Champions Saga: Chapter Twelve
End of the Circle
ACT ONE
Tommy and the rest of Earth's champions stood at the foot of the bridge leading into Angel Grove Central. Thick fog covered the ground around them, and the crimson sky above twirled with black clouds.
The Mogralord was watching them.
Jason turned to Tommy. "They've spotted us, bro."
Tommy nodded and tightened his hands into fists. "Then let's give them a show...it's morphin time!"
"Chakra ignite!" Tommy's team armed their wrist braces. "Aura power!" They connected their braces and triggered a wave of energy that shimmered around them while they transformed into their armor.
"Power of the stars...brought down. Heaven Star Task Force! Power Rangers!"
"Shogun Transform!" Jason's team shouted as they held their morphers at the ready. "Ninja Power!" Energy whirled around them as they transformed into their armor.
"Shogun Task Force...Ninja Rangers!"
"Galaxy Transform!" Ryouma and his team twisted the dials on their morphers. "Ha!" They slapped their braces' activation panels. The energy of their elements circled like pillars around them, and they morphed into their armor.
Hyuuga held his blade up high. "Knight Rebirth!" Strands of green energy lashed out from the sword's hilt and circled around him, morphing him into the black armor of KuroKishi.
"The Sword of Legend cuts through the galaxy! Star Beast Task Force! Galaxy Rangers!"
Ashley and the Zeo team armed their braces. "Ultra Transform!" They connected their braces and triggered a wave of energy that washed over them, morphing them into their Ranger forms.
"Ultra Task Force...Zeo Rangers!"
Luke and his team snapped open their keys. "Shift into Turbo! Axle Power!" They inserted their keys into their morphers and turned the ignition. Morphin energy throttled through their system while they morphed into their Ranger forms.
"Hyper-speed Task Force...Turbo Rangers!"
"Install, Astro Ranger!" Zhane and the Astro team input their morphing codes into their braces and transformed into their digital armor.
"Digital task force...Astro Rangers!"
"Chrono..." Jenn and her team swung their arms outward. "Trigger!" They swung their arms back in and slapped their braces' activation panels. Streams of data swirled around them, and they morphed into their Ranger forms.
Wes lifted his brace to his mouth. "Quantum Fire!" Fiery energy wrapped around him as he morphed into the Quantum Ranger known as Time Fire.
"Time Rangers!"
Max and his team thrust their hands forward and crossed their wrists, right over left. "Lightspeed!" They brought their arms back in and flipped open their morphers. "Rescue!" Energy wrapped around them and they morphed into their Ranger forms.
"Rescue Task Force! Light! Speed! Rangers!"
Simon and his team flipped their morphers open. "Wild Access!" they shouted, pressing their morphers' activation panels. "Ha!" Golden light flashed around them as they morphed into their Ranger forms.
"Guardians of the Earth, united we roar! Wild Task Force! Gao Ranger!"
Hikaru snapped down his arms. "Black Sun!" Energy wrapped around him, transforming him into his black insect-like armor.
"Kuuga awaken!" Energy washed over Kouishiro and transformed him into his armor.
"Ryuuki awaken!" Red energy shimmered around Dex and transformed him into his armor.
"Beetle Bonders!" Drew and his teammates armed their transformation devices. "Beetle Blast!" Energy flashed around them as they morphed into their armor.
"Cyberize!" Ryan shouted. A well of virtual energy was released from inside of him and flooded his body like living fire. His entire body became a machine. Wires replaced nerves, conduits replaced blood vessels, servos replaced joints, and advanced positronic processors replaced his brain. His body was encased in a suit of red, blue and gray armor.
"Trooper Transform!" JB and Kaitlin shouted. Energy danced across their body like lightning. Their armor materialized and tightened to fit their forms. The armor sent strands of virtual data directly into the Troopers' nervous systems, downloading data and instincts into their brains.
"Galvanize!" David shouted. Blue energy flashed around his body as his armor took shape. The armor pumped virtual power into his veins and interfaced with his nervous system.
"SHOC!" he shouted, "Samurize!" SHOC transformed into his cyber armor.
"Guyver." Shou commanded. His bio-booster wrapped around his body as if alive.
Dragon Ranger looked to Rescue Red. "Max, bring in the train."
Rescue Red activated his communicator. "Go-Liner, on track!"
The water stirred off the shores of Angel Grove. A massive bay area broke the surface of the water. The bay area had five main chambers, each number and colored coded. A lengthy rail rose from the waters, connecting the bay area to the shore of Angel Grove, and interlinking with the city's transportation system.
The individual liners shot forward like bullets. The liners combined and formed a single train that throttled across the ocean and onto the shore while traveling faster than Angel Grove's own bullet train.
The Go-Liner skid to a halt near the scene. Earth's champions ran towards the massive train and hopped inside.
The Go-Liner shot towards the heart of the city.
The massive Mogralord sensed the Go-Liner approach from the distance. The final battle was at hand. The villain looked down at Warlock, who was standing on his temple balcony.
"Begin, underling,"the Mogralord's telepathic voice bored through Warlock's mind.
Warlock narrowed his brow. He was no one's underling. He hoped to soon be rid of the Mogralord.
The villain turned towards the interior of his demonic palace and lifted his hand. The amulet on his palm pulsed with crimson energy, and a group of Shades appeared with flashes of dark light.
The Shades were holding a very important prisoner: Princess Trialia from Triforia.
Warlock smiled at the young princess and walked over to her. He ran the back of his hand along her cheek, and she trembled with disgust at his touch.
"Hello, my dear," Warlock said. "Are you prepared? Your existence in this realm will soon end. And your blood will help bring in a new age of darkness."
Trialia spit in Warlock's face. "My brother will come for me. He'll kill you..."
"Doubtful," Warlock said. "Very doubtful. Not even every Champion on this planet combined can face the power of my Demon City."
Trialia narrowed her eyes. "We'll soon find out..."
Countless Shades, Wraiths, and Gooclones poured across the edge of Angel Grove Central and swarmed towards the throttling Go-Liner.
The grunts leapt onto the sides of the train and climbed upward, covering the carrier zord like a living blanket of disease.
Three of the Mogralord's Undead monsters, Jaguar, Dragonfly, and Bat, moved amidst the grunts and leapt onto the Go-Liner.
The three Undead and grunts climbed up the armor and moved to the top of the Go-Liner, where the Earth's champions were waiting.
Tenma Ranger looked to his leader. The Blue Ranger was admittedly anxious at the site of countless grunts that stretched out as far as he could see. "You sure this is a good idea, Tommy?"
Dragon Ranger shook his head. "No...but it will work."
"You'll forgive me if I have trouble being that optimistic," Tenma Ranger said.
"You're forgiven," Dragon Ranger said.
A couple liners down, Gao Red gathered with his team. They stood in a circle as grunts made their way up the sides of the Go-Liner.
Gao Yellow looked to his leader. "I don't know what's crazier...your friend the Dragon Ranger coming up with this plan, or me for following it."
"What's wrong? Yellow?" Gao Red said.
Gao Yellow shook his head. "You've probably been waiting over a year to say that."
"I was saving it for a special occasion," Gao Red said. "This seemed as good a time as any."
"You're an idiot," Gao Yellow said.
"Good luck to you too, Ryan," Gao Red said.
The Undead monsters pounced onto the liners along with a tidal wave of soldiers. The Earth's champions stood their ground and fought back.
Lion Ranger and Tenma Ranger leapt towards the Jaguar Undead and slammed flying sidekicks against its chest. The villain crashed against the top of the Go-Liner and skid backward before rolling back into a crouched fighting stance.
Jaguar Undead sprang at the Rangers while swinging its claws.
Lion Ranger stepped aside, grabbed the villain's wrist, and twisted the Undead into an armlock. The Green Ranger lifted the villain off its feet and slammed it against the train's armor.
A group of Shades suddenly surrounded Tenma Ranger. The villains hissed and pounced towards the Blue Ranger with their claws swinging in for the kill.
Tenma Ranger bashed a tornado kick across a grunt's head, continued his spin, and bashed a reverse sidekick against a second grunt.
On the same Liner, Dragonfly Undead swung its claws at the Guyver, but the hero ducked underneath the blow and slammed an uppercut against the villain's chest. The Guyver stepped forward, smashed a hook punch across the monster's head, and spun while bashing a spin kick across its head.
The monster's body whipped backward and crashed against the Go-Liner.
A few Liners back, Shades and Gooclones leapt at the Gao Rangers.
"It's about to get messy." Gao Red unsheathed his dagger with one hand and armed his Lion Fang over the other hand.
A Shade lunged towards the Red Ranger. Gao Red smashed his Lion Fang across the grunt's head and stabbed his dagger through a second soldier's chest.
"Gaoling Cannon!" The Lion Fang on the Red Ranger's hand formed a rifle blaster.
Gao Red fired rapid-volley jade energy blasts that exploded through a wave of Gooclones, which were ripped apart into drops of ooze.
The Go-Liner continued to throttle deeper into Angel Grove Central, the most devastated part of the city. Crimson light cast shadows across fallen buildings and piles of rubble that used to be wondrous city blocks.
Dragon Ranger looked ahead, and Warlock's palace was still a splinter on the horizon. Grunts stretched across the streets like a wave of evil crashing against the carrier zord. He felt anticipation well in his throat. He looked down at the Go-Liner beneath his feet. "Can't this thing go any faster..."
Warlock stood on the top of the palace. The rooftop was flat and circular, large enough to hold a small battalion of demonic soldiers if needed. The Tablet of Chakra was on the center of the palace rooftop, and Princess Trialia was tied back-down to a pedestal in the center of the tablet. Her shirt had been torn off, and a ceremonial dagger laid flat on her chest.
Warlock looked into the distance and saw the Go-Liner approaching from afar. The villain extended his hand towards the distance. "Go, my army. Crush them."
The Hell Riders and Hunters dropped onto the rooftop from the shadows and looked ahead, energy surging through their bodies, charging them for the kill.
"Wait!"The Mogralord's voice drilled through their minds. "Their battle is with me. They are helpless without their zords."
The massive Mogralord stepped out from behind the temple, which he dwarfed, and stomped towards the Go-Liner. The carrier zord was fast approaching the center of Angel Grove and the demon temple stabbed in the city's heart.
Warlock and the demon generals stood their ground as the demon monarch slowly marched into battle.
Ninjayellow's eyes opened wide beneath his helmet when he saw the massive Mogralord approach from the distance. He slashed a Shade away and looked to his leader. "Big trouble coming our way, Jase. Huge, mean, scary, trouble."
Ninjared speared his sword through a Gooclone's chest, tore his blade free, and kicked the soldier back. "Looks like we'll have to move ahead earlier than we thought."
A few Liners up, Dragon Ranger activated his communicator. "Max. Do it."
Rescue Red inserted his blaster grip over the console node in front of him and twisted the grip downward.
"Rescuezords, mobilize!" Rescue Red commanded.
Each zord rolled out of its liner, driving over countless grunts that littered the streets.
Rescue Red thrust his blaster grip forward. "Lightspeed Megazord fusion, online!"
Aero Rescue hovered over Hydro Rescue and lowered two grapplers. The grapplers hooked onto the zord's side and started to lift the machine from the ground. Meanwhile, Med Rescue and Hazer Rescue rolled side by side. The two zords tilted upward, forming a pair of legs.
Rescue Green maneuvered his zord over the legs and slowly lowered the Hydro Rescue downward. The Hydro Rescue locked into position with the legs, forming a lower torso.
Pyro Rescue extended its ladder arms and grasped onto the torso. The red-armored zord used its ladder arms to rise from the ground and slide down onto the torso. Pyro Rescue locked into position, forming the zord's chest and arms.
Aero Rescue slid onto Pyro Rescue and completed the transformation. "Lightspeed Megazord!"
The MAX Solarzord swooped down from the skies and merged with the Megazord, forming a black suit of armor around the robo. The Megazord immediately armed its cannons and powered its main weapon.
"Solar fire!" Rescue Red shouted. The zord blasted streams of molten plasma blasts that exploded against the Mogralord with massive bursts of flame, spark, and smoke.
Back on the Go-Liner, the Gao Rangers unsheathed their Gao Daggers and extended the blades into the sky. "Wildzords, descend!"
The blades emitted an enchanting melody. The tone reached up to the sky and caught the ears of the Power Animals. A bridge of multi-colored light extended down to Angel Grove. The Power Animals roared as they charged down the bridge and into battle.
The Rangers stood in a circle and thrust their daggers towards the center. Gao Red looked up while making a claw with his left hand over the right side of his chest. "Wildzords! Assemble!"
The five Wildzords charged forward as fiery energy surrounded them. GaoBison morphed into a waist and set of legs. GaoTiger and GaoShark formed the arms and attached to GaoLion, which served as the chest. GaoEagle attached to the lion and allowed the zord to hover over the ground as it zoomed forward.
The combined zord rose and back-flipped through the air as the formation completed.
Gao Red armed his Falcon Summoner and fired it towards the sky. The blast summoned Gao Falcon, Gao Rhino, Gao Armadillo, Gao Deer, and Gao Giraffe.
The Rangers stood in a circle and thrust their daggers towards the center. Gao Red looked up while making a claw with his left hand over the right side of his chest. "Wildzords! Assemble!"
The five zords combined to form the IsisMegazord, Gao Icarus.
"Soul Bird!" Gao Red shouted as the mystic-armored bird took shape with a flash of golden light.
The Rangers leapt into the air and landed on five slots that formed along the Soul Bird's armor. "Soul Drive!" Gao Red shouted. "Gao Icarus!"
The Soul Bird phased through the Gao Icarus's back and took its place in the zord's cockpit. The Rangers placed their Daggers into the Soul Bird's control slots and hovered their hands over pairs of black, organic-looking orbs.
"IsisMegazord!" the Rangers shouted from their cockpit. "Gao Icarus!"
Gao Silver swung his staff, and the weapon emitted an energy wave that extended to the sky. Gao Silver placed his gems on the energy table and shot the crystals forward. The crystals ignited and burst towards the sky. "Wildzords, descend!"
A silver-armored wolf appeared with a flash of light and howled into the skies. A purple-armored hammerhead shark suddenly swooped down from the skies as if it were swimming, and a massive green-armored alligator stomped onto the scene.
Gao Silver made a claw with his left hand and held his palm over his chest. "Wildzords! Assemble!"
The Wildzords pulsed with energy and started to change shape. GaoGator formed a body and legs as GaoWolf and GaoHammerHead formed the arms. The wolf-like head of the zord rose from the body. The jaw of the wolf opened, forming the head and glowing-yellow eyes of the Megazord.
Gao Silver appeared in his zord's cockpit and slid his Lunar Cue down into his control console.
"Predazord!" Gao Silver shouted. "Gao Hunter Justice!"
Next, the Galaxy Rangers regrouped on a Liner.
Galaxy Red looked to the sky and placed his hand near his mouthpiece while calling out. "Star Beasts, arise!"
The Rangers leapt onto their Star Beasts as the five creature stomped into battle.
"Zord transform!" Galaxy Red shouted while holding his Kiba Dagger into the air. Energy struck the daggers and flowed across the five beasts. The Star Beasts transformed into mystical suits of armor as the Rangers dropped down into their cockpits.
"Seijuu fusion!" Galaxy Red commanded. "Gingaiou!"
The zords rushed forward, their bodies shifting and changing as the five combined into one armored warrior. A golden hilted double-edged sword appeared in the warrior's hand.
"GalaxyMegazord!" Galaxy Red shouted once the fusion was complete. "Gingaiou!"
The Ninja Rangers stepped up next and readied their scrolls. They opened the scrolls, each scroll bearing the symbol of their individual Ninjazord.
"Ninjazords, awaken!" the Rangers shouted as powerful lightning shot across the skies.
The symbols on their scrolls glowed and projected behind the Rangers before forming the mighty Ninjazords. The Ninja Rangers levitated backward and merged into their zords' cockpit.
"Ninja fusion...Kakure Shogun!" the Rangers shouted as their zords leapt into the air and started to reform. The Ninjazords combined into one giant warrior and landed on the ground below.
White Falcon flew through the skies, its reflection shining in the Megazord's red eye.
"Falconzord, combine!" the Rangers shouted. The NinjaMegazord leapt up as the falcon connected onto its back. "NinjaMegazord!"
The Zeo Rangers activated their communicators. "Zeo-zords, mobilize!"
The Rangers leapt into the air while their zords stomped through the streets. The zords activated their retrieval programs, and the Rangers teleported into their cockpits in streams of multi-colored energy.
"Ultra Fusion!" Zeored shouted. The Rangers activated their combination program, and the five zords combined.
The Rangers joined in their central cockpit. "ZeoMegazord!"
Back on the Go-Liner, Astro Red activated his communicator. "Astro Megazord, online!"
The ship underwent a modular transformation into a warrior robo that flew down from the skies. The Astro Rangers took off on their Cyber Sliders and joined in the cockpit. "Astro Megazord...Galaxy Mega!"
Then Time Red activated his communicator. "Takku!"
"Yokai!" Takku answered. The droid activated his transceiver. "3-D system, stand by for launch!"
The five zords streaked through, swooping down into the atmosphere.
"Time Flier," Time Red commanded as the Time Flier hovered past their location.
The Time Rangers leapt onto the Flier. The Flier carried them over their five Time Jets, traveling at frightful speeds. Time Red and the others jumped off the Time Flier and fell into their cockpits.
"3-D Formation..." Time Red commanded as he grasped control levers to his side. "Time Robo, Alpha!"
The Time Jets stayed in tight formation and flew across the streets. Each zord started to reassemble and combine into a giant, red-armored zord. The 3-D formation completed as the Rangers activated their zord: the Time-Force Megazord, Mode Red.
The Rangers stood in the zord's central cockpit. Five tall rods extended from the floor to the Rangers' waist levels. The Time Rangers reached forward and grabbed the Lancers.
On the Liner, Time Fire looked towards the distance and raised his morpher closer to his mouth piece. "Charge! V-Rex!"
V-Rex roared as it charged onto the scene.
Then the Turbo Rangers activated their helmet communicators. "Turbo zords, rev up!"
The five Turbo zords rolled across the streets towards the Go-Liner. The Turbo Rangers slid into their cockpits and inserted their keys into their control panels. "TurboMegazord fusion, Turbo up!"
The zords changed shape and combined into a giant robo that rose to its feet. "TurboMegazord !"
Next, the Power Rangers raised their Thunder Swords towards the skies while grasping their Thunder Gems. "Thunderzords arise!"
The five armored beasts streaked down from the skies in beams of light. They took shape, resembling giant animals covered in armor. The Kirin and Lion landed on the ground and charged forward. Red Dragon, the Phoenix, and winged Tenma flew through the air above.
The Rangers energized and leapt into their cockpits, embedded within the zords' armor. Dragon Ranger placed his hand over his zord's control sphere. "Thunder-star fusion!"
The five zords pulsed with energy and combined. The Kirin and Tenma formed the arms, the dragon formed the body, with the Red Dragon head on the Megazord's chest. The Lion formed the lower body and legs, and the Phoenix attached to the back of the Megazord as its wings extended outward and grew razor sharp. Red armor flashed and covered most of the zord.
The zord spread its wings and hovered above the ground as the Power Rangers joined in the cockpit. "MegaThunderzord! ChoiDairenou!"
MegaThunderzord zoomed towards the Mogralord. The zord slashed downward with its lightning whip, but the demon lord grabbed the weapon in its jaws. Mogralord snapped his head backward and tossed the zord through the air. MegaThunderzord went crashing through a series of buildings, sending rubble and debris showering across the already decimated streets.
Kirin Ranger steadied himself on his control sphere. "He's too strong. We can't beat him with raw force."
Dragon Ranger opened a comm line to the others. "Justin, try to hold him steady with your gravity power. The rest of you, hit him with long range attacks."
Within the cockpit of the ZeoMegazord, Zeoblue shifted his chair to the forward station. "Zeoblue Battle Helmet, activate."
The pyramid-shaped helmet moved into place over the zord's head. Zeoblue activated the weapon. ZeoMegazord leaned forward and launched a stream of triangle-shaped gravity blasts. The blasts splashed across Mogralord with tremendous force. The demon king struggled and quickly started breaking the energy beams.
"Better move fast," Zeoblue said as he poured on the power.
AstroMegazord hovered above the streets and aimed its massive cannon downward towards the villain.
"Beam cannon, fire!" Astro Red shouted while triggering the weapon. A massive beam of yellow energy poured forward and streamed towards the demon.
GalaxyMegazord armed the Condor and aimed the Star Beast forward.
"Gingalcon! Howling blast!" Galaxy Red shouted. The condor shrieked and fired a shining pulse blast.
The beam and howling blast exploded harmlessly against the Mogralord with a massive shockwave that shook the ground and thundered through the air. Mogralord narrowed its eyes at the ZeoMegazord.
Fiery energy traced back along the gravity beams and exploded against the ZeoMegazord's head. An explosion slammed against the Megazord's head and knocked the robo backward. ZeoMegazord crashed against the ground and went skidding backward, ripping up the streets below.
Explosions sparked on the console in front of Zeoblue. "Do we have a plan B?"
MegaThunderzord took off to the skies while the Mogralord howled, sending magma blasts that exploded across the streets at random with a fiery storm of destruction.
"Jason, Simon," Dragon Ranger commanded. "Form up on me. Turbos, hit him close while he's distracted. The rest of you, catch him in a cross fire"
MegaThunderzord led an attack dive towards Mogralord. IsisMegazord and NinjaMegazord formed up on either side of Choi Dairenou.
"Kirin flares!" the Power Rangers shouted. The Kirin arm extended forward and launched flares of space-disruption energy towards the demon.
"Isis stare!" Gao Red shouted while extending his dagger forward. The wings spread, and the Isis eyes launched twin beams of spiraling fiery energy.
"Falcon blast!" Ninjared shouted. The falcon's wings fired a salvo of energy missiles.
The Kirin flares exploded across the Mogralord's molten armor with a shower of sparks. The Isis beams speared against the Mogralord and exploded upon impact, tearing against the demon's body. The missile salvo hit next, exploding across the Mogralord.
While the explosions tore against the demon, the other zords hit hard.
LightspeedMegazord armed its cannons.
"Solar fire!" Rescue Red shouted. The zord blasted streams of molten plasma blasts that exploded against the demon's head.
Time-Force Megazord Alpha swooped into the air.
"Changing formation," Time Red commanded. "Time Robo, Beta!"
The Time Jets detached and twirled through the air before uniting in a new formation.
"Fire!" Time Red shouted. Time-Force Megazord Beta fired high-speed energy pulses that exploded against Mogralord before he could recover.
The massive V-Rex stomped forward as Time Fire stood on top of the mechanical beast. He aimed his blaster forward and fired in conjunction with the zord's shoulder-mounted cannons. Spears of red energy exploded against the demon and tore at its molten flesh.
Pyramidus fired a bolt of golden lightning that tore through the streets while moving towards its opponent, Predazord fired its howling blast with a blue flash of speed and strength, AstroMegazord fired another blast from its beam cannon, GalaxyMegazord let loose with another howling blast, ZeoMegazord opened fire with jagged blasts of energy from its green power helmet, and TurboMegazord launched a salvo of artillery power.
The combined blasts exploded against Mogralord and ignited with a massive explosion that lit the night skies with a blinding radiance. The heat and destruction tore more than five city blocks as flames erupted and decimated everything.
The light dimmed, leaving only flickering flames for illumination. The unharmed Mogralord lifted his head from the blaze and howled into the crimson night.
Turbo Blue shook his head. "That's impossible!"
Turbo Red tightened his grip on the controls. "TurboMegazord, spin out!"
The zord spun forward towards Mogralord while extending its energized saber. Mogralord whipped its tail forward and swatted the spinning zord away like a bug. TurboMegazord went spiraling through rubble and debris that used to be skyscrapers, explosions ripping through the zord's armor.
MegaThunderzord crackled with energy as it flew forward.
"MegaThunderzord...armor up!" The zord shot forward like a bullet as golden energy enveloped it. The Megazord transformed into a sparking silver and golden suit of armor. "MegaThunderzord, Paladin Mode!"
Mogralord pounced forward and tackled against the Paladin. The two giants stumbled through the streets, crushing through buildings, while the demon slashed at the zord's armor.
A blur of motion slammed against Mogralord, pushing the demon backward and sending him exploding through a nearby building. It was the ShogunMegazord, which had used its powerful arms to push the demon away.
Mogralord quickly returned to its legs and leaned forward. Bony spikes of fire shot from its back and exploded against ShogunMegazord. The massive zord toppled backward, spikes ripped through its left shoulder, and its arm tore off. Mogralord followed with a confined magma stream that punched through the zord's chest with a massive burst of spark and flame. ShogunMegazord's armor shattered as the zord exploded into pieces of debris.
Predazord charged forward while extending its alligator spear. The spear spun like a drill as blue energy crackled around the weapon. Gao Silver aimed towards the heart of the beast.
"Gator Blade! Howling strike!" Gao Silver shouted from his cockpit.
Mogralord snapped out its tail and swatted Gao Hunter away like a bug. The Predazord crashed through a building, crashed against the streets, and skid backward.
Gao King stepped forward, and the Gao Rangers quickly transferred into the Megazord.
"Soul-Charge, Roaring Fury!" Gao Red shouted.
The end of the Soul Bird opened and formed a spinning turbine that shot a blast of golden energy out of the lion's mouth. Each of the animals' mouths opened and fired a pulse of energy. The energy beams combined into a massive wave of power that tore across the streets, ripping a path of destruction towards the Mogralord.
The wave smashed against the Mogralord, but poured around the villain like a roaring river around a boulder.
The villain opened its jaws and spat a stream of fiery energy that exploded against Gao Hunter and Gao King with massive bursts of spark and flame that cracked along the zords' armor.
MegaThunderzord swooped down from the skies and fired a gravity pulse to distract the Mogralord and give the two Gao Rangers' Megazords time to pull back.
"Ashley, Ryouma, get your teams downside and start moving towards the temple," Dragon Ranger said. "Turbos, you're right behind them. Don't try anything funny."
Turbo Red rolled his eyes. Could you take us seriously for once, jerk?
The TurboMegazord rolled back and disassembled into its individual zords. The Rangers hopped from their cockpits and landed between two demolished buildings. The narrow alley was cluttered with concrete and debris.
The Zeo Rangers, Galaxy Rangers, and Beetle Borgs quickly filed into the alley soon after the Turbos.
Zeoyellow armed her blaster. "Let's clear a path..."
The Yellow Ranger fired lances of red energy that exploded through the side of the wall. A hidden entrance beneath the base of the building would lead them into a network of tunnels and passageways connected to Warlock's palace.
The Yellow Ranger looked to the Turbos. "Guard the entrance. Don't let anyone follow us."
Turbo Red gave her a weak, mock salute.
The Galaxy Rangers and Zeo Rangers entered the passage and moved beneath the streets, leaving the Turbos behind.
"Door guards," Turbo Blue complained. "This is the biggest battle of our lives, and our job is to stare at some hole in the wall all day."
A blade suddenly buzzed through the air like a helicopter propeller and slashed past the Rangers with bursts of spark, whipping them off their feet and sending them flying through the air.
Turbo Red crashed through a second-story window and rolled across the floor of what used to be a computer lab. Wires and data chips hung from the ceilings and cluttered the room, in between piles of smashed computers and desks.
The Red Ranger rolled to his feet and looked up just as Tessai jumped through the window and landed on the floor, causing the room to shake. The Devil of Kimon's muscular boy was all stone, and he carried a broad, jagged, double-edged blade in his left hand.
"Oh wonderful," Turbo Red cursed beneath his breath while unsheathing his ViBlade. Red Racer and his friend Teddy, currently the Red Zeo Ranger, had fought Tessai and decisively lost against the rock-hard brute.
The villain's left eye was scarred shut, which was a mark from that former battle.
Tessai lifted his blade. "Do you realize I am about to kill you? Or are you so stupid, that I have to resort to threats?"
"Listen, rock-for brains," Turbo Red said. "You may have beaten me before, but that was only-"
Tessai snapped his blade through the air, and Red Racer barely managed to dive aside and the weapon buzzed past his helmet.
Quantum Ranger looked to his zord. "Voice formation...V-Rex Robo!"
V-Rex shifted shape as it rose up, assuming a humanoid warrior form. The zord had a massive right fist and a revolving missile cannon in place of its left fist. The Megazord still had its tail, and green emitter disks were mounted on the zord's shoulders.
"V-Revolver fire!" Time Fire shouted.
V-Rex's left cannon spun while shooting a volley of red missiles. The missiles exploded against the Mogralord with massive bursts of smoke and flame.
"V-Rex Knuckle!" Time Fire shouted. "Engage!"
The V-Rex fist energized and shot forward. The fist exploded against the demon monarch, who was barely effected by the impact.
Time Fire looked to his zord. "MAX Blizzard!"
V-Rex's shoulder cannons fired streams of jade-tinted energy that exploded against the Mogralord with a massive display of power. The energy splashed harmlessly across the villain's molten body.
A volley of slick-steel bone spikes shot from the demon beast's back and exploded against the V-Rex, hacking through its armor and knocking the zord backward. V-Rex crashed on top of an already war-torn building that crushed beneath its weight.
MegaThunderzord hovered nearby.
"We won't last long like this," Dragon Ranger said quietly, talking more to himself than his teammates. "We've got to get this monster sealed." He activated his communicator. "Start the temple run, guys. Close in on the place as planned."
The NinjaMegazord swooped past the Mogralord and flew towards the temple in the distance. Time-Force Megazord Blue and the Astro Megazord flew behind the NinjaMegazord towards the heart of the city.
Mogralord turned to attack the fleeting zords, but MegaThunderzord in Paladin mode swooped down to stop the villain.
"Star Saber, Divine Justice!" the Power Rangers shouted.
The Paladin's blade energized with golden and silver power while swinging through a powerful horizontal arc.
Mogralord caught the blade with his teeth and snapped his head back, throwing the Megazord through the air.
MegaThunderzord couldn't use its wings in time to keep from crashing against the city streets.
Guyver, Black Sun, Kuuga, and Ryuuki continued to battle on top of the Go-Liner along with the rest of Earth's non-Ranger champions.
Jaguar Undead swung its left fist blades at Black Sun's head. Black Sun blocked the blow, leaned in, and slammed a hook punch across the monster's face. The Rider stepped up and smashed a roundkick against the monster's side.
Jaguar Undead kicked the Rider in the side of the leg, and Black Sun dropped against the train.
A group of Wraiths immediately pounced onto Black Sun and started clawing at his armor with bursts of spark.
Black Sun reached up, grabbed two soldiers by the by the heads, and bashed their skulls together. The Rider flipped up while smashing a kick across two Wraiths, knocking them backward.
Jaguar Undead quickly pounced behind Black Sun and slashed the Rider across the back, armor sparking on impact and knocking the Rider against the Liner.
Jaguar Undead leapt onto the Rider's back and drove a knee hard against his spine. The villain grabbed Black Sun by the head and pulled back hard, nearly snapping the hero's neck.
Nearby, Ryuuki and Kuuga snapped sidekicks at Bat Undead. But the villain snapped its wings to knock their legs away.
Meanwhile, the Guyver bashed a hook kick across Dragonfly Undead's head, chambered his leg back, and snapped a roundkick against the monster's side.
Dragonfly stepped back and turned before backhand swinging his staff, blade sparking against the hero's bio armor.
Dragonfly Undead grabbed the Guyver by throat and shot into the air, flying towards the heart of the city while carrying the Guyver in a choke hold.
Dragonfly dropped the Guyver into the midst of an endless group of Shades that stretched as far as he could see.
The Guyver activated his arm blades and spun past five Shades while tearing open their guts. The warrior leapt forward and bashed a flying sidekick against a soldier's face. The Guyver landed and chopped off another Shade's head.
The soldiers kept pouring against the Guyver. For every Shade he knocked down, a dozen more charged at him.
Meanwhile back on the Go-Liner, Jaguar Undead kept pulling back on Black Sun's head to try and snap the Rider's neck.
Kuuga leapt through the air with a flying kick that smashed Jaguar Undead off of Black Sun. Kamen Rider Kuuga swung a cross punch that smashed across the villain’s head. The Rider followed with a flurry of punches that pounded against the villain’s gut and a sidekick to the chest.
The blows forced Jaguar Undead back, but the villain crouched down, spun, and slashed its claws across Kuuga’s legs with a burst of spark.
The strike knocked Kuuga off his feet, but the Rider quickly flipped back up and smashed a kick across the villain’s head.
Jaguar Undead stumbled backward.
Black Sun leapt onto Kuuga’s shoulders and pushed off while somersaulting through the air towards Jaguar Undead. The Rider’s legs glowed with bright crimson power. "Rider kick!"
The energized drop smashed against Jaguar Undead’s chest plating.
Black Sun landed, but before he could attack again, a group of Shades swarmed around him and clawed against his armor with bursts of spark.
Kamen Rider Black twisted a grunt into an armlock and smashed that soldier against another Shade. The hero spun to the side and smashed a spin kick against another grunt's face.
Meanwhile, Bat Undead smashed a flying tackle against Ryuuki, and the opponents tumbled through the air before crashing against the streets below. They landed in a demolished plaza at the base of a museum that had been torn in half. Smashed cars and debris littered the ground.
On the Liner, Kuuga looked to Black Sun. "Come on."
The two Riders leapt off the Liner and onto the plaza to help Kamen Rider Ryuuki. Jaguar Undead and a group of Shades followed the two heroes downward.
The virtual heroes had leapt off the Go-Liner and onto the war-torn city streets amidst collapsed skyscrapers and buildings. Seemingly endless swarms of Shades and grunts poured fourth from every crack in the debris and charged at the heroes.
Nova White armed her blaster and spun around while firing lances of energy that exploded through Shades with bursts of spark. But her blasts could not keep the villains back long enough.
Shades started clawing at Nova White's armor with bursts of spark.
The virtual warrior blasted through a Shade's chest, clubbed the blaster across another Shade's head, and smashed a roundkick across a third Shade's skull.
Cybertron tried to move to Nova White's aide, but a wall of grunts stood in his way.
"Lighting Laser command, now!" A blue blade of lightning energy formed along the warrior's right forearm.
The virtual warrior started chopping through grunts left and right while his blade tore open their bodies with bursts of spark.
Nearby, Nova Black and Galavan stood side-by-side and looked to the temple in the distance. An endless wall of Shades blocked their path to the structure. So the two virtual warriors pulled out the big guns.
"Tekno Bazooka command, now!" Nova Black shouted. The virtual bazooka materialized over his shoulder and aimed forward.
"VR Shoulder Cannon command, now!" Galavan shouted. A cannon appeared over his right shoulder.
The two warriors opened fire with thundering blasts. Blinding waves of white light shot from the cannons and stretched across the cityscape while vaporizing dozens and hundreds of Shades. Skin and flesh tore from the grunts' bones as their bodies disintegrated into ash.
With a path cleared, the Nova Troopers, Cybertron, SHOC, and Galavan charged across the streets and towards the temple. Shades slowly spilled into their path and dashed towards the heroes to attack.
The massive Saimalord speared its tail through the Lightspeed Megazord's chest. Massive explosions tore across the zord's body with bursts of spark and flame.
The Lightspeed Rangers leapt from the cockpit seconds before the entire zord exploded into pieces. Scraps of fiery shrapnel shot through the air and exploded against the ground while tearing through blankets of grunts.
The Lightspeed team landed next to a burning piece of zord armor, and grunts shrieked at the tops of their demonic lungs while scattering closer to the Rangers.
"V-Lancers!" Rescue Red shouted.
The Lightspeed Rangers stood in a U-shaped formation and opened fire with beams of energy at the approaching grunts. Energy blasts punctured through the soldiers with bursts of spark, knocking them backward.
The Rangers intensified their fire, but more grunts started to pour towards them. It wasn't long before the Rangers' V-Lancers could not hold the Shades back any longer.
A wall of grunts slammed against the Rangers, who fought back hard.
Rescue Red cleaved through a soldier's torso and stabbed his lancer through another grunt's chest.
Rescue Blue stood back-to-back with the Red Ranger and hacked away at every Shade that moved to close.
Rescue Yellow tossed his Lancer aside in favor of his Rescue Baton.
"You fuckers are in for a lot of pain." The Yellow Ranger chopped a soldier's skull in half, turned to his left, and slashed his blade through three more soldiers with bursts of spark.
About 500 Shades leapt from the rooftops and landed near the Lightspeed Rangers.
Rescue Pink turned and fire her Rescue Blaster at the soldiers. Lances of red energy exploded against the Shades, tearing through their ranks as they charged forward.
The Pink Ranger switched her weapon to Baton mode as the villains moved closer.
Rescue Green quickly moved next to Rescue Pink's side with his V-Lancer, and the two rangers started hacking through soldiers left and right. Their weapons sparked on impact while tearing apart Shades, and scattering the grunts' limbs across the streets.
The Mogralord bit down against the V-Rex's arm and forced the zord to the ground. The massive Mogralord started biting and clawing away at the zord, ripping it to shreds with razor-sharp teeth and claws.
Time Fire fell off his zord and crashed against the pavement below.
The Quantum Ranger was at the center of what used to be a highly decorate plaza. The plaza's statues had been reduced to rubble that littered the ground. Pavement and dirt were tore up. Fallen columns of marble were scattered across the ground amidst piles of rubble. And a fountain was gutted in half.
An army of shades poured down what used to be amphitheater steps and charged towards the red-armored Ranger.
Time Fire swung his DV-Defender at the grunts and triggered lances of red energy that exploded against them with bursts of spark.
The Shades moved closer, and Time Fire leapt onto the side of a fallen, tilted column. The Quantum Ranger switched his weapon to blade mode, and Shades leapt onto the column to attack.
Time Fire hacked his blade across a Shade's chest with a burst of spark, which tore open a gaping wound of black ichor.
Three grunts pounced at Time Fire from behind, but the Quantum Ranger turned while slashing across their chests, blade sparking on impact while tearing open the grunts' bodies.
The MegaThunderzord fired a bolt of blue energy from its silver blade. The blast exploded around Mogralord with massive bursts of spark and flame.
The giant demon howled in annoyance and spat a stream of fire at the Paladin.
The MegaThunderzord climbed and banked to avoid the demonic fire stream.
Meanwhile, the IsisMegazord swooped down to attack. The MegaWildzord and Predazord charged side-by-side towards the demon monarch from below.
IsisMegazord disconnected the armadillo zord, which rolled into a ball and charged with fiery energy. Gao Icarus kicked the armadillo from the air, and the small zord shot downward like a fiery missile that exploded against the Mogralord.
"Soul-Charge, Roaring Fury!" Gao Red shouted from the MegaWildzord.
The end of the Soul Bird opened and formed a spinning turbine that shot a blast of golden energy out of the lion's mouth. Each of the animals' mouths opened and fired a pulse of energy. The energy beams combined into a massive wave of power that tore across the streets, ripping a path of destruction towards the Mogralord.
Gao Silver thrust his hands forward from within his cockpit. "Howling Fury!"
The Predazord's gator jaws opened and fired a twirling column of pale-blue energy. The blast howled as it rushed forward with a brilliant flash of power.
Gao Hunter and Gao King's energy blasts combined into a single torrent of energy that splashed against the Mogralord with a massive shockwave that shook the city streets for miles.
The MegaThunderzord hovered down towards the Gao Rangers' zords.
"Simon," Dragon Ranger said from the cockpit. "Get your team to street level and start towards the palace."
"Right," Gao Red said. "But I'm staying in Gao King. You guys won't last long against the Mogralord alone."
Gao White looked to Gao Red. "But Simon..."
"I'll be fine," he said. "You guys go."
The Soul Bird detached and flew towards the heart of the city. The small zord carried Gao White, Gao Yellow, Gao Black, and Gao Blue.
Gao Red remained in Gao King's cockpit. The Red Ranger placed his hands over the control spheres in front of him.
Gao King moved forward to attack and cover the Gao Rangers' escape. "Roaring Fury!" Gao Red shouted.
Each of the animals' mouths opened and fired a pulse of energy. The energy beams combined into a massive wave of power that tore across the streets and exploded against the Mogralord.
Gao Hunter fell back, and Gao Silver leapt from his zord and onto the Soul Bird as it charged towards the demon palace in the distance.
"How much farther?" the Silver Ranger asked.
Gao Yellow looked to his teammate. "We get as close to the temple base as we can."
The Soul Bird streaked towards the palace at high speed. Bolts of purple lightning shot from the skies and exploded against the Soul Bird. The zord tipped over, and the Rangers plummeted downward through the air.
The Rangers crashed against the ground, and the Shades pounced at the fallen Rangers like a whirlwind of claws and nails.
Gao Black flipped to his feet, grabbed two Shades by the heads, and smashed their faces together.
Nearby, Gao Blue powered up his arm blades and spun like a tornado, his weapons sparking through grunts that surrounded him.
The Silver Ranger dashed past a group of Shades and clawed them across their bodies, nails sparking on impact and tearing apart the grunts' demonic flesh.
INTERLUDE: WASHINGTON DC
Nolan stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and faced outward towards the reflection pool.
He summed his saber with a flash of energy. Nolan held tightly onto his cloak with his left hand, and held his saber with his right hand. The warrior narrowed his eyes at the swarm of Shades charging towards him.
The Shades charged up the steps at Nolan.
The warrior twirled his blade in a butterfly pattern, hacking open a group of the demon warriors. Nolan moved down a step and spun forward, slamming a spin kick against a Shade, and sending that grunt tumbling down the steps.
ACT TWO
Rescue Red, Rescue Blue, and the Guyver smashed through a wall, and with a shower of debris, crashed into a demolished subway tunnel. The subway train had slid partway onto the platform and looked like Shades had gutted it.
The three heroes rolled into crouched fighting stances. They looked up to see the Capricorn Undead step through the opening and onto the platform.
The villain hissed and hurled a crescent shaped blade at the heroes. The blades slashed across Rescue Red and Rescue Blue with bursts of spark. But the Guyver managed to flip over the blade, somersault through the air, and slam a drop kick against the monster's chest.
Guyver landed, bashed a roundkick against the monster's side, and smashed a hook punch across its face.
Rescue Red and Rescue Blue rolled back to their feet nearby. The Blue Ranger looked to his leader. "I'm really glad he came on this trip."
"Well we can't let him do all the work," Rescue Red said. "Come on."
Rescue Red ran towards the Undead, and Rescue Blue followed on his leader's heels. More than a leader...my best friend...my brother.
Rescue Red unsheathed his Rescue Baton and thrashed upward across the Undead's body with a burst of spark. The Red Ranger stepped forward and bashed a sidekick against the monster's chest.
Rescue Blue armed his V-Lancer and slashed across the Undead's gut with a burst of spark. The Blue Ranger spun and slashed the monster back again.
The Guyver smashed a jumpkick upside the monster's head, but the Undead grabbed the Guyver by the leg, swung him off his feet, and bashed him against the ground, pavement cracking upon impact.
"Rifle Mode!" Rescue Blue fired a stream of blue energy that exploded against the monster, knocking it off its feet and sending it crashing onto the ground.
But the Capricorn Undead hurled his crescent shaped blade, and the weapon smashed against Rescue Blue's chest with a massive burst of spark that sent him flying off his feet and smashing through a subway train's window.
Rescue Blue crashed inside the train.
Capricorn Undead stalked towards the subway train, but Rescue Red and the Guyver moved to block his path. The villain twirled his blade through an intricate series of butterfly patterns that sparked across the heroes' armor and whipped their bodies backward.
The Undead moved towards the subway and tore off a piece of its side before stepping in. The villain turned towards the fallen Blue Ranger and lifted its blade.
Rescue Blue pounced to his feet, despite his pain and fatigue. The Blue Ranger swung his V-Lancer towards the villain, but Capricorn Undead blocked the blow and slashed Rescue Blue across the chest with a burst of spark.
The villain grabbed Rescue Blue by the neck and hurled him through the train's other wall. Rescue Blue crashed against the subway tunnel and slammed down against the tracks.
Capricorn stepped out of the subway train, lifted it, and hurled it at the fallen Blue Ranger.
Back on street level, Earth's champions had split up even more while on their way towards the temple. Their attack pattern seemed somewhat chaotic and rushed, but it served its purpose: to thin out the bulk of Mogralord's army so the Galaxy and Zeo teams could use their Zodiac power to seal the demon warlord.
A small park nestled in the middle of a city block several miles away from the temple. The dead trees in the park were black and twisted, and the grass was dry and brown. Pieces of debris, gutted park buildings, and smashed statues dotted the park's landscape
The demolished city was visible in every direction.
Ninjayellow, Ninjawhite, Rescue Green, Rescue Pink, Astro Red, Cybertron, and Galavan battled on the park land.
Ninjayellow slashed his sword through a Shade, blade ripping through the grunt with a burst of spark and drawing black ichor from the wound.
The Yellow Ranger stepped back into a defensive stance and looked over his shoulder. Ninjayellow spotted a wave of fresh enemies emerge from the dead trees that surrounded them.
The Soul Hunters came from one side. Hunter Knight, Hunter Taiga, Hunter Sting, Hunter Claw and Hunter Viper slowly stalked towards the gathered heroes.
From another side came a group of Undead monsters: Giraffe Undead, Lizard Undead, Zebra Undead, and Orchid Undead.
Ninjayellow looked to Ninjawhite. "We've got company, darlin."
"I can see that," the White Ranger said. "And don't call me 'darlin.' "
Giraffe Undead extended his massive blades and fired bolts of golden energy that exploded against the heroes and tore through the remaining Shades.
Ninjawhite rolled into a crouched position, and when she looked up, Hunter Knight was already swinging his blade towards her helmet. The White Ranger lifted her sword and blocked the blow, metal clashing against metal while Hunter Knight pushed his sword downward.
"You heroes come in all shapes and forms, but you are all weak," Hunter Knight said.
Ninjawhite knocked his blade aside and jumped up while slashing the villain across the chest. She slashed across his armor while landing and spun forward with her blade aimed towards his neck.
But Hunter Knight parried the blow and smashed the pummel of his sword across her helmet.
Hunter Claw moved in next and slashed his weapon upside Ninjawhite's chest.
"Trini!" Ninjayellow shouted from nearby.
He ran towards her aide, but Hunter Taiga and Hunter Viper blocked his path.
Hunter Taiga smashed his axe across the Yellow Ranger's chest with a burst of spark, and Hunter Sting smashed a roundkick against the Ranger's head.
The Yellow Ranger crashed to the ground and rolled back while pulling out his blaster. "Shogun Blaster!"
The Ranger fired lances of golden energy that Hunter Taiga merely reflected with his axe while he and Hunter Sting stalked forward.
Suddenly, Astro Red and Rescue Green sprang to the Yellow Ranger's aide. Astro Red slashed his Drill Saber across Hunter Taiga's armor, and Rescue Green slashed his V-Lancer across Hunter Sting's chest.
Ninjayellow rose to his feet. Giraffe Undead circled in behind the Ranger and slashed across his back with an x-shaped pattern that sparked on impact and sent the Ranger toppling forward across the ground.
Nearby, Cybertron squared off with Lizard Undead.
The villain swung its tail. Cybertron ducked under the tail, moved in, and smashed a jump roundkick against the villain. The hero pressed forward with a knifehand chop against the neck and a reverse sidekick against the chest.
Lizard Undead hissed with annoyance and swung its claws towards Cybertron's head. The hero blocked the blow and smashed a punch against Lizard Undead's chest plating.
A horseshoe-shaped blade twirled through the air and slashed across Cybertron's back with a burst of spark.
Lizard Undead took advantage of the distraction and smashed its tail across Cybertron's head, whipping him to the ground.
Galavan leapt through the air to help his cybernetic cousin, but Hunter Viper suddenly launched a flying sidekick that smashed Galavan from the air. The virtual warrior landed back-first on the ground nearby, and Hunter Viper landed on his feet.
Meanwhile, Orchid Undead lashed out with tentacles that wrapped around Rescue Pink's neck. The villain sent tendrils of energy along the tentacles, and the energy blasts exploded across the Pink Ranger's armor with a dance of ripping sparks.
The dark corridors of the Angel Grove Central shopping center were cluttered with broken glass, collapsed ceilings, and crumbled upper-floor balconies.
An explosion tore open the side of the mall with a shockwave powerful enough to knock five Rangers inside: Time Red, Time Fire, Time Pink, Gao Silver, and Gao White.
The Rangers crashed and tumbled across the floor.
The Wolf Undead and Lion Undead suddenly leapt from the shadows. The Lion Undead charged past Time Fire and Time Red and slashed them across their armor, blades sparking on impact and whipping the two Rangers back off their feet.
Lion Undead landed, and Time Pink and Gao White charged at the villain. Gao White swung her baton, while Tim Pink chopped down a vector saber.
Lion Undead used his fist blades to knock the weapons away and thrash the two Rangers across the chest, knocking them backward.
Meanwhile Wolf Undead pounced at Gao Silver. The Silver Ranger snapped a jump roundkick that Wolf Undead blocked. The monster stepped forward and clawed upward, nails sparking against the Silver Ranger's armor and whipping his body backward.
Gao Silver hit the ground and immediately rolled into a crouched fighting stance.
"Mockery!" Gao Silver crouched down like a wolf and clawed at the ground. He dug his heels into the dirt and pounced forward like his namesake.
The Silver Ranger dashed past Wolf Undead while slashing his claws across the villain. Gao Silver landed and dashed past the villain again, his claws sparking across Wolf Undead on impact.
Gao Silver landed, turned, and leapt back towards Wolf Undead. The Ranger angled his decent towards the villain and unsheathed his saber/staff weapon. "Lunar Cue!"
Gao Silver landed while slashing his sword across the villain, blade sparking on impact. The Silver Ranger dashed past Wolf Undead and slashed it across the body with a burst of spark.
Gao Silver turned, and slashed across the villain in an x-shaped pattern, each blow sparking across the villain's body. The Ranger stepped forward and chopped his blade twice against Wolf Undead's head, each chop sparking, splitting open the monster's mask.
Wolf Undead stumbled backward and skid across the ground. The villain rolled to a halt and slowly climbed to his feet.
Gao Silver switched his weapon to rifle mode. "Sniper Mode!"
Wolf Undead fired a jagged burst of blue energy. Gao Silver dove over the energy burst and rolled across the ground. The Silver Ranger rolled into a crouched position and held his rifle at the ready.
The Undead fired another jagged energy burst.
Gao Silver leaned back and let the burst pass by him. He leaned forward and triggered a volley of pale-blue energy blasts that streaked through the air and peppered against Wolf Undead with massive bursts of sparks and explosions.
Wolf Undead stood his ground and fired another jagged stream of blue-tinted energy. Gao Silver dove and rolled aside as the blast sparked around him.
The Silver Ranger sprang through the air and hovered past Wolf Undead while firing another volley of pale-blue energy lances. The hyphens of power exploded against Wolf Undead with massive sparks.
Gao Silver landed and switched his Lunar Cue back to staff mode. "Breaker mode!"
Gao Silver swung the weapon, emitting a wave of green energy that bound the monster in place and hung in midair like a table.
The Silver Ranger placed his three animal crystals on the table and used the end of his staff to shoot them forward. The animal crystals burst towards Wolf Undead through streaks of energy and exploded against the monster, puncturing through the creature's armor with massive bursts of spark that drove the creature to its knees.
The gems streaked back, and Gao Silver caught them.
Smoke still rising from his body, Wolf Undead actually laughed and pulled himself to his feet. The villain's armor repaired itself with a flash of dark energy.
Astro Yellow, Time Yellow, and Time Green fought through a swarm of Shades that poured out from nearby alleyways. The temple was visible in the close distance, and the ground shook from the Mogralord's nearby battle with the zords.
Eagle Undead suddenly swooped down from the skies and bashed its feet against Astro Yellow's back, smashing her against the ground.
Time Green and Time Yellow charged at opposite sides of the villain, but Eagle Undead swung out its arms and slashed its claws across the Rangers' armor with bursts of spark, knocking them backward.
Time Green and Time Yellow slowly climbed to their feet, but purple tendrils lashed out from the shadows and wrapped around their bodies.
Jellyfish Undead stepped from the shadows and sent surges of power along the tentacles, and the energy surges exploded against the Rangers' armor with bursts of spark.
Time Yellow grabbed onto the tendrils and used his strength to pull Jellyfish Undead off its feet. The Yellow Ranger smashed a punch against the Undead and knocked it to the ground.
Meanwhile, Astro Yellow rolled across the ground and rolled into a crouched fighting stance while facing Eagle Undead.
"Astro Sling!" The Yellow Ranger fired darts of yellow energy.
But Eagle Undead used its claws to deflect the blasts back at her. The energy darts exploded against her armor with bursts of spark and knocked her off her feet.
About half a block away, Gao Black, Gao Blue, and Astro Pink bashed their way through a group of Shades.
Gao Black tackled a pair of Shades to the ground.
Nearby, Gao Blue thrashed his arm fins across a soldier's chest with a burst of spark.
The Pink Astro Ranger stood at his side and fired rings of pink energy from her Astro Capture. The blast rings tore through a group of Shades with massive bursts of spark.
Suddenly, Mole Undead dug himself up from the ground and thrashed his arm shield upside Astro Pink and Gao Blue's chests with bursts of spark that whipped them backward.
The two Rangers rolled back to their feet while Mole Undead climbed from its hole.
"What is that thing?" Gao Blue stepped back into a defensive stance.
The mole smashed its weapons against the ground, producing a shockwave that tore across the street and exploded beneath Astro Pink and Gao Blue while hurling them into the air.
Another monster, Buffalo Undead, appeared from the swarm of Shades.
Gao Black and Buffalo Undead charged at each other like bulls and tackled against each other with a massive impact that shook the city streets.
Gao Yellow, Rescue Yellow, Ninjablue, and Astro Silver leapt across the damaged rooftops near the temple. They had quickly closed in on the structure while fighting continued to rage below.
But a swarm of demonic hornets suddenly clouded the air and buzzed down towards the approaching Rangers.
The heroes stopped on top of a building that had been torn in half.
"Bugs?" Astro Silver asked. "Are they really going to fight us with bugs?"
Gao Yellow armed his sword and trio of feather darts. "I doubt those are just bugs."
Ninjablue nodded in agreement. "It's Muchizo."
The Blue Ninja Ranger referred to the Devil of Kimon who appeared to be a hunch-backed old man with a small staff. His hunched-back was actually a hive where he could produce thousands and thousands of demonic wasps.
The wasps swarmed down and peppered against the Rangers with bursts of spark.
"Shit!" Rescue Yellow shouted with annoyance and started swatting at the wasps. "This is so damn annoying!"
The Yellow Gao Ranger hurled his feather darts, and they exploded among the wasps with small bursts of flame that incinerated them.
The Blue Ninja Ranger placed his hands together in a ninja pose. "Ninpo water assault!"
Streams of water curved out from behind the Ranger's back and splashed several dozen of the wasps away.
The wasps provided cover for a pair of monsters that leapt onto the damaged roof. The creatures were Undead Peacock and Undead Centipede.
Peacock Undead hurled a bolt of blue fire that exploded against Astro Silver and sent him flying backward. The Silver Ranger crashed through the wall of a nearby building and skid across the floor of a dark office that looked like a tornado had torn through it.
The Undead leapt into the building and landed on the floor near Astro Silver. The Silver Ranger rose to his feet and armed his Silver Blazer in sword mode.
"That was a lucky shot, feather head." Astro Silver snapped into a fighting stance and charged forward.
The Silver Ranger swung his blade towards the monster's head, but the villain caught the blade and slashed its claws across Astro Silver's chest with a burst of spark. Astro Silver spun with the blow and slashed across the monster's chest, blade sparking on impact.
Back on the neighboring roof, Centipede Undead tackled Rescue Yellow to the ground and slashed him across the chest.
"Get the fuck off of me!" Rescue Yellow grabbed the monster by the shoulders, rolled back, and kicked the monster backward.
Centipede Undead flipped through the air and landed in a crouched fighting stance.
Ninjablue charged at the monster from the side. Centipede Undead turned his head and spat a stream of venom that exploded against the Blue Ranger and started to eat at his armor. The Blue Ranger collapsed to his knees and used his sword to steady himself.
Gao Yellow swooped down and armed his Golden Eagle Sword. The Ranger landed while slashing across the monster's body with a burst of spark. The Yellow Ranger pressed forward and slashed across the villain with an intricate series of slashes and thrusts.
Undead Centipede knocked the Yellow Ranger's blade out of his hand and smashed a punch against his gut. The monster pressed forward, grabbed Gao Yellow by the arms, and bit its mandibles against the Ranger's shoulder with bursts of spark.
Kuuga, Black Sun, and Ryuuki squared off with a trio of Undead in the demolished plaza. Undead Jaguar, Undead Dragonfly, and Undead Bat attacked the heroes with merciless fury.
Dragonfly Undead hovered with its wings and hurled its blade down at Black Sun. The blade sparked against his armor and whipped his body backward.
The Kamen Rider crashed against the ground and rolled into a crouched fighting stance. Black Sun looked up, and Dragonfly Undead descended while chopping his blade.
Black Sun high blocked the blow, smashed a punch against the creature’s side, and bashed a roundkick against the villain’s head.
Nearby, Kuuga swung a punch at Jaguar Undead. But the monster used its hyper speed to dash around in a blur of motion and slash the Kamen Rider across the back with a burst of spark.
Meanwhile, Bat Undead flew circles above Ryuuki.
Kamen Rider Ryuuki thrust his wrist gauntlet upward and fired a stream of flame that exploded against the bat monster and knocked it from the air.
The MegaThunderzord was back in its standard warrior mode. The zord thrust its Tenma arm forward and fired a jagged burst of blue energy that exploded across the Mogralord’s body.
MegaThunderzord used its wings to dash aside and fire a burst of fiery Kirin flares that exploded around the Mogralord, distracting the demon.
Mogralord turned its head and fired a stream of flame at the Megazord. That was when Gao King and Gao Icarus chose to strike. Gao Icarus fired stabbing optic blasts from its wing eyes, and Gao King fired another Roaring Fury blast.
The blasts exploded against Mogralord, but the demon lord was barely fazed.
Mogralord launched fiery blades from its body, and those blasts exploded against Gao Icarus and Gao King with massive bursts of spark, knocking the two zords off their feet.
The demon lord pounced towards the fallen Megazords, but the MegaThunderzord swooped down and knocked the Mogralord away.
Within the cockpit, Dragon Ranger looked to his teammates. "Go," he told them. "I'll keep the Megazord moving."
Tenma Ranger, Lion Ranger, Kirin Ranger, and Phoenix Ranger leapt from the cockpit and landed on the streets below before charging towards the temple.
The demon temple’s main gate exploded inward. Tenma Ranger, Lion Ranger, Kirin Ranger, and Phoenix Ranger led the charge into the entry chambers. Two groups of heroes followed from behind: One group was Ninjared, Ninjablack, Phantom Ranger, and SHOC, and the second group was the two Nova Troopers, Time Blue, Astro Blue, and Astro Black.
The wide chamber was barely lit with eerie-white candles that hovered in midair. The walls and ceiling were not visible in the shadows, but an inner gate was deeper within the chamber. The wide gate was four stories tall and shaped like the jaws of a beast.
The immortal Devil of Kimon named Gemma stood between the heroes and the gates.
Lion Ranger looked to the other heroes. "Head for the gates. We'll cover you."
Lion Ranger, Tenma Ranger, Kirin Ranger, and Phoenix Ranger stepped back into fighting stances as the other heroes past through the inner gates.
Gemma lifted his left hand, which pulsed with dark light, summoning three Undead monsters from the shadows: Tarantula Undead, Boar Undead, and Elephant Undead.
Tenma Ranger armed his nunchuku. "Oh, this will be fun," he said sarcastically. "This will be reeeeal fun."
Tarantula Undead thwipped a web line that wrapped around Tenma Ranger's neck and snapped him off his feet, pulling him through the air.
The Blue Ranger used the momentum to his advantage and slammed a kick against the monster, used the kick as a foot hold, pivoted, and spin kicked his other leg across the creature's head.
Tenma Ranger landed and snapped a jump roundkick that cracked against the villain's head, knocking the monster off its feet.
Meanwhile the Boar Undead pounced towards Kirin Ranger and Phoenix Ranger. The two Rangers thrust their hands forward. "Ki!"
An invisible Kiryoku blast of immense power shot forth and smashed against Boar Undead like a tidal wave of unstoppable energy. The blast knocked Boar Undead from the air, bashed him against the ground, and sent him skidding backward.
Boar Undead rolled through a backward somersault and landed in a crouched fighting position.
Behind the Boar, Lion Ranger and Elephant Undead circled around each other. The villain twirled three chain whips, each tipped with a mace.
The villain bellowed a mocking laugh. "I finally meet the Ranger of Light? Quite a disappointment."
"Lion Staff!" Lion Ranger twirled his dark-green staff into a fighting stance and charged towards his opponent.
Elephant Undead swung his three maces at Lion Ranger, but the Green Ranger twirled his staff to deflect the weapons. Spinning forward, the Ranger smashed the end of his staff across the monster's head.
Lion Ranger slammed a roundkick against the Undead's side and speared his staff against the villain's mask.
Meanwhile, Kirin Ranger charged towards Boar Undead to attack, but Gemma sprang from the side and tackled against the Yellow Ranger, knocking him of his feet. Kirin Ranger slammed against the ground and slid backward.
"Billy!" Phoenix Ranger dashed towards him, but particles of dust blew out from the shadows and exploded against her armor, whipping her body backward.
The Devil of Kimon named Sakuro stepped from the shadows.
Phoenix Ranger rose to her feet and armed a ring-shaped Star Blade, but Sakuro extended her hand and fired a stream of dust particles that exploded against her armor and knocked her back off her feet.
Meanwhile Boar Undead pounced towards Tenma Ranger's back.
Tenma Ranger smashed a kick against Tarantula Undead and turned to face the incoming Boar Undead. The Blue Ranger cursed beneath his breath. "Like I needed two of you…"
Tenma Ranger sidestepped and bashed a tornado kick across the Undead's head. The Blue Ranger pressed forward and bashed his nunchuku across the villain's face. The Blue Ranger smashed a sidekick against the Boar and spun an intricate series of swings that bashed against the monster.
Boar Undead spun backward with the blows and smashed his forearm blades against the Ranger's chest with bursts of spark.
"Tenma Flash Kick!" Tenma Ranger spun to kick the Boar, but a web line wrapped around his ankle and whipped him off his feet.
Tarantula Undead swung the Ranger through the air and smashed him against the ground.
Ninjared, Ninjablack, and SHOC ran through a corridor that was large enough to hold a string of three-story houses. Massive columns lined the edges of the shadowy hallway, which seemed to vanish into the darkness from both ends.
A chain suddenly lashed out from the shadows, wrapped around the Black Ranger's neck, and pulled him upward off his feet.
Ninjablack unsheathed his sword and slashed through the chain with a burst of spark. He somersaulted downward through the air and landed on the stone floor.
The Devil of Kimon known as Shijima slowly rose from a shadow along the wall and retracted his chain. The villain hurled a volley of throwing blades that Ninjablack flipped backward to avoid.
A blur of motion suddenly shot towards Shijima. The blur materialized into the Phantom Ranger, who smashed a flying kick against the villain, knocking him from the wall.
The Phantom Ranger landed, and the Devil of Kimon sunk back into the shadows.
Ninjared unsheathed his sword. "Stay alert guys..."
Ninjablack, Ninjared, and SHOC stood back-to-back in a wheel formation. The Phantom Ranger activated his cloak and blended back in with the shadows.
But suddenly, the floor collapsed between the heroes feet and sent them tumbling downward through the darkness.
The champions somersaulted through the drop to slow their descent and slammed against a floor of black stone. They stood in the center of a large, dark plaza with massive demonic gates and stone columns lining the walls. The plaza's stone had deteriorated and chipped away in many places, making the area seam centuries old.
The heroes climbed back to their feet and armed their weapons.
"Hey, Jase," Ninjablack said. "Let's not do that again, man."
Shadows slithered across the floor, ceiling, and walls as if alive. A
An army of demonic zombies dressed in samurai-style armor rose from the shadows. Their armor was gray and black, and they carried various weapons, from spears and staffs to sai, swords, and spiked nunchuku.
Two red-armored samurai arose from the shadows as well, but they were mounted on demonic horses with blood red eyes and curving fangs that dripped with black salvia. The samurai themselves had trickles of flame lashing out from behind their mask.
Shijima had this zombie army under his control.
The zombies charged forward and attacked.
Ninjared placed his right hand against his left palm in a ninja-like stance. "Ninpo fire assault!"
Comets of flame circled around from behind Ninjared and blasted through a group of zombie samurai with a massive explosion of energy that tore the creatures apart with bursts of flame and smoke.
Ninjablack dashed through the smoke and slashed his sword through a trio of zombies, blade sparking on impact and tearing the creatures opened.
The Black Ranger spun past a small group of zombies, leapt straight into the air, and shot back down in a blur of motion while hacking those villains apart with an intricate series of saber swings and strikes.
Meanwhile Ninjared rolled aside to avoid the swing of a zombie's staff. The Red Ranger crouched and leapt upward while slashing his sword up through that zombie's chest.
The Red Ranger landed and swung his sword through an arc that sliced off three zombies' heads.
A zombie horse-rider charged towards the Red Ranger and swung a double-bladed staff at his head.
Ninjared lifted his sword and blocked the blow, but the impact knocked him off his feet and sent him rolling backward.
Meanwhile, SHOC surrounded his fists with dark-purple and black energy. The hero started hurling bolts of black energy that exploded through zombies with bursts of spark that tore their bodies apart.
"You guys are putting too much effort into it," SHOC said as he hurled another volley of energy bolts at the zombies.
The cavern plaza started to shake as the demonic gates opened.
The heroes looked to see four giant figures step into the plaza. Each giant was two-stories tall. Their skin was sickly yellow with patches of black and gray, and they wore dull-gray plates of armor around vital parts of their bodies. Their heads looked like elongated versions of misshapen triceratops dinosaurs.
The four giants carried massive, spiked clubs.
Ninjablack shook his head and looked to his leader. "Can we go home yet?"
The two Nova Troopers, Time Blue, Astro Blue, and Astro Black ran through a winding corridor within the temple. The arched corridor was narrow and lined with black brick. Dots of white light seemed to radiate through the walls and cast a dim, pale glow.
The heroes ran through the corridor as fast as possible. From behind, a rushing wave of serpents poured through the passage and hissed while pursuing the heroes.
Astro Blue looked to his teammate. "We have to find someplace to regroup."
Astro Black activated his helmet icon and looked to the ground. "There's an empty chamber below us. We can blast our way down."
Nova White looked to the Ranger. "What's to stop them from following us down?"
"Nothing," Astro Black said. "But at least we'd have more room to maneuver."
Nova Black shook his head. "We can blow the ceiling. That should give us the time we need." He looked to Nova White and drew his blaster. "Kaitlin..."
Nova Black and Nova White turned towards the snakes and leapt backwards while firing their blasters against the ceiling. The blasts exploded against the ceiling, which collapsed upon impact.
Astro Blue and Astro Black fired their blasters against the ground, creating a shockwave that tore the corridor out from underneath them.
The heroes fell through the opening and plummeted downward. They splashed into knee-deep water that covered a wide area which appeared almost like a sewer, only the walls were covered with demonic patterns and designs.
The team rose to their feet within the water. The chamber they were in seemed to web out in several different directions.
"Which way?" Astro Blue asked.
No one had a chance to answer. Dozens of humanoid-sized raptor-like demons sprang from the waters and pounced at the heroes.
A creature slashed its claws across Time Blue's armor with a burst of spark, and the blow whipped him off his feet and sent him splashing back-first into the waters. A demon pounced on the fallen Blue Ranger and started clawing at him, holding him beneath the water.
Time Blue downloaded his Vector Sabers and slashed the weapons upward in an x-shaped pattern that sparked against the demon and knocked him backward. The Blue Ranger flipped back to his feet and hacked a duo of demon creatures away.
Meanwhile, a creature bit down hard on Nova Black's arm, and the demon's teeth pierced through his armor with bursts of spark. The Nova Trooper screamed and speared his saber through the creature's throat.
Astro Blue and Astro Black stood back-to-back and armed their weapons. The Black Ranger smashed his staff across a creature's head, and the Blue Ranger thrashed his weapon across a creature's body.
Nearby, White Trooper downloaded her blaster, but a demon creature knocked the weapon from her hand and clamped its jaws down on the Trooper's arm. The creature whipped Nova White off her feet and pushed her beneath the water.
The Beetle Borgs, Zeo Rangers, and Galaxy Rangers descended the lower caverns. Dark brick lined the slick walls. Mist gathered beneath their feet like a blanket of fog. The rumble of battle above shook the corridor by its foundation.
Zeoblue looked up at the ceiling as small pieces of debris shook loose. "Sounds intense."
They moved further through the passage and towards the demon temple. But a group of Wraiths and Shades suddenly poured through the corridor in front of them and blocked their path.
"Break!" Galaxy Red shouted as the Rangers pounced forward to attack.
Zeored took the point, trapping a Wraith's staff between his left arm and hip while spinning to his right and slamming a right elbow across that soldier's head. He followed with a sidekick that pushed that soldier backwards.
Zeogreen came in close behind Zeored and slammed a round kick against a soldier's chest, followed by a hook punch across the head.
Two Wraiths placed their staffs in an 'x' formation to block Zeored's advance, but he knocked their staffs away and stepped forward while slamming a right round kick against the soldier to his left. He snapped that leg immediately to his right with a hook kick across the second soldier's head.
Zeored continued his momentum. He outer blocked a soldier's staff and slammed a ridge-hand blow against that soldier's neck before stepping forward with a reverse sidekick against another soldier's chest.
Zeored armed his Star Riser sword and dashed forward while slicing a soldier through the chest with a burst of spark. Another group of Wraiths came swinging towards him with their staffs. Zeored parried a blow before slicing that soldier diagonally. He turned to his right to parry another strike and cut that soldier down as well.
A group of Shades closed in behind Zeored, so he jumped around while smashing against them with a roundhouse kick before dashing forward with a horizontal strike with his sword.
Meanwhile, Galaxy Blue hurled a soldier to the ground and dropped while slamming an elbow against the grunt's body, smashing its chest.
A demon soldier moved towards Galaxy Blue while the Blue Ranger was still on the ground. The grunt swung its blade downward.
Galaxy Blue snapped out his leg and knocked the saber aside. He rolled across the ground while knocking the legs out from the soldier. The Blue Ranger slammed his elbow against the fallen grunt's neck, crushing the soldier's throat.
Nearby, Zeoblue and Zeoyellow dove over a pair of staff strikes and rolled across the ground, only to be met by another group of Wraiths.
"I hate these bloody things." Zeoblue rose while flipping a Wraith over his shoulder.
"I didn't notice." Zeoyellow pushed forward with a flurry of kick combinations.
Nearby, Galaxy Green leapt through the air with the grace of a mighty bird and swung his legs outward. He bashed his heels against a soldier's chest and pushed off, flipping backward and crashing his heels against two more of the grunts.
Zeogreen and Zeopink stood back to back as a group of Wraiths surrounded them.
Zeogreen high blocked a staff, spun forward, and slammed his elbow across a soldier's head. Zeopink swung her hands in a circular formation, blocking a staff and slamming a palm-heel blow against a Wraith's chest.
Meanwhile, Galaxy Yellow pushed a fallen demon soldier across the ground while shouting "Ya-tatatatatatatata!"
Galaxy Pink pushed a second fallen demon straight forward towards the Yellow Ranger. The two Rangers slammed the soldiers against each other and rolled aside.
Shades surrounded KuroKishi nearby. The Black Knight swung his blade twice to slash open the first three demon soldiers. KuroKishi never broke his pace as he kept moving forward, parrying the grunts' curved saber strikes with his own blade. Steel rang against steel as the Black Knight knocked their weapons aside and thrashed open their bodies, his blade sparking on impact..
One of the grunts swung its blade towards KuroKishi. The Black Knight high blocked the blow and pushed the soldier's saber down before slashing upward through the grunt's chest with a burst of spark.
KuroKishi spun past two soldiers while whirling his blade in a butterfly pattern. Sparks ripped across the soldiers' bodies as they crashed to the ground.
Two spheres of flame exploded against KuroKishi with bursts of spark and knocked him off his feet. The Black Knight rolled backward and stood in a crouched fighting stance. He looked up to see Hell Rider Hibiki standing in the shadows.
Hibiki had his twin batons aimed forward, and tendrils of flame licked the weapons edges.
"You again!" KuroKishi armed his rifle and fired bursts of green energy that Hibiki merely leapt over.
The Hell Rider landed just as Zeored and Galaxy Red moved towards the villain and swung their swords at its body.
Hibiki knocked the blades away and bashed a flurry of high-speed kicks against the two Red rangers, knocking them backwards and sending them crashing against the corridor wall.
"Blast, he's fast," Zeored cursed beneath his breath.
Hell Rider Eiki pounced from the shadows nearby and smashed a kick against Zeo Gold's back. The Gold Ranger stumbled forward but kept his balance and swung his staff around. The weapon slashed against the villain's chest with a burst of spark. Zeo Gold sidestepped and smashed a kick against the villain.
Zeogreen moved in next and swung one of his two axe weapons at the villain's head. Eiki blocked the blow and smashed a punch against the Green Ranger's faceplate.
Zeoblue smashed a flying kick against the villain, but Eiki smashed the back of his fist across the Ranger's helmet.
Two Undead monsters stepped from the shadows nearby: Kerberos and Undead Deer.
Deer Undead armed two antler-style blades and dashed past the four Beetle Borgs while slashing across their armor with bursts of spark.
"Metallix saber!" Electric Bronze armed his sword and parried a series of blows from the Undead, but the monster knocked the blade aside and thrashed across the Borg's armor.
Zeoyellow, Zeopink, Galaxy Blue, Galaxy Green, and Galaxy Pink moved to help the Borgs, but Kerberos spat a wad of venom that exploded against their armor and knocked them backward.
Warlock slowly waved his knife over the Triforian princess's naked breast. The blade pulsed with dark energy, and the tablet beneath his feet hummed with evil power.
The villain grinned with fiendish delight.
Clouds above started to twirl, and the circular gates of Hell began to appear within those clouds. Each gate was a vortex of dark power with fiery symbols around their edges.
"Shit." Dragon Ranger cursed in his cockpit when he saw the Hell Gates form in the skies above. "We're running out of time..."
The Red Ranger pulled out two Thunder Gems.
"Shadow Dragon! White Tiger! Arise!" Dragon Ranger shouted while holding the black and white Thunder Gems.
The medieval-styled Shadow Dragon swooped down from the skies. The creature's body and wings were covered in glistening black armor.
The White Tigerzord stomped onto the city streets. The Thunderzord was covered in black-trimmed white armor.
"White Tiger, Rise up!" Dragon Ranger shouted as the zord assumed its warrior form.
"Shadow Dragon, rise up!" The Shadow Dragon assumed its warrior form. Its black wings extended behind its back, and the head of the dragon was on its chest.
The MegaThunderzord fired a volley of Kirin Flares and Tenma Pulse blasts that exploded around the Mogralord to give the latest zord arrivals cover.
"White Tigerzord..." Dragon Ranger called. White energy enveloped around the Tigerzord as it shot towards the sky in a comet of energy.
"Shadow Dragonzord..." Dark energy surrounded the Shadow Dragon. The zord shot towards the sky like a comet.
The white and back comets of power started to circle around each other while they streaked across the skies.
"...armor merge to..."
The two zords crackled and surged with energy and started to merge. Sharp, dark armor plating covered key areas of the zord with flashes of dark light. A black helmet snapped into position over the zord's head. The dragon's wings connected to the Tiger's back. And the dragon's head armor formed a gauntlet on the zord's right hand.
"...Shadow Tigerzord!"
The Shadow Tiger swooped towards the Mogralord to attack.
"Roaring Fire!" Shadow Tiger extended its gauntlet and fired rings of sonic energy containing a massive stream of black fire that exploded against the Mogralord with bursts of spark and flame.
"Kirin Flares!" MegaThunderzord moved in from the other side and fired flame-like spheres of distortion energy that shot towards the Mogralord like missiles.
"Tenma Pulse!" MegaThunderzord fired a jagged wave of blue energy.
The combined attacks exploded against the Mogralord, and the demon monarch responded by breathing a stream of flame that exploded against the two zords and knocked them backward.
"MegaThunderzord..." Dragon Ranger said. "Armor up!"
Cyan energy flashed across the zord as it shot upward and passed through a ring of power that sent blankets of energy splashing across its armor. Blue-trimmed silver armor flashed into existence around the Megazord and its wings. A long, double-edged broad sword of silver appeared in the zord's hand.
"MegaThunderzord...Paladin mode!" the Ranger shouted from within his cockpit.
The Paladin swooped down and chopped its blade at the Mogralord. Mogralord caught the blade between his jaws, sending an energy backlash exploding against the Paladin. The villain snapped his head back and tossed the Megazord aside like a rag doll.
The Paladin used its wings to stop in midair and swoop around to face the Mogralord.
"Star Saber, Divine Justice!" Dragon Ranger shouted. The saber radiated in white/blue energy. Paladin swung the sword through a quick horizontal arc with a streak of power that exploded against Mogralord's body.
The demon lord roared with anger. The villain fired bursts of magma missiles from his jaw, and the missiles exploded against the Megazord with massive bursts of flame that knocked the Paladin from the sky.
Mogralord crouched to pounce at the fallen Megazord, but the IsisMegazord swooped down towards the villain from his side.
"Giraffe spear, strike!" Gao Red shouted from Gao King.
Gao Icarus swung the spear forward. The weapon's tip energized with a fiery power and energy that thrust ahead. The energy spear crashed against the Mogralord with a massive burst of energy, but the villain merely used his tail to swat Gao Icarus from the air.
Paladin rose back to its feet nearby.
"MegaThunderzord, Paladin mode..." Dragon Ranger called. Blue energy enveloped the Megazord as it shot towards the sky in a comet of energy.
"Shadow Tigerzord..." Dark energy surrounded the Shadow Dragon. The zord shot towards the sky like a comet.
The white and back comets of power started to circle around each other while they streaked across the skies.
"...armor merge to..."
The two zords crackled and surged with energy and started to merge. A slender suit of silver armor covered the zord's organic-looking, red-scaled armor. Intricate gold symbols were etched across the zord's chest plate. Two pairs of gold-trimmed red wings extended from the back of the zords. Its right gauntlet was the head armor of the Shadow Dragon, and his left gauntlet was the head armor of the Tigerzord. A double-edged, silver blade slid from the jaw of the Shadow Dragon.
"OmniThunderzord!" Dragon Ranger shouted from within the cockpit.
The rock-covered-demon Tessai used both hands to grab the Blue and Green Turbo Rangers and bash their heads through a nearby brick wall.
Turbo Red and Turbo Yellow leapt at the villain’s back with their ViBlades, but the demon's double-bladed staff boomeranged through the air and slashed the two Rangers across their backs.
The two Rangers crashed against the ground, and Tessai caught his blade.
Turbo Red weakly rose to his feet and limped over to Turbo Blue, while Pink Racer laid down covering fire with her Wind Fire bow. The blasts exploded harmlessly against Tessai with bursts of spark.
Blue Racer rose to his feet and limped over to his leader. "We can't hold out against this guy much longer, man. If we tell him that, you think he'll leave?"
"Give it a try," Red Racer said. "I'm sure it will be just as effective as everything else we're doing."
Tessai charged towards the Red and Blue Turbo Rangers like a train and spun his blade like a propeller. The two Rangers barely managed to dive aside and avoid the blow.
The Rangers rolled back to their feet and regrouped.
"Auto Blasters!" Red Racer and the others pulled out their side arms. "Punisher mode!"
The Rangers fired powerful beams of golden energy that exploded against Tessai with bursts of spark, but the villain was hardly dented.
Tessai ran through the explosions and tackled the Rangers aside, sending them flying through the air and crashing against nearby walls.
Tessai lifted Turbo Pink by the throat and started to squeeze.
"No!" Turbo Blue shouted as he ran to her aid. "Put her down, or I'll turn you into gravel!"
Tessai swung his blade, and the weapon swatted Blue Racer aside with a burst of spark.
The demon looked to Red Racer and laughed. "Your friends are just as weak as you! I want you to watch closely as I kill them, because you will die last!"
Tessai laughed mockingly, a loud booming sound that shook the nearby walls.
Turbo Red armed his ViBlade and charged towards the villain. "Just keep laughing, chubby."
Red Racer flipped forward, somersaulted through the air, and landed on Tessai's chest while driving his blade through the villain's open mouth. Tessai gagged, and Turbo Red sent a surge of energy through the blade that erupted inside the demon, causing his entire body to explode with a burst of flame and debris.
The shockwave crashed against all five Turbos and sent them skidding across the ground.
Turbo Red moaned with pain and rose to his feet while using his sword to steady himself. "Let's not do that again for a looong time."
The Rangers regrouped but heard what sounded like a stampede suddenly close in all around them. Countless Shades, Wraiths, and Gooclones closed in towards the end of the alley and the rooftops all around.
INTERLUDE: NEW YORK CITY
The Spider leapt from the rooftops and used his grapplers to swing and rescue a pair of lovers from a falling piece of debris.
Hordes of Shades were wreaking havoc on the city, and the last remaining member of the Spider Ninja Clan was doing his part to help get as many people to safety.
"Heads up!" The Spider landed in the middle of Times Square and bashed a double-flip kick upside a pair of grunts heads.
Several dozen Shades closed in around The Spider and hissed while charging towards the hero. "Oh, come on…did you guys really need back up?"
INTERLUDE: TOKYO
Commander Kruger led a squad of black-armored soldiers through the city streets. They swung their energy rifles and fired bursts of blue-tinted plasma that exploded through grunts, tearing them in half.
But dozens more of the creatures seemed to appear every second.
"Fan out!" Kruger shouted to his men while firing his own rifle. "It's going to be a long fight!"
ACT THREE
Already worn from their battle with Tessai, the Turbo Rangers looked up to see thousands of Shades and Wraiths approaching. The demon creatures were intent on entering the secret passage and pursuing the Galaxy and Zeo teams.
Pink Racer shook her head. "Impossible...look at all them..."
Blue Racer tightened his grip on his ViBlade and took a step back. "There's too many of them...no way we can fight them all."
Turbo Red narrowed his brow beneath his helmet as he stared ahead at the unstoppable force. He held his ViBlade high and took a step forward.
"Guys," he said boldly. "We can't let them pass. If they get through, they stop the Galaxy and Zeos, and the whole universe loses."
Turbo Green shook his head. "What do you suggest we do?"
"We fight," Turbo Red said. "And we keep fighting. Everyone else, the other heroes, they may think we're jokes. Hell, look at our outfits...but we're not... we are Rangers. And it's time to show the world why."
The grunts charged forward, and the Rangers smashed full-force against them. The grunts quickly surrounded the Turbos and split them up while clawing at their armor. The battle raged for 15 minutes.
Turbo Blue and Turbo Pink managed to stand back-to-back and twirl their weapons through intricate fighting patterns while slashing through the villains.
"I love you," Blue Racer said. "You know that, right?"
"I do," she said. "I love you too…"
They felt their strength draining and their armor weakening. Turbo Green and Turbo Yellow had already been forced to the ground, and grunts piled on top of them. It wasn't long before Blue Racer and Pink Racer were forced to the ground too. The four of them lost their struggle, and their lives.
Nearby, Turbo Red ignored the pain and kept swinging. His blade pierced through a Wraith's collar bone. He swept the sword backward, decapitating a Shade. In the meantime he could feel another soldier rip across his back, tearing his uniform and ripping his flesh.
His armor sparked from the power drain, burning his body, but he kept moving forward, swinging, chopping at anything that moved. He surrendered himself to The Power. He turned into a living weapon, stabbing, swinging, cleaving the enemy with a massive display of force and speed.
He buried his fatigue, buried the grief of his teammates' death, and turned himself into a weapon.
His visor shattered, and his helmet was smashed off his head. Blood trickled down Luke's forehead. He pressed forward, a sly grin spreading across his face. I suppose this isn't a bad way to go down…
A fist smashed across Luke's head, and he crashed against the ground. His last act was to aim his blaster at the entrance to the passage and fire, creating a cave in that blocked the tunnel entrance.
A Shade's claws dug through the Ranger's unprotected throat.
Capricorn Undead hurled the subway train at Rescue Blue, who had fallen on the subway tracks. The train smashed against the Blue Ranger and snapped several of his ribs.
The monster leapt onto the tracks and stalked towards the train.
But the Guyver leapt down, smashed his heels against the monster’s shoulders, and pushed off. The hero flipped through the air, landed against the side of the tunnel, and pushed back off towards the monster while bashing a spin kick across the villain’s head.
The Guyver landed and snapped out his arm blades. The hero slashed the blades across the monster with bursts of spark and smashed a spin kick against the monster’s chest.
The Guyver swung a punch at the Undead, but the monster grabbed the hero by the wrist and slashed across his chest. The blow sparked on impact and whipped the Guyver off his feet.
From behind the monster, Rescue Red leapt onto the tracks and swung his V-Lancer towards the monster’s body. The Undead blocked the blow and slashed through the Lancer, snapping it in half with a burst of spark while slashing across the Ranger’s armor.
The blow forced Rescue Red back a step.
And meanwhile, the Guyver flipped back to his feet and dashed at the villain. The hero spun towards the monster like a cyclone with his arm blades extended outward, and the weapons slashed against the Undead with bursts of spark upon impact.
Rescue Red tossed his broken V-Lancer aside and charged at Capricorn Undead with a roundkick against the side, and a flurry of punches against its chest.
The Undead grabbed Rescue Red by the wrist, pulled him back, and swung him against the Guyver. The two heroes crashed against the ground and stumbled backward.
Capricorn Undead stepped on Rescue Red’s chest and slashed across his helmet with a burst of spark. The blow sent a wave of dizziness and nausea across the Red Ranger’s body.
"Leave him alone!" a voice shouted from the side. The villain looked to see Junior stumble from the train. The teen limped while clutching onto his injured shoulder. His morpher looked like it had overloaded from power strain, rendering him incapable of morphing back into Rescue Blue.
Capricorn Undead reached his arm back to hurl his blade at Junior, but Rescue Red managed to aim his Rescue Blaster up and fire lances of red energy that exploded against the creature with bursts of spark, sending the villain stumbling backward.
Guyver flipped back to his feet nearby and bashed a flurry of kick combinations against the monster, each blow forcing him further back.
Capricorn Undead dropped his blade while the Guyver kept smashing kick after kick against the villain.
Capricorn Undead stumbled backward but kept its balance.
The Guyver chose that moment to pry open his chest plate and release the power within. "Mega smasher!"
A torrent of energy shot forth and incinerated the monster with a massive burst of spark and flame.
The Guyver sighed and collapsed to his knees, his powers weakening from constant use. Rescue Red and Junior went to his side and helped him to his feet, but they were not in any better shape.
"Thanks," Rescue Red said.
"Don't mention it," the Guyver said.
Spots of shadow suddenly crept across the ground and surrounded the heroes. Dozens of demonic creatures leapt out from those shadows. The crab-like grunts had sickly yellow skin coated with slime, and needle-sharp arms and legs.
Rescue Red held his hand across Junior. "Stay back!"
The Red Ranger gripped his blaster and fired lances of red energy that exploded through the creatures. But his single blaster could not stop the onslaught of creatures from charging forward, and dozens more of the grunts were appearing from the shadows.
Fear welled up inside of Junior's throat. Not fear for himself. But what about the rest of his friends? His team was his family.
The Guyver snapped his arm blades into position and blew steam from the vents on his mouthpiece. His head piece hummed as it lit up.
Ninjayellow blocked a flurry of quick strikes from Giraffe Undead. The monster whirled its two blades through an intricate pattern of swings that forced the Yellow Ranger back without giving him time to counter attack.
The Undead knocked the Ranger's blade aside and slashed a sword across Ninjayellow's chest with a burst of spark. Ninjayellow spun back with the blow and stayed on his feet.
But the Undead pushed forward and scissor chopped across the Ranger's chest with a burst of spark that whipped him off his feet.
Ninjayellow flipped back onto his feet and leapt at the Undead. The Ranger jumped over the monster while kicking it on the shoulders and pushing off. While in midair, the Yellow Ranger turned to face the creature.
"Ninpo lightning assault!" Ninjayellow fired jagged bursts of yellow lightning that exploded around the monster with bursts of spark.
But the Undead held its blades together and thrust them forward, firing a beam of golden energy that exploded against Ninjayellow and swatted him from the air.
Meanwhile, Hunter Knight held his blade forward and charged towards Ninjawhite to attack.
Ninjawhite swung her sword at the villain, and their blades clashed against each other. The opponents pressed their sword against each other hard.
But Hunter Knight knocked Ninjawhite's sword away and slammed the handle of his weapon against her faceplate.
Ninjawhite fell backward and rolled across the ground. She rose to her knees, and Hunter Knight rushed forward with his sword swinging. Ninjawhite parried each blow while stepping back. She countered with a swing of her own that Hunter Knight parried, and the force of his parry knocked the Ranger aside.
The two circled around each other as Ninjawhite adjusted her grip on her sword. She charged forward and swung her blade horizontally. Hunter Knight knocked her weapon aside and thrashed the Ranger across the back with a burst of spark.
Ninjawhite fell forward into a somersault and rose to her knees, turning back to face the villain while pulling her sidearm.
"Shogun Blaster!" She fired lances of golden energy at the villain.
Hunter Knight knocked the Ranger's blasts away with his sword. The villain extended his hand and fired jagged beams of crimson energy that wrapped around Ninjawhite. He used his hold to drag the Ranger across the ground and slam her around, using the energy tendrils like a whip.
Hunter Knight released his grasp on Ninjawhite and fired a cyan-tinted energy burst that exploded against her armor.
Hunter Claw sprang out as if from nowhere and grabbed the White Ranger's neck with a pincer claw. The villain hurled Ninjawhite off her feet, and she crashed against a nearby tree.
Nearby, Cybertron faced off with Zebra Undead and Lizard Undead.
The virtual warrior leapt against the side of tree and pushed off while bashing a spin kick against the two monsters.
Cybertron landed, smashed a sidekick against Lizard Undead, and smashed a knifehand blow against the monster's neck.
Zebra Undead pounced at the warrior from behind and wrapped its arms around Cybertron. The villain hurled Cybertron off his feet, and the hero crashed against a nearby tree.
Cybertron smashed against the ground and immediately rolled back to a void a tail-whip strike from Lizard Undead.
The hero sprang back through the air and aimed his descent towards Zebra Undead. "Lightning hand command, now!"
Cybertron's hand energized with blue-tinted energy and plunged through Zebra Undead's chest with a massive burst of spark. Cybertron pulled his hand free and bashed a hook kick across the Undead's head, dropping the creature to the ground.
Zebra Undead's energy overloaded and exploded with a burst of blue flame.
But Lizard Undead snuck in besides Cybertron and twisted the hero's arm behind his back. The villain lifted Cybertron and bashed him against the ground.
Nearby, Galavan noticed his cousin getting thrown down. But the blue-armored warrior was too busy with Hunter Viper to help Cybertron.
Galavan snapped a spin kick that Hunter Viper ducked under, and the villain smashed a flurry of kick and punch combinations against the warrior's armor, each blow sparking on impact.
The virtual warrior spun with the last kick and slashed his saber across Hunter Viper's chest with a burst of spark. Galavan pushed forward with a flurry of saber strikes that took the villain off guard and thrashed across his armor.
Galavan stepped back into a fighting pose.
"Laser saber command, now!" Galavan energized his weapon with blue tinted energy and swung through a powerful horizontal arc.
The swing emitted an energy pulse that tore through Hunter Viper's midsection and ripped the villain in half with tearing sparks that consumed his body. Hunter Viper crashed backward and exploded.
Galavan looked over his shoulder to Lizard Undead before dashing to his cousin's aid. But the villain whipped its tail across Galavan's head and sent the warrior flying of his feet. Galavan shattered through a tree trunk and slammed against the ground while skidding backward.
Lizard Undead kneeled down to pounce at Galavan, but Cybertron sprang to his feet and tackled the monster away.
Cybertron and the Undead grabbed hold of each other and beat each other while tumbling across the ground away from Galavan.
But Lizard Undead gained the upper hand and bit away a chunk of Cybertron's shoulder armor. Cybertron screamed in pain, and the opponents rolled away from each other.
Cybertron rolled into a crouched fighting stance and raised his uninjured arm. "Lightning Laser command, now!"
A lightning-laser blade appeared alongside his forearm, but before he could use it, Lizard Undead speared its tail through Cybertron's chest, puncturing through his armor and circuitry.
Cybertron screamed with pain, but struggled forward, determined not to die without taking his opponent down with him.
Lizard Undead hissed with annoyance. "You're not even human…"
"I'm more human than you'll ever be." Cybertron chopped his forearm blade down, and the weapon cleaved through Lizard Undead. The villain crashed backward and exploded with a massive burst of flame.
Cybertron collapsed, and Galavan was immediately at his side.
"Ryan…" Galavan said. "You're going to be okay. This is fixable…"
Cybertron shook his head. "No…it's over. Just…help the others…"
Cybertron's body sparked as his systems overloaded and died down.
Galavan rolled his hands into fists and bit back his screams, turning his grief into raw anger. The hero looked up to see Orchid Undead overwhelming Rescue Pink nearby. And a leftover Shade was charging towards the Pink Ranger as well.
Galavan leapt through the air and past the Shade while kicking the grunt in the shoulder, dropping the creature to the ground before pushing off and somersaulting through the air towards Orchid Undead.
Galavan landed while slashing his blade across Orchid Undead with a burst of spark.
Rescue Pink energized her V-Lancer and lunged towards Orchid Undead. The Pink Lightspeed Ranger speared her weapon against the villain with a burst of spark.
Nearby, Rescue Green and Astro Red circled around Hunter Taiga and Hunter Sting.
Hunter Sting whipped the two Rangers across the chests with bursts of spark that snapped their bodies backward.
Astro Red rolled back to his feet and downloaded his Drill Saber. "Saber Slash!"
The Red Astro Ranger energized his saber and swung in a sideway V-shaped pattern that sparked across Hunter Sting, forcing the villain backward.
But Hunter Taiga moved in behind Astro Red and hacked against the Ranger’s back, axe sparking on impact and forcing the Ranger to his knees. The villain swung upward, smashing its axe upside the Ranger’s head and sending him flying off his feet.
Rescue Green swung his V-Lancer towards Hunter Taiga's faceplate, but the villain parried the blow and chopped against Rescue Green's shoulder with a burst of spark, forcing the Ranger to his knees.
Hunter Taiga bashed his axe across the Ranger's helmet.
Nearby, Ninjawhite bashed a kick combination to disarm Hunter Claw and force him to the ground. She armed her saber and sent white-hot energy pouring across the blade.
"Hidden-style ku cut!" Ninjawhite swung the weapon through streaks of energy that formed a sideways v-shaped pattern that hacked across Hunter Claw with bursts of spark, tearing the villain's armor open.
Secondary explosions ripped across Hunter Claw before the villain exploded with a final burst of flame and smoke.
Ninjawhite collapsed to her knees and used her sword to keep her balance. That last blow had drained her. She did not know how much longer she could go on.
Hunter Knight stalked towards the fallen White Ranger. "Stop struggling and make this easy, little girl. I-"
Ninjawhite snapped a volley of shuriken that exploded against Hunter Knight's armor with bursts of spark.
Hunter Knight growled with annoyance and charged towards the fallen White Ranger. Hunter Knight lifted his blade to swing at the White Ranger's helmet.
Nearby, Ninjayellow saw that Ninjawhite was in trouble.
The Yellow Ranger knocked Giraffe Undead's blade aside, kicked the villain back, and dashed over to help the White Ranger.
Ninjayellow leapt in front of Ninjawhite and pushed her back to protect her.
But it was too late.
Giraffe Undead fired a golden energy spear that pierced through Ninjayellow's back and punctured outward from his chest. The lance continued forward and stabbed through Ninjawhite's midsection, protruding from her back.
Their armor shimmered and faded as they collapsed to the ground. Jonathan landed on top of Trini.
He leaned up just enough to look into her eyes,
A tear streamed down her cheek.
Hand shaking, Jonathan reached up and wiped her tear away.
Then they were gone.
Wolf Undead slashed Time Fire and Gao Silver across the chests with bursts of spark. The Rangers smashed against the wall of the war-torn shopping center and crashed against the floor.
The Undead pounced forward, grabbed the two Rangers by the necks, and smashed them through the wall. The Rangers went tumbling into a war-torn department store cluttered with rubble.
The two Rangers crashed onto their backs but immediately fired their sidearms. Lances of red and pale-blue energy exploded against Wolf Undead and blasted him back into the main mall corridor.
Gao Silver and Time Fire flipped to their feet, and the Quantum Ranger led the charge back towards the monster.
Wolf Undead leapt towards Time Fire. The Quantum Ranger leapt against the side of a wall and pushed off, leaping through the air towards his opponent while holding his DV-Defender blade high.
The Ranger's sword clashed against the monster's claws while in midair.
The two opponents clashed blades in midair. Time Fire quickly twisted his sword and swung towards the villain's head, but Wolf Undead blocked the blow with his claws.
Time Fire and Wolf Undead pushed off each other and backflipped through the air in opposite directions. They landed on the ground and snapped into fighting stances while facing each other.
Gao Silver snapped into a wolf-like fighting stance on the opposite side of Wolf Undead.
The Rangers shifted their stances and watched for weaknesses in the monster's defense. The heroes kept a close eye on the villain's upper body to anticipate his next move.
Wolf Undead fired a burst of energy at the Quantum Ranger. Time Fire dropped onto his back as the blast passed over him, and he switched his weapon to vulcan mode, triggering lances of crimson energy that exploded against the villain's chest armor with bursts of spark.
Gao Silver charged past the villain and swung his Lunar Cue, blade sparking across the monster's body.
Wolf Undead grabbed Gao Silver by the wrist, twisted his arm back, and clawed across his chest. The monster hurled Gao Silver off his feet and sent him crashing against a nearby wall before slumping against the ground.
The impact knocked Gao Silver out of his armor. Shirogane rolled to his knees and looked up as Wolf Undead charged towards him.
Meanwhile, Time Red, Time Pink, and Gao White circled around Lion Undead with a flurry of strikes and blows that the monster managed to block.
Lion Undead clawed upside Time Pink with a burst of spark, whipping her body backward. The villain spun past Gao White and slashed her across the armor with a burst of spark.
Time Red swung his blade towards Lion Undead. The monster parried the blow, grabbed the Red Ranger by the arm, turned him around, and grabbed his head. Lion Undead snapped the Red Ranger's neck, and he fell lifeless to the ground.
"No!" Time Pink shouted.
Time Pink swung her Chrono Vector at Lion Undead and triggered a pink energy blade that exploded against the monster, knocking it a step back.
Gao White moved in next.
"Tiger Baton!" Gao White shouted as her baton weapon pulsed with pink energy. "Cross Strike!"
Gao White swung her weapon down in a cross pattern that thrashed across the villain, sparking on impact.
Nearby, Undead Wolf pounced at Shirogane, grabbed him by the neck, and hurled him off his feet. Shirogane crashed against the floor and stumbled backward. The ranger landed by Time Red's fallen Vector Saber.
Wolf Undead charged towards Shirogane. The warrior rose to his feet and grabbed tightly onto the saber. His moon tattoo sent pale-blue light across his arm and along the blade. The sword pulsed with brilliant moonlight energy.
"Ha!" Shirogane swung a powerful horizontal arc that emitted an energy wave of power, which tore through Wolf Undead with a massive burst of spark. The monster crashed backward and exploded with a burst of flame.
Eagle Undead thrashed its claws across Astro Yellow, and the Ranger crashed against the street and tumbled backward as the impact demorphed her.
Saoirse rolled into a crouched fighting stance, and Eagle Undead jammed its claw through her stomach.
Saoirse opened her eyes wide with pain and fell backward. She felt her body grow cold as her life drained from her. But she was not afraid. In fact, she almost felt at peace.
"Cy…" she whispered before she died.
Nearby, Time Green and Time Yellow charged at Jellyfish Undead.
Jellyfish Undead fired energy blasts that exploded against Time Green and sent him flying off his feet. The monster turned and attacked Time Yellow.
The Yellow Ranger blocked a kick and ducked under a hook punch.
Time Yellow rose back to full height and swung the back of his fist towards the villain's face, but the monster knocked the Yellow Ranger's arm away and slammed a kick against his chest. The villain followed with a hook punch across the helmet.
Time Yellow crashed backward. He rose back to his feet, and the monster struck again.
The monster spun forward while thrashing his fingers across the Ranger's armor, sparking on impact.
Time Yellow grabbed the villain's arm and kicked its legs out while twirling the villain around. The Yellow Ranger released his grasp and sent the monster flying through the air.
The villain smashed onto the hood of a car, shattering the windshield.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Time Yellow said as he stalked towards the villain.
The monster slowly climbed back to his feet.
Time Yellow leaned forward and slammed a combination of powerful punches against the villain. Jab, cross, jab cross, each blow sparking on impact.
The Yellow Ranger grabbed the villain by the arm and lifted him overhead before flipping him to the ground.
The monster rolled back to its feet and lashed out with a flurry of tendril whips.
Time Green stepped forward and blocked the blow with his Vector Saber.
Time Green sidekicked the monster backward and thrashed his right saber across the villain's body, blade sparking on impact. The Green Ranger chopped both blades across the villain with a massive burst of spark that knocked the monster backward.
Time Yellow stepped forward, his back to Time Green, and extended his arms. "Finish him."
Time Green leapt onto Time Yellow's shoulders and pushed off, angling his descent towards the monster while holding his two sabers in a noon and 9 position.
"Time Strike!" He swung the blades through streaks of green power that exploded against the villain, sending the monster crashing backward and skidding across the ground and secondary explosions sparkled across his body.
While Time Yellow was distracted, Eagle Undead swooped down and used its legs to lift the Yellow Ranger by the head and neck. The Undead speared its blade through the top of Time Yellow's helmet, piercing into his brain and killing him instantly.
Eagle Undead released his grasp, and Time Yellow's body dropped lifeless onto the street below.
"Damien!" Time Green shouted.
Jellyfish Undead lashed out with tendrils that wrapped around the Green Ranger's body. The villain sent energy surges along the tentacles, and the blasts exploded against Time Green's armor with massive bursts of spark.
Sion's armor overloaded and demorphed, and he collapsed to his knees. The electric power surged through his body, nearly killing him.
Sion summed his psionic power and blasted a massive TK pulse that knocked Jellyfish Undead backward, freeing the ranger.
Eagle Undead and Jellyfish Undead regrouped with each other, as Sion rose to his feet. The ranger felt his life draining from him, and summoned the remainder of his strength to finish off his opponents.
Sion narrowed his eyes and slowly stalked towards the two Undead. His body was pulsing with psionic energy. He tightened his fists, and the villains collapsed to their knees. Blood started trickling down Sion's nose from the strain. He pushed forward.
Another psionic blast tore across the two Undead with bursts of spark.
Sion collapsed, his body weak and failing. With his last breath, he summoned a burst of psionic energy that tore apart the Undead with massive bursts of flame and spark.
The ranger collapsed lifelessly against the street.
Undead Buffalo rammed its horns against Gao Black's chest with a burst of spark. The monster used its horns to lift Gao Black and hurl him through the air.
Nearby, Astro Pink and Gao Blue surrounded Mole Undead.
The monster bashed its arm plating against the Pink Ranger with a burst of spark that sent her flying off her feet. The villain turned and fired drill-shaped projectiles that exploded against Gao Blue with bursts of spark that snapped his body backward.
Astro Silver chopped his blade at Undead Peacock, but the villain swatted the sword aside and grabbed the Silver Ranger in a tight choke hold.
The monster's palm fired pulses of blue energy that thrashed across the Silver Ranger's armor with bursts of spark.
Undead Peacock threw the Silver Ranger through the hole in the building, and Astro Silver fell downward through the air before crashing onto the torn-up foundation of a building below.
Astro Silver felt several of his bones snap, and he couldn't move.
Undead Peacock leapt from the opening and landed on the streets near Astro Silver.
Meanwhile, back on the rooftop, Gao Yellow and Rescue Yellow circled around Undead Centipede.
The Undead pounced at Rescue Yellow and tackled him against the ground. The monster spat a wad of venom that exploded against the Ranger's faceplate and started to eat through his helmet.
Rescue Yellow rolled back and kicked the monster off.
Gao Yellow spun past the creature and slashed it across the chest with a burst of spark.
Meanwhile, demonic hornets swarmed around Ninjablue and stabbed against his armor with bursts of spark. Each sting weakened the Ranger, and he was forced to his knees.
Muchizo somersaulted through the air and swung a staff at the Blue Ranger's helmet. The Devil of Kimon appeared to be a misshapen hunch-backed old man. His hunched back was actually a hive where he could produce thousands and thousands of demonic wasps.
The villain's staff smashed against the side of Ninjablue's helmet and knocked him to the ground.
Countless wasps clouded around the Blue Ranger and stabbed at him with their stingers.
The three Kamen Riders had defeated the Undead monsters at the plaza. They were injured, and their muscles burned with fatigue. Ryuuki's abdomen wound from Mar'ex felt like it was about to tear open again.
The Undead had given the Riders the toughest fight of their lives.
But the Riders' next opponent was even more lethal: Mujuro, the blind Devil of Kimon.
Mujuro wore what looked like a simple kimono and had long white hair. A white bandana wrapped around his eyes, and he carried a curved Samurai sword.
Kamen Rider Black leapt at Mujuro with a flying sidekick. The blind demon spun forward and slashed across the Rider's armor before the kick could connect.
Kuuga and Ryuuki moved in, each with a punch, and lunged towards Mujuro. The warrior leapt over the Riders while kicking them in the back of their necks.
The blind warrior landed and turned while swinging his blade in a powerful horizontal arc that slashed across Ryuuki's midsection with a massive burst of spark.
Kamen Rider Ryuuki crashed against the ground and felt his side wound rip open. He grabbed his abdomen and bit down to keep from screaming with pain.
Mujuro swung his blade towards Ryuuki's head, but Kuuga lunged forward and used his forearm to block the blow. Kuuga snapped a sidekick at the villain, but Mujuro spun out of the way and slashed across Kuuga's chest with a burst of spark.
Black Sun leapt towards the villain and somersaulted through the air. "Rider Kick!"
Mujuro sprang upward and slashed the Rider from the air, blade sparking across Black Sun's armor. Kamen Rider Black crashed against the ground.
Nearby, Ryuuki was still hunched on the ground. He was unable to sustain his morph, and his armor vanished with a burst of crimson energy. Dex's blood seeped against the pavement, and sweat dripped from his forehead.
Mujuro pounced at Dex to attack, but Kuuga sprang through the air and pushed Dex aside.
Kamen Rider Black flipped back to his feet and charged at the villain. Black Sun snapped a jump roundkick that the Devil of Kimon blocked.
Mujuro stepped forward and smashed the end of his sword's handle across the Rider's helmet.
Meanwhile, Kuuga helped Dex lay against a pile of debris. Kamen Rider Kuuga looked down at the wound. "That's not good, Dex…we've got to get you back to the Bay Area…"
"No time…" Dex said. "Just keep…" Dex gasped his last breath, and his body went limp and died.
Kuuga rolled his hands into fists and turned towards Mujuro.
The Devil of Kimon slashed across Black Sun's chest and bashed a spin kick across his head, knocking the Rider off his feet.
Kuuga snapped into a henshin pose, and his buckle flashed with golden light. Kuuga transformed into his ultimate form, with dark, gold-trimmed armor surrounding his body.
Kuuga dashed forward and swung a punch towards the Devil's head. The Devil sidestepped the blow, but was unable to dodge Kuuga's follow-through hook kick. The kick bashed across the demon's head.
"Finally!" Kuuga shouted.
Kamen Rider Kuuga turned, smashed a hook punch across Mujuro's head, and slammed an uppercut blow against the villain's gut.
Dazed, Mujuro took a step back.
"Rider Punch!" Kuuga swung a punch that radiated with golden fire.
Kuuga's fist crushed Mujuro's face, and the demon's body went flying backward. Mujuro crashed against the ground, and his body overloaded and exploded.
Fighting continued inside the demon temple gates.
Tenma Ranger twirled his nunchuku and bashed back Boar Undead with a series of lightning-quick strikes. The Blue Ranger spun and smashed a kick across the Undead's head, knocking the villain to the ground.
"Want some more?" Tenma Ranger hopped forward to stomp down on the Undead, but a strand of webbing wrapped around his ankle and snapped him off his feet.
Tarantula Undead swung the Blue Ranger backward and smashed him through a nearby column. The monster released his grasp, and the Blue Ranger crashed into the column's rubble.
Tenma Ranger rolled free from the rubble and snapped into a crouched fighting stance. He thrust his hands forward. "Gravity Well!"
The Blue Ranger fired a twirling vortex of blue-tinted energy that splashed across the two Undead and exploded across their bodies. The vortex blast knocked the Undead off their feet and sent them flying through the air.
The two Undead exploded, and the blast sent a shockwave crashing against Tenma Ranger. The Blue Ranger crashed against the ground, smashed his head, and lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, Gemma, the immortal Devil of Kimon, faced off with Kirin Ranger. The Yellow Ranger snapped a flurry of kicks and punches against the demon, but Gemma simply blocked each blow.
"You're slow, Ranger." Gemma smashed a punch against the Yellow Ranger's faceplate.
Kirin Ranger went flying backward off his feet and crashed against a nearby pillar.
Nearby, Lion Ranger smashed a double-jump sidekick against Elephant Undead, forcing the monster backward. The Green Ranger landed and thrust his fist forward.
"Hand of Fate!" Lion Ranger blasted a beam of pale-green energy that exploded against Elephant Undead and knocked the creature off his feet.
Lion Ranger twirled his staff into a fighting position and charged towards the Undead. The Ranger energized the tips of his staff with jade-tinted energy, spun forward, and speared his staff through the villain's faceplate with a burst of spark.
Secondary explosions tore across the monster, and Elephant Undead crashed against the ground. The creature exploded with a final burst of flame and spark.
Lion Ranger twirled his staff into a defensive pose and looked over his shoulder towards Gemma.
Gemma smashed the back of his fist across Kirin Ranger's helmet. The blow knocked the Yellow Ranger off his feet and sent him tumbling across the ground. Gemma looked over his shoulder and saw Lion Ranger shift fighting stances.
The villain smiled with amusement. "Maybe you will be more of a challenge, Green one…"
Lion Ranger twirled his staff into an offensive stance and thrust his palm-heel forward. "Try me…"
Gemma charged at the Lion Ranger with a flurry of punches that the Green Ranger used his staff to deflect. The Green Ranger energized his weapon and jammed it through the demon's chest.
Gemma crashed backward and exploded.
Nearby, a flurry of dust particles surrounded Phoenix Ranger and exploded, the impact knocking her off her feet and crashing her against a column. She crashed against the ground, and more dust particles surrounded her and exploded, shattering her visor and knocking her off her feet.
Her armor forcibly powered down.
The Devil of Kimon named Sakuro landed nearby Kimberly. The demon wore a baggy kimono, and she was capable of producing kinetically charged "dust" particles that were highly explosive.
Sakuro sent another cloud of dust particles towards the ranger.
Kimberly thrust her arms forward. "Tempest Winds!"
The ranger fired a gust of powerful energy-laced wind that smashed against Sakuro and blew dust particles back at the villain.
The dust exploded, tearing Sakuro apart and killing her, but hitting Kimberly with flames as well. The shockwave knocked Kimberly off her feet, and she crashed against the ground.
Her head smacked against the pavement seconds before she died.
Ninjared leapt against the side of a column and pushed off. The Red Ranger shot through the air past a giant while slashing it across the throat, blade sparking on impact and drawing black ichor.
Ninjared landed and rolled out of the way to avoid a club that smashed against the ground behind him. The Red Ranger rolled into a crouched fighting stance and snapped off a volley of shuriken that stabbed against the creature with bursts of spark.
Meanwhile, Ninjablack slashed through a group of zombie samurai near the foot of another hulking giant. The Black Ranger barely managed to roll aside and miss a blow from the giant's club, which crushed several of the demon soldiers.
Ninjablack leapt onto the club, ran up the giant's arm, and dashed past its head while slashing open its throat with a burst of spark.
Ninjablack landed near Phantom Ranger, who was bashing a series of punches against a particularly persistent zombie that refused to die. The Phantom Ranger failed to notice a streak of shadow pass across the ground nearby.
The Devil of Kimon known as Shijima rose from the shadows and lashed out with a chain that wrapped around the Phantom's throat. Shijima whipped the Phantom off his feet and hurled him into the center of a group of samurai zombies.
The zombies started hacking and slashing against the Phantom Ranger as soon as he hit the ground, their blades tearing open his armor with bursts of spark.
Shijima floated towards the scene and stood over the Phantom Ranger while the zombies kept bashing him down. Shijima armed his fist claw and used it to rip the ruby free from the Phantom's chest.
The resulting explosion tore a gaping hole in the center of the Phantom's chest. The Phantom Ranger fell backward, dead before he hit the ground.
Meanwhile, SHOC was learning to understand his limits. His body burned with pain every time he hurled a black bolt of energy at his enemies.
A zombie horse rider charged towards SHOC from behind and stabbed a spear through his back, puncturing the hero's heart and right lung. The zombie pulled his staff free, and SHOC's body fell lifeless against the ground.
Ninjablack looked over his shoulder to his leader, who was on the other side of the temple chamber. "It's just you and me, Jase!"
The area gates swung open yet again. A dozen more of the demon giants stalked forth.
A snake bit against White Trooper's arm, gnawed through her armor, and entered her body. She screamed and collapsed to her knees, water splashing around her as her body spasmed.
"Kaitlin!" Black Trooper slashed a trio of raptor-like demons away. His blade tore through their bodies with bursts of spark that sprayed green ichor in every direction.
The creatures kept trying to close in on the injured White Nova Trooper, but Black Trooper kept hacking them away as fast as he could.
Dozens of snakes slithering towards the heroes made it almost impossible to put up a decent fight.
Time Blue, Astro Blue, and Astro Black stood in a wheel formation around the Nova Troopers.
Time Blue swung his double-bladed Vector Saber and triggered a blue energy blade that exploded through a trio of demons, tearing them apart with bursts of spark that scattered green ichor and flesh across the flooding chamber.
Meanwhile, Astro Black bashed a fist across a demon's head, and Astro Blue chopped his tomahawk through several of the advancing demonic raptors.
Two Devils of Kimon suddenly dropped down as if from nowhere and landed on opposite sides of the flooded chamber.
One of the demons was Yurimaru. He appeared to be a simple Japanese man in a white kimono, but he was extremely deadly. He possessed the ability of teleportation, and he could also channel electric currents through his body. He often used this ability by channeling electricity through a thin wire rope he was armed with.
Benisato was one of the female Devils. Her body was almost completely naked and covered with tattoos of pythons. These pythons could come to life, and she could control them with the power of her mind, just as she was in control of the snakes attacking the heroes.
Benisato licked her lips while she watched the heroes struggle. "My pets' kisses are poison…"
Nova White screamed as she felt the snake literally eat its way through the inside of her body. The creature slithered around her bone and chewed through her right lung, piercing it and inching towards her heart.
The snake opened its jaws wide and swallowed her heart whole.
Kaitlin opened her mouth wide in a silent scream and collapsed lifelessly.
"Kaitlin, no!" Black Trooper shouted.
Nova Black turned and charged towards Benisato. "Laser Lance command, now!"
But Yurimaru lashed out with a wire that wrapped around Black Trooper's neck and snapped him off his feet. The demon swung Nova Black towards a spike in the wall, and the spike tore through the upper shoulder with a burst of spark, holding him against the wall while the demon sent surges of energy along the wire.
Energy blasts exploded through Black Trooper's armor with massive bursts of spark, overloading the Trooper's systems.
Back outside the temple, Gao King and the OmniThunderzord circled around the Mogralord.
In his cockpit, Gao Red collapsed to his knees and grabbed the sides of his helmet. Pain shot through his mind. He clenched his jaw to keep from screaming.
"The Turbos… Kaitlin… Damien… Sion… Saoirse… Tatsuya… Phantom Ranger… Neil… Trini… Jonathan… Ryan…too many…too many more…We're losing!"
Mogralord opened its jaw and fired a torrent of flame that exploded against Gao King and knocked the MegaWildzord backward. Gao King crashed against the streets and skid up layers of pavement and rubble as secondary explosions tore across the Megazord's armor.
ACT FOUR
A mouth-like hole opened on Hell Rider Hibiki's faceplate, and the demon spat a stream of purple fire that exploded against KuroKishi, knocking the Black Knight off his feet and sending him crashing against the tunnel.
Purple flame ate away at the Black Knight's armor as he collapsed to the ground.
Hibiki pounced and swung his clubs at the Knight. But Galaxy Red leapt in front of the villain and used his sword to block the blow.
Galaxy Red knocked the clubs aside and bashed a sidekick against Hibiki's chest. The villain stumbled backward, but kept his balance.
Zeored leapt against the side of the tunnel and pushed off. The Red Ranger dashed past Hibiki and slashed the demon across the chest with a burst of spark. Zeored landed and swung his blade at the demon's head.
But Hibiki blocked the blow and smashed a kick against the Red Ranger's chest. The blow sent Zeored flying backward, and he crashed against the wall.
On top of the temple, Warlock continued the incantation, a lengthy spell. Opening every gate to Hell in reality was no short task. The warlord waved his dagger across the Triforian princess's naked chest.
Warlock looked down at her with bloodlust in his eyes. "It is almost time…"
OmniThunderzord swung its golden blade towards the Mogralord. "Transcendent Sword, strike!"
The blade energized and slashed across the monarch with a massive burst of energy, which created a shockwave that decimated a city block.
But the Mogralord stood and lashed out with its tail. The tail bashed the OmniThunderzord from the air.
Above, the Hell Gates started to pulse with stronger amounts of energy as Warlock's incantation neared an end. Similar Gates had appeared all across reality.
The Hell Gates lashed out with power lightning that exploded against the streets below, creating massive heat blasts that tore through already damaged buildings and piles of rubble.
Dragon Ranger activated his communicator.
"Ash, we're running out of time. Pick up the pace."
Kerberos spat a wad of venom that exploded against Zeoyellow and snapped her off her feet. She rolled into a crouched fighting stance and heard her fiance's call.
She activated her own communicator. "We're being blocked by the Hell Riders and two of the Undead. We can use some backup. Have the Turbos-"
"The Turbos are dead," Dragon Ranger said. "I'll contact Rocky. His group has cleared the inner gates."
"Hurry," Zeoyellow said.
Tenma Ranger slowly climbed back to his feet and shook his head.
"Rocky," Dragon Ranger said through the Blue Ranger's communicator. "How are you?"
"My face and everything below it hurts," Tenma Ranger said.
"Ashley's group needs backup. Get down into those tunnels now."
"Will do," Tenma Ranger said. "I just…"
Tenma Ranger's gaze drifted over to where Kirin Ranger kneeled at the side of Kimberly's body. A cold feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. "No…Kimberly."
The Blue Ranger ran over to her side, and Lion ranger joined her as well.
"What happened?" Lion Ranger asked.
Kirin Ranger shook his head. "She's gone. There's nothing I can do…"
OmniThunderzord extended its dragon hand and fired pulses of roaring fire that exploded against the Mogralord.
"Tommy," Tenma Ranger said through Dragon Ranger's communicator. "It's Kimberly…she…she's gone…"
Dragon Ranger's eyes opened wide beneath his helmet. He clenched his jaw, and rolled his hands into fight fists. The Ranger tilted his head down and glared through the viewport towards the Mogralord.
"Hell's Fury!" Dragon Ranger shouted.
The OmniThunderzord fired a massive torrent of white-hot and black flame that exploded against Mogralord with a massive shockwave that mushroomed into the sky.
The blast knocked the Mogralord off its feet, and the monarch skid across the streets.
Hell Rider Eiki smashed a spin kick across Zeoblue's helmet and a reverse sidekick against Zeogreen's chest. The strikes bashed the two Rangers off their feet, and they slammed against the tunnel wall.
Meanwhile, Deer Undead dueled with the four Beetle Borgs.
Chromium Gold swung his Metallix Lancer at the villain's head. The Undead parried the blow and slashed across the Borg's armor with a burst of spark.
The Undead turned and backhand swung a blow that sparked across Titanium Silver and Platinum Purple, whipping them off their feet.
Undead Deer swung its blade back at Chromium Gold, but the Borg blocked the blow, twisted his lancer, and slashed across the monster's chest with a burst of spark. Chromium Gold stepped forward and speared his lancer against the villain.
Undead Deer stumbled backward, but kept its balance.
From the side, Zeo Gold moved in to help the Borgs. "It's time for a gold rush…Victory Flash!"
Zeo Gold swung his staff down and fired a volley of golden energy bursts. The blasts tore through Deer Undead with massive bursts of spark that ripped the monster apart. The Undead crashed against the ground with a final explosion of spark and flame.
"We have to move," Chromium Gold said to Zeo Gold. "Trianna is in trouble…"
"Yeah, that's the part to worry about," Electric Bronze said sarcastically. "Forget about that whole end-of-all-reality thing."
Hell Rider Eiki suddenly leapt away from his opponents and smashed a lightning quick volley of kicks against the Borgs and Zeo Gold, taking them off guard and beating them backward. Each swift kick sparked across their armor.
Spots of shadow suddenly crept across the ground and surrounded the heroes. Dozens of demonic creatures leapt out from those shadows. The crab-like grunts had sickly yellow skin coated with slime, and needle-sharp arms and legs.
The grunts hissed, high-pitched shrieking noises that gave the heroes chills.
Zeoblue stepped back into a defensive stance. "What the-"
A grunt speared against his chest with a burst of spark. The blow forced him back, but the Blue Ranger stayed on his feet. Two more grunts stabbed him from opposite sides, sparking against his armor.
Zeoblue spun with his arm blades, which tore off two of the creatures' arms. His blades sparked through their flesh and splashed sickly-green ichor across the corridor walls.
More spots of shadow moved down from the walls, and dozens more of the grunts appeared.
Warlock finished the incantation. He slowly traced the edge of his blade across Trianna's chest. He carved demonic symbols in her skin, and the blood from each symbol energized the dagger with dark power
Zeored slashed his saber across Hell Rider Hibiki. But three of the grunts dashed forward and speared against the Red Ranger. The blows sparked on impact and knocked Zeored of his feet.
One of the crab-like grunts landed on top of Zeored and speared against his faceplate. The blow cracked the Ranger's visor with a burst of spark, and sent a wave of dizziness over Zeored.
The grunt screeched and reached back to stab again.
Suddenly, an explosion sounded from the opposite end of the tunnel. The explosion tore open a hole that Lion Ranger, Tenma Ranger, and Kirin Ranger dropped through.
Lion Ranger swung his fist forward. "Hand of Fate!"
The Green Ranger fired a blast of pale-green light that knocked the grunt off Zeored and incinerated four more of the crab-like grunts in the process. Their horrible shrieks filled the cavern as the Ranger's light attack burned off their skin and vaporized their blood before turning their bones into dust.
Tenma Ranger charged forward, leapt against the side of the wall, and pushed off to jump towards Hell Rider Hibiki. "Tenma Flash Kick!"
The Blue Ranger's legs streaked with blue-tinted power, and Tenma Ranger launched a lightning-quick series of tornado kicks that bashed against Hibiki, forcing the villain backward. Tenma Ranger varied his kick combinations, leaning downward and snapping a spin kick and following with a tornado kick and reverse crescent kick combo that bashed Hibiki off his feet.
Kirin Ranger fired his Thunder Blaster. Lances of yellow energy stabbed through the crab-like grunts with bursts of spark, spraying green ichor across the corridor.
Lion Ranger moved in and smashed a jump roundkick against Eiki's head.
The Hell Rider swung a punch at Lion Ranger's faceplate, but Lion ranger used his palm to block the blow, knocked the villain's arm aside, and drove an elbow strike against the villain's chest plate.
The Green Ranger stepped back and smashed a spin kick across the Hell Rider's helmet, knocking him to the ground.
Lion Ranger looked to Zeoyellow. "Go. You're running out of time. We'll cover you."
Warlock finished etching demonic symbols in the princess' skin.
The warlord lifted his dagger.
Warlock chopped the dagger towards her heart.
But a golden energy blast knocked the dagger from his hand. "What in the nine circles??"
The villain looked to see the Zeo and Galaxy teams emerge on the massive palace rooftop. The Beetle Borgs had arrived to, and Chromium Gold's blaster was still aimed at the villain.
"Get away from her!" Chromium Gold shouted.
Zeoyellow stepped forward. "We need to make this quick," she said to the others. "Time to get cosmic…"
Zeored nodded. "Right."
The Zeo Rangers and Galaxy Rangers slowly regrouped. They closed their eyes beneath their helmets and concentrated on their new connection to the Power Cosmic.
"Zodiac Armor!" they shouted. "Energize!"
Golden light flashed across Galaxy Red. A gold shield wrapped around his chest, and jagged armor plates extended over his shoulders. A golden outline of the lion snapped over his helmet. Gold gauntlets wrapped around his arms and fists.
Similar armor wrapped around Galaxy Green, only his helmet had the Gemini symbol engraved on the forehead.
Golden power shimmered around Galaxy Blue. His armor had the Aquarius symbol etched across the chest plate.
Galaxy Yellow's armor wrapped around his body, and a golden crab-like piece of armor snapped over his helmet.
A sapphire appeared on Galaxy Pink's new golden helmet as her armor shimmered to life. The Libra symbol appeared over the left side of her chest.
Golden, edged armor wrapped around KuroKishi. The horns on his helmet became gold, and a golden chest plate with jagged shoulder blades wrapped around his body.
Similar armor wrapped around the Zeo Rangers. Zeored had the symbol of Aries, Zeoblue had the symbol of Capricorn, Zeogreen had the symbol of Pisces, Zeoyellow had the symbol of Scorpio, Zeopink had the symbol of Virgo and Zeo Gold had the Sagittarius symbol.
Zeored dashed towards Warlock. "Aries Ram charge!"
The Red Ranger radiated with fire and tackled against Warlock. The impact blasted a massive shockwave that sent Warlock flying backward through the air for several city blocks before crashing through a damaged building.
Chromium Gold moved over and untied Trianna. He held her tight as she cried. "It's going to be okay…we're here now."
KuroKishi walked over and handed Chromium Gold the Galaxy Book. "Read."
Chromium Gold nodded and took the book.
Mogralord pounced on top of Gao King and bit through the Megazord's shark arm. The villain snapped back its head, ripping the arm free with a burst of spark.
The Zeo and Galaxy teams lined up around the edges of the Tablet of Chakra. Chromium Gold and the Beetle Borgs stood at the tablet's center.
Chromium Gold opened the Galaxy Book and started reading the spell designed to seal the Mogralord and all his demonic forces. The spell seemingly read itself through him, and the Tablet of Chakra's writings illuminated with bright blue light.
The Beetle Borg shouted the last words to the spell. "Dolza Uu Ugara!"
The Rangers radiated with light, and columns of energy erupted upward from their bodied and stabbed into the skies. The Zodiac Power splashed against the Hell Gates and wrapped the entire planet around a blanket of light before shooting outward with a grand cosmic wave that spanned across all of reality.
The lights died down.
……
But nothing happened.
The Mogralord fired spinning metal-bone blades that exploded against the OmniThunderzord with bursts of spark.
The Megazord dashed aside and fired a flurry of golden energy blasts that exploded against the Mogralord, giving damaged Gao King time to pull back and regroup with Gao Icarus.
"Ashley, what happened? Why is the Mogralord still here?" Dragon Ranger asked.
"I don't get it," Zeoyellow said. "That spell should have severed his connection to reality and sealed all his forces. It's possible…he may have a connection to reality besides the Tablet. He might be anchored here in another way."
The Mogralord fired a stream of demonic fire that exploded against the OmniThunderzord's chest with a massive explosion and shockwave that shook the city for miles.
Warlock suddenly flew back to the palace and bashed a flying kick against Zeo Gold before landing. The impact knocked the Gold Ranger off the palace and sent him tumbling towards the streets below.
"You fools thought it would be that easy?!"
Warlock grabbed Trianna with a TK hold and pulled her to the center of the Tablet. The villain hurled his knife at her.
"No!" Chromium Gold pushed Trianna out of the way, but the knife stabbed through his back and punctured through his body.
The Borg screamed and collapsed, and his armor powered down. Drew hunched over on the ground and struggled to breath, but a lung had been pierced.
"Drew!" Trianna and Platinum Purple shouted in unison.
Electric Bronze armed his saber and charged at Warlock. "You son of a-"
Warlock fired a crimson energy pulse that exploded against the Borg's helmet and blasted his head off his body.
Drew and Josh's blood poured onto the Tablet. The Tablet's inscriptions started to glow with dark energy. The spell was not as strong as it would have been with the princess's blood, but it was strong enough.
Thunder boomed across the skies as the Gates of Hell slowly creaked open. Tendrils of fire lashed out at the surface and exploded against the top of the temple with a shockwave that knocked the champions through the air and sent them crashing back against the streets.
Warlock remained on the temple and looked to the skies. He spread his arms wide and laughed.
Thousands of demons crowded at the Gates, waiting for them to open wide enough so they could spill through.
The Mogralord tilted his head towards the sky. "Yes…now all the forces of Hell are mine to command…mine to-"
Stabbing pain shot through the Mogralord and forced the monarch to his knees.
Warlock had extended his hand towards the Mogralord. The gem on Warlock's palm pulsed with bright crimson energy. "No, you demon dog! They are mine to command! You are now mine to command!"
The OmniThunderzord hovered nearby. Dragon Ranger looked through his viewport and watched. "Warlock. He's the anchor."
Dragon Ranger leapt from the Megazord, landed on the temple, and lunged towards Warlock.
"Burn Knuckle!" Dragon Ranger swung a fiery fist towards Warlock.
But the villain grabbed Dragon Ranger by the wrist and smashed a kick against his chest. The Red Ranger stumbled backward, and Warlock snapped a spin kick towards the Ranger’s helmet.
Dragon Ranger ducked under the kick and smashed a knifehand strike against the villain’s back. Dragon Ranger pressed forward with a hook kick across the villain's face and a sidekick against the chest.
Warlock stumbled backward but kept his balance. He thrust his hand forward and fired a sphere of crimson power from his palm.
Dragon Ranger dove to avoid the blast and rose into a crouched fighting stance while thrusting his arms forward. "Star Fire!"
Warlock leapt over the blast and hurled a volley of crimson energy spheres at the Red Ranger. Dragon Ranger flipped backward as the spheres exploded around him with bursts of spark and flame.
Warlock knitted his brow, his black eyes staring like daggers. "I am surprised you made it this far, Tommy. Your powers are greatly overestimated."
Dragon Ranger rolled his hands tightly into fists. "You'd think you freaks would have learned by now not to say that…"
Dragon Ranger thrust his hands forward. "Hell Strom!"
A storm of fiery energy shot forth and exploded against Warlock with a massive shockwave. The impact sent Warlock flying several blocks backward, and the villain landed on top of a nearby building that been gutted.
Dragon Ranger leapt from rooftop to rooftop and landed on the same building.
The Red Ranger swung a flying kick towards Warlock, but the villain fired a volley of crimson energy bursts that exploded against Dragon Ranger and swatted him from the air. Dragon Ranger crashed against the roof and skid backward.
The Gates slowly continued to open, just wide enough for hundreds of demons of various shapes and sizes to slip through and drop to the streets.
The skies started to blur, and a distorted image of Hell itself became visible in the clouds. Soon, the Gates would open fully, the universe would be engulfed with flames, and the line between reality and Hell would be forever gone.
From his cockpit, Gao Red looked up to the sky, then back down at Dragon Ranger's battle with Warlock. "He needs help..."
Gao Red leapt from his cockpit and landed on the rooftop near Dragon Ranger.
"Ha!" Gao Red pounced at Warlock and swung his Lion Fangs towards the sides of the villain's head.
But Warlock merely grabbed the Ranger by his wrists and kicked him upside the head. The blow snapped Gao Red's body backward, and he crashed against the ground.
Gao Red rolled back into a crouched fighting stance near Dragon Ranger. The Red Dragon Ranger thrust his arms towards Warlock. "Nova Force!"
Warlock erected an energy barrier that the blast splashed against with a massive shockwave. Warlock lowered the barrier and fired a volley of crimson energy blasts at the two Red rangers.
Gao Red and Dragon Ranger dove and rolled aside to avoid they blasts, which exploded through the roof. The two Rangers pounced at the villain, Dragon Ranger going in high and Gao Red moving in low.
Gao Red snapped a reverse sidekick that Warlock blocked, and Dragon Ranger bashed a spin kick across the villain's head.
Warlock stumbled backward, extended his hand, and fired a flash of crimson light that tore across the Rangers' armor with bursts of spark.
The blast forced Gao Red to his knees.
Warlock moved in and kicked Gao Red upside the head. The blow whipped the Red Ranger's body backward and sent him flying off the roof.
"Simon!" Dragon Ranger shouted.
Warlock fired strands of crimson energy that wrapped tightly around Dragon Ranger. The villain sent energy pulses through the strands, and those pulses exploded across Dragon Ranger's armor with massive bursts of spark.
The Red Ranger felt the energy pulses course through his veins like electric shocks, sending pain shooting through every nerve.
The blasts dropped Dragon Ranger to his knees.
The Gates opened slightly wider, and more of Hell's creatures poured through. They started to cover the planet. The same thing happened across reality as, one-by-one, every Hell Gate in existence started to creak open.
Kimberly's body laid still within the inner gates.
The Phoenix tattoo on her chest started to burn with fiery energy. The energy spread across her body and consumed her, until only fire remained.
Warlock sent even more power pulsing through the energy tendrils. Dragon Ranger could not focus enough to perform a counter spell of his own.
The villain grinned with fiendish delight. "I have waited a long time for this, Tommy...oh, in my every incarnation, how I have longed for this moment. You are a fool. Weak. Zordon would have been better off to chose a-"
The Phoenix's cry suddenly filled the air.
A giant Phoenix of fire suddenly flew up from the base of the temple and spread its wings. The Phoenix raptor looked down to the Dragon Ranger.
"Kimberly..." Dragon Ranger whispered.
The Phoenix swooped downward and past through Dragon Ranger before streaking upward towards the heavens. The Phoenix's flight knocked Warlock backward, and released Dragon Ranger from the villain's grasp.
Dragon Ranger rose to his feet, and felt residual Phoenix flame flowing through his veins. "Thanks, Kim..." he whispered. "Phoenix armor energize!"
Fiery energy enveloped Dragon Ranger. The golden dragon symbol on his faceplate became edged and extended backward from his helmet. His white chest shield inched upward and hardened. A second v-shaped shield snapped over his chest. The shield was golden, with white and black around its edges. The symbol of the Phoenix was etched in the gold.
White-and-black trimmed golden gauntlets snapped into position around the Ranger's ankles and forearms.
The fire around Dragon Ranger faded, and he slowly stalked towards Warlock.
Warlock fired pulses of crimson energy that exploded harmlessly against the Red ranger's armor. The villain opened his eyes wide with fear.
Dragon Ranger smashed a punch against Warlock, sending the villain flying backward and crashing against a nearby building before slumping down onto a pile of rubble.
The Red Ranger placed his fist against his palm and called upon the Power Cosmic flowing through his veins. He combined that energy with The Power.
"Fury...of the Phoenix!" Dragon Ranger thrust his arms forward and fired a rolling cylinder of golden flame that was etched with white-hot energy.
The blast splashed across Warlock and tore the flesh from his body. The villain screamed as the wave consumed every inch of his body and all his energy. The rolling energy torrent vaporized Warlock and streaked towards the skies before vanishing into the clouds.
The forces of Hell and the Mogralord howled with pain as their bodies contorted and streaked back to the Hell Gates with streams of dark energy.
With a final flash of dark power, the Hell Gates slammed shut. The Mogralord and his forces were gone.
Dragon Ranger breathed a sigh of relief, and his armor powered down. Tommy looked to his morpher. The transformation devise was smoking, damaged beyond repair from the Phoenix flame.
"It's over..." Tommy said quietly and looked to the skies.
He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes with confusion. The Hell Gates were closed, but they were still there. "Why haven't the gates disappeared..."
Tommy heard clapping behind him. A chill crept down the ranger's spine. Tommy turned to see the Dark Man walk towards him, wearing the same trench coat as always.
The Dark Man smiled with pride. "Well done, Tommy. You have exceeded my every expectation..."
Tommy narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you doing here...and why haven't the Hell Gates disappeared?"
"Your question is not an easy one to answer, Tommy," the Dark Man said.
"Answers," Tommy said firmly. "Now."
The Dark Man smiled with amusement and placed his hands in his pockets. "Very well. I will start with the beginning...the beginning of creation...
"The Lifegiver, an omnipotent being beyond description, created the first planets. He built a throne for himself on a planet you have come to know as Earth. To expand his influence to infinite space, he created The Power, an extension of his own powers, that you call magick.
"The Lifegiver vowed that all his realms would be in perfect harmony. A utopia descending all layers of existence. This wish became his greatest mistake.
"The Power took on a will of its own. Not consciousness, but a will. A will for harmony and balance.
"To balance the good of the Lifegiver, someone unleashed the power of Mephisto from a world called Hades. The strength of Mephisto rivaled that of the Lifegiver.
"In the end, the Lifegiver managed to banish Hades into a realm of its own, known as Hell. The victory came at a price to the Life Giver. He lost much of his strength, and had to separate his essence into different forms. These forms became the gods of your legend for the Egyptians, Greeks, Roman, Japanese, and others.
"The Power seeks balance for all things, including demi-gods. Half the gods turned to evil, and half to good. But whether good or evil, all of these gods viewed humanity and the greater universe as nothing but play things.
"The gods of evil and good formed a mockery of peace. Instead of fighting each other outright, they decided to use The Power as their gaming board, and all of reality as their game pieces.
"Since that time, all of reality, all the realms, has been caught in a circular game. The universe as you know it has been created and destroyed nine times. Each time, reality essentially restarts. Resets itself, so the gods can play their game again. Humanity is nothing more than a group of pawns on the gaming board.
"You, Tommy, are different. I was able to learn, through countless eons of research, a way to end this game. A way to break free from the will of the gods. A way to break free from fate. You are that way.
"Carefully, I manipulated you into existence. It was I who lured your father from Earth so he could meet your mother on KO-35. Your mother had the blood of Jestin, the first Ranger of this cycle, running through her veins. Your father had the blood of Sauron, the first warlord of this cycle, running thick through his veins.
"You are a convergence of the two greatest forces of good and evil creation has ever known. This convergence makes you stronger than fate itself. Stronger than the will of the gods.
"I told you once that you would have a choice to make, Tommy. This is your choice: Let this universe continue its pattern of death and destruction, or end it, and create something...better. Something that not even the gods could have dreamt of.
"You have the power to end this game. Let the flames of Hell unleash into reality, and harness that power to create a new, perfect existence.
"Your friends can be reborn alongside you in this world. Shannon could return to life. Jason's sister. Billy's mother. Your precious Kimberly, the teammates you have lost today...you can bring them all back, and make a world where they would be happy. A world without war and conflict. A world of peace. True peace."
"At what cost? The destruction of the entire universe?" Tommy shook his head. "You're insane."
"This cycle ends here, Tommy. At this moment. The fires of Hell are pouring through those gates and the universe will end. You can either let the gods keep control and continue their pattern of madness and destruction, or you can create a new universe, free from their will and free of pain. It is a simple choice of life and death."
Tommy narrowed his eyes as a realization struck him. "The Gorma triumvirate...they turned to clay. Someone made them...it was you, wasn't it?"
"Yes, I recreated the Gorma Triumvirate, but haven't you seen now, that I'm responsible for so much more?
"I released Bandora and Lord Zedd from their banishment. I allowed the Machines to find this planet. I manipulated the first Youkai into tricking Jason and Zack to release the rest of that spirit clan. I broke the seal on the Balban ship. I arranged the kidnapping of your sister...every villain you have faced, every battle you have fought, has been because of me.
"And it has all been for this moment, boy. For you to break free from the strings of fate and free all existence from the grasp of the gods. In every cycle, I have watched the universe destroy itself. I have seen suffering and death beyond comprehension. I am...tired, Tommy.
"End this now. End what you have started."
"What I've started?"
The Dark Man looked at the war-torn cityscape. "None of this would have happened if not for you. This is your destiny. To destroy this mockery of reality and remake it. This is why Kaku and Zordon feared you so. They knew, as I know, that your destiny was too destroy."
"Liar...." Tommy rolled his hands into fists. Rage poured through his veins. "Liar!"
He thrust his fists forward and fired streams of flame that smashed against the Dark Man and sent him flailing through the air. The villain went crashing through the side of a building and skidding across a vacant, empty, upper-level floor.
Tommy ran towards the edge of the roof and jumped off, leaping towards the hole in the neighboring building.
Before Tommy reached the opening, the Dark Man rose to his feet, extended his hand, and fired an invisible TK blast that crashed hard against Tommy's chest and swatted him backward.
The ranger crashed through another building's window and skid down an office hallway, surrounded by glass-encased cubicles, most of which had already shattered.
Tommy caught his breath and rose to his feet. He looked up to see the Dark Man step through the opening. The villain's hands were casually in his jacket pockets.
"I do not want to fight you, Tommy," the Dark Man said. "You may be far stronger than me, but I have countless years of experience. And you forget, I have been watching you fight since you were a child. I know all your moves. I know how you think. So end this fight."
"I'll end it, alright." Tommy pounced forward with a flying spin kick towards the Dark Man's head, but the villain ducked under the kick.
Tommy landed and snapped a round kick towards the villain's head, but Dark Man blocked the blow, and stepping forward, slammed the heel of his palm against Tommy's chest.
The blow knocked Tommy off his feet and sent him shattering through a cubicle window. The ranger smashed through the wall and crashed into an adjoining room, which was filled with various tables and chairs.
Tommy rolled to his feet and placed his right fist against his left palm. "Kiryoku!"
He used his Ki to lift every table and chair, and hurl the pieces of furniture towards the Dark Man.
The Dark Man, stepping through the hole in the wall, merely inclined his head and shattered each piece of furniture, smashing them to pieces with an invisible TK burst.
"Please, Tommy," the Dark Man said. "You are above these sorts of parlor tricks. Those were your Sensei Kaku's stock and trade. You know what happened to him..."
Tommy knitted his brow and glared at the Dark Man. "It was your fault...you revived the Gorma...his death was your fault."
"It is not my fault your sensei was a coward."
Tommy lunged forward and swung a fist towards his opponent. "Burn Knuckle!"
Tommy's fist ignited with flame and swung towards the Dark Man's face, but the Dark Man stepped to the side, grabbed Tommy's wrist, and slammed a series of kicks against the ranger's gut.
The Dark Man twisted his wrist and turned, flipping Tommy back-first onto the ground. The villain stepped down on the ranger's throat.
"End this," the Dark Man said. "You have come too far, fought too hard, to throw away your-"
"Burn in hell!" Tommy released the flaming torrent of his Hellfire attack, which blasted upward and slammed against the Dark Man, crashing him upward through several layers of floors before spitting him out from the roof.
The Dark Man twisted his body through the air, flipped, and landed on the roof of a nearby building.
He watched Tommy leap into the sky with a comet of power, flip through the air, and land in front of him.
The ranger glared at the Dark Man and snapped into a fighting stance.
The Dark Man merely placed his hands back in his pockets. "Do not be a fool, Tommy. I beg of you."
Tommy thrust his hand forward and fired an invisible Ki blast that tore across the roof, kicking up cement and debris, towards the Dark Man. The Dark Man tilted his head and used a TK shield to smash against the Ki wave, creating a shockwave that knocked Tommy off his feet and sent him skidding across the roof.
Dark Man slowly walked towards Tommy. "This is your last chance, boy. End this now. Or I will take you down by force, destroy your will, destroy your spirit, and use your power to re-craft reality myself."
"Try it, you son-of-a-bitch." Tommy rose to his feet and stepped into a fighting stance.
Dark Man lowered his arms and let his jacket fall against the roof. The villain charged forward and launched a double jump kick, which Tommy stepped backward to block. The ranger spun a reverse sidekick that the Dark Man blocked, grabbed Tommy's ankle, and twisted him off his feet.
Tommy spun, and while in midair, snapped a punch that knocked the Dark Man back a step. Tommy landed and lashed out with a combination of kicks the Dark Man blocked with cold precision.
The villain spun and lashed out with a roundhouse kick of his own, which Tommy ducked under, rose, slammed an uppercut against the villain's chest, and slammed the back of his fist across the villain's head.
The ranger sidestepped and slammed a sidekick against the Dark Man, which knocked the villain off his feet. The Dark Man slammed back-first against the roof, but quickly rolled back to his feet.
Tommy slammed his fist against the roof. "Fire wave!"
Flames exploded beneath the Dark Man and hurled him through the air. While being thrown backward, the villain thrust his hands forward and fired an invisible TK blast that smashed against Tommy's chest with thundering force, knocking the ranger off his feet and sending him flying backward.
Tommy shattered through the windows of a skyscraper and skid across a hallway floor. The ranger flipped back to his feet and looked up to see the Dark Man shooting towards him, as if the villain were flying.
The Dark Man slammed against Tommy with the force of a cannon ball, and the two opponents went smashing through the other side of the building. They shot through another building, pulverizing through the wall, before smashing through another building. And another.
The Dark Man pushed Tommy downward and smashed him against the street below with a thundering boom that cracked the concrete on impact.
Tommy spat up blood and kicked the Dark Man off of him. The ranger flipped to his feet while smashing a kick across the villain's head. Stepping sideways, Tommy smashed his elbow against the Dark Man's chest and slammed a sidekick against his body.
Tommy slammed a hook kick across the Dark Man's head and smashed a roundhouse across his temple. Tommy snapped a roundkick/sidekick/hook kick combo that battered the Dark Man back, but the villain spun with the last blow and slammed the back of his fist across the ranger's head.
Dark Man slammed his knee against Tommy's chest and kicked him upside the head, which whipped his body backward and sent him crashing against the ground.
"You're holding back," the Dark Man said as Tommy rose to his feet. "You always hold back. Your fear is your worst enemy. I only wish-"
"I've listened to you enough for one lifetime." Tommy extended his arm. "Ryuuseikin!"He summoned his golden-hilted sword to hand. "Enough talk."
The Dark Man extended his hand, and with a flash of silver light, summoned his own sword. The blade was similar to Tommy's, only its hilt was silver with black cloth around the handle.
"Very, well...enough talk. But know this, Tommy. I am more a part of you than you can imagine. I am more than flesh and bone. I have seen more and known more than any Master, Ranger, or Warlord that has breathed life or death. I-"
"Enough riddles!" Tommy pounced forward and swung his sword towards the Dark Man's head. Dark Man dodged the blow, so Tommy swung again, but his enemy ducked beneath that blow too.
Tommy stepped back and twirled his sword through an upward strike that the Dark Man parried. The ranger sidestepped, pivoted on his foot, and smashed a spin kick across the villain's head.
Tommy chopped his blade, but the Dark Man lifted his hand and fire an invisible energy blast that smashed against Tommy's chest and sent him flying backward through the air.
The ranger smashed through an old department store lobby and crashed onto a jewelry case. Like all buildings in Angel Grove Central, debris and fallen support beams cluttered the dark store.
Tommy flipped back to his feet just in time to block a flurry of the Dark Man's sword strikes. The Dark Man swung his blade through an intricate series of patterns and blows that Tommy had to take several steps back to deflect.
Tommy narrowed his brow with frustration. I should be doing better than this...
The Dark Man's swordsmanship was uncanny, and better than any villain Tommy had faced. The Dark Man was more calculated and precise than Eclipter, more savage than Darkonda and stronger than Goldar.
Tommy leapt backward to gain distance. He swung his blade through a horizontal arc that emitted a charging wave of fire power towards the Dark Man. But the villain merely cut through the energy wave with his sword.
Tommy and the Dark Man dashed at each other so quickly, they appeared as nothing more than streaks of motion. They dashed past each other, swords clashing, and streaked back out to the decimated city streets.
The opponents leapt along the side so buildings, jumping upwards until they reached another rooftop, where the Dark man managed to score a hit across Tommy's left arm.
Tommy flipped backward and landed on the roof just as the Dark Man knocked the Ryuuseikinaway and smashed a spin kick against the ranger's chest. Tommy's sword fell from the roof and speared into the ground below.
The Dark Man tossed his blade aside.
"Who are you?" Tommy asked. "No one can fight like that..."
"If you must call me something, call me Akuma. As for who I am...I have told you everything you need to know for now. I will ask you again, Tommy...what is your answer? Let the game continue, or end it..."
Tommy rolled his hands into fists. "You told me once the choice was between life or death...And I chose life!"
Tommy lunged at the Dark Man and smashed a spinning sidekick against the villain.
The Dark Man stumbled backward, taken aback by Tommy's sudden burst of speed.
Tommy smashed a double-jump sidekick against the Dark Man and used the footing to flip backward and kick the villain upside the head.
The ranger landed and summoned a bolt of crackling fiery energy between his palms. "Fury...of Wildfire!"
Tommy thrust his hands forward and fired a massive bolt of power that exploded against the Dark man with a shockwave so intense, it sent a spinning column of ire tearing across more than a dozen blocks across the city, vaporizing buildings and ripping apart everything in its path.
The blast slowly cleared, and Tommy walked across the smoking rubble to wear the Dark Man laid. The villain was breathing heavily on his back. Scorch marks covered his pale skin, and blood dripped from his forehead.
"Very well," the Dark Man said. "You have won. This cycle will continue, but it is not free. It will keep trying to destroy itself. It will keep trying to restart. To bring balance.
"What is to come, Tommy...the new trails you have faced...will make you regret this decision terribly." A tear streamed down the Dark Man's cheek. "How you will wish, that you ended it all when you had the chance. Now...now the ones you love will suffer...even more...
"This could have been your last battle, Tommy. Your final conflict. But now...thanks to your choice...it is only the beginning..."
The Dark Man faded to black and disappeared. But the chill down the back of Tommy's spine remained.
The surviving champions gathered near the foot of the temple and looked up to see the Hell Gates finally vanish.
The Galaxy, Ninja, Power Ranger, and Zeo teams powered down, and their morphers suddenly shot to the skies with streaks of golden energy to rejoin The Power.
The Power within the other rangers' morphers, and the heroes' transformation devices started to glow white-hot. The morphers and transformation devices exploded and vaporized.
They were no longer needed.
Tommy walked over and pulled his Ryuuseikin free. The weapon was the only ranger artifact that remained.
"Tommy!" a voice shouted from nearby. Tommy looked to see Ashley, Simon, Teddy, and Karone rush towards him.
Tommy dropped his sword and ran to them, and they all hugged, tears of joy, relief, and sorrow streaming down their cheeks.
Ashley pulled back and draped her arms around Tommy. They rested their foreheads together. "It's finally over..."
Tommy lowered his gaze. He felt a cold chill move across his body. "No...it's just started."
THE END AN EPILOGUE FOLLOWS