CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

By the time the TF Eagle set down at local Silver Hills beach, Aurico had stopped breathing.

Bathing suit clad civilians scattered like ants around the ship as the Quantum Ranger popped the hatch. With the Red Aquitar Ranger clutched tightly in his arms, Eric slowly climbed down the dissension ladder. He felt his boots sink into the sand as he jumped down.

Rushing toward the shore, he reached over and pressed the deactivation switch on his Chrono Morpher. The Red garb of the Quantum Ranger instantly faded away, leaving only Eric Meyers in its place.

A crowd began to form around the two Rangers as Eric sloshed into the tide. Disregarding the soaked state of his Silver Guardian uniform, he pulled off Aurico's helmet, exposing his dormant, lifeless expression. It was a sight he could hardly bear to see.

Trying not to let his arms shake, Eric gently lowered Aurico's limp body into the water. For a reason Eric couldn't comprehend, the Red Aquitar Ranger abruptly demorphed as his head slipped underneath the current.

Eric felt a cold chill run up his spine. And he knew all too well it wasn't from the water.

Staring up at him, from underneath the rippling ocean, were those eyes…those dark, Aquitian eyes. Eric closed his own eyes, trying to block out the sight of two eyes that he knew were looking past him, yet seemed to blaze through his skin, into his very soul.

The crowd of confused civilians could only watch as Aurico's body sank further underneath the current…

"Initiating Project Crimson sequence!" Tommy called through the com, activating the disc he'd inserted into the Red BattleZord's main computer. Even through Serpentera's thunderous roaring, as General Venjix struggled desperately to control the fire that had erupted upon it's back, he could hear the whirring around inside.

Seconds later, the computer's main monitor jutted up from under one of the panels. Through his visor, Tommy watched as various sets of blue prints flashed across the screen. First his own Red BattleZord, followed by the Quantasaurus Rex, the Red Lion Wild Zord, the Lion Galactabeast…

…and the Red Time Flier.

Tommy jumped as the word ERROR flashed repeatedly on the screen in bright red print. A loud buzzing sound blazed through the cockpit. Bewildered, Tommy pressed the com. "Andros, what's going on?"

The Kerovan responded with an impolite word. "This is bad…"

"What? What is it?"

As Andros replied, Tommy watched through the viewport as the fire on Serpentera's back settled, and the massive serpent Zord refocused its attention on its opponents.

"Tommy, listen to me! Project Crimson is a program that Alpha and I developed for you and the other Rangers. It's designed to feed a set of instructions into each of your Zords, and then merge them into one Zord: the Crimson MegaZord!"

Serpentera was now charging forward, its colossal feet thundering off the moon floor.

"It was designed to fit the BattleZord, the two Lion Zords, the Q-Rex, and the Time Flier together. But with the Red Time Flier out of commission…"

Andros let his words hang as Serpentera took a deadly swing at the Red BattleZord. Tommy was able to get the Zord's right fist up to block the shot, but was unable to avoid a counterattack from the left arm. The Red BattleZord swung around from the momentum, only to be taken off guard as the serpent Zord pressed its razor sharp claws against its torso.

There was a high-pitched screeching sound as the drill mechanism started. Tommy desperately tried to pull away, but Serpentera's grip could not be broken. The Red Zeo Ranger could only look on in horror as the metallic body of his Zord began to distort…

The pounce attack from the Lion Galactabeast came as an overwhelming shock to the Red Zeo Ranger, yet it was most certainly a welcome one. The crimson cat once again proceeded to grind its teeth against Serpentera's through, as if trying to cut off a windpipe that wasn't there.

Backing the BattleZord off a bit, and letting his lungs breathe a bit easier, Tommy punched the com. "Andros," he called. "So this Project Crimson thing is a no go?"

"I hate to say it Tommy," the Red Space Ranger answered in a depressed tone. "But that's the way it looks."

There was a thunderous thud as Serpentera whipped the Lion Galactabeast off its back, and targeted the Q-Rex.

"There's no way we could somehow improvise?" Wes intruded. "Somehow do it without the Time Flier?"

Andros seemed to consider his answer, as the Q-Rex swung its enormous tail at its opponent. Serpentera caught the tail, seemingly with ease.

"Well, I guess if we could somehow come up with a replacement Zord, the program could re-accommodate itself, and construct a different MegaZord. But that could never work! Where would we find a replacement Zord?"

"Hey somebody!!!" Jason's voice interrupted, shouting over the com. "Any help here would be nice!!!"

Tommy turned to see that Serpentera had used its uncanny strength to pull the Q-Rex into the air by its tail, and swing it around in a clockwise motion. Moments later, the Red Zeo Ranger could only cringe as the Quantasaurus Rex went flying across the Sea of Tranquility, landing with the most gut wrenching crash he had heard in years…

"Jason!!!" he shouted. "Are you alright??"

The Red Morphin Ranger mumbled something on the other end of the com, which Tommy assumed was an indication that he was alright.

"We're running out of time here!" Leo frantically called to his teammates. "Even without a Neo Reactor, or whatever, there's no way our Zords can take this kind of punishment much longer!"

"He's right," Andros replied. "We've got to do something, and fast!"

"Hey Andros…" Cole said, his voice sounding surprisingly calm. "About that replacement Zord thing…"

Suddenly, all eyes turned in the direction of two strange noises in the distance. The eight Red Rangers were astonished by the sight of two new Zords.

The first, soaring through the air with an unmistakable  swiftness and grace, let out a high pitched cry, seemingly in the direction of the Red Lion Wild Zord. The first to recognize the sound was the Red Zeo Ranger, as he himself had once been acknowledged by that very same cry from a different Zord so long ago. Its broad red wings were tipped with several silver fins, aiming backward in a feather design. It's torso was black, leading up to a contrasting white neck. Sitting atop the neck was Zord's cockpit, red, with a golden beak, and three protruding golden fins.

Even before Cole called out its name, Tommy knew what it was.

"Red Falcon Wild Zord! Let the everlasting heavens guide you!"

The second, letting it's footsteps drag across the moon floor as it charged forth, was a much bulkier figure. It's sheer mass nearly eclipsed the horizon behind it. Letting out a primitive battle cry as its humungous body stomped on to the battlefield. Though mostly green in color, its fists and feet were colored a dark metallic black, and its head shined with a glimmering silver. The Zord let out a challenging roar as it pounded its fists against its chests.

"Green Gorilla Wild Zord! Let the purity of the jungle induce you!"

The two Wild Zords approached their kindred spirit, the Red Lion. With the Falcon hovering high above, and the Gorilla growling intensely at its side, the Lion let out a proud roar, as it united with two members of its Animarium family.

The Red Turbo Ranger punched the com. "So what are these? Your back up Zords?"

In the cockpit of the Lion Wild Zord, the Red Wild Force Ranger snickered. "Do these look like backup Zords to you?"

On the moon floor, Leo looked up, in awe of the two new Wild Zords. "They look like the real deal to me!"

Just then, Cole paused as a thought crossed his mind. "But, they do need pilots…"

"Oh, I'm all over that." Wes quickly responded. "I've got dibs on the big ape Zord!"

Rolling his eyes, Cole keyed in the coordinates on the Red Wild Zord. "It's a Gorilla Zord, okay? Get your primates straight."

Moments later, the Red Time Force Ranger found himself seated in the cockpit of the Gorilla Wild Zord. "Hey, I ain't monkeyin' around here rookie!" he said, as he familiarized himself with the far less futuristic controls. "I'm set to go ape on that antennae-headed asshole!"

Meanwhile, in the cockpit of the Astro MegaZord Mark II, Carter gave a quick salute to his co-pilots. "Checking out!"

Seconds later, the Red Lightspeed Ranger found himself seated at the helm of the Red Falcon Wild Zord.

Cole pressed the com. "Carter, are you sure you can handle that thing?"

On the other end, Carter let out a chuckle. "Don't worry. I've learned a thing or two about flying over the years."

"Cole watch out!"

Jason's warning was a split second too late. By the time the Red Wild Force Ranger snapped to attention, Serpentera had already thrown one of its humungous feet forward. The gargantuan serpent barely had to lift it to kick the Zord over one hundred yards into the distance like a punted football. The wounded Lion let out a cry of anguish as its body flew through the oxygen field, and bit the dust.

The mind of the Red Wild Force Rangers twisted and twirled around in a daze. Never had the Red Lion Zord taken a blow of such overwhelming velocity and magnitude. As he lay limp and motionless against the wall of the cockpit, unable to force his muscles to move, Cole could only pray that his kindred spirit would be capable of rising up again.

Yet as he heard the strident footsteps of Serpentera coming closer, he knew all too well that they were running out of second chances…

Then suddenly, the serpent Zord stopped dead in its tracks. An ear splitting squeak echoed across the moon as Serpentera's head swiveled back to see that the Gorilla Wild Zord had wrapped its massive arms around its opponent's thick, armored torso. With all the power that the battle machine could immediately muster, Wes made a valiant attempt to squeeze the proverbial life out of his opponent. Serpentera wrapped its claw tipped digits across the Gorilla's forearms, trying to break the grip of the powerful Zord, but to no avail. Wes would not release the hold.

The Rangers looked to the stars as the cry of the Falcon pierced the air once again.

Struggling to get a lock on Serpentera as the evil Zord writhed and wriggled in the Gorilla Zord's grip, Carter closed in on  his target. "Just hold him steady Wes…"

As the words left Carter's lips, the serpent threw an elbow backward, knocking its captor in its torso. The Gorilla Wild Zord wobbled a bit, yet maintained its bear hug on Serpentera.

"Hey," Wes growled through clench teeth. "Why don't YOU hold him steady?"

Punching in a set of commands on the control panel, Carter lifted the Falcon Zord into a vertical posture, with it's red wings spread out to the side, and it's feet up in the air. Almost as if it were a living Falcon, landing on the branch of a tree. The elegant bird's mouth then opened, as it proceeded to pound Serpentera with a sequence of bright orange laser blasts.

As the blasts thudded off Serpentera's armored torso, Tommy took advantage of the Falcon's position. Transferring Project Crimson's scanning program into the star visor cannon on the Red BattleZord's cockpit, the Red Zeo Ranger proceeded to aim and fire on Carter.

What resulted was not horrific explosion, but rather, a detailed readout of the Falcon Wild Zord on the BattleZord's monitor.

As Carter brought an end to his assault on Serpentera, and swung around for another pass, Venjix brought the massive Zord's elbow back yet again. There was a loud banging sound as the joint connected with the torso of the Gorilla Wild Zord. The impact was just enough to break Wes' grip around Serpentera's waist. Taking full advantage of the situation the gargantuan Serpent grasps the Wild Zord's forearms with it's own morbid hands, and sent an energy flow through the inner workings of the battle machine. The Gorilla Zord crackled with purple streams of electricity, and moments later, crumbled like a fallen tree as Serpentera released his grip.

Though he would have preferred to have gotten it another way, Tommy took the opportunity to scan the Gorilla Wild Zord as it lay prone on the ground.

Venjix turned his attention back to Carter. The Red Lightspeed Ranger's breathing came to a halt as the Falcon Wild Zord just barely able avoided a stream of fire shot from between the outstretched jaws of the serpent Zord.

Evidently, Carter realized, he was a better pilot than he thought.

As the blueprints for the Gorilla Wild Zord showed up on the monitor of the Red BattleZord, Tommy pressed the com. "Andros, I've got the readouts of the two Wild Zords. Now what happens?"

"Initiate the transformation sequence again." The Kerovan replied. "With any luck, the program will be able to put together a modified MegaZord using the new data it's obtained."

"Andros," Tommy replied, skeptically. "MegaZord construction wasn't meant to be a spur-of the-moment type thing. What if this doesn't work?"

The Red Space Ranger was silent…

T.J. broke the silence. "Just try it Tommy." He said. "If it doesn't work, we'll just have to go back to square one."

Tommy shuddered. Somehow, he got the feeling that even T.J. knew what a horrible option that was.

"He's right," Andros chimed in. "Go ahead and initiate. T.J. and I will hold him off."

Ignoring T.J.'s flabbergasted response to his teammates words, the Red Zeo Ranger took a deep breath. The Q-Rex, Lion Galactabeast, Lion Wild Zord, Falcon Wild Zord, and Gorilla Wild Zord, had all gathered behind his Red BattleZord.

"We're here with you bro." Jason said.

"Alright then…" he said to himself. "Initiating Project Crimson Sequence!"

Tommy pressed the command button on the monitor's key pad. The screen once again flashed with the blue prints of all the downloaded Zords. He felt his heart jump into his throat as the word "processing" appeared before him…

And then, four more words appeared. Four words that made Tommy Oliver the happiest man on the moon.

"Crimson MegaZord sequence initiated."

The Red Zeo Ranger felt his stomach turn as the Red BattleZord proceeded to levitate high above the moon floor. From high above, he watched the Lion Wild Zord make its way underneath the Zord's feet. The Lion Galactabeast, which the Red Galaxy Ranger was quick to shift into the Lion GalactaZord, did the same.

"Tommy," a weary Cole said nervously into the com. "I've got no control!"

"Me neither," Leo concurred, now inside the cockpit of his Zord.

"Just take it easy guys," Tommy replied. "Let it do its thing…"

Astonishingly, the tails, as well as the front and hind legs of both Lion Zords caved inward. As their necks turned upward, their metallic bodies proceeded to contort to form a set of boots for the MegaZord. The Red BattleZord's feet slid inside the two Zords respectively.

The Gorilla Wild Zord then proceeded to levitate into the air alongside the three merged Zords. As it's own limbs turned inward, its head slid down inside the front of its torso. What remained of the green Zord wrapped around the waist and lower abdomen of the Red BattleZord. The Falcon Zord would then let its own head cave in, as it settled itself atop the chest of the BattleZord.

Then finally, the tail of the Quantasaurus Rex de-materialized as the Zord's arms caved into its chest. Its mighty legs then twisted upward in a fetal position, as the head of the Zord thrust forward. The modified body of the Q-Rex would then set itself atop the shoulders of the BattleZord, letting its body serve as a protective armor for the MegaZord's back. The head of the Quantasaurus Rex pointed straight up into the air, as it's jaw contorted into a wide square shaped formation. The head then slid down over the cockpit of the Red BattleZord, allowing it to become a protective helmet for the MegaZord.

As the MegaZord formation neared it's completion, Tommy felt the small cockpit expand around him. Various new sets of controls began to pop up, with a chair seated at each station. The cockpit expanded into two levels, each lengthy set of controls. The lower level had three stations, each designed to be controlled by a Ranger. The upper level had also three. Seated at the center command station on the upper level, was the Red Zeo Ranger.

Under his helmet, Tommy couldn't help but smile. Suddenly, it all seemed too familiar…

Moments later, Jason's seat rose up next to him. Tommy slapped hands with his old friend, as Carter rose up to his left. Below, Cole was seated at the center, with Wes to his right, and Leo to his left.

Then, the controls flickered to life.

The new MegaZord stood tall and proud. All dust and grime that the six Zords had been mired in during the battle seemed to have disappeared, as it shined in the starlight. Yards away, both Serpentera and the Astro MegaZord abruptly stopped, as they turned to see the result of Project Crimson.

In front of Tommy, three new words appeared on the monitor.

"Crimson MegaZord, online."