Author's notes - Thanks everybody for reading, we're almost to the end. I think you'll like this chapter :) ... Son of Whitebeard - That, I think, is the tragedy of Goldar. Zedd just doesn't respect him at all, but he's still totally loyal. You know, Goldar is older than he used to be, he's a little bit past his prime, but the only reason his hit rate is so bad is because the Rangers are so good. Put him up against someone who isn't a Ranger and he annihilates them. Jokermask - Crulger openly mocked Zedd, in chapter two, for Zedd's habit of dealing with his problems by using disposable monsters. Crulger should've thought about that a little bit more... Poor Something Vaguely Threatening.

Anyway, into chapter four! Like I said earlier, what I liked about Zedd was not only his ability with a zippy one-liner, but when push came to shove, he was a total badass. With those two things in mind, read on... ;)

Chapter Four

The cloud of smoke rose high above the mountain plateau and was soon caught by a strong breeze. But the Rangers moved quickly through the maze of wreckage, heading straight for the part of the battlefield directly below the dissipating cloud. Ahead of them lay the ruins of what had once been a magnificent fortress, but as they raced around a corner, all six came to a sudden halt. A line of soldiers stood before them, blocking the way forward. Every single one of them was aiming a plasma cannon.

"Break!" shouted Jason.

The soldiers fired. The Rangers spun away from each other as the air ignited with fire and thunder. Rolling to her feet, Trini leaped towards the closest soldier. He fired wildly at the approaching Yellow Ranger, but every time he pulled the trigger she was already a step closer, until she struck the gun aside and launched him off his feet with a light blow to the chest. The soldier crashed to the ground and his helmet rolled off, revealing a mop of unkempt dark hair.

Behind her helmet, Trini frowned. "Guys!" she called. "Pull your punches! They're human!"

A few metres away, Jason turned to the Yellow Ranger as a soldier swung his sword for the Red Ranger's chest. The man couldn't have missed, but the blade struck Jason's shoulder and snapped in two.

"You got it," Jason nodded, and casually threw his attacker away.

Across the field, Billy reached for his blaster and converted it to blade-mode. The soldier standing nearest to him fired, but the Blue Ranger lashed out and destroyed the gun. Striking the man away, Billy spun around and launched his blade for the barrel of a nearby cannon. The blade-blaster found its target, and the soldiers around the cannon dived to safety as the damaged weapon blasted itself apart.

Behind him, Zac lifted one of the soldiers into the air with a powerful punch, and the man scrambled to his feet as the Black Ranger followed after him.

"You work for this Crulger creep?" Zac asked.

The soldier nodded, and Zac could see the fear in the man's eyes. "We have families and children," the man stammered. "They need to eat."

Jason stepped up beside the Black Ranger. By now, the Rangers had easily disarmed their opponents, and the troops were picking themselves up off the ground. "Then tell your families and bosses whatever you need to tell them," the Red Ranger said. "But this? This is over. Get out of here."

The soldiers knew when to obey an order, and they dropped any weapons they were still holding and retreated.

I stepped up onto a low ridge and gazed at the landscape immediately before me. Down below, a small clearing sat in front of the stone bunker. The Omega Sanction was here. I could feel it.

I heard footsteps in the rubble behind me, and turned to see Goldar approaching.

"Drektor?" I asked.

"He made one final statement," the golden warrior replied. "It sounded like thud."

I chuckled. "Excellent."

"Is the Omega Sanction here? Crulger and the Rangers aren't far behind me."

I shook my head, and pointed to the rusting hull of a nearby tank. "No," I said. "We're here. That's all that matters. Why bother going to the effort of removing pieces from the board when they'll happily remove each other? Follow me Goldar, and stay out of sight." We stepped over to the tank and melted into the shadows.

Not ten seconds later, we heard someone approaching. From our vantage point, we watched in silence as Crulger stepped out onto the ridge and jogged down towards the bunker. He was so giddy with the excitement of finally reaching his treasure that he nearly tripped over his own robes as he skidded and stumbled down the slope.

With a triumphant smile behind his mask, Crulger stopped in front of the bunker. "At last," he murmured, and reached into the folds of his cloak. Rather than retrieving another blade, I watched as he pulled a small silver cube out of his cloak. I stepped back in shock. It was the sanction, almost finished.

"Not so fast!" came a shout, and I knew from the authority in the voice that it was the Red Ranger. Crulger spun around angrily as the six Rangers stepped up onto the ridge, staring down over him.

Beside me, Goldar raised his sword, but I held up my Z-staff to keep him in check. "Not yet," I said softly.

Back on the ridge, the White Ranger stepped forward. "Hand over the Omega Sanction," Tommy called.

"That weapon is way too powerful for a psycho like you," Zac added.

"Hmm," Crulger murmured. "I'm paying those morons too much, or nowhere near enough."

Jason stepped towards Crulger, and was soon halfway down the hill. "The sanction," he said. "Now."

"Heroes," Crulger growled. "I wonder, how do I keep you busy? Ah. Of course," and he glanced past the bunker, down to the valley in the distance. As his gaze found the village on the banks of the river, I realised what he was about to do. Damn him. Damn him. I'd totally underestimated Crulger's capability for cruelty, not to mention the Rangers' irritating need to do the right thing.

Crulger raised his wrist. "Vulture?" he called. "To me!"

The earth-shaking roar of the Iron Vulture's engines filled the plateau as the ship responded to Crulger's command. The great black predator rose into the sky and was over us in a second, blocking out the sun.

Crulger pointed down to the village. "Vulture," he continued, "transform and wipe that village off the map!"

"Crulger no!" shouted the Blue Ranger, but it was too late. With a screech of metal, the ship began transforming. Its wings folded back and its talons slid forward to become arms. As everyone watched, the ship's body unfolded to become the Vulture's torso and legs, its eyes flashing red over its hooked beak. Touching down on the edge of the slope, the giant metal beast began making its way down towards the village. The people in the township felt the ground shaking with every colossal step, and looked up and around in alarm. Farmers tending their herds turned to run, while children playing in the streets started screaming, and men and women in their homes looked to the approaching behemoth with horror.

The Rangers glanced to each other in disbelief. "You gotta be kiddin' me," Zac breathed.

Kim turned to Jason. "Crulger has the sanction," she said. "What do we do?"

"Zordon said that stopping Crulger was our top priority," Tommy said.

"Maybe," Jason said. "But there's an Orange Ranger in my ear telling me otherwise. Tommy? Go after the sanction. We'll save the village."

"You got it," Tommy said, and leaped down towards Crulger.

Behind him, the Rangers turned to each other and reached for the sky.

"We need thunder zord power, now!"

The heavens grew dark, and bolts of lightning struck down from a suddenly cloudy sky, dancing across the valley. In a flash of lightning, the fleet of thunder zords appeared between the Iron Vulture and the village, powering towards the approaching robot. The Black Lion led the charge, with the blue Unicorn and yellow Griffin on either side. Immediately above them cruised the pink Phoenix, with the Red Dragon flying beside it. The Vulture turned to the zords and sent a volley of rockets whistling towards them. The whole field went up in sparks and flame, but the five zords broke formation and the Red Dragon returned fire with a jet of flame, forcing the Vulture to retreat.

"Let's go guys!" Jason shouted, and the Rangers teleported into the approaching zords. "Okay," Jason continued, as the Red Dragon transformed into its warrior mode, "Thunder Megazord, online!"

Jagged fingers of lightning struck each of the zords, and the five robots began to combine. The Griffin and Unicorn drew side-by-side, and their bodies folded up as the Red Dragon dropped down into them to form the Megazord's feet and legs. The Phoenix and Black Lion wrapped around the Red Dragon's body, and as the Megazord's black hands were drawn up over the Red Dragon's fists, the Megazord's black and gold helmet dropped into place. The Thunder Megazord's eyes flashed yellow behind its visor as the Rangers materialised in the cockpit and immediately reached for the controls.

Halfway between the mountain plateau and the helpless village, the Thunder Megazord raised its fists and held its ground as the Iron Vulture closed in.

"Whatever happens," Jason said, "this thing doesn't get past us."

"Good news," Kimberly said, and tapped her monitor. "The scan shows that nobody's inside the ship. It's totally empty."

"You're not wrong," Zac nodded. "Check it out!" From their vantage point high above the battlefield, they could see Crulger's legion of soldiers cowering in the field of ruins, watching the battle unfolding.

"They didn't make it back to the Vulture," Trini said.

Jason smiled. "Right," he said. "No more pulling our punches."

With the Vulture closing in, the Rangers pushed the Thunder Megazord forward, slamming the Vulture back with a powerful punch. As the Vulture fought to recover, the bird's eyes flashed. An armoured panel on the Vulture's chest slid open, and a barrage of missiles roared forth, smashing into the Megazord. The entire field lit up, but unfazed, the Thunder Megazord charged forward, swinging high. The Vulture dodged the blow, and struck away the Megazord's fist before raking its claws across the Megazord's chest. The Megazord stood firm, and when the Vulture attacked again, the Megazord kicked away a low blow, before blocking the Vulture's fist and slamming it back with a blow to the head. The valley shook as the Iron Vulture staggered away, and the Rangers pushed the Megazord forward to continue the battle.

Back in the clearing, Tommy raised Saba and closed in on Crulger. "I'm not gonna tell you again," the White Ranger warned. "Give me the Omega Sanction."

"Then take it from me," Crulger growled, and held up the silver cube. It glowed for half a second, then sent out a burst of energy that slammed the White Ranger back. Goldar turned to see my body glowing an incandescent red.

"Get up, Rita's failure," I hissed, watching as the White Ranger fought to regain his senses. "Get up!"

"That was only a tenth of the sanction's true power," Crulger said. The ground began shaking, and my old ally nodded. "And the final piece of the sanction has heard my call."

With that, the ground in the centre of the clearing broke apart, and a blood-red jewel rose into the air before Crulger. He tapped the cube and a drawer slid open on one side. Reaching out, he took the jewel and carefully dropped it into the silver cube. The cube responded, pulling the drawer shut and lighting up like a star. Crulger let go and stepped back, the cube now floating half a metre off the ground. A pillar of light shot down into the soil, while another exploded up towards the sky.

Crulger laughed as the air began crackling. "It takes a minute to charge," he began, "but once that's done, the Omega Sanction will finally be mine!"

"Not if I can help it," Tommy said, and charged towards his opponent. Crulger immediately sent several daggers slicing towards the approaching White Ranger, but Tommy struck them out of the air with Saba, before taking to the air with a high kick. Crulger spun under the blow and backed away, throwing more of his daggers at his enemy. Tommy dodged the blades and slashed Saba straight for Crulger's head. Crulger dodged the move, reaching into his robes and retrieving his two large blades. When Tommy swung again, Crulger struck Saba away and aimed a low jab for the White Ranger's stomach. Tommy stepped around the move, retaliating with a wide arc from Saba, but Crulger blocked Tommy's sword before slashing his blades across the White Ranger's chest. Tommy froze, stunned, and Crulger kicked him away.

The White Ranger crashed to the ground, panting and dazed, and Crulger turned to the humming cube.

The entire field suddenly erupted in sparks and fire. Crulger was launched off his feet by a massive surge of power that blasted him into the wall of the bunker. He dropped to the ground and gazed around to see where the attack had come from, only to find me standing before him with my Z-staff raised and Goldar beside me.

I looked over to Tommy. "Congratulations White Ranger," I said. "You are officially useless at everything," and I turned to Goldar. "Keep him out of this." Goldar nodded, and I stepped towards Crulger.

"I shouldn't be surprised to see you," Crulger panted, as he stood up to face me. "This was your goal all along, wasn't it? You were going to let me find the sanction and then steal it from me."

"Not quite," I replied. "But you're not leaving here with it."

Crulger nodded. "I know you have need of it," he said, glancing past me to the White Ranger and Goldar. "I learned today just how annoying those Rangers can be. So how about we make a deal, old friend? If you let me seek my carnage, then I'll let you use the sanction on the Rangers once I'm done. How does that sound?"

I leaned in close. "So you can still have your pile of bodies?" I asked.

"And you don't want the same?" Crulger sneered. "Your ego gets the better of you every time, Zedd. I've watched this happen to you for centuries. You parrot this nonsense about worthy opponents, but you want to inflict misery just as much as I do. You don't fool me, not for a second. Your list of crimes is unimaginably long, and far longer than mine. But we finally have this power, Zedd. Let us use it together, and not waste energy brawling like children!" Crulger paused to let his words sink in before lowering his voice. "We are the same, Zedd. Nowhere near as different as you think."

I didn't reply, glancing over my shoulder to Goldar and the White Ranger a few metres away. I thought of Crulger's words for a few seconds more, when my body began glowing incandescent with rage. I spun back to face him.

"I am Lord Zedd," I growled, my body shining brighter with every word. "I am many things, and I am better than you. You are an embarrassment to the name of evil! People like us should be worshiped and feared for our greatness, not because of our love for wanton and petty cruelty. You are a child and a bully, pathetic and needy. That you think we are equals is frankly insulting. You have nothing of worth or value to offer. But if you want power so desperately? Allow me to give you a demonstration."

I raised my staff and blasted Crulger off his feet. The force slammed him into the side of an upturned tank and took the whole thing to the ground. Dazed and trembling, Crulger reached into his cloak and flicked more throwing daggers towards me. I calmly walked towards him, swatting the knives out of the air. As I approached, Crulger stabbed a long blade straight for me, but I struck the blade aside and slapped Crulger away with a powerful backhand. Crulger recovered and aimed a low kick, but I stepped inside the move, bringing us face-to-face. He swung high, but I slapped his hand away and struck Crulger's face, shattering his mask. He backed away desperately and reached for another knife, but I blocked the blade with my staff, before slamming the staff back into his body. He retaliated by aiming the knife for my head, but I caught his wrist and felt his bones crack between my fingers. He howled pitifully and dropped the knife, and I kicked him away.

As he scrambled back away from me, he held up his blaster, but I destroyed the gun with a single shot from my staff. He turned to meet my gaze, and I roared, channelling my power into a single blast that lit up the battlefield and slammed into Crulger, tearing him apart in a massive explosion that sent a fireball roaring skyward.

Down in the valley, the Thunder Megazord struck the Iron Vulture back. As the damaged ship fought to recover, the Rangers raised their voices in unison.

"Thunder Megazord Sabre, now!"

The Megazord drew its long sabre from the scabbard by its side, and raised the sword high. Lightning struck down, charging the blade with power, and the Thunder Megazord slashed the blade for its opponent. Power exploded from the sword's arc, slamming into the Iron Vulture and immediately destroying the ship. Debris rained down over the valley as the smoke cloud began dissipating. Watching the battle from beside the bunker, I glanced back to my faithful servant.

"Goldar," I barked. "Go and scour the wreckage. See if Crulger had anything we can use."

"Yes Lord Zedd," Goldar nodded, and he scurried away.

With only the White Ranger and I left, I turned to the silver cube and raised my staff. The staff was shining so brightly it hurt to look at, and Tommy couldn't help but guess that I was pouring every drop of power into one single blast. He dived to safety as I aimed my staff at the Omega Sanction and destroyed it. The explosion threw us both to the ground and flattened every piece of wreckage still standing in a wide radius around us.

Climbing to his feet, Tommy reached for where Saba had fallen and then surveyed the clearing. The blast had left nothing standing. The stone bunker was little more than rubble. But he soon saw me, standing in the centre of a newly-formed crater. My metal exo-skeleton was cracked and broken, with several pieces lying on the ground beneath me. I could feel darkness creeping into my vision. Barely conscious, I faced my hated enemy.

"You destroyed it," Tommy murmured. "You destroyed the Omega Sanction."

"Observant as ever White Ranger," I replied. My vision was getting blurry, but I could see that Tommy realised I was satisfied with the results of the battle.

"You… you wanted us to find this thing, didn't you?" he asked. "You practically gave us a map to it back there in Vietnam."

"To say nothing of manipulating Drektor into leaving Crulger's side," I added. "Or sending a monster for Crulger to destroy, knowing that it would give you a path straight to him."

"But why?" the White Ranger asked. "Why would you want us to find the Omega Sanction? It's a weapon so powerful that you're afraid of it and… that's it, isn't it?" He paused, and when he spoke next I could tell he realised that he'd just been used. If only my gifted sight wasn't blocked by his helmet. I imagined the look on his face would've kept me warm at night for centuries. "According to legend, the Omega Sanction was so powerful that even the great Lord Zedd was scared of it," the White Ranger continued. "You were never going to use it against us, were you? You just used us to find it and destroy it for you, so that you wouldn't have to put yourself in harm's way."

I leaned forward. "The thing I enjoy most about you heroes," I said, spitting out the word like a curse, "is how wonderfully predictable you are. Rush in, save the day and then run on to irritate somebody else. And you couldn't even do the job properly! I had to step in and destroy it myself! I clearly overestimated you."

Tommy folded his arms across his chest. "Not to mention yourself."

"What are you babbling about White Ranger?"

"You destroyed a powerful weapon before it could be used to hurt anyone," Tommy replied. "You did the right thing today Zedd."

"Don't you dare!" I roared. "I acted out of nothing more than self-preservation. I'm sure even someone as deranged as Zordon would understand that. No, I refuse to face my demise until my dream becomes solid truth."

"Dream?"

"Your helmet," I replied, pointing my staff at the White Ranger's head, "shattered and broken under my heel. The only reason I'm letting you walk away from this is because neither of us has the energy left for a battle. And what would that prove?"

But as I turned to leave, the White Ranger followed after me. "Charming," he called. "But just for the record," and I glanced back over my shoulder. "You're welcome!"

I spun back to him, burning up as rage roared through me. With an angry growl and a flash of white-hot-flame, I stabbed my staff into the dirt and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

To be concluded.