Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban, Doctor Who to the BBC, and the submitted characters to WolfsbaneX, SSJ-Jolt (who also designed the Demi-Zords), Gmoney22 and Rye Lee.
~oOo~
The Red Monster Ranger vanished as Rachel opened fire, and her pink lasers slammed into the Moon's surface. She punched the console in frustration, and began to think. It was cold in space, and she shivered a little.
They'd gone back to the Hexagram for sure. To rescue Elandra, she'd need to cut her way inside, like last time. The Rangers had kept the chainsaw sword from their first attack on the Hexagram; it was in the Demi-Zord bay with the other weapons. Rachel turned around. She'd need the Dash Zord to use it—or maybe something larger, since she would be bringing Elandra back. The Demi-Zords didn't have a lot of spare room inside. A Megazord? James wasn't hurt, he could help.
Rachel was slightly surprised when the Zord Bay doors wouldn't open. Maybe they were stuck? She input the security override code and flew inside. The hangar itself looked just the way she'd left it, and Rachel ran further in.
To her surprise, nobody was in sickbay, or their quarters. She headed for the command center. If they were up there, why hadn't they opened the doors for her? Had the virus done something before they could stop it? The doors slid open, and Rachel skidded to a halt in the middle of the room.
The Kronos Cube, or rather its scorched pieces, lay on a shattered and sparking console. The area immediately around it was scorched black, except for what looked like a human silhouette on the floor. Everything else looked normal—though the air smelled like burnt feathers.
"Oh no," Rachel managed. She darted inside and dropped down next to the silhouette, just beginning to panic. It looked like Fischer's. What had happened? Kronos Cube exploding—would that mess with time? Seemed likely.
Rachel quickly checked under all of the consoles, then returned to the elevator. She punched the button and only just waited for the doors to open before darting out to the Rangers' quarters. She hammered on each of the doors in turn, yelling for her teammates. Nobody was there.
Heart hammering, beginning to sweat, Rachel returned to the elevator and dropped to the Zord floor. Nobody was there either. Her voice echoed around, and she climbed up each of the Stellar Zords to check inside it. She wished she knew how to run a scan to just check the entire ship, and decided to ask James to show her how. That is, if he was still alive. No, don't go there, next floor.
The oxygen plant and sickbay were empty, as was engineering. Wheezing, Rachel dropped down against a column and caught her breath. Okay, okay then, she was alone. Hopefully, the guys had been dumped back through time or something—after all, it was the Kronos Cube that had exploded. Seemed likely. But what now?
Elandra had built the Kronos Cube. She could build another one, if Rachel got her out. But how to do that all by herself? Maybe the Blue Monster Ranger would help—grr, what was his name?—but after what had happened with Charlie, Rachel wasn't too sure. She began to get a prickle behind the eyes, and blinked it back.
The engine thrummed all around her, setting her teeth on edge. Rachel got up, and walked back to the elevator. Knowing she was totally alone on the ship made it kind of eerie. Her footsteps and breathing echoed around the huge, not-really-lit room. Rachel got that nasty sensation of being watched by something—or a lot of somethings—lurking in the shadows. She broke into a run, nearly hitting the far side of the elevator. The doors closed, and Rachel swiped her curls out of her face. Her hands shook.
~oOo~
James was picking through the scattered equipment, looking for something he could mess with. Kaiden sat next to Fischer, keeping an eye out in case Master Org or a wild animal showed up. Tony had found the first aid kit and patched pretty much everyone else up, covered up Mr. Evans's body with a sheet, and gone into the woods with another one under his arm. A sudden wail from inside the tent pierced the air.
"Hey, anyone know how to pick up a baby?" Rex called from inside the tent.
"With your hands," James replied, "if possible."
"Ha, ha, ha," Rex said flatly. "I don't want to drop a future Red Ranger on his head, and ASAS training doesn't cover this."
"Neither do computer hacking lessons," James said. He was creating a ring of all the technology he could find, and had gotten a toolbox from somewhere. Right now he was dissecting a small radio.
"Sorry, I know as much as you guys do," Kaiden added. "Does Tony have any siblings? He might know."
"This is getting ridiculous," Rex said. "Okay, let's just try it again." More crying ensued, and then Rex came out of the tent, pinning Cole to his chest with both arms. The baby was turning red in the face from yelling, though he seemed more offended than anything else.
"I think Fischer's coming around," Kaiden said. Sure enough, the hunchback was stirring.
"Rex, can you give me a hand with this?" James called, from his nest of equipment.
"Here, you're not doing anything, nurse the baby," Rex said, passing Cole to Kaiden. The Yellow Ranger gave him a very strange look.
"Aussie slang for hold the baby," James called, and Kaiden's expression cleared up. He wasn't much better than Rex, but at least he was sitting still. Cole began to quiet down.
"Of course, what'd you think I meant?" Rex asked, going over to James.
"In America, nursing the baby means breastfeeding," James said.
"…Ah," Rex said, and sat down. Kaiden cracked up, and James grinned at Rex's back.
Fischer sat up slowly, blinking owlishly. He looked around at the jungle, the camp, and finally at Kaiden. Shaking his head, the hunchback arranged Kaiden's arms so Cole's head rested in the crook of his elbow, and his right hand was under the baby's back. Cole went quiet, and began to suck his thumb.
"How'd you do that?" Kaiden asked.
"I have three grown children, I know how this works," Fischer said. "Where are we?"
"South America, probably somewhere near the Amazon, year 1982," James replied. He grabbed a screwdriver out of Rex's hand and began working on the back panel of another piece. The Red Ranger cuffed him on the arm, and got up muttering about duct tape.
"The Kronos Cube's been shattered. I saw it happen just before I was blasted away," Fischer said.
"So we're stuck?" Kaiden asked.
"Unless Time Force notices, or we can put something together," Fischer said, nodding towards Rex and James. He shuffled over, and the two Rangers made room for him.
Then Tony returned, dragging a large white bundle with both arms. He laid it beside Richard Evans's body and turned to the others.
"Is there anything for me to do?" He asked. Rex, returning from the tent with a roll of silver duct tape, paused.
"Not right now," he said.
"Then I'm going to bury them," Tony said, nodding to the two white bundles.
"Fine, knock yourself out," Rex said, "There's some shovels inside." He returned to James and Fischer, and Tony ducked into the tent. Kaiden glanced down at Cole, and saw that the baby had gone to sleep. His leg twinged, but he didn't dare move for fear of waking Cole up. Tony came back out and crossed to the far end of the clearing, where he began to dig.
It grew dark. Animals stirred and began making noise among the trees. James got flashlights, and Kaiden risked shooting a little flame from his Ring for light. Tony was using his powers to keep his hands from blistering, and the green glow let him see what he was doing as well. Nobody spoke.
~oOo~
Rachel was on her way back to the Demi-Zord bay. She'd decided her best chance was to go after Elandra, and hope that the Black Monster Ranger at least might help them get back out. She'd need the chainsaw sword—wait a minute…
Rachel slapped her forehead hard enough to sting. "Phantom Zords, of course!" She cried. Then she frowned. "They're not all called that, are they? Anyway, reinforcements!" She darted upstairs to the command center, and after a second's pause, searched the files for 'UN Demi-Zords.'
The distress signal was activated, and Rachel straightened with a shaky sigh of relief. She headed down to the Demi-Zord Bay to fly out and wait for the help.
The elevator doors slid open, revealing a huge blue-black wolf. Rachel tried to morph, but the creature tackled her to the floor. Summoning her Mercurial Sais with a shriek, Rachel slashed the animal across the jaw as he snapped at her. His hot breath blasted her face, and he yelped and tried to bite her arm.
Then a chain wrapped around Rachel's wrist, and her arm was jerked aside. Her sai clattered to the floor, and a yellow boot came down on her wrist. As the Green Ranger advanced, Rachel kneed the wolf in the gut and shoved it off.
Rolling around, the Pink Ranger slashed the Yellow Monster Ranger's shins, ducking to avoid the Green Ranger's thrown dagger. The meteor hammer chain went slack, and Rachel scrabbled for her other sai. She sprang up, shoving them out of the elevator and closing the doors.
"Medieval Planets, descend!" She gasped, slumped against the wall and panted for a few moments. The elevator was moving—she must have pushed a button in her panic. The wolf had scratched her up a little, and she could feel dark bruises breaking out all over her body.
The doors opened on the oxygen plant forest, and Rachel stumbled inside. Panting, she ran into the middle of the wood, and ducked behind a large boulder to wait. Her breathing slowed down to normal. How had the Monster Rangers gotten inside? There had only been three—what were the others doing?
Then she heard a crack, and froze. Very, very quietly, Rachel peeked around her boulder. There were the Green and Blue Rangers, the latter still in wolf form, standing by the elevator. A breeze carried a wave of sand into the room, and Rachel remembered that the Yellow Ranger could do that. Only now did she realize what a bad color bright pink was for camouflage.
She began to creep towards the two visible Monster Rangers. She'd use the element of surprise, while she had it. The pair split off to search for Rachel, Blue loping towards her hiding place and Green heading the other way. Rachel backed against a tree and waited, clenching both Sais convulsively.
The wolf paused, and sniffed the air. Rachel leaped onto his back, stabbing both sais into the creature's shoulders. It howled as they both crashed to the ground, and they began to roll. Kicking up dirt, yelling at the top of their lungs, the two Rangers struggled. Dark blood spattered Rachel's uniform.
The Blue Ranger sank his fangs into Rachel's shoulder, and she screamed. Her grip on the sais loosened, and he pulled out of her reach. Then the Pink Ranger was seized around the waist and thunked into a boulder by someone she couldn't see. Winded, she crumpled.
The Yellow Ranger seized Rachel by the arms, hauling her back to her feet. Blue turned back into a human and demorphed. Both sais were still in his back, and he stirred weakly. Green, Purple and Black arrived a second later, and the Green Ranger pulled the daggers out.
"Heather, take him outside where Ivan can teleport you both back," the Purple Ranger ordered. Green saluted and picked up the Blue Ranger. He grunted, and the Green Ranger started back to the elevator. Rachel struggled, but the Yellow Ranger was stronger than her—and not injured. Her shoulder throbbed.
"Destroy her," Marco said to the Black Ranger, nodding to Rachel. The other Monster Ranger started, and glanced from his mentor to the Pink Ranger a few times. Marco folded his arms. Even under the helmet, he was visibly glaring.
"Sir," the Black Ranger began.
"You said you'd joined me, Anderson," Marco said. "Obey." Then Rachel's helmet communicator sounded. A strange male voice, with a moderate German accent, spoke.
"Satellite Base, this is Oberst Harper, did you send a distress signal? We have captured two of the Monster Rangers, are the others nearby, over?"
"Do it now!" Marco shouted.
"Storm Trident," the Black Monster Ranger said, and the weapon appeared in his hands.
"J-Jacob," Rachel began, remembering his name at last. "Please, don't." The Black Monster Ranger raised his trident, then whirled around and stabbed the Purple Ranger in the chest. There was a shower of sparks, and the evil Ranger cried out in surprise and pain.
The Yellow Ranger shoved Rachel aside and lassoed her Black teammate by the neck. He flipped a leg around the chain and dragged it down, giving himself enough slack to free himself. Rachel went for her discarded sais, and twisted around to get at Marco. But he was gone.
An invisible boot struck Rachel in the visor, and she fell back, clunking her head on the helmet and boulder behind her. Stars exploded in her eyes, and all of her limbs turned to jelly. Monster Black's trident clanged against the rock over her head. There was a lot of thumping, and some grunts. Then there was nothing but silence—and a buzzing in Rachel's ears.
Then Rachel blinked and sat up, head pounding. Nobody else was there. Then the Satellite Base shook: something had hit it. Springing up too quickly—and yelping as her injuries all ached at once—Rachel staggered out of the oxygen plant.
The Pink Stellar Ranger found herself in the Demi-Zord bay, and climbed into her Phaedosian ship. She really should name it some time, she thought, as she buckled herself in. The station shook again, and Rachel opened the outside doors.
There were a lot of Zords out there, all shooting madly at each other. Three Rachel didn't recognize, and let's see, White and Red holding their own. Wait, no, Yellow was back. Then she was out in the middle of the fight.
The nearest had locked weapons with the Yellow Monster Ranger, and its chainsaw-sword spat sparks as it ground against the chain. A black jet fighter transformed into a slender Demi-Zord, and slashed Marco three times in passing as he tried to attack Yellow's opponent. Another, as bulky as the previous one was thin, drew back and fired an enormous cannon at the Red Monster Ranger. A cluster of glowing yellow rounds tore into Charlie's armor, and he fell back and vanished.
Rachel swooped over the fight, peppering the Yellow Monster Ranger with pink lasers. The Demi-Zord twisted his opponent's chain away, raised his rifle and blasted her directly in the chest. Marco's chakram hit the Demi-Zord in the back, and the Yellow Ranger took advantage of the pause to free herself and teleport away.
The Demi-Zords and Rachel gathered. She couldn't see the captured Monster Rangers, and guessed they were inside one of the other Zords.
"Oberst Harper?" Rachel asked into the communications system. The slender Demi-Zord turned towards her, transforming back into jet mode in a second.
"We received your distress call, and responded as quickly as we could. Where are the rest of the Rangers?" Harper asked.
"Very long story," Rachel sighed. "You said you had two Monster Rangers?" The bulky Zord's driver, who had a Russian accent you could do handsprings on, spoke up.
"Green and Blue, yes. But the boy is not in good shape."
"I think that's how the Alchemist tracks them, with the Morphers," Rachel said. "Elandra left some of her tears on the Base, we'll bring them in there. Besides, Marco can't seem to teleport directly in or out of the Satellite Base."
She turned her ship and flew back to the Base, triggering the doors as she went in. The Demi-Zords slipped into formation and followed her. Rachel landed in the far corner, and winced as her torn shoulder throbbed. The bleeding had slowed, though.
Rachel couldn't help but smile as she climbed out, though. No other Rangers, no special weapons, the other guys had the element of surprise, and three Monster Rangers down. Not bad!
~oOo~
Trivia: The three Demi-Zords appearing are the Euro Spitfire 2, the KV-90 Kzargard, and the UNZ-001M Balgora Mark 2M. Thanks again to SSJ-Jolt!
A/N:Oberst is the German Air Force equivalent to Colonel, not the guy's name, so there's no confusion.