Note: You all know the drill. What isn't mine, isn't mine.

Power Rangers Mana Warriors

Episode 9: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright – Part One

The Star Chamber

"I'm ready," said Durgha. She stood there, dressed in white pants, a white tunic, and a shawl around her head. "Just in case I have to actually walk through the desert."

"Unfortunately, you'll have to," explained Zotio. "There are distortion fields in the Desert of Despair. We can pull you out, but we can't push you in. We can only send you as far as the border. And don't forget this." He tossed her a large bottle of water. "You'll need it."

"Thank you."

"And take this," said Fetu, as she gave her another bottle, but there was a map attached to it by an elastic band. "Nothing special about the water, but the map will guide you to the Temple. It is hidden in a mountain. The first of the new Power Rangers went there for new powers. The guardian of the temple is named Ninjor. He created the Dinosaur and the Ninja Power Coins."

"Should we go with her?" asked Kakuti. "I know I'm from plains, not the desert, but…"

"The Rangers are needed here," said Fetu. "I am sure they will attack today. As soon as they know what Durgha is after, they will send someone to distract you."

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The Spaceship

"It is time," said Riki-Tiki-Kali, as she and Dodonga approached Talia.

"Then go to the Earth and stop her. I shall head to…LAS VEGAS!" declared Talia. "There was a monster that Zedd never had a chance to use. I shall use it."

They all teleported out.

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Ruby Rachel's, The Strip, Las Vegas

Ruby Rachel's was supposedly a diner and a bar, that just happened to have a poker table and a few slot machines in one corner. Of course, that was where the lion's share of the money came, and at least one slot machine had someone at it all the time.

Talia walked in. "Pardon me ma'am, the funny costume contest is TOMMOROW!"

"I didn't come here for that," said Talia. "I came hre for THIS!" She waved her scepter at the card table. Lightning danced, and then a few cards flew off and flashed. They formed a strange monster, who wore black and white, had a jester's cap, and what looked like a poker hand at his neck, the head was sticking through the "Joker" card, naturally. His "hand" included an Ace of Spades, a Joker, an Eight of Diamonds, a King of Diamonds, and a Three of Spades. The people inside ran for the exits.

"Poker Face, reporting for duty," said the monster, with a laugh in the voice. "Are you working for Lord Zedd?"

"Hate to tell you this, Lord Zedd is no longer around. I am now the only evil name in town."

"I suppose you expect me to believe that."

"Well, believe that there's a group of five Rangers."

"That's nice. I will deal with them, and then they will all fold, when my attack is trumped up!" A few Thrashers appeared.

"So you and them cause mayhem in this city. Then they shall come."

"I will!" He laughed. "This will be so much fun."

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The Star Chamber

Alarms sounded. "You were right," said Jerara. "So where's the action?"

"In Las Vegas, Nevada, USA," said Fetu. The Viewing Globe was activated. "That's odd. That looks like Poker Face, one of Lord Zedd's creations. But so was the Man-Of-Jar. The Rangers of this generation never got to fight Poker Face, because Zedd and Rita were first chased out by the Machine Empire, and then they lost their evil when Zordon met his demise."

"But he was dangerous, from what I know," said Zotio. "He even has a connection with some of the other monsters, who he can bring back at will. You may have your work cut out."

"All right," said Seann. "IT'S MORPHIN' TIME! BLUE STAG!"

"GREEN TURTLE!"

"YELLOW QUETZAL!"

"ORANGE DINGO!"

"RED LION!"

The Rangers were sent to Las Vegas.

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The Gobi Desert, China/Mongolia border

Durgha beamed in. "How will I know where the Desert of Despair is?" She walked forward. She heard the moaning of voices. "Right, that's how." She looked around. She noticed the vegetation, what little there was, was different in the "Despair" side than in the Gobi. There was even cactus in the Despair Desert. "I'd love to stay and study the flora and fauna, but I have some ranger-ing to do." She looked at her map. "First I must determine where about I am." She looked at the sky, while avoiding the sun. She also did some rough calculations in her head. She was at the south side. She walked north. A low moan was heard. She looked at the map, and saw a boulder. She saw the boulder on the ground, so she knew where to go.

"TURN BACK!" yelled a shrill female voice. Durgha shrugged it off as an illusion.

A mixture of sitar and tabla music wafted through the air. Another illusion, she thought.

A short distance away, with a protective tarp above her, Riki-Tiki-Kali was making the music. Dodonga was sitting next to her. A wind picked up, and she smiled. "You will leave this desert, or else!"

Durgha walked, and a sandstorm picked up. She shielded her eyes as she soldiered on.

The sandstorm increased in intensity. A laughing entered the air.

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Las Vegas

The Rangers found Poker Face and a group of Thrashers going on a rampage. The Thrashers fought with jagged double-ended lances.

"The stakes are high, for you, Rangers," giggled Poker Face. Spiked clubs appeared in his hands. "You will soon be bust!"

"NEVER!" yelled Orange. "DINGO DASH!" He glowed and ran at Poker Face, slashing all Thrashers in the way. He swung at Poker Face, but was deflected.

He was clubbed, with sparks flying.

"NO!" yelled Green. She clashed against a few Thrashers. She was suddenly hit by blasts. She saw a purple Thrasher with glowing orbs that were hovering around its hands. It launched more blasts. She whipped out her gun, and fired a few shots.

Yellow and Blue gathered around Poker Face, who was about to club the Orange Ranger again.

"I will club YOU!" Yellow swung her Quetzal Club down upon Poker Face, knocking him to the ground. He got up, and Blue brought down his Dirks, disarming him. Orange recovered, and the three hit him with punches and kicks.

"Ouch, that is hurting," screamed Poker Face. "NOT!" He swung his hand at all three of them, and hit. Then he produced two handfuls of cards in fan formation. The other Rangers surrounded him, the Thrashers all but defeated. "Pick a card, ANY card!" He threw them at the Rangers, and they all exploded, knocking them to the ground. "I'd love to stay and watch you lose, but I have more pressing issues. I'll DEAL with you all later!" Glowing versions of the suit symbols surrounded him, and then they, and him, disappeared.

"This is bloody great," screamed Blue. "Now what are we supposed to do?"

"DIE!" screamed a voice. The Rangers turned around to see Mayhem, Verilax-9, and a group of Androids. Some of them were orange, others were green.

"PREPARE FOR TERMINATION," announced Verilax-9. All of the Androids, including him, opened up their faces. Some of them shot glowing orbs, some shot beams, and Verilax-9 shot glowing rings. The ground exploded around them, and they were thrown onto rubble.

"Since you're down," began Mayhem, "you may as well STAY there!" He plunged his sword into the ground, and it glowed. Snake-like patterned of energy slithered in all directions, hurting the Rangers when they were too close.

"We must not give up," said Red, as he struggled to his feet.

"I won't give up," said Orange, as he did likewise.

"Neither will we," said Yellow and Green, who sprung to their feet.

"You'll win over my dead body," said Blue.

"That is kind of the idea," said Mayhem, as his antlers started to glow.

"DIVE TO THE SIDES," shouted Blue, as he dove to the left. Others did likewise, and Green was even rolling. The energy attack missed them.

"You're no fun," said Mayhem. "Androids, attack! You'll find that these Androids are not the pushovers that the Thrashers are."

"Bring it on," shouted Blue. The Rangers made their weapons appear. They clashed with the Androids, who fought with wrist-blades and arm-cannons.

"DINGO FRENZY!" shouted Orange, as he slashed in countless directions with his Boomerang.

"STAG CHARGE!" shouted Blue, as he charged forward with his antlers energized, and slammed into Mayhem.

"LION ROTOR," added Red, as he spun his spear, and flew forward at Mayhem and Verilax-9, hitting them both.

"You haven't won," explained Verilax-9.

"We were just a diversion," said Mayhem.

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Mongolia

The sandstorm finally subsided. Durgha continued on. In the distance she saw the mountain. She stopped for a sip of water.

A short distance away, Riki-Tiki-Kali was watching through binoculars. "She is getting too close. You shall see some of your tribe, Dodonga, because they shall help us." She held up the key with her top-most right hand. She began to chant, and it glowed. A portal appeared in front of her. "General Taurus, send forth Groups Five and Copper."

A dark shadowy figure could be seen through the other side. "As our empress Talia commands!" Then more figures could appear, and they rushed through. They were all of Dodonga's race. Some of them were dressed like Dodonga, and some of them wore loincloths and sarongs, revealing that the rest of their bodies were generally humanoid, only their head, tails, hands, and feet weren't. There was only a handful of females among them. Some of them carried weapons, and some of them carried tools.

"What does Talia wish for?" recited one of them, in a monotone voice.

"You shall all be teleported, and I shall distract her. You must prepare traps, she must not enter the mountain." She chanted, and her jewel glowed. It shot a beam at all of them, including Dodonga, and they disappeared.

Further ahead, Durgha was surprised by a sudden earthquake. A huge rift opened in front of her. She turned around, just in time to see another rift open behind her. Pieces of platform rose and sank and turned in erratic manners. Flames erupted.

"You can do this," she told herself. She jumped onto another platform, then another, but she slipped, and as she recovered, she dropped the map. It burst into flames. She hoped the mountain ahead was the one.

"You must not quit," came a voice, a voice she thought she heard in a dream of hers. "Are you the next white tiger, or a clown?"

"I AM NOT A CLOWN," screamed Durgha, as she jumped onto more platforms. A few of the ones behind her collapsed. She could make out figures in the distance doing some kind of work. She leapt forward, and just barely grabbed the cliff's edge. She felt the heat as she struggled to climb out. As she did, small pieces of rock slipped out. She had to keep going. Just as she made it out, the walls started sliding back together.

She continued. Most of the figures were gone.

As she approached, she saw Dodonga, standing there, holding a staff with a large STOP sign at the end.

"I cannot allow you to go any further," he announced.

"Why is that?" she asked.

"Our Empress, Talia, does not want you entering the mountain. I don't really like to do this, but I have no choice, my people have no choice, they are…oops, I shouldn't go off blabbing about our slavery like this, Talia would hate that. If you take one more step, then things will not go very well." Durgha took a step forward. He fired eyeblasts around her. "I had to do that, to warn you. We've set up traps, and I wouldn't want to see you dead, although Talia would disagree. Farewell!" He beamed out.

She ran forward. Something told her to jump. She did, just as something exploded. Great, she thought, a minefield. How do I disable this?

"Trust your instinct as much as your knowledge," told the voice, "there is no time to rig up an invention." There also weren't the usual signs of a minefield. The ground was gravelly and pebbly, and uneven, therefore there was no way to tell where a mine could be by that method. A blast exploded behind her. She saw that those of Dodonga's race were pursuing her. There were even a couple of grunts in loincloths who were pulling a chariot that Riki-Tiki-Kali was seated upon.

She started running, missing explosions most of the time, but one went off in front of her, blowing pebbles at her. Another explosion made her fall over, scraping her arms. She was back up. Soon she was at the mountain. Riki-Tiki-Kali waved her hands, and all the remaining devices exploded, giving her entourage an unobstructed passage.

She ran along the mountain, as a group of Grunts took off after her. She ran between a couple of rocks into a small clearing in the mountain, which in turn led to a cave. She entered, and saw it was dark.

Outside, the grunts put up makeshift barricades.

"Begin drilling," ordered Riki-Tiki-Kali, "if she does not come out, we go in!"

Durgha walked through the dark cave and slipped on a piece of smooth ground. She then tripped on a rock, and headed towards a wall. She didn't hit it, but went through it, and on the other side, she was in a bright garden. She looked around in awe. She walked around, and found a passageway. The passageway wasn't as cheery as the garden, and led to a closed gate. She tried pushing and pulling it, but nothing happened. She tapped on it, and it opened. On the other side was a blue pot, and numerous candles. She looked at the pot. It felt light. She shook it.

"Be careful there," came a voice from inside the jar.

"I am looking for Ninjor," she said.

"Maybe I know of him, maybe I don't," said the male voice. She laughed. It reminded her of Marvin the Martian from those cartoons she saw.

"I came here to look for a key."

"Do I look like a locksmith, lady?"

"I have to find the White Mana powers!"

"Who cares?"

"Can you at least tell me where Ninjor is?"

"I never heard of him."

"I didn't come here to be insulted."

"Then where do you usually go?"

"Ninjor isn't here, I don't have time for this." She turned to leave.

"Just one moment young lady." She turned around, and saw a robotic-looking man in a blue metallic ninja outfit, with an N in a circle emblem. "I am Ninjor. Now why are you in my temple?"

"I need the key to the White Mana powers."

"Sorry, I can't help you."

"But Zotio and Fetu said…"

"Not interested!"

"The planet is in trouble."

"Not my problem! No dastardly villains will ever be able to enter my sanctuary, now if you excuse me, I was in the middle of a nice long nap. In fact, you interrupted a dream."

"When you're proven wrong, you'll be sorry," said Durgha. "I guess my five friends will have to do without me."

"Wait," said Ninjor. "Five friends? I knew you would say that. You are true of heart, and worthy of being a Power Ranger. Now listen to what I shall tell you. I am thousands upon thousands of years old. I created the original Power Coins for Earth. I also created Power Coins for a few other planets. There was a Power Coin NOT created by me. It was the coin of light, the Tigerzord. It was thought for certain that those powers were gone. Just before he left, Zordon informed me that the Coin was converted into a Crystal, and that it should be given to one of the Mana Warriors."

"Did you also make the Mana Crystals?"

"No I didn't. I would have loved to, but that's way beyond me. They came from ancient powers of spirits and powers known by peoples on Earth. They were hidden in an asteroid until needed."

"So may I ask where the key is?"

"In the garden, it is in the water, but you will not get wet. The key is needed to obtain the White Mana powers."

"Thank you, Ninjor."

"And since you are true of heart, I shall give you something else. Hold up your hands."

Durgha did so. She felt a strange energy rush through her. There was a flash of light. She was wearing an ornate sari with different patterns on it, and she had a symbol on her forehead. It was a symmetrical jagged claw. She looked at herself in a mirror, and saw she had longer hair than usual. She pointed at the symbol on her forehead.

"Oh, that's the symbol of the White Tiger power. In the form you are in now, you are much like the goddess of your people that you share your name with, Durgha. And like the other Durgha, you to shall ride a tiger to fight against the most nefarious villains and stop their dastardly deeds. But first you must find the key. Farewell, Durgha!"

"Farewell, Ninjor!"

She left the chamber and walked around. She felt every river and every pool with her hands, but they were wet. Until she came to one last body of water. She felt the river that fed it, and it was wet. But the lake itself didn't feel wet. She walked in. Surprisingly, she was able to breath under this "water." However, she still had some of the buoyancy expected in actual water. So she went "swimming" under. She felt along the walls, expecting to find a secret door or something.

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Outside

Workers with drills and picks continued to wear away at the rock. Riki-Tiki-Kali began playing the drums, while shouting "faster." They tried to work faster. "We shall claim the powers for ourselves. Only someone with powers could stop us, and the Rangers are busy." She had premonitions that she might fail, but she forced them to the back of her mind.

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The Spaceship

Talia opened a communication channel with Poker Face. "Yes, your Majesty?"

"I want those Rangers, and I want them dead, do you understand?"

"I sure do, they will fold. And I have some friends to make sure that they do."

"Excellent!"

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The Temple

Durgha swam into a secret passage. At the end, was a glowing cylinder with grooves in it. Atop it, was a small tiger's paw. She took it and smiled.

"There you are, Durgha," said Ninjor. "Someone's trying to break into the temple!"

"Then I'll just have to stop them," said Durgha, full of confidence.

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Las Vegas

A floor show with dancers in skimpy outfits was crashed by Poker Face. He produced a cane, and aimed it at the audience, and fired blasts like a machine gun.

"Wrong way," said Orange, as he and the other Rangers arrived. Poker Face turned around, and blasted them all with his cane-gun. Then he fired energy blasts from his eyes, while laughing.

"I have some friends I'd like you to meet," announced Poker Face. He produced four enormous cards. There was an Ace of Spades that had a picture of a monster that had a length of golden tubing around an eye for its head. There was a King of Diamonds, that was a monster with a change purse for its head. The Queen of Hearts, which was also present, had a feminine monster with prominent lips, and a head that looked like a lipstick tube. The last one was a Jack of Clubs, and it had a monster that was metallic and looked like many keys joined together.

"Pipe-Brain, Purse-Head, Lip-Syncher, Gate-Master, ARISE!" The cards energized, and then turned into the monsters depicted.

"I thought I saw a couple of these monsters before," said Blue.

"You should have, they were servants of Lord Zedd," said Poker Face. "And now they shall ensure your doom."

"A Red Ranger killed me, and now I shall do likewise," said Pipe-Brain, as he extended a long flexible pipe and wrapped around Red. He fired energy blasts from his eye at the Ranger.

"You'd fight," said Purse-Brain, "but you're TIED UP!" He fired high-tension dental-floss that wrapped around Orange.

"Yellow," said Poker Face. "The stakes are higher, ANTE UP!" He threw exploding cards at her.

Green and Blue rushed to help her.

"Stay and hear me SING!" shouted Lip-Syncher, before attacking Green with a powerful sonic attack.

Blue was charged at by Gate-Keeper, who had roller-blades. Attached to his arms were heavy keys used as blades. "You'll have to UNLOCK the secret to beating me, chump!"

The Rangers were in trouble.

To be continued

Author's Notes: Poker Face is based on a monster from the Japanese Dai-Rangers, but he never made it to Power Rangers. I had to come up with a name for him, so I chose Poker Face. The original monster also resurrected those four monsters. As for Durgha, she's in for a fight…or two. And soon there'll be a Sixth Ranger…