Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. I think Saban owns them again. It was Disney for a while, but whoever owns them, it's definitely not me. I also don't own any song lyrics used.
AN: Here's chapter 25! Enjoy and let me know what you think! Thanks to all the great reviews too and here's notes to those individuals:
RHatch89: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
TommyOliverMMPRFan: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the battle scenes
Harry2: Glad you're enjoying. And yes, Masked Rider might be making an appearance. ;)
WideOpenSpacesGirl045: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. More craziness ahead. :)
Skull RiderSP: Yep, more zord battles ahead. And as for the gore, I'm trying to make the battles a little more realistic. Glad you approve. :)
MMPRFansince93: Thanks! So glad you're enjoying the fight scenes. And yep, Malcolm has no idea. Billy definitely has the guts to ruin his life with the push of a button ;)
Pinkrangerfan: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story!
fallingstar22: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I knew most would love finally seeing Kat stand up to Malcolm. And you're right, she could totally take him out in self defense without violating the ranger code. ;)
garnetred: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story and appreciating the music. :)
Crimson Rising
Chapter 25: Break the Clouds
Burns like a fire, if you control it
Bring down the walls, if you spoke it
So stand up, don't take it, there's very little time to make it
Come on, come on, it's our chance
Together we can break the clouds
I wonder if we'll figure it out
What we are running from is the truth
It's the truth
Our lives are ruined under here
Under here
Alright, alright, I'll light the fire inside of me
Well alright, well alright, we'll light the fire inside of us
Together we can break the clouds
I wonder if we'll figure it out
Song: Break the Clouds
Artist: Eyeshine
San Angeles
Private Airstrip
"Boss…what do you want us to do now?" one of his men asked, as Malcolm strolled back to his private jet.
"Why don't you do nothing like you did back there with the rangers!" Malcolm spat angrily, as he pushed him away angrily.
"Get me out of this damn place and back to New York," he spat, as he boarded the jet.
"What about the woman and brat?" one of his goons asked.
"A temporary setback, but she won't get away with this for long," he spat, as he took his seat. By the look on their boss' face, they wisely quieted, as the pilot took the plane into the air.
Downtown San Angeles
"Hold still…we need to get you back to the base for medical attention," Dax said, as Will lay on the stretcher, with several guardians around him, getting ready to move him.
"Mack…I've got a lock and I'm bringing you back. I don't think it would be wise for you to join the zord fight this time," Andrew spoke through his phone.
"Stand by dad," Mack said, as he pulled the phone away from his ear.
"Come with me Rose…" Mack said, as he took her hand. The pink Overdrive ranger looked torn between him and the others.
"You too Ronny…all of you for that matter. We belong with the others. They're good people," Mack reasoned.
"If you haven't noticed Mack, they're wanted fugitives. You can't tell me that you enjoy running all the time and living in isolation," Dax scoffed.
"It's better than taking orders from a rising dictator!" Mack spat back.
"Go crawl back into whatever hole they're hiding in then," Will scoffed.
"Listen Will, it doesn't have to be this way. We should be fighting with the other rangers, not against them. We were all little kids when Jason and Tommy were fighting. They really know what they're doing," Mack argued.
"Then follow them like the starry eyed little rookie ranger we know that you are!" Will snapped.
"No one runs my show and I'm done taking orders from anyone but yours truly," Will spat.
"You nearly got yourself killed tonight! These guys make Flurious look like nothing. We need the other rangers. You all know it's true," Mack argued.
"Get lost Mack or we're going to have to arrest you," Dax warned, as the GAMA guardians were taking notice in his lingering presence.
"Fine..." Mack said dejectedly, as he turned to leave. He felt Rose take his hand and he turned to look at her.
"Take me with you," she whispered. He grinned and hugged her tightly.
"Rose…you're making a huge mistake," Will warned.
"No…my mistake was not standing by Mack all along," she replied.
"Ronny…" Rose called. The girl in yellow looked very torn, as she looked between them.
"Don't do this Ronny…you'll lose everything. Think about your career after all this is over. You turn on us now and you'll never be able to get near a track again," Will warned.
"I think I can live with that…but I can't live with betraying people who came to our aide in our darkest hour. Thrax would have killed us if not for Adam, Kira, Tori, Xander, and Bridge. And that Shark creature would have killed us tonight, if not for Tori's team again," Ronny said, her face set in a deep frown.
"You could have got Hunter killed and he had the chance to take revenge on you tonight…but he didn't and that's the kind of team I belong on," Ronny said, as she took Rose's hand.
"Dax…come with us," Mack urged. The young Asian man looked at them with a bitter expression.
"Save it Mack…I'm not going to join them again so they can treat me like some rookie," Dax spat.
"You'll all regret this," Will added, as the three of them were snatched up by a teleportation beam.
Blue Bay Harbor
Hunter's muscles burned in protest, as he parried Xerxes' blade.
"You're weak crimson ranger…nothing like your father. I was hoping for a better fight, but I should have known I'd be disappointed in fighting a fledgling like yourself," Xerxes hissed.
"Your Sharkanian friend might disagree with you. I turned him to ash," Hunter retorted, making Xerxes chuckle in amusement.
"Sharkanian's are far weaker than my species. It's not even a comparison," Xerxes boasted.
"Fine…then why don't you stop talking and show me how strong you supposedly are instead of just talking about it," Hunter spat. Xerxes laughed.
"You asked for this, crimson brat," he spat, as he parried Hunter's blade kneed him in the chest, throwing him onto his back.
"Stupid child...this is payback for killing two of my men the other night," Xerxes hissed, as he kicked him in the ribs. Hunter felt a couple snap and he roared in agony, as pain exploded in his chest. Xerxes thrust his blade downward, but Hunter rolled away.
"Thunder shield!" he cried in order to block his assailant momentarily, while he climbed his feet. The pain had started to dull, as his ribs were already healing. He clutched the Phoenix saber and welcomed the fire he felt coursing through his limbs. Xerxes charged with an angry battle cry and Hunter broke out in a sprint to meet him, raising his blade, as Xerxes' weapon came slamming down on his own…
Toxa laughed maniacally, as the Megazord sustained heavy fire and toppled for the third time.
"Damn…this bitch is working us…" Dustin spat, the controls sparked violently, as he tried to touch them.
"Shields are down to forty percent. Let's try something else," Cam suggested, as they manned their controls and the Megazord managed to stand again.
"All right, let me at the bitch," Tori spat, as Shane extracted his weapon. She replaced his with her daggers and the weapons appeared in the hands of the zord. Toxa laughed.
"You really think you can take me on, little girl? Toxa taunted.
"Guess we're about to find out…hag," Tori spat back. Toxa growled and leapt at the Megazord. Tori used the controls to cross her daggers, blocking Toxa's blade between them. Cam maneuvered the leg of the Megazord to kick her in the abdomen, forcing her back. Toxa screamed in rage, launching a purple energy beam. Thinking quickly, Blake maneuvered the wings of the Phoenix to wrap around and shield them. The attack bounced off and struck Toxa. She screamed in pain, as she fell on another building.
"Damn…we are making one hell of a mess," Shane complained.
"Just be grateful that most of these buildings in the business district are empty at night," Cam reminded. Shane sighed. The green ranger was right. The casualty list had this happened during the day would have been catastrophic.
"Dolphin Tidal Wave!" Tori called, as she channeled a water attack through her daggers, blasting Toxa back, before she could recover.
"My turn," Blake said, as Tori extracted her weapons and Blake replaced hers with the Navy Thunder blade.
"Navy Thunder Bolt!" he called, as he struck in the chest. Fire exploded there and her body convulsed violently.
"Don't think for a second that you've won…I'll make you pay for this! All of you!" Toxa screamed, as her size was reduced to normal and she teleported away. The five of them sighed in relief
"Nice work guys. Billy told me that since your zords basically came here from Phaedos that we need to send them to the old zord bay outside the power chamber in the Angel Grove desert for safekeeping," a female voice came through the comm of the Megazord.
"I'm Carly, by the way," she added.
"Seems like you're taking to all this like a duck to water," Blake mentioned, smiling beneath his helmet.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, if you guys want to go help Hunter, I'll take control and return the zords to the holding bay and begin auto-repairs," she said.
"You heard the woman. Let's go," Blake said, as they teleported out and to the rooftop, where Hunter was engaged in a furious fight with Xerxes.
Meanwhile, Carly took control and dispatched their zords to return to the old holding bay outside the abandoned power chamber in the Angel Grove desert.
Hunter growled, as Xerxes threw all his weight into him, toppling them both to the ground. The General grabbed the crimson ranger's leg and hurled him across the roof, as he rolled close to the edge. Shane heard Tori gasp and put his hand on her shoulder.
"You won't be helping if you get in the middle of that," Shane warned. She knew he was right, but that didn't make it any easier.
"I know…" she relented.
"He'll be fine. Any wounds he just sustained are already healing," Cam reminded. Unfortunately, as Cam said that, Hunter was thrown off the building.
"HUNTER!" Tori screamed, as he went plummeting toward the ground.
"While he's figuring out how not to break every bone in his body when he lands, I'll eliminate the rest of you. I doubt that should take long," Xerxes hissed, as he charged at them. They sunk into fighting stance and disappeared into their Ninja streak. Unfortunately, cries of pain followed, as the alien General dealt them vicious blows with his extraordinary strength.
"Dammit…this is going to hurt," Hunter growled, as he tried slowing his fall by flipping through the air. But it wasn't helping a lot, so he started fumbling with the grappling cable on his belt.
"Forget the grappling cable," he heard his Uncle say over the comm in his helmet.
"If you haven't noticed, I'm falling and about to make a mess of myself on the concrete," Hunter spat in return.
"You're the Phoenix," Zedd replied simply.
"Thank you Captain Obvious," Hunter retorted. He could almost see his Uncle rolling his eyes.
"Did I forget to mention that you have wings? Gold button on your utility belt," Zedd instructed.
"Uh yeah…it would have been nice to know that before now!" Hunter yelled, as he hit the button. A jet pack-like looking device appeared on his back and mechanical crimson wings, lined in gold, unfolded from the device and he ascended into the air, landing on the rooftop again, only to see his friends being thrown around like ragdolls. His heart nearly leapt in his throat, as he saw Xerxes backhand Tori, the force of his blow, throwing her off the building.
"No…" he cried, as the General stood in his way.
"Go…we'll take care of him," Shane said, as he launched an air beam. Dustin followed with an earth beam, Blake with a navy thunder beam, and Cam with an ice beam. Hunter propelled into the air, just as Xerxes angrily broke through their attacks and slammed his fist into Dustin's stomach. The force sent the yellow earth ninja flying onto his back. Cam was next, as the wind was knocked from the samurai and he doubled over in pain. Blake slammed his thunder blade down against Xerxes' blade, but the Duronian shoved him away and kicked him down.
"Battelizer!" Shane called, as he activated his armor and the hawk wings attached to his back. Shane launched the massive battle blast and Xerxes met it with his own. The beams clashed and each fought for control.
Hunter spiraled downward after Tori, who was trying to slow herself by flipping.
"TORI!" he called. She looked up and extended her arm toward his. He grabbed her hand when he got close enough and then swept her into his arms, before sweeping through the air and changing directions.
"Nice catch," she said breathlessly, as she clung to him. Their visors opened and they smiled at each other.
"I have a feeling I'm going to like flying, especially if we get to do this together," he told her. She smiled.
"Well, after we pulverize the asshole that pushed me off the roof, you can take us on a little ride, flyboy," she replied, as they landed on the roof and their visors closed.
Dustin and Cam launched an earth and ice beam to join Shane's. Navy thunder sizzled to life in Blake's fingertips, as he added his own beam. Tori smirked and took her place beside Dustin, adding her water beam, while Hunter parted their team at the center. Crimson thunder sizzled to life on one hand and crimson fire on the other. Xerxes roared in disbelief, as he felt his blast being swallowed by the six Ninjas before him.
"Dude is toast," Dustin said.
"No…NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Xerxes screamed.
"We have a saying here on Earth!" Blake shouted.
"What goes around comes around," Cam finished for him.
"You really thought you could just murder countless people and no one would ever rise up to stop you?" Tori asked rhetorically. His eyes bled purple with his blood seeping from them, thanks to the erosion of his internal organs that was happening.
"You will all die…my Master will kill you all!" he shouted, as blood leaked from his mouth.
"No…he and the rest of his army are next," Shane assured him.
"I'm going to make your Master regret the day he ever heard of Earth and you're now going to pay for everyone you've ever murdered in cold blood," Hunter stated, as the crimson fire intensified and swallowed him completely. There was a brief, deafening howl of agony, before it quickly died. And the ashes that remained of Xerxes disintegrated before they could touch the ground. The six of them sighed in relief.
"Ninja form," Hunter said, as their morph was cancelled and they returned to their ninja uniforms.
"Prepare for teleportation," Zedd called to them through the comm, just as they saw government helicopters fly overhead, with search lights surveying the damage.
"We're ready," Hunter replied, as they disappeared in six streaks of color.
San Angeles
Jason gripped the control yokes inside the cockpit of the Brachio zord. It had in fact been thirteen years since he had been in the cockpit of a zord, but the experience came rushing back to him like it had only been yesterday that he was leading his team into battle with colossal vehicles armed with firepower that no one on Earth had ever seen. He fired expertly at several of the crafts that managed to get by their aerial zords and debris rained down around him. This level was a step up from what they had faced in their teen years, but he was starting to understand now. Zordon knew something like this might come, no matter what he had done during his life to stop it.
He knew now that they weren't just randomly chosen that day that Rita's dumpster was opened. He used to believe that he and his friends were just in the right place at the right time, but as time went on, he knew this was his destiny. At sixteen, that had actually frightened him more than he would ever let on and largely led to his decision to accept the invitation to the Peace Conference in Geneva. He didn't regret his time there, because he and Trini had formed a lifelong, lasting relationship and discovered how deep their feelings for each other really were during those years.
But Jason's frustration with the whole process in Geneva had been evident from almost day one. He was a man of action. He was destined to be on the front lines, staring evil in the face and physically doing everything in his power to stop that evil. Sitting around with other teens and discussing what should be done had frustrated him to no end. Sure, they had done a lot of good, traveled and seen the entire world, and did small things that really did help people, albeit on a much smaller scale. His time at the Peace Conference made him realize where he belonged and he accepted that his destiny was to be a ranger and on the front lines, staring evil in the face.
That's why he returned to take the Gold powers when Tommy hand contacted him in a heartbeat. When he lost the powers, he felt like he had lost himself for a while, that maybe he wasn't meant to be championing the fight against evils like Divatox and Dark Spector. He especially felt that when the others passed the Turbo powers on. That seemed to be it. They had to move on to lead normal lives. But Jason knew he would never be normal.
Shortly after graduating high school and moving to Washington D.C., where Trini was going to medical school, he considered many fields of study. He almost immediately eliminated the possibility of pursuing politics. He had his fill of that during the Peace Conference and how ineffective the whole process could be. He was heavily considering the military, either the Navy or the Marines. Jason knew he could physically handle the undertaking. There was nothing like being a ranger to prepare you for something like that.
But before he enlisted, Trini had pushed him to attend a lecture at a local career fair. He had rolled his eyes and went on that morning about wanting to truly help people and save lives on a large scale level. He thought the career fare would be a waste of time.
But at the career fair that morning, everything had changed when he listened to the FBI presenters. It was that afternoon that he applied to the Police Academy and once he had his badge, he quickly ascended in the ranks. It was only a couple years later that he felt he had earned the credentials needed and applied to the FBI. Jason's fast track from beat cop to lead detective on the force had impressed the FBI, or so he thought at the time, when they recruited him.
Now he wondered if they had only let him in to keep tabs on him, because they knew about his past as a ranger. He knew it didn't matter now and as Trini had pointed out a dozen times, no one, especially not the FBI, could ever argue that his skills were nothing short of exceptional. He was now where he truly belonged again.
He took out several more, as Kat's stegosaurus shot purple laser blasts from the spiked tail and Trini's ankylosaurus roared, and fired silver energy blasts, striking several as well.
A couple of the aerial crafts slipped past Tommy and Kim, but Adam was ready, as the Frog zord's tongue wrapped around one and tossed it to the ground. It slid along the ground, sparking violently. Rocky's Ape zord trampled on it, before it burst into flames and the Ape zord pounded on its metal chest with its fists.
"Is that really necessary?" Adam asked his best friend.
"Is it necessary for your zord to whip its tongue all over everything?" Rocky retorted playfully.
"It is, cause I can do this," Adam answered, as the frog tongue lit on fire and the enemy fighter exploded.
"Nice," Rocky said, as they saw the wolf zord join then in a sprint, firing blue lasers at their enemies.
"Please tell me you scared that douchebag enough that he crapped his pants," Rocky called over to Billy in referral to Kat's ex-husband. The blue ranger smirked beneath his helmet.
"I did threaten to hack into his accounts and make his money disappear if he didn't stay away from Kat," Billy promised.
"You should definitely do that," Rocky said, as he grabbed another fighter and smashed it into the ground.
"Hey Tom, how's the sky looking?" Billy asked.
"They're starting to thin out. Jason and the others are running the perimeter of the city just to make sure," Tommy replied. Sure enough, the fighters soon stopped coming and they finished the remaining ones.
"What the hell was the point of all that?" Conner asked.
"Another one of Ivan's sick games. He wanted to see how we would handle a full scale invasion on a citywide level," Tommy replied.
"Which means he could be planning a planet wide invasion in the future. We need to be on our toes," Jason warned.
"I agree, but for now, I'll be teleporting you all back and the zords to the holding bay," came Hayley's voice through the comm.
"Thanks Hayley, I think we're all about ready to drop," Billy said, exhaustion in his voice.
"I never thought I'd long for the days where most of our battles usually lasted about two hours. This six hour crap sucks," Adam groaned.
"I know…I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," Rocky said, rubbing his stomach.
"That's not really new, but I could definitely eat," Adam replied.
Standby for teleportation in three," Hayley warned. The ranger disappeared from the cockpits of their zords and Hayley took control of the zord autopilot commands to return them to the zord holding bay.
"Is he going to be okay?" Dax asked the doctors, as they treated Will's injuries.
"We've assessed his injuries and were able to stop the internal bleeding without surgery. He is very lucky. A couple more hits and he would be fighting for his life on the operating table right now," the doctor reported.
"Fine…thanks Doc," Will said, as he started to get up. But the doctor stopped him.
"Sorry Mr. Aston, but we're keeping you here in the med ward overnight for observation," the doctor said. Will snorted in annoyance, as General Gorbin waltzed in.
"That was a very poor showing out there, Gentlemen," Gorbin said, as he approached.
"We underestimated those goons, it won't happen again," Will assured.
"I hope not, though it seems you're missing a couple teammates now," Gorbin mentioned.
"The girls ran scared back to Mack, but we don't need them. What we need are better zords. I can't keep up with crimson boy when he's the one with all the toys and gear," Will demanded.
"Fortunately, I'm working on the zord problem…or rather I have someone working on it. It's time to add more to your arsenal as well. I will expect better results next time, Gentlemen," Gorbin said, as he left quickly.
"Dammit…" Dax spat.
"What's with you?" Will asked.
"What are we doing Will? There are two of us and a band of glorified cops!" Dax hissed.
"Don't tell me you're going to bail on me too," Will hissed back.
"I don't want to, but we got our asses handed to us, while Hunter took out that Sharkanian without breaking a sweat! You're living in a fantasy if you think the two of us alone have a chance against Ivan Ooze's army, let alone the big purple guy himself," Dax reasoned.
"Gorbin wasn't kidding when he said he was going to outfit us with the latest gear and technology. The next battle will be different, trust me," Will promised.
"It better be or we might not survive it," Dax replied…
The battle is over for now and the rangers deal with their emotions in the aftermath of battle, many taking solace in each other.