CHAPTER 6 — Double Trouble

|| Aquila Hyperion Galaxy, Planet Xybria

They say a man should separate his work space from his personal quarters. That had not been the case with Brute. During the beginning of his Power Ranger life, the hydraulic gate leading into Brute's laboratory-room had been decorated with a sloppily painted Danger! Experiments occurring! sign. The replica of a skull-and-crossbones underneath the neon yellow lettering made his case all the more bizarre; the late blooming of a rebellious phase normally undergone during adolescence.

Like most of Brute's antics, it had gone as quickly as it had come.

'Brute!' Pyre shouted as she barged into his room. 'Star needs medical attention, quickly!'

Surrounded by glass display cases that housed animals of all shapes, sizes and races, the Blue Supersonic Ranger's body lay motionless in the middle of the circular chamber, his sun-kissed forehead streaked with sweat. Similar to Star, Brute's gem was aglow with pale, blue light. His facial features were lax, closed eyes and parted lips giving Pyre the impression of serenity.

'Pyre!' squawked a Gugreid parakeet. 'Pyre! Here!' Pyre turned around, but Brute's voice was calling out to her from the opposite direction now.

'Here! Look here!' Following the sudden shift, Pyre's gaze connected with a Nozzurean alligator on the room's northern corner.

'Brute?' she asked, puzzled. 'Is that you?'

'Yes!' Brute rasped. 'But—'

The crocodile's ability to form words was snatched away and it receded into an animalistic snarl.

'My possession is going bananas! I can't control it!' yelped a Shes'eah tundra chimp whose display case hung overhead. 'I don't—'

'—understand!' roared a snow-white Lemmead panther, situated next to the entrance.

Pyre tussled her mane, evidently confused. 'Aw man, I can't make heads or tails of this,' she sighed. 'How do Xybrian powers even work?!'

Acknowledging the fact that, much like his pets, both her and Star were in danger of Brute's possession ability, Pyre fled the laboratory-room and headed for the elevator. Their next destination was the training room, at the Volcanic Base's basement.

'I know it's probably not much,' she told a struggling Star as she placed her down on the mat, 'but I hope that, down here, the voices won't be so loud.' She paused to swallow and collect herself. 'I will come back for you, Star. For now, however, I need to find Ace and Gent.'

She made to leave, but came short of the elevator entrance before stopping to spare Star one, final glance from over her shoulder. By the looks of things, she did not seem to suffer from convulsions anymore, though it was clear to Pyre her friend was bottling up the pain. Star glanced her way and nodded with a wince.

Pyre knew Star to be strong and confident, and right now she looked so frail and powerless.

'I'll stop whatever's causing this,' Pyre said. Then, with hardened resolve: 'I promise.'

Pyre had found Ace in the medical bay. Specifically, she had discovered him inside the cryo chamber.

He had once been described by Xybrian citizens as a heroic sculpture come to life. That metaphor seemed to have been taken to the literal extent. Despite the biting cold, Ace stood motionless. His bold, gray eyes were devoid of color and emitted a smokey afterglow, while his forehead gem glimmered the color matching his ranger uniform; a glorious red.

'Ace?' Pyre called out as she approached him. There was no answer. She tried again, closer this time. 'Boss? Are you okay?'

Belatedly, Ace spoke in a leveled and collected tone. 'I see everything.'

Pyre scanned him from head to toe and back. There did not seem to be any reaction from Ace, not in the slightest. Waving her hands, making funny faces, throwing random quips – nothing seemed to faze her leader.

'I see everything,' he would drone occasionally.

Pyre pouted and pinched the bridge of her nose. 'Well, fine, mister Red Supersonic Ranger, if you do see everything, can you tell me where Gent is?' she said after she had whipped out the Volcanic Base's three-dimensional holographic display from her Sonic Morpher.

Ace pointed at the central control area.

'Should've guessed,' Pyre sighed as she turned it off. 'Thanks,' she said and ran to the elevator, leaving Ace behind.

Ace's hand hovered back to his hip. 'I see everything,' he replied to the nothingness.

Pyre's wishes had come true.

Clad in the Black Supersonic Ranger suit, Gent was handling Tensou 5.0's master computer, analyzing footage across Xybria with a bird's eye view. His stoic commitment filled Pyre with an overwhelming sense of relief. Finally, she had come across a Xybrian who was not suffering from this gem power overload.

'Gent!' she exclaimed.

Immediately, the knight turned. 'Lady Pyre,' he called back in his indicative repose.

Pyre ran towards Gent and hugged him tightly. The latter rested a palm on her shoulder. It was a subtle, courteous act of consolation. Pyre broke the embrace and flashed a smile. 'I'm so glad you're alright.'

'Likewise, fair maiden,' Gent replied. 'Alas, this is quite the situation at our hands.'

Pyre wiped her nose and cleared her throat. 'Any leads?'

'Certainly,' said Gent, his words resonating with the same boldness. 'Climatic interference on the lower atmosphere. It is an artificial emission. As sir Brute would have explained, by breaking the gas down to its compound foundation, I have come across a transmission pattern.' He keyed a command and the satellite footage focused on a specific spot. Gradually, the image inched closer and closer, clearing in the process. 'Here.'

The screen displayed a top-side view of a worn-down warehouse tucked in the middle of a large ravine. A mild dust storm was raging, causing the image to blur every few seconds.

'An outpost in Purazi, huh?' Pyre wondered aloud. 'It's the perfect hiding spot. That's a good start, so let's get going. The faster we leave, the quicker everybody will return back to normal. The Carrier Zord can easily traverse Purazi.'

Putting one foot forward, Pyre rotated her right arm so that it was parallel to her head. She then raised her left arm in the air. The Sonic Morpher corresponded to the movement. Yellow-colored energy from the Morphin Grid spewed from Pyre's wrist.

'Supersonic Yellow!' Pyre called out as she was showered by radiant light, enveloping her in the garments of the Yellow Supersonic Ranger. She turned to face Gent, who had already phased his helmet. 'Let's go,' she said, mimicking his gesture.

Gent nodded and the two Power Rangers stormed off to the hangar. They skipped the security protocol drill, opting to deploy immediately.

The Supersonic Carrier Zord's engines rumbled as the oversized vehicle powered through Purazi's coarse terrain.

In stark contrast to Gwenga, Purazi was situated near the planetary equator, and was thus characterized by weathered, dry land; the hottest spot on Xybria. Despite that, it was an extraordinarily beneficial site for solar panel farming, its bountiful deposits providing almost every continent on the planet with pure, solar energy.

The only sound that resonated inside the Zord's cockpit were the steady beeps of the control panel, pertaining to the Supersonic Rangers' location, as well as their target.

'Hey, Gent?' Pyre asked, keeping her eyes on the road. 'Why weren't you, you know, affected? Being a telekinetic and all.'

'Elementary, Lady Pyre.' The Yellow Supersonic Ranger could feel the subtle smile hiding behind Gent's helmet, even when she could not see it outright. 'I possess absolute control of my heritage.'

'Full control?' Pyre echoed. 'But how?'

'Such expertise could be achieved under strict tutorship in the Rashon Kingdom. It was made possible during my knightly service to my previous liege, the fair prince Nhema Li'eh. A splendid young fellow, he was.'

'That sounds so cool! I bet that was quite some time ago,' she teased. 'Is the prince a king now?'

'No,' Gent replied. His voice was tinged with a drop of melancholy. 'The prince perished, along with what would have one day been his noble kingdom.'

Silence fell upon the cockpit.

Pyre wanted to apologize, but 'Oh.' was what had come out of her mouth in its place. Gent continued leading the Carrier Zord on a forward path across a seemingly endless land. But for the steady beeping of the control panel, the silence persisted.

'On that fateful day,' Gent spoke again, 'sir Ace arrived at Rashon, where he rescued me from the rubble of despair. He—'

'Turned you into a Power Ranger,' Pyre finished for him, sensing the atmosphere had regained an optimistic undertone. 'That's so nice. I guess we both had it rough, huh?' Gent inclined his head to that. 'Can I…' Pyre began, but stopped herself. It took her a moment to consider her phrasing, something she did not often do. She started over. 'Can I tell you something?'

'Anything.' Gent was a pillar of calm and collected concentration. His grip on the steering wheel was steady and his voice milky smooth, welcoming Pyre to elaborate.

'I'm concerned about my powers,' Pyre confessed. 'You know, that they'll never be invoked and I'll never be like you guys. There hasn't even been a second where it seemed like they'd pop up.' Pyre made to scratch the back of her neck, feeling for a mane that was trapped inside her helmet. She went on. 'I try making up for it with physical strength, but it can only take me so far. Being a Xybrian, your powers are a part of you, right? If I don't have powers, then who am I?'

Gent reached for the control panel and turned off the radar. The loud, monotonous beeping stopped. He relaxed his press on the pedal and the Supersonic Carrier Zord slowed down as a result.

'I cannot admit otherwise, lady Pyre.' His voice, no matter the sternness, always retained a sense of gentleness. He phased his helmet and turned to face her. That unique, trusting aura in his eyes perfectly complemented his knightly background.

'Xybrian heritage,' he continued, 'will forever include strength of spirit. And yet, though it may forever be a part of every Xybrian soul, this power need not define us. That is what our actions are for.'

The two rangers silently agreed to allow for that final sentence to sit. They drove on, gazes fixed beyond the glass windscreen.

It was Pyre that broke the silence. She reached for her helmet, phasing it out of existence. 'Gent?' she asked as she threw her mane back.

'Pardon?'

She looked at him, almond eyes brimming with assuredness. 'Thanks.'

Gent huffed. It was an odd way to laugh, but an expression of humble joy nonetheless. 'All in a knight's duty, fair maiden.'

'We're here!' Pyre exclaimed. Along with Gent, they hopped out of the Zord and landed right in front of the abandoned warehouse. 'Man, these villains sure like hiding in empty buildings.'

'Quite convenient, if I may add,' Gent replied.

'True. No bystanders to worry about. Just him and us.' Pyre cracked her knuckles.

The Sonic Morpher on her wrist suddenly came to life with a buzz of static. 'Rangers! Hey-yo, what happened here?!'

'Well, it appears to be our lucky day,' Gent joked.

Pyre chuckled before lifting her morpher close to her helmet and activating the voice imprint. 'You're done charging, Tensou?'

'Yes, yes! My batteries are fully charged for the rest of the month. Talk about a grim coincidence though! When I woke up, Brute was creature-hopping and Ace had turned into a popsicle inside the cryo chamber!'

'It is the enemy's foul act,' Gent spoke to his own morpher.

'Hey-yo, I see! Can I help with anything?'

'Whatever is that dastardly compound composed of, old friend?'

'I'll look right into it!' Clicks and clacks emanated from the other end of the network. The steady flow of keyboard tapping took several seconds to conclude. 'Success!' Tensou 5.0 beamed. 'Hey-yo, this is an extremely potent lethargy. It affects the brain signals upon inhalation and tampers with the Xybrian power flow, fluctuating it out of control!'

'So it causes instability?' Pyre surmised. 'Great highs and extreme lows?'

'Yes, you are correct, Pyre! And you guys are right on top of the source!'

Pyre's mind immediately darted to the kids in the park. Innocent and carefree, how she watched them running around and enjoying their youth. Her thoughts raced ahead in time, taking her to the moment Star had first collapsed. Her pained moaning resounded with deafening cacophony.

'That creep,' Pyre spoke through gritted teeth. 'All the people he's caused to suffer…'

'Lady Pyre,' Gent made to step forward. 'This bodes ill. I advice caut—'

But it was too late. A searing-hot laser blast collided with Pyre. The explosion sent her flying to the dusty barrenness. Gent turned to the warehouse entrance, now torn to pieces by what the knight figured to have been the villain's attack. Standing his ground, Gent confronted the enemy.

A sentient red mushroom trudged out of the warehouse on fiber-bundled legs of corded roots, glinting like steel. Huge spores decorated its umbrella-shaped armor plates, with bundles of the yellow eggs shackled around its wrists and ankles. From within a protrusion in its chest that resembled a head, a single blue eye stared at the Black Supersonic Ranger.

Gent cartwheeled away from the monster so as to stand by Pyre's side. 'Lady Pyre!' he called out.

Supersonic Yellow had already raised herself. 'Don't worry, Gent, I'm fine. Just very, very angry.'

'Power Rangers,' the alien monster breathed. Green gas was seeping from its pores, floating upstream. 'I am Zaruko, the rebellion leader of PL-48. Come to me, Hanoi's lackeys!' it roared. Silencers burst from the sandy dunes. They slid and tumbled down the steep slopes to group around Zaruko in a loose formation. 'For my planet, I will eradicate you!'

As one, Zaruko and the Silencer horde charged. Phasing the Supersonic Saber and Flute, Gent and Pyre readied their respective weapons, shifted their stances and met the attack head-on. The gorge erupted into a battlefield, the Power Rangers in the eye of the storm. With backs pressed against one another, the rangers used each other's momentum to block, dodge and parry Silencer claw swipes and pincer-sword swings. They used that force against their enemy, unleashing powerful strikes that forced the Silencers to flip over and crash down to the ground.

Pyre found a window of opportunity. 'Gent, cover me!' she cried and hopped on his shoulders, using the swordsman as a springboard to frontflip toward Zaruko.

She struck with a barrage of kicks, each boot stamp pushing the monster back and multiplying the sparks gushing out of his deformed, mushroom-like carapace. With a final, reverse-axefall kick, Pyre flipped backward and landed with feline grace.

'Let me guess, you're some kind of freak show with a sick sense of justice,' Pyre sneered as she straightened, fists still raised.

'You fool! You cannot begin to understand my struggle!' Zaruko snarled. He came at her with twisted, spindly roots for fingers, clawing with sluggish movements.

'I don't care to find out,' Pyre objected, successfully dodging every hit. She struck back with the Supersonic Flute, piling on the damage she had inflicted beforehand. 'You've hurt children! For that, I'll never forgive you!'

She curled her elbow, pulled her arm back and shot it forward with piston-like lethality. Her fist smashed onto Zaruko's bulbous eyeball, the power behind the blow strong enough to steal the ground underneath the monstrosity's feet. He hit the coarse ground with a loud thud.

'How do you like that?!' Pyre taunted.

'You think I don't know?!' Zaruko roared. He struggled to get up. The injuries were starting to take a toll. 'There's so much guilt, but I cannot back down! Me and my people have worked for ten, long years in hopes of living again! I…' He threw his head back. 'I want us to be free again!' he cried out to the sky.

So strong was Zaruko's testament, it overpowered the sounds of battle on the other end of the ravine, where Gent was thinning out the Silencer mob. With superb swordsmanship, he maneuvered blows to sweep past him and advanced in turn, answering back with precise thrusts. His collected might skewered every Silencer foolish enough to line up before the tip of his blade.

'Free, you say?!' he intruded.

Letting out a gallant cry, Gent left the fray in a spinning leap, sunlight bouncing off his Supersonic Saber as it collided with Zaruko's mushroom armor. The blow pushed the creature back. 'Knightly Code of Conduct, rule number thirteen,' Gent declared, shifting his stance so that his heels clicked. 'Respect your enemy, but absolve him not of punishment.'

'In other words, bucko,' Pyre carried on in Gent's steed, 'there's no way we're letting you get away with this!'

Zaruko responded with a defiant warcry and came at the rangers with reckless abandon. Pyre and Gent readied their weapons, the former taking a page from her fellow ranger's book and patiently awaiting for the perfect opportunity to counterattack.

'There!' she exclaimed.

Pyre struck first. She pivoted on her heel, pirouetted and extended her occupied hand. A bright, yellow streamer rolled out of the Supersonic Flute, enveloping Zaruko. With a poised pull, the streamer tightened around the creature, holding it at bay. Gent leaned on his front foot and grasped the sword with both hands. Channeling the entirety of his might into a single, almighty chop, he leapt on Pyre's shoulders, copying her previous maneuver to propel himself at Zaruko.

'Combined attack!' the Yellow and Black Supersonic Rangers cried out as one. 'Double Trouble!'

The Supersonic Saber fell. It cleaved Zaruko, the gash so deep and fatal his tampered physique was showered with a rush of miniature explosions. Pyre retracted her Supersonic Flute's streamer and turned her back to the monster. Rejoined with Gent, they presented their weapons in a triumphant pose.

Zaruko let out a final scream as he was swallowed by the inferno.

He was writhing on the dust, his body not quite on the verge of imploding. His limbs were leaden weights, shackled to the earth by gravity's invisible chains. The corners of his vision were caving in, a creeping darkness threatening to overwhelm him.

A voice resonated in his head.

'You refuse to unlock your inhibitors,' it cooed, female in pitch and menacingly alluring; an evil temptress that may or may not have been his consciousness.

'I did my best,' he wheezed, his words barely a whisper.

'Right,' the voice dragged out the syllable. She was mocking him. 'Remember, Zaruko, there is one, final option.' Zaruko's blue eye darted to his left hand. Behind the layers of bulging spores, a red band was strapped around his wrist. 'Press it,' the temptress commanded, as if she shared his sight. 'Remember: If you fail, your allies will despair. There will be no one to blame but yourself.'

Her words were coated in frost and ruthlessness, forcing a quick recovery out of Zaruko. As the fog in his head cleared up, he rose with a grunt. Biting back the protests of grinding muscles, he ripped off the spores on his wrist and flashed the red bracelet at the Supersonic Power Rangers.

'For my family and people!' Zaruko shouted and slammed the red button.

A giant robot suddenly phased outside the gorge. A humanoid amalgamation of white blobs, it was devoid of any distinguishing features. The robot craned its head down, where Zaruko stood frozen in horror. A port opened where a mouth should have been and it fired a tractor beam that lifted Zaruko from the ground. The creature thrashed as his body was converted into particles and absorbed by the machine, which in turn copied Zaruko's form to the most minute detail.

'Gigantification?' Gent questioned.

Pyre sighed. 'And here I thought this day couldn't get any weirder.'

'To the Supersonic Carrier Zord!' Gent suggested.

Pyre gave him a thumbs-up and the two rangers jumped back into their Zord.

'Deploying missiles!' Gent pushed a button next to the steering wheel. The Carrier Zord's cargo turned at a forty-five degree angle and revealed twin rows of boxed missiles. Pulling on the handbrake, Gent applied pressure to the pedal in short bursts, allowing for a continuous launch of missiles. Impacts flashed across Zaruko's gigantic figure, but the barrage spread was not enough to harm him. Zaruko continued exuding more of his power-fluctuating gas. It swarmed around the Carrier Zord.

But nothing happened.

'I don't get it!' the gigantified abomination roared. 'Why is it not working on you two?! What do you have that the rest of the Xybrians don't?!'

'That's the thing,' Pyre countered from within the Carrier Zord's cockpit. 'I don't have powers, and I don't need them. So long as I have my friends, I'm invincible!'

'Well,' Gent argued, 'not quite.'

'Gent, shh!' Pyre was quick to cover the mic linked to the external speakers.

The knight let out a composed huff. 'I do believe it is time to transform.'

Behind her helmet, Pyre was pouting. 'Aw, man, I hate multitasking! Whatever!' She threw her hands up. 'Here goes nothing!'

Together, the two rangers declared, Triple Supersonic Formation!, then pressed a button on the Carrier Zord's control console.

A call to action signaled from the Volcanic Base, prompting Tensou 5.0 to manually launch the Supersonic Fighter and Jeep Zords. The robot assistant breathed life into the massive vehicles, feeding them cosmic energy from the Morphin Grid to power up their powerful engines and launch them at the designated location via the base's Zord Transference Cannon.

Arriving at their destination from the sky, the Zords shifted their form mid-flight, rotating in all the right places and combining at their ends to form the Supersonic Megazord. The brilliant 'V' emblazoned on the robot's sternum promptly came alive, radiating with the necessary energy to summon the Planetarium Blade.

'Grant me an opening, Gent!' Pyre said. 'Work your magic!'

'Indubitably!'

Using the steering wheel as a controller, Gent pushed forward, evoking the Megazord to aggress on their opponent. The two colossal figures grappled, but Gent could read Zaruko like an open book. He broke out of the deuce with ease, exploiting the staggered alien to assault him with three swipes of the Planetarium Blade. The consecutive chops unleashed a shower of sparks.

'Perfect!' Pyre turned her own steering wheel sideways, ramming the Supersonic Megazord's fist on Zaruko's face protrusion. The collision made the alien see stars. Pyre pulled at her controller and the Megazord responded with an uppercut that propelled Zaruko into the air. 'The finisher's yours, Gent!'

'No, lady Pyre,' Gent countered. 'It is ours.'

To that, Pyre grinned. 'Together now!' she cried.

Having reached the peak of his arc, Zaruko started to plummet, building up momentum as he descended. The Supersonic Megazord raised the Planetarium Blade over its head, awaiting with utmost diligence.

Overhead, Zaruko was roaring: 'Curse you, Power Rangers!'

'The finisher,' Pyre and Gent declared in unison, 'Grand Divide!'

The gigantic blade came down, releasing a grand slash that rippled with energy. Enhanced steel connected with mushroom armor, scraping against Zaruko's carapace with such force, it created a blinding flash.

A brief moment after the light had dissipated, fading as abruptly as it had arrived, Zaruko burst into an explosive backdrop for the Supersonic Megazord; a bombastic acknowledgement of the Supersonic Power Rangers' victory.

'Please, Star!' Brute followed after Supersonic Pink, his palms flat and pressed against each other before his chest. 'Please! You have to help me do check-ups on my pets! I bet they're worried sick! Please, please, please!' he pleaded, bearing his gritted teeth for further emphasis.

'You can be so childish sometimes,' Star sighed, an ice pack pressed against her forehead. She thumbed her chin, giving the matter some thought. 'Fine,' she conceded. 'Just give me a minute to gather my strength.'

'Alright!' Brute cheered, but was quickly silenced when Star placed a finger in front of his mouth. 'I'll start the timer. One minute,' he whispered, tapping at his Sonic Morpher.

'I didn't mean it literally,' Star sighed. Still, when she watched Brute turn all giddy, she could not help but smile.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the control room, Pyre and Gent were engaged with Ace.

'I had foreseen all of it,' Ace said, his deep-set eyes giving away no hint of distress.

'Seriously?!' Pyre groaned. 'Should've guessed. You're a seer, after all.'

Ace nodded. 'I apologize I couldn't help out more. I can only be glad I didn't lose my composure.' To that comment, Pyre's gut reaction was to burst out laughing. Ace quirked his brow. Pyre did not let up. Ace crossed his arms. 'What?' he asked, genuinely curious as to the reception.

Gent huffed. 'Forsooth, sir Ace, for not even I can begin to ascertain the thought of my liege raising his voice.'

'I guess so.' Ace let his comrades have their fun, sharing in their joy with a content grin.

'Hey-yo, rangers!' Tensou's voice resounded from the corridor. He waddled into the control room shortly after, holding a tray twice his girth. It was topped with a diverse assortment of treats. They ranged from sour, yet nutritious vegetables, to protein-rich meats and ornate confectioneries.

'You should eat up and regain your strength!' the robot said. 'There's many more fights awaiting you in the future!'

'Tensou!' Brute's head peeked out from behind a monitor. 'What did you do?! Those were meant for my lovelies!' He hastily leapt over the machinery and stormed over to his friend, snatching the tray from Tensou's hands. 'Papa's coming, dearies!' Brute cried and made a run for it.

'Not on my watch!' Pyre hollered and ran after him.

The sounds of their chase rang along the long corridor. Ace, Star and Gent collectively shook their heads at their younger colleagues.

|| Aquila Hyperion Galaxy, Planet Vaxia

Zaruko sickened him.

King Hanoi had watched as the Silencers dragged the ruined abomination before his glass throne. His mushroom carapace a splintered ruin and the spores on his limbs a mess of squashed, sickly substance, the horrid creature had given in to aftershock spasms. He writhed like a worm with nothing to report, and still he had dared request an audience. King Hanoi was uncertain whether or not he was even capable of forming words anymore. Behind him, the king sensed his sorcerers' inquisitive gazes fall upon the beast, as well as the exchange of hushed words that followed. Much like him, they were expressing their disdain openly.

'This was a test.' King Hanoi's words traveled across the chamber, strong, firm, and absolute in their delivery. 'Of loyalty, but also of your word as a man and chosen fighter of PL-48. You have failed. Broken your oath. There is nothing more you may say or do to earn my grace.'

Relaxing his iron grip on the throne, King Hanoi rose. The crimson fabric wrapped around his arms unfurled, long, spike-tipped ribbons fluttering to a gentle wind. He lifted a gauntleted hand and the wind picked up, gathering around his fingers. A flash of steel shimmered in the current. King Hanoi clasped it and the light extended, materializing into the Sword of Storms.

The Silencers that were flocked around Zaruko fled in fear, replaced by the king's triumvirate of hooded sorcerers. They surrounded the sad monstrosity, pulling mangled hands from yawning sleeves. Sparks danced along their nails, forming forks of lightning that weaved together and trapped Zaruko under a magical web. The creature could not command its body to react. It made sounds, wordless noise, as loud as it could.

It was too late.

'You are a sacrifice — you and your whole planet — for the Syndicate's victory.' King Hanoi clasped the sword's hilt with both hands and raised it over his head. Powerful winds trapped his body in a spiraling typhoon whose cry bounced off the obsidian walls. 'Gates to the future,' the king commanded, 'part before me! Accept this soul, grant me passage, and show me the threads of fate!'

The Sword of Storms fell with lethal finality. Zaruko disappeared in the blustering winds. The sorcerers howled as their mouths overflowed with cosmic light. Somewhere in the distant cosmos, PL-48's core erupted, and the planet was consumed by the laughter of a dark god.