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Chapter 78 – Storm Before The Calm

The Command Centre aboard Promethea One had remained filled with an atmosphere so thoroughly and oppressively heavy with tension that it was a wonder those currently working within the spherical room could breathe at all as the air itself seemed to buzz and thrum with nervous and panicked energy which the incessant sound of computer terminals at work being punctuated by orders and information being relayed by the various teams of experts and analysts that the staff of Mission Control had been broken down into did nothing at all to distract from.

Forcing himself to remain aloof and detached from it all, a feat aided by a lifetime spent training as a member of his worlds' warrior caste, meditating, training and being subjected to the horrors of war until he could function within even the bleakest and most desperate circumstances Corcus strode the perimeter of the Command Centre with his eyes locked firmly on the viewing globe that made up its' centre. The image of the Earth and it's surrounding space currently being projected was a cold an impersonal thing, displaying the deployment of friendly forces in blue and the Empires' invasion forces in red allowing the Aquitian Blademaster and former Black Ranger to observe the ongoing battles as a matter of raw data, his slow and deliberate footfalls echoing faintly though the sound was quickly swallowed by the ambient noise of the room as he examined the situation from a variety of angles; taking in the overall picture piece by piece as he circled the projected globe.

He was yet to see anything which offered any hope.

"Status report!" he demanded, turning to Grace, Billy and Justin who whilst not truly his underlings had all willingly defaulted to him and allowed him to be the one to bring their various efforts together in the most effective way possible, an honour that Corcus was grateful for and only hoped that he would prove worthy of; there were enough failures weighing on his conscious already.

"TJ and Dana are holding the line in Geneva; I suppose it's a good thing that the Empire forces there are focusing on the Alliance headquarters rather than the city as a whole" Billy announced, the former Blue Power Ranger being the first to speak up "The Delta Rangers took down an Empire Zord type war-machine in Seoul and are working alongside local forces, Eric is still engaging an enlarged Empire warrior in New York city….Other available Rangers are aiding evacuation efforts and I've received word that Kendrix and Kai have arrived in Jakarta"

"Good" Corcus answered simply, taking in the information and choosing not to comment on Billy using his fellow Rangers names and how such informality would only cause him more pain when Rangers inevitably fell in the line of duty; instead he turned to Justin "What of the evacuations?"

"Colony ships are reporting that Tel Aviv, Washington, Tokyo, Paris and Johannesburg are almost entirely evacuated, although there were massive casualties" Justin's face fell and the former Turbo Ranger quickly added "Empire forces on the ground have been using weapons of mass destruction when it became clear that they were going to be pushed back and Empire ships have been launching bombing attacks whenever they've slipped through our defences….London, Chicago and Manila are gone and we're losing the battles in Beijing and Cairo; there just aren't any more Rangers to send"

"How did this happen?" Corcus's voice was not raised as he turned his steely gaze towards Grace Sterling, instead it was icy and demanding, with enough force to leave the strong-willed woman turning away as she answered

"We weren't prepared" Grace admitted "Our defences were built on the understanding the Empire didn't have the ability to rapidly deploy like this….We had the numbers advantage at the start of this fight but they took out so many of our ships so early on that we can't defend everything at-" the entire Command Centre feel deathly silent as an impact that seemed to rock the entire Colony of Promethea One left lights flickering and caused the projection of Earth to shudder and glitch; it was as if an earthquake had struck them despite the utter lack of tectonic plates beneath their feet

"Were we hit?" Corcus demanded "Our shields? The environmental dome above the city?"

"Not us" Grace croaked out, her face ashed and eyes wide and whilst Corcus had remained stoic thus far the sight of this woman who had led Power Rangers to her worlds moon to prevent Rita Repulsa's reawakening and used her influence to reforge humanity into something greater ever since so openly terrified and grief-stricken was enough to leave the Aquitian warrior reeling

"What happened?" he demanded, dreading the answer

"Colony ship 'Kagayaku Tsuki'…..Their environmental shielding was destroyed and the Empire forces were beginning to board, making their way into the lower decks and-"

"And to stop our teleportation technology or schematics falling into Empire hands they sacrificed themselves, they used the self destruct protocols" Corcus surmised, silencing Grace's frantic and increasingly hysterical words with a gentle gesture and bowing his head in honour of those who had fallen as he murmured "Their sacrifice will be honoured and today or in a future battle it will be avenged"

"Damn it" Justin hissed through clenched teeth breaking the profound silence that had filled the Command Centre as he regarded his own constantly updating stream of information "That was where we were planning on evacuating Shanghai to….I need to work quickly and start reorganising our plans and we can't lose any more Colony Ships; every one of them that goes means millions of people being left behind" the bleak reality of the situation seemed to hit home with those words, Corcus realising that even a former Power Ranger; one who had been inducted into their hallowed ranks as a mere child no less had effectively abandoned any and all hope of victory or saving the Earth and was instead simply trying to salvage what little could be saved. It was a chilling epiphany yet the situation only promised to become graver still as Corcus caught sight of Billy frantically gesturing at the projection of the Earth and its' surrounding areas and as the former Black Aquitian Ranger followed his gaze he saw something left his entire body stiff, muscles coiled and ready despite the utter futility of the gesture as the cold and impersonal image displayed scores of simultaneous disturbances in space.

"On screen!" Corcus boomed out, silently willing the crew of the Command Centre to work faster until finally the image transitioned away from the digital map of Earths' many battlefields and instead displayed a fall colour image of the space around the planet where the apocalyptic conflict between Alliance and Empire warships could be seen and the ruined remains of colony ships and orbital weapons platforms littered the void, masses of debris the size of cities floating through space and threatening cataclysmic damage should they ever be pulled into Earths' gravity; scanning the image Corcus quickly honed in on massive disturbances and found himself looking away for a fraction of a second as reality seemed to ripple in the darkness before flashes announced the arrival of several new ships

At which point Corcus, along with every other individual present felt their hearts unclench

"We received your SOS" the voice of Karone, Pink Astro Ranger and former tyrant of the galaxy sounded out through the Command Centre as a comm channel was swiftly opened "I contacted Andros and others were called to action in turn; Zhane will be making his way to Earth….Focus on your ground operations, I will take control of the space battle from here"

"I….Thank you Karone, as you wish" Corcus finally managed to answer, in any other circumstances the idea of being so bluntly ordered by the reformed villain would have been anathema to him yet he found himself readily accepting the fact that this kind of battle was Karone's forte and to deny her excellence would be foolish, moreover to call these circumstances normal was simply ludicrous; instead the once exiled Black Ranger took a moment to appreciate the joyous sight of scores of Alliance vessels entering the fray and marvelled at the force that had been assembled at short notice to come to Earths' aid; ships from KO Thirty-five were joined by pyramid shaped Triforian craft as the nominally pacifist people came to their aid and sleek, streamlined vessels of Xybrian design emerged side by side with those belonging to the people of the planet Rafkon which had only recently joined the Alliance. The people of Aquitar were not often considered spacefaring despite their ability to do so and yet Corcus found himself overwhelmed by the sight of vessels from his home amongst their reinforcements, so much so that he missed the sight of a lone vessel, a personal transport far smaller than the other ships with a vaguely insectoid design and the way Billy smiled in response to its' presence.

All that truly mattered in that moment was that there was hope after all.

The Alliance headquarters, formerly a United Nations building located within the city of Geneva was still under siege from a tide of Putties which was simply impossible to number and as one emplacement after another fell, floodlight flickering out of existence as those occupying them were dragged down and overrun; meeting grisly ends at the increasingly bloody hands of the warbling automatons and leaving the faint crimson glow from the eyes of the Putties themselves the only light by which to see, those defenders who remained found themselves forced to confront the fact that they would perish before the sun rose.

Yet the Titanium Ranger and Blue Astro Ranger fought on regardless.

The sea of grey stone bodies parted around them with each of thundering impact only for the flailing constructs to come rushing into the fray with reckless abandon once again as TJ and Dana fought them off, standing back to back before lunging out in one devastating flurry of blows after the next.

The sound of gunfire, both conventional and more alien and advanced in nature impacting against animated stone filled the air as the palaces' security forces continued thinning down the ranks of their enemies as best they could yet it was far from enough to halt the next assault against the two Rangers and TJ rushed out to meet a disorganised and crazed gaggle of half a dozen Putties that charged towards him. His breathing was ragged and sweat dripped from his brow beneath his helmet whilst his arms felt leaden with the sustained effort of shattering one wave of automatons after another yet still he pressed onwards and shattered the first of the six Putties with a snapping front kick delivered from his back leg, as the movement carried him forwards he transferred the Astro Axe to his left hand and as he chopped downwards he felt the blade of the weapon sink through stone and leave magma spewing outwards like blood from the constructs' pressurised interior; his axe had cleaved through the things' collarbone and shoulder before biting into its' torso but had missed the circular plate in its' centre. Another Putty came flailing and thrashing from the right which forced TJ to react swiftly, in response to its' attempt to seize him he wrapped one arm around the automatons' waist and another around its' shoulder before hoisting it into the air and slamming it forcefully down onto the shaft of his axe, impaling and shattering it on the weapon before roughly grabbing the weapon and bisecting the Putty it was still lodged in completely.

Then TJ Saw Dana about to be blind-sided as she attempted to deal with her own mass of opponents and without thinking the Blue Astro Ranger simply hurled his axe through the air, cobalt energy crackling and flashing around it before it ripped the pouncing construct apart and continued to cut a trench into the remaining horde; leaving TJ armed with only his currently holstered pistol as he turned his attention back to the remaining trio of Putties, only for his head to be left ringing and the surface of his visor to visibly crack as one of their number threw itself at him with all its' weight and as he staggered back the Blue Ranger felt blows from the remaining pair of Putties begin to rain down on his prone form before being joined by dozens more as the tide of stone swarmed over his prone form.

Dana had little chance to breathe a sigh of relief even as Putties were torn apart in truly impressive numbers by TJ's axe as the Titanium Ranger was still left with more than enough adversaries of her own to contend with.

Four Putties rushed out of the sea of identical, warbling faces and she held her own axe in its' blaster form with both hands as one would a shotgun; reducing the first of the quartet to a cloud of dust and falling debris with a single shot with decimated its' chest however the weapons' relatively low rate of fire allowed the remaining trio to cross the space between them and it was at that same moment that Dana heard the sound TJ falling to the ground behind her

"Damn it!" she snapped, charging forwards and leaping into the air to deliver a punishing blow to the chest of another Putty whilst at the same time using its' body as a springboard and driving the stock of her blaster into the cheek of a third construct whilst pivoting in mid-air and unleashing a barrage of energy bolts into the swarming grey mass covering TJ.

It was simply too little however and as she reached the ground the remaining pair of Putties, the automaton whose cheek she had crushed having remained functional simply leapt onto her back and used simple weight in place of any technique and before she could throw them aside Dana a blow land against her kidneys as dozens upon dozens of Putties swarmed her and as her weapon was kicked free of her grasp and in that moment the Titanium Ranger realised that hope was rapidly slipping away; the soldiers would be unable to reach her in time and she and TJ would both be crushed under the weight of the Empires' soulless footsoldiers. Beneath the press of bodies raining blows down upon her however Dana failed to see a single spaceship come streaking into Earths' atmosphere, a small and vaguely insectoid thing which had the appearance of belonging to a species which did little space travelling and being more of a holdover from times gone by; what Dana did see through the shifting mass which obscured much of her field of vision was streaks of coloured light, not unlike that of Power Rangers teleporting into the field, four streams which were accompanied by four voices calling out in unison.

"RIDER KICK!"

The ground trembled under the force of a series of thundering impacts whose force was such that Dana actually felt herself be lifted into the air and by the time she had fully regained her bearings she saw that her cracked visor was now obscured by nothing more than cloud of dust whose colour and gritty, grainy make up made it clear it had come from the bodies of shattered Putties. Glowing eyes in the dust choked darkness made it abundantly clear that the vast bulk of the horde remained but those in the closest vicinity had simply been unmade and the Titanium Ranger quickly found the source of her rescue.

Four figures had come to her aid and three of them stood at the ready, coiled and eager to spring into action at a moments' notice, a figure clad in asymmetrical armour of metallic red and blue, a figure clad in black with highlights and a helmet of blazing orange whose horned visage was partly obscured by a hooded cloak and finally a figure whose armour was a visually jarring and lurid combination of neon pink and green with a helmet featuring stylised spikes and digital animated eyes as part of its' visor; Masked Riders Build, Ghost and Ex-Aid. The fourth figure was clad in glossy black and muted green with a sleek and streamlined overall appearance, their helmet featured small antenna and red, almost circular optics whilst a golden sigil adorned their left breast; this figure was helping TJ, whose armour was scuffed and damaged to his feet and it was this figure that Dana addressed

"King Dex….It's good to see you"

"Indeed, if only it could be under better circumstances" King Dex of Edenoi, the Masked Rider nodded, his voice seeming wise and sage until a sudden fierceness filled it as he added "I had not intended to take up this mantle again, I didn't earn it in the way of my people as I should have….But perhaps it is right that we meet like this as allies, Earth and Edenoi….and perhaps it's time I show my sons that their father was not always sat idly on a throne"

"Can't let the new kids have all the fun" TJ chuckled grimly as he recovered his axe and then, without hesitation the two Power Rangers leapt into battle once more, joined by four Masked Riders of Edenoi.

The serene sanctity of the Animarium had never, not even in Earths' darkest days been breached in such a way as it was now and yet upon learning of the fires of war raging across the world below Princess Shayla had elected to honour her promises and treaties with Project Lightspeed and through them humanity as a whole by opening up her sanctuary to refugees from those cities that could not be evacuated onto the colossal vessels that humanity had placed amongst the stars.

Though she had not done this without conditions or reservations.

Crowds of weary and beleaguered souls whose trauma showed clearly on their faces parted as Princess Shayla passed them, the ageless and timeless woman moving with impossible grace and exuding some indescribable aura which radiated out from her faintly glowing form and made it clear to any onlookers that she a transcendent being far beyond the scope of the mortals around her; though as she strode through the crowded masses of humanity, hair and robes flowing in some unfelt breeze the regent of the Animarium forced herself to disregard the stench of industrial corruption that clung to these people like some lingering blight and instead simply smiled and offer silent reassurances to the children whose world had been utterly shattered by warfare until finally she came upon the trio of beings she sought

"How goes the evacuation?" her question was directed at Merrick, Max and Taylor though the harshness that crept into her tone was reserved solely for the latter; the trio of Rangers, all that remained of her Wild Force Rangers were morphed and their various injuries were hidden beneath their armour

"It would be going faster if we could just focus on rescuing people instead-"

"Instead of what Taylor?" Shayla demanded and though her words remained even and almost sweet the way her voice reverberated unfortunately made it clear that the Eagle Ranger was growing dangerously close to crossing a line

"Instead of saving the plants and animals of the Earth so that if humanity does have to flee into the stars it actually has some of its' ecosystem with it" she continued "Do you truly think that humanity is the only species worthy of mercy?"

"She didn't mean it like that" Max chimed in, the Shark Ranger's body language conveying nothing but deference to the woman who rebuilt his broken body with her own magic even as he stepped between Shayla and Taylor, though his voice carried a pained wince as he continued "It's just….it's bad down there, really bad; worse than Master Org"

"I see" Princess Shayla breathed out, the frank admission that this assault outclassed even the best efforts of her hated nemesis giving the regent of the Animarium a reason to pause and when she spoke again the affronted hostility seemed to drain from her voice "Is the Animarium welcoming itself to our new guests?"

"It is Princess" Merrick answered, the Wolf Ranger's voice hoarse and rasping with disuse as he had become almost entirely silent since the loss of Zen-Aku "The magic of the plains is allowing them to expand enough to accommodate the people who were displaced at the various regions of the island are re-establishing their own climates even in the absence of most of the Wild Zords to form homes for the plants and animals that were rescued"

"Good" the Princess allowed herself the merest ghost of a smile at that, it was after the closest thing to good news that she had received since the war for Earth had begun and although it would still be a great adjustment on the part of every living thing that had been brought to the Animarium the knowledge that people, tigers and polar bears would not be forced to live in close proximity to one another was a small relief.

That sense of relief ended when Taylor visibly answered a comms channel within her own and helmet and although the Yellow Wild Force Ranger remained silent the way her body stiffened made it clear that whatever news she had received was of the unwelcome kind, furthermore the gesture reminded Princess Shayla of just how much technology modern humanity seemed to be dependant on and though she had been promised time and time again that the Org threat had passed she resolved to ensure that the foul beasts would have no means by which to invade her island.

"The Empire are pushing us back in New York, Eric can't take command on the ground whilst he's in his Zord" Taylor announced, forcing the minds of all present to focus at the matter at hand.

"The Quantum Ranger….your lover?" Princess Shayla enquired, watching the way Taylor shifted awkwardly at the comment; as if finding the idea of admitting she had human emotions unprofessional or unbecoming of a Ranger until finally she nodded at which point Shayla spoke again

"Then go to him, Max and Merrick will continue the evacuations without you until New York is secured"

"I-I can't" Taylor admitted "I'd be putting my own feelings in front of the needs of the people, without a Zord I'd-"

"Why should you be without your Zord….the magic of the Soul Bird can do many great things" Princess Shayla countered but tilting her head back and letting out a resonating, high pitched whistle which seemed to fill the air until it was answered by a fierce shriek and as a massive form rose into the air Taylor struggled not to sink to her knees and sob in simple joy. The Wild Force Eagle Zord had survived the calamitous battle against the Dragonzord what felt like an age ago and had been healed, though at the same time transformed; its' wings and tail were heavily ornamented with black now as if the Zord itself were mourning the loss of so many of its' kin and the feathers of its' tail had taken on a new shape which would certainly be reflected in the crown worn by any Wild Force Megazord that it formed in the future.

"Thank you" Taylor managed to choke out "Thank you so much"

"You have nothing to thank me for, I did my duty as regent and guardian of the Animarium" Shayla said simply before striding close to Taylor and resting her hand on the Yellow Ranger's shoulder before lowering her voice "And know that whatever has happened between us you will always be by Ranger and I have never once regretted that choice….though I may not understand the choices you make I respect them and know your intentions are pure"

At that moment any pretence of professionalism or the detached impartiality that allowed her to see the bigger picture vanished and Taylor simply flung her arms around her former mentor

"I won't let you down" she sobbed before turning to Max and Merrick and taking up the mantle that was left to her in Cole's absence "COME ON RANGERS, WE'VE GOT A WORLD TO SAVE!"

Some said that Commander Anubis Cruger, or Doggie as those lucky enough to be considered his friend called him was paranoid, the cobalt-scaled scion of the planet Sirius who led the forces operating from the Lightspeed Moonbase would readily and happily counter that claim with a long list of plots to overthrow planets within the Alliance, often the Earth itself that he had halted before claiming that his paranoia was simply the manifestation of well honed instincts that he had no reason to second guess.

When the war for Earth had started those same instincts had brought him back to the city of Mariner Bay.

His reasoning had been simple, with all of Earths' available defenders being turned towards the major cities which were being attacked many of the bases that those defending forces had deployed from were left almost entirely unguarded and Lord Zedd had proven time and time again that he was no fool and was more than capable of layering plans within plans and hiding his true intentions within multi-faceted diversions. The fact that Mariner Bay, despite being one of the largest hubs of interplanetary travel and commerce in North America had seemingly only been struck by a small, almost token invasion force in the form of several dozen disorganised masses of Putties and small strike teams of warriors whose goal seemed to be simple chaos and destruction; all of which had deployed from a vessel which had quickly repositioned itself to strike elsewhere only served to pique Cruger's suspicions further and the canine strategist had taken up his ancestral sword, giving command of the Moonbase to Bulk and Skull and gathering a team of several of his most decorated and accomplished specialists before teleporting to the city and seeking out the various secret entry points which led to the Lightspeed Aquabase.

Another of his soldiers fell dead at his feet, the air around them filled with a bloody haze and their skull torn open by an alien weapon, leaving Cruger choking down bile with practised ease as he was forced to conclude that he should have brought an army and delivered a hammer blow rather than a surgical strike. Cruger's suspicions had been proven correct and the Empire forces running rampant through the New Tech district where law enforcement would be slow to respond was in fact nothing but a simple diversion; the true attack was less than a mile away from the point at the coast where the roads into the Aquabase sunk beneath the sea; a group of soldiers representing several species each wearing tactical armour and wielding weapons of a quality that suggested that rather than simple grunts and lackeys these aliens may be the closer to Cruger's own opposite number. The group were gathered around a hastily erected device which was mounted above the hidden Aquabase entrance on a sturdy tripod as tall as a man which resembled in equal parts something intended to cut class or some kind of industrial machinery, an observation which proved dangerously close to the devices' intent as it began emit a beam of light which carved through the ground with ease.

And Cruger realised that his chances of stopping it were limited.

Blocking his way was the obvious leader of this well organised and equipped strike-force, a being roughly seven feet tall and whom Cruger assumed was an Acheron hybrid simply by how difficult it was to identify them by their species. Their body was largely humanoid though with almost absurd proportions as a broad chest and powerful arms tapered down to a waist that was nearly non-existent. In place of skin the being had a rough, granite like littered with spiked outcroppings which glistened in the afternoon sun as the minerals with the hybrids' body caught the light; the entire display made gruesome by the leather attire they wore which, when draped and stretched over their jutting form gave the appearance of an eviscerated carcass whilst their appearance was made more brutal still by the weapon they carried, rather than the firearms of their underlings the hybrid carried a simple, studded mace with a shaft as long as Cruger was tall and an angular head larger than his torso. The Acheron hybrids' face was a sloping and snout like thing with gleaming yellow eyes and a pair of tusks protruding from their under-bite as they let out slow, growling breaths that sounded more akin to a diesel engine.

Cruger examined his opponent and forced all feelings aside as he settled on a course of action.

"Smoke bombs followed by suppressing fire; disabling that machine is the main priority and I'll need cover" he ordered in clipped, deliberate tones to soldiers whose uniforms and battle armour was still slick with the blood of their comrades yet each of his veteran specialists nodded and readied the necessary equipment

"YES SIR!" the moment the chorus of assent filled the air Cruger was on the move, smoke grenades and a small amount of flash bangs were fired into the contingent of Empire warriors as they closed ranks around their device, exactly as expected. With the air now filled with a choking, acrid haze that reduced vision to almost nothing Cruger gripped his sword tight and dropped low to the ground whilst using his other senses to guide him, barely a second later his squad opened fire and the enemies he was rapidly nearing returned; filling the air with the scent of blood and flashes of light which highlighted the silhouettes of bodies as they fall all whilst the vibrations of the enemies' equipment led him close to its' location until finally Cruger could leap to his feet and bring his sword up for a slash with both cut an arm away from an enemy soldier and tore one of the limbs from the tripod, which in turn sent the burrowing mining laser toppling over so that its' beam shredded the legs of another enemy.

And then Cruger's world exploded into pain as he was sent sailing through the air.

He landed in a crumpled heap on the ground with the world spinning and blurring in and out of focus around him, though from the two pertinent pieces of information available to him he could discern what had happened; firstly he had been flung out of the cloud of smoke his forces were using as cover and relative to them he was behind the Empires forces' lines and secondly the bones of his snout were cracked and broken whilst blood flowed freely from his mouth and nose which led him to believe he had been struck in the face, likely by a mace wielded by a particularly unpleasant looking Acheron hybrid.

"You always underestimate the might of Acheron" the hybrid chuckled as they strode from the smoke, their voice more cultured and intelligent than Cruger had expected, something which their next words indicated was both expected and relied upon

"All you see is a strong body and assume we were bred to be hulking brutes" the warrior laughed "Generations of harvested genetic material, taken from dozens of worlds; the best of it all refined and distilled down into each of our kind….Each scion of Acheron is a pinnacle of evolutionary art and-"

"And you're still monologuing!" a scathing, intimately familiar tone spat; getting the Acheron hybrids' attention and giving them just enough warning for their eyes to widen before a grenade exploded mere inches from their face and sent them tumbling to the ground with parts of their craggy hide blasted away.

Cruger's ears rang with the deafening blast which only added to his disoriented state, allowing his apparent rescuer to seize him by the shoulders and pull him back to a safe distance where the blue-scaled canine, through a supreme act of will forced himself to look up at the figure who had also had the presence of mind to retrieve his dropped sword

"I truly never thought I would be glad to see you again Charlie"

"Don't get sentimental on me now Doggie….If I leave you to die I'm no better than you and everything I've done was for nothing. I'm saving you but it's no about you!" Cruger found himself staring up at the face of Charlie Morales, the pupil and heir apparent who had betrayed him and saw an expression lined with betrayal of her own, incandescent fury and the same grim, unshakeable determination that she had always had

"I see" he managed to answer despite the pain and dizziness washing over him

"Elgar knew that Broodwing's base was a fake out….He also knew where the real base was and stole all of Broodwing's guns while the Delta Rangers were dealing with him. Those guns are now being used to protect down town from the Empire, Elgar is co-ordinating the defence while the bartender, piggy? Gets civilians to safety" Charlie informed him, Cruger's processing of that information was cut short by the Acheron hybrid struggling to their feet and the feeling of Charlie's hand on his shoulder preparing to pull him to his feet "Can you stand?"

"At least for a little while" Cruger answered as he reclaimed his sword "If I buy you some time you can make it into the Aquabase and see if there are any prototype Morphers-"

"No" Charlie didn't yell but the vehemence in her voice was undeniable as she unsheathed a combat knife and growled out "I don't need to be a Power Ranger….Not for this….Not any more"

The Lightspeed Delta Rangers each found themselves dealing with the crushing revelation that they would likely meet their ends soon, careers and lives cut short as they were inevitably dragged beneath a tide of enemies.

Jack and Sky had leapt from the head of the massive and segmented Pseudo-Zord war-machine that had rampaged through the streets of Seoul and torn through what limited defences could be arrayed against it. The two of them had joined their team-mates upon the relatively small power plant which was mounted upon the mechas' back and now belched even more thick black smoke into the air following the damage that Z had wrought upon it and it was here that the five inexperienced and desperate Rangers struggling to beat back the tide of enemies that assaulted them by, kicking, punching, throwing or simply shooting any Putties that managed to scale the hull of the immobilised mecha.

"Sky on your right!" Jack bellowed, seeing that whilst the Blue Delta Ranger was continuing to make good use of the Rescue Drill which he had at least in a spiritual sense inherited from his late father by thrusting it into the face and torso of several Putties one of the automatons had managed to avoid his attention and clamber onto the back of the Pseudo-Zord; in response to this the Red Delta Ranger simply sprinted close, reaching his friends' right side and leaping into the air to deliver a turning kick that brought his body almost completely horizontal and more resembled something a world class football player might employ. The Putty sailed over the edge of the Zord and tumbled back into the tide of chattering and animated stone whilst Jack managed to carry his momentum into a kick to the face of another Putty that was attempting to clamber aboard before taking a brief moment to analyse the steadily worsening situation, Z was behind them keeping Putties from scaling the other side of the mecha and Syd could be seen some distance away, the Pink Ranger's already impressive physical strength pushed to extreme levels by the power of the Morphing Grid and allowing to smash through the automatons that neared her with ease though it was upon seeing Bridge that Jack realised something was deeply wrong as the Green Ranger was stood stock still and clearly experiencing the crushing dread of one of his premonitions

"Bridge what is it?" Jack demanded, preparing to sprint across the hull of Pseudo-Zord to reach him until his team-mate turned and screamed

"JACK GET DOWN!" the Red Delta Ranger leapt, throwing himself face down yet it was too late and a moment later he was hurling through the air with smoke and flames filling his vision whilst the inside of his visor displayed countless warning which managed to give the dazed and disoriented teen at least some idea of what had happened before he struck the ground with a bang and bounced before rolling to a stop.

An Empire tank had shot at him.

Much of the heavily mechanised Empire forces attacking Seoul had made their way deeper into the city with the Putties remaining behind, presumably to both waylay the Rangers and reclaim the Pseudo-Zord but it seemed at least one tank had remained and its' crew, upon seeing the lack of progress their footsoldiers were making had simply unleashed a destructive barrage directly into the power plant on the machines' back which Z had damaged, resulting in a series of explosions which had thrown the Delta Rangers clear from the mecha.

With Jack landing amidst the sea of Putties and being forced to defend himself.

Leaping to his feet he managed to kick the first automaton to reach him off balance before flowing into a spinning back kick which both shattered to attacker and brought him whirling around to deliver an elbow strike to the body of another Putty attempting to attack him from behind, from there he launched a front kick which both shattered yet another stone body whilst at the same time allowing him to position his feet for a wild, cartwheeling kick which succeeded in flinging back several of the constructs threatening him and creating a small clearing around him; that clearing was quickly breached by a lone Putty leaping onto Jack's back and sending him staggering though the Red Ranger quickly retaliated by carrying the forward momentum into a somersault which saw him land atop the Putty and drive his elbow downwards to shatter it before returning to his feet with a series of sweeps and wide, arcing blows.

Jack was surrounded and vastly outnumbered whilst his team-mates were presumably in similar predicaments close by and yet there was little chance of any of them reaching one another; the Red Delta Ranger braced himself, turning slowly in an effort to hopefully see where the next assault would come from before it reached him only for the mass of Putties to seemingly realise, with what little intellect they possessed just how great of an advantage the held and charge their quarry from all angles.

At which point several of them were unmade as a crescent of deep crimson light tore through their midst.

"What?" Jack mouthed out to himself before the source of the destruction was revealed to him by a fierce war cry from above, followed by a lone figure brandishing a crimson bladed katana and clad in armour perhaps a shade or two darker than his own red leaping into the fray to deliver a punishing tornado kick to the body of a Putty, flinging it into several more of its' kind as it crumbled before cutting down several more and finally leaping back to stand beside Jack.

"Heard there were some rookie Rangers who needed a hand" the familiar voice brought Jack out of his stunned stupor

"Mercy?" he gasped, despite all evidence struggling to believe that the young woman stood before him was indeed his missing fellow Silver Guardian cadet "You were missing in action, people thought-"

"It's been complicated" Mercy replied "And right now we've got a job to do"

"Right" Jack nodded, sizing up the remaining mass of Putties and gazing out towards the smoke rising in the distance as the battle for Seoul continued to rage "Where are the rest of your team?" Mercy let out a soft chuckle at that before answering.

"Everywhere we need to be"

The quarry trembled under the force of each blow Zebidiah and Lord Zedd exchanged with such force that the citizens of Angel Grove, well trained to respond quickly to such phenomena after being at the epicentre of alien invasions for several years would have been sent fleeting for bunkers and shelters even if a sizeable area of the city were not already ablaze and ruined in the wake of Lord Zedd's vengeful and vindictive rampage.

"For all you bluster and self-satisfaction you seem to struggle with besting a frail an ageing man" Zebidiah taunted even as the hard ground shattered beneath him, the android body of the resurrected sorcerer sinking downwards as Lord Zedd brought his massive sword down to cleave through his fathers' skull; the blow was halted by Zebidiah holding his hands overhead and crafting a staff of solid, crystallised light from his own magic with which to block even as his surroundings were cratered by the explosion of force.

"More of your lectures and feeble justifications" Lord Zedd snarled, forcing all of his weight and strength down until he heard the arms of his fathers' new mechanical form begin to creak and strain "Look at me and tell you are not proud Father! I WILL TAKE THE WORLD THAT TOOK YOU FROM THE EMPIRE! I WILL RAZE THE HOME THOSE WHO CORRUPTED YOU TO THE GROUND! I WILL COMPLETE YOUR WORKS, COULD THRAX DO THIS FATHER? ANSWER ME!" with each word the armoured warlord grew more furious until finally flames began to spew from the mouth-plate of his helmet and blacken its' surface as the walls and facades he had put in place for so long crumbled.

"You have become strong and determined" Zebidiah conceded "But you also have become the very worst of what it means to be Acheron" as he spoke the sorcerer shattered his own magically manifested staff before nimbly weaving around his sons' attack and seizing the right arm he knew to be mechanical at the wrist and with a flash of arcane energy freezing the limb before beginning to twist it into an unnatural decision

"YOU ABANDONED YOUR EMPIRE AND WHEN YOUR FAVOURITE SON DIED TO BRING YOU HOME I MADE OUR PEOPLE GREAT AGAIN!" Lord Zedd howled, his clawed left hand closing around Zebidiah's torso and forcefully hurling him away, sending him skittering across the rocky ground as though he weighed nothing at all though each impact tore a shallow trench in its' wake. As his father struggled to rise Zebidiah forced his magic into his frozen and twisted arm, the wrist being forced back into place with a single wrenching motion that was every bit as painful as it seemed.

"Our people" Zebidiah chuckled coldly as he straightened his back and brushed dust and rubble away from his clothes "Your people were turned against you all across the Empire….by the woman who was once Astronema of all people; this was your idea of greatness? To hone ourselves, to improve through battle and through those we face is the Acheron way….But what have you given Acheron beyond planets filled with people who despise us and would betray you for scraps of food"

"AND WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME?" Lord Zedd demanded hurling crimson lightning from the tip of his sword which Zebidiah deflected by warping the air with a rapid series of gestures until the light from the attack refracted around him

"You who took planets by the hundred!" the warlord continued "You who spent an age obsessing over Eltarians, reliving the last war so that you might finally win it only to cower when I succeed!"

"I am someone who learned, improved and became more" Zebidiah answered calmly, weaving around one slash which made the air howl after another "I am, in all the ways that matter and all the ways that you failed to learn….an Acheron"

"YOU ARE A TRAITOR AND AN INSULT TO OUR BLOODLINE!" Lord Zedd roared driving his sword downwards to impale his father, hoping to recreate the outcome of their last battle with more lasting effects though Zebidiah leapt away faster than the eye could see and as the ground exploded outwards from the arcane energy Lord Zedd unleashed the sorcerer retaliated; bringing each enormous chunk of rock that had been blasted from the ground levitating around his enraged sun before leaping from one to the next in magically charged and glowing blur of motion, landing one well placed hit after another to various mechanical joints until Lord Zedd sunk to one knee at which point the various mounds of earth and stone were sent crashing into the tyrants' body to entomb him as Zebidiah landed some distance away.

His magic had developed since his sojourn from the physical plane and now that Grace had created a body capable of harnessing his magical power Zebidiah could fight more recklessly and without the limitations of an ageing, human body; as a result his power was conceivably even greater than it had been in the brief moment where he had wielded the power of the Green Ranger.

And yet it was still not enough.

He watched as the stone Lord Zedd had been buried under began to glow with heat before being reduced entirely to a molten state and propelled outwards as a wave of magma, followed by the armoured warlord tilting his head back as he emerged from the flames and smoke and letting loose a concussive, wordless roar of hate which produced a shock-wave that sent Zebidiah staggering and from there Lord Zedd thrust his left hand into the air, eyes glowing with crimson fire behind his visor as he gathered his arcane might and sent bolts of bloody lightning surging downwards from black clouds that had appeared in an otherwise clear sky and Zebidiah quickly realised that there was little chance of him avoiding them all.

And then a barrier of green light manifested above him, protecting him from harm before a burst of emerald streaked forwards and struck Lord Zedd directly in the face

"I see we both escaped the astral plane" Kay murmured as they lowered their magical shield, outstretched palm still glowing with power and their voice cracking as they added "It's good to see you again Grandfather"

"Likewise Kay, it seems you've grown even since our last meeting….brief as it was" Zebidiah beamed with pride as he took in the sight of the Green Aegis Ranger in all their glory despite the situation yet quickly mastered himself "However this is not the time for such conversations"

"Agreed"

"You will get no other time" Lord Zedd snarled as recovered, a tremor passing through the ground at his words though the sheer terror he exuded was lessened somewhat by the visible results of Kay's attack; a spiderweb of cracks marring the surface of his visor

"You failed to assassinate me in my palace, now you come to face me as a warrior and stand beside this failure who was once my Father" a fit of low laughter escaped the tyrant before he added "I'll be glad to be rid of you both, for the good of the Empire"

With that three generations of the ruling bloodline of Acheron charged into battle to decided the future of their people.

Author's Notes:

Oh boy, we're really in it now.
Four more chapters and an epilogue to go and we're finished.
….And yes I promise we're gonna be focusing on the Aegis Rangers for the rest of the story, I just needed to set things up and that meant showing the battle on Earth.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Things are not going well for Earth right now.
I mentioned Jakarta being one of the cities forces were being sent to last chapter, also I completely forgot about Kendrix and Kai….They were on Terra Venture/Mirinoi but it's clearly easier to teleport two people than it is to scramble an entire army so they're the first reinforcements.
The Dark Empires tactics fit with they're overall ethos and also as someone from the North of England….Fuck London, we didn't need it anyway lol.
Earths' defences were built on the assumption that they would see the attack coming because of the limitations of Empire technology.
Just as it looked bleak the cavalry came charging in.
Rafkon….Dino Force isn't even out yet and I've thrown a reference in.
The vaguely bug shaped vessel….I hope someone guessed who that was gonna be before the reveal.
TJ and Dana are both absolutely great fighters, but Power Rangers only really work effectively in certain scenarios and Lord Zedd has decided not to give them that scenario, at least at the battle for Geneva there is no single Commander to take out and there's a reason we only ever see Rangers against a dozen or so grunts….Because against an endless tide, they'd lose.
The Rangers came to Edenoi to aid its' people, now the Masked Riders are on Earth to repay the favour and King Dex has even put his old armour on again.
I said I the prologue that the Animarium was set to be used as a refugee camp if Earth was attacked.
I don't know why but I enjoy writing Shayla as otherworldly, even though she didn't really have that vibe in canon.
It makes perfect sense that Shayla would insist that Earths' plants and animals were saved along with its' people….It's also something I borrowed from the Dark Maelstrom series written by which I will continue to tout as one of the best pieces of writing in this fandom.
I don't know the Animarium can actually adapt its' climate but considering it has an Elephant and a Polar Bear Zord living on it it'd be weird if it couldn't.
Taylor will always try to be professional on the job….and also be mildly Tsundere.
So there's at least one Wild Zord left, although there's not enough to make a Wild Force Megazord of any kind so Taylor is gonna have to get creative.
Cruger running his own operations was mentioned in the last chapter.
Lord Zedd is no idiot, Cruger is no idiot and also he knows and respects his opponents' intelligence therefore he prepared for the inevitable misdirections.
RIP that guy.
Another monster of the week, although they're less important than their goal and the reunion it facilitates….I actually used Ecliptor's design as a basis but then moved further and further away.
Mining laser to the legs, big oof buddy.
The giant stony troll-monster does make a point, Rangers really do look at a monster of the week and just assume it's dumb even when Acheron hybrids are literally bred to be the best of a dozen cultures worth of stolen genetics.
I told you Charlie had one thing left to do in this story and here it is, fighting alongside her old Commander and teacher, that's why I left her in Mariner Bay in the last arc.
Oh yeah and y'know how Broodwing thought he played Elgar and Lightspeed in the last arc by arranging a trap at a fake base….Nope, Elgar used it all as a distraction to steal his stuff.
Yeah the Delta Rangers were really not prepared for this.
You know it's serious when a character like Charlie turns down the thing that caused their initial turn to the dark side.
Once again playing up the Zombie vibe for this attack, kinda reminding myself of the White Walkers attacking the Wall in Game Of Thrones.
Yeah, Rangers are pretty sturdy but getting blasted by a tank is always gonna hurt.
Jack's got hands but same as TJ and Dana, he's just outnumbered by too much.
AND THE AEGIS RANGERS ARE BACK ON EARTH….I could have had a scene of Tempestus and Kay making the relic work but honestly we all knew it was going to so there was no point, now enjoy a Red Ranger team-up.
Lord and Zebidiah raging at each other is always tricky to write because I feel like I can't give Zebidiah too much moral high ground, he was still Lord Zedd and we know what he did….On the other hand the current Lord Zedd just dropping the act and admitting that this is all basically him trying to live up to what he sees as the family legacy is interesting.
Also this fight was fun to write because it's different to their last one, Zebidiah isn't trying to be a Power Ranger here.
I think from the moment Mercy appeared on Earth you all knew how this scene was going to end, but it was still fun to have the reveal.
Remember that neither Kay or Rensa used their Battleizer mode in the last arc, so they've both still got them in the tank now.
Also….We have our first bit of visible damage on Lord Zedd in this fight, it's not much but it's there.

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