Power Rangers Dimension Heroes

by The 3rd dragneel

10 Dimension Crystals, each holding immense power. When a creature named Oblivion and his army of Crekors attempt to steal them for his own purposes, a great mage named Vektor sends them across the dimensions. Now it's up to Natsu, Ichigo, Rias, Yang and Yusei to stop him and save their worlds. It's morphing time! Team will grow, pairings undecided.

26. Chapter 26: Battle of Apolan

I'm back, people!

Welcome to late 2023, guys. And I decided to bring in a new chapter of one of my favorite stories on this site!

Sorry that it's been a while, but some things happened that kept me busy. However, I still wanna try and update as many of my stories as possible… while checking out a poll I recently made on my profile(I know. Stupid to post story ideas people want XD)

But let's forget about that for a moment and answer some reviews!

Dragon Rider 66: We'll learn about these mysterious attackers this chapter. Exactly. Oblivion may be a bad guy, but he's got a heart somewhere in there. As for Crow and the others… it would be risky given how complex the technology is.

Shadowwolf1997: True. Jason David Frank was an icon, so losing him hurts. As for who attacked them, I admit I was kind of inspired by the Tuskens lol.

Straw Hat PiratesFan2023: Obviously, not. Do you guys really want a chapter with no action?

JTWAS1994: Gulp is right, my friend.

Dragon King of the West: That's why I like writing Oblivion. He's a bad guy, but he's not so blind to his goals to not see the problems he's causing. And yeah, the next few chapters will focus on worldbuilding.

Dragon king156: This chapter is gonna have a lot of fighting, so get ready for it.

BanRedfox: Sorry if Trax seems off. But he is a good guy, so don't worry.

To recap: Edward was slowly adapting into his new team, albeit rather slowly due to his quest to save his brother. Vektor received a message from Trax, who is in need of supplies. So he sends Yusei, Edward, Kaldon and Spike to help his fellow Celestial survivor. Meanwhile, Oblivion showed surprising mercy to Alphonse by installing a spinal implant, but when the Elric brother refused to help, Oblivion ordered his troops to take him to the cells. Arriving in Povis, the trio of Rangers and Kaldon helped bring Trax into Apolan city in order to repair a communications tower. However, they are soon attacked by some unknown raiders, with their small group separated.

With Yusei and the others be able to handle this ambush? And who are these attackers? Let's find out…

'SpacePort'

"Greee nalll vaeee…" A large green slime-like alien with yellow eyes and brown eyebrows(for some reason) said to Vektor, sitting comfortably inside a large shack.

"Thank you for this, Kash. I really appreciate your services." Vektor told the slime alien with a smile before he placed several small metal rectangles with yellow chips inside on the table. "Hopefully, these are enough credits."

"Guuu baaa rela…" Kash replied back in a sort of friendly tone before speaking up again. "Oooo fanala gari?"

"You can say they are… friends of mine." Vektor replied before he looked back to see the four Rangers gathering the supplies Kash's droids brought back to the Legacy. "At the moment, we are waiting for the return of some of our allies."

"Ohhhhhh… gali gali. Retorj gagu vinte. Uqa uja?" Kash questioned, making Vektor chuckle a bit.

"I will consider that. Until we meet again." With that, Vektor left Kash's shack, with said alien waving him goodbye.

"This way, boys. This way." Yang ushered the rather short and skinny brown droids, each carrying a large metal crate that seemed to be twice their size. "Don't drop it, you hear?"

The droids all began to beep in acknowledgement before one of them bumped into the droid in front of them, causing them to drop the crate. Recomposing itself, the front droid turned back to its fellow droid before smacking it on the head, causing it to spin. Annoyed by this, the droid put down its crate before tackling the other droid, proceeding to fight each other in a rather comical sense. Seeing the two fighting, the other droids dropped their crates before jumping in.

"Wow. And I thought robots were supposed to be smart." Ichigo commented bluntly as he saw one of the droids rip the arm off of its fellow robots, proceeding to beat it down with said appendage.

"Well, at least they're trying." Rias added with a smile, though even she felt a bit awkward seeing the droids act so idiotic.

"Hey, hey, hey! No need to go below the nuts and bolts!" Yang called out as she went to break up the fight, lifting two of the droids up. "Come on. Say sorry."

The two droids looked at each other before beeping in a sort of apologetic way. Yang lowered the droids, allowing them to hug out their problems while the rest of them joined in on the hug.

"Mmmmhhhh… you guys gotta this." Natsu called out while walking up to Ichigo and Rias. The two turned around, only to see their team leader carrying a paper bag full of some strange pink circle with a yellow liquid around them.

"What uhhhh… what is that?" Ichigo couldn't help but ask while staring at the bag Natsu was carrying.

"I don't know." Natsu answered honestly while scoping up a few of the pink circles, looking at them. "Vektor gave me some of those credit things and I smelled something good. So I bought some of these." He then threw the circles in his mouth, proceeding to chew it with a smile. "And they're so good! It's like eating chips or something. And the sauce is really, really good." Noticing their looks, Natsu extended the bag to them. "Want some?"

"Maybe later." Rias politely declined, still feeling a bit unsure about the alien food. She then looked out to space and frowned a bit, something Ichigo noticed.

"What's up? Something on your mind?" Ichigo asked with a raised brow.

"I'm just wondering how Yusei and the others are doing. Maybe we should have gone with them." Rias told them with a worried tone.

"Well, Yusei and Spike are there, so I think they'll be okay. And if something happens, we can go and save them." Natsu answered her like it was the simplest thing in the world, making Rias smile at his confidence.

"You're right. We should have faith." Rias said with a nod.

"Still, I'm a little worried too." Ichigo confessed while putting a hand in his pocket. "Wonder how they're doing."

Little did the rest of the Rangers know, the situation on Povis was much more dire than they originally thought.

'Povis'

*BOOM*

Another explosion erupted within the empty streets of Apolan City, debris scattering through the air.

Yusei grunted as he continued to crawl along the ground, making sure to duck down from any stray laser shots coming from the attackers. While he was still in some pain from the shot on his shoulder, Yusei was trying to move as fast as he could to get to the fallen ship. "Kaldon! Are you there?!" Yusei called out loudly.

"Y-Yusei, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon was able to call out from behind the ship. Hearing this, Yusei kept crawling towards it, only to stop as a laser bolt struck the ground in front of him. Quickly drawing out his blaster, Yusei peeked out and returned fire, forcing whoever was attacking him to duck.

"I'm coming!" Yusei shouted as he quickly got to the ship, making sure to hide behind it to protect himself from any other laser fire.

"H-Help, Ni-Ni…" Lying on his back, with a large rock crushing his right leg while his left arm was missing, was Kaldon. Judging by the way Kaldon's face was blinking, it was clear he was slowly starting to lose power.

"Hang on." Yusei quickly rushed and grabbed the rock, slowly lifting it up.

"T-Thank you, Yu-LOOK OUT, NI-NI!" Kaldon blurted out as he saw a shadow appear above Yusei. Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck straighten up, Yusei let got of the rock and summoned his Phoenix Shield to block an incoming sickle from stabbing him.

Yusei thought the attacker was a Crekor.

However… that proved to be false.

"RRRAAAAAHHHHH!" The attacker was a humanoid condor-like creature, wearing a pair of brown robes, a strange device on its neck and blue eyes. It stood at least one foot taller than Yusei, as evident from how it was pushing down its weapon.

'This isn't a Crekor. What is it?' Yusei thought before he kicked the large alien in the stomach, forcing it to stagger back. However, this little moment of victory was short lived as a second condor-like alien came out and swung a large sword, forcing Yusei to block it.

"Y-Yusei, Ni-Ni! Those are Condorians, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon told Yusei in a distressed tone.

"Condo-what?" Yusei couldn't help but ask, staring at the newly informed Condorians, who stared at him with rage.

"RRRRraaaaahhhhhh. Raaahhhhhh!" The Condorian screeched several times, as if trying to communicate with him.

"I don't know what you're saying." Yusei answered before taking out his blaster. "But I won't let you hurt my friends!"

This seemed to anger the Condorians as they slowly began to circle Yusei, forcing him to stay on his guard.

'Spike, Edward… be careful.' Was what Yusei thought before the battle began.

'With Edward and Trax'

*Rumble*

"What was that?" Trax questioned as he stopped working on the terminal he was currently hacking, his and Edward's gaze looking downward. The two were currently trying to restore some power to the tower in order to make their trip up easier. However, the explosion and laserfire outside caught their attention.

"It sounds like a gun fight." Edward replied with narrowed eyes before he looked over to Trax. "Didn't you say Oblivion's army wasn't on Povis?"

"They shouldn't be. Otherwise, my scanners would have picked them up." Trax admitted in confusion before his eyes widened. "Wait… this may not be Oblivion at all. It could be someone or something else entirely." He looked down and frowned. "Whoever it is could be using jamming or cloaking technology to hide themselves."

"But what about Yusei? And Spike? And Kaldon?" Edward asked in frustration as he kept hearing laserfire below. This whole situation didn't sit well with the eldest Elric, especially since none of them knew anyone else was out here. "I'm going down there."

"I'll come too. Four eyes are better than two, right?" Trax asked, making Edward smile under his helmet as the two began to walk down the stairs, determined to help their friends.

*Tap, tap*

However, before they could reach halfway down the stairs, a round object came out of nowhere and landed in front of the two, slowly rolling down the steps. "What the…" Edward aimed his light at whatever was thrown, only for him and Trax to widen their eyes.

The item looked very much like a grenade… which began to flash a red light.

*Tick*Tick*Tick*

*BOOM*

The two yelled out as the grenade detonated, sending them back as a large portion of the stairs were destroyed. Groaning, Edward began to push himself up as he looked at where the explosion erupted, only to see the stairs beginning to crumble away. "UP! GO UP!" Edward shouted as he and Trax began to run up to the next level. However, just as Edward was about to reach the next floor, the stairs below him broke, forcing him to leap forward and grab the ledge.

"Grab my hand!" Trax reached out and offered a hand to Edward, who quickly grabbed it and began to pull himself up to safety. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… thanks for that." Edward told the Celestial as he raised his head… only to see a shadow moving towards Trax. "LOOK OUT!" Acting quickly, Edward moved forward and pushed Trax back, narrowly dodging an ax from beheading him.

"RRRRAAAAHHHHH!" The attacker was another Condorian, though this one had green eyes and crimson robes. It glared hatefully at Edward, who was genuinely confused by this.

"Okay… what am I looking at?" Edward asked Trax before the Condorian quickly rushed towards him, swinging its ax. "HEY!"

"Careful, Edward! It's a Condorian!" Trax warned the Gold Ranger before another Condorian emerged from the shadows, grabbing the Celestial from behind. "It's a trap!"

"Trax!" Seeing the situation they were in, Edward clapped his hands together and slammed them on the ground… only to just remember he had no Alchemy. "Oh… right… Dimension Gauntlet!" The metal gauntlet appeared on his right arm, allowing him to block an incoming ax to the head. "Why are you here?! Why are you attacking us?!"

"RRRAAAAAHHHH!" The Condorian once again screeched in anger before it took out a second ax, spinning them with a flick of its wrist. Narrowing his eyes in his helmet, Edward quickly rushed the Condorian, clashing blades against each other. He then proceeded to kick the alien in the chest, yet surprisingly, it didn't harm the Condorian, who then threw Edward to the wall. It rushed in and swung the ax, forcing Edward to tilt his head as the weapon embedded within the way.

"Smash mode!" Retracting the blade, Edward clenched his gauntlet before punching the Condorian in the stomach, causing it to gasp as it skidded a few feet back.

*Click*

The sound of a gun clicking entered Edward's ears as he sharply looked to the left, only to find another Condorian aiming a rifle at him.

*BANG*

"WOAH!" Edward was quick enough to dodge a red energy bolt from the Condorian's rifle, which broke off a chunk of the pillar he stood next to.

"Edward, run!" Trax shouted before the Condorian slammed the butt of its rifle into his face, causing him to crash on the floor.

"TRAX!" Edward was about to rush to the Celestial's aid, only for the ax-wielding Condorian to try and slash him. Seeing as he was in a tight spot, Edward turned off his headlights and quickly rushed into the darkness. The gun-wielding Condorian screeched at its ally, who nodded before rushing after the Gold Ranger.

'Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT! What the hell's going on?! What are those things?!' Edward repeated in his mind as he aimlessly ran through the darkness of the tower, trying to find somewhere he could gather his thoughts. Due to the darkness, Edward unintentionally kicked a large rock, causing him to fall down. Grunting in annoyance, Edward began reaching out, eventually feeling a partially open metal door in front of him. 'Here.' Feeling around, Edward grabbed both sides of the door and slowly pried it open, allowing himself to slip through the room as he hid to the side. Finally allowing himself to relax, Edward looked at his morpher before he began to press random buttons. "Kaldon said this was also a radio. So how do I turn it-"

*Click*

Edward's finger eventually pressed the side of the Morpher, allowing the communicator to activate. "Is anyone there?" Edward asked through the Morpher, only to get static in return. "Yusei? Spike? Kaldon?" Again, he was given static, much to his annoyance. "Come on. Is anyone there?"

He stopped talking once he heard the sound of rocks crumbling. Edward slowly peeked his head out the door just enough to see a large shadow slowly moving through the hallway. The Condorian growled as it kept walking, looking around to find anything that resembled its target.

Taking a deep breath though his helmet, Edward hid back in the room, slowly clenching his gauntlet in order to battle the Condorian.

"Raaahhh. Rahhh. Rahhhh?" Edward could hear the Condorian speak, though from the sound of it, it was most likely coming out of some kind of radio.

"Raahhhh…" This time, the Condorian hunting him spoke in a rather agitated way as it got closer and closer to the room, its talons scraping against the floor. Edward held his breath as the Condorian peeked its head through the door, scanning the room. Slowly, it began to turn towards where Edward was positioned, its finger slowly pressing against the trigger as it prepared to shoot.

*BOOM*

However, before it could see Edward through the darkness, a sudden explosion erupted outside, causing both of them to tense up. "Raaahhh?" The Condorian turned its head, giving Edward the chance to attack.

Acting fast on his feet, Edward rushed the Condorian and grabbed its rifle. However, the Condorian was quick to act as it began struggling against the Ranger, holding onto its weapon tightly. It then shoved Edward against the wall, pushing the rifle against his neck in an effort to choke him out.

"Let… go…" Gritting his teeth, Edward began tightening his grip on the rifle, slowly bending the metal of the weapon. Noticing this, the Condorian opened its mouth and lunged towards Edward's head, forcing him to tilt in order to avoid being bitten. The Condorian then attempted to bite into the Ranger's neck several more times. "GET OFF!" Using all his strength, Edward slammed his feet into the Condorian, pushing it away and making it release the rifle. Edward then quickly aimed the weapon at the Condorian, only for it to grab the barrel. Squawking angrily, the Condorian, with surprising strength, began to bend the barrel towards Edward, much to his horror. Quickly letting go of the rifle, Edward then proceeded to fight the Condorian in close range combat, forcing it on the defensive.

However, the Condorian caught a punch from Edward before taking out a large knife, slashing the Gold Ranger in the chest as sparks erupted out. Grunting in pain, Edward quickly caught the knife from stabbing him once again as he tossed the Condorian to the wall. Before it could recover, the eldest Elric rushed in and kicked it with such strength, it broke through the wall. Letting out a series of deep breaths, Edward turned on the headlights of his helmet to see whether or not the Condorian was still up.

*Click*

However, the moment he looked at the Condorian… he found it had activated a grenade, holding it up in the air.

"NO!" Edward quickly ran towards the Condorian and kicked the grenade out of its hand, causing the explosive to bounce on the floor. However, this gave the Condorian a chance to attack as it pulled out another blade, attempting to stab Edward in the chest. He quickly used his Dimension Gauntlet to block it before activating the arm blade, slashing the weapon out of his opponent's hand. The Condorian didn't let up as it grabbed Edward's neck, attempting to strangle him.

*Beep*Beep*Beep*

*Boom*

However, before Edward could counterattack, the grenade exploded, sending him and the Condorian flying back. A loud ringing echoed through Edward's ears as he began to push himself up, flashing his light towards where the explosion erupted.

*Crack*

The moment the headlights hovered over the explosion point, the floor itself began to crack open, obviously from how much damage the tower had sustained. "Oh crap…" Edward muttered as he looked down, only to see the cracks making their way towards him. "CRAP!" Crawling back on his feet, Edward scurried as far from the cracks as possible… only to be tackled by the Condorian.

"RRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The Condorian screeched as it tried to try one last time to kill Edward, much to his annoyance.

"Damnit! GET… OFF!" Activating his arm blade, Edward slashed the Condorian in the face, slicing its left eye as it howled in pain.

*Crack*

Unfortunately, due to this momentary distraction, the floor under Edward and the Condorian finally broke, causing them both to fall down. "CRAP!"

All Edward could do was scream as he and the Condorian fell into the darkness below.

'With Yusei'

A grunt escaped Yusei's mouth as he was pushing against a broken wall. He quickly raised his shield to block a sword swing from one of the Condorian's in front of him. Another Condorian quickly came in and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to stumble back. Before he could take out his Dimension Blaster, a third Condorian came out and kicked the weapon out of Yusei's hand. He quickly thrusted a fist towards the Condorian, only for another to come out and kick Yusei on the back of his knee, forcing him down. Taking out a sort of spear-like weapon, the Condorian pressed a button on the side, causing small bolts of electricity to shoot out of the tip before stabbing it into Yusei's back.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" A pain-filled scream escaped Yusei's throat as his whole body was hit with electricity.

"Y-Yusei, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon called out as he tried to move out of the debris, only for a Condorian to stomp on his head, damaging his faceplate.

"Stop… you… you have… to stop…" Yusei tried to tell the Condorians, only to get blasted with another jolt of electricity.

"Rrraaaahhhh. Rrrraaaaahhhhh. Rah?" One of the Condorians asked its comrade, who tilted its head before taking out a communicator.

"Rah. Rah rah rah rahhhh." The Condorian spoke into the communicator, keeping a close eye on Yusei and Kaldon. It got a series of squawks from the device, indicating that its ally on the other end of the call was answering. Yusei panted in pain as he slightly glanced over to the communication tower.

'Ed… Trax… don't come out. No matter what.' Yusei mentally begged his arms being grabbed, courtesy of one of the Condorians. He grunted as the alien slapped a pair of cuffs onto Yusei's wrists, keeping him restrained in the event he attacked.

"RRRAAAAHHH!"The Condorian screeched as it forced Yusei to stand up.

"Alright, alright. I get it." Yusei begrudgingly followed his capturer's orders, only to see two more Condorians moving to enter the fallen shuttle. "Hey, get away from that!"

*Smack*

The Condorian smacked Yusei on the back of the head as retribution for yelling. As much as it pained Yusei to be captured(especially since it brought up memories of his time in the Facility), he would have to play ball until he could escape.

"NI!" Kaldon was pulled out of the debris, his right arm letting out a few sparks due to the damage he had sustained. The Condorian behind him shoved the robot forward to join Yusei. "W-We aren't your e-enemy, Ni-Ni. P-Please let us g-go, Ni-Ni!"

"RAH! Rah rah rah!" The Condorian screeched at Kaldon in anger, making him lower his head.

"Kaldon, what did he say?" Yusei couldn't help but ask, hoping Kaldon could translate what the Condorians were saying.

"Apparently, they c-claimed this area as their hunting ground, Ni-Ni." Kaldon answered Yusei. "I-In Condorian customs, a group scouts a planet before making a claim so o-other Condorians won't come to take their prizes, Ni-Ni."

"But this isn't just some planet for them to pick off." Yusei said while giving the two Condorian guards a glare.

"But it is n-natural to them, Ni-Ni. That is why when they saw us, they believed we were fellow hunters looking for profit, Ni-Ni." Kaldon added on sadly. "This is Vektor's home, Ni-Ni. They shouldn't take advantage of such a tragedy, Ni-Ni."

'There's got to be something we can do. If only I didn't have these restraints.' Yusei thought as he tried to find some way of removing the cuffs off. However, these were made from alien tech, so it would probably take more than a hairpin to unlock. His efforts, however, were noticed as the cuffs suddenly tightened around his wrists, much to his annoyance.

"Raaah. Rahhh." The Condorians suddenly began to speak to Yusei, who glanced over to Kaldon to translate.

"H-He is asking if there are any others with us besides the green one, Ni-Ni." Kaldon translated, making Yusei frown under his helmet. He knew that if he told the Condorians about Edward and Trax, not to mention Vektor and the other Rangers, they might do everything in their power to hurt them.

"... No. It's just the three of us." Yusei lied while looking at the Condorians, who all growled at him. 'Okay. Clearly, they knew I was lying.'

"RRRRAAAAAHHHH!" One of the Condorians aimed its rifle at Yusei's head while screeching even more.

"P-Please, Ni-Ni! Don't s-shoot him, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon yelled before one Condorian aimed its ax at his head, warning him not to move. Yusei stood his ground, his hard stare focused on the Condorian with the rifle.

Just as it was about to shoot…

"Rahhh…" The two Condorians who were scavenging the shuttle came out, carrying two crates of food and water.

*Bang*

However, before they step down from the shuttle, a familiar green energy blast came out of nowhere and struck one of the Condorians, causing them to fall over dead. The other three Condorians all screeched in shock before the second scavenger was also shot in the head, falling on their back.

"YUSEI, DOWN!" An all too familiar voice called out before a series of green energy blasts were shot towards the remaining two Condorians. Getting the signal, Yusei quickly tackled the Condorian watching him to the ground while Kaldon panicked and began moving away.

"RRRAAAAHHHHH!" Angered by the sudden attack, the Condorian watching Kaldon began firing back at its attacker, who turned out to be Spike Spiegel.

"Come on! I'm right here!" Spike shouted as he kept shooting his Wolf Blaster as fast as possible, doing everything in his power to take down the Condorian. Eventually, one of the blasts hit the Condorian in the shoulder, causing it to fall on the ground.

Yusei tried to pin his Condorian down as long as possible, making sure to keep its electro staff away with his foot. However, this proved to be difficult as the Condorian kept trying to push Yusei off its body.

"Out of the way!" Spike called out as he quickly ran over to Yusei and the Condorian. Yusei quickly rolled out of the way as Spike fired five shots into the Condorian, killing it instantly. Letting out a sigh, Spike grabbed Yusei's cuffs and helped him get back on his feet. "You good?"

"I'm fine. But what about you?" Yusei couldn't help but ask in mild concern.

"Eh. Not the first time I got blasted by a grenade. Thank god for this suit." Spike admitted before he aimed his blaster and the cuffs, shooting it enough to break his fellow Ranger free. "Seriously, what the hell are these things?"

"Kaldon called them Condorians and apparently, they're scavengers." Yusei answered grimly before he and Spike heard a groan. Turning their heads, they saw the remaining Condorian lying on the ground, holding its bleeding shoulder. Noticing it try to get up, Spike went to gun it down, only for Yusei to grab his wrist. "Hang on. We need to ask it some questions. Kaldon?"

"C-Coming, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon called out from his hiding spot, quickly moving up to the Power Rangers while looking at the downed Condorian.

"How many of you are here?" Yusei questioned the Condorian while kneeling down, making him glare at him.

"Answer the question." Spike demanded while aiming his blaster at the Condorian's head. Seeing as it had no other option, the Condorian let out a series of screeches, which Kaldon recorded promptly.

"He says enough to d-destroy our pathetic group, Ni-Ni." Kaldon translated, making Yusei and Spike frown.

"Why don't you and whatever friends you have left leave this planet? It's not yours." Spike demanded in a serious tone, much to the Condorian's anger and it screeched at him.

"He says they laid claim to this planet several rotations ago, which by their laws, means we a-are the ones who should leave, Ni-Ni." Kaldon told them.

"Look, this planet belongs to our friend and we're trying to find his people." Yusei began explaining to the Condorian. "It's not right to take things when they aren't yours, especially from a dead planet."

"Raaahhhh…" No matter how much Yusei had scolded him, the Condorian didn't show a shred of guilt for what he and his people had done.

"Kaldon, call the others. They need to know about this." Spike told Kaldon, who nodded.

"Right, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon pressed the side of his head, activating his communicator. "L-Legacy, this is the Povis team, Ni-Ni. We need back up, Ni-Ni. Our shuttle has been damaged, Ni-Ni."

*Bzzzz*

"Uh oh, Ni-Ni." Kaldon muttered in surprise, catching Yusei and Spike's attention.

"What is it, Kaldon?" Yusei asked with a worried tone.

"There seems to be s-something blocking our signal, Ni-Ni." Kaldon informed them as he tried to contact the Legacy, only to get more static.

"Probably a jammer these guys set up." Spike added before looking down at the Condorian. "Well, I guess you'll have to show us where the jammer is."

The Condorian growled at Spike before suddenly biting down hard.

*Crack*

The trio heard something crack from the Condorian's mouth before its whole head was suddenly hit with a burst of electricity, with its skull flashing out a few times. "HEY!" Yusei called out as smoke came out of the Condorian's head before it fell back. Quickly grabbing the alien and pulling it up, Yusei began checking for a pulse before stopping, looking over to Spike. "He's… dead."

"The hell was that? Some kind of suicide pill?" Spike asked Kaldon while holstering his blaster, with Yusei setting the now dead Condorian on the ground.

"I had h-heard that Condorians are so prideful, they will resort to s-suicide to keep information secure, Ni-Ni." Kaldon told them with a sad tone. Even if they were the enemy, the fact they were so willing to commit suicide was tragic.

*Rumble*

A sudden rumble from inside the communication tower caught the trio's attention. "You hear that? Sounds like something happened." Spike commented before glancing at Yusei. "Think the shrimp and Trax are alright?"

"No clue. But we gotta help them. There could still be Condorians inside." Yusei urged as he and Spike began to run towards the tower, only to stop and look over to Kaldon. "Stay out here and keep an eye out for any more of them."

"I also n-need to find my a-oh, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon went over to the side and pulled out his missing right arm. "Found it, Ni-Ni! Go inside and help E-Edward and Trax, Ni-Ni!"

Giving the robot a nod, Yusei and Spike quickly rushed inside the communication Tower.

'With Edward'

A strong feeling of pain coursed through Edward's body as he slowly began to wake up, more specifically, his back. "Owwww… my back…" Edward groaned as he began to open his eyes, only to find nothing but darkness. "Oh great… the lights went out." Moving his left arm up, Edward pressed the side of his helmet, allowing him to turn on the headlights and find that he was currently being crushed by a large piece of debris. "Damnit… good job, Edward…" He tried to move the debris off his body, but that proved to be difficult due to the pain he was in.

"Ed! Trax! Where are you?!" Edward could vaguely hear the voice of Yusei from above.

"H-Hey! You guys!" Edward tried to call out as loudly as he could, his voice echoing through the abandoned tower.

"I can't find him. Where the hell are they?" This time, he heard Spike talking, a flash of light passing through before disappearing.

'D-Damnit. They can't hear me.' Edward thought in irritation as he tried moving once again, feeling the debris move just a bit. "HEY! I'M DOWN HERE!"

"R… Rahhhhh…" Hearing something moaning to his right, Edward turned his head… only to find the Condorian he was fighting lying on its back, a long iron rod pierced through its chest. It turned its head weakingly at the source of light pointed at its face, glaring as hard as it could at Edward.

"Oh crap… that doesn't look good." Edward muttered as he tried moving once again, this time moving the debris a bit off his body. "Hang on. I'll get you out."

"Raaahhhhh…. Raaaahhhhh…" The Condorian coughed out blood, feeling its strength weakening with every passing second.

"Come on… come on…" Getting his teeth, Edward used his strength and finally pushed the debris just enough for him to slip out of it, getting back on his feet. He quickly ran over to the Condorian, examining its wound. 'Deja vu… if only May Cheng was here.' "Okay… I'm… I'm gonna try and pull you out. This is gonna hurt like hell. Trust me."

"Rahhh?" The Condorian questioned before Edward grabbed it by the shoulders and pulled it up, causing it to scream in pain.

"I know, I know!" Edward shouted as he felt the Condorian try and push him away. He wanted to make this as painless as possible, but with how deep the metal rod was, Edward had to do all he could to get the Condorian out. Soon, he was about to pull the Condorian out of the metal rod, causing the two to fall to the ground. Quickly putting the Condorian on its back, Edward checked the wound, frowning as he saw more blood leaking out. "I'm gonna add pressure. Just don't die." Tearing off some of the Condorian's robes, Edward placed it over the wound and put as much pressure as he could over it to stop the bleeding. "YUSEI! SPIKE! I NEED HELP!"

"Ed…. Ed, is that you?!" Yusei called out from the upper level, surprise laced in his voice.

"Someone's hurt down here! I need help!" Edward shouted as he saw the robes were being bathed in the Condorian's blood.

"We're coming down! Hang in there!" Yusei shouted back as the echoes of their footsteps rang down to the lower level.

"It's okay… it's okay… you're gonna be okay…" Edward kept telling the Condorian in hopes of keeping it alive. The Condorian reached out and grabbed the Gold Ranger's collar tightly, staring into the visor while growling… before it let go. "Hey… HEY!" Seeing the hand fall down with a limp, Edward began to panic as he shook the Condorian, hoping to get some kind of reaction. "Come on! WAKE UP!"

However, the Condorian didn't move and what little light it had in its eyes had disappeared.

"Nonononono… GET UP!" Edward kept trying to shake the Condorian even harder, but it was clear his efforts were in vain. He soon stopped while looking down at the now dead Condorian with a haunted look in his eyes. "No…"

"EDWARD!" Yusei and Spike had finally reached their fellow Ranger, shining their headlights onto Edward. "Are you okay?"

"Is that one of those Condo-whatevers from outside?" Spike couldn't help but ask, noticing the dead body in front of Edward. "Guess you won."

"... I couldn't save him…" Edward muttered while lowering his head in shame. "He was right here and I tried… but I couldn't stop the bleeding." Yusei and Spike looked at one another before the former went over and kneeled down next to Edward, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but we need to keep going, Ed." Yusei told Edward gently before noticing something off. "Hang on… where's Trax?"

Hearing the name of the Celestial he was with, Edward gasped as he stood up, looking up at the hole. "Crap! That's right! One of these things took Trax!"

"Great. So there is one left." Spike muttered with an annoyed tone before he drew out his blaster. "Well, we better find that damn jammer and shut it down so we can call the others."

"But we can't leave Trax alone. Who knows what'll happen to him." Yusei added while crossing his arms in thought. "Ed, did you see where Trax was before you came down here?"

"I think so. Those Condo… things…" Edward glanced at the dead Condorian for a second before shaking his head. "One of them knocked Trax out before I had to run. He might still be up there."

"Okay. Okay, we got this." Yusei said before looking over to Spike. "I need you to go back to the shuttle and help Kaldon fix it as much as you can. You never know if more Condorians will show up."

"Got it. And I'm guessing the two of you are gonna go out and find Trax?" Spike asked rhetorically as Yusei gave him a nod. "Alright. Just watch your asses." With that, the bounty hunter began to run towards the stairs, though he did stop for a quick moment. "And Elric?" Edward perked up. "Don't fall down any more holes. Otherwise, we might not be there to save your ass."

"Yeah… sure." Edward answered before Spike ran off.

"Let's go. Stay close." Yusei ordered while taking out his Dimension Blaster and Phoenix Shield. Edward did the same with his Dimension Gauntlet as the two began to run up the communication tower, making sure to be extra cautious of the debris and weakened structure. As they went up the next flight of stairs, Yusei glanced over to Edward, frowning inside his helmet. "Are you.. Okay?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Edward said without turning his head.

"Look, it wasn't your fault what happened, alright? Things just went back. You didn't kill that Condorian." Yusei explained as gently as he could in hopes of easing the clear burden Edward had on his shoulders.

However, Edward stopped moving while lowering his gauntlet, looking at the ground. "... But it was." Edward muttered as Yusei stopped to face him. "I was the one who kicked the grenade away. If I just threw it somewhere else, maybe we wouldn't have fallen through." He looked at his right hand, the blood of the Condorian still staining his glove. "I know in nature you have to kill to survive, but who gives us that right to play god? What right do we have to take another being's life?"

"... I can't say for sure." Yusei sadly confessed while also lowering his weapons. "Look, Ed… before he joined, we faced dozens of monsters. Not just creatures made from a lab or anything. But REAL living beings with thoughts and ideas, who wanted nothing more than to kill us and take the Dimension Crystals for Oblivion. So, me and the others had no choice but to kill them."

"What?" Edward asked while lifting his head. While Yusei couldn't obviously see his eyes through the visor, he could tell Edward was horrified. "But why? Couldn't you just catch them and put them in jail?"

"If only it was that simple." Yusei sighed while going up to the wall, leaning against it. "But these guys were powerful. So much so that sometimes, I wonder how we were able to win. Like you, I didn't want to kill them." Looking at his own hand, Yusei clenched it tightly. "Then I started to think about everyone back home. My friends in the Satellite, in New Domino City, even the Rangers. I thought 'what if they go after them? Is it really okay to keep them alive if they're just going to keep hurting the people I care about?' That's what I asked Vektor."

"And what did he say?" Edward asked, interested in hearing what the mentor of the Rangers had to say about this moral dilemma.

"Hmmm. I can understand your inner conflict, Yusei." Vektor confessed as he walked back to the Head Signer, looking through the window of the Legacy's bridge. "All beings in the universe and beyond deserve to have a chance at living, regardless of race."

"Exactly. I just… I don't know." Yusei admitted with a sigh. "I want to protect my world, and everyone else's. But does that really justify killing?"

"Some may not view it as justified. In fact, I believe they will consider us murderers who would sacrifice lives for our own means." Vektor said, making Yusei frown even more. "But at the same time, these creatures agreed to serve Oblivion, even when they know what they would be doing is cruel and evil." Turning towards the Blue Ranger, Vektor went up to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, smiling. "You and all the Rangers are fighting to protect, not destroy. That is why we are here. So no matter what, if this conflict returns to you, think about who you are fighting for. Okay?"

"Since then, I've just pushed away my regrets. I know we're still killing, but sometimes, you can't just lock villains away." Yusei finished recalling his story. "You don't need to be the one who does it, Ed. Let us carry that burden." He reached out and placed a hand on Edward's shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. "Lean on us, okay?"

Edward didn't really say anything at first, the guilt still in his heart.

But… At least he knew Yusei and possibly the other Rangers also shared this burden. So there was that.

"... Let's go find Trax and get back to the ship." Edward muttered before he walked past Yusei, who sighed a bit through his nose before following suit.

'Top of the tower'

"RAHHH!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm working…" Trax reluctantly muttered as he worked on fixing some of the panels on the top of the communication tower, the Condorian who captured him watching with a critical eye. He didn't need eyes in the back of his head to know that the Condorian's ax was aimed at his head. Trax wasn't sure why this Condorian wanted him to finish fixing the tower, but he had a hunch it had something to do with his friends going radio silent. A part of him was hoping Edward and the others were able to stop the other Condorians and were now on their way to help him. For the time being, he would look like he was working in order to buy time. 'I just hope they get here soon. Otherwise, the feather head might lose patience.'

"Rahhh? Rah!" The Condorian spoke into its communicator for the umpteenth time in order to try and reach its allies, unaware of their current condition. Not getting an answer, the Condorian growled in annoyance before taking out what looked like a flare gun, walking over to one of the broken windows of the tower. Aiming it outside, it fired what looked like a red flare as high as it could go, a trail of red smoke following suit.

'Was that a signal flare? Great…' Trax thought with a nervous sweat.

"Trax! Trax! Are you there?" Yusei's voice called out from below, catching Trax and the Condorian's attention.

"Yus-" Before Trax could finish, the Condorian screeched at him. Unfortunately, its screech echoed through the tower, with Yusei and Edward hearing this.

"Up there!" Edward shouted as he and Yusei began to run up the stairs. Hearing their footsteps, the Condorian went over and grabbed Trax's arm, pulling him in an arm lock.

"Let me go!" Trax shouted as he tried to free himself, only for the Condorian's arm to squeeze his throat. Dragging him to the stairway, the Condorian looked down and saw two shadows making towards the top. Taking out a blaster, the Condorian soon began to fire down on the two Power Rangers, forcing them to take over.

"RAHHHH!" The Condorian screeched in a warning tone, as if telling them not to come up.

"Damn. He's got us pinned." Yusei muttered as he peeked his head out, only to dodge as the Condorian shot at him again. "And from what I saw, he has Trax as a shield."

"Is there any other way to get up there?" Edward questioned as he used his headlight to find another way to get to the upper level. Soon, he found a small opening on the wall. Quickly running towards it, Edward poked his head out and noticed a small series of pipes installed within the tower, leading up. "Okay, I think I have an idea."

Noticing the opening, Yusei gave Edward a nod before taking his Dimension Blaster out.

"RAAAHHHH!" The Condorian screeched as it fired its blaster down, forcing Yusei to return fire. However, he made sure to miss on purpose in order to keep its attention on him and not Edward. Little did the Condorian know, Edward was climbing up the pipes, though he had to keep his grip tight in order to not fall.

'Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't. Look. DOWN.' Edward repeated as he kept climbing up the tower.

*Whoosh*

Unfortunately, his struggles continued as a gust of wind passed through, making the pipes creak a bit. "Really? Now?" Edward muttered with an irritated tone as he unconsciously looked down, seeing the VERY large distance between him and the ground. "... Shit."

*Crack*

To make things worse, the pipes began to break, causing the rest of it to slowly bending backwards. "AWWW SHIT!" Thinking fast, Edward quickly jumped off the pipe and grabbed the one next to it. He took a few breaths as he saw the pipe he was on break, falling down to the ground and nearby hitting Spike. "Let's not do that again…" Shaking his head, he proceeded to keep climbing until he reached the top of the tower. Making sure to climb up to the nearest window as quietly as he could.

"Give it up. You're outnumbered!" Trax warned the Condorian, only for it to smack him in the head in retaliation.

"This doesn't need to happen!" Yusei called out, hiding behind a wall. "Your friends are gone, but you don't have to die! Just let our friend go and leave!"

Hearing this, the Condorian growled in anger. Not only because the others were dead, but because this human had the NERVE to offer an ultimatum to it. Just thinking about that angered the Condorian… that it wanted to make Yusei suffer the way it suffered.

Looking at Trax, a dark look appeared in its eyes as it pressed its blaster against the Celestial's head. Both Yusei and Trax widened their eyes at this.

"Don't do it! He has nothing to do with this!" Yusei urged as he quickly came out of the wall, raising his shield to protect himself. 'Edward, where are you?'

Just as the Condorian was about to pull the trigger…

"HAAA!" Edward leapt out and grabbed the Condorian from behind, pulling its arm away from Trax. Surprised by the attack, the Condorian began firing its blaster randomly, though Edward was able to keep it away from actually hitting his friends. Pulling his leg back, Edward slammed it into the back of the Condorian's left leg, causing a sickening snap to come out while the alien howled in pain. Taking the chance, Yusei shot the blaster out of the Condorian's hand before Edward judo-threw it onto the floor. Before it could get up, Edward pressed his foot against its chest to keep it down. "Don't even try it." He warned while activating his Gauntlet's Blaster Mode, his eyes refusing to leave the Condorian.

"Trax!" Yusei quickly ran up the stairs and went over to the Celestial, who was on his knees while rubbing his sore neck. "Are you okay?"

"Aside from almost getting shot in the head, I'm fine." Trax admitted, though he still gave Yusei and Edward a smile. "Still, I'm glad you got here in time. Thank you."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have left you." Edward told Trax with a regretful tone.

"Nah. I was the one who said you should run. The only one who should be sorry is me." Trax replied before widening his eyes. "Nevermind that. We've got another problem. The Condorian launched an attack flare!"

"An attack flare?" Yusei asked before he looked down at the Condorian, frowning under his helmet. He quickly went over and began checking the alien's pockets before taking out a small datapad. "Trax, do you think this is the jammer that's been blocking the signal?"

"Jammer?" Taking the datapad, Trax examined it before his eyes widened. "You're right! This is some older technology, but I recognize it." He lifted it in the air before throwing it to the ground, causing it to break.

"Spike? Kaldon? Can you read me?" Yusei asked through his Morpher.

"We can h-hear you, Yusei, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon spoke through the Morpher with an excited tone, happy to hear his friend.

"Looks like you got the jammer. Trax with you?" Spike asked with a curious tone.

"He is. And we caught the last Condorian. But Trax said one of them launched a flare. Do you guys… see… anything…" Yusei slowly trailed off as he noticed something from the window. Edward and Trax noticed this and looked at the window, only for their eyes to widen.

"... Oh frak." Trax muttered with a nervous tone.

A few miles from the communication tower were a trio of large brownish ships, each making their way towards said tower.

"Great. Just when we thought this was over." Edward gritted his teeth as he heard the Condorian under him chuckled.

"Kaldon, can the shuttle fly?" Yusei quickly asked Kaldon, not taking his eyes off the ships heading towards them.

"Not at the m-moment, Ni-Ni." Kaldon sadly answered. "The rocket the Condorians s-shot seemed to have damaged one of the legs and the left e-engine is leaking, Ni-Ni."

"What's up? Something wrong?" Spike asked with a suspicious tone.

"Trouble. We're seeing three ships in the distance." Edward answered from his Morpher. "Don't know how many of those things are in there, but it's bound to be a lot."

"Trax, does this tower have any sort of defense?" Yusei questioned the Celestial, making him frown.

"Unfortunately, no. This tower is solely made for communication." Trax answered while scratching his head. "If I could get to one of the nearby turret towers… maybe…"

"But we don't have that kind of time." Edward retorted before an idea came to him. "Hey, those Zord things you guys had back in Central. Can you, I don't know, call them here or something?"

"We can't form the Megazord here without the others." Yusei answered before his eyes widened. "But we CAN call the Phoenix Zord. Kaldon?"

"It's all up to y-you, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon answered with a happy tone. Walking over to the window, Yusei stepped outside before pressing two on his Morpher.

"Phoenix Zord!"

Inside one of the enemy ships, the Condorians were preparing to launch an all out attack on the Rangers.

"Rah. Rah rah rah?" The captain Condorian screeched at its pilots, looking at the tower in front of them. One of the pilots shook its head, much to the captain's annoyance. "Rah! Rah rah rah!"

Hearing their captain's orders, the pilots began to fire the cannons, fully intent on destroying the tower and anyone inside.

*ROAR*

However, a loud roar echoed through the barren wastelands of Apollon City, something that even the Condorians were able to hear. Suddenly, a large shadow flew past the ships, causing them to shake due to the force of the object.

The object, or rather creature, was the blue Phoenix Zord, which flew close to the communication tower. Yusei quickly jumped out of the tower and landed on top of the Zord, entering its cockpit.

"I'll take care of this. You guys focus on turning the tower back online!" Yusei instructed his allies from the Morpher before he pressed the joystick forward, causing the Phoenix Zord to rocket forward and unintentionally shake the tower.

"So that's the power of a Zord! Incredible!" Trax confessed, dodging some glass that broke due to the Phoenix Zord.

"No kidding… when am I getting one?" Edward asked himself as he saw the Zord fly towards the Condorian ships. Inside said ships, the Condorians all panicked as the Phoenix Zord flew past them once again.

"RAH!" The captain shouted while pointing at the Zord. It was clear this strange flying machine was advanced, so having it in their arsenal would make scrap hunting easier for the Condorians.

Screw trying to destroy the tower. THEY WANTED THAT ZORD NOW!

'That's it. Come after me.' Yusei thought as he saw the ships firing their cannons, large energy blasts heading towards him. He acted fast as he tilted the Zord, effortlessly dodging the cannonfire thanks to the empty buildings. U-turning one half-destroyed building, Yusei increased the throttle of his Zord, heading towards the ship on the right. "Closer… closer… FIRE!" The Phoenix Zord soon began firing blue energy blasts, much to the Condorians' horror.

"RAH! RAH! RAH!" The captain ordered urgently as a coat of energy formed around both the middle and right ships.

*BOOM*

Unfortunately, the ship on the right was too slow as Yusei's shots struck the bridge, causing a fiery explosion to erupt from inside. All the Condorians inside could only scream as their ship began to plummet down to the dead city, exploding soon after.

"Nice shot, kid!" Spike shouted through his Morpher with a small smirk. If he didn't know any better, Yusei was trying to be their ace pilot.

"Come on Spike, Ni-Ni! We have to start r-repairing the tower, Ni-Ni!" Kaldon reminded as Spike and him went back into the tower.

Angered by the destruction of one of their ships, the captain Condorian screeched into its communicator. A moment later, the sides of the remaining ships opened up, releasing several smaller ships. They seemed to resemble older planes, with two large engines in the front and a pair of smaller wings.

The smaller ships began to follow the Phoenix Zord before unleashing a small barrage of red energy bolts. Yusei gritted his teeth as the bolts struck the Zord, making it shake a bit, though not enough to actually damage it.

"Sorry, pal. This might hurt." Yusei apologized to the Phoenix Zord as he began to zig zag through building after building, with the small ships following closely behind.

*Boom*Boom*Boom*

To make matters worse, the larger ships continued to fire onto the Zord, destroying buildings in the process.

"Yusei, try not to destroy any more buildings. There might still be some things we can use." Trax told Yusei, trying to hide his annoyance.

'Almost… almost… NOW!' Turning around one building, Yusei rocketed towards the smaller ships before barrel-rolling. The large wings of the Phoenix Zord slammed into the smaller ships, destroying them effortlessly.

"RAH?!" The captain Condorian widened its eyes in complete shock, not expecting someone to actually crush its ships like a fly. Yusei took this chance to fly towards the second ship before firing more energy shots towards it, striking at its shields. While the ship didn't fall right away, it still shook due to the impact.

"Come on, pal. I need you to use more power." Yusei urged the Zord, gripping the controls tightly as he dodged another volley of energy bolts. The Blue Dimension Crystal began to glow, giving more energy into the Phoenix Zord as it screeched. Noticing this, Yusei began firing on the second ship once again. This time, the blasts were strong enough to lower the shields and do actual damage to the hull.

The captain of the Condorians growled in anger, seeing its second ship slowly being destroyed by Yusei and the Phoenix Zord. If this keeps up, then all of them would be killed.

Was Povis REALLY worth their lives just to get some more loot?

"Rah?" One of the pilots asked the captain, wondering what they should do next.

"... RAH! Rah rah! Rah!" The captain screeched, much to the other Condorians' shock. However, they couldn't deny that the enemy had a stronger ship and with a few more shots, they would be joining their friends in hell.

So with that… the two Condorian ships began to turn away from Yusei, much to his surprise.

"Guys, I think they're falling back!" Yusei informed everyone as the two remaining Condorian ships began to fly away from Apolan City, making their way towards space.

In the communication tower, Trax and Edward watched everything, with the former smiling.

"Good. They're backing off." Trax said with a relieved sigh. Truth be told, he had enough action for one day.

"What about him?" Edward asked while gesturing to the remaining Condorian below him, who watched its allies fly away with wide eyes.

No… no, they couldn't be leaving it. HE FOUGHT FOR THE GROUP! And they're LEAVING ONE OF THEIR OWN BEHIND! Just knowing this made the Condorian shaking in anger, something Edward noticed.

"Hey. Don't even think about it." Edward warned the Condorian, only for it to grab his leg with its good arm. "WOAH!"

Suddenly, the Condorian tugged on the Elric brother's leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Taking advantage of this, the Condorian jumped on top of the Gold Ranger and grabbed his throat, proceeding to choke him.

"GUAH!" Edward gasped as he tried to pull the Condorian off him, but it seemed determined to take at least one of the Rangers down.

"Get off him!" Seeing this, Trax grabbed the Condorian and tried to help Edward, only for the alien to kick him away. Edward felt more and more air leave his lungs as he began twisting the Condorian's arm, hoping the pain would force it to back off. Getting back on his feet, Trax looked around for anything that would help him free Edward.

And that's when he saw the Condorian's blaster, just a few feet away.

"S… TOP… NO… W…" The longer the Condorian choked Edward, the more he felt his consciousness slip away. It was a shock to see that even though he was stronger thanks to his powers, the Condorian was giving it its all to kill him.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The Condorian screeched in pure rage as it added more pressure onto Edward's neck.

*Bang*Bang*

However, before it could even come close to finishing the job… several blaster bolts struck it, with one in particular hitting its head. The Condorian rolled over dead, allowing Edward to be free and breathe once again.

Sitting up, Edward rubbed his throat before turning his head, seeing Trax shakingly pointing the blaster, a look of shock on his face. "W-Woah… I… I shot him good, h-huh?" Trax asked rhetorically, staring at the dead Condorian.

"Yeah… yeah, you did." Edward replied before standing up. "Thanks… for that."

"S-Sure… no problem…" Trax stared at the blaster before tossing it away, clearly distraught from what he had done. "I… that was the first person I… you know…"

"He didn't really give us a choice. Still…" Edward stared at the corprose before shaking his head, looking at the controls of the tower. "Can this tower… work?"

"Possibly. I mean the controls at least look to be in decent shape." Trax told him while walking up next to the Gold Ranger. "But we will need to fix the power generator to see if it'll still function." Trax cracked his fingers before smiling. "I think it's time we get to work."

'Several hours later'

"Yusei? Kaldon? Is the power cell hooked into the generator?" Trax asked through Edward's Morpher.

"Just… about… yeah. It's in." Yusei replied on the other side of the call.

"Okay. Now, I want you to turn it on in three… two… ONE! DO IT!" Trax ordered urgently. Down in the generator room, Yusei and Kaldon flicked their respective switches, causing the generator to turn on.

A moment later, the lights inside the communication tower, as well as all its functioning terminals came to life. Edward and Trax watched as the controls turned on, multiple lights blinking to show it was still operational.

"Well damn. Great work." Spike spoke up as he climbed up from the stairs, carrying one last crate up before putting it down. "The last of those featherheads are outside, so you won't need to deal with the smell for a while. But make sure you burn them as soon as you can."

"Yeah… thank you." Trax told Spike before looking at the controls, a smile growling back on his face. "Finally. Now we're a step closer to finding my people."

"How is it l-looking, Trax, Ni-Ni?" Kaldon asked in an eager tone.

"It looks… fine, I guess." Edward muttered as he looked at the rather advanced technology in front of him. "Come up here."

"Okay. Let's see if we can find the data logs." Trax began typing on the controls, with the screen showing writing that neither Spike nor Edward understood. "Hmmmm…"

"Got something good?" Spike asked with his arms crossed.

"Maybe. It looks like the evacuation logs are in the thousands." Trax informed the two, much to their surprise. "But to actually track them is going to take me some time."

"Are you sure you can do it? Maybe Kaldon can help or something." Edward suggested, only for Trax to shake his head.

"I've got a lot of time. And considering I'm the only Celestial on this planet right now, it's my duty to sort through all these logs." Trax explained with a determined look in his eyes. Edward recognized the look and gave a nod of understanding. "Maybe I can even turn on some of the defense towers in case more Condorians or whatever show up. Of course, I'll make sure none of you get shot down. I would just need to do… huh?"

"What is it? Found someone?" Spike asked, noticing the questionable look on Trax's face.

"No. But this is strange." Trax began to say. "In Povis, we keep a record of when our defense systems are activated or deactivated. It's to ensure everything is in order." He then frowned as he pulled up a series of images, each with what looked like a large turret tower spread throughout Povis. "Look at this." He gestured to several towers, which were colored red. "These towers were deactivated."

"So? If you haven't noticed, there's no one else on this planet." Spike said, not understanding what Trax was getting at.

"But the log says they were deactivated BEFORE Oblivion's attack." Trax revealed, catching Edward and Spike's attention. "Outsiders can't hack Celestian tech, and even if they could, our systems would have caught on."

"So.. if those turrets were turned off before Oblivion attacked, that means…" Edward slowly widened his eyes as Spike narrowed his eyes under his helmet.

"Someone either took another Celestial's codes… or someone was helping him." Spike finished with a serious tone.

"Not only that, they could be anywhere out there with the others." Trax added on, slowly clenching his hand into a fist. "And we won't know who it is."

It seemed as though the Rangers' mission to find the rest of the Celestials would be even more complicated than they originally thought…

Man. What a way to end the chapter, huh? Just when the team were able to finally get the tower online, they found out something that might make their mission to find survivors even more difficult.

Honestly, I think this will make for an interesting little arc. After all, we don't know how many Celestials are out there in the universe, much less the multiverse. And for one of them to have HELPED Oblivion raises a lot of red flags. Hopefully, you guys will find that plot interesting.

As for the whole Condorians thing, we might see them later on since they are scavengers and given how big Povis is, they wouldn't let such a big prize go to waste. I hope you liked their battle.

Another thing I wanted to bring up is the moral dilemma the Rangers faced when destroying monsters. I know they're evil, but that doesn't change the fact they are living beings and other Ranger series rarely explore that. I know we're 26 chapters in, but I wanted to show how Yusei really felt about this, so I hope you appreciate that.

The next few chapters will focus on some character development, as well as a few tidbits regarding Oblivion's prisoners.

One more thing: check out the Power Rangers: Once and Always special on Netflix. I really enjoyed it and how they handled a Ranger death. Plus, that redone opening for the original Mighty Morphin series theme. Just… It was great. R.I.P Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank.

Once a Ranger, always a Ranger.

Follow, Fav, Review and PM for anything.

Next time: Hear no evil.