//------------------------------// // Episode 2: Awaken the Fury Part 2 // Story: Power Rangers: Element Fury // by Equestrian Defender //------------------------------// -Clover's Cave- After their impromptu rescue by Clover, the group of teens followed her as she lead them through a tunnel. "So, where are we going again," Tempest asked. "My home," Clover replied. "We'll be safer once we get within the protective wards." "Protective wards," Twilight asked. "Look, I know you kids have a lot of questions-" "Understatement of the century," Soarin muttered. "-but I can explain everything a whole lot better at my home. So please, save your questions till we get there." "Just one question," Sunset pleaded. Sighing, Clover replied "I think I know what it is. You're wondering if I ran into your friends last night." "How did you-?" "I've got detection spells all over Everfree in case anyone found the Gems. I overheard your conversations. ALL of them." Sighing again, she continued "Yes, I did find your friends. You can relax though, they're alive." "I'm sensing a 'BUT' in there," Thorax stated as they came to a rock wall. Not skipping a beat Clover tapped the rock wall with her staff, causing it to glow green before sliding over to reveal a passageway. "It'll be easier if you see it for yourselves." They continued following her for roughly thirty minutes, before they finally came to a large metal door. Upon it was a mural, depicting two large ponies, one white and one dark blue, each with a wing and a horn, moving in a cycle with the moon and sun following them. Seeing this Sunset gasped. "This-? How-?" "You recognize this," Flash asked. Sunset nodded. "It's one of the most well known pictures from Equestria. It depicts the Alicorn Princesses Celstia and Luna. Celestia, Princess of the Sun, and Luna, Princess of the Moon, as they go through the day and night cycle." "Oh yeah," Twilight said. "You told me about this. Celestia raises the sun and Luna raises the moon." She then frowned. "Which makes no sense. Since if your world is anything like Earth then it would orbit the sun and the moon would revolve around the planet, thereby eliminating any need for a pony to need to raise or lower them as that would actually throw off the natural cycle and MMMF!" Fortunately for the viewers, Tempest Shadow wisely put a hand over Twilight's mouth. "Sorry, I just figured nobody wanted to sit through one of her lectures on astronomy." Sunset couldn't help but giggle, having seen a similar reaction when Princess Twilight couldn't understand how the Sun and Moon raised and lowered themselves in the Human World. "I get the feeling if she ever went to Equestria proper, she'd have a nervous breakdown due to how much this worlds Laws of Physics constantly get turned upside down and inside out." Looking back at the mural she asked "What is this doing here?" "Oh, a little reminder of home," Clover commented as she pointed her staff at the mural, either not hearing or straight up ignoring Sunset's surprised gasp. As the center of the mural began to glow, the twin princesses began to rotate until Luna was on one side and Celestia was on the other. The gate then opened to reveal- "Sweet Celestia on a pogo-stick," Sunset muttered. When Clover had said they were going to her home, most of them imagined a small cave with some shelves lined with spell books, possibly a cauldron filled with some steaming mixture. Typical stuff you'd imagine finding in the lair of a sorceress. What they were not expecting was to see was a large three story room with hardwood floors, a series of panels on the far wall that show various locales ranging from Downtown Canterlot to the Everfree Forest, a small laboratory with beakers and test tubes of various sizes, three large bookshelves that reached to the ceiling filled with various books and scrolls that looked ancient. Seeing their shocked looked, Clover smiled and said "Welcome to my humble abode." "Humble," Tempest asked in disbelief. "If THIS is you being humble, I'd hate to see you when you're bragging." Clover laughed as she walked in, removing her cloak and revealing the clothes underneath: a simple pair of blue jeans and green sneakers, and a t-shirt for the band Paramore. Her overall body type suggested that she wasn't much older than the rest of them, probably being in her late twenties. "Not exactly the clothes I'd imagine a sorceress would wear," Twilight said upon seeing it. "Well robes and a wizard hat tend to stick out when you go for groceries." "Fair enough." "Plus Paramore is my favorite band." She then casually tossed it to the side, only for it to somehow fly and hang itself on a hook on the far wall. Turning to face the group she said "Well, we're here. You are free to ask your questions." Seeing them all about to speak she quickly added "One at a time please." Flash was the first to ask "What exactly is going on? Between our friends disappearing, the crystal tree, the gems, us getting magic, and then you showing up, we'd just like the whole story." Clover was silent for a moment, before saying "Well, let's start at the beginning. 'The legend only goes back 1500 years. But in reality, the story actually starts about 10 years before that. As you can imagine by the mural and by Sunset's surprised gasp, I am actually from Equestria." Sunset's eyes widened. "Wait, does that mean you're-" "Yes, Sunset. I am indeed the same Clover the Clever from Equestria. The apprentice of Starswirl the Bearded, the mare who helped revolutionize magic and magical theory, one of the Founders of Equestria, and a whole bunch of other titles I'm probably forgetting." Silence reigned for a few minute before Sunset let loose arguably the loudest fangirl squeal of all time, one which made everyone cover their ears and could shatter glass (which didn't happen since Clover took the precaution of enchanting all her glass items to be near indestructible.) Massaging her ringing ears, Tempest asked "I take it that means your're a fan?" "A fan? A FAN?! She's my icon. My idol! MY INSPIRATION!" "Yeah, we kinda figured that when you exploded," Thorax replied. "Ahem." Everyone looked back to Clover, who continued "Thank you. 'A few years after we founded that happy little kingdom, I discovered seven magic gems hidden away in a temple. If you're familiar with the legend you can guess what they were. Or are." "The Elemental Gems," Thorax stated. "So they're from Equestria?" "No they're from Wonderland," Clover replied while rolling her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Any more questions?" "I'm good." "They should really call you Clover the Snarky," Soarin muttered. "No arguments there. 'I could tell the Gems were dangerous, so I took them for safe keeping. And, admittedly to study them." She giggled. "I'm a scientist, what can I say? 'So during my research I found out that these gems weren't just full of powerful magic, but that they weren't linked to any source of Equestrian Magic. What I mean is that while they were FROM Equestria, the source of their magic was from somewhere else. Being the young, naive, and curious mare I was, I decided to follow it. As you can imagine it led me here to the Human World, in what is today the United Kingdom (Yeah, the Mirror Portal wasn't always here in America.)" She sighed. "Unfortunately, I kinda ran into some trouble, trouble being some bandits that had some not-so friendly plans for me, and sadly I couldn't magic myself out of it. Fortunately I got saved by six very friendly humans who were more than willing to lend me a hand. And that's when all our lives changed. 'Contrary to what the legend would have you believe, I wasn't the only Element Fury Power Ranger. The seven gems each bonded to one of us, and we each felt a surge of power the likes of which we'd never experienced." "Oh trust me, we know the feeling," Twilight said. "Yeah. It is kind of a rush," she admitted. "But back on topic, they decided to go with me to find the source of the Gem's power. Our travels eventually took us across the sea to America, where we found a temple tucked away inside of a mountain. From the scrolls and tomes they had laying around, we found out that the temple was known as the Forge of Elements, and you can put the pieces together from there." "That temple was where the Gems were created," Sunset stated. "But why were they created and how did they end up in Equestria?" "We'll get to the why in a moment. But as for how they ended up in Equestria, I have no idea. My best guess is that somebody had them and stumbled across the Mirror Portal, or they might've found another way into Equestria. Either way, they were there, I found them, I followed their magic to this world, and here we are. 'Anyway, we found out that the reason the Gems were created was to create a team of warriors to fight against the forces of evil, of which there were many. Seriously, this world's pretty much a magnet for the forces of evil. To do this they tapped into an energy field that stretched across the entirety of the multiverse, to different dimensions entirely. This was the Morphing Grid, and as I later learned it was the source of power for the Power Rangers. Their powers, weapons, suits, Zords; it all comes from the Grid." "So the Power Rangers basically get their power, from the Force," Soarin asked. BONK! Soarin groaned, rubbing his sore head while glaring daggers at Clover, who was holding her staff that she had used to bonk Soarin on the head with. "Was that necessary?" "No." She grinned. "But it was fun. 'Most of us were initially hesitant to do this; after all it's one thing to protect people from some jerkwad bandits, but protecting the world from monsters and demons was a whole different ballgame. But after we saw a group of monsters terrorizing a small town, we realized we couldn't just stand by and do nothing while people suffered. So we jumped in, and that was our first battle as the Element Fury Power Rangers." She smiled as nostalgia took her. "Those were good days." Flash asked "But if there were more Rangers than just you, why does the legend only talk about you?" Almost immediately he regretted asking that, as Clover's face changed into one of pain and loss. In barely a whisper she answered "Because not every hero gets a happy ending." That shocked everyone present. Most of the time when they heard about the Power Rangers it was about them fighting monsters or saving the day. As far as any of them had heard from various news outlets and several blogs on the internet, not once had there ever been a story of a Ranger falling in battle. At least, not any Ranger team on Earth. "I'm sorry," Flash said. "I didn't-" "Didn't know that sometimes a hero's tale ends in tragedy. Yeah, been there." "I'd ask if it was the King of Shadows," Tempest said "but I think we all know the answer to that one." Clover nodded solemnly. "Before he showed up most of the monsters we fought were just that, monsters. Sure some of them were intelligent but they weren't really much of a threat outside of causing wanton destruction and hurting people. We defeated them time and time again. 'But then he came. He was the villain we could have never been prepared for. He was smart, calculating, ruthless, and he was powerful. He said he wanted our Gems because their power would help conquer not only this world but the universe at large. Naturally we weren't going to let that happen, so we fought back." She sighed wearily. "The first few battles ended in stalemates. Neither my team or him and his generals could really gain an edge. But as time went on he began to learn more about us, our fighting styles, our weaknesses. The battles started getting harder, we found ourselves getting pushed back against the wall. With our battles getting increasingly more destructive, we decided to draw the fight away from the majority of people and took the fight overseas. We also made sure to bring the Mirror Portal, since in the off chance he did discover it we didn't wanna risk him going to Equestria. And before you say anything Sunset, I've seen the things he can do firsthand. If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were to fight him when he was at his full power, they would get pwned." Sunset's jaw dropped at that. "But they have the power of the sun and the moon! And at the time, they had access to the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful artifacts in Equestria! How can he trump that?" The moment the words left Sunset's mouth, Clover burst out into fits of hysterical laughter. Between gasping breaths she asked "You really... you honestly... Just... give me a sec." Once she got herself back together, she said "Celestia and Luna can NEVER use their full power, otherwise they'd more than likely end up destroying Equestria and every pony in it. You really think having the power of the Sun and the Moon doesn't come with some drawbacks? 'As for the Elements of Harmony? They are powerful, but they're not quite what Celestia would have you believe. I would know, I was with Starswirl when we studied them. The Elements of Harmony are capable of banishing creatures of darkness, removing dark corruption from an otherwise good pony, and for those who lose their way to the darkness it can turn that little spark in their heart into a blazing fire (like it did to you). BUT, if the target in question has no spark, IF that person in question IS pure darkness and has completely rid himself of any light and any possible chance of redemption, the Elements won't do anything to them. And if that same person happens to have magical strength equal to if not greater than the one wielding the elements? There's a chance it could backfire and the target could rebound the magic, and potentially destroy the Elements and the Tree of Harmony itself. Why do you think there's no mention of Celestia and Luna using the Elements on King Sombra? Answer; they didn't because they knew it wouldn't do jack squat. Because at that point King Sombra had completely given himself over to the darkness, essentially killing the pony he used to be." If Sunset wasn't shocked before, she was now. "I-I'm sorry. I never knew." "Yeah, I'm guessing Princess Celestia's teaching skills still suck." Taking a deep breath, she finished her earlier explanation. "The King of Shadows was a remorseless monster, an amoral being of pure darkness. If there was ever an embodiment for all the evil and darkness in this universe, he'd at least make the top 3. I doubt the Elements of Harmony would even chip his armor. And if he had come all those years ago and the Princesses tried anyway? If those Elements and the Tree had been destroyed, all of your Princess friend's accomplishments would get flushed down the proverbial toilet. I'm sure you can imagine what that would mean for you and everyone here." Neither Sunset or Flash had to say anything at that; Flash because he knew it was only because of Princess Twilight that Sunset had been stopped and redeemed, and Sunset because Princess Twilight had told here about all their exploits in Equestria that required the Elements of Harmony. Needless to say, it didn't paint a good picture. "Once we arrived in America, we made our way here to Everfree because this mountain sits on one of several magical hotspots that are dotted across the land, which combining that with our link to the Morphin Grid, helped us create the Zords. They definitely gave us an edge, and we managed to hold our ground for a few more months. But... in the end..." Drip. Drip. A few tears fell from her eyes, which she wiped away before she continued "We lost the Gold Ranger first. Then Silver. He took out Pink and Yellow with one attack. Green fell next. Red... He put all of his power into one last attack, point blank range. He sacrificed himself to weaken the King enough for me to land the final blow. So, somehow I managed to draw the power from all the Gems, and blasted him with the most powerful banishing spell I had. And it worked. Partially." "Partially," Thorax asked. "Considering how much power you'd get from all seven gems, I figured you'd blast that bastard into oblivion." "Even though I bonded to them it was for the briefest of moments, I didn't have near the experience with the six as I did with my own Water Gem. So while I could use them, I couldn't bring out their full power. But that didn't mean I didn't deal a heavy blow. The full power of the banishment spell didn't just send him to the Dark Dimension; it completely vaporized his physical form and weakened him immensely. If he were to try and cross through to your world now, his body would fall apart and he would die. 'But the legend was accurate when they said that during the fight the Silver and Gold Gems were scattered. When I cast the spell he fired a blast of dark magic that sent them flying away from me. It was the same blast that wounded me." She pulled her shirt up to reveal part of her midriff, and everyone gasped when they saw what looked like a black spider-web around her stomach, while the skin over her stomach was a mess of black and red scar tissue. "Damn thing still hurts when I bend over." "How the hell did you manage to set up that crystal tree to protect these gems, AND crawl back here to cast your healing spell," Soarin asked in disbelief. "Pure willpower, determination, and my friends have told me I'm too stubborn to die." "Clearly," Tempest said in awe. "Fortunately with my knowledge of medical magic and with our location, I had created several chamber beds that would bathe our bodies in healing magic and restore us from all but the most serious of injuries. And clearly it worked," she gestured at herself. "It wasn't perfect though. I woke up about two years ago, but as it turns out it took out a lot of my own magic so that I wouldn't die. That's kinda why even though I knew about the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands I didn't interfere. I didn't have enough magic to do anything substantial to help. Not that I needed to, since the Princess, your friends, and Sunset here managed to take care of it." "My friends," Sunset exclaimed! "Oh my god. With everything that's been happening we forgot all about them." Looking at Clover she asked "Where are they? Are they okay?" "Relax, Sunset. They're... alive." Noticing the pause, Sunset asked "But?" "The King of Shadows has been watching this world for the last millennium and a half. No doubt he's seen your friends aiding the Princess and you. Which means, they and you are a threat to his plans." "HE ATTACKED THEM?!" "Yes. But they're not really injured. Physically at least." Seeing their confused looks, she explained "Somehow that bird man was able to drain the magic from their bodies. I didn't see what happened after, because I had teleported out to try and help them. By the time I got there, the Pawns and Nevermore were gone and the five girls were completely out. No matter what I did, I couldn't wake them. I even tried a low level Mind Dive spell, but whatever magic used on them just blasted me out, giving me the mother of all splitting headaches." Sunset looked absolutely pale. "So... they're..." "Whatever they did to them has put them in magic induced comas. I've been looking through my library to see if there's some Earth Magic that can wake them up, but so far, nothing." Sunset didn't say anything for a while, before she muttered "It's all my fault. If I'd never tried to steal that stupid crown-" "You can't blame yourself for what happened," Flash said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "HOW CAN I NOT" she screamed, tears rolling down her face. "IF I NEVER STOLE THAT STUPID CROWN AND PUT IT ON, THE GIRLS WOULD'VE NEVER HAD TO TRY AND STOP ME AND GOTTEN MAGIC IN THE PROCESS! THE SIRENS WOULD'VE NEVER COME TO CHS, AND THE RAINBOOMS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN TARGETS OF ALL OF THIS! HOW CAN YOU SAY THIS ISN'T MY FAULT!" Before anyone could stop her, she stomped over to the far wall that was purely stone, and slammed her fist into it. Everyone heard a sickening CRACK!, followed by Sunset holding her now broken hand and unloading a stream of curse words that made everyone in the room, sans Clover, blush. Having seen enough of this, Clover walked over to Sunset and put a finger to her forehead, the tip glowing green. "SLEEP," she commanded. With that, Sunset's eyes rolled into the back of her head before she fell backwards, clearly asleep. Grabbing her before she hit the floor, Clover said "Sorry, but I don't think that's helping anyone. Excuse me for a second while I take her to the medical room." A few minutes later Clover came back, and said "She's asleep. That and a little minor healing spell should make sure the bones in her hand will be back how they should be in about an hour." "She's taking it hard," Tempest said. "Sunset never had a family until she became friends with the Rainbooms," Flash explained. "How would you react if something like this happened to Twilight?" "I'd send the guy who did it to Hell on the business end of my boot." Clover smiled at that. "Oh, you guys will get your chance." Everybody looked at her and let out a very confused "Huh?" Rolling her eyes Clover replied "What do you think I've been doing for the past 2 years? Restocking my library and polishing my nick-knacks?" "I was thinking more along the lines of fixing up your body and working on restoring your magic." "Well yes, I have been doing that, Soarin. But, I also spent the last two years working on new equipment and upgrades for the next team." "Next team," Twilight asked in confusion, before her eyes widened. "Wait, you don't mean-?" Clover nodded. "Those two monsters clearly are taking orders from the King of Shadows. That means he's making a comeback, and it's only a matter of time before he finds someway to restore his strength and build himself a new body. And sadly, I'm in no shape to ranger up again." She looked at all five of them with the most serious of gazes they'd ever seen. "I need you five to become the next generation of the Element Fury Power Rangers, stop the King of Shadow's monsters, and hopefully, eventually, destroy him." There was a moment of silence before- "I need to sit down," Twilight muttered, looking like she was about to faint. Tempest quickly held her and said "Breathe Twi. Breathe." "We can't be Power Rangers," Soarin exclaimed. "Aren't we supposed to fly, or have super strength, or- Oh yeah. I forgot we could do that now." "But why us," Thorax asked. "I mean, I'm just a guy who likes insects and blogs about the Power Rangers." "You made the Morphin Blog" Soarin asked. "Dude, I love your posts!" "Thanks!" "Guys?" Everyone looked at Flash, who pointed at Clover, who was smiling at their exchange. "Believe it or not, that was pretty much our reactions when we first found out about all of this," she said smiling. "But as for the why, the Gems can only be activated by and bond to someone who embodies a trait in their personality. Fire bonds with Courage, Water bonds with Knowledge, Wind with Determination, Earth with Strength, and Lightning with Faith. Even if you guys don't know it, the Gems do. It's what made them choose you in the first place." Everyone looked at their Gems at those statements, some in shock and others in disbelief. Finally, one person said "I'm in." At that, all eyes turned to Flash. "What?" "Just like that," Tempest asked in disbelief. Soarin laughed. "Yeah, I saw this coming. Flash is the kind of guy who would gladly help an old lady cross the street." "One, that only happened once when I was thirteen. Two, that 'old lady' was my grandma, and she's only fifty-nine." Turning to face the group he said "Look, I can't just stand by and let people get hurt when I know I can do something to help them. That's not who I am." The rest of them were silent, before Thorax finally said "I've always admired the Power Rangers. Ever since I was a little kid and saw the first footage of the Jungle Fury Rangers in Ocean Bluff. The way they fought those monsters, putting their lives on the line to save innocent people; it was inspiring." With one last look at his Gem he finished "I'd be honored to follow in their footsteps. To help keep this world safe." Tempest spoke up next. "Like hell I'm letting some scumbag like the King take over our world. I'll zap that bozo back to the stone age." Soarin smirked. "Well, this is officially number 1 on my list of Craziest Things I've Ever Done. Count me in." All eyes then turned to Twilight, who hadn't said anything yet. She just stared at her Gem, deep in thought. Finally, Tempest said "None of us would blame you if you decided to step out, Twi." "I would." Twilight looked at them. "Thorax, Tempest; you two have always had my back when I was either being bullied or I needed help. And Flash, Soarin? I've only know you guys for a few hours, but part of me just knows that you two would do the same. And all of you are willing to go out and fight to protect everyone you care about." She smiled and finished "I'm not Princess Twilight, but I think we'd both agree that I'd have to be the worst friend ever to back out of this and let you guys go off on your own. I'm in." Clover had to hold back a squeal of joy as they said that. "Well then, we'd better get you guys ready. After what you guys did to his Pawns and his monster, I doubt the King's gonna be wasting any time." She wasn't wrong. -The Dark Dimension- If one were to enter the Dark Dimension, the first thing they would notice was that it seemed to always be nighttime. Spending any amount of time there would let them see that the sun never rose, bathing the world in an oppressive darkness. The second thing they would notice was the desert. A sprawling desert of sinister looking black sand that stretched for miles, devoid of any plant life or wildlife. The last thing they would notice, would be the gigantic castle. A large, imposing structure with high walls of black stone, towers at set intervals with Pawns posted as sentries. On the ground around the walls was a wide moat, filled with what one would guess is water, except it was a dark red and seemed to bubble and boil. Four drawbridges were stationed at each wall, each with an iron portcullis to prevent trespassers from breaching the inner grounds. While there were several large rooms and chambers within the fortress, and more still in the lower levels, there was one room deep in the center of the castle. Inside of the room stood a large tube made of purple crystal, which held the essence of what had once been one of the most powerful beings in the universe. What had once been the King of Shadows. But even in this greatly reduced form, he was still someone who commanded fear from his followers. Even those who were loyal to the core, like Nevermore. Nevermore kept his head down as he knelt before his master's crystal tube, as his red eyes seemed to peer into his very soul. "I would have destroyed them and brought you five of the Gems, had SHE not came to their aid," he finished. A few sparks of black lightning flashed within the King's tube for a few seconds, showing that he clearly wasn't taking the news well, before they stopped. Finally the King said "I had hoped that Clover would've perished after our final battle. After she did this to me." "Unfortunately, she hasn't. But she's clearly weaker than she was before, which means she shouldn't be a threat to our-" "You fool. She knows how to use the Gems. And more importantly, she has access to the Morphing Grid and the technology to create a new team. Under her tutelage, they may very well come to be a considerable threat." "Indeed, my Lord," a new voice said. The voice came from a humanoid creature with a slightly reptilian head, with dark gray skin and electric blue eyes. He was dressed in a dark red robe with black trim, and in his hand he held a metal staff that ended in a metal ring with a black jewel floating inside. His name was Blast Radius, a wizard from another world. One with an unhealthy obsession with explosion spells, and a serious disregard for the lives of others save his own. But he more than made up for that with his knowledge of dark magic and science. Even if he did tend to blow up his lab and the surrounding part of the castle. A lot. Almost. Every. Single. Day. With a sinister smile, Blast Radius continued "Fortunately, the damage done to Skullossus was minor. He's healed up and he's ready for Round Two. He's waiting with two squadrons of Pawns. He's ready to go at your command." "Excellent. And what about our other... project?" "The spell itself is complete. We merely need the crystals to be charged by their primary power source. Which shouldn't be that hard to find considering those humans are so easy to scare." The King was silent for a moment before he issued his command. "Send them. Strike terror into the hearts of the humans. Feed the crystals with their fear." "And should those children interfere?" "An ant has no quarrel with a boot. Crush them and bring me their Gems." After their little history lesson and they made their decision to become Power Rangers, Clover had led them into another room filled with tools and various pieces of equipment. Twilight had immediately deduced this was Clover's workshop, which Clover confirmed. Leading them to a table, Clover revealed five objects. They were mostly rectangular, with a small hatch on the one end. They all had silver, but each also had the respective ranger's color. "Our old Morphers got trashed, so meet the new and improved Element Morphers," she explained. "They're inactive now but once you pop in your Gem you'll be fully synced to the Morphing Grid and ready to go." She held up the blue one and showed two buttons on the side. "The blue button activates the communicator. Just press and say who you need to talk to, and regardless of cell service or location you'll be able to contact another ranger or the base. This green button activates the teleport function, which will immediately bring you back to base. Real handy in emergency situations or if you need to get to the base fast." "Which considering we'll more than likely be coming here right after school's out, will be often," Flash pointed out. "Quite. Now, onto the good stuff." Clover then stepped over to a nearby table that the five hadn't noticed before. It was covered in a white sheet that appeared to have something on it that the sheet was covering. Clover moved around until the table was between her and the five before removing the sheet, revealing five more objects. They were H shaped handle like objects that were a combo of black, white and one of the Ranger's colors. Clover raised her hand as the five objects levitated off the table and began to float to the Ranger with that colour. "The E-Raisers. These were the weapons my friends and I used during our tenure as Rangers. Each one takes a distinct form based on what what the user can wield best." She smiled and said "And now they're yours'." As the E-Raisers got closer, the five of them reached out and grabbed them before they each glowed. Flash's morphed into a red handled sword with a red streak running down the blade, which he gave a couple of practice swings. Thorax's became a yellow battle-axe with the blades shaped like the horns of a stag beetle. The sudden weight of the weapon almost made him fall to the floor, but he quickly recovered and held it up with one hand. Tempest's became a spear with a lightning bolt shaped blade colored dark pink, which she spun around while a trail of lightning followed. Soarin's became a green crossbow with the head of an eagle on the end, with blades on the outside of the bow, indicating it could have some use up close. Finally, Twilight's became an angular katar with blue blades. Looking it over she noticed a trigger by her thumb, which she assumed meant it could also fire some form of projectile. "Aw," Soarin said to her, "you got a cute little E-Raiser." Twilight frowned at him, but then smiled as Tempest prodded the teen with the end of her spear and zapped him, which not only made him spasm but also made his hair stand straight up in a ridiculous manner. "And you look like you got struck by lightning," she retorted with a smug grin. "I-I will g-get you b-b-back for this." "As time goes on and you continue using your Elements and your E-Raisers, you'll get stronger. This can mean your E-Raisers might gain additional forms, grant new attacks, and a whole bunch of other cool things. Also, when you're morphed they'll be stored in the belts of your suits. All you need to do is focus and they'll appear in your hand." "That's cool." Thorax then asked "Hey, where are the Zords?" Clover giggled, pointing to a shelf on the wall. Everyone turned to look, and- "You're kidding, right," Tempest asked in disbelief. Standing on the shelf were five robot creatures, each small enough they can fit in their hand. From right to left they were a red lion, a blue turtle, a green eagle, a yellow beetle (a stag beetle Thorax noted), and a pink wolf. "Uh, unless the monsters' final forms are toy-sized, I don't think those Zords are big enough," Soarin said. "They're in standby mode, genius. Contrary to what you guys might think, this mountain doesn't have enough room for them to be in their full size all the time. Plus while they're like this they'll be able to go out with you." "So they can help us in a fight," Flash asked. "That, and others things. Plus they've been on standby since I went into stasis, so they haven't been outside this cave in the past 1500 years." "And believe me, we could use the fresh air." All five pairs of eyes snapped to the shelf, to see all five of the Zords were now up and moving, peering from the shelf to look down at the rangers. The Lion Zord added "It's kinda boring, just sitting on this shelf collecting dust." "So, you guys are alive," Twilight asked, surprised and yet not surprised at this revelation. The Turtle Zord shrugged, at least as well as he could with his shell, and replied "Well, about as alive as a robot could be." The Eagle Zord spread its wings before flying down and landing on Soarin's shoulder. Fixing Soarin with its eyes, it said (in a girl's voice much to everyone's surprise) "Sorry. Just needed to stretch my wings." "Oh, it's cool." Soarin then reached up and tapped the Zord on its head. "You know, I always thought it would be cool to have a bird as a pet." If it were possible for a robot to glare, the Zord was. "I am a Zord, a living machine meant to fight evil and protect this world. I. AM. NOT. A. PET!" Soarin quickly raised his hands. "Sorry! I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers." "Don't mind her," the Beetle Zord said, Thorax having let him climb onto his arm before stopping on his shoulder. "She's just a little cranky when she wakes up." "You would too if you were stuck in one place for over a millennia and had dust in your wings, feathers, and boosters," the Zord replied. To emphasize her point, two metal plates on her back slid apart, revealing several openings. A green light flared, before they shot out a large amount of dust. Both the Wolf Zord and Tempest rolled their eyes. , the Zord perched on Tempest's left hand. Tempest muttered "Drama queen." "I hear ya, sister," the Wolf Zord said, holding out her paw, which Tempest bumped with her right thumb. Before anyone could say anything, a loud noise came from within the main room. "Looks like the King just sent out his Pawns," Clover said as she made her way to the door, the rest of the group following. Once they got into the main room, they followed her to the wall of panels, noticing one was flashing red. She pressed a button on the console, and the image on the panel enlarged to fill the whole screen. Seeing the image Flash said "That's the Farmer's Market in Canterlot Park, not too far from the City proper." The market and park in question were being terrorized by a large group of Pawns, all being led by a familiar looking skeleton monster. "Looks like Bonehead's back for another round," Soarin stated. "Let's not keep him waiting then," Thorax said. Clover pointed towards a green platform with one hand, while her other typed in the coordinates. "That's your ticket there. Hope you guys are ready for this." As they stepped onto the platform, Twilight couldn't stop her hands from shaking. Seeing this, Flash put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you gonna be okay out there?" "I... I hope so," she replied, trying to stop her hands from shaking. And failing. "I'm just... maybe a little scared of the thought of fighting that monster." "I am too." Flash smirked as he saw her surprised look. "But I'm not thinking about the monster. I'm thinking about my friends and family who are gonna get hurt if we don't stop that thing." "And that stops you from getting scared?" "More like it helps me realize that I can't let my fear stop me. Cause if I do everyone I love and care about is going to get hurt. Possibly worse." Hearing their exchange, Tempest said "You can do it, Twi. I believe in you." "We all do," Soarin added. Thorax nodded. "I told you that you're stronger than you think. I still think that." Hearing all this, Twilight clenched her hands into fists, as they finally stopped shaking. Looking at her friends, she said "Let's go break some bones." That got a laugh out of the group, as they moved so Twilight could step onto the platform. As she was about to send them she asked "You guys did put your gems in your morphers, right?" Realizing they forgot about that, the five immediately grabbed their Gems and placed them in their morphers. Once the compartments closed up they could feel, a robotic voice said "Morph Grid Link Established. Rangers Ready." Clover smiled, before pressing the button to send them. As the platform lit up, she said "Go Go Power Rangers!" And with that, they were off in a flash of green light. -Canterlot Park- "I LOVE THE SMELL OF DESTRUCTION IN THE MORNING!" The sound came from Skullossus, who was in the middle of a small farmer's market. The Pawns he brought with him were wreaking havoc among the humans present. Most of the people who had been there had run away in terror, though there were a few stragglers here and there. Seeing one, Skullossus smiled and created a black and red ball of flames in his claws. He then threw it like it was a baseball, right into the man's produce stand. As it exploded and the produce was either incinerated or burned, he screamed "MY CABBAGES!" before running away in terror and a bit of anger. Skullossus cackled at that. "That never gets old." Seeing that the spot they were in was empty of humans, he added "Aw, everyone's left. Guess that's what we get for going to a park." Looking to the Pawns he said "Come on boys! Let's move this to the city!" "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Turning around, Skullossus and his Pawns saw Flash and his friends standing there, all of them looking like they were itching for a fight. Grinning, Skullossus said "So you all came? The King figured you would, but it's still nice to see you guys again. And you!" He pointed his one claw at Flash, before raising his arm to show that the arm still held a burn shaped like Flash's hand. "I owe you some payback for what you did." "Sorry pal," Flash said, readying his morpher. "But the bank's closed." "On the plus side," Soarin added "we're more than willing to make sure that burnt arm doesn't hurt you anymore." "Oh please," Skullossus replied cockily. "You're just a bunch of rookies. As I told your blue haired friend, I have 500 years of experience under my belt. You honestly think you stand a chance of taking me down?" "I'm looking forward to finding that out," Twilight answered, everyone surprised at the confidence in her voice. "You guys ready," Thorax asked. Tempest replied "Oh yeah." In unison the group cried "It's Morphin Time! Element Morpher!" They each pushed the red button on the top of their morpher, the compartment opening to reveal their gem. Flash yelled "Fire Fury! ENGAGE!" The Gem began glowing before he was surrounded by a pillar of red flames. When it cleared it revealed Flash in his red ranger uniform, before the helmet appeared around his head in a final burst of flame. "A wildfire of Courage! Element Fury, Red Ranger!" Twilight yelled "Water Fury! ENGAGE!" The Gem began glowing before she was surrounded by a pillar of blue water. When it cleared it revealed Twilight in her blue ranger uniform, before the helmet appeared around her head in a splash of water. "An infinite ocean of Knowledge! Element Fury, Blue Ranger!" Soarin yelled "Wind Fury! ENGAGE!" The Gem began glowing before he was surrounded by a pillar of green wind. When it cleared it revealed Soarin in his green ranger uniform, before the helmet appeared around his head in a small cyclone. "A hurricane of Determination! Element Fury, Green Ranger!" Thorax yelled "Earth Fury! ENGAGE!" The Gem began glowing before he was surrounded by a pillar of yellow rocks. When it cleared it revealed Thorax in his yellow ranger uniform, before the helmet appeared around his head after being surrounded by a few rocks. "Strength of the tallest mountain! Element Fury, Yellow Ranger!" Tempest yelled "Lightning Fury! ENGAGE!" The Gem began glowing before she was surrounded by a pillar of pink lightning. When it cleared it revealed Tempest in her pink ranger uniform, before the helmet appeared around her head in a flash of lightning. "Faith as powerful as lightning! Element Fury, Pink Ranger!" The suits themselves were similar in that they all had white gloves and boots, with the symbol of their elements on their chest surrounded by a white circle similar to symbol on costume worn by The Flash, while each had their respective colors on the majority of their suits. Their helmets were modeled after their Zords, with a black visor that protected their eyes. In unison they yelled "Elemental Might! RANGERS UNITE!" Skullossus growled. "Don't just stand there! Pawns, ATTACK!" "Focus on the Pawns first," Flash called out as they split apart. "Then we go for Skullossus." Nodding in the affirmative, Tempest rolled out of the way as one of the Pawns tried to stab her, before lashing out at another Pawn with a swift kick. She jumped and slugged one across the face, before jumping back and focusing on her weapon like Clover had told them. "Time to get serious. STORM SPEAR!" With a flash of pink light her spear appeared in her hands, its tip crackling with energy. Spinning it in her hands she said "Hope you guys are ready. Here comes the storm!" She charged into the Pawns, spinning and slashing at them, electricity arcing off her spear with every attack. Once she had them on their last legs, she raised her spear up and yelled "Take this! THUNDER STRIKE!" Her spear sent a bolt of lightning up into the clouds, which momentarily darkened before unleashing multiple lightning bolts down on the Pawns surrounding her, turning them to ashes. "I'm all clear on my end. How about you guys?" Thorax dodged a swing from a Pawn before slamming his fist into its chest and sending it flying. Deciding to put his new strength to good use he grabbed the next Pawn that tried to attack him, picking him up and chucking him into a group of his buddies before summoning his weapon. "QUAKE AX!" As the familiar Ax appeared in his hand, Thorax smacked a Pawn away with the flat of the blade. He then spun around slashed away three Pawns with one strike. "Jeez. This thing has some weight, and a whole lot of power." Grinning under his helmet he said "Let's see what it can really do." Raising the ax over his head, he brought it down on the ground and yelled "ROCK WAVE!" As the ax slammed into the concrete, a trail of yellow colored spikes shot out in a straight line towards the Pawns, before a final giant spike shot out and scattered them like bowling pins. As they hit the ground or the nearby trees they faded into ash, as Thorax hefted the ax on his shoulder. "All clear " Soarin flipped over a Pawn, and then promptly bounced off of the head of the next one. After he exchanged a few punches and kicks with a few of them, he grabbed a nearby metal trashcan and chucked it at a group of them, yelling "Shizuo Heiwajima, eat your heart out!"* He couldn't help but smile as the trash can nailed one of the Pawns full on in its face, causing it to fall back into its comrades. Thankful for the momentary distraction, Soarin summoned his weapon. "CYCLONE CROSSBOW!" Bringing the green and silver crossbow to the right position, he squeezed the trigger and fired several green lasers that struck the Pawns, which promptly exploded with a blast of wind. "Sheesh. Shooting you guys is like shooting the Grunts in Halo; fish in a barrel." One of the Pawns rushed him with its sword, but Soarin deflected it with the blades on its bow, before spinning around and slashing it. Aiming at the group of Pawns, Soarin focused more power into the shot before yelling "TORNADO GRENADE!" A large green laser sphere shot forward into the group of Pawns, detonating on contact and creating a small yet powerful green tornado. The Pawns were all lifted up and promptly thrown in different directions, most of them turning to ash in mid flight, the survivors turning to ash when they hit solid ground. Soarin looked around to make sure none were going to surprise him, before saying "No Pawns over here. Twilight? Flash?" Twilight kicked away a Pawn before replying "I'm almost done. Give me a minute." Looking at the group of Pawns she held out her hand to summon her weapon. "HYDRO SLICER!" The blue katar now in her hand, she dashed forward and slashed one of the Pawns across the chest. She then aimed at another Pawn and pressed the trigger. The blade glowed blue for a second, before shooting out what could only be described as a angled blade of water that slammed into the Pawn. "Huh. So it's also a gun. Just like in RWBY."** After a few more exchanges of blocks, slashes, and firing off water blades at the Pawns, Twilight decided to end it. Focusing her power into the Hydro Slicer, she yelled "SLICING WAVE!" She pulled the trigger, and an absolutely massive water blade shot out and annihilated the Pawns, the water washing way their ashes into a nearby storm drain. Smiling under her helmet, Twilight said "They're all washed up. Flash?" Flash had already exchanged punches and kicks with the Pawns before he summoned his weapon. "PYRO SABER!" As the sword appeared in his hand he lunged towards the Pawns, parrying their swords, slashing and slicing, before focusing power into his sword that set it ablaze with red fire. "BLAZING SLASH!" Swinging his sword horizontally, Flash unleashed a wave of fire that incinerating the Pawns. Looking around Flash said "The Pawns are down." He then noticed something missing. "Uh, anybody got eyes on Skullossus?" Thorax was the first to answer over their comms. "I see him! Looks like he's trying to make a break into the city!" "We're on our way. Think you can keep him occupied til we get there?" There was a sound of metal striking bone, before Thorax sarcastically yelled "What do you think I'm doing!?" "Fair point. Double-time guys!" Despite the fact that he had no visible muscle, it turns out Skullossus was surprisingly strong. Thorax found this out firsthand when he managed to stop his Quake Ax with one bony hand, despite the ax's weight and Thorax's enhanced strength. "I was kinda hoping Red would find me first, but I guess you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." "Sorry to disappoint," Thorax growled, pushing more of his strength into the ax. "But I prefer my eggs scrambled! WITH CHEESE!" Thorax broke the stalemate when he jumped back, before rushing forward with a horizontal slash. Skullossus sidestepped it and slammed his fist into Thorax, sending him flying back. As he landed on the ground, Thorax was thankful that the suit managed to block the worst of the attack. That being said, it did still feel like someone hit him in the ribs with a construction girder. "You guys might wanna be careful. Mister Skin-and-Bones here packs a punch." "Oh I do more than just punch," he replied as he created another fireball and launched it at Thorax, only for it to be struck by a water blade and destroyed. "What?!" "Hey ugly!" Skullossus turned to his left, only to get slashed across the face by Twilight and her Hydro Slicer. He moved to strike her with his claw, only for Thorax to rush in and block with his ax, Twilight capitalizing on this moment by blasting the monster in the face with a water blade that sent him staggering back. "Thanks for the save, Twi." "No problem, Thorax." Regaining his balance Skullossus roared "That's it! You kids are dead!" "Not today, bonehead!" This time Skullossus turned to see Soarin standing by the trees, his crossbow aimed right at his chest. "Yo Tempest! Coming at ya!" He pulled the trigger and fired a blast right into Skullossus's rib cage, which sent him flying through the air- -right towards Tempest and her Storm Spear. "You really think you can take us down? You're in for a big shock!" Spinning her spear, she promptly used it to swat the monster away, pink lightning through its body. "All your's Flash!" Flash smirked, before charging up and firing a Blazing Slash at the flying monster. The wave of fire slammed into him, setting him ablaze as he crashed into the ground. But to their surprise Skullossus rose back up, creating a fireball in each claw. "How about I give you a taste of my fire," he yelled as he launched the two fireballs. Before anyone could so much as try to dodge the fireballs struck the ground in front of them, blasting the rangers off their feet and sending them flying backwards. As they landed, rather painfully, Soarin said "This guy seems stronger than last time." "Yeah. When we fought in the Everfree he wasn't near this strong," Flash replied. "We're gonna need something- Huh?" At that moment all of their weapons started to give off a golden glow, much to each of the ranger's amazement. "Clover, what's going on," Twilight asked. Over the comms they heard her slap her forehead before she answered "I knew I forgot something! Your E-Raisers have the ability to combine to form a powerful super weapon that should be able to turn that monster into dog treats." "Really," Thorax asked. "Sweet!" "What's the weapon," Tempest asked. "I don't know. When my team and I first combined them it was a giant sword. I have no idea what it'll do with your weapons." "Guess we're gonna find out," Flash said. "Let's put 'em together!" The Cyclone Crossbow shifted as the Quake Ax joined with it, the blades of the ax shifting to match the bow blades. The Hyrdo Slicer fit over the crossguard of the Pyro Saber, which promptly slid and combined with the handle of the Quake Ax. Finally, the Storm Spear's handled retracted slightly until it was only a foot in length, as it slid into the crossbow through the eagle's head as the mouth opened. As the sequence finished all five of the rangers held it; Thorax and Tempest held the right side, Soarin and Twilight the left, and Flash at the back holding the trigger. "It's a cannon," Soarin said. "A big, overpowered, beautiful cannon." "Well let's put it to good use," Flash said as they aimed it at Skullossus. "Fury Cannon, ready!" "Oh please," Skullossus scoffed, as he began to form a giant fireball between his claws. "Let's see you handle this!" Flash pulled the trigger, only for nothing to happen. "Uh, Clover? I'm pulling the trigger but it's not shooting." "I can see that. Is there a slot above the trigger?" Taking a quick look Flash replied "Yeah. Why?" "Tap your belt buckle. Trust me." Flash did so with his free hand, and a red key with flame designs appeared in his hand. "Thank you, Clover." "No problem. Now torch that monster!" "Can do," he replied, putting the key in the slot. Almost immediately the rangers felt a surge of power go through the cannon, growing more and more powerful as it charged until it reached full power. In unison, the rangers yelled "FIRE FURY BLAST, ENGAGE!!" In response, Skullossus yelled "SKULL FIRE!" As he threw the fireball, Flash pulled the trigger of the Fury Cannon, which glowed before firing a massive blast of fire energy towards Skullossus. As his fireball and the Fury Cannon's Fire Blast collided Skullossus grinned, fulling expecting his fireball to overpower it- -only for his jaw to drop in shock as the attack smashed through his fireball like it was nothing, and soared right towards him far too fast for him to avoid. "THIS IS GONNA HURT!" The Fire Fury Blast slammed into him full force, creating a massive explosion of fire. Once it died down he said "This is the end, no bones about it" before falling forward and exploding in a flash of black energy. -Castle of Shadows: Dark Dimension- Inside the King's chambers Nevermore, Blast Radius, and the King himself were looking through a circular portal, watching Skullossus fall to the Rangers. Blast Radius winced. "Ouch." Nevermore sighed. "It seems we placed too much faith on both Skullossus, and the idea that these children would be easy pickings." "Too true, my fine-feathered friend," Blast replied. "However, it wasn't all for nothing," he added, gesturing to the center of the room. Drawn in the center of the room was a large black circle, filled with multiple runes and arcane symbols that very few (if any) humans would be able to read or translate. Situated around three fourths of the circle were large crystals, each roughly ten feet tall. Before Skullossus attacked, the crystals had all been dull and colorless. But now, small amounts of black shadows moved within the crystals, similar to when someone drips food dye into a fish tank. Smiling, Blast continued "Skullossus and the Pawns had caused enough of a panic to charge the crystals. Not enough for what we have planned, but just enough for us to activate the spell and bring him back, bigger and better than before." Turning to the King's tube he added "With our Lord's permission, of course." "Do it," he replied. "His new size and the devastation he causes will no doubt supply us more." Smiling, Blast Radius pointed his staff at the rune, the sclera in his eyes turning jet black with what looked like smoke of the same color seeping from them. He then blasted a beam of black magic into the rune, and yelled "SHADOW RESURRECTION!!" The rune circle on the ground and the crystal pillars began to glow black in sync, before unleashing an absolutely massive pillar of dark magic erupted through the open skylight and into a portal that opened in the moonless sky. Back on Earth, a portal opened in the sky before the pillar of dark magic slammed down in the spot Skullossus had just stood, and all of them could hear a loud inhuman roar. "That can't possibly be good," Tempest stated. "Considering how most Power Rangers battles go," Thorax replied. "I think we're... gonna need..." As the pillar of magic ended the rangers were treated to the sight of a fully revived Skullossus, only he was now the size of a skyscraper and somehow looked even more terrifying. With a cackle that sent shivers down their spines he started walking towards the city proper and yelled "GUESS WHO'S BACK!!!?" Finding his voice Flash said "Time to take this fight to the Zords." With a small flash of their ranger colors the Zords appeared in front of the rangers. The Lion Zord said "We're ready when you guys are." "Okay, so how do we get you guys big enough to fight Skeletor's lesser known cousin," Soarin asked. The Beetle Zord replied "Just say 'Zords! Engage Battle Mode!'-" "-and hold on for the ride of your life," the Eagle Zord finished. "ZORDS! ENGAGE BATTLE MODE!" The Zords began to grow, going from toy sized to the size of a three story building. The Rangers were then teleported into their cockpits, each grabbing their controls. The Lion Zord's eyes glowed green briefly before unleashed an earth-shattering roar, and its golden mane blazed with red fire. "LION ZORD, READY!" The Turtle Zord's eyes glowed purple, before two panels on its shell slid back, and tow large silver cannons slid out into position. "TURTLE ZORD, READY!" The Eagle Zord's eyes glowed red, before the panels on its back slid open to reveal its thrusters, which fired up (without any dust this time.) "EAGLE ZORD, READY!" The Beetle Zord's eyes glowed white, before a large metal plate on its shell slid back to reveal a single cannon which slid into place right over the Zord's head. "BEETLE ZORD, READY!" The Wolf Zord's eyes glowed blue, before it opened its mouth and its fangs and its front paws sparked with pink lightning. "WOLF ZORD, READY!" "CHARGE!" With that all five Zords ran into the city, the Turtle and Beetle Zords being surprisingly fast despite their rather bulky designs, while unsurprisingly the Eagle Zord was at the head of the group. Up inside the aforementioned Zord Soarin said "Jeez Aquila, you got some serious speed." "Aquila," Tempest asked. "Yeah, that's what I'm calling my Zord. Figured it's easier than just calling her Eagle Zord all the time." Tapping his console he asked "You don't mind, do ya?" "You do know Aquila is simply Latin for Eagle, right" the Zord asked. "Yes." "And no, I don't mind." "Well how about you guys fly high and tell us what you see," Flash said. "Keep an eye out for any bystanders who might need our help." "Got it, Flash." "Roger that," Aquila replied, gaining altitude until she was above the city. And what they saw wasn't good. Skullossus had smashed a trail of destruction through Main Street; having set an apartment building on fire with one of his fireballs, smashed through the street into the sewer and left a bus about to fall into the crater, and had smashed through a police barricade that had tried in vain to stop it with their ineffective handguns. "Oh man. It's not looking good guys. This guy's going to town." "Transmitting data," Aquila said. The computers in their cockpits all showed what Aquila was seeing, and the Rangers took note. Flash grimaced. "They need our help." Twilight looked at the screen on her console. "Okay, according to this Splash has water cannons. We'll take care of the burning building." The Turtle Zord nodded. "Splash. I like it." "I've got built in grappling hooks and titanium cables," the Beetle Zord said. "Thorax and I can handle the bus." "Alright then, Stag. Let's rock!" Flash nodded. "Leo and I-" "Actually I prefer Leonidas," the red Lion cut in. "Leo's easier to say. We'll check on the police officers. Soarin, Tempest-!" "We keep Skullossus occupied," Tempest finished. "You ready, Bolt?" The Wolf Zord nodded. "This Alpha was built ready!" "We'll regroup with you guys when we're done. Move out!" With that the group separated, with Aquila and Bolt heading towards the monster. "Don't suppose you got any weapons, Aquila," Soarin asked. "Big blue button on the console." "Thank you," Soarin said as he pressed it. On the outside, two panels slid open on each wing, revealing hidden rocket launchers. A targeting reticle appearing on the console, and the screen read [Cyclone Missiles Armed][Target Locked]. "Oh, hell yeah!" Soarin pulled the triggers and fired four missiles that struck Skullossus and exploded, unleashing large wind blasts against him. With a growl he threw a fireball at him, but Aquila quickly dived and narrowly dodged it. Enraged, Skullossus continued chucking fireballs, but Aquila was just too fast and agile. "HA! I'd say you need your eyes checked, but you don't have any!" Aquila groaned. "Why do I get stuck with the comic relief ranger?" Over the comm Tempest said "Keep him occupied, Soarin. Bolt's about to get a new chew toy." "Got it. Where you coming from?" "Right behind him." Bolt peered out from behind a building that was behind Skullossus. "Where should I chomp down?" "Go for the neck. It probably won't kill him but it'll hurt like hell." Bolt growled, barring her sparking fangs. "Agreed. One Thunder Fang coming up." Seeing that Skullossus had his full attention on Soarin and Aquila, Tempest said "Bolt. Sic 'em." "With pleasure!" Bolt bounded from around the corner, charging at Skullossus's exposed back. Before he could register the oncoming threat, Bolt jumped up and tackled Skullossus, before locking her electrified jaws around his neck. The results were immediate as pink lightning surged throughout his body, making him spasm and jerk like a poorly maintained animatronic. "G-g-g-get o-o-off m-m-m-me," he yelled, trying to reach behind him to grab Bolt. Tempest held onto the controls for dear life. "Hold on Bolt!" She growled something back, which was translated on the screen. "Kinda hard to do when you're not built with hands." "Fair point. Flash, Twilight, Thorax; you guys doing okay?" Twilight and Splash had just gotten to the burning building. There were three firetrucks at the scene, but they were having trouble against the flames. "Okay Splash, let's cool 'em off." She winced. "Wow, that sounded better in my head." "Sadly I have to agree," Splash replied. Pulling the triggers on the controls, twin geysers of blue water erupted from Splash's cannons, spraying over the burning building and quenching the fires. After a few minutes the last of the fires went out, the firefighters and the people looking up at Splash with awe, some even snapping pictures or taking videos with their phones. Twilight smirked at that. "Bet you we'll make the seven o'clock news." "No doubt," Splash replied. "Shall we regroup with the others?" "Yep." Thorax and Stag had just arrived at the bus, finding it about to slide front first into the crater. "This city seriously needs to rethink how big they make their sewers," Thorax said. "Alright Stag, do your thing." "Copy!" Two panels opened on the inside of Stag's horns, revealing the grapple launchers. With careful aim Thorax fired them, nailing the hooks on the rear roof of the bus. Seeing they were secure he began retracting the line, slowly pulling the bus back to safety. Recalling the lines he said "Okay. Bus full of people safe. Remind me to check that off the list." "We don't have a list." "It was a figure of speech Stag." "Oh. Sorry." Hearing a explosion he said "Sounds like they could use our help." "Then what are we waiting for?" A quick survey of the scene showed multiple cars that had either been stomped on, flipped over, and one had been flung into a building. Fortunately Leo's scanners had pointed out that all of the officers were either unharmed or had non-life threatening injuries. Speaking through Leo's speakers he said "Get the civilians somewhere safe. My friends and I will take care of the monster." Suddenly Leo yelled "Flash we got incoming!" Turning around Flash could see one of Skullossus fireballs heading right towards them. Thinking quickly, Flash moved Leo to stand in between the fireball and the officers, before pulling the trigger on one of his controls. "Lion Fire!" Leo opened his mouth before shooting out an equally large fireball at the one fired by Skullossus. Both attacks canceled each other out and created a small explosion. "We need to end this and fast," Flash muttered. "On that we agree," Leo said. As they ran off towards Skullossus, a police officer with two-toned blue hair pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He then smiled. "Cadance is never gonna believe this." Back with Flash he said "Tempest, Soarin we're on our way. How are things going?" "Not that great," Tempest replied through the comm. "We're hurting him but he just keeps shrugging it off!" Skullossus had successfully managed to get Bolt off of his back and had thrown her against a building, stunning her. Soarin and Aquila had managed to provide covering fire, but while their missiles hurt him they didn't cause any significant damage. Once she got back off Bolt surprised Tempest by firing a beam of pink lightning from its maw, but just like Aquila's missiles it didn't really cause any damage. All it really seemed to do was make the skeletal monster angry. Which unfortunately led to it throwing more and more fireballs. Just as Skullossus was about to throw another fireball twin streams of water slammed into him, knocking him off balance and extinguishing his attack. Both Tempest and Soarin saw Splash with his cannons at the ready. "Sorry we're late," Twilight said. "You're just in time," Tempest replied. Skullossus managed to regain his balance, only to see Stag appear and aim his cannon at him. "Rock Cannon!" The cannon fired, shooting a large boulder at high speeds into the monster's head, which exploded and forced him backwards. "OW! THAT HURT!" "That's the idea, stupid," Thorax retorted. Leo then appeared and launched another Lion Fire attack at the monster that struck home. But aside from a few scorch marks Skullossus stayed relatively unharmed, much to Flash's annoyance. "Seriously?" "At the very least Splash managed to make sure he can't make anymore fireballs," Twilight said. "The dude could still destroy a building with a few punches," Soarin stated. "And none of our Zords can take him down," Tempest replied "Not on their own," Thorax said. "But their not on their own. They're a team, just like we are." Flash smiled. "And no team fights alone. Isn't that right, Leo?" "Correct," Leo replied. "And I say it's high time we all send this skeleton back to the King of Shadows in pieces. Give the command, Rangers! Activate Element Fury Megazord!" "ACTIVATE ELEMENT FURY MEGAZORD!" The eyes of the Zords all flashed, as the five of them were enveloped in an aura of their respective colours. Suddenly, Leo unleashed a mighty roar before the five leaped into the air. One by one, the Zords began to transform. Leo's front legs disconnected from the main body, revealing two connectors. The legs then shrunk down to their mini size before flying into a compartment on its head. The rest of his body shifted upright, its head and mane turning ninety degrees as its back legs folded in half. Aquila's wings also disconnected, shrunk down and flew into a compartment on her head. She and Bolt then flew up next to Leo before their rear ends connected to the connectors the front legs had detached from, Aquila becoming the Megazord's right arm and Bolt becoming its left arm, their heads serving as the hands. Splash's shell came off before shrinking down and flying into the compartment on its head, while Stag's horns folded inwards to form a triangle shape. After that, Splash's body folded inwards to the middle behind its head. The two Zords then folded forwards, Stag becoming the Megazord's right leg and Splash becoming the left leg with their heads acting as the feet, while Leo flew down as its folded up legs linked to the top of them. Finally, a compartment on the top of the Lion's mane opened up before a large humanoid head folded out, its eyes glowing blue as it came online. Inside the Megazord the Rangers and their consoles appeared in a large cockpit. Each console was lined up from left to right; Flash was in the center, while Thorax and Soarin were on his right while Twilight and Tempest were on his left. In unison the five Rangers cried "ELEMENT FURY MEGAZORD! READY!" Back at their base, Clover was beside herself with joy at seeing them form the Megazord. "THEY DID IT! THEY DID IT! WOOOOO!!!!!!" Sitting back down she looked at Skullossus and imagined she wasn't just looking at him, but also the King of Shadows. "YOU GUYS ARE SO SCREWED NOW!"*** Skullossus growled at the Element Fury Megazord as it charged at him. "Bring as many toys as you want! I will end all of you!" "You'll die trying," Flash responded. "Take him down!" When the Element Fury Megazord was close enough it ducked under Skullossus's swing before throwing a punch with its right hand, followed by a kick with its left leg. Both attacks hit home and knocked Skullossus back. Regaining his balance Skullossus swiped at them with his claws, only for the giant robot to sidestep and deliver a powerful hay-maker right into the monster's jaw, sending it flying and landing on the street. "That was a lucky shot," he grumbled as he got back up. "What about this one," Twilight asked. "What are you-URK!" Skullossus replied only to be cut off when the Element Fury Megazord kicked him in the face, sending him flying a good distance away. He did get up, but he was shaking and clearly injured this time. "Looks like the bonehead's on his last legs," Soarin said. "Then I guess it's time we put him down for good," Tempest replied. "ELEMENT FURY MEGAZORD! FINAL STRIKE!" The sections of the Megazord suddenly began to glow their respective colours, making Skullossus begin to worry. "Oh that definitely cannot be good!" Suddenly the Megazord started rushing forwards before all five rangers called out "ELEMENTAL STAMPEDE!" The Megazord then exploded into its individual Zords, which were each surrounded by their own elemental aura. As they flew past Skullossus, time seemed to slow down as each Zords struck it one by one. First he was burnt with fire, then cut with wind, smashed with rocks, drenched with water before finally being zapped by lightning. Once the last attack ended, time seemed to resume normal speed and in a flash the Zord recombined back into the Megazord. Said robot skidded to a stop behind Skullossus, who started sparking. "Looks like this is the end for me," he wheezed before falling forward and exploding. The Rangers cheered at seeing this, at their first full battle as Power Rangers ending in a victory. Flash smirked. "Elements Together, Rangers Forever." Later that day Sunset stood in the medical room, her eyes puffy and red from the hundreds of tears she had shed since she woke up. In front of her were the healing chambers that Clover had told them had saved her life, only now inside of five of them were her comatose friends. Just as Clover had said they seemed to be in a very deep sleep, but nothing Sunset did or said could wake them up. The only sign they were even alive was that their breath fogged up part of the transparent crystal above their faces. She felt a hand on her shoulder, looking to see Clover. Behind her were the rest of the rangers, still in uniform but with their helmets off. Smiling Clover said "We'll find a way to wake them up." "And when we find Nevermore and the King, we're gonna make them pay for what they did to them," Flash added. "That's a promise." Sunset sniffled, before finally giving a small smile. "Thanks guys." "In the meantime," Twilight said "we could still use some help using our magic. Maybe you could give us some pointers after school?" Chuckling, she replied "I think I might be able to help with that." "That's gonna have to wait until tomorrow," Tempest said. "Because in case you guys forgot, we actually have to go TO school tomorrow. And after the day we've had, I think we've all earned a good night's sleep." "A lot of this still feels like a dream," Soarin stated. "I mean, when I woke up this morning i wasn't expecting to get drafted into being a ranger." "I don't think any of us were," Thorax added. "But I'm not complaining." "Still, Tempest is right," Clover said. "You five just got done with your first battle as Rangers. And considering the king'll more than likely see you guys as a significant threat from now on, these fights are just gonna keep getting tougher. Go home and get some rest. Like Tempest said, you've earned it." The six of them left the cave via the teleporter, with Sunset going last so she could say one last goodbye to her comatose friends. Once they were gone, Clover sighed wistfully. "They're just like we were when we first started out," she whispered, a single tear falling from her eye. "I just hope they get the happy ending that we never did."