Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. Everything you don't recognise is mine.

WARNING: This chapter contains blood and semi-graphic death. There are also mentions of global genocide and extreme amounts of destruction. If you are offended by these things, read Tinywarz Rangers chapter 8 for the 'cliff notes' version.

Chapter Fifty Four: The Impossible

Sweat trickled down his brow as he worked on the device.

By his reckoning, he had been slaving over it for about a day and a half. The girl who was apparently AJ's great, great granddaughter had been by his side the entire time, not saying much. Looking up from the circuitry, his eyes roved the mostly empty Zord Bays again as he tried to remember which Zords had gone where. In an ironic twist of fate, the only Zord that was in its position was the Chronos Zord. He had wanted to take the Zord and go back to the past with it…but something inside him had stopped him cold. That would be the easy way out and he was damned if he was going to take it. He had already cannibalised the Simul-Deck for the positron generator and had reconnected all the wires to the main power source. Closing the back cover, he sighed deeply. He would only get one chance at going back to his own time.

But…he wasn't ready.

He knew he was leaving this future behind and it would soon cease to exist…but he couldn't help but think about the world he would be leaving behind. If the future didn't blink out of existence, the women here would still be forced into a lifetime of sex slavery. From what he had heard from the girl, the males were sequestered in labs for experimentation and breeding purposes. He didn't want to do it, but there was only one option he had to take.

World-wide genocide.

The idea sickened him to the core. To destroy a monster was one thing as they threatened the peace and stability of the planet. It was great to hear and see an exploding monster and know that the world was safe once more. It was another thing to take another human life…especially when he knew he had to use the Power to do so. The women had told him the story of the Orange Knight was believed everywhere by all women and men alike and was their only bastion of hope. He also knew that any hope they had in this hell-hole was a hope of a quick and painless death. For them, death would be a blessing. For him…it would make him into the very things he fought: a monster. Visions of Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust flashed through his mind and he squeezed his eyes shut at the thought of adding his name to the list of mass-murderers. Even the thought of it being for the best didn't help at all.

Placing the complete time hole generator down, he stood up and walked towards the open door. Thankfully there were no security patrols out in this area so the door had remained open. He looked out onto the hovels that the women lived in and then up at the sky filled with red and black clouds. He saw the hopelessness in their eyes and the forced emotions they wore before heading off to 'work'. Glancing behind him, he saw the girl tracing her fingers delicately over his workplace with the same look of hopeless wonder in her eyes. He had seen the injuries that most of the women came back with – bruises, burns and deep flesh wounds that would take weeks to heal. Their eyes also had lost the faint glow of happiness and hope that they seemed to develop at 'home'. Looking down at his trembling hands, he forced them into a fist and drew in a shuddering breath.

"I hope you will remember this trip when you do go back to your time. Sear these images into your heart and brain for this is what will happen if you fail."

He blinked as Baboo's last words echoed in his mind. Flicking his left wrist, he summoned his Utahraptor Power Coin and looked at it. The gold disc shone in the muted light as he flipped it up into the air a few times. Hearing a muted squeak of surprise, he turned around to see the girl staring at him with wide eyes. No, not at him; she was staring at his Power Coin. He closed his eyes and quirked his lips upward. She had probably figured out who he was the moment she saw him as he had heard her muttering to herself while he worked. AJ had done a good thing in drilling the stories of the Rangers to her family. Come to think of it, she had probably snapped a shot of his body and had kept it somewhere…and he didn't want to think about that anymore. For one thing, it wasn't him who had died…even if it had been.

Catching the Power Coin as it landed in his palm, he felt a warm hand slide over his fist. Opening his eyes, he saw a pair of brilliant emerald eyes looking at him. He sighed, but made no motion to release her had from his.

"The cryogenic experiment…that was a lie, wasn't it? You…you're the Orange Knight, right Sugarcube?"

He nodded slowly, seeing her emotions shift from confusion to shock and finally acceptance. Removing her hand, she led him just outside the door and in the middle of a small crowd. Earlier, she had told him that the true believers would be coming out of the woodwork now as the door to the Ultra Cavern had been closed for years. He had asked how she had gotten in or out and she had just given him a strange smile. That had puzzled him greatly, as the security system ran a check on DNA…but that was impossible. Unless Xonix had done some freaky shit with his body, he didn't know how that would be possible.

"Ladies, our prayers have been answered. The Orange Knight has returned from his exile and will save us!"

Shocked silence settled over the crowd for a few minutes. Then the screaming and pleading began. As if reading the mood, a torrent of rain began to fall from the skies above. The women surged toward him with their faces contorted in agony and sadness. The emotion in their voices was gut-wrenching…as were their pleas.

"Kill me!"

"Kill us, please!"

"I want to be with my husband again, kill me!"

"Release us, please!"

Weihan staggered back as the frantic women clawed at each other to be the first to die. His mind raced as he looked around him and at their faces. The raw emotion battered and bruised his spirit and it was all he could do not the start crying in front of them. One woman made it to the front of the mob and threw herself at him, arms outstretched. Acting on instinct, he summoned his Raptor Sabre to him and slashed out at the flying figure, swallowing hard as he felt the blade slice through flesh and bone. As the woman fell to the ground in two pieces, Weihan stared at the now silent crowd and then at the blood dripping off his blade. Dropping it to the ground, he turned around and vomited up everything he had eaten over the past few hours. He flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder and didn't look up as the tears broke free.

He looked up at the storm and forced down the emotion. The women behind him stopped, as if stunned that their saviour was nothing more than a mere man. Clearing his throat and spitting out the last of the bile, he spoke in a heavy voice.

"I may not like this, but it is my duty as a Ranger to end your suffering. You will all see the glory of the Orange Knight, no, the Orange Ranger as your last images."

Pushing himself up from the muddy ground, he summoned his Ultra Crystal to him and lifted it above his head. He could feel the eyes of the women on it and could sense their desire to be freed from the Hell of their lives. Lightning flashed overhead as the rain fell heavier, soaking him to his skin. Shaking the water out of his eyes, he inhaled deeply.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise."

The words were spoken flatly and with no triumph. As he brought the Crystal down to his chest, he heard the gasps and yelps of the women as the Power enveloped him. As his Battle Armour slid on, he heard the cries of the Utahraptor, Hydra and Crocodile but they sounded mournful. As soon as the transformation ended, he picked up his blade from the muddy ground and turned towards the women. Swallowing hard, he strode toward them and lifted his blade.

The next ten minutes flew by in a blur of rapturous cries, sobs and the ironically melodious ring of his Sabre as it cut through the air. Explosions rang out everywhere as hovels imploded in balls of gas and flame. Weihan kept his eyes open the entire time, committing each act and each face to the video memory of his suit and the emotional memory of his heart. As the last woman stopped moving, Weihan looked around him and at his gloves which were soaked with blood. Falling to his knees, he kept staring at the blood until his hands were closed by two others. Looking up blankly, he saw that AJ's great whatever granddaughter had survived. She smiled gently at him and lightly kissed the side of his helmet.

"Ah will be right here when you finish. Ah will wait for you no matter how long it takes."

Swallowing hard, he nodded. He didn't want to…end her suffering just yet, but wouldn't it be cruel to leave her in a place where death had swooped down so recently? She shook her head at him, as if reading his thoughts.

"Ah will wait for you in your cave. Ah will be there, ah promise."

Nodding once, he stood up again and lifted a shaking hand into the air. He glanced at the Chronos Zord and shook his head, realising the temptation to use its time travel technology would be too great. Wordlessly, he summoned his Dinozord to him and it appeared in a bright flash. Looking over it, he saw that it was heavily damaged as great gouges were all over its armour and large chunks of metal from the head and legs were missing – as if chewed out. Lowering his hand, he looked over at the girl and she gave him a shaky smile. Jumping up into the cockpit, he saw that there was massive damage inside as well. The control panel had been ripped out and there was a note crudely taped to the seat. Picking it up, he stowed it in a subspace pocket and willed the Zord to move.

If the ten minute massacre flew by quickly, the next seventeen hours crawled by at a snail's pace. Building after building exploded as the ravaged Zord tore through them on remote as Weihan rampaged on the ground. Women cried in relief as their tortures ended and men praised his emotional strength as they died. Monsters and bounty hunters cried out in terror as they were destroyed and the most perverted cried out in pleasure as the blades pierced their flesh. He had lost count of how many he had killed and had lost track of how many times he had thrown up. The tears kept flowing, but he kept his helmet on at all times; only taking it off the throw up or to spit on a monster before it was destroyed.

Much to his surprise, there were some monsters who welcomed death as it signalled the end to what their lives had become. Some spilled out their life stories and had spoken of Xonix's total annihilation of the Wraiths. They praised his strength and determination and one monster in particular had known that he wasn't the Orange Ranger who had died centuries ago. That monster had been Jabarkas, now reduced to the Head of Human Dissection at the main lab. The Hurantic warrior had grown fat and old and had smiled at him through his tears of pain before dying in an energetic explosion.

Finally, it was almost over.

Leaving the rest of Earth a burning husk, he set down the Dinozord next to the Ultra Cavern doors. Leaping out of the Zord, he walked slowly inside as he heard the battered Dinozord finally fall apart. Hanging his Sabre onto his belt, he looked for the girl and found her viewing the archives of past battles. Walking next to her, he saw himself on the viewscreen and heard the words spoken.

"Xonix has sent down a big and mean mother, it looks tough as fuck, but I'll destroy it. I always do. I wonder why I'm recording this. It's like a last will or something…but I'm not going to die. Not just yet."

He chuckled at his youthful idealism and once more at that thought. There was no doubt that the past seventeen hours had aged him well past his years. There was also no doubt that it was ingrained into him that he couldn't save the Universe – or Earth – by himself. According to what he had heard from Jabarkas, Zordon's Rangers had only lasted a few days before they had been destroyed. Hearing the sound behind her, the girl turned around and pressed a button behind her. In a crackle of static, the image of himself was replaced by an image of a dishevelled AJ. His throat constricted as she began to speak to…him.

"This is a message to the future you. You know who ah'm talking about. Ah jus' saw your body bein' paraded down George Street and ah had to know. You gave me a copy of your bracelet after that night and, well, ah'm here. Seein' all this…it's true. You're dead an ah'm still here. Now, ah don't know what ah did, but ah'm willin to bet that ah just put a security lock on this message so that mah kids and grandkids will be able to access this. An' you as well."

Weihan blinked behind his helmet. He had spent a night with AJ and had told her who he was? That was…well, it wasn't impossible as AJ had given him her private number. Whatever it was, it was surely something that would probably come to pass now.

"Now, ah know you're gone. You jus' did your thing but you need a team. Ah don't know how ah know you'll see this, but ah know in mah heart that you will somehow. Ah love you an ah'll never forget what we shared. Our kids are gonna grow up in a world filled with evil, but someday one of them will find you again. Ah love you, Sugarcube."

As AJ's image winked out, Weihan felt tears start flowing again. Stepping back, he leant against the worktable and looked at the ground, the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. He didn't even blink once as the Main Power finally failed, only leaving the lights of the work table on to illuminate the cavern. As she stepped closer to him, he looked up and cursed his blindness as he saw the remarkable similarity between himself and the woman in front of him. She took one of his bloodstained gloves and led him outside where the rain was finally beginning to ease up. Reaching up, her fingers found the latches on the sides of his helmet and she pulled it off, allowing the cool air to hit his face. Weihan bowed his head from his great, great, great granddaughter – not wanting her to see his red and raw eyes. He felt her lift his chin up and she looked him in his eyes.

"You did good today. You showed me what my great, great, great grandfather was like in his youth. You also showed extreme courage in taking up this task; a task no one should ever have to do. Wear your tears with pride as they are a symbol of your true emotions, bravery and honesty. All of their wishes, you have honoured them – every single last one."

Her hands dropped down and unhooked his Sabre from his belt. Weihan protested weakly, but she silenced him with a look. Holding the blade with one hand, she pressed the portable time hole generator into his hands and smiled softly.

"Remember this day when you go back to your own time. Remember it not as a time of sorrow, but as a time of strength. Celebrate life and the loved ones around you, but remember that darkness can come at any moment. Whatever you choose, I will be watching over you."

In a swift movement, the girl raised his Sabre and ran it through her stomach. Wrenching the blade out with rapidly weakening hands, she fell to the ground. Snapping out of his stupor, Weihan leapt forward and caught his kin to cradle her in her last moments. She smiled up at him as he asked what her name was. Shaking her hear, she answered.

"Ah'm named after mah great, great, great grandma – Jacqui Apple Liang. Grandpa Weihan, always remember that strength comes from both within and without."

As the last word fell from her lips, she gazed up at the clouds and smiled softly. Weihan looked up to see what she had seen and saw a small break in the clouds. Brilliant blue sky shone through for a second and when he looked back, she was gone. Her face was fixed in an expression of pure peace and a brilliant smile was on her lips. Cradling her body close to him, he walked into the Ultra Cavern and laid her on the shattered remains of the Main Console. In the silence of the night, he opened the portal back to his time and stepped through.

On the dead and barren world, only the memories remained.

TBC…