Chapter Five

Outside of town in an out-of-the-way place, the ground began to tremble and shake violently, soon splitting apart in a blaze of fire and smoke. First to rise from the ground was the mighty Tyrannozord. With its blue eyes glowing and red and silver armour shining, the zord let out a powerful roar and began its faithful trek inland. Immediately behind it, the black Mastodon and blue Triceratops zords rose to the surface side-by-side and followed the Tyrannozord towards the city, while seconds later, the Sabre-Toothed Tiger leaped to the surface with a growl as the Pterodactyl shot straight up into the air.

"Let's go!" cried Jason, and the five Rangers reached for their morphers and teleported into the rapidly-approaching zords.

"Time for Dragonzord," nodded Tommy, and raising the Dragon Dagger to his lips, he played the familiar tune that he knew would summon the giant metal beast from the sea. Sure enough, within seconds the mighty Dragonzord had risen from the depths off the coast and began to thunder towards the battleground, soon crossing the beach and entering the city. Reaching the other dinozords, they all turned to face Ultramarine, with the Pterodactyl circling high above.

"You really are slow learners," the warrior said, shaking his head. "Haven't you figured it out yet? I'm unstoppable, a force of nature! A god!"

"No," said Jason, the external radio relaying his words across to the warrior. "You're just a monster. And you're in luck, 'cause we know how to deal with them." And he pushed the Tyrannozord forward.

Ultramarine barked a short, sharp laugh. "Then attack if you can, but I will enjoy..."

Without warning the Tyrannozord's foot slammed into Ultramarine's jaw, lifting the warrior off his feet and sending him to the ground.

"You know," said Jason, "you really should shut up more. Hang back guys, this blue freak is all mine."

Ultramarine rolled to his feet in a cloud of dust, and charged towards the approaching Tyrannozord, angrily striking out. The zord ducked under the warrior's armoured fist and countered with a low kick to Ultramarine's stomach, forcing the warrior back. Ultramarine growled and slashed for the zord with his blades - blocking one and stepping back around the other, the Tyrannozord turned back to continue attacking when Ultramarine's shoulder cannon suddenly roared to life, the entire area erupting in sparks and smoke. Gritting his teeth, Jason pushed the zord forward through the storm, and the Tyrannozord charged towards Ultramarine and landed a blow to his helmet. The warrior recovered and carved his right blade towards the zord's chestplate - the zord struck away the warrior's fist, before taking to the air and slamming both feet against Ultramarine's chest, sending him crashing backwards. But Ultramarine quickly regained his footing and turned back to face his opponents.

In the Mastodon, Zac reached for the radio controls. "Feel better?" he asked.

Jason nodded. "Just a little."

"Well that barely slowed him down," the Black Ranger replied. "Next level?"

"You said it," nodded Jason. "Switch to Megazord mode, now!"

The other four Rangers nodded and immediately initiated the Megazord sequence. Charging forward, Trini's and Billy's zords drew side-by-side and connected to the Tyrannozord. Seconds later, the Tyrannozord's head dropped down behind its chestplate, and with the Megazord's face revealed, the Pterodactyl and Mastodon zords morphed and were drawn towards the Tyrannozord with a crackle of power. Finally, as each of the Rangers was automatically teleported into the Megazord's control room, the Triceratops and Sabre-Toothed Tiger came to a stop, launching the Megazord vertical.

"Megazord, power up!" said the Rangers, and with eyes flashing, the Megazord raised its arms and stepped across to join Dragonzord, both zords ready for battle.

"Okay pal," began Jason, "allying with Rita and attacking our city, for those we could've gone easy on you. But then you had to go and hurt one of our friends. For the record - really, really bad idea. Guys," and he glanced around to the other Rangers, "let's do it!" And with fists raised and several prayers muttered from those sitting within, the Megazord charged towards Ultramarine, the stage set for a colossal battle.

The city shook as the Megazord thundered towards its opponent, but Ultramarine was ready, and immediately slashed out for the Megazord's head with his right blade. The Megazord ducked under the blade but Ultramarine swung with his left - blocking his arm, the Megazord batted away the blade with a metallic clang, before sending Ultramarine stumbling with several rapid strikes to his chest armour. Ultramarine recovered quickly and retracted his blades, charging towards the Megazord and striking it with a flurry of left and right hooks. Showers of sparks rained down from the Megazord but the zord remained standing, catching Ultramarine's fist in midair, knocking it away before sending him crashing back through an accounting firm with a kick to the stomach. Ultramarine quickly found his footing, and as the Megazord approached, his shoulder cannon roared to life, laser blasts smashing into the front of the Megazord and forcing the zord back.

"Not so easy is it?" rumbled the warrior.

"Whoa," said Zac, as sparks rained down on the five Rangers, "that did some damage."

"Tommy," called Kim, "we took a hit and we need time to reboot."

The Green Ranger nodded. "Dragonzord's got you covered," he replied.

Charging towards Ultramarine, Dragonzord raised its hands and fired a barrage of missiles at its opponent. The missiles all found their target, smashing into Ultramarine's chest and stomach armour, but Ultramarine shrugged off the attack, stepping through the smoke cloud and landing several blows on Dragonzord's chestplate. Pulling his fist back, Ultramarine extended his right wrist blade and swung for the zord's stomach, but Dragonzord quickly stepped back out of range. Hoping to catch the zord while it was off-balance, Ultramarine charged forward, but Dragonzord swatted away his fists and smashed him back with a blow to the chest.

Now recovered, the Megazord thundered forward to take up the attack, striking Ultramarine away with a roundhouse punch. Ultramarine staggered back in a cloud of dust, and raised his blades to retaliate as the zord approached. The Megazord easily ducked back around the blades, but before the zord could attack, Ultramarine raced forward and knocked the Megazord back with a kick to the chest. The warrior spun around to face Dragonzord only to find the zord already before him, and blocking a hastily-thrown punch, Dragonzord blasted Ultramarine back. The blue warrior regained his footing and charged forward with his fists raised - Dragonzord stood its ground, and spinning around on the spot, smashed its drill weapon into Ultramarine's helmet, sending the warrior to the ground in a blaze of sparks and smoke.

"Nice one Dragonzord," nodded Zac.

With a cry of rage, Ultramarine climbed to his feet, extended both blades and slashed them towards Dragonzord. The zord had no time to defend itself and the tips of the blades carved through the zord's chest shield in a shower of sparks. Amazingly the zord remained standing, but the Megazord charged to its defense, smashing Ultramarine away with a blow to the helmet. Ultramarine stumbled back as the Megazord followed after him, and ducking under a right roundhouse punch, he smashed both fists into the Megazord's stomach. But the Megazord remained unfazed, bashing away Ultramarine's hands before a powerful right backhand knocked him off his feet .

"Whoa," said Kim, as Dragonzord joined the Megazord, "we must be getting to him."

Billy nodded. "Affirmative. He seems to be losing power."

"Then let's not stop now," said Jason, and both zords charged forward to continue the assault.


We figured Goldar would've taken Aaron as far away from the looming zord battle as possible, so we raced towards where we'd seen them, away from the zords and down past the library towards the Sunland Shopping Centre in the distance, our arms pumping and feet pounding the pavement. A row of abandoned shops and houses lined the road - these were the buildings we'd seen Goldar disappear into.

"I don't see them," said Teresa, scanning the buildings on either side of the road.

"They have to be here somewhere," said Brendan. "Keep looking."

I held up my hand, signaling for everyone to stop. "We have to split up," I said. "That way we can cover more ground."

Sarah glanced around the group. "We find him," she said. "We tear down every building in the city if we have to, but we find him."

I nodded. "Let's go!" And with that, the five of us raced away from each other. We had to find Aaron, we had to find him fast, and time was not on our side.


Goldar threw Aaron to the ground, the Aqua Ranger landing with a painful crash in the corner of the room.

"All right Ranger," Goldar growled as Aaron crawled to his feet, "you've got one chance to save yourself. Your Power Coin - give it to me now."

Aaron replied without thinking. "Not on your life," he said. "I know exactly what you and Rita will be able to do if I hand it over."

Goldar sneered. "You don't want to know what I'll do if you don't hand it over," he said. "I find your courage admirable, boy, but right now it will get you nowhere. Give me the coin!"

Realising the choice before him, in the face of almost every instinct Aaron shook his head and stepped forward. "What part of 'no' do you badguys have such a problem with?"

Goldar nodded. "Your choice," he said. "Defending friends who are not coming to save you," and he raised his sword. "Like I said, without each other you're nothing. If you have such faith in them, tell me, where are your friends now?"

Without warning the entire room shook, and the wall behind them exploded inwards as if hit by a battering ram, showering them both with pieces of rubble and forcing them to take cover. Once the dust cloud had cleared, they turned to find the source of the disturbance, only to see a tall, purple-costumed figure silhouetted in the light from the gaping hole.

"Where we always were," said Sarah, "right here," and raising her Power Mace she leaped into the room. Goldar struck aside Aaron so violently he tore his shirt, swinging his sword for the Purple Ranger. Sarah blocked the sword and batted it away, spinning under another swipe and smashing Goldar back with a blow to the chest.

Now between Aaron and Goldar, Sarah raised her mace defensively, and Aaron stepped forward and joined the Purple Ranger.

"See that's the thing you need to understand," Aaron said, "something I only just figured out. I was one of the good guys, Goldar. And I was never alone."

Sarah turned to him. "You okay?"

Aaron nodded. "Been better," he said. "But very glad to see you. What a day, huh?"

Sarah smiled, and looked back to Goldar. "Forget it Goldar. Ultramarine is history and the Rangers are on their way. It's over."

Grinning with evil delight, Goldar held up the piece of Aaron's shirt he'd torn away, and as the scrap of fabric fell away, the golden Parasaurolophus coin sparkled in the sunlight.

"Not yet," he said. "Not by a longshot."


Across the city, the two zords continued to trade blows with Ultramarine, and although their opponent was incapable of acknowledging it, the six Rangers knew that they were winning. Blocking Ultramarine's fist, Dragonzord slammed the warrior back, continuing after him and landing blow after blow as Ultramarine staggered backwards. Managing to duck back out of range, the warrior stepped forward and swung for the zord's head - Dragonzord spun under the blow, the zord swinging its tail drill for the warrior as he passed. Ultramarine caught the drill with metres to spare, but the zord's chestlights began flashing and the Dragonzord carved the drill down Ultramarine's chest, before turning, raising its hands and firing a barrage of missiles. Dozens of projectiles smashed into Ultramarine, and where before he'd shrugged them off, the force of the blast now lifted him off his feet and sent him flying backwards, the entire area erupting in fire and sparks.

"Wow," said Trini. "Five minutes ago that attack didn't do anything."

"Well I say we finish him off once and for all," said Tommy.

"Couldn't agree more," nodded Jason, and the Rangers raised their arms to the sky. "We call upon the power of Titanus!"

As Ultramarine regained his bearings, he felt the ground begin to shake, and realised that he was in trouble. With a roar of power, the mighty carrier zord known as Titanus burst onto the scene, punching through a row of low hills on the horizon and powering into the city towards the battlefield. As the brachiosaur zord approached, its tail immediately split in two, the halves automatically repositioning themselves as Titanus's two massive shoulder cannons.

"I'm not afraid of that big tin can," Ultramarine growled.

Jason nodded. "Good for you," he said. "Titanus, fire!"

Titanus roared in response, and two blasts of energy exploded from his shoulder cannons, slamming into Ultramarine and lifting him off his feet. Launched backwards through the air, the warrior cleared both the city and beach before coming down with an enormous splash in Pumicestone Passage, sending huge foamy waves surging up the beach and over the roads. Slowly, painfully, Ultramarine staggered to his feet - huge pieces of his chest armour had been torn away by the assault, but he refused to believe he was in danger. How could he be?

"No," he cried, staggering towards the shore, kicking up huge waves with each footstep and weakly raising his wrist blades, "this is not possible. I am invincible!"

"Even monsters know when they're beaten," said Zac, glancing around to the other Rangers. "Let's take this loser out once and for all."

"You said it," nodded Kim. "Ultrazord, power up!"

The Megazord turned to face the Dragonzord and found that the zord had already split in two, each half swinging out horizontally. The Megazord's crown and shoulders quickly repositioned themselves, and the two halves of the Dragonzord lowered themselves down onto the Megazord amid flashes of lightning from a suddenly cloudy sky. Finally, the combined mass of zords turned to the approaching Titanus, took to the air and dropped down into the back of the mighty carrier zord. The Ultrazord had formed.

"So, Ultramarine," said Jason, "you wanted ultimate power, right? Well, it's all yours. Ultrazord, lock on and fire!"

The targetting systems within the colossal zord locked onto the retreating form of Ultramarine, and the dozens of cannons adorning the Ultrazord simultaneously roared to life, a massive energy blast exploding from the zord. Spiralling across the battleground, the barrage of laser blasts, guided rockets and fireballs slammed into Ultramarine with devastating force, the blast instantly launching him backwards through the air.

"No!" he screamed, but it was too late - an immense fireball enveloped the blue warrior, and Ultramarine was torn apart in a cataclysmic explosion that lit up the beach and reverberated throughout the city, cracking windows and shaking buildings all across Caloundra.

"All right!" exclaimed Jason, as Titanus roared victoriously.

"And you know what?" said Zac. "That felt really good."

Tommy nodded. "Now that he's been taken care of, let's go find the others..."


"Okay Goldar," Sarah said, as calmly as she could manage, "just give us back the Power Coin."

"Why?" he asked, edging back away from her, knowing Sarah could never prevent him from leaving, grab the coin and protect Aaron all at once.

"Because if you do," she said, stalling for time, "then you might just make it out of here alive."

"And who's going to stop me? You?" he asked. Without warning, the shockwave from the Ultrazord blast hit the building, and a shower of dust rained down on the room's three occupants.

"No, us," came a voice, and suddenly, Teresa, Brendan, Scott and I were standing in the gap in the wall, all armed with our Power Weapons.

"You hear that Goldar?" I continued. "That was Ultramarine, and from the sounds of it they'll be picking pieces of him out of the passage for months. Unless you want the same fate, I'd suggest playing nicely."

Outnumbered and outgunned, Goldar backed up and found himself in a very literal corner. At first he dismissed the idea that Ultramarine had been destroyed, but there was something in my voice, an absolute faith in the Senior Team, that told him it was the truth. But then, glancing across to the Power Coin in his hand, Goldar's lips curled back into an evil grin, and he held the coin up and closed his fingers around it.

"No!" cried Aaron, and as one, we leaped forward, but we were too late. In less than a second, Goldar had completely crushed Aaron's Parasaurolophus Power Coin, reducing the coin to powder in his palm. And as he opened his hand and the golden specks fell to the ground, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed down from the heavens, signifying the tremendous shift of power within the Morphin' Grid. Then, with a final vengeful laugh, Goldar teleported away.