Koulagirl -- once again, thank you for your reviews. I've said it before -- I have trouble with most fight scenes (at least, battle scenes without zords), so I'm really glad that you're enjoying them. And I was worried I'd been too obvious with the plot-twist about Callan, particularly given his first line of dialogue back in chapter one :). Having said that, there's three fight scenes in this chapter, and I think you'll really love them. Enjoy :).
Chapter Seven
Teleporting into Caloundra, Jason and I materialised inside one of the major sewer pipelines running under the city. Summoning our Power Swords we set off, Jason using the map to easily navigate our way through the dank, shadowy tunnels. The main sewer pipe was wide enough for us to travel easily, with grates on the ceiling providing shafts of sunlight every few metres, and a large bundle of smaller pipes running along the wall beside us.
Jason paused as we passed by a smaller side tunnel, glancing down to the map then back up. "I think we need to head down there," he said, and we both leaped over the trench in the middle of the pipe.
"After you," I said, as Jason climbed into the narrow tunnel.
He turned back to me. "You're not claustrophobic, are you?" he asked.
"Not really," I replied, as I climbed into the tunnel behind him and we continued. "But this place kinda creeps me out..." I broke off quickly, ducking under a thick stormwater pipe that crossed the ceiling above us. "Not to mention, I'm too damn tall. I just keep telling myself that I can teleport out of here any time with the touch of a button."
"And that's working?"
"Not really, no," I replied, then turned to him. "For the record, Jason, it's good to have you back."
Jason smiled as we turned right into another large tunnel. Up ahead, the thin pipes we'd been following all disappeared down into a grate on the tunnel floor. "Thanks," he said. "Where do you think all those pipes head, anyway?"
I glanced back along the wall. "They carry water, gas and electricity to most of the city," I said, "so they'd probably head deep underground."
Jason nodded, and coming to the grate, he stopped, bending down and quickly swinging it open. "Looks like this is the way."
"We're going down?" I asked.
"We're going down," he replied, then smiled beneath his visor. "After you."
We climbed down into the lower level and kept going, continuing along the path Alpha had mapped out for us on the map, our footsteps echoing down through the tunnel. This pipe looked a lot older than the tunnel above, with cobwebs hanging from exposed pipes, puddles of slime on the ground, and ancient, crumbling masonry. I followed Jason without hesitation as we turned left once, travelled for a few metres then turned right again into a low pipe, having no clue as to our location other than about fifty feet underground.
Up ahead, Jason stopped and pulled open another grate on the tunnel floor, and we both quickly dropped down into an ancient maintenance pipe that probably only saw human life once a year. But about thirty feet ahead of us, a large section of the tunnel wall had been broken down, the floor around the gaping hole strewn with rubble and debris. Approaching slowly, holding our weapons defensively, we soon saw that an eerie light was shining out of the gap, and ducking under an exposed pipe, we crept up to the opening and peered inside.
Behind the entrance lay an utterly enormous cave, easily about four or five times the size of my house, with smooth stone walls and a smooth floor. On the wall directly opposite us was a giant arch in the shape of an open mouth which appeared to lead to another cavern, and the light grew visibly brighter through there. Jason took a hesitant step into the cave - when all of a sudden, a giant red arm ending in a three-clawed fist swept past the opening, catching him completely by surprise and slamming into him with such force that he flew through the air and crashed to the ground against the cave wall about twenty feet away.
"Jason!" I cried, charging in after him, but I didn't stand a chance as the clawed arm struck me as well, the blow lifting me off my feet and launching me through the air, where I crashed down beside Jason and rolled to a painful stop. Still with our weapons (although Jason had since dropped the map), we both climbed to our feet and immediately turned around, only to see nothing short of a nightmare on four legs.
The creature we were facing was huge, its blood-red body thick with muscle. As tall as a horse and standing on all fours, the beast's hind legs were shorter than its disproportionately long and powerful forelimbs, all four legs ending in massive yellow claws, two facing forward and a third thumb-claw facing back. The creature's body curved down into an elongated neck, covered in thick, armoured scales and holding the beast's head only a short distance above the ground. The head itself was small and narrow, with eyes that glowed white and jaws of wickedly-sharp teeth, two massive teeth on the creature's bottom jaw giving it a vicious-looking overbite. The creature was also radiating a tremendous amount of heat - even from a distance it felt like we were standing in front of a furnace. And most frightening of all, the beast was rapidly charging across the cave towards us.
I glanced to Jason. "I think we found the lava beast."
Jason nodded. "I think it found us...look out!"
Galloping towards us, the lava beast roared and aimed its left fist straight for my head. I narrowly dived out of the way, the beast's hand slamming into the stone wall with such force it left an impact crater of chipped and cracked stone. Jason leaped forward and swung his Power Sword at the creature's exposed neck, but the blade merely bounced off the armoured scales and the lava beast instantly retaliated, swiping its right arm at Jason and sending him crashing. I quickly ran over and helped the Red Ranger to his feet, but the lava beast had already turned and was lumbering back towards us.
Gritting our teeth, we raced forward. The beast swung its fist towards me but I dived under the lava beast's arm, rolled to my feet and batted away the creature's claws with my sword in one smooth motion, before smashing the back of my hand into the beast's head as hard as I could. The animal roared in anger and casually swept me aside with its arm, the force of the blow lifting me off my feet and slamming me into the rocky wall where I dropped to the ground seeing stars. Back across the cave, the lava beast swung its right forearm for Jason, but he nimbly ducked under the blow, dodging to the side as the beast rammed an open palm towards him and swinging his sword, the very tip of the weapon slicing through the beast's hide. The lava beast roared, and Jason quickly somersaulted to safety as it raked its claws through the air after him.
Jason dropped to his feet as the lava beast quickly lumbered towards him. By now I'd recovered, and I raced back across the cave, sword raised. The beast swiped out at me without looking, but I leaped into the air and the blow passed harmlessly underneath, before landing beside the creature and slashing my sword. The beast ducked back, and Jason took the opportunity to aim a high spin kick at the beast's skull. The lava beast grunted as the blow connected and aimed a retaliatory swipe at the Red Ranger, before turning back to me and smashing its fist into my gut, the blow driving the air from my lungs and sending me crashing back once again. Jason leaped forward to attack, but was also sent flying as the beast casually swept him away.
The Red Ranger quickly recovered and got to his feet. 'We're getting nowhere,' he thought, 'and we're running out of time.' Turning back to the lava beast, he glanced up and suddenly caught sight of the same bundle of pipes that we'd been following before, emerging from a crack in the cave wall. 'Guess the pipes were laid just above the cave and they've sunk. Peter did say the pipes went deep underground...hey, wait a minute...'
"Peter!" he called over his shoulder. "Keep him busy, I've got an idea!"
On the other side of the cave, I quickly looked from the lava beast to Jason and back again. Great. "Hey you!" I cried, and the lava beast turned its head toward me. "Yeah, I'm talking to you ugly!" At this, the creature spun around to face me and began thundering across the cave with a roar. I immediately turned and backed away, ducking under a vicious swipe and rolling to safety as the animal charged after me.
Hoping his idea would work, Jason raised his sword and leaped towards the wall, swinging high and instantly cleaving through the bundle of pipes. The first two only carried electrical cables, but the last one now gushed a steady torrent of fast-flowing water. Bingo.
Across the cave, I saw Jason slice through the pipes out of the corner of my visor, and realising what he had in mind, I quickly dived under another angry swipe from the lava beast, got to my feet and raced over, the beast hot on my tail. With the animal charging towards us, Jason reached for the water pipe and turned to the lava beast.
"Hey lava-head," he said, the beast only a few metres away and closing in fast. "Cool off." And with that, he swung the water pipe down away from the wall, the torrent of water smashing into the beast and sending it crashing back away from us. Slowly climbing to its feet, the lava beast howled in pain as Jason continued soaking it with water gushing from the pipe, the beast's blood-red skin visibly fading to a pale yellow and steam now rising from its body. Roaring weakly, the beast sank down onto the ground, looking like it was about to pass out.
"Let's finish this," said Jason, raising his sword high into the air. I nodded, and raised my blade towards his. The two weapons crossed in midair, and a brilliant burst of energy suddenly exploded from the two blades, spinning through the air and smashing into the downed lava beast. The blast lifted the animal off his feet and slammed him back into the far wall, hitting with such force that the entire wall shook, the stone cracking and crumbling. As the animal dropped to the ground, rocks and stones from the broken wall began to tumble down over him, and the lava beast was soon completely buried under a pile of rocky debris.
We both slowly lowered our swords. "Well, that was fun," said Jason.
I paused, catching my breath. "I only wish we had some time to recover, but I think we'd better move."
He nodded. "You're right, let's go."
With that, we turned and raced across the cave towards the archway we'd seen earlier. Crossing under it into a narrow tunnel, we followed the tunnel around as it opened into a huge room. Flaming torches lined the walls casting flickering shadows all around us, and up ahead, two deep firepits lay on either side of the stone floor, the dancing flames lighting up the cavern. But beyond the firepits on the far wall, we immediately saw another enormous archway surrounded by very familiar stone carvings, and below that rested a solid stone panel which, even as we watched, was slowly rising up into the wall, a strange flickering glow visible on the other side.
The Gateway...
Standing in front of the wall on a small platform was none other than Rita Repulsa herself, her wand in one hand and the Book of Hades in the other, chanting some kind of incantation from the book in an ancient, unrecognisable language. Beside her, I could see the key from the cave on Triforia embedded in a lock on the wall.
"Rita!" Jason cried, "give it up! It's all over."
Jason's voice echoed through the cave, and her concentration broken, Rita immediately spun around in surprise. But that was all it took - the rising stone panel immediately slowed to a grinding halt, and as Rita turned back to face it, the panel began falling back down to the floor before slamming shut. Smiling beneath my visor, I glanced to Jason.
We'd done it.
Rita stood facing the Gateway for a few seconds longer, her initial surprise rapidly giving way to mounting fury, and throwing the book of Hades aside, she turned back to face Jason and I, pure fury visible in her eyes. It had taken her so long, and she was so close to attaining her goal. There was no way that she was going to be scared away by kids in bright costumes, not here, and not now.
"Power Rangers," she began, barely controlling her anger as she slowly began descending the stairs towards us. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"Stopping you," I said, as Jason and I crossed between the twin firepits.
"Yeah," Jason agreed. "We know why you're here, and we're not going to let you open the Gateway."
"Fine," the witch replied. Nodding to herself, she gripped her wand tightly and determinedly began striding towards us. "You've interfered too many times now, and although I hate getting my hands dirty, I'll just have to do what I should have done a long time ago," and she raised her wand menacingly. "Destroy you both myself."
Far away to the west, halfway between the ruined city and the distant line of mountains, thunder rumbled and lightning struck down from a suddenly-cloudy sky - with a flash of light, three massive dinozords suddenly appeared, the black Mastodon, blue Triceratops and yellow Sabre-Toothed Tiger racing across the landscape towards the Rangers. As they approached, Tommy brought the Dragon Dagger to his lips and played a simple, six-note tune, and almost immediately, the mighty green Dragonzord had teleported from its underwater lair on Earth and arrived spectacularly on the scene, thundering towards Wolfbane and shaking the ground with every enormous step.
"This is it guys!" cried Zac, and he, Billy and Trini teleported into the rapidly approaching zords, each Ranger materialising in their respective control rooms and reaching for the controls. "Zord transformation sequence, now!"
Smashing through the already crumbling city walls, the three zords reached the ruins of Azhron and turned towards the Dragonzord, all four zords beginning to transform. The Dragonzord lifted into the air as its chestplate disappeared, its arms drawing back as both shoulders rotated forward, slamming together to form golden chest armour. Down below, the Mastodon lifted into the air and split in two to provide the zord with arms, and as the Dragonzord's massive grey legs retracted up into themselves, the zord began lowering itself back down, the Sabre-Toothed Tiger and Triceratops rolling underneath and rotating vertical to give the Dragonzord legs. Finally, as the zord's tail teleported away, the Dragonzord's lower jaw dropped down to reveal a silver mouthplate and flashing red visor.
Still on the ground, Kimberly and Tommy teleported into the zord's control room and joined Zac, Billy and Trini, Tommy arriving in the central position as the colossal zord turned and faced Wolfbane, ready for battle. "Dragonzord in fighting mode, online!"
Behind the Dragonzord, the Junior Team's five zords all suddenly appeared in a storm of lightning bolts, faithfully thundering across the empty landscape towards the ruined city, the orange Stegozord leading the charge, with the white Velociraptor and blue Brontosaurus directly behind and the shining Iguanodon bringing up the rear, the purple Rhamphorynchus cruising through the sky high above. Seeing the zords powering towards them, the five Junior Rangers reached for their morphers, Brendan smiling with delight as he teleported into an orange cockpit.
"Okay guys," he began, "MegaIguanodon power, now!" The radio speakers in the other four zords fell silent for a second before briefly crackling to life once again, causing everyone to smile and chuckle. "Damn, Peter's seat is so much comfier than mine."
Approaching the city, the Stegozord and Brontozord drew side-by-side - coming to a stop, their legs and tails folded back, the Brontozord's head sank to the ground and their bodies flipped vertical. Behind them, the Iguanodon lightly jumped into the air, its legs folding back and arms flattening against its sides. Dropping down onto the Stegozord and Brontozord, the Iguanodon gained a new pair of legs, while its back armour rotated forward to form a new chestshield. Powering towards the zord, the Velociraptor nimbly sprang into the air, splitting in two in midair and instantly giving the Iguanodon arms. Finally, the Rhamphorynchus dropped down out of the sky and attached to the Iguanodon's back, and the zord's snout rolled back to reveal a flat, silver faceplate with a pair of glowing golden eyes, the Rangers instantly finding themselves teleported into the zord's cockpit, Ian in the centre.
"MegaIguanodon, powered up!"
Its transformation completed, the MegaIguanodon crossed the deserted city to stand beside the Dragonzord facing down their opponent.
"You can use every weapon you have," Wolfbane began, his voice echoing across the city, "but Callan could not defeat me and neither will you. Now give me that which I deserve!"
"You know, you should be careful what you ask for," said Ian, the radio broadcasting his words across the field. "Because you might just get it."
Wolfbane snarled, baring his fangs. "Have it your way," he growled, and hesitating a second longer, he charged across the battleground towards them, shaking the deserted city with every gigantic footstep.
"Let's show this guy who he's dealing with," said Tommy, and with that, the Dragonzord and MegaIguanodon raised their armoured fists and powered towards the approaching monster, the stage set for an epic battle.
The three combatants met in the middle of the city, the Dragonzord instantly swinging out with a right hook. Wolfbane ducked under the blow, but was knocked back as the MegaIguanodon smashed him with a powerful left backhand. The beast quickly regained his footing and raced forward with a burst of speed, knocking the MegaIguanodon backwards with a high kick before turning to the Dragonzord. But the Senior Rangers were ready, blocking a punch from the warrior and sending him stumbling with a blow to the stomach. The MegaIguanodon quickly rejoined the Dragonzord, and both zords charged forward, aiming twin punches for Wolfbane's snout. Raising his gauntlets, the monster blocked both blows, struck the MegaIguanodon away before slamming both fists against the Dragonzord's chestshield and sending it to the ground.
The Dragonzord crashed to the Earth in a cloud of dust, showers of sparks raining down on the Rangers within its cockpit. "Guys," started Kim, as they fought to regain control of the zord, "we've taken a hit, we'll need some time here."
"Got you covered," nodded Ian, and as Wolfbane advanced on the downed Dragonzord, the Junior Rangers charged the MegaIguanodon forward to take up the attack, striking out with a right hook. The blow landed in a shower of sparks, Wolfbane spinning around to face the zord and retaliating with a left backhand which the zord nimbly dodged. But as the zord recovered, Wolfbane leaped forward on the offensive, and the Rangers had to steer the MegaIguanodon under a high punch before blocking a low kick with a metallic clang and striking the monster's boot away. Unfazed, Wolfbane smashed his right fist into the zord's chest and his left into the zord's head, the MegaIguanodon stumbling backwards in a shower of sparks and fire.
"Back in the game," said Trini, as the Dragonzord powered back across the ruined city. Hearing the zord approach, Wolfbane roared and sprang into the air towards it, but as he descended, the zord caught his fists and threw him aside. Recovering quickly, the beast rolled to his feet and leaped back towards the Dragonzord, swinging high, but the zord dodged his fist, blocked a second punch, and easily batted away a third. Turning to the side, the warrior smashed his right gauntlet into the Dragonzord's chest, but the Rangers retained control of the zord, and brushing the warrior's arm aside, turned and lifted him into the air with massive uppercut which sent him to the ground with an earth-shattering crash several hundred metres away, the beast levelling an entire street of half-standing buildings as he rolled to a stop.
By now, the MegaIguanodon had recovered, and charged over to the Dragonzord. "Good work guys," said Teresa, "let's keep it up," and the two zords turned and powered across the battlefield.
Still determined to reclaim the Iguanodon Power Coin at any cost, Wolfbane climbed to his feet but almost immediately found himself under attack as the two zords approached, the MegaIguanodon swinging low while the Dragonzord aiming a high roundhouse punch. The monster dodged the former and dived to the side around the Dragonzord's metal fist. The two zords turned and continued the assault, but leaping forward, Wolfbane blocked a punch from the MegaIguanodon and kicked the zord back, before ducking under a swipe from the Dragonzord and landing several rapid blows to its golden chestplate. Both zords recovered instantly, however, and wheeling around on the spot, they slammed their fists into his chest and launched him into the air.
Wolfbane hit the ground with an almighty crash, shaking the entire city as he landed. Dazed from the blow, Wolfbane picked himself up and turned to the two zords facing him from across the city.
"Fine then," the monster growled, and holding out his arm, a long, bladed staff appeared in his outstretched hand in a flash of blue light. Raising the weapon and holding it in front of him, the beast turned back to face his opponents, and not wishing to disappoint him, the Rangers pushed the zords forward to continue the battle.
Aiming her wand, Rita sent a massive blast of energy spiralling towards us. We both leaped into the air, somersaulting over the witch and landing between her and the Gateway. Rita angrily spun around.
"Leave this place," she growled.
Jason shook his head. "You're not going to open the Gateway."
"You'll have to go through us," I added.
"Well that's fine by me," she finished, and raising her wand, she charged towards us.
In unison, we swung our blades towards her as she approached, but raising her staff, Rita blocked both blades and batted them away before striking me back and turning to Jason, swinging high. Jason nimbly ducked as the red orb and crescent passed over his head, and he quickly dodged to the side as Rita swung again. Turning back to face her, he slashed out with his sword, but Rita moved fast for somebody older than the pyramids, easily blocking the blow, striking the sword away and aiming low, Jason leaping up and over the wand. Racing back towards Jason, I rejoined the Red Ranger and the two of us continued our attack. I sliced my blade down in a wide diagonal arc, but Rita effortlessly batted the blade away, turning quickly and blocking a diagonal slice from Jason, before stepping back and sending another blast of energy hurtling towards us.
Jason and I dived to the side, the blast smashing harmlessly into the ground behind us. I rolled to my feet, raised my sword and spun back to the witch, swinging the blade in one smooth motion, but she raised her wand and halted the sword midswing. Holding her hand out, she muttered a quick chant, and a blast of fire exploded from her fingertips, launching me backwards through the air. Even as I fell, Jason charged back towards her, swinging his sword in a wide horizontal slash - blocking his blade, she batted away the sword and swung high. Spinning on the spot, Jason ducked under the move and raked his sword back through the air. Rita almost casually blocked the blow, and as she glanced up to the ceiling, several boulders suddenly came away from the cave roof, falling on a direct path for Jason. Raising his sword, Jason struck them away as they fell, but another blast of energy and the entire cavern erupted in sparks and smokes, and Jason stumbled back away from her to join me.
"You're not facing one of my monsters now, Rangers," she said, slowly advancing.
"You know, we're gettin' that," I said, and glanced to Jason. "Any ideas?"
"She's vain, likes to hear herself talk," he whispered. "Play it up."
I nodded, but turned to him. "Wait, I like to talk..."
"Go!" he said.
I leaped back towards her with a high kick, but Rita raised her wand and blasted me out of the air. Jason raced past me as I climbed to my feet and the two began once again trading blows, and I charged back to attack while Rita was distracted. But while still ably fighting Jason, the witch turned and began fending off blows from me as well, easily keeping the two of us at bay. Stepping back, Jason and I both swung our swords above our heads and simultaneously brought them down towards her, but Rita ducked back and the two blades bounced off each other with a clang - as we turned back to her, she raised her hand and muttered something under her breath. A second later, a wall of concussive force smashed into us, lifting us both off our feet and slamming us back in an explosion of sparks and smoke.
Jason crashed to the ground between the twin firepits while I smashed into the wall and dropped to the ground. Climbing to his feet, the Red Ranger immediately raced over towards me. But wheeling around with her wand glowing, Rita levelled the staff at Jason and blasted the Red Ranger clean off his feet, sending him crashing back towards the edge of the firepit.
Across from Rita, I climbed to my feet and raised my sword as the witch stood to her full height and turned back to face me.
"Children," she sneered. "That's who Zordon keeps sending against me, time and time again. Children with no idea what power actually means." She paused, her gaze focussing on me. "I tired of these games long ago. I think I'll have to send Zordon a message he'll remember..."
"Rita!" shouted Jason, and both Rita and I immediately spun around in the direction of his voice - across the cavern, the Red Ranger stood beside one of the firepits, holding his arm out over the roaring fire.
And in his outstretched hand, the book of Hades.
"NO!" Rita screamed, and immediately levelled her wand for Jason. But as she turned away, I raised my sword and leaped towards her - with the silver blade glowing, I swung the sword straight for her wand. The two weapons met and my blade instantly smashed the red orb before cleaving clean through the crescent in an explosion of sparks and fire, the force of the blow instantly throwing Rita to the ground.
There was a minute of silence as Jason jogged over to join me, as across from us, Rita turned to stare incomprehensibly at her shattered wand. She looked back to us as we stepped towards her, the rage in her eyes being rapidly replaced by confused shock.
"You know what Rita?" Jason asked, as Rita scrambled back away. "You were right. Zordon did make a mistake, and it nearly cost us everything." He paused, stepping forward. "But let's talk about mistakes. You've attacked this city, what, fifty times by now? Only to lose spectacularly every single time. For what, to soothe your own ego? To remind yourself how big and scary you are? Yeah, we're really petrified here. If you're so great and powerful and better than us, Rita, then it's about time you figured something out - you never won in the past, you didn't win today and you are not going to win, ever. Not while the good guys are here." He paused, shaking his head. "Now get off our damn planet."
Without another word, Rita vanished from the scene in a flash of flame, leaving Jason and I alone and victorious.
I turned to the Red Ranger, my heart still pounding double-time. "Whew," I said. "We did it, we won."
He nodded, smiling beneath his visor. "I almost don't believe it," he said. "Good work. Smashing the wand, that was brilliant."
"Couldn't have done it without the distraction," I said.
"Thanks," he replied, "hold this for a second," and handing me the book, the Red Ranger jogged over to the Gateway, pulled the key free and turned back to me. "Okay, let's get out of here, drop these off in the Command Centre and go find the other Rangers."
Crossing the ruined city, the MegaIguanodon reached Wolfbane and immediately swung a roundhouse right punch. Ducking the zord's metallic fist, Wolfbane carved his blade back across the zord's chest-shield in a shower of sparks before turning to face the Dragonzord. But as the Senior Rangers charged the Dragonzord forward, there was a flash of light and the zord was suddenly holding the enormous Power Staff. Wolfbane hesitated but attacked regardless, slashing his blade for the approaching zord - thundering towards him, the zord swung the drill tip of the staff for the descending blade, instantly shattering it before carving the weapon back across Wolfbane's chest armour and sending him crashing back in a blaze of fire and smoke.
Finding his footing and still dazed from the attack, Wolfbane turned back to the Dragonzord to retaliate, but the MegaIguanodon charged towards him on the offensive. Striking away a kick, the zord blocked a low punch and forced the monster back with a blow to the chest. Wolfbane recovered and spun back around, but the Rangers pressed the zord forward, jarring the beast with a powerful left hook followed by a blow to the stomach. Wolfbane retaliated in desperate anger, but charging forward, the MegaIguanodon blocked a high punch and aimed a powerful right uppercut straight for Wolfbane's snout, the blow lifting the monster off his feet and slamming him to the ground.
The Rangers watched as Wolfbane regained his senses and clambered to his feet, but as he turned to face them, the ground continued shaking, and everybody turned to see the red and silver Tyrannozord powering through the ruined city towards them.
"Hey guys," I called into the radio. "Gateway's shut, thought we'd come and lend a hand."
"Yeah," said Jason, as the Tyrannozord reached the two zords and turned to face the monster. "Wait, this is Callan?"
"Negative," replied Billy. "Our foe is General Wolfbane, who was masquerading as the real Callan all along."
In the MegaIguanodon, Scott nodded, and smiled. "We'll explain later."
"So Wolfbane's been impersonating a Ranger for six hundred years and he's still in one piece?" Jason asked.
"Trust me, we're about to change that," said Ian.
Across from us, Wolfbane took a faltering step towards the three zords, crushing a building under his foot. "That Power Coin is mine," he growled softly, his eyes a picture of ancient hate. "And I will destroy you all to claim it..."
"No," Ian replied, shaking his head. "This coin was a gift, given to people who knew what it meant, like Callan. He understood, but you never could've. Let's finish this. Rhamphorynchus crossbow mode!" The MegaIguanodon raised its arm and the purple Rhamphorynchus detached from the zord's back, lowering down onto the zord's hand, wings suddenly in the shape of a crossbow and long thin tail now a solid weapon pointing towards the monster. "Fire!"
With a burst of energy, the tail bolt blasted across the battlefield, exploding through the air and slamming squarely into its target, piercing Wolfbane's armour and re-emerging through his back. There was a second of silence as the monster stared dumbly at the hard light projectile embedded in his chest, then suddenly, he slowly fell backwards, and was destroyed in a cataclysmic explosion that shook the abandoned city and sent a glowing fireball and a plume of smoke roaring skywards.
Watching from the zord's cockpit as the smoke cloud began to clear, Ian sat back and nodded. "This one was for you Callan," he said softly. "Wherever you are."
"Good work guys," said Tommy from the Dragonzord. "We did it, all of us."
"Yeah," said Kim. "Awesome job."
Brendan glanced back down to the temple behind the zords, to see Trystenn cautiously emerging from the building, staring in wonder up to the three zords. "Uh, guys?" he began, as the MegaIguanodon turned back to Azhron's rightful heir. "I think we owe somebody a bit of an explanation. C'mon..."
We all left the zords, teleporting down to the street below and materialising in twelve bright flashes of light. Billy, Tommy and Ian stepped over to the young dark-haired soldier standing by the temple courtyard, while Brendan quickly explained who Prince Trystenn was to the rest of us.
Trystenn glanced from Billy to Tommy as they joined him, still in a state of shock. "So, you're all Power Rangers?" he asked slowly.
Billy nodded. "Affirmative," he replied. "I apologise for our earlier deception."
"Yeah," Tommy said. "We were having a... rough couple of days."
Trystenn nodded and smiled. "Probably for the best," he replied. "The only Ranger we've ever known was Callan, or at least, who we all thought was Callan."
Ian stepped forward. "Well, without Wolfbane, Azhron is yours again," said Ian. "Back the way it should be. Without a leader, the Shadow Knights should pretty much fall apart. I doubt they'll cause you any more trouble."
"We've already begun rounding them up," Trystenn replied. "With luck, exile will suit them well."
"Still, the city's yours to restore," Tommy said. "Take care of it."
Prince Trystenn nodded slowly. "I'm still not even sure this has all happened," he said. "My family has fought Wolfbane and fled from his Shadow Knights for almost six hundred years, generation after generation." Trystenn paused. "Yet in the space of one morning, you all arrived and changed everything. How did you do that?"
"It's just what we do," Jason replied.
Beside him, Ian glanced to the rest of the team before turning back to Trystenn. "Speaking on behalf of the team though, we do have one request."
"Name it," Trystenn replied. "Anything that's within my power."
"Tell everybody who returns to the city that Callan was innocent," Ian began, "and that your enemy was the traitorous General Wolfbane all along. Callan the Grey Ranger died a hero, and that's how he should be remembered."
Trystenn held his hand to his heart, in what looked to us to be a salute. "It will be done," he said, honesty in his eyes. "You have my solemn promise."
"One more addendum," Billy said quickly. "Back home, our identities are not a matter of public knowledge. If you could perhaps refrain from mentioning our names in the retelling of the story?"
Trystenn laughed. "It will be done," he said. "Or, not done, I suppose."
Ian nodded. "Thank you," he said, and turned back to the rest of the team. "Well guys, we've done everything we needed to do," he said. "I think we can head home."