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Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Xanta Claws is Coming to Town
23 December
The Christmas holidays were almost upon them and the people of Angel Grove were enjoying the brief reprieve from monster attacks that usually occurred around that time of year. Zordon had once explained that the period channelled the positive emotions of the human race and combined it with the abnormally high output from the planet's natural magic to make the Christmas uninviting for most villains. And those that did attack during the period had a habit of finding themselves whisked into bizarre dimensions where their actions ended up having little effect.
That was why when Rita decided to launch an attack, the Rangers were unprepared. More so because she had not sent her forces to Angel Grove Park where the Christmas Carol Service was taking place. Over the years the Rangers had gotten to know where various villains liked to strike and had even gotten to the point where they could work out the abilities of whatever monster was sent down based on their location. However there had been very few attacks on the Rangers' homes and fewer still on those that were not a part of the currently active team, namely the Turbo Rangers. So when Rita's Putties had shown up out side the Zedden Residence, home of Jamie Zedden the Purple Zeo Ranger and her father, Larry Zedden better known to the people of Earth as Lord Zedd.
However if they had expected an easy target, the attackers were in for a big disappointment. For Larry Zedden was in fact an alien prince who had long ago been placed under the control of an evil being. Months earlier he had vanquished that evil and trapped it permanently within his mind, satisfied that should he died, Zedd's evil would be eradicated. More importantly though Larry was the master of the fabled Sword of Fire, one of the Elemental Blades forged by his people long ago. And his daughter, who was the chosen avatar of the Sword of Lightning, had proven to be a capable student in swordsmanship.
And so it was that on the lawn of the Zedden property, Larry and Jamie proceeded to slice limbs off the intruders. Combining the razor sharp edges of their swords with the power to channel fire and lightning, they made quick work of any Putties that were brave enough to remain. However even as Larry decapitated the last Putty with his flaming sword, he had to wonder what Rita was up to? Even he knew that the witch rarely attacked just for the sake of it.
"Maybe she's angry we left her off the Christmas card list," Jamie suggested as she called down a bolt of lightning that sent the remaining Putties leaping into the air.
"Ho Ho Ho!"
Father and daughter exchanged an uneasy look. "Uh oh!"
They turned around to find themselves facing Rita's attempt at a monster. Xanta Claws was the name Rita had given it and for good reason. While its head resembled a rabid reindeer, the rest of it was a clear parody of Santa Claus, complete with a belly that wobbled as he laughed evilly. His fingers ended in a set of sharp claws.
"You've been very naughty!" Xanta told them before swinging his massive sack and sending both Zeddens crashing to the ground.
"I thought we agreed no tacky ornaments," Jamie grumbled.
Xanta just laughed, causing his belly to shake and the ground to tremble as the two Zeddens fought to get back to their feet.
"Why don't we see what Xanta has in his magic sack?" the monster asked, before opening the bag. A massive spray of snow erupted from opening, covering the entire street with snow. "And now you can meet my friends the snowmen!"
Six wicked looking snowmen formed out of the snow, their mouths cut into sinister smiles. One of them had metal spikes emerging from its body and a pair of tree trunk legs.
With a sigh the father and daughter team threw themselves into battle, Larry charging Xanta Claws while Jamie handled his snowman servants. Xanta responded by drawing a weapon of his own, a four edged blade coloured like a Christmas tree. A spear would have been a better word for the weapon, which seemed to enlarge and shrink at Xanta's whim, allowing him to keep Larry at a distance.
Meanwhile Jamie was finding that the snowmen were a lot more difficult than she had thought. For one thing they had the ability to explode into a shower of snow and reform in a different location, meaning that even when she could land a blow, it barely phased them. And as she fought she noticed the temperature was dropping, making her reactions slower while the snowmen seemed unaffected. When they started throwing exploding carrots at her though, Jamie had had enough.
"Wait a minute, you're made of snow, how can you survive exploding carrots?" she demanded. There was an awkward pause as the snowmen seemed to consider her words before attacking again. Clearly using logic against Rita's monsters wouldn't work. "Fine. Dad is that spell still in place?"
When he had moved back with his wife and daughter, Larry had erected a spell around their property. Although it was low powered it prevented those that did not know about their activities from seeing what they were up to. It proved especially useful when they were sparring or Jamie was called to action.
"Of course," Larry answered.
That was all Jamie needed to hear.
"Zeo Purple Power!" Jamie called. "Power of the Blade!"
Once inside the protective uniform of the Purple Zeo Ranger, Jamie found the cold no longer affected her. And with the increased strength and speed, she had the snowmen scattering.
"Zeo Pistol!" she called, drawing her side arm. But instead of aiming fro the snowmen, she unleashed a burst of low energy fire at the surrounding snow, putting an end to their ability to hit and run. Then as she blasted each snowman in turn, they were reduced to puddles of water, leaving only their spiky leader.
And so the fight was on as Purple Zeo and the Snow Monster clashed. The snowman was powerful and his spikes while unable to pierce her uniform, made it difficult to land a blow. Eventually though Jamie drove the Sword of Lightning into the snowman, unleashing a bolt of lightning that evaporated it as she turned her attention to where her father was still fighting Xanta Claws.
Larry was hurt. It was only a small wound but he had seen the look on the monster's face as it had pierced his skin. And it worried him. After that Xanta Claws had seemed less aggressive, almost as if he were trying to avoid fighting. But Larry knew better and sure enough the monster suddenly found a second wind and renewed its assault. He had replaced his spear with a candy cane sword and was proving that he was a nimble swordsman despite his size.
However when Purple Zeo joined the battle, it was clear that Xanta's time was limited. The Sword of Lightning and Sword of Fire when used together were capable of cutting through his weapons and the monster soon found himself soundly defeated.
"Fire Wave!"
With a final burst of flame, Larry sliced through the fake Santa Claus, putting an end to the monster.
"So," Jamie asked as she powered down and helped her father to tend his wound. "What do you think that was about?"
As she watched her monster explode, Rita wished that she had sent it to Angel Grove Park. However she quickly dismissed such thoughts as she looked at the vial in her hand. The rejuvenation fluid of Lord Zedd had proven extremely destructive during her tests. None of the monsters Finster had created had survived the initial contact. And from what she had been told it was lethal to humans. So when she had seen Xanta Claws cut Larry Zedden's skin with his poison laced claws, she had wished that it had been his daughter that had been on the receiving end. For Jamie Zedd would not have had Larry Zedden's immunity and would have succumbed to the poison in a matter of hours. Larry would not escape the effects of the rejuvenation fluid either. It was just that she expected the results to be a little more interesting where he was concerned and a lot more painful.
Through the Repulsascope she watched as the citizens of Angel Grove enjoyed each other's company, singing carols, seemingly without a care. They could have their season of good will, she was aware that any attempts to launch an attack would fail and that the likely magical backlash would leave her weakened for months.
"Enjoy yourselves while you can you little pests," she said as she was inspired to hold a party of her own. "I will be back and this world will belong to me!"
End of Part
<post_date>2017-03-14 12:00:01</post_date><post_modified>2022-11-15 14:09:37</post_modified>
