The Dragon's Rise: Chapter Thirteen

Breaking Free

Jason and the others gathered in front of Zordon. Their clothes were torn. Cuts and bruises covered their skin.

"Our zords were trashed," Jason told Zordon. How were they supposed to fight without zords?

"They will need time to heal," Zordon said. The rangers sometimes forgot that their zords were living creatures, no matter how unique.

Zack kicked a console and rolled his hands into fists. "This is crazy."

"Come on, man." Jason placed a reassuring hand on Zack's shoulder. "We'll get through this." He wished he was as confident as he sounded.

"Why didn't you finish them off?" Bandora screamed at Goldar. The simian and Scorpina were kneeling before the empress in her moon palace.

"But Dragon Ranger-" Goldar started to say, but Bandora slammed the end of her staff against the back of his neck.

Bandora lifted her gaze to Dragon Ranger, who stood nearby with his arms crossed over his chest. "Go back down there and finish the job for him," she shrieked.

Dragon Ranger nodded and stepped backward into the shadows.

The rangers were still in the Command Chamber waiting for a positive word about their zords. The Viewing Globe caught Trini's eyes. "Guys, look..."

The teens turned towards the Globe. An image of Dragon Ranger appeared. He was standing in the mountains with his sword casually draped over his shoulder. The Dragonzord stood in the background.

"It's like a challenge," Billy said.

Jason nodded. "Well we're taking it."

"How are the zords?" Trini asked Alpha.

"They're still injured, but will function," Alpha answered.

"Remember, rangers," Zordon told them, "destroy his Sword of Darkness and you will set him free."

"Right..." Jason said.

They readied their transformation devices and snapped the bucklers open while shouting: "Dino Buckler!"

The Rangers dropped into the mountains. They landed on a cropping that looked out towards a wide, rocky valley where the Dragonzord stood. The Rangers stepped forward, ready to summon their zords.

"Dinozords, arise!" they shouted as they raised their hands towards the sky. The five Dinozords appeared and stomped through the mountains towards the Dragonzord. The Rangers leapt into their zords' cockpits.

"Dinozord fusion!" Tyranno Ranger commanded. The five zords reassembled and combined to form one giant warrior. The Megadinozord landed, crackling with energy as it snapped into a fighting stance and faced off with the Dragonzord.

Dragon Ranger played a booming melody on his dagger, commanding the Dragonzord to attack. Dragonzord extended its hands and launched a volley of missiles that streaked through the air towards the Megazord.

Megadinozord armed its saber and used the blade to deflect the missiles. The missiles exploded against the saber, protecting the Megazord from impact.

"Clever," Dragon Ranger said sarcastically. He played another tune on the Dagger. He commanded the Dragonzord to whip its tail drill towards the Megazord.

The drill spun and slammed against the Megazord's chest armor, exploding with a cloud of sparks on impact. The attack forced the Megazord backward, and Dragonzord pushed forward. The giant dragon crashed its head against Megadinozord's chest.

Megadinozord struck back with a pair of backfist blows that slammed against the Dragonzord. Dragonzord roared and spun forward, slamming the end of its tail against the zord with a powerful impact. The Rangers were rocked in their cockpit from the attack.

"I've got to stop this once and for all," Tyranno Ranger said as he tightened his fist. "I'm going down."

Tyranno Ranger leapt from the Megazord and somersaulted through the air. He landed in a crouched position several meters in front of Dragon Ranger while arming his Blade Blaster in blaster mode. He aimed the weapon forward and fired three bursts of crimson energy.

Dragon Ranger played his dagger as his chest shield flashed with jade energy. Tyranno Ranger's blasts reflected off the shield and streaked back towards him. The lances of energy exploded against Tyranno Ranger.

Tyranno Ranger rolled to the side, aimed, and fired again as Dragon Ranger continued to play his Dagger. The energy blasts reflected off the shield, streamed back towards Tyranno Ranger, and exploded against his chest.

Tyranno Ranger returned his Blade Blaster to its holster and armed his Tyranno Sword. The Red Ranger charged forward as Dragon Ranger sprinted to attack.

Dragon Ranger leapt forward with a flying crescent kick that Tyranno Ranger rolled underneath.

The Red Ranger rose back to his feet and swung his sword towards Dragon Ranger's head. Dragon Ranger used both his blades to block the blow, knock Tyranno Ranger's sword aside, and slash both blades diagonally across the Red Ranger's chest.

Tyranno Ranger spun with the blow and swung his blade horizontally towards Dragon Ranger's head. Dragon Ranger parried the blow and jump-roundkicked Tyranno Ranger in the side.

Tyranno Ranger was forced back a step, but he pounced back forward and slashed upward diagonally, slashing Dragon Ranger across the chest.

"Dragon's Claw!" Dragon Ranger energized his blades with jade-tinted power and swung the swords in an 'x' pattern. Daggers of energy lashed out and exploded across the Ranger's armor with a series of ripping sparks.

Tyranno Ranger was thrown backward and went stumbling across the ground.

Dragon Ranger charged his sword with crackling green energy and thrust the saber into the ground. A wave of power ripped through the soil and jetted towards Tyranno Ranger. The wave exploded beneath the Red Ranger's feet, causing explosions to spark against the Ranger's armor as he was thrown backward.

Bandora watched the battle from her balcony. She saw Dragon Ranger deliver another strike across the Red Ranger's chest and kick Tyranno Ranger backward. A cold smile spread across the witch's lips.

"I think he's finally going to do it this time..." she said, blood-thirsty pleasure filling her veins at the thought. The Rangers' end was at hand.

Tyranno Ranger and Dragon Ranger clashed swords. Dragon Ranger moved with a series of swings with his sword in one hand, and spun forward with his other hand, slashing his dagger across the Red Ranger's armor.

Dragon Ranger pushed forward and roundhouse kicked Tyranno Ranger across the helmet, smashing the Ranger backward.

The villain extended his blades and fired a crackling pulse of green energy. The energy pulse exploded against Tyranno Ranger and ripped across his armor. The Red Ranger was thrown backward like a rag doll and went crashing against the mountainside, smashing a web-shaped crater on impact.

Tyranno Ranger crumbled to the ground as Dragon Ranger charged forward. Tyranno Ranger gathered the last of his strength and shot back to his knees. He ran his hand along the edge of his blade, making the saber glow with crimson energy. He tossed the energy blade forward, knocking the weapons from Dragon Ranger's hands.

"Power Wave!" Tyranno Ranger shouted. He swung his sword downward, producing an energy wave that cut through the air. The wave vaporized the Sword of Darkness and created a shockwave that tossed Dragon Ranger backward.

Dragon Ranger rolled across the ground as his armor flashed and powered down. Tommy laid on the ground, his body battered and torn from the blast.

Jason powered down his armor as the other teens moved to his side. They looked down at Tommy, not knowing what to say or what to expect.

Kimberly looked to Jason. "Did you do it?"

Jason nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on Tommy.. "I think so."

Tommy slowly rose to his feet as the rangers took cautious steps towards him. He looked frightened. Scared.Confused. Tommy shook his head as if to clear the clouds from his memory.

He looked to the rangers. "I..." he shook his head and took a step backward, his face growing pale as the memories of the Green Ranger flooded his mind.

"Tommy," Jason started to say softly as he took a step forward.

"No," Tommy said as he narrowed his eyes. His jaw clenched, and his hands rolled up into fists. "No!"

Tommy turned and started to sprint away, as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Tommy!" Kimberly called after him.

Jason laid a hand on her shoulder. "Let him go...he probably needs time to think."

Tommy ran until his own legs failed him, collapsing beneath his body from fatigue. He shook his head and buried his face in his hands. "What have I done..."

A strange man watched from the distance. He wore a dark trench coat that matched his long black hair. A grin spread across the Dark Man's pale face. "And so it begins."

To be continued...Chapter 14