Author's notes - I couldn't let the occasion go without a giant robot fight. I love my giant robots :). Brankel - thanks for the compliments. Hold on tight, we're almost there! :). Jg13145 - Just about. Yes, Mike annihilating Kori while wearing the Dragon Shield was inspired by that photo of JDF's. I saw that picture, and just thought, I have to make this happen. The Dragon Shield was my favourite plot-device from the first season (in Shades of Grey, I've got a scene where Billy gets to wear it, and it's just as awesome). I love it when powers are transferable between teams (like when the Omega Megazord used the Lights of Orion in Trakeena's Revenge), and we already know the Dragon Shield can be transferred between individual Rangers. I always write it as, anyone Tommy chooses to give the Dragon Dagger to, gets the shield as well. I'm glad you liked that. I thought it was a nice resolution to Mike and Tommy's subplots. As for your three notes ... thanks for pointing those out. I should've mentioned, in the last chapter, that some of the changes were deliberate. I found that the Samurai team had a lot of procedures and summoning phrases, and I watched a few episodes to try and get them right ... but including them all slowed the story right down. So I took some small liberties, and either shortened things or rearranged their order, just to keep the flow of the story. In this chapter, you'll see I've taken a couple of the Samurai phrases and changed them slightly, to reflect that it's two teams fighting together, here, and not just the Samurai team. I also put Tommy into the cockpit of the Dragonzord, but that's just a personal preference. Anyway, this is the second last chapter, so thanks for your feedback everybody :). On with the zords!
Chapter Nine
The Samurai Rangers held out their arms as their Megamode armour folded around their suits and their individual zords appeared in their hands. Lifting into the air, the zords grew gigantic while a cloud of Japanese symbols swirled around them. The red lion zord planted its feet on the street and roared, as the pink turtle and blue dragon took to the air. Below them, the green bear stomped the ground while the yellow ape swung up onto the nearby rooftops. A second later, the Samurai Rangers teleported into their cockpits and slid their swords into the control panels before them.
"Zords, combine!" said Jayden.
The five giant robots instantly began to transform. The dragon and bear zords collapsed down against each other until they'd formed the Megazord's feet and legs. The red lion leaped into the air, its front legs flattening against its sides as its body split in two and the halves swung apart. In the sky above, the turtle and ape zords folded in half, connecting to the lion zord as they descended onto the bear and dragon. Now formed, the Samurai Megazord reached up and pulled its helmet on, the strap connecting under the Megazord's chin. Its eyes flashed blue, and the Megazord's gleaming sword appeared in its hand. The five Rangers were suddenly standing together in the Megazord cockpit as the Samurai Megazord stood tall over the city.
Meanwhile, far to the west of the city in an out-of-the-way place, the ground shook violently and broke open. With a blast of flame and a roar of power, the mighty red Tyrannosaurus rose from the depths, awakening from a long slumber to greet the sun once again, immediately beginning its journey for the city in the distance. Behind it, the blue Triceratops appeared alongside the black Mastodon, joined seconds later by the yellow Sabre-Toothed Tiger. Finally, with an explosion of fire and smoke, the pink Pterodactyl zord shot into the sky, following close behind as the zords thundered towards the Rangers.
"Let's do it!" shouted Jason.
Reaching for their belts, the Rangers teleported into their approaching zords and materialised in the familiar cockpits a second later, each Ranger silently noting how good it felt to be back in their original steeds. Bypassing the traditional tank mode, the zords pulled straight into their Megazord sequence. The Triceratops and Sabre-Toothed Tiger drew side by side, collapsing down and connecting to the Tyrannozord's legs. With crackles of lightning, the Mastodon folded open and was pulled towards the Tyrannozord to give the Megazord arms. Finally, the Pterodactyl fell towards the combined mass of robots, attaching to the Megazord as its chest shield. The Rangers appeared in the cockpit as the Megazord rolled to a stop, its own momentum carrying it upright. Raising its gigantic fists, the Dino Megazord thundered over to join the Samurai Megazord.
Back down on the street, Antonio raised his samurai morpher. "Clawzord, I need you buddy," he said, writing symbols in the air. "Clawzord south, transform!" Across the city, the golden lobster zord crawled free of his home in Antonio's fish cart, growing to giant size and transforming into its warrior mode. Antonio arrived inside the robot's cockpit a second later. Down below, Tommy raised the Dragon Dagger to his mouth and played a familiar six-note tune. With a triumphant roar, the green Dragonzord spectacularly arrived in the city, and the town shook as the Dragonzord lumbered across to join the Clawzord and the two Megazords facing down Serrator and the Tenki brothers.
In a flash of green, Tommy teleported into the Dragonzord's cockpit. Settling into the seat, he hit the radio. "It's good to be back guys," he said, and the Dragonzord roared in response. "Let's take these creeps out."
"Amen to that," said Antonio.
Watching the zords assemble, Serrator sneered. "Four zords or forty, you robbed me of victory!" he shouted. "For that I will destroy you and your legacy forever!"
Holding out his arms, his two swords reappeared. Raising the weapons, Serrator took a giant step towards the two Megazords.
"Whatever else happens today," Jayden said, the radio broadcasting his voice through all the zords, "we stop Serrator here and now."
Eleven voices raised in unison. "Right!"
As the three Nighlok demons closed in, the Rangers pushed their zords forward. The city shook with every colossal footstep, the stage set for an epic confrontation.
"Ready for a rematch?" asked Tommy, as Kori powered towards the Dragonzord. Kori growled and raised his arms, but the Dragonzord spun around, swinging its tail drill and catching Kori on the chest, smashing the demon backwards. Kori recovered as Tommy pushed the Dragonzord forward, but even as the zord approached, Kori launched a barrage of energy blasts straight towards his opponent, shattering anything they hit. The front of the Dragonzord erupted in smoke and sparks, and Tommy steered the zord to safety. Kori advanced, expecting a defeated opponent. But the Dragonzord's chest began flashing, and a storm of missiles exploded from the zord, scorching across the city and slamming into the Nighlok. Now with the advantage, Tommy pushed the Dragonzord forward to continue the battle.
A few blocks away, Kaji closed in on the golden Clawzord. "Nothing's more delicious than cooked lobster," the Nighlok laughed.
"You might just wanna recheck the menu!" the Gold Ranger shot back. With Kaji in range, the Clawzord sliced its left blade straight for the Nighlok's head. The demon stepped around the blade, blocking the right blade when the Clawzord swung again. Striking the weapon away, Kaji held up his hands, channelling fire into them until they were glowing white hot, and slammed his fists into the Clawzord's chest. The zord stumbled back, and Antonio fought to regain control as Kaji followed after him, landing another blow to the zord's chest before aiming high. But the Clawzord stepped around the punch, and slashed its blades for Kaji's torso. Kaji had no time to retreat, and the swords carved through his chest armour in a shower of sparks.
Across the city, Serrator raised his two swords and leaped into the air, slashing his blades for his opponents as he fell. The two Megazords stepped around the swords, and Serrator turned and sliced both blades straight for the Samurai Megazord. The Megazord blocked the weapons with its own sword and forced Serrator back with a wide slash. Safely out of range, Serrator spun to face the Dino Megazord, aiming high, but the Megazord struck away the weapons and sent Serrator crashing backwards with a punch to the chest, following after him and landing a powerful blow to the head. Serrator recovered just as the Samurai Megazord attacked, ducking under a wide slice. When the Samurai Megazord swung again, Serrator raised both blades and held the giant samurai swords in check, before slashing them across the Megazord's chest. The blades carved through the lion zord in an explosion of fire, and the Samurai Rangers quickly steered their Megazord to safety.
"That did some damage," Jayden said.
Kevin glanced to his team-mates. "We need time to recover!"
"Got you covered," Jason called.
The Samurai Megazord fell back, and Serrator turned to the Dino Megazord as the Rangers pushed the Megazord forward. With a smile of easy prey, Serrator slashed one of his blades straight for the Megazord's head, but the Megazord caught the blade in a shower of sparks and struck it away. Blocking another slice, the Megazord slammed Serrator back with a punch to the stomach. Before the Nighlok king could recover, the Megazord charged after him, blocking a low kick and stunning him with a high punch. Serrator roared in defiance and lashed out with one of his swords, but as the blade fell, the Megazord aimed a punch straight for the descending sword and snapped the blade mid-swing. Serrator froze, staring dumbly at the destroyed blade, before looking back to the Megazord with fire in his eyes. He raised his remaining sword just as the recovered Samurai Megazord thundered towards him, swinging its own sword and breaking the second blade in two. Dazed, Serrator stumbled back, and side-by-side, the two Megazords powered forward to continue the battle.
Streets away, Dragonzord and the Clawzord had been forced back-to-back as Kori and Kaji closed in, Kori looming large in front of Tommy with Kaji raising his burning fists for the Clawzord.
"Antonio?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah?"
"What do you say we switch dance partners?"
In the Clawzord, Antonio grinned. "Sounds like a plan!"
The zords spun around on the spot, the Clawzord spinning right until it faced Kori while Dragonzord turned to stare down the approaching Kaji. With its opponent now too close to dodge, the Dragonzord raised its hands and blasted a barrage of missiles for the Nighlok, slamming Kaji back in a massive explosion that lit up the street. Behind them, Antonio pushed the Clawzord forward, slashing at Kori with its golden blades and forcing him back. Kori tried to fight off the onslaught, but couldn't get any kind of range to attack as the Clawzord kept advancing. Blasting the cold-hearted Nighlok back away, the Clawzord held up its twin swords. Lightning flashed, charging the blades with power, and the Clawzord slashed them towards Kori, the twin arcs slamming into the demon and instantly reducing him to ash.
"One down, one to go!" cheered Antonio.
Kaji's jaw fell open, and his face grew dark. "Kori!" he shouted. "You will pay for…"
Before he could finish, Dragonzord slammed its tail drill into his head, before another volley of missiles sent him to the ground.
"Antonio," Tommy said, "he's all yours."
"You got it! Green and gold, baby!" Antonio shouted. Raising its blades until they were again glowing with power, the Clawzord slashed the two weapons for the remaining Tenki brother. Kaji was immediately torn apart in a massive explosion that sent a fireball rocketing skyward.
With the Tenki brothers destroyed, Dragonzord and the Clawzord lumbered back over to join the two Megazords, the four giant robots surrounding the Nighlok king on all sides.
"You cannot stop me!" Serrator screamed. "I will wipe the human race off the planet!"
In the cockpit of the Samurai Megazord, Jayden nodded. "Then you leave us with no choice," he said. Turning to his team-mates, he raised his voice. "Ultimate Samurai combination, now!"
With a roar of power, the Bullzord rolled down from the hills, followed by the orange beetle, blue swordfish, white tiger and purple squid zords. As the procession reached the city, lightning from a suddenly cloudy sky struck down around the zords. In flashes of light, the zords began transforming, as the Bullzord rolled to a stop, rose vertical, and turned to face the Nighlok king. Seconds later, the combined form of the Clawzord and Megazord had taken its place on the Bullzord's body as the auxiliary zords connected to its back. The six Samurai Rangers found themselves standing in the cockpit with the Lightzord between Jayden and Antonio, as the Samurai Gigazord towered over Serrator.
"Samurai Gigazord, Rangers united!"
Across the city in the Dino Megazord, the Rangers raised their arms to the sky. "We call upon the power of Titanus!"
The sky grew dark, and with a powerful roar, the carrier zord Titanus punched through a row of low hills on the horizon, powering down towards the city. As Titanus approached, his tail split up to become two powerful shoulder cannons. Lifting into the air, the Dragonzord broke in half, its shoulders and legs swinging out, before lowering itself onto the Dino Megazord's shoulders. The Rangers turned to Tommy as he materialised in the cockpit to join them. A second later, the combined mass of zords descended into Titanus's back, and the Dino Ultrazord was now side-by-side with the Samurai Gigazord.
"Ultrazord, power up!"
Serrator hissed. "How dare you?" he screamed. "You will never defeat me! I am a Nighlok king!"
"You've threatened the safety of the Earth for the last time," Jayden said.
In the Ultrazord cockpit, Zac nodded. "You want to see the Sanzu River so badly? Here's a one-way ticket."
"Let's do this together," Jason said.
In the Gigazord, Jayden nodded. "You got it. Shogun mode, power of the ancestors!" As the ancient Shogun armour appeared around Jayden's suit, the Samurai Rangers raised their blades to the sky. Across the city, the older Rangers reached for their controls.
"Symbol power, mega strike!"
"Lock on, and fire!"
A cataclysmic barrage exploded forth from the two zords, scorching through the air and slamming into Serrator. The Nighlok king was instantly torn apart in a massive explosion that rocked the city and sent a plume of smoke high into the air. In the Ultrazord, the older Rangers turned to each other and cheered, while in the Gigazord cockpit, Mike turned to Jayden.
"Is it really over?" the Green Samurai Ranger asked.
"He's gone," Jayden nodded. "We did it. We all did it," and in a voice so quiet, Mike almost didn't hear him, the Red Samurai Ranger added, "Power Rangers, victory is ours."
To be concluded.