Disclaimer: Okay, Saban owns Zordon, Alpha Five the old Zords and the old villains. I graciously announce the fact that I have not asked any permission. This is merely for entertainment and non-profit purposes.
Author Note: Armageddon, his minions, Ultima, the Samurai Rangers, the Samurai Zords, the Shinobi Zords and the UniZord configuration are all mine. let me know if you're gonna use them, just so that I know!
Time Scale: This starts off four weeks after 'The Samurai Ranger Saga'. I'd advise you read it, but if you really can't be bothered, just start reading here and you'll probably pick most of it up – it's hardly complicated.
Challenges
By Matt
Kane sat in the rec room, alone. It had become habit, almost ritual. In the short time Tommy had been there, they had worked out together late into the night. There had been plenty of mornings Kat had come in and seen them asleep on the sofa's and woken them. They just never had the energy to make it back to their rooms.
Now Tommy was gone, back home safely as far as Kane knew. It was hard for Kane to imagine that in reality, Tommy was probably dead before he was even born. One of the best friends he had ever made, and he lived in a different time period. There was one thing that he still had though, and he couldn't resist it any longer.
He got up and left the rec room. He walked quietly down the corridor to the Simulation Room and accessed one of his personal programmes. The door slid open and Kane walked in. It was the rec room, or at least an exact holographic replica of it, but it wasn't the room that Kane was interested in, it was the person sitting on one of the sofa's. His hair reached down to his shoulders, just brushing on his red shirt.
"Hi Tommy!" Kane said, walking over to him.
"Hi Kane, what's the problem?" Tommy asked.
Before the others left, Tommy and Kane both knew they would be separated eventually, so they worked together on that programme. The holographic Tommy was almost identical to the real version in almost every way. Every part of his personality, his appearance, his mannerisms, all of them the same as the real. They had made the programme just so that Kane could always get Tommy's advice in a tough situation, but recently, Kane had been using it just to talk. It had taken ages to get the programme just right, but they had done it in the end, and Kane was glad about it. He could just talk and talk to him, he even forgot it wasn't the real Tommy sometimes.
"Nothing's really wrong. I just wanted to talk about some things." Kane said meakly.
"Okay, talk away." Tommy said.
"Well I'm still not getting used to not having all you guys here. Everyone else seems to have almost forgotten they were ever here." Kane commented.
"You have to accept that they're gone and they're not coming back. They did what they could and it wasn't enough. They had to go home, they don't belong here." Tommy explained. He always seemed able to explain things logically. Kane often wondered if it was the Tommy part of the programme that did that, or if it was the computer part, he wasn't sure.
"Yeah, I know. I guess I'll get over it, but they were some great people, our past is lucky to have them!" Kane smiled, talking to Tommy and about Tommy at the same time. It really got confusing to begin with, but Kane soon got used to it.
"Is there something else?" Tommy asked. He had got used to reading Kane's emotions and he could tell there was more.
Kane thought for a moment and said, "No."
Tommy wasn't going to push him. If he wanted to talk about whatever it was, he would of his own accord. "So what's going on in the real world? I really don't get much info in here about current affairs."
"Well the survivors of the prison camps are really settling in down in the valley. They've started building homes with our help, and it's really turning into a community. It's amazing really. There's people from all over the world, all different races and religions and they're all getting on. Nobody's fighting or arguing, nobody discriminates, they all see each other as equals. Mind you, I bet that's how our own society started out. We'll see how things go, but for now, it's all peaceful.
We've really been suprised by Jandra, Rygog, Kraegor, Rito and Garrison. They're working so well as a team, you'd think they were destinned to fight together. They've actually taken a name for their team – Power Force. I'm not sure which of them thought it up, but it seems suitable enough. Considering some of the things they've all done in the past, they seem to be making up for them now. They've spent loads of time helping the people. At first, the people were a little wary of them, but now they accept them as part of the community. It seems so weird to have them all on our side.
Ultima and Divatox are getting really chummy. They're together all the time, and Ultima actually seems happy with her! They've not actually told anyone they're together, but you'd have to be stupid not to notice it.
Alpha Five is missing Alpha Six, but hes a tough little mechanoid, he'll be fine. Ninjor's gone back to his Temple. He knows he's just not strong enough to face Armageddon. Mondo's been working on upgrading our Zords and weapons with his own technology, and he's made some good improvements.
The guys are all doing okay. We're all glad of the rest. Since Ultima first attacked Earth, we've been fighting non-stop. These last few weeks since the Dark Rangers were destroyed, Armageddon hasn't made a single attack. It's been weird not having to go out and fight every day, but we're all fully rested. To be honest, I think we're all getting a bit bored." Kane explained.
"My Lord, when are we going to attack again?" Crush asked Armageddon. He was sitting on his throne inside their base.
"You ask every day, and every day I tell you the same thing." Armageddon said, sounding tired of her continuos questioning.
"Yes. Soon. You've been telling me that for four weeks. You haven't even sent a single drone after the Rangers, all you've done is sit here and do nothing!" Crush said, almost sounding disgusted at his lack of action.
"Nothing? I have not been doing nothing. I have been recharging my Power. The loss of my Dark Rangers weakened me almost to the point of my total destruction. I needed time to regain my Power. Had we attacked straight away, the power increase I gave each of you would have dissipated. Without that, you wouldn't stand a chance against the Rangers." Armageddon explained.
"I understand sir, but you could have at least sent some Drones to attack them. They are probably taking this time to rest and train. They will be better than ever. You seem to forget I was fighting these Rangers long before you showed up." Crush said angrily.
Armageddon held out a hand towards her and she collapsed to the ground in pain. "And may I remind you that I have the Power to destroy you with the slightest thought. Question me again, and you will see it in practice!" he threatened. He retracted the hand and she slowly got back to her feet.
"I apologise sire. My eagerness to destroy the Rangers has been clouding my judgement!" Crush apologised.
"I can understand that, so I will send out a platoon of Drones to draw out the Rangers." Armageddon said.
The Rangers were sitting around in the rec room, not doing much, just waiting for something, anything, to happen. They had ended up doing the same thing every day. They had got bored with training, and they had reached their peak weeks ago. Training now was just going to wear them out rather than help them.
In the distance, they heard the alarms sound in the Power Chamber. They all sat up eagerly. "Is that what I think it is?" Sara asked.
"Sure is!" her brother replied, grinning in anticipation.
They waited a second for their communicators to beep, but it never happened.
"Come on, let's go!" Kane said, tired of waiting. They all got up and ran to the Power Chamber. As they got there, they saw Ultima and Divatox stood with Alpha in front of the view screen. The alarms had stopped now.
"Zordon, what happened?" Kane asked.
"A group of Drones appeared, but Power Force have gone to take care of it." Zordon said.
"Why didn't you call us?" Kane asked, annoyed that they had missed the action.
"We didn't want to disturb you!" Zordon said. "We knew Power Force could take care of it."
"Didn't want to disturb us? No! We wanted to be disturbed. We just want something to do!" Chad said.
They all laughed at the comment and walked over to watch the view screen. Ultima, Divatox and Alpha moved back to let them all see. The Rangers noticed that Ultima and Divatox were holding hands, and even more strange, Divatox looked completely different. The mask was gone and she was dressed in normal clothes instead of her costume, cloak and collar. Her hair was down and flowed freely down her back. She didn't look anywhere near as threatening now, in fact, she looked rather beautiful.
The Rangers all looked at the screen. Jandra cut down one of the Drones. Behind her, Kraegor crushed two of them together and Rygog sliced one in half with his Plasma Saber. Garrison blasted a small group with a salvo of missiles and Rito was using his servo jets to fly up into the air, swoop down and attack the Drones, then get back into the air before they could counter. It was working well. Within mere minutes, the small group had completely obliterated the army of Drones.
The five warriors stood together and teleported away. Seconds later they appeared in the Power Chamber.
"Good work. They didn't stand a chance!" Ultima said, smiling.
"And we were hoping for some serious action!" Jandra said, disappointed at the easy battle.
"Well at least you got some action. It was more than we got!" Chad said, just as disappointed. "I bet we could have finished them off faster!"
"Well that's because there's twice as many of you!" Garrison commented.
"Okay, well I bet half of us could have finished them off quicker." Chad retorted.
"Yeah right. Next you'll be saying you could beat us in a fight!" Rito joked.
"Doubtlessly!" Chad commented.
"Is that a challenge?" Jandra asked.
"Yeah, I guess it is!" Chad grinned at the thought of some real action at last.
"Whadda you guys say? Think we can take these guys?" Jandra asked her allies. They all shouted in agreement.
"Zordon, is that okay?" Chad asked the Morphin' Master who had just been watching the whole exchange.
"I do not see why not, but make sure it does not get too serious. We cannot risk anyone getting hurt if Armageddon is going to re-start his attacks!" Zordon said.
"Great, so who's gonna fight?" Chad asked, turning to the others. Of course, they were all eager.
"Sorry guys, only five of us can fight, cos there's only five of them!" Chad said.
"Make that six!" Ultima said, stepping forward. "I want in on this, too."
"Actually, it's seven!" Divatox grinned, walking up to thr group.
"Sorry, wrong again. It's eight!" Mondo said proudly.
"Geez, anyone else?" Chad asked, smiling.
"Well it's been a while, but mind if I join in?" Alpha Five chirped, suprising them all.
"You! Alpha, are you sure? You could get hurt!" Kane said, trying to keep the little mechanoid safe.
"Of course I'm sure. Who do you think used to help Zordon fight!" Alpha said. If it were possible, he would have had an enormous, proud smile across his face.
"Well that's nine against ten. Sounds fair to me!" Jandra said. "So, we going to the Simulation Room, or are we doing it the old fashioned way?"
"Personally, I prefer the real thing, but like Zordon said, we can't risk anyone getting hurt, so I guess it's the Simulation Room." Chad said. The challenge had been accepted by both sides, and now they all started to head off to their fight.
Zordon smiled. Considering the two groups were about to fight against each other, he had never seen them work as a team quite like that. There had been a serious challenge made, but it was all in good heart, and Zordon was proud of them all. The Rangers had always been like that, but over the past month or so, their new allies had really turned out to be quite trustworthy. They were part of the team now, but he just had to wonder one thing – for how long!
Crush walked along the corridor and stopped outside the large door to Armageddon's chamber. He knew nothing of the battle yet, and she knew he wouldn't be happy. She really didn't want to go inside and it was at times like this when she wondered if she had actually picked the right side when Armageddon had given them the Power.
She pushed the doors and they swung open. She stepped through and they slammed shut. Armageddon's throne was facing away from her and she couldn't see him at all, but she knew he was there.
"How did the battle go?" he asked, his voice quiet and calm, but still intimidating.
"The Drones were all destroyed by…." Crush paused.
"By who?" he asked, his voice getting louder.
"By Jandra, Rygog, Rito, Garrison and Kraegor. They call themselves Power Force now!" Crush said meakly.
"WHAT?" he shouted. "You wasted Drones, and you didn't even draw out the Rangers. Power Force must be destroyed. If both teams still operate, they will be able to watch each other's backs. Do something about it Crush!"
"Right away sir!" she said, leaving the room.
"Angel Grove Park! You just couldn't resist, could you Rito!" Sara said, grinning at the monster.
"Old habits die hard!" he answered.
"Okay. So let's do this." Ultima suggested.
"LET'S SAMURIZE!" Kane shouted. "SAMURAI BLACK!"
"SAMURAI WHITE!"
"SAMURAI PINK!"
"SAMURAI YELLOW!"
"SAMURAI BLUE!"
"SAMURAI PURPLE!"
"SAMURAI GREEN!"
"SAMURAI RED!"
"SAMURAI SILVER!"
"SAMURAI GOLD!"
As the Rangers transformed, Ultima held out his hand and his Dark Saber appeared. It's energy flowed into him and his body armor appeared. Next, Divatox stood forward. She held her hand up to the sky and a lightning bolt struck her. As the energy filtered through her body, her clothing was replaced with her old costume and mask. A short sword appeared in her hand, too.
They all started to pair off. Kane, of course, went straight for Ultima. He brought out his Shadow Sabers and started to circle Ultima. Samurai Black made the first move. He charged in with his Sabres held high, striking the down towards his ex-enemy. Ultima was obviously the more experienced at sword fighting, as he initiated a truly expert move. He swung his own Saber round above his head, then thrust it forward so that its side hit both the Shadow Sabers at once. The force of the blow knocked Kane flying backwards. It came as quite a shock to him. One moment he was running forward at full speed, the next, he was flying backwards just as fast.
He hit the ground hard, but got up quickly, despite how much it hurt. He held out the two Swords which had stayed in his grasp. He held them both horizontal, the butts of their handles touching and they started glowing. He span them round slowly, leaving a circle of black fire where they had been. Once the circle was complete, he pulled his weapons away and the fire shot forward into Ultima. It engulfed him for a moment, but he shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the Samurai.
"Nice move, but I can do better!" Ultima grinned. He held up his own weapon and slahed it through the air in front of him in the shape of an X. It seemed to cut through the very fabric of space. Ultima stepped back from it and fired a dozen shots into the X. For a moment, nothing happened, but then, several similar gashes in Space appeared around Kane. Each of them spat out a few of the energy bolts Ultima had previously shot into the larger one.
Kane struggled back to his feet and said, "Pretty impressive. You've got some good moves, but so have I! SAMURAI ARMOR!" The Armor appeared on him, making him look much larger and more intimidating. "CHARGE ATTACK!"
Ultima knew what was coming. He had seen it done on his monsters so many times before. A blade emerged from the Rangers forearm, then servo jets sent him shooting along the ground and past Ultima. He swiped at Ultima with the blade as he passed, then again when he came back. Going round and round, making pass after pass Kane struck at him, each shot weakening Ultima.
The Dark Warrior soon saw the pattern in the Samurai's movement and figured where he would go next. He stuck his sword out to the side, and as Kane went to pass again, he struck it. His feet carried on moving forwards, but the rest of him stopped. He fell over backwards and slammed his head on the ground.
"Looks like I win!" Ultima smiled. kane was shocked as he saw it. The smile was not evil as it had been after so many victories by the Dark warrior, but it seemed almost….. friendly.
The Rangers were having mixed results against the others. Louise was evenly matched with Jandra, Matt was beating Rito, Sean was having a tough time against Kraegor, Sara was losing to Divatox, Michelle was doing quite well against Garrison and Lee was fighting quite evenly with Mondo. As all the others paired off, Lucy and Chad had been left to face Alpha Five. The little mechanoid had suprised them by managing to keep them both at bay for a while, but in the end, he just couldn't match their power.
Niko seemed to be getting the upper hand against Rygog. He had delivered a few good shots with his Star Laser and Rygog seemed to be weakening, despite the strength of his exo-armor.
"Time for some real firepower!" Rygog said. "RYGO-BLASTER!" He called out his most powerful weapon. He had been presented with it on the day Power Force got all their new exo-armor, but had never actually used it. A massive, mean looking weapon appeared on his shoulder. It was bigger than the Zeo Cannon or Power Cannon had ever been, and looked much more powerful too.
"Oh-oh!" Niko said quietly, seeing the enormous blaster.
"Okay, so let's see what this thing can do!" Rygog said, eager to fire the weapon.
"Listen up everyone. Armageddon isn't happy!" Crush called out. Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, Prince Gasket, Archerina, Mecha-Zen, Goldar, Porto, Commander Striker and Photon had all been called together for Crush's announcement in Porto's lab. "Our ex-allies seem to have formed a group called Power Force, and they're helping the Rangers!"
There were sounds of disgust as they all thought of their old friends actually helping the Rangers. Loud chatter broke out between them all as they began speculating on why they were being told.
"Armageddon wants us to stop them. We can't get the Rangers if they've got Power Force protecting them!" Crush said.
"So what are we going to do?" Gasket called out.
"Porto, have you finished the new weapons?" Crush asked.
"Indeed I have." Porto answered cheerfully. He was always at his happiest creating things or talking about his creations.
"Well tell them about them then!" Crush urged him.
"Okay, Zedd, you already have your new staff, but you need protection. As it seems 'Power Force' have new armor, that is what I have created for you!" He pointed towards a panel which slid open, revealing an impressive suit of exo-armor. But it didn't seem complete. There were lines missing out of it, leaving large holes behind. "You will notice I have made it to fit directly onto your exo-skeleton. Your skeleton provides good protection, but with this armor you will have total protection."
"Fine. It looks like it may work!" Zedd said, not exactly eager to tell Porto that he thought it actually looked quite good.
"Rita, as protection for you I have made this." Porto said, another panel sliding open. It revealed a small device. "Wear this generator. It will make an almost indestructible force field around you, protecting you from almost anything."
"I guess I can try it out!" Rita said, not exactly impressed with it.
"Gasket and Archerina. Your parents were very thorough when they created you. Your bodies are constructed from some of the strongest materials known to us, so there wasn't much I could do for you in that department, but your weapons are another matter. For you Gasket, I have constructed this." A third panel opened up, revealing a massive sword, similar in proportions to Ultima's enormous Dark Saber. "And for you, Archerina, these." Panel four slid aside. Stood on a pedestal, was a bow and sword.
"Mecha-Zen. You were built in this time using the best weapons and armor available to your creators. There is nothing more I can do for you."
Porto didn't even wait for a response from them, he just moved on to address the next one. "Goldar. Your Gold armor provides a lot of your power, and as I didn't want to disturb that power, I just moved on to change your other power source, your sword." As Porto spoke, panel five moved away to reveal a similar looking sword to Goldar's current weapon, only slightly larger.
"Striker. You depend on long range attacks in battle, so I have provided you with a new array of weaponry for such attacks. Behold." Behind panel six a collection of guns, blasters and lasers, varying from the tiny, to the downright massive.
"Photon. You use electricity based attacks, but the new module I have created for you can take those attacks to a new level." Panel seven revealed a small device, similar in appearance to Rita's shield generator.
"Now if you all look to the next panel, you will see my own weapons I have created for myself." Behind the eigth section was a fat suit of armor, easily capable of fitting Porto. Beside it was a large blaster, and to the other side was an axe.
"I see you give yourself the best bits!" Rita snorted.
"Hardly!" Porto replied.
"So what's behind door number nine?" Crush asked, seeing an unopened panel and realising she had nothing new yet.
"Ah yes. The 'Crown jewel' of my collection." Porto smiled. It opened up to reveal two swords. Most of them didn't recognise them, but Rita and Zedd definitely did.
"The Sword of Darkness…." Rita gasped, seeing the sword she had given her evil Green Ranger to keep him under her control.
"And the Sword of Light!" Zedd said, suprised. He had tried to capture the Sword himself, using the Robogoat once, but had failed.
"But the Sword of Darkness was destroyed." Rita said.
"And the Sword of Light is still in the posession of the Rangers!" Zedd commented.
"Well I recreated them both. They are just as powerful as the originals, if not more. As you know, only a truly strong warrior can wield one of them, but to use both together would take a being of extraordinary power!" Porto said.
"So they're for Armageddon?" Crush asked, disappointed.
"Oh no my dear. I have something much better planned for him. These are for you. With your Power and the Power Armageddon has given you, I believe you could use them!" Porto told her.
Crush stepped forward and picked up the Sword of Darkness, then the Sword of Light. She started to glow as the supreme power filled her. "This feels incredible, I feel…. powerful!"
"Good, then everybody get ready. We've got some traitors to obliterate!" Porto said.
Niko stood facing Rygog, the Rygo-Blaster pointed straight at him. He had seen how powerful the Plasma Saber had been, so if this weapon was more powerful than that, he knew it meant trouble.
"Get ready, Ranger!" Rygog called out.
Just then, they were all interrupted by an announcement over the Simulation Room's speakers.
"Everyone, report to the Power Chamber. This is important!" Zordon said.
"Computer, end programme!" Kane called out. The Park and all their weapons disappeared. Niko was relieved, the Rygo-Blaster, even a holographic version could well have been enough to finish him.
They all ran out and headed for the Power Chamber, not even bothering to power down. If it was an emergency, they would all be ready for it. As they all filed in, they stood around the view screen. There was a picture of Lord Zedd on it, so they assumed that was the problem.
"Aah, I'm glad you're all here, but it's not you I want to talk to, Rangers. It's you, Power Force." Zedd said, spitting out the last two words as if they left a bad taste in his mouth.
"What do you want, Zedd?" Jandra asked, speaking for her group.
"We challenge you to a fight. A fight to the death. Just you five against us!" Zedd said confidently.
"You're on Zedd. Prepare to be defeated!" Jandra snapped back, not even needing to think about it.
Zedd disappeared from the screen and the members of Power Force stood together.
Kane walked over to Jandra and said, "Good luck. If you need our help just call!"
"We'll be fine, Black Ranger." Jandra replied.
"I know, but they've got Armageddon's Power behind them, and they're bound to have a trick or two up their sleeves." Kane said.
Jandra thought for a moment and answered, "You may be right. We'll call if we need you!" With that they teleported away.
"Man, they got all the action again! Kinda makes you miss the Dark Rangers, doesn't it!" Chad commented.
"NO!" they all shouted back.
Power Force appeared, facing their adversaries. They were suprised to see that Crush and Armageddon weren't there, but they never thought any more about it.
"Get ready, guys!" Jandra ordered.
Rito brought out his sword and primed his servo-jets. Rygog got out the handle of his Plasma Saber and flexed his wrist, making the jet of Plasma shoot from it. Kraegor had no weapons, but he checked on the status of his armor, making sure it was fully ready. Garrison prepared his built in missile launchers to fire, got his Plasma Rifle in one hand and his sword in the other. Jandra opted to start with her two laser pistols rather than her sword. She liked to start a battle at long range, weakening her enemies before they even got close.
They looked at their opponents and noticed their new equipment. "Nice toys! Do you actually know how to use them?" Jandra called out.
"Of course we do!" Gasket called back. In truthfulness, most of them had no idea They were just hoping that they basically worked the same as their old equipment.
"ATTACK!" Goldar called out.
They all started towards Power Force, but they were soon stopped in their tracks. Jandra started firing carefully at them all, hitting them two at a time with her laser pistols. Rito on the other hand, was firing randomly with his Sword, causing large explosions all around them. Garrison joined in next, firing missiles at some of them, his laser rifle at others.
Rita stopped amongst the commotion and looked round. She was quite suprised – Porto's creation seemed to be working. There was a semi-transparent field of green, shimmering energy surrounding her. Power Force hadn't seemed to notice she was protected yet, so she decided to take advantage of it. She held out her staff and the Gem atop it glowed. She vanished suddenly, reappearing behind Power Force. She held out the staff once again and black tendrils reached out from it. They wrapped themselves around Rygog, and before anyone could do anything about it, Rita had disappeared, taking Rygog with her.
"Rygog!" Jandra called out. They all looked round just in time to see him disappear. Their enemies took the momentary distraction and turned it to their advantage, running the rest of the distance to Power Force. Jandra saw them coming, but too late to keep them at long range anymore. Gasket and Archerina took her on, moving her away from the rest of her team.
Jandra holstered her pistols and unsheathed her sword and a dagger. She defended herself from Gasket with her sword as he attacked with his own, and blocked Archerina's new sword with the dagger. They both continued to try and strike at her, but as good as they were with their weapons, she was a hundred times better. She knocked the weapons from their hands and struck Gasket to the ground with a powerful blow from her blade. Archerina somersaulted away, bringing out her bow. Before she had even touched the ground, she fired three arrows at Jandra. Two of them missed, but the thrid hit her square in the chest. The Power Force leader fell to the ground, but only momentarily. Standing up, she brought out a bow of her own and said, "You wanna try that thing against me?"
"I am a born Archer. I'd like to see you better me with a bow." Archerina answered.
"Then you should be happy, because you're about to see it!" Jandra replied.
"I don't think so!" Archerinacalled out, firing another arrow at her. Jandra acted on impulse, her natural skill with the weapon taking control. She raised her bow and fired two arrows. The first struck Archerina's out of the air, the second hit the mechanoid in the stomach.
Without pausing to gloat as she usually would, Jandra jumped forward and landed next to Gasket's wife. She pulled a device from her belt and put it onto Archerina's chest. She stopped moving and seemed to shut down completely.
"What have you done to my wife?" Gasket called out, finally recovering from the sword blow.
"Oh, nothing serious. You see this device," she said, pulling another one from her belt, "It can shut down almost any machine. You see the way it does it is…. well, why don't I just show you!" She threw the device towards Gasket and it stuck to his arm. It did what it was meant to immediately. All his systems shut down immediately and he fell to the ground. She went and picked up the two devices. they were quite handy to have, she didn't want to go leaving them lying around for anyone to pick up.
"Two down, six to go!" Jandra said to herself as she looked round at the other battles.
Garrison was facing Striker and Photon. They stood one behind him and the other in front. "Come on Garrison. Show us what you've got then!" Striker dared him.
"I've got much more than you can handle!" Garrison replied. He released a few of his missiles towards the Commander. They struck him and the area around him, causing some slight damage, but nothing too serious. As the debris of the explosion cleared, Garrison saw Striker was carrying a missile launcher of his own.
"Anything you can do, I can do better!" Striker said, firing the weapon. One large rocket fired from it and struck Garrison hard. He fell to the ground.
Garrison lay there, momentarily considering what to do. He had been knocked down – he didn't like that. It made him angry, and when he was angry, there was one move he always did. He jumped to his feet and shouted, "MEGA BLAST!"
Jandra, Rito and Kraegor heard him and looked round. They knew what was coming and they knew it wasn't good. they all ducked for cover The opponents they were fighting stopped too and watched Garrison. Photon moved away slowly, but Striker stayed at close range – big mistake!
Garrison let out a scream, and without warning, exploded. The blast was enormous, effecting everyone in the area. Striker took most of it, being damaged nearly to the point of death. Jandra, Rito and Kraegor stood up, hardly damaged by the blast and their adversaries did the same. They had all been injured slightly, but all seemed okay.
"He may have taken out Striker, but he's gone too!" Photon gloated to the remainder of Power Force.
"Well I wouldn't say that!" a voice called from behind him. Photon turned to see Garrison standing there. "I may be stupid, but I wouldn't destroy myself, not even to get rid of a jerk like Striker!" He fired his Plasme rifle at Photon, who just absorbed the energy.
"Well you won't get rid of me that easily!" Photon called back. He held his hands to the sky and fired an energy beam into the clouds. Seconds later, four large lighting bolts struck the ground about ten feet away from Garrison. As he looked round to see what they were doing, they moved in quickly, slamming into each other in the middle, right where Garrison stood. He took some severe damage from the blasts, but managed to remain standing.
"Come on Photon, you were…. meant to be one of…. Ultima's best warriors. Can't you… even beat me?" Garrison stuttered, still recovering.
"Okay then, try this one!" Photon grinned, seeing that he was weakening the mechanoid warrior. He activated the device Porto had given him and he started to change. He transformed into pure energy. "Take this!" He thrust his hand out towards Garrison and it extended into a large electrical tendril. It wrapped around Garrison, sending thousands of volts through his circuitry all the time.
Garrison pulled away and the tendril shortened back into Photon's arm. He shot towards garrison at Lightning speed and passed straight through him, the voltage electrocuting Garrison once again as Photon's electric body passed through. Garrison turned to see Photon stop and turn to face him.
He knew his usual weapons would do no good. Physical weapons would probably pass straight through him and energy weapons would make him stronger. Time for the unconventional.
"Water Cannon!" Garrison called out. Photon laughed for a moment, thinking about how Garrison was just going to try and stop him with a water gun, then he realised something.
Garrison fired it, a jet of water squirting otu and hitting the electrical being. He crackled as the water mixed with him. He started to short out and within seconds, he lay on the ground, transformed back into his physical shape, sparks flying from his electrical parts.
"Never mix electricity and water. You should know that Photon!" Garrison called triumphantly.
Kraegor stood, fighting hand to hand with Mecha-Zen. It wasn't much of a struggle. Even without the addition of the muscle enhancing armor, Kraegor could have outfought Mecha-Zen. Kraegor always tried to make sure his battles were fought at short range. Had he allowed Mecha-Zen to get far enough away to use his weapons, he would have had no way to defend himself. He lifted the robot and slammed him down hard into the ground.
Before he could follow through, he felt a sharp pain in his back. he turned to see Porto stood, axe in hand. He snatched the weapon from the engineer's hand and crushed the handle in one hand. He threw the remains of it at Porto and back-handed him. The impact didn't hurt Porto thanks to his armor, but it did send him flying. Kraegor was quite impressed by his strength. Usually he could have thrown someone like Porto several hundred feet, but now, with the armor, Porto was flying fast towards the horizon. He received another blow to the back and turned around to see Mecha-Zen back on his feet. "I'm getting really tired of this, metal man. Just stay down and I don't have to hurt you any more!" Kraegor said to him.
"I don't give up that easily." Mecha-Zen commented.
"Man, when are you bad guys gonna come up with some new lines?" Kraegor asked. He grinned. When did he start thinking of his enemies as 'bad guys', and did that make him a 'good guy'?
Mecha-Zen didn't answer. Witty retorts weren't exactly an essential part of his programming. Instead he just fired a few more shots at Kraegor. Again, they had little effect apart from annoying him.
"Well I warned ya!" Kraegor said. He held his hands together and slammed them hard into the ground. the whole battle ground shook and the area in front of him crumbled into a large chasm. Mecha-Zen fell down inside and got partially buried. Just to finish him off, Kraegor slammed his hands into the ground again and more rocks fell down, burying the robot.
Rito grinned at the thought of his imminent battle. Goldar stood in front of him. the two had once been close friends. They had fought the Ninja Rangers together several times and gone through endless missions for Zedd and Rita together. But now they were pitted against each other. Rito had often wondered which of them was the more powerful. This wouldn't exactly find out for sure. Goldar had the additional power from Armageddon and a new sword and he himself had a new weapon and exo-armor. Either way, it would do, they would fight at last.
Neither spoke, they both just lunged at each other with their swords, sparks flying every which way. they stood pushing against each other – a test of strength. For a few moments, they moved slightly back and forth, neither of them ready to give in. Then Rito thought of something. He had always been a brawl-for-all fighter, but since forming Power Force, he had started to think for himself a lot more. He stood aside and Goldar fell flat on his face.
Goldar got back up and lunged at Rito again, but by the time he reached him, he wasn't there any more. He had activated his servo-jets and taken to the air.
"Get back down here and fight!" Goldar called out.
"You've got wings, use them!" Rito called back.
"Fine, I will!" Goldar said. He flapped the wings which had gone unused for so long. He didn't like using them, but now it seemed essential. He was a bit rocky as started heading up to Rito, who was just floating there, waiting for him.
"Come on you stupid flying monkey. I haven't got all day!" Rito said impatiently. Goldar reached him and swung at him with his sword. Rito dodged out of the way, his jets working much faster then Goldar's wings.
"Man, this is easier than I thought!" Rito said, flying round behind Goldar. He slashed at one of the wings with his sword. Goldar yelled in pain and started to plummet towards the ground.
"You'll pay for this, Rito!" Goldar called before he hit the ground.
"Don't count on it, monkey-boy!" Rito grinned back. He looked down at the ground. He could see Kraegor standing over a crater, with someone laying half buried at the bottom of it. Striker was laying alongside Photon on a charred area of ground, Garrison standing nearby. Gasket and Archerina were also laid on the ground with no sign of movement. Jandra was just finishing off Zedd, but there was no sign of Rita or Rygog. He looked round again and he could swear he saw something flying over the horizon.
He swooped down to Jandra's side, Garrison and Kraegor coming to join them.
"Anyone seen Rygog?" Jandra asked.
"I looked from the air No sign of him!" Rito said. "But if Rita took him, he's probably in some pocket dimension."
"And if Rita's not here. That probably means she's with him." Garrison said.
"Wherever he is, I hope he's okay." Jandra said.
Rygog appeared in a small cave, no visible ways out, nothing else in there, just cave walls and light filtering in from some unknown source.
"This can't be good!" Rygog said to himself.
"You can bet it isn't!" a voice cackled from behind him. He recognised it. He had heard it so many times when Rita had come to visit his boss.
"Rita!" Rygog said, turning to face her.
"The one and only!" Rita screeched.
"Thank God!" Rygog retorted.
"What was that?" Rita asked.
"Nothing. Why have you brought me here?" Rygog asked.
"Well that's a stupid question. To destroy you of course!" Rita called out.
"Well you can try!" Rygog said, holding out his Plasma Saber. The glowing Plasma blade illuminated the room, making it look even more eerie than it already was.
Rita fired an energy blast from the crystal on her staff. It hit Rygog who slammed into the wall behind him. He stepped back into place and put his Plasma Saber away.
"Looks like I need the big gun!" Rygog said, almost salivating at the thought of finally using his most powerful weapon. "RYGO-BLASTER!" the massive gun appeared over his shoulder and he didn't hesitate this time. He pulled the trigger and held it in. Energy seemed to be pulled in from the air around it, making the barrel of it look like a black hole, pulling in all the energy around it. With all the energy from the area absorbed, Rygog released the trigger. It fired a massive energy bolt at Rita. The shield around her glowed for a momenmt under the strength of the blast, then shattered. she flew backwards and hit the wall, hard. Several large cracks appeared in the wall from the extent of the impact.
Amazingly, Rita got back to her feet. "How can you still be standing?" Rygog asked.
"I didn't become the Empress of Evil just for my good looks you know!" Rita said back. It was then that Rygog noticed the Gem on her crystal. It was glowing, just as it had been ever since they got there. It was the same glow he had seen before they had teleported there.
He grinned as he realised the way out. The Rygo-Blaster disappeared and he got the Plasma Saber out once again. The glow filled the cave for a second time as it burst into life. He jumped forward to the still disoriented Rita and swiped the balde at her Crystal. It passed straight through and a few seconds later, it slid in half, cut clean in two. The glow stopped an the cave seemed to melt away.
He found himself back on their original battle ground, the rest of Power Force rushing around him. Rita appeared a short distance away. She looked round for the rest of her team, but saw they were all defeated.
"We'll be back. You haven't seen the last of Rita Repulsa!" she called out as she and the rest of her allies vanished.
"Yes. We did it!" Jandra said triumphantly.
"Let's get back to the Power Chamber. I can't wait to gloat to the Rangers!" Rito said, grinning. They all teleported out, leaving the area as tranquil, if slightly more damaged, as it was before they arrived.
Crush stood in the large room, looking at the injured group of fighters in front of her. She didn't even need to ask how it had gone, it was obvious from their condition. She thought maybe she should have joined them, but she had been ordered not to. She wondered why, but then, it wasn't her place to question Armageddon's orders.
"Guess I'd better go tell him!" Crush said, worried at the reaction she was going to get. She left and headed for his chamber. She stood outside teh large doors again and considered sending a Drone in with the news, but she decided against it. He would see it as a sign of weakness. She reached down to her sides and felt the handles of her two new swords. Why hadn't she been allowed to try them in battle? Should she ask? No, she now knew it was best to keep her opinions to herself. She stopped stalling and pushed the doors. They opened and once again, slammed shut behind her as she stepped through.
"How badly did the get defeated?" Armageddon asked, his throne facing away from her again.
"Very badly!" she answered.
"It seems you were right in telling Ultima they were useless. I would get rid of the lot of them if I had the Power to make replacements." Armageddon answered.
"What would you like me to do?" Crush asked.
"Nothing yet. You play an important part in my plans to destroy the Rangers, but not yet. Be patient and our time will come!" he ordered.
"Congatulations. Another victory over Armageddon!" Zordon said cheerfully.
"Thank you." Jandra said.
"Man, we missed out on it all – again!" Chad moaned. "Next time you get a challenge, turn them down. Then they might challenge us!"
"Challenge you? Ha! Wouldn't be much of a challenge, you always lose!" Jandra said back.
"Yeah right. We had you as good as beat before!" Chad said boastfully.
"No way. We were winning!" Rito snapped.
"Okay. Back to the Simulation Room. We're gonna settle this once and for all!" Kane ordered.
"Don't you want to rest up after getting your butts beat so badly?" Chad asked Power Force.
"Why? It's not like we're facing a real challenge!" Rygog said.
"Well come on then!" Chad said, walking away towards the Simulation Room. Everyone else followed him.
Zordon had just watched the whole thing again and smiled. As bad as it may sound,
Zordon was almost glad in a way that Armageddon had shown up. Of course it was bad that so many people had to die, and Justin had to be trapped inside the thing, but it had forced an Alliance between the Rangers and their enemies which had proven most successful. With Ultima, Divatox, Mondo and Power Force on their side, the Samurai Rangers had never been stronger!