"3, 2, 1," the referee counted before blaring his whistle. Reacting, Tommy and Bastion furiously traded strikes, blocks, and combinations. After about 20 seconds of attempts, Tommy swung his padded staff around to the left side of Bastion's head while Bastion closed in a striking Tommy's left foot. The 2 attacks landed on their intended targets simultaneously. Bastion leaned right in reaction to the strike, lost his balance, and fell off the side of his platform. At the exact same time, Tommy lost his footing, fell on his butt, and slid off the platform. 2 large splashes erupted from the soothing pool. Up on his lookout, the referee blew the whistle again, and bellowed, "Final score is 1-1-1 for Bastion, 1-1-1 for Tommy. Match ends in a draw!" The 2 gentlemen climbed out of the pool, greeted by the cheers and applause of several admiring viewers. A stunt spotter handed white towels to Tommy and Bastion upon their exit from the pool. After claiming his towel, Tommy extended his right hand to Bastion, who graciously shook it.
"That was fun, man. I'd love to train with ya sometime!" Tommy told Bastion.
"Sure. Will you be at the youth center later?" Bastion asked.
"Yeah, I should be," Tommy answered.
"Great. Well, I better check on Puck. Have a good one Tommy!" Bastion departed.
"Yeah, see ya," Tommy returned.
Drying himself off, Tommy walked over to his gym bag hoping to retrieve some dry clothes. He carried the green bag over to the nearby locker rooms and placed it on a flat, wood-finished bench inside. As he started searching for a dry shirt, he heard 6 distinct beeps. His expression became very stern as he retrieved his communicator from the pack and stepped around to an empty part of the locker room. Pressing the top-left button on the round body of the device, Tommy inquired, "Zordon, what's going on?"
His voice quietly emitting from the communicator, Zordon reported, "An unidentified zord is overwhelming the rangers. They need your help, Tommy!"
"I'm on it!" Tommy obediently replied. Switching off the green watch-like device, Tommy confidently declared, "It's morphin' time!", and reached for his power morpher.
"Dragonzord!" Tommy shouted, thrusting his power morpher forward.
In a pillar of lime green light, Tommy materialized atop a tall office building near the edge of the city. From this vantage point, Tommy could see the Zulwarn in a menacing stance above the Megazord, which lay flat on its back. Pumping himself up, Tommy boldly stated, "Bout time you tasted some Dragonzord power!" while brandishing the Dragon Dagger. He raised the bladed flute to his face and played the 6-bote summoning song.
The waters of the Angel Grove harbor splashed violently as the Dragonzord rose from the depths. After its feet emerged from the Pacific Ocean, Dragonzord took 2 slow steps, stopped, and stretched its jointed arms while projecting a Godzilla-like wail. After collecting its bearings, Dragonzord marched hastily over to the edge of the city, Zulwarn in its sights. "Dragonzord, fire!" the green ranger commanded before playing the Dragonzord march song. Missiles extended from Dragonzord's fingers one at a time in a rapid sequence. Then, the missiles blazed across the battlefield and slammed explosively into Zulwarn.
Recovering from the blast, Zulwarn looked over at Dragonzord and drew the Soulstab. From within the Zulwarn, Faulkner studied the Dragonzord and monologued, "So you bring more ATACs before me? This will be a smashing pleasure!"
Dragonzord mutually approached Zulwarn preparing to engage in battle. Meanwhile, no longer under Zulwarn's humongous boot, Megazord began to move.
"Rangers, give it all the power we got. We have to get back in this!" Jason decreed.
"We're getting up, Jason!" Kimberly informed as the Megazord climbed to its feet again.
Zulwarn swung the Soulstab at Dragonzord. Moments before the twisted halberd could land in its shoulder, 3 long claw-blades extended from Dragonzord's right wrist and stopped the strike with a loud clang. Another set of claws protruded from Dragonzord's left wrist as Dragonzord slashed Zulwarn diagonally from its left shoulder to its right hip. Tommy spoke into his communicator, "Thanks for the upgrade, Billy!" [1]
From the helm of the Megazord, Billy responded, "No problem, Tommy. You were right about Dragonzord needing a melee weapon."
Irritated from the hit he just took, Faulkner willed the Zulwarn to charge at Dragonzord with the Soulstab held diagonally. Dragonzord braced for the charge, putting the 2 mechs into an awkward grapple. With a hard push, Zulwarn unbalanced Dragonzord and quickly slashed it in the left knee with the axe edge of the Soulstab, causing it to drop on said knee. Megazord, now within striking distance of Zulwarn, slashed at the evil mech. Reacting quickly, Zulwarn deflected the power sword, pulled the soulstab back in cutting off its own motion, then jabbed at Megazord's face, triggering a wave of sparks to fly out of the Megazord.
The startled rangers screamed in surprise. While they reeled from the attack, Faulkner turned the Zulwarn towards the building Tommy stood upon and pointed Soulstab slightly upwards. Seeing this pose, Kimberly shouted, "Tommy, look out!"
A familiar looking corona of black lasers sharply projected out of Soulstab. The green ranger leapt off the building he had been standing on and onto a neighboring structure, narrowly avoiding the deadly blasts. "Oh man, that was close," Tommy opined.
"Tommy, get in the Dragonzord before he tries that again!" Jason commanded.
"Sure thing, Jase!" Tommy obliged, followed by a fantastic leap to the top of the Dragonzord. Opening a hidden panel, Tommy descended into the Dragonzord's cockpit. The Dragonzord rose back to a proper stance as the Megazord walked over to it. The 2 mighty mechs looked to each other, traded nods, then both looked over at the Zulwarn, bracing for combat.
"Team tactics, guys! Tommy, take him from the right side while we engage him head on!" Jason strategized.
"On it, buddy!" Tommy agreed.
Bastion walked casually in the direction of Uncle Howard's exhibit. Nearly there, he noticed several people gathered at a neighboring booth, staring worriedly at a small, portable television. Becoming curious, he asked a young couple, "What's happening here?"
"A big black robot attacked the cityside beach," Elliott told him.
"The power rangers are fighting it right now, but it's not looking so great," Jane added.
Bastion muttered quietly, "big black robot?" He gently snuck through a few people in the crowd, seeking a closer look at the screen. Finally, achieving a glance, his expression changed suddenly to reflect a familiar feeling of fright as he saw Zulwarn in heated combat with Megazord and Dragonzord. Pushing his way back out, he sped his way to Uncle Howard's station. Hurrying, he pulled Bastion aside from Uncle Howard, interrupting their conversation. "Sorry sir, but I need my friend now," Bastion apologized. Urgency in voice, Bastion told his diminutive friend, "Faulkner's here!"
Surprised at the news, Puck reacted, "Faulkner? Seriously?"
"Yes, I saw it right here" Bastion verified, taking Puck over the crowded booth and hoisting Puck on his shoulders to show him the screen. Puck glared in horror at the battle broadcasting on the news.
Dragonzord moved to the side while Zulwarn charged the Megazord and bashed it in the chest with the blunt end of the Soulstab. Zulwarn then started to swing the Soulstab upward so that the axe blade was descending upon Megazord. This prompted Billy to shout, "Trap his weapon, guys!"
Megazord blocked upward to catch the Soulstab with the Power Sword, then, using a controlling parry, pushed the Soulstab downward, causing Zulwarn's arms to drop. Dragonzord's tail drill started to spin as Dragonzord moved the tail into the Zulwarn's unguarded head and forced the spinning tail into Zulwarn's face. A popping explosion from Zulwarn's head caused the zords to separate.
The power rangers cheered and smiled as a boost of confidence hit them all from within. Seeing the edge they had acquired against Zulwarn, Jason began to proudly issue an order, but unbeknownst to him, an angry General Faulkner had plans of his own from beyond the smoke between the power rangers and the Zulwarn.
"You children have annoyed me long enough," Faulkner growled.
"All right!" Jason confidently started.
"Time to witness…"
"Let's…"
"…the true power of Zulwarn!"
"…finish him!"
Faulkner tensed up as eerie, piercing black waves of energy pulsated from the Zulwarn.
"I call upo..aaarrggg!" Jason shouted in pain as the dark energy interrupted his summon. The other rangers, including Tommy in the Dragonzord's bridge, screamed in shocked pain as well. Megazord and Dragonzord each dropped on 1 knee as the dark energy clung to their frames and dragged them down like a heavy dose of gravity. Around the area, the sky darkened, resembling a starless night.
"What's going on here?" Zack asked in panicked confusion.
"That zord did something to us," Billy ascertained.
"How's the Megazord?" Jason asked
"Looking at a colorful display near her station, Kimberly told Jason, "We've dropped to half power!"
"It's some kind of miasma. It's weakened the zords." Trini informed her friends. "What about you, Tommy?" she asked.
Dragonzord weakly stretched its legs. Tommy concluded, "Mine too, Trini!" Turning his attention, he tried to encourage his mech. "C'mon pal, fight it!" Tommy then played the Dragonzord summon on the Dragon Dagger. Dragonzord slowly extended its arms and roared slightly.
"Get it together, rangers! This fight isn't over!" Jason warned. Megazord readied the Power Sword.
Running hard through the mountain pass, Bastion and Puck hurried their way through the same rocky trails they hiked upon first arriving in Angel Grove. Breathing hard, Bastion managed to speak, "Ultragunner's just…a little…further."
Zulwarn marched over to the Megazord meeting it with a hard single-handed swing of the Soulstab. Megazord narrowly parried the slash with the Power Sword, but immediately following the block, Zulwarn threw a left hook at Megazord's head, causing the right-side spike on Megazord's helmet to crumple and fall off. The spike hit the ground with a hard metal-on-earth sound.
"Ugghh!" the rangers reacted.
"If this goes on we'll get destroyed for sure," Jason determined. "Tommy, can you keep him busy?"
"Gotta try!" Tommy volunteered, and then played the Dragonzord charge on his dagger-flute.
Once again, missiles armed inside Dragonzord's fingers. One at a time, the missiles flew out of the finger cannons and detonated into Zulwarn. Struggling against the miasma, Dragonzord trudged over to Zulwarn with its claws drawn. Dragonzord slashed at Zulwarn, who met the attack with the Soulstab and delivered a hammering, back-leg roundhouse kick to Dragonzord's left shoulder. As Dragonzord staggered, Zulwarn chopped at Dragonzord's right shoulder with the Soulstab's axe end. The chop sliced right through, and the shoulder plate slid off its place and fell to the ground.
"This could be our chance, let's get him!" Jason shouted. Megazord flexed the power sword, causing a ring of rainbow lights to shine from the blade as eyes gave a quick yellow glow. Back inside the megazord's bridge, Jason led, "You're through!"
Zulwarn turned its attention to Megazord, gripping the Soulstab and firmly holding it at waist height.
"Hya!" all the rangers in the Megazord shouted while moving synchronously their right hands in a wide downward arc from ear to hip. The Megazord raised the Power Sword in its right hand high above its head. Pink energy gathered onto the enormous broadsword, but was considerably dim and thin compared to how it looked when Megazord usually performed the same attack. With a slow but hard downward swing, Megazord flung the bright pink energy wave at Zulwarn. Zulwarn met the pink arc with a countermanding black energy blast. As the opposing forces collided, all of the rays in the Soulstab's black, ring-shaped attack along with most of the Power Sword's pink arc dissipated, except for a thin, wispy remnant. That remnant pushed Zulwarn back by a modest step, leaving some burn marks but no structural damage.
"Damn! That should've destroyed him!" Zack cursed.
"Megazord's weakened state prevented the sword from reaching maximum power," Billy explained.
"It's worse," Kimberly added. "That attack took most of what we had left."
Tommy chimed in with, "He just needs a little more juice!" Tommy reached for the Dragon Dagger and played the song of the Dragonzord. Dragonzord slowly flexed its left arm, turned its palm outward, and clenched the fist. It then performed the same action with the right arm, only much faster. The claws from the Dragonzords 2 silver hands formed an X shape. The sharp claws emitted a neon green glow that slowly shined brighter until Dragonzord slashed its claws downward and outward, hurling a bright green X at the Zulwarn. Zulwarn channeled black energy through the Soulstab, raised it high, and fiercely chopped the green X in half. The 2 halves of the green X fell slightly from their flight path and separated in opposite directions. The 2 halves each hit one of Zulwarn's shoulders, causing some sparks to fly and chipping 2 of the metal feathers on Zulwarn's enormous shoulders.
Faulkner laughed quietly and declared "Even the strongest ATACs succumb to my darkness. Your resistance has come to end." Zulwarn casually strutted over to the exhausted Dragonzord, knelt down slightly, and effortlessly lifted the Dragonzord overhead. Zulwarn then slowly walked back over to the Megazord.
Trini warned, "Power's too low. We can't dodge this!"
Zulwarn heavily hurled Dragonzord into Megazord, sending both of them crashing down to the hard earth. The 6 rangers cringed in pain as their 2 mighty zords crashed together.
"This is bad, guys." Jason lamented.
"What's he doing?" asked Tommy inquired.
Zulwarn extended its outstretched right hand towards the fallen zords. A black symbol depicting a pentagram inside a thick ring appeared between Zulwarn and its prone opponents. The eerie symbol vertically rotated as it hovered at waist height relative to Zulwarn. Zulwarn then threw several black energy shurikens into a series of 5 slots on the outer ring of the symbol. Inside the cockpit, Faulkner shouted, "Heaven's Gate!" Finally, Zulwarn raised the Soulstab as high as it could, stepped forward, and lunged into a hard downward chop, which scattered the black icon in a multitude of directions. The pieces of the energy pentagram then reformed the symbol on the ground around the Megazord and Dragonzord, where the symbol contracted. After the Heaven's Gate symbol shrunk completely and disappeared, black energy violently exploded underneath the defeated zords, triggering numberous other explosions about the zords' frames. Pieces of metal zord parts flew chaotically about the field.
The power rangers in both zords screamed in painful fright. Outside, The yellow saber tooth tiger and Megazord's left arm suddenly vanished. At same moment, Dragonzord's right arm and left leg faded and disappeared, and less than a second later, the remaining limbs of the Dragonzord were gone. Next to dematerialize were its head, shoulders, and stomach, leaving only the chest piece with the round yellow plate and the links of its tail. The blue triceratops disappeared, followed by Megazord's right arm and back. The last pieces of the Dragonzord were soon gone, as was Megazord's midsection. As Megazord's head started to fade, Jason told the team, "Let's get out of here!" Accordingly, Jason, Zack, Kimberly, Trini, and Billy ran to the back of the Megazord bridge and jumped out onto the field, and Tommy leapt out of the Dragonzord, meeting the other power rangers as he landed. "Back to the command center!" Jason directed. The rangers pressed buttons on their communicators, transformed into colorful pillars of light energy, then reappeared where they stood as the loud thumps of Zulwarn's approaching steps boomed around them. "We can't teleport! What happened?" Jason inquired.
Billy answered, "The miasma is weakening our communicators! We need to get clear!" The adrenaline powered rangers sprinted hastily inland towards the city. Zulwarn continued in pursuit, firing a black ring of blasts at the rangers backs. With separate leaping somersaults, the rangers narrowly avoided the deadly attacks of the black ATAC. Finally, a city block showing visible, uncovered sunlight came into sight.
"Just a little further!" Zack shouted. The rangers nimbly jumped into the clearing together, and all pressed their teleport buttons in unison. This time, they successfully teleported.
[1] Non-canon