Chapter 8 - High Noon

Palace on the Moon

There was an explosion in the library. Everyone dropped everything and rushed to investigate. It was almost impossible that enemies were intruding. Zita and Widow reached the entrance first. They yelped and found something to hang on to. An inter-dimensional portal had formed in the library and was sucking everything it could into the swirling void. Roki grabbed their hands as Rito, Goldarr and Scorpina steadied him.

"Can you close it?" Roki shouted at them over the ominous inhaling noise it was making.

"Keep hold of our hands! I'll need both of your energies!" Widow shouted in answer. Zita nodded. Widow drew in a deep breath and drew on her reservoir of power. She shouted an arcane spell and flung a burst of light at the vortex. It disappeared with an air sucking pop, making all their ears pop. A book fell to the ground where it had been.

Widow regained her composure and hurried to pick up the book. She thumbed through it and sure enough, there was a spell to open an inter-dimensional vortex. It was a complicated spell to exert control over the vortex. Whoever opened the portal had no control over when or where they were going to end up.

"Where are the children? They were playing here earlier," Scorpina gasped.

Widow looked down at the book. Of the two, Lammy was already beginning to exhibit a skill for magick. "I'm, sorry Mother," Widow said, setting the book aside. "Lammy opened the portal," she said and had to witness her strong warrior-mother collapse into her father's arms, sobbing. He patted her on the back and took her away from the scene.

Rito shook his head sympathetically and followed them trying to reassure her but only making her sob more. Zita sighed. "I'm sorry," she said quietly toward Widow.

Widow nodded. "They're strong. Perhaps one day they'll even make their way home," she said. She moved toward Roki. He enveloped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. They walked away from the library.

Zita scratched her chin. She took the book and scanned through it herself. Not exactly sure what compelled her, she performed a spell. She set the book aside and walked out of the library. A monster attack would probably distract them all and throw the Rangers off their game. She'd see to it immediately.

-x-

The Rangers were indeed confused when the next couple of monsters to attack were not the ones powered by Reaver Orbs as they expected.

Word had also reached Taran about what had happened to his younger siblings. He'd never even seen them but he still felt sorrow for what happened to them. It was a sad thing. Secretly he hoped it would be all the better for them to grow outside the influence of his parents. Rei's similar sentiments had been expressed openly.

The Rangers, however, were no closer to knowing what was happening to Winter. Autumn was a basket-case trying to cover for him and worry for him all at once. Her one bright spot was the arrival of cousin Fox Oliver, who finally convince his globe-trotting parents to send to live in America with his cousins instead of sticking him in a boarding school again. He was such a huge help. Especially now that it was competition season.

The Youth Center had been transformed into a samurai battleground. Actually, they were hosting qualifiers for sectional Youth Kendo Championships. The top athletes in several age brackets would be qualify to compete in sectionals taking place in Stone Canyon later that year. Tai was competing in the highest age bracket. His last year to compete in the Youth Championships. He was determined to go out on a win. He'd won nationals the last three years. When he was fifteen, he'd barely lost. He was determined not to lose again.

Qualifiers was an important step, especially for newcomers to the sport, were home-schooled,  attended smaller schools outside the cities or represented a dojo. As long as you were of an age, you could compete. Lani was in the audience, watching. She'd become a huge fan of the sport since arriving in Angel Grove. Her partner was part of the reason why.

Rex plopped into a seat next to her, making her jump. He grinned. "What?" he asked innocently.

She sighed. She kind of wished he hadn't spotted her but she wasn't surprised he was here. "Supporting your boyfriend?" she asked.

"Jealous?" he asked. She huffed and refused to answer as she watched the current match, silently stewing.

She wrinkled her nose. That girl was competing. The one who transferred a few weeks ago and insisted on talking Tai's ears off about Keno and was all over him. Ami something or other. "Who is that anyway?" she asked him.

Rex chuckled. "I figured she was a Kendo groupie, but she's pretty good. Bugs the hell out of Tai though. I mean, he's never been that good around girls, but I've never seen him avidly avoid them either," he said.

Lani perked up a little. "Oh?" she said as innocuously as possible.

Rex didn't buy it. He laughed. He watched the girl win the match but didn't satisfy her curiosity. "You wanna know something, ask him yourself," he said and poked her arm.

She huffed again and pouted. Yeah, it was that easy. She dropped it as they watched the remaining matches. Tai's match was the last match. She sat forward slightly but pretended she was bending down to fix her shoelace when she caught Rex grinning at her. She sat back and he laughed again. She ignored him and watched the match. Dressed in pristine white kimono and sharp grey hakama he reminded her of a bishounen manga hero. His expression was serious as he gripped his shinai.

His match was kind of a let down. They'd paired him against some kid who barely knew how to hold the weapon. Tai shook his head and got his three points in due haste. There was no need to drag it out.

"Well that sucked," Rex said.

Lani nodded.

The ref announced Tai winner and stated that the qualifying competitors would be announced soon. Rex stood. He dragged Lani up. She wanted to go to Tai of course, but then he'd wonder why she was there and that would be so embarrassing. She resisted until she saw that girl hug Tai. And then kiss him!

Her feet were moving before she could stop herself. Rex trailed behind her with an amused expression on his face. Was this going to be the catalyst?

Tai was valiantly trying to extricate himself from the girl's attentions but she was like a leech. She was clamped on and she wasn't letting go.

"Excuse me," Lani said in a loud clipped tone.

Ami finally released Tai and turned toward Lani. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something?" she asked in a huff.

"No, we weren't," Tai quickly stated, mortified that Lani had seen that. "Wh-what are you doing here?" he asked sheepishly and moved, putting Rex between him and the two girls. Rex handled girls a lot better than he did.

"Watching the match. You were jipped of a decent opponent," Rex said, seeing that Lani and Ami were still eye-balling each other. They were the same height and about the same body-type. Hmm, weirdly, Ami actually looked a great deal like Lani. He wasn't an alien but his own spidy senses were tingling. "Why don't the three of us grab a shake while they tally points and what-not," he suggested, reaching out to pull Lani away from Ami.

Lani gave Ami a final glared, ignored Tai completely and flounced from that part of the Youth Center to the restaurant part. Tai sighed, grabbed his things and quickly followed with Rex.

Ami smirked as they left. It was already too late. She licked her lips. Tai wasn't going to last long now that she had a taste of him. "And all without a big ruckus," she murmured to herself and walked out of the Youth Center and disappeared.

-x-

"Yo, waiter! Where's the fries!" Danny called out to the lean young man by the counter. Fox Oliver glanced at the booth where he sat. He was sitting with Billie and Holly. Ever since she stormed into their lab demanding to know which one of them had shorted out the Zords, she'd become one of them and was a regular face around the Command Center. Lani and Manny were pleased as punch to have their friend in on their secret and to know hers.

Fox was the new guy in town and despite good-natured ribbing from the locals, rather liked it here. "Ask the twin dynamos. They're manning the kitchens. Got a problem, take it up with them," he answered, pointing toward the kitchen behind him. One of the twins appears, made a face at him. "Here are the messy fries," she said.

Danny grinned as Fox delivered the fries with flourish.

"Good man," Danny said. "Pull up a seat, you look beat," he invited.

Fox raised a brow and waited for either of the girls to say anything, but neither did. The cute red-head was staring off in space and the blonde was engrossed in her computer. They both reached out for fries without paying attention to him or Danny. "As you can see, I'm starved for conversation," Danny commented.

Fox shrugged and sat down. He could chill for a few minutes. "Er..what--"

"Don't ask what we're doing. We wouldn't want your head to explode," Billie muttered. Holly blinked and looked as if she just noticed him. She gave him an absent smile.

"I get the feeling she didn't even mean that as an insult," Fox said dryly.

Danny grinned. "She didn't," he said and chuckled. "How's tricks? Angel Grove treating you good so fah?" he asked and stuffed a few fries into his mouth. He was starving. He'd pulled an all-nighter. Thank goodness it was a weekend.

"So far so good," Fox answered.

There was a commotion as people from the Kendo competition began to filter into the restaurant. "So much for a break," he complained as he got to his feet.

"Laters," Danny said. Fox nodded and skirted around Lani, Rex and Tai as they claimed a table next to them. "How'd it go?" he asked curiously.

"They're figuring it out now," Rex answered and went to the bar to order for the three of them.

Tai sat down and leaned forward, suddenly feeling tired. He closed his eyes for a few moments and took a deep breath. It must have been nerves. He shook himself mentally, putting off the fatigue. "You weren't torturing Fox, were you?" he asked Danny.

"I was on my best behavior," Danny assured him. "It's that'n you need to talk to," he said, pointing a French fry at Billie.

"Did you want me to explain that I was creating a program to give an android the emotional range of a healthy, well adjusted human adult?" she asked him without looking up. "Or that Holly is stewing over the structural engineering problems involved in building Zords?"

"That would be a no," Tai agreed, a bemused expression on his face.

Lani jiggled her foot slightly. She'd noticed his pause but was still mad at him so she didn't ask if he was okay. Holly frowned at her slightly. Lani gave her the  'I'll tell you later' look.

"Are you going to compete next weekend?" Rex asked Danny as he brought Lani a strawberry-cheesecake shake, Tai a chai-tea and frozen hot chocolate for himself. "You've been busy," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but me an' Chloe been gettin' in some practice before school. We're going to give it shot," Danny asked.

"Does everyone in this bloody place do martial arts?" Fox asked. He'd been serving a table nearby and heard the last part of the conversation. Autumn was already in overdrive mode trying to decide how to set up for the Karate competition the following weekend. Fox reckoned Winter picked a bad time to leave town.

"Only the cool people," Rex answered.

"That must explain why you don't compete," Billie declared.

"Ouch. Way to cut deep, Glitch. I don't compete because I don't want to embarrass the other competitors with my awesome," he shot back.

"Right," Fox murmured and stepped away from them to take more orders.

"Anyway, I was thinking," Rex started.

"You didn't break anything did you?" Tai asked him.

Rex let him know what he thought of that cracked with an unfriendly hand gesture. "So, there are still four orbs outstanding. At least one more lady friend. I got to thinking, the way they look may be catered to specific taste profiles," he said.

"Like you mean, Win was into leggy blonds with, er...broad shoulders?" Danny asked. He grimaced. "I think you're right," he said simply. He didn't want to discuss the first monster that turned herself into a cute redhead with light eyes.

"So...what does that tell us about our lady friends?" Lani asked.

"It means who do we know with some weird chick hanging around that happens to be just his type?" Rex answered. Everyone knew the answer immediately.

Tai rubbed the bridge of his nose. Crap. That was his last thought before he slumped over and fell out of his chair, the world going black around him. He was unaware of the commotion he caused as his friends tried to discover what happened to him.

-x-

Taran had gone to check on the Reavers with Tori and Wood tagging along. Tori because she was just as concerned about them as he was. Wood was with them for several reasons. He enjoyed getting to know Fey, he was rudderless because Danny and Billie were building Beez and Nathan was in secret extreme gymnastics training, and hanging out with Tori was always a good reason to do anything.

They discovered the Reavers at each other's throats. The twins, usually the most laid back of the bunch, were nearly coming to blows over a missing energy bar. Yelena, Ros and Shen were arguing about which of them takes too long in the bathroom. Ted was 63+in his room blaring music at it's loudest trying to drown out the racket, but only making things worse. Hayden and Fey were valiantly trying to reason with all of them.

Taran knew it was stress, nerves, and anxiety making them a little stir crazy but that was no excuse for this. They kept this up they'd be kicked out of the hotel. Wood and Tori gaped. He felt embarrassed for them. He sighed and put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loud enough to be heard across a cornfield where his adoptive father was running his tractor. It was more than enough to get the Reavers' attentions. The arguments stopped, the music turned off and Ted looked out of his room.

When they spotted Taran, they at least had the good grace to look shame-faced.

"What would Memphis think of this?" Tori scolded them. That made them feel even worse. Memphis Teague was their Commander. He'd disappeared when Widow blew up the Command Ship. They began murmuring apologies to each other.

"That's it, grab some gear. We're going on a field trip," Taran declared.

"Field trip?" Hayden asked.

"Ya'll have too much energy. We're going to work some of it off. Now, people, move it!" he barked when they looked at him blankly.

Tori giggled. Wood was kind of amazed. Taran never tried to assume a leadership role as a Ranger; it was kind of awesome seeing him do it now.

As it turned out the field trip was to the Scott Dojo. Randi greeted them with a harried air. She blinked at the group, decided she so did not even want explanations. "With the tourney next weekend we’re been swamped but we do have a room where there's only one other person. He won't mind you using it," she said. She led them to a training room where Rei was watching Sora train with a wide-eyed expression of bliss.

Sora, using a wooden sword, paused when they arrived.

"Don't mind the company do you, Sora? No, of course you don't," Randi said breezily before he could answer. "You can have this room for two hours," she said and left, thinking to herself that when her big brother showed his face again, she was going to fry it for running off and leaving her to deal with the traffic. He swore it was an emergency and that he'd be back soon. One thing was for sure, they needed someone else around here to help.

Rei giggled at Randi was she left. "What's up?" she asked.

"Taran's mad at the Reavers. He's fixing to make them do drills for two hours," Tori answered. That remark earned a unified groan.

"Everyone except Hayden and Fey. The rest of you, kick flips. Now!" Taran barked. They lined up and began performing the action as they were instructed.

Sora watched curiously.

"Don't think you two are spared," Taran said and smiled at Fey and Hayden.

"Never thought myself that lucky," Hayden said.

"You need to practice with a sword more. Sora, you looked like you could use a sparring partner. Interested?" he asked.

Sora smiled. "Sure. Is he any good?" he asked, eying Hayden.

Hayden shifted slightly under the gaze. The Reavers weren't privy to much Ranger business but they were aware that Sora had been the powerful Skeleton Ranger and that he wielded a large heavy blade as the Silver Ranger. "I'm a Bly, mate. We're not bad," he quipped.

Sora wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. He picked up another boken and tossed it to Hayden. "Then let's go," he said. The two of them moved off to the side and Sora began putting Hayden through his paces.

Fey looked at Taran shrewdly. "You're preparing him to take your place," she said. Taran didn't bother to answer. There was no need. It wasn't a question.

"Oh! Oh! Can I spar with Fey?" Rei asked raising her hand. "I've been learning to use a long staff. That's your Reaver weapon, right?" she asked Fey excitedly.

Fey nodded. She looked at Taran, raising a brow. "Go for it," he said.

Rei beamed. Fey retrieved her training weapon and Rei made a staff appear out of thin air. The two of them moved off to spar.

Wood watched everything from the sidelines. "So much better than timing how many back flips Nath can do in a minute," he declared.

Taran glanced at the two of them. "Who says ya'll just get to sit around a watch?" he asked.

"What do you want us to do?" Tori asked.

"I want you to help me keep them in line," he said to Wood and tossed him a whistle. "Whatever you can think of, make them do it," he said.

Wood caught the whistle and ran over to the Reavers, and blew the whistle. They stopped and waited for further instructions.

"I'm going to work with Sora and Hayden. You go help Fey with Rei," he told Tori. She nodded and skipped off to observe the to women while Taran watched over the swordsmen.

The two hours was almost up when they got the message about Tai collapsing at the Youth Center.

-x-

Lani paced the newly refurbished medi-lab where Tai lay unconscious on a medi-bed. She chewed on her finger. He'd been there for two days and there was no sign of Ami or whatever monster she could become.

"Excuse me," a softly accented voice said behind her. She turned and saw a blond woman about the same age as the other elders. "I'm Kat. Beta Z asked me to check on him," she said as she entered the medi-lab.

Lani nodded blankly. "Why?" she asked.

"I'm a nurse. Or was before I packed up my life and carried it back to Angel Grove," the other woman answered. She began checking read-outs and adjusted the medi-bed. "Strange," she murmured.

"What is it?" Lani asked.

"If what I'm reading is correct, he's aged by about two years," Kat answered. "I'd better let Billy know," she said. She gave Lani a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll find a way," she said.

Lani nodded. Kat left the medi-lab. She sighed. The sad part was that Tai had qualified for the sectional tournament with a top score. Come to that, so did Ami. An idea suddenly struck her. She left the medi-lab and went to the Power Chamber. "Contact Rei. I want her to get a message to her sister," she said to Beez.

"Right away," Beez said.

"What are you thinkin', li'l Red?" Jason asked her, startling her. The older Red seemed to be around at the oddest times.

"I'm thinking this monster has an ego. I'm going to use that to get her attention," Lani answered. "I'm challenging her to a duel."

-x-

Palace on the Moon

Zita strolled into Widow's laboratory. "I got the strangest message from that person," she said. That person referred to Rei.

Widow was testing Winter's blood. He was almost ready for field testing against her brother. Vivexia was standing by a glowing ball. It was slowly filling up with fiery red energy she was channeling through the orbs in her forehead.

"What kind of message?" Widow asked, looking up from her microscope.

Zita cleared her throat. "It's for her," she said, pointing at the monster. Vivexia turned toward her curiously. "The Red Ranger challenged you to a duel. If you refuse to show your face at a set of coordinates at the allotted time, you shall forever proclaim yourself her inferior and a coward."

"What a cheap ploy. As if we would fall--" Widow's words were cut off by the Harphurie's indignant squawk.

"I'll teach that indignant little upstart who's inferior!" she vowed.

"You will not. You will remain here and drain the life from their leader," Widow said.

"The process can't be stopped. I will meet that weakling. When and where?" she demanded of Zita. "Never mind, I'll find her myself!" she disappeared in a puff of smoke and feathers.

Widow pursed her lips. "Roki is not going to like that," she said.

"Speaking of my dear brother, where is he?" Zita asked.

Widow smirked. "Playing with our pet," she said and drew a portal in the air. It shimmered to show an image of Roki and Winter in a training room trading blows. "I think he's happy to have someone other than Rito or Papa to spar with. I just hope he lasts long enough to defeat Tarantules. Sadly, the splicing is very unstable," she said, shaking her head. "One for the fail pile," she said with a pout. She waved her hand and the portal disbursed.

Zita nodded. She shifted slightly. "A shame," she said sympathetically. "At least we'll be rid of one of them," she said. Widow nodded but her she was already refocused on the blood sample. Zita left her to it.

-x-

Tai looked like a man in thirties by the time it came time for Lani to leave for her duel. She couldn't help but notice he was aging well. Then she felt stupid for thinking that. She left the medi-lab. She found her grim-faced teammates waiting for her. They would be here, standing by when she needed them.

"Are you certain you want to go alone?" Taran asked her.

She shook her head. "But I will," she said determinedly.

"I would say that you should take Billie with you, but she can't fight for beans," Chloe remarked and eyed her brother's best friend. Chloe had been spending most of the past couple days training herself. Usually alone, but sometimes Danny was able to spar.

Billie didn't look offended. She knew it was true that fighting was not her strong suit.

"No, but she is a crack shot and she has that nifty analyzing computer thing. How long can you stay invisible?" Rex asked her.

"Not that long," Billie answered. "But I haven't tested the limits of my invisible capabilities," she added.

"Something we should work on," Billy said. "It would be a good idea to monitor the abilities bonding with the Power Coins have given each of you," he said, and even jotted something down to remind himself of that.

"Then I'll go. She's not that interested in me, maybe she won't perceive me as threat," Chloe volunteered.

"Best not to risk it. If things start getting hinky, then the rest of you can teleport in and save my bacon. I'm going alone," Lani said. She smiled. "But thanks for the offer," she said.

"I wouldn't take it personal. She's pumped from training," Danny interrupted, earning him a punch in the arm.

"Ow, jeez, I need that arm, She-Hulk," Danny grumbled and rubbed it.

Lani snickered. "OK, I'm off, wish me luck," she said and teleported before anyone could actually wish her luck or before she caved and allowed Chloe to come along as back-up.

"We're not really going to let her go all alone, right?" Chloe asked. "We're not going to believe that monster isn't going to cheat her tail feathers off," she insisted.

"Calm down, partner. No one's hanging Lani out to dry," Rex assured her.

"Indeed not," Beez chimed in. She opened a case with six round chips.

"When Lani concocted her plan, we decided she would need back-up even though we knew she would insist on going alone," Holly explained. "Since we were on a time crunch we only were able to make these. They'll work with your Morphs for a limited time."

"They won't make you invisible, but they'll help you blend in if you stay still," Billie explained. "We need six volunteers," she said.

"Right here, fork one over," Chloe said and held out her hand.

"Me, too," Danny said. Several voices piped in as well.

"Hang on a minute. I know we all want to help, but chill out," Rex said loudly. "Chloe, Danny, Manny, Nathan, Autumn, Sora," he said, pointing to each of them in turn. "We good with that?" he asked.

"We're good," Wood agreed. Tori nodded her approval as well. Taran held up his hands in surrender.

Holly attached a chip to each of their hands. "It will activate when you Morph. To deactivate, tap the back of your hands. Don't do so prematurely. They only have one go in them," she warned.

"We got it," Chloe said. She stood back and twisted her wrists. "It's Morphin' Time! Mastodon!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-toothed Tiger!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Stygimoloch!"

-x-

Lani chose her location with care. Just as the landscape begins to turn to sand but still hard, nowhere near the city or the Command Center. She also picked a time of day when the sun wouldn't bother her vision. There was no cover for the monster. Or her. They were on even ground.

She stood still as she waited. She wasn't aware of reinforcements arriving to blend in. Apprehension crawled down her spine when Vivexia finally arrived. She did not come alone. Widow, Zita and Roki were standing around behind her. "Are you afraid to face me alone?" she asked.

Vivexia wore the guise of Ami dressed for a Kendo match.

"We're just here to watch," Widow assured her. She waved her arm. A Gothic patio set appeared with elaborate wrought iron chairs and table with a black lacy umbrella for shade. She changed herself into a beach outfit complete with wide black straw hat, oversized designer shades and sheer wrap over a bikini. She sat down in one of the chairs and made a fruity drink appear in her hands. "Do carry on," she prompted.

"This should be quite the show," Roki agreed and took a seat next to his wife. Zita thought the whole thing was a bad idea but she sat at the table as well. She conjured a drink of her own.

Lani was frankly flabbergasted at their behavior. She sniffed but squared her shoulders. "Power Sword!" she summoned the blade.

Vivexia produced a shinai that quickly warped itself into a rather sinister looking blade.

"Already an unexpected twist!" Widow said delightedly.

Deciding to ignore her audience, Lani stepped toward. Although she was not trained in Kendo, she'd had blades in her hands before she could even walk. She was reasonably sure she could hold her own against this monster, wear it down, anger it until it broke the rules, summoned Putty Patrollers and gave them all the excuse they needed fricassee her fowl self.

Vivexia scoffed. "Little Ranger Red thinks she can beat me. I'll show you!" She charged forward with her sword. Lani sprang forward to meet her. They're swords met, glancing off of each other in a shower of sparks.

-x-

Taran was instantly on guard when her sister and the Repulsa's arrived with the monster. Rei stiffened and narrowed her eyes. He reached out and put a hand on her arm. "Uh-uh," he shook his head. "If you or I go intruding it could tick them off. This isn't end game time. It's stop Tai from dieing time," he said quietly.

Rei nodded. She wasn't really going to go running out to antagonize her siblings. Not really. OK, maybe it crossed her mind. Briefly.

All right. She wanted to go demand what they were doing to Winter.

Taran grinned. "Good girl," he said, though he worried slightly about Autumn, but she seemed to be sticking to the plan. Luckily, she wasn't a hot head.

Rex rubbed his lower lip as he leaned against a console. "Holly, you're sure the Zords' power problems have been sorted out?" he asked her. He was watching the duel. Lani was good, but the monster had the energy of three powerful beings. The first two were tough and he had a feeling this one would be the worst yet.

Holly nodded. "In fact, we've just completed the StegoZord. Combining with it instead of the StygiZord should give the finishing attack a 200% power boost," she explained.

Taran looked at her. "Seriously? I finally get a Zord?" he asked with a boyish grin on his face.

Tori and Manny giggled helplessly. "Boys and their big toys," Manny said.

Taran looked sheepish and cleared his throat. Rex snickered quietly. "Thanks, Holly. Good to know," he said.

Billie cocked her head at him. "Who put you in charge, anyway?" she asked him.

Rex held up his hands and shook his head, a silent denial that he was trying to be in charge. He turned toward the viewing globe just as Lani pulled a dirty trick on the monster.

-x-

Lani was getting nowhere fast. She had to tick this beast off. When Vivexia went to swipe at her, instead of using her sword to block, she bent backwards. She came back up with a handful of sand and threw it in her face. It was a dirty trick, but effective.

Vivexia stumbled back, screaming in rage and blinded. "So that's how you want play it?" she snarled and assumed her true monstrous form. Her orbs glowed and a bolt of energy was thrown at Lani. It hit her and sent her flying threw the air. She crashed into the ground an skidded. She lay motionless.

Six forms shimmered into view as the Rangers around them dropped their camouflage. Pink rushed over to check on Lani.

"Power Rangers who cheat. Interesting," Widow remarked.

"No one's cheating, cow!" Green shouted at her. She gripped her Staff, seething silently. What she wouldn't do to get her hands on that black eyed witch.

Widow tittered. "Speaking of stupid bovine, your brother says hello!"

Black had to actually put herself in front of Green to keep her from rushing over to the trio. "Don't," she said quietly.

"My, my, dear, I think you hit a sore spot," Roki murmured.

Vivexia was unfazed by finding herself surrounded by Power Rangers. "I'll take all of you on!"

Lani got to her feet and pushed Pink aside, a little annoyed they were all there. "No! You and me only!" she shouted. She twisted her wrists and made her cuffs appear. "It's Morphin Time! Tyrannosaurus-Rex!" she morphed, picked up her Power Sword and ran toward the monster. Vivexia ran toward her.

"Let's keep it fair. Zita, Putties?" Roki prompted.

Zita gave something of a bored yawn and flicked her fingers absently. Z Putty Patrollers began appearing and ganging up on the Rangers.

Silver summoned his CeratoSword and looked at the Putties. "You lads really want to try me?" he asked. There was a brief hesitation but they began pushing themselves forward to attack him.

Blue summoned his Power Lance. Nothing was quite so satisfying as smacking Putties around.

With one last glare at the evil trio, Green turned her attention to the Putties. So did Black. Pink occasionally hovered to give himself room to fire his Power Bow.

Red and Vivexia clashed in a massive grating of metal on metal and a shower of sparks.

-x-

"That's our cue. Let's Ranger up!" Rex said and twisted his wrists. "It's Morphin' Time! Mastodon!"

"Triceratops!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Saber-toothed Tiger!"

"Stegosaurus!"

-x-

Widow gave a low growl when the Gold Ranger arrived. She stood. "I'm bored of this," she said. "The monster was defeated by her own ego," she said in disgust. "It's time to ready our pet," she added, giving a grin toward Gold. When she saw that he saw her, she gave him a finger wave and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

Roki and Zita disappeared as well, leaving Vivexia to whatever fate awaited her, good or ill.

Sick of not getting the upper hand with the female Red Ranger, Vivexia jumped back and threw a volley of energy bursts at the entire scene. Rangers and Putties all were caught up in it. "You cannot defeat me!" she snarled and sent another volley at them.

Down and smoking, the Rangers struggled to their feet. "She has an extra orb," female Blue gasped. She'd just managed to discover that but has been felled before she could relay the information. Now it was too late. She got to her feet and threw one of her Power Sai. A small sub-dermal orb was skewered in the center of her three power orbs. She sparked and cried out in rage.

"Mega Power Cannon!" Red called out while the monster was distracted, trying to pull the sai from among her orbs.

"We can't! Only Tai can summon the Tyranno Sword," the femme Blue said. She glanced at her partner. They seemed to get on the same wavelength immediately when they glanced at Silver and Gold. "You, Lani, Nath, Wood and Chloe can combine with them," she said.

"Let's get to it," Gold agreed just as Vivexia managed to get the sai out of her face.

"You'll all pay now!" she screeched and her orbs glowed brighter than ever.

"Alpha Legend Cannon!" The weapons came together to create a most terrifying weapon. Vivexia unleashed a massive burst of powerful energy. "Fire!" A blinding prism of energy came from the cannon and met her energy, overpowered it, and pushed it back on her. Not only was she hot with their combined powers, but her own as well. She exploded in a deafening cacophony.

There was an eerie silence that followed. Vivexia suddenly came back together and grew enormous. "I told you, Rangers! You cannot defeat me," she said and tried valiantly to stomp Red.

She jumped out of the way and rolled. She came to her feet. "Zord time! TyrannoZord!"

"MastoZord!"

"TriceraZord!"

"PteroZord!"

"SaberZord!"
The Zords began appearing from various hidden placed around the city. They were bulky yet eerily realistic. The Zords teleported their chosen pilots into their cockpits. The female Red, male Blue, male Black, female Pink, and female Yellow. The Zords took on Vivexia individually though she slashed at them with her sword and threw energy blasts at them.

Female Blue stopped Green from summoning her Zord with a touch of her arm and nodded toward Gold.

"Awaken the Stegosaurus!"

Within moments the golden StegoZord had arrived with a wicked looking spiked tail and teleported it's pilot aboard. It whipped around and crashed the tail into Vivexia. "I'm joining this rodeo. Let's put this monster down," he said.

"Yes, let's," Red agreed. "Activating Megazord Configuration!" she hit the red button with a great deal of relish. The Zords began assembling together. The SaberZord and the MastoZord formed legs and feet. The TyrannoZord formed a torso while the PteroZord and TriceraZord formed arms. A helmeted head turned out of the TyrannoZord. The StegoZord broke apart to form platelet armor over the chest, a platelet helmet and a humongous golden mace. All the Ranger pilots appeared in a shared cockpit. "Legendary StegoMegazord!"

Vivexia snarled and slashed at them with her sword. They blocked the blow with the StegoMace. Frustrated she began hacking at them, but the armor guarded them well when they weren't quick enough with the StegoMace.

"Man, she did a great job on the StegoZord," Blue declared.

Pink giggled. "Make sure you tell her," she teased her.

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," he came back.

Her helmet popped open long enough for her to stick her tongue out at him before getting serious. "That's it, time for a home run," she said and pressed a button at her console that gave her arm just a little more power when the StegoMegazord swung the StegoMace.

It contacted with Vivexia hard enough to knock the sword out of her hands. Enraged she staggered back as her orbs began glowing. "This is your end, Rangers!" she shrilled. She put every ounce of her power into the burst of energy.

They threw up the StegoMace to block. The energy hit with enough force to stagger them back and cause their cockpit to spark, but most of the energy was absorbed by the StegoMace.

"Time for the finisher," Gold said. "StegoMace Super Charge Crash!" The StegoMace glowed brightly and the  StegoMegazord hefted it over it's head and brought it crashing down on her head, releasing not only their energy, but hers as well.

There were four distinct explosions. Three as the orbs exploded, the last as Vivexia exploded. The StegoMegazord turned it's back.

"Dude, that was bad-@$$. Danny, you better stake your claim on that girl now," Black warned him. Blue's response was an unfriendly gesture.

Red sighed. "Let's go see if we did any good," she said. They agreed.

-x-

Palace on the Moon

Widow paced in front of Winter who looked at her dully. Her reprogramming had made him quite obedient. "Are you ready to face your foe?" she asked him.

"Yes, Mistress," he said dully.

She patted him on the cheek. "Lay down and sleep. You need your rest," she said and walked out of the lab.

Winter shuffled to one of the bed but he didn't lay down, staring off into space aimlessly.

-x-

Tai had awakened within moments of Billie shattering the sub-dermal orb that was sapping his vitality, but it was taking him longer to get back to his old--er young--self. People had been popping in randomly to check on him, except the one person he really wanted to see. He wondered idly if she was still in a mood over what happened after his match. Then he wondered idly why she was so upset over that. A bit less idly he wondered if that meant something he could only hope it meant.

As if conjured by his not idle at all thoughts, Lani walked into the medi-lab. "How are you feeling?" she asked him as she moved over to his bed.

Tai quickly sat up on the side of the bed. The position put them nearly eye to eye, which was a bit surprising for them both. Lani always figured if the stars aligned just right and she got the chance to kiss him, she'd have to find a step stool. She pushed that thought side trying not to laugh at her silly mental image.

"Ok," Tai finally answered, realizing he'd let an awkward amount of time pass before doing so.

"That's good. You had everyone worried," she said and pushed her hair behind her ears nervously.

"Ah," he murmured. "Lani?" he said, finally coming to a decision.

She moved closer to him. "Yes?" she asked, looking at him hopefully.

That look did him in. He reached out, his hands around her waist to pull her closer. Their mouths met.

Lani had to admit, for a guy who didn't seem all that great around girls, he sure knew to how to make her toes curl.

Tai actually hadn't meant to kiss her and was kind of surprised at himself, pulling back. She didn't seem mad though. Just bemused. "Will you go out with me?" he rushed out, feeling stupid that he did things all in the wrong order.

Lani flicked his ear then laughed. "Duh," she said and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close for a moment. She was seriously considering kissing him again.

Applause at the door of the medi-lab surprised them both into springing apart. Rex at the forefront, her friends and several others were clapping. Lani turned as red has her favorite sneakers. Tai groaned, fell back in the bed and covered his face with the frilly pink pillow Tori had given him for his recuperation.

-xThe End Chapter 08x-           

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