Episode 562: Tales of Gabriel: The Final Battle of the Great War: Part II
May 2043
On the Skyship, Gabriel arrives to tell the Megaforce a story
"The Great War was reaching its end" said Gabriel "but there were still a few major battles left. On Animaria, Master Org was attacking the Wildzords when Animus arrived…"
On Animaria, Master Org blasted the Guardian Megazord, sending the Wildzords retreating away from the Animaria
"Enough!" said Animus as he arrived
"You are not Powerful enough to stop me" said Master Org
"We shall see" said Animus and they fight. On the ground, Merrick finds Princess Shayla
"Princess, how bad is it?" Merrick asked
"Most of the Wildzords are gone" said Shayla
"Destroyed?" Merrick asked
"No" said Shayla "but retreated to hide somewhere on Earth. Besides Animus, there are still five Wildzords remaining, but their Power Crystals were lost, so we have no way of controlling them" and they see Master Org hit Animus hard
"No" said Merrick "there's still three more Wildzords left that can be controlled"
"Merrick…" said Shayla "you don't mean…"
"I do" said Merrick
"I won't allow you" said Shayla and Merrick's staff knocked her off her feet and when she got back up, he was gone
At the Temple of Zen-Aku, Merrick arrives
"STOP!" said a voice and he turned to see Zordon
"Out of the way, Zordon" said Merrick
"Merrick" said Zordon "what you are about to do will cause more damage that it will solve"
"I don't have a choice" said Merrick
"You always have a choice" said Zordon "anyone who says otherwise is trying to justify a choice they know is wrong"
"I can't see any other way out of this" said Merrick
"That doesn't mean there isn't one" said Zordon "trust me, when I say there is"
"But I have to do something" said Merrick
"No, you don't" said Zordon "sometimes doing something is worse than doing nothing. Look, you don't know the outcome of not taking the mask, but you do know the outcome of putting it on is wrong. Sometimes you just have to do the next right thing. But as I said the choice is yours" and Zordon vanishes
Merrick stops for a minute and then puts on his mask and grabs the three Power Crystals.
Back at the Animaria, Merrick arrives just in time to see Master Org strike Animus, separating him into five Wildzords which then vanish
"You'll pay for that, Master Org!" said Merrick "WILDZORDS, DESCEND! WOLF! HAMMERHEAD SHARK! ALLIGATOR! WILDZORDS, COMBINE! PREDAZORD, AWAKEN!" and Merrick in the Predazord fights Master Org. The Predazord isn't able to defeat Master Org as easily as Merrick had hoped
"Tap into my power" said a voice in Merrick's head. He concentrated his thoughts on Zen-Aku
"PREDATOR WAVE!" said Merrick and Zen-Aku simultaneously and the blast destroyed Master Org, sealing him away into some seeds. Merrick ejected from the Predazord and tried to take off the mask, but couldn't.
"Merrick, what have you done?" a voice asked and Merrick turned to see Michael and the other angels in their Animarium Warrior robes
"I did what I had to do" said Merrick "but now I can't get it off" and then he attacked them "what's going on, I'm losing control"
"You made a choice you didn't understand" said Zen-Aku "you're not going to do that again"
"We'll save you Merrick" said Michael and they defend themselves
"How can you save someone from themselves?" Zen-Aku asked
"Guys" said Merrick "before I lose complete control, seal me away until you can find a way to save me"
"No" said Deborah
"Hurry" said Merrick "there's not much time left" and he managed to regain enough control to hold himself still
"Sorry, old friend" said Michael as they take out their Quasar Sabers, point them at him and shoot energy at him, entombing him in the Temple of Zen-Aku. The Animarium Warriors then use their Quasar Sabers to cut Animaria free from the rest of the Earth and send it into the air, protecting Princess Shayla and the five remaining Wildzords. Merrick's last thought before losing consciousness was that he failed in saving Animus despite getting the mask and the others would have shown up just a few minutes later, just in time to save Animaria
"Not just that" Zen-Aku said in his mind "I knew if we didn't destroy Master Org, your friends would. By tapping into my power, you allowed me to seal Master Org into some seeds, rather than the Abyss like your friends would have. One day someone will free Master Org from those seeds and he will reign again, all thanks to you, Merrick…"
"… and so Merrick learned a very important lesson" said Gabriel "but the cost of that lesson was high"
"Wow" said Emma "he did the wrong thing and it destroyed everything"
"As it often does" said Gabriel "but not always, keep in mind, doing the right thing can sometimes destroy everything too. But that's why we do the right thing because it's right, not because of the consequences. Anyways, as Merrick played with demons to get what he wanted and played the price, so would someone in Japan…"
In Japan, the Samurai arrive home, with Deker rushing to see his wife
"Am I too late?" Deker asked
"Just in time" said Dahlia and he and the midwife helped her give birth.
A little later, Dahlia was feeling well enough to go for a walk and so she placed their baby boy (who they couldn't decide on a name for) in his crib. Deker had fallen asleep and she passed by him and his sword as she left. She took a walk around the block and came back to find their house on fire
"NO!" screamed Dahlia and she ran to find the other Samurai
"What's wrong, Dahlia?" Ryunosuke asked
"The house's on fire, Deker and the baby are inside!" Dahlia sobbed. Ryunosuke grabbed his brush and ran to the house. He used his brush to draw the kanji for water and sent it towards the house. It didn't put the fire out, but did get a path to the door. He ran in and saw the flames about to consume both Deker and the baby, who were on opposite sides of the room
"I'm sorry old friend" said Ryunosuke with tears running down his face and he drew the kanji for water and cleared a path to the baby. He grabbed the baby and ran out to give him to Dahlia. As he was about to run back in, the house collapsed and Dahlia screamed. Ryunosuke kept using his brush to put out the fire. The Samurai dug through the smoldering remains of the house and dug out Deker and grabbed the broken remains of his sword as well. Ryunosuke checked Deker's vitals
"He's breathing, but just barely" said Ryunosuke and they called for a doctor
"I'm sorry" said the doctor "but there's no way for him to make it. He's barely hanging on, his body just hasn't burned itself out yet"
"Ryunosuke" said Dahlia "can you take the baby for a few minutes I need some time alone" and Ryunosuke takes the baby from her and everyone leaves her with Deker
"Someone save him!" Dahlia screamed into the air "God, angels, demons, I don't care!"
"I can save him" said a voice and she turned to see a demon "but it will cost you"
"Cost me what?" Dahlia asked
"Deker's soul is in the process of leaving his body" said the demon "to save a soul, you must forfeit yours in return" and Dahlia hesitated but then decided she's already summoned a demon, how much further is there to go?
"I will give up my soul for Deker's" said Dahlia
"Very well" said the demon and Dahlia was transformed into a Nighlok. Meanwhile Deker wakes up and grabs his sword, which had been made whole
"Deker!" said Dahlia
"Out of my way woman" said Deker "I must find the greatest warrior in the world to duel!"
"Deker, it's me!" said Dahlia
"I don't know you" said Deker
"What's wrong with him?" Dahlia asked
"Oh, you thought I could actually bring him back exactly as he was?" The demon asked "that's outside my purview all I could do was let another demon inside to control his body. His soul is stuck between Sheol and his body, in limbo as it were. His soul will occasionally influence his decisions, but most of the time, the demon will be in control"
"You lied" said Dahlia
"Of course I did" said the demon "I'm a demon, it's what we do. You gave up your soul to eternal damnation, and in return I stopped his soul from reaching paradise. Sounds like a win-win to me. Now enjoy your time in the Sanzu River, tell Octoroo Serrator says hi, Dayu" and he teleports her away
Later, when the Samurai realize Deker and Dahlia are gone they wonder what they should do when Michael appears
"I'm sorry" said Michael "Deker and Dahlia are both lost"
"Where were you?" Ryunosuke asked
"I was trying to defend Animaria" said Michael "but I was too late there as well. The Wildzords have been scattered, Animus has been sealed into Heaven, and Merrick was lost"
"So this has been a bad day for everyone" said Ryunosuke
"Yes" said Michael "now you four must raise the baby, alongside your own children. Teach them to honor God and train them to be warriors such as yourselves. Teach them to pass on what you teach them to their children. Now before I go, the danger is over, please return your brushes and Zords"
"Why?" Ryunosuke asked
"You will not face anymore attacks from the Nighlok in your lifetimes nor your children's, nor your children's children's. The Nighlok will return and on that day, I will personally return your Power to your descendants" and one by one, the Samurai return their brushes.
Michael teleports away, having already collected Deker's brush and Zord. What he didn't tell the Samurai was that Serrator had managed to manipulate Deker's brush into burning down his house, which is why Ryunosuke couldn't put it out as easily as he should have been able to. That would need to be fixed before the Nighlok returned
The Samurai gather around Deker's baby
"What should we name him?" Kotaha asked
"How about… Shiba Takeru" said Ryunosuke
"…and so another friend had fallen" said Gabriel "but another would still before the day was done…"
On Magna, Magnus arrives to see Scorpius attacking. He stashes the Lights of God out of the way. He makes his way to Scorpius
"Get off my planet" said Magnus
"You can't stop me!" said Scorpius
"You want to bet?" Magnus asked, pulling out the Dragonzord Power Coin and firing a blast at a nearby monster that instantly vaporizes it
"You will hand over that Power Coin or I will kill the thing you love most" said Scorpius and his forces bring out Magnus' son, Zika
"Zika!" said Magnus "you win Scorpius" and he hands the Dragonzord Power Coin to a nearby monster and drops his sword "now let him go" and Scorpius frees Zika. Scorpius blasts Magnus
"Now Magnus" said Scorpius "I was told that you have the Lights of God. Hand them over"
"I don't have them on me" said Magnus
"Take me to them" said Scorpius
"No, Father!" said Zika "don't give them the Lights!" and he charged at Scorpius who shoots him and Zika collapses to the ground, lifeless
"Zika!" Magnus screamed and he grabbed his sword and fought his way to freedom, slashing through monsters. He eventually manages to escape
"Treacheron" said Scorpius "follow him" and he does "now at least we've got our hands on a Power Coin… wait, who was that monster that took the Power Coin and where'd he go?"
On the Moon, Baboo hands Rita the Dragonzord Power Coin
"Excellent" said Rita "now I will be able to create my very own Power Ranger"
On Mirinoi, Magnus prepares to activate the Lights of God. He didn't want to do it on Magna for fear the Lights would be captured by all the villains running around
"Now to have my revenge!" said Magnus and he opened up the box, but was blasted by Treacheron and the Lights get away "you'll pay for that!" And they duel. However, Magnus was tired due to all the recent battles and Treacheron gets the better of him. Treacheron opens a crevice in the ground and Magnus falls in it
In Heaven, Zordon is talking with Michael
"Rita has the Dragonzord Power Coin. Send a message that I personally want to meet with her" Zordon said
"Any word on how Magnus is doing?" Michael asked
"He was injured and fell into a crevice on Mirinoi" said Zordon "I will preserve him until the time is right for him to be rescued"
"…and so another hero fell" said Gabriel "next time we will talk about the showdown between Zordon and Rita Repulsa" and he teleported away
To be continued…
Next time on Tales of Gabriel:
Gabriel tells the Megaforce of the showdown between Zordon and Rita Repulsa
