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Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, Transformers, Harry Potter or Doctor Who. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This is a work of fanfiction and no profit is being made.
Onyx
The results had not been as Dark Specter had predicted; both Ecliptor and Astronema had returned from their missions empty handed. He had checked their work and had found that both had been extremely thorough despite being kept in the dark about the object he was seeking. As much as he wished it were not the case, the only explanation for their failure was that his theory had been wrong and the fragment of crystal he had expected to find within the body of life sustaining worlds simply did not exist.
"Explain!" he rumbled.
Today he had chosen the form of a Vipertooth, a large black dragon with piercing red eyes and a single fang. The smoke that billowed from his mouth as he spoke caused the scientist to cringe back.
"You were the one that informed me my information was correct," he continued. "So how is it that you were wrong?"
Sorren was a trusted servant who had spent many centuries in Dark Specter's service; he had not known he had been in Dark Specter's service until the Grand Monarch of Evil had revealed himself. In that time he had developed new weapons that the UAE had already started to use in its slow conquest of the Universe. Dark Specter did not believe the scientist would lie to him even if doing so would save his life.
"All the evidence you showed me confirmed your theory, Dark Specter," he replied nervously - he was well aware of the hungry look on the dragon's face-, "they should have found something. Unless...."
"Unless you were mistaken?" Dark Specter asked, leaning closer. He did not appreciate being made a fool of, even if nobody would ever learn of his mistake.
"Yes," Sorren replied with a gulp. "That is to say: no. It is possible the fragmented pieces crystal merged with whatever planets they encountered, but the impact placed them out of phase with this dimension. That would explain the inability to detect it when scanning."
Dark Specter's mouth opened and for a moment Sorren believed that his master would destroy him. Instead the shape shifter paused and considered the possibility that his servant was correct. If the crystal had reached the planet and then had shifted out of phase with reality, then simply destroying the planet would not be enough to retrieve the fragment. In fact, by destroying the planet his forces would have released the crystal from the effects of gravity and ruined any chance of retrieving that particular fragment.
"So it is beyond our reach," he rumbled.
"Yes," Sorren hastily agreed. Before noticing the look of disappointment on his master's face. He rapidly reconsidered his words and decided that giving the Grand Monarch hope would grant Sorren a greater chance of survival. "That is to say: no. If the collision was sufficient to knock a fragment out of phase, a similar impact could be used to retrieve it. Your records indicate at least one instance where this has happened. All it would take is a large collision... or a very powerful explosion."
Dark Specter briefly considered crashing an asteroid into a random planet to test the theory. He was certainly powerful enough to do such a thing.. But doing something so overt risked exposing his plans. No, this required a different approach. Luckily he was a patient being and his underlings were creative enough to build him the means to accomplish such a task. He could wait a while longer.
"Of course the problem would be the time needed to repeatedly use such a method..." Sorren mused. "Perhaps if you retrieved a fragment of sufficient size you could use it to draw on the energy from the rest without needing to shift every fragment back."
"The bigger the fragment, the greater the power?" Dark Specter asked.
"No. That is to say: yes. The fragments of the Xeno Crystal were supposed to remain connected as a vast energy network. So the larger the fragment, the more energy it could draw."
If Dark Specter had been correct, then the largest fragment of the Xeno Crystal - the crystallised shell of the cosmic egg from which existence was born - had become scattered within the planet known as Earth during and event that had led to the creation of the Zeo Crystal. That was why the Earth seemed to attract so many villains; it was why he had always intended to rip the planet apart.
Dark Specter hadn't considered the possibility that the Zeo Crystal's energy came from a link to the original crystal, which was odd given that the existing theory suggested the Morphin Grid and other universal energy flows existed because of the crystal.
"You will find a way to retrieve a fragment," he ordered.
The need for such a weapon was an unexpected setback and mass production would take much longer than he wished. But if he only needed a single fragment... He would need to test it to be sure.
"Build two," he instructed. "You will test the first and if successful bring the other to me... You will speak of this to nobody."
As Dark Specter left, Sorren breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had been spared his master's wrath. For now.
Doing nothing was the most difficult thing a Ranger could do when their friends were in trouble. With the Turbo Rangers, Dino Thunder Ranger and four of the Zeo Rangers missing, presumed kidnapped by the diabolical Master Vile, they knew it was a matter of time before the villain made his move. In the meantime with their weapons checked, Zords prepared and Zordon's satellite network focussed on finding their friends, there had been nothing to do except wait.
"You want us to leave?" Zack demanded, outraged at the suggestion.
"There is very little you can do until Master Vile acts or we locate him," Zordon responded reasonably. "Alpha and I are more than capable of operating the Power Chamber and conducting a search. You however will need to be rested if you are to face Master Vile's forces."
"He's right guys," Tommy said after some thought. "I don't like it; it doesn't feel right relaxing while our friends are in danger, but we know how powerful Master Vile is... I remember what he did."
"If we find any sign of them, Alpha and I will contact you immediately," Zordon promised. "In the meantime it might be a good idea to warn Detective Park about his son.
There was some grumbling but the teenagers agreed and reluctantly teleported away.
Ten Power Rangers had fallen in less than a day; Master Vile was satisfied that his quest to secure the power of the Zeo Crystal for himself was off to a good start. At his direction the monsters that had been used for their capture and the Putty Patrollers that had survived the encounter had been set to work clearing an area of the lunar surface close to the Lunar Palace.
He had used his magic to raise five pillars of moon dust and at his direction the monsters had hollowed out one side to create a cavity large enough to hold a human. Master Vile had instructed Globbor to connect himself to those cavities, allowing the monster to drain the energy of those trapped within. And then the four Zeo Rangers and their Dino Thunder ally had been placed inside and secured.
Master Vile had then put his space skull back into orbit around the Earth and had sent out a massive burst of evil energy that he suspected would cause Zordon no end of problems with his monitoring equipment. With the White Morphin Master effectively blinded, Master Vile knew the Rangers would be seeking their friends by looking for the space skull instead of scanning the Moon.
And while one group of Rangers were being drained of energy that he planned to use to help prevent the possibility of outside interference, the five Turbo Rangers had been taken to a chamber within the Space Skull. There they had been secured to the wall by organic tendrils that were a part of the Space Skull's living structure. A starfish-like creature had been placed on their faces, allowing Master Vile's associate to begin the task of controlling their minds.
"Shanara?" he asked as he observed the Pink Turbo Ranger struggling against her bonds. It was not the typical movement he associated with a prisoner trying to break their bonds, more the panicked reaction of a body and mind that were enduring unspeakable torture.
"Patience brother," came the calm reply. "You know that this is a delicate and drawn out task; that is why you begged for my help."
Her name was Shanara, a Sradin female that had once been the devoted sister of the man that the demon known as Master Vile had inhabited. Master Vile had spared her life and corrupted her soul, empowering her with his magic and turning her into a faithful advisor. Over time her devotion to the being she still considered and loved as her brother had not diminished, but she had become a pale imitation of the kind woman she had once been and unquestionably evil.
Shanara served a purpose in Master Vile's kingdom. She was the one that had been charged with the task of crushing the rebellious thoughts of his citizens. And after thousands of years she had developed ways of turning those that would rebel against their ruler into the obedient servants he deserved. She had overseen the education of some of Maser Vile's most trusted lieutenants, and had been an obvious choice to break the Turbo Rangers.
Of course she had refused his request the first time, her loyalty to his dynasty far greater than her devotion to the man himself. It had been the personal request for help by the Mistress Repugna that had caused her to agree to lend her services; Shanara and Monastra had been friends long before Monastra had married Master Vile. In the end Shanara had agreed and it seemed she was already seeing results.
"You were correct: their powers accelerate not just their bodies but also their thought processes," she told him. "They managed to shake off my usual methods before I had finished casting."
The Power of Turbo accelerate the processes of the human body. It helped the Turbo Rangers to heal from physical wounds and limited the effects of spells. It also made it easier for them to fight off some forms of mind control.
"Luckily," she gestured and the starfish convulsed causing the Turbo Rangers to thrash even harder against their restraints, "I have other methods."
As he watched the Red, Green and Pink Turbo Rangers trembled under the onslaught of her mental manipulation, he noticed Blue and Yellow Turbo appeared unresponsive.
"Justin was yours the moment I started to show him scenes of his friends turning on him," she commented.
Not quite true, it had been an odd combination of three of the older Rangers rejecting him and two mocking him for proving them correct. It seemed that not all of the senior Rangers had approved of the younger teens taking over the fight.
"And once his mind broke it helped me establish a hold on the others. Little Yellow there took a more extreme approach, but soon succumbed without him to shield her."
The Turbo Rangers were younger than most teams, but had a friendship that ran deeper than the older teams. And their powers provided a link between them that the other teams did not have, allowing them to move and fight at high speed while being aware of their surroundings. It allowed them to share a collective mind at times, which in combat was a valuable asset. Sadly Shanara had found a way to use that bond against them, using it to stir the negative emotions she needed for her methods to work.
Tasha had been more difficult. The Yellow Turbo Ranger had experience of dealing with emotional manipulation. Her experience with the Shadow Empire had shown her how to overcome such things. With Justin in her power, Shanara had used that link to find Tasha's weakness. Even then the Yellow Turbo Ranger had fought back and it had taken an exceptionally powerful spell to break her defences.
With two Turbo Rangers in her power she had turned her attention to Franklin and Rosa. It had been Mistress Repugna that had suggested using the boy's father against him. Although the Green Turbo Ranger had managed to shake off her first attempt, she would win. BY the time they were needed she expected to have all five Turbo Rangers at her comand.
"Impressive work Shanara," Master Vile praised. "And in such a short time. The others have proven more troublesome?"
"Yes, especially their leader," she admitted. "No matter, once he understands his team have fallen to your power he will realise his 'shortcomings'."
Vile laughed. Shanara it seemed had managed to pinpoint the smallest kinks in the Rangers' mental defences and was not above using them. "Very well. I will send down some monsters to draw the Rangers out. When I do, have Justin and Tasha ready for an ambush. If the others are ready at the same time... so much the better."
"As you wish, Master Vile."
Multiple alarms sounded inside the Power Chamber as the Rangers arrived.
"Zordon, what's happening?" Trini asked.
"Behold the Viewing Screen!" Zordon answered.
The massive screen had been divided to show different scenes as Tunnel Rat, Antagonist, Light Armadillo and the Dimension Mammoth attacked. Dimensional Mammoth was in Stone Canyon, Light Armadillo was attacking Briarwood, Tunnel Rat was in one of the abandoned quarries outside a city near Angel Grove, and Antagonist had been sent to the small town of Blue Bay Harbour; Nice Chap had been sent to Mariner Bay to prevent the Lightspeed Rangers from intervening.
"This is not good," Kimberly said as they watched the monsters rampage. "Guys this has to be a trap."
Master Vile's forces would have created far more carnage had they attacked as a single force. The fact he had spread them out meant that he wanted the Rangers to divide their forces. And no doubt while they were vulnerable he planned to have Globbor attack.
Kimberly is correct: it would appear Master Vile has ordered his monsters to attack in multiple locations to force you to split up. No doubt he is aware that working together there is little you cannot accomplish. You will need to be wary of an ambush. Remember that Master Vile is well versed in the ways of evil and Globbor is capable of striking in an instant."
"We don't have much choice," Tommy stated. "If we try to deal with them one at a time they could cause some real damage. We'll just have to keep our eyes open for any tricks."
"If Master Vile sends Globbor to attack we might be able to locate his ship," Billy commented. "I think I might be able to recalibrate the Power Chamber's scanners to detect Master Vile's hiding place. But I'll need some help."
Trini volunteered to stay behind.
"I suggest Tommy, Samoht, Trey and Jason each lead a team," Billy advised. "Trey, Adam and Tanya should go to Briarwood, Samoht, Aisha and David to Stone Canyon, Jason, Zack and Kimberly deal with that rat thing, and Tommy, Kat and Rocky should head to Blue Bay Harbour."
"All right guys," Jason said. "It's Morphin Time!"
"Green Ranger Power!"
"Purple Ranger Power!"
"White Ranger Power!"
"Black Ranger Power!"
"Pink Ranger Power!"
"Red Ranger Power!"
"Zeo Ranger I - Pink!"
"Zeo Ranger II - Yellow!"
"Zeo Ranger III - Blue!"
"Zeo Ranger IV - Green!"
"Zeo Ranger V - Red!"
"Gold Ranger Power!"
The Rangers teleported away in twelve columns of light, leaving Billy and Trini to their work.
Master Vile watched as his plan unfolded. With the Lightspeed Rangers and their allies suitably distracted in Mariner Bay, he concentrated on the others. It was no surprise that the assorted Ranger teams made short work of his monsters; they were secondhand creations and rejects that his daughter had refused to send into battle. They had successfully drawn the Rangers into the open and the trick now was to keep them occupied long enough for his little surprise to strike. Speaking of which...
"Pink Tornado Slash!" Pink Morphin called.
Using the power of the Mind Aspect, she called forth a gust of wind that picked up the loose stones around her. As she gestured the stoned formed a whirling blade of wind and stone that she slammed into Tunnel Rat.
The monster recoiled before using his shovel arm to bat the stones away.
"Rolling Thunder!" Black Morphin cried, unleashing an attack that caused the monster to be struck from all sides by thunder and lightning.
"Tyranno Fist!" Red Morphin bellowed as he channelled the power of the Body Aspect into a single punch.
Tunnel Rat was sent flying back into the rock face, causing stones to crash down upon him. He came to his feet to find the three Rangers readying their Power Weapons for the final blow.
Light Armadillo appeared to have two abilities: the power to curl into a nigh indestructible ball and the power to create shadowy minions to fight on his behalf. While the former was a nuisance, the fact the object he created the shadow creatures from crumbled to dust after a few minutes, made the second the more deadly weapon.
He sent his shadowy creations against the three Zeo Rangers and while they were distracted, rolled himself into a ball and threw himself in the Rangers' direction.
Green Zeo leapt over the ball shaped monster before drawing his Zeo Pistol and firing. The shots had little effect but did change its direction enough to buy Yellow Zeo the time to duck. The shadow creatures she had been fighting were not so lucky and had been flattened by their own creator.
There had been reasons why Light Armadillo had never been used by Rita. It had been created during a period that Finster had been experimenting with a creature he had captured. After he had finished the model he had feared that Rita would discover the origins of its power and either punish him or worse send it to Earth and risk Zordon discovering his crimes; there were certain rules that the good guys clung to and even villains chose to follow.
However, the monster had other weaknesses that Finster had feared would make it easier for the Rangers to defeat. There was the unfortunate matter that it lacked control over its ability to transform from its ball form, which placed a limitation on the time it could remain in a ball before being forced to revert to its normal form. When he had later created the Soccerdillo, Finster had given his monster control over its ability to ball-up.
In its normal form, another vulnerability became evident: the lamp on its chest was a powerful weapon that could generate intense bursts of blinding light and scorching heat in addition to creating the shadow minions. Unfortunately Finster had designed the weapon to be so effective offensively that he had forgotten to provide it with protection. And due to its importance, Light Armadillo often spent so much time protecting it that he forgot to use it as a weapon.
"Zeo II Power Weapon!" Yellow Zeo called as she summoned a pair of yellow clubs.
She ran toward the monster, dodging a from his chest ray. Her clubs struck his feet and ankles, causing him to hop on one foot while holding the other leg. As she slotted the two clubs together and drew them apart again, they were joined together by a thin chain, allowing her to use them as nunchakus. She took a swing for the monster's head, causing him to lift both his hands to block the assault.
"Zeo IV Power Hatchets!"
As Yellow Zeo assaulted the monster with her weapon, Green Zeo leapt into the air with his hatchets at the ready. As Light Armadillo raised his hands to protect his head, Green Zeo descended and drove his weapons into the monster's chest.
"Where's my brother?" he demanded as he repeatedly pummelled the monster. But Light Armadillo either didn't know or stubbornly refused to answer.
The fragile lamp that granted Light Armadillo the majority of his offence, shattered. And as Green Zeo continued to attack with his Power Hatchets and Yellow Zeo pummelled him with her weapon, he was unable to curl up into his protective shell. And as the two Rangers held him in place, Gold Zeo had lined himself up to deliver the finishing blow.
"It's Time For a Gold Rush!"
Dimensional Mammoth knew that he was a reject. He didn't even have a real name. Finster had referred to him by a design number with Dimensional Mammoth being a simple description. He had been created during the period when Rita had been banished and Lord Zedd had dismissed Finster's services as unneeded.
After the Rock of Time had been destroyed by the Power Rangers, Finster had visited the spot where it had stood. His search had yielded a few pieces of the rock that had survived the blast from the Power Cannon. He had ground those remains down to create the sand needed for Dimensional Mammoth's hourglass. However, he had had no desire to anger Lord Zedd by revealing his actions and had left the monster unfinished. Later he had managed to locate a tiny shard of the Orb of Doom and had add it to the mix giving Dimensional Mammoth a potent weapon.
With a wave of its trunk the monster shifted the sand within its hourglass, creating ripples in time that aged the city of Stone Canyon and made its buildings crumble. The citizens affected by its temporal waves found themselves either rapidly aged or turned into children. As they struggled to escape the disruptive vibrations from the hourglass seeped into the ground, threatening to shake the city apart.
It was at that moment the three Rangers arrived.
"Power Stick!" Purple Ranger cried as she vaulted into action, her heavy staff forcing the monster to stop its spell on concentrate on her.
Meanwhile Green Ranger tried to stabilise the buildings long enough for White Ranger to help a few stragglers to safety.
"Oh no you don't Rangers," Dimensional Mammoth warned. "I'll make you so old you won't be able to fight back."
"Oh yeah? Try this on!" Green Ranger replied. "Dragon Fire!"
A ball of green flame shot toward the monster, causing it to shield its face. The ball of fire did not cause any real damage, but as it opened its eyes the monster panicked as White Ranger sliced through the end of its trunk with Saba.
"Let's finish this!" Green Ranger ordered. "Dragon Dagger!"
"Power Stick!" Purple Ranger added.
"Saba!" White Ranger concluded.
"Combine!" they called together.
Saba slid onto one end of the Purple Ranger's Power Stick just as Green Ranger's smaller blade connected with the other end, forming a twin bladed staff. Purple Ranger took the combined weapon and jumped into the air. Green Ranger and White Ranger joined hands, creating a platform that propelled the Purple Ranger toward their enemy. The combined weapon glowed in an energised mix of green, purple and white light as it descended upon a monster that suddenly wished that it was somewhere else.
Antagonist was a fairly simple monster compared to some of Finster's creations. A humanoid ant with a large cannon on its upper right arm. It lacked the flaws of some of Finster's rejects but had never been submitted to Rita for use because Finster had considered it an artistic failure. It's design did not incorporate any special abilities, it did not have any traits that would help it in battle. It was just a monster ant and Finster hated it.
So when given the the opportunity to fight for Rita Repulsa, the monster had been extremely enthusiastic. More so when it found out that it now served Master Vile. Its weapon did not have any special effects on the things it hit, but it caused damage anyway.
Blue Zeo had already discovered that the ant's weapon packed a punch. He had jumped towards it intent on delivering a blow with his Zeo Power Weapons, when Antagonist had lifted its weapon and fired. Blue Zeo had found himself bouncing off the sidewalk. It was an unwelcome reminder that he still had a bad back.
Before the monster could take the initiative and attack Blue Zeo, Pink Zeo had joined the fight. Her Zeo Power Weapon easily deflected a shot from his arm cannon. And her Zeo Pistol proved that she had some firepower of her own. The monster backed up as the blast hit it in the chest.
As Red Zeo moved in to help, the two Rangers were able to keep the ant from firing another shot. They kept him off balance with Red Zeo using his Zeo Power Weapon in an attempt to hack its arm off.
"Defender Sphere, Activate!"
The Defender Wheel had been damaged during a battle with a powerful monster. When the weapon had been rebuilt it had been modified and after the Turbo Rangers had become the active team, it had upgraded to take advantage of their speed. The Defender Sphere was the result.
As Blue Zeo loaded himself into the launcher, he was aware that the new design would prove more of a challenge than the old design. The Turbo Rangers were not as physically powerful as the Zeo Rangers, but they were able to move at greater speed for longer periods. Blue Zeo started to wish he had not eaten so much the day before.
Then he remembered that this monster had been one of the things responsible for his sister's disappearance. That was something he would not forgive.
"Engage Defender Sphere, Now!"
Red Zeo and Pink Zeo moved out of the way as the Defender Sphere crashed into Antagonist.
Master Vile watched as his monsters were slowly defeated. This had been the moment he had been waiting for.
"Now!"
A blue blur slammed into Gold Zeo, taking the veteran Ranger off his feet. At the same time a yellow fist connected with Yellow Zeo's helmet, knocking her to the ground. As Green Zeo turned to face their attackers, he found himself confronted by two of the missing Turbo Rangers.
The two Rangers did not give Green Zeo the opportunity to appeal to their true nature. They attacked, using their speed to combat their more experienced opponent. While Green Zeo was reluctant to fight back against a fellow Ranger, their programming meant they had no such qualms. A brutal double punch to the chest nearly broke through the Ranger's uniform. It proved sufficient to forcibly demorph him.
"Adam!" Yellow Zeo cried, jumping between the two Turbo Rangers and her boyfriend.
She held her Zeo Pistol at the ready. While she had no desire to hurt her friends, she knew that while wearing their uniforms she needed only to pull her strongest punches. The Power of Turbo would protect them.
Still it quickly became clear that against two Turbo Rangers she had little hope of winning. Justin was a better martial artist than she could hope to be, even with the training she had received. And Tasha was just vicious; the Yellow Turbo Ranger simply moved toward her with punches and kicks.
"Guys, you have to listen to me," she tried. "Master Vile is controlling you. You have to fight it."
Her words fell on deaf ears as the Turbo Rangers continued their assault and she found herself disarmed. Her eyes widened as she looked down to see Yellow Turbo had taken her Zeo Pistol. Yellow Turbo had the Zeo Pistol in one hand and her own Auto Blaster in the other. Both were resting against Yellow Zeo's midsection as Yellow Turbo pulled the triggers.
Gold Zeo had by this time recovered enough to rejoin the battle, but it seemed the Turbo Rangers had had enough. They fired their side arms at the ground under Gold Zeo, striking a gas main. As he picked himself up following the explosion, he saw them grab Adam and Tanya. Then they vanished.
Yellow Turbo threw Adam to the ground in front of Master Vile. Blue Turbo followed suit with Tanya. Both had proven that Shanara's twisted control had been a success. Neither had fought her spell even when their fellow Rangers had appealed to them. Of course the spells that filtered out any such appeals had helped with that.
The Putties had moved in quickly to grab the fallen duo before they could fight back. With three Putties securing them and the Turbo Rangers hovering in readiness to land what would be a fatal blow if they resisted, neither Zeo Ranger was in a position to try and escape.
"Take them to the cells," Master Vile instructed before turning his attention to where Pink Turbo and Green Turbo had engaged their targets.
Antagonist staggered back from the impact of the Defender Sphere. It had survived the attack, mostly thanks to it armoured hide. It had retaliated by firing rockets from its left shoulder, which Pink Zeo had skilfully deflected. As Pink Zeo and Blue Zeo held the monster in place, Red Zeo had energised his Zeo Power Sword and driven it into the prone monster, finishing Antagonist once and for all.
The ground around the three Zeo Rangers exploded as they found themselves under attack. Green Turbo stood on top of a building with the Thunder Cannon in hand. He fired again and the Zeo Rangers were forced to jump for safety.
That allowed Red Turbo Ranger to strike. As Pink Zeo landed, Red Turbo attacked with his Turbo Power Sword. The blow knocked her off her feet and caused Red Zeo to move in to help. That had been exactly what Red Turbo had been hoping for as Green Turbo fired again and intercepted the leader of the Zeo Rangers.
However the Zeo Rangers were not defeated. Blue Zeo engaged both Green Turbo and Red Turbo, relying on his experience to combat them. Unlike Green Zeo, Blue Zeo did not hesitate when he attacked. He knew how capable the Turbo Rangers were and that their powers would protect them from most attacks. As he fought he he was unable to stop Red Turbo from teleporting Tommy and Kat away.
"Guys, you need to fight this; you are better than this. We're your friends," Blue Zeo tried as he landed a heavy kick to Red Turbo's head.
With a quick flurry of punches he managed to disarm Green Turbo. It was clear that whatever spell the Turbo Rangers were under had taken away Franklin's ability to strategise. Normally the Green Turbo Ranger would have had a backup plan. His last blow seemed to do the trick as Green Turbo fell to the ground and demorphed.
It was then that Rocky realised that he had made a mistake. Green Turbo had had a strategy all along. Rocky had assumed that Red Turbo and Green Turbo had been working alone. He had not stopped to think that it was unusual for Green Turbo to fight without Pink Turbo at his side. So he was unprepared when Pink Turbo attacked using Turbo Wind Fire.
If it had just been the energy attack, Rocky would have had a chance, but it seemed that whatever spell they were under meant that the Turbo Rangers were no longer concerned about each other's wellbeing. And as a result, the Blue Zeo Ranger was forced to stay in place to shield Fred and Franklin from injury.
Pink Turbo charged her brother, discarding the Turbo Wind Fire in favour of her Auto Blaster. Blue Zeo had drawn his Zeo Pistol and returned fire, guiding their battle away from the fallen Turbo Rangers. Unfortunately that gave Fred and Franklin the opportunity to morph again and join the attack. Now Blue Zeo was seriously outnumbered.
The three Turbo Rangers charged their fists and delivered a crippling blow to Blue Zeo's chest. Despite his best efforts, Blue Zeo could not hold out and his fallen form was promptly teleported away.
As soon as Tunnel Rat had been destroyed, a new threat had made itself known. The monster's destruction had triggered a spell Monastra Repugna had placed upon him, transferring his essence into the surrounding rocks. The result was a rock monster capable of throwing parts of itself at at the Rangers.
Black Ranger knocked the rocks aside with his Power Axe, allowing Pink Ranger to attack with her Power Bow as Red Ranger moved in from behind with his Power Sword. Together the three Rangers used teamwork to overcome the monster's strength.
Blue Ranger and Yellow Ranger chose that moment to arrive. They had been waiting for Master Vile to spring some sort of trap and believed that this was it; had they delayed a few seconds they would have known of the attack on the Zeo Rangers, but it was too late to help there.
"Ideas?" Red Ranger asked as he drove his foot into the monster's knee, slowing it down for a time.
"Maybe if we expose it to extreme temperatures," Blue Ranger offered.
"He means we make it really hot or really cold," Yellow Ranger added.
"I call on the power of the Mastodon!" Black Ranger cried, concentrating on his link to the mighty Zord that was a part of his powers. "Mammoth Shield!"
A smaller version of the shield normally worn on the Megazord's arm appeared in Black Ranger's hand. The Ranger held the shield aloft, shooting a spray of freezing gas from the end of its snout. The rock monster was frozen in place.
"Okay, let's finish this!" Red Ranger called. "Power Blaster!"
The five Rangers rapidly formed the original version of the Power Blaster. They fired and the frozen monster exploded. They had not expected the resulting shower of stones that rained down upon them, burying them. As Red, Yellow and Pink Ranger struggled to fight their way free, Globbor took the opportunity to sneak up on Black Ranger. The Ranger struggled briefly before collapsing and was promptly teleported away as Globbor decided to try for a second Ranger.
He zeroed in on Billy as the Blue Ranger tried to lift a heavy boulder that had trapped his leg. The monster was about to snatch the injured Ranger when Yellow Ranger freed herself and intervened. Her Power Daggers knocked Globbor's hands aside, but the monster decided that a Ranger was a Ranger and grabbed her instead.
As Globbor and his new prisoner vanished, Red Ranger managed to free himself from the stones. He was too late to stop Globbor from escaping and had to settle for releasing Pink Ranger before the two of the moved to help a distraught Blue Ranger.
The moment Dimensional Mammoth had been destroyed, the Rangers had found themselves under attack. Master Vile had not wanted them to interfere with his attempt to grab the Zeo Rangers, and so he had sent as many Putties as he could spare to keep the three Rangers busy. Enhanced by the magic of Monastra Repugna, the foot-soldiers successfully forced the Rangers to split up.
"Hello Samoht."
It should not have been a surprise to step through a doorway and find himself in an unfamiliar place. He had been teleported many times before. But there had been no sensation of moving, it was as if he had just naturally stepped into a new location. He was not surprised to find the door he had stepped through had vanished, along with the rest of the campus.
"Do I know you?" he asked.
Standing before him, sword in hand was a tall silver-helmeted knight with red eyes. A black flexible material was covered with silver metal plates with blue highlights. His belt, wrist braces, knee pads and ankle braces were gold.
"I'm sure I'd remember that face."
"Funny guy," came the response. "We'll see how funny you find it after I defeat you."
"If that's the way you want it," Green said, summoning his Dragon Blade.
"We'll see," the knight promised as he charged.
Samoht had over two centuries of training and his own form of magic to call upon in addition to his sword. He was not going to go down without a fight. While he was outnumbered, his sword made short work of slicing through the Putties while a ball of green fire kept the knight at bay.
"If that is the best you can manage, this will be over sooner than I hoped," the knight mused.
"Sorry to disappoint you," Green Ranger said as he blocked a slash from the knight's sword. "Let's see if I can offer more of a challenge. Green Fire!"
The power of the Morphin Grid flowed into his fist as he stepped closer to the knight and delivered a firm punch to the chest. The knight was thrown back but soon regained his footing.
"Return Strike!"
The knight did not have a name although Finster had considered calling it Rebound. He had been an early prototype that Finster had rejected after Rita had made it clear that her monsters needed to be offensive and not defensive. It had been designed to take the brunt of an enemy's attack and then reflect the energy back at its opponent.
The result was that Green Ranger was hit by his own attack just as more Putties came to Rebound's aid. As Samoht struggled against them, he was gripped by multiple hands and teleported away.
"Purple Ranger Strike!"
"White Ranger Strike!"
Rebound had no time to prepare for the combined blow from the two remaining Rangers. As two balls of energy connected, the monster was destroyed, leaving the Rangers triumphant.
Master Vile had not expected his scheme to be so successful. The Turbo Rangers had proven a master stroke that had landed him five Zeo Rangers to drain. But the addition of Trini, Zack and Samoht had added to the his victory. Now he could not only drain the power of the Zeo Crystal, but he could also tap into the power of the Morphin Rangers.
All his plans were coming to fruition and soon not even Dark Specter would stand against him.
Power Chamber
The surviving Rangers had regrouped. Trey had been injured by the Turbo Rangers and Billy was still bruised from the rocks. In a single strike Master Vile had managed to take away eight of their friends in addition to those he already held.
"Zordon, we do not have a choice," Trey argued.
It had not taken long after they had arrived back at Power Mountain for the computers to detect Master Vile's attempt to tap into the power of the Zeo Crystal. Trey had been quick to suggest disconnecting the Zeo Crystal, preventing Master Vile from gaining control of it. He would be able to drain the energy that remained in their Zeonisers but little more.
However Zordon had been reluctant to do so because without the Zeo energy to sustain them, the Ranger's lived would be in jeopardy. The Rangers' link to the Zeo Crystal had changed following their encounter with Minion. The powers had become linked to them physically and from the few tests that had conducted, had altered their bodies to accommodate the power.
The downside was that once the Power of Zeo entered their bodies, it could not be separated from their life energy. That meant that as Master Vile drained their powers, he was also killing them.
Already the monitors that tracked the health of Katarina, Christina, Lillian and Jamie showed that they were in serious danger. If Master Vile continued to siphon away their powers it was likely they would die. Tommy, Rocky, Adam, Tanya and Katherine were showing a slower decline, likely because their link to the Zeo Crystal had not been interfered with.
"If Master Vile gains enough power he will be able to take control of the Zeo Crystal," Trey continued.
"I fear you are correct Trey," Zordon answered. "Once Master Vile has drawn sufficient power from the Zeo Crystal, he will be able to take it for himself. However, severing the link between the Zeo Crystal and the Rangers' Zeonisers would allow Master Vile to drain their bodies. If that happens and we cannot retrieve them, they will likely die."
Zordon and Alpha had already reduced the link between Katarina, Lillian, Jamie and Lillian, and their Zeo sub-crystals. It had not been so easy to limit their powers since their powers had bonded with their bodies. And it had been impossible to cut the link between Nathan and his powers since the Power Chamber could only monitor and had little control beyond a little guidance.
"We need a way to find them," Jason declared.
The others nodded.
"Billy, isn't there some way you can track them through their Zeonisers?" Kimberly asked.
"I have been unable to locate their Zeonisers or communicators," Billy told her. "However, I might be able to track the energy from the Zeo Crystal now that Globbor is draining it. But to be successful the link will need to be maintained."
"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Alpha cried as one of the consoles started beeping.
"What is it?" Aisha asked.
"It appears that Master Vile has started to drain the power of the Morphin Rangers," Zordon replied.
"Samoht's vital signs have deteriorated," Alpha added.
"When your new powers were created, they were bound to your bodies," Zordon explained. "Any drain on those powers would risk damage to their bodies."
"We need to get them back!" Jason declared.
It was an obvious remark and he knew it, but saying it made him feel confident that they would find a way and that they would not give up until they found a way.
The Power of Turbo, derived from the extra-dimensional energy source known as the Speed Force, provided many advantages for those that used it. Not only could those that drew upon its powers move faster, their healing was enhanced beyond the accelerated most Rangers enjoyed. Their senses and perceptions were enhanced to the point where when the Turbo Rangers worked together, they could counter a threat before it arose.
Shanara was an old and skilled manipulator of mind and senses. She had turned the most vocal opponents of Master Vile into loyal servants. Altering the brainwaves of five children had been simple in comparison. And with the added precaution of shielding them from the words of their former allies, the result was five loyal servants. Or so she thought.
While she had found a way to work around their apparent immunity to mind control, she had been wrong to assume that her spells would last. The moment they had morphed into battle their powers had started to counter her handiwork. By the time the confrontation was over, their minds were starting to break her hold on them.
And even as Master Vile gloated of his victory, one of the Turbo Ranger's hands twitched as he raised his Auto Blaster and did something that risked putting an end to the villain's sinister scheme.
Somewhere on the Moon, there was an explosion.
End of Part
<post_date>2019-09-01 12:00:26</post_date><post_modified>2022-11-15 14:09:40</post_modified>
