Chapter Seven

Back at the mountainless-field, Jason watched the Junior Team race away after the giant form of Mount Tibrogargan, and turned back to the rest of the team.

"The snake and the ape?" asked Kimberly.

Jason nodded. "All ours," he said, and the Rangers raised their arms to the sky. "We need dinozord power now!"

Lightning flashed, the ground shook, and a mighty roar that echoed across the field announced the arrival of the dinozords. The red Tyrannozord came into view first, ancient and powerful, its blue eyes flashing and the earth shaking with every enormous step. Behind it, the black Mastodon powered towards the battlefield with a great trumpeting call, joined by the blue Triceratops and yellow Sabre-Toothed Tiger zords on either side and the pink Pterodactyl soaring through the air high above.

"Let's go!" cried Jason, and the four Senior Rangers immediately teleported into their approaching zords, materialising in the cockpits a second later. "Log on guys," said the Red Ranger, "and switch to Megazord mode!"

Bypassing their normal tank-mode configuration, the Sabre-Toothed Tiger and Triceratops pulled in front and drew side-by-side, the Tyrannozord's legs folding back and all three zords combining. While the three zords were still powering towards the Doolagahl and Liru, the remote-controlled Mastodon split in half to form the Megazord's arms, and both the Mastodon and Pterodactyl were drawn around the body of the Tyrannozord with a crackle of power. Billy's and Trini's zords rolled to a stop and launched the Megazord vertical, and with yellow eyes flashing as its internal systems automatically switched online, the Megazord raised its arms and stepped towards the two giant monsters, ready for battle.

Meanwhile, down below, Tommy unsheathed the Dragon Dagger, lifted it to his lips and played the tune he knew would summon the Dragonzord. Sure enough, within seconds, the enormous zord of the Green Ranger had teleported from its underwater lair and spectacularly arrived in a blaze of sparks and smoke. Its eyes glowing red, the Dragonzord let out a mighty roar and crossed the battlefield to join the Megazord facing down the Liru and Doolagahl.

"So," began Trini, in the cockpit of the Megazord, "we figured out how to beat you guys once. How do you think this is going to end?"

Across the field, the Doolagahl sneered and stepped towards the two zords. "You received a piece of luck this morning," it growled, in deep bellowing tones.

Beside it, the Liru nodded. "And that will not be happening again," the creature hissed, and with that, the two beasts charged, the entire plain shaking as they thundered towards the zords.

"Here they come!" said Kim.

Jason nodded. "Let's power up!"

Reaching the Megazord, the Doolagahl immediately swung its enormous fist for the zord's chestplate - the Megazord blocked the blow, struck away the beast's hand and sent a punch towards the Doolagahl's head. The monster ducked under the blow, spinning to the side to avoid a low kick and retaliating, smashing his left forearm into the zord and sending the Megazord stumbling backwards in a cloud of fire and sparks. The Doolagahl thundered back across the field to continue the attack but the Megazord recovered quickly, blocking a swipe from the left and catching the beast's other hand as he swung for the zord's chest. The Doolagahl kicked low - the Megazord struck away his foot and landed a powerful right hook to the beast's chin, even as the Doolagahl landed a blow to the zord's stomach armour, both opponents stumbling away from each in a cloud of smoke.

Across the field towards where the mountain had been, the Liru had launched itself towards the Dragonzord, slashing for the zord with its claws. The Dragonzord ducked back out of danger but the beast quickly followed the zord, raking its claws across the Dragonzord's chest in a shower of sparks before another blow to the side of the zord's head sent the Dragonzord crashing back. Regaining its footing, the Dragonzord spun around, slashing its tail drill through the air towards the beast, but the snake easily ducked the blow and stepped forward to strike again - only to come under fire as the zord's finger missiles began firing. The entire area erupted in sparks and smoke, and the beast stumbled back coughing.

The Doolagahl joined the Liru as the snake beast recovered from the assault, and raising their fists, the two monsters turned back to face the Megazord and Dragonzord.

"Well," said Kimberly, glancing around to the other Rangers. "This could be going better."

Down below, watching the battle from the side of the field, Rita Repulsa grinned a victorious smile and raised her voice in triumph. "Face it Rangers," she said, "you cannot win this today, although I'm going to extremely enjoy watching you try."

Without warning - like somebody hitting a light switch - a great shadow fell over the battleground, and everybody automatically looked to the east - framed against the morning sky, impossible to miss, the giant rocky form of Mount Tibrogargan was returning, moving back through the sky towards where it had previously rested for centuries, the face on the mountain's side gazing down over the battlefield. Rita's reaction was almost instantaneous, raising her wand and muttering a chant beneath her breath - behind her, Goldar and Scorpina vanished into the air, while Rita herself suddenly took on the form of a young Aboriginal girl.

Tibrogargan's gaze shifted from the two zords to the Doolagahl and the Liru, and finally down to the tiny figure of Rita. "I have been used," he said, his voice shaking with fury. "Nothing but a pawn, to be discarded at will."

Rita stepped forward, aware that things were beginning to go awry. "Tibrogargan, you are..."

"You would have me slaughter thousands?" the mountain cried. "For nothing but your own whimsy?" By now, the mountain was hovering above the dark patch of Earth that had marked its previous resting place, and very slowly, Mount Tibrogargan lowered itself back to the ground, soon settling in place with a dying rumble and a cloud of dust.

Rita shook her head. "But our people..."

"OUR!?!" roared the mountain, the word heard hundreds of kilometres away. "Do not taint the memory of my great people with your lies and malice a second longer! For the first time, I feel fully alive - you wanted my revenge, witch, and you shall certainly have it." Tibrogargan's eyes flashed, and once again his face disappeared back into the cliff-face.

The Rangers in the Megazord turned to each other in awe, when suddenly Zac materialised beside Jason in a flash of light.

"Zac!" cheered Kim. "You did it, you saved the city!"

"Yeah," smiled Trini. "You got through to him, way to go."

Zac shook his head. "Thanks, but I can't take all the credit," he said. "Brendan and I just helped the big guy figure out a few things, is all."

Behind them, our Megazord was just making its way back across the field to the battleground. Crossing the railway line, we steered the zord over to join the Megazord and Dragonzord.

"Guys," I called into the radio, "check it out! Tibrogargan's not finished yet!"

With the sound of granite ripping apart, great cracks were appearing in the cliff-face, splintering up the side of the mountain and forming a familiar-looking shape. Before long, an entire section of the rock wall had broken free, and Tibrogargan himself stepped out of the cliff. At least fifteen storeys tall, the mountain giant's body was living granite, streaked with black and silver minerals and with a long mossy beard. Stepping away from the mountain, Tibrogargan turned his full attention to Rita Repulsa. His eyes blazed with the fire of a volcano - every step was an earthquake, every heartbeat a crack of thunder, every breath a hurricane.

"I'm not the only one seeing this, right?" I said.

Down below, Tommy glanced from the still-shaking mountain to the Earth splitting apart beneath Tibrogargan's steps. "I don't know how much more the countryside can take of this," he said. "Billy, what's going on?"

The Blue Ranger looked back to the mountain. "Well, operating on the thesis that Tibrogargan is a mountain spirit," he began, "then he must be channeling the fundamental forces of the planet itself."

Jason nodded. "Yeah. And right now, the planet's pretty ticked off."

Across from us, Tibrogargan focussed his full attention on Rita. "Hide behind your magics all you wish," the mountain rumbled, and his eyes flashed - whatever spell Rita had used was gone in a heartbeat, vanishing like smoke and leaving her, Goldar and Scorpina in plain sight. "Your lies mean nothing."

Rita immediately looked up to the Doolagahl and Liru. "Stop him!" she cried, and the two beasts nodded and launched themselves at Tibrogargan, falling on him from either side - the mountain raised his arms and struck them both away with a single gesture, and continued towards the witch. Holding her wand high, Rita stepped back and raised the strongest forcefield she could muster, the air thickening over half the plain and crackling with power. Without even slowing down, Tibrogargan slammed a giant stone fist against the field, and it shattered instantly with a single blow.

Frantic, Rita spun to Goldar and Scorpina - her wand flashed, and suddenly the giant forms of Goldar and Scorpina rose from the cloud of smoke, a hundred and fifty feet tall and both raising their enormous swords. The two turned and immediately slashed out at Tibrogargan, the blades falling onto his shoulders in a shower of sparks. For his part, the mountain giant barely blinked, raising his arms and knocking them both away. They crashed to the ground in a cloud of smoke, and Tibrogargan kept moving, his shadow falling over Rita Repulsa - like an avalanche, a rocky fist roared down towards her. Rocky oblivion filled the sky, and Rita screamed and vanished, teleporting to safety a second before Tibrogargan's fist slammed into the ground with continent-cracking force.

Tibrogargan stepped back and turned to the battlefield, his eyes flashing angrily as Goldar and Scorpina rolled to their feet and joined the Doolagahl and Liru, all four of them backing away quickly as the mountain giant stepped towards them.

"The witch was right about one thing," he rumbled. "The land is suffering under evil's hand, but with every force at my call I will not rest until that evil is broken!"

"Tibrogargan," came a voice, and the mountain giant turned to see the two Megazords and the Dragonzord approaching. "We're grateful for your help," said Jason, the external radio broadcasting his words across the battlefield, "but you have to stop now. The forces you're connected to, that tie the land together, are unraveling. As long as you're awake, this is only going to get worse."

His stony brow raising in confusion, Tibrogargan turned back to the mountain, suddenly aware of the world around him. The entire countryside was shaking now, as far as the eye could see, the tremors steadily gaining in momentum. Cracks in the earth were violently splintering outwards from the base of the mountain, and an entire forest fell even as he stood watching.

Tibrogargan shook his head, his gaze lowering and the fire in his eyes dying. "My greatest crime," he said softly, "was to think the world was mine. None more shall be harmed from my arrogance. I am shamed."

"It's okay," said Jason. "Let us take it from here, it's what we do."

The mountain giant nodded, turning and leaving the battlefield. Reaching the cliff-face, Tibrogargan stepped back into the mountain, his body filling the chasm in the rocky wall and the mountainside returning to normal. Around us, the earthquakes almost instantly began to slow and stop, and the cracks across the ground began sealing.

I let out a sigh of relief. "One problem down."

Teresa glanced to the four giant monsters facing us. "One to go."

"Well," boomed Goldar, "it seems you just lost a major advantage."

Beside him, the Doolagahl nodded. "Four against three. Not good odds."

In the Megazord, Jason nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "You don't stand a chance. Guys," and he looked from our Megazord on the left to the Dragonzord on the right. "Let's finish this."

"Right!"

With that, the three zords turned and began powering across the field. Dragonzord thundered straight towards Scorpina and Goldar, the two immediately striking out at the approaching zord. Dragonzord ducked under Scorpina's blade and struck away Goldar's sword, blocking another slash from Goldar and smashing him back with a blow to the chest. Turning, the Dragonzord ducked back out of danger as Scorpina raked her claws for the zord's chestplate, and spinning around on the spot, struck Scorpina away with a blow from the zord's tail drill.

Across the field, the Senior's Megazord was once again trading blows with the Doolagahl, while our Megazord had powered towards the Liru, the zord reaching the beast and immediately swinging out with a roundhouse punch. The Liru easily dodged around the blow, ducking under a second blow and blocking a third, striking away the Megazord's arm and landing a blow to the Megazord's stomach. The zord stumbled back in a shower of sparks and smoke, and before we could recover, the Liru had followed us forward, slashing his claws across the zord's chestplate. Spinning around, the beast struck out with a low kick - the Megazord batted his foot away, but was sent stumbling backwards as the Liru raked its claws across the side of the zord's head.

A shower of sparks rained down on us in the cockpit as we steered the zord to safety.

"We can't find him like this," said Scott. "He's just too fast."

I nodded. "Any ideas?"

The radio suddenly crackled to life. "Well," came a voice, "you could let me have a crack at him."

I turned to Aaron and Scott on either side in surprise. "Brendan?"

"You got it," Brendan replied. "Hang back guys, this one's all mine."

By now we could feel it, something enormous approaching the battleground at great speed. A primeval roar rang out, echoing off the mountain in the distance, and both the Megazord and Liru turned to look - racing towards us, powering through the countryside and throwing up clouds of dust with every step was a giant silver Dilophosaurus. Almost as tall as our Megazord, the Dilophozord appeared thin and agile, with short clawed forearms and sturdy three-toed feet. The zord's head was adorned with two thin rows of metal above two glowing green eyes, as well as a mouth filled with conical razor-sharp teeth.

Sensing danger, the Liru turned from the Megazord towards the approaching Dilophozord - only to dive to safety as the Dilophozord leaped into the air towards him. But even as the Liru landed and rolled to its feet, the Dilophozord charged forward and slashed at the beast with its claws. The Liru around the move, swiping at the zord's head, but the zord blocked his scaly arm and struck it away, before raking its claws across the beast's chest and sending him crashing back in a shower of sparks. The Liru found his footing and darted around to attack from the side, but the Dilophozord quickly followed after the Liru, fending off blows and returning them even as the Liru continued to search for an opening. Blocking a low swipe, the Liru lashed out at the zord's chest, but the Dilophozord quickly backed out of danger, and while the Liru was off-balance, the zord slammed the beast off his feet with a high kick.

"So," said Brendan with a grin, as the Liru rolled to a stop in a cloud of dust, "what do you guys think?"

"It's fantastic," I smiled.

"Yeah, it's awesome," agreed Aaron. "Good job man."

Inside the Dilophozord's control room, Brendan nodded. "Thanks. But that ain't all the big guy's got," he said. "Senior Team!"

Across the field, the Megazord blocked a blow from the Doolagahl and turned to the Dilophozord. "Whoa, Brendan," said Zac. "Cool zord man."

Brendan grinned. "He slices, dices, and deep-fries." With that, a huge jet of flame roared forth from the Dilophozord's mouth, scorching the air and spiralling across the battlefield towards the Doolagahl. Eyes wide, the monster let out a wild cry and dived to safety. Fighting to be as far away from the flame as possible, the Doolagahl retreated back to where the Liru was recovering, the pair soon joined by Scorpina and Goldar.

"Down..." I began.

"And out," continued Aaron, and the five of us lifted our arms to the sky. "Power Sword!"

High above us, clouds began to swirl in a suddenly-dark sky, and as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, the gleaming Power Sword fell from the heavens, descending towards Earth and embedding in the ground a step away from the Megazord. Withdrawing the sword, the Megazord raised the weapon high and advanced towards the cowering Liru.

"This one's for Tibrogargan," I said. "Hi-YAH!"

The Megazord's golden eyes flashed as lightning struck down from the sky and surged along the blade. Hesitating a second longer, the Megazord slashed the weapon down through the air in a wide diagonal stroke - sheer raw power exploded from the sword's arc, slicing through the air and smashing into the Liru monster with devastating force. The beast was instantly consumed by a massive fireball that roared skyward and rained debris down across the field.

The Megazord lowered its sword and turned to where Scorpina, Goldar and the Doolagahl stood trembling in fear.

Goldar glanced to Scorpina then back to the Megazord. "There will be a next time Power Rangers," he growled, and the two generals teleported from the scene in two flashes of flame.

Everybody glanced back to the Doolagahl, who was noticeably edging away from us.

"Guys," called Tommy, "what do you say we take this freak out once and for all?"

Zac nodded. "Couldn't have said it any better."

Our Megazord raised its sword. "Repeat performance?" I asked.

In the other Megazord, Jason shook his head. "That's cool. There's something you guys need to see," and he turned to the others. "Ready?" They nodded, and the five Senior Rangers raised their arms to the sky. "We call upon the power of Titanus, now!"

Without warning, a massive zord suddenly burst right through a row of low hills on the horizon, powering towards the battlefield and sending dust and debris flying high into the air. Shaped like a giant brachiosaurus, the zord had a wide body, a long silver neck and a small head with two glowing red eyes. The silver, black and white zord was so enormous, so indescribably powerful, that just looking at it was like witnessing one of the world's great wonders. As it rolled along the ground towards us on huge front wheels, I noticed that its tail had split in two, each half repositioning itself forward over the zord's shoulders.

"Ultrazord, power up!"

As we watched, the Dragonzord's body split into two, each half swinging out horizontally. Across the field, the Megazord's crown and shoulders quickly repositioned themselves, and the two halves of the Dragonzord lowered themselves down over the Megazord. Finally, the combined mass of zords lifted into the air and dropped down into the back of Titanus to form the towering DinoUltrazord.

"Good night," said Jason. "Lock on, and fire!"

The targetting systems within the Ultrazord locked onto the retreating figure of the Doolagahl, and seconds later the Ultrazord roared to life, an enormous barrage of guided missiles, lasers and fireballs exploding from the zord, crossing the battlefield and slamming into the monster with earth-shattering force. The Doolagahl was instantly destroyed in a cataclysmic explosion that lit up the countryside and sent an enormous fireball billowing skyward.

"Whoa," I said, the radio relaying my words into the Ultrazord, as Titanus roared victoriously. "Just... whoa."

"Yep," nodded Jason. "Pretty much."

In the Dilophozord, Brendan sat back in his chair, shaking his head. "Man," he said softly, "I can't believe this is all happening."

"Well, good work," said Teresa. "You did an awesome job. Should we head back to the Command Centre?"

"No," replied Zac, turning and looking over to the mountain. "Not yet. We've still got something we need to take care of..."

The light behind Tibrogargan's eyes was fading as the twelve of us approached the mountain, the dying flames of a spent fire. The mountain itself was more or less back to normal, as solid and unmovable now as it had been for thousands of years.

The mountain shifted his gaze from the zords down to the team of Rangers before him. "They have been defeated?" he asked, the rumble in his voice now like distant thunder.

Jason stepped forward. "There isn't much left of either of them," he replied.

Tibrogargan sighed, and looked away to the east. "For whatever it is worth," he began, "I am sorry for the things I have done."

"It's okay," said Teresa. "It's not your fault, it's what the badguys do."

He turned back to us. "There was no damage?"

"The city's still in one piece," I nodded. "Although you have everyone a heck of a scare."

"What about the rest of it?" asked Tommy.

"The land, air and waters will all return to normal once I am again dreaming," the mountain replied. Pausing, he ran his eyes over us as if he was seeing us for the first time. "There were... heroes, yes, teams of heroes in my time," Tibrogargan continued, "and I can see the souls of champions shining within you. Silver and Black, please step forward."

Brendan and Zac glanced to each other nervously but stepped forward, and the mountain smiled. "Silver, from my watch you are not long with this team, and I believe you will be a fine champion. Black," and the mountain turned his attention to Zac. "Thank you, young hero, for your honesty and your strength," he said, and looked back to the rest of the group. "I must return to sleep now, but my slumber will be restful. For even though I dream, I know that someone will be watching over this land and taking care of its peoples. And for that, I will be forever thankful."

And as we stood watching, the light faded away from Tibrogargan's eyes completely, and the mountain was once again dreaming.

In two bright flashes of light, Jason and Tommy materialised back in the Command Centre, demorphing a second later.

Kim stepped forward. "How's the city?"

"Caloundra's ability to deal with this kind of thing is actually pretty scary," said Jason.

Tommy nodded. "The city's a mess, and the emergency services will all be putting in for overtime, but apart from that everybody's okay," he said. "The damage was pretty minimal, considering, and nobody got too badly hurt."

"Well that's a relief," said Teresa.

"We spoke to the mayor and the press as well," continued Jason. "We told them that this morning was a one-off, that Tibrogargan will be staying right where he is for a very long time, and that nobody has to worry about the mountain going for a wander ever again."

"Heck of a way to start the morning, though," I said, then turned to Brendan and smiled. "To say nothing of our newest recruit."

Brendan grinned, bouncing across the room to Zac. "I can't believe my first morning, I mean, we talked a mountain out of flattening the city. How just unbelievable is that?"

"Couldn't have done it without you," Zac smiled. "You were totally awesome up there. No way I could've gotten through to Tibrogargan alone."

"And your Dilophozord," added Kim. "Seriously cool."

Scott nodded. "Yeah, and how you wiped out that army of Kwinkan, that was incredible."

Brendan grinned and shook his head. "Thanks, it means a lot, but this still isn't real, you know?" he asked, glancing around to each of us like this was a dream he was afraid might vanish at any second. "My head is still spinning at like a million miles an hour. I mean, I'm a Power Ranger."

I stepped over to him, and rested my hand on his shoulder. "Well, when your head catches up with the rest of you, congratulations."

"They are right Brendan," boomed Zordon, and we all looked up to him. "Your quick-thinking, sharp wit and impressive skills all shone this morning, and you deserve all our praise." Zordon smiled, and looked to the rest of the group. "As do you all. You prevented a disaster today Rangers, by figuring out the link to Tibrogargan, managing to reach him and then by defeating the two monsters, and I'm proud of you all."

Teresa glanced across to Brendan. "Zordon," she began, "Brendan's arrival wouldn't be the reason why we couldn't reach the Command Centre this morning?"

"Yes, that is correct," the sage replied. "To activate the twelfth Power Coin required all our energy and attention, so to be safe Alpha and I shut down most of our systems this morning. But once we'd finished, we immediately saw the situation developing at the mountain, and sent Brendan into battle just as Tibrogargan summoned the Kwinkan."

"So," began Tommy, "just how powerful is our new Ranger?"

"Unlike your eleven coins," Zordon explained, "the Dilophosaurus Power Coin draws its power from the oldest and purest of all natural forces - light. After the first appearance of the Kwinkan, Alpha and I realised we had no choice but to choose a Silver Ranger."

"A Ranger of light," nodded Billy. "To defeat an army of shadows."

Zordon nodded. "Exactly. Now, Brendan," and he turned to the newest Ranger, "as the Silver Ranger, your powers enable you to perform great feats, and you will eventually learn how to use that power effectively." Brendan nodded, and Zordon continued. "Now I realise I've left things a bit late, but there is something I must tell you. Although you were victorious today, I cannot promise you that every victory will be won so easily, or with so few casualties. The line of fire will always be a dangerous place to be, and with that in mind, do you still wish to be a Power Ranger?"

Silence fell in the Command Centre, and Brendan lowered his gaze, deep in thought. Finally, after a few minutes, he looked back up to Zordon and grinned, the twinkle back in his eye.

"Well, what with the award rate, dental plan and country club," he grinned, "I just can't think of how the problems outweigh the benefits. That is, I mean," and he turned to the rest of us, "if you guys still want me."

I opened my mouth to reply, but Teresa turned to me, rested a hand on my shoulder, and stepped forward. "We meant everything we said today," she said, with a warm smile. "You were incredible out there, and we could not have managed without you." She paused, and grinned. "So of course we want you to stick around."

Stepping forward and joining Teresa, I looked into Brendan's eyes and nodded. "You're part of the team now," I smiled. "So welcome to the club Brendan Watts. I think you're gonna love it."