Disclaimer: Ch. 1. I own Dai'rak, Sektarus, Akeras, and the Battalion.

Author's Note: Thanks go out to Rach, my one and only repeat reviewer! This one's for you!

"Does anybody have an idea about who or what this is?"

Rocky's question referred to the three figures that had just appeared before them. Each one was clad in black armor that matched the Rangers' almost perfectly, except for the silver around the joints and the colors of their visors. One was a crimson, fiery red. Another was a deep and royal purple. The third figure bore a green so dark it almost blended into the rest of the helmet.

Tommy took position in front of the group. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure they mean trouble."

"Should we break out the weapons again?"

"Not yet, Zack. Let's see what these guys are all about." His hands moved to a guard position. "Rocky and Aisha, break right. Jason and Kimberly, break left. Zack, you're with me." Before Tommy could give a final command, their three opponents charged. The Rangers broke into their groups for battle.

Rocky leapt into a well-mastered spinning heel kick aimed at Purple Visor's head. His target rolled under the attack and swept his legs out from under him as soon as he landed. Aisha came from behind to try a quick surprise attack, only to meet a harsh elbow with her stomach. She blocked the follow-up knee and continued to parry several more punches and kicks. Her eyes caught sight of Rocky moving to her aid. If she could just keep the attacker's focus long enough, he could probably get a few good hits in...

Purple caught them both off guard by flipping over Aisha and using her body to deflect Rocky's punch. She rolled with the misplaced blow and managed to fire off a small energy blast from her gloves. It was blocked, but the force stunned its target long enough for Rocky to deliver a flying kick that summoned sparks upon contact with Purple's armor. The two Rangers stepped back to catch their breath and plan their next move.

Meanwhile, Jason and Kimberly had their hands full with Green Visor. It seemed that neither side could gain an advantage. Each time Jason tried one of his most complicated martial arts maneuvers, his target managed to dodge out of the way in time to block another attack from Kimberly. Their opponent was in possession of seemingly endless reserves of energy. It was like trying to hit a super-charged monster who refused to sit still.

Kimberly flipped in a forward crescent-kick that missed by bare inches, then jumped over her target and attempted a heel strike that went straight upward. Had it connected, the sheer angle and force of the blow would have been enough to stun even another Ranger. She was surprised, however, to find herself off balance with one foot held in mid-air and another coming straight into her rib cage. The attack knocked her to the ground with sharp bursts of pain running through her right lung.

Green blocked several punches from Jason with the fastest moving forearms the Ranger had ever seen before grabbing his arms in a deadlock cross, throwing them upward and slamming a foot into his stomach. He rolled back to his feet and charged again. His legs surged with power as he landed a furious sequence of kicks that knocked the object of the attack into a nearby building's wall. Jason charged his fist with the Power and thrust a punch directly at Green's head. Green managed to dodge the blow and let his fist go through the wall. A knee embedded itself into Jason's armored stomach, doubling him over.

It was then that Kimberly rejoined the fight. She dived for the attacker in a surge of Power that left both of them kneeling with bolts of energy still coursing through their bodies. Kimberly was the first to stand. She jumped forward, locked her legs around her opponent's neck, and flipped backwards to release the unfortunate soul in a powerful gymnastic throw she had learned years before. To her surprise, however, Green simply rolled back up, channeling the remaining energy bolts through the dark armor and sending them straight towards her and Jason.

Both Rangers forced themselves back up. Jason coughed. "Can't say I saw that one coming." Anger began creeping into his voice. He didn't like taking this kind of beating, especially not from such a Ranger impersonator!

Kimberly nodded. She had a feeling it was only beginning.

******************************

High above Earth, two figures watched the battle play out with great interest. One of them was a mass of pure darkness with what seemed to be holes in the very fabric of space where eyes should be. The other was a lizard-like humanoid with clawed armor.

"They are strong. The Dai'rak have difficulty gaining an advantage."

"Give them time, Akeras. It is only their first battle. I expect them to defeat these empowered momentarily."

******************************

Tommy pressed himself against a nearby car, trying to give himself enough leverage to stand. Whoever was behind that red visor, they were good. He watched as Zack managed to land a few hits before getting knocked down. Tommy focused a small burst of power through his hand and sent it directly into Red Visor's helmet. It knocked him off balance enough for Zack to recover and join Tommy's side.

"Man, we're gettin' nailed here. We need to do something!"

'He's right. If this keeps up we're likely to get beaten down even worse.' Tommy stood facing their opponent. It was a stare-down of wills. Both wanted to see who would make the first move. 'I can't break my focus. If I make even one mistake, it can be countered and used against me. Every move has a way to backfire.' He contemplated summoning the Rangers to form-up on his position, see if they could take them on as a team. 'No. If I take the time to try communicating that to them, somebody could be hurt.' The sight of Kimberly being held by her throat at the hands of a serpentine monster crashed into his mind. At that time, Tommy Oliver made the worst mistake in his life.

He blinked.

Everything seemed to slow down at that moment. When his eyelids opened he could see his attacker already taking to the air. Zack shouted something at him. He couldn't hear it. Every part of him was focused on the motions of the figure soaring above him. He could distantly feel his arm coming up in a block to a kick he could only sense coming. It was like his brain was watching what his body did. His mind had only been in this place a few times, and it meant one of two things: he was either subconsciously distancing himself from pain he knew was about to come, or the Power had intensified him so much that everything had begun moving at a snail's pace.

This time, unfortunately, it was not the latter.

A white-hot needle of pain pierced its way into the side of his neck. Stars exploded before his vision as he felt his body shake with the impact of blow after blow. Even the hits he managed to block by only a slight margin brought him to a more conscious level of pain. Zack jumped in to divide Red's attention and take some of the pressure off of Tommy, but enough remained that the pain was increasing. A burning sensation coiled up in Tommy's insides. He tried to tamp it down. He had to fight with control, figure out a strategy that would help them take out their opponent with as little damage.....

'Screw it.'

Every bit of feral instinct residing inside of Tommy burst out in one savage yell. His vision closed in until it became a tunnel that led directly to that mocking red visor. His body shed all feeling but that of pure rage burning a black hole inside of him. Every kata he had ever learned flooded back and merged into one sequence that he used to move forward, back, sideways, attack! Attack! Block! Parry! Strike! Parry! Dodge! All of it became a blur of darkness until a blast of energy threw him into the air.

"Tommy! You okay, man?"

His vision cleared to find Zack grasping his arm and hauling him to his feet. He looked around to find the other four Rangers pulling themselves up. It dawned on him what had just happened.

'I lost it. I nearly lost my mind to that fury...If that blast hadn't hit me, I probably would have kept going until...'

"Weapons out, everybody!" Jason saw Tommy's hesitation. He knew what it was like coming down from such a battle lust. They had to either back out or pick up the pace to end this fight soon. Everyone's concentration was affected from a lack of sleep the Battalion attack the night before had caused. If things didn't shape up soon...

Well, odds were it would be a short obituary.

The Rangers brought out their own melee weapons and held them ready. It was a tense wait as they stood on their guard, waiting to deflect an attack at the slightest movement. But the three figures simply stood there. It was as if they were analyzing the Rangers.

Zack felt every muscle in his body begin to twitch in anticipation. It had been ages since he had fought something this tough. 'Even going one-on-one with the Peckster was better than this.' He gripped his axe tighter, trying to will away some of the anxiety. 'Have to focus. C'mon, Zack-man. You can do this.'

Aisha kept herself in a low standing position. Staying with the animals in Africa had taught her to make herself seem as non-threatening as possible. 'If I can make them lose sight of me, break their interest, maybe I can pay back that purple visor wearing SOB.' Long blades extended from the armor of her forearms.

Kimberly held an energy drawstring of her bow taught. She would only have time for one shot, judging from the way they moved. 'Which is exactly why I morphed this thing with enough of a point on its edges to do some pretty major damage...if I can actually manage to hit somebody with it.' As far as she was concerned, anybody that could lay out Jason like Green had was definitely someone who was trouble with a capital T.

Minutes ticked by. The Rangers were still standing, staring, waiting. Their opponents would make the first move. They had to. Head-on combat hadn't worked, so they were working on strategy and instinct now. Weapons might give them an advantage if they could press it just right. This fight could still be won if they figured out what they were doing wrong. Those were two big "ifs" that they couldn't really afford to take chances on, however.

"Break on three," Jason's voice came in over their helmet-comms. "I want a full on charge straight for them. See if you can give Kimberly an open shot. Whatever you do, stay calm."

Tommy knew that the last part had been more directed at him than anyone else. What made it worse was that he knew Jason was right. They needed him with all of his mental capabilities at hand for this. He could hear the count beginning. The handle of his sword found a more comfortable position as he shifted both hands around it. Fatigue from both the night before and today's battles was kicking in with a vengeance. He shook his head to clear it.

"Three!"

Five Rangers charged their three opponents as Kimberly set three arrows in her bow. She pulled it on its side and launched all three simultaneously. Two of them impacted against their targets. Purple had made an astonishingly quick leap high into the air and was coming straight for her, but Rocky jumped high and landed a high kick that sent the challenger crashing to the concrete. He landed with barely a clack of his boots and pinned his target with his staff, blades surrounding the fallen foe's helmet. A sneer crossed his lips underneath the armor.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" At that he began to spin the blades directly into Purple's shoulders. Sparks began to jump from the clashing of Powers. Rocky saw a quick blur, then paused as a scream echoed in his ears. Somehow Purple had switched places with Kimberly, and his blades were digging through her armor! He yanked the staff away and stood up. Another blur passed across his vision and Kimberly was back where she had been, not a scratch on her armor. Rocky was too slow to dodge or block the kick that sent him reeling about five feet. A staff coalesced into form behind Purple's back. It was grabbed and used to deflect several arrows from Kimberly before sending a blast of energy straight into her kneecap, then it was pressed against Rocky's neck, pinning him to the ground.

"So am I, Ranger."

'Holy...it's a...!' He couldn't even wrap a conscious thought about it through the pain of the staff pressing against his windpipe, but part of him did manage to process the information.

Rocky DeSantos was officially getting his butt kicked by a female.

******************************

"Their power levels are decreasing too fast!"

"Boost them as much as you can."

"Trey, if we give them any more power, we could lose the ability to shield ourselves from detection."

Blast it. First the arrival and now this. "Bring them back."

"I can't. Something's jamming us. It'll take a while to break through."

"Do what you can. The Rangers need to know what they're up against."

******************************

Zack reeled backwards from the jarring tornado kick Red had just subjected him to. He could feel his Powers struggling to keep intact. 'We're really taking a pounding here!' Helping Jason back to his feet, he tried to summon enough power to give him another weapon.

"I don't get it. How are they knocking us around like this?" Frustration burned through Jason's voice. He spun his sword in a few circles before moving into another attack stance. "No more messin' around! I'm taking this guy out!"

'No use trying to stop him.' Suppressing an inward shrug, Zack followed his companion. They charged straight into Red's weaponless assault at full tilt. Jason slammed his blade in a heavy downward strike that was blocked by his opponent's arms, but it kept enough pressure that Red had to kneel in order to support it. Zack managed to summon a small charge of energy to propel him in a sliding kick that knocked its target across the asphalt.

It began as pure momentum, but it soon became clear to both Rangers that their adversary had begun using that momentum to stand again, twin katana blades extending from the waist and finding their way into Red's hands. They exchanged a glance.

"Can you get some kind of weapon out, Zack?" He shook his head. "Alright. Go help Kimberly and Rocky. See if Tommy can get over here." At that they split paths. Zack ran his way over to a pinned Rocky and disabled Kimberly, yelling at Tommy to break off his fight with Green to help his friend.

Jason waited this time. 'I have to conserve my energy. Even now I can feel my Powers starting to flicker, like somebody's messing with the electricity. Better play it smart until help comes.' Red, however, would not be so patient. It was barely within the space of a half-second before the two clashed. They spun, sliced, parried, and twirled with all the ferocity and grace one would expect from master sword wielders. Sometimes the weapons clashed so harshly that sparks jumped from the opposing metals. Jason leaned in as they locked weapons again. "You won't win," he grunted.

There was a deep growl. "We'll see about that, Ranger." Red used one katana to pin Jason's sword point to the ground, then brought the other down hard, shattering the blade. One half fell and dissipated into the air. The other remained in Jason's hand as he backed away. The pain was excruciating! It was as if a part of his insides had been ripped straight through bone and skin and left a gaping open wound in his stomach. His only relief was the slash of Red's blades across his body, an attack that left him lying there, at his antagonist's mercy.

******************************

Tommy saw the attack on his best friend. The carnal rage flared up inside of him again, but he viciously tamped it down. He had to focus on Green, who had pulled two five-pronged daggers from the wrists and was continuing to keep himself and Aisha occupied. They couldn't last much longer, though. He knew the other Rangers had to be feeling their Powers drain as well. It was throwing them off. They weren't used to fighting without as much of the Power backing them. 'I know the feeling all too well, which explains why I can still keep going for a little longer. But we have to get out of this fast before our Powers completely bail on us. God knows how long it would take for them to recharge then.' He stopped one dagger with his sword and grabbed Green's wrist with his other hand. Aisha came in high with both arm blades ready for a piercing strike at the shoulders. Green leaned forward and hammered her with a back kick. Crackling energy formed at the dagger points and hurtled into Tommy. He crashed to the ground, his sword disappearing in a pulse of color. The fingers on his gloves felt like they were being set on fire. A close look at them revealed the reason. Little rings of orange had formed around each finger and began traveling down, the armor disappearing behind them. He was demorphing.

The three warriors stood over the fallen Rangers. Red aimed a katana at Tommy's throat.

"Today we leave a message for your prince. None shall stand against Sektarus and the power of the Dai'rak!" He raised the weapon high and struck hard...

...Just as the Rangers vanished in dark streaks of teleportation.

"NO!" Red screamed. "You can not escape us so easily!"

"Calm down," Purple interrupted her companion's tirade. "We'll get them next time."

The three of them dematerialized their weapons. "They won't stand for long," Green said.

And then, they were gone.

******************************

Trey looked at the six battered forms laying on the floor of the Command Center. They were all either supporting themselves against consoles or laying flat with icepacks stuck in various places. It was, all in all, a rather pitiful sight.

"What were those things?" Rocky asked no one in particular.

"You said they called themselves the Dai'rak?" Not quite understanding the question, Jason nodded. Trey began to pace. "In ancient Triforian, the term Dai'rak literally translates to 'Soul Power'. Legends mention mystical beings who harnessed powers beyond understanding with their own unique soul energy. It's supposedly how the first Power Rangers were formed on our planet."

"What does this have to do with those three that we fought today?"

"I'm afraid that's the bad news. Before the invasion, there was a program beginning to construct a power source that could merge with an individual's exclusive biorhythm. It was kind of like merging a person with the Morphin' Grid. They tried to specify the Powers, giving the user control over certain aspects of the Grid. Instead of limiting the abilities to only one user, the pattern was expanded. Biorhythms could hold only a minor similarity and the power supply could still be used." He paused and let his gaze sweep across the room of overcome heroes. "It would appear that Sektarus has stolen the power source and has found a trio to use it for his own purposes."

Jason managed to shift his position without too much discomfort. "You said they could control specific abilities. Do you know which abilities these three have?"

"Judging from scans taken during your battle, I think I've been able to narrow it down. Shadow, Energy, and Illusion."

"Anything else you can tell us?"

"I'm afraid not, Aisha. I don't know entirely what those powers entail. I do know that you should be careful in future confrontations. Both together and alone they were formidable opponents." His eyes took on a deep look of compassion. "All of you need rest. Go. I'll see if there's anything new I can find out from Triforian archives."

******************************

He pounded the bag again and again. It didn't matter how much his muscles ached. It didn't matter how much he wanted so badly to stop. He couldn't. Not with the image still in his mind. Her scream still echoed in his ears. 'No! I won't let it happen again!' He emphasized each word of the thought with a punch. Sweat trickled down his forehead, its salty taste flowing into his mouth. He kept on punching. The darkness was encompassing. He could think better in the dark.

"I think you've killed it enough times, Tommy." Rocky's voice brought him out of his reverie. The other Ranger brought the lights up to dimly illuminate the rec. room.

"It doesn't matter. I can't stop." He took a deep, panting breath. "It's like I keep seeing her, over and over again, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Rocky nodded. He didn't need to know who Tommy meant. "I can't say I know entirely how you feel. I wish I did, man. I wish I could find somebody to be with like you and Kimberly. For all that, though, I do know at least a part of it. When we were fighting today, I think that purple visor chick pulled some kind of mind trick on me. It was like I had her pinned, then she switched places with Kimberly. As soon as I backed off it was like she switched again and had me nailed to the ground."

"I guess that's the Illusion power. She must've made you think it was Kim long enough to get you off of her."

"Yeah, maybe." The two men stood in silence for a while. "Well, if you're busy here I think I'll go find another spot to work out in..."

"No, it's okay. I think I should get a shower and get back to bed before she worries." Rocky nodded. "Be sure to get yourself some rest, too. We need to be ready for tomorrow."

"Yes sir, Captain Colorful." A joking expression he hated. Even completed with a mock salute.

Part of him laughed.

******************************

It was like their minds were divided. He could see it in the way they stood. Sometimes one of them would step forward as if in preparation for an attempt on his life. A glance from always sent them back.

Part of him was disgusted that Sektarus had done this. He preferred soldiers who were fully willing to go into battle, fully willing to serve. Sometimes even fully willing to die. These beings....they were fighting against fighting. They wanted out of this forced servitude. His scaled mouth turned upward in a grin. They would get their wish.

After the empowered were destroyed.