Power Rangers: Steam Force

Ch20: Arisen Tension

Hours after the initial fighting, the rangers stood with Lohan in the control room of the Operations Station. Opposite them was Llyod's brother, who stood with his arms folded as he processed all the information given to him about the Terrasoid conflict and how a villainous ranger had been responsible for his brother's injuries. Though they neglected to tell Jordan that said ranger now fought alongside them. It was for the best, not knowing how he'd react to such news.

"Alright, I get the gist of what's happened so far. Guess I'll tell you all everything I kept from you the first time we spoke." Jordan started as he thought back to before his disappearance and his part in the project that gave rise to the Steam rangers. "Like I said, my Dad scored the contract to build the Steam ranger powers, Zords and all their weapons. What I didn't tell you is that I found out what he was up to early on and helped him out with design ideas. Pipeblades, Steam Blasters and the Shovelance were all weapons I gave him the ideas for. As for why you haven't seen that last one before… Well, it's a dangerous weapon with a lot of destructive potential and it only ever got to the prototype stage, until today, it was untested in combat. Before I went missing, my Dad erased the code to the Shovelance. He didn't think it was ready for live testing but clearly he was wrong."

"No kidding, I wish we had a weapon like that when we started fighting the Terrasoids." Lucas said.

"I think it was more the fact we couldn't get along with each other that lead to a lot of our struggles against them." Alex argued as they thought on Jordan's words.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, maybe if Lohan can get some help with perfecting the weapon, we can all have one someday." Ayana suggested.

Lohan scratched his chin. "I think I know who could help with that." He said, having a certain young Engineer he knew in mind as he mulled over the potential of this new addition to the Steam rangers' arsenal.

"So in that fight with the Terrasoids, you said you were going to wipe them all out, is that because of what happened to your Dad and Lloyd?" Mia asked, his eyes seeming to ignite with anger as the sore topic was brought up.

Balling his hand into a fist, he gave a determined nod. "Yeah. I'm gonna be the one to destroy every last Terrasoid for what they did to my family. The only question is, will you guys help, or hinder me?"

At that question, Lohan stepped in before any potential conflict could arise. It was clear to him that Jordan was fuelled by revenge and that if the rangers had any chance of recruiting him to their cause, bonding through battle would be best. It's proven time and again that these young rangers have found understanding through fighting together. He hoped that would be the case this time too. "I'm sure we can all reach an understanding Jordan. The rangers are here to stop the Terrasoids too. Next time you all fight, I'm sure you'll come to understand how serious they are and agree to join us. We could use your help, Jordan, so I hope you'll at least consider my offer."

"Lohan's right Jordan, I know you're angry with the Terrasoids for what they did to your family but we're at our strongest when we're together. We want you to join our team, right everyone?" Alex asked as all but one nodded in agreement with their leader.

Kivo, who had been silent all this time, was looking off to the side. Staring into space, the Cog ranger had heard little of the conversation. "Looks like one of you doesn't think so." Jordan muttered as he pressed his hand against the central console, shortly retracting it.

"Kivo, you okay?" TJ asked, tapping the teen on the shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, sorry guys, my mind went somewhere else. What were we talking about?" He asked, returning back to reality.

"About how we could really use Jordan's help." Ayana explained.

"Oh, I see…" He trailed off, his mind returning briefly to what it had been focused on all along. The guilt he had been bearing for his part in the Terrasoid's plans and how he was responsible for Lloyd's coma and the murder of his and Jordan's father. It weighed heavy on his mind as he wondered if this was his punishment. That maybe by fighting alongside him, he could truly repent for his actions. "Yeah, he should definitely join us." Kivo finally resolved.

"I'll think about it." Jordan said as he walked toward the exit. "From what I've already seen though, my expectations aren't very high."

As he departed, a few of the rangers scowled at the young man. Suggesting they weren't capable from one fight was frustrating and only served to fuel their need to prove him wrong.

"Get some rest rangers. I'll have my people work on finding the Terrasoid and hopefully we can catch him soon.

[Steam Force]

Having departed the Operations Station, Jordan turned off of the street he was walking down and into an alley. Walking quickly down to alley, he turned a corner before stopping, certain he was out of view now before producing a small handheld device. While it looked like a phone, it was far from it. Activating the device, he waited for it to boot, lines of code scrolling quickly over the screen. Within moments, it stopped and an interface appeared. Jordan quickly pressed an icon titled 'Remote Access' and waited patiently over the next few seconds as a progress bar loaded. Once it had, text quickly appeared above a new interface. It read 'Operations Station Database.'

Jordan's features were stern, he was glad that the bug he had planted as he rested his palms on the central console had in fact worked and he was now inside his potential new allies' database. That said, he wasn't there to snoop on them. Knowing now that his brother was involved, he had only one desire. After he'd read of Lloyd being a casualty, he'd found that the footage from security cameras in the area at the time of the incident were all locked down by the military division in charge of the Steam rangers. Now he was in, he was determined to find out the truth.

He spent the next few minutes searching through recordings of the rangers' battles until he clicked on the footage of the battles surrounding the Cog ranger and found exactly what he was looking for. As he viewed the footage, taken from both cameras around the area and from the helmet camera inside Lloyd's ranger suit, the anger in his eyes built up and he clamped his teeth tightly to keep himself from letting out his rage in that moment.

The Steam rangers and General Lohan had kept the details from him. They'd accepted the monster who hurt his little brother into their ranks. Why did he of all people get to stay alive? He was the one who killed his father, put his brother in a coma. Now he just gets to live his life free of consequences? No… Jordan wouldn't let that happen.

"As soon as I'm done with this Terrasoid, you're next, Kivo." He vowed as he fled the area to begin his hunt of the Cicada based Champion.

[Steam Force]

Inside the Terrasoid hive, Queen Nyllia sat upon her organic throne as scores of drones buzzed and twitched inside the throne room. Approaching was the Terrasoid Champion who had fled before it could be destroyed. As it approached the throne, Stinger stepped forward and grabbed the Cicada Terrasoid by the neck, lifting it from the ground.

"Cicadoidea! Why have you returned here?" He identified the creature as he squeezed at its neck. "You failed to retrieve the white Steam Morpher and you really thought it was a good idea to return here empty handed!?"

"I-Uh…" Cicadoidea tried to speak as it felt the grip around its throat tighten.

Queen Nyllia rose from her throne, whipping the left side of her long red her back with her hand and tucking it behind her ear. "Stinger, that's enough." She commanded, her voice eerily cool and collected as she stepped toward the Terrasoid General and the Champion. "Release Cicadoidea at once." Nyllia added, all the authority of a Queen in her voice as Stinger complied, releasing the Terrasoid from his vice-grip and allowing it to drop to its knees at the Queen's feet.

"I'm sorry my Queen! I didn't mean to come back without it! That new white ranger overpowered me with their new weapon and I fled so it couldn't destroy me!" Cicadoidea grovelled on its hands and feet. "I-I won't let you down this time, I'll retrieve the morpher for you at once!"

"Aw, I know you will." She spoke in a condescending tone, as if speaking to a child. "Because if you don't and come back here empty handed again… Then you'll wish the rangers had destroyed you." She said as she turned heel and returned to her throne poised above her minions. As she sat down, she rested her elbow against the organic armrest and proceeded to cup her chin into her hand. "One more thing. You said that the white ranger was wielding a new weapon, correct?"

"Yes, it was like a spear and a shovel combined!" Cicadoidea explained as best as his insectoid brain allowed him.

"My Queen, perhaps it would be best to send Cicadoidea with some aid this time?" Stinger suggested, if there really was a new weapon in play, it could definitely change the potential outcome of the next battle.

"My Champions have fallen against their new weapons before… Yes, I think I will send you with backup. At least if you fail… It won't." She said as she drummed her fingers against her cheek.

"My Queen… You don't mean that do you?" Stinger asked, sounding fearful as he spoke.

"Of course I do." Nyllia grinned as she sat up from her resting position and promptly snapped her fingers. "If they're bringing a new weapon to the fight… Then so should we." She said as from one of the Hive's tunnels, several oversized vines shot out and wrapped themselves around the nearest drones, dragging them down the dark tunnel, the creatures screeching as they disappeared. The Queen laughed, the rangers didn't know what was coming until it was too late.

[Steam Force]

"You're not getting away this time!" Jordan yelled with all the fury he could muster as he attacked Cicadoidea, swinging his Shovelance in an arcing motion at the Terrasoid. As he did so, he leapt from the roof of a shipping container, chasing after the Champion.

"Haha! Catch me if you can ranger!" Cicadoidea laughed and the two hit the concrete below and Jordan combat rolled onto the ground before resuming the chase.

Jordan had discovered the Cicada Terrasoid inside the City's port district and had immediately morphed and started his pursuit of the Champion. As they rounded the corner and entered the maze of shipping containers, the two stopped in their tracks as six individuals blocked their way.

"Full Steam Ahead!"

"Gear Shift!"

In an instant, the Steam rangers morphed alongside the Cog ranger and prepared themselves to face up against the Terrasoid, hoping that Jordan would fight with them this time.

Jordan clenched his empty hand into a fist. "Stay outta this!"

"Huh, what do you mean?" Alex asked as she and the other rangers were caught off-guard by the sudden hostility in his voice.

"But we agreed that we'd fight together this time!" Mia protested, none of them knowing that he knew the truth.

"I bugged your systems. I know what happened to Lloyd and my Dad, the full story." He said as his helmet shifted toward the Cog ranger. "I don't work with liars and murderers. Now get running, you'll need a head start before I come for you next.

"Look." Kivo started, hoping to find reason somewhere inside the white ranger. "I know what I did was wrong… I'm sorry for everything I did and I know that I can't ever make up for it... But fighting with the others, being a ranger… I did it so I could help, so I could try to undo the damage I've done. You don't have to like me but if we work together; then we'll have a better chance at defeating the Terrasoids for good. What do you say?"

Jordan's fist unclenched as he thought it over, keeping his eyes trained on Cicadoidea as the Champion strangely waited for the rangers to attack. The white ranger looked back and forth between Cicadoidea and Kivo, his breathing rapidly increasing in intensity. "How… How could I… How could I accept a monster like you!?" He finally shouted with all the anger inside of him. "I don't care about you trying to right your wrongs, I'll make sure you pay for what you did, right after I destroy this Terrasoid!" He declared as he charged at the Cicada Terrasoid.

As he ran, the rangers keyed in the codes of their Pipeblades while Kivo switched his weapon to blade mode. As the rangers and Jordan went to attack on both sides, the Champion leapt from the ground to the top of a set of nearby crates. Dodging their attacks as they swung their weapons, the Cicada Terrasoid laughed gleefully as, because of the reach of the Shovelance, Jordan's weapon struck past the Pipeblades of the Steam rangers and struck all but the Cog ranger, sparks flying from their suits as they were knocked to the ground.

TJ and the others slowly rose, holding their sides and chests where the white ranger had struck them. "Jordan, please, don't do this alone! We can help you! Just give us a chance!" The blue ranger did his best to reason with him.

"I'll never join your team. Not while you've got that abomination with you." He directed his gaze at the Cog ranger, his voice growing bitter and dark as he spoke ill of Kivo.

"I get it! We all weren't sure about him to begin with." Ayana spoke up, she knew what he was thinking right now. "But Kivo isn't like he was when the Terrasoids were controlling him, he's different now… To be honest, it took me a while to see that. Don't make the same mistake."

"Yeah, he's sorry about what he did." Lucas said. "If he could go back and stop himself from hurting Lloyd, he'd do it in a heartbeat!"

"Sorry doesn't get me my little brother back." Jordan said, his voice low, almost a growl as he turned to Cicadoidea who watched the development with joy.

"Oh boy, if the rangers fight each other, then my job will be easy!" Cicadoidea laughed as it jumped down the other side of the shipping containers.

"Now stay outta my way! I'll deal with this… Then it's me and you Kivo." He threatened the Cog ranger as he leapt up onto the container and down to the other side to continue his pursuit.

"So much for that." Mia sighed. Unfortunately, it seemed that Jordan's hatred for their teammate after his discovery was something that they wouldn't get past.

"I'm going after him, you guys find another way around, maybe we can corner the Terrasoid that way." Kivo finally resolved as he switched his Cog rifle into gun mode.

"Kivo, are you sure that's a good idea?" The green ranger asked, like the others, he was concerned for their teammates' safety after what Jordan had said."

"Yeah if you go, then he might attack you… You're a good teammate and a better friend Kivo. We don't want to lose you too." The red ranger voiced her own concerns.

"It's okay Alex, I'll be careful. I've got everyone here to back me up anyway." Kivo said as he leapt up atop the container and hoped he could catch up to Jordan and the Terasoid Champion quickly.

"I'll be holding you to that!" She called out to him and he jumped down and began his own pursuit of the rogue ranger and the villainous insectoid. As the rangers began searching for their own route through the maze of containers however, they failed to notice the ominous shadow creeping up on them…

[Steam Force]

Having cornered Cicadoidea in an open area surrounded on all sides by shipping containers of a multitude of colours, stacked so high that it would be impossible for the Champion to escape, Jordan finally had the Terrasoid right where he wanted it. Planting his Shovelance into the ground, the white ranger propped himself up on the pole and swung himself at the foe, landing a powerful two footed kick on Cicadoidea, knocking the insectoid creature backwards and allowing the white ranger to press his attack.

Landing his feet on the ground, he used his momentum to bring his Shovelance from the ground into a horizontal arc that that this time not only seemed to spark the foe but also caused some burning damage as the head of the shovel began to slowly heat up.

'Damn it… Have to wrap this up quickly or else…' He thought as he repeatedly struck the Cicada Terrasoid with the shovel as the head began heating up with each strike, causing more burning damage with each and scorching Cicadoidea's exoskeleton devastating blow.

As Cicadoidea finally dropped to its knees, it cried out begging for some sort of mercy. "Please, don't do this to me! I don't want to hurt anyone, I'll just go back to my Hive and never come back. Just spare me!" It pleaded. Even though it knew returning to the Hive was a death sentence, he knew it was a perfect ruse if the ranger mistakenly showed compassion and tried to spare it. If not, it would buy the Champion the time it needed to gain the upper hand.

"You're not getting away this time." He said as he pressed down on the Shovelance's superheating button. He soon took a long stance and aimed the weapon at Cicadoidea, ready to spear the Terrasoid with the weapon. Having already begun to heat up through some unknown means, the weapon soon turned to a blinding hot white and Jordan gritted his teeth, he could feel the heat this time from behind his glove and knew that he had to make this shot count. He wouldn't let it escape again. "Superheated Javelin!" He exclaimed, throwing all of his built up anger into both the words and the throw as he let loose the weapon, determined to finish it this time.

As he released the weapon, the Terrasoid laughed. "When will you learn? That won't work on me!" The Cicada laughed and it hopped from it's knees onto its legs and coiled them, ready to leap up out of harm's way before it hit.

Catching both by surprise, several bolts of bronze fired out from the passage that Jordan had chased Cicadoidea through. Turning his head quickly, the white ranger caught sight of the Cog ranger with his rifle aimed at Cicadoidea. The blasts hit the Terrasoid's legs, crippling them before the creature could leap away, keeping him in place as the superheated weapon zeroed in on the Champion.

In a matter of seconds, the Shovelance struck Cicadoidea and pinned the insectoid foe to a container before erupting with a thunderous boom that shook the ground, the area around the Terrasoid becoming a great fireball. The Cicada Terrasoid's cries were soon drowned out by the flames that incinerated both its body and the spores that it released upon defeat, preventing it from returning.

As the flames died away and revealed nothing but a large melted hole in the shipping container, Jordan quietly stepped forward, retrieving his still glowing shovelance, gritting his teeth again as he grasped the red-hot handle. It was stupid to continue, even if his ranger suit offered him protection from serious injury from the Shovelance's drawbacks, the pain was still real. Even so, he couldn't let Kivo leave, not after what he did.

"You should've stayed outta this like I said!" He spat out as he readied the weapon, still rising in heat.

"That Terrasoid was still a threat, none of us were gonna leave it to just you. Even if you know more about these ranger powers than we do, you have no idea what it really takes to be a ranger! Fighting on yourself, hurting anyone who gets in your way. You don't deserve to wear that morpher!" Kivo challenged.

Jordan seethed, his breathing becoming erratic and uncontrolled as his anger boiled over at what the Cog ranger had just told him. He of all people said that he was unworthy to wield his father's technology? "That's it!" Jordan screamed as he charged at Kivo, ready to finally avenge his father and brother for what the Cog ranger had done in the name of the Terrasoids.

Before he could make it to Kivo, he began to feel his strength give way, the adrenaline he was running on to fight through the pain was almost used up. As he pressed on, his movements becoming slower as he inched toward the Cog ranger, he was caught off-guard and blasted to the side by bright yellow, needle-like bolts of energy. Catching Kivo by surprise too, he looked up towards the figure that had initiated the attack. Aiming his rifle cautiously at first, he dropped his guard in surprise when he saw who was there… And what was with him.

"Stinger? Why are you here and what is that thing?" He asked as he looked at Stinger atop the large tower of shipping containers.

Stinger and another figure looked down at the Cog ranger. The former of the two held a gun made of organic components and designed to resemble a wasp. The latter figure looked to take the bipedal shape like Terrasoids but something was very different about it. The creature in question was made completely of vines, save for its head, which seemed to resemble a venus flytrap. He'd never seen a Terrasoid made of plants before, was this even a Terrasoid to begin with?

"Ah, if it isn't the traitor! I thought I'd come and test my new gun, I call it the Needler. It seems it did a number on your friend there. Or is he your enemy? I couldn't tell!" Stinger chuckled, having watched the whole exchange from above. "And this." He gestured to the plant-like monster. "My Queen heard you had a new weapon, so she decided to bring one to our fight too. Now, show our treacherous friend here what you caught while he and the new pest over their destroyed Cicadoidea." He ordered the plant weapon.

It snapped open its mouth with a menacing groan as from its gullet emerged several large vines that were coiled around several familiar individuals.

"Kivo, get us outta here!" Ayana called out to the Cog ranger as she struggled against the tight coils of the oversized vines binding her body.

"Damn it, how'd we get caught like this?" TJ groaned as he tried his hardest to break free but to no avail.

"Hold on guys, I'll get you out!" He said as he aimed his rifle at the vines of the Terrasoid weapon.

As he pulled the trigger, he felt a heavy thud and a force from behind knocked him off of his feet. "Who do you think you're fighting here!?"Jordan barely managed to yell at Kivo as he tried to stand. Though in his exhausted state, he had precious little energy left to do even that.

Kivo watched as his shot went with and Stinger laughed as the weapon swallowed the captured rangers once again. "If you want your friends back, you and the new pest will have to fight us for them. See you soon, traitor." Stinger said as he and the Terrasoid weapon departed before he could stand and chase after them.

Kivo clenched his fist. If it wasn't for Jordan doing that, he would've been able to free at least one of his teammates. Finally, his frustrations with the white ranger boiled over and he turned to face the rogue fighter, ready to give him a piece of his mind. "Are you an idiot!? If it weren't for you, I could've done something about that thing and saved my friends! What's wrong with you!?" He yelled at the white ranger, who swayed from side to side as the last of his energy gave out, it was as if he wasn't even listening.

That's when Kivo noticed the hot white Shovelance still gripped in his hand and then, a great cloud burst from Jordan's ranger suit, completely concealing the young man as a loud thud was heard as something hit the ground. As the cloud of steam dispersed, the Cog ranger saw a collapsed form of a person and quickly rushed to them to find Jordan unconscious. His skin was bright red as if it had been covered in boiling water. That's when his morpher began to play an automated message.

"Danger! Overheat! Danger! Overheat!" The message repeated continuously. Something had clearly happened and Kivo had the feeling it was to do with the Shovelance still being Superheated after he used it to finish off Cicadoidea.

Kivo was at a loss. His friends had been taken and the one other capable ranger right now was out of commission. In that moment he did the only thing he knew he could. Even if Jordan wanted to kill Kivo for what he did, even if he didn't agree with Jordan's methods, he needed him right now.

Finally he opened his comm channel. "Lohan, we've got an emergency!"

|Steam Force|

Okay that's chapter 20 and I'm glad I could finally get this out. I was a little stumped on how to do the battle and whether or not to include the rest of the rangers that I planned on having get captured to spur on the rest of the new white ranger arc. Ultimately I decided on having them get captured while looking for another way through the shipping crates since if I had included them, this chapter would've been longer than it is and it's already an additional third longer than my standard and I didn't want it to drag for any longer than it had to. I also got a lot of inspiration from episode 2 of the newly airing Kamen Rider Zero-One when writing the fight scene since I'm loving the new show and the soundtrack is metal AF if you'll pardon my language. Vulcan punching a bullet to transform was pretty cool too. But yeah, that's where the fight scene in shipping containers came from and it works out since it's an area I hadn't thought of using that would obviously be in the port district of Vicdon now I've thought about it.

Onto talk about what happened in the actual story and Jordan learning what really happened to his brother definitely set him up as more of an antagonist for this episode, especially when he stopped Kivo from helping the others at the end there. Another thing I've decided to do is revamp the villains a little and show them some more. It's been a habit of mine to shy away from using them except for when the plot demands it but I hope to change that now and give them more scenes like the one in this one, which I really liked writing too. Their personalities probably got a change too because honestly, I can't remember what they were like and it's probably for the better. Seems that Jordan hasn't been entirely truthful about the Shovelance either and it seems to have some repercussions for its use. I'll be getting into what and why it was actually hidden from being used and not getting past the prototype stage in the next chapter but you can see for yourself with what it did to Jordan that it's a pretty dangerous weapon if used for as long as he did in this chapter.

If anyone is interested in knowing, this chapter marks the official half-way point of the story. I have 40 chapters planned out and an epilogue to tie things up for this series, I promise it won't take as long as it had to get the next 20 out. Next up, I'll be finishing the new white ranger arc and going into another arc that while I can't go into details, it's going to change a lot for the rangers. Thanks for reading and until the next chapter!

Next Chapter: Righting a Wrong

Synopsis: After Jordan learned the truth of Lloyd's coma and discovered the identity of the person who had put him there, his violent aggression led to not only the destruction of the Terrasoid but also the capture of all the Steam rangers but him Kivo by the Terrasoids. It's now up to the Cog ranger to save his teammates from Stinger and the Terrasoid weapon that has captured them but he can't do it alone. Can Kivo and Jordan work out their differences and save the other rangers or will they remain trapped inside this deadly Terrasoid weapon? Find out next time on Power Rangers: Steam Force.