Chapter Twelve. Katie's Challenge.


Previously On Poke Rangers SDI...

After the destruction of Ramelow at the hands of the SDI, he was replaced in the demon camp by the electrical demon Raika. Meanwhile, in their latest plan, they intended to use the Soundscreech demon to create huge waves of sound and destroy Waterfall Shores that way. As four of the five rangers intervened, they were quickly rendered deaf by the attacks. Meanwhile, Luke, Mal and Tim were captured by Luke's eccentric father who asked his son to endorse some of the drinks products made by his company. Luke asked that his father not force him to do that, but he was still greeted with the help from the old man as he came up with a way to defeat Soundscreech. Who was duly dispatched...


"Damnit," Xavier shouted, watching his Blastoise topple down to the ground again. Across from him, Katie's Gyarados let out a rip-roaring bellow of victory. "Hard luck, Blastoise."

"Indeed," Katie said, walking over to the huge blue serpent Pokemon and patting him on the side of the head. "Don't worry, I think you're getting better."

"Well, that's the point, right?" the red ranger replied. "Keeping my Pokemon sharp for battle even while I'm not actually travelling. Plus, you're good practise."

"Oh, is that what I am?" Katie replied, with a grin. "Maybe I might take on Danni. She might be able to beat me."

"Well, she does have a whole bunch of electric types," Xavier commented. "I've seen her Magnezone. I think she has a Houndour as well, actually. But, that wouldn't be any good against you."

"True," Katie answered. "But, don't forget you can learn more from one loss than from a hundred wins."

"Yeah, but you've beaten me four times on the spin."

"More valuable than four hundred wins."

"Oh very funny," the red ranger replied, shaking his head. "I'll kick your ass one of these days."

"Yeah, okay," she said, smirking. "I'll believe that when I see it."

For a moment, the two of them remained silent, before the blue ranger broke it again.

"Not that I'm being arrogant or anything," she insisted. "I'm just trying to offer you some encouragement."

"It's appreciated," Xavier replied, scratching his ear. "It makes me want to beat you more."

"Heh, that's the spirit," she said, recalling the Gyarados. "Okay, so you want to go and grab something to eat before heading back to the Aquabase?"

"That'd be nice," he replied.

As the two rangers headed back to the Defense Driver, neither of them noticed a man up at the top of the lighthouse watching them through one of the binoculars. Looking to be in his late teens, he had pale skin and messy blond hair. Stepping back away, he brushed down his grey shirt removing the dust from it, knocking the substance down onto his jeans. His blue eyes glinted as they fell upon the yin and yang necklace around his neck. Taking a step back, his white sneakers moving away from the edge, he brought his hand up and stroked his chin.

"Hmm..."


SDI ready!!!

The five rangers salute at the camera. Shots of Waterfall Shores.

Somewhere out there, a signal is calling

Darkia and Joltara shake their heads. Ramelow stalks away.

Verger is falling.

The Aquabase is shown, the train bay rises up out of the ocean.

The danger is here.

Danni leans back in her chair, shaking her head. Shots of her climbing up the Merlin's Plateau. Danielle Tanner. Yellow SDI ranger. Created by Joseph Winter.

Better call on SDI!!

Katie drops into the pool, ducking under the water. Shots of her scuba diving. Katie Myers. Blue SDI ranger. Created by Blue Bongo.

Poke Rangers SDI!!!

Xavier sprays a fire with a hose. Shots of him diving through a window. Xavier Jackson. Red SDI ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles.

Poke Rangers SDI!!!

Nahir reads a book, shaking her head as the alarm goes off. Shots of her sat in the medical bay. Nahir Moon. Pink SDI ranger. Created by Famousgirl01.

The trials will test you.

Luke does a chin up on a door frame. Shots of him stood at the helipad. Luke Sunderland. Green SDI ranger. Created by MakubeDaKiddX.

Better call on SDI!!!

The Aura Carriers charge along the track. The SDI zords start to emerge from them.

S.... D..... I....

Commander Bristow and Miranda appear. Arcady tests a weapon.

Powers on display

The Skull Tower appears. Darkia, Joltara, Ramelow and Kable bow down before the altar.

Rangers on the way

The SDI Megazord forms. The five zords come together.

They'll save the day.

The SDI Megazord swings its sword.

Poke Rangers SDI!!!

The five rangers pose. The Emergency Fearow Cannon flies from the roof of the train bay.

Poke Rangers SDI!!!

Mal and Tim run into a cave with a camcorder. They're chased out by a swarm of Zubat.

S... D.... I....

The Aura Carriers fly up off the track and into the sky.

Poke Rangers!!!!

Poke Rangers: SDI. Created by Blue Bongo. Verger Region created by Blue Bongo. All other rights reserved.

Go!!!!!!


The next day, the memories of the previous day still in her head, Katie pulled herself out of the ocean onto the sands of the beach where she had been the day before. Surprisingly, the marks in the sand where she had battled Xavier were still there, left behind by her Gyarados and the ground kicked up by the falling Blastoise. Looking at the scene, she was slightly surprised that they hadn't gone.

And then, that was when she noticed him, while pulling her face mask off. The blond haired man stood watching her, a Torterra stood behind him, while a Froslass floated at his side. Quickly striding over, he reached down to offer her a hand up.

"Thanks," she said, taking the offer and getting to her feet. She let out a grunt while trying to shrug the air tank off her back. Earlier in the morning, she'd commandeered one of the wetsuits and gone for a swim in the oceans around Waterfall Shores, eventually coming up in this spot completely by accident. "For that."

"Hey there, beautiful," he replied, a cocky grin on his face as he withdrew his hand. "Want to battle?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, slightly taken aback by two of the things he'd just said. "What do you...?"

"I saw you with that other dude here yesterday," he said. "Spotted you from the distance, and figured that you looked tough."

"I'll pass," she replied, not hesitating to refuse. "I'm kinda in a hurry. Need to get back for some breakfast, before..."

"Hey, I challenged you," he said. "You have to accept my..."

"You look like a smart guy," she replied. "So, you should know that's a bunch of crap. I'm really not in the mood for battling at the moment."

"So, some other time?" he asked, eagerly. "My name's Ryan, by the way."

"Maybe some other time," she said. "But I can't see it."

"You were battling your friend," he pointed out. "So, what's the difference?"

"I do that regularly for practise," she said. "I'm not really much for the competitive battling lately."

"Can't you make an exception?"

"If I do it for you, I've got to do it for everyone."

Bending down to pick up her air tank and mask, Katie quickly turned tail and began to walk away into the distance. Leaving a seething Ryan behind. His Torterra growled in anger, while the Froslass let out an irritated howl of despair.

"Smug bitch," he muttered, angrily.


"So, you ever been pestered for a battle before?" Luke wondered, as the blue ranger finished telling the story to the rest of the rangers around a table in the Aquabase.

"All the time when I was the champion," Katie admitted. "But that was fair enough. Now, I'm semi retired and don't really want to challenge everyone who wants a piece of me."

"Well, I admire that point," Nahir commented. "Maybe now you're starting to see how pointless the whole battling thing is."

Down at her feet, the Glameow let out a yowl of agreement.

"See, Ashei agrees," the pink ranger said, triumphantly. "So, what do you...?"

"Nahir, you saying that doesn't make it true," Danni pointed out. "No more than me or Katie, or Xavier saying that the opposite is making it true. We believe what we want to believe."

"Which, is why you're medically designated as a fruitcake," Luke pointed out. "You're nutty. You've got... raisins rattling around your head."

"Ran out of insults there, huh?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah..." the green ranger said, softly. "Just a little."

"All berry references aside," Katie continued, butting in. "Does anyone think I was wrong to ignore his battle request?"

"Nah, you were justified," Danni replied. "Sometimes, you have to be where you have to be."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Xavier offered. "You'll probably never hear from him again."


"Hey!"

"Oh crap!"

Turning around, as she walked down the street, Katie could see Ryan chasing after her through a crowd of people.

Shaking her head at the sight, the blue ranger debated whether or not to start running. But, the crowds around her prevented that. Instead, she tried to move quickly towards the throngs of people, only to be blocked by a group of Officer Jennys. Still shaking her head, she stopped, folding her arms as she began to wait.

"How about that battle?" Ryan asked, eagerly.

"Still not in the mood," she replied.

"Oh come on!" he insisted. "You're grating my nerves here. Leaving me a nervous wreck."


"What's our latest plan?" Joltara asked, looking out down across the landscape of the ground below the Skull Tower. "Because..."

Looking down at the action taking place through the mystical pool, both Raika and Darkia let out interested noises of amusement.

"Looks like someone feels unrequited by the blue ranger," Kable commented, striding over. "That's most interesting."

"Hmmm," Raika agreed. "What do you say that we exploit this situation."

"I think that this would be a very good thing," Darkia remarked. "If that is something that we can do."

"Well," Kable said, with a smirk. "He wants to battle the blue ranger so much. Why don't we help him out?"

"What's the plan?"

"Call out Wondertomb," Joltara remarked. "That's a brilliant idea."

"Oh indeed," Kable said, bringing out a card and hurling it towards the fireplace. "Crackling blast of of light. Summon a being of fright. One who can't be beaten by any human alive. And destroy rangers all five."

As the incantation finished to a close, the demon began to emerge out of the fireplace, appearing in a burst of blue light. Wondertomb had the head of a Spiritomb, complete with glowing malicious eyes and snapping jaws. Down below, there was the bright white body of a Sableye, covered in some light brown armour in places.

"You rang?" he asked. "What can I do for you?"

"Mighty Wondertomb," Kable said. "We have a request for your services. You know why we've summoned you here. One for your special ability to survive practically anything..."

"You know it!" the demon cackled.

"And, also that we have a task for you," Joltara snickered. "Find the human, Ryan, and give him what he needs to take on the blue ranger."

"At once, mighty fellow demons," Wondertomb said, before spotting Darkia. "And freaky mutant thing."

"Hey!"


"Stupid blue ranger!" Ryan muttered, kicking a can down in front of him. "Turning down my challenge. Like she's so superior to me. Could kick her ass if she'd give me a chance to extend out my boot."

"Hey, fool!"

"Oh crap," he said, growling under his breath at what had just happened. At the inconvenience levelled against whatever was calling him. "Now, which moron wants to come and have a go!"

Spinning around on the spot, he found Wondertomb breathing down on top of him. His face, previously cocky, soon fell to one of fright and fear.

"Please don't hurt me!" he pleaded, dropping down into a cowering position. "Don't eat me! I taste awful."

"Hey, there's a demon!"

Attracting the attention of both demon and man, the two Hikers, Mal and Tim sprinted over towards the scene taking place.

"Mr. Demon!" Tim shouted, sticking a microphone into Wondertomb's face. "What are your inevitable plans to dominate all of us with your evil schemes. And, can we film it?"

Laughing evily, the demon blasted both of them into a wall with a Shadow Ball attack. As they both passed out cold, he rounded back on Luke who was still too petrified to run. And, instead letting out scared sounds.

"Now, hold still," Wondertomb laughed. "This will only hurt... A lot. And, probably you more than it hurts me."

Still snickering at his own joke, he swooped down and bit Ryan on the shoulder. Unleashing a whole bunch of poison into the system. And, right on cue, the human began to evolve into something different. His entire body, while keeping the same shape, turned a shade of black with brown stripes. His clothes melted away, revealing thick muscles on his still white stomach. His face was replaced with that of a Shedinja, while his body took on that same appearance, his skin hardening into armour. A pair of wings grew out on his back.

"Skinshedder," Wondertomb snickered. "Arise and prepare to face your nemesis."

"At once, my master!"


"I never thought I'd say this," Katie muttered, as she and Xavier walked down the street towards the Defence Driver, both of them carrying drinks. They'd been sent over to pick some hot coffee up after the Aquabase had ran dry of the bean, and were almost ready to go back. "But, I haven't seen that guy Ryan for nearly a day. Maybe he's given up and..."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Xavier said, shaking his head. "He'll probably show up when you least expect it."

"Right you are, ranger!"

Both of them reacted at the deep voice ringing out above them, as the strange looking demon crashed to the ground in front of them, howling in fury towards them.

"Holy crap," Katie said, as both she and her fellow ranger took a step back away from the sight in front of them.

"Now, I seem to have got your attention!" the demonic looking thing snarled. "Come on, blue ranger. Make my day?"

"Sound like someone you know?" Xavier asked, rolling his eyes.

"Ryan?" Katie demanded. "What the...?"

"I am Skinshedder!" the demon howled. "Ryan Leopard is dead."

"What the...?" the blue ranger exclaimed, before the demon charged towards them, ready to attack.

Almost instantly, the claws came up and slashed at Katie, the demon completely ignoring Xavier. Ducking back away, Katie dropped down onto her back, throwing a kick up into the demon's stomach. An attack that only barely fazed Skinshedder.

With the attention away from him, Xavier jumped up onto the demon's back, trying to hold him down.

"You think this guy really dislikes you that much?" he quipped, struggling to keep a hold of the mutated human. "Might want to..."

Finally annoyed at his presence, Skinshedder brought back an arm and smacked an elbow against his nose. The hard skin forcing blood to stream down his face. Still holding on, Xavier tried to force the pain away to the back of his mind.

Again, Katie lunged forward and struck at the demon with a pair of strikes. Her fists crashed off the armour, sending shock waves up her arms. Grunting with the effort, Skinshedder threw his arms up into the air, hurling Xavier back away from him.

"You think we should do this?" Katie asked, taking out her morpher.

"Oh hell yeah," Xavier said, bringing his own out. "SDI!"

"Time to battle!" Katie finished, as the two of the morphed into their costumes, taking up fighting stances to face the demon.

"Now, this is more like it," Skinshedder snickered. "Come on! Make my day, blue ranger."

"What do you want with me?" Katie demanded. "Ryan, come on! Snap out of it! This probably isn't you."

"How do you know that?" Skinshedder snarled. "You never gave a damn. But, I'll show you!"

"Hey, am I invisible?" Xavier demanded, shrugging his shoulders. "What about...?"

Right on cue, Skinshedder unleashed a Shadow Ball towards him, aiming to hit him in the upper body. Throwing himself to the side, Xavier barely managed to dodge it.

"You're starting to get on my nerves," Katie said, taking out her Defense Blaster and firing several times at the demon. Without even being fazed by the assaults, Skinshedder returned fire with attacks of his own and unleashing a barrage of Shadow Balls.

"Okay, sword mode," she muttered, adjusting the weapon into the bladed form. "You're going to get it now, since you won't listen to reason."

"Bring it on!" Skinshedder yelled, as her weapon in her hand began to glow with a bright blue wave of energy. "Come on!"

"Tidal Trembler!" Katie shouted, rushing forward and striking the demon with the blade, the metal clanging against the solid armour. But, it didn't penetrate at all. In fact, like the blaster fire earlier, it didn't even seem to hurt the demon.

"That all you got?" Skinshedder howled, bringing up a clawed fist and crashing a blow into her body. As her body crashed through the air, Xavier had got to his feet and was brandishing his own sword.

"Xav!" Katie shouted, momentarily winded by the blow as she struggled to get to her feet. "He looks to be part Shedinja. Use the Burning Buster. It might be enough to finish him off."

"Way ahead of you there," Xavier replied, rushing in and swiping at the demon. Without hesitating, Skinshedder blocked most of the blows, not looking hurt by the attacks that did land. And, that was when Xavier's sword began to glow with bright red flames.

"Let's see you take this," he growled. "Burning Buster."

Crashing the sword against Skinshedder's body, Xavier only had to wait a fraction of a second before watching the foe crumble to the ground.

"Got you," he said, triumphantly punching the air as he rested the sword against the back of his neck. "Guess that thing wasn't so tough, after..."

Completely taking him by surprise, Skinshedder rose back up and grabbed him by the shoulders. Too shocked to break free, Xavier was instantly subjected to a series of brutal Shadow Claw attacks, all hitting the same area in the lower part of his back. Collapsing down to his knees in agony, Skinshedder finally fired a Dark Pulse into his upper body, sending the red ranger crashing up into the air. Hitting the dirt like a sack of bricks forty yards away from the demon and Katie, he let out a gasp of pain before twitching wildly in pain.

"Oh crap," Katie shouted, making to go to his side. Suddenly she felt slightly guilty.

"Yeah, go to him!" Skinshedder snarled. "Always picking him over me. Well, now's your choice. Go to him. Help him and I'll go and wreak my mischief on the rest of this city. Even maybe the rest of the region. Your choice, blue ranger!"

With those words still echoing in her helmet, Katie turned to watch him charge away into the distance.

"Damnit," she muttered. "I'm sorry, Xavier."

"Just go and get him!" the red ranger called, struggling up into a sitting position. "I'll be fine."

"Okay," Katie said, still unsure. Speaking into her earpiece, she gave the command. "Assault Racer now!"


Back in the Aquabase, the alarms had started to sound out, bringing Luke, Danni and Nahir into the main control room. On the large screens in front of them, they could see Katie pursuing Skinshedder on the back of her ATV. On another screen, they could see Xavier struggling to recover from the damage. He had his helmet off and was rubbing water over his face to try and bring himself round.

"What's happening?" Luke wondered, shrugging his shoulders at the sight in front of them.

"They're being chased by an unstoppable demon," Bristow replied. "Neither of their sword attacks worked, and as you can see, Xavier has been hurt."

"Well, let's go and help them," Danni offered.

"No time," Bristow said, as the screens changed to show Wondertomb attacking the middle of Waterfall Shores. "This would appear to be of an equal importance."

"I think this qualifies as a bad situation," Nahir offered. "So, let's go and get him or her, or whatever it may be."

"That's more or less what I we needed from you," Bristow said, watching them head over to the transport lift. "Good luck."

"Good luck," Miranda repeated, as the three of them stood on the transport lift.

"SDI!" Danni shouted. "Time to battle!"


"Damnit," Xavier shouted, kicking at the dirt below him. Part of him felt annoyed at how he'd been caught unawares by Skinshedder a few moments earlier. His body still ached to that effect, but the pain was starting to subside. He wasn't badly hurt by the assault, his ranger suit having absorbed most of the damage. Partly, he was surprised that he hadn't demorphed under the duress, but his suit still remained. And, now he knew that Katie was far and away, chasing the lunatic human turned demon. That was when the earpiece started to beep.

"Are you okay?" Miranda's voice asked, sounding slightly different than it would have done in his helmet.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, grimacing at the effort it took to speak. "Little bruised, but nothing that won't heal pretty damn quickly."

"Okay," she said. "Right, so..."

"I'm going after Katie and Skinshedder," the red ranger insisted, ready to summon his Assault Racer.

"No, you won't!" Bristow's voice told him, sounding angry at what he had suggested. "There's another demon, one who may have spawned Skinshedder. Stop that and you may be able to take both demons down with one stone."

"So, you think that the demon that spawned other said demon will be easier to kill than the demon that just proved to be unkillable?"

"Just do it."

"I'm on my way."


Having followed Skinshedder across what seemed like half of Waterfall Shores, Katie eventually found him stood waiting for her on the beach. At her estimate, barely a few feet from where she had first met Ryan in the first place. Getting off her ATV, she stepped into the middle of the makeshift arena that had been inexplicably marked out, a heavy heart in her stomach.

"Seems ironic, huh?" Skinshedder snarled. "First place that we met. Or rather, Ryan and you met. Poor dejected Ryan."

"Who, I know is still in there somewhere," Katie offered, removing her helmet. Looking the demon where the eyes would normally be in a human. "This isn't you. You're not a monster."

"Yes," he replied. "I am. And, I'm going to show you how much of one that I am."

With those words, he charged at her. Ready to battle.


"Hey, there you are," Luke said, as the four rangers met up in the middle of the business district. Xavier still clutching at his side, wincing as he got off his ATV. "Heard you got an ass kicking earlier."

"Nobody told you about tact, did they?" Nahir remarked.

"Well, I'm sure that we'll hug and make up later," Luke said, sarcastically shooting a leer at the pink ranger.

"I'd rather not," Xavier shrugged. "Anyway, we're going to beat this thing and..."

"So, you're these rangers that I've been hearing about," Wondertomb commented, finally noticing them. "Guess I didn't see you, what with the insignificance."

"We'll show you insignificance," Danni retorted.

"Defense Blasters, fire!" Xavier shouted, as the four of them brought their sidearms out and fired several times at the demon. Almost immediately, the lack of damage was apparent for all to see.

"Tickles," Wondertomb grunted. "So, you got anything else?"

"Take it we can't call the Emergency Fearow," Nahir muttered.

"Correct," Miranda said, in all of their ears. "Long story short..."

"Not that it's the time," Xavier asked. "But, I summoned it in that building."

"Yeah, when all of you were present in the immediate area," Miranda replied. "And, you're right. It isn't the time. Now, go and fight."

"Easy for you to say," Luke muttered, before Wondertomb struck. Launching a series of Dark Pulse attacks towards the four of them. Explosions rang out around them, as the rangers collapsed to the ground in pain.

"Come on, guys!" Xavier groaned. "We need to take him down, now!"

"Keep dreaming!" Wondertomb growled, striding towards them.


Ducking the first blow, Katie brought her fist up and smashed it against Skinshedder's stomach, managing to bring a groan out of him. Suppressing the pain, he kicked her in the stomach, sending her staggering back away from her.

"Are you even trying?" he demanded, throwing a fist out to try and grab her by the throat. "Come on! Bleed for me! Bleed for Skinshedder!"

"You first," she hissed, bringing a leg up to kick the hand away. His expression not changing, Skinshedder grabbed her ankle and sent her twisting to the sand. Already moving as she crashed against the silt, Katie ducked the blow aimed at her, managing to leap up to her feet. Again, her foot came up and she tried to strike Skinshedder on the back of the head. Feeling the thud of the impact against her boot, the blue ranger tried to follow up with another strike to the front of his face.

And, that was when it happened. Staggering back from the impact, the demons feet met the edge of the water and he hesitated for just that second.

In that moment, Katie was on him. Pushing him back down into the surf, watching the water rush over him. She could see the panic in his eyes, the cruel facade fading away.

"This isn't you, Ryan!" she insisted, trying to keep him under the surface. "Come on! Break free of that control! Come back to humanity."

"Ne... Never!" the demon howled, choking under the salty water. "You can't..."

She didn't hear anything further that he said, forcing his head back under the water. Under her gloves, the brown armour was starting to fade away, replaced by a normal white skin colour. Blood was starting to appear in the water, as the thing below her grasp choked repeatedly.

And, that was when she pulled him out of the water back on the sand. Pulling her helmet off, she held her face against his, hoping to get a sigh of breath. It was there, faintly.

For the next few moments, she applied CPR. Hoping to get a response. If she had inadvertently killed him, then...

That was when she felt the breath hit her repeatedly. A mixture of water and blood crashed against her face, as Ryan sat up.

"Now, you pay attention, huh?" he groaned, his voice hoarse. "Hey."

"Are you okay?" she asked, helping him to his feet. "Hey, I'm sorry about everything. About the..."

"Hey, I should be the one who..."

"Katie, get your ass over here!" Luke bellowed through her earpiece. "We have a... Big problem."

"Already?" she asked. "I didn't think that you guys would do things that fast."

"Err... We didn't." Danni offered.


Even though he was winning, Wondertomb sensed something high and above him. And, that was when the card came crashing out of nowhere and hit him in the back. Upon feeling the feeling, he heard Kable let out a laugh.

"Kick it up a gear while you're ahead," he offered. "Filled with fury this night. Grow forth and invoke the fear of fright."

Feeling the bright blue energy rushing across his skin, the demon instantly grew many times his normal height. Towering over the rangers.

"Man, now we're in trouble," Luke muttered, reaching up to his earpiece. "Katie, get your ass over here!"


"Send the Aura Carriers, now!" Bristow demanded. "Train bay up to the surface right now."

"You think that they can do the job?" Dominic asked. "They might not have the abilities to take on Wondertomb."

"They're all we have," Miranda offered, stroking her chin. "Maybe I might remedy that if we make it through here."

"Well, that's food for thought," Dominic offered, looking at the screen. He could see the train bay rising out of the ocean. The doors opened up, the Aura Carriers speeding away across the rail system.

"They'll find a way to do it," Bristow said, folding his arms. "I've got the faith that it'll happen."

"Sometimes, faith might not be enough," Miranda offered. "But, it's all we've got."


Charging into battle on her ATV, Katie could see the Aura Carriers speeding towards her and the other rangers.

"Well, I managed to take care of Skinshedder," she said, getting off the vehicle. "Everyone okay?"

"Ah, we traded blows for a bit," Danni remarked. "But, now we need to..."

"Let's get to the zords," Katie finished, as the five of them headed for the trains. "Have the discussion later."

"Amen to that," Nahir muttered.

As they got inside the vehicles, the blue ranger gave the command. The command that they'd all been waiting for.

"SDI Megazord formation," Katie said. "Now!"


At her words, the five zords began to combine. The back part of Emperor Racer split away from the other part, Katie throwing the zord into reverse. As she did so, the backs of Happiness Rider and Flycatch Tracker opened up to allow the Emperor Racer to interlock. Once that had happened, Danni and Nahir activated their controls. Sending the two zords up onto the cabin part of their body. Next, Mystic Soarer swept down and gathered up the separating Volcano Tamer, depositing it down on top of the Emperor Racer. The arms swept out, accepting the water cannons from the top of the Emperor Racer's cabin, before Mystic Soarer came swooping in, the front part only remaining visible to form a head. The five rangers travelled up on a rail system, ultimately arriving in the cockpit.

"Let's make this quick," Luke said, as Xavier directed the Megazord towards Wondertomb. Both ready to trade blows. "Dragon Pulse Blasters."

The mouth of the Megazord opened up, crashing a beam of blue grey energy against the demon in front of them. But, like most of their attacks previously aimed at the demon, they just seemed to annoy him more than anything. Barely even fazing him in the slightest sense. Laughing wildly, he blasted the Megazord with a Shadow Ball, causing some exterior damage.

"Maybe we should try the Mach Strikes," Xavier said, clutching at straws. Even in his voice, he didn't sound like he believed they would work.

"He looks like he might be part ghost," Danni shouted. "So, it won't do any good."

"Well, if we're going to jump straight to it," Katie said. "Might as well. Enforcement Sword, now!"

The buckle at the middle of the Megazord spun around, flying out to create the weapon, the large sabre in the hand of the giant machine.

"Shiny," Wondertomb smirked, launching a Dark Pulse towards the Megazord. Explosions rang up around the robot, forcing it to stagger back under the force of the blast.

"Ignition drive!" Katie shouted. At her command, the Megazord charged forward, the sword covering itself in flames. Bringing the weapon forward and back in a flurry of strikes...

The weapon promptly passed through Wondertomb, dealing a little damage but still not enough to finish him off.

"Okay, we've got a problem," Xavier said, looking at the demon. "Now what the heck do we do?"

"Good question," Nahir muttered. "Try it again?"

"Nah, if it didn't do it the first time then..."

"I've got an idea," Katie remarked, looking at the demon gasping for breath. "It's a little unorthodox, but..."

"Well, try it," Miranda shouted. "Anything you need to know, do it."

"The Megazord doesn't rust, does it?" Katie asked. "Because..."

Leaving the words hanging, she shot a look over at Xavier.

"Hand the controls over to me," the blue ranger said, hoping that the other rangers would trust her enough to let her put the plan into action. Fortunately, Xavier did. Pushing a button down on his console, the joysticks popped up in front of her.

"What's your plan?" Luke wondered. "Appeal to his better nature?"

"Nah," she said, sending the Megazord charging forward, eventually crashing into the Wondertomb demon. The two of them rushed across the ground, until eventually...

... They both crashed into the ocean.


"This is a dumb plan," Luke said, as the two giant beings fell through the water, dropping towards the ocean floor.

"Well, not really," Katie remarked. "I saw him gasping for breath after we hit him with the sword. So, I guessed that he breathes."

"We're going to drown him?" Nahir asked. "That might work."

"It is working," Danni said, looking at the demon through the window in the cockpit of the Megazord. Wondertomb was gasping for breath, clawing at the machine to try and get away from them.

Upon hititng the floor of the ocean, Katie immediately gave the command. Sensing that the time was right.

"SDI Mach Strikes," she yelled. And, at her words, the arms of the Megazord shot out of their sockets, dealing heavy damage to the demon. And, to the relief of the watching rangers, Wondertomb collapsed to the seabed and exploded into thousands of pieces. Although the fire was slightly muted by the water surrounding them.

"Wow, that worked," Luke said, shocked. "What the heck do I know about anything at all?"

"Well, I've been saying that for as long as I've know you," Nahir quipped.

"Heh," Xavier muttered. "Okay, good work rangers. We did a good thing here today."

"Is that your little pep talk for whenever we win now?" Katie asked. "Might be lame, but it's kinda good to hear."


"So, you sure that your boyfriend is okay?" Ryan asked, as he and Katie headed right across the beach. "I mean... I remember most of it and I gave him a pretty good..."

"Nah, he's fine," Katie said. "And, we're not dating. Just friends."

"You sure?" Ryan said, surprised. "That's... You seemed tight."

"Yeah, we're just friends," Katie insisted. "So, about that battle."

To both of their surprises, they had arrived at the area where they had fought. In different forms, but still themselves at heart.

"You game?"

"Oh yeah."


Author's Notes.

Well, that was... Interesting.

Thanks to Hotrod198 for Ryan. A character who you'll be seeing more of in the future... But, I'm saying nothing further on that. Just yet. Unless you've been on the Poke Rangers forum, then you remain in the dark.

That said, if you want to come on over there, we're all friendly. None of us bite, I think. There's a link on my profile page.

Anyway, next chapter is entitled The Great Volcano Caper, Part One. Yeah, we finally get a two parter in this story. By this point in G-Force, I'd had about three. Give or take. Anyway, preview below.

Thanks for the reviews. All appreciated completely.

In a bit, I should be back to updating frequently. The next ten or so chapters will see the return of G-Force rangers, new Megazords, the appearance of two veteran Poke Rangers from the Hoenn region, new generals in the demon ranks and even a sixth ranger at some point. So, don't go away.

Wondertomb. A Spiritomb with the Wonderguard ability. One of the most annoying things out there. If you're lucky enough to have one, I salute you. Although not too much. Anyway, I have a theory that you can beat it by drowning the thing.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

Don't forget to review!!! Please!!!


Chapter Thirteen, The Great Volcano Caper, Part One, Preview below.

Miranda: Can you do me a favour.

Nahir: I'm sick of taking the fricking bus across town.

Misteria: Blow that volcano.

Darkia: At once, my queen.

Luke: It doesn't look good up here.

Xavier: We need to take that demon down before he blows the volcano.


Coming soon.