Part 8
Captian Sawyer continued to watch the Rangers battle Barberon. She was amazed at the power that they showed. In the past few weeks she had only seen these Rangers a few times and they never ceased to impress her. She was sure that the Red Ranger was Carter and the Pink one was Dana, but didn't have any clue about who the others were. Even if she was wrong she was still happy to have the Power Rangers were back and fighting for the Earth.
The small resistance units had been fighting but all knew that they didn't stand a chance against the vastly superior weapons of the aliens. Almost all of them had anticipated being captured, tortured and killed any day so they had taken to the tactic of not actually trying to chase the Vandairre from the planet but had settled on doing as much damage as possible before they were caught.
At the beginning of the invasion there had been more than 700 resistance groups working together in what had been the United States alone. But after so many years of fighthing there were now no more than 80 groups worldwide. The Vandairre had systematically found and destroyed all of the groups except for the few that remained. These were the small groups that were either small and mobile enough to avoid being caught or had hidden out so well that the aliens had never been able to find them. Several of the groups had waited in hiding for some kind of signal.
It seemed as if that signal had come when they were approached by Senator William Cranston, who revealed that he was actually working with another resistance faction as a plant to find a weakness in the Vandairre military force. He also revealed that he knew of the location of an item that would help bring about the downfall of the Vandairre on Earth but only when the time was right.
The Senator disappeared never to be heard from again. His son eventually showed up and joined her team and now the Power Rangers were here also. She knew that the rangers had asked him to do several things for them when they were away and she was starting to wonder if this was actually part of what they Senator was talking about.
The Rangers charged at Barberon full speed, raising their weapons as they prepared to attack. Each ranger in turn hit the monster with their weapon. Barberon became furious and started to thrash around wildly, throwing his arms and legs in a frenzy as he tried to hit the rangers. He came close several times but couldn't land a blow in on any of them.
Tara continued to stand back and watch the others assault the warrior. She wanted to be out helping but Barberon had destoyed her Plasma Bow and she hadn't gotten to chance to repair it and with his strength she was all but useless in this part of the battle. 'When this is over I'm going to have to make an even stronger Plasma Bow.' she thought and a few ideas started forming in her head.
"Had enough Barberon?" Mark asked the villian, as he brought his staff around to hit him in the back.
"You've got to be kidding Ranger boy." Barberon said as he hit the Black Ranger with a backfist that sent him reeling.
Mark stumbled back and was replaced in the fight by Jason, who came around with the Ice Blade and nailed him on the top of his head.
"Nice try White Ranger, but you are as pathetic as your father. Maybe you should try again." Barberon taunted.
"Sorry that tricks not going to work on me. I'm not going to let you get to me."
"Come on you know that you want to destroy me for what I did to your little family. The way that I fired that shot that killed your mom and broke your dads heart was lovely wasn't it? But look at it this way. At least he finally hooked back up with that cute little Kimberly that he had always been swooning over."
"Cut it out. You don't have the right to talk about my parents you sick son of a..."
Barberon took this opportunity to attack with his hammer. The blow would have taken off his head if the Pink Ranger hadn't seen the attack coming and dove in, knocking Jason out of the way. Unfortunately she wasn't quick as the others and he blow hit her in the back. Luckily her armor protected her from the brunt of the attack.
Still the attack was enough to stun her and leave her laying face down on the ground.
Jason was far enough away that he wouldn't be able to get to her in time to prevent another defend her against another attack. Barberon raised his hammer to hit the Pink Ranger in the back. 'One less of the botherssome Power Rangers.' he thought to himself.
The hammer was almost on top of Leslie when a large yellow sword came up to blocked the attack. "Why don't you try picking on someone that's more prepared to deal with you." the Yellow Ranger said.
"Fine with me. It doesn't matter which one of you I kill first." Barberon told the girl.
"Nobodies going to die to day Barberon, except for maybe you." Red Ranger said as he stepped to the front of Yellow. One by one the other rangers gathered on either side of him and once again drew their weapons.
"Come on, you already tried that one and it didn't work then either."
"That's why we came up with a new one." Blue told him.
"Now." White called out.
Each ranger reached forward and called on their blasters. They quickly attached their various weapons to different parts of the pistols and fired. Streams of powerful multi-colored energy lanced out from each weapon and struck Barberon sending him flying back. "Phoenix Fire Whip Strike!" Pink called. Her weapon struck out and wrapped around the alien pinning his arms to his side.
White lept over her and brought the Ice Blade down across Barberons chest. He screamed out at the double assault and reached across to grab the whip. As soon as his hands hit the fire he screamed and let go.
Barberon, barely able to stand because of the pain pulled back with all of his strength drawing Leslie closer to him. The Pink Ranger knew that if Barberon pulled her to him the he would have enough slack to get free and would kill her. But if she didn't he would break free and kill everyone else, so Leslie gritted her teeth dug her feet in.
At first she felt like she was offering no resistance but then felt a sudden tug in the opposite direction away from Barberon and when she looked down she saw that the Purple Ranger had grabbed the whip and was pulling along with her. "Thanks Tara." Leslie said.
"No problem." Purple told the older girl. The two managed to hold the whip in place while the others continued their attack on Barberon.
"Your finished now monster." Jason said. The other Rangers then ran in and brought all of their weapons down on top of him.
Barberon screamed out as he fell over and exploded. "Yeah we took him out!" Blue said, jumping up and down with excitement.
"You think you can get rid of me that easily Rangers, then your in for a big surprise." Barberon said. The rangers turned around to see that Barberon had used one of the vials and was once again grewing into his giant form.
Tara looked around at the others. They all knew what she wanted to say. "Go ahead and say it kid. We all know that you want to." said Ashlyn.
"Guys I think our problems just got a lot bigger." Tara said, this time the others didn't groan. They looked at her. For some reason it didn't sound so bad this time.
Jarrold pulled back on the throttle causing the Zord to lift up and do a loop behind the fighter that was behind him. The EagleZord was very responsive and moved with his slightest touch on the controls. What really amazed him is that he knew how to fly the machine and use it's abilities as if he had been born in it and that it was part of him like an arm or a leg. The Zord fired off it's eye lasers, hitting the Vandairre ship in the thrusters and sending it crashing to the ground.
Another fighter came flying in straight at the EagleZord but Green Ranger lifted the Zords wings causing the mecha to suddenly jump a few inches. Those inches were all that were needed, the Zords talons extended and raked the wings of the enemy fighter ripping them to shreds and sending the alien and his craft spiralling down to their doom. "I hope those guys have a parachutes, they're gonna need em." Green said as he watched the fighters go down.
"Power Ranger this is the Vandairre squadron leader. You are here by ordered to land your craft and surrender. This is your only chance. You will not be warned again."
"I don't need you to give me any chances. You guys are stupid and theres no way I'm going to give up to you. Your best bet would be to surrender to me."
The squad leader was furious that the Green Ranger wouldn't give in. "All pilots converge on the Green Ranger. I want that craft and it's pilot brought down."
The alien fighters formed along the back and sides of the EagleZord boxing it in. Jarrold kicked in the accelerator and pulled away from the fighters. His Zord was much faster and more manueverable than anything that the Vandairre had in the air.
Jarrold then pulled the Zord into a steep climb and dove down at the fighters firing his lasers. Two of the fighters exploded immediately. Jarrold then pulled his control stick and flew his Zord straight through a third, slicing it in half and sending both halves crashing to the ground. "I feel sorry for you guys." Jarrold said.
"Retreat." the squad leader ordered his two remaining fighters. The pilots banked and flew away from the area as fast as they could.
Jarrold knew that he could have caught up and shot down the others but decided that the best thing to do would be to make it to his friends, they needed him and they needed him now.
"It's time to call em out guys." White Ranger said.
"Right!" the other Rangers replyed in unison.
"Let's show em the power of the Titans."
Each ranger simultaneously raised their morphers, pointed the Power Coins to the sky and called out their Zords.
"Purple Ranger, Dragon, TitanZord power." Tara called. A purple beam of light flew from the coin into the air.
"Red Ranger, Bull, TitanZord power." Aron said, as the red beam of light came out of his morpher.
"Black Ranger, Panther, TitanZord power." said Mark. The black light that flew from his power coin looked very errie to the others.
"Yellow Ranger, Cheetah, TitanZord power." Ashlyn said. The yellow light that left her morpher was blinding.
"Blue Ranger, Fox, TitanZord power." Bryan said, summoning his FoxZord with the blue light from his morpher.
"Pink Ranger, Phoenix, TitanZord power." Leslie said. The pink light from her coin shot up and the scattered in the air sending sparks all around.
"White Ranger, Lynx, TitanZord power." An icy, cold, white light came from the morpher. The other rangers shivered slightly at the cold gust of wind the accompanied the light.
One by one the Zords appeared, as if drawn in the the light from the morphers and coins. Each ranger lept up and was teleported into the cockpit of their respective Zord.
"Titans Zords power up!" The White Ranger called out. "Rangers logon."
"PantherZord ready."
"DragonZord ready."
"FoxZord ready."
"CheetahZord ready."
"BullZord ready."
"PhoenixZord ready."
"Okay Rangers lets get him." With that the White Ranger, at the helm the Lynx TitanZord ran at the giant and tried to tackle him. Barberon grabbed the Zord and threw it to the ground.
The other rangers were shocked. They thought that it would be easy to beat him with the Zords but apparently the were in for a tough fight. "Jason are you okay?" Leslie asked from cockpit in the PhoenixZord.
"I'll be okay. He is pretty strong though." Jason answered her.
"I'll take him." Ashlyn cut in. "CheetahZord attack." the slender yellow spotted Zord jumped at Barberon and made him stagger slightly. He responded by kicking the Zord and sending it flying.
"Let's get this freak." Tara said.
"I'm with you." Leslie called back.
Tara at the helm of the DragonZord and Leslie controlling the PhoenixZord dove down at Barberon who grabbed both Zords by their necks and slammed them together. Smoke and sparks errupted in the cockpits of both Zords as they crashed into the ground on top of each other.
"Do you think these pathetic toys can stop me Power Rangers? I'll crush them like they were tin cans."
In a matter of minutes Barberon had thrashed four of the most advanced weapons the universe had ever seen with his bare hands. He looked over at the three remaining Zords. They began to slowly backup. Barberon quickly reached out and grabbed the FoxZord. Aron in his BullZord reacted and charged the giant sized alien and speared him with it's horns.
The monster fell over but didn't release Bryans Zord. Instead he stood up very quickly and summoned his hammer. With one hand he throw the Fox in the air and hit it with the hammer sending it flying at the Bull. Both Zords were tangled up in each other. Barberon then turned his attention to Mark and his PantherZord.
Mark was shaking with fear and was glad the others couldn't see him. 'He just took out all of the others. What good am I going to do against him?' the Black Ranger thought
Barberon reached down to pick up the PantherZord.
"Hands off Barberon." Came a familiar voice over a loudspeaker. Everyone looked up and saw a large green eagle dving towards Barberon. The Eagle changed position in midair, pointing it's wings towards the alien and fired off a volley of missiles which impacted and exploded sending Barberon flying and landing on his back. The eagle landed next to Marks Zord as if to protect him.
"Jarrold is that you?" Leslie asked. Stunned at what he had just done to the alien.
"That's right."
"Where you been big brother?" Tara asked.
"Does it really matter? As long as he's here now we can trash this big moron." Ashlyn said.
"Okay guys lets see what these Zords can do." Jarrold said. "Form the Mega TitanZord.!"
Each ranger reached out and activated to their Zords transformation sequence. The legs of the cheetah and panther retracted and pulled into the bodies. The bodies the folded at the neck forming what looked a pair legs.
The legs of the fox and lynx under went a similar transformation. The bodies slimmed down slightly and a connector slid out of the rear of bodies.
The dragon and bull were the next to transform. dragons wings and tail detached from the body and attached to each other. The hind legs folded in and the arms retracted. The body then stood up and the head folded back leaving the upper torso formed. The bull stood up straight on its hind legs and its back opened and the front legs folded into the back. The body compacted, the head folded down to rest on the chest. The dragon and bull came together and formed the body of the Mega TitanZord.
The arms, legs and body all connected. The half formed mecha then turned around to wait for the other Zords to finish their transformations.
The eagles wings straigthened and became rigid the head pointed up, slid back, and opened to reveal a face, The wings of the phoenix folded in and the legs retracted into the body. The tail pulled into the body. The eagle attached to the back of the MegaZord and the phoenix to the front, forming the other half of the head. The eagles wings raised slightly pointing up at a 90 degree angle. The head then lowered down to form a crown.
The wings that had detached from the dragon flew back down and attached to the back of the eagle, pointing down at a 90 angle. The tail attached the the back with the sharp point facing straight up. A bolt of lightning struck the Zord and finished locking the pieces in place.
"Mega TitanZord ready!" the Rangers called out as all of their seats arrived in the cockpit. The team then took seats took various positions around the control panels and each took control of their station.
Barberon attacked the Zord, swinging his hammer at it. The Mega TitanZord grabbed the hammer with one hand and lifted Barberon to the air with the other. The Vandairre soldiers that had been until this time winning the battle stopped and looked. The battle field went quiet and Jarrold ordered the Zord to throw Barberon to the ground. The Zord then jumped and its wings closed. It came down with a kick and launched the hammer at Barberon as he stood up, causing him to lose his balance. The Zord then executed a mid-air flip and contacted with it foot. Barberon went down again. As he stood up he grabbed his hammer and charged at the Zord.
The Rangers all looked at Jason as if giving him permission to finish the fight. Jason took them up on their offer. "Power Sword now!" he called out. Two blades appeared and dropped down. The wings detached from the Zord back and the two blades connected with it forming what looked a giant duplicate of the Green Rangers weapon. Two white lasers fired from the Zords eyes and hit the Power Sword setting it aglow with a white flame.
Barberon swung his hammer but the Jason brought the Power Sword up and blocked the shot knocking the hammer out of his hand. The weapon went wide, heading towards Captian Sawyer and her squad.
Tara saw the hammer flying and reacted quickly by turning the Zords head and firing a plasma stream out of the Mega TitanZords eyes. The purple blast hit the hammer and disintegrated into ash.
Barberon turned his head to watch as the last few fragments of his destroyed weapon fell to the ground. "No!!!" the monster shouted.
"Now you know how I felt when you destroyed my bow jerk." Tara told him.
Jason took that as his queue and turned to swing swung the Power Sword hard across Barberons chest. The aliens eye opened wide and he clutched at the wound. "Don't worry White Ranger this may be finally settled but it's still not over for us. I may not be seeing you anymore but you will be seeing me again." Those words said, Barberon fell over. A pillar of bright light came down from the sky and washed over the fallen warrior and his body began to crackle and then exploded sending dust particulars flying everywhere.
The Power Rangers all stood up and gave each other high fives. They had just won their first major battle and it felt good. The Mega TitanZord then turned around and waved to Captian Sawyer, who waved at the Rangers in return. It then split apart into it's separate components and the Rangers teleported out and watched as their new friends either ran off and flew away to the Zord hanger.
Captian Sawyers squad ran over to the Rangers and surrounded them cheering. For the second time in the few weeks that she had known them the Rangers had saved her and her people. Rebecca looked over at the Rangers and walked up to them with a smile.
"These rangers are being to annoy me!!!" Emperor Nicandros screamed as the threw his goblet across the room. "How could they have come back, much less find those Zords and then kill my mightiest warrior. They will pay for standing in my way Varrd. I will make Zordons children suffer."
"What will you do my Emperor?" the servant asked.
"I have many scores to settle so I might as well kill two birds with one stone." Nicandros chuckled. "I want the White Rangers. Father and son shall die together. Send out my best troops to capture them."
"Your will is mine, my lord." Varrd shrank back.
"Of course it is. My will is everyones." Nicandros said as he put on his cloak and walked out of the throne room.