Magi Ranger

by Tenstar12

Betrayed by the world he had given his all to save, Harry finds himself cast into the void. With some help Harry ends up in another dimension, but in classic Harry Potter fashion gets himself into trouble almost immediately. Can he make his way in this strange world he finds himself in where giant monster attacks are a daily occurrence and hardly anything is familiar? AU Harry, MOD

38. Chapter 38

Magi Ranger

By: Tenstar12

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Power Rangers.

Chapter 38, or FIGHT FAIL!

The seconds stretched on into minutes as the two massive machines stared each other down.

On one side, there was the MegaDragonzord. Piloted by the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers to great success many times since they gained the Power, it was a tried and true weapon that was only made even more powerful with the addition of the Dragonzord's Power. It was hard to imagine anything able to stand up against such an awesome force.

On the other side was Cyclopsis. By all accounts, this was a dangerous enemy to fight, more so than anything they had faced so far certainly. It was a massive engine of destruction that had been used by Rita and piloted by Goldar many times in the past and had only been made more powerful with the addition of Lokar's Power upon its reconstruction.

The battle was only going to get harder from here.

And then time seemed to return to normal again as Jason spoke. "Alright Rangers," he half-shouted. "We beat this guy one, we can do it again! Let's let him have it!"

"RIGHT!" The others within the MegaDragonzord chanted. Harry just shot a look to Tommy where he stood next to him. The Green Ranger seemed just as caught up in the moment as the others. Harry could only assume it was the Grid's influence.

This could be both a good and bad thing to Harry's mind. It would keep his friends focused on the battle, but it might keep them a bit too focused, keeping them involved in the battle when retreating and regrouping might be better. While this was only a theory on Harry's part, he was never happier for his somewhat weaker connection to the grid.

It was something that Harry had had in the back of his mind ever since he first negotiated with the Grid for the Magi Ranger Power. The Grid was little more than an audience/enabler for the entire conflict that ravaged this universe, it had all but admitted as much. This didn't seem to bother Zordon too much, but seeing the other ways the Grid had influenced his teammates, and even himself on a few occasions, the entire situation made Harry uneasy. No matter how you looked at it, the Grid was influencing those that used its Power for its own entertainment.

Harry was snapped out of his thoughts by the movement of the two Zords as they charged forward. The MegaDragonzord was a bit slower than other Zord configurations Harry had seen his teammates use, most likely because of the extra weight and bulk from all of their Zords combined as they were. In comparison, Cyclopsis was much more slender and even a bit shorter, and moved much, much faster. The result of their different speeds was that they met much closer to the MegaDragonzord's starting position and that Cyclopsis had more momentum.

Moving like the powerful giant it was, the MegaDragonzord lumbered forward and led with a right hook. Cyclopsis moved to meet the MegaDragonzord and almost casually deflected the strong blow with its left hand before delivering a backhanded slash with the blade on its right, landing the hit on the Zord's torso under its arm. Harry heard the Rangers cry out in panic over the communicator as their Zord reeled back a few steps accompanied by sparks, only for their cries to redouble when Cyclopsis followed up with a rapid-fire series of slashes. Each blow was delivered around the Zord's flailing attempts to defend itself, one strike knocking an arm aside while the other followed through the new opening to hit the torso directly.

The entire time, Jason and the others were wrestling with their controls, trying to find a way to mount a counterattack.

"Jason, we're losing structural integrity on both arms!"

"Our power levels are dropping fast! I don't know how much more we can take!"

"He's too fast!"

Harry growled before gathering his Power and raising his arm into the air. "I call upon the Silver Owl Zord, HEDWIG!"

With the now familiar flash of purple light and avian screech, Hedwig appeared in the air above Angel Grove and immediately dove down toward the battle. Mere moments before she reached Cyclopsis though, the Zord ducked backwards and to one side, almost negligently dodging Hedwig's stoop and forcing the Owl to pull up sharply to avoid a rather violent meeting with the ground.

"AH!" Goldar said, a suspiciously satisfied tone to his voice. "SO IT SEEMS THE MAGLEING HAS FINALLY DECIDED TO JOIN THE PARTY, EH?"

By this point, Hedwig had bled off her extra speed and was now hovering in midair some distance behind Cyclopsis with the MegaDragonzord standing an equal distance in front of it. Harry narrowed his eyes for a moment before nodding firmly and turning to Tommy. "Take care of yourself, Tommy. I'm going to join in on the fun."

"Alright, Harry," the Green Ranger said with a nod of his own. "Be careful. Goldar is sounding way too smug to not have a plan…"

Silently, Harry agreed, but he said nothing, merely twisting in place, vanishing, and reappearing upon Hedwig's head with a near silent pop.

-Are you ready, Harry/Wizard?- Hedwig asked.

"As always, Hedwig. Let's do this." As Harry spun his staff to gather the necessary Power for their fusion, he nearly missed Cyclopsis turning sideways, pointing one of its arm blades at them and the other at the MegaDragonzord.

"I THINK NOT! TAKE THIS!" Goldar roared as Cyclopsis's blades lit up with an internal light before letting loose bolts of electricity from each one that lanced toward their targets. Hedwig was forced to fire up her rocket boosters, launching them straight up into the air in order to dodge the attack and simultaneously forcing Harry to crouch down and apply a light sticking charm to his feet to avoid falling.

"Dammit…" Harry growled, watching from above as Cyclopsis began its assault on the MegaDragonzord again. Harry's teammates had been unable to dodge the lightning attack from the War Zord and so were one more left open for Cyclopsis's superior speed to bring it up to them and resume the blistering barrage of sword strikes. "Come on, Hedwig," Harry finally said. "We have to pull Goldar off of them before he demolishes the MegaDragonzord."

-Right away, Harry/Wizard. Hold on tight!- With that, Hedwig fired her rockets again, launching them slightly higher into the air before she angled her wings to propel them forward and then folded them entirely to enter into another dive.

For Harry, for an instant, he was back at Hogwarts, playing Quidditch and in a dive for the snitch. The rush of adrenaline he got from diving from such a height at such a speed was something he really hadn't experienced for a very long time. Flying, really flying, was something he missed dearly. And then, all at once, Harry was back in the present, he and Hedwig drawing closer and closer to Cyclopsis's unprotected back as the War Zord landed a few more blows on the MegaDragonzord.

Once again, just before they would have landed their attack, Cyclopsis ducked to one side, forcing Hedwig to flare her wings and fire her rockets in order to avoid crashing into their teammates. This time, however, Goldar had something else in store for them.

The first clue Harry got that something was very wrong was when their controlled, if rather abrupt, change of direction changed into a spinning tumble through the air signaled by the sound of wrenching metal on metal. Hedwig's mental cry of pain and panic followed up by an instinctual fear was Harry's only warning before he and his familiar/Zord crashed into the MegaDragonzord, sending both machines to the ground in a heap.

Luckily for Harry, Hedwig had crashed into the MegaDragonzord mostly belly-to-belly, so Harry wasn't crushed by the contact. Unluckily, Hedwig's now severed right wing landed a short distance away, crashing into a building before falling to street level, showing Harry just what had happened.

"HEDWIG!" Harry shouted, reaching through their familiar bond frantically, searching for any sign from the owl.

-I… am… functioning, Harry/Wizard.- the answer came several seconds later than the wizard might have liked, but he still released a breath of relief when it did. -There is… no pain… it is a most curious sensation. However I do not believe I will be able to fly anymore…-

Harry nearly rolled his eyes at Hedwig's matter-of-fact answer. "Can we still fuse? Do you think we can still form Warrior Mode?" it wasn't like they had much else in the way of options at this point.

"More to the point," Jason said over the communicator. "Can you get off of us? Goldar is still on the attack!"

Harry turned his head, having to pivot in place at the waist because of his still active sticking charm, and caught sight of Cyclopsis standing several Zord-paces away. Goldar's laugh then echoed out across the area. "AH, MAGELING… IT LOOKS LIKE I HAVE YOU RIGHT WHERE I WANT YOU NOW!"

The two missile pods rose from Cyclopsis's chest once more, revealing a fresh barrage of missiles and making Harry's eyes widen in panic. "GOODBYE, MAGELING!"

Harry had mere moments to act as the first of the barrage launched. First things first, he cancelled the sticking charm, apparating quickly to the back of Hedwig's head so he could maintain an easier footing. Then, he reached deep within himself, grabbing onto his available reservoir of Power and funneling it into his staff and pulling up as much of his Magic as he could and channeling it through his off hand.

With a shout of exertion, Harry thrust his staff forward and unleashed a storm of lightning at the oncoming explosives. From his staff, Harry used his Power to create a simple lightning spell, one of the easiest offensive spells offered by Grid Magic and the only one he had really mastered to this point, having spent more time on his general Grid control exercises and combining Grid Magic with his own. From his off hand, Harry unleashed a torrent of Levin Bolts, the arcing energy branching out as it went and meeting several of the missiles in midair, setting them off at a safe distance.

Yet the barrage continued.

When his available Power ran out, Harry was forced to dismiss the Magi Staff, bringing up more of his own Magic and sending forth a torrent of lightning from his right hand as well, simultaneously starting up his Battle Rhythm technique to help sustain the spells. His hands were lost in a shower of sparks and smoke as the Levin Bolts did as much damage to Harry's suit as they were to Cyclopsis's missiles, but there was little Harry could do but keep it up as long as the explosions persisted.

After another ten seconds that seemed much longer, Harry had completely lost sight of Cyclopsis in the smokescreen caused by the explosions.

Finally, Harry heard Goldar let out an angry shout accompanied by a much dimmed flash of light and shaking ground caused by heavy steps and he let his spells die off. Only then did the exhaustion hit him and Harry dropped to his knees there upon his Zord.

"Holy… Crap…" Harry panted, staring down at his gloves, blackened by scorch marks from the Levin Bolts. He hadn't felt this drained in months… at least since the Terror Toad attack when he had had to fight the monster, Goldar, and a group of putties alone.

As the smoke began to clear, Harry glanced up and caught sight of Cyclopsis. The Zord was more or less undamaged, though there were several scorched trails of blackened metal where the Levin Bolts had raked their way across the surface. It was most likely these bolts that had brought about Goldar's reaction, though based on the general lack of damage, it was probably more from surprise than anything else.

"ONCE AGAIN, MAGELING, YOU HAVE PROVEN HOW MUCH OF AN ANNOYANCE YOU CAN BE." Goldar growled as Cyclopsis took a few steps forward through the dissipating smoke, returning to its previous position. "BUT IT APPEARS THAT YOU'RE ON YOUR LAST LEGS NOW."

Technically, this wasn't true. While Harry was feeling rather exhausted, it was only from channeling so much wandless magic in so short a time. While the distinction made little real difference, Harry would be back on his feet, so to speak, in a few minutes.

It was a few minutes that he very much doubted Goldar would give him.

"Hang on, Harry!" Tommy's voice caught his attention as the Green Ranger landed next to him on Hedwig's back. "I've got ya, man." The Green Ranger then lifted him up, draping one of Harry's arms over his shoulders and carried him into a two-person leap that allowed them to clear the downed Zords and land in the streets.

As soon as they were out of the way, the MegaDragonzord began moving again. Without having to fear dislodging the Magi Ranger, the others piloted their Zord into moving the damaged Hedwig off to one side, setting her somewhat gently (or as gently as could be managed by a giant robot) on her talons before clambering back up to its feet. Hedwig stood, looking somewhat unsteady. Her head spun toward her severed wing lying on the ground to the joint where it had been removed and then to Cyclopsis before beginning the cycle all over again.

"Harry," Jason called over the communicators again. "Can you still fuse with Hedwig? We could really use some help here."

Harry let out a growl as his panting slowed. "I could if Goldar would give me a chance. Unfortunately it seems like that's not gonna happen. Even if I could get back over to her, Goldar would either blast us again, or lay into you guys before we could do anything to help."

"Dammit!" Jason cursed, then he continued a moment later. "Alright Harry, you and Tommy should take cover. We're gonna give this guy everything we can while we still have something to give."

"But Jason," Billy interjected. "Our power levels are already critically low after our initial battle with Cyclopsis and Goldar's renewed attacks. Using too much Power at once-"

"I know it's risky, Billy." Jason cut the brainy Ranger off. "But we really don't have a lot of choice here. We're just too slow against Cyclopsis now and none of our other Zord combos stood a chance even before he got powered up by Lokar."

"Jason's right." Zack said, his usual good humor gone from his voice, not that that was surprising given the situation. "I say we hit him hard and fast while we still can!"

A few moments later, and the other Rangers had voiced their agreement. Then, Hedwig's voice rang through Harry's mind. -I shall add what Power I have to your teammates' attack too, Harry/Wizard. There is little else I can do as I am now.-

Harry nodded, sending a mental caress to his familiar. "Guys, Hedwig says she'll give what she can to help out."

"Good," Jason's reply was rather grim. "I have a feeling we'll need all we can get…"

Harry and Tommy exchanged a glance at Jason's tone, but shrugged it off moments later. With a mutual nod (freaking Grid guidance!) the two Rangers leapt up into the air, Tommy still supporting Harry, and landed atop a building. From there, they jumped yet again, landing on another one another few blocks away before turning back to watch the fireworks.

"We're clear, Jason," Tommy called out. "Go for it!"

Hedwig had hopped as close as she could to the MegaDragonzord's side and extended her remaining wing until it made contact. Then, the dome atop her head lit up with an internal light that traveled down her wing and into the MegaDragonzord. Meanwhile, the Rangers had started up the MegaDragonzord's finisher sequence and the machine's remaining power was charged into the Dragonzord addition, focusing, oddly enough, in what had once been the Dragonzord's knees and were now hanging down on either side of the Megazord's shoulders.

Finally, as the glowing light became blinding, the Megazord's arms jerked out to each side, clanging into the glowing emitters which then released their energy at an angle that caused the two beams to connect a short distance in front of the MegaDragonzord. The Power gathered there for a few moments, forming into a large orb of energy that, somehow, had what looked like a stylized "Z" in the middle of it. Mere moments later, with another gesture from the Zord and presumably from the Rangers inside it, the orb of destruction flew forward and slammed into Cyclopsis, which had remained unmoving the entire time.

This should have really been their first clue that things had gone wrong.

Cyclopsis was almost immediately hidden from sight by the explosion and resulting smoke cloud caused by the MegaDragonzord's attack. The Zord in question stood tall, though Hedwig appeared to be slumped slightly from lack of energy.

The seconds seemed to take forever as the smoke billowed up through the sky over the deserted Angel Grove, hiding the result of the Rangers' attack. Somehow, Harry had the feeling that the battle wasn't quite over yet.

This thought proved prophetic as a gust of wind accelerated the dispersal of the smoke, revealing Cyclopsis standing tall and only slightly more scorched than it had been after Harry's Levin Bolts.

"A VALLIANT EFFORT, POWER RANGERS…" Goldar's voice was as smug as Harry had ever heard it and it made his heart drop even as the MegaDragonzord took a step back. "BUT NOW IT'S MY TURN!"

With a roar from Goldar, Cyclopsis's arms came up once again and the blades began glowing. Before anyone could react, arcs of lightning once more lanced forth. One of the bolts was heading toward the Rangers' Zords…

And the other was heading for Harry and Tommy.

Before the two Rangers had a chance to blink, they found themselves wrapped in lightning, sparks showering off their suits like a waterfall even as pain, dulled though it was by those same suits, lit up their nervous systems like never before.

Harry screamed.

Tommy screamed.

There was little else they could do until they blacked out.

-MR-

Coming back to consciousness was an ordeal the likes of which Harry hadn't felt since his days back at Hogwarts. Back in first year… and second year… third year… heck, every year that he had some big end-of-year challenge to overcome that left him physically and magically exhausted… So every year he was at Hogwarts.

He really should have looked into alternate education…

In any case, fighting his way back to consciousness, Harry noticed three things immediately. One, he was outside. Two, he was out of morph. And three, he appeared to be alone. Opening his eyes to find the darkening blue sky showing that the day was waning, Harry found himself struggling to even sit up. He wasn't restrained or anything, or at least not by anything he could feel, he was just that exhausted.

And he hurt. Oh Merlin did he hurt…

Every nerve cluster in his body was protesting at once, leaving Harry feeling like little more than a solid ache. Finally, he was able to force himself into a sitting position and looked around to find himself back in Angel Grove Park. More specifically, he was in the open area in front of the stage set up for the Power Rangers Day festival.

As he looked around, his attention was caught by a groan behind him. His first instinct was to spin quickly, but his body was still protesting such movement so his eventual, scooting turn around onto his stomach was much slower than he might have liked.

What he found, thankfully, wasn't anything threatening, which would have been the icing on the cake that the day had become. Instead, he found the other six Rangers, all lying prone in the grass as he had been. The groan had come from Tommy who was shifting slightly where he lay five or so feet away from Harry. A bit more looking identified Jason as being the next closest, lying off to Tommy's left with the rest of the Rangers spread nearby.

Shrugging mentally, mostly since he felt the physical act would be more painful than it was worth, Harry pointed a finger toward Jason and sent a jet of water his way. The Red Ranger shot up into a sitting position, sputtering and cursing as he went.

"Jason," Harry croaked, more than a bit surprised at how weak his voice was. "Rise and shine, Jason…"

Jason shook himself once more, sending water flying, before turning to face the wizard. "Harry? What the heck man?"

Harry smiled weakly. "Sorry, but I figured it was better to wake you up rather than waiting and I don't know that I can make it over to you right now. I can't even tell you how much I hurt."

Jason cursed quietly before standing, still trying to shake water of himself as he did. "What happened?"

Harry groaned as he slumped back to the ground, lying on his stomach this time. "I honestly have no idea. The last thing I remember is Cyclopsis zapping Tommy and I and then… I woke up here…"

Jason nodded, closing his eyes briefly. "I remember that… and then there was a flash of light. We might have been teleported after that… I don't know…"

Harry sighed. "I dunno either… Maybe one of the others noticed something else…"

Harry and Jason exchanged a glance before Jason nodded and moved to wake up the others. Luckily the other Rangers woke up easily enough and nobody else had to get woken by Harry.

Almost as soon as she woke up, Trini was at Harry side, helping him roll over again and move back into a sitting position. Kimberly was doing much the same thing for Tommy, talking to him softly as the Green Ranger coped with his own case of full-body ache.

"So did anyone notice anything? Does anyone have any idea what happened?" Jason asked after explaining the situation to the revived Rangers.

There was a general head shaking from the Rangers, save for Trini. The Yellow Ranger blushed for a moment before speaking. "It was Harry… He and Tommy were getting shocked and then he did… something… and Cyclopsis stopped moving. Then the MegaDragonzord shut down and I blacked out."

The Rangers shifted their gazes to Harry who just shrugged, wincing afterwards as his body protested. "I have no idea honestly. If I did do something, it wasn't intentional…" He paused for a moment before continuing. "It's possible my magic reacted to protect me. Sort of an instinctual thing…"

The Rangers were all silent for a bit at that, their minds racing. Finally, Jason took charge again. "What matters now is what we're gonna do next. I say we get in touch with the Command Center." Seeing his teammates nodding, Jason lifted his communicator. "Jason to Command Center." The communicator merely let off a two tone beep. "Alpha… Zordon… anyone?"

"It seems that the communicators are unable to establish a stable connection." Billy said, fiddling with his own communicator. "It's quite likely that Rita jammed them."

"Ok," Zack said with a nod. "So we can't get ahold of anyone back at the Command Center, what about teleportation?"

Billy immediately vetoed this idea too, looking up from his communicator with a sigh of resignation. "The communicators can't seem to connect to the Grid either, which makes teleportation impossible."

"Do you think Rita is behind that too?" Kimberly asked while crouched next to Tommy, practically holding her boyfriend in his sitting position. The Green Ranger seemed to be somewhat worse off than Harry, most likely because of Harry's magic protecting him on top of his suit. Though Tommy's waning Power probably had something to do with it too.

Billy just shrugged helplessly. "I suppose it's possible, but I'm not really an expert on magic…"

When everyone turned to Harry, he shook his head slowly. "It might be possible, but I'm not really an expert on Grid Magic myself. We'd have to ask Zordon to be sure."

"Which we can't do right now because the communicators aren't working." Zack sighed. Turning and walking off a few steps before freezing. "Uh… guys…" The unease in Zack's voice caught everyone's attention immediately. Billy and Jason ran to the Black Ranger's side immediately while Trini stayed to help Harry stand, not an easy challenge with his entire body protesting the entire time, and Kimberly stayed near the still largely immobile Tommy.

When they reached Zack's side, Harry noticed what had caught the Ranger so off guard. Where they had woken up, there were several large trees blocking their view of the city proper. Zack had moved off to the side far enough to have a clear view of the buildings that made up Angel Grove, and as a consequence, he could see Cyclopsis standing there like a sentinel of terror.

None of them breathed for several seconds, almost as if waiting for the massive war Zord to make a move. When it didn't, they relaxed a bit.

"What's going on?" Jason asked. "Why is it just standing there?"

"I have no idea…" Zack responded, shaking his head as he did.

"Maybe it was whatever Harry did?" Trini suggested, squeezing Harry's shoulders slightly. "Maybe he took it out of commission."

Harry thought for a moment before responding. "It's… not unlikely. I told you all that my magic reacts poorly with technology most of the time. If whatever Trini saw really was my magic lashing out to protect me, it might have fried Cyclopsis's circuits. That's probably the best news I've had all day."

"What are you guys seeing over there?" Tommy called out weakly, bringing everyone's attention back to the downed Ranger and his girlfriend. After explaining the situation to them, they both seemed to relax a bit as well.

"So we might have a bit of time then?" Kimberly asked, her usual perky smile starting to show itself again.

Harry nodded. "We might. At the very least, they'd have to repair or replace whatever was damaged. I can't really think of any other reason for Cyclopsis to not be leveling the city right now. Or at least looking around for us…"

"Yeah," Jason commented suddenly. "That is a bit strange isn't it? I mean, why hasn't anyone found us yet. We aren't exactly under cover right now…"

"Jason," Zack said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This may be one of those don't look a gift horse in the mouth situations."

Jason nodded slowly, though his eyes still betrayed his worry. "Yeah, sorry. I'm just thinking, ya know?"

"I think we all are, Jason." Harry said. "I don't know about before I showed up, but I don't think we've ever lost that badly before."

Billy and the girls nodded, but it was Tommy who spoke. "Yeah, we really underestimated Cyclopsis in that last battle. He was way too fast for the MegaDragonzord to handle and he cut down Hedwig like she was nothing."

Harry's eyes widened as he tensed up at the reminder of his familiar. Trini, feeling him tense, gave his shoulders another squeeze. "Harry?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

The Magi Ranger was lost in his mind, however, reaching out through his familiar bond to try and discover what happened to Hedwig. After several tense moments, he felt a ping of consciousness and heard his companion's voice over their connection. -I am safe, Harry/Wizard. Big Head moved the robot lizards and I to the Zord Hanger. We are recharging. My wing is back, but I will still be unable to battle again for some time…-

Harry just smiled as he responded mentally. -No worries, Hedwig. I'm just glad you're ok.-

Hedwig sent him a feeling of satisfaction before the link faded again. Harry refocused his eyes on the others before speaking. "I was talking to Hedwig. She said she's alright. Zordon teleported her and the other Zords to the Hanger and they're recharging as we speak."

"Well that's one bit of good news." Trini said, resting her head on his shoulder, though careful not to put too much weight on him in fear of pushing him over.

"But it still leaves us with the question of how to get to the Command Center." Jason said firmly, his game face once more in place.

"Right!" The other Rangers chanted, prompting a soft sigh from Harry.

Billy hummed in thought. "Well, if we can get to my garage, I might be able to alter the modulation of the frequency capacitors in my communicator. That may allow us to work around whatever Rita's doing to block us and allow us to teleport again. And if that fails, there's always the Rad Bug."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Billy," he started. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the Rad Bug only seats five, right? And there are seven of us. So how are we all gonna fit in there?"

Zack's smirk lit up his face almost instantly. "No worries Harry. I'm sure Trini and Kimberly can double up with you and Tommy, right?"

The four mentioned Rangers' faces all lit up in blushes almost simultaneously while the other three chuckled good-naturedly. It was something they all needed, a bit of light heartedness to distract them from how deep they were.

And then any plan and good mood they had was thrown out the window by a whirring noise from overhead. Almost as one, the seven Rangers looked up in time to see Rita's flying bicycle being ridden by Baboo. It was hovering overhead and the blue monkey riding it was staring directly at them.

"AHA!" Baboo cheered. "I found you Rangers! YOUR EVILNESS! I'VE FOUND THEM IN THE PARK!"

The response to Baboo's shout was almost immediate as the Rangers found themselves surrounded by a horde of putty patrollers. Their high pitched mumbling nearly loud enough to drown out thought as they hopped and twitched around the perimeter.

Harry pulled his wand quickly, groaning slightly as his body protested the fast movement, even as the five core Rangers formed up in a circle around he and Tommy.

And then Goldar teleported down. "Ah, Rangers… I was wondering where you ran off to… I think it's time we finish our fight once and for all!"

"Jason," Harry hissed to the Rangers' leader. "If I may, I suggest no holding back in this fight."

The Red Ranger seemed confused for a moment before his eyes widened with understanding. "Yeah, I think that may be a good idea… Alright guys, It's Morphin' Time!"

As one, the core Rangers pulled their morphers and thrust them forward. "MASTODON!" "PTERODACTYL!" "TRICERATOPS!" "SABER-TOOTH TIGER!" "TYRANNOSAURUS!"

Nothing happened.

There was no flash of light, no spandex-looking suits, no Power weapons, just… nothing.

The Rangers couldn't morph.

Goldar merely laughed.

"And now you see the true depth of the danger you are now in, Rangers…" the armored simian mocked them. "My Empress has cut off your Power Coins from the Grid and you are unable to access the Power as a result. This means that you can't morph! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Uh… guys…" Zack asked as the circle of putties began pacing closer to them. "Any ideas?"

Harry closed his eyes briefly, reaching within himself to check his magic. Surprisingly enough, he still had more than half of his reserves left. Although his Grid Power was nearly depleted, which took morphing off the table for him as well, even if only for the moment, he still might be able to do something to help them.

Transfiguring walls would only stall the putties and Goldar for a few moments, not to mention trapping the Rangers within them at the same time. They couldn't really run, mostly since he knew he wasn't up for that much physical activity, and if he wasn't then Tommy, who still hadn't been able to stand, definitely wasn't. If only they hadn't been cut off from teleportation…

Wait… duh!

"Hey guys, I may have an idea." Harry said as quietly as he could, his eyes darting around as he searched for something suitable for his plan. "Rita may have blocked our teleportation, but I doubt she blocked any forms of magical transportation."

Trini and Kimberly shot him disgruntled looks even before immediately returning their eyes to the approaching horde. "No way, Harry," Kimberly hissed. "You cannot be serious."

Trini was a bit more thoughtful though. "His little popping teleportation thing might be our only way out, Kim… no matter how uncomfortable it is…"

Finally, Harry spotted a stone that would serve his purpose. It was about five inches in diameter and mostly circular and flat. It was probably a landscaping stone that had gotten thrown by a kid from one of the flower beds that dotted the park, but Harry didn't particularly care as he summoned it to his hand.

"I couldn't take all of you at once if I did apparate, and taking one of you each time would be too taxing on my in my current condition, not to mention that Goldar wouldn't let us get away with that, so that's off the table anyway. I was thinking of a portkey." Harry replied, holding the stone out and downward so that Tommy could reach it. "Now when I give the word, I need everyone to touch the stone I'm holding. Even just a finger will do."

"I am going to enjoy your end, Rangers!" Goldar was still mocking as he paced with the putty horde. The entire group was only fifteen or so feet from them on all sides now. It was rather amusing the amount of coordination that was being put into the attack, especially since the putties were largely brain dead, which could only make it harder.

"Are you serious, Harry?" Zack whispered, turning his head slightly and catching sight of the stone in question. "A rock? What the heck kind of good is a rock gonna do? How's that gonna help us escape?"

"Magic, Zack." Harry hissed back. "Just trust me, will ya?"

Jason shrugged, his eyes staying firmly on Goldar who was approaching directly in front of him. "We don't have any other choice. Whenever you're ready, Harry."

"Yeah," Kimberly interjected. "And the sooner the better."

"Alright, I just need to focus for a second." He wasn't the most practiced in making Portkeys. Yes, he had used one against Tommy back when he first broke into the Command Center while still under Rita's control, but that was just for one person, so it wasn't as difficult. This one had to be able to safely transport seven people, two of which were injured, which made it a bit more delicate of an operation.

Ten feet away.

Narrowing his eyes, Harry focused on the Command Center, right in the center of the ring of computers, and summoned up his magic. He tapped the stone with his wand, smiling in satisfaction when it glowed blue briefly, signifying the successful creation of a portkey.

"Alright guys, NOW!" Harry shouted, noting that the putties and Goldar were nearly upon them.

As one, the Rangers spun and grabbed the portkey stone, vanishing just as Goldar's sword, as well as the sword arms of many putty patrollers, passed through the air where they had just been.

-MR-

One moment the Command Center was relatively normal. The computers were beeping, lights were flashing, and Alpha was panicking as he waddle-ran from one computer station to the next, pushing a few buttons at each before moving on to the next one.

The next moment, the Power Rangers appeared from thin air. Only a slight swirl disturbing their image before they solidified a heartbeat later. Six of the seven were standing strong in the instant after they appeared, while Tommy was sitting on the ground, mostly leaning against Kimberly.

Then Harry fell to the ground in a heap.

"Dammit…" Harry cursed, accepting Trini's help to stand again.

"Man, Harry." Zack said with a smile, his good humor returning now that they were out of immediate danger. "Either you're really in bad shape or that portkey thing took more out of you than we thought it would if you're falling down and we aren't."

Harry sighed. "Unfortunately, Zack, falling down after a portkey trip is about normal for me. I just can't get the hang of the stupid things…"

"Rangers!" Zordon's voice interrupted Harry's grumbling. For once, the ancient wizard sounded surprised, but happy at the same time. "It is very good to see you all alive and well. When we lost contact with you after teleporting you out and recalling the Zords, Alpha and I feared the worst."

"You teleported us to the park?" Jason asked, stepping to the front of the group as was his tendency. "Why didn't you just bring us back here?"

Zordon let out a sigh. "That was my intention, however Rita cast a spell around Angel Grove that prevented it from happening, I was forced to redirect you all to the park and hope you would be able to find your own way back here."

"Well we almost didn't." Zack said, patting Harry's shoulder. "If it weren't for Harry and his magic, we would've been sliced and diced by Goldar and some putties in the park."

"Well done then, Harry." Zordon praised the now blushing Magi Ranger. "Your quick thinking not only saved the lives of yourself and your teammates, but may well have given the world a further fighting chance."

"But how can we beat Cyclopsis, Zordon?" Kimberly asked, stepping away from Tommy briefly as she spoke. "That thing is way too fast for the MegaDragonzord and it stood up to our strongest attack without even a blemish!"

"It is true that Cyclopsis is powerful, Kimberly," Zordon responded, nodding grimly. "Especially now that Rita has combined it with Lokar's Power, but all is not lost. Because Rita's palace is on Earth now, she is more powerful than before, but she is also more vulnerable at the same time."

"What do you mean, Zordon?" Tommy asked, drawing attention to him and bringing Alpha forward with his usual litany of devices and scanners to be waved about the injured Ranger.

Zordon continued, ignoring his assistant's actions, though Harry was able to see the concern in his eyes. "Alpha has been able to access Rita's own computer systems with ours. He has used this connection to discover valuable information on Cyclopsis and Rita's plans."

"Rita got hacked by Alpha?" Zack near shouted in surprise before turning to the android. "Way to go dude!"

Alpha tilted his head in confusion for a moment before nodding and turning back to his scans of Tommy. "It was nothing, Zack. Rita's security system on her computer was easy to bypass now that she's so close."

Usually, Alpha would have been acting shy after the Ranger's praise, but Harry supposed that the robot's focus on Tommy preempted his typical attitude.

"Yes, he was able to recover that information and more, but the discovery about Cyclopsis is what is important now." Zordon continued, smiling as he did. "He has discovered that Cyclopsis has an adaptive AI system that works with the pilot to help it adapt to whatever enemy it is fighting. That is why Cyclopsis was so fast after it was reconstructed by Lokar. The AI system came to the conclusion that more speed was needed to overpower the large and slow MegaDragonzord, and so it diverted more Power to make it so."

"So how are we going to overcome such an AI, Zordon?" Billy asked, his eyes dancing at the borderline technical talk going on.

"I suspect that if you switch the modes of your Zords frequently, then Cyclopsis's AI system will be unable to react fast enough, giving you the upper hand in battle. Rita's files indicate that it may freeze up, allowing you to take the advantage and destroy it again."

"But will we have the firepower without Titanus?" Kimberly asked, her face unusually grim.

Zordon merely nodded. "I understand your concern, Kimberly. Titanus is beyond our reach at the moment, but it is possible to free him. It will just take time."

"Yeah," Trini said sadly, leaning into Harry as she did prompting him to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "Time we don't really have…"

"On the contrary," Zordon responded with another smile. "Harry's reaction to Cyclopsis's attack was able to short out a significant portion of the War Zord's internal systems. It will take several hours for repairs to be made, certainly not before tomorrow morning, which coincides nicely with the estimated time for the Zords to be fully recharged."

Harry scoffed internally. If he didn't know any better, he would think that such a coincidence was planned by the Grid.

"So we've got another chance to take that freak down tomorrow then," Jason said with a determined look on his face."

"Yes, Jason," Zordon replied. "And once Cyclopsis has been defeated, a significant portion of Rita's Power will be lost. She has tied up much of her available resources in the War Zord, and its destruction will leave her weakened enough for me to break through her dimensional prison and free all the people of Angel Grove."

"And then we can take that space witch down!" Zack cheered, bringing a smile to the other Rangers' faces.

Zordon merely hummed however, not voicing his agreement or disagreement, but Harry did notice he had taken on a thoughtful look. Zordon was generally against offensive action, Harry knew, but maybe, just maybe, the old wizard was changing his stance a bit.

That might be enough to end this war sooner rather than later…

But for now, it was better to focus on the present instead of some ephemeral future. "So, what's the plan then, Zordon?" Harry asked.

Zordon smiled at his apprentice. "For now, Harry, I suggest you all get comfortable. It isn't safe for any of you to go home at this time, so your only option may be staying in the Command Center for tonight. I will spend the night firming up ideas to give us the greatest possible advantage in our fight tomorrow."

The Rangers seemed a bit taken aback for the moment, but, one by one, saw the wisdom in Zordon's suggestion. Besides the fact that going home to an empty house would only serve to remind them of the situation their families were in, if Rita were to find them at their house, unprotected and asleep, there was no telling what she'd do to them. Heck, killing them and/or destroying the house was probably the least of things she could think of.

Harry winced internally. He was still sleeping in the Command Center every night anyway, and that still wasn't something he wanted to share with his teammates. It was like the cupboard under the stairs, he was embarrassed at his sleeping arrangements at the Dursleys and so hadn't told anyone at Hogwarts about it. Yeah, Hermione had figured it out and he assumed McGonagall and Dumbledore had known anyway, but he had never expressly told anyone. He would just have to take steps to hide his sleeping arrangements from the others and hope for the best.

The conversation mostly broke down at that point. The Rangers milled around a bit, Kimberly and Trini sticking close to their boyfriends while Alpha continued scanning Tommy while Billy watched. Jason and Zack paced restlessly until Zordon suggested they try to sleep and teleported in two of the cots that seemed to be the go-to sleeping arrangement for the Command Center. After Harry placed the cots under a silencing charm, the two Rangers did what they could to fall asleep, though were unable until Harry took pity on them and cast a mild sleeping charm their way.

Tommy was declared physically fit, if sore and weak, and was put to bed in his own cot shortly afterward. The girls weakly protested sleeping in the same room as they guys, though couldn't think of an alternative until Harry vanished into his workroom/bedroom and shrank his desk, trunk, and disillusioned cot, pocketing the last. Trini and Kimberly immediately accepted the room on offer, Trini giving him a kiss on the cheek in thanks, and fell asleep under the influence of another spell almost immediately.

By the time that was taken care of, Billy had followed the lead of the others and was snoring away on his own cot, prompting Harry to give him his own silencing charm to avoid him waking everyone else, leaving Harry the only Ranger still conscious.

"So tell me, Zordon," the Magi Ranger prompted. "What kind of chances do we really have?"

Zordon sighed as he stared at his apprentice, as if weighing him with his eyes. Finally, he spoke again. "I'm afraid, Harry, that as things are, the chances aren't good. Even fully charged and switching modes frequently, the Dinozords and Dragonzord stand little chance against Cyclopsis without Titanus and the Ultrazord as backup. Rita has trapped Titanus underneath Angel Grove in much the same way she trapped the Megazord while Tommy was under her control. And this isn't even taking into account how dangerously low Tommy's Powers have been drained after taking a direct attack from Cyclopsis."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Then what was the point of all that earlier? Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place?"

Zordon gave him a wry look. "Because, Harry, aside from not wanting to break their spirit, we have little other choice than to try. Besides, there is a way to obtain the Power we will need, and you are key to it."

"What do you mean?"

Zordon smiled. "You are able to access the Grid, Harry, and have shown an amazing aptitude for channeling that Power. My plan involves me using my own Power to support Tommy's failing Power Coin. This will allow the Dragonzord to function at its full capabilities, which will give it an extra edge it didn't have earlier."

"And what will I be doing? I assume I'll be fusing with Hedwig for the battle, right?"

Zordon sighed. "Unfortunately, Harry, Hedwig was more seriously damaged than the other Zords in Cyclopsis's last attack. She will be unable to join the battle tomorrow. I expect her to be recharging and recovering for several more days to be honest. No, you shall be doing the same as I. Just as I once did for you and will be doing for Tommy tomorrow, you will be channeling extra Grid Power to the other Rangers to help empower the Dinozords. I intend for you to act similarly to Cyclopsis's AI system, directing more Power where it is needed to counteract anything sent your way."

"Wait, I'm gonna what?" Harry exclaimed, quite glad for the silencing charms preventing him from waking the others.

"There is no other choice, Harry. Your Power as the Magi Ranger isn't directly compatible with the other Rangers' Mighty Morphin Power, and without a Zord you will be largely unable to contribute directly to the battle to come. The only way you will be able to help them at this point is by enhancing their Zords with pure Grid energy. It is not a difficult exercise to perform, indeed you already have all the knowledge to do so. It is just a matter of applying it."

Harry went silent after that, considering what Zordon had told him. His mentor had a point. Without Hedwig, he really wouldn't be able to do much against Cyclopsis. His track record at fighting against giant enemies hadn't been the best thus far, so the proposal did make a certain amount of sense. But still, Zordon was suggesting something far beyond his level of experience, not to mention comfort. All the same though…

Harry sighed. "Alright, Zordon. If you're sure that's our only option, then I suppose I have no choice but to follow your lead."

Zordon smiled. "Do not worry, Harry. The Grid will help guide you through the exercise just as it has for everything else so far. If you have faith in yourself, your abilities, and the other Rangers, we cannot help but succeed tomorrow. While the battle is going on, Alpha will be directing the Command Center's computers to try and free Titanus from where Rita has trapped him. Hopefully, the information from Rita's database will make such a task easier for him."

Zordon looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head slightly. "In the meantime, Harry, I suggest you get some sleep. I shall instruct you on the specifics of the process in the morning before the battle."

Harry just nodded, a blank look on his face as he tried to process everything. Making his way over to the others, Harry retrieved his cot from his pocket and expanded it before laying down.

It took him a few hours before he was able to drop into a restless sleep.

-MR-

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