MMPR Dawn of Primacy: Dark Maelstrom

by J Raine

When a time shift alters the past and history is rewritten Rangers from several generations are caught up in the conflict as Earth becomes the battle ground for the ultimate battle between good and evil. MMPRtoPRTF&PRNS. Check profile for release schedule

20. Chapter 20

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Dawn of Primacy: Dark Maelstrom

-20-

"Now this is interesting," Blue said.

"What have you got?" Red asked.

The Psychos were standing on the pinnacle of Lord Zedd's Palace watching the carnage below. Blue was tied into the communications network getting information on the battle to assist Red in making a command decision on where to strike.

"It seems that the Power Rangers have shown up in space," Blue replied.

"Are you serious?" Black asked.

"Which ones?" Yellow interrupted unable to contain her excitement.

"Give me a second," Blue replied waving his hand at them. "I'm trying to get a visual feed."

The Psychos watched him impatiently as his head shifted around, privy to images that they could not see.

"It looks like it's just the other Rangers in space, oh wait, here's something interesting,"

"What?!" Red demanded growing impatient with Blue's vagueness.

"It seems Hephaestus has found something," Blue said. "It's going to be a little harder to tap into his ocular sensors so try and be patient."

Blue sat motionless for a moment, the circuit diagrams of communication relays and programming code streamed down the front of his HUD in a bright green as he manipulated the data with his neural interface trying to establish a link with the war machine. The image behind the code work began to flicker producing heavy static, the coding shifted to a bright orange to improve contrast. Slowly the static began to clear showing several buildings moving rapidly passed the field of vision. The image shifted slightly, rotating to the left, presumably as Hephaestus was walking partly on the side of a building.

Suddenly the cityscape ended, there was a flash of red and the image lurched forward with such great speed that Blue dropped to a knee to stabilize himself against the vertigo. The image of the Ultra Zord's head loomed on the display before the image went black again; the flashing neon orange writing informing Blue that the signal pathway had been recoded.

"I lost it," Blue muttered.

"Did you see anything?" Red asked.

"I saw their Ultra Zord," Blue said shaking his head as his display returned to normal. "They're on the east side of the city."

"Then let's go," Red ordered. "We can use the Nether to enter their Zord and take them out."

"That won't work," Blue said.

"And why is that?" Red asked, his tone implying that he didn't really want to hear the answer.

"Because everything the Rangers have is a fusion of magic and technology. The Zords, the Command Center, both were shielded and sealed against magic; if we want the Rangers we're going to have to rip them out of that tin can of theirs."

"Or sit back and let something else do it for us," Red replied. "Let's keep an eye on the situation for now."

"You know," Blue began. "I think death has actually made you smarter."

"Shut up and move," Red growled.

In a shimmer of light the Psychos headed east, streams of light bouncing from building to building as they darted toward the Ultra Zord's location.

The darkness of space was cast aside as all manner of energy weapons and projectiles were exchanged across the void. Torpedoes flew silently across the void between the two fleets, their silhouettes' barely visible in the shadow of the planet, before impacting in fiery plumes of red and orange on the kinetic shielding of the opposing fleet. Smaller ships buckled and exploded in brilliant bursts of radiant light, a mini nova in their own right, as fighters crossed the darkness strafing smaller cruisers while protecting their own ships, their attacks little more than a flicker beneath the giant metal behemoths that continued to spew death into the vacuum.

"We need a target!" Andros demanded as their small group raced into the fiery maw.

"We're inside the engagement zone," Trip relayed.

"I don't have the numbers yet," Trey said.

"Then I'm calling it," Andros said. "Engage the Machine Empire, target the smaller strike cruisers. We're going to open up The Machina for the Thirty-seventh."

"On it," Zhane replied.

"Neutron Cannons locking on," Trip replied. "Synchronizing targeting systems."

"You with us Trey?" Andros asked.

"Yeah," Trey replied. "Weapons are hot,"

"Fire!" Andros ordered.

Trey's particle cannon raked over the underside of the nearest Cog ship nearly cutting the vessel in half. Seconds later the attacks from the rest of the ships hammered into the craft causing it to detonate in a spray of scrap metal and radiant fire as the Ranger's ships held formation, punching through the flames into the battle.

Trakeena stood before an elaborate web spread between eight pylons which sat on the edge of a circular table. With her eyes closed Trakeena's fingers danced over the thin strands allowing her to sense the psychic emanations of her minions. There was a war being waged on the surface, no, it was more than that, she could sense vibrations from the Khepri, there was a war in space as well. She pulled her hand back, her eyes opening slowly.

"Furio,"

"Yes my lady?" Furio replied entering the chamber.

"Send word to Lord Zedd that we are taking the Khepri into battle, Treacheron will remain in control of our forces here on the ground."

"As you wish," Furio replied with a bow.

Trakeena smiled as see let her fingers dance over the web once more. At last a suitable opportunity had presented itself.

"The Machine Empire fleet is still stronger by four percent," Trey replied happy to have a complete tactical picture again. "That is of course assuming that the Dark Fortress is really gone."

"We can't waste time with speculation," Trip said as the group strafed over the top of another Cog ship heavily damaging the main bridge.

"Quadrafighters inbound," Zhane announced.

The group broke formation as nearly twenty Quadrafighters burst through their ranks firing with pulse cannons. Several shots were absorbed by Pyramidas' shields as the other craft evaded. The turrets on the Mega Ship opened fire destroying four of the fighters immediately before gunning down two more as the fighters broke off.

"It's fortunate they don't have time to circle around." Rocky said as the Mega Ship fell into formation again.

"They can't afford to," Andros replied. "With so many targets it's a much better tactic to continue moving in a single direction, circling around wastes too much time."

"We have another cruiser coming into range," Trip interrupted.

Two large plasma bolts slammed into the craft from the front, an attack fired from one of the Thirty-seventh's ships, sparks coruscated over the surface as the EM pulse from the plasma shorted out the shields.

"Their shields are down, fire!" Trey ordered.

Weapons fire erupted from the small group of ships punching through the side of the spinning outer hull straight out the other side. The ship instantly exploded in a small nova as the core ruptured and lost containment.

"Evade!" Trip shouted suddenly detecting an incoming attack.

Several capital shots raked across the side of Pyramidas burning through the thickened armor plating as the Mega Wing banked off narrowly avoiding a laser burst that merely glanced off the starboard shields. Pyramidas spun hard left as Trey tried to face the damaged side away from the attack.

"Trey you alright?" Andros asked

"Yeah," Trey replied. "Port side shields are down and there was heavy damage to the armor, but all systems are still functional."

"I have a fix on the attack," Trip said. "Bearing two eight two point seven."

"What is that?" Shawna asked in awe.

A large ship was approaching from the southern side of the moon. The main body was roughly half the length of The Machina, though its mass was less than a quarter of the Machine Empire's masterpiece. Its form was similar to a dragonfly, but with heavier wings protruding from the top and bottom of the vessel; large beetle-like coverings were opened forward protecting the huge solar sail wings. The tail was curled up over the body with several quad-barreled ion cannons housed within. The protective covering was drawn back leaving four claw-like towers curled in toward the cannons housing small batteries of laser weaponry in their tips.

"Searching the database," Circuit said.

"Do we engage it?" Zhane asked.

"It looks like it's moving off now." Trey replied.

"Got it," Circuit announced. "It's the Khepri, the flagship of the Vora Empire under Scorpius and his daughter Trakeena."

"So whose side is it on?" Andros asked as the group arced over another Cog ship, lightly peppering the shields.

"Given the insects forces of the Vora and the insect warriors at the Command Center I'd say it's a safe bet that they're on Zedd's side." Trip replied.

"That would nearly even out the advantage," Trey said.

"In whose favor?" Zhane asked.

"The advantage is just barely with the Machine Empire, about half a percent."

"Then break formation," Andros said. "Trip and Trey you take the Machine Empire, Zhane and I will engage Lord Zedd's forces. Keep after the small ships, and try to stay on the periphery of the battle."

There was a series of affirmations as the group split into two teams, the Mega Ship and Mega Wing banking hard to starboard to come around as capital weapon shots flew passed them into Machine Empire ships. As they headed into Lord Zedd's ranks Velocifighters raced over head pelting their shields with several shots as the fighters moved on to more serious targets.

"It's like we don't even matter to them," Zhane said.

"It's because they're smart," Trey replied. "If we don't choose a side they'll continue to regard us as a minor threat until both sides are diminished."

"If they aren't smart enough to realize what we're up to before then," Andros replied.

"I think their arrogance will prevent that," Trey replied confidently.

The first of the three Zords advanced toward Cyclopsis, a spinning drill hand broke free from the sludge sending gel splattering into the air as the weapon began to rotate quickly. The blades of Cyclopsis' gauntlets slid out with incredible speed as Goldar parried the attack, side stepping around the Zord and catching its arm above the drill head, flipping the Zord to the ground.

As the first Zord fell Goldar opened fire with his missiles putting two salvos into the winged Zord in front of him, the rockets streaking over the still falling body of the first Zord. The winged Zord brought its wings in attempting to shield its body, but failed to react fast enough as several missiles passed through the curling wings and hit the body, exploding in a plume of fire and goop.

Before Goldar could turn the third Zord had come up behind him and reached under Cyclopsis' arms bending its own arms up over the shoulders getting the War Zord in a firm grasp as claws on the hands sunk into the armor plating. Goldar smirked at the attempt before lunging forward with his own Zord lifting the one behind him from its feet. Taking hold of its right arm he flipped the sludge covered machine over his shoulder and slammed it down on top of the prone Zord, the claws ripping from the armor of Cyclopsis.

Suddenly an energy blast burst from the mouth of the winged Zord catching Goldar by surprise. The shimmering yellow rays tore a gash up the left shoulder plate of Cyclopsis doing little more than superficial damage. One of the Zords below rolled toward him slamming its mass into Cyclopsis' legs throwing the Zord off balance. At the same time the finned Zord raised its right arm and fired off two projectiles that detonated against Cyclopsis' chest knocking the War Zord over backward.

Cyclopsis fell to the ground while the three Zords regrouped. As Cyclopsis began to raise to its feet the three Zords fell into a firing line, their forms lighting up in a blaze of quantum energy as power was pulled from extra-dimensional space and concentrated into a finite space. Goldar attempted to move to the side, but the shot suddenly flew forward, the sphere of energy expanding, reaching a diameter of nearly fifteen stories as it plowed into the front of Cyclopsis, sending the War Zord flying back into the city. The Zord slammed through several structures causing the buildings to explode in a spray of rubble before destroying the face of a fifth structure as the Zord's momentum was spent.

Screens went red in Cyclopsis and the main monitor went dead as Goldar frantically struggled to get the damage control systems online. Fortunately the armor plating over the missile arrays had held, and while there was damage to the actuators in the arms and knees, the systems of the main body seemed largely undamaged. Armor was barely intact and the adaptive shielding the Zord possessed was damaged. The adaptive system was trying to assimilate the last attack and regenerate, but the power surge from the regeneration system was diverting most of the Zord's energy.

The main screen flickered back to life and Goldar could see the three Zords still standing in place, their forms blackened as the energy attack had incinerated the thick layer of gel that had remained on the Zords. He couldn't be certain, but it seemed that attack had drained a considerable amount of the enemy's power, perhaps even overloaded their systems. He struggled with the controls desperately trying to right Cyclopsis, he had to get back into the fight and make sure he kept those three Zords separated.

"How is he still functional!?" Divatox demanded as she fiddled with the controls trying to bypass the main breakers. "Porto we need power!"

"I'm working on it," Porto said as he routed Zord control for all three Zords through his console; his voice gruffer than usual.

"He seems to be heavily damaged," Rygog commented watching Cyclopsis lurch stiffly as the machine attempted to stand.

"He should be dead!" Divatox shouted. "Now get us back online!"

"I almost have it," Porto assured her completing the bypass. "Try it now."

Divatox smiled as the Zord's systems came online, weapons powered back up and the joint locks disengaged allowing her Zord to move freely again. The three Zords began to move forward, the blackened filth falling from the armor in a fine powder with each step revealing the Zord's human-animal hybrid forms.

Divatox's Zord was a large crimson machine with the form of an eagle with large silver wings. Porto was piloting a large blue shark-like Zord; the left hand was nothing more than a large drill while the right had a twin torpedo launcher mounted on the wrist. The third, piloted by Rygog, was similar to a lion, with large claws reaching over the hands from gauntlets on the wrist and a strange three pronged array mounted in the face.

"Adaption complete," a deep voice intoned inside Cyclopsis' cockpit.

Goldar bared his teeth in a sinister smile as he forced Cyclopsis to its feet. The armor plating had already begun regenerating, as had the actuators, though the Zord was still not anywhere near fully functional. Still he could fight and his first priority needed to be breaking up those three Zords; in his current state he was certain Cyclopsis would not survive another attack of that magnitude.

Cyclopsis' arms suddenly swung up as the hands launched forward, the chained limbs wrapping around the waist of the Eagle Zord. Goldar pulled forward and fired with his head mounted laser system, the intense heating cutting a gash into the armor around the neck as the Eagle Zord flew at him. Divatox opened fire as she raced toward the Zord, but the streaks of energy deflected harmlessly off the shielding into the air and at the ground.

With a quick kick Goldar thrust the Zord's foot into the chest of the Eagle Zord as the cables detached and rapidly recoiled into the arms. The chest plate on the Eagle Zord caved in slightly as it flew back passed the Shark Zord and Lion Zord skidding to a stop beyond them. Not wanting to waste a moment Goldar charged toward the Lion Zord as the blades slipped from his gauntlets.

"Porto, what happened?" Divatox demanded trying to stand.

"It appears this Zord has adaptive shielding, it's strong enough to deflect our basic attacks and dampen more powerful attacks, once the Zord's system has analyzed them." Porto replied.

"Then do something about it!" Divatox demanded.

"I can't do anything without refitting the Zords, we're going to have to coordinate our attacks and then try another shot with our Quantum Destroyer," Porto said.

Rygog barely managed to catch Cyclopsis' blades with his claws; the sharp edges sparking against each other and the weapons scraped back and forth. Finally Goldar pushed Rygog back before firing a burst from his laser system, burning a small hole in the chest. The Zord twitched slightly as a secondary power conduit shorted out sending an energy spike through the artificial muscle bundles.

Rygog quickly recovered and stepped in with a clawed uppercut which Goldar quickly blocked before the Lion Zord dropped to the ground and swept Cyclopsis' legs out, sending the Zord to the ground. Rygog was quick to capitalize, bringing his Zord to its feet, the three prongs of the face lit red, blue, and yellow before firing a beam that converged on the Zord's chest; the laser fire burning through the weakened chest armor into the missile salvo on the left launcher. With thunderous explosions a fireball rose from the Zord, followed by thick, black, smoke which obscured the target.

Rygog began to back away, but the white form of Cyclopsis suddenly burst through the black miasma, the right arm was drawn back, the blade pointed at the head of the Lion Zord. Rygog panicked and fired the laser array again, hoping to blow out the right launcher, but Cyclopsis had already adapted, the beams reflected of the Zord's shielding into the sky above Rygog.

With a roar Goldar thrust the blade through the Lion Zord's head; Rygog reached out catching the arm, the blade twisted and snapped off at the wrist as it was wretched through the cockpit, breaking Rygog's body in half, and out the back of the head. As the Zord fell at Cyclopsis' feet the War Zord launched a salvo of missiles from the right torso launcher toward the Eagle Zord. Divatox was quick to take to the air as the volley detonated behind her, ripping several buildings apart in the blast.

Porto moved forward and fired the fin from the top of his Zord, the triangular blade energized, the outer layers transitioning to a state of plasma as it arced through the air toward Cyclopsis. Goldar dove to the left, but the blade caught the right arm just above the elbow joint cutting it from the body with ease. The limb fell to the ground sending up a spray of blackened dust.

Goldar hit the ground and rolled to the side, coming to his feet he fired a laser burst cutting into the wrist launcher on the Shark Zord's right arm causing the weapon to detonate in a burst of flames that destroyed the lower right arm leaving only a stump below the elbow joint. Charging forward Goldar was quick to unsheathe the left gauntlet blade, cutting up into the Shark Zord's chest. The torso sparked as power cables and power relays were torn apart.

Porto clumsily staggered forward thrusting his drill into Cyclopsis' chest. The drill head sparked against the armor as it began to drill into the chest just above the missile launcher. Goldar head-butted the Shark Zord; knocking it back as he swung again, cutting down into the head from above. The blade scarcely missed the cockpit as a large section of the head fell away exposing the internal mechanisms.

Before Goldar could attack the cockpit Divatox landed on Cyclopsis, the large talons on the feet digging deep into the heavy armor of the shoulders. Goldar brought his blade up to attack, but Porto managed to block the strike with his drill, the rotating head tearing through the blade leaving a jagged stump just above the hand.

As Cyclopsis was lifted into the air Goldar fired a blast from his laser cannons burning into the internal structure of the Zord's head. Several components sparked and caught fire as the Zord collapsed on the ground.

"Porto, are you okay?" Divatox asked.

"The Zord is on fire and I can't escape," Porto replied, the transmission scratchy from the damaged systems. "I'm going to try to…" the transmission cut out.

Divatox cursed under her breath as she continued to ascend, still having Cyclopsis in tow. It was time to see if this Zord could survive a fall from a mile up.

Goldar struggled in the cockpit trying to shake himself loose; but it was no use. Both his blades were gone, one missile system was destroyed, the other was jammed thanks to that drill attack. The laser cannons could not get a lock on the Eagle Zord due to the near vertical angle of fire. Even if his Zord survived the fall it wouldn't be battle ready, and if he had to abandon his Zord he was going to make certain that his enemy didn't get to keep theirs. Goldar raised the left arm at an angle and fired the grappling claw; the thick chain reached it maximum length before wrapping around the wings and torso of the Eagle Zord binding it. With a sudden jerk Goldar tightened the chain letting it dig into and crush the Eagle Zord's wings. Metal twisted and screamed as the two Zords began to plummet to the ground below. Satisfied that his task was complete Goldar ejected, his wings unfurling as he glided slowly toward the ground.

"No!" Divatox shouted hitting the control panel knowing there was nothing left to do but eject.

Still if this coup failed then the best thing for her was for everyone to think she was dead. She could always rejoin the battle when things were more favorable for her side. With a wash of darkness she vanished into the safety of the Nether.

In the sky above Goldar watched as the two Zords tumbled to the ground. Finally, with a loud crash the Zords impacted onto the ground landing on their backs, the shockwave leveling several nearby buildings. The reactor core in the Eagle Zord ruptured as the Zord detonated in a fiery blast destroying several blocks beyond the impact site and sending a black mushroom cloud into the sky.

No one had ejected from the Zord, and no one could have survived that explosion. Goldar roared his defiance at the enemy's attempt to finish him as he quickly descended toward the ground, hungry to get back into the action.

The bulky form of the Ultra Zord tumbled to the ground as fearsome clawed hands grasped at the air where it had been mere moments ago.

"Was that who I think it was?" Adam asked.

"It seems Hephaestus has gotten a new Zord frame," Billy said.

"He's gotten faster too," Ashley commented.

"Stay sharp Tommy," Jason relayed. "We don't know what this thing is capable of."

"I'll stay back and try and give you support for the moment," Tommy replied.

"I'll right guys let's do it," Jason said as Ultra Zord rose to its feet, ready to do battle.

Hephaestus landed on the ground just beyond the Ultra Zord spinning quickly on its spider-like legs facing its adversary. The burning ethereal green eyes pierced through the souls of the Rangers as the creature glared at the cockpit. There was a moment of hesitation and Hephaestus seized it.

With a whirl multiple cylinders spun out from the body housing lasers, particle cannons, missile launchers and various other weapons. In a flash of iridescence the numerous weapon arrays fired. The Ultra Zord tried to dodge, but the suddenness of the attack had caught them off guard. Damage reports surged through the neural array as a combination of energy and projectile weapons tore holes in the armor of the Zord from top to bottom as the Ultra Zord lit up in a multi-spectrum display.

Tommy was quick to transform the Q-Rex into battle mode and unleash a hail storm of missiles from his own launcher. No sooner had the missiles left the launcher however than several pods slid open revealing ball jointed flak cannons. With a roar of gun fire the missiles were shot out of the sky in a spray of bright red tracers and flaming bursts.

"Tommy, get back!" Jason shouted as Hephaestus' weapons swiveled around and opened fire again.

The Q-Rex, being more agile, was able to dive out of the way, suffering only a few hits from the missiles that managed to lock on to his signature in time. With Hephaestus distracted the Ultra Zord charged in bringing its sword down on the monstrosity. Before the blade could make contact the menacing creature had turned its attention back toward the Rangers, a large dual bladed sword formed in the machine's hands. The blades were bent back, the weapon having a shape similar to a long bow. The middle of the shaft between the blades had a strange oval protruding from it, the narrow end pointed in the direction the blades curved. With lightning fast agility Hephaestus caught the Ranger's blade with his own as a deafening clang of metal echoed across the darkened landscape.

Ultra Zord tried to kick at the fiend, but Hephaestus caught the leg with his blade, hooking it under the limb, and flipped the massive Zord on its belly.

"He's too fast," Billy said as the Ultra Zord crashed into the ground.

"We need a way to slow him down," Jason said as the Ultra Zord rolled clear scarcely avoiding a strike to the back.

"Or, we need to speed up," Adam offered.

"If you can figure out how to do either of those I'd love to hear it," Billy said.

The Ultra Zord righted itself in time to block a third strike from Hephaestus only to have several energy shots rake up the left leg.

"Hang on, I might have an idea." Tommy said.

Hephaestus was bearing down on the Ultra Zord forcing most of the pressure onto the left leg. Suddenly twin cannons fired from the Q-Rex's shoulders, the spiraling beams of blue-green energy tore over the abdomen of Hephaestus and into the massive series of joints supporting the legs for the right side of the body, coating them in a heavy frost.

The goblin howled in frustration as it tried to move its legs; the joints were lethargic, the muscle bundles contracting under the cold temperatures.

"Of course," Billy said. "I wasn't even thinking about that,"

"Nice work Tommy," Jason said.

"I'd hurry," Tommy replied. "This weapon has a slow recharge rate and those joints are going to loosen up soon."

Hephaestus spun its upper body knocking the Ultra Zord off balance and causing it to stagger to its right. The goblin's torso continued to spin until it had nearly rotated a full circle and was facing Tommy. With a flash in his eyes Hephaestus drew his hand back over the oval on his weapon, his fingers curling around an invisible point as the oval lit a bright blue. As his fingers released a long shaft of energy burst from the protrusion on the weapon spearing through the right shoulder cannon on the Q-Rex exploding out the back in a star burst of blue flame. The Q-Rex dropped to the ground as Tommy attempted to stabilize the Zord.

"Tommy, are you alright?" Jason asked as the Ultra Zord stepped in.

"Yeah," Tommy replied. "Was just caught me off guard."

Ultra Zord slashed its sword across the body of the goblin, the end carving into the armor of the right arm and the chest knocking the weapon down before he could fire again. Hephaestus turned to face the Rangers once again as Ashley aimed the shoulder cannons at the abomination's chest and fired. There was a shriek as the main display went white. Hephaestus flew back, attempting to jump from the line of attack, but finding half his legs still moved too slowly to be effective. The machine landed as several actuators in the main joint assembly snapped under the stress, their structure already weakened by the temperature shift.

Smoke wafted from the chest as armor was vaporized; chunks of frost were still falling from the leg joints, jarred loose from the sudden exertion.

"I think we managed to slow it down a little," Billy said looking at the tactical data. "But we still haven't cracked the outer hull."

"What's our status?" Jason asked.

"Fairly uniform armor damage on the front side with the exception of the left leg, we do have minor internal damage." Billy replied.

"And our power levels?" Jason asked.

"Holding at eighty-two percent," Billy replied.

"Guys we've got something going on out here," Tommy said.

"What is it?" Jason asked.

"I've got it," Billy replied. "Incoming targets from above."

Hephaestus paused for a moment as the regenerative systems began repairing the damage to the leg joints. His systems detected more incoming targets descending rapidly from the sky about a quarter of a kilometer from his present location. Whatever was left of Finster's mind would not allow these newcomers to interfere with his fun. Issuing a command signal he set the Reapers into motion to intercept the targets.

"Why isn't he attacking?" Ashley asked.

"He's repairing himself," Billy said looking over the data.

"Max Blizzard recharged," Tommy said.

"We're going to try and spin him around," Jason said. "See if you can lock up his left side this time."

"Right," Tommy agreed.

With a speed that seemed almost out of place for such a bulky machine the Ultra Zord charged forward. Hephaestus was quick to open fire with its weapon batteries, drenching the Ultra Zord in a torrent of weapon's fire. The Zord brought its huge sword in front of its body offering some degree of protection.

Moving passed the mechanical beast on the right the Ultra Zord swung its sword in an attempt to decapitate Hephaestus. The war machine side stepped, though with less grace than normal, the edge of the Ultra Zord's blade catching the end of the ear cutting it from the body, the sheared face glowing red hot. Hephaestus turned to strike at the Ultra Zord's back.

Tommy fired a shot from his remaining cannon locking up the left leg joints as the Ultra Zord barely managed to catch the war machine's strike with its blade. Hephaestus roared in fury as the Ultra Zord brought its cannons down to fire again.

Hephaestus was not about to allow this to happen again. With a quick spin of its blades Hephaestus cut the ends from the cannons shorting them out before spinning around and letting loose another bolt of energy, putting this one through the left cannon.

"That's it for my Max Blizzard, so make this count," Tommy said.

Ultra Zord dropped its weapon and slammed both hands, open palmed, into the chest of the machine knocking it back. The legs cracked and twisted as Hephaestus crashed into the ground. Ultra Zord quickly retrieved its sword and leapt at the prone machine slicing through the frozen joint, carving away the four legs on the left side before drawing the blade back and plunging the weapon into the underside of the behemoth. There was an explosion as burning gas vented form the wound in the abdomen. The other set of legs convulsed and then stopped moving.

In the distance there was a loud boom accompanied by a large cloud of dust that rose above the mountainous terrain beyond the city. Whatever was coming, it had reached the planet surface. Ultra Zord turned to face the horizon, the scanners unable to provide information on the new threat.

"Let's get moving," Jason said. "I'm sure whatever is out there will finish off Hephaestus, and I'd rather not find out what it is."

"Agreed," Billy said. "I can't tell what's coming, but from the seismic sensors there are a lot of them, and they are big."

"Tommy, we're moving out," Jason relayed.

"Behind you!" Tommy warned.

The Ultra Zord turned as Hephaestus' body convulsed again. The four legs on the right side shifted around with two moving to the left side, the former joint node retracted into the body. With a quick push Hephaestus had gotten back on its feet and was charging the Ultra Zord. Before Jason and the others could react the monster had cleaved one of its blades deep into the right shoulder.

"Shoulder actuators are failing." Billy reported.

"Chest cannon!" Jason ordered.

The triple barreled weapon on the chest lit bright yellow as three heavy plasma bursts burned into Hephaestus' chest reducing a fair portion of the machine's armor to heavy slag that ran down the stomach, and fusing the body into a forward facing position as it solidified over the waist joint.

"Multiple targets are approaching from the city." Ashley said.

"I see them," Jason replied.

The Reapers began moving out of the city. Slightly smaller than a Mega Zord, each was hunched over carrying a large cannon. Cables ran around to a generator pack attached to the back and giant hydraulic pistons helped support the weapon on a ring that ran around the machine's waist. The armor was a flat black with hard plates over the body in a pattern like musculature; a slightly lighter gray armor could be seen under the heavy plates. The head was wide, almost out of proportion, and had been fashioned into a rough upper skull without a lower jaw. Twin slits were lit a dark crimson where the eyes should be.

The machines suddenly came to a halt and set their feet wide. Their weapons came up, locking onto the Ultra Zord. Hephaestus's weapon vanished as it lunged forward wrapping its arms around the Zord as the Reapers opened fire. Rings of purple energy exploded out from the weapons as solid beams hit the back of the Ultra Zord boring through the substantial armor plating. The Ultra Zord lost its grip on its sword as actuators twitched under the high stress of the attack. The gigantic weapon fell flat on the ground.

"They're getting through," Billy said.

"We need to break his grip," Jason said.

The Ultra Zord slammed its head forward into Hephaestus' cracking the cranial plate as well as denting its own helmet. Hephaestus' grip loosened just enough to allow the Ultra Zord to shake the creature off. As the hold was broken the Reapers ceased fire, as if they were taking orders directly from Hephaestus.

Tommy opened fire on one of the Reapers with his missile launcher, sending a spray of high-yield warheads into the chest of the machine. Fire engulfed the unit ripping hardened armor chunks from the chest. When the flames had subsided Tommy could see his attack had nearly torn a hole into the chest.

"Hey guys, these things aren't very durable, I'm going to try and keep them off you." Tommy said.

"Alright, we'll try and finish off Hephaestus." Jason replied. "How's the damage Billy?"

"We'll be alright as long as we don't turn our back to him," Billy replied.

The Ultra Zord stooped down to grab its weapon as Hephaestus moved in again, its locomotion clearly slowed by the lost legs. Still, it was faster than the Ultra Zord and even as the Ultra Zord managed to take hold of its blade Hephaestus manifested its own weapon and cleaved a deep gash into the left torso.

"He cut one of the power conduits, power levels dropping," Adam said.

"Rerouting power," Billy responded.

Tommy opened fire on another of the Reapers as he charged into their lines. The missiles raced forward, plastering the head of the sentinel in clouds of fire, obliterating it. As the drone collapsed to the ground he reached the Reaper he had previously targeted and put his fist through the torso, his armored hand easily smashing aside the broken plate of the machine's chest. The Reaper bowed over the Q-Rex's arm, its power flow disrupted. The Q-Rex was quick to move on as the other Reapers brought their weapons around attempting to fire on Tommy, but his Zord proved too fast, managing to stay ahead of their targeters.

Ultra Zord slashed at Hephaestus as the foul contraption blocked again, sparks showering the ground as the two weapons ground against one another. Ultra Zord managed to push Hephaestus back before moving in again to strike. Once again, however, the behemoth managed to block, despite the reduction to his mobility. Ultra Zord suddenly shifted its weight pushing Hephaestus to the right before bringing up the left leg and delivering a roundhouse to the side of the monster. Hephaestus tumbled to the ground off to the Ultra Zord's right but was quick to scurry to its feet as the War Zord turned to face it.

"We've got company from the east," Billy said.

"Show me," Jason replied.

The translucent visual washed over their perceptions allowing only a vague image of Hephaestus to remain behind the display. On the hill to their right several objects were rising over the ridge. Their bodies were spherical; the lower third had unfolded into a series of six legs. On the main body weapons had unfolded across the entire surface providing a mobile platform with a good balance of energy and projectile weaponry. The head was a tower that had risen from the upper body, part of the sphere still rested on top, the over hang offering an added degree of protection.

Before Billy could begin to analyze their abilities the machines had commenced firing sending a firestorm raining down on the two titans. Both the Ultra Zord and Hephaestus were struck to the ground by the heavy volley of weapon fire. The attack was devastating, super heating the armor before blasting it apart with explosive warheads. The Ranger's visions went red as the feedback system showed heavy damage to the armor at multiple points.

"We can't survive another attack like that!" Billy reported.

"Tommy, get out of here," Jason ordered as the neural link flickered, flashing his mind between the Zord's sensory input and his own. "Let Zedd's machines fight these things."

"What about you?" Tommy asked.

"One way or the other the Zord isn't going to make it; we'll try and take down Hephaestus." Jason replied.

"The armor on the chest is the weakest," Billy replied.

"We only have a few seconds before the next volley of fire." Adam relayed.

The Reapers had already disengaged from the Q-Rex and were spreading out to combat the new threat. Tommy took advantage of the distraction and reverted to his dinosaur mode before charging toward the cityscape.

Billy diverted additional power to the Ultra Zord's legs causing the massive machine to spring forward suddenly, its sword pointed toward the heavily damaged armor on the chest of the war machine as the war machines on the hill lit up in a flash as their second barrage was discharged. Hephaestus lashed out with his own weapon as the two giants speared each other through the chest. Hephaestus lurched as the Ultra Sword pierced through the armored coffin destroying what little remained of Finster, the Ultra Zord's body crumpling around the monster's weapon as internal systems were ripped in half.

The neural interface faded as the main power was lost; the cockpit was bathed red in the glow of emergency lighting. Klaxons began to sound and lights flashed warning of another incoming attack.

"Eject!" Jason shouted.

The Rangers activated their ejection systems as the two titans were consumed in the flames of the second strike, their slouched forms still clutching their weapons, locked in their death poses.

Lokar looked around the empty streets to the slave district. The ground was lined with corpses, the dismembered remains of the strange creatures that had appeared in the capital nearly an hour ago mixed with the dismembered limbs of Quantrons and human slaves. Fire pits dotted the landscape where Putties had fallen, their hard stone bodies dissected as if they were no more resilient than paper. Though he wished all these strange beasts had been destroyed, he knew many had simply escaped into the surrounding city. Lokar ripped a head from one of the corpses looking into the lifeless eyes. Tentacles hung from the jaw-line with mandibles like shears projecting from the back of the head before the long dog-like mouth. The flesh was thick and hard, some form of armored scales, what were these abominations? Had someone created these beasts?

"Lokar this is Astronema, do you copy?" her voice came over the com interrupting his thoughts.

"I can hear you," Lokar responded.

"There is a large army moving in from the west, we saw it on our way down."

"Things are far more dire than that," Lokar replied. "Someone has called forth the undead, it is only a matter of time before this whole area is consumed with the fallen corpses of those we slaughtered."

"I'm in the palace now mobilizing as many Quantrons as we can spare, can you gather any forces?"

"I will bring forth an army of Putties and move to attack the army to the west, but see to it that the gate is guarded, I have a feeling it will become the focal point of this attack."

"Understood," Astronema replied as the com went dead.

Lokar dropped the head letting it hit the ground with a sickening thud. He looked around for a moment as an unnatural wind began to stir; his eyes began to glow with a deep malevolence. Then with a loud scream the earth shook as tens of thousands of Putties began to rise from the ground, their white granite bodies caked with black soot. Folding his hands into his robe he began to walk toward the west, the Putties following with him as the echo of their footfalls rang in the desolate crater.

Goldar touched down at the foot of the bridge leading to the main gate. Astronema and Ecliptor were marching toward him from the Palace accompanied by thousands of Quantrons with more still pouring from the main gate.

"Astronema," Goldar said with a shallow bow.

"It appears you were able to stop the insurgents here," she said looking around at the flaming wreckage that was scattered over the area, the body of Cyclopsis still lay intact in a now open area several blocks away.

"Yes," he growled, "But it was not easy, they were well prepared."

"It is far worse than you know," Ecliptor said coldly.

"What do you mean?" Goldar asked.

"The Dark Fortress was lost because Vexacus betrayed us, he destroyed the reactor," Astronema replied. "Though he paid for his betrayal,"

"Good," Goldar snarled.

"We have a new problem however," Astronema began. "A large army is moving in from the west, at least two hundred thousand strong, and there could be more on the way."

"Let them come," Goldar said; the bloodlust in his eyes growing.

"They will," Astronema replied. "We have to fortify the gate."

Goldar nodded in response.

"My Empress, I am going to scout ahead and see if I can discern the nature of our enemy," Ecliptor replied.

"Right," Astronema replied with a nod.

The Mega Wing unleashed a salvo of missiles into the side of a medium class warship as it raced by. Andros followed closely behind peppering the ship with laser fire as plumes of flame erupted from the side of the ship as the payload from Zhane's attack was spent.

"They don't seem too interested in us," Rocky commented.

"I think they're all focused on The Machina right now," Andros replied grimly. "And I hate to say it, but we're not giving them much of a reason to concern themselves with us. The Mega Wing and the Astro Mega Ship are technically light strike cruisers, and most of the smaller craft have already been destroyed."

"So what do we do?" Rocky asked.

"We just make sure these two fleets stay balanced," Andros replied as the forward screen erupted in a wash of light as a warship was speared through with a battery of laser fire; exploding in a sphere of radiant fire. "As best we can,"

Deviot stood on the bridge staring out into the beautiful carnage before him. The darkness of space was alive with the fiery death cries of hundreds of ships as countless causalities mounted on both sides.

"Commander," one of the Quantrons reported. "Fleet strength has been reduced to seventy-three percent."

"And what of the Machine Empire?" he asked.

"Fleet is holding at seventy-six," the Quantron replied.

"Identify their strongest points," Deviot ordered.

"The Machina and the Megalodon," the Quantron replied. "These ships comprise twelve percent and three percent of remaining fleet strength."

"We need to break The Machina while we still have the strength to do so," Deviot said. "Signal the fleet to prepare an opening for us and contact Trakeena aboard the Khepri, between her vessel and the Black Nebula we should be able to cripple The Machina."

"Transmission sent," the Quantron replied.

Several Quantrons marched down a corridor heading for the main hall to join up with the remaining Quantron forces. As they passed Ryan emerged from the shadows and began to quietly make his way into the palace. He had tried to push further in through the shadows, but had found a powerful barrier barring his way. Diabolico had warned him that there were those who served Lord Zedd with powerful arcanum that could outstrip his own powers. He tried not to focus on the setback, he had made it into the palace and that was sufficient.

As planned the others had drawn nearly all troops out of the palace, now it was up to him to get passed Lord Zedd and secure some of the powerful relics he had stored away, but first he had to locate them.

Coming around a corner he suddenly found himself confronted by a pair of Quantrons, obviously part of the guard that had not been called out. Before either machine could react he drew a black dagger from his belt, similar in form to the Dragon Dagger, yet it lacked the icon on the hilt, and decapitated one before spinning passed it and slamming his weapon up under the jaw of the other. The two machines fell forward, the shadow swallowing them up before they hit the ground.

"Impressive," a female voice replied from the darkness.

Ryan spun around looking for the source, but he could see nothing.

"So you must be the mysterious Green Ranger," the voice called out again. "So who are you? Joshua Raine? Or someone else?" the voice asked fading seductively on the last syllable.

Ryan hurled a bolt of black light in the direction the voice came from. The energy struck the wall exploding in a burst of purple before fading into the darkness of the corridor.

"Well I guess if you won't answer I'll just have to pull your helmet off and see for myself," the voice said.

Ryan suddenly felt pressure on the sides of his head. With a quick spin he lashed out in a wide arc around him. His arm made contact with something behind him and he heard a soft cry as that object was knocked into the wall.

"So you're just invisible," Ryan mused lunging at the section of wall with a punch.

Unfortunately the individual had already moved and his fist struck the wall with a dulled thud. Ryan quickly spun around trying to peer through the darkness for anything that appeared out of place.

Without warning a point of red light raced at him out of the darkness. He failed to move in time, but was fortunate to have the attack strike his shield, deflecting harmlessly into a wall. Ryan sunk into the shadow, an abundant resource in the dank confine of Zedd's Palace.

"Well that certainly takes all the fun out of it," the voice called out.

Suddenly Ryan emerged from behind the voice, stepping out through the darkness and knocked the person to the ground with a hard roundhouse kick. There was a crackle of red energy that coursed over the dark form as the cloaking system failed for a single moment.

Ryan was quick to fling another bolt of energy at the wall, but the phantom had already moved.

"So, you're some kind of Ranger as well," Ryan replied submerging once more into the darkness.

There was no reply. She must have gotten wise to his tactics. He needed to end this quickly and carry out his mission.

"It's obvious that our powers allow us to deceive the senses and that we're better at being assassins," Ryan said remaining concealed in the shadows, again there was no response. "Of course we both have better things to be doing right now, so how about we drop the pretense," Ryan emerged from the darkness, his back to the wall. "And just fight,"

"You know you can't really trust me," the girl said, seemingly materializing from out of a haze.

"That goes both ways," Ryan replied.

Without another word the two Rangers leapt at one another. Ryan tried to attack with his dagger, but Aisha was quick to catch his arm and wrenched the weapon free from his hand kicking it to the corner as it hit the ground.

"Let's see how you do now in a fair fight," Aisha said throwing a strong side kick into Ryan chest sending him flying back.

Ryan hit the ground and quickly jumped to his feet as Aisha came in again with a hard punch to his face. He managed to lean back, narrowly avoiding the strike before coming back with an uppercut, sending Aisha to the ground. Before she could rise Ryan threw another bolt of dark energy at her. Aisha was quick to extend her hand, the bolt of energy exploding against her palm as if it had just struck a wall.

Ryan was distracted by the feat for a moment and Aisha was quick to sweep his legs out from under him. As Ryan hit the ground Aisha leapt on top of him and threw a hard hook across his face. Ryan's head jerked as the force of the impact caused his helmet to crack slightly. Aisha pulled back to strike again, but Ryan suddenly sunk into the ground and vanished.

Before Aisha could react Ryan flew back at her from the side and plunged his dagger into the control box on her chest. There was a spark of light as something shorted out, but her morphed form remained. Aisha was quick to knee Ryan in the stomach before delivering a roundhouse to his bowed head, sending him into the wall. Walking toward him she pulled the dagger from her chest plate and sheathed it in her belt.

"You thought maybe that was my morpher?" she mused, standing over him.

"No," Ryan replied as he sunk into the floor. "I was hoping it controlled your invisibility."

Aisha cursed under her breath as a hard kick landed against her head from out of the darkness flinging her to the left before another kick was launched from the floor knocking her body to the right. In a spin she collapsed on the floor, her visor cracking against the stone as a fist slammed into the back of her head.

Aisha tried to pull out the dagger, but found it was missing. Suddenly a hard knee was smashed into her back sending pain through her whole body.

"It's amazing how often people underestimate shadows," Ryan said rotating the dagger in his hands. "Unfortunately, it seems you learned this lesson too late."

Ryan suddenly leapt to his feet spinning around as he caught movement in the reflection of Aisha's black gloss helmet. As he turned he found himself face to face with Treacheron. The insect swung out with its sword attempting to decapitate Ryan. Ryan was quick to duck under the attack and countered, stabbing his dagger into the center of Treacheron's chest. The insect warrior staggered forward, claws leapt from the chest catching Ryan completely by surprise; the scythed hands piercing into his sides.

Blood sprayed from Ryan's mouth and dribbled down his chin as he fell on one knee. In that instant Aisha had stepped up behind him and took hold of his head, with a quick jerk she heard the spine snap. As she let go the body fell to the ground. She looked over at Treacheron, but the insect was already dead, his limbs curling around the body as he began to dissolve.

Ryan's body demorphed in a flash of dark green light. Aisha knelt by his corpse and pulled the scythed limbs from his side as she rolled the body over. She reached down to where the Morpher was, still attached to his belt. With a quick tug she ripped it free and placed it in a pouch on her belt. This would certainly make an excellent trophy for her master.

"This way!" Diabolico motioned directing his kin.

"But that is not the way to the main gate." Olympius protested.

"Let our minions deal with the gate," Diabolico snarled. "This way lies great power."

"I feel it too," Vypra replied. "But it appears to be moving toward us,"

"If someone has this power I think we can compel them to relinquish it," Loki growled tightening his grip on his giant battle axe.

"Very well," Olympius said. "But I feel this is a bad idea."

Master Vile and Rito stood on the roof of one of the city's buildings watching the demons' armies marching through the streets below. Many Kimera were already joining up with the new ground forces after having dispatched most of the Putties and Quantrons within the city, though there was no doubt that Zedd would have plenty more on the way.

The undead had still not risen to the surface, but it was only a matter of time now, who knew how deep they had been buried under this blight of a city.

"Father, look," Rito said pointing toward their advanced forces.

Master Vile looked down to see the demons moving off toward the south while their forces continued to march on toward the palace gates.

"They must sense it," Vile mused.

"What?" Rito asked.

"Can you not feel it Rito?" Vile paused for a moment as if experiencing the sensation again. "The Zeo Crystal."

"It is not in the palace?" Rito asked astonished.

"No," Vile replied. "It appears someone has taken it from Lord Zedd."

"Then we can not allow those fiends to possess it," Rito said as he began to move forward.

"Calm yourself Rito," Vile said placing a hand on his shoulder. "You shall lead our armies to the gates of Zedd's Palace. I will follow our allies and see to it that the Zeo Crystal ends up where it belongs."

"What if they are able to defeat the one who carries it and take it for themselves?" Rito asked.

"Then I will kill whichever of them remains," Vile replied coldly.

"What are they up to?" Trip asked watching several heavy cruisers pushing forward through the Machine Empire lines.

"Looks like they're opening up a corridor for attack," Trey replied as a discharge from his particle array tore a deep gash in the side of a Machine Empire Cog ship setting hundreds of Cogs adrift in space.

"You think they're moving to attack The Machina?" Trip asked.

"It would be prudent at this point," Trey replied. "If their fleet strength becomes too diminished they will be unable to stop it. I will notify Andros and Zhane of this development."

The Black Nebula pushed ahead, its engines ablaze as it accelerated through the void. Below it, in its wake, the Khepri glided silently. Deviot watched from the front port as his strike group cut a swathe through the Machine Empire ships. The heavy cruiser's hulls were already pocked with pits of fire, the shields long since failed. For these ships there would be no return.

Their attack was a simple two pronged strike; the Black Nebula would strike from above while the Khepri would strike below targeting the anti-gravity drives and engines while the Black Nebula attacked the bridge. Both were prepared to sacrifice their ships to accomplish this task, though Deviot found Trakeena's willingness to engage in such a plan a little unnerving.

While Deviot might sacrifice the Black Nebula he had no intention of sacrificing his own life. A Velocifighter was already prepped for launch in the upper hanger. All he had to do was make it to hyperspace before the Black Nebula was destroyed, until then the massive war ship would shield him. Though he hoped it would not come to that. It was possible that the concentrated firepower of the Black Nebula could destroy the bridge of The Machina if only they could make it through the forward shields and survive the heavy bombardment that was certain to erupt from the ship's deck once they had. If there were another way he would have preferred to send other ships to make the run, but nothing else in the fleet was a match for the horrendous firepower of The Machina.

Coming in at full speed would hopefully be enough to smash through the defensive shields and keep the heavier capital weapons from locking on. It was a risk, but even in his desire to preserve his own life Deviot knew that if The Machina was not stopped they would all be wiped out. The Machine Empire was not known for taking prisoners, and what happened to those they did take was a fate worse than death.

The forward display went white for a moment as the lead cruiser's reactor exploded sending fragments of the hull and other internal components too sturdy to be vaporized out in every direction.

"The Malevolence has been destroyed," The Quantron relayed. "Heavy damage reported on the Tempest and the Warpath, the Omen and the Harbinger are advancing to the front to provide relief for the other two cruisers."

"Very good," Deviot replied. "Continue to accelerate, divert all available power to the engines and the forward shields."

"As you command," another Quantron responded.

Josh leapt into the air barely avoiding the shriveled hand that burst through the ground attempting to take hold of his foot.

"They're here," Josh said pulling the ornate Katana from its scabbard and falling into a fighting stance.

"Don't waste time with these things," Zordon cautioned. "You must get to the palace."

Zordon extended his staff sending a trail of fire blazing down the street. Limbs lit like torches showing where the undead were beginning their emergence.

"At least it took longer than you expected," Kimberly said weaving around the burning limbs that continued to rise from the ground.

"I think the rooftops might now be more convenient," Zordon said as a burning hand attempted to grab his foot.

"It will expose us more," Josh replied jumping over another group of flailing limbs. "But I think you may be right."

The three Rangers leapt from the street to the top of the nearest building.

"What is that?!" Kimberly asked pointing toward the west.

Josh turned to look. "Those would be the armies of the demons we fought awhile back."

"I thought we killed them." Kimberly said.

"All but one," Josh replied. "Someone must have found a way to resurrect them."

"We must hurry," Zordon said. "I sense danger approaching."

Josh nodded as the three of them began to leap from building to building drawing closer to the palace now looming above the black horizon. A burning glow from the east bathed the palace in a sinister fiery light. Josh could only hope the others were okay, he knew they would all accomplish their roles, but he knew none of their fates.

Trey and Trip unleashed another barrage of attacks over the surface of a Cog ship, the bridge exploded in a red plume of light. It was unfortunate that such ships had a vast network of control nodes and such damage only reduced the effectiveness of the network.

Most of the Machine Empire fleet had now reached orbit over the planet and had begun deploying landing craft. Only The Machina along with a modest escort had remained in high orbit over the moon. With The Machina's shear power and long range striking ability it made sense to remain on the outskirts of the battle where its firepower could be brought to bare against multiple targets.

Trey released a salvo of missiles into the underbelly of another Cog ship. The thousands of warheads quickly tore the vessel apart scattering debris into space. Trey looked down at his display, only two salvos left.

Overhead the Mega Wing and Astro Mega Ship flew by, heading in the opposite direction. The laser fire from the Mega Ship's turrets ripped through a cluster of fighters engaged in a dogfight, indiscriminately destroying several of them.

Suddenly Pyramidas shook as a stray shot from a plasma battery struck the left side of the ship. The internal screens went red showing heavy damage to the main power relay. Power to the engines dropped below twenty percent.

"I'm hit," Trey reported. "I don't think I can recover from this one,"

"Eject," Andros said. "We'll pick you up."

"No," Trey said. "I'm going to try and land Pyramidas; it could still be of some use before this is over."

"Alright," Andros conceded. "But if it becomes a problem,"

"I promise I'll get out." Trey replied. "Good luck to the rest of you."

Trey locked onto the vast number of fighters swarming through space and fired off his remaining salvos. Tens of thousands of missiles flew from Pyramidas like angry hornets from a nest, riddling the void with radiant starbursts as the giant craft fell toward the Earth. Wisps of flame streaked over the surface as the War Zord began reentry.

"Good luck to you," Andros said pausing for a moment. "Trip, form up on me we still have a job to do."

"I'm coming around," Trip replied.

Plasma fire burst from the rifles of the Quantrons as limbs were torn from the hordes of the undead that were advancing upon the palace's bridge. Goldar lead a charge of Quantrons with Battle Blades into another group of undead advancing from the North, their blades cutting through the thick mass of rotted limbs as the undead continued to press against one another advancing without thought and more rose up through the ground.

Goldar swung his sword in a wide arc tearing through several of the horrors as the smell of rotting flesh filled his nostrils. If not for his blood lust he would have gagged on the rancid fumes that emanated from the slain corpses.

Behind him Astronema walked forward into the tide of death, the tendrils on her helmet whipping out furiously, punching through the necks of the undead and rending their heads from their torsos returning their bodies once again to a state of inanimate decay.

Quantrons continued to advance crushing the lifeless bodies of the fallen in to putrid puddle of oozing gore beneath their footfalls. Yet even as they advanced cutting down hundreds of the creatures more and more undead moved forward and as many Quantrons were pulled beneath the waves of desiccated flesh and torn asunder by the supernatural strength imbued to the walking corpses.

Goldar looked back to see the lines being pushed back as the flood of undead grew thicker.

"Fall back to the bridge!" Goldar ordered. "Force a bottle neck, blades to the front, rifles to the rear, form firing lines!"

Goldar slashed into the wall of undead as the Quantron began to fall back onto the bridge, many had already taken up firing position and were attempting to thin the masses that were circling the crater moving toward the choke point. Even as Goldar cut through the mass of necrotized flesh more pushed through as the destroyed bodies were trampled beneath the constant deluge.

Suddenly the space before him grew dark as if a black mist had spontaneously formed. Before he knew what was happening a bone white sword had burst from the mist striking at his neck. He was quick to knock it aside as a warrior dressed in bone white armor stepped from the darkness trailing a midnight blue cape. The undead began to close around him cutting Goldar off.

The sinew around his boney face curled into a sadistic smile. "Hello Goldar, so nice to see you again."

Goldar cut deep into the hedge of undead warriors that separated the two, his mind searching for where he knew this undead monster from.

"You really don't remember me," Rito said seeing the lack of recognition.

Goldar looked into those piercing red eyes as he dispatched several more of the undead, oblivious to the legions that had surrounded him and were slowly pressing in. Suddenly a spark of recognition lit in his eyes and his countenance darkened.

"Rito," he snarled, that single word dripping with venom.

"It's unfortunate you could not be persuaded to join us and fight against Lord Zedd," Rito said. "You were always a strong warrior."

"Monster!" Goldar roared, cutting through the undead minions with new fervor.

Undead began to fall to the left and right as Goldar hacked and slashed through the wall in a blind rage driving the army of corpses back. Rito smiled at his effort, but knew it was futile, flesh and blood had its limit and even Goldar could not overcome it.

"Goldar what's going on?" Astronema asked over the com, but no reply came except fierce snarls as Goldar continued to exert all his effort to reach Rito.

Astronema stood on one of the raised columns that lined the length of the bridge looking out over her Quantrons and the mass of undead warriors that pressed into the bottleneck at the bridge's head. She could see Goldar hacking through the warriors; it was both astounding and frightening to see him carve through the mass of corpses taking nearly a dozen of the foul creatures with every swipe of his blade. Then she saw the strange undead warrior stand amid the torrent of the undead. Bone white armor gleamed in the reflective light of the plasma bursts. She was uncertain who this creature was, but if he was anything like other Summoners they had faced it was possible this legion of undead would perish if he was destroyed, or at the very least be weakened if this was the work of multiple Summoners.

With a cry Astronema leapt from the pillar and into the fray landing behind Goldar. She ducked under a strike from him before Goldar realized she had joined him. Without wasting her breath in a rebuke she lashed out with her tendrils cutting down ten of the warriors before swinging her spear out in an arc cutting the heads from countless corpses. Slowly they began to push the undead back, closing the distance between themselves and the undead warrior.

Rito smirked and stepped in, the corpses parting before him. Rito's blade met Goldar's as the Fear Cat glared into the eyes of his former compatriot. Their weapons pressed against each other, grinding back and forth as the two tried to press the other back.

Astronema could immediately see the wisdom in the warrior's stratagem as the undead began to close in around them now that Goldar's fierce wrath was diverted. Astronema was quick to thrust her spear at Rito's chest, but Rito merely stepped back, pressing against the wall of his minions as Goldar stepped forward keeping his blade locked with Rito's.

"Snap out of it!" Astronema yelled as she cut down another group of undead.

Goldar seemed not to hear her as he pressed harder against Rito's blade, Rito's body slowly sinking back into his advancing hordes.

"Focus!" Astronema shouted backhanding Goldar in the head.

Goldar snarled as his trance was broken. "What?!" Goldar roared suddenly impatient with her.

"Duck!" She ordered.

Goldar was quick to drop to the ground as Astronema twirled her double tipped spear around her creating a circle around the two warriors as the undead were cut back.

Rito stepped in bringing his weapon down on Goldar, but Astronema's tendrils leapt up spearing into his arm slowing his attack and allowing Goldar to roll clear. The next series of blows glanced off his armor cutting narrow gashes in the bone white material.

Goldar rose to his feet and sliced through several feet of the undead wall.

"Who is that?" Astronema asked whipping her tendrils around spearing several more undead as Rito collected himself.

"Rito, he's Rita's brother," Goldar said charging toward him.

Astronema leapt into the air and spun sideways as her tendrils lashed out, picking off the undead that tried to advance beyond the edge of the newly established circle. As she landed she cut through several more of the abominations; bifurcating their bodies in a spray of thick dark blood as rancid liquefying viscera poured from their torsos in clumps. Goldar swung at Rito, their weapons glancing off one another.

"Will these things die if he does?" she asked thrusting her spear at Rito who side stepped as he caught another strike from Goldar with his own blade.

"I'm not sure," Goldar spat as he struck again at Rito only to have his blow parried.

Astronema lashed out with another tendril, this time however Rito caught the strand above the blade and pulled Astronema forward smashing her into Goldar. As Goldar staggered off balance Rito drew back his sword and ran the blade through Goldar's left shoulder plate, piercing the flesh beneath. There was a slight grimace from the Fear Cat as he thrust his own blade into Rito's breast plate punching through the armor and sinking deep into his chest.

Goldar roared with a sense of satisfaction as he kicked Rito in the stomach and pulled his blade back. The undead warrior staggered back for a moment before snapping straight up with a cruel smile on his face.

"That might have been a fatal blow, if I were still alive!" Rito said charging in.

Goldar met Rito's blade as Astronema cut down several more undead trying desperately to keep the circle from closing in and swallowing them. Goldar brought his knee up slamming it into Rito's chest and reaching out to grasp his gorget throwing him to the ground. Goldar stepped over his prone body and slashed through a patch of undead sending a spray of pungent viscera into the air. As the diseased fluid rained down on them, Goldar's sword ignited in a fiery blaze, with a furious slash he cut into a clump of corpses, fire immediately consuming the bodies in a horrendous inferno. The blaze quickly spread to the tightly packed corpses lighting the landscape in an intense glow.

"No!" Rito shouted coming to his feet.

"It's over Rito," Goldar snarled landing a left hook across the necromancers jaw.

Rito stumbled back grasping his weapon with both hands. Astronema watched as the fiery bodies continued to press in.

"They're not stopping," she said with a tone of unease.

"Just kill some, create a wall of fire," Goldar said focusing on Rito.

Astronema lashed out with tendrils and spear, cutting several corpses in half while others exploded in clouds of fire and burning embers as the pestilent fumes escaped from the bloated bodies and ignited. As their remains fell to the ground she could see that it continued to burn. Beyond the flaming masses she could see others that had backed away, if she could kill those around her they would be safe for a short time, certainly enough to deal with Rito.

"Send suppression units to the head of the bridge," Astronema ordered over the com.

If they could establish a blockade in the same manner at the palace they would be able to hold off these abominations.

"It shall be done," the voice replied back to her.

"I suppose you expect me to surrender?" Rito said looking at Goldar with a mix of respect and hatred in his eyes.

"I expect you to die!" Goldar roared rushing forward, the flames on the blade flaring out as if fed by his rage.

Rito blocked the first strike; the blades collided in a flash of light as flames flew into the air like drops of rain. Rito directed Goldar's sword to the side as he reached out with his left hand and fired a blast of dark energy from his palm, the shadowy flames blackening the side of Goldar's resplendent armor and knocking him back slightly.

"You should have stuck to sorcery instead of swordplay witch," Goldar snarled as he came back with an upward slash.

Rito stepped back, the tip of Goldar's blade grazing his chest plate, the flames licking at his chin. Rito then ducked below the strike and slashed across Goldar's midsection. Goldar stepped back drawing his stomach in, scarcely avoiding the strike. Regaining his footing Goldar brought his sword down pinning Rito's blade to the ground before kicking him in the chest and sending him back into his burning minions. Rito's cape suddenly burst into flames and was quickly cast off, fluttering to the ground like the burning wings of a moth.

Goldar thrust his blade forward attempting to skewer the necromancer, but Rito evaded and slashed at Goldar's right arm cutting through the armor and into the flesh. Goldar stepped back as dark blood oozed from his armor plating. The pain in both his arm and shoulder was intense, far worse than it should be, but he put it out of his mind.

"Seems you are the one who should abandon swordplay," Rito mocked.

Goldar's eyes opened wide as he stared into the marred face of the one who was once his master, the brother of the witch that imprisoned his race, his ire rose at the insult. With a roar he charged in, slashing furiously. Rito blocked the first strike and then the second. As Goldar attacked a third time he evaded and stabbed at his chest, but Goldar was quick to recover from his strike and parried Rito's sword to the side.

With each strike Rito could see the rage growing in the Fear Cat's eyes and feel the strength with which he landed his blows grow more intense. Rito attacked again bringing his sword down in a slash, but Goldar batted the strike away with his left arm as their gauntlets clashed. Goldar swung again, Rito jumped back narrowly avoiding a blow that could have torn his head free from his body.

Goldar moved in again with a slash, which Rito blocked and held. Rito tried to summon a shroud to conceal his movement, but before he could even recite the first word on the incantation the Fear Cat had slammed an elbow into the side of his head knocking him back.

Goldar rushed forward swinging at Rito, but the necromancer moved and Goldar's blade clove through a group of undead sending over half a dozen to the ground.

Rito charged in slashing wildly at Goldar, but Goldar was quick to parry the first and second strike before slamming his blade against the third. Rito swayed to the side as Goldar brought his sword down, his fangs clenched in a menacing grin as he sliced through Rito's arms. The necromancer watched in horror as his limbs fell to the ground, sword still clutched by the severed hands.

Before he could contemplate his next move, Goldar had slashed up from the ground cutting deep into his chest. Pain surged through Rito's body as flames tore through the inside of his armor setting his necrotized flesh ablaze. In agony he dropped to his knees raising his head to the sky in a scream. Goldar roared his defiance as he raised his sword and plunged it down through Rito's agape mouth and through his body, staking him to the ground. Goldar stepped back, his seething anger subsiding as his chest heaved in deep breathes.

"And stay dead this time," Goldar said watching the body burn.

Astronema was quick to move around Goldar and cut down the last of the undead that had not already collapsed in the flames. She almost pitied Rito for a moment; it was a dangerous thing indeed to be the sole focus of Goldar's rage. The two warriors stood in the burning circle watching Rito's body burn to ashes. At bridge the suppression forces had arrived with inferno cannons and were cutting a blazing gouge into the mass of undead, driving them back.

"We are within range," The Quantron reported.

The spectacle of The Machina loomed larger than life in the forward port of the Black Nebula. The Harbinger exploding in a bright starburst as the firepower of the great beast came to bear on it, the Warpath having been destroyed only moments before.

"Strike force, veer off, full broadsides!" Deviot ordered.

"Transmission sent,"

Deviot watched as the remaining two cruisers turned to the left and the right of The Machina, the sides of the ships lit brilliantly as a heavy barrage of weapon fire erupted from the broadside armaments showering the forward shield of The Machina in a torrent of explosive energy. The hailstorm of fire continued to pour from the two ships, weapons safeties overridden in a desperate gambit, as the Black Nebula burst passed them on a collision course with the clockwork titan.

Return fire exploded from the deck of The Machina tearing the Omen and Tempest asunder in a grizzly violent flood of plasma bursts and torpedoes. The Black Nebula continued forward, the explosions behind it blinding the targeting arrays of The Machina's guns as the light from the twin fusion reactors expended the last of their energy.

"Full power to forward shields, charge lance batteries," Deviot ordered.

"Power diverted, lances are charged." Another Quantron replied.

Deviot held for a moment as the weapon arrays on the deck below began to reacquire the Black Nebula's signature, the forward shield of The Machina was a mere two kilometers off the bow.

"Fire!" Deviot shouted.

Plasma burst forth from the forward weapon batteries followed closely by a hail of torpedoes that struck the forward shield moments before the Black Nebula rammed into it. The flagship of the Thirty-seventh shuddered for a moment as it pushed through the shields of The Machina, the engines reigniting to make up the inertia lost in the transition.

"Lance batteries target the main tower, all remaining weapons strafe the deck, launch fighters and keep the forward and ventral shields at full!"

Heavy fire was exchanged as the Black Nebula raced over the gun deck of The Machina heading for the fortress sized tower that was the command seat of the magnificent vessel. Plumes of flame jumped from the front of The Machina's Palace and the underbelly of the Black Nebula as the weapons mutually ripped apart the super structure of the vessels. Even the Black Nebula's shields were of little use against the vast amount of firepower that surged from The Machina's deck.

"Shields are failing, damage to the command tower is insufficient," the Quantron reported.

"All power to the shields and engines," Deviot replied calmly turning away from the forward port. "Prepare to ram the tower."

"Affirmative," the Quantron replied acknowledging the order.

"Vessel detected on a collision course," one of the Quantrons relayed.

"What?!" Deviot shouted turning suddenly, "Evade!"

The Quantron was unable to reply to Deviot's order as the Megalodon flew at the Black Nebula from the starboard side spearing through the ship. The force of the Megalodon knocked the warship off its heading, turning it to port. Fire leapt from hatches and hangers as the Black Nebula was consumed in a fireball, drifting to the outer edge of The Machina's shields before the weapon batteries destroyed it, lighting the void with the nova of its three fusion reactors. Rings of energy radiated out in several directions as the ship was vaporized along with the Megalodon.

"You see," Mondo said. "They are simply not a match for us,"

The Royal Family of the Machine Empire watched the vessel explode with unmoved expressions. Queen Machina stood next to King Mondo's command throne on the left with Prince Gasket and Archerina standing to the right. Below them at the tactical station Klank watched the Cogs at their posts and monitored the battle.

"Well executed father," Gasket replied watching the light fade, the last vestige of the enemy's flagship.

Black mist began to seep out onto the bridge as General Havoc stepped through the Nether to join the King.

"Ah General Havoc, excellent work," King Mondo replied.

"I don't need your gratitude," he said coldly. "I'm just here for what you promised me,"

"Of course," Mondo nodded, "Gasket?"

"Yes father," Gasket replied extending a small cylindrical object.

Havoc reached out and took the object from Gasket.

"Present that when you arrive at the Matrix Prime and they will construct whatever you wish as compensation." Mondo said.

"Then I'll take my leave," Havoc replied.

Suddenly The Machina shook. Damage reports began to flood in as the Cogs began chattering in their binary language. Havoc quickly stepped back into the Nether, happy that he already had his compensation and had no need to remain.

"What is going on?" Mondo demanded.

"Another ship sire," Klank reported. "It seems to have slipped passed our sensors while we were occupied with the Black Nebula, it might have used the explosion of the two cruisers as cover."

"On screen!" Mondo demanded.

The screen lit up showing the lithe form of the Khepri racing under The Machina, its agile form avoiding most of the firepower directed at it. The attacks that did hit were mostly against the frilled wings of the ship which seemed to do little to hamper it.

The Khepri opened fire with its ion batteries tearing open another support gravity drive as it raced toward the main drive, a massive saucer shaped projection located on the aft half of the ship.

"Stop that ship!" Mondo roared.

"We have no options left sire," Klank replied apologetically.

"Then eject the drive!" Mondo ordered.

"But sire we will be dragged down by the moon's gravity!" Klank replied.

"And if we don't we risk more damage to the ship if it explodes, now do it!" Mondo bellowed.

"Yes sire," Klank replied as he began issuing the binary orders to the Cogs.

Mondo watched the image on the display as the Khepri closed quickly on the disk beneath the ship. Suddenly the wings exploded and the ship was propelled at the disk like a projectile. Cogs chattered warnings of eminent collision.

The Machina shook as the Khepri plowed into the gravity drive, the massive engine exploded in magnificent burst of flames damaging secondary systems as the device failed catastrophically; the blazing discharge sending fragments through the hull of the ship like shrapnel.

On the bridge of the Khepri Trakeena smiled as the flames engulfed her. The spongy flesh over her exoskeletal face peeled away revealing a very different creature. Behind her Furio also burned away in a similar fashion, his face reverting to that of his commander. The two insects stood proud as their bodies were destroyed in the burning cataclysm of the Khepri's final moments, they knew they were the salvation of the colony and the Vora.

"Damage report!" Mondo bellowed.

"We're caught in the moon's gravity, fires on multiple decks, main weapons offline," Klank began to stutter as the information coming to him from the Cogs was more than he could relay.

"I think we should evacuate," Queen Machina suggested.

"I guess we have no choice." Mondo replied. "Klank prep the battleship for launch,"

"At once sire," Klank replied.

"Are we going to join the war on the surface father?" Gasket asked looking out into the vastness of space before them.

"Yes, and we must see that Zedd pays for this indignity." Mondo replied glaring at the darkened jewel in the void.

Ecliptor sat concealed on a rooftop as the armies passed below him. He was not sure where these strange creatures had come from; he had not seen their kind since Lord Zedd sent forth the demons and Trakeena to occupy the Rangers, but they were all supposed to be dead. It would appear that their intelligence had been wrong. Ecliptor prepared to contact Astronema to relay his findings, but he paused. Amid the creatures he saw an all too familiar face, the mix of metal and flesh, those burning yellow eyes, Darkonda! It wasn't possible, he was dead, he had seen to it himself.

Ecliptor was quick to prerecord a message and send the data packet. Deactivating his com system he stepped to the edge of the building and drew his weapon pointing it down at the loathsome creature below.

"Darkonda!" he shouted.

Darkonda paused as the army continued to march around him like an endless river of evil. As he caught sight of Ecliptor on the rooftop a grin spread across his face.

"Ecliptor," he said. "I was hoping I would have a chance to settle my score with you."

Darkonda drew his sword and leapt at Ecliptor, his hand extending forward as energy began to crackle around it.

"Come on, it's not much further," Josh said leaping onto the next building.

Zordon and Kimberly leapt over as Josh turned to face them. Suddenly four ominous figures rose from behind him on dragon's wings. Josh seemed to sense them and flipped back, his twin bladed naganata manifesting in his right hand as he landed.

"We have come for the power," Diabolico said pointing his staff toward Zordon as the group lighted upon the rooftop.

"Go," Zordon said aside to Josh and Kimberly.

"We can't leave you alone with these things," Kimberly protested.

"You must be strong Kimberly," Zordon said. "If this is where I am to meet my end I can not change that. You're path however lies on a different road."

Kimberly nodded trying to hold back her fears. Josh nodded in response as his naganata vanished.

"May the power protect you," Josh said as he and Kimberly leapt to an adjacent roof.

Kimberly paused for a moment looking back, before she heard Zordon's voice whisper softly in her mind, "Go, and don't look back,"

Josh and Kimberly began to race off toward the palace. Olympius moved to go after them, but Diabolico placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let them go, he has what we want."

"But that pink one," he began.

"Revenge can wait," Diabolico replied.

Olympius snarled as trace flames vented through his clenched teeth.

"Give us the power," Diabolico repeated.

"I will not," Zordon replied.

"Then we shall take it from you," Diabolico said as Olympius, Vypra, and Loki charged forward.

"You will try," Zordon replied as he stepped out into a wide fighting stance.

Jason pulled himself from the rubble of the building he had landed in. The ejection system had worked, but had engaged less than a second from the impact of the attack. The blast wave had thrown them all clear of the battlefield and into the city, but had come at a small price in the way of personal injury. Jason rotated his shoulder popping it back into place as he looked over his armor; it was covered in small tears and burns, but nothing too serious.

"Guys?" Jason called out.

"Yeah," Billy called back stumbling down some stairs to the ground level. "I'm here."

"Adam, Ashley?" Jason tried again.

Billy activated his com, "Ashley, Adam?"

"I'm alright," Adam responded. "I'm just on the roof,"

"Can you see Ashley?" Jason asked.

"I'm here," Ashley replied coming around the corner.

Adam leapt from the rooftop to join the others on the ground.

"So where do we go from here?" Ashley asked.

"You're not going anywhere," a voice said from behind.

The Rangers spun around as four figures stepped from the shadow of the building, their sinister smiles immediately giving away their identities.

"You can't be here," Billy said. "You're all dead, I saw it happen."

"We're very real, I assure you," Blue replied.

"And this time you have no one to bail you out, and no one to betray us," Red said as his sword manifest in a flash of red light. "Which means there is nothing stopping me from carving a permanent smile into your face."

Jason manifested his own sword as Red charged at him, his body exploding in a flash of golden light as he transformed to his higher morphed state. His blade met with Red's as it exploded into flames, the icons down the blade lighting in a bright red glow.

"This ends now!" Red shouted bearing down on Jason's blade.

The other Psychos cheered as they began to run forward, their weapons forming in bursts of dark, multicolored light, their Ranger counterparts mirroring their actions. The two groups raced toward one another, the battle lines closing until they clashed, energy lashed out like lightning as weapons collided with the rumble of thunder.