Katastrophic Konsequences
By Blueberry Blaster and ABB (Alternate Blueberry Blaster)
Summary: AU from ending of Shadow, Part II. When Benaag captures Kat Manx, she expected to be used as bait. However, she didn't expect to be sold as a slave and forced into a world where survival is for the fittest…
Disclaimer: Power Rangers does not belong to us. No money is being made from this fanfiction and any infringement is unintended.
Chapter I: Captured
The quarry was a hellish landscape.
Rocks and smaller pebbles and stones dotted the entire pit as far as the eye could see. Heat waves caused the air to simmer, and clouds of smoke drifted outwards, caught the wind, and flew off. Gravel crunched under his feet as he walked forward; towards battle, towards his enemy, towards Kat.
Hidden within the nooks and crannies that were found in almost every place imaginable, a small, excited growl escaped the lips of a kidnapper. His green hand clenched, and an artificial claw opened and snapped shut with a menacing clang.
"Yes…" a voice hissed, quivering with excitement. "At last…"
"I am here, General Benaag!" Cruger called out. "I have come alone, as you have asked!"
It caused his stomach to turn, to give in to the demands of this monster from his past. But he had to do it, if not only for Kat, but for his honour. That thought influenced his next sentence.
"I have come to avenge the spirit of my people! The honour of my fallen comrades! My wife!"
His voice echoed and resounded throughout the entire quarry.
"Now show yourself!"
Nothing. General Benaag didn't show, so he slowly turned around to view the entire quarry. Benaag was notorious for being without honour- he enjoyed striking an opponent from behind, cutting them down without them being able to do so much as fight back.
Just as he was about to give up, the voice belonging to the same person who had led the Troobians to the destruction of his homeworld, the death of thousands of people who he knew, the person who had kidnapped Kat, sounded from behind him, "Doggie Cruger!"
He whipped around, prepared for the imminent blast of energy or piercing pain.
It didn't come.
General Benaag was standing there, the same malicious grin on his hideous face.
"You disappoint me! I was certain you would not show!" he said mockingly.
Cruger did not respond to the taunt. Benaag took great pleasure in mocking his opponents, angering them, making them lose all thoughts of rationality. "I have come for Kat," his voice lowered dangerously. "And you."
"Then we must start this party. I am sure you are eager to rescue your dear friend," he laughed, sending a cold chill down the Sirian's spine.
"You escaped me last time, galaxy defender," Benaag said, deliberately choosing the most mocking title. "This time, you will not!"
The words were almost like a signal or a que. No sooner had he finished speaking, Krybots leapt into the pit, one after another, until a seemingly endless horde was in front of him.
But that wasn't all of them. Cruger turned, and saw another row of the metallic automatons running up to the edge of the pit-turned-arena. Another set of mechanical whirring that were so prominent of the Krybots alerted him to yet another group running up behind him, all in a battle ready stance.
Cruger looked around. There were Krybots as far as his eyes could see, all around him, all standing in battle ready stances, all wielding weapons in their cold, lifeless hands.
High above, just balancing on the very tip of the edge of the pit, was Broodwing, the bat-like alien weapons dealer. His laugh echoed in the glass tube that surrounded his head, which prevented the alien atmosphere of Earth from eating its way into his lungs.
"Cruger doesn't stand a chance!" he laughed.
Down below, Benaag stood with another herd of Krybots behind him.
"I will fight you, Doggie Cruger," he announced. "But only if you can defeat one hundred of my robotic soldiers first!"
He swept both his real and artificial claw around him, gesturing to the numerous Krybots.
"Then that is what I will do," Cruger solemnly stated, placing his hand over his heart in an ancient sign of promise.
"Krybots, attack!" Benaag ordered.
Cruger pulled out a black-coloured object out his pocket. This, and his Shadow Sabre, would be his saving grace…and the doom of his enemy.
He looked at the object, and admired the craftsmanship put into it. True enough, it was machine made-mechanised production lines placed all the parts together with all the necessary components. It was an expensive procedure, only made more difficult by the training of the holders. Kat could have given him any Delta Morpher off the production line straight off, but his was more unique in its black and gold colouring.
"Thank you Kat," he said, before placing it in front of him, and thumbing the switch to activate it.
"S.P.D. Emergency!" he cried out the signature phrase, before pressing the main button that would place the battle suit in place.
The black and blue protective battle suit formed around him, and encased his head within a similarly coloured helmet.
The Krybots halted, and stood staring at the figure in front of them.
"You have taken what was dearest to me, Benaag," Cruger growled. "But it has only made me stronger! I am Shadow Ranger!"
He grasped the Shadow Sabre, held in its sheath, and drew it out.
"Shadow Sabre!" he said, activating it, as once again, after so long, the rusted blade came back to life with a shining gleam. "With this, the truest sword in the galaxy, I will right all wrongs!"
The Krybots once again came back to life, and charged en masse at Cruger, with the intent of carrying out their orders.
So did Cruger, with his mighty blade raised, he ran at the horde of Krybots, numbering exactly one hundred as the ones gathered in the edge pit leapt down to join their brothers in the attempt.
The distance between them closed dramatically.
Forty metres.
Thirty.
Twenty.
At ten metres, Cruger changed his grip on the handle, and held on tightly.
Five metres.
There was no turning back.
In a single bound, Cruger cleared the last of the distance between him, the Krybots and hopefully, Kat's salvation.
As he leapt, he landed, and swung horizontally across the chests of three Krybots. They didn't have time to react as the blade slashed across their chests, and before they had fallen, Cruger was already behind them, engaged in a brawl.
His sword never stopped moving. It was a continuous blur of motion, biting across one Krybot, then moving onto the next. A Krybot got a full slash across the chest, before Cruger delivered a strike upwards and under a Krybot's weapon.
Krybots fell one after another, as he slashed and fought his way through them. He kept a mental tally of the ones he had destroyed.
Three tried to attack him in unison. Three weapons clanged off the Shadow Sabre, and with a single strike, three more bodies joined the increasing numbers of Krybots on the ground.
The remaining Krybots, numbering just under fifty in strength, kept their distance, and formed an iron circle around him.
Several tried to make a run at him, and received a blow from the Shadow Sabre in return.
"Is this all you've got?" he demanded, and struck several more down.
They numbered no more than thirty.
Thirty Krybots fell in what felt like mere seconds, their broken and destroyed bodies littering the ground of the quarry like leaves during autumn.
"It looks like it's just you…and me," Benaag said, before leaping high into the air above Cruger.
The Sirian leapt aside and slashed the General, only to be blocked and have a steel claw whip into his stomach. He doubled over, clutching at the claw before he attempted to strike back.
The two battled in a fearsome twist of attacking and counter-attacks. Sword and claw struck against each other, filling the quarry with the sound of metal striking metal. Gravel flew up, dust rose, but neither stopped; only fought on.
Eventually, Cruger found an opening and held onto it like a lifeline, delivering three consecutive blows on Benaag. The General stepped forward, intent on striking back, but stopped as the tip of the Shadow Sabre found itself mere centimetres away from his throat.
"You have lost this battle, Benaag," Cruger stated calmly, his back to the General.
Smoke drifted from the General's armour as he lowered his weapons slowly. "It's not over yet," he defiantly ground out. "You may have won this battle, but there are still many more to come."
"That may be, but you can tell me where Kat is!"
"She's in no danger…yet!" Benaag laughed manically.
Cruger's sword faltered, dropping slightly, momentarily, but it was all the time Benaag needed. He struck the Shadow Sabre aside, the power behind his blow knocking the Sirian back several paces.
The battle raged on.
It quickly deteriorated to attack and defence. Cruger, having not battled in many years, was tiring quickly, while Benaag was still holding out. Only his stubbornness and strength of will fuelled him on.
Then Benaag landed a powerful blow to his back, leading to several more strikes in succession.
As Cruger stumbled back onto his feet, Benaag taunted, "An old wound, Commander?"
Another blow, and with surprising agility that belied Benaag's size, Cruger was grabbed in a headlock.
"A new battlefield, but the same losing battle, Doggie Cruger."
Yet another pair of strikes hit home, and hurled Cruger to the ground.
"You would think that the leader of S.P.D. would do better than this. Fire!"
A brief flash of fire and smoke erupted from the tubes strapped to Benaag's back. The energy mortars shot high into the air and arced gracefully to explode around Cruger. Fire blossomed, swelled, and died quickly as the Shadow Ranger fell to his knees with a cry.
High above the quarry, Broodwing exulted in Cruger's pain. "Doggie Cruger has fallen! Emperor Gruumm will pay handsomely."
He whipped around and left, his black cape fluttering in the wind.
Benaag stared at Cruger. "Just like before. You lose the planet, and you lose the girl. And your Rangers lose to my robot. Once again you are at my feet."
Cruger struggled to stand, staring back at his long time nemesis defiantly. "This isn't the end, Benaag. No while I still breathe."
"I can stop that too," he sneered.
Cruger grunted, "This will be your last battle."
"Big words from a helpless dog," Benaag mocked, "Who can't save himself, or his friend."
"I will not be defeated!" Cruger shouted.
"We'll see about that!" Benaag's artificial claw retracted into itself and quickly transformed into a large firearm. "Beat that for firepower," he boasted.
"Give it all you've got," Cruger returned, staring down the barrel of the gun as he raised his Sabre.
Benaag cackled, and when it faded away into the wind, the two remained silent, motionless, staring each other down. For what seemed like an eternity, they held themselves still.
Then Cruger charged, his Sabre held out horizontally across his body.
"Fire!"
The gun discharged, a bright sphere of energy surged through the air to meet Cruger. At the last moment, he shifted the sword and held on tightly as the energy ball struck the blade. He grunted as he struggled to hold back the sphere before he flung it aside and continued charging.
"Shadow Sabre, full power!"
General Benaag could only scream in pain and fury as the Shadow Sabre struck him full across his chest, armoured as he was, and fall to the ground in defeat before the energy from his gun splashed harmlessly against the rock wall. From one of the unnoticeable pockets of his armour fell a large bundle of money, but he paid it no mind.
He seethed as the Sirian whipped around to stare him down, the Sabre pointed squarely at him.
"Where is she?" he demanded angrily. "Where's Kat?"
Benaag laughed weakly, "Wouldn't you like to know."
"I would, and I will go through any means to find out what you have done to her!"
At that moment, the B-Squad Rangers arrived on scene in a shower of gravel. They stared at the new Ranger, too dumbfounded to even draw their weapons.
"Who's that?"
"Look!" Syd exclaimed. "His sword! It's Cruger!"
"Go DC!" Z shouted, while Jack laughed joyously.
"Woah! Check out that suit!" Bridge grinned widely beneath his helmet.
They fell silent and grave, however, when the Shadow Ranger forced the tip of the Sabre under the General's chin, his gloved hands shaking with anger. The B-Squad Rangers ran to their Commander's side, their blasters levelled at Benaag.
"I'll ask you one more time," Cruger growled. "Where – is – Kat."
To their surprise, Benaag merely laughed, coldly and triumphantly. "You won't find her, Doggie Cruger!" he rasped. "You won't find her on Earth. It's too late."
Cruger snarled kicked the General away viciously, much to the shock of the other Rangers. The General landed sprawled on the gravel amongst the many sparking parts of Krybot remains, grunting painfully. The Shadow Ranger then whipped out his morpher, setting it to judgment mode.
"General Benaag, you are charged with the obstruction of justice," the sign flashed between blue and red, a circle and an 'X'. "You are charged with the destruction of five planets, and for atrocities throughout the galaxy."
The flashing signs stopped with the red 'X', beeping wildly. Benaag growled helplessly, but Cruger wasn't finished yet.
"You are charged with the disappearance of Isinia Cruger; my wife!"
The judgment was guilty.
"You are charged, General Benaag, with the murder of Dr. Katherine Manx."
The Rangers subconsciously tightened their grips on their weapons. They were all stunned, however, when Benaag was judged innocent.
"What?" Cruger stared at the blue circle in shock.
"There is so much you do not know, Cruger, and this time, you won't have your precious scientist to help you."
Cruger growled and clipped his morpher to his waist. "Perhaps, but I do know where you're going!" He raised his Sabre. "Shadow Sabre!"
Benaag screamed as the Sabre struck him down, and out of the ensuing explosion flew a containment card. Cruger caught it between his fingers easily and stared at the occupant inside as the B-Squad Rangers cheered and ran forward.
"Way to go, Cruger!"
"You kicked his ass big time!"
"I did."
He stowed the card away, even as the wind blew the notes across the quarry. The Commander and Rangers stared at the fluttering notes, trying to decipher the meaning of its existence.
Understanding dawned upon the Rangers and Cruger.
Kat wasn't dead; but if what the money insinuated was true, then she might as well have been – or she would be soon.
Author's Notes: Alright peoples, ABB here, otherwise the author of the other PR stories that have been written on this account. First up, a big round of applause for BB, who has officially started writing for PR! ABB and BB have joined forces for the first time!
I know that this chapter was a mere novelisation of some of Shadow Part 2, but from here on out, things will be very different. This isn't a whole re-write of S.P.D., but will focus on Kat as well as on how things go without her.
And additionally, Serene Relations chapter 5 is almost complete. Expect it up within the next couple of days or so.
Reviews again, are very much appreciated. Nothing is more annoying than someone alerting, and never reviewing. Please, take a few minutes to write even just a couple of words. Thank you all, see ya whenever Serene Relations or the next chapter of this is up! Now, if BB has something to say?
BB: … blah. Do whatever you want. (That includes reviewing!)
Toodles!
P.S. Expect the next chapter within two, maybe three weeks. One and a half if you're lucky and good (Good equals leaving a review).
ABB and BB: See ya!