Max's Challenge

Po growled as he sat on his throne. His tone face looked disfigured when he was angry. He needed something to take his anger out on. Buck was on his daily routine of traveling around Kartae for exercise, so the only beings accompanying the great Lord of the Humanitors were his brother, his sister, and his squad of Karadracs.

Folding her hands, Sky confronted her brother regarding his newly obtained attitude. It wasn't like Po was never grumpy, it is just that he looked way more ticked off than usual. "Brother, what seems to be an issue?"

Po let out an inhuman roar as he jumped from his seat and walked past his sister, catching her by surprise. Chasm decided to get out of his brother's way just as Po was about to shove him but barely missed.

"How can we expect to take over the world and destroy the Rangers' town if every monster we send out gets destroyed one by one?" Po exclaimed, turning his head around. His gaze penetrated Chasm's, causing his younger brother to back away a few feet in pure fright.

Sky cleared her throat. "Perhaps we shall try a new motive...like breaking them apart."

Po's ears perked up as he smirked. "I listening..."

Sky leaned forward and whispered her plans to her brother. After she was done, Po looked at her with awe, but then put on a sinister smirk.

"I like where this is going, sister..." he then turned and cackled. "But I need to have some fun until then. KARADRACS! ATTACK!" He yelled out, slashing his flute/blade in the air randomly. "DESTROY THEM ALL!"

Karadracs, both giant and normal size, entered through multiple portals that opened up to the human world. Bypassers and other citizens turned their heads towards the portals and were curious about them until the foot soldiers, dozens of them, began crawling through and causing terror. The citizens all over downtown began to panic and scatter as the foot soldiers chased them around with their swords, while the giant forms of the Karadracs began thrashing their swords upon buildings, causing debris to scatter and fall all over the place, amplifying the terror these monsters were causing.

Max was running through their suburban town towards the city. Following close behind the Red Ranger were his friends in order: Maya, DJ, Donnie, and Bonnie. The five teens were hurrying over towards downtown was they all received word from Ellie about what was going on. They could have used Maya's car, but if they were to morph, people would recognize the car and instantly know about their identities.

Lights flashed around the teens as they transformed into the Power Rangers. They made it downtown, where the scene was more gruesome than they could have imagined.

Max turned to his friends and spoke accordingly. "Donnie, Bonnie, you deal with the creep. DJ, Maya, let's take those ginormous monsters out!"

"RIGHT!" They all shouted.

Max turned his head back towards the Karadracs, who have noticed the Rangers' presence. Max spoke through his communicator. "Ellie, we need the Zords!"

As requested, the Cheetah, Shark, and Eagle Zords all combined into the Megazord for the three main Rangers. At the same time, Donnie and Bonnie pulled out their blades and began battling the regular-sized foot soldiers. It was clear to them that the ginormous herd was going to wear them out, but they needed to keep fighting.

Meanwhile, the other three Rangers pilot the Megazord and, one by one, struck each giant Karadrac with either the Kendo Blade or the top of DJ's zord used as the left hand.

Once a few foot soldiers were left, they all gather and prepared themselves for the final blow given by the Megazord.

"Kendo Blade! Final Strike!" Max, DJ, and Maya all called out. Their Megazord obeyed their command, and with one final, golden strike knocked out all of the remaining giant monsters to their feet. They all erupted as the Rangers averted their attention back down onto the twins, who were already struggling to deal with the normal-sized monsters.

Donnie and Bonnie struggled to fend off against the Karadracs but ended up getting cornered against a brick building by then. They began to snarl as they slowly approach the twins, who held their staffs in defense.

Just then, Maya jumped over them, armed with her Cheetah Bow Gun, and began firing at the Karadracs, dismantling countless of them. Once Maya landed on her feet, she rushed over to the two twins.

"You guys alright?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you." Just then, the Red and Blue Rangers jumped over the large herd of monsters and rushed over to their friends, Max's gaze still on the remaining Karadracs.

"Guys, power up your blades and staffs!"

"Right!" the other four Rangers obeyed and soon enough, their weapons began to light up.

"Quintuple Slash!" They all called out after they lined up and slash their weapons at the Karadracs. The power was too great and it dismantled the remaining monster, causing some of them to either erupt, while the other simply diminished into thin air.

The Rangers demorphed and began to celebrate, all except of course, for Max. As his friends celebrated from a distance, Max couldn't help but take a deep dive into his mental lobe as a voice was tampering with his mind. It was almost like an echo that was driving the Red Ranger towards insanity.

"Max," a voice called from behind that snapped the red-headed teen out of his temporary state of mental torture. He turned and saw DJ looking curiously at him. "The others want to celebrate at a nearby sushi place. Come on."

Max stuttered a bit before putting on a forced smile. "Sure thing."

DJ patted Max's shoulder as the two followed their friends into the sushi place, Max trying his best to ignore the message that played in his mind. Red Ranger, you are in danger.

A young, 6-year-old Max ran through the park, with his father trying to catch up to his son. He made it to the playground and wanted to hop into the sandbox, but noticed it was already occupied by a dark-skinned boy his age.

Max decided to come in aid with the boy, who simply cast him a nervous smile. There was off about this boy, but Max did not mind.

That boy was DJ.

Another glimpse showed Max at the age of 8, where he and DJ were together in the first period. A new, energetic young girl by the name of Maya sat with them and simply became critical about DJ's manners when he burped out loud.

It was as if a team was formed, even way before they became Power Rangers.

But then, another glimpse appeared. It was Max being invited near the rushing river by his friends. He appeared and was surprised to see a sickening figure across the bridge he stood upon.

His eyes widened. "Po!"

The notorious creature cackled as he held DJ and Maya up with both of his hands. Both of Max's close friends were badly bruised, and they screamed out in agony as Po dug his finger into their neck.

"AHHH!" Maya screeched.

"MAX, HELP US!" DJ cried, but it was too late. Much to Max's horror, Po lunged both DJ and Maya over the bridge and into the unforgiving river. Max looked over and screamed his friends' names, but then turned and felt his heart stop as he now witness Po lunge both twins over the bridge as well.

"MAX!" Bonnie screamed before she and her brother made an impact with the rushing waters.

Soon, Max's body felt numb. He couldn't feel anything or hear anything except for a voice calling his name.

"Max...Max...Max..."

"Max!" A voice startled Max, waking him up from his slumber. He sat up from his bed, panting. Sweating came down from his forehead. He looked up and noticed it was just his father, already in his uniform.

Bobby put a hand on his son's shoulder and spoke. "You okay?"

Max gulped before nodding his head. "Yes... a bad dream."

Bobby chuckled before making his way out the door. "I know it is the weekend, but I would get myself situated if I were you."

"Po, I have enough serum for you to remain on Earth long enough to destroy the Rangers. Are you sure you are up for it?"

Po chuckled as he opened the canteen filled with the dreaded serum. "Yes, Sky."

All four of the other Rangers were morphed as they began their training in Karate Operations. Uni was their challenger, and his challenge was for the Rangers to combat him at all once as they were fully morphed.

Uni had his hands behind his back and his eyes completely shut as he stood in the middle of the dojo. The Rangers had their weapons ready as they surrounded their master.

DJ was the first to strike. He rushed over and just to strike his sword, but in an instant, Uni tilted to his right just to dodge DJ's strike before knocking the Blue Ranger to his feet. He made a front flip, shooting a short energy blast at DJ, sending him flying towards the wall.

Donnie tried to drop-kick his sensei, but Uni simply stomped on the Green Ranger's feet, causing the poor boy to yelp before Uni sent him flying with a swift kick to the side.

Bonnie and Maya stood side by side as they charged at Uni, but the teacher dodged every punch, kick, and any other maneuver the girls tried before doing a backflip, shooting an energy blast midway that sent the girls flying and tumbling to the ground.

Uni chuckled as he walked off. "Namaste, Rangers." He mocked. "I'd like for you to remain here as I prepare for your next lessons with the kendo blades." He spoke before teleporting to his home to fetch the equipment.

DJ got up to his feet and spoke as he removed his helmet. "Show off."

"Hey, he can't be a showoff if he is just doing his jobs," Bonnie pointed out, removing her helmet.

Just then, Max teleported himself into the dojo. His friends turned towards him and were shocked to see him. He looked horrendous. He was in his Ranger suit, just without the helmet. His red hair was atrocious as it was all over the place. There were bags underneath his eyes and it seemed as if he had just gone through an episode as his facial expression resembled that of someone who had just gotten mugged.

Maya removed her helmet and set it off to the side before rushing over to her friend. "Max, are you alright?"

Max felt like he was about to collapse before Maya caught him. He snapped out of it and looked deep into her eyes. "I'm fine. I just...had a nightmare." He then reminded me about that horrific dream he had about losing his friends to Po. He held onto Maya for dear life. Maya was stunned by the affection and tried to pry Max off of her. "Don't leave me..." he quietly begged.

Maya was stunned for a moment before accepting the firm embrace. "I'm not going anywhere..." she spoke, rubbing her friend's back.

DJ appeared next to them and aided in comforting Max. He ruffled his hair and spoke. "I ain't going anywhere, brother."

Max looked up at him and smiled. Just then, Ellie appeared out of nowhere and rushed to her monitor.

Donnie looked over at her and was confused he removed his helmet and rushed over to where Ellie sat by her monitor. He glanced over at the screen and felt his heart run cold as Ellie zoomed in as to what was going on at the Sacred Springs of the States.

"Guys, look at this!" Donnie called out to his friends. The other Rangers rushed over, save for Max, who simply limped over to look at the monitor, as the pure exhaustion has hindered his capability to move efficiently. He took one glance at the monitor and felt his heart skip several beats. His eyes widened and his blood went cold.

A creature like no other was standing in front of the waters. He was bald and extremely built. His eyes had no pupils and he was armed with a steel vest and a flute-like weapon.

"Is that...him?" Maya whispered in awe. The Rangers could not believe he was here, on Earth.

"Po..." Max whispered as he backed away a few feet. Was it a coincidence that Po showed up the morning after Max had suffered a nightmare based on the villain taking out the Rangers? No!

DJ ground his teeth. "Let's teach him a lesson!"

"Right!" The others, minus Max, agreed. As the Rangers walked off, with Max following slowly behind, Ellie turned her chair and warned them.

"Guys, Po is not like any other Humanitor out there. He's...personal."

DJ scoffed. "Ellie just lay back and watch." He and the other Rangers like up, ready to morph. They waited for Max to join in the middle like he normally does, but he was hesitant.

"Max come on!" Maya egged on. It was at the moment that Max knew it was now or never. He looked up, snapped out of his weak phase, and joined his friends.

"Ready?" Max spoke, raising his morphing.

"Ready!" The other proceeded

"Call into Combat!"

Po surveyed the beautiful scenery that was the Sacred Springs. He breathed in the humid air that he was quite familiar with as he used to be human.

"Ah, planet Earth! Just wait until I have this entire world crumble underneath my feet. Soon, it shall belong to the Humanitors. The human race is done for!"

Just then, he turned to his right as he noticed 5 figures he had wanted to come across with for a long time, especially the Red superhero in the middle.

"Hey Po!" the Blue Ranger called out, ignoring the knot in his chest. He wields his sword as he wields his sword high above his head. "I don't know where you came from, but you ought to back off before we put out petals to the metal!"

Max glanced over at DJ before his gaze averted back to Po, who merely laughed. "I was hoping for some more worth adversaries, you guys seem so puny. However..." Before he could continue, both Donnie and DJ charged at him, not regarding the protests from Max. They powered up their weapons and prepared to strike.

"Hydro-slash!"

"Shimmering Ray!"

As they struck both of Po's shoulders, they were stunned as he barely moved at all. They looked up frightened as Po cracked a smirk. They began to battle with him with other own weapons, but he simply dodged every swing with ease before he called out with a smirk. "Nice...now it is my turned!" Just then, he began to spin around at an alarming speed, rapidly lashing his blade at both boys. Donnie and DJ were then sent tumbling backward, grunting in pain from Po's attack.

Once Po stopped spinning, he noticed the two girls charging at him. Maya and Bonnie decided to put their training o the test and tried to combat with Po, but he proved to be at a much more elite level in karate than they are. When Bonnie was swinging, he would dodge and strike her in the abdomen. Maya tried to dropkick him but he dodge and shot of raw energy at her.

Both girls gather their bearing and decided to kick it up a notch. They pulled out their weapons. "Seismic Swing!" Maya called out.

"Frost Bite!" Bonnie spoke as the girls swung their weapons, releasing a surge of white and yellow energy coming towards Po.

The girls were stunned as Po absorbed the energy from the two slashes with his blade and with one swing, sent it back towards the girls.

Bonnie and Maya screamed as the power of the two slashes struck them hard. They were sent to the ground.

Max hurried over to the girls. "Bonnie! Maya!" He then looked over fiercely at Po, who merely chuckled as he wielded his sword in the air slowing.

"Pathetic." He spoke. This caused Max's anger and rage to boil over. He let out an inhuman roar as he charged at Po, but before he could get too close, Po struck him hard with his blade.

Max was sent tumbling but before he could fall on his behind, Po release a massive gush of air that sent Max flying. Po then used his blade, which was now emboldened with red flame, and used it to set Max ablaze.

Max was screaming in agony as his entire suit was engulfed in flames. Sure, the suit protected his body, but the pain was unbearable.

Po then sprinted towards the Red Ranger. "Now it's time to end this!" He yelled before slashing Max as he reached him. It took out the flames, thankfully, but the impact sent Max to the ground.

He needed to be strong, even though the pain was too much to bear. After a minute of telling himself to get a grip, he finally managed to get up to his face.

Po scoffed. "You just don't know when to quit!" He then retaliated by shooting a massive beam at the Red Ranger. Max screamed as an eruption imploded behind him. Before long, it was too much for him to handle, and he ended up de-morphing before tumbling to the ground. He had his face half-buried in the sand.

"No!" Maya called out as she gathered her bearings and lunged herself onto Po's back. Po tried to pry her off of him but was bombarded by the other Rangers.

"Fine, I guess we will have to do this the hard way!" He spoke before sending electrical blasts upon the Rangers, sending them flying off of him. They groaned as Po realize this was his moment to finish them off.

As all the Rangers gathered their bearings, Po gathered all the raw energy around him and focused it upon his sword. "Now you are doomed!"

Donnie and DJ knew what was going to happen and shielded the girls from Po's attacks. Po sent multiple red energy slashes at the Rangers. They struck both Donnie and DJ. They de-morphed as they were sent flying near where Max was, completely unconscious.

"Donnie!" Bonnie screeched as she and Maya rushed over to where the boys lay. Maya shot Po a hateful glance as he teased the Rangers, approaching them slowly.

Maya stood defensively in front of her fallen friends. "BACK OFF!" She hollered, gripping her weapon. "BACK OFF, NOW!"

Bonnie stood next to the Yellow Ranger. "You heard her, you sick BASTARD!" She gripped her staff.

Po merely smirked before using his powers to send black energized bearing over at the girls. The bearings wrapped themselves around the two girls, leaving them unable to move.

"Pathetic!" Po called out before running over and with one hard slash, sent the girls flying backward. They de-morphed they hit the ground.

Po chuckled as his gaze glued upon the 5 fallen Rangers. They were all taken down, but now out...yet. He walked over to where Max was, completely unconscious. He raised his blade on his head, ready to take Max out for good, but then stopped for just a moment.

"This is too easy..." He muttered. "The scroll specifically said this would be a worthwhile battle, full of anguish," He cursed quietly to himself before teleporting back to Kartae. "Next time," he reassured himself. Soon, the Rangers would be diminished into dust. He will make sure of it. It was just wasn't the right time.

As of now, the 5 Rangers were out like lights, except for Max, whose eyelids were merely open as he watched the wretched villain teleport away through a portal.

"Max!" A voice hollered from his communicator. "Max, are you okay?! Where are you guys?! What happened?"

To be continued...