See my first fanfic – 'Welcome to the Saga' – for disclaimer.

Divided We Fall
Chapter Two
By Peter J. Smith

We all materialised in the Command Centre beside Alpha.

"What's up Zordon?" asked Brendan, turning and looking up at Zordon.

"Yeah," began Scott, "why didn't you let us just go and fight the monster?"

"Aye-yi-yi," said Alpha. "If only it were that simple."

"Alpha is correct," said Zordon. "You will not be facing an average monster. You will be facing Ultramarine. Please observe the viewing screen."

We turned around towards the viewing screen. The screen showed a tall figure rampaging through downtown Caloundra, a figure whom I immediately assumed to be Ultramarine, and I gotta say, he looked fierce. Ultramarine was completely suited up in bulky blue armour. On each of his two blue armoured boots was an orange triangular symbol – the same symbol was also on his chest armour. On his head, he wore a blue helmet, and where his face would have been was something resembling a gas mask. Above this were two glowing red eyes, adding to his fierce-looking appearance. Mounted on his shoulder was a small blue laser cannon, and above each of his wrists were two-foot long stainless steel blades that extended forward.

"Wow," I gasped, "he looks tough."

"Tough is an understatement," said Zordon, quite visibly worried, as we all turned back to him. "Ultramarine is a member of the Brotherhood, a race of warriors all like him, and their sole mission in life is to fight and destroy. He is a lethal opponent, being an expert in many forms of combat, he is incredibly powerful, and he has single-handedly fought off whole armies and slaughtered entire civilizations. This is indeed troubling."

"Civilizations?" repeated Sarah. "What do you mean?"

"Through the ages," began Zordon, "the human race has, through one way or another, found portals to and colonised many other planets throughout the galaxy, and although Earth is the origin of the human race, numerous planets are or have been populated with human beings. Planets such as my home planet Eltar, Nerimos, Lomerius, Techthon, Horath, Triforia, Phaedos…"

"Well if he's so powerful, why didn't you warn us before now?" asked Teresa.

"In the distant past, Ultramarine and Rita were briefly allies," replied Zordon. "But something happened between them, I'm not sure what, and they became enemies. Essentially, Rita told Ultramarine that she never wanted to see him again, and so they split up. I never expected them to become allies again."

"Well, we need the seniors," said Scott.

"No, we can't call them," I told him. "Jason told me yesterday, they're doing some really important test today. We can't interrupt them."

"We'll have to keep Ultramarine at bay as long as possible," agreed Brendan. "But Alpha, try and contact Jason and the others as soon as they look free, and send them into town."

"All right then," said Sarah. "Let's go."

"Be careful rangers," boomed Zordon, concern in his voice. "Ultramarine has annihilated far more powerful foes. Good luck, and may the power protect you."

I nodded. "Okay," I said, and we reached around to our back pockets, "it's morphin' time!"

~*~

Ultramarine was walking slowly down a now-deserted Bulcock Street, blasting shop fronts and cars with his shoulder cannon, when the six of us streaked through the sky and materialised on the road about twenty metres away from him. Our arrival immediately caught his attention, and he turned to look at us, standing in a line across the road.

"So you're the famous Junior Team of Power Rangers?" he asked in a gravelly voice, turning and looking at us all. "Well, I must say, I'm rather unimpressed."

I ignored him. "You better get the hell off our planet right now if you know what's good for you," I said fiercely.

"Yeah," agreed Brendan, standing next to me. ""'Cause we're the Power Rangers and we don't like what you're doing to our city."

Ultramarine took a step forward, clearly indifferent. "Tough talk from a team of warriors who aren't yet old enough to drive," he said mockingly. "Looks to me like I'll have to put you in your place." And with that, the twin metal blades shot out of Ultramarine's wrist guards. Razor sharp, his two most dangerous weapons glinted in the sunlight, and with his arms raised, he began to walk towards us.

"Let's take this blue freak down," I called, "blasters out!" Upon my command, we all unsheathed our laser blasters and aimed them at the steadily advancing Ultramarine. "Fire!" I cried, and six simultaneous laser blasts smashed into Ultramarine – the whole area erupted in sparks and smoke, and we lost sight of our enemy in the smoke cloud. But suddenly, the cloud parted, and Ultramarine stepped through.

"Whoa," we all said.

"That barely fazed him," stuttered Sarah in disbelief, but it was true. Ultramarine appeared totally unaffected by the blasts, and was now only about five metres away.

"Foolish humans," he muttered, contemptuously.

"Well guys," began Scott, "the bigger they are, the more bones they break. So let's power up!" And we all charged forward.

Teresa and Scott reached Ultramarine first. Acting with perfect synchronisation, they ducked under twin slashes from his arm blades before spinning around and smashing their heels into his chest. What normally would have completely floored an opponent merely caused Ultramarine to stumble back a step. Surprised at his strength, Scott tried a simple, lightning-fast left hook to his enemy's jaw, but acting just as fast, Ultramarine caught Scott's hand and threw him away, while at the same time blocking a judo chop from Teresa and knocking her down with a wicked right backhand.

Ultramarine turned back to us. "Who's next?" he grunted.

Following Teresa and Scott, Aaron and Sarah raced forward and reached Ultramarine, one on either side. Aaron dropped down low for a foot-sweep, but Ultramarine easily leapt up and over, before smashing out his arms and effectively coat-hangering both Aaron and Sarah.

"Guys!" I cried, "are you okay?"

"You're mine, Orange Ranger," growled Ultramarine. He raced forward and slashed with his right arm blade, but I ducked under the blade then leapt to the side when his left blade sliced through the air towards me. Recovering quickly, I went on the offensive, striking him with two rapid kicks to the chest before throwing all my strength into a left backhand. His head snapped to the side and he spun around on the spot, but with an angry growl, he recovered and lashed out with his arm blades. I blocked his left arm but his right was too fast, Ultramarine slashing the blade down my chest and sending me flying backwards in an explosion of sparks and fire.

I landed with a crash and groaned painfully. His blade had sliced right through my suit, leaving a small jagged hole in the white diamond and causing a thin trickle of blood to seep down my chest. I wiped the blood away, got to my feet and quickly rejoined the other rangers.

"Rainbow power, activate!" cried Brendan, running forward. Immediately, the white diamond on his chest began to glow, and twin ribbons of light emerged. Brendan held his arms wide, and the two rainbows shot forward, snaking through the air towards Ultramarine. The first one went straight for Ultramarine's chest, but he jumped back a few feet then slashed furiously at the rainbow with his wrist blades. The second rainbow, meanwhile, had began to loop around Ultramarine, spinning around him on an invisible axis, getting faster and faster, and it was all the warrior could do to keep from becoming dizzy. Enough is enough, he thought angrily. With merely a thought, his shoulder cannon roared to life, and a massive blast smashed into Brendan – the rainbows both disappeared, and Brendan crashed to the ground.

Man, thought Brendan, even my rainbow power wasn't strong enough. But he wasn't given any more time to think – Ultramarine charged forward, slashing with his wrist blades. Brendan dodged one blade then ducked under the other. He silently called for his power sai, and they arrived just in time. Ultramarine sliced again, but with one sai Brendan caught the blade and using the other, he went on the offensive. Ultramarine was too fast though, and before too long, Brendan was sent flying.

"Whoa dude," I said, as we all went to him and helped him to his feet. "You okay?"

Brendan nodded. "Yeah, but this guy is a real nightmare," he said, as we all turned to face him again.

"You know," grunted Ultramarine, glancing from ranger to ranger, "I thought that this would be at least moderately challenging."

"This guy is unbelievable," frowned Sarah.

"Well, we have to keep on fighting him," said Teresa.

Ultramarine chose that moment to continue his attack, and with an angry growl, he raised his arm blades and charged forward.

"Here he comes!" cried Brendan.

I stepped forward. "I can take him. Power Sword!" Racing forward, I raised my sword, and the three blades met with a metallic clang that echoed across the battlefield. Ultramarine grunted with surprise, stepped back and slashed with his right then left blade. Using my sword, I blocked his right blade, then turned and swung at his left blade, knocking it away. Taking the advantage, I slashed at his chest armour, before spinning around in one smooth motion and smashing him back with a high kick. Angrily, he slashed again and again, each time I blocked the move and countered the attack. Finally, he swung both blades at me in a scissor-motion, but I brought my sword down and kept both blades in check.

"Orange Ranger, I'm impressed," he said. "You're good."

"You mean I'm winning."

"I didn't say that."

His shoulder cannon once again roared to life, firing a massive laser blast. At point blank range, it was impossible to miss. The blast smashed into me, lifted me off my feet and sent me flying, sword and all, past the other rangers, to where I finally came down with a very literal crash, the force blasting me right through a shop window. My chest felt like it was on fire, and with the hole in my suit from Ultramarine's wrist blades, it hurt all the worse.

But our enemy wasn't finished. He turned and quickly fired off four more shots, each one blasting Teresa, Scott, Sarah and Brendan, lifting them off their feet and sending them flying backwards in an explosion of sparks and smoke. Everyone crashed to the ground around me, and as I began to help the others to their feet, Aaron was the only ranger left standing, the only ranger ready to battle Ultramarine.

~*~

"This is perfect," muttered Rita, watching the battle through her telescope. "Absolutely perfect. And he even got them into position for me."

"But my queen," asked Goldar, standing next to Rita and watching the battle alongside her. "Why not just scrap the plan and let Ultramarine finish all the rangers by himself?"

Rita turned to her loyal golden warrior, shaking her head. "I already thought of that. Sure, he could do it, but that would rob me of what is rightfully mine, and anyway, if Ultramarine killed the entire team, he would hold it over me for the next ten thousand years." She turned back to the Earth. "No, to quote an Earthen famous singer, I'm gonna do it my way."

She raised her wand, and with the red orb glowing, white bolts of lightning shot down to the Earth. "Let's see how they deal with this!"

~*~

As we all wearily got back to our feet with the world spinning around us, lightning bolts suddenly struck the area, dancing off roofs, trees and cars, and for a second I thought that Rita intended to make Ultramarine grow. But suddenly, the shops, road and Ultramarine all disappeared in a flash of white light, and I was suddenly standing in a very dark place.

I was in a circular "'room' of sorts, although it was too big to be a room. High above me, the roof resembled the night sky, and enclosing the entire area was a stone wall with golden bars and strange gargoyle designs. The creepiest thing, though, was the three foot thick layer of mist that covered the ground, so thoroughly that I couldn't even see my own knee-caps, let alone my feet. Turning, I looked around to see if I was alone, but no – Sarah, Scott, Teresa and Brendan had been teleported here with me.

"Everyone okay?" I asked.

Teresa nodded. "I think we're all fine. But where the heck are we?"

"Well I don't know," replied Brendan, "but Aaron's not here." Then, Brendan put into words the horrible realisation that hit us all at exactly the same time. "He's on his own with Ultramarine."

"Welcome," came a voice that echoed around us. We all turned to see Goldar and Scorpina standing at the far end of the enclosure. "Welcome to Rita's Dark Dimension," finished Goldar. "But we must apologise for the conditions, we're dreadful hosts."

"Goldar," Sarah grunted. "What a surprise."

"And Scorpina," said Brendan sardonically. "How lovely to see you. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to get going." And we all reached for our communicators.

Goldar shook his head, grinning evilly. "Ah, this is too good. It won't work," he said, gaining our attention. "The Dark Dimension is at present cut off from the morphing grid. You can't teleport in, and you can't teleport out. Well, you can't, but we can. Anyway, the only way out is through the gateway," and with a wave of his sword, an odd doorway to nowhere sprang up from the floor in the middle of the room. We soon saw that the stone door inside the doorway was sealed with a huge padlock.

"You find the key," said Scorpina, "and you can unlock the door and leave. And I'd hurry if I were you – your aqua friend probably won't last long."

I stepped forward angrily. "Where is the key?"

Goldar smiled wickedly. "On the ground somewhere. Good luck." And with that, they both teleported out in twin flashes of flame, leaving the five of us alone in the silence of the Dark Dimension.

"Find the key?" repeated Teresa, her voice echoing through the dimension. "Guys, this is almost too easy."

"I wouldn't bet on it," said Sarah, glancing down at the mist.

I nodded, and was about to speak when I felt something move past my leg. It was long, heavy and I assumed slimy. Glancing down, I caught sight of a long, thin shadow in the mist that quickly disappeared as it moved on by.

"Uh guys," I began, slowly and fearfully, "we may have a problem."

~*~

In the Command Centre, Alpha burst into a fresh new fit of "'ayeyiyis'.

"Zordon," the robot cried, "I've just lost five of the Rangers' signals. They've disappeared off the morphing grid. Aaron is all alone against Ultramarine!"

"Alpha, calm down," replied Zordon, trying not to show his own fear. "Run a scan for the other rangers, and be sure to try the Dark Dimension, or any of the pocket dimensions that Rita's monsters have used in the past. As for Aaron, he'll soon have back-up."

"He'd better, or else Ultramarine will rip him apart!"

Zordon wanted to say something calming, wanted to say something soothing to Alpha to help relax him, but he couldn't. He knew exactly what Ultramarine's capabilities were, and now that they were five Rangers down, he knew that whatever Rita had planned, the results would be devastating. The outcome was never in any doubt, either.