Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

Chapter 34 – In Group/Out Group

The Hawk Zord tore through the air and Mercy felt the familiar feeling of acceleration within her own mind as she teleported into the machines' cockpit. Quickly reorienting herself the Red Ranger surveyed the situation ahead of her, the now gargantuan form of Jin-Zhao towered over the buildings around her letting out what could only be a silent scream of rage and pain

"The Zords are shielded from external psychic interference, they have to be considering they control system or they could be hijacked" Billy's voice sounded in her ear and Mercy nodded silently in understanding, relieved that at least one of their adversaries' devastating weapons had been denied to her. Before she could form anything close to a plan of action the sky around her darkened for the briefest of moments as the Dragonzord surged overhead and deployed a barrage of missiles from its' clawed fingers which streaked through the air towards the giant monster only to be deflected by Jin-Zhao's newly recreated cleaver-weapons. The Dragonzord dove towards her undeterred and the ground trembled under the force of the collision, Mercy was left watching as the Green Ranger's mecha grasped the arms of the monster, holding her weapons at bay whilst Jin-Zhao's lashing tongues fought off the Dragonzord's tail.

Then Panthera's Sabre Zord leapt onto the monsters' back like some great mechanical monkey and began raking its' monstrous claws into her scaly flesh until Jin-Zhao managed to not only force the Dragonzord back several paces but use the opening to grasp the Pink Ranger's war machine by its' skull with her prehensile tongues and promptly hurl the Sabre Zord through the air, decimating several buildings as it came crashing to a stop several streets away.

"Kay, can you hold her long enough for us to form the Megazord?" Mercy demanded, finally coming to her senses and taking command on the situation as she saw the Plesion, Ursa-Titan and Osore Zords moving into position.

"I think so" Kay answered her, the Green Ranger's voice sounding strained as they brought their monstrous machine whirling back around to join the fray once again, shrieking and snarling as it went.

"Okay Rangers" Mercy called across the comms "We need Megazord power!" within moments the now familiar combination and transformation process had begun. The Sabre and Osore Zords moving into upright positions as their limbs folded away and their necks rotated back and allowed the machines' heads to become feet; the Ursa-Titan Zord connecting to them as its' limbs rotated into place and its' entire hindquarters split before the machines' entire torso folded down and the face of the mecha rotated back to be covered by more armoured plating which followed the design of its' reinforced and stylised mane. The Plesion Zord broke apart and its' entire body reconfigured into arms connected by a central pillar from which the tail and neck rose up, the former collapsing as it formed a faux sheath for the Megazords' gargantuan sword whilst the latter shifted into its' cannon formation and finally the Hawk Zord took its' place, its' tail and rear forming the stylised Ranger helmet of the Megazords' head whilst its' wings formed additional shoulder armour and the head sunk into a groove within the Ursa-Titan.

"Megazord activated" the digital and synthetic voice announced as each of the five Rangers felt their consciousnesses brush against one another. The sight that greeted them as they took control of the Aegis Megazord was that of the Dragonzord staggering backwards, sparks and flames spewing from a wound that had been torn into its' neck by Jin-Zhao, more sparks bursting from the machines' back as it howled and roared once the monsters' weapons tore into its' back and flank as it attempted to retreat until its' lashing, drill-tipped tail forced the monster back a step.

Panthera took command of the Megazord and the towering mecha had begun to move before she was even aware of the decision; the ground shook again as the Aegis Megazord broke into a full sprint and leapt over the thrashing tail of the Dragonzord with its' right arm pulled back before delivering a crushing, downward haymaker than sent Jin-Zhao staggering backwards and crashing through several buildings as she came to a halt and quickly braced herself for another exchange whilst each of the Rangers winced at the scale of the collateral damage that this battle would almost certainly continue to cause.

"I'll distract her, go for the finishing blow!" Kay snapped into the consciousness of each of the Rangers within the Megazord and before Mercy could ask what they intended the Green Ranger brought the Dragonzord rearing back and spewed a beam of searing emerald light from the gaping maw of the mecha which Jin-Zhao attempted to deflect with her blades, only for her knees to buckle and the weapons to begin to melt and break. Wasting no time the Red Ranger took control of the Megazord and brought it rushing around to attack from the side; Jin-Zhao was still far to mobile to risk using the Mega Sword or Cannon and so she had the gestalt mecha deliver a roundhouse kick to the monsters' skull.

Jin-Zhao caught it.

In a single fluid motion the titanic Acheron hybrid had flung her molten cleavers at the Dragonzord and forced Kay to break off their attack whilst also reaching out with their lashing tongues to snare the leg of the Megazord and hurl it aside with a devastating impact.

"Rangers you need to be careful!" Billy urged them "With the way this monster was grown to their current size their body is more volatile than usual, you risk doing significant damage to the surrounding area"

"We're open to suggestions" Aslaug growled as she sized up Jin-Zhao and ruled out simply choking the monster into submission.

"I have something in mind" Billy assured them, his tone filled with a sense of pride "Sending an update to all six of you" before any of them could question the former Blue Ranger they felt a lurching sensation in their minds that was distinctly different from the feelings that accompanied any Zords that they were used to.

Then the knowledge entered their consciousness and the way forward was clear.

"Star-Dragon formation has been initiated" the Dragonzord breathed a wall of emerald fire around the two colossal machines to prevent them from being attack before taking into the air as the computerised voice made its' declaration.

Then, as it wheeled and screeched above them the Dragonzord began to break apart; each of its' components glowing as they were reshaped and combined with the Aegis Megazord.

The entire hind quarters of the Dragonzord detached and formed three distinct components, its waist splitting vertically before each of the two halves and the rear leg attached to it reconfigured into a clawed and armoured gauntlet which slid over the existing Megazords' forearm, whose fist retracted to accommodate it; one of these new clawed limbs reached over the Megazords' back and detached the entire tail which served as a faux sheath before holding it outstretched and upside down for the Dragonzord's own tail to connect to, each skeletal segment locking in place as sections slid out to reveal glowing components of what was now a gigantic lance. Next the entire upper body of the Dragonzord separated into various components, the arms retracted into the vast curved shoulder armour whilst they and the central torso piece of the Green Ranger's war machine formed additional armour for the Megazords' torso, the central section of the Ursa-Titan Zords' mane which contained its' head sliding back to allow the Dragonzord's chest to combine and cover the Hawk Zords' head, the shoulders joining the assembly at an angle in a display that evoked the Green Ranger's own shield. The remaining sections of torso that had not been used twisted and reformed into a pair of armoured side-skirts which fitted to the Megazords' waist; leaving only the head, neck and wings remaining and this final assembly soon found its' place upon the Megazords' back, granting it a pair of vast pinions fanned out behind it whilst the neck and head reshaped themselves into an armoured collar and helmet; the fanned tail-feathers of the Hawk Zord which formed a crest protruding through the Dragonzord's skull as it's bladed fin moved forwards to accommodate them whilst its' gaping jaw engulfed the Megazords' cranium. As the flames subsided what stood, poised and ready was a gleaming silver Megazord with highlights in the colours of the various Rangers, draped in black and forest green armour with wings spread wide and its' lance at the ready.

"Aegis Megazord: Star-Dragon Formation activated" the familiar voice of the Megazords' AI announced and each of the five original Aegis Rangers felt not only Kay's presence in the matrix of their interconnected minds but also, briefly the Dragonzord's own savage and primal consciousness before it was pushed into the depths of their shared psyche.

"This. Is. Awesome" Mercy's voice was breathy despite the fact that they were communicating psychically as she was left staggered and awestruck by the sensation of overwhelming power that this new Megazord filled each of them with. The chance to relish in the sensation was cut short however as Jin-Zhao surged forwards, claws extended and three eyes glowing as she rushed into combat once again.

"So, what's the plan?" Rensa asked "We're more powerful but she's still volatile"

"We've got wings" Tempestus countered "She doesn't have to be anywhere near the city when she explodes" with that the Blue Ranger took charge and each of the other Rangers followed his lead, their unity of thought allowing the Star-Dragon Megazord to strike with greater speed and power; the Power itself guiding the six of them as they attacked.

The Star-Dragon Megazord moved at near invisible speeds and Jin-Zhao vomited rivers of alien blood as she brought to a halt, the Mega-Lance having torn through her chest and burst from her back; a moment later the Megazord had seized the monster in its' giant, clawed hand and taken to the air with contrails of blinding green light streaking behind it until both the Megazord and Jin-Zhao were far above the colony of Prosperity. The Megazord held its' lance downwards and as the monsters' limp form slid from its' blade the glowing green components of the weapon shifted to a brilliant white, surrounded by brilliant coronas in each of the Ranger's colours before unleashing a single unspeakably powerful shock-wave which sounded as though every storm in history had been condensed into a single moment and looked, from the outside like the birth of the universe itself. The monster was obliterated entirely and the Star-Dragon Megazord hovered above the city like some terrifying yet angelic mechanical figure.

"I've never felt anything like that" Kay managed to breathe out after a moment that could have lasted an eternity "That was incredible"

"That was amazing" Mercy admitted, equally stunned before turning to the Green Ranger and smiling beneath the remains of her helmet "Couldn't have done it without you….cousin" through their partially shared consciousnesses each of the Rangers felt Kay practically glowing with warmth at the praise and even more so from the acknowledgement that Mercy had given him; a moment later Kimberley's voice filled the cockpit

"Mission complete Rangers. It's time you came home"


"That power signature! What was that?" Paradoxa demanded, her voice an equal mix of sudden anger and apprehension. The insectoid warlord remained alone within her ornate throne aboard the Command Bridge of the Heliothis; its' vast and near panoramic viewscreen having been linked to that of its' fellow Dark Empire warship, a series of tactical displays and readouts being shown that made it painfully clear that Jin-Zhao's Cult of the Eternal Devourer were being steadily overwhelmed throughout Prosperity as the Alliances' superior teleportation technology allowed the defending forces to teleport more troops and equipment from further afield; Paradoxa however was primarily concerned with a flash of light within the colonies' boundaries that had been visible to the naked eye from space.

"My Lady" the captain of the cloaked ship spoke "The Power Rangers used an unrecognised Zord formation; we're unable to locate Jin-Zhao or her Arch-Apostle, both are presumed dead-"

"Understood" Paradoxa's voice was silky and darkly satisfied; where in any other circumstances the loss of two highly capable warriors might be a cause for alarm here the hybrid was unable to keep the twisted smirk from her face as she relished in the feeling of events bending to her will and her plans coming to fruition.

"You have the frequency of the Predators' cloaking field" she stated

"I do my Lady" the captain of the second, unseen vessel that she had sent to lurk in the void and cripple Jin-Zhao's ship answered.

"You know what to do" the hybrid said coldly "Empty their cargo holds then lock on and destroy them. Their cult dies today"

"Lady Paradoxa" the Captains' voice was suddenly alarmed "The Predator has dropped its' cloaking field and is on the move….current trajectory puts it on a collision course for the Alliance colony!"

"CRIPPLE ITS' ENGINES! BEGIN EXTRACTION OF RESOURCES!"

"Their shields have been raised my Lady, we won't be able to disable them in time"

fierce yellow eyes widened in sheer horror as Paradoxa began to realise what was about to occur and frantically hailed the Predator so that she might dissuade Jin-Zhao's helmsman from a course of action that would cost her personally.

"Lady Paradoxa" the voice that greeted her once an audio channel was opened was far too eerily calm considering the course of action being taken and the insectoid hybrid was left wondering if the cyborg cultists that formed the vessels' crew could truly feel anything at all; though a far more important question was the first from her lips.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she screamed, all sense of control lost in an instant "I ORDER YOU TO ABANDON YOUR CURRENT COURSE!"

"That's quite impossible I'm afraid" the helmsman of the Predator answered simply and without tone

"YOU ANSWER TO ME! I AM THE HEAD OF THE VANGUARD FLEET AND I ORDER YOU TO LOWER YOUR SHIELDS AND STAND DOWN!"

"Jin-Zhao is my Captain and she has decreed that the colony world must burn. For Lord Zedd, for the Empire and for Acheron" the comm channel fell silent and Paradoxa was left numb. Taken several seconds to process before turning back to the captain of the still cloaked second vessel

"Bring them on screen!"

"At once my Lady" the viewing screen of the Heliothis shifted to display the now entirely visible warship dubbed the Predator; a behemoth of rune encrusted metal whose blood-red hull pulsed with arcane light as magic and technology conspired together to protect it, like many Dark Empire ships it had the overall shape of a battleaxe with a pointed prow and swept forward wings connected by a central body, though it had undergone some modification as the ship featured several additional weapons batteries and along its' central body several towers and spires rose, giving it the appearance of a spacefaring temple of dedicated to death and destruction. The ship sped towards the world that the Prosperity colony ship had settled on, specifically the colony itself and its' shields rippled under the constant barrage of several defensive systems that the city below turned against it.

Then space itself was torn asunder.

"No!" Paradoxa spat as fully half a dozen Alliance warships teleported into the space between the Predator and its' target and began unleashing every weapon at their disposal; the Dark Empire warship continued onward despite this, the helmsman evidently deciding that if the colony could not be destroyed in a final blaze of glory then the ships defending it would suffice. It was not to be however and a maelstrom of lasers, torpedoes and plasma tore into the Predator before its' shields finally flickered out of existence a moment before the ship was consumed by blasts of fire that guttered out as the atmosphere was sucked from its' sundered hull into the void of space and explosions tore it apart completely.

Paradoxa was numb, her victory and the beginnings of her campaign to usurp Lord Zedd and seize control of the Dark Empire for herself had been within her grasp; the Cult of the Eternal Devourer had been destroyed along with the powerful and charismatic hybrid who led it, removing the first major hurdle to Paradoxa's own supremacy. However with the resources that they had pillaged lost to her the insectoid had as little to work with as she had before and now Lord Zedd would know that she had sent another Acheron hybrid, one of rank and importance to her death; leaving the small victory she had eked out hollow and bitter.

Her scream of rage echoed throughout the Command Bridge.


By the time the Aegis Rangers had returned to Promethea One late night was already giving way to early morning, though it would still be several more hours before the colony was bathed in artificial daylight once again. The Ranger's ordeal was still not over however as upon their return they had been subjected to the mandatory debriefings and a medical check courtesy of Cestria that had been far more diligent than even the usual meticulous standards owing to the brutality of the fight that the teens had endured; each of them discovering that they had suffered bruised and cracked bones and several instances of tissue damage which the Power itself had healed even as they continued to fight, meaning that whilst there was no lasting damage they would all likely ache for days. As a result of this the Rangers had finally been allowed to leave, the birds that called the Colony Ship home chirping as the six of them trudged, utterly exhausted and spent back to the student dormitories that they lived above in search of some hard earned sleep; upon waking up the Rangers had learned that they had been excused from all training for the next few days in order to fully recover from the battle of Prosperity.

Tempestus however had other ideas.

Corcus's storm of flowing attacks which melded seamlessly into one another was concluded first with a spinning crescent kick which the younger Aquitian showed equal grace and agility in avoiding and then finally a straight-armed palm strike which Tempestus turned at the waist and allowed to sail passed his chest whilst in the same movement bringing his right arm arcing around to deliver a punch to Corcus's temple; the former Black Ranger leaned back and felt the air ripple as the fist missed his nose by a hairs' breadth only to be forced to leap away as Tempestus followed up by lunging forwards and aiming his elbow at his face. The unmorphed Blue Ranger pressed his advantage without hesitation and closed the distance once, leaping over the low, spinning sweep that Corcus aimed at his legs and making to bring his knee crashing into the older Aquitians' skull only for Corcus to burst upwards and seize Tempestus by the midsection, using the momentum of his spin to simply hurl the teen away, crashing into the padded mats of the floor and springing back to his feet in an instant.

"You served the Alliance admirably on Prosperity….and I admit I may have misjudged your study of multiple disciplines as a lack of commitment and focus" Corcus's expression hardened as the two of them circled each other "But you were instructed not to train in order to recover, I'm not sure what point you are aiming to prove with this defiance" Tempestus merely remained silent, he had awoken as late morning drifted into early afternoon and departed for the base as soon as possible to seek out Corcus and demand, in the most respectable but insistent terms possible a rematch. Thus far their sparring had progressed much like any of their previous bouts with Tempestus being undeniably skilled and a paragon of physical strength, yet simply outmatched and outmanoeuvred by Corcus's years of experience and total mastery of the Aquitian martial arts.

All according to Tempestus's plan.

The dark skinned Aquitian made no effort to instigate their next exchange of blows, continuing to circle until Corcus seemed to find an open and rushed toward him. Aquitian martial arts all tended to share a common tenet of fluidity in motion and building momentum and as such almost all kata started with spinning or sweeping gesture of some kind, as such the former Black Ranger was caught completely unaware when Tempestus delivered a side kick from his leading leg that caught him square in the midsection and promptly left him doubled over and wheezing; Tempestus continued however and raised his fists and assumed a stance recognisable to any human boxer before delivering a flurry of jabs, hooks and finally a haymaker which sank his opponent to his knees, Corcus tried to lash out only for Tempestus to manoeuvrer himself behind him, hooking his arms around the older Aquitians' from below and clasping his hands together behind his head to hold him firmly in place

"Yield Blademaster" Tempestus demanded bluntly; Corcus struggled a moment longer before finally tapping against the floor

"I yield" he sighed "What is this?"

"It's called a full Nelson Blademaster" Tempestus smiled as he added "It's part of a human school of fighting" there was a moment of tense and heavy silence as Corcus was released and rose to his feet, the Aquitian Blademaster staring intently at his pupil before finally nodding

"I see the point you were trying to make" the ghost of a smile tugged at Corcus's lips as he made the customary triangular Aquitian salute with his hands before turning to leave "We will continue your training when you are ready, though you've clearly learned much" Tempestus waited until Corcus was out of sight and hopefully earshot before finally sinking down on the padded ground and massaging his aching and burning muscles whilst a groan of pain and exhaustion escaped him; eventually a soft smile crossed his face and he spoke to the seemingly empty room.

"You can come out now" a moment later one of the other entrances to the training area swung open and both Billy and Cestria entered, the amused laughter trailing off as his mother stood with her hands on her hips as she looked down at him with a lecture as both a parent and a medical professional about the foolhardiness of his actions just waiting to begin whilst his father simply pocketed a cell phone with Tempestus was almost certain had been used to record the sparring match, footage which would just as certainly be passed around the staff of the Command Centre and the Project Lightspeed base as a whole.

"Well done son" Billy held out a hand and pulled Tempestus to his feet whilst wearing a wry smile "I will very rarely encourage violence, but sometimes as an educational tool in a controlled environment it has its' uses and it was unlikely Corcus would expand his world-view any other way"

"I see that you're recovering well, despite throwing yourself headlong into your training" Cestria noted, though their was no hint of agitation in her voice "Are you well enough to visit us later?"

"I….actually already have plans for tonight" Tempestus admitted "Some of the students in the dormitories below us were already planning on throwing a party, they apparently saw us return and decided to throw it our honour instead"

"Then I hope you enjoy yourself" Billy beamed "But go and rest and eat something first, a party on an empty stomach is a sure way to ruin your night" Tempestus made the same gesture that Corcus had given him out of simple habit, both of his adopted parents held ranks that should be saluted in Aquitian society and Billy struggled not to roll his eyes at the sight; a moment after Tempestus had left Cestria spoke up

"A human celebration?"

"A college party" Billy corrected his wife with a knowing smirk "For a lot of human parents is a source for about eighty percent of their nightmares….for Tempestus it'll be a learning experience"


The party had already been in full swing by the time the Aegis Rangers had arrived and after being there for over an hour already the six of them were well and truly enjoying the atmosphere and broken off into smaller groups as they intermingled with the college students who had organised the party. The organisation had been far greater than Mercy had been expecting, rather than perhaps a dozen or so students it seemed that several entire floors of the apartment block which housed the doors had taken part, with several distinctly separate house parties being amalgamated into a single event. Music blared from over a dozen sources, various DJ's and speaker systems seemingly thrown into competition with one another every time a door was opened; the lights were dimmed however countless fairy lights had been strung up within the dorms themselves and the corridors between them whilst additional light was provided by the glow-sticks that one student had brought, apparently as a joke but had been loved by the other partiers.

Marigold had introduced the Aegis Rangers to several of her friends and acquaintances that they had not yet encountered and currently the older girl who had surprised Mercy by revealing herself to be something of a crack-shot was in the midst of showcasing another of her skills, that being that she was an incredibly talented singer. Someone had obviously encouraged the equally obviously tipsy student to sing and now she stood atop a pile of precariously stacked chairs and delivered a haunting yet beautiful rendition of a song that Mercy vaguely recognised as actually being sung in Japanese, despite the sub-dermal chip that she and every other citizen of the Alliance was fitted with translating it in real time. Across in the room Tempestus was chatting animatedly, despite struggling to be heard with a group of engineering students that he'd been introduced to which included several individuals who were obviously not humans; one of them having almost fluorescent green skin. The rest of the Aegis Rangers were elsewhere, Rensa had found a room where the music was more to his liking, loud and aggressive where he had used his gift for scaling surfaces and contorting himself to sequester himself away in a corner until he had been spotted and encouraged to join the party properly; Mercy was not entirely sure where Panthera and Kay were and merely hoped that the two of them were not attempting to kill one another.

She had a far more distracting and enjoyable thought on her mind at the present moment.

"You look incredible tonight" Aslaug's low and rumbling voice was almost a purr in her ear that left Mercy's knees weak and heart racing. The Yellow Ranger had felt no need to dress especially nicely for the party and in Mercy's opinion looked stunning and as striking as always in ripped jeans and a short sleeved lumberjack style shirt whilst the Red Ranger herself had decided to use the party as an excuse to wear a figure-hugging outfit which displaying a considerable amount of her toned thighs and dark red lipstick which had left stains that would be plain to see decorating Aslaug's lips and collar in more reasonable lighting. The two of them had been dancing energetically until Mari had found herself with a microphone pressed into her hand and from then the pair had naturally slowed to a pace and closeness that Mercy had jokingly described as 'Junior High' before the two of them had made their way to a less crowded corner of the dorm, though as Aslaug leaned down and kissed Mercy, taking a moment to graze the smaller girls' lip with her teeth the two of them were painfully aware of being surrounded by others. Mercy was left flustered and more than a little discombobulated by the kiss and eventually settled for draping her arms around Aslaug's broad and powerful shoulders and leaning comfortably into her chest

"It's nice to be able to just relax and be normal….whatever the hell normal is for us any more"

"Where I'm from beer pong would be considered a disgusting waste of ale; but I can enjoy Earths' idea of normal, it's comfortable" Aslaug noted before glancing down and chuckling "Much like you seem to be" Mercy blushed at the comment but made no effort to move and in fact buried her face further in Aslaug's chest as if to hide it, causing her to laugh deeply. Eventually Aslaug noticed that Marigold's singing seemed to be winding down, the students' voice becoming hoarse as alcohol proved itself unsuitable for hydration and as much as she enjoyed having Mercy pressed into her while her hands wandered to her girlfriends' hips she had no desire to keep her from her friends, such notions of possessive jealousy being entirely beyond her.

"We can join Mari and her friends if you'd like?" she offered, Mercy looked up at her and considered for a moment before a hungry expression filled her deep brown eyes and she stood on her toes to lean up kiss Aslaug fiercely, her tongue slipping into her mouth and drawing a primal, rumbling growl of satisfaction from the taller girl as her hands drifted lower. Eventually Mercy broke away only to lean close and nibble at Aslaug's ear as she whispered

"I've got a better idea….if we can't get some privacy now then we never will" with that she took Aslaug's hands and eagerly led her out of the room; both of them wearing wide smiles as they slipped away unnoticed.


"Should you be smoking that with bruised ribs?" Kay asked hesitantly as Panthera was racked by a seemingly painful coughing fit. The two of them had been the first to drift away from the other Rangers as a student who was one of Panthera's regular customers, buying several perfectly legal but hard to come by goods from the teal-skinned alien had pulled her aside to settle some outstanding payments and place their next order and it was from here that she and Kay had found themselves in a dorm several floors below where she assumed that the other Rangers still were; eventually she had grabbed Kay and led the Green Ranger out onto a balcony and closed the sliding door behind so that she could both have a brief reprieve from the music which had assaulted her sensitive ears to the point of giving her a headache and smoke the almost certainly less than legal substance that Kay seemed to take issue with; the Green Ranger wasn't precisely sure what the small stick Panthera held gently between her fingers was but was certain that anything which burned a vibrant shade of electric blue and whose smoke crackled and sparkled when exhaled was unhealthy despite the Pink Ranger's assurances that it only burned that colour in this atmosphere and looked far less shocking on other planets.

"Probably not" Panthera eventually shrugged "Gonna tell on me?" her amber eyes were mischievous and shone in the night sky as she gave Kay a playful smirk, only to see their reproachful and worried expression and look away for a moment before taking one last drag of the substance and promptly stub it out on the railing of the balcony.

Even despite the painkillers she had been given by the bases' medical staff her head had been left with a dull, pounding ache after the latest battle and her entire body had seemed leaden and sluggish, after smoking the substance which was more acquainted with than Kay, having seen several members of the various crews she had raised by use it before the pain began to fade away and a quiet, peaceful clarity settled in its' place; colours seemed to shine brighter and become diffused the longer she stared at them until the entire world seemed like a swirling kaleidoscope of flickering lights and reality as a whole became somewhat distant for a fraction of a second before she quickly snapped herself back to her senses and flicked the stub over the edge of the balcony and committed herself to never using that particular substance again; she could definitely see the appeal but could also plainly see what drove many people to abuse it. As she came fully to her senses she realised that she must have looked as though she might collapse as Kay had made themselves ready to catch her if she fell.

"Will you relax" she huffed in mocking faux indigence "I'm a big girl, I'll be okay"

"Yeah well, I didn't throw myself into harms' way saving you just for you to fall over the railings because you were intoxicated" Kay shot back, their own inhuman eyes seeming to shine with mirth as they delivered the cheeky retort; Panthera couldn't help but scoff at this

"Okay first of all, even if I did fall I'd land on my feet" she assured them, reaching up to playfully poke their nose with a clawed fingertip that had been painted hot pink and adding "Besides if we're gonna talk about saving asses we can, but don't think for a second I wasn't keeping score….idiot"

"Nice to know you think so highly of my ass" Kay's response left her choking on thin air for several seconds; the human Acheron hybrid had been synthetically aged in a pod so Panthera could only guess at where they had learned such slick delivery and unrestrained sassiness but she couldn't pretend for a moment that she didn't find it highly enjoyable.

"Funny" she dead-panned "But if we can be serious for a moment….you did good today, I'm not sure we would have won that without you; the Star-Dragon Formation is great too"

"Thanks" Kay looked away bashfully, averting their vivid fuchsia eyes; Panthera hesitated for a moment before raising a subject that had been at the back of her mind since she'd felt the Green Ranger enter the matrix of shared consciousnesses "Hey, when we did form the Star-Dragon Formation and you joined us in the cockpit….there was a weird feeling there for a second; not to get poetic but it felt like pure, distilled rage….are you okay?" Kay turned to face her for a moment wearing an expression of utter confusion before bursting out laughing as comprehension dawned on them

"Oh you thought that was me! That I've been about to snap all this time!" Panthera quickly began to backtrack, realising that her comment could sound like an accusation; Kay waved her concerns aside however and simply clarified

"The Dragonzord is bigger than the other Zords, closer to the Megazord in size and there's only me piloting it so I don't have anyone to network my mind with….when Lord Zedd had my Zord built he worked around that problem by giving the Dragonzord a limited AI and instincts of its' own; that's why it screams and roars all the time, I'm not doing that"

"That's-" Panthera trailed, gesticulating wildly as she tried to find the words "While the rest of us have each other you've been having to fight your own Zord as much as anything else?"

"It's gotten easier" Kay assured her

"You're probably the strongest person I've ever met" Panthera blurted out suddenly; the notion of the Dragonzord intruding upon the Green Ranger's own thoughts reminding her uncomfortably of what had been done to Acinonyx and without thinking, in a move that was at least partially the fault of the alien substance she had just smoked she found herself pulling Kay in to a crushing hug and nuzzling, in a particularly catlike way into their neck. Her tail tail swished behind in lazy happiness whilst her chest pressed into theirs and the moment lasted until Kay managed to overcome their shock and was left at a loss as to where they should put their hands, the feeling of them coming to rest on her waist seemingly bringing Panthera to her senses. She immediately pulled away and cleared her throat awkwardly before speaking again

"So….you're the one who worked in a bar, you gonna go get some drinks?"

"Uh yeah sure" Kay mumbled, their voice still oddly melodic despite being almost shell-shocked as they disappeared into the dormitory whose balcony they were stood on.

Kay realised that things had just become needlessly complicated.

She had found Kay endearing and entertaining to be around from the moment they had met, the hybrid capturing her attention in a way that none of the humans who had been interested in her had managed; then the realisation that they were in fact the Green Ranger had left her bitter and angry, trying to convince herself that she hated them until they had joined the team, Kay had since proven themselves to be brave, self sacrificing, loyal and frankly adorable and it would be senseless to deny that she was more than a little smitten with him at this point.

The realisation made her want to scream every expletive from each of the many languages she spoke, all at once.


As Kimberley strolled through the corridors of the Promethea One Lightspeed Base, whose corridors were entirely deserted owing to the lateness of the hour she mused to herself how entirely in character it was for Billy to continue working through the dead of night and into the early morning seemingly without tiring. The Former Blue Ranger had always been excessively committed to his invention and study, as a student he had routinely skipped meals and foregone sleep for days at a time in search of his desired results until someone, usually Trini managed to convince him that he was being counterproductive; it seemed that growing older had done nothing to curb his obsessive tendencies and if anything with his hair showing signs of greying and wearing a lab-coat the majority of the time he simply looked even more fitting as the mad scientist that Kimberley realised he had always been destined to be.

A point that was seemingly highlighted as she entered his laboratory just in time to see him reeling back and sputtering as a small device that he was working on let out a worryingly abrasive popping sound before issuing a thick cloud of acrid black smoke which an overhead sprinkler system quickly attempted.

"What was that?" Kimberley asked with far less concern than many others would have had upon witnessing the situation; she had seen Billy work enough times to know that he would mitigate any risks

"Attempt number forty two" he muttered as he removed the pair of safety goggles which rested over his glasses and dried his, now damp hair before taking the failed component and placing it on a separate desk where Kimberley realised with a sudden shock that several other, similarly damaged devices had been placed for later examination and cataloguing.

Each of them was a failed prototype Morpher.

"I didn't realise that you this far along in the process" Kimberley breathed out as she made her way closer to the failed Morphers and carefully examined each of them without touching, completely aware of the fact that she didn't truly understand the principles involved in tapping into the power of the Morphing Grid; both the technology and magic involved were disciplines whose study was highly restricted and the combination of the two was frankly mind-boggling to the former Pink Ranger.

"Not as far as you'd think" Billy lamented with a sigh "My efforts to recreate the 'Light of Good' that Zordon used to power the White Ranger have moved forward, the prototypes are certainly channelling something….just not very well, they can't handle the Power"

"None of these have a Power Coin" Kimberley noted as she continued to examine the prototypes, aware that her input was of the most basic kind but hoping that it might spark some fresh inspiration in her old friend "I mean I understand that we don't have any Power Coins just lying around but I thought you might use something in their place"

"A dummy Power Coin…." Billy trailed off as he stroked his chin "In the most rudimentary terms a Power Coin, or any of the crystals and other artefacts that various Rangers have used are the conduit for the Power, they're the battery of the Morpher which acts as a regulator and an interface between the Power and the person using it. The Aquitian Rangers could use the coins on their own and the Morphers made on KO-Thirty Five act as their own conduit….this feels like I'm trying to create both at once; I'm missing something but I don't know what"

"You'll figure it out" Kimberley assured him, before sighing and taking up the familiar role "But in the meantime go get some sleep, it's nearly two in the morning….even the college party is winding down by now and Cestria will be wondering where you are" she quickly halted herself there, she knew that Aquitians slept in aquatic pods to rehydrate themselves and had always privately wondered how things such as sleeping arrangements were handled in the interspecies marriage but would never be disrespectful enough to ask.

"I hope so" Billy answered, suddenly morose "The Dark Empire's latest attack felt like a distinct escalation….I fear our Rangers may need more aid than we can currently give them" Kimberley was left sobered and undeniably afraid as she realised that she couldn't refute his claims.


Paradoxa knelt before Lord Zedd and suddenly felt the cold grip of terror clutching at her very soul. The tyrant had ordered the insectoid hybrid to present herself before him the moment the ship he had taken returned from the distant and barren area of space far from the prying eyes of the Alliance or anyone who may sell information to them; seemingly already aware that whatever actions Paradoxa had taken under the guise of following his orders had suffered negative consequences and she felt the air leave her lungs and icy numbness set into her limbs as the armoured warlord glared down at her from his full, towering height; the sight of Gibil cavorting gleefully behind the tyrant whilst he examined his own handiwork only making the scene more obscenely disturbing as Paradoxa realised with cold detachment that many of the workers that the imp had modified both mechanically and genetically to carry out Lord Zedd's work were convulsing and their bodies sent into death-throes as they struggled and ultimately failed to breath in the atmosphere that they had previously been accustomed to.

"Rise" Lord Zedd demanded coldly, eyes glowing with hateful crimson light from behind his masked helmet "And explain"

"Yes my Lord" Paradoxa nodded her defiance crushed beneath simple, primal fear "I ordered an attack on one of the Alliances' colonies, to keep their forces occupied as you demanded….I sent the Cult of the Eternal Devourer rather than Putties; I reasoned that if your intention is to consolidate power then it would be wise to gather more resources whilst denying them to our enemies" the reasoning and justifications were carefully measured, the insectoid hybrid having made care to have plausible rationalisations ready for the inevitable questioning and deliberately obscuring and twisting the truth rather than uttering outright falsehoods, certain that Lord Zedd would somehow know if she outright lied.

"Not an unreasonable notion" Lord Zedd's voice rumbled through the floor "And yet I see no supplies, only empty space where one of my warships should be Paradoxa….have you failed me again?"

"The Power Rangers intervened my Lord; with her second in command defeated Jin-Zhao ordered a mutagenic grenade be fired on herself rather than their body" Paradoxa protested "The Rangers used a Zord formation we've never seen before….upon Jin-Zhao's death her followers set their ship on a collision course with the colony but were destroyed by Alliance forces before they could reach it" all of this was true, though naturally the detail of there being a second vessel laying in wait would not be disclosed. The insectoid waited for seconds that seemed to stretch out forever, waiting for Lord Zedd to decide her fate and mentally preparing herself to leap aside and fight for her life if the warlord decided to dispose of her.

Eventually he bowed his head, his demeanour as close to understanding as it could possibly be

"The dangers of fanaticism and devotion to tradition" he growled, almost mournfully "Jin-Zhao lost sight of the true goal of the Dark Empire. Fortunately we are not so blind and neither are the allies that will soon join us….A teleportation gate will soon be fully operational and the Vanguard Fleet will have reinforcements. Soon the Alliance will fall"

"I await it eagerly my Lord" Paradoxa bowed her head. Internally however her rage threatened to consume her, her plan to place herself in a position of power had entirely unsuccessful and she had played into the hands of the Lord whom she sought to overthrow; with even her meagre victory she had afforded herself in removing the fanatical cult devoted to Lord Zedd would soon be replaced by a fleet of warships filled with warriors who had no loyalty to Paradoxa.

She needed to rethink her plans; she could not afford the price of failure

Authors' Notes:

And that ladies and gents is the conclusion of arc 08.
As with the other chapters in this arc the title is a sociology term, in keeping with the title for the arc "Identity", this one probably being more readily understandable than the others.
I've planned out roughly half of Arc 09, which will definitely have a "Mid-season highlight" feel to it as I'm sure you can guess by the threads that are being set up; that being said if I don't finish planning it out over the weekend then I'll take a break of a week because I refuse to start working on an arc that I don't have a definite course and plot for.
If I don't post a chapter of Aegis next week then I'll almost certainly post two RWBY stories instead; so if anyone's looking for other stories to read while we've all got time on our hands…..allow me to shamelessly plug my work.

But anyway, let's summarise:
Straight into the cockpit and Zord battle, no need for nonsense and resting on our laurels.
Yeah the idea that a mentally controlled machine would be left susceptible to psychic attacks just seems dumb to me….so also there was a good chance that Jin-Zhao was actually trying to taunt/talk to the Rangers the whole fight, they just couldn't hear her.
Pink and Green, they even do the saving each other thing when they're in their Zords.
Yes, Jin-Zhao is still in control of her faculties which means that the Rangers actually need a diversion because forming the Megazord isn't a free action for once.
Had to quickly remind myself of how the combination process worked prior to writing the combination/transformation for all six Zords.
Y'know that video/meme of the kids running across his school canteen, jumping a table and bitch slapping someone in the face….That's basically what Panthera just did with a Megazord.
This is the 'Upgrade' that you all saw coming; the 'Star Dragon Formation' because I just don't like the sound of 'Aegis Mega Dragonzord'
The Star-Dragon takes design cues from both the Dragonzord Warrior Mode and the Mega Dragonzord and in my head it has an almost Gundam feel to it in certain aspects; also in case anyone forgot the Aegis Zords are mostly silver with Ranger coloured highlights whilst the Dragonzord is Black Green and Silver; giving the combined forms a more uniform finish.
I'm sure you realised that the Dragonzord forms armour which is concentrated around the upper body of the Megazord, this is for two reasons: a) because I like the idea of a more top-heavy and almost bestial, yet refined look to this form and b) because it leaves sections free for the inevitable 7 Zord combo.
Also, a Megazord is a standard combination, and Ultrazord is a final form with ALL the Zords; there is no six Zord term, which is why I've just gone with calling it a formation; there's also the fact that in Zeo Tommy had the "Battlezord….a solo Zord roughly the size of a Megazord which combined with that teams Megazord, that designation could also fit the Tiger and Dragon Zords if we were to be consistent about classes/categories"
My Zord categories and also the Star-Dragon were at least partially informed by the same author whose work I always recommend, J Raine….and also the way he handled the issue of the original Ultrazord was brilliant.
I wanted Tempestus to take charge and be the one to usher in the new special move….which in my head just looked anime as fuck.
Paradoxa was so close, she thought she was gonna get what she wanted; she thought it was gonna be another Triforia where she won overall even though the Rangers won the fight.
She really thought she could rely on the cultists to do cultist type shit….nope.
The ship having cathedrals along its' hull was definitely inspired by Warhammer 40K.
I feel like Paradoxa is slowly becoming more unhinged and honestly it wasn't even a conscious choice to start writing her that way.
Seriously Jin-Zhao and the Arch-Apostle wrecked shop, they could have won that fight without much changing and the Rangers are definitely gonna be feeling that.
The rematch had to happen, you knew it was coming.
Yes Corcus offered something close to an apology, because he's a hard-ass and a traditionalist but he's not blind or stupid; he knows that entire colony would be gone without Tempestus.
Corcus's whole issue his traditionalism and single/closed-minded world-view, which is why Tempestus specifically used human martial arts to win the match….and yes it did have to be a Full Nelson.
Billy isn't just a nerd, he's a mad scientist; give me Billy with chaotic gremlin energy.
He's also been on the receiving end of bullying and would have no patience for Corcus's shit.
Yay for college parties….but any young people reading this; always eat first.
Have you ever been to a college party where an entire block of dorms became one big party? I have, I was 17 and it was the campus for all of the music, theatre and digital arts students….great time.
Marigold being a great singer and speaking in Japanese are obviously homages to Dekaranger, because whilst I've had to make changes to what limited character she was given in canon I still want to respect the source material.
Tempestus is canonically the only straight member of the team, but he also just doesn't find humans attractive….so if you want to imagine him going back to the green girls' dorm and getting his Captain Kirk on I'll let you have that.
Rensa definitely hung out with the goths and emo kids
So I'll just let that Mercy and Aslaug moment fade to black and whatever happened when they got back to their place is entirely up to the readers discretion.
It's not a college party without some questionable substances.
As far I'm aware, drugs burning different colours as the flames interact with other atmospheres is scientifically solid….not that we can test it right now.
I won't tell you to say no to drugs, I'm not a cop….what I will say is be careful, don't experiment alone and don't buy from strangers.
The banter between Panthera and Kay was honestly great to write because they're both utter gremlins.
Awww Panthera does care.
But also yeah, none of the other Rangers knew that Kay was fighting against their own Zords' AI; because that's an issue that the others just don't have.
There you go, I gave you a cute moment, are you happy?….Now the awkwardness.
Also, mood Panthera.
Of course Billy pulls all nighters and forgets to eat.
"Attempt number forty two" oof, feel that annoyance.
A lot of techno-jargon just to keep the fact that there's a seventh Ranger pending in everyone's mind; also the idea of most Rangers needing a conduit and regulator in order to Morph with teams like the Alien Rangers being outliers just works for me.
Gibil in the background just watching people whose lungs he modified explode or implode was something I was completely compelled to add.
Paradoxa's real power is that she's fluent at chatting shit and weasling.
So….more villains are coming, and next arc is gonna have some big moments….are you hyped yet?

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.