The Rangers moved forward and gathered around the alien. Astro Yellow pulled out her portable scanner and slowly waved the instrument over the humanoid's body. "He's suffered massive internal bleeding. He doesn't have much time. We have to get him back to the ship."

A loud clanging sounded from the other end of the ship. The Rangers stared down the corridor, not making a single move as they waited. They heard another noise that sounded like footsteps. The steps were coming closer.

"Chris," Astro Red said. "I thought there weren't any other life signs."

Astro Black shook his head. "There aren't."

Two insect-like figures suddenly leapt from the shadows. Their bodies were unnaturally thin and covered with hard exoskeletons. They shrieked at the top of their lungs while arming foot-long spikes of bone that stuck out from their forearms.

Pores opened on the creatures' arms and shot webbing towards the Rangers.

"Break!" Astro Red shouted as the five Rangers dove away from the webbing.

Several strands wrapped around Astro Yellow's ankles and she fell to the deck plating. One of the creatures pounced towards her, but Astro Red ran to her defense.

"I don't think so, web-face," Astro Red said as he pulled out his Astro Sniper and fired at near-point-blank range.

The creature was not phased by the blast and pounced against Astro Red while slashing at him with bone claws. Astro Red rolled backwards, grabbing onto the creature and dragging it down, and pushed his legs against the monster's chest. The creature went flying backward and crashing against a damaged bulk head.

"What are these things?" Astro Blue asked as he chopped his tomahawk into a creature's skull, but the slender monster kept moving. He followed with a round kick to its side.

"Whatever they are," Astro Black said as he hook punched another creature. More of them kept coming from the shadows. "They're not registering as anything alive. Just bone and muscle."

Astro Red flipped back to his feet and speared a creature through the gut with his Drill Saber. "Fall back. We have to get Kruger out of here."

Astro Red used his Drill Saber to cut Astro Yellow's legs free and helped her back onto her feet.

"Thanks," she said, arming her Astro Sling and firing energy darts at a creature.

"Not a problem," Astro Red said as he slashed another creature.

The Rangers started moving further down the corridor. Astro Pink and Astro Blue had Kruger draped over their shoulders. The others fought against the creatures while covering their retreat.

"Where's the nearest docking port?" Astro Red asked while slicing a creature open with his saber.

Astro Black downloaded the information onto his visor. "Just a few meters down the central corridor. There's damage in the area, so it will be a tight fit."

The ship suddenly shook, and the Rangers were nearly thrown from their feet.

"We have another problem," Astro Black said. "This ship is falling apart all around us."

Astro Blue sighed. "Our lives are getting so cliché."

Astro Yellow axe kicked a creature against the collar bone. "If the hull breaches, we'd survive in our armor, but Kruger wouldn't."

"Kat," Astro Red said as the swarm of creatures continued to lunge at them. "Contact Cy. Tell him to prep a shuttle pod. We're going to be cutting this close."

Kruger weakly lifted his head and spoke to Astro Pink. "They...are everywhere...scavengers...entire fleet..."

The ship rocked again.

"That is sogetting old," Astro Blue said.

The corridor suddenly erupted with a shower of blue energy lances. Dozens of soldiers covered head to toe in silver-and-black colored armor rushed onto the ship and blasted at the creatures. The new arrivals pushed back the creatures with an impressive force of plasma blasts and particle beams.

They cleared the way, covering the Rangers as they moved to escape to the Megaship.

Kruger lied back on a bio-bed in the Megaship's medical bay. He was hooked up to various medical devices. Tommy and Justin stood over the barely-living soldier along with the warriors who had mounted the rescue. They were all members of Kruger's race, the Anubiseijin.

A red-furred K-9 looked towards Tommy. "It is a wonder he survived."

"What were those things that attacked us?" Tommy asked. "They didn't even register as life forms."

"They're not alive," said the red-furred being known only as Major. "They're Scavengers. New weapons being developed by forces loyal to Sauron. They're automated flesh and bone. They consume everything in sight, whether dead or living. Astronema must have unleashed them near the battle's conclusion."

Tommy looked to Justin. "Check out the Network. See if there's any word on where these things are being made."

Justin nodded and moved from the room. "Will do."

Tommy looked back to Major. "We probably shouldn't stay here for long."

"Agreed," Major said. "We will accompany you in your search for the Scavenger plant. In the meantime, might I suggest we head to Onyx."

"Why Onyx?" Tommy asked. "It's not exactly the most friendly of places, from what I hear."

"Indeed it is not," Major said. "But that is where the enemy fleet withdrew to. We were able to track their hyperspace trail."

Tommy activated the nearest wall-mounted communicator. "Cy...set a course for Onyx. Hyper-rush nine."

An hour later, Ashley stood at a corridor viewport and stared at the stars streaking by. Tommy walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"A public display of affection?" she said teasingly. "What's the special occasion?"

Tommy shrugged and stared out the viewport. "I just wanted to remind myself why we do this...for the people we care about..."

Ashley ran her hand along Tommy's. "What do you thinks been going on back at Earth since we left?"

"Hm," Tommy said. "I hear they made another Jack Nicholson movie."

Ashley rolled her eyes and teasingly elbowed Tommy in the ribs.

Onyx was a hive of scum and villainy. The world was nothing but scorched earth, burnt beneath the feet of pirates and killers that walked across the soil.

A tavern sat in the midst of the wasteland. The hut served various bounty hunters, thieves and pirates. Tables in the old shack were equipped with holographic gambling games and entertainment cubes. Darkonda walked among them.

The villain moved towards the upper level, laughing as he tipped over a drunken midget. He moved down a row of doors. He stopped at the sixth door to his left and knocked.

"Open the door, troll," Darkonda said.

The door slightly creaked open, and a three-foot troll creature peaked his head out. "You're…early."

 "Thank you for noticing," Darkonda snarled cynically. He stabbed out his hand. "The vile. Give it to me."

The troll nodded. His nervous body was shaking. "Yes, yes...I just need to go in and grab it..."

The creature moved back into the shadows. A sleek metallic hand extended a small vile of orange liquid. The hand belonged to Eclipter. "Not a word," he said in a low metal tone.

A chill shot down the troll's spine at the sight of Eclipter's blood-red eyes. The creature shook his head and took the vile as instructed.

The troll walked back to the door and cracked it open while handing the vile towards Darkonda. The villain snatched the vile with a blur of motion.

"Thank you," Darkonda said. He extended his hand and fired a jagged pulse of orange-red energy that ripped through the troll, incinerating his body. "There's your payment."

Darkonda's laughter echoed through the tavern as he walked downstairs towards the bar.

The Astro Megaship blasted through hyperspace on its way towards Onyx.

Tommy was reading a data pad at a desk in his quarters. He had a glass of caf in hand while reading through the manifests and data Gandor had given him months ago on Kilwan.

His mind suddenly slipped from reality. Visions danced across his mind's eye. He saw himself, no older than five, on a grassy landscape. He was playing with his sister, floating a hovering series of spheres with portable tractor beams.

One of the spheres fell loose. Tommy ran after the sphere on short legs. It wasn't long before he heard his sister scream.

"Karone!" young Tommy shouted as he ran back for his sister.

He skid in his tracks when he saw. A creature, Darkonda, was lifting Karone from the ground with a glimmer of sick pride in his red eyes. Before young Tommy could even scream, the sky started to burn, and he was knocked unconscious.

Tommy snapped back into realty within his quarters. He shook his head to clear the images, but they remained frozen in his mind.

He narrowed his eyes and tightened his fists. "Darkonda...it was you."

Kruger sat up in his bio bed as Kat gave him a hypo-spray to dull his pain. The blue-furred being rubbed his neck where the hypo-spray had stung. "Thank you..."

Kat smiled at the alien. "It's not a problem. We're just glad you're alright."

Kruger smiled, although coming from the dog-like being, it looked more like a snarl. "My species has a special gift for healing. It's probably why I...survived."

Kat sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's a good thing you did...so you could warn us. Now maybe we can stop the same thing from happening to other vessels. Stop the Scavengers."

Kruger nodded. "But still...they were my crew. My ship. My fleet. I was responsible for each of their lives. I should have died with them."

"But you didn't," Kat said. "So make that count for something. Everything happens for a reason."

Kruger nodded, a low growl rolling in the back of his throat. "I will start with helping find the Scavengers' nest. And helping destroy it."

The Astro Megaship speared into realspace at the edge of the Onyx System. The ship hit its afterburners and started streaking towards the desert world. The Megaship's holographic cloak made the ship appear like a wedge-shaped stealth freighter.

Tommy walked through the morphing bay while grabbing a cloak and blaster from his storage locker. He had a fierce look of determination on his face. He knew Darkonda was on Onyx. He could sense it.

"DECA, how long until we reach Onyx?" Tommy asked.

"At present course and speed," DECA answered, "two standard hours."

Tommy shut his locker and walked towards his morphing tube. "I'm going ahead towards the surface. Don't tell anyone that I've left."

"The planet Onyx is in a prohibited sector," DECA warned. "Approaching alone is not advised."

"Noted," Tommy said as he leapt into the morphing tube.

Onyx's atmosphere had a dusty, orange tint. Tommy wrapped his cloak around him, hiding his face while walking down a major route. Speeders and hovercraft zoomed by. He noticed Velocifighters as well.

He moved to his left and swung open the main tavern's doors. He walked inside and made his way towards the bar. Through the corners of his eyes, he assessed every table and alien in the tavern. He noticed Darkonda gambling at a round table not far from the entrance.

They were playing a game called Zanaba. Cy had taught them the card game during a mission on a world called Nobrai. Darkonda was playing with four other aliens. One of them was a gray-skinned insectoid. The other appeared humanoid with an abnormally large, bumpy forehead and a rag covering the lower part of his face. The third was a dark-scaled reptilian with broad shoulders and red eyes. The fourth was a humanoid with dry, shaggy red hair.

"Hmm..." the insectoid said in a surprisingly deep voice. "I've got nothing...accept this!"

He laid his cards on the table. Tommy could tell the insect had the highest hand, because the other players made sighs of disgust. The red-haired humanoid was cleaned out, mumbled something Tommy's translator could not pick up, and left the table.

"I just love this game," the insectoid said, amused by his winning. "Deal the cards."

"Wait." Tommy made his move, slowly walking towards the table and seating himself.

"Deal," he said in a low, mysterious tone.

The partially masked humanoid narrowed his brow. "And who do you think you are?"

"I am just a traveler," Tommy said in a quiet voice.

"Hmph," Darkonda said. "Aren't we all? Deal them..."

The cards were dealt. Tommy looked at his hand, wishing he remembered more of the rules. Luckily, it was easy to give a poker face when your opponents couldn't actually see your face.

The reptilian leaned forward and tossed five crystals into the pot. "Wager five against three bits."

"I'm in," Tommy said, also tossing in five.

Darkonda placed in eight crystals, and then another four. "Call three bits. Raise you four." Darkonda snarled a smile at the sight of the masked man's hesitation. "Perhaps this game is out of your price range?"

The bumpy headed man reached into his pouch and pulled out five sleek, black data cards. Tommy tried to hide his surprise when he noticed the INET logo on each of them. "I have, uh these key cards."

The insectoid snapped his jaws and leaned forward towards the humanoid. "Those are worthless!"

The masked alien reached for his blaster. "I'll show you worthless..."

"You don't have to," the insect said, snapping his jaws. "He's sitting right in front of me."

Tommy looked down at the cards, continuing to project a dusky persona. "Where did you get these?"

"They're Zordon's," the humanoid said. "I stole them after the battle on Eltar."

The insect clamped his jaws shut and stared down at the cards. "All right...I'm in."

The humanoid smiled beneath his mask as he laid down his cards. "Three Zanabas."

"Ha!" Darkonda said as he laid down his own cards. "Three Zanaba-tars!"

Tommy laid down his own cards and weaved a spell on them. It was a simpler version of the illusion-mask attack his friend Adam, the Lion Ranger, had often performed years ago. The spell altered the cards' appearance.

"What!" the bumpy humanoid shouted. "A Zinta? You cheat!"

The man shot up from his chair and pulled out an energy rifle from his cloak. He aimed the rifle at Tommy. Tommy slowly, but powerfully, swung his leg out in a crescent kick that knocked the rifle away. The ranger followed by standing and snapping a sidekick that smashed the villain backward.

Tommy gathered the jewels and key cards and placed them into a pouch beneath his cloak. He turned and walked towards the bar. Darkonda followed.

Darkonda pulled up a stool and sat next to the disguised ranger. "A skilled player and a daring fighter...that's my kind of match." He looked to the bartender. "Server! Two Tomalian Ales for the traveler and myself."

The server brought them the ales. Darkonda took a cup and slid it to Tommy. "This one's on me...You know, I would be willing to pay you handsomely for those key cards."

"I need them," Tommy said in a quiet voice. "To buy information."

"Ah," Darkonda said. "Then today is your lucky day. I've been everywhere and seen everything."

"I need information," Tommy said, "on KO-35."

"In the Kerovian System," Darkonda said. "I know it better than anyone."

Tommy slid the key cards onto the table. "Then perhaps we can make a deal...tell me what you know."

Darkonda snatched the cars. "It's the only M-class planet in the system. Trees, lakes...quite a dreadful place. It's uninhabited now, but years before it was deserted, a did a little job there." Darkonda snickered at the memory. "I kidnapped a little girl...while her and her brother were playing. You could go there now, but you'd be wasting your time..."

Tommy tightened his grip on his metal cup, nearly crushing it. "What became of the girl?"

"She's alive and well," Darkonda said. "You won't believe where she is now. She..."

Darkonda noticed part of Tommy's Digitizer beneath the cloak sleeve. He rose from the table. "What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't," Tommy said as he slowly rose as well.

Darkonda narrowed his eyes. "Then allow me...Red Ranger!"

Darkonda unsheathed his sword and swung towards the ranger's head. Tommy looked back, quickly kicked a jagged sword from a patron's belt, and grabbed the weapon with the blade pointed downward. Tommy reached up and blocked the blow, shoved Darkonda's saber away, and snapped out with a sidekick.

The kick slammed against Darkonda, moving the villain back, giving Tommy time to hop onto the bar itself. Darkonda swung upward towards Tommy, but the ranger blocked or parried each strike.

Tommy flipped off the bar and landed near a stairwell that led up towards the balcony. Darkonda charged towards Tommy with a series of strikes. The ranger blocked each blow and struck back, but Darkonda knocked the blade aside.

Their duel continued, steel against steel, as Tommy backed up the steps. Darkonda pushed forward, never yielding. Tommy dodged right and parried a spear strike. He followed with a diagonal thrust that Darkonda blocked.

Tommy jumped backward over the last few steps and landed on the balcony. Darkonda charged forward and swung his saber towards the ranger's head. Tommy ducked beneath the blow, the hood of his cloak dropping in the process, and stood with his back to the balcony's railing.

Tommy smiled mockingly and held up the key cards he managed to lift from Darkonda during the dodge. "Thanks for the key cards."

Darkonda shouted and pounced forward.

Tommy leapt from the balcony, grabbed onto a chandelier, swung forward, and flipped off while shouting. "Install!"

He morphed into his armor and landed on his Cyber Slider as the bar patrons ducked for cover. Astro Red leaned forward and shot into the streets outside the bar. He angled right and jetted forward, but a Velocifighter quickly fell into pursuit from behind. One of the fighters approached ahead of Astro Red as well.

He smiled beneath his helmet. "Sometimes they make this too easy..."

Astro Red moved straight for the fighter. Seconds before crashing, he flipped off his glider. The Velocifighter passed underneath the Ranger and crashed into the pursuing fighter. The two ships were destroyed in a massive ball of flame. Astro Red completed his flip and landed back on his Cyber Slider.

He blasted off towards space.

The other rangers were on the bridge as Major and Kruger stood by. Kruger's condition had improved enough to let him move about the ship. Kruger, Cy, and Ashley stood over the port science station as information scrolled across the screen.

"The information is coming in," Ashley said as she manipulated a few controls. "Got it...we have the coordinates for the Scavenger plant. It's on a planet called De'jornel."

Cy wrinkled his brow with thought. "I'm not familiar with it."

"Few are," Kruger said. "The world is in the Maray Arm. Near the Ravin'lah Cluster. De'jornel is of little significance. Humanoid population of 3 billion. Industrial and technological culture. They have not ventured outside the orbit of their own moon."

Ashley pulled up an image of the small world. "Perfect hiding place..."

"Ashley!" Chris called from his station. "Tommy's back. He just came in on his slider."

Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. He isso going to get an earful.

A few minutes later, the bridge doors opened and Tommy walked in. He moved immediately to his station and looked over to Ashley, his face stern with anger. "It was Darkonda. He kidnapped Karone."

Kat answered a signal on her station. "Incoming transmission from the surface."

"On screen," Tommy said.

The screen activated, and an image of Darkonda appeared. Tommy tightened his grip on the controls as he stared ahead at the screen. "Long time no see. Thanks again for the key cards."

Darkonda laughed. "I've taken more from you than key cards, it seems. If you want to know where your sister is, you will meet me on De'jornel. See you soon."

The viewscreen deactivated.

Ashley, the other rangers, Kruger, and Major sat around the situation room table. She activated the central holographic projector. An image of De'jornel appeared.

"This is the place," she said. "The Scavengers are being made here in an underground lab. The inhabitants don't even know life exists outside their world...needless to say, they're unaware some of that life is making bio weapons in their basements."

She looked to Tommy. He had that look in his eyes again. A look like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. To Ashley, Tommy's sense of responsibility was both his most endearing and most annoying quality.

Tommy looked to the other rangers. "I'll take care of Darkonda while you guys go into the lab."

Chris shook his head. "That's too dangerous...you can't go up against Darkonda alone."

"Yeah," Justin said. "That's just what the creep wants, and he probably has something up his sleeve."

"It doesn't matter if it's a trap," Tommy said. "It's my fight. Destroying the Scavengers is more important. That's where you guys will need to be."

Tommy looked to Kat to change the subject. "What have you found out about those key cards?"

Kat called up the information on her data pad. "They're activation programs and special coordinates. Everything's encrypted. Ashley, Cy and I used DECA to try and decode the cards, but we haven't had much luck yet."

Ashley nodded. "Billy must have encrypted the code himself. "

"Yeah," Justin said, "where is he, by the way."

Tommy bit his tongue, and Ashley could tell he was trying to hold back a cynical comment or two. Instead, Tommy just shook his head. "That's a conversation for another time....Now, what kind of help can we expect during the raid on the Scavenger plant?"

Cy activated his data pad. "Trey and his group are planning on rendezvousing with us."

Justin turned to Cy. "Who's with Trey these days, anyway?"

"A squad of Rigelian and Triforian commandos and three Titan soldiers," Cy said.

"All right," Tommy said as he shifted the holographic image. "Let's go over the attack plan..."

The Megaship speared back into realspace around De'jornel. Pyramidus was not far behind.

Tommy stood at his station as the blue-green world flashed onto the monitor. "Polarize the hull plating. Standby weapons."

Chris's monitor started beeping. He shook his head while watching the monitor. "This can't be right...Ashley, can you double check my readings?"

She did. Her face turned pale. "There's nothing wrong with the sensors...I'm not picking up any life signs. They're all gone."

Kat sank in her chair. "Three million people..."

Tommy narrowed his eyes at the viewer. "How?"

Chris's monitor beeped again before they could answer. "A squadron of Verox fighters are approaching."

Justin completed his scans of the twelve ships. "They have modular shields, photonic pulse cannons, and concussion grenades."

"Let's play it by the books," Tommy said. "Set Megalasers to rotating frequencies. Target the lead ship."

The Verox fighters broke formation and opened fire with high-speed energy blasts. The Megaship rolled to starboard and opened fire with ventral Megalasers. Blue lances of energy stabbed against the lead fighter. 

The fighters arced towards the ship and poured on the fire. The rangers rocked on the bridge from the blasts' impacts. Justin waited until the vessels passed and triggered a burst of Megalaser fire that pierced three fighters beneath their vulnerable engine manifolds. The three ships exploded, leaving their wing mates disorganized.

"Bring us around, heading 427 mark 385," Tommy ordered. "Full barrage, all cannons."

The Megaship barrel rolled around and burst forward, heading back towards the fighters. Megalasers opened fire, showering the fighters with neon-blue energy blasts. The energy darts slammed against the fighters' shields. The Megaship climbed and banked as the fighters returned fire. The fighters' blasts passed harmlessly over the ship's hull.

The remaining nine ships broke into three groups and tried to catch the Megaship in a pincer movement.

"Bring us back around," Tommy ordered. "Torpedoes, dispersal pattern sierra."

The Megaship angled towards three incoming fighters. The ship fired a torpedo blast, and at the last second, the torpedo split into three and slammed against both ships, cracking their shields. The Megalasers opened fire and tore through the unprotected ships. The ships exploded into bursts of flames.

Pyramidus handled the remaining ships with a single, concentrated, golden lightning bolt. The bolt ripped through the ships and vaporized them.

Justin looked to Kat. "He's efficient. You gotta give him that."

Kat merely nodded, her mind fixated on the 3 billion lost lives.

"Bring us into orbit," Tommy ordered. "Let's take care of business."

The five Rangers landed in the center of a deserted concrete plaza. The plaza was surrounded by tall buildings and coliseum-type structures. It reminded the Rangers of a 21st-century version of ancient Rome.

"Alright," Astro Red said. "You guys head over to-"

Explosions suddenly sparked around them. The five Rangers looked up to see Darkonda standing before them with his arms crossed.

"Do you like what I've done with the place, Rangers?" Darkonda asked before cackling with mad laughter. "This planet was a little crowded...so I alleviated the problem."

The Rangers snapped into fighting stances.

"This is it, Darkonda," Astro Red said. "This is our last fight. You're going down..."

"Doubtful," Darkonda said. He pulled a vile of potion and drank. The potion energized every cell of the villain's body. Orange and yellow energy crackled over his skin as his body shook.

Darkonda looked down towards the Rangers and started running towards them. His body electrified with energy. He darted forward in a blur of orange and yellow motion. He dashed back and forth between the Rangers at blinding speed. Explosions sparked across the Rangers' armor and hurled them to the ground.

Darkonda streaked upward to a low building and landed on the roof. He looked down upon the Rangers and fired jagged pulses of orange and yellow energy that exploded around the team, kicking up concrete and debris in storms of fiery explosions.

Darkonda leapt down from the rooftop and energized his saber. He swung the weapon downward, in a streak of yellow energy, and slashed the saber across Astro Pink's armor with a sparking explosion. He moved forward with a horizontal strike against Astro Blue, a wide arc that slashed Astro Black and Astro Yellow, and swing across Astro Red.

Darkonda turned sharply and struck Astro Red across the chest with another diagonal strike. Astro Red was taken aback, but pushed forward to counter strike. He snapped a roundkick towards the villain's head, but Darkonda blocked the blow and followed with a hook punch across the Ranger's helmet. Astro Red was knocked backward and went rolling across the ground.

Kruger, Major, and Trey led an assault team through the sewers beneath the city. They were on their way towards the Scavenger nest. Grifalzor, the Titan descendant of Goldar, sniffed the air at the scent of approaching danger. He tightened the grip on his longknives and snarled his teeth. The simian was dressed in silver armor with gold lining.

"There's something up ahead," he grumbled to Kruger.

Kruger held his sidearm at the ready. "Alert A and B teams. We'll circle around to the central access shaft. Be ready for any-"

The screeching of Scavengers shot through the tunnels as a horde of the creatures pounced forward. They leapt from the shadows and attacked.

Kruger opened fire with pulses of blue energy that ripped through the lead two Scavengers. Trey stood behind Kruger and armed his wrist braces.

"Ultra Transform!" the Triforian shouted. Gold energy flashed around him as he morphed into his Ranger form.

Grifalzor rushed forward and slammed the end of one longknife against a Scavenger's face, crushing its head. He followed by spinning forward and cutting open a Scavenger with a horizontal strike.

Zeo Gold leapt forward with a flying sidekick that crushed a Scavenger's chest. He summoned his staff with a burst of golden energy and aimed the weapon forward.

"It's time for a gold rush...Victory Flash!" Zeo Gold shouted. Bursts of golden energy shot through the Scavengers and started ripping them apart limb by limb.

Darkonda walked towards the fallen Rangers with his sword extended. He smiled, snarling his teeth. He was ready to give the final blow. But tendrils of energy suddenly exploded and sparked across his body. The jagged energy was coming from his own body. Slime started dripping from his pores, and his body convulsed.

Darkonda dropped his sword and started scampering off, afraid that his own body was attacking him. He retreated to a nearby concrete tunnel, that was likely used for transportation, and slid downward like a dripping syringe full of disease.

"What..." he shouted in the shadows as his body shook. "What's happening to me?!?!?"

Darkonda heard a cold steel laugh from the shadows. The villain turned to see Eclipter step from the darkness. "Hello, Darkonda...you're not looking too well."

"You!" Darkonda spat as he stumbled towards Eclipter. "You did this to me!!"

Eclipter said nothing. The android stepped back into the shadows and vanished. Darkonda pounced towards the empty space where Eclipter had stood and swung his weapon like a madman, howling at the top of his lungs.

Darkonda's body surged with energy again, rendering him incapable of coherent words or thoughts. His cells expanded, causing him to grow giant sized. Every spike and tendril grew even larger than the rest of his disfigured body. He howled at the top of his mutating lungs, a sound that shook the empty city.

Energy surged through his body and erupted from his eyes in twin crimson optic blasts. The blasts cut across the skyline with fiery blasts.

The Rangers gathered beneath the giant.

Astro Blue activated his communicator. "Astro Megazord, online!"

Astro Red activated his Battleizer. "Delta Mega, install!"

The Rangers joined in the cockpit, and Astro Red inserted his brace into his console.

"Astro DeltaMegazord, online!" Astro Red commanded as he activated the 'one' key on the brace. The Delta Mega separated and formed over the Galaxy Mega, locking in place like a bulky suit of armor. The two zords fused together to form the Astro DeltaMegazord.

Darkonda, still in pain with jagged spikes sprouting every second, started spinning. He fired optic blasts in energy direction. Beams of energy exploded against the Astro DeltaMegazord's armor. 

The villain charged forward, his jagged nails longer than sword blades. Darkonda slashed diagonally against the Megazord, then horizontally. Each strike sparked against the zord's hull with tremendous fury. The villain pounced forward again, using both hands to claw against the zord's hull with bursts of spark. Darkonda pushed the robo backward.

"Gattling cannons," Astro Red commanded, "fire!"

The shoulder-mounted cannons rained a shower of blasts towards Darkonda. The blasts exploded against the villain, but he kept moving forward. Darkonda slashed his nails across the Megazord with bursts of spark.

Astro Blue was nearly knocked from his seat. "Nothing's slowing him down. He's operating on pure psycho-mode."

"We'll have to hit him with the big guns," Astro Red said. "Delta Knuckle, engage!"

The zord's fists energized and shot towards Darkonda like cannon balls. The villain held his claws in an 'x' pattern across his chest. The knuckles slammed against the claws and bounced back towards the Astro DeltaMegazord. The knuckles exploded against the robo with a pair of fiery explosions that dented the zord's armor.

The impact overloaded a cockpit conduit and caused a series of explosions to spark.

Astro Yellow monitored her station. "We're losing armor integrity."

"Tap into reserve power," Astro Red said.

Darkonda leapt forward and landed while slashing the zord with his claws. He used one claw like a spear and stabbed forward at the zord's midsection. The spear stabbed through the zord's armor and tore through circuits and power conduits.

A massive overload exploded inside the Rangers' cockpit. Power conduits and cables ruptured with sparks of energy.

Darkonda pushed forward with another slash across the Astro DeltaMegazord. The robo was forced back. A power surge in the Megazord caused tendrils of blue energy to dance around the robo's armor with a series of explosions.

Darkonda leaned forward and fired an optic blast that bashed against the zord's chest plating.

The Rangers rocked in their cockpit as another energy surge sparked across their consoles.

Astro Yellow read the damage report. "That last shot took out our MP relays. We're leaking power."

"Tommy," Astro Blue said. "This freak's power is getting stronger every second."

"Keep it together, guys," Astro Red said. "We have to hit him back, and we have to do it hard."

Darkonda fired another optic blast that exploded against the Astro DeltaMegazord. The villain followed through by pouncing at the zord and ripping across its armor with claws.

Sparks ripped through the cockpit, knocking fixtures from above and short circuiting panels. The Rangers were jolted in their seats as Darkonda struck again.

"Transfer all power to offensive systems," Astro Red said. "Ashley and Justin...I need a final attack."

Ashley manipulated her controls. "We might be able to create a super-heated energy cyclone if we use all our reserves."

"A vortex attack," Astro Blue said. "Sounds like a plan...I'll modify are weapon arrays."

"Make it count," Astro Red said as he tightened his grip on the controls. "We can only do this once."

The Astro DeltaMegazord extended its arms and started spinning like a cyclone. Crimson energy gathered around the zord's armor, creating a cloud of red mist. The spinning Megazord launched forward like a drill and punctured through Darkonda's chest, driving all the way through, and landing on the other side of the villain.

Explosions tore through the empty streets and clouded Darkonda from vision with flame.

"That got him!" Astro Blue shouted in victory.

But as the smoke cleared, Darkonda still stood.

Astro Black shook his head. "That's not possible...how did he survive that?"

One of Darkonda's spikes fell from his back. The spike bubbled and mutated, expanding into a giant form of its own. The creature's body was mostly a squid-like head. It had two giant pincer claws.