Chapter Thirty Eight. War Of Attrition.
Previously On Poké Rangers SDI...
The trip into space continued on their mission with the Space rangers, having a Pokémon battle which was interrupted by Claese letting them know they had arrived on Saffron Epsilon Eight. Taking the frozen Syodian down to the leader of the planet, they discovered that they had been duped. As the leader revealed he had never sent them a message, Felix and Xavier encountered Machdrap after falling through a trap door. As they managed to escape, they met back up with the other rangers and went to confront Machdrap and his Scorpio Syodians. Teaming up in battle, they managed to defeat the bulk of the army, before the two red rangers blasted him with their Battlizers. As the heavily wounded Machdrap mutated and grew to a giant size, all twelve rangers brought out their Zords and combined their attacks to defeat him. Later, they celebrated on the Kyogre Megaship after Claese swiped the keys to Magbomb's drink cabinet. It was a time for crazy pink ranger antics, as Nahir kissed Luke while drunk, and Tara threw up...
"This is just awkward," Andrew said, looking over to the other end of the main command deck of the Aquabase. Where Nahir had just walked in, spotted Luke leaning over the railings to look down at the Zord bay, before turning back out again. "You two have been avoiding each other for the past three days. Ever since we got back from space."
"Yeah, it's complicated," Luke replied. "Really really complicated."
"You do know avoiding each other and hoping for the best isn't really the best way to go, right?" Danni asked, the three of them watching as the Mystic Soarer was wheeled out on the tracks below them. Looking as shiny as the day it was built. "You should talk to her about it..."
"Well, I would do if she didn't keep avoiding me," the green ranger replied, before noticing a stream of red running down out of Danni's nostril. "Huh?"
"What is it?" she asked, instantly bringing her hand up to her nose. "Did it happen again?"
"Did what happen again?" Andrew wondered. "The blood?"
"Keeps happening," she said, wiping it away. "Don't know why. Maybe I took a knock earlier."
"You should get that checked out," Luke remarked. "Right now."
"Aww, are you worried that it could be serious?"
"Nah, I'm just tired of being cross examined by you," the green ranger replied. "So..."
"You're a jerk sometimes, you know that?" she said, glaring at him. "It's probably nothing, maybe I just picked up some sort of alien virus on Syodia."
"Either way," Andrew remarked. "If it keeps happening, you need to do it. It could be serious."
"I will," she said. "Just... Keep it under your hats for a moment."
"I'm not wearing a hat," Andrew replied, puzzled by the phrase. "What do you...?"
"It's a figure of speech," she said. "I just don't want everyone worrying."
"I'm not worried," Luke muttered.
"I don't want anyone who matters to worry."
"Hey!"
SDI ready!
The five rangers salute at the camera. Shots of Waterfall Shores.
Somewhere out there, a signal is calling
Princess Jyngella sits on her throne. Ramelow, Kable and Joltara bow down to her.
Verger is falling.
The Aquabase is shown, the train bay rises up out of the ocean. The rangers pose with the Lugia Lances.
The danger is here.
Danni leans back in her chair, shaking her head. Shots of her climbing up the Merlin's Plateau. Danielle Tanner. Yellow SDI ranger. Created by Joseph Winter.
Better call on SDI!
Katie drops into the pool, ducking under the water. Shots of her scuba diving. Katie Myers. Blue SDI ranger. Created by Blue Bongo.
Poké Rangers SDI!
Xavier sprays a fire with a hose. Shots of him diving through a window. Xavier Jackson. Red SDI ranger. Created by Blazin' Saddles.
Poké Rangers SDI!
Nahir reads a book, shaking her head as the alarm goes off. Shots of her sat in the medical bay. Nahir Moon. Pink SDI ranger. Created by Famousgirl01.
The trials will test you.
Luke does a chin up on a door frame. Shots of him stood at the helipad. Luke Sunderland. Green SDI ranger. Created by MakubeDaKiddX.
Better call on SDI!
Andrew leans back against a console. Shots of him wielding the Dragon Staff. Andrew Bristow. Gold SDI ranger. Created by Blue Bongo.
S... D... I...
Miranda and Dominic appear. Commander Bristow shakes his head as something blows up.
Powers on display
The Skull Tower appears. Darkia, Joltara, Ramelow and Kable bow down before the altar.
Rangers on the way
The SDI Megazord appears, swinging its sword. Xavier transforms into his Battlizer.
They'll save the day.
The Guardian Jet and Dragon Shuttle appear. They transform into their battle forms.
Poké Rangers SDI!
The five rangers pose. Horizon Megazord rises up behind them.
Poké Rangers SDI!
Mal and Tim run into a cave with a camcorder. They're chased out by a swarm of Zubat.
S... D... I...
The Aura Carriers fly up off the track and into the sky. The Aura Carrier Megazord poses.
Poké Rangers!
Poké Rangers: SDI. Created by Blue Bongo. Verger Region created by Blue Bongo. All other rights reserved.
Go!
"You can't keep avoiding him."
Ignoring the blue ranger stood behind her, Nahir closed the book and put it down on her bedside table. Sighing as she looked around at Katie, who was rolling her eyes.
"I'm not avoiding him," she replied. "Why would I be avoiding him?"
"Because you kissed him, and he's like your arch nemesis?"
"He's not my arch nemesis," Nahir insisted. "He's just not someone that... We were both drunk."
"Cut the crap, Nahir," Katie said. "We both know that that doesn't mean anything. It's not an excuse. You tend to lose your inhibitions after drinking, so that would mean that..."
"Don't take this the wrong way," the pink ranger replied. "But, it's none of your business really."
"If you want to be like that," Katie said. "Just don't let it get out of hand. Either way, I came to tell you that we're needed in a briefing. Miranda's orders."
"I see," Nahir replied. "Okay then."
"All of Verger," Miranda said. "Sink holes are appearing. Out of nowhere, the ground opens up and tunnels are left down to the underground."
"That's strange," Luke remarked. "What's it got to do with us?"
"Sink holes don't just appear out of nowhere," Danni pointed out. "So..."
"And, the reports of people vanishing have gone up," Dominic said. "This makes it an even bigger problem. All at the times that the sink holes appear."
"You don't think that they're falling into the sink holes, huh?" Katie wondered.
"What, all at the same time?" Nahir said, snappily. "You'd have to be blind and stupid to do that."
"Someone got out of the bed the wrong side this morning," Luke remarked.
"Don't even go there," Nahir said to him, a vicious look in her eyes. "Because you won't like what you find."
"I agree with her," Xavier said. "What would the odds be that several people all fall down sink holes at the same time. It's not going to be that easy."
"When is anything we ever do easy?" Andrew asked. "Look at our last mission. We were meant to go into space, deliver an alien home and make some apologies about how it ended up on our planet. Instead we end up trying to stop a demented virus thing from starting a war between two planets."
"Here we have a map of Verger," Miranda continued, gesturing to the screen showing what she had just described. "And, these dots show where the sink holes appeared."
"There's something there in the pattern," Katie remarked. "But, I can't quite..."
"Yeah, we already got it," Miranda said, punching a button. The five sink holes jointing together to form a five sides of a six sided shape. With one point still missing.
"So..." Nahir remarked. "There's a city there unless I'm mistaken."
"It wouldn't be a bad thing to try and get someone down there," Xavier mused. "It might not be a terrible assumption that they're going to attack that other City."
"Has anyone tried to go down the sink hole?" Danni asked. "Because, that sounds..."
"It is considered incredibly dangerous," Miranda replied. "We have no idea what might be down there. Nobody does. Then, there's the usual political crap where it takes them five months just to decide to do nothing."
"Commander, you got a minute?"
Looking up at the doorway, Bristow saw Xavier stood there. Waiting to come into the office.
"What's up?" he asked. "What is it that you want?"
"I was thinking about the mission that was discussed in briefing this morning," the red ranger replied. "The sink holes appearing all over Verger."
"Strange," Bristow said, looking him up and down. "What about them?"
"I was thinking that they could hit that sixth city at any time," Xavier replied. "If that's the plan of action. It's Sycamore City, I believe."
"That's correct."
"If I leave now, I could get there and be prepared for any kind of attack." Xavier insisted. "Go undercover and let myself vanish."
"I'm not sure if I can give the order for you to do that," Bristow said. "None of these people have ever been found. You could be lost forever."
"I'm volunteering for it," Xavier replied. "And, it's a risk I'm willing to take. Someone has to get to the bottom of this. It seems demonic."
"Are you one hundred percent sure that you want to go through with it?" the Commander asked. "Because, if..."
"I can do this," Xavier said, saluting him. "And, I'll leave right away."
"Don't do anything to stupid," Bristow reminded him, watching him go out of the door. "You'd be hard to replace."
"Where's Xavier?" Andrew wondered, as all five of the rangers, bar Xavier walked into the main command deck of the Aquabase. "He was gone when I woke up."
"Xavier who?" Dominic asked, looking around at them with a grin. "Oh, don't worry about him. He's fine."
"Then, where is he?" Katie asked. "He shouldn't just vanish without a trace."
"Oh for the love of..." Miranda groaned. "You might as well just tell them, Dominic."
"Tell us what?" Luke asked. "What happened?"
"I suppose we might as well just tell you that he went undercover," Dominic muttered. "Undercover to check something out."
"He's gone undercover?" Danni asked. "Why? Why would he do that?"
"To try and get to the bottom of it," Miranda replied. "Quite literally. The whole mystery about the sink holes."
"Damn, I should have done it," the yellow ranger complained. "Why didn't he tell us?"
"Because he felt it was something that was a one man mission," Bristow said, walking into the room. "And, I privately agree with his judgement on this matter. Sending all of you down there would attract attention. If something demonic is doing this, then the less attention the better. Xavier can get in and out without being..."
"So, why Xavier?" Katie asked. "Why did he get the gig and not someone else?"
"He volunteered to go down to Sycamore City and check it out," Bristow replied. "While the rest of you were asleep."
"I'm sensing tension here," Andrew remarked, looking over at Dominic. "You sense that?"
"Not really," the Pokémorph said, shrugging. "But, I can see it. Because I have eyes."
"Okay, what's everyone's gripe?" Miranda asked. "If you've got a problem about this mission, speak up now."
"I used to live in Sycamore City," Nahir said. "I'd have been perfect for this."
"No comment," Danni replied, rubbing at her nose. "It's not about this mission."
"Mine neither," Luke offered. "Mine's personal frustration and anger."
"I'm just annoyed with Xavier," Katie answered, stalking away out of the door. "Running off on a mission like that without letting the rest of us know. We're supposed to be a team."
"What's with her?" Luke wondered. "She's not normally like that."
"Who knows," Andrew said. "All I'm getting is anger, frustration sickness from her. She's really stressing out about something."
"Good morning!"
Walking down the stairs of the motel, Xavier saw somebody waving at him. He was back in his street clothes, the SDI jacket left back at the Aquabae. His morpher in his pocket, the earpiece in his other pocket. Waving back at one of the owners of the building, he continued to walk down the street. Watching and waiting for any sign of inactivity.
His vigil didn't take long, the ground shaking underneath his feet. Instantly bursting into action, he rushed forward towards the epicentre. A towering pillar of pulsating sand erupting out of the ground, barely three hundred feet in front of him. Pumping his legs up and down, he cleared the short distance as fast as he could. Jumping towards the apparation, he could see several other people around him, all running towards the sight to try and get pictures. Even though he was trying to stop himself and them from moving closer to the sight, he couldn't quite bring his legs to quit moving towards the pillar of sand.
Taking a deep breath, he made the decision to just go with it. Something inside the sand was drawing him and the others in towards it. Exhaling out, he leaped forward, hitting the pillar of sand arms first. The shock rushing through his body similar to as if he had hit a brick wall head on, he felt himself pass through the sand...
And it all went black.
"Hey, Xavier!"
Groaning in pain, he heard the voice above him. Someone speaking out to him to try and rouse him up from his passive slumber.
"My head," he groaned. "What happened?"
"Same thing to you as it did to me," the voice continued, as the red ranger opened his eyes up. Seeing Ryan crouched down above him.
"Always interesting wherever you guys are around," the trainer from Snowpoint City remarked. "I come to Sycamore City to see about getting one of the few badges I have left to collect. Only to vanish into a pillar of sand."
"Yeah, I know how that feels," Xavier groaned, sitting up. "Got mangled up pretty badly by that sandstorm."
"I take it that you did it deliberately," Ryan said. "To find out what was going on."
"More or less," Xavier replied. "You seen anything...?"
"I don't know why we're here," Ryan admitted. "Nothing's happened since I woke up about ten minutes ago."
"Well, that could be about to change," Xavier said, seeing shadows up ahead of them. As they got closer to himself, Ryan and all the other people around them, he could see that they were in some sort of undergroun cavern. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Doesn't look good, huh?" Ryan replied. "I've got your back if you need it."
"I'm not going to fight until I can see what we're up against first," Xavier said. "But, I appreciate it."
As the two of them watched from the back, they saw Jyngella and Ramelow walk into the chamber, followed by a strange demon. A demon that had the body of a Rhydon, combined with the colour, flippers and white fur of a Walrein. On his tail, there were a pair of Walrein tusks, while his horn was long and white. Sand dribbled from the corners of his mouth, the eyes watching everyone around him.
"You got a good haul this time, Rhyrein," Ramelow remarked.
"What the hell...!" someone from the captured masses yelled. "...Is going on?"
Looking over at the direction that the voice had come from, Ryrein fired a burst of rocks towards the ceiling above the crowd. Dropping several pounds of dust and stone on top of the people in the area where Xavier was crouching.
Shaking himself off, the red ranger heard the demon in front of them all, roaring with laughter at their predicament.
"You're all mine now," he snorted. "All mine. Nobody will ever find you in these tunnels under Verger. And there's only one way for you to get out of here. With me."
"Why are you doing this?" a woman yelled. "Let us go!"
"Errr... No."
"The Poké Rangers will save us!"
"No, they won't!" Rhyrein chuckled. "Because, they don't know where to look. They don't even know what they're looking for."
"But, we could die down in these tunnels."
"Welcome to my world!" Rhyrein cackled. "Now, find me that treasure."
"What treasure?" Ryan wondered.
"Somewhere in these catacombs," Jyngella said, proudly. "There lies a crown fit for a regal Princess of my beauty and grace. One that will grant to me more power. And then you will see my full wrath."
"Whoever brings me the crown is the only one who shall escape here," Rhyrein repeated. "You have my honourable word on that. The rest of you will be left to rot down here, with no chance of ever seeing sunlight again."
"I don't think he's telling the truth," Ryan muttered. "I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him."
"Either way, we still need to find that crown," Xavier said. "And get everyone out of here as fast as possible."
"Let's get looking then," Ryan replied. "This place is pretty creepy."
"You're not wrong there," Xavier said. "Hold on a second, I've got an idea. If this crown is demonic, then I have a means of tracking it down."
"Go and find it then," Ryan insisted. "I'll try and let as many people as possible know that they should just keep a cool head and they'll be fine."
"You do that," Xavier said, taking his morpher out. Small beeps began to ring out, getting stronger as he began to move away from Ryan. "Okay, setting to scan."
He'd been searching for about an hour when his morpher finally began to let out its strongest signal. Breathing a sigh of relief, he dropped down to his knees and began to scoop the dirt away with his hands. Digging for a few seconds, he finally spotted a gleam of something shiny in the sand, letting himself exhale out as he pulled it out of its securing.
"Is that gold?" Xavier whispered to himself, as he picked up the crown. As he had already worked out, it was made of solid gold with several large jewels set into it. "Oh my..."
"Give me that crown!"
Looking around, he saw Jyngella and Rhyrein behind him. Both glaring at him.
"Errr... no," he replied. "You think I'm going to do that?"
"You will if you want out of here," Rhyrein snarled. "Now..."
"Actually," Xavier replied, taking out his morpher. "I've got my own exit strategy."
"What!" Jyngella howled. "You took a ranger down here! Are you stupid!"
"One ranger cannot defeat me!" the demon monster snarled.
"Let's find out," Xavier replied, before activating his morpher.. "SDI! Time to battle!"
Transforming into his ranger costume, he cradled the crown under his arm before leaping through the air. Hitting Rhyrein with a flying kick, a blow which barely fazed the demon. Growling with laughter, the opponent struck out with his fist, the blow sending Xavier crashing back against the wall. Still holding the crown, he managed to get back up.
"How did you find me?" he demanded, trying to keep a safe distance between himself and Rhyrein. "I thought..."
"We overheard your friend telling people that it'd be all okay," Jyngella cackled. "So, we followed your footsteps. Now, give me that crown, or..."
"Never!" Xavier yelled, throwing another kick towards Rhyrein. Again, the demon blocked the blow with his arm, spinning around to hit the red ranger with his tail. As the tusks dug into his body, he let out a yell of pain and dropped the crown.
"Ha!" Rhyrein shouted, his jubilation instantly apparent as he bent down to pick up the crown. As Xavier tried to grab it back, the demon struck out with his horns, throwing the red ranger back. Slipping it down over his own head, Rhyrein fired a barrage of rocks towards Xavier who was sent crashing away by the attack, rolling across the ground.
"Excellent work," Jyngella cackled, jumping up and down on the spot. "Now, give me the crown and we will..."
"Just let me finish this interloper off first," Rhyrein pleaded. "With this power, I can destroy him easily."
"I don't know..." Jyngella said, sounding hesitant. "I would like that power as quickly as possible."
"Then, I will do it quickly," Rhyrein replied, rushing towards Xavier. "Thank you, my Princess."
As Xavier got to his feet, the demon bore down on him, hitting him with several powerful Ice Punches. All which caused him a huge amount of pain.
"Lugia Lancer!" the red ranger yelled, bringing out the weapon. As he slashed against the demon, Rhyrein easily deflected the strikes away. Punching him again in the face, as Xavier's guard was broken by the blocks.
"You're really starting to annoy me!" Xavier yelled, swiping at the crown with the Lugia Lancer. Only for Rhyrein to dodge away and hitting him with his tail.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?" the demon demanded, grinning at him. "Oh, that's right. Nothing."
"Guess I'll have to bust my plan out a little earlier than I thought," Xavier said, looking to the dirt ceiling several feet above him. "I just hope this works."
"Destroy him!" Jyngella screamed. "Make him suffer!"
"Not yet!" Xavier replied, taking a deep breath. "Satellite Ranger! Now!"
High above them, the SDI Satellite began to whir into gear. Emitting a focused beam of data straight down into his morpher. And, it began to come into focus. Black and gold armour with red zig zags materialising over his body, covering his upper body, legs, gloves and boots. In the middle of his chest, an SDI logo appeared there in white, while the visor on his helmet turned from black to red and white. On his back, an armoured jet pack could be seen, while a pair of red, black, white and gold katana's appeared in his hands.
"You're going to get it now!" Xavier yelled, leaping towards the demon. Wrapping his arms around the body. "Firing thrusters!"
Behind him, the jetpack started to ignite, forcing the two of them up into the air. Half a second later, Rhyrein hit the ceiling, the powerful force from the jetpack on the Battlizer forcing him straight up through the dirt.
"You're going to pay for this!" he yelled, his voice muffled by the roar of the jetpack and the earth all around them.
Roughly thirty seconds later, the two of them erupted out of the ground. As Xavier let go of Rhyrein, he spun around in the air and hit him with a kick to the stomach. A blow which knocked the demon away from him, eventually sending him crashing into the ground. As Xavier landed, he saw Rhyrein get back to his feet, a demented grin on his face.
"You cannot stop me that easily. I am so much more than you!"
"You're nothing!" Xavier yelled, aiming both katana's at the demon. "I will destroy you! For all those people you captured and worked to death. All to find that crappy crown."
"This powerful and snazzy weapon of mass distraction?" Rhyrein quipped. "It distracts while I destroy."
Ignoring him, Xavier activated the jetpack again, erupting across the area. Slashing at the demon with the katanas, bringing them raking against the demons body.
"You're going down," he growled. "SDI Cyber Strike!"
At the command, the twin swords began to glow with a bright red energy. Spinning them around in a flurried whirlwind, he crashed the blades against Rhyrein's body. Sending him down to one knee.
"Satellite..." he began to shout, ready to combine the two swords together. "...Over..."
Before he could finish, Jyngella emerged out of nowhere, attacking him with a whip-like sword. One that extended out around his neck, dragging him away from Rhyrein.
"How could you forget about me?" she whispered in his ear as she started to try and choke him. "It'll be the last mistake that you ever make, boy."
Gagging for breath, Xavier heard movement behind him. Craning his head around as best he could...
"Dragon Fury Attack!"
Coming down from out of nowhere, Andrew smashed the glowing Dragon Staff into Jyngella. The demon princess screaming in pain as she staggered back away from Xavier. Freeing the red ranger out of her grip.
"Admit it," Andrew said. "You're glad to see us."
"You're not wrong," Xavier replied, getting to his feet. "I'm glad to see you guys."
"Well, that's a relief," Katie said sarcastically, she and the other three rangers running towards the scene of the battle. "Hate to think that we'd be cramping your style."
"I never said that," Xavier protested. "What's wrong with you?"
"Walking off and leaving us while you go off on your lone ranger-some," she said, still sounding annoyed. "Honestly, we're a team and..."
"Yeah, I had an idea," he replied. "Wasn't time. And, I've been proved right. It showed up out of nowhere, and I was here to get it. Look, I'm sorry, but I made a decision and..."
"Hey, rangers!"
Looking around, the six of them saw Rhyrein glaring at them. Jyngella had vanished away, leaving them alone.
"You forgot about me," he roared. "And, I will..."
"Ready for some teamwork?" Xavier asked. "Andrew, you grab the crown. We'll blast him when you do."
"Right," the gold ranger replied, bringing up his Dragon Staff. "Tidal Wave!"
As he slammed the weapon down into the ground, a giant wave of water came crashing down on top of Rhyrein. Knocking him off balance. With the demon struggling, Andrew leaped forward, hitting him in one of the knees with the weapon. As he tried to hit the gold ranger, Andrew ducked, taking out the other leg. Promptly falling to his knees, unable to stand, Andrew scooped the crown up off his head and tossed it up into the air. Aiming his weapon after it, the Dragonite's head on the end glowing with a red light.
"Flamethrower!" he yelled, a stream of fire erupting out of the end, billowing up into the air and completely melting it. "Now, go for it!"
"Everyone okay with this?" Xavier asked, looking over at Katie. Who nodded back at him.
"Lugia Lancers!" the red ranger yelled, the five of them summoning their weapons. Combining them with the Defense Blasters. As they aimed the weapons at Rhyrein, he gave the second command.
"Aeroblast!"
All five of them pulling the triggers at the same time, five beams of glowing white light erupted out of the Lugia Lancers, shooting into Rhyrein's body. As they did so, the bursts were enough to blow him to pieces, the remains crashing to the ground.
"Any criticism?" Xavier asked, looking over at Katie.
"Just drop it," she muttered, before spotting the card sailing down through the air. Hitting the remains of Rhyrein.
"Filled with fury this night!" Kable yelled, from a rooftop high above them. "Grow forth and invoke the fear of fright!"
As the blue energy raked across the remains, Rhyrein was reformed instantly, getting to his feet and growing to a giant size.
"Now, it's time for the second round!" he yelled. "Come and get me, rangers!"
"Aura Carriers!" Xavier yelled, looking to the sky. "On track!"
"Dragon Shuttle!" Andrew called. "I summon thee!"
At the twin commands, the Aura Carriers broke away from the trainbay, moving towards the battle via the rail system. The Dragon Shuttle launched from the Zord bay next to them, swooping down over the battlefield. As it did so, Andrew leaped up and got into the cockpit. The rest of the rangers got into their Aura Carriers, the Horizon Zords leaving their storage confines and launching into the air.
"Horizon Megazord! Now!" Xavier yelled, activating the controls in his Horizon Zord to start the formation
First, the cockpits of Horizon Two and Three moved up onto the backs of the vehicles, revealing hands. The rear jets moved up, attaching both Zords to the side of Horizon One whose own front part moved up to form armour on chest. The back part moved down to complete the armour and reveal a head with glowing golden eyes. Finally, Horizon Four and Five zoomed in and attached to the base of Horizon One, where the cockpit had been before forming armour. Their own cockpits moved up to offer balance and form the feet of the Megazord. Inside the chest of the Horizon Megazord, the five rangers settled into their seats.
"Dragon Solarzord formation! Activate!" Andrew shouted.
As he gave the command, the Dragon Shuttle moved into a vertical position and began to transform. The peak of the vehicle slid down to reveal the face of a Dragonite. At the other end, the thrusters broke apart to form a set of legs, while a shutter slid up to reveal a shiny metallic stomach. Next the sides broke out of the vehicle to create a pair of clawed arms. The tail fin of the Dragon Shuttle slid down to allow a tail for the Megazord to appear, while panels upon the top of the Shuttle slid open to allow the pair of wings to move up to the back area of the machine.
"Hee hee hee," Rhyrein laughed. "This is going to be fun."
His mouth opening up, he instantly fired out a Blizzard attack towards the two Megazords. The rangers instantly realising what it meant.
"Oh crap!" Danni exclaimed, the harsh winds ripping across the two Megazords. Twin sets of critical alarms ringing out in the cockpits.
"The Horizon Megazord is made up of flying type Zords," Katie said. "And the Solarzord is..."
"We can't let this slow us down!" Nahir shouted. "Come on, we can do this!"
"Striking back now!" Andrew yelled. "Dragon Claw!"
Under his command, the Dragon Solarzord burst forward, striking Rhyrein in the stomach. As the claws raked across the rubbery skin, the demon grunted in pain.
"Iron Tail!" the gold ranger continued, the giant robot Dragonite spinning around and hitting Rhyrein with its glowing white metallic tail. Groaning in terrible pain, the demon struck out with an Ice Punch. Causing just as much damage to the Dragon Solarzord.
"Rangers," Miranda called, through the communication systems. "Time to tell you about a new upgrade that we installed earlier."
"A new upgrade?" Luke asked. "That's great."
"What do we do?" Xavier wondered, as the Horizon Megazord tried to punch Rhyrein in the face. Only for the slippery demon to evade it.
"Call for the Dragon Alphazord," Miranda told them. "You can combine those two Megazords to finish him off."
"Okay, let's do it!" Katie yelled, as the Horizon Megazord was struck with another Ice Punch.
"Ready, Andrew?" Xavier asked.
"Oh yeah," the gold ranger replied. "Let's do this thing."
"Dragon Alphazord formation!" both Xavier and Andrew yelled, the two Megazords standing next to each other. Then, it began. The Horizon Megazord began to disassemble, Horizon One swooping down to create some red armour for the Dragon Solarzord. Part of it covering the giant golden face. Next, Horizons Four and Five fused with the legs of the golden Dragonite, the yellow and pink armour thickening across the limbs. After that, Horizon Zords Two and Three did the same, attaching to the arms. Part of their rear thrusters moved down to the side of the Dragon Solarzords arms, forming side blasters. The tail detached away, vanishing from view. In the cockpit, the six rangers all appeared, Andrew sat in the centre seat with Xavier behind him and the other rangers to the left and right.
"That won't stop me!" Rhyrein howled, charging towards them on an Aqua Jet attack. "You're going down!"
"Activating thrusters!" Andrew yelled, the wings flaring out behind the Dragon Alphazord. Under the order, it leaped up into the air, evading the attack. "Let's finish him off right now."
"Call for the Solar Horizon Spear," Miranda said, through the communication systems in the new Megazord. "You'll like it."
"I bet," Xavier remarked, grinning under his helmet. "Solar Horizon Spear!"
At the order, the new weapon appeared. The regular Horizon Spear, combined with the tail of the Dragon Solarzord to create a giant new blade at the end of it.
"Now, that is sweet," Luke said. "Let's give it to this menace!"
"You need the name of...?" Miranda started to ask, before being interrupted.
"We've got it," Katie replied. "Ready guys?"
"Solar Supernova Strike!" the six rangers yelled, the weapon glowing with a bright white light. Sucking in the power of the sun, the Dragon Alphazord swept down through the air, swiping the glowing hot weapon against Rhyrein. As the demon screeched in pain, explosions rang all across his body, before he collapsed to the ground and exploded.
"We did it!" Nahir yelled. "Awesome!"
"Now, that's team work!" Danni said. "Whew!"
"We cool?" Xavier asked, looking around at Katie. Removing his helmet to shoot her an imploring look.
"Yeah, I suppose," she replied. "We're cool."
"So, what's in here?" Luke asked, as he walked towards a door, Xavier and Andrew behind him. Stopping him from turning to leave. "Why are we going towards here?"
"Miranda called a meeting in here," Xavier said. "All a big debriefing thing. Maybe something about a new weapon or..."
"Or just a commendation," Andrew offered, pulling the door open. "She said good things about..."
Instead of finishing the sentence, he pushed Luke inside, slamming the door shut behind the green ranger and locking it.
"Hey, let me out!"
"What did Miranda want?" Nahir wondered, as she, Danni and Katie walked towards another dooor. The blue and yellow rangers behind her, both with uneasy grins on their faces. "I didn't hear anything about an emergency meeting."
"Apparently... she just wanted to congratulate us all," Danni quickly said, rubbing at her nose. "Because we're all really awesome at what we do. And she might have mentioned something earlier about wanting to let us all know as a team how all the people from the tunnels were rescued."
"Yeah, that's it," Katie said, opening the said door in front of them. "Plus, maybe because we managed to master the Dragon Alphazord. Something like..."
As Nahir lingered in front of the door, Danni pushed her inside, before slamming the door shut and locking it.
"Hey, what are you playing at!" Nahir shouted, turning around to try and open the door. "Let me out!"
"You too, huh?"
Turning back around, she spotted Luke at the other side of the room. The green ranger looking annoyed, as he began to walk towards her.
"Guess they decided that there was something we needed to talk about," he said.
"That's ridiculous," she replied. "We've got nothing that we need to say to each other."
"Well, there is one thing..." he said. "That night on the..."
"We were both drunk, it was a strange moment," she replied, angrily. "It didn't mean anything."
"I think it did," he said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have done it."
"I did it because you were making me depressed, and I wanted to shut you up."
"See, if you wanted to shut me up, you could have slapped me," he pointed out. "Or thrown something at me."
"Oh, excuse me for looking for a solution that didn't involve violence."
"That's never stopped you before," Luke said, angrily. "We deal it in everyday. Remember?"
"You're an asshole, you know that?" she replied. "Do you do it deliberately?"
"I don't know," he said. "Only for your benefit. I seem to rub you up the wrong way, so I run with it. Or, I could do it the right way. If you ever wanted more than a kiss."
"Oh, shut up," she replied, a disgusted look on her face. "Never in..."
"You want me to shut up, huh?" Luke asked, grinning at her. "Well, you know what worked before."
"I was drunk before," she replied, angrily. "Not now."
"You know what I think?"
"I don't care what you think."
"I think that you..."
"Said I don't care," she repeated, still glaring at him. "Never in a hundred thousand... I will always think the same thing where you're concerned."
"Always is not forever," he replied, winking at her. "Tell you what? You want to tell everyone that we've sorted it out, just to leave here? Then we can just go back to our normal love-hate relationship?"
"That sounds fair," she said. "About time you came up with a good idea."
"So, how did it go?" Xavier asked, as Luke walked into the sleeping quarters and dropped down onto his bed.
"We talked about it a bit," he replied. "Decided that it wouldn't work and that we should just continue on as normal. But, there is one problem with that. Something that I've been wrestling with for a while, and I've got to let it out."
"Go on," Andrew said, looking up from his book. "Even though I can kinda guess."
"I think I'm in love with Nahir," Luke admitted.
"Really, you don't say," Xavier said. "You only just worked that out?"
"Wait, is it really that noticeable?"
Author's Notes...
Dum dum dum.
Hmmm... Interesting. Sorry about the late update, there's been scheduling conflicts.
And, just what's wrong with Danni and the nosebleeds. I'm not saying anything, but you just know that it isn't going to end well.
Dragon Alphazord! Heh! Seriously. The penultimate Megazord/Megazord combination of the season.
Thanks for the reviews. They are all appreciated. A lot.
And at least Luke and Nahir are finally talking again. Not avoiding each other.
Interesting side note, this was originally the chapter I intended to introduce Xavier's Battlizer in. But, it was originally earlier in the season.
Also, hundredth reviewer gets a sneak preview for Season Three.
Anyway, the next chapter is called Key To Our Lives. As always, the preview is below.
As of the next chapter, there will be fifteen episodes left of the fic. Wow.
Okay, so thanks for reading.
Don't forget to review! Please!
Chapter Thirty Nine, Key To Our Lives, preview.
Katie: What is it?
Miranda: It appears to be poisonous.
Luke: That makes sense. Target the oceans, then we'd all be screwed.
Katie: I can't believe that they'd stoop that low.
Danni: Still more nosebleeds.
?: Soon, the oceans will be toxic sludge.
Katie: Not going to happen. Not on my watch!
Coming soon.