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

39. Chapter 39

Magi Ranger

By: Tenstar12

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

Chapter 39, in which Harry Becomes the Power that Protects You…

For Harry Potter, morning came all too early. He had spent far too much time throughout the nighttime hours tossing and turning, his mind racing over what Zordon had told him would be happening the next day. Over how much of the pressure would be on him to get this new exercise right. The consequences of failure would be dire for himself, his teammates, and the world in general.

Fighting against Voldemort somehow paled in comparison to the pressure he was feeling at that moment. It might have just been the difference between memory and the present, or the general scale of things, but Harry was finding the pressure a lot more difficult to endure now.

Maybe it was because, technically, he wasn't going to be on the front lines with his fellow Rangers. The way Zordon spoke of what he would have Harry doing (and the severe lack of real detail on that aspect was causing its own element of tension) brought to mind the image of Harry remaining behind in the Command Center while the others went to fight without him. He had never really been good at sitting out battles when he felt he needed to be there. He had been involved in the fight against Cyclopsis when it began and when things went wrong, the thought of not being there in person at the end just rubbed him the wrong way.

Or maybe he was just nervous.

In any case, Harry didn't look nearly as rested as the other Rangers by the time they all roused themselves the morning after their disastrous first round with the Lokar empowered Cyclopsis. It was something that all his teammates noticed, though none commented on it beyond Trini hugging him a bit tighter than normal in greeting. This was most likely because they all had their own worries on their minds. While Harry's sleep spells had enabled the others to rest well (too bad he couldn't have done the same to himself), it was clear that their minds immediately returned to the matter at hand once they regained full consciousness.

"So, Zordon," Jason asked, his face as grim as it usually was when discussing Power Ranger business. "What's the plan? Did you come up with anything other than switching our Zord combinations frequently?"

Zordon nodded, humming in confirmation. "Indeed, Jason. Alpha's scans of Tommy reported that his Power is critically low. No matter what we do, today will likely be the Green Ranger's final battle."

Everyone's eyes went to Tommy, including Harry who had been told this the night before, even if not in the same words. Their faces were grim, fear warring with concern as they looked to their depowered teammate. Tommy, however, looked resolute. "I'll do whatever it takes. Even if it costs me my Powers or my life, I'll fight Rita to the last."

Kimberly buried her face into Tommy's chest, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could even as Zordon spoke again. "I do not think it will come to that, Tommy. I wouldn't ask you to put yourself as such risk if there was another option, and if you were to morph with your Powers as they are now they would fail within minutes, even outside of combat, leaving you completely vulnerable. No, I intend to bolster your Power with my own, preventing such failure, so that you may fight once more at your full capability, even if it is for the last time."

Everyone's faces relaxed a bit. With Tommy able to fight at full Power, and thus the entire Mighty Morphin' team together, they all felt a bit better than before. Tommy just nodded, smiling now. "I'm ready when you are Zordon."

Zordon nodded back before speaking. "I'm afraid that it is not yet time for the battle. We still have a few hours before Cyclopsis and the Dinozords and Dragonzord are ready for battle. In addition, there is more to the plan that you have not yet been told."

"What more can there be to it, Zordon?" Zack asked, his perpetual good mood already making a full reappearance. "We morph, call the Zords, and then we'll keep switching combinations to throw off Cyclopsis's computers before finishing it off with the MegaDragonzord and Hedwig in her warrior mode. Hedwig can help keep Cyclopsis distracted so it doesn't scrap us in mid change, and once the AI freezes up we should be good to go, right?"

"There is one large flaw in your plan, Zack." Zordon replied grimly, frowning slightly as his eyes flicked to Harry. "Hedwig will not be available for the battle to come. Indeed, as I told Harry already, I doubt the Silver Owl Zord will be ready for combat again for several more days. As such, Harry will be staying here in the Command Center."

"So we're gonna be fighting alone?" Jason asked, his arms crossed and his forehead creased, clearly unhappy with this latest revelation. A month or two ago, Jason would have immediately rounded on Harry and blamed him for staying out of the fight, despite Zordon being the one to call for it, so Harry figured this was something of an improvement at the very least.

"Not at all, Jason." Zordon said, shaking his head as he did so. "Just as I will be supporting Tommy's flagging Power, Harry will be utilizing a technique to empower the rest of you, specifically your Zords, to help negate any advantage Cyclopsis's AI has over the Megazord combinations."

Everyone's gazes shifted to Harry now and the Magi Ranger found himself shifting a bit under the scrutiny. After a moment, Jason turned back to Zordon. "How is that going to work?"

Zordon hummed in thought for a moment. "I intend to have Harry connect with your Power Coin Jason. As the leader of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and the pilot of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord, you are central to the balance of your team and its connection to the Grid. Through this connection, Harry will feed Grid Power into your Dinozord, and from there to the others' once you form the Megazord. At the same time, Harry's consciousness will follow along with the Zords and he will be able to add his own will to them, providing an intelligence much like that in the Dragonzord."

"So Harry will be controlling our Dinozords?" Trini asked, shooting her boyfriend a raised eyebrow to which he shrugged.

Zordon paused briefly before responding. "In a manner of speaking, yes. He will be able to exert a certain amount of control over them, but it should not be beyond what you do as their pilots. It is more like he will be aiding the Zords in combat, helping them process commands faster and so increase their reaction time and overall speed. This isn't even mentioning the increase in Power, which will make the Zords that much more devastating."

"You don't sound very sure about this, Zordon…" Zack pointed out, tilting his head slightly as he spoke.

Zordon sighed. "In truth Zack, I am not. There is a chance that Harry's own magic will cause the technique to behave differently than expected. With only Grid Power though, everything should happen as I have described."

Jason didn't seem to like this answer if his stance and expression was anything to go by. It was something Harry could understand since Jason was the primary pilot of the Zord combinations (save the Dragonzord Battle Mode) and the two hadn't exactly been on the best of terms despite the relatively calm period they were going through now. Still, Jason seemed at least grudgingly accepting of the situation. He didn't lash out at anything at least, which was probably as much as Harry could expect.

Zack, as was the norm, broke the growing tension around Jason with his next comment, his eyes going wide as a thought occurred to him. "So, with Harry boosting our Zords, does that mean that we will be able to use magic like him? Or at least through the Megazord or something? Man, wouldn't that be a surprise for Goldar?" Zack jabbed one arm forward as if holding a wand. "Alakazam! Cyclopsis is now a newt! And now POWER SWORD! No getting better for you!"

There were a few weak chuckles from the other Rangers, including from Jason, even Zordon laughed a bit before speaking. "Unfortunately, Zack, aside from the general incompatibility between Harry's branch of the Power and that used by the rest of you, Harry will be unable to channel his own brand of magic into the Zords during this battle. If it becomes necessary in the future, it is possible that he could be able to do so with more experience in channeling Grid Power alongside his own magic, but for now it is unlikely."

Zack's face was almost comical as it drooped, bringing another round of weak laughter. Finally, he spoke again. "Oh well, at least he can still help us turn Cyclopsis into a pile of scrap and save our city!"

The others all nodded in response to Zack's declaration, but Jason merely turned and stared into Harry's eyes. Once by one, the Rangers noticed the stare down and grew silent. Even Zordon refrained from speaking as the Red Ranger and Magi Ranger matched gazes. Finally, Jason spoke. "Can you do this Harry? Is this going to work out or do we need to find another way?"

Harry kept his eyes locked on Jason's even as he shrugged in response. "I honestly don't know. I've not done anything like this before personally. Zordon did boost my Power while you guys were trapped on the Island of Illusion, so I have some experience with it from the other side. But Zordon says that I'll be able to pull it off. He told me that it is a combination of a few exercises I've already learned, so I'm not working from scratch here. I don't know for sure if it will work, but I'm willing to try my best to make it happen."

Jason seemed a bit irritated by Harry's unsure response at first, but by the end of it, he was, if not smiling, at least less grim than he had been. "Alright then, if Zordon thinks it'll work then I'm all for it." Jason came a step closer to Harry and held out his hand, palm down.

Almost immediately, Zack and Billy stepped up and put their own hands on top of Jason's, followed by Kimberly, Tommy and Trini. Harry hesitated only a moment before resting his hand atop Trini's.

Jason met each of their eyes. "We're in this together, guys. If we stick together like we always have, stick to the plan Zordon came up with, we can't lose!"

Harry could feel the Grid Power sneaking its way into his mind and body, but forced himself not to react. Somehow, he felt that not going along with whatever ridiculous and corny thing that was about to happen would ruin any goodwill he had gotten from Jason with his response to the Red Ranger's question.

"We are going to do this. We are going to save Angel Grove. We are going to save the World!" a mere second after Jason finished speaking, the seven Rangers collectively flung their arms into the air, hopping slightly so that they all ended up in the air at the same time, each with an arm extended above them.

"POWER RANGERS!"

Harry felt a small bit of himself cringe deep inside.

-MR-

Once the team bonding was concluded, Zordon indicated that it was time to make final preparations. What this consisted of was Harry breaking out the last of his stored food (mostly cereal to be honest) and having breakfast with his fellow Power Rangers. Not many of them had much in the way of an appetite, but they all ate all the same, Zordon advising them that they would need the energy for the battle ahead.

After that, they all had to find something to occupy themselves with while Zordon guided Harry through what he would have to do to link with Jason's Power Coin.

In truth, it was a fairly simple technique. Especially since Zordon would basically be doing all the work for him. All Harry had to do was connect himself to the Grid and then let go, and Zordon would do the rest.

The actual method was far more complex than that of course, but to learn it all himself would take Harry many more years of study. It was far simpler for Harry to just let Zordon take him where he needed to be and then just keep himself there until the Rangers called on the Power when they morphed. That would pull his consciousness back into reality, riding piggyback on Jason's morph and then his Dinozord. From there, Zordon had only the vaguest of ideas as to what would happen, saying that it was different for every Grid Magic user in each separate situation. And again, that was without taking into account the possible effect of Harry's own magic.

Not the most effective of reassurances, but it was more than Harry had worked with many times in the past. At least he had some kind of information to work off of!

After the quick crash course, Harry found himself sitting next to Trini on a conjured couch against one of the Command Center's black walls. The Yellow Ranger had tucked herself into Harry's side, his arm draped over her shoulders and her head on his shoulder. They were talking with Kimberly and Tommy who were sitting in a similar position on another couch a few feet in front of them.

"So," Kimberly asked. "What are you guys gonna do once this is over and everyone is back?"

Trini and Harry exchanged a glance briefly before shrugging almost simultaneously, which sent Kimberly into a giggling fit. "I don't know," Trini responded once her friend had calmed down. "I think I might just want to take a nap… After all this stress, it'll be good to just relax for a while."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed while Kimberly nodded. "I don't know about you guys, but after last night I still feel like I could sleep for a week."

Harry shook his head, a grin stretching its way across his face. "Oh, but you can't just go to sleep you guys."

Kimberly saw the look on his face and let out a small groan of annoyance. "Why's that, Harry?" She finally asked, looking like she was already dreading his answer.

Harry's grin only grew as he met her eyes. "You all have to put in an appearance at the Power Rangers Day Festival that you guys were all so excited about yesterday. I doubt that it'll be cancelled just because everyone was taken captive overnight. Heck, the way things work around this city, I wouldn't be surprised if it was extended to last a week after the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers once again save the city and all its citizens from evil!"

The group groan from the other three Rangers caught the attention of Jason, Billy, and Zack. When they made their way over and had Harry's comment explained to them, they groaned too. "Man, I don't even wanna think about that now! We should have known that Rita would have attacked."

Harry cleared his throat, but said nothing, merely smiling at Zack and making him wince and groan again. "Alright," Zack finally said. "We should have listened to Harry long before we actually did and should have prepared for something like this ahead of time."

Harry shook his head, still smiling. "Well, you can't always live in paranoia like that, Zack. I knew a guy back in my old world like that. He wasn't really a pleasant person to be around. Hell of a good fighter and always good to have at your back, but not really pleasant."

"Harry's right," Jason said, either not noticing or ignoring Harry's look of surprise, comical and overdone as it was. "We couldn't have known something bad was going to happen, but we should have been more suspicious… Maybe not to the extent Harry was since he was practically sucking the fun out of the entire experience, but…"

Harry nodded in acknowledgement of Jason's joke as his teammates laughed. He could take a joke at his expense if it meant boosting up the others' spirits. They would need all the confidence they could get before too long.

The alarms of the Command Center made Harry rethink his opinion. They would need the confidence now!

"Rangers," Zordon said as the seven scrambled away from Harry's conjured furniture and back to the center of the computer ring. "It is time. Our sensors have indicated that Cyclopsis is nearing reactivation. Similarly, the Zords are now ready for battle once again." Zordon then turned his focus onto Harry alone. "Harry, my apprentice, it is time for your greatest challenge yet. Are you prepared?"

Harry took a deep breath, smiling at Trini when she squeezed his hand in support. "As ready as I'll ever be, Zordon."

Zordon nodded even as a cot was teleported into the Command Center in front of Harry. "Good, the first thing you will need to do is to bring yourself directly to the Grid. The method I am going to teach you is what I use when I need to commune with the Grid."

Nodding once more and shooting a quick smile to the other Rangers, Harry settled down on the cot and closed his eyes, listening as Zordon's voice guided him. "I want you to reach deep within yourself, Harry. Reach for the Power within you. The access you have been given to the Grid. Tell me when you've found it."

This was how many of their meditation and training sessions would start. This part of it, establishing his connection to the Grid, typically to draw on its Power, Harry could almost do in his sleep, but Zordon was of the opinion that it was always good to get back to basics when starting something new.

Zordon's voice took on a slightly droning, yet rhythmic quality that helped Harry distance himself from the physical world and reach within without dropping himself into the world of his Occlumency mindscape. Such an action would actually serve to block him from the Grid as he hadn't designed his mental shields with them in mind. Instead, Harry found himself just drifting on the waves of his own Magic, each second bringing him closer to the mote of difference that was the Grid Power within him.

It took him only seconds until he was there. "I've got it, Zordon."

"Good," the wizard intoned, his voice still light. "Now, I want you to reach into the Power. Reach through the Power and find yourself in the Morphing Grid itself."

Harry hesitated only briefly. This was definitely new, and was probably the first point of potential failure simply because of that. All the same, Harry found it surprisingly easy to slip his mental presence into the mote of light and into the Morphing Grid.

All at once, Harry found himself a tiny being in a massive ocean of pure Power. Just like when he had come to find out what had happened to Zordon and had ended up with Powers of his own, Harry found himself nearly lost in the enormity that was the consciousness of the Morphing Grid. Although this time he was slightly more prepared for it by experience and training and felt, so long as the Grid didn't get as active as it was the last time he had communed with it, he would be able to hold himself together.

"AH! YOUNG HARRY! IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

The Grid's voice echoed everywhere around Harry and he found himself "cringing" even as he did what he could to cover his metaphorical ears in an attempt to deaden the painful sound.

"And good to see that you still practically announce all your thoughts to everyone around you when you're outside your mental barriers," the Grid's voice was quieter, but was now tinged with amusement. "I do apologize for that, but I am quite excited, you see. The battle today promises to be most entertaining and I am quite looking forward to it."

Harry waved off the Grid's apology before responding. "Not a problem, though I'm sure that the people Rita has taken hostage might find issue with your attitude. They probably aren't too happy about being trapped you know."

The Grid's presence seemed to frown briefly, its exuberance dimming a bit. "Yes… I do believe Rita has gone a bit too far this time. It's one thing to try and control one of my Focal Points, everyone involved in this conflict does, but to explicitly attack those that live around the Focal Points, those that I actively protect… No, I do believe that she has gone too far this time."

Harry found himself slightly surprised by the Grid's reaction, not to mention its words. Was this the same being that had expressed a preference for balance? It really appeared to be taking a side in the battle to come.

The Grid sensed Harry's thoughts, of course, and responded in kind. "It is not terribly uncommon for me to have favorites in different battles, young Harry. Indeed, Zordon has always been a favorite of mine and so tends to get more support from me than others he would call allies. Similarly, certain individuals on the other side of the conflict have more favor from me than others. Just as I said before, it's all about balance. Rita will almost undoubtedly lose some of her personal favor with her most recent actions, but that means that someone else on her side of the battle will gain or someone else on your side will lose in kind."

The Grid's feel became darker, angrier before it spoke again. "In this case, Rita Repulsa has directly attacked those that I choose to protect. She has used the Power granted to her to take that which I value, that which allows me to express myself in your plane of existence, and that I will not tolerate."

Harry flinched slightly. "I… I see…"

For just a moment, the Grid's full attention was on Harry, only increasing his feeling of helplessness before, just as quickly, it was gone again. "Yes… I think that you might… You just might… In any case, no matter how this battle goes, I intend to aid Zordon in his attempted rescue of the trapped citizens of Angel Grove. They are under my protection and I failed them, so it's only right that I help rectify the situation."

Any response Harry might have made was preluded by an approaching presence. It took Harry only a moment to identify it as Zordon, which brought a sense of relief to him that made the Grid chuckle again.

He really needed to ask Zordon about protecting his thoughts using whatever technique had been developed in this dimension. Occlumency wasn't even remotely effective.

"I'll keep that in mind, Harry." Zordon said as his presence drew up alongside Harry's, giving the Magi Ranger an anchor to further settle him in the immensity of the Morphing Grid. "Perhaps we can address that once the present conflict is settled."

Harry merely gave an affirmative, knowing that both beings would register it no matter what he did. After a moment more, Zordon spoke again. "Come then, Harry. It's time to put the next phase of the plan into action."

With another mental affirmative, Harry grasped onto Zordon's presence and let him lead/pull him wherever was needed. It was only on the edge of his perception that he heard the Grid's last words. "Good luck to you, Harry Potter. I have been working hard on more aspects of your Branch of the Power since we first met and am most excited to see it in action. I hope you won't keep me waiting too long…"

-MR-

There wasn't really any sense of time, distance, or speed to be had in the Grid this time around. When he had come in search of Zordon, Harry had been disassociated with the Grid itself, but having the connection he now did made much of the discomfort he had experienced lessen to the point he didn't really notice it.

So it was an indeterminate time later that Harry found himself in an area that felt of his mentor, and there before him were six balls of light: Black, Pink, Blue, Yellow, Red, and Green. Furthermore, each of the lights gave off a slight feeling of his friends when he focused on them in turn. Zack, playful and fun loving, but serious when called for. Kimberly, loyal almost to a fault and protective of those close to her, but willing to give anyone a chance. Billy, intelligent and introverted, but coming out of his shell with the help of his friends. Trini, kind, helpful and willing to do anything and everything to help those in need. Jason, focused on his goal with an intensity rarely seen and protective of his friends and teammates. Tommy, determined, willing to put his own life on the line to protect those close to him, yet tinged with a hint of darkness from his time under Rita's control. A hint that fueled his determination that much further in an attempt to make up for what he sees as his shortcomings.

Harry snapped back to himself when Zordon gave him a mental poke. "This, Harry, is what you could call my own corner of the Grid. It is where my accumulated Power has gathered together, which is why these lights are here. They represent my creation of the Mighty Morphin' Branch of the Power and resonate with the essence of all those who have used it, including the current Ranger team. This is the sum of all my studies into the Grid and the Power. In time and with practice, you too shall have a similar place."

Harry reached out with his mind, attempting to take in the scope of the area, but found himself unable to comprehend it all. "Woah… I guess you collect a lot of Power in ten thousand years, huh…?"

Zordon chuckled. "Yes, Harry. I believe that I can safely say that I am one of the most powerful light sided Grid magic users, if not the most powerful. Alas, while I am trapped in the time warp I am largely unable to make use of it, and if I were to leave somehow, I would likely age at a highly accelerated rate until death."

Harry winced. That was quite the conundrum. Zordon had all this Power, Power that Harry could literally not sense the end to, and he was almost completely unable to make use of it without risking his own life. If there is even a way to break him out of the time warp prison in the first place…

"Unfortunately, Harry, we don't have time to waste pondering what ifs. The Rangers are awaiting my signal to morph into battle, and we don't have much time left before Cyclopsis becomes active again."

Harry shook himself briefly, refocusing his mind on what needed to be done. "Alright, Zordon, how are we going to do this?"

Zordon's presence emitted a feeling of satisfaction. "It is rather simple at this point, Harry. All you need to do is grasp the Power for the Red Ranger much as you did the Power within you. Anchor yourself to it, but be careful not to let yourself be absorbed into it. You are separate from the Power, but will give of yourself to enhance it. Then, you will merely have to wait until the Rangers morph."

Harry blinked, momentarily overwhelmed by the situation. He had to hold onto it, but not let it absorb him? Was the Power going to try and pull him into it? Would he end up stuck as part of Jason's morph? A second consciousness that could only outwardly express itself when Jason was in suit?

That might interfere with his relationship with Trini if it happened…

Zordon let out a burst of laughter that snapped Harry out of his musings. "No, Harry, the Power is not going to actively try to absorb you. I was merely cautioning you against merging yourself with it unintentionally. If such a thing were to happen, it would be purely of your own doing, especially since the only consciousness currently behind the Red Ranger is Jason's and the two of you haven't always been on the best of terms. I doubt he would want any kind of merging any more than you would.

Harry blushed as Zordon's laughter continued, but moved himself forward all the same. Drawing closer to the Red Power, Harry reached out and touched it, feeling that same Jason-ness even stronger as he did so. Zordon gave off a feeling of approval before speaking. "Good, Harry. I must go now, but I suspect the call will be made shortly. Remember, trust in yourself and the other Rangers and you cannot fail."

And then Zordon's presence was gone and Harry was alone. He almost started to panic, but found himself settling slightly because, while his mind was gone, Zordon's essence was spread throughout the entire area around him. Harry was literally floating at the center of Zordon's Power, and that though coupled with the feeling of his friends still emanating from the colored motes of Power let him relax enough that it seemed that almost no time had passed before he heard Jason's voice echo around him. "It's Morphin' Time!"

It was time to go to work.

-MR-

It started with a tug. The slight pulling sensation was coming from the Red ball of Power Harry was touching, but that's all it was. Harry wasn't actively fighting to remain within the Grid and the sensation didn't seem to stutter or anything so he wasn't too worried.

Then the Black light visibly shrunk, pulling in on itself until it went from a globe that was, metaphorically, similar in size to Harry to the barest mote of light. Moments after that, the Pink light did the same, followed by Blue and Yellow.

Then the Red light contracted and Harry felt like he was being pulled through a small tube, a sensation not unlike apparition, until he snapped back to awareness to find himself in Angel Grove Park.

"Woah!" Zack's voice allowed Harry to reorient himself. He found himself floating, still feeling as his pure consciousness did in the Grid. Harry spun and caught sight of the suited Black and Blue Rangers standing a few feet from where Harry was floating and a few feet down, telling him that he was floating over the Rangers' heads.

"Yeah, that's a nice look on you, Jason." Harry turned the other direction to see Kimberly, who had spoken, with Trini next to her and Tommy beyond them. "Though I think Trini may say she prefers it on Harry." Kimberly idly jabbed at Trini with her elbow only to receive a playful slap on the shoulder from the Yellow Ranger.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jason asked, prompting Harry to look down, discovering that he was hovering above and slightly behind the Red Ranger.

The Red Ranger who was currently sporting the same silvery-white vest/cloak garment that Harry himself wore while morphed into the Magi Ranger, the symbol of the Deathly Hallows standing out proudly on the back a clear indicator.

Finally, the Red Ranger noticed a bit of unexpected white out of the corner of his eye and realized what he was wearing. "What the… How did I get Harry's cloak?"

"It's probably a side effect of Harry boosting your Power right now," Tommy mused.

Billy nodded his agreement. "Affirmative, that is a rather likely hypothesis."

"Still a bit disturbing though…" Harry said. He was caught completely off guard when Jason nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Harry?" the Red Ranger asked, glancing this way and that as if expecting to see the wizard.

"Uh… Jason?" Zack asked, taking a step closer to his friend. "What are you looking for? Harry's back at the Command Center, remember?"

"But… I heard…" Jason said, still sounding somewhat off.

"Huh… so they can't hear me, but you can since I'm connected to your power at the moment. That would've been good to know beforehand."

Jason groaned. "Seriously, Harry? Well try not to distract me when we start fighting. That would probably turn out badly for both of us."

"Jason…" Zack said, speaking slower now. "Why are you holding a one sided conversation with someone that we all know isn't here?"

Jason nearly growled in frustration before turning to Zack. "Harry is here too, just not visibly. He said only I can hear him because he's connected to my morph. That's probably also why I have his cloak on."

Zack seemed unable to formulate an answer, but it turned out to be a moot point because in the blink of an eye the Rangers were surrounded by putties.

Jason didn't waste a moment. "Alright, Rangers. This is the beginning of the toughest battle we've fought yet and these putties are the first step in winning! Let's take these clay faced freaks down!"

"RIGHT!"

And then the battle was on.

From the perspective of an observer, Harry was able to appreciate that Jason was an incredible fighter. He would have to be in order for him to be allowed to teach a Karate class at his age, but Harry had never really been able to notice it in their previous battles. Any other time, Harry had been more worried about fighting his own allotment of putties or avoiding Goldar or the monster-of-the-week to really notice too much of what the others were doing. Unless they were saving his backside that is, but he tried not to think about that part too much.

Jason, with his invisible tagalong, charged into the horde of putties, leading off with a full force punch with all his momentum behind it that laid out the target. He then moved fluidly into a spinning kick, catching another construct as it approached from the side. All in all, Jason's fighting style was strong, straightforward, and ruthless. More than once, Jason took a hit in order to catch the fist, foot, or weapon-appendage of a putty so he could then deliver several devastating blows while it was trapped.

The trick was, it wasn't a way Harry was comfortable fighting. With all the practice Harry did back in his world learning to dodge spells, taking hits like Jason did in order to deliver his own was practically anathema to him, and that was only one example. The biggest thing it came down to was that Harry just didn't have the same stocky build as Jason, so fighting like that didn't work for him.

To be honest, it was quite likely another reason that Harry didn't really learn as much from Jason as he had from Tommy since quitting Jason's class. Simply put, although Tommy's style of fighting was admittedly more flamboyant than Harry was comfortable with, his tendency to dodge and counterattack rather than take the hit, the sheer amount of movement that he did just suited Harry better.

Of course the fact that Tommy didn't have a grudge against Harry like Jason certainly helped too.

The group of putty patrollers that the Rangers was facing was likely the same large group that had assisted in kidnapping Tommy and had nearly caught the Rangers before Harry's portkey whisked them away. The big differences between now and their two previous encounters was that the Rangers were prepared for battle and were already in morph.

The battle was practically over before Harry really had time to get bored with floating overhead, unable to do anything to help and too afraid of distracting Jason to really say anything.

It wasn't more than a few seconds after the last putty vanished that Goldar's voice roared out, amplified by the systems of his War Zord to a volume usually only reached when the monster had been grown. "RANGERS! IT WAS NICE OF YOU TO JOIN US, BUT YOU'RE TOO LATE! CYCLOPSIS IS ACTIVE AGAIN AND NOW YOU'RE DOOMED!"

From among the buildings of Angel Grove, Harry caught sight of the towering form of Cyclopsis. As he watched, its eyes lit up with a brief pulse of electric blue light before it turned to face the Rangers directly and moved to make its way out of the maze of buildings.

Jason turned to the other Rangers. "Alright Rangers, let's let Cyclopsis get out of the city before we call in the Zords." For once, the Red Ranger was speaking at a quieter volume than normal, presumably to avoid detection by Cyclopsis.

"Good idea, Jason," Kimberly said with a nod.

"Agreed," Billy was quick to follow with a nod of his own. "We need to prevent excessive damage to the city as much as possible."

The others gave a round of nods before Jason shifted a bit uneasily and spoke again. "Harry…" the Ranger was clearly uncomfortable with speaking with someone he couldn't see, yet knew was there. "Keep an eye on Cyclopsis. We may need to teleport if it starts getting too close to us."

Harry nodded briefly before remembering that nobody could see him. "Can do, Jason. You guys might want to get moving though."

Jason only nodded before signaling the other Rangers into a mad dash for the uninhabited land that started on the outskirts of the park and continued on to the horizon.

-MR-

Harry hadn't had to watch Cyclopsis for too long. After less than a minute of running, Cyclopsis was able to clear the buildings (though why Goldar didn't just take his War Zord through the buildings was beyond him, even if he wasn't upset that he hadn't) and the giant robot's equally giant stride had forced the Rangers to teleport to their destination fairly quickly. Luckily enough, Cyclopsis still seemed to be heading their way without a care in the world.

"Alright guys," Jason said, once more half-shouting. "Let's take this guy down! WE NEED DINOZORD POWER, NOW!"

As one, the Core Rangers flung their hands into the air as they called their Zords with Jason. As he was directly connected to Jason's Power, Harry could feel the call as it went out. There was a massive pulse in the aura of Grid Power around the Red Ranger that rippled through the air as it went, almost visible to Harry in his ethereal state. After a few moments, the pulse returned almost as if it had rebounded, and washed over and around Harry before latching onto him and pulling him away from Jason.

For a moment, Harry panicked. It only lasted a moment though because between one moment and the next, Harry found his consciousness inhabiting the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord.

It was a very novel experience. So far today, Harry had gone from wizard with a physical body, to an ethereal projection on the Morphing Grid, to an ethereal projection attached to Jason, and now he was stomping forward in the mechanical body of Jason's Dinozord. The body was mostly moving on its own, though Harry quickly picked up on how his thoughts could influence the Zord's systems when a passing thought made it stumble, nearly causing the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord to faceplant into the ground. Seeing as it was at the front of the pack of other Dinozords, such a fall would have caused a disastrous pileup that would have meant the only Dinozord arriving to battle would be the airborne Pterodactyl.

Definitely not something that would bring about victory.

Settling as best he could, Harry noticed that Angel Grove and Cyclopsis had come into view just as five streaks of colored light shot up and toward the Dinozords. Moments later, Harry felt Jason's presence settle somewhere within his form and heard him call out to his teammates once more.

"Log on!"

"Zack here, powered up and ready!"

"This is Billy, all systems go!"

"Trini here, ready to rock!"

"Kimberly here, flying high!"

"Alright, Rangers, power up your crystals!"

"Two! One! Power up!"

Whatever the Rangers were doing caused another pulse of Power to emanate from each Zord. This time, when the pulses met each other they rebounded, somehow gaining in strength as they traveled back to their origin Zords, creating a connection between them.

And with that connection, Harry felt himself spread out amongst the five Zords.

Being effectively pulled in five directions was even more disorienting than before, but his connection was still strongest with the Tyrannosaurus, so he was able to center himself on it. Turns out, he did so just in time as when he refocused himself, Jason's Dinozord was entering combat with Cyclopsis.

The battle was different from anything Harry had experienced so far. While the merger he was currently experiencing was similar to what he did with Hedwig, the lack of a personality from the Dinozord prevented the double identity feeling that he experienced when first combining with his familiar. At the same time, Jason was controlling the actions of the Dinozord directly, guided by the grid, and the general lack of control was disconcerting, especially since the robot he was currently inhabiting had comparatively short and stubby arms and a tail that was nearly as long as it was tall. Neither of these things made Harry feel comfortable, and that was before the first time Jason guided the Zord into a tail swipe.

There was something especially off putting at feeling like you were attacking your opponent with your butt…

Any time Cyclopsis would start getting the upper hand on Jason (and Harry by extension), one of the other Zords would take the opportunity to attack and throw the War Zord off its game. Cyclopsis managed to lock up the Rex's stubby arms? Here comes Kimberly and the Pterodactly with an aerial assault from behind. The Rex's tail caught after another tail swing? Trini and Billy's Zords deliver a two pronged assault from laser cannons mounted on their backs. Caught in a deadlocked grapple that Cyclopsis is slowly winning? Zack directs the Mastodon Dinozord to freeze the ground beneath Cyclopsis, making the massive machine slip and fall and giving Jason the opportunity to attack.

The only issue was that none of the Dinozords alone had the ability to come close to damaging Cyclopsis. Beyond that, Harry quickly picked up on the slight adaptations that Cyclopsis's AI was making as the fight continued. After a few exchanges, the War Zord seemed to become much better at countering Jason's attacks and it was only the assistance from the others that kept things from breaking down almost before they really got going.

Apparently Jason came to the same conclusion on his own, as he made the call. "Alright guys, move on to Megazord Tank Mode!"

Harry then felt another strange sensation. He felt as the Rex's legs folded up beneath it and connected to the Triceratops and Saber-Tooth Tiger Dinozords. Through the peripheral connection he had to each of the other Zords, Harry felt the changes made in each Zord before they joined the gestalt. He felt as sections rotated into new configurations and panels shifted to reveal connectors to lock the machines together. He felt the Mastodon practically disassemble as the head, including Zack's cockpit, broke free from its body that then contorted to form cannons before the two separate parts locked onto the front and back of the Tyrannosaurus. Then the Pterodactyl kinda tacked itself onto the back just behind the Rex's head.

As one, the eyes of each attached Zord flashed rapidly with a distinctive purple tint and Harry suddenly found himself connected to all of the Rangers as well as their Zords synched up.

The rush of awareness was a bit too much all at once. "Bloody Hell!"

"Harry?" Trini asked, glancing around her cockpit frantically. "Where are you?"

"More importantly, how are you in our heads?" Kimberly near shouted.

Jason just snorted, even as he triggered the Zord tank's cannons and sent Cyclopsis reeling. "And you guys were looking at me like I was crazy."

Unfortunately, the Megazord Tank Mode wasn't really able to offer much variety that would keep Cyclopsis off guard, especially without any backup like the Rex had had alone. After a few more blasts, Jason called for the next change. "Switching to Megazord Battle Mode!"

There was relatively little change to be had this time, for which Harry was thankful. The barrels at the ends of the Tank Mode's cannons flipped around to reveal hands and the Pterodactyl detached, flying up into the sky. The Triceratops and Saber-Tooth Tiger Dinozords effectively threw on the front breaks, using the momentum to stand the entire thing up. Then the Rex's head folded down to reveal a much more human shaped one and the Pterodactyl attached to the chest.

While all the transforming was going on, Harry felt the Rangers teleporting once again, reappearing in a chamber in his chest that served as the control center for the Megazord. With a final flash of light, the Megazord's eyes lit up purple and Harry found himself, if not comfortable, at least more capable in this humanoid form. Futhermore, he realized after a stray thought caused the Megazord to move, he had a much greater degree of control over the Zord's movement than he had with the Tyrannosaurus.

This was not in the plan.

Cyclopsis, or more likely Goldar, seemed to hesitate for a moment. It could have been because of the brightly glowing purple eyes that the Megazord now sported, much different from the usual. It could have been that he was waiting for the Megazord to make the first move. Or it could have been that he was giving the adaptive AI in his War Zord a chance to analyze its new opponent with the Zord's full processing capability. Whatever the reason, neither Zord moved for several seconds after the Megazord took to its feet.

The Rangers within though weren't quite as calm and focused as Harry.

"Jason," Billy said, panicked. "None of my locomotive controls are responding! A systems diagnostic reports that nothing is malfunctioning though!

"Power level readings are through the roof," Zack said next, sounding equally nervous. "That's probably because of Harry, but nothing I try is showing any kind of response either!"

"Dammit!" Jason shouted, slamming a fist into the console in front of him. "What's going on?!"

This definitely was not in the plan!

"Hey!" Harry said, somewhat surprised to hear his voice echoing outside the Megazord as well as within the control center. "Take it easy in there will ya?"

"Harry!" Trini responded quickly. "The Megazord won't move! We don't know what's going on!"

Harry nodded, which really meant that the Megazord nodded, freaking the other Rangers out in the process. "I know. It seems that whatever Zordon set up for me to do has put me in control of the Megazord. Must be one of those potential side effects from my magic."

"WHAT!?" the Rangers were all shouting now, but it was Goldar's response that Harry paid the most attention to.

"THE MAGELING IS IN CONTROL OF THE MEGAZORD? OH, THIS JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER! NOW I WILL BE ABLE TO DESTROY THE MEGAZORD AND DEFEAT THE MAGELING AT THE SAME TIME!"

"Guess again, Goldar!" Harry responded, pointing dramatically at Cyclopsis as he did so. Internally, Harry grumbled. The Grid was making him do corny things again, and with how deeply immersed in Power he was there was no way for him to fight it.

Shaking off the thought, Harry charged forward, the steps from the massive machine shaking the earth beneath him. When he got close enough to Cyclopsis, Harry led with a punch backed by a burst of Power, bringing the blow in faster than Goldar could react and sending the War Zord reeling in a shower of sparks.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THAT AGAIN SO EASILY, MAGELING!" Goldar roared as Cyclopsis recovered its balance and returned to the fight, swinging one of its arm blades in an attempt to cleave the Megazord's right arm off.

Harry, however, found it remarkably easy to avoid Cyclopsis's attack. And the several following it. For whatever reason, Cyclopsis seemed to be moving in slow motion compared to Harry/the Megazord.

It was the Rangers watching from within that figured it out though.

"Harry is moving so fast!" Kimberly cried out, awe in her voice.

"No, he's moving like he does when he's fighting!" Jason responded. "The Zords always move at a slower overall speed than we do ourselves because of their size. Harry combining with the Megazord like this must be boosting our speed to something he's more familiar with."

"Perhaps it has something to do with his own magic too…" Billy offered.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Trini said with a nod. "If the Power could let us do this, Zordon probably would have made it happen long before now."

Harry just tuned them out though, focusing instead on the fight at hand.

Cyclopsis was indeed much slower than Harry was at the moment, but Goldar was a much better fighter. This made the fight more or less even, though the balance was shifting in Goldar's favor as Cyclopsis's AI began to increase its speed capabilities.

Harry launched a punch that Cyclopsis deflected before responding with a slash from the blade on its other arm that Harry was able to sidestep. When Harry tried to move in again, a quick swing from Cyclopsis's blades forced him to backpedal or take the hit. Cyclopsis followed through though, chasing Harry backwards as Goldar guided the War Zord's blades in a flurry of movement, the speed increasing all the time until Harry found himself unable to avoid the attack and took a blow to the chest.

Harry stumbled backwards as the Rangers within his Zord body grunted from the impact. He was able to recover his footing quickly, but Cyclopsis was still right on top of him, leaving Harry unable to launch a counterattack. "Guys," Harry grunted as he took another light hit. "Any ideas would be grand!"

"What about the Power Sword?!" Zack asked.

Harry took another few blows, stumbling backwards amidst the sparks. "No good. I can't use a sword!"

"Right!" Jason shouted with a nod before lifting his communicator. "Plan B then! Tommy, call in the Dragonzord!"

There was no verbal acknowledgement from Tommy, but moments later the Rangers heard the six note summoning song echo throughout the area. Mere moments after that, the Dragonzord stomped into view, water glistening off of its metal armor in a few places as it barreled into Cyclopsis from the side, knocking it away from Harry.

Harry then found himself turning toward the Dragonzord and nodding. The draconic machine roared in response as Tommy teleported aboard in a flash of green light before they both faced Cyclopsis again and marched forward side by side.

Cyclopsis wasn't idle this time. The War Zord charged forward and once more began its flurry of slashes that had stymied Harry so well before. This time though, Harry was ready, or at least the Grid was. From deep within, Harry felt a surge of Power and reacted faster than before, catching one of Cyclopsis's blades in each hand.

There was silence for a moment. Goldar didn't seem to know how to react and Harry and the Rangers were just stunned. Then, the Dragonzord roared again and spun in place, bringing the spinning drill tip of its tail around and crashing into Cyclopsis's now immobile blades, breaking them off of each arm a few scaled up inches from their base.

Cyclopsis reeled back, though Goldar roared his defiance. "DON'T THINK THAT THAT WILL STOP ME RANGERS! CYCLOPSIS STILL HAS PLENTY OF SURPRISES LEFT IN STORE FOR YOU!"

Harry didn't respond, instead charging in once more with the Dragonzord right behind him. He knew they had to keep Goldar off balance or they might not get another chance. Once again, Harry led with a punch that Cyclopsis deflected, but this time the Dragonzord's tail swung in from behind and knocked Cyclopsis into Harry's reach.

Taking advantage of it, Harry grabbed onto each of Cyclopsis's arms to hold him in place and kicked as best he could. The rather clunky form he was controlling meant he couldn't really kick as high or with as much strength as he had been taught, but he was still able to hit hard enough to knock Cyclopsis away from him in a shower of sparks. The War Zord stumbled, but didn't fall at first. Then the Dragonzord let loose with a barrage of missiles from its fingertips, finally knocking Cyclopsis off its feet and to the ground with an earth shaking crash.

"Alright guys, we've got him on the ropes! Form MegaDragonzord!

Jason's call from inside Harry's chest brought him pause. And then he found he couldn't move at all as the Grid took over completely. Harry was once more relegated to an observer as the Dragonzord contorted and folded itself before splitting open and forming the same shoulder mounted weapons platform that he had seen the day before. Then, the Grid guided Harry into a surprisingly high jump for how little he was able to crouch. At the peak of the jump, Harry found himself slotting smoothly into the Dragonzord's current configuration.

When he landed once more mere moments later, Harry found himself still unable to move, but this time was because he wasn't alone. Yes, Tommy had teleported into the chest compartment and joined the other Rangers when Harry had joined with the Dragonzord, but that wasn't what gave him pause.

There was yet another mind merged with his.

The presence was silent, but very imposing in its silence. Above all that, he got the feeling that it was measuring him, as if testing his worthiness for some nebulous purpose. Then Harry heard an all too familiar mechanical roaring sound in his mind and it all made sense. He had connected to the Dragonzord, which was self-aware beyond the rest of the Rangers' Zords. It only made sense that it would have some presence when it connected to the Megazord, even if the other Rangers never really noticed. Finally after a few moments that felt much longer, Harry felt what could only be approval before another roar echoed through his head and he found himself able to move again.

By this time, Cyclopsis was back on its feet and Goldar was blustering as always. "HA! AS IF YOUR PATHETIC ZORD COULD DEFEAT ME THIS TIME WHEN IT FAILED SO READILY YESTERDAY! YOU'RE FINISHED NOW RANGERS!"

"If you say so, Goldar," Harry shot back. "But somehow I feel like this time is going to be different."

And Harry wasn't just talking this time. From deep within him, Harry could feel his Power surging upward of its own accord. If he had to guess, he would say that it was the Grid stepping in against Rita.

It was never a good idea to annoy that which gave you the Power to fight.

Harry didn't even have a chance to see what he could do with the MegaDragonzord as before he even took a step closer to Cyclopsis, a bolt of lightning burst forth from the sky and struck somewhere in Angel Grove proper. Both massive figures turned to face the city, but Harry and the Rangers let out a cheer when the ground began to rumble and Titanus came into view, freed from Rita's confinement by the Grid's action.

"WHAT!?" Goldar roared. "HOW IS TITANUS FREE?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

Harry smirked, though the immobile face of the Megazord didn't show it. "That's the problem, Goldar. Rita went too far this time and is paying the price for it now!"

Once more, Harry leapt into the air, again surprisingly high given his limited mobility, this time though, his jump was angled towards Titanus, landing in the massive Zord's open back just as it finished transforming. Again, Harry felt another mental presence measuring him, but satisfaction was reached much faster this time as Titanus readied itself for combat. With it came a feeling of utter confidence, nothing the ancient Zord had met could stand against the Power of the Ultrazord.

"NO!" Goldar cried out, disbelief in his tone and his words. "NOT THIS AGAIN!" Cyclopsis was twitching and stumbling in place, apparently unable to move. It would seem that the War Zord's AI had finally reached its limit with the two rapid form changes and was in overload.

As the Grid Power filled him, Harry found himself chanting alongside the other six Rangers. "Ultrazord, LOCK ON AND FIRE!"

As Titanus's big guns opened fire along with numerous energy weapons from the Dragonzord addition, Harry felt a small pulse of magic from within Cyclopsis as Goldar teleported out just before his War Zord's destruction. Then, as the blasts began hitting the now immobile machine, Harry felt a much larger presence cry out in pain and outrage as Lokar, still fused with Cyclopsis since its reconstruction, realized that he was about to be destroyed along with it.

And finally, with the usual massive explosion, the battle was over. The Power Rangers had saved the day again.

-MR-

With a bright flash of light, Angel Grove went from abandoned and battle scarred to full of life once again. It had only taken Zordon a matter of minutes after Rita fled Earth in fear of Ultrazord's weapons being turned on her palace for the wizened sage to break through her spells holding the people of the city captive. The fact that the Grid had already weakened so much of her magic with its intervention, plus the destruction of Cyclopsis taking even more of her Power made all the difference in the end.

All over the city, the people of Angel Grove looked around in shock and gratitude. They had each experienced every moment locked in the interdimensional void Rita had trapped them in. Unable to speak or move and trapped in an endless void of darkness, it had been like something out of a never ending nightmare and they were all ecstatic to be free again.

This was especially true for those citizens who had been attending the Power Rangers Day celebrations as there was no doubt in their minds as to whom had been responsible.

Unless you were Bulk and Skull who had reappeared on the stage in the park and immediately fell to their knees and began kissing the stage, repeatedly shouting "We're back!"

It didn't take long for a white haired woman in a purple dress with a pearl necklace to chase them off stage and take position behind a podium off to one side.

Before the woman could speak, a cry of excitement went up from the crowd as someone spotted a flash of color out of the corner of their eye and turned to see the six Mighty Morphin Power Rangers approaching. The crowd immediately erupted in cheers and applause, even as the woman on stage called for them to clear a path for the Power Rangers.

Harry just snorted and rolled his eyes from beneath his helmet. He had taken a position off to one side of the stage, standing next to a metal support frame that was holding up some of the many and varied decorations around the area. He was also under a disillusionment charm. Feeling slightly drained after his efforts earlier and with his general attitude on the festival as a whole, he had no real desire to get involved in the celebration.

As the six made their way through the crowd of their fans, Harry could see that they were all keeping a rather serious attitude. If this meet and greet had happened before the whole Cyclopsis thing, he was sure that they would have all been soaking up the adulation of their admirers. As it was, they all knew how close they had come to losing everything. They had learned that a bit of fame and recognition wasn't worth the potential risk that something like having your own holiday and festival devoted to you could bring in the situation that they were in.

If nothing else, at least there was that.

-Come on, Harry/Wizard,- Hedwig sent to him from the Zord Hanger where she was still recovering. -Let the others have their fun. Not everyone has had the same experience as you. I doubt there are people like the Bug-lady here anyway.-

"It's not so much that Hedwig," Harry spoke aloud, though quietly, knowing that Hedwig would hear him. "I know that the press here won't be able to shift the people of the city against them like they did to me back home. Heck, after this I doubt anyone in Angel Grove will even listen to a single bad word about any of the Rangers even if some news group did report it. I'm just comparing the experience the others are having with what I went through. I guess I'm feeling a little bitter that they have the undying love of everyone and I got… well, I got buried under a pile of hippogriff manure semi-regularly."

Hedwig sent him the mental equivalent of an affectionate nip. –Do not dwell on it, Harry/Wizard. You are here now and there is no sense in getting upset over lost opportunities or what might have been. Doing so will only make you bitter like Greasy-Teacher at Hoggy Home. It is better to embrace what you have now than to dwell on the past.-

Harry snorted slightly, but still nodded. Hedwig was right after all, and he knew better than to argue with her. Sometimes, she was even worse than Hermione could be…

By this time, the Rangers had made it on stage and the woman, apparently Mayor Carrington, had begun her speech. "As the Mayor of Angel Grove City, it is with great pride that I stand here before you in the presence of true heroes. They have risked their lives countless times for the safety of our city and its people. They are true examples of good triumphing over evil and now it is time to thank them. They are the Power Rangers!"

The crowd burst into cheers again as the six on stage began waving to them, though perhaps more awkwardly than eagerly.

Harry ran his eyes over the crowd. Among them were people he had fought to save multiple times, even though he didn't know more than a few of them by name and some of those people didn't even know the real him. Children were running around everywhere, cheering and clapping like crazy. Many of them, and even some of the adults, were wearing clothing decorated with Power Ranger helmets, stylized designs of the Zords, and other similar things. A few of the kids were even running around in full costumes of the Power Rangers. Here and there he saw miniature versions of the Red, Blue, Pink, Yellow, Black, and Green Rangers. He even saw more than a few Magi Rangers, one even had a small Owl toy perched on their shoulder. He had always struggled with his fame back home and accepting recognition for even that which he had done himself, but maybe Hedwig was right. Maybe it wasn't all bad to give these people the opportunity to thank him. Or at the very least let those among the crowd who were there to see him specifically get the same satisfaction as everyone else.

With a sigh and a hidden smirk, Harry summoned up the Magi Staff and tapped it on the ground, releasing a pulse of magic from the top as he did so. The bolt of magical energy raced into the sky, a bright streak of light that caught the attention of several nearby people before it exploded into fireworks. For several seconds, flashes of red, green, yellow, blue, black, pink, and purple lit up the sky and the faces of the crowd as Harry manipulated the magic into moving images that were his best attempt at replicating the work of the Weasley Twins on such short notice. Fiery versions of the Rangers and their Zords danced across the sky as the crowd cheered ever louder.

Finally, when the show ended, Harry apparated to the stage, coming to stand next to Trini on the end. She elbowed him slightly as he joined the others in waving to the crowd to much cheering. "Glad to see you decided to join us, Magi."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, I couldn't let you guys have all the adoration, now could I?"

From there the Rangers disbursed amongst the crowd, talking to their fans and answering questions. Surprisingly enough, not too many of the people asked personal questions, and those who did accepted that the Rangers couldn't answer and just moved on to something else.

After thirty or so minutes, Mayor Carrington called everyone's attention back to the stage where the curtain was drawn back to reveal a large banner showing an image of the five core Rangers standing with the Power Blaster while the Green and Magi Rangers stood in the background to either side with their own weapons brandished at the ready. It was a surprisingly good picture, especially as no such pose had been done in reality to the best of Harry's knowledge, but it was the band on stage that caught most people's attention. They were a local band apparently, and had approached the Mayor about performing at the festival.

Although rock wasn't really Harry's thing, there was something appealing about the song they had written about and for the Power Rangers. And the guitar riffs were rather fun to listen to as well.

Even if the lyrics for the second verse were pretty bad.

-MR-

The Rangers left the park shortly after the band finished playing. While the crowd was sad to see them go, the Rangers all knew they had to put in appearances in their civilian garb. No doubt their families and non-Ranger friends were all worried about them, especially since, as far as they knew, everyone in town had fallen prey to Rita's trap. It would be better to reassure them that everyone was alright.

The entire situation was a bit bittersweet when it came to Tommy though. Yes, they had defeated Rita once more when she was at her strongest, but her plotting had cost them a beloved ally. This was made all the more obvious when the team met up again in the Command Center once all families had been reassured. Kimberly had the most extreme reaction with tears running down her face, but nobody was happy with the situation.

"Well," Tommy said grimly idly turning his Power Coin in his hand before closing his fist around it and looking up at the other Rangers. "I guess this is it…"

"Tommy…" Kimberly near-sobbed, burying her face in his shoulder and wrapping him in a tight hug, Trini standing nearby to support her friend. Harry and the others stepped up close, the Red Ranger putting a comforting hand on Tommy's shoulder in support.

Zordon merely nodded in agreement, his own face as grim as the Rangers. "Indeed it is, Tommy. You and the other Rangers were successful in defeating Cyclopsis and chasing Rita off once more, but now additional measures must be taken to prevent Rita from obtaining the full extent of the Green Power."

"Just tell me what I have to do, Zordon," Tommy replied, wrapping his left arm around Kimberly in his own attempt to support his girlfriend. "I swear to you that I'll do whatever it takes to keep these Powers out of Rita's hands.

The grim determination in Tommy's voice took Harry aback for a moment. He had thought that Tommy had mostly gotten past his regrets about his actions while under Rita's control, but the tone of his voice made him rethink that. The teen almost sounded like he'd go so far as to kill himself it Zordon had told him that that was what was necessary!

And Harry hadn't been the only one to notice this if the wide eyed looks on Jason and Zack's faces were any indication.

Zordon's voice put paid to any further thoughts along that path with his next words. "All you must do, Tommy, is willingly hand over your Power coin to Alpha 5. He will then place it within a shielded area that will prevent Rita's Green Candle from draining the last of the Power from it. Without the full extent of the Green Power, Rita will not be able to recreate the Green Power Coin and thus the Evil Green Ranger."

Tommy's face never lost its firm resolve as he opened his fist to study his Power Coin one last time. "Alright, Zordon." With no hesitation, the Green Ranger held the coin on his open palm out toward the robot. "Here you go, Alpha. Do what you have to do."

Alpha waddle-stepped forward, reaching out and taking the coin from Tommy, causing the tiniest burst of Power to flare in Harry's senses when it was picked up. "Thank you Tommy. I'll make sure that Rita can't do to anyone else what she did to you." With that said, Alpha turned and made his way over to one of the computers before pressing a series of buttons.

Just in front of Zordon's tube, a section of the floor about two feet square began to rise up with a hiss of compressed air. As Alpha made his way around the computer bank, the section rose high enough for the Rangers to make out what looked like a glass cube filled with smoke with the floor paneling above and a metal pillar below. When the tube stopped rising, Alpha opened one side of the cube, letting the smoke escape and revealing an ornate golden box, bedecked with jewels in the same colors as the six Mighty Morphin Rangers.

Almost reverently, or at least as reverently as a robot can be, Alpha opened the lid of the box and placed Tommy's Power coin within before shutting it with a soft click. Then, the robot closed the glass box once more.

Three things happened almost at once.

First, Harry once more felt a slight surge of Power as whatever protections were on the cube reengaged with the closing of the door.

Second, the moment the door was closed, the smoke reformed within, obscuring the golden box from view once more.

And third, Tommy let out a soft gasp of surprise before his knees gave out accompanied by a shocked cry from Kimberly as she struggled to hold him up after being caught off guard.

Harry reacted fast with a wandless levitation charm, helping Kimberly support Tommy until Jason and Zack were able to move in to help physically. "Are you alright?" Kimberly asked, her face red, though no more tears were falling.

"Yeah…" Tommy replied as he managed to get his knees under him again. "Yeah, I'm alright. I just feel… weak… I guess."

"That is to be expected, Tommy." Zordon spoke, catching everyone's attention. "Just as Rita is now cut off from stealing the last of the Green Power, so too are you cut off from its use. Your body has become used to having this Power running through you at all times, so being without it can be a shock to your system, but there should be no permanent health issues."

Even as the trapped wizard spoke, Harry could visibly see Tommy drawing himself up again. Recovering after being stripped of the Power he had grown used to. For his part, Harry couldn't even imagine having his Power taken from him, though that could have something to do with the fact that losing his Power would most likely also mean losing his inherent magic…

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Harry turned his attention back to the others. Tommy was now looking at each of the other Rangers one by one. He met Harry's eyes last before speaking. "I just want to thank all of you guys… for everything. After everything I did while under Rita's control, you didn't have to accept me like you did, and I can't tell you all how much I appreciate it."

Jason clapped Tommy solidly on the shoulder, staggering the other, still weakened teen slightly as he did. "Don't worry about it man. You were one of us… You still are one of us. Powers or no Powers. Once a Ranger, always a Ranger."

Tommy smiled at Jason even as Zack spoke up. "Yeah, and it's not like we'll never see you again. We go to the same school after all."

This brought a weak round of chuckles, injecting a bit of levity into the otherwise grim situation as Zack was wont to do.

Harry just snorted at the thought of Tommy vanishing from their lives just because he had lost his Powers. "Not only that," he quipped, smirking good naturedly as everyone's attention was brought to him. "But I still hope to meet with you for karate practice, if nothing else. Don't think any of us will let you go that easily. I doubt Kimberly would even hear of it."

"And you still have your communicator so you have no reason not to keep in touch." Billy added once everyone had stopped chuckling, finally changing Tommy's pensive look into a relaxed and somewhat relieved smile.

Kimberly, ignoring Harry's joke at her expense, just smiled at Tommy and hugged him tighter while Trini nodded her own support.

"Your teammates have spoken truly, Tommy." Zordon said, his own smile on his face. "You were indeed a fantastic Power Ranger, a great teammate to the other Rangers, and a hero to the entire city. You demonstrated this from the moment you joined the other Rangers after Rita's spell was broken. In this latest battle, you could have stayed behind, but you put your failing Powers to the test and your life on the line to fight against Rita's forces one last time, and for that you will always be welcome here in the Command Center. If you ever have need of help or advice, you only need ask and it will be given."

Tommy's smile grew slightly as he nodded. After a few moment of silence, Jason stepped up and extended his hand forward, palm down. Tommy was quick to place his hand atop Jason's, soon followed by the other Rangers (Harry only offering a shrug first as he accepted the Grid's influence over him).

Jason met all their eyes again as he spoke. "Once a Ranger, always a Ranger. We're a team, even if we aren't all able to fight the same way anymore. We're here in spirit if nothing else."

The Rangers smiled at Jason's words, though Harry winced internally at the corniness the Grid had prompted the Red Ranger into.

Finally, Harry felt the Grid prompt him and he joined the other Rangers as they all hopped into the air, flinging their arms up as one. "POWER RANGERS!"

-MR-

When only Harry was left in the Command Center, the others having all teleported back to Angel Grove for the night, Harry turned his full attention to his mentor. Zordon had seemed rather thoughtful even as he spoke to the Rangers. The others had been too distracted with the entire situation with Tommy, but Harry had spent too much time around Zordon to miss the unusual attitude.

"Alright, Zordon," He said with a weak smile as Alpha bustled about as usual. "What's with the deep thinking? We won, didn't we? All's well that ends well and all that?"

Zordon let out a sigh, closing his eyes as he did so. "I have indeed been thinking a great deal, Harry. I never doubted that you and the other Rangers would be successful in this latest battle, but what about beyond that? Rita has proven that she will stop at nothing to achieve her goals, even going so far as to actively work against the Grid and risk losing everything. While doing so again will almost certainly see her losing her Powers, there is no predicting the lengths that she may go to and whether we will be as successful on all fronts in the future."

Zordon opened his eyes again, focusing their full intensity onto Harry as he continued. "In many ways, Harry, you are responsible for this latest line of thinking, as I doubt it would have ever entered into my mind without your presence. You have spoken of your opinion on my attitude and rule of no escalations of battle, how only being a reactionary force can only lead to problems when fighting a war. While I didn't initially put much stock into it, I now see that you have a very good point."

Harry's brow furrowed as he thought over Zordon's words. "Are… are you really suggesting what I think you are, Zordon?"

Zordon merely nodded. "Yes, Harry. I believe that Rita's latest act against the Earth, bringing her palace here and calling upon Cyclopsis, represents a great enough threat for us to do the same to her. With her weakened in the aftermath of our latest battle, I believe that it may be time to prepare to make our own assault on Rita's Palace and end this conflict once and for all."

-MR-

AN: As of 12/10/17, I have re-read, edited, and removed AN's that I found necessary from the first 39 chapters of Magi Ranger.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review,

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