A/N: Wow, I can't believe how fast I wrote this! I was writing literally all afternoon, and I finished the whole thing today. It was really amazing. This episode was fun to write. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Anyways, without further ado, I give you Power Rangers Element Storm Chapter 21. Enjoy!

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Episode 21: Fall of Chaos part 1

It was a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon and the Overclocked café was full of students relaxing after a hard week at school. Del and Beth were kept very busy busing tables as Will worked comfortably behind the counter. The other Rangers sat happily around their table, relieved at getting a bit of a break from their duties. Rufus was nowhere to be seen, though. Only Will knew where he was. That morning, he had set off to the tower to save Erica. His hope was that he could sneak in and out without Pyric noticing, but he hardly believed that was possible.

While Will worked making drinks and setting them on trays, he kept one eye on the TV he had had installed above the counter. There were now four TVs hanging from the walls in the café: one above his counter, one in each corner, and one in the middle pillar of the wall right across from him, over the Ranger's usual table. They were wired to work with one remote and to always be on the same channel at the same time.

Right now, Will had them fixed onto the news, which seemed to be showing the same old boring stories. By watching the news, however, Will hoped that he would be informed of any attacks Stephen might attempt. He was sure that any monster sightings would quickly be reported and he could find out about them easily. But, so far, all seemed quiet today, and Will hoped even more that it would stay that way.

Rufus gazed up at the tower and sighed deeply. This was the last place he wanted to be again. Now that he had left Pyric, he knew that facing him again could easily be the death of him. Stephen would be angrier at losing him than the Trienith Rangers. They had been controlled by him and had broken his spell over them. He was supposed to be working with Stephen willingly, but now he had gone against him. What Rufus was about to do could hardly be more dangerous for him, but he had to do it. Erica was in there, and he had to help her.

While he knew he could use his teleportation ability, he was reluctant to do that. No matter where he teleported, Pyric could be there and see him. It would make things easier, but he couldn't take the risk of getting caught. Standing outside of the entrance to the tower, Rufus knew he was in danger even here. For all he knew, Pyric was at the telescope now, and there was always a chance he could spot him.

Taking a deep breath, he began walking slowly towards the entrance to the tower, hoping that he had not yet been spotted. The last thing he needed right now was a confrontation from his former master. All he wanted was to save his friend.

Up in the main room of the tower, Stephen was indeed looking through the telescope, but not where Rufus feared he would be. He had it focused to show the café, where the Rangers were gathered, looking calm and happy. He smirked at this. They had no idea how much his power was growing. Every day as he poured over his books and trained with his powers, his strength was ever increasing. It would not be long now before he would become so powerful that no one could stop him.

Even though, as he had decided after the last failed battle, if he wanted something done right, he'd have to do it himself, he decided that he couldn't let the Power Rangers get more rest. He had to do something to challenge them, weakening them a bit more before he was ready to strike. The plan of how he would do this had already come to him, and he was about ready to spring it into action. Stepping away from the telescope, he went to a window and gazed out happily at the world below; the world that would soon belong to him.

That's when he saw the last thing he would ever have expected to see. Standing not far from the tower was the seemingly tiny form of Rufus. At first, Pyric could not imagine what the boy was doing here. The rage and anger building up inside of him momentarily clouded his thoughts. When he gathered himself again, it hit him. Erica. That must be why Rufus was here. While Pyric himself was not capable of the emotion of love, it was obvious that those two felt it strongly towards each other. Oscuro must be here to "rescue" Erica from him. The thought made Stephen laugh out loud.

"Well, if he wants to save his little girlfriend, he'll have to fight for it," he said softly to himself. "This will be a great chance to try out my new skills and to get revenge on him for betraying me." With that, he tore himself away from the window before Rufus could see him. He then burst into Erica's room, where he found her sitting on the edge of her bed, thinking. Grinning, he grabbed her wrist and said her name, teleporting both of them to the ground below.

Rufus whipped around as a flash of red and blue filled the area. Much to his horror and disappointment, Stephen was standing there, gripping Erica's wrist in his powerful hand. She was struggling as hard as she could against him, looking confused as to what was going on. Then, she saw Rufus and she understood. She looked at him with fear and sadness mixed into her expression.

"Let her go, Pyric," Oscuro demanded in a firm, unafraid tone. From the look in his eyes, though, it was obvious that he knew Stephen would not obey. "Your problem is with me, not her."

Smirking at him, Pyric tossed Erica aside like a doll. She hit the ground with a hard thud, clutching her wrist painfully. "Oh, I'm afraid the problem is with all three of us now," the Dark Fire wielder said. "I mean, that's what we are, right? The Chaos Three?"

"That's what we were," Rufus corrected him. "Now you're on your own. How can you contend with 11 Rangers by yourself? You know you will be defeated and destroyed."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong, friend." Stephen's voice turned cold and cruel; a frightening tone that Rufus had never heard him use before. "My power is growing. The numbers of my enemies will soon be of little importance."

The Chaos Ranger cringed slightly, hardly knowing what to say. "Look, just give me Erica and let us go. If your power is growing as you say, you don't need her anymore. Fight the Rangers by yourself."

Stephen's typical dark, wicked laugh rang out and echoed through the trees. "I would gladly fight the Rangers myself," he said, his tone changing back to his typical sarcasm. "But they're a bit busy right now. I have Crodus out attacking the city in massive numbers, so if they survive that, the battle between them and I will happen. Until then…" He paused, taking a few steps forward so he was standing between Rufus and Erica. "If you want your girlfriend, come and take her from me!"

Holding his fist out towards Rufus, he ignited it in Dark Fire. Oscuro nodded firmly before glancing at Erica, who was watching him as she huddled against the tower. He winced as he saw that her body was covered in dark burns. What had he done to her?

Snapping back to attention, he prepared to morph.

"This should even up the odds if you're so much more powerful now, Pyric!" he cried. "Element, Dark!" His body glowed a deep purple color as he morphed into the Chaos Ranger. He got into a fighting pose and prepared himself for the battle of his life.

Suddenly, back at the café, something on the news caught Will's attention.

"Legions of Crodus are attacking all over the city!" the reporter said in a frantic tone. Will turned up the volume and all eyes in the room fixed on the TVs. They saw a single reporter standing in a treed in area of the park. Behind him, people were running around fearfully while the familiar, dark shapes of Crodus chased them. "We've never seen this many at one time," the reporter continued. "They're not just here at the park, but in large numbers in several places around the city. Right now, one question comes to mind. Where are the Power Rangers?"

Around the café, everyone was talking at once, shocked at this news. The Rangers jumped up and ran over to the counter.

"Will, there are so many of them!" Dan cried breathlessly. "How can he even create that many?"

The Trienith Red Ranger shook his head sadly. "Pyric is growing in power," he said in a grim tone. "We have to defeat him now before he gets too strong for us." Hopping over the counter, he looked around the room thoughtfully.

"Everyone!" he shouted above the noise. The students turned to him, panic forming in their faces. "Everyone, go back to your homes," Will said firmly. "You'll be safer there than here." The teens did not need to be told twice. They flooded out of the café, dispersing quickly to their cars. Relieved, Will turned back to the Rangers.

"Alright, if they're all over the city, we're going to have to split up. I don't want anyone going alone, though. Split up in teams of at least two and we'll spread out around the city."

The other Power Rangers nodded at this and they all ran out of the café. Already there were a large number of Crodus slinking up towards them. The Rangers got into fighting positions, but Will shook his head at them.

"Go!" he cried. "Kimber and I will stay here and fight them."

Regretfully, the other Rangers took off each to different parts of the city, preparing for what they knew would be the battle of their lives.

Pyric wasted no time in rushing at Rufus' morphed form, trying to punch him with his flaming fist. The Chaos Ranger dodged it quickly though and he tried to hit Stephen as he went by. His enemy was too fast for him though, and he quickly turned around for another shot. This time, his fist slammed into Rufus' stomach, sending him flying back several feet. Getting up quickly, Oscuro shot a beam of electricity towards his enemy, who dodged it deftly. Stephen ran again towards the Ranger, who put out his fist and punched him in the face before he could do anything else. The older boy fell over onto his back, but he hopped up again quickly.

"You've grown much in power since our sparring match, Oscuro," he said, smirking. "But I have grown more. And this time it's not sparring. This time it's for real!"

He leapt into the air and flipped over Rufus, turning around swiftly and shooting a powerful blast of Dark Fire at him. The boy had no chance to dodge, and he flew forwards, landing on his stomach hard. His back burned intensely from the flames, but he couldn't give up. He forced himself to stand and he began focusing his energy. Then, he shot out a mass of Dark Water towards Stephen out of one hand. He leapt out of the way of the main blast, but he still got wet enough. Taking this opportunity, Rufus shot out an immense amount of Dark Thunder at his adversary, hitting him head on. The water conducted the electricity, intensifying the already vast amount of pain it would have caused.

Stephen doubled forward, screaming in pain. Rufus stopped, staring at the weakened form of his former master. There was no way he was defeated, he knew. It would be way too easy.

Beth, Sean, and Angela arrived at the park and were horrified by the carnage there. While it seemed that all the people had escaped, there were still Crodus everywhere and they had torn up the playground pretty good. The swing set was toppled over and the monkey bars were bent out of shape. The jungle gym had sections torn off that were now sprawled across the sand. While most of the Crodus were off in the grassy areas of the park, looking ready to fight, a small number of them were surrounding a miniature playhouse in the playground.

Beth turned to the other two. "You guys go after the others," she said. "I'll see what they're so interested in over there." They nodded at her.

"Let's morph then," Sean cried. "Element, Wind!"

"Element, Earth!"

"Element, Light Wind!"

Now morphed, Angela and Sean ran off to fight the majority of the Crodus while Beth ran towards the destroyed playground.

When she got there, she could barely make out through the dark hides of the Crodus what they were trying to reach. A small child was huddled inside the playhouse, trying desperately to keep out of their reach.

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size, freaks!" She pulled the footsoldiers away from the playhouse one by one before reaching in towards the child. He looked up at her with frightened eyes before seeing that she was a Power Ranger. His fear turned to a smile as she helped him out of the playhouse through one of the windows.

"Thank you, Miss Power Ranger," he said, grinning.

"Anytime," she said. "Now run along and find somewhere safe." He nodded and ran off away from the park. A few of the Crodus tried to follow him, but Beth stopped them by kicking them onto their faces. Now, the footsoldiers focused on her instead, surrounding her.

On the field, Angela and Sean were teaming up against the Crodus, using their bows diligently. As they were shooting the ones in front of them, though, they didn't notice that others were sneaking up on them. Suddenly, they were both kicked in the back and they stumbled forward onto their faces. Jumping up again, they began knocking Crodus away from them with their bows as the remaining ones behind them closed in.

Jud had taken Jorge and Tiz with him to the high school, which was now overrun with Crodus. When they saw the Rangers approaching, they headed towards them, ready to fight.

"Alright guys, let's do this!" Tiz cried. "Element, Thunder!"

"Element, Light Water!"

"Element, Light Earth!"

The morphed Rangers ran in towards their enemies, calling on their weapons. Tiz charged up his sai with Thunder and then he began slashing it viciously at the surrounding Crodus. They flew away from him at the strength of his blows, most of them dissipating as they hit the ground. Jud sliced his daggers at Crodus as they drew near him, sending them flying backwards. Jorge caused Light Water to shoot out of his trident every time he hit a Crodu, intensifying the attack and making the creature dissipate.

But, no matter how many they defeated, their numbers never seemed to decrease. It seemed that there were always more coming from somewhere, and the Rangers were growing tired.

"Dang, I've never seen so many in the same place at the same time," Jorge commented as he fought. "Not in all our battles on Trienith."

"No, we never fought this many at a time," Jud agreed grimly.

"Well, we just have to keep at it," Tiz cried. The others nodded and continued fighting, not knowing how much more of this they could take.

Dan and Peg went to the city center where Town Hall was located. It was crawling with Crodus all over the place. At first, the two Power Rangers could only stare in awe at the massive number of enemies. But, they didn't have time to reflect on this as the Crodus turned their attention to them, surrounding them quickly. Dan turned to Peg and kissed her passionately.

"If we don't survive this fight, I had to do that one more time," he said, smiling at her. She smiled back, letting a single tear roll down her cheek. "Let's do this, Peggy," Dan said firmly, his face turning serious and solemn. She nodded, matching his expression and preparing to morph.

"Element, Fire!"

"Element, Water!"

They immediately called out their weapons and prepared to battle. The Crodus moved in, enclosing them in an ever tightening circle. The two Rangers ran out to different sides, clutching their weapons in their hands.

Dan set his sword on fire and began hacking left and right at the surrounding Crodus. This defeated several easily, but their numbers seemed to increase rather than decrease. He continued this though until a Crodu snuck up behind him and kicked him, knocking him over on his stomach. The force caused him to drop his sword, which was quickly pushed out of his reach. Leaping up, he began fighting hand to hand, kicking and punching his enemies away, trying desperately to get to his sword again.

Peg was having little more luck on the other side as the Crodus formed a smaller circle just around her. She knocked them away the best she could with her trident, shooting water out of it with each blow. This seemed to be working, although she could still not break through the circle. Whenever she made an opening, it was quickly closed in again by even more footsoldiers. At last, Peggy leapt in the air and flipped over her enemies, landing outside of the small circle. She grinned tiredly from under her helmet, but the victory did not last long as they closed in on her once again.

Back at the café, Will and Kimber had already morphed and they were doing their best against the Crodus. There were so many of them, and their numbers never seemed to diminish no matter how many they destroyed. They could feel their energy draining out of them as they continued to fight desperately.

At last, Will pulled Kimber back a few steps and stopped fighting.

"Adus, what are we going to do?" Kimber asked, obviously exhausted. "There are so many of them…"

"I have an idea," Will answered confidently. "If you and I combine our powers, we may be able to destroy all of them at once."

She looked at him curiously through the visor on her helmet, nodding slowly. "That just might work. And I'm game to try anything right now."

Taking a step forward, Will held his hands out in front of him, facing the Crodus. They were grouped together before them in a sort of pack. Kimber followed Will's example and the two of them began focusing all their energy towards their Elements. At last, Will shot out a burst of Light Fire. As it stretched out towards the Crodus, Kimber surrounded it with her own Light Thunder. It swirled around the flames as they hit the Crodus head on.

A blinding flash of light filled the area. The two Rangers covered their eyes, and when the flash faded, the Crodus were gone, as if they had never been there in the first place.

Pyric slowly forced himself to stand, and he clutched at his stomach agonizingly. His eyes glowed with fire as they seemed to cut right through Rufus. He glanced over at Erica for a moment before looking back at the Chaos Ranger.

"Go ahead and take her," he said with great effort. "But it won't last long. You will both be destroyed soon enough, along with the other Power Rangers. And then, I will take over Earth and Trienith too. You could have stayed with me, Oscuro, and joined in my victory. But now, you will be crushed just like those losers you consider friends!" With these words, he thrust his fist up into the air and disappeared in a flash of red.

Rufus immediately ran over to Erica and knelt beside her. He took her in his arms gently and held her, wiping the tears away from her eyes with one hand. She looked at him with a painful expression that hurt him to see.

"Erica, I…" he began. She cut him off before he could say more.

"Rufus, how could you just leave me like that?" she asked, her body and voice shaking with sobs. "You know what he's like!"

These words pierced the boy's heart with pain as he heard them. "I meant to come back for you," he said as tears began to flow from his own eyes. "Erica, I promise, I never would have left you if I knew he would do something like this…" He looked at the burns on her body and closed his eyes tightly. "I'm so sorry…"

"You should have figured." The girl shook her head at him. "You know him better than anyone. You know how he gets. He was so angry for losing and he took it out on me…"

"Erica, I…I'm sorry…You know I would never purposely let anything hurt you. I love you, Raine."

She looked at him in almost disbelief. "You do?" He nodded as he picked her up gently in his arms.

"So much."

As Rufus began to walk back towards the café slowly, Erica's eyes never left his face. "I love you too, Oscuro."

At the park, the three Rangers were still having just as much trouble. They could hardly keep standing from the fatigue of fighting so many Crodus at one time. At last, Sean yelled at them to fall back, and the girls obeyed. They ran over to meet the White Ranger.

"Guys, this isn't working," he said. "No matter how many we defeat, more keep coming…"

"There has to be something we can do," Beth said tiredly. "We can't take much more of this."

"Hey, I think I know what we can do," Angela put in. "Maybe we could combine our powers somehow. If Sean and I both use our wind powers, it might help."

"You know, you might be right, Angela," Sean agreed thoughtfully. "It's worth a shot."

"I'll try to help if I can," Beth offered. The others nodded and then turned to face the Crodus again.

Putting their hands out in front of them, Sean and Angela focused all their energy into their Element. Then, they created a powerful wind storm and sent it flying towards their enemies. They were lifted high above the ground, unable to fight the intensity of the wind. Then, Beth caused a strong earthquake, making the ground crack where the Crodus had just been standing. Keeping their focus, the two White Rangers drew the footsoldiers into the crack. Finally, Beth focused hard and closed it, trapping them under the earth.

Jud, Jorge, and Tiz were about to do what their teammates had done and combine their powers. Jorge stood facing the Crodus, who had all grouped together before them. He put his hands out and shot a strong burst of Light Water towards the footsoldiers. Tiz then surrounded the water with Thunder and Jud picked up a large chunk of Earth, throwing it in that direction as well. All three Elements hit at the same time, causing a massive explosion.

When the dust cleared, there was no sign of the Crodus, and the three Rangers sighed with relief.

Dan had finally gotten his sword back and now he was fighting side by side with Peg. There were less Crodus than before, but they showed no signs of fully diminishing. The Blue Ranger looked over at her leader helplessly.

"Dan, I don't know how much longer we can last," she said.

"We can't give up!" the boy cried. "We have to do something…" Then, an idea hit him. "Maybe we should try using our powers together. Fire and Water should be very powerful when combined!"

Peg nodded, seeing the logic in this. The two of them forced their way out of the circle of Crodus and stood facing the group. Dan put his hands out in front of him and shot out a blast of Fire. Peggy then surrounded it with her Water, and the two Elements burst towards the Crodus at once, causing a large explosion as they hit. When the two Rangers could see again, they saw that their enemies were completely destroyed.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Rufus and Erica finally got to the café. They found the other Rangers gathered there outside, unmorphed and talking amongst each other. When they saw the two approaching, they fell silent and waited for them to arrive.

Rufus looked at them curiously. "Did you guys really defeat all of Pyric's Crodus?" he asked.

"Yes, we did," Will answered, smiling. "It was harder than anything we've ever done before, but we did it." Rufus smiled at him for a second as he set Erica gently on the ground. Then, his face turned grave.

"You may have defeated him this time, Adus," he said. "But next time we might not be so lucky. I battled with him. His powers have grown immensely. Soon, he may become unstoppable."

Before Will could answer, a dark and evil laugh echoed through the parking lot. The Rangers turned behind them to see Stephen there, floating a few feet above the ground.

"It's too late for that, Oscuro," he said, his voice booming at them with intensity Rufus had never heard before. "I'm already unstoppable. You will never defeat me! But, since you defeated all of my footsoldiers, I commend you and I will allow you one day's rest. However, at this time tomorrow, you will meet me at the park and we will settle this once and for all. We will battle until either you or I am destroyed, and I guarantee you, it will not be me!"

Will stepped towards him and nodded. "We will meet tomorrow," he said with confidence. "But I believe the battle may not turn out as you predict." This brought another laugh from Stephen.

"Oh, I assure you, it will. In fact, here's a taste of my new power now!" He created a huge fireball in his hands and shot it straight at Kimber. She flew backwards into a parked car, screaming in pain. Her body collapsed to the ground where she lay motionless.

"Nooo!" Will cried, running past Pyric towards her. Laughing again, Stephen teleported away. The other Rangers gathered around Will as he cradled Kimber in his arms. Her eyes were open and tears were flowing from them.

"Anaia…" Sobs rocked Will's body as he held Kimber. "I'm so sorry...I should have saved you...It should be me, not you…" But she put a hand up with effort, laying two fingers on his lips.

"No," she said painfully. "Don't say that. You can't blame yourself." She paused, cringing in pain. "Adus, I…I love you forever…"

"Anaia, I promise I will always love you, even when you're gone...Always..." Will forced a smile amidst his tears, and she smiled at him as well.

"Goodbye, my love…" With that, the light seemed to fade in her eyes, and she fell lifeless from his arms onto the pavement.

It was hours after Kimber's death, and the sun was sinking in the horizon. The Rangers had had a funeral like ceremony for their fallen team mate, but that was long over. Will had now locked himself in the back room of the café, and no one had seen him for quite some time. The remaining Power Rangers had decided to spend the night at the café, trying their best to rest for tomorrow's battle.

Right now, Sean and Beth were walking out in the parking lot. They were not ready to sleep yet, and they decided that a walk would help to calm them after the horrible events of the day. They walked close together, as it was a cold sunset.

Suddenly, Sean stopped, turning to face his smaller companion. His eyes seemed to glow in the light of the fading sun as he gazed at her silently. At last, he spoke slowly.

"Beth, there's something I have to tell you," he said gently, his voice shaking a bit nervously. "I've tried to tell you so many times, but every time, something happens to distract me and I don't get the chance. But this time, there will be no distractions. If we die in tomorrow's battle, I can't die without telling you the truth..." He paused, cupping her cheeks gently with one hand. "Beth, I…I love you."

The girl could only stare at him in disbelief. At first, it seemed as if no words would come. Tears of joy welled up in Beth's eyes as she looked up at him. Finally, she found her voice.

"Sean, I can't believe it," she began. "I love you too. I never had the courage to tell you, and…I thought you didn't feel the same." She laid her hand on his, and he brushed the tears away from her eyes with his thumb.

Wrapping both arms around her, Sean leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Beth threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back, all thoughts of the future fading away. Right now, she could only think of how much she wished this moment would last forever.

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A/N: That was amazing to write. I hope you liked it! Leave a review!