Chapter Twelve: " Final Stand." Part II.

Billy watched in complete shock, witnessing the very tearing of the Earth's dimensional fabric, as the distortions continued to grow more violent, sending a powerful pulse in its wake. The air shifted and changed, becoming one with the demon's reality, as the merging process began. He was lost for words, forced to watch in silence as the end of their world played out before his very eyes.

"No!" Shouted David, the pain and anger in his voice. "No! We've got to stop it somehow!" He turned to face him. "Billy! Do something!"

Billy tried to move his lips and form words, but nothing came, his mind had gone completely blank, no thoughts or solutions arising. He just stared, watching as the air was torn asunder, and the ground shook dangerously beneath their feet. A sudden noise caused Billy to snap out of his daze and he answered his communicator.

"Billy, Billy do you read me?" It was Justin's voice.

"G-go ahead Justin."

"What's happening?! A sudden wave of energy was unleashed from somewhere in the city, and its growing stronger, causing strange distortions to appear in the air!"

"We've got a big problem." Billy understated. "It seems that the demons are trying to merge our world with theirs. They weakened the natural dimensional barrier of our two worlds by sending across their vast army of shadow demons and now have planted a device in each of the cities to rip open the fragile tears!"

There was a long pause. "Can we stop it?"

"I - I don't know. I can see the device up ahead, but its emitting a high rate of energy and radiation." Billy looked down at his handheld computer. "I am going to try and analyze its structure and gain a template of its schematics so that we can."

"Billy! Forget all that!" It was TJ's voice that appeared. "Can't you just destroy it?!"

"We can't get near it!" Answered David. "Even from here I can feel the radiation off of that thing."

"Then it will have to be one of us." TJ's voice faded for a moment. "We'll be right there, just hold on.."

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"Ugh!"

Tommy, Kat, Adam, Trini, and Rocky yelled out as Enrazu hit them hard with his sword, the sparks erupting in the control room of the Zeo Matrix Megazord, causing them to fall to their feet. Pain erupted in them physically as they were thrown about, the Megazord hitting the city ground with a crash.

"Uh . we took heavy damage!" Relayed Kat, pushing herself up to her console. "We're down to 60% power output!"

"Guys we've got to get back onto our feet!" Said Tommy.

"Working on it." Answered Trini, pressing a series of buttons of her console.

"Hold on guys!" Came Jason's voice. All five looked up to see the Shadow Lion Megazord charge over to their side, lifting up an arm to deflect the sword attack of Enrazu, and countering with a powerful punch to Enrazu's side. The demon general staggered backwards.

"Hahahah." His cold laughter rang in their ears once again as he lifted up his free hand, and a dark sphere of purple light shot forth, exploding as it hit the Shadow Lion Megazord.

"Agugh!" Jason held on tight to the controls, trying to keep his Megazord on its feet.

"I've got it!" Said Adam. "Diverting power from the reserves!" The main lights in the cockpit returned.

"Great work Adam!" Nodded Tommy.

Trini hit the console hard as the life drained out of it, causing it to come back on. She then finished off her calculations and compensated for the damaged torso, regaining equilibrium, and allowing the Megazord to get back onto its feet.

"Alright!" Smiled Rocky. "Now let's try and stay on our feet!"

Tommy looked up, pressing a red button on his console. "Zeo Matrix Energy Attack! Fire!"

A bright pulse of light suddenly formed in the Megazord's hands, growing in power and strength until it was almost impossible to look into its brightness. Suddenly in one fluid motion the Megazord outstretched its hands, thrusting the energy ball through the air, and blasting Enrazu. Enrazu cried out in intense pain, the sparks erupting out from its body.

"G-guys." Kat looked up. "I think I've found something."

"What is it Kat?" Asked Trini.

"The schematics for the next level - it looks like the Megazords have an additional combining mode!"

Rocky grinned. "So cool! This Megazord rocks!"

Tommy smiled. He turned to his communicator. "You with us Jace?"

"Always." Came the reply.

"Ok, let's do it! Zeo Matrix Shadow Megazord - Power Up!"

An intense eruption of bright light beat Enrazu back as the two Megazords combined together, Jason's Shadow Lion Megazord spliting off and forming powerful armor over the body, legs, and arms, before creating a whole new head on the top of the new Megazord. Jason pressed a control on his console, reappearing in the enhanced control room with his friends.

"Zeo Matrix Shadow Megazord - Battle Ready!"

As a streak of lightning coursed through the now super charged Megazord, Enrazu stepped backwards, fear slowly beginning to creep into his soul. He began to feel the true power that was coming off of the now combined Megazord's, a power that he knew had the ability to destroy him.

"N-noooo!" He screamed.

"Yes!" Shouted Tommy.

"It's over!" Nodded Jason.

As one the six of them shouted out: "Zeo Matrix Shadow Sword!"

The Zeo Matrix Shadow Megazord reached behind its back, withdrawing a large, powerful broadsword, and holding it with its right arm outwards. After a brief moment, it suddenly started to run towards Enrazu, powering up the broadsword with every step. Enrazu dug his feet hard, prepared to stand his ground, powering up his own attack.

"Zeo Matrix Shadow Swipe!"

Enrazu suddenly lashed out with his sword, smiling as he knew that the Megazord had no chance to move from his devastating attack, but hit only empty air, only a dark shadow of the Megazord. Pain suddenly erupted in his back, an intense sparks bursting from his body, twisting to see the Megazord, its powerful attack hitting him from behind. Enrazu let out a small smile, in some way finding sadistic pleasure out of being beaten by a more intelligent and powerful foe, closing his eyes for a final time as he exploded into nothingness.

Enrazu was destroyed.

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"Am I looking at that right?" Asked TJ, looking over at Billy's shoulder and seeing the display on his computer.

Billy silently nodded his head. "It is. That's the level of radiation that the merger device is emitting."

"But that's in the thousands! Will our suits even be able to shield us from its effects?"

"Justin is running an analysis on that scenario right now. We should get the results in a few moments." He paused, looking up at the torn sky. "But either way we have to do something, and fast, its getting worse."

Both men turned as Shane, Cole, Wes, Jen, Carter, Leo, and Andros walked over to them.

"I'll do it." Said Shane, instantly. "No matter what."

Andros shook his head. "No, you can't, you're too young. Besides, when this is over your team will need you to help protect your city in the future." He turned to Billy. "I should go."

"Light Speed Rescue and I trained for situations like these." Said Carter. "I've got some experience in these matters."

"I don't think any of you understand." Cut in Jen. "From the output of that device its more than simply firing your weapon at close range, that would do more harm than good, you'll have to shut it off. That means touching the thing!" She turned to look at each of them. "That kind of radiation is irreversible."

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke again. "It doesn't matter." Said Cole, finally. "All life as we know it is in danger, if I have to give my life for the cause." He fell silent.

"Not to mention that there are four devices." Added Wes. "One in each city. You'll need more than one ranger."

Jen suddenly turned to Wes. "You're not doing it Wes!"

"How else are we going to stop the merger, Jen?"

"I - I." She fell silent. "We'll think of a way!"

"And in the meantime our world's going to be destroyed!" He shook his head, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulders. "I've got to do it."

"Why!" She almost cried out.

Wes sighed. "It's just something that I have to do."

Justin walked over to the assembled group, the results of the analysis in his hands. "It's like we thought. Our ranger powers will partially protect from the intense radiation but will be unable to from the actual physical contact of the device. It will cause . irreversible damage to the body." His voice slowly trailed off.

"Guys!" The group all turned to see Tommy, Jason, Kat, Trini, Adam, and Rocky run towards them, their visors by their sides. "We got the message." Tommy said slowly.

Billy sighed once more. "I - I can't think of any way around it!"

"Me either." Whispered Justin.

Shane stepped forward once more, closing his eyes for a moment before thrusting his right arm upwards and activating his morpher. "Ninja Storm - Ranger."

Dustin's hand stopped him. "Dude, have you even thought about this?"

Tori nodded, walking over to him. "Shane, you can't. We're small enough as it is. What we're trying to say is."

"We don't want to lose you, man."

Kat remained entirely still, the tears beginning to well up in her eyes, as she watched the others argue the point that they should sacrifice their own lives for the salvation of Earth. A scream was rising in her throat, on the point of erupting in full force, as she felt the slight squeeze of her hand, and turned to look into his deep brown eyes. Kat cried, just closing her eyes as she hugged him tight, neither moving or speaking - just holding each other.

Tommy slowly pulled away, pushing away a strand of Kat's hair with his hand, before leaning in closer to her face. Their lips slowly met, wet with her salty tears, they kissed, a long deep passionate farewell. Time seemed to slow for the two, the voices of the others still going on up ahead, until the moment ended, and Tommy was gone. He slowly moved away from her, glancing over at Jason, Rocky, Trini, and Adam, who just nodded their understanding, the pain on each of their faces.

"Zeo Matrix Reactivate!"

The inner power rose within him once more, fuelling him with renewed energy, as he ran forward, past the shocked faces of the group, and towards the device.

"T-Tommy!" Shouted TJ. "Nooo!"

Andros shook his head. "I-It should have been me!"

From under his visor, Tommy let out a small tear, his gaze focussed on the orb that lay ahead of him, bright pulses of intense light emitting from its core. He could almost feel the radiation, his skin beginning to heat up rapidly, his blood coagulating, and his skin beginning to itch and peel. He pressed onwards, shielding his eyes from the ever growing light, stepping for brief moments from one dimension to the next. He soon reached the device, his lungs burning, struggling to breathe in oxygen.

"Aaaraaghh!"

With a deep shout, Tommy placed his hands on the side of the orb, his hands and body burning in intense pain, as he moved the device around, finding the point from where it was activated. With extreme effort he managed to raise his hand, shutting down the device. The pulse suddenly faded, the energy lowering, and the distortions that ripped through the air began to close. For a long moment there was nothing but a deadly silence, before Tommy moved his hand to his communicator and teleported out without a word, over to the other cities.

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"Jen!"

Jen turned to see Kat run towards her. It had been several hours since the last merger orbs had been deactivated, and the dimensional fabric between the two worlds had, for the moment, been reinitialized. Still there was no word from Tommy. Some of the others had gone out to search for him in Silver Hills, while Billy, Justin, Damon, and Trip had started working on a finding a way to utilize the orbs to their own advantage. They theorized that there might be a way to instead of ripping apart the dimensional barrier, the orbs could be set to re-establish a permanent one, and reseal their reality away from the demon's.

"Kat." Jen answered, seeing the grief stricken face that was still full of tears.

Kat paused as she got to Jen, knowing what she wanted to say while trying to get the words out through her emotions. "I want you to take me back."

"W-what?"

"Take me back, in time. You still have the time ship that you used to get here from the future right?" She watched as Jen slowly nodded. "Right, then I want you to use it to take me back! Knowing what we know now we can change the timeline! Stop the demons from attacking, stop our friends from being killed!" She almost screamed. "Stop all of this!" She gestured at the destruction all around them.

"I-I." Jen closed her eyes, thinking hard. "But I've already caused damage to the timeline by helping you guys out. If we go back again we could be causing irreversible damage!"

"Screw the timeline." Jen looked up to see that it was Jason who spoke. "Can't you see that there is already irreversible damage!"

"Besides, you're not a member of Time Force anymore, remember?" Lucas reminded her, slowly walking over to them. "You quit."

Jen lowered her head. "I know, but." She paused, her mind thinking back to Wes, about how she did everything in her power to travel back in time to help him. She lifted up her head, looking around at the dead bodies of the shadow demons, the broken buildings and streets, and the void of natural life. The Earth had barely survived being merged with another reality, it was in pieces. "You're right." She said finally.

A faint flicker of hope passed through Kat's eyes. "T-thank you!"

Jen slowly nodded. "Trip, do you guys have an idea on how to reverse the merger orbs?"

"I think so." He answered truthfully. "We've tried to calculate the possible variances but we'll not know for sure until it is actually processed."

Billy nodded. "With what we know now, and a little time, it just might work." He sighed. "I'm coming with you. With my past self on Aquita we shouldn't have any problems ripping apart the fabric of time by causing an incursion! Once there we'll need to find David before he was captured, and get the Zeo Matrix powers to the others, so they'll be ready to fight the first scouts of the shadow demons who planted the orbs in our reality."

Justin smiled. "And then turn it right back on them, sealing our dimension for good."

Jen took a deep breath, turning to Billy. "Ok. Let's go."

In a bright flash of bright light, Jen and Billy teleported to Silver Hills, over to the Resistance Base where the time-ship was stored. A long, uneasy silence fell from the group, suddenly breaking as a stream of teleporations arrived, and the others returned.

"T-Tommy!" Shouted Kat, seeing Shane and Carter help hold up either side of him. Deadly silence fell over the group as they witnessed the damage to his skin, saw the deep swollen eyes, the blood dripping out from his nose and ears, the dark black and red peeling skin, and a thick translucent sweat that hang over it all. "Tommy!" Kat screamed, crying over his body. "Tommy!"

Adam slowly walked over to the lifeless body, crouching down onto his feet, and removing the morpher from around Tommy's wrist. "Our morphers protect us physically from changes in the time stream."

Justin slowly nodded. "But we may possess several memories that we did not have before, due to the changes in events."

"G-guys!"

Kat looked up, suddenly seeing the temporal wave that emitted from the center of the city streets, pulsing out with an intense bright light. The temporal wave flashed out across the city, causing the destroyed buildings and rubble to disappear, and the buildings returned intact, back to the way they were. Everything the wave touched changed back, sudden elation coming over Kat as she realised that time had been successfully changed, and the time stream was re-initialising everything else. The shadow demon's bodies on the ground disappeared, in their place the noise of traffic and people, as everything slowly resumed its natural flow.

Everyone turned as a sudden cry came up from Justin, and the Space rangers looked on in shock as Ashley and Cassie appeared before their very eyes, seeming as if their deaths had never happened. Similar shocked cries soon arose from the others, as one by one, Maya, Karone, Kelsey, Chad, and Danny reappeared, standing beside their teammates, blissfully unaware of what had just taken place.

Kat turned to the lifeless body of Tommy, seeing it fade away from out of her grasp, and reappear a little away from her, in full healthy form. She then turned as Tommy's morpher faded out from Adam's hand, fusing with the one that was currently attached to Tommy's wrist. Time re-established itself.

"Tommy!" Kat ran forward, embracing Tommy in a tight hug, her tears rolling down onto his shirt. "I thought I had lost you!"

Tommy slowly smiled, holding her close. "I know. I know everything." He turned to look into her eyes. "Our past selves were filled in on everything, remember?"

Kat slowly closed her eyes, a whole new set of memories presenting themselves, being as if life had continued as normal over the last two months. "I-It's amazing!"

"T-Trini?"

Trini looked up, seeing Jason stare at her, as her hand played with the strap of her morpher. "It's better this way."

"What do you mean?"

"This situation right here is probably messing up time as we speak. Now that the timeline has been changed, Tanya would not have died, so she would have possessed the yellow Zeo Matrix powers." Trini's hand reached for the strap. "Being here in this point of time is probably causing a temporal incursion. Which I'll now fix." Trini slowly smiled to each of them, before she undid the strap, allowing the morpher to fall to the ground, and she vanished from sight, Tanya soon appearing in her place.

Soon time had completely shifted itself, and resumed its natural flow.

"Where's Billy?" Asked Rocky.

Trip answered him. "When he and Jen must have stepped back into this time he would have been re-initialised with his present self back on Aquita."

Jason slowly smiled. "Kimberly, Zack, and Trini, they must be back in their normal lives as well, as for them none of this ever happened."

Tommy smiled. "They're safe." He turned to the other rangers. They all looked up at him, waiting to hear his words, but he simply nodded and smiled, before saying: "We did it! We stopped the demon's from taking over. I know that Zordon would have been proud of each and every one of you. Good luck to those of you returning to your normal lives." His gaze then landed on Shane, Dustin, and Tori. "And for those of you whose journey has just begun. May the power protect you all."

As one the Turbo, Space, Galaxy, Light Speed, Time Force, Wild Force, Ninja Storm, and Zeo Matrix rangers held their hands out together, echoing his words. "May the power protect us all."

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The End.