Written by DTM666
Disclaimer: The author of this piece would
like to state that 90 percent of the characters featured here are properties of BVS
Entertainment Inc and not that of the author. 10 percent of the characters featured
here are original creations of the author.
Also, the author understands that this piece automatically negates
events that occur any and all PR incarnations that occur after Power Rangers
Wild Force; hence no Dino Thunder or Ninja Storm is featured here and hence
Tommy is not a doctor of anything. This is an AU, so to speak. Just thought we should be clear on that.
So here's the second-to-last chapter of this revised repost. Pending time, tomorrow may see the final chapter and this can hit the books. Leave behind a comment or two when you're done reading it.
---
The four Red Rangers grouped together and faced their stunned adversary, who pulled out a remote device. Carter recognized it as the launch control for the suicide bomb. The Rangers stopped and watched in shock as the Varox positioned his thumb on the red button of the device.
"I see you know what I hold in my hand," the hunter said in a sinister tone, with a smug look behind his mask. "You acknowledge the destructive power that I possess." The Rangers did not move a muscle. The Varox pushed the button and...
... and nothing. The Varox pushed the button on the controller again and still nothing. Behind their masks, the Red Rangers let out a collective sigh of relief, as they watched the Varox bounty hunter frantically pushing the button numerous times for something... anything to happen. But nothing did. The Varox let out a rageful scream, leaving him open to the flurry of energy blasts shot from the Rangers' respective blasters. This move stunned the Varox and knocked him down, with one of the beams dissipating the controller as well.
The veteran approached the fallen Varox slowly. "Looks like your plan didn't work out as expected," he called out triumphantly. "Surrender now while you have the chance."
"NEVER!" the hunter screamed. Jason soon felt a forceful blow of a Varox side kick that caused great pain to his right arm. Carter jumped in with his lance weapon, but the Varox took down the Lightspeed Red Ranger with a green projectile. This left Wes and Eric to fight the Varox on an even playing field.
Eric and Wes took turns in attacking the Varox with various kicks and uppercuts, all of which the Varox blocked or dodged. Whenever one Ranger got knocked down, the other would come in and continue his barrage of attacks. Carter and Chad leapt into action and landed flying kicks on the back of the Varox hunter. The two Lightspeeders crossed their V-Lances together and fired an energy discharge that electrocuted the Varox. Carter rushed towards the Varox to attempt the finishing blow, but the Varox managed to snap out of his delirium and pull out a hand blaster. By the time Carter noticed the weapon, it was too late. He soon felt the immense pain caused by a blaster shot to the chest. The Varox charged at the fallen Ranger and gave a quick, fiercesome kick to the groin. Carter now cried in pain and agony, holding his sensitives as the Varox stared down.
"You're pathetic." he taunted unceremoniously. "I fought Putty Patrollers that were more tough than you are. You're a joke."
As Carter moaned in pain, the Varox pulled out his sword and turned 180 degrees with the sword extended, seeing sparks fly followed by an audible "argh". He looked down at the fallen Q-Ranger and noticed the blood flowing from his suit. Behind his mask, the Varox grinned. He could smell the blood of his enemy... and saw victory within his grasp.
"YOU!"
The Varox tilted his head back and forth, looking for the one who called out. He saw nobody but the fallen Rangers. "OVER HERE!" the voice called again. No one around, the hunter thought. Now annoyed, the Varox fired shots everywhere, hitting nothing in particular.
"SHOW YOURSELF, COWARD!" the hunter roared. He soon heard a sound and turned to see another Red Ranger. This one in particular, the Varox hunter did recognized. He raised his arms and positioned them in a boxing stance. The hunter grinned, although the other Ranger could not notice it. "So," the Varox spoke, "you are still alive."
Still alive? Thomas thought. What does he mean?
"When last we fought," the hunter continued in a quiet tone, "you and your fellow Rangers defeated me... thwarted my attempt in assassinating the Triforian prince."
Thomas did not answer, either because he did not want to or because he could not answer. Instead, he slowly walked towards the hunter in a steady pace as he continued to taunt him... remind him of a past encounter. He blocked the words from his mind and focus on his gestures. Noticing that the Varox was about to pull out a weapon, Thomas pulled out his own Zeo Blaster and fired a couple of rounds at the Varox, who effortlessly blocked the oncoming projectiles. The hunter leaped towards the Ranger. Perfect, thought Thomas, just as I had hoped for.
Red Zeo waited until the Varox was just above, at which point he leaped straight up and landed an uppercut across the hunter's face. Both managed to land on their feet, with the Varox slightly stunned and almost losing his footing. He fired three more projectiles at Red Zeo, but Thomas managed to side step each one. He ran and switched to a sliding movement which swept the Varox off his feet and on his rear end. Thomas spiraled away from the hunter, firing occasional bursts from his blaster, which the Varox once again blocked expertly.
"Your weapon is no match for me!" the Varox taunted. "I am better than before!"
The momentary distraction gave Eric Meyers the opening he needed. Pulling out his Quantum Defender, he fired a charged bolt of energy at the Varox's back. Sparks and slight bits of metal burst from the Varox as he screamed in pain. He turned to see the culprit, who fired another burst at him. The Varox blocked the shot, but his wrist pads were damaged in doing so and slipped off. The Varox's taunting words were replaced with cries of agony and pain. Soon agony turned to anger as the hunter fired a wave of bolts, damaging the Quantum Ranger's armor and stunning him momentarily. The Varox turned and saw Chad Lee run towards him, but soon the Ranger was kicked away by the Varox.
Suddenly, the Varox felt a slight shock. He didn't feel much pain, but he lost most sensation of his limbs. When he lowered his head, he noticed there was a sharp pointy piece of metal impaled through his chest. The Varox turned to see the Red Zeo Ranger holding the sword.
---
TJ was desperately trying to balance the power feed between the batteries and the Serpenterra Laser, but the laser was simply taking too much out of the ship. The laser clash between the Wraith and the Megaship had lasted over two minutes with virtually no give. After boosting extra power from the auxiliary ports, the console exploded, sending TJ flying across the bridge. Zhane ran to check on the Terran.
"I'm okay." TJ yelled, trying to be heard over the loud noise caused by the laser, "but I can't control the power from here!" He turned to Andros. "We need to get out of here!"
Andros observed the viewer. The Serpenterra laser was indeed dying out and the Wraith's more powerful laser is beating them. Zhane observed the power regulators screens, where they showed various indicators in red. "The batteries are overloaded!" he called out, "If we don't shut the laser down, the ship is going to blow up!"
TJ shook his head. "And if we shut the laser down, the ship is gone anyway!" He tilted his head towards the viewer. TJ's panicked look was quickly replaced with that of shock and angst. He anxiously pointed his finger to the viewer. "What the hell is that?!"
The Rangers turned towards the viewer and noticed Aradon's battlecruiser, slowly but surely approaching the Wraith's laser. The battlecruiser was attracting the fire of the Wraith's various turrets... or rather, the ones that are still functioning.
On the bridge of the cruiser, Aradon stared at the lightshow caused by the two colliding lasers. He stared at the small speck that is the Astro Megaship, desperately struggling to keep its ground but is nearing defeat. Aradon held his hands together with his elbows placed on his chair's arm supports. He stared for a full minute and motioned towards the Cog navigator, who nodded slowly and programmed the ship for a collision course.
The battlecruiser started its approach to the Wraith's main laser. Various projectiles were fired in order to keep the ship away, but it kept on going despite direct hits to weapons and other vital components. The cruiser positioned itself to fly against the force of the Wraith's laser. It was now close enough to the main port, but not necessarily touching it or making any attempt to crash into it.
"What is Aradon doing?!" Andros cried as he saw the battlecruiser park itself above the laser.
Debris and sparks flying about the bridge, Aradon stared down at a red button sticking out of the palm of his right hand. He stared at it. He contemplated and looked back at the history of the Machine Empire. Its corrupted rulers and its lost wars brought about a black cloud to a society that the creators hoped would be the pride of the universe. Aradon looked one last time at the deadly beam firing towards the little ship. It cannot keep up with the attack much longer.
With little hesitation, Aradon pushed the Red Button. The room around him suddenly fell apart as explosions ripped apart wall panels and hull platings. Back on the Megaship's bridge, the three Rangers looked on as they saw the massive explosion of what was once Aradon's starship. The Space Rangers saw the remaining hulk of the ship explode upon impact with the laser port of the Wraith. The explosion caused the Wraith to cease its devastating fire and the red-plated laser turret shattered into several pieces, leaving the Wraith vulnerable to attack. However, despite its primary weapon having been destroyed, the Wraith was still going strong and everyone aboard the lone Astro Megaship knew that like the Wraith's other systems, it wouldn't be long before the Weapon regenerated.
"TJ," Andros asked stunned, "is the laser still good?"
TJ shrugged his shoulders, dejected. "Circuits are all fried. It's done f-" TJ was interrupted when he noticed the barely-function scanners beeping frantically. "New energy readings all over."
"What's going on?" Andros asked, "What the frell's happening?"
On the screen, it was evident as to what happened. Around the Wraith jumped in a multitude of old-style skybases, space cruisers, and dreadnoughts. TJ checked the scanners and confirmed well over two-hundred Machine vessels had appeared to assist the Emperor and his allies to confront this powerful enemy that had robbed their mighty Empire of their homeworld. Right away, the Wraith's defenses came into play, sporadically firing energy bolts at the various vessels, but bolts were hailing space when a collective thousand Quadra-fighters launched from the various ships, using its polaron weapons as distractions for the targeting systems while the main cruisers fired their more powerful weapons.
"Son of a robo-bitch," TJ mused, "He had a back-up plan all this time."
Agreeing with TJ's assessment, Andros looked on as the various Machine ships laid out their assault. He couldn't hardly believe what was going on. At this point, he didn't care. This was their chance to finish this thing before it has a chance to strike back.
"TJ, dump the dead laser," he ordered, "Restore whatever power's there to shields and weapons. It's time to finish this once and for all."
---
With one final strike, Red Zeo stabbed the Varox with his sword through the back, deep enough that the blade bursts out from the chest. He pulled the blade from the defeated adversary who did nothing but laugh despite his predicament. His laughter lasted until his body crashed onto the dirt. The threat was far from over. Thomas saw the body glowing a faint blue, realizing that he may have inadvertently activated his nuclear device.
Chad sees the buildup of energy caused by the Varox corpse, just like before. Chad knew what would come next and he knows that this blast was something he would not survive. Thomas stands there staring at the glowing corpse. In a quick reaction as the Varox showed signs of exploding, Thomas thrust his arms in a cross position and cried out a phrase that couldn't be made out. What followed was a bright light and what would follow, just as it did the first time around... didn't happen. Within an aura of light, a silhouette of black is seen, sucking in the light. The light continue to suck into the silhouette as it grows red bit by bit.
Thomas screamed in agony, his body unable to bear the overwhelming pain despite its morphed state. Through his eyes, he saw nothing but blazing white light and slight streaks of red. He heard loud screeching that caused his ears to bleed. He started to cry, but instead of clear tears, they were blood red. His vision was soon blurry and nothing but red was the only thing he could see.
However, Thomas no longer saw a plain red crimson mist surround him. Instead, his mind was bombarded with images; some familiar, some not. It was hard for him to tell. He heard almost an infinite number of voices that he could hardly make out. The pain he was feeling made it very difficult to concentrate on what all this meant. His thoughts were sporadic. The one constant in his mind seemed to be that he believed he was going to die. With a great deal of effort, he managed to mutter a single word before the pain overwhelmed him.
Goodbye.
---
The other saw the enormous amount of light and flames being sucked into the glowing Zeo Ranger and promptly covered their eyes with their arms. A shockwave sent them to the ground and they wouldn't stare at the warrior. Thomas' body began to flicker between the Ranger suit and his civilian form. When he gathered most of the energy his body could take, he extended his arms upward and released another stream of white light, this one more intense than before. After a while, Thomas lost consciousness, but not before hearing a loud bang.
After a moment, Jason weakly brought himself back on one knee, slowly before he gets up on both feet. He observes the surrounding area, expecting scorched earth. Instead, he sees the wasteland unscathed; not even a slight hint of a burn mark of crater is seen. Tilting his head towards the clear blue sky, he let out a sigh of relief. He soon ran towards his long-time friend, who was unconscious but still breathing.
"You did it, bro." he told his friend.
---
The Megaship joined the other Machine Vessels in taking out the Wraith's weaponry. With the increased number of ships, the Wraith was slowly losing its weapons and the firepower it had displayed earlier was slowly dwindling. The Wraith's regeneration still came into play, as hull damage began to repair itself and the damaged spikes were detached. The hulk of these dead spikes collided with several quadrafighters. Andros believed a miracle was needed to kill this beast.
On cue, the bridge soon filled with bright light emanating from the viewer. The light dimmed and the Rangers observed a column of light which replaced the front of the Wraith. Zhane rushed to the navigation controls and veered the Megaship slowly away from the column of light. As they flew farther away, they noticed that the light beam was cutting the Wraith apart. Pieces of the planet-killer's surface began to float away, the towering weapon spikes broke apart and flames shot everywhere. Some of the smaller pieces of debris hit the Megaship, but did not cause much damage. The Machine fleet that had surrounded the former Wraith powered its engines and evaded the debris, distancing itself from the dying planet killer.
Zhane checked on the engine status and gave a thumbs up to Andros, who proceeded to push the accelerator to its maximum strength. The Megaship turned one-eighty degrees before picking up speed and flying away from the dying Wraith, which soon created a deafening explosion with a shockwave. The Megaship, at maximum cruising speed, was able to outrun the dissipating shockwave after a full minute. Andros slowed the ship down and slumped back on his chair. They had succeeded... albeit with a little help.
TJ looked at the viewer one last time, perplexed. He turned to the Red Space Ranger. "Where the heck did that beam come from?"
"It doesn't matter," Andros sighed in relief, "It's over now."
Andros turned his attention towards the navigation control and plotted a course for Earth so that they could check in with their leader. Andros switched the viewer to rear view, where the Machine fleet was converging together to jump back to their territory.
"What happens to them?" TJ asked.
"They'll have to rebuild from scratch," Andros said, "It'll be a long hard road and they'll run into obstacles, but if anyone can rebuild the Empire, it's Aradon. Let's go home."
---
Within the Varox's hidden chamber, the console was darkened. No blinking lights. No active monitors. Not even a operating generator. Nothing. It remained inactive. Cole Evans slumped to the ground, exhausted. He raised and studied the wire that pulled from the nearby generator, then took a glimpse at the machine. He cracked a wide smile and laugh at the absurdity of pulling the plug - literally - from the generator to deactivate the Varox's Trump card. With everything here safely turned off, Cole ran out from the cavern entrance to the outside desert. From a distance, he could see the gathering of Rangers huddled together. Cole burst into a sprint to join with the others, who were all checking on the unconscious Red Zeo Ranger.
"Is he alright?" the rookie Ranger asked.
Jason shook his head as he stroked Thomas' head. Cole stood up and saw the other Rangers slowly regaining their composures. Carter managed to pull himself up, but still felt some pain in his groin. Cole smiled at the Lightspeed Rescue commander's displeasure, but the smile faded before anyone could notice.
Demorphing, Carter pulled out his cell phone. Each step he took was rewarded with a stinging sensation that bothered him, but Carter continued walking towards the original Ranger.
"I'm calling for someone to pick us up." he told Jason, who was tending to his fallen friend.
It took Carter Grayson all of seventy-five seconds to call for recovery teams. After finishing his call, the Lightspeed commander turned to Cole. "I'm guessing you pulled the plug on the bomb."
Cole let out a tired breath of confirmation, prompting Carter to place his hand on the young man's shoulder. "I hope he makes it, Carter."
"He will," Carter answered, "He will."
TO BE CONCLUDED...