Author's notes – Hey everybody! I've never written this far into my series, so of course, I had to write an action scene featuring some of the Zeo zords. I do agree with the general thought that the Zeo/OhRanger robots were some of the most beautifully-designed giant robots (up there with the Thunder zords), so I really enjoyed writing a zord battle that featured them. With that, enjoy chapter five! :)
Chapter Five
In the centre of Brisbane, Peter and Scott looked from Digster and his cogs to the trolls and ogres surrounding them, when two teleportation trails shot down out of the sky towards them. They turned to each other with relief as Trini and I materialised beside them, and the four of us immediately went back-to-back.
"You're in trouble again?" Trini asked Peter.
"It's definitely one for the books," the Orange Ranger replied. "The Machine Empire's trying to kill us while the Troll King's launching a simultaneous invasion of the surface world."
"It has been too quiet lately," Scott added. "But we're glad to see you. How was the underworld?"
"Exciting as ever," I replied. "Any clues to the Troll King's motivation?"
Scott shook his head. "They haven't said anything, although they seem really mad for some reason. Does that mean anything?"
"Actually it might," Trini replied.
Suddenly our communicators chimed. Wary of the armies facing us, I raised my wrist to my helmet. "We're here," I said. "Go Alpha."
"Rangers, I may have some answers!" Alpha began. "Billy, we followed your hunch and did a quick search. A week ago, a scroll was stolen from the 'Wonders of the Underground' exhibit at the Queensland Museum, about subterranean archaeological discoveries. Unbeknownst to the thieves, the museum staff had already made a digital copy of the scroll, which we downloaded a few minutes ago."
"Were you able to translate it?" Scott asked.
"We don't have much information about the Troll King's realm, but the database had enough for a rudimentary translation," Alpha replied. "The scroll told about an ancient underground legend, when a powerful king married a princess and united two great troll families to cement his power as the ruler of the underworld. The king's gift to his bride was an enormous red diamond, one of the rarest of gemstones."
"Wait," Peter said. "So you're telling us that the troll witch we've seen hanging out with the Troll King might actually be the Troll Queen? Wow, this got weird."
"I think it's sweet when couples do things together," Trini said.
I smiled. "A red diamond," I repeated. "That must be what the Machine Empire stole! Gasket needed a specific type of diamond for his latest scheme, and when they heard the legend of the Troll King and his beloved, they stole it from that subterranean treasury."
Scott glanced to the army of trolls, more of which were arriving by the second. "But all this for a diamond?" he asked. "The Troll King probably has thousands of them. This is kind of an over-reaction, don't you think?"
"You're not wrong," Peter agreed.
"But wait a second," Trini said, and we turned to her. "Don't look at the situation logically. That diamond was a gift to the Troll King's wife. It obviously means a lot to him. He's angry it was stolen and the only reason he's doing all this is because he wants it back."
"So the machines are fair game," Peter said. "But the diamond?"
"We have to get it back in one piece," Trini replied. "Returning that gemstone to the Troll King is the only way to stop all this."
"But why?" Scott asked. "What did they need that specific diamond for? What's Gasket gonna do with it? And how the hell do we get it back?"
"Look out!" Peter shouted. The crowd of metal soldiers and rocky trolls had grown tired of waiting and surged forward. Trini summoned her Zeo Power Daggers in two flashes of yellow light. As one, the four of us charged into battle.
Trini ran into shadow and looked up to see a pair of enormous ogres towering over her. They were both solid muscle, covered by spiked body armour with snarling jaws and glowing red eyes. They were strong and fearsome but Trini knew from experience they weren't fast. The closest ogre swung a gigantic spiked club straight for her, and she held her ground for a second before leaping lightly out of danger. The club smashed into the road and left an impact crater, and Trini raced back towards her assailant, running along the club and sending the ogre crashing with a high kick. She dropped to the ground as the second ogre slashed an enormous blade towards her. Dodging the first swing, Trini stepped around a second and struck the ogre's wrist, forcing the creature to let go of the weapon. With an angry roar, the ogre lashed out with a barrel-sized fist. But catching the creature's arm, Trini used its own weight to throw it off its feet and send it to the ground.
Across the street, Scott had found himself surrounded by a platoon of cogs. Blocking a blow with his staff, he struck one cog back, stepping to the side to send a second opponent crashing before taking the legs out from under a third. Another squadron closed in around him, and he grabbed a cog's outstretched arm to throw it away before blocking a move from the right and sending the second cog crashing with a blow to the chest. He spun back to face several more as their faceplates flipped open – the cogs fired their eyebolts and Scott took to the air as the street erupted behind him. Finding his footing, he held his staff out in front of him and channelled the power of the Zeo Crystal through the weapon, before slicing the staff towards the crowd of enemies. Power exploded from the arc of the staff and slammed into the troops, instantly destroying them.
A few metres away, Peter was battling his way through a horde of goblins and trolls. Striking away the smaller creatures as they attacked, Peter spun around to see a snarling goblin assassin striding towards him with a jagged blade in each hand. Closing in, the creature swung both blades – Peter raised his Zeo Power Sword and blocked the blades in a shower of sparks. Striking them away, he swung high, but the goblin caught the blade with one of its own and swung low with the other. Peter jumped back and over the sword, and it flashed past harmlessly beneath him. Regaining his balance, Peter pressed forward, blocking the left blade then striking away the blade on the right, forcing the goblin back as he gained ground with every step. Catching the left blade, Peter twisted it out of the goblin's hand before stepping inside the goblin's reach and ramming his elbow into the creature's jaw.
Meanwhile, Digster and I circled each other warily for a few seconds before the monster suddenly charged towards me. I ducked his jackhammer weapon and struck his arm away before catching him with a blow to the head. The monster staggered back, but I saw his head-lamp glowing and leaped to safety as the creature fired.
"Alpha," I began, raising my wrist, "Scott was right." Digster swung high but I caught his fist with my free hand and struck it away before retaliating. "Unknowns make for bad science. We don't know any of the variables here. I can't put the puzzle together yet." The monster fired again, and I backflipped out of harm's way, landing across the street. Digster clanked after me but I found my footing and kicked high, forcing the creature back.
"Where should we start?" Alpha's voice crackled through.
"Make a list of all the industrial applications for large diamonds, regardless of colour or country of origin," I began. Digster swung his jackhammer weapon again and I ducked the move. Batting away a low kick, I aimed a sharp jab for the creature's face and damaged his optic sensors.
"That might be a long list," Alpha replied.
"We know Gasket's intentions are hostile," I said. "Start with that theory and work backwards."
With Digster still blinded, a cog charged towards me, but Scott leaped forward, blocking the cog's staff with his own and taking the robot down with a blow to the head.
"Focus Bill!" Scott said. "Fight evil, then talk to Alpha!"
"Time is a factor here," I replied. "I'm multi-tasking!"
Another cog lurched towards me and I kicked the robot into a nearby shop. What was left of the building's front window shattered, and I looked up to see it was a jewellery boutique. With that, I thought of Trini and our mission to South Africa.
"Alpha," I said quickly. "Forget everything I just said. The research facility in Johannesburg that Trini and I defended last week? Get into their system, and tell me about their current research projects."
"Got it!" Alpha replied. "There's a…"
"One minute," I said, as Digster recovered from my earlier blow. "Zeo flying power kick!" Blue energy wrapped around me and I took to the air, flying across the battleground and slamming my boot into the monster's head. Digster crashed to the ground thirty feet away in sparking ruin, and I nodded to myself. The other Rangers continued fighting around me. "Go Alpha."
"The first two floors were devoted to medical research," Alpha began, "and the third floor was a genetic experimentation lab. But the fourth floor was occupied by a research project about focussing sunlight through specially-cut diamonds to produce laser beams of intense heat and power."
And just like that, the pieces fell into place.
I knew what Gasket was planning.
Beside me, Trini kicked away a towering troll. "You figured it out?" she asked.
"Affirmative!" I shouted. "Gasket built some kind of laser-based weapon, but he needs a specific type of diamond to focus the beam. They tried to steal one in Johannesburg, and when that plan failed, they studied old folklore, found a second diamond and stole the scroll from the museum to learn its location."
The two younger Rangers regrouped around Trini and I. "So they've built a giant laser cannon?" Peter asked, then glanced to Scott. "No wonder they wanted to lure us out into the open. But if that thing fires, it'll turn the city into a crater. Any idea where this thing is?"
"The Machine Empire isn't known for subtlety," I said. "But they are very efficient. If they need sunlight, they wouldn't even bother building it here on Earth. Alpha, scan Earth's orbit. I'll bet my shard of the Zeo Crystal that's where it'll be."
"Got it!" Alpha replied. "You were right Billy! There's a large satellite in geosynchronous orbit above the city that we can't identify! But it's shielded. If we hadn't been looking for it, we wouldn't have found it. From the energy levels we're reading, it's targeting. Ayeyiyi Rangers! You might have minutes before it fires!"
"You two protect the city!" Peter said. "Scott and I will take out that satellite!"
"You can't destroy it," Trini said. "We need the jewel."
"Easy then," Scott said, and turned to Peter. "All yours bud."
Peter raised his hand to the sky. "Phoenix Zeo zord, now!"
A wild screech echoed through the concrete canyons of the city, and the Phoenix Zeo zord shot down out of the clouds, cruising low over the city towards us. In twin streaks of orange and green, Peter and Scott teleported up into the zord, materialising in the cockpit a second later. Scott strapped himself in while Peter took the controls and steered the zord straight up into the clouds.
Trini and I looked back to our assembled enemies as the Phoenix disappeared into the sky, instantly falling back-to-back to keep an eye on the machines and the Troll King's forces.
"Well let's be honest," I said, "we've triumphed against worse odds."
Trini laughed in spite of herself. "You always know what to say," she replied. "We don't need to beat them. We just need to keep them occupied until the boys get back with the diamond."
A commotion behind the Troll King's army caught our attention, and the crowd began rippling. I peered past the trolls and ogres facing us to see the crowd parting for three short goblins, each one holding a decorated bronze urn. As they reached the surface and held the urns up, I remembered where I'd seen them before. My face fell behind my visor.
"I doubt keeping their attention will be an insurmountable challenge," I said.
The lead goblin cackled triumphantly. "Revenge!" it screeched in a coarse, gravelly voice. "Revenge against the surface world!" With that, the goblins uncapped the three urns. Trini and I could only watch as a rush of stones clattered forth, rising into the air and multiplying. The avalanches defied both the laws of conventional space and gravity as they roared up into the sky. With a flash of ancient magic, three gargantuan rocky titans had formed before us, standing fifteen storeys tall and towering over the city. Their eyes glowed yellow, and their bodies were streaked with silver and brown minerals, their giant stone fists raised menacingly.
"At least the odds couldn't get any worse," Trini offered.
Even as she spoke, Orbus floated past us, landing on the road beside the sparking remains of Digster.
"You're down but not out!" the little machine cried, and blasted a bolt of radiation from his chest into the monster's body. The air above the street sizzled and hummed, and the machine suddenly expanded, fully restored and rejuvenated.
"Yeah, that was on me," Trini said.
As tall as the three mountainous titans, Digster gazed down at Trini and I and fired a blast from his head-lamp. The entire street erupted in sparks and smoke, forcing Trini and I to leap to safety. Finding her bearings, Trini raised her communicator.
"Alpha, we need the Super Zeo zords, now!"
Far away on the side of a mountain deep in the desert, a gigantic panel rolled back and the yellow and blue Super Zeo zords shot into the sky, streaking through the air and down towards Brisbane. With the symbols on their chests glowing brightly, the two zords soon touched down in King George Square, towering over the city council building and raising their fists ready for battle.
"Let's go!" Trini said.
"Affirmative!" I replied.
We teleported into our zords and materialised in the cockpits a second later. With a clear view across the city through my zord's triangular helmet visor, I strapped myself in and reached for the controls. Super Zeo zord three spun to face Digster, while Trini steered Super Zeo zord two over towards the rocky titans.
"We need to stop these creatures now!" I called, the radio carrying my voice into the Yellow Ranger's zord.
"You got it!" Trini replied.
I held my ground as Digster approached, the zord's systems analysing the monster's abilities and determining any weaknesses. I've always admired my team-mates and friends, but I admit to being envious of those who were given humanoid zords to control. Tommy was a natural with the Dragonzord from the first day he piloted it, and the Dragonzord was a dangerous opponent as a result. The same can be said for Jason and the Tyrannosaurus, or even Ian with his Iguanodon. But in the cockpit of my Super Zeo zord, or even those brief few months when I'd piloted the blue Shogun zord, I'd been amazed to find my insecurities were unfounded. It had been easy.
I don't believe in destiny. At least, I never used to. But every time I sit in the cockpit of a zord? It hits me like a bolt from above. This was something we were born to do.
Digster let out a metallic roar and thundered towards me. The ground shook with every gigantic footstep, and he lashed out with his jackhammer as he approached. I ducked the zord under the move and forced the monster back with a blow to the stomach. Digster recovered quickly and fired a blast from his head-lamp, but the zord powered through the barrage and slammed the monster back. While Digster was still off-balance, the zord swung a powerful punch for the monster's head-lamp, destroying the weapon in a shower of sparks. The monster staggered away, swinging blindly, but the zord caught the jackhammer with one hand and smashed it to pieces with the other, before slamming its fist into Digster's face. The monster crashed back, damaged, and before it could recover, the zord followed after it. The blue triangle on the Super Zeo zord's chest began shining, and a blast of energy scorched across the battlefield, smashing into the monster and tearing it apart in an explosion that echoed through the streets.
Across the city, the three rocky titans surrounded the yellow Super Zeo zord.
"Alpha," Trini began, gazing over the battlefield from the cockpit in the zord's head. "What do we have on those titans? Tell me everything."
The radio crackled a second later. "They're magical guardians given form through the Troll King's archaic magic," Alpha replied. "They've got no ranged attacks. All our readings are telling us they're just living rock. Essentially, they're walking mountains. Ayeyiyi! You know the thing about mountains?"
"They're strong," Trini said, and gritted her teeth. "But there are two million people in this city, Alpha. So today, I get to be stronger."
The titans closed in, their steps shaking the city, when two of them lashed out with twin side-by-side punches. The Super Zeo zord blocked both moves, striking away the titan on the left before landing two rapid punches to the titan on the right. The third titan roared forward like an avalanche and landed a powerful blow on the zord's chest. Trini quickly regained control of the zord, and the robot ducked another blow and stepped around a third. Keeping the zord moving, Trini forced the third titan back with a flurry of powerful blows to its stomach. By now the first two titans had recovered, and they thundered back towards their opponent. The zord caught the closest titan with a high punch, then sent it stumbling with a kick. The other titan aimed for the zord's head, but the zord ducked and the titan's arm sailed harmlessly past. When the titan swung again, Trini hit a switch on the control panel and the zord's jets fired, taking it up and over the creature. Before the titan could attack again, the descending Super Zeo zord landed a kick to the creature's face and threw it to the ground.
As the zord landed, one of the titans let out an angry roar and charged, but the zord spun to face the approaching beast. The yellow emblem on the zord's chest began glowing brightly. A second later, a blast of energy exploded from the symbol, roaring across the battlefield and slamming into the titan, instantly destroying the creature. Bellowing at the destruction of its team-mate, one of the two remaining titans thundered towards the zord, but the zord spun around and channelled the Zeo Crystal into another blast that reduced the rocky giant to rubble. Just as the third titan attacked, the blue Super Zeo zord dropped down before them, sending the beast crashing with a high kick.
"I couldn't let you have all the fun," I said.
"Thanks Billy," Trini said. "But I think…look!"
I glanced to the ground and immediately spotted what Trini had seen. On the street, the trolls and ogres were making way for another procession, a troop of new soldiers marching up from the shadowy underworld. Leading the regiment were four enormous trolls, the lead two carrying the Troll King's banner. All four creatures were seven-foot-tall behemoths of rage and power. Behind them, coming into view was a figure that towered over even them, more powerful and fearsome than all the others. He had a bronze crown perched lopsidedly above glowing red eyes and a savage, misshapen sneer. A dark, tattered cloak flapped in the breeze behind him, the cape fastened around his chest with a thick rusty chain. His face was twisted in primal rage. I swallowed.
"Oh no," I murmured. "He's arrived on the surface to lead the invasion."
"Who?" Trini asked. "Who is that?"
"The Troll King himself," I said.
To be continued.
