Azurine's eyes gradually opened as her ears tuned in to the dulcet sound of the alarm on her cell phone going off. She stretched a bit, then leaned over and turned it off with a slap. Clad in nothing but an ice blue nightie, she got up, walked into her bathroom and flipped on the light. Instantly, she let out a blood-curdling scream. Some… thing was sleeping in her bathtub! It had gills, and eyes covered by a thin white covering, and… curly… hair.

"Daok?!"

Daok shot up from the bathtub, splashing water everywhere. The lens over his eyes slipped away and his neck gills sealed shut. Him and Azurine spent another ten seconds screaming at each other before finally calming down.

"I, um, forgot you were here. And didn't expect you to be sleeping in my bathtub."

"It's important for Atlanteans to remain hydrated. We can survive on land fine, we just need to keep up with our water and salt intake. So I made myself a salt bath."

Azurine's eyes wandered downward and she blushed slightly. "And the reason you have no pants on is…?"

"Comfort."

"Naturally."

She reached into the cabinet under the sink and tossed the man a towel. He wrapped around himself while she reached into her sink drawer, procured her toothbrush, and began getting ready for the day. Daok walked over, analyzing her brushing her teeth with all the investigative curiosity of a kindergartner.

"So surface people have a special tool for cleaning their teeth?"

Azurine spit into the sink and nodded. "Yep. What did Atlanteans use to clean their teeth?"

"Oh, we had cleaner shrimp," Daok stated matter-of-factly. "Cute little things. Very thorough. The only hard part was just keeping your mouth open."

Azurine looked absolutely mortified at the idea of having shrimp crawling in her mouth. Daok was confused, but when he tried to pry as to what was wrong, she just shrugged it off. The pair moved from the bathroom into Azurine's small kitchen. While she was digging some frozen waffles out of the back of her freezer, Daok took the time to explore through her cabinets.

He stared in bewilderment at all the various condiments and canned and jarred foods present there. He came across a jar of peanut butter, which intrigued him the most. He tried to pull the top off directly, but obviously it wouldn't budge; Azurine giggled as she softly took his hands in hers and guided him into screwing the lid off properly.

"I've never seen anyone have this much trouble opening a jar of peanut butter before. It's kind of cute," she told him as they briefly stared at each other. She blushed a little more when she realized exactly what she'd said. "Not that you're cute or anything… And not that I'm saying you're ugly! You're definitely not! I just… am going to stop talking now."

She walked away to place her waffles in her toaster. Daok took a finger and swiped a dollop of peanut butter onto his fingertip. Placing the orange paste into his mouth, his eyes widened in amazement; it was amazing! No Atlantean cuisine had ever tasted anything like it. Before he knew it, he was devouring the contents of the jar with fervent vigor until not a single spec of peanut butter was left inside. Azurine simply stared aghast, overflowing her waffles with enough syrup that it started pooling up on her plate.

"Looks like I'm going to need to get more peanut butter… and more waffles."

That sentence was enough to get the young woman thinking. Shopping. That was definitely something Daok hadn't done in a while, if ever. If he was going to be living on the surface, she had to try her best to get him acclimated to the modern day and what's more modern than a shopping spree? She confidently placed her hands on her hips à la Wonder Woman and looked Daok in the eye with a beaming smile, only to be reacted to with bewilderment.

"I've decided that we're going shopping."

"For food?"

"No, for the culture! You need to learn how people and things work nowadays, and I think that a shopping spree is just what you need!"

Now, Daok was rather ignorant to most things human, but some small, subconscious part of him felt embarrassed when Azurine stuck him in an oversized maroon t-shirt decorated in cutesy cat designs and dragged him out in public. She had told him they were going to a "mall", whatever that was, so that he could get better acquainted with human culture. The other Rangers would meet them there.

When the pair arrived, Daok was slightly taken aback. Sure, plenty of people sold goods and services in Atlantis, but there was never really a storefront associated with them, let alone anything like a strip mall. He took in the rows and rows of stores clustered together, selling products he'd never even dreamed of. It was a bit of culture shock, but Azurine grabbed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile; it seemed to temper his nerves a bit.

"Come on, if we don't hurry then we'll miss all the sales!"

"I don't see any sai—Hey!"

The confused Atlantean was dragged by his teammate like a toddler pulling a doll behind them. This was going to be a loooong day.

"You were wrong!"

Deep within the depths of the ocean, Avalon was beside himself with anger. A fuming, burning anger that found its origin in shame. And to a prideful figure like him, shame was akin to poison. He couldn't believe that after all those centuries, all that time, that he was bested by a fish out of water and his surface-dweller friends. He wouldn't stand for it! After all, it was Xini's fault; she was the one that fed him and Hapaloct the idea that the Power Rangers had been destroyed!

"Had you given me proper intel, I could have prepared! I could have planned! I—"

"Will hold your tongue when addressing me, boy!"

Xini's words weren't so much yelled as they were hissed. But their meaning was clear as day. Xini was old, she was wise, and she also wasn't about to let an upstart Avalon think he could simply address her how he pleased. She conjured a ball of enchanted ooze in the palm of her slimy, webbed hand and launched it at Avalon; the goo instantly began to encase the malevolent knight in an unbreakable, gelatinous shell. He fell to the ground, helpless, as the witch slithered her way over to his prone body.

"Release me at once!"

"Only if you apologize. Don't you know it's disrespectful to raise your voice to your superiors?"

"No one is superior to me, witch!"

"And yet here we are."

After watching him struggle for a few more minutes like a worm caught in a hurricane, Xini snapped her fingers. The slime vanished into the ether, allowing Avalon to pick himself up. He wanted nothing more than to raise his blade to the sorceress's throat, but he knew if he tried to do so then she'd probably do something much worse than wrapping him up in slime. So, as much as it pained to do so, Avalon swallowed his pride as best he could. Just then, Hapaloct barged into the room, chugging down booze and complaining of a headache.

"That fight with the Rangers left me with a bad dose of hangover. Only one cure for that: more booze!"

Avalon scoffed. "If we're going to take down the Rangers, I'll need more competent soldiers than that boozed up oaf. Please tell me you've made some kind of progress on breaking the seal on our other soldiers."

"Well, luckily for you, I have made some progress. Though it hasn't been easy."

Xini slithered over to one of the many statues clogging up the Coralium Maximus. The figure frozen in time was slender, feminine; Wearing some form of flowy dress with a spiky seashell bra. On her arms were large shell-like growths and pearls embedded all across her body. Her face was mostly humanoid aside from a pair of fins on the sides of her face that resembled the open shell of an oyster; a massive central pearl took up most of the space on her forehead. She drew a seven-pointed star out of her slime across the statue's chest. The star began to glow with a violet, arcane light. Xini then placed her hand over the glowing symbol, causing the light to extend up her arm, and making her veins luminesce.

"Ba'as He'el Tr'ek!"

Purple cracks started to form all throughout the ashen gray stone coating; the cracking of the rock was audible, loud enough to cause long-lasting echoes. And then BOOM! A brilliant flash of violet light and a small explosion; when the dust settled, where once stood a solid statue now stood a living being. The stony gray now replaced a vibrant array of colors; a ruby red dress; exotic blue skin; pearls in every color of the rainbow; and passionate lilac eyes. She took a deep breath and then began to scan the room, confusion decorating her every expression.

"Where…am I?"

"You're inside the Coralium Maximus," Avalon informed as he approached her. He delicately placed a hand beneath her chin, tilting her head up so that their eyes locked. "Has time erased any of your memories, Arbina? Or should I say… my love?"

"Avalon!" she exclaimed, pulling him in for a brief kiss. "You never forgot me!"

Hapaloct feigned a motion as if he were going to vomit. "Ugh, if this keeps up, I'm legging it out of here."

"Go on!" stated Avalon. "Not like I need you anymore since Xini can break the rest of the—"

Avalon looked over to see Xini in a state he'd seldom seen her in; winded, weaked, and exhausted. She could barely keep herself stable on her own slimy tail. Still, the sorceress did her best to keep her composure. Even if her natural raspy toned voice was obviously haggard.

"Breaking a divine seal takes powerful magic… the kind that takes more than most can give. I will need an extensive time to recover before I can break another one of our soldiers free."

Avalon was fuming; he drew his sword and stabbed violently into the floor. "So I have to wait for my army?! Do you understand the kind of progress the Rangers can make in all that time!?"
Arbina lovingly grabbed hold of her lover's arm, redirecting his attention back to her. "Darling, seeing you like this makes me so upset. If those Power Rangers are troubling you, then let me take care of them for you."

"Arbina, my sweet, I could never ask you to—"
"But I want to! I want to do it! For you, my love!"

"Fine. But we'll do it together. Hapaloct, you're more than welcome to—"

"Oh no, lad. This one's all yours. I'm gonna get fluthered."
The alcoholic mollusk sauntered his way out of the room. Avalon could only laugh.

"I was going to say 'You're more than welcome to go away'."

"Hey, guys!"

Azurine, with Daok in tow, walked up to Umiko, Indra, and Rider; all of whom were waiting by the large fountain in the center of the outlet. The three Rangers greeted their teammates warmly, although it took all of two seconds for Rider to make a joke at the expense of Daok's shirt; the Atlantean couldn't even look the teenager in the face. Azurine let go out of Daok's hand in order to point out all the different stores; shoes, perfume, clothes, make-up, and more. And she was talking a mile a minute, so much so that Daok could almost feel the smoke coming out of his ears from trying to keep up with it all. Umiko was quick to notice and stepped in.

"Um, Azurine. He's only been out of the water for a day. Let's give him a chance to learn at his own pace. It's really difficult to adjust to a brand new place all at once."

"Oh. Yeah. I guess I just got so caught up in everything."

She stopped talking and walked over to Daok. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"I…"

Daok looked around. Everything looked so foreign, so strange. He really was a fish out of water. Still, he didn't want to look incompetent in front of his new team; he had to remain an example for them after all. The gears in his head turned for a moment before he remembered: clothes! Humans seemed to really like clothes, well, except for the ones he was wearing apparently.

"I… would like to go… clothes shopping?"

Azurine and Umiko's eyes lit up as they both took one of his hands. Normally, he'd be fine with the gesture. However, for some reason he couldn't explain, this time made him feel uneasy. The two women rapidly pulled him towards the nearest store, leaving Indra and Rider behind. The scientist and the high school freshman could only look at each in bewilderment.

"Do we follow them?"

"Do you really want to?"

"Wanna hit the food court? My treat."

"No digas más. You had me at 'your treat'."

Daok had weathered storms, fought monsters, and been the only survivor of a centuries-old conflict. And none of that, absolutely none of it could have prepared him for a shopping spree with two 20-something year old women. It all happened so fast. As if the instant they walked through the door, he found himself in a dressing room; Umiko and Azurine would go browse outfit after outfit for him. And he'd have to take their word for it since he didn't really have any grasp on the surface concept of "fashion sense". All he knew was that he was glad to be rid of that embarrassing cat shirt. He tried on various items including shirts, khakis pants, and even a business suit bow tie at one point. Eventually, they settled on a look that Azurine dubbed "shark chic"; an acid washed red jean vest, ripped black jean shorts, and a white "JAWS" t-shirt along with a pair of black strappy sandals. Daok himself was quite a fan of the look.

"Umiko, I think this outfit is our magnum opus," Azurine proudly declared.

Umiko nodded in agreement. "I couldn't agree more. Looks like clothes really do make the man. Or merman, in this case."

"Is this… good?"

Azurine gave him a look of reassurance. "You look great. Now, let's go pay for this stuff and then we'll go see where Indra and Rider ran off to."

"Judging by how Indra was talking about corn dogs all the way here, I've got a few ideas," said Umiko with a giggle.

Azurine went up to the register to pay, leaving Daok and Umiko back at the dressing rooms.

"So, Daok, what do you think of the surface so far?" Umiko asked through the door.

"I'm having a lot of fun. I really appreciate everything you guys are doing for me. Honestly, after everything that's happened, I was a little scared about getting attached to a new team."

"Is that your way of saying you like us?"

"I guess it is, yeah."

"Well, the feeling's mutual. And I'm sure all the others feel the same way. Especially Azurine."

Daok grinned, albeit Umiko couldn't see him do so. "Why especially her?"

"I mean, she was the one that put all this together. And the way she looks at you—"

" Way she looks at me? What do you mean?"

"I…" Umiko realized she'd let slip something that wasn't her business. Sure, she'd seen the slight spark that always jumped between Daok and Azurine whenever they looked at each other or locked eyes. But if he hadn't noticed yet, then letting the cat out of the box this early could screw things up royally.

"I must be confused! Nevermind."

"Nevermind what?"

Azurine had just walked back into the room. Umiko's face lit up a very obvious shade of red. She was extremely befuddled when the blushing college student refused to make eye contact and walked out of the store.

Meanwhile, in the food court, Indra and Rider were shooting the breeze over some corn dogs and onion rings. Now, typically there isn't much a 26 year-old marine biologist and a 14 year-old high school kid have in common; but typical people also aren't Power Rangers.

"So, Indra…"

"Hmm?" was the reply, muffled by the presence of a corn dog.

"How are you taking this whole… Power Ranger thing?"

GULP!

"Honestly? I think it's crazy. I woke up this morning thinking it was all a dream until I saw us on the news and morphed in front of my bathroom mirror."

"Same… well, except for the whole mirror thing."

"Not my fault I look good in spandex."

"And suddenly I've lost my appetite," quipped the teen. "You know, one thing I think is weird is that ever since our first fight… well… is it bad that I sort of want the Abysall to show up?"

"Seriously?"

"Don't look at me like that! You think that cops don't secretly hope for crimes to happen just so that they can do something? What's the point of being a superhero if nothing ever happens?"

"Well, good thing the universe doesn't revolve around the whims and thoughts of some teenager."

Just as Indra finished his sentence (along with the last of his corn dog), the sounds of screaming and explosions could be heard coming from outside. Rider looked at Indra with a slight smirk, leading him to roll his eyes. The pair shot up from their seats and ran outside. Entire hordes of people were stampeding away in fear, making it nearly impossible for the two to push past them all. However, they managed to work their way through the current of terrified masses and make their way to the cause of it: Avalon, a legion of Krilton, and feminine monster they didn't recognize. Said female monster was tossing around these huge pearls that resulted in mass explosions upon contact with the ground, even bigger ones when they landed on any of the cars in the parking lot.

"Yes, flee, FLEE! Run for your worthless lives from the presence of the mighty Avalon!"

"And the lovely Arbina!"

Rider wasn't so impressed and started to heckle them. "Hey! I'm talking to you, you shiny prick! Don't your ever get tired of hearing yourself talk? Or, you know, run out of hot air?"

Indra added onto the taunt. "Can't run out of something when you're constantly full of it. Isn't that right, Avalon?"

"Rangers!"

"Don't sound so mad, güey. You're going to hurt our feelings."

"No worries, though. Because we're going to hurt a lot more than that. You ready, kid?"

"Only since forever."

Placing their hands over their waists, in bright flashes of green and pink, the two summoned their Atlantirisers. They posed accordingly, ready to receive the power of the ocean into their very being.

"Guardians of Atlantis! Poseidon Power, surge!"

Instantly, they were transformed into the Green and Pink Rangers. They readied their Triton Sabers before charging into battle. Rider cut his way through the Krilton, dodge rolling under an attempted swipe, and taking out the attacker's ankle as recompense. He jumped up, kicking another Krilton into an adjacent car, and then rapidly spun around to slash even more of the crooked crustaceans. On his side of the fight, Indra was wielding his Triton Saber; he then simply extended his arm out at his side and ran through the crowd of mooks, cutting and slicing all the way through. He then charged some power into his legs, jumping up and catching onto the top of a light pole; the Pink Ranger equipped his Alphe Buster and began spinning around while relentlessly pulling the trigger. A torrential downpour of bullets rained down onto everything below, taking out the majority of the Krilton. He jumped down, joining alongside Rider. Both Rangers stood in front of Avalon and Arbina, but they weren't alone for long as Daok, Azurine, and Umiko flipped onto the scene, morphed and ready for action.

"What took you guys so long?" asked Rider.

"What, you guys the only ones who are allowed to stop at the food court?" responded Azurine. Both Rider and Indra stared right at her. "It's a joke. Come on, guys."

"Speaking of jokes, this is your last laugh, Avalon!" proclaimed Daok. "And the same goes for your shiny friend there."

Arbina was immediately offended. She stepped out in front of Avalon and began yelling before the general could actually get a word in.

"Friend?! FRIEND?! FRIEND!? I am his soulmate! I am the most important person in existence to him! And I… shall be the destroyer of the Power Rangers!"

Daok disregarded her threat. "Well I would like to see you try! Let's do this, Rangers!"

"Right!"

The entire team started to rush at their enemies. Arbina was prepared, however, and released a stream of colorful marble-sized pearls onto the ground. The balls rolled under the Rangers' feet and caused them to slip and slide all over the asphalt. Then, with a snap of her fingers, the pearls exploded. The Rangers screamed as sparks flew off of their suits. Next, she fired an energy blast from the pearl on her forehead, causing an even bigger explosion that sent the Rangers flying through the air. Smashing back onto the ground, the colorful heroes writhed in pain, prompting their attackers to smile and even coaxing a disparaging laugh out of Avalon.

That was enough to get Rider's blood boiling. Using the blade of his Triton Saber, the Green Ranger powered through the pain and forced him into standing back up. Wobbly though he was, he wasn't about to let some pompous bastard like Avalon laugh at him.

"Wait, don't!" ordered Daok. His command fell on deaf ears.

Rider ran forward with nothing on his mind but anger. Daok even tried to reach out to grab him, but to no avail. As the young Ranger was running towards her, Arbina fired a shiny, pearlescent spray from her mouth; it coated Rider's body, rendering him immobile before, in a flash of emerald green, his body was transformed into a flawless green pearl that flew right into Arbina's hand. The four other Rangers could only watch in horror as she marveled at it, even holding it up to the sun to admire its beauty.

"Rider!"

"No!"

"Kid!"

It seems anger was quick to spread among the team as Indra and Azurine were the next to get back on their feet. They leapt into the air, planning to deliver a devastating twin kick to Arbina, but their attack fell short as they, too, were hit by the same spray and transformed into respectively colored pearls. By the time Umiko had helped Daok to his feet, Arbina had handed the Ranger pearls to Avalon. He wasted no time in using them to torture the Red Ranger.

"Exquisite, aren't they? Perhaps they'd look lovely as jewelry?"

He held up Rider and Indra's pearls.

"I think these two would make a stunning pair of earrings."

Then he held up Azurine's pearl, making Daok see the same shade of red as his suit.

"And this one would make a fine necklace. But this collection still needs two more pieces. Arbina, finish them!"

Arbina gladly released another stream of foamy, white spray at the two remaining Rangers. Without an ounce of hesitation, Umiko pushed Daok out of the way and took the attack herself. Daok had no time to react, no time to fight back. As he gazed at the pearls Avalon clutched in his hands, his mind was racing; anger, sadness, self-blame all flooded his head. He was paralyzed, as stiff as the statue he'd been for centuries. He'd failed them. He'd failed his team again. The broken Atlantean fell to his knees. His fighting spirit had been extinguished like a match under a waterfall.

"What's this? Surrender? The mighty Red Ranger finally submits to me? Good. At the very least, I can grant you a quick death!"

"Alpha, get him out of there! Now!"

Before Avalon had a chance to deliver his highly anticipated death blow, Daok vanished. More accurately, he transformed into a red streak of light and flew off into the sky. Avalon was livid, having been so close to eliminating the Rangers in one fell swoop. Arbina eagerly reminded him that they still were in possession of four out of the five Rangers; this quelled his anger for the time being, but he knew he'd never be truly satisfied until he destroyed the remaining Ranger.

Daok had no idea what just happened. One second, he was kneeling before Avalon and the next, he felt himself going so fast as to be unbelievable. And the next, he was standing in the middle some strange room. It was spacious, round and mostly dark aside from a huge white light shining down from the ceiling. All around him were various consoles and screens; technology far more advanced than anything he'd seen on the surface thus far. When he turned around to see what was behind him, he found a massive flat screen that cycled through footage of… other Power Rangers? Teams that Daok had no hope of recognizing, but it was clear they were Rangers. Just where in the world was he?

"Welcome to the Rock of Power," greeted an unfamiliar voice.

Daok turned back to see two figures walking up to him from the dark. The first was a man; average height, tannish skin, and messy brown hair. He wore a red plaid shirt with a plain blue shirt underneath it.

His companion was much more odd; a creature composed entirely of metal with a flat, chrome gold head with a small red light bouncing from side to side in the front; a red torso decorated in buttons with a glowing lightning bolt symbol for its chest; its legs and arms were blue while its hands and feet were just as gold as its head. Needless to say, their unfamiliarity did little to ease Daok's nerves. The man outstretched his hand.

"I'm Rocky and this—" he gestured to his mechanical companion. "Is Alpha 10. You must be the new Red Ranger."

Daok was still on edge, but he didn't really sense himself being in any danger. He demorphed, albeit reluctantly. He didn't really understand the gesture that Rocky was doing and just sort of stared at him.

"My name is Daok. And 'new' isn't exactly the correct term."

"Well, you're new around here and that's what counts. You know, I hadn't really expected to ever see Power Rangers in Stone Canyon. You and your team were quite the surprise."

"You've been watching my team? Like you've watched all these other Rangers?"

"I haven't actually watched over all of these Ranger teams. I was part of a couple of them, though."

"You're a Power Ranger?"

Rocky nodded. "I was. Red and Blue. I'm far from active duty now, save the occasional emergency. For a while I thought the Ranger life was behind me for good. As you can see, that's definitely not the case."

"So what is this place?"

Alpha chimed in with his high pitched, robotic voice. "This is the Rock of Power. A state of the art hidden base that serves a hub for the Power Rangers of Earth to the rest of the universe. It is composed of technologies gathered from all over the galaxy."

"The galaxy? You're telling me that—"

"Life exists outside of Earth? Yeah, but don't get too overwhelmed. Your concern right now is getting your team back, right?"

Daok's eyes widened. "You can help me?"

"Of course. What are Rangers for?"

Alpha pressed some more buttons on the primary console, pulling up footage of the Rangers' fight with Avalon and Arbina. Daok almost couldn't bring himself to look at it. Alpha paused each moment when his teammates had been transformed into pearls.

"I know it might be hard to look at right now, but look. Alpha, start the scan."

Alpha followed the orders and isolated each instance of Arbina's spray attack. Suddenly, the screen transitioned to analytic breakdown of the spray and its contents on a molecular level. Not that Daok really understood the science, but he was keeping up as best he could.

"According to the elemental analyzer, the spray's composed primarily of calcium carbonate. Specifically a unique form of argonite; it's essentially a powerful version of nacre, the material used by molluscs to create pearls," explained Alpha.

"So how can I destroy it?" inquired Daok.

"Nacre is known for its durability, so a super nacre like this will be even more durable. However, normal pearls are known to dissolve in acetic acid. More commonly known as—"

"Vinegar!" exclaimed Rocky. "High school chemistry really does come in handy. Alpha, think you can develop a super vinegar to dissolve the pearls?"

"With enough time, I should be able to synthesize the exact compound we'll need."

Daok was overjoyed to hear he'd be able to save his team. "All that leaves is finding out where Avalon ran off to."

"I think I can help with that."

The screen changed again to showcase a live feed of the entire Earth from space. As Alpha filtered the size of the satellite view, the more refined the view became. Eventually, the robotic assistant was able to showcase a local restaurant, a high-end, and the flood of terrified patrons running out of it as Avalon and Arbina made their way inside.

"Looks like they're going out for a date."

"Then I'll be happy to serve them both… on a silver platter," growled Daok, a secondary pair of shark-like teeth extended out of his gums in response to his anger. He barely noticed, but once he did, he managed to return them to their dormant state. "Can you send me there? The same way you brought me here?"

"Sure, but I hope you have a plan before you just run in there."

"Oh, I have some ideas. But I'll need some help."

Inside the restaurant, which was now devoid of any people, Avalon and Arbina sat down at a table. Arbina had taken some time to decorate herself with the pearls she crafted from the Rangers, using them as a necklace.

A chef came from the back, escorted by a gaggle of Kriltons, and over to the table. He was sweating bullets and could barely speak through the stutter of fear as he poured red wine into the pair of glasses set on the table.

"W-W-W-Welcome to Le Château… W-What c-can I g-g-get for you?"

"Everything on this menu looks delicious… so we'll have it all!"

"Only the best for my darling. Get to it, human. Or else you'll be on the menu."

The frightened chef only nodded as he ran back into the kitchen at a breakneck pace. While nursing their wine, Avalon couldn't help but notice Arbina didn't look as happy as she had before; something was clearly bothering her.

"What ails you, my sweet sea star?"

"Nothing."

"If something is bothering you, then it isn't nothing to me," he assured her, once again caressing her face oh so sweetly. That finally got her to open up.

"It's just that… I'm sad that I couldn't finish off the Red Ranger earlier. Not only did I not finish my job, I couldn't even complete my new jewelry set!"

"Ah, but you worry for not. So long as we possess the Red Ranger's teammates, he'll inevitably come to try and rescue them. And when he does… we'll destroy him!"

Suddenly, a waiter appeared next to their table. The couple had no idea where he'd come from, but it's not like they really cared all that much. He was just another human with brown hair and a mustache. He refreshed their wine glasses, and even started making conversation with no sense of fear in his voice at all. Instead, he had a terrible attempt at a French accent.

"I know the chef is already hard at work on your meal, but perhaps I can tell you about a unique special we have zis week?"

"And what might that be?"

"It's our Ranger rouge."

"Sounds exotic."

"Oui oui. It is a special dish directly from the sea and best served… NOW!"

The romantic duo of monsters as their "waiter" swiftly broke the legs on Avalon's chair, sending him crashing onto the floor, before a flying Triton Saber soared through the air and cut the chain on Arbina's necklace. Instantly, a morphed Daok jumped in and snatched the accessory right as it fell. He quickly checked to make sure all four were accounted for then booked it out the back. Rocky waved goodbye to a rather irate Arbina before he was teleported out of there.

When Avalon got himself up, he was red hot with anger, and barked orders

"Don't just stand there, you spineless free-loaders! After him!"

Daok had managed to outpace the Kriltons for several minutes while he waited for Alpha to finish creating the substance he needed. He had run so far now that found himself cornered on the beach; with the Absyall in front of him and the ocean behind him, he had nowhere left to turn. Avalon walked to

"It's over," proclaimed Avalon as he drew his sword and pointed its pearlescent blade at Daok. "This is the end of Atlantis and its legacy!"

The armored warrior began his approach; Daok buried the pearls into the sand to keep them safe. He then prepared his weapons and ran to meet Avalon in the middle of the beach. They both took a swipe at the other. The force of their blades clashing was enough to ignite sparks.

"No matter what happens here today, Avalon, I can promise you this: I will never, ever be defeated by the likes of you! Because unlike you, I have something to fight for; not just for justice of the home that I've lost, but for the respect of those I've gained! These humans are my teammates; they're my friends! And I won't let you hurt them!"

A surge of energy flooded Daok's body; a visible red aura surrounded him. It empowered him and gifted him with strength like he had never felt before. He cried out as he forced every ounce of it into his sword. Despite his best efforts, Avalon was unable to keep up his defense. He was in utter disbelief when Daok broke his block and subsequently jabbed him right in the chest. Said jab sent the dark warrior flying backwards and slammed right into his own forces. Daok's aura subsided just as a high-tech spray bottle was teleported into his right hand.

"Daok, it's Alpha."

"Alpha? Where are you? I don't see you anywhere."

"I'm still at the Rock of Power. I'm contacting you through the Morphin' Grid. In that bottle is the super vinegar you need to free the other Rangers."

Daok rushed over to where he'd left the pearls. He aimed the bottle downwards and squeezed the trigger. A fine mist of pungent acetic acid flowed out onto the pearls. He steadily sprayed it for a few brief moments until they began to glow.

He stepped back as the pearls dissolved and popped open, freeing the Rangers trapped inside. Instinctively, he ran up and hugged all of them so tightly the humans thought they would pop.

"You're all okay!"

"Daok? What's going on?" said Indra.

Rider was just as confused, and desperately trying to weasel his way out of this Herculean hug. "What the heck is going on?"

"Down boy!" joked Azurine.

"It's good to see you again, too," Umiko managed to squeak out.

When he finally released his teammates, they were all a bit confused when explained to them he'd gotten help from another Power Ranger and his robot helper. But they soon realized they had more pressing matters at hand when the Abysall reminded them of their presence.

"You'll pay for hurting my beloved!" threatened Arbina as she tried to look over Avalon's body, only for him to push her away.

"Oh, really? Well, you're going to pay for ruining our shopping spree!"

"And our lunch!" added Rider as he and Indra smoothly executed a fist bump. The Rangers lined up side-by-side as the ocean swelled behind them.

"Swirling fury of the sea! Tiger Shark Power! Tsunami Surge Red!"

"Hearty strength of the sea! Walrus Power! Tsunami Surge Blue!"

"Graceful beauty of the sea! Seahorse Power! Tsunami Surge Yellow!"

"Ancient wisdom of the sea! Turtle Power! Tsunami Surge Green!"

"Playful spirit of the sea! Dolphin Power! Tsunami Surge Pink!"

"SURGING WITH THE POWER OF THE OCEAN! POWER RANGERS… TSUNAMI SURGE!"

A titanic wave crashed onto the shore behind the Rangers, the water somehow becoming imbued with their energy and sparkled with each of their respective colors. All five Rangers reached out as the energy of the sea flowed into and through their bodies like water; in each of their hands materialized a unique weapon for each of them.

Daok's was a red shark-themed cestus; Azurine received a pair of tusk-like short swords; Umiko got a large yellow seahorse-themed scythe; Rider's weapon was a turtle-themed buckler with a sizeable blade in place of the turtle's head; and lastly, Indra was the recipient of a pink and black handaxe with the blade in the shape of a dolphin's fluke.

"Fang Knuckle!"

"Tusk Strikers!"

"Sea Slicer!"

"Chelonia Defender!"

"Delphina Cutter!"

Avalon had had enough."Kriltons, attack!"

Both sides of the battle charged into battle; The Rangers started to make quick work of the foot soldiers via their new weapons.

First up was Umiko; normally, a scythe was too heavy, large, and unruly to be a feasible weapon in combat. Not so for the Yellow Ranger. She was nimble and light as a feather. At first, she used the handle of the Sea Slicer as a staff. She gripped onto it tightly and then spun around to create a circle of space she could use. Once it was big enough, she stopped and picked up the scythe and properly used it to cut down the Krilton surrounding her

Rider wasn't always excited that his animal motif was that of a turtle. It just brought up the image of something slow, in both body and mind. And he was definitely neither. Being that his weapon was a shield, he was enjoying being able to easily block and absorb any hits coming his way. With five Krilton claws trying to force their way past the buckler, he pushed them all back, and diverted some of that power into the blade. He then unleashed it as a savage slash attack that

"Defender Shell Strike!"

The Krilton were all reduced to ash by a series of green explosions. Rider blew on the blade of his buckler like an Old West cowboy would his revolver.

The remaining three Rangers were focusing on the main event: Avalon and Arbina. Azurine and Daok teaming up on the latter and Indra fighting solo against the former.

Not eager to get turned back into a pearl, the Blue Ranger was flipping out of the way of Arbina's attempts to hit her with her nacre spray. She jumped off Daok's shoulders into the air. With one Power Ranger flipping over her head, Arbina was too distracted to notice Daok dashing right up to her until he already had the head of the spray bottle in her mouth.

The potently astringent acid burned its way through her mouth and down her throat as the Red Ranger uppercutted her into the air with his Fang Knuckle. Azurine then leapt through the air repeatedly, slashing Arbina with her swords each time, before punching her down right into the sand like she was a volleyball.

When Arbina staggered back onto her feet, she tried to fire another blast of her nacre spray only for nothing to come out. Due to the super vinegar, her super nacre couldn't form properly inside of her body. She was totally speechless; but her ordeal wasn't over yet.

"Tundra Tusks!"

Azurine stabbed her Tusk Strikers into the ground, creating a field of ice that shot through the ground, and right under Arbina's feet. She was helplessly frozen in place. Her situation only went from bad to worse as saw Daok charging towards her, his Fang Knuckle coated in red energy.

"Fang Knuckle Frenzy!"

He gut-punched her right out of the ice; she skipped across the ground like a stone on the surface of a lake.

During all of that, Indra was busy holding his own against Avalon; no small feat. However, the academically gifted Pink Ranger found himself doing rather well. While Avalon would seem to have the upper hand in terms of both strength and weaponry, he had nothing on Indra's ingenuity and mobility.

With every swipe of his sword, the Ranger would always seem to dodge out of the way. Go for an overhead? He'd duck. Go for his legs? He'd backflip. Go for the torso? He would sidestep the blade. On one of his backflips, Indra managed to land right on Avalon's blade; he took the opportunity to chop him across the head with the Delphina Cutter before flipping back onto the ground.

He then dashed forward again. By staying lower to the ground, he was able to get a free shot at Avalon's leg. The attack successfully managed to bring the general to one knee. Now that Indra had gotten a hit in, it was time for the finishing blow.

"Delfi Spin Attack!"

He imbued his axe with pink energy, stretched his arm back, and then let it fly. The attack had the form of a spinning, pink, holographic dolphin that struck Avalon right in the back.

"AAAAAAH!"

Though weakened, Avalon scrambled over to Arbina. The Rangers circled in around them. Arbina was ready to meet her end alongside her love; she clutched Avalon's hand tenderly.

"At least we'll die together, my love."

Avalon instantly pulled his hand away, much to Arbina's shock.

"You expect me to die here?! With the likes of you!? Then you're a bigger fool than I thought!"

"Avalon? What's wrong, my love?"

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong, my dear Arbina. I just have no more use for you. You failed to destroy the Rangers, and I refuse to waste any more time on you. Goodbye."

Avalon disappeared in a flash of sparkly specks. Arbina was abandoned on the beach, left to the mercy of the Rangers. The Rangers charged up their weapons and sequentially attacked Arbina in short order.

"Tiger Punch!"

"Walrus Slash!"

"Slicer Tsunami!"

"Defender Bash!"

"Echo Strike!"

Arbina was overwhelmed as multicolored lightning coursed through every cell in her body. The Rangers posed behind her as she fell to her knees; a single tear flowed down her cheek as she wailed her final word:

"AAAAAAVALOOOOON!"

With that, she exploded into a huge cloud of smoke and flame. The battle was won. Rocky clapped his hands and jumped for joy as he had been keenly watching the entire fight.

Back down on the beach, the Rangers congratulated themselves on a job well done. With the Abysall dealt with for another day, they were free to do whatever they wanted again. But for the time being, they were just content with talking while looking out at the ocean.

"You must have been pretty worried, huh?" Azurine probed.

Daok looked down at the water for a moment and sighed before he finally nodded "yes". "I… just couldn't bear the idea of losing another team. I can't stop thinking about it; just how much the Abysall have taken from me."

Azurine placed one of her gloved hands on Daok's shoulder and the other in his hand. And, even though they were obscured by their helmets, she could sense their eyes meeting. Umiko swore she could even see the spark jump between them again.

"I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now. But I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're here for you."

Indra joined in, also placing his hand on Daok's shoulder. "And even if it can't replace Atlantis, you've always got a place here with us."

Umiko looked over to her left after a faint sniffling sound. "Rider, are you crying?"

"What? N-No!" badly lied the boy. Damn, was it hard wiping tears through a helmet. "Some dust or something got in my helmet."

There was a bit of laughter from the others, but soon the team pooled together into a group hug as they stood and longingly watched the waves crash onto the shore. It was a moment the five of them wished would last forever.

Deep below the sea, in a place so dark and cold that not even the concept of light had ever reached it, something was stirring. Or rather, some things. Titanically imposing, their mighty visage could not truly be perceived through the shadows of their surroundings. But if the five pairs of colossal glowing eyes was anything to go off, they were a force of nature.

Perhaps they had been lost to time? Or thought destroyed? Whatever reason had kept them dormant for so long, it seems that their time of inactivity and idleness was over. It was the dawn of a new era. It was finally time… time to power up!

THE END