Chapter Twenty: Aquitar and Onyx - Power of Water, Power of Light: Powers Unite!
Special Thanks for the Unique Pink Ranger by an Unknown Illustrator

*Note: The original version of this story posted to rangerboard had illustrations with the story*

The Pink Aquitar Ranger charged at Azazel with all her might. She unsheathed her blade from its holster on her back and swung mightily. With a bloodcurdling scream, Azazel dropped the Yellow Aquitar Ranger. Together, they performed a high jump kick, sending him flying into the objects blocking the door into the room in which they and their colleagues had been hiding. The two rookie rangers ran into the hallway to find Azazel dusting himself off. The other Aquitians stayed in the room for their own safety.

"Okay so there are two of you now." Azazel said, his yellow eyes flashing wildly as they darted from Pink to Yellow. He sneered. "That Alpha sure did cause a mess when he started your line of power, didn't he? No matter. I'm not here to cause problems. I'm only here to see what your planet is all about. Quite impressive... Know this: I'll be back, and when I do return, I'll be ready. Until next time, kiddos. Make sure you don't go to bed from now on without a nightlight... you never know if the what's going 'bump' in the night isn't me." He winked and vanished without a moment's notice.

Yellow Ranger looked at Pink Ranger. "Who are you?"

"I'm Cestria, Tideus. There was another coin in that pouch and I grabbed it to help you."

He bowed his head. "My deepest gratitude, Cestria. I would have been destroyed were it not for you."

At that moment, a platoon of soldiers arrived in the hallway in which they were speaking. The platoon leader ran up to the rangers, saluting. "Oh, um... I wasn't aware more rangers had been commissioned. I am glad to know you came when you did and drove that Demon off. We got here as fast as possible."

"We need to work on increasing our defenses in the future." Aquitar Yellow stated, assuming his role within the Aquitian military.

The leader blushed slightly. "You are correct, sir. Now, I assume you would like the coordinates of the other rangers to help them, correct?"

The Pink Ranger had not thought that far ahead. She hadn't considered she was now a member of an elite fighting team. After both of the rangers considered for a moment, they looked at each other and nodded.

"Yes," The Pink Ranger replied. "We would like to be teleported there immediately."

The Red, Blue, Black, and White Aquitar Rangers were surrounded on all sides. The species that had become the footsoldiers of the Land Dwellers, theBakeneko, encircled the rangers. The four had gone onto land to try and negotiate a peace treaty, trying to tell the Land Dwellers of the dangers of the current state of the universe. They wanted them to listen to the fact that they were leaving Aquitar in a bad position during such a universal crisis by being in a Civil War. They had refused to listen and began fighting the ambassadors, forcing them to morph.

"I'm getting fatigued." Aquitar Blue said to his comrades. They struggled to get to their feet.

"As am I." Red Ranger stated.

Lowering her head and approaching one of the Bakeneko, Aquitar White tried to rally the rangers. "We must dig deep and fight. Our people depend on us!" As she went to strike one of the feline Monsters, she was scratched badly, sending sparks flying from her suit. She flew back, landing again with her teammates.

Red Ranger then stood tall and walked forward. "I challenge your general. The two of us, one on one."

The general Bakeneko made herself known, strutting front and center, ordering her soldiers to move to the side. She got into a fighting stance as she stared at the Red Ranger. Red Ranger then darted forward, swinging his blade as the general brought out her own. The two blades met with a furious crack, sparks flying from the intense force with which they collided.

The ranger stood defiantly, attempting to overpower the feline menace. Losing the battle of strength, the general Bakeneko pushed down Red Ranger's blade. Then, stepping back slightly once she had thrown her opponent's arms into the air, she swung her blade and slashed Red Ranger across his stomach, causing more sparks to fly from off his Morphing Energy infused armor.

She then threw Red Ranger off to the side. Seeing him being overpowered, his fellow rangers ran to his side to help him up. The general rushed forward, seeing her opportunity, and furiously clawed at the entire group. Taking a few steps back, she admired her handiwork, cackling as the rangers had a hard time trying to regain their footing.

"Now, it is time to meet your end, Aquitians! Ah-hahah- huh?" Before the general could complete her attack, she heard something from overhead with her enhanced hearing. Looking up in surprise, she saw two different fists land on her head. She fell onto her back in pain.

"Hi-yah!" The Yellow Aquitar Ranger cried out, landing with the Pink Ranger in between the fallen general and his recovering teammates.

"What? Who are they!?" Red Ranger asked, surprised.

"I don't believe it!" The Blue Ranger exclaimed, running forward to meet the two rangers. "How did you get these two coins? They were apart of my next ranger experiments!"

Pink Ranger shrugged. "It's a long story. We'll fill you in after this."

"Who are you?" White Ranger inquired. They kept their eyes fixed on the Bakeneko general as she tried standing back up.

"I am Tideus."

"And I am Cestria."

"The medics?" Black Aquitar Ranger asked, surprised.

"Correct." Yellow Ranger answered.

"I'm going to claw your eyes out!" The Bakeneko threatened. She protracted her claws, beginning to run toward the group.

White Ranger took her place, front and center. All six Power Rangers unsheathed their back mounted blades and went into a ready position.

"Rangers of Aquitar! Power of water, power of light: Powers unite!" They cried out in unison, making a slight adaptation to the well known Aquitian war chant. Tapping into their full potential, they flash streaked forward. Six blades, each hitting multiple times, slashed the terrible beast. Once they finished, they appeared again behind the general, staring forward at her army. As they simultaneously placed their blades back in their holsters, energy crackled over the general. She fell to her knees before falling onto her stomach. She then exploded.

"Let's get out of here!" The next highest ranking Bakeneko ordered. They all then literally turned tail and, going down on all fours, fled into the wilderness.

"Great job, rangers." The White Ranger said. She looked at the other five and smiled behind her helmet's visor. "I think we're ready to win this war."

The rangers all nodded in agreement. They were ready to take on whatever challenge the Land Dwellers were going to throw their way. They knew they would win their Civil War.

. . .

Cyclopsis sent out a blast onto the ground. The earth around the eight Power Rangers erupted. Chunks of dirt and rock flew around them as the rangers attempted to land in a manner that wouldn't hurt themselves or each other.

Meledon Ranger was the first to stand. He clenched a fist. "Rangers, I have no idea how we're going to beat this thing. I never finished my schematics, so I do not know what's making this thing run. I don't know if it has any weaknesses..."

From the cockpit of the war zord, Novact tried pushing buttons to activate another attack. His blood drenched hands left bloody hand and fingerprints around the console. He was losing his vision and was unable to fully pilot the zord. Looking down, his double vision stopped him from being able to pinpoint any of his targets.

"Please..." Novact said to himself. "Just leave. I need to get the medical equipment..."

Gokai Red approached Meledon Ranger. "Are you telling me that we're doomed? Seriously?"

Gokai Blue shook his head. "We can't let it end like this."

Green Owl ran up to the others. "There has to be something we can do!"

"It seems like he's not attacking..." Gokai Pink observed, finally pulling herself up off the dirt.

As she said this, Novact was able to finally punch in a correct sequence. As his fatigued hand slid off the console, a burst of green light blasted out from the orb on the zord's forehead. The rangers once again found themselves on the ground, this time in immense pain.

"We have to keep going!" Gokai Green cried.

Gokai Red dug his blade into the dirt and pulled himself up. "We've come too far to let it end like this..."

Gokai Yellow limped over to him, giving him a hug. "You've always been a great friend, Marvin Louse. Let's go down fighting."

Gokai Red looked down, then back up to the woman he had always considered a sister. "Okay, Luka. Let's make this showy."

Gokai Yellow smiled in her helmet. Breaking their embrace, they pulled out their blasters and continually shot at the zord. With each step, their bodies cried out in pain. With each step, they dug deeper into themselves. They shot at the zord with as much precision as they could muster. Green Energy permeated the air around them.

Novact looked down. "...ugh... Annoying bugs... I'm going... to crush you." He then began fiddling with his console, attempting to input the command to lift up Cyclopsis' foot to step on the lot of them. Novact was bound and determined to rid himself of the Power Rangers attacking him.

Suddenly, he heard the door open behind him in the cockpit. Turning in his swivel chair as quickly as he could, he saw a figure standing in the doorway.

"Long live The United Alliance!" Screamed Gokai Silver. He began ripping at the console and panels he saw, pulling circuitry as he did. Novact attempted to stand up to the Gokaiger, but was pushed with a mighty force. Gokai Silver, along with the other rangers, was completely unaware of the near death status Novact was in. The push was met without resistance and Novact flew out the cockpit. He fell with a thud to the ground, travelling the distance of many building stories.

By that point, the other Gokaigers had met up with Gokai Red and Yellow. They stopped as they saw Novact's body hit the ground with a thud. They then saw Gokai Silver leap out of Cyclopsis' cockpit and land in front of them. He gave them the "okay" sign with his hand and spun around to meet Novact, throwing his arms out to the side to present himself to his foe.

"Guy!?" Gokai Pink cried out. She then leaned on Gokai Blue for support. She was certain she had broken something in her leg.

"The one and only." He said, stuck in his presentation stance.

"...What are you doing?" Gokai Green asked, confused.

Whispering, Gokai Silver responded: "I'm staying in this stance so this will be the first thing he sees when he stands up."

"Uh... I don't think he's going to be standing up anytime soon..." Gokai Red said.

"What... You mean...? Woo-hoo! I saved the day!" Gokai Silver yelled. He stood up from his presentation stance, bringing his arms to the side in excitement. He had been afraid his first mission back would prove him to be much weaker than he had been when he had first joined the team. He was very happy to see that although he had been depowered, he could still be a vital force for the team.

At that moment, Novact pushed himself up. Dark circles could be seen from his pale skin. He was losing more blood than ever. His entire uniform was drenched. His arm was bent at an odd angle, his radial bone snapped in half. He put all of his weight on his right leg, since his left ankle was broken as well. He spit blood onto the concrete on which he had landed.

Meledon Ranger and Green Owl joined the Gokaigers. They stared on as Novact produced his sword. He stabbed the earth around him and used the blade as a crutch.

"Come on then! COME ON! FINISH ME!"

Meledon Ranger stepped forward. "I, Master Zordon of The United Alliance, place you under arrest. You are charged with treason against The Alliance for defecting to Vile. You are charged with the attempted theft of the Zeo Crystal. You are charged with the attempted murder of Drew Filcar. You are charged with the murder of Master Orion of Andresia."

Gokai Pink stepped forward. She swallowed hard. "You are charged with the murder of millions of innocents on the planet Rashon!"

Novact smiled. "I'll... never... go back to your custody. I'd rather die!" He spat more blood onto the pavement.

"Then so be it." Meledon Ranger said, producing his red saber. He slowly began to jog forward. "This is for you, Orion."

"Hahaha!" A voice from the sky boomed. A giant purple cloud descended. Walking out from the midst of the cloud, Azazel in his Demon guise made himself shown.

"Power Rangers. I thought I felt a spike of energy coming from this forsaken rock." Azazel said with the slow and deliberate voice he had in his natural form. He held his three eyed scythe in one hand as he pointed at the rangers with his other hand.

"Toodles, rangers..." Novact said as he teleported back into Cyclopsis. Before he passed out in the cockpit, he saw a red button with the words, "Emergency - Retreat" labeled on it. He pressed it and fell unconscious. The war zord then blasted off into space, heading to the place Estro had programmed the machine to go in case the pilot was compromised.

"No..." Meledon Ranger said, gripping his saber tightly. "He got away..."

"The ranger with Nathadian magic... This should be good." Azazel said, lifting up his scythe.

The Gold Ranger finally stepped up to join the others. After Cyclopsis' second attack, she had stayed on the ground, unwilling to move. Thinking of how Estro had gotten away, and then having been attacked by a monstrous zord, she had been ready to give up on everything. Seeing the appearance of Gokai Silver and the retreat of Cyclopsis and Novact, her outlook changed. She remembered what Zordon had said when they thought Dulcea had been destroyed onPhaedos. She had concreted into her heart at that moment that no matter how hard the situation seemed to get, as long as she held fast to what she knew was right, she knew that eventually good would triumph over evil. It always seemed to work out that way.

"Zordon..." Gold Ranger said. "We have your back. Finish that Demon."

Meledon Ranger looked down and then at Azazel. "Meledon Conversion: Iron." He said simply. He then ran forward to attack the Demon.

Azazel shot blast after blast of Demonic power at Meledon Ranger. The ranger was able to dodge the first three crescent waves. The fourth, as it was about to hit him, was slashed in half by Meledon's wicked fury. He then ran up to Azazel and began hacking away at him. Each swing brought tremendous power with it. Azazel did what he could to block each blow, but was shocked when he saw his scythe get cut in half. Turning his saber upside down, Meledon Ranger fired lasers from the tiger's eyes from the head mounted at the hilt.

"Noo!" Azazel screamed, reaching for the scythe. By the time his hand touched where the scythe had been, all that was left was dust.

"Let's finish this." Meledon said. All nine rangers stood next to him. Side by side, they grabbed the shoulder of the ranger next to them, the rangers on the left grabbing right shoulders and the rangers on the right grabbing left shoulders. Their Morphing Energy coursed through all of them, each acting as a link in the conduit of power. The Energy was channeled to Meledon Ranger.

"Power Rangers!" They yelled as the blast left the eyes of Zordon's saber. It flew through the air and hit Azazel with a mighty blast. A multicolored rainbow of Morphing Energy exhaust exploded behind them, giving off a loud but fantastic explosion.

Energy crackled over Azazel. "Impossible!" He yelled as he exploded. All that was left of him was a pile of ash. Azazel was gone.

"Well, that all ended in an unexpected way..." Gokai Blue said, shrugging.

"I kinda feel like we accomplished something, though... ya' know?" Gokai Yellow said, resting an arm on Gokai Red's shoulder. Gokai Red immediately ducked down, wincing in pain. The Yellow Ranger quickly apologized.

"Well, that was only one small victory." Meledon Ranger said, looking up into the sky. "Vile is still doing his thing. The terrible Cyclopsis is out and about, wreaking who knows what kind of havoc. Estro is doing who knows what kinds of horror in the universe. Beelzebub is randomly attacking people... And that doesn't count the small splinter groups each unit has, like Rita, the Psycho Rangers, Dai Shi and Octomus, Scorpius, Count Dregon... Others I've never even heard of probably... We can't let one victory bring our guards down."

Gokai Silver shrugged. "Sheesh, that dude knows how to depress a party..."

"What he says is true, though." Gold Ranger said. "We need to stay loyal to our commitments as Power Rangers."

Meledon approached the Gokaigers. He looked at each of them. "Will you stay true to your commitments as Power Rangers?"

The six rangers looked at each other. They shrugged and nodded.

"Okay. Where are you off to next?"

Gokai Red looked to Gokai Pink. He nodded and she stepped forward. "Rashon."

Green Owl approached Meledon, with Gold Ranger following. "I'll contact Gosei and Dimitria to see if they have anything for us."

Meledon nodded and looked back to the Gokaigers. "Thank you all for everything. Good luck in the fight. May the Power protect you."

They all shook hands and parted ways, not knowing if they would ever cross paths again.
. . .

Cyclopsis flew to the floating castle, not attached to any star system. It landed in the Hangar Bay. Several goat-men hybrids and Tenga Warriors walked in and found Novact's body slumped at the controls. His vital signs were critical according to their equipment. The pulled him out of the zord and took him to their leader while mechanics began working on the zord.

Once he was in the throne room, Queen Bansheera made her way out of the shadows toward the fighter. She smiled.

"Novact... You have been such a key ingredient in my plans. I would have had a very difficult time finding the Zeo Crystal had it not been for you. I do say, I also owe you many thanks. You have recently eliminated Orion, caused a distraction for Estro to escape certain destruction, and also created the opportunity for the rangers to destroy Azazel! I hate to say it..." She circled around the near lifeless body lying before her. She shot a bolt of Black Energy at Novact. He opened his eyes slightly. "...but I owe you. Besides, I could use someone with your inherent evil."

Novact sat up a bit, staring at Bansheera. "Who are you?"

"I'm the one you've been trying to find. I'm the orchestrator of Project White Genesis. I am Queen Bansheera."

Novact forced himself up and onto a knee. "I am at your service, my queen."

She smiled. "I know. I have a lot in store for you. Great power. Even greater than what Vile gave you."

"I am ready, your majesty."

She chuckled. "No, you're not. Not yet, at least. I need to prepare you for this power."

"What must I do?"

She pointed to a platform, which resided next to her golden box. "Go there. Stay there. Absorb the evil forces. Then, when you have become saturated with evil... will you be ready."

Novact slowly made his way toward the platform. He tripped and fell from exhaustion. He gritted his teeth and began to crawl. Bansheera smiled to herself.

"Yes... he'll do quite nicely." She said as he arrived on the platform. Dark Energy surrounded him and began floating around him. He screamed in pain. The Queen nodded. "Yes... quite nicely."
. . .

Dai Shi entered the dungeon where Master Octomus resided, planning his web of destruction. He approached the being he considered to be his only friend and folded his arms across his chest.

"Yes, Octomus? You said you wished to see me?"

"Have you felt it? The Alpha Demon?"

"Yes, I have noticed he has returned. As far as I know, the Demons have not attempted anything here on Earth."

"Of course not. They know what the Nathadians did to the water here."

"Why do you mention the Demons?"

"I believe Beelzebub and his obsession to finish the Holy War will eventually throw a kink into our plans..."

"Right..." Dai Shi replied. He turned his back as he looked down, lost in thought. "I'd forgotten about that dumb prophecy."

"We need to up the stakes. Camille, Necrolai, and Sabrina can't possibly help us conquer Earth quick enough before Beelzebub sets his sights on Earth again." Octomus explained.

"We still have your footmen, the Hidiacs. Maybe if we had more expendable forces like them..."

"That is exactly why I called you here. We need more henchmen. I know you have a goal to populate Earth with only those from the Animal Realm, and that I could care less about. I mean solely to get the Greatest Treasure. Since your specialty is animal power, I have decided to make more henchmen from the ranks of the undead, specifically for you."

Dai Shi turned, fascinated. "How will you do such a thing?"

"The same way I made the Hidiacs: Dark Magic mixed with Black Energy. These beasts will be spirits I stole from the Mountain of Lost Ninjas. They will have a basis in martial arts. I will leave their minds completely blank for you. You can then use tech I kept from Zen-Aku to insert into their minds to upgrade them to focus on a specific move set, based on any animal of your choosing."

"That sounds fantastic. How were able to harvest those souls?"

"I had to sever their connection to the gem of souls. It took some time, but I have enough to fuel a self regenerating cycle of these undead soldiers." Octomus said, waving a tentacle. As he did, a platoon of the new footsoldiers appeared.

Dai Shi laughed. Approaching them, he nodded in approval. "I shall call them my Rinshi warriors! I never thought I would find something Lokar did useful!"

"Indeed. Hopefully, we can use the Rinshi along with the Hidiacs to capture Earth before Beelzebub reignites the Holy War." Octomus said.

Dai Shi stopped, feeling the unease in Octomus' voice. He turned to speak with his long time friend. "Octomus, I sense you are bothered by the prospect that the Ethereals will resurface to battle the Demons. Why does it trouble you so much?"

Octomus groaned within himself. "You seem to have forgotten the universal aftermath of the first Holy War. Even with our immense combined powers, I do not believe we could survive an all out war against both civilizations. At the very least, they would make our hunt for the Greatest Treasure impossible, and you would be unable to cultivate Earth into the Animal Realm you wish for it to become."

Dai Shi nodded and turned to his footsoldiers. "Okay, then. The sooner we rid ourselves of those fools from the Order of the Claw, the sooner we can find the Greatest Treasure and I can mold Earth in the way I see fit."

Octomus laughed. "Yes, old friend. Soon we will have everything we have ever desired. Soon."
. . .

As Future: Omega Ranger typed in the last sentence Octomus uttered at that instant, he heard a voice in his helmet. He had been sitting watching archive footage, piecing it together for so long, he had forgotten what a real voice sounded like. He jumped high out of his chair, almost falling out of it as he landed. On instinct, he pulled out his Legend Sword.

"Sam!? Hello!?" The female voice said. She sounded as if she were both frustrated and worried.

"This is Sam. Who is this!?" Omega asked the unknown voice.

"Oh, goodness! It is so good to hear your voice! It's me: Sophie."

"Sophie!?" Omega said, confused. She was one of the leading technical experts for the entirety of the organization of SPD. She also happened to be the first cyborg hired by SPD. "What's going on? Can you get me out of here!?"

"Well, things are plenty strange right now. I was doing some work in the Dagobah System when we got a short distress call from Commander Sky Tate, but it was cut off. We've tried everything we could, but all communications have been cut from Earth. We've tried entering the planet, but there is some funky force field around it now. I can't seem to get any reading on it. It's like nothing I've ever encountered anywhere in the universe.

"I'm currently in orbit around Earth with Detective Leslie Utahime. We're ready to morph into action and see what's going on down there once you let us in! I've been trying to hack into The Hall of Legends for hours!"

Omega sighed. "Listen... I have no idea what's going on. Director Anubis locked me in here and gave me an insane amount of files to archive. The Hall has been locked and won't let me out until I've finished each and every flippin' file!"

"What can you tell me, then? Did you see anything?" Sophie asked.

"I was already in the Hall when the attack happened. I heard Sky get into a fight, but by the time it started, I lost my communications." Omega decided not to divulge information that the attacker seemed to be using the same powers he used. He didn't wish to complicate the matter.

"Okay, well let me get into the network. Maybe I can spring you out and find a loophole around the network. Why are you indexing at a time like this, again!?"

Omega sighed again, slumping in his chair. "I have no clue. Doggie said I'd find the answer to what's happening on Earth once I finish the entire project. I don't get it."

"Wow. Anubis really programmed this thing tightly. It's going to take me some time to get any headway here." Sophie said, sounding frustrated.

"Well, I guess I'll keep indexing then. I guess you can listen while I work away. It's really quite interesting, taking away the fact my friends are in trouble right now." Omega said, reactivating his console.

"Okay, will do. I'll let you know if I learn anything either about getting you out of The Hall or about what's happening on Earth." Sophie said, sounding as if she was focusing hard.

If the programming is giving Sophie a run for her money, it's guaranteed to be done by a team of super programmers. Omega thought. He shook his head in frustration. He knew the only team of scientists who could create a program that complicated would reside in Timeline ATF. The timeline belonging to Time Force.

He opened the next file. He quickly scrolled over his monitor to focus on what he deemed to be the most important event occurring at the given time the Time Force cameras were feeding to him. He picked the planet where the most amount of activity seemed to be occurring at that given time: Earth. He watched as the screen zoomed in on Saba, as the tiger-like creature found himself surrounded by Hidiacs and Rinshi.