After Darkness Falls
"The Beginning of the End"
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, that is owned by Disney/Saban. Carri and all things related to Carri (including Jason's Cougar Ninjetti Power) belong to KJ with many thanks. Everyone else belongs to me.
A/N: Not the final chapter. Just a refresher, this assumes that Rocky, Adam, and Aisha's coins are copies made from the same material as Tommy's Tiger Coin. Kim's powers were inspired by Ksuzie's "The Coin's", but unlike Ksuzie's she can only travel through time and space, not dimensions., and I am expanding upon them.
Kim sat on her couch, her best friend Carri sitting next to her. It had been about an hour since she had arrived at the Beach Club and saw Tommy making out with another girl. She didn't want to believe it, but she also couldn't ignore what she had seen. She had wanted to confront him, but she had no idea what she'd say. Instead she went home to try and be alone, but Carri had seen that she was upset.
Carri sat next to her friend, rubbing her arm. She wanted Kim to open up, to tell her what was bugging her, but she wasn't. "Kim…" she started, not knowing what to say. She had been trying to get Kim to speak for the better part of an hour.
"It's Tommy okay?" Kim sobbed. She had promised herself that she wasn't going to get too emotionally involved this time, that she was going to try and maintain a certain distance to keep from getting hurt. That turned out well.
"What about him?" Carri asked, hoping it wasn't what she thought it was. If it was then she was going to march right over to his place and kick his ass.
Through sobs Kim said "I went to the Beach Club, to meet him for lunch like we planned, but he was busy making out with another girl. Dumb bimbo…"
Carri let out a sigh, it was exactly what she thought it was. She had thought that Oliver was better than that, that he loved Kim more than anything. Even when he was an ass to her on the Turbo team she could still see that he cared deeply for her, that it hurt him to be so cold to her. But she understood why he had been, she had broken his heart through a Dear John letter of all things. Of course, Carri eventually learned the truth behind that letter. She thought Tommy had too.
Carri tapped her foot repeatedly, she had called Jason after Kim finally opened up. He was supposed to be on his way over to help comfort her while Carri took a little trip across town. Patience her never been her strong suit, and what little she did have was running out.
Once he finally arrived she jumped up and quickly told him what she had been told. She could see that he too was angry his friend by his nostrils flaring. "Carri, you stay here. I'll go have a talk with him." He didn't want to leave Kim, but he also knew that if Carri went they'd either wind up killing each other, or only Carri would make it out alive. It didn't matter that Tommy was the best Ranger Earth had ever seen, even he couldn't stand up to the true wrath of Carri Hillard.
"But…" Carri began, stopping what she was going to say. She assumed it probably was better for Jason to go. He had known Tommy longer, and they were as close as brothers so they might not kill each other. "Fine." she said, giving a look that sent chills down his spine.
"Kim, I'll be back in a little while. I'm sorry." he said before closing the door and heading back to his bike.
As he made the journey across town on his motorcycle he thought about what Carri had told him. It didn't make any sense for Tommy to cheat on Kim. He love her, more than anything. Jason more than anyone saw that Tommy was never as happy with Kat as he had been with Kim. When he heard of Tommy's reaction to seeing Kim on the viewing screen he knew that his friend still cared deeply for her, despite how he acted. He knew something had to be up for Tommy to kiss another woman. It just wasn't like him.
Sarahna looked over her six new Rangers. She liked what she saw, six formidable fighters that her enemies wouldn't dare harm. Especially the green one, Jason and his friends cared too much for that one.
She made her way over to him, staring at him. Yes, this was her favorite toy. He could take the most abuse due to being the most experienced. She ran her finger along his shoulder as she smiled at him, licking her lips.
Tommy looked into the eyes of the woman he now called his Empress. He could see that she had a fascination with him, which was perfectly fine with him. His one goal now was to please her by eradicating the Power Rangers. "When will we begin the attack my Empress?"
"Soon, Thomas, soon." she said as smiled at him, leaning in to give him a peck on the cheek. Yes, he was indeed her favorite. "Tasty." she said with a slight laugh. Looking out over the over five she was pleased with the team she had assembled. Four out of the five had been evil once before, and each one of them had been able to hold their own against at least three Rangers; and the other two had been involved in the downfall of Dark Specter, that certainly piqued her interest. "Just a few more preparations then the time will come."
When he arrived at Tommy's, Jason knocked on his apartment door, but with no answer. Sighing, he decided that he wasn't leaving until he had talked to his bro. Looking around to make sure no one within sight, he teleported inside.
He found the apartment empty, no Tommy, no bimbo, nothing. He made his way to the fridge to grab a soda, deciding it was still too early for a beer. He knew Tommy wouldn't mind the intrusion, at least he didn't think he would.
Rounding the corner into the kitchen he nearly bumped into Tommy. "Whoa! Sorry about that bro, I didn't know you were home."
Tommy stared at the silver Feral Ranger. His Empress had notified him of one of his former friends arriving, and not wanting to arouse suspicion she teleported him back. "It's alright. But what are you doing here Jase?" he asked, not really caring.
Jason cleared his throat before speaking. "I actually came here to talk to you about Kimberly." He hoped his friend would give him some straight answers.
"What about Kimberly?" Tommy asked nonchalantly. Again he could care less, but he had his orders.
Jason sighed, trying to think of how to ask what he needed. "Kim…Kim says she saw you making out with some other girl, a brunette."
"Is that right?" Tommy asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Yes, that's right. Now tell me if it's true or not." Jason said, losing his patience. He hoped it wasn't, that Kim had just seen someone that resembled Tommy.
Shrugging his shoulders Tommy answered "Yeah, it's true. Kim's old news, Sarah is my girl now. She has so much more to offer." He smiled as the words came out of his mouth. He knew he was supposed to keep them from being suspicious, but it was so much fun to see the mix of pain and anger and cross his former friends face.
Jason's nostrils flared and he said in an almost growl "You son of a bitch, so that's it huh? You're just tossing Kim away like yesterdays trash?" He clenched his fist, fighting the urge to punch his friend right in his face.
Shrugging his shoulders Tommy said with a slight look of confusion on his face "Isn't that what you do with tramps? Treat them like trash?"
That was it. Jason snapped, raring his fist back he socked Tommy right in his face, knocking the crimson Ranger down on his butt. He was seething, he had never thought Tommy could be so cold when it came to Kim.
"It's not nice to sucker punch someone." Tommy said, jumping to his feet and leaping at Jason, causing him to slam his back in the wall. Before either of them what was happening they were at each others throats, tossing punches back and forth like hot potatoes.
Jason jumped back, avoiding Tommy's latest punch as he retaliated with a jump kick. The crimson Ranger dodged it easily and countered with his own kick. They kept the kicking match up for a little longer before Jason finally landed a roundhouse kick on his friend, knocking him into the wall. Staring at Tommy, who was laying there in the wall, Jason wiped the blood from his mouth and decided it was time to leave.
Normally he would have stayed to see if his friend was okay, but he knew Tommy would be alright, and he was too pissed to care at the moment. As he hopped up on his bike he said to himself "I feel a little better now."
After the silver Ranger had left, Tommy pulled himself up out of the wall and dusted the drywall off of himself. He smirked as he made his way to the window and watched his former friend ride off. "Round One goes to you Jason, but just wait." He then teleported back to the palace in a streak of green light.
Sarahna made her way to both Finster and Xanas' former workshop. Luckily there were of a couple of Xanas's own monster molds left. Looking around she counted two. That would have to do, although neither of them looked very intimidating. She was going to send these two monsters down to Earth with her six Rangers, Xinas, and a true army of Courtadrones. This attack was going to make Astronema's look like child's play.
The thought of Earth being hers made her giddy. Not even the Feral Powers would be able to stand up to this army. After the monsters finished "cooking" and the Courtadrones were ready, some equipped with giant blades like the Quantrons once used and the rest equipped with standard blasters she called for her Rangers and Xinas.
The group of seven entered the workshop as their Empress had ordered. "Is it time?" Cassie asked, itching to get started with the invasion.
"It's time." Sarahna said with a smile. "Thomas, being the strongest here you will lead the attack. After you get the Rangers attention I want you all to split up and attack a different part of the city." They all nodded before a dark rainbow of smoke covered them from the feet up and they stood morphed in the original Mighty Morphin Power Ranger outfits.
"We shall not disappoint you, my Empress!" Tommy said, raising his Dragon Dagger in the air and swearing victory.
Rocky looked over the only newly enrolled students paper as he sighed. Thankfully that was all he had to do before closing up and heading over to his beautiful girlfriends house for a night filled with romance. As he set the paper aside and straightened up his desk, preparing to leave, his communicator chirped. "Not now." he groaned before answering it. "Go ahead Billy."
"Rocky, you had better teleport to the Power Chamber immediately. We have a situation." Billy said in a hurry.
"I'm on my way." Rocky said, making sure his door was locked before teleporting out.
Once he arrived he looked around to see everyone there except for Tommy. He didn't miss the bruise on Jason's face, or the shiny trail than ran along Kim's cheeks where she had obviously been crying. "What's going on?" he asked, looking over at Billy.
Billy sighed "Well for starters I can't seem to get through to Tommy. But more important than that is this." he directed their attention to the viewing screen, which was displaying something they never thought possible. The original team, at least the suits, were terrorizing down town Angel Grove.
"How is this possible?" Carri asked, she had heard that the original coins connection to the morphing grid had been severed. Then she thought that they were lost forever on Volacia.
"It shouldn't be possible. That's the problem." Billy said, he had tried to reconnect the coins to morphing grid during the Machine Empires reign of terror, but every time the results had been less than productive.
"It must be Sarahna. She must have found a way to power them." Jason said, looking around at his team. "After all, Kim was able to power my coin for a short while eight years ago, and the Sentinel Knight restored Adam's three years ago."
"Do we know who's behind the helmets?" Kim asked, afraid of what the answer may be.
Billy shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. But you need to get down there and stop them. Nodding, Jason led his team into morphing and together they all teleported down to the battlefield.
Tommy led his team of evil Rangers and Xinas into attacking the city. Hearing it's citizens screams as their original Rangers turned on them brought great joy to him. He pulled his dagger out, readying himself to call upon an old friend when the Feral Ranger materialized before them. "Jason good to see you again. How's that black eye?"
Jason's eyes grew wide with terror behind his helmet. He knew that voice, and the thought of it terrified him. "Tommy?" he asked, hoping that he was wrong.
"You got it!" the green Ranger said with a laugh. "I'm back, and I'm ready to finish what we started all those years ago!" He moved into an offensive stance as he nodded to his teammates, giving them the go ahead to disperse as planned.
"Guys, follow them. I can handle him." Jason said as he readied himself for the inevitable fight that was to come. After reassuring them that he'd be fine his team dispersed, following Tommy's to various parts of the city.
"Sarah huh? That wouldn't be short for Sarahna, would it?" Jason asked as he and Tommy circled one another.
"It might." Tommy said with a cold laugh.
The thought of his friend making out with Sarahna after all she had done to them over the last few months repulsed him more than anything.
Tommy, instead of leaping at his old friend, threw his dagger at him, the tip of it cutting across Jason's chest. He quickly followed behind it, attacking Jason before he had a chance to recover. He hit him with a flurry of punches that sent him falling to the ground.
The silver Feral Ranger quickly regained his footing and leaped into a punch, throwing his body weight into it as it connected with the green Rangers stomach. Tommy stumbled back, quickly catching himself and countered with a kick directed at Jason's knees. Jason flipped back, successfully avoiding the kick and summoning his sword.
Kim found herself staring into the past. Standing before her original suit in the park. "Who are you? And why are you working for Sarahna?"
Cassie stared at the red Feral Ranger. "I'm hurt that you don't recognize me, I was only your successor to the Turbo Powers."
"Cassie?" Kim asked in shock. Cassie was one of the nicest people she had ever met, and possibly the last person she ever expected to be corrupted by evil.
"So you do remember me!" Cassie said sarcastically. "That's very touching, and quite possibly the last thing you'll remember!" She summoned the Power Bow and fired off a succession of arrows at Kim.
Kim dodged the arrows by teleporting behind Cassie and kicking her in the back. She knew it was a dirty trick, but she had to vent some. It was bad enough that Tommy ha cheated on her, but now he was under an evil spell. She thought about it as he avoided more arrows an countered with her own; what if Tommy had already been under Sarahna's control when he kissed whoever that was? Or what if Sarahna either impersonated her or had one of her goons impersonate her? It wasn't unheard of, so it was a possibility.
Cassie put her bow away and jumped into a spinning kick, nailing Kim in her chest. Kim began to pick herself up when she quickly did a sweep with her leg, knocking Cassie down. She used the opportunity to get a little further back and fire her arrows at her.
Cassie stood when she was hit by an arrow, grunting as she fell back down. She picked herself back up and randomly shot her own arrows in Kim's direction, nailing the red Ranger a few times. Kim grabbed her shoulder where most of the arrows had hit. This wasn't looking so good, she didn't want to hurt Cassie, but she also had to keep from getting hurt herself.
Carri followed the red Ranger and Xinas to the center of the city, not too far from Bulkmeier's. She knew what was going on, they were trying the whole divide and conquer technique. She also knew that it wouldn't work. So many enemies had tried it before, and it had failed each time. "Why don't you two just save yourselves the trouble and give up now?"
"Right, if there's one thing I learned from the Thunder Ninja Academy that I continued to teach my students, it's to never give up. Especially when the odds are on your side!"
Judging by his comment Carri figured out he was one of the Bradley brothers. Though she wasn't entirely sure if it was Blake or Hunter that had become an instructor at the academy.
"What if the odds are against you though?" Xinas asked, turning to face the red Ranger.
"Same rule. Why, are you daring to turn against our Empress?" Hunter asked in a low growl. He knew there was something about this overgrown wolf that he didn't like.
"I've seen how she treats those loyal to her, and I prefer to live!" Xinas said, swiping his sword at the red Ranger.
"You dirty dog!" Hunter shouted, summoning the Power Sword and attacking Xinas in anger. His attack was blocked by the wolf warrior, and he barely dodged the counterattack.
Carri stood over on the sidelines, taken aback by this sudden turn of events. Who would have thought that Xinas would actually help her? "Are you going to help or not? I'm on your side for the time being!" Xinas growled as Hunter nicked his armor with his sword. Shaking her head and realizing that there was still a battle to be fought, Carri brought forth her daggers and joined the fight.
"So, who's behind the helmet?" she asked as she helped Xinas pushed back Hunter's attack before countering by throwing one of her daggers to him then bringing it back to her with her telekinesis.
"Hunter Bradley, a former Thunder Ranger." Xinas growled as he rolled out of the way of Hunter's oncoming blast from his blade blaster. "Sarahna wanted six of the strongest Rangers Earth had to offer, and as a result she went after four former evil ones, and two that had ties to the defeat of Dark Specter."
"Former evil Rangers? That narrows it down." Carri said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes behind her helmet. She still couldn't believe it, the Goldar wanna-be was helping her, and she was actually able to carry on a somewhat stable conversation with him, of course it didn't mean she trusted him. She was certain that once all was said and done they'd go right back to the wanting to kill each other part of their relationship.
"Fine," Xinas said frustrated by her lack of concentration on the battle at hand, "Trent Fernandez, Cassie Chan, Carlos Vallerte, and Merrick Baliton are the others. Happy?"
Carri realized that they were in bigger trouble than she originally thought. She knew of Trent, he had actually managed to best the great Dr. Oliver a few times, Merrick was a very powerful enemy not to be taken lightly, and both Carlos and Cassie were senior Rangers. Looking over at Hunter, who was picking himself up from Xinas' attack, she couldn't help but she feel she had lucked out in following him.
Trent stopped once he felt he was away enough from the others. He admired Angel Grove's harbor, there was something about it that soothed him. A few minutes after he stopped he saw the green Feral Ranger catch up with him. He knew of this one, like Carlos and Cassie he had been involved in Dark Specter's death. Hopefully he would prove to be a challenge.
"It's peaceful here, don't you agree?" Trent asked as he looked around. His plan was to catch TJ off guard, then strike.
"What are you talking about?" TJ asked, not letting his guard down. "It was peaceful here, until you and your buddies started attacking!"
Trent let out a chuckle as he said "Buddies? Not hardly. If Sarahna would give me the chance I'd kill everyone of them. But she needs them for her plan to work, and I like her plan."
TJ couldn't believe what he was hearing, a Ranger who would willingly turn on his own teammates? Evil or not that didn't strike him as right. "Well I can assure you that her plan won't come to fruition!" He summoned his Lion Lance as Trent summoned his Power Daggers.
Trent threw one of the daggers at TJ, having it easily deflected by TJ's lance. TJ quickly rushed the yellow Ranger, spinning his lance as he used it to pole-vault over him and land a kick on his back.
The yellow Ranger stumbled, stopping by grabbing onto one of the containers. He ran over and rolled by TJ, going to grab his dagger that he had previously thrown. Once he had both back in his possession he leapt over the green Ranger and managed to slash his back, causing TJ to howl in pain as he dropped his lance.
Trent merely laughed at his enemies pain as he made it worse by kicking him in the same spot he had just cut him.
TJ was stunned, not much had ever penetrated his suit. The first thing that came to his mind was the attack from Psycho Blue that nearly killed him, but even that was fuzzy. Realizing that he was still in the middle of a battle he picked his lance up and used it to attack Trent's knees, causing to fall on his back.
Trent watched as the green Ranger placed the end of his lance at his throat. Looking at it he asked "So what now, you kill me? That'd be a good thing to say at my funeral, that you were the one who ended my little life, wouldn't it?" He couldn't help but laugh as he knew that TJ wouldn't do it.
The thought was tempting, but TJ knew that he was really a good guy, that he was just under a spell. "No. I'm not going to kill you."
"Wrong choice!" Trent shouted as he used his dagger to slice at TJ's legs, allowing him to get up. "This is just too easy, I expected more from you."
Ryan followed the blue Ranger to the business district. "This is not going to be easy…" he said as he looked around. All the civilians had relocated inside, but they were all staring out the windows to see what they thought was the original blue Ranger versus the latest black Ranger.
"These people are expecting a show, it'd be a shame not to give them one." Merrick said, smirking behind his helmet. What these people didn't realize was that no matter who won, they were still going to be enslaved, or killed. It all depended on Sarahna's mood.
"Yeah, why not. It's been a while since I've really been able to cut loose." Ryan said, it had been years since there had been any real threats to Mariner Bay, and he hadn't been a part of this team long enough to really be able to cut loose. He summoned his Panther Staff as Merrick brought forth his Power Lance.
They clashed weapons, each one able to counter the others attack until Merrick split the lance into it's two halves. Ryan found difficulty from being attacked in two places at once. He to make sure that he blocked one half of the lance while also dodging the other. He found himself wishing that his staff split in two like his opponents lance.
Merrick continued forcing Ryan back, he had quickly gained the upper hand due to his lance splitting. Finally he was able to use it to trip the black Ranger, kicking him through the nearest window before he hit the ground. This was going to be so easy.
Rocky followed the black Ranger, hoping the whole way that it wasn't Adam again. He didn't think he'd be able to fight his friend again. The few times he had had been just horrible, especially after finding out who it was behind the helmet. "Adam, is that you?" he asked, wishing for the answer to be "no".
"Try again old buddy!" Carlos said as he summoned the Power Ax.
"Carlos?" Rocky asked, still not liking the fact that it was a Ranger he had been close friends with. He and the rest of the Turbo team had spent a lot of time with Carlos Vallerte and Ashley Hammond before choosing them as part of the new team. Justin they saw a lot as well, though not as much.
"Give the man a prize." Carlos shouted, striking the ground with his Power Ax, sending a blast of energy at his old friend.
Rocky was unable to move out of the way in time and was hit head on by the blast. He picked himself up, bring out his Ape Knuckles. He looked at them, thinking sarcastically about they'd do a lot of good against a weapon that could hit from afar.
Nevertheless, he wasn't about to give up so easily. Charging Carlos, he charged his knuckles up as he threw himself at the black Ranger, electrifying him with his knuckles. He got up off of the black Ranger, shaking his head. "Hope I didn't cause too much damage." he said, knowing that his friend was in there somewhere.
"I'd worry about yourself if I were you." Carlos said as he stood and hit Rocky with the back of his ax. The blue Ranger quickly jumped back to his feet and began charging his knuckles again, getting ready for another hit. He watched as Carlos struck the ground again, this time he moved quick enough to avoid it and counterattack. He was within striking ranger when Carlos turned and bashed his helmet with his ax.
Rocky fell to the ground and began rolling. He could feel blood running along his cheek where his helmet had shattered and cut him. He staggered back up to his feet, determined not to give up.
Tommy and Jason clashed blades, sword against dagger. Jason was beginning to wear out, Tommy was a lot tougher than he had been at fourteen. The green Ranger threw him back a few feet. Jason regained his balance and raised his sword, preparing to attack.
Sarahna smiled, everything was going according to plan. The Rangers were wearing out. She looked down from her balcony at the two monster and the hordes of Courtadrones that were scattered throughout the moon. "The time is now, go to Earth and attack with everything you have, hold nothing back!"
Once her army made it to Earth via teleportation and a couple of old Quadrafighters they found left on the moon and had since repaired, Sarahna used her staff to make the monsters grow to city wrecking size.
Andros and Ashley were out checking on the status of their new house when they had suddenly become surrounded by what they assumed were Courtadrones. "You don't think it's another invasion, do you?" Ashley asked her husband as she pushed one away.
"I'm not sure, but there's too many of them and we don't have any powers. Do you still have your old communicator on you?" He knew for a while after their retirement from Rangering they all still wore them in case of an emergency, it's how the others had been contacted about the Psycho Rangers return years ago.
"No, why?" Ashley asked, wondering what he had planned.
"Then hold on tight!" Andros said as he rolled over the hood of their car to join her. He quickly grabbed her hand and made sure she was holding on tight before he pushed his sleeve back and teleported them out of there.
Sarahna made her way down the long hallway on the ground floor of the palace. She knew of Xinas' betrayal, not like it really mattered in the grand scheme of things. He was to become new boots anyway. She twirled a couple of her daggers and smiled as she approached her coach, the mighty Zord Serpentera.
The alarms in the Power Chamber were going crazy as all the Courtadrones and the monsters appeared. Billy quickly recalled the team from battle. They were weakening and there were too many enemies to continue fighting.
The six Rangers materialized one by one before him, all of them de-morphed. As if fighting powerful evil Rangers weren't enough, they also came under attack by hordes of Courtadrones.
"That was brutal." Jason commented, holding his side. He had barely managed to avoid being shot by a Quadrafighter as it flew over him.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Kim agreed "Somebody, please tell me you have a plan." She had faced a lot while out in space, but nothing compared to this. The streets and rooftops were completely covered in Courtadrones.
"Unfortunately our friends and the Courtadrones aren't the only problem." Billy said with a sigh. "There's also a couple of Sarahna's monsters on the loose, as well as DragonZord." Billy knew this seemed hopeless, the last time they had seen something of this magnitude had been Astronema's invasion of Earth.
As the alarms began sounding again a red streak landed in the Power Chamber that materialized into Andros and Ashley, similarly a silver and a pink streak materialized into Zhane and Karone, with Cierra in her aunt's arms.
"The building quickly became infested, and this was the safest place we could think of to bring her." Karone quickly explained.
"Oh no." Billy said from over by the computer, cutting off anything either Andros or Ashley were about to say. "Guys, this really is the big one. Sarahna is on her way, along with Serpentera."
"What can we do to help?" Andros quickly asked, this place had become his home over the past thirteen years, and had been his wife's home her whole life. He had fought to defend it once, and he would do so again.
"Have you managed to acquire a new Megaship?" Jason asked, remembering what happened to the last one.
Andros nodded and said "Fresh off the assembly line from KO-35. It's what Zhane had gone to get the other week."
"Does it have Megazord capability?" Jason asked, knowing that should have been a part of his first question. Once Andros nodded Jason continued "Good, you, Zhane, and Ashley can take it to space and hold off Serpentera, we'll have whoever we can join you.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, it takes five to pilot it." Andros said sadly.
Zhane piped up "And I have my Mega Winger Mark II, got it a few years ago, so I can go up in that."
"Then we still need three Rangers, since we need TJ here on Earth to combat the ground forces." Kim said, biting her nail. "Billy, teleport Adam and Tanya here, Kat too. I don't care if she is with her fiancé."
"Justin Stewart too, he can help." Ashley piped up from the back where she was holding her daughter.
Billy quickly did as he was instructed and teleported the four former Rangers to the Power Chamber.
Kat looked around, stunned. "What is the meaning of this?" she asked, glad she hadn't been near Casey when she was suddenly teleported off her street.
"In case you haven't noticed, the cities in trouble and we need all the help we can get." Carri said, staring at her cousin.
"But why me?" Kat asked, she had made it perfectly clear that she wanted nothing to do with the Ranger business after she handed her Turbo morphed over to Kim.
"Because you have experience, believe it or not you're a senior Ranger and we need you, now suit up." Andros said as he handed her the pink Astro morpher. He had stored them in Billy's lab for safe keeping after the whole Psycho incident. They needed the morphers closer to home, and he couldn't think of a safer place.
He knew that they didn't have time to argue with her, so he wasn't giving her a choice in the matter. She was going to help if she wanted to save her world.
"I'm in." Adam said, taking the black Astro morpher. It was good to be needed again as a Ranger, even if his wife didn't like it.
"Me too." Justin added, taking the blue Astro morpher and strapping it on.
Karone stepped up and said "If you have any extra morphers, I'll take one and take one of Lightspeeds Megazords up."
"Negative." Billy said, coming over from the communications console. "I just spoke with Carter, apparently Mariner Bay has been invaded by Courtadrones as well. Silver Hills and Turtle Cove as well."
"She's not just targeting Angel Grove, this is a major problem. Come on guys, we need to get out there and deal with those monster and DragonZord." Jason said, leading his team into morphing and calling on their Zords as they teleported out.
Andros took the lead of the new Astro Rangers. "Let's Rocket!" they all called. In flashes of various lights they all teleported out, leaving Billy, Tanya, Karone and Cierra alone in the Power Chamber.
"Billy, Lightspeed has a multitude of Megazords, I'm certain they can spare one." Karone said, she wasn't too familiar with Lightspeed, but Leo had told her of the tour the received after finally defeating Trakeena for good.
Billy sighed "No. But I do have a single Zord I created a while back. It forms one half of the Megazord I built in my spare time. It'll take you to space where you can help the others." He opened the safe that he had stored the Astro morphers in for Andros and pulled out a Turbo morpher. "It works in conjunction with this morpher, here."
"What about the other half?" she asked, eager to get out and help.
Billy pulled out another Turbo morpher "If she wants it, then it's Tanya's, but I'm afraid I'll be too busy to watch Cierra and the computers too."
"I'll stay and watch Cierra." Tanya said, declining the morpher. It was a tempting offer, to go back into battle with her husband, but she had her own personal reasons for declining.
"Alright, then I'll see if I can get one of the others to fill in." Billy said, he understood Tanya not wanting to battle, it was part of the reason he initially declined taking on Zeo II's Powers. He quickly searched for a former Ranger who's city wasn't under attack, finally finding one. "She must be going after all the former Rangers first." Billy noted, even San Angeles and Ocean Bluff were under attack.
In a flash of yellow light Aisha Campbell appeared. She had been living in Santa Monica for a few years as a vet. After explaining the situation to her she took the morpher, gladly accepting the return to duty.
"Shift Into Turbo!" Karone shouted, morphing into the red Turbo Ranger while Aisha morphed into the blue Turbo Ranger. Billy and Tanya, who was now holding Cierra, watched as the two Ranger teleported off.
Jason and the others were busy trying to fight three enemies at once in their Megazord. It didn't help that they were still recovering from their fight against the evil Rangers either. They used their Megazords sword cut off one of the tentacles the octopus monster had wrapped around them. DragonZord was hitting them with its drill tail and shooting it's missiles at them while the plant monster shot exploding spores out at them. Things were not looking good for the team.
Turning to grab DragonZords tail as it attacked them, they began swinging it around, hitting both of the monsters and letting DragonZord fly back out into the ocean. Of course, being able to function underwater that didn't bother it. As the music from Tommy's flute played, DragonZord rose back up from the water to continue it's attack.
"Jason, we need to focus on one at a time or else we're going to lose all power!" Kim shouted as the cockpit shook with the explosion of another spore.
"You're right. Alright, focus all attacks on the plant monster!" Jason said, he had been trying to do everything at once to try and finish this fight quicker. He blamed adrenaline taking over, these monsters were only part of the problem. Turning to face the plant monster they raised the Megazords sword.
"Oh no you don't!." the monster said as it sent three more spores out before being cut in half by the sword.
"One down." Jason said "A million to go."
Wesley Collins and Eric Myers fought back to back against the Courtadrones invading their town of Silver Hills. They had known of the all the problems that Angel Grove had been facing lately, but they never imagined that they would effect their town as well.
"Fells strangely familiar, doesn't it?" Wes asked as he cut up a few Courtadrones with his chrono saber.
"Don't remind me!" Eric said, blasting the Courtadrones to pieces with his quantum defender. Wes just laughed.
Jumping over a car Jen Collins shouted "Watch out!" as she threw a couple of grenades into the crowd, seeing them hit the ground both Wes and Eric jumped up and out of the way. They made it out of the way just in time to see a number of Courtadrones go up in a fiery blaze.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Wes shouted with a laugh as he turned to look at his wife. She was decked out in her leather outfit he had seen her in when they faced the Mut-Orgs together. After that she had managed to stay in the year two-thousand and two, though she wouldn't say how she managed that. In the end it didn't matter to him as long they were together.
He was worried about Time Force finding out about her though, since she did say that she had to keep under the radar. But he was making an exception in this case as it would make sense for the wife of a Ranger to know how to defend herself and know about some, but not all, Ranger tech.
"Have you heard from Taylor?" Jen asked Eric as she held each of her guns out and shot holes through the Courtadrones heads.
"No, but I imagine Turtle Cove is under attack as well." Eric said, aiming his defender and shooting. He wanted to hurry and finish this so that he could go check on her. He knew she was perfectly capable of holding her own against almost any enemy, but that didn't keep him from worrying.
Jen sighed as she continued to dismantle Courtadrones. "I hope this all ends for the better soon."
After destroying the plant monster the Feral Megazord turned it's attention to the octopus monster. Pulling out their Megazords blaster they made quick work of it. Now all that remained was DragonZord, which they really didn't want to destroy. "If we could just get the Dragon Dagger away from him!" Jason said as he gripped his controls to keep from sliding.
"I'm going to try." Kim said, teleporting out before anyone could protest. She knew it was probably a long shot, but she had to try at least. Hopefully seeing her would break the spell over Tommy as well. Hopefully.
"Kim, wait!" Jason shouted a little too late. He knew how powerful Tommy was, it wasn't going to be easy for her to get his dagger.
"What is she thinking?" TJ asked as he pulled himself back to his console after the Megazord took a direct hit from DragonZords missiles. "She shouldn't out there alone!" He had heard the stories of the evil green Ranger.
"I don't know, just trust that she knows what she's doing." Jason said, focusing back on the battle at hand. "We have to make sure we stay alive as well."
Kim teleported down behind the green Ranger, quickly reaching for his Dragon Dagger. She almost had it when he turned around and knocked her hand away. "Not so fast red Ranger!" he said as he began attacking.
"Tommy, please, it's me, it's Kim! I'm your friend!" Kim shouted as she continued to block his attacks. She had to get through to him, she just had too.
As he attacked her he couldn't help but feel as though she were telling him the truth. But it couldn't be the truth, his mission was to eliminate her and her friends. "Liar!" he shouted as landed a kick in her ribs.
Kim picked herself up, seeing how dangerously close she was to falling off the edge of the building. She felt a tear run down her cheek, she had been ready to kill him just a few hours ago, and now all she wanted to do was help him. She stared at him through her visor, feeling the first drops of rain hit her suit. She watched as the water ran slowly down the outside of her helmet. "Tommy, please, let me help you."
The green Ranger stood there, poised to attack as he calmly said "This thunderstorm will be the perfect backdrop to your demise." He smirked from behind his helmet. He quickly began to charge her, dagger raised ready to kill.
Kim saw him coming at her with the intent to kill and she quickly reacted, teleporting out of the way and reappearing behind him, wrapping her around his.
Not long after he felt her arms grab him, he quit struggling. Something about it just seemed right, but he didn't know why. He shook his head in frustration, quickly forcing her off if him and teleporting out in a green streak.
"Tommy no!" Kim shouted after the streak of light. "Don't go…" She slowly turned to look at the Megazord and DragonZord, she had accomplished part of her goal, DragonZord was retreating back into the ocean for the time being.
Jason sighed, glad that the battle against DragonZord was over. "Billy's, how the battle against Serpentera going?"
"Not too good I'm afraid, they could use some back up." Billy replied through the communicator.
Jason nodded "Right, I'll send the Feral Megazord up to join them soon." Turning back to look at his team he said "TJ, I want you, Ryan, and Carri to take the Megazord into space and join the others. Do not let Serpentera reach Earth, if it does then we're finished. This time she means business, she'll kill us all if we don't stop her."
"But what if DragonZord returns?" Ryan asked, knowing it probably wouldn't be long.
"We'll deal with that when the time comes, right now we need to keep Serpentera from reaching Earth. " he said, knowing that Ryan's concerns were justified; but a little bit of property damage was better than having no property to damage.
"You got it, we'll be back." Carri said, knowing that her boyfriend didn't like this plan. He had never liked anything that put her in direct danger, even though he knew she could take her of herself. As the Megazord began to take off, Jason and Rocky teleported out and joined Kim on the rooftop below.
"Guys, I think I almost got through to him." Kim said as she walked over to the others.
Jason placed his hand on her shoulder and said "That's great, but right now we're needed on the streets. Now come on." He jumped off of the roof and landed in the center of that streets Courtadrones, summoning his sword and beginning his attack. Kim knew he was right, so she and Rocky quickly followed.
Xinas continued to battle the Courtadrones and Hunter long after Carri left. He knew why she had disappeared, she had been recalled. He also understood why she didn't take him with her, she didn't trust him. She had no reason to. As far as he was concerned, this was only a temporary alliance anyway.
"Fire!" Andros shouted, giving the order for everyone to aim the Megaships blasters at Serpentera. They hit the giant Zord with a succession of blasts, barely putting a dent in it. They had been at this for the better part of an hour. Andros wanted to do as much fighting as possible while in the form of the Megaship since it would be easier to maneuver.
"Nothings working!" Kat screamed from her post. She had never had to face Serpentera before, Zedd had all but abandoned it by the time she joined the team. She never imagined that it would be this tough.
"We've got to keep trying!" Adam shouted, he remembered all the time that Zedd had brought Serpentera to Earth, they had always lucked out as he would run out of power; but now that Sarahna had a lightning diamond at her disposal they weren't going to get that lucky. This fight was to the end.
They quickly moved the Megaship out of the way of Serpentera's beam. "That was a close one!" Justin commented, noticing that they had just barely missed being hit.
"Andros, Andros come in." Karone's voice rang through the communication's system. "Andros, how are things on your end?" She, Aisha, and Zhane were attack Serpentera further down while Andros and his team took near the head.
"Not so good. Nothing we do seems to be working." Andros replied, firing on the massive Zord again. "How about you?"
"We've managed to breach the hull a little, but not much. It might beneficial if you formed the Megazord and used its saber." Karone answered. At this rate there was no way that they were going to keep it from reaching Earth.
Andros sighed, looking down at the control console. He knew she was right, he was putting too much focus on maneuverability rather than the strength they really needed. "Prepare to form the Megazord!" he ordered, beginning the sequence.
Ashley did her part for the transformation, thinking about how this brought back memories of her first meeting with Andros and the relationship they would eventually develop. She smiled as she felt the necklace that he had given her for her birthday around her neck.
"Say hello to the cavalry!" Carri's voice rang through the communications system as the Feral Megazord started to become visible. She took control of the Megazords right arm and began firing on Serpentera's head as they made it closer and closer.
"Andros, where do you need us?" TJ asked with a slight laugh. There was never a dull moment around Carri, that was for sure.
"Karone and Zhane have in under control further down, so if you would stay around here and give us a hand that'd be great." Andros replied as he landed on Serpentera's back and began slashing the massive Zord with the Megazord saber.
"You got it!" TJ replied as he spun the Megazord off to the side and let Ryan stick the Megazords blade into Serpentera, going along the side of it for a short while before turning and having Carri blast at the spot they just cut.
The Astro Megazord jumped off of Serpentera's back and began attacking the other side of the Zord, hopefully soon they would be able to break it apart.
Sarahna laughed, even with four Megazords there was nothing they could do. Victory was sure to be hers. This was just too perfect, her plan was working. She had successfully divided up the Rangers and tired out them out and now most of their best were here to die. Soon everything would be hers to do with whatever she pleased. She turned Serpentera's head to fire another beam at the annoying insects, maybe she would actually hit one this time.
Getting tossed aside like paper Conner McKnight stood and grabbed one of the Courtadrones, kicking it repeatedly in it's stomach before tossing it aside and going after another. He didn't know what this was all about, Reefside had been quiet for better part of six years.
Ethan James tackled one of the Courtadrones, managing to bring another down with them. He then stood and went after another. "This must have something to do with Dr. O's fight in Angel Grove." he said as he tripped one and punched another.
"You think?" Kira Ford asked as she kicked one of the mechanical misfits off of her. "That's it, I've had enough of this. Dino Thunder Power Up!" she called, revealing her Ptera morpher and becoming the yellow Dino Thunder Ranger for the first time in three years.
Conner stared at her in disbelief. "You can morph?" he asked.
"Talk later, fight invasion of robots now." she said, ignoring his question and attacking with her Ptera-grips.
"Well as long as we're sharing secrets, Dino Thunder Power Up!" Conner called, morphing into the red Dino Thunder Ranger.
"Oh so now who's been hiding something?" Kira asked before jumping up and gliding along the air as she struck Courtadrones with her Ptera-grips.
"Thought it was talk later, fight now." Conner mocked as he bashed Courtadrones with his Tyranno-staff.
Ethan looked around in shock. "What, am I the only one who wasn't notified about new morphers?" he asked, kicking a Courtadrone back.
"Sorry bro, reds only club." Conner said, smiling behind his helmet. Dr. O had granted him a new morpher when he brought him into his team of red Rangers. He had to admit, it felt good to be a Ranger again.
"And I didn't ask for this, it was gift from someone called the Sentinel Knight." Kira said as she attacked the Courtadrones.
"Well if I make it out of this I'm starting a blues only club." Ethan said sarcastically. He always hated being left out, and as far as he knew he and Trent were the only powerless Rangers from their old team now.
Jason looked at what he had left of his team on Earth, Rocky and Kim, through the water streaks from the storm on his visor. They had just finished fighting off a squad of Courtadrones and were trying to figure out their next move. What they needed to do was free the other Rangers, but how he wasn't sure. Billy had tried his spell disruptor, but it hadn't worked. That meant that the spell wasn't over the Rangers, that meant it most likely had to be the power coins themselves. "Is there any way to remove the spell without destroying the coins?" he asked, he wanted to try and save the coins in case they ever needed a back up power supply.
Kim, being the one who spent two years training with Dulcea's senile mentor Ninjor, answered "We could most likely overload them. That would severe their connection the grid without destroying them completely. After that I could always try restoring them, or take them to Ninjor or Dulcea if that fails."
Jason sighed, he hoped that there would be another way. But he would take what he could get.
"So how do we overload them?" Rocky asked. He wanted this battle to be over fast, he was worried about his girlfriend up there fighting Serpentera.
"That's going to be a little tough, Jason and I can use our Muranthian power to do that. If we keep increasing the power of the coins, they'll overload and become defunct. We just need you to try and hold them off while we concentrate." Kim said, she knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it was the only chance they had at the moment.
Tommy sat on the rooftop of Angel Grove High. He had memories here, feelings that grew in this place. For her, for Kim. She had said that she was his friend. He had seen that she had no desire to do him harm, was it possible she was telling him the truth? He had been told that she was his enemy, that everything that had happened up to the time he met Sarahna at the Beach Club had been a lie. He didn't know what to believe anymore, but something inside of him was telling him to go back to her, to Kim. That she had the answers he sought.
Kim and the others were about to go search for their friends when a green streak appeared before her, materializing into the green Ranger. Everyone quickly moved into a defensive stance. Tommy looked around, smirking. He powered down in a cloud of dark green smoke.
"What are you doing?" Kim asked, surprised by his lack of attacks.
Tommy looked into her eyes and said "I want your help." Kim drew her head back, just a little while ago he wanted to kill her, now he wanted her help? "I don't know what to believe anymore, something about you, about what you said earlier. It stirred something inside me."
Kim looked at the man with the spiky hair standing before her and smiled. This was actually going to work. Seeing her earlier had done exactly as she'd hoped, it had managed to get a little of the old Tommy to shine through. "Of course I'll help you." she said as she moved closer. Once she was right on top of him she began to concentrate on the Dragon Coin, pouring her energy into it.
Jason and Rocky looked on, still prepared to fight should the need arise. As they watched Kim move in closer and close her eyes they began to see green lightning crawl around Tommy's body. Soon after that he began to seize for a moment, and then just collapsed onto Kim.
Km laid him down on the wet rooftop and took a look at his power coin. Sure enough it had been overloaded. It was now partially black and had cracks covering it. "Will he be alright?" Rocky asked, taking note of their unconscious friend.
"He should be in a few minutes." she replied, sliding the now useless coin into her pocket. The trio watched over their friend for a moment or two before his eyes fluttered open.
"Kim?" he asked, picking himself up. "What happened?" As he asked it came back to him, he had been forced to become the evil green Ranger once again and had nearly succeeded in killing Jason.
Kim bent down and gave him a hug, thankful that he was alright and back to normal. "Tommy, do you think you'll be able to fight and help us?" Jason asked.
Tommy nodded "I should be able to." He summoned his Feral morpher and quickly morphed into the crimson Feral Ranger. "I can still morph, so that's a good sign."
"Alright," Jason said "than let's go and help the others. We can find a way to take care of the rest of the Courtadrones then."
"I sure hope the others are okay." Rocky said, looking up at the cloudy sky and watching rain hit his visor.
"Me too." Jason agreed. Getting ready to take off, his communicator chirped. "Go ahead Billy." he said, hoping it was good news.
"Guys, I've lost contact with the Astro Megazord. I don't know what happened." Billy said in a panic. He only hoped that Sarahna hadn't gotten them.
All four of the Rangers felt a streak of terror run through them. Each of them hoped it was just a malfunction and that the worst hadn't happened. "Come on guys…we need to free the others…" Kim said with a lump in her throat as she tried push the thought of the possibility that Andros and his team may in fact be dead.
"We'd better split up, we have a better chance of freeing them quicker that way." Rocky said, praying that Carri was alright. If Sarahna had taken out the Astro Megazord then who knew what be next?
"I hate having to split up in a situation like this, but I have to agree with Rocky." Tommy said, splitting up they would be able to cover twice as much ground and free the other five from Sarahna's control quicker than if they stuck together.
Jason thought for a moment before deciding. "Alright, Kim, you and Tommy take the west side of the county, Rocky, you and I will take the east. We'll meet back here atop the old Youth Center, alright?" The others nodded and quickly split into their two teams.
Zen-Aku had managed to track Merrick's scent to Angel Grove, though he had noticed something off about it. His scent carried the desire the desire to kill with it, which was nothing like his old friend. He fought his way through the hordes of robots to Angel Grove Park where he a blue Ranger attacking the citizens who hadn't managed to run away when the invasion began. "Merrick?" he asked as he tossed another of the robots aside.
The blue Ranger turned to face the Wolf Org. He was surprised to see him, having thought that he wouldn't try and find him. "Hello Zen-Aku. What brings you all the way from Turtle Cove?" he asked, throwing one of the civilians aside.
"You, old friend. What happened to you?" he asked, referring to the bloodlust that Merrick reeked of.
"I had my eyes opened for the first time." Merrick said with a laugh. "You had the perfect lifestyle, tormenting the innocent. Why did you ever want to give it up?"
Zen-Aku growled, this was not his friend. "Merrick would never knowingly harm the innocent! Who are you?" he demanded, pulling his crescent blade out.
"I'm Merrick, you Org reject!" Merrick growled as he pulled out his blade blaster and fired on the former Duke Org.
Zen-Aku quickly blocked the blast with his blade and leaped at his old friend, howling. He didn't want to kill him, but if he had to he would. Something had happened to Merrick, something had changed him. He hit Merrick with all his force, using the blunt end of his blade. He remembered the days when he would have gone straight for a killing blow, but traveling with Merrick across the world for so long had changed him for the better.
"That hurt you mutt." Merrick said as he jumped to his feet and summoned his lance, twirling it as he ran towards the wolf. Zen-Aku blocked the attack and countered with a kick to his ribs, feeling a few crack.
"I'll ask again, who are you?" he growled, watching the blue Ranger pick himself up.
"He's exactly who you think he is, just under a spell." Kim said as she and Tommy ran to his side. "Sarahna, our enemy, placed a spell over him and several others. If you can keep him busy for a few more minutes, I can get rid of it."
"A spell?" Zen-Aku asked, now everything made sense. That woman that bound him and took off with Merrick must be this Sarahna. "Count on it. Just make it fast."
Kim nodded, watching as both Zen-Aku and Tommy ran to distract the blue Ranger. As they did so she began to concentrate her energy, what she had left of it. She had used more than she meant to when she freed Tommy.
Tommy attacked Merrick from one side while Zen-Aku attacked from the other. As they continued to deal blows and dodge or block others, they saw blue lightning crawl over the former Wild Force Ranger. Soon after he began seizing he collapsed.
"Will he be alright?" the Wolf Org asked, showing concern for his friend.
Kim smiled at the wolf, grateful for his assistance. She bent down and reclaimed the now defunct Triceratops Coin. "He'll be fine. Just take him back to Turtle Cove, I think Princess Shayla may have awoken from her sleep." Billy had told them earlier just after the invasion started that Turtle Cove was under attack. She assumed that with the Earth itself in imminent danger, that it cause for the Princess to wake. Zen-Aku nodded, thanking them for helping him to free his friend before taking off.
Xinas glared at the red Ranger with his onyx black eyes. Their fight had started in the park, but had quickly moved into the city at the white Rangers departure.
Jason and Rocky found Hunter and Xinas doing battle, with Xinas losing due to all the Courtadrones surrounding them. "Need some help big guy?" Rocky asked as he tossed some of the Courtadrones away. Carri had told them how Xinas had helped her, and explained that at least until the invasion was over he was ally.
"It's about time you guys started helping out." Xinas growled, a few more minutes of this and he would have been a dead warrior.
"We've been a little busy." Rocky said as he threw the red Ranger to the ground, watching as red lightning crawled around him as he seized. Once it stopped he walked over and grabbed the Tyrannosaurus Coin, handing it to Jason.
"I saw. But you could have hurried." Xinas growled. "Go, I have these guys." he said, referencing the remaining Courtadrones.
Cole Evans was tossed aside like a rag doll. Even though he had regained his Wild Force powers, along with the rest of his team sans Merrick, they were still struggling against these creatures. He believed Jason and the others had called them Courtadrones. Why they were attacking Turtle Cove he didn't know. What he did know was that their presence had awoke the Princess, who descended from the Animarium and returned their growl phones to them.
"Guys, we have to stop them!" Taylor Earhardt shouted, her home hadn't been under attack in seven years, give or take a few, and she wasn't about to let this new attack destroy the peace they had fought to achieve.
"We got it!" Max Cooper shouted back before being thrown to the ground by one of the Courtadrones. These things were at least twice as powerful as the Putrids they used to face, and the fact that there so many of them didn't help.
"We've got to win, for the Earth!" Cole said, trying to encourage his team.
Tommy and Kim came across Trent in the abandoned warehouse district. "Talk about déjà vu." Tommy said as he went to face off against Trent. He had hoped to never have to face the former white Ranger again. He had nearly destroyed the Dino Thunder team time after time until he was freed from the gems evil influence.
"Any time now!" Tommy shouted as he hit the ground. It was taking her longer to free Trent than it had to free himself and Merrick. The only thing he could think of was that using her energy to overload the coins took too much out of her. Finally he saw the yellow lightning creep and crawl over his friend, causing him to seize.
After catching him and gently setting him down Tommy took the Saber-toothed Tiger Coin and carried it over to Kim. As he held it out to her she picked her head up to reveal a nose bleed. "Kim, are you alright?" he asked as he wiped the blood from her face.
"Yeah," she replied, out of breath, "I'll be fine. Come on, let's get going." She had over exerted herself, using her power to overload three power coins had really taken it out of her, not to mention all the fighting she had done in between.
Jason and Rocky found Cassie holding a man against the wall of her flower shop, choking the life out of him. "Put him down!" Jason shouted as he ran over towards her.
Cassie shrugged "Whatever you say." She pulled the man away from the wall and tossed at the two incoming Rangers.
Jason caught the man, recognizing him as Ritchie, a boy who had worked at the Youth Center during their sophomore year of high school.
Rocky continued running towards Cassie, trying to distract her while Jason overloaded her coin. He hated hitting girls though, no matter the reason. As such he took it easy on Cassie, just avoiding her punches and kicks until she began to seize as the pink lightning bounced around her.
"Kim, we've got the Pterodactyl and Tyrannosaurus Coins, how many are left?" Rocky asked, speaking into his communicator.
"Just one then, the Mastodon." Kim replied. Rocky noticed something off about her voice, she sounded exhausted which he had to admit, he was getting there.
"Alright, leave it to us. You guys go ahead and make your way back to the Youth Center. Hopefully Billy has a way to destroy all these Courtadrones without causing anymore damage to the city." he replied, going over to tell Jason the plan. "You alright?" he asked, seeing the silver Ranger bending over using his knees for support.
"Yeah, it just takes a lot out of you, overloading the coins. I haven't felt this tired since before Muranthias." Jason said, straightening himself as he prepared to go free the final Ranger.
Billy had teleported three of the four Rangers to the Power Chamber and quickly brought them up to speed on the situation. Luckily they weren't drained of too much energy and could still hold a morph and fight. He handed out the three other rebuilt Turbo morphers, handing the pink to Cassie, green to Trent, and the yellow to Hunter. He had modified the yellow to not include a skirt, not wanting to rely on the assumption that the morphers scanned your DNA and formed a skirt based on that.
After sending them into battle in various cities, Trent in Reefside, Cassie in Silver Hills, and Hunter to Blue Bay Harbor, he headed back to the communications panel, trying to make contact with any of the Rangers in space. But he had no luck.
Tanya had been visibly shook when she learned that communication with the Astro Megazord had been lost, her husband was aboard that Megazord. Of course she felt bad about them losing contact with the others as well, that one just hit her a little closer to home. Trini was in the other room taking care of Cierra, since Tanya was of no help now. As a result he was running around trying to do everything himself.
After slamming his fist on the panel he walked back over to the other end of the room where he was working on his disruptor. It had failed in trying to free the Rangers from their spell, luckily Kim had come up with an alternative to that. Now he was working in a hurry to reprogram it to emit a frequency that would overwrite the Courtadrones programming and shut them down.
Rocky found himself fighting against Carlos in the center of down town Angel Grove. Jason was taking longer to free him, and he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to keep fighting his old friend. He was beginning to tire, physically and mentally. He had been worried about Carri ever since she left, but once he learned that communications had been lost, he really began to worry.
Finally black lightning covered the black Ranger as he began to seize. Retrieving the Mastodon Coin he watched as Carlos was teleported out by Billy. He ran back over to Jason, seeing blood oozing out of his nose. "You alright man?"
"Just tired. Can you teleport us to the Youth Center?" Jason asked. Rocky nodded and together they teleported off.
Tori Hanson waved her arms in a circle, using her power to create a blast of water that drenched the parts of the Courtadrones that she had exposed with her ninja blade. Normally they were able to be dismantled just by getting wet; but there was something different about these, they were stronger, impervious to water unless their insides were slightly exposed.
Dustin Brooks traveled beneath the ground using his power of Earth, pulling various Courtadrone into the ground up to their necks to make them easier to deal with.
Shane Clarke used his ability to utilize air as a weapon to lift some up and let them fall from great heights, busting them while Blake and Hunter Bradley used their ability to create lightning to fry some, and Cam Watanabe used his swordsmanship to slice and dice others. Along with their special abilities they also utilized their ninja fighting skills to defeat their enemies.
As they fought Hunter explained about his yellow Ranger power and how he hated it for being so bright. He felt like a big yellow target. "Hey Cam," Hunter said as he bounced off of one Courtadrone and kicked another, "when this is all over would you mind making us new morphers with the same power as our old ones?" He wanted to be prepared in case anything like this ever happened again, and having their morphers rebuilt was the best way to do that.
"Gladly, I'm starting to miss the protection the Ranger suit offers." Cam said, avoiding a blast from one of the Courtadrones and jumping up, bringing his sword down on it.
In Mariner Bay the Lightspeed Rangers were struggling with the hordes of Courtadrones. As he fired a round of shots from his blaster, Carter Grayson saw a reporter trying to get the scoop of the century. He moved in closer, telling Joel Rawlings to cover him. As he made his way to her he heard some of what she was saying.
"This is Cassidy Cornell reporting to you live in Mariner Bay, I have received reports that similar attacks are occurring all over California." she screamed as Quadrafighter flew just over her head. "Ocean Bluffs, Silver Hills, Turtle Cover, even the famous Angel Grove. Yes, it seems that every town that once housed those heroes called the Power Rangers is now under a full scale attack." she continued.
"Cassidy, maybe we should get out here, like now!" her cameraman Devin Valle said, taking note of the dozen or so Courtadrones heading their way.
"Are you crazy? This is bigger than the invasion of Angel Grove twelve years ago!" Cassidy said, looking at Devin like he was crazy.
"Cass, we really need to get out here!" Devin screamed, pointing behind her.
Carter ran up on them and shouted "What do you think you're doing? Get out of here!" He didn't want any more civilians to get hurt. "Go! I'll deal with them!" He waited until he was sure they running away before he began firing on the Courtadrones that had been heading their way.
Jason and Rocky made it to the old Youth Center, as they landed Jason told Rocky to set him down. As he sat on the wet roof, listening to the rain hit his helmet, he caught his breath. Freeing three Rangers wasn't easy, he was surprised that he even had the energy to stand afterwards.
Kim looked over at Jason and couldn't help but laugh. "You know, for being regarded as two of the most powerful Rangers in the universe, we sure do look pretty pathetic right now."
Jason laughed, knowing exactly what she meant. "Yeah, isn't that the truth. Hopefully Billy finishes his modifications soon. We could sure use the extra help."
"How do think the others are faring?" Tommy asked, they hadn't heard anything in over an hour, not since Billy told them he'd lost contact with the Astro Rangers. He hadn't been this afraid since Rito and Goldar succeeded in destroying not only stripping them of their Ninjetti Powers, but also in destroying the Command Center.
"I'm sure they're fine." Jason said "They've got Carri with them, she wouldn't dare let them be defeated." He hoped that would give some comfort to Rocky, he knew how he felt. He didn't know how Emily was doing, he hadn't seen her since before the invasion started that morning.
"Oh shit, guys look!" Rocky shouted over the loud clap of thunder that echoed off the mountains in the distance.
The others turned to look at what he was pointing at, and they all froze. "It can't be…" Kim said, her heart skipping a few beats as she stared in terror at what was poking it's ugly head out from within the clouds above the mountains.
"Serpentera…" Jason said, the fear evident in his voice. If Sarahna and Serpentera were here, then that must've meant that everyone had failed.
"That's it, we're finished." Rocky said, not wanting to admit defeat, but also not seeing anymore options for them. Two of their best Rangers were too weak to go up against Sarahna, while two more were quickly running out of energy, and they didn't know what happened to the others.
"Karone, hurry and head towards Serpentera's mouth, I have a plan." Carri's voice rang through her wrist communicator. She felt bad about ignoring Billy's calls, they all did, but they needed to focus on the battle at hand and communicate with one another to keep strategizing.
"Right, meet you there." Karone replied, she looked over at her partner who nodded. Pushing forward on the thrusters she raced to make it Serpentera's mouth before it reached Angel Grove.
Carri made her way to the head of Serpentera, quickly being joined by the Mega Winger, Astro Megazord, and the Turbo Shuttlezord. The trip of re-entering Earth's atmosphere had been a trying one, all the Megazords had sustained considerable damage, most of them had to divert energy away from communications in order to keep going.
Andros followed the Feral Megazord, listening to Carri's plan through his wrist communicator along the way. He didn't like it, but it did seem to be their best shot, and their last. He turned to look at the yellow Astro Ranger, his wife, who nodded in agreement with the plan. As did the rest of his team. "Right, thrusters to maximum!"
Jason and the others watched as four Megazords descended from the clouds, making their way to the mouth of Serpentera. "They're alive!" Rocky shouted gleefully as he saw the Feral Megazord appear from the clouds.
"Yes, but look at them, they won't hold out much longer." Tommy said as he took note of the missing pieces of the Megazords, some were missing an arm, some a leg, some both.
"They also managed to damage it somewhat." Kim said, seeing cuts and holes in the massive Zord. It wasn't enough to keep it from destroying the world, or even just the city, but it was more than they had ever been able to accomplish against it, she was at least proud of that.
Tommy moved in close to his girlfriend and wrapped his arm around her, holding for what he thought may very well be the last time. Those four Megazords were all they had to stand against Serpentera.
They all looked on as all four Megazords grabbed on to Serpentera's head, with the biggest, being the Feral Megazord, climbing in its mouth. "What are they doing?" Rocky asked, getting his answer as simultaneously all four Megazords self-destructed.
"No!" he screamed at the top of his lungs as he watched a giant ball of fire engulf Serpentera's head. He dropped to his knees, pounding the rooftop with his fist in both anger and sorrow. He couldn't believe they had done that, that they had sacrificed themselves.
Kim felt tears start running down her cheeks, she didn't see any teleportation beams leave the Zords before the explosion, and she didn't see any now. "Carri…" she said softly, burying her face in Tommy's shoulder.
Tommy lowered his head in sadness, feeling partially responsible for this. If he had been able to tell that it wasn't Kim that met him at the Beach Club, then probably none of this would've happened. Sarahna's plan would have been derailed a bit.
Jason could feel his eyes begin to sting from the saltiness of the tears he was trying to hold back. He too lowered his head, feeling responsible. He should have made certain that she was dead all those months ago before returning home, bringing his problems with him.
"Please tell me you don't think that we're stupid enough to blow ourselves up." a familiar voice said from behind them. They turned, Jason and Kim slower than Tommy and Rocky, to see Carri and all the other Rangers from space standing behind them.
"Carri!" Rocky shouted as he pulled himself to his feet and jogged to her, embracing her tightly. "I'm glad you're safe." he said before giving her a kiss.
Wiping what remained of her tears away Kim asked "But how did you escape? We never saw any teleportation beams leave the Zords."
"Then you just weren't looking hard enough, because we did." she said, sticking her tongue out. "Look there, we did it!" They all turned to look up at the cloudy sky to see a headless Serpentera fall from the sky and land across the mountains. What remained of it's head landed on their side of the mountains. A mini Earthquake was caused by the landing of the Zord.
After they stopped shaking Jason said "It's really done?" He couldn't believe it, he had been fighting Sarahna for so long and now it was finally over.
"Not…quite…" Sarahna gasped from behind everyone. They all turned to face her, her outfit was in shreds and she was covered in soot and burn marks.
"But how?" Carri asked "No one could have survived that explosion!"
Sarahna tried to catch her breath as she said "I teleported out once I realized I couldn't save my Zord." Staggering over to the Rangers she screamed "You ruined everything! My plans were going so well, I was going to rule over everything!" She pulled two of her daggers, trying to cover them in flames but to no avail. Frustrated, she began to just toss them when she collapsed from exhaustion. She looked over at Tommy, the favorite of her evil Rangers and said "How could you…" with a single tear running down her cheek as she passed out.
Jason looked around at his fellow Rangers, the look on his face said what he was thinking. The tear that formed from her face showed that she still had some shred of humanity left, which is all Rita, Zedd, and Divatox had when they were purified by Zordon. He still didn't like them, and wanted nothing to do with them, but his mentor had been willing to give them a second chance at life, the least he could do was the same. His fellow Rangers nodded, even Kim who said "Bitch better not try and kiss my boyfriend again though."
Tommy turned his head, feeling bad about that. He had thought it was Kim though, what was he supposed to do?
"Tommy, Carri, Ryan, TJ, Rocky, come here. Let's form a circle around her." Jason said as he and Kim struggled to get to their feet. "You all felt the presence of Zordon when you put your Feral morphers on for the first time, right?" he asked, knowing that he and Kim had.
All of them except for Ryan nodded. Ryan instead said "I never knew Zordon, but I did feel a massive amount of good energy when I put mine on."
"That was Zordon. He must have put some of his own energy into these morphers when he had them created." Kim explained as Ryan nodded his head in understanding. "Alright, gather in a circle around her and concentrate on that energy." They did as they were told and soon after a brilliant white light began to emanate from their morphers, moving inward and enveloping Sarahna.
They all watched as her burn marks healed, the soot washed away from her face, her hair grew back where it had been burned, and her outfit changed to a yellow spaghetti strap shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of cowgirl boots. Once the light was finished with her it expanded outward into an "O" and scattered, making a sound akin to a sonic boom.
Conner and his former team continued to fight until they saw all of their enemies turn to sand before their eyes. "What just happened?" Conner asked, kicking around a pile of newly formed sand.
"I think they just disintegrated. Any ideas Ethan?" Kira said, looking at herself and Conner involuntarily powering down.
"Even I'm stumped on this one. That was like nothing I've ever seen." the former blue Ranger said as crouched down to examine the sand.
All throughout California the Courtadrones turned to sand, Blue Bay Harbor, Ocean Bluffs, Mariner Bay, Turtle Cove, Silver Hills, etc. Zen-Aku had been just outside Turtle Cove when the wave hit him. He stared at himself in amazement, he was no longer and Org, but a human. He had shoulder length silver hair, a slight goatee, and was dressed in a black dress shirt and black jeans.
"I never thought I would see another Zordon wave." Ashley said as she leaned against her husband, smiling. They had won. They had really won.
"I know, it's a beautiful sight, but it comes at a price." Andros said, looking at the Feral morphers. "They used up all the energy they had left in their morphers." Ashley looked at the morphers in question and saw that they were fried.
Once the wave dispersed, the Feral Rangers let go of one another's hands. Tommy quickly caught Kim as she fainted, and Carri caught Jason. "They're exhausted, let's get them back to the Power Chamber." Tommy said.
As they all stood Sarahna came too, she pushed herself up to her knees and examined herself, not sure what to think. "Wait, take me with you, please." she said as she stood, facing Tommy. He let a heavy breath out, with Jason and Kim out cold it was his call as temporary team leader. He hated her for everything she had done, especially to Kim and himself, but he decided he was willing to give her a shot, even if he didn't like her. He held out his hand, which she slowly took and together the group teleported to the Power Chamber.
Billy was putting the finishing touches on his machine when everyone teleported in. He quickly set up the medical beds for Jason and Kim, seeing that they were in the worst shape. He began running diagnostics on them, determining that all they needed was a long nap and to take it easy for a while afterwards.
Tanya ran over to her husband when she saw him, smacking him on the back for scaring her like that. She was glad to have him home safe, and when he asked why she declined to go into space as a Ranger she told him it was because she had found out that morning that she was pregnant.
Adam was speechless upon hearing the news that he was going to be a dad. He couldn't believe it, he had never really seen himself as a dad, but always knew wanted kids someday, "This is incredible!" he finally said, giving his wife a hug and a kiss.
Tommy smiled, pretty soon everything would be the way it was meant to be.