tA/N: A very pleasant Thursday from the Great State of Texas. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption. Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes. Hope everyone is staying safe in the middle of the coronavirus.
A/N 2: In this chapter, the fight for Triforia's freedom rages, and Triforia's real leaders go back on their rightful throne.
A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.
A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me. Used to be Saban, then Disney, then Saban, now Hasbro owns them.
Chapter 32 - Golden Liberation
November 16, 2012
Triforian Capital City
"Silver Moose Ninjazord, power up!" Zack called.
"Orange Panther Ninjazord, power up!" Kat yelled.
"Navy Dolphin Ninjazord, power up!" Trini summoned.
"Purple Nightingale Ninjazord, power up!" Tanya yelled.
"Turquoise Dove Ninjazord, power up!" Mia called, for the first time since gaining her Ninja powers. She had learned shortly after receiving her powers that her Zord was compatible with either Tommy's team of Zords or the newer group. She chose the newer group this time.
"Green Dragon Ninjazord, power up!" Jason shouted.
"Red Ape, Ninjazord, Power Up!" Rocky said.
"Black Frog Ninjazord, power up!" Adam summoned.
"Pink Crane, Ninjazord, power up!" Jayden called. It was a call that took everyone aback. Jayden, however, knew what he was doing.
"Blue Wolf, Ninjazord, power up!" Billy said.
"Yellow Bear, Ninjazord, power up!" Aisha shouted.
"White Falcon, Ninjazord, power up!" Tommy said, completing the sequence. Instantly, 12 different Zords raced towards the city, six seeing action for the first time.
Tori, seeing the newer six sets of Ninjazords for the first time like everyone else, made a face. She was going to tease Trini to no end for having the same animal as her.
"Copycat," Tori muttered to herself as her team watched both sets of Zords roll on the scene.
"Let's bring them together, guys!" Jason called from his Dragon cockpit.
"Initiate Ninja-Mega-Falconzord sequence!" Jayden called from the Crane. Instantly, both sets of Megazords began to form.
Meanwhile, the two machines created by Flammia and her scientist, Serpentes, were destroying the city with ease. No matter the outcome of this battle, it would take a lengthy period most likely to get the city cleaned up from this debacle.
And piloting the Dragon was Jorus, and Scorpina herself was piloting the scorpion creation.
She was about to launch her laser at another building when suddenly her machine received a violent punch to the face. It was the Red Ape, but she didn't need to see to know who it was. Her Zord reeled back but was still standing. Meanwhile, she saw Jorus get hit by an orange laser blast from the Ninja Megazord. His Zord remained on its feet as well though.
They found themselves surrounded by seven Megazords. Scorpina grimaced and had to admit, those power geeks really did have the strength in numbers when it came to Zords.
They were gonna have to go to more drastic measures.
"So, the power brats finally decided they didn't want the city to get trashed. How sweet," Jorus said. "Too bad you're still gonna lose."
"I don't think so, hothead," Jayden said. "Your run on this planet ends as of today. Face it, you're outnumbered."
"Who told you we were outnumbered?" Scorpina asked from her Zord as she activated her communication device.
Before anyone could react, three pods opened up from the side of the nearby palace and three gargantuan nets flew out, ensnaring five of the Megazords. The second they hit the Megazords, electricity flew from the nets into the Zords as Draco, who had teleported in moments ago, had pushed a button from inside the castle activating the force field.
The Rangers were trapped in an electrical force field as they tried to pull themselves out, but couldn't.
"Time's up, Rangers!" Scorpina shouted as energy swirled on her Zord's tail, ready to launch.
But before she could do anything else, the five Megazords were all teleported out, causing the nets to fall to the ground harmlessly.
"Cowardly Power Pukes," Jorus shouted. "It doesn't matter, you guys are next!"
Inside the mountains, outside the city
"Well. That fucking sucked," Shane said dejectedly as he sat down and attempted to throw his helmet across the room but was suddenly stopped by Tori. The frustration was evident.
"Man, they trapped us like we were NOTHING!" Kira exclaimed.
"We made a mistake going out there," Trent said. "Now we fucked up the Zords."
"Not necessarily," Rito said. "They took some damage but they are on automatic repair. It shouldn't be very long and they'll be ready to go again."
"In the meantime, Jayden and his team could get trashed out there," Cam said. "That's time we may not have. We should have listened to Chrisoula and Anieirin. Paz, you almost got us beat out there."
Paz sighed. He had made a big mistake which he was about to tell them.
"I did make a mistake but it's not the one you think," Paz said. "I forgot to tell you that before you guys ran your Zords out there, you should watch the battle that was going to take place. I still believe your Zords can hold their own, but we need to watch this fight and try to decipher any weaknesses these Zords may have."
"I'm sorry guys," he finished. "Both I and Anieirin and Chrisoula fed you guys bad information, which was partly done by the team of goons we are now facing. They're good at that. The good news is we are all alive still."
"I also very much underestimated that they would bring more people in to try to stop you. You guys have them worried sick."
"We're fine, guys. Stop giving Paz dirty looks," Hunter said. "Rangers always stick together no matter what."
That shut them all up. It was true.
"Rito, do you know anything? You're the guy who has watched them all this time," Tori said.
"If only I did. These Zords have never been used before," Rito said. "The only thing we can do is watch the fight and see if anything comes up."
Meanwhile, in another galaxy
"Do you think they can do it?" the man's wife Nova asked.
"Honestly, not without my help. Those Zords have a very specific weakness and unless my nephew, along with the Phoenix and all those Rangers know about it, they have no chance of beating them."
"You fought against them for years. They're your mortal enemies. Do you really want to help them?" Nova asked.
"Honestly, I'm queasy about it, my brother and nephew still hate me but ultimately Flammia is the real enemy. She embarrassed me once and now it's time for some payback. Plus, many of these people are Ninjas like me even if I have been a dark ninja. Bottom line, if the Rangers lose we're all gonna die."
"Very well. Sending to Triforia now."
Triforian Capital City
Jayden grunted as the tail of Scorpina's battle machine whipped around and struck the Ninja Mega-Falconzord in the chest, shaking the cockpit. The Ninjetti had learned within the first five minutes of the battle that these two machines were easily a match for both Megazords.
"Look out!" Tommy shouted as a massive blast from the eyes of Scorpina's Zord came flying at the Rangers.
"Billy, I hope you have a reading by now!" Jayden yelled as a torrent of fire flew from Jorus Zord and hammered both Megazords.
"I do and unfortunately it's not good. Their power actually exceeds both of the Megazords. We're gonna get trashed."
'You will get trashed...unless you retreat...now.' a haunting voice suddenly said from inside the cockpit.
"Atsila?" Jayden said as the Zord shook again from another attack. "We can't. We're fighting for this planet's freedom. We can't turn and leave!"
'You won't have to,' Atsila said. 'We have some unexpected intelligence that will help us defeat these Zords. But you guys have to retreat for now. Wait for the rematch.'
Jayden grunted. But he trusted his spirit animal more than anything. And he knew it was right again.
"Rangers, retreat to the mountains. We'll be back. We'll get them in the rematch," Jayden said.
"Get us out of here, Cam!" Jason hollered from the other Megazord.
"Got you. Teleporting now," Cam said from the other end. In a flash, both Zords were gone.
The Moon Palace
"Finally. At last, victory is ours," Flammia said gleefully. "They cannot handle my Zords."
"As I knew they could not, your Majesty," Serpentes said. "I specifically designed those Zords for if the Ninja Powers ever came back. Those Zords were specifically designed to have greater power than any set of Zords that came along including the Ninjas. When those Rangers come back for the rematch, our Zords will make mincemeat out of them."
"Vengeance is mine," Flammia said. "Goodbye, you fledgling Phoenix."
Draco didn't say anything but he wasn't so sure about that. He knew the Rangers too well. The Rangers in his mind had retreated too quickly, as he'd found out the last time with the Lost Dimension. There was going to be a rematch and he didn't doubt they were coming up with a gameplan right now.
Inside the mountains...
"Well, that battle fucking sucked," Rocky said. "They kicked our ass."
"Hey, that was my line. Stop stealing my words, Ape boy," Shane playfully said.
"OK, you two," Jayden said, next turning to Cam. "Atsila told us to retreat because he said we'd be getting some...unexpected intelligence, he said. Do you have anything?"
"Maybe. It's on a connection that doesn't want us to know its identity," Cam said. "I'm reluctant to take advice from secure connections like that but I went ahead with it this time."
'You did the right thing, Cameron,' Atsila's voice boomed through the base. 'This information can help beat the Zords and secure Triforia's freedom.'
'One other thing. When this is over, many of you Rangers will have to make peace with many different people, and not just the Crane.'
The Rangers looked at the bird with perplexed glances.
"Let's see what this says," Jayden said as Cam handed him a small stack of papers, which Jayden sat down to read. After about 10 minutes, he walked over to Cam, who was sitting next to Billy.
"Let's analyze those Zords, guys," Jayden said. "The intelligence we got says there is a sac of power just to the right of the heart of the Zords and that it's the area we should focus on."
"Let me guess, we have to destroy that to destroy the Zords," Billy said.
"Yep, that's what it says," Jayden said. "We destroy that, and the Zords will eventually fall apart like cheap toys because that's where the bulk of the Zords' powers come from."
A visual of the battle came up and it took a couple of minutes for Billy and Cam to zoom in.
"Got it," Cam said. "This intelligence source, as much as I didn't trust it, was right guys. I think we hit the jackpot. Our power readers are going off like crazy."
"So now we have a game plan," Jason said. "Man, whoever designed these Zords was sneaky. They didn't think we'd find that and we almost didn't."
"Yeah thank goodness for Jayden's friend and whoever this person is that sent that intelligence," Tori said. "So how the hell do we destroy that little sac? We don't have to go inside that monstrosity, do we?"
"Yeah. This is Cardiatron on steroids," Trini said, recalling the Hatchasaurus.
"No, Tori," Jayden said, laughing slightly. "My Phoenix powers should be able to overpower it. My powers are still stronger than theirs until proven otherwise. We have to engage them and not make them think we're on to them, but I need just one good shot."
"Rito," Jayden said next, "Do you think the Zords are close to full strength yet? If we don't get out there soon they're going to demolish the rest of the planet."
"Close. Five minutes I think," Rito said.
"Very well. Five minutes we're going. Ninjas and Ninjetti you're coming with me. The rest, stay here. This is our fight," Jayden said, and then turned to Billy.
"Is Titanus ready for the big finisher? We're going to use the new Phoenix Ultrazord to blow these suckers out of the sky. They grandstanded that whole last fight and we're going to make them pay," Jayden said, recalling on the way that Atsila had told him Titanus was capable of combining with the new Ninja-Mega-Falconzord to form the Phoenix Ultrazord.
Billy sighed. He didn't like using it now for the first big moment but it appeared the Phoenix was intent on making a big statement.
"It's ready. Phoenix Ultrazord is untested, but ready."
After a few more minutes, Jayden stood up and beckoned the Ninjas and Ninjetti.
"Back to action!"
Triforian Capital City
20 minutes since the last battle had ended, and Scorpina and Jorus couldn't believe the Rangers hadn't come out yet.
They had free reign to destroy the city, and destroy it was exactly what they were doing. Flames covered the sky as reminders of beautiful buildings that had once been.
Then, their fun suddenly ended as a bevy of rockets just missed the two Zords. Before they knew it, they were surrounded again.
"That's enough you two," Jayden said.
"So you didn't take enough of a beating last time?" Scorpina said. "Guess you need more of a lesson." Then she raised her communicator to her lips and said, "Do it again."
But Jayden was ready this time. He knew what Flammia's forces were about to try. Mentally, he forgot about everything else and concentrated on the task at hand.
Sure enough, he saw the nets come flying at the Megazords, but he pressed a button, and the Phoenix head perked up and spewed a torrent of fire at the nets, incinerating them instantly.
"What the-" Jorus said.
"You're not going to cheat your way to a victory this time," Jayden said. "Can you guys keep them busy while I prepare my attack?"
"Absolutely," Cam said. "Power Sphere 12!"
Jorus' Zord tried to move forward to attack, but suddenly found he couldn't move; he was attached to the other end of Cam's Spider Catcher.
"Let me go you freak!" he shouted.
Scorpina had the same issue before she knew it too; the Ninja Megazord, Storm Megazord and Thunder Megazord grabbed hold of her war machine. She tried to break free, but the grip was strong.
Meanwhile, Jayden calmly prepared his attack, locking on to the precise spot he wanted.
As soon as he had it locked, he pressed the button again, sending another torrent of fire right at Jorus' Zord, which was still being held by Cam's Samurai Star Megazord. The impact wasn't known for a moment afterwards as only sparks flew initlally, but slowly the sac of power burnt away, and as a result, Jorus' Zord was literally on fire!
"My Zord! No! This can't be!" he cried out. The only response he got was a punch to his Zord from the Samurai Star Megazord, which sent his smoldering Zord crashing to the ground.
"We need you to attack now!" Jason called over to Jayden's cockpit. "Scorpina's about to break free of our grip!"
"Don't worry. I got you," Jayden said, locking on to the target and releasing another torrent of fire. Try as she might, Scorpina couldn't break free of the Zords' grip, and soon her Zord was a smoldering wreck too!
"My controls are on fire! They're not working!" she cried out. "You power brats are gonna pay for this!"
"Surrender your dictatorship and get the hell off this planet and we might let you live...for now," Tommy snapped. "We're done playing with you."
"You could never defeat us in a million years, Tommy boy," Scorpina said as she prepared to fire an attack, which of course didn't work as she grunted in frustration. She and Jorus were both losing power. "By the way, you still chose the wrong side."
"Enough. You've been grandstanding the whole fight," Jayden said. "I call upon the power of Titanus!"
This elicited groans from Scorpina, Jorus and everyone at the Moon Palace. People thought Titanus was a thing of the past. And all over Triforia, those who had suffered through this dictatorship held their breath.
"Initiating Phoenix Ultrazord sequence," Jayden said as the Ninja-Mega-Falconzord, with the Phoenix, combined to form the Phoenix Ultrazord.
"We got a lock?" Jayden asked.
"Yeah," Tommy said.
"Guys, let them go," Jayden said. "We got em. Fire all weapons!"
A torrent of unbelievable firepower swept towards both battle machines, which were unable to get out of the way. The ensuing blasts were devastating as Scorpina and Jorus' battle machines fell apart, as Jayden had promised, like cheap tinker toys.
"Abandon ship!" Jorus shouted desperately, as his Zord fell apart, for the last time. Scorpina ejected just in time, as well.
Those who were there when Rito as an evil warrior had successfully destroyed the Thunderzords felt a sense of payback. Now it was happening to the other side.
"You've got one last chance," Jayden said from the cockpit of the Phoenix Ultrazord. "Surrender this dictatorship or the Phoenix Ultrazord will destroy every last one of you."
"I don't think so, Phoenix Ranger," a haunting voice said. Jayden knew that voice...it was his mother's voice, but it was the evil side this time.
Flammia.
"Soldiers, retreat. This fight is over. Let Triforians have their planet back. We will surrender our rule today but can claim it back at a later date. Live to fight another day."
"And Phoenix Ranger, you have not seen the last of me, by a long shot," Flammia said as her face vanished from the sky.
Jayden then almost jumped out of the Ultrazord as he figured he was going to have to negotiate terms of surrender, but then he saw the soon to be once again queen, Oralie, talking with General Adie, who had been ruler of the planet since Flammia's forces had taken over.
The negotiations took about an hour, but then the two separated and moments later, Jayden's communicator chimed.
"Jayden here."
"Hey, it's Trey. The negotiations are finished. We are back in charge again. But being as you came to help us, Oralie, Aurelio and I think it should be you that makes the announcement."
As one, the teams of Ninjetti and Ninja Storm Power Rangers jumped from their Zords, which returned to hiding inside the mountains.
Oralie then gave him a megaphone.
"This can be heard all around the planet. I'm not sure our citizens believe Flammia's forces surrendered, so here you go."
Clearing his throat, the next words out of his mouth would live in Triforians' hearts forever.
"Citizens of this planet, hear my words. I am Jayden Oliver, the Phoenix Ranger of Earth. We have beaten back Flammia's forces and sent them running from this planet. Their surrender is unconditional. They may return some day but for now they are gone. You may all come out; your planet wide nightmare is over."
As people came from their homes and others rejoiced all around the planet, Jayden had never been more grateful to hug people he'd never met before.
He'd won.
And ended a planet wide autocracy.
And sooner rather than later, he hoped his mother would be free from her years long prison as well.
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