The ship shook, throwing those unprepared and not already seated to the deck of the bridge. Admiral Telan was neither, and indeed appeared to barely notice the vessel-wide tremor. He was too busy studying the viewscreen, considering when he would have to give the order to retreat.
For retreat they must. Despite the intelligence they'd recently received on enemy weak points, there were too many opposing ships, too much incoming fire, for them to stand and win, even with the reinforcements from Garthok and Xeka's forces. Their fleets, too, were being hit hard, but were holding; it was clear that this was the main thrust of the enemy attack.
So they would fall back, as they had too many times over the past few days, exposing more of the League's planets to Alliance conquest. They would continue their hit and run resistance to the engorged UAE fleet, even if Telan was beginning to fear that it was futile.
Since Billy had helped form the League of Light and thus freed Eltar, Admiral Telan had made something of a study of the young human's home planet. Its various cultures and customs had been interesting, but given his own life's path he had found their wars of more interest still, and none so much as the conflict known as the Second World War.
Aside from the UAE's conquest, World War Two was the single largest war humanity had ever fought, and Telan had discovered a surprising number of parallels between this campaign and the League's struggle against the United Alliance of Evil. Perhaps the most striking of the similarities he had found was the failure of the other powers to crush the totalitarian regimes in their infancy, when the cost would have been small. Eltar, Aquitar, and all the rest had made exactly the same mistake, ignoring the growing threat posed by Dark Specter's alliance until it was almost too late.
One man, however, had recognized the danger on Earth, one man for whom the Eltarian had developed a profound admiration and respect. Winston Churchill had been First Lord of the Admiralty of his nation when the war had begun, and although his naval forces had sailed Earth's oceans rather than cruising through the void of space, there was enough alike to spark a feeling of kinship in Admiral Telan.
It was one of Churchill's most famous quotes, in fact, which echoed in his mind now as he gave the order to withdraw: "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
It was a spirit and sentiment which echoed the admiral's own thoughts back to him. He had suffered subjugation and slavery once already; he would not do so again. When his fleet was pushed back to Eltar and Aquitar, when they could fall back no farther, when the flagship he commanded was too badly damaged to fight on, then his crew could avail themselves of the shuttles and escape pods if they wished. He would stay, and burn with his ship.
He had already sent his final message to his son, in case it did indeed come to that. In the meantime, in the midst of this death and despair, he would cling to the hope that they might yet somehow be victorious, and thus he would follow another of Churchill's pieces of advice: "If you find yourself going through Hell, keep going."
ΩΩΩΩΩ
For a time complete silence and stillness reigned in the room. No one spoke or moved, each one of them awed into simultaneous muteness and immobility by this spectacular display of the Great Power.
Then, still lying on the operating table, Cestria slowly reached out and lightly rested her fingers on her husband's golden wolf crest.
That broke the spell. Everyone began to speak, asking questions, exclaiming excitedly, and all clustering around Billy and Cestria. The newly transformed Ranger removed his helmet, bent down, and kissed Cestria deeply, unconcerned by the observers.
When at last he broke the kiss his first words were, surprisingly, to Healer Verok.
"Please give Cestria a complete examination. When we used the Great Power to bring Zordon back to life it worked flawlessly, but we shouldn't take any chances here."
Leaning again toward Cestria he told her, "I need to talk to the Rangers. I'll be right back."
A small, sad smile slid across her face as she looked up at this human she had married, this human that she loved.
"No, you won't," she whispered. "But I understand; I was a Ranger too." She took his right hand, squeezed it through the white glove he was now wearing . . . and let it go.
His helmet still tucked under his arm, Billy led the Light Rangers back to the Command Chamber before turning to face them. Then Delphine began the conversation.
"Billy, this is the armor you received when you won the Great Power, is it not?"
"Yes, it is," the genius admitted, "but I shouldn't have it back! The negative proton energy I absorbed in the Command Center's explosion made it impossible for me to assume the Gold Ranger powers or retain the Great Power."
"But with the Great Power, nothing is impossible" Delphine quoted him, and that was an argument for which the genius had no answer.
Nor could he deny how good it felt to be a Ranger again, to be able to feel the Great Power within him, energizing and renewing him.
He wouldn't trade his time with Cestria for anything. He loved his wife more than he would have believed possible. Choosing to remain on Aquitar to be with her was the best decision of his life, just as creating the Turbo powers had been the worst.
Yet he couldn't deny that he had missed being Ranger, all the way back to the time he had first been without powers. It was like . . . it was like being reborn.
"Billy, now that you've got your powers back," T.J. hesitated for a moment, then continued. "Will you be coming with us to fight the Psycho Rangers?"
The other Light Rangers looked intently at him, all save Justin, who appeared to be studying the floor.
It had been so long . . . he was out of practice, if not out of shape. Without him, though, the Light Rangers would be outnumbered by the Psycho Rangers. Great Power on their side or not, that was a risk with its future that the galaxy could not afford to take.
And here was his chance to truly redeem himself for what he'd done, to fix the mistake he'd made. Maybe that was why the Great Power had been restored to him in the first place.
"Yes, I will," he answered firmly. He turned and went to the Viewing Globe, quickly arranging for a shuttle to be taken to the Rangers' docking bay. "We'll talk on the way," he told the other Rangers as he headed for the door.
"Why don't we teleport instead of taking a ship?" Cassie questioned.
"One of the biggest advantages we have is that they don't know we're coming," Billy explained. "We can't give that edge up by teleporting in. At the rate they're advancing, we should be able to reach them in a few hours."
As they passed the medical bay, Billy fought down the urge to go in and say good-bye to his wife. He had several reasons for this. He had no intention of dying out there, not if he could avoid it, so no final farewell was necessary. She already understood what he was doing, what he had to do. She was in the middle of being examined by Healer Verok and he shouldn't interrupt that.
Mostly, however, he failed to say good-bye to Cestria because, if he saw her face again, he wasn't sure he'd be able to leave.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Justin Stewart awoke to find his left hand completely restored. Slowly he made a fist then relaxed his hand, testing each of his fingers by moving them one at a time and individually. He had complete motor control without even a twinge of pain!
To say the seventeen year-old was profoundly relieved would have been an understatement, yet he wasted little time in thankfulness for his healing; the self-mutilation of his hand had not been the greatest loss and deprivation he had suffered while in captivity.
Ignoring the medical Quantron's entreaty to lay back and rest, he left the bed only to be overcome by a fit of dizziness, likely a side-effect of the anesthesia and hopefully a short-lived one. As quickly as he could he made his way to his shipboard lab and there repaired the connections in his morpher which Billy had severed. When the rest of the Psycho Rangers teleported back onboard ship the Blue Psycho Ranger was waiting in the wardroom to greet them.
Or rather, he was waiting to greet one of them.
"Justin!" Fred exclaimed enthusiastically. "Good to see you up and about, man!" The all-concealing helmet tilted slightly, like Fred was looking down at Justin's hands, and there was a soft sigh of relief.
"Finally!" Tommy snarled. "Now that you're back try to actually do your part. We'll need every Ranger when we reach Aquitar and Eltar, even you."
With that greeting Tommy departed, followed by the Green, Yellow and Pink Psycho Rangers, leaving the remaining two alone.
"I hope you know how much you've impressed me, Fred," Justin said to his only friend.
"Hey, what are friends for? And if Rita hadn't come to heal you voluntarily, I would have dragged her here."
"No, that's not what I meant, but thanks. You impressed me with your self-control, being with Tommy this long without killing him."
"That was a lot harder. How did you manage it for so long?"
After they'd reached Justin's room and he had sealed the door, he answered his ally's query.
"Well, for most of that time I was set to the same emotional level as the others, and it's odd, but verbal stuff like that didn't bother me much then. You'd think it would be the other way around, that I'd kill anyone who said one cross word to me. But I just shrugged it off. There were the Light Rangers to destroy, plus plenty of people in the GLL to kill, and that was always the focus of my psychosis."
"That's not to say we didn't fight among ourselves. There've been plenty of brawls, but it never got lethal. Other Psycho Rangers would break it up, and maybe we knew we needed each other to kill the people we really wanted dead."
"The one I really want dead is the one who took you prisoner," Fred confided seriously.
"That was the Phantom Range," Justin told him. "We haven't seen him in so long that I'd just about forgotten him, but it was definitely him."
"Think he'll be with the Light Rangers when they finally come out of hiding?"
"They haven't yet?" Justin asked, stunned.
"No, we haven't seen any sign of them since Morrigan."
"I saw Billy, his wife and Phantom while I was in their base on Aquitar, but I never saw any of the Light Rangers, except for spare bodies for Carlos and Ashley."
This didn't make any sense! He'd naturally assumed the Light Rangers were out fighting, and falling, to the Psycho Rangers while he was Billy's prisoner. Yet the Psycho Rangers had ravaged over a dozen worlds by now, and the Light Rangers apparently hadn't appeared once to try to protect any of them.
Maybe they had been sheltering on Aquitar after all and were just too ashamed to show themselves to him in the wake of their great defeat? No, he knew himself, or at least the self he used to be, and there was no way the thirteen year-old android version of him wouldn't have come in whimpering and whining, asking how could he do this, blah, blah, blah! Or if he wasn't there, T.J. or Cassie would have come in to see him.
So they weren't out defending the Galactic League's worlds and they weren't on Aquitar. Maybe they were gathered together on Eltar, ready to defend it to the last? That would definitely make sense for the Robot Rangers, since that was exactly what they'd gone offline doing the last time the Zordon's precious home planet was invaded.
No, that didn't work either. Waiting to make their last stand on Eltar would mean sacrificing the populations of all of the other worlds, including Aquitar. Quite aside from their mentor Billy wanting to protect his beloved walking fishstick, it was the Rangers' complete inability to sacrifice a mere few hundred insignificant miners which had led them into the obvious trap on Morrigan. There was no way they would leave the entire population of the Galactic League of Light save the Eltarians to die or be enslaved!
"Justin, what is it?"
The question jolted him from his train of thought, though not before he reached an unsettling conclusion.
"They're up to something, Fred. The Rangers, I mean. That's why they're not at the front or on Aquitar."
"What do you think they're doing?"
"I don't know, that's the problem!"
The Light Rangers had been savaged, losing almost half their number. What could they do at this point to help the GLL's situation?
The most advantageous move possible would be to kill Dark Specter. That would likely start a civil war within the UAE and thus lead to the salvation of the GLL. If the Rangers had any possible way of slaying Dark Specter, though, they would have done it years ago! HE hadn't even managed to figure out a way to kill the Grand Monarch of Evil yet, not that he'd had much time free to devote to that particular problem.
If the Light Rangers wanted to go after the most powerful being in the galaxy, though, more power to them! He would just have to ensure that he would succeed to the throne should they actually knock Dark Specter off it. How to make certain of that, though . . .?
"Fred, you said you got Rita to come here. How, by threatening her?"
"Yeah, I told her if she didn't come to heal you I'd drag her here and I wouldn't be gentle about it."
Dark Specter might be the most powerful being in the galaxy, but the Gold Psycho Ranger was definitely the most powerful Ranger. More powerful than Zedd, Rita, Mondo, Astronema, or any of the other leaders under the Emperor of Evil.
"The Rangers could be going after Dark Specter."
"You're kidding! They couldn't even stand up to us, much less him!" Fred protested.
"I know. I don't think it's likely, but we need to be prepared."
Giving a quiet order through his helmet comm. to the Envenomed Blades' communications Quantron, the teenager continued speaking to his friend.
"Right now you should be receiving the teleportation coordinates of all of the UAE's leaders through your helmet comm. Store the locations in your staff! If Dark Specter perishes you'll need to teleport to each UAE member, one at a time, to secure their allegiance."
"They won't all fold as easily as Rita did," Fred warned his friend, his attention mostly on the incoming string of names and numbers.
"That's why you should probably go to Zedd first. You'll have to kill him, and that will give the others something to think about. Save Mondo and Gasket for last; right now they're the most valuable."
"Hey, there's no known location for Darkonda."
"Darkonda?" Justin asked, his voice suddenly a snarl. With all that had gone on since then the Mephistian mercenary's treachery had almost slipped the Blue Psycho Ranger's mind.
Almost.
"Yeah, he was the one Dark Specter assigned to find you. He's probably out searching the interior League worlds."
"I doubt that," Justin countered acidly, "considering he was the person who let me get captured in the first place."
"What?!" Fred exclaimed, Justin having gained his full attention now.
"He could have helped me against the Phantom Ranger! Instead he stood there and did nothing!" Justin spat out.
"Why, though? Do you think he's working for the GLL?"
"I think he's only ever really worked for himself," Justin noted thoughtfully. "But he might have made some kind of deal to hand me over." He thought for another moment before shaking his head.
"No, with the Phantom Ranger around they didn't need his cooperation. I think he just saw an opportunity to be rid of me and took it. He didn't want me becoming Dark Specter's favorite."
"We'll kill him," Fred promised.
"We will, when we can find him."
"Shouldn't you tell Dark Specter about this?"
"No. Darkonda's a great liar, and we were the only two people there. All he has to say is that he didn't understand what was happening or wasn't quick enough to stop it. And our Grand Monarch won't be happy with the information I had to give up to buy enough time to get away."
"How did you escape?" Fred asked, curiosity overwhelming him.
"It wasn't easy," Justin admitted. "Billy had me trapped in a level five forcefield, one so strong it even blocked the power transmission to my morpher. I tried to sabotage it with the drinking water they gave me, but that didn't work, so I went to my Plan B."
"They had to have two different diameter settings on their forcefield in order to be able to give me food and drink. So when they were constricting it again I stuck my left fingers under the emitter. It sliced them off like a laser."
"You really did do that to yourself! But how did that help you escape?"
"Billy's wife was bringing me the food. When she saw half my hand chopped off she shut down the forcefield to give me first aid."
"I'm guessing you were suitably grateful," Fred said sarcastically, grinning beneath his helmet.
"Oh, yes, I was grateful for the chance to crush her flimsy Aquitan skull! I wish I could have seen Billy's face when he got back!"
"At the rate we're going you'll be able to see it soon enough," Fred pointed out.
"That brings me to one of the other thing the Rangers could be doing: they might be coming after us."
"Let them come!" the Gold Psycho Ranger proclaimed. "We'll finish them off!"
"No, if they were going to face us head-on, they would have done it already. They'll be trying something else, maybe through infiltration or sabotage of our ship."
Again the Blue Psycho Ranger contacted the ship, ordering an immediate diagnostic on all systems and assigning spare Quantrons to sweep the ship for anything out of the ordinary. He also arranged for a shifting pattern of encircling movement and scanning of the Ranger vessel by the other ships at the center of the fleet.
"Fred, for now, don't demorph no matter what. If they do somehow make it onboard we won't be caught off guard, and if they manage to destroy the ship we're a lot more likely to survive."
"Do you know what it's going to be like trying to sleep in this thing?" Fred asked incredulously, motioning to his armor.
"It beats being dead."
"Okay, point," the other teen conceded. "So they're either going after us or Dark Specter?"
"Those would be the two most vital targets. The problem is they shouldn't have the power to face either one. The only thing that makes sense is if they have some sort of game-changer, maybe a new invention of Billy's."
"Something like I was for the Psycho Rangers," Fred summed up.
"Exactly," Justin agreed.
"If it was just a new invention of Billy's, though, wouldn't the Light Rangers have been there while you were?"
"You're right. Maybe they had to get a new part for something he invented. No, then he wouldn't have sent all of the Rangers. Sending them all suggests they were expecting resistance or that they needed to be there for whatever was happening. If Tommy hadn't already killed Ninjor, I'd think they were going to him. We need more information!"
For the third time in ten minutes Justin contacted the bridge, asking for sensor records of all teleports from Aquitar since the second the Light Rangers had teleported back there from Morrigan. When he received the results he swore feelingly and at length.
"Good news?" the Gold Psycho Ranger asked dryly.
"Nothing! There have been no teleports out of Aquitar since the Rangers retreated there."
"So either you're wrong and they really were there, or-"
"Or they left on a ship to cover their tracks," Justin finished the thought.
"Psycho Rangers to the ward room for deployment," a Quantron voice announced over both of their helmet comms.
"Looks like this is one mystery we'll have to solve later," Fred quipped.
"Let's hope we solve it in time."
"You think whatever they're cooking up is that dangerous?"
"Well, the odds of success are probably low, whatever they're planning, or else they'd have tried it sooner. But after we lost the Turbo powers and the Power Chamber it looked like our odds of success were zero. The others still managed to find Andros and become Astro Rangers."
"Who were then crushed by the Psycho Rangers," Fred reminded him. "We just have to make sure history repeats itself, whatever the Light Rangers do."
ΩΩΩΩΩ
"The Blue Psycho Ranger escaped Aquitar."
"How disappointing!" Darkonda exclaimed on the small communications viewscreen. "Apparently the Galactic League can't do anything right!"
"He hasn't spoken of your involvement yet."
"I wasn't involved; the kidnapping simply happened too fast for me to react," Darkonda claimed innocently.
"Save it for Dark Specter, if he calls you on it. I don't think the Blue Psycho Ranger would have been a problem anyway."
"Then we disagree," Darkonda snarled.
"Stick to the plan, mercenary! We don't take action until the GLL falls."
"As you command, my Princess. Or should I say my partner?" Darkonda asked, right before signing off.
Astronema, Princess of Evil, scowled at the parting gibe. Allying with this mercenary scum had become a necessary when he had discovered her plans to usurp Dark Specter's rule. Of course she could have destroyed him, but then she would have had to answer to Dark Specter herself. And in plotting to overthrow the most powerful creature in the galaxy, his help actually had been valuable.
Not that she trusted him, of course. Once they managed to topple Dark Specter, Darkonda would follow. For now, though, he definitely had his uses.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Billy began explaining his rough and ready plan the moment the shuttle lifted off. Once he was finished Aurico voiced the single question in all of their minds.
"That's it?"
"I know it's simple, but I think it will work and there's no time to come up with anything better.
Slowly the Aquitan Red Ranger nodded, giving his unspoken approval, which relaxed the other Light Rangers.
All save one.
"They'll probably demorph when you kill them. If that happens, make sure you destroy their Psycho Morphers," Billy instructed.
"But weren't you saying we might not have to kill them?" Cassie questioned.
"We can't count on that, Cassie, especially given the likely timing. Do what you have to, and that includes getting out of there if there's no other choice."
"Wouldn't that spoil the plan?" T.J. wanted to know.
"Depends on how fast your targets make it back, but I don't want to lose anyone else here."
That put a pall over the conversation, stirring memories of all who had fallen in this war, from Zordon to Tideus.
"We'll be rendezvousing with and switching over to another ship before heading on to Tegalak. It'll be a tight fit, but it's our best way onto the planet."
Then their mentor's gaze fell on one Ranger in particular, the one who had consistently refused to meet his gaze.
"Justin, could I speak with you alone?" he asked, and received a quick, tense nod in reply.
When the two were in stern of the vessel Billy removed his helmet.
"Justin, please look at me," the young man asked gently.
Slowly the Blue Great Power Ranger lifted his head, his black visor eye-level with the other Blue Great Power Ranger. Billy would have preferred for Justin to remove his own helmet as well, but wasn't about to ask the android for that; if he felt better, safer, remaining at Billy's height and having his face covered, than so be it.
"I need to apologize to you, Justin. I'm sorry for what I said when you arrived. What the human Justin Stewart did isn't your fault, and I shouldn't have acted like it was."
"I understand. I came from him, from when he was thirteen. I thought that I, that he, would never do anything like this, but he did! He's been a Psycho Ranger for years! He helped kill most of the Astro Rangers! He tried to kill Cestria! And that means I could-."
"Of course you couldn't!" Billy interrupted. "I told you earlier, Justin is doing this because of a spell! It's not his choice and it's not his fault! It would be like if someone kidnapped you and reprogrammed you to serve the United Alliance of Evil," Billy analogized, not missing the quick shudder that went through the android at the thought.
"You'd be a victim then, not a villain. And so is Justin."
"Don't you want him dead? After what he did to Cestria?"
"I want him stopped," Billy said firmly. "I don't want him to hurt anyone else, and because I know you, I know the real Justin, and I know he'd want the same thing. I hope we can save him, but if we can't, we do have to stop him."
"I know. You're right, that's what I, what he, would want."
"So do you forgive me?"
"Of course I do!" the android answered indignantly.
Billy reached out to clap him on the shoulder, and in an unusually impulsive move pulled him in for a hug. Justin returned the embrace with such force that Billy could actually feel it through his armor.
Then they returned to the rest of the Rangers, arriving just in time for their rendezvous with the other ship and a much-needed reunion.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Being an inhospitable, largely desert planet, there was really no place for the populace to flee to on Tegalak. Those who had been able to make it off-world had already fled, but a substantial number remained within the capital city. That wouldn't have posed a problem, except that the suicidal fools refused to immediately surrender to the United Alliance of Evil.
It was disappointing, really, how few planetary populations had the sense to submit at once, even with the bloody swathe the Psycho Rangers had been cutting through the ground forces in their path. Of course their stubbornness was also taking a considerable toll on the UAE's Quantron forces, but with the Psycho Rangers engaged in the fray the ultimate outcome of each invasion had never yet been in doubt.
Even with his dialed-down psychosis, it was thrilling and satisfying on a primal level to charge the entrenched defenders on the city's northern ends, answering the fusillade of fire with a laser storm of their own.
Together the Psycho Rangers smashed through the periphery, the Quantrons advancing behind them, and then they began destroying the next layer of defenders.
Calaspar, the capital city, had wide, smoothly-paved avenues and buildings an average of six stories tall. Like vermin the GLL soldiers infested the street area and inhabited multiple floors of multiple buildings. Fred used his power to smash entire squads down onto the street before them, while Justin focused on seeking out and destroying the heavier weapon emplacements. Normal hand weapons were less than nothing to the Psycho Rangers, but more potent weapons could conceivably threaten them.
Tommy followed up begrudgingly on those downed by the Gold Psycho Ranger, delivering the death blows, while Kat concentrating on the rooftop cannons which were being used to down the UAE's fighters.
Tanya used her sling to guard the approaching Quantrons, picking off soldiers who tried to envelop the robots while avoiding the Psycho Rangers. Adam launched himself up and through at third story window, laying about him with his staff and cutting down all within reach, including one foolish enough to die shouting something into his comlink.
The Green Psycho Ranger shook his head in disgust. Not that it would have done the soldier any good to try to attacking, of course, but wouldn't it have been better to die fighting back instead of talking?
Shrugging the idiocy off, Adam blasted a large hole through the ceiling, preparing to literally carry his slaughter up to the next level. Before he could leap, however, a blue-armored figure charged out at him from the hall and with one swing of a great, round warhammer, smashed him through three separate walls.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
There! Tanya could have sworn she saw, just for an instant, a white-armored figure among the group still sniping at the Quantrons from an alley further down, on the edge of the city.
Skidding to a stop at the mouth of the alley, she unleashed a salvo of shots from her sling, causing that worthless White Ranger to crumple and also downing the soldiers who had apparently already been deserting the Aquitan, fleeing down the alleyway. Smirking in satisfaction she stalked like a cat toward the downed Light Ranger, intent on administering the coup de grace.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
A high powered laser beam struck the Pink Psycho Ranger squarely, knocking her down into the dust. Snarling up at her attacker, she saw the person on the roof among the soldiers was garbed in Pink armor!
So the at least one of the worthless Rangers had come out of hiding! This would be her most satisfying kill since this entire offensive had started! With a quick command into her comm. Kat was teleported to the rooftop.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Flames poured forth from the Gold Psycho Ranger's staff, followed by a multitude of screams. Defenders were pouring into the avenue they'd chosen as their line of attack from side-allies, and kindling infernos in such passages was only good tactical sense.
And it was fun!
Justin had been right about the pleasure of a well-acted, well-thought out betrayal, but Fred honestly preferred the direct approach, going in as a juggernaut and crushing everything in his path. He figured that was partly due to the psycho influence of his neural net and partly just his nature.
It was surely the latter which led to him pausing in his teleportational blur attacks, taking more time to enjoy himself and appreciate the results of his fiery handiwork. Let Tommy take on the resisters directly in front of them rather than just finishing those he had already taken out. Maybe that way the opportunity he and Justin were looking for might come along . . .
As he drew level with the next alley he caught a sight that made him start. Not another horde of troops, as he had expected, but a single figure in red armor, standing at the far junction: a Light Ranger!
Even as he aimed his staff his enemy darted out of sight down another street and behind a building.
With his particular powers catching Red Rover would be child's play, but first he'd better let Justin know what was happening.
"Justin! I saw one of the Red Light Rangers! He's trying to get away, but I can catch him. Be on your guard, though: they're here."
"Wait! Just one Ranger and he ran away from you?"
"That's right," Fred acknowledged.
"Don't go after him! Do not chase him! This stinks of a trap!"
"Yeah, I know, but don't you think I can bust through it?" the other teen asked, a little disappointed that his friend doubted the extent of his power. After all, he'd kicked Justin's ass every time they'd sparred as Rangers, hadn't he?
"Probably you can, but let's not take any chances. Whatever they've cooked up, I'd much rather face it with you at my side. Please, get back here."
"On my way," Fred reassured him, and in seconds he was only a few feet from the Blue Psycho Ranger.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
"He didn't fall for it," Aurico reported when the expected pursuit never materialized.
Billy exhaled in frustration. "Understood. Prepare to execute Plan Beta," he ordered.
The initial plan had been to lure each of the Psycho Rangers away into one-on-one fights with a Light Ranger until Tommy was left by himself. The stratagem had bled off more than half the Psycho Rangers, but it was clearly wouldn't work anymore.
T.J. had suggested ambushing the first Psycho Ranger with their full manpower, then repeating the trick as many times as they could, but Billy had vetoed that idea. They didn't have thousands of tons of metallic ore overhead, making teleportation out impossible. They couldn't trap their enemies the way they had been trapped; they had to let the Psycho Rangers trap themselves.
Even a Psycho Ranger would teleport away if he found himself alone facing more than half a dozen enemy Rangers, and he would certainly alert his fellow Psycho Rangers.
A one-on-one fight, though, that was a different story. The UAE's Rangers were literally minimally restrained psychopaths with a special hatred of the Light Rangers. Savagely attacking was in their very nature, and sharing was not. Of course they would leap at the chance to kill a lone Light Ranger solo and would not dream of sacrificing that pleasure and honor by calling in their comrades. After all, hadn't it been proven throughout this war that Light Rangers could only beat back the Psycho Rangers when the odds were two to one in their favor? No, a Psycho Ranger would handle a single Light Ranger on his own and be loath to flee such a seemingly uneven encounter.
At least that was the premise Billy had been relying on, counting on the Psychos' aggression, selfishness and pride to snare them. And three of them had indeed been caught, though at grave risk to each of the Light Rangers who had played bait.
Billy was sure from his own memory that the Great Power would be enough for a Ranger to go toe-to-toe with a Psycho Ranger, and he had emphasized to all of his teammates the importance of their own survival. Then, too, they didn't have to win their respective fights; they just had to keep them going until Tommy died.
No, until he killed Tommy. That was what he would have to do.
That Tommy had been his leader, his teammate, his friend, was something he had to set aside. It was the same as back when Tommy had been Rita's evil Green Ranger; he had to be stopped. This time, though, there was no Sword of Darkness to blast to release Tommy from the spell. This time the darkness was truly inside him, and there was only one way to get it out.
As with Justin, the real Tommy would want it this way if he'd been given the choice. Billy had to remember that!
Letting out another breath, Billy heard the single positioning report for which he'd been waiting. Switching his communicator over to Admiral Telan's retreating ship, he said, "Plan Beta: execute."
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Fred was at his side (where the Gold Psycho Ranger belonged, a tiny voice in his head whispered), and Tommy was just up ahead. But where were the others? He didn't see them anywhere.
"Psycho Pink, what's your status?" he asked, hoping for an angry insult in response.
He received nothing.
A sick feeling began to grow in his gut, but one failure to answer didn't mean anything; it wasn't like the Psycho Rangers were big on radio discipline, or any discipline at all, really.
"Psycho Green, respond."
"Psycho Yellow, respond!"
Someone would have answered. Out of the three of them, at least one would have raged at him. They were either locked in a serious battle, one from which they couldn't afford to take time out to talk, or they had somehow been captured, or, impossible as it seemed . . . they were dead.
Screw it, he wasn't waiting around to find out which it was!
"Envenomed Blade," he began, when three columns of color streaked down and landed in the avenue. For an instant he thought that the order he'd been about to give for their ship to teleport the others here was redundant, that they had already had themselves teleported here.
As those teleported materialized, however, he realized the beams had been the wrong colors.
After that they were upon him.
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