Part Seven

Chapter Five

Ian's eyes flew wide. Oh no. He jammed the barrels of his blasters into the hole in the beast's chestplate and fired. Checkmate was blasted back in a blaze of fire and smoke. Ian dropped to the ground as the rest of us regrouped around him.

"The chains are breaking," Ian said breathlessly.

Everyone froze. "What?" I asked.

Ian nodded to Checkmate, as the monster picked himself off the ground. "That's what he said," the Grey Ranger replied. "We should've seen it! The crown, it's an artefact from the broken chains case!"

"Like the dagger and the pendant?" asked Scott.

"Exactly! That's how it's doing everything," Ian said. "That's what Checkmate was looking for. He found the crown, put it on, and turned into this!"

"Is he possessed by another demigod?" asked Teresa.

"No," Ian replied. "I think by something worse."

"You know," Checkmate said, as he approached, "you really should've taken the chance to flee."

Ian set his jaw and met the beast's gaze. "Maybe you're right," he said. "Maybe we should've run for the hills the second you showed up. Maybe we're terrified. Maybe this is part of some ancient plot we have no chance of stopping. But I guess you haven't heard," and the six of us raised our weapons. "We don't give up that easy. Go!"

Teresa cracked her whip for the beast's face to blind him. Checkmate roared and raised his arms when I took to the air and slammed by boot into his chest, slicing my sword for him as I came down. Before he could recover, Ian hit him with a barrage of laser blasts, driving him back even further. Keeping Checkmate off-balance, Brendan dived over Teresa and I, rolled to his feet and slashed with his sai. The monster lashed out, but Scott blocked his claws with his staff, striking them away before smashing the weapon into the beast's face. Checkmate roared and grabbed at a piece of rubble, flinging it at the Blue and Aqua Rangers. Ian fired again, but holding his ground, the monster turned towards the Grey Ranger with hate in its eyes.

A shot rang out.

The monster froze, the largest jewel on his crown cracked. Everyone turned to look, and there was Sergeant Thompson by the road, his cruiser parked behind him, with his gun pointed straight for Checkmate.

"Get away from my son," he said, and fired again.

Checkmate held up his arms to protect his face and turned his full attention on Mr Thompson. But the second of distraction gave us the time we needed. While Sarah leaped down in front of the beast and smashed her mace into his snout, Teresa and I ran to Ian's side.

"It's the crown," Ian said quickly. "Keep him busy! I'll make the shot."

I clasped the Grey Ranger's shoulder. "You got it," I said.

Batting away the beast's claws, Sarah rocked the monster with a powerful blow to the stomach. He swiped blindly for her when Sergeant Thompson fired again. Scott swung in to land a blow from the side, while Brendan caught the back of his head with a high kick. Just as Teresa and I closed in, the beast's eyes flashed again, and we backed away as Checkmate held his arms wide and every stone around him lifted into the air. The maelstrom of debris spun around the creature in a hurricane of wreckage and masonry, the wind driving us back.

Ian didn't flinch, his blasters levelled for the monster's crown. Aware that one of his opponents was unaccounted for, Checkmate turned to face him. For a split second, Ian could see the crown clearly through the storm of debris.

He pulled the trigger.

The storm blew itself apart as the shattered crown flew through the air. Checkmate's eyes flashed back to amber. As the air around him became still, the beast stumbled forward then collapsed to the ground and moved no further.

Mr Thompson lowered his gun as Ian ran towards his father.

"You okay?" Mr Thompson asked.

Ian nodded. "Thanks for the help," he said. "This ended up being bigger than we thought. What are you doing here?"

"I sent my officers back to the city," Mr Thompson explained, "but I saw the explosion and thought you could use some help."

"It's good you came," Ian said. "I think we can take it from here."

"He's all yours," Mr Thompson nodded. Holstering his gun, he climbed into his car. Ian watched as the patrol car drove out of sight.

Meanwhile, the rest of us had gathered around the broken crown of shadows while keeping one eye on the fallen monster, when our communicators chimed.

"Rangers," crackled Zordon's voice. "Whatever you did, it worked. The dimensional rifts seem to be closing."

"The monster found a crown," I said. "He called it the crown of shadows. We're pretty sure it was an artefact from the broken chains case."

There was a long pause before Zordon spoke again. "The broken chains investigation?" he replied. "Rangers, are you okay?"

"We're good," Sarah replied. "Thanks to Ian. He took out the crown with a brilliant shot."

Brendan grinned as Ian joined us. "Nerves of steel, man," Brendan said.

"Well that was disappointing," said Rita, peering through her telescope from the balcony of the lunar palace.

"On the contrary," Zedd said, standing beside her. "I think we learned far too much. Yet still not enough," and Zedd stood to his full height. "Let's raise the stakes, shall we?"

"Zedd?" Finster asked, a few feet behind them. "Whatever has happened to Checkmate, his mind is completely gone. Enlarging him would give you little more than the world's heaviest coma patient."

"How would you know?" Rita asked.

Finster stepped back, offended. "A craftsman knows his trade," he replied archly.

"Quit bickering," Zedd snapped. "Fine. I'll give the lion a larger jolt than usual," and lightning crackled around them. "Grow, Checkmate. Grow!"

To be continued.

Author's notes – Sergeant Thompson. Giant robots or not, don't mess with his son.