Chapter 18: The Limits of Betrayal
Tyler sat in his chair on the main deck of the Legacy Galleon. He leaned back casually, as if not weighed down by the responsibility of saving all existence.
The ranger finished telling his team about the message from Vasco. The villain had a final set of Ranger Keys– the Rail Ranger Keys– and challenged Tyler to claim them. Tyler planned to go to Vasco, take the Keys, and use them to learn the secrets of how reality shattered.
His teammates didn’t exactly care for his plan.
Mat shook his head. “So your plan is to attack Vasco head-on and take the Rail Ranger Keys by force?”
Tyler nodded, smirking. “Best to keep things simple.”
“That’s a little too simple,” Mat said.
Orion placed a hand on Mat’s shoulder. “Come on, Mat. Some of the best plans in Ranger history were off-the-cuff.”
“I hate that you’re a walking Power Rangers textbook,” Mat said, only half joking.
Suddenly, explosions sounded from outside, and the Galleon shook.
Alarms blared, and Navi screamed.
Mat went to the main monitor and pulled up an image: Two of Vasco’s Roids, Sunroid and Goldroid, stood within a ruined cityscape that appeared to float in the middle of a shredded Nebula.
Seth looked to Tyler. “Apparently, Vasco didn’t feel like waiting.”
The Rangers morphed. The Ultimate Silver Ranger leapt into his own zord, the Q-Rex Drill. The others rushed into their cockpit.
The Red Ranger grasped his wheel. “Ultimate fusion.”
“ULLLLLTIMATE FUSION!” The ship split into five different zords, which twirled through the air and combined into a robo.
“Ultimate Megazord!” the Rangers shouted.
The Megazord dashed alongside the Q-Rex Drill.
Inside the Q-Rex Drill, the Silver Ranger pulled out his Green Dragon Ranger Key and slid it into his wheel. “Ranger Key, set!”
The zord shifted shape and formed a T-Rex robo, roaring with power.
“Q-Rex Dinozord!” the Silver Ranger shouted.
The Dinozord and Ultimate Megazord moved to attack.
But Goldroid fired a wave of energy, encasing the two zords in sheets of gold metal.
“Oh, come on!” the Green Ranger shouted.
The Silver Ranger smiled beneath his helmet. “It’s just like that time the Midas Hound Goldarized the Zeo-”
“We’re not losing to over-sized dolls,” the Red Ranger said. “Break out. Now.”
The Rangers pulled out their SPD Keys and inserted them into their wheels.
“Ranger Keys, set!” they shouted, turning the keys.
The Megazord transformed, shattering through the golden entrapment and shifting into the armor of SPD mode.
“Ultimate DECA Megazord!” the Rangers shouted.
The Silver Ranger slid his Dino Slayer Key into his wheel. “Ranger Key, set!”
His zord transformed, shattering through the golden plating and shifting into Dino Thunder mode.
“Q-Rex Megazord!” the Silver Ranger shouted.
“Let’s hit 'em hard,” the Red Ranger said. He turned the Key in his wheel, arming the gatling cannons in the Megazord’s arms and legs. “Judgement Strike!”
The cannons fired rapid darts of energy that blasted the monsters with bursts of spark, sending them staggering backward.
Before the Rangers could attack again, the giants leapt aside. Solaroid fired bursts of solar energy, smashing the Q-Rex Megazord with bursts of spark.
The Rangers inserted their Mystic Keys into their wheels and turned the keys. “Ranger Keys, set!”
The Megazord flashed with energy. Compartments flipped open, and the Mystic Dragon appeared on the Megazord’s chest, wings spread.
“Ultimate Mystic Megazord!” the Rangers shouted.
The Megazord shot into the air.
The Rangers turned their keys. “Mystic Bind!”
The dragon flashed with golden energy, separated from the Megazord, and shot towards the Roids. The dragon circled the monsters and surrounded them with three rings of magical power. The rings tightened, binding the monsters together.
The Silver Ranger turned the key in his wheel. “Final Strike!” he shouted. “Triple Drill Attack!”
The Megazord spawned duplicates of its other two versions; they combined their three drills into one massive drill attack that speared towards the monsters.
Suddenly, the monsters broke from their bindings. The magic rings shattered into shards of energy and discharges of power, blasting the Q-Rex Megazord backward before its attack could land.
The monsters started to spin while standing back-to-back. They formed a tornado of power that dashed back-and-forth around the Megazords, bashing the robos with bursts of spark.
The Ultimate Megazord staggered backward.
“Hard 'no’ to that,” the Red Ranger said.
The Rangers pulled out their RPM Keys.
“Ranger Keys, set!” the Rangers shouted as they inserted their keys into their wheel. “Turbo Falconzord!”
The Megazord summoned the Turbo Falconzord, Grand Power of the RPM Rangers. The zord split into separate components and energized with power. Shifting shape, the Ultimate Megazord and Q-Rex Megazord combined, fused by the Turbo Falconzord.
“Ultimate Legendary Megazord!” the six Rangers shouted in their joined cockpit.
Below, Vasco sighed as he watched the battle unfold. “Maybe I was a tad-bit too generous with the Grand Powers I let you have…”
He sighed again, more dramatically this time. “And you’re all out of Roids…aren’t you, Sally?” He looked at his bamboo-like companion. “Looks like I’ll have to get creative…”
“Ultimate Missile Barrage!” the Rangers shouted.
The Megazord fired missiles from its fingertips. The blasts exploded against the Roids with massive bursts of spark, sending them staggering backward.
“Ultimate Drill!”
The Megazord spun its drill arm, which crackled with power and slashed through the Roids.
“Flying Fist!”
The Megazord launched its fist like a cannonball. The fist punctured through the monsters with bursts of spark, ripping them apart; the monsters collapsed to their knees as secondary explosions vaporized them into ash.
“Eyes up,” the Red Ranger said to his team. “Vasco’s around here somewhere…”
“Well, Sally,” Vasco said theatrically while waving his blaster. “On with the show we go…”
He blasted Sally in the chest; the baboon crashed onto her back, smoke sizzling from her armor.
Tyler and his teammates leapt onto the floating rooftop where the two villains stood.
“Vasco,” Tyler said, eyes narrowed.
“Hey Ty-Ty,” Vasco said, smiling. “Sorry you had to see that.”
Kym shook her head with disbelief. “You just shot one of your own people?!”
Vasco shrugged. “Now that she’s out of Roids, she’s not much use…” The villain smiled at Tyler and gave a mock salute. “We’ll do this again soon.”
Vasco stepped backward and teleported away with a blur of energy.
Nearby, Sally rolled onto her back, smoke sizzling from her cracked armor.
Tyler looked down at the fallen hench-monkey, betrayed by Vasco. He hesitated briefly. “Bring her back to the ship.”
“Huh?” Mat asked. “She’s a bad-guy.”
“Vasco…abandoned her,” Tyler said. “We won’t do the same.”
Earth, Florida 2019 AD Earth Calendar Before the Shattering
Tommy still remembered the last time he spoke with Kimberly — in both timelines. Kimberly hid her pregnancy from Tommy, and Tommy didn’t react well when he learned the truth years after Tyler’s birth.
In the Prime Timeline, Tommy never had a chance to make things right. Kimberly died during the Second Countdown to Destruction. But in this “Band-Aide” timeline, Kimberly still lived. And Tommy needed to see her.
He knocked on her door, and she answered, awkwardly. Tommy had let her know he was coming, but still. What could you say after years of silence following a failed relationship?
“Uh…hi,” Tommy said.
“Hi,” Kimberly said, leaning against the door. “Do you, um…want to come in?”
“Oh, uh…sure.”
Kimberly stepped aside and let Tommy into her small apartment. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Uh, no, that’s okay,” Tommy said, smiling awkwardly.
“So…” Kimberly said. “What brings you here? Your call sounded…urgent.”
Tommy nodded. “Just your typical end-of-the-world stuff.”
“I see…” Kimberly sounded distance. “You know…I still haven’t changed my mind, Tommy. I don’t want Tyler to be a part of some 'epic struggle’ of good vs. evil.”
“I know,” Tommy said. “I just…I’m his father. I wanted to see him. A boy shouldn’t have to grow up without his dad.”
“He already did. He’s a teenager. You missed his childhood.”
“And who’s fault is-” Tommy stopped himself and took a deep breath. “Look, I didn’t come here to rehash our last argument.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“To try and make things right,” Tommy said. “I don’t like the way we left things, Kim.”
“That was years ago, Tommy,” Kimberly said. “You’re too late.”
“It’s never too late,” Tommy said. “Not when-”
The door opened, and Tyler walked into the living room.
“Hey, mom, I’m…” he stopped when he noticed Tommy. “Oh…you…”
“Hey, Tyler.”
Tyler sighed, shook his head, and walked upstairs.
Tommy looked to Kimberly, his eyes pleading. “Can I…talk to him?”
She nodded.
Tommy followed Tyler upstairs and went into the teen’s room, decorated with music and movie posters, including a poster of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Tyler sat at his desk and flipped open his laptop.
Tommy felt hesitant to walk inside, so he leaned inside the doorframe. “So, uh…how’s school been?”
“Seriously?” Tyler asked.
Tommy shrugged. “Just want to know how you’ve been doing.”
“You missed out on my entire life, why do you care all of a sudden?”
“I didn’t-” He stopped himself. He didn’t want to blame Kimberly.
“Don’t blame mom,” Tyler said.
“I didn’t,” Tommy said. “Look…whatever’s going on between your mom and I…it’s not about you, it’s-”
“It’s literally about me,” Tyler said.
Tommy sighed and lowered his head. “I don’t know what to say, Tyler. You know…I had to grow up without my dad, and it wasn’t-”
“Spare me,” Tyler said. “Just get out, Tommy. Just get out and leave me alone, we’re doing just fine without you.”
The boy’s words hurt more than any blow Tommy ever suffered.
Tommy nodded silently and walked away.
Beyond all Space and Time After the Shattering of Reality
The rangers laid Sally on the coach of the main crew deck. The baboon barely moved, but still breathed.
Mat shook his head. “You want to tell us what’s going on?” Mat asked Tyler. “With you and Vasco?”
Tyler sat in his chair and leaned back, saying nothing.
Kym sat next to him and placed a hand on his arm. “Come on, Tyler,” she said. “We’re your friends. You can tell us…”
Tyler sighed. He looked at Sally. Alone. Abandoned.
“It started right after the Shattering,” Tyler said. “I woke up…and Vasco was there…”
Flashback
Tyler’s vision blurred into focus. He looked up at a sky that twirled with broken stars and shredded clouds. The night itself seemed to crack into a spider-web pattern.
Slowly, he sat up and climbed to his feet. He stood on a patch of grass surrounded by seas of black and gray.
“What…” He didn’t remember where he was or how he got there. He didn’t remember anything, really, other than his name.
“You get used to it,” a voice said from behind. Tyler looked to see a stranger. Vasco. “Just give it a minute…which is funny to say when a 'minute’ is a unit of time, and time doesn’t exist anymore.”
Tyler knitted his brow. “What?”
“Exactly,” Vasco said with a smile. “You’ll be saying 'what?’ a lot until you finally learn to stop asking and just…go with it.”
“Who are you?”
Vasco gave a mock bow. “You can call me Vasco, your first friend in this brave new existence. If you can call it an existence…it’s technically the end of existence. But…just go with it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Vasco smiled and rolled his eyes. “Another question? Man, you’re persistent. You see…reality shattered, leaving shards of time and space in an endless void. That’s where we are. And where we’ll stay. Until the last of those shards evaporates into nothing.”
“That’s promising,” Tyler said sarcastically. “How do we stop it?”
Vasco laughed and slid his arm around Tyler’s shoulders. “That’s adorable, just adorable. We’re going to get along great, Tyler, I can tell. Now…question for you: Do you like pirates?”
Tyler joined Vasco on the Legacy Galleon along with the crew of the Red Pirates. They got their name from their captain, Aka Red, a mysterious Red Ranger. Rumors said he embodied the fighting spirit of all the Red Rangers from before the shattering of reality and had no identity of his own.
The trio led a crew of misfits, leftover scraps from worlds and dimensions that no longer existed. During their journey, they encountered the forces of the Armada, an enemy that had conquered numerous parallel worlds before the Shattering.
Aka Red led his crew towards a single purpose: to defeat the Armada and gather the artifacts left over from the destruction of the Prime Universe– the Ranger Keys. Aka Red believed he could use the Ranger Keys to unlock the secrets of reality’s destruction.
The pirates tracked down key after key, after seemingly countless missions.
Aka Red, Tyler, and Vasco gathered in the main crew hold of the Legacy Galleon. They stood around a chest filled with Ranger Keys. Aka Red placed a key into the chest.
“There,” he said. “The final primary Ranger Key.”
“Now what?” Tyler asked.
Suddenly, the ship rocked. Tyler looked out the nearest viewport. An Armada dreadnaught approached with cannons blasting. Boarding tubes extended and locked onto the Legacy Galleon. X-Borgs boarded with a wave of destruction, slaughtering the crew faster than Tyler could react.
The grunts charged into the crew hold and surrounded Tyler, Aka Red, and Vasco.
Vasco smirked, grabbed the chest of Ranger Keys, and joined the villains. “Thanks for helping with all the hard work, boys.”
Tyler knitted his brow. “Vasco, you…you can’t be serious.”
“I’m never serious,” Vasco said. “But if you’re asking whether I’m really betraying you, yes, of course I am.”
“Why…?”
The traitor smiled. “What…Did you think I was your friend? That I cared? That’s adorable…” He laughed. “Let me tell you a secret, Ty-Ty. There’s an underside to the multiverse you know. Think of it as a Negative Multiverse, a place where nightmares become worlds of their own, worlds that never should have existed. Worlds born to die.”
“Let me guess,” Tyler said. “You’re from one of those worlds?”
Vasco nodded. “Very much so. That’s why I hate you…I was born in darkness, you were born in light…and I hate the light.”
“That’s a pretty weak motivation,” Tyler said.
“Try this,” Vasco said. “On my world, my father was Tommy Oliver. You didn’t exist. Neither did Nick. Just me. J.J. Until the world unraveled and fell apart. That’s the fate of every world born into the Negative Multiverse. Each lacks the permanence of the Positive Multiverse.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Look around you!” Vasco shouted, his eyes maddened. “What about this existence of ours is sane?!”
Tyler pounced at Vasco. The villain pulled out his blaster and fired, shooting Tyler in the shoulder and whipping him off his feet.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Vasco said. The villain looked to Aka Red. “You’re being awfully quiet, dear leader.”
The Red Ranger slid his hand across the nearest control panel. The ship lurched, sending everyone stumbling across the deck.
Aka Red unsheathed his sword and slashed through the X-Borgs, blade sparking on impact.
Vasco ran and carried the Ranger Key chest through the nearest boarding tube,.
Tyler grasped his shoulder, stumbled to his feet, and bit back his pain. He charged after Vasco and tackled the villain; the key chest fell and slid across the boarding tube.
Vasco kicked Tyler away and rolled to his feet. He pulled out his blaster, aimed at Tyler’s head and pulled the trigger. A sword flashed and blocked the blast — Aka Red had leapt between the two opponents. The Red Ranger stood in the way of the Ranger Key chest.
Vasco knew better than to fight Aka Red one-on-one.
The traitor flashed a smile. “Well…I’ll be going, I guess. Have fun while you can.”
He ran towards the Armada ship, as waves of X-Borgs swarmed towards Tyler and Aka Red.
Aka Red grabbed the key chest and kneeled next to Tyler.
“Tyler…” He pushed the chest closer to the teen. “Take the keys and run.”
“I-”
“You must,” Aka Red said. “Finish what we started. This is your legacy.”
The Red Ranger pushed Tyler back and ran towards the X-Borgs. Aka Red hacked and slashed through the grunts, blade sparking on impact, keeping the forces away from Tyler.
Tyler watched helplessly as the boarding tube exploded, taking Aka Red along with it.
Kym knitted her brow. “I can’t believe you went through that. And Vasco…he’s your brother?”
Tyler shook his head. “He’s from a dead universe that never should have existed. He’s not my family. He’s not my friend. He…betrayed me. Betrayed me and our entire crew.” He looked towards Sally, who rested while recovering from her wounds. “He doesn’t care about anything or anyone. Not anymore.”
“I’m so sorry…” Kym said.
“Don’t be,” Tyler said, his voice solemn. “I’ve gotten used to abandonment.”
Angel Grove, 2019 AD Before the Shattering
Tommy returned home that night. He sat on the porch and looked up at the stars. He tried not to let his failure as a father weigh him down. But he failed. Miserably.
What the hell am I doing?
He failed as a father. He failed as a Ranger. He failed as a mentor.
I’ve spent my entire life in this world…this world of Rangers and monsters…and what do I have to show for it? What good has come from it?
Nothing.
Tommy barely noticed a visitor approach from the shadows. The lean figure moved to the porch as lightly as a feather.
“Simon…” Tommy’s face paled at the sight of him.
Simon knitted his brow. “What’s wrong? You’re looking at me like I’m a ghost or something.”
Tommy shook his head. “Sorry, a lot on my mind today.” He leaned back in his chair. Simon stayed standing, leaning against the house. “How are you feeling?”
“Good as ever,” Simon said with a shrug, anxious to change the subject. “So we checked out that Enetron Matrix…”
“And?”
“Tommy…we can’t let Billy turn that thing on.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Something about its power signature is…evil,” Simon said. “I know that sounds generic, but it’s the best way to describe it. My empathy fired off like mad; it was like feeling cancer. Kou felt it too, and he’s not even an empath.”
“How hard would it be to shut down?”
“Pretty hard,” Simon said. “Billy has the Digi Rangers on guard 24/7, it seems like. The Bio-Beast team hangs out there too. I’m sure Jet Force and SPD are on call somewhere. And the Overdrive team…and Dino Charge…basically everyone.”
Tommy sighed. “I’d rather not fight every single one of Billy’s Ranger teams.”
“We might not have to,” Simon said. “We just need time to plan.”
“Time we don’t have…” Tommy said. “If Billy activates that Matrix, he’ll break all reality.”
Tommy thought of the White Jokers that appeared and disappeared just as quickly after battling the Dino Thunder Rangers. A sign of reality breaking? The rot bleeding into this new “band-aide” timeline laid over the shattering timeline that Tommy remembered?
“We’ll stop him, Tommy,” Simon said. “Listen…I need to get back to the dojo, but we’ll regroup as soon as you’re ready. I just thought it would be best to give you an update in person.”
“Thanks, man,” Tommy said.
“Anytime,” Simon said, nodding as he started to walk off.
Tommy called out to him before he got far. “Simon…”
Simon arced an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“I, uh…listen. You know I love you, right? You’re family to me. I don’t want that to change.”
“Uh…are you dying or something?” Simon asked.
“No, I just…” He sighed. “Like I said, a lot on my mind today.”
Simon smiled. “Well, don’t get too weird on me. I love you too, man. Let’s just…not have this conversation again unless we’re good and drunk.”
Beyond all Space and Time After the Shattering of Reality
Tyler stood in the lookout pod of the Legacy Galleon. Seth walked up to join him.
“What are you planning to do?” Seth asked. But Tyler didn’t answer. “Will you tell me?” Tyler said nothing. “This is obviously a trap.”
“Maybe,” Tyler said.
“Maybe?”
“Even if Vasco was putting on an act by betraying that monkey…he’ll end up betraying her for real anyway. Leaving her behind.” He looked to Seth. “Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m asking her to join us. We’ll send her on her way as soon as she’s recovered.”
“Really?”
Tyler said nothing.
Seth smirked. “You know…you’re awfully soft on people. A former Armada soldier, a thief, an engineer who can’t fight, a princess, an annoying superfan. For someone who was betrayed like you were, you’ve put together quite a crew.”
“Seth…”
“Do what you want,” Seth said softly. He placed a hand on Tyler’s shoulder and left on the pod.
The Legacy Galleon shifted into night mode. Sally remained on the couch in the crew bay. And she remembered her master’s words to her, as the Rangers’ Megazords had battle the last of her roids.
“Listen, Sally,” Vasco said, leaning next to her. “You’re going to get onto their ship, and you’re going to take their treasure chest. You understand me? Treasure. Chest.” He made a square with his hands. “Treasure chest. You do that, I’ll have all the Grand Powers. And you’ll…well…you’ll have all the bananas you want.”
He placed a medallion around her neck. “I’m counting on you, Sally.”
Vasco pulled out his blaster and aimed at Sally. The monkey shrieked with surprise and stepped back.
Sally shook her head, dismissing the terror of the memory’s end. She climbed off the coach, snuck through the night-lit ship, and walked to the treasure chest that held the Ranger Keys.
Sally hesitated at the sight of the bandages wrapped around her arm and hand. She remembered, only a few hours ago, when the Rangers had treated her wounds.
Kym, Orion and Mat banaged Sally’s arm. Tyler, Seth and Kira stood by.
Kym shook her head. “Even for someone like Vasco…to turn on someone like this…I can’t believe it.”
“Well…” Kira said. “Maybe he doesn’t consider her a comrade. Doesn’t seem like the type to make actual friends.”
Sally hesitated. She walked back and forth. Vasco had promised bananas. But shot her. The Rangers had healed her. But Vasco…was counting on her.
Sally took the chest and fled to an asteroid with the atmosphere of a forest planet.
Vasco watched her approach. The villain smiled. “There it is. The treasure chest…”
Sally hesitated. She remembered Vasco aiming a blaster and shooting her. The image flashed through her mind.
“What’s wrong, Sally?” Vasco asked. “Come here already.”
Slowly, Sally started to walk again.
A voice spoke up from behind. “You sure you want to do that?” Sally turned to see Tyler and the other five rangers walk to the scene. “Yeah, we followed you.”
Vasco smiled. “My, my. You even brought me Ty-Ty and the rest. So that means the treasure chest is…”
“Obviously fake,” Kira said.
Sally opened the chest. Empty.
“We thought something like this would happen,” Kira said. “You overdid it. If we hadn’t treated Sally, she would have died.”
Vasco’s smile widened. “But if I hadn’t gone that far, you wouldn’t have taken her onto your ship.”
Tyler looked at Sally. “Sally, do you seriously believe this guy thinks of you as a comrade?”
Vasco laughed. “Ty-Ty, what are you thinking? Don’t tell me you’re trying to sway Sally to your side.”
Orion stepped forward. “You shut up! There’s no excuse for what you did to her.”
Vasco waved his hand dismissively. “Like that matters. If she dies following my orders, she dies happy.”
“That’s not happiness,” Orion said.
Vasco sighed. He pulled a banana from his jacket. “Sally, come here.”
Sally looked at the banana and started to waddle towards it.
“Sally.” Tyler said sternly. He walked closer towards the monkey while his teammates stayed back.
The monkey hesitated and turned towards the ranger. Her gaze swept across all six of them, looks of concern on their faces. And she remembered again: Vasco had aimed his blaster at her and fired. The rangers had bandaged her. Saved her.
Sally waddled to Tyler and ducked behind him, facing her former master with fear.
“Good call,” Tyler said. He narrowed his eyes at Vasco. “That’s what you get for betraying everyone, Vasco.”
Vasco laughed. “Ty-Ty, did you really think someone like me, who betrays everyone, would trust a monkey?”
“What?”
“Sally…not only did you draw them away from the galleon, you finished off Ty-Ty, my biggest problem.”
Vasco pulled out a detonator and pressed its trigger.
Sally’s medallion beeped. The monkey opened her eyes wide with primal terror. Tyler grabbed the medallion to pull it loose. But he moved too late. The medallion exploded with a burst of light that engulfed them both.
The other rangers shielded their faces. When the explosion cleared, they ran towards their fallen leader.
“Tyler!” they shouted.
The explosion had knocked him to the ground, his clothes torn and tattered, his body covered with scorch marks and blood. He didn’t move. He barely breathed. Sally looked just as bad. Worse. She did not breathe at all.
The rangers crouched next to him.
“Hey, hold on,” Mat said frantically. “We’ll get you help. We’ll-”
Vasco laughed. “That’s so sad, really.”
Kym shook her head and looked at Vasco. “How could you do something like this? Tyler used to be your friend. And Sally’s been with you this whole time.”
Seth narrowed his eyes at the villain. “Vasco…”
Kira placed a hand on Tyler’s chest. “You wait here. We’re going to kick some ass, then get you back to the ship.”
Vasco crossed his arms over his chest. “This should be fun.”
The villain shifted into his monster form with a flash of red-and-black fire.
The rangers armed their morphers.
“Ultimate Transform!” They inserted their keys into their morphers, which shouted the command: “POOOOOOOWER RANGERS!”
The five Rangers swarmed around Vasco with swords slashing. Saber in hand, the villain dodged, blocked and parried, moving faster than the Rangers could strike.
Vasco energized his blade with crimson power and swung wide, slashing through a streak of energy. The blow struck the Rangers with massive bursts of spark and whipped them to the ground.
They crashed, tumbled, and rolled back to their feet.
The Rangers armed their Heaven Star Task Force Power Rangers Keys.
“Chakra ignite!” they slid their keys into their morphers, which spoke the command. “HEEEEEEEAVEN STAR TASK FORCE!”
Their armor flashed around them as they morphed. Seth became the Blue Tenma Ranger, Kym became the Pink Phoenix Ranger, Kira became the Yellow Kirin Ranger, Mat morphed into the Green Lion Ranger, and Orion morphed into the White Kiba Ranger.
The Rangers scattered and attacked.
The Blue Ranger slapped his right fist against his left palm.
“Heaven Gravity Star!” he shouted. “Gravity Inversing Destruction!”
He thrust his hand and fired a jagged beam of blue energy.
Vasco reflected the blast, which splashed across the Blue Ranger and launched him into the air.
The Lion Ranger moved in from the side. He slapped his right fist against his left palm.
“Heaven Illusion Star!” he shouted. “Mist Concealment Destruction!”
Mist swept across the area and covered Vasco. The Green Ranger launched an illusion of a train, which barreled towards the villain.
Vasco braced himself; the illusion zoomed through him, sparking on impact and sending him staggering.
The Phoenix Ranger leapt from above to knock the villain further off balance.
“Heaven Wind Star!” she shouted. “Straight-line Whirlwind Destruction!”
She formed a twirling blast of energy that blew around Vasco and nearly swept him off his feet. But the villain spun, gathered the wind power, and returned it. Waves of wind whipped the Pink Ranger from the air.
Kirin Ranger leapt at the villain from behind. Vasco snapped around and swung his sword, hacking the Yellow Ranger to the ground.
Kirin Ranger rolled to her knees and slapped her right fist against her left palm.
“Heaven Time Star!” she shouted. “Time Reversal Destruction!”
She rewound time for several seconds, long enough to change her initial attack. The Yellow Ranger leapt at Vasco from behind and armed her blaster. She triggered blasts of yellow energy that sparked against Vasco and knocked him off balance.
The Kiba Ranger moved in next. He leapt through the air and landed with a chop, slashing Vasco with bursts of spark. The White Ranger spun with a wide swing, striking Vasco, and jump-kicked the villain.
Kiba Ranger leapt back to gain distance.
“Heaven Roaring Star!” he shouted. “Sound Bite Destruction!”
He fired waves of biting, sonic power that forced Vasco to his knees. Secondary explosions sparked through his armor.
“Let’s bomb 'im!” the White Ranger shouted.
The Rangers regrouped and raised their hands, forming spheres of energy between their palms.
“Bomber, set!” the Rangers shouted. “Kiryoku! Bomber!”
They hurled their energy bolts, which combined into a single sphere of power that shot towards Vasco like a cannonball.
But Vasco caught the bolt and hurled it back at the Rangers. The blast smashed them with bursts of power, hurling them backward.
The Rangers crashed, tumbled, and climbed to their feet. They armed their Hurricane Ranger Keys.
“Ninjetti Change!” They inserted their keys into their morphers, which shouted: “HUUUURICANE TASK FORCE!”
Light flashed as they morphed. Kym morphed into Navy Thunder, Mat shifted into Crimson Thunder, Orion morphed into Hurricane Green, Seth morphed into Hurricane Blue, and Kira turned into Hurricane Yellow.
Hurricane Green unsheathed his sword; the others did the same with their blades.
“Storm Style!” the Green Ranger shouted. “Shadow Dance Jutsu!”
They dashed through blurs of motion, like shadows, slashing through streaks of energy. But one-by-one, Vasco blocked and parried their attacks and kicked them backward.
The Rangers regrouped and armed another set of Ranger Keys.
“Galaxy Transform!” They slid their keys into their morphers: “GAAAAAALAXY RANGERS!”
Light flashed. Orion morphed into the Black Knight. Kym morphed into Galaxy Pink. Seth became Galaxy Blue. Mat morphed into Galaxy Green. And Kira became Galaxy Yellow.
Black Knight somersaulted through the air. The other fours Rangers charged.
“Black Slash!” He slashed through a streak of black energy.
“Shine! Lights of Orion!” They shot through comets of golden light.
Vasco shifted into a defensive stance, lifted his sword, and blocked their attacks with massive discharges of energy. He slashed them aside with bursts of spark. The Rangers crashed and skidded across the ground, rolling to a stop as they shifted back into their standard Ranger forms.
Slowly, the Rangers climbed to their feet.
Vasco traced his hand along the edge of his blade. “I guess we should finish this.”
He shot at the Rangers through a blur of motion. Streaking back and forth, he slashed them repeatedly, blade sparking on impact and whipping the Rangers off their feet.
They crashed and tumbled. The impact knocked them out of their armor with flashes of light, and they rolled to where Tyler laid unmoving.
Vasco shifted back into his human form. The villain smiled at his fallen opponents. “Well…I guess that’s that.”
Navi flapped his wings frantically in the crew hold of the Legacy Galleon. The droid shouted into the coms. “Tyler! Mat! Are you reading me?!”
Vasco walked into the room with a smug smile on his face. “Hello, Navi. Sorry we haven’t kept in touch.”
“Bwa!” Navi shouted. “Vasco?!”
The droid started to flap away.
“It’s no use running. Or, I guess, flying. No one’s coming to save you.”
He slid his hand into his jacket. And he pulled out the Rangers’ six Keys.
Navi landed on Tyer’s chair. “Bah! What did you do to them?!”
Vasco walked to Navi, swatted the droid to the ground, and sat in Tyler’s chair.
—To be continued: TOMMY VS BILLY