Magna Defender's Legacy

by littlepatriot

The Magna Defender was once a noble warrior. However, the death of his son caused him to turn his back on his noble ways and begin a campaign of vengeance that lasted many years. Unbeknownst to him, two very familiar individuals would fill the void he'd left, becoming heroes in their own right, aiding those who helped others. One day, their destinies collide. Mainly Lost Galaxy. AU

11. The Key (Sunflower Search)

Chapter 11: The Key (Sunflower Search)

Ali had decided to take a late night walk. He needed to clear his head, throughout the day, many jumbled thoughts had lanced through his head. Thoughts of home, of Taurus, and of his family, his older brother his father, and Azarand. Seeing the Magna Defender had awakened these thoughts, something about the man felt eerily similar, but Ali couldn't put his hand on it. He'd felt a connection to the man, much like the way Azarand had also felt a connection to the Magna Defender.

Finding a bench in the now desolate park, Ali sat down and turned his head upwards towards the black night sky. Out there among the stars was his home star, the one that Taurus orbited around. He closed his eyes and began to think back of the many funny times he'd had on that planet, whether it was him and Azarand pranking Zika, or of his father's deep laugh. A small smile crept to his face, and for the first time, Ali experienced an emotion that he hadn't felt in all these years away from home, he was homesick. He removed his homburg hat and placed it beside him, he needed to find a way to uncover who exactly this Magna Defender was.

Sitting on the park bench, Ali began shuffling through his ideas and thoughts.

Unbeknownst to Ali, a few hundred yards away stood a figure as black as the night. The Magna Defender had come to this park for quiet solitude; he too had to gather his own thoughts. The Magna Defender was brooding over the events of the past week. Those two young men who he'd seen fight Ruptor, he felt like he knew them, but he couldn't figure out from where. It angered him that he couldn't think of where he might've known these two. Resignedly, the Magna Defender removed his son's dagger from his belt and held it in his gloved hands. Staring down at the small black worn blade, he was assailed by memories of his son. He remembered the time he gave his son that dagger, Zika was so giddy he practically jumped up and down. However, the fond memory was poisoned by the dark knowledge that his son was dead. Killed by the very monsters he was going to destroy now.

His depressing thoughts turned back to the time his son was killed. He remembered advancing on the monsters with Torozord behind him. He felt confident that he could and would destroy these monsters who'd assaulted his planet. He remembered how that feeling on confidence fell apart when he saw his son in the clutches of Fishface. He remembered the unmistakable clank of his sword dropping to the ground, of him falling to the ground as monster after monster took pot shots at him. He remembered Scorpius blasting him with a wave of energy, and subsequently falling on his stomach. For once in his life he pleaded with Scorpius to let his son go, and he remembered that Scorpius had done so. Then the horror as he noticed his son had drawn his dagger and charged towards Scorpius, he remembered yelling for his son to stop. And finally, he remembered the coldness that enveloped his armored body as he saw his son fall to the ground, lying motionless atop a pile of rubble.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts, his hatred was palpable, rage coursed through his body, and his lust for destruction had reached an all time high.

"Scorpius, I will have my revenge." The Magna Defender vowed, holding up Zika's dagger in front of him, his fist balling around its hilt.

Ali walked into the doorway of his apartment, having returned from his outing at the park. He fully expected, given the time it was, that his brother would be fast asleep. However, he found Azarand fully awake, dressed in his pajama, and sitting on the counter. At the sound of the door opening, he turned to face Ali.

"I see your back." Azarand stated plainly.

"Yes I am Az. May I enquire as to why you are still up?" Ali asked as he walking over to the counter his brother was sitting on.

His brother looked at him with tired eyes. "I can't sleep. I have too much on my mind."

Ali hopped up on the counter next to his brother. "Do you want to talk about these thoughts?"

Azarand silently nodded. "I keep having thoughts of the Magna Defender. He's an enigma to me, someone I can't mentally disassemble. It's like he knows how I think, it's like he knows me." Azarand finished his sentence in a quiet whisper.

Ali softly put his hand on his brother's shoulder, "I feel the same way."

Azarand turned his head to look Ali straight in the eyes. "You do?"

Ali nodded in confirmation." Yes, I feel like we're all connected somehow. Some time ago, our three paths either intertwined or crossed, that is the only explanation I can think of. Do you think the Magna Defender knows of this connection?"

Azarand nodded his head. "Yes, as I've said before, he visibly reacted to seeing me, he very nearly stumbled."

Ali was quiet for a moment, taking in the information. "Then he probably knows we know of a connection to him."

"Indeed." Azarand said tiredly.

"I think it's time for us to hit the sack." Ali said as he slid off the counter and back onto the white linoleum floor. He offered his hand for his brother to take.

Azarand grabbed Ali's hand and slid off the counter. The two brothers walked side by side to their separate rooms. They each had a hand on their doorknobs when a beep interrupted them.

" Awww, why this late?" Azarand playfully whined.

"I'm sure it's important if Zordon is contacting us at this hour." Ali told his brother as he began walking back towards the living room, behind him Azarand followed grudgingly in his footsteps.

They went over towards their brown coffee table and sat down on the couch. Azarand reached under the table and found a small button underneath. Pressing it down, a faint blue light appeared above the table, suddenly Zordon's figure appeared. They used this type of communication if they didn't have their earpieces around.

The blue hologram buzzed faintly before the sound was drowned out by Zordon's voice.

"Hello young ones, I apologize for calling you so late at night." Zordon told the pair.

"That's alright Zordon, we'll fall asleep eventually." Azarand said plainly.

Ali socked him in the shoulder playfully while Zordon gave a small chuckle. "Ah Azarand, your humor is refreshing."

"So what did you call us about Zordon?" Ali asked the faintly blue figure.

"I called because something is about to happen tomorrow. Well two things to be exact. You will meet some of Kypton's associates, and remember to look for the sunflowers." Zordon said cryptically.

Ali and Azarand turned to stare at each other, each confused beyond belief.

"Uh what?" Azarand said, confusion lacing his voice.

Zordon merely chuckled in response. Upon seeing the disapproving looks he was getting he composed himself. "I apologize for that. Kypton has been lurking around for quite some time; I believe that because the lights have shown themselves, the perfect time for her to strike would be now. Scorpius has also been active recently; we have reason to believe it involves sunflowers, make of that as you will. Now, I am going to give you something that will aide in your search for the elusive lights, think of it as a map."
Ali was surprised to see a blue glow materialize out of thin air and place itself on the coffee table. As the glow faded, it revealed a paper map of sorts, however, unlike regular maps, the sketches constantly changed on their own accord.

"Whoa what is this?" Azarand asked Zordon as he held the piece of parchment in his hand.

"It is a map as you call it. This map will show you clues as to where the lights are. It will not show you the exact location of the lights incase this falls into the wrong hands. However, I expect it not to even come close to falling into anyone else's hands besides yours." Zordon told the two in a tone that brokered no dissent.

"You've got it boss." Ali said in a playful voice.

Zordon smiled at the young man, "Indeed I do Ali. Good night and good luck." Zordon said before cutting the line of communication.

Ali turned to Azarand with his hand on his chin. "He mentioned that Scorpius was after sunflowers, what does that mean?"

Azarand sat quietly in thought before his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. "I got it! The sunflower statues near the nature museum. That's the only place around here with noticeable sunflowers."

Ali shook his head in understanding. "Good thinking Az, however, I'm tired so we can think about this tomorrow morning."

With that the pair headed off to bed.

The following morning, Fishface transported down to the surface, he and his stingwingers coming upon the first sunflower statue at the museum.

" Ah, our first little weed." He said, before blasting the statue with his explosive sand bag. The subsequent explosions threw sparks and smoke everywhere, civilians fell to the ground trying to find cover.

"The Lights of Orion will finally be ours, and Scorpius will rule the universe!" Fishface proclaimed proudly, his celebration cut short by a blast hitting him from out of thin air.

"Ah!" The monster cried, dropping his explosive bag to the ground.

The Magna Defender landed on the soft grass in front of Fishface, his sword already drawn with fists clenched.

"Fishface, I believe we have some unfinished business." The Magna Defender growled out.

"Get him!" Fishface told his sting wingers, who attempted but failed to restrain the Magna Defender.

"The only thing unfinished was destroying you." Fishface mocked the Magna Defender.

The Magna Defender growled in response and held his sword up in a threatening manner.

In his quarters, Leo sat with his brother's dog tags in his hands. Ever since the imposter disguised himself as Mike, Leo couldn't stop searching for his brother. With the new warrior, the Magna Defender, joining the hunt for the lights, Leo was all the more confused.

He knew he needed to talk to someone who could try to give him answers, and that meant talking to Azarand or Ali.

He sat in silent thought before his morpher beeping interrupted him.

"Leo, there's trouble at the plaza." Alpha's voice came over the device.

"On my way." Leo said before he ran out the door.

Azarand and Ali were sitting in their apartment when their earpieces alerted them that Fishface was on Terra Venture. Ali rushed to put the map given to him by Zordon in a brown suitcase, while Azarand holstered his S&W Governor. Giving each other nods of readiness, both were out the door within seconds, Ali with a briefcase in hand.

Leo and his fellow rangers had arrived at the museum to see Fishface and the Magna Defender sizing each other up, stingwingers swarmed around the two combatants.

"Oh no, there are civilians over there." Maya, the yellow ranger, told the group.

"We've got to help them." Kai said concernedly.

Leo saw the potential harm that could befall the innocent civilians who were cowering in a small driveway. He needed to help get them to safety, and fast.

"Guys, I've got an idea." Leo said. "Hey Fishface!" Leo yelled, the monster turning around at the sound of his voice. Leo withdrew his saber and lunged towards the monster, locking blades with him.

Behind him, the Magna Defender was defending himself against the group of stingwingers. "Stay out of this rangers!" The black armored warrior ordered the rangers.

Leo had his saber ripped away from him, and not a moment later, Fishface's blade stuck him, sending him to the ground in a shower of sparks. The other rangers joined in the melee and soon each and every one was on the ground after being stuck by Fishface.

"I thank you for joining us rangers, now I can get rid of all of you." Fishface laughed as he mocked the group of worn down Power Rangers.

"We'll see about that." Maya told the monster.

"Quasar Launchers lock on!" Leo yelled, as he and his team brought their launchers to bear. "Energy launch!"

The red hot balls of plasma streaked towards Fishface, it looked as if this monster was done for. However, at the last moment, Fishface blocked every one of the plasma balls and turned his explosive sand bag towards the rangers, and fired.

The rangers went down in a heap.

"Don't mess with the Fish." Fishface said before he turned to face the sunflower statue.

The Magna Defender jumped in front of the statue and leveled his blaster towards the fish, and unloaded a string of bolts. Fishface rolled out of the way, and put his body directly in front of the many scared civilians huddled behind him.

The Magna Defender was not about to let civilians come in the way of destroying the monster that'd held his son hostage. He once again took aim with his blaster, and fired. The bolts impacting the ground, Fishface, and the building above, chunks of concrete began to fall on the innocent bystanders.

The Magna Defender was poised to fire off another blast, when a loud crack interrupted his focus, and he instantly found the white gloved hands of the rangers on his shoulder plates, restraining him.

"Let go of me!" He ordered the rangers, Kai and Damon, who struggled to hold him back.

"He's all yours." Fishface said, before he turned his gaze back towards the sunflower statue. Blasting it with his explosive bag, the statue shattered, but its debris revealed no Lights of Orion.

The Magna Defender finally freed himself from the grasp of the two rangers, and ran towards Fishface, the monster turning around to face him.

"Gotta go!" He mocked the defender before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Ali and Azarand had rushed over to the natural museum. When they'd arrived they witnessed the rangers going down after they attempted to intervene. When Ali saw the Magna Defender take his blaster out, he knew things weren't looking good.

He turned to Azarand and looked him straight in the eye. " Az, I need you to go check on those civilians over there." Ali told his brother, pointing towards the many innocents huddled in the small driveway.

Azarand gave a quick nod before he ran towards the civilians, taking extra time to run a wide arc around the rangers, Fishface, and the Magna Defender in an attempt to remain concealed. He snaked his way into the group of civilians and began to assess whether any were harmed by the skirmish.

He noticed a young woman dressed in a blue uniform who was partially hiding behind a car. Azarand could tell she was frightened, her body quaking with shivers. He moved towards her and gently put his hand on her shoulder, the woman jumped at the contact.

"It's okay. Are you alright?" Azarand whispered to the woman.

The woman stared at Azarand for a movement, her wild eyes peering into his blue iris. "Yes, I'm not hurt." The woman finally replied before she turned her gaze back towards Fishface and the Magna Defender.

Azarand too turned his head to look at the scene before him. He saw the rangers on the ground with Fishface standing in front of the statue, to the monster's back, the Magna Defender aimed his blaster. Azarand withdrew his revolver in case things got out of hand. He saw a flash of green and Fishface rolling out of the way, standing directly in front him and the civilians. If he knew anything about the Magna Defender, it was that the man would not be stopped until he got the destruction he craved. Knowing what was coming next he shoved the woman's body to the ground and covered her with his own body. He heard the Magna Defender let loose a string of shots, bangs occurring all around him, and then the sound of debris crashing to the ground next to him. Through it all, he stayed where he was, his body protecting the woman underneath him.

Ali watched from across the street. He saw the rangers go down but didn't rush to help them like he did previously. He knew the rangers had to do this on their own, and he had the map to protect. Looking down at the briefcase held in his right hand, Ali knew he couldn't let the object out of his sights. He turned to stare back up at the scene, and noticed the Magna Defender was taking his shots recklessly, shooting continuously regardless of his surroundings. He saw the black armored warrior shoot Fishface while the monster was standing in front of a crowd of trapped innocent civilians; he knew Azarand was amongst them. He'd seen enough, this situation needed to be contained. He withdrew his Smith and Wession .44 Magnum and aimed it towards the sky. As the Magna Defender was preparing to let loose yet another round of his devastating blasts, Ali cocked the hammer of his revolver back, and pulled the trigger. The huge crack caught everyone, including the Magana Defender, off guard. That was all the distraction needed, within seconds Ali witnessed Damon and Kai restraining the black armored warrior. That was all the time he needed before he sprinted towards the civilians, and his brother. As he passed Leo, he thought he heard the ranger say something.

"Ali?" Leo said quizzically.

But Ali was in too much of a rush to reply, he made a beeline towards the small driveway. His path took him directly towards the Magna Defender, who was standing facing the now destroyed sunflower statue. Not one to give up grudges so easily, perhaps he'd gotten that from his father, he ran full speed towards the black suited warrior. Dropping his head down and turning his right shoulder out, he hockey checked the warrior with all his might. And man did it hurt like hell. His shoulder throbbed from the impact, but he didn't stop, he only turned around to see that the Magna Defender had stumbled one step, if that, from the impact. However, the Magna Defender was now aware of his presence, and judging from the clenched fists and tense body language, the warrior wasn't amused. Ali, per his personality, gave the angry defender a mocking smile before he continued on his journey towards the innocent civilians.

He reached them in seconds, and immediately began looking over the ones he could see. Many were covered in dust, along with small scrapes, but none appeared seriously injured. He wasn't relieved, as he saw no sign of his brother. Running over to a pile of debris, Ali began frantically rummaging through the rubble. He finally came upon a dusty gray suit jacket, the same style his brother wore.

"Az!?" He cried out, his voice cracking with fear.

"I'm here Al." He heard a response from behind him.

Turning around he saw his brother wearing just his gray vest and tie, dust covering his entire body.

Ali didn't say anything and settled for grabbing his brother in a hug. Breaking the hug, Ali turned to see the rangers scolding the Magna Defender for his actions.

"Do you think they'll get through to him?" Azarand asked him as his dusty brother retrieved his gray suit jacket.

"I doubt it, stubborn bull head." Ali said, his brother laughing at the title.

"Well, he shares many of our characteristics, so I wouldn't call him names just yet." His brother said, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked; a smile crept to Ali's face. After ensuring that all the civilians were not seriously injured, Ali began to walk out of the driveway and towards the rangers. Behind him Azarand had found his revolver and was holstering it to his body.

Ali noticed that the Magna Defender was no longer standing near the building; instead the man was walking away from them, towards a large field and a forest. As Ali watched the Magna Defender's figure retreat in the distance, he saw a bright comet like streak overhead. He watched as the ball of flame plunged into the forest, an explosion resounding through Terra Venture. Beside him, Azarand stared in the same direction.

"What the hell was that?" Azarand asked in confusion.

Ali didn't take his eyes off of the distant form of the Magna Defender as the warrior walked in the direction of the large explosion. " I dunno, but whatever it is, the Magna Defender wants it."

"You thinking about going hiking tonight?" Azarand asked him.

Ali turned to look at his brother. "I would enjoy that very much."

The rangers soon joined them and demorphed. Together as a group they returned back to their quarters.

The Magna Defender had found his old friend, with Torozord by his side, there would be no stopping him. As he stood looking up at the hulking metal beast, he couldn't help but think. He'd encountered the same boy he saw in the canyon. If he remembered correctly, there were two of them. Over the past number of days he had pondered the connection he felt towards the two younglings, but he had no success in finding the answer.

Now, after what happened today, the Magna Defender would not let those boys off so easy. The brown haired one had taken it upon himself to make physical contact with him, and he would not allow such to happen. The last time a being touched him, that being was destroyed. He very nearly leveled his blaster to the young man but something stopped him in his tracks. Perhaps it was the look in his eyes, the unspoken frustration and anger. So, the boy was mad at him for potentially harming civilians. He would have to get over it, nothing stood in his way. But there was also something else that made him freeze and gawk through his helmet; it was the boy's face. Something about it seemed eerily familiar, not just familiar, but extremely familiar, it reminded him of Zika.

He quashed his thoughts then and there. While the two boys may've caught his attention, his mission to destroy Scorpius came first and foremost. He would deal with those two meddling kids at a later time. He knew that Fishface had transported back down to the surface again, and he would meet the vile creature head on.

The Magna Defender began his trek back towards the city, and back towards his goal.

In their quarters, the rangers along with Azarand and Ali discussed the day's events.

"He just didn't care about those people." Kendrix said, pacing around the room.

"Talk about being Mr. Macho." Damon added to the conversation.

"I think he has a mission, which he intends to carry it out." Kai said, all eyes turning on him, except for Leo, who was still staring outside the viewing window towards the blackness of interstellar space.

"What makes you say that Ka?" Azarand asked the blue ranger.

"The way he fights, it's not elegant like he's trying to strike a precision blow. The moves he does serve a single purpose." Kai said, his voice growing quieter.

"To destroy his enemies." Ali added onto Kai's sentence, the blue ranger nodded in confirmation.

" You're quiet Leo, what are your thoughts on this?" Maya asked the man who was still staring out into space.

" I think he has a personal vendetta." Leo said without turning around.

"A vendetta so deep and his anger so great, it consumes him." Azarand added on.

Ali turned to look at his brother. "To the point of not caring for anyone or anything but the end game?"

Azarand looked at Ali and silently nodded.

Suddenly the ranger's morphers beeped, and Alpha's voice came over the devices. "Rangers there's trouble in the plaza!"

"Duty calls!" Kai said as everyone exited the room.

The rangers descended on a public plaza that was already in chaos. All around them people screamed in terror and ran in any direction they could. Through the mass of bodies, the rangers could make out Fishface and his band of stingwingers advancing towards the plaza. Like the nature museum earlier that morning, this plaza was littered with sunflower statues.

The rangers immediately drew their sabers and stood in a line between the monster and the fleeing civilians.

"Fishface!" Leo shouted, the monster not wasting time for a reply, he and his minions charged towards the rangers, who met them head on.

Ali and Azarand were only a short distance away from the fighting, but they were not focused on the action occurring in the plaza. While they ran with the rangers, they'd felt something, something they couldn't explain, something they'd never felt before.

Splitting from the rangers, the pair was now walking down a small brick path that eventually led to a fountain and public gardens. As they walked, both felt like they were nearing something or someone. Then, coming around the bend in the path was a man, who was dressed in a dark green suit with a light brown shirt underneath. All three individuals stopped in their tracks and stared at each other.

Ali looked at the man's frame, slim like them, yet his skins had a sickly tone of color to it. Looking at the man's suit, an odd lapel pin shone from the dark green cloth.

Ali thought he recognized that symbol from someplace, thinking further his eyes widened in recognition. The one word that blared through his head was ominous. Kypton. Looking further, Ali quickly found a bulge on the man's right hip, a firearm no doubt.

Suddenly the man bolted, and Ali and Azarand were left there gawking at what had happened before their brains kicked in.

Without a word, Azarand turned to the right and ran up the hill towards the other side, while Ali, with briefcase in hand, ran down the path as fast as he could. If this was indeed one of Kypton's agents, then there was indeed a lot at stake, they needed to catch up to this man. Everything depended on it.

Azarand was descending the other side of the hill when he caught side of the agent, who was running perpendicular to him. Using his remaining energy, Azarand picked up speed as he attempted to intercept the man, just when he thought he was close enough to drop the man with a roundhouse kick, the man threw a rock at his face. It wasn't large enough to hurt, but enough of a distraction for the man to get away from his clutches.

Cursing in frustration, Azarand again gave chase, coming up behind him was Ali, amazingly, his homburg hat still atop his head, despite the brisk run. The pair chased the agent for what was perhaps a mile, up ahead; the brick path ended and a large fountain loomed in their view. As the man passed the fountain he looked back at the brothers with a dangerous look in his eyes. As Ali and Azarand came to the fountain, the man, now nearing a tree line, turned around and reached into his dark green suit, the man drew a semi automatic pistol and fired at the pair.

Ali and Azarand both took cover behind the fountain, which was being chipped by the incoming pistol rounds. Both brothers drew their revolvers and returned fire, the bangs and cracks echoing around the once peaceful park. After less than five seconds of gunfire, the green suited agent ran into the trees and disappeared. Ali and Azarand attempted to give chase, but found themselves alone once again, whoever that man was, he was now gone.

Azarand and Ali both reloaded and re holstered their firearms securely underneath their suit jackets. While the little chase had proved to be a short detour they both knew they had to get back to the rangers.

The rangers were locked in combat with the stingwingers and Fishface. Leo was battling said monster, and scored a number of hits on him.

" Get out of here!" He yelled at the disgusting monster.

Fishface merely laughed at him and began to run towards a sunflower statue, his intention to destroy it.

Fishface was nearing the statue when he was blasted multiple times, stopping him in his tracks. Turning to face the direction the blasts originated from, Fishface saw the Magna Defender walking towards him, the warrior's blaster drawn and ready for battle.

"You just don't get it do you Magna Defender, when are you gonna stop?" Fishface complained mockingly.

The Magna Defender's response brokered no reply. "When I finished what I started."

Fishface drew his sword, "Then let's end it now, once and for all!" The monster said, charging towards the Magna Defender.

The Magna Defender stood stoically still as Fishface charged towards him, and remained standing still even as the monster brought his sword down towards the black armored warrior. At the very last moment, the Magna Defender brought his wrist up and intercepted the blow, sparks flew in all directions. With Fishfaces blow blocked, Magna Defender used his remaining hand to draw his own sword as he slashed multiple times at Fishface, the monster falling to the ground. The Magna Defender then jumped up into the air and brought his sword down onto Fishface in a viscous attack that sent the monster flying.

Magna Defender advanced on the monster, who was still sprawled out on the brick plaza, with every intention to destroy him.

Fishface looked over and saw a girl picking up a teddy bear she'd dropped. Taking the advantage, he moved as fast a lightening towards her, and grabbed her in an unyielding grip. The young girl screamed in terror.

The Magna Defender stopped his advance, and took in the sight before him.

"All of you, drop your weapons, or else!" Fishface ordered his foes, laughing all the while.

To his right, the rangers looked at their weapons before Leo reluctantly dropped his saber, the others following suit. They did not want harm coming to this innocent little girl.

However, the Magna Defender did no such thing; his sword remained firmly in his grasp.

"I said, drop it!" Fishface ordered the still armed defender.

"Zika." The Magna Defender said quietly, the scene before him harkening back to one where the hostage wasn't this little girl, but his own son. He was lost in his memories.

Behind a well manicured bush, out of sight from the rangers, Fishface, and the Magna Defender, Azarand and Ali sat still and maintained their steady breathing. They were not doing this to hide themselves from the others, they were doing it because each had their revolvers drawn and aimed squarely at Fishface's large head. They would not hesitate to discharge their weapons, and use lethal force if it meant saving this girl's life. They were clerics; it was in their job description.

However, at this moment, each was very uneasy. Both had heard the whispered word that the Magna Defender had said moments earlier, and it had shaken them to the core. While they were very young the last time they saw their father and brother, the pair would never forget their looks or their names. Xanos and Zika, it was a mantra Ali and Azarand had said many times before, when they spoke of home, or when they attempted to explain their unique personalities. The fact that the Magna Defender had spoken their older brother's name in such a manner had shocked them. They never expected anyone else, except them and Zordon, to even know the names of their immediate family members.

Ali's grip on his .357 magnum lessened as he took in the new information. His curiosity and anxiety spiked at that moment, Azarand's hand on his shoulder brought him back into focus, and he needed to focus, this little girl's life depended on it.

Coming back to reality, the Magna Defender's anger peaked at the utter similarities this hostage situation shared with Zika's. He wouldn't, he couldn't give up now, no matter what the risk, this was for his son, he needed to destroy this vile creature that killed his son. "You showed no mercy for my son, now I show no mercy for you!" He ground out in utter rage as he tightened his grip on his sword and began to advance towards Fishface and the young girl. He heard the pleas of those pesky rangers to his left but disregarded them; the rangers were too idealistic for their own good. He continued his advance, preparing to destroy Fishface once and for all.

He was intercepted by the red ranger, who'd caused him trouble previously in the day. The man blocked his advance and planted his hands on his shoulder plates.

"Step aside ranger!" The Magna Defender yelled, trying the shove the ranger aside. But Leo wouldn't budge; even when he was blasted from behind by Fishface, the red ranger maintained his grip on the Magna Defender.

"I don't know why you want to destroy him, but you've got to control your anger." Leo said in a pleading tone.

"You two are pathetic." Fishface laughed as he blasted both the Magna Defender and Leo, sending both to the ground.

Ali was shaking now, and he was pretty sure that Azarand was as well. The Magna Defender had called Zika his son. It was not possible, it was simply impossible for this to be happening. This had to be some other Zika, there were probably many thousands of Zika's around the galaxy. Both men tried to rationalize their thoughts in their subconscious. Coming up with alternative theories about why the Magna Defender had just uttered the name of their older brother, and then named him as his son. However, as much as they tried to explain the incident away, they couldn't. Ali and Azarand had no idea what to think, their minds were a mess of jumbled thoughts and emotions. However, both also realized that lives were depending on them and they tried with all their might to compose themselves. They both saw the Magna Defender and Leo get blasted and realized they had to act. Stepping out from the bushes, they prepared for a confrontation.

Damon had freed the little girl from Fishface's grasp by distracting then blasting the monster. He along with the other rangers was subsequently blasted by Fishface himself. With everyone incapacitated, Fishface was able to run up to the remaining sunflower statue and blow it up. The lights, however, did not appear.

Turning his attention back towards his fallen enemies, Fishface saw that the Magna Defender was on his feet, staggering towards him, the man's armor was smoking and it appeared he was in obvious pain, but Fishface didn't let that stop him.

"And now to finish off the great Magna Defender." Fishface told the wounded warrior.

Magna Defender held out his hand weakly, his armor still smoking. "Enough games Fishface."

Fishface could only laugh at the pathetic display of strength. "I couldn't agree more." He said, drawing his sword as he ran to the Magna Defender and slashed at him. Sparks erupted from the strikes that impacted the Magna Defender's armor, the warrior dropped to the ground, the blows weakening him further. Fishface took a couple of steps back and waited for the Magna Defender to pick himself up once more, this time he would strike the final blow.

The weaponless defender, his armor smoking, stood on shaky footing and faced down Fishface once more. Fishface had just begun to advance towards his weakened opponent when his path was blocked.

Ali stepped out and calmly walked to the one sided battle. He remained at an angle where neither Fishface nor the Magna Defender would spot him. Once he was certain the Magna Defender was indeed in danger he made his move. When Fishface moved away to size up his weakened opponent, Ali began to walk towards them. When the Magna Defender finally stood, it was obvious that Fishface intended to destroy his opponent. Ali stepped in between the two opponents, and planted his right hand firmly on the Magna Defender's smoking chest armor, stopping him in his tracks. With his left hand he leveled his .357 directly at Fishface and cocked the hammer back, daring the monster to make a move.

Both Fishface and the Magna Defender stood there in silence, no doubt taking in the new addition to their confrontation.

"Do you feel lucky?" Ali asked Fishface, taking a scene from his favorite movie.

"Always, and with luck on my side, I will destroy everyone here, including you! Haha." Fishface mocked Ali.

Ali gave a small smile, and then pulled the trigger. He fired into the monster six times, sparks erupting from the monster, and six distinct cracks echoing around the plaza. Fishface fell to his knees, incapacitated for the moment. To add insult to injury, Azarand, who was positioned behind Fishface, decided to throw a small blade into the back of Scorpius' henchman.

With the immediate threat subdued, Ali turned around to face the Magna Defender. He found the warrior staring into his eyes. Ali stared back but didn't offer any response; instead he walked over towards Leo and helped the ranger to his feet. He grabbed the Magna Defender's fallen sword and carried it back over to the warrior in black. He silently offered the weapon back to its owner who silently accepted it. Nodding in agreement, Ali moved past the fallen Fishface to his brother in the bushes. There he retrieved his brown suitcase and waited.

Suddenly Fishface was on his feet and had drunken the growth liquid. Within seconds he towered many stories above the ground. Both the rangers and the Magna Defender looked up at the new and imposing threat.

Leo and the other rangers had summoned their Galactabeasts, and unsuccessfully attempted to defeat Fishface. Their megazord was badly damaged and each ranger ejected from their zords. Fishface laughed at their expense.

Suddenly a rumble filled the air and the ground began to shake.

From their position on the plaza, Ali and Azarand could clearly feel the shaking of the earth beneath their feet. They both knew that Terra Venture didn't have plate tectonics, so earthquakes didn't happen. This was something special, something unique, and something very very big.

Off in the distance, both saw a hulking figure materialize through the cloud of dust.

"Torozord charge!" The Magna Defender bellowed from the ground.

Through the smoke and dust, a bull like zord appeared.

The zord stopped in its tracks as the rangers, Fishface, and the pair of brothers looked on in stunned amazement.

"Excellent." The Magna Defender said, pleased at this turn of events. "Magna Defender, transform!"

Suddenly rays of light shot out from the eyes of the bull zord and the Magna Defender began to grow until he too was many stories tall.

"He's amazing." Was all Leo could say as he and his fellow rangers witnessed the Magna Defender grow.

The Magna Defender jumped onto Torozord's back and ordered the zord to advance towards Fisface.

"Bring it on!" Fishface said as he began walking towards Torozord. The two enemies clashed with Fishface grabbing Torozord's horns and attempting to push the megazord back. After a back and forth struggle, Fishface struck Torozord's horns, causing the zord to back away.

The Magna Defender, not one to retreat, produced two large golden blades and dismounted from Torozord. He stuck Fishface twice with his blades, sparks erupting everywhere. Fishface took a step back then aimed his own sword at the grown Magna Defender. Instead of slashing at the defender, Fishface shot a bolt of energy out of the blade which sped towards the defender, who blocked his first shot. On the second shot however, the Magna Defender was not quite so lucky. The bolt hit him square in the chest and sent him sprawling into a cluster of trees.

Fishface began to run towards the fallen Magna Defender, hoping to destroy this nescience once and for all.

Down below, Ali and Azarand watched the battle between the two grown figures. Azarand was watching but his thoughts were elsewhere. He played Magna Defender's words over and over again in his head, how he said Zika was his son. It confused Azarand beyond belief; he needed to find out just what the hell was going on.

Beside him Ali was also lost in thought. The possibility that the Magna Defender was related to him by blood was chilling to say the least. While he wouldn't go as far as to accept that his father, Xanos, had become the Magna Defender, he would at least acknowledge it as a possibility. But, if true, that would mean that his father had turned from a loving, caring, and gentle being, into one filled with anger and hatred. The thought made him physically shiver. He and his brother would be having a long chat with Zordon tonight, he was sure of it.

The ground shaking made them return to reality. The two both saw the Magna Defender on the ground with Fishface running towards the fallen body. During the time they were in their thoughts, the Magna Defender must've taken a serious blow. Ali glanced at his brother to convey the silent message, and then he withdrew both of his revolvers from underneath his suit jacket. Beside him, Azarand withdrew his Smith and Wesson Governor and aimed it at Fishface. Out of the corner of his eye, Ali could also see Leo and Kendrix aiming their Transdaggers at the monster. All four fired at the same time, Leo and Kendrix shooting their red and pink colored plasma bolts towards Fishface, with Ali and Azarand throwing heavy lead towards the monster. All shots impacted Fishface, sparks and smoke pouring from the monster, who stopped his advance and turned towards the four who had blasted him.

The roar of their firearms discharging caused a loud ringing to reverberate in their heads. It was so loud and so distracting that Ali and Azarand almost ended up getting crushed when Fishface brought his huge sword down towards them and the rangers. However, Fishface's sword was stopped just above their heads by the Magna Defender. The warrior had risen from the ground unnoticed, and had managed to block Fishface's strike, saving both the rangers and the two clerics from certain death.

The Magna Defender lay sprawled on the ground, weak from the large blast he'd just taken. He saw Fishface advancing towards him, but found that he was too weak to move at that moment. He steeled himself for the destructive blows that would impact him, while he knew he would survive; he didn't know how badly he would be damaged.

Suddenly Fishface was stopped dead in his tracks. The vile monster sparks and smoking. Someone had stopped Fishface from attacking him, and judging from the pink and red colored bolts as well as the loud cracks of sound, he knew who those people were.

The red and pink rangers sought to save him from this monster? Even after he'd very nearly harmed civilians? Fools, whose attitude and emotions would get them destroyed.

The other two individuals presented a greater enigma to him. Those loud sounds he'd heard before, from those blaster type objects carried by those two young boys. The same younglings he felt that strange connection to. Why did they save him? Was it because they realized the magnitude of their connection? He would need to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding those two, but for now he had to take advantage of their distraction.

He would never admit it, but for the first time in many thousands of years, an alien feeling of gratitude permeated his being.

It was quickly squashed as the Magna Defender rose to his feet. He noticed that Fishface was getting ready to crush his puny opponents with his large sword. While the Magna Defender wouldn't normally care, the fact that those two boys were now in imminent danger made him feel uneasy. He felt a need; a primal need well up within him, a need to protect those two younglings from harm. He could be angry with himself later for giving into such emotions, but right now he had to act.

He blocked Fishface's sword and stuck the monster again and again. His old friend, Torozord, advanced upon the monster and using his horns, flipped Fishface over his hulking metal body.

Now was an opportune time to finish this battle once and for all.

"Defender Torozord, activate!" The Magna Defender shouted. Torozord transformed into the Defender Torozord, and Magna Defender took his position inside of the zord.

With a spinning slash, the zord defeated Fishface, closing a chapter that'd been left open for over 3,000 years.

Ali and Azarand had witnessed the end of the battle. Soon afterwards, they saw the Magna Defender shrink down to regular size, and Torozord transported away. The pair had begun to walk back to the plaza where the confrontation had occurred earlier that afternoon. As they walked, they noticed that the rangers had demorphed and were walking towards the plaza as well.

When they reached the plaza, Azarand and Ali both noticed that the Magna Defender was also walking towards them.

"It seems as though we are the center of attention."Azarand said as he walked down a set of stairs, Ali remaining on top, the brown briefcase still in his hand.

"Oh boy, we'll see how this goes." Ali said as he watched the rangers and the Magna Defender converge on their position. Each party stayed a fair distance apart and for a minute or two stood in silence, staring each other down.

Leo was the first to speak. "I don't know who you are or what your problem is, but you've got to get a grip on your anger."

Ali put his head in his hands, things were about to pick up.

The Magna Defender was quick to reply. "You have no idea what you're talking about!" The warrior growled, range obvious in his voice. "A long time ago, Scorpius took my son from me." The voice took on an anguished tone before it became tight with anger. "I will not stop until I destroy him."

"I know how you fe.." Leo was just beginning to reply when his sentence was cut off abruptly.

Ali looked towards Leo, seeing that the ranger was staring at something, and it wasn't the Magna Defender. The black caped warrior stood stock still; he also appeared to be looking at something.

Ali turned his head to the left and saw what had grabbed everyone's attention.

A group of five individuals, wearing dark green suits with lapel pins that screamed Kypton, were walking into the plaza. Each had a smug look on their face, and eyed Ali and Azarand like they were prey.

Standing below his brother, Azarand noticed that the Magna Defender's hand inched towards his sheathed saber.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Stay your hand warrior. We're not here for you." A burly and bald man said. His green suit hugged his round body, which also revealed the tell tale bulge of a pistol on his right hip. The bald man fixed his gaze straight at Azarand, who glared back at him from under his gray flat cap. "We want those two." He pointed to both Azarand and Ali.

"What do you want porky?" Ali asked them man, not bothering being civil about it. If these men, agents of Kypton, wanted a fight, they were going to get one.

The man frowned in anger. "We want the contents of the briefcase. Now hand it over." The man said his voice low with anger.

Suddenly, four of the agents split up and took separate paths towards Azarand and Ali. They circled around the rangers and the Magna Defender who watched them extremely closely.

Ali noticed that he had an agent coming up the stairs to his front and another to his right. Azarand had much the same setup, as well as having the bald agent coming at him from his backside. Ali looked towards the rangers and saw that all of them wore expressions of fear or of uncertainty. Looking over to the Magna Defender, Ali saw that the warrior now had his left hand on his sword, he looked as though he was prepared to use it if the two brothers needed help.

The notion left a warm feeling in his heart.

That feeling was quickly lost as an agent stepped up the stairs towards him. The man appeared about as young as he was, however his skin was a sickly pale color and his eyes red rimmed. The agent smiled menacingly at him.

"Hand it over and we may make this easy on you." He said in a lightly amused tone.

Ali stared silently at the agent, who took the non answer as an open invitation. Ali held the briefcase in front of his body with both hands on its brown leather surface. The agent advanced until he was a step away, and then stopped.

Ali registered the agents standing in front of him and also behind him. Looking over the agent in front of him, he saw Azarand surrounded on three sides. There was no way this could not result in a fight.

Suddenly the cocky young agent to his front reached for the suitcase he was holding. Ali knew it was now or never and took action. He thrust the suitcase up into the face of the agent, the suitcase's corners impacting the man's cheeks and nose. The man howled in pain. Ali spun his entire body around and swung the suitcase at the head of the agent standing behind him, dropping him like a stone. He returned to the agent who stood in front of him, the agent was bloodied but in a defensive pose. Ali wasted no time in blocking his punch and grabbed the back of the man's head, swinging the suitcase up from below; Ali made contact with the man's face for a second time in less than five seconds. Much like his comrade, he too fell to the ground unconscious.

Below him, Azarand had seen the move his brother had made and wasted no time in making his own. Before any of the enemy agents around him had time to react, Azarand had super kicked the bald agent, "Porky." A sickening slap resounded around the plaza, as Azarand's steel toed dress shoes connected with the man's nose. The burly man fell to the ground in an unmoving heap. And then the two other agents reacted. They each came at him with punches and kicks, which Ali did his best to block. This was going to be a challenging fight. He saw an opening in one of the agent's defenses and drove his foot into the man's kneecap, the sound of shattering bone seared in his mind. The man screamed in pain yet he continued to fight on his one good leg.

He saw his brother running along a brick wall behind the still able bodied agent to his right. Seeing another opportunity, he shoved the man towards the wall where his brother stood, what happened next was something he totally expected.

The man had no idea that Ali was standing right behind him. Ali nudged the man's shoulder playfully, which caused the agent to swing around. In no time at all, Ali had jumped onto the man and wrapped his legs around the man's neck in a head scissors. Using the momentum from his jump, Ali tucked his body in and twisted his legs as his body swung around; the motion caused the agent to flip while Ali landed on his feet. The only sign that he'd done the maneuver was his now missing homburg hat.

Seeing his brother take out the second to last agent, Azarand moved toward the kneeling but still dangerous man. The agent looked up at him with pure hatred and when Azarand move close enough, he slashed at him with a small knife. Azarand dodged the attacks and planted his knee firmly in the man's face. The final agent fell back in silence.

With the confrontation over, Ali and Azarand looked around at the motionless bodies lying about the plaza. The rangers and the Magna Defender stared at the pair of clerics who'd just defeated an enemy three times their size.

Suddenly the Magna Defender turned and began to walk away.

Azarand turned to Ali to make sure his brother wasn't hurt. "You okay?" He asked him.

"Never better." Ali replied as he found and retrieved his homburg hat.

The rangers came over to them, wonder written all over their faces.

"That was amazing." Damon said simply, his voice weak with wonder and amazement.

Leo gave Azarand a smile. "You guys have some moves up your sleeves."

Ali came over to his brother, hat on his head, suitcase in hand. "Yes we do Leo. Now I'm spent, who wants some lunch?"

Needless to say, everyone agreed to those conditions.

Later that night, Ali and Azarand sat in their apartment with all the lights turned off. Both we getting ready to contact Zordon, and both were preparing themselves to receive answers to the questions that'd plagued them for many years.

They sat on the couch, thinking about the day's events. A beep sounded in the room. Ali sighed and reached under the coffee table to open the line of communication with Zordon.

The room was bathed in a blue glow and Zordon's figure soon appeared.

"Hello younglings, may I ask why you wished to contact me this night?" Zordon kindly inquired, looking back and forth between Ali and Azarand.

"What can you tell us about the Magna Defender?" Azarand jumped into questioning immediately.

"What would you like to know, there is quite a lot I can tell you." Zordon said.

"Who was he before he donned his armor?" Ali asked, his voice expressing his need for answers.

Zordon was quiet for a moment before responding. "He was a man, a kind being who wanted nothing more than to raise his family and serve his people."

Ali and Azarand sat still with shock.

" D….did you s..sa…say family?" Azarand asked nearly shaking with anxiety.

Zordon sighed. "Yes, a family. You see, he was a single parent; his beloved had died giving birth to the two youngest babes. He was left to raise three younglings all by himself. "

"What was the father's name? And what was the eldest son's name?" Ali asked, his voice tight, a warning to Zordon should he attempt to deceive the two clerics.

This time Zordon was silent for many minutes. "The father's name was Xanos, and the eldest brother's name was Zika." Zordon paused as he looked at the widened eyes of his two youngest clerics. "The two youngest were twins, their names were…"

"Ali and Azarand." Azarand cut Zordon off midsentence, his voice breathless.

Zordon merely nodded his head in confirmation.

"When the hell were you going to tell us? Or were you planning on keeping this all to yourself?" Ali was pissed to say the least.

Zordon held his hand up in a placating manner. "I was going to tell you when the time was right, needless to say, that time has come."

"What on earth do you mean!?" Ali screamed.

"I wanted you two to experience the man himself before I revealed to you who he was underneath. I needed to be sure you two knew what you were getting into." Zordon said quickly, trying to ease the anger of the two clerics.

"Needed us to be sure of what?" Azarand said, his voice laced with venom.

"That you recognized how villainous and how cold hearted the Magna Defender has become. And that revealing to you the true identity of the armored warrior would not compromise your mission towards protecting the rangers." Zordon was talking in rapid bursts of breathe.

"How could you think that!? Even if we knew who he was, we would still feel obligated to protect the rangers, even from the Magna Defender himself." Ali said, he was disappointed that Zordon would think so lowly of him and his brother when it came to the influence of their father.

"You're right Ali, I apologize, to both of you. I should've told you sooner." Zordon's voice was solemn.

"You're right, you should have told us a lot sooner." Azarand added on.

"I'm sorry. But surely, you realize that the being who wears the armor of the Magna Defender is not the same who sired you." Zordon attempted to tell the two sitting on the couch.

Ali and Azarand glanced at each other before replying. "We realize that the Magna Defender has been filled with anger and hatred. And that it clouds the honorable man he once was. The death of Zika did that to him didn't it?" Azarand asked Zordon.

Zordon merely nodded.

" Zordon please be honest with us. Is Zika really gone? Is our brother amongst the ancestors?" Ali asked, placing a hand on his brother's wrist, waiting for the reply.

"No, Zika is not dead. He is in quite a limbo." Zordon said, much to the relief and confusion of the brothers.

"Limbo?" Azarand asked.

Zordon nodded his head. "Yes a limbo, his body remains physically unable to live, yet his spirit, his mind are full of life. If need be, his physical being could be brought back."

"That's the key." Ali said smiling.

"The key for what?" Zordon asked, confused by the statement.

"The key to redeeming our father." Azarand answered back.

Phew! 9,739 words and 22 pages later, I've finally finished this chapter. Sorry for the long break in writing, I've been busy with my job, which I quit yesterday. So hopefully, I'll be back to writing a new chapter every two to three days. Hope you enjoyed this one, I had my mind working overtime.

LittleP