The four remaining Rangers inside of the Praetor's ship continued deeper inside. The temperature began to lower, but their tension didn't.
Maybe they were all too scared to let their guard down.
"After hearing so much about you from Andros I'm conflicted about how I feel," Zhane said to Tommy.
"Why's that?" Tommy asked, "Don't live up to the 'Legendary Tommy Oliver'?"
"I wouldn't say that exactly," Zhane said with a smirk, "Just that you aren't really as sagely as he built you up. To me, you just seem like a good soldier."
Jace could see his father insulted by the remark but didn't retort because Zhane hadn't meant anything malicious by it.
"Well looky here," A slithering voice taunted from the shadows.
The four all stopped and watched carefully as Scorpio appeared.
"You again?" Jace asked, "Haven't we kicked your ass enough times?"
Scorpio shrugged, he was already in his twisted monster form and his meaty lips sneered. "Seems you're still a bit ate up about what I did to your friend… or maybe your mom."
Tommy's fists tightened, "What did you do to Hayley?"
"She's okay," Jace replied.
But Tommy's expression didn't shift.
Suddenly he shook his head and turned to Zhane. "You got this right?"
"Of course," Zhane replied. "You've gotta stop the Praetor." Zhane then turned to Astrid who nodded.
"Of course I'm in too." She replied.
"Me too," Jace blurted.
But Tommy put his hand on the Red Ranger's shoulder. "I know you wanna get revenge but I'm gonna need your back on this one."
Scorpio just laughed. "Fine, go. I'll catch up after I destroy your friends."
"Good luck with that," Zhane said as his daughter and he both morphed.
But Scorpio seemed unfazed, "You aren't the only one with a fancy suit." He said and raised a familiar device wrist device.
In a flash Scorpio was encased in a black colored crystalline suit of armor, making his already bulky form even more daunting.
The two Rangers took stance as the Pseudo-Ranger charged.
Kira didn't know how to respond, after all, nothing felt real. Slow-motion took the scene as the sharp pain exploded across her body and the blood poured hot across her midsection. The blade scrapped her side, tearing jaggedly under his ribcage.
It didn't anywhere fatal, but it hurt like hell.
At least it distracted her from his face…
Tori moved in between them, she morphed into her armor and parried his blade with her katana.
"I know that's not Trent…" Kira muttered, "But what the hell is he?"
"One of Drayven's old experiments," Tanya replied.
"I don't like it," Kira said, she then raised her shaky arm and morphed. Her armor wouldn't speed the healing very much, but it dulled the pain and stopped the bleeding.
"No kidding," Adam muttered and transformed into Zeo Green and slammed his ax into the Robo-Ranger's side.
"Kira!" Adam called to the Yellow Ranger. "We can handle this. Go on and get those Rangers out of here."
She hesitated a moment, watching as the Rangers battled the android. She didn't like the idea of leaving them.
But if she was being honest she probably wouldn't be much good against him anyway.
She just nodded and rushed off, never quite having felt that things could be this difficult.
Rocky swung his Power Sword through two of the automations with a single swing.
"If you think these guys are tough," The Red Ranger told his blue son. "You shoulda cut your teeth on some Putties."
Rylan dodged one of the grunts and stabbed his sword forward. The metal easily cut through its steel chest and it fell limp against the ground.
"I think I got this," Rylan said with a smirk behind his visor.
At that moment three more closed in him. Rylan grabbed for the hilt of his sword which still sat in its chest and tugged as hard as he could. Yet the weapon didn't budge in the slightest.
He jumped back from his weapon to escape the grasp of the automations. He barely missed the swing of the enemy as he moved.
His dad moved in response, cutting the automations into scrap with several powerful swings.
"Easy mistake," The Red Ranger said and tugged the sword out of the fallen machine and tossed it back to Rylan. "I've done the same thing."
Rylan grabbed his sword and nodded.
But before he could express his gratitude Alpha 1 sent a shockwave of energy at the Red Ranger, sending him to the ground with lightning tearing across his suit.
"I refuse to let anything separate me from true fulfillment of my programming," The robot said. "Life will cease and peace will begin."
"Alright, enough of that," Rylan muttered. He looked down at his dad, struggling through the pain that enveloped his body. He took a breath and raised his sword.
And he rushed towards Alpha-1.
His sword began to glow, blue flames escaped the katana once more, and he swung down.
In a clean swing Alpha-1's arm was cleaved from his body where it clanked dually against the metal floor.
The robot squinted it's yellow eyes, and it's other arm surged forward and clamped around Rylan's neck.
After a few dozen floors and three times as many robotic grunts, Tommy and Jace found their journey's end at a massive room filled with humming machines. The Praetor's massive body towered over Bandora, who held her eyes tightly clamped shut.
The two were tired, having snuck around and fought unmorphed.
The Praetor didn't turn towards them, but his voice drifted into their ears, "I knew it would come to the two of you. The Oliver clan, truly a persistent breed."
Suddenly there was movement from the shadows, and Tommy Oliver ducked just in time for the laser sword to sail over his head.
"Kiaido," Tommy muttered, "I've heard about you."
"Tommy Oliver…" The armored warrior said, "The sentiment is shared."
"This isn't going to be easy," Tommy said, "I'm going to need some White Ranger power." He raised his cracked Master Morpher and called, "It's Morphin' Time!"
In a flash, the Black Dino Thunder Ranger stood in his place.
He looked down at his armor and muttered, "Excuse me?"
But the warrior wasted no time on the confusion, he charged towards the Black Ranger and swung his sword forward.
Jace's dad parried the blade with his staff, and Jace figured that would be a good time to get involved.
In a flash of red, he summoned his armor and charged towards the bounty hunter with his freshly crafted blade.
Tommy shot a bolt of lightning from his weapon that knocked Kiaido back several steps. "Keep him distracted," Tommy told his son.
Jace didn't need to hear any more, instead, he dove forward and parried blades with the bounty hunter.
"It's interesting," Kiaido said as the two danced around each other, "How similar the two of you move."
"Who?" Jace asked.
"Lucius," Kaidio explained. "The same warrior blood travels through your veins."
Jace felt a flare of anger as he swung his sword down, making contact and sending sparks from his opponent's armor. "Don't compare me to him."
"You should be flattered," Kaidio said, "Lucius is one of my greatest achievements."
"Then you must have a pretty dull life."
The red armored bounty hunter kicked Jace's sword out of his hand and swung his laser sword into the Ranger's chest.
Tommy turned away from examining his Master Morpher and rushed to his son's aid.
But the bounty hunter anticipated this and swung into the Black Ranger's midsection. He fell to the ground and demorphed.
Tommy then watched in horror as his Dino Thunder Power Coin instantly turned to dust.
Meanwhile, Jace had just enough time to scoop his sword off the ground and deflect the attack before he could lose his head.
Tommy shook his head and raised his morpher, "It's Morphin' Time!"
He didn't care that the Turbo Red armor was what came next, instead, he used it's enhanced speed to rush forward and tackle the enemy.
Jace watched the two of them crash into one of the strange machines that littered the room.
Kiaido was a blur of motion, with his dad struggling to keep up with every attack.
"I've waited my whole life for an opponent like you," The bounty hunter said. "Another wayward soul, polished by years of battle."
"Nice poetry," Tommy said and got another attack in, this time hitting the warrior's left shoulder. "But maybe you should focus on the battle."
"I am," Kiaido said. "Battle is poetry, and war is art."
The warrior spin kicked Tommy backward, throwing Turbo Red off his feet and knocking him out of his armor.
Jace watched with growing anger, a lightness overcame his body, followed by a floating tingle.
And everything suddenly became greener.
Jace armed his sword and charged forward, stabbing at Kaidio's thick armor and knocking the warrior back.
Something came over Jace, and his body carried itself forward. His swings became more fluid, more perfectly timed. Three more cuts racked across his enemy's armor, and Kiaido in response pushed harder.
Their blades connected once more, this time with enough force to break the tip of Jace's sword off.
Kaidio laughed, "The limitations of a metal blade." And he primed his laser sword.
Finish him. A voice spoke to Jace. You know what to do.
Jace didn't have time to think, instead, he closed his eyes and did what came naturally.
He charged forward and pointed his broken blade towards the warrior's head. His body glowed with green energy as he pushed the jagged metal through Kiaido's visor.
There was a brief moment of resistance, then a horrible wet feeling.
The warrior fell back, just in time for Lucius to appear.
"Master!" Lucius exclaimed and rushed towards the fallen warrior.
In a flash of purple energy, he summoned the Sword of Darkness slashed at Jace, throwing the stunned Ranger back as he embraced the bounty hunter.
Lucius looked down at his fallen master, the sword still stuck out from his cracked visor, and he could almost see the damaged flesh below.
"Lucius…" The warrior spoke, "I'm glad you arrived before I passed on."
The boy didn't speak, he just clutched the dying warrior as hard as he could.
"Don't be afraid of death," Kiaido spoke, "It follows all warriors like a hungry predator. Besides… it's time for you to take the mantle. You were born Troy… but I made you Lucius."
Tears fell onto the warrior's helmet. He raised his gloved hand and touched the boy's face. "You will carry my spirit, and that of my people."
The warrior fell dead in Lucius's arms and the woman stepped behind him. "Mourning can wait. It's time to claim your destiny."
But Lucius stood up and stepped away. "After I take care of a certain Red Ranger." His armor appeared and he charged towards Jace.
Scorpio swung his bladed arm towards Zhane, but the Silver Ranger ducked under the swing and used his Super Silverizer to blast the armored monster back with a rush of sparks.
Astrid moved in from the side and swung her sword against Scorpio's side.
"You've been a real pest for quite some time," Scorpio said, "I'm going to enjoy killing you."
"Good luck with that," The Silver Ranger said with his weapon converted into its blade mode, "I'm not going to let any of my family get harmed on my watch."
"Didn't stop them from getting mom," Astrid said under her breath.
Zhane paused, and didn't notice the stinger stab into his chest.
Astrid moved immediately, she slashed Scorpio in the chest, knocking him back while Zhane fell to the ground.
"You might want to take care of that," Scorpio said smugly, "I made sure to pump him with a decent amount of poison."
"I'll be fine," Zhane said and steadied himself. Before falling back to the ground.
Astrid moved between her father and Scorpio, holding a defensive stance with her sword raised.
"Hey dear…" Zhane muttered, "I'm sorry about your mom. I wasn't there to protect her. I was too absorbed in my mission." He laughed, "I thought if we could stop the Praetor before he even got started it would make a huge difference… guess I got too big-headed."
Astrid nodded, not taking her eyes off the approaching enemy.
"She'll love seeing you in pink," Zhane said. "It looks perfect on you."
"That's a cute sentiment," Scorpio said, "But all she'll find is her daughter painted red, and I'll be just as happy to deliver the same fate to her. It would almost be as erotic as ending the life of Astronoma."
Astrid's grip on her sword tightened… and something shifted inside of her. The same power she'd felt when she battled Lucius bubbled to the surface.
The black-armored warrior continued towards her, but Astrid raised her sword.
"My mom isn't Astronoma!"
A bolt of pink lightning shot from the blade and hit him in the chest, throwing the creature off his feet.
She didn't waste any time questioning this new ability, instead, she took an offensive stance and charged towards him.
Alpha-1 smirked at Rylan deviously, as he struggled to breathe even with the protection of his suit.
His gloved hands reached towards the metal clamp, but he couldn't make a single move towards freeing himself.
Meanwhile, his dad struggled to his feet.
"It's useless," Alpha-1 said. "I've disrupted your morphing flow."
"Guess I need a new one," Rocky muttered and raised his Master Morpher. In a flash, Zeo Blue charged towards Alpha-1.
But the machine turned towards him and shot a concentrated laser blast that knocked him out of his morph.
"I was programmed with extensive knowledge of the Morphing Grid and all of its… flaws. Of course, I'd know the best way to handle Rangers."
Rylan was overwhelmed with panic. He couldn't breathe, his dad was laying on the ground, and the evil robot was winning.
He needed to come up with a plan, and he had to do it fast.
The robot's grip tightened on Rylan's throat, and he was beginning to feel himself fade from reality.
That was when he felt a tiny nudge in the back of his head. It felt like something was calling out to him.
Normally he'd be completely dismissive of such a sensation, but he was running out of ideas.
So he closed his eyes and gave in to the feeling, and the sword at his side began to pulse faintly with blue energy. This was different than the Tora Flames he had tapped into previously, this was the next evolution, nothing but raw energy.
With darkness creeping into every corner of existence around the young man he pulled his sword back and jabbed it forward with all of his strength. It punched through the android's chest as sparks poured out like blood from a torn jugular.
Rylan fell to the ground as Alpha-1 looked at Rylan with as much malice as a robot could muster.
"I wasn't programmed to feel resentment, but I'll make an exception for you," It muttered before growing silent.
"Good job kiddo," Rocky said as he stood himself up, teetering slightly. "Now let's go see who needs our help."