. Apparently the two Zords were almost the same as he could hear Jason's voice coming over from his helmet speakers expressing his amazement. Inhaling deeply, he attempted to visualise what the amalgamation would look like…but for some reason, the image wouldn't come. As the power flowed into his mind, he snapped upright and tapped a few keys on the keypad. Completely ignoring the Psycho Monster that was coming his way, he opened his mouth to let the words spill forth.

"Blizzard Trizord – Assemble!"

Immediately, the controls went slack and the Blizzard Axe was ejected from its slot. The Mammoth Buster seemed to merge with the control console as Alex felt the Zord merging take place. The Mammoth Zord split in half and rotated forwards so the head of the Mammoth was in the centre. Metal connected with metal as two arms folded out of the 'shoulders' and hung at the sides while the legs of the Mammoth rotated up to form connectors on its back. The Lion Thunderzord's front legs and paws detached and underwent a strange transformation to form the lower legs and feet of the combination. The head and main body connected to the back of the Mammoth while the back legs and paws formed the upper legs. The Zord that underwent the least transforming was the Horny Toad Ninjazord; opting to open panels on its underside to reveal the visored face of the combination Zord. The head and front legs slid into an opening behind the head of the Mammoth Zord and locked into place. Inside the Mammoth Dinozord cockpit, controls flipped out of the walls as a new slot for the Blizzard Axe opened up on his right side.

"Blizzard Trizord – Assembly Complete!"

Wrapping his right hand on the control lever, he tested the responsiveness of the controls with what he assumed was a fairly weak punch aimed at the torso of the monster. Seeing the monster fly back a short distance pushed all thoughts out of his mind regarding what was considered weak or not. Settling the Trizord into a relaxed but ready stance, he waited for the Psycho Monster to right itself before walking forwards. He would let the act go on for a while longer…and then he would destroy the creature in front of him.

The creature screamed at him in an unknown language and launched a barrage of energised attacks at the Trizord. Had the attacks been slightly stronger or better aimed, they would have ripped through its armour and forced him to retreat…or perform the suicide attack. As they weren't, the blows did little to the massive Zord…other than scratch off some of the protective paint. Raising a mighty fist, the Black/Green Ultra Ranger wasted no time in bringing it down on the fish-like head of the creature and he chuckled at the strangely mesmerising sight of seeing its eyes bulge from its head. He didn't know where the strange bloodlust had come from and if he was entirely honest with himself; it slightly scared him…but he still had a job to do and he would destroy the monster in front of him – for the ladies of course.

Whipping the Zord around, Alex roundhouse kicked the monster into the deep pit of World Square – careful not to damage any of the high-rises in the area any more than they had been. Although Sydney didn't really have a lot of space to move around for Zord battles; there was still ample space for the Trizord's battle…well, provided he always knew where the feet were. Reaching down, the Zord grabbed the Psycho monster around the neck and flung it in the rough direction of Centennial Park. Activating the jet boosters, Alex flew after the creature – getting under it to kick it into the upper atmosphere. It was time to end it.

"Freezing Spear!"

With a mighty bellow, the trunk on the Mammoth Zord lifted to point at the monster and blasted a spiralling beam of green energy at the monster. The energy exploded through the weakened monster's chest and instantly snap-froze its internal organs – effectively killing it where it stood. It didn't end there; as Alex knew that a falling frozen monster would still do a lot of damage to the surrounding areas. Propelling the massive bulk forward, the Trizord's arms lifted up above its head and slammed down on the frozen monster with all the force of several freight trains. The former Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger shattered into a million bite-sized pieces and fell onto the buildings below and for the first time ever; snow and hail fell as one on the city of Sydney.

From the cockpit of the Trizord, Alex slumped in his seat – thoroughly exhausted. Two last-ditch gambles had paved the way for the defeat of one Ultra Psycho Ranger…but there were still six more out there waiting for a chance to strike. If he included the strange robotic Psycho Ranger then there was still seven remaining…but he doubted the orange robot would make another appearance on the battlefield so soon after destruction. Turning away from the frozen flakes of monster still floating down, he prepared himself for a debriefing session at the Ultra Cavern.

It was going to be a long day…again.

TBC…


	142. 141: Cracks

AN: More foreshadowing here…Enjoy!

Chapter One Forty One: Cracks

There were no words to describe the rage he was feeling.

Kryosis had been a loyal warrior with a cool head – no pun intended – and for the amount of time he had been in the Ultra Psycho Rangers; he had never gone off half-cocked against a Ranger team. Not only that, he had pretty much abandoned his mission on Hercuron the very second the two Ultra Rangers had shown up…meaning that it would be pretty much next to impossible for the robotic Ultra Psycho Ranger to be rebuilt. Xonix roared in anger and slammed his tail against the rocky wall of Zedd's Moon Palace as he replayed the past day's events in his mind.

The freezing of the Orange Ranger would have been enough of a demoralising blow to the Silver Ultra Ranger and with the Phantom injured; Kryosis could have killed the girl then and there. Instead, the fishy monster had turned tail and teleported back to Xonix, claiming the Psycho Ranger was under the watchful eyes of Dark Spectre and Ecliptor. He had given a summarized version of the battle and the freezing of the Orange Ranger but had said that the Silver Ranger was nowhere to be seen. Everything could have gone smoother if Kryosis had admitted that the Silver Ranger was still free…on the other hand, the Power Rangers would have still gained access to the Delta Megaship but maybe that was all predetermined by the floating head in Dark Spectre's possession. He seriously doubted it had been predestined by the other floating head…

The subsequent freezing of almost the rest of the Ultra Rangers and the Red Zeo Ranger had given him a good feeling that the Ultra Rangers would soon be destroyed…and then he had noticed the Black/Green Ranger was still unfrozen. Kryosis had assured the reptilian lord that the Ranger would be dealt with in good time and Xonix had foolishly granted him a break between battles. He ground his teeth together and narrowed his eyes as he remembered seeing the Black/Green Ranger cover his armour with ice the same way the Orange Ranger had done with fire. It turned out that it was the least of his worries as the Black/Green Ranger's weapon had first turned into a laser and then into a strange laser rifle of sorts. He had ordered Kryosis to retreat so another strategy could be formed…but the Blue Psycho Ranger had resisted both the mental urging and had even thrown off the teleporter beam.

And then Kryosis' Psycho Gem had been shattered by the powerful blast from the combination weapon. Kryosis' first 'life' had died in the explosion along with his higher brain functions but Psychogre had asked his comrade be revived as a giant. Of course, Xonix had weighed the pros and cons of doing so but had wanted to know how much damage a rampaging fish creature could do to the city. At first the spell hadn't produced the familiar crackling sound and he had wondered if something had gone wrong with the spell. After all, the growth spell had included various quantities of insect parts so it wouldn't have been much of a stretch to say that they had reacted badly upon contact with each other. The only problem with that theory was that he had been enlarging monsters left, right and centre since ingesting the potion and any residual insect bits would have been long absorbed into his body. Eventually, the spell had worked but Xonix was still wondering why there was even a time-delay on the growth spell. Perhaps some residual energy from the Psycho Gem was throwing it off course…but that was something to look into another time.

When the Mammoth Dinozord had been summoned, Xonix was greatly hoping for a repeat of the Kaijor battle. Even though the ice prisons had shattered, there was a very good chance that the Orange Ranger had been knocked unconscious by the sudden freezing and couldn't summon a Zord to help his friend out. Even when the Thunderzord and Ninjazord had been summoned, he didn't think much of it. Past history had shown that three Zords – no matter how in tune they were with the Rangers and the Power Sources – couldn't make a Megazord. Of course, there were rumours that a three Zord Megazord had been formed on Eltare during the period of Drakor's imprisonment but there was no real hard evidence to confirm or deny it even happening.

But the Zords had combined with each other to create a Megazord of sorts; the only difference being the name. Judging from the drops that hadn't evaporated from his snout, he was sure Psychogre was forced to splash him with cold water to snap him out of his stupor…which led to the rather unpleasant question of where cold water had been found in Zedd's Palace in the first place. He had blinked away most of the water to see the newly created 'Trizord' grab Kryosis and fling him into the air where the former Ultra Blue Psycho Ranger had met a rather ironic end. With a flick of a claw, a viewscreen popped up showing news reports about the once in a lifetime event of snow and hail in the city of Sydney…during a heatwave. He shook his head and snarled at the image of the Trizord on screen.

"Lord Xonix, what will your next move be?"

He turned to see Psychogre leaning casually against the wall. Xonix paused for a moment and considered the options available to him. He could send down a monster now while the Rangers were exhausted but the Black/Green Ranger was still in reasonably good shape. Jabarkas was training with Twinlobe, Yit and Goldar while Rito was trying to pull himself together after his mouth had gotten the best of him. The other Ultra Psycho Rangers were braying for blood but the relatively easy destruction of Kryosis had quietened them somewhat.

"Tell me, my lord, what about Thermador? You could send him down in a few hours with a squad of Golems while Creeper infiltrates their base through the shadows."

Xonix nodded once. A monster attack in a few hours would give them time to rest up and also would allow him to properly brief his monster on what he would be up against. He opened his mouth to give the order when a strange shudder ran down his spine; a strangely familiar feeling that felt like a dimensional door opening or being fixed into place. He mentally shook his head to rid those thoughts from his mind. The Ultra Rangers were deluded if they thought they could open a door to Equestria…after all he was sure the Orange Ranger didn't want Discord walking free on Earth given his history.

"Creeper? Where are you? Premil, where did Creeper go?"

Xonix turned to see Psychogre talking on some sort of hand-held radio to the other Ultra Psycho Rangers. Creeper wasn't integral to the monster attack but he could be used to gather data on the Rangers. Catching Psychogre's eye, he shook his head and nodded wearily. Creeper was bound to turn up sooner or later and if he was destroyed like Kryosis…

Well, that was what the Ultra Psycho Zords were for…

TBC…


	143. 142: Lobster

AN: Almost there…enjoy! And posted on my 27th birthday as well! Woo!

Pinkie: PARTY!

Chapter One Forty Two: Lobster

"Ah say, it's good ta see y'all again!"

Rachelle grinned from her position at the Communications Station as the blonde cowpony grinned at them and Rainbow Dash glided through. Will had successfully turned the Dimensional Door on and Billy had wasted no time in explaining a dire situation to Weihan. Apparently there had been a battle a few days before where a new ally of Zedd's had created a monster out of a cider-squeezing machine…and there had been deaths. Worse still, the deaths had happened within sight of the Rangers – including one time when they had been inside the Megazord. The Orange Ranger had wasted no time in crossing the dimensional barrier to talk to Twilight; knowing that if the Rangers were feeling bad, she would be feeling a thousand times worse.

"Nice to see you again, Applejack, welcome back to the Ultra Cavern. Oh…who's that behind you?"

The Red Equestrian Ranger looked behind her to see a smaller pony with pale yellow fur and a red mane looking around the Cavern in awe. Unlike Applejack or Rainbow Dash, there was no mark on the hindquarters and Rachelle wondered why that was. The Silver Ultra Ranger shared a look with Eliza and grinned at her. The Purple Ranger was currently on her mobile to her boyfriend and informing him about the events of the past couple of days…even though he had been privy to some events.

"This here's mah little sister, Applebloom. She's usually not this shy but this is a whole new experience for her."

Rachelle nodded in response as Applejack walked around the Ultra Cavern with Applebloom. It seemed rather surreal to have the Dimensional Door open and the equine Rangers in the Ultra Cavern again but she guessed that was the way the world worked. What was more surprising was the three Zord fusion that Alex had been able to pull off in his earlier battle against the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger. The outcome of that battle had been the all out destruction of the Psycho Ranger and the rather odd appearance of hail and snow in what was supposed to have been a thirty degree day. Of course, there were some areas that weren't even touched by the ice – such as Darling Harbour – but everyone was amazed at the new Zord combination that had suddenly appeared. She blinked as she heard Applejack's voice whisper in her ear.

"If you have a few minutes, Ah wanna get some things out of mah system about what happened. Ah'm not that keen on talking with Applebloom in the room. Ah also know Dash wants ta talk with you as – "

The alarms of the Ultra Cavern started wailing as Applebloom looked around her in alarm. Galloping over to the Scanning Station, she carefully scrolled through the images on screen before stopping on what appeared to be a row of buildings next to a body of water. In the middle of the image was a red lobster that was firing off blasts of energy into the buildings around it as people ran for cover. Ending her call, Eliza looked around the Cavern to see who seemed to have the most amount of energy for the upcoming fight. Asking Alex to head into battle so soon after destroying the Blue Psycho Ranger seemed like a very bad move. To make matters slightly more difficult, most of the others had teleported to class to keep up appearances. With Weihan talking to Twilight, they had a limited force to call upon and it wouldn't be fair for the Equestrian Rangers to fight so soon after whatever crisis Billy had mentioned. Eliza opened her mouth and addressed the remaining Rangers.

"All right guys, enough resting on our butts. It's time to get out there and take on the monster head on. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry to do this but I have to ask that you stay behind until we know what that thing can do."

Heads nodded all around as the remaining Rangers picked themselves up from their scattered positions to stand next to Eliza. She looked around at their weary but determined faces and sighed. Alex had told her that Weihan considered her to be his second-in-command of the Ultra Rangers and she was starting to feel the pressure bear down on her. On the other hand; going into a battle with Sarah J, Rachelle, Will and Rebecca eased her frayed nerves a small amount. Bringing her left hand up to her chest, she closed her eyes as she brought out the Purple Ultra Crystal in a small flash of light. Opening her eyes, she saw the others had brought out their Ultra Crystals as well and were holding them ready to begin the morphing sequence.

"Ultra Crystals – Energise!"

Five energy cyclones exploded from the Rangers and the Equestrian Rangers had to look away to avoid being blinded. When the light show ended, the Ultra Rangers teleported out to where the monster was; leaving the three ponies to wait anxiously for their new friends to return.

As the teleport ended, Eliza found herself on the foreshore of Darling Harbour; facing the monster she had seen on the screens. Up close, it was uglier than what she had anticipated – with four armoured arms that ended in menacing-looking pincers and a blood red carapace. Tufts of spiky hair jutted from various places on its back and a scratchy voice emerged from its reed-like mouth.

"Rangers, I am Thermador and you will die!"

Biting her tongue in an effort to keep from laughing out loud, Eliza rolled her eyes in response and pulled out her Carno Claws while the others erupted into a fit of giggles. It was obvious Xonix had some idea of human culture and had taken the rather humorous approach at naming his monster. At least, that was what she hoped. Breaking away from the group, she turned on her helmet scanners and tried to focus on any weak points in the armour. If there was a naturally weak spot, she could destroy the creature as easily as she had killed the metallic bug in Equestria. She hadn't taken more than two steps away before a group of Golems appeared in front of her. Ducking away from their initial volley of fireballs, she flipped over their heads and slashed her Carno Claws across their backs.

Flashes of light around her revealed that the others had pulled out their weapons as well and were battling against the monster, the Golems or were helping the civilians around them get to safety. Connecting her Carno Claws together to form a mini-staff, she clenched her teeth together and ran at Thermador.

It was going to be a Hell of a fight.

TBC…


	144. 143: Cracking the Shell

AN: Just a short chapter before the debut of the Dino Megazord Beta…Enjoy!

Chapter One Forty Three: Cracking the Shell

He made a mental note not to eat any lobster again.

Will flipped in the air to avoid yet another blast of fire and readied his Allosaur Pulsar. Rapidly pulling the trigger, he sent white-hot bolts of energy coated metal screaming through the air towards the remaining Golems. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Eliza, Rachelle and Rebecca attacking the monster while himself and Sarah took out the grunts. It was a little mystifying to him as to why it was so, but he understood Eliza's decision. To not go toe-to-toe with a monster on a daily basis was a nice change for him after being snap-frozen by the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger. For one thing, it greatly lessened the chances of his death – even though he had seen the effects of Golem fire on unprotected flesh. Shredding the remaining few Golems, he shook his head to himself and sighed. If he played his cards right, he would live a long and happy life and not end up as a sack of wet meat on the end of a monster's claws.

"This isn't working!"

"Ya think?"

Eliza twirled her Carno Claws staff in one hand as the three Rangers circled the monster. She wished Weihan could be fighting next to them…but he was fighting his own battles in talking to Twilight. Dodging a claw jab from the monster, she swore under her breath and looked at what damage had been done to the monster. Faint scratches lined the topmost layer of its carapace, small punctures caused by Rebecca's Spike Cannon and slightly larger cracks and dents caused by the Ankylo Hammer. This wasn't like the metallic bug she had faced in Equestria – Thermador had much thicker armour and was more determined to destroy them. Flipping away to avoid a laser blast from the crustacean monster, her mind raced as she tried to come up with a viable solution to destroying the monster without covering the surrounding areas in lobster meat.

Separating her Carno Claws, she charged them with energy and ran at the monster. Slashing down on an outstretched limb, she felt a small amount of resistance before her blades severed the limb in question. She grinned in triumph as Thermador howled and reeled back, clutching the smoking stump of one of its pincers in pain and fear before charging up its energy blast. Two seconds of free-fall later and Eliza found herself in the water of Sydney Harbour and out of the fight. Treading water, she could hear the battle over her helmet speakers. It didn't sound as it was going well.

Rachelle tightened her grip on her Ankylo Hammer and swallowed hard. The only weapon that seemed to be doing damage was hers; which was good and bad news. The good news was that she could destroy the monster all by herself which would allow her to score some major brownie points with Weihan. Even if he was with AJ, it was extremely likely that they would break up due to her fear of his Rangering…at the very least they would be split up for a few years so she could make her move. Leaping back from a swipe from Thermador's other claw; she focused her thoughts on the bad news. In theory, she could charge up her Hammer for a ground shockwave that could destroy the creature but it would only work in an open area. She could still use it to destroy the monster but that would also mean saying good bye to the Harbourside Shopping Mall…which wasn't something she wanted to do just yet.

Ducking under another wild swing, she vaulted over Thermador's head and slammed her Hammer down on the armour covering its neck. Internally wincing at the horrific cracking noise, she swung her Hammer at its back and watched in bloodthirsty fascination as the club-like ends smashed through the bony carapace and into the soft meat below. Mildly recoiling at the strange fishy smell that emerged, she wrenched her Hammer free and brought it down again…at the exact moment Thermador spun around in surprise. It let out a horrific scream of pain that audibly broke off as the powered mallet came down on its head. Shards of shell flew everywhere as the monster's head was destroyed in a splatter of ichor.

"Ugh…Rachelle – kill it!"

Nodding at Will's disgusted shout, the Silver Ultra Ranger flipped away from the still twitching body of the monster and charged up her Hammer. She had heard that Harbourside would be undergoing a redevelopment anyway and that would mean the old buildings would have to be torn down anyway. She rationalised it as doing Sydney City Council a favour…and in the long run it wouldn't matter how the buildings came down anyway.

"Armoured Smash!"

As she brought the weapon down, she rolled her eyes at the name that had come from her mouth. The previous times she had used the attack had been wordless and silent…and she had hoped it would stay that way. While attack names could be great for the shock value; they would get pretty old fast. There was also the enemy theoretically dodging out of the way during the few seconds of freedom it had. Of course one of Weihan's attacks had shown that sufficiently charged attacks could follow the monster back to its 'home base' but throwaway monsters usually didn't have the intelligence needed to make a tactical retreat. The ground shook as the energy wave streaked towards the monster and vanished as it was within striking distance.

"5, 4, 3, 2…"

Before Rachelle could reach the final number, a geyser of silver energy blasted up from Thermador's feet; engulfing the monster in a blaze of fire and light. Less than a second later, she dived for cover as a large fireball blasted out from where Thermador had been standing – shattering the glass archway of the shopping centre behind them.

It still wasn't over…not yet.

TBC…


	145. 144: Beta

AN: Not yet 200K words yet…And Captain America belongs to Marvel. Hm…first disclaimer thingy I've had to put up for a while…Enjoy!

Chapter One Forty Four: Beta

As predicted; it wasn't over yet.

Not less than two seconds after the fireball had vanished into thin air came the familiar crackling noise that signalled a monster growth. The five Ultra Rangers staggered back as they craned their necks up to look at the giant monster that towered above them. Horrifically, the creature still had half its head smashed in but could still 'see' its surroundings…it was almost like something out of a horror movie. Rachelle swallowed as the monster looked down directly at her and reached down with a claw. Charging up her Ankylo Hammer with energy, she swung the weapon at the nearing appendage and bit back a curse as the energy dissipated the second it came into contact with the hardened carapace. Dodging the opened claw, she thrust her left arm into the air and called for her Dinozord.

"Ankylosaurus Dinozord Power!"

Rolling out of the way of another clumsy swipe, she heard the deep bellow of her Zord as it charged to her call. She could hear the others calling for their Zords as well but paid it no heed as she leapt into the cockpit of her Zord. Sliding her Ankylo Hammer into the hole in front of her, she relaxed slightly in her chair as her Zord finished the final power-up sequence. Pulling back on the control lever, she activated the tail club of the Ankylosaur Zord; sending a current of electricity as it swung back. Tapping a few keys, she launched the Zord up until it was around chest-height on Thermador and unleashed the tail attack. The powered club slammed into the lobster's chest and crashed through the armour – much like she had done before. Thermador wailed in pain and fell to the ground; rattling walls within a five kilometre radius. Rachelle backed away as it struggled to get to its feet and wondered what to do next.

Her Zord wasn't built for close-combat situations or even heavy assaults. It was designed to withstand prolonged assaults from monsters until help arrived. True, there were a few offensive options that she knew about such as the Eltarean Vulcan guns and the Scute Missiles…whatever scutes were – but she didn't have the option the others had for a hit-and-run strategy or even for an all out barrage. In fact, the only option that was available to her in any battle that didn't involve an all out Zord assault was…

"Form the Megazord!"

Ah. Yes, that was it. Rachelle nodded to Eliza's Zord as she keyed in the necessary inputs for the Megazord transformation. As soon as she finished, she felt the controls go slack and she saw a shimmering veil of energy envelop her Zord and lift it into the air. She swallowed hard and kept her gaze directly ahead of her as she didn't play well with great heights. On the viewscreen in front of her, she could see the changes happening to her Zord. The tail and club detached from the rear and vanished to its sub-space pocket. The back and front legs folded up into the body and the head detached to form a strange helmet that looked like it was made out of bone. She could see the other Zords undergoing a similar transformation as well. The Dilophosaur and Carnotaurus Zords' limbs folded inside their metallic bodies and their feet and legs became strong arms and fists. Their tails detached and underwent a transformation into twin blades that looked like they could slice through anything.

A quick glance to the left allowed her to see the changes that were occurring with the Iguanodon and Allosaur Dinozords. Their arms had outstretched so they were parallel with the heads – which rotated up ninety degrees to form feet. The legs of the Zords folded inward while the tails rotated down so they were touching the backs of the Zords. Rachelle felt her Zord shudder once as the arms and legs connected from the sides and she saw the armoured shell that was normally on the back of her Zord detach to form a permanent shield on the left arm – similar to the Marvel superhero Captain America. The twin Tail Sabres landed in the open hands of the Zords where the handles were gripped tightly. Panels opened up on the chest of the Ankylosaur Zord to form a chest design of a diamond with fangs protruding from each of the sides. Running her eyes over the completed form of the Megazord, she could see that there were still a few spaces that were open and had empty connectors displayed to the outside world. The shoulders of the Zords were made up of the heads of the theropod Dinozords and the head on the Allosaur Dinozord looked like it could still bite on kicking.

"Ultra Dino Megazord Beta; Assembly Complete!"

Blinking again at the words that fell from her mouth, Rachelle shook her head and faced forward. It seemed she had full control of the Megazord Beta and could access the weapons needed. Pulling back the control lever, her eyes widened as the mighty machine walked forward through the barrage of lasers Thermador was firing at it. Weihan – and her internal guide – had explained the strange effect of 'First Battle Invincibility' that all Megazords seemed to have on their debut. It had something to do with shields being overcharged due to the combination of the generators or something like that but it would be a great help against a stronger enemy.

Unfortunately, Alex had already destroyed the stronger enemy of the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger…but Thermador was proving to be no pushover either. The crustacean had forgone blasting the Megazord and was taking the rather unpleasant move of literally hurling pieces of its shattered chest shell at the Zord. The armour held against the pieces of bone thrown at it and Thermador abandoned the attack soon after…probably due to the fact that if it continued to remove its shell; its guts would spill out everywhere. As the Zord neared close-combat range, it pulled back an arm and punched the battered monster in the face. The blow powered through the armour and destroyed the other half that hadn't been destroyed…but – as before – the monster was still standing. Twitching a fair amount – but it wasn't dead yet.

"Twin Sabres – Ultra Charge!"

Maybe the whole thing of calling out names was something that was ingrained into every single set of Powers and it was useless to fight it. She didn't know or care but it seemed there was a never ending stream of attack names in her mind that ranged from weapon finishers to something called a Hellfire Burst and even something based off the Fire Cataclysm that was named the Light Crash. If she concentrated hard enough, she could also see something called a Tail Kick which was done alongside some guy wearing strangely funky armour…but that image was blurred and cloudy; almost as if that was an attack in a future that was still being written. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she concentrated on channelling the Ultra Power to the Twin Sabres – not listening as the monster said something strange.

"Creeper is gone through! Black Night will fall on the lands through the doorway!"

Bolts of electricity crackled through the still air as the blades flashed with brilliant light and hummed once – signalling that they were ready for the finisher. Rachelle braced herself and let her mind and internal guide come up with the most appropriate name for the finisher. It seemed the other Rangers happened upon the name as well and yelled it out as the blades crashed down.

"Piercing Slash!"

The blades crashed down on Thermador's twitching body – cleaving through the thick armour and reacting with Xonix's dark magic. The Megazord stepped back and removed the blades as both halves of Thermador began to slowly separate from each other in a shower of sparks and small bursts of flame. Without any warning, both halves erupted in an explosion that – for once – wasn't made up of smoke and fire…but sparks, shell and lobster meat. The disgusting explosion missed the Megazord completely and rained down on the city of Sydney…literally washing away the snow and rain that was still falling. The Rangers looked at the decaying remains of the monster and began laughing in unison as Rachelle rolled her eyes and shook her head yet again and reflected on the words that Thermador had said before its destruction.

Whatever was going to happen…she had a bad feeling about.

TBC…


	146. 145: Disturbing Thoughts

AN: 200K words on 29/2/12. Three moths after I hit 100K words and 80 chapters later…Enjoy!

Chapter One Forty Five: Disturbing Thoughts

"Well, that's the end of that."

Weihan slumped down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. The Huntsman that had made its home in one of the corners had made its way into the bathroom and was currently making a new home for itself in the bag of the vacuum cleaner…if it wasn't dead already. He had returned home after talking with Twilight and had reabsorbed his magical double back into…wherever it was kept and had spent a few seconds 'viewing' the memories of the past few days before pushing them to the back of his mind until he could review them in his own time.

It was extremely good foresight that he had the Rangers create duplicates of themselves seconds before the Psycho Rangers had unleashed their strength. He wasn't sure if the telepathic call had gone out as it didn't register within his conscious mind…but apparently his ability was at the point where such things were just second nature to him. That both amazed and scared him as he was unsure about what other abilities were awaiting him in the future. Apparently Zordon had known what his future held and had kind of shed light on what those strange glimpses into the past were to be. Whatever they were; the floating head had only given him the barest hints before initiating a massive infodump that left his brain hurting.

Zordon had a feeling he would not survive past the current campaign and had a feeling he would meet his end at the hands of a Ranger. Weihan had scoffed at the thought as no Ranger would willingly put an end to Zordon. The worst the Evil Green Ranger had done was sending Zordon into another dimension and although Ivan Ooze had killed Zordon, it had been something that he wasn't expecting…or something like that. Through his talks with the other Billy, Weihan knew what would happen when Zordon died – the Z Wave. All active evils threatening the universe would be destroyed or purified in an instant and, unlike the purifications of the past; it would be a permanent change. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Tommy or Jason about Zordon's thoughts as he had some idea to what their reactions would be. Also, he had learned to trust in Zordon's words as in his gut – he had the same feeling as well.

Pushing his thoughts away from that section of the infodump, his eyes slightly glazed over as images flashed over his mind's eye. Images of himself standing in the same area as he had 'seen' previously with a much younger and free Zordon and…fourteen Ultra Crystals – thirteen on the pedestal in front of him and one in his hand. He didn't know what those images meant for him, but he could be patient enough to wait and see…especially if that meant meeting with the hot chick in Red. If that was an image about his love life in the future, then he would embrace it wholeheartedly. He knew that his relationship with AJ wouldn't last forever. The battles against Xonix were getting more and more intense and threatening to the public – even those in the monster shelters. One of his greatest fears was finding AJ dead in a pool of blood or seeing her killed in front of his eyes…as the Equestrian Rangers had witnessed.

The images from the infodump weren't any better. He saw a literal tsunami of grunts and monsters crashing down on Sydney and flashes of the Ultra Crystals shattering. He hoped that wouldn't happen for if the Ultra Crystals shattered – they would be powerless to defend Sydney from any attack. On the other hand; the image could possibly by in the distant future when Xonix had been permanently destroyed. If that wasn't the case…sure there were powers he could access without the Ultra Crystal but without the links from the Ultra Morphin Grid; those powers would be next to useless against the onslaught. There was also an image that puzzled him greatly; an image of himself with thick, dragon-themed armour and holding a funky powered-up version of his Raptor Sabre. Twin metallic dragon heads on serpentine necks were growing from his back and a pair of wings unfurled from both shoulders. A bright burst of energy blasted from the armour…and the image ended there.

There were some areas of the infodump that he couldn't gain full access to and what little images he 'saw' puzzled him immensely. He saw himself fighting against more mirrored Wraiths on the streets of Sydney but not in his Ranger Armour. Instead, he was wearing some strange bulky armour that looked to be more for show that protection. His weapon also left a lot to be desired as it looked like a giant butter knife and not something that was to be taken seriously. He also saw a flash of Spectre Theatre for some reason and the ghostly woman that had helped him surrounded by mirrors. If that was also his future then he would deal with it when the time came.

Removing his mind from Zordon's infodump, his thoughts turned to what his magical duplicate had witnessed after he became an ice lawn ornament. Apparently there had been surveillance cameras at the swimming pool that had captured the entire battle – including the capture of the three unmorphed Rangers. Thankfully no identities had been revealed and the quality of the video had been extremely poor. He made a mental note to always go into a battle morphed or to check a location for camera blind spots. Fortunately, the appearance of the three captured Rangers in the next battle had reassured the public that no harm had befallen them during their time in enemy hands. Unfortunately, that was one thing that Weihan couldn't confirm as the three Rangers in question had their memories of the missing time either blocked or wiped. He had a strong feeling that when the memories were revealed; the three Rangers would literally have a breakdown and a half and he would have to piece them back together.

Piecing together Rangers wasn't his strong point and he hoped he wouldn't have to gain experience in that. His feeble attempt to piece himself back together after returning from the Bad Future had been abandoned before he started and all the uncertainty and self-doubt had been channelled into recruiting more Rangers. A small smile formed on his face as he realised that some of the energy had been spent in and on AJ but he shook away those thoughts before they could fully form. Talks with Kim had allowed him to gain some insights into how others felt during crisis situations and small chats with Trini and Zack had highlighted the importance of finding the root of the underlying problem.

The most pressing matter was, no matter what angle you looked at it, being a Ranger seriously fucked you up one way or another. In the short amount of time that he had held the Orange Ultra Crystal, he had stared death in the face more times than he was comfortable with and had seen civilian deaths more times than he could care to count. He had also massacred the planet and seen ordinary coins transform people into shredded piles of meat. A therapist would have a field day with him…but he didn't want to involve any more 'outside' people than necessary. He wondered why these thoughts were floating through his brain but mentally shrugged it off as a by-product of his time on ice. Everything was all right in the present moment…so why was he feeling a bit uneasy?

"Billy to Ultra Cavern or whoever! Please respond!"

Weihan shot upright and hit the muting button on his communicator – the same button that was for document sending. He looked around and reassured himself that no one was home. His sister was off on some debating camp or musical camp or whatever-the-hell-it-was-this-time camp and his mother was still at work. Closing his eyes briefly, he summoned up another magical double from its subspace pocket and infused it with enough magic to last for at least two weeks. His double nodded at him and walked out of his room to watch TV. Chuckling at the double's mannerisms, Weihan answered the call.

"Billy, I read. What's up?"

Billy's voice calmed somewhat and Weihan could tell instantly that the person on the other end wasn't his dimension's version of the Blue Ranger. After all, Billy had returned from Aquitar with Delphine and was working on some sort of project with the codename TVentrure. Whatever that was for was anyone's guess.

"Weihan, thank God you answered. We have a crisis on our hands. The Rangers were attacked by something that called itself Creeper. It looked like a humanoid shadow with some strange half-helmet and – "

Weihan's eyes widened as he recalled what Eliza had told him about Thermador's last words.

_"Creeper is gone through! Black Night will fall on the lands through the doorway!"_

The words had seemed like gibberish at the time but Weihan felt a large ball of ice form in his gut as he recalled what the Ultra Psycho Rangers looked like…including the second most unsettling Ranger. The Black Ultra Psycho had slipped through the cracks made by the dimensional doorway and had attacked the Equestrian Rangers. He didn't know who was injured the most or what had happened for Billy to be extremely frantic but it was an Ultra Psycho Ranger…and that made it his responsibility. Slipping on a custom made orange and black leather jacket, he prepared himself for what he would find on the other side.

"Hang tight, Billy. I'm on my way."

TBC…

AN2: Weihan's continuing adventures are in Rangers Of Equestria until his return.


	147. 146: Dead Rotting

AN: Mass foreshadowing here…

Chapter One Forty Six: Dead Rotting

So…that was what had happened.

Xonix snapped off the screen in disgust – cutting off Premil in mid-sentence. Creeper had slipped through the cracks in the dimensional wall and was probably being blown up by the Equestrian Rangers about now. Sure, there was the incredibly miniscule chance that the Shadian would come up with a good plan but as his entire shtick was attacking from the shadows; Xonix didn't think anything would have a lasting impact on those Rangers. To make matters worse, Nekros had gone AWOL and had turned off his Ranger Tracker…or had torn it out. While Creeper's disappearance was a minor annoyance at best…to have Nekros acting on his own was an accident waiting to happen.

He should have expected something sooner from the undead Ranger. Nekros had been one of the last Ultra Psycho Rangers to be recruited and had been a fierce warrior that fought with biochemical weapons. Psychogre and Kryosis had happened upon his world on a scouting trip and had seen a warrior drag himself towards an enemy fighter while his body was being eaten away by some sort of acidic substance. Such determination seemed like a good attribute for an Ultra Psycho Ranger to have…except the determination of the warrior was due to the fact that he was on the side of Light. A quick stab through the head had relieved the warrior of his life and most of his memory and a simple necrosis spell had given rise to the Green Ultra Psycho Ranger.

It was about at this point when the troubles began. As Nekros had originally been on the side of Light, dark energy spells would not control him for long…yet this was an easily fixed problem. The Green Psycho Gem had erased all remaining links to the Light Morphin Grid that remained in the rotting body and had 'preserved' his flesh so it would theoretically stay in its rotting state for all eternity. Due to Psychogre's blade going through his head, Nekros was prone to flashes of strategic brilliance at random times and somehow retained all of his knowledge of biochemical weaponry…including how to cultivate strange plague spores within his body. The spores would be released over a wide area and the infected would show non-indicative signs such as couching or sneezing for a few days.

Xonix had done some research on the plague spores himself and had found something rather unsettling. Almost every kind of disease imaginable in the Universe was packed in those small bundles of flesh, ranging from something as simple as the human cold to the Arkanian Waterfall Plague – a disease that had no known cure but could only be caught 'naturally' by unwittingly following a series of vague and ever-changing steps under the light of a full moon on the planet Arkan. The discovery made Nekros seem like a necessary evil but he was also a ticking time bomb; filled with an unexplainable rage and anger at the world.

The Ranger Tracker had been created specifically for Nekros as his dead flesh couldn't be traced by their radar. It had been built by Twinlobe and Yit under the careful specifications of Xonix and served as both a way to track their undead Ranger and a means for them to terminate him if he were to ever go out of control. In hindsight, it was a rather idiotic move to implant the Tracker under an easily-accessible flap of skin…yet they didn't know that Nekros would be more than willing to rip things off and out of his body if he felt threatened by them. If they used the Ranger Tracker to terminate the undead Ranger, he would still be of use to them.

"Lord Xonix; he is getting used to his new body and sends his apologies for his recent insubordination."

Xonix nodded at Jabarkas and walked out of the temporary Throne Room to the areas below Zedd's Moon Palace. While the Zeo Crystal no longer resided there, there were still magical traps and tricks that had to be cleared before the area could be of use. After a few hours, he grew bored of sending Fiends and Grunts to their usually messy magical deaths and had opted to research into area-wide dispersal spells. Nekros had left detailed notes on such spells and to his delight they had been extremely effective in ridding the tunnels of the spells woven by the sorcerers of the M-51 Galaxy. It was almost as if the warrior had been planning for this moment his whole undead life…but there was no reason to revolt against him. Nekros had practically been given the universe on a silver platter and all the power he needed to crush his enemies. It just didn't make sense.

As he neared the elevators that would take him down to the open space, he mused at the message that had been sent specifically for Zedd and Rita. Dark Spectre had wanted them to travel to Pluto to create an army that would be used to storm Triforia in around eight months for his Grand Plan to crush all Rangers for good. His brother had pretty much given him the keys to the Moon Palace and left; while Xonix had felt that strange feeling that he wouldn't see his brother again. Then again, eight months was a long time and there was quite a bit that could go on during those months that could derail Dark Spectre's plans…but he doubted anything would really happen. Even if the worst case scenario was to occur…well, he seriously doubted that would ever happen as Zordon wouldn't willingly give up his life for anything. The old sage would probably want to personally see Xonix was destroyed and he couldn't do that if he was dead.

Stepping off the elevator, he looked at the shadowed hulks above him. The massive machines had taken a few centuries to design and build and they had been tele-shipped from the secret outpost of the Ultra Psycho Rangers. The only machine that showed signs of activation was the one directly in front of him. Like the Psycho Ranger who would have commandeered it, it was blue in colour and had the appearance of a bipedal fish. Xonix chuckled to himself as he looked at the mighty machine testing out its newfound strength and agility. This was his ultimate trump card that he could use when the Ultra Psycho Rangers were destroyed. They were the Ultra Psycho Zords; seven machines built with the best the Universe had to offer. Ruthless, brutal and powered by an Ultra Psycho Ranger or their disembodied consciousness; they would be a truly terrifying sight to behold on the battlefield.

And they would be invincible.

TBC…


	148. 147: Innocuous Symptoms

AN: More cameos from SACS people here! Enjoy!

Chapter One Forty Seven: Innocuous Symptoms

She couldn't believe it but that seemed like the most 'Weihan' thing he could have done.

Eliza Maddock shook her head as she walked down the corridors to her locker. She had received a short message in the early hours of the evening from the Orange Ranger informing her that he was taking an unscheduled trip through the Dimensional Doorway to solve some sort of crisis in Equestria. Luckily, no one was home when she had received the call as she had spent around thirty minutes screaming at him. She had almost teleported to the Ultra Cavern when his next words had stopped her dead in her tracks. Of course, she had seen the strange shadowy Ultra Psycho Ranger at the first battle but most of her attention had been on Lustor and whatever had happened during the battle with her. She had an inkling that the creature would attack from the shadows and possibly use them against the Rangers but she would have thought the ponies to be made of stronger stuff and see through the illusions they were being attacked with.

But the only Ranger to have been targeted had been Twilight. The thought made her blood boil with rage and she opened her locker door with more force than was necessary; surprising those around her. What had been done, he hadn't told her as he didn't know himself but she knew that whatever it was would have had to be bad for him to make the snap decision to cross dimensions. There had been no word since and – although she hated doing so – she knew she had to wait for more information.

"You look like shit. Anything happen?"

She glanced to her left to see Ashley looking concernedly at her. Allowing a small smile to waft across her face, she shook her head in the negative. She was still amazed that he had come around to be as supportive of her as a Ranger and had even expressed that opinion to the Pink Zeo Ranger. The response she had received had both made her want to groan in frustration and laugh out loud. She almost wished she could have been there to see the normally composed leader of the Ultra Rangers lose his cool and punch her boyfriend across the face and all but threaten him into submission. She had also expressed thanks to Sam for his involvement in making Ashley derail his thoughts on exposing their identities for fame and profit. If he played his cards right with her, he would have all the fame and profit he would ever want…but it wouldn't be public fame or monetary profit.

"It's nothing. Just some…RR issues."

He nodded once and turned to stuff his bag into his locker while she rolled her eyes at the acronym they had devised for talking about Ranger related activities in public. Glancing at her other side at a barely suppressed giggle, she saw Rachel Lee shaking her head in mirth at their small exchange. Sharing a smile with her friend, she sighed as she realised her friend had been spending time away from the Rangers and had been seen more and more with Matthew Bligh. While this wasn't a bad thing in and of itself; Weihan had told her that Matt was good friends with David Johnston and shared his views on his thoughts of Weihan being the one responsible for the death of his brother. She knew that it was mostly false but she had to hold her tongue at every opportunity as it would call her knowledge of it into question. So far, Rachel had shown no signs of internalising Matt's words but then again, they had only been going out for a short amount of time.

Hearing coughing behind her, she turned to see the boy in question come up to her and smile as best as he could while coughing into a tissue. She didn't have anything against Matt but his insistence to keep Rachel near him at all times was a bit grating…especially when she wanted to talk to her friend and catch her up on what had been going on. She knew that Aimee, Heather and Linda were talking to Giulia about what had happened in the past few days and the non-Ranger had expressed some degree of surprise that they were seemingly unscathed by what had happened. Hearing more coughing, she turned to see Ben Shine, Sam McNeil and Adrian Leung start coughing as something small floated across her eyes.

"Mate, are you all right?"

"Just some…something went down the wrong pipe. Probably nothing…"

She plucked the small object from the air and looked at it closely. It was a small light green ball that looked similar to a small dust bunny. Ensuring no one was watching her; she carefully encased the ball in a small energy field and sent it to her personal subspace pocket. A yell behind her made her turn just in time to see Sam collapse to the ground in a violent fit of coughing. After a few more seconds, more and more people started falling to the ground around her in spasmodic fits but they recovered quickly. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at the air-conditioning vents on the ceiling to see if any joker was up there shaking green dust from the vents…although she knew in her gut she would find no such perpetrator. As the dull buzzing of the bell rang through the halls, she shook her head and exhaled slowly as she walked to the library with the other Year 9 students for the Year Group period. Spying Weihan's magical double in the crowd, she nodded once at the construct before sitting near him.

"Anything from him yet?"

The clone shook his head and she sighed. Weihan was in another dimension and her friends had apparently come down with some sort of random coughing fit…how did the old saying go again? Something about bad things always coming in sets of three or something along those lines; whatever it was, she had a bad feeling about what would happen in the coming day. Shaking her head as the last of the year group walked in, her eyes widened in curiosity as a small television set was wheeled in from the adjoining AV room and was switched on.

Maybe it was for the best that Weihan wasn't in the dimension after all…

TBC…


	149. 148: Infection

Chapter One Forty Eight: Infection

It was like something out of a horror movie.

A strange virus had completely shut down the entirety of the Sydney CBD. The news reporters didn't know what was causing it and no one 'up top' knew how everything would pan out. In fact, the only person in the news room that seemed unaffected was Weihan's girlfriend Jacqui Apple. How the blonde had escaped infection was anyone's guess but Eliza had her suspicions that extremely close contact between them had allowed AJ to leech some of the magic of the Orange Ultra Crystal into her body. She didn't want to think about that train of thought any longer than she had to as it implied sexual relations between the two of them and that was kind of weird…not to mention illegal.

"And to sum up, the Sydney CBD will be under lockdown and quarantine for the foreseeable future until we understand what is going on. We now –"

The image on the screen crackled and fizzled and the Purple Ultra Ranger sucked in a sharp breath. As the image dissolved into static, she glanced at the other Rangers to gauge their reactions. They all looked worried and ready to spring into action if needed; which confirmed her own feelings. The only thing that was running through her mind was that this was some sort of new terror tactic by Xonix or one of the other Ultra Psycho Rangers. She was sure that Xonix knew by now that one of his own had slipped through the cracks in the dimensional barrier and was in Equestria. At more coughing, she looked around the room to see Dragan violently cough into a tissue…and felt her stomach twist as her power enhanced vision caught the small drops of blood that were coming up.

"What the fuck is that?"

At the shout, her eyes snapped to the screen and widened in shock as a familiar rotting face grinned at those watching. The mottled green flesh seemed to glow in the dim lighting of…wherever the undead Ultra Psycho Ranger was and she could almost smell the stink of decaying meat from her seat. The creature kept grinning at them and then spoke in a voice that was eerily reminiscent of the rattling that had come from Contender all those weeks ago.

"Welcome to my experiment foolish humans. My name is Nekros and I am the Green Ultra Psycho Ranger. I was once a brilliant warrior and an expert in biochemical warfare. You all are my personal test subjects now. I have released plague spores that have infected almost every single one of you pathetic life forms. The only creatures who will be totally immune to what is to come are the Ultra Rangers. I trust that this will allow you humans to easily find out their identities."

Eliza exhaled sharply and looked worriedly at the other Rangers. Feigning sickness wasn't her forte but if it would mean the difference between full-blown exposure and just sliding under the radar, she would fake it for all she was worth. She would also have to contact AJ through the communicators and tell her to act sick so her connection to the Rangers wouldn't be exposed either. Suddenly, she froze up as her mind replayed Nekros' words – 'what is to come'. She didn't know what was to come, but didn't like the sound of the words. As if reading her thoughts, the Green Ultra Psycho Ranger smiled impossibly wide and barked out a short, choking laugh.

"What is to come, I hear you ask? These plague spores are of my own design. They have practically every disease in the known Universe in them and there is no guarantee what will make itself known first. However, if there are two people that can make it into my inner sanctum; I will personally remove the plague spores in the air and nullify the active diseases. Watch as the Ultra Rangers fall under this attack! You are all going to die and there is nothing the Rangers can do to stop this!"

With a burst of static, the image of Nekros faded out to reveal the shocked and sweating reporter sitting behind his desk. Wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, he looked at the camera and smiled shakily.

"Well, that was interesting. Um, yeah, so Sydney will be under quarantine and lockdown. No one will be able to go in or out until this crisis has finished. I guess that also means you will have to sleep wherever you are then. We can only hope that the Ultra Rangers are able to defeat this evil before lives are lost."

Eliza sighed in frustration as the idiot on screen kept stammering out the same information but she knew the Rangers knew where Nekros' inner sanctum was. They would all want to go and attack the undead monster but he had said only two were required. The TV was switched off and wheeled out and silence reigned over the room for a long while. She ran a hand through her hair in frustration and closed her eyes; as if affected by the weight of leadership on her shoulders.

It was time to look for a cure.

TBC…


	150. 149: Pinpoint Accuracy

Chapter One Forty Nine: Pinpoint Accuracy

She wanted to throw up.

As the flies buzzed around the bodies in front of her, her shoulders slumped down in defeat. After Nekros' announcement three days ago, shock had silenced everyone into a state of stunned resignation. The number of students wandering aimlessly through the halls had made it almost impossible to teleport to the Ultra Cavern but Eliza and Rachelle had managed it somehow. The first order of business had been to contact Weihan to inform him of the situation. Thanks to the Dimensional Doorway, they could now transmit both images and sound…which proved to be an extremely embarrassing situation for their leader who had been somehow transformed into an orange unicorn.

The entire conversation had consisted of repeated attempts to stop them giggling at his appearance and flicking his tail in annoyance. However, his side of the briefing had silenced their laughter quicker than being splashed with ice water. The Black Ultra Psycho Ranger had indeed slipped through and attacked the ponies in the worst possible way – targeting Twilight Sparkle with his shadowy illusions and tricks. She had opened fire on her friends accidentally and was extremely distraught with herself. Somehow, Weihan had pulled her back from the brink of insanity and she was starting to see that her friends were always with her…or something like that. Rachelle had to teleport back to the school to avoid suspicion but had agreed to contact Jacqui to inform her of the plan to fake being sick…and show her Weihan's new look.

The communication had ended with Weihan authorising use of 'everything in the tank' to destroy the Green Ultra Psycho Ranger…even with the two Rangers that had volunteered to go. Sarah P and Paris had left for Nekros' supposed location deep within the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains and had kept up total radio silence to not broadcast their location. Although they couldn't communicate using their communicators, Eliza had telepathically contacted both of them with what Weihan's orders and they had agreed to use everything they could conceivably call upon…well, short of a Zord. The communication with Weihan had been the easy part of the day. Convincing the non-Rangers of why she spent so long in the bathroom was rather difficult but she had chalked it up to the plague spores that Nekros had released.

The plague spores posed a different problem altogether. Since they couldn't leave the building, the teachers had been communicating with each other by way of mobile phones and the news that had been relayed was grim and stomach churning. The spores had begun to take effect in rather disturbing ways. A few students had died from their ribcages bursting out of their chest and – if the reports were correct – heads exploding as their skulls enlarged rapidly. Communication with the Astro Rangers had yielded cures for a small amount of the ailments but for most illnesses a cure simply didn't exist. The Phantom Ranger, Dimitria, Lerigot and even a heavily coded message to Master Vile had all come up with nothing but confusion and revulsion.

And then there were the suicides. Students that totally believed they would die horrible deaths had managed to kill themselves in increasingly obscure and unpredictable ways. Those that successfully killed themselves cemented the notion that the Ultra Rangers had abandoned them and had left them to their fate. There were a few students who believed otherwise but the building was slowly turning into a cesspool of filth and animalistic savagery. Underage sex and drinking had quickly become the norm and the only security those caught in the middle had were the Ultra Rangers and whatever teachers could stand up to the overwhelming sense of desperation and abandonment. One thing was certain – when the school went back to normal, heads would literally roll.

Making sure no one was looking; she summoned her Bull Rammer to her left hand and pointed the gauntlet weapon at the two bodies in front of her. Picking the strongest setting, she fired on the two bodies in the tiny closet – incinerating them until there was nothing left. Those teachers that couldn't stand up to the quick changes had found themselves swept away in the allure of those much younger than them and some had paid the ultimate price. Then again, there were much better places to have sex than in a storage closet that was a fully sealed room whenever the door was closed and had no access to oxygen. On the other hand, if there was one way to die then it was much better to go out with a bang. Literally.

She dismissed the Bull Rammer and sighed heavily at the sight in front of her. Somehow, looking at charred bodies was much worse than looking at them when they had been alive but that was how it was in this new and crazy world…even though the 'new and crazy world' had only been in effect for the past few days. She hoped Weihan was having fun in Equestria while they dealt with the collapse of society within the school walls. Closing the door on the charred bodies, she walked out into the hall and turned to her locker.

Her communicator beeped once – startling her and the students around her. Hiding her communicator against her back, she walked off in the direction of the bathroom; ignoring the concerned shouts behind her. With some wet toilet paper and a few strained grunts, she could blame it all on the plague spores anyway. Locking the bathroom door behind her, she pressed the 'communicate' button and received the news she was waiting to hear for the past few days.

"We found him!"

TBC…


	151. 150: Exhumation

AN: Not counting the Prologue, this is One Hundred and Fifty chapters (as you can clearly see below). I wrote the 100th chapter 2 months ago…and why do I have the feeling this story will be more than 300 chapters long?

Chapter One Fifty: Exhumation

Who thought fighting a corpse would be so hard?

Sarah clenched her teeth as she was slammed into the limestone walls again. Their attempt at an ambush had gone wrong when the Psycho Ranger had looked up at the wrong time and thrown everything off track. The only thing they had going for them was that Nekros hadn't summoned up a group of Fiends or Golems and was battling the two Rangers on his own. The downside to this was that despite the training and battles they had been in previously; battling the Green Ultra Psycho Ranger was proving to be more than a challenge – even in his unmorphed state. Even Saba, in his armoured shell, was having marked difficulties at coming up with a successful strategy – although some of his ideas held great merit.

Of course, there were other things that were contributing to the degenerating nature of their plans. The most obvious thing was the minimisation of collateral damage. As they were in a major tourist destination, they had to do all they could to preserve the natural beauty of the caves as well as ensure none of the major tourist hotspots were damaged beyond recognition. That meant they couldn't use any weapons that relied on laser blasts and were stuck to using their bladed weapons. Although Paris was using her Tyrant Blade, she could see Sarah accessing different elements of her Powers to pull out other weapons than Saba. So far she had seen her friend use the Dragon Dagger, the Golden Power Staff, a strange dog/dragon headed sword, a blaster made from a genie's lamp and the weapon she was currently dual wielding with Saba – a strange dinosaur head themed weapon with a long blade coming out of the front of the snout.

She wondered how that could work and if she was able to try it as well. Leaping away from a wild swing by the undead creature, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the power of the Red Ultra Crystal. She knew that the power contained in the seemingly small vessels was infinite and spanned space and time in ways that seriously made her brain hurt. Ducking away instinctively from another misaimed blow, her eyes snapped open and she gasped as a weapon materialised in over her open hand. Looking at it, she saw that it was a strange lion-themed gauntlet weapon that seemed to be able to split into two sections. Seeing as she didn't really have another hand, she decided to see what the newly summoned 'Lion Fang' could do.

Waiting for Sarah to finish her attack, she leapt over her friend and slammed the 'jaws' of the gauntlet weapon into the chest of Nekros. The Fang bit into the decaying flesh and the undead creature screamed in fear as his internal organs were exposed to the air. Sickeningly, his stomach was still ripped open and was leaking a viscous liquid that reeked of rotten fish and decaying waste. The Green Ultra Psycho Ranger summoned his Psycho Gem to him and held it in the air; muttering a string of strange words that sounded nothing like anything the two girls had ever heard in their lives.

As the last syllable fell from his maggoty lips, the undead Ranger was encased in an energy cyclone that engulfed the two Ultra Rangers within its whirling walls. The two Rangers watched in horror as zombified versions of Sarah J's Power Animals lumbered into view. The flesh of the creatures was literally dangling off their bones and Paris swallowed in revulsion as the Dilophosaur turned to stare at them with its remaining eye and growl in hunger. The three animals crashed into the undead humanoid and formed the familiar Ultra Psycho Ranger armour around its rotting frame. The rip in its chest wasn't fully covered by the breastplate but it was protected enough to make attacking the obvious weak point an exercise in futility. Nekros reached behind his back and pulled out a small wooden-handled scythe to threaten the Ultra Rangers with. Dismissing the Lion Fang, Paris rolled her eyes at Nekros' weapon before summoning what looked to be a strangely ornate samurai sword with a built-in praxinoscope and a red disc with a strange lion-themed image around the edge.

"We hit him hard, fast and leave him no time to draw a breath. Use everything you've got."

Nodding at Sarah's words, Paris readied both the Tyrant Blade and the strange sword that her internal guide was saying was called the Samurai Spin Sword. The trio circled each other warily; as if daring the other to make the first move. She was aware that some of the more foolhardy tourists had followed their progress of the battle and were climbing behind stone pillars to see if they could get an once-in-a-lifetime shot of a Ranger Battle but she knew that most of them would either get scared and run or end up as human shields by Nekros. She knew that human lives had to be saved at all costs…but Weihan had authorised use of everything they could summon up and that meant they could go through those stupid enough to get caught up in the battle. They weren't facing against a normal monster that would stand idly by as they rescued each dumb civilian; this was an Ultra Psycho Ranger that had infected the city with plague spores that had every single being they had contacted stumped. Adhering to the rules of saving civilian lives wouldn't apply.

After a few more minutes of circling, Nekros lunged forward with a swing of his scythe. The two Rangers flipped back and pushed off the wall behind them to land two kicks on the Psycho Ranger. The evil Ranger staggered back and brought up his scythe to attack again…however it seemed fate was on the Ultra Rangers' sides. At the exact same instant that the scythe came up, both Paris and Sarah struck out with both pairs of blades – shredding the handle of the scythe into small scraps of firewood. Nekros howled at the loss of the weapon that had served him well over the centuries and plunged both of his fists into his upper thigh; rending the decayed flesh and pulling out what appeared to be sharpened lengths of thigh bone. The two girls reeled back as the undead Ranger came at them swinging and only the most precise of blocks could stop the relentless blows from breaching their defence.

Suddenly breaking off the attack, Nekros turned to run but spat out a strange green cloud at the Rangers. Accidentally inhaling the green gas, the girls started coughing violently as their Power tried to expel the poisonous fumes from their bodies. As they struggled to catch up with the fleeing Psycho Ranger, their suits reacted accordingly and snapped shut any open air vents to prevent more gas from seeping in and began to recycle the air already present in their suits by releasing the valves on the hidden emergency oxygen tanks. Finally expelling the last of the gas from their lungs, the two Rangers ran after the undead beast in earnest – quickly closing the gap between them despite his surprisingly agile leaps up the stairs. They pumped power to their legs as they ran; not noticing that strange flares were starting to form on their torso armour or that their senses were starting to become sharper.

"That's far enough, monster!"

Swinging both blades in front of her, Paris grinned wickedly as Nekros crashed to the ground in a heap – the blades having severed through his spinal column within an instant. Sheathing her Tyrant Blade, Paris brought up the Spin Sword and – on an impulse she couldn't readily explain – spun the red disc rapidly. Tongues of flame licked up the blade and she could feel the sword becoming strangely larger and heavier…almost as if it was becoming another weapon entirely. In a flash of red fire, Paris' eyes widened behind her helmet as she saw what her blade had transformed into – a giant red and silver blade with a large Japanese character on the blade. Her mind raced to come up with the name for the weapon and she briefly wondered what use a gigantic blade would be in battle. There was probably some sort of alternate mode for the blade but she didn't know what it was…nor did she care to find out as she raised it above her head with some difficulty. Seeing the attack, Nekros attempted to roll out of the way but was blocked by the so-called 'Super' Ultra Ranger.

Clenching his teeth together, his eye darted around as he tried to find an easy way to escape his destruction. He found none but chuckled under his breath as he remembered the fail-safe that would be triggered upon his death and the shattering of the Psycho Gem. As long as it was still active, he would return one day in a more powerful form to defeat the Rangers for sure. Flexing his decayed arms; he made to rush the Red Ultra Ranger when a thin beam of green energy blasted through his chest. Turning around, he saw the 'Super' Ranger holding the Dragon Dagger to her mouthpiece and belatedly groaned to himself as he realised he had left his back completely exposed.

Then again…he would be back…

TBC…


	152. 151: Brief Levity

Chapter One Fifty One: Brief Levity

"Are you finished yet?"

AJ shook her head and continued laughing at the figure on the screen in front of her. Next to her, Eliza sat looking amused and keeping an eye on Ashley as he reviewed the footage of the fight with Nekros with both Sarah's and Paris. He was quickly getting used to the oddities of the Ultra Powers even though he hadn't been chosen to become a Ranger and his tactical mind was starting to shine through. From the scant few images of weapon switching he had seen, he had hypothesised that the weapons that the Ultra Rangers pulled out other than their main weapons and gauntlet blasters were weapons to be used in the future. It was all very science-fiction and didn't really explain how weapons that hadn't been created yet could be used…but it seemed to fit.

"No, really, are you finished? It's been at least five minutes."

Looking at the figure again, the Purple Ranger had to bite back a grin as she stared again at the transformed state of their leader. She had been talking with him for a short while and had caught him up on the events that had occurred after the destruction of the undead Ranger. With the necrotic energy that had been powering them stripped away, the active plague spores in the air had dissolved into harmless specks of dust. For the infected individuals who hadn't yet shown the more sever symptoms of the exotic diseases, their symptoms had lessened until they were only left with the common cold. As with all outbreaks; there were deaths from both the disease and the boredom and lawlessness that had set in during the short quarantine phase. There were also sure to be unwanted pregnancies popping up from the people who had thought that it was the end of the world. The suicide rate had also shot through the roof and the death toll was steadily rising with each passing moment.

Bringing the school back under some sort of normality was also an issue. Moral law and order had broken down yet again and it was literally worse than before. Drinking and sex had turned the calm and orderly halls into something out of a porn movie and she wasn't even sure she could ever look at a bottle of wine in the same way after seeing…that. She had also sworn off eating, drinking or seeing anything with copious amounts of cream splattered on it after seeing one of the…messier results from a group sex session. Strangely, it seemed to trigger something in the back of her mind but she didn't know what it could be from. Well, as long as it didn't come back to bite her in the ass, she would dismiss that little twinge as silly. As the blonde beside her finally stopped laughing; she returned her focus back on the screen and to the question she was about to ask when the blonde reporter had teleported in.

"So, if the Rangers have been seen as heroes in Canterlot; why do you still have to look like that?"

The orange unicorn on the screen rolled his eyes and shook his head with a sigh.

"Partly because Princess Celestia forgot to mention the fact that there were two humans helping the Rangers, partly because there have been outside ponies who have seen me in this form but mostly because I want to scout out Canterlot for places Creeper may hide as well. The Princesses will be there as well and Billy will be holding the fort in case something happens."

"Ya forgot ta mention that the Princess told everypony that you were a great explorer of the world. Lotsa ponies will be hangin' onto every word you say."

Weihan shook his head again as Applejack walked up next to him. The blonde cowpony smirked and winked at AJ and gently nudged the Orange Ranger away from the screen. Blowing his girlfriend a kiss as much as he was able to, he walked away and AJ could hear him muttering under his breath about a 'nosy Earth Pony' or something along those lines. As the blonde pony settled down in front of the image, Eliza excused herself to see what it was that had Ashley and the others so excited.

"Well, that was subtle."

AJ smiled at the pony on the other end and glanced behind Applejack to see her boyfriend talking to a yellow Pegasus pony with a pale pink mane and tail. She couldn't help but feel an irrational surge of jealousy wash through her as she saw how close the yellow pony was coming to him but Applejack shook her head once and spoke in a low tone.

"Don't be worried 'bout her. Fluttershy's a sweet pony but she knows not to get in the middle of two lovers. Anyway, Ah gotta make this short. We're about to go out into Canterlot in a few minutes as it is and Ah got a feeling that it's gonna get real hectic out there. Maybe we can talk fer a while longer after…or maybe you could come over to Equestria one day. Ah'm sure Ah could disguise you as one of mah family."

AJ smiled and nodded. To talk with Applejack through a dimensional communication was one thing, but she wanted to sit down with her and have a long chat…and not worry about being interrupted by attacks or whatever it was that the other Rangers were talking animatedly about behind her. To be given the chance to go to another dimension and document the inhabitants was every journalist's dream and it would be much better for her as she would know the local Rangers over there. Opening her mouth to respond, she was cut off by a surprised shout that made all people and ponies within earshot jump in surprise.

"Fucking Shit! That's not possible!"

She threw the cowpony and apologetic look but nodded once in confirmation of her intent to visit her before Eliza appeared next to her; an image of something gripped in her hand. Calling Weihan over frantically, the Purple Ranger wasted no time in lifting the image up so the Orange Ranger could see. His next words sent a stab of fear through her body and made her realise that a dangerous factor had been introduced into the game.

"Holy shit…what the fuck is that light?"

TBC…


	153. 152: Unblocked

AN: This chapter takes place moments after Creeper's destruction.

Chapter One Fifty Two: Unblocked

He groaned to himself as he saw the brief flash of light streak across the window.

It seemed that Creeper had failed in whatever self-appointed mission he had undertaken in the other dimension. He hoped that he had at least managed to annoy Discord and dishearten the Rangers in the process…but he knew he shouldn't really expect miracles from them. Turning to the chart he had on one wall, he drew a claw through the image of Creeper and sighed heavily. Since their impressive debut; the Ultra Psycho Rangers were dropping like flies against the Rangers and although they had managed to gain a few victories, the scoreboard was still heavily in favour of the Rangers. Blinking at the sporting metaphor in his mind, he made a mental note to not watch any more Earthen sports…well, at least not until they became somewhat bloodier.

"Master; there is a communication from your brother. I will put it on the screen."

Nodding at the voice of Jabarkas, Xonix waited for the image to form as patiently as he could. The past week or so had been rather boring as watching the Ultra Psycho Rangers train themselves silly had grown old after a few hours. He had even toyed with the idea of sending down a Golem squad or two to keep the Rangers on their toes but had dismissed the idea as a waste of his resources. Instead; he had spent the time strengthening the magic of the Moon Palace and making sure the shields were strong enough to repel even the strongest Morphin Energy wave that was blasted at them. He had also been researching the after-effects of waking up from the Power Coma too early but hadn't made much progress. It seemed he would have to delve deeper into the necromantic arts if he really wanted to find the answer; which was something that filled him with dread and uncertainty.

"Brother; keeping busy are we?"

Snorting at the voice, he turned to face the face of his brother. Even though the fearsome mask was still firmly locked into place, Zedd looked worried about something. His brother had already sent for Goldar and Rito to be picked up and brought to Pluto in the guise of a passing comet and it seemed that his preparations for Dark Spectre's 'Master Plan' were progressing smoothly…so, he couldn't see what it was that his brother had to worry about.

"I suppose you've been listening to the intergalactic grapevine again, dear brother. You look worried about something…maybe some reporters have dug up the incident with you and that strange masked humanoid on Gresspro?"

Snorting, his brother waved a hand in front of his face as if to dispel the thoughts from his mind. Xonix had always wondered about what had happened that day after his brother had accidentally let it slip that he had welcomed a new warrior into his ranks. The reptilian humanoid that called itself Dryken was a bit of a loose cannon but had proven his worth in a series of battles throughout the galaxy. Unfortunately for the alligator mutant, he had gotten too over-zealous in his last fight which had lead to his near-death at the hands of the insectoid lord Scorpius. He was currently in an induced coma-like state outside some city on the planet below and would probably be fully healed within a few more years.

"I doubt that would ever happen, brother. I still kick myself that I mentioned it to you in the first place! This concerns a transmission that Dark Spectre sent to the UAE after those Astro Rangers recovered the Voyager Machines on Ganymede. As I am sure you are aware; soon after that the Silver Astro Ranger was seen for the first time since the fall of KO-35."

Xonix nodded. He had thought about sending a monster or two to attack the completed Astro Rangers before deciding it would be a waste of his time. After all, deliberately attacking the 'normal' Power Rangers had grown old after the Wraith had defeated the Thunderzords in around five minutes. On the other hand; he had collaborated with Master Vile and even with Louie Kaboom on time delayed spells containing monsters. They probably wouldn't be activated for a while but it would provide a strong challenge for whatever Power Ranger team came onto the scene.

"Dark Spectre has pulled back the Countdown. We will start the operation in four months and the first target he has assigned to me is the Vica Galaxy…yet I have a bad feeling about something."

Cocking his head to one side, he urged his brother to continue. In the hall outside, he could hear muffled arguing and wondered what in the universe was happening. He would deal with it after his brother spilled his guts over what he was worried about. Blinking at that slightly morbid thought, he edited his previous mental note to remind himself to not watch Japanese horror movies either.

"I feel that I will not survive the battle in my present state. I have had disturbing dreams of a wave of golden light that destroys all in its path. I don't know what that means but I am willing to bet that Dark Spectre plans on absorbing all of us into himself to truly become the most powerful being in existence."

Xonix snorted and shook his head. If that was the plan that Dark Spectre had come up with then the so-called Monarch of Evil had apparently hit his head somewhere along the path. With all the defeats that Astronema – and by extension, him – had been handed; it was a surprise Dark Spectre hadn't transformed into some sort of raving lunatic by now. Actually, if what he had heard on the intergalactic grapevine was correct; Dark Spectre didn't even have Astronema to rely on anymore as the girl had broken free of his grip and had sided with her brother. He would have to send her a coded message congratulating her on breaking free from Dark Spectre. He was sure the Astro Megaship would receive it and he would encode it so that only she could open it. Before he could reply to his brother, the door slammed open and Lustor sashayed in with a clearly distressed Psychogre behind her, apparently in the middle of something.

"You can't barge in without permission; apologies Master Xonix and Lord Zedd. Lustor, you simply cannot remove the memory blocking on a whim! We need time to plan and prepare for the attack and the psychological effects to set in! You should have consulted with the Master first!"

Rolling his eyes, Xonix gave an apologetic look to his brother who snorted and shook his head.

"Attend to your plan first. We will converse later, dear brother."

Nodding as the viewscreen switched off, he pointed to Lustor and the Silver Ultra Psycho Ranger began explaining her actions. A smile spread across his snout as he listened to her words and he delighted in the future chaos it would cause. If the cards were played just right…he would be able to break the Ultra Rangers completely.

After all, memories could not be so easily blocked…

TBC…


	154. 153: Triad

Chapter One Fifty Three: Triad

"You have to hurry back! It's urgent!"

As Weihan stared at the scene in front of him in shock; a tiny voice in the back of his mind informed him that Rachelle's words didn't really do the situation justice. He had fully recovered from his…actions…in Equestria and was talking to Billy while charging up his Morpher when the call had come through. Alex, Eliza and Rebecca had dropped to the ground in the middle of a cross-country run and started convulsing. A quick duplicate summoning had allowed the duplicates to brush it off as a side-effect of the cure for the plague spores, while a teleport to the Ultra Cavern had revealed the horrific truth of the time the trio had spent as Lustor's captives. Ashley and Sam had been teleported to tend to their girlfriends but were walking around in a state of shock after what had been revealed to them. They had previously started glaring daggers at Alex but that had stopped once they realised he was unaware of his actions during the 'blackout' period.

"So their memories were blocked and now…what happened? How did the memories become unlocked?"

The Silver Ranger shook her head as both Sarah's lead Ashley and Sam away. Will was in one corner of the Cavern with Aimee, Linda and Heather and the four of them were combing through a full copy of the Archives that had been downloaded from Eltare in the hopes that something like this had been experienced before. Paris was taking care of the trio of affected Rangers – something that was proving difficult when they shied away from contact with their skin. He was very glad that none of the Equestrian Rangers knew what they were doing under Love Tick's spell and that Billy had gone through the trouble of editing the security logs to show them in a dazed and confused state. If they had retained their memories…the Equestrian Rangers would be finished; no question about it.

"We don't know. They collapsed and started convulsing and no noises were produced until we teleported them to the Ultra Cavern."

Rachelle bit her lower lip as she thought about what she had heard. First were the mass apologies for a few…choice…acts that didn't seem like they would be pleasant for those involved. Then had come the mass stream of consciousness thoughts as each member of the trio started talking in lurid detail about what had been experienced from his or her point of view. Ashley and Sam had been teleported to the Ultra Cavern and they had turned bright red at what they heard – especially when they realised what perverted girls their girlfriends were. That embarrassment had then turned into anger and almost unstoppable rage as they realised who the only guy up there had been but that had quickly been defused when it had been explained that they weren't in control of any of their actions.

"So what the fuck do we actually know? Physical wounds and hurts can be fixed up lickety-split but I'm no soother of mental hurts and erasing memories. How the Hell are we going to piece them back together?"

Weihan ran a hand through his hair and sighed yet again. It was one thing to know what was happening around you even if you weren't in full control of your body…but it was another thing to not know anything and have those memories suddenly pop up out of nowhere. He wanted to get his hands on Lustor…and not in a good way. Xonix had gone too far with his twisted schemes and the next time they met; Weihan was sure he would triumph over the alien overlord. Blinking at the rather bloodthirsty thought, he relented a small amount. The only way he would lose against Xonix was if the alien cheated or if there was an attack directly after a fairly intense battle.

"Ultra Rangers, come in. Please respond…wait, you can't –"

Blinking at the voice that issued from his communicator, Weihan chuckled as he heard Andros try to reign in whoever it was that he was speaking to. A small part of him was glad that the Astro Rangers had recovered the key cards for the Mega Vehicles and that the Mega Voyager was in full working order. Briefly, he wondered who the Red Astro Ranger was talking to but dismissed it as he didn't really need to know. If it was someone on the side of Light, then they didn't have anything to worry about. If it was otherwise and they made the mistake of teleporting directly to the Ultra Cavern…well, they wouldn't be around for much longer.

"Please; allow me to help them."

Blinking at the voice, he turned around to glance at the figure before summoning his Raptor Sabre to him in a flash. Leaping over the head of the stunned figure, he positioned himself directly between the affected trio and the being while Sam and Ashley stared in shock. He could feel the electricity in the air as blasters were charged and aimed at the seemingly defenceless girl in front of them.

"Wait! Please stop!"

He started slightly as the Red Astro Ranger appeared next to her but clenched his teeth together and charged the blade with fire.

"Get away from her, Andros! You don't want to be covered in her blood, do you?"

"You don't understand! She can help!"

Inhaling deeply, Weihan narrowed his eyes and shook his head once. He would have to hear one good reason why he should stop his attack and Andros knew it. Astronema was nothing but trouble for the Rangers and he would be damned if he let any harm come to them when they were at their most vulnerable.

"She's my sister!"

TBC…


	155. 154: Past Memory

AN: Memories of before the Power. And an explanation of the $50 owed in Chapter 4 (150 chapters ago. No I did not plan this.) Enjoy!

Chapter One Fifty Four: Past Memory

"What do you mean she's your sister?"

Weihan stared at the duo in front of him in shock as he tried to wrap his mind around Andros' words. There was just no way that Astronema – the so-called Princess of Evil – was the sister of the Red Astro Ranger. It seemed like something out of a bad drama or like some sort of twist that was thrown at the audience for shock value. As he lowered his Raptor Sabre to the ground, he was dimly aware of AJ teleporting in and gasping in shock at the scene in front of her. Gesturing for the Rangers to lower their weapons, the Orange Ranger looked expectantly at Andros.

"We found out by pure chance. We both had lockets containing photographs of our seemingly lost siblings and in a recent battle; we were exposed to the truth. She has defected from Dark Spectre and we were considering a plan of action when she felt a memory unblocking spell being activated."

Snorting in disgust, he dropped his Sabre with a clatter and shook his head.

"Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke and that you're being enspelled and I will gladly dispose of her for you. She's Dark Spectre's right hand woman and you gave her full access to the Ultra Cavern!"

Andros shook his head and tried to see it from the point of view of the Orange Ranger…even though someone who clearly wasn't a Ranger had also teleported in. He had fought against Xonix for a reasonably short amount of time but had experienced various horrors; culminating in a visit to Eltare a few weeks before its fall. There, they had defeated countless grunts and even taken down the supposed Q Elites in a few moves. They had even managed to, according to his sister; delay the inevitable takeover long enough for Zordon to send away some of his future plans in a small capsule to Aquitar. Soon after, they had detected an encoded communication headed to Earth but had not had enough time to intercept it.

"She's my sister and she is here under my supervision. If she does anything out of the ordinary then I will deal with her."

Weihan shook his head once.

"If she does something evil – all you'll be bringing back are ashes. Now, what can you do for my friends?"

He watched as she looked at the trio on the Med Beds and felt AJ come up beside him. Slipping an arm around her, he was painfully aware that they had spent too long apart and that he would never tell her the full story of what happened when he was under Love Tick's spell. Watching the apparently reformed Astronema walk towards the trio of affected Rangers, he sighed as AJ leant into him and stiffened as he saw the purple-haired woman summon her unique staff.

"Easy there, Sugarcube. Y'all gonna give her a chance; remember? She may be able to fully heal them."

Nodding once, he watched as Astronema lifted the staff up above her head and began chanting under her breath. Catching onto a few words, his eyes widened as he realised that he had seen the spell recently…while recovering in the Command Tower in Equestria. He had been allowed access into the Star Swirl the Bearded wing and had happened upon it while looking for memory altering spells. Catching a few Discordian words in the mix, it dawned on him that the spell was a mixture of the memory wash and mind healing spells; which was a complete surprise as he didn't know that anyone on Dark Spectre's team had access to Equestrian spells. A chill ran through his body as he realised that Creeper may have transmitted the spells to Xonix who, in turn, had transmitted them to Dark Spectre. Logic caught up to the irrational thought in his mind and quelled the fear with the knowledge that the spells took a damn long time to learn to cast properly – let alone mixing them into one without any unneeded side effects.

A shimmering light began to spill from the pointed tip of the staff as the Rangers watched. The light danced around each of them before splitting into three balls of yellow streaked purple light. They swirled around the entire Cavern; alighting lightly on their Ultra Zords before slightly wobbling in place and speeding towards the trio of Rangers. Above the slight crackle of magic, Astronema called to each of them to remember happy memories of their friends to soothe their healing minds and cracked spirits. Separating himself from AJ, Weihan stepped forwards and closed his eyes; allowing a memory of Alex to form fresh in his mind. With a smile, he realised it was formed exactly one day before the Orange Ranger Powers had been granted to him.

_Flashback_

_"You ever think about the future?"_

_He shot his friend a strange look as they sat on a rocky outcropping overlooking Manly beach. They had decided to go to the sandy area as it was a reasonably sunny day. Plus, there was the added advantage of not being caught by the 'Secret Service'. Dropping the radio he was fiddling with, he shook his head at his sandy-haired friend._

_"I tend not to worry too much about the future. Well, except maybe tomorrow when we go back to class. I could skip the day but I've skipped out on the past two weeks and Mum's getting a bit suspicious. What brought this up, mate?"_

_"The world's getting more dangerous. Lord Zedd is in Angel Grove and that strange Shredder character is in New York. The next thing you know, there's going to be an attack in our backyard."_

_Weihan shook his head and chuckled to himself. Alex had it in his mind that the world would end every time a new evil being popped up. Sure, the advent of Rita Repulsa had shaken the world to its core; but the arrival of the Power Rangers had kinda smoothed it over. Even the news reports of the Evil Green Ranger and the debacle of Power Rangers Day hadn't really done anything to tarnish the publicly accepted view of the Power Rangers as mankind's saviours. Adjusting the knob on the radio, he nodded once and rolled his shoulders._

_"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Anything comes and I'll kick their butts into next week. If that doesn't happen, the Power Rangers'll come down and smack it around until it gives up. I'm so sure of it, I even bet Moss $50 that there will be no alien invasion of Sydney tomorrow."_

_As Alex started laughing, he waited a beat and shook his head. He hoped what he saw in his dreams wouldn't come true as not only would he be out $50...well, he didn't want to think about that. Well, whatever happened; he sorely doubted it would happen on the day he returned to school._

_Even if it was destiny_

_End Flashback_

Chuckling at the memory, he stepped back as an orange-green point of light drifted from his head to Alex's. He didn't have any memories for Eliza or Rebecca that he could call upon just yet but they would come in time. Watching the other points of light congregate above the heads of the chosen Rangers, he nodded once as he felt the spell end.

Now…they would have to wait.

TBC…


	156. 155: 03

Chapter One Fifty Five: 03

"This isn't going the way we planned!"

"We had a plan?"

Rachelle picked herself up off the grass as she looked around for her friends. Five minutes after Astronema or whatever she was calling herself now had finished the spell, the alarms had started wailing. Xonix had sent Lustor down to capitalise on the disorganised team with a group of Fiends and they were tearing up Hyde Park. Surprisingly, the Silver Ultra Psycho Ranger had gone in morphed and had taken out both Weihan and Will with a series of devastatingly powerful attacks. The two Rangers had force-demorphed and had been teleported back to the Ultra Cavern by AJ and Andros. The Red Astro Ranger had wanted to jump into the battle then and there but had stopped upon seeing the injuries on the two male Rangers. The problem on his end had been elevated with the arrival of the other Astro Rangers – including the Silver Astro Ranger who was apparently the 'strongest Ranger in the Universe' or something like that.

"How are the others? Are they on their feet yet?"

Flipping away from a laser blast, Heather readied her Terror Bow for another volley of arrows. After the two males had been taken out; Lustor had gone after them harder and faster than she had attacked previously. Specifically; she aimed most of her attacks on Rachelle, Heather and Paris for reasons unknown. The other Rangers were battling against the Fiends but the reptilian grunts were using their brains for a change and were utilising pseudo-guerrilla tactics against them. The last attack from the Fiends had been a concentrated and combined acid shower that had only just been repelled by Sarah J's own Venom Shield ability but had knocked them to the ground. Firing a stream of energy at the Ultra Psycho Ranger, Heather groaned in dismay as it didn't appear to do any damage. Trying a different tactic, she pulled the 'arms' of the bow out and twisted a hidden knob near the grip. The ends of the bow retracted and were immediately replaced with energy beams of pink light. Grinning to herself that the conversion had worked as planned, she raced toward the psychotic monster and slashed at her chest with the melee bow.

"Hit me harder! You can do a better job than that!"

Rachelle grimaced under her helmet as she dismissed her Ankylo Hammer in favour of her Shield Bunker. Pressing a button on the handle, she watched as what appeared to be two small barrels extended out from the front of the 'shield'. Experimentally firing on one of the Fiends that was close by, she let out a low chuckle as the beams of energy struck the reptile head on and burnt off a good slab of its protective scales. Rolling forward, she popped up and blasted Lustor with a barrage of blasts. The lasers impacted against the Silver Psycho Ranger and forced the sex-crazed monster back. If they could just regroup – even the three of them – they could easily defeat Lustor without having to constantly be on the defensive. The only problem was how to get on the other foot…

"Ha! Feel the sting of the Silver Astro Ranger!"

The three Ultra Rangers watched in amused horror as the Silver Astro Ranger dropped down from the sky followed by the other Astro Rangers. In a blur of movement, the Silver Astro Ranger pushed Lustor back with the strange gauntlet blade weapon on his arm. Rachelle could see Andros issuing orders of the Black, Yellow and Pink Rangers to help with the Fiends while the Blue Astro Ranger took pot shots at Lustor with his Astro Blaster. Seeing that the two Rangers had the monster under control for now, Andros ran towards the three Ultra Rangers and spoke apologetically.

"I'm sorry for barging in like this but my sister insisted we come. She's under the eye of the blonde woman…AJ was it? The Orange and White Rangers are recovering though the White Ranger is more damaged. When I left, the Orange Ranger was debating with my sister for a temporary transfer of power. Then again, if the battle is too rough; I have this."

Flicking his left wrist, a slim device appeared in a red flash. It was predominantly black with some silver panels and the strange gold envelope-looking symbol that adorned the Astro Rangers' uniforms. Sliding down the top panel revealed three buttons with large-ish numbers on them. Andros explained to them that the device was called the Battlizer and contained an extraordinary amount of power that would boost his fighting strength. The power was constantly replenished by a tap to the Grid and gave the user a range of options to use.

"What's the third button do?"

Andros shook his head and sighed. A coded message from the Phantom Ranger soon after activating the Astro Delta Megazord had educated him on the functions of the Battlizer. 01 was an energised blow that worked the same way as the Ultra Rangers' own charged attacks – except in a much lessened way. 02 was an energy blast of filtered Grid Energy that was strong enough to break through several layers of armour plating. 03…well, that was labelled by the Phantom Ranger as an untested mode as the amount of energy that was expelled had literally melted through several of the testing computers and dummies. The reigning theory was that it could amplify a Ranger's power a hundred-fold and grant that Ranger with powerful armour that would be on par with an Ultra Ranger. Although that was the reigning theory; it was just that – only a theory. Humorously enough, using 03 in conjunctions with the other buttons didn't activate the untested mode but granted an extreme power boost to the ability used.

"I don't want to use the third button. It's too much power and could easily destroy me if I'm not prepared."

Rolling her eyes at the cop-out answer, Rachelle decided to let it slide and focused her thoughts on the battle at hand. The combined power of the other Astro Rangers had forced the Fiends into a temporary retreat and they were attacking Lustor with everything they had left. Unfortunately, the Silver Ultra Ranger could see that the battle with the grunts had sapped them of most of their strength and focus…meaning they were being hit with attacks that they could have easily dodged. She quickly formulated a strategy in her mind but groaned when she realised it would need the power that Andros had in his Battlizer…even if it backfired. Mentally conferring with the other two Rangers, she received the 'all clear' for her plan to be put into action. She only hoped he didn't hold any grudge afterwards.

"Think about that later; we gotta save our friends before they're turned into mincemeat!"

Summoning her Ankylo Hammer, she rushed froward and intercepted a downward strike from hitting Aimee. The Yellow Ranger gave a weak thumbs up before throwing both Sabre Daggers at the Ultra Psycho Ranger. The small blades returned to her hand and she combined them into their 'Fang' mode before struggling to her feet. Shaking her head, Rachelle looked at Paris and nodded once. Springing into action, the Red and Pink Ultra Rangers leapt forward…but not at Lustor; instead restraining the arms of Andros who yelped in surprise. Leaping over the head of the stunned Red Astro Ranger, the monster and the fatigued Rangers could only watch in interest as the Silver Ultra Ranger slid back the cover of the Battlizer and, over the protests of Andros; pressed the third button.

"Three."

Leaping away from the Red Ranger, they could only look in fascination as small bolts of electricity danced over the surface of the wrist-mounted device. Andros looked down in horror at the device and scrambled to release the wristband…but his body wouldn't respond to his commands. Silently apologising to his sister for dying in front of her, he wrested command of his body back from the strange force holding him down and thrust out his chest as he threw back his head and screamed as power erupted from the small device. He closed his eyes and waited for the end to come…but instead of the burning oblivion he expected, he seemed to be becoming stronger. Opening his eyes, he staggered in place as something strong smashed into his chest and back at the same time. Looking down, his eyes widened in shock as he saw the strangely muscled armour plates that had appeared over the normal Ranger suit.

"Amazing…"

His own voice sounded foreign to his ears as more Power flowed into his body. He could hear the amazed shouts of his friends – including Zhane – as they had never seen anything like the transformation that was taking place. Even the Ultra Rangers were stunned at how much power the Battlizer contained…and what it was doing to the Red Astro Ranger. On impulse, he flung his arms out to the side and felt something else lock into place on his back. A glance out of the very corner of his eye confirmed that there were strange wings attached that were made up of metallic feathers of sorts. Sudden weights on his left wrist made him look down to see the Battlizer change into a strange tri-bladed gauntlet weapon and he grinned as the transformation ended.

"Red Battlized Ranger; Ready!"

TBC…

AN: Battlizer Armour debuts here and the next chapter showcases a taste of Power for a future Ranger…


	157. 156: Future Power, Present Time

AN: Taste of Power here…and Terminator and Star Wars are not mine; no matter how I wish to the contrary. Enjoy!

Chapter One Fifty Six: Future Power, Present Time

"That is one awesome suit."

Weihan propped himself up on his elbows and stared at the armoured Ranger that was ripping into Lustor. Of course, he knew pretty much everything the Battlizer could do as it was in Zordon's archives…but seeing it in action was entirely different to reading the words. The seemingly reformed Astronema was lingering near the trio of Rangers and seemed reluctant on coming close to them, which suited him just fine. The Silver Astro Ranger had 'helpfully' informed him that she was going by her birth name of Karone now…and had been quickly shut up by his rather blunt comment.

"So you know her name? So you want to have sex with her then?"

Well, in his admittedly meagre defence, he had just been the victim of a blazingly swift and brutal attack by Lustor. The comment had sent Ashley Judd, Sam, AJ and the other Astro Rangers into a fit of laughter while the Silver Ranger had turned a bright crimson, Andros directed a glare at his friend and the reformed Astronema had rolled her eyes. Then the embarrassed Silver Ranger had made some heroic comment about how they needed to help the female Rangers and had quickly morphed to get away from the awkward situation. That left them alone with the reformed Astronema and the unconscious Will. Taking his eyes away from the Battlized Red Ranger on the screen, Weihan looked at Will and suppressed a heavy sigh.

Through some strange twist of fate, Will had been in the way of most of the attacks and was heavily injured. His healing powers had brought the White Ranger back from the brink of quadriplegia but had done very little for his injuries. While the majority of Will's Ultra Powers were slowly healing his body, his Allosaur Power Coin had been left out on the off chance that his Zord was needed for the Megazord. Astronema – he refused to call her Karone until it was certain she wouldn't revert – had asked him to temporarily transfer the Allosaur Power Coin to her so she could fight. Undeterred by his flat-out refusal, she had asked if it would work for anyone else but he had no answer for her as the Power Coin was calling to him. Not to be used…but for him to grant the Powers – no matter how temporary – to AJ.

He was steadfast in his denial of this to occur. He had some inkling in the past that AJ would eventually become the White Ranger but never wanted to think of the reasons why…as the only ways the Ultra Powers could be transferred was if they were done so willingly or if the bearer died. He doubted it would happen in the near future but on the other hand, Ninjor had stated that there was to be no Ranger death in the immediate future a few weeks ago. The 'immediate future' security blanket was rapidly reaching the end of its lifespan which meant that he would have to look out for each and every one of his Rangers for the battles up ahead.

_Why do you refrain from allowing her to take up the Coin now?_

Settling back against the Med Bed, he sighed and shook his head internally. AJ was still relatively innocent and he didn't want to taint her just yet. True, becoming a temporary Ranger would allow the inevitable temporary separation to go over more smoothly; but it would also cement her future status as a Ranger as well as whatever event was down the road that would cause Will to give up his Powers. If his jaunt into the bad future had taught him anything; it was that the future was not set and everything was still in motion. True, that sounded like some insane Terminator x Star Wars crossover movie moral but it resonated deeply.

_If the future is still in motion; what makes you think that one event will place her down that road? If you destroyed Xonix tomorrow, would you still be fighting in three years? Who would you still be fighting?_

That…was actually a very valid question. He certainly didn't want to be fighting when he was in his late twenties; but all the signs pointed to that if Xonix wasn't destroyed or placed in indefinite stasis. He even doubted the latter would work as the alien would surely find a way to circumvent his stasis by means of time-delayed spells or exerting his influence onto lesser evil beings. Hell, there would even be a small chance that he could collaborate with the other Lord Zedd to rain hellfire down on Equestria. Shaking his head as Andros was blasted back, he sighed yet again as he faced up to the cold and hard truth.

No matter if Xonix was destroyed, there would still be evil to battle. The battle against the Wraith had proven that when it had said it would be a possible future. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be battling the Wraiths as he was sure that conventional weapons wouldn't even make a dent in their armour…and there was all that superstition with breaking mirrors and bad luck. Rolling his eyes, he dismissed that thought as there was a 50/50 chance that whatever event caused the Wraiths to break out en masse would come in the future. His only wish was that he would be fully powered and not constrained to some idiot who only wanted him to focus on the backyard of Australia. After all, mirrors were _everywhere_ these days.

"No! Brother!"

Snapping his head around, he saw Astronema looking at the screen with true fear and sadness in her eyes as Andros' Battlizer Armour flew off him after the Silver Ultra Psycho Ranger reflected the blast from the other Astro Rangers' combination blaster. He felt his heart clench at the obvious emotion in her voice and he knew that she had truly reformed and would stay that way…unless Dark Spectre did something drastic. Forcing that thought down, he clenched his teeth together and sat upright; biting back a shout of pain as his muscles protested fiercely. As AJ ran to his side to help steady him, he reached out and plucked the Allosaur Power Coin off the table and curled his fingers over it. A million and one thoughts were racing through his head but only one was the most prominent: that the future had to be saved if it were ever to come…whatever it was.

"AJ; do you accept the temporary power of the White Ranger?"

She stepped back in shock. She had never considered herself to be Ranger material but she couldn't really suppress the curiosity in her whenever she saw the Rangers go into battle. She knew how hard it was to fight against Xonix and knew that danger could come at any time…yet something was calling out to her. To feel the rush of Power flood the body was an once-in-a-lifetime experience and if it only happened once then it she would grab it with both hands.

"Temporary, eh? Ah don't know much about fighting but Ah'll give it a shot. Ah accept this honour for now an' in the future, if y'all need me."

Nodding once, he swallowed hard as he opened his hand to give the Power Coin to AJ. She had accepted the Power both for the present moment and in the future…and the subtle shift he had felt in the signature of the Power Coin probably meant the White Ultra Crystal was preparing itself to receive a set of her biorhythms for future use. Whatever happened between now and then wouldn't matter much as the White Crystal would eventually go to AJ. Carefully, he placed the golden disc in the middle of her upturned palm and held his breath.

"Ah guess…It's Morphin' Time!"

TBC…


	158. 157: Ranger White

AN: For all those who were waiting for AJ to don the White Armour…here it is! Enjoy!

Chapter One Fifty Seven: Ranger White

"Quadroblaster – Fire!"

The crackling energy ball at the end of the combination weapon streaked through the air at the exact moment that Zhane fired a charged shot at the Ultra Psycho Ranger. Even with the addition of Andros' Battlizer Armour, the Rangers were losing quickly. Rachelle could easily see that the Battlizer Armour wasn't really designed for longer fights in mind and would be effective at the end of a fight when the monster was significantly weakened. The only problem was if the monster…didn't really get tired as was the case with the Ultra Psycho Ranger they were up against.

"Oh shit."

The Silver Ultra Ranger swallowed hard as she saw her evil 'counterpart' catch the crackling energy blasts in one hand as easily as catching a cricket ball. Throwing them into the air, the Silver Psycho Ranger played around with them for a short while before combining them into one large bullet-shaped blast. Her legs couldn't move as she tried to leap into the way of the blast. What they really needed to take down the monster was a Ranger that was fresh and ready for action. Unfortunately, with the guys out of commission and most of the girls winded; the only Rangers who could feasibly battle were herself, Heather and Paris…and even they were slightly out of breath. Her mouth dropped open in shock and horror as the energy bullet slammed into the Astro Rangers and sent Andros' newly acquired Battlizer Armour flying off his body as violently as it had appeared.

Fighting to move, she faltered as a strange sensation ran through her body…almost a tingling of some sort. The sensation felt familiar and she tried to recall where she had felt it before. Her eyes widened as the answer slammed into her – the transfer of Powers from a Ranger to a non-Ranger. Surely, Weihan couldn't give up his Powers to anyone as he had said that no other human could handle the stresses and strain and Alex was still comatose. That just left Will and he wasn't really in the correct frame of mind to transfer his Powers to anyone as the majority of them would be working hard to heal his body. Bringing up her Ankylo Hammer to defend against a blow from Lustor, she flipped away to regroup with the others as she considered the options that would be available to them.

Andros had mentioned something like a temporary transfer of Power and that would be the only alternative Weihan would have – short of taking on the White Powers himself. Blasting the evil Ranger in front of her to allow the Astro Rangers to regain their footing, she wondered who Weihan could have given the Powers to. The seemingly reformed Astronema was one choice but she wholeheartedly doubted Weihan would have the massive lapse of judgement needed to take such an idiotic step. The other choice was AJ…and Weihan had been steadfast of ever allowing her to take on any Power as it would allow her to be a candidate for them in the future…or something like that. Then again…if she was the only choice that was available to him then he would be forced to give in to the immediate needs of the conflict.

"Eat this, ya freak!"

Heads snapped up at the Southern accented voice while bolts of dazzling white energy rained on Lustor; sending the monster flying back. Rachelle felt renewed strength fill her as she looked at the morphed and female White Ranger. The armour looked the same as it would have on Will, but there were two differences that made the armour look unique and displayed her connection with the Orange Ranger. The first difference was the addition of orange streaks around the 'eyes', visor and down the arms. They weren't outlandish but gave the armour a unique look and feel; as if it were a mini Power-Up mode or something. The second difference was the holster that hung on the left side of the belt. Dropping one hand from the Allosaur Pulsar, the White Ranger withdrew the object from the holster and Rachelle's eyes widened in shock.

"Raptor Laser!"

Evidently, Weihan had gotten over whatever blockage was in his system and had granted temporary White Ranger powers to AJ. Not only that, he had somehow managed to link her morphed armour with his Raptor Laser and that addition gave the Ranger additional close-combat options. Jerking her head in the direction of the morphed reporter, Heather and Paris pushed themselves off the ground to assist their new comrade.

"Is that Karone? It must be!"

Glancing over at the Silver Astro Ranger, she shook her head once as the trio of Rangers ran at Lustor with renewed force. From the movements of AJ, the Silver Ranger could see that Weihan's girlfriend was either used to fighting or he had given her intensive training in the fifteen seconds before her appearance. A quick move later and Lustor howled in agony as her left arm was sliced off at her shoulder; the gaping wound spurting lavender blood before being brutally cauterised by a blast from the Raptor Laser. Wincing in mock sympathy, Rachelle gathered herself before slamming her Hammer down onto the ground and watching the energy shockwave race towards the Silver Psycho Ranger. As the other Rangers leapt away, the monster had only a split second of forewarning before the energy geyser engulfed her within its blazing depths.

As the smoke cleared, AJ could see that the psychotic creature was still moving. Her mind was racing with the new information that was pouring into her brain and she briefly wondered if it was like this all the time. Whatever Weihan had done to the armour was working wonders for her and she couldn't wait until the battle was over so she could…thank him for the experience. Forcing her mind off the pleasures in the future, she brought up the Allosaur Pulsar and fired a few blasts into the belly of the beast. The displays on her HUD were telling her that the monster was a few more blasts away from destruction but she tried a different tactic…she just hoped the trio of more experienced Rangers would go along with it. After she relayed her plan, she let out a sigh of relief as they nodded once and gave her a thumbs up.

"Ah got a plan that might destroy this maniac for good. It'll take a lot of energy though. Ah'm gonna charge both the Pulsar and the Laser for the finishin' blow. Chelle, ya think you can keep her from moving in any way?"

Rachelle could keep the Psycho Ranger from moving all right. Swinging the Ankylo Hammer around her head, she flipped over the head of Lustor and slammed the charged ends into the back of the monster's legs. Lustor cried out in rage and pain as the bones audibly shattered under the impact. As the Hammer drew back for another blow, the Ultra Psycho Silver Ranger tried to shuffle out of the way of the blow but every move that was made seemed to be like walking on superheated razors. The blow struck home at the tops of her thighs and she collapsed to the ground as her bones literally crumbled away into dust. The pain was so intense that she felt the Ultra Psycho Armour flicker off her body…but her Psycho Gem was yet to shatter.

"Paris, Ah want the other arm off. Ah don't care how you do it either. Heather, if she shits out the sparkly gem – shatter it. Or blast out her eyes; Ah don't care either way."

Channelling blazing energy into her Tyrant Blade, the Red Ultra Ranger waited for the best moment to strike. As Lustor brought out the Silver Psycho Gem from her…rear entrance…both Rangers sprung into action. A charged energy arrow was all it took for the fragile jewel to shatter into tiny fragments of crystal. As Lustor howled in outrage and pain, Paris raced at the downed humanoid and slashed her blade across with all her might.

"That's gotta hurt…"

Looking at the ragged tear, Andros had to nod in sympathy. It seemed the monster had prepared for the loss of her other arm during the battle but was surprised that it had happened so soon – resulting in the right arm being torn off by the blunt side of the Tyrant Blade. He wondered if the Red Ultra Ranger had planned it that way but dismissed the thought as silly. Even the Ultra Rangers wouldn't resort to such brutality…right?

AJ held out the Allosaur Pulsar and the Raptor Laser in front of her as they neared the limit. She allowed a slow smile to creep across her face as she revelled in her final moments as a Ranger. no matter what the future held for her; she would always remember the current moment as it proved that she had gained the trust of the greatest fighting force to ever walk the planet.

"Primal Blaze!"

TBC…


	159. 158: Poison

AN: Sam, remember when I told you that you would do something very stupid and end up in a (potentially) life-threatening situation? Yeah…

Chapter One Fifty Eight: Poison

He was pretty sure she had ruined him for anyone else.

Weihan slumped into his seat in his Biology class in the BBC and willed his body to obey his commands. Although he had healed up nicely from the brutality of Lustor's attack; the assault on his body by AJ was a different matter altogether. He was sure that they may have broken one or two of the bed slats but she wasn't complaining and neither was he. She would always carry around the remnants of the White Power in her body until the time was right for the full Ultra Power transfer to take place. Although it still irked him, he had made his peace with AJ becoming a Ranger. After all; she had come up with a pretty watertight plan to destroy Lustor.

Nodding at Will and Alex as they walked in, he thanked whatever power was up there that Karone had managed to heal the minds of the three Rangers. They still had full knowledge of what had happened but only remembered it as some half-remembered dream; which suited them much better. Alex had even joked that there was some part of him that wished he could fully remember it…but he had shut up after Ashley and Sam turned their glares on him. Will had been thankful that his Powers had been able to destroy Lustor completely and had reintegrated the Power Coin back into his Ultra Crystal. The small smile on his face dropped off slowly as he recalled the transmission from Andros that had been received in the early hours of the morning. Apparently, Dark Spectre had taken control of a large asteroid and planned to crush Angel Grove with it. Karone had infiltrated the Dark Fortress on a mission to push away the asteroid…but it had gone downhill from there. She had been recaptured and been subject to rather invasive surgical procedures that had implanted mind control chips inside her brain. She was now totally loyal to Dark Spectre and had no free will of her own.

She had already bared her fangs as Dark Spectre's dragon and had sent down her own versions of the Psycho Rangers to attack Angel Grove. They had barely beaten them back when a strange new Psycho Ranger had appeared on the battlefield. When Andros had sent over an image of what the new Psycho looked like, Weihan felt the blood in his body immediately freeze up. His mind flashed to the first disastrous battle with the full team of Ultra Psycho Rangers…and Ultra Psycho Orange. He had destroyed the robot in an attack that had eaten up most of his strength but Psychogre had told him that another one would soon be coming. He had held his breath for the reappearance of the mad robot for the next few battles but had semi forgotten about it…until the image had brought those thought to the forefront of his mind.

Fortunately, the Astro Rangers had managed to beat back the Ultra Psycho Ranger using Andros' Battlizer but they had their own wounds to lick. That reappearance of the robotic Psycho Ranger wasn't the worrying part, though. The worst part undoubtedly was that the 'new' Ultra Psycho Orange had unexpectedly vanished after the battle and couldn't be traced. From the radio transmissions that had been picked up by the Megaship, it seemed that Xonix was in no great hurry to find his missing Ranger and had great faith that it would turn up sometime in the future.

"What are you thinking of?"

The voice jerked him out of his thoughts and he had to grab the desk in order to not fall out of his seat. Glancing at the laughing blonde beside him, he rolled his eyes and shook his head at Rachelle's mirth. Flicking his eyes over her body for the barest of moments, he chastised himself for even thinking of anyone other than AJ before the events of the spell slammed into his memory. No matter how many times he told himself that what happened during that time didn't count…he still felt that it did in some strange way. For one, it made AJ's…thanking session…a whole lot more enjoyable to him and she had even expressed surprise about his quick recovery time.

"Just reflecting on the – "

"What the fuck is that?"

Automatically, his head snapped up and he looked out the door. He could hear some commotion outside and could hear…something…coming closer. Nervously eyeing the gas taps around him, he slowly eased out of his seat and teleported his bag to the Ultra Cavern. Noticing his movements and blinking at the object teleportation, Rachelle shot a quick glance at Will and Alex and indicated that they should follow. As they filed out the door, they could see Weihan step out into the hall and immediately settle into an offensive stance. Rachelle was alarmed to see light sparks dancing around his fists and hoped Weihan remembered where he was and didn't do anything that would potentially blow their identities.

"Unprotected…unexpected…"

She blinked once at the chittering voice and felt the blood drain from her face as she made the connection as the screams and shouts started. The Brown Ultra Psycho Ranger had a strange chittering voice and hadn't been seen since the first battle. If she recalled correctly, Weihan had incapacitated it in some way and it had been forced to retreat. Not wasting any time, she raced out but froze at the mouth of the hall as she saw the scene in front of her.

The arachnoid Ultra Psycho Ranger was leaning against the lockers as if it didn't have a care in the world. Five of its eight arms had been replaced with metallic replacements that were covered with short, stubby spikes and two were static stumps that looked like they were made of granite. In its only organic hand, it clutched at the disturbingly still body…of Sam Perry. She could see a frantic Rebecca being held back; not by any of the Rangers but by Rachel, Jenna and Giulia. Throwing the slack body at the Orange Ranger, the Ultra Psycho Ranger chuckled grimly and looked at them with all six eyes before speaking.

"That one was foolish enough to go after me with a thick book. You cannot squash the mighty Arachno so easily! He will get what is coming to him as you all will!"

"What did you do to him?"

From his vantage point in the hall, Alex swallowed at the icy tone in his friend's voice. He looked absolutely dead-set on killing the Ultra Psycho Ranger in front of him – even with his bare hands. The arachnid monster seemed unaffected by the overly hostile tone in his voice and chuckled as it kicked the body of Sam over; revealing two small puncture wounds on his neck. Visions of Dracula and vampire spiders flashed through Alex's mind before he pushed them down to hear the explanation.

"I bit him. My venom is considered the deadliest in the known Galaxy; yet an antivenin exists on the distant planet of Chysannas. Only two may go on this journey and they must make it there and back within three hours."

Weihan lunged at Arachno with open hands but only grabbed empty air. Chysannas…that name sounded so damn familiar to him for some reason. Echoing laughter wafted over them and he looked around for the source. A search and retrieval mission in only three hours was theoretically possible…but the only question was what would happen if they were late.

"In three hours…he will die."

TBC…


	160. 159: Monster World

AN: Woo…have no idea where the majority of this chapter came from. And light foreshadowing at the end. Enjoy!

Chapter One Fifty Nine: Monster World

**2:45 remaining…**

"Well, this is a fun way to spend a Thursday."

Weihan sighed at the silent response and looked at the surrounding areas. The planet Chysannas was literally a dead world with nothing but rocks and long fossilised trees as far as the eye could see. If he squinted hard enough, he was sure he could see some sort of creature moving but couldn't be sure. Anyway, there was nothing on the planet that could be eaten anyway and the only source of water they had come across looked like it had dried up sometime in the late Cretaceous.

'We'll find the antivenin. You know that right?"

Still no response. He rolled his eyes and tried to put himself in Rebecca's shoes. After Arachno's ominous warning, Weihan had taken control of the situation. As the entire BBC had emptied, the only people in the hallway were himself, Rebecca, Rachelle, Alex, Will and the three non-Rangers that had held Rebecca back. He had force-teleported Sam to the Ultra Cavern and then he had teleported the entire group. In his haste, he had temporarily forgotten that the only person who didn't know of their identity as Rangers was Jenna. The short blonde was noticeably shaken but she was being looked after by the others. The other option on the table was the selection of the two Rangers that would go.

Rebecca would go and she refused to sit around doing nothing. Knowing that she would just make her way to Chysannas on her own, Weihan had allowed her to accompany him on the mission. He felt indirectly responsible for Sam's plight as he had the chance to destroy Arachno for good the first time the Brown Ultra Psycho Ranger had shown its face. Well, that and Sam's bite was in retribution for his severing Arachno's arms. Plus, there was the fact that he had the most experience at 'off-world' situations but in reality, this would be a lot different than scrounging around Phaedos for food and deep thinking about his worth as a Ranger.

A movement out of the corner of his eye made his reach for his Raptor Laser. He was absolutely positive that it hadn't been his imagination and he scanned the horizon yet again. Unholstering his Raptor Laser, he held it in a ready position and exhaled slowly. He was aware of Rebecca shooting him a strange look, but he didn't care.

They weren't alone on the planet.

**2:15 remaining…**

"What does the scanner say?"

Weihan jumped slightly at the voice and looked at his partner. Those had been the first real words that she had uttered since their arrival – besides the grunts and non-committal sighs. The strange movements that he had been seeing hadn't really gone away and he was glad he had them morph beforehand. He now knew why the planet name sounded so damn familiar as Zordon had told him that it had been transformed into a dead world due to the power of the unstable Ultra Crystals. He hoped that their presence wasn't making things worse but doubted it was the case. If anything; their use of their Ultra Crystals wouldn't make a difference whatsoever. At least, he hoped it was the case anyway. Flicking on his scanner, he suppressed a sigh as it still came up with a blank reading.

"Nothing on the scanner so far; we'll find the antivenin. We have to."

He didn't even know what it looked like and he doubted Arachno had implanted the information into Rebecca's brain. They had spent thirty minutes on the planet without any idea of what to look for or how to get it. He silently thanked himself that he had sent out a few small recon drones to scour the planet but none of them had reported back…save for one whose last image had been of a strangely familiar clawed hand. For the sake of her already fragile state; he hadn't shown the image to Rebecca as he wasn't completely sure that it was Arachno. For all he knew, there was a race of humanoid lizards that had colonised the world and had somehow managed to survive without food or water. Much like his earlier thoughts, he highly doubted that was the case…but he had learned not to rule anything out.

"Do we even know what it looks like? For all we know, it could be inside a rock or underground or even…"

Her sentence trailed off as she looked at the horizon and gasped once; prompting Weihan to look in that direction as well. He swallowed hard as he saw a familiar multi-armed silhouette scampering towards them. Bringing up his Raptor Laser, he fired once and watched the figure fall to the rocky ground with a satisfied smirk. As the figure unsteadily rose to its feet, he snapped off a few more shots but watched in growing horror as the figure dodged all of the shots with relative ease. The figure reared up to its full height and emitted a sound that sounded like an undulating screech of surprise…or alarm.

"Did you ever get the feeling we stepped inside a hornet's nest?"

Before the Brown Ranger could reply, the ground started to quake as holes opened up around them – spewing forth hundreds of strange humanoid arachnids clutching weapons that ranged from sticks and crude axes to machineguns and laser rifles. The ones holding the melee weapons jabbed at their armoured bodies and chittered amongst themselves. Weihan converted his Laser into its Blade mode and handed it to Rebecca, before summoning his Raptor Sabre and holding it in a ready stance. The frustration was evident in his voice as a bead of sweat trickled down his face.

"We do not need to be attacked by the extended family of Arachno!"

"Arachno? Please do not speak of that name in my presence!"

The two Rangers stopped short at the new voice. It held the same chittering quality as the Brown Ultra Psycho Ranger but seemed almost regal. Weihan had a very disturbing image of an insectoid Princess Celestia flash though his mind for a brief second before suppressing it with a shudder. Dismissing both Sabre and Laser, he stood up as the crowd parted to reveal an elderly…whatever they were…to pass through. Dozens of scars adorned its carapace and it held a strange tri-barrel blaster in its claws. Three of its eight eyes were milky, but the other five looked clear at them and seemingly into their souls.

"Take them away. I will speak to them later!"

**1:30 remaining…**

He kicked at the door again – but it would not move.

They had been dragged down one of the many holes and taken into a vast underground city. The two Rangers had been amazed at the modern buildings they had seen; which had seemingly lightened the heart of the Elder. He had revised his earlier hostile stance then and there…but still had them thrown in the jail. Unlike the modern city around them, the jail seemed…very medieval in its appearance. Extremely worryingly, they had force demorphed upon entry to their cell and didn't seem to be able to morph into their Ranger or Ninjetti forms; nor could they summon their weapons or – in Weihan's case – use any form of magic. Taking a cursory glance at his watch, he growled but forced himself to calm down.

Ninety minutes was actually a lot of time. Lots could be achieved in that time…but unfortunately, it was time that they didn't have. He was itching to leave the jail and explain the situation to the King or the Elder…or to fight. That was another option as well…but he calmed himself yet again and thought through their situation rationally. He had been the first one to resort to violence against the creature but he would explain that it was due to Arachno's premeditated attack on them. Once the Elder or the King learnt that they were Ultra Rangers, Intergalactic Law would pretty much force his hand into setting them free after hearing their requests. The only problem was that the Elder or King could refuse their requests and send them away empty-handed. He didn't know how long Sam could survive in medical stasis but wasn't willing to go past the three-hour limit.

"We still have the element of surprise. Once the door opens, we take the King hostage."

Weihan shook his head although every fibre of his being was agreeing with her statement. If they took the King hostage, it would cement the opinion of them being no better than the monsters they fought against. Then there was the issue with the succession of leadership. For all they knew, the Elder would be a willing sacrifice to ensure that none of the secrets of the species were released into the Universe. There was so much they didn't know about the society they had found themselves in and, as he explained to Rebecca, he was sure that once they got past the initial hurdles – information could flow between them readily.

"I concur with your thinking, young one. It seems we do have a lot to learn."

Turning at the voice, he instinctively bowed at the Elder and, after much prompting, Rebecca bowed as well. It was slightly strange to bow down to an alien that looked so much like the Brown Ultra Psycho but if it helped to get the antivenin; she would do anything possible. Straightening herself, she fought against the urge to roll her eyes as she heard the apparently sincere reverence in her leader's voice.

"I apologise for my rash actions earlier. I was rather surprised at finding life on what I was told was a barren planet."

"Not at all; we were in the wrong to have a scout trail you without making contact with the Ninja Master. He has explained who you are and we will grant two requests."

"I want the cure for Arachno's venom."

**0:50 remaining…**

"The thirteen crystals wiped out all life on the planet. On the surface anyway."

The Elder walked through the double doors that led to what Weihan assumed was a science lab of some sort. He found it extremely ironic that after getting out of Biology in the morning, he would be inside a lab eventually. Pushing Rebecca along, he rolled his eyes at the rather tired look she shot him. As far as he knew, the Elder was taking them to the area where Arachno's antivenin was stored. Her blunt request had taken the Elder momentarily aback but he had nodded once and asked them to follow him. During the journey to the labs, Weihan had asked the Elder how the civilisation had come about and had relayed what Zordon had told him about the planet of Chysannas and its brief introduction to the Ultra Crystals. He found it utterly amazing that life was present everywhere in the Universe and such a high level of technology could be achieved. What was better was that they could morph and teleport in the city. None of the residents had spent much time gawking at the humans that walked amongst them; but those that did seemed to be youths.

"The earliest records we have of our civilisation indicate that the energy wave caused by the thirteen crystals soaked into a group of rock spiders and mutated them in strange ways. Years later, there were around seven thousand of them and they built the first city of Uleb. I hatched a mere three hundred years after the last of the First Ones expired and have devoted my life to our people. We call ourself the Spiderians; in honour of our original roots as mere rock spiders."

Nodding at the explanation, he guessed it made some degree of sense. The Power worked in mysterious ways and could set events in motion that wouldn't be realised until much later. The Elder had already explained to a stunned Weihan that the Ninja Master was none other than Ninjor and he wondered how many connections to other planets the eccentric warrior had. He waited for the Elder to regain his breath before allowing him to speak once more.

"In one of my many expeditions outside Uleb, I discovered another city of Spiderians but these had been descended from the cliff-dwellers – fearsome spiders that possessed great amounts of poisonous venom. After striking a peace with their Elder, we lived in peace and harmony until he hatched. His name was Arachnid but as soon as he was old enough to do so, he shortened his name to Arachno and became our first serial killer. An antivenin was concocted after his arrest and banishment but it was too late to save his victims."

"Wait, banishment? When was he banished?"

The Elder made no sign that he had heard the question but walked over to a locked compartment and tapped in a code – allowing the panel to slide open with a slight hiss. Carefully, the Elder reached inside and withdrew a small vial filled with a strangely shimmering yellow liquid. Reverently, the Elder passed it to Weihan and spoke in a low tone.

"This is the only antivenin left for Arachno's bite. Keep it safe as the formula has been lost to the ages. You will need to inject it into the neck of the victim at least thirty of your minutes before expiry. Arachno was banished around seven centuries ago…and this is the first anyone has heard of his name since then."

Taking the vial from the Elder with surprisingly steady hands, Weihan slipped it into a secure subspace pocket and nodded once; positioning himself between Rebecca and the Elder. Bowing lightly, he nodded his thanks before looking at Rebecca. She swallowed hard but spoke anyway.

"Thank you for your help and information."

Tapping their wrists, the Orange and Brown Rangers vanished into streaks of light. The Elder watched them leave before turning and looking out a window that overlooked a large mechanical life form. He was glad that the Orange Ranger had been engrossed in his explanation to notice the mechanical beast as it would have raised too many questions that the Spiderian wasn't ready to answer yet. Sighing heavily, he looked away from the triple headed dragon to the small device on the bench closest to the compartment. It was an absolute miracle that it had avoided detection but he supposed the Orange Ranger had more pressing concerns on his mind.

It would be sent to him when the time was right.

TBC…


	161. 160: Spider Squashing

Chapter One Sixty: Spider Squashing

She held her breath and waited.

The final seconds ticked down as they stared at the unmoving body. It had been around thirty minutes since the antivenin had been injected into his system and they were waiting to see the results. The entire team was in the Ultra Cavern – having been alerted to the unfolding crisis by Alex over Will's protests. Weihan had allowed Rebecca to be the one to inject the antivenin into Sam's neck as he informed the others about what had been found underground the planet.

"I think he's coming around."

Heads turned to see Sam's eyes weakly flutter open followed by the high-pitched squeal of delight as the Brown Ultra Ranger threw both arms around her boyfriend and cried happily. Allowing a small smile to creep over his face, Weihan turned away from the reunited lovers and walked to the Main Console. He had an inkling that Arachno would be attacking soon to take advantage of the supposed shattering of the team…much like Lustor had done a few days prior. He would make sure that the only Rangers on the battlefield were those who could properly play to the Psycho Ranger's weaknesses. Of course; he would be there and so would Rebecca as he doubted she wanted to be on the sidelines. Next up would be Alex as his Mammoth Buster could freeze the monster to the ground or even attempt to encase it in a solid coating of ice. Briefly, the thought of using the antivenin on Arachno crossed his mind but after a moments thought, he dismissed the idea as silly.

Three Rangers would be enough to deal with the monster – provided they had the right plan. Leaping into the battle wouldn't bode well for them and if Arachno thought that Sam had died…well, that would give them the much needed element of surprise. Arachno hadn't set foot on Chysannas for seven centuries and probably had no idea they had been able to find the antivenin. He knew there was a reason he had taken up Drama…

The alarms wailed as Arachno's energy signature was detected in Centennial Park and Weihan sprang into action. Before any of the others could teleport to the Park and challenge the monster, he had shut the alarms off and temporarily disabled outgoing teleportation for five minutes.

"Rebecca – you go in first and act as angry and sad as you would be if Sam had died. Keep him occupied for as long as you can and then Alex and I will come in to incapacitate him. I'll leave it to you to land the finishing blow."

Detaching herself from Sam, Rebecca nodded once and wordlessly morphed as soon as the time limit on the blocking ran out. She appeared right behind Arachno and summoned her Spike Cannon in a flash of light. Blasting the back of the exiled Spiderian, she forced her voice into the roughest and most grief-stricken tone she could and screamed at the Brown Ultra Psycho Ranger.

"You bastard! There was no antivenin on the planet! I looked everywhere for it and…and…now you need to die!"

Rolling her eyes at how pathetic she sounded, she ran at the monster and made sure to stumble halfway as if caught up in her supposed grief. She could see the surprise on Arachno's eyes as her words sunk in and the doubts beginning to form in his mind. Based on what the Elder had told her, Arachno had been the first and – so far – the only serial killer to have an antivenin developed. She guessed it was due to the slightly relaxed way his venom worked but that didn't really give her that much comfort. Firing wildly, she made her movements as sloppy as possible to convey the sense that she was crying behind her helmet and her tears were obscuring her vision; or something along those lines.

Around the thirteenth sloppy strike, Arachno began to fight back and she was forced to put the slightest amount of effort into her 'hysterical' attacking to keep the charade up. Drunkenly rolling away from the raging Psycho Ranger, she fired a few wild shots at the monster but made sure that two blasts impacted against the creature to keep the realism going. Pausing to yawn under her helmet, she wondered when Weihan and Alex would make their grand entrance and what sort of plan the Orange Ranger had up his sleeve. She hoped it would be put into action soon as she was starting to get bored with screaming gibberish at the monster while attacking like she had full body anaesthesia.

"Brown Ranger! Stop this madness!"

As the monster glanced up at the sound, it was struck by a rain of orange and green energy bolts as the two Rangers leapt from their mid-air teleport. Drawing his Raptor Sabre, Weihan slashed at Archno's chest in mock anger as he kicked the Spiderian away.

"You need to stop this, right now! Destroying him in anger won't bring him back and neither did destroying the planet! We should have gone down that hole to look for the antivenin instead of blowing everything up!"

"Chysannas…destroyed by the Ultra Crystals? It cannot be!"

Arachno's mind whirled as it processed the new information received. Despite his banishment by the Elder all those centuries ago, it still considered the world its home and to hear of its destruction by the two Rangers in front of it was…heinous to its mind. Lunging at the Rangers responsible, it only managed a few steps before it became extremely hard to move. Looking down, it saw that its legs had been encased in a thick layer of ice that was preventing any movement from occurring. It only had one brief moment of confusion before a thick stream of brown energy slammed into its carapace.

"Idiotic monster; of course we were able to find the antivenin! I expected more from Uleb's only serial killer."

Rebecca nodded at both Weihan and Alex and channelled energy into the Spike Cannon. With the slightest of sounds, the Spike Cannon opened up to add two shorter barrels on either side of the main barrel. Shifting her weight slightly, she began charging the Spike Cannon up to initiate the finisher. She wasn't so sure she could handle the recoil by herself but she would try her damn best to do so.

"Target locked!"

Two hands on her shoulders made her start in surprise, but she allowed a grateful smile to spread across her face as Weihan and Alex braced her for the recoil. For him to allow her – still the newest member of the Ultra Rangers (not counting AJ's temporary stint a few days ago) – to finish a Ranger off showed that he placed great trust in her and for the first time, she saw the greater responsibility that he always would carry with him.

"Rising Strike – Fire!"

TBC…


	162. 161: Psycho Rumbling

Chapter One Sixty One: Psycho Rumblings

Xonix bellowed as he slammed his fist into the wall, causing Psychogre to start slightly.

Lustor and Arachno had been destroyed in rapid succession by the Ultra Rangers. The nymphomaniac shape shifter had been taken down by – of all things – a plan created by a throwaway Ranger that had only been granted powers because of the dire situation. The only good thing that had come out of that debacle had been the temporary takedown of the Orange and White Rangers while the Purple, Brown and Black/Green Rangers were recovering from the unblocking. The then-reformed Astronema had healed them nicely but the magic surge had given away her position on Earth…causing Dark Spectre to set into motion the chain of events that led to Astronema becoming nothing more than an attack dog for the lava-based monster.

Dark Spectre had revealed his own set of Psycho Rangers to the Astro Rangers. The six Rangers had almost beaten back the five copies – even without the Red Ranger using his new Battlizer Armour – until the new Ultra Psycho Orange had arrived onto the scene. The Orange Psycho had ripped through all six in the blink of an eye and allowed the original five Psycho Rangers to siphon the memories and fighting styles of the Astro Rangers into their system. A coded transmission from Ecliptor had revealed that the Grand Monarch was planning on starting the Countdown sooner than Zedd had told him; it would begin a few days after the destruction of the final Psycho Ranger. There were a whole lot of things that could go wrong with that plan…but he would bite his tongue and say nothing.

Arachno's plan was a somewhat feasible strategy and incorporated his venomous bite that was feared throughout the universe for its deadliness. The only aspect of the plan that had Xonix scream in shocked disbelief was that the Brown Psycho Ranger had actually told the Ultra Rangers where an antivenin could be found. He was sure that Arachno thought that they would spend the three hours wandering the surface and not bother looking underground…but something had happened on the planet. Xonix didn't know what, as a side effect of Chysannas' transformation was a thick shield around the planet that blocked scrying spells. Two teleportation signals had been detected leaving the planet but there was no knowing of whether they had succeeded in their quest or not. He was slightly shocked when the Brown Ranger had attacked Arachno and stated that the boy had died but he quickly caught onto the rather forced movements of her body and hoped the Spiderian would be able to see through her façade.

Seeing as Arachno's body was now scattered in the wind…he doubted that was the case. Removing his fist from the wall, he sat on his throne and took stock. Out of the seven Ultra Psycho Rangers he had started with, all but Premil and Psychogre had been destroyed…and Creeper had even slipped through the cracks to another dimension! Sending out the final two would be a bad move on his part until he had a viable plan that would allow him to dispatch the Rangers in one strike. Also, there was the small matter of the message Ecliptor had sent him and – if it was to be believed – the Pink Psycho Ranger had already been destroyed a few hours after the debut of the Psycho Rangers.

"My lord; Premil is thirsty for revenge. He wishes to go out now to destroy the Rangers."

Xonix snorted and shook his head. The mud monster would be literally shattered if he attacked now. There was a reason that most of the Ultra Psycho Rangers found ways to avoid having to battle twelve Rangers at once. The most Rangers any Ultra Psycho had fought against had to be Kryosis – against eleven Ultra Rangers and the Red Zeo Ranger – and the Freezard had done surprisingly well in incapacitating the majority of the offensive forces. With Premil's only strategy being to sink into the ground and attack from below being overruled by the Silver Ultra Ranger; the ground-based creature would have a damn hard time in concentrating his attacks on the Rangers. Standing up, he motioned for Psychogre to follow him.

Entering the lift that would take them to the sublevels, Xonix wondered exactly what the 'Countdown' would consist of. Zedd was still sequestered on Pluto and still churning out monsters for a supposed attack on the Vica Galaxy. Seeing as how the Vica Galaxy had practically no defences whatsoever; it would be a better strategy to invade with a rusty nail and rocks…rather than a massive army of monsters. He supposed his brother would be called upon to attack another galaxy soon after that victory and seriously hoped Dark Spectre didn't have it in his brain to go searching for the 'lost' galaxy. That certainly wouldn't end well, especially if Dark Spectre demanded his help. As the elevator slowed to a stop, he stepped out to look at the seven metallic hulks that were brightly lit.

"My Lord…what are these? I've never seen them in my life…"

Xonix nodded once at his servant and smiled. Casting an eye over the machines, he smirked in amusement as he saw that five of the formerly featureless machines had transformed into various animals and objects. These machines were the trump card of the Ultra Psycho Rangers; carefully crafted by the best scientists and metalworkers in the Universe and enchanted by himself and Master Vile. They had been started a few days after Psychogre had left to find the Ultra Psycho Rangers and had been completed after Lustor had been added. At first, the seven machines had greatly puzzled him as there were only six Psycho Gems…but after Premil had been found and added to the ranks it had made sense. Well, not all that much and the explanation would probably include time travel and paradoxes…but if it made sense at the end of the explanation then he didn't really care about the chaff.

"Psychogre, you and Premil are the last of the Ultra Psycho Rangers. Evil Rangers without equals in the Universe…and beaten because you weren't at your full potential. The only Ultra Psychos that grew after their Psycho Gems were destroyed were Kryosis and possibly Creeper. I was going to grant these to you after the first battle with the Ultra Rangers but Lustor was having fun with her…guests."

Psychogre nodded absently as he gazed upon the massive mechaniods in front of him. If he squinted just enough; he could have sworn they were…but that was impossible. The Psycho Gems were powerful but even sustaining the Psycho Armour almost took them to their limits…which was why they shattered when the armour reached a critical amount of damage. The addition of something else to the already fragile Gems would mean that they would lose the ability to morph for good. Admittedly, that wouldn't be a problem for him as he didn't really need the armour to deal damage but for a being like Premil…well, he would cross that bridge when it came to it. If they were what he thought they were, he wondered if they would combine together and, if they could, how the resulting form would look.

The Blue one was in the shape of a Mammoth while the Brown one looked like a giant spider. The Silver one lacked any appendages whatsoever and was in the shape of a long silver rocket…at least he hoped it was a rocket. The Green one was in the shape of a rather blocky lion while the Black one was in a strange shape of a winged unicorn with patches of light blue armour adorning its body, head and hooves. Only the Orange and Red tinged ones were roughly humanoid in shape and possessed no distinguishing features. He briefly wondered how they would be able to change shape when his Master spoke the words he was hoping to hear.

"After all, what is a Psycho Ranger without Psycho Zords?"

TBC…

AN: The shapes for the Zords mentioned are as follows: Blue – Mammoth; Silver - …What do you know that is long, silver and phallic?; Brown – Funnelweb Spider; Green – Lion Foldingzord; Black – Nightmare Moon.


	163. 162: Oversight

AN: 8 years ago; I began writing what I thought would be a 100 chapter story. And after a few breaks...it's passed 100 chapters a while ago. And on the 8 year anniversary, we _finally_ hit the halfway mark! Gonna be a wild ride until the final chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter One Sixty Two: Oversight

"I wish this moment could last forever."

The figure next to him giggled as he lay back and let the suns rays wash over his body. Two days had passed since the destruction of Arachno by the powered-up Spike Launcher and Sam Perry had made his recovery from the venom. The scars of the bite would always be with him but he had learned in a short period of time to wear them with pride as they showed the depth of love Rebecca had for him. On the slightly strange side, the school was only now starting to count the crimes committed by the various students during the Nekros lockdown. Twenty seven students were charged with sexual assault, rape and murder while three teachers were charged with statutory rape and sexual misconduct with students. There were no reports of unwanted pregnancies yet but Weihan wasn't about to rule those out just yet.

The two day break had also allowed him to…thank…AJ for stepping in as the White Ranger and he praised her for coming up with the plan to destroy Lustor for good. Internally, he questioned whether literally disarming the monster was needed but dismissed it as normal for a woman to feel pissed. The better thing to be thankful about was that neither Arachno nor Lustor had grown and menaced the city but maybe Xonix was reversing his stance on always making the monster grow after a defeat. What was more likely was that Xonix was gearing up for something massive on the horizon. Whatever that was; he had a strange feeling it would appear very soon.

On the Angel Grove side of things, it had just been a normal two days…not counting the destruction of the Blue Psycho Ranger by the Astro Rangers. Andros had agreed to call the Ultra Rangers if they really needed it but, so far, no call had come. Tommy had called the night before to send word that he had received some strange plans in the mail concerning…well, things that shouldn't really be sent via mail. A quick teleport to Angel Grove later and Weihan had confirmed that the plans were what he had seen in the archives on Eltare for the Megazord composed of the three Dinozords. There was still no Power Source available yet, but Tommy would be on the lookout for one whenever he started up with some company that had taken an interest in him. He would start working with Anton Mercer Industries in the next few months though that still left him time to get settled with his affairs.

With the Pan Global Games also months away, Kim was training hard as well. She had…recruited…Rocky and Adam to serve as incentive for the other girls to train hard – a fact that Weihan had spent a good twenty minutes laughing about. Kat had taken it in stride and made a point to visit her boyfriend at the Gymnastics Centre as often as her schedule would allow; often bringing Tanya to sit on the sidelines and watch the two Zeo Rangers squirm under the intensely lustful gazes of the female (and sometimes male) gymnasts. As Kat had dropped in on Kim while Weihan had been there, he took the opportunity to bring up something he had been mulling over for a while – the Zeo Crystal and the Zeo Zords.

Some time after Rocky's rather…loopy…call and after he had returned from Equestria, Dimitria had contacted him with a request that the Zeo Crystal, the Zeo Zords and the Super Zeo Zords be moved to the Ultra Cavern for storage or spare parts. Both sets of Zords had been in various states of disrepair but he had accepted the request in one of his 'brilliant' flashes of inspiration. Where the Red Battlezord was, Dimitria didn't seem to know…but he had a strange feeling it was stored deep within the Red Zeo Subcrystal. Both sets of Zords had literally fallen apart over the course of the nest few battles as the various acidic monster blasts and bloods had finally eaten away at their connectors and their Billy had given up on replacing them. Minor talks with the 'Core Five' Rangers had them generally agreeing that – even though they had access to them – they would not be using their Ultra Zeo Zords and thought it best to give them to the 'retired' Zeo Rangers.

Kat and Tommy had discussed the issue amongst themselves but had ultimately agreed to the Zord Transfer. They had called upon Rocky, Adam and Tanya and the Zord Transfer had gone off without a hitch. The Ultra Zeo Zords would be stored in the Ultra Cavern until they were needed by the Zeo Rangers. If they were really in a pinch, the 'Core Five' Ultra Rangers could use the Zeo Zords as well but that would only be plausible if they had used up every single option available to them…which probably would allow the destruction of the monster at least thirty times over. The Zeo Rangers hadn't really had the time to try out their Zords just yet but they had scheduled some time in the cockpits for a simulated test run.

"Now what are ya thinkin' about? Want little ol' AJ to help you feel more relaxed?"

"AJ, you're going to ruin me for anyone else if you keep this up."

Winking at his unintentional pun, the blonde slid her body over his and sunk into his chest with a contented sigh. He wrapped his arms around her and fell back into thought. There had been almost no communications from Equestria as Zedd was laying low and not attacking Canterlot, Ponyville or even Fillydelphia. Princess Celestia was using this time to better protect the cities from attack and was drawing up plans for more armoured monster shelters as well as a guard patrol along the border of the Everfree Forest. Billy had finally managed to alter the last of the security footage and had heavily encrypted the original footage to ensure the Princesses and Rangers wouldn't find out what really happened during the spell period. He grimaced lightly as he recalled what had happened with the other ponies that didn't have the same safety net; according to Fluttershy and Applejack most of them had been mentally traumatised by the stress and surprise of the spell lifting so abruptly.

There had been a few deaths as well due to ponies taking on…relations…with objects that weren't meant to be used in those ways. Applejack had said that the pony that was on the cactus was mostly in one piece and wasn't too badly shaken up by the experience. A few drownings had happened as well as some ponies had taken a liking to underwater sex…and promptly forgotten to come up for air. Billy had discreetly informed him that the Rangers and the Princesses wouldn't become pregnant as Weihan's Ultra Powers would have basically made him infertile for the duration of the campaign. He already knew that…but it was nice to have confirmation of his thoughts.

Thumps outside made him furrow his brow for a second before glancing at the clock on AJ's bedside table. There were no plans for any parades to occur on a Saturday afternoon as most people would be either in the shops or at the football match. The date for the Mardi Gras parade was in a few more months and the ANZAC parade had already come and gone…so those thumps were a mystery to him. What wasn't a mystery were the screams and shocked shouts that were just starting to register in his brain. AJ looked up questioningly at him as he untangled himself from her body and walked to the windows. Swallowing hard, he took hold of the drawstring on the blinds and steeled himself for anything.

"Jesus Christ on a pogo stick…"

TBC…


	164. 163: March of the Psychozords

AN: End line is slightly tweaked from Xonix's line all the way back in Chapter 25, while the chapter title is tweaked from Ch. 64. Enjoy!

Chapter One Sixty Three: March of the Psychozords

His eyes widened as his stomach dropped.

Seven brightly coloured machines were walking down York Street and firing indiscriminately into the buildings around them. Diving to the floor as a blue Mammoth stomped by, he grabbed his pants from the floor and summoned his communicator. The image of Nekros' destruction flared to the forefront of his mind as he recalled the strange light that he had dismissed as a trick of the light…now, he wasn't so sure if it had been a trick of the light. Throwing AJ a look to wordlessly ask her to get dressed, he shakily inhaled and forced himself to look out the window again. There was no doubt in his mind as to what those machines were and what their intentions were. The only semi-question that was forming in his mind was of the pilots; yet there was a strange feeling growing in his gut that the Ultra Psycho Rangers were piloting them.

"What's going on, Sugarcube?"

Forcing himself to calm down, he considered his options. He didn't know if his fleet of Zords would be enough to stop the machines that he was beginning to call the Psychozords. He had the advantage in numbers and power but he was sure the others would want to test their worth against real evil Zords. Eyes widening as a four-legged Raptor stalked past; he summoned his Ultra Crystal to him and looked at the scared blonde behind him. If the battle escalated as he thought it would, AJ staying in her apartment would be tantamount to suicide and, although he knew he would have to say goodbye to her someday, he didn't want her to leave him via a building collapse. Silently morphing, he closed his eyes as his communicator linked with the others and he spoke as loudly as he dared.

"Guys, the Ultra Psycho Rangers have summoned their Zords and they're attacking the CBD. Non-core members; help to evacuate those civilians at ground level and get them into the monster shelters; after that, summon your Dinozords and we will combine to formation Full Beta. Core Five, you're with me in Dinozords. Try to do as much damage to them as possible but be mindful of those below you."

As he heard the affirmations and grunts come over his helmet speakers, he turned to AJ and ran a red-streaked glove down her face. She wasn't as terrified as she would have been if she was a civilian…but there was extreme fear in her eyes. He knew it was for him and the rest of the Rangers and he was slightly amused that she held no fear for her own safety and vowed he would do all he could to return to her.

"AJ, I want you in the Ultra Cavern. Try to contact Tommy and the others and wait to send them on my signal. Make sure 'Fearless' doesn't do anything stupid."

As she nodded shakily, he smiled under his helmet as he ran an eye over her half-dressed form. Picking up her slightly crumpled skirt from the ground, he held it out to her and chuckled as she blushed a deep crimson and slid it over her naked bottom. Clearing his throat slightly, he closed his eyes and composed himself as he heard her teleport out and rolled his shoulders. Summoning his Raptor Sabre, he backed up a bit and paused to consider what he was about to do. Somehow, he figured that leaping out of the window on the twentieth floor was slightly less idiotic than holding a press conference with no warning. That thought being cemented in his mind, he ran towards the window and leapt out into the open air below.

"Dinozord Power!"

At his slightly panicked yell, a bright flare of light appeared beneath him and he fell into the seat of the Utahraptor Dinozord. After spending the briefest of moments in calming himself down; he slid his Sabre into the slot in front of him and smiled grimly as the Dinozord issued a challenge to the Psychozords. Moving the Zord away from the apartment building, he stepped out into York Street and surveyed the damage to the surrounding buildings. He could see burning scars that were belching flame and smoke as well as the still forms of people unlucky to have been caught in or near the blast. Holes had been ripped through a few of the office towers but it looked like there were very few injuries in the offices affected. His breath hitched slightly in his throat as the massive centre dome of the QVB collapsed inward, sending a fresh column of black smoke into the air as people streamed out of the half-destroyed structure.

The sight of the destruction made him sick to his stomach. It reminded him forcibly of the destroyed and devastated land of the future Earth and of the homes of the women that lived on the forsaken planet. Pressing the button for the flamethrower, he sent a stream of searing fire blasting towards the nearest Psychozord: the Black Zord that looked disturbingly similar to Nightmare Moon. As the fire impacted against the metallic shell of the Zord, he was aware of the Tyrannosaurus and Mammoth Dinozords taking up flanking positions around him. Stopping the stream of fire, he surveyed the damage with a growing feeling of uncertainty in his gut.

"You've gotta be kidding me…"

The flamethrower attack, which had managed to melt the armour off the Wolf Wraith all those months ago, had hardly made a dent in the metal. Indeed, there were some red areas that suggested that the metal had been heated up…but there was no catastrophic melting of the Black Psychozord. Weihan had only a moment to gawk at the lack of effect before a shadowy bolt from the tip of the alicorn's horn slammed into the chest of his Zord; sending him tumbling away. Jerking the Control Stick to the side; he just missed destroying AJ's apartment building by the barest of fractions. Flipping to its feet, Weihan drew a bead on the nearest Psychozord…but stopped as his brain registered the shape of the Zord he was targeting. He could hear and see the Mammoth and Tyrannosaurus Dinozord engage the Nightmare Moon Zord and the Blue Mammoth Zord but his attention was on the Psychozord in front of him and the realisation as to who – or what – was piloting it.

It was long and cylindrical and it had a slanting cap on the top. It was metallic silver with a corrugated black ring around its base. Although there were no markings of any kind on it, it was coated in a reflective silver paint that made it look like it was constantly vibrating. There was no doubt at all that Lustor was piloting the vibrator-themed Zord. There was also no doubt in his mind that it was one of the most disturbing things he had ever faced off against. Pushing his discomfort to one side, he pulled the trigger for the Laser Vulcans and heard twin turbines somewhere above him start spinning. After a delay of around two seconds, twin streams of superheated plasma shot out on either sides of the viewscreen and Weihan chuckled once as he saw the blasts impact against the rather disturbing Psychozord. Hearing the bolts impact against the armour of the Psychozord, he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding as he realised that the mirrored coating wouldn't reflect lasers the way that the Wraith had.

"Orange Ranger, face me!"

His fingers tightened around the Control Stick as the voice reverberated through the air. He could feel the Utahraptor Dinozord tense up as it readied itself for a fight and soothed it as best as he could while steeling his own body. Turning around as the Silver Psychozord flew away to engage Heather's Pteranodon Dinozord, he saw his opponent – the four-legged Velociraptor Psychozord of Psychogre. Snarling at the brown and yellow striped machine, Weihan readied the Dinozord's claws for battle as Psychogre spoke again.

"Do you like our new battle machines? These were created by the best minds in the Universe and they are one-of-a-kind as we killed the creators. These machines capture our essence upon our destruction and use it as a template to shape into a form that best suits our personalities and – in some cases – the last image we saw."

"So you're dead then? Pity, as I would have loved to destroy you myself."

Psychogre chuckled as Weihan saw the quadruped Velociraptor ready its own claws. Tapping a few keys, he brought up a set of screens that allowed him to see how the other Rangers were progressing. He could see that the Rangers that were helping to evacuate the civilians still in the buildings were battling a small amount of Golems; while the Core Five were barely holding their own against the Psychozords. A flash of silver and white caught his attention as he realised that someone had asked Rachelle to summon Titanus on remote. The Carrierzord looked the same as it had in its final appearance in Angel Grove but was more armoured and – judging by the arcs of lightning blasting out of it – better armed as well. An explosion in front of him made his eyes snap to the slightly steaming maw of Psychogre's Zord.

"Keep your eyes on me, Ranger. I want to be able to kill you face to face!"

Blasting back a charged fireball of his own, Weihan grinned as it impacted against one of the Psychozord's legs; melting it into a pool of molten metal. He grinned at the small victory and prepared to attack. Pushing the Control Stick forward, the mighty Dinozord began to run toward the three-legged Psychozord with its claws outstretched. At the last possible second, he yanked the Control Stick towards him and launched the Dinozord up into the air. Very glad that he hadn't allowed any food play in his…session with AJ, he keyed in the command for a very special attack to initiate. From the way the Velociraptor Psychozord positioned itself; Weihan had an inkling the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger had studied the previous Zord battles and had an idea as to what was coming next.

"Fire Cataclysm!"

He wished he could see the look on the Ultra Psycho's face as the tail of the Utahraptor changed to the Chain Whip configuration that was more commonly used in conjunction with the Raptor Warriorzord form. Fire surged out of the gaps in the tail and coated the weapon in searing energy and crackling bolts of power. The attack struck the back of the Psychozord moments later and Weihan winced under his helmet as he heard the high-pitched screech of rending metal and breaking armour. Diagnostic graphs and images allowed him to confirm that there was no damage to the Utahraptor's tail and the mechanisms that allowed it to separate into the Chain Whip. As the smoke cleared, he could easily see the other Rangers beat back the Golems and summon their Dinozords – once evacuating the remaining civilians.

Detaching from their battles, the eleven other Dinozords and Titanus lined up behind the Utahraptor to face the seven Psychozords. The damage on the Velociraptor Psychozord made all the Rangers cringe as the head, neck and the ridge of its spine had almost been cleaved clean through…but Psychogre was still able to move the heavily damaged Psychozord. The Orange Psycho Ranger's voice echoed through the cityscape; sending chills down Weihan's spine.

"Now, Rangers…your battle truly begins!"

TBC…


	165. 164: Sidelined

Chapter One Sixty Four: Sidelined

**Location: Ultra Cavern**

"Now, Rangers…your battle truly begins!"

AJ pulled her shirt around her body tighter as the Zeo Rangers gaped at the images on the screen in front of them. AJ had called them as soon as she had materialised in the Ultra Cavern and the first one on the scene had been Tommy. He had brought Kim along with him and the Pink Ninjetti Ranger had brought some degree of comfort to the blonde woman while the Red Zeo Ranger had begun checking the power levels on the Ultra Zeo Zords while the others teleported in. Tanya had sent her apologies with Adam as she was in a meeting with a record producer and couldn't really slip away. AJ had understood and privately wished the Yellow Zeo Ranger luck with her meeting.

"So…now what? Are they gonna have a staring contest of something?"

AJ rolled her eyes at Rocky's attempt at levity and reflected on the images she had seen so far. Although she had wielded the powers of the White Ranger a few days prior, the battle hadn't resulted in a growing monster and she had yet to test her skills in Zord piloting. On the other hand, morphing with the Power Coin had left her unbearably horny for a few days…but she had managed to keep a lid on it until Weihan was fully ready. Suppressing the sly smile that threatened to break out on her face, she looked at the screen in front of her and zeroed in on the bright Orange Dinozord that contained her lover. The air was heavy with tension and she was sure that whatever move was made next would mean the beginning of the end for one side.

It came sooner than she expected. Like a bolt out of a cloudless sky, a purple and blue beam blasted out from the Black Psychozord's horn and impacted against the Utahraptor Dinozord. As the Zord tumbled back; the Ultra Rangers rushed forward – weapons ablaze. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw the Carnotaurus and Ankylosaurus Dinozords take on the phallic Silver Psychozord and she thought she could feel the ground shake as the Allosaurus and Mammoth Zords went head to head with the Blue Mammoth Psychozord. Electronic squeals made everyone in the Cavern wince as the Utahraptor leapt at the tri-legged Velociraptor Psychozord and landed on its back. Lifting its head in victory, it ducked its head and ripped out a chunk of robotic mechanisms from its back as Weihan yelled in bloodthirsty delight.

"I'm going to rip your Zord apart before you can hurt anyone else!"

"What the hell? One of the Psychozords is a goddamn rock!"

Blinking at Adam's outburst, she tore her eyes away from Weihan's one-sided battle before giggling at the rather obscure sight on the screen the Green Ranger was looking at. True to his words, the Red Psychozord appeared to be nothing more than an oversized metallic rock…which was currently being idly kicked around by the Smilodon and Triceratops Dinozords. The fact that it didn't seem to have any weapons whatsoever only served to add to the rather strange image of 'Zord Pong'. Despite the fierce battles around the trio, they didn't seem like they would stop anytime soon. Leaning in front of Adam, AJ hit a few keys on the console to start recording the rather strange sight.

"Orange Ranger! _DIE_!"

**Location: Sydney CBD**

The Utahraptor Zord leapt up just in time to avoid a fiery blast of plasma that had erupted from the gaping wound on the Psychozord. Weihan jerked the Control Stick to the left and flipped in the air just in time to avoid a barrage of lasers from the devastated Zord. Awkwardly landing on the ground, he cursed as he accidentally backed straight into the AMP skyscraper that had, until now, managed to remain undamaged. Checking the diagnostic reports to ensure none of the mechanisms in the tail were damaged, he cursed when he saw that two joints had been bent out of shape by the rough impact against the building. While two joints wouldn't have seemed like a great deal, he needed those joints to be in full working condition for his second trump card.

Ripping the tail out of the building, he thought fast while blasting a stream of fire at Psychogre. He needed to wait for the best moment to combine to Full Beta. The addition of the Dragonzord and Titanus meant that the theoretical Full Alpha Bipedal could be formed as well but there were extreme risks to doing so. He would hold off on allowing the Core Five with Sarah P to form the Full Alpha Bipedal until all the bugs had been completely ironed out. Rolling his eyes as the Red Psychozord went sailing overhead; he added a red mark against Aimee's name – signalling a point had been scored for her. A painful sounding crunch later made him add an additional three points to her score as the Brown Psychozord bad been pretty much crushed upon impact.

"Aimee, that's four points for you. Linda is on three."

Chuckling at Tommy's rather deadpan voice, Weihan surveyed the battlefield. Buildings were crumbling all around them and multiple fires had broken out. The only buildings in the immediate vicinity that hadn't been damaged in some way were AJ's apartment complex…and rather ironically; St Andrew's House. Firing off an energy wave at Psychogre's Psychozord, he keyed the Zord to Zord communication system.

"This is getting us nowhere fast. We need to hit them where it hurts."

"I concur with that statement, Orange Ranger."

His blood froze in his veins as the growling voice made all combatants pause. From the security of his Zord, Weihan scanned the rooftops of the buildings around them in an effort to see…him. The being he had not seen since his first appearance in the dead of night but had been an ever-present threat ever since. The Orange Ranger saw him on the top of the Commonwealth Bank building; still dressed in his Battle Armour from that day and holding the sword he swore had been used by Apollonia. Upon reflection, he would have kicked himself for his next decision as it was clearly a trap or an opportunity for the Leader of the Ultra Rangers to leave the battle.

"When I leave, go immediately to Alpha and Beta formations. I will deal with him and form Full Beta. We'll crush them in one swift motion."

Not even bothering to hear the replies, he parked the Utahraptor near the sidelines, retrieved his Raptor Sabre from the slot and leapt out of the cockpit. Smoky air filled his lungs and he activated the air recyclers to knock out the most of it. Jumping to the roof of the building, he held his Sabre in a ready stance and spat out the name of his opponent.

"_Jabarkas_…"

TBC…

AN: Battle 2 with Jabarkas…


	166. 165: Psycho Megazord

AN: Exactly what it says on the tin, folks. And a bit of a surprise at the end…

Chapter One Sixty Five: Psycho Megazord

It was almost like fighting a continuation of the previous battle.

Every jab, slice or slash was perfectly countered by the Hurantic warrior and Weihan found himself on the back foot more often than not. Even attempting to change modes on his Sabre only gave him the advantage for mere moments before he was forced to change the weapon back. More worryingly, the Orange Ranger could see Jabarkas' double-edged broadsword slung behind him; yet the skilled battler chose not to use it. Slashing his Sabre up in another desperate move, he managed to produce a shower of sparks as the blade skimmed across his breastplate. Behind him, he could hear the ear-splitting sounds of battle between the Ultra Dinozords and the Psychozords and it sounded like the Ultra Rangers were slowly gaining the upper hand.

"Ranger, you are delusional if you think this battle will end the way our one did. I have studied your attacks since then and there is nothing you can do to surprise me! However, I can do something that will surprise you!"

Breaking off from the attack, Weihan watched as the Huran brought out a communication device of some sort and raised it to his mouth. Lips pulling back into an impossibly wide rictus grin, Jabarkas spoke three words that changed the course of the battle completely.

"Psychogre. Combine _now_."

Spinning around in horror, Weihan was just in time to see the seven Psychozords break off their attack and stand in a straight line. Electricity crackled through the air as they readied themselves for the inevitable combination. He clenched his teeth together as a gale force wind began to whip the remaining smoke around the seven Zords in a sort of protective shield of sorts. The Black Nightmare Moon Zord rose up onto its hind legs and folded its front legs into its body before its head and mane slid down to form a belt of sorts, while the remaining bulk broke apart and slid into various compartments to form 'muscles' of sorts. The rear hooves split in half and formed a slight depression in the centre where it seemed something would be able to slot in. Throughout the horror that was dawning upon him on seeing the Nightmare Moon Zord transform; he felt a twinge of amusement run through him as he noticed that the horn on the head hadn't retracted in any way. The resulting image made him roll his eyes and wonder if one of the Ultra Psycho Rangers had planned it that way.

"Rangers, don't gawk at the transformation! Dragon Alpha and Dino Beta Megazords with Titanus and Raptor on standby!

Delayed affirmatives followed his command but he couldn't blame them as the blocky green Psychozord transformed next. Whatever animal it was shaped like, he had no damn idea but it looked like some sort of turtle/lion hybrid that had somehow been transformed into a pentagonal prism. Its front and back legs folded into its body and its entire hindquarters swung down to form some sort of body structure while panels on the top of the pentagon slid back to reveal the symbol of the Ultra Psycho Rangers. With a crack of thunder, the pentagonal…structure connected with the belt and he could hear the connections form. A sound behind his head made him duck just in time to see Jabarkas' blade slash through the air above his head.

"No distractions, Ranger!"

Bringing his Sabre up in defence, he kept an eye on the transforming Psychozords. To his eyes, their transformation seemed to be slower than the ones of the Power and Ultra Rangers but he rationalised it as the Ultra Psycho Rangers not having a direct connection to either the Morphin or Ultra Grids. The Blue Mammoth transformed next and the transformation was eerily similar of the old Mastodon Dinozord and Alex's Mammoth Dinozord…which was transforming at exactly the same time. Flipping away from a spray of lasers that had been shot from the supposed hand-me-down blade, Weihan retaliated with a fireball of his own as the transformation began.

The Blue Mammoth head split down the middle and attached to the 'shoulders' of the transforming arms – forming wickedly spiked shoulder pads. Strangely, there were no fists that swung out from the arms of the Mammoth and Weihan wondered if the combination of the Psychozords would be able to use the Silver Zord in battle…without being too disturbing. An awkward clanging of connecting metal later and the arms had attached at an angle behind the pentagonal plane. Gears ground together to produce a high pitched whine and the pentagon locked into an upright position. Locking his Sabre with Jabarkas' blade, the Orange Ranger channelled fire energy into his weapon as he tried to force the alien warrior into defeat. Out of the corner of his eye, he shuddered as the Brown Psychozord floated into the air and begun transforming.

Although he had gotten over the majority of his arachnophobia, he had avoided looking at the Brown Psychozord for too long as staring at a giant brown Funnelweb Spider gave him the creeps. He knew he would have to get over the remainder of his fear whenever he got around to using his Galaxy Powers as his 'Galactazord' was a Funnelweb Spider as well. On the other hand, a bright orange spider was a lot less realistic than a dark brown one…but that was slightly beside the point. Both sets of legs detached from the main body and slightly enlarged to form four-fingered hands that connected to the ends of the Mammoth's arms. How it would be able to grip anything without opposable thumbs was anyone's guess and he wasn't so sure he wanted to find out. Separating from each other, the head and thorax slid into the depressions on the feet and locked into place.

"Raptor Cannon!"

Summoning the blaster weapon, he fired a few shots as the slightly dented rock-like Zord hovered up…and plonked itself on top of the pentagonal prism without changing its appearance. Breaking off from their battle, Weihan and Jabarkas stared in disbelief at the strangely surreal sight of a dented red rock on top of an otherwise fearsome looking combination. The fact that the 'connection' of the Psychozord coincided with the slotting and connection of the final components of both Ultra Dino Megazords made the absurd sight rather…punctuated. Knowing that the weapons of the Megazords were powerful enough to break through the smoky shield surrounding the pseudo-Megazord, Weihan brought up his communicator to his mouth.

"Rangers, lock on and fire! Take out the zord before it…"

His sentence trailed off as he saw its breastplate glow slightly. Eyes widening, he opened his mouth to shout a warning when two blades crashed down onto his shoulders, knocking him to the ground in pain. Rolling on the ground, he fired wildly at Jabarkas and blinked in disbelief as every single shot was blocked in some way. He felt a flash on intense heat over his body as a rippling beam of energy lanced out – narrowly missing the Utahraptor Dinozord – and struck the two completed Dino Megazords head on. He heard the panicked shouts of his friends as they struggled to cope with the massive damages resulting from the heat attack and, in his confusion and anger, he missed the connection of the Velociraptor Psychozord…but saw the armour it produced.

The featureless head was now covered by a helmet that looked like the Psycho Rangers' helmets, while the upper arms and upper legs were protected by what had been the legs of the Zord…although its left arm was unprotected. Another surge of heat later left the two combatants temporarily stunned as the resulting energy barrage knocked both Megazords off their feet and sent them crashing to the ground below. Recovering first, Weihan charged up his Raptor Cannon and fired the charged shot at Jabarkas; engulfing the warrior in a maelstrom of blazing energy. Not bothering to see if his attack had any effect, he leapt up into his Utahraptor and readied himself for a retaliatory strike. From the Psycho Megazord in front of him came the slightly mocking voice of Psychogre.

"Little Ranger…all alone. What can you do that your friends couldn't?"

Weihan swallowed hard and gripped the Control Stick with both hands. His mind formed a plan that could work in theory…but there was only one way to find out. Force-teleporting both Megazords back to the Ultra Cavern for repairs; he relaxed his mind and let the new information flow in. Nodding at how well the pieces seemed to fit together, the Orange Ranger initiated his strategy.

"_**Mega Raptorzord**_!"

TBC…


	167. 166: Power of the Megazords

AN: Swan song of most of the Ultra Psycho Rangers. Next chapter; we hit the long-time coming event of the story…the Countdown.

Chapter One Sixty Six: Power of the Megazords

**Location: Ultra Cavern**

"What do you mean five months?"

Eliza held up her had to stem the stream of complaints as she looked over the data streaming on the screen in front of her. Nodding once at AJ, who was transfixed with the image of the Utahraptor Dinozord seemingly standing still, she returned her gaze on the livid Silver Ranger and opened her mouth to reply.

"_Mega Raptorzord_!"

Blinking at the command that had been issued by her leader, Eliza whirled around just in time to see the Crocodile Ninjazord and the Hydra Thunderzord vanish from their Holding Bays. Racing to the screen AJ was in front of, she watching in stunned amazement as the trio of Zords underwent a stunning transformation. The Utahraptor Dinozord morphed into its Warrior mode but pulled its legs and feet into its body. Panels on the helmet slid apart to reveal a set of connectors and sockets and she wondered what crazy helmet attachment would lock on.

"Eliza, get the Zeo Rangers to morph and send out the Zeo Megazord. Even with the new combo, I think I'll need another set of hands."

Nodding at Weihan's voice, she turned around to inform Tommy but he held up his hand and nodded once to his team. As they prepared to morph, the Purple Ranger looked back to the transforming and combining Zords. The Hydra Thunderzord's necks, heads, tails and 'arms' detached from its main body and as it split open down the middle; revealing what appeared to be an empty space that wrapped around the Raptor Warriorzord to form an armoured vest and cloak. As the Warriorzord stuck both its arms through the open spaces where the side necks used to be, they were covered by said necks to form arms with the eerie skull-like heads for fists. As the head of the Raptor Warriorzord ascended from its body, the remaining head, now detached from its neck, enveloped the head to form a rather macabre helmet. Aimee stepped up beside her and tapped her on the shoulder lightly.

"I'll be going with the Zeo Rangers in the Zeo Megazord. They need all five Rangers for optimum power."

Nodding at the Yellow Ranger, Eliza acknowledged the idea as the final components in the Mega Raptorzord transformed. The Crocodile Ninjazord split in half at its 'waist' and transformed into two sturdy legs and feet. As they neared the joining point on the bottom of the Mega Raptorzord, the 'arms' of the Hydrazord encircled the waist and locked its claws together – forming a belt of sorts. The detached necks combined with the tails to produce what appeared to be either short staves, spears or lances. Personally, Eliza thought of them as looking extremely similar to Astronema's Wrath Staff but she wouldn't really tell that to Weihan. She was sure he knew of their similarity already. As the legs connected, there was a great crash of thunder as the completed Mega Raptorzord tested its joints for the first time.

"Mega Raptorzord; transformation complete."

**Location: Sydney CBD**

It was rather interesting how much he had moved.

He was extremely sure that he had started the transformation sequence somewhere near the QVB but now he was staring at the ferry wharves of Circular Quay and he was hoping that he didn't accidentally dent the Customs House Heritage building that was nearby. On the other hoof, he didn't crash through or destroy AJ's apartment building either but he had been making an effort to not let anything damage it. Of course that had the unintended side-effect of everything around the apartment being damaged in some way…ah well; it was the thought that counted the most. Hearing metallic footsteps, he looked up just in time to see a segmented fist flying toward him. Jamming his feet down on the pedals below; the Raptorzord slid back from the blow and he rapidly keyed in a set of commands into the keypad. The Control Stick descended into the floor and was replaced by two joystick-like controls for the arms. Taking hold of the controls, he tested them for sensitivity, resulting in a fairly powerful blow that dented the Psycho Megazord's chestplate. As it reeled back, he moved one of the pedals forward – executing a kick with the Crocodile head-foot that toppled the evil Megazord. He frowned under his helmet; something was up with the Psychozords.

As the evil Megazord struggled to right itself, he wondered why he was having better luck at battling the combination zord than the others. He knew that his Ultra Crystal was much stronger than the others were but when the other Dinozords were combined into the Megazord formations; they were almost as strong as his Zord. The armour should have withstood the fire blast or the shields should have protected them. As he was _still_ waiting for the Psycho Megazord to recover from his attack, he tapped a few keys and brought up the diagnostic scans of the two Megazords and the real-time scans of the Psycho Megazord.

Ah, so _that_ was what had happened. The massive heat discharge had been extremely similar to the attack he had used to destroy the first Orange Psycho Ranger…right down to the draining of almost all energy stored within the individual Zords. A glint of silver made him look up to see that the Megazord was holding the…Vibratorzord…in its right hand and looked like it was going to use it as a rocket of sorts. A quick check of its energy readings showed him that it was still at dangerously low levels and the massive shields that had protected it from harm during its transformation sequence were now no more protection than wet tissue paper.

Moving the controls in an intuitive pattern, he shot two long tongues of searing flame at the disturbing weapon. As the fire splashed across the surface of the Zord, an inhuman wail of surprise and pain issued from the Zord. Applying more power to the flames, Weihan chuckled under his breath as the fire punched through the thin layers of armour and set off a chain reaction of explosions within the body of the Zord. Above the screams and screeches, he keyed the external speakers and issued his version of the Last Rites to Lustor.

"Burn in Hell you psychotic bitch!"

Pushing both controls forward, the Mega Raptorzord's streams of fire 'solidified' into energy blades to skewered the robotic vibrator that held Lustor's consciousness as the Silver Ultra Psycho Ranger screamed in pain. Leaping forward, the blades of fire sliced toward each other and sliced the Silver Psychozord into three pieces. Flipping away as the Psycho Megazord dropped its useless weapon, he waited for the final end of Lustor.

He didn't have to wait long.

A few seconds of burning later and the remains of the Vibratorzord exploded into a massive fireball that shredded the nearby skyscrapers and even managed to knock one of the antennae off Centrepoint Tower. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction and shock of the Psycho Megazord, Weihan slashed out again with one of the fire blades and carved a long gouge across the breastplate of the Megazord. Stepping back, he readied his blades for another strike when the silver and gold Zeo Megazord Sabre crashed down onto the back of the Psycho Megazord. The evil Zord crashed to the street below as the Ultra Zeo Megazord stepped over the downed robot. As they waited for the Psycho Megazord to get to its feet, Weihan idly flicked over the diagnostic scans of the Ultra Dino Megazords and his eyes widened in shock.

According to the reports; the Dinozords would be out of commission for no less than five months. The ZARS would be working on extreme overtime to even comply with that timeframe and wouldn't have any time to deal with any damages to the other Zords that occurred. The armour needed a complete overhaul as did the cooling systems, reactor armour, connection joints and everything that hadn't broken or melted in some way, shape or form. Although having the Dinozords out of commission would be a small drop in the bucket, Weihan had a feeling that something massive was on the horizon and coming closer with every passing second. Whatever it was, he had no idea…but he knew that it would make the two previous 'invasions' of Sydney look like minor skirmishes.

"Weihan, I think we need to end this before any more property is destroyed. Insurance premiums are going to go through the roof after this…"

Nodding at Rocky's statement, he keyed in another set of commands. Instantly, the fire blades retracted back into the heads of the Hydrazord and they dropped to the weapons hanging from the belt of the Mega Raptorzord. Unhooking them, the massive Zord brought them up and, with a flick of his wrist, they transformed into their Battle Modes. Fire-like blades protruded out of the sides and – thankfully – covered up the Wrath Staff-like blades. Crossing both staves, the Raptorzord lifted them over its head as bolts of power infused the blades with pure Ultra Grid energy. A steady flash next to him confirmed that Tommy had begun charging up the Ultra Zeo Sabre and was readying it for the final blow. Upon reflection, the next attack would have seemed like overkill but he would justify it as ensuring that none of the previously destroyed Ultra Psycho Rangers would come back from the dead and haunt them.

Lowering the still-crossed staves, the mighty Zord brought them close to its chest before thrusting them out and firing a thick beam of pure Ultra Grid energy at the hapless Psycho Megazord. In a strange mirror of its own attack, the energy lanced through the armour plating of the Psycho Megazord and fried all of its circuits instantaneously. The Zords that held the spirits of Arachno and Creeper exploded and released them with an electronic wail of regret and lamentation. Before the remaining Zords could turn and flee, the energized blade of the Ultra Zeo Sabre crashed down onto its head. The radar picked up on two escaping teleportation signatures but Weihan paid them no mind as they would be killed soon enough. The Psycho Megazord slumped down and vanished within a massive fireball that obliterated everything around it and left a massive mushroom cloud hanging over the city. Slumping in his seat, Weihan breathed a sigh of relief when something caught his eye…and he began chuckling.

Customs House had been completely untouched.

TBC…


	168. 167: Countdown Commences

AN: Short chapter to set up the Countdown.

Chapter One Sixty Seven: Countdown Commences

So…the day was finally upon them.

Turning away from the message on the screen, Xonix sighed heavily. The loss of the Psycho Megazord still weighed heavily on his mind as he had been the one to issue the command for the 'Fire Beam' to be used. That one decision had cost the Ultra Psycho Rangers the fight and their Megazord. Psychogre and Premil hadn't really blamed him for his decision but there was growing resentment in their eyes whenever they looked at him. On the other hand, Jabarkas had finally recovered from the final attack of the Orange Ultra Ranger and had grudgingly conceded his second defeat.

Two weeks later and Dark Spectre's Psycho Rangers had finally fallen. All five had been resurrected by some unknown means and had plagued the Rangers…before bumbling into some local lunatic's data card creation device. The rather anti-climatic end to his Psycho Rangers had visibly stumped the Grand Monarch of Evil and it seemed that even the brainwashed Astronema couldn't snap him out of the funk. A few misguided attacks later had seen the Astro Rangers emerge victorious every time and Dark Spectre had finally given the confirmation order to begin the Countdown to Destruction. What would actually be destroyed was anyone's guess and Xonix had a strange feeling the Grand Monarch of Evil would not be alive to see his dream fulfilled.

This was because of Darkonda. The Demonian had quickly risen through the ranks of Astronema's army but had eaten up many of his remaining lives in the process. Word on the grapevine was he was on his last life and was planning something big. Whatever it was, he had no idea but had his curiosity piqued by the news that the Universe's only Super-Torpedo would be delivered to the Dark Fortress sometime within the hour. It was a relatively small device…but packed enough raw energy to destroy a planet outright and seeing as Dark Spectre was pretty much the size of a planet…

He dropped that train of thought with a shake of his head. It wasn't really his problem if Dark Spectre died from the Super-Torpedo or if he slipped down the stairs as Astronema would be the next in line for the 'throne'. Walking out of his Throne Room, he checked the power levels on the shields one last time. There was something about what his brother had said that was irritating him. A few days ago, he had called in a slight panic with more information he had dug up that pointed to his non-existence after the Countdown. Xonix hadn't looked at the information but had spent the entire duration of the call soothing Zedd's fears. There was no way it would happen anyway as the only source of Good-aligned power that could feasibly purify a being as evil as his brother wasn't likely to give up his life that easily. Still, there was another thing that had been bothering him of late.

He was getting strange mixed signals whenever he reached out with his senses to try and sooth his brother. For some odd reason, he had almost always been diverted to a small run-down 'magic' shop in the town of Briarwood. The owner of the shop had produced familiar echoes of his brother for reasons that were, as yet, unclear to him – as had been the heavy decayed Chronoton particles and the extremely high-level magic shielding. There was something strange about the owner but he would wait until after the coming battle to look into it.

"Master; what now? Dark Spectre will invade Angel Grove and he will send a small force to the city below. Should we help him?"

Turning to the speaker, he shook his head once. He could only imagine what idiotic force had possessed Dark Spectre to attack his turf but he would let it slip for now. He would attack the slowly rebuilding town below with all his force and energy. The Ultra Rangers would be caught unawares and wouldn't call for help as the Zeo Rangers would be needed to defend Angel Grove. Stepping onto the small raised platform that overlooked his army, he marvelled that the rather hasty construction had been pulled off admirably. Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth and spoke.

"The hour of destruction is upon us. The Grand Monarch of Evil is beginning his Universe-wide assault on all forces of resistance; this includes any and all Power Ranger teams. Our contribution to this task is to ensure that the Ultra Rangers do not leave their city in any way, shape or form. We have been waiting for this moment for centuries and it is time to snuff out the Light in the Universe for good!

The Rangers will try to stop us. Do not falter in your stance and stand your ground firmly! Once they are dead, we will overthrow Dark Spectre and rule the Universe with our iron fists! We will win this day!"

Stepping down amidst the sea of cheers and yells, he looked at his remaining two Ultra Psycho Rangers. He had a strange feeling Psychogre wouldn't be coming back but he was all right with that as the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger had been given a special mission by Jabarkas and had been told to leave as soon as he could.

"It is time."

TBC…


	169. 168: So It Begins

Note: The Astro Rangers still have the Delta Megazord, Mega Winger and Mega Voyager. They won't be destroyed…yet.

AN: Call forward to TW Rangers…and the Countdown Battle begins.

Chapter One Sixty Eight: So It Begins

"I just don't know what to do!"

Weihan rolled his eyes as he looked at the young man next to him. Calling him in the early hours of the morning, Jason had teleported to the Ultra Cavern with a rather small problem…and yet had spent the last two hours agonising over every single bit of it in excruciating detail. Glancing quickly at his watch, he sighed to himself as he realised it was probably too late to rock up to school and settled back as the on-and-off Red Ranger launched into a tirade once more.

"I mean, I get that she wants to have kids; but we're just too young to even consider them! Emily's even picked out a name for the supposed kid and presented it to me last night with her 'married' name: Simon Scott-Carville. Married name…I haven't even thought about that yet! I'm barely into my first year of Business Management in college and already she wants a ring on her finger! What do you think, Weihan?"

"Simon Scott-Carville…sounds like a good name for a Yellow Ranger."

Blinking at the random comment that had slipped out of his mouth; the Orange Ranger stifled an embarrassed laugh and looked at the Red Ranger. Rolling his eyes, the Red Morphin Ranger playfully smacked his shoulder and let out a mock wail of despair. Shaking his head at the over-acting Ranger, Weihan's mind thought back to the event that had happened directly after the destruction of the Psycho Megazord. Knowing that there would be a damn lot of outrage over the buildings that had been destroyed in the attack, Weihan had done what he did best and called an impromptu press conference on the steps of Town Hall. Wary of yet another attack; he had the four Zeo Rangers on security detail…although he was sure that Rocky had fallen asleep during the opening speeches.

York Street and most of Circular Quay were lost causes. There were a few buildings that were still useable as offices but something had to be done about the gaping holes in their structures. The Rangers had committed a lot of their time and effort into repairing what could be repaired and designing stronger buildings. Sydney City Council had taken their ideas and designs into consideration but their inexperience with building design had been the butt of a few jokes. The other question that had plagued late-night talk shows of why Channel Seven's field reporter Jacqui Apple had been immune to the plague spores had been answered in an evasive sort of way that relied on the knowledge that the Orange Ranger could heal people using his powers…followed up with some techno-babble that explained (in a rather complicated way) that sometimes the Ultra Power could slip into the healing and enhance a normal person's immune system and supercharge their healing ability.

Of course, that didn't stop a few tabloid magazines from printing the story that Miss Apple was really the secret lover of the Orange Ranger and knew his identity…which was the truth but as no one really read those trashy magazines anyway, AJ wasn't losing any sleep over it. In fact, the only time she ever lost sleep was when he was over and she was thanking him for not allowing her apartment building to be damaged or destroyed. They really had broken the bed then but hadn't noticed it until morning. They had also discovered that there was a dent in the wall from the headboard banging into it but with a bit of shielding magic, Weihan had patched it up in no time. As for the question of why a giant robot with evil intent had been allowed to come into the city and destroy buildings; Alex had replied in an honest – but extremely sarcastic – way.

"Oh, so you want to be protected but you don't want property damage? Until Frank Sartor creates an abandoned warehouse district in Sydney, there'll be a lot more destroyed buildings. Who knows? Maybe one of them will be your house."

Although there had been a great outcry then and there; Frank Sartor was being pressured by various lobbyist groups to create a designated area for Zord battles in an attempt to avoid future property destruction. John Howard had also pledged his support in the creation of Zord Areas in all major cities on the off-chance that the Rangers would move away from Sydney. The designs of the Monster Shelters were also being reworked to include stronger armour plating and automatic turret systems from Project TVenture that were provided to them by Billy. The Council Member that had decreed that the shelters not open on weekends had been unceremoniously fired from his position and the Monster Shelters were now to be open at all times. He was sure the police would be using them as well.

Leaning against the claws of the Crocodile Ninjazord, Weihan looked at Jason again and chuckled. The Red Ranger also had his Power Coin recharged as it had been running out of energy. He had asked why Jason felt the need to morph so much over the past few weeks but had been given an answer he thought was extremely slippery. Well, he would let Jason have his secrets as they weren't hurting anyone but if they did…well, he would have to introduce the Red Morphin Ranger to a certain pink pony. A few minutes in Pinkie's presence and any sane person would be climbing the walls in no time. Well…only if said person wasn't under a spell that controlled their body.

Internally sighing at that thought; he counted himself as lucky that there hadn't been much contact with Equestria as he wouldn't have had time to deal with another breakdown of Twilight's. Still, he had a nagging feeling something large was just around the corner for both dimensions and he wanted to keep his wits about him. As if reading his thoughts, the Dimensional Doorway Communicator crackled to life and Billy's voice spilled forth. For some reason, it sounded like the Blue Ranger was extremely out of breath or was in a battle of some kind…but that was impossible.

"Weihan! Big trouble over here! Don't come through! Don't let it get –"

The transmission cut off mid-sentence and Weihan felt his gut clench up. For Billy to sound flustered and frazzled like that had to mean that Zedd had somehow managed to infiltrate the Command Tower or that one of the Rangers was near death…he didn't want to think about the latter scenario. Racing to the controls of the Dimensional Doorway, he tried to establish a connection but kept receiving a blank or busy signal. Swallowing hard, he turned to look at the Red Morphin Ranger and tried to control his panic. Jason had been briefed about Equestria and the Rangers that lived there and thought it all was a bit absurd that Weihan would care about them so much…yet hearing the voice of a seemingly older Billy in trouble made him want to leap into the other dimension to help his 'bro'.

"Dammit! Work Goddamn you!"

Balling up his fists, the Orange Ranger punched the Communications Console…and amazingly, a flickering picture began to form. His eyes widened as he saw the damage that had been done to the Command Tower and his breath hitched in his throat as he spied the unmoving form of Billy being protected by the two Princesses. The sound was extremely choppy and faded in and out but the words were unmistakable.

"Sealed me away…thought…rid of me…am back! Celestia…feel my wrath!"

The image burst into static as the signal was lost. Dropping to his knees in despair, Weihan attempted to think through their problem rationally. As their Dimensional Doorway had been damaged or destroyed, there would be no contact from Equestria unless Billy used the extremely unstable Multiversal Opener. There was nothing he could do until the signal was re-established; although what the aftermath would be was unimaginable. For all he knew; he would have to start over from scratch and recruit new Rangers…although it would be near impossible is everypony else was…no; he had to stay positive and hope that they could get out of their current predicament on their own. After all; they had ploughed through their earlier fights easily enough.

"All you can do now is wait."

Heaving a sigh of resignation; the Orange Ranger nodded and turned to the Red Ranger. Although Jason had been talking his ear off, he knew that both Trini and Zack were in the CBD and seeing the sights…or what was left of them. He wasn't quite sure how it had happened but Jason, Tommy and Kim had somehow managed him to recharge their coins…so they could at least morph and pull out their respective weapons. He wasn't sure if they were able to access the upgraded Metallic Armour but he would get them into the Ultra Cavern to run a few tests on the Simul-Deck. He just hoped he didn't accidentally access the heavily protected 'Pony X' simulation in the process…or he would have a damn lot of questions to answer. Opening his mouth to speak, he growled under his breath as the alarms rang out through the Cavern. Only when he noticed the alarms were slightly different than normal did he begin to feel a trickle of fear creep down his spine…and then the calls started to pour in.

"Come in! Weihan, the city is being overrun with Golems!"

"Fiends are attacking the Redfern area!"

"A sea of Quantrons is charging over the Harbour Bridge! Everything is concentrating on the CBD!"

Swallowing in horror, he flicked on the scanning screens and felt his gut start burrowing to the centre of the Earth. Everywhere he looked was overrun with grunts of varying shapes and sizes. From Putties to Tengas, Cogs and Golems…they were rampaging through the streets and causing general chaos and confusion. Jabarkas was nowhere to be seen but taking the place of the Huran were the final two Ultra Psycho Rangers – fully morphed and carrying large blades. As if knowing they were being seen, Psychogre looked up and shouted out a challenge to the Rangers.

"The Countdown to your Destruction is at hand!"

TBC…


	170. 169: Big Bright Wave

AN: I really hope people are reading this story from the beginning to learn what's different. Countdown Battle and the Z-Wave here. Read, Review and enjoy!

Chapter One Sixty Nine: Big Bright Wave

Explosions rang out everywhere as light glinted off steel.

As the blade of Psychogre crashed down next to his head, Weihan knew he had to concentrate more on the fight in front of him. Jason's morph had held up better than expected and the Red Morphin Ranger was plowing into the various grunts left, right and centre. He had said something about wanting another crack at the Golems for 'revenge' or something but knew when to break the battle off before he was incapacitated. Flicking an eye on his HUD radar, he scanned the map for the positions of the other Rangers. As the search progressed, he charged flames into his Raptor Sabre and brought it down viciously on Psychogre's sword. The Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger grinned wide; showing him a mouthful of jagged teeth.

"Any closer and I will surely feast on your flesh!"

Not doubting that for a second, the Orange Ranger dropped to the ground and lashed out with both feet; catching the reptilian beast in the chest and throwing him back a few metres. Rolling onto his feet, he checked the HUD again to see if the search had turned up any results. He already knew that Alex, Will and Rachelle were a few blocks away attacking the Red Ultra Psycho Ranger and could see various grunt body parts flying from the direction Jason had disappeared into; so he wasn't too concerned about them. Summoning his combination Morpher, he decided to change out of his Battle Armour and hit a button at random. A voice rang out from his morpher but he couldn't make out the words in the noise of battle. Running towards the downed monster, he caught sight of his new armour in a nearby mirror and skidded to a stop.

"What the fuck?"

His body was covered in a dark orange bodysuit with a strange set of gold lines running from his neck to just under his right armpit. On the left side of his chest was a gold emblem of a Giant Squid and there was a strange…and disturbingly tentacled weapon attached to his left wrist. There was a small indentation on it that housed a pale orange orb with a 3D representation of the squid within it and for a brief instant; Weihan wondered how high the ball could bounce. His helmet had also changed to reflect his new armour and the visor was in the shape of splayed tentacles…something that didn't really sit right with him at all. Then again, it was good to use other Ranger Powers other than his combined Battle Armour.

Shaking his head at the changes, he resumed running at Psychogre and struck out with his new gauntlet weapon. Information flowed into his brain as the tentacles struck the reptilian's unprotected lower arm. Psychogre eyed the new weapon with mild interest and was about to ask what it was supposed to do now…when he felt a strange burning sensation on his arm. It didn't feel like fire or laser burning but seemed to be strangely acidic and there was a mild sensation of something chewing on his arm…

Yanking his appendage free of the strange weapon, the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger examined his arm and swallowed hard. The flesh surrounding the seemingly gnawed into area was smoking slightly and exuding a slightly chemical odour. Not wanting to risk more damage to the area, he switched his Psycho Sabre into his other hand and swung at the Ultra Ranger. the pesky little shit drew his arm back for another swing but stopped short as Psychogre unleashed a flurry one one-handed blows that sent the Ranger retreating. Taking advantage of the slightly lowered defences of the Ranger, Psychogre lashed out with a vicious kick that caught the Ranger in the stomach and launched him through a nearby brick wall. Brushing the flecks of plaster dust that had settled onto his armour, Psychogre approached the gaping hole in the side of the building with great caution. He could hear some words coming from somewhere close but he dismissed it as being from a nearby battle.

A beam of orange and white energy lanced out of the hole and impacted against his breastplate; cracking it slightly and sending him stumbling back as he watched the Ranger dig himself out of the hole. He growled under his breath as he recognised the armour as the so-called Time Guardian Armour that had been used earlier. Roaring in rage, the rampaging reptilian raced toward the Ranger with red-hot fury in his veins. A flashing light in his HUD informed him that his Psycho Gem was dangerously close to breaking point and with a growl; he leapt over the Ranger and scaled the wall to reach the roof. He needed to make his supposed destruction look good so the Orange Ranger wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Flinging his body over the side of the wall, he took a moment to look around at the destruction and devastation. Velocifighters were zooming through the streets and over the buildings firing at the crowd below. Of course, they were being chased by a few Zords – namely a Pink Pteranodon and a White Gyrfalcon.

From the briefing that Lord Xonix had given him before the attack, he knew that Dark Spectre was no more and that message that was supposedly from him was nothing but a mere fabrication. The Demonian, Darkonda, had destroyed the supposed Monarch of Evil and Astronema was now the Queen of Evil. Why there hadn't been an announcement of it in the skies above this accursed town; he didn't know…but the Power Rangers in Angel Grover were on the brink of total destruction. Some of the smaller fighters smashed into the sides of buildings in apparent suicide attacks and he grinned wickedly at the despair in the air.

Chuckling at his unintended rhyme, he looked over the side of the building to see the Orange Time…Ranger Guardian climbing up the wall as well. Using his Sabre like a blaster, he fired a few blasts of searing energy at the Ranger and laughed viciously as the Orange Ranger lost his grip and crashed into the ground below. From somewhere below him, he could hear a low rumble and saw a plume of fire blast into the sky from the direction that Premil had been fighting in. With a heavy heart, he realised he was the only Ultra Psycho Ranger left. With the Psychozords destroyed, there was no way for Premil to live on and his essence would drift through the Universe forever. Pushing those thoughts down, he smirked as he began setting up the instruments of his own 'destruction' around him. He knew it would look good.

Weihan eased himself slowly over the wall and changed back into his Battle Armour. While it was nice to use the other Powers once in a while; his revisitation of the Time Guardian Powers had been…less than stellar. At least he had managed to blindside Psychogre and find out that he could chuck a Spider-man and cling to walls and the like. He had absolutely no idea how wall-crawling fit into the spectrum of Time Powers…but he didn't really care that much. At least the climb up had allowed him to pinpoint the locations of the other Rangers…well, those that he couldn't see by looking around him or up. Rebecca, Eliza and Linda were attempting to stem the tide coming from the Harbour Bridge but it seemed that they were hardly making any progress whatsoever. Such was the case with Aimee, Sarah J and Paris and their 'quest' to block off a flood of grunts from reaching the underground Monster Shelters. From the reports coming in over the speakers, Jason had met up with Zack and Trini and was clearing the area in and around Darling Harbour of Golems and Fiends.

Grinning at the two Zords streaking overhead, he shook his head lightly as he recalled the news Heather had relayed to him moments before. Angel Grove was on the brink of total collapse and the Rangers had pretty much lost against the first wave of attacks. The Zeo Rangers had helped as much as they were able to but they had hardly made even the slightest of dents in Astronema's forces. Andros' controlled sister was now the Queen of All Evil and was scheming to destroy the Rangers…if they didn't reveal their identities. He hoped he would be able to wrap up the fight against Psychogre and go to Angel Grove before they did anything stupid. Ducking behind an air-conditioning vent, he summoned his Raptor Sabre and stepped out in front of the Ultra Psycho Ranger.

"There's nowhere for you to run, Psychogre. Your comrades are all dead and the only thing left to do is let you join them."

Psychogre snorted and narrowed his eyes under his visor.

"Hardly. I still have much more to do before I reunite with my team on the other side…such as crushing you!"

Dropping into an offensive stance, Weihan motioned with his head to signify his readiness.

"Bring it on, Psycho Ranger."

With a roar that echoed over the sounds of battle, Psychogre launched himself at the Orange Ranger and slashed down with his Sabre. Weihan brought up his blade and barely managed to hold back the forceful attack. Sliding to one side, he lashed out with his feet but Psychogre's jabbing of his Sabre made him prematurely abort the attack. Summoning a fireball in one hand, he flung it at the Psycho Ranger – catching him off guard and forcing him to drop his defence for the barest of moments. Propelling himself across the floor, Weihan charged his fist with energy and slugged Psychogre's chest. The energy transferred through the blow and cracked the breastplate even more. Ducking his head down, the reptilian biped gnashed his teeth together inches away from Weihan's visor and lunged forward to make good on his earlier promise. Falling back, Weihan felt the teeth scrape along the top of his helmet and sliced his Sabre across the damaged breastplate, cutting into the weakened metal and causing tiny bolts of electricity to run over the remains.

Flipping away, the Orange Ranger jabbed his Sabre on the ground and brought both palms together. Thrusting them towards Psychogre, he blinked as a jet of searing flame blasted out and enveloped the evil Ranger in a small explosion. Pulling his Sabre up, he barely moved fast enough to block three incoming blasts from the blade-rifle of the monster. Eyes spinning around, he looked for something that he could use to block his movements…something like a smoke bomb. Spying the bright red cylinder of a CO2 fire extinguisher; he dove towards it, scooped it up and flung it at Psychogre with all his might. As he had hoped, the Psycho Ranger slashed it in half – releasing a large cloud of freezing…and suffocating…carbon dioxide.

Closing his eyes, he channelled a large amount of energy into the coin in the middle of his chest and grinned as he felt it fill with power. Opening his eyes, he looked at Psychogre and dismissed his Sabre. Bringing his arms up to cross over the glowing symbol of power, he chuckled under his breath as he knew the next attack would spell the end of the Ultra Psycho Ranger. As he prepared to fire; he could see a rushing wave of light on the horizon and knew it was time to attack – no matter what the light was. Without any fanciness, he uncrossed his arms and thrust out his chest towards Psychogre as a slowly spiralling beam of energy blasted from his chest in a mirror of the attack that had destroyed the first Orange Psycho Ranger.

Psychogre never stood a chance.

The energy ripped into him and blasted his Psycho Armour off his body in a flash of light. Bolts of energy rippled across his body as the wave of golden light smashed into him – freezing him in place. A bright flash of light forced Weihan to look away, but he could hear the mighty explosion that signified the end of Psychogre. Blinking the light out of his eyes, he missed seeing a streak of orange fly up into the sky; barely outrunning the second and more destructive wave. Around him, Weihan could hear the cheers of civilians as the mysterious light disintegrated the attacking grunts. Walking slowly to the edge of the roof, the Orange Ranger felt a warm presence wash over him and he dropped to his knees as a voice echoed in his head.

**Rangers, I am finally free to rejoin my family on the other side. I have watched all of you learn and grow as people and I am very proud of each and every one of you; especially the Ultra Rangers whom I hope will continue to learn and grow both as individuals and as a united team.**

Weihan swallowed the lump in his throat as he saw the light coalesce into a familiar face. The image smiled warmly at him and spoke to him and him alone.

**Do not grieve my passing but celebrate it. You will soon gain new and powerful allies that can assist you in ways that I could not. No anger should be directed at the Astro Ranger either as they were forced into this outcome. My time here grows short, but I will be with you always.**

Retracting his visor as the tears began to fall; he nodded shakily as the image began to fade from sight. As the last vestiges of light vanished from the streets below and the cheering and congratulations reached fever pitch; the Orange Ranger looked up into the brilliant blue sky and uttered one word filled with extreme sadness.

"_Zordon_…"

TBC…

AN2: And the chapter title was 'inspired' by Big Blue Wave by Hey Ocean.


	171. 170: Time Transitions

AN: Xonix makes an unexpected discovery…

Chapter One Seventy: Time Transitions

It had been hairy but he had made it out alive.

Staring at the place where the Dark Fortress had been moments before, Xonix thanked whatever was listening that the shields had held. Shaking his head in disbelief, he reflected on the events of the past hour or so. After sending out his army to attack Sydney, Astronema had sent him a transmission that ordered him to reveal his intentions to her. As he had stated that he was carrying out Dark Spectre's last wishes, the new Queen of Evil had laughed in his face and had sent a large contingent of forces to attack him and force him to submit to her. His comment of only submitting to her if she was tied onto his bed…didn't really go over well and she had increased her rather pathetic attack. A few moments after; she had broken off the conflict and the transmission as there was a Ranger in the works or something.

After clearing the remaining Quantrons out of the Moon Palace, he had gathered up Twinlobe, Yit and Jabarkas and they had poured more energy into the shields and waited in anticipation for what would happen next. In his wildest dreams, he did not expect Zordon to sacrifice himself to save the Universe but it had happened and if the last transmissions he had listened in on were correct; the Red Astro Ranger had dealt the killing blow. The initial energy wave had done no more than shake the shields slightly; but it had frozen the active Quantrons outside the shield. One Quantron was halfway through the shield when the second wave smashed into the Moon Palace and destroyed three of the five shield generators outright. The fourth generator had been moments away from exploding when the wave had subsided and an eerie calm had settled over the Moon once more.

A quick moonwalk later confirmed that the remaining forces on the moon had been turned into fine-grained sand…except the half-functioning Quantron that was still moving around slightly. He had yet to hear from his brother…but he wasn't expecting a call. Zedd and Rita probably never stood a chance against the purifying wave and were both probably mounds of sand on the shores of Triforia or wherever they had been last. What was more irritating was that the strange energy signature he had picked up on earlier had moved away from Briarwood and was strangely coming closer. Teleporting back to the Moon Palace, he picked up his sword and held it in front of him in case the being wanted a fight.

"Hello brother."

Xonix's eyes widened and the sword slipped from his slack fingers with a clatter as the figure materialised. The humanoid had sandy brown hair and blue-brown eyes that held the barest tinges of red in them. He was dressed in a grey and red checked shirt with black pants with a belt buckle that held the image of a stylised Z on it. He had not heard his brother's original voice in centuries but instantly knew his brother had been spared total destruction. He struggled to speak and only managed one word.

"H…_how_?"

His brother smiled at him and took a step towards him. As he came closer, Xonix sensed the decayed Chronoton particles that he had sensed earlier and furrowed his brow in confusion. A warm hand dropped on his shoulder and he numbly allowed Zedd to pull him into a tight hug…something he hadn't been able to do since losing his skin.

"It was my love for you, dear brother that allowed me to survive the purification process. As you have no doubt sensed; I…am not the same Zedd you once knew. Right now, I should be waking up on Triforia with Rita and we should be in the care of Prince Trey."

He paused to let that sink into his brother's mind. There would be no real reason for him to be in two places at once unless…he smiled sadly as he saw the light of realisation in Xonix's eyes. He nodded once and turned to stare at the blue jewel of the Earth below. Rita had understood his reasons on wanting to came and talk to his brother and had even prepared a spell for such an occasion. He didn't mind it though; Finster was minding the shop, Scorpina was helping prepare for the resealing of the Master and he had received word that Goldar, of all people, had been chosen as the godfather to The Light.

"Your guess is correct. Myself and Rita knew we would not be accepted anywhere in the Universe so soon after the Golden Wave and we cast ourselves and a few of our most loyal followers back around thirty years to set ourselves up in a small town called Briarwood. The Mystic community welcomed us with open arms after we explained that we were refugees from a planet that had been conquered by Lord Zedd. In Briarwood, everything mystical is branded as fiction by the humans that reside there so we had to be very careful to conceal ourselves. As far as the humans know, I am Edward Steele and I run a small 'magic' shop that is away from the main street."

Xonix nodded slowly and Edward sighed as he reflected on the changes that had happened. They had cast a signal-blocking shield on themselves to avoid being prematurely found out but it seemed that Rita's shield was deteriorating faster than the others. Retreat into the Mystic Realm had somewhat helped but the final straw in her decision to stay there permanently had been the threat of the so-called Master; whose evil was on par with what Zedd had done. She had taken a powerful sorceress named Udonna under her 'wing' and had been training her to increase to force and effect of her magic attacks. Udonna had taken to calling Rita the 'Mystic Mother' and much to Rita's chagrin; the name had spread throughout the Realm.

It had been around that time when a talented young fighter named Leanbow had caught the eye of Goldar (under the name of Garnet, which he sorely disliked) and the ex-simian warrior had begun training him harder than anything he had faced before. As Garnet frequently crossed paths with the Mystic Mother's most trusted advisor, Leanbow had met and started to fall in love with Udonna. The announcement that they were going to be married was a great shock to all, as was the announcement that they had a son on the way. Knowing that the son of the most powerful sorceress and the greatest fighter in the Mystic Realm would be a great boon to the forces of Light, Edward had enlisted the assistance of a troblin in the forest to ensure The Light would not be captured by the Master. He had no idea of what the plan would be…but he guessed it would be something great and unexpected. As he explained all of this to his brother, he nervously awaited his reply.

"Well, I hope your pact doesn't come back to bite you on the ass. That being said…it seems you have had a lot on your plate, brother. You may have thirty years on me but you will always be my little brother."

Placing a clawed hand on Edward's head, Xonix smiled wistfully at the older man in front of him and sighed softly. Removing his hand, he shook his head and walked over to a small compartment in the wall. Opening the panel, he withdrew an aged glass bottle that held a slightly steaming golden liquid and two shot glasses and placed them on a nearby stone table. Opening the bottle, his eyes watered at the slightly acidic smell that wafted out from the opening and poured out two measures into the glasses.

"Minxtras brandy…the finest I was able to pilfer from their vaults. Can you still take the alcohol?"

Nodding, Edward picked up the glass of aged spirit and carefully sipped it. Sighing in contentment as the burning liquid slipped down his throat, he looked out at the stars again and was surprised at the next statement from his brother.

"You won't be targeted. Not by me anyway. If you ever need help…you're most welcome to call."

Sipping his drink once more, Edward nodded. It had been well worth the thirty year wait just to spend these moments with his brother. The more he thought about it…there was something his brother could help him with. Placing his glass down on the table, he pulled out a folded piece of paper and looked at his brother.

"Help me ensure history runs its course."

TBC…


	172. 171: Acceptance

AN: Rangers accept and mourn. Shortish chapters until the debut of the Galaxy Rangers.

Chapter One Seventy One: Acceptance

"I can't believe he's actually gone."

Nodding, Weihan looked around him at the gathered people and sighed. It had been two days since the Z-Wave had destroyed all evil attacking the Universe. Two days since an international week of celebration had been started by the miraculous uniting of all the world's leaders for just one day to celebrate the saving of Earth. Amidst all the celebration and joyfulness; there were a small group of people who mourned the event. Gathered at the ruins of the Power Chamber were the twenty five Rangers whose lives had been touched by Zordon at one time or another. Surprisingly, Billy and Delphine had been released from Project TVenture as it was almost ready for its unveiling but had been tight-lipped on the details. That was to be expected as a heavy blanket of mourning hung in the air.

The fourteen year old Ranger looked at the rubble that had housed one of the Universe's greatest forces of good and rubbed the new watch on his wrist absently. The watch had been a present from his family for his birthday that had been a few days before the Countdown Battle, but had been given to him the day before. As the fire started to die down, he shot a small stream of fire into it and caused it to flare up again. Tommy shot him a grateful look but he shrugged as the fuel in the fire was pretty much used up. Unless more wood was dumped on the flames, the fire would go to embers in a minute or so.

"I still remember seeing him for the first time and wondering where the rest of his body was and if he was just a head in a tube. And then Ivan Ooze came along and we were able to see how old he really was."

Soft chuckles arose after Aisha's statement and Weihan marvelled at the inner peace and tranquillity the Bear Ninjetti seemed to have. It was a surprise from the last time he had seen her and she revealed that spending time on the grasslands had taught her to learn and let go of the past. He didn't think she believed what she was saying and the look in the depths of her eyes told him she was still haunted by the event of Spectre Theatre. The Orange Ranger poked a stick into the dying fire and looked up at the starry sky. After some small amount of discussion, a unanimous agreement was that they would not blame Karone for what had happened. Small amounts of communication from TJ had stated that whatever chips were implanted in her brain had been removed and she had no memory of events after her recapture.

"I can't believe they did that. I get that it was the only thing to do but for a run-of-the-mill Power Ranger to willingly break the Identity Rule…"

Rocky allowed his sentence to trail off into nothingness as they reflected on the shocking news that had threatened to expose their roles as Rangers. In Angel Grove's most desperate moment – and when Weihan had been trading barbs with the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger – five of the six Astro Rangers had morphed in front of the stunned citizens. Andros walking out of the Dark Fortress with his sister didn't really help his identity either but he hadn't really cared about the secrecy factor anyway. The Astro Rangers had been swamped with news reporters and had given out repeated statements saying that they did not know who the previous Rangers were…even though they had been seen battling side-by-side with the Zeo Rangers and the Blue Turbo Ranger. Andros had also repeated his claim that the identities of the Ultra Rangers were theirs to reveal.

Thinking of the Red Astro Ranger brought up mixed feelings for the group. They had all heard Zordon's last message and his plea for them to not feel anger at the Astro Rangers and, for the most part, none of them did. Even the revelation that they had willingly revealed their identities had been treated in a more relaxed fashion as it would normally have been. Tommy had chalked it up to knowing the Ultra Rangers and accepting that they had no rules and no qualms about revealing their identities…even though they kept up the charade for the sake of their families and friends. Then again…Andros had struck the final blow on Zordon and even though they knew it had been their mentor's choice…it was incredibly hard to take. Once again; Tommy, Jason and Weihan had to talk to each other regarding what to do about Andros and if his actions meant that there would be an increasing distance between the 'veteran Rangers' and the 'new Rangers'.

After much debate, it had been agreed that the Rangers would hold no ill will towards him until the full story was revealed surrounding Zordon's sacrifice. They would also give Karone all the support she needed to get back on her feet as it hadn't been her fault that all of this had happened. The Rangers sat in quiet contemplation of Zordon for a while longer before Rocky spoke up.

"A few of us should crash their press conference. Go in morphed and show a public display of support and solidarity behind the Astro Rangers. I mean, we can all dislike Andros for what he had to do but we can't really let that spill over to the others. They didn't really do anything wrong except reveal their identities to the world. They've gotta be feeling a bit of stress and uncertainty. That's probably why TJ was reluctant to continue the communication."

Heads nodded around the group – even Delphine who had spoken the least about her memories of Zordon. Shooting a look to Tommy, he nodded once and took his Zeonizers out of his pockets. Jason rolled his eyes at the pointed look that was shot at him by Billy and Kim, but fetched his Power Coin out of his shirt pocket. Aware that no stares were being shot in his direction, Weihan chuckled under his breath as he silently summoned his Ultra Crystal. Holding the lightning bolt shaped crystal into the air in a salute to the mentor of the Power Rangers, he spoke with a note of amusement in his voice.

"Let's go crash ourselves a press conference."

TBC…


	173. 172: Twice Crashing

AN: Lengthier note at the bottom regarding the content of a…certain paragraph.

Chapter One Seventy Two: Twice Crashing

She was extremely bored and wondered why she had to be here.

Jacqui 'AJ' Apple stifled a yawn as she listened to the Mayor of Angel Grove drone on and on about the events of the Countdown. She had known what was going on in her gut as a seemingly normal day at the office had turned strange when a random Tenga had burst through the wall and was followed by a torrent of outdated grunts. She had managed to hold her own until being rescued by the Red Morphin Ranger who, upon recognising her and her connection to the Ultra Rangers, had left a Blade Blaster with her on orders from 'the highest authority'…which meant Weihan was looking out for her. When the golden light had streamed through, it had left her feeling incredibly saddened for some reason and slightly freaked out as a voice that wasn't her own had been heard in her head. She could remember the message contained…word for word.

**Miss Apple; I am Zordon of Eltare and I was on the team that created the Ultra Crystals. Thank you for being there for the Ultra Rangers, especially Weihan who has found unprecedented strength and power since your meeting. I do not know what will happen in the future; but he will look to you for help and a sense of normality. My time grows short but know that you are a valuable ally to the Power Rangers.**

And the next thing she knew, Chris and John were asking her why she was crying. After spitting out a bullshit answer, she had ventured out into the city to look for her lover. She had to abandon her search after a few minutes due to a reassignment to Angel Grove. Fortunately, she had been able to forgo the expensive plane trip by asking Heather for a ride in her Pteranodon Dinozord. She had managed to get in contact with Weihan en route and he had expressed some degree of amusement that she was travelling to Angel Grove in a Zord and not a conventional plane. He had told her the great news that all of the Ultra Psycho Rangers had been destroyed and wouldn't be coming back. That had been great news but she could see that he was extremely saddened about something and had held her tongue.

After landing in Angel Grove and settling into her hastily booked hotel room, she had received a call from her boss who had given her a list of events and conferences to be at. Unsurprisingly, all of them involved the Astro Rangers in some way, shape or form. She had worn her communicator at each event and the metallic device had only been noticed by the Blue and Silver Rangers. The Silver Astro Ranger, Zhane, had even tried hitting on her before she had informed him quietly that she was involved with the Orange Ranger. He had taken it as a joke before the Blue Astro Ranger, TJ, had informed him that it was indeed true. Zhane had avoided her at every subsequent event after that; which was something that amused her and TJ immensely. He had debriefed her about what had happened in Angel Grove, the decisions that led up to the moment of the reveal of their identities and had slightly glossed over what had happened in the Dark Fortress directly before the Z-Wave. Catching her eye on behind the table, TJ stifled as grin at her boredom.

Taking her eyes off the line of Rangers, she glanced to a hastily tacked-on table next to Zhane that Karone sat at. She hadn't really had time to talk privately to the blonde woman but messages had been passed to her by either TJ or Andros. It was like some sort of strange upgrade to the passing of notes that always seemed to happen in schools. There also seemed to be some mild attraction that the former sorceress had with her…but it seemed to be slightly discouraged by both Andros and Zhane. She felt a slight pang of disappointment as she was hoping to have a threesome with Karone and Weihan for a birthday present to the latter. Oh well, she supposed that it was still possible in her imagination…

"And now, we will open the floor to questions before the Astro Rangers mingle with the crowd. The reporter in the black shirt, you'll be the first."

AJ looked around and saw a slightly sleepy Asian stand up to ask his question in an incredibly bored tone.

"I'm just wondering what the other Rangers think of your actions. You've said that the other Power Rangers understand what you had to do but I am curious as to why they haven't shown any display of public support."

AJ swallowed hard as Andros nervously tugged the collar of his dress uniform and the other Astro Rangers looked uncomfortable. She knew that right about now, Weihan and the other Ultra Rangers were holding a remembrance ceremony for Zordon at the site of the destroyed Command Centre. TJ had been in short communication with Tommy a few hours ago but the question of public support had never come up. The question of support and approval of Karone had been met with a slight amount of apprehension but the Red Zeo Ranger had said that would be discussed after the meeting at the Command Centre ruins. The Red Astro Ranger opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off by a voice from the back of the room.

"No public support? We're here, aren't we?"

Heads whipped around, AJ's included, to see the Red Zeo Ranger leaning casually on the wall. Flanking him were the Red Morphin Ranger and the Orange Ultra Ranger. Cameras raised and flashes filled the room as the three Rangers casually made their way to the front of the room. As the Orange Ranger passed AJ, he slightly turned his head toward her and nodded once. She blinked as his voice suddenly echoed in her head.

**Let's hear it for Rocky having an incredibly strange idea. I'll catch up with you…later.**

She tried hard to stifle the smile that threatened to break out across her face as the trio of Rangers leant against the edge of the stage in a relaxed and confident manner. The Astro Rangers breathed sighs of relief as the tone of the event turned away from them and toward the leaders of the Rangers that were in front of them. AJ stifled a giggle as both Red Rangers turned to the Orange Ranger and he threw up his hands in mock despair.

"I swear; you guys needed to have more press conferences when you were active."

"Not all teams have more than six Rangers. Not all teams have the distinguished ability to get attacked in almost every press conference they hold either."

Laughter erupted around the room after the somewhat sarcastic comment from the Red Zeo Ranger. Shaking his head, the Orange Ranger stepped forward and addressed the crowd.

"Seeing as these two yahoos don't know how to proceed, I'll answer the gentleman's question. The previous and current teams of Rangers are wholeheartedly backing the Astro Rangers. While there has been some discussion regarding some off-record actions, which we will not discuss in a public forum, they have our full and total support. Does that answer your question adequately?"

The Asian nodded and sat down as the room buzzed to life with whispers and murmurs while AJ groaned silently to herself. Weihan had inadvertently revealed that there were some things that the other Rangers didn't approve of the Astro Rangers doing…and the tabloids would snap that bit of information and use it to spin their own stories and wacky ideas. Then again…maybe that was his goal all along to try to get the wackiest stories out there to discredit the more outlandish tabloids. Thinking about it made her head hurt.

"Let's see…next question I'll take it from the brunette with the kid."

The woman in question stood up while her young daughter smiled broadly and went back to playing with her cars.

"Geraldine Robinson with the San Angeles Press. If it is true that you are attacked at every press conference, can you ensure our safety for the duration of the conference?"

"Of course not. I'm here, aren't I?"

Weihan's eyes narrowed under his helmet as his stomach dropped to his knees. Summoning his Raptor Sabre, he held it ready and grumbled under his breath.

"Not again…"

TBC…

AN2: the paragraph about the threesome is a reference to an extremely old Power Rangers porn fic I did (and will possibly never post on the 'net) called The Sex Coins. Yup. It's as bad as it sounds and the first paragraph is Karone masturbating with a replica Wrath Staff and the villains were bad BDSM clones of Zedd and Rita. The only good thing to come out of it (no pun intended) is that was the first appearance of an Orange Ranger. It ended around the 3rd chapter with the Orange Ranger in the extremely clichéd setting of being stuck in an elevator (in this case it was a life support pod) with Karone and Cassie who had been drugged into becoming extremely horny.


	174. 173: Clones

AN: A new armour mode evolves…

Chapter One Seventy Three: Clones

As far as battles went; it could have been worse.

Jabarkas had to be an utter idiot if he thought he could attack a room that was protected by nine Rangers and the former Queen of Evil. Weihan hadn't even had time to formulate a strategy before the Astro Rangers had morphed and fired their blasters over the heads of the assembled reporters. The blasts had struck the Huran's chest and thrown him back through the wall he was leaning against. The temporary reprieve had allowed AJ to take control of the assembled reporters and begin directing them out the back door. Surprisingly, Zhane had offered his assistance along with Karone's and the room was empty of reporters within seconds. Shooting out the security camera, Weihan removed his helmet before kissing AJ and motioning to her communicator.

"This place will get wild in a hurry. I don't want you anywhere near here. I'll give you some exclusive footage though."

Nodding at her lover, AJ teleported out in a white stream of light as Weihan replaced his helmet, well aware of the stares he was receiving from the other Rangers. Shrugging his shoulders, his attention turned to the hole in the wall where Jabarkas was emerging from. Although the warrior hadn't been injured, the quick volley of bolts had taken him off guard and had even made him temporarily take his mind off the mission that had been assigned to him.

Growling under his breath at the sight of the empty room, he chuckled to himself and readied his…other trump card. Reaching behind his back and noticing the Rangers tensing up, he unhooked a shatterproof syringe from his armour and held it in front of him. Noticing the Red Zeo Ranger reach for his blaster, he swiftly uncapped the needle and plunged it into his upper right arm. Injecting the contents, he chuckled darkly as he felt the potion surge through his body. It wouldn't be long now…

"What the hell was that?"

Weihan didn't know what was in the syringe but knew it would be bad for the Rangers. Various flashes around him informed him that the Astro Rangers, Jason and Tommy had summoned their weapons and were holding them at the ready. Summoning up energy from within himself, his Sabre flared with flame as he prepared himself for anything. Strangely, there was also something else that he could feel in the Ultra Grid. It was something that was familiar to him but blazed with greater power than his Battle Armour. Whatever it was, it would have to wait until later. The Huran staggered forwards and laughed as a strange energy began to surround him.

"You all will see…now die!"

The Huran lunged at the group, causing them to scatter out of the way. Rolling along the ground, Weihan shot a few fireballs toward the warrior who batted them away as easily as swatting flies. Flipping over his head, Jason and Tommy slashed their Power Swords at the back of the warrior but the powerful blows had little visible effect. Attempting a different strategy, the two Red Rangers abandoned their blades in favour of pulling out their blasters and trying a long-range approach. Streaks of red energy filled the air as the two leaders attempted to give the other Rangers time to set up their attacks.

"Quadroblaster, Fire!"

Leaping out of the way, the Red Rangers watched as the multicoloured sphere of energy exploded against Jabarkas' chest. The Huran flew back through the first hole and Weihan cringed under his helmet as he heard another two or three walls break under the impact. Summoning his Raptor Cannon, the Orange Ranger cautiously looked through the holes and held his breath. There was a stir of movement at the very end and he drew a bead on the figures he saw. His finger moved to the trigger when he paused and did a double take at what he could see. His eyes widened a split second before a torrent of energy blasted him off his feet and sent him crashing into the stage a few metres behind him.

"Foolish Ranger…you have no idea what power I possess"

"Foolish Ranger…you have no idea what power I possess"

Upon hearing the twin voices, all heads slowly turned to the hole as Jabarkas…and Jabarkas…climbed out. The second Jabarkas was identical to the first and both warriors grinned in eerie unison. As Weihan struggled to free himself from the debris trapping him, the Astro Rangers leapt forward to engage the two Jabarkas'. Blades crashed against each other as the Astro Rangers fought. Andros activated his Spiral Sabre and attempted to drill through the breastplate of the warrior in front of him. The drill blade pierced through the armour easily enough but encountered strong resistance as Andros attempted to push in further.

"Behind you!"

Andros whirled around at the shout from his sister and ducked as a fist flew at his head. Summoning the Battlizer, he flipped open the cover and pressed the first button. Not hearing the announcement of the device, he leapt into the air as energy poured into his right hand. Drawing his arm back, he made to strike at the back of his attacker but to his surprise – his outstretched arm was caught by a third copy that had appeared out of thin air. Whirling around and out of viable options, he pressed the third button on the Battlizer and hoped it had enough charge left in it. As he flipped away from the battle to complete the sequence, he swallowed hard as he saw Zhane's weapon – created for the strongest Power Ranger up to that point – barely make a dent in the armour.

"You see now the futility of your actions? The more I fight, the faster the cloning serum works! You cannot force this out of me through force!"

Finally freeing himself from the debris, Weihan opened a communications channel to the Rangers on the outside but before he could speak, he was met with a wave of static. Locking onto one of the Jabarkas clones, he scrolled through all available frequencies in an attempt to communicate with the Rangers. Stifling a scream of frustration, he blasted the Jabarkas in front of him as he tried telepathic communication. As expected, there was no response but he could feel a strange block all around the conference hall. Whatever it was, he was sure that it was stronger than the one that had been erected during his fight with Cyb-Org and changing to his Zeo armour wouldn't break through it as easily. Hooking his Raptor Cannon to the side of his belt, he summoned his Raptor Sabre and ran forward.

Flipping over a forming fourth clone, he viciously sliced across the stomach of the clone – neatly bisecting it. Triumph turned swiftly to horror as both halves began developing into separate clones and he fell to the ground a split second before a cloned blade slashed the air where his head had been. Drawing on more fire energy, he swung his Sabre around in the air to create a whirling firestorm that set the room around them ablaze. Thrusting the blade forward, he whooped in triumph as he felt it slide through the chest of a clone and pressed a button on the handle. The body of the clone Jabarkas turned to ash a split second later and the Orange Ranger readied his fire blade for another attack. Thick streams of energy flew everywhere as Andros activated his Battlizer Lasers and Weihan absently wondered if the Astro Rangers would have to foot the repair bill.

"I will keep cloning if you fight! You will never be able to force me to stop!"

The Astro Rangers charged the warrior and knocked him to the ground. Raising their weapons, they fired mercilessly on the downed Huran while Karone watched from a safe distance away. Zhane had disengaged from the fight and was catching his breath in case he needed to leap in and 'save the day'. Ducking as a blast of fire came too close for comfort; the Silver Astro Ranger converted his Silveriser into its blaster mode and began snapping off a few shots towards the battles that really needed the assistance. As Karone began to cough as the smoke from the fires filled the air, he looked nervously to the open door. If he had to, he would take Karone out of the battlefield to ensure she wasn't injured further. Pulling Karone down to the ground to avoid a rogue fireball, he hoped the fight would end soon.

Three bursts of energy streaked towards the fifth Jabarkas clone Weihan could see. Although the new clones didn't have much strength to them, they learned quickly and began to grow on their own. After a few minutes, they were as strong as the original…wherever the original was. Tommy and Jason had long since given up their plan of long range combat and had engaged the clones with their swords once again. Bringing up his blade to defend against a seventh clone's strike, he activated the air purifiers in his helmet and sent a small but powerful fireball down the clone's throat. Kicking the clone into what he guessed was the third clone; he flipped away as the resulting explosion knocked all combatants off their feet.

"This isn't working! We need a new strategy!"

"We never had a strategy to begin with!"

Grinning at the banter between the two Red Rangers, Weihan dodged a skilled slash and found himself face to face with the original Jabarkas. Although the warrior was popping out clones at a rapid pace, he didn't seen to be encumbered by the experience and roared fiercely as he raised his blade. Leaping at each other, the two rivals' blades locked together in a battle of strength…a battle that Weihan was sorely outmatched in. Using the Huran's inertia to his advantage, the Orange Ranger spun around and allowed the warrior to fall forward in surprise as he delivered three flaming strikes to his back. Breathing heavily, he summoned more power to his armour and felt something within his Ultra Crystal…unlock. New information streamed into his mind and he grinned in anticipation. Deactivating his Battle Armour, he flipped to the remains of the stage as Rangers and clones alike gaped at the seemingly idiotic move. He inhaled deeply and shouted out the command that would surely turn the tide of battle.

"Assault Armour, Activate!"

TBC…


	175. 174: Assault

AN: 78 chapters after Steven Johnston used it; the Assault Armour makes its full debut!

Chapter One Seventy Four: Assault

He was in the epicentre of a nuclear explosion.

Fire was all around him as his new armour assembled around his body with various clangs. From the HUD display in his helmet, he could see the heavy breastplate lock into place. Panels slid aside and opened up to form a design that was eerily reminiscent of the helmet of the Green Dragon Ranger, right down to the strange diamond in the centre of his chest. Attachments snapped onto his belt as his HID informed him that they were mini-missile launchers that would avoid all friendly Rangers when fired. Strange pronged gauntlets slid over his hands and blades of fire slid out with a strange snap-hiss that was reminiscent of an activating Light Sabre. He was pretty glad that there was no weapon attachment over his crotch as he was pretty sure that that region had done its fair share of 'firing' over the past few weeks.

Inhaling slowly, he waited for the perfect opportunity to make his new power known and as a hapless clone mindlessly wandered into his line of sight, he activated his shoulder blasters. Twin streams of orange energy blasted through the sphere of fire and impacted against the Jabarkas clone with terrifying effects. The clone slammed into the far wall and convulsed violently for a few seconds before it exploded in a steaming pile of grey goo. Heads whipped to him as he powered through three newly formed clones with quick slashes of his blades and they collapsed into goo seconds later. Hearing the powering-up of Andros' Battlizer Armour, he dove out of the way as four clones slammed into the area where he had been. A barrage of Battlizer Missiles impacted against their bodies and caused them to explode…spawning eight more clones.

Rolling his eyes, he lifted one of his gauntlet weapons up and pressed the trigger button he could feel under his thumb. Twin bolts of white energy blasted from the prongs and caused two of the new clones to turn to goo instantly. Bringing his blade up, he blocked a jab from what he guessed was the original Jabarkas and activated his helmet scanners. The information he saw didn't fill him with much confidence in stopping the battle anytime soon. Whatever strange cloning serum the Huran had injected himself was had embedded itself into his very cells and could – in theory – give him an accelerated healing rate that bordered on instant healing. The only downside to this was that any spilled blood, tissues bone or other organic matter would quickly form into clones that could only be destroyed by powerful energy or fire. Cross-referencing the files with Zordon's Archives allowed him to see that only a very powerful sorcerer or sorceress that had recently used Dark Magic could theoretically force out the serum.

Slashing his blades across Jabarkas' chest, he allowed the blades of his enemies to bounce off his armoured back before letting loose with a tongue of flame from the open 'mouth' on his armour. Jason and Tommy withdrew from their battles and flanked his sides.

"What's the situation? How do we stop this guy from multiplying?"

Instead of replying directly, he leapt over the heads of the battling Rangers and clones to where Zhane was protecting Karone. He was gathering up the courage to take the former Queen of Evil away from the battlefield when the sudden appearance of the heavily armed and armoured Ultra Ranger took him by surprise. Needless to say, the incredibly high-pitched scream of surprise coming from the Silver Astro Ranger made all combatants pause and look at Zhane with incredulous stares. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction to blast four more clones into goo, Weihan grabbed the Silver Ranger and hauled him unceremoniously to his feet while Karone giggled at the sight. As he did so, his eyes roved over the former Queen of Evil's body and drank in her soft curves. Mentally rebuking himself for thinking about other matters in the middle of a battle, he turned to her and tried to keep the strain out of his voice.

"There's something that you can do to force the potion out of his system. Are you familiar with the Gnail'Nah spell?"

She chewed her bottom lip as her mind flicked through the endless list of spells she had learned under Dark Spectre's teaching. The name rung a bell inside her for some reason but she didn't know why until it dawned on her. One of the methods Dark Spectre used to train her in magic involved sending for powerful mages, sorcerers or Overlords that were unaffiliated with him to teach her new spells…so she could 'dispose' of them after she had finished. However, one such tutor had spent days just teaching her the same spell over and over again…almost as if he knew it would be crucial in the future. He had also kept his lessons a secret from Dark Spectre as the spell involved heavy use of Light magic. Further research had also informed her of a surprising fact: it was the same spell that had 'purified' Master Vile the first time.

"It'll take a few minutes to set up. Keep the original busy and within my line of sight. Zhane will be my protection during this time."

Nodding once, he inhaled deeply and fired off a salvo of missiles from his belt launchers. True to their description, the mini-missiles deftly avoided all Rangers on the battlefield and explode against the cloned warriors – transforming them instantly into the same grey ooze. He was tempted to take a sample of the ooze to see what it was constituted of…but doing so would probably be a bad idea. For all he knew, it was part of Jabarkas and could transmit information to the main body. Lighting a beacon that showed Xonix where the Ultra Cavern was would not be a good idea. Leaping off the stage, he flipped over the heads of a tightly grouped batch of clones and fired his shoulder blasters; turning them all to mush.

Hearing a noise behind him, he raised his blades just in time to catch Jabarkas' sword as it swung down. Spinning around with the Huran's blade still in a lock, he brought his right leg up to deliver a fire-powered kick to the warrior's chest. The alien staggered back as he lost his grip on his blade. Acting swiftly, Weihan spun around and flung the sword at three clones creeping up behind him. Leaping away from a laser blast from the alien warrior, he looked behind him to check on the progress of Karone. The blonde sorceress looked like she had almost finished the preparations and was moving on to cast the spell proper. Zhane was still at her side and using the blaster mode of his Silveriser to ensure any clone didn't come close to them. Almost as if sensing his eyes on her, Karone lifted her head and gave him a saucy wink that made him wish that he wasn't currently engaged in a battle. On the other hand, he would have to ask AJ if she would be all right with what he had in mind.

A slight crackle in the air was all the warning he needed. Springing forward, he grabbed the staggering warrior around the waist and threw him towards the stage. He could hear Karone gathering up her magic in preparation for the final blow and hoped he hadn't messed up the timing. A pain-wracked scream from Jabarkas was all the confirmation he needed as a torrent of magical energy engulfed the warrior and forcibly sunk into his exposed flesh. Around him, all the clones burst into explosions of grey goo and the Rangers watched in amazement as the spell worked on the Huran. Bright yellow liquid burst from the nose and ears of the warrior as he thrashed about in pain. The liquid condensed into a ball and evaporated in front of their eyes. Karone slumped to the ground as the spell ended and the Astro Rangers raced to her side.

Jason and Tommy nodded once at Weihan and stepped back as the Orange Ranger's armour began to crackle with energy. Directing the fire into the diamond in his chest, the Orange Ranger concentrated as he felt the Assault Armour being unlocked for the other Ultra Rangers as well. Lifting his arms up, he noticed that the fire blades had retracted and were adding to the massive barrage that was about to be unleased on the Huran. He doubted it would destroy Jabarkas completely but it would severely wound him enough to make Xonix think twice about sending down another monster soon. Something inside his armour started spinning and he smiled grimly under his helmet. It was time to unleash Hell.

"HELLFIRE STORM!"

TBC…


	176. 175: Galactic

Chapter One Seventy Five: Galactic

"This is incredible!"

Weihan walked through the streets, looking at the buildings around him with amazement. He had seen incredible things since taking up the Power, but this was on a whole other level. Staring up at the incredibly realistic sky, he wondered what the stars outside would look like during the 'night'. Checking his watch for the time, he sat down on a nearby bench and thought about all that had happened during the past week.

The Hellfire Storm that had been unleashed on Jabarkas had almost killed him and only a timely teleportation beam had whisked the Huran away from death. A small part of him wished that he could have finished off the alien then and there…but the Rangers were busy ensuring the building didn't fall down on top of them. After they had managed to reinforce the structure, they had gingerly left the building to see the Ultra Zeo Megazord defeat what looked like a grey ooze monster with backup from the Ultra Dinozords. It had come as a shock to the other Rangers to see Weihan in his Assault Armour and they had expressed an ironic sense of amusement that a press conference had been attacked yet again. Much joking had followed at Weihan's expense but he allowed the remarks to slide off his back.

Then, Billy had spoken up for the first time about what Project TVenture really was. He explained it was a joint project between the engineers at NASADA and the Eltarean High Council for humans to explore the regions of space and expand their boundaries within a space colony called, ironically enough, Terra Venture. Andros had allowed the Astro Megaship to reside within the bowels of the construct as a museum of sorts while they would move around the Universe in the Mega Vehicles. The Red Astro Ranger had hinted at a mission given by the Phantom Ranger but hadn't given any other details except that, for the time being at least, Karone would be staying on Earth. AJ had offered her a room at her apartment and the former Queen of Evil had accepted without a second thought. Being in the public spotlight would also help lessen the mystery surrounding her and she had agreed to a set of exclusive interviews only if AJ was the reporter asking the questions.

The Blue Ranger had then indicated that he had personally 'hand-picked' the twelve Ultra Rangers to spend a few weeks on Terra Venture as part of a cultural project. In reality, he wanted them on hand in case any new evil not purified by the Z-Wave attacked and the newly-formed Galactic Space Administration couldn't fend them off. He had also invited both AJ and Karone along and had, amusingly enough; placed both of them in the same quarters that he had assigned to the Orange Ranger. So far, it had been smooth sailing…but even Alpha 6 could sense the amount of sexual tension building up between the trio. Their parents had approved the few weeks away from the monster attacks and the Zeo Ranger had promised to look after Sydney in their absence…well, with the exception of Tommy who was starting his research with Mercer.

Xonix hadn't attacked at all, which was both good and bad news. Karone had tapped into what remained of her contacts in the Intergalactic Grapevine and had come up with two sets of extremely worrying news. The first set of news was that Xonix had retreated from Earth to look for the Ultra Orange Psycho Ranger who had been seen near the Barkara Sector. The Overlord had also apparently left three powerful monsters on Earth to hassle the Zeo Rangers and, if the reports were correct, they were winning. The second set of news was much darker and disturbed Weihan greatly.

Psychogre was alive.

The former Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger had been seen on the planet Onyx asking about something called a Dark Converter. There had been heavy wounds all over his body but his trademark reptilian eyes and orange tinged scales had given his identity away to all those who knew him by reputation. Karone's contact had even struck up a small conversation with the former Ranger who had informed him that he would be staying away from Earth until his Master called him back again. Apparently there was someone called Lothor who needed some help picking skilled Space Ninja warriors and had paid top dollar for Psychogre's eyes. Lothor was in the Ptolemy Sector which was halfway across the Universe from the planned course of Terra Venture.

Whatever it was, he would cross that bridge when it came. For the time being, at least, nothing was going to stop him from enjoying all that Terra Venture had to offer. Nodding at two GSA officers that walked past him, he picked up the complimentary datapad that had been given to him by Billy and scrolled through the most recent events. The colony had left for 'parts unknown' two days ago and there had already been sightings of a strange 'jungle girl' in the Forest Dome. The Chief of Security – one Mike Corbett – had also vanished during a routine mission and two science officers had been seen hanging around the Megaship's chief mechanic and a person who claimed to be Mike's brother. So far, the colony hadn't been attacked but he was feeling jumpy nonetheless.

"What're you thinkin' about?"

Shaking his head slowly, he looked behind him to where AJ and Karone were watching him closely. They had seen the various emotions flick across his eyes like changing channels and were sharing the same thoughts. To Karone, it was almost uncanny how well AJ and the Orange Ranger fit together and it was almost as if they shared a psychic bond – which was all but impossible. If she was able to get closer to the both of them, she would be able to see if the bond was present or not…but that didn't look like it would happen anytime soon. The casting of the Gnail'Nah spell had left her incredibly drained for a few days and it had only been a combination of sheer willpower and determination that allowed her to board Terra Venture just in time. Now, it was only a matter of time before the Orange Ranger and his blonde girlfriend acted on their desires and invited her for some…fun.

An explosion nearby sent heads whipping in the direction of the sound; AJ and Karone slowly stood up but Weihan was already running in its direction. A strange buzzing filled the air as insectoid warriors began dropping from the sky and obstructing his path. Ducking away from a slash from one of the bladed arms, he spied a fallen pipe nearby and dove at it. Spinning it in his hands, he noticed with relief that the other Rangers were coming from all sides to assist him. Interestingly enough, Will was coming in from one of the side buildings with Billy and Delphine in tow and the three Rangers were talking as they battled against the insectoid grunts. He only caught a few snippets of the conversation but decided that asking about why some far off planet was an interesting place would have to wait until the battle was over. Forming a handful of small fireballs, he flung them at the insects and watched with satisfaction as they exploded in balls of ichor and keratin.

Turning around, he found himself face-to-snout against a monster that was literally a humanoid pig in a giant Viking helmet. From his talks with Jason and Tommy, he wondered why Pudgy Pig was attacking the colony but dismissed the thought as the pig swung a large battleaxe at his midsection. Flipping away from the monster, the Rangers grouped around him and he summoned his Ultra Crystal; readying himself for a morphed battle.

"Go Galactic!"

Blinking at the rather odd call, he looked to his right to see five flashes of light form into what appeared to be the newest team of Power Rangers. Dismissing his Ultra Crystal into its subspace pocket, he turned to watch the Rangers get to work. What he saw didn't really fill him with a great deal of confidence. Out of the five Rangers, it seemed only the Red, Blue and Yellow Rangers were capable fighters. The Green and Pink Rangers were barely beating back the monster and the grunts that had survived the fireballs…and that was even with their swords. Shaking his head as the monster landed a strong blow on the Rangers; he re-summoned his Ultra Crystal and held it up into the air.

It was time to teach the new Rangers a lesson or two.

TBC…


	177. 176: The New Guys

Chapter One Seventy Six: The New Guys

Leo Corbett was having a bad day.

He was still reeling from the loss of his brother and the fact that the Red Quasar Sabre had accepted him as the Red Ranger…even though Mike had been the one to pull it from the stone. Kai and Kendrix had done their best to console and comfort him and even Commander Stanton had told him what a brave person his brother had been and how he would have been proud of him…but it didn't really help. For their part, Damon and Maya had attempted to comfort him as best as they could but their attempts came off as extremely awkward and unsure. It had almost been a blessing when Alpha had called them to report a monster sighting in the City Dome – one of Scorpius' monsters had somehow bypassed the shields again with a contingent of Sting Wingers.

When they arrived onto the scene, they had seen a group of civilian students along with two GSA officials battling the grunts. One of them must have brought along a small flame unit as a series of fireballs decimated most of the insectoid warriors within seconds. Upon seeing the monster, they had grouped together in a strange formation that would have left them open to attack if the Galaxy Rangers hadn't morphed. That said; morphing hadn't really helped them all that much as they were still horribly unprepared for the brutal attack of the monster and their lack of preparation had knocked them to the ground. If they survived the battle, he would have to ask Alpha to unlock the Simudeck for training.

"Hey piggy! Wanna get roasted?"

Looking up at the unfamiliar voice; Leo's eyes widened as he stared at the sight behind him. The group of civilians had been replaced by figures that were unmistakably Power Rangers of some kind. Alpha hadn't briefed them on the teams that had come before the Astro Rangers as the robot was sure that they wouldn't have a need to meet or something like that, but it seemed that they were meeting the past Rangers now. The Orange Ranger stepped forwards and a small fireball appeared in the palm of his left hand. As it hovered above the red splattered glove, it changed from a cool orange colour to a bright white sphere. Flinging the ball of plasma at the monster, the Orange Ranger didn't even bother to wait to see the damage done before charging at the monster head on.

The brutality of the twelve Rangers that attacked the monster and the Sting Wingers was chilling. Limbs flew everywhere as the Rangers hacked into the grunts with reckless abandon and Leo wondered exactly whose side they were on. As the Galaxy Rangers watched in awe, the Orange and Red Rangers pulled out large blades and executed a cross-slash at the pig monster, knocking it back from the battle. The Black/Green, White and Green Rangers summoned strange gauntlet/wrist blasters and tore into the remaining Sting Wingers before leaping back to allow the Purple Ranger to leap at the monster with an energised kick. Amazingly, the monster was still on its feet after the attack and he could imagine the Orange Ranger running out of options.

"Assault Armour – Activate!"

As they slowly picked themselves off the ground, they saw the Orange Ranger change into what could have only been described as a walking battle tank. Leo noted with surprise that the other Rangers leapt out of the line of sight of the slightly glowing Orange Ranger and wondered exactly why that was the case. After all, there would probably be only a small laser shooting out of…

"Hellfire Storm!"

The Galaxy Rangers blinked as a maelstrom of energy blasted from the torso of the Orange Ranger, engulfing the monster in a thundering whirlwind of fire and electricity. The barrage only lasted about three seconds but time seemed to slow down from the moment the energy left the Ranger. After what seemed like eons; time snapped back into place and the monster fell back with a wail and exploded in a large ball of fire than made the ground below Leo's feet tremble slightly. Seeing the brutal destruction of the monster made his knees buckle and he felt himself fall to the ground…but was caught by two strong arms that were clad in strange blue cloth-like armour. Feeling his senses slowly return to him, he turned his head and looked at a strange hooded figure with brilliant blue eyes.

"Easy there; you guys took a few strong hits."

"That voice…Billy Cranston? Terra Venture's CTO? What are you doing here?"

The hooded figure turned to the Pink Ranger and narrowed his eyes. He was aware of the voice coming from the cat-themed helmet as he had heard it only a few hours ago. Billy mentally kicked himself for not making the connection sooner as Kendrix Morgan was a prime candidate for becoming a Power Ranger but he had thought that Terra Venture's course wouldn't have placed them anywhere near a planet with Power Sources. In fact, the only planet with any sort of Power Source that they would pass by would be Chysannas but there hadn't been a spike in activity in centuries. He chuckled as he heard Weihan and the other Ultra Rangers coming closer and some of the comments regarding the use of the Assault Armour wafted over him.

"I'm just sayin'; you need to let us use the Assault Armour every now and then. Simul-Deck training doesn't really work and we don't want a repeat of what happened when the ponies tested their upgraded weapons."

Weihan waved away the comments as he powered down. They were coming close to the new Rangers and he couldn't wait to hear how long ago they had received their powers. Not only that, he was wondering what deity thought it was a good idea to have 'Charlie Brown'-esque zigzags on their chests and strange V-like belt buckles. He couldn't believe that there were Rangers popping up so soon after Zordon's sacrifice as it was like a slap in the face to everything the had occurred before, during and after the Countdown. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Rachelle.

"Who are you and where did you get those powers?"

Leo blinked under his helmet at the question coming from the young girl in front of him. The thought that children could have easily taken down such a strong monster was mind-boggling and extremely unbelievable. What seemed even more strange was the way they stood, moved and spoke…almost as if they had years of experience. Shaking his head, he shrugged out of Billy's grip and depowered in a flash of red. Lifting his left arm up, he tugged back the sleeve of his denim jacket to reveal the Transmorpher.

"We are the Galaxy Rangers. We received our powers from the legendary Quasar Sabres on Mirinoi and our enemy is the insect warlord Scorpius. That's who we are – now it's your turn."

The boy in orange stepped forward and brought his right hand up to the centre of his chest. Exhaling slowly, he seemed to pull out an object from inside his chest. Leo's eyes widened as he could see no visible tearing of the skin or traces of blood on the object…so wherever it was stored wasn't the boy's chest. With a soft grunt, the object was finally free and the boy held it in the air. He could see it was a strange crystal of come sort that was shaped like a jagged lightning bolt and constantly pulsed with an orange light. The amount of power that it exuded made him wonder why something that powerful would even exist and how strong their enemy was.

"We are the Ultra Rangers. Our powers come from the Ultra Crystal and our enemy is the Overlord Xonix and anything that stands before us and our goal of destroying him."

The boy paused; if considering his next words. When he spoke, his voice was low and chilling, but held a strange note of morbid humour.

"Want to learn how to fight like an Ultra Ranger?"

TBC…


	178. 177: Robotic Psycho

AN: World building, experiences and battles ahoy!

Chapter One Seventy Seven: Robotic Psycho

"Focus, Leo, focus on your enemy!"

Weihan walked around the Red Galaxy Ranger with his Raptor Sabre drawn. Jabbing left, he rolled under the slash by the Red Galaxy Ranger and lightly tapped Leo's back with the flat of his blade. Shaking his head as the young man readied himself for another attack, he thought about all that had happened since meeting the Galaxy Rangers. Billy had extended their 'learning program' by a few more weeks as he was interested in the hardware that was being added to their arsenal. A day or so after the pig monster had attacked; the Galaxy Rangers were summoned by an external force to a nearby planet. What had happened on the planet was anyone's guess, but the five Rangers had returned to Terra Venture with the legendary Galactabeasts. Around a week later, the Galaxy Rangers had added the powerful Transdaggers and Quasar Launchers to their arsenal and had even managed to transform the Galactabeasts into Galactazords.

That was all well and good, but the fighting abilities of the Rangers were still well below par. Even Leo, who had fought on the streets of Angel Grove during the Countdown, was very rusty when it came to thinking on his feet and wielding a weapon at the same time. Hence the reason why Weihan and Paris were training him with sword fighting and being attacked by more than one opponent, though Delphine was on the sidelines to ensure none of the battles became too intense. Alex and Sarah J were assisting Damon with his core strength as well as pushing his strategies to the limit from what they had experienced in battle. So far, the Green Galaxy Ranger was making progress slowly. The Yellow Ranger – Maya – was training under the guidance on Aimee and Eliza on how to use her Delta Daggers to their greatest effect. Curiously, most of their reports to him had been mixed with repeated attempts to stop looking at the Yellow Ranger's heaving bosom as she trained. Judging from the sounds coming from their quarters during the night…it wasn't working.

The ones that seemed to be making the quickest progress were the scientists. Both Kai and Kendrix had progressed so quickly and rapidly that the four Rangers that had been assigned to training them – Linda and Rachelle for Kai and Heather and Alex for Kendrix – had been forced to call upon the others for assistance and even participate in Ranger-on-Ranger sparring sessions where each participant was fully morphed. They had even tapped into their latent Elemental Control and were starting to implement some attacks into their repertoire. He wasn't quite sure how flower petals were supposed to do much damage to an enemy but, if the reports were to be believed, they were akin to a death of a thousand cuts…or something like that.

"Scorpius, Trakeena or the monsters aren't going to play fair and neither should you. Unleash the raging inferno from within!"

As Leo attempted to charge fire into his Sabre, the Orange Ranger shook his head once more. He knew the Red Ranger could control flames as easily as snapping his finger…but there was something holding him back from unleashing his full potential. He knew that Leo's brother had gone missing on a mission but there was something deeper than mourning over a missing brother. Attempted talks with Maya and Kendrix had informed him that it had been Mike that had been the one to pull the Quasar Sabre from its holding place but had given it to Leo moments before falling into a chasm. On the other hand, Weihan knew what guilt over actions and inactions looked like…and they weren't being displayed by the Red Ranger. Whatever was bothering him, Leo would have to work it through on his own.

"Magna Talon!"

Stepping back from a downward stab, he brought up his hands and concentrated on the spikes between his fingers. With a soft clicking, they sprung out to form small blades and he settled into a fighting stance. The Zeo Rangers had managed to defeat one of Xonix's monsters without much damage to Sydney and Frank Sartor was indeed planning a large area that would hopefully be used for monster battles in the future. It had been in one of these battles that Jason had discovered that he still had the ability to call upon the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord and effectively pilot it with his limited powers. Although it was an old machine, the Dinozord was proving to be a help in battling the remaining two monsters.

While the situation on Earth was tenable, the situation in his quarters had reached its critical mass and had erupted a night or so ago. Karone and AJ had been talking about the strangeness of the leaders of the Rangers always having large swords to use in battles when it had shifted to thoughts on who was over or under-compensating for something. Weihan had chosen that exact moment to walk in and the two blondes had zeroed in on him. As a smile crept over his face, he guessed he couldn't really blame them for looking as that had been the day that he had pushed Leo a bit too far in training. The Red Galaxy Ranger had pulled out the Quasar Launcher and had mercilessly fired on him – completely shredding his borrowed GSA uniform. He had barely made it back to his quarters without breaking any decency laws but had pretty much shattered the remaining ones within seconds.

Much like the time under Love Tick's spell, he remembered every single detail but he was actively participating in the pleasure. Practically everything they could think of had been tried at least once with the possible exception of him in his unicorn form but they had been extremely lucky the soundproofing spells had been in place as they had found out that Karone was a screamer. A loud screamer. Amusingly, they had also discovered that his fire powers were connected to his emotional state more than he had thought after a sudden fire at the foot of the bed had erupted after a rather intense orgasm. A mad rush to extinguish the flames later and they had collapsed in a strange hilarious ecstasy. He had no idea what Zhane would do to them when he found out but it would be interesting to see how long the 'strongest' Astro Ranger would be able to stand up to an Ultra Ranger.

"All right. That's enough for today. We'll pick up again tomorrow."

"No you won't."

As the loud robotic voice washed over the trio, Weihan funnelled fire into his hands as he slowly turned around. Leaning on a nearby tree was the robotic form of the Orange Psycho Ranger. It looked the same as the last time they had fought but there were new additions to the demonic armour such as a set of blades that reminded him of the ones on Creeper. The horns on the helmet were longer and curved around like the horns on a ram. The same jagged blade was held in one hand but it was streaked with blood. Retracting his glove spikes, he summoned his Raptor Sabre and exhaled slowly.

It was going to be one Hell of a fight.

TBC…


	179. 178: Postponing Action

Chapter One Seventy Eight: Postponing Action

Civilians huddled in shelters as the storm raged outside.

The fight had lasted for more than four solid hours and neither side was willing to give up. By all accounts, it should have been an easy battle that should have lasted around ten or fifteen minutes. It should not have included the Galaxy Rangers being called in and using everything in their arsenal to attempt to break the defensive energy shield that had been around the Orange Psycho Ranger. It should not have included the destruction of several office buildings, apartment blocks and a burrowing energy attack that almost knocked one of the engines offline. It should not have included the first public sighting of the former Queen of Evil slinging magic bolts at the robotic Ranger; and it most certainly should not have included an attack by the Black/Green Ranger that dropped the air temperature of the City Dome to roughly ten degrees.

But it did.

The Rangers were showing signs of weariness and fatigue but in all honesty, they looked better than the robotic Psycho Ranger. Psycho Orange's breastplate had been melted off and there were deep gouges carved into his armour. Sparks of electricity arced from the open wounds and exposed circuitry and most disturbingly: the face of the Psycho Ranger was barely hanging on by its remaining connectors. There was a ragged hole in its lower back from where its internal shielding unit had exploded under the fire breath from the Lion Galactabeasts and there were various fluids leaking from it.

"Alex, is there any way you could encase it in ice for a finishing blow?"

The Black/Green Ranger shook his head as he watched Kai and Maya attack the heavily damaged robot. Wincing as they took a particularly bad hit, he shot a small ball of ice from his Mammoth Buster.

"No can do. I used up almost all stored power with the Blizzard Axe earlier. I need at least ten minutes for a recharge. That's what the freaky voice inside my head says anyway."

He swore to himself and looked at the others. The battle with Psycho Orange had left them slightly drained and winded but they would be all right within a few minutes. The only issue was getting those few, precious minutes needed for their second wind. He had to be cautious as the Psycho Ranger had shown a great deal of improvement since the last battle – it could now use its blade effectively instead of swinging it like a madman and it could deflect the lasers and magic being flung at it. At least Karone had informed him that AJ was holed up in the Megaship and was monitoring the battle from there. There was also an option he didn't want to think about – the cracking of the dome above their heads. From what Kai and Kendrix had told him; the amount of destructive energy emitted by the Hellfire Storm had drastically reduced the output of the external shields by 85 percent; which was why Scorpius was sending so many monsters recently.

Of course, the shield generators Billy had designed were able to cope with the stress and were recharging the shields at an exceptional rate. The only issue was the shields decreased in efficiency every time a monster passed through. Weihan wondered if it was possible to have Billy…talk with himself through the communication of the Dimensional Doorway and see if they couldn't hack out a solution. The only issue was that it seemed that the Dimensional Doorway was still inoperable on Equestria's side. Until the Doorway was up and running again, he guessed they would just have to wait. Thinking of Equestria twinged his memory and he tried to bring it to the forefront of his mind…which was not easy when dodging energy blasts.

"Raptor Cannon!"

"Blizzard Blaster!"

The orange and white blaster materialised a split second before Alex combined his weapons and both Rangers pointed the muzzles towards the Psycho Ranger. Not bothering with any fancy yells, they dove in opposite directions and sent blasts of fire and ice at the robotic humanoid. The blazing and freezing blasts screamed through the air and impacted against the robotic Ranger's upper chest; knocking it offline. Seeing the robot slump like a puppet with its strings cut, Weihan summoned his Sabre and combined his weapons into the Raptor Launcher. Aiming at the Psycho Ranger, he wondered how he could possibly destroy the Psycho without lowering the output of the external shields any more. After all, without the shields' protection, the reinforced glass wouldn't stand up to the rigors of space for long.

_Encase it in a strong force-bubble. That should allow it to be held in stasis so it can be ejected into the dead air outside._

Well, that was certainly one option worth considering. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the best outcome for all parties. Flicking a switch on the underside of the Raptor Cannon, he felt the weapon whir twice as a confirmation message popped up on the inside of his visor. Rising to his feet, he locked on to the inanimate machine and braced himself for the recoil. Exhaling slowly, he squeezed the trigger and prayed that his internal guide knew what it was suggesting.

A short pulse of multicoloured energy flew out of the end of the Raptor Launcher and streaked toward the immobile Psycho Ranger. From his position, Weihan could see it explode against the damaged armour and engulf the Orange Psycho Ranger in what appeared to be an energy bubble. He waited for a few moments to see if the Psycho Ranger would reactivate and break free but that didn't seem to be the case. Lowering the Raptor Launcher, he cautiously walked up to the captured Ranger and tapped on the bubble with a finger. There was no response and Weihan turned to the others and shrugged once.

For now at least, the battle was over.

TBC…


	180. 179: Close to Normal

AN: Normality and suspicion. And slight ironic thought included as well. Enjoy!

Chapter One Seventy Nine: Close to Normal

His fingers flew over the keyboard as his mind went to work.

It had been two days since he and the others had returned to Earth and there had been no shortage of questions coming in from all sides about what they had seen. News had certainly travelled fast and one of the first questions they had been asked was if they saw the Ultra Rangers battle. Karone, especially, was the target of the questions as the reporters had wondered if she was privy to the identities of the Ultra Rangers. Her noncommittal answers were fuelling a lot of wild rumours including one that all but stated that she had been a part of the Orange Ranger's secret affair with AJ. Of course, that hit too close to home but they didn't really care all that much and Zhane had dismissed that particular story as something made up by 'sex-starved reporters'. The three involved had vowed that the Silver Astro Ranger was never to learn the truth.

After the battle with the Orange Psycho Ranger, they had debated long and hard over what to do with it. Careful probing of the robot had led to the discovery that the power reactor had been knocked ever-so-slightly out of its casing which had the hilarious side-effect of shutting down the homicidal robot. After Billy had determined that it would only be able to reactivate by being hit with a force double that of what had knocked it offline; the suggestions had come from all angles. Alex had even brought up the suggestion of a lawn ornament again…which had apparently been what he wanted to do with Weihan's frozen form. That was slightly creepy but the Orange Ranger shot that suggestion down as they really didn't know how much force had caused it to go offline anyway.

He had made up his mind to do something about it and had waited until everyone had gone to sleep before pushing the immobile robot out the nearest airlock he could find. Of course, he had to do it in morph and constantly had to ask the slightly bewildered GSA soldiers for directions. After about fifty minutes of pushing, he was treated to the very satisfying sight of the Orange Psycho Ranger being expelled into the depths of space. Weihan was sure that even the vacuum wouldn't keep the Psycho Ranger away for long; but he would cross that bridge when it came up. The others had given him a bit of flak for his decision but had ultimately agreed that it was the best solution as it ensured the Psycho Ranger wouldn't break free on Terra Venture and cause havoc. An undesirable side-effect of the attack was their 'cultural programs' had been cut short as the higher ups in the GSA hadn't wanted to risk the delegation from Earth.

So it was that, after a very quick farewell to the Galaxy Rangers, the Ultra Rangers, Karone and AJ had found themselves unceremoniously bundled into the Astro Megashuttle and heading to Earth at Hyper-Rush 9. That had been roughly two days ago and his fingers were seriously starting to ache with all the typing he had to do. Finally finishing the sentence he was writing, he saved his work and closed the word processor. Stifling a yawn, he looked around him at the darkened house and slowly walked over to one of the windows. Placing his forehead on the cool glass, he looked up at the stars in the sky and exhaled slowly. The Zeo Rangers had returned to Angel Grove but Jason was sticking around for a while longer as his girlfriend Emily was interested in visiting a business management school in the CBD. The Red Morphin Ranger had waved off concern and had stated that if it came down to it; he would reveal his secret to Emily and protect her as Tommy was protecting Kim.

"That's not a good position for you to be in, son."

Blinking at the voice, he turned to see his mother stepping toward him with a soft smile on her face. Yin had been worried sick about her son being so far away on Terra Venture but her worry was lessened by the knowledge of Rangers protecting the colony. It was lessened even more by the Ultra Rangers showing up and she knew in her heart that he would be all right. As a property solicitor, she had to deal with the buying and selling of various properties around the world and that meant she was away from home a great deal. Enrolling Weihan into St Andrews had seemed like a good idea at the time…and the first calls had come through regarding his disciplinary and attendance issues. Talks with her son had proved fruitless but he had promised to do his best to lessen his problems at school. Whatever he had done within the past seven months had certainly lessened his absentee issues yet she had picked up on periods of time when he hadn't seemed like himself.

The first instance had been when the overlord Xonix had made his first appearance. Her son had gone from being slightly apprehensive about something one minute to worrying about an empty milk jug the next. Those weren't the only things she had noticed. The first public appearance of the Orange Ranger had seen her son turn into a person who was carrying some sort of grief within him…but that had been explained by the death of one of his classmates. He had seemed normal after that but had come home from school one day with one of the darkest and saddest looks on his face. Asking the other parents had brought up no answer and she had been shocked by his absolute refusal to answer any questions on what had happened. The very next day, he seemed slightly cheered by something but she had still seen the sorrow deep in his eyes. She had often caught him mumbling in his sleep about things but they didn't seem to make much sense to her…except the mentions of Jacqui Apple.

Meeting the blonde reporter had been a fluke on her part but after a very short amount of time, AJ had become part of the family. It had come as a shock to her when the blonde had mentioned she had some dealings with her son in her investigations about the monster attacks happening in and around the school and had mentioned that the feeling of attraction seemed to be mutual. Yin had made plans to set the older girl up with her son then and there; the age difference wouldn't be much of a problem of they truly loved each other…yet she seemed to only be seeing half of the big picture.

"Yeah, I guess. Just taking a bit of a break from the articles. Fourteen hundred words don't seem like a lot until you actually begin writing it and all the thoughts begin to get in the way."

She watched as he tugged the collar of his orange shirt and her eyes narrowed slightly. As part of her motherly duties was doing the laundry, she had noticed a sudden spike in the amount of orange clothing her son wore. She had dismissed it as wanting to emulate the Orange Ranger when it first started…but now she wasn't so sure. On occasion, she had seen him picking up long sticks in the garden and wielding them as swords or short staves. The same moves would come to the forefront of her memory whenever she would see footage of the Orange Ranger in battle. There had been the strange case of the park down the road with the strange scorch marks on the trunks that had appeared overnight and the rambling report by the local drunk who had seen 'some kid shoot fire from his hands' or something like that. Shaking her head, she smiled again and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't stay up too late; you have school in the morning."

"I won't. Love you."

Nodding, she turned to head upstairs but paused at the foot of the stairs. Turning her head to look behind her, she could see her son in the same position as he looked up at the sky and shook her head once more.

She would be watching her son very closely.

TBC…


	181. 180: Racing Stripes

Chapter One Eighty: Racing Stripes

"At what point did we lose control?"

Eliza ducked down as a barrage of missiles streaked overhead; slamming into a building behind them and detonating with terrifying force. She hoped there were no civilians in the building but the battle had been raging for a good hour or so…

"We had control?"

Her leader shot her a look and she knew he was rolling his eyes under his helmet. The second of Xonix's time-delayed monsters had been released and any hopes that it would be a rather simple battle had been dashed within the first five seconds. The monster was a long-range attacker with a penchant for spraying missiles around it every fifteen minutes…or so they thought. Any attempt by the Ultra Rangers to capitalise on the time window had been met with brief bursts of random and sporadic activity that ranged from stabs from bayonets that came out of nowhere or energy blasts that burst from extremely strange places. It was almost as if Pinkie Pie had been turned into a monstrous reptilian gunman and given an extremely violent personality…as well as retaining all of her strange mind-warping powers.

A strong flare of light that was coupled with twin beams of energy lancing out informed her that Weihan had pulled out his Assault Armour and was attempting to break through the shield of projectiles. She was in awe of the power possessed within the Assault Armour but knew she and the others had to practice using it first. On the other side of the battlefield, Weihan's shots were returned by two short bursts of greenish black energy and she knew that Alex had summoned his Assault Armour as well. Snapping off a few blasts of her own from her Bull Rammer, she wondered how in the world Alex had become so used to the armour if it had only been 'unlocked'. Sure, there had been the battle earlier with Steven Johnston using that armour, but Alex wouldn't have been able to do much in the way of actually controlling the armour and was pretty much in the dark as all of them.

"Plan? Can we rush him?"

Weihan shook his head as he fired more blasts from his shoulder blasters. Xonix's mad gunslinger was too dangerous to fight from a long range point but also too unpredictable for close combat operations. Also it was a tough battle from the start as only he, Eliza, Alex and Will had been able to slip away. The others were answering questions in a news conference held in a monster shelter…one that they had been forced into after the monster had started attacking. Their departure had been disguised as helping the civilians that had been caught unawares or something like that. They had also heard something about a new team from Mariner Bay coming in for that purpose but they hadn't seen anyone yet. Shaking his head at Eliza's question, his eyes darted for potential cover as the monster started another flurry of random activity.

"We have two Rangers with Assault Armour active; me and Alex. Leapfrog strategy while we move forward to mid-range. Then you and Will call upon your Assault Armours and we destroy the SOB from all sides. Any questions?"

"Yeah, one. Where the hell did it go?"

Blinking in surprise, Weihan looked up at the monster…only to see it dissolve into nothingness in front of him. There had been no explosion that signalled its destruction nor had he heard any form of Ranger finisher being screamed out. Frustratedly exhaling, he slowly rose to his feet; keeping his fingers on the triggers of his gauntlet blasters and scanning the surrounding areas for traces of the creature. Channelling power to his external defences in case of a surprise attack, he stepped out into the open street and held his breath. Straining his ears over the crackle of raging fires, he could hear nothing out of the ordinary…with the possible exception of some sirens gradually coming closer. Relaxing slightly, he hoped that the monster didn't have some sort of vehicle it could use to escape. He knew their arsenal also included motorcycles as a form of transport but he was a little leery of using them too much.

A pinprick of light caught his attention a split second before a torrent of mini-missiles impacted against his armour to throw him violently to the ground. Rolling from the inertia, he lifted up one arm and fired a crescent shaped blast of energy at the direction where the missiles had come from. A pained scream was all the confirmation he needed that his plan had gone straight to Hell. Groggily rising to his feet, he dove under another barrage of missiles and fired a depowered version of the Hellfire Storm at the monster. What he didn't expect was seeing the beam become dispersed by a strange set of bombs the monster had set in the path of its escape. Angrily hitting the palm of his right hand with a fist, he clenched his teeth together and wondered exactly why those damn sirens were coming closer. As the other three Rangers gathered near him, he accessed the arsenal menu on his HUD and rapidly flicked through all the available options.

"We need to be able to catch up with it. Speed is the key here…that should do the trick. Summon Ultra Cycles!"

At his words, there was a blinding flash of light that revealed four futuristic looking cycles. Thick armour ran along the sides and the rider's seat was covered by what seemed to be an energy bubble that would protect it from harm. As the Rangers marvelled over the cycles, Weihan walked around the one that was uniquely his and nodded in admiration. He wasn't much for motorbikes – or cars for that matter – but he could see the raw power that was waiting to be unleashed by the beast in front of him. Sliding himself into the seat, he inhaled lightly as it began to shift him into an almost horizontal position while keeping him comfortable. As he couldn't really see the road in front of him, he wondered how he would be able to steer without ramming into anything in his path. Almost as if responding to his thoughts, a small viewscreen blinked to life in front of him and displayed a real-time view of the area in front of him and on the sides.

"Wait, why are these unicycles?"

Shaking his head at Will's comment, he gripped the handlebars tightly and revved the engine once. He could feel the machine under him vibrate and he had to clamp down tightly on the thoughts that threatened to emerge from the deep depths of his brain. If he allowed them to see the light of day…well, then he would have a problem with keeping his mind in the game…especially since he hadn't been with AJ or Karone for a few days. Exhaling slowly, he shook his head to himself as he realised that he was starting to turn into a sex fiend. Pausing until the others were ready to go, he flicked on the scanners and groaned as an image came to light. The reptilian beast had slipped past the zone the police had cordoned off for the battle and was making itself known at Hyde Park. Unfortunately, it had arrived by flinging lasers and missiles at the shocked and surprised civilians around it…and many were heavily injured or worse. The vehicle that had been blaring out sirens was revealed to be a strange yellow Humvee with an open top and a strange medical symbol on its bonnet and sides. He could see five figures assisting the injured and hoped that they didn't try anything stupid like attacking the monster. Receiving three confirmations from the Rangers, he revved his engine on the Ultra Cycle once more before tearing off down the road to where the monster was.

As they weaved through the streets, he kept his eyes on the viewscreen in front of him and cursed under his breath as the five figures – now finished in their clearing of civilians – surrounded the monster on all sides. Flicking on the subspace communicator that Billy had given him, he opened a channel with the Blue Ranger on Terra Venture and transmitted a live feed of the image he was seeing.

"Talk to me, Billy. What's going on here?"

He could hear Billy's sharp intake of breath…which didn't fill him with a great deal of confidence. He could also hear several voices behind him – the most prominent being both Leo and Kai's. he muttered something that Weihan didn't really catch before speaking in a slightly strained tone.

"Help them out. One of my uncles must have completed that project he was always talking about. Damned if I know how but help them out when they get overwhelmed and contact me later; I'll explain the rest then"

The communication ended with a sharp snap as the four Rangers neared the area where the pseudo-Mexican standoff was taking place. Stopping the Ultra Cycle nearby, he activated the weapon systems and waited for the right moment. The quintet surrounding the monster was now raising their arms in a strange posture and he groaned under his breath as an aura of power surrounded them. If these guys were some new Power Rangers, he would wait to see how they handled themselves before rushing in and saving the day.

He would give them two minutes.

TBC…

AN: Yes, Lightspeed Rescue is happening at the same time as Lost Galaxy. No teamups between the two will happen until later.


	182. 181: Lightspeed Redundant

AN: Also passes 250K words a chapter or so back (18/4/12). Woo!

Chapter One Eighty One: Lightspeed Redundant

How could a demon be so strong?

That was the question racing through Carter Grayson's mind as he attempted to defend his team against the monster in front of them. Lightspeed had been contacted by the Sydney City Council to help with civilian treatment and evacuation during a monster attack but it had taken more than an hour to travel there using the Emergency Transport System…which was basically a glorified matter transporter. At least the streets had been mostly deserted around the area of the attack and they could scream around corners in the Rescue Rover without worrying about traffic. From the reports they had received, it seemed only four Ultra Rangers were attacking the monster; presumably to buy time for the other eight to join the battle. Captain Mitchell had told them to prioritise saving lives over the monster but after its explosive entrance away from the cordoned area; it had just done nothing out of the ordinary.

That had changed a few seconds after they had morphed and it had charged in. Joel and Kelsey had been struck by a barrage of missiles and Dana and Chad had been blindsided by bayonets that had literally flown out of nowhere; which left him as the only Ranger not injured in any way, shape or form. He had drawn his Rescue Blaster and was circling the monster warily while the others recovered. From the quick briefing the Captain had given them, he knew that it had come out of a crack in the ground that had appeared moments after a surge of Shadow World energy had been detected. Why Diabolico had chosen to attack Sydney was anyone's guess but he had doubts that the monster was a demon summoned. There was a rumour floating around that it had been seen a week or so in battle with the Zeo Rangers who were defending Sydney while the Ultra Rangers were off world. Not only that, the monster moved differently than the previous demons had…and didn't come with a contingent of Batlings in tow.

Inhaling shallowly, he tightened his grip on his Blaster and prepared to rush the monster in an attempt to catch it off guard when a strange sound reached his ears. It sounded like a motorcycle engine revving up…but according to the most recent reports, the Lightspeed Cycles weren't ready for a real-world test just yet. Dismissing it as some hotshot civilian out on a joyride, he blinked hard as two beams of energy streaked on either side of his body – missing him by microns. The energy continued along its straight path and impacted against the reptilian monster, engulfing it in a burning explosion. When the smoke cleared, Carter gaped openly at the damage that was done. Several open ports dotted around the monster had fused shut and the bayonet sheaths on its forearms had melted into its skin. It was screaming in pain and Carter raised his Rescue Blaster to pull off the finishing blow.

However, someone got there first.

Screaming overhead like a banshee out of Hell, four motorised unicycles landed in front of him and surrounded the monster on all sides; disorientating it in its pain. From the sides of the cycles a short turret extended that released a thin beam of energy. The energy wrapped around each of its limbs to immobilise it; before the cycles travelled a short distance and stopped. Carter blinked once at the sight before hurrying to help his team to their feet. Once he was sure they were safe and sound; he turned back just in time to see the tops of the unicycles slide open. The seats ascended to reveal four figures clad in thick armour with upwardly curving shoulder plates. The Orange clad figure walked slowly and purposefully toward the monster and stopped a few feet away.

"Out of luck this time. Now, you will meet your end! Orange Ultra Ranger!"

"Purple Ultra Ranger!"

"Black/Green Ultra Ranger!"

"White Ultra Ranger!"

The Lightspeed Rangers held their breath as they realised they were seeing the mighty Ultra Rangers with their own eyes. The amount of power that the quartet exuded was intensely powerful and it was all they could do to not start quaking in fear. Three flashes of light signalled the Ultra Rangers had pulled out their weapons and Carter gaped at the gauntlet blasters three of them wielded. Ultra Rangers or not, there was no way that the monster could be destroyed by those weapons or the tiny blaster the Orange Ranger had pulled out of a side holster.

"Should we help them?"

Shaking his head at Dana's question, he automatically sheathed his Rescue Blaster while watching the scene unfold in front of him. The Ultra Rangers broke apart and took up positions around the immobile monster; carefully adjusting their positions so they were not in the direct line of fire from their team mates. He could feel a slight charge in the air as their weapons powered up for the final blow and he waited for the pre-fire announcement that was standard for all Rangers. A few seconds later, he jumped slightly as the Ultra Rangers fired balls of energy at the monster without making any sort of proclamation. The energy balls impacted against the thick armour of the reptilian and – for the briefest of moments – seemed to do nothing at all. The Ultra Rangers dove to the ground and rolled away from the monster as the energy slowly was absorbed into its body.

"Get down!"

The Red Ranger only had enough time to allow the meaning behind the words to sink in before his body reacted automatically. Flinging his team to the ground, he leapt down as the monster violently combusted in a blaze of light and fire. When the explosion subsided, there was nothing left of the monster except a charred spot on the ground. Slowly picking himself up, the Red Ranger walked towards the strange Orange Ranger and opened his mouth to speak. Before the first syllable could come out, the Orange Ranger tapped his left wrist once and an image appeared over it. Carter could hear Dana inhale sharply as the image smoothed out to show a tall blonde man with blue-rimmed spectacles over his eyes.

"Billy…"

The head in the image nodded once as if confirming his identity and the Pink Lightspeed Ranger powered down over the protests of her team. The Orange Ranger held his arm straight as the blonde medical worker stared at a face she hadn't seen since well before the…incident. The man held up a hand as Dana's mouth fell open and his voice was strong but held a tinge of frustration and weariness.

"Dana, it is good to see you however, there are things that shouldn't be discussed in such a public space. Orange, you can take them to the Cavern as I will personally be responsible for any fallout that may occur with their superior."

The Orange Ranger nodded once but gave the impression that he was rolling his eyes. Lifting his right hand to the side of his helmet, Carter saw his head move up and down slightly before nodding once.

"Come with me."

TBC…


	183. 182: Lightspeed Revelations

Chapter One Eighty Two: Lightspeed Revelations

It was utterly breathtaking.

Carter blinked once at his surroundings and felt his mouth drop open at the sight around him. He had thought that the Lightspeed Aquabase was at the peak of technology and even surpassed what pictures he had seen of the Astro Megaship but as he looked around, he knew he was sorely mistaken. There were terminals around him that had connections to screens that showed everything imaginable from the inside of a monster shelter to a slightly singed apartment building. Massive hulks lined the walls and he just knew that they were the Zords used by the Rangers. Of course, he had heard the rumours regarding the mysterious Ultra Rangers and had wondered where their base was. The amount of technological secrets that could be garnered from this place was immense and it made him extremely grateful that their morphers could be tracked with Lightspeed's private GPS network

"Carter, I don't mean to sound worried; but the GPS locators don't seem to be working."

The Red Ranger furrowed his brow and looked at the morpher on his wrist. All of them had demorphed upon arrival with the exception of Dana and they hadn't thought to check if their signal was still being broadcast. Flicking the cover open, he pressed one of the buttons on the side and peered closely at the location device.

[Location Unknown]

Well, that was worrying. If their GPS devices had stopped transmitting then Captain Mitchell would think that they had vanished off the face of the Earth…or had died in battle. Then again, if they had died, the GPS locators would still be active. He turned to where the Orange, White, Purple and Black/Green Rangers were still morphed and huddled around what looked to be a communication console of some kind. There was also a strange gate-like object at the far end of the Cavern that seemed dormant but had a strange image of a horse in a screen next to it. What it was used for, he had no idea but he was willing to bet Miss Fairweather would be able to crack it open. Shaking his head, he walked towards the Rangers and cleared his throat loudly. The Rangers broke apart and shared a look before demorphing in a wholly understated manner. Standing in front of him were…kids that looked barely out of their childhood. The thought of those much younger than him wielding greater powers was…impossible to wrap his mind around.

"Yeah…we get that look a lot."

"Wait; this has to be some sort of joke, right? You're the kids of the real Ultra Rangers…right?"

Weihan shook his head once and tried to suppress the grin threatening to break out. Struggling to keep his face neutral, he sighed to himself as he realised this situation would've come up sooner or later anyway. With Zordon gone, Dimitria presumably on Eltare or on Inquiris and Dulcea still stuck on the plateau; any future Rangers would probably start at a later age to not destroy their innocence so much. On the other hand they would be less flexible to sudden shocks or changes in their environment. Leo and the other Galaxy Rangers had been more accepting as they had Billy and Alpha to guide them…but there were no obvious links that he could think of for the team in front of him. Wait, he was sure that the Pink Ranger had recognised Billy and there was some degree of familiarity between them.

Flicking a switch on the console in front of him, he opened a subspace communication with Billy yet again. This time the Blue Ranger was alone when he answered but Weihan could hear Delphine in the background issuing orders to the Rangers. He wondered what sort of damage a monster called Mutantrum could do but guessed the shields weren't up to full capacity yet.

"All right, is everyone there?"

Checking his watch, the Orange Ranger shook his head as he realised the conference would still be going on in the monster shelter. Relaying this information to Billy, he shuddered as he realised the others would be out for their blood after the conference was over. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off, once again, by the Pink Ranger.

"Billy Cranston…I don't believe it. It is you…where are you? The Captain will be happy to hear from you again!"

Holding up a hand, the Pink Ranger fell silent. Weihan exchanged glances with the others as they started to realise that the Pink Ranger knew Billy on a slightly more personal level than they did. On the other hand, Billy was a Power Ranger and they had fought side-by-side a few times. Looking to the Orange Ranger, Billy nodded once and spoke.

"The four teens in front of you are the Ultra Rangers. Their powers were granted to them by the mystical Ultra Crystal and, just like you, they work on their own set of rules. I'm sure you have heard of them in your lives before you became Rangers?"

Carter nodded once as he looked at them with fresh eyes. He could see strength in their bodies that rivalled theirs and there was a strange hardness to their eyes; almost as if they were preparing themselves for a fight. He guessed he would feel the same way as them if he was in their shoes. He had seen the damage that had been done by their enemies of course but he didn't think any evil being could be extremely powerful. After all, Dark Spectre – the supposed Grand Monarch of Evil – had been defeated by either a super-torpedo or a wave of light; depending on which of the reports he read. On one hand, being in the presence of such great Rangers made him feel slightly inferior to them and the wealth of experience they possessed. On the other hand…

"They're just kids! Queen Bansheera is probably more evil than whoever their enemy is!"

The Orange Ranger moved so fast, Carter thought he must have teleported. One moment he was standing still as Joel mouthed off at him…the next, the sharp tip of his Sabre was pressed up against the throat of the Green Ranger. The young Asian applied the tiniest amount of pressure on the blade and Carter swallowed nervously as a tiny trickle of blood ran down the blade. The voice of the Orange Ranger was low, but carried a deadly undertone to it.

"Now listen here. I don't know who this Bansheera is and I don't give two shits. All I care about is destroying Xonix and returning peace to Earth. I have seen things that would make you crumble and I have still kept my sanity relatively intact. If you choose to get in our way, we will destroy you and your powers in an instant. You do not want to fuck with us."

Removing his Raptor Sabre from the Green Ranger's throat, Weihan looked back at the other Ultra Rangers and shrugged once. As they stifled laughter, he looked at the image of Billy and smirked sheepishly. The Blue Morphin Ranger shook his head and groaned in exasperation. Taking that as a sign to continue, Weihan rested his Sabre on his shoulder and gestured to himself and the Rangers.

"We are the Ultra Rangers. My name is Weihan and these are Eliza, Will and Alex. You saw us demorph so you should know the colours by now. Billy, what's the connection you have with these guys. Please don't tell us you designed their suits."

Billy shook his head and thought about what he would say to them. If he withheld any information it would come back to bite him on the ass but some of the information was strictly confidential. A knowing look from Weihan was all he needed to begin speaking. After all, this was going to come up sooner or later anyway.

"I did not design those suits. For those of you who don't know me; my name is Billy Cranston and I designed your Lightspeed Zords. I worked with Angela Fairweather during the preliminary construction phase but was called to work on Terra Venture soon after. I am also the cousin of Dana Mitchell as her father is one of many eccentric uncles I have."

He paused to let it all sink in. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the Mutantrum monster was close to being defeated with the Galaxy Megazord and he nodded slightly. Delphine caught the nod and relayed the instructions to Leo to begin the Finishing move; a series of powered slices that Damon called the "weed-whacker from Hell". He wondered how his next piece of information would be received by Dana but thought nothing of it. Her father hadn't bothered to visit him after the incident occurred and he had only learnt about it when he had asked the Captain directly. The Captain had revealed to him the circumstances of the incident in full and had begged for him not to inform Dana that her brother was still alive. Billy had agreed but had warned him that his decision would more than likely come back to haunt him.

"I am also the original Blue Ranger."

TBC…


	184. 183: Aligning History

Chapter One Eighty Three: Aligning History

He was bored out of his mind.

Xonix shifted uncomfortably as he pored over the documents Edward had left for him to look over. Swivelling one of his eyes up to the viewscreen, he snorted as he saw that the refuelling process was only partially complete. Finding the wayward Psycho Ranger had been relatively easy and a transport spell had sent it to wherever the Orange Ranger was. Judging from the reports coming from the Arker Sector; the human space colony project Terra Venture had been where it had ended up. Amusingly, it had been sighted in an inert state floating in space a few hours after and was on a collision course with Scorpius' ship. The search for the Dark Converter was also bearing fruit as Psychogre had reported in and had told him about a possible lead.

That person had turned out to be an emissary of the Space Ninja warlord Lothor and had only promised to hand over the technical specifications and blueprints if he helped train his army. Xonix wasn't losing any sleep over the 'loss' of Psychogre as he had some past dealings with Lothor and knew the space Ninja would always keep up his end of the bargain. Also, it was necessary for the flow of time to continue for some reason. He didn't want to know how Edward had gotten his hands on such highly classified documents and knew the human that had been his brother wouldn't tell him anyway. The thought of such knowledge and power being at his fingertips was too enticing for words; yet he knew what the aftershocks of one small detail being out of place would be. He would have to contact Villamax and arrange for the honourable warrior to be at Onyx in three weeks as well as giving Diabolico the exact location of the experimental morpher Lightspeed was developing.

Temporal issues gave him a headache and a half but he didn't really mind. From what he could see, there would be a series of minor victories in the future and an event that was described as OD. What those letters stood for was anyone's guess; but whatever it was, it couldn't be changed or shifted from the timeline. The event was also coming up rapidly and would be upon them within three to four weeks. That would give Psychogre enough time to pick and train the best space Ninjas for Lothor and install the Dark Converter into his 'side project' before coming back to Earth to surprise the Ultra Rangers. He would also have to transmit a specific frequency at a specific part of the Galaxy to awaken the Overlords of the Sha'Kahr from their slumber so that the TW event would occur. From the timeline map, he could see that the so-called Master would be sealed but would take the father of the Light as his mightiest warrior.

Slumping back in his seat, he thought of all his brother had told him. He was very tempted to contact the brother he knew on Triforia but he honestly didn't know what he would say to him. Edward hadn't mentioned any conversation with Xonix prior to his journey into the past; so any contact with Edward would be breaking the tenuous time loop that existed for his younger brother. For the time being at least, his brother would have to survive without his guidance…which was all well and good but didn't really fix the headache that was threatening on the horizon.

Flipping over the pages absently, he wondered exactly what his brother was thinking to unleash the Dark Converter on Sydney. Sure, it would theoretically cut off a great deal of the city from the outside world and make it easy for him to swoop in and kill the Rangers…but sending down four monsters at once would probably achieve the same result. If what he was looking at was correct, then Scorpius would die soon at the hands of the Galaxy Rangers. How that would happen – much like everything on the pages in front of him – was a mystery but he supposed the old warrior would see it as a fitting way to die in battle. Shuddering lightly, he vowed to put all thoughts of Scorpius out of his mind as he had witnessed the once-humanoid warlord being forcibly mutated by the late Dark Spectre. Fortunately, it had been after his then-wife had gotten pregnant with his daughter Trakeena…and he would shut down that train of thought before he drove himself insane.

Flicking his eyes over the next page, he nodded absently as he skimmed the paragraph that concerned his future plans. He remembered the Wraith that Jabarkas had sent down early in the campaign and had traced the energy patterns that had been released upon its escape. The same energy signatures were present in around three hundred mirrors all around the globe; although most of them were in and around the Sydney area. Spectre Theatre also housed the strongest energy signature of the lot, though attempts to secure the site had been met with unworldly obstacles and delays. He had the strangest feeling that, if he were ever to be defeated, that the creatures housed in the mirrors would break free and wreak havoc on the World. The Rangers would probably stop them…or some new Ranger-like person would.

As the refuelling process neared the half-way point, he wondered what exactly was being done in his absence. Out of the three monsters that had been sent down, two had been destroyed. One had grown giant and met its end at the blade of the Zeo Megazord and the other had just been defeated by four Ultra Rangers…after it had beaten back the newest Power Ranger team on Earth. That just left one monster remaining…or maybe he would get lucky and it would split into two individual entities. He would send a subspace transmission to Jabarkas or Yit to send down a group of Fiends or Golems when the monster made its appearance. Perhaps he would get lucky and the new Ranger team would be eliminated as well…or he would leave that pleasure to Queen Bansheera. He had felt the faint stirrings of that old and deluded demon hag awakening a few days ago and it would only be a matter of time before she came grovelling to him for a monster request.

Closing the folder of pages with a snap, he sighed and looked out into the vast reaches of space. The stars seemed to smirk at him and promised great things for the future. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and attempted to get some sleep before the ship set off again.

He would let the Rangers rest…for now.

TBC…


	185. 184: Cut Off

AN: Short chapter here…kinda lost my original train of thought. Picked it up in a different direction.

Chapter One Eighty Four: Cut Off

"That's not possible."

Weihan idly drummed his fingers on the top of the console as the Pink Ranger expressed a great deal of disbelief. He supposed it would be a shock for someone who supposedly was close to Billy to find out that he was a Power Ranger; let alone one of the originals. He decided to keep a close eye on what was about to happen as he had a strange feeling that he would need the knowledge of what to say. Research onto mind altering spells was going strong but he had to be careful with the words used otherwise he could end up wiping a person's memories.

"I was one of the first Power Rangers, Dana. I couldn't tell you for obvious reasons and your father stopped coming to visit after the incident happened. The last thing I heard was that you and your father had moved to Mariner Bay and were setting up Project Lightspeed with Angela Fairweather. And now, you're the Pink Ranger…and I couldn't be prouder of you."

Dana's eyes moistened and she swiped at them before looking at the image of her cousin on the screen. Hearing that he had been one of the first Power Rangers was a lot to take but had explained some of his behaviours on the final occasion that she had seen him. Her father had wanted so desperately to bring him deeper into the project and had originally planned to grant him the Red morpher…and then Terra Venture had snapped him up with the girlfriend no one had known about. Taking a small photo out of her back pocket, she unfolded it and looked at the image fondly. It was the final photo taken of her and Billy on that day so many months ago when he had been a gangly youth with a borderline obsession with blue clothes; a far cry from the toned and muscled man she could see.

"I get it now. I understand the secrecy…but why are you helping these kids?"

Billy shook his head and nodded to Weihan. He knew that it was his question to answer and opened his mouth to answer. However, Billy's image suddenly warped and blinked out and the lights shut off with an audible snap. In the dim lighting that remained, Weihan whirled around to check on the others and summoned the Raptor Sabre in a flash of light. Over the shocked shouts and alarm of the Lightspeed Rangers, he cautiously walked over to the Command Console and brought up a screen that showed the area in and around the Ultra Cavern. He had done a bit of scouting a few days after the recruitment of Will and Alex and he knew exactly where it was in relation to Sydney. The urban sprawl that had been seen in the bad future had given him the impression that it was closer to the CBD…but in actuality it was closer to Bathurst and (ironically enough) the city of Orange. Bringing up the scanners, he inhaled sharply as he saw the image on the screen and hoped to all Hell that the others were having fun at the Terra Venture conference.

The area in and around the Ultra Cavern was swarming with Golems and Fiends. There was no sign of Jabarkas or the final monster but there was a barrier of something set up. He sensed the Red Lightspeed Ranger coming up to see the screen and heard the low curse that was uttered in surprise when a strange third force materialised. They looked like humanoid caricatures of bats and had small wings jutting out of their heads. The creature that materialised with them was a brute that had the physical appearance of a Praying Mantis and Weihan was reminded both of the Sting Wingers on Terra Venture…and of Parascythe.

"Batlings? Here?"

Glancing behind him at the other Lightspeed Rangers, Weihan nodded once and pulled out his Ultra Crystal. The Pink Ranger had wanted to know why Billy was helping the Ultra Rangers but in reality, it was the other way around. As far as he was concerned, he had helped the Morphin Rangers out of many jams in the past – starting with the defeat of the Ogre and culminating in the escape from Spectre Theatre. Now that he thought about it, he had helped the Astro Rangers at the cost of his own mobility on Hercuron by helping out the Phantom Ranger and trained the Galaxy Rangers to be better fighters against Scorpius.

"You want to know why Billy is helping us?"

Dana nodded once, awed by the sudden shift in demeanour of the young boy in front of her. He had shifted from nonchalant to a battle-hardened mode within seconds…something that she had only seen Carter do once. Communication with her cousin had been cut off and if she was seeing things correctly, there was a large group of Batlings, rocklike golems, strange reptilian creatures and a demon pretty much right outside their door. With ten Rangers, the coming battle would be a bit too much for them to handle on their own. Even if the kids could use their super-strong powers, there was sure to be a time limit on them as the Silver Astro Ranger had.

"Fight and you'll see why we help him."

TBC…


	186. 185: Why We Fight

Chapter One Eighty Five: Why we Fight

Against all odds; they were winning.

Dana swung her Rescue Baton at a Batling as she tried to keep track of what the kids were doing. Not less than two seconds after the post-morph energies had faded from their armour, they had charged into the battle without formulating a proper strategy. Grunts had flown everywhere and various screams and yells had punctuated blows from both sides. The insectoid monster had been rather easily destroyed by the Purple and Orange Rangers by using a strange sort of tag-team attack that had involved the Orange Ranger being flung into a building and the Purple Ranger jump-kicking the monster with a powerful flying side kick. The Orange Ranger had muttered something under his breath that the helmet speakers didn't pick up on but had thrown himself in battle with renewed energy and vigour. Throwing off the Batling beside her, she converted her Baton to the Blaster and began firing shots into the horde in front of her.

"Fire in the Hole!"

Ducking instinctively at the cry behind her, she blinked in surprise and shock as the group of grunts in front of her instantly turned to ice and a white form shattered them with a powerful punch. Blinking in surprise at the unexpected help, she tried to stammer out her thanks but was interrupted by the White Ranger.

"No thanks are needed. We're Rangers and we help each other."

Numbly nodding, she turned around and focused on a group of Batlings that was close to where Joel and Kelsey were. It seemed to her as if none of the rocklike and reptilian beings were being allowed near the Lightspeed Rangers and she wondered why that was so. After all, if they were all Rangers then why would the rocklike creatures be any more of a challenge to them than Bansheera's monsters? She soon received her answer after she saw both Carter and Chad be thrown to the ground by one of the reptiles that had strayed past the defensive lines of the Ultra Rangers. The reptile reared back and spat three green globs at the two downed Rangers. While the first two missed completely, the third smacked Carter in the helmet and the protection began smoking.

"Red! Take the helmet off if you don't want to lose your head!"

Turning at the sudden voice, she saw the Orange Ranger delivering a fire-charged slash to the reptilian creature that caused it to explode in a shower of flame and flesh. Rushing to Carter's side, she could only blink in shock as the Orange Ranger popped the latches on the Red Ranger's helmet and pulled it off in one smooth motion. Dropping it on the ground, Dana watched in horror as the green substance ate through the faceplate and the sensitive electronics within. Suddenly, the Orange Ranger's armour flared with flames as he pushed the Pink Ranger to the ground and dropped into a defensive stance as three tongues of flame blasted from the mouths of the rocklike beings. The trio watched as the Ranger formed three high-intensity fireballs and threw them at the rock golems – shattering them in an instant. Summoning a small blaster into his hands and snapped off four shots at a quartet of Batlings that was racing to their position. Uncannily, the bolts exploded in the very centre of their heads and threw the grunts back with the impact.

"We don't allow those without the experience to fight foes greater than their current enemies. Focus on the bat things and leave the Golems and Fiends to us."

Seeing the Pink Ranger nod, Weihan's attention turned to the Red Ranger. The young man was looking at his slowly dissolving helmet in shock and, from the looks of it, was finally starting to understand why they were so powerful. Searching his vast repository for a new weapon to pull out, Weihan flipped over another barrage of acidic globs and sent a burning spear of flame down the throat of the offending Fiend. As the reptile burst into flame from the inside out, he vowed not to eat anything char-grilled for the next week. Running a critical eye on the battlefield, he noticed that the combined efforts of the Rangers had significantly reduced the number of the bat grunts on the battlefield. Unfortunately, that meant the inexperienced Rangers would soon be tangling with the fiercer Golems and Fiends…and they would be killed if something wasn't done about the energy shield or whatever it was that was blocking communications. He inhaled to call upon his Assault Armour but stopped as a new weapon flashed on the inside of his visor. Briefly wondering when the weapons would see the 'official' light of day, he summoned it into his hands.

Whatever it was…it didn't look that spectacular. It appeared to be a metal X that was slightly larger than palm size and a strange lance/gun/spear hybrid. Interestingly, the same symbol that was present on the belts of the Lightspeed Rangers was in the middle of the weapon and, shaking his head in resignation, allowed the new information to flow into his brain. Sifting the information, he wryly smirked as he thought about all the new gear that had been debuting recently…almost as if it were gearing up for another large shift. Dropping that rather disturbing train of thought, his limbs moved automatically as he slid the X into the similarly shaped depression in the middle of the staff/spear/dog's breakfast of a weapon.

"X Lancer!"

As the two pieces clicked into position, Weihan felt the weapon's ion generator switch on and begin humming ominously. Bolts of energy ran from the orange X to the rather flimsy-looking blade at the tip and began charging it with power. He could hear the same summoning of the new X Lancer from the other Ultra Rangers and, as the information powered into his memory, placed the plan into action. Shifting the grip of his right hand to close to the base of the staff, he felt for the hinge that would allow the X Lancer Blaster to be formed. He would think up a better name for the Blaster to be called…hopefully. Finding the hinge, he pressed down on it until the back few centimetres of the shaft swung down at a ninety degree angle – exposing the trigger button in the process. Leaping up and away to avoid a fire blast from a Golem, he waited until the timing was just right. Unfortunately, that meant flinging off the occasional fireball at the grunts while the internal capacitor charged to its maximum level. As the rest of the Lightspeed Rangers recovered from their battles, Weihan aimed the muzzle of the X Blaster up at where he hoped the shield or communication blocker was. If this didn't work…well, they had other options.

"Dimension Shoot!"

TBC…

AN: The answer is in the chapter. You just need to know where to look…


	187. 186: Defining Strength

Chapter One Eighty Six: Defining Strength

"So that's the whole situation?"

The figure on the screen nodded once and the Orange Ranger rolled his eyes. Thanks to the shattering of the energy shield around the Ultra Cavern; various news reports had surfaced regarding the location of the Ultra Rangers' secret base. It had started due to a random person hiking around Orange that had heard the shattering of the shield and had taken a video of the swarming grunts and the new weapons of the Ultra Rangers. The person had then leaked his footage to Channel Seven exclusively and AJ had been forced to run a report on said footage…right after she had covered the remainder of the Terra Venture press conference. He had beefed up the external defences to terrifying levels but some people just didn't get the hint to stay away after seeing three or four others being shredded by the automatic Gatling guns.

Of course, he had gone to Channel Seven himself in the middle of AJ's report and had warned the public about what would happen if they didn't stay away. He had given descriptions of what would happen to them if they managed to get past the security system and into the actual Cavern. But, as he had said, there would always be one or two individuals that didn't take his warnings seriously and he had invited AJ herself to come into the Ultra Cavern and see the after-effects. She had taken up the offer live on-air and he had teleported her away from the studio before a camera crew could be assembled. They had then found out that the cockpit of the Utahraptor Dinozord was soundproof and that there was a hidden zipper underneath the Battle Armour that had the same effect as a full demorph. That had been about an hour or so ago and he had been gearing up for Round 2…when the call had come through.

"Billy…why do you guys always land in so much shit?"

The Midnight Blue Ranger shrugged and stifled a laugh behind a hand. The past three weeks had been put to good use on repairing the Command Tower from the attacks. The Dimensional Door had been the final piece of the puzzle to fit into place as the earlier completion had been incomplete. Though he had been sequestered in the Command Tower, both Princesses had kept him up to date with the happenings of the team under Jason's leadership. The Red Ranger had been drilling the team with a regime of obstacle courses, simulators and hand-to-hoof combat and had even managed to allow Fluttershy to become slightly more assertive and aggressive in her attacks. The only problem with the training was getting the ponies into a Zord simulator and the majority of them still bore deep scars over the incident with Squeezer. Only Applejack and Twilight seemed to have less reluctance in training with the Zords but he could tell they were forcing themselves. Informing the Orange Ranger about what had happened since his last call had taken a few minutes; during which the Ultra Ranger had summoned the other members of the team.

"What do you want to do? You can come through the Dimensional Doorway but that will leave your base unprotected. Even if your enemy has temporarily retreated; there are still other dangers lurking around such as the final monster you mentioned."

Weihan nodded slowly and sighed; the action causing AJ to place a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. To travel into Equestria again to help the Rangers there was a great opportunity for them, yet it always seemed like they were giving the help without receiving anything in return. A very small part of him reminded him about the things that had happened under Love Tick's spell and how that was pretty much his 'reward'…but he squashed that part down with a shudder. Looking around at the faces of the Rangers, he nodded once.

"I'll come and bring along five others. That way, we can form a Megazord if it's needed."

Billy nodded once and the transmission winked out. The Dimensional Door began powering up with a soft whir and the Orange Ranger glanced behind him at the face of his girlfriend. He could see the love in her eyes that barely masked the worry she felt at him rushing into battle once more…but he had to help those in need and she knew it. Even if they were Zeo Crystal powered Rangers and had powers and abilities on par with the Ultra Rangers; if they called for help then he would come. Danger could come at any moment after all and he swallowed a small lump in his throat as those words echoed in his memory. The only question present was who would be chosen to go to Equestria. He would have to consider not only who was most suited with dealing with distressed and distraught ponies; but who could change their tactics in battle the fastest.

Eliza and Rachelle would definitely have to come along as they had formed bonds with Rarity and Applejack respectively and could easily soothe their concerns. Sarah John and Rebecca would also go through with him and he made a mental note to inform Rebecca to not call upon the Spike Cannon in the presence of a certain baby Dragon. Then again, it might be inevitable that the weapons would be pulled out anyway if an all-out melee battle broke out. He would also need someone who could go over the battle results with Billy and Twilight to see what new strategies could be implemented for future battles…so that meant Will would have to come along as well. He could also explain some of the more advanced changes that had been made to their weapon systems as well as the two-unit combination system. He stood up and turned to face the assembled group.

"Going with me will be the following people: Eliza, Rachelle, Sarah J, Rebecca and Will. Be sure to store at least one Zord in your Crystal before we cross. We leave in around twenty minutes."

Not bothering to hear the affirmations coming from the group, Weihan walked down the line of his Zords with AJ and carefully considered what he could bring. The ponies had seen his Dinozord and Thunderzord in action and to bring them again would mean he would be limiting his options. Bringing along the components of the Mega Raptorzord would be good…except the Dinozords of the others had around three more months of repairs to get through.

"Ah thought we'd have more time before you went off on another adventure. Ah wish Ah could come along with you an' test out the soundproofing in the rooms."

Weihan chuckled under his breath as he stared at the inert form of his Crocodile Ninjazord and began the process of transferring it to his Crystal. The thought had crossed his mind of bringing her along for the trip for a holiday of sorts but he very much doubted the others would be very happy with the noise they would make at night. Plus, there was the added fact that hearing those sounds in the surroundings of the Command Tower would possibly cause him to blurt out the wrong name…and that would start raising some questions.

"I wish you could come along as well but we don't know what Zedd is capable of. Blackened Heart was able to waltz in and bypass their defences and I don't want you getting hurt."

AJ watched the massive machine in front of her vanish into the crystal her lover held in his hands. She understood the sentiment behind his words and knew that facing off against the top dog was very different to battling against some random monster of the day. Before she met him, she had been intrigued about the reports of injuries and even deaths that had come out of Angel Grove and had seen some of the uncensored photos first hand. Injuries and deaths were commonplace for any town being attacked by monsters but she had slowly learned how to handle herself in such a situation. Coming up behind him, she slid her arms around his waist and rested the side of her head at the base of his neck. She felt the tension in his muscles and knew he would be giving anything to have stayed on this side of the dimensional barrier…or that the call hadn't even come through at all. However, in her heart, she knew that he would put his duty as a Ranger first before anyone or anything else.

She had often wondered what it was that had coloured his thoughts and views of the world. Of course she had asked but he had never given a straight answer. She knew his mother was worrying about him as well as before the change; he had been a relatively happy-go-lucky boy with not much in the way of visible stresses. He had been having a few nightmares before the first appearance of the Orange Ranger but those had lessened considerably as he had taken to sleeping shorter hours. She wondered if that was how he defined his strength as a Ranger; to constantly be on guard and bottling up everything inside him. It wasn't healthy in the slightest but if it kept him functioning for the time being…she would reluctantly put up with it. For the millionth time, she wondered what exactly went on inside his mind but decided it didn't matter. She saw him finish the transfer and look at her with a heavy heart.

"It's time."

TBC…


	188. 187: Another Problem

Chapter One Eighty Seven: Another Problem

"Anything yet?"

Alex shook his head wearily as he opened his locker. Thanks to an incredibly hasty communication from Weihan, he knew that they had arrived all right. They had been attacked literally five minutes later but they had pulled through; albeit with some very disturbing news. Their version of Dimitria had sided with Zedd and was playing a great part in keeping the Dark Rangers under Zedd's control. The Equestrian Rangers had found out Dimitria's power the hard way as they had been attacked in their Megazord moments after destroying a monster – by the Dark Ninjazords and two enlarged monsters. It had been in this battle that the dimensional counterpart of Jason had regained the ability to summon his Dinozord and had single-handedly taken down one of the enlarged monsters. The six Ultra Ninjazords had defeated the remaining one…but it seemed the Dark Ranger campaign would go on for longer than previously thought.

Looking up at the concern on Rachel's face, he allowed a small smile to flicker over his face. The girl had finally had enough of Matt's badmouthing of Weihan and had called it quits not long after the Ultra Rangers had returned from Terra Venture. She was slowly warming up to Alex and he knew it was only a matter of time before he had her as his own. Her departure from Matt had the added side-effect of her being more integrated into the world of the Ultra Rangers and she even had been given her own communicator which she could use to teleport to the Ultra Cavern during attacks. So far, the teleport function hadn't been used but it was only due to the relative swiftness that she had been swept up into the Monster Shelters. Retrieving his books for the first period, he nodded at the magical duplicate of his leader as he walked to his locker. Closing his locker with a short sigh, he waited for the duplicate to finish his activities at the locker before walking up and clapping him on the shoulder.

As soon as his hand made contact, he exhaled and pushed a surge of energy through his palm and into the clone. If one looked extremely close, tiny bolts of green and orange energy could be seen as the transfer ended – but the Ranger would just brush aside any concerns by saying it was a trick of the light. As the duplicate sighed in relief as his internal battery was filled, he looked at the Black/Green Ranger quizzically. Subtly shaking his head, the clone nodded in response and rolled his eyes. Removing his hand, Alex allowed the clone to move off before turning to Rachel once more. She had witnessed everything with an open mouth; although she knew about the magical duplicates and why they were important, she had yet to learn why Alex had transferred power into the clone. Noting her confusion, the Black/Green Ranger leant in as close as he dared and spoke in a low voice – keeping an eye and ear out for eavesdroppers.

"The clones are only generated with a set amount of energy in them. When they run out; they collapse until more power is infused into them. It's good if we infuse the power at school due to our close proximity to each other. Also good if we need to rush out for an attack."

Rachel nodded in agreement as the truth of the words sunk in. Checking his watch, Alex noted that they still had around five minutes until the bell for the first period rung. Idly taking out his Power Coin from his pocket, he began flipping the golden disc into the air while Rachel watched with an incredulous look on her face. She opened her mouth to ask him to stop before he inadvertently morphed when the seldom-used school-wide intercom switched on.

"Attention all students; could the following students please come to reception immediately: Alex Burns and Rachel Lee."

Blinking in surprise, the Black/Green Ranger caught his Power Coin out of the air and shared a nervous look with Rachel before moving in the direction of the stairs. Carefully sliding his left arm up into the sleeve of his blazer, he summoned the Mammoth Buster and flicked an external switch; allowing it to seemingly vanish from view. He just hoped no one asked why his left hand was slightly curled in a grip of sorts. Turning the last corner on the stairs, Alex stopped short as he saw the figure waiting for them. Dismissing the Mammoth Buster, he rubbed his eyes and stared open-mouthed as Billy walked toward him. The other Ultra Rangers were behind him and they had looks of determination on their faces as if they were preparing to charge head-first into something. As the Blue Morphin Ranger nodded at the receptionist, she led the seven into a windowless meeting room. Closing the door behind him, Billy cleared his throat lightly and pulled out a laptop computer. Opening up the device, he set it on the table in front of them and spoke in a grave tone.

"We have a problem on Terra Venture. Our long-range scanners picked up life signs coming from the Secret City. As you are aware, this was the place that Dark Spectre's Psycho Rangers met their end in the form of digitisation. We sent out a few robotic drones to sweep the area and transmit footage. This is what they sent back before they were destroyed."

Pressing a button on the keyboard, the screen flickered to life as the playback began. They saw cracked pavement and crumbling buildings lining the overgrown streets; the only sign of life being the birds that slowly circled overhead and the feral animals that stared curiously at the passing robot. The screen flickered once and the Rangers were treated to an aerial shot of the destroyed city…and a small craft landing on the outskirts. The drone dived down to get a better look but must have dived too low as the view fizzled out to static upon impact with the hull of the craft. After a few seconds, the static switched to another drone's camera that showed a clearer view of the craft. Stepping out from the interior was a strange mechanical humanoid of some kind that wore an almost comically frilly Shakespearean collar but wielded a deadly-looking blaster gauntlet. Billy paused the recording and addressed the Rangers as the bell for the first period buzzed.

"That is Deviot, a former bounty hunter wanted on several planets for several accounts of first degree murder and first degree disintegration. He joined up with Scorpius about a day after you left and is believed to have a hand in Scorpius' eventual death. Delphine says that he is a Demonian like Darkonda was and willingly underwent the process of cyberisation to extend his life."

Seeing the Ultra Rangers and Rachel nod, Billy resumed the playback. Deviot approached the collapsed entrance to the city and seemed to speak; though no sound was present. After a few moments, a second individual entered from off-screen and held a bag in a furry claw. After what appeared to be a brief argument between the two, Deviot was given the bag and he opened it; pulling five long green cards out. As if the drone attempted to get a better look, the view crept closer before tumbling around and around…only to stop at Deviot's feet. The Cyborg Demonian looked down and seemed to study the drone for a few seconds before an indescribable look flashed in his eyes. Deviot lifted his blaster gauntlet and after a burst of light; the image dissolved into static. Closing the laptop, Billy addressed the Rangers.

"That was less than three hours ago. I used the communicator Weihan gave me to teleport just outside your school; where the five girls saw me. I don't know if I can teleport back to Terra Venture but that isn't the main issue here. Around five minutes before I teleported, there were abnormal energy surges coming from Trakeena's ship. There's more energy surging through the system than if the Psycho Rangers were being revived. It might also be a good idea to tell you that Scorpius took in the frozen form of the Ultra Psycho Ranger for reasons unknown. Now that he's dead…"

He let the sentence trail off as memories of the battle with the Psycho Ranger resurfaced in their minds. They would have to be very careful to not use the Assault Armour in the upcoming battle as the shields probably hadn't fully recharged yet. However, the one question that was on everyone's mind was – why did Billy ask for Rachel to be present? As if knowing that would be asked, Billy gestured to the young girl next to Alex.

"Rachel, was it? Although you did not have the power to become an Ultra Ranger, you still have a lot of untapped potential in you. Would you come with us to see what can be developed?"

Nodding, Rachel silently accepted the offer and wondered what could be in store for her. Soon after the Purple Ranger had been chosen, she had been filled with large strings of doubt in regards to her own abilities. Eliza had attempted to make her feel better; but she didn't really have the free time that she once had and they had slightly drifted apart. She had seriously started to worry about the mental health of her friend when she had said that they had been de-aged for a week or so but had seen the truth when the supposed 'lost footage' documentary had been shown. Steve Gilles and Matt Bligh were just tasters to see what a normal, non-crazy life would be like…but she had found them a bit too boring for her liking. Matt had been the worst offender as his friendship with David Johnston made her spend less time with Eliza and the others. She also found herself being drawn closer to Alex; although she wasn't really sure if he could change his ways or not.

"One question; if you can't teleport back…how will you go back to Terra Venture?"

"With our help."

TBC…


	189. 188: Line of Fire

Chapter One Eighty Eight: Line of Fire

"Once more and then break for lunch."

Rachel nodded as sweat trickled down her neck. It had been an extreme honour to be in the presence of the Astro Rangers – even more so when the Pink and Yellow Rangers had offered to train her in basic hand-to-hand techniques. Since the Astro Megashuttle didn't have much in the way of training space, they had opted to travel in the Delta Megaship to Terra Venture. The Principal had readily accepted the excuse fed to him by the Rangers that they had important information regarding their enemies and the Galaxy Rangers had to be told in person. The excuse was flimsier than a wet tissue but it had been delivered by Andros in full morph…and there was no real reason why any civilian would think of being lied to by a Power Ranger. Settling into an offensive stance, she eyed the training dummy in front of her. It was humanoid in shape with a purple body with yellow spirals over the arms and legs. The humanoid approached her and threw a weak punch at her midsection. Blocking the blow with her left arm, she stepped forwards and struck out with her right hand; her palm striking against its chest and sending it crashing to the ground in a heap.

"Good technique, but the stance needs a bit of work."

As the figure dissolved, she looked behind him to where Alex was leaning against the wall. During the journey, she had noticed a business-like cloud come over the boy and had privately asked Paris if she knew what had gotten into him. The Red Ranger had explained that even through she was the field leader of the remaining Rangers, Alex was their leader in everything but name…as he had been the second Ranger recruited. It also seemed the Black/Green Ranger was also third in command of the Ultra Rangers as a whole and he hadn't really had much of a chance to flex his leadership muscles. There had been some joking about the last time it happened, all of them had been turned to lawn ornaments or something…but no one cared to elaborate further. She guessed it was probably some Ranger in-joke or something. However, since the beginning of the journey; she had yet to see him crack a smile or act in his usual irreverent way.

"She's just learning. I'd bet you looked worse when you started as well."

Alex smirked and shook his head. Terra Venture was still around two days away and they still didn't know what they would be up against. Andros had taken the incredibly idiotic decision to fly ahead with Billy in the Astro Megashuttle to help the Galaxy Rangers buy the time they needed to reach the colony. However, he couldn't help but wonder if Terra Venture would still be in one piece when they arrived. The Orange Psycho Ranger was several levels above what the normal Psycho Rangers were capable of and he didn't want to know what new tricks it had picked up on Scorpius' ship. In fact, that was precisely the reason why he had the rest of the Ultra Rangers training in the other Simul-Decks on the ship. Testing the Assault Armours would be right out unless they wanted to crack the ship in half, but everything else was fair game. Paris had even been informing them of what other weapons they could pull out and use against the enemies of the day. All of them had their uses…with the possible exception of the nunchaku that had been pulled out of nowhere. Walking towards Rachel, he reached out and repositioned her arms so they were straighter.

Ignoring the looks being shot his way by the bemused Astro Rangers, he slowly moved her arms closer to her body before pushing them out with slow force. He tried to suppress the heat rising into his cheeks from the contact and tried to focus on the task at hand as her unique scent wafted into his nose. As much as he hated to admit it, now was not the time to be starting a relationship with Rachel. His policy of 'No Rebounds' was starting to bite him in the ass but it would be for the best as they hardly knew each other outside of school. Well, she knew of him being a Ranger but that was about it. This journey would either draw her closer to his world or send her screaming in the other direction. He relaxed his grip and nodded at Rachel…a split second before the ship shook and dropped out of Hyper-Rush. Steadying himself on the deck, he ensured Rachel was safe before running to the nearby intercom and slapping his hand down on the button.

"What's going on?"

"There's about ten ships off port side. Seven corvettes, two frigates and one cruiser. Markings suggest a subsection of Inquiran Pirates."

Swearing to himself, Alex tried to recall what Andros had told him before leaving. While the Main Fire Control of the Delta Megaship was on the main bridge, there were small gun emplacements along the sides that fired smaller versions of the Mega-Lasers at a rapid pace. Andros had jokingly nicknamed them Turbo-Lasers but the name had stuck as their rate of fire was significantly faster than normal. Bringing up a small floor map, he could see that a few doors down were a two-man gun emplacement for the lower decks. It was armed with a Turbo-laser battery, an automatic micro-missile launcher and a Mega-Laser turret. Turning to the two Astro Rangers, he nodded once at them before grabbing Rachel's hand and leading her out the Simul-Deck doors. Barely registering the flashes of light behind him as the Astro Rangers morphed, they ran down the hall while the Megaship returned fire. A bright flash of light out of one of the armoured portholes informed him that one of the enemy corvettes had been destroyed and he felt himself relax very sightly. Opening the door to the emplacement room, he took a small moment to look at the controls and familiarise himself with the layouts.

The micro-missile launcher was firing away but a glance at the ammo readout showed bad news. As the micro-missiles were generated by the generators of the Megaship, there was only a set number that could be produced at one time. Unfortunately, that number was nowhere near what was needed to continue the attack. Sliding behind the controls of the Mega-Laser turret, he pulled the controls toward him while directing Rachel to the Turbo-laser battery. She would probably have an easier time as the Turbo-Lasers were auto-aiming and all she had to do – really – was pull the trigger and watch for overheating. Drawing on the Power, he linked both emplacements to his Ultra Crystal as the Megaship turned into a steep dive. Barely holding onto his lunch, he muttered a curse under his breath as the remaining pirate vessels turned for another round.

"Hang on; this is gonna be bad."

TBC…


	190. 189: Future Flashes

AN: This is the chapter that almost never happened. iMac died on the weekend and everything died with it. Managed to save a backup of the story on the office computer and am working off it (until I inevitably get caught). The flashes are things to come in later chapters and stories…though one or two lines are from Drawn to the Power. Enjoy!

Chapter One Eighty Nine: Future Flashes

"Watch your six!"

Alex swung his turret around and blasted the corvette out of the sky. What had started out as a small skirmish with pirates had quickly descended into chaos as more reinforcements began to appear out of warp tunnels. For every seven corvettes blown out of the sky, another fourteen seemed to take their place within seconds. Fortunately, the Black Astro Ranger had managed to get behind the controls for one of the Gyro-Blaster turrets and was gleefully shredding ships around them; a move that was slowly turning the tide. The Blue Astro Ranger was on the Bridge and was moving the ship in every single direction he could think of to dodge the lasers being fired at them. So far, the inertial dampeners hadn't blown a fuse and they were able to fire in relative comfort. A charged blast from him had even managed to blow up one of the cruisers emerging from mid-warp.

"Where are all these guys coming from?"

"Sector 8.30.6, The Machine Junkyard. All the leftover forces of the Machine Empire that were protected behind a barrier shield; we've been trying to track down their leader and figure out their grand plan. Rumour was that they allied themselves with Divatox's former group – the one she split from before coming to Earth."

Nodding at the voice of the Yellow Astro Ranger, Alex spun the turret around to barely graze a diving corvette. The charged beam of the Mega-Lasers skimmed over the laminated armour of the grunt ship and destroyed the turrets that were just starting to emerge. Swinging around to fire a volley of shots at an incoming frigate, he glanced over to see how Rachel was doing. The young girl was clearly having trouble in keeping up with the sheer numbers of targets in front of her – even with the auto-aiming of the Turbo-Laser battery doing most of the work for her. He felt a small stab of guilt at all but forcing her into the combat. He could have set the Turbo-Laser battery to automatic fire but there hadn't been enough time for the adjustments to be made. He just hoped she wasn't too scarred by having hands-on experience in a heavy fire-fight.

"Incoming battleship…make suggests it's a Mondo class. A shot through the reactor will nuke it."

Nodding at the information, Alex quietly morphed and hoped the flash didn't draw the attention of the battleship. He swallowed hard as he saw the irregular silhouette of the ship creep steadily closer…as the charge meter on the screen in front of him reached higher and higher. He would only be able to get one shot at the next attack and if he was even a tiny fraction off…well, he didn't want to think about it. Closing his eyes, he tapped into the deeper powers of the Black/Green Ultra Crystal and was dimly aware of ice crystals forming on his gloves. Inhaling deeply, he heard the approving roars of his Main Three animals as they poured their energy into the Mega-Laser turrets.

Snapping his eyes open, he jammed his finger on the triggers and fired off a dazzling emerald beam that shot towards the battleship. It impacted against the nosecone and for a brief moment; he feared the energy wasn't enough. However, the searing energy slowly punched through the shields of the enemy vessel and bit into the thick armour plating. All combat ceased as the Rangers were treated to a sight none of them had ever seen before – an enemy battleship both freezing and burning as it hung in the vacuum of space; seemingly suspended in place by the beam of light that stretched out of both ends. He could hear the chatter coming from the other Rangers as they excitedly told him that the battleship was actually the flagship of the Inquiran Pirates and that he was the one to wipe them from the Universe…but it didn't really register. He was lost in the awesome majesty of the Ultra Crystal and the more power that was poured into the beam, the deeper he went.

"I'm giving you a choice. Do you want to continue on or leave?"

He blinked at the strange statement. It was Weihan's voice all right, but his leader wasn't anywhere near him. He wasn't even on the same dimensional plane! As Alex tried to work out where the voice was coming from, images started to form out of the greenish energy cloud surrounding him. He didn't know if the images were from the past or future but they came at him in rapid succession.

_Flash_

_They looked around them in wonder as the strange light continued to push Psychogre back. The reptilian monster howled in pain and fear as the presence started to feel familiar. From the sidelines, Alex watched in amazement as the ball of light slowly started to gain a humanoid shape and he braced himself for what was to come next. With him gone and Eliza in a state of shock and denial; the burden of leadership fell on him and his mind raced to think of a good plan_

_"I can't lose you. Not like this. I swear, when the time is right…I'll come for you once more."_

_He paused as the other meaning of the words sunk into his brain. Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, he smirked._

_"That came out a lot more stalkerish than I wanted it to."_

_"Ah'll be waitin' Sugarcube. Whenever you want; Ah'll be ready."_

_He had to practically shout to make himself heard over the din. Around him were the drunken students busy celebrating both Liz's birthday and the end of the first few months of study. Of course, he had to be extremely careful with what came out of his mouth, especially after last time._

_"We still need both Tara and Emma to join and you'll be all right. Trust me, I swear to not let anything happen to you guys."_

_"You off then?"_

_"I won't reveal myself right now. I'll get them to safety."_

_End Flash_

He shook his head violently to clear the images from his mind but it was no use. Strange faces, powers and enemies flashed in front of him as he heard the flagship crack apart in a massive explosion and the beam died down. One last scene flashed into his mind before he 'returned' to reality. Strangely, he found himself able to walk in the strange landscape…although nothing could touch him

_Flash_

_He knew it was the High Council Chambers on Eltare…except it looked like absolute Hell. The walls were covered in scorch marks and strange metallic beings were running rampant through the halls on directions from two strange catlike beings. He could see Ninjor battling against a strange four-armed creature as well as a strange half-robotic monster that towered over the combatants. In the centre of the room, he could see a strange Orange Ranger and in his heart, he knew it was Weihan. The Orange Ranger dropped into an offensive stance and the creature laughed._

_"A fourth Ranger will not make a difference. You will fall as easily as she will."_

_"Drakor, there's two things you need to learn about Rangers. One – we're not so easily defeated. We rise up from our lowest point, stronger than before. We learn about our opponents and develop strategies for them individually; if there's an evil in the Universe, the Rangers will defeat it."_

_"Big talk for a pathetic insect. What's the second thing?"_

_End Flash_

"Alex? Are you all right?"

He blinked hard as his vision returned to normal. Rachel was in front of him with Cassie and Ashley and they were snapping their fingers in front of him. Slowly nodding once, he chuckled to himself as they slumped down in relief. Looking at the viewscreen, he could see the remainder of the pirate ships fleeing as they were picked off by the Gyro Blaster turrets. Disengaging the link from the two turrets, he allowed himself to be led out to his quarters by Rachel. The girl watched as he shuffled to his bunk and lay down. He closed his eyes as the last words of the vision washed over him.

_"No matter how strong you are; how tough the monster; how demoralising the blow to our ranks…we will never give up."_

TBC…


	191. 190: Death's Head

Chapter One Ninety: Death's Head

Whatever Deviot had done; it had worked wonders.

Trakeena strode forwards and looked at the sorry sight in front of her. Even through the cybernetic warrior hadn't admitted to strengthening the Psycho Rangers, they were much stronger than what the old recordings had shown her. Sure, it didn't take much in the way of brainpower to stop a Ranger from morphing…but to forcibly stop it by grabbing their hands was a stroke of genius. Now there were four Rangers captured and held behind an electro-magnetic barrier that would slowly leech them of their life…provided they stayed behind the barrier for another few hours. Nodding once to the five Psycho Rangers, her attention turned to the strange frozen form of the strange sixth Psycho Ranger Kegler had discovered in her father's storage vault. It was the strange Orange Psycho Ranger that had been seen fighting against the Galaxy Rangers and their friends earlier in the month…yet an attack had frozen it and it had been drifting in space. Deviot had opened up the chest plate of the mysterious Ranger and was fiddling around with the internals and was muttering to himself about how the reactor had to be knocked back into place lightly and only he was skilled enough to attempt it.

Of course, the Galaxy Rangers were vehemently protesting the reactivation of the Orange Psycho Ranger but that was of no concern to her. The Red Psycho Ranger had welcomed the idea of having their 'brother' battle alongside them and the added power would certainly allow her to destroy this pathetic human colony. The Quasar Sabres and the Lights of Orion had chosen their bearers and there was nothing in the Universe that could hope to sway their rudimentary intelligences. They would have to be destroyed; remotely of course to ensure she wasn't caught up in the shockwave generated by the release of the energies. All that would, admittedly, have to wait until she had the Red Ranger and the Magna Defender in the cage as well. Her destruction of the Quasar Sabres, Lights of Orion and the Magna Powers would rocket her up the ladder of Evil to the number two spot. After that would be the small matter of dealing with Xonix and his army and she would be Queen of Evil without peer. Even the Ultra Rangers would be forced to bow down to her, lest they wanted their world to be crushed under her heel. The very thought of it made her giddy with delight and her heart pounded in excitement as she thought of what her first duties as Queen would be.

"Trakeena; I have come for my friends."

Slowly turning around, an evil smile grew over her face as she saw the Red Galaxy Ranger standing in the open doorway. As expected, he was fully morphed but his right hand was gripping the Quasar Sabre on his belt. She smirked and waved to the Psycho Rangers but stopped mid-motion as another figure emerged from the brightness outside. Whoever this new figure was, he wasn't the Magna Defender. It was a Ranger, a Blue Ranger with a strangely decorated helmet, diamonds along the chest and a single red object in a holster. As far as she could see, this new Ranger didn't have any other weapons on him and looked to be easily defeatable. Two Rangers would surely put her into the history books…even if it wasn't the two Red Rangers she wanted. The Psycho Rangers, sans Orange, stepped forward and she sashayed forward as well; noticing how the Rangers fell back in apparent fear. Allowing Deviot to continue his strange repairs of the Orange Psycho Ranger, she continued forwards and stepped out into the artificial sunlight.

"Remember our plan."

At Leo's words, Billy nodded. He and Andros had been informed by Delphine and Alpha upon arrival that Trakeena had already sent out the Psycho Rangers and Leo was the only one not captured. Andros had gone out to help the Red Galaxy Ranger while Billy attempted to communicate with the others still on the Delta Megaship. Their report had slightly stunned him as he hadn't expected a pirate attack in the space controlled by the fledgling Space Patrol Delta. The destruction of the pirates was also a necessary step that had to be taken to strengthen their presence as Universal peacekeepers. They were about two minutes away and would come to their position when they arrived. Suddenly, there was a muffled explosion from the warehouse where the other Rangers had been held in and the assembled forces of Evil whirled around in shock as the building collapsed. Switching on the HUD radar, Billy smiled and nodded slightly as he confirmed the Galaxy Rangers had been freed by the Magna Defender and Andros. Currently, they were doubling back around Trakeena's forces and would be joining them in a few seconds.

"It can't be…"

Trakeena stared at the smoking wreck of the warehouse and seethed in anger. She as sure Deviot and the Orange Psycho Ranger would have survived but there were elite Sting Wingers in the building…and they would have been killed instantly. She could see some of the rubble moving and knew it was Deviot attempting to dig his way out with the frozen form of the Psycho Ranger. Turning back to the duo in front of her, she opened her mouth to sneer a taunt at them when a large beam of orange and black energy erupted from the wreckage. Spinning around in surprise, she smiled as the energy coalesced into demonic visage of the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger. Deviot staggered out from behind the maniacal Psycho Ranger and readied his weapons for a fight.

"You are outmatched, Rangers. Give up now…while you still can."

The harsh metallic rattle of the Psycho Ranger's voice sent shudders down Leo's spine. The plan was already stretched at its limits with the two of them fighting all five Psycho Rangers but the arrival of Andros, Mike and the others would increase the odds in their favour. It still would be a tough battle…but it would be one they could win without having to call on the Ultra Rangers. However, the scales had been tipped Trakeena's way with her re-activation of the Orange Psycho Ranger. Even with the inevitable backup of the Astro and Ultra Rangers; they would be on the back foot from the word 'Go'. So immersed in the possible variables of the battle ahead of him, he didn't notice the Psycho Rangers charging themselves up for an energy attack. However, Billy saw it and – seeing that Leo hadn't noticed – pushed the Red Ranger to the ground as the Psycho Rangers fired. The searing green balls of lightning barely touched the outer layer of their armour…but it was enough to seize the morphing circuits on their morphers; throwing them out of morph violently. The two Rangers collapsed to the ground in fits of pain as the Psycho Rangers geared up for another shot.

Several energy blasts impacted the ground in front of them; throwing off their aim and sending them staggering back. Trakeena screamed in rage as the smoke and steam cleared from her vision to reveal a truly rage-inducing sight. The formerly captured Rangers were walking free next to the unmorphed forms of the Magna Defender, the Astro Rangers and six of the twelve Ultra Rangers. She levelled her staff at the assembled group of heroes and was about to fire, when she felt an armoured hand on her shoulder. Glancing up, she saw the armoured form of the Orange Psycho Ranger slowly shake its head and address her in a low voice.

"Trakeena, I thank you for reactivating me. However, I fear that this situation is too much for you to handle. Please get to safety and support us from afar."

Trakeena nodded once and backed away; muttering something about knowing that she would be victorious or something to that effect. Deviot nodded in response and readied the blasters on his gauntlet. He had no doubts the battle ahead would be harsh and would more than likely end in the complete destruction of the Psycho Rangers – even the Orange one. Of course, they could get lucky…but he had scrapped any belief in luck when the doctors had decided to strip the skin from his head.

Time for the battle to begin.

TBC…

AN: The chapter title references an event that will come in the next 10 chapters…and it's not Kendrix's death…


	192. 191: Power Explosion

AN: Another chapter that almost didn't happen…work computer bit the dust. But, being the paranoid Asian I am, I backed up everything. Enjoy!

Chapter One Ninety One: Power Explosion

He looked at the Rangers next to him and nodded once.

Billy knew he was the Ranger that held the most seniority within the group. He also knew what had to be done in a situation like this. More than anything, he wished he had been in Sydney when the Equestrian Rangers had come through and had measured the amount of energy that was put out by the massive morph…but that was neither here nor there. Pulling out his Power Morpher again, he stared at the Power Coin for a brief moment before slowly exhaling. He just hoped the shields would be able to cope with the massive energy surge that was about to come.

"We hit them hard and fast and we don't let up on the attack for a second. Target the weaker ones first then work up to the Orange Psycho but don't engage him solo."

As the assembled Rangers nodded, he brought his Morpher up in front of him and heard a distant rumble of thunder. A small smile appeared on his face as he realised that the Morphin and Ultra Grids were preparing themselves for a massive outpouring of energy. He had tried to explain the ins and outs of Ranger Powers to both Kendrix and Kai; but they had insisted that their Powers came from their Quasar Sabres. He knew better; every Power Source that was created or developed and every Power Source that would be developed or created in the future always had a link to the Morphin Grid. Sure, if they were Earth-created, they would need a shitload of power to sustain a stable morph or the operation of a Zord. How his uncle had managed to get the requirements for the Lightspeed Zords was something to be asked another time. Shifting his stance, he drew in a deep breath and spoke the four words that allowed the Power to envelop him once more.

"It's Morphin Time! Triceratops!"

Flowing through the ancient Power Coin created for Zordon by Ninjor, the Dinosaur energy enveloped him with the serenity and wisdom of the prehistoric beast. He had wondered how Ninjor could have possibly known about dinosaurs on Earth; but the Ninja Master had said that everything would make sense in time. That was all well and good, but it didn't really give him an answer in the present moment. As the suit solidified around his body, he heard the clicks of the Astro Morphers opening up and he knew Andros would be morphing next.

"Let's Rocket!"

Tapping in the keycode to access the Morpher's energy was always a tricky thing to do in the heat of battle but they always managed it without incident. As he felt the Power coalesce into the spandex-like armour, Andros recalled a time when he had keyed in the code 334 in a training simulation. Needless to say, he hadn't been amused when his armour had turned into armoured tissue paper…but he gained a new respect for correctly inputting commands. As always, he could see a wall of text scrolling up out of the corner of his left eye but he couldn't see more than a few words. What words he was able to see…didn't really make sense to him. What was 'Tighten up reality gangster' even supposed to mean anyway? The sound of metal sliding on metal made him glance to his right and see the Galaxy Rangers preparing to morph. The Red Ranger lifted up his Quasar Sabre in the exact same manner as his brother held the Magna Sabre and Andros wondered how the Phantom Ranger would react with the news of his father's Powers being passed down to the next generation. Actually, knowing the Phantom Ranger, he would more than likely already know.

"Go Galactic!"

"Magna Power!"

Columns of Galactic Energy burst from the ground to envelop all five Galaxy Rangers and the Magna Defender. Leo still couldn't believe his brother had been inside the Magna Defender all along and was now using his powers. It seemed rather surreal but he had to admit that since the meeting with the Ultra Rangers; everything seemed much more surreal than usual. The roar of the Lion Galactabeast echoed in his ears as the strange zigzag armour materialised on his chest. Kendrix had informed him of what Billy had told her…but it just didn't seem possible that the Quasar Sabres were connected to the Morphin Grid. The energy flowing through him felt…primal and untamed and in contrast to the seemingly organised way Billy and Delphine had morphed. Oh well, maybe it was a Ranger Generation thing…

"Ultra Crystals, Energise!"

A whirling energy cyclone enveloped Alex as he waited for the Power to morph him. He knew that, technically, the pre-morph call was 'Ultra Crystal' and not Crystals; but it felt strange to say Crystal when morphing with the entire group. He knew Weihan said the singular form of the word in both occasions but it didn't sit right with him to do the same. Flinging his arms out to his sides, he felt the Battle Armour settle over his shoulders and he picked his target. The Astro and Galaxy Rangers could easily take on the 'vanilla' Psycho Rangers without much trouble and he would send a few Rangers to help those in need of aid. Sarah P would probably be sent to help the strange bull themed Galaxy Ranger in his battle against Deviot and Aimee, Heather and Linda would be sent to deal with their respective Psycho counterparts. As he felt the helmet form on his head, he tried to recall what words he used during the last team-up morph…but he decided that he wouldn't say that long song and dance again. It would be better used against foes that actually felt some degree of fear. Apparently, the other Rangers felt the same way as individual Power Cries weren't heard.

"Mighty Morphin Blue Ranger!"

"Astro Rangers!"

"Galaxy Rangers!"

Dropping into a stance himself, Alex mused on how plain the calls seemed to be; but decided it wasn't really the time or place to be musing about such things.

"Ultra Rangers, Ready!"

Cracking his knuckles, he looked at the Psycho Rangers and their 'handler' and felt a sadistic smile creep over his face.

This was going to be fun…

TBC…


	193. 192: Running Start

Chapter One Ninety Two: Running Start

Fun this wasn't.

Twirling the Blizzard Axe in his hands, Alex brought it up to impact against the jagged blade of the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger. Pushing up the blade, he moved out of the way as Paris swung her Tyrant Sword at the robotic Psycho's midsection. With uncanny reflexes, the Evil Ranger moved out of the way and fired a stream of energy from its right hand. The two Ultra Rangers leapt out of the way of the energy and summoned their gauntlet blasters. Snapping off a quick blast of ice at the rampaging Ranger, Alex glanced curiously at the weapon Paris had pulled out.

It was a strange weapon that seemed to be based off the 'Lion Fang' that she had used a few times before; but it was shaped like the head of her Dinozord. It was pretty clear to him that the 'eyes' were the blasters of the weapon and he wondered where the melee component was. Even gauntlet blasters like Heather's and Sarah J's had small bits and pieces that could be used for hand to hand attacks. Whether Paris' physical attack would be seen in the battle was a mystery to him and he kept his focus on the warrior in front of him. A series of explosions somewhere behind him told him that most of the other Psycho Rangers had presumably met their end against their opponents and hoped the others would be coming to back them up. Delphine's voice had come over the communications channel and had informed them that the surge of Morphin energy had supercharged the shields around Terra Venture so they could use their 'advanced weapons' to finish the job faster. Judging by the streak of red in the sky, Andros had taken up the offer wholeheartedly.

Ducking away from another stream of liquid fire, Alex pulled out the Blizzard Axe again and transformed it into the Blizzard Laser. Balancing it in one hand, he fired both weapons at the Orange Psycho Ranger and paused to see the effects. Two beams of freezing energy lanced through the air and smashed against the chest armour of the robotic Ranger. Magical ice formed quickly over its chest and soon spread to the upper arms and legs. The Psycho Ranger looked at the spreading ice curiously but soon found itself unable to move. The coldness seeped into its robotic frame and froze over several key components…including the circuit board Deviot had implanted for the Psycho Ranger to obey Trakeena implicitly. As the ice and frost destroyed the delicate connections; the Psycho Ranger slowly became self-aware and started accessing portions of its programming that had previously been sealed off.

"Watch out!"

Whipping his head in the direction of the frozen Psycho Ranger, Alex had just enough time to register Leo's shout before the Psycho Ranger began to glow under the ice. Combining both weapons into the Blizzard Blaster – just in case – he shared a nervous glance with Paris and began backing away as steam began to billow from the Ranger. A cracking noise made him abandon any sense of caution and run away to the nearest safe haven. Suddenly, the Black Psycho Ranger stepped in his way and brandished its broken Lance as menacingly as it could. Flipping over the Psycho Ranger, Alex spin-kicked it away just as the ice melted to reveal the new form of the evil Ranger. Psycho Ranger and Ultra Ranger stared in shock as their brains registered the new additions to the already imposing Psycho Ranger.

The horns on the head were now longer and curved around like ram horns. In a corner of Alex's mind, he unconsciously flashed back to the battle with Ram Rock and silently summoned his combination Morpher. The armour looked to be thicker and seemed to have strange ports or depressions all over it; almost as if it were awaiting some new additions to come from an outside source. Two long blades protruded out of its right palm and pulsed with a strange energy that seemed to come from the very air around it. It pulled out its jagged blade and ran both spikes along the edge of the weapon; changing the metal edge into what appeared to be a chainsaw blade.

"Is that supposed to happen?"

Blinking, Alex turned to face the Black Psycho Ranger. The usually calm and composed cyborg was visibly shaking in fear as the Orange Psycho Ranger turned to regard them with the same disdain as one would view a cockroach. Around them, the Astro, Galaxy and Ultra Rangers paused in their cornering of Deviot and Psycho Pink to stare at the scene unfolding behind them. Alex could see that Paris had met up with Billy and was discussing something with the genius…but she was still too far away to make any impact on the battle to come.

"Ranger, I have not had the chance to fight against you; but I would hate to see you fall against a stronger opponent. Please leave the area at once and rethink your strategy."

He turned to the Black Psycho Ranger in shock. He had heard from Carlos that the Black Psycho Ranger seemed to be the more honourable warrior in the Psycho Rangers but to flat-out say that the Rangers should retreat from the battle was…practically unheard of. As the duo backed away from the upgraded Psycho Ranger, Psycho Black turned to him and pressed something in his hands. Glancing down, Alex saw that it was a small USB key.

"That is all the schematics of the Orange Psycho Ranger that Deviot and Trakeena were able to recover. Maybe you'll be able to come up with a way to destroy the Ranger by looking at them. Please, you must leave now!"

Nodding slowly, Alex raised his hand to the left side of his helmet and pressed one of the concealed buttons there. The button press sent a signal of 'tactical retreat' to the other Rangers and they complied with the unwritten warning present and teleported out. Seeing Psycho Black about to engage in a helpless battle with the uncontrolled Orange Psycho Ranger, Deviot and Psycho Pink exchanged glances before they teleported out as well. Raising his Blizzard Axe in a last salute, Alex teleported out; leaving the Black Psycho Ranger alone with the Orange Psycho Ranger.

"Tell me, do you really think you'll defeat me? The only one in your group who probably could has been destroyed. Very soon, I will assimilate all of you into my core and be the strongest Psycho in existence! As a matter of fact, I will be the only Ranger in existence!"

The Orange Psycho Ranger raised its arms above its head and started chanting ancient words under its breath. Slowly, the shattered bodies of the destroyed Psycho Rangers began to gravitate towards the Orange monster and transform so they could fit in the depressions in the armour. The Black Psycho Ranger tried to fight against the pull but it found itself floating in the air. Letting go of his broken weapon; the Black Psycho charged his body up with the remaining energy and waited for the perfect time to strike.

He just hoped he did some damage.

TBC…

AN: Had planned out a big battle with each of the Psycho Rangers but…let's just say, I have a lot of ground to cover before I hit Chapter 200…


	194. 193: Gut Punch

Chapter One Ninety Three: Gut Punch

He prayed they weren't too late.

Alex steered the Delta Megaship through the asteroid belt on the way to Rashon and reflected on the events of the past week. After the Black Psycho Ranger had apparently sacrificed itself, the scanners on Terra Venture had recorded an unusually large spike in Evil energy coming from the warehouse district where the battle had taken place. Fresh from facing Deviot, Mike had been sent to investigate the area with a small squad of troops. There had been no sign of the Black Psycho Ranger but they had see signs of a massive energy discharge. Strangely, the remains of the other Psycho Rangers were nowhere to be seen.

That had begun a week of constant guard. Zhane had dropped by Terra Venture on his way to see Karone. The former Queen of Evil was en route to Onyx for some scouting regarding the Dark Converter and what it could possibly be used for. Some of her old contacts had dug up new information that she needed to hear – even though she was now reformed. The reasoning had been that the Dark Converter was too damn powerful for only one monster to use and the soul of whoever was killed by it would be sent directly to Hell…with an extremely slim chance of reviving. Billy had upgraded Zhane's Silveriser to fire more charged blasts of energy and also had tweaked the settings on his armour to allow for better durability on the harsh surface of Onyx and the surrounding worlds. The Silver Ranger was grateful for the changes and even helped out the Galaxy Rangers against a particularly strong reptilian beast before leaving for Onyx.

That battle had been the only monster battle of the week, though Deviot and Villamax were still seen with groups of Sting Wingers. According to them, they were also looking for the Orange Psycho Ranger as it had broken free of their control. They also were not sending out the Pink Psycho Ranger as it was still undergoing repairs and an upgrade to her capabilities. The Galaxy Rangers had handled them easily…which left the Astro and Ultra Rangers free to discuss the pirate attack that had transpired. Alex didn't tell anyone about what had happened with his visions as he had an idea what they were. They were probably images from any one possible future and if permitted, they would probably play out normally with no harm to anyone around them. Well, that was the hope anyway.

Andros had expanded on their mission with new information that Zhane had provided. The current leader of the Machine Junkyard was a General-Type mechanoid called Venjix. No information had been uncovered about the Grand Plan just yet, but there had been odd rumours flying around that they were looking into Zedd's past for something specific. The Red Astro Ranger didn't think the Ultra Rangers needed to be involved but it was good for them to know what was happening anyways. After a long session of brainstorming ideas and strategies for the next battle, Cassie had gone off to meet with Kendrix while the others had gone for lunch. Twenty minutes later, they had received the call that had sent them racing to the Astro and Delta Megaships.

Psycho Pink had made her move. She had broken away from Trakeena and had infiltrated Terra Venture in an effort to make herself strong enough to hunt Psycho Orange. Jumping into the network; she had discovered information on the Savage Sword on Rashon and had gone to make herself more powerful. Kendrix and Cassie had seen her and given chase but the robotic Ranger had given them the slip near the star charts. The Pink Galaxy Ranger had been the one to call the others and had revealed that she was the one who inadvertently gave Psycho Pink the idea to find the Savage Sword. The Galaxy Rangers had opted to go on the Astro Megaship and Andros had entrusted the Delta Megaship to the Ultra Rangers. The course had already been plotted and they would reach the planet within three minutes. However, the situation on the surface of the planet wasn't good.

Based on what sporadic communications they were able to receive, it seemed likely that Psycho Pink had obtained the Savage Sword and was using it against the two Pink Rangers. Having been alerted to the situation while she was on Onyx, Karone had told the three teams of Rangers everything she knew of the Savage Sword. It had been one of the weapons used by an ancient warrior of Evil whose name had been all but lost to the sands of time. This warrior had used it in the final battle between Rita and Zordon on Eltare and it had only been depowered after blocking a powerful blast from one of Zordon's most powerful fighters. After the warrior had been contained; the Savage Sword had used what was left of its stored energy and warped to Rashon to await its future bearer. What had become of the other fighter was also lost to history.

"Coming up on Rashon now…that's not good."

The Black/Green Ranger's jaw dropped as he compared the planet with the image that was recorded in the planetary database. What should have been an orange-red planet was now an angry-looking purplish pink – the colour of a bad bruise – and there were white ripples emanating from a specific point on the surface. The ship shook violently as a wave of electromagnetic energy smashed against the shields and caused the controls around him to spark with excess energy. Gripping the controls tighter, he looked to where Rachel was manning the shields and allowed a brief smile to cross his face. The young girl had refused to wait on Terra Venture for news and would have stowed away on the Delta Megaship if Alex had given up on persuading her otherwise.

"Kendrix! No!"

Gritting his teeth, Alex pushed the Delta Megaship further into the energy maelstrom in front of it and proceeded to take the ship down to the planet's surface. Through small gaps in the clouds, he could see that the Pink Psycho Ranger had shifted into her monstrous form and was battling the Astro and Galaxy Megazords. Mike had to stay behind on Terra Venture to defend it in case Trakeena attacked – which explained the absence of the Torozord – but the Megazords were losing badly. Gliding over the battlefield, he felt the Megaship tremble slightly as Paris fired the Gyro-Blaster turrets and engaged the automatic tracking and firing systems of the Mega and Turbo-Laser turrets. Using his position of third-in-command, he had opted to take the micro-missile launchers offline to conserve energy. Placing the flight controls on auto-pilot, he turned on the ship-wide intercom.

"We need a plan. Who is going down to the surface and who will be staying on the ship. I'm going to the surface; I have a bad feeling something is going to happen soon."

"Heather here. I'm coming to the surface as well. Aimee and Linda say they will stay on the ship and work the turrets on Deck 4."

"Sarah here. I'll stay on the ship as well; I'm coming to the Bridge so I can take over from Paris' firing the Gyro-Blasters."

Alex nodded and turned to Rachel. She could see the answer in his eyes and nodded resignedly. She knew it was pointless to argue with Alex when he had made his mind up; plus, no one really knew what the conditions on the surface were like…especially with the strange energy disturbances. She knew she was safer inside the armoured Megaship than on the ground but still…

"I'll be all right. I promise I will come back."

She looked up at Alex and felt her heart constrict at his smile. She was aware of Sarah coming in from a back door and taking over Paris' position at the Main Fire Control. Nodding once, she steeled herself for a long battle and turned back to her station. Blinking at the two bright flashes behind her, she barely even moved at the two Rangers teleported down to the surface of the planet. After all, she had a job that needed to be done if they wanted to go home in one piece. Moving her fingers over the keypad; she diverted a small amount of energy from the cycling shields into the Gyro-Blasters and watched the monitor in front of her to see the effects. The bullet-shaped projectiles slammed into the monstrous form of Psycho Pink and cracked her petal-shaped armour. The monster staggered back and left herself open to two powerful slashes from the charged swords of the Megazords. With a final wail, the Pink Psycho Ranger violently exited the world once more. Wiping away the sweat on her brow, Rachel switched the view on her monitor to the surface and shrieked in alarm as a large explosion blossomed from the area where the two Pink Rangers were located

"Kendrix! No!"

Leo stumbled on the rocky surface as the explosion rocked the ground. He could se nothing but fire and destruction in front of him and struggled to wrap him brain around what Cassie had informed them of moments earlier on a spare communicator. Apparently before her growth and destruction, Psycho Pink had stabbed the Savage Sword through Cassie's Astro Morpher and breached the reactor core. The energy had reacted with the Evil in the Psycho Ranger and that had triggered a self-defence mechanism that came in the form of electromagnetic waves designed to shatter the opposing force…eventually. However, due to the close proximity of Terra Venture, the space colony would have imploded long before the first cracks would start to appear in the Savage Sword…so Kendrix had decided to take matters into her own hands.

She had braved the destructive energy barriers that surrounded the Savage Sword but had barely enough energy to stand up once she had reached the centre. Then she had…he shook his head in opposition. There had to have been another way that the Savage Sword could have been removed. As the Red Galaxy Ranger reached the scorched area, he fell to the ground in defeat. Cassie was on the ground, holding her slowly repairing Morpher, with tears streaming down her face. Of the Savage Sword and Kendrix; there was no sign – only the pink Quasar Sabre spinning slowly in the air. Picking himself up, Leo edged forwards and reached an arm out to the Sabre but before he could pluck it out of the air, the Wildcat coin sparkled with pink energy and he heard a soft voice echo inside his head.

_I'm all right. I will always be here with you…but I need to prepare the next Chosen. You will meet her soon._

Apparently finished speaking, the Quasar Sabre started spinning faster and faster until it suddenly blasted into the air, trailing pink and gold sparkles. He watched the Sabre fly into the air with despair as he knew that Kendrix had sacrificed herself to save her friends.

"Little lost Ranger…little defenceless Ranger…"

Turning at the mocking voice behind him; Leo's eyes widened in shock as he saw the Orange Psycho Ranger walking towards him. The armour of the Psycho Ranger had changed yet again and seemed to be adorned with the facemasks of the four destroyed Psycho Rangers as well as segments of their weapons and armour. Falling back, Leo summoned hi Quasar Sabre as the psychotic robot summoned its chainsaw blade.

"Let the final blood be spilled!"

TBC…


	195. 194: Darkness Rising

Chapter One Ninety Four: Darkness Rising

It was hard to believe it was one of the most dangerous objects in the Universe.

The Dark Converter didn't glow, didn't pulse with evil energy, didn't send those that looked at it mad and didn't even suck the souls out of beings around it. If Xonix was to compare it against a human construct; he would have said it looked similar to one of the communicators the original Power Rangers always wore. It was no wonder it had dropped off the intergalactic Evil scanner for the past few thousand years. Of course, there were always those who knew and feared its name, but Dark Spectre had thought of it as a mere child's tale. Since the so-called Grand Monarch of Evil was now residing as part of the rocks on Earth; he didn't think his opinion mattered much anyway.

"Incredible. Where did you find it…and how many did you have to kill?"

Psychogre hissed in discomfort as he pulled out the stitches over the ceremonial tattoo in the centre of his chest. The tattoo was the reason that the Barbarian Rangers on Dromads had their Powers removed as he had discovered that their Power Source had a rather…odd…effect on his physiology. Their Powers had been stripped and had been transferred to him with all of their accumulated knowledge. It had helped him fighting as the Orange Ultra Psycho Ranger until he had travelled to Earth; but that thought was neither here nor there. As the last of the micro-filament thread was pulled from his healing skin, Psychogre spoke.

"On the abandoned planet of Minxtras and in a secret Royal Vault; there were no guards and the security systems were pathetically archaic. The lead-up to finding it was more of a challenge than nabbing it."

That was a mass understatement. The emissary of Lothor had been talking about a very different Dark Converter than what he had been hoping to find. His Master had ordered that the plans and specifications be kept for future use but he didn't really see the point in a Dark Matter Converter…not unless they needed to sustain a member of the Sha'Kahr for a prolonged period of time. Yit didn't count anymore as the creature was now more machine than alien. Psychogre had almost ripped the emissary's head off when the Space Ninja himself had come down to see what all the fuss was about. After a rather interesting discussion with the human, Psychogre had learnt that thousands of objects in the Universe were called Dark Converters but none of them had the power of the original. Lothor had taken Psychogre into the bowels of his ship and had brought out an ancient scroll that showed the location of the original Dark Converter.

It had been quite a shock to him to learn that it was sequestered away on Minxtras as he knew that Xonix had lived amongst its populace in secret for some time. However, the Dark Converter had been a secret that very few Royals knew about and only the aging King knew its precise location. Fearing for the future of his memory, he revealed the location to a young scribe moments before Xonix had revealed himself as a Lord of Evil. That young scribe had been very unfortunate to be killed seconds later by a surprise beheading…but his brain had been untouched and was transplanted into the body of a cybernetic monster to serve as a wandering mercenary. That same mercenary had been picked up by Lothor and refitted to become a scribe once more. Before an incident involving the scribe, three female aliens and the main airlock; the scroll had been inked and presented to Lothor as the only known location of the Original Dark Converter.

"I see. And were you able to experiment with what it could do? Are the rumours surrounding it true?"

Psychogre tapped his chin with a claw. The first thing he had done upon setting eyes on the Dark Converter was check the map and scroll once more. The second thing he had done was to grab it and instinctively snap it over his left wrist. Whatever he was expecting to feel after the deed had been done…absolutely nothing wasn't it. He had even tested his fists, feet and tail against the crumbling walls around him to see if there was any increased strength or elemental effects. What he found was rather disappointing despite all the hype and mystery surrounding it. No elemental mastery, no additional energy blasts and nothing to write home about. Frustrated, he had stepped out into the dying sunlight and had run straight into an exploration mission sent by SPD. It had been during the battle that he had finally regarded the Dark Converter as something that was to be both feared and respected.

"It is everything as the rumours say. I ran into a small group of SPD officers-in-training on Minxtras and killed them all. As they died; their bodies were surrounded by a red and orange glow and consumed by fire. I can't say for certain; but I think I saw small spheres come out of their bodies and vanish in sparks of flame. That may have been due to the battle though. What do you plan to do with it now? I can install it into my weapon but its true strength lies in what it can do to living enemies."

Xonix bent down and studied the Dark Converter. In truth, he had no idea how to connect it to any mechanical device either and to attempt such an endeavour could mean that the Dark Converter was destroyed. That was something that needed to be avoided at all costs as it would mean the end of…pretty much everything. Ruling over the Universe was a good thing, sure, but ruling over a void of absolute nothingness would get old really fast. On the other hand, Edward had all but stated that the Dark Converter would be needed for history to align properly and that it would be installed into Psychogre's side project. He had reservations about what that sentence actually meant and made a snap decision. Whether it would prove to be the correct one or not would be revealed in time.

"I believe that you should wear the Dark Converter when you pilot your weapon. Connecting it to the systems would prove very detrimental to all of us if done improperly. Then again, the Dark Converter is highly advanced technology and should not be used lightly. If the King of Minxtras didn't know what it could do…then neither do we."

Tearing his gaze away from the Dark Converter, Xonix walked to the balcony of the Moon Palace and looked at the blue and green sphere in front of him. Earth was practically undefended as the current Ranger team was battling the nuisances of Queen Bansheera and her motley crew of assorted demons. All three of his time-delayed monsters had been destroyed by the Rangers…or during an unexpected volcanic eruption. The Orange Psycho Ranger had shown great promise but that had soon devolved into an unhealthy fixation with killing the Ultra Rangers and everything they fought to protect. He had become a loose cannon; especially with the power that had sprung up out of nowhere to use the defeated and destroyed Psycho Rangers as more armour. That was incredibly macabre but it had garnered results as his scans showed the Rangers losing horribly. Whether they lived or died was out of his hands and he much preferred it that way.

"So now what do we do?"

Xonix turned away from the view of the Earth and concentrated on the sound of heavy construction going on around him. Edward had given approval for his brother to turn the Moon Palace into his second Fortress and had even provided designs for greater output particle cannons. Why he had decided to name the cannons Drykens was anyone's guess…but Xonix did have his ideas on why that was the case. He would give the Rangers some time to regroup and then he would make his move in two days.

And the Rangers would be killed.

TBC…

AN: Not long to go now…


	196. 195: Psycho End

Chapter One Ninety Five: Psycho End

"I expected more of a challenge!"

Alex swore under his breath as he brought up his X Lancer to block another energy blast coming from the Psycho Ranger. The battle didn't look good no matter which angle he viewed it from. The Astro Rangers were fighting their hardest but Cassie was still in shock from witnessing Kendrix sacrifice herself. The Pink Ranger was slowly recovering on the sidelines but Andros had been forced to send an SOS to Zhane and hope he didn't blow the cover of his friend. The Galaxy Rangers were also battling damn hard but it was clear to everyone that they weren't up for the rigors of a prolonged battle…not after coming out of one not that long ago. Sarah, Aimee and Linda were still on the Delta Megaship and had promised to jump in if needed; which was all well and good if the whole team was present.

Three Rangers against one would usually be very good odds…if the ranger wasn't an Evil robot that was augmented with who-knew-what and had the weapons, armour and strengths of the other Psycho Rangers physically implanted into it. Pulling out the X Lancer had been just about the only thing that had saved his skin as his freeze bolts weren't working against the Psycho Ranger for some reason. Paris had pulled out that ridiculously large blade and was hacking at the back of the Psycho Ranger using all the momentum she could muster. Heather had pulled out a gun that looked like an old fashioned flintlock pistol with a skull-and-crossbones symbol emblazoned on it and was blasting the chest of the Psycho Ranger while it engages in hand-to-hand combat with him. All three Ultra Rangers had to be careful their attacks didn't hit each other but the Psycho Ranger was gleefully deflecting their attacks with ease. If this kept up, he would have them pull out their Assault Armours and blow the Psycho Ranger away.

Ducking away from a swipe from the chainsaw-sword; he mused on the downsides of pulling out the Assault Armour. Besides Weihan and the departed spirit of Steven Johnston, none of the other Rangers had used their Assault Armours in anything except very limited training. Flipping away from another wild slash, his mind struggled to come up with another viable plan that didn't involve senseless sacrifice. There was always the possibility Andros could call upon his Battlizer Armour and rain missiles on the Psycho Ranger…except he was trying to comfort his team to what they had just seen. Sure, Zhane swooping down from the sky was a possibility; but the Ultra Ranger wanted to deal with the Psycho Ranger as quickly and efficiently as possible. Even if he could somehow snap the Astro and Galaxy Rangers out of their shock; they would be battling at a disadvantage.

"Little lost Rangers; one has died...but you'll see her soon!"

Alex looked up just in time to see a thick beam of energy spiralling towards him. He didn't have time to react and braced himself as the energy smashed against the chest plate of his Battle Armour, throwing him across the rocky ground. The Lights of Orion could possibly work with only four Rangers but it would be significantly weaker than usual. Leo hadn't received a Battlizer of his own yet and the closest thing was that bulky Capsular Cycle with a rather imprecise finisher. Struggling to his feet, he looked down at the scorching across the 'coin' and sighed to himself. The Battle Armour wouldn't really hold up for long against the unpredictable attacks of the Orange Psycho Ranger and if he went in without any armour at all…he didn't want to think about that. With only himself and the other Ultra Rangers fighting with all their strength, he needed the firepower the Assault Armour would give them.

At his mental command, his Battle Armour dissolved into a shower of sparks as he looked down to see what damage had been done to the lightly armoured bodysuit. If there was scorching on it, it was indistinguishable from the strange camouflage pattern that covered the chest. Flipping away from a short burst of lasers, he landed a short distance in front of the Galaxy Rangers and inhaled deeply.

"Assault Armour – Activate!"

Unlike the first time when he had been locked inside his mind as Steven Johnston wielded it; he was in the present moment as each heavy piece of his Assault Armour formed over his body. Unlike the non-descript armour that had been summoned before, the chest plate of his Assault Amour looked incredibly similar to the head of his Mammoth Dinozord. Twin tusk-blasters curved outward at an angle from his arms and the 'ears' changed into stubby launcher shoulder pads. As the 'trunk' formed; new information poured into his mind and made him aware of the new opportunities, attacks and strategies that were possible. Glancing down at his left arm, he saw the upgraded Blizzard Axe slide into place and smirked under his helmet. Targeting the Psycho Ranger through his HUD scope, his body jerked back slightly as two micro-missiles blasted toward the target from the launchers on his shoulders. They burst into starbursts of bitterly cold liquid nitrogen that slowed the movements of the Evil Ranger by a fraction of a second.

That fraction was all he needed. He raced towards the Psycho Ranger, amazed that the bulky armour could keep up with his movements, and slashed its chest twice with his upgraded Blizzard Axe. The energy blades bit deep into the macabre chest piece of Psycho Red's face and scraped against the metallic surface below. Psycho Orange reeled back and tried to stop the internal freezing of its components by channelling the 'borrowed' energy from Psycho Black into its chest cavity. Slashing up with its chainsaw blade, it caught the upgraded Ranger across the chest and flung him back into the two other Ultra Rangers. Dialling up its audio receptors, it listened to what the next move of the Rangers would be.

"That didn't go as planned. You two are up next; I'll join you in a few."

"All right; let's do this."

In twin shimmers of light, Paris' and Heather's Battle Armours vanished from their chests. Paris could hear the soft click that signalled the opening of Andros' Battlizer and she shook her head slightly. If it was needed, she would let the Red Astro Ranger summon his Battlizer Armour but with three sets of Assault Armours active…it would seem like overkill. Crossing their arms in front of them, they inhaled deeply and gave the command for their Armour.

"Assault Armour – Activate!"

Paris gasped in amazement as the Assault Armour assembled on her body. Judging from the information flowing through her mind and the images on the HUD, the chest plate of the armour was styled to look like the Red Dragon Thunderzord's head – right down to the spikes that protruded from her shoulders. Unlike the Assault Armour of both Weihan and Alex; there was no external weapon attachment but she knew that any weapon she could pull put would be given an upgraded look to go with an increase of power. Three round turrets opened up on her shoulder pads and the information on the HUD called them 'Stress Fracture Cannons' or SFC for short. She wondered exactly what they could do and vowed that she would put them to good use immediately. Looking down at a sudden weight on her feet, her eyes widened as she saw the saurian-like claws that replaced her feet and quirked her lips up as she saw – for the briefest of instants – blood-red laser claws pop out.

Glancing at Heather, her jaw dropped open slightly as she saw the Assault Armour of the Pink Ultra Ranger. Muted pink metal covered the chest of the Ranger and was styled to look like her helmet. The same array of turrets and launchers overed her armoured form but new additions of Heather's armour were the two wings that protruded from her back. They were similarly shaped to the fixed-wings on the original Pterodactyl Dinozord but had powerful boosters on the backs to allow faster lift. As with her Assault Armour, Heather's had no external weapon slot and Paris wondered what made Weihan and Alex so special…and if Will had an external weapon slot on his Assault Armour. As the energy cyclone died down, Paris took aim with the flamethrower in the centre of her chest and giggled sadistically at the surprised shouts of the Orange Psycho Ranger.

Bursting from the remnants of energy surrounding them, the two Ultra Rangers rocketed towards the hapless Psycho Ranger as it raised its chainsaw blade to defend itself. Ducking under a high swing, Paris balled her left hand into a fist and slugged the Psycho Ranger across the left side of its body that was protected by the face of the Yellow Psycho Ranger. The energised and strengthened blow powered through the toughened face mask and impacted against the body of the Psycho Ranger below with a burst of plasma. The Psycho Ranger wrenched itself free and countered with a swipe of its own…but the damage had been done. Snarling at the Ultra Ranger that dared to hurt it; it leapt high into the air and charged up a burning ball of flame. Unfortunately, that was the moment its internal processors chose to remember that the Pink Ultra Ranger had suddenly grown wings with her upgraded armour.

Heather smashed into the Psycho Ranger and knocked it out of its planned trajectory. Looping in the air, she marvelled at the way the airflow compensators allowed a turbulence-free glide. Drawing a bead on the falling Psycho Ranger, she opened up the mini-Gatling guns on her shoulders. The energy bullets sparked on its armour and slowly but surely dug into the reinforced metal. She would never know it, but the energy bullets disrupted the delicate gyroscopes in its body and ruptured several vital fuel lines within its internals that had been – somewhat foolishly – left unarmoured. Drawing her Terror Bow from its subspace pocket, she took a few moments to marvel at the thick armour coating it now sported before pulling back the drawstring and allowing three arrows to form.

She paused for a split second as the bullets continued to fly. The Psycho Ranger was on its last legs and would probably run if there was even the slightest second of reprieve. Shifting the aim to reflect her thinking, she released the energy drawstring and let the three arrows shoot toward the falling Psycho Ranger. Less than a second later, the three energy arrows struck the Psycho Ranger in unison – one in the neck and the other two just above the thighs. The shafts exploded as soon as they made contact with the metal under the armour and coated the Psycho Ranger with a thin film of sticky gel. She watched the Ranger impact against the ground and giggled at its pathetic attempts to right itself.

"All yours Alex."

Alex nodded at Heather and refocused on the struggling Psycho Ranger in front of him. As he had done before, he reached deep into himself and drew strength and energy directly from the heart of the Black/Green Ultra Crystal. Unlike before, there were no strange sights or sounds that he could see; only an unsettling feeling that something was racing towards them that could not be avoided no matter what. He could feel the energy flow into the blades of the Blizzard Axe and pushed down the foreboding as best as he could. The only question on his mind was which finisher to use. The Ice Crush that had been used earlier would allow for the total destruction of the twisted Ranger in front of him but if it was somehow blocked or even reflected – the results would be disastrous. On the other hand; the blades on the Blizzard Axe were pulsing with a sickly green light and he could feel the temperature on the surface of the planet dropping.

"Glacier Crash!"

He had absolutely no idea where the words had come from; but he relaxed and allowed the Power to take control of him. He lifted his left arm into the air and paused for a second to allow the light from the system's sun to glint off the metal blades before springing into action. Bending his knees slightly, he leapt higher than normal due to the reserves of Power inside him and extended his right leg. The head of the power-infused Blizzard Axe detached from the weapon shaft and split down the middle. Both halves then attached to his right foot and encased it within a glowing energy shell.

Hidden thrusters on the back of the armour opened up and he sped towards the Psycho Ranger almost as fast as he had seen Rainbow Dash fly. Bracing himself for the impact, he channelled more power into his leg and to his armour in case the flying kick wasn't enough to completely destroy it. He needn't have worried. As his right foot impacted against the chest of the Orange Psycho Ranger, the blades of the Blizzard Axe lengthened and stabbed deep into the robot. In the instant that metal pierced metal; all of the freezing and destructive energy that was pent up was released into the Psycho Ranger. At first, it relished the thought of being able to destroy the Rangers with their own energy…and then the warnings started to flash on its visor

As the Black/Green Ultra Ranger flipped off its chest, it was finally able to break free of the stickiness surrounding it for the barest of moments before the armoured casing around its reactor shattered. The metallic shards pierced the reactor and set off an internal chain reaction with the Ultra energy infused into its armoured shell. The Orange Psycho Ranger let out a wail of despair and hopelessness before exploding in a powerful ball of green, red and pink flame. As the smoke cleared, Alex cautiously crept closer and braced himself for another fight. However, what he saw filled him with a great deal of relief.

The Orange Psycho Ranger that had taunted them for so long was now nothing more than scattered robotic parts that surrounded a vaguely humanoid-shaped ice slick. Embedded at the 'head' of the ice slick was the face plate of the Psycho Ranger and Alex chuckled to himself as he dismissed the Assault Armour. Whatever the future held for them didn't matter at the present moment.

They had won.

TBC…


	197. 196: Darkly Bonded

Chapter One Ninety Six: Darkly Bonded

"I expected more of a fireball…"

Shaking his head at the sight, Xonix turned away from the burning Monster Labs and wondered what exactly had gone wrong with Twinlobe's machine. Edward had reassured him once more that, as he was now human or close to it, he would not need the Moon Palace anymore and had given his approval for the reconstruction to take place. He had even sent up plans for a rudimentary matter converter that could be used to make the expansion run faster…but the early successes had somehow changed the machine into a ticking time bomb. He would have Twinlobe or Jabarkas look at the designs and see if something couldn't be hammered into place. If not, he would be forced to don a human form and visit his brother on the surface. With the Ultra Rangers on that floating human colony, it would be easy to pop down and be back in a few hours…but there were other factors that needed to be considered. First and foremost were the Rangers that were stationed in Mariner Bay. From the reports he had heard over the intergalactic grapevine, Diabolico had used the information given to him well and the experimental Titanium Morpher had been spirited away by the demon's protégé. However, as with all things concerning the Rangers, the holder was revealed as the brother of the Pink Ranger and – after a short internal struggle – had turned away from Diabolico.

Now, the Lightspeed Rangers were six strong and – if the other reports from his moles within the organisation were correct – there would be another Zord on the way. A concealment spell could mask his signature for a time, but it would soon shatter under the magical energies of Briarwood. There was also the matter of four Zeo Rangers stationed at Sydney to protect the city from attacks. So far, there hadn't been any attacks from him as he was placing all the pieces he needed for the next battle…and if he was entirely honest with himself, reinforcing the Moon Palace into Fortress 2.0 wasn't high on the list. Walking down the halls, he nodded to the Golems that scurried past him holding buckets of water to put out the fire. Edward hadn't really installed that much of a fire-suppression system in the structure as he had thought that there would never be an issue with fire in the airless atmosphere of the moon. Of course, he had to change that once he started attacking Earth and found out that the monsters summoned by him were more used to an oxygenated atmosphere.

Walking away from the sounds of the spreading fire, he thought about the Dark Converter and the plan Psychogre had for it. There was no doubt in his mind that if it could be pulled off successfully, it would deal a great blow to the Rangers on the planet below. He even would go so far as to say it would prove a greater blow than Zordon's death but he kept those thoughts to himself. Tapping a claw on the wall, he waited for the briefest of moments for the concealed lift doors to open. Stepping inside, he punched in his personal keycode into the panel that appeared and hung on to the side rail as the lift abruptly dropped. The spell of Edu-Buh was a vital component of the plan, but he had his reservations with unleashing such a powerful spell on the relatively weak-minded Rangers.

There wasn't any glory to be had with using such a heavy-handed tactic against them; especially if the end result wanted to be achieved…but the more he thought about it, the more he realised that they had no other choice. The Rangers would have to fall no matter what and the blow struck would be a decisive one felt by both past and future Rangers alike. After the Rangers saw the destruction and devastation he was truly capable of, they would lay down their arms in an instant…and then he would be left with the problem of how to extract the Ultra Crystals from their bodies without killing them. He was sure such a feat was possible but that required lots of study and research. Unfortunately for him, he had set the attack to begin within a set time period and it was too late to be thinking about spell research now. Rolling his eyes at the mental voice of his mother that echoed through his mind about time management, Xonix tightened his grip on the railing as the elevator car screeched to a sudden stop.

As the doors of the elevator opened, the sound of the secret weapon filled his ears. Shaking his head as he stepped out onto the rocky ground, he looked up at the open cockpit hatch and marvelled at the changes that had been made during the past few weeks. The robot no longer had blank features but now looked like a beast from the depths of the human concept of Hell. The feet had been carved into cloven hooves that seemed to radiate heat and the armour was moulded to appear like blackened and singed fur. The scraps of metal from the remoulding wasn't wasted as a long and thin tail snaked from behind the robot as the last of the armoured plated were welded onto it.

"Amazing, isn't it? The few days have been remoulding the machine inside and out. Your brother was a fool to leave this lying around…almost makes me wish we discovered where he stashed away Serpenterra."

Chuckling, Xonix turned around to see Psychogre walking out of a side corridor with his sword resting on his left shoulder. On his right wrist, he wore the Dark Converter and it was pulsing lightly with a strange greyish glow. Looking at it for a long period of time made him feel slightly nauseous and he wondered exactly what it was doing to Psychogre's powers. Edward had informed him of Serpenterra's location but he wouldn't tell the monster in front of him where it was buried. It was needed in something the documents outlined as the FR Event and would be a pivotal moment in the history of the Power Rangers. Apparently a second pivotal moment would happen a few weeks after that but what that would be…well; the documents hadn't revealed.

"Amazing isn't the word I would use. Has the Dark Converter bonded to your body as hypothesised?"

Psychogre nodded and lifted his arm to admire the device pulsing on his wrist. After realising that the Dark Converter was highly resistant to all forms of cutting, prying and blasting; he had made the incredibly risky decision to slide it on his wrist and allow it to bond with him. Well, bond further with him as he had used it on Minxtras with no apparent side-effects. Two seconds later, he had been howling on the ground as it felt like his arm was being dipped into lava. The pain had persisted for a few minutes, but he had screamed himself hoarse and had pretty much destroyed one set of vocal chords. He was incredibly glad his accelerated healing had fixed the damage done. After that…experience…it was just a matter of fixing up the robot and seeing what could be done with the newfound power the Dark Converter granted him.

He had no clue what the glowing pulsing thing was or what it was doing to him but if that meant he would keep the enhanced strength and crushing blows…well; he would hang onto that for as long as possible. A part of him felt bad for his master as he had to cast the Edu-Buh spell…but that would weaken the Rangers and make their deaths sweeter.

And, at long last, the Orange Ranger would die.

TBC…


	198. 197: Surface Bubbles

Chapter One Ninety Seven: Surface Bubbles

"So they're staying there for the time being?"

Weihan nodded and slumped against the wall of the Ultra Cavern. The six Rangers had returned from Equestria a few minutes ago – only to be met with Alex and the others as their transport portal from Terra Venture snapped shut behind them. They had spent a few minutes catching up before heading home for some much-needed rest. Only Weihan, Alex and Rachel stayed behind as they compared notes on their various experiences. While the Orange Ranger was extremely relieved that the Orange Psycho Ranger had been dealt with, he was more than a little worried about what exactly Karone was up to on Onyx. The thought of Zhane staying with her to act as her guard made him uneasy but he knew that pretty much nothing in the known Universe would make Karone crack about the…fun had.

Rachel, on the other hand, had much more exciting news to share. After the destruction of Psycho Orange, she had been asked to go to Phaedos to train with Dulcea. This had been on Ninjor's request and the Ninja Master had been thrilled when she had accepted. An image ran through the mind of the Orange Ranger of Rachel in the same bikini outfit as he had seen on Dulcea and he stifled a groan. He had distracted her from his rather obvious shifting by asking her what she would be doing on the planet of the Great Power…but he hadn't really been expecting the torrent of information that came out of her mouth. From what he could decipher, Dulcea would be training her to be a Ninjetti Ranger in everything but the costume and Zord. As the Asian girl and the Black/Green Ranger had been slightly confused as to what a Ninjetti Ranger was; Weihan had replayed the recorded images of the battle with the Ultra Brothers. To say that they were shocked was an understatement.

"Yeah, they say that they can wait until Billy gets the dimensional shuttle fixed up. I think it'll be a while before he starts on that though…they dropped a bombshell on him with that."

'That' referred to the news of Aisha Campbell's death by a suicidal monster. Jason had known of her death but not the events surrounding it and had been gobsmacked to know that she had been within a few seconds of being saved if the so-called Samurai Power Rangers were quicker on the draw. However, that piece of information had been temporarily obscured by what Tanya had said happened during her morph. To think that a deceased Ranger was still 'living' in the Grid was a slightly creepy thought…but on the other hand, the Equestrian Rangers would be watched over by the energy of Shining Light. Thinking on the explanation for a few moments, he didn't think it would be that much of a stretch to say that all Rangers that had died throughout the Multiverse would make up pretty much all the Grids on every dimension ever. Even in worlds where there were no Rangers, the Grid would still be present and would be tapped into in one way or another. Frankly, it made his head hurt just imagining the sheer scale of everything about the 'afterlife' of the Rangers.

Travelling down that train of thought got him thinking about the afterlives of the Rangers that had chosen to serve Evil willingly. He doubted that they would be allowed access into the Multiversal Grid and wondered where they would go. There was probably some sort of punishment available for them that involved wandering the Multiverse until the end of time or being forced to relive their final battle over and over again. Either that or they would be sent straight to Hell to fight against each other in a battle for temporary supremacy. That thought gave him the chills as he wondered exactly where he would end up when he bit it. Rangers without rules…well; he would have to find a way to tell the others what happened to him when he crossed over. He seriously doubted that would happen for a long while, but it always paid off to be safe. After all, he had been the first Ultra Ranger to take a human life…even if it had been in some evil-infested future.

As Rachel and Alex made their leave, Weihan walked over to the monitor that still showed a replay of the battle from earlier and stopped the playback. Making sure that he was all alone in the Ultra Cavern, he accessed…those images from the Bad Future. Although the majority of the recording was safely locked away in the vaults, he had kept a few choice images to always remind himself of what he was fighting to avert. Turning off all the lights in the Cavern, he watched the images start to form on the monitor. The destroyed Eltare flashed into view and he bit back the tears forming in his eyes. He didn't know how the images had been recorded as he wasn't morphed at the time…but they had been placed in his system by something or someone. His question was answered as the strange bat-like monster that had helped him appeared on the screen. Baboo paused and flashed a tight grin to the recording device and spoke quickly – almost as if he wanted the words to be recorded before something happened.

"This is a recording that will be inserted into the helmet recording system of the Orange Ranger. If you are accessing these images then you will be wondering how the images were transmitted. We are sorry, but they were planted on the time-hole generator and will be transferred upon successful activation. Right now, we are beaming this message in via a laser transmit system. Unfortunately, this will have the added effect of swiftly reactivating the defences."

The image fizzled to static before showing an image of their approach of the ruined Earth and a clear shot of the red and black clouds that rolled over its surface. Looking down from the image, he closed his eyes – never noticing the tiny bolts of green and red energy crackling over his body for the barest of seconds. Inhaling slowly, he allowed the memories of the massacre to wash over him. He had accepted that there was no other way to end their pain and suffering and he remembered the vow he had made to himself; that no one had to ever endure that level of pain and sadness ever again. Forcing himself to look up at the screen, the image of the dying Earth changed into a slideshow of the task that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The full seventeen hour recording wasn't something that he wished to see again…but the images he had selected made not viewing it seem worse. All the blood that was on his hands would never wash off completely…but he had accepted that.

"What would you say if you saw me in this situation? You said for me to remember it as a time of strength but I can't forget the sorrow. I have a full team now, sweetie. I wish you could see me and maybe you can…I hope you can. Maybe not all the time, but I hope you see me in my better moments."

Switching off the images, storing the recording back in its own private folder and switching the lights back on; he walked over to the Simul-Deck and turned on the memory download. Forcing himself to stay calm at the crawling sensation inside his skull, he reflected on the lives of his Rangers compared to the Rangers of different dimensions. It seemed like the Ultra Rangers were getting comparatively easy lives when placed next to the Rangers from Equestria but he knew that they had their moments of doubt and depression as well. Time away from school was one thing, but time away from family life was entirely another – especially for family-orientated Rangers like Eliza and Aimee. The lies that they had to always tell to their loved ones were growing less and less coherent and the familiar bonds were starting to show great signs of wear and tear. Even his own family had started becoming suspicious about his other activities; he had caught his mother snooping around in his room on an apparent hunt for something incriminating. The day she found out he was a Ranger would hopefully be in the far off future.

As the last of the scratching sensation faded, he opened up the viewscreen and console to see what had been downloaded from his mind. Placing the images and recordings that were of a…very personal nature in the private storage areas, he continued thinking about the future and what it would hold. He doubted that if he died tomorrow the Earth would be instantly transformed into the destroyed and evil-run state instantly…but there was no denying that such a fate would happen eventually. He didn't doubt Eliza or Alex's abilities one bit and knew they would hang on for as long as they could to defeat Xonix and destroy Earth in the process. So engrossed was he in filing the downloaded images, preparing various training scenarios and pondering the future; he didn't hear the sounds of teleportation behind him or the muffled sobs. However, he did notice the scream of pure anger and sorrow that was coupled with the sounds of smashing glass. Hastily shutting down the console, he turned to the main Cavern and his eyes widened.

Alex was screaming at the heavens as Rachel tried to calm him down. Eliza and Rebecca were clinging onto each other and crying hard as Ashley and Sam watched on from the sidelines helplessly. Rachelle was beating her fists against the still-repairing armour of her Ninjazord and muttering something about not being able to help in his situation. Will teleported in, shaking his head slowly as if he was determined to not allow something to affect him or his mindset. The other Ultra Rangers teleported into the Cavern in various stages of distress and the Orange Ranger sprang into action…almost. He had taken two steps forward when an image of his great, great…whatever granddaughter flashed in his mind's eye. Reeling at the image of her death, he shook his head violently and tried to suppress the emotions that were welling up. Squeezing his eyes shut, he ran over to Alex and asked Rachel what happened.

"I don't know…we were walking home when a strange red and green light covered him for a second. Next thing I know, he was extremely angry and muttering something about why it was him that always had to be the one left to save the day. It didn't make any sense; talking about ice sculptures and frozen Rangers."

He shook his head as he recalled what the situation had been. Alex had been the only Ultra Ranger still standing after their disastrous first battle with the Blue Ultra Psycho Ranger and had been forced to use a few…unorthodox finishing moves. He guessed the memories were of that time when he had been wondering exactly what he could do to help the others. He opened his mouth to soothe the Black/Green Ranger when another image popped up in his mind of his great, great whatever granddaughter plunging his Sabre into her stomach. Stumbling back at the suddenness of the image, he dropped to his knees and clenched his teeth together. He would not say anything that would reveal what he had seen and done in the bad future. Aware of a warm hand on his shoulder, he looked up just in time to see AJ materialise from her white teleportation stream. For a split second, her face was replaced with that of his great granddaughter's as she died; thankfully, the image vanished quickly.

"Rangers…are you enjoying the effects?"

Heads snapped up as a strange hologram formed above them of Psychogre's grinning face. Howling in anger and anguish, Weihan summoned his Raptor Laser and blasted the image…only for the bolt to pass harmlessly through. Sneering, the image looked down on the Rangers. Psychogre's voice was mocking and held an undercurrent of morbidity.

"I propose a challenge. Your leader against mine and if he loses, I will crush him. If you do not show up in twenty minutes, I will start destroying the area around me. Pity; some of these houses look rather expensive as well."

"I'll destroy you for good this time."

TBC…

AN: The Hellfire Arc is reaching its end.


	199. 198: Fear and Doubt

Chapter One Ninety Eight: Fear and Doubt

"You can't go out there!"

Weihan shook his head and turned away from AJ. The blonde woman's face was streaked with tears and she was shaking her head vehemently. He knew she was supposed to be waiting to board her flight to San Francisco to attend a family gathering and she had teleported from a deserted bathroom…but he could handle himself in battle. Rachel, Ashley and Sam had banded together and had put out a call to any available Rangers that weren't the Zeo Rangers. The Morphin Rangers had responded to the call with the exception of Billy and were helping the other Ultra Rangers deal with the visions and the emotions that they were feeling. He knew it had been a mass spell of some sort that had affected them instantaneously but he had no idea why he seemed to be having the least effect. After all, due to what he had been viewing prior to the spell's activation – he should have been the hardest hit.

Summoning his Sabre to his hands in a flash of fire, he closed his eyes as the blade dripped with the blood of the lives taken during that terrible day. Opening them again, he saw the blade was as clean as it had been before the massacre had even taken place…before he had lashed out on instinct and killed the first innocent. Swallowing hard, he made a motion to sheathe it on his belt but paused as two hands wrapped around his right fist. Looking up at AJ, he cracked a rather crooked smile and kissed her lightly.

"I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about a thing. Enjoy yourself with your family. I love you."

As he was saying the words to AJ, he inched his left hand closer to the communicator on her wrist. He was sure she would hate him for what he was about to do…but it was a necessary evil for him to be out fighting while afflicted with the spell. Pulling her in for one last kiss, he pressed the recall button on her communicator and she only had enough time to let out a gasp of surprise before she vanished in a stream of sparkles. Running to the teleportation console, he placed a temporary block on AJ's communicator signal for the next day. Deed done, he exhaled slowly and closed his eyes as images of the massacre appeared in his mind's eye. Shaking off the haunting images of faces and voices long since silenced, he pulled out his Ultra Crystal and stared at it for a brief moment. There was a compulsion within him to open up a communication channel to Equestria and tell them what was about to happen…but in all seriousness; there was nothing that they could do.

The Ninjetti Rangers were still getting used to their new and upgraded powers and were resting after a long and tiring battle. He honestly didn't know if he had anything left within himself to plunge head-first into another battle again, but he had to stay strong. He was the leader of the Ultra Rangers and even the other Tommy had finally acknowledged how strong he seemed to be in the face of the changes the battle seemed to bring. Even when it looked like a hopeless situation…he had managed to snap everyone out of their despair and snatch victory from defeat's jaws. Standing up, Weihan looked at the Rangers that were still struggling with the effects of the spell and wondered exactly what it would take for it to be lifted. Was there something he had to destroy or did he have to beat Psychogre in a set time period? Or would he have to go up against the strange Dark Converter that he had heard so little about?

"What are you thinking about? I know you had to send her away…did you want me to go and explain things to her?"

Looking up, he stifled a surprised gasp as he saw Steven Johnston's falling face for a split second before it vanished into Trini's. Forcing himself to calm down, he took in a deep gulp of air and tried to think up strategies to use in the coming battle. If he would be plagued with the images and feelings of hopeless situations; he would find a way to use the negativity in a positive way…if that made any sense whatsoever. He would have his Battle Armour and Assault Armour to use and if things got really ugly, he could call upon his Zords to step on Psychogre and end the battle quickly. Escalating the battle in such a way probably wouldn't be such a good idea…but if he had no other choice then he would do whatever he could to ensure a swift and decisive victory.

"No, she understands. Psychogre called me out specifically and I need to go there and face him."

Pushing away from the Yellow Morphin Ranger, Weihan walked towards the afflicted Rangers and stood by their sides as he tried to calm them as best as he could. Through their distress, they seemed to understand that he was going out to face Psychogre and forced their own emotions down. Checking his watch, Weihan ran through the strategies and tactic in his mind again. A rushing attack would work but he would have to switch Powers on the fly to pull it off. That would put him at a marked disadvantage as the only powers he could use with any real effectiveness were the combined Ultra powers, Morphin, Zeo, his Time Guardian Powers and whatever that freaky squid based power set had been. Stepping towards Rachelle's bed, he knelt down beside her and lightly touched her forehead with the back of his palm. As expected, there was no high temperature or fever…but he didn't know if there would be more symptoms coming down the track. The last thing anyone needed was a repeat of Nekros' plague spores.

Kim walked up to the Orange Ranger and placed a hand on his shoulder, lightly squeezing it in support. Against the wishes of the Orange Ranger, she had made contact with Tommy and had told him the situation. He had been in the middle of meeting Anton for the first time and her call over the communicator had all but cemented his position in the team of the brilliant scientist. The businessman-like scientist had promised to not reveal their secrets to the world and had given her a small piece of surprising news. Her uncle Stephen had been accepted into a secretive organisation known as ARC…but he didn't know what the acronym stood for. The Red Zeo Ranger had promised to stay alert and on guard but he doubted things would progress so badly that he needed to step in. Anton had cut in with a dry remark about how that comment had tempted fate…which had served as a conversation stopper.

She also didn't know why, but there was a small ball of doubt and uncertainty growing in her gut. There was a tremor in the Grid that promised great changes were ahead of the Ultra Rangers. She recalled feeling the same tremor the day before Ivan Ooze had been released and the day before the Power Coins had been destroyed…although she had still been de-aged; she had a feeling something in the world had been terribly wrong. She knew that everything would turn out all right as the young man in front of her had changed drastically from the enigmatic boy she had met in Spectre Theatre who had surprised her by morphing into the mysterious Orange Ranger. If she was true to herself, Weihan had been through a lot in the past several months and she knew there was a longing in him for the battles to end.

Chewing on her lower lip, she removed her hand from his shoulder and watched him move on to the bedside of the Purple Ranger. The boyfriend of the young girl was helping Zack check the circuits for the Dinozords, while the boyfriend of the Brown Ranger was going through the video logs of the past battles frame by frame with Jason. She watched him whisper something into her ear that quietened her cries for a brief moment. The Purple Ranger's eyes cleared and she nodded solemnly to the Orange Ranger before speaking to him in an incredibly quiet tone. What was said, the Pink Morphin Ranger didn't know, but he nodded once before turning away. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Kim knew that if the Orange Ranger was faced with a choice between continuing to fight or to achieve peace instantly, he would go straight to the peace option…no matter what it entailed.

"Don't go and get yourself killed. Come back to us."

The words echoed in Weihan's brain as he prepared to activate his teleporter. He had a feeling that going in unmorphed would be the best bet for him as he could work his way up the 'Power Ladder' as it were. Steeling himself for anything, he looked back one last time at the Rangers who were still under the grip of the spell. They had ceased their cries and were looking in his direction as best as they could – almost as if they were imparting on him their strength and power. The Morphin Rangers had also stopped their actions and nodded once to give their approval for his departure. Sam and Ashley looked slightly uncomfortable with the change in atmosphere but they also nodded once as the Orange Ranger activated his teleporter.

It was time for the final battle with Psychogre to begin.

TBC…


	200. 199: Blazing Inferno

AN: Well…200 (posted) chapters on 16 May 2012. There's still one more chapter to go before 200 'official' chapters…

Chapter One Ninety Nine: Blazing Inferno

As his vision cleared, he knew he had walked straight into a trap.

Psychogre and Xonix were in front of him; so there was no problem there. The only issue with the scene was the large group of Golems and Fiends in front of him and the energy dome that had just snapped shut above him. Weihan didn't waste time trying his communicator or teleporter as he knew they wouldn't work and considered his options. He could plough straight through the group of grunts in front of him and go straight for the prize, but something about that idea didn't sit right with him. His mind flashed back to the last time he had been in a situation like this – the first time Xonix had travelled down to Earth. Of course, it was much different now and he had a full team to back him up in case things went pear shaped…but he was cut off from any help he would be receiving until such a time as they punched through the barrier. Seeing the grin form of Xonix's face, he snarled under his breath and spoke above the noise of the Golems.

"I'm here. Let's get this over and done with, Psychogre."

"Change of plans, boy. Let me see how strong you've grown…after you take out the Golems and Fiends"

Suppressing his frustration, he supposed a rematch was a long time in coming. The last battle they had fought had ended in the alien warlord retreating after his Raptor Cannon and speeding powers had been unlocked. Although it hadn't been a true one-on-one fight, the intention had still been present and he had been battling the grunts for a while before those abilities and weapons had made themselves known. It gave him a small degree of comfort to know that it the battle would progress as it had done so all those months ago and he rolled his shoulders to loosen up the tightness in them. Being thrown head-first into another battle wasn't quite what he had been hoping for…but if it gave him a chance to take out both Psychogre and Xonix in one hit; he would grab that with both hands. Twisting his left wrist once, he summoned his Power Morpher to him and held it loosely by his side. Adjusting his grip so it would act as a makeshift knuckle-duster, he settled into a stance and motioned for the grunts to make the first move. As expected – they took it.

A sea of gnashing teeth and raised fists thundered towards him and for a split second he saw the women he had killed, but he calmed himself and waited for the perfect moment to strike. The first Fiend rushed at him and fell back upon impact with a spin kick. A Golem leapt over the fallen Fiend and staggered back in surprise before exploding in a shower of rock as a Power Morpher-helped punch overloaded its internals with Ultra Grid Energy. By now, the first Fiend had recovered, but it was being pinned to the ground as countless other Fiends and Golems trampled over it in their haste to kill the Ranger. Punches and kicks were sending the grunts flying…but Weihan knew he would have to up the ante or else he would become quickly overwhelmed. Conjuring up two powerful streams of fire from his palms, he stopped the wave of grunts in their tracks and prepared his Morpher. Flipping over to the far side of the barrier, he placed a hand on the flickering wall slowly and swallowed hard as he felt a solid surface on his skin. So much for busting out through a temporary break in the cycle…

The first Fiend had finally managed to struggle to its feet and leapt over the heads of its brethren with its mouth wide open. Seeing the incredibly obvious move coming from miles away, Weihan summoned up a small fireball in his palm and sent it rocketing down the gullet of the incoming monster. The poor creature only had enough time to blink in surprise before exploding in a shower of fire and scales. Feeling extremely vulnerable in nothing but his naked skin, he lifted up the Power Morpher to the sky and pressed the red activation button without any Morphing declaration. The Power enveloped his body a split second before several Fields launched themselves at him. Drawing his Raptor Laser out of its sheath, he fired sizzling beams of energy at them while rolling and whirling out of the way of the ones that he missed. Flicking a switch on the underside of the barrel, he held down the trigger of the blaster for a few seconds before releasing a wide-area beam spray. The beams were slightly weaker than normal – but still packed enough punch to temporarily paralyse the grunts. Leaping away from a flame attack by three Golems, he snapped up the barrel of the Laser to transform the gun into its light sabre mode. As with the first time he had used it in an under-powered state, the beam was invisible to the naked eye. Squinting in the early morning light, he could see some sort of shimmering above the barrel of the weapon – almost like a mirage in the desert.

Slashing the blade against the wave of grunts allowed him to get a better sense of the blade's location and within seconds, the waves of grunts that had threatened him were nothing more than slightly charred rubble on the ground. Deactivating the laser blade, he turned to the watching duo and waited for Xonix to make the first move. The draconic being looked at the morphed human in front of him and chuckled deeply in his throat; arms coming up to undo the clasp that held together the mantle on his shoulders.

"Impressive. It seems your powers have grown exponentially since our last meeting…but guess what? So have I."

The final piece of the knot was undone and the mantle fell to the ground at his feet. Flexing his arms once, Xonix could almost imagine the look of fear on the face of the Ranger as his wings unfurled from their resting position on his back. He had wanted to wait for the perfect moment when he could strike the most terror into the heart of the Rangers…and he had hit upon that very moment. He had almost revealed them against the battle with the two dimensionally displaced Rangers, but he had held off at the last second as the Orange Ranger wasn't present. Of course, the Orange Ranger had arrived in spectacular fashion at the end of the fight…but he was in the Power Coma by then. Leaving his blade with his servant, he walked towards the Orange Ranger and anticipated the beating to follow.

His claws clicked over the odd stone and he cursed himself for allowing the poison glands in his feet to stop producing the venom that could paralyse even the strongest monsters. They had dried or shrivelled up during one of his Power Comas but he hadn't cared so much as he didn't really foresee himself on the front lines. That notion had vanished pretty damn quickly and he had spent whatever time he could in a fruitless search to rejuvenate them somehow. Nearing striking distance, he stopped and looked at the Ranger in front of him thoughtfully. It would be mere child's play to kill the boy and destroy the Ultra Powers in one swift blow but it would be unsportsmanlike of him to grant the thorn in his side a painless death. Images of past defeats cropped up in his minds eye from his prized Ogre to the time-delayed monsters…even to the strange monster Vile had conjured up. He would hold off killing him for now and bide his time. Maybe even wait until he had gained more power and that would make the death all the sweeter.

Behind his helmet, Weihan's mind raced. To go up against Xonix instead of Psychogre was one thing but to learn that the draconic warlord had wings was…well; he didn't want to think about it. He knew that in the last battle, he had lucked out immensely with the alien choosing to leave after seeing his powers be unlocked…but he knew that wouldn't happen again. Xonix was coming after him with a sole purpose of either killing him or beating the crap out of him…and with the spell still affecting him; it wouldn't be easy. Holstering his Raptor Laser, he inhaled shakily and flatly stated the command to bring him to full power.

"Ultra Power…Activate."

In a powerful flash of light, the Battle Armour settled on his shoulders and he lifted up his fists. Xonix wasn't holding any weapon and neither would he…but he would keep his wits about him as Xonix was still plenty dangerous without weapons. He didn't have to wait long as the warlord rushed at him with a horizontal swipe that raked over the front of his armour. Disregarding the alarms and warnings that flashed up on his HUD, he powered through the blow to connect with a knee to the stomach that should have knocked the wind out of any opponent. However, he had forgotten that the monster in front of him wasn't confined to just ground-based combat.

Flying out of the way of the knee, Xonix's eyes widened a split second before the attacks changed into a jumping kick that cleared the distance in an instant. The warlord was treated to the rare occurrence of a blow actually striking against his scaled skin and he growled to himself in frustration. Not giving the Ranger below him any time to recover, he swung around in the air to attack the human with his tail. The Ranger ducked under the wild swing and grabbed onto his extended tail with both hands. Xonix chuckled under his breath and wondered exactly what the Ranger would hope to achieve…when he smelled the unmistakeable odour of burning skin. A few seconds after that, pain exploded on his tail as the Ranger turned up the heat in his palms up a few notches. Pushing away the pain, he glided closer to the Ranger and lashed out with both legs. The claws on his feet may not have been producing any more venom but they would still hurt like the fires of Hell itself.

"Fuck!"

Weihan released the tail automatically as the clawed feet slammed into his breastplate – denting the coin emblem slightly. The creature in front of him was as cagey as a fox and could attack him with claws, teeth and anything else he had in his arsenal. Cursing under his breath, he checked the Connection Gauge on his Battle Armour. The last blow from Xonix had surely rattled them, but they were still good for a few more hits at least. Pulling out the Assault Armour against Xonix would be great for a finisher…but he had no idea if the warlord would be able to block the Hellfire Storm. If he was able to…well, he really didn't want to think about what would happen as the Hellfire Storm would drain him of pretty much all his stored energy and leave him open to an attack. Ducking under another tail swipe, he shook his head to himself. That wasn't totally true…he would still be able to attack if the Hellfire Storm was blocked but he would be severely underpowered. Flipping away from a lunging bite, he thought about the dome above him and wondered what it was powered by. Shooting an obvious glance up at it, he smiled under his helmet as Xonix chuckled.

"The dome? It is powered by my blade…but you will not have a chance to break it while you still live!"

Satisfied with that answer, Weihan summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and held it in an offensive position. He was being unsportsmanlike but he doubted any sort of combat rules applied when fighting alien beasts. In fact, it was surprising at all that Xonix was sticking to the rules of engagement so closely. Well, he would put an end to that and shatter the blade as quickly as he could. Leaping into the air, he charged the blade with fire and hit a switch on the handle. As expected, the metallic sheen fell away to reveal the flickering fire beneath the steel. Bringing the blade down on the warlord in front of him, he was expecting a shout of surprise or pain…or anything except what happened.

The fire blade passed harmlessly through Xonix's arm without leaving as much as a burn. The warlord looked on impassively as the Orange Ranger swung again and again with the same result, before he retaliated harshly. Grabbing Weihan around the throat, he lifted up the struggling Ranger easily as effortlessly before delivering a powerful smash kick to the very centre of the coin emblem on his breastplate. Weihan flew through the air for a brief moment before smashing hard against the side of the barrier and crumpling to the ground in a mass of pain. His HUD was screeching crazily at him and the Connection Gauge was dangerously close to failing. Clenching his teeth together, he channelled massive amounts of fire energy into his armour which allowed the self-repair systems to begin working on the connections holding everything in place. Keeping his eyes on the warlord in front of him, he began to develop a grudging respect for the amount of power that the alien possessed. Not to mention, he was starting to feel grateful that he hadn't attacked Xonix head on in the first battle either.

Pushing himself up on wobbling legs, he changed his blade back into metal and staggered towards Xonix. If he could just slice into one of the wings; he would have more than a fighting chance. Unfortunately for him, it seemed that Xonix also knew this bit of information. Motioning out with one hand, the alien warlord telekinetically pulled his sword to his hands so fast that Weihan had to drop to the ground to avoid being decapitated. The two blades met each other in a shower of sparks and, despite the pain coursing through his aching body, Weihan grinned wider. Now that the blade was a part of the battle, he would have a good chance at bringing the barrier down for good. Channelling more and more power into his Battle Armour, he saw that the power was starting to form tongues of flame that licked against Xonix's scales. More surprisingly, the flames were shooting out of his Raptor Sabre and starting to mould the handle into something else…like a dragon head or something. Or maybe the image of Twilight's Dragonstrike Sword was still fresh in his mind.

Pushing against the slowly transforming blade, Xonix felt his stomach drop slightly. For the Ranger's armour and weapons to be changing this subtly meant that a great upheaval was on its way soon. From the documents Edward had given him, he knew they were right in the middle of a great Power shift and the repercussions of that would be felt for years to come. He had thought about dropping a call to his brother to try to gain more information on the shift…but he hadn't gotten around to it. Still, if the transforming armour was explosive and he was caught in the middle of it…well; his armoured scales wouldn't really give him any more protection than if he wrapped himself in wet tissue. Psychogre was waiting for the signal to leap in…but to leave now wouldn't really demoralise the Ranger in front of him much. So focused was Xonix on thinking about his next moves, he never noticed the slight cracks that began to form on his blade.

Breaking the blade deadlock, the two combatants spun away from each other and prepared their next attacks. The concentrated fire power was congregating in the emblem on the chest of the Orange Ranger as he prepared the chest beam attack. With any degree of luck, it would break the blade and he would be home free. Digging his heels into the ground beneath him, Weihan shifted his stance ever so slightly and allowed his Sabre to drop a mere fraction of an inch. Picking up on the movement, Xonix leapt at him with his blade held above his head. Ducking away from the inevitable blow, Weihan allowed the reptilian warlord to pass by him and he stabbed his Sabre through the thin membranes of the wing closest to him. Slicing through the fibres, he channelled more fire into the blade as the skin started to sizzle and ignite. When the charge gauge on the HUD was at its peak, he released his grip on his Sabre and raised his arms to his chest. As if sensing the motion behind him through the pain in his mind, Xonix spun around and held his blade up to his chest at the first sign of the oncoming concentrated blast.

Xonix's blade was a polished tool of destruction and death. Even though it was ancient by his standards, he kept it clean and polished at all times. On a few occasions, Jabarkas had warned him against using the blade any longer than necessary as the trained eyes of the warrior could see the slight brittleness of the metal. The advice would go unheeded and the monster Apollonia would be granted a replica blade to cleave down its enemies. However, during the spilt seconds in which the blade was able to block the intensely channeled power…Xonix wished he had taken the advice of his subordinate to heart as the metal began to softly groan. He didn't even have enough time to transfer the dome spell onto Psychogre as the enchanted metal buckled and broke under the torrent. The blazing inferno swept over his scales and armour within microseconds and he flew back into the wall of the rapidly dissolving dome. He still had one small trick up his sleeve…and he focused and channeled it into his hands in readiness to unleash it.

As the last traces of the laser left the emblem, Weihan dropped to one knee and began breathing heavily. He could see the HUD scanning for the communication and teleportation channels and felt some degree of relief that he would be getting away from the shitstorm the battle had devolved into. He looked up to call his Sabre into his hands when the first of the blasts hit. The blue and purple crackling bolts soaked into his skin and exploded against his nerves in a seemingly endless rondo of pain and destruction. The barrage left him weaker than a kitten, but he somehow found the strength to lift himself off the ground to see where the blasts were coming from.

Xonix, being supported by Psychogre, was advancing towards him with a look of malicious fury on his face. Crackling bolts spewed from his claws in a never-ending rhythm and pure rage flashed in his eyes. When he came within striking distance, he lashed out with a powerful kick that caught Weihan full on his helmet – shattering the visor completely. Not finished with his last attack, Xonix lifted up his battered tail and smashed it down on the back of the Ranger in front of him before finishing off with a blast of fire of his own. He could see the Battle Armour of the Ranger explode violently off his body and leave him vulnerable to attack. Shrugging out of Psychogre's grip, Xonix dropped to the ground and grabbed the Ranger by the neck. He squeezed lightly and chuckled ghoulishly.

"You may have caught me off guard, but you're out of options."

Weakly struggling to suck in air, Weihan couldn't agree more. His victory over Xonix had been a fluke on his part…but the Warlord had won in the end. And, unless by some miracle he was able to get outside help soon, he would be fighting Psychogre in his unpowered state…which would only end one way. Slamming to the ground hard as Xonix released his neck, he sucked in a lungful of air as the power of the Ultra Crystal fought vainly to heal him. The next three words he heard filled him with a sense of foreboding darkness.

"Psychogre…finish him."

TBC…


	201. Chapter Two Hundred: Legacy's End

AN: Now is Chapter 200 for real (18/6/12)…and the beginning of the rollercoaster. Enjoy!

Chapter Two Hundred: Legacy's End

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this…"

Weihan struggled to get to his feet as Psychogre drew closer. All thought of fleeing the scene had vanished from his mind as he channelled his available power into his limbs. He was physically, mentally and emotionally drained but he knew he had to continue with the battle until he was the only one standing. Steadying his breathing, he raised his left hand up to the side of his helmet and pressed on two concealed buttons. One sent out a short distress beacon to anyone listening and shut off all communications microseconds later. The other sent a ripple of energy over his head to repair the shattered full-face visor as well as any external damage that the helmet had sustained. In some way, he knew it was a bit stupid to charge into a battle with his helmet being the only clean and 'untouched' part of his Ranger Armour…but he didn't really care.

Summoning his Raptor Sabre to him, he rested it on his shoulder and waited for the first move. As he waited, he looked over Psychogre to see what new additions the former Ultra Psycho Orange had added to himself. There didn't seem to be anything that leapt out at him…except a strange digital watch type device the monster had strapped to his left wrist. Whatever it was, it was softly pulsing with strange multicoloured light that both drew him in and made him feel seasick. Shaking himself out of his daze, he refocused on the monster in front of him and snorted once.

"Are we going to fight or circle around all day?"

Psychogre's smirk widened as he readied himself. The plan to allow his Master to fight the Orange Ranger first to tire him out had been his idea and Xonix had wholeheartedly approved. His Master looked like death warmed over, but it was preferable to the prospect of battling the Ranger when he was fresh and full of power. Actually, if he was extremely honest with himself,; he much preferred it this way as there was little to no chance that he would be meeting a speedy end. He was itching to try out the new blade that had been fashioned for him but would wait to disarm the Ranger first. With a roar of challenge, he launched himself at the boy with his arms outstretched.

Barely managing to parry the surprise attack, Weihan brought up the Sabre and slashed across Psychogre's chest. The energised metal scraped across his chest armour in a shower of sparks that temporarily blinded him. As his vision cleared, he found himself ducking within seconds of two massive fists flying at his head. Attempting to dive to one side of Psychogre, Weihan was caught unaware as a powerful low kick slammed into his chest and sent him crashing onto his back hard. More warnings flashed on his HUD as the thin layers of armour on the spandex-like suit were destroyed in rapid succession. Soon it would get to the point where the power he was drawing from the Orange Ultra Crystal wouldn't be enough to sustain the repair and regenerating cycle. Jumping to his feet despite the crippling pain in his back, he swung the flat of the Sabre at Psychogre…but swallowed hard as the monster caught it effortlessly.

Psychogre looked at the blade in his right hand and peered closely at it. The weak struggles of the Orange Ranger wouldn't be enough to wrench it from his grip even if the Dark Converter wasn't strengthening him. Whoever had created the blade obviously knew what they were doing as the smithing was incredibly intricate. A mixed coating of Triforian and Zycordian ground diamonds would ensure that the blade always had an incredibly sharp edge in any form chosen by the wielder. The Triforian element would also allow the blade to change its internal composition based on a pulse that was triggered by the push of a button. He had heard stories and tales of blades like this on Onyx and knew that his strength alone wasn't enough to shatter the metal…

"Oops. Did I do that?"

…but it was strong enough to bend it. Releasing the bent and distorted blade, he stepped back and watched the body language of the Ranger in front of him. He wasn't stupid – he had studied the records of past battles the Orange Ranger had fought in and had noticed that no monster ever targeted the so-called Raptor Sabre. Even if they did, they wouldn't have been able to do anything with it but it would have allowed the Orange Ranger to close up that glaring hole in his defence. The emotions exuded by the Orange Ranger ranged from shock to horror and, finally, searing anger. Psychogre chuckled under his breath as the Ranger in front of him dismissed the useless blade to pull out the Laser Blade on his side. Fighting the urge to shake his head in dismay, he stepped forward to meet the attack head on.

That was impossible. No monster, being or creature he had ever faced had done something so brazen and so terrifying. Weihan ducked under a downward strike from Psychogre as he thought about the damage his Sabre had sustained. Theoretically, as it hadn't been shattered, he would be able to use it to fulfil its intended purpose but he had a strange feeling that fighting with a bent and twisted blade would throw off almost all of his strategic advantage. Looking down at the laser blade in his hands, he rolled his eyes once and thought fast. His Battle Armour had been pretty much trashed and the power that had been stored up was depleted. Of course, it was being replenished…but it would take around thirty minutes of fighting before he could pull off another chest beam. He didn't think he had thirty more minutes of unprotected fighting in him…but there was one option that he could still choose.

"Assault Armour – Activate!"

Psychogre's lips quirked up as he saw the heavy armour slide on the body of the Ranger. He had been waiting for this moment but was mildly disappointed that it hadn't happened sooner. That was a moot point, of course, as the dome would still have been in place earlier…and the other Rangers would not be witness to his defeat. Well, that and he would be able to see exactly what other features the Dark Converter had tucked away. As if hearing his call, the Dark Converter pulsed once and sent a ripple of energy through his body. Blinking in surprise at the sudden object that his tail had automatically wrapped around, he rolled his eyes slightly at the realisation that his blade had finally been repaired. As the twin blades slid out of the Ranger's arm gauntlets, the former Ultra Psycho Ranger chuckled darkly.

"Fancy Armour won't do much good if you can't use it to the best of your ability."

Not waiting for the traditional response, he charged at the armoured Ranger and pulled back his left arm. Noticing the subtle shifts in the Orange Ranger's body as he prepared to block or parry the blow, Psychogre lashed out with a short right jab that caught the Ranger unaware. The Ranger stumbled back and brought one of his arms down as a reflex onto the Dark Converter. There was a flash of light and…well; the flash of light wasn't followed up by anything except the slight smell of sulphur and the reptile grinned and put his next strategy into action.

Behind his helmet, sweat poured down Weihan's face as he tried to predict what move the monster in front of him would pull next. The first blow had been a feint that had left him open to attack and the reflex action that should have destroyed the pulsing thing on Psychogre's wrist had done absolutely nothing whatsoever. To say that he was running out of options was a gross understatement. That punch had knocked the shield regenerator offline and the messages on the HUD were screaming at him to deactivate the Assault Armour for the next fifteen minutes…which would surely be suicidal. The external and internal shields could still hold for a while but they would be drawing power from the reserves used for the Hellfire Storm. That problem was also compounded by the use of his laser blades which drew some power from the same shield regenerator for some reason and his Armour self-repair systems hadn't replenished themselves fully since the battle with Ultraris.

Crossing his arms in front of him to defend against a powerful dropkick, he staggered back and tried to dig his feet into the ground below. Whatever that flash of light had been, it seemed to be having a strange effect on the spell that had been cast on him. Instead of the haunting images he had seen in the evil future, he was now seeing strange and psychedelic visions that seriously cast a new light on his belief of Hell. Rivers of fire licked at his feet and strange creatures lurked in the shadows around him. And yet, the images seemed to be flashing up over his vision for only a split second; compared to the five or six second images of the faces and the massacre. If what he was seeing was Hell, he was determined to not see the real thing up close and personal. Charging his laser blades with power, he dashed forwards at Psychogre and slashed them over the monster's chest. Before the reptilian beast had moved, Weihan vaulted over his head and prepared to literally stab the monster in the back…when everything went down the crapper.

A blade sliced into his breastplate – narrowly missing the focusing diamond by a fraction of an inch – and slammed him painfully into the hard ground. Blinking in a daze, he felt the edge of the blade brush lightly against his skin for a fraction of a second before his vision cleared and a torrent of ice water ran down his spine. For a blade to have bypassed every layer of armour and touch against his skin…meant that the blade was either extremely sharp or had been brought down with great force. He hoped fervently that it was the latter as a really sharp blade would mean he wouldn't be doing much in a matter of seconds. A second later and he was jerked off the ground as the blade was pulled free. Glancing down at the furiously sparking gash in his armour, he looked up to see Psychogre's blade being held by his spade-tipped tail. He could have kicked himself…he had only been focusing on the front and had pretty much forgotten about the tail.

"I could have killed you on Eltare without breaking a sweat. I only held back as I thought you would prove an amusing challenge in the future."

Weihan remembered that encounter as Eltare was falling and had wondered why the reptilian had left after one crushing blow. Now wasn't the time to dwell on such things if he wanted to keep breathing. Picking himself up off the ground, he held his blades in front of him and waited for the monster to make the next move. Checking his Hellfire Storm gauge, he snorted in disgust as he noticed that he would have to fire off the Hellfire Storm now to have a good chance of doing some damage to Psychogre. If the numbers dropped any more, he would be risking not doing any damage whatsoever…or initiating an energy feedback loop that would quickly render the Assault Armour useless for the next two weeks. The downside was that if the Hellfire Storm was used, he wouldn't have much stored power left for a prolonged fight. He could theoretically channel power from his Ultra Crystal but he doubted that would be a good idea in the long run. Well, it was time for all the bridges to be crossed.

"Hellfire Storm!"

Psychogre's eyes widened as he saw the torrent of fiery energy rushing towards him. He lifted up his blade in an attempt to block it and bellowed in shock and pain as the blast ripped through his armoured skin. Muscles spasmed around his still-intact blade and his cries of pain turned in to surprise and astonishment as the metal turned white hot…before melting over his tail. Waves of burning fire washed over his chest and rapidly stripped away the thin layers of armour before searing the muscle below. Half a second later, the blazing inferno stopped and Psychogre fell to the ground as he tried to focus through the mind-numbing pain. A small part of his mind felt slightly relieved that he was still alive and that the Rangers hadn't used that armour mode against the other Ultra Psycho Rangers. Their Psycho Gems wouldn't have shattered under the energy onslaught – they would have most likely vaporised. He looked up at the Ranger and noticed the small ripples of energy running on the surface of his armour. The Assault Armour wasn't going to last long but Psychogre didn't think he had it in him to continue to battle. He would soon be destroyed like the others…

No.

He couldn't let it end like this. For him to be brought down by the Orange Ranger was one thing but to be destroyed by a mildly strong attack that hadn't even been at full power was entirely another. And since he was the very first of the Ultra Psycho Rangers to be created; he would fight to be destroyed at the very last…something that would happen as he _was_ the last Ultra Psycho Ranger. Pushing himself up on his feet, he attempted to channel the power from the Dark Converter into a beam of some kind. Where it would be fired from was anyone's guess…but he was certain that a few more attacks would see the Ranger in front of him fall permanently.

"Spiral Darkness!"

Weihan had just enough time to look up and begin to raise his arms in defence before the spiralling energy smashed into his chest. Struggling to keep himself upright despite the acidic pain, he screamed in frustration as he felt the connectors on his Assault Armour shatter and his powers overload. Clutching his chest in agony, his Ranger Armour exploded off his body and he sucked in a lungful of air in desperation. A clawed hand clamped around his throat and, for the third time in the battle, he was lifted off his feet. His hands beat weakly against Psychogre's skin and he cried out in pain as a punch slammed against his unprotected stomach. A second later and he felt several of his ribs break as the monster holding him off the ground continued his frenzied assault on his body. Attempting to channel his fire powers into his hands, he pushed a palm into Psychogre's face…but was 'rewarded' by the monster biting off three fingers.

"Now is my final victory against you. This is revenge for my team!"

Practically blinded by the lack of oxygen and the pain coursing through his body, Weihan's eyes widened as he saw Psychogre pull out a thick metal spike. The metal seemed to have once been shining silver but was now a dull and rusted brown. There were strange stains around the tip and he would have swallowed in fear if he could. He heard voices coming from nearby as teleportation beams streaked through the sky and sounds of battle reached his tired ears. The others were here…but he knew in his gut that they were too late. There was nothing to do but accept his fate…and fight to the very end. Summoning his twisted Sabre to him, he attempted to knock the spike out of Psychogre's grip to somehow delay the inevitable…but it was too late.

He felt the wind being knocked out of him as the tip penetrated his chest. The icy coldness of the metal shaft was strange to feel inside him and he flashed back to the Wraith that had stabbed him all those months ago. The spike was wrenched out and he felt the cold air of the morning fill the hole as his blood poured out of him. Psychogre adjusted his grip around his neck and lifted the spike up to his eyes. He wondered what the strange fleshy bits were and why there were tinges of green and yellow in his body. Shaking his head as best as he could, he marvelled at the fact that it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. There was still pain but it seemed to blend in with the symphony of chaos and throbbing around him. Something was also pulling him down…he wasn't sure where he would be going but he had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty. Seeing the intent in Psychogre's eyes, he nodded once and closed his eyes. He could still hear the shouts of the Morphin Rangers as they fought against the grunts that had been summoned and could hear Xonix's dark laughter as he drank in every iota of pain. He wished he had said a proper goodbye to AJ but knew that she would be all right. They all would be just fine.

The spike ripped through him once more and with the last of his feeling, he could feel it come out the other side of him. Psychogre ripped out the object once more and laid him on the ground – almost lovingly. Weihan's mouth opened as he tried to speak. He couldn't feel anything below his neck but he knew he wouldn't feel anything ever again. Swallowing, he looked up at Psychogre with rapidly darkening eyes and nodded once to acknowledge his defeat at the hands of a strong opponent. It may have been the product of his dying mind, but he swore he could have seen Psychogre nod back.

Psychogre howled in mournful victory as his opponent stopped moving. One part of him was thankful that his opponent had been defeated…but another part of him mourned the loss of such a strong fighter. The Rangers would be easy pickings now but that didn't matter to him. The ground beneath him trembled for a second as if the Earth itself was denying the loss of one of its greatest defenders. However, there was no denying the truth. Weihan Liang, the Orange Ultra Ranger and the bastion of hope…

…was dead.

TBC…?


	202. 201: Shockwave

Chapter Two Hundred One: Shockwave

Every Ranger in the Multiverse felt it.

On Eltare, the Phantom Ranger looked up from his research as a sudden sense of loss swept through him. He attempted to dismiss the feeling but something kept nagging in the back of his mind, making it all but impossible to pick up where he left off. On Phaedos, Dulcea kneeled over in mental anguish as the Crocodile spirit rumbled out a mournful cry. Tears fell from her eyes as she struggled to pick herself off the ground and watch for the newest Rangers who would try to gain the Great Power. A flash of blue a split second later revealed Ninjor in a state of deep shock. Her cousin's face couldn't be seen but she knew he felt the same way she did. Unsheathing his blade from the scabbard on his back, Ninjor held it up to the skies above in tribute to the fallen Ranger.

On Terra Venture, the monster of the day had just exploded in a burst of fire and sparks when the Rangers felt a piercing pain flash through their bodies for a split second. Most of them shrugged it off as a strange side-effect of the monster's beams except for the two Rangers that had been taught the most by the Orange Ranger: Leo and Karone. Leo would wonder about the source of the pain for the next twenty minutes…while Karone instantly knew what had caused the pain and the sense of emptiness in her heart. Since finding the Pink Quasar Sabre and gaining the Pink Galaxy Powers, she had felt a more solid connection to the Rangers around her…and of the Ranger that had first been in her. On the other hand, Zhane would wonder about her strange behaviour when she came back from the battle but wouldn't connect it to the pang of loss he had felt until much, much later. Working in one of the labs to attempt to strengthen the Magna Defender Powers; Billy softly grunted in surprise as a numbing feeling swept through him, causing him to drop his pen with a clatter. Delphine looked up at his odd behaviour until she felt the same momentary pain and sense of loss. Closing her eyes, she muttered a quick Aquitian prayer under her breath to give guidance to the deceased.

The pain and loss was felt even through the dimensional walls. In the land of Equestria, exhausted from their long battle, all of the Rangers were asleep. In the land of slumber, each of the six ponies felt the sudden pang of loss and the feeling of sudden emptiness. However, the three ponies that were hit the hardest were Applejack, Twilight and Fluttershy. They mumbled in their sleep and cried out with pain-filled voices as the ever-present soothing presence they felt vanished from their hearts. Even those who were no Rangers themselves, but were connected closely to them felt the momentary suffering and heartache. From her position trying to stay awake in the Royal Court, Princess Celestia grimaced lightly as a fresh wave of pain broke through her defences and reminded her of whom she had so recently lost. Resting on her bed, Princess Luna mumbled as her dreams took a turn for the strange. Even the Ninjetti Rangers, who had only met the Ultra Rangers for the briefest of moment, felt some uncomfortableness as they rested their tired bodies. Even Lord Zedd felt some degree of mild victory…although he couldn't say for sure why he had felt it afterwards.

However, none of that pain compared to what was felt by the Ultra Rangers. The very second Weihan's heart stopped beating, their minds were cleared of the spell and for one brief moment – everything was fine. And then the pain, loss and anguish started once more. Every light-hearted teasing moment, decisive action and split-second decision flashed into their minds as they sunk into the throes of despair once more. Ashley and Sam stood over on the sidelines in shock as the screens kept replaying the horrifying images over and over again. Tearing his eyes away from the macabre movie, Sam watched the mighty Utahraptor Dinozord slowly lose all colour to stand there like a stone statue in remembrance to the boy that had piloted it. They knew that something like this could happen in battle – one of the Rangers could be hurt or critically injured. Yet seeing the death of a friend, not a close friend but a friend nonetheless, slammed a fact they had been steadfastly ignoring into their minds.

No Ranger was invincible.

They knew they had been spoiled with the long-running streak of no Ultra Ranger being killed in the line of fire and while they had mourned the death of Kendrix, they hadn't really accepted the same thing could happen to the Ultra Rangers. They had rationalised it as the amount of power coming from their Crystals would provide and unlimited amount of protection, whereas the Rangers drawing from the Morphin Grid had a finite amount of damage they could withstand before they had to be pulled out of battle. The explanation of the faster healing granted to the Ultra Rangers had gone right over their heads and added to the myth of the 'Invincible Ultra Rangers'. The fear for the lives of their girlfriends came back into the forefront of their mind…but they would have to deal with their own issues later. Although they would never know it, the future of the Ultra Rangers would be sealed in the next few hours.

What do we do now? We can't do anything."

Sam shook his head and gingerly rubbed at the twin scars on his neck. He owed the Orange Ranger his life and even though he owed it to Rebecca as well, there was a part of him that knew that Weihan had been instrumental in the search on Chysannas all those weeks ago. They may not have been Rangers…but there was on thing that they could do.

"Put out the call for war."

Ashley turned to him with a questioning look. Sam walked away from the looping horror to the Main Communications Console. Countless hours of memorising the button layout with Rebecca and the others had given him an added advantage over Ashley…who had wanted to stay away from the whole 'my girlfriend is a Ranger' thing as possible. Bringing up the Communicator Frequency map, he scanned through and collected all of the Earthbound Ranger frequencies. Barring the Zeo Rangers, with the exception of Tommy, they had a veritable army of pissed-off Rangers they could call upon…but there was only one thing that needed to be done. Revenge could wait…

They had to bring their Ranger home.

TBC…


	203. 202: Crush

Chapter Two Hundred Two: Crush

"NO!"

Jason twirled his Power Sword in his hands and cleaved off the heads of the Fiends nearest to him. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. The Orange Ranger, one of the strongest Rangers he knew, had just been mercilessly killed in front of him. If the garbled transmissions he was receiving from the Ultra Cavern were correct, there was a sort of worldwide distress signal going out to all Rangers simultaneously. The killer monster probably didn't have any idea what he was going to be up against in a few minutes…but Jason was determined to get there first. Behind him, the other Morphin Rangers still on Earth were reeling from the immense pain and emptiness inside them and, while they still were fighting back against the grunts summoned, they were doing about as well as they had on their first battle with the Golems. In fact, the only good thing they had going for them was that there were no news choppers anywhere around their area. He could see Tommy viciously hacking into the rocky body of a Golem with his Zeo Power Sword and – for once – not minding the tiny sprays of lava that spat up with each blow.

Clenching his teeth in anger, Jason drew out his Blade Blaster from its holster and began blasting into the grunts around him. He could see Psychogre slowly stand up and turn to the battle in front of him. Grunts fell to the weapons of the morphed Rangers as teleportation beams streaked through the sky to reveal an army of Rangers charging at the grunts. Even Lightspeed's new Titanium Ranger – someone who had never had any contact with the Orange Ranger – was carving his name into the Fiends around him with his axe. He saw Justin pulling out his Hand Blasters and turn the Golems around him into pebbles indistinguishable from the ones on the ground. A technicolour wave was swarming over the forces of Evil with one goal in mind – to bring back the body of their fallen comrade. However, the Morphin Rangers and Tommy had another task that was at the forefront of their minds: to destroy the monster that had killed Weihan.

Jason flipped over the heads of the last of the Fields and casually cleaved them in half before raising his blade at the creature responsible. Whatever had happened in the last attack by the Orange Ranger had seriously hurt him in a bad way. Patches of skin were peeling off his body and the muscle underneath had the same outside texture as a perfectly seared steak. There was a melted lump of metal coating its tail that didn't look like any sort of natural or unnatural armour and the skin around its neck was slightly bubbling. Aside from its horrific injuries, its most striking feature was the strange pulsing object clamped around his left wrist. Whatever it was, it was giving off a sickly green and orange glow that had streaks of red throughout it.

"Red Ranger, I have no quarrel with you. Please…let me leave in peace."

Jason blinked in surprise at the slightly mournful tone in the monster's voice, but caught onto the slight narrowing of its eyes. It seemed as if the monster was resigning itself for another fight just to be able to take his leave from the fighting. Jason gripped the handles of both Power Sword and Blade Blaster and slowly shook his head. He knew that as the first Red Ranger, it was his unspoken duty to avenge the deaths of any Rangers under 'his' watch. Running towards the monster with both blades held high, he knew there was another reason for his slightly reckless actions. Tommy, Billy and even Kim had fought alongside with the Orange Ranger had thanked him in their own ways for saving their asses in the battle with the Ogre creature…but himself, Zack and Trini hadn't had the chance to. Leaving for the Peace Conferences had opened his eyes to the ways he could help the world out of uniform but there had always been something at the back of his mind; calling him back to active duty.

Ducking under a sloppy blow from the creature, he thought back on the first time he had met the Orange Ranger face to face. At first, he had been taken aback by the young man in front of him but after Tommy had listed everything he had accomplished…well; the Red Ranger had been impressed beyond belief. If Tommy was shaping up to become the 'Greatest Ranger Ever'; Weihan would have been a strong contender for the second spot even before all of the incredible things that he had seen and experienced. However, the monster in front of him had ripped all of that away within instants. Plunging both blades into the monster's exposed muscle, he screamed in rage and frustration as he realised that even with all the Power Rangers in the world at his back…he would never be able to defeat the beast in his emotional state.

"Red Ranger, have you gotten all of that out of your system? I am still able to fight in my condition…but I am choosing not to. I will heal in two hours. Please be ready then."

Jason weakly nodded and slowly pulled out his blades from the creature's chest. Dismissing the Power Sword and holstering his Blade Blaster, he saw the monster in front of him bow his head slightly before vanishing in a shower of sparks. Free of any more fighting, the Red Ranger slowly staggered toward the blood-splattered body lying on the ground and felt fresh tears spring to his eyes. Amazingly, the still face of the Orange Ranger didn't seem to be in any sort of pain; rather, there was an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes that bordered on respect. Sliding his arms under the boy, Jason slowly lifted the Ranger up from his resting place and turned around. What he saw was a sight that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

The so-called being of ultimate Evil – Xonix – was gathered with the rest of his forces on one side of the Ranger Army. They turned towards the body the Red Ranger held in his arms and, in uncanny unison, bowed deeply; paying their final respects to the young man that had fought so fiercely against them. Final respects given, they teleported away in a shower of sparks leaving the Rangers all alone.

Now came the hardest part of all…

TBC…


	204. 203: Hell Dawns

Chapter Two Hundred Three: Hell Dawns

They fought hard against their enemies.

Two hours had come and gone within the blink of an eye and Rachelle found herself on the battlefield yet again. However, this time was very different. There were no comforting flashes of Orange armour in the melee surrounding her, nor were there the smell of charred flesh and scales filling her nose. The radar on her HUD was painfully empty of the orange spot she always loved to keep an eye on…as she knew where he currently lay. Having the combined forces of the Morphin, Zeo, Turbo, Astro, Lightspeed and Ultra Rangers in the Ultra Cavern was slightly cramped but no one cared as their attention was focused on the body in front of them. The first thing that had been decided was to tell his family and AJ of what had happened. Although that had been decided, no one had decided on when to tell them. The magical double that Weihan had conjured up before his visit to Equestria was still good for a few more days, which would give them the time they needed to come up with a plan. As far as they knew, AJ was still on a plane headed for America…so telling her wasn't high on the agenda.

The Rangers across the dimensional plane would also need to know. Recalling the way that Twilight and Fluttershy looked up to the Ultra Rangers, she knew that they would be devastated by his death and would need the rest of the Rangers to support them through their mourning. As it stood, the rest of the Ultra Rangers had school the next day…which also brought up its own set of challenges. For one thing, they would be seeing the magical double and she wasn't sure if they could go an entire day with the double without breaking down. The school would also have to be told…which would mean spilling the entire truth to David Johnston about the death of his brother. There would be shock, anger and grief but she would fight like Hell to ensure that Weihan's memory wasn't used to attract new students to the school. If that happened, she would give the order for the rest of the Ultra Rangers to level the building to the ground.

_Lend me your strength_

Blinking at the mental voice, she looked around for where the distress call might have come from. Alex, Eliza, Paris and Jason were attacking Psychogre and stopping him from killing any other Rangers. The former Ultra Psycho Ranger had returned to the battlefield with strange armour that seemed to be constructed from plaster and bandages. The odd melted metal that had been present on his tail was now moulded into an axe-like attachment that locked onto the end of his tail. It reminded the Silver Ranger of the mace Princess Luna had worn in the battle a few hours ago but it was being used against the Rangers with the same deadly accuracy and precision. So far, none of the Morphin Rangers looked like they would be unlocking the upgrade that the other Jason had acquired…but the battle was still in its early stages.

Xonix had gathered up two of his best monsters from their intergalactic posts and had sent them to Earth to take care of the Rangers. One of the creatures looked like an overgrown anaconda with legs and was using its incredibly long reach to strike against Sarah J, Sarah P, Aimee, Heather and the Titanium Ranger. It had already ploughed through Linda and Will, causing the two Ultra Rangers to concentrate on the masses of Golems and Fiends constantly being teleported in. The other creature was a strange one. It was a humanoid scorpion woman who delighted in using her tail stinger to attack whatever Ranger was in her path. The Green Zeo Ranger, Adam, had worried about her being someone called Scorpina…but apparently that worry had been dismissed quickly. Fighting the scorpion lady were the Zeo Rangers and herself. So far, they seemed to be doing rather well and had scored several direct hits on her exoskeleton.

The remaining Lightspeed Rangers, the Astro Rangers and Justin were helping Will and Linda against the grunts. Occasionally they would send an attack towards one of the monsters or Psychogre but they didn't really seem to have all that much effect. Where Xonix was, Rachelle had no idea but she guessed he was probably up in space…wherever he had managed to construct a new settlement. They were locked in a stalemate with Xonix's forces and unless one of the Rangers pulled out a new trick or two, they would be in serious trouble. She heard a muffled call of some kind and then saw Andros swooping above the battlefield in his Battlizer Armour. Out of all the remaining Ultra Rangers, only Alex and Will had pulled out their Assault Armour and were slightly turning the tide with their battles. Unfortunately for Will, the grunts that were destroyed by his Armour were replenished not less than thirty seconds later. It was quickly becoming a war of attrition with the stamina of the Rangers pitted against the seemingly endless waves of grunts.

_Please, lend me your strength!_

Giving up on locating the source of the voice as the stinger of the monster narrowly missed her head, she sent whatever small amount of energy she could at the strange voice. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn it was Weihan…but that was impossible. She rationalised it probably as being some sort of Ranger that was trapped between the planes or something and needed energy to escape. They would probably never see the strange Ranger in person but it made her feel slightly better to think that her energy was helping other Interdimensional Rangers. Flipping away from the monster to allow Adam and Kat to strike it, her eyes swept her energy scanners to see if there were any other Ultra Rangers affected. She could see faint wisps of energy coming off Eliza, Alex and Aimee but from no one else. Stranger, she could see images coming up in her mind's eye of a battle that was happening somewhere.

Charging up her Hammer, she slammed the weapon into the ground to obtain some breathing space and to see more of the strange battle. She saw Alex, Eliza and Aimee faltering in their attacks and she realised that they were probably seeing the same things she was. Wherever it was, it was somewhere extremely hot, judging from the faint impressions coming down the 'line', and a place she never wanted to see in living colour. Faint screams were heard everywhere as rivers of lava snaked through the ground and fed pools of molten rock where figures dropped from great heights. In the middle of one of the clear areas was a figure holding a strange weapon that was battling against a bipedal lizard-thing with spikes all over its body. It seemed to be protecting a strange set of armour with what looked like a sword's hilt attached. She wordlessly gave the figure encouragement and hoped that the battle would come out in his favour. Ducking away from a fire blast from a recovering Golem, she brought her attention back to the battle just as the thing on Psychogre's wrist started blasting out beams of what looked like dark matter.

The beams caught Alex and Eliza on the chest and flung them back into the grunts surrounding the battle. Jason and Paris dodged the blasts but they were eventually overpowered by them and were forced to retreat to safer ground…leaving Psychogre all alone. The monster seemed to peer at the thing on his wrist quizzically before shrugging and tackling the barely-recovering Black/Green and Purple Rangers. Summoning her Shield Bunker, she aimed the laser emitters at the reptilian beast before firing a powerful volley. The silvery-streaked blasts impacted against the seemingly home-made armour and burnt large patches of it away to reveal the still healing flesh underneath. As the creature reared up on its legs and roared in pain, the two tackled Rangers took the opportunity in front of them to blast Psychogre's chest with their gauntlet blasters or shoulder cannons. The combined firepower made the creature topple over but didn't seem to do any real damage.

Swearing under her breath as Psychogre slowly swung his head in her direction; she channeled more and more power into her Ankylo Hammer and pounded it against the ground. A few seconds later, Psychogre was enveloped in a large geyser of silver energy. Leaping away from the column of power, Rachelle rejoined the Astro Rangers as they regrouped for another run at the grunts. Somehow being with the other Rangers seemed to calm her nerves down somewhat…although she had a feeling in her stomach that things were going to get worse very quickly.

"Rangers, _Die_!"

Jerking her head up at Psychogre's voice, she only had enough time to allow her mouth to drop open in shock before a barrage of energy peppered the battlefield. The monsters were unaffected by the pounding energy and even added to the destructive maelstrom with blasts of their own. Rangers fell to the ground in pain as the energy violently exploded against their armour but they still weren't safe from the destruction that was happening all around them. Small geysers of energy exploded from the ground, much like the attack from her Ankylo Hammer, and pounded the Rangers who were lying down. Screams and shouts issued from the Rangers as, one by one, their morphs failed them. The ones that held out the longest were the Ultra Rangers, but even they weren't immune to violent demorphing. Rachelle clutched her chest feebly as her armour faded from her body and rolled away from an energy upthrust.

Psychogre stopped the energy barrage and looked at the helpless Rangers in front of them. It was true, they had taken his warning seriously and had come at him with everything they had…but, it wasn't enough. Snarkk and Poisona had done their job admirably and he would be recommending them for a promotion to serve as his generals on Earth. Lifting the Dark Converter into the air, he grinned to himself as he thought of the extra protection that his Master had placed on the small device. Almost as if he knew that Psychogre wouldn't be defeated, Xonix had mustered up all of his energy to cast a variation of the Ritual of Da'Lana. Instead of growing to giant heights, his Master had personally ensured that his innate powers would be strengthened to extreme levels. Nothing on this world could ever hope to defeat him now; not the Ultra Crystals, not the Morphin Grid and surely not the Assault Armour. In fact…the only person that would have stood at least a fraction of a chance in besting him…well; he didn't have to worry about that person anymore as he would be rotting away. Barring the rotting, he would be trapped in whatever dimension the Dark Converter had sent him to.

"Now, we finish this."

Half twisting his left wrist, he smiled as a crackling and rolling energy began to seep out from the Dark Converter. This was where the little trinket would show its true powers in utterly annihilating the Rangers that stood in the way of his Master's conquest. Waiting until the energy covered his hand and arm up until his elbow; he raised the energy soaked limb into the air and chuckled maliciously. He muttered a short prayer for the ones that would be reuniting with the Orange Ranger before dropping to the ground and slamming his fist down. All the excess energy transferred into the ground and surged at the fallen Rangers. He could see the fear and resignation in their eyes as they contemplated their last moments on the planet. Soon, they would feel the agony of a thousand and one ways to die…all within a split second. They would beg for death's sweet release but be forever locked in a literal world of hurt. He waited for the screams to begin…

The energy never reached the Rangers.

A few seconds before it would have swallowed up the Silver Ultra Ranger, a fissure in the ground opened up; sucking in all of the energy he had expended. Flames shot up from the crack that forced the Rangers to feebly roll away in fear and pain…although to Psychogre's eyes; it looked as if someone or something was pushing them. The flames leapt higher into the air before coalescing into a floating sphere of fiery energy. The ball of light hovered above the downed Rangers for a few moments, as if studying them for whatever higher power it served before it rocketed at the trio of monsters. Within the blink of an eye, it had ripped through Snarkk and Poisona's bodies as easy as ripping through paper before slowing down. The bodies of his would-be generals collapsed to the ground and were consumed by crackling flame. The ball of energy smashed into his chest, burning away the last vestiges of his bandage armour and threw him back a good distance. Eliza gaped at the amount of raw energy possessed by the ball of light…so much so that she almost didn't notice the blinking warning on her HUD. Taking her eyes away from the energy ball as it flew to a hill with the sun at its back, she read the warning and felt fear creep down her spine.

[**Body missing**]

She swallowed hard at the two words and slowly looked up at the energy ball as best as she could. Someone or something had apparently stolen away Weihan's body out from under their noses…and from the extremely powerful security systems of the Ultra Cavern. If it was the ball in front of them…then she seriously didn't want to fight whoever or _whatever_ was in control. Squinting through in the sunlight, she watched the ball of light slowly transform into a humanoid shape. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be wearing anything that resembled clothes in any way…almost as if it was a Ranger of some kind. This was impossible of course, as Rangers didn't spring into existence from balls of light. Tracing the contours of the uniform with her eyes, she felt another chill run down her spine as her mind tried to process what she was seeing. It wasn't possible…it…

"Guess who's back."

TBC…


	205. 204: Familiar Impossilbility

Chapter Two Hundred Four: Familiar Impossibility

Where was he?

He remembered fighting against the grunts, Xonix and then the fight with Psychogre that had resulted in him becoming a human pincushion…and then nothing after that. To retain ones consciousness and awareness after death was a new thing for him…then again, Weihan had never died before and couldn't be certain. Pushing aside the strange philosophical debates arising from this new discovery, he looked around for what seemed to be the billionth time, trying to find at least something that would tell him where he was. He knew that the whiteness behind him was a wall of some kind and it alternated from being scorching hot to extremely cold depending on where he put his hands. The whiteness to his sides was also walls of some kind but didn't have the crazy temperature fluctuations as the one behind him had. In contrast, they actually felt slightly furry…which slightly creeped him out. The only positive thing about wherever he was; was the fact that all of his injuries seemed to have healed and his fingers had grown back.

Walking forward was a strange oddity as well as there were apparently twists and turns in the path…but seeing as he was pretty much the only spot of colour in the area, he had no way of knowing exactly where they were beforehand. A few knocks and a slightly bloody nose later and he was walking with his right arm stretched out in front of him. It wasn't the easiest ways of traversing the path but it was a rather good early warning system of sorts. If he were entirely honest with himself, he was glad that he had a bloody nose as it meant that wherever he was, he wasn't totally dead. However, that thought in and of itself was a slight mind-bender as he distinctly remembered the feeling of the metal spike being rammed into his body. Actually, everything about his situation made his mind hurt in one way or another.

Despite the lack of stimulation around him, Weihan kept his attention away from the blandness of the situation by trying to recall every little detail about Psychogre and his seemingly 'upgraded' form. The warrior had shown signs of improvement since the last time they had battled – mere minutes before the Z-Wave. That wasn't the most worrying part. Additions to fighting tactics and moves could have been chalked up to Psychogre being on Onyx and wherever the hell he had been to after in his search to find the Dark Converter…whatever that was. He imagined it as some sort of large and bulky object that would require several Golems to move and could only be destroyed safely be following a set of convoluted and complicated instructions that would also probably unlock the Video Vault in the Ultra Cavern.

Unless it was that thing Psychogre had on his wrist.

While the thought was laudable, it did seem possible that the Dark Converter wasn't a massive piece of hardware after all but a small object that could empower a being to the pinnacle of their species. Shaking his head at how preachy that sounded, he mulled over the fight…specifically several key moments. The first instance was Psychogre's almost casual catching and bending of the Raptor Sabre. No monster previously had gone for his weapon and that had lulled him into a false sense of security that it would be untouched. Indeed, if a monster had thought of the idea of attacking the Sabre with its bare hands…well; those hands wouldn't be attached much longer. While he had no doubt that Psychogre would have been able to hold onto the Sabre in his unpowered state, he doubted that his natural strength would be enough to warp and twist the blade like that. Thinking of Psychogre's new strength made him think of something else that had happened soon after.

The strength contained in Psychogre's underused tail had been immense. Weihan doubted that without the funky wristwatch thing, it wouldn't be able to slam a blade deeply into his Assault Armour. Well, maybe it would be able to do that…but without the whole 'deeply slicing the blade' thing. From what he had managed to research on the Assault Armour, there were multiple layers of backup repair systems that were designed to switch on whenever the slightest ding happened. Apparently, the impact with the blade had happened so fast and at such strength that the repair backups were actually knocked offline temporarily. Still, it was one thing to know that now…but another thing entirely to feel the edge of the blade in question brushing against the skin. He would have to see if there was a way to strengthen the defensive power of the Assault Armour via a direct link to the Ultra Grid.

That would be a moot paint now as there was pretty much no way he would be able to get back to his life…or his body. That was, if he was somehow separated from his body and was existing as a spirit or ghost. Or maybe he was none of the above but an energy representation of his soul like Shining Light had been. Everything was giving him even more of a headache than before as he was sure he was retreading the same old paths and questions he had asked himself in the time spent walking the halls. If he really wanted to mess with his own mind (and seeing as there was nothing else that he could be doing); he would begin to question the very nature of this place in relation to his perceptions of the afterlife. Rangers that died were 'shunted' into the Morphin Grid to serve in the repository of knowledge. As he was pretty sure the Ultra Grid worked on a different level than the Morphin Grid…he was either going to be travelling between the two pretty often or he was fucked from the get-go.

"Make a choice."

He stopped dead and looked around him. The stark white walls were still there and there was no grinning skull-face behind him…so where the hell had the voice come from? It wasn't an overly threatening voice or even a voice with an underlying hint of malice. Actually, it seemed like it was a recording of some kind; though the question of whom or what would have left a recording in wherever this place was still nagging at him. Shaking his head, he forced himself to continue walking. What would his choice be…more to the point, what were the options available to him? Taking a deep breath (a movement he found increasingly odd given his non-living state), he opened his mouth and spoke to the void around him.

"What are my choices?"

Nothing replied him except a faint whirring sound. Mentally rebuking himself for attempting such an idiotic move, Weihan continued walking down the halls. The temperature around him was growing hotter and it soon reached the point where it would have killed him. Well, it would have if he wasn't already dead. There was a strange sound that was filtering through the walls as well…something akin to screams of those being tortured or having their lives threatened. It was slightly disconcerting to him but he guessed that his hall was passing through time and he was hearing the screams of those killed and tortured in war. At least, that was what he hoped was outside. He guessed he would find out soon enough what the choices would be.

Turning a fairly wide corner, he stopped short at the sight in front of him. Lowering his arms, he shook his head violently and blinked back the tears that were springing to them. The figure in front of him smiled warmly and opened its arms out in a motion of a hug. He wanted nothing more than to run to the figure and embrace her…but he knew it was impossible for her to be here. Forcing his legs to move, he staggered closer to her and everything that he had done since he last saw her came flooding back to him. He ducked his head as the first of the tears started to fall but she gently cupped his chin and lifted his head. She opened her mouth and spoke the words that instantly told him that she was truly in front of him before he lost all control and swept her up in a fierce hug.

"Wear your tears with pride, as they are a symbol of your true emotions."

Holding her great, great, great grandfather; Jacqui Apple Liang could do nothing more but cry.

TBC…


	206. 205: Choice Of Destiny

Chapter Two Hundred Five: Choice of Destiny

"How is this possible?"

Weihan leant against the wall behind him and tried to wrap his mind around the impossibility in front of him. His great, great…whatever granddaughter – who technically shouldn't have existed – was in front of him. Part of his mind rationalised that, as she had died, she would have to be in this strange afterlife world…wherever it was. The other parts had a damn lot of difficulty believing what was in front of him…even after the bone-crushing hug had cemented her as a physical being in his mind.

"To those who possess the Great Power…all things are possible. That's not much of an answer; but on some level, that is the truth."

He nodded slowly. It seemed everything boiled down to what the Great Power was capable of these days. One day, he would have to journey to Phaedos and ask Dulcea exactly what the Great Power was and how it connected all universes. He was prepared for her log-winded answer but coming from her, it would make a whole lot more sense than it currently did. That answer also brought up another long list of questions – the first of them being where he was. He assumed it was some sort of afterlife or holding area where he would be judged and then shipped off to his final resting place. That would either mean joining the masses in the Morphin Grid or being forced to wander around the Earth until he was either exorcised or the higher-ups found something better for him to be doing than peeking on Rachelle in the shower. The other option in that answer wasn't one he found particularly stimulating: to be the first Ranger in the Ultra Grid and, perhaps, finally see who that mysterious voice was attached to. However, before all those questions were to be asked…there was one thing that he needed to know.

"Have you been watching over me since…then?"

She nodded once and he felt a churning sensation start up in his stomach. Sure, he had done a lot of good things since then such as forming a team and recovering the Brown Crystal from Xonix but still…he chuckled to himself and shook his head as he imagined that seeing her great, great whatever grandfather performing several acts that were illegal in most civilised countries wasn't the best of things to be remembered for. Sneaking a quick peek at her, she nodded slowly as if confirming his fears about what she had seen. He sighed heavily but shook off the feelings inside him. Everything was in the past and there was nothing that he could do to change it now. A small part of him knew that even if he could go back to the scene of Love Tick's spell…he wouldn't do a damned thing about it and would allow himself to repeat the actions of the past.

"So…where to from here?"

"That is for you to decide."

Helping him to his feet, she Jacqui stood to one side and motioned behind her. Weihan could see that the path split off in two directions; each into a different colour. The path on the left led to a brilliant green door that practically burst at the same with peace and bliss. There would be no pain there, no fear of attack and no emotional and mental traumas of seeing people around him die. He would still be able to help out his friends if he chose to but it would be in an extremely limited capability. He would be surrounded by those that had come before him and who would share with him every secret technique they retained knowledge of. There would be no more fighting, hunger, sorrow or greed and everything would be an endless utopia.

However, the other path led to an unsightly tear that constantly flickered red and orange. The strong smell of sulphur could be smelled and, from what he could see, fire licked at the edges of the tear…almost as if it was desperate to reach his flesh. Battles were commonplace in this area but there was a faint glimmer of hope and light present. Taking his eyes away from the two paths, he debated internally about what choice was the right one to take. Obviously, he would have to take the one that would allow him to help his friends regardless of the downsides.

"One path leads to endless peace and the other leads to a life of constant suffering, loss and heartbreak. You must choose only one path…but, as much as I want to, I cannot tell you which one to pick."

Nodding sagely, he looked at the path that led to eternal peace and smiled wistfully. It would be so easy to walk down that path and be free of the battle forever. To exist in a world free of pain and hurt would be a balm on his cracked and tortured soul. The others would be fine against whatever came their way as he had trained them well. Mind made up, he began walking down the path he had chosen. As he passed Jacqui, he looked at her and attempted a smile…but it fell flat at the expression of betrayal in her eyes. He stopped his walk and ran a hand through his hair, sighing in exasperation.

"I'm not perfect and I know you want us to be together…but I can't. It's not my time yet and there are a lot of people I still need to protect."

"I understand. You need to go where you think you will be the best help…but how will you defeat the enemy you left behind?"

He shook his head slowly. She had a point, Psychogre was still on the loose and the Dark Converter wristwatch thing was still attached to him. If the blades on his Assault Armour hadn't dented the Converter, then he would be extremely hard-pressed to find a way to defeat Psychogre that didn't end up with calling on his Zords. There was something else though…something that nagged at the fringes of his mind. He had felt extreme rage at Psychogre in the last battle and that had seemed to unlock something…not as powerful as the Assault Armour but still strong in its own right. He could feel it in the back of his mind, even though he wasn't connected to his physical body anymore. It itched to be called on but still felt somehow incomplete; as if there was a piece of the puzzle that was still left to be uncovered. Shaking his head, he looked at Jacqui and clenched his right hand into a fist.

"I'll find a way to destroy him once and for all. I swear on the Power."

She nodded at his determination and smiled. Ever since before she had met him, she knew that she would be here at the crossroads of choice. This was the Multiversal hub for all beings on either side and she had a duty to send them off to their final reward…or to send them off on some fool's errand. The ones she sent off either stayed in whatever Hell they had created for themselves or succeeded to fight another day. Her predecessor had been at this post for several hundred millennia but had assured her that the constant flow of beings would always keep her on her toes. Her time in the post may have been short…but she had knowledge that would help the young man in front of her that had been granted to her by a strange being a few months ago.

"There is rumoured to be a powerful set of armour that can help you achieve your goal. However, you will need the energy of several individuals closest to you to defeat its guardian. I will be waiting here to see you again when your time finally comes."

Weihan nodded once and looked at her face again. He tried to memorise her looks into his mind as he knew there would be no seeing her again until his time ran out. Satisfied that he had memorised all of her features, he nodded again and walked down the road that led to the ugly rip in space. The heat was becoming absolutely unbearable now and the sounds of the screams would surely give him nightmares for months…but it had to be done.

It was now or never.

TBC…


	207. 206: Guardian of Hellfire

Chapter Two Hundred Six: Guardian of Hellfire

Hell was actually an amazing place.

If one overlooked the screaming, wailing, fire and oppressive heat; it was actually an incredible place of beauty. Gaping holes in the walls were lined with glittering jewels and thick seams of gold and silver could be seen around him. The floor was rocky and uneven, but every rock that was kicked seemed to split open to reveal dazzling geodes filled with hidden delights. Waterfalls poured lava at regular intervals and some, like that really big one under what seemed to be an arch of pure obsidian, never stopped for a second. Weihan took all of the natural beauty in stride as he walked along the road that led to…somewhere he wasn't sure of. The portal to the white place had snapped shut as soon as he passed through and he was wandering Hell completely unprotected to the demons, devils and otherworldly beings around him.

For the most part, they were helpful in their own twisted way. They would lead him down one path and then cackle delightfully as it dropped away in front of him, leaving him with no option but to turn back. On some occasions, the gap was small enough that he could just leap over the hole and proceed down the path. The demons then would shout and jeer at him in their strange screeching language and thrust their genitals in his direction. He considered punting a few of the little guys into the lava but forced himself to take the high road and not give into that impulse. He wished he had a map or some idea of where he was going, but as the last leap across a gap had led to the path behind him crumbling away into the magma below…well; turning back wasn't an option. He was dying to hear someone speak English as the screams of the damned being tortured didn't really constitute as a real conversation…no matter how hard he tried to make out decipherable words.

"You shouldn't be here…"

Whirling at the sudden voice, he scanned the area around him for movement. Although he could see nothing, his senses were sharp and he lashed out at the thing that flashed past the edge of his vision. His outstretched fist slammed against a solid surface and whatever it was that he had hit tumbled out into the open. His eyes widened as he looked down at the trembling figure and shook his head at the nice bruise that was forming on its face. By all appearances, it looked like a young girl of around twelve but the clothes she was wearing set off most of the alarms in his mind. Reflecting on it later, he would say that it looked a lot like a schoolgirl uniform made out of barbed wire. The hooks dug painfully into her skin and grey blood dripped from the wounds in a steady pattern. Two small, yellow horns poked out from her wild purple hair and a forked tail protruded from just above her bottom. He swallowed down his uneasiness at the sight and bent down, extending a hand to her. When she took it, he noticed that her skin felt rough – almost like sandpaper. Her voice was soft but held a note of authority to it.

"You shouldn't be walking down this road. This leads to the Den of Hellfire and the Guardian that rules over this sector."

Releasing her hand, the Ranger looked curiously at her. She seemed genuinely scared by the prospect of him walking down the road any further and he sighed. He didn't care if everyone in this Hell didn't want him to go down the road to confront the Guardian…he had to do it to get back to his friends. Flexing his right palm, he blinked as a flash of light revealed his Ninjetti coin lying in his palm. He stood still and stared at the coin before picking it up to examine it closer. As he did, he noticed the strange demon-girl looking at it with wide eyes. She jumped back and let out a surprised cry as it pulsed once with energy.

"That…I don't believe it. You may have a chance after all."

Sliding the coin away into the pocket of his pants, he looked at the girl. She seemed slightly less worried than before and her lips were pulled back in a smile…that revealed sharp fangs. Swallowing nervously at the sight, he opened his mouth to ask the question that had been nagging at him.

"What is the Den of Hellfire and who is the Guardian? How can I defeat him?"

She seemed to snap to her senses at his voice and turned nervously to look down the path. The Orange Ranger followed her gaze and, for the first time, could clearly see his target destination. It seemed to be a cliff or a plateau that was overlooking a sea of lava. There was something standing guard that looked like a humanoid of some sort, but he would have to get closer to make out the finer details. What he could see though, was the humanoid had spikes protruding out of its shoulders and there was something behind it. She pressed her body to his and he winced in pain as the barbs dug into his skin.

"The Den of Hellfire is home to Grash'Nak; the Demon of Chaos. Long ago, he was sealed down here from a world that has long since been destroyed. The warrior that sealed him sacrificed his own life to bring him down and his armour and weapon lay where he fell. It has been prophesised that, one day, someone whose time is not yet up will defeat Grash'Nak and claim the warrior's armour for himself. However, the person will need energy from those who he is trying to get back to."

Nodding at the words, Weihan internally groaned as he realised he was caught up in yet another Prophecy that could only be completed with his help. Taking his coin out of his pocket, he looked at the image of the Crocodile and made his mind up. If the girl was correct and the Grash…whatever was really waiting for a challenger; he would have no choice but to fight. The path behind him had crumbled away into the magma and there didn't seem to be any other way out. Somehow, the demon girl seemed to be reading his thoughts as she looked down to the ground in resigned acceptance, tail drooping behind her. Taking her body away from his, she looked into his eyes with red-rimmed cat eyes and smiled once.

"I know you have to go and face him. That coin says it all…you're a Power Ranger. Your place should be with your team and not in the bowels of Hell. Please defeat Grash'Nak and free us."

Weihan nodded once and closed his fingers around the Power Coin. Honestly, the thought of battling against a Guardian of Hell somewhat freaked him out but he had only two options: to flee this place with the demon girl or to press onward and see what happened. How he would be able to be sent energy from those he was trying to get back to was a mystery to him…but he would be forced to figure it out on the fly. Holding his fist to his chest, he concentrated on the coin and the connection to whatever Grid was out there. Feeling a faint spark come out of the coin, he concentrated on the connection harder and harder until a flickering orange light covered his body. Looking down at himself, his eyes widened as he took in the changes to his Ninjetti uniform.

The mini grappling hook launcher was now permanently strapped onto his wrist and the hook was splayed open to act as a close-combat weapon. The sai on his belt were still present, but they looked sleeker and sharper. He could feel his nose and mouth covered by the same cloth covering, so he knew the head area wasn't changed. The coin in the centre of his chest was partially obscured by a red and orange symbol of fire and he chuckled at the image. The demon-girl in front of him smiled softly and clapped her hands once. As if by some form of magic, his sai detached from his belt and floated in front of him end to end. A flash on light later and they had combined to form a strange short staff-like weapon. Plucking the sai-staff out of the air, the Orange Ranger twirled it around to get a feel for the weapon and turned back to the demon girl.

Somehow, she had changed out of her barbed-wire outfit and was clothed in a more 'traditional' school uniform. He swallowed hard as he noted how well it clung to her body in all the right places but her young appearance soon killed off any lust that was coming to the surface. Well, that and the forked tail that was still twisting around behind her. Nodding once, he turned to walk towards the Den of Hellfire when a thought occurred to him.

"Who are you anyway?"

The demon girl giggled once and, although the Orange Ranger didn't see it, briefly changed into a humanoid in a long white dress. A veil obscured her face and kind brown eyes gleamed with muted delight. As her body resettled back in the form she was forced to wander Hell eternally in, she shook her head and thought of a quick answer that would satisfy his curiousity.

"I am a lost soul, forced to wander the wastes of Hell until the end of time."

Nodding at that explanation, although something still nagged at him, Weihan began walking toward his destination. The demon girl watched him leave with a small smile on her face. The path behind him fell away into the churning magma below and the girl, who was once an Interdimensional counterpart of Dimitria, wished him luck.

The future depended on him.

TBC…


	208. 207: Hell's Power

Chapter Two Hundred Seven: Hell's Power

He certainly didn't waste any time.

Weihan ducked away from a powerful slash and thrust outward with his sai staff. He hadn't really gotten a chance to look at the so-called Guardian of Hellfire before it had charged at him and started attacking. He could see that his earlier assumption that it was a humanoid wasn't too far off the marks as it bore a slight resemblance to an overgrown lizard with what looked like spikes of bone protruding from its shoulders. With some small amount of fear, he quickly looked behind him to confirm that the opening that he had walked through not less than fifteen minutes earlier had closed up and he was trapped on the plateau with Grash'Nak. Punching the chest of the demonic creature, he dove between its legs and glanced at the set of armour that lay tantalisingly within his grasp. A few more metres and he would be able to defeat the creature and return back to his body. Lashing out with a back kick that made the demonic lizard stumble back, he scrambled to his feet and ran towards the armour.

The closer he came, the more details he could make out. The armour was very similar to the Original Battle Armour but the crystal in the centre had been changed to a strange glass sphere that held a single, flickering flame. Whatever it was, it was calling out to him in a strange way that almost mimicked what the Ultra Crystal and his Ninjetti Zords had done. However, anything he could have done was cut short as a clawed hand grabbed the back of his Ninjetti uniform and flung him into the far wall. Landing on the ground in a heap, he rolled away from the balls of fire that were flung his way before re-assessing his position. That armour was surely the only way he could possibly defeat the creature in front of him…but he needed to somehow subdue the beast long enough for him to wear said armour. The demon girl and Jacqui had stated that he needed the energy of individuals closest to him…but for the life of him, he had no idea how he was supposed to accomplish the deed. Well, there was only one way to find out. Delivering a series of powerful kicks to the demon's chest, he conjured up an image of Fluttershy and sent a request her way.

A few seconds later and he still felt the same. There was no rush of power or tingling in his body…just a feeling of overwhelming stupidity and hopelessness. Turning back to the battle in front of him, he buckled down his feelings of despair and ran at the lizard monster again…never noticing the yellow energy shimmer behind him. Leaping over the creature, he twisted in mid-air and landed on its thick shoulders – careful not to touch the razor sharp spines. Managing to hook an arm around its neck, he squeezed the area where its windpipe was in an attempt to choke the life out of it. In the haze of slowly forming hindsight, he realised that it was not the smartest of moves and was proved correct when it leapt into the air and arched its back violently, throwing him off.

He saw the edge of the plateau slide away from his vision and he looked down to see where he would eventually end up. There was nothing he could see except for inky blackness with the barest hint of glowing red at the bottom. Attempting to hook onto something with his grappling hook would be futile as there didn't seem to be any place where it could sturdily hook on to. A nervous energy filled his gut and, in a move filled with sheer desperation, flung his arms to either side of him. A yellow light with pink streaks covered him and the next thing he knew, bright yellow wings had burst out of the back of his suit and he was flying away from the hellish pit below. Attempting to control his sudden ability to fly, he rocketed up past the edge of the plateau and narrowly avoided impaling himself on the sharp stalactites above him. Catching his breath on the ceiling of the 'arena', he looked in wonder at the new additions to his uniform. The pale yellow feathery wings made him think of Fluttershy and he chuckled as he realised the call for assistance had gone through. How it had transcended the Dimensional Barrier…well, that was an extreme mystery to him.

Grash'Nak was still below him and still flinging his fireballs up…except they fell short of even coming close to him. Unbidden, an image of Applejack and Twilight Sparkle came to the forefront of his mind and he sent them the same message asking for their energy and assistance. Somehow, he figured that he would have to use the 'gifts' from the others to defeat the Guardian and ensure that the demon girl would remain…well; as peaceful as one could get in Hell. Cobbling together a hastily drawn up plan, he dropped from the ceiling and put it into action…not noticing the purple and red shimmers that materialised behind him. Swooping around the lizard demon wildly, he landed on the ground and rolled towards the confused monster. As soon as he came within striking distance, he dropped to all fours and lashed out with both legs. The blows connected with a flash of red light and Weihan looked down to see what Applejack's energy had added to his suit. Amusingly, there was no change whatsoever…except for a strange red aura around his legs and feet. Attacking the lizard again, he smirked as the power of his kicks had increased to the point where his punches and hands were basically useless.

Speaking of his hands, Weihan frowned slightly as he noticed a soft purple glow covering them. On a whim, he thrust his hands out towards the monster while summoning a fireball. What he was expecting was a normal fireball to fly out of his palms…even though he knew he couldn't really summon any fire in his spirit state. What he didn't expect was to see a strange glyph that looked similar to Twilight's Cutie Mark form in front of him and send out a barrage of fire bolts that looked similar to her Magic Launchers' attack. The fire bolts exploded against Grash'Nak and sent the lizard creature flying back as his body burned. Taking a few steps toward the armour, a strange image flashed up in his mind's eye.

A literal army of Rangers were fighting against Psychogre, two new monsters and an ocean of grunts. He could see the Morphin to Lightspeed Rangers slowly becoming overwhelmed by the strength of the monsters in front of them and he ground his teeth together. Hearing a footstep behind him, he dropped to the ground as a thick tail swung overhead and muttered and short spell under his breath, flinging his right arm out. A smaller version of the glyph appeared and purple-tinged lightning bolts crackled out. Grash'Nak seemed to shrug off the lightning and advance…which put him on the spot rather quickly. Even with the energies from Fluttershy, Twilight and Applejack, he wouldn't be able to defeat the monster in front of him unless he could draw on power from others. Desperately, he thought of AJ and how much he was fighting to get back to her. As if she had heard his thoughts, the grappling hook on his wrist activated on its own and lanced through the air – striking Grash'Nak's left eye. Weihan swallowed hard at the wail of agony and fear produced by the creature but focused all of his energy into connecting with the three Ultra Rangers he knew he could count on – Alex, Eliza and Rachelle.

_Lend me your strength! Please lend me your strength!_

He hoped the mental call had gone out and they would respond soon as he was running out of ideas and strategies. The strength of his kicks and magic attacks had steadily decreased as if the Dimensional Barrier was interfering with their strength, but the shining light around his grappling hook launcher didn't seem to be showing any sign of dimming anytime soon. Pressing the recall button on the launcher; he looked at the armour so tantalisingly within his reach before acting on impulse. Not bothering to look behind him at the wet noises, he dashed toward the armour and leapt over the sloppily aimed blows from the Guardian. Placing his sai staff on the ground, he placed his hand on the glass sphere.

"No!"

The voice of the Guardian made him clench his fingers on instinct and he gasped as he felt three surges of power flow into him in rapid succession. Lifting up his left hand, he sent a volley of green and black fireballs at the monster to force it back. Pulling the cloth away from his mouth and head, he slipped the armour over his shoulders and lifted up the sword handle. Unfortunately, it seemed that the warrior that had sealed the beast in Hell had 'conveniently' left the blade up on the surface…or wherever the battle started. Sending another volley of light purple fireballs at the Guardian to keep it at bay for just a bit longer, he looked at the sword handle and cross guard intently. It seemed to have been moulded from a single chunk of metal and sculpted into the form of a dragon head. Even without whatever blade was supposed to be attached, it looked like it would do at least some damage if he threw it at the beast…but he didn't want to for the fear that the creature would somehow be able to use it against him. Picking up the sai staff from the ground, he hooked the useless handle onto his belt and looked for an opening.

"You do not know what you are doing. That armour was not meant for the dead to use."

Throwing the creature a smirk, Weihan spun the staff in one hand and channelled whatever power that was still attached to his spirit. He didn't notice the flame in the glass sphere begin burning stronger, nor did he notice the lines of silver energy running over his body. Pulling his arm back, he flung the still-spinning sai staff toward the Guardian and charged at it a split second later. An orange glow covered his body and for the briefest of instants, he felt connected to the pure power of the Morphin Grid. His left arm began pulsing with a black streaked green light and he slammed his glowing fist into the Guardian's ribcage. As he had tried this tactic before, he expected to see a white light burst in front of his eyes as the bones in his hand broke before instantly reforming and healing. Instead, he heard the cracking of bones that were not his own as his fist tore into the chest of the creature. As the Guardian roared in pain, he wrenched his arm out for a leaping punch at the spikes on its shoulders. His right arm blazed with purple light as the blow ripped out the spikes from its body…but that attack left him open.

The powerful fingers of Grash'Nak closed over his lower arm and the Orange Ranger found himself being flung up to the ceiling. He tried to use his wings but, to his horror, discovered that they had vanished. As he reached the apex of his ascent, he braced himself for the tearing pain of being impaled yet again…but didn't feel anything except gravity starting to pull him down. In the few moments he had before gravity started to become a serious issue again, he strained to look behind him to see why he wasn't a Ranger skewer on the roof. It seemed the Guardian had flung him up to the only patch of ceiling that had no stalactites dripping down and he chuckled under his breath at the dumb luck. As he plummeted towards the Guardian once more, he angled his body so he was falling feet first and called upon whatever available links he had with those he was fighting to protect. Faces of friends and family flashed into his mind, as well as strange and unfamiliar faces that filled him with hope for the future. He would fight to see the Power granted onto a new generation of Rangers…even though he had no idea how that would happen. As his thoughts, feelings and determination to live combined, his legs and feet started glowing silver, at first, and then pulsing with various colours of Rangers past, present and future.

"_Morphin Smash_!"

As his feet tore into the skull of the creature, he rolled his eyes as he realised that a new attack had been formed…and that this was probably the only time it would be used. He felt the creature below him become gruesomely separated into two pieces as the attack carved through flesh, bones and, strangely, armour plated organs until he was the only individual upright. He waited for the rumbling of the ground to signify his victory, the reappearance of the entrance portal or even Satan himself emerging from the depths to scream at him. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he shrugged once and stepped away from the bloody remains of the Guardian.

"Well done."

The booming voice came from everywhere and nowhere and the Ranger spun around as he tried to pinpoint its source. It didn't sound like the voice of Satan, sounding much more feminine that=n overwhelmingly masculine. However, it held an undertone that flashed up visions in his mind of people screaming in pits and being skinned alive and other rather…interesting things. Not knowing if he should bow, kneel or put up the sign of the cross to ward it away; he nodded once. Satisfied with the response, the voice continued.

"You are now the bearer of the Hellfire Armour – the strongest set of armour in Hell. Although it is not as powerful as your strongest armour in the future, it will provide adequate protection and power. The armour feeds off your anger and rage and you will only be able to summon it during these periods. The Hellfire Armour will integrate itself with your current Power Set and those under the umbrella of your Powers will be able to summon their own versions depending on their innate abilities."

The booming voice seemed to soften, as if the speaker realised the unique circumstances he was in.

"I will now reunite you with your body and your fellow Rangers. You will be here again in the future and it will be ready then. Until then, I bid you farewell."

Not really understanding why the voice stressed the word 'it', Weihan nodded again and felt a strange sensation flow throughout his body. His arms began strangely melting into flame but he felt no pain whatsoever. A rumbling above him caused him to look up as the ceiling split apart to reveal a tunnel of sorts that seemed to lead up all the way to the surface. He felt himself rising up above the hellish landscape and rocketed into the tunnel, the walls whipping past his eyes faster than he could process. He could hear the evil cackling of Psychogre above him and willed himself to reach the surface faster. Dimly, he was aware of his spirit melding into his body again and the Hellfire Armour vanishing into his Ultra Crystal but he was focused on giving the former Psycho Ranger the shock of his life.

"Rangers…_die_!"

As he horrific wounds in his chest healed, he felt the warming rush of the Ultra Power as his unarmoured Ranger suit materialised into place. The fires of Hell licked at his heels as his helmet slid over his head and transformed him into a shimmering ball of flames. He was so close to the surface…but there was still a short distance to go…

"Now, we finish this…"

Anger and rage filled him as he roared undecipherable words of rage at Psychogre. The emotion seemed to fill his being and propelled him further and faster up the passage as the flames of Hell finally enveloped him. He heard the ground above him split open and he burst from the seam as a spectre of invisible fire. His eyes widened behind his helmet as he took in the scene in front of him. All of Earth's Rangers were in front of him, at the mercy of Psychogre and the monsters he had seen earlier. A pulsing wave of energy was being sucked into the crack he had come from but there was still energy spilling towards the Rangers. Summoning up his rage, he pushed the team away from the destructive power as the Hellfire burst from the fissure. Slowly, he became visible…but he hadn't really changed from the sphere of fire. He hovered above the Rangers for a few seconds and turned, slowly, towards the trio of monsters. Acting on pure, animalistic instinct; he rocketed through the bodies of the lesser creatures before he slammed into Psychogre's chest and burned away the remnants of his crudely created armour.

Satisfied with his first attack, he flew up into the air and looked around for a suitable spot to reveal his…not-deadness. There was a hill that crested just above the battle scene…and if one looked at him, they would also be looking at the rising sun. Hovering over the hill, he released the last of Hell's power and felt his feet touch solid ground. His fingers flexed beside him as he breathed in a lungful of sweet, crisp air. Mentally saluting both the source of the booming voice and the demon girl who had helped him, he relaxed his body and smiled under his helmet. His tongue ran over his lips, tasting the blood he had coughed up, and he spoke.

"Guess who's back…"

TBC…


	209. 208: Hellfire and Brimstone

Chapter Two Hundred Eight: Hellfire and Brimstone

She couldn't believe it.

There was just no way that he was in front of them. He couldn't be alive after the beating he had suffered and they had all seen his still body in the Ultra Cavern. Needless to say, Rachelle Cole was in shock at the sight in front of her. Judging from the shouts and cries around her…the other Rangers weren't too far behind either. Sneaking a glance at the fissure in the ground, she swallowed as she heard the faint screams and shouts of agony that wafted up from the tear that smelled oddly of sulphur. A chill wormed its way down her spine but she pushed it down as there was no possible way Weihan could have gone to Hell…she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out except a surprised and breathless squeak.

"I KILLED YOU!"

Weihan smiled at the shocked scream from Psychogre and leapt off the hill. Flipping through the air, he winced as the last rib reset itself and healed over but managed to land in front of the stunned monster. He could now see that the Dark Converter on Psychogre's wrist was pulsing madly…as if it was trying to wrap its rudimentary mind around the impossibility of seeing a deceased Ranger in front of it. He hung onto the anger and rage coursing throughout his body but ignored the option flashing on his HUD to summon the Hellfire Armour. He had just been through one hard battle and needed a bit of time to catch his breath. A rethink of strategy was also required as pulling out the Hellfire Armour now would make it too damn easy.

Psychogre raced at him with arms outstretched but he ducked under the blow and brought his right fist up and under – stopping the monster in his tracks. Withdrawing his arm, he brought his left hand to rest behind Psychogre's head and head butted the reptilian creature hard. Stumbling away from the dazed monster, Weihan shook his head to clear the stars from his vision and silently thanked himself that he hadn't used that move on the Guardian. No doubt his spirit would truly be dead as the reptilian feasted on his remains. Brushing away that slightly disturbing thought, he summoned up a fireball in his right palm and stared at it. The sphere flickered with red and orange light as he, ever so slowly, increased the temperature until it was solid white and as hot as the plateau had been. There was no doubt in his mind that this fireball would severely weaken Psychogre…but not kill him. In a movement faster than the other Rangers could follow, he whirled the fireball at Psychogre and strengthened its payload with a burst of fire. The projectile exploded against Psychogre's skin, throwing the monster back as flames seared white-hot spears of pain deep within his body.

Weihan looked at Psychogre as the monster struggled to its feet and nodded once as it was finally time to pull out the finisher. The ground below him trembled as his anger and rage reached its fever pitch. He had no idea how the armour was going to materialise on his body and he certainly hoped he didn't have to manually put it on every time. A chuckle forced its way out of his throat as he imagined putting on the Hellfire Armour in the middle of a heated battle and dodging several lasers as he scrambled for cover. Returning to reality, he stifled a yawn as he realised he had been awake for a damn long time and needed rest. He surely doubted that the others would allow him to sleep before grilling him…but they would have to be patient. Crouching low to the ground, he placed both arms in front of him and inhaled.

"Hellfire Armour!"

A perfect circle of fire exploded around him as he rose to his full height. He could see distorted faces in the wall of flames and could see almost skeletal arms reaching out with pieces of the Hellfire Armour gripped in their bony fingers. Throwing his arms out to his sides, he allowed the skeletal limbs to assemble the armour on his Ranger Suit. A few times, he thought he could see the same demon girl laughing and winking at him but dismissed it as a trick of the flame. After all, there was no real reason why the demon girl would be helping out a Ranger, right? As the last piece of the metal slid into place, a slightly disturbing red light shone out of the cracks and up the shoulder spikes. Black mist curled around his legs and onto his belt to form the strange dragon-themed weapon…that was still missing the blade. Briefly, he wondered if the warrior's weapon had been a mace of some sort but shaped to look like a handle of a sword. It certainly would have made sense as to why the weapon had no blade.

The skeletal arms withdrew into the fire and vanished in a puff of smoke. The ground at his feet was a perfect circle of charring and slightly melted rocks that stuck to his boots as he walked forward. Glancing down at the Hellfire Armour, he could see the apparent glass sphere with flames was missing and he wondered what he would need to do to complete the armour. He could see the confusion and shock fly over the face of Psychogre as the monster barrelled towards him; irregardless of the severity of his injuries. As the former Psycho Orange came within striking distance, the Orange Ranger performed a tornado kick that caught the monster across the face. As he landed on the ground, he unhooked the handle from his belt with his right hand and brought it up to his eyes. There was something just under the lower jaw that he hadn't seen before – a button or trigger of some sort – and could swear that just popped into existence. Or maybe it had been there all along and the flickering light of Hell had messed with his vision somewhat. His thumb moved on its own and lightly brushed against the trigger. The jaws of the dragon swiftly opened and a bright orange 'blade' of flickering flame burst out of the open mouth.

Well, there went the question of the location of the blade.

Mentally christening the weapon as the Dragonbreath Blade, he turned the weapon in his hands and noted how light it felt. With the blade fully extended, it was about the same length as a golf umbrella and weighted a similar amount. He turned to the recovering Psychogre and spoke four words that chilled the monster to the bone.

"Revenge for my death."

Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly and channelled everything he had into the blade. Tendrils of fire and energy snaked up his legs, as if drawn from the ground itself, and rippled over his armour. The red light shining through the cracks in the armour changed colour – lightening to resemble a medium-rare steak. A fraction of the power coursing through over his armour collected in the depression in the centre of his chest to form the 'glass' sphere and flickering flames. As this final piece was formed as a permanent addition to the Hellfire Armour, he felt a shudder run down his spine as the Hellfire Armour permanently integrated into the Ultra Crystals…including the thirteenth, although he never knew.

Snapping his eyes open, he saw the burning figure of death and destruction he had become and chuckled darkly. The Dragonbreath Blade's blade was now a towering pillar of flame that seemed to reach the sky above. He smiled as he imagined what AJ's reaction to missing such a spectacle would be but he shrugged it off and refocused on Psychogre. He would make it quick and as painless as he could…but there was always the possibility that the monster would grow. Shifting his stance for the finishing blow, he felt a strange feeling well up in his chest…almost as if something else was unlocking now that the power of Hell was coursing through him. There was sure to be concerns about being powered by Hell itself amongst the Rangers, but he would cross that new bridge when it came up. Now, it was time to finish things.

"Hell's Wrath!"

TBC…

AN: And the Hellfire Arc comes to a close! Finally…


	210. 209: Destructoxord

AN: Destructoxord is pronounced Destructo-yord.

Chapter Two Hundred Nine: Destructoxord

"Well…that's a new trick."

He stared up at the towering robot in front of him and wondered how in the world Psychogre had survived the finisher. He would have thought that being cleaved into by a large flaming blade would have been enough to destroy anything…but he hadn't really thought that a robot would fall out of the sky and the heavily sparking Psychogre would teleport into it. Holstering the Dragonbreath Blade, he wondered exactly why the massive robot hadn't attacked yet. Sighing at the thought of yet another long battle before he could manage to get any rest; he turned to the Rangers behind him. As expected, they were looking at him with expressions of shock that were obvious despite their helmets. Jason and Tommy were the first to recover and they leapt up from their sprawled positions to tackle him with flying hugs. Crashing to the ground, he deactivated the 'Battle Mode' of the Hellfire Armour, causing the pinkish light shining from the cracks to revert to the normal red. As they began bombarding him with questions, he turned an eye to the massive 'bot and wondered again what Psychogre was doing.

Psychogre struggled to calm himself as his body erupted with a fresh wave of pain. It was inconceivable that the Orange Ranger had managed to somehow break free of the dimension he had been placed in and reunite his soul with his body. The fact that he had somehow gained new armour was something that was worrying as none of the souls that he had trapped had come back soon after. Of course, that was due to him having destroyed the bodies soon after but that was neither here nor there. If he had incinerated the body then there was a good chance that the Ranger would be able to rebuild himself by sheer force of will…or something heroic like that. Even if there was no evidence to prove that theory, there was also nothing that disproved it either. The only good thing he could think of to come out of the Ranger returning was that he probably hadn't picked up a new addition to his arsenal of Zords. Chuckling to himself, his gaze landed on the Dark Converter and the strange bubble of energy that was surrounding it and extending to the controls of the robot. Crinkling his brow at the sight, despite the pain that flared through him, he smiled as he heard his Master's voice ring in his head.

I am powering the mecha with my own energy. Do not lose.

Well, that certainly was an unprecedented move to be made by his Master. It was also added pressure on him to win as Xonix had informed him about his early awakening of the last Power Coma he had been placed into. Although his Master didn't seem to understand what another Power Coma could do to him, his short journey with Lothor had provided him with some answers. Indeed, the Space Ninja had seemed shocked and genuinely amazed that Xonix had pulled off such a risky and daring feat…even with the standard 'monster growing' spell permanently infused into his DNA. Although he had only been in space for a relatively short time, Lothor had made a name for himself in the distribution of legends and ancient prophecies that seemed to make no sense. And he was also an evil Space Ninja who would kill those that didn't pay full price. One of his legends involved Da'Lana's actual wording of what the 'fate worse than death' would be: a waking coma. That was to say, a Power Coma in which the afflicted wouldn't have the option of closing his or her eyes and would have the response time of a lazy sloth in the early morning.

Grinding his teeth together in pain, he latched onto the control levers and tried to draw on the power coming from the Dark Converter to heal his wounds somewhat. He knew in his heart that it was only a temporary stopgap and he was very close to death anyway. Win or lose, he would soon erupt into a fireball and be reunited with his comrades and there was nothing that Xonix could do to prevent that. Forcing his left hand off the control lever, he shakily pressed a button on the control panel and allowed a green laser to scan his body. Swallowing as the scan was complete, he mentally commanded the scan results to be sent to Xonix when they were finished compiling. Xonix needed to know about the effects of what the new armour were and the power output on the finishing blow. Steadying his breathing, he looked down at the Rangers on the ground and clenched his teeth together. The Destructoxord would defeat them all…and if it didn't, then the reactor explosion would.

"No, seriously, what happened to you?"

Weihan shook his head and glanced up at the machine above him as the questions came from all sides. By now, the other Ultra Rangers had recovered and had practically tackled Tommy and Jason out of the way and dog piled him. For the second time the past…couple of hours? He frowned under his helmet as he realised he had probably spent close to a day or so walking through Hell and at least three battling the Guardian; yet from the looks of things, only a few hours had passed since his death. Rolling his eyes at his aborted thought, he looked down at the Ranger that had shown the most…enthusiastic response to his resurrection. He sighed to himself as Rachelle pressed her body against his and wondered exactly what it was about him that kept the Silver Ranger wanting more. He briefly wondered what it would be like to have a threesome with her and AJ but pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he picked up on gears grinding behind him.

"Shit. Can any of you fight in Zords?"

Unsurprisingly, all of the Rangers present raised their hands and he shook his head. He had no idea where Psychogre had pulled out the robot from but, in all honesty, he didn't want to know. Looking at the Rangers around him, he made a snap decision. They were exhausted both physically and mentally and they needed a break from battle. He could see Jason stick his left arm into the air and felt the slight change in the air as his ancient Dinozord lumbered into view. Wondering how in the world Jason had regained the ability to summon the Tyrannosaurs Dinozord without having touched the physical embodiment of the Morphin Grid, he made his move. Managing to dislodge Rachelle's grip around him, he slid out from the group as Psychogre's voice boomed out from the machine towering above them.

"Orange Ranger, you have done well to come back from the dead. I challenge you to a one on one duel. Be warned…Destructoxord is not like anything you have faced before. Behold!"

Scrambling to his feet, he prepared to call for his Dinozord when the machine above him opened up with a heavy barrage of lasers, energy balls, rockets and various other forms of attacks. Following their flight path with his eyes, he shouted to Jason to dismiss the Dinozord but he couldn't be heard over the screaming projectiles above them. To his credit, the Red Morphin Ranger seemed to understand the danger and made the Dinozord turn away from the danger…but it was too late. The Dinozord bellowed in pain as the barrage exploded against its exterior armour and shredded it like it was made of wet tissue. Jason frantically bellowed commands to retreat at the Zord but it was to no avail. The Dinozord was even robbed of a slightly dignified destruction as the weapon barrage kept it propped up on its legs with the Rangers powerless to stop anything. A great geyser of burning rage started to well up in Weihan's chest and he felt Hell's Power surging through him…and into one of the Zords he had yet to use.

He saw an image of it in his mind's eye – the Spinosaurus Zord that was wreathed in crackling flames. Dimly, he remembered that his Ninja Element Power was fire and he thought of what power could be unleashed if the two Power Sources combined. As if reacting to his mental wish, the flames around the Zord in his mind leapt higher and higher and infused their energy into the metallic shell of the Dinozord. No…it wasn't a Dinozord anymore, rather it felt like it was a good representation of what the Guardian of Hellfire could have been. A name sprung up soon after the image had vanished and, although it sounded a bit unwieldy to say, it felt right. As the barrage finally faded the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord crumpled to the ground and violently exploded; sending shards of white-hot metal blasting into the surrounding areas. Growling under his breath, the Orange Ranger stepped away from the shocked Rangers and didn't even look back as Jason collapsed as his Ranger Armour shattered from the loss of the Zord.

Psychogre would pay.

TBC…


	211. 210: Hellfire Storm

AN: And we smash through 300K words on 4/7/12.

Chapter Two Hundred Ten: Hellfire Storm

"Firestorm Spinozord!"

The cry rang out over the crackle of sparking electronics, the shouts of Tommy and the Morphin team and the mad rush of calls from Lightspeed. The light coming out from the cracks of the Hellfire Armour had changed from the pinkish hue to a rapidly flickering mishmash of red, orange and yellow, reminding those looking at the Orange Ranger of what the fires of Hell would look like. The ground quaked and all heads looked everywhere to see where the new Zord would burst from. Even the Destructoxord looked around as if wondering who the next foolish challenger would be. Pulling out the Dragonbreath Blade and reactivating it, the Orange Ranger looked like one who had recently conquered Hell itself. After a while, the quaking stopped and no Zord had shown up to avenge the destroyed Dinozord. Psychogre laughed in the cockpit of the robot as the Rangers looked around in confusion.

Suddenly, a hole opened up beneath the feet of the Orange Ranger and he plummeted out of sight. Anyone who was about to jump in after him was deterred by the geyser of lava that spurted out a few seconds later. The Rangers scrambled to the slowly cooling lava and called upon their weapons in order to rescue their lost Ranger. A low-powered laser blast from the robot in front of them made the Ranger Army refocus on the main issue. Under his helmet, Alex clenched his teeth together and wordlessly combined his weapons into the Blizzard Blaster. He doubted the icy blast would do much against a menace that had recently destroyed a Dinozord but miracles were known to happen. The icy blast smacked against the thick armour plating of the mecha and frosted it over for a short period…before the heat from the reactor melted it. Undeterred by his attempt, he channelled more power and energy into the Blizzard Blaster and tried again. He could see the others out of the corner of his eye picking up their fallen weapons and blasting the Zord-like robot in front of them.

Psychogre laughed once more as the damage the Rangers were doing to the robot hardly showed up on the warning screens. The shields were too powerful and the armour too thick for anything weaker than a Zord to do permanent damage. Actually, anything weaker than the Orange Ranger's Dinozord wouldn't even scratch the paint, but he had to give them props for thinking they could take the Destructoxord down with their pea-shooters. Flashes of light came from the Rangers as Battlizers were pulled out and Assault Armours donned. The blasts from the Ultra Rangers were now actually starting to do some amount of damage to the exterior of the robot…but it was hardly enough to take seriously. Seizing up as a fresh stab of pain pierced through his sides, his fingers moved to the trigger for the wide-angle heat beam. One blast would be all that was needed to wipe out the Rangers from Earth and show the Universe that Xonix would be Dark Spectre's successor…which would actually be a hilarious irony. Lifting his finger from the trigger, he decided to let them see that their attempt to attack hi maws futility at best. He would explode soon anyway and the explosion would take out the reactor and the Dark Converter. When that happened…well, he wouldn't want to be anyone living around the island of Australia for five seconds after the explosion. Closing his eyes, he settled back into his chair and waited for the end…not noticing the warning that flashed up on his screen about abnormal ground tremors.

_Everyone back to the Ultra Cavern; this is going to get messy._

The words rang through the minds of the Rangers as they lowered their weapons and actively registered the strange tremors that had started up a few seconds before. Recognising the voice instantly, Eliza nodded once and grouped together all of the Rangers around her with the same teleportation signal. Three seconds later, they were flash-teleported to the brightly lit Ultra Cavern and, as one, ran to the viewscreen. The Purple and Silver Ultra Rangers hung back and looked at the place where Weihan's body had rested only a few minutes ago. Taking off her helmet, Rachelle walked to the bloody table and lightly traced her fingers through the pool of slightly dried blood that still remained. Shaking her head in thought, she walked over to the Medical Console and flicked on the viewscreen of the battle area. The giant robot was still there but the surrounding areas were shaking more and more violently. She held her breath and waited with anticipation to see what new Zord Weihan had brought back with him.

"What in the Moons of Xenon? There shouldn't be any seismic activity until after the explosion…"

Psychogre dismissed the warnings on the HUD and concentrated more on finding the source of the disturbance. From the readings that were being received, it seemed like the quakes were originating from an area below the crust of the Earth. But that was insane and unbelievable as there were no plate fault lines so close to a populated city…and massive tremors in the Earth didn't move steadily upward. Gripping the control levers, he heard rock and earth crack and separate as a massive hulk wrenched its way out of the Earth. Whatever it was, it had somehow caused a geyser of fire or molten rock to burst around the Destructoxord in a perfect circle. As far as he knew, he wasn't in danger of falling into the ground or into the molten mantle of the Earth…although his explosion there would mean the destruction of this accursed planet for good. He heard the screech of metal rending and his eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of three metallic claws through the fire.

And then there was that screeching roar.

A sound that was reminiscent of what the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord had produced moments earlier echoed over the battlefield. Psychogre waited to see what manner of beast had made the sound…but was shocked at what he saw when the fire died down. It looked – for all intents and purposes – like a larger Utahraptor Dinozord but it was slimmer, sleeker and there was a fin rising out of its back. Heaving itself out of the fiery pit it had created in its 'escape', it thrashed its tail around in an attempt to rid itself of the molten rock fragments that stubbornly clung to the armour plating. Powerful legs lifted up its armoured and heavily armed body and its forelimbs clawed at the air as if they were fending off some unseen enemy. A red light shone out of its eyes and its metallic mouth opened up once more to produce a more bellowing roar. The early morning sun glinted off its orange, red and yellow armour and metallic teeth. Psychogre felt a chill run through his body as he stared at what he thought was a messenger from Hell itself.

Inside the cockpit of the Firestorm Spinozord, Weihan gripped the control levers in front of him and chuckled on the fact that it was nice not to use his weapons for the controls anymore. While the downward plunge into the mantle of the Earth had freaked him out somewhat, he had recovered from the shock a few moments before the bottom of his feet had hit the top of the Zord's head. All that was left then was to 'port into the cockpit, send out a quick telepathic message to the Rangers and try to figure out what button did what. As the new information had trickled into his mind, he had begun his ascent to the surface and had decided to play a bit of a joke on Psychogre. Well, he saw it as a joke anyway. Shaking his head, he flipped on the scanners and scanned the machine in front of him thoroughly. Destroying such a beast of a robot on the Earth wouldn't be fun for anyone and he doubted John Howard would like it if he sunk the entire island of Australia just to destroy one monster. Planning his attack, he tightened his grip on the control levers and plunged in.

Time for his revenge to come to an end.

TBC…


	212. 211: Meteoric Rise

Chapter Two Hundred Eleven: Meteoric Rise

Psychogre didn't know which way was up anymore.

The Zord had charged at him and left him little time to react before ploughing its front claws into the chest of the Destructoxord. The metallic blades had narrowly missed hitting the Main Reactor but had managed to pierce the armoured shell around the main connectors. That was both good and bad news…but the attack hadn't let up there. The claws had been wrenched out and the jaws of the massive robotic dinosaur had come down on the raised arms of the pseudo-Zord. Judging on what little information was actually transmitted by the arms before their severing, the Spinozord's teeth could pierce Xenon Titanium in a matter of microseconds. A slight movement later and both severed arms had fallen to the ground and burst into small fireballs upon impact. The biting attack hadn't stopped there either – the jaws and closed on the head of the robot and begun shaking it from side-to-side. This aggressive movement made Psychogre extremely glad he had opted to place the cockpit in the 'collarbone' area…although seeing the Zord rip into the head was not something that he wanted in his memory. Unfortunately, the extensive head damage meant that he could no longer use the eye-beams, mouth maser or pump power into the shields. Flicking an eye to the chronometer on the wall, he grinned as he realised that nothing would matter in a few more minutes anyway. Pushing the Destructoxord to its feet, he decided that he may as well have a good time before everything died and aimed the heat beam at the chest of the Zord.

Anticipating that the monster in front of him would be targeting him, Weihan turned the Zord around so the sail was in the direct path of the beam and waited. From the infodump that was being compiled in his mind, he knew that Hell's power was only limited to a powerful beam attack that had to be fully charged up by external sources. Mostly, it was by kinetic energy but with the Zord Invincibility protocol in full effect, he couldn't rely on a knock-down-drag-out battle and had to resort to a shortcut. It seemed the sail on the back was good for more than just decoration as it could absorb any energy attack thrown at it. However, that also made the Zord an extremely powerful weapon to be used and he had to ensure that the power at his fingertips didn't corrupt him into something evil. He waited for a few more seconds and blinked once at the flash from the chest of the Destructoxord. Half a second later, he felt the machine around him stagger slightly as the powerful energy slammed into the sail and surrounding areas. What he could also hear were the shouts and cries from the other Rangers in the Ultra Cavern.

His sudden resurrection had shocked them to the very core and he was sure there would be a lot more questions to be asked. He was sure that most of them would come from Eliza, Alex and Rachelle whose power he had felt filling him against the Guardian. He would also have to sit down with Fluttershy, Applejack and Twilight to inform them of what had happened…although he would give them the G-Rated version of the demon girl. He would also have to skim over the part about seeing his great…granddaughter again as none of the Rangers knew about his jaunt into the future. He also was not looking forward to telling the staunchest of non-believers that there actually was a Hell and that he had only been in one small section of it. However, before the torrent of questions flooded him and the explanations spilled out…he would have to rest his body from the constant fighting. His magical double could handle things for the next few days until he felt ready enough to rejoin the real world. He was sure that if he worded it correctly, either Rachelle or AJ could help him recover that little bit faster…

Watching the meter steadily rise, he idly wondered if the machine in front of him would ever run out of energy. There seemed to be an external power powering it and he didn't really know if it was such a good idea anymore to destroy the robot…on the ground. Theoretically, he could use the beam to fling it into the upper atmosphere but there was then the issue about what would happen if the oxygen in the air caught fire. Yeah…that wouldn't be such a smart move in the long run if it meant he would be destroying Earth another way. Xonix would probably laugh himself to death if he did such an act. Opening the battle configuration menu, he scrolled through the available options to check to see if there was a space configuration. The Dino, Thunder and Ninjazords had them and the old Turbozords also seemed to have them…but he wasn't so sure what features were in the Spinozord. The infodump was only covered battle tactics, weapon systems and movement. Interestingly, there were two options for a warrior mode and he rolled his eyes at the amount of Warrior modes his Zords seemed to have. Finally highlighting on the appropriate option, he wordlessly activated it and blinked when nothing seemed to change. After a few more minutes of waiting, he rolled his eyes as the realisation set in. It hadn't worked because he was still in atmosphere.

Finally, the beam stopped firing and he looked to the charge meters expectantly. To his utter amazement and frustration, the meter was just hovering below a full charge. The system looked like it couldn't hold anymore power and energy in the storage tanks and the Orange Ranger mentally noted that he would have to get that little detail ironed out for future use. The finisher could still be fired and it could destroy Psychogre and his little machine, but he would need to get the sucker up into space on his own…which is what he would've had to do anyway. Settling back in the control chair, he felt two restraining bars settle on his shoulders while the cockpit felt like it was moving. Muttering a quiet prayer to the soul of his lost great…whatever granddaughter, he channelled power from the Orange Ultra Crystal directly into the tail of the Spinozord. Feeling the motors spring to life, he absently wondered exactly what was going on behind him.

Psychogre blinked in shock as he looked at the sight in front of him. Not only had the heat beam not destroyed the rather flimsy-looking sail on the back of the new Zord, the destructive energy had been absorbed into the robot. He would have stopped the beam immediately when he had noticed the absorption but he hadn't installed a kill switch into the firing mechanism. He had naively thought he didn't need one but now that was a moot point as the Zord would surely be overloaded and would fail in spectacular fashion. He didn't think the residents of the remaining houses would remain after another close-range Zord explosion…which would have the added effect of killing the Orange Ranger a second time. Moving the control levers toward him, the machine took a step toward the motionless Spinozord and opened more weapon panels on the chest. He felt his right leg burn with pain for a split second before he felt nothing in the limb.

Looking down, he was rather unsurprised to see that his leg had burned away into ashes. Smiling to himself, he relaxed his grip on the control levers and pressed a button on the panel in front of him. The Destructoxord rumbled for a moment as powerful drills extended from the soles of the feet, anchoring him to the ground. It would take a lot of force to uproot the machine and, even with the added power in the Spinozord; he doubted it would be enough. Closing his eyes a second time, he was aware of the ground trembling as the Spinozord rushed toward him. The machine shuddered violently at the impact and he cracked an eye open to see exactly what new strategy the Orange Ranger would be using.

"By the moons of Konu! How in the world…?"

That was all that he managed to sputter out before the ear-splitting screech of rending metal filled the air once more. It wasn't a one-off sound but a relentless droning shriek that came from the tail of the Zord…that had somehow transformed into a drill of some kind. Scanning his eyes over the damage reports as his right leg burst into flames, he noted that the Main Reactor had been missed again and that…the anchors were failing. The Destructoxord shuddered twice and then began to lift off the ground with the additional sound of twisting and tearing metal. He flipped every switch he could on the panel as he desperately tried to avoid an explosion in the dead air of space. There wouldn't be anything to destroy up there and his final act would end in failure. Lasers bounced off the energised armour of the Zord in front of him as its rockets and jets activated. Flipping the lever for the pressurisation of the cockpit, he shook his head in denial as the ground rapidly fell away from his sight. Reaching out with a disintegrating left arm, he used the last seconds of feeling to send the scanning results to Xonix; even though they were a few more minutes away from finishing their compiling. He would have waited…but he sorely doubted he had the time to waste. He turned away as the Dark Converter fell to the floor and started cracking apart. It wouldn't be long now…

Weihan took his eyes off the wounded machine in front of him to look at the view of the Earth from space. Unlike his previous viewing in the bad future, the only satellites orbiting the blue, green and orange sphere – that he could see anyway – were Mir and the Hubble Space Telescope. He was sure there were others orbiting around the Earth but they were out of his sight. Committing the image to memory, he vowed to do whatever he could to ensure the safety of the planet. He would leave the Power Rangers in the capable hands of Tommy or whoever wanted to be the 'head' and he would concentrate more on the Ultra Rangers and expanding the ranks…if such a thing were possible. There were a lot of chasms and bridges that needed to be crossed…but he would get to them in due time. Pressing a series of buttons on the right side panel, he ordered the expulsion of all stored energy into the main emitters in the back of the Zord's mouth. Pulling out the tail-drill from the chest of the Destructoxord, he admired the damage caused a few more seconds before jerking the control levers toward him and smacking the machine away with the tail. The name that flashed up on his screen wasn't the most intimidating…but it conveyed the message of impending destruction pretty well.

"Spiral Beam!"

A bright orange light filled his viewscreen as the energy lanced through the vacuum of space and drilled through the chest of the Destructoxord. Psychogre chuckled weakly as his remaining arm crumbled to dust and the pain in his chest began to intensify. Accessing the emergency menu with his eye movements, he activated the afterburners that were still remaining and used the momentum of the blast to push away from the planet and the Orange Ranger. Explosions blossomed out from the ruptured chest of the Destructoxord and he chuckled as he realised that Xonix would more than likely never succeed in his plan to take over the Earth. The resourcefulness of the Rangers that protected it…well, it was just too much for any Evil being to handle. He doubted there was anything in the Universe that could destroy the Rangers for any length of time. Seeing the Zord of the Orange Ranger shrink away into something he could have placed in the palm of his hand, he nodded once as a final salute to his destroyer and closed his eyes as the viewscreen shattered away.

Now, it was over.

TBC…


	213. 212: Realism

Chapter Two Hundred Twelve: Realism

"It can't be this easy…"

Flicking his eyes over the question again, Weihan sighed as he filled in the circle on the sheet that represented the best answer. Looking up from the papers, he scanned the exam hall and sighed to himself yet again. Three weeks had passed since the destruction of Psychogre and Xonix had been extremely quiet since. He remembered little of how he had managed to get back to the Ultra Cavern after seeing the muted explosion that signalled the destruction of Psychogre, the Destructoxord and the Dark Converter…but he remembered waking up after thirty straight hours of rest and seeing practically everyone staring at him. He also remembered the five hour interrogation session…well; mainly due to the fact that Rachelle had pretty much latched onto him and refused to let go for anything. That had caused a few chuckles at the start…and an extremely uncomfortable situation for him when certain parts of his lower anatomy stirred to life. The uncomfortable situation had been doubled as AJ had teleported in to see the Silver Ranger clinging to him like a life preserver. He had freaked out but AJ had calmly explained that she knew most of the situation, had talked it through with the other Ultra Rangers…and had promptly taken up temporary residence on the side that Rachelle wasn't on.

His explanation into the events that happened after his death was when he started to realise that Hell's time was much slower than on Earth. He had an inkling that was the case during the battle with Psychogre, but that hadn't come to the forefront of his mind until then. The mildly religious Rangers on the team were amazed that Hell actually existed as a physical place but were very curious about the halls of white that he had been wandering when he had first come to. There had been some debate over whether or not that was actually Heaven or not but he doubted it was the case. In his mind, the white halls were more of a 'waiting room' for the recently deceased. His explanation had been interrupted by a call from Equestria about the strange dreams that three of their Rangers had during the night. Much ribbing had been done at his expense by the alternate Billy, Jason and Rainbow Dash…although in the latter's case, it was slightly subdued.

As expected, the three affected ponies had taken the news of his death hard but he had seen the light in their eyes as they fit all the pieces together. The questions from them had been pretty simple to answer with the exception of why the other ponies weren't called upon. Pinkie had taken it all in stride and had started rambling on about how she knew everything would be all right because when she had the feeling…well, her explanation went a tad off the rails.

"I knew it was going to be all right cause it reminded me of a time that I think happened but I think didn't happen when you were there and I was there and things were said and done and there was a lot of white cream everywhere and it was fun! And then when it came back, it made me feel fuzzy inside but not really, because if I was fuzzy inside then my insides wouldn't work and it wouldn't feel good for anyone. Well, except for anyone feeling the insides but the only way to do that would be through a few openings and I don't want to say anymore…wait, what was the question again?"

The call had ended pretty soon after that but Billy had promised to call if things became really ugly. What the reason for something 'really ugly' was, the Orange Ranger didn't know but on the other hand, Zedd had somehow resurrected Goldar and the golden monkey was not someone to mess around with. Absently filling in the circle for the next correct answer, he wondered if the Equestrian Rangers would be drafted in for rebuilding Canterlot. The Capital had been targeted by Zedd before but the attacks in the past had never been so bad. From the reports Billy and Twilight had sent over, only about seven percent of buildings were still standing. Out of that seven percent, over half had structural damage so severe that the dwellings would have to be demolished anyway. Celestia's Royal Guard had been attending to the emergency response and was seeing about opening up the Palace doors to the hundreds of homeless ponies. Weihan thought doing so was a good idea but only if the doors that led to the Command Tower were sealed off. After the call had ended, he had launched back into his explanation of the battle against the Hellfire Guardian and the borrowing of power from the Rangers that had answered.

He shuddered as he recalled the sight of Grash'Nak bearing down on him and hoped that Xonix wouldn't get the thought into his head about summoning that creature to the surface. The Morphin Smash had pretty much nuked the creature but he had a feeling that nothing killed in Hell would stay dead for long. It pained him that he had broken the promise made to the demon girl but he couldn't always die just to save them from the Guardian. He supposed that being in Hell meant that you were constantly tortured by things that seemed too good to be true…and turned out exactly how you thought they would. The voice had informed him he would be coming back to Hell one day and that 'it' would be ready for him. He doubted there was anything else that could be added to the Hellfire Armour and surely doubted that there was yet another Zord waiting in the wings for him. That would be a tad too convenient…even for him.

Multiple choice questions completed, he moved onto the written section and skimmed the question in front of him. As all the previous questions of the Modern History exam, it was about the impact that the Ultra Rangers were having on the Earth and how they would be remembered in future generations. Jotting down some notes to structure his essay, he checked the space available for his answer. Three A4 pages would be sufficient…if he used both front and back to construct his essay. Picking up his pen, he let his hand go on automatic as he thought of the destruction of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord and the effect it had on Jason.

Barring a miracle or an extensive power infusion from the Ultra Crystals, the Red Morphin Ranger would never hold a morph for more than fifteen minutes again. The link to his Zord had been completely burnt out by the feedback and that had resulted in the almost complete severing of his link to the Morphin Grid. The fact that Jason could still feel a slight amount of Grid energy inside him was a testament to how well Ninjor and Zordon had created the Power Coins. He had offered to hook Jason temporarily to the power supply in the Tyrannosaurus Ultra Dinozord, but Jason had declined and said that he would cross the bridges when he came to them. That offhanded comment had caused Weihan to muse on how many bridges the Rangers had yet to cross in the future, which had made all the Rangers start laughing simultaneously. That had lightened up the mood somewhat, though Jason had commented later that he may be coming around for a recharge. There was a chance that more than one recharge would permanently link Jason to the Ultra Grid but that chance was something like one in a billion…which would probably come back to bite him in the ass down the road.

Tommy had freaked out after that and teleported back to Reefside; where he had set up a communication channel so that Anton could be introduced to the Rangers formally. The man had declined seeing their faces but had asked for the base specifications for the Spinozord. After some amount of heated discussion amongst the Rangers, Weihan had to respectfully decline the offer as he had serious questions that needed to be answered about the darkness in the older man's eyes. The 'progressive scientist' was definitely hiding something big and he hoped that whatever it was could be dealt with without bringing Rangers into the mix. Well, it would be Tommy's problem in the future and, with Kim by his side, they would be able to get through anything.

Bringing his attention back to the essay he was writing, he chuckled softly as he found himself writing on the back of the first A4 page and constructing his argument for the second point in his essay: property destruction. The abandoned warehouse district had been built…but the lack of available warehouse space in the greater CBD had meant that the area hadn't stayed abandoned for long. That had snowballed into more pressure for Frank Sartor to build an exclusive zone for the Rangers, a pressure that had intensified a thousandfold due to the property damage caused by the destruction of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord…and the deaths that had occurred. Out of the ninety people who had lived in the area surrounding the battleground, only seven people had been spared injury. Three of them were from the same family group and the ages of the other four ranged from six to sixty. All of the houses had been flattened and the rebuilding effort would take months…and the blame had been placed squarely on the Rangers. Captain Mitchell and the Lightspeed Rangers had done all they could to sooth the situation, but there was still dissatisfaction in the public populace. It had gotten so out of hand that, as leader of the Ultra Rangers, he had been forced to tell the public the hard facts in a short message.

"We, the Ultra Rangers, are here to protect the planet. The Power Rangers protect civilians and ensure everyone is safe before engaging the enemy. We do not. We are sure that everyone around the battlefield has two legs and a working brain…and that they know to not come closer to take pictures. If you ignore these facts and hope for the Ultra Rangers to come and rescue you, you do so at your own risk. Our attentions will be focused on the enemy in front of us and we will not have any time to save the tragically stupid morons who get in our way. The only group we will be saving if they get too close to the battle will be the news crews as they are just acting on orders to get the best shots possible."

AJ had informed him that his add-on at the end had fanned the flames of speculation and gossip that she had a special relationship going on with one or more of the Rangers; but he had laughed it off and told her not to worry about it. Looking down at his answer, he cursed to himself and reached for the white-out as there was one tidbit of information that hadn't been made public that he had included in his answer: the death of the Orange Ranger. Although the news crews had been summoned rather quickly, none of them had gotten to the scene of the battle to see the final moments of his…first…life. They had gotten shots of a body being carried by the Red Morphin Ranger but it seemed that the Power protected his identity as their cameras refused to zoom in. magnifying the image also didn't seem to work as the shots that had made it to air showed him with a disturbingly blank space where the face was. Restructuring his answer to reflect more on the new technologies that the Rangers could provide to the world, he pushed down the growing feeling of unease in his gut.

It was becoming a cliché to him, but something big was on the horizon. He was pretty sure that Xonix was in another Power Coma for some reason and Jabarkas wouldn't do anything more without his Master's approval. The demons in Mariner Bay were gearing up for something and there were rumours of strange atmospheric disturbances in the skies above Silver Hills. The only Ranger team that didn't have something large on the horizon were the Galaxy Rangers. Trakeena had gone all-out in attacking Terra Venture and had even forcefully merged with Deviot. The resulting beast had absolutely slaughtered the remaining forces in a suicide attack that had led to the colony's destruction. Only a point-blank shot from Leo's Battlizer Armour had destroyed the insectoid creature for good. The planet they had landed on had turned out to be Maya's home and, after the inhabitants had been restored from their stone states, they had decided to stay there for the foreseeable future. And then the Rangers would be taking Maya back in the Astro Megaship to see Earth…which would be a rather interesting prospect.

Finishing his essay, he placed his pen down and skimmed over the words. The answer checked all the right boxes in regards to lasting impact of the Rangers and what their effect would be on the planet as a whole. He chuckled once more as he found that he had even worked references in the essay of the 'Past' Rangers of eight years ago and in the Wild West. That would be technically counted more in the lines of Modern Ancient History, but he doubted his teachers would mind either way. Slumping back in his chair, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

It was good to have a normal day.

TBC…


	214. 213: Exodus

AN: Subtitle to this chapter is "AKA the author is sick and needed to pump out this chapter to set up the closure of the ROE storyline" Enjoy

Chapter Two Hundred Thirteen: Exodus

"I knew it was too quiet…"

He pounded the console in front of him as AJ and Rachelle looked on in concern behind him. The distress call he had just received had been short and to the point…but had filled him with absolute dread. Zedd was done playing games and toying with the Equestrian Rangers and had publicly announced his presence to all of Equestria by setting the Everfree Forest ablaze. He had then used his Z Centaurs to carve a path directly to his headquarters in the Forbidden Zone known as the Nightmare Mountains and had challenged the Rangers to one last battle that would decide 'the fate of everything'. He was drawing on the power of the Dark Ultra Crystal and had resurrected every monster that had fought and failed against the Rangers…with the exception of the three demonic Ultra Brothers. He was just damn glad he had been in the Ultra Cavern when the message had been received. Of course…his state of dress had caused more than a few raised eyebrows, but that had paled in comparison to the message.

Buttoning his shirt, he took a quick glance behind him to where both AJ and Rachelle were pulling their clothes on and smiled softly as he recalled exactly what had happened before the message. The short version was that now he knew what it was like having a threesome with Rachelle and AJ. The long version involved close-quarter hand-to-hand combat movements, a horny girlfriend and a rather clingy Silver Ultra Ranger. A rather hasty teleport to the cockpit of the Utahraptor Dinozord was the last coherent thought he had in his mind before the distress signal had come through. Everything was going to Hell in a handcart and he didn't really want to be wandering the fiery wastes so soon after leaving. Teleporting out of the Dinozord, he gave a mental command for it to be moved to the subspace pocket inside the Orange Crystal once the two women were out and moved to the Communication console.

The ponies and Billy were going to storm Zedd's HQ and the Ninjetti Rangers and Jason would help. Still, they would need more backup to ensure the horde of monsters didn't give them the slip and attack Ponyville and Canterlot. Twilight's brother had been briefed but that still wouldn't be enough – even with the two Princesses on the front lines. This wasn't something that only one or two Ultra Rangers could deal with…which only meant one thing. A few minutes later, with the rest of the Ultra Rangers assembled, he spoke of his plan. It wasn't the best option available but it was the only one that would ensure the complete and utter destruction of Zedd's forces.

All of the Ultra Rangers would be going.

It was the only way to ensure that Equestria would be freed…yet, he had his doubts. The Zedd that they would be up against would be a much greater challenge than anything they had ever faced before. He would even go so far as to say that the task ahead of them now would only be slightly harder than attacking Xonix's new Fortress…wherever it was. To defend Sydney from attacks, the Morphin, Zeo, Astro Rangers and Justin would be constantly on call and would spring into action if there was even a peep from Xonix, Jabarkas or whatever new evil force sprang up. If it was something they couldn't handle without the power of the Ultra Rangers, then they had the authorisation to access any of the Zords in the Ultra Cavern…well, only if the Ultra Zeo Zords didn't work.

The next pressing question was of duration. He doubted it would be a long battle but if he had learnt anything, it was that being a bit too over-prepared never really hurt anyone. He would have to have the magical duplicates infused with enough energy to last at least two weeks or so; just to stay on the safe side. He seriously doubted they would be there for two whole weeks but if they were attacking Zedd head on…well, anything was possible; even if the path to his lair was open for only one day. Shaking his head, he looked to the gleaming Firestorm Spinozord that stood in one of the previously-empty Zord Bays and nodded once. The Ultra Dinozords were powerful battle machines but he had a feeling their true potential was being missed by all of them. He also had a strange feeling that his Zords would be able to combine with the Equestrian Zords but he would place that thought on hold for now. Disabling one or more of the Harmonyzords so close to a battle would be pretty much waving the flag of destruction or painting a large target on their backs.

"Are we all set?"

The rest of the Rangers around him nodded. To his amusement, he noticed they were avoiding looking at him, AJ and Rachelle directly and he rolled his eyes at their veiled attempt at modesty. He doubted there would be any time for…fun…once they hit Equestria but he was glad that a small amount of tension had been released. Looking to AJ, he shouldered his small bag and nodded once. The blonde woman nodded back and activated the Dimensional Doorway. As the swirling and shimmering portal opened up, the Ultra Rangers began filing in, one after the other. As he was the last to enter, he paused at the mouth of the portal and winked at AJ.

"Time to win a war."

TBC…


	215. 214: Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter Two Fourteen: Smoke and Mirrors

"Thanks for coming on such short notice."

AJ shook her head and looked at the woman in front of her. She had seen Weihan walk into the portal, had heard the surprised shouts from three ponies and heard the noise made by his rather inelegant crashing to the ground. The portal had closed seconds later but not before she had heard him ask for some assistance off the ground. That had sent her into a fit of giggles…but that had tapered off as her mobile began ringing. She had answered it absently, thinking it was either her mother or Chris calling about some news story she 'absolutely had to cover'…although most of the recent stories had been thinly veiled attempts by him and John in getting her into a revealing outfit for the cameras.

Much to her relief, it hadn't been her mother or her 'bosses', but was Yin; Weihan's mother. The Asian woman wanted to have a talk to her about her son; more specifically the strange moods he seemed to be in lately and her suspicions that he was in a gang or cult of some kind. After arranging a time and a meeting place, she had set up the attack alarm to route into the communicators of the Morphin and Zeo Rangers – taking care that the signal to Tommy's communicator was turned off – and teleported a short distance from the coffee shop where she was to have the meeting. There was little chance of running into Weihan's magical duplicate as it was the first day back from holidays and the Orange Ranger would certainly want to know how he had done in the half-yearly exams. She hoped the break from Xonix's attacks on Earth gave her lover more of a chance to settle in with his studies but she had a feeling he was walking down a path where grades and marks wouldn't matter that much. Pushing aside the slightly disturbing thought, she smiled once more. He would be fine…unless his destiny involved him flying to the edges of space with yet another Ranger team.

"No, it's fine. You were saying something about Weihan not acting like himself? Do you think he's in a gang?"

Yin nodded and lightly sipped at her tea. While she hadn't really had a moment to sit down with her son to discuss her concerns, she had noticed that his priorities were slowly shifting away from the 'normal' things that a young boy was supposed to be worrying about. She had seen him browsing over the news reports of various Ranger battles and circling various sentences, highlighting others and crossing out whole sections. It was rather fanatical behaviour and she found herself looking over the articles after her son was finished with them to see what had offended him so. Whatever it was didn't make sense to her as the highlighted and circled sentences had to do with the destruction and death before, during and after a Ranger Battle. Her earlier assumptions that her son was a Ranger were, in hindsight, pretty ridiculous but she knew why she had made those assumptions. However, that still left her with no answers on what her son was up to…until she remembered the reporter he was currently seeing. If anyone knew what her son was up to; it was sure to be AJ.

"It's the only possibility that fits. You've heard reports of the new gangs that have been starting up. Some of the members are still in school and I think Weihan's running with one of them. It all adds up; the injuries, the strange behaviour…maybe he's on drugs?"

AJ didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She knew most of the reasons why Weihan was looking through those reports, something to do with charting the upgrades of the Power over time or something, and knew most of the reasons behind the injuries…yet with Xonix's attention elsewhere; she didn't think there would be any new ones cropping up anytime soon. She also hoped he didn't die again anytime soon as she had been pretty much hysterical over the communicator when she had heard the news. In all seriousness, Weihan wasn't on drugs or in a gang, but she didn't think she could tell Yin that her son was the leader of the strongest Ranger team in the Multiverse…she stifled a chuckle as she imagined how well that piece of information would go down. There was a small chance that Weihan would tell his mother about his 'other' job sometime in the future but she didn't know when it was going to happen. The truth was, she was getting slightly fed up with the amount of times her lover kept getting up to save the world and she was considering taking a break from her career to spend more time with her own mother. The family reunion brought into the spotlight the amount of time she had been spending away from both parents and she had already made up her mind to take at least two or three years off from her work at the end of her contract in around ten months.

Unfortunately, that would place her relationship with Weihan in an awkward position as he couldn't be expected to come with her. With Xonix having lost the full team of Ultra Psycho Rangers and apparently laying low, the Rangers would have to keep their wits about them…well, until they received confirmation of another Power Coma at least. She didn't like it, but there was no doubt in her mind that they would have to break up. Whether or not it would be a temporary split or not would be up to him and his sense of duty. Anyway, her friend had recently gotten married and was doing quite well for himself in the robotics industry. If anything happened to him, he would be set for life anyway…which was why her mother kept trying to set both parties up with each other. She had made her choice though and would fight the wishes of her mother for as long as she could. Bringing her attention and awareness back to the present moment, she shook her head and spoke.

"Ah doubt your son could be on drugs and you not have picked up on it right away. Maybe it's stress with school or something like that?"

Yin shook her head and chewed on her lower lip. She had asked her friends about what new assignments she would have to look out for but none of the answers she had received aligned with the seemingly strange behaviour of her son. She had even thought that she had seen him flicker out of existence for a spilt second…although that may have been a trick of the light. She had even asked for a phone meeting with several teachers to see if something was happening that he wasn't telling her about. Most of the information she had received had been things she already knew about; the attacks on the school, the plague spores and the terrible incident involving Sam Perry being poisoned. Every report was slightly disjointed and had no real links to her son except the attacks happening in places and to people around him. Why the evil in space would be interested in her son was totally beyond her; but there had been a strange bit of information from his Modern History teacher concerning his essay question in the recent exams.

The question had been about how the Ultra Rangers would be remembered in the future but the essay contained information that had been marked as 'questionable' by her…mainly due to the fact that some of the information in the report hadn't been made public by the police or any reporters. A glaring example had been the appearance of the strange Rangers that had appeared eight or so years ago before the first Power Rangers had surfaced. Weihan had gone on to describe the steps that had been taken by the Rangers to preserve peace which, admittedly, hadn't seemed like such a big deal. The flag was only raised after the teacher had wondered about the level of detail in the answer. There had also been a section of his answer that he had whited out and had been made illegible as he had written on both sides of the paper.

So maybe her son wasn't in a gang as he seemed to be putting slightly more effort into his studies than usual. Or it was a study gang or something; but that idea seemed silly to her own ears. There was always a group of eleven other individuals that he had been seen hanging out with a lot, but a quick background check from their parents had shown nothing out of the ordinary with the exception of a few of them clinging particularly close to her son. She doubted it was anything to really get worried over; but it was better to get a second opinion. Mulling over the question again, she nodded absently as she realised that was probably the case and she was getting worked up over nothing.

"Maybe you're right and I'm being overly paranoid. Still, I can't shake this feeling that I'm not getting the full picture."

AJ nodded as the topic changed to other matters. She knew that Yin wasn't getting the full picture and when she found out, she wouldn't be very happy about anything. The thought of being part of the Inner Circle of the Rangers was not as much comfort as she had hoped it would be but she stamped down on any doubts. There was something big on the horizon and whatever it was would set the precedent for battles in the future.

She only hoped the Rangers were prepared.

TBC…


	216. 215: Where We Are

Chapter Two Fifteen: Where We Are

He heaved a heavy sigh as he looked around him.

The past ten months had flown by almost without incident. Jabarkas had made two feeble attempts at attacking without monsters…but he had been defeated moments later. Xonix's top warrior had confirmed that his Master was in another Power Coma and that it would last longer than the previous few had. At that bit of news, Weihan had the Ultra Rangers step down from active alert status; which was something that they had sorely needed. He still kept in touch with the various Ranger teams that kept popping up all over the world and had gone to see the supposed 'Time Force' Rangers in Silver Hills. After a bit of arguing with their Pink Ranger, all doubts about him and his sanity had been squashed when their main bad guy had sent down three 'mutant criminals' at once. The five Rangers had become overwhelmed and he had been forced to morph into his Time Guardian armour. Amusingly, he had 'suffered' another lecture by the Pink Ranger when he had destroyed one of the criminals outright. Apparently that wasn't the 'proper' thing to do in the 31st century or wherever the hell they were from. Kim had laughed her ass off when he had told her.

The only set of Rangers which he hadn't yet visited was the so-called 'Wild Force' Power Rangers in Turtle Cove. He had thought about going to see them around two months ago but had been blindsided by two things that had come out of the blue. One was a request by Jason to re-energise his Power Coin so he could join up with nine other Red Rangers and the 'Quantum' Ranger to fight the remains of the Machine Empire…and Serpenterra. He had infused Jason's Power Coin with enough energy for a couple of morphs and had warned the Red Ranger that another recharge would possibly connect his Power Coin permanently to the Ultra Grid. The ramifications of having one of Zordon's coins in the Ultra Grid were impossible to predict; but the Red Ranger had shrugged of the concerns and had teleported to the location where the Rangers were meeting. Based on the news reports about explosions on the Moon, they had done well.

The second thing that had blindsided him was AJ's decision to live in the US while she took care of her aging parents. Her contract with Channel Seven was rapidly coming to a close and she had decided not to renew it for the time being. Three to four years was a long time and while he knew why she was thinking about it, he didn't have to like it. He had helped her pack up her apartment but their relationship had been slightly strained for a few weeks. He supposed it was for the best anyway. He had been feeling the echoes of something big on the horizon…not to mention the strange echoing mental call that had been reverberating through his mind. For her own safety, AJ would have had to leave him anyway but he kept telling himself that it was a temporary split. They would find their way back to each other sooner or later.

Looking around the empty apartment, he felt a pang of nostalgia ripple through him as he walked through the rooms once more. Hilariously, the dent in the wall was still there and, as the shielding magic had dissipated, it would be the problem of the new tenants. They were a newlywed couple and he knew that AJ was thinking the same thing he was whenever they looked at them. AJ had introduced him to them as a friend of the family but the couple had quickly caught on to the fact that they were too friendly with each other…but hadn't said anything. As they were downstairs exchanging contracts, he found himself alone with time to spare. His soon-to-be ex girlfriend would be hopping on a plane in a few hours and he was determined to see her off safely. They had spent pretty much every free second of time over the past ten months with each other, either in training drills or testing out his newly-developed soundproof shielding spells. Stifling a chuckle at the memories of the first attempts, he sobered up as he saw a faint sparkle dance over his fingertips.

The ease of which magic came to him was astounding. Whereas in the past, casting spells other than duplicates or fireballs had been possible with a lot of concentration; his use of magic was growing in leaps and bounds. The other Ultra Rangers had seen their own changes as well and, amusingly enough, each Ranger had their own specific element to control. It was a hotly debated topic amongst the Rangers as to when the shift had occurred and Weihan wondered if those old texts on supercharging various grids were correct. Rachelle, in particular, had found an ironic amusement in dousing his fireballs with a squirt of water. Where she was getting the water from was anyone's guess…then again, he had never really wondered where his fire was coming from either. He considered it a small victory that he had managed to get Karone to come and teach them about their newfound magic. Of course, Zhane was present for a few of the sessions so the two of them had to keep their distances from each other. In the sessions in which the Silver Astro Ranger wasn't there…well, that was another story.

If there was going to be an attack from Jabarkas or Xonix, he hoped it didn't occur in the next three months. Sydney was preparing for the Olympics and the last thing anyone needed was to have a swarm of monsters of all sizes dropping from the sky to wreak havoc. AJ had desperately wanted to stay for the Opening Ceremony, but her flight had been booked months in advance by her parents. He had wanted her to stay as well as their relationship had intensified since the news of her departure. There had even been talk of a secret marriage arrangement…but that had been nixed pretty quickly. Xonix needed to be dealt with first before any future arrangements could be made and, secretly, he preferred it that way. His sense of duty and honour to protect the city was developing…but that didn't mean he couldn't have fun on the side.

"Everything is ready…Ah can't believe it."

Turning, he smiled as he saw AJ walk through the door. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail and she had 'borrowed' one of his long-sleeve orange shirts as a memento of him. There was a small bulge in the small of her back where she had concealed a lightweight blaster but other than that, she looked almost the same as when he had first seen her. He walked up to her and slid his arms around her waist.

"You'll be fine. I doubt anything will happen in San Angeles…but if it does, you'll be protected."

She smiled back and placed her head on his shoulders. They stayed close to each other for a few more moments before she reluctantly broke the embrace. Her plane was taking off in a few hours and she wanted to be at the airport with plenty of time to spare. A faint smile flickered over her face as she recalled the farewell party that Weihan had arranged the night before. Never in her wildest dreams had she dreamt of being pleasured that much by the people she had met during her time 'investigating' the Ultra Rangers. Rachelle, Karone and Weihan worked together throughout the night to take her higher than she had thought possible. Well, she supposed there was no higher place than in a low-earth orbit in the larger secondary cockpit of the Utahraptor Dinozord.

"Ah need to go. Ah love you so much an' it pains me ta leave you behind."

He shook his head and smiled. The conversation had been playing out between them for the past two months…and his response was always the same. He needed to be left behind in order for both of them to grow and to discover more of their true talents. He opened his mouth to speak when a low buzzing caught his attention. Grumbling in frustration, he lifted his left wrist and pressed the button on the side of his communicator.

"This isn't really a good time…"

"Make time. The sensors just picked up an incredibly large spike of energy from Turtle Cove directed at the Moon. Readings suggest either a teleportation spell or a power transfer of some sort. We need a plan."

Xonix was finally making his move.

TBC…


	217. 216: Unholy Unity

Chapter Two Sixteen: Unholy Unity

Xonix shook the hand of the being in front of him.

He had awoken from his Power Coma just minutes before and demanded an update from Jabarkas. To think that two new teams of Rangers had popped up in his slumber was rather interesting, but the mention of the Orgs had intrigued him more. On a whim, he had asked that the Leader of the Orgs be teleported up to the Moon Fortress so an alliance could be proposed. He had been expecting the human pretender to come up but was pleasantly surprised with the true Org in front of him. His spies in Turtle Cove had informed him that a human had ingested the Master Org seeds and had transformed into a pseudo-Org. A few other things had happened and somehow the seeds had managed to change the human into a fully fledged Org.

"Master Org…or is it still Viktor Adler? Welcome to the Moon."

Master Org chuckled and shook his head. In truth, he was both Master Org and Viktor Adler in one but trying to work out where one ended and the other began made his mind hurt. Ingesting the Org Heart had been a nauseating thing to go through, but it had been worth it for the immense power boost. If Xonix held up his end of the potential bargain, then they would rule together…or backstab each other within seconds. Either way was an acceptable end. However, he knew at his current Power Level that he would be vaporised instantly if he attacked Xonix.

"I am both at the same time. What can Master Org do for one as great and powerful as you?"

Xonix rolled his eyes at the not-so-thinly veiled attempt at flattery. In truth, he had no real reason to call Master Org to him other than to inform him of his plan to finally conquer Earth. Everything was in place and even Jabarkas' attacks had given him valuable data on the tactics of the Ultra Rangers. There would be no escape for them and he would be able to destroy them, their powers and their world in one attack. An army of rather generic monsters would be attacking the airport to draw the Rangers out. In that time, he would call upon the replica monsters that had been carefully hidden away throughout Sydney throughout the campaign. There would be no greater joy for him to finally finish the job the Ogre had started all those months ago – to crush the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and their spawn. Of course, he always had an ace up his sleeve. Jabarkas had ingested the cloning serum for that very purpose…

"Attack Turtle Cove and destroy the Wild Force. Stay away from Sydney at all costs."

Master Org nodded once and turned to leave. He was confused as to why Xonix had summoned him to the Moon instead of teleporting down to the Earth's surface, but his human mind brought the answer quickly. The Ultra Rangers of Sydney were still a threat, not to mention all the inactive Rangers scattered around the globe. Spying on the mission on the Moon had shown him exactly how many teams had come before the Wild Force, how many of them were still skilled fighters and how many teams was off-world. The fact that the Ultra Red Ranger hadn't joined the mission showed how much faith the Ultra Rangers had in their lesser-powered allies. As he felt himself dissolve into sparkles, he allowed a smirk to flitter over his face. The Wild Force Rangers were as good as dead.

"Disgusting imbecile…is that the calibre of Evil these days?"

Xonix shook his head and walked out onto the balcony overlooking Earth. Clicking his claws together, he sent the last of his creations down to Sydney and made a mental checklist of everything that could possibly happen – including the negative branches. Barring an incredibly unforseen event, his victory was all but assured. Running through the mental checklist once more, his thoughts turned to Discord. He would have liked to have the bipedal alicorn by his side but there was pretty much no way of breaking through the dimensional walls quickly. How Creeper had done it, the Black Ultra Psycho Ranger had taken to his grave and there was no way of knowing…unless he cast a spell to piggyback onto the initial piggybacking. Theoretically, that would be an easy way to travel to Equestria himself if he needed but the question of whether it would work in a timely fashion or not was impossible to determine.

Interdimensional travel was fickle at best and even with the proper protections in place, there was always a fear that something would go wrong. As he finished casting the spell, he wondered if it would work and what the circumstances of its activation would have to be. If he lost his memory or something insane like that, he would laugh it off and learn from it. Rolling his eyes a second time, he concentrated all of his energy on opening the floodgates.

It was time to win.

TBC…


	218. 217: Love Lives

Chapter Two Seventeen: Love Lives

"Ah guess this is it."

He nodded as the wind whipped through his hair. He had no idea how AJ was lucky enough to score a private plane straight to San Francisco, but he guessed it had something to do with the loaded family friend. Humorously, he thought that she was somewhat downgrading from the Utahraptor Dinozord to an ordinary 747 and bit the inside of his cheek to stop laughing out loud. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other Ultra Rangers nervously looking around for the barest hint of Xonix's plan. He doubted any monsters would dare attack a retreating plane but that was what the contingency plans were for. The side door opened to reveal a slightly overweight British man in a suit. Weihan hoped that he wouldn't be the one flying the plane and cursed himself for not arguing that she be teleported directly to SFO. As if she knew the thoughts that were running through his mind, AJ pressed her body against his and whispered into his ear.

"You know why that couldn't happen. Plus, mah ma will be waiting there. Spencer is just on board to see to mah needs…he won't be flying the plane. If we get boarded in the sky, Ah have the blaster and Ah will shoot."

He chuckled to himself and relished the feeling of her body pressed up against his. She should be safe from Xonix in San Angeles and, if she was ever attacked, he knew that Tommy or one of the others would be coming to her rescue. He resolved to not let this be the last time they saw one another…but there was something that needed to be addressed first: the remnants of the White Power inside her. Technically, the remnants wouldn't give her too much of an energy boost nor would they interfere with her natural energy. They would give her links to the Ultra Grid though and would strengthen her body to prepare for the eventual and inevitable Power Transfer. Slowly, he stepped away from her and looked into the emerald orbs that had captured him all those months ago. His voice was low but carried a great deal of weight.

"We won't be apart forever. I can't lose you, not like this. I swear, when the time is right, I will come for you once more."

He closed his mouth with an audible snap as he silently groaned to himself. He could see the mirth on AJ's face as her mind deciphered the message behind the aggressively creepy wording. Once again, he had allowed words to come out of his mouth without thinking about them…but there was no turning back from this now.

"OK…that came out a lot more stalkerish than I was hoping. I love you with all of my being and, when the battles get too rough and I can't hold out on my own, I will see you once more."

She nodded, tears pooling in her eyes. Thanks to long talks with Rachelle, Eliza and Will; she knew that her destiny was already written in stone. Her battle as the White Ultra Ranger had also cemented in her the need and desires to protect the Earth in whatever capacity she could. She knew there was nothing she couldn't achieve…but she didn't want to leave him either. She wondered if she could talk her sister into studying in Australia, but first would need to know where exactly Weihan would be.

"Ah'll be waiting, Sugarcube. Whenever you want it; Ah'll be ready."

Turning away, she walked to the steps leading up to the plane as the engines started to turn over. Stopping only to give the remaining Rangers a wave goodbye, she stepped into the plane and out of their lives. Weihan had to restrain himself from running after her and bit the inside of his lip to keep from breaking down in front of his team. Briefly, he wondered if there was a dimension out there where the spilt hadn't gone so smoothly and wondered how that would have happened. Would he had forced AJ away against her will or would he have done something incredibly rash to ensure that she would hate him for the rest of her life? Dropping that incredibly disturbing thought, he took in a shaky breath and jogged away from the turning jumbo. His mother had repeatedly assured him that they would find each other again as they were destined to be together. Destiny…that was something that slightly gave him the creeps as it meant that he would be guided by some random Author in the sky. Pausing in mid-step, he wondered if Pinkie's ramblings were finally starting to sink into his mind.

"Are you all right?"

Turning at the voice, he saw Rachelle next to him and he nodded once. The roar of the engines was all-encompassing as it thundered down the runway. Within seconds, the plane carrying the love of his life had lifted off the ground and was soaring into the sky. Checking around for onlookers; he summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and, much like he had done for the leaving Ninjetti Rangers, saluted the retreating plane. Flashes of light around him informed him that the other Rangers were also saluting the plane as it flew off with its precious cargo inside. He watched its retreating silhouette and closed his eyes as he remembered all the fun and love they had shared. He knew that this moment of reflection would have to be a brief one as Xonix would be making his move at any second.

"Shit! Look at that!"

Snapping his eyes open, he pushed all melancholic thoughts to the back of his mind as he registered the situation. Monsters of all shapes, sizes and colours were streaming out of opening portals and wreaking extreme amounts of havoc. An orange Cyclops monster tore up the tarmac on the main runway and laughed as a landing plane skidded on the rough patch. A green jellyfish sprayed dozens of Japanese tourists with a slightly foamy spray that rapidly ate through their clothes and any synthetic materials on them. Three bird monsters were even taking to the skies…only to be destroyed within seconds by the lasers on the concealed Funnelweb Galactazord. Breaking into a run towards the concealed Zord, he brought up his communicator and tapped a few buttons. Stopping a few times to kick away the odd monster, he initiated a line-of-sight teleport into the cockpit of his Zord and flicked on the scanner screens. His eyes widened more as the images came into focus.

Monsters were swarming the streets of the CBD and running amok throughout the surrounding suburbs. Across the Harbour Bridge in North Sydney, the towering grey form of Cyclopsis rampaged through the streets as buildings fell to its powerful strikes. Blasting everything around it, a copy of Psycho Red terrorised the southern suburb of Mascot. In the heavily populated suburb of Double Bay, a screeching roar came from a giant clone of what he knew to be Trakeena's monstrous mutated form. Leo had described to the Ultra Rangers how the insectoid queen had returned…only to be double-crossed by Queen Bansheera soon after. And last, but not least, in the suburb of Balmain landed another robotic creation; a 'lovingly' replicated version of Frax's Dragontron robot that had been used to menace the Time Force Rangers in their final battle. However, what he saw in the monitor showing the Botanical Gardens chilled him to the bone.

Xonix was waiting for them.

TBC…


	219. 218: Final Swell

Chapter Two Eighteen: Final Swell

He swallowed hard as he looked at the robot in front of him.

Jason didn't scare easily, but he felt the ice water seep down his spine in the cockpit of the borrowed Ultra Red Dragon Thunderzord. He had thought Weihan to be slightly over-reacting when he had called in all of the inactive Rangers on Earth and in space but when he had seen the size of the attacking force; he had known instantly why the big guns had been deployed. With the Zeo Rangers in the Ultra Zeo Zords, he was pretty confident that they could take on the reconstructed Warzord without causing too much damage to the surrounding areas. The only issue was keeping the battle within the boundaries of North Sydney. The Orange Ranger had given each team of Rangers a list of where family members lived and Jason knew that Weihan's grandmother would more than likely be able to see the battle from her apartment in Neutral Bay. Her close proximity also meant that they would need to stop any stray shots from leaving the battlefield.

"You up to this, bro? Was the repowering successful?"

"I'm ready if you're ready, bro. Just say the word."

Jason chuckled to himself as he waited for the Red Zeo Ranger to make the first move. He had asked Weihan to recharge his Power Coin once more but had neglected to tell the Ranger that there was still a substantial charge left in the Power Coin. As the Orange Ranger had been pretty strapped for time, he had utilised the power of the combined Ultra Crystals to temporarily recharge the powers of the Rangers whose Powers were drained. As a result, he reckoned he had been connected to the Ultra Grid and would be controlling the Thunderzord better due to the added power. Whatever would happen after the battle was anyone's guess but he supposed he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He supposed he would be found out anyway if he kept his recharged Power Coin but he would see what would happen. Shaking his head, he flicked on the scanners to see if there was a weak point in the structure. With Goldar long gone, Xonix or whoever had recreated the Zord would've had to create some sort of steering and locomotion…which theoretically meant a weak point.

"Just doing a strafing run to see if it retained the learning capacity you told me about."

Tommy angled the control lever down and pulled the Phoenix Ultra Zeo Zord into a tight dive. Thumbing the trigger, the Zord rumbled around him as a volley of pale red energy bolts pulsed out of the concealed turrets. Banking left to avoid a wide punch, Tommy continued peppering the robot with lasers as he tried to avoid becoming airsick. He knew Anton would understand why he had to bail out of an important dig at the last second, though Smitty would jump at the open slot in Anton's team. Pulling back the control lever, he rapidly ascended and spun the massive machine around to avoid being hit by Cyclopsis' retaliatory attack. Flicking a few switches on the control panel to the left of him, he held down the trigger to initiate the Phoenix Rockets. As the four charged energy balls raced towards Cyclopsis, Tommy thought about what the dig would have entailed.

Apparently five gems had been unearthed in Mexico. Three were fully uncovered while the other two were encased in protective shells made of clear crystal. This wouldn't have been a job for palaeontologists, but they had been found very close to the Chicxulub crater…and they were glowing. The initial archaeologists had considered them to be magical objects; except the gems had stopped glowing when they had picked them up. They had contacted their sponsor, but reportedly had been shocked when the owner of the sponsoring company informed them he would be making a trip down to Mexico with a team of experts. Tommy had a strange feeling that whatever the gems were; they would be playing an integral part of protection of the planet and that he would be overseeing them. He didn't know how that would be possible but he had made up his mind to have a look at those Eltarean blueprints that Billy had sent him. He was sure his new friend Haley could be sworn to absolute secrecy.

"Nothings working on him! Individual weapons just bounce right off!"

Tommy snapped back to reality at those words. It seemed impossible that any sort of mechanical replica would be still standing after heavy volleys from the Ultra Thunder and Zeo Zords; but the replica Cyclopsis was untouched despite the attacks from the Zords. He grimaced and pounded the console in frustration. If individual Zords didn't work, then they would have no choice but to use the Megazords. Circling around the relatively small head of Cyclopsis, Tommy checked the radar to see how the others were doing. He knew that the Ultra Rangers would be going to where Xonix was and that the battle would be too dangerous for any non-Battlized Rangers. Still, the Power Rangers would be given the 'honour' of mopping up the various generic monsters still roaming around. Based on the random explosions in and around the vicinity of the Botanical Gardens, the Ultra Rangers were busy carving up a path towards Xonix. If he zoomed in on the image, he could just see the reptilian Warlord standing patiently in front of the Harbour with his top warrior close to him.

Small figures dancing on the screen in front of him was all he could see of the Astro Rangers and Justin in their fight against the recreated Psycho Red. Andros had stated that Zhane was trailing a Space Ninja or something and couldn't make it in time. The fact that Karone was helping in the Ultra Cavern made Tommy think that he wasn't getting the whole picture, but he would let it slide for now. Plus, it wasn't really any of his business what went on behind closed doors. The battles that he could somewhat see from his vantage point were those to the East and West. It was pretty hard to miss the multitudes of Zords swarming around the two behemoths and he hoped the Rangers in the lead would make the decision to go into their Megazord modes soon. Tommy blinked back to the present moment and thumbed a few switches to begin the automatic transformation to the Ultra Zeo Megazord Alpha. Briefly, he wondered what the Ultra Zeo Megazord Beta looked like but pushed his curiousity out of his mind.

"Jason, the Zeo Rangers will go Megazord first. Stay on guard in case the replica tries anything."

Not waiting for Jason's reply, Tommy flicked the switch for the assembly of the Ultra Zeo Megazord. He knew the Ultra Zeo Zords were much different than what the original Zeo Zords had been and the changes never ceased to surprise him. The biggest change had to have been the rendering useless of the vocal system used for calling out attacks and to begin the Megazord transformation sequence. He had wondered why this was the case, but guessed that the Ultra Rangers would have much more things to worry about than calling out the correct attack name. The transformation sequence was also smoother and utilised laser guiding systems that eliminated the need for steady hands during the Phoenix. The legs and feet formed from the artillery-based Zords while the green Taurus formed the lower torso and upper thighs. The Sphinx formed the upper torso, chest, arms and fists and the Phoenix would form the head and helmet. It was all very reminiscent of an old cartoon he had watched growing up…something about the centre forming the head or something like that. Within seconds, the mighty Ultra Zeo Megazord was assembled and ready for battle. Tommy looked around the rather cramped cockpit at the other Zeo Rangers and inhaled deeply.

"Jason, you are cleared for Thunder Megazord transformation."

Jason gave the Red Zeo Ranger a thumbs-up, even though Tommy wouldn't really be able to see him. He felt a slight amount of trepidation as he would be in a Thunder Megazord facing a relatively unknown enemy. It was almost like the Ogre battle all over again and wondered if Weihan had thought of it when he had granted them access to the Ultra Thunderzords. He knew Zack, Trini and Kim were ready to follow him into battle and he was grateful for their support. Placing his palm on the controls in front of him, he inhaled slowly and opened his mouth to initiate the transformation sequence.

The sudden movements of the Zord beneath him shook him out of his mental preparations and, much to his amazement, the Zord was moving and transforming on its own. He could hear the yelps of surprise from the other Rangers as the assembly sequence began. He rolled his eyes as he realised that this was what Tommy had been trying to tell him, that the Ultra Zords were slightly different than the originals had been. He thought Tommy had been talking about weapon strength but was rapidly becoming clearer that it was another bonus. Before he knew it, he was in the cockpit of the Ultra Thunder Megazord…and in a seat as well. Taking a moment to memorise the new control layout, he looked at Cyclopsis and narrowed his eyes. Cyclopsis seemed to be studying them as it had done previously.

"Oh shit. **MOVE**!"

The Ultra Thunder Megazord leapt to the left a split-second before a large ball of plasma issued from Cyclopsis' horn. The ball of destruction ploughed through a few nearby office buildings before vanishing harmlessly into the air. Tommy's mind raced as he gripped the control stick. There were quite possibly a billion and one strategies that had fled from his mind; so he acted on pure instinct. Ignoring the questions and confused looks from the other Rangers, he took full control of the Megazord and stampeded towards Cyclopsis. Flicking a few switches, the long blade of the Ultra Zeo Sabre materialised in the right hand of the Megazord and pulled back for a strike. Another plasma ball flew in their direction and impacted against the laminated armour of the Sphinx. Undeterred by the warning lights and alarms flashing in the cockpit, Tommy powered through the blasts coming from the replica Cyclopsis and charged the Sabre with energy.

"Tommy, we only have enough energy left for one strike and that's it! All reserve power is being directed to the shields!"

"Man, I hope you know what you're doing. If you miss, we're going to be a sitting duck!"

Jason shook his head and looked at Kim quizzically. He knew Tommy was setting up an attack that could, in theory, destroy the replica completely…but using only one Sabre to do it was insane. Well, if there was one way to go out then it was to go out fighting. Forcing the Thunder Megazord to its feet, he unsheathed the Thunder Sabre and channelled power into it. Slowly and purposefully, the Thunder Megazord walked towards the two giants locked in combat. As if sensing its inevitable destruction, Cyclopsis blasted the approaching Zord with everything in its reserves…to no avail. As this was the first time the Ultra Thunder Megazord Alpha had been assembled, the Invincibility factor was in full effect. Cyclopsis stopped its futile barrage and looked up at the twin Megazords, holding their charged Sabres at the ready.

There was no escape.

TBC…


	220. 219: Psycho ReImagining

Chapter Two Nineteen: Psycho Re-imagining

It was like something out of his worst nightmare.

The Red Psycho Ranger was alive and in front of him. He knew it wasn't possible and that the last vestiges of what had made the Psycho Ranger so terrifying had been destroyed with the Orange Psycho Ranger; but there were always those doubts in the back of his mind that cropped up at the most inopportune moments. They had the numerical advantage over their lone opponent, but it seemed Xonix had known exactly which one of the Psycho Rangers had the most psychological effect on the Astro Rangers. If he didn't force himself to move, he doubted Justin would have an easy time against Psycho Red.

"Is this the greatest threat I could come up against? A pathetically weak Turbo Ranger and five Rangers who willingly broke one of Zordon's cardinal rules…all led by the one to deliver the deathblow to Zordon."

Andros flinched at the mention of the broken rule. He had understood why it had to be done, but there was no going around the fact that they had been the first Power Rangers to break the identity rule. As the Ultra Rangers didn't have any rules, they didn't really count…but they followed the identity rule nonetheless. The mention of Zordon also hurt, but the fact that none of the past Rangers had given him any grief about it helped soothe the sting. Wordlessly, he summoned his Spiral Sabre and held it in front of him. Psycho Red was no more and the being in front of them was a mere fake. As long as he kept thinking that, he knew they would be safe.

Seeing his vocal attacks were having no effect, Psycho Red growled and summoned his Psycho Sabre. He had been floating in an endless void when a great Power had seized him and brought him back into the land of the living once more. Once the tingles in his body had faded, he had found himself back in a repaired and slightly upgraded version of his original body…and yet the Red Ranger thought he was a different being altogether. Seething rage rippled through his body for the briefest of instants before he forced himself to calm down. Being assimilated into the Orange Psycho Ranger and his subsequent ejection into the void of death had given him time to think about himself and his past actions. There had been hundreds of chances to destroy the Red Astro Ranger that had been snatched away due to his anger. Psycho Black had helped him tone down the psychotic tendencies in his mind to a manageable level, yet the sheer insolence on display was enough to make him loose his cool.

"Incoming!"

Justin dove to one side before Psycho Red would have barrelled into him and drew out his Autoblaster. Pointing the car-themed weapon at Psycho Red's back, Justin pulled back the trigger to send a bolt of red-lined blue energy straight into the back of the Psycho Ranger. At once, he knew it had been a mistake as the Psycho Ranger turned around with deliberate slowness. An errant thought at the back of his mind wondered if this was how a rabbit felt as it was spied by a fox and he swallowed hard. Slowly backing up, he noticed that Andros hadn't moved from his position, despite the repeated prodding from the rest of the Astro Rangers. The Red Astro Ranger had a plan but wasn't sharing what it was. Sheathing his Autoblaster, Justin summoned his Turbo Blade and held it ready. Sword fighting had never really been his forte, but he had picked up a few tips and tricks from practice sessions with both Tommy and Weihan.

Keeping his eyes on his opponent, the Blue Turbo Ranger slowly edged forward before breaking into a run. Psycho Red started running toward s him as well and they both brought their blades down on each other in a shower of sparks. Subtly adjusting his grip on the handle of his Turbo Blade, Justin blindly felt for the small lever that would allow for the 'powering up' of the Blade. The amount of weight the Psycho Ranger was putting on his Psycho Sabre was immense and Justin hoped the armour of his uniform would be enough to protect his bones from shattering. As it was, he would probably have a large bruise on his shoulders by the end of the fight. He supposed any small injury was better off than being killed, but he would have a hell of a time explaining his injuries to his father without spilling the secrets of the Power Rangers.

In a desperate move, he kicked the chest of Psycho Red and finally broke the blade deadlock. The two combatants circled each other warily and Justin took the brief reprieve to see how the other Rangers were doing. As the monstrous forms of the purple insect thing and the dragon-themed robot were still visible in the distance, he knew that those groups were still going at it. Based on the rather surprised yelps coming from his helmet speakers, the Morphin and Zeo Rangers were still battling as well. Quite chillingly, there was no radio chatter coming from the direction of the Ultra Rangers…although their radar signatures showed that they were still battling their way to Xonix. He sincerely hoped that there were no civilians in the area and they were staying well away from the battle zone.

He remembered the meeting that had taken place in the Ultra Cavern around thirty minutes ago. The thought that the Countdown now wasn't the worst attack in the history of the planet was utterly insane…until he had seen the literal wave of monsters flooding the streets. Weihan had stated that the flood of monsters that had terrorised the airport had dispersed into the main heart of the city. Initial calculations from the computers had placed the number of monsters at around five hundred…but none of them had grown large. As far as they could tell, the only large beings were the rebuilt Cyclopsis, the dragon robot and the insectoid creature. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the Astro Rangers assembling the Quadroblaster and whatever Andros' combination weapon was. Focusing his attention back onto Psycho Red, he resolved to buy more time for the Astro Rangers to initiate their plan.

Dodging a lethal slash from the Red Psycho Ranger, he retaliated with a jab of his own followed up with a punch to the visor. As expected, the blow bounced off but left a sizeable crack in the opaque material. Justin could see a pupil-less eye moving back and forth and had to restrain from poking it. No, poking the eye of Psycho Red would be a very bad thing…and would possibly provoke the creature into growing. Spinning away from the injured Psycho Ranger, Justin stowed his Turbo Blade and summoned his Hand Blasters. If all else failed, he could blow Psycho Red's head off with a supercharged blast…but he would need time for the charge to build up. Plus, there was a one in five chance that the Hand Blasters would explode when the trigger was pulled. He watched the Psycho Ranger stumble around for a few seconds and waited for the signal.

"Three."

Blinking at the sudden voice, Justin looked to his left to see Andros transforming into the Battlized Red Ranger. It was a spectacle to see up close but noticed that the other four Astro Rangers seemed somewhat bored by it all. He supposed that if one of your team mates changed into a powerful suit of armour on a regular basis, you would get pretty bored of the long transformation sequence as well. Maybe that was why the Ultra Rangers never seemed to be bothered by the lengthy Battlizer sequences as they took up too much time…or something like that. After what seemed like an hour, Andros was finally suited up in the Battlizer Armour and – quite rightly – looked somewhat embarrassed at taking so long but only lasted a moment. Without vocalising the attack command, four rockets shot up into the sky and honed in on the staggering Psycho Ranger. Three of the projectiles impacted the ground in front of the evil Ranger, while the fourth exploded against the chest of the monster.

Psycho Red seethed in pain and anger as the red haze crept over his vision. Where the Red Astro Ranger had gotten such firepower from, he didn't know…but he would be ripping the system from his dead body soon enough anyway. Looking down at his chest, Psycho Red growled in shock and anger as he saw the damage dealt by one lousy rocket. The armour on his chest had been completely stripped away to reveal the circuitry and robotics underneath and, to make matters that slightly bit worse, the self-repair systems had been knocked offline. He supposed it would make their defeat all the sweeter, but there was a nagging doubt at the back of his mind. He shook his head at the errant thought and concentrated on the enemy at hand. He raised the arm that held his Psycho Sabre and prepared to attack…and then he saw something that made his oil run cold.

All six Rangers ready to unleash their arsenal at him.

Dropping his Sabre to the ground, he waited for the end to come.

TBC…


	221. 220: Cosmic Drive

AN: Yes, I know that Doomtron was the final robot of Frax's but not in this AU.

Chapter Two Twenty: Cosmic Drive

The best month of his life had turned pretty quickly.

Wes stumbled for the umpteenth time as the Time Force Megazord Mode Red took another hit from the replica Dragontron in front of them. Balmain wasn't a spacious suburb and everywhere the Megazord put its foot down meant that cars, vehicles and small houses were crushed. He wasn't stupid enough to think that everyone in the suburb had evacuated and really didn't want to see what the death toll would be like. Then there was the issue of the dead people having links to the future and what would happen if the Butterfly Effect came into full force…

"Don't think about it. At least we don't have to worry about Trizirium crystals ripping time holes everywhere."

He nodded and tried to suppress the grin threatening to break out over his face. After the debacle with the Mut-Orgs, Captain Logan and Alex had allowed the rest of the Time Force Rangers to stay in the past on a permanent basis. The two Head Officials of Time Force hadn't said why this was allowed; only that their presence would help Bio-Lab grow and evolve. What that actually entailed, he hadn't the slightest clue; but if that meant Jen would be with him then he wasn't one to complain. A quick but heartfelt proposal later and they had been well on their way to planning their wedding…and then the call had come through. The four Rangers from the future had gone very quiet upon hearing the situation. In a very uncharacteristic move, Jen had been the one to insist that they help the Ultra Rangers in their battle. Maybe it was their destiny to be at the battle no matter what…but on the other hand, he had punched destiny in the face. Alex had been monitoring their movements and had sent the Time Flyers to them but the Time Shadow's systems were still covered with ZARS…whatever that was.

"Wes, incoming!"

He blinked back to reality just in time to see Dragontron spit out a stream of fire from its mouth. The flames impacted against the metallic armour and soon overloaded the cooling systems. Twin green beams of freezing energy lanced out of nowhere and forced the mighty machine back slightly. The beams were joined by a few volleys of charged yellow energy as the two Zords worked hard to force the robot back. Wes still had no idea why Weihan had sent the Yellow Ninjetti to them, but he wasn't complaining…even if the pilot of the Bear Zord hadn't controlled a Zord for a long while. Shaking his head, he glanced behind him to see how the others were holding up. Although the helmets made it impossible to see the faces underneath, he knew that they were battling with the utmost determination to destroy the robot in front of them. Wincing as a crunch issued from somewhere underneath him, Wes hoped that there would be enough of Balmain still standing after the battle.

In the cockpit of the Bear Zord, Aisha struggled to get her emotions under control. It seemed that ever since she had left to go to Africa, new Ranger teams kept popping out of the woodwork every couple of months. The peace and tranquillity of Africa had allowed her to gradually forget the terrible experiences she had in Spectre Theatre. Working with the animals had also given her an internal reservoir of calm which she could draw upon whenever the outside world became too stressful. However, she had never forgotten what Weihan had done for her and had jumped at the chance to help him however she could. To be told to strap on her Morpher once again was one thing; to control a rather ancient Zord against an enemy from the future was another. Luckily for her, the robot in front of her was a replica of one that the Time Force Rangers had to defeat. There had also been some talk of time holes or something like that but she hadn't really paid much attention. She didn't know how much support she could give the Time Force Rangers, but she was a Ranger and would do her utmost to protect civilians.

"Eric, watch out!"

Eric blinked as his mind registered the rockets that were flying towards him. Muttering a curse under his breath, the Quantum Ranger flipped off the roof of the building he was standing on and onto the road below. Rolling on the ground to lessen his momentum, he ducked behind an overturned trailer truck as the building exploded. Chunks of brick and mortar rained down on his helmet and he tapped the Quantum Morpher for the dinosaurian Q Rex to retaliate using its freeze beams. There was still time for him to change it into the Megazord mode, but he wanted to see if Dragontron had picked up any new tricks since its destruction. Although he had no idea who this 'Weihan' was that Wes and the others kept talking about, he had guessed that he was a Ranger of some kind who needed help with a few monsters. However, all cockiness had drained out of him in the instants after the teleportation had faded…and he had seen how many Rangers had been drafted.

Of course he had heard of the Ultra Rangers before, but he had thought that they could easily handle the creatures before them. They had massive Zords that could easily destroy anything in their path so it was a mystery why the previous generations of Rangers had been called. Everything had been silenced with the explanation that the Ultra Rangers would be facing off against the main evil, while the other Rangers dealt with the four attacks before converging on the CBD to deal with the monsters rampaging there. To him, it seemed like a sound strategy…except for the part about the Ranger Army splitting up. The battles could last longer than anticipated and that would mean the monsters in the CBD would be rampaging unchecked. The annoying thing was that the Orange Ranger felt confident enough that at least one team would finish their battle within a reasonable time frame and, thus, have a head start on destroying the monsters. Something about that sounded pretty shaky, but he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

Scanning the surrounding areas for both cover and a place to see the battle, he tapped the controls on his Morpher once more to activate the scanner and radar function. There would be no way in Hell that Wes would be able to keep tabs on the other Rangers in their battles and that other Yellow Ranger would have her hands full in assisting as well. Checking the in-built chronometer, he grumbled under his breath as he saw that only twenty or so minutes had passed. Ordering the Q Rex to divert power from the transformation system into the untested Nitrogen Beam, he unsheathed his Quantum Defender and blasted at Dragontron. The underpowered beams wouldn't do much damage but they would keep the monster's attention away from the Q Rex for the small amount of time the Nitrogen Beam took to reach a full charge. Ducking behind a crumbling wall as the Megazord went in for another attack; his eyes went wide as he processed the information coming in from the scanners.

Four teams of Rangers had defeated their monsters and were carving up the streets of the Sydney CBD. Judging from the energy signatures present, the teams were the Morphin, Zeo, Astro and Turbo Rangers. It was slightly insane to think that those four teams had managed to defeat their enemies in under thirty minutes but he supposed that they were the so-called 'veterans' of the Power Rangers. And Tommy had been on the Zeo team so that was something else going for them…and that Andros guy apparently had the first Battlizer. Also, they were skilled martial artists who had lived in or around Angel Grove during the time of Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd and Astronema…and if he continued down that train of thought he would seriously start to question his place amongst them. He started to relax slightly as the three and a bit teams from Angel Grove would ensure that things didn't get too out of hand. He could see that the 'Lost Galaxy' and Lightspeed Rangers were still battling the giant purple monster. Despite the obvious lack of a second Megazord, they looked like they had the upper hand and would be joining the other Rangers in the CBD very shortly.

As expected, the Ultra Rangers were still trying to hack and slash their way to Xonix. If it was him, he would be using his strongest weapons and armour to blast through the monsters in his path. Let the crystal or whatever take care of power recharge and attack the enemy head on. They were probably thinking of thinning the numbers for the other Rangers, which was a noble thought, but ate up too much of their energy and Power Reserves. Quickly checking the status of the Nitrogen Beam charge, his mind raced and thought of what the end result would more than likely be if they were to use his strategy. The Ultra Crystal, or whatever it was they used, would be pushing Grid Energy through the Crystals at alarming rates. He wasn't a wizard in the science behind Rangers but he was willing to bet his salary for a year that the shells would become brittle – particularly if one thought about what happened to rapidly heated and cooled materials. As he absently initiated the Nitrogen Beam from the Q Rex at the same time as an energised Sabre strike and a focused ground tremor destroyed Dragontron a second time, he felt a strange sinking feeling in his gut.

He prayed he was wrong…

TBC…


	222. 221: Lancers

Chapter Two Twenty One: Lancers

The second time was always easier.

At least, that was how the saying went anyway. However, Leo wasn't going to put much stock into old sayings from ages past. The Galaxy Megazord shuddered around him again and he clenched his teeth together as he heard the shouts from the others. The battle had been going on for a good fifteen or twenty minutes and he knew that there were teams in the CBD…but didn't really know which they were. The Trakeena monster in front of them was as tough as ever and, as the Lightspeed Rangers didn't have their Zords anymore, they were finding it pretty hard to keep the upper hand. An errant thought wormed its way up through his mind saying that the upper hand didn't really matter to a monster with tentacles. Forcibly dismissing the through, he looked around him and winced at the amount of damage and devastation that was being done to the surrounding areas. A lot of houses and apartment blocks were destroyed and his scanners picked up the dwindling life signs of those who had stayed in their homes.

Blinking away the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks, his attention refocused on the monster. There was no glimmer of recognition that was reflected in the eyes of the beast nor were there any sounds that resembled Trakeena's voice coming from the mouth of the monster. The thing in front of them was a copy – nothing more and nothing less, yet it was all too easy to refer to the creature as Trakeena. Taking control of the Megazord once more, Leo accessed the Condor Missile and readied it for another blast.

"Leo, talk to me. What's happening up there?"

He shook his head and looked down at the Lightspeed Rangers. The team from Mariner Bay had the Unilaser assembled and had blasted the monster a few times. Each time, it looked like the blast had done some serious damage but there wasn't enough energy needed for the monster to be fully destroyed – even when one of the blasts had been fired in tandem with the Condor Missile. Ryan had left the battlefield in order to find some more powerful weapons that could be used against the monster. What the Titanium Ranger was thinking of, Leo had absolutely no idea…but was willing to give the fellow Ranger the benefit of a doubt. Without a good offence, the Lightspeed Rangers were sitting ducks…even with the Trans-Armour Cycle giving Carter added protection and offensive options. Granted, the lasers and finisher didn't really do much against Trakeena but he guessed something was better than nothing.

"We're getting hammered up here! I'd say the Megazord only has enough juice left for a few more minutes at least. What's Ryan up to?"

Carter frowned under his helmet and looked at Dana as best as he could. While the Trans-Armour Cycle provided great protection and increased firepower; it did absolutely nothing for his peripheral vision. What had possessed Ryan to run off in the middle of the fight screaming something about knowing where to get stronger weapons had gone straight over his head. Curiously, the Titanium Ranger had gone off in the direction of the CBD but he had no idea where the stronger weapons would come from. The cycles he had seen the Ultra Rangers use was one possibility, but Ryan was just one man and couldn't possibly drive six cycles at once. Then there was the question of whether the Ultra Cycles would work without the Ultra Rangers present. If so, then Trakeena would be as good as dead but if not…he mentally shook himself and cursed for even considering that possibility.

Pretty much everything that had survived the destruction of the Aquabase had been used. The Rescue Blasters had been mere pinpricks against the behemoth's skin and the Unilaser didn't have the raw energy needed to do lasting damage. Even the V-Lancers, the weapons designed after the X-Lancers of the Ultra Rangers, had burnt out after a few charged shots. What they needed was a more concentrated beam of energy, something similar to the X-Lancers, but the Ultra Rangers really couldn't be asked to part with a component of their arsenal. Grimacing slightly under his helmet, he turned to Joel and Chad to get them to equip the Mega Battle Armour when a silvery stream of energy streaked through the air and exploded against the armoured skin of the monster. Trakeena screeched in real pain as the smoke cleared to reveal the damage that had been done.

"That's impossible…"

Carter stared in shock at the gaping wound in Trakeena's side. He could see thin tendrils of muscle and skin wiggling frantically as the healing factor of the monster went to work…but he could see that the efforts would all be for naught. There had been key connective tissues and nerve bundles that had been obliterated by the blast and couldn't transfer the signals needed to seal up the hole. Tracing a path from the attack to the shooter, the Red Ranger felt his jaw drop open once more as his mind processed not only the figure, but the weapon he held in his gloved hands. Well, it looked like he was wrong once more.

"Carter! Catch!"

He only had a few seconds to force his brain to move away from the weapons when the weapon in question was flung towards him. He quickly discarded the blasters on his hands and snatched the object from the air; he wondered exactly how Ryan had managed to pull it off. Maybe a quick teleport to the CBD and asking them directly but there was the fact that they would have been engaged in a heated battle. So for the Orange Ranger to round up six Ultra Rangers and grant the Lightspeed Rangers access to the X-Lancers…that proved to him that the Orange Ranger either had other weapons to call upon or that he knew they needed all the help they could get. Automatically moving his fingers to the slightly protruding X, he pressed the metallic letter into the depression and felt the weapon hum to life. Throwing a thumbs-up to the Titanium Ranger, he felt his Battlizer Armour power up slightly due to the close proximity of the powerful Lancer. The discarded blasters on the ground levitated up, as if by magic, to attach on top of the wheel launchers on his shoulders. Only when he registered the Galaxy Megazord firing off the Condor Missile at Trakeena did he remember that now was not the time to be spacing out.

Taking a few paces away from the monster, he looked up and scanned the surface of the skin for the weakest point. Technically, he was aware that the weakest point on the monster was the gaping hole in its side; however, he needed a place that was easily accessible to both Ranger and Megazord alike. His mind flashed back to the earlier battle with the monster Trakeena and he smiled under his helmet as the most obvious answer came to the forefront of his mind.

"Leo, call upon the Lights of Orion. Aim the sword at the spot I'm sending you and attack on my mark."

Leo nodded and activated the Lights of Orion wordlessly. He wondered if it was some sort of natural evolution in the Lights that now allowed them to be summoned without words. Actually, he wouldn't be surprised if they could summon the power individually. He knew that he was the only one that had access to that power as his Battlized form would only work with the Lights, although he had no clue why that would be the case. He felt a warm glow settle over him as the golden bands materialised on his arms, legs and wrists. Summoning the Galaxy Megazord Sabre, he looked away as the golden armour attachments locked into place; instead choosing to focus on beginning the charge-up sequence for the massive blade. What plan Carter had developed was sure to be able to destroy the monster quickly and easily. From the information he was receiving on the communication channels, the only other group still battling their enemies were the Time Force Rangers and the Yellow Ninjetti Ranger. All thing considered, they were actually doing better than they were and looked like they were coming up with a solid plan of attacking the robot until it fell.

"We're all set here, Carter. Give us the signal."

Carter rolled away from an errant tentacle smash and nodded to the other Rangers. He hoped the other Rangers wouldn't be too overwhelmed in the CBD as they would not be going there after the second destruction of Trakeena. They were a rescue team first and foremost and the area around them looked to be in serious need of rescuing. Raising the X-Lancer up, he gripped the built-in Rescue Blaster handle and locked in on the designated spot. It was obvious that the weakest spot on the creature would be in the throat area and he initiated the finisher with the information that ran through his mind.

"Dimension Shoot!"

TBC…


	223. 222: The Ranger's Master

AN: 187 chapters after it was alluded to, here is the full reason Jabarkas joined Xonix.

Chapter Two Twenty Two: The Ranger's Master

"Is everything set?"

Jabarkas looked at his Master and nodded. For the first time in centuries, he would be accessing the knowledge granted to him by the Universal Morphin Grid. Techniques that had been used to lead his team into victory would be used to crush the Ultra Rangers into dust. To that end, he had taken off his armour for the first time since entering Xonix's service and had dressed in a more relaxed fashion. Shoulder coverings of chain mail made from alloys of Zycordian silver and Triforian bronze would ensure that his arms were protected from dismembering attacks. An ornate breastplate covered his chest and there was an accurate replica of the Chaos Orb of Fire sitting dead centre, the flames that flickered within just an illusion of the light. Draped over his shoulders was a short cape made of silver threads. If he needed to, he could use the cape as a rather floppy blade but he would rather not be forced into that corner. Loosely hanging from a belt that encircled his waist was a short, double bladed dagger.

Looking down at the weapon, Jabarkas felt the memories wash over him. As Red Ranger, he had lacked the traditional longsword; yet the weapon had gone to the Black Ranger. Instead, he had been 'gifted' with a short dagger that could double up as a laser sword. That weapon and the Ranger he had been were now nothing more than memories of days long past before he had given himself to serve Xonix willingly. The things he had seen had dwarfed the monsters and aliens fought as Huran's Red Ranger both metaphorically and, in some cases, literally. His team had been unique amongst Ranger teams as there wasn't a set evil villain looking to conquer the world; rather there had been a stream of would-be jewel thieves looking for the jewels of the fabled Corona Aurora. Why they thought the jewels were there was anyone's guess as researchers had long since deemed them under Zordon's protection; yet the monsters and thugs of the universe kept coming.

And then Prince Xon'ixia had arrived.

At first he had been nothing but friendly. He gave out food and water to those who needed it and promised nothing but peace. Then the King had done something very, very stupid. Learning of Xon'ixia's recent exile, he had gotten cold feet and had charged the Rangers with defeating the intruder. The first few battles had gone surprisingly well as Xonix did not have the scientific genius of Twinlobe or the magical genius of Yit. However, it had seemed to him that the budding Overlord was just toying with them and using the combat data to refine his strangely liquid grunts into something much deadlier. The Black Ranger had waved off his concerns but the Blue and Green Rangers had taken some notice. The twin sisters, Muitime and Muiesaf, had heeded his warnings and took the next few battles more seriously than ever…which was a complete turnaround from their usual personalities. His fears were justified in the next battle as Xonix had revealed the Golems. The rocklike beings had ripped through their ranks like tissue and had left three Rangers dead within minutes. The next battle had been the introduction of the Fiends to the Universe…and the results had been terrifying.

Jabarkas suppressed a shudder as he forced himself out of those memories as two explosions boomed out within seconds of each other. He wondered which Ranger teams had defeated the monsters and silently cursed himself for not having enough time to activate the learning protocol in the replica Cyclopsis.

"Patience, my friend. You did well in helping Twinlobe with the construction. The Ultra Rangers will be here soon and I will have need of your hands to fully defeat them."

He nodded as his Master chuckled to himself, apparently thinking of the glory that would come in the future. Nodding back, the Huran allowed his memories to slip back to the day that everything had changed. The Fiends had been unleashed in the dead of night and had torn the First Response Team to shreds. The remaining Rangers had charged in but had been taken aback by the ferocity of the Fiends. Looking back on the battle, Jabarkas thought it very lucky that the acidic spit wasn't yet perfected as the battle would have been over all that much quicker. Golems joined the battle and their strength crushed his armour into powder. They had left him for dead, but had been destroyed by the Power Blasting Cannon seconds later. He had been forcefully teleported to the Medical Bays to heal his body before sending him back into the fray. In that short amount of time, the Huran Rangers had almost been completely defeated.

He had arrived on the battlefield to find the head of the Black Ranger at his feet, her glassy eyes staring up into the lightening sky. The only Rangers who were still fighting were the Blue and Green Rangers…and a loyal contingent of guards. Xonix had made a personal appearance on the battlefield and he had acted on instinct and rage. Charging towards the Overlord, Jabarkas had destroyed those in his path and had thrust out his blade with the intent of killing the alien. At least that had worked in theory. What he hadn't counted on was the Golems and Fiends that leapt to their Master's aid and, in a flurry of moves, had quickly dispatched him. And then the choice had been presented to him.

_Flashback_

_"Well, this is an interesting specimen."_

_Jabarkas struggled against the fists holding him down as the remains of the Power fled his body. Muitime and Muiesaf had been similarly restrained and looked to be on the verge of death. Silently pleading with his eyes for them not to die, the Red Ranger looked away from the defeated Rangers to the reptilian monstrosity making its way toward him. Xonix had taken everything from him in such a short span of time…it was almost alluring and made him seriously wonder which side was really the winning side. Shaking his head violently, he scrubbed those thoughts from his mind and thought about how he could possibly get out of the situation he was in. The deep wounds in his side ached with every intake of breath and he didn't have to be a doctor to know that if one could see one's internal organs…that wasn't a good thing._

_"So, you're the Red Ranger of this band of misfits but you are an exceptional fighter. Indeed, I may have to perfect the next batch of Golems and Fiends before the destruction of this planet. After all, the jewels of the Corona Aurora aren't here anyway and I have no need for such a miserable planet to exist."_

_Jabarkas growled under his breath and struggled against the hands restraining him once again. To die in battle was a glorious end to a Ranger's life and it was so close…but was it really what he wanted? His struggles died down as he seriously thought it over. His father, the King of Huran, had spat in the face of Xonix's uncharacteristic kindness and had watched the Rangers meet defeat head on. The old fool had disowned him after he had joined the Rangers and become the Captain of the Guard, so there was no loyalty to be found there. If the reports were correct, the old man had completed suicide a day or so ago. Huran was now leaderless…and he was the next in line. If he somehow fell in battle, control of the planet would fall to whatever Rangers were left. The twins were excellent political leaders and expert in manipulating situations to favour them…but the question would be how he would transfer the title to them._

_"However, I will spare the lives of the remaining Rangers and those on this pathetic planet…if you will swear your undying loyalty to me. I can take you places and show you things you never would see otherwise. What is truly holding you here? Of course, if you refuse like your King, you will see your planet burnt to ashes around you."_

_Jabarkas felt a surge of anger flash through his body before the tired realisation sunk in. His father was dead. His mother had died in her sleep shortly after his birth and the remainder of his family had succumbed to the strange plague that had come from Aisalar. The twins were practically the only friends left and he prayed they would understand the terrible decision he was about to make. Feeling the hands release him, he raised his left arm and looked at the small device strapped around his wrist. Carinimin, the Grey Ranger, had informed them that the Morphers would only work for their assigned Ranger…but at a price. If they were ever taken off – even for a moment – they would cease all functionality and become glorified bracelets._

_He swallowed hard and made his choice._

_End Flashback_

He had vowed never again to set foot on Huran, even in a disguise. Lord Xonix had given him everything he needed and, in return, his forced loyalty had soon grown into truly undying loyalty with each planet they conquered. Listening to the Universal grapevine had given his a sense of closure as his time as the Red Ranger. The twins were ruling the planet well and had even set up a new team of Rangers. A unique feature was the lack of a Red Ranger on the team; the role of Leader given to the Black Ranger once more. They had both decreed that the colour Red would never again be used as a sign of respect. Smiling slightly at the memories, he shook off all shadows of the past and blinked at the multiple explosions in front of him.

The Ultra Rangers had arrived.

TBC…


	224. 223: Hordes

Chapter Two Twenty Three: Hordes

He hoped Ryan knew what he was doing.

He had to give props to the Titanium Ranger though, coming down in the middle of a heated battle just to ask him for some stronger weapons took a whole lot of guts. The Titanium Laser wasn't a slouch in the weapons department either and had single-handedly destroyed a few generic monsters. Weihan knew Carter could handle the slight kickback on the X-Lancers as the V-Lancers had a similar kickback as the finisher was initiated. Rolling away from a jellyfish/lion hybrid, he summoned a white-hot fireball into his right hand and waited for the right moment to strike. Around him, the other Ultra Rangers were using all of the tricks and abilities they had in order to get through the crowd of creatures. The monster turned and opened its slimy mouth to roar, speak or vomit; he didn't really care which. Seeing that the monster's maw was wide open, he flung the deadly package down the throat of the beast and turned away to slash at a lizard/bee creature with his Raptor Sabre. He heard the muffled bang behind him and felt the wash of heated air warm his back but he didn't turn around.

Whatever monsters slipped through their twelve Ranger threshing machine were quickly caught, fought and destroyed by the slowly growing Ranger Army behind him. Unlike the previous final battle he had been in, this Ranger Army truly was an army and not twenty five Rangers. Flipping over an errant blast from the Bull Rammer, he had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't the only one fighting and to not get caught up with the intensity of emotions he was feeling. There was a tight feeling in his chest like a feeling of breathlessness and he knew he was in the beginning stages of having a mild panic attack…which was something that he sorely did not need. There was one of two options that he could do: find a quiet place to calm down for a few minutes or draw on the Power to sooth his psyche and deal with the fallout later. Flipping over a strange baseball bat/lobster/spider…thing, he chose the quickest and easiest method. He could deal with any mental problems later but he needed his head on straight for the battle ahead.

"Lightspeed is helping the civilians trapped in the rubble. They'll be joining up with us later."

Grunting at the update by Tommy, he mused on the fact that there wouldn't even be trapped civilians if they had vacated their homes when the monsters appeared. He guessed that was neither here nor there but it would be good if the citizens of Sydney used their dwindling common sense once in a while. Unholstering the Raptor Laser, he pumped three blasts into the torso of a literal walking closet before cleaving the mid-section of a winged tree trunk. He had absolutely no idea what Xonix had been smoking when he came up with the designs for these monsters but didn't want to find out. An Ultra Ranger was dangerous enough in a 'normal' mode but if any of them became stoned or drunk…well, it would be a public relations nightmare. Flipping away from a pressurised blast of steam, he wondered if they could get drunk at all or if any drugs would affect them. He certainly wasn't going to start abusing every drug he could find to test his theory…but it was something worth looking in to.

Spinning around, he cleaved an apple monster into two chunks and felt his heart ache. It was for the best that AJ had left when she did, a few seconds later and they would have been battling monsters in the air and possibly on the plane. Though that would have made her leaving that slightly bit more dramatic, it would be hard to ensure that the blasts went exactly where they were supposed to…and that they didn't have any experience on the Ultra Gliders anyway. Plus, there was something strange about fighting normal sized monsters with Zords that irked him slightly. The only exception had been in Equestria with the Dragon Jet…and he had been a bit preoccupied then to say anything. Not to mention it kinda had been his idea. Shaking himself out of the past, he transformed his Sabre into the Electro-whip mode and deftly batted away several banana shaped projectiles. Blinking at the sudden barrage of fruit, Weihan turned to see Rachelle, Eliza and Alex literally carving into a trio of fruit-themed monsters. His heartache temporarily forgotten, he rolled his eyes at the utter insanity of everything they were fighting and groaned as he looked behind him.

By his reckoning, they were almost at the location where he had been sucked into the portal into the hellish future. He could see Xonix and Jabarkas a few metres away and groaned as he heard the splashes coming from his left. He didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the Rangers had resorted to throwing critically damaged monsters over the rock wall into the Harbour below. What that would do to the ecosystem, he had no idea…but he doubted there would be much affected. Grimacing slightly as a dead fish floated to the surface, he ducked as a humanoid unicorn barrelled towards him. He circled the beast warily and the image of a battered Discord appeared over it for a split second. Flicking his blaster into the Laser Blade mode, he reformed his Sabre and held up both blades warily. He was dimly aware of the other monsters around him backing away somewhat…almost as if they were avoiding the crazed unicorn. The creature ducked its head and pawed at the ground. Understanding what was about to happen, Weihan dismissed both blades and braced himself for the rush and cursed himself that the rock wall was behind him.

The impact was like a ton of bricks. All of the breath was knocked from his lungs and he was aware that his feet had left the ground. A few seconds later, he felt the cold water of the Harbour envelop him and the monster release its death grip on him. Struggling to right himself under the water, he attempted to swim up to the surface but the monster was still in the way. A small click near his left ear informed him that the in-suit oxygen supply had kicked in and he fought to get air into his lungs. He had no idea how long the supply would last and he didn't want to still be underwater when it began to run out. Carbon dioxide poisoning was not the way he wanted to go out but on the other hand, it would allow him to see what they could or couldn't be affected by. Shaking his head, he thought about his disadvantages in the water.

The most obvious thing that left him at a disadvantage was his Battle Armour, but it was a necessary evil as it provided both protection and power. The second most obvious thing was the one that filled him with the most concern: he wouldn't be able to use his fire powers underwater. Seeing as his fire powers and summoning abilities made up the most of his combat abilities; he would be a sitting duck. Actually, he would be worse than a sitting duck since ducks could probably swim better than him. Shaking his head at the random thought, he summoned his Raptor Sabre in a gleam of light. Magical or not, his Raptor Sabre was still a blade with two sharpened edges and could be used to poke a hole in the side of the monster. Although he still had a ways to go until he reached the bottom of the Harbour, he was maintaining his depth rather easily.

Tightening his grip on his Sabre, he narrowed his eyes and put his plan into action. Aware that he had no real propulsion through the water besides his legs and feet, he 'pushed' off the water behind him and streaked toward the monster. Positioning his Sabre in front of him like an enlarged poker, he opened the never-used jets on the back of the Battle Armour, had a brief moment to wonder how long they had actually been there and opened them up to full throttle…which turned out to be a very bad idea. He barely registered the slight tremor as his blade passed through the monster and the muted thump behind him as it exploded; yet he was trying to ensure he didn't smash head-first into the rock wall near Kirribilli. Dismissing his Sabre, he angled his body up toward the surface as best as he could and, finally, managed to break the surface of the waves. Shaking the saltwater off his armour, he looked to the site of the battle and sighed heavily. There were news crews gathering near the far side of the Opera House and he was sure that AJ would have been right in the thick of things. Shaking his head, he turned to strike a few cheesy poses for a stunned group of Japanese tourists before planning his next move.

It was time to end this.

TBC…

AN: Chapters will get longer from here on in…and that means not a lot of daily updates.


	225. 224: Intermixed Blood

Chapter Two Twenty Four: Intermixed Blood

Victory was finally at hand.

Countless hours of planning had come down to this moment. Xonix hoped he was ready for what was to come. All of the preparations were in place and he would use his magic to strengthen both the bond and his resistance to pain. Watching the flames die down, he grinned in anticipation as the twelve Ultra Rangers stopped in front of him. Throughout his research, he knew that all Ranger teams had to do a little song-and-dance routine before defeating an enemy…yet, he would not give them the time to pull it off. He was counting himself very, very lucky that there were still trace amounts of the cloning serum in Jabarkas' body. The Gnail'Nah spell had pushed out the cloning serum on its initial attempt, but that spell was very rough and there were small loopholes in the actual spell itself. One of these was the adherence of any such foreign liquids in the host's body…it was actually rather complicated to think about and gave him a massive headache for weeks. When presented with the same information, his purified brother had taken one look at the explanation, rolled his eyes and said he was crazy for attempting such a dangerous feat. A few days later, he had 'called' back wondering if this was some sort of deviation from the plans and documents that had been given earlier. Edward warmed Xonix that even the slightest deviation could have potentially thousands upon thousands of unseen consequences…but the Warlord had shrugged it off.

"Xonix…your time is at an end!"

As the Rangers charged, Xonix nodded at Jabarkas. The Huran nodded back and unleashed a volley of bolts from the double bladed dagger. To tell the truth, he had been concerned that Jabarkas would be planning to overthrow him when the request for the weapon had been made. Only after he had questioned Jabarkas did he begin to notice the delicious irony that the Huran had been planning to unleash. The weapon of the Red Huran Ranger would be used to completely crush the Ultra Rangers. It would certainly sever all ties to his home planet as well as informing the twin rulers that he had converted to Evil fully. As the warrior engaged all twelve Rangers, he began the last ritual that would ensure he would be in full and total control. Dropping his right hand to his belt, he drew out a small stopper topped test tube and squinted at the liquid inside. Much like his monster growth spell, the ingredients were extremely rare, valuable and very volatile. However, unlike any of the earlier potions, this brew could have sweeteners added without destroying the intended effect. As such, there was now enough sugar in the liquid to send several people into diabetic comas.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. The sugar would send them into a coma but only if they survived the explosions in their guts due to the mix of chemicals, ingredients and several gem fragments. Such was the terrifying power of combining Rapsarian marble with the ichor of one of Chysannas' cockroaches – taken seconds before the unfortunate incident that had happened with all thirteen Ultra Crystals. That had involved split-second timing to ensure he wasn't destroyed by the wave of energy…but it had been pulled off brilliantly by Yit. Taking off the stopper, he paused for a moment to sniff the mix of smells coming from the liquid before lifting the test tube to his lips.

"Wait! Stop him!"

He cared not for which of the Rangers had spoken and, as he swallowed the potion, didn't really care either. All of them would be ground into dust by him soon enough. Grimacing at the rather odd aftertaste, he smashed the glass tube onto the ground and laughed loudly as the first internal rumbles began. He noticed the Ultra Rangers slowly edging away from the battle, almost as if they knew what was coming…which was impossible. Even with prior knowledge, there wasn't a damned thing that could be done by them anyway and, when the spell finally took hold of him, there was nothing in the Universe that could stop him. The Ultra Crystals couldn't and, if he was still alive, Zordon would be quaking in his boots at the chaos to come. A wicked smirk fluttered over his lips as he thought about what destruction would be unleashed if he used the spell on Discord…but Jabarkas would have to do for now.

It pained him that he would be using his top warrior for this, but it had to be done. The Ultra Crystals had to be destroyed no matter what. A small part of his mind reminded him that there was a chance that the powers would remain after the destruction of the crystals, but it was a very long shot. His research had informed him that whatever power was bound to any sort of crystal would be immediately lost if said Crystal were to be destroyed. That was why he had sent down the monster army in the first place; wear down the Rangers and force them to use their strongest powers at once repeatedly. Twinlobe had likened it to the fragility that was inherent in a piece of superheated metal…he didn't really care for long-wined explanations. He had learnt from prior experience and had significantly shortened the cool-down period to a few minutes. Unfortunately, he would have to stick very close to Jabarkas to avoid any potential…mishaps.

Stepping forward to meet the group of Rangers head on, he ducked under a precise slash from the Orange Ranger and withdrew his sword from his belt. Great care and consideration had been taken to improve his weapon after the surprising resurrection of the Ranger and he wanted no repeat performances. The faint smell of the sea lingered on the armour of the Ranger and he stifled a smile as he recalled seeing the Ranger take a dive into the sea a few minutes earlier. A chuckle welled up from deep within his throat as his muscles started tingling…a sure sign that it would begin in a few moments. He decided to have some fun with the young man in front of him and made sure to become locked in extremely close combat with him. Thrusting his head forward, he noticed the slight bubbles forming on the skin and resisted the urge to switch spell targets.

"It's just you and me now, Ranger. As it was in the past and will be in the future. It will always be your destiny to be defeated by me…no matter what form I take."

Breaking off the close contact, he raked his claws and blade over the front of the Battle Armour and stepped back so he was back-to-back with Jabarkas. Another small part of him regretted not telling his top warrior what would be the end result…but he didn't think he would mind that much. His senses registered the thin energy shell starting to form around them and he chuckled darkly. It was starting sooner than he had hoped but he would eventually come out on top. He wondered what the Rangers were thinking as the spells and rituals took effect.

"Attack them now! They're open!"

Weihan barely registered Alex's shout as he watched in horror at the unfolding scene in front of him. He couldn't believe it but it was as real as ever. Somehow, Xonix was ever-so-slowly merging with Jabarkas. Energy bolts bounced off the thin shield as the skin of the dark overlord crept over Jabarkas' arms, legs and body. To his credit, the Huran warrior only showed the barest hint of surprise and shock before accepting his fate. Tapping the side of his helmet, he opened the Ranger-wide communications link. He had a very bad feeling everything was about to go to shit and didn't want the others to get hurt.

"Guys, Xonix and Jabarkas are doing some sort of freaky fusion dance here. Finish up the rest of the monsters and get out of the CBD. No arguments."

Everyone could hear the seriousness in his voice and, after a few moments of silence, Tommy answered for the whole of the Rangers.

"We read you loud and clear. We're just about to –"

Tommy's voice changed into an inhuman scream of pain. Taking his eyes off the fusion in front of him, Weihan looked up to the top of the dome and his mouth dropped open in surprise. Several lines of crackling energy were feeding into the sphere…lines that were coming from the CBD. Dropping his Sabre, he brought up his left wrist and activated the Emergency Teleport System. In several streaks of light, the Rangers were out of the CBD and in the Ultra Cavern.

Yet the damage had been done.

The sky turned cloudy within seconds; the only lights coming from the thin beams of sunlight that broke through the heavy cloud cover. Looking over at the Opera House, Weihan could see the camera crews setting up lights hastily and prayed things wouldn't get any worse. A rumbling laughter echoed over the battlefield as the sphere rose off the ground. Squinting, he tried to see inside it but saw nothing. Taking several steps back, Weihan looked around him at his Rangers and squared his shoulders.

The sphere exploded and knocked the Rangers back. Landing in a painful heap under Linda and Aimee, Weihan looked up at the figure slowly descending from the remains of the bubble. The looked like Jabarkas, but only in its head and muscles. Everything else, from the skin, claws, tail and malicious look in its eyes were all Xonix's and he gasped in shock at the power radiating from the combination. When it spoke, its voice was a deep baritone version of both voices.

"I am Xonkas!"

The figure calling itself Xonkas landed on the ground and raised its arms into the air. A viscous liquid dripped from the claws, fangs and talons and Weihan had a feeling it would be deadly to the Rangers. The final battle was here and couldn't be stopped.

"Prepare to die!"

TBC…

AN: Xonkas is pronounced Yon-Kas


	226. 225: Bloody Shards

Chapter Two Twenty Five: Bloody Shards

This was not going as he planned.

Of course, in true time-honoured Ultra Ranger tradition, there was no plan and they were making it up as they went along. The only group of Rangers with some semblance of a plan were the six Rangers that made up the 'Alpha' group; Alex, Heather, Aimee, Linda, Sarah P and Paris…and their plan had about as many holes in it as Swiss cheese. Xonkas was effectively wearing them down by absorbing pretty much everything they were throwing at him. Weihan had seen this strategy used by Goldar in the Equestrian battle and knew how poorly it had turned out for Zedd's resurrected follower…but Xonkas was much stronger than Goldar could have ever hoped to be. So far, the warlord had survived several fully charged blasts from their weapons as well as double-charged slashes from the Raptor Sabre. Eliza, Rachelle and Will had changed into their Assault Armours to try to garner some sort of reaction from the combined monster but their efforts, like the rest of the Rangers', were in vain.

Channelling fire into his palms, Weihan attempted to throw a fireball down Xonkas' gullet and forcibly separate them…but the monster just swallowed down the energy as if it were candy. The dim lighting didn't help either and he could swear Xonkas was getting off on their near-misses. All communications going out of the CBD were down and he could see the mob of reporters begin to panic. The only thing that gave him some degree of comfort was that AJ wasn't there to see their futile battle. In his heart, he knew it was a futile battle as Xonkas was just too damn powerful. Their powers were being supercharged and released in extremely rapid succession, but there was no way the Crystals would break under that small amount of pressure. Indeed, they would have to have their energies drained exceedingly fast for the shells to even crack…and yet, he had great doubts about their future. Pulling back for another shot, he charged his Sabre with pure Ultra Energy and sliced it through the air – narrowly missing Aimee by the barest of margins. The energy crescent flew through the air and smashed against Xonkas' bare chest. The warlord staggered back slightly and everyone held their breaths.

"Fools."

Weihan swallowed as the abomination spoke. There had been an uneasy feeling growing in his gut throughout the battle and he fervently hoped the Ultra Crystals could hold out at least until after the battle. The fact that his internal guide wasn't saying anything to the contrary only served to intensify the feeling. Tightening his fingers around the handle of his Sabre, he idly wondered what the purpose had been to drain the Power Rangers of some of their energy. Even though he had used the combined Ultra Crystal to power up the Rangers whose Powers had been drained, he didn't think that would matter…unless there was an underlying issue with the energy stabilisation. Yet the infodump Zordon had placed into his mind had revealed an interesting aspect – there was an energy stabilisation issue that had affected the thirteen Ultra Crystals. The energy had been stabilised by an 'outside force' but it had only been permanently 'fixed' in the thirteenth Crystal. The main twelve had only been patched up…almost as if the outside force had been too weak to do a proper job.

That was a worrying thought as he had no idea what the energy stabilisation issue would do to the structural integrity of the Ultra Crystals. He kept his fingers crossed that nothing bad or untoward would happen in the battle. Given his luck though, he would have to be prepared for anything, everything and even a helping of the kitchen sink.

"You are too weak to destroy me. Before, yes, there may have been a chance. However…"

A spark danced on Xonkas' fingertip before a potent stream of fiery energy bowled the Ultra Rangers over once more. Weihan's world tumbled and twisted as he flew through the air and came to a rather abrupt and painful stop at the base of the stairs leading to the car park. Slowly rising to his feet, he attempted to summon his Sabre to his hand but was puzzled when, instead of the deadly weapon, his Orange Crystal flared into existence. His eyes danced on its surface and with each minute crack and fissure that he spotted, the dread in his gut increased tenfold. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, he stowed his Crystal back in its subspace pocket and looked around him. He could see the others staring at their individual Ultra Crystals in confusion as they appeared before their eyes. He knew that they wouldn't know what to look for and they would question why their Ultra Crystals had separated from their bodies. They would turn to him for answers…but he didn't think he could provide those answers.

Xonkas grinned in delight as he saw the Rangers looking at their Ultra Crystals. He had an idea that their powers were almost at breaking point and in a few more pushes, they would be eliminated forever. Once the Ultra Crystals broke, there would be no force in the Universe that could repair shattered Zycordian diamond. He felt a part of his mind question his knowledge and tensed slightly. Jabarkas' mind was his, but his consciousness saw things through his eyes and forced Xonix to second-guess himself constantly. In truth, he had wondered what the Crystals had been made of and he had kicked himself for a long time for allowing the Brown Crystal to slip through his fingers so easily. However, a cursory glance at the crystalline structure had cemented the thought in his mind that they were made from the purest of Zycor's diamonds. Such a clear diamond would have fetched an insanely huge amount and, when one calculated the worth of the Ultra Crystals, would probably cost more than Zedd's Zycordian Silver armour…thing. The knowledge that even Edward never knew what to call it didn't fill him with a heap of confidence regarding his brother's mental state…but seeing what he had to endure, he guessed he was entitled to some leeway once in a while.

The smile on his face faltered just a fraction as he remembered he had no actual concrete plans with what to do with Earth once it was conquered. Despite the overwhelming evil he possessed, he knew the planet would always be subjected to some small fish villain wanting to usurp his power, seek revenge against a hated enemy or taste a cheeseburger. A wave of revulsion swept through his body at the last option and he chuckled under his breath as Jabarkas temporarily took control. The Huran wasn't a vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination but, since arriving on Earth, had expressed sickness over the thought of any human eating any form of meat from cows. Xonix hadn't the slightest idea why it was so, but if it didn't impact on Jabarkas' performance, he would let it slide.

Feeling a few pinpricks of pain, he looked down just in time to see a multicoloured stream of energy impact against his chest. Following the trajectory of the weapon, he saw the source – six of the Rangers had assembled a blaster amalgamation and had fired it at him. Seconds later, he was engulfed in a burning explosion as the Orange Ranger fired his so-called 'Raptor Launcher' at him. It certainly contained more of a kick than the blaster configuration…but it wasn't enough to do more than singe the top layer of skin. Taking a step towards the Rangers, he felt dozens of bolts pepper his body, but they were minor nuisances at best. The Rangers would need an extraordinary amount of raw energy to undo the fusion…and even that was an iffy process. Too little energy would mean that, while he would be separated anyway, he could still fight but too much and he would be permanently saying farewell to living. Or there was the option of that spell actually working with the added energy and transporting him from this dimension.

"You are too stubborn to give up, aren't you? Accept the reality, Rangers. You are too weak to fully destroy me!"

"We'll see about that!"

Weihan silently summoned his Assault Armour and aimed every weapon he could at the being ahead of him. Flashes of light around him informed him the others had pulled out their Assault Armours as well and were priming the weapons. He hoped the explosive burst of energy wouldn't fuck up the Botanical Gardens any more than their battle already had or, ultimatum or not, John Howard would be out for their blood. As his weapons slowly reached the mark for full charge, he hoped his Ultra Crystal would be all right. Even if everyone else's shattered, he would fight for as long as it took for Xonix to taste death. Inhaling slowly, he yelled out to his Rangers.

"Hit him with everything you've got!"

What happened next was captured perfectly by, ironically enough, the Channel 7 news crew. Although they couldn't transmit to the main studio, they could still record…and record they did. Thick beams of light blasted through the air and impacted against the fused being in front of them. Energised crescents of power slashed Xonkas' body and practically demolished the rock wall behind him. So-called 'experts' would debate the necessity of the force used and if there wasn't another way that the fight could have ended. The powerful image of all twelve Ultra Rangers emptying their weapons into their arch-enemy would be used for countless years as a motivational tool, a meme and, interestingly enough, the basis for a play about the final battle. However, the beauty of the scene was lost to those in the thick of things.

"We're winning! Just a bit more power!"

Weihan wanted to hit Alex. There was nothing to tell them how well or poorly they were doing. He had a feeling they were practically draining the Ultra Grid dry and doing irreparable damage to the Ultra Crystals. Pushing more power into his weapons, he swallowed as he saw a shadow move from within the dazzling, continuous explosion in front of them. This was going to be bad…

From within the explosion came a sound none of them had ever heard before. It wasn't a scream of pain, nor was it one of utter defeat. It was a sound that chilled everyone in the area to the bone – the sound of triumphant bellowing. One by one, the Rangers stopped firing as their weapons used up the last iota of stored power. Finally, Weihan's cannons gave out and worryingly belched smoke from the barrels. He collapsed to the grassy ground, utterly drained of energy and looked up to see what they had achieved. He could see nothing, except a large cloud of thick, black smoke…but the triumph he had heard in the bellow didn't fill him with too much confidence. Suddenly, twelve streams of energy erupted out of the black cloud and impacted against their bodies, raising them above the ground and restricting all movement. Struggling to look down, Weihan was unsurprised to see the energy wrapping around him was that of the Zeo Rangers. So, the draining of the Powers hadn't just been for show. A sharp sound from somewhere to his left made him force his head in that direction to see something he never wanted to see.

Eliza's Ultra Crystal had shattered.

In an explosive burst of energy, she demorphed into the clothes she had been wearing in the Ultra Cavern as the energy tendril released her. She collapsed to the ground and reached out with a shaky hand to the remains of her Crystal. Pulling them close to her chest, he saw her vainly attempt to morph with what was left. More sounds like breaking glass echoed around him, closely followed by the stifled sobs of the now-powerless Ultra Rangers. Rachelle, Linda, Aimee, Will…all of them demorphed violently microseconds after their crystal shattered. Some of them, like Eliza, cradled the remains of their crystals to their chests while others lay where they fell, stunned by the realisation that their time as Rangers was over. Second last to go was Alex, the Black/Green Ultra Ranger resisting with every fibre of his being to delay the inevitable. Weihan watched as the Black/Green Ultra Crystal extricated from Alex's body slowly and spun in the air once…before shattering into pieces. He was the last one morphed…but there was nothing he could do.

As the lightning bolt shaped crystal hovered in front of him, he began to remember everything that had happened to him during his tenure. All of the good things and all of the bad things flashed across his memory like flash cards. He couldn't let it end like this…but he didn't have any say in the matter. As the cracks and fissures widened, his fear and determination grew until…

"No Ultra Crystals…no Ultra Rangers."

TBC…


	227. 226: Fiery Determination

AN: All the weapons used in this chapter are actual names of weapons. Google them.

Chapter Two Twenty Six: Fiery Determination

"I wanted the power for myself…but this is better."

Xonkas' words echoed around him as he struggled to wrap his mind around what had happened. The Ultra Crystals, the most powerful sources of Ranger Power in the entire Multiverse, had just been destroyed by an enemy that was the result of a fusion between an overlord and his top warrior. It sounded so strange to him, like something out of a cheesy movie but, as the old adage went, this was real life. Weihan lifted the remains of his Crystal to his eyes and ran his fingers along the edge of the broken crystal. The majority of his powers were gone and he was very aware of how vulnerable they all were. He rationalised that he could offer himself up as a sacrifice to save the others by morphing into his Ninjetti suit and attacking Xonix…but he knew the others wouldn't want to see him fight alone. They would fight together as a team, even if that meant dying as a team.

His earlier thoughts ran through his mind and his lips quirked upward. Yes, it couldn't end like this but there was nothing they could do. The Ultra Crystals were shattered, the Dimensional Doorway was still offline, the power of the other Rangers had been drained and, to top it all off, their defeat had been recorded by the multitude of news crews gathering on the far side of the Opera House. Even the thought that their identities were now exposed for the world to see didn't galvanise him into action and he sat, unblinking, as the first drops of rain began to fall. Rachelle crawled to his side, clutching the remains of her Ultra Crystal as the tears that ran down her cheeks mixed with the rain falling from the sky. Lightning flashed overhead as the shafts of sun were covered up completely by the dark clouds. The light drizzle turned into a torrent of rain that dropped dark moods over the former Rangers.

"No."

He blinked at the word that had fallen from his lips and thought about what it meant. Sitting in shock and stunned silence was the equivalent of giving up and he, hell – all of them, had come too far to give up now. He felt his anger at the situation they were in build up inside him and, for a moment, he could swear he felt the Utahraptor spirit in him once more. Silently shaking his head, he repeated the word over and over under his breath as if desperate for something solid to cling to. He was aware of the others moving to surround him but he didn't care. A tsunami of despair, greater than anything he had experienced before, threatened to engulf him in an unending maelstrom of depression if he didn't find something to save him. He thought over his battles from the one-shot Ogre to the Wraith and even attacking the strange water-heater thing in Equestria; trying to pick out one thing that was the constant in each of them. With the Ogre, he was showing off but he was fighting to protect the Rangers…who would later on become his friends. The fight with Apollonia had been an act of protecting his friends, as well as avenging a fallen friend. In fact, almost every battle he thought about held some aspect of protecting old and new friends.

He blinked once as a loud clap of thunder exploded over their heads and recalled the story of the purification of Nightmare Moon. An individual had re-discovered ancient powers when confronted with the bonds of friendship. While the Ultra Crystals had been much stronger than the Elements of Harmony, when one boiled everything away, they would theoretically work on the same scale…if graded up a notch. The only question that was left to be answered was: what would re-ignite the spark of power within them? Friendship wouldn't be the case as they had formed tight bonds with each other that practically nothing could break. Their shared experiences had drawn them into a space that was contained, yet connected with the outside world…and they would never be able to share it with anyone but each other or the few who were willing secret-keepers. He shook his head more violently and watched the water drops fly off his nose, lips and glasses.

"Even without power…"

The words started out soft and grew in volume as he kept repeating them. The sobs of the others had trailed off and he could sense them looking at him with concerned faces. He knew they were worried the loss of the Ultra Crystals had sent him spiralling off the deep end and, in truth; he wasn't too far from the edge. The only things holding him together were spit and bubblegum but he had to seem strong to the others. He hadn't really thought about it before but he was the lynchpin that held the Ultra Rangers together, just as Twilight was for her team. He forced his weary muscles to move, to contract and push him off the ground unsteadily. He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he swayed on his feet and lifted his head, looking Xonkas directly in the eye.

"Even without power…"

Xonkas didn't know what to think. The Rangers were defeated, but the former Orange Ranger didn't know when to accept defeat. To make matters worse, the power that he had siphoned off from the Power Rangers had practically been used up with the energy ropes that had been created to hold and shatter the Ultra Crystals. And what was with those three words the he kept repeating? Without power, there wasn't much hope of anyone doing much of anything expect rolling over and dying but he had noticed a trend with Rangers over the years. When they were at their lowest point, they always found the strength and determination to succeed and triumph. Lifting up his right hand, he turned his palm upward and summoned an energy sphere above it. To his credit, the Orange Ranger didn't seem moved at all and took a shaky step forwards, dropping the powerless remains of his Crystal.

"Even without power…"

He had heard enough. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the energy sphere flying towards the pathetic human. Seconds later, he grinned maliciously as the boy was enveloped in an explosion that was perfectly timed with a rumble of thunder overhead. The worldwide storm had been his idea to show to the Earth what he was truly capable of. The only things that could break the storm were the revival of the hundred Power Animals of Turtle Cove or the appearance of a power that was much greater than his own…which wasn't likely to happen within his lifetime. He saw the other Ultra Rangers cry out as their leader was slaughtered in front of them and could see them begin to fall apart. It was actually quite entertaining to watch.

"Even without power…"

Everyone froze in shock as Weihan erupted from the fireball, morphed in his Ninjetti suit with his Crocodile Sai held in his hands. The orange cloth contrasted against the gloomy atmosphere and the Rangers felt a small glimmer of hope awaken within them. Bringing his arms up and around, the Orange Ninjetti slashed Xonkas' chest several times before smashing the open wounds with an energised dropkick. Flipping away before his power boost faded, he finished his statement with a triumphant flair.

"I'll still fight to the end!"

The next thing he could see were the Ninjetti suits of Alex and Will as they charged at the still-stunned Xonkas. The chain of Alex's kusarigama wrapped around Xonkas' right arm and wrenched it back, leaving his chest open for Will to duck under the flailing left hand and strike with the spikes on his kanabo. The two Ninjetti disengaged their weapons and spun away from the reeling Xonkas. The next fifteen minutes were incredible to see as Weihan finally saw that the Ninjetti weapons of the other Ultra Rangers were. The only projectile weapons that could be found in the group belonged to Heather and Sarah P, with shuriken and tanegashima respectively. He knew that he would have to do some research on the internet about what the odd-sounding names were, but he trusted Ninjor's wisdom implicitly…even if he was a bit off. Eliza raced in with her ono, slashing Xonkas' tail as he attempted to attack Rachelle – the Silver Ninjetti dodging gracefully while defending with her tessen. The most amusing attacks came from Linda's sodegarami, which she used to encircle Xonkas' waist; Aimee's Shinken, used to slice off the tips of Xonkas' claws; and Paris' gunto, which was used in the same way as the Shinken…but on the other hand.

As the three Ninjetti retreated, Weihan bit his lip to keep from laughing as Xonkas' venom-producing claws were taken out of his arsenal but he quickly sobered. Right now, they had caught Xonkas off guard and were doing reasonably well…but it wouldn't last for long. The Ninjetti Powers couldn't hold a candle to the Ultra Powers and, soon, they would be forced to either retreat and come up with another solution or fight until the bitter end. As Rebecca blazed past him with her tekkan raised, he felt the fringes of depression start to creep up on him once more. Fighting to keep his head up high, he looked at down at the communicator on his left wrist. There were no incoming or outgoing communications to be made, but if he could group them up and force-teleport them away from the battle then they could at least survive. Swallowing hard, he was about to put his plan into action when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking to his right, he saw the eyes of Alex and behind him Rachelle, looking at him. He rolled his eyes and dropped his rather depressing plan.

"Don't give up hope, Wei. We're not losing without a fight"

Seconds after the last word had fallen from Rachelle's lips, they were slammed to the ground by a powerful shockwave. Unable to withstand the sonic forces, their Ninjetti morphs failed them and left them in their wet clothes as the rain intensified. Struggling to pick himself up off the sodden ground, Weihan thought that it was damned lucky that his magical duplicate was in possession of his mobile phone as he doubted the insurance would have covered the battle. Rising to his knees, his arms buckled as Xonkas slammed his bleeding tail on his back. Feeling the granules of soil crunch against his teeth, he fought desperately to free himself from the oppressive weight. Above him, Xonkas chuckled once more and looked at the tired and defeated humans. His voice boomed over the thunder.

"Give up you pathetic humans! You've already lost!"

Face down on the ground, Weihan had to agree. He hated himself for doing so, but he could see no way for them to achieve victory from Xonkas' iron grip. Their attacks were like pinpricks against the iron wall of defence that the being above him possessed. Even with their powers, they hadn't stood much of a chance. Slowly, he stopped struggling and thought more about what the Powers meant to those around them. There was always one part of the Nightmare Moon story that he hadn't really bought into and that was the rainbow of light. Of course, he had actually later seen the rainbow of light so he knew that such a thing was possible…but it had symbolised much more than a dazzling light show to the ponies. It was on the tip of his tongue…

"Guys! Don't lose hope!"

Hope.

That was what their Powers signified for everyone around them. Hope for a better world, hoping for change and the hope to make tomorrow a bit more bearable than today and, although he had no idea where the last cheesy line had come from, it was the only bond that connected them with the rest of the world. If they lost hope then it would only snowball from there and Xonkas would have the world in the palm of his hand. Turning his head to one side, he inhaled a deep lungful of air and violently pushed up on the tail draped over his back. The sudden movement startled Xonkas and caused him to release all tension in his tail. Rolling free of the flaccid appendage, Weihan stood up, spat the last vestiges of mud from his mouth and called on whatever power that would answer his call.

"As long as we are still breathing…we will never lose!"

As if answering his calls, the shattered remains of the Ultra Crystals levitated off the ground and started spinning above their heads. Bolts of lightning smashed into the crystal shards, charging them with energy and creating the Ultra Grid once more. The lights in the Botanical Gardens dimmed as electricity from the Sydney Electrical Grid was leeched and infused into the crystal shards, which amalgamated into a large clump and exploded – engulfing the Rangers in a brilliant multicoloured fireball. Xonkas averted his eyes and waited for the light to die down before looking up once more. Honestly, he didn't know what to expect. The Orange Ranger had shown great talent for magic in previous encounters and he wasn't sure if it was all an elaborate ruse in order for them to slip away undetected…or something like that. He hoped the Rangers would be so defeated that they would surrender themselves to him, which left him with the question of what to do once more. Finally, the light show died down and the fused Warlord looked up at his assured victory.

"Impossible!"

TBC…


	228. 227: Ultra Rebirth

Chapter Two Twenty Seven: Ultra Rebirth

He was floating once more.

Around him was a void of endless white and he hoped he wasn't dead again. Microseconds before the light had engulfed him, he had felt a sudden surge of power coming from deep within him. It had felt like his Ultra Powers were back but…somehow stronger, more potent than they had been before. That didn't make any sense as if his Ultra powers were coming back, then they would be at the same strength as before. Shaking his head, he vowed not to think about it anymore as the last thing he needed was a massive headache…but the more he tried to not think about it, the more the thoughts kept creeping into his mind. It was almost like some idiotic form of reverse psychology and he rolled his eyes, looking for a place to 'land'.

A strengthening of the Powers was both a positive and negative thing in his mind. Positive, because it meant that they would be able to fight on a more individual level without having to call the others out of their lives…and also negative as it meant the fight was far from over. There was also a tremor of uncertainty that resonated through the powers…almost as if his choices would determine if the upgrades would be kept or not. He was determined to keep the upgraded powers for as long as it took to destroy Xonix. At that decision, he saw a set of images float past his eyes. He recognised them as being from the infodump that Zordon had pushed into his mind but the images were now clearer.

He saw himself leaping off the roof of the George Street Cinemas, dressed in a sleeker version of the funky armour to fight a mirrored bird-like creature. As soon as he registered the image, it faded from view – almost as if it were being erased from the future. As his short time cruising the Multiverse had shown him; all realities existed in the same time and space…which really gave him a headache if the thought about it for longer than a few seconds. He also saw himself riding on the back of a yellow Pterodactyl Dinozord to the scene of a battle where oddly armoured Rangers were losing against more Wraiths. Turning away from the image as one involving himself and two other similarly dressed people came into view, he openly gaped as his feet finally touched solid ground. Taking a few shaky steps forward, he stared at the still image in disbelief.

They had lost and the world was destroyed.

Buildings lay where they had been toppled and bodies littered the ground. For a brief moment, Weihan thought that the image was of his time in the Bad Future and everything that had happened during his cleansing…but he knew it wasn't. It was an image of what would happen if he didn't find a way out of this void and kick Xonkas' ass into next year. The only question on his mind was what Powers had been unleashed or unlocked in the energy maelstrom that had happened. Shaking his he walked down the path he found himself on and looked for the others. Far off in the distance; he could hear triumphant shouts, screeches and crackles of energy which informed him that something was going on around him. Something powerful…which was a clichéd thought. He felt a surge of determination run through him as he looked at the still image once more. There was a figure standing on top of the ruined remains of the Harbour Bridge and he peered closer at it.

Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't Xonkas. If he didn't know any better, he would have said it was an older and slightly more evolved Xonix. Or at least what was left of him. Strips of skin had been peeled back to reveal pulsing muscle and off-white bones. On its back were two similarly skeletal wings and a mostly intact tail swayed behind it. He shuddered at the image as a wave of fresh determination ran through his body. Whatever the being was, he had no intention of surrendering Sydney or the Earth to its twisted and perverted desires. Even when the Ultra Crystals had shattered, he had refused to give up hope that they would beat back Xonkas. Of course, that attempt hadn't gone over too well but it was the intention behind the thoughts that mattered…or something like that. He remembered the pulsing in his chest before the world had flashed to white and stepped away from the image. If that was to happen in the future, then he would fight until his last breath to ensure it didn't happen. Well, he had to amend that thought as he had died once before…and wasn't too keen on repeating that experience.

Continuing down what he hoped was the correct path; he stopped dead in his tracks and allowed his jaw to detach from his face. Standing in front of him were the three animals that represented his Main Three – a Utahraptor, a Crocodile and a Hydra. The three beasts looked at him as he looked back in awe. Glancing above them was his lightning-bolt shaped Ultra Crystal, turning slowly in the air and as pristine and unbroken as the day he had received it. Automatically, he made to reach up for the Crystal, but stopped himself. It was true that he needed the power, but there were other ways to fight Xonix. Of course, nothing would compare to the Power of the Ultra Crystals and he was sure that the technology needed was still a ways off, even with the help of Lightspeed and Bio-Lab. If he rejected the Crystal, he was sure he would be able to fight as the barrage of lightning would impart him with more than enough power to end Xonix's reign here and now. Yet, there were those images that he had seen of himself in that funky armour battling Wraiths…so no matter what he chose, he would always be fighting.

Seeing the determination in his eyes, his Main Three stepped back and nodded once. His Ultra Crystal floated down into his outstretched hand and he could feel the Power flow through his body once more. He could feel his Battle Armour subtly changing to reflect the newfound maturity in his thinking and felt a wide grin form over his face as his Main Three flew into his body…making his world flash to white once more.

**Location: Chysannas.**

"Is it ready?"

"Affirmative, Elder. We have established the connection and it will be sent directly to him in five Earth minutes."

"So be it."

**Location: Sydney, Australia.**

As the brightness cleared from his eyes, he saw a rather odd sight. Xonkas was staring at him in shock and great horror…wait, not him in particular but at everyone. Lifting his left arm to his eyes, he saw the familiar white leather gloves with red spatter and smiled wickedly. Without moving any more muscles, he switched on the camera feed from the Ultra Cavern and stifled an awed gasp as he saw their new uniforms.

Gone were the upwardly curving spikes on the shoulders and upper arms, replaced with three small spikes that reminded him of Grash'Nak. For the Rangers that had them, their Gauntlet Blasters were now permanently affixed to their right hands while his Raptor Laser was hanging free from his belt. That wasn't the only thing that had subtly changed. Whereas they always had the aura of semi-unprofessional warriors, the slider had drastically shifted in the opposing direction. Now, they gave the impression of a near-superhuman fighting force that could not be stopped by any evil before it. The rain lashing their bodies slowed to a drizzle and then stopped altogether…though the clouds still hung heavily overhead. Concentrating power into his left foot, he stepped forwards to unleash a ground tremor that knocked everyone, sans the Rangers, to the ground. In his heart, he knew that this was the start of the final battle…and there was only one thing that needed to be done – and they all knew it. He just hoped their voices wouldn't carry to the reporters.

"Mammoth Ultra Ranger! Alex!"

"Pteranodon Ultra Ranger! Heather!"

"Triceratops Ultra Ranger! Linda!"

"Smilodon Ultra Ranger! Aimee!"

"Tyrannosaurus Ultra Ranger! Paris!"

"Dragon Ultra Ranger! Sarah!"

"Iguanodon Ultra Ranger! Rebecca!"

"Allosaur Ultra Ranger! Will!"

"Dilophosaurus Ultra Ranger! Sarah!"

"Ankylosaurus Ultra Ranger! Rachelle!"

"Carnotaurus Ultra Ranger! Eliza!"

"Utahraptor Ultra Ranger! Weihan!"

He paused slightly to think about the final team declaration. He could see flashes amongst the crowd of reporters and knew that this was a moment none of them would see otherwise. At least for them, he had to make it look and sound good.

"Destroyers of Evil! Ultra Rangers!"

A massive explosion boomed out behind them and he grimaced under his helmet once more. If the Botanical Gardens could regrow to the level of beauty it had possessed before, then it would be a bloody miracle. He just hoped the greenhouse had made it out intact.

"Impossible…how can this be?"

Lowering his arms, Xonkas stared at the Rangers as the first twinges of madness began to seep into his vision. He had destroyed the Ultra Crystals, shattered their spirit and was on the verge of total and utter victory but now…now he was faced with something that defied the natural order of the world. This was a blatant slap in the face for him and it was something that couldn't be tolerated. Drawing his blade, Xonkas readied himself as he saw the Orange Ranger step forwards and do the unthinkable. His most recent power-up, the 'Hellfire Armour', slid over his Battle Armour and added flame-like spires over the reduced length spikes. Other than that, there was no outward change. He began laughing softly to himself before belting out an insane cackle that made the tremor in the back of his mind snap silent. The Orange Ranger stopped his advance but didn't lower his guard, the fool. But that didn't matter because nothing mattered anymore. Nothing except his inevitable victory over the Orange Ranger…

"Orange Ranger…you're mine!"

Weihan barely had enough time to activate the Dragonbreath Blade before Xonkas was upon him. Their blades met in the middle and they fought for control. He knew that if he gave in to Xonkas, even an inch, then it would be all over for him…and the miraculous reformation of the Ultra Crystals would be for naught. Their Ultra Crystals would never shatter as they had done before as the energy had permanently stabilised, nor could they be fully drained of their energies as the Power would continually recharge them…unless they were used to power another team of Rangers directly, but the chances of that happening in his lifetime were almost nil. Which meant, in realistic Ranger terms, more than a sure thing.

Breaking away from the insane alien, he pushed fire into the Dragonbreath Blade and transformed it into its firebrand mode. Flames leapt from the hilt to envelop Xonkas in a conflagration of orange-red energy. Spinning away, he motioned for the others to begin their attack but was horrified to see that Xonkas was apparently faking his injuries. Several attacks later and he was the only Ranger still on his feet. Dropping the Dragonbreath Blade, he summoned his Raptor Sabre in a burst of fire and held it in an offensive stance. He waited for Xonkas to make the first move. A few moments later, he was still waiting as Xonkas stood still…far too still to be in deep thought. Lowering his Sabre, he took a few tentative steps forwards the alien and noticed he wasn't breathing. Looking around, he made another very worrying discovery.

Nothing else was moving.

The Ultra Rangers were in various stages of getting up off the ground and he could see a light from the Opera House area that seemed to be coming from a camera. The waves of the Harbour had stopped and a bird was frozen in mid-flight. He wondered if something had happened – if he had somehow frozen time with his out-of-control magic…but his magic was still within his control. Summoning up a fireball, he flung it experimentally at Xonkas to see what would occur. The fireball exploded against Xonkas' chest and froze in a blossom of orange and yellow. There were footsteps behind him and he whirled around, lifting his Sabre in an offensive stance, but it soon slipped from slack fingers as his mind tried to process what he was seeing. It wasn't possible…it couldn't be…

"_Zordon_?"

TBC…


	229. 228: Future of Power

AN: 193 chapters ago was a look into the past and the creation of the Ultra Crystals. Now, it is time to look into the future and the legacy.

Chapter Two Twenty Eight: Future of Power

He shook his head as he walked closer.

Whatever was happening, there was no denying that the deceased mentor of the Power Rangers was slowly walking towards him. Unlike the last time he had seen him, his hair was now closely cropped to his head and he was dressed in a loose golden suit that looked similar to a dogi. There was a small sceptre in his hands and Weihan rolled his eyes as he took in the ridiculous decoration on top. Sobering up, he let out a shaky breath and asked once more.

"Zordon? Is that you?"

The figure nodded once but he still kept hi guard up. There were only a handful of reasons that Zordon would choose to appear before him after his death and none of them boded well for him. He didn't mind about the time-stop as his many talks with Zordon had allowed him to understand that the ancient sage had many tricks up his sleeve that even he wasn't aware of…which actually didn't really give him that much confidence. Zordon stopped directly in front of him and snapped the fingers on his right hand; allowing the helmet of the Ranger to vanish in a burst of light. After a few moments, the ancient sage spoke.

"You have grown well into a fine Ranger and leader but your battle is not over yet. You will fight many battles in the future and you will be integral in protecting the safety of your teams."

Weihan narrowed his eyes in confusion at that nugget of information. There would be other teams beside the Ultra Rangers? Teams that would be separate from the other teams of Rangers that seemed to always pop up out of the woodwork to combat whatever new evil force came. He wasn't so sure how to think about that. He had been spurred on with visions of the Evil Future to assemble the Ultra Rangers and even then, he had wanted to stop at Alex and Will. Eliza and Rachelle had been flukes; if Ivan Ooze hadn't attacked then they would have never become Rangers so early. Given the tendency of the Ultra Crystals to pull in their Bearers, he knew that they would have been chosen eventually but he wanted everything to be evenly spaced out. Everything had come to a head when Contender had appeared in the school and he had known, then and there, that he couldn't afford the luxury of time.

Teams…he ran the word over in his mind once more and wondered what the implications were this time. His internal guide hadn't piped up with information regarding them, which was either a good thing or a bad thing. The Trial HSC's were coming up in a few months and the HSC would be upon them in around a year and a half. He didn't want to be recruiting Rangers, battling monsters and juggling his study and assignments during that time, but everything hinged on the result of the battle in front of him. Xonkas was too damn powerful for any of their Armour Modes and he dreaded bringing a Zord or Megazord onto the battlefield to beat a normal-sized monster. If things kept up the way they were going, it seemed more than likely he would have to break out the Dino Ultramax. The Hellfire-powered Battle Armour wasn't going to last forever and he doubted anything good would happen if he tried to infuse the Assault Armour with the power of Hell. His mind flashed to the Dragonfire Armour that Twilight had been granted and almost wished that the Purple Unicorn was with them. He shook his head internally and sighed softly. This was something they needed to do without help.

"Teams…what good is it having teams if we can't win against Xonix now? For that matter, why come to me and not Tommy or Jason?"

Zordon shook his head and sighed. The young man needed to know his place in the Multiverse besides being the strongest Ranger in existence. There were things only he could achieve and evils that could only be suppressed by him…but he would need knowledge, not power. He stifled the smile that threatened to break out over his face as he recalled they had been words that he had told to the Orange Ranger years before. Of course, Power was needed but it would be knowledge that would…and he was getting off track again. The young boy in front of him didn't need to know about Drakor, Dryken or the Sha'Kahr just yet and hoped that his innocence on those subjects would be kept for as long as possible. After all, both Tommy and Jason had their parts to play in his future…

"Tommy and Jason are strong Rangers, but they are on their own paths. Whether they will seek out the Power later on, I cannot say for sure. However, if you are willing to continue, I will show you the future that awaits you."

Weihan was tempted. On one hand, knowing the future would be of great benefit. He could see the choices he would make and, if they had a negative impact on himself and the Rangers, theoretically change them. On the other…he would be deciding that there would be more evils in the future for him to fight, more battles to be won and more loss and heartache. The implications of AJ's break-up were only starting to seep into the deepest parts of his mind and he knew he would be left in a severe state of depression in a short while. The other Rangers would support him but he would need to see a shrink to deal with all the issues that had accumulated over the course of the campaign.

Did he want to know what other teams he would be assembling in the future? Through those freaky visions that he had in the past, he knew that there would be one team with another female Red Ranger and he would be going into the past or something like that. He would probably forget about the images when that future caught up with him though. Tactics would have to be changed in the battles ahead and he could finally see if he had mastered tact and the art of the recruitment speech to Potentials. Chuckling at that thought, he squared his shoulders and nodded slowly.

"Show me."

Zordon nodded back and lifted the staff above his head. What would be seen could only be changed slightly; such was the nature of the time magic being used. Murmuring the words under his breath, he finished casting the spell and released the staff. Reaching out, the ancient sage inhaled deeply and placed his right palm on the forehead of the young man.

_Flash_

_"Xonix will either recruit you for his own purposes or you will accept on your own terms."_

_He could see himself in front of a group of seven girls. There was the fading fire of battle in his eyes and he wondered exactly what had gone down before. An interesting thing was they were all wearing variations of the same uniform…something that looked similar to something an employee of a hotel would wear. Shaking his head, he looked around to see where he was. They were in a park of some kind but it wasn't Hyde Park or even the Botanical Gardens. Spying a uniquely designed building near them, he groaned out loud. Stanton Library…which would put them in the vicinity of the Hotel Management School that was in one of the buildings nearby: William Blue or some pretentious sounding name like that. Well, he would be recruiting Rangers wherever he went, so he doubted a change of scenery would matter._

_"We don't want any part of this! You're a Ranger and they're after you! Drop out and we can go back to our normal lives!"_

_He saw himself step forward and open his mouth…and the image froze. He shook his head and imagined the words that would be coming out of his mouth within the next few seconds. Evil would always target him and he would be placing those around him in immense danger…but he couldn't just stick his head in the sand. He had to be strong and take everything on the chin, which was actually much easier said than done. His vision flashed once more and he found himself in the middle of a battle. Seven Rangers wearing gem-encrusted versions of the Mighty Morphin armour were battling against some sort of creature that looked like a demented version of Discord – complete with the xiphos-type weapon. Lasers rained from above as a massive sonic boom rippled through the air. Looking up, his jaw dropped as he saw the Dino Ultramax locked in combat with a beast that defied any known system of classification. Honestly, his mind was just hurting trying to pick out everything he could see in its external structure. As it had done before, the image froze and he was driven to his knees as image after image flashed in rapid succession._

_He saw himself talking to an Australian-Italian woman, like a teacher or something, and offering her a strange Morpher that looked like an Original Power Morpher combined with a Turbo Morpher. Next to her was a blonde Australian looking at a strange dragon-themed bracelet. He saw himself walking into the halls of William Blue on his first day and turning around to see a younger version of AJ running up behind him with flaming red hair. If AJ was Applejack's dimensional counterpart; there was no doubt that whoever this girl was, she was Applebloom's counterpart. The image dissolved into a scene of him fighting his way through a building of some sort and being surprised at a civilian jumping at him. The image was frozen in the split-second where the blade of his Raptor Sabre was just about to cleave the young woman in half. However, the images didn't all revolve around doom, gloom and death._

_He saw himself sitting down with his mother and having a talk about something. The expression on her face made it clear to him that he was explaining his Powers to her…although what had led up to the conversation wasn't shown. He saw himself and Rachelle walking hand in hand and he saw himself with a steady stream of females surrounding him, which actually kind of freaked him out a small bit. There was another image of himself posing in that same Dragon-themed armour and, for a brief moment, he hoped that didn't mean he was going to inherit the Dragonfire Gem in the future. However, it panned out to show that Twilight was suited in her Dragonfire Armour next to him and they were facing down a monstrous pony-like thing while the others watched on in the background. And, of course, there was the obligatory 'Final Battle' scene with himself leading a colossal band of Rangers to battle a creature that looked like something Hell had thrown up. A few seconds later, his vision flashed white._

_End Flash_

His vision cleared and he was back in the Botanical Gardens with Zordon. His mind was reeling with what he had seen and he tried to hold onto the images before they vanished from his memory. Knowledge and not Power, yes, he recalled Zordon saying that to him months ago and he had the knowledge that everything would eventually turn out for the better, no matter how crappy things got. He clung to that truth like a drowning man and felt the air around him begin to crackle with energy. Where it was coming from, he hadn't the slightest idea but it would be upon him very soon as he was sure that Zordon had only been able to stop time only on Earth. Zordon removed his hand from his head and waited for the Ranger to calm down. The ancient sage knew what was about to happen and he didn't have much time, but everything would play out as it was supposed to.

"What is your choice?"

Weihan looked up at his deceased mentor and centred himself. Zordon would know what to do and how to separate Xonix from Jabarkas. Even though they were enemies, he had no desire to see the noble warrior fused to Xonix for all eternity.

It was time.

TBC…


	230. 229: Dawn of a New Power

Chapter Two Twenty Nine: Dawn of a New Power

"Where did that fireball come from?"

Xonkas grumbled angrily to himself as his vision was engulfed in flames once more. The Orange Ranger looked different as well and had somehow managed to remove his helmet, revealing his identity to the world. Or he would have done so if the cameras of the reporters were actually strong enough to break through the magic barrier surrounding their identities. Still, it was no matter to him if the Ranger had removed his helmet or not. The Rangers would see their leader crushed into pulp before their very eyes. Taking a step towards the Ranger, he stopped in his tracks as his head snapped up and his eyes bored into his own. They were not the eyes of one who knew their death was around the corner; rather, they were eyes of a warrior who knew he would be victorious. Fighting against the urge to swallow in unease, Xonkas motioned to the discarded Sabre on the ground.

"Pick up your weapon, Ranger. I would hate to strike at an opponent that cannot defend himself."

The Ranger stood still before slowly shaking his head. The helmet fell to the pavement below with a clatter and Xonkas felt his vision turn red with rage. The Ranger was a coward to refuse to battle him, running from a fight was the weak way out. Not caring anymore, Xonkas ran at the Orange Ranger with his blade outstretched. With a mighty scream of anger, rage and incomprehensible emotions, he swung the blade down viciously as the other Rangers gasped in horror.

"Impossible!"

Weihan smiled back as blood began to drip from his hands. It had been a one-in-a-trillion chance, but he had managed to catch the descending blade between his hands and hold the weapon in place. Zordon had given him all the knowledge needed to survive this battle but the ancient sage had left him with the hardest part: waiting until the knowledge would actually be useful. The energy in the air was slowly growing stronger and he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that something would be happening very soon. The only question left in his mind was whether the knowledge that had been gained from Zordon's visit was good…or if the future had already changed. Summoning up his remaining strength, he pushed the weapon up and away from his body…acutely aware that all the skin on his palms was missing. It hurt like crazy but he clenched his teeth together and forced himself to push past the pain.

Managing to snap the fingers on his right hand together, his helmet reappeared on his head and confirmed his suspicions. There was a large pulse of energy homing in on their position and had apparently originated from Chysannas. Why the Elder would be sending a pulse of energy to him was anyone's guess, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Rolling his eyes at the pun, he summoned his Ultra Crystal out of his chest and held it in the air. Thunder rumbled overhead once and then silence was heard. Breathing deeply, he allowed his Ultra Powers to wash over his morphed form – healing both costume and body. He heard gasps of shock and surprise as the Power levitated him off the ground and smiled as he heard Xonkas' scream of rage and disbelief. The energy from space was so close to Earth now, he could almost hear it. Wondering what sort of contact – if any – the Elder had with Zordon, he reabsorbed his Crystal back into his body and awaited the energy.

Seconds later, it punched through the thick cloud cover, blowing it away in a rainbow of light similar to Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom. All the inhabitants still around the CBD area, both Rangers and civilians, gasped in amazement at the spectacular display. However, that was nothing compared to what happened next. The beam of energy enveloped the Orange Ranger in a blinding explosion that soon turned into a whirling energy cyclone, ascending higher and higher into the sky with each iota of energy absorbed. A screeching cry echoed throughout Sydney and its surrounding suburbs and caused several girls conflicting feelings of both fear and determination.

In Cronulla, a young girl looked at the light and wondered why there was an image of a boy she had never met before running through her mind. Shrugging her shoulders once, she ran inside to watch the latest news on the battle in the CBD. Another girl looked up outside her Mortdale home at the glow coming from over the horizon and internally said her thanks that she had just missed the attack on the city. Even as far away as Blacktown, the feelings were felt by another girl as she nervously gripped the hand of her mother and prayed her application to the school would go through. She thought it was insane to apply for the prestigious school now, but her mother had always said that it was better to be early than late…or something like that. Finally, in the very heart of the CBD, a young Nepalese student looked up at the sky as she was pushed into a heavily armoured Monster Shelter and wondered why she could hear a tiger's growl. Any other time, these feelings would be dismissed instantly by the recipients as the Power had a strange way of worming into the hearts and minds of those less worthy to wield it…but this time was different. Although they would never know until later, in some cases years later, this light forcefully changed their destiny to one of a much grander purpose. However, all this wasn't known to the young Ranger in the middle of the ball of light.

"Balls of light…this is getting rather old."

Weihan rolled his eyes as he looked at the external image of himself in the energy stream. There wasn't any energy being actively absorbed into his Crystal or anything, but he had a strange sense of filling up with energy; almost as if he was being prepared for something. Shifting slightly, he glanced down and his eyes widened. His Hellfire-powered Battle Armour was slowly being overlaid with a set of energy gridlines. Squinting at the shape he could see, an image suddenly flashed to the forefront of his mind; the image that he had seen in the future with him in the Dragon-themed armour. His left wrist was enveloped in a glowing cyclone of energy and he gasped as, finally, he felt energy pour into him with the strength akin to a burst main. Throwing his head back, a scream of pain burst from his lungs as the burning sensation inside him became almost unbearable. Through the sound of his scream, he could hear a faint screeching sound that sounded similar to the noise produced by the Hydra Thunderzord.

As the air emptied from his scream, he gasped in amazement as an image of some sort of animal began to form in front of him. At first, he thought it was the Hydra again and wondered where the 'dragon' aspect was going to come into things…but as it became clearer, he began to understand why it was styled as it was. Outwardly, he likened it to the classic Toho movie monster King Ghidorah, yet there were several changes to it. The most noticeable change was the neural spines that protruded from the middle of the neck and tapered off near where the neck attached to the torso. The spines were covered with a thin – almost transparent – covering of skin and seemed to glow with a deep orange light. The other differences from the Hydra were the lack of any sort of forelimbs, the bipedal stance and, obviously, the pair of wings that flared from its back. He wondered what the name of the beast was and how everything would flow together. As the name appeared in his mind, he suppressed a groan of frustration.

While the name Tri-Spino Dragon exuded grace, majesty and power; actually saying the name of the beast was proving to be quite the hassle. Rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time, he felt the pain within his body taper off and be replaced by a pulsing sensation that was akin to an accelerated version of the ebb and flow of tides. Making a face at the out of place thought, he saw the creature flying toward him and shrink down to a human size. As it reached an arm's length, it broke apart into various component parts and vanished into the energy cyclone. As the transference ended, he 'heard' the voice of the Elder talking to him telepathically.

_This power has been granted to you and you alone. It combines the true strength of Chysannas' sacred animal with the pure and unadulterated power of the Morphin Grid and the technology of the ancient Eltareans. This is the Battlizer fated to rule all others both past, present and future._

He smiled at the thought of using a Battlizer but briefly wondered if it was considered overkill. He had the strongest Ultra Crystal of the thirteen and was leading the strongest team in the Multiverse. He had unlocked the Assault Armour first; well, second after Steven Johnston and had trudged through Hell itself to find the Hellfire Armour…which none of the others seemed to want to use around him. If you wanted to take it slightly further, he was pretty sure he was also the first one to have died. And now, he would be receiving an exclusive power-up that would pretty much render all his armour upgrades and unlocks obsolete. A part of him wanted to say no to the power, to say that there were others on the team that deserved the recognition of power and ability. With access to this power, battles in the future would become all too easy – summon the Battlizer, fire and walk away. Their skills would become sloppy and he would have to find some way to disable to upgrade to stop it from turning him into a lifeless blob.

However, a much larger part of him jumped at the chance. To take the power and destroy Xonix completely or, barring that, to ensure Xonix thought twice about attacking Earth once again. There had to be a catch, though; possibly something like a time limit or massive strain being placed on the body. If such great power was just given to him with no drawbacks, he would either become a lifeless blob or a vengeful God. He wasn't sure which one frightened him the most. Yet, he had to make a decision and the pressure was all on him. Their weapons weren't scratching the surface of Xonkas' defences and he wasn't even sure the Dino Ultramax could help either. The battle had dragged on for long enough and it needed to end now. Swallowing hard, he nodded once to fully accept the power. As the light and presence faded from his mind, he bit back tears as the Elder said his final words.

_This is Zordon's final gift to you._

TBC…

AN: King Ghidorah isn't mine. Belongs to Toho. The name Tri-Spino-Dragon is mine and so is everything not recognised.


	231. 230: Ranger Orange

AN/WL: Two more chapters to go until this juggernaut finishes! Enjoy!

Pinkie: But you still have a few more stories to write until everything finishes!

WL: …go to my room.

Chapter Two Thirty: Ranger Orange

"What are you doing, Ranger?"

Xonkas was honestly confused at what had just happened. The Orange Ranger had been struck by a beam of light that had blasted out of the sky, completely destroying the heavy clouds that hung over the city. The young boy had then been levitated into the sky where another, more powerful beam had struck him and engulfed him in a sphere of light. His senses informed him that a massive energy infusion was taking place within the walls of the sphere but the walls were too opaque to peer into. Attempting to blast the sphere open had ended with extreme failure as nothing he had could even begin to crack the outer shell…almost as if it was made with Zycordian diamond. Of course, that was a laughable prospect but it almost made sense. Out of the cloudless sky, lightning had flashed and thunder rumbled, confusing the hell out of everyone on the battlefield. He could even swear there were wisps of conversation in the air, but chalked that up to part of his imagination. The Jabarkas part of his mind had also flared to life and was struggling to regain control of his body, an exercise in utmost futility.

As quickly as it had come, the light vanished into nothingness, leaving the Orange Ranger suspended in the air. The hope that the Ranger would plummet to the ground below was squashed as the Ranger descended with excruciating slowness. Perhaps it was a trick of the light but the Orange Ranger seemed stronger in an indescribable way, similar to how he had seen Celestia before she had unleashed the power of the Elements of Harmony on them. He hoped the Ranger hadn't unlocked another Armour Mode as the upgrades were starting to become slightly grating. He had been about to attack the dazed Ranger when he had done something unexpected. In twin flares of light, the foolish Ranger dismissed both his Hellfire and Battle Armours, leaving him clad in the orange and white bodysuit Xonkas had seen only once. The fused overlord's eyes narrowed as he spied the new device that adorned the left wrist of the Ranger. It looked like a three-headed dragon with sails coming out of its necks…but that was impossible as the last Tri-Spino Dragon had been hunted to extinction many millennia ago.

The moment of grandness had come. Zordon had instilled in him all the knowledge he needed to ensure Xonkas was taken care of for good. Weihan felt it in his heart that they would be victorious and all of their hard work would finally pay off. He could also hear the surprised shouts of the other Rangers as they implored him to put on his Battle Armour or pull out the Assault Armour…or do anything really. However, whatever tricks he pulled out of his sleeve would do no good against the iron wall of defence in front of him. The Metallic Armour may make the slightest of differences, but when they were backed up against the wall this much…well, the slightest of differences was like a drop in the bucket really. A part of his brain screamed at him to act while the iron was still hot and to catch Xonkas off guard, yet he stayed his hand and looked up at the brilliant blue sky.

Now that Xonkas' clouds had vanished, he could feel the heat of the afternoon sun on his uniform. The first half of the day had been spent stopping Xonkas and he desperately wanted some downtime to himself. Switching on the camera feed, he switched between the cameras around the CBD and at the Ultra Cavern; almost laughing out loud when he saw everyone practically crowding around the main viewscreen. Switching on the subvocal communication link, he outlined his plan to the shocked Ultra Rangers. One by one, they acknowledged their orders and prepared for the final phase to begin. Smirking under his helmet, Weihan lifted up his left wrist and prepared to activate the dragon shaped device. Briefly wondering what the downside would be to the new Power, he shook off his doubts and inhaled deeply.

"Tri-Spino Dragon Battlizer!"

Pressing down on the button in the middle of the device, he was engulfed in yet another energy cyclone as the wings popped open. Barely suppressing an exasperated sigh, he was aware of the metallic segments sliding onto his body with heavy clunks as they locked into place. The right and left necks coiled around his shoulders and the heads slotted into place on the breast-plate to form the shoulder and upper chest guards. Heavy armour materialised on his legs while the 'feet' of the dragon covered his. His Ranger helmet deactivated and, for the briefest of moments, his identity was exposed once again. This time, however, the whirling energy cyclone protected his identity, but didn't hide the general features of his head. The central head ratcheted down on its neck and transformed to become an ornate helmet that slipped over his exposed head before locking into place with a click. The back panel of armour that held the winds locked into place and the Twin Tail Staves slid into sheaths overlaying the wings and stopping them from opening.

As the energy cyclone died down, his eyes opened wide as he felt the Power Signatures of every living being within a ten kilometre radius crash into his body. The sudden influx of signatures left him temporarily paralysed but it was over in a few seconds. Breathing heavily, he heard the soft electrical crackles as the remaining Ultra Rangers charged their Gauntlet Blasters, Assault Armours and whatever other laser weapons they had gained with the reawakening of the Ultra Powers. Straightening his back, he held out his right hand and stated two words.

"Raptor Blazer."

In a mini-whirlwind of fire, his weapon appeared in his hand. He took a few moments to admire the weapon and to see it up close…and not have it be part of some nebulously defined image or dream. It was the same size and length as his Raptor Sabre, which made sense as the Blazer was an upgraded Sabre, but the similarities ended there. Instead of the handle with the constantly-changing button layout, the grip of the Blazer was moulded into the blade itself and had a small gap between the edged blade and the handle. The blade itself looked like a constantly-shifting jet of flame and there was warmth that radiated out from the edge. Looking up at the Overlord, Weihan smiled as he saw Xonkas take a step back in apparent fear. Stepping forwards, he noted with amazement at how light the armour around his feet seemed to be; almost as if the Battlizer was designed to be used in an acrobatic way. Attacks and finishers ran through his mind and on his visor seconds later and his jaw dropped open as he saw the sheer number of attacks, combos and options available to him. Seriously, it was like being a kid in a candy store.

Silencing the part of his mind that argued that, for all intents and purposes, he was still a kid, he slowly raised his left hand. He could hear the Rangers lifting their weapons to point at Xonkas and channelled the purity of the Ultra Crystal into his Blazer. Everything was silent once more and Weihan swore he heard some reporters grumbling…even though they were around a kilometre or so away.

"Xonkas, this is where your reign ends. Rangers – take aim!"

Xonkas scoffed behind his bloodstained blade as the weapons of the Ultra Rangers were levelled at him. The Orange Ranger had gained a new set of balls with his new Battlizer, but he would easily defeat him in single combat. If anything, the Battlizer would be a step down from the powerful sets of Armour at the disposal of the Ranger or could only be used for an increasingly short period of time. Shrugging his shoulders, he charged up his weapon with magic and prepared to unleash Hell on the unsuspecting teens.

"Fire!"

The command was punctuated by several blasts of incredibly high-velocity and potent laser blasts ripping through the air and converging on Xonkas, catching the Overlord in mid-swing. The beams didn't explode upon impact with his body; rather they turned into laser ropes that held his arms, legs and head away from his torso. No matter how much he struggled, the ropes tightened and held steadfast. Xonkas knew that, as the humans liked to say, he was fucked. In desperation, he desperately tried to look for a way out while releasing the bonds that held Jabarkas to him. As the fusion process was supposed to have been a permanent combination, this was an exceedingly slow process. Forcing his head to look at the Battlized Orange Ranger, his mouth opened in a silent scream as the Ranger was upon him within seconds.

Pure agony ripped through his body as the powered blade entered his body. Whether by coincidence or a deliberate attempt, the blade didn't go in perfectly straight. Instead, it carved him from the top of his left shoulder all the way down to his right side. If he didn't know better, he would have also said that the blade managed to do some amount of damage to his right arm, but didn't know for sure. However, the pain from the wound soon vanished into the back of his mind as the Blazer emptied into him all of the stored purity of the Ultra Grid. In some ways, it was like lying on a beach and allowing the waves to rush and lap over you…except in this case the waves were powerful tsunamis that dashed his body into sharp rocks with each surge. Over the sound of the fusion spell violently unravelling and the sounds of his own screams, he heard the words coming from the Orange Ranger.

"You wanted the power of the Ultra Crystals? Take it and fall into Hell forever!"

With those words, the Orange Ranger viciously pushed the blade deeper into his body and he felt it emerge behind him as, finally, Jabarkas fell away from him. Straining against the energy ropes holding him, Xonix pointed the tip of his blade at his loyal servant and forcefully teleported him back to the Moon Fortress to rest and recover. As the energy ropes finally released his limbs, Xonix stumbled forwards as the Orange Ranger yanked the blade from his chest and whispered into his ear.

"I honestly didn't want it to end like this. I would have liked for you to leave Earth for good and never return, but I guess this was your fate all along."

He sounded truly regretful and Xonix nodded weakly as the Orange Ranger turned to walk away. Falling to his knees, he heard the sickening snap of bone as his tail absorbed the brunt of his impact before the ground rushed up to meet him. He felt his body swell slightly and used his weakening arms to roll onto his back so he could stare up at the sky before it was obscured forever. Everything seemed to fade away and, for a brief moment, he could swear he was back in Equestria; joking and laughing with Discord as they planned the takeover of Canterlot. He missed those days and wished he could return to those happier times.

Fire obscured his vision and he fell into darkness.

TBC…


	232. 231: Downshifting

AN: Only the epilogue to go and The Ultra Crystals will be over.

Chapter Two Thirty One: Downshifting

"So it's over?"

"What?"

"I said: So it's over?"

"Looks like it."

Weihan shook his head as Alex struggled to hear what he had just said, failing miserably. He couldn't blame the Black/Green Ranger for not hearing him as it was kind of hard to talk on a one-on-one basis when the celebrations were still raging on. Minutes after the nuclear-esque explosion, the Rangers had confirmed that Xonix was nowhere to be seen. After delegating the task of informing the reporters to both Will and Eliza, Weihan had spent a good ten minutes scouring the area for evidence of Xonix's survival. As all he could find were very minute amounts of dimensional magic, which could have come from anywhere, he had been forced to confirm the Overlord as defeated. He doubted very much that the attack of the Battlizer had been enough to destroy the body of Xonix as some force had prevented him from using the full force of the Ultra Grid, which suited him just fine if it meant Xonix would be out of commission for a long while.

Celebrations had started seconds after the announcement was made and the Ultra Rangers took that moment to leave the battlefield. They arrived back in the Ultra Cavern moments before the recharged powers of the Morphin Rangers and Justin sputtered out. After a quick debrief, the Rangers had left the Ultra Cavern but had promised to call if they needed help, advice or a place to study. The last comment had been from Tommy who had decided to take an accelerated course in Teaching, much to the surprise of many. As the Ranger left, Weihan swore that Jason's teleportation beam still held a hint of red, but he dismissed it as a trick of the light or an after-effect of the Battlizer. Of course, Andros had jokingly accused him of copying the name of the Astro Battlizer but all of them had brushed off the comments of the Red Ranger.

After that, Weihan had teleported to the location of his double, demorphed and slipped back into place as the good son who was keeping an eye on things in the city. It had been slightly fortunate that his double had fallen onto the ground when the Ultra Crystals had shattered as that explained the dirt and bruises on his face and body. He noted that his mother kept looking at him strangely but after a while of seeing him act in a normal fashion, she seemed to dismiss her thoughts. Well, if the images Zordon had shown him were correct; he would be coming clean to her in the near future. He decided not the think about that as the events of the day finally caught up with him and he crashed in his bed for a few hours.

He awoke to his sister shaking him excitedly and shouting about how the Rangers had finally won. He had feigned amazement and excitement and, after taking a few moments to shake the sleep from his system, had gone downstairs to watch the news and replay of the battle. His heart had leapt in his throat as he saw his helmet sliding off his head but the whirling energy around his form obscured all but the most generic of details from showing. Checking the internet later had made his eyes bulge wide as he saw the amount of international news articles about their battle, temporary defeat and ultimate victory. He chuckled to himself as his eyes spied an AP report that, finally, stated that the Rangers that had been sighted in Sydney years ago were the Ultra Rangers but the writer had admitted not knowing how they were sent back. He just hoped the Orb of Doom had been destroyed as the last thing he needed in the future was to be reliving the past. Making a mental note to start looking for the aforementioned Orb, he began to unwind from the day's events.

A part of him wished he had pushed for AJ to take a communicator with her, but he knew the temptation to teleport back and forth would be too much for the both of them. She needed time and space away from the craziness of attacks and, he hoped, find a normal boyfriend. If the dreams and visions he had in the past was any indication that was where AJ's future lay. Somewhere along the line, she would also take up the White Ultra Crystal but, for her sake, he hoped that didn't happen in his lifetime. Of course, his mother had been devastated with the news that AJ had left to go back to the US but grudgingly had agreed that it was inevitable. Still, she had quickly made plans for him to move on with the daughter of yet another family friend. He hadn't wanted to start anything so quickly until it had been revealed who the daughter was.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked to his right to see Rachelle smiling back at him. Their relationship was only just beginning to surpass the physical attraction but there were signs that it would last for a while. Looking up at the fireworks that blossomed out over the night sky, he thought about the hasty plans that Frank Sartor had drawn up to celebrate the victory. Of course, the Rangers had derailed his press conference by teleporting in unannounced and had humorously referenced their tendency of being attacked at press conferences. Weihan had restated that Xonix was defeated and he stressed that the Overlord hadn't been destroyed…but that tidbit was lost in the cheering and applause that ensued. This led his thoughts to the present moment.

It seemed St Andrews had 'inducted' the Ultra Rangers as their 'official' protectors and, as such, had used up most of the budget in throwing a lavish celebration for all students, teachers and friends. Sparing no expense, they had rented out the Doyle's seafood restaurant in Darling Harbour for Year 10, and only Year 10, while the other Year Groups were placed around the city. There was almost no privacy for the Ultra Rangers, but they had managed to snag one of the private rooms for their own use. Unfortunately, the walls were paper thin but that didn't matter as none of them could hear each other anyway.

"So what now?"

"What do you mean, what now?"

"What happens to the Ultra Rangers now?"

The revelry in the room stopped at Alex's question. Even though the celebrations continued outside, Weihan knew this question was coming. Closing his eyes, he muttered the silencing spell under his breath. As the din from outside faded into nothingness, he looked up at his friends and breathed deeply.

"We need to take a look at what we'll be doing in the future. Xonix is gone, but he isn't destroyed. Jabarkas is also defeated and not destroyed. The Power is now a part of you and can, now, only be released upon death. I will be keeping active until such a time when I am convinced nothing will pop out of the woodwork and attack."

Nodding slowly, Eliza stepped up with Ashley in tow. They had discussed at great length what her options were in the future, but he knew that her duty to the Rangers came first and foremost.

"I can't speak for all of us, but we'll be with you until you're sure that no evil will appear."

Hearing those words brought a lump to his throat and he felt his eyes moisten. He had been fully resigned to them wanting to take on inactive status and leaving him on his own. As the affirmations from the others started to come, he swallowed the lump down and looked past the Rangers at Sam and Ashley. The two civilians had come so far in their acceptance and assistance of the Rangers that they were considered to be integral to the team but, yet, he had to ask them.

"And what of you two? Will you continue helping and assisting on the future?"

"Well, it would be kinda bad for all the training we have in the controls be put to waste. We're both in for the long haul."

Weihan smiled and looked around him at the faces that smiled back. The first campaign against Xonix was over…and there was only one thing left to be done. Silently checking on the status of the silencing spell, he extended his left arm with his palm facing down and quirked his lips up, wondering if any of them would understand the 'Ranger Tradition' that had been told to him by Tommy. Hearing a chuckle from Rachelle, he watched as she placed her hand on top of his and smiled at him. Hands joined the pile as, one by one; the Rangers began to catch on to the post-battle tradition. As the last two hands joined the pile, they paused to reflect on what had happened over the past years. In unison, they dropped their hands before leaping into the air with a cry that threatened to break the barriers of the silencing spell.

"ULTRA RANGERS!"

TBC…


	233. Epilogue: Seasons

Epilogue: Seasons

**From the diary of Jacqui "AJ" Apple:**

_Well, they won._

_I expected them to, honestly. He would do whatever it took to defeat Xonix and bring peace to everyone's lives. Like the rest of the world, I saw the replays of the battle on the news and it broke my heart to see the destruction of the Ultra Crystals. I can only imagine what Weihan was going through in that moment but in the small amount of time I used the Power, I couldn't think about what would happen if it was suddenly taken away. When they were restored, I honestly cheered so loud, I think I scared a few folks around me. And then there was the one-on-one battle with the fused Xonix and he caught the sword between his hands…and all that blood. I've never actually seen him bleed on camera but the sight of the red against the white of his gloves…I don't want to think about it._

_Unlike the rest of the world watching, I had some insider information. Karone called me a few hours after I had settled in and had explained the situation from her point of view. And I thought worrying about him on the plane was tough! There was absolutely nothing she could do to help them from the Ultra Cavern as she had to help the others but they had ended up watching the battle on the Main Screen. Rocky had apparently gotten up to get popcorn at one time, but had been smacked by Kat. I wish I could have been there to see it, I get chills just thinking about what could have happened if the plane was a second or two too slow in taking off. Anyway, I need to put all of that behind me. He will come for me in the future; I can feel it in my heart._

_The family is overjoyed to have me away from the chaos and celebrations in Sydney. Bree, in particular, kept asking questions about Sydney and what it was like being in the thick of Ranger action. I didn't tell him this, but she's the only family member of mine that knows about them. My kid sister has been sworn to the utmost of secrecy and I still have no idea how she found out. Mom's been telling me that she's going to send Bree off to some prestigious Hotel Management School in Sydney in a few years, so I'll have a bit of time to see to her training. It's actually a good thing Angel Grove is so close to San Angeles, Adam's karate school will help her with some knowledge…well, if he can ever get it off the ground. I keep telling him that it's good to have Ranger Endorsement but he always resists. I'll think about getting Tanya and Kat to help me on that front._

_Yeah, I moved to San Angeles. Bree is with me and we're staying at Andrew's mansion. His marriage recently broke up and I think Mom wanted me to be his 'second chance' or something. Luckily for me, he stated that he doesn't want to be a burden on me and that he's pretty much 'had it with love'. I worry about him sometimes. He's getting into Advanced Robotics and Advanced A.I.; I don't know what's come over him recently. Something about hearing a legend about the Crown of the Gods and wanting to go on another adventure to find it._

_I have a feeling this won't end well at all._

**Location: Unknown**

He opened his eyes weakly.

Where was he? His mind was a mess of images, pain and fire. His body ached and all he could see in front of him were four strangely familiar figures. Forcing his vision to come into focus, he looked down at his body and gasped in alarm at the massive wound that stretched from shoulder to arm. It was still weakly oozing blood, matting the black fur on his body, and he knew he was about to pass out; yet he needed to know where he was and who the figures were.

"What happened? Where am I?"

The lead figure stepped into the light and he relaxed as his mind took in the familiar figure. One of the lost Warrior Groups had returned to him at last. Weakly smiling, he drifted off into blissful unconsciousness…followed by the words of Dark Hoof.

"Welcome back to Equestria…Night Shade."

End.

AN: Well, after one year of planning (all of 2003) and eight years of writing/story development (including the breaks); The Ultra Crystals is finally complete, just over 340K words and 233 chapters (100 more than originally planned all the way back in 2003). Thanks to those who have stuck with me through the long stretches of breaks, reviewers old and new and the ones that followed when I bumped up the rating from T to M (yes, there was a time when this fic was rated T). The journey's not over yet though…

Coming Soon: Powers Unleashed.


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