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Chapter 24 – Zords
The thrill and primal rush of the Dragonzord's power was intoxicating as Kay's mind flooded out into the freshly formed construct yet as the Green Ranger took control of the machine they felt something push back and seep into their own consciousness, a mind like that of a savage and hungry animal intent on the kill. The Dragonzord was propelled by raw magic and Morphing Grid energies as it powered through the air, casting a shadow on all below it which threatened to blot out the sun and whilst its' vast wings didn't need to move for the Zord to fly Kay still found themselves doing so, urged on by the same predatory instincts that tore a mechanical yet terrifyingly alive howling shriek from the jaws of the Dragonzord as both it and Kay sensed a threat against it in unison.
Since being born, for that was the best way to describe the act of being released from their stasis pod and becoming an actual living being for the first time, Kay had enjoyed combat; their blood sang in their veins with the surge of adrenaline with each clash of blades or exchange of blades but the thought of killing an opponent and snuffing out that spark that made everything about the combat what it was, or worse still targeting those incapable of fighting back seemed to be a senseless waste of life; the whole universe was new to the Green Ranger and as they experienced everything for the first time the idea of deliberately making it a smaller, emptier place was one that grated against every fibre of their being.
The Dragonzord's rage and fury clouded those thoughts and a dull haze seemed to settle over Kay's thoughts whilst their pulse thundered in their ears as the first rockets streaked towards them, making their reactions all the more vicious.
The Green Ranger brought the Dragonzord into a sharp turn that sent waves outwards as it disturbed the water below, its' wing tip mere inches from the surface and a salvo of missiles that had been launched from behind the monstrous machine soared overhead, their tracking systems bringing them about in far less fluid and graceful arc only for each of them to blossom into flames and falling shrapnel as the drill tail of the Dragonzord lashed out with far more speed than something so large should have been capable of and swatted the projectiles away the mere annoyance that they were. Now facing the coastline of Mariner Bay Kay could see their attackers; a dozen tanks had been lined up and fighter jets could be seen racing towards them, each of the war machines was a primarily human design from a time before the world had been united and peaceful which had been modified with the addition of advanced weapons from other civilisations. The tanks featured large banks of missile and turrets featuring laser and plasma weapons, whilst the aircraft were propelled by something that left contrails of iridescent blue behind them and allowed them to move at incredible speeds.
Kay's face became a savage smile as they quickly surmised that it would not be enough; their mind and whatever consciousness inhabited the Dragonzord worked in perfect tandem and multiple targeting reticules came into existence over the cockpits' display and with a mere thought each reticule positioned itself over one of the tanks, locking onto its' target whilst the talons of the Zords' forelimbs opened to reveal missiles hidden within.
Ten rockets were fired and streaked towards the tanks; the explosions shook the ground for miles around and when the smoke and flames subsided enough for the coastline to be seen it was revealed that all twelve of the vehicles had been consumed in the blast.
Kay swiftly turned their attention towards the group of five fighter jets that had broken formation and opened fire as they attempted to surround the Dragonzord, they offered no terms or quarter and the Green Ranger responded in kind; sending their war machine tearing after the nearest fighter and crushing its' cockpit in the Dragonzord's jaws before promptly flinging the twisted remains into another which resulted in a devastating explosion. The Dragonzord tucked its' wings around itself as it climbed into the air and narrowly avoided each salvo of rockets before diving downwards and unfurling the vast limbs, ripping a pair of jets from the sky with the sheer force of the blows that struck them and consumed by an almost giddy feeling of bloodlust that overruled their own judgement the Green Ranger chased after the lone remaining aircraft as it broke off, descending upon it like some apex predator stalking its' prey and bringing the drill that formed the tip of the Dragonzord's tail around to shred the entire rear of the fighter and send it spiralling into the water below.
Now that the feeble resistance had been crushed it was time to focus on their true intentions.
The red mist seemed to abate, though not enough for Kay to choose anything other than continuing their current path and having the Dragonzord soar over where the knew the Aquabase to be
"Establish communication with spy drone" Kay ordered breathlessly, the words spoken aloud despite the entirely mental controls of the Zord and within a matter of moments the command was acted upon. The small robotic drone which Kay had deposited in the Aquabase was not intended to detonate, disable or take over the bases' various systems or even corrupt the files of the system it was introduced to; it was simply intended as a guidance system. Kay had realised exploring the Aquabase that it was truly an impossibly large structure, years of expansions and the integrations of various cultures' technologies had left the facility easily the size of a large town and finding a suitable target was something that could potentially take far more time than the Green Ranger had available to them.
"There" Kay breathed out as map of the Aquabase was superimposed over their display, showing a cross section of what lay beneath the waves and as the Dragonzord circled above it, shrieks and roars escaping it as it flew several targets were highlighting and prioritised until eventually Kay selected the primary reactor that powered the base.
The jaws of the Dragonzord opened wide and ethereal green light began to gather and coalesce into a swirling nexus within the machines' mouth, arcs of crackling energy sundering the air around it until eventually the Green Ranger commanded the Zord to open fire; what followed was a beam of green energy that resembled the attack Kay had used to defend against the Aegis Rangers' ranged weapon though comparing the torrent of scourging light unleashed by the Dragonzord to the Green Ranger's attack was akin to comparing a tsunami to a gently dripping tap. Countless thousands of gallons of water were flash-boiled in an instant, steam filling the Green Ranger's field of vision whilst a tactical display informed them that a forcefield protecting vital areas of the Aquabase was rapidly failing under the assault until finally a flickering sheet of cerulean light rippled into existence beneath the cover of the steam before shattering and a moment later an explosion rocked the seabed and sent tremors through the city itself; a flash of flames could be seen before they were quickly swallowed and extinguished by the sea.
It was done, Kay's hands trembled and the cockpit suddenly seemed far too small and airless as they realised that the had delivered the killing blow; the Power Rangers base of operations had been destroyed and the Rangers had been inside. A feeling they were unused to clenched at their gut as they realised that they would never see Panthera again, nor would they be able to test themselves against the cousin who continued to deny them.
Then they were nearly flung from their seat by the force of an impact that left the Dragonzord reeling in the air and its' cockpit display flickering and garbled for several seconds; Kay's eyes widened once they were able to see clearly again.
The Aegis Zords had been deployed.
The Plesion Zord was rising up from the depths to attack whilst the Yellow, Black and Pink Rangers machines could be seen stalking along the coastline and defending the city itself; the attack however had come from Mercy and her Hawk Zord and the Green Ranger quickly realised and was instantly impressed by the fact that the Red Ranger had clearly attempted to use the wing of her own mecha to blind the Dragonzord by tearing at its' eyes. With a laugh of utter joy the Green Ranger sent the Dragonzord after Mercy and towards the city, narrowly avoiding an attack from Tempestus.
It seemed the friendly competition would continue.
Princess Shayla had known that the inevitable was coming from the moment that she had seen Merrick sink to his knees as if in slow motion before a tortured scream of utter anguish escaped him.
Whilst Taylor Earhardt had been intentionally kept uninformed and left on Earth so that she would be able to train a new generation of Earths' defenders, the Wolf Ranger had been one of those whom Tommy Oliver had intended to have at his side during his assault on Acheron twenty years ago; yet neither he nor Zen-Aku had been able to be reached in time and the knowledge that so many Rangers had fallen whilst he had been none the wiser had utterly broken Merrick's spirit.
The Wolf Ranger and the Wolf Org whose souls remained connected and intertwined in some unknowable way had been travelling the world and rediscovering everything that had changed and everything that they had missed during their shared imprisonment and had only learned of the events that had befallen their fellow Power Rangers upon their announcement to the public at large as Project Lightspeed began its' efforts to unite the planet; the pair had reacted in entirely opposite reactions and whilst Zen-Aku had arrived at one of Project Lightspeeds' many bases offering his aid in any capacity that it could be given to keep Earth safe from this new approaching menace Merrick had simply cast himself into exile, returning to the Animarium yet never seeking out Princess Shayla or the comfort of those Wild Zords that still roamed the floating island and instead intending to live out the rest of his days in isolation and believing himself unworthy of anything less. It had taken Shayla over a year to find him and now she was shaken to her core as she watched what little hope remained in the man was shattered by the unmistakable certainty that Zen-Aku had passed on and that the bond between them had been severed violently.
"Merrick?" her voice trembled as she saw him slam his fist into the ground of the grassy plains which they stood at the edge of, a treeline close by and the outcroppings upon which the Lion Zord had often posted itself in the distance.
"He's gone" Merrick's voice was a hoarse and tortured sob and when he turned to look at Shayla the princess saw that with Zen-Aku's passing he had changed, as if some part of the Org remained with him; his eyes as well as being puffy and reddened now had fierce amber coloured irises. Before Shayla could offer any words of comfort she saw his head snap towards the trees, some minute sound demanding his attention.
Shayla followed his gaze and saw two individuals emerge from the treeline; the first of them being Max Cooper. A great change had overcome the Blue Wild Force Ranger and it was one that had pained her to see for the last twenty years; in the battle on Acheron Max had found himself in single combat with one of Lord Zedd's generals after his long time friend and Black Wild Force Ranger Daniel Delgado had fallen in battle. Max's hair had been allowed to grow out and been braided into dreadlocks which reached below his shoulders whilst his face sported a full and thick beard, though it did little to detract from the scars etched into his flesh by jagged talons or the unseeing milky orb that his right eye had become; most notable however was his right arm which had been severed at the shoulder, though Shayla would have no technology made by humans or any other species upon the Animarium her own magic combined with that of the Soul Bird had managed to provide a solution in the form of an organic prosthetic made from animated branches, vines and plant manner weaved and shaped into the hollow shape of an arm, the point where the limb had been grafted to his flesh left visible by the robe-like garment he wore.
The second figure was one whom the Princesses' feelings toward were complicated to say the least.
"Princess" Taylor bowed respectfully, she had not visited the Animarium in years and they could no longer honestly be considered anything more than allies of convenience.
"Taylor" Shayla replied simply, the use of the Yellow Wild Force Ranger's name being, rather than sign of familiarity, a simple refusal to acknowledge the titles that the warmongers of the industrial world had given her. When Tommy Oliver had come to her domain and sought the aid of her Rangers to fend off against an impending threat he had kept the facts that this threat had been across the stars from along with the fact that he intended to take each and every one of the Wild Zords into battle against a culture that seemed to exist solely for the purpose of conquest, when only Max had returned from the battle in the stars and informed her that the vast majority of the Zords had been obliterated the Princess had screamed and raged at the perceived treachery and had been ready to consign the world below her to its' inevitable doom; then Taylor had come to her and acted as an emissary for those who saw her sanctuary and all life within it as nothing but another weapon, her Yellow Ranger being the one to inform that Earth would be united and that the Animarium would be part of it one way or another and leaving the implication to hang in the air had stunned her; she had known that Taylor Earhardt was a warrior who would fulfil her oaths to those she swore to protect by any means but it felt as though she had never truly understood what that meant until that point.
"Princess" Taylor took a deep breath to steady herself and upon closer inspection Shayla realised that she had been crying lately
"We know why you're here!" Merrick's voice was raw and hateful as he leapt to his feet "The war has come to Earth and Zen-Aku gave his life to protect it"
"He did" Taylor nodded, voice cracking "And now the Aegis Rangers are trying to hold the line but they're facing a Power Ranger, one who has a Zord of their own"
"Then why are we still talking?" Max demanded intensely, his remaining eye focusing on the Princess "By your leave"
"Go Rangers" she nodded solemnly, her own feelings being far from enough to stand between her and her duty "The world needs you" Taylor nodded and a grateful expression crossed her face before she, Merrick and Max drew their Morphers and spoke in unison
"WILD ACCESS!"
In a flash of blinding, multicoloured light the Silver, Yellow and Blue Wild Force Rangers stood in the grassland when the light faded. Then the earth began to tremble and the sounds of gargantuan wildlife filled the air as the Wild Zords that had survived Acheron stampeded towards the Rangers, summoned by their need rather than any command. Taylor's Eagle Zord and Merrick's Wolf Zord rushed toward them howling and shrieking and whilst Max had lost the Shark Zord on Acheron the Giraffe Zord that had bonded itself to him came in its' stead, the three familiar Zords being joined by a further trio that had not been present on the Animarium in the battle against Master Org; a golden and heavily armoured Pangolin Zord, a Silver Peacock Zord with iridescent and shimmering tail feathers and a pearly white Dragonfly Zord, as the six Wild Zords drew close Taylor stepped forwards and reprised her briefly held role as leader.
"Form the Praetor Megazord!"
At her command the Zords began to reconfigure themselves, the Peacock Zord breaking almost in half and reshaping itself entirely as it formed a pair of legs, its' taloned feet forming knees whilst the wide fan of broad and shimmering tail feathers formed an armoured skirt like those worn by ancient centurions.
The Pangolin Zords' limbs and head tucked into its' body whilst vast sections of its' armoured exterior began to reorient itself and form a well protected and broad shouldered torso which resembled some form of heavy plate armour, its' hindquarters and tail rotating forwards as the Wolf, Giraffe and Eagle Zords took their customary places to form the arms and head; the Pangolin Zords' tail splitting in half down the centre as the hind quarters slid back to cover the Eagle Zords' head.
Finally the Dragonfly Zord moved into position, smaller than the others it landed on the hand formed by the Wolf Zords' skull, its' tail looping around the Wolf Zord to fasten it in place whilst the head slid back and rotated; finally its' legs collapsed and its' wings fanned out and reformed themselves into a wide and angular shield which along with the armoured appearance and the spear formed by the Giraffe Zord completed the motif of some indomitable protector.
Without a word the three remaining Wild Force Rangers ascended into the cockpit of their Megazord with a single superhuman leap and Princess Shayla watched them go, silently hoping that neither her chosen protectors or her Zords would suffer any more than they already had.
"We need form the-AHHH!" Mercy's order was cut off by a sudden jerking sensation and almost thrown free of her seat in the Hawk Zords' cockpit as it was brought to an abrupt halt in the air; the Dragonzord had caught the smaller Zords' left wing in its jaws and warnings flashed across Mercy's display as armour and inner workings were crushed and torn as the Dragonzord worried its' prey like a hunting dog before finally throwing the Hawk Zord aside, forcing Mercy to devote every ounce of her willpower to the mental controls of her machine to keep it from careening into the ground.
Evacuation efforts had been put into motion the instant the Dragonzord had teleported into Mariner Bay's airspace and with the military having been proved to be no match for the Green Ranger's war machine their efforts had been redoubled meaning that there were several miles of empty and abandoned city leading away from the coastline which Mercy had been attempting to lure the Dragonzord to; the Red Ranger understood that the collateral damage would be extensive but saw little option, as long as the Dragonzord remained flying over the sea only the Hawk and Plesion Zords could effectively combat it and whilst the Red Ranger's initial plan had been to attack from multiple angles and force the Green Ranger to split their attention it had become increasingly apparent that the Megazord would be required as the Dragonzord simply outmatched them.
"I have them!" Tempestus declared, his bubbling voice filling Mercy's cockpit as she righted her Zord in the Air she watched as the Plesion Zord burst from beneath the waters' surface to grab a portion of the Dragonzord's segmented tail in its' jaws and attempt to drag the larger machine beneath the waves; the effort fell flat as the Dragonzord dove downwards and took one of the smaller Zords' rear fins in its' mouth before lifting the Blue Rangers' machine into the air and hurling it away, as the Plesion Zord crashed into the sea, sending towering waves of water into the air with the force of the impact the Dragonzord flexed its' clawed fingers and unleashed a salvo of missiles at the point of impact, though their target had long since swum away.
"Mercy!" Panthera's voice was panicked "We have incoming!"
"What?" she demanded, terror and disbelief vying for dominance in her voice
"One signal" Aslaug growled warily "Moving fast but too small to be a-" the Yellow Ranger trailed off and Mercy watched in awed silence as something streaked downwards like a comet and collided with the Dragonzord, ripping the Green Ranger from the sky with a howl of animal fury escaping the machine as it was sent hurtling below the water.
"Aegis Rangers, this is Taylor Earhardt. Wild Force Yellow" Mercy's eyes widened, she knew that Taylor along with several of her other teachers and instructors were former Power Rangers but she had never expected to fight alongside a Wild Force Megazord
"Form the Aegis Megazord" Taylor insisted as the Praetor Megazord rose from the crouching position it had landed in "We'll cover you"
The Red Ranger watched in something akin to awe as the legendary Rangers had their mecha stand at the ready, spear and shield poised as they searched for the Dragonzord only for the Green Ranger to burst from the waves behind them and swing its' drill-tipped tail into the Praetor Megazords' back, the sound of screeching metal filling the air the Wild Force Rangers desperately attempted to fight back; their struggle bringing her Mercy to her senses and forcing her to focus.
"You heard her!" she called out to her fellow Rangers "WE NEED MEGAZORD POWER!"
"Megazord activation has been initiated" Mercy heard the now familiar synthetic voice and knew that it had been echoed in the cockpits of each of her team-mates' Zords; despite the damage to its' wing she brought the Hawk Zord into position and watched as Tempestus brought the Plesion Zord onto land; each Zord reconfiguring itself as they began the combination process.
"Megazord activated" the synthetic voice confirmed as the five Rangers were teleported into the cockpit, each of them feeling the rush of acceleration and becoming aware of each others' consciousnesses at the edge of their own as their minds were networked together.
"The Wild Force Rangers need help" Rensa observed, his gentle voice echoing in Mercy's mind and the Red Ranger was forced to agree; the spear of Praetor Megazord had been driven into the left wing of the Dragonzord, crumpling and piercing its' surface whilst in return the Dragonzord was trying to bite at its' attackers' face which was being protected and covered by the Dragonfly-Shield.
"It has enough weapons to fight us at the same time" Aslaug observed, her upbringing in the frozen forests of Mirinoi's polar region having taught her how to bring down many monstrous beasts but not quite preparing her for this particular battle.
"Yokai had four arms and a tail" Panthera mused, her mind returning to the first time she had met her fellow Aegis Rangers as a fierce smirk formed on her lips "We need more dakka"
"Well we've got that" Mercy grinned, all five Rangers' minds sharing a single thought and bringing the Aegis Megazord into action
"MEGA CANNON!" coruscating white light burst from the shoulder mounted cannon formed by the Plesion Zords' mouth and neck, aimed for the centre of the Dragonzord's back only for the thrashing mecha to jerk aside at the last moment in a savage attempt to tear at its' current opponent.
The blast struck its' right wing and obliterated it entirely.
The resultant shock-wave separated the Dragonzord and Praetor Megazord, whose spear was forcibly torn free of its' opponents' remaining wing which all but crippled and grounded the Dragonzord.
"Let's keep the pressure on!" Mercy ordered as she urged the Aegis Megazord forwards, wading into the sea and quickly reaching a full sprint which was halted forcefully as the Dragonzord rose to its' feet and opened its' maw wide. Mercy saw lights scattered around the surface of its' chest armour, which greatly resembled that of its' predecessor begin to flash and knew what was about to happen even before the swirling nexus of light had appeared in the Zords' gaping jaws but still could not react fast enough to prevent it.
"GET BACK-" she and her fellow Aegis Rangers were blinded by the beam of green light and the explosion that followed it and deafened by the warnings of critical damage that filled the cockpit.
The Mega Cannon had been struck directly and destroyed which had in turn ripped away armour from the Megazords' head and torso; most shocking of all however was that when the Rangers tried to bring their mecha to its' feet they realised that the left arm had been torn completely free of its' body in the explosion.
"Here they come" Panthera spat as she saw that the Green Ranger had chosen to press their advantage and bring their Zord lumbering towards them to deliver a killing blow
"Well if this is where my saga ends, it's been one worth telling" Aslaug laughed bitterly
"We're not done!" Mercy snapped "Not yet" through sheer force of will she brought the Megazord to its' feet alone; blood trickling from her nose as the strain of piloting the mecha took its' toll on her until she felt the mental weight be lifted and shared as her fellow Rangers followed her example. The Dragonzord rushed closer until the Praetor Megazord announced its' return, bursting from the sea and clutching the drill tail of their opponent in the hand formed by the Wolf Zord; the Green Ranger did not take the attack idly however and brought their mecha whirling around counter-clockwise and bringing their tail-mounted weapon screaming into life; the Aegis Rangers watched in horror as the head of the Wolf Zord was shredded and torn free of the limb before the Dragonzord bit down on the centre of the Dragonfly Zord and began to crush the smaller mecha; the Praetor Megazord managed to stab its' spear into the neck and shoulder of the Green Ranger's war machine and do considerable damage but in the end the shield and the Zord that formed it were destroyed entirely and the Dragonzord continued its' assault
"We have to help them!" Tempestus all but screamed as he watched the tail of the Dragonzord enter the back and burst through the chest of the Wild Force Rangers' mecha in a shower of sparks, shrapnel and various fluids. The Aegis Rangers agreed and as one the manifested their Megazords' gigantic claymore, wielding it their mechas' remaining hand as they charged.
The Green Ranger prepared to fire the Dragonzord's primary weapon into the Praetor Megazord, only for it to fizzle out at as the Wild Force Rangers drove their spear in the monstrous machines' chest and damaged something vital, leaving flames billowing from the inside of the Dragonzord. The Aegis Rangers picked up speed and prepared to charge, in response the Dragonzord abandoned its' current prey and used what little remained of its' propulsion system to launch itself into the air and clutch the Aegis Megazord in its' talons hurling it back into shallower waters before falling upon it
"WE'RE HIT!" Tempestus called out
"WE CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER BLOW LIKE THAT" Aslaug's voice was the most fearful Mercy had ever heard it and for good reason; as it lunged at them the Dragonzord had drove the swept back and streamlined fin atop its' head into the chin of the Megazord and several feet of its' length had burst up through the floor of the cockpit between the Red and Yellow Rangers, leaving their display flickering and sparks issuing from several damaged components; yet despite it all the Rangers could feel each others' presence in their minds and know that none of them had been injured and the Megazord continued to function.
"It's gonna crush us!" Rensa exclaimed as the spiked fin was ripped free of the cockpit and the Dragonzord's snarling face came into view before them with its' jaws opened wide; its' talons still gripping them too tightly for them to resist.
Then the spear of the Praetor Megazord burst through its' chest and left the Green Ranger's mecha vomiting fluids as it staggered away and faced its' latest attacker.
The hope that came with their rescue was short lived as the Aegis Rangers watched events unfold in horror; the Dragonzord's tail whipped around and ripped into the knee of the Praetor Megazord, all but severing the mechas' right leg as it tackled the lager machine and sunk its' claws into the skull
"NO!" Mercy screamed as she saw missiles deploy and a second later was forced to shield her eyes as ten warheads were sent burrowing into the cockpit of the Megazord, the explosions tearing its' head asunder from the inside and leaving the mecha motionless on the sea floor with waves lapping at its' body.
The Dragonzord turned to face the Aegis Megazord as it rose to its' feet and the Rangers' saw that its' clawed forelimbs had been reduced to twisted and molten stumps in its' gambit; prompting Mercy to let out a fierce declaration
"WE'RE FINISHING THIS NOW!" the Rangers' minds were in perfect unison as they brought the Aegis Megazord into a charge whilst the Green Ranger did the same with his own Mecha and as the two colossal machine collided with earth shattering force time seemed to stand still.
The Dragonzord had opened its' jaws and made to pounce upon its' prey in the same instant the Megazord had thrust its' sword and the end result was that the Dragonzord now hung limp and lifeless; suspended on a blade that had entered its' mouth and pierced the back of its' neck, severing all controls to the Zords' body.
"It's over" Tempestus breathed out, body sagging with the exhaustion of both the physical and emotional strain of the battle; Mercy's eyes narrowed as she saw a hatch open as the last of the light faded from the Dragonzord's eyes.
The Green Ranger was trying to escape.
"No" she answered coldly "It's not over"
The Aquabase had been thrown into blind panic the instant the Green Ranger had turned their sights upon it and it was only through sheer force of will that things were beginning to be brought under control once again.
Currently Kimberley was alone in Justin's now dark laboratory having been ordered to remain behind by Dana so that she could serve as mission control once power was restored to the base; something that was taking a worrying amount of time to occur.
"Justin what's your situation?" the former Pink Ranger demanded, trying her best to remain level headed despite the fear that left her feeling physically ill.
"Things are taking a little longer than expected" Justin answered, voice heavy with tension "Water damage means we're having to re-route some things but-"
"Be careful" Kimberley breathed out; the primary reactor that powered the Aquabase destroyed along with the entire subsection of the facility which housed it being consumed in the blast and the damage done to nearby areas restoring power and damage limitation had become priorities and Justin had immediately volunteered to be the one to lead the effort to get emergency power online despite the back up power supplies for the base being unresponsive.
"Okay" Justin's voice wavered as he breathed the word out "Moment of truth….Kim, wish me luck"
"Good luck" if Justin responded she didn't hear it, instead she only heard a low metallic thumping sound followed by a whine which built in pitch and intensity until it was deafening
"Justin? Justin?" she exclaimed, growing steadily more panicked until the darkness that surrounded her was illuminated by the red glow of emergency lighting and alarms began to blare throughout the base.
"We've got power back to the critical systems!" Justin exclaimed, overjoyed despite the severity of the situation "I can access other systems from here, contact Dana and tell her that we don't have teleportation yet but I can get her a secure route out of the base"
"Understood. See you soon Justin, may the Power protect you" Kimberley ended the communication and cast her eyes around Justin's workspace and first disabled the alarms and took a moment to centre herself; forcing her breathing into slow and regular inhalations and slowly allowing herself to think logically. Opening her eyes again she turned her attention to Justin's computer which was in the process of rebooting itself, it would only take a few moments though it limited what she could do right away and left contacting Dana as the next logical step by process of elimination.
"Vice Admiral, it's Captain Hart" Kimberley spoke into her communicator
"What's our situation Captain?"
"As you can see emergency power is on, we've lost teleportation and I can't confirm the Rangers' current status at the moment-"
"Damn it" Dana hissed through clenched teeth "We have kids on base Kim we need to get them out"
"Justin has eyes on your location, he's clearing you a path as we speak"
"Understood" Dana seemed fractionally more hopeful "Eric managed to recover the machine the Green Ranger implanted into our system and a blood sample; he should have reached Doctor Manx by now. TJ and I will lead the evacuation effort I need you to re-establish contact with the Rangers and find Zebidiah"
"Will do" Kimberley answered confidently before ending the communication and turning her attention back to Justin's computer and entering the password that he had given her; quickly she began searching for the former Lord Zedd only for her mouth to hang open in shock once she found him.
The sorcerer was keeping the seawater at bay.
His robes billowed around him and behind him stood many of the Silver Guardians with latent magical abilities who had become his students, Bridge Carson being recognisable among them; each of them wore expression that spoke of immense effort and grim determination as they kept a solid wall of water from flooding a vast section of the Aquabase which had been breached by the Dragonzord's attack. Cursing she quickly began entering commands with the goal of finding which computer Justin was currently using and once she had done so she sent him an urgent message to seal the blast doors nearest to the breach so that Zebidiah Lord and his students could join the evacuation; her hands trembled with nerves as each second seemed to last an eternity and she watched a lone student, a young girl whose powers had only recently been discovered as she played with an Ouija board collapse from exhaustion and be picked up by a fellow cadet until finally the blast doors were brought down and the seawater was stopped from flooding any more of the base.
"One down" Kimberley breathed out before beginning a video call to Doctor Kat Manx she needed confirmation that Eric Meyers had reached the medical facilities. The quality of the footage that greeted her suggested that Doctor Manx had answered on her phone, Kim's attention however was immediately drawn to the bloodstained scrubs that the feline alien wore
"What's going on?" she demanded "I thought medical had its' own power you should have been-"
"We do but there were injuries in that blast Kim….Not to mention casualties" her voice wavered "This needs to be important, I have critical-"
"Eric!" Kimberley exclaimed quickly "Is Eric with you?"
"Yes" Kat nodded though her expression darkened "He got here just after the Wild Force Rangers….We managed to get them stable"
"What?"
"They managed to evacuate before their Zords were destroyed, apparently Earhardt was prepared and had a remote teleporter" Kat explained before turning the camera towards a series of beds in the crowded triage that her small hospitals' waiting room had become; Kimberley felt bile rise in her throat as she saw Max Cooper lying unconscious with his prosthetic arm reduced to ruined splinters, Merrick trying to rise to his feet and return to battle despite Doctor Manx's assistants trying to force him back into a bed so that the lacerations to face and chest and his burns could be examined whilst Eric held the hand of a glassy eyed and barely conscious Taylor whose chest and left shoulder were wrapped in bloodstained bandages where a piece of the Praetor Megazords' superstructure, something akin to rebar had been embedded in her body.
"I have to go" Kimberley gasped, ending the call without another word. Eric had arrived at the medical facilities which meant that the sample of the Green Ranger's blood was there but the sight of the Wild Force Rangers pushed all other matters from her mind.
She had to contact the Aegis Rangers and assure herself that they were safe; no Rangers would die in her care.
"Come on, come on" she muttered to herself as she began trying to find a camera feed that would allow her to see the Rangers rather than merely view events as they unfolded through their visors; eventually settling on a heavily magnified live feed from one of Projects Lightspeeds' many satellites that had been designed and manufactured by Promethea.
What she saw made her stomach lurch.
The remains of the resurrected and redesigned Dragonzord and the Aegis Megazord remained frozen in position after their pilots had abandoned them, the former missing its' wings and forelimbs and having impaled through its' torso and neck in addition to considerable other damage; the latter missing an arm and much of the armour from its' torso and left shoulder whilst also sporting gouges left by monstrous claws and severe damage to its' head.
What truly scared Kimberley however was the sight of the decapitated and destroyed Megazord that the remaining Wild Force Rangers had piloted laying lifeless close enough to the shore that the waves didn't submerge it entirely; or more accurately she was scared by what stoop atop the wreckage.
The Green Ranger had obviously leapt onto the ruins of the Praetor Megazord after abandoning their own machine and the Aegis Rangers had given chase.
The Aegis Rangers watched the Green Ranger rise from the crouch the had landed in; armour still damaged from their confrontation with Zen-Aku and sporting additional burns most likely caused by damage to the cockpit of the Dragonzord and a visor so heavily cracked it was a wonder they could see out of it.
Mercy's hands balled into fists, her breathing ragged and her blood pounding in her ears as she struggled to keep the red mist that had settled over her vision from taking over.
"Stand down" she demanded voice strained by the effort of not simply screaming and raging at the Green Ranger for everything they had done.
"Surrender and power down, or we're gonna bring you down"
"I'm sorry" the Green Ranger's distorted voice lamented, seeming almost genuine "I can't do that cousin"
Mercy gave into the rage, the Green Ranger's words having robbed that last of her self control. She crossed the distance between them in an instant and the pulse of crimson light as she manifested her katana gave her opponent a mere fraction of a second to manifest their own blade
"WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME THAT?" the Red Ranger screamed, her usual agility and skill replaced by the unrelenting power of a berserk rage which forced her opponent back several paces with each frantically blocked strike; the blade of her sword wielded in a way more in keeping with a blunt weapon, battering and bludgeoning her opponent
"ANSWER ME!" Mercy roared her throat raw and voice cracking, the Green Ranger finally seemed to come to their senses enough to begin to fight back though it seemed far too little too late, where in their previous confrontation the Green Ranger had been capable of overpowering each of the Aegis Rangers now the Red Ranger was an unstoppable force and the two exchanged only a few blows, parrying and redirecting one another's swords at blinding speed until the Dragon Blade was knocked from the Green Ranger's grasp and Mercy brought her katana down in an overhead, hacking motion.
The Green Ranger caught the blade between their palms though its' edge still bit into the surface of their helmet and they were slowly forced to their knees
"Answer me!" Mercy repeated as the two of them struggled
"They really never told you what you are?" the Green Ranger's voice was openly surprised and almost gentle in spite of both the exertion and the distortion that garbled it and masked their identity
"We're the same" they continued even as Mercy's blade cut deeper into their helmet "The same but different, like reflections in a fun house mirror….And I never wanted to have to kill you cousin, I never wanted to kill anyone" the genuine regret and grief that filled the Green Ranger's voice may as well have been a klaxon or siren with the way it set Mercy on edge and pierced through her rage with its' chilling finality.
She saw everything happen in slow motion and was powerless to prevent it.
Cracks formed along the blade of her katana, hairline fractures that preceded the blade being shattered and broken in half; with the tension between them being broken Mercy staggered forwards into an oncoming blow from the Green Ranger who then thrust the broken blade of her katana directly at her heart.
"MERCY!" Several voices screamed as one Mercy felt herself being pulled backwards yet still felt the sensation of her own blade cutting into her. Looking down at her armour Mercy saw that she'd been slashed along her left flank, the wound running almost parallel to her bottom rib and her armour flickering as it phased in and out of existence around the injury; it was painful in the extreme yet not incapacitating though Rensa and Panthera still held her at bay whilst Aslaug and Tempestus attacked the Green Ranger.
The three of them were a blurred maelstrom of blows as they fought with the Green Ranger being forced further back along the remains of the Praetor Megazord until they were almost at the upper edge of the machines' torso where smoke and flames still rose up from the twisted and blackened mass that was all that remained of its' head. The Green Ranger leapt over Tempestus's spinning sweep at his legs and delivered a spinning kick to the Blue Ranger's helmeted face only to receive a crushing blow from the Yellow Ranger that flung them backwards; as they rolled to a stop and pulled themselves to their feet they were beset by blows once again and narrowly avoided a knee aimed at their skull, driving an elbow into the Yellow Ranger's helmet to knock them aside.
Tempestus allowed no respite and unleashed a ceaseless torrent of attacks, each blocked strike simply leading into another until the Green Ranger's knee was buckled by a punishing kick and a blow landed between their shoulder blades
"Enough!" their distorted voice roared as they flung themselves backwards, rising to their feet and slamming their elbow into the Blue Ranger's solar plexus before spinning and grasping Tempestus by the torso in a single motion then throwing away, hurling him from the torso of the ruined Megazord and onto its' right arm.
The victory was short lived as they saw the Pink and Black Ranger rushing into the fray, a moment too late they registered the movement in the corner of their eye as Aslaug delivered a running haymaker directly into their skull.
Kay's helmet shattered as they hit the floor.
"You!" Aslaug demanded, skidding it a halt and staring in disbelief at the sight of the person beneath the helmet; someone that she had been ready to call a friend
"I said I didn't want to kill you" Kay panted out as they dragged themselves to their feet, their voice heavy with exhaustion and their inhuman eyes focusing on the Pink Ranger "Panthera-"
"Why?" the single syllable trembled under the weight of the sheer hatred in encompassed and without their helmet to distort their voice Kay's reply was a choked half sob
"This is what I was made for, this is what I am" a bitter sound that could almost have been a demented cackle escaped them "I don't know what else I'm supposed to be"
"We're bringing you in" Panthera stated flatly, though her voice began to rise with each syllable that followed "We were ordered to kill you and I fought against it! One way or another this ends and if you won't let us bring you in alive….then fine" Kay looked at Aslaug, Rensa and Tempestus before them and glanced at Tempestus returning to his feet to their right; they gave a single nod of understanding and shifted their weight as they prepared themselves for what was about to happen.
Then their world exploded into pain and breathing suddenly became impossible.
Looking down they saw the broken remains of the Red Ranger's Katana protruding from their already damaged chest shield; glancing back up they saw Mercy had returned to her feet and had obviously gathered all of her might to hurl the blade at them from behind the other Rangers.
The Green Ranger staggered backwards several steps and saw the Aegis Rangers rushing towards them, before they could do so they had toppled backwards over the edge of the Megazord and into the waves below.
"KAY!" Panthera screamed, the other Rangers gathering around her
"If they come up for air we form the Power Blaster" Mercy ordered coldly, even as she sagged int0 Aslaug's body, bleeding profusely from her injury "We've given them enough chances" despite her tone Mercy was uncertain, her resolve wavering where her fierce words didn't as she tried to convince themselves that this would be no different to attacking any other monster or warrior of the Dark Empire.
Her resolve went untested as her Morphed state failed and the Green Ranger never resurfaced; her fellow Rangers finally leading her towards whatever remained of the Aquabase under the belief that Kay had drowned.
The Green Ranger had survived.
It was the dead of night by the time they returned to the basement of a derelict and abandoned town house in a disreputable area of Mariner Bay; falling through the open window and hitting the floor with a wet thud and remaining unmoving motionless with their vision blurred and head spinning before dredging up the last of the seawater from their lungs with a fit of violent, hacking coughs.
Kay's Morphed state had failed as they vanished below the waves, the fragment of the Red Ranger's sword which protruded from their chest vanishing shortly after and allowing the wound to heal at an accelerated rate, though the blood loss had still left them dizzy and the pain persisted even now. It had taken an act of supreme will for Kay to swim ashore, lungs burning as they remained below the waters' surface and several hours of flitting through evacuated buildings and lurking in shadows before they could return to their impromptu base of operations as they avoided the authorities as the police, military and Silver Guardians had deployed in force throughout the city and patrolled the streets whilst helicopters cast searchlights on the ground from above in an obvious attempt to both reassure the public that they were safe and ensure that no opportunistic criminals took advantage of the disarray by looting.
Eventually Kay, bloodied, soaked, exhausted and shivering as they were forced themselves to move; crawling across the floor of the basement as they knew without question that their legs would not be able to support their weight in that moment until they finally reached their stasis pod. In addition to its' medical and communication systems the sarcophagus which had brought them to Earth and fused arcane magic with technology also incorporated a short range teleporter; it would be unable to get Kay off of the planets' surface and in truth its' range would most likely not even span the entirety of Mariner Bay but it had allowed the Green Ranger to seemingly vanish at will in their conflicts with the Aegis Rangers, unfortunately Kay's homing beacon had been damaged by the seawater and rendered useless and they would now be unable to rely on the machine.
There were more important matters at hand and Kay forced themselves to focus even as they struggled to cling to their consciousness, slumping against the side of their stasis pod as they opened communications.
"Kay" Lord Zedd's rumbling snarl pierced the air as the flickering and translucent image of the warlord came into view towering over them
"I was summoned?" another, silky and domineering voice enquired "My Lord" Kay glanced up at the speaker, clearly an Acheron hybrid like themselves though she sported a chitinous and insect-like armoured carapace and splayed wide mandibles adorning her cheeks.
"Paradoxa, my Green Ranger" wishes to report
"Yes my lord" Kay managed to murmur, their voice betraying their current frailty "The plan proceeds"
The booming laughter that filled the air gave the Green Ranger far less comfort or pride than they had thought it might
"You've done well Kay" lord Zedd declared "Tell Paradoxa here what you have managed to achieve, with less resources and time than her Vanguard Fleet" Paradoxa's face betrayed the faintest ghost of a glower before she forced her expression into a mask of neutrality and kept her posture rigid, betraying nothing.
"Two of the Rangers Megazords have been damaged beyond repair, though the Dragonzord was lost in the process….the Lightspeed Aquabase, the seat of the Rangers power has been destroyed"
"And the Rangers themselves?" Paradoxa asked gently, the merest hint of a sneer in her voice.
"My cousin….the Red Ranger was injured" Kay nodded wearily, missing the way Lord Zedd's fists clenched at the way they described Mercy "But they live….they throw themselves into fire for each other, take killing blows for each other. I had no one to rely on-"
"You're time away from your people has made you soft child" Lord Zedd rebuked forcefully, bringing a quickly hidden amused smirk to Paradoxa's face "Our forces are always outnumbered, it is the Acheron Way; we wage war against larger foes and consume them whole after breaking their defences"
"Then perhaps the Acheron way could be improved" Kay noted, their voice a mixture of quiet thoughtfulness and open defiance as their human and Acheron natures wrestled with one another.
"Learn your place child!" Paradoxa spat venomously, though the Green Ranger paid her no mind and instead locked eyes with the holographic form of their fathers' masked face.
"Why do we do this? Why is it our way?" Kay demanded weakly "If the Acheron way is to make more of ourselves, take that which is useful from other cultures then we should work with the Alliance….their worlds and cultures willingly share the best they have to offer with each other; we could have a victory without wasting lives-"
"It would appear" Lord Zedd's voice was a rumbling of thunder, sending tremors through the ground as arcane energy crackled around their armoured form "That the knowledge implanted into you as you grew was not sufficient….too clinical perhaps, didn't instil the proper appetites in you. Paradoxa"
"Yes my Lord?"
"Prepare your fleet for an attack on Earth at once, we cannot allow them to recover"
"I will raze their cities to the ground my Lord" Paradoxa's face morphed into a leering grin that spoke of some primal hunger
"Kay you will present yourself to Paradoxa's forces….You will join the Vanguard Fleet and aid her in her conquests, perhaps some time at the forefront of my Empires' expansion and her guidance will make a proper Acheron of you"
"It will be my pleasure" Paradoxa's sneering tone promised nothing but endless cruelty and wanton bloodshed.
"Yes….father" Kay ground out before ending the transmission before waiting to be dismissed; their head falling back against the metallic surface of their stasis pod as they tried to decide on a course of action that would be more palatable to them than the few options currently available to them.
As Kay's vision dimmed, their endurance reaching its' limit and darkness finally claiming them the Green Ranger gave a soft smile.
They had a plan.
Authors' Notes:
Okay before you do anything else I need you to go to /watch?v=6adTUKgeA1s&t=829s on Youtube; Power Rangers Unworthy Vol.3 has been released and you should all watch it and subscribe to Unworthy Productions because the work they're doing is amazing.
You should also consider joining the Power Hour Discord server and Twitch stream.
Now that's out of the way, we're two thirds of the way through this arc and oh boy am I having fun with it….now we've just got a final confrontation and a wrap up that will lay the groundwork for the second act of this story, because everything that's happened thus far is just the beginning.
That being said, let's summarise shall we:
Okay so first off the Dragonzord functions a little differently to the Aegis Zords due to it being made by someone else and also out of necessity; the Aegis Rangers Rangers each control their individual Zords mentally and merge their consciousnesses Pacific Rim style when they form the Megazord to deal with the strain, the Dragonzord is roughly Megazord size on its' own so it actually has a level of AI that bolsters Kay….hence the whole primal urge to kill
Think of it this way, the Aegis Zords' of Jaegers, the Dragonzord is an Eva unit.
I feel like Kay got a lot of development this chapter that started with the realisation that they had a lot of information pushed into their mind as they were developing but they're genuinely experiencing everything for the first time, everything is new to them.
The brief fight with the military was obviously inspired by Godzilla and Evangelion (In my mind the tanks getting blown up is definitely that one shot from the first episode)
Also yes, we upgraded our tanks and jets with alien shit because of course we did.
So, that's what the little robot was for….it was telling Kay where to use the Godzilla breath attack.
See Kay doesn't want to be doing this.
And now it's time for a Zord showdown.
Yeah Merrick knew Zen-Aku had died the instant it happened.
And have some backstory on what happened to the Wild Force Rangers; Taylor was left behind to help a resistance effort, Merrick and Zen-Aku couldn't be found, Max was at the battle of Acheron and was the only survivor from the Wild Force Rangers and most of the Wild Zords were scrapped.
Also with Danny's last name I was tempted to have Z from the SPD Rangers be related to him; especially since she's an orphan but it wouldn't fit within the timeline I've established.
Merrick went full Anakin Skywalker with the yellow eyes.
Organic prosthetics because under no circumstances will Princess Shayla have technology on the Animarium.
I feel like someone is gonna complain about the way I write Taylor one day but I'll stand by it; she literally wrote a rulebook on how to be a Power Ranger, she was a fighter pilot and when Wild Force ended she went back into active duty, she's a soldier and Princess Shayla refused to ally herself with the rest of the planet against Lord Zedd I think she would be okay with forcing her.
So let's address the Praetor Megazord….there were about a hundred new Wild Zords introduced at the end of Wild Force and a) I wanted to use them and b) it feeds into that whole 'rag-tag' group aesthetic that's one of my favourite tropes; two primary Zords from different Megazords, a secondary Zord and three new Zords.
I want with the centurion aesthetic because one of the Wild Force Megazords, the one with the Gorilla already had a gladiator look and I wanted to expand on that.
I'm just gonna come out and say it, I watched the Odachi and Leatherback fight against the Jaegers in Pacific Rim so many time before writing the Zord fight.
And yes the Green Ranger did the smart thing that nobody else ever does; fight somewhere where not all of the Zords can deploy effectively and then stop them forming the Megazord by keeping them apart.
That scene where the Dragonzord bursts out of the water specifically is a Pacific Rim reference.
"We need more dakka" another call back to Arc01, it seems fitting as we're closing out the first act of the story.
Looks like the Megazord was 'disarmed'.
I really was pushing every Zord to its' limits in this fight and I had to take a mental note to break them in places that weren't a connection point between two Zords because they could hypothetically work around that.
The head-spike bursting into the cockpit was another Pacific Rim reference, specifically to the part where Odachi crushes Crimson Typhoons' cockpit with its' tail claws and there's a shot of the inside of the cockpit.
Impaled twice and still not dead.
Seriously, missile claws work great up close as well.
That dramatic ending though.
So the Aquabase was critically damaged but mission control are all still alive.
The blood sample is important, the Rangers might have found out who was under the Green helmet but they don't know what Kay is yet.
Just the idea of the former Lord Zedd literally standing in front of the breach and holding the seawater at bay through sheer willpower and magic was something I had to write once it occurred to me.
I mentioned Ouija board girl in an earlier chapter, have a callback.
Obviously Kim didn't have any idea how the Zord fight was going.
The Wild Force Rangers lived, but were all injured….also Taylor definitely had that teleporter on the Animarium in case of emergency.
Showdown against a rogue Ranger on top of a destroyed Megazord; peak drama.
There had to be a point where Mercy snapped and I think this was a pretty good pace for it.
"The same but different, like reflections in a fun house mirror" Kay broke into the theme park/fairground with Panthera literally the night before, that would have been the only time Kay had ever seen a fun house mirror….enjoy those feels.
And I'm not even being subtle about the connection between Kay and Mercy but it will be explained properly next chapter.
I was gonna have Mercy get skewered again but I decided against it, she only got stabbed last arc.
Aslaug is two for two on shattering helmets when a dramatic reveal is needed.
"Why?" because one word is sometimes all you need for feels.
Also, for any of my readers who also follow RWBY….Kay gave me some serious Ilia vibes in this scene, the fight with Blake in Vol.5 and "I don't know what else to do!"
Mercy hasn't really got in her to shoot a Ranger like that.
Also come on, you knew they weren't dead; if it wasn't for that hybrid physiology though they probably would be.
Yeah I had to explain how Kay was doing that dramatic vanishing act; the Dark Empires' teleportation technology is not on the same level as the Alliances' but they can still give their Power Ranger some manoeuvrability.
Have some Paradoxa, she's been absent the last few chapters.
And the time honoured villain tradition of playing your generals off against each other begins.
"But they live….they throw themselves into fire for each other, take killing blows for each other. I had no one to rely on" anyone else feel bad for Kay here?
Kay's argument is a pretty solid one; they've spent their time since being 'born' in a multicultural city that's part on interplanetary alliance and made friends with people from all over the galaxy, it kinda makes conquering everything seem pointless.
Does anyone really think Kay is gonna follow those orders?
No reviews on the last chapter.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.