MMPR Dawn of Primacy: Dark Maelstrom

by J Raine

When a time shift alters the past and history is rewritten Rangers from several generations are caught up in the conflict as Earth becomes the battle ground for the ultimate battle between good and evil. MMPRtoPRTF&PRNS. Check profile for release schedule

2. Chapter 2

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Dawn of Primacy: Dark Maelstrom

-2-

The Rangers removed their helmets, shock covering their faces.

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Billy asked.

"There's something I have to take care of," Josh said his voice apologetic. "And if I don't take care of it now, I may lose the chance."

Kimberly walked up to him, looking deep into his eyes. "If it's that important let us help you."

Joshua could see the compassion in her deep brown eyes, and the desire to help, but he knew what he had to do, and he knew he had to do it alone.

"You can't help me with this," Josh said. "This is something I have to do on my own, because," he paused "I'm the only one who can. I wish I could explain, but right now I can't."

"Please don't shut us out," Kimberly said softly, her eyes glistening, just short of tears. "We're a team, we're all in this together; you don't have to be alone."

"I know," Joshua said, "And that's why this is hard for me to do." He looked up at everyone. "I can't change the past, but I can do something now to make sure we all have a future. I know I've been distant lately, I've had a lot on my mind, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shut you out," Josh sighed, pausing for a moment. "I really want to explain, but it would be too much right now, I promise when I get back I'll tell you everything, all of you." Joshua looked down at Kimberly, "okay?"

"You promise you're coming back?" she asked.

"I promise I'm coming back." Josh said. She could see the determination in his eyes.

"Okay," she rested her head on his chest embracing him.

Joshua placed his arms around her, looking at the others; the question in his eyes. They didn't speak but nodded. Green light began to flow from Joshua's body and envelop Kimberly. His Dragon Shield, golden arm bands, and dagger appeared on her armor. Kimberly aware of what happened, let go and stepped back.

"Why," she started to ask but Joshua preempted her question.

"Pterodactyl has no part in forming the Dragon Warrior Zord, you need some of my powers while I'm gone, especially if you might encounter Cyclopsis."

"But what about your shield?" Kimberly asked, "And you don't have a weapon."

"I won't need them where I'm going," Josh said. He looked at Billy. "You probably won't be able to reach me on the communicator."

"So what happens if we need you?" Adam asked.

"Hopefully you won't" Josh replied. He gave a last look around the room and nodded, and in a blaze of green light he was gone.

Kimberly crossed her arms holding herself, she wasn't so sure about this, and the fact that he had left her with his powers and Zord wasn't reassuring to her. She knew he said he was coming back, but she wondered how much of it was really in his control, and if so how long would he be gone? What if he didn't come back? She really wished she had said something more, but it was too late now, she could only hope there would be another time and place for it. But then again maybe she was just too caught up in the moment and wasn't thinking clearly. He'd be back, as far as it depended on him, she believed that much.

"Kimberly?" Billy's voice broke her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied.

"Then we need to get going."

She nodded. The four of them grabbed their helmets and teleported out.

Joshua rematerialized in front of a Shaolin Temple. It was surrounded by a bamboo forest. The light being reflected off the plants gave the environment a deep splash of green. It was early the next morning here, the sun rising, though not very visible through the foliage. He walked up to the Temple steps and respectfully removed his shoes. He removed a small black bag from his backpack before leaving the pack with his shoes. He took a deep breath walking up the steps and into the Temple. A lone Monk met him at the door, Joshua bowed. The monk bowed in return and guided him in. As they were walking in Joshua began to think back on when all this started nearly a year ago when the map had been found.

While cleaning up the Command Center and refurbishing the equipment Kimberly had stumbled upon a box that appeared to have once contained the Power Coins. Beside the indentations for the six coins there was also a map. When Joshua had left to seek out new Rangers he had, unknown to Kimberly and Billy, taken the map. Deep in the desert he discovered a hidden temple where he was attacked by the guardian, Ninjor. After persuading Ninjor that the Green Power Coin was no longer under the control of evil and explaining the situation Ninjor assisted Joshua in searching out two humans who could use the Power. Joshua also learned of the construct called the Morphing Grid, as it had been labeled by Zordon and Alpha, but what he learned from Ninjor went beyond what even Zordon presumably knew about the power, or maybe he had known and had chosen to keep it a secret. It was during his time with Ninjor that Joshua first learned of the secret Shaolin Temple and the truth about what it would take to bring the Rangers through the crisis they faced. Joshua had not wanted to accept it at first and after returning with Adam and Ashley had pursued other options and searched out several other paths. All of them had turned up nothing, and finally he returned to Ninjor willing to listen. Even now as he was walking down the halls of this awe inspiring Temple he still wasn't totally convinced this was even going to work. But if this is what it was going to take to give them a fighting chance then he was ready to make the sacrifice.

The monk led him to a room. Ninjor was waiting there for him, his armor similar to the Ranger armor, but more closely resembling a ceremonial ninja uniform. Golden 'N's on the head and chest stood in stark contrast to the midnight blue armor plates which were over what appeared to be a dark gray mail. He was standing next to a rack with a single sword on it. The sword was unconventional in appearance, two crystal webs of black and white wrapped the blade which itself was a blue-green crystal. The guard had two characters, Joukai and Makai engraved on it. The handle was a carved stone of some sort, but appeared to have water flowing within it. Behind Ninjor and the sword were a stone table with an elaborate display of the three realms engraved on it and a gate, shut and locked.

The monk bowed to Ninjor and Joshua, they in turn bowed and the monk took his leave. Joshua bowed to Ninjor and proceeded into the room.

"Did you bring the items?" Ninjor asked, his voice ominous like a multitude speaking at once.

"Yes," Joshua replied. He placed the black bag on the table over the engraving of the Earth. He returned to Ninjor.

"I will wait here and aide you as best I can." Ninjor said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Joshua replied setting his will against the odds.

"Then take Reitsuken."

He reached out and took the sword, the gate opened.

The Rangers materialized on the moon, North-east of Cyclopsis. They began to move across the surface as fast as the low gravity would allow them. They would have teleported in ahead of Cyclopsis but could not risk being detected before finding out what he was carrying. The plan was to move west and use the Vlaco crater as cover to observe Cyclopsis. Hopefully the low power levels of the Zord, and the rate at which it was dropping due to the apparent strain of the cargo would most likely mean the more precise sensors would be shut down to conserve power. After all the Machine Empire was mostly poised along the Oceanus region; the terrain was more suited to deploying and maintaining their equipment and factories.

Billy motioned them on, as they maintained silence over the com channels in the event anyone was listening.

The silence was not what Kimberly needed right now, Joshua's departure had come at a bad time, and she was finding she really did need something to distract her from her thoughts. It wasn't just that they had Cyclopsis to deal with it was his whole state of mind recently. He had been so closed off and with his nightmares becoming more intense lately there was no telling what had inspired this sudden decision, she hoped he wasn't doing this out of guilt for the past. She tried to think of a happier time, but with so much tragedy in the last year there wasn't much to lift her spirits. Why did Joshua have to go now? He had seemed fine this morning; this whole thing was so random, why hadn't he even mentioned it before now? She placed one of her hands on the shield plate running her fingers over the three pronged dragon talon insignia engraved there. For some reason her mind shifted to the first time Joshua had left and returned, when he had found Adam and Ashley.

"And so you can see," Billy said pointing at the holographic image displayed. "Zedd's new breed of Putty is comprised mostly of granite, the feet, hands, and joints are of a more malleable highly carbonized iron, roughly equivalent to surgical steel. Now under normal circumstances this would still make the Putty little more than a statue, however each is able to sustain a core of liquid magma in the same way that the Earth's core sustains its heat. I'm not really sure how this is accomplished since the pressure within a Putty is nothing like the intense pressures within the Earth. I can only label it as magic. The Z on the center of the chest coincidently is over a merging of plates that comprise the Putty's torso. These plates create a weak point in the Putty's structure that can be damaged more easily.

Adam and Ashley listened quietly; a little overwhelmed by the detail Billy was putting into his explanations. Kimberly stepped out of the room, this was nothing she didn't already know, and the detail oriented account of their enemies was not appealing to her. As she left the room she proceeded down a hallway leading to large doors. The large doors of the Command Center opened as she approached allowing her to exit the massive structure. Her lungs took in the fresh air, a moment of luxury after spending the day in the Command Center. Maybe a walk would be good to loosen up and help clear her mind.

As she walked along, the light of the setting sun casting shadows over the mountainous terrain, she noticed a figure standing in front of the memorial that she and Billy had made for their friends. It was Joshua and he seemed to be talking to himself. Out of some sense of morbid curiosity she walked closer. She wasn't sure why she wanted to see what was going on, all this guy had done since he got here was apologize for what he had done and try to take revenge against Zedd, as if that was going to help anything, it would never bring them back. She just wished he would find a new Red Ranger so this unbalanced alliance would end and she could move on with her life and get him out of it. He didn't even want to be part of this team anyway. As she drew closer she could make out his words.

"It just can't be true, there is no way." He said. "Or am I just too scared to want to accept it?" He paused as if contemplating something else. "I'm so weak, the great Joshua Raine, martial arts prodigy, what a joke," he laughed shaking his head. "You're a coward Josh, if you were really as great as you think you are you'd fix this instead of hiding behind your arrogance like some coward." He clenched his fists his voice began to shake. "Somebody just tell me what to do," suddenly he screamed out, "Tell me how to make this right!"

Kimberly was caught off guard by this. It had been several months since the incident on the volcano when he was first freed from Zedd's control and yet he still seemed as tormented now as he had been on that day. Joshua dropped onto his knees running his fingers through the dirt, clenching his hands into fists again. He began to repeat something under his breath, but she couldn't tell what he was saying. With each repetition the words were getting louder. She moved closer, doing her best to not make a sound. She finally caught what he was saying.

"It should have been me, I should be dead, not you."

Kimberly gasped; Joshua suddenly became aware of her presence. In an instant he had turned and was on the balls of his feet poised to attack. Even in the dimming light she could see that his eyes were blood shot and his face streaked with tears. When he saw it was her he dropped back onto his knees turning away from her. She wasn't aware of it at that moment, but he hadn't eaten or slept in days. He had never said why exactly except to explain that he had so much on his mind that he couldn't find a moments peace. Kimberly had asked Adam and Ashley if they knew anything, but both were surprised, and commented that up until the time he had introduced them to her and Billy before departing he had seemed to be perfectly fine.

"Please just go, leave me." He said sitting defenseless.

Kimberly had never seen him so vulnerable. This was the Green Ranger, he had single handedly defeated them all on two separate occasions, and she knew that if his heart had truly been bent on evil he would have killed them all. He had taken so much abuse from both her and Billy in their bitterness and loss and never even gave an indication that it had hurt him. He always chose the most dangerous parts of every raid against Zedd and Mondo. He always covered her and Billy when they had to escape. He always bore with the hardships and loneliness like it was his duty, he had always seemed invincible, like nothing could stop him. Yet here he was so torn apart, so frail, and no one to turn to for help. For the first time she saw him as a person, not just the Green Ranger, but a human being who was alone in the world. She had suffered the loss of her friends, but he had lost his family, and been forced to kill others, his conscience bearing the guilt of their blood. Her heart broke in that moment as she realized how callous her own actions and attitude toward him had been. Her eyes began to tear up. She walked over to where he was sitting and knelt down behind him; supporting him she put her arms around chest.

"No," she whispered softly. "You don't have to be alone anymore." She sighed trying to find the words she needed. "Thank you for everything you've done, I know I haven't been nice to you… I'm sorry… if you can forgive me I'd like another chance to be a friend."

Joshua's eyes closed flushing fresh tears down his face. Then Kimberly noticed something she had never seen all these month, he smiled ever so slightly. Not a smile trying to cover over pain, but a moment of happiness. Then without warning she felt his body give out and collapse. At first she was filled with panic, but then, ever so softly she could feel his heartbeat, feel his breathing.

Later Joshua had told her that this was the first moment he had ever felt safe, the first time he had felt like he belonged somewhere since Zedd had come. In that moment his body, so taxed by the lack of sleep and nourishment, the months of isolation from any human compassion finally found a moments rest. The most important thing that he told her though was as he was lying there in her arms it was the first time since that day he hadn't been tormented by nightmares.

Kimberly came out of her day dream realizing they were almost to the crater. For some reason she felt better, maybe Ashley had been right, maybe her being there was all he really needed to heal. She reached up to touch the emblem on the armor again, but stopped in shock when she realized she was no longer running her fingers over the Dragon icon, but in fact the emblem had changed to the Pterodactyl. A chill ran through her, what did this mean? Was this a normal thing, but then why didn't it happen immediately? She tried to put it out of her mind, Billy was the only one who could provide answers, and she couldn't break silence for this, and even if she could, there was nothing she could do right now. She just hoped Joshua was okay.

They all continued their advanced in silence across the lifeless surface. Though they could not hear the sound of the Zord they could feel the ground shake under the weight of its massive footfalls. It was close, but not too close. The group reached the edge of the crater and did their best to conceal themselves in the barren terrain. Billy was monitoring Cyclopsis' approach while the others kept watch for any other threats. Vigilance was important when on the moon as sound would not travel through the vacuum. Normally they would use their seismic sensors to monitor the slightest variations in ground movement, however Cyclopsis' presence was making that impossible.

Billy could now make out the object in Cyclopsis' hands it was some type of reactor. Running a spectra-graphical analysis did little good. The reactor had obviously been shut down for transport and that was making it hard to get a good reading. What he was seeing though was a signature that went beyond anything on the periodic table, but with the interference created by the Zord's own power source it was hard to get an exact fix on the signature. As Cyclopsis reached the far side of the crater Billy slid down the outside of the crater to hide. They waited as the footfalls grew a little more distant. When Billy was satisfied they had not been detected he signaled to the others to teleport. The four of them vanished into streaks of light.

As they rematerialized in the Command Center they removed their helmets happy to be back in an atmosphere.

"So what was that thing?" Adam asked.

"Some kind of reactor," Billy replied, "I'm not sure what kind, but it would seem the power source is a substance that we haven't discovered on Earth yet." He turned to Beta, "Estimated time to Zedd's Fortress?"

"Estimated time of arrival to Fortress barrier, two hours forty-six minutes seventeen seconds at present speed."

"Does the Zord have enough power to make it?" Adam asked.

"Present rate of consumption places Zord fifty-three meters inside Fortress barrier. Variation of thirteen meters possible given no extraneous variables."

"Sounds like we need a variable," Billy said.

"But what?" Ashley asked.

"Somehow we need to get the Zords to the moon, but it would take a couple of hours to fit the Dragon Warrior Zord for travel to the moon, and then there would be the actual trip." Billy replied.

The problem had existed for the past year, but had never been an issue that took priority. There was simply no easy way to get the Zords off planet. The teleportation system did not have enough power to transport that much mass that great of a distance. Since all the war machines on the Zord scale had been inactive until now it had been easy to overlook. It had seemed more likely as well that the fight would have come to them when one army finally decided to invade, but now it seemed it would have to be dealt with.

"What would it take to drain off enough power from Cyclopsis?" Kimberly asked.

"Not much," Billy said. "It would seem this entire operation was carefully calculated to not have any interference. Which means Zedd either has other agents at work to ensure this or this is a desperate gamble using what few resources he still has."

"I'll go," Kimberly said. She had wanted to ask about the change on the shield, but this was more important. As concerned as she was about Joshua she needed to keep her focus on protecting the Earth.

"I don't know if that's the best idea." Adam replied, his tone hesitant.

Kimberly summoned her courage and tried to be bold, "I don't like it either, but Pterodactyl is ready to launch now, and I can make it there without the teleporter or anything added to my Zord."

Billy remained silent, but was running the numbers in his head. He turned to the console and began doing some calculations.

"But if you go alone we can't help you if something goes wrong." Ashley said.

"I know," Kimberly replied, "But this is something I have to do. I don't understand what that thing is, but if Zedd wants it so bad we have to at least slow him down a little."

Billy spoke up. "It really is the best option. It will take you about twenty minutes to reach Cyclopsis' position and you only need to keep him busy for a minute or two even if you can't destroy the reactor."

"Then I'm going," Kimberly replied grabbing her helmet. Without another word she teleported to her Zord and prepared for start up.

Billy's voice came over the com, "The flight path is programmed into your computer, just follow the trajectory on the HUD."

"Got it,"

"And Kimberly,"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

"I will," she throttled up, released the docking clamps, and activated the launch catapult. The magnetic rail accelerated her Zord to supersonic speed, with a sky shattering crack the Pterodactyl exploded from the volcano and soared into the heavens.

Lokar paced around his laboratory, it had once been Finster's workshop. He was worried about the present operation and could not shake the memory of the battle that started the horrors they now faced. His mind drifted back to the day the Machine Empire attacked, the day his Lord's Empire almost fell.

"It's the Machine Empire!" Goldar roared. "We are under attack!"

Lokar looked up to see thousands of Quadrafighters covering the sky like locusts. Hundreds of Machine Empire warships were already overhead with even more coming out of hyperspace. This was a bold move for King Mondo, Lokar knew the Machine Empire had never fully supported his Lord's rule, but this made no sense. If this was not the entire Machine Empire's army it was certainly close, what could drive Mondo to risk his entire Empire in a single battle? Yet there was no time to contemplate motive as another volley of fire slammed into the defensive shields. The Dark Fortress, which had sat cloaked in a low orbit over Zedd's Fortress now tore from its protective camouflage and opened fire with all gun batteries. The void was lit bright by the explosions of hundreds of Quadrafighters. In this moment of surprise squadrons of Velocifighters began to scramble launching from both the Dark Fortress and the Palace.

Quadrafighters had already begun landing, converting to walker mode they marched forth like an army of ants. With thunderous quaking Goldar's Zord, Cyclopsis, raced out of the Fortress gates into the oncoming walkers releasing volleys of missiles into the swarms of fighters still in the sky. Blades extended from the Zord's wrists cutting into the walkers that had begun advancing. The savagery of Goldar's attack was incredible as his lone Zord blazed through the Fighters in a flurry of blades and ordinance.

Lokar looked to see his Lord leap from the balcony destroying several more fighters with a single swing of his sword, the energy arc tearing through the craft like they were no more than paper. Yet he was concerned as he saw a streak of green leave the balcony and go to Earth. Surely his Lord did not need the Green Ranger's assistance, but he couldn't help think it unwise to send one of their most powerful warriors away at such a time. Yet he could not concern himself with such matters at this time and stepped out widening his stance. He began to chant an incantation curling his hands as if holding an invisible sphere. As his chants became more intense energy began to visibly gather, a twisted mass of black and red sparking light. Lokar's hands began to shake as he strained to hold the energy within his grasp. With a scream of force Lokar thrust the orb forward discharging a huge burst of energy that pulsed as it departed from his hands. The blast flew through space hitting several fighters before slamming into one of the gear shaped warships. The blast tore the ship to pieces and slammed into another beyond it destroying a good portion of the craft. Caught in the gravity of the Moon it began to descend finally plowing into the Moon sending up a wave of dust.

"You will pay for this defiance with your lives!" Zedd roared as he lifted his saber above him. The entire moon began to shake as the space above them began to ripple and distort. In a furious explosion that cast thousands of Quadrafighters from the skies and tore several warships asunder a large, lithe, obsidian Dragon Zord emerged from the rift, eyes blazing red.

Lokar stood awestruck, never had his Lord displayed so much power in a single act of his will. It was inspiring.

The mouth of the behemoth Zord began to glow with a blazing yellow light, webs of lighting coursed over the body of the great dragon as a swirling vortex of energy began to build at the front of the mouth. The Machine Empire's warships began to focus their fire on the large War Zord, but it was to little effect. With a violent burst of power that ruptured the very fabric of space-time Serpentera unleashed its attack, energy bursting forth like lighting harvest from the storms of a million worlds. Serpentera swept the attack through the sky vaporizing over one hundred enemy warships as their shields buckled and the craft were atomized by the overwhelming power.

Aboard the Machine Empire's Flag Ship, the Machina which resembled more of a clockwork palace than a warship, Mondo sat coldly watching the destruction of his military might. Machines could always be rebuilt, but if Zedd prevailed today he would never have the chance, he would be hunted mercilessly. Still he had caught Zedd by surprise, or so it appeared, this was unexpected. However with the arrival of Serpentera he was uncertain that his fleet still had enough strength to prevail, Zedd's forces had destroyed nearly half of his warships and while he was certain Serpentera could not manage another attack of that magnitude, he still had the Dark Fortress and Zedd himself to contend with. His processing was interrupted by Klank.

"Sire, incoming transmission from the Preliator Gladius." He said patching it through.

"What is it my son?" Mondo asked.

"Father," Prince Gasket began as his holographic image appeared on a circular display to Mondo's right, his voice devoid of emotion. "We will never win this war from orbit alone; we must force a ground battle while we still have enough Cogs to overwhelm them."

"Very well, begin landing your forces outside the Fortress bar…" suddenly Gasket lurched and the image cut out. "What is going on?" Mondo demanded.

"Sire, the Preliator Gladius has been hit, it is going down." Klank responded.

On the bridge of his ship Gasket pulled himself up from the wreckage, fire was everywhere as liquid oxygen poured from a ruptured fuel line. The front of the bridge had been torn away, the navigation counsels and the pilots torn to shrapnel. Then to his left he saw her, his bride Archerina rended, lying on the floor, the spark of life gone from her cold metal corpse.

"Sire, the core is about to go critical," A Cog replied in a monotone voice as it stood mindlessly at its enflamed station.

"Then we shall perish in fire with our enemies!" Gasket declared. Several cables whipped from his arm plugging into his chair. His mind began to interface with the ship's systems. As he merged with the ship he became aware of all that surrounded him. Locking onto the largest power source he began to direct the craft as it fell to the moon.

"Prepare to detonate the core on my command!" Gasket shouted.

"Affirmative," The Cog replied.

"I will show him the power of the Machine Empire Father!"

The Preliator Gladius continued forward, picking up speed. Below Zedd looked up to see the flaming hulk heading directly toward him, did this fool really believe that such a graceless and obvious attack had a chance to stop him. Zedd drew his sword back preparing to attack, but as he did his mind was racked by pain, he felt his bond with the Green Ranger destroyed, and something within him screamed in fury. In this moment of weakness the massive Warship plowed into the ground where Zedd stood pinning him, for a split second between the ship and the Palace shields.

"Now!" Gasket roared

In a blinding flash of light the ship's Neo-plutonium core achieved critical mass and exploded with the force of a hundred nuclear weapons. Much of the energy was absorbed by the Palace shields, but the electromagnetic pulse disabled thousands of Fighters and their pilots above. The remains of the warship's hull melted filling the crater and encasing Zedd's body in a metal tomb. Lokar fell to his knees at the sight of his Lord's defeat. Cyclopsis, having been powered by the arcane power that radiated from the Palace as well as Zedd, began to shut down. Goldar turned and began his fall back toward the Palace.

Aboard the Machina Mondo sat with quiet confidence that his son's sacrifice had won this war for them.

"Did we win Dad?" Sprocket asked.

"Don't bother your Father right now," Machina said. "We just lost our first constructed."

"It is without consequence," Mondo replied. "When this is over then…"

Mondo stopped as the display of Zedd's resting place began to move. For a moment all the warriors on both sides paused as the hardened metal pool that had been Zedd's tomb was torn apart, the Dark Lord emerging from its husk. Lokar ran to his side.

"My Lord," Lokar said catching him as he collapsed; the fire in his eyes a dim and dying flame. Lokar was mortified at the condition of his Lord, but it was no small wonder that he was even alive after such an assault. Lokar began to carry him back through the barrier.

"No!" Mondo said slamming his hand down on the counsel to his right. "All force begin landing, storm the Palace, Zedd must not be allowed to escape!"

On the ground below Lokar was reaching the Palace gates as Goldar arrived with Cyclopsis, the Zord was nearly out of power as it strained to pass through the protection of the Palace shields. Reaching the gates the Zord collapsed to its knees, Goldar emerging from the cockpit drawing his sword and unfurling his wings. As he landed beside Lokar Scorpina met them in the Great Hall, now empty, the Quadrafighters above fighting to maintain air superiority over the Palace.

"The Machine Empire is landing troops," Scorpina reported.

"Goldar, Scorpina, hold the line here. Do not let one of those cursed machines into our Lord's Palace!" Lokar said as he carried Zedd passed them.

Lokar reached out to Astronema, "The Machine Empire is landing forces, we need as many Quantrons and Putties sent to the Great Hall to hold the line as possible, and send any available warriors to help. Our Lord is injured; I need you to meet me in the Throne Room."

"Understood," Astronema replied.

Astronema turned to those on the bridge with her, Squat and Baboo, who had joined the crew in order to be further away from Lord Zedd, and Finster who had been working with the Quantrons to improve the Dark Fortress' systems.

"You two, get down to the Great Hall," she ordered looking at Squat and Baboo.

"Oh, we're not really fighters," Baboo stammered.

"Yeah," Squat added, "Maybe there's something else we could do."

Even as they spoke Ecliptor used the Fortress' teleporter to send them down to the Hall.

"Finster, we need more Putties." Astronema relayed.

"Of course, if you could send me to my workshop I can begin producing more immediately." Finster said happy to have a job away from the front line.

Astronema nodded and Ecliptor teleported Finster off the bridge.

"Ecliptor," Astronema began, "I'm placing you in command, find a way onto the Machina and disable it, if you can do that it should create enough chaos to allow us to route the Machine Empire."

"I will not fail you Empress," Ecliptor reassured her as she teleported from the bridge.

On the ground, below the battle that raged above, legions of Cogs continued to teleport to the barren surface and marched forward bringing massed laser fire to bear against the weakened Palace shields. Within the barrier, near the gates Goldar and Scorpina mobilized the forces they had, the Quantrons digging in and preparing to engage as the shield began to buckle under the continued strain placed on it. The Putties being moved to positions behind the Quantrons and preparing to assault the enemy in hand to hand combat as they approached. Several of the Quantrons were fitting Cyclopsis with power cables from the Palace turning the Zord into a semi-mobile gun battery. Goldar was concerned, the bulk of their Putties were formed from Rita's former stock of magic clay, which were vastly inferior to Zedd's Putties which were forged from a far greater magic even if they still had their weakness.

"We should save the better Putties to engage when the others already have the Cogs bogged down." Scorpina said.

"Agreed," Goldar growled. "You will be in command on the ground, I will provide cover using Cyclopsis' weapons."

"What about those two?" Scorpina asked motioning toward Squat and Baboo.

"Give them rifles and place them with the Quantrons, if they try to run," Goldar glared at the two of them, "shoot them."

Squat and Baboo said nothing, but looked fearfully at one another. Goldar turned away and climbed into Cyclopsis. With a crackle of energy the forward shield grid collapsed, the rush of air stirred the dust as the pocket of air around the Palace decompressed. Scorpina, Squat and Baboo placed on masks to recycle their air. The Palace doors closed sealing the bulkheads. The Cogs began to lurch forward against the force of the decompression, the Quantrons opened fire.

On board the Machina Mondo was forming plans of his own.

"Klank!" Mondo summoned.

"Yes Sire," Klank came and knelt before Mondo, Orbus hovering next to him.

"The Palace Shields are compromised. Take a contingent of Cogs and infiltrate the Palace, capture or destroy any resources you find."

"Yes, Sire." Klank replied leaving his King's presence.

In the Throne Room, Lokar worked quickly to remove Zedd's armor as Astronema began attaching cables and tubing to Zedd to deliver life sustaining concoctions. Both worked frantically as Zedd's body grew weaker and the flame that once filled them with a deep sense of terror now flickered and threatened to be snuffed out. The whole of Lokar's Arcanum was directed at keeping his Lord alive, though his meager power was barely satiating his Lord's great thirst. The two continued to work, neither one saying a word, yet each feared that if Zedd were lost it would only be a matter of time before they too faced the same fate.

Ecliptor entered the boarding craft and sealed the hatch, the Quantrons loading it into one of the magnetic rail launchers. His plan had been simple, to concentrate one last blast from Serpentera onto the forward shields of the Machina while simultaneously firing with all the gun batteries aboard the Dark Fortress it should take down the shield for a moment allowing his craft to pierce the armor of the ship's bridge. As his craft locked into place he gave the order to open fire.

Serpentera halted in its task of rending ships with its large claw and charged its main weapon to a mere five percent before the systems began to shut down. With no more power left to be used the Zord and Dark Fortress opened fire in tandem. Before the blast had struck Ecliptor was launched, accelerated to speeds nearing mach ten. The attack struck the forward shields weakening them and causing local failure for a brief moment allowing Ecliptor's craft to penetrate the shield, the adamantium spear head of the craft met with the adamantium hull of the warship tearing through it and skidding through the bridge impacting on the far wall. Ecliptor wasted no time in emerging from the craft, his sword drawn, but even as he emerged he saw Mondo and Machina close a bulkhead behind them escaping to other regions of the ship. Ecliptor cursed striking the side of the boarding craft. As he looked around he saw to his delight that his boarding action had destroyed Sprocket. The lower body of the machine lay on the floor; clearly the rest was torn apart during impact, though no sign of it existed. But, there was no time to enjoy this small victory. With Mondo off the bridge it would only be a matter of time before he could resume control of the ship from another location. Ecliptor quickly set the engines to overload, dropped the shields and then accessed the weapon controls. In a brutal attack he began to turn the full firepower of the Machina on the other warships bringing them down one by one.

On the Palace balcony Klank and his strike team had almost cut through the bulkhead. Below him the other Cogs were keeping the defenders busy, yet it was at great cost as Cyclopsis was tearing apart rows of machines with its powerful weapons. Klank secured the portable shield they had brought to keep the air from escaping from the newly cut hole. While his soldiers need no air he knew that to create another breech would alert enemy and result in another bulkhead being lowered to prevent loss of atmosphere. That would cost him time they did not have. The Cogs finished their work, a huge metal slab was pushed through the molten edges of the cut and the Machine Empire surged through the hole. They were met by Putties as their entry had brought them in through the observation deck painfully close to Finster's workshop. Klank proceeded through the breech removing a naganata-like weapon from his back, the blades were shaped like gears. The Cogs had engaged with the Putties, but their frail clay forms were of little use against the hardened metal warriors, and the damage done by the Putties transformed appendages was more superficial than anything. The Cogs continued to advance, the laser bursts from their eyes doing little against the ceramic bodies of their adversaries. Had it not been for the Cogs small measure of physical combat the battle would have been a stalemate.

Klank saw the machine that was producing the Putties and the small imp that operated it. He ordered his drones forward and restrained the frail creature. The machine however continued to churn out clay warriors. With some regret Klank raised his weapon and struck the construct. Finster tore free from his captors and shoved Klank back in desperation, trying to save his forge. But as he did so the machine exploded sending shrapnel flying in all directions. The Cogs were unaffected, but Finster collapsed his body torn, his pale blue blood flowing from the many gashes over his body.

The Machina shook as the alarm warned that the engines had ruptured, the ship was going down. Ecliptor redirected the warship away from the Palace and, firing on one more warship, teleported from the bridge. The alarm to fall back sounded through out the Machine Empire. The waves of Cogs, who had nearly reached the Palace gates, began to fall back. Scorpina watched, half buried in the corpses of Cogs, as the remaining drones began to fall back. The front lines had been completely over run. The corpses of Cogs, Putties, and Quantrons littered the grounds outside the gate. Even Cyclopsis had been toppled and lay on the ground, a scorched mess. However, as Scorpina looked on the cockpit opened and Goldar emerged, his eyes filled with an intense ferocity. Though the fight had other casualties, Squat and Baboo lay on the ground burned and trampled, nearly buried below the scrap of the two armies.

Above, the few remaining warships changed course to escort the Machina, engaging tow lines to guide it to a suitable landing site. The remaining Quadrafighters followed to provide cover. The Dark Fortress came to rest on top of the Palace extending its shields over the palace, the remaining Velocifighters returning to the Dark Fortress. Goldar and Scorpina surveyed the carnage. Goldar tucked his wings away as he let out a discontented growl, the battle may have ended, but the war was far from over.

As Klank received the fall back command his Cogs quickly gathered the wounded creature and the remains of his machine and returned to the balcony teleporting back to one of the few remaining warships. Klank had plans for this creature; he might prove to be the key to their eventual victory.

Now Zedd sat, confined to his throne barely alive, the power of Astronema's Dark Fortress diverted to the machine that sustained his life force combined with Lokar's own dark magic. However, they lacked the power needed to fully revive him.

If only he could find a way this war would be over and they could once again turn their attention to the Earth and expand Zedd's glorious empire across the Universe. The situation was made more infuriating because with so much of his own power drained to sustain his Lord he could not open a gateway to travel off the moon to retrieve help or find a solution, and with the Dark Fortress' power sustaining Zedd they had lost all space travel except for Astronema's Velocifighters. However, these were only short range fighters, not capable of crossing the great expanse of space to reach another of Zedd's many worlds.

Then there were the Rangers, those insufferable humans! It angered him just to think about them. They were always interfering with his Lord's plans, had it not been for them they would have been able to contact the Empire.

Josh clung to the exterior of the Dark Fortress, magnetic grips on his boots and hands holding him to the outer shell. Josh looked down, the massive space station was perched above Zedd's fortress like an ominous gargoyle; even with the Moon's reduced gravity it was still a long fall, and Josh was having trouble reassuring himself that he would survive the fall, but he had to complete his mission. The Fortress had been docked here ever since the first battle with the Machine Empire had ceased nearly a week ago. Billy was unsure why the Fortress was inactive, but Josh had persuaded Billy and Kimberly to act before Zedd could summon more of his armies. When the three of them had returned to the Command Center Josh had managed to compose himself enough to tell Billy about the Machine Empire's attack and advised him to broadcast a jamming signal. While Billy had been content with this, Josh had never seen it as more than a temporary solution. He wanted to ensure, no matter what other means Zedd may have that the communications array on the Dark Fortress was destroyed. He knew from his service to Zedd that the Fortress housed one of communication hubs for Zedd's Empire, destroying it would at least cause a decent amount of confusion. More importantly the chaos from the explosions would give him a chance to confront Zedd. He had to be stopped and Josh knew he was the only one of the Rangers who even had a chance. The thoughts of vengeance hung in Josh's mind as he continued his ascent, several explosive charges strapped to his back. As he reached the top he hopped across the surface of the fortress toward the massive array in the center of the vessel. Moving along the surface of the craft he barely noticed the Earth glowing like a blue pearl in the sky. His mind was fixed on getting to his objective and killing Zedd.

He reached the array and began to plant the explosives on the critical points Billy had been able to find through his scans. As the last one was placed Josh located the access hatch near the array and forced his dagger between the thick doors. As he applied some leverage the doors began to slowly open, the sound of gears grinding as the stations mechanics worked against him. Finally he was able to force it open enough to get his arms in. Yet as he reached in he dropped his dagger down the shaft, he heard in clang as it hit the metal floor below. Josh cursed under his breath; nothing he could do about it right now. He inhaled deeply and then forced the doors all the way out, sparks flying from the gap as the motors that controlled the doors shorted out under the stress. Josh dropped into the shaft landing below in a crouch. He picked up his dagger from the floor and carefully proceeded forward down a short hallway. As he came to a door he switched his visor over to electromagnetic scanning. He was almost blinded as the interference from the communications equipment nearly overpowered everything else. Yet faintly, through all the visual data, he could make out three signatures moving around in the room. Josh strained his eyes to see if there were more, but the feedback was too much. He switched his visor back over to standard mode and took a moment to let his eyes readjust. With his vision clearing he pulled his Blade-Blaster from its harness and hit the access switch for the door.

The Quantrons rose as the door opened. Josh charged the closest one flinging his Dragon Dagger and Blade-Blaster like darts at the other two. The weapons tore through their heads as Josh hit the head of the third Quantron with an open palm strike shattering the head and nearly snapping it off. With the head hanging by little more than a few wires the Quantron collapsed to the ground. Josh surveyed the room for a moment, seeing no other enemies he retrieved his weapons from the other fallen machines. He worked quickly to secure explosives to the cooling tower located in an adjacent room and to the main computers in the com room. With the charges set Josh accessed the network to locate a map of Zedd's fortress, however nothing was available except for the data on the Dark Fortress. Disappointed Josh turned away; it would seem he'd need to look for Zedd the hard way. Removing a grate he dove down the ventilation shaft. As he fell Josh could see spinning blades rushing up to meet him, the fans that helped circulate the air within the battlestation. Extending his hands out before him Josh launched a blast of plasma from his hands reducing the fan to liquid metal which began to fall and cool. As he passed through the debris he repeated his attack against the next fan. After passing through it he extended his hands and feet engaging his magnetic grips which began to slow him down. Finally, coming to a stop Josh exited through a side hatch and proceeded to crawl down a tunnel for nearly a hundred meters. As he reached the grate at the end he could see Kimberly and Billy waiting for him. Turning onto his back he kicked the grate out drawing Billy and Kimberly's attention.

"The charges are set," Josh replied dropping out of the ventilation shaft into the corridor.

"Alright," Billy acknowledged flipping the safety off on the remote detonator. "Fire in the hole."

As he pressed the button the Dark Fortress shook as the communications array erupted into a ball of fire. The shaking continued as secondary charges detonated in the communications room destroying the equipment and computers needed to power and run the giant array. Billy and Kimberly rose to their feet, Josh seemed distracted.

"Okay," Billy started. "We need to get back outside the barrier so we can teleport out of here. The explosions should have them confused enough that we can escape."

"You go," Josh said coldly, "I have some unfinished business."

"Look," Billy said. "I may not be real happy with you right now, but we need you and I'm not going to leave you here. If there's something else you need to do we'll help."

"No," Josh replied. "I need to kill Zedd, I need to end this."

"What is wrong with you!" Kimberly said punching his shield. "My friends are dead because of you and Zedd, they died trying to free you and now you want to go and throw your life away!"

"Zedd has to be stopped!" Josh shouted.

Kimberly slapped Josh's helmet. "You'll be killed and you know it! You told us yourself that you're no match for him, whether we're friends or not we're a team and we can't do this without you!"

"I'm not asking for permission, I'm telling you I'm going to do this," Josh replied.

Kimberly started to protest, but Billy interrupted. "You know we can't stop you, but this is a bad idea."

"I don't care," Josh said coldly. "Zedd murdered my family, forced me to kill, he needs to die." Josh turned to go.

"Fine!" Kimberly said holding back tears, "But if you go today and you die what then? If you fail then my friends really did die for nothing!"

Her words cut Josh, he knew she was right, he was all that was left of Jason's, Trini's, and Zack's efforts, of their legacy. If he failed not only would he fail himself, but he would fail those who had died to save him and he would have failed his family. He paused trying to choke down his own pain.

"Fine," Josh said turning toward Kimberly. "But when your team is whole again I'm leaving to finish this."

"Good," Kimberly snapped back.

Without further discussion the three of them proceeded to the end of the corridor passing through a door. As they entered the room opened up into a large cargo area. Huge crates, stacked in organized rows, full of weapons and supplies filled the room. Beyond the rows of crates were two large doors used when cargo was being loaded and unloaded. The three Rangers walked forward quickly.

"As soon as we open these doors they're going to know where we are," Billy said.

"Suits me," Josh replied, his tone still agitated.

"Are you sure we can just jump from this height?" Kimberly asked.

"We're only about a thousand meters up, with the Moon's reduced gravity we won't even reach terminal velocity, just make sure to keep your arms and legs extended to increase drag." Billy paused as he thought of something. "That is of course assuming the atmosphere inside the barrier is equivalent to Earth's."

"Can we just get out of here?" Josh replied. "The armor would hold up even under terminal velocity, so who cares how hard we hit."

Billy ignored his response and proceeded to activate the controls. With a loud humming the massive doors began to open revealing a beautiful expanse of moonscape, the Earth on the horizon like a blue jewel. Kimberly forgot her anger for a moment as she stared out on a view that few people had ever seen.

"It's beautiful," she said.

"Looks like we're going to have to fight," Josh said pointing down.

On the ground below Lokar stood with a small mixed army of Putties and Quantrons with more converging on their location. They could already hear the sound of metal feet clanging on the hallway floor outside the cargo bay.

"We're going to be easy targets if we jump," Billy said. "And if we go back we could have to face all of Zedd's army,"

"Or we could improvise," Josh replied diving out of the cargo doors.

"Wait!" Kimberly shouted.

"What are you doing?!" Billy shouted into the com.

"Giving you two a distraction," Josh replied tucking his arms and legs in.

Kimberly and Billy looked at each other for a moment.

"He's going to get himself killed." Kimberly said.

"No time to worry about that now," Billy said. "Just get ready to jump."

Josh raced at the ground in a straight dive, Lokar watched him close in, just waiting for his chance to kill this traitor. As he closed on the ground Josh began to form a shell of burning plasma around his body.

"Take Aim!" Lokar shouted.

The Quantrons complied bringing up their rifles, tracking Josh as he fell. As he was mere seconds from the ground Josh rotated his body to land on his feet.

"Fi…" Lokar started, but was cut off.

Josh impacted the ground causing the immediate area to shake, but as he hit the plasma that had surrounded him like a shell burst out in a ring, the force of the impact along with the intense heat knocked the Quantrons and Putties back and temporarily blinded them.

"Go!" Billy said.

The two Rangers dove from the cargo bay as Quantrons and Putties recovered and began to swarm forward.

As Josh rose to his feet he found himself surrounded by a small army. He focused his mind reminding himself that less gravity meant everything about combat changed up here. If they were in the Palace things would have been balanced by the gravity generators, but he couldn't let ideal circumstances distract him. As the Putties came forward he launched twin punches to the chests of the two directly in front of him. The bodies cracked and began to crumble as his fists plunged into the magma core. Pulling back he unsheathed his dagger and decapitated a Quantron that was approaching from behind. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion and Josh was having a hard time adjusting his timing.

Billy and Kimberly landed behind Josh crushing a couple of Quantrons as they landed. Lokar began advancing through his minions toward the Rangers.

"We need a way out," Josh said.

"You're forgetting a basic fact about low gravity," Billy replied kicking a Putty causing it to sail over the army.

"And that would be?" Kimberly asked unsheathing her Blade-Blaster and stabbing a Quantron through the chest.

Billy didn't reply but instead leapt from the ground, soaring high into the air. Pulling his Blade-Blaster he converted it to Blaster mode and began firing on several of the Quantrons. Josh and Kimberly wasted no time and leapt after him. The three Rangers flew over the small horde and landed between Zedd's forces and the barrier. Kimberly and Billy immediately began to bounce toward the barrier's edge.

Josh turned and faced Lokar, the warlock's cold blue eyes fixed on the traitor. Josh said nothing, but smirked and turned away. Lokar scowled as the Rangers reached the barrier's edge and teleported out wishing he had the power to manage an attack.

"They've escaped," Lokar reported to Astronema.

"We have bigger problems," Astronema said over the com, the sound of the alarm still in the background. "The explosion knocked out one of the reactors and it can't be repaired unless we take the entire fortress offline."

"So what does that mean?" Lokar asked.

"It means that even if we fix the communications array we don't have enough power to use it, we need to locate another reactor so we can power Zedd's chamber independently of the Fortress."

Lokar was quiet, he would make them all pay for this interference.

Lokar was brought from his enraging thoughts as Astronema entered the room accompanied by several of her Quantrons.

"What is it?" Lokar asked his tone hostile.

"Goldar is approaching with the reactor," she began. "However, my scouts have detected an incoming Zord. It's the Pink Ranger."

"Does she pose a threat?" Lokar ask gathering his composure.

"I have launched the two available squadrons to intercept her and protect Cyclopsis, but we can not afford to fail at this point."

"Then I will accompany you."

Kimberly could see the incoming fighters on her scope. Looks like Zedd did have something in store just in case someone tried to interfere. There was nothing she could do about it now she had to keep her objective in mind. Beyond her she could see Cyclopsis still marching across the lunar surface, but he was out of range and those fighters would reach her before she could reach her target. She considered her options and knew she did not have the time, or the fire power to take down all the incoming fighters, so that only left one option, she would have to evade and deal as much damage to Cyclopsis as possible before retreating. She could now see the Velocifighters on her HUD, the display tracking ten fighters, the radar indicating more below flying cover for the reactor.

"Here we go," she said under her breath.

She lined up on the lead fighter watching the range counter descend rapidly as the two craft raced toward one another. In a second the display changed from red to green, Kimberly fired a burst from her laser cannons and banked hard right into a barrel roll diving toward the moon, the directional thrusters straining at maximum power. The lead fighter was hit. The armor superheated and striped away, the internals melted. The fighter began to drift. Several energy blasts tore through the space Kimberly had occupied only moments ago. The other fighters broke formation and pursued the Pterodactyl Zord. As the pursuers opened fire Kimberly maneuvered, her Zord flying as if it had been choreographed, the shots tearing over the Zord centimeters from the armor. Had it not been for her enhanced reflexes and senses she would have been paralyzed by vertigo as space and the moon surface swirled in her HUD. However, through the swirling torrent she could make out Cyclopsis, still trudging along the moon's surface, she also could see the second squadron moving to attack. Kimberly headed directly into the second squadron only to veer away moments before they opened fire. The radar registered that several targets had been destroyed in the cross-fire. It struck Kimberly as strange that despite the pilots being machines, that Zedd would waste them in this way.

Cyclopsis was now in range; she locked onto the Zord and fired missiles. The twin warheads streaked toward the Zord, the first was intercepted by a fighter using its hull to block the shot. The other however, made it through and hit the Zord in the back causing it to stagger trying to balance. Kimberly knew she needed to do more to take away its mobility. She dove at the legs going into a controlled spin, arcing as she descended. Several fighters were close on her tail, but could not get a lock on her agile Zord. She locked onto the right knee joint and fired, tucking her wings. The missiles impacted into the knee tearing apart the actuators. Kimberly flew under the Zord, the body spinning to align with the narrow passage between the Zord's legs for a split second as her Zord screamed through, the wings unfurling after it passed. Cyclopsis collapsed, missing her Zord by a few meters. A few fighters were unable to pull out of pursuit in time and crashed into the Zord's rear torso causing the Zord to fall forward. Goldar maneuvered the arms to protect the reactor as the Zord fell.

Kimberly pulled out, Cyclopsis enclosing around the reactor below her. Several fighters had given up the pursuit to secure the Zord. She may have not have destroyed it, but at least Zedd would not be getting it back to his Fortress any time soon.

"Good job Kimberly, now get out of there." Billy said over the com.

"Working on it," she replied, "but I still have some company."

Nearly a whole squadron was still in pursuit, obviously for no other reason than retaliation for her interference. She had pushed the Zord to maximum thrust, but the maneuvering was draining the power cells far too quickly, she might make it back to Earth, but she might not have enough power to land, then there was reentry to consider.

"One crisis at a time Kim," she said trying to remain calm.

Lokar stormed down the hall, furious at the failure of this operation. If only Green Ranger had been successful at destroying those Rangers, this war could have been over a long time ago. He reached the great door at the end of the hall, the entrance to Lord Zedd's Throne Room. He composed himself and entered the room. At the far end Zedd sat, his body encased in plates, tubes protruding from the plates carrying mystical concoctions and vital fluids in and removing the toxins and decay. His eye line visible; the mass of tough muscles, his once powerful eyes now only a pale flame. The grate over his mouth amplified his labored breathing, like the dying snarl of some fierce creature. Lokar could barely stand to see his master in such a condition.

"What news Lokar?" Zedd asked his voice still confident despite his condition. Yet it lacked the strength it once possessed, now only a raspy whisper, like an old man whose days were fast ending.

"The Power Rangers, the Pink Ranger, she disabled Cyclopsis." Lokar tried to improve the news. "The reactor is still safe, but it is a great distance from our protective barrier."

"Have Astronema see to the recovery." Zedd replied. His body far too weak to even be angered by this set back. Zedd had noticed these past months that his once great knowledge was passing away. When things had gone awry he had been lost for a time consumed by fear that his enemies would discover his weakness and destroy him. However, soon he began to realize why his knowledge was failing as he spent many days in thought, confined to his prison. The gift that had given him such great power had not given him foresight into the future, but had infused him with the history of time itself. Yet every event that he had altered had changed history, and as history was rewritten, each new anomaly had begun to generate its own subsequent anomalies and with each iteration the universe was becoming more chaotic. He could not let his servants discover this truth however, especially in his current state, and so allowed them to think he was merely bidding his time. He had realized what he needed was to use the knowledge he did still possess wisely so he still appeared to have mastery over all.

"I have a special mission for you." Zedd said.

"What is it my Lord?" Lokar asked.

"Go to the city of Reefside. There you will find a tree, an ancient tree that is feeding off a spring of mystical water. This water has the power to grant me life once again. Retrieve it for me."

"I will retrieve it at once my Lord." Lokar replied his spirits lifted. He bowed and left the room. Finally, his master would return to his former strength and then they would rule the Universe.

The alarm in the Command Center was sounding. Billy and Beta were working at the console trying to locate the source of the disturbance. An interdimensional gate was opening somewhere on Earth, but it was hard to locate the point of entry. Moments ago the energy surge had been detected as the dimensional fold had occurred, the origin being somewhere on the moon. What concerned Billy was that there was no evidence that anyone was trying to mask the energy signature. This was either a being without the ability to do so, or it was a trap.

"Got it, Reefside," Billy said, "Bringing up the visual."

The holo-display showed Lokar and a group of Putties emerging into a field, there was a large tree, and some buildings a short distance off. The Putties marched to the tree, taking direction from Lokar, and altering their hands to hooks began to lift the tree.

"What are they doing?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know," Billy replied. "But, whatever it is we better stop them. You two go ahead, I'm going to advise Kimberly, take care of one other thing, and then I'll meet you there. Remember, the 'Z' is their only weak spot, landing a blow anywhere else is useless."

Adam and Ashley nodded and teleported out.

"Work faster you miserable creatures!" Lokar demanded. He knew his power had been too limited to conceal his entry and it was only a matter of time before the Rangers responded. The others did not concern him as much as that traitor did. He knew too much about his Lord's army and what they possessed, not only that, but his abilities, amplified by the Power were beyond everyone's save his Lord, however he knew his master was in no position to fight with Green Ranger, at least not yet.

Adam and Ashley teleported in, after mere seconds to recover from their teleportation they rushed the Putties. Lokar had been prepared for this, and stretching his hand out caused several more Putties to rise from the ground. Caught off guard by the emergence of the new Putties Adam and Ashley jumped back and manifested their weapons. In a flash of black and yellow light their weapons were in hand and once again they charged. The Putties in turn formed twisted blades and hooks and charged in.

As Adam reached the first Putty he used his axe to parry its attack and spun swinging the axe straight into the chest. The blow shattered the chest sending magma spewing out, the liquid rock spraying on Adam's armor, which cooled and began to flake off. Ashley managed to dodge the incoming attack from her first assailant and plunged a dagger through its chest. Another Putty swung a bladed hand at her head, she managed to duck, the blade glancing off her helmet. She spun and struck with her other dagger. Her attack landed on the stomach, the rock surface sparking as the blade made contact. The Putty formed its hand into a mace and punched her in the head. Her helmet protected her, only a scuff on the surface, but the force of the impact sent her flying to the ground, tearing a portion of the grassy field up as she slid back. She recovered quickly and jumped to her feet.

Lokar was puzzled. There were only two Rangers here. He knew the pink one was still out in space, and as far as his Lord knew they had not found a new leader. In truth it was the first time he had seen these two Rangers, but where were the other two, where was the traitor? His thought was broken as the Blue Ranger teleported in and rushed him, lances out. Lokar launched a bolt of lightning as a reflex, but as it departed from him he realized the strain he was under was too great to make an effective attack. Billy blocked the bolt with his lances, the energy field of his weapons absorbing the lightning. Billy launched from the ground and landed a solid kick to Lokar's chest. Though Lokar had some protection from his dark magic he still reeled back and collided with the tree.

At the moment he touched it however, he became aware of the inherent power in the tree. Some of the spring's energy flowed through it. Even as he impacted into the tree his mind was elsewhere, already his dark powers were at work. He stood up from his assault, still keeping a hand on the tree.

"Attack him," he commanded the Putties.

The Putties let go of the tree and charged Billy. Billy realized Lokar was up to something important, and chose to bypass the Putties for the moment. He leapt into the air making an attack with his lances. Lokar however, had been strengthened by the energy in the tree and raised his other hand deflecting Billy with a large discharge of energy. There was a loud crack of thunder as Billy flew back, his armor charred, but still intact. He soared back and hit the side of one of the nearby buildings cracking the surface. With his momentum expended he fell to the ground landing in a crouch, one hand on the ground.

Adam and Ashley had managed to destroy a few more Putties, but there were still half a dozen now that Lokar had released the others who had been trying to rip up the tree.

"Billy you okay?" Ashley asked keeping her eyes on the Putties.

"Yeah," Billy replied, rising to his feet. "It's amazing how much punishment this armor can take."

Billy rushed in to join his friends as the Putties charged again. Adam swung his axe at the first charging Putty in an upward arc. Though the attack missed the chest it caught the Putty in the chin and sent it flying back. Ashley blocked an incoming attack with her daggers and kicked the Putty in the chest cracking it open. As it fell Ashley saw another flying through the air toward her. Billy saw it and threw one of his lances spearing it in the chest. Ashley just managed to dive out of the way as the mass of burning rock crashed into the ground. Billy ran in and grabbed his lance from the debris. In a single fluid movement he connected his lances to form a long double ended spear and thrust one end into a Putty's chest. With the sides evened up the Rangers each squared off against a Putty.

Suddenly the tree began to crackle with an ethereal blue flame, Lokar stepped back. The tree uprooted itself and began to transform, the trunk separating into a pair of legs keeping the roots as feet. The main body formed as branches twisted to spawn arms, the whole creature contorting into a gnarled, jagged form; the surface appearing as if the branches themselves were the flames of the fire which could be seen through the cracks and the eyes of the creature. The sky began to blacken as the dark energies unleashed began to concentrate. Shadows began to creep along the ground like hideous vines bringing a chill to the air. Even the mindless Putties had paused in the wake of this growing evil. The Rangers took advantage of this moment, though still focused on the new incarnation, and destroyed the remaining Putties.

Lokar smiled, for the first time since the Machine Empire attack he felt empowered, in control again. "So Rangers where is your green friend? I would hate for him to miss this." His voice was dark and chilling.

"He's around," Billy replied, not wanting to give the enemy any information, not that he knew much about Josh's whereabouts anyway.

"No matter," Lokar replied, "Whether he dies now or later, he will die."

The creature stepped forward leaving a spring bubbling up from where it had been planted. Lokar encased the waters into an orb, which proceeded to hover next to him.

"I have what I came for," he said, "I leave you now; savor what few moments you still have." In a flash of crimson light a gate appeared. Lokar walked through it and was gone. The creature charged sending twisted webs of branches out like spears.

Kimberly was approaching the atmosphere. Her power levels were down below ten percent. Her body was tired. Even with the power strengthening her it was exhausting staying one step ahead of the fighters which seemed relentless in their pursuit. As she entered the atmosphere she did her best to stay level, but could not stop weaving to avoid the incoming fire. Several fighters exploded on reentry attempting to hit her Zord while it was lacking maneuverability. A shot grazed the left wing causing the Zord to falter for a moment. Kimberly knew she couldn't do this much longer.

As Kimberly returned to Earth's atmosphere she detected incoming craft on her radar. She was uncertain as to what they could be, but she knew she did not have enough power to engage a new threat. She could barely make out the objects as they approached from below. Was it possible Zedd had forces operating on Earth after all? Her fears were alleviated as several F-15 fighters flew past her unleashing cannon fire into the Velocifighters. The Velocifighters, taken by surprise broke off as they took heavy losses, the few that remained scattering. Kimberly opened up a channel.

"Thanks for the rescue."

"Happy to help," came the reply over the com.

With her airspace free from danger Kimberly proceeded back to the hidden hanger, the F-15s finishing off the rest of the fighters, an easy task with the squadron broken.

Kimberly landed in the hanger and teleported back to the Command Center. As she walked into the room she was surprised to see that Billy and the other's weren't back yet, he had said it was only Lokar and a few Putties.

"Beta, locate the Rangers."

"Compliance, Ranger location, Reefside."

"Let me see."

"Bringing up visual."

The display came up. Kimberly wasn't sure what she was looking at in the twisted mass that the others were fighting, but she knew it was trouble. She wasn't sure what they could do to destroy it, without a Red Ranger they did not have the ability to form the Power Blaster.

"Beta, see if you can contact Josh, I'm teleporting."

"Affirmative."

Kimberly teleported out.

Astronema and a detachment of Quantrons stood guard around the fallen Zord, Velocifighters sat behind the established front line monitoring the skies, ready to launch at the first sign of trouble. Astronema was sealed in her battle suit. The black helmet topped with a leaf shaped guard that was rotated to one side, short blood red horns like serrated blades ran upward toward the back of the helmet's point and down the cheek line. Several dark crimson tendrils ran from the helmet nearly to the ground, the barbed ends twitching as if alive. The darkness was off set by the twin eyes that glowed with a pale yellow light. The rest of the suit was black, ornate with blood red fangs and claws that twisted out from her body, a jewel that shone with a dark light on the center of the chest. Several of the Quantrons were servicing Cyclopsis, working on the leg actuators as well as trying to connect the reactor to the Zord to restore power. This operation was going to take several hours if they were free from trouble, but with all the energy that had been unleashed during the attack Astronema was sure that the Machine Empire was on its way.

While they worked outside Goldar sat confined to the cockpit trying to remain calm. All remaining power had been diverted to life support. He could use his armor's life support to get out, but with so much of it drained away from his previous activity it would have meant returning to the Fortress. That would take away more time that they didn't have. If the Power Rangers had discovered their activity it was almost certain the Machine Empire had as well. Yet he was determined they would succeed despite this set back. The Machine Empire was too dependent on mechanization to last through this war. Required resources on the moon were nearly nonexistent, which meant that many destroyed forces had to be recycled. Hephaestus and his sorcery enhanced technology was the only reason the Machine Empire had lasted as long as it did. His army of Cogs that he had reanimated through his dark powers, the Legion Exanimus were among the only forces that truly had posed a threat since the war had reached this bitter struggle. Their crushed forms spurred on by unknown powers, like an army of undead. The only salvation against this onslaught had been the lack of Hephaestus' power to control more than a handful of these unrelenting warriors at once. The other threat had been from the diminishing air core of Quadrafighters matched only by their own Velocifighters. However, with their inexhaustible army of Putties the superiority of ground forces was uncontested, though with much of Lokar's magic sustaining Zedd and Zedd's power exhausted the numbers that could be maintained were far too small for a large scale assault. No matter, they would prevail; it was only a matter of time.

Kimberly materialized in the field where the Rangers were. The air was thick with a dark fog, making it difficult to see. However, the creature was visible; the sinister blue flame illuminating the fog around it. She wasted no time in rushing in, her bow manifesting in a flash of pink as she charged. The creature turned to face her, the face a twisted form like a tortured soul, the eyes burned with evil ethereal fire. It sent chills down Kimberly's spine, but still she continued forward. Without warning the creature began to wail, its howl like that of a banshee, the force threw Kimberly backward. As she spun through the air she managed to land one hand on the ground and pushed off springing back and landing on her feet. She fired off an arrow, like a shooting star it streaked through the fog illuminating it in a deep pink as it went. The shot impacted the twisted form splintering the body. However, just as she was feeling a sense of accomplishment the damage began to regenerate. Billy and the others jumped in to join her.

"It's no good," Billy said. "Whatever that tree was feeding off of has given it the ability to regenerate."

"So what do we do?" Kimberly asked.

More branches sprung forth like striking snakes, the Rangers scattered without breaking away from each other too much.

"I'm not sure," Billy replied. "We could try and form the Power Blaster without the sword."

"Can we use the Dragon Dagger instead?" Adam asked as he landed.

"We could try it," Billy began, dodging another wave of tendrils. "But with only the four of us here I don't know if we can generate enough power for an effective shot."

"Well I say we try it." Ashley said cart-wheeling out of the way of another attack.

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed.

The Ranger began to toss their weapons together as they continued to maneuver around the monster's attacks. Kimberly finished off the weapon by placing the Dragon Dagger on top, the matrix seemed to accept the weapon and it fused with the rest. With Kimberly supporting the weapon the rest of the Rangers formed up on her and fired. The creature attacked simultaneously and, having braced for the shot the Rangers were unable to avoid it. The tendrils hit with the force of a wrecking ball sending the Rangers flying back, their armor cracked, but still held. Kimberly was unaffected as the Dragon Shield absorbed the impact through the force still sent her sliding back on her feet. The discharge from their weapon flew at the creature, a spinning lance of multi-colored light. As it hit it bored into the monster shattering the outer covering and tearing through the softer interior.

The Rangers jumped to their feet recovering their weapons. As they peered through the fog to see the outcome of their attack they were terrified to see the beast still standing. Much of the body had been ripped away by the blast, but it was beginning to regenerate, and was still alive. Not wanting to lose the moment the Rangers jumped in attacking with their weapons, Kimberly using the Dragon Dagger. Their blows continued to land, but while the creature was not retaliating the damage they were doing was regenerating as fast as they could cause it.

Suddenly Kimberly's world flashed to white. She found herself in a field, a clearing in the middle of a forest; there was no sky, but only a white expanse. Light seemed to radiate off all things. Her clothes had changed. She wore a flowing gown of white covered with art in a rich pink which moved as if air where passing through it, yet she felt nothing. A pink shawl wrapped her arms. The emblem of the Pterodactyl engraved in gold was on the chest. Beyond her she could see a man dressed in green robes, the symbol of the Dragon in a gold emblem on his chest.

"Josh?" she asked confused by the circumstances.

"I'm here," Joshua replied walking toward her. His footfalls made no sound as he crossed the field and came to her.

"We need your help." She said frantically, "We can't beat this thing."

"Yes you can," he said reassuringly. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I can't do what you do," she protested, "I don't have the strength."

"Yes you can," his voice was strong yet caring, "It isn't about strength but about balance."

"What do you mean?"

"It's the principle of Tai Chi, the Yin and the Yang, balance is what is required to unleash your ultimate strength."

"I'm not you," she lowered her head. "I can't do what you can, it just isn't in me."

"You're wrong," he said lifting her head to look into her eyes. "Do you know where we are?"

"No," she said thinking about it for the first time. "But I need to get back, the others need me."

"It's alright." his words reassuring her. "This whole place exists in a single moment. No time is passing outside for as long as we stay here."

"I don't understand," she said.

"This is your inner world, the place inside you, you can call it your mind, your soul, but this is where you are the real you."

"I don't get why we're here though."

"You've actually had this happen plenty of times."

"When?"

"Have you ever had a moment when things just made sense in an instant?"

"Of course."

"This is exactly what that is, though the conscious mind can never process it, so we are left with the understanding from an event we can only remember in our dreams."

"I guess that makes a little sense, so are you saying I won't remember this?"

"Only in your subconscious." Josh tried to get back to the subject. "Look at what you are wearing."

Kimberly looked over her gown, the white silk with many designs in pink embroidered on it. The most distinct were a dragon, a fiery bird, and a crane. Throughout the design were curved lines like wisps of air.

"What is all this?" She asked.

"You're true self." Josh replied. She looked puzzled. "The dragon is a symbol of strength or power, the phoenix is perseverance, the crane is grace and agility, and the wind flows throughout, gentle and soothing yet swift and powerful. This is your true self, and that's why I know you can do this because it is in you, it is who you are."

Kimberly blushed, "So what am I suppose to understand from all this?"

"Follow me," Joshua said taking her hand. Joshua guided her through the forest to a river; it looked like glass, so still, as if not even moving. Joshua picked up a small twig from the ground and cast it into the water. The ripple went outward in all directions, yet the flow of the water swept away the ripples and the twig leaving a calm glass like surface once again.

"Balance," Josh began again, "the ability to meet brute force with a gentle touch. The water is fluid and does not meet the force of the stick with the same force as it would if it were solid. Instead the water cradles the stick and when the stick's energy is expended sufficiently it is redirected."

"But how do you do that when you are attacking?"

"When you fight, you have an aura created by the… well you know it as the Morphing Grid. This flow of power interacts with the flow of evil or good energy in others. It is possible to take the resistance your opponent uses against your attacks and redirect it."

"But you've had years of training, how can I..."

Joshua interrupted her, "I know, but you can do this. You have the ability, you have the power you just need guidance."

"But…"

"Just go," he said his grip on her hand becoming firm. "I'm here with you, I'll guide you."

Kimberly's world melted away. She tried to resist, but suddenly realized it was futile and allowed herself to be carried back. As time resumed her mind shifted. The event passed from her memory, leaving only the understanding of what she needed to do. She paused for a moment reaching out with her other senses, as she did she could almost see the flow of energies between herself and the monster. She could see the energy that resisted their attacks, but it pulsated with each attack. Kimberly knew what to do, she struck with her fist, but as the energy forced its way out to resist she moved with it drawing in strength from the aura as if pulling it back like a bow string. As the aura collapsed she thrust her attack back in, she could feel the power swell. As her fist impacted, the frame of the creature seemed to collapse, the body melting away, the force rippled through the body splintering the entire side of the monster. The other Rangers stopped in total shock as the creature peeled away from the point of impact exposing the ethereal fire that burned within.

Kimberly did not know why, but she knew what to do. Manifesting her bow she drew the Dragon Dagger back, then like a whisper in her ear she could hear Joshua's voice, "You can do it." She let the dagger fly. A streak of green energy surrounded by ribbons of pink flew out and struck the heart of the fire. With a shriek the fire was extinguished. The wooden husk left from the body collapsed, the dagger embedded in the wood. Slowly the fog began to clear.

Billy walked forward and pulled out the Dragon Dagger from the gnarled mass. He walked forward and handed it to Kimberly, who, despite the helmet covering most of her facial expression seemed as shocked as the rest of them. Adam and Ashley joined them.

"How did you manage that?" Billy asked.

"I don't even know how to explain it." She said. "But somehow Josh helped me. Somehow I just knew what to do."

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked.

"Do you mean when he gave you his powers he gave you this ability?" Adam asked.

"No," Billy replied. "Josh's ability to strike his opponent with such force is not the result of his Powers, but his extreme discipline in the marital arts."

"I don't get it." Ashley said.

"It's all about balance." Kimberly said, without really even understanding herself.

"What?" Adam was confused.

Billy took over the explanation, "When we fought Joshua a year ago as the Green Ranger he was able to devastate our bodies and armor in only a few blows. It wasn't that the Green Ranger power is so far above our own…"

"Isn't the Green Rangers power greater though?" Adam interrupted.

"Yes," Billy began again. "But the ability Joshua has to decimate his opponents comes from years of training in Tai Chi. He tried to teach me once, but I just don't have the muscle control he does. I suspect Kimberly was able to because of her gymnastic abilities and the greater control she has over her muscles."

"Well whatever," Ashley said putting her arm around Kimberly, "that was really great."

"Thanks," she replied. It was strange she had always been part of the team, but she never really considered herself strong. With Rita she had overcome a few things, flying a plane when Rita interfered with her Uncle was a new experience, but she had some flight experience from using her Zord. Yet now in a single day she had slowed Zedd down and destroyed a monster. It was a little overwhelming. She tried to focus. She couldn't let her success get her overly confident.

"I still don't get it either," Adam began, "but good job Kim, with that and the thing on the moon."

Kimberly smiled, the only expression that the armor would show through the liquid metal mouth piece.

"We better get back to the Command Center," Billy said, the four Rangers teleported out.

As the four rematerialized in the Command Center Billy proceeded to the console and started to access something. As he was doing so the Rangers powered down, their armor dematerialized, their bodies reverting to their natural states.

"I want you to take a look at this." He said.

The other Rangers gathered around.

"I found a solution to our previous Zord problem that I am already implementing." Billy replied as he punched a few buttons. "Josh was right when he pointed out that the Dragon Warrior Zord made no use of Pterodactyl. At the same time that Zord is the only one capable of making it to the moon unaided. So I figured out a way to merge the Pterodactyl with the Dragon Warrior to create the Sky Dragon Mega Zord."

The image appeared on the holo-projector, the Pterodactyl was attached to the back of the Dragon Warrior Zord giving it a fearsome wingspan. The tail was still in place for added guidance in flight, the Dragon Shield, which was formed from the chest plate of the Dragon Zord was on the left arm, the Power Sword was in the right hand enhanced by the burning plasma from Dragon Zord.

"That is awesome," Ashley said.

"When will it be ready?" Adam asked.

"Modifications to the other Zords are complete, but it will take a few hours to finish refitting the Pterodactyl and recharging it. Then we can go after Cyclopsis at full strength."

"This is going to be cutting it close." Adam replied.

"Then we should get started now." Kimberly said.

"The computer was already set to take care of the upgrade and recharging when you returned." Billy replied.

"So what do we do in the mean time?" Ashley asked.

"We wait," Billy replied.

Lokar marched into Zedd's throne room triumphantly, while others had failed, he had prevailed. Finally his master would be restored. The orb containing the spring's waters followed him closely.

"I have succeeded my Master." Lokar announced.

"Excellent," Zedd replied, his voice sounding stronger with only the news of his success. "Now place the waters into the tank so these machines can fill my body with its power."

Lokar complied, opening the tank containing the vital concoctions that were sustaining his Dark Lord he added the water to the mixture. He waited. At first nothing happened; then ever so slightly he began to see a change. Zedd's eyes began to burn brighter, the flame gradually being restored.

Billy was hard at work in his workshop, a small set of consoles that tied into the automated manufacturing and repair bay systems that existed in the Zord hangers and in the Command Center. Behind him several Cog heads lined a counter, the cables from the memory downloads still attached to a few of them. Three separate consoles were around him in a semi-circle providing him with data and visuals as he input parameters and made modifications to his latest project. The battle with the tree creature had made him realize that they were in serious trouble with Josh gone and still being a Ranger short. He needed to give them an edge, something new to enhance their combat abilities.

Ashley noticed Billy was working on something, with nothing else to occupy her time she thought maybe she could help.

"Can I do anything to help?"

"Not at the moment," he replied, distracted by his work.

"What are you working on?"

"Some new weapons so we don't have a repeat of what happened earlier today with Lokar's little creation."

"Well it was the first time Adam or I actually had to face any of Zedd's army, I'm sure we'll do better next time."

Billy caught her implication. "It wasn't you or Adam, you two did great. That monster was just really powerful and with Josh gone and the team incomplete I think it would be good to have a trump card, just in case."

"Seemed like Kimberly provided that today,"

"She certainly did, but it would be better if none of us had to be totally dependant on any one person. If Zedd ever does attack Earth we could be spread out on multiple fronts and some new equipment might give us the edge we need."

"So what are these new weapons?"

"Well I can show you what I have so far."

Meanwhile Kimberly was in the main chamber looking over the sensor logs. Beta had been unable to contact Joshua while they were away, but what had concerned her was that sensor sweeps had found no trace of him anywhere. His communicator was not sending a signal, or if it was it was being blocked. The system was capable of interdimensional scanning, but so far nothing had turned up. The teleporter data had his last known location somewhere in a forested mountainous region of Japan, but all scans of the area had found nothing, it seemed the entire area was uninhabited. This whole process was slowed by the fact that most of the power was diverted to the Zord bays and monitoring the moon for any activity around Cyclopsis.

Adam was watching the monitors intently looking for any indication that the salvage operation was progressing. None of them was sure how long the enemy needed to recover from their previous interference, but the Zords were still not ready, then there was the trip to get there. Kimberly had stopped Cyclopsis approximately two hundred fifteen kilometers from Zedd's Fortress. However, if they got the Zord operational too soon it could make their efforts to stop Zedd futile. Yet at the same time he couldn't help but think about the incident in Reefside. He had known Josh was an expert at several forms of martial arts, he was well known in the martial arts community, but Adam had never witnessed the full extent of his abilities. He was wishing he had been a little bolder in talking to Josh about teaching him another form to compliment his Kung Fu, now it would have to wait until he returned. He just couldn't figure out Josh, he had seemed so distant, but as he was leaving he had seemed so much more open than he had in months, maybe he really did just need to figure things out for himself. Still what could have been so important that he had kept it to himself?

"Hey, Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"Any luck finding Josh?"

"Nothing," she sighed, "I've looked through all the logs twice and I haven't found a thing. Just his last teleportation coordinates."

"Maybe you should go there and check it out?"

She considered it for a moment, "No," she paused for a moment. Then she turned and walked over sitting down in the chair next to Adam. "The location is in the middle of nowhere. I don't think he wanted anyone to follow him."

"But he's never been fast to ask for help though," Adam said.

"True, but he's never refused it before either. I dunno," she sighed leaning her head back staring at the ceiling.

"I'm sure wherever he is he's safe."

Kimberly smiled, "Thanks, you know it's funny. I was worried when he first left, especially when the symbol on the Dragon Shield changed, but ever since the fight with that tree monster I've been feeling better, almost like he really isn't even gone." Even as she said it she realized that she had forgotten about the icon change on the Dragon Shield, it really didn't matter anymore though.

Adam wasn't quiet sure what she meant about the shield, he wanted to ask, but at that moment the alarm went off as a new threat was detected. The sensors indicated several objects were moving toward Cyclopsis position, moving quickly. Adam leapt out of his seat to reach the console.

"What's going on?" Billy asked as he and Ashley rushed in.

"Quadrafighters, about a dozen of them, they're moving to attack Cyclopsis." Adam replied. Suddenly there was a massive discharge of energy detected and the fighters vanished from the sensors.

"What happened?" Kimberly asked.

Billy raced to the console and looked over the data. "Something's not right. That blast came from the Dark Fortress, Astronema's mobile star base, but it had been inactive since the war started we had assumed it was out of power."

"Looks like something changed." Adam said.

"Did they get the reactor back to the Fortress?" Ashley asked.

"No," Adam replied, "It's still there."

"I don't like the implications," Billy said as he began entering new commands to the central computer, "I'm shutting down all systems that are not completely vital." The lights began to dim, several consoles went dark. "I routed all available power to Pterodactyl's hanger, until recharging it complete."

"How long will that be?" Ashley asked.

"Ten minutes." Billy replied.

"If it was going to speed things up that much why didn't you do it sooner?" Kimberly asked.

"Because, when I said I shut down everything that wasn't complete vital it meant taking our morphers offline as well as the teleporter."

"What about Josh?" Ashley asked.

"I left his online, but it doesn't appear to be in use." Billy replied. "This is not something to be done lightly either, with the extra power it could damage the systems in both the hanger and the Zord, but something tells me it's worth the risk, I can't explain it logically."

"So what is it that's got you so worried?" Adam asked.

"If the Dark Fortress now has power it means something drastic has changed, possibly meaning that Zedd has managed to reestablish contact with outside forces again. Ultimately it's that Zedd's forces seem to be growing stronger, so I'm worried that this war is about to end. And I don't have to tell you what that could mean for us and the Earth."

The Rangers stood watching the display contemplating what Billy had said and what the future could soon hold in store for them.

Zedd was on his feet, many of the plates had been stripped away and replaced by his armor save the few needed to circulate the elixir through his body. His eyes were once again ablaze with the evil fire that gripped his minions in terror. His unarmored upper body radiated with strength, the sinewy mass was like stone. He could feel his power returning, yet he was disturbed. For over a year he had sat confined to his throne unable to act on his own power. Yet in all that time, despite the lack of contact his Empire had sent no one, no forces as aide since the day he fell in battle. Long had he been suspicious of what had been going on in his Empire, yet all attempts at communication had been thwarted. As his power returned though he began to sense something out of balance in his Empire, and he needed to discover what had happened.

Lokar entered, accompanied by Scorpina and Ecliptor. The three knelt before Zedd.

"What do you require of us my Lord?" Lokar asked.

"Soon I will attend to the last remnants of the Machine Empire," Zedd's voice tore through their souls. To Lokar this feeling of terror was refreshing. "I want you to return to my Empire and see what has happened in my absence. My strength is still returning and my mind is clouded, so I am sending you to discover the truth for me."

"At once my Lord," Lokar replied. The three rose to their feet and proceeded to march out of the main hall. The end was finally at hand.

The power returned to the Command Center, the Zord preparations complete, the Pterodactyl had been recharged. There had been a surge or two in the process, but fortunately none of the Zord's systems had been damaged. It would seem that fortune was on their side for the moment. Billy looked around the room, the four of them had stood there solemnly since the power had been rerouted; each thinking about their future and what would be required of them in the coming fights. Adam and Ashley were still inexperienced. Beyond Lokar's incursion to Earth they had never faced their enemy. Billy and Kimberly, while experienced had lived through the horror of Green Ranger's brief campaign against them. While they had never fought Zedd it was inconceivable that Green Ranger was more powerful, and they had only defeated him through chance, a lucky blow that freed him from evil. The foes they were about to face were not slaves to darkness, but in fact were its willing servants. Each of them wore a look of concern on their faces, each one knew they might not come back from this, but they had accepted this when they became Rangers, and were not prepared to back down now.

"It's time," Billy said.

"Then let's morph." Kimberly said an unusual confidence in her voice despite its gentleness.

The others nodded and pulled out their morphers. Each called on the ancient embodiment of their power, the morphers opened as the power surged forth transforming their bodies, cladding them in armor, Kimberly's Dragon Shield formed, engraved with the icon of the Pterodactyl. Billy noticed the icon change for the first time, but said nothing. Without a word they nodded to one another and teleported out rematerializing on the shore of Angel Grove. Kimberly pulled out the Dragon Dagger and began to play the flute carved into the weapon. The haunting melody carried a sense of power that was almost out of place. She finished with the tune, the four of them looking out onto the ocean. In the distance a swell was beginning to form as the massive form of the Dragon Zord raced toward the shore. Ashley and Adam stood in awe as the torrent built, the wake disrupting the waves that were forming naturally. This may have been frightening to those who had seen the Dragon Zord emerge over a year ago during the Green Ranger's attack, and though it was still unsettling to some, the two surviving Rangers had vouched for Joshua at the U.N. meeting to discuss the threat of Lord Zedd's arrival. Joshua had alleviated some fears regarding his loyalty when he willingly divulged all he knew about Zedd and his army. Since that day the armies of the world had prepared for the invasion, even to the extent of placing hundreds of satellites in orbit with nuclear payloads. This recent action by the Rangers had already set many commands on high alert as it had been a long time since the Rangers had last employed their Zords at all.

As Dragon Zord entered shallower water it suddenly sprang out of the ocean landing on all fours on the rocky cliffs above the beach. The ground shook as it landed; a sound like thunder rang out. The Dragon Zord rose on its hind legs and stood silently waiting for a command. The Rangers now called forth their own Zords. The air ionized as Triceratops, Mammoth, and Sabretooth Tiger were transported close to the site. In the distant mountains the Pterodactyl soared, racing toward their location.

As the other Rangers leapt to their Zords Kimberly began to play a new melody, the information uploaded to her mind when she morphed making it seem a natural reaction. The heavenly melody danced on the air like flames. Dragon Zord began to transform. With her first task complete Kimberly leapt to her Pterodactyl and prepared for docking.

Dragon Zord retracted its arms and folded its side torsos inward shielding the body, the chest piece hovering in front of the assembly. The feet tucked away revealing connection points which Triceratops and Sabretooth Tiger locked into forming the legs and feet. Mammoth broke apart and formed the arms as well as added armor to the rear torso. The Pterodactyl flew in tucking its head away and locked onto the hard points on the Dragon Zord and Mammoth. The Rangers were pulled from their cockpits and brought to the master control chamber located safely in the chest. The Dragon's mouth opened revealing the warrior's face, the shield attached to the left arm, the Power Sword sheathed in the shield. People had begun to gather at a safe distance to watch the spectacle.

"Sky Dragon Mega Zord sequence complete," Billy said looking over the panel. "Looks like everything checks out, let's go."

The Rangers locked their hands into the controls. A colored liquid metal covered their hands interfacing with their armor.

"This is a little weird," Kimberly warned.

As the controls completed the interface each Ranger felt a sudden acceleration as their consciousness was drawn into the collective of the Zord's control system. Their vision went dark.

"This is strange," Adam thought.

"I warned you." Kimberly replied.

"How did she know what I was thinking?" Adam asked.

Billy interrupted. "This is a synaptic interface, our collective consciousness is used to control the Zord in real-time and to make it easier to work as a team."

"What?" Ashley asked.

"It reads your mind," Kimberly replied.

"So you know everything I'm thinking?" Ashley asked.

"No," Billy reassured her, "Only what you consciously think. Actually what we hear is your internal monologue."

"My what?" Ashley asked.

"The voice in your head when you're thinking to yourself." Kimberly thought.

The visuals came online, they all were now seeing through the eyes of the Sky Dragon Mega Zord. Ashley and Adam were unaccustomed to this and spent a moment looking out at their hands trying to find their balance in the midst of this. The Zord moved accordingly, like a child discovering things for the first time. It was a new experience as the Zords used a completely different interface when separate, but a collective was necessary to facilitate the combined efforts of this many individuals to control a single Zord.

"So how does this work?" Adam asked.

"The Zord reads our input and acts accordingly." Billy replied.

"What if we're all thinking something different?" Ashley asked.

"The Zord uses its own onboard AI to choose the best decision."

"Doesn't that slow us down?" Adam asked.

"A little," Billy said. "But not as much as you might think, while our Zords do react quickly the electronic components are significantly slower at taking action than our minds can process, even the AI is faster than the system. Plus the Zord does have reflexes like we do that aide in response without our input. Not to mention that things happen in here much faster than you expect, while the Zord was bringing up the optics we experienced nearly a minute passing, but actually less than a few seconds passed."

"Sounds complicated." Ashley replied.

"What happens is, I don't really understand it," Kimberly replied. "But I think you'll see that all that stuff Billy mentioned makes it very easy to actually do things."

"Well we might as well go then," Adam thought.

"Yeah, this isn't going to get less weird anytime soon." Ashley added.

Kimberly laughed, she had thought the same thing the first time, and even though it had been a while since they last formed a Mega Zord she enjoyed the feeling, the closeness of the collective matrix. With nothing left to discuss the Sky Dragon Mega Zord spread its enormous wings, the turbines enhanced to handle the shear power output of the Mega Zord began to glow white hot. In a blast of force the Zord shot into the sky the cheers from the people spurring them on.

Joshua stood in a dark place, the only visible light radiated from the Reitsuken in his hands and the four flaming swords which illuminated the faces of the terrible creatures which held them. Ninjor's total concentration was spent in maintaining the barrier around Joshua, one strike from those swords and Joshua would be lost forever, they could not be allowed to land a blow, not now when they were so close.

Lord Zedd marched out of his fortress, his body encased in his fearsome armor swirling with the souls condemned to an existence of servitude in protecting their conqueror, his double bladed sword sheathed on his back. As Zedd passed from the barrier another barrier formed around his body providing him with what little air he needed to breathe. As he cleared the fortress barrier Zedd shot forward like lighting arriving where Cyclopsis was lying in mere moments.

"Astronema," Zedd summoned her.

"Yes my Lord, how…?" Astronema was lost for a moment. Last she had been in Zedd's presence he was confined to his life sustaining prison. Now without explanation he stood before her seemingly fully recovered. It took her off guard in so many ways. But there was no doubt it was her Lord, the vileness she felt from his telepathic intrusion into her mind was known well to her. Recovering her thoughts she knelt. "My Lord, how may I serve you?"

"Go and retrieve your Dark Fortress, then return and collect the reactor and install it in Serpentera instead." Zedd turned to face the Zord as Astronema bounded off to one of the Velocifighters on standby. "Goldar, return to the Fortress we will retrieve your Zord later."

"Yes my Lord." Goldar exited the cockpit delighted that his master had returned; soon he would again bathe in the blood of his enemies. He drifted to the ground and made his way to another fighter. Astronema was already lifting off. As Goldar was preparing to launch he could see Zedd walking toward Cyclopsis. With no more than a gesture Zedd forced the Zord on to its side leaving the reactor exposed. Goldar had seen Zedd's strength in battle before, but he had nearly forgotten in the year his Lord had sat helpless, indeed it was only a matter of time now until they ruled the Universe. As Goldar was lifting off the sensors detected a massive object approaching fast, it was a Zord.

The Sky Dragon Mega Zord descended on the reactor. As it descended the Zord drew its sword the blade erupting into star fire as it was released.

"Nice of them to leave it out in the open." Kimberly thought.

"Let's just take it out and go." Adam thought.

"Agreed," Billy replied. "No sense fighting more than we need to."

The Zord swung its right arm back as it dove at the reactor. Zedd saw them coming and pulled his weapon as he leapt onto the reactor. Goldar was already circling back around to assist. Zedd raised his weapon as if to block, the burning Dragon Sword flew down like a comet and made contact. There was a brilliant explosion of light that blinded Goldar and the onboard sensors of the Zord.

"Did we do it?" Ashley asked.

"I think we got Zedd and the reactor." Adam replied.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Kimberly thought.

"The forward shields seem to be holding," Billy replied. "I think we'll be alright."

Goldar's vision began to clear as the blinding light subsided. Had it not been for the UV shield in the cockpit windows he may have been blinded. Yet as he looked he could hardly believe his eyes. Zedd still was standing holding the Zord's weapon at bay with this own twin saber; the Zord still bearing down, and yet having no success in breaking through Zedd's defense.

"Are you kidding me!" Adam's mind screamed.

"What do we do now?" Kimberly asked.

"Joshua," Ninjor's voice called out through the void.

"I know," Joshua said as he swung the Reitsuken decapitating one of the creatures. "I felt it too."

"What shall we do?"

"Go," Joshua replied, "I can make it on my own here."

"Are you certain?" Ninjor asked.

"If they die then this was all for nothing." Joshua replied. He turned to face the remaining three monsters, it had been hard enough to kill that one with Ninjor's protection, he wasn't sure how he was going to defeat the remaining three if he left, but their lives were more important.

The stalemate continued for a moment. Zedd may have regained his strength, but he was no fool, he was gauging the power of his opponent. Content with the knowledge that they could not destroy him Zedd parried their weapon to one side nearly tearing it and the hand that was gripping it from the Zord.

"His power levels can't even be measured!" Billy was shocked.

"Damage to the right hand, effectiveness reduced to thirteen percent!" Ashley reported.

"This is not possible!" Adam replied.

"Josh, where are you?" Kimberly thought quietly.

Zedd brought his sword through an arc off his parry preparing to assault the Zord's now unprotected chest. As the sword fell an explosion of energy appeared between the Zord and Zedd, it radiated out like lighting. Suddenly a figure appeared within the storm, a warrior, nearly Zord size, his armor appeared like a stylized ninja variant of the armor the Rangers wore, but the head was incased in a red samurai helmet and mask emblazed with flames. His weapon, which appeared to be a very plain ninja combat sword was held in place pushing against the wave of energy Zedd's attack had generated. In an act of sheer will Ninjor managed to disperse the energy. In the brief moment that he had Ninjor reached out with his left hand and pushed the Sky Dragon off the moon with such force that the Zord reached escape velocity.

"Run!!!" Ninjor's message echoed in their minds, his voice like an entire world shouting in unison.

The Rangers watched unsure of what to do next, Ninjor turned to face Zedd. Zedd twirled his sword and attacked.