Chapter 6:

Journey of Ages Part II: Turning Point

"Baliens have entered the city."

Five simple words had transformed the council chamber from a room of calm and tranquility of questioning into a chamber of disarray and panic. With a wave of her hand, Clara had focused the viewing crystal's gaze on the city streets. The Balien squadrons were charging through the city streets, destroying anything between them and the Council Building. Lorden was the only voice of control in the chamber. Rising from his seat, he raised his hands above his head.

"Silence! Arguing and panic will get us all killed. Councilors you know your positions; I suggest you get to them and bar yourselves in. May the power protect you. As for you, human, you will remain here locked in this chamber with Clara," Lorden said as he vaulted over the council table and walked calmly towards the door. Before Clara could protest, Stone ran in front of Lorden, blocking his path.

"Barring me in here is a waste of a valuable fighter and you bloody know it. You've seen what walks the streets of your crystal city and you know that you're going to need all the help you can get. Give me the golden Force powers and I'll send these Baliens packing," Stone said, offering his hand to the High Councilor. Lorden glanced down at the human's hand and raised his head in disgust.

"We never have, nor never will, ask for the aid of a human in the defense of this planet," Lorden growled as he stormed out the council chamber.

"Not even a human who lead Rangers back on Earth huh? Your brother would have let me fight," Stone said, trying to convince the High Councilor that he could help.

"Human, you are in charge of two things right now. Jack and shit. And to your misfortune, Jack caught the last vessel off the planet. You will do as you're told or you will suffer my wrath. And don't ever mention my brother in my presence. I have wasted enough time here. My people are dying," Lorden raised his hand, palm outward toward the door and the council chamber doors flew open. Waving his hand as he left the hall, the doors slammed closed and locked behind the High Councilor.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Stone said as he turned to face the viewing crystal. All he and Clara could do was watch Eltos, the crystal city, be destroyed along with its inhabitants.

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Baliens loved battle; their society was based on the ideal that the strong should rule over the weak. Their invasion of Eltar had gone exceedingly well. They had landed on the outskirts of the city and had proceeded to destroy everything in sight. But their fun was beginning to slow to a halt. The Eltarians had finally begun to mount an organized resistance. Auron knew, however, that it would be too little far too late. To Auron's left, a contingent of Eltarian guards charged him. Waving off the Balien soldiers that were fighting along with him, the giant lion awaited the Eltarians. With a deafening roar, Auron charged into battle. His right claw impaled two Eltarians at once; the blood from their corpses dripping down the length of his massive forearms. Swinging his left claw, the general removed three Eltarians of their heads. The remaining Eltarian soldiers finally realized that they could not win against this massive beast and retreated to the Council Building. With a victory snarl, Auron called to his Balien squadrons. "Destroy everything! Leave none alive!"

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Much like Eltos, Bastion was a flurry of activity. The humans that had sought refuge within the halls of Bastion were gathering what little they had in terms of personal items and were gathering in the massive gathering area and were being sorted into age and family categories. After hours of deliberation, the Bastion Council had decided it would relocate to the Backwater University. It had more than enough room to house all the humans as well as enough supplies to clothe and feed them. In addition to the supplies already present at the university, the humans were packing the crates of food that had mysteriously appeared within Bastion. Despite the excitement and fear running through the air, the Rangers had gotten a few solid hours of rest before the humans made their exodus from the cavern they had called home. The vehicles that Striker had managed to repair were going to 'frame' the column of humans, protecting it from any Baliens that should decide to attack. Then again, the Rangers were there to take care of any major threats, so the vehicles were just for an added sense of security. Rousing themselves from the land of dreams, the Rangers prepared in their room.

"Now Zoe, I'm not saying you're not worthy of your powers or whatever, but there's no training course for these things, so take it easy your first time. We just got you into the fold…don't want to lose you too fast. Far too much paperwork," Chris said with a laugh. Zoe forced a giggle; truth be told she was far more nervous than she let on. She ran her fingers over the bracelet on her wrist. She hoped that she proved worthy of the powers; a few weeks a she had just been a girl from Backwater that used to work in a grocery store on weekends.

"Oh, and don't count on Chris to be the hero…he hates that. Gives him too much credit," Johnny said glancing at Chris who smiled and gave Johnny the finger. Zoe burst into laughter, wiping at the tears that were flowing from her eyes.

"Thanks guys. Shouldn't we morph now so everyone doesn't know who we are?" Zoe said, standing up from her bed. She wanted to use her new powers to protect people as soon as possible; it's just the way she was.

"Yeah that's a good idea…no point in anyone else knowing our true identities. Although I think in all the excitement everyone is likely to have forgotten who we are anyways," Johnny said, rolling out of bed. Nodding her agreement, Zoe moved to stand beside Johnny. Chris, however, had to protest.

"Wait just a stinking minute here! Stone left me in charge, and as leader, I say your ideas are the best course of action," Chris said in the most official manner he could. Zoe and Johnny did their best to hold back their laughter but ultimately failed, bursting into chuckles. Standing beside Johnny and Zoe, Chris brought his arm in front of his body. "Let's do this. Ready?" Glancing at the other two as they nodded, the three humans extended their arm and stretched out their hands.

"For freedom!" In a flash of light, the humans were replaced by the Rangers, ready to lead the humans to their new home. Walking down the passage that lead to the gathering area, the Rangers were greeted with applause and cheers; the humans were more than happy to have Rangers on their side once again. The Rangers walked into the organized chaos that was the gathering area and worked their way to where the Council had gathered and had begun to address the mass of humans.

"People of Bastion hear me! We leave our stronghold of refuge in the darkness to go to a place far better. Today, we take the first step in reclaiming our city from the evil Balien forces that invaded our homes." Faymore said, to thunderous cheers from the human populace. Smiling, Faymore stepped back and allowed Striker to speak. Raising his hands in a gesture that called for silence, Striker's booming voice resonated in the chamber.

"My friends the road to Backwater will not be easy. The Baliens will not likely let us retake our homes without a fight. You have been told what to do and how to act. I leave it to you all to follow the proper protocol. The Bastion Guard will surround the column and protect you from anything the Baliens will throw at us," Striker said, gesturing towards the guards that were stationed near the door as well as the guards that had gathered outside Bastion. "The Rangers…" Striker was forced to stop due to the tumultuous cheering and whistling that followed the mention of the Rangers. Calling the Rangers forth with a hand movement, the Rangers walked onto the dais from which the Council was addressing the gathering. Chris was the one who spoke.

"The Rangers will teach those ugly Balien fart-sniffers what happens when they mess with the human race!" The cheers that followed were deafening. Motioning for the humans to leave the chamber and Bastion once and for all, the human column of evacuees began to move forward to Backwater City and the university that they would call home. Making sure that the process was running smoothly, Chris addressed the other Rangers.

"Ok here's the plan. Zoe and I will watch from the sky and deal with any Skyclaws that should decide to grace us with their presence. Johnny, you ride along side the column and make sure nothing happens on the ground," Chris said, raising his hand to the sky. Johnny and Zoe, however, had no idea how Chris proposed they do so.

"Uh Chris? How do you expect you and me to patrol from the sky? We can't fly," Zoe said, hoping that Chris had some grandiose plan that would actually work.

"Yeah and how am I supposed to follow the column? I can't run that fast," Johnny said, pointing at the column that was now progressing with considerable haste. Chris immediately saw the error of his instructions. Neither Zoe nor Johnny had ever called upon their guardian beasts before.

"You're absolutely right guys. You can't fly, nor run that fast. But you're guardian beasts can. Raise your hand to the sky and call them…but don't blink or you'll miss their arrival. Shrugging and figuring they had nothing to lose, the yellow and black Ranger raised their hands to the sky.

"Griffon!" Zoe cried as her guardian animal appeared out of the sky and landed, rather gracefully, beside her.

"Cerberus!" Johnny called as the ground next to him shattered upward and the three-headed dog sprang forward. Johnny half expected the beast to lick his face. Chris jumped into the air and called his animal.

"Pegasus!" Swooping under Chris, the Pegasus caught the blue Ranger just as his ascent was turning into a fall. "See how cool this is?" Laughing as their guardians took them away, the Rangers set forth to their duty. The landscape, however, was not a good one to look at. From their vantage point in the sky, Chris and Zoe could see an entire company of Baliens marching for Bastion. Their path would intercept that of the humans. "Shit," Chris muttered as he focused his mind to send a telepathic call to Johnny. Much to his dismay, Chris was unable to get a hold of Johnny telepathically; their abilities must have died with Rion. Glancing at the horizon, Chris saw more bad news. Dozens of Skyclaws were inbound towards the Ranger's position. Without hesitating, Chris gave Zoe her instructions.

"Zoe, get your Griffon to take you down to Johnny. Tell him he's got major company in a few minutes. He'll know what to do. Then, get your yellow butt back up here. I can't handle all these Skyclaws alone," Chris said as he reared the Pegasus in mid-flight. Before Zoe could even question Chris' orders, he had charged off towards the Skyclaws screaming "Freedom!" Knowing that there wasn't much time, Zoe went into action.

"Down Griffon!" Zoe said as the guardian swooped down towards Johnny. Floating alongside Johnny, she wasted no time in relaying the message. Muttering a curse, Johnny rode off to inform the Councilors of the impending attack. In a flash, Johnny had his Lunax in his hands ready to fight. Let them come, Johnny thought, gripping the Lunax tighter.

With a few beats of it's massive wings, the Griffon had ascended to height of the aerial battle. Zoe watched as Chris flew through the ranks of Skyclaws, using his staff to bash and strike any Balien foolish enough to get close to him. As she hovered above the battle, Chris called to her.

"As much fun as it is being the hero, I could use a little help here! Call your weapons and get in on this," Chris said as he impaled another Balien on his Skystaff. Zoe nodded and raised her hands from the Griffon's back.

"Wingdaggers!" She cried, watching the weapons materialize into her hands. With a grin she kicked the flanks of the Griffon. "Charge!" Zoe and the Griffon swept into the foray, the Griffon using it's massive claws to rend Balien flesh as Zoe stabbed and slashed anything that wasn't Chris and his Pegasus. The airborne Rangers, however, soon realized that it would take more than them attacking with their weapons and their guardians clawing and smashing to stop the relentless wave of Skyclaws. Flying up above the regrouping Skyclaws the Rangers began to panic.

"There's too many of them," Zoe said, as she nursed her aching arms. "Don't these guardians do anything other than fly us around?" With that, the guardians looked at each other and charged back into the battle. Chris began to have a panic attack, ordering the Pegasus to ascend above the Skyclaws. His fears, however, were soon soothed by what he saw. The Pegasus reared itself up as it beat it's wings, creating winds with the strength of a hurricane behind them. Behind the blue helmet, Chris' jaw dropped at the shock of what he had just seen.

"Guess we'll call that the Wing Wind eh?" Chris said with a chuckle as the Skyclaws began to retreat. To Zoe, however, retreat was not enough. A retreated enemy could be the one who ultimately destroyed you. Before she could order her guardian to give chase, the Griffon began to glow with an eerie aura. Zoe had little time to gasp, as the Griffon darted forward, destroyed each of the retreating Baliens then darting to the next, seemingly dancing among the enemies. In a matter of seconds, the Griffon had destroyed the remaining Baliens with one attack. Dubbing the attack "Griffon's Dance", Zoe flew up beside Chris.

"Guess these guardians have a few tricks up there sleeves huh," Zoe said as they began to fly back towards the column of humans that were no doubt under attack by the Balien ground forces.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Chris said, gazing at Zoe through the visor of his helmet and laughing. Despite his sarcasm, Zoe couldn't help but laugh. Glancing at the ground below, Zoe nudged Chris' side and pointed. It looked as if Johnny and his Cerberus had their hands full in fending off the company of Balien ground troops. Both Johnny and the Cerberus were surrounded by Baliens and were being pushed to their limits to fend them off. Johnny spared a split second to look up at his two friends. Finally some help, Johnny thought as he blocked a strike from a scorpion-like Balien. There were Balien corpses surrounding him and his guardian, as they had almost single-handedly fended off the Balien company that had been intent on attacking the column of Bastion evacuees. Cerberus' three heads were making short work of any Baliens that got close enough for it's jaws to clamp around their bodies. The constant battle was beginning to take its toll on the black Ranger though. Exhaustion began to seep into his aching muscles as he swung his Lunax to remove the head of an axe wielding Balien.

"Tell the Councilors to get the humans out of here. The soldiers will cover their retreat to Backwater University. We'll handle things here. I'll go help Johnny," Zoe said as the Griffon shook it's feathered mane and shrieked into the air. Nodding, Chris set off to find one of the Councilors at the head of the column.

Zoe and her Griffon plunged into the Balien company, delivering some much needed aid to the weary black Ranger. Soaring off the back of the Griffon, Zoe swung into battle. Bringing her Wingdaggers up in a high guard, she easily deflected the overhead strike of cobra-headed Balien. Rolling her wrists, the Balien was suddenly off balance. Not wasting any time, she slashed the belly of the Balien while using her other dagger to stab the Balien in the neck. Hissing, the Balien fell to the ground. Suddenly, Zoe saw a flash of silver and black fly by her head. Crouching and turning in one movement, she saw Johnny's Lunax embedded in the face of a Balien that would have dealt her a fatal blow. Shuddering with the knowledge of how close she had been to death, Zoe yanked the axe out of the Balien's shattered skull and threw it back to Johnny.

"Thank me later. We've got bigger problems than gratitude right now," Johnny said as he pointed past the Balien company. Rolling down the valley towards the human column was a group of half a dozen Balien tanks that would make short work of the human column in a few volleys of artillery fire. Without pause, Zoe made her decision.

"Griffon, destroy those tanks! Griffon Dance!" She called, as her guardian cried it's assent. In a flash of light bounding between tanks, intermixed with explosions, the tanks were destroyed. The Baliens, however, weren't; and they were edging ever closer to the column of humans.

Astride his Pegasus, Chris was struggling to find a Councilor in the sea of humans that were moving towards Backwater City. Finally, Striker called out to Chris, catching his attention. Opening his mouth to speak, Striker was immediately cut off by the blue Ranger.

"Striker, get these guys out of here. We're running out of time. Load as many of them as you can on the military vehicles and sprint this last stretch. You can see the university from here. When the civilians are safe, send back any assault vehicles you can spare. Until then, we'll have to hold them," Chris said as he nudged his guardian to take him back to the battle. As he flew away, Chris could hear Striker barking orders as the humans quickened their pace from a fast march to an all out run. Leaping off the Pegasus, sending it off deeper in the Balien ranks, Chris went to work with his Skystaff. Spinning the staff in front of him, the first Balien that attacked him was disarmed before the blue Ranger cracked his skill with an overhead strike. Wading through the bodies of Baliens that he destroyed, Chris moved towards the other Rangers, as they fended off the last of the Balien ground forces that were near them. Positioning themselves back to back, the Rangers flourished their weapons, motioning for the last of the Baliens to approach.

Rat-tat-tat-tat! Swoosh-BOOM! The Bastion Guard had arrived to take their vengeance on the alien bastards that had taken their homes from them. Striker was leading the charge on the back of a motorcycle, firing grenades from a mounted grenade launcher that had been welded on the handlebars. There was a serene beauty to seeing the Bastion Guard charging into the valley firing back at the Baliens; these were the people that had run from these same invaders and sought refuge in a cavern. Now, a turning point had been reached; they oppressed were now the liberators.

With a renewed vigor, the Rangers charged into the ranks of the Baliens that had surrounded them. Zoe threw one of her Wingdaggers into the shoulder of an approaching Balien while she used the shock of the injury to bridge the distance between her and the invader to slit it's furry throat. Using his Skystaff as a vault pole, Chris locked the head of a crocodile Balien and twisted his feet, snapping it's neck in one deft motion. Charging the Balien closest to him, Johnny slid through the Balien's legs at the last moment. Rolling to his feet, Johnny used the butt-end of his Lunax to knock the soldier to his knees. Bringing the Lunax down in a downward slash, Johnny removed the Balien's head in a singular stroke. Slowly at first, then with extreme haste, the Baliens fell back over the valley's northern hill, retreating to Omega. Some of the Bastion Guard gave chase, destroying any Balien that fell within the range of their weapons. Calling their guardian beasts back and mounting them, the Rangers rode along beside Striker. Removing his dusty sunglasses, a smile broke Striker's normally passive features.

"Well, that went well," Striker said as he turned to ride back to the outskirts of Backwater University. Nodding their agreement, the Rangers accompanied the Guard back to the University, with thunderous applause meeting them at their arrival. The humans had gathered in one of the massive lecture halls, with the Council seated at the front as if they were professors. Sifting their way through the crowd, the Rangers and the Bastion Guard moved to the dais on which the Council was sitting. Faymore arose from his seat, raising his hands to call for silence within the hall.

"People of Backwater," Faymore said, addressing the exiles of Bastion. It was strange to be named in reference to Backwater again and not Bastion. "I give you the Power Rangers!" Cheers and screams erupted from the human crowd, accompanied by whistling and applause. As the thunder of the voices faded, Johnny stepped forward.

"We couldn't have done it without your brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and friends; the Bastion Guard," he said, pointing the soldiers stationed at the back of the hall. Many of the Guard's faces reddened at the sudden attention. The moment of glory, however, was not meant to last.

"You all act as if we've won," Councilor Browning, the woman who had opposed the move to Backwater in the first place, said, standing to address the crowd. Glancing at Chris, Zoe saw him clench his fist as he began to step forward. Holding out her arm to restrain him, Chris halted his advance. "You really think they won't find us here?"

"You know you have a really strange way of showing gratitude," Zoe said, releasing her hold on Chris. "If we hadn't come here you'd be dead right now, just like all of us."

Glaring at Zoe and the Rangers, Browning spoke again. "Please dear girl don't act like you're better than me, because you're not." It took all of Zoe's self-control to not slap the Councilor in the face. Even Faymore was beginning to lose his temperament. "The Baliens will be back."

"You're right you old bat, they will," Chris said, stepping forward to glare at the councilor. Turning to the face the crowd, he added, "And we'll be waiting!" The applause, cheers, and celebration that followed lasted long into the night.

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The Battle of Eltos was not going well; by mid-afternoon the Eltarian Regulars held less than a third of the city under their control and had mounted a defensive stand near the Eltos Fountain. Lorden stood at the front lines, adding his considerable magical talents to the defensive effort that the Eltarians were mounting so valiantly. Fireballs and bolts of lightning soared into the Balien ranks, decimating their numbers, yet they still kept coming.

Bastards must have brought a legion, Lorden thought sullenly as he cast down a fire storm onto the Baliens from above. It was likely that the Eltarians could have charged the Balien offensive and fought in close quarters, resulting to hand to hand combat, but Lorden felt they would hold far longer using ranged offensive magic. Finally, just when it looked as though the tide of the battle was turning in favour of the Eltarians and the Baliens were retreating, Auron's personal command vehicle rolled onto the outskirts of Eltos Square, where the fountain was situated. Stepping out of the vehicle, Auron gazed at the corpses that littered the ground as if they were dolls that had been thrown away by young girls.

"I should have known it was you behind this Auron," Lorden called, facing the massive lion general. Turning to face Lorden, Auron smiled; his glistening fangs still wet with blood.

"Lorden…what a pleasant surprise. I'm surprised they let you stay on Eltar after that episode with your brother," Auron snarled as he approached the Eltarian barricade.

"One more step and you'll be nothing more than an over-toasted husk," Lorden said as fire began to swirl around his raised hand. "Call back your armies Auron, or with my dying breath I'll bring this city down around your ears, killing everyone, including you, with it." Auron chuckled deeply, his voice echoing off the nearby buildings.

"You assume you'll be alive long enough to do that do you? Well then, let me introduce you to these. Gigans attack!" Auron growled as he pointed one of his massive paws towards the handful of Eltarians still drawing breath. For better or for worse, it would be over within the hour.

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"Oh no," Clara cried as she gazed at the viewing crystal; Gigans were nearly impossible to kill using magic or the weapons that Eltarians were using. She was going to have to watch as the remaining fighters of Eltos, including her father, were destroyed by alien monsters. Sighing and turning from the viewing crystal, Stone tried to fight his anger.

"No one deserves to die like that," Stone growled, as he looked at the dragon bracer and Dragonsaber sitting on the council table. He could always… "Clara can you unlock this door?"

Keeping her gaze locked on the viewing crystal, Clara answered in a voice that shook with emotion. "Yes, but my father would kill me. Why?"

Stone walked to the table and placed the dragon bracer on his arm and sheathed the Dragonsaber over his shoulder. Realizing what Stone had planned, Clara whirled away from the viewing crystal. "No, human, you can't! You don't even know how to use them," Clara said as she moved to take the weapon and bracer away from Stone. But I know how, she thought. Stone stopped her with a hand gesture.

"Clara, you know that if I don't go out and fight those Gigans, those Eltarians, including your father, will die. Now either you can unlock this door, let me fight and deal with your father, or you can sit in this room and wait for the Baliens to come kill you. Either way, I'm expendable. And my name isn't human it's Stone. Derek Stone," he said, feeling like James Bond saying his name in that fashion. The turmoil that was running through Clara was crystal clear in her eyes. Turning to face the door, she waved her hand. The chamber door unlocked with a thunk.

"Dragon force," She said, as she walked towards the door. Stone was taken aback.

"What? And where do you think you're going? You don't have any Force powers," Stone said, positioning himself between Clara and the door. With a flick of her wrist, Stone was sent sprawling to the ground. Smiling, Clara offered him a hand up. "Ok fine you can come. Just don't get yourself killed."

"I figured you would say that. And 'dragon force' is the morph command of your Force powers. Your guardian spirit is the dragon, that's why it's dragon force and not something else," Clara said as she walked beside Stone out the door of the chamber.

"Ah…that makes sense," Stone said as they reached the door that would lead them outside. "You ready?" Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Clara focused her mind on her spells and cleared her mind of all else. Finally, Clara nodded.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. You rush to your father and hit those Gigans with every spell you can call to mind. Slow them long enough for me to distract them. Auron will likely crap a brick when he sees me again," Stone said. Nodding once again, Clara tensed herself for the fight. Pushing open the door, the two charged into the struggle. Flashes of lightning crackled from Clara's hands, arcing towards the Baliens and striking them in chains. Stone vaulted over the barrier and moved to where Auron could see him.

"Hey Simba," Stone called as he waved, "Surprised to see me?"

"I'm surprised that the Eltarians let you out of whatever cage they put you in but not to see you here. You see, foolish human, we followed you here," Auron growled as Stone felt his face drain of it's colour. "Enough of this; Gigans destroy the human."

To Stone's delight, his distraction had worked. He watched as Clara half-aided, half-dragged her father back to the Council Chamber. The Eltarian Regulars covered their retreat. Laying him on the fountain, Lorden gathered the energy to speak.

"Clara….what have you done?" Lorden said, as he tilted his head to watch as the Gigans turned to fight Stone. Clara stroked her father's head, wiping the blood from the wounds on his body.

"Saved the city and likely the planet," Clara said as she cupped water from the fountain in her hands for Lorden to drink. "Just watch father."

"So you think you gigantic freaks can take me huh," Stone said, motioning the Gigans on. The three Gigans roared their assent, swinging their weapons and flexing their muscles. "What about like this?"

Lorden's eyes shot open. "Clara, you didn't…"

"Dragon force!" Stone cried raising his braced arm to the sky. In a flash of golden lightning that danced along the bracer, the dragon engraved into the bracer glowed and floated before him. Lowering his arms to his side, the dragon symbol merged onto Stone. The armour on his chest bore the dragon symbol, as did the golden headband that encircled his head. Bands of gold encircled his arms just below the shoulder, engraved with runes that Stone could not decipher. Plates of golden armour conformed Stone's thighs, with armoured boots adorning his feet. Drawing his Dragonsaber, he was the epitome of hope for Eltar.

"You again! But how?" Auron cried, frustrated at the persistence of this golden Ranger. Stone smiled, turning to glare at the lion general.

"You may have killed the man, but you can never destroy the power," Stone said, turning to charge the Gigans. He was a blur of gold, striking and slashing before the Gigans could move to block him. The magic of Eltar must have been supplementing his Ranger powers. Before the last Gigan dropped, the sound of an air gun sounded from behind Stone. Suddenly, the Gigan's eyes shot open, and it stood straight up and bellowed. It's eyes became bloodshot and it began to grow at an exponential rate. Soon, the Gigan towered over the tallest crystal spires of the city.

"Oh shi…" Stone began to say, but was interrupted by a piece of falling crystal the Gigan had knocked off. Stone dove out its path at the last possible moment, avoiding certain death. Lorden pulled himself to his feet and hobbled close enough to Stone so that he could hear what he said.

"Call your zord human!" Lorden called, leaning heavily on the barricade. Stone got to his feet from his dive and risked a glance towards the injured Eltarian leader.

"Call my what!"

"Your guardian spirit, the dragon. Call him forth and activate Force Zord mode. Ask no questions human, there's no time!" Lorden cried as another piece of crystal tower fell. Deciding to humour the old man, Stone was quick to act.

"Gold Dragon, Force Zord mode!" Stone called, watching as the golden dragon appeared. A ring of light began to run down the length of the dragon, transforming living flesh and scales into steel and gears. "Now that is what I'm talking about!" The golden dragon swooped down lowering an access ramp from it's belly. Stone wasted no time in running up the ramp into the dragon's cockpit. "Ok…so let's pretend I have no idea how to fly this thing," Stone said as he grabbed the controls. Much to his surprise, the controls moved under his hands; the wings beat themselves as the dragon thrust itself up and gained altitude. Thinking of all the hours he spent in the arcade playing fighter pilot video games, his instincts began to take over. Circling the Gigan, Stone brought in the zord on an attack run, watching as lasers extended from the dragon's wings.

"Wing blasters online," a voice inside the cockpit said rather politely. Stone shrugged.

"Alrighty then. Wing blasters, fire!" Stone said as bolts of energy spewed out of the laser cannon and pelted the giant Gigan's chest. Losing it's balance, the Gigan stumbled back and fell to the ground, creating tremors felt by Lorden and the other Eltarians still standing on the ground below. Growling and getting back to it's feet, the Gigan swung at the zord. A near miss brought Stone back to his senses; he wasn't invulnerable in this mechanical dragon. "This has gone on long enough. How do I finish this thing?" Stone asked the cockpit, hoping it might provide him with an answer.

"Dragonheart activated," the cockpit replied. The cockpit computer hadn't led him astray yet, so he figured this would work just as well.

"Sure, what the hell. Dragonheart!" Stone said as the control for velocity maxed itself out. Stone looked along the wingspan of the zord and watched as the wings tucked themselves into the body, effectively making the zord an airborne torpedo. Glowing with a golden aura, the zord sailed straight through the Baliens chest, emerging out it's back. With a groan, the Gigan fell to the ground, it's lifeless body shrinking back to it's original size. With it's wings expanded once again, Stone landed the zord next to the Eltos fountain and emerged to the cheers of the Eltarian Regulars, Lorden, and Clara. Smiling, Stone walked down the access ramp and stood in front of the Eltarians.

"Not bad for a human, huh?" Stone said, unable to resist making the Eltarians remember that they had been perfectly ready to lock him away a few hours ago. Scratching their heads and muttering under their breath, the Eltarians were hesitant to meet Stone's eyes. But then, in the blink of an eye, Stone saw part of the Council building crumbling away and hurtling towards the group. Shaking his head, he looked up to see…part of the roof giving way and falling.

"No!" Stone shouted as he raced to get between the hulking mass and the Eltarians. Raising his hands to attempt to catch the building, he heard gasps from the gathered Eltarians. Figuring he had caught the ruin, Stone looked up. To his disbelief, the ruin was hovering in mid-air. Moving his hands, he watched as the ruin moved in synch with his hands. Gentle lowering the piece, Stone turned to face the open-mouthed Eltarians. Stone cleared his throat.

"Well that will definitely amuse the kids at parties," Stone said, trying to make light of the situation. How in the hell did I do that, Stone thought. Of all the things that could have happened in that moment, what happened next Stone would never forget.

Sighing and wiping at his weary eyes, Lorden moved forward and wrapped his arm around Stone. "I think it's time you learned the truth Derek," Lorden said. At this point, Stone could have been knocked over with a feather. Not only did Lorden know his name, he had used his first name.

"Wait, how do you know my name! And if you did why the hell have you been calling me human?" Stone said, removing himself from Lorden's grasp. Lorden's shoulders drooped as he turned to face the fountain. Voice shaking, Lorden spoke.

"I know your name, dear Derek, because you're my nephew."

Author's Note: Just wanted to say thank you to UKHoneyB for bringing the fact that my page breaks weren't showing up to my attention and to ArctosPrime for reminding me to throw zords in this thing. Anyways, thanks for reading, the next chapter will be up soon. Keep reviewing!