Part Ten

Chapter Four

With the sounds of combat echoing behind him, Billy sprinted across the field and leaped onto the ramp, racing into the Phoenix and into the cockpit. At the presence of a Ranger, the lights and screens along the dash immediately switched on.

"Computer," Billy said, "scan the vicinity adjacent to the creature identifying himself as Sharkman. Look for low-level frequencies, something inaudible to the human ear."

Seconds ticked by as Billy glanced out the window to the battle unfolding outside. Finally, one of the monitors beeped and he looked to the screen.

"Frequency found," he read aloud. "Okay, that's good," and his gloved fingers danced over the closest keyboard. "Establishing… counter… signal… done," and he looked back to the cabin. "I just need something to broadcast it with."

As he dived into the cabin, he heard footsteps approaching. He looked to the entryway to see the hermit crab monster charging towards the zord. He only had a second to wonder whether Alpha had updated the zord's defensive protections when a dragon's fist swung into view, shattering the crab's shell and throwing the monster to the ground. With a battle-hardened grin, Kulak stepped into view.

"Do you require any further assistance, Blue Ranger?" Kulak asked cordially.

"Just continue doing that!" Billy shouted.

"Yes sir!"

Billy turned to the storage lockers that lined the cabin walls and dashed to the closest one. He kept a spare communicator in there just in case anyone needed a replacement. Pulling the drawer open, he was relieved to see it was still there. Grabbing a screwdriver and a laser torch, he pulled the device apart for its broadcasting features, welding the pieces to a half-finished gadget with a switch that he fished out of the bottom of the locker. Sounds of the battle were still reaching him, but he worked calmly and quickly, grabbing a spare casing from an old language translator, attaching the device with some tape and clipping the whole thing to his belt.

Done.

He stood up and stepped into the cockpit. Out the window, he could see Sharkman still on the dock, but his gaze was drawn to the vest around Sharkman's neck. He frowned. In none of the footage he'd studied of Sharkman was the beast ever wearing any clothes. It seemed out of place. On a hunch, Billy raised his voice.

"Computer, scan the vest around Sharkman's neck," he said.

A line appeared on the screen a second later, and Billy's face fell. "Radiation detected?" he read. "What kind?" But the answer hit him a second later, and he didn't need the zord's sensors to know the truth.

"It's a bomb."

He raced out of the zord and down onto the grass beside Kulak. "Guys!" he shouted into his communicator. "The Shadow King has outflanked us! He knew we'd try to free Sharkman from his control with a counter signal! He was counting on it. The vest strapped to Sharkman's chest is a bomb. I'm betting the second I activate the counter signal, it'll detonate!"

"Which will take us out as well as Sharkman," came Zac's voice.

"But if we don't stop him," Jason added, "Dragon Island loses their archives and we lose any clues we have to the Shadow King."

"What do we do?" asked Teresa.

Billy glanced around the battlefield. "For now? Keep defending the city," he replied. "I'll… I'll think of something," and the communicator fell silent.

"So your friends are protecting my brethren," Kulak began. "What would you have us do?"

Billy looked back to Sharkman, pacing the waterfront and watching the raid from afar. "It's about containment," Billy said. "We need to draw Sharkman inland. Then we have to remove the bomb collar, dispose of it safely, and then activate the signal to free him from the Shadow King's control. All in that order."

"Sounds easy. Do you have a plan?"

"Affirmative!" Billy replied. "It's not a very good one."

The corners of Kulak's mouth curled into a smile. "That works," the dragon warrior replied. "The fish market is down the street behind us. It should be abandoned, and there's nothing but stone buildings on all sides."

"Then that's where we confront him," Billy said, and reached for his morpher. "Power down!" The Blue Ranger's suit dissolved in a flash of light, and he slumped forward as the power left him.

"What are you doing?" Kulak asked.

"Sharkman may be in a mutated and brainwashed state," Billy began, "but it's probable his shark instincts are still present," and he rolled up his sleeve. "How else do we get the attention of an angry great white shark?"

"Blood," Kulak realised, and held up his claws.

Billy gulped. "One addendum," he breathed, his heart racing. "Could I retain the use of my left arm once the battle has concluded, if it's at all convenient?"

Kulak growled. "It's always so complicated with you people," he said, then shut his eyes. "Forgive me for the harm I do to a treasured ally," he whispered, and then slashed his index finger for Billy's forearm. The claw dug into Billy's flesh, probably deeper than Kulak had intended. Billy winced and bit his lip, when a thin trickle of blood appeared. Billy looked across to Sharkman, and immediately saw the mutant shark had ceased pacing. Raising his head, his nostrils were twitching, tasting the air, when he suddenly spun to stare straight at Kulak and the bleeding Blue Ranger. His dark gaze locked onto Billy's. A second later, the shark lowered his head and charged.

"Your plan worked," said Kulak, and reached for his sword.

"I'm aware," Billy said. "Run!"

They bolted, their feet pounding the cobblestones as Kulak led them up to the fish market with Sharkman in pursuit. The raging shark hybrid was almost as fast on dry land as he was in the water, easily gaining ground on them as he zeroed in on the wounded Blue Ranger. As Kulak and Billy ran, the houses and cottages they passed grew larger. They reached an intersection and Billy followed Kulak into a wide, tiled plaza. They'd reached the empty fish market. Sharkman was only a few metres behind them.

"Go!" Kulak shouted, and held up his sword. "Regain your powers! I'll hold the beast off!" He skidded to a halt and spun around, raising his sword in one smooth motion.

Following them into the market, Sharkman stabbed at Kulak with his trident. Kulak caught the weapon with his sword in a shower of sparks and struck it away. He sliced his blade for Sharkman in a wide arc, but the giant shark dodged the blow, blocking the weapon with his trident when Kulak swung again. Batting the blade away, he raked the three prongs for his opponent's face. Kulak backed out of danger, the prongs missing his snout by a centimetre, and immediately struck back. A few metres away, Billy had made it to safety, and spun around as Sharkman caught Kulak's blade in his trident. Billy glanced around and saw an overturned stall nearby. Taking to the air, he leaped off the stall, falling towards the two combatants and reaching for his back pocket.

"Triceratops!"

The market exploded in a blaze of blue light. Summoning his Power Lance as the Blue Ranger suit wrapped around him, Billy struck Sharkman's trident away as he landed, touching down beside Kulak. The dragon warrior grinned and the two attacked together, slicing their weapons in a side-by-side overhead sweep. Sharkman blocked the blades with a resounding clang and batted them away, but was immediately on the defensive as Billy swung high while Kulak aimed low. Stepping around the blows, Sharkman struck Kulak's sword away while stabbing the trident for Billy. But Billy caught and parried the blade. Seeing an opportunity, he sliced his lance for the clasps near Sharkman's left gills that were securing the vest to his body. The clasp shattered but Sharkman struck Billy off his feet where he crashed to the ground in a daze. Kulak lashed out, catching the trident prongs with his sword and wrenching it out of the shark's hands, the motion taking his own blade out of his grasp.

But the mutant shark was no less dangerous, lashing out with a powerful punch. Kulak blocked Sharkman's arm and struck it away, aiming a sharp blow for his opponent's gills. Sharkman roared and swung again, punching high before aiming a kick for Kulak's stomach. Kulak stepped around the blow and spun around, striking the shark's head with his claws. The shark lunged for the dragon warrior with his teeth but Kulak kicked Sharkman's stomach and the hybrid staggered back, his powerful jaws closing on air. With his opponent off-balance, Kulak took to the air with a powerful kick. But as he landed, Sharkman grabbed his shoulders, his enormous hands pinning Kulak's arms to his side, and forced Kulak to meet his gaze. His eyes were unnaturally-dark, not just devoid of light but leeching light out of the plaza around them. And that's when Kulak heard them, things scratching in the dark, and an angry voice from faraway, whispering awful things in his ear.

As Kulak struggled, Sharkman dragged him close. "And what are you afraid of, dragon?" the shark breathed. "What terrors keep you from your sleep, and make you dread the dark?"

Kulak bared his fangs. "Not you," he said, and slashed his claws for the strap on the right. His clawed fingers caught the clasp and tore it free. With an angry roar, Sharkman threw the dragon to the ground. By now, Billy had recovered. Even as Kulak fell, he aimed a kick for Sharkman's stomach. With Sharkman breathless, the Blue Ranger grabbed at the vest. Without wasting a second, he turned towards the coast and threw the vest into the air with all his might. The vest sailed over the Phoenix and out towards the bay. Billy raised his wrist. "Phoenix, blast shield!" he called.

The zord raised its ocean-facing wing. And with Sharkman preparing to attack again, Billy raised the signal-blocker and hit the switch.

The sky lit up as the vest exploded. Everyone on the bayside of the island froze. The zord shook with the force of the detonation, and both Billy and Kulak felt the heat wash over them.

In the city, I'd just swung my Power Sword for the walking angler fish when the monster became immaterial, the blade slicing through the monster as if it was smoke. Beside me, Jason kicked high for one of the piranha, but he too stumbled through. As we gazed around in confusion, the sea monsters seemed to evaporate like mist in the sunlight, leaving us alone on an otherwise-empty street.

"What the hell?" asked Zac, still with his axe held high. "Is this another trick?"

Scott's eyes went wide. "It's Billy, he did it!" he exclaimed.

Kimberly ran up to the temple to give the all-clear, while the rest of us raced over to where we'd last seen Billy and Kulak.

In the market square, Billy and Kulak stepped back warily as Sharkman came to his senses. Clutching the top of his head, the hybrid shark blinked and gazed around. Billy could see the darker black leaving his eyes as the Shadow King's influence faded. The plan had worked. Sharkman was waking up. Glancing from Kulak to the Blue Ranger, Sharkman suddenly realised how much trouble he was in. With a panicked roar, he turned to run, sensing the ocean a short distance away. But Billy moved faster, slamming his fist into the mutant's snout. Sharkman stumbled back towards Kulak, when the dragon warrior spun around, catching Sharkman with a high kick that launched him through a market stall. Sharkman collapsed to the tiles and moved no further.

The rest of us reached the abandoned fish market. "Billy, you good?" asked Zac.

Billy nodded, and counted the people around him. "Where's Kimberly?"

"Giving the all-clear," Jason replied. "The city is safe. All the monsters vanished into thin air. You guys took out Sharkman?"

"It was a glorious battle," Kulak said.

Billy tapped Sharkman's leg with his foot. "Catch of the day," he added.

"Billy! You punned," Brendan laughed, and slapped the Blue Ranger's shoulder. "I'm so proud of you."

"Still," Kulak said. "It was a brilliant plan that spared us from further harm. Maybe there's something to be said for the pursuit of wisdom, right Blue Ranger?"

And Billy grinned.

To be continued.

Author's notes - I have to admit, although it's always a good idea to keep your action scenes interesting and fresh, I think this chapter had my favourite fight scenes out of the entire story, including the zord battles where the Rangers throw-down with gods. The battle at the docks, where the Rangers defend the city against the army of marauding sea monsters, was so much fun to write, but I also loved the frenzied aggression of Kulak and Billy taking on Sharkman side-by-side, with a large portion of the battle nothing more than claws and teeth.