Part Six
Chapter Five
"What now?" the Genin asked, when he suddenly felt the building shaking. The seven heroes glanced out over the city to see He Who Devours Will approaching the building, rejuvenated and fifteen storeys tall, his every titanic step shaking the skyscrapers around him.
"I'm not beaten yet!" the creature's voice boomed.
Jason turned to Tommy and nodded to the unconscious body of the Dragon Lord. "Get him down to Constable White," the Red Ranger said. "Tell her to clear the city centre then join us as soon as you can!"
"You got it," Tommy said. Grabbing the Dragon Lord's arm, he reached for his wrist and disappeared in a flash of light.
"Guys?" the Genin asked. "Giant monster!"
The five remaining Rangers stood to their full height and raised their arms to the sky. "We need thunder zord power, now!"
Lightning flashed, the sky shook, and the mighty thunder zords arrived in the city. He Who Devours Will froze, realising he was no longer alone, and he turned to the river as the Unicorn, Griffin and Black Lion zords appeared by the fairgrounds, powering through the city towards him. Far above, the Red Dragon dipped low over the city with the Phoenix circling in a wide arc, the zord's golden tail sparkling in the midday sun. A few streets away, the White Tigerzord suddenly appeared, racing across the city's railyards on a direct course for the monster.
Gazing around the zords, the demigod's brow raised. "What is this?" he asked.
Jason turned to the Rangers. "Let's go!" he shouted.
Kim glanced to the Genin. "Hang on," she said, and grabbed the confused hero's arm. The Rangers teleported into their approaching zords, materialising in the cockpits a second later and taking the controls. The Genin laughed as he found himself standing in the Phoenix zord's cockpit with the Pink Ranger in the pilot's seat.
He glanced around the multitude of keyboards and consoles on all sides. "Definitely above my pay grade," he nodded.
Down below, the demigod turned from the approaching Tigerzord to the Unicorn, Griffin and Lion, closing in from the opposite direction. Raising his arms, he sent blasts of solid shadow straight for his opponents. The zords erupted in sparks and flame, but the giant metal beasts held their ground, the three smaller zords firing a volley of rockets and laserfire. The blasts slammed into their monstrous foe and he roared in frustration. Before he could retaliate, the Tigerzord opened its mouth and sent a barrage of fireballs whistling towards him. He Who Devours Will struck away two of the bolts but wasn't fast enough to dodge the rest, his body rocked by the explosions. Yet as the smoke cleared, they could see he was unscathed.
"We're not even scratching him," Tommy said.
"Let's take it up a notch," Jason replied. "Thunder Megazord power, now!"
In the Phoenix, Kim glanced over her shoulder. "Hold on," she warned, and the Genin gripped the seat.
In a flash of light, the zords transformed. The Griffin and Unicorn drew side-by-side and folded up. Above them, the Red Dragon was instantly in its warrior mode configuration, and as it descended, it combined with the yellow and blue zords to form new legs. The Phoenix zord wrapped around the dragon's mid-section to create stomach plating, while on the street below, the Black Lion broke apart to give the Megazord arms and chest armour. As the Thunder Megazord's helmet locked into place and the robotic titan's eyes flashed, the Genin found himself teleported into the control room alongside the other Rangers, the Red, Black and Blue Rangers in front of him with the Yellow and Pink Rangers on his left and right.
"Thunder Megazord, online!" the Rangers called.
"Whoa," murmured the Genin.
"Let's see if we've got this right," Kim began. "Activate spare seat."
Behind them, a panel slid open and a sixth chair locked into place. The Genin sat down and buckled himself in.
"Don't adjust the height," Zac murmured.
Across the city, the White Tigerzord took to the air. In mid-air, the zord's hind legs unfolded, its front paws flipped back, and its whole body rotated to reveal the zord's face. The Tigerzord touched down a second later in its warrior mode, shaking the buildings on either side. Approaching the crazed demigod down the wide city avenues, the Tigerzord and Thunder Megazord steadily closed in.
"We're not gonna let you harm the people of this city," Jason said, the radio broadcasting his voice. "Stand down."
"I am better than all of you!" He Who Devours Will shouted.
"Challenge accepted," Billy nodded, and they pushed the Thunder Megazord forward.
The demigod roared and aimed a powerful blast straight for his opponent. The Megazord's chest armour erupted in sparks and smoke, but the Rangers pushed the Megazord through regardless, swinging a powerful punch for the fox's snout. The beast dodged the blow but the Megazord swung again, a punch to the shoulder sending the fox reeling. Recovering quickly, the beast aimed a kick for the Megazord's stomach. The Rangers struck the blow away with a metallic clang, but the beast carved his claws down the zord's chest, throwing the Megazord back against an office building. The demigod advanced on the Megazord, crushing an abandoned car under his enormous foot, when the White Tigerzord slammed its fist into the beast's snout and sent him crashing.
"Good work," said Kim. "If you can buy us a minute? He's all yours."
"You got it," Tommy said.
Dazed from the attack, He Who Devours Will shook his head to come to his senses, but didn't have time to recover as the Tigerzord charged forward, landing a powerful blow to the beast's stomach before catching him with a high punch. The fox blocked the Tigerzord's hand when it swung again and struck it away, raking his claws for the zord's head. Tommy pulled the Tigerzord back quickly and struck away a low kick before retaliating. The fox sneered and caught the Tigerzord's hand, when the Thunder Megazord charged back onto the scene, rocking the demigod with a powerful punch. The fox lashed out, but the moves were slow and clumsy. The Megazord easily caught his fist while the Tigerzord aimed low. As the fox retreated, the zords followed after him and landed side-by-side punches that sent the demigod reeling.
"Let's finish this," Jason called. "Thunder Megazord sabre, now!"
The zord reached for the weapon at its side and held the blade high. Lightning struck down from a suddenly-cloudy sky, charging the sword with power so brightly it hurt to look at. Facing down the Rangers, He Who Devours Will lowered his voice.
"I could've won this for you, father," he murmured. "I would've been your favourite."
The Thunder Megazord took no notice and slashed its blade for the demigod. Power exploded from the sword's arc, slamming into the monster and ripping him apart in a massive explosion that lit up the city and sent a cloud of smoke high into the air. As debris rained down over the streets, the Megazord holstered its mammoth blade. In the control room, the Rangers let out sighs of relief.
"One more down for the count," Kim said, and glanced to the Genin. "It's over."
The Rangers teleported down to the street while the zords returned to their hiding places, ready for the next time they were needed. While Tommy spoke to the police chief about the day's events, Jason, Zac, Trini and Billy stood guard over the Dragon Lord as he was carried into the back of an armoured ambulance. Needing to clear her head, Kimberly crossed the street away from the crowd of emergency workers to settle her thoughts.
"Hey," came a voice, and the Pink Ranger turned to see the Genin a few feet away. She blinked. Two seconds ago, she'd been alone. "You okay?" he asked.
Kim nodded. "I always need a minute to come back to Earth," she replied.
"I spoke to one of my friends on the ambulance crews," he continued, pointing to a sandy-blond paramedic. "Most of the people who'd been brainwashed can't remember much of the experience, aside from a vague feeling of falling."
"That's good news at least."
"How's the Dragon Lord?"
"He was drifting in and out of consciousness," she replied. "But he kept mumbling about things in the shadows and some kind of creeping dark. Whatever happened, he was still terrified. I almost felt sorry for him."
"If you knew him the way I knew him, you wouldn't," the Genin said darkly.
Kim heard the tone in his voice. "Sorry," she said.
"Still, thank you for your help," the Genin continued. "Springfield is safe again. I appreciate that more than you know."
"Fighting alongside you today was kind of amazing," Kim said. "If we need your help to finish this, we'll call you. I promise."
The Genin paused for a moment. "Listen, I couldn't help eavesdropping before," he began. "I mean, I'm a trained ninja, it's kinda what I do, but I couldn't help overhearing what the Dragon Lord was saying to you on the roof. Is that really what you think?"
"This jerk and his friends, their goal is making people afraid," Kim replied. "Reaching into your mind, finding the thing that gets to you and throwing it back in your face. He was trying to rattle me."
The Genin nodded. "Can I tell you something?" he asked. "When I was first given these swords, I didn't believe they were magic. I think part of me still doesn't. Which is ridiculous, right? With everything I've seen, I still have a hard time calling something magic, even if it's right in front of me. But when I look at the six of you? When I saw them charging to the rescue before, you know what I saw?"
Kim smiled. "Magic?"
"Something like that," he said. "What you've got is rare. Don't forget it."
An ambulance siren echoed down the street, and Kim looked away. "I'll try not to," she said. But when she looked back, the Genin had vanished. "Damn it," she swore. "Every time." Shaking her head, the Pink Ranger jogged back to her team-mates.
To be continued.