The Weakest Color
Chapter 37: The Darkest Hour
Bridge stared at the destruction around him. Black smoke streamed from the Delta Base Megazord, which lay where it had fallen, one side engulfed in flames. Jack and Sky were defeated, as he had seen in his vision.
But something had changed. There was no one at all where Syd, Z and Cruger should have been. And where the Troobians should have spoken to him there was only silence.
'This is all wrong,' Bridge suddenly realized. 'This isn't what I saw.' He felt a slight shift in the air behind him. He spun around and watched, his hand on his blaster, as iridescent streaks of light shivered and coalesced.
Z materialized from the beam. "Bridge, please stop," she said. "The weapon is destroyed. You don't have to do this anymore." Her eyes begged him to believe her.
Bridge paused, his heart racing. He knew she was telling the truth. Now, the explosion made sense. That must have been the Terror, disintegrating in space. The realization left him nauseous and guilt-ridden. Everything that he had done had been for nothing. If he had told his friends everything, from the beginning, they would have been able to stop the Troobians.
And now it might be too late.
"Z," Bridge said. "I..."
A hiss of laughter cut across the battlefield. Broodwing emerged from the haze. The bat drew two alien blasters from beneath his cloak. "Foolish ranger," Broodwing said with a sneer and fired.
Z staggered and Bridge caught her before she fell. He lowered her gently to the ground.
"Bridge... you... you have a choice," Z whispered. Bridge leaned in close to hear. He felt completely helpless, knowing that there was nothing he could do to save her. "You told me your secret - that changed everything. What you saw doesn't have to happen." Her eyes slowly fluttered shut.
Bridge straightened and faced the scheming mercenary. He was shaking with fury. "It's over Broodwing. I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else."
Broodwing leaped high into the air to avoid a blast from Bridge's Delta Enforcer. Bridge was forced to dodge and weave to avoid being hit as Broodwing returned fire.
Bridge stumbled as a blast struck his leg. Broodwing swooped down with a cackle. Bridge flattened himself against the grass and Broodwing passed over his head, missing him by inches.
The bat skidded to an awkward landing a short distance away. Light glinted off of his helmet, illuminating the crack in the glass. Bridge blocked when the bat swiped at him. He aimed a punch at the damaged helmet, and Broodwing was forced to bend backwards to avoid the blow.
Broodwing seemed to sense his peril. He retreated a step. "Do you really think you can defeat me?" he said, his voice laced with scorn. A tiny remote appeared in his hand. "After all, I gave you your powers. I can take them away." The mercenary activated a button.
Bridge swayed. His vision blurred. A strange feeling grew from deep within his chest and a tremble passed through his body. He looked down at his hands, and realized with a shock that he was no longer morphed.
"It's time to join your friends, ranger," Broodwing sneered. The bat curled his sharp fingers into a fist and hit Bridge with a vicious upper-cut before slamming him to the ground.
Then the beating began. He tried to block, to defend himself, but Broodwing was stronger and faster than he could ever be. Every time he tried to get to his feet, Broodwing stomped him back down.
An armored boot cracked into his ribs. He tasted blood. Why didn't Broodwing just shoot him and get it over with? Bridge realized that the bat was enjoying this - and wanted to be sure that he knew it, too. Cold fingers wrapped around his neck. Broodwing lifted him until they were at eye level.
"I have waited a long, long time for this," Broodwing said. The mercenary allowed himself a brief moment to savor his victory before raising his other hand to strike.
Bridge made one last, futile attempt to pull away as the deadly hand paused over his head, poised to strike. Hot shards of pain lanced cut through him and he stifled a moan.
Broodwing suddenly stiffened. His grip loosened. Bridge followed his gaze. Cruger strode towards them, his sword held high. He spared a glance at Bridge before focusing on the mercenary. "Broodwing!"
"Cruger," Broodwing hissed, and threw Bridge to the side like a rag doll. He spun and fired at the shadow ranger.
Cruger tilted the blade of his sword and deflected each beam in turn. A shot ricocheted back and struck Broodwing, knocking him off his feet. The bat righted himself with a snarl.
"It's over, Broodwing," Cruger said. "You can't win."
"Neither can you," Broodwing replied. He pitched a gleaming sphere with whirling red lights at his opponent.
Cruger dove forward as the bomb exploded with an ear-shattering bang, leaving a man-sized crater in the ground. Cruger hit the ground in a practiced roll and came up on his feet. Lifting his sword, he drove the hilt into Broodwing's helmet. The crack widened and a spiderweb of lines radiated outwards. Broodwing gasped for air as his glass helmet shattered.
Cruger drew his morpher. "Judgement -"
"I wouldn't do that," Broodwing managed. His voice was high and distorted. He took a wheezing breath and held up a black containment card. "The power released by your judgement mode might destroy this card. Are you really ready to sacrifice your own wife?"
Cruger hesitated. Broodwing wheezed with laughter and swiped a hand across his chestplate, activating a teleporter before Cruger realized his intentions.
Bridge aimed his blaster, his hand shaking. The laser blast hit Broodwing at the last possible moment. The bat fumbled mid-teleport and dropped the precious card. Cruger and Bridge watched breathlessly as the card spun on its edge and fell.
Cruger looked into the card, and a flood of emotions nearly overwhelmed him. There was disbelief, sorrow and joy. Disbelief that, against all odds, Isinia had survived. Sorrow for the decades they had lost and the suffering she had endured. But most of all there was joy. No matter what happened, no matter how the war ended, he knew they would be together.
Cruger heard a soft sound nearby as Bridge staggered to his feet. The shadow ranger tightened his grip on his sword. "You saved her. Why would you do that?"
"Nobody deserves what Broodwing had planned for her," Bridge said quietly. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Look, I know that things have gone really, terribly wrong, but I don't want to fight you."
"You're in no condition to fight anyone," Cruger countered. Bridge's lip was split, his face streaked with blood. The green ranger looked like he could barely stand. Cruger glanced at his fallen rangers. "And why should I trust you, after everything you've done?"
Bridge sighed. "Maybe it doesn't matter now, but I was trying to do the right thing. I'm not brainwashed or under a spell, and I never was. I know what I did and I'm ready to take responsibility for it."
Cruger regarded him evenly as he spoke, revealing nothing.
"If you want, you can contain me right now," Bridge added. "I know I deserve it and I won't stop you." He was almost relieved when Cruger drew his morpher.
Bridge braced himself to be judged.
The rumble of an engine interrupted them. Gruumm's motorcycle accelerated towards them and skidded to a stop, leaving deep gouges in the ground. Mora hopped off the back.
"Cruger!" Gruumm said. He climbed off his motorcycle. "I see you were too late to help your friends... again." He gave Bridge a dismissive look. "It seems like history is repeating itself."
"Give it up, Gruumm," Cruger retorted. "Your ship is destroyed. You have nowhere to go."
"I no longer need the ship," Gruumm replied. He gestured at the battle-torn city. "This planet is rich in resources. It will be the new Troobian home-world, the center of my galactic empire. All of these pitiful humans will make perfect slaves."
"Not as long as I'm here," Cruger said. He lifted the Shadow Saber and locked gazes with his arch-nemesis, his eyes burning like the fires of Sirius.
"It's over, Mora," Bridge said. Mora paused, her pencil poised over the page. "I should never have helped you."
Mora seemed genuinely hurt. Her eyes swam with tears. "But I thought we were friends!"
"You don't know what a friend is," Bridge said.
Mora gave a scream of fury and tore out pages in quick succession. Two monsters attacked from either side and Bridge ducked. They struck each other and collapsed, flapping their fins and paws helplessly.
A thick, writhing vine struck him from behind as another encircled his leg. Bridge lost his footing and scrabbled against the ground as the monster dragged him closer. A third vine snaked its way around his neck and the plant monster began to throttle him.
He dug his fingers under the vine and pulled with all his strength. Tiny razor-sharp spines cut into his hand, and the vine barely moved before tightening. The darkness gripped him as his struggles grew weaker.
"That's enough," Mora said, without looking up from her sketchbook. The monster loosened its grip and Bridge gasped for air. Vines encircled his hands, pinning them to his side. "I want him to watch."
Wave after wave of monsters attacked Cruger, grabbing at his arms and sword with no regard for their own safety. These monsters were blocky and hastily drawn, but what they lacked in finesse they made up in brute strength.
As Bridge watched, one wrapped a chain around the Shadow Saber. Cruger tugged and pulled, trapped in a deadly tug-of war. By the time he recovered the weapon, Gruumm had disappeared into the crowd.
"Gruumm!" Cruger shouted. "Face me!"
"I'm right here, commander," Gruumm mocked from behind him. A blast incinerated two unfortunate monsters before striking Cruger. Gruumm swung his staff and the broad side of the weapon hit the the shadow ranger with a resounding crack.
"Doesn't this bring back old memories, Cruger?" Gruumm said. As Cruger staggered, Gruumm lowered the staff until it was pointed at his heart. Cruger raised his sword a moment too late.
"No!" Bridge cried. He struggled to free himself, to help Cruger, but the monster only tightened its grip. Gruumm smirked and turned his attention to Bridge.
"You - you won't get away with this," Bridge said fiercely.
Gruumm rumbled with laughter. "Who will stop me. You? Your friends?" he jabbed at Cruger with the point of his staff. The defeated ranger groaned faintly. "Anubis "Doggie" Cruger?"
Mora shook her head apologetically. "This is all your fault, you know. I'd really hoped that it wouldn't have to end this way. If you had just gone along with the plan, I might've been able to talk Gruumm into letting you live."
Gruumm met his eyes. Bridge looked into the red depths and saw pure, remorseless evil.
"Thank you for your help, green ranger," Gruumm said. "I could never have done it without you. And now, it's time to die."
A/N: This was actually intended to be two chapters, but I figured that it would just be cruel to post a short chapter after skipping a regular update! As always, reviews are appreciated. :)