"Let's do it guys. It's morhpin' time!"

The Rangers pulled out their morphers and evoked the name of each of their power. Emily could feel the burn of power build inside her from the moment the word 'velociraptor' left her lips. The burn started in her hands as her power coin activated and quickly moved through the rest of her body building in intensity. Although she had called upon her power numerous times before in their fight against evil the feeling was something that she felt she would never get used to. The power covered every inch of her like a second skin. She could feel it solidifying around her, forming into the protective suit that would make her more resilient to damage. All energy that had been lost battling the ooze monsters in her human form was returned to her with the addition of her power and she could feel the power burning like a bright light in her chest as the transformation completed.

She expected to come out of the transformation facing the mass of purple warriors but in the short time it had taken the Rangers to power up they had disappeared.

"Where did they go?" Kimberly asked.

"How could they disappear so fast?" Emily scanned the area in case they had managed to hide themselves away somewhere so they could ambush the Rangers.

Adam seemed to be thinking along the same line as he scanned the horizon. "Keep your eyes peeled."

Rocky was the first to spot one of the fleeing ooze creatures but before he could draw the other Rangers' attention to it, it had disappeared into a dense unnatural fog.

The sight of the fog did little to ease Tommy's worries as he tried to train his eyes to peer through the thick soupy depths. "Careful. It could be a trap." He knew that the thought had probably crossed the other Rangers minds too, but he couldn't take that chance when he felt responsible for their lives.

Slowly, with every sense honed to pick up every possible clue to the whereabouts of the creatures, the Rangers entered into the bones of a building. The fog hung even more densely here with no breeze to shift the swirling eddies. The building had no lights yet which only made the fog feel more oppressive as each pillar and beam loomed out slowly. The floors and low ceiling were slick with a thin layer of ooze providing the perfect cover for Ivan's children.

"This place gives me the creeps," Adam said, looking over his shoulder searching for the cause of a sound he couldn't be sure he hadn't just imagined.

"Me too," Emily agreed as she stepped over a thick pile of ooze. "Gross."

"Well, at least we know they came this way," Rocky said from beside her as he accidently stepped into the sludge.

Every pillar became suspect as they travelled deeper into the cavernous building. Billy jumped around a thick pillar close to them with a cry only to find nothing there. "I've got a bad feeling about this place," he groaned as he re-joined the Rangers.

A cry like the battle call of the ooze army sounded through the large empty building. The Rangers all jumped into battle stances waiting silently, each one casting their gaze in a different direction.

"Anyone see anything?" Kimberly whispered quietly still looking desperately for a trace of the creatures.

"We need some light," Tommy pointed out, turning to Aisha.

The yellow ranger was quick to obey orders. "Activating power beam," she warned as a bright swatch of light spilled from her helmet.

The light, though necessary, proved to be of little help. The fog wouldn't allow the light to travel, and even on the rare chance that it did there simply wasn't enough scope to the lights to give them any real chance of seeing an attack coming. Aisha scanned her head from side to side trying to give them a clearer picture but there was little she could do.

"They've got to be around here somewhere," Tommy's frustration was becoming infectious. "Rocky, can you try?"

"Activating power scope." A red light appeared in Rocky's visor, slowly scanning from side to side and feeding information through to the teenager.

After a few moments of silence Tommy spoke up. "Talk to me Rock-O. What've you got?"

"The readings are all over the place," Rocky's voice was filled with confusion as he tried to interpret the data. "I don't know what these purple creeps are made of but I can't lock them down."

"All right, stay alert everyone."

Emily couldn't help but feel that she couldn't possibly be any more alert without becoming paranoid: every sound and shadow already made her jump to the ready.

"Over there!" Rocky's shout cut through the silence of the building as they saw a dark shadow run through the far side of the building.

"Let's power up!"

"Right!"

"Here they come!" Aisha's light faded out as the creatures surged out from the dark crevices that had hid them to fall upon the Rangers.

The next few moments were lost in a flurry of movement. Emily struck out again and again against the creatures but there seemed to be no end. Every punch and kick connected with the soft pliable flesh of Ivan's creations, but there was always another one to step into its place. She could hear the grunts from the other Rangers as the purple monsters landed a few hits of their own, but she had to trust in her friends to come through; only together would they be able to break through the beasts.

Without even noticing it the Rangers slowly managed to thin out the army and move further away from each other as they battled the stream of opponents. They all took hard hits as they tried to force the creatures out into a more open area. Emily while concentrating on the creature in front of her was blindsided with a nasty blow to her ribcage. She hit the floor hard. Even through her power suit she could feel the unrelenting concrete batter her body. She was quick to regain her feet, but Rocky and Adam had already stepped in to distract the creatures she had been fighting. The two boys were engrossed in the rigorous fight, so she knew now was not the time to give them her thanks, but she had a feeling they knew anyway.

A gang of three of the monsters rushed away from the battle. Emily caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and turned just in time to see them dash off around a large pile of construction equipment. She scanned the area, curious as to what had made them turn tail and run. It was then that she spotted the unfinished floor above where the Rangers were fighting. The floor's walls hadn't yet been completed and if the creatures were allowed to gain the platform they could easily drop down on any one of her friends, all of which had their hands full with their own gaggle of creatures.

She dashed off after the creatures, quickly finding a second set of stairs up to the platform that the construction workers had been using. There was no way to be stealthy on the rickety wood stairs so she opted for speed. The wooden frame creaked in protest as she bounded upwards, taking as many stairs at a time as her legs would allow. When she reached the top the three creatures were already there and had obviously heard her coming. They fell into a chaotic battle stance, growling wetly in their throats. Emily stood for a moment, trapped by the bloodlust in their eyes.

The creatures shifted their feet, retreating a few steps before falling into a sloppy formation. Emily didn't dare move – even with her powers the odds were still stacked against her. She debated whether now could be considered an appropriate time for the use of her power weapons but Zordon's caution against unnecessary force rung in her head. Every creature deserved an honourable fight, even if they were as despicable as Ivan.

She wouldn't have time to complete her internal struggle as the bravest of the three creatures ran at her full tilt. Instinct kicked in from the moment the creature's cry rent the air: Emily dropped down into a more stable stance and braced for impact. As soon as the creature connected with her she threw all her might in combination with its momentum to propel it over her shoulder and down the stairs. She heard it hit the wooden staircase with a heavy thud. The stairs had already been unsteady, and with the extra weight and the force of the impact they could take no more. Emily looked behind her as the stairs collapsed, taking the creature with them. The wreckage of the stairs buried the creature underneath its substantial weight. One down.

When she turned her attention back to the other two creatures they seemed as shocked as she did at the collapse of the stairs though they were quick to recover. They started their tactic of advances and retreats again as she started towards them away from the edge of the platform. The creatures were not to be taken lightly as they charged at her together. She felt every kick and blow as she twisted and turned trying and failing to keep an eye on both creatures at once. She didn't know what these things were made from, but whatever they were certainly packed one hell of a punch.

They were relentless in their attack and she found herself forced to block more hits than she was able to dole out and she knew that if she couldn't find a way to break out from their flurry of attacks soon the first creature wouldn't be the only thing crushed under debris tonight.

Emily ducked as she saw a blow coming at her from either side and finally managed to break away from the pair as their strikes connected with each other. Taking quick advantage of their confusion she managed to separate one with a strong kick to the middle of its back. The creature stumbled once and spun to look over its shoulder. Her second kick connected just as she locked eyes with the beast. The humanoid facial expression it carried as she connected made her stomach twinge. Ivan was excellent at exploiting his advantages, and by given his creations human faces he had ensured that defeating them would be no easy task for the Rangers. As she watched the creature fly forward and connect solidly with the wall her inherent need to protect life reared its head but it was too late. The creature slid down the wall, leaving a slimy purple streak behind and fell still.

She turned to the only remaining creature and tried to banish the thought of the terrified look on the now dead creature's face. If she allowed herself to feel sorry for the creatures then this battle was over and she would never win. She forcibly reminded herself that these things were not human and were they allowed to survive all of humanity would suffer under Ivan – that is if he allowed them to live long enough to suffer at all.

The creature shuffled away from her, grunting and grumbling. Suddenly it turned and leapt off the ledge behind it. Emily ran forward but was too late to stop it. By the time she reached the edge the creature had already landed on the ground below. Not far from where it landed she could see Rocky and Adam battling their own purple little problems.

Without hesitating, Emily jumped down from the plateau with a cry. The creature looked up as she fell through the air, the wind whistling past her visor. It was in motion before she landed and she only barely avoided what could have been a devastating kick before she hit the ground in front of the creature. The two grappled, locked together as they moved closer towards the red and black Rangers, neither one managing to get and edge on their opponent. She tried not to look into the beady hateful eyes of the purple creature, though she found that the snarls it made helped to put perspective on what she was really fighting. Finally she managed to break away from the creature long enough to land a series of escalating punches to its abdomen. The creature fell backwards towards where Adam had just finished with his opponent.

"Adam look out!" Emily yelled as the creature flailed desperately. The black ranger looked up just in time to see the thrashing projectile and landed a solid kick, sending it back towards Emily. Purely by reflex and the months she had spent training with the others she aimed a second shattering kick towards the monster as it flew back at her. It hit the ground and remained still. The purple ranger breathed a sigh of relief as she ran over to join the red and black Rangers.

"Thanks," she huffed, breathing heavily.

"No problem," Adam assured her.

"Come on, let's get back to the others," Rocky pumped his fist.

"Right!"

They hurried to where they could see the other Rangers gathering on a slightly raised portion of the battleground. Rocky, Adam, and Emily managed to flip themselves up to join the others just moments before Tommy came soaring down from above them.

The last few remaining members of Ivan's creations came careening across the concrete pad toward them, snarling and snapping. The Rangers prepared for the onslaught but Tommy wanted this fight over.

"I want you guys to meet Saba!" he growled as he pulled out his most powerful weapon – the enchanted talking dagger.

Saba flew around the stragglers, penning them in close together as they watched the lethal blade turn end over end impossibly fast. The Rangers watched in disbelief as the blade instead of attacking the purple ooze creatures flew up instead to where the construction workers had left a heavy metal element strapped to a crane. Saba cut through the supports as though they had never been there to begin with, sending all the destructive force of gravity raining down upon to heads of the creatures.

The only remainder of the creatures was a thick sludge that slowly crept out from under the corners of the metal box.

The Rangers celebrated their hard fought victory as the final sounds of fighting faded from the site, but this war was far from over.

"Now let's go find Ivan," Tommy said over the whoops from the other Rangers.

The Rangers weren't able to take a single step before an overwhelming feeling of nausea settled over them, accompanied by an almost painful electric tingle. Pain shot through Emily like a flood as her energy ebbed away. Her ribs screamed painfully as she twisted to look down at herself where she could see small currents of power running across the bright purple material of her suit.

"Hey, what's happening?" called out a distressed Kim.

"We're losing power…" Billy's confusion could be felt by every ranger as they watched the energy waves cover more of their bodies.

With a final kick of nausea and a more intense stab of pain the suits faded leaving the teenagers back in their civilian forms.

"What's going on?" Kim groaned.

"How is this possible?" Emily asked as she surveyed the other Rangers as though any of them could possibly know the answer.

Billy pressed down the message button on his communicator, "Alpha, come in," he called.

The teenagers stared in silence waiting for the chirpy voice of Alpha to reply. The moment seemed to stretch thin as Rocky tried his communicator as well.

"We better get back," Tommy could feel the panic building up around them. "Let's go guys." They looked at each other before jumping off the platform after Tommy; it had been a long time since they had had to walk all the way to the command centre. The time it would take to get there would give them all something they didn't need; time to imagine what could have happened to Alpha and Zordon.