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Chapter 76 – Lord Of Shadows
The power Lord Zedd harnessed was both terrible and at the same time awe inspiring to behold.
The warriors gathered before the towering and armoured warlord were amongst the most noted and feared of the Empires' seemingly limitless supply of beings willing and capable of indescribable violence yet each of them watched, bowed and silent as their ruler redefined what it meant to be powerful. It was known and often discussed in hushed whispers across the Empire by those who had either seen his might first hand or heard tales from those who had that Lord Zedd had mastered the art of teleportation rendering him capable of appearing anywhere in the galaxy without the need of one of the Empires' teleportation gates, a feat achieved by simply tearing reality asunder around himself and bending it to his will in a way that even the finest ships in the Empires' fleet with their short range teleportation systems were incapable of; until now however such displays of power had been limited to Lord Zedd himself and those immediately around him, even his raw might and force of will being unable to overcome some fundamental fact of reality. Each of the Acheron hybrids watching Lord Zedd now realised that what they were witnessing was possibly the single greatest upheaval in the order of things for generations, the Alliance of Worlds had defied them for so long largely due to its' own, far greater teleportation technology and its' Power Rangers, both of which were relics from the now extinct Eltarian race and whilst the Power Rangers had successfully breached the palace they would still be unable to interfere and stop the coming war on the core worlds of the Alliance whilst Lord Zedd's mastery of the Dark Dimension combined with his own arcane powers represented a final levelling of the playing field, an answer to the Eltarian technology that those who stood against the Acheron way had hidden behind for so long.
Yet such power did not come freely or without consequence.
Beneath his ornate armour of bladed metal and the various cybernetic components that integrated the suit into his body Lord Zedd was in pure, unremitting agony as he channelled forces that even his inhuman and almost purpose built physiology was simply never intended to handle. The tyrants' vision was filled with crimson as his own magic began to turn against him, the bloody light streaming from his eyes and out of the visor of his masked helm causing his eyes to bleed as his entire body began to shudder, spasm and seize violently from the force of muscles contracting with enough power to tear through tendons, the wounds being knitted back together and inflicted once again over the course of mere seconds all whilst he became painfully aware of the various mechanical components added to his body, including his entire right arm and several systems integrated into his chest cavity to replace and enhance vital organs beginning to short out and spew jets of sparks into the air around him; yet even as his internal organs began to implode and rupture under the strains placed on them and his roars of exertion became strangled choking gurgles from the blood clogging his airways Lord Zedd refused to relent.
And finally, just as it seemed that his mind and body would shatter under the monumental power Lord Zedd felt the shifting sensation of his body beginning to slip out of the material plane.
Outwardly the change took a moment longer to manifest yet once it did the difference was undeniable, the quakes and tremors that had grown steadily intensity until it felt as though the entire palace might be split open and the very air itself trembled as if in fear suddenly cease, filling the ampitheatre in which those given the honour of forming Lord Zedd's personal retinue were gathered with a sense of stillness that offered no peace or serenity, only foreboding and steadily mounting bloodlust until finally after what seemed like an eternity the crimson lightning crackling and arcing across Lord Zedd's body erupted outwards; first forming a single pillar of bloody light that surged upwards and burst through the ceiling without leaving any tangible damage to its' surface. The beam continued upwards until it breached the benighted planets' atmosphere and shot out into space where it finally splintered into dozens of branches and tendrils of semi-physical manifest magic, the appendages behaving like those of some unfathomable creature from the deepest oceans as the ensnared each of the warships in the gathered armada that were still capable of fighting and began the process of dragging them into the parallel reality of the Dark Dimension from which the attack on Earth would be launched.
On the ground, within the ampitheatre of his palace Lord Zedd watched as a similar process began, the massed warrior gathered before him trying to maintain the appearance of stoic obedience and mask the all-consuming terror that gripped them as tentacles of solidified arcane might burst from his body and writhed around the massive chamber, each limb anchoring itself to an individual until the tyrant let out a slow, shuddering breath that left black blood spattered under ground at his feet; in one final act he would complete his goals, each individual tendril being assigned not only a subject to carry but also a targeted re-entry point either on or around Earth from whence the assault would begin.
And then he was assaulted.
At the very moment the supreme ruler of the Dark Empire enacted his master plan he became aware, yet distantly so, as if it were happening to somebody else of a beam of searing energy striking him in his chest; leaving a section of his armour glowing and superheated. Lord Zedd felt something in some dark recess of his mind twist unexpectedly yet had no way of knowing what it might mean in that moment; the transition from one plane of existence to another occurred and as his palace faded away around him, being quickly replaced by the now endless expanse of the Dark Dimension Lord Zedd became aware of two things in the same moment.
Firstly that something had been thrown awry and his moment of victory, however inevitable had been altered in some way.
Secondly that the one who had attempted to assassinate him at the crucial moment had been clad in Green armour.
"Damn it we can't fight in cramped quarters like this!" Panthera, who had found her way to the head of the Aegis Ranger's single file convoy as they crawled through the palaces' ventilation shafts hissed furiously as she batted aside the elongated claws of a Gargoyle Putty before scrabbling against the metal beneath her in an effort to launch herself forwards and drive her helmet into the things' gaping and snarling maw; shattering the stone of its' jaw and silencing the thing before it could alert any nearby allies it may have with its' shrieking.
The Seven Aegis Rangers had continued through the cramped shafts that existed within the palace, doing their utmost to remain unhidden and successfully passing over several groups of Putties led by hulking or otherwise nightmarishly monstrous Acheron hybrids, all of whom clearly had the single express goal of finding and either capturing or killing the Rangers themselves without being detection; a feat that was made all the more impressive by the fact that at no point did the tremors rumbling through the palace with ever increasing force which threatened to send the Rangers crashing down into the winding maze of hallways that they had previously been fighting their way through. Eventually however, whilst they had managed to avoid the attention of those below they had been detected by what lurked within the shafts themselves; Lord Zedd's paranoia evidently so extreme that they, along with the outer walls and tunnels beneath the palace had been filled with the bestial Gargoyle Putties, one of which had come snarling and skittering towards them with its' red eyes lighting the way ahead of it.
"It's still fighting back" Panthera snarled as she continued to struggle against the now silenced automaton, unable to bring her strength or agility to bare effectively in the confined space
"So finish it!" Mercy demanded incredulously whilst frantically peering through the minute gap between individual panels of the shaft to ensure that no sentries were below them to hear the skirmish taking place
"I can't!" Panthera retorted hotly "I can't hit the plate on its' chest while it's on its' belly like this….Damn it, Mari slide me one of your pistols!" the Pink Ranger and the Putty continued to grapple and struggle for longer a bout with such a simple adversary should have taken until the Gold Ranger complied and Panthera felt the heft of the weapon that had been slid towards her pressing against her arm; with everything needed for her simple but hopefully effective plan now in place she simply, yet with no small amount of wrestling involved managed to reach under the Gargoyle and use her clawed digits to prise the metallic panel of the ventilation shaft that the automatons' entire upper body was resting on loose, sending the thing toppling down onto the ground below. Springing to motion Panthera lunged forwards and managed to catch the falling panel with one hand before reaching down and aiming Marigold's pistol with the other, whilst she might not have had the almost preternatural marksmanship of the Gold Ranger she was no stranger to firearms and snapped off a trio of perfectly placed and closely grouped shots with ease which left the Putty reduced to crumbling debris yet there was no time to be wasted on savouring victories and instead Panthera merely slid the panel back into place so that she could continue onwards at a much more vigorous pace
"Come on let's go, if anyone heard that we can't be here when they come looking!" hearing no objection from Mercy the Aegis Rangers continued onwards through the shafts with Panthera in the lead, her superior senses allowing her to scout ahead whilst Rensa covered the rear and all of them bracing themselves against the endless vibrations of the tremors which continued to increase to ominous levels. They continued onwards through the darkness in tense silence for an amount of time that none of them could accurately gauge or measure as each passing minute felt both like an age and the blink of an eye all at once, each of the Rangers being silently certain that they would be discovered at any moment and terrified of what that discovery would bring yet none of them daring to voice their fears until finally, using the effects that the tremors and shifting air pressure that accompanied them had on her equilibrium and sensitive ears along with her superhuman night vision Panthera managed to lead her friends to a vast an area where the ventilation shafts passed over a vast open space within the palace and there more regularly placed grates and openings, openings which the Rangers used to peer down and see what lay below.
"Oh no" Mercy mouthed out, her voice filled with simple, naked fear yet Panthera found it noteworthy that the Red Ranger had the presence of mind to open a comm channel to address the other Rangers so that her voice would not be heard, something which the Pink Ranger quickly mimicked.
"Whatever this is, it's bad" Tempestus said simply, the Blue Ranger swallowing thickly due to both dehydration and his own sudden, deep seated and primal terror at the sight of what filled the ampitheatre of Lord Zedd's palace; more warriors than any of them cared to count, each and every one of whom would certainly posed a credible threat to the seven of them even on their own yet gathered together like this were simply an overwhelming force and yet the fear this sight inspired was quickly dwarfed by orders of magnitude as it became clear just what they were gathered in front of and watching with such open reverence
Lord Zedd himself, wreathed in the magic that was causing the tremors.
"I've seen gatherings like this on Mirinoi, I've watched my father lead them" Aslaug croaked out "This is a show of force before a war….wherever he is planning on sending his fleet to invade, Lord Zedd plans to lead the charge personally"
"Empire ships teleporters are short range but they can beam him aboard from orbit" Mercy noted "He can leave at any time"
"But what is he doing?" Marigold asked hesitantly, almost uncertain as to whether she truly wanted the question to be answered "That magic….I mean-"
"I don't know what he's planning" Kay noted, their usual melodic tones becoming harsh as sudden rage bled into them "But everything I know tells me that it has to be stopped now, whatever my father intends we won't get another chance"
Mercy intended to tell them to not be hasty and risk their life so recklessly, a hand already on Panthera's shoulder so that she could urge the Pink Ranger to talk sense into her partner before something that could not be undone transpired; the opportunity was stolen from her however as in an instant and with no prior warning the trembling that had rocked the palace until that point stopped and then a fraction of a second later the ampitheatre was filled with crimson light which took the form of glowing, almost tangible constructs reaching out to each of the warriors in the room and also directly upwards.
And Kay leapt into action.
The Green Ranger burst from the ventilation shafts, emerald light already gathering around their palm and Mercy found herself launched into motion without conscious thought; everything seeming to move in slow motion as she watched Kay fire a burst of energy which struck Lord Zedd himself square in the chest and reduced a portion of his armour to a molten state yet seemed to do little to actually harm the tyrant.
And then he was gone.
Lord Zedd vanished in a flash of light and the tendrils of intangible crimson that he had conjured were pulled into whatever ether he had disappeared into with him, each of them taking the warrior that they had been attached to as well; yet as the bloody light subsided Mercy realised that the Rangers were not alone, despite the apparent lack of damage it had done Kay's attack had at least staggered or unfocused Lord Zedd enough to cause him to figuratively drop several of the warriors in his grasp and as she and Kay moved into a position that would allow them to fight back to back and the rest of the Aegis Rangers leapt into the ampitheatre the Red Ranger realised that they would not have to face roughly a dozen monsters at once.
All while Lord Zedd launched his attack that they had failed to warn anyone about.
"It's over Broodwing!" Jack yelled as he leapt over the alien arms dealers' latest energy based attack; arcs of crackling and unnaturally malleable lightning spreading out to cover a wide surface area yet still narrowly missing the Red Delta Ranger as he somersaulted over its extremities and carried the momentum of his flip into an axe kick which struck Broodwing above the right knee as he attempted to move backwards to avoid it, the limb buckled with a sickening snap and the alien crumpled to the ground unable to support his own weight; the scream of pain that escaped him serving as proof that whilst incredibly dangerous he was in fact a mere mortal and simple criminal rather than one of the genetically and magically modified horrors unleashed by the Dark Empire.
"I'll have your families found for this! I have contacts! I have-"
"You have the right to remain silent" Broodwing was flung backwards and hit the ground, limp and unconscious as Jack lashed out with a swift front kick from his leading leg which connected with enough force to not only leave the transparent helmet that the three-eyed and bat-like aliens' head was contained in covered in a web of cracks but also smash Broodwing's head against the surface of the helmet with an impact that would almost certainly live him with a concussion when he regained consciousness.
And like that it was over.
"We did it guys" Jack managed to pant out, sagging forward with his hands resting on his knees and his breathing coming in laboured and ragged gasps as he turned to face his fellow Delta Rangers; all of whom wore suits that had been damaged at some point in the battle and likely hid various injuries.
"Everyone okay?" Sydney asked, wiping blood from a split lip and cut along the bridge of her nose which had both been exposed by the complete destruction of her helmet
"Define okay" Z chuckled darkly as she limped over, clutching at her side whilst Bridge; whose helmet had been warped until concave on one side and its' visor shattered supported the weight of a burned and beaten Sky who had thrown himself recklessly into the battle despite his initial injury at Broodwing's hands several times in order to protect his team-mates; as Sydney took Sky's other arm and draped it over her shoulder with a silent but meaningful look passing between the Blue and Pink Delta Rangers Jack turned his attention back to the matter at hand, readying on his new pistols and keeping it trained on Broodwing as he contacted Mission Control.
"This is Landors, we have Broodwing….Injured and unconscious but alive"
"Understood" it was Corcus's bubbling yet stern tone that answered him "He will be sent to the Moonbase for processing, I am of the understanding that Commander Cruger has wanted to speak with Broodwing for quite some time regarding his activities….Are your team injured?"
"Nothing too serious" Jack answered with only the merest hint of his usual confidence "But I think we need a little patching up-"
"Then stand by for teleportation" the communication ended and Jack had barely let out a whistle to get his teams' attention before the five of them were enveloped by streams of coloured light and the familiar tingling sensation of teleportation began to set in.
And then they were in the Command Centre aboard Promethea One.
"You performed admirably Rangers" it was Zebidiah Lord who had spoken and the five teens quickly overcame the minor sense of disorientation enough to appreciate the sentiment from the ancient sorcerer whom they had known for much of their lives and each respected greatly; flanking Zebidiah were Corcus and Billy Cranston whilst Justin was monitoring incoming data on one of the rooms many computers. The hiss of decompressing air accompanied Jack removing his helmet and taking a moment to brush his dreadlocks into some semblance of order, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking
"It doesn't feel like it" he lamented "It feels like we just scraped by….we got our asses kicked"
"Jack's right, we weren't prepared" Sky added, the words sounding as though the caused him physical discomfort though Jack was generous enough to attribute it to his team-mates' injuries; in response to the disparaging self assessment Corcus and Billy both shared a knowing look, the pair in a rare moment of agreement as they chuckled softly
"A little Power Ranger secret that nobody ever gets told about" Billy beamed "Is that it always feels like that, there is no amount of preparation that will ever feel like enough"
"When you carry the fate of several worlds on your shoulders every battle feels desperate, simply because you understand what's at stake….if you did not you would be unfit to wield your powers" Corcus added solemnly, echoing Billy's sentiments in a more profound sounding way which the former Blue Power Ranger nodded silently along with before speaking again
"You'll have plenty of time to train until you feel confident that you've done everything you can but in the meantime there's medical and psychological evaluations and an official debriefing, standard practice; I'll show you to Cestria's-"
He found himself silenced by alarms beginning to blare throughout the Command Centre and Justin's voice calling out with a sense of alarm.
"They might have to hold off on that debriefing, we just had a massive inbound teleportation signature!"
"The Aegis Rangers, they were on the way here right?" Jack asked, inwardly cursing himself for daring to hope.
"It isn't" Bridge whispered, the newly minted Green Ranger's eyes suddenly wide as his powers of precognition alerted him to incoming danger of a magnitude he had never experienced before, a freezing, dreadful force that snatched the breath from his lungs
"It's not the Aegis Rangers, we've had no word from Zhane and Karone" Justin confirmed
"On the viewing globe, now!" Zebidiah barked, crew members moved quickly to carry out his instructions and within a matter of moments the central sphere of the Command Centre which served as a hard-light and hologram projector formed a three dimensional image of the Earth and the space around it, including the vast rings of orbital defences of which Promethea One was a part.
The sight that greeted them silenced the Command Centre in an instant.
The first sign that something was horribly and cataclysmically wrong was the sight of space itself seeming to ripple and warp before tearing open to create a void within the void from which a vessel emerged, or at least a sizeable portion of one; the ruined hulk of a spaceship had been broken neatly in half by some unspeakable forces which left flames from several infernos raging through its' decks being sucked out into space where they guttered out as the atmosphere was ripped from within its' sundered hull; it was the rear half a vessel and the vast and swept forward wings which gave its' a distinctive battleaxe shape were still attached and plain to see, causing all present in the Command Centre to realise exactly what had emerged
"An Empire warship!" Corcus spat with undisguised vitriol only to be silenced once again as more ships emerged from the void, dozens of fully functional warships and dozens more bearing varying degrees of damage; all of them being preceded by an indescribable volley of lasers, missiles and other projectiles targeted at Earth's orbital defences and the fleet that accompanied it.
"We have teleportation signatures on Earth!" on of the Command Centre staff declared in open shock and terror
"Where are they making planet-fall?" Billy demanded, voice becoming icy and stoic as he attempted to remain rational and calm yet after a moment of pause where the operative who had spoken struggled to make sense of readings that her mind tried to deny the answer came and Billy was left numb
"Everywhere sir" and with that chilling statement the Dark Empire's invasion of Earth began.
Mercy forced herself to continue moving, not allowing herself even the briefest moment of surprise or hesitation as one of Rensa's daggers streaked over her shoulder and buried itself in the skull of the Acheron hybrid warrior she had been grappling with; their body collapsing forwards with a sickeningly wet squelching impact that forced the blade of the weapon even further until it protruded from the back of their head.
The ampitheatre had been consumed by utter carnage.
Acheron hybrids, each of which could have stood toe to toe with the Aegis Rangers and currently outnumbered Mercy's team by almost two to one had begun their assault almost the instant that the initial wave of confusion at the situation had subsided; each of them intending to tear their enemies limb from limb as the realisation that they had been left behind and the chance of fighting alongside Lord Zedd as part of the warlords' personal retinue, the highest honour they could ever have hoped to receive had been stolen from them.
The Aegis Rangers had realised quickly that their only real hope of survival was their ability to work as a team and rely on one another whilst the monsters they fought, much like those that had attempted to assassinate Mammon'th previously were either entirely consumed by insensate rage, willing to use their current fight as an excuse to settle existing grudges or simply unconcerned with the well being or survival of their supposed allies which had led to more than one Acheron hybrid impaling or decapitating another just so that they could close the distance and engage in combat a moment sooner.
Yet they were not the only threat.
Screeching and the sound of heavy, stone limbs clattering against metal overhead alerted Mercy to the impending arrival of Gargoyle Putties, the emaciated and bestial constructs stalking through the palaces' vents and tunnels finally having been drawn to the sound of the battle raging through the ampitheatre; upon hearing the terrible sound reverberating around her the Red Aegis Ranger manifested her katana in a pulse of light before sprinting towards the opening that she had initially leapt out of the vents from, focusing as she did so on Aslaug who was currently engaged in combat with a bear-like creature with sickle claws in place of digits
"Give me a boost!" she called out and Aslaug readily complied, kicking her opponent back and manifesting her axe in a pulse of golden yellow she before holding the weapon out so that Mercy, as she often had could use the weapon as a springboard. The Red Ranger sailed through the air, with her entire focus being narrowed to herself and her objective whilst time ceased to have any relevance as the first Gargoyle Putty pounced, howling and screaming from the opening in the ventilation shafts only for its' entire body to bisected from the cranium downwards by a single graceful slash which Mercy followed up by spinning in mid-air and stabbing downwards as she returned to the ground, her sword ripping through the back of the Acheron hybrid Aslaug was still fighting
"MERCY MOVE!" the taller woman yelled in warning and as she tore her blade free and rolled aside she watched as Aslaug channelled all of her might and the power of the Morphing Grid itself into a single, indescribably powerful attack; the blade of her axe glowed with a blinding yellow light as she swung the weapon upwards from the hip in a wide arc that first broke the entire body of the warrior she faced in half before unleashing a burst of light and concussive force that surged outwards to shatter several Gargoyle Putties as they leapt from the shafts and the collapsed the shafts themselves, reducing the Ranger's route into the ampitheatre to a twisted mass of scrap metal in an effort to keep any more attackers from finding their way inside. A handful of the Gargoyles made it to the ground unscathed and the scuttled across the now blasted and bloodstained ground, fanning out whilst their atrophied and vestigial looking wings raised on their backs like the hackles of a dog in some primal threat display which Mercy and Aslaug responded to by readying their weapons and shared a brief look that managed to convey the unspoken trust they had for one another.
Then the Gargoyle Putties were simply torn apart.
The battle between the pack of savage automatons and the two Aegis Rangers ended before it could begin as Marigold and Panthera entered the fray, the Pink Ranger's curved blades in their combined form spinning at a velocity which reduced them to a blur and allowed them to sever limbs as they soared through the air before relieving several Putties of their heads as the projectile arced back towards Panthera's hand whilst the now mangled and disabled constructs were given their final endings by the Gold Ranger whose pistols were unloaded into each of their torsos in turn
"Thanks!" Mercy called out turning to face them and taking a moment to assess the situation as a whole; against all odds the Aegis Rangers had largely taken control of the situation with the Acheron hybrid Aslaug had laid low being the latest of several though another would likely soon join the ranks of the deceased as Tempestus used his agile fighting style to force their many limbs aside and create openings in their defences for Rensa to exploit, the Black Ranger's remaining dagger tearing deep and bloody gashes into exposed flanks and underbelly until it seemed inevitable that the Empire warrior would soon collapse from their injuries.
Then she saw a sight that sent chills of deep, visceral terror down her spine.
The massive doors of the ampitheatre, ornate and baroque things easily half a dozen times the height of a person were sealed shut and had been for the entire duration of the battle and the show of unnatural force from Lord Zedd that had preceded it but now an Acheron hybrid, the last surviving member of those who had been left behind was sprinting towards the doors with long fingers extended, already grasping towards the various locking mechanisms they sought to undo
"SOMEONE STOP THEM!" Mercy all but screamed, already in bounding towards the doors yet allowing herself a moment of relief despite her mounting panic as a comet of green rushed passed her in a blur before culminating in the Empire warrior coming to a halt, their head rolling to the ground several paces away as Kay came skidding to a stop with the Dragon Blade clutched in both hands, its' emerald green blade wreathed in magical flames which the Green Ranger continued to harness by directing the weapon towards the enormous double doors of the ampitheatre and unleashing their magic to reduce the entrance to a molten state, effectively welding the doors shut to ensure any reinforcements that might arrive would not be able to enter with ease.
"Think that's the last of them" Mercy panted out, collapsing to her knees from sheer exhaustion as adrenaline faded from her system and allowed her to feel the weight of her recent battles being added to the lack of food and rest that she and her team-mates were currently contending with.
"Mercy….I'm sorry….I've doomed us all" Kay spoke slowly, the weight of their decisions seemingly becoming clear to them for the first time yet Mercy simply remained silent, her mind buzzing and racing and leaving her barely aware of the footsteps of the other Rangers drawing close
"I love you Kay I really do" Panthera sighed "But this was not the best idea you've ever had"
"Foolish and reckless" Aslaug grunted as she rested her axe over her shoulder before letting out a sigh "But understandable, we don't know what Lord Zedd was planning but you were right to try and stop it"
"But it didn't work" Rensa hissed, voice laced with unusual bitterness "And now we're trapped like animals-"
"Rensa calm down" Marigold interjected firmly "What happened happened, what matters now is how we deal with it"
"There is no dealing with this" the Black Ranger lamented, gesturing to their surroundings
"Enough" Tempestus demanded, the sound of his staff striking the ground and his tone of voice being enough to silence the other Rangers in an instant and as each of them looked to the Blue Ranger he gestured to their leader "Mercy, we follow you without question….so what's the plan" behind her helmet Mercy blinked back tears, partly of simple gratitude for the friends that formed her team but also partly from the crushing weight on her shoulders and the realisation of the hopelessness of the situation. Lord Zedd and his fleet had left and the Aegis Rangers had utterly failed to halt them or warn others of their approach and now they trapped within a single room of the Acheron palace where an unknown amount of enemies remained and would likely be launching a fresh wave of attacks at any moment.
"I don't have a plan" she finally admitted in a broken and dejected voice "I don't think we can win this"
Lord Zedd sank to his knees and vomited mouthfuls of thick, viscous black blood onto the ground beneath them that seeped through the grilled mouthpiece of his mask; the world spinning around him in a disorganised and indistinct blur until the sound of screaming gave his senses something to focus and hone in on.
He was physically, mentally and magically drained more than he could remember being and every inch of his body inside and out felt as though it had been torn asunder and even his monstrously mutable physiology did nothing to aid him, ruptured organs were sealed and splintered bones were knitted back together as eyes that had almost imploded under the immense pressure inflicted upon regained proper sight once more yet still the indescribable pain persisted and crashed over the armoured tyrant in endless waves yet despite it all Lord Zedd inwardly rejoiced in the knowledge that his master plan had been successful.
Or at least partly so.
It was Kay who had attempted to assassinate him, of that much Lord Zedd was certain for there was no one else but the Green Ranger he had sired capable of such an attack and whilst it had been entirely unsuccessful in its' obvious goal the supreme leader of the Dark Empire had found his ethereal grasp on the forces he had pulled with him into the Dark Dimension slackened and shaken loose in several instances and once within the Dark Dimension itself the forces being unleashed in the act of transporting his fleet to Earth had become overwhelming; Lord Zedd had looked on in silent fury as several warships were simply imploded or cast into the vast abyss of nothingness outside of the natural flow of space and time never to be seen again until finally he had forcefully retaken control of the situation and implemented some approximation of order and bringing his fleet back into real-space. Ships had not appeared where they were supposed to, the planned an assigned targets for each vessel and the invasion force it contained would have to be reallocated by the Captains of each ship that had survived the transition process and Lord Zedd realised that he was entirely alone; the retinue he had intended to accompany him in his conquest having been displaced or lost completely.
Yet Lord Zedd found that he didn't care, reasoning instead that this act of triumph might be better enjoyed alone.
With that final thought he rose to his full, towering height and stretched out freshly healed muscles; basking in the glow of late afternoon sunlight that glinted off of the jagged surfaces of his armour as he took in his surroundings. The screaming he had heard had come from those first to see his arrival, human civilians who had fled in terror that Lord Zedd felt was only appropriate and yet utterly futile; leaving him surrounded by abandoned vehicles and an open street lined by trees in a central yet seemingly affluent but oddly nondescript area of a city that could have been found anywhere across the west coast of the United States of America. To Lord Zedd however the city he had found himself in was anything but generic, it was something akin to and at the same time the antithesis of sacred ground; it was the only place that he could ever allow himself to begin his personal conquest of Earth and righting of the wrongs against his bloodline.
Lord Zedd had come to Angel Grove.
Author's Notes:
And that, ladies and gentlemen is how you end an arc on a cliffhanger.
One arc left of the story….Six more chapters and an epilogue to go.
We really are in the endgame now.
But anyway, let's summarise:
A chapter that starts AND ends with the main villain is just evil with intent.
Yeah Lord Zedd can yeet himself across reality and open a portal for maybe a few more people; see how he got to and from Unus but moving an entire fleet is something else entirely.
Also yes remaking the natural order of things and cheat-coding physics like this will and should hurt….Which will give the defenders in the coming battle a slight helping hand.
Yeah I had to make a point of saying that the big Zedd beam was intangible and didn't actually blow a hole through the roof.
Now we all knew who that attack was, but I still wanted there to be a level of surprise to the attack.
Of course their were Gargoyle Putties inside the vents, because at no point in this story has Lord Zedd been a dumb-ass who leaves hi shit unguarded.
Panthera fight scenes are fun to write just because she does not do standard Power Ranger stuff.
Also the idea of her being the one in the lead rather than Rensa because of her ears is a little callback to the second arc where her helmet actually had to filter out the noise of a battle because how sensitive her species' hearing is.
It makes sense that Aslaug knows the big pre-battle speech/hype up when she sees it.
How many times has Kay called Lord Zedd their Father? I'm pretty sure this is the first time since they switched teams.
Oh you thought this would be where the Rangers joined Lord Zedd and both sides ended up on Earth for the big final fight….Nah.
Okay yes, I teased the fight with Broodwing and then flash cut right to the end….In my defence Broodwing doesn't actually matter to this story; he's a gun-runner in the final stages of a fight against an Empire that controls thousands of planets.
But yeah the Delta Rangers got scuffed up.
Moonbase for processing, because the SPD Rangers were a team that didn't actually kill their opponents.
When Billy and Corcus agree then you know it's the truth.
Yeah obviously Bridge knew something was coming.
Reality opening and a space hulk emerging….Hello Warhammer 40k.
"Everywhere sir" that could have been the last of the chapter if I'd really wanted.
Once again the Rangers survive because they're a team and their opponents just aren't.
Well that's the Gargoyle Putties dealt with but also the way they came sealed off.
Yeah there's still all the rest of the people who gave up on the chance to be part of the attack patrolling the palace with their own squads of Putties; if that door had been unlocked the Rangers would be screwed.
I'll come out and say it, Kay deserves a little bit of shit here; they were reckless and acted without thinking, if they hadn't jumped in they could have at least found the comms hub the way they originally wanted to.
Yeah, don't blame Mercy….if someone's gonna have a crisis of faith then this is the place for it; although, let's not forget she does still have a Battleizer that I've been saving for the perfect moment.
Lord Zedd's arrival to Earth was actually based on the last scene of the latest episode of "Astartes".
So he's already taken a beating just getting to Earth, he's on his own because his troops are fuck knows where and although the assault on Earth is happening his ships are a) scuffed up and b) a little disorganised which makes things a little more fair but also they had the element of surprise and managed to appear right in Earth's defences.
Also yeah, of course he came to Angel Grove….Because as much as Lord Zedd tries to pretend it isn't personal it really, really is.
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