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Chapter 73 – Infernal Devices
"EVASIVE MANOEUVRERS!" Mercy's panicked voice was a klaxon that drove her fellow Aegis Rangers onwards as she let out a yell that filled both the confines of the Ultrazords' cockpit and the minds of her team-mates as she spoke directly in their thoughts through their shared mental connection; the seven of them acted with singular purpose, their minds focused on a unified goal which in turn allowed the mecha that they piloted to move with the speed, agility and simple raw power that it needed to evade the onslaught that it was subjected to as the colossal Empire warships, each of which dwarfed the Ultrazord by orders of magnitude open fire.
"The hull's holding steady but we need to get out of here!" Panthera warned, her comments prompted by an ominous creaking from within the Ultrazord and several warnings flashing across the cockpits' panoramic viewscreen whilst the lighting within the cockpit flickered to an angry red; they had weaved and soared between beams of coruscating energy wider than the Ultrazord itself, peppered and interspersed with countless rockets and torpedo volleys yet whilst they had avoided the worst of the assault the simple might that the warships had unleashed into the void of space and the Ranger's relative proximity to it had left their mecha suffered minor damage from energy that bled out from the main body of the energy lances.
"Fighters incoming" Tempestus noted "Mari?"
"Working on it" the Gold Ranger assured them, taking control of the Ultrazords' shoulder mounted cannons and much as she had done in their previous battle on the other side of the now disabled teleportation gate unleashed short and devastatingly accurate bursts of fire into the oncoming swarm of smaller craft, yet it was to no avail
"There's too many and they're on all sides!" Rensa exclaimed as the Ultrazord was buffeted by another barrage of attacks, the weapons possessed by the fighters were far from enough to do any real damage to the enormous mecha but the fact remained that the Rangers were totally surrounded; more importantly the fighters, cheap and expendable as they and their crew were to the Empire were being used as a distraction which Kay promptly pointed out
"They're buying time for the warships to recharge their main batteries and get a lock on us" the human Acheron hybrid growled, the usual melodic mirth in their voice distorted into something fierce "We need to get away from this fight"
"There's nowhere to run" Aslaug countered, the grimace on her face felt by her team-mates even hidden beneath her helmet as she mentally prepared herself for one final stand against the enemy
"Yes there is" Mercy objected "We go down! They won't shoot into their own city, not on Acheron itself….Full power to thrusters!" with that order given and the logic behind it largely indisputable the Aegis Rangers, seeing no other option treated their aggressors to a sight that none who had faced Power Rangers before had seen; that of an Ultrazord turning and fleeing from the battle.
"That looks like the same substance in the atmosphere that covered Unus" Tempestus noted as they hurtled ever closer towards the centre of the Empire's power "It would be bodacious to stay in the Zords as long as possible, the air is likely toxic-"
"How do people live there?" Marigold demanded
"Generations of built up resistance, like the conditions on their prison worlds" Rensa answered bleakly; the brief conversation was cut short as the Ultrazord managed to avoid the final few parting shots that the amassed Empire fleet launched at their retreating backs before the entire cockpit shuddered violently as they began the descent into the atmosphere of Acheron itself, the viewscreen being filled with bright orange flames as they ignited the air around them and countless warnings that prompted the Rangers to make minor course corrections and adjustments as they hurtled towards the swirling mass of darkness that served as cloud cover on the permanently benighted world.
Then disaster struck, enlightening the Rangers just how foolish they had been to think that they would be allowed to trespass on Acheron itself so readily.
"SHIELDS UP!" Mercy bellowed into the minds of her team-mates, the seven of them bringing the Ultrazord to a halt high in the worlds' atmosphere and above its' almost sentient and nightmarish clouds, six wings splayed out wide and enormous energy shield made from a sizeable portion of the Winged Lion Zord held directly in front of it as the Rangers braced for the impact that their sensors had warned them could come. A moment later they were rewarded with an apocalyptic impact as a beam of poisonously vivid green light erupted from beneath the veil of darkness and struck their shield; the Ultrazord was thrown several hundred meters upwards, back towards the edge of the planets' atmosphere and alarms blared and screeched through the cockpit in warning as propulsion and stabilisation systems struggled to handle the pressure they were being subjected to whilst the support struts of the mechas' wings creaked and groaned until everything that had come before was rendered inconsequential by a flash of cyan light followed by a blossoming fireball that filled the cockpits' viewscreen and flung the Ultrazord to the side.
Their shield had been destroyed
"Holy crap, holy crap they just overloaded the Ultra Shield!" Marigold gasped, voice trembling with every syllable
"We've still got the arm" Mercy noted, grim determination filling her as she reached out with her mind and flexed the digits of the Ultrazords' now damaged left arm "There's only one thing we can do, we're gonna have to rush 'em"
"I've always loved your bravery Mercy" Aslaug chuckled darkly and with that the two of them mentally joined forced and sent the Ultrazord racing downwards once again at speeds that would terrify any normal being, their fellow Rangers quickly lending their own willpower to the mental controls of the machine as it surged into the mass of roiling darkness which quickly began to batter against the hull
"This dark magic is more for effect, it can't hurt us" Kay noted
"Then why aren't they firing again?" Mercy demanded, feeling Marigold's mind shift towards the Ultrazords' cannons as she spoke.
She received her answer only moments later.
"Karone's people made it this far?" Panthera gasped in abject shock towards the sight that greeted them; the Ultrazord burst through the cloud cover created by Lord Zedd's veil of darkness and saw the endless sea of lights and structures of the planets' Capital based around a single, unfathomably enormous obelisk that could only be the palace yet their focus was quickly diverted to enormous weapons batteries; surface to air weapons whose size and scale made them appear more like a mountain range yet rather than continuing to unleash their apocalyptic fury upon the Ultrazord one of the weapons had been turned on its' surroundings and vast swathes of its' surrounding were currently engulfed in raging infernos; the explanation that Karone had somehow managed to inspire a revolt in the heart of Lord Zedd's Empire being the only thing which made sense, a revelation that was given further proof as another of the anti-spacecraft batteries opened fire yet rather than the Ultrazord its' target was something in orbit and the Rangers quickly realised that their impromptu allies on the ground were targeting the Empire fleet in orbit
"What should we do?" Aslaug asked "Attack the Palace directly and force the enemy to divide their attention?"
"The Palace will have its' own defences and we don't have a shield" Kay noted, dousing the sudden fire that had filled the Yellow Ranger
"Besides, they outnumber us a million to one; divide and conquer won't work" Panthera added
"We make planet-fall and try and back up whoever is firing those weapons….there's no way Zedd is gonna let that happen and not react" Mercy answered, her words making it clear that the decision was final and so as the continued to race downwards, frantically scanning the rapidly nearing city for potential landing zones or unseen defences the Ultrazord hefted its' enormous lance and the Rangers braced themselves.
They would soon do battle on the surface of Acheron itself, the first Rangers to do so since Tommy Oliver's failed assault.
"The Power Rangers have made planet-fall my Lord" the words seemed to reverberate in Lord Zedd's mind and stab at some deep, buried corner of himself that reacted with all the screaming fury of a cornered animal.
The armoured warlord had been attending to the task of transforming the Dark Dimension that he now had unfettered access to and control over through the link forged by reviving Goldar into something more suitable for his needs, restructuring and expanding the incorporeal realm far beyond its' previous limits through an act of immense force of will and staggering magical might that left him taxed and drained yet he refused to allow his aching weariness to become visible to any onlooker, the Empire was built on overwhelming strength and consumption of all else into a greater whole after all and his work was far from complete. He had re-emerged into his throne room with a shifting of reality around him that could not be adequately described by simply documenting its' affects on ones' senses; terrifying and arcane light spilling from his eyes and causing the visor of his masked helm to give off a crimson glow as he manifested in his grand and ornate throne, returning to the sight of two of his subjects already bowing before him and desperately trying to mask their surprise at this new power their master had developed. The first subject was Canis, the dog-like alien with scales that bore the colouration of something like a Rottweiler or doberman stooping low and keeping her eyes downcast whilst beside her a robed and scuttling being with many limbs with countless joints and chitinous coverings mirrored the gesture as well as their hunched and twisted form would allow.
The scuttling creature had been the one to deliver the damning news, with Canis seemingly having the sense to remain silent and let attention be drawn away from herself.
"How did this happen?" Lord Zedd demanded, his exhaustion being nowhere near complete enough to keep him from projecting a palpable aura of sheer, unrelenting dread that left his underlings struggling to breathe before he spoke again "My forces are gathering above this very city and the Rangers base of operations was destroyed barely more than a day ago so explain to me Canis, how did this happen?"
"My Lord, the Rangers arrived alone; appearing to make a final attempt at fighting" the canine former smuggler and mercenary began, forcing her voice not to waver yet still not daring to glance up from the cold ground now that the attention of the galactic tyrant was fixed firmly upon her
"They emerged in orbit above the planet using one of the teleportation gates, wreckage that arrived with them would suggest that they ambushed ships making their way here and left them stranded, it would seem-"
"What I want to know" Lord Zedd's voice rose gradually before exploding like thunder, a wave of concussive force that rushed out from his throne "IS HOW THEY MADE IT TO THE SURFACE OF MY WORLD AND HOW NONE OF MY FORCES WERE CAPABLE OF STOPPING THEM!"
"My Lord….the Rangers were shrewd in their approach, they made haste to position themselves well upon their arrival; placing themselves in such a way that your warships would not be able to fight them effectively without risking firing into the atmosphere and-"
"And what of the ground defences?" Lord Zedd's question rumbled through the ground, silencing the scuttling chitinous creature that had once again foolishly chosen to make themselves the target of the furious warlords' attention and therefore his ire, a mistake that they had suddenly grasped the severity of if the clacking of the many limbs were any indication and from beneath the folds of their hooded robes multiple eyes blinked rapidly in sudden panic as they tried to find a way to answer the question without risking enraging their master even further; only to stammer out a frank admission as it became apparent that no such solution existed.
"There….there has been an uprising my Lord….insurrectionists have taken control of part of the planetary defence array and have begun targeting other weapons arrays along with the fleet in-"
Lord Zedd's reaction was instant and utterly horrifying to behold.
Canis wished she could cover her ears but knew that any such display of weakness would see her share her fellow subjects' fate; the tyrant had appeared before them at the base of the dais in the blink of an eye and outstretched his left palm and as he did so the chitinous alien beside Canis had erupted into agonized screaming beyond anything their vocal chords should have been capable of as lighting the deep crimson of fresh, arterial blood arced from the metallic talons adorning Lord Zedd's armoured fingers, leaving smoke rising from the screaming aliens' steadily blackening and burning body as their robes caught fire until finally their body exploded in a wash of sizzling, stinking viscera and searing steam which left Canis struggling not to retch as a scent not unlike the seafood enjoyed by cultures across the galaxy assaulted her sensitive nose.
The terror consuming Canis from the inside out was magnified a thousandfold as Lord Zedd's heavy metallic footsteps announced his approach and the shadow of the tyrant fell over, finally robbing her of the last of her self control and causing to vomit on the ground though mercifully she managed to avoid soiling the armour adorning his three toed and taloned claws as she was certain that such an act would see her suffer an end more gruesome than the ill-fated messenger who still sizzling remains were spattered across her scales and clothing.
"STAND!" Lord Zedd bellowed the demand and suddenly the former mercenaries' legs found the strength to support her, as if they now answered to the tyrant before Canis herself and she found herself croaking out an answer, bile still lingering in her mouth as she did so
"Yes my Lord, what do you-"
"I cannot handle this treachery directly, as much as it would amuse to do so; there is still work to be done here" Lord Zedd's voice was an animal snarl, reverberating unnaturally and shifting in pitch as he tried to contain his fury "There are warriors here, Putties have been made for the coming assault on Earth….you speak with my authority, send half of the forces gathered in the palace out into the city; Karone's forces will have other targets beyond the defence arrays, I want the rooted out and those weapons retaken!"
"Yes my Lord" Canis bowed her head slightly, pausing and deciding whether or not she dared question the crazed tyrant before adding "What about the Rangers, they're still in their Zords-"
"There is more than just guns defending my domain Canis" Lord Zedd chuckled darkly, the sound more terrifying than his rage with the promise of unspeakable violence and cruelty it promised; his eyes glowed with arcane light that bled out into the darkness of the throne room around him and his voice lowered to something much more conversational, the chilling calm he suddenly enforced over himself seeming to lower the temperature around him as he spoke again
"Unleash the Dweller-Zord"
They had survived, against all odds the Aegis Ultrazord had made planet-fall and landed on the surface of Acheron; shaking the ground and sending a visible shock-wave rushing outward from the point of their roughly controlled impact as the towering mecha cratered the earth it stood on.
The Ultrazord had landed within the limits of the Capital city, the endless sprawl of crowded and desperate life expanding too far outwards in all directions to be avoided though the Rangers had at least managed to control their landing enough that they did not crash through any of the enormous, twisted and interconnected spires that rose high into the cursed and animated clouds, their jagged forms a hallmark of Acheron architecture seen in cities on countless worlds that the Dark Empire controlled. Instead the Rangers had landed away from what they could only assume was the central hub of the city, in the midst of a shanty town comprised of a seemingly limitless sea of cobbled together structures located towards the outer edge of the cities' industrial districts, inhabited by the near-nomadic drifters and dispossessed who simply struggled to survive under the shadow of the Empires' influence by subsisting on whatever scraps and detritus they could gather and trade.
The Rangers could only hope that those occupying their current landing zone had taken the opportunity to evacuate the moment they saw the Ultrazord come streaking through the writhing and monstrous clouds that cloaked the Acheron sky as every step forwards the machine took could crush tents and ramshackle tents underfoot and each of them knew and understood that the Empires' response to their arrival would be relentless and monstrous in its' ferocity, with little concern for collateral damage.
"What's our situation?" Mercy asked, allowing her mind to drift out into the Ultrazords' titanic form to observe the damage first hand rather than wait for an answer and wincing at what she found, the enormous wings gracing the machines' back would need massive amounts of work before it would be safe for the Ultrazord to fly again as their hasty entry into the planets' atmosphere had damaged several internal components, the left hand and forearm were damaged but operational and many armour plates, primarily along the right side had been burned and warped as the mecha avoided barrages from Empire warships all of which had combined to leave the Ultrazord looking much the way those piloting it felt, battered, worn and battle weary yet still standing resolute as a beacon of strength to those who looked upon it.
"Mercy, what's the plan?" Marigold's voice brushing against her consciousness through the matrix their minds shared pulled the Red Ranger back into the present moment and as she considered her options
"Both the palace and the weapons systems that we presume have been taken by rebels are roughly equal distance away from us" Tempestus informed her "Though thus far I haven't been able to raise the weapons batteries in order to coordinate with those inside" Mercy processed the Blue Ranger's words and stared out of the Ultrazords' panoramic viewscreen to see that the two options presented were indeed, almost symbolically laid out before her. Several dozen miles away though such distances meant little in the cockpit of such a titanic machine and to the right was the hub of Acheron and in the centre of its all the palace itself, its' monumental form visible both rising above and peeking through the dense mass of interlinked spires filled with countless millions of souls that surrounded it, forming a defensive barrier of the most terrible kind as it became clear that the Rangers would have to rampage through the city to reach Lord Zedd himself; to the left and as Tempestus had said, a comparatively similar distance away was the artificial mountain range that the unspeakably massive weapons batteries formed and as Mercy turned her eyes towards them the endless darkness of Acheron was illuminated once again from below as the weapons discharged. In the air around the city Mercy and soon her fellow Aegis Rangers caught sight of swarms of fighters and drop ships being scrambled from multiple places, clearly carrying Empire forces who would seek to crush the rebellion that had struck at the heart of the Empires' power and the answer and path forwards became abundantly clear.
Yet they were robbed of the chance to act.
"We're gonna defend the-" Mercy's words and thoughts were cut short as a tremor, easily equal to that which had accompanied the Ultrazords' own landing passed through the ground, sending the titanic machine staggering and crushing makeshift buildings beneath its' feet. The moment the tremor subsided another shook the city to its' core and then another a moment later until the directly ahead of the Rangers something came barrelling into view, announcing its' presence by tearing its' way through several twisted and towering buildings with a single devastating swipe.
"What is that?" Panthera demanded in utter horror and disgust at the sight of the thing that strode towards them, into the relative clearing where only small and easily crushed structures existed.
"A demon" Aslaug whispered, the first hints of fear threatening her resolve
"I….I think it's a Zord, like what we faced on Mercator" Tempestus offered; Mercy gestured towards the thing, as if there were anything else her friends could possibly be looking at in that moment
"It's worse" she declared solemnly "Look at its' back"
The Dweller-Zord, the monstrous sentinel which guarded Lord Zedd's domain seemed to sense that it was being discussed and let out a piercing shriek that deafened the terrified souls within the city who heard it.
As chilling as the sound was it was nothing compared to the Zords' appearance. If the Dragonzord was, like the other Aegis Zords based on an apex predator from the home-world of its' pilot then the Dweller-Zord was an unnatural amalgamation of countless monstrous beasts from across the Empire, the Acheron nature of consumption and integration into the whole applied to Eltarian Zord technology with sickening results.
The thing stood a height which rivalled that of the Ultrazord and supported its' weight on six segmented and many-jointed limbs which were powered by enormous pistons whose working were visible in the gaps of the unfinished gunmetal coloured armour laid over them, bolstering the synthetic muscle bundles filling the limbs; each of which were attached to a smooth and streamlined waist assembly which vaguely resembled the carapace of a crab yet lacked any claws. Attached to this waist was a torso that began as a winding and serpentine trunk comprised of interlocking plates and scales comprised of the same dull grey metal which expanded suddenly out into a broader chest section from which a single, baleful and fiery light like that of a dying sun shone; the Dweller-Zord's energy source being partially exposed as she raw power it provided melted and sundered its' body from the inside, yet this was not to say that the titanic things' chest was without protection as its' hunched forward posture would allow it to deflect several blows and more importantly several pairs of limbs were currently crossed over it, spindly and proportionally emaciated things whose exposed workings gave them the feeling of being skeletal and each ended in claws which glowed fiery orange with some internal power. Fitted to the Dweller-Zord's shoulders however were its' main arms, each limb being roughly the size of the Ultrazords' torso and ending in a three pronged pincer the prongs of which were filled with rotating blades and drills more akin to mining equipment that conventional weaponry and promised a quick and violent destruction for any armour it was introduced to whilst each shoulder was adorned with a swept back and stylised armour piece that was instantly recognisable as being similar in design to those of the Dragonzord, yet far larger. The things' head was a screaming reptilian maw which also bore an uncanny resemblance to the Dragonzord yet rendered all the more perverse and horrific not only by the fact it had two pairs of glowing orange eyes, the single crest on its' skull being replaced by a mass of smaller blades but also by the fact that its' lower jaw and much of its' neck hung open and distended, pulled away from the Zords' mouth like those of a snake and displaying both an enormous pair of fangs stored within and arcs of crackling and pulsating energy within; however all of this was secondary to the mass of machinery sprouting from the Zords' back and shoulder blades which belched smog into the dark sky and left trails of magma and molten slag running over the war-machines' immense body in veins and rivers that coursed and redirected themselves with a mind of their own, the same machinery which Mercy had indicated.
It was a Dread Forge.
"It's like what we saw on Unus" Tempestus noted, each of the Aegis Rangers having seen the Quantum Ranger's battle against the Mega-Putty even if they hadn't participated in it directly, an observation which Kay shook their head at
"That was a defence mechanism, a last stand….this is different, it looks purpose made….it uses Zord technology and just looking at it I can tell it thinks for itself, it has an AI like the Dragonzord"
"Can we fight it?" Rensa asked, cutting to the heart of the matter as it was plain to see what would happen in the coming moments.
"I…." Mercy made to answer but paused, icy coursing through her veins as a dreadful thought occurred to her "Mari, take a shot at it" the Gold Ranger nodded and silently reached out with her mind to take control of the Ultrazords' shoulder cannons, promptly setting the sky ablaze with a pair of energy beams which the Dweller-Zord made no effort to avoid; instead it simply turned at the waist and allowed the attack to strike its' armoured shoulder and tear a pair of blackened, smoking holes into it.
And then Mercy's fears were proven correct.
The Dread Forge mounted on the Zords' back roared into life and the streams of liquid and animated sludge that coursed over its' monstrous form rushed towards the damaged armour, rippling and bubbling as it shaped and sculpted itself before finally hardening; replacing the damaged armour in a matter of moments.
Then the Dweller-Zord screamed again and lurched towards the Ultrazord at speeds which defied its' hulking size and the Aegis Rangers prepared themselves, each of them knowing that this would be unlike any opponent they had faced thus far.
"I can't believe it….you mean we're gonna be Power Rangers?" Sky Tate's voice seemed to leap an octave higher which each disbelieving word as his star-struck mind struggled to process the information it had just received.
He, along with Jack, Z, Bridge and Syd had allowed himself to be led away from the mess hall by the pair of dark suit and sunglasses clad agents working from Project Lightspeed who had ushered them into a secluded part of the base that they called home before telling them that they would have the chance to collect their belongings later and, with a single word spoken sternly into an earpiece triggered their teleportation; a tingling sensation washing over the five teens' bodies as they vanished in streams of light and promptly reappeared elsewhere. The 'elsewhere' in question was a vast, spherical room whose entire centre was taken up by the large viewing globe that was the central focus of the place whilst around it were dozens of terminals and computer banks drawing information from across the galaxy attended to by uniformed individuals whilst the teens themselves had appeared on a platform that appeared capable of moving to any location within the room on a rail; currently facing a blast door that served as an entrance where a currently vacant tube like that which they knew from history lessons had once contained Zordon stood.
It was then that the five of them had been informed that this was the Command Centre aboard the colony ship Promethea One and introduced to the group known as Mission Control, who would be acting as their handlers.
The Silver Guardian cadets were offered a minor respite from their open shock by the sight of familiar and welcoming faces amongst the group; Doctor Justin Stewart, former Blue Turbo Ranger and former fellow resident of the Lightspeed Aquabase who often had a relationship not unlike a favourite uncle or idolised older sibling to many of the cadets who had been raised on the base stood before them, informing that he would be reprising his role as chief engineer; though they had currently had no Zords for him to attend to and that he would be joined by his fellow former Blue Power Ranger Billy Cranston, the greying man stood beside him being instantly recognisable as one of Earths' finest heroes even with the fresh wounds marring his face. Zebidiah Lord was also recognisable, though his eyes had changed and something seemed undeniably and indescribably different about the sorcerer whose tutelage Bridge had previously studied under, though a sense of warmth radiated out from beneath his stern and imposing exterior. Joining them were Grace Sterling the founder and head of Promethea who had expanded the science used by Lightspeed and thus humanity and the Alliance as a whole by leaps and bounds in just a few short decades who had explained that Promethea One would be their new home and Blademaster Corcus, the former Aquitian Black Ranger who would be overseeing their operations.
It had been Corcus who had informed them of why they had been summoned, his normally blunt and unforgiving nature receding and allowing him to treat the moment with the gravitas and ceremony that it was owed.
"Indeed you are" he nodded, his voice bubbling and distorting somewhat as those of all people from his home-world did when on dry land.
"What about the Aegis Rangers?" the moment was run through with a spike of pure icy dread at the question which caused all heads to snap around in the direction of Jack Landors, the dark-skinned young man standing firm and squaring his shoulder as he reiterated his question
"What about Mercy's team….are we taking over from her because they're gone?" he paused his piercing gaze moving to each member of Mission Control in turn "Or are we going to look for them?"
"Oh you're good, I can see why you were under observation as a candidate for years" the deep, belly laugh from Justin was enough to dispel the sudden tension that had permeated the Command Centre as he shook his head and added
"I'll be sure to let Mercy know that her old buddies are still looking out for her when I see….and don't worry kid I'll see her soon, we all will. Vice Admiral Johnson is sending two veteran Power Rangers with a scouting fleet to the edge of neutral space to rendezvous with the Aegis Rangers, they should turn up soon"
"Awesome" Jack breathed out, letting his body relax and finally allowing himself to enjoy the moment despite how utterly unprepared he felt he was for the responsibility that was suddenly being placed upon him and his friends.
"Good, the world has lost enough Power Rangers" it was sky who spoke again and one look at the young mans' watery eyes made it clear that his thoughts were with his father, the second Light Speed Red Ranger whose legacy Sky finally felt worthy of and as he wiped his eyes he set his jaw and stood at attention before addressing Corcus "What do you need us to do Blademaster sir?"
"Little over eager?" Z chuckled
"Let him have this Z….he's waited his whole life even when he thought it couldn't happen" Syd admonished in a whisper; Corcus paid their hushed conversation no mind and merely turned towards the central sphere of the Command Centre and gestured
"Observe the viewing globe" at his words an image that was a combination of hard-light and hologram manifested in the previously empty space to display a clearly alien figure; much of their form was hidden beneath a luxurious black cape though hints of a red outfit that served the purpose of both light armour and some sort of environmental suit could be seen, its' colour sharply contrasting with its' surroundings whilst the aliens' head was clearly visible despite the helmet it was wearing; three eyes set into ghostly white flesh whose withered and pockmarked appearance gave the impression of some wasting sickness and whose carapace covered ears with seemed to reach down to a mouth that remained hidden from view gave them the feel of being some unholy fusion of a vampire bat and upright centipede
"This is an arms dealer, supplying criminals across Empire space who has chosen to make Earth, specifically an industrial estate on the outskirts of Mariner Bay his new base of operations….His real name is unknown, though considering his species it would likely not be one a human tongue could pronounce. What we do know is his current alias; he calls himself Broodwing"
"Yes" Zebidiah spoke, the faint amusement in his tone doing nothing to mask his dripping contempt "A small time thief and back-alley thug with ideas above his station and ability, selling weapons and intelligence to every would be pirate or despot in neutral space in the hopes that eventually one of them will make him rich….the former pirate Elgar apparently helped Lightspeed track him down during my absence"
"Your team were intended to be peace keepers rather than warriors" Corcus noted "You are not expected to kill Broodwing….bring him to justice peacefully if the option to do so exists, if it does not then the galaxy will not miss him" the frankness with which the situation was described and the calmness with which the authorisation to use lethal force was given were a sobering reminder of just what being a Power Ranger entailing; prompting Jack and Sky to lock eyes for a moment, both of them thinking of the weary and haunted expressions Mercy and her friends had sometimes worn before finally Bridge spoke up after remaining quiet for an unusual amount of times
"We need our Morphers"
"You're not questioning this, I mean….It's great news, the best I could ever have…." Sky fell silent again, trailing off as his ability to articulate himself failed but Bridge seemed to understand and simply shrugged
"No need for questions" he tapped the side of his head "I already know what happens"
"These are your Morphers….the Lightspeed Delta series" Billy Cranston's voice cut through the air and focused all attention on him, as did the snap of his armoured briefcase opening to reveal the Morphers in question that had been developed on Karone's base, each of them stored in their two separate components yet as the five teens drew close each of them realised that they understood, without ever being told that they would know exactly how to use the device before them.
"Now these Morphers were based on the principles employed by Doctor Rawlings and the Morphers used by the Astro Rangers; as such there is no artefact such a Power Coin acting as a separate conduit to the Morphing Grid itself….meaning I'm not sure if a specific Morpher will 'call to' each of you in the way that other teams have described-"
"Oh don't worry, they're calling alright" Jack murmured as he reached out and took the Morpher in the centre of the case whilst beside him Sky hesitated a moment before taking the one to its' right and when all five teens had affixed the wrist mounted terminals in place on their arms and held the small folding device that served as both an identification and activation system in their hands some unseen signal passed between the five of them.
Each new Ranger slid the smaller component of their Morpher into place within the terminal and yelled out a command in perfect unison
"Lightspeed! Emergency!"
The Dweller-Zord let out a shrieking roar that sounded as though the sky itself were being rent open by rusted metal claws and as it did so the rippling, coruscating fiery orange energy that arced long the vast array that its' splayed open jaws formed began to rush inwards, swirling and coalescing into a single blinding nova which caused a deep, rumbling bass note to be felt for miles around.
"MOVE!" Mercy yelled and she, along with her fellow Aegis Rangers used every ounce of their focus and willpower to force the Ultrazord to move more swiftly and with more grace as their monstrous adversary unleashed its' latest assault; discharging the weapon in its' maw and unleashing a stream of blazing light like a weaponised solar flare that ignited the very air around it.
The Ultrazord successfully avoided the assault, its' movements human and fluid as it sidestepped before bringing its' lance up to stab at the Dweller-Zord's lower torso, making to rip into where a kidney would be in a human body, the monstrous machine countered however; blocking with an enormous forearm whose armoured surface was gouged and torn by the attack but quickly began to recover as rivers of animated and sludgy grey liquid ran from the forge on its' back and along its' arm to reform the sundered armour. The Dweller-Zord proved itself to be more than a simple, lumbering brute as it retaliated to the attack; the energy attack spilling from its' mouth continuing to obliterate the ground it struck, scorching and ravaging everything in its' path in a wide arc before finally guttering out as the sentient machine scuttled aside on its' many segmented legs before spinning clockwise at the wait and revealing that the joint had a wider range of motion than expected before delivering a spinning back-fist to the Ultrazords' back and wings with its' claws extended and the mass of grinding machinery within them whirling.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Mercy's frantic warning came a moment before the crushing blow landed and the Rangers felt themselves be jolted and rattled as the Ultrazord lurched and staggered forward, the unconscious thoughts of those piloting it causing it to regain its' footing soon after yet the cockpit the Aegis Rangers shared was filled with blaring alarms and their viewscreen was taken up by massive warning that gave an explanation to the sudden off-balance feeling that they all felt as their minds reached out into their mechas' titanic form.
The Dweller-Zord had ripped two of the wings away from the Ultrazords' right side; specifically those belonging to the Hawk and Dragon Zord.
"It went straight through the support struts!" Panthera yelled in fear and rage
"It's still behind us!" Tempestus yelled urgently, reaching out and taking control of the Ultrazords' limbs whilst Marigold took control of its' weapons and the damaged remains of its' propulsion system; the two of them working in tandem to deliver a counter to the Dweller-Zord's incoming follow up attack wherein they brought the Ultrazord into a counter-clockwise spin to avoid their enemies' other clawed appendage driving into the war machines' back and in the same motion delivering an angled downward side-kick which collided with one of the joints of a segmented leg and buckled the limb which left sparks and flames erupting from ruined pistons and synthetic muscles before the Ultrazord leapt into the air, its' thrusters no longer able to sustain flight were still capable of propelling the enormous machine upwards and forwards to drive its' right knee directly into the glowing centre of the Dweller-Zord's mass, the molten armour which housed its' unstable reactor.
The monstrous construct shrieked and roared but remained defiant.
"It's caught us!" Aslaug warned as the smaller arms crossed across their enemies' torso lashed out and sunk their glowing and empowered claws into the armour of the Ultrazords' right leg, tearing through the mechas' hull and the vital components beneath it with ease whilst alarms continued to blare and scream; signalling to the Rangers that simple proximity to the Dweller-Zord's molten core was beginning to degrade their mecha.
"I've got this!" Mercy assured them, taking control of the Ultrazord and putting her years of martial arts training to the test by ignoring the primal instinct to try and retreat away from the attack and instead wrapping the Ultrazords' arms around the Dweller-Zord's neck and shoulders, the Ultra Lance resting across the back of its' neck and having the Ultrazord leap into the air again to deliver a strike with its' free leg whilst ripping its' ensnared limb away. The result was instant and the sound defied comprehension; metal shrieking at a volume that could be heard from miles away as both the Ultrazords' right leg and several of the Dweller-Zord's grasping claws were torn apart; the Rangers felt their war machine as its' now heavily damaged limb struggled to support its' colossal weight and the ground beneath them cratered and shattered under the force of their impact yet still they stood, landing in a crouch and pressing their advantage
"MARI NOW!" Mercy yelled, the Red Ranger driving the Ultrazord forwards as the Gold Ranger took aim with its' shoulder cannons and fired directly into the molten core of the monstrous machine before them only for it to defend itself by pouring a steady stream of magma from the Dread Forge directly into the targeted area and creating a shield over its' torso which regenerated as fast as it was destroyed yet this was exactly what mercy had anticipated and the barrage from the shoulder cannons served only to distract the thing as she closed the distance and finally, with a scream of exertion and pure, unreserved fury she drove the Ultrazords' lance through the Dweller-Zord's side, metal screeching as loud as the machine itself as its' armoured flank was pierced, mechanical innards were ruined and the tip of the enormous weapon burst from its' other side; impaling it through its' serpentine midsection.
Yet still it lived
"MERCY LOOK OUT!" Kay all but screamed as light began to gather in the Dweller-Zord's distended maw and the Green Ranger instinctively took control of the Ultrazords' already damaged left arm and grasped part of the enormous weapons array formed by it's splayed open jaw, crushing and wrenching a section of its' mouth away with a violent twist before the titanic horror could unleash another of its' energy attacks; the resulting explosion sent the Ultrazord staggering back however, the Ultra Lance slipping from its' grasp and as the mental feedback from the mechas' left hand being reduced to molten slag assaulted the Rangers and the effort of remaining standing distracted them the Dweller-Zord made its' move.
"We're hit! We're hit!" Panthera warned as the Dweller-Zord lunged forwards and drove one of the three prongs of its' enormous right claw directly into the Ultrazords' chest whilst the remaining two digits of the monstrous appendage latched into place above and below the left shoulder; armour groaning and shrieking as it was torn apart when the claw began to close
"Massive internal damage, Mercy we can't maintain this!" Tempestus informed his leader, his words closely followed by Rensa's
"We need a plan Mercy!"
"Working on it!" she snapped, pure terror seeping into her words as she desperately reached out with with the Ultrazords' right arm and realised with a plummeting sense of dread that the left has ceased responding to the neural controls entirely as the mining drills and other such equipment in their opponents' claws ripped through the mechas' inner workings. A moment later the Ultrazords' hand closed around the handle of its' lance which was still embedded in the Dweller-Zord's gut and Mercy spoke again, this time with a sense of conviction.
"PUT EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT INTO PROPULSION! FULL REVERSE, WE'RE RIP THIS THING IN HALF AND TAKE ITS' ARM IN ONE HIT!" at her command the seven Aegis Rangers focused, devoting every ounce of willpower that they could muster to the task and preparing to send the Ultrazord rocketing backwards; the colossal machine began to move and a cacophony that could only be described as apocalyptic filled the air as the Dweller-Zord was dragged forwards, its' crustacean legs cutting deep trenches and ravines into the blasted ground it stood upon until finally with a cataclysmic explosion of fire, liquid stone, twisted metal and countless fluids the Ultrazords' lance was torn free of its' gut.
Yet there was no victory to be had.
"IT'S STILL GOT US!" Marigold screamed
"WHAT!" Mercy demanded "HOW IS THAT-" she fell silent, words failing at her upon seeing the sight displayed on the Ultrazords' flickering viewscreen.
The Dweller-Zord's innards had burst forth and come to live; impossibly vast and thick tendrils made of the same animated stone that the Empires' Putties were constructed from, quickly coiling around the Ultrazords' remaining arm and weapon ensnaring and beginning to crush the limb as dozens of smaller, whip-like tendrils launched themselves forwards as they were spawned directly from the Dread Forge on the sentient machines' back, burrowing into the open tears in the Ultrazords' armour and beginning to pull it back towards the waiting teeth and claws of the Dweller-Zord.
"We've gotta take out the Dread Forge, it'll keep adapting and repairing itself until we do" Kay suggested
"Stab at its' heart, it needs power to do anything" Aslaug countered
"We can't do either!" Rensa objected, gesturing wildly at the apparent futility of the situation "The Ultrazord is-" his words were cut off by a fresh wave of alarms and sirens screaming warnings into the cockpit and as Tempestus explained their source the sense of unbridled fear and disgust within the cockpit was pushed to new heights
"It's forming Putties inside the Ultrazord….they're climbing their way through the inner workings"
"We can't fight Putties inside the Zords and that thing!" Panthera spat furiously
"We don't have to" Mercy interjected, her voice heavy with authority and the weight of the decision she was making "We have to self-destruct the Ultrazord….it's the only way"
"No" Mari gasped "Mercy we-"
"She's right" Tempestus murmured "The blast would likely destroy that….things' power core as well"
"But the Zords-"
"Have fought well and will leave us in a blaze of glory" Aslaug nodded solemnly, mentally preparing herself for what was to come
"Mercy's right" Kay nodded, the Green Ranger swallowing thickly and close to tears "Let's do it" Mercy waited for a moment before being certain that there were no further objections and then the seven Rangers reached out into the shared matrix of consciousness one final time to begin the process of turning the all-consuming power of the Zords inwards; passing mental barriers put in place to prevent sabotage until finally the synthetic voice that had greeted them so many times sounded out once again
'Self destruct sequence has been initiated'
From there Mercy felt the lurching and tingling of teleportation and a moment later she was no longer within the cockpit; instead she was falling, hurtling downwards through the air in a wide arc that saw her come crashing and rolling to a stop on a bridge located between two massive spires and as civilians began fleeing away from her in all directions the Red Ranger realised two things in quick succession.
Firstly that the self destruct sequence obviously included some sort of emergency ejection including short range teleportation which had sent her deeper into the Capital city of Acheron
Secondly that she couldn't see any of her friends.
Before she begin the search for her fellow Aegis Rangers however the ground shook with with a truly indescribable impact and Mercy was forced to experience the true scope of a Zord battle as she watched its' conclusion from outside of the cockpit; the Dweller-Zord's dragging the ruined remains of the Ultrazord close and sinking its' claws into the twisted and mangled armour until the pure white light of a collapsing star shone from within the abandoned mecha.
Then there was a flash and the Ultrazord was no more.
Author's Notes:
So, it's happened….that's how Power Rangers lets you know that the end is coming.
Just remember, this is the mid point of this arc and we still have the entire finale to come; you think things are crazy now?
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Picking up right where we left off with the Ultrazord still stuck in space combat against the Empire fleet
Y'know when you watch nature documentaries and hear a deep sea sub creaking as the pressure gets worse? That was basically the entire Ultrazord this chapter.
The Empire has actual tactics, however the Empire being what it is means that those tactics will often involve throwing bodies at a problem.
They air is inhospitable like it was on Unus, but take note of Rensa's comment.
You didn't really think there weren't gonna be any ground defences right?
I just want you take a moment and imagine the scene as they burst through the artificial darkness and see the defences being turned on themselves as one of Karone's rebel cells launches an attack, because in my head it looked amazing.
I think you all knew that the person Canis brought with her was going to be used as meat-shield from the moment they opened their face hole.
I really, really hate how recent events have made rebelling an uncomfortable subject. (Writing this 26th Jan 2021).
Canis really does not want to be here.
So half of the forces Lord Zedd had in the palace, some of his best have been sent out into the city….Along with the "Dweller-Zord".
I needed to find an excuse for there to be an open space because the Ultrazord Vs Dweller-Zord fight was going to be vicious enough without having to work terrain into it and also let's be honest the Aegis Rangers really wouldn't wan to deal with that kind of collateral if they could help it.
Rangers were debating attacking the palace or the planetary defences….Then the Dweller-Zord rolled up and said "Bitch, neither".
Yeah the Dweller-Zord is the culmination of a few different things; take the fact that the Aegis Zords are each apex predators from their Ranger's world and combine that with the way Acheron genetics adapt and consume everything, then add the fact that Lord Zedd understands Zord technology (The Dragonzord) and has been shown to use prototypes to defend smaller cities (The prototype Cyclopsis) and then combine that with what the Dread Forge did to protect itself….you get this absolute bad-boy….Overall its' design draws from Evangelion, the Tyranids and Imperial Titans in Warhammer 40k, Omega Supreme and Pacific Rim.
Right out the gate we're getting to the meat of the issue because we don't have time beating around the bush; the SPD Rangers from canon are now the Lightspeed Delta Rangers.
Remember that they actually already know Justin and Zebidiah.
Kazama and Cestria are around, there were just too many people in that scene already.
Jack out here asking the important questions, but again take note….Karone and Zhane are going to be taking Alliance ships away from Earth right as Lord Zedd is preparing to attack it.
It had to be Broodwing, because his design is just classic Tokusatsu….seriously look at it, that would have been perfect in VR Troopers.
Also, Elgar has officially switched sides.
"Lightspeed Emergency" the perfect fusion of both calls….Also, we'll see their suits next chapter.
Of course it's got a massive mouth laser, but at the same time I didn't want that to be how it actually got its' big hits in.
Yeah, just ripped the wings clean off; it's that kind of strong.
Big flying knee from the Ultrazord….that would have ended most fights; or at the very least been a set up for the finisher.
The big combo move ending in impaling it was fun to think up, especially the way it set up the final few exchanges of the fight but there was no way it was actually gonna work in a fight this important.
Mercy's plan would have worked if the Dweller-Zord couldn't got full John Carpenter with its' innards.
The Rangers really didn't have a choice there, Mercy made the right call. They have no way to teleport the Zords out, no backup besides the rebels they haven't actually managed to contact, no real support of any kind and the Ultrazord is not only heavily damaged but with Putties being formed on the inside the Rangers would actually have to disconnect from the Ultrazords' controls and leave it a sitting duck to fight them.
You know in the shows where the Rangers get thrown out of the cockpit and fall to the ground, yeah that's what this was.
So, to cap it of Karone's rebels are on Acheron but Lord Zedd's forces are on the move to hunt them down; a new team of Rangers have been formed but they're untested and the Aegis Rangers are scattered through the Capital of Acheron itself and just lost their Zords….fun times.
Thank you to Blue Legends and Super ShadowHenshin for their reviews on the last chapter.
Perfectly okay, life happens to us all.
You'll be happy to know that there's more of B Squad coming.
Yeah, I wanted this arc to be a fitting last ride for the Zords
The plan is gonna fun to unleash on everyone, you think the stakes and tension are high now….You have no idea.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review