Champions Saga: Chapter Five
The Gathering
It all happened so fast, Rescue Red thought as he made his way down the dark and deserted streets of Angel Grove. He and the other Lightspeed Rangers were morphed and doing there best to avoid patrols of Hellions, Wraiths, and Gooclones.
The sky above was still crimson, and the clouds were black.
Rescue Blue struck his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Man, I hate all this sneaking around!"
Rescue Red nodded in agreement. "Me too, but remember, a direct assault would be stupid."
Rescue Green placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. "Besides, whoever hurt the Red Zeo and Turbo Rangers is probably still around. You saw what happened to them. We’ll need the element of surprise."
"You’ll need more than that, Rangers!"
The Lightspeed Rangers turned to see Kar standing alongside an army of Hellions.
Rescue Red and the others immediately took defensive stances. "We’ll see about that, Kar," the Red Ranger yelled.
The demon struck an axe to the ground and caused a shockwave of immense power that cracked the ground open and sent the Rangers tumbling to their feet. "Attack!"
The Hellions pulled out their small sabers and charged at the Rangers before they had a chance to recover.
Rescue Blue flipped back to his feet and tossed a Hellion over his shoulder, but a second soldier slashed him across the back, armor sparking on impact. The next thing he knew, an organic-looking tendril wrapped around his neck and pulled him off the ground.
The tendril slammed Rescue Blue through the walls of what had once been an office building, and the Blue Ranger went crashing on top of a desk.
Rescue Blue rose from the broken desk and saw the tendril return to its holder. It was a demon whose bulky body appeared to be made up of hundreds of such tentacles.
Rescue Blue sighed to himself. "Sometimes ya just wish ya didn’t wake up in the morning."
Outside of the office building, the other Rangers had been further separated by Kar and his Hellions.
Rescue Green was in an alley further down the street from Rescue Blue and was facing off against a massive group of Hellions, and to make matters worse, a few of the Shadow King's Wraiths had joined the fight.
The Green Lightspeed Ranger pulled out his Rescue Blaster and switched it to sword mode. Thank goodness DJ has been giving me fencing lessons.
He took a defensive stance as the Hellions came at him with their swords held high.
Rescue Green parried several blows before counterstriking. He took out one Hellion at a time until the Wraiths started moving in. The creatures had no weapons, but they were very fast, and Rescue Green had a little trouble adjusting to their speeds. It didn’t take long for him to adapt.
Rescue Green spun and slashed a Wraith across its chest, blade sparking on impact. The Green Ranger sidekicked another grunt in the face.
Just when he thought he had gained the upper hand, a dozen more Hellions and Wraiths appeared. Rescue Green sighed to himself and prepared for the attack.
Alcorn was standing on his balcony while looking over his newly won prize: the city of Angel Grove.
The villain smiled as he saw the countless soldiers below round up any civilians that had been left behind and herd them towards prison camps.
He was about to descend back into his temple when a figure dressed in red appeared hovering in the air above his balcony.
Alcorn shot off a blast of fire, but the intruder merely absorbed the blast and smiled. "I am Warlock. A pleasure to meet you."
Alcorn now knew better than to challenge the stranger's power. "Likewise."
Warlock landed on the balcony and created a holographic projection with the red amulet on his hand. "This is the Tablet of Chakra. It is currently in my possession, and I plan to use it here to release a demon of untold power."
"Why here?"
Warlock chuckled to himself. "You know very well why. Your master has commanded you to take over this city and harness its powers so that he will be released. Your master is the demon I wish to bring upon this universe. This tablet is the key to doing so. My Gathering, your Ceremony…they are the same. We share identical goals."
"What do you propose?" Alcorn asked carefully.
"That we join forces to eliminate our enemies."
Alcorn rolled his hands into fists. "The Rangers."
Warlock nodded. "Yes, but there are others that the Tablet speaks of. Others besides the Rangers that will attempt to thwart our careful planning. We must have them eliminated before they have the chance."
"Who are these others?"
"They reside in cities frighteningly close. Crossworld City, Charterville, Leawood, and others. These must be our next targets."
Once Dex returned to Edenoi, he found that he missed the Earth and his family there very much. He made it a priority to visit whenever he could, which turned out to be quite often.
His latest visit wasn’t exactly the calm and relaxing vacation he had hoped for. Apparently, Leawood’s neighboring city of Angel Grove had been evacuated, and some of its inhabitants had been brought to Leawood for shelter.
A press conference was being held outside of Leawood City Hall, and Dex had told Hal and Barbara that he had to attend. He had fought besides the Rangers of Earth before, and he needed to know if they had survived the attack on their home city.
The press conference was about to begin as Dex walked through the crowd, trying to move up close to the podium. He passed a certain blonde reporter that was at the conference representing Crossworld City. Her name was Katlin Starr. Katlin had been assigned to cover the press conference in Leawood, while another reporter was covering a similar conference back at Crossworld.
Leawood’s mayor walked up to the podium, but before she began speaking, a humanoid lizard covered head to tail with black scales appeared on top of the steps of Leawood City Hall.
The press assembly took off running and screaming as Dex ducked behind a corner.
It’s time for Kamen Rider to go back into action, Dex thought to himself.
"Ryuuki awaken!" An aura of energy surrounded Dex and transformed him into Kamen Rider Ryuuki once again.
Ryuuki leapt from behind the corner and landed on the steps of City Hall.
"Now villain, prepare to taste the power of Kamen Rider!" It actually felt good for Dex to be back in the guise of his insectoid counterpart. He had missed it.
The Lizard made a terrifying hissing sound and leapt towards Ryuuki with its claws extended. Ryuuki grabbed the creature by the arm and threw it to the ground. The Lizard immediately recovered and whipped its tail at the Kamen Rider.
The tail hit Ryuuki across the head hard and sent him stumbling down the steps top the street below.
While the rest of the press had cleared the area, Katlin had decided to remain behind, not to cover a potential story, but to help. Besides being a reporter, Katlin was also a Nova Trooper.
"Trooper Transform!" she shouted. Energy flashed around her, and her body was covered by a protective suite of white high tech armor.
White Trooper leapt over to Ryuuki and armed her blaster. "Need a hand?"
The Trooper fired a volley of energy blasts at the monster, but the quick lizard managed to dodge each blast and leap over White Trooper and Ryuuki before landing behind them.
The two heroes snapped into fighting stances as the Lizard struck.
Drew McKormick and his sister Jo walked down the streets of Charterville and entered Zoom Comic book store. The store had been a favorite hang out of theirs ever since they were kids.
Their friend Rolland Williams, whose father owned the store, walked over to them carrying three copies of the latest issue of Beetle Borgs Metallix. It had always been a favorite of the teens, especially since they had lived it.
A few years ago, the three stumbled upon a haunted mansion known as Hillhurst. Inside, they met a Phantasm known as Flabber who granted them a wish. Being young at the time, they had wished to become Beetle Borgs. Flabber granted that wish but accidentally released the comic book villains into the real world. The kids were forced to use their Beetle Borg powers to defend the planet against these villains.
The Beetle Borgs managed to defeat their enemies and send them back into the world of comics forever.
Roland distributed the copies excitingly. "Check it out, guys! This issue has more on the Electric Bronze Beetle Borg!"
"Cool!" Jo grabbed her copy. The fourth Beetle Borg had been introduced into the comic series a few months ago. The three wish he would have been around while fighting against the Crustaceans.
The older and highly attractive girl Heather walked out from the back room and smiled at the site of Drew. "Hey you." She gave him a big hug.
Drew had developed a crush on Heather at the age of thirteen, and now that he was older, she actually seemed interested. Nothing serious had happened between them, but they had been seeing each other quite often.
Drew’s good mood suddenly evaporated as the doors to Zoom opened, and the last person on Earth he wanted to see stepped in. "Did ya miss me, guys?"
It was Josh Baldwin. Josh had, at one time, held the White Blaster Beetle Borg powers, but they only lasted temporarily. Drew and Josh had never gotten along, and that was mainly because the older teen had a crush on Heather as well.
Heather was pleasantly surprised by Josh’s surprise visit. "Josh." She ran over and gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek.
Josh walked over to Drew with a sarcastic expression on his face. "Where’s my hug, Drew?"
Drew stormed out of Zoom comics and started walking home. He had developed a crush on Heather a long time ago, and they were just starting to have something together. He wasn’t about to let Josh ruin things for him.
Before he was even halfway down the block, an army of Gooclones appeared before the young teen and surrounded him. Drew was completely unfamiliar with the creatures, but he knew that they were obviously a threat.
The Gooclones attacked, and Drew began fighting them off. His years as a Beetle Borg had helped him develop fairly-good martial art skills. But he was a little rusty, and the Gooclones were strong fighters.
It’s time I started using my head. Drew activated his telekinetic powers and focused on a nearby trashcan. Using the power of his mind, he grabbed the can and dumped it over the head of a soldier.
Despite the distraction, the Gooclones still managed to overwhelm the young one. Drew looked to see that no one was in sight and prepared to increase the odds.
"Data Bonder!" His bonder appeared in his hand with a flash of power. "Beetle Blast!" Energy flashed around him and transformed him into the Chromium Gold Beetle Borg.
He smiled underneath his helmet. It’s been too long.
Chromium Gold activated his weapon and prepared for battle. "Metallix Lancer!"
Two Gooclones charged at him, but Chromium Gold used his lancer to whack one upside the head. The Borg spun around and jammed the end of his Lancer through another Gooclone's chest.
Roland, Jo, and Josh heard the commotion and peaked their heads outside.
"Drew!" Jo called out to her brother.
Roland and Jo pulled out their Data Bonders and prepared to help their leader.
"Data Bonders!Beetle Blast!" Energy flashed around them as their armor activated. Roland once again found himself in the armor of the Titanium Silver Beetle Borg, and Jo in Platinum Purple.
The two ran over to their teammate and pulled out their weapons.
"Metallix Baton!"
"Metallix Grappler!"
Josh, even without any powers, rushed towards the Gooclones ready to fight. Even though he and Drew didn’t get along, he had no desire to see him hurt.
The four of them made quick work of the Gooclones, and then the Borgs back blasted into their civilian identities.
"What was that all about?" Roland asked.
Drew shook his head. "I don’t know. Let’s go see Flabber."
The three Beetle Borgs started running towards Hillhurst mansion with Josh not far behind.
Through nothing but luck, Rescue Red and the other Lightspeed Rangers managed to regroup and face off against Tendra.
The demon fired energy bolts from his eyes that exploded against the Rangers with bursts of spark, but they managed to hold their ground.
Rescue Pink sighed in frustration. "I wish our communicators would work, then we could call on the Rescue Bird."
Rescue Green nodded. "I know, but we’ll have to make do with what we have."
Rescue Red pulled out his Rescue Blaster in saber mode. "Let’s get em guys!"
The Green Lightspeed Ranger held his teammate back. "Wait a minute. Tendra is too strong, we need to hit him from a distance and finish him off that way."
"Suggestions?" Rescue Blue asked.
Rescue Green nodded. "If we power up our Rescue Blasters for one maximum shot, and then hit him at once in the same spot, we might be able to destroy him."
Rescue Red nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Aim for the chest."
Tendra fired at the Rangers again, but this time they managed to roll out of the way and pull out their Rescue Blasters.
"Fire!" Rescue Red yelled.
The Rangers concentrated their blasts in the center of Tendra's body. Lances of red energy exploded through the center of the villain, causing the demon to explode.
Rescue Yellow looked around the rooftops. "Our nice little demon friend should be growing anytime now."
Sure enough, Tendra grew to giant size.
Back in the Bay Area, MINT was using the satellites in Earth’s orbit to try to break through the interference around Angel Grove enough to try to contact the Lightspeed Rangers. He wasn’t making much progress, but he did manage to read an energy spike that could only mean one thing.
"Billy! Come look at this!" The droid shouted.
"What is it, MINT?" Billy walked over to the monitor and looked for himself. He had seen energy spikes like the ones on the screen many times, and he knew exactly what they meant. "A monster must have just grown. The Rangers are going to need their zords."
"We can launch the Go-Liner to the area of the energy spike," MINT said.
"Right. Let’s get to work."
The giant Tendra fired an energy blast down upon the Lightspeed Rangers. The blast knocked the Rangers off their feet and sent them skidding across the ground.
"Any great plans, fearless leader?" Rescue Yellow asked.
The familiar rumble of the Go-Liner suddenly sounded from a few blocks away. The Rangers looked to see the massive Go-Liner throttle towards them.
"All right, Dr, Cranston!" Rescue Red shouted when he spotted the train. He activated his communicator. "Rescuezords, mobilize!"
Each zord rolled out of its liner, and the Rangers hopped into their individual cockpits. Rescue Red inserted his blaster grip over the console node in front of him, and twisted the grip downward.
The Red Ranger thrust his blaster grip forward. "Lightspeed Megazord fusion, online!"
Aero Rescue hovered over Hydro Rescue and lowered two grapplers. The grapplers hooked onto the zord's side and started to lift the machine from the ground. Meanwhile, Med Rescue and Hazer Rescue rolled side by side. The two zords tilted upward, forming a pair of legs.
Rescue Green maneuvered his zord over the legs and slowly lowered the Hydro Rescue downward. The Hydro Rescue locked into position with the legs, forming a lower torso.
Pyro Rescue extended its ladder arms and grasped onto the torso. The red-armored zord used its ladder arms to rise from the ground and slide down onto the torso. Pyro Rescue locked into position, forming the zord's chest and arms.
Aero Rescue slid onto Pyro Rescue and completed the transformation, forming the Lightspeed Megazord.
Tendra lashed out with one of his tentacles which wrapped around the Megazord while delivering tremendous blasts of power. The blasts exploded against the Megazord with massive bursts of spark, which ripped across the zord's armor.
Rescue Red worked quickly on his console to try to counteract Tendra’s attack. "Adjust the frequencies of our defense screens to match Tendra’s power frequencies. We’ll throw some of his own juice back at him."
The zord's screens were modulated, and Tendra’s energy bursts backfired on him, causing him to release his hold on the Lightspeed Megazord.
"Lightspeed Megazord Saber!" Rescue Red shouted as he pushed his blaster grip forward.
The zord's double-edged saber formed in Lightspeed Megazord's right fist. The blade started to pulse with fiery energy.
"Lightspeed Megazord Saber...ignite!" Rescue Red shouted.
The Megazord slowly swung its weapon in a circular pattern, creating a ring of fire. The blade energized with blue-tinted power and swung downward through the fire ring while chopping through the demon monster. The Megazord's white-hot blade tore the demon's body apart with a single stroke.
The demon monster crashed against the ground as his power overloaded and exploded.
The Ranger returned their zords to the Go-Liner and made their way back towards the Bay Area.
Billy stood before his rangers in the main command room and briefed them on what he had discovered.
"The demons are assembling some kind of tablet on the top of their temple. I’m not sure what its for, but whatever it is can’t be good. It’s giving off a tremendous amount of energy that’s making the interference even worse," Billy explained.
Interference around the city was cutting off all forms of communication and teleportation.
"You have to go back into Angel Grove and stop them," Billy said. "You'll have the Zeos, Turbos, Ninjas, Gao and Time Fire with you."
The three teams of rangers and Silver Guardian stood by the foggy bridge that led into Angel Grove Central, where Alcorn's castle was.
Jason sighed as he looked to the others. "This is it guys."
"Let's kick some demon ass," Luke said.
"Shogun Transform!" Jason's team shouted as they held their morphers at the ready. "Ninja Power!" Energy whirled around them as they transformed into their armor.
Wes lifted his brace to his mouth. "Quantum Fire!" Fiery energy wrapped around him as he morphed into the Quantum Ranger known as Time Fire.
Max and his team thrust their hands forward and crossed their wrists, right over left. "Lightspeed!" They brought their arms back in and flipped open their morphers. "Rescue!" Energy wrapped around them and they morphed into their Ranger forms.
Simon and his team flipped their morphers open. "Wild Access!" they shouted, pressing their morphers' activation panels. "Ha!" Golden light flashed around them as they morphed into their Ranger forms.
"Shift into Turbo!" Luke and his team shouted. "Axle Power!" They inserted their keys into their morphers and turned the ignition. Morphin energy throttled through their system as they morphed into their Ranger forms.
"Ultra Transform!" The Zeos connected their braces and triggered a wave of energy that washed over them, morphing them into their Ranger forms.
Red-alert sirens blared throughout the Megaship. The Astros rushed onto the bridge, and the Phantom and Aquitions were not far behind.
Cy manned his station. "What is it, DEKA?"
"We have arrived at Earth."
Zhane tightened his fists as he looked at his station's readout. "But it looks like somebody beat us too it."
"Darkheart…." Sage whispered as he watched a swarm of Craboids launch from Darkheart's ship and descend into the atmosphere.
"A Cy-beast has been sent down to the mountain area outside of Angel Grove," DEKA warned the Rangers.
Cy turned to Sage. "Sage, you-"
"I know. I’ll handle the Craboids."
The rangers left the bridge and ran to the Morphing tubes.
The Astros stood in front of their tubes and called out. "Install Astro Ranger!"
They then jumped in and morphed as the tubes shot them towards the planet.
The Aquitions readied their morphers. Each brace was engraved with the symbol of a mythological water-dwelling beast.
"Aqua Beast, rebirth!" they shouted while slapping their brace's activation panels. Energy flashed around their bodies as they morphed into their Ranger forms.
Sage held up his Tekno Crystal. "Tekno Power!"
The Astro and Aquition Rangers surrounded the Cy-beast, which resembled a humanoid spider, only it was half machine.
"Not another spider monster," Astro Blue said to himself.
Then out of nowhere, a small group of Verox Soldiers materialized.
"Not these guys again," Astro Silver said.
Mermaid Ranger walked over to Astro Red. "We’ll handle the Verox Soldiers. We’ll leave the monster to you."
The Astros and the Phantom attacked the Cy-beast while the Aquitions rounded up the Verox. During their battle, Tekno-Man was charged through the skies, clearing it of Craboids with his blade staff.
"I’m amazed at what a fine killing machine you’ve become, Sage." Tekno-Red flew up next to Tekno-Man with his own jagged blade in hand.
Sage struck at his enemy, but Tekno-Red blocked quickly. The two continued to duel across the skies.
Ryan Steele walked into the Tao Dojo, ready to teach another karate class. Ryan was actually a cyborg created by his father. His friend JB and "cousin" David Steele.
Something in Ryan’s bag suddenly beeped, and he looked to JB in confusion. "That can’t be what I think it is…"
JB shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
Ryan pulled his communicator out of his bag and activated. An image of Professor Horatio Hart appeared. "Ryan, Katlin is in trouble. She needs your help right away."
"Has Grimlord resurfaced? Or any of our other old enemies?" Ryan dared to ask.
"No. I’m not sure what this creature is."
"We’re on it Professor," David said.
"Cyberize!" Ryan shouted. A well of virtual energy was released from inside of him and flooded his body like living fire. His entire body became a machine. Wires replaced nerves, conduits replaced blood vessels, servos replaced joints, and advanced positronic processors replaced his brain. His body was encased in a suit of red, blue and gray armor.
"Trooper Transform!" JB shouted. Energy danced across his body like lightning. His armor materialized and tightened to fit his form. The armor sent strands of virtual data directly into the Trooper's nervous system, downloading data and instincts into his brain.
"Galvanize!" David shouted. Blue energy flashed around his body as his armor took shape. The armor pumped virtual power into his veins and interfaced with his nervous system.
They transformed and teleported to the battle sight in Leawood in an instant.
Before the trio could make their way to White Trooper or Ryuuki, an army of Wraiths appeared to block their way.
Black Trooper readied his saber. "Who are these guys?"
Cybertron stood in a fighting stance. "I don’t know, but they sure don’t look friendly."
"Or smart," Galavan said as he activated his saber. "Let's take 'em."
The three virtual warriors leapt in and attacked the Wraiths while Ryuuki and White Trooper continued to battle against the Lizard.
Cybertron smashed through a group of soldiers with a flurry of knifehand chops. The demon soldiers were no match for his lightning-quick speed and hands of steel. Looking over his shoulder, Cybertron saw the lizard monster bash its tail across Ryuuki and White Trooper.
Cybertron leapt over a group of Wraiths and angled his descent towards the lizard monster. The virtual warrior slammed a kick against the lizard, knocking the monster backward.
"Hey Katlin," Cybertron said. "Can't leave you out of my sight for a second, can I?"
"Our adversary has arisen," Ryuuki warned. And sure enough, the Lizard was back on its feet and as angry as ever.
Black Trooper and Galavan finished of the last of the Wraiths and joined their friends in front of the monster.
Ryuuki jumped towards the creature. "Rider Kick!" His feet charged with crimson energy and he slammed a flying-double kick against the monster's chest.
Galavan armed his weapon. "Laser Saber command, now!" His saber energized with deep, blue power and swung horizontally. The blade cut across the monster with a streak of blue energy.
White Trooper armed her weapon. "Nova Blaster!" Rapid-fire blasts of energy exploded against the monster with bursts of spark.
Cybertron leapt towards the creature and held his arm high. "Lightning hand command, now!" His hand crackled with electric energy and swung downward, striking the villain against the chest with a burst of spark.
Black Trooper was next. "Laser Lance Command, now!" His lance of blue energy extended and speared through the creature with a burst of spark. The Trooper pulled his lance free and swung in a butterfly pattern, tearing the monster apart.
The creature fell backward and exploded.
"What was that about?" Cybertron asked.
Ryuuki stared down at the Lizard's remains. "I am uncertain, but the answers lie in Angel Grove."
Sage was hit hard by a missile salvo from Tekno-Red and he went crashing to the ground. Tekno-Red stood on top of his fallen opponent and jammed his staff slightly into Sage’s armor. "Times almost up, Sage"
Sage knew very well what Tekno-Red was talking about. His powers had been active for too long. If he stayed in his armor for more than fifteen minutes at a time, it would corrupt his soul and Sage would become evil.
"It’s what the armor was meant for Sage…Don’t fight it…Let it take you."
Sage could do nothing to resist, and soon, the fifteen-minute mark passed.
The Astro Rangers, Aquition Rangers, and Phantom Ranger had destroyed the Cy-Beast and all its Verox soldiers, but they had heard no word from Sage.
"What’s keeping him?" Astro Silver asked as he looked to the sky. All fighting there had ended some time ago.
Astro Red shook his head. He was the only one who knew about the potential evil of the Tekno armor, and he feared Sage had been corrupted by that evil.
The Rangers suddenly heard a booming noise behind them and turned around to see Tekno-Red walking towards them slowly with Tekno-Man at his side.
Tekno-Red laughed as he came closer to the Rangers. "I’ll be taking Sage from your tender care now, Rangers. Thanks for baby sitting him. He’s nothing but a killing machine now. You won’t be needing him."
Tekno-Red jetted to the sky and Sage followed.
The villains gathered on top of Alcorn's Temple, and the Tablet of Chakra was assembled. Warlock laughed to himself. "At last…"
Alcorn began whispering an incantation, preparing to release the great demon named Mogralord. Alcorn's voice carried across the streets, and the city began to tremble. The air crackled with energy as the Tablet started to hum with power.
Symbols etched on the Tablet ignited with crimson energy.
A dark vortex started to swirl in the crimson skies above. The vortex crackled with lightning and discharged a volley of slime-coated, black pods. The pods burst open, scattering the messengers of the Mogralord across the city.
The grunts were called Shades. Their skin was black, scaly and covered in red veins. They had one eye on their foreheads and slim mouths with jagged, needle-like teeth.
A few miles away from the temple, a group of injured teens took shelter in a rubble-filled alley.
Two groups of Shades landed on the opposite rooftops of the alley and looked downward. They glared at the injured teens and screeched with high-pitched, reptilian roars.
Injured and torn, the teens cowered back with fear, their eyes open wide and their faces pale.
The Shades pounced down towards the teens to attack, but before they could strike, Gao Red and Gao Yellow leapt through the air to block the soldiers' way.
Gao Yellow used his wings to glide through the air, grab a soldier by the neck, and smash that grunt against an alley wall. Gao Red used his Lion Fang to swat a Shade from the air.
Gao Red and Gao Yellow landed at the injured teens' side as the other Lightspeed and Gao team members arrived. Countless Shades were staring to surround their position.
Gao Red looked to the others. "Get them to safety..."
Rescue Pink and Rescue Green helped the injured to their feet and started walking off as more Shades leapt into the alley.
"Shit," Rescue Yellow cursed beneath his breath.
Rescue Yellow and Rescue Blue upholstered their Rescue Blasters and opened fire at the incoming grunts. Lances of red energy exploded through the Shades with bursts of spark.
Meanwhile, the five Ninja Rangers took the point and leapt across the rooftops at blinding speed towards the demon temple.
The five Rangers landed near the foot of the temple and looked up at the swirling vortex in the sky.
"Are we too late?" Ninjablack asked.
Countless Shades suddenly dropped from the ground and surrounded the Ninja rangers. Energy blasts exploded against the Rangers' armor with massive bursts of spark, whipping the Rangers off their feet.
Kar walked towards the fallen Rangers while the Shades regrouped behind him. "Yes, Rangers...you are too late."
Ninjayellow shook his head and struggled back to his feet. "We really should have come up with a better plan, huh?"
"Shut up," Ninjawhite said as she steadied herself with her sword.
"Zeo Rifles!" the five Zeo Rangers stood on a rooftop behind Kar and fired energy blasts at the demon general and soldiers. The blasts exploded through Shades with bursts of spark and impacted against Kar's armor.
The Turbo Rangers hacked into the Shades with their ViBlades, swords sparking on impact while ripping open grunts, as they moved towards the Ninja Rangers and helped them to their feet.
"We have to get up to that temple," Ninjawhite said.
The Rangers started bashing through the grunts as hard as they could, with reflexes honed by countless battles. The Rescue and Gao teams regrouped with the others and joined the frontal assault.
"Any ideas?" Time Fire asked while triggering blasts of crimson energy that exploded against a group of Shades.
"We need to bust out the heavy hardware," Gao Red said as he used his Crystal Saber to hack through a soldier, blade sparking on impact. He stood back to back with Rescue Red, who was using his V-Lancer.
"Good idea," Zeoblue said as he spun with his arm blades, striking a solder down. "We can make ourselves a nice little path."
"Let's do it then," Ninjared said. "Form up with your teams!"
The Rangers regrouped with their respective teams.
"Ultra Blaster!" The Zeo Rangers combined their weapons to form a single cannon. "Fire!" The blaster fired a rolling pulse of golden energy that crackled with power.
"It's time for a gold rush!" Zeo Gold swung his weapon forward. "Victory Flash!" The staff emitted a volley of golden energy bursts.
"Turbine Laser!" The sleek, black cannon lowered into the Turbo rangers' grasp. "Fire!" The cannon fired a super-charged energy pulse that ripped through the air.
"Shinobi Spear!" The Ninja Rangers crossed their swords, and the blades emitted a stabbing blast of golden energy.
"DV-Defender!" Time Fire triggered high-impact energy blasts with his weapon.
"Gao Blade!" the Gao Rangers combined their
"V-Lancers!Specter Blast!" The energy rifled fired beams of energy upward and combined to form a V-shaped energy pulse. The Rescue Rangers swung their weapons downward, and the V-shaped pulse blasted forward.
The combined attacks ripped a massive opening in the Shades' lines. Grunts were torn apart and vaporized as massive explosions erupted around them with bursts of spark and flame. Smoke filled the air as the stench of death and rot filed the city streets once more.
With a large chunk of the Shade wall blown away, the Rangers rushed towards the temple, but were thrown to their feet by explosions that smashed against their armor with a burst of spark.
Kar and four new demon monsters appeared in front of the Rangers, and the Shadow King stood behind them with his two generals. The generals were slender, back armored creatures with silver trimmings and red eyes. They were the Shadow Knights. The two remaining generals of Alcorn surrounded the Rangers too.
Another group of Shades formed up with the villains, and they all attacked.
Zeo Gold and Time Fire ran side by side towards the Shadow King. Zeo Gold charged his staff as he dashed towards a group of Shades, and Time Fire used his blade to hack through the villains left and right.
The Quantum Ranger's sword was a blur of motion as it tore through Shades, ripping apart their bodies with bursts of spark.
Zeo Gold leapt through the air and brought his staff down towards the Shadow King's head. The villain blocked the staff with his sword and kicked the Gold Ranger backwards. Zeo Gold landed on his feet and brought the lower end of his staff towards Shadow King's stomach like a spear, but the villain grabbed the staff and kicked the Ranger in the faceplate.
"Say your prayers, prince," Shadow King said.
Time Fire hacked the last soldier away and leapt towards the Shadow King.
The Quantum Ranger chopped his blade down hard, and the two opponents clashed swords. Shadow King pushed forward with a flurry of strikes and blows that Time Fire parried and blocked.
Zeo Gold moved in and joined the duel against Shadow King. Zeo Gold and Time Fire rotated, each taking turns parrying and counterstriking, but Shadow King managed to block or evade each of their strikes.
Shadow King suddenly energized his blade with onyx power and swung horizontally. The blade slashed across the two rangers armor with a massive burst of spark, whipping them off their feet and sending them crashing to the ground.
Nearby, Kar leapt towards Gao Red, grabbed him by the throat, and pushed him top the ground while tightening the choke hold.
Gao Silver leapt towards his leader's aid with his Luan Cue in hand.
"Ha!" The Silver Ranger slashed his blade across the villain's back while landing.
Kar snapped to his side and slammed a kick against Gao Silver's faceplate. The villain pushed forward and slammed the back of his fist across the Silver Ranger's helmet.
Gao Red flipped back to his feet and pounced towards Kar like a lion while unsheathing the Gao Dagger.
"Ha!" Gao Red shouted as he swung the weapon downward.
Gao Red slashed the villain in an L-shaped pattern, each blow sparking on impact across the villain's armor.
Kar opened his mouth and blasted Gao Red back with a cyan-tinted sphere of flame.
Gao Red rolled across the ground and rose to his knees alongside Gao Silver.
"Gaoling Blaster!"
"Lunar Cue, Sniper mode!"
Gao Red triggered rapid-fire lances of green energy, and Gao Silver fired lances of pale-blue energy. But Kar absorbed the blasts with his hand and hurled the energy back towards the Rangers. The blast exploded against the Rangers chests and sent them crashing backward while skidding across the war-torn street.
Zeored battled nearby.
"Star Riser!" Zeored swung his sword towards a Shadow Knight. The Knight used a slender blade to block Zeored's blow and cut the Ranger to the ground.
Shadow Knight leapt towards the fallen Ranger, preparing to drive his blade through the Ranger's chest, but disk blades of water struck the villain across the chest.
Shadow Knight flipped to regain his balance and landed on his feet as Ninjablue moved in with his katana. The two started to duel, and Ninjablue was hit across the collar bone.
Green Racer helped Zeored to his feet, and the two rangers ran towards the Shadow Knight.
The Knight blasted Ninjablue away with eyebeams and kicked Green Racer and Zeored back.
Meanwhile, Red Racer was surrounded by Shades.
Turbo Red saw everyone around him doing poorly as the second Shadow Knight rushed towards him.
"Things aren't looking great for the good guys." He cut a Shade down with his ViBlade and defended himself from the Shadow Knight's attacks.
Red Racer was forced to his knees as he held his ViBlade horizontally in front of him. Shadow King pressed his blade hard against the Ranger's sword.
Blue Racer ran towards his leader while firing his Muffler Cannons. Ninjayellow was by his side firing his Shogun Blaster.
Golden and blue energy blasts knocked the Shadow Knight off Red Racer, but the Shadow Knight stood his ground. The villain fired energy darts that exploded against Blue Racer and Ninjayellow with bursts of spark that knocked them off their feet.
Upon arriving at Hillhurst, the Beetle Borgs decided they would head into Angel Grove to investigate the city's strange activity. They were sure Angel Grove held the answers about their attackers.
Flabber however, was going to see to it that they got an extra hand.
Drew sighed as Flabber held the comic book in front of him. "I still don’t think we have to do this. We’ll have the Astral Borgs if we run into trouble."
"If you run into trouble?" Josh laughed. "Have you been watching the news? Angel Grove is one big demon city now. You’re going to need my help. There’s no way you’ll get out alive without me."
"Yeah, maybe if you were as strong as your ego. I’ve been on this team for…"
Flabber’s mouth transformed into a foghorn as he tried to get the attention of the two young boys."OOOOGGGAAAAA!!!"
The four covered their ears, and Flabber waited for them to recover before talking. "Look you two, you’ve gotta stop this fighting. You’re going to need to work together if you’re going to do any good in Angel Grove. You could use an Electric Bronze Beetle Borg."
Roland nodded. "Flabber’s right."
Jo playfully slugged her brother in the arm. "Come on, Drew. We’ve gotta stick together."
Josh and Drew glared at each other, but at least they had stopped arguing.
Flabber went on with the spell and prepared to give Josh the Powers of the Electric Bronze Beetle Borg. "April showers bring May flowers, bring our Josh some Beetleborg Powers!"
The image of the Electric Bronze Beetle Borg leapt from the pages of the comic book and enveloped Josh with energy. When the light faded, Josh was standing a little taller with a Data Bonder in hand.
Drew nodded and the four of them lined up. "Alright guys, let’s Borg."
"Data Bonder!Beetle Blast!"
Drew, Roland, and Jo were transformed into the armor of their Borg counterparts, and Josh found himself in the armor of the Electric Bronze Beetle Borg. His armor was almost identical to Drew’s except for the colors, and this didn’t make Chromium Gold very happy.
Ninjared dueled with Kar's Cyclops demon monster. The creature was all hulking bronze muscle covered with dark-silver armor. The creature's broad blade knocked the Ranger backwards.
Ninjared pulled out his Shogun Blaster in blade mode and struck the demon in the chest. But the demon hacked the Ranger away.
The demon rushed towards the fallen Ranger, but was blasted in the back. The Cyclops turned to see Rescue Green running forward, firing both of his blaster. Gao Blue Ran besides him with his Shark Blades ready.
The demon slammed his fist to the ground and ripped the pavement out from under the two Rangers. Rescue Green was knocked down, but Gao Blue leapt and glided towards the monster with his weapons held out. The demon elbowed the Ranger from the air.
Kar's second new demon monster was nearby.
The spider demon webbed Gao Black and hurled him backwards.
"Zeo Power Spin!" Zeoblue energized and slammed into the demon, causing the villain to stumble backwards.
Before the spider could counter strike, Rescue Red moved in with his V-Lancer and struck the creature, blade sparking on impact. "Take that, you eight legged freak!"
The villain blasted Rescue Red off his feet with an optic energy burst. The White Ninja Ranger moved in to Rescue Red's aide.
"Ninpo Diamond Storm!" Shards of energy formed in front of Ninjawhite and shot forward like a diamond storm. The blasts exploded against the spider demon, knocking the creature off its feet.
A gladiator-style demon snuck up behind Ninjawhite and slashed her across the back. Her uniform fell empty to the ground.
Ninjawhite suddenly reappeared behind the demon and slashed across the back, blade sparking on impact.
Rescue Yellow then moved in and started dueling alongside Ninjawhite. The gladiator struck the two Rangers down with a single strike. He prepared to blast the two with an energy sphere, but Pink Racer leapt through the air and blasted him with her "Wind Fire!" bumper bow and arrow.
The gladiator rose back to his knees and struck the Pink Ranger with eye beams.
Nearby, a beast demon covered with black, spiky fur fought against the Black Ninja Ranger and Yellow Zeo Ranger.
Zeoyellow attacked the demon with a flurry of agile kicks. The kicks whipped the demon's body around just as Ninjablack leapt downward, slashing his sword and dagger across the villain's body with a burst of spark.
"Take that, hairball!" Ninjablack shouted as he kicked the monster.
Rescue Pink then moved in with her V-Lancer, but the demon caught her blade, kicked her in the stomach, and then blasted Ninjablack and Zeo Yellow with razor darts from his fur.
Nearby, one of Alcorn's generals stood as stiff as a board as Zeogreen, Gao White, and Yellow Racer rushed towards him. The demon had a pale face, and his body was covered in a black bodysuit, golden armor, and a red amulet burned into his forehead. His name was Venamordt.
"Zeo Power Punch!" Zeogreen shouted, but the demon caught his fist and kicked him backwards.
"Tiger Baton!" Gao White shouted as her weapon energized and she leapt down towards the demon. The general caught her baton and tossed the White Ranger into the Yellow Racer.
Meanwhile, Gao Yellow glided through the air towards another of Alcorn's generals. This general was identical to Venamordt, only with a blue amulet on his head. His name was Xenamakot.
"Eagle Sword!" Gao Yellow swung his blade downward in an x-shaped pattern, but the demon did not seem to feel the blow.
Rescue Blue and Zeopink moved in to back up Gao Yellow. The Blue Lightspeed Ranger pushed forward with his V-Lancer, slashing the blade across the general with a burst of spark.
"Zeo Fire Cloud!" Zeopink blasted the demon with a crackling pulse of pink-tinted energy.
The general laughed at the three Rangers' attacks.
"It's never good when they do that," Rescue Blue said. The general blasted the three Rangers to the ground with a massive concussive force.
Beaten and battered, the Rangers all regrouped.
The demon generals, monsters, warriors, and grunts regrouped as well and stalked towards the fallen Rangers. A countless number of Shades formed up behind their demon masters.
"This is the end." Kar readied a fiery energy sphere in his hand.
But suddenly, the winds across the streets started to pick up and howl.
Kar wrinkled his brow as he struggled to keep his balance against the gale-force winds. "What in the name of Mephisto...?"
A blinding, pale-green light suddenly covered the streets, and the villains had to shield their eyes.
A concussion wave suddenly tore up the ground below them with a massive explosion, and the winds picked up while throwing the villains off their feet. A distortion wave moved across the wind and disoriented the villains just before a massive wall of fire erupted.
The fire stretched across several city blocks, and smoke started to rise from the flames.
The Rangers slowly rose to their feet as and saw five figures emerge from the fire. One by one, the Power Rangers stepped out of the flames.
"Tommy..." Zeoyellow whispered.
Kar rose to his feet with his soldiers and faced the Power Rangers. "What? More Rangers?"
"Not just any Rangers, numb nuts," Tenma Ranger said.
Lion Ranger looked to his friend. "Hope your fighting skills aren't as rusty as your one liners."
"Let's show these creeps who they're dealing with," Dragon Ranger said. The Rangers snapped into their fighting stances and shouted their names.
"Dragon Ranger! Heaven Fire Star, Red!"
"Tenma Ranger! Heaven Gravity Star, Blue!"
"Lion Ranger! Heaven Illusion Star, Green!"
"Kirin Ranger! Heaven Time Star, Yellow!"
"Phoenix Ranger! Heaven Wind Star, Pink!"
"Power of the stars," Dragon Ranger shouted, "brought down...Five Star Task Force..." They shouted as one: "Power Rangers!"
"Power Rangers?" Kar shook his head and scoffed.
The villain extended his hand and launched a sphere of cyan-tinted energy at the five Rangers.
The Rangers placed their right fists against their left palms and extended their arms forward. They used their Kiryoku to catch the energy blast and shoot it back at Kar. The blast exploded against the villain with a massive burst of spark, knocking him off his feet.
The Shades rushed forward and attacked the Power Rangers.
Phoenix Ranger blocked a flurry of blows and chopped a knifehand strike against a soldier's neck.
Kirin Ranger assembled his firearm. "Thunder Blaster!" he fired lances of yellow energy that exploded through a group of Wraiths with bursts of spark.
Lion Ranger flipped a soldier over his shoulder and sidekicked another Shade in the face.
Tenma Ranger tornado kicked a soldier.
Dragon Ranger slammed the back of his fist across a Shade's head. He turned to his left and bashed a crescent kick across a second grunt's skull.
"We've got to get to the top of that temple, now." Dragon Ranger roundhouse kicked a Shade to the ground. "Adam, Rocky, Kim, Billy, keep the heavy hitters out of the way. Simon, Jason, Teddy and anyone else in red spandex, come with me. We're breaking for the temple. The rest of you form up behind us and use your energy weapons to keep the Shades off our backs."
Lion Ranger turned his attention towards the Shadow King and pair of Shadow Knights. The Green Ranger armed his Lion Staff and twirled the weapon into a fighting position.
Shadow King glared at the Ranger. "You will fall just as easily as-"
Lion Ranger spun forward and slammed his staff across the Shadow King's head. The Green Ranger continued his spin and slammed his staff against the Shadow King's chest. The Green Ranger then whipped his leg around in a reverse hook kick that knocked the Shadow King off his feet.
"Thunder Staff Blade!" A two-prong fork appeared at the tip of Lion Ranger's staff.
The staff energized with pale-green light and speared through a Shadow Knight's chest with a burst of spark. That Knight vaporized with a puff of smoke.
Lion Ranger turned to his right and swung his fist forward. "Hand of Fate!"
A beam of pale-green light erupted and blasted through the second Shadow Knight. That knight exploded and vaporized into a puff of smoke.
Meanwhile Dragon Ranger used his Thunder Staff to take the point and thrash through Shades while running towards the temple. Gao Red was at Dragon Ranger's right side with his Lion Fang and Gao Dagger, and Ninjared was to Dragon Ranger's left while using his blade.
Rescue Red, Time Fire, Zeored and Red Racer were behind them while using their individual weapons.
Nearby, Tenma Ranger ran towards Kar and the other two generals
Kar fired an energy pulse that Tenma Ranger dodged as he leapt at the demon.
Tenma Ranger used his nunchuku to bash Kar twice across the head.
"Tenma Flash Kick!" The Blue Ranger snapped an energized tornado kick that knocked Kar off his feet and sent him skidding across the street.
The other two generals moved in to attack, but Tenma Ranger whipped his pair of nunchuku at them. The two weapons energized with deep-blue power and spun like helicopter blades decapitating the two generals.
Meanwhile, Dragon Ranger had led his group towards the foot of the temple. They kept running while hacking away at countless Shades. "Jason! Fire attacks!"
"Right..." Ninjared said. "Ninpo fire attack!"
"Star Fire!"
Dragon Ranger and Ninjared's comets of fiery energy streaked towards the temple and exploded through the wall with a massive explosion, sending debris scattering across the streets. The seven Red Rangers ran through the opening.
On the side of the temple, Phoenix Ranger ran towards the spider demon and Cyclops demon.
The spider fired webs that she flipped over while thrusting her hand forward. "Cyclone!"
A cyclone of pink energy appeared and ripped the spider demon apart, tearing off its limbs and ripping its muscles from its bones.
Phoenix Ranger landed and armed her spear as the cyclops demon charged towards her. The Pink ranger parried a blow and drove her spear through the demon's chest. The demon monster exploded with a violent burst of energy.
Inside the temple, the Red Rangers ran through a dark corridor while bashing aside any grunt that got in their way.
Dragon Ranger noticed clouds of dust particles slowly gathering around them. "Damn," he cursed. "Everyone get-"
The dust exploded all around them with massive eruptions of flame. Dragon Ranger managed to erect an invisible Kiryoku field around him and his group to protect them from most of the concussive force.
The blind Devil of Kimon named Mujuro suddenly appeared and dashed past the Rangers while striking them with his sword, his blade sparking across their armor with each stroke.
Rescue Red stepped back and switched his Rescue Blaster to baton mode. "This guy doesn't look so tough."
Gao Red tightened his grip on his Lion Fang and Gao Dagger. "Let's take 'im out."
The two Rangers dashed towards Mujuro, but the demon leapt over his attackers and landed while slashing them across their backs.
Zeored and Red Racer armed their swords and sprang towards Mujuro, but the two chain claws sprang from the shadows and wrapped around their throats, squeezing tightly.
The Devil of Kimon named Shijima tightened his grip on his chains and rose from the shadows. He pulled the chains back hard and sent the two Rangers crashing against the ground.
Time Fire cut the chains away and slammed a sidekick against Shijima, knocking the demon backward.
Gao Red rose to his feet and armed his Gaoling Cannon. "It's time to bring down the house."
Gao Red aimed upward and triggered a volley of green energy blasts that exploded against the ceiling. The blast dropped piles of rubble onto the blind Devil of Kimon.
"That oughta hold him," Rescue Red said.
The Quantum Ranger fired his DV-Defender at Shijima, but the demon sunk back into the shadows.
"I'll handle this freak," Time Fire said. "You guys go."
The other six Rangers started to run as a broad blade spun towards them like a helicopter propeller.
"Jump!" Dragon Ranger shouted as the Rangers leapt out of the way. The blade returned to Tesai's hands.
"Not this rock-head again," Red Racer said.
"We have a score to settle," Zeored said.
"Come, you puny mortals," Tesai said. "Come to..."
"Burn Knuckle!" Dragon Ranger energized his fist and slammed it against the demon. The impact knocked Tesai through a wall and sent him flailing through the air outside. He looked back to his brother and the Red Turbo ranger. "You'll have to settle your score later."
The Rangers continued their charge through the corridors and burst onto the roof of the demon temple.
Alcorn was floating in midair several feet above the temple. A cylinder of crimson energy circled around him and extended into the whirlpool in the sky.
"You're too late!" Alcorn extended his palm and fired an energy blast that exploded against the Rangers' armor with bursts of spark.
Warlock suddenly hovered towards them from behind and fired an energy pulse of his own. Dragon Ranger, Gao Red, and Ninjared leapt over the blast, but Rescue Red, Red Racer, and Zeored were hit hard and knocked off their feet.
Gao Red pounced into the air and clawed Warlock across the chest, but the villain simply used the back of his hand to swat the Red Ranger aside.
Turning to his right, warlock snapped out with a hook kick that smashed across Ninjared's helmet.
Dragon Ranger flying sidekicked Warlock to the ground, landed, and charged towards Alcorn. The Red Ranger jumped head-first into the energy cyclone, which threatened to tear him apart.
Dragon Ranger tightened his muscles and slowly started to push through the cyclone towards Warlock.
Warlock turned towards Dragon Ranger and tried to blast at him, but Gao Red sliced the villain across the back with his Lion Fang, and Ninjared struck Warlock with a volley of throwing stars. The villain was forced a few steps back as Zeored and Rescue Red moved in with their swords.
Warlock leapt over their strikes and fired crimson energy pulses that crashed against the rangers' armor, knocking them backward.
Gao Red somersaulted through the air and brought his dagger down across the villain's chest, blade sparking on impact. Gao Red pushed forward and slashed across Warlock's body.
Meanwhile, Dragon Ranger continued to push through the energy cyclone.
"Ah, the mighty Dragon Ranger," Alcorn said as red energy poured from his eyes and mouth like vapor. "Tales of your strength have reached the very depths of the Shadow World. Pity they were all exaggerations."
"Sorry to disappoint you...Burn Knuckle!" Dragon Ranger's fist pushed through the cyclone and slammed against Alcorn with a massive explosion.
The impact knocked Alcorn out of the cyclone and sent him flailing through the air before crashing to the streets below. The energy cyclone disappeared, but jagged bolts of crimson lightning suddenly shot from the whirlpool in the sky and exploded on the ground below.
Alcorn looked up at the sky and laughed. "You're too late!"
Lightning crashed throughout the streets, and the wind howled with a mad power as the Mogralord was released.
The Mogralord was a giant, four-legged beast three times as large as a Megazord. The demon lord's skin was transparent, revealing veins of fiery power flowing through his body. Silver blades extended from his arms and legs, and two silver horns curved outward from his head. The villain's eyes were blood-red, and its mouth was filled with jagged, silver teeth.
The beat released a wave of fire that slammed against Dragon Ranger's group and sent them crashing back onto the streets below.
The Rangers all regrouped and stared up at the giant demon lord with shock.
They were so taken aback by its appearance, that they didn’t notice the Astro Rangers arrive on the scene along with the Aquition Rangers and Phantom ranger.
"We’re too late!" Astro Red shouted.
"Tommy!" Astro Pink called as she ran over to her injured brother.
Dragon Ranger struggled to his feet. "Karone? What are you..."
Their reunion was interrupted as the Mogralord started blasting the city.
The demon lord opened its jaw and fired torrents of flame that exploded through already damaged buildings and streets throughout Angel Grove Central. The demon grew and tail, which started flailing back and forth like a giant mace.
The streets erupted into flame as the Mogralord released his fiery powers. He had never set foot in the mortal world and was enjoying the pointless mass destruction that he had previously only been able to watch.
The attacks exploded beneath the Rangers' feet, sending them flying through the air as the streets were torn and ripped apart. The blasts scattered the Rangers and sent them crashing through rubble.
They would have called their zords, but the interference around the city was preventing them from signaling their giant companions and mecha.
Astro Red recovered and armed his Drill Saber. He leapt into the air towards the Mogralord but was smacked out of the way by the beast’s claws.
Dragon Ranger rushed to his fellow Red Ranger's side and helped him up. "Are you alright?"
"I’ll be fine, but we’ve got to stop the Mogralord."
The giant demon continued to march through the city and display his power. The beast fired optic beams of crackling energy that exploded throughout the city, causing the earth to tremble.
From behind the creature, Ninjared, Rescue Blue, and Yellow Racer pulled out their blasters and fired at the beast. In response, the Mogralord crashed his tail down, creating a massive shockwave on impact that knocked the three Rangers off their feet and sent them crashing through a ruined building.
A half a block down, Zeoblue and the Blue Aquition Ranger were trying to reach Astro Black, who had been buried under a pile of rubble.
The Blue Aquition Ranger shouted out frantically to his friend as he knocked heavy chunks of debris out of his way. "Bran!"
From underneath a large chunk of stone that used to be part of the street, the Black Astro Ranger’s hand stretched out. Zeoblue and Pegasaur Ranger grasped Astro Black's hand and pulled him free of the rubble. Weakened, Astro Black stumbled to keep his balance.
To make matters worse, the Mogralord was coming their way and blowing streams of explosive fire.
Further down the street, the Pink Lightspeed Ranger was crumpled over on the ground as Rescue Green ran over to her. "Stephanie!"
The Green Lightspeed Ranger leaned over his teammate and prayed that she was still alive. Luckily, she was still breathing, but her breath was very shallow. Another blast rocked the ground, and a huge chunk of rock crashed against the Green Lightspeed Ranger's back, knocking him unconscious.
Close by, Dragon Ranger and Gao Red teamed up with Ninjawhite, Rescue Yellow, and Rescue Red.
"We need to hit him from multiple directions," Dragon Ranger said.
"No shit" Rescue Yellow said. Rescue Red nudged him on the shoulder to let him know it was not a good idea to joke around with Tommy in such situations.
"Spread out." Gao Red yelled as he switched his Gaoling blaster to cannon mode.
Rescue Red grabbed Rescue Yellow's arm and started running underneath the Mogralord. "Come on, we’ve gotta get behind him!"
The Yellow Lightspeed Ranger yelled at Rescue Red as they passed under the belly of the creature. "Are you crazy! What if this thing steps on us!"
"It would be the end to our problems then, wouldn’t it." The two Lightspeed Rangers ran out from underneath the Mogralord and aimed their V-Lancers at its back.
Dragon Ranger took the creature's right side along with Ninjawhite.
Tenma Ranger, Lion Ranger, Time Fire and Gao Silver took the creature's left side.
They attacked in unison.
"Nova Force!" Dragon Ranger thrust his arms forward and fired a twirling pulse of fiery energy.
"Ninpo Shard Attack!" Ninjawhite fired a storm of energy diamonds.
"Gao!" Gao Red triggered a roaring burst of golden energy from his rifle.
"Booster mode, fire!" The Rescue Rangers fired their Hydro Blasters in Booster mode, triggering streams of energy.
"DV-Defender!" Time Fire triggered a stream of high-powered energy from his blaster.
"Lunar Cue, Sniper Mode!" Gao Silver fired lances of pale-blue energy.
"Hand of Fate!" Lion Ranger thrust his hand forward and fired a stream of pale-green light energy.
"Gravity Well!" Tenma Ranger extended his hands and fired a twirling wave of gravimetric energy.
The demon monster howled, not in pain, but in annoyance as the blasts splashed across his body.
The giant demon's horns radiated with energy that channeled towards the sky. Bolts of red lightning shot down from the clouds and surrounded the Mogralord while hitting Dragon Ranger and the others hard.
The giant demon continued stomping through the streets. He was enjoying himself, and nothing could stop him from having his fun.
A growl was then heard further down the street from the giant demon. The Mogralord knew it came from a creature of great power.
"Fire Power!"A voice that came seemingly from no where called out. Then, a large blast of powerful flames crashed into the Mogralord and drove him to the ground.
After the smoke from the flames cleared, Ninjawhite looked up to see the Red Galaxy Ranger standing on top of the Lion Seijuu. "It’s Ryouma!"
"Who?" Rescue Blue asked.
The Red Galaxy Ranger jumped down from his lion, and the other Galaxy Rangers were right behind him, along with the Black Knight KiroKishi.
Another strange noise was heard on the streets as four strange motorcycles approached the Rangers. The noise was the Beetle Borgs on their Sector Cycles. Also entering the scene were the Nova Troopers, Cybertron, Galavan and Kamen Rider Ryuuki.
"Dex!" Dragon Ranger ran over to his old friend.
Kamen Rider Black, Kamen Rider Kuuga and the Guyver also appeared and joined the assembled heroes.
"Sorry we're late," Kuuga said to Dragon Ranger.
It would have been a great reunion for many, but the Mogralord had other plans. He blasted the assembled champions with another wave of crimson fire, and the heroes all flew backward.
The Go-Liner was sent into the city by Alpha, and all of the heroes jumped on board. Most of them were reluctant to fall back, but logic told them they needed a better strategy.
Alcorn hovered in front of the Mogralord after the retreat of Earth’s champions.
The purple-haired demon smiled triumphantly. "It is now time. I command you to turn this planet into rubble and…" A wave of anguish overcame Alcorn as he screamed out loud.
"I am no ones to command." The Mogralord’s telepathic voice caused much pain in Alcorn's mind. "You will obey me."
Alcorn remained silent as he convulsed in pain.
"You understand nothing," Mogralord said. "The Rangers must be destroyed. They are the only force that stands between me and domination. All efforts must be focused on their destruction.
"You will be my general, Warlock. You will assemble the most evil warlords in existence and use them to destroy the Rangers and conquer the planets of The Cross. Once the planets of The Cross are all under my control, I will be able to open the gates of Hell and purge the universe with flames."
Tekno-Man was brought before Darkheart by Tekno-Red. The evil warlord laughed at the sight of Sage in his mindless state. "Welcome home, Sage!"
Tommy spoke to the assembled heroes in a conference room in Billy's Bay Area.
"Listen up, people," he said. "We failed to stop the Mogralord. Now our jobs just got harder. We'll have to divide our forces.
"I've used data from Maya's grandfather to put together some information about this Mogralord and his goons. We'll have to fill in the blanks.
"Jason, our two teams are traveling to Eltar, not only to protect the planet, but to learn more about this Tablet of Chakra.
"Delphine, you and your team can return to Aquitar. It's your world, it makes sense for you to defend it.
"Dex, take the Turbos with you to Edenoi and protect it.
"Cy, you and the Astros have some information hunting to do. I've heard its become your stock in trade. I need you to find something called the Galaxy Book. It's important, according to Maya's data, I'm just not sure how.
"Triforia will also be threatened. Phantom, I want you to take the Beetle Borgs there to defend Trey's homeworld." He looked to the Beetle Borgs. "The Phantom knows his stuff, so listen to him."
Drew and the others nodded, but Josh simply rolled his eyes.
"Zeo and Galaxy teams, I need you to travel in Pyramidus to a planet at the edge of the galaxy. There's a temple there connected with the Zeo Crystal, which is apparently connected to all this somehow.
"Lightspeed and Gao Rangers, you'll stay here to protect Earth's other ley line nexuses. Time Fire, Kamen Rider Black, Kuuga, Cybertron, Galavan, the Guyver and Nova Troopers will stay on Earth too. Billy's also calling in SHOC."
Tommy ended his speech as the assembled champions prepared to carry out their orders. They spread across the briefing room and started saying their goodbyes.
Tommy gave his sister Karone a hug. "It's good to see you, Karone."
"You too..."
Tommy smiled. "I'm proud of you, ya know."
Karone nodded. "Thanks."
They exchanged a few more words and separated. Tommy walked over and said hi to Zhane. "Hey...take care of my sister."
Zhane nodded. "Always."
Nearby, Ashley sat down next to Simon on the edge of a table.
"How does he do it?" Simon asked about Tommy. "I'm about ready to freak out over all this, and he's as cold as steel."
"He's had a lot more practice faking it," Ashley said.
Warlock stood on top of the temple with the Mogralord towering over his shoulder. It was time to make the universe fall.
"The Cross of Planets has allowed us a unique opportunity to spread our evil to the planets of Eltar, Triforia, Aquitar, and Edenoi. Once we have all five planets of the Cross under our control, nothing will stop us. Nothing.
"Alcorn, you will lead a force to the planet Eltar. On the way, if you would be so kind as to release your brother and the forces of Atlantis on Aquitar.
"Shadow King, we've heard that the Zeo and Galaxy Rangers are leaving Earth in Pyramidus for whereabouts unknown. Stop them.
"Ooze, you will be in charge of conquering Edenoi. Their world is already broken beyond measure, so even you will not fail.
"I will send a clan of Red Star pirates to conquer Triforia.
"Darkheart, the cursed Astro Rangers are after the Galaxy Book. Hunt them down, kill them, and get it right this time.
"Kar, you will remain here with me and secure the rest of this planet. The Mogralord will remain in Angel Grove with the Devils of Kimon."
The Dark Man stood in the woods south of Angel Grove. He was on a cliff that had a perfect view of the red shroud covering the Demon City.
A look of sorrow crossed his face.
"The players are all in place...and the universe itself will be the prize."
To be continued...Chapter Six