The city of Harwood lay almost completely in ruins. Emperor Mavro had concerned himself more with hitting the Rangers with his barrage than anything else, and he believed very heavily in the hailstorm method of warfare. Firing enough shots in the right direction, he was bound to hit what he intended to hit, even if most of the shots ended up missing.
There was no way for people to know right now what the casualty figures were, or the true extent of the destruction. All they knew was that in every street, a minimum of half the buildings had simply disappeared. The emergency services were stretched to the limits, being both under-equipped, and under-manned for a crisis of this magnitude, even if they HAD been at full strength, and their resources hadn't been caught in the same destruction.
The streets were strewn with rubble, making moving around hard going. The few vehicles still operational were moved in order to allow the few ambulances and fire engines still working access. Larger vehicles like vans and trucks were pressed into service to alleviate some of the pressure. People were crying out for help from all over the city, pleading that someone, anyone that could help them would hear them and not simply walk by.
Carter was in his element in this situation. Even before being a Ranger, he had been a fire officer. He had literally been doing this kind of thing his entire adult life. He hadn't seen anything on quite this scale before, but as soon as he was running through ruined, burning streets, his instincts and his training kicked in. He found a couple of people in the ruins of what looked like it had been a car dealership, struggling with some wreckage, and crying out for help. He ran over to their side, finding them trying to lift a fallen girder off one of their co-workers.
"Hold up, don't do anything!" He called out to them. "Dana, get over here!"
"He's trapped! We have to..."
"He's not in any immediate danger; the flames are nowhere near him." Carter told them. "We need to check him out first, Dana!"
"I'm here!" She responded, getting to his side. She saw the situation the man was in, and started to get to work examining him as Carter held the others back. She could understand their panic and frustration as they started yelling at Carter, screaming and swearing at him for stopping them help out their friend, but she knew what Carter was thinking. The man wasn't in any immediate danger, so the best thing for now was to leave him where he was while Dana checked him out. She needed to look for signs of open wounds, and possible internal bleeding before they did anything else. If he did have any such injuries, then it was possible that only the pressure of the girder was keeping him from bleeding out. Removing that pressure could kill him.
She satisfied herself that there weren't any open wounds to worry about. There might still be internal injuries, but nothing that couldn't be stabilised in a safe time period.
"Carter!" Dana yelled, making herself heard over the two men fighting with him to get past. "Carter, we're clear! Let's get this thing off him!"
Carter let the two men get back to the girder, and joined them, positioning himself under it. They lifted it up, struggling against its weight. As soon as it was high enough, Dana slid the man out.
"He's clear!" She told them, at which they let the girder down. "There's a field clinic two streets that way. He'll need medical care."
Carter looked around, finding an overturned shopping cart in the street. He quickly righted it, before picking the man up, and sitting him in it as gently as he could.
"This should help you get him there." Carter told them.
"Thank you!" One of them replied, as they started to wheel him down the street. "Um...sorry about..."
"Don't give it another thought!" Carter called back as they left.
"Come on, there are more people to help." Dana reminded him. He just nodded, and followed her as they carried on their search.
In another part of town, Orion started to stir, feeling something warm and wet on his face. He flinched as he felt it slapping against his face, trying to swat it away. He eventually came to enough to realise that it was a dog, licking his face.
"Hey mister, are you alright?" He heard someone saying. Orion just looked to him, trying to focus. It was a young girl, maybe only around fifteen or so, who had found him in the wreckage. "Do you need me to get a doctor or...?"
"I'll live." Orion grunted as he pulled himself to his feet. He struggled to get his balance, using a wall to help him to his feet. The girl helped him steady himself.
"You look pretty banged up, you should really..."
"I'm fine, honestly." He assured her. "My friends, I need to find my friends!"
"Um...I didn't see anyone else here." She told him. "Max here found you. I'm Sheona. Listen, do you have anywhere to go?"
"What about you?" Orion asked. "Do you have anywhere to go?"
"Well, some friends and my family are right over there." She told him, pointing to some people positioned outside a supermarket. "We...um...we're trying to get in. It's one of the few buildings in the neighbourhood that's still standing..."
"And there's food in there." Orion concluded. He knew that the shop was closed, and strictly speaking nothing inside belonged to the people here, but in this situation, he sincerely doubted that anyone would care if some food went missing. It was survival, people needed somewhere to stay, and they needed to eat. He went over to the door, where he found some of the group trying to break down the door with an old shopping cart. He gestured them aside.
"Let me have a go." He told them. He picked up a piece of asphalt, and scraped it against the glass, making a gouge. He scored another line, making a cross, before taking the cart. Rushing the door, the glass shattered. The crowd cheered as he threw the cart aside, letting them in.
"Wow, that...that was..."
"I just needed to weaken the glass." Orion assured her. "I was a miner back home. I know a little something about breaking stuff."
"Well, the offer's still open." She told him. "I doubt we're going to eat all..."
"I appreciate the offer, but I really do need to find my friends." Orion assured her. "But if you don't mind me taking some water and some canned food..."
"I think that's the least we can do." Sheona told him. "I hope you find your friends."
"I hope I do too." He replied, heading inside to get his supplies.
In another area of the city, Jake was starting to come to. He had been out for some time, and was finally brought around as some nearby flame flickered across his hand. He snapped back to consciousness, pulling it out before he was burned too badly. He looked around, finding the whole area completely ruined. The Megazord had ejected them before it was destroyed, and he was sure only the suits stopped them going with it.
He knew the others had to be close by. They had all ejected at much the same time, so they had to be within a block or so. He strained his eyes to see through the heat ripples.
"NOAH!" He called out. "EMMA!"
He started to clamber over broken concrete, his body aching from his numerous injuries.
"GIA!" He yelled as he looked for any signs of them. "ORION! TROY!"
His footing slipped, and he tumbled down some rock, hitting the concrete. He swore loudly as he got back up.
"Jake!" He heard someone saying weakly. Jake could recognise the voice, and he immediately started looking around. He eventually saw Noah trapped a little way off. He started to shift rubble off him, helping his friend up. "Noah, are you alright?"
"My glasses are broken." He told him. Jake knew how bad Noah's eyesight was. He wasn't exactly BLIND without his glasses, but he wasn't too far off it. He positioned himself under Noah's arm.
"Don't worry, I'll guide you." He assured him. "Where should we go?"
"The mall." Noah told him. Jake just looked at him curiously. "It was built after the new Earthquake Codes were brought out. It's the most stable building within four city blocks, it's central and there's food, water and clothing there. It's the place people are likely to go."
"Well, you're usually right." Jake stated. "I know better than to start doubting you now."
Elsewhere, Troy found himself being shaken gently awake. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but as he was shaken awake, he looked up, seeing Allison above him. His vision started to come back to him as he tried to sit up.
"Don't move." Allison told him. "You were pretty banged up."
"Where are we?" He asked.
"The...um...we're in the mall." She told him. He could see that she was sitting on the end of the bench someone had placed him on as a make-shift stretcher. His head was resting in her lap.
"The mall?" He asked. "Allison..."
"My dad carried me here. The streets aren't too wheelchair friendly right now." She told him. "Mr Burley found you when he was coming here with some of his students. They carried you here."
"Is there any sign of the others?" He asked her.
"Not yet." Allison told him. "But there are more people being found all the time. No doubt..."
"Can I get some help here?" They heard someone yelling from the door. Gia stumbled in the door, half-dragging Emma with her. The Pink Ranger seemed to be limping badly. As she handed Emma to some of the other refugees to get checked out, Gia made her way over to Troy as he sat up straight.
"Well, glad to see you're alright." She said a little coldly. Troy had to appreciate that it didn't exactly look good that Gia had all but dragged Emma, his ex into the place, only to find him lying with his head on his new girlfriend's lap. Allison just sighed.
"He only just came to." She informed her. "He was dragged in here too."
"Whatever." Gia muttered, sitting down with him. She just looked around the place, seeing everyone pulling together as much as they could. The store-owners who had gotten to the mall had opened their shops, and started handing out blankets, food and drinks for the refugees that had made it to safety. The stores whose owners weren't there were quickly broken into, in order to find anything useful. The power was out, so battery powered torches and gas barbecues were the call of the day. Trash cans had been re-purposed as firing barrels for warmth. It wasn't as though anyone was worried about the fire alarm going off without power.
"Things are pretty bad out there." Gia told him. "I didn't see one street that hadn't been levelled."
"It's the same all over." Jake announced as he came in, guiding Noah over to them. "We walked through it all."
"People are losing hope." Noah sighed. "No one even noticed who we are. Either that or...they didn't care."
"Emma?" Jake asked. Gia just pointed to where she was being treated.
"She's here." Gia told them. "Did anyone see Orion?"
"We never saw him." Jake said dejectedly. "You don't think...?"
"If anyone could survive this, it's Orion." Gia interrupted him. "By all rights he should have died about a dozen times already. He's made of iron."
Emma came over after being cleaned up, wrapped in a blanket. Gia opened up her blanket, letting her inside and huddling close to them.
"It looks hopeless." Noah commented. "We've lost all the Zords...and there's still no sign of Tensou or Orion."
"People are starting to think it's over." Jake sighed. "Looking at this, I guess it's hard to blame them."
"We've no Zords, we're hopelessly outnumbered, and we still have no idea where Orion is, or even if he's still..." Gia rhymed off, summing up their situation. "So, what do we do?"
"We keep fighting." Troy announced. "This changes nothing."
"Troy..."
"Allison, I know what this looks like, but you heard Mavro's announcement. He's coming back; he's going to destroy everyone whether we fight back or not." Troy told her. "That was always going to be the end game."
"Yeah, we're the Power Rangers right?" Jake added. "We can't stop fighting, no matter what!"
"If I'm going down, I'm going down swinging." Emma told them bluntly. "I've always prided myself on fighting for the planet. I can't stop, no matter how bleak it looks."
"Then that's it, we fight!" Troy stated. "When the Armada come back, we give them everything we have left!"
"I'm in." Noah stated. "You know...if someone can get me to the opticians. I kind of need to be able to see what I'm shooting at."
"I'll get you there buddy." Jake told him, helping Noah up, and guiding him away. The others just started to settle in for the night, hoping to rest up and gain as much strength as possible for the battle ahead.
On his ship, Gosei, the Blue Centurion and the Sentinel Knight were assembled in a meeting room, while Jordan was on the bridge with the two Alpha units. Gosei sat at the top of the table, while his two allies sat either side.
"So the ritual is complete. The sacrifice has been made." Gosei told them. "The time's almost come for our part in this. We're only going to get one shot at this, so we need to make it count."
"You know we're prepared for the battle ahead." The Blue Centurion told him. "But I must still question if your son..."
"You fought with him before." Gosei interrupted him. "My son is more than up to the task at hand."
"I just question bringing him with us." Blue Centurion answered.
"I must also question that." The Sentinel Knight added. "You know how important he is to..."
"I already have that covered." Gosei assured them. "So, prepare how you will. The final battle is soon going to be upon us."
Back in Harwood, Orion was making his way through the city, looking for the other Rangers. He didn't really know Harwood as well as them, but he knew the basic needs anyone had in a survival situation. He had spent a long time on his own, surviving in the wilderness. He knew that the priorities were shelter, heat, food and water, and he knew that in a situation like this, people would be searching for those.
Shelter was simple enough to locate, he just had to look for buildings that were standing. Any kind of shelter from the elements was acceptable right now; he had already walked past a number of families making themselves as comfortable as possible under overpasses, in train stations...pretty much anywhere that had some decent walls and a roof.
Warmth was another thing, which while the city was mostly without power meant one thing, fire. If people were making fires, that meant finding things to burn. It seemed that people found little trouble with that. Paper, wood, fabric...anything that could be used to make a flame became fuel. People were only too willing to use what was left of their personal belongings to stay warm. That narrowed things down to where people could find food.
Realising that Sheona and her family had a pretty good idea, he was checking mainly for stores. People may have had food in their homes, but buried under rubble, it was questionable how much of it would still be edible.
"Orion!" He heard someone calling out as he searched the streets. He looked up to see Tensou coming his way. He smiled.
"Tensou!" He responded as the mechanical parrot flew down to him. "Boy am I glad to see you!"
"Orion, something terrible happened...the Ranger Keys, they disappeared!" He shrieked. Orion just looked to him curiously.
"Disappeared?" He asked. "What do you mean?"
"The chest...the keys from the chest just disappeared!" He reiterated. Orion checked his pocket, finding his morpher, and breathed a sigh of relief as he found he had his own key. "So...all the other keys? ALL of them?"
"They're all gone!" Tensou reiterated. Orion just looked to his morpher again. The communications link was out, but that didn't mean the morphers couldn't still help them.
"Tensou, can you lock onto the others' morphers?" He asked.
"Sure I can." Tensou told him.
"Then take me to them." He told the little robot. Tensou soared up into the air, following the signal, with Orion following close behind him. They didn't notice as a man in a brown jacket, with white denims watched them go. He lifted his wrist communicator.
"It's Tommy, I've found one of them." He announced. "If what I heard is right, the others most likely made it too."
"That's just what we needed to hear." Zack replied. "Everyone return to base. The Emergency Services have finally got things under control. We'll need all the rest we can get."
A/N: I just wanted to say, I know I skipped most of the rescues, we've all seen them, but I really wanted to show Carter's, because something did irk me slightly about that scene. In the show, he moved the girder BEFORE Dana examined the patient. He was clearly in no imminent danger, and as such, the best thing would have been to leave him until Dana could make sure he wasn't going to bleed out once the girder was removed. As a life-long fireman, Carter really should have known that.
I was reminded of a story Allison Macinnes (Dana, Lightspeed) relayed at a panel at Morphicon. One time on set, she was shooting a scene where she was training with a dummy to resuscitate a baby. She was stopped by one of the advisors on the set, who told her that to play a doctor convincingly, she had to do it right, and told her bluntly that the technique she was using would have killed the baby if she'd done it in real life! I felt that in the same vein, someone should have advised Sean on rescue protocol for that scene.