Chapter Nine: "Upping the Stakes."

In that moment everything slowed.

Tommy's heart echoed against the inside of his chest, his breathing coming in short controlled bursts, his gaze focussed on the horde of Shadow Demons that came towards him. Fragments of memory flashed through his mind - all the pain, all the suffering that they had caused, and all the deaths - using it fuel him, letting the anger urge him onwards with inhuman speed. The power continued to flow through his body, adrenaline pumping fast in his veins, the dragon within him yearning for release.

With a loud cry escaping from his lips he unleashed a devastating right punch, crushing the ribcage of the oncoming demon, a short eruption of sparks bursting from its skin. As it let out a painful yell Tommy rose his left arm to deflect the counter attack, letting rip with a powerful rotating uppercut that seemed to be fuelled by the very essence of fire itself, burning the flesh of the demon and sending it falling to the ground. He quickly got back into his fighting stance, turning to another that came from his left, a fast left kick unbalancing it before a jump kick - body sweep fusion technique finished it off.

"Aghh!"

The sudden attack caught Tommy off guard, the razor sharp claws digging deep into his side; an explosion of sparks erupting as he staggered backwards. As he tried to regain his footing he knew that he wouldn't be able to raise his arm in time to defend himself. Suddenly a stream of energy cut through the air, blasting the demon back, and Tommy turned to see Andros jumping high into a forward roll, expertly placing his blaster back into its holster whilst in mid air, before unleashing a jump kick that fell the damaged demon.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"No problem." Nodded Andros, quickly turning to fend off another demon's attack.

Tommy used the brief respite to survey the scene before him, watching as the others had split up into different teams to weigh up the balance of power in each, their combined strength beating back the demons. Without a word he ran forward, Andros by his side, together rushing head on into battle.

Kat, Dana, and Trini saw the upcoming attack; back flipping out of the way of the dark pulse of energy that was sent hurtling towards them, the explosion sending them falling to the ground. Trini was the first to get back onto her feet, letting out a sweeping kick on the nearest demon, before unleashing a lightning quick thunder combo that tore through another in a shower of sparks. The demon let out a painful scream, Trini quickly ducking out of the way of the other that came from her side, its body exploding in a shower of sparks as Dana fired her blaster, providing covering fire.

Kat ran forward, the power of the wind phoenix coursing through her, allowing her to unleash quick, fluid kicks that the demons had no chance to counter. She turned, pain suddenly erupting in her side, shifting her weight to deflect another claw that ripped through the air where she was a moment before. Her mind racing, she countered with a quick punch to its stomach, before slamming her knee up high into its crotch, unleashing a powerful gravity defying moon kick that tore through the demon.

"Ugh."

Carlos fell to his knees, a wave of dizziness and pain flowing through him, his body becoming weaker by the moment. He rose his left arm to deflect the oncoming attack, but the demon quickly changed its tactic, unleashing a fast kick to his head, sending Carlos crying in pain as he fell to the ground.

"Carlos!" Cried Adam.

Ryan turned as he heard the cry, attacking with a whirlwind kick at the demon in front of him, before rushing forward to Carlos's side, beating back the demon with a powerful drop kick. Adam was there in an instant, his precise and controlled attacks seeming to sting the demons with a momentary paralysing effect, unleashing fast one-two combos with his fists and kicks, beating them back in sharp explosions of power. He quickly turned, rushing over to the two, seeing the pain flash through Carlos's features.

"Ugh!" A sudden burst of bright light surrounded him as he powered down, returning to human form.

"Carlos!" Called Ryan. "Carlos can you hear me?"

Carlos squeezed his eyes shut tight from the pain, slowly nodding his head. "I - I will be o-ok."

Adam smiled with relief, nodding to Ryan to stay with him, while he finished off the remaining Shadow Demons around them.

Jason ran forward, unleashing a fast double kick at two demons that were rushing from either side, before turning to his right to let out a powerful right hand, a burst of explosions erupting from the demon's chest. It let out a painful scream, before rushing forward in blind anger, Jason managing to narrowly duck under its sharp claws, and letting out a sharp jab that sent it hurtling to the ground. As he sensed movement in the corner of his eyes he turned, deflecting an attack by another of the demons, countering with a devastating shadow kick that pierced through its chest.

Joel and TJ fought not far from him, firing blasts of energy from their weapons that tore through the row of demons, exploding them in a shower of sparks. They quickly pressed forward attacking with quick combos and counters, their joint attacks slowly beating back the demons.

"Hiya!"

TJ let out a powerful roundhouse kick, forcing the demon to stagger backwards, and giving Joel enough time to rush forward, together finishing it off with a joint drop kick that sent it exploding to the ground.

"Zhane!"

Zhane instantly reacted as he heard his name being called, ducking low to avoid a powerful swipe from the oncoming demon, rolling to the side to let out a capacitating kick that caused the demon to double up in pain. He quickly got back onto his feet, unleashing a low kick that slammed into its back, and forcing it to the ground. Another punch to its spine finished it off.

Rocky nodded as he saw that Zhane was ok, turning to aid Carter as they raced to attack the last group of Shadow Demons. The wolf within him seemed to power his movements - agile but powerful - his hits cutting through like shards of ice, ripping through the chests of the demons, sending them screaming in pain. He side stepped to his left, his fist connecting with the demons face, contorting its features, before finishing it off with a powerful standing drop kick.

Breathing heavily Tommy looked around, seeing Rocky and Carter finish off the last of the demons, the rangers rushing over to meet up with Adam and Ryan who were either side of a weakened Carlos.

"Carlos!" TJ ran over to him. "You ok?"

"Y-yeah." He said slowly. "J-just ne-ed a rest."

Dana indicated for the two to slowly put him down before checking him over, pressing her fingers lighting against his rips to check for fractures. A low smile soon appeared on her features. "He'll be ok, just a couple of bruises, but nothing serious."

Suddenly the group turned as a shimmering distortion of light appeared before them. They looked on as the distortion spread, echoing through the air, before a dark shadow began to appear, and the form of Xentu came into sight. It stepped forward, its long powerful scythe outstretched before it.

"D-death a-waits you!"

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In Angel Grove:

Tori stood silently in the doorway; her gaze focussed on the still form of Billy who sat motionless in the chair, his sight staring at a small photo between his hands. She waited there for a long time, unsure whether she should enter or not, sensing that he might want to be alone. After a long while had passed she turned to leave, but looked back as a small sob came from his throat, and saw a single tear escape the confines of his eyes. Tori slowly stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, seeing him close his eyes shut for a moment.

"You all look so happy there." She whispered.

Billy slowly nodded his head, placing the photo into her hand so that she could get a better look at it. Tori gazed at the image, noticing that it looked like it had been taken years before, in a place that she found out to be the Command Centre. The forms of Jason, Trini, Billy, Zack, Kimberly, and Tommy smiled happily, Alpha 5 standing in front of them, and the form of Zordon floating behind.

"It seems so long ago now." He said slowly. "Another lifetime almost."

Tori nodded. "Everything must have been so much different then."

It was a long moment before he spoke. "I thought that the hardest thing that I ever had to do was to say goodbye to my friends. But it wasn't. What I felt when I decided to stay on Aquita doesn't even come close to what I felt when I heard of Zack and Kimberly's deaths." He paused, closing his eyes. "It hurt, hurt so much. I was just so relieved when I found out that Trini was ok."

"It will be ok."

"I - I thought that anything was possible once. But now? Now I'm just not so sure."

Tori shook her head. "We can't give up hope. We'll find a way to stop the demons, I know we will."

"M-maybe." He sighed, falling silent.

Tori stayed with him for a long time, giving Billy the shoulder that he needed to cry on, as he gained comfort from her presence.

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Elsewhere, In Turtle Cove:

The slow electronic beeping of the machine sounded every so often, its wires connected to the still form that lay motionless on the bed, his eyes closed shut, his pulse faint. He looked so still, his face deathly pale, his glasses sitting on the stand beside him. In the corner of the room sat a single shadow, a young man who held his hand up to his face, fatigue and tiredness in his eyes. It had been several hours since his friends had left to battle Riaku's forces, and still no word. His efforts to contact them were in vain, nothing but utter silence.

"Still no change?"

Max slowly looked up, nodding faintly as Mike entered the room, his gaze hovering over the form of Danny on the life support machine. "No change." He whispered, shaking his head.

Mike fell silent, trying to figure out what he could say, but no words came into mind. All he could think of was saying that everything was going to be ok. But he knew that he couldn't say it, because his own heart and feeling was that it wasn't. "You look tired." He finally said. "Why don't you get some rest, I'll stay with him."

Max shook his head. "No, I - I want to be here. I - I need to." He sighed. "Man, I should have been there. Should have been there to back him up."

"It's not your fault. Your own Wild Force powers were fading, there was nothing that you could do." Mike paused. "You should count yourself lucky that you even survived the attack." His thoughts flashed over the death of Maya and the disappearance of Karone.

"She could still be alive." Max said after a while. "She could have been held like Trini was."

Mike slowly nodded, having heard the news of her escape with some of the Time Force rangers, and the new Zeo Matrix powers that Tommy and the other veterans from Angel Grove now possessed. "We can only hope."

They both turned as the door suddenly opened and one of the helpers in the Underground Resistance Base appeared. "Max, Mike, the others have returned!"

Max stood up from his seat, a flash of worry crossing his features.

"Go." Said Mike. "I'll stay here with Danny."

Max nodded his thanks, before rushing in the direction that he was pointed to, relief washing over him at the sight of all his friends. "Guys!" He smiled, looking over at Cole, Taylor, Alyssa, Merrick, Leo, Damon, and Kai. "You're ok!"

"We are." Cole smiled.

"Just a few bruises is all." Nodded Leo.

Max watched as Alyssa and Damon made their way over to see the nurses who tended to their slight injuries. "Glad that everyone's ok. I thought for a minute." His voice trailed off.

"How's Danny?" Asked Taylor.

"No change. He's still in a critical condition."

Everyone suddenly turned as an alarm rang through the base.

"What now?!" Said Damon.

The rangers quickly ran towards the Operations Room, while Kai checked over the sensors. "I can't believe it. Riaku is attacking again!"

"But we just came back from beating his forces." Said Merrick.

"No, this one is much bigger." He noted. "It looks like an all out attack, he's holding nothing back this time!"

"Must have been tired of getting his forces destroyed." Smiled Leo. He turned to the others. "We've done it before, we can do it again no matter how many of them they are!"

Cole slowly nodded, turning to Max. "Max send a message to the other bases telling them of our situation, we may need back-up."

"I will."

Leo, Damon and Kai stepped forward. "Go - Galactic!" A bright pulse of white light surrounded them as they activated their morphers and transformed into the red, green, and blue Galaxy rangers.

"Let's do it, guys!" Shouted Cole.

"Wild Access!" A sudden burst of intense light surrounded Cole, Taylor, Alyssa, and Merrick as they morphed into the red, yellow, pink, and silver Wild Force rangers.

"Be careful guys." Said Max.

"We will."

Cole turned, running out of the Base; the others close behind.

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Back in Mariner Bay:

Tommy stared into the dark, blood filled eyes of Xentu, feeling the dark aura that emanated from it, its slim and muscular body cutting the air with the powerful scythe, while its large wings began to unfold and prepare for flight. He rose his hands as he witnessed Carter and Andros stepping forward, motioning them to keep back.

"Guys, you've done all you can, but."

Carter slowly sighed, understanding. "But we're no match for Xentu, right?"

Tommy slowly nodded his head.

"It's ok, we understand." Said Andros.

Tommy suddenly paused as his communicator went off, the voice of Justin coming through: "Tommy, I've got bad news. Djiwu and Riaku are raising the stakes, mounting an all out attack on Silver Hills and Turtle Cove! They could use some help!"

Tommy froze, unsure of what to do. TJ quickly stepped forward. "Tell them that they'll get their back up!"

"Right." Nodded Carter. "We can help out. We might not be able to defeat the generals but together we can surely take out the Shadow Demons."

Tommy nodded, turning to his communicator. "Right. Justin tell the Time Force rangers that they'll be receiving help from the Space rangers while what's left of Wild Force and Galaxy will be aided by Light Speed."

Carter and Andros nodded to Tommy and the others to be careful, before activating their teleporters, the two teams transporting to Silver Hills and Turtle Cove.

"Now, let's take this demon!" Said Rocky.

Xentu suddenly sprung forward, his wings causing him to hover inches from the ground, as he rushed towards them, his scythe at the ready. Tommy, Kat, Trini, Adam, Rocky, and Jason prepared themselves, diving out of the way at the last moment. Xentu turned, rushing from behind with inhuman speed, slashing his scythe across their chests and causing them to explode in a shower of pain filled sparks.

"Aghagh!"

Jason pushed himself up onto his feet, seeing Xentu prepare for another round. He crouched onto the ground, waiting for the last possible moment before Xentu moved his scythe, jumping up to deliver a powerful front kick that sent Xentu crashing to the ground. The demon fell hard, allowing the team time to regroup.

"Let's do it!" Shouted Tommy, running forward.

Tommy lifted his left arm, blocking the attack of the scythe that Xentu tried to swipe at him, while Rocky attacked his blind side with a hard left kick, ducking as Xentu tried to counter. As he ducked out of the way, Kat appeared, unleashing a spin kick before barely blocking his left claws, giving Trini a chance to attack low, sweeping the demon. As Xentu recovered once more Jason and Adam pushed forward, Jason with a high cyclone kick and Adam with a low back sweep, before Tommy rushed again, his flying drop kick exploding as he came into contact with Xentu's chest.

"Aughh!" Xentu staggered backwards, his pain giving with shortly to a cold maniacal laughter. "F-fools!" He slurred. "Is tha-t all you-'ve got!"

The demon stepped forward, slamming his scythe hard into the ground, causing a wave of dark energy to erupt from its base, and quickly rush out towards the Zeo Matrix rangers. The blast hit them hard, the explosion sending them flying through the air on impact, sparks showering from their suits.

"Ugh." Tommy turned to his side. "K-Kat?"

"I-I'm ok." She said slowly, trying to get back onto her feet.

Jason made his way over to Trini, helping her up. "This guy's tough."

Trini nodded. "If we only knew how to control the full power of the Zeo Matrix."

"There's got to be a way." Cut in Adam. "If we just focus!"

"Ahahaha!" Xentu's laughter cut through them like a knife, his form quickly appearing as he rushed towards them once more.

Tommy stood his ground, closing his eyes, listening to the dragon spirit that he could feel inside. The fire continued to burn within him, coursing through his body, his mind concentrating hard. He could hear the call of his friends, knowing that he was in imminent danger, put pushed the thoughts out of his mind, focussing deeper. Suddenly the fire seemed to converge into his right fist, and it burst into open flame, but no pain could be felt from him. Tommy slowly opened his eyes, waiting for Xentu to reach closer, before unleashing the devastating attack.

"Zeo Matrix Fire-Dragon Uppercut!"

He jumped upwards, his fists of flame tearing through the scythe, causing it to split in two as he continued upwards. His fist slammed into Xentu's chin, his body slowly rotating, the flames searing the demons skin. The others watched on in awe and amazement, as Tommy slowly fell back to the ground lightly, the flames slowly subsiding from his fist, whilst still burning the flesh of Xentu. The demon's cry was filled with intense pain, as it slowly exploded in a blast of sparks, destroyed.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Said Rocky.

"H-how did you do it?" Asked Trini.

Tommy slowly smiled. "It was just like Adam suggested. I focussed my concentration on the fire dragon within me."

Kat walked over to his side. "We did it. One down - three to go."

"No time to rest." Said Jason. "We've got to help the others."

"Right." Nodded Tommy. "Our first stop is Silver Hills."