CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Tommy and Cole stared up at the stars as the gargantuan form of Serpentera slithered from the moon's atmosphere, making its way closer to Earth. Under their helmets, coats of sweat began to trickle down the backs of their necks.

They only had one shot at this.

Through the oxygen field, they could smell the exhaust from Lightning Cruiser, vehicle of the Red Turbo Ranger, as it rocketed up into the atmosphere. The Red Zeo Ranger shot a quick glance at his teammate, the Red Wild Force Ranger. This had all been his idea, his plan. Tommy couldn't help having the jitters, placing the fate of billions into a spur of the moment idea from a rookie, who still seemed a little wet around the edges.

But at the same time, his conscious told him to remain confident in young Cole…

Suddenly, Tommy's acute sense of perception caught sight of Cole's body language. His fists were clenched tight, and his shoulders could not seem to sit still. His helmet rocked back and forth, as the youngster attempted to shake off what appeared to be his own case of the jitters.

Under his own helmet, a small grin came across Tommy's face. He'd forgotten that many wild, unpredictable, and seemingly ludicrous surges of hope, had once come from his own young mind as well.

Tommy touched his young partner on the shoulder, and watched Lightning Cruiser blaze into the darkness of space.

Seated in Serpentera's pilot seat, General Venjix could feel the adrenaline crackle through his emotion chip as his metallic hands caressed the controls. In a matter of moments, he, and he alone, would succeed where the mighty Lord Zedd had failed countless times. Raising the knife of Serpentera into the air, he would stab a deep, terminal lesion into the heart of man. He would then raise his head high into the air, as the very essence of humanity: the hopes, the dreams, the fighting spirit, gushed from that wound.  Slowly and painfully fading into oblivion, as the living dropped to it's knees, begging him to have mercy on their filthy little bodies.

But there would be no mercy, only vengeance. Vengeance, and heartless, unparalleled destruction…

Suddenly, the radar on the Zord's control panel came to life. Venjix jerked his robotic neck to the monitor. He had not anticipated any interference. But even as the evil general focused on the small circular radar, the corner of his good optical modifier caught sight of something inconceivable. The Red Turbo Ranger, riding in some sort of thruster powered ground vehicle, had followed him into the moon's orbit! Blazing directly in front of the viewport, the warrior of virtue used a hand blaster to fire upon Serpentera's left eye.

This ignorant little peon had obviously blown a gasket, Venjix knew. No power in the universe stood a chance at opposing the mighty Serpentera, let alone a pitiful little one-man cruiser. This Ranger was an insect engaging a fearsome dragon!

But nevertheless, the temptation was far too overwhelming for the evil general to pass on. Programming the shields to pay special attention to the front end of the Zord, Venjix focused the front laser cannon's on the Red Turbo Ranger, and his poor excuse for an offense…

As the other Rangers rushed up behind Tommy and Cole, their visors raised to the sky, watching as Lightning Cruiser just barely dodged the gigantic metallic jaws of Serpentera. As the Zord's massive head moved to attack the Red Turbo Ranger, it's long lizard looking body followed. It appeared to look almost like a thin streamer waving through the dancing wind.

Almost.

Andros pulled on the broad shoulder of the Red Zeo Ranger, clenching his partner's body with a tense grip. "What the hell is he doing up there??"

Under his helmet, Tommy opened his mouth to respond-

"Creating a diversion." Cole answered for him.

The young man looked to the Zeo Ranger. "Tommy, if you get a shot, don't hesitate to take it okay? Don't worry about me."

With those words, the Red Wild Force Ranger took off into a sprint, leaving his puzzled teammates behind. Diving into the air and doing a front flip, the young man called for assistance…

"Red Wild Rider!"

The red motorcycle was already in motion as Cole landed firmly in its seat. Kicking up dust and rubble as it sped across the rocky ground, the Red Ranger shifted the bike into flight mode. The Wild Rider instantly spread a pair of mechanical wings, as Cole tightened his grip on the handles. Flames burst from under the Wild Rider as its jets kicked in, sending it soaring into the atmosphere.

The remaining Rangers could only stand and watch the Red Wild Force Ranger grow smaller as his distance increased.

"Let's hope he knows what he's doing…" Carter mumbled.

The Red Zeo Ranger looked back at his teammate, nodding assuringly. "He does."

Jason turned to look at his old friend, and received the same assuring nod.

Just then, Tommy spread his arms out to his sides, taking a deep breath. "Defender Wheel!"

At the command of the Red Zeo Ranger, a humungous black wheel instantly materialized around his body. With an appearance similar to a oversized tire, the Defender Wheel was actually a massive weapon, capable of being launched from its base unit (on which it sat now) at uncharted velocities. Tommy remembered that the Defender Wheel had been a valuable asset to he and the other Zeo Rangers against King Mondo, and his menacing monsters.

With any luck, it would be just as valuable now.

Through his visor, Tommy stared into the Defender Wheel's ever so acute targeting computer, maneuvering the blinking cursor toward one of two pairs of thrusters planted under Serpentera's belly. With the readings indicating that Venjix had summoned most of the power from his shield generator to the Zord's frontal region, Tommy promptly aimed for the thrusters just above the tail of the mighty creature.

All he needed was a solid lock…

Racing through the stars, the Red Wild Force Ranger flew upward toward the satanic Serpentera. Racing up behind the colossal Zord's tail, Cole aimed the forward laser cannons at the rear thrusters, preparing to execute the second phase of his plan.

As a child in the amazons, one of the ways Cole and his friends used to catch their food was to set traps. As one of them allured the unsuspecting creature with some sort of rustling sound in the bushes, or even the tapping and rubbing together of sticks, the other would quickly strike the killing blow. Thus, giving Cole and his comrades a meal for the evening.

If it worked in the jungle…

T.J., being the expert on spaceships, had suggested targeting the Zord's main thrusters, knowing that if Serpentera had even the slightest bit of difficulty flying, the moon's gravity would pull it back toward the surface. Unfortunately for the Red Turbo Ranger, his idea had been rewarded with the job of distracting the nearly jungle sized creature.

He had risked his life, Cole knew. But their task would not go unfulfilled. He would make sure of that.

"For the Earth…" He whispered to himself. "And for them…"

Suddenly, the Red Ranger's blood turned icy cold as the neck of the gargantuan serpent jerked in his direction. Letting a spine numbing roar, Serpentera's eyes seemed to stare directly into Cole's heard as they suddenly lit up, preparing to fire an optical blast.

Using his quick jungle reflexes, the Red Wild Force Ranger was able to jerk the Wild Rider to port side as the gigantic twin blasts nearly singed his boots. Cole kicked the bike into another gear as the gigantic serpent was now trailing him, its front laser cannons blazing forth.

Thus, giving T.J. and Lightning Cruiser the perfect opportunity to fire on the Zord's rear thrusters.

Once again, Venjix jerked the head of his colossal Zord backward. Once again, his attacks focused on the small jet thrustered car. But the Red Turbo Ranger was quick to spin Lightning Cruiser out of attack range, and retreat.

With Venjix's attention diverted to T.J., Cole pulled the Wild Rider up, and tried another pass, this time, firing directly at the cockpit. A waste of firepower, he knew, but hopefully one that would by his partner a bit more time…

As he'd hoped, Serpentera's head quickly swiveled back in his direction. As the Red Wild Force Ranger turned around yet again, the Zord executed an unexpected maneuver. With an ungodly force, Venjix used Serpentera's deadly tail to swipe at T.J. from the rear.

Under his helmet, Cole smiled. It was the mistake they'd been waiting for.

As Lightning Cruiser ducked under a nearly fatal blow from the Zord's mighty tail, the Red Wild Force Ranger saw a brilliant flash of red light blaze from the surface of the Sea of Tranquility. Within a matter of microseconds, the Red Zeo Ranger had launched the Defender Wheel up into the battlefield.

For a brief moment, Cole wondered if the evil general had even seen it coming.

There was a loud explosion as the Wheel collided with the unprotected rear thrusters. Following T.J., Cole quickly flew the Red Wild Rider away from the massive beast, as it let out yet another roar, this time for a different reason…

By the time the two Rangers had reached the safety of the ground, the Defender Wheel had returned to its base. Seconds later, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, leaving only the Red Zeo Ranger in its place.

Andros and Leo quickly rushed to assist the injured T.J. out of Lightning Cruiser. Though shaken up, and evidently still favoring his knee, the Red Turbo Ranger flashed a quick thumbs up to the team.

Cole slumped over the Wild Rider, his muscles tense, yet relieved of the strain. Though his visor, he raised his visor to the sky.

The monstrous flames that proceeded to engulf the Zord's rear thrusters were as bright as the surrounding stars. The monster let out a bellow that even in space, one could hear.

Venjix was obviously trying to fight against the failing thrusters, as Serpentera's front legs pumped forward toward the distant Earth. But even the gargantuan Zord could not win a battle against the forces of nature. The ten Red Rangers cheered victoriously as the humungous serpent began it's slow descent back toward the moon.

The Red Morphin Ranger turned to look at the Red Zeo Ranger. The two old friends slapped hands once again.

"Nice job partner." Tommy said, smiling underneath his helmet.

"You too bro." Jason replied, as the two men stared up at the plummeting Serpentera.

"You think it's going to crash?" asked the Red Time Force Ranger.

"It's hard to say." Andros replied. "From that height and velocity, it'll hit the ground pretty hard. But with the front thrusters still holding…"

Suddenly, a shroud of silence fell upon the ten warriors.

Although still descending rapidly, the mighty Serpentera was beginning to slowly undergo a dramatic transformation.

It's long neck caved inward, as the head of the beast turned downward at a ninety-degree angle. Venjix and the cockpit now sat snuggly atop a pair of broad, intimidating mechanical shoulders, and a thick neck.

Shifting it's positioning vertically, the Zord's legs began to expand. The front legs, though only growing slightly, created a pair of claw tipped arms for the great machine. The hind legs however, underwent a far greater transformation. As they grew outward, they also enlarged in width in order to support the Zord's entire weight. At the end of the legs, was a pair of humungous feet, also tipped with razor sharp claws.

Serpentera's torso also expanded outward, giving the Zord a massive armored chest and spinal column.

With a landing of seismic proportions, the newly transformed Serpentera towered over the Sea of Tranquility, it's footsteps echoing through the eardrums of the Power Rangers.

The ten Rangers stood in a state of utter disbelief. It was as if the monster had risen from the dead, resurrected as a newer, more hellacious creature.

An icy cold wave of terror and angst seemed to wash over the Rangers as they raised their heads as far as their necks would raise them, to look upon their re-born challenger. Tired, sweating, and injured, they remained silent, refusing to believe what their eyes told them.

It wasn't over…It was just beginning.

"Uhhh, guys." Eric said nervously, cutting the tension among the men. "That zillion foot dragon thingy looks like it's heading this way…"