Methos cackled with laughter as he stood above the demorphed and unconscious yellow ranger. It had been entirely too easy to defeat the Power Rangers, and he was rather ashamed to see the battle to end so soon. He let out a sigh and let his shoulders slump as he looked down at the girl. Alas, his master had instructed that he waste no time and to show no mercy against the rangers. His mission here had been to retrieve the Yellow and White Dino Gems and even though the Power Rangers could be worthy opponents, he dare not disappoint his master.

He stepped over Kira and was about to lean down and take her gem when suddenly a dozen laser arrow's splattered against his chest and sent him reeling backwards. Trent surged forward, tearing through the hole in the wall, and cut his blade a dozen times across the Samurai's chest. Even with his armour on the attack still stung. Methos drew a blade in response – Excalibur – and tried to block the third strike but the Gem's power reared its ugly head and Trent vanished.

No, he didn't vanish. "He just moved really fast." Methos hissed and leaped to his left as Trent's blade narrowly missed cutting his head off. A roar of anger and frustration echoed through the burning building and Trent stabbed at the down Samurai but Methos slapped his blade between them, thrust his forward, twirled it twice and sent Trent's Drago-Sword whirling out of his hand. Methos thrust his foot up and drove it hard into Trent's gut; the force lifting him nearly a foot off the ground. Another swift kick and Trent flew backwards through the air and crashed into the wall of drink mixes.

"Damn Power Ranger." Methos hissed, rubbing at his scorched armour. "You ruined my armour…" He snapped Excalibur out his left and narrowed his eyes. Slowly, Trent began to rise again, albeit wobbly. "Feel the Power of Excalibur! DIAMOND CUT!" Methos stepped forward and slashed the blade in an underhand strike and sent a cone of icy-like shards and dust towards Trent.

He never saw it coming.

The funnel ripped through Trent, slicing cleanly through his suit and mask. The force threw Trent into the wall again and a flash of white light overtook him before he fell to the ground once again, unconscious. Methos snarled angrily, his hand shaking on the grasp of Excalibur and walked towards the downed Ranger. "Finally…I can get the gems and get out of here." A grin spread across his lips, though his Samurai Mask hid it. "Master will be pleased." Looming over Trent, he actually contemplated killing the poor kid, but his honour wouldn't let him. No, if a person was to die it would be in battle with a weapon in your hand.

So, Methos reached down for the gem and found himself whirling backwards through the air instead of teleporting home. A ball of white light smashed into his chest and knocked him backwards. He crashed hard to the floor and skid several feet more before coming to rest in a pile of rubble. A wave of dizziness overtook him and his fingers dug into the tiles. "Ahn…w-what the hell was t-that?" He whispered, raising his shaky head up to Trent. The Dino Gem pulsated ominously… "Since when did they have defense mechanisms?"

"Since we lost our power." His head snapped towards Kira and saw her gem flash a moment. "We no longer belong to Emperor Kraken. Our has been renewed and shall be used for good. You can not have them, menace."

"Don't back talk to me, you stupid rock!" Methos threw his hand forward and his hand burned with the black fire. An orb of darkness consumed the Yellow Gem but a flash of gold ripped through the darkness and the gem seemed to pulse angrily. "What the hell?! Ahn…we hadn't expected this!" He looked up to see a pair of figures dash into the room and he recognized them instantly: The Pink and Black Gems. His fist smashed into the ground and the black fire overtook him again. "I'll deal with this later…" He thought and vanished…

XXXXXX

A burst of black fire later and Methos found himself laying on a cold, metallic floor. He groaned hard, shaking his still throbbing head and looked up to see where he was. To his horror, he found Emperor Kraken staring at him with a look of half-disgust and half-intrigue. Methos shook his head a final time and slowly pushed himself up. "S-Sorry master, I have failed you." He sank into a low bow, though didn't bow. "The Gems have acquired a new…power."

"I've noticed." Kraken snapped, rubbing his index fingers together. He was hunched forward, elbows on knees and face furrowed in concentration. He looked much like an old bulldog from Earth when he did that. "It seems that if evil approaches the gems they will willing repel them."

"Repel them? Oh…so that's what I was hit by; a blast of the Gem's energy." He rubbed his chest slowly, frowning. "Blasted things pack more of a punch then I expected. Where did they acquire these new powers, master?"

"It seems after they lost their energies and were later replenished, I lost control of their powers." He gave his golden crown a tap and snarled. "It seems this will do me no good, anymore. I have lost control of the core gems and I never had control of the Pink or Gold Gems; after all, they were not created by me." He lip curled into a snarl. "Zordon created them with his own energies before he came to Earth; figuring that if the Coins were ever lost he'd have back up powers."

"How is it you wound up with them?" Methos asked, arching a brow.

"The Silver Gem was created by me, like the core gems, so they were always in my possession…at first. During my conquer of Space, I eventually met Zordon in battle. It was inevitable, to say the least. Whenever there was pain or suffering, Zordon was there with his pesky Power Rangers. In combat, I managed to defeat them and took control of the Gold and Pink Gems, however, in retaliation, Zordon sent my Dino Gems into deepest reaches of space!" His face fell into a look of sorrow and he sighed. "I managed to save the Silver Gem from the same fate…but alas, I was not able to save the others."

"And how did Doctor Oliver end up with them?"

"Zordon's shot was lucky, to say the least. Remember the Meteorite that wiped out the Dinosaurs of Earth?" Methos gave a nod. "It was the gems that actually did it. A testament to their power, you could say." He leaned back in the chair, throw one leg over the other and let out another growl. "Do not worry about our problem with the Gems…I have a solution to this."

Another of Methos' brows arched. "May I enquire what?"

"Yes, my General, you may. But first…I need you to acquire a particular item for me." He leaned forward, grinning. "The material can be found on Forza. Bring to me four lumps, twelve inches in length. Only then shall I tell my plan." Methos stepped back, said nothing else and vanished in a burst of black flames. Kraken let out a roar of laughter and clutched the arms of his chair tightly. "The Gems shall be mine once again, Power Rangers, and there is nothing you can do about it!" His laughter echoed through the ship, ringing off the walls…

XXXXXX

Trent awoke with a start and he let out a pitiful moan as he clutched his chest. He felt a hand on his chest and looked over to see Kira grinning at him. She leaned over and pecked him on the lips before nuzzling the crook his arm, inhaling his powerful scent. Trent moaned hard again and let out another breath, trying to regain his strength. That last attack had really done a number on him. "W-What h-happened?" He whispered, holding his throbbing head. "L-Last t-thing I-I remember w-was something hitting m-me and then eating p-plaster…"

"I'm not entirely sure…I got knocked out of the fight first." She sighed and closed her eyes, nuzzling his side lightly. "He was insanely strong. I don't think we've ever faced someone like him…" Kira whispered, looking up at Trent. "Not even you were that hard to fight."

"Yeah…he does have a lot of power." Trent sat up slowly, staring at the bed a moment. "What I can't figure out is why did he retreat?"

"Dr. O and Kim said that when Methos tried to take your gem, a burst of white light sent him flying." She gave an innocent shrug, laying her head down on his stomach again. "When I woke up, I heard Tommy talking to his gem…but I couldn't hear what. Tried to ask mine, but it wouldn't say anything."

"Your gems used to belong to our new baddie." Both looked up to the door to see Tommy standing there, looking angry and frustrated. "Apparently, all the time we were using the Gem's before, Kraken, if he wasn't sealed, could have come to Earth and easily destroyed us." Kira and Trent exchanged glances quickly before Tommy continued. "They couldn't warn us before because they were stripped of their power to speak."

"That's not a very reassuring though." Trent whispered and shuttered hard. "Do the Gems know who we're up against?"

Tommy nodded quickly. "His name is Emperor Kraken; an Eltarian." He glanced up at the pair of Rangers and saw the confused looks. "An Eltarian is, obviously, an alien who inhabit the planet of Eltar. Zordon was an Eltarian."

"Zordon? Oh! The alien who gave you the Original Power Coins, right?" Trent asked and Tommy nodded. "Are…they hard to defeat?" A rather serious look confirmed Trents suspicions and he sighed. "So what else did the Gem's say about this Emperor Kraken?"

"Apparently, Kraken is so powerful, he was able to siphon energy from the Morphing Grid and create Eight Dino Gems." Tommy answered but he was interrupted by Kira this time.

"Wait, eight? Where is the Eighth? We only have seven; three core gems, Black, White, Pink and Gold." Kira sat up now as well. If there was indeed another Dino Gem out there, they would need to find it quickly. Though, she had a sneaky suspicion she knew where it was, considering they hadn't found it after all this time.

"Yes, Eight. Kraken created only created five of the eight Gems. And before you ask, I'm not sure who created two of the other three. Dragon knows his origin, however, refuses to speak about it. Pinky is unsure of her origin as when she 'awoke,' Zordon was in command of her. Obviously, we don't have the Silver Gem, so we can only assume that Kraken created it as well." Tommy answered, leaning against the doorframe. "What bothers me is Kraken's persistence on acquiring the Gems again. I'm afraid to see what lengths he'd go to in order to retrieve them."

"Lengths? If the Gems can defend themselves, what do we have to worry about?" Trent asked, tilting his head. If the Gems had lost their powers once and upon being revitalized, broke the control Kraken had, what was there to worry about? He could no longer possess the gems and it appeared he couldn't touch them…

Tommy looked hesitant to answer at first. "There…are ways he can acquire the Gems…" Tommy stared at the floor, looking quite worried now. "But I'd rather not talk about it for it brings up terrible memories. If either of you go out, keep your eyes open at all times. We still don't know just how strong Kraken's minion's are nor how strong Kraken is himself." Tommy turned and vanished into the darkness, pulling the door shut behind him…

XXXXXX

Marietta stood on the unfinished balcony of the log cabin, staring out the lake in the distance. She could see Anton Mercer standing at the edge of it, peering out at the mountains and she gave a hard sigh. Even though she didn't know the man very well, and nor did she know Trent very well, but Marietta couldn't help but feel sorry for both of them. From what she'd gathered about Trent – most of the information coming from Conner – is that he was an orphan for a very short time when Anton Mercer adopted Trent. Apparently, his family had been killed in an expedition with Anton himself. It was such a shame too because Anton seemed like such a nice man; albeit he is a very disciplined man, and prefers a rather strict set of rules. Trent and Anton…a true father and son.

The mere thought of family sparked a darker emotion, however. Marietta instinctively rubbed her arm and winced. She could still feel some of the bruises on her body long after her dad finished one of his tantrums. Her sad expression turned into one of pure hatred as she stared at Anton's back. Not even her mother stood up for her, generally to drunk to care, and the only person in her family who gave a damn…was dead; killed in a freaking car accident by a drunk driver no less. And now, she avoided her home at every possible moment of her life. More often then not she slept at her Grandmother and Grandfathers house, and when they couldn't take her because of their jobs, she often sought refuge at her friends house. "And some people complain that they have their lives bad." She scoffed loudly and shook her head.

"Oh, does my mere presence irritate you that much?"

She shrieked and spun around to see the sandy, red-brown haired Conner McKnight standing in the doorway wearing his custom charming grin. There was something about that bloody smile that just made her heart crack and it infuriated her so! She saw the same damn grin from everyone at school and it never had this much of an effect on her! Sure, seeing the grin from other boys at school compelled her to return it but never once did her heart do back flips because of it. Yet, here she stood, rooted to the spot while her heart did an entire gymnastics routine in her chest.

"No." She said finally and grinned. But the smile soon faltered. "I was just thinking about my family, that's all."

"Ah yes…your family." Conner said, on hand jammed into his pocket while the other wrapped protectively around her shoulder, drawing her close. "How about you tell your boyfriend about it, hm?"

Marietta was hesitant for a moment, staring at the floor. She never really did full explain to him the situation with her family; just that her father was abusive and her brother had died. She never told him about t-…"Wait a minute, did he just say boyfriend?" She looked up at Conner, eyes wide. "Oh, so he thinks he's my boyfriend now, does he?" Sure, the he showed flashes of your stereotypical, whimsical jock on occasions, and yes, okay, he was a very caring person, but apparent one thing hadn't changed over his years of being a ranger…

"Conner McKnight, you are the most arrogant, egotistical and stubborn man I have ever met in my entire life." Marietta snapped and narrowed her eyes. Conner looked shocked; like a deer caught in headlights. "Where did you come up with the insane idea that you are my boyfriend?"

Conner shuttered. There was the "Kira Stare" as he'd come to call it. It wasn't just one of your normal womanly stares either. This one was penetrating, calculative, angry and disbelieving all in one package. And man did he bloody hate that stare! On so many occasions Kira and Kim would give him this stare and it absolutely horrified him. :"Err…I thought after our bonding moment at Angel Grove?"

"Oh, bonding moment, he calls it." Marietta snarled mentally and tapped her foot against the deck. "Well for your information Mr. McKnight-" He flinched visibly at his name. "-we are not boyfriend and girlfriend, so you just get those thoughts out of your perverted little mind right now." She spun on the spot and walked away.

The worst thing for Conner to do at that moment was to try and stop her.

So being Conner McKnight, the once Jock of Reefside High School and as the acting Leader of the Power Ranger because of being the Red Ranger…he felt…compelled to stop her.

Once his hand grasped her shoulder gently, he'd never seen Marietta move so quickly since he'd known her. One minute he was staring at her back, hoping to get an apology in and then next he knew he was staring up at the sky, a throbbing pain in his back and a vicious crack echoing through the forest. Marietta glared at down at him with the most spiteful, most hateful look he'd ever seen a woman give him. She flung her hair over her shoulder, scoffed and walked away.

Another ranger felt he needed to add his two senses as well. As Marietta walked through the doors, Ethan James stared at the two for a moment and then snickered. "Dude, you just got served." He said with no visible attempt at trying to hide his laughter. Conner merely growled and gave him the single finger salute…

Still…he knew one thing was for sure: "I am so in love…" He thought.

XXXXXX

Anton Mercer stood in front of the lake, staring out into the mountains beyond it. He let out a soft, weary sigh, raising a hand to his head. Things had gone by so incredibly fast…He had acquired new powers and because of it he was dieing. Trent was going to suffer again, anguish which he didn't need, and now there was anew evil on Earth. An evil that apparently is far to strong for any ranger to handle. Well…so it seemed. No one was sure how well the Gold Powers would hold to the Generals. Both Anton and Tommy had come to the conclusion that it probably wouldn't hold up long, especially if it only took about three or four well placed, good hits from one General and be forced to demorph.

That's a feat in of itself.

The Rangers powers designed to absorb one damaging the blow but still provide enough power to let the host continue to fight. To force a ranger to demorph after barely a half dozen hits, then the being must have possessed some serious power. Not even as Mesogog was he able to force the Rangers to demorph. Sure, he had been able to pummel and beat them into the ground – possibly to the point of unconsciousness even – but never to the point of overloading the powers and causing them to demorph.

And now, the thought that everything came down to the newbie rangers with a Gem that no one but one man who understood was an entirely frightening prospect. Would Marietta be able to hold up against the Generals? Would her powers be able to hold up against the Generals? A better question was could the gem hold up to the Generals Master? The master was also more powerful then the subordinates and to think that someone existed out there more powerful then Methos was…well…for the lack of better words, entirely frightening.

What would happen if Marietta couldn't hold up against the Generals? That was the most frightening thought of all. If Marietta failed to defeat the Generals then the Earth would be open to be conquered. Sure it was possible the other Power Rangers could rally and possibly defeat the Evil…but if someone stronger came? Anton snarled as he rubbed his throbbing forehead. Things just weren't going to get any simpler and he knew it.

So, when the portal opened at the base of the waterfall and a rather beautiful looking woman stepped out, he wasn't entirely surprised. Anton raised his head, seeing the look of disgust on her face. It almost looked like she didn't want to be here. "Can I help you?" Anton asked calmly, slipping both hands into his pockets. They shimmered a deep blue hue and began to vibrant slowly.

"Yeah…make this easy on yourself, old man." Lyra said, her lip curling slightly. "It's bad enough Master Kraken sent me to this pathetic planet to capture you, I'd so hate to have to kill you in the process." She brushed her silky hair over her ear and gripped the hilt of her sword. "You're coming with me, Anton Mercer, dead or alive."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that to happen." He said and raised his head a bit. "But you're more then welcomed to try."

Lyra snarled and ripped the sword from her sheath. The hilt was an unusual design and length; a good eight inches long with a wavy curve to it, though her fingers had no trouble adjusting to the grip nor weight of the sword. The blade itself was an icy blue and it almost seemed to radiating steam from it. She slashed the sword once in front of her and Anton gasped, barely avoiding the sudden barrage of sharp, icy daggers. Even with Super Speed that had been entirely to close…

When he popped back up, Lyra stood in front of him already and that disgusted look did not vanish. Anton threw a punch but she lashed out and caught his wrist, her eyes flashing ominously. "I'm not like Minorus…" She whispered and drove the end of her blade into his temple. The last thing Anton saw before the darkness take him was the wicked grin on Lyra's face…

XXXXXX

A/N: A new chapter for you review hounds! Lurkers and Anonymous Reviewers, start speaking up! Your reviews are most welcomed! Do Enjoy this chapter as more big things are to come -