Chapter Fourteen: 7,000 Years Later - Guilt
1000 BC - Timeline B
The Falcon Zord, Chester, flew up high. He saw the Animal Lord Megazord battling against Master Org with all his might. Flying beside him was his wife, the Phoenix Zord Isis.
"Is that Toro?" Isis asked, looking over to the Defender Torozord battling Predazord.
Chester nodded. "It looks like him. Sheesh! I haven't seen him in a while!"
Isis nodded. "Yeah, well you help Animus, then. I'll dive down and help Toro."
"Roger that! See ya soon, Honey!" Chester yelled as he dived down to slam into Master Org. As he did, Isis dive bombed toward Predazord.
"Agh!" Master Org cried out as he felt metallic talons dig into him. He shot a blast from himself, hitting Chester dead on.
"Thank you, Chester!" Animus yelled from within the Animal Lord Megazord.
"Not a problem!" Chester replied, shaking his head to get his bearings. As he did, he looked over and gasped as he saw Predazord slash at Isis. It appeared the Predazord had temporarily incapacitated Defender Torozord and was focusing its efforts against Isis.
Deviot played the Flute Knife before yelling, "Revolver Panel: Activate!"
Isis began to maneuver expertly, flying up to avoid the attack. Predazord had just finished charging as she was already flying high.
While Master Org swiped at Animal Lord Megazord, Chester hooted for Isis. "Yeah! You go, girl!"
As he said this, he watched as Predazord looked up and jumped, following Isis. She did not know he was behind her, and stopped to look down. She wished to see whether Chester needed any help.
"Isis! Watch out! Moooove!" Chester began screaming.
"Pesky bird!" Deviot screamed as he plunged the Alligator tail into Isis' chest.
"No! No!" Chester screamed.
Predazord pumped several currents of Morphing Energy into Isis before moving his sword to thrust her off its blade. Chester watched in horror as she crashed to the ground. He was already racing to the crash site. Before he arrived, though, her mechanical body exploded.
Predazord landed, Deviot laughing. "Was that someone close to you, bird? I'll let you share the same fate, then!"
From up in space, Bio Mech Silver felt odd. This isn't right... I don't feel good about this...
"I will destroy you!" Chester yelled. He rushed as fast as he could to ram the Predazord, but was batted away easily by its Wolf hand. Slamming into a mountainside, Falcon Zord slumped down.
"Time for your destruction!" Deviot yelled. "Predator Wave!"
Knowing he was too weak to continue, but vowing to get revenge, Chester looked up and flew out of the way of the blast. With barely enough energy, he landed a ways away on a mountain top. He laid himself down, feeling ready to give up the ghost. Not only from exhaustion and damage, but also for the destruction of the love of his life.
As he crawled into the opening at the top of the mountain, he shook his head angrily. "This stupid war cost me the love of my life. You guys can all get yourselves destroyed for all I care. I'm done. Without Isis... this all means nothing." And with that, Chester slid into the cave within the mountain to separate himself from the rest of the world.
Meanwhile, Master Org grabbed Animal Lord Megazord by the neck. He lifted it up into the air, laughing. "Pathetic! This is what you have to offer me in terms of power, Animus!? You're people are better off without you!"
"Alright, everyone!" Animus yelled. "Backflip!"
Master Org was thrown off balance as Animal Lord Megazord flipped, breaking his hold on them. Black Lion roared from his spot on the megazord. "Let's finish him, Animus!"
"Right, Black Lion." Animus said. "Animal Savage Punch!"
From his cockpit, Animus watched as he got closer and closer to Master Org. He could feel the sway of the mighty machine he was in with each step it took. He stood confidently, staring as if he were the one to physically attack Master Org.
Master Org laughed as he watched Animal Lord Megazord rush him. "Prepare to meet my true power!"
Animus watched in horror as a mixture of all sorts of Energy surrounded the two of them. Master Org then seemed to absorb and channel all of the Energy into himself. Before Animal Lord Megazord could react, a concentrated blast emerged from a triangular light on Master Org's chest. Animus fell to his back within the cockpit as he felt the megazord get hit with a tremendous force. He frowned as he saw the megazord begin to fall apart, crackling with energy.
"I'm sorry we failed you, Animus!" Condor Zord screamed, yelling in pain as well.
"Leave, Animus!" Black Lion shouted. "We cannot lose you, too!"
Animus pursed his lips as he looked out the cockpit. He could see Master Org bent over in pain. "No... He is injured! He gave his all taking us out. Magnus can take him out from here. I am going down with you all."
"No!" Saw Shark yelled. "That's ridiculous!"
"There's no reason to become a sacrifice!" Buffalo Zord agreed.
Animus shook his head. "I'll only be gone for a bit. I can't be totally destroyed. And I dragged you all into this... You, too, will live on with me."
"What!?" Black Lion roared. As he did, several explosions began around the Animal Lord Megazord.
"I will bond with your circuitry. I believe I can junction my power to your zord parts. We will all come back to-"
Before Animus could finish his sentence, the Animal Lord Megazord exploded.
"No!" Defender Torozord shouted, throwing Predazord to the side. "Animus!"
I failed him once again... Defender Torozord thought. I wasn't able to protect him, just like last time...
Master Org grunted. He then teleported himself out of the battlefield. He was happy to find himself back at normal size outside of the Nexus. Limping, he made his way into his private chamber.
"Master..." Master Org said.
Octomus appeared before him via a hologram. "Congratulations on defeating Animus. Not many can boast the same accomplishment."
Master Org bowed. "For you, Master."
"Now, while Deviot keeps everyone else occupied, I demand that you recharge. I have another target for you once you're ready." Octomus said.
"What is it?" Master Org asked.
Octomus chuckled. "Zordon's Command Center in Angel Grove. If I can't get the powers to the Animal Nexuses in the Jungle of Spirits, then his power will do quite nicely!"
. . .
Baskin sat, the Orgs having stopped their attacking. It was getting dark outside, and the only light save the moon and stars came from the fire before them. He sat and stared into the fire, lost in thought.
Brynja was the one to break the silence. "They destroyed Black Lion and Animus and four other Animal Warriors. They turned themselves into machines for nothing..."
Adelais nodded. "We also lost Isis. And I think Chester. And Magna Defender is still battling against Predazord somewhere. They've been at at it for hours..."
"We're done for..." Fulbert said in dismay.
"No!" Galene yelled, unable to control the outburst. "If we give up now, then their sacrifices truly meant nothing!"
Baskin stood up. "Things seem dismal, but that's when we fight back harder than ever. Goom... Animus... is gone. But Shayla is safe. We need to count our victories first. We still have close to one hundred Wild Zords here to help us. The Knights of the Magic Realm are still helping fight against the ground Orgs. There's still us."
Suddenly, Merrick appeared. He wouldn't look at anyone in the eyes. "I am sorry I failed you all..."
"What!?" Fulbert demanded. "You haven't failed anyone!"
Merrick shook his head. "But I have. I watched as Animus... Goom... lost his life. I was powerless to help him. He was a good friend to me my entire life, but I did nothing to help him."
"What could you have done, Merrick? Please be realistic..." Baskin counseled.
"Something. Anything." Merrick said. "Goodbye."
"Where are you going!? We need you here!" Brynja said. She looked to the others, worried.
"I will return, and I will have enough power to avenge Goom." Merrick said. He then rushed off into the woods.
Baskin shook his head and wagged his index finger as Galene and Adelais got up to chase after Merrick. "I don't know what he's doing, but we must trust him."
"He's unstable." Brynja argued. "He and Goom were very close. What if he does something he'll regret!?"
Baskin sighed. "He's a grown man. We have other matters to deal with. We will need to trust him. Now, let's get planning. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and it is coming quickly."
As they began to plan, Merrick was making his way to the Ancient City. I read once when I was with the Pai Zhua about a Wolf Mask. It was theorized to have much power, but seemed to be coursing with great evil. I need it, though. I already have the Spirit of the Wolf. I know I can overcome whatever evil it has. I must get this power source, and use it as a totem to amplify my power. I must avenge Goom and Shayla! They both have lost their lives due to this... Shayla is trapped asleep in the sky because I wasn't strong enough to protect her! I will not let the Orgs get away with this! I will destroy Master Org, even if I lose my own life in the process!
. . .
Mandilok watched carefully as Predazord continued fighting against the valiant Defender Torozord. I must have that power! I am certain with it I would be able to defeat Master Org! He is already so weak!
"I will never back down!" Defender Torozord yelled. He had just witnessed, again, the destruction of a good friend of his, and he wasn't ready to give up his fight in light of the event. He needed some sort of retribution.
Deviot laughed. "Fool! My Dark Wild Zords are superior to your Bull in every way! You cannot hope to win!"
Defender Torozord caused his battle axe to appear. "It is time for you to feel my wrath! Yah!"
Torozord swung several times, each time having Predazord block the hit. He did not desist, though. Continually swinging, Torozord knew he would eventually land the finishing blow.
From down below, Female Mandilok laughed. "I'll give him a little bit of a boost..." Mandilok then pointed his weapon (which, fitting his motif of mouths, was appropriate: a giant fork) at Predazord's weapon arm and blasted it with Black Energy.
"Right arm has shut down!" Bio Silver declared.
"Impossible!" Deviot screamed as he saw the arm drop to the Predazord's side.
Seeing a window of opportunity, Defender Torozord struck when the weapon was no longer in place to block him. He felt a wave of satisfaction from accomplishing his revenge as the blade dug deep into Predazord's side.
"Ahh!" Deviot screamed as he was flung from the Predazord. He landed many feet away from the cockpit on the ground below. He could feel the metal surrounding his Cyborg body crunch as it smashed down. He could feel the Flute Knife and the three Animal Crystals fly out of his hand when he hit earth.
Mandilok made himself known as that occurred. Deviot looked up, feeling absolutely crushed physically. "Silver... Get... get the Animal Crystals..."
Up in space, Bio Mech Silver looked at the scene. He looked at Defender Torozord, pulling his blade from Predazord's body. He watched the broken Deviot try desperately to crawl to grabe the Flute Knife, all the while Mandilok watched him mockingly. Bio Silver wanted to help his master, but another part of him wondered whether it was really his own desire, or if it was programming.
"Silver!? Nuh...Now!" Deviot coughed out.
Mandilok laughed as he picked up the Flute Knife and each Animal Crystal. "I will spare your life for now, machine. So you can see how your megazord will serve Master Org!"
Before Deviot could argue, Mandilok teleported away. As he did, Predazord vanished. Defender Torozord then looked down, seeing Deviot. "I will squash you, vermin!"
Bio Silver snapped out of his stupor. He typed quickly and teleported Deviot out of the field before he was squashed by Defender Torozord.
"Wha... What happened!?" Deviot demanded in his ship in orbit, staring at Bio Mech Silver.
"I was blocked." Silver lied. "Must have been some Org power."
"Drat." Deviot said, not even imagining it possible for his faithful servant to lie. "Well, it's a shame that plan didn't work... All is not lost, though!"
"Oh?" Bio Silver asked. "I mean... we lost Cub when we tried for the Zeo Crystal, and now we've lost the hardware to control the megazord you created."
Deviot laughed. "Yes, but I have many plans in my head. If I only dwell on my failures, I will never be able to move forward for my eventual success!"
"So... what's the next plan?" Bio Mech Silver asked.
Thinking slowly, Deviot nodded as he took a seat at the command helm. "Well, obviously the game is changing again. The factions are getting more organized. I lost my opportunity at a full out attack on Earth, so I know the next time I strike, I will need to be sneakier. They will have fortified themselves. They won't make the same mistakes they did at this point. Neither will I. Silver? The next time we strike will be calculated. No one, and I mean no one will see us coming!"
. . .
Mandilok made his way to Nayzor. He handed to him the three Animal Crystals and the Flute Knife.
"What would you like me to do with these?" Nayzor inquired.
"Fuse them to the Org powers as well." Male Mandilok ordered. "The more power... for Master Org of course... the better."
"As Master Org wishes." Nayzor said. He then waved his hand and created slots for each of the Crystals and the Flute Knife, so they could be placed with the mask of Zen Aku.
"I will return soon." Female Mandilok said. "How long until it is all ready?"
Nayzor nodded. "Not too much longer."
Teleporting out, Mandilok thought: Excellent! Soon, the power of that mask and this "Predazord" will strike Master Org down. Soon will be the downfall of Master Org!
. . .
Meledon Ranger flipped, landing behind Mythical Master. He caused his red tiger saber to appear in his hand and, in a perfect example of fluid motion, immediately turned and slashed Mythical Master in the back.
"Agh!" Mythical Master yelled. He fell to a knee before pivoting on said knee. He pointed his hands at Meledon Ranger and shot him with massive amounts of power.
"Ahh!" Meledon Ranger screamed, being thrown several feet back. The power was intense, and something Meledon Ranger could not quite figure out. He quickly did a Meledon Scan on the remnant of the energy that crackled around him.
The scan revealed to Meledon Ranger what the nature of the attack was. It seemed to be a mix of Time Magic with something Meledon felt in his mind was called a "Trizyrium Crystal". The nature of the attack seemed to be what was allowing Mythical Master the ability to be in Meledon Ranger and Saba's Time Warp.
"Meledon Conversion: Nathadian Containment Spell!" Meledon Ranger shouted. He watched as the Red Magic erupted from him and sailed toward Mythical Master.
"Yah!" Mythical Master grunted. Meledon watched in shock as the power from the gloves wrapped itself around the Containment Spell, seemingly squashing it until it vanished.
"Impossible!" Meledon Ranger declared.
Mythical Master laughed. "How can you have created this place outside of Space and Time proper and not know the power of Time Magic!? Oh, wait... You didn't make this place, did you!? I see... you're a prisoner! Ha! Well, let me take you out of your misery!"
Meledon Ranger braced himself. He saw the attack coming to hit him. He tried using his Meledon Power to find a tactic to block the oncoming attack, but he could feel nothing. The blast hit him hard, sending him onto his back.
Why didn't my powers work!? Meledon Ranger thought, frustrated. As he did, his mind fell upon Merrick Baliton. His Meledon powers told him that Merrick was racing to grab a forbidden artifact of immense power, thus escalating the battle which he was a part of. Meledon Ranger then remembered how Goom had asked for Zordon to teach to him about the Order of Meledon so that a bit of the Order would help power the Royal Guard.
When I taught Goom the Order, I gave my seal of approval to bring the Royal Guard into the Order. Whenever they escalate the battle under my name, I suffer the consequences! I must be losing my powers because of Merrick! Meledon Ranger thought in shock, cursing Merrick's awful timing.
"And now it is time for your end, Power Ranger!" Mythical Master shouted. He then charged up another attack and shot it at Meledon, ready to witness the Meledon Ranger's final breath.
. . .
Alpha 4 punched the buttons of the console vigorously. "Aye-yai-yai... Zordon, where are you!?"
Alpha 4 was scanning every dimensional frequency he could find. Zordon was a huge factor in keeping his Time Warp anchored to the Command Center's communicator system. Without Zordon, which seemed to be the case from Alpha 4's perspective, the Command Center was doing all it could to find the interdimensional wizard. Alpha 4 knew not why Zordon suddenly blanked out, but he was fearing the worst. He just hoped it wasn't the last time he would ever see Zordon.
. . .
"Nooo!" Saba yelled, still unable to stand while clutching his injured leg. He watched helplessly as the powerful attack sailed to hit Meledon Ranger.
Suddenly, a vortex opened up in the sky above Meledon Ranger. A beam flew out of the vortex and seemed to neutralize the attack, causing it to vanish.
"Huh?" Meledon Ranger asked, surprised. He looked up and saw what looked like several figures descend from the portal.
"Impossible!" Mythical Master yelled.
Saba watched in awe as three people in red, blue, and pink uniforms descended from the vortex. The Red one stepped forward.
"Power Rangers!? How did you follow me!?" Mythical Master spat. He got into a fighting stance as the three rangers did as well.
"Alright, guys!" The Red Ranger declared. "We must hold our ground until the others can come!"
"Okay, Mythical Master! It ends here!" Pink Ranger shouted.
Blue Ranger sighed. "I just hope Xillian can keep that vortex steady..."
"No time to worry about that!" The Red Ranger said. "Attack!"
As the ran forward to fight Mythical Master, they yelled out their team name in unison. "Power Rangers: Frontier Recon!"
. . .
8000 BC - Timeline B
The Guardian watched as Link looked into his wrist tech nodded. "Okay, the area is in lockdown. The Rogue is not going to get away. Olivia? Are you okay?"
She nodded, staring September down. "Yes, I'm fine, Link. It wasn't too big of a jump."
In the Hall, Zrin looked to Zordon-A. "She's the one who can create a Time Vortex with her mind, right?"
Zordon-A nodded. "Yes. And Link creates fire, and Charlie can sense temporal distortions."
Charlie smiled. "Okay. September: You are under arrest. You are charged with mutiny, illegal jumping, threatening the very fabric of Space/Time, and for breaking out of prison." He then pointed a blaster at September.
September furrowed his brow. He didn't like looking at Olivia. It made it all feel wrong. "This is not right. I am trying to help."
Link rolled his eyes. "Sheesh. This guy is really malfunctioning. Okay..." Fire erupted from Link's hands. He shot several fireballs at September.
September narrowly missed the flames by leaping out of the way. In the nick of time, he caught a bullet that Olivia had sent at him from her gun with his hand while midair.
Both Olivia and Charlie then shot at him again, and with lightning speed September caught each bullet with a swipe of both hands. He then landed on his feet, tossing the bullets to the ground as he did.
Link walked up to December. "What the heck, man!? He's going up against two shooters. I've never seen any of you guys move that fast. What. The. Heck?"
December nodded. "He is... different. That is probably attributing to his malfunction. A shame..."
Burai-A shook his head in the Hall. "It's not a malfunction, is it?"
Alpha Ranger's voice reverberated through the Hall from the Inner Sanctum. "No, it doesn't seem like it. He is quite special. I'd love to know what it is about him..."
The Watcher December began walking briskly toward September. He swung his fist, getting blocked by September's arm. As September did this, Link hit him with two more fireballs, sending September flying back. He saw his clothes had caught fire and began rolling in the sand and dirt as he landed. He then suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see blood coming out of where his sternum was.
"Nice shot." Charlie said to Olivia, patting her on the back.
She nodded, prideful of the excellent marksmanship. "I made sure not to destroy him. Now, let's collect him."
Link shook his head. "I hate having to deal with this stuff. Well, at least it's over..."
September's head was swimming. He had to focus a little bit more than usual. While losing consciousness, he picked up a rock and threw it. It went according to his calculations: it hit Olivia's gun hard enough to force her to drop it; the rock bounced off the gun and hit Charlie in the face; September predicted Charlie's psych enough to predict he would flinch, causing a gunshot; he predicted from the angle Charlie had been standing and his angle of walking, with the speed at which he had been walking, that he would move his arm in the direction of December; the bullet hit December in the back of the knee; then, as September predicted, Link ran to pick up December as he hit the ground. September then rolled down the side of the mountain they were on. He predicted he would break many bones, and knew he had a five percent chance of survival. He hoped he could get far enough away from the Freelancer's barrier to teleport out.
"Whoa!" Zrin shouted. "Did you see that!?"
A smile was on Orion-A's face from ear to ear. "That was amazing. Kid's got talent!"
Guardian nodded. "That's why we need him..."
Link looked to Olivia as they watched September roll down the hill. "Extend the barrier as far as you can. I don't want him slipping away."
Olivia nodded and began focusing. Her head was burning as she extended the Time Barrier that was blocking September's abilities further out. She could only hope it was far enough.
As September rolled down the hill, those in the Hall of Legends saw some odd energy envelop him. They all gasped as he vanished.
"Did they get him!?" Zordon-A demanded.
"No." Alpha Ranger reported. "That was... someone else. The best I can do is see that whoever it was lies outside the universe."
Zrin scowled. "Like us? In the Nothingness?"
"Affirmative." Guardian said. "And they were able to get him without touching him... whoever got him seems to have a much better handle on using the Time Vortex than we do..."
"What now!?" Orion-A demanded. "I thought we needed him!"
"Wait... look!" Zrin said. One of the Time Crystals was glowing, indicating another sighting to September.
The Guardian waved a hand and caused that Time Crystal to activate. A hologram appeared, showing September emerging from a Time Door smiling.
"They... brought him back? Huh?" Burai-A asked.
"Well, it's obvious that whoever had him did not want him for any long period of time..." Zordon-A observed. "What do you think they wanted?"
"It looks like they were just wanting to help..." Guardian said.
"I'm glad they were able to..." Zrin said, looking to Zordon-A. "Unlike us. Because we're not from this timeline we would have been destroyed. I guess I don't need to feel guilty about not helping him. September had another guardian angel, huh?"
Zordon-A faked a smile. "That's right." Hearing Zrin say that he was from TimelineA made his own feelings of guilt surface. He knew what he had done, and knowing that he took advantage of the horrible things Prime had caused to have Zrin haunted him every day, though "days" didn't really apply to him due to his presence in the Hall.
Burai-A spoke, limping forward to get closer to the Time Crystal. Orion-A shook his head as he saw Burai-A do this. "Ever since Prime hit you, bro, you haven't been getting the rest you need to fully recover."
Ignoring him, Burai-A said, "Look. September is still hurt. The bullet wound to his chest from Olivia. He's not going to be able to outrun the Freelancers and Watchers for long like that..."
"We have to do something!" Zrin demanded.
"The Nathadian Ranger isn't ready yet..." Guardian said, sadness and defeat floating in his voice.
"Actually..." A feminine voice said from behind the group. They all turned to see Tria standing at the door to the crystal lined room. She had a smirk on her face as she held up a red colored gem. "I just finished infusin' the Nathadian Magic into the gem."
Zrin stared at his aunt with a similar smirk on his face. "So that means...?"
She tossed the gem to him and folded her arms across her chest, smiling. "That means it's morphin' time."