CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

The Red BattleBorg was only beginning to rise when a blazing purple light reflected off its body. Tommy's mouth went dry. In the split second between the blaze erupting from Serpentera's jaws, and it's catastrophic impact with the Red BattleBorg, he had been so sure that his life would end here and now.

He'd been wrong. The blast he'd thought was meant for him, had been meant for another…

The explosion was overpowering. The Red Zeo Ranger shielded his visor, letting out a scream, inaudible over the horrific blast. The giant battle machine crumbled down to the ground. Tommy cringed as he saw the massive hole that had been blown through the left side of its torso. It's arm dropped to the ground, severed, limp, and powerless.

Tommy knew better than to keep the Red BattleZord where it was. Increasing power to the ground controls, the Zord all but ran from the broken mechanical body of Serpentera's latest victim.

Moments later, the Sea of Tranquility danced with flames. Through the Zord's ventilation systems, Tommy could feel the scorching heat against his suit. Punching in a set of instructions, he brought up the rear view monitor. He let out a gasp of anguish as he saw the scorched red debris scattered across the surface of the moon.

The Red BattleBorg was gone.

And then, it's destructor stepped through the flames. Serpentera let out a proud roar, as if it had killed and devoured the Borg like a rabid predator eating its prey. The Red Zeo Ranger cringed at the thought, as sweat began to trickle down the side of his neck.

Suddenly, his eyes widened, as he came to a terrifying realization. "My god…"

"…Aurico!" Leo shouted, as he and Eric clutched the limp body of the Red Aquitar Ranger. He was quivering ever so faintly as they held him in their arms, praying that he was still alive. "Get his helmet off!"

Eric pried Aurico's helmet off, exposing a sight that was even worse. The Aquitian's eyes were wide open, staring out into an abyss of nothingness. The purple blotches on his cranium were throbbing uncontrollably. Through his lips dribbled a considerable about of saliva.

"What's happening to him??" Eric shouted.

Leo twisted his head up at his partner as he held Aurico's head in his gloved hands. "He was telepathically linked to the Red BattleBorg! His mind must be feeling the effects!"

"Damn," cursed Eric. "Is he in shock?"

Patting his partner's gills, Leo shook his head frantically. "He's barely breathing." he said, ignoring Eric's question. "If we don't do something fast, he's not gonna make it!"

With his gloved hand, the Quantum Ranger touched one of the purple blotches atop Aurico's crown. It bulged up and down. The pressure was unlike any Eric had ever felt before. It was as if Aurico's brain was a bubble, preparing to burst at any given moment…

Eric's own mind frenzied. "W-well, what are we supposed to do???"

Leo risked releasing Aurico, to place his hands on the shoulders of the Quantum Ranger. "Eric, listen to me. Settle down. There's no way we can help him while you're pacing around like that."

Eric came to an abrupt halt. He hadn't even realized he'd been pacing…

The Red Galaxy Ranger sat down next to the Red Aquitar Ranger, clutching his throbbing head in his gloved hands. Reaching into the recesses of his mind, Leo pulled out the most obvious solution. "Well, he's an Aquitian right? He lives on an planet willed with water. So…maybe water will help!"

Under his helmet, Eric rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he cried, his voice cracking a bit. "Hang on, I've got a bottle of Evians next to my Quantum Defender!"

"No!" Leo shouted furiously. "His body needs to be re-hydrated, or else he doesn't have a chance! We need to get him to a body of water, now!!"

As an explosion sent pebbles and stones flying at the three Rangers, Eric covered his helmet, before shouting back at Leo. "Do you see any bodies of water around here??? We're on the god damn moon!"

"No, there's no water here…" Leo said, calmly. "But it just so happens I know a place where there's more water than land!"

The Red Galaxy Ranger gripped his partner by the shoulder again, and pointed up toward the Earth.

The Quantum Ranger pushed Leo's hand away. "You can't be serious! You're going to abandon the mission?"

Leo shook his head. "No Eric…" he said, still maintaining his state of calm. "You are."

Eric's eyes widened. He almost asked Leo to repeat himself, hoping for Leo's sake, that he'd heard him wrong.

"No…" Eric stated simply. "No way. Listen pal, I don't know who you are, or what you think you're doing. But I'm a Silver Guardian, and a Silver Guardian doesn't abort mission until it's completely over and done with! Do you understand?"

"And I don't know anything about the Silver Guardians Eric," Leo shot back. "But I'm pretty sure there isn't a soldier on that planet we're defending, who would let a fellow soldier simply lay there and die! Regardless of what their mission is!"

Clenching his teeth, Eric shoved Leo. "There are billions of lives at stake!!!" he shouted. "I can't just take off and leave! What about you? Why can't you be the one who abandons the fight, and risks the fate of a planet!"

"Because…" Leo replied, trying to reason with his hotheaded teammate. "The Lion Galactabeast will only respond to the my Quasar Saber, if I leave, then we lose another Zord. You on the other hand, can give the Quantum Defender to someone else, and let him control the Q-Rex, while you fly to Earth and try to revive Aurico."

The Quantum Ranger opened his mouth to respond…

Then he looked down at Aurico. His glazed over eyes continued to stare through him. Yet despite their seemingly frozen state, Eric could still see his Aquitian partner through them. The spirit of the Red Aquitar Ranger was still alive inside of the battered, bruised, and dried up body laying before them.

Suddenly, Eric understood. The glorious light of Aurico's life would soon be extinguished. And as a Power Ranger, he couldn't allow that to happen. He let out a shaky exhale as he realized that the life of another Ranger now rested upon his shoulders.

How ironic, he thought to himself, as millions of human lives were already on his shoulders. Yet it seemed the life of another Ranger was somehow…different.

Letting his shoulders sink, the Quantum Ranger nodded. "Okay, you're right." he agreed. "But who do I give the Quantum Defender to? I mean, who else has got the skills to handle the Q-Rex?"

But as the words left his lips, Eric suddenly knew the answer.

As the Eric strapped himself into the TF Eagle, the Quantum Ranger's own silver and blue fighter jet from the year 3001, he cradled the head of the Red Aquitar Ranger over his left shoulder. The two of them could barely fit into the cockpit together, as the TF Eagle was designed as a one man fighter. But at the Eagle's speed and maneuverability, it would be a short trip anyway.

It had to be. Aurico's life depended on it…

Taking a quick look above, he smiled as he saw his Quantasaurus Rex standing proud and tall yet again, once again prepared to take on Serpentera. Glancing up toward the cockpit, Eric reached his Chrono Morpher up to his mouthpiece. "You okay up there?"

There was a light chuckle on the other end. "Don't worry about it kid." Jason replied. "Trust me, if anybody knows how to tame a T-Rex, or a Q-Rex, it's me."

Eric nodded, engaging launch cycle. "Alright then, I'm out of here."

"Good luck bro." Jason chimed in as the TF Eagle thrust off into space.

Clutching Aurico's head against his chest, while doing his best to pilot with one hand, Eric nodded.

"You too Jason," he whispered to himself. "You too…"

Andros couldn't help but feel guilty as he brushed aside the remains of the destroyed Alpha Seven to punch in a set of commands to the fallen Astro MegaZord Mark II. Frustration was beginning to boil inside the Kerovan's stomach. They were useless to the team in this dormant state.

And even worse, they were sitting ducks.

Behind him, T.J. And Carter worked relentlessly to revive the fallen MegaZord. Andros couldn't have been more grateful to the Red Turbo Ranger, whose experience with the original Megaship helped immensely. Although he was a bit rusty, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he and T.J. still made an incredible team.

Andros could tell that Carter felt just as useless and frustrated as he did. Perhaps even moreso, as there was so little that he could do to contribute. Despite Carter's extensive history with a variety of MegaZords, it was obvious that he was unfamiliar with any sort of Kerovan technology. But even so, the Red Space Ranger offered whatever assistance he could.

The hearts of the three Red Rangers' leapt into their throats as the lights in the cockpit came back on. Andros nearly hit his helmet on the ceiling as he leapt back into the pilots seat, a new wave of adrenaline pumping through his Kerovan veins.

"Do we have power?" Carter asked, anxiously.

"Oh you darn skippy we've got power!" T.J. cried, settling back into his seat as well. "Now let's see if we can get her off the ground…"

Feeling a rumbling underneath his boots, Andros couldn't even remember the last time he'd felt so relieved. Within moments, the Astro MegaZord Mark II was on it's feet again.

Through the viewport, the three Rangers could see sparks flying as Serpentera slashed the Red BattleZord with it's razor sharp claws. There was a loud grunt over the com as Tommy's Zord lost it's balance, and collapsed down on to the moon's rocky surface.

Just then, the serpent's red eyes locked on to it's newest adversary. Andros felt a cold shiver run up his spine. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn the Zord was alive…

But as Serpentera turned to attack the MegaZord, it was caught off guard by Cole and the Red Wild Zord. With an uncharacteristically rabid roar, the lion leapt on to the shoulder's of the gargantuan serpent, and sunk it's teeth into the Zord's neck. Serpentera let out an angry roar in response, as it reached it's massive arms up, attempting to get a grip around the throat of its opponent.

The Red Lightspeed Ranger quickly nodded to his co-pilot. "Alright, Cole's got him distracted. This is our chance!"

"Way ahead of you," the Red Turbo Ranger replied. "I'm engaging, the new Astro MegaZord Saber sequence now."

Surprised, Andros turned to T.J.. "How did you know we had an Astro MegaZord Saber?"

Under his helmet, T.J. smiled. "Lucky guess."

The Red Space Ranger simply shrugged as the Astro MegaZord's right hand clutched the grip of its brand new signature weapon. Stretching out into a long, deadly silver blade, the Astro MegaZord Saber was a weapon of cunning, swift grace, just as it's predecessor had been.

Andros only hoped it was as powerful..

Inching a bit closer, the Astro MegaZord raised its new weapon in the air, it's pilots waiting for just the right moment to strike.

"Is there anyway you can get a shot in without risking the Red Wild Zord?" Carter asked.

Struggling to concentrate under the pressure, and being careful to watch Serpentera's every move as it jockeyed for position, Andros reached into the recesses of his mind, searching for battle strategies he hadn't used in years. "I'm not sure…" he said, flatly. "I suppose we could go for a horizontal shot across the Zord's torso. But then again, that would risk sending Cole-"

Suddenly, there was a loud clanking sound as  Serpentera's massive hands clamped on to the throat of the Red Wild Zord. Andros cursed himself. He'd waited too long, tried to fight like he was playing a chess game. He cringed as Serpentera let out a thunderous roar, and hurled the Zord off of it's shoulders. Seconds later, there were two responding roars, as the Red Wild Zord collided with the rising Lion Galactabeast.

Once again, the gargantuan serpent turned to the Astro MegaZord Mark II. This time, the Rangers were prepared. The MegaZord did not hesitate to swipe downward with the mighty Astro MegaZord saber. Sparks flew from Serpentera's torso as the mighty blade connected, scraping across the Zord's metallic skin with an screech.

For the first time since shifting into battle mode, Serpentera seemed a bit fazed. Venjix backed off a bit, but then charged forward yet again, claw tipped digits thrust forward. Caught off guard, the Astro MegaZord gripped the other end of the blade with its left hand, and held it out horizontally, blocking its opponent's charge. Andros pulled the Zord's right foot back for leverage, and channeled a good portion of power into pushing Serpentera back.

But they soon learned it was to no ovail. Even the Astro MegaZord could not overpower Serpentera. Andros, T.J., and Carter struggled with the controls as the MegaZord's back began to arch.

"Uh oh…" T.J. nervously commented. "I think we're in trouble…"

Just then, the MegaZord nearly left its feet as the pressure bearing down upon it was suddenly released. There was a loud clanging sound as the Q-Rex connected with a charge into Serpentera's side. Taking the mighty serpent Zord off balance, Jason was relentless. Grasping its opponent by its seemingly impenetrable shoulders, the Q-Rex pressed forward. This however, was not all. The metallic jaws of the Quantasaurus Rex chomped up and down repeatedly, desperately trying to take a chunk out of Serpentera's face.

"C'mon ugly…" the Rangers heard Jason shout over the com. "Breathe fire in my face, and see what happens!"

Digging it's own claws into the Zord's armored body, the Q-Rex roared into the satanic face of Serpentera, showing no intimidation whatsoever. Venjix however, would not be intimidated either, just as it had done with the Astro MegaZord, Serpentera began to push forward. The Q-Rex desperately tried to jockey for position, as its gigantic steel feet grinded into the ground…

But it was unavoidable. The Quantasaurus Rex flew backward as Serpentera's mighty arms shoved it backward. Yet despite hitting the ground with an impact registering on the Richter scale, the Q-Rex was on the rebound only moments later, preparing for its next attack.

As the Astro MegaZord raised its saber for a second attack, Wes' voice came in over the com. "Hold it Andros," he said. "I've got a lock. Let me take it."

The Red Space Ranger nodded. "Alright Wes, go for it."

Through the viewport, the three Rangers watched the Red Time Flier dive in toward Serpentera, who remained focused on the rising Q-Rex…

Or at least it looked that way.

Andros, T.J., Carter, Tommy, Jason, Cole, and Leo all shouted over the com as Serpentera's head jerked toward Wes and the Red Time Flier. Their hearts leapt into their throats as the gargantuan serpent released two optical laser beams that connected head on with the nose of the fighter.

"Wes, no!!!!!" Cole's voice came through the clearest.

Fragments of steel and debris flew through the air as the Red Time Flier repeatedly flipped over in mid air, it's nose in flames. Black exhaust fumes rose from

it's engines as it began a downward tailspin toward the ground.

The Rangers could look on in sheer horror as an explosion erupted from the surface. In the backs of their minds, beyond the anger, terror, and despair that suddenly gripped their hearts, they were almost glad that Eric had left for Earth with Aurico…