Disclaimer: Here's more changes to our story. It's the first appearance of the eighth Ranger. The majority of the dialogue in this chapter is taken from the Season One episode Doomsday Part II.

Again, the only things I own are the names of the Rangers and a couple ideas that will be introduced later.

CHAPTER FOUR - ZORD VS. ZORD: PART TWO - GOLDAR'S NEW TOY

The Rangers continued to watch the Viewing Globe as Cyclopsis rained destruction down on Angel Grove.

"CYCLOPSIS IS ONE OF LORD ZEDD'S MOST TERRIFYING CREATIONS," Zordon informed the Rangers. "HE HASN'T BROUGHT HIM OUT IN OVER 10,000 YEARS. YOU'LL HAVE TO DEFEAT HIM IF YOU ARE TO RELEASE THE POPULATION OF ANGEL GROVE FROM THE DIMENSIONAL VORTEX IN WHICH ZEDD AND RITA HAVE THEM TRAPPED."

"Great...that means another round with Sunshine there," Caden muttered. "Can't wait for that."

"GOLDAR HAS TAKEN OVER PILOTING CYCLOPSIS WITH BACKUP FROM LOKAR," Zordon continued. "THE SITUATION IS GRAVE. IF YOU DON'T WIN THIS BATTLE SOON, ANGEL GROVE AND THE ENTIRE WORLD ARE DOOMED."

"We gotta stop that thing," Jeff stated grimly, glancing at the viewing globe before turning to Mischa. "Mischa, what's the update on the zords?"

"Still not fully reenergized," the Blue Ranger replied. "They took a real beating in the fight against Cyclopsis."

"There's an understatement," Caden snorted. "Try 'we got our asses handed to us'...that's more accurate."

"The zords still need another 12 hours to be at full power," Alpha reported.

"We can't wait that long," J.W. replied. "We'll take 'em at half-power."

Mischa turned to the Red Ranger. "Not advisable...if we do that we risk doing serious damage to the zords."

"We don't have a choice," Jeff cut off the argument before it could begin.

"THERE IS TOO MUCH DANGER IN WHAT YOU PROPOSE," Zordon stated, causing all seven teens to look to him.

"Zordon, what about our city?" Taylor asked. "We have to stop it from being destroyed."

"Not to mention rescuing all those people trapped in Rita's dimensional vortex," Marcus put in.

"They're safe right now, but if we have to wait 12 hours, it may be too late," Kendra stated.

"What's your vote, Caden?" Jeff turned to the Green Ranger. "How do you feel about all this?"

"I'm ready whenever," Caden replied. "12 hours in the future, tonight, or now...it doesn't matter to me. No creation of Lord Zedd's going to take me down and live to tell about it."

"WHAT YOU ARE ASKING HAS NEVER BEEN TRIED BEFORE," Zordon replied. "IF THE ZORDS' BACKUPS FAIL, YOU AND EVERYTHING IN THE MORPHING GRID COULD VANISH FOREVER. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO TRY THIS?"

"You know we do, Zordon," Jeff replied, his expression resolute.

"Yeah," J.W. seconded.

"You got it," Marcus put in.

"Affirmative," Mischa stated.

"Rock on," Caden put forth.

Kendra and Taylor merely nodded.


On the balcony of the palace, Zedd and Rita were celebrating.

"Between Cyclopsis and Lokar, the world will now be ours!" Zedd crowed. "And once we find the eighth Power Coin and fuse the Dark Energy with it, we'll have our own evil Ranger to add to our army of destruction!"

He turned a viewlink towards the rock quarry. "Rito! Have you found it yet?"

"Not yet, Ed, but we're still looking!" Rito replied. "Kinda reminds you of the old expression 'needle in a haystack', ya know? On the bright side, though...look!" He held up two more rocks with dopey-looking smiley faces on them. "I found some friends for Waldo! I'd like you to meet Frankie and Bobo!"

"FIND THAT COIN, YOU WORTHLESS PILE OF BONES, OR I'LL BLAST YOU TO ALPHA CENTAURI!" Zedd screamed. He turned to Finster. "Finster, is the Dark Energy device finished yet?"

"It will be ready and awaiting the eighth coin, my Emperor," Finster promised.

"Excellent!" Zedd purred. "And when we find the coin, fuse the Dark Energy with it, and select our Ranger candidate, between him, Cyclopsis, and Lokar, the Power Rangers will finally be defeated!"


Meanwhile, back at the Command Center, Alpha suddenly picked up a large increase of energy in the the morphing grid.

"Zordon...I'm picking up a major spike in the morphing grid...it's almost like another Power Coin has been activated!" the little robot spoke excitedly.

"THE EIGHTH POWER COIN HAS FINALLY BEEN UNCOVERED," Zordon replied. "BY THE WAY THE ENERGY IS INCREASING, THE COIN HAS ALREADY BONDED TO A CHOSEN PERSON. ALPHA, BRING THAT PERSON HERE IMMEDIATELY...WE NEED THIS NEW RANGER FOR THE COMING FIGHT."

"Right away, Zordon," Alpha replied, pressing buttons on the main computer console.


Jenna gingerly picked up the gold coin, but no sooner had she done so than bolts of purple energy arced out of the coin and connected with her skin, causing her to cry out in surprise. The contact was brief, but it was enough for the coin to bond with her. No sooner had this happened than Alpha's teleportation signal locked onto her and she vanished in a column of purple light.


The Rangers watched as Jenna suddenly appeared in beside them in the Command Center. The basketball team captain started briefly then gaped at the sight of Zordon and Alpha. She then turned and noticed Caden and the others looking at her, and a relieved look came over her face.

"Wow, am I glad to see some familiar faces..." she trailed off as she finally realized where she was.

"Oh, my God...you guys are the Power Rangers?" she exclaimed. "That is so cool!"

"WELCOME, JENNA," Zordon greeted, introducing himself and Alpha before continuing. "WE HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE BECAUSE YOU ARE THE HOLDER OF THE EIGHTH POWER COIN. AS YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN, LORD ZEDD HAS SENT DOWN HIS WARRIOR GOLDAR, WHO PILOTED HIS WAR ZORD CYCLOPSIS IN BATTLE AGAINST THE RANGERS AND THEIR ZORDS. THEY MANAGED TO DESTROY CYCLOPSIS, BUT LORD ZEDD DESTROYED TITANUS AND THEN SUMMONED THE EVIL SORCERER LOKAR, WHO RESURRECTED CYCLOPSIS, AND THEY ARE NOW WREAKING HAVOC ON ANGEL GROVE."

"Where is everyone? The place looked like a ghost town when Caden and I drove back into town from the quarry," Jenna asked.

"THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF ANGEL GROVE IS TRAPPED IN ZEDD AND RITA'S DIMENSIONAL VORTEX. IF THE RANGERS ARE DEFEATED BY CYCLOPSIS, THEY WILL REMAIN TRAPPED IN THE VORTEX FOREVER."

A hard look came over Jenna's face. "My sister was at the park when all this went down...does that mean she's trapped there as well?"

Zordon nodded. "I AM SORRY, JENNA, BUT YES, IT DOES. CAN WE COUNT ON YOUR HELP IN THE COMING BATTLE?"

Jenna nodded. "You had it from the second you told me my family was trapped in another dimension...let's finish this fight."

Jeff and the others nodded in approval at the statements from the newest member of the team.

"WITH THE ADDITION OF THE STEGOSAURUS DINOZORD, THE MEGAZORD HAS ENOUGH POWER TO FIGHT A LITTLE LONGER THAN ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED," Zordon informed the Rangers before turning to Caden. "CADEN, YOU AND JEFFREY MAY MORPH WITH THE OTHERS, BUT YOU WILL NEED TO WAIT BEFORE CALLING THE DRAGONZORD, AS IT IS STILL TOO WEAK TO BATTLE CYCLOPSIS."

Alpha made a final adjustment to the computer. "Coordinates are set...are you ready to morph to the city?"

"Ready, Alpha," Jeff replied as Jenna came to stand with the others.

"GOOD LUCK, AND LET THE POWER PROTECT YOU," Zordon told them.

"It's Morphin' time!" Jeff stated.

"Titanus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

"Dragonzord!"

Eight blurs of light shot from the command center and toward downtown as the Dinozords emerged from their hiding places - the Stegosaurus Dinozord from a cave - and joined them in the city. The original Megazord formed up, and the Stegosaurus Dinozord opened up, its legs wrapping around the Megazord's arms and legs, giving it additional armor in those places, while the back plates flattened down for additional armor on the Megazord's back. The zord's head provided additional armor for the Megazord's cockpit, while the spiked tail turned into a wicked mase for the Megazord's arsenal.

"All right!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Let's do it!" the others responded.


"Back for more?" Zedd appeared on a rooftop and glowered at the Rangers' zords. It was then he noticed the addition to the Megazord.

"What's this? NO!" he screamed before activating a viewlink to Rito. "Get back to the palace, you worthless space turd...the Rangers have found the eighth coin and have added another to their number!"

"So they got that one too, huh?" Rito asked. "Oh well...can't say we didn't at least try, Ed! We'll be back in a jiffy!"

Zedd snarled something unintelligible under his breath at Rito's nonchalance. "No matter," he soothed himself before turning back to the Rangers, "Lokar will take care of you for good! Right, Lokar?"

The floating head turned to the Megazord and let loose with a hurricane-force blast of wind. Even with the additional weight from the Stegosaurus Dinozord, the Megazord was still staggered by the blast, eventually tumbling head-over-heels to crash into the ground.

Meawhile, Cyclopsis got into the action, extending blades from its wrists as it joined the fight. It strode over to the Megazord and was about to carve the zord up like a turkey, but seconds before impact, J.W. flipped the zord over and fired the cannons situated between the Megazord's shoulder blades at Cyclopsis, stopping the zord in its tracks.

"Arrgh! You'll pay for that!" Goldar snarled as the Megazord got to its feet, attacking seconds later. The powerful blow struck by Cyclopsis sliced off the Megazord's left arm, much to the horror of the Rangers, and sent the mighty zord reeling from the blow, sparks shooting out everywhere, and finally sending it crashing to the ground.

In the cockpit, the news was all bad.

"Power grid's down!" Mischa reported.

"Gyros off-line!" Kendra put in.

"Armor's failing!" Jenna continued the flood of bad news.

"Switching to emergency power!" J.W. responded.

"We can't!" Taylor responded.

"Backups are down!" Marcus elaborated.

Cyclopsis strode over to the stricken Megazord and placed its foot on the Megazord's chest like a conquering hero.

"Victory is mine!" Goldar crowed from Cyclopsis' cockpit.

Cyclopsis raised its right arm high in the air.

"Hang on!" J.W. yelled as he and the others ducked in panic.

"This isn't gonna be good," Caden muttered as he and Jeff watched from the rooftop.

In a last-minute reprieve, the Megazord brought its right arm up and shot a burst of energy from its wrist, knocking Cyclopsis back briefly and enabling the one-armed zord to stagger to its feet where it swayed briefly before charging into battle once again.

"Take that!" Goldar snarled as Cyclopsis landed two hard blows with its blades and sent the Megazord down again.

In the Megazord's cockpit, the Rangers reeled under the vicious attack.

"Shields are down...one more hit and we're finished!" Taylor reported.

"We gotta do something, and fast!" Marcus yelled as Cyclopsis moved in for the final blow.


On the rooftop, an enraged Caden pulled out the Dragon Dagger.

"All right, by God, that's enough!" he snarled, raising the dagger to his faceplate.

"You better hope Dragonzord's powered up enough to help!" Jeff cautioned.

"He's gonna have to make do with what he's gotten so far...I've had it with Cyclopsis' monkey business!" Caden snapped in return, calling the Dragonzord to battle and leaping into his cockpit.


In the cockpit of the Megazord, the six Rangers breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the Dragonzord arrive.

"There it is!" J.W. pointed.

The Dragonzord walked over to the Megazord and helped it up, even as Cyclopsis made to strike.

"Not so fast!" Caden snarled, as the lights on the Dragonzord's chest flashed and it whirled around to strike with its tail. Cyclopsis was ready, however, and met the strike with its blades, slicing off part of the Dragonzord's tail and sending it flying past the Megazord to crash into a group of buildings.

Caden gaped as he saw the tail of his zord go flying past.

"Oh, hell no...NOW I'm pissed!" he yelled.

No sooner had he said this than Cyclopsis grabbed the Dragonzord and threw it headlong, causing it to crash in a heap beside the Megazord.

"Ooohhh...this fucker's gonna die slow and painfully!" an irate Green Ranger was heard to vow from the Dragonzord's cockpit.

"Dragonzord's down!" Marcus reported, and the other Rangers - Kendra in particular - glanced worriedly at the Green Ranger's zord.

As if this wasn't enough, Lokar added his opinion to the fray by blasting both zords with a massive amount of energy and sending them both reeling.

"Power pods are gone...we can't move!" Kendra informed her brother frantically.

"Weapons are out...man, I can't believe it!" Marcus growled.

"THEY'RE ALL YOURS, LORD ZEDD!" Lokar spoke for the first time.

"Man, no wonder that guy just growls...his voice sounds like he gargled with Drano!" Caden quipped.


"We have you now, Rangers!" Zedd laughed.

"Wow-wee...the Power Rangers are finished!" Squatt exclaimed.

"Yes, now let's enjoy this together, my dear!" Zedd addressed Rita, and the couple aimed their staffs at the prostrate Megazord and Dragonzord.

"Take THAT, Rangers!" Zedd snarled, his and Rita's combined wands lancing out with a thick beam of scarlet red energy that enveloped both zords.

"It's overloading!" J.W. exclaimed.

"We're coming apart!" Marcus yelled.

Bit-by-bit, the Megazord and Dragonzord began vanishing. Caden teleported onto the rooftop where Jeff was, seconds before the Dragonzord's head vanished.

"Rangers, abandon ship!" Jeff yelled to the six in the Megazord cockpit.

Nobody needed to be told twice. All eight Rangers were suddenly transported back to the park and automatically demorphed.

"Everybody okay?" Jeff asked, getting to his feet.

The other Rangers confirmed they were unhurt and the group converged around the White Ranger as he activated his communicator.

"Jeff to Command Center," Jeff began, but all he got was a negative beeping.

"Jeff to Command Center...we have an emergency!" the White Ranger tried again, but got the same response in return.

"Zedd and Rita are undoubtedly jamming the frequency," Mischa stated, musing to herself as she walked away from the group a little ways before turning back to address them. "We've lost all contact with Zordon and Alpha."

"And the zords," Marcus put in.

"They just came apart...they just dissolved!" Taylor added.

"That was actually the new security system Zordon designed for the zords," Mischa admitted. "If they lose in battle they automatically return to their secret hiding places to reenergize."

"So the zords aren't destroyed?" Kendra asked, and Mischa shook her head.

"Negative."

"Our problem now is that we have no way of contacting them," Caden stated.

"Maybe we do...I might have the equipment back at my garage to change the frequency on the communicators," Mischa replied.

"Then let's move," Jeff stated, starting off towards the Fox residence.


Meanwhile, back at the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha had also noticed their inability to contact the Rangers.

"ALPHA, STATUS REPORT," Zordon requested.

"Their zords are safe and being reenergized," Alpha confirmed.

"WHAT ABOUT THE POWER RANGERS? WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM THEM IN A WHILE."

"We've lost contact, Zordon," Alpha replied. "Their communicator frequency is being blocked."

"KEEP TRYING, ALPHA," Zordon encouraged. "YOU MUST ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH THE POWER RANGERS. WITHOUT THE ZORDS, THEY ARE VULNERABLE TO ATTACKS BY ZEDD AND RITA."

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi! Starting frequency search now," Alpha replied.


When the Rangers got to Mischa's garage, the Blue Ranger began running around the room, collecting materials like a crazed person, stopping only to hand watch cases to Jenna and Caden. The two Rangers opened them to reveal communicators identical to those the others wore, the bands in their respective colors: Caden's in green, Jenna's in purple.

"I figured you should have these as you're both part of the team now," Mischa stated absently as she began work. "That and it'll be easier calibrating all the communicators at one time."

"How's it look?" Taylor asked.

"I've got all the equipment I need...it's just a matter of time," Mischa replied, not looking up from her work.

"Even if she does fix the communicators and reestablishes contact with Zordon, then what?" Taylor turned to her boyfriend.

"Hopefully Zordon's already come up with a plan," Jeff responded, before adding quietly, "Or this truly is the end of the Power Rangers."

The others fell silent at that statement, for that was something too bitter to contemplate.


"Do you see that? We're winning!" Zedd crowed jubilantly.

"Yes...without Zordon and the zords, the Power Rangers are ripe for defeat!" Finster stated with approval.

"Right, and I'm gonna go and personally finish each of those Power Geeks myself!" Goldar vowed.

"Great...now get down there!" Zedd ordered.


"How's it coming, Mischa?" Jeff asked as Mischa continued working.

"I'm adjusting the modulator to read an alternative signal," the Blue Ranger reported. "I just need a few more minutes."

At that moment, Goldar appeared with several Putties.

"Your few minutes are up!" the gold-armored alien laughed.

"Goldar!" J.W. snarled.

"Greetings, Power Rangers! I thought I'd stop by and say hello!" Goldar quipped with an evil laugh, "Before I say goodbye forever!"

As this exchange was going on, Mischa quickly resumed her work.

"It's been nice knowing you!" Goldar taunted.

"Jeff, the equipment!" Mischa cautioned worriedly.

"Keep working, Mischa!" J.W. ordered. "We'll take care of Goldar."

"Still living in a fantasy, eh?" Goldar laughed. "You're about to learn a lesson!"

"And you're about to learn this, asshole," Caden stepped forward and snarled. "When we destroy that spiky white zord of yours, I pray you're trapped in the cockpit when it finally blows. Because if not, mark my words, Goldar, one day...one day your luck's gonna run out, and I'm gonna be the one to make damn sure it happens." The Green Ranger motioned to his eyes - which, to the uneasy surprise of the others, briefly flashed pure green. "Take a good look at these eyes...these are the eyes of the person who will someday - whether it's tomorrow or five years from now - kill you."

The other Rangers were taken aback by this; none of them had ever heard one of their own explicitly state they were going to be the ones to kill an opponent.

Goldar merely laughed at Caden's statement and stepped forward, sweeping a table clean of instruments and laughing cruelly when they shattered on the ground.


"ANY SUCCESS IN FINDING THE RANGERS, ALPHA?" Zordon inquired.

"It's impossible with their communicators down!" Alpha replied before glancing at a computer printout. "I've just found some important information, Zordon!" he stated excitedly. "It appears that because Lord Zedd's palace is now on Earth, our computer has been able to penetrate his databank!"

"EXCELLENT, ALPHA," Zordon commended the robot. "THAT MEANS WE HAVE ACCESS TO HIS FILES OF SPELLS AND SECRETS."

"Affirmative, Zordon!" Alpha confirmed.

"ALPHA, THESE FILES COULD HELP US REDUCE LORD ZEDD'S POWER, OR EVEN STOP HIM ALTOGETHER." Zordon stated.

"I better hurry and tie into his system!" Alpha replied, and set to work.


Back at the Fox residence, Mischa made a final adjustment and turned to the others.

"You guys...I did it! They're functional!"

"Impossible!" Goldar roared.

"We're outta here!" Jeff stated.

"Remember what I said, Goldar," Caden glowered at the alien, "your days are numbered."

Seconds later, all eight Rangers vanished in columns of light.

"No!" Goldar raged before teleporting back to the palace.


The Rangers appeared in the Command Center, surprising Alpha and Zordon.

"Rangers! You're okay!" Alpha exclaimed.

"Zordon," Jeff greeted.

"ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" Zordon inquired.

"We're all in one piece," Marcus replied as the others nodded.

"THEN THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE," Zordon stated. "WE MAY FINALLY HAVE A WAY TO DEFEAT LORD ZEDD."

"How?" J.W. asked.

"ALPHA TAPPED INTO LORD ZEDD'S DATA STORAGE AND DISCOVERED A WEAKNESS IN CYCLOPSIS WE CAN USE," Zordon informed the Rangers.

"What do we do?" Kendra asked.

"CYCLOPSIS WILL ADJUST TO WHATEVER IT FIGHTS," Zordon replied. "IF YOU CHANGE BATTLE MODES FREQUENTLY IT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP UP."

"Are the zords powered up?" Caden asked.

"Ready and waiting for you," Alpha replied.

"EACH TIME YOU CHANGE, CYCLOPSIS WILL WEAKEN AS IT TRIES TO ADJUST. USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE, RANGERS," Zordon cautioned. "TITANUS IS ALSO REENERGIZED AND IS READY FOR ACTION."

At the mention of his zord, Jeff eagerly turned to the Viewing Globe with a wide smile on his face.

"WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT, CALL UPON THE POWER OF ULTRAZORD. IF YOU FIRE ON CYCLOPSIS IN ITS MOMENT OF WEAKNESS, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DESTROY IT," Zordon finished his briefing.

"Then there's no time to lose," J.W. stated.

"LET THE POWER PROTECT YOU," Zordon intoned. "REMEMBER, THE QUICKER YOU CHANGE MODES, THE WEAKER CYCLOPSIS BECOMES."

"It's Morphin' time!" Jeff announced.

"Titanus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

"Dragonzord!"


When the Rangers got to the city, Cyclopsis was in the midst of destroying yet more buildings.

"All right, let's get to work!" J.W. stated, raising his hand to the sky. "Tyrannosaurus power!"

The Tyrannosaurus Dinozord arose from its hiding spot in the earth.

"I call on the power of the Mastodon!" Marcus called his own zord.

The Mastodon Dinozord responded from its glacial lair.

"Triceratops power!" Mischa called, and the Triceratops Dinozord came in from its desert hiding spot.

"I call on the power of the Pterodactyl!" Taylor raised her hand to the sky, calling the Pterodactyl Dinozord from deep inside its volcano.

"I call on the power of the Saber-Toothed Tiger!" Kendra yelled, and the Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozord leapt from its jungle hiding spot and heeded its master's call.

"Stegosaurus Dinozord power!" Jenna called, and the Stegosaurus emerged from its cave.

"Titanus, battle ready!" Jeff yelled, and Titanus roared in response.

"Time for Dragonzord!" Caden stated, calling the Dragonzord with his dagger.

"Let's go!" Jeff stated as the Rangers leapt into their respective cockpits.


"Give me your best shot!" Goldar snarled, eager for battle.


The Mastodon Dinozord let loose with an icy blast from its trunk. The Triceratops fired away with its twin tail cannons. The Pterodactyl fired laster beams like a futuristic fighter plane. The Saber-Toothed Tiger let Cyclopsis have it with its tail-mounted laser gun. The same went for the Stegosaurus, but each of its four tail spikes acted as a laser gun, resulting in a quad-mount gun.

Cyclopsis was enveloped in wave after wave of blasts, shaking the mighty war zord. The Tyrannosaurus headed in and grappled with Cyclopsis briefly, but Cyclopsis managed to land a blow on the Dinozord's chest before it was staggered by a blast from Titanus' guns and then felled by the Dragonzord's tail.

"How do you like me now, bitch?" Caden snarled as his zord scored a direct hit on the enemy.

"Switching to Megazord now!" J.W. informed the others.

Within seconds the zords combined to form the Megazord.

"Power Sword, now!" J.W. ordered, and the sword arrived from the heavens almost instantly, landing in the Megazord's right hand.


"You can't win, Rangers!" Goldar snarled, tensing his zord for another round.

The two zords banged swords, Cyclopsis being tripped up by the Dragonzord's tail and then clobbered by the Megazord's new Stego-Mace. Even so, the war zord managed to give almost as good as it got, landing several good blows on the Megazord.

"Time to turn up the power!" J.W. stated.

"Right!" the others in the cockpit agreed.

"In the meantime, play with these, asshole!" Caden snarled, firing a barrage of missiles at Cyclopsis from the Dragonzord's fingers and then whipping around with the zord's massive tail, snapping off Cyclopsis' long wrist blades.

"Gotcha that time!" Caden grinned coldly.

"Dragonzord Battle Mode!" the Rangers announced, and the zords changed around.

Cyclopsis made to attack, but the Dragonzord Battle Mode easily landed several good hits with its massive drill staff. The Rangers then heard from Lokar for the first time in this battle as the evil sorcerer fired laser beams from his head at the new zord formation. This barrage actually caused some damage, sending the Dragonzord Battle Mode crashing to the ground.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired of playing around!" Caden growled.

"Damn right...let's bring 'em together, guys!" Jeff stated.

"ULTRAZORD, POWER UP!" all eight rangers replied.

The Dragonzord formed with the Megazord like it had done previously, even with the Stegosaurus occupying its new place on the Megazord, and the combined force lowered into the open space on Titanus.

"You two have had it!" Jeff snarled.

Lokar merely laughed in derision and Cyclopsis tensed for battle again.

"All right, Rangers...let's finish this once and for all!" Jeff stated.

"LOCK ON AND FIRE!" all eight Rangers replied.


In Cyclopsis' cockpit, Goldar's jaw nearly hit the floor as the computers started beeping continuously, and then he heard something he never thought he'd hear:

"OVERLOAD! OVERLOAD! TOO MANY CHANGES...SYSTEM LOCKED!"

"Nooo! I don't believe it!" Goldar screamed in frustration.

The Ultrazord let loose with all guns. Cyclopsis was smothered in hits, and the cockpit dissolved in sparks and explosions around Goldar as Lokar - who apparently knew when to bail out - vanished from sight.

"It can't be! Abandon ship!" Goldar wailed as he teleported out, escaping death by mere seconds as Cyclopsis collapsed to the ground and exploded violently, this time for good.

Cheers resounded in the Ultrazord cockpit.


"IMPOSSIBLE!" Zedd shrieked, rounding on Goldar as he came into the throne room. "I thought you said that thing of yours was indestructible!"

"I certainly regret your displeasure!" Baboo whimpered.

"It wasn't my fault...I was asleep!" Squatt whined.

"You can't blame me...this time it was all Goldar's fault!" Finster stated.

"Never mind that!" Goldar snarled. "Get us out of here, Lord Zedd, before Ultrazord blasts us!"

With a wave of his staff, Zedd propelled the palace back to the moon.

"Goldar!" he snarled once they were on their way.

"Yes, my Emperor?" Goldar replied.

"Don't ever deign to give me orders again, or it'll be the last thing you do!" Zedd vowed as Goldar simpered in reply.


In the Command Center after the battle, the eight Rangers congratulated themselves and each other.

"CONGRATULATIONS, POWER RANGERS," Zordon told them. "VICTORY IS YOURS. YOU HAVE DEALT LORD ZEDD A SERIOUS BLOW, AND HAVE PROVEN YOURSELVES TO BE THE MIGHTIEST HEROES ON EARTH."

"Thanks, Zordon," Jeff replied.

"RANGERS, THE TIME HAS COME FOR YOU TO CHOOSE AGAIN," Zordon stated.

"What do you mean?" Taylor asked uncertainly.

"YOU HAVE GONE FAR BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY AND SAVED YOUR WORLD FROM A TERRIBLE FATE," Zordon replied. "AND ALTHOUGH THE DANGER HAS NOT PASSED COMPLETELY, YOU MAY NOW CHOOSE WHETHER YOU WISH TO REMAIN POWER RANGERS OR RETURN TO YOUR REGULAR LIVES. THE DECISION IS YOURS."

"There's no decision to be made, Zordon," Jeff replied, looking at the others before continuing. "I think we all feel the same way."

"Yeah," Taylor replied. "We're the Power Rangers."

"To the end!" Kendra put in.

"The reason you chose us was to stop Zedd and Rita," Marcus stated. "It doesn't end there."

"There are other villains, other crimes to protect the city from," Mischa reminded them all.

"Zordon, you've taught us what truth, honor, and real courage are all about," Kendra added. "We don't want to abandon that now."

"I'm certainly not going to give this up now; I just got it!" Jenna indicated her Power Morpher, causing the others to laugh.

"So in other words, you can't get rid of us...you're stuck with us!" Caden finished cheerfully, getting more laughter in response.

"I AM VERY PLEASED TO HEAR YOU SAY THOSE THINGS," Zordon replied. "THE WORLD IS VERY LUCKY TO HAVE YOU, AND SO AM I. MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU ALWAYS." He then turned to Caden and Jenna. "AND NOW I FORMALLY WELCOME THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM. CADEN AND JENNA, NOW THAT YOU HAVE BECOME POWER RANGERS, YOU MUST FOLLOW THREE BASIC RULES OR LOSE THE PROTECTION OF THE POWER. FIRST, NEVER USE YOUR POWER FOR PERSONAL GAIN. SECOND, NEVER ESCALATE A BATTLE UNLESS ZEDD AND RITA FORCE YOU. AND FINALLY, KEEP YOUR IDENTITIES SECRET. NO ONE MAY KNOW YOU ARE A POWER RANGER."

"Um, I kind of already broke Rule Number Three," Caden replied. "Jenna found out I was the Green Ranger during the battle with Cyclopsis."

"THAT WAS RENDERED IRRELEVANT THE MOMENT SHE BECAME A POWER RANGER HERSELF," Zordon replied. "AND ALSO BECAUSE YOU DID NOT KNOW THE RULES WHEN YOU INFORMED HER."

"Well in that case, everything's cool then," Caden replied as the others laughed.

"You can count on me, Zordon," Jenna responded.

"One hundred percent," Caden seconded.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to make an appearance in the park," Jeff stated.

One-by-one, the others - save for Caden, who informed them he wasn't much for public appearances - agreed with Jeff's plan.


Back in the park, Angel Grove's population suddenly reappeared amongst shouts of surprise and confusion.

"Look, everyone! It's the Power Rangers!" one person got the attention of the entire assembly with that statement.

Sure enough, standing at the back of the crowd were the White, Black, Pink, Purple, Blue, Yellow, and Red Rangers.

"My heroes!" shouted another person, which caused the entire crowd to break out into wild cheers.

"They must've saved us!" stated someone else.

"Clear the way for the Power Rangers!" the Mayor ordered.

The Rangers made their way toward the stage, shaking hands and nodding at people as they passed. The cheering rose to a climax as the Rangers arrived on stage.

"This is incredible!" Jeff murmured to the others.

"I know...isn't this great?" Jenna exclaimed in surprise, even more so because she now got to be a part of it.

"Hey, where's the Green Ranger?" one kid near the front called up to the stage.

The seven Rangers looked at each other, wondering how they were going to explain Caden's absence, when suddenly the Green Ranger teleported in. The crowd went wild at his appearance as he went to stand by the Yellow Ranger.

"Oh, God...I hate large crowds," Caden muttered to Kendra.

"I'm glad you came," the Yellow Ranger murmured quietly, just loud enough for Caden to hear.

"Just stick close by to make sure I don't get claustrophobic, okay?" Caden replied, and Kendra nodded quickly in acknowledgement.

Her helmet hid the pleased grin on her face; she didn't mind sticking close to Caden Stark at all.

"As the Mayor of Angel Grove City, it is with great pride that I stand here before you in the presence of true heroes," the Mayor indicated the eight Rangers before continuing. "They have risked their lives countless times for the safety of our city and its people. They are true examples of good triumphing over evil -"

"It was a close one today, lady, lemme tell ya," Caden muttered, and Kendra had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from bursting out laughing.

"- and now it is time to thank them," the Mayor finished. "They are the Power Rangers!"

The crowd erupted in cheers for their heroes as they clasped hands and then jumped high in the air.

"POWER RANGERS!"

TBC

UP NEXT:

It's time for Prom at Angel Grove High, but Lord Zedd has other plans when he reaches across dimensional space to battle the Rangers. Can the Rangers overcome evil once more, or will they have finally met their match...in themselves? The Final Battle commences next!