Chapter 3: It's Morphin Time! Pt 3
Review Replies
shirkahn: Nice! Loved the dynamic, especially when Ryujin got Keith and Lance to shut up their quitter talk by pointing out the harsh truth (also, loved his funny swear, "Awww Shi-take mushrooms", heh heh heh, hoping to see more funny expletives like that). Looking forward to what you've got planned next! Gold Ranger, maybe? Silver? Perhaps another color like how the Green Mighty Morphin', White Dino Thunder and Quantum Rangers are different types of sixth rangers? Or maybe the Pink Ranger is gonna be the sixth? Maybe make him/her (Super Sentai recently did a male pink ranger in Avataro Sentai Donbrothers, so I do think the idea is too far-fetched) like the Ranger Slayer version of Kimberly from the Boom! Studios comics? Eager to see your next plans.
Dragon Emperor0: Uh, holster that thought, my dude. Cuz I think you'll like what we have in store for those four (White, Gold, Silver and Pink).
ThermalsniperN7: We also have something rather specific planned for the Gold and Silver rangers. We think you'll like it.
Rangers vs the Tormentor: Every Power Ranger theme on guitar by Niall Stenson
Ryuji Summoning the Dragon Zord: March of the Dragon by Studio Ghost.
In loving memory of Jason David Frank. Requirescat in Pace JDK. Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger.
-Angel Cove Municipal Grand Mall-
Wind blasted around the food court as pieces of the roof swirled into the air via an energy tornado conjured by the five colored beam that shot out of the prisms and into the sky–sending tables, chairs mannequins and teenagers alike flying in all directions by the sheer force of the chaotic blast.
"Son of a bitch, what's going on?!" Keith cursed as he shielded his face from the wind.
"I don't know! But I'm pretty sure it's Ryuji's fault!" Lance yelled as he held onto a palm tree for dear life.
"My fault?! How the fuck is this my fault?!" Ryuji questioned, his body behind hurled and pressed against the wall by an upended table.
"I don't know! It just feels like it is!" The blue clad teen replied.
"Will both of you shut up?! I'm more worried about the monsters that attacked us coming here after seeing this!" Paige yelled as she took cover behind a counter.
"Whoa, guys I think I'm gonna-WHAAAA!" Hunk screamed as he was picked up by the tornado caused by the vortex.
"HUNK!" The other four yelled.
"Okay guys, listen up!" Ryuji yelled as he forced himself free, sending the table crashing through the mall door. "On my signal, we're gonna run to the Prisms and force them apart! That should stop the vortex!" He exclaimed.
"Are you nuts?! How are we supposed to get close to that?!" The green clad girl in the group questioned in disbelief.
"Just trust me! Or would you prefer that Hunk end up as street pizza if we do nothing?" The blue haired teen questioned as he started making his way away from the wall.
"... Damn it! Fine! Let's do this!" Paige cursed in resignation.
"Okay! On three! One, two… THREE!" He counted upwards before yelling, prompting everyone to rush up to the prisms and had to fight the wind to do so.
When they got close to the Ranger artifacts, they started pulling, but found that they were magnetically attached together.
"Well! That's a bust!" Lance yelled.
"What now, fearless leader?" Keith questioned.
"Paige? Any suggestions?" Ryuji questioned as they continued to pull.
"These things seem to be making their own magnetic super field. Maybe if we keep turning them we'll reach a point where their poles will repel rather than attract?" She suggested.
"Won't that send us flying?" Lance questioned before a screaming Hunk sailed past them before flying through Hobby Lobby and back into the air again.
"Your point?" Ryuji pressed.
"It's better than the light show giving us away!" Keith decided. "Let's do it!" He added before he started turning his disc.
"I don't like it, but okay!" Lance nodded as he started turning his own prism.
"Here guess nothing!" Paige nodded as she started turning.
"There!" Ryuji exclaimed as his was turned right as Hunk came sailing past them.
Acting quickly the boys all grabbed his leg and pulled him in. "We gotcha, big guy!" Lance grinned.
"You're not turning into street pizza on our watch!" Keith added with a smirk.
"Thanks, guys!" The yellow clad teen smiled as Paige rotated her disc until she got it where it needed to be.
This resulted in the gang being sent flying… again. Their prisms went flying with them with Paige and Keith getting sent flying into a wall. As the gang groaned and sat up, trying to regain their bearings, the Taken started appearing.
"Oh come on! Not again!" Keith complained as he looked at the growing number of corrupted monsters.
"Get ready, guys, looks like we have a fight on our hands." Ryuji said as they all got into fighting stances… Until they started glowing their respective colors.
"What the–?! What's going on?!" Hunk gasped before all five of them vanished from the mall to somewhere else.
(Elsewhere)
-Mighty Morphin Citadel-
"I got them!" Alpha-5 exclaimed as he managed to lock onto the teens' location and bring them in.
"Excellent work, Alpha. Where are they now?" Zordon questioned, approaching the robot.
"They should be reaching here right about…" The android replied as five color coded energy beams appeared. "Now!" He exclaimed as the kids arrived.
"Alpha, you are a mechanical genius." Tommy grinned.
"Where are we? The Citadel?" Keith wondered as he looked around.
"Looks like it… Whoa." Ryuji nodded before he noticed the other three. "Uh, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you teleported us here?" He questioned.
"Yes." The first Ranger nodded, stepping forward. "Welcome, Rangers, to the newly reconstructed Mighty Morphin Citadel, I am–." He began before Paige interrupted him.
"Zordon, intergalactic space wizard and the first Power Ranger. You founded the Rangers on your home planet and created the Power coins after you discovered the existence of the Morphin Grid." The bespectacled girl stated. "Rita Repulsa was once one of your closest confidantes but you both were torn apart when Lord Zed seduced her with the power of the Dark Grid to become his queen." She continued. "I can go on if you want, I assure you I'm quite knowledgeable." She added.
"Well, all of that is true." Zordon nodded, appreciating Paige's knowledge. "But the reason all of you were brought here is because you found the Renegade Prysms, and are now the Renegade Rangers." He told the five teens.
"So that's what these things are…" Hunk mused, looking at the disc.
"Renegade? What's that supposed to mean?" Keith questioned, causing Tommy to interject.
"It means that these Prysms were made with power from the Light and Dark Morphin Grid. Their power is strong, and also dangerous." He explained.
"Tommy is correct." Zordon nodded. "As they draw on both powers you must be careful to maintain internal balance within yourselves. Too much in either direction could either cause your powers to overload and rebound back at you." He continued.
"Or cause you to become influenced by the evils that the Dark Grid festers in." Tommy added.
"Wait, is that really Tommy Oliver?" Lance whispered to Keith, who elbowed him in the stomach to get him to pay attention.
"How are we supposed to figure these powers out?" Hunk wondered, looking at his hands.
"That will come to you in time with training. But for now, Tommy and Alpha-5 have developed something to help you draw out your current maximum capabilities." Zordon told them as the Android approached them with five objects on a tray.
On the tray were rings that corresponded with the colors of their Prysms, and also had animal faces related to the fossils they were found in.
"These are your morphers. They can be charged by your Prysms here in the Citadel right here." Tommy explained as he placed the teens' Prysms in a machine that had racks for the rings. "They'll need to be charged regularly to be able to be used." He continued.
"That's kinda annoying." Lance commented, picking up his Morpher and slipping it on his finger.
"But not much we can do about it." Paige shrugged, putting on her own ring.
"I'm not sure it'll fit–." Hunk said as he tried to put his on, before it expanded and shrunk to fit him. "Oh. Nevermind." He shrugged.
"Who are we even fighting, anyway?" Ryuji wondered as he put his ring on.
"That would be Zedidiah Repulsa, son of Lord Zed and Rita Repulsa." Zordon replied.
"Youngest son." Tommy clarified as he saw Paige about to bring up Thrax.
"He's also taken on the title of Taken King. Being able to enthrall others by assuming their will with his own." The First Ranger added. "The abominations this process creates are likewise known as Taken." He added.
"So that's what was attacking us earlier." Paige muttered as she absorbed the new knowledge provided.
"Yes, but there is something worse that you must be aware of." Zordon told them grimly.
"What is it?" Keith asked as he looked at his Morpher.
"When I engaged Zedidiah, he sent me crashing into Mars so hard that the red planet was knocked off its axis and onto a collision course with Earth." The wizard revealed.
"WHAT?!" The Renegade Rangers yelled in alarm as their heads snapped to him, eyes wide in panic.
"Its course will take two years to collide with Earth, meaning we'll need to figure out a way to stop or destroy it before that happens." Tommy added.
"As well as trying to stop Zedidiah in the meantime." Alpha nodded.
"Man, this is not a good beginning to our careers as Rangers…" Hunk groaned in dismay, wishing that it was less stress inducing… If only a little bit.
"Ain't that the truth." Keith muttered in agreement.
"I know this is a herculean task to ask of you, but please. I implore." Zordon told them as he stepped forward. "Will you stand and fight this horrific evil to save Earth, and the universe as the next generation of Power Rangers?" He questioned.
The five teens exchanged looks with one another. As much as some of them wanted to say no and walk away from this, Mars was still on a collision course with Earth, and Zedidiah was still after them.
They were between a rock and a hard place. If they did walk away, their homeworld would be destroyed by a planetary collision, if Zeidiah didn't kill them first.
"It's an easy choice, Zordon." Keith stated.
"We're up for it." Ryuji nodded.
"I was really hoping to finally get a girlfriend this summer…" Lance sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "But, if I can do that while also saving the world–I say count me in, too." He added, giving a thumbs up.
"Same here." Hunk grinned with a nod.
"I'd much rather prefer our home intact, thanks." Paige chirped in her own form of agreement. "So joining in seems like the most logical course of action." She added, adjusting her glasses.
"Excellent." Zordon smiled.
"So now what?" Keith asked.
"Now we introduce you to your Zords." Tommy told them. "Follow me." He said, leading them to a lower section of the base via elevator.
(Elsewhere)
-Dreadnought, Deep Space-
The same automaton-like figure rushed out of the throne room to exact Zedidiah's orders and summon the creature he called the Tormentor, when he accidentally bumped into someone who was walking the opposite direction.
"Oh, sorry about that, sir. I'm in a bit of a rush." The figure told his superior apologetically.
"No worries, amigo." The figure replied as he helped the bot up. "Though I'm curious, why the rush?" He asked, revealing what he looked like.
The figure was a man with his hair tied in a wolf tail, an angular face with features that could be compared to someone from South America. He had caucasian skin and brown eyes while he looked to be in his mid to late twenties.
He had a black bodysuit that showed off his muscles, and he also had a samurai sword on his left hip, but the sheath was pointed upwards instead of downwards. What's more, it looked like it was modified with a trigger system to allow for a quickdraw.
"Uh, the king wishes me to send a Tormentor down to the planet below, sir." The automaton explained.
"Please, please, I tell you to call me Sam." The man replied before he stroked his chin. "A Tormentor you say? Now what would spook Zedidiah that much, I wonder?" He hummed.
"Apparently a new generation of Power Rangers has surfaced." The drone replied, causing the now named Sam to perk up.
"New Power Rangers? Hm…" He hummed before grinning. "I think I'll scope them out myself, see how good they are at the moment." He decided before walking off.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back at the Citadel, Tommy led the group of five to an underground bunker where five giant robots idled in suspended stasis.
These were the Renegade Zords.
One was a black and purple dragon that stood upright. It had its wings folded against its back, two purple horns pointing backwards and one on the top of its head. It also had a black torso that turned purple where the arms and legs began along with a black tail. The claws on its hands and feet were also purple. It's eyes were, naturally, purple.
Body wise, it reminded Ryuji of an Eva from Evangelion.
The second was a Fox Zord. Its colors were red, white and orange with the main color of its body being red, its eyes being orange and its underbelly being white, additionally it seemed to have nine powerful tails that were capped with white.
Third was a tiger robot, it was yellow with a silver underbelly, blue stripes, blue eyes, silver blades going down its back and ending in a spear at the tip of its tail. It also had a broad lower jaw, silver claws and long saber fangs.
Fourth on the list was a wolf robot. It was blue with white claws and fangs along with what looked to be a bladed tail, and a mobile gun turret on its back.
Fifth was a turtle robot… It basically looked like a giant green, white and yellow tank with red eyes.
"Sweet/Wicked/Awesome!/Noble!" The teens grinned as they looked at their Zords.
"These Zords aren't mindless machines though, they're sentient beings who have their own thoughts and beliefs." Tommy told them, walking towards the giant robots. "So if your Zord doesn't like you, it won't activate unless you earn its respect." He added.
"Oh great…" Keith groaned in light irritation. This was probably going to be a pain.
"For example, the Turtle Zord is slow, methodical, intelligent and wise. It's unlikely to side with a Ranger who cannot match it in intellect." The former Green Ranger began, gesturing to the shelled tank.
"That shouldn't be a problem for me." Paige smirked as she looked at the zord she knew was hers.
Placing her hand on the turtle's over sized beak, it reacted to her Morpher, causing both to glow green and the robot to come to life, letting out an almost Gamera-like roar.
"I think he likes me." The girl smirked, adjusting her glasses smugly.
"Let's see what mine thinks of me." Lance chuckled as he placed his hand on the muzzle of his zord.
"The wolf zord is self-reliant, resourceful, confident, and fierce. It prefers a Ranger with just as much of these qualities and just as charisma as it does." Tommy said with a chuckle.
As Lance touched the wolf zord, both of them glowed blue and the robotic wolf let out a bark when it woke up fully, causing the lady's man to chuckle.
"Aw yeah! Two good lookin' mavericks takin' on the world! Let's do this Wolfie!" He exclaimed as he pumped a fist in the air, his zord howling with him.
"Aw yeah, let's go!" Hunk cheered as he went up to the sabertooth tiger zord.
"The tiger zord is noble, strong and full of fortitude, it prefers a Ranger who is strong, confident and able to keep the team's morale high." Tommy told him with a grin at his eagerness.
"Uh…" Hunk said, looking up at the giant cat before shaking his head. "Ya know what? Yeah! I can do that! Let's do this, tiger zord!" He exclaimed, slamming his hand down, causing both his Morpher and the zord to glow yellow.
Then the zord woke up before looking at Hunk and let out what the heavy set teen figured was an approving growl. He wasn't big on jungle cats that much.
"Hehehe, nice kitty." The boy chuckled.
"So? What can you tell me about my Zord?" Keith asked.
"The fox zord is the most hotheaded and volatile of the Renegade Zords." Tommy told him. "It prefers a ranger that's willing to rush into the heat of battle without hesitation and tear the enemy apart." He added. "But despite this, if it doesn't like you for whatever reason, it won't budge."
"Well, I guess I'll have to prove it… Wrong?" The boy stated as he placed his hand on the fox's head, and nothing happened. "What the fuck?" He questioned.
"Looks like you've got some work to do." The original green ranger told him nonchalantly.
"Oh come on!" The boy groaned.
"Guess that means that I'll have to fill in…" Ryuji said as he approached the Dragon zord before Tommy stopped him.
"The Dragon Zord is a Zord who is all about unity and purpose, it doesn't matter how worthy its Ranger is, if all of the Zords aren't present, it ain't budging." The original green Ranger told him solemnly.
"... Damn it." The university teen cursed in irritation. This complicated things greatly. If a threat was rampaging, how were the Rangers supposed to combat it without a full squad of Zords if things got ugly?
"It's important that you all unlock your Zords. Because if you can combine their powers, you can come together and form the Revolution Megazord." Tommy explained. "The Dragon zord forms the body and head. The turtle and fox zords form the arms. And the tiger and wolf zords form the feet and legs…. Kinda like Voltron." He added.
"Wait, didn't you guys lose to Voltron awhile back?" Lance questioned, causing everyone sans Tommy to facepalm.
"Really, dude?" Hunk deadpanned.
"Not cool, Lance." Paige groaned.
"So disrespectful." Ryuji sighed in exasperation.
"It was an awesome fight, though." Keith shrugged nonchalantly.
"Moving on…" Tommy sighed as he gestured to their Morphers. "Now, I want you to try summoning your Ranger weapons." He told them.
The five teens let out a series of hums before they tried to summon their ranger weapons. Ryuji was the first to summon his, and it was a black and purple dagger with a dragon head on the pommel, and when the university student swung it, the blade extended into a sword.
"Holy crap!" He exclaimed, turning back to normal. Showing that it seemed reminiscent of the original Dragon Dagger. "It's like your dagger!" He added.
"Nice to see there's a legacy." Tommy nodded in satisfaction that another Ranger had a variation of his old dagger.
Keith, meanwhile, seemed to summon a sword of some sort with a chopper style blade and fox pommel. When he swung it, his eyes widened when it segmented into a whip. He idly noted that there was an energy stream holding the segments together.
"Okay, now this is cool." He nodded with a grin.
Meanwhile, Lance summoned what looked to be blue wolf pommeled sais that seemed to have a frosty mist flowing off them.
"Now this is what I call chill." The womanizer grinned.
Paige concentrated for a minute or two before her weapon appeared, which seemed to take the form of a rounded shield similar to that of Captain America, but had Turtle shell patterning and green energy flowing through the creases of the shell.
"Just get behind me if you boys need a breather." She quipped humorously, getting a few snickers and chuckles in response.
"I certainly wouldn't complain." Lance smirked, quirking his eyebrows.
"Shut up!" The brunette hissed at being teased.
Lastly Hunk took a minute to summon his own weapon, which took the form of a large double bearded axe that reminded the teens of Lord Saladin's axe from Destiny, but with a Tiger instead of a Tree.
"Now this is what I'm talkin' about!" The junkyard worker grinned as the weapon's had lit on fire.
"You'll learn how to Morph later, but for now–." Tommy told them before he was interrupted by Alpha rushing out of the elevator in a panic.
"Ayayayayay! Rangers! We have a big problem!" He told them.
"Whoa, calm down! What's wrong?" The original green ranger asked, trying to calm the distressed droid.
"A monster has been sighted in midtown! It's rampaging!" He exclaimed, causing everyone to turn alarmed.
"Looks like we'll need to learn how to Morph now." Ryuji commented.
"Right, now, here's what you have to do." Tommy told them.
(Elsewhere)
-Angel Cove, Midtown-
The citizens of Angel Cove screamed as they ran away from the hoard of Taken that came with the Tormentor. On mass, the citizens were getting either atomized by their blasts, melted by Acolyte fire, turned inside out by paracausal pulses, shriveled by a Taken Blight or Taken themselves.
Though that was hardly the worst of it, as those unlucky enough to survive the Taken were either cut down by the Tormentor's scythe, or had their souls ripped out by them–causing its appearance to be the last thing they saw.
The police force tried to fight back, but that went about as well as one would expect when faced with an unfathomably powerful enemy… AKA, the police got slaughtered.
As the creature made itself known, it wordlessly showed its terrified victims what it looked like as the dust cleared.
It was taller than any human and had orange skin. Its arms were longer than its legs, wore strange robes, and had an unusually shaped head with a single eye. It also carried a scythe that was of alien design.
In short, it was a scythe wielding Orangutan.
The Tormentor continued to wordlessly slash and slice any humans that got in its way, right until the kids arrived on the scene to see the gruesome remains of the victims that were left and the destruction left behind.
"Oh fuck!" Keith gasped, trying to avoid vomiting as he looked at the destruction and carnage.
Paige was silent as her eyes widened in horror, her hands covering her mouth as she tried to stifle a gasp from what she was seeing.
Lance looked like he was going to have nightmares (and PTSD, most likely) after the day was done.
Hunk had a disturbed look on his face and was having a difficult time keeping himself together–ie trying not to puke.
And Ryuji was trying to steel his nerves, but his body still trembled at the scene in front of him. Not out of pure fear, but out of absolute fury.
"Guys." The Japanese half breed said as he held up his Morpher ring. "It's Morphin Time!" He yelled. His tone made the others hold up their hands.
"Right!" They chorused before activating their Morphers.
"Renegade Revolution!" The teens exclaimed as they glowed their respective colors and their clothes blasted apart and reconstructed themselves into their ranger suits.
Ryuji's Ranger suit was black and purple with silver accents. His helmet was shaped like a dragon's head with the visor in the mouth, the suit consisted of a black bodysuit covered by a pair of white pants, a black shoulder padded jacket with purple pads on the shoulders and elbows. A pair of purple cuffed and palmed black gloves, and a pair of purple heeled and cuffed green boots with a matching purple belt with a black dragon buckle to complete the look.
Keith had a similar design, but his was red and white. His helmet resembled a fox's head with an open mouth, which contained his visor. His belt also had a fox head buckle to top things off. Only instead of purple the accent color was black.
Lance followed this uniform design as well, but his colors were blue and black with his suit having an obvious wolf motif.
Paige's was of course green, but hers matched her more feminine build and came with a coat that stretched into a pseudo skirt, additionally her accent color was black as well, and her motif was turtle centered.
Lastly was Hunk, and his suit was yellow with yellow and black, with exception to his pants like the rest, but his was all tiger based. His helmet even has tiger stripes as well.
"Wisdom of the Tortoise. Renegade Green Ranger!" Paige exclaimed, striking a strong pose.
"Strength of the Tiger. Renegade Yellow Ranger!" Hunk added in, flexing his arms down.
"Ferocity of the Wolf. Renegade Blue Ranger!" Lance added, landing in a superhero landing pose.
"Cunning of the Fox. Renegade Red Ranger!" Keith added, arms folded.
"Courage of the Dragon." Ryuji added, standing in an approximation of a Y pose behind the rest of his team. "Renegade Black Ranger!" He exclaimed.
"We are the Power Rangers: Renegades!" They chorused in unison as smoke of their respective colors exploded behind them.
Around the corner near the battle, two figures were watching the new Rangers in disbelief.
"Is… Is that what I think it is?" One of them asked with wide eyes.
"I think it is, Spike, I think it is." The man next to him nodded. Said man was a heavy set man dressed in regular street clothes who was also bald.
This was Bulk and his friend Skull's kid Spike. The former used to mess with the Mighty Morphin Rangers back in the day. But in later years, he became one of their most loyal advocates.
"It's the new Power Rangers!" The two exclaimed as the Renegades summoned their weapons.
"Alright guys, let's pound this send this freakazoid back to whatever circus he came from." Ryuji said, shifting his dagger into saber mode.
"... Wouldn't it be a zoo? Since he's an orangutan?" Lance questioned, causing Hunk to snort and everyone else to facepalm.
"Goddammit, Lance!" They snapped, exasperated with his pun.
"What? It's true!" The blue clad teen defended.
"Whatever. Let's just deal with these fuckers." Ryuji deadpanned before a Captain tried to rush him, only to get cut down for its troubles.
The Rangers then charged and–surprisingly–started batting the weaker Taken around and destroying them but had trouble with the much stronger ones.
"Hey Paige!" Hunk called as he started running towards her after cleaving a Minotaur in half. "Launch me!" He added as he ran towards her.
"On it!" The girl nodded before positioning her shield above her head. Hunk then jumped onto it, and Paige focused some energy into her shield not unlike how the Taken Phalanxes do and sent the Yellow Ranger into the air.
As Hunk flew, he got ready for a ground pound to send the Taken flying. And when he crashed down…
BOOM!
It was like an explosion had gone off, and it did indeed send many of the Taken–even the stronger ones– flying. Those closer to ground zero were killed on impact.
"Yeah! Way to go big guy!" Lance cheered as he shanked a Taken Knight in the face and tore its head off.
"That gives me an idea." Keith said as he struck down a thrall before going into his whip mode and grabbed a Taken Ogre by the heel and hurled it towards Hunk. "Hey Hunk, batter up!" He yelled.
"Let's go!" Hunk grinned before he smacked the Ogre with the flat of his axe, sending it flying. The end result was it being killed on impact when it landed, taking a few more with it.
The Tormentor, meanwhile, didn't really react to the decimation of its forces, only shrugging its scythe off its shoulder and getting into what looked to be a fighting stance.
This reaction… unnerved the Rangers, to say the least.
"Okay, how tough is that thing?" Lance gulped.
"Too tough, evidently." Hunk replied, gripping his axe tightly.
"No time to be nervous now, guys." Ryuji told his team. "The Earth needs us. If we work together, we can beat this thing." Be continued, looking back at his teammates, his friends. "I know it." He added.
"Right… Right." Keith sighed as he popped his neck, steeling his nerves. "Okay, let's go!" He exclaimed, turning his sword to whip mode and cracking it.
The Tormentor didn't seem to care about this rallying of forces, as it only eyed the Rangers for a few seconds–as if sizing them up–before immediately rushing for Paige–the one it perceived as the weakest–and nearly cleaved her in half with its scythe.
"Yikes!" The girl yelped as she dodged the attack, jumping away quickly.
"Careful! We don't wanna get cut in half by that thing!" Lance warned as he stood by Keith, looking for a weak spot to exploit.
"Okay, how are we supposed to hurt this wannabe orangutan?!" The red clad Ranger growled.
"Think I–." Hunk grunted as he struck the beast in the back with his ax, causing sparks to fly, but left no visible damage. This only made the Tormentor turn to face him–towering over him. "Or not." He gulped before he was struck down by the creature's scythe, the Morphin Grid absorbing some of the impact.
"Hm…" Paige hummed as she scanned the scythe wielding monster with an analytical gaze before spotting the glow coming from its shoulders. "Let's try attacking the shoulders and see what happens!" She told the others.
"Alright, at this point I'm willing to try anything." Lance sighed as he took his sais and rushed the monster, roll-dodging the scythe as it hit the ground and running up its shaft, before jumping and kicking the Tormentor in the face, causing it to stagger backwards, losing its weapon. "Now you're mine–gack!" He exclaimed as he was about to drive his weapons into its shoulders, only to be caught in a stranglehold by the Tormentor.
"Lance, hang on!" Hunk yelled as he swung his axe down on the Tormentor's left shoulder, causing the monster to drop the blue Ranger and grip its shoulder in pain.
After a moment, dark energy started coming from the creature, and when it receded, the glow that was on its shoulders was gone and moved to its chest.
The Tormentor's single eye flashed in red before it turned a murderous gaze at the heavy set teen, taking a breath and forcibly healing its shoulder, but the glow did not return.
"Oh great going, Hunk! Ya made it angry." Lance sighed, exasperated.
"Oh come on! What else was I supposed to do?!" The axe user shot back defensively before yelping when he had to dodge a fist from the cycloptic monster.
Ruji and Keith tried to attack it from behind to get it to focus on them, but all it did was bat them to the side before tossing a wrecked car at them to keep them pinned.
"Guys!" Paige exclaimed in panic before she had to use her shield to block another punch from the dark monster. The end result was her straining to not cave in under the literal pressure this beast was subjecting her to.
Said pressure was beginning to become so great that a small crater was forming inch by inch, until cracks began to form in Paige's force field.
Seconds later, it shattered and the Tormentor now had the girl at its mercy, swatting Hunk and Lance away into a department store, and then stomping on Paige's back, her neck in the curve of its scythe.
"Paige! No!" Ryuji exclaimed in horror.
Keith, seeing this, used his speed to vibrate himself free. Then he grunted as energy from the Morphin Grid surged through him as he took a runner's stance and took off… right past the Tormentor.
Everyone thought he was running away, which made the other Rangers nearly feel betrayed, but in truth… he was running around the world to build up energy for a punch.
When he completed his circuit and came back to the fight, he roared as he punched the Tormentor so hard it was sent flying away from them and into a building. This display of power left the other Rangers speechless.
"... How did you–?" Paige wondered as Lance helped her up.
"I literally ran around the world and punched it when I got back." He told her as he dusted her off.
"Well, thanks for the save." She told him before shivering. "I think my life flashed before my eyes…" She gulped.
"Yeah. This thing is no joke." Lance nodded as the ape-like creature pulled itself out of the rubble.
"Uh, guys?" Hunk said, looking around. "Where's Ryuji?" He questioned.
"I'm still pinned under this car!" The black Ranger called, and true enough, he was still pinned.
"Oh, I got you!" The yellow Ranger said before running over to him and lifting the car off of him with his super strength, letting him move from under it.
"Thanks, Hunk." The boy said before he started turning invisible again, and snuck away.
Meanwhile, the Tormentor felt itself growing more and more infuriated with the resistance it was dealing with. It thought these Rangers would be an easy kill, but they somehow put up more resistance than the humans it had been slaughtering before they arrived.
"I think we're starting to wear it down." Keith panted as he called his whip into sword form.
"Really? Because for a minute there I thought it was the other way around." Lance grumbles, twirling his sais.
"Come on, guys, focus. We still need to beat it." Paige told them, holding her shield up.
"Yeah, but how are we supposed to hit it in the chest while it's attacking us?!" Hunk questioned as he held his axe in a position to get ready to swing.
However, before they or the Tormentor could do anything, something invisible nailed the beast in the stomach with a kick and then a two handed overhead smash before it was lifted into the air and suplexed into the street below.
"What the fuck?!" Keith gaped, eyes wide under his helmet. The figure who had just supplexed the beast revealed itself to be Ryuji, and he had his Dragon Saber at the ready.
"Everyone, let's combine our powers." The teen panted as he stumbled backwards.
"Whoa, you okay?" Lance asked in concern, which the others shared..
"Yeah. Doing what I just did left me feeling pretty winded, but I'll be fine." The black Ranger replied. "Come on, let's combine our powers." He told them as the teens threw their weapons into the air and watched them merge into a single weapon–a massive spear.
When the Tormentor was fully free, it looked at the Rangers and saw what they were doing. It needed to stop them, so it grabbed its scythe and charged at them, going for the kill.
It was too slow, however, and the spear dropped into Ryuji's hand who leapt forward and launched the spear clean through its chest, causing the dark beast to drop its weapon and stagger back in pain.
A moment later, it exploded, and pure darkness erupted from it, forming a small forest of jagged looking trees.
"The hell…?" Keith muttered as he looked at the dead creature in confusion. He'd heard of a lot of weird stuff, but a creature's death spawning jagged trees? That made the top ten.
"Whatever. At least it's dead." Paige sighed, leaning on Hunk to steady herself.
As they recovered from their apparent skin of their teeth victory, a beam of light shot down from space, and the same figure from before–the one called Sam–appeared in front of them in a superhero landing pose.
The samurai themed warrior stood up and looked at the deceased Tormentor before looking at the Rangers, who looked exhausted but ready for another fight.
"Hm. So you're the new Ranger's, huh?" He mused, looking at each of them. "The name's Darksteel Sam, one of Zedidiah's many generals." He told them as he introduced himself.
"Oh shit." Lance said as he backed up a bit.
"Not good, not good…" Hunk gulped, axe still ready.
"I was not expecting this so quickly." Paige shivered, bringing her shield up.
"Ryuji? Ideas?" Keith questioned his team leader.
"None at the moment. We don't know what he's capable of." The dragon Ranger gulped in reply.
"Oh, why don't I fix that?" Sam grinned before he drew his sword, which glowed a menacing red.
"Rangers. Get ready." Ryuji told his team. "For the sake of Earth and everything we hold dear, we will not back down!" He added, saber at the ready.
"Oh, good." Sam grinned as he gripped his own sword. "Why, that's very good. Yes, I like that." He chuckled.
"This guy sounds pretty full of himself." Keith muttered.
"Either that, or he's generally confident." The green Ranger muttered as she looked at the general warily.
However, before anyone could say or do anything…
(Elsewhere)
"They… They defeated the Tormentor." Echidna gasped as she turned to her lover, fearing his wrath at this failure, flinching when his hand reached for her.
She softened when he simply stroked her hair, kissing her.
"Prepare the Gigantomachi beam. We will try again here." He told her, his voice conveying nothing but tenderness.
"Of course." The lamia replied softly as she carried out her order.
(Meanwhile)
Right at that moment, another beam shot down between Sam and the Rangers and hit the Tormentor–Causing it to revive and grow to titanic sizes!
"... GO TO HELL!" Keith yelled in frustration as he looked at the now titanic sized Tormentor, though his frustration was a pretty good mask to hide how scared he felt right now.
"Rangers! Zedidiah just unleashed his gigantification ray, you need to summon your Zords!" Alpha called to them via their Morphers.
"We can tell!" Lance gulped as he looked up at the looming scythe wielding orangutan.
"I just hope mine will listen at the moment…" The red Ranger muttered, hoping his zord listens to his call.
"Let's do this!" Paige exclaimed as she held up her Morpher.
"Calling Zords!" The three exclaimed while Keith teleported back to the Citadel and Ryuji jumped to the top of a building.
"Hmmm, another time then, Rangers." Sam said as he disappeared right as the Turtle, Tiger and Wolf Zords started charging towards the battle.
(Meanwhile)
Keith was quick to walk up to the Fox Zord immediately after he arrived. He knew the hotheaded zord didn't respect him, but he was pretty much desperate since the Tormentor would level Angel Cove if he didn't do anything.
"I know you don't respect me, but there's a big-ass monster in town and we need to stop it. So how about you get off your lazy ass and help us!" He yelled as he slammed his hand on the Fox's head, causing a pulse of red to ripple over it before it sprang to life, knocking Keith over.
The red zord looked at its Ranger and snarled at him, its tails pointing at him as energy crackled around them… before it knelt to him, head bowed.
"That's more like it." The red Ranger nodded before he noticed the dragon zord coming to life and letting out a roar. "Heh, Ryuji is gonna love seeing that." He mused with a smirk before he entered the pilot seat of his zord and rushed off to the fight, the dragon zord following suit.
(Elsewhere)
Ryuji watched as the other three Zords fought the Tormentor best they could, the Turtle Zord peppering it with minigun fire, the wolf zord biting its legs, rolling with its tail and hitting it with its turrets, and the Tiger zord mauling it.
But despite all this, the Tormentor refused to go down, and slashed and swatted them away with ease.
It was then that Keith came onto the scene, the Fox zord lashing at the monster with its nine tails.
"Awesome!" Ryuji grinned as looked at the Dragon Dagger. "Now it's my turn." He nodded before he placed the hilt to his mouth and started playing it like a flute, to the tune of March of the Dragon.
Immediately, the Dragon Zord landed next to the building he was on and held out a hand for him. Nodding, the half Japanese teen stepped onto it and was brought to the pilot seat.
Hopping in, he was quick to assist the others by having his zord ram into the Tormentor and grapple it, hurling it into the air and slamming its tail into the ape-like being's midsection, sending it crashing into a skyscraper.
Quickly he radioed the rest of the Rangers.
"Everyone, sound off!" He called.
"Keith here. Red Fox Zord, ready to kill!" Keith responded.
"This is Hunk. Yellow Tiger Zord, good to go!" Hunk continued.
"Lance speaking. Blue Wolf Zord, on the prowl!" Lance picked up.
"Paige reporting. Green Turtle Zord, tanking everything!" Paige finished.
"Alright guys. Time to combine for the first time! Ready?" Ryuji asked.
"Yeah!" The others nodded.
"Then form the Revolution Megazord!" The teen leader ordered.
"Right!" The rest of the team exclaimed as the Dragon Zord started floating and shifting itself.
"Fox and Turtle Zords, form arms and body!" Ryuji ordered as the two robots shifted and locked into position onto the shoulders of Dragon zord as its arms folded into its chest. "Wolf and Tiger Zords, form feet and legs!" He continued as the other two did just that. "And as for me, I'll form the head!" He added as the Dragon zord's head's upper jaw moved up, revealing a pair of red eyes as it took on a humanoid shape.
Its tail then detached and merged with the tails of the Fox Zord to form a sort of four pronged spear. Additionally the Turtle Zord's shell became a tank cannon shield, and the Wolf Zord's tail became a bladed shin guard.
"Together we are: the Revolution Megazord!" The Rangers exclaimed as the giant robot struck a battle pose.
The Tormentor, not really caring for such theatrics, swung its scythe at the mech. Surprisingly, the Megazord jumped back to dodge the attack before jumping forward and stabbing the four pronged spearhead at its glowing chest, causing it to stagger back from the pain it had just received.
The two then began clashing their weapons together over and over again, striking, blocking and parrying each other–before one more strike caused them to become disarmed.
"Great! Now what do we do?!" Hunk groaned.
"Wait a second, do you guys remember the purple wolf Ranger?" Lance asked as he got an idea.
"The Jungle Fury Mentor, RJ? Yeah, what about him?" Paige questioned.
"What if we tried his spin fury move with my Wolf Zord?" The blue Ranger suggested.
"That's fucking brilliant! Let's do it!" Hunk grinned.
"Alright, let's go!" Ryuji nodded as the group got ready.
"Alright, taking control!" The teen grinned as he took motor control and made the Megazord charge forward and launch into a backflip kick, slicing up its chest with the bladed tail of the Wolf zord and the bladed back of the Tiger zord before landing, causing the Tormentor to fly backwards and onto its back, its armor cracked.
Then, right as it got back up, the combined mech charged at it and landed a series of kicks that damaged its armor even more to the point some of it chipped off.
"Time for the grand finale!" Lance grinned as he made the wolf zord's tail detach and go into its mouth before the megazord did a spin kick that sent the bladed tail flying. The dark monster couldn't react in time and was assailed by the bladed tail before said weapon carved a deep gash on its chest, causing the Tormentor to fall to its knees before it seemed to be encased in ice and fell apart immediately after.
"Aw yeah!" Hunk cheered.
"Beat that, Zedidiah!" Paige hollered.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Keith whooped.
"Aoooooooowwwwwl!" Lance howled in victory.
"We stand and they fall! Get wrecked!" Ryuji exclaimed, fist in the air.
(Meanwhile)
-Deep Space-
On Zedidiah's ship, the Taken King sighed as he felt the Tormentor sent to Earth die. He wanted to be angry, but he knew that this was only the first fight. There were still plenty of fights ahead, along with opportunities to kill these new Rangers.
No reason to get angry now, especially in the beginning.
"Are… Are you displeased, my lord?" Echidna asked softly, trying to avoid setting him off in case he was mad.
"Yes, but not to the point I'm angry." Zedidiah sighed in reply. "The Rangers bested the Tormentor I sent after them, but it is of little concern presently. There will be more chances in the times ahead." He added.
"U-Understood, my king." The woman nodded, looking at him when he stroked her cheek.
"Please my love, do not fear." He told her, his thumb rubbing her lips as he took her into his lap. "No matter how angry I become, I will never raise a hand against you. I would as soon strike myself then hurt you, my sweet. You know this." He told the mother of his brood.
"I… Right." Echidna sighed as she relaxed. "I'm sorry, Zedidiah, but I keep thinking that you may inherit your mother's temper and lash out in anger." She told him apologetically.
"No, I won't. Not to you. I have better self control than that." The dark king told his lover in a caring tone, kissing her forehead.
It was then that Darksteel Sam entered the throne room, bowing before the two as he stopped in front of the throne steps.
"My king, empress." He greeted them politely.
"Hello, Sam." Echidna nodded in acknowledgement of the sword wielding general.
"You summoned me?" The man questioned, addressing the Taken King, who stood up, allowing Echidna to rest on the throne until he returned as he stepped down towards his General.
Surprisingly, Sam was much taller and beefier than the boy he called Master, but despite this, it was clear who had the power here.
Zedidiah was silent for a few seconds, before he flicked his hand down, causing Sam to drop to one knee when paracausal energy started exerting pressure on him.
"I gave explicit orders that you along with the rest of my generals weren't to confront the Rangers yet. Why did you go against this order?" Zedidiah demanded calmly.
"I… wanted to get a first hand… feel for how… strong they were." Sam got out in between grunts as he struggled against the pressure.
"Your desire to test and fight strong opponents is part of the reason why I recruited you, Sam." The young man stated, tightening the pressure. "But it will also be your ruin if you disobey me for your own goals. Remember that." He continued as he forced the man face down on the ground. "Don't make me warn you again." He added as he released him, before returning to his queen.
"You didn't strike him." She noted.
"It is in his nature. You cannot punish that about someone. You can only train it to your needs." He told her as he took her in his arms again as Sam limped out of the room. "Now, where were we, beloved?" He asked.
"I saw one of our eggs move. I think it is mere minutes from hatching." She told him.
"Then let us go and be there for when our first child takes their first breath." Zedidiah smiled before the two of them went to the hatchery to welcome their first child into the universe.
(Elsewhere)
-Mighty Morphin Citadel-
"We did it, Zordon! We won!" Lance cheered.
"You won the battle, yes, but the war is far from over." The first Ranger nodded. "That said, you came together and showed great unity. And your victory has bought us some much valuable breathing room. That itself is indeed cause for celebration." He amended.
"Yeah. We'll need it, especially given the problems on our plate." Ryuji nodded, recalling that Mars was on a collision course with Earth. That was going to be the piggest pain in the ass to resolve.
"Right. We've got enemies gunning for us and a planet to stop from colliding with Earth." Paige nodded.
"I think we'll leave that to the intelligent people in the group." Keith decided.
"Aw, thanks Keith." Hunk chuckled bashfully.
"Heh, don't worry boys. You can count on me." Paige grinned, giving a thumbs up.
"Guys, I think this is probably the start of a beautiful friendship." Lance smiled, bringing everyone in for a hug, even Alpha, Zordon and Tommy.
"... Ya know what, Lance? I think you're absolutely right." Tommy chuckled as he joined the team hug.
It was good to be a Ranger again.
Dragon Emperor0: Yeah! And we're done! And on my birthday too! This is great. Now we can let this sit for a while whilst we work out other stories and let this ruminate so we can come up with more chapter ideas. I gotta say though. I'm really proud of how this three parter turned out.
ThermalsniperN7: Happy B-Day, my guy. I'm proud of how it turned out to… Though I think we just gave many of our fellow Guardians nightmares when we had that Tormentor turned into a giant.
Dragon Emperor0: Oh Traveler forgive me! Sorry guys! Didn't mean for that to happen, I was just really excited. Also, all you fellow diehard Power Rangers fans, how are you liking this story so far? Be honest, did this memorial three parter seem like a good way to honor the memory of Jason David Frank? Because I sincerely hope so.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. I hope we honored his memory well enough with this. Anyway, see you guys next time.