2000.225
End of the Millennial War

"There must be another way..."

"The time is now..." Zordon stated to the child Silver Ranger before him. "Fulfill your destiny...and bring us peace..."

Closing his eyes tightly, Matt pulled the trigger and fired, the silver beam lacing out and striking Zordon's tube. The tube flared brightly as it began to crack, Zordon closing his own eyes in preparation for his final act. "Your destiny...is a blessed one..."

Just as Ecliptor ran back in, the tube shattered, Zordon's body appearing momentarily, then blasting apart into an energy wave of pure gold light. The blast slammed into Ecliptor, golden energy flowing through him as he screamed in pain.

As the Wave swept through the universe, it reached as far as Triforia, ripping the Putties and Tengus into dust. Rita yelled as she fell, she and Zedd trying to escape the blast. "Zedd! Help me!"

Unwilling to leave without his wife, Zedd turned back and picked Rita up, the wave slamming into them at that moment. "No!!"

"At least we'll go together!!" Rita screamed as the blast went through her, then stopped. She wasn't feeling pain, she felt...healed! "What?" Her eyes widened; her voice had changed. Her body changed before her eyes, transforming into a normal human being.

Zedd held up his fist in one last cry as his body glowed brightly, then reappeared as a normal human as well, except clad in what looked like an armored ranger uniform, his exo-skeleton changing into an exoframe and chest shield. "What?" He too was surprised at his new human voice. "What happened? I'm human again!"

"Our true love for each other," Rita replied with a smile. "It saved us...we had good in us after all."

Zedd smiled as he looked up at the sky, knowing the truth of why he had been changed and been spare of death, his eyes flashing a soft red. "Thank you old friend..."

Legends tell that in the fallen time, when Good is near its end, the child of Silver shall light the Darkest Hour, and purge the forces of Evil from this universe, forced darkness to flee into hiding.

Legends also tells of the return of darkness, the seeding of worlds to begin the final war between Light and Dark for the fate of life. Earth has long been a world attacked by evil, for Earth is one of three linked worlds that holds the universe in balance. It is from Earth that the Chosen One comes, and it is Earth, that the battlelines are drawn...

Operation Lightspeed
Part 1
The Awakening

2006.112
Sahara Desert, Africa

The air outside was blazing hot as a team of five went into a cluster of ruins, traveling underground. Ancient runes and symbols covered the walls, the leader of the team looking around in wonder.

"Amazing. Either this is the ruins of a base of an ancient Ranger team..."

"Or it's the tomb of demons that were sealed here," a female member of the team replied, fingering a blaster that was strapped to her leg. "I don't like this place."

"Ila, you worry to much," the leader of the team stated. "You military types are too jumpy."

"I prefer to be called cautious, Mr. Hood. This isn't a game, we're traversing a place well known as a home of evil. This is most likely a tomb to seal away demons."

Hood chuckled as he continued down the corridor. "I should expect as much from a Ranger."

"Not a Ranger yet," Ila snapped back with a smirk.

Hood frowned as he looked at several runes on the walls. "Donna, you grew up with the natives, can you tell me what these say?"

A young girl in the group, no more than seventeen, nodded and walked over, examining the symbols. "They're...wards, to shield off evil. If there are evil forces near here, we should be safe from them."

"You see?" Hood stated as he looked at Ila. "We're perfectly safe, even the local says so. Now would you stop being such a pessimist?"

Ila frowned as she glanced at Donna. For some reason, she got the sense she should not trust the girl at all, which was half the reason her hand was always near her blaster. "I still don't like it..."

As they continued down the corridors of the ruins, they came to a huge chamber with an alter at its end. Hood chuckled as he looked around. "This is perfect! Even if it can't help the research, it's an excellent find for study!"

"Too bad that study shall be by us."

The four members of the team spun around see Donna begin to glow, her form changing. A pair of demon wings grew from her back, her hair changing from brown to blood red, and her eyes flared with a black glow. Her clothes were replaced with body armor, and a sword appeared in her left hand.

"You should have listened to your military member, mister Hood, you wouldn't be in the tomb of the Emperor's servants if you had!"

"I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Ila yelled, drawing her blaster and firing, but the shot was quickly deflected by 'Donna's sword, the demonic girl slamming into her and knocking Ila out.

"Now, since our main problem is handled, let's begin with the awakening." She giggled and walked to the alter, cutting her arm with her sword and spreading the blood on the stone table. "Demons of old, your slumber long and dark...Awaken now into this world, and bring the chaos you serve!"

A fire flared out from the blood, four sparks of dark light streaming out and hovering before the four humans.

"What...do you want?" Hood weakly asked.

"Your bodies."

With that, the four sparks invaded the humans, a fifth spark flying out to a small table and forming into a baby demon.

As the demonic energy flooded through the humans, their forms changed to become a mix of human and demon. Hood's body took on a golden color, clad in armor, with wings on his back, and a star shaped crystal in his chest. He turned to the demon girl and smiled. "Excellent work, my dear Dara, you've done well."

"Thank you, father."

One of the other former humans let out a yawn as he stretched, his body now having black skin and black armor, an axe in his right hand. "Ah, feels good to be out! It's been way too long since we were put to sleep!"

"You know why we were seeded here, Loki," the golden demon stated, looking to the other male human who now had pasty white skin and a black suit, his features elf-like. "Jinxer, I trust you have everything we were equipped with in order."

"All the monster cards are here," the elf demon replied with a bow. "The Emperor's will is assured, Diabolico!"

"Excellent," the golden demon said as he turned to the now awake form of Ila. "Vypra, nice to see you've decided to get things together."

"Having trouble with this body," the demoness stated, her eyes flashing as she tried to get total control. "This woman is a strong one, I should be able to destroy her spirit soon though."

Diabolico smiled as he breathed in the dank air of the tomb. "Ah, air...stale air, but air none the less. Jinxer, prepare a demon monster. Our orders are to destroy this world once freed, and we should start on it right away, we need the soul energy to regain our power."

"Wait," Vypra stated, still struggling with her body. "This woman...Ila. The place were our fortress lies is home to some kind of human project...they're creating Rangers, and this woman was to be one of them."

"Rangers?" Diabolico mused with a chuckle. "Please, I've faced Rangers before, and I slaughtered all of those I fought."

"But that was eons ago!" Loki replied. "You haven't fought in the millennia we've been asleep!"

"I still have my power," the gold demon stated. "And we have our army of demons. Dara, take Impus, I'm going to bring Skull Castle to a pocket dimension. Jinxer, prepare a card, I want it sent out as soon as all is taken care of."

The demoness girl and Jinxer nodded, Dara picking up the baby demon and noticing the anger glare she got from Vypra. She ignored it, knowing full well why the demoness had such a dislike for her.

The entire area suddenly warped, the six transported to the throne room of a massive fortress. Diabolico laughed as he walked over to Dara, kissing her on the forehead. "You did well in awakening us, my daughter. Take care of Impus, his mother will be sure to thank you for your work. Jinxer, released out demon monster. Find some human to used at the host."

"As you command, lord Diabolico," Jinxer replied, flicking out a card and laughing. "Darkness of old, Darkness untold...release the fury within, release the burning flow! Skullrock, go forth!"

He flung out his card, the object vanishing in a flash of fire, then reappearing in a city in the United States, Mariner Bay. It quickly shot towards a man and slammed into his back, the human screaming as the card penetrated his body, then transformed him into a lava demon. The beast bellowed as it breathed fire out, terrorizing the people of the city, and killing when he could.

"What do you mean all the flights are booked?!"

At an airport in Nevada, a girl in a black jacket and jeans was arguing with one of the ticket agents, a pair of roller blades strapped to the backpack that was slung over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but everything is booked solid until tomorrow."

"I have a sports competition to get to in LA tomorrow, I have to leave today, or I don't make it!"

"Not my problem, you should have made reservations."

An african-american man in a leather jacket and a cowboy hat paused on his way towards the door to the airfield, catching some of the conversation. He walked over as the girl growled in anger and smiled, holding out his hand. "Hi, you need some help?"

"Trying to get to LA for X-Treme Sports, I'm supposed to be in the rollerblading events tomorrow," the woman replied. "But all the flights are packed and..."

"Well, I can help you out then," the man replied. "I've got a plane on the airfield, heading to Mariner Bay for an airshow, I'll be glad to give you a lift."

"You are a lifesaver!" the woman said with glee. "Thank you!"

"No prob," the man stated, leading his new companion to the airfield. "By the way, I'm Joel Rawlings."

"Sky Cowboy, right?" the woman replied. "I saw your flying at the air show last year at Point Magoo, you're one hell of a stunt pilot."

"Thanks, miss..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Kelsey Winslow."

Joel smiled as he tipped his hat a bit while walking towards his plane. "Pleased to meet you, Kelsey. Hope aboard, and we should be in LA before dinner time."

In an underwater base deep in the ocean near Mariner Bay, alarms went off, personal scrambling to their stations as a computer voice blared over the speakers.

"Alert, alert! This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill!"

A man dressed in a navel uniform made his way through the halls and to the bridge of the complex, somehow keeping an air of calm about himself. "What's the situation?"

"We've got some kind of lava monster on the loose in the city," a corporal replied. "Sir, it's started, just like we thought."

"Captain Mitchell, we're getting a message from General MacKnight!"

"Put him through, ensign!"

An aged face appeared on a monitor, the captain frowning as he looked at the screen. "General..."

"So, looks like you were right about these, demons. Begin Operation Lightspeed, Captain...it's out of my hands, all authority for the Lightspeed Project has been transferred to you. Good luck, Bill."

Captain William Mitchell smiled as the screen shut off, turning back to the crew on the bridge. "Alright people, that's the official order, Lightspeed is underway! Battle stations people, and I want the Rangers on the bridge, rely my orders now! And get Major Morgan up here!"

It wasn't long before a group of people ran onto the bridge, Mitchell returning their salutes. The leader of the four, a brunette man dress in red, stepped forward. "Sir, Lightspeed Rangers are ready...save we're missing Ila."

"I know, and I think these demons are why," Mitchell replied. "Commander Greir, take your team out there and stop that monster."

"Captain," one of the three females of the group of six stated. "They'll need a Pink Ranger sooner or later, everything about the powers is designed for a full team of five."

"That's why I had you come, Major Morgan," Mitchell quipped. "You've got combat training and experience in hostile situations, the latter of which Ila Drake lacked. Kendrix, I want you to take her place as Lightspeed Pink."

The woman, surprisingly, didn't seem too shocked, simply nodding. "I'll do my best sir."

Mitchell smiled and handed her the last of the five morphers, Kendrix strapping it to her arm. "You're taking this rather calmly, glad I chose the right replacement. Rangers, move out!"

The five raced down the halls of the base, piling into an armored humvee and driving off down a tunnel that lead to the surface, tearing down the streets of Mariner Bay and stopping as they saw Skullrock torching several buildings. The leader of the five stepped out of the vehicle and frowned, balling his fists. "Hold it!"

The demon turned to face the five, laughing a bit as he walked towards them, his feet burning the ground. "Humans?! You've got to be kidding me! I'm a lava beast, you can't hope to fight me!"

"We'll show you what us humans can do!" Carter Greir snapped back. "Rangers, ready!"

The five took stance, lifting up their morpher clad arms. The four dressed in their respective color said nothing as they moved their arms down and tapped the activation plates of their morphers, transforming into armor. Kendrix, however, brought her arm up and tapped the switch, silently whispering the old Morph call of the Delta Rangers as she was transformed.

"I'll give you this one chance!" Carter stated. "Surrender and leave peacefully, or face termination!"

"Terminate this!" Skullrock bellowed, breathing out flames and chunks of lava at the five, the Ranger backing away to avoid damage to their armor. "Ha! You're scared of me, good!"

Kendrix frowned behind her helmet, knowing full well than despite training, her companions had no experience fighting monsters like this. Truth be told, neither did she, but at least she had the experience as a Ranger, with powers most likely more powerful than these. "Commander, I recommend a full laser attack."

"Recommendation ignored," Greir snapped. "This is my team, Major, and you will follow me as a part of my team. We attack it directly, go!"

"Commander!" Kendrix yelled, the man racing off with his saber weapon drawn. "Damn fool! I'm so tempted to dump hiding my past!"

As the four men attempted a melee fight with the demon, Skullrock simply swatted them away, laughing as their attacks did nothing to him. "Fools! I am fire itself!"

As he taunted the four, a blast fired from Kendrix's blaster, slamming into the demon's shoulder and finally causing him some pain. "What?! How..."

"If any of us knows how the hell to fight your kind, demon, it's me!" Kendrix bellowed, flying up over a blast of fire from Skullrock and firing his blaster again and again, driving the demon back. She ran to Carter and help him up, keeping her weapon trained on the monster. "Convinced I know what the hell I'm talking about now, commander?"

"How the hell do you know how to fight something like him?!"

Kendrix sighed as she shook her head. "Can't tell you, that's confidential information, just trust I know what to do against our new enemy!"

Diabolico frowned as he watched the fight, his eyes drawn to the Pink Ranger. "That one...somehow she knows what to do to fight our minions...very interesting..."

"There's a strange energy about her, one that's tempering the technological powers they use," Jinxer reported. "It's not like any I've seen before, but it is mystical in origin."

"Indeed...have Skullrock take out this, Pink Ranger," the golden demon stated. "I sense she is in fact the larger threat to us right now..."

The battle grew worse as the Rangers tried to fight the demon. Their blasters now had little effect, Skullrock having built a resistance to the pain. Kendrix had to admit, she was running out of ideas, desperately wishing that she had some of her old team-mates from the Delta Rangers there, possibly even Matt Corbett, Delta Red himself.

If we even needed those Lights of Orion, now is it! she though, dodging a blast of fire from the demon.

"Any more plans?!" Carter called as the rangers regrouped.

"Unless you happen to have an iceberg handy to drop on him, not much," Kendrix replied. "This is worse than anything I saw on Terra Venture. He's adapting to our energy weapons, they're not having any more effect on him."

"Then we do it my way," Carter remarked, holding out his hand. "Shield Saber!" he called, a blast of energy coursing through his arm and forming into a sword weapon with a shield cover on the hilt, one that matched his visor design.

"Hold position until I give the order otherwise!" he stated, racing at Skullrock with his weapon poised for battle.

"Commander!" Kendrix called, then growled, knowing that Greir wasn't going to listen. "Damn idiot...if Matt were here he'd put that thick headed fool in his place..."

"Who's Matt?" the Blue Ranger asked, looking at Kendrix with confusion.

"An old friend of mine, Chao," she replied. "One hell of a fighter, and he knew when to listen to his team."

Carter, countinuing in his assault on the demon, failed to considering ordering his team to back him up, too concerned with handling the problem himself. "Come on, I've seen plebes fight better than you!"

"You want a fight," Skullrock growled with a grin. "Then you have one!" He raise his arm and turned it into a large blade of rock and lava, swinging at Carter. The strike barely missed hitting the man as he jumped back and blocked with his Shield Saber, but the force was enough to knocking him to the ground and his weapon out of his hand.

In the skies over Nevada near the state line, the prop plane of the Sky Cowboy flew through the clouds, its pilot smiling as he showed off a bit for his passenger.

"Whoa! Never thought I'd be in the seat when this thing pulled off a triple roll!"

"Hey, not many girls enjoy being in the seat when I do that!" Joel stated with a grin. "I like you, what say we have a drink when we get to LA?"

"Joel!"

The man laughed as he popped a CD into the small boombox that sat on the floor of the cockpit. "Well, can't blame a guy for asking. Not every day I meet a girl who enjoy's spinning around in this baby."

Kelsey laughed and nodded. "Well, I'm sold then. You got yourself a drinking buddy for tonight. When's the air show, I might just make it out to Mariner to see it."

"It's Thursday," Joel replied. "Try and make it, I should be able to get you in the plane again to enjoy it from the best seat."

"Hell yeah!"

The situation in Mariner Bay was only getting worse, Carter moving as fast as he could to avoid getting hit by Skullrock. He wasn't having much luck, finally taking a hard blow and flying into a wall, slamming hard and falling to the ground, his armor de-energizing as his Shield Saber lay on the ground beside him.

"That's it," Kendrix snarled, pulling out his blaster and converting it into a sword weapon. "Rangers, full attack!"

"But Commander Greir ordered us to..."

"We're not staying put while he gets killed!" Kendrix snapped. "You're a soldier, follow the orders of the next highest ranking officer, which is me! We're giving him cover and getting him out of the battle area! Move!"

The four ran at Skullrock with weapons ready, the demon swatting away the Blue, Green and Yellow Rangers with easy, but finding that Kendrix was a much harder target, the woman obviously the most skilled of the team of five.

Throwing one of the other three at the Pink Ranger, Skullrock laughed as she hit the ground, transforming his arm into its blade form and poising it to thrust. "Well, guess you're first to die...best get ready to meet what deities you worship!"

Kendrix gasped, knowing that if she died again, she wouldn't get another chance like the last time. Suddenly out of nowhere, a flash of red came between her and Skullrock's blade, blood staining her armor. "Oh my god..."

"Go!" Carter ordered, fighting with the pain of the blade in his chest as he shoved his own Shield Saber into Skullrock's stomach area.

"Commander..."

"That's an order!" he stated, yelling as he shoved his own weapon deeper into the demon's body and triggered a power surge in the sword. "If anything, take it and keep this team alive!"

Kendrix gasped and grabbed Chao, picking the Blue Ranger up and getting the other two members of her team, the four running and diving as Carter's weapon detonated from overload, the explosion engulfing both him and Skullrock. When the blast faded, there was no sign of either of them.

"Carter, no!" Mitchell screamed as he watched from the bridge of the Aqua Base. He slammed his fist down, fighting the painful tears. "God damnit!"

"Sir, we're still getting a signal from Commander Greir's morpher, Major Morgan's recovered it. Orders for the Rangers, sir?"

Mitchell said nothing as he fell back into a chair, remorse and anger causing his tears. He finally looked up and sighed, knowing the only think they could do. "Send out the medical teams, they take orders from Major Morgan. We have to do what we can for the survivors, we can weigh our losses later."

"Sir," the woman who had been with the Ranger earlier before they had been dispatched began, the name Fairweather on her ID tag. "We don't have the Rescue Runners ready yet."

"We'll have to do with out them, doctor," Mitchell replied. "Kendrix knows how to handle things. We've got to hurry and minimize our casualties. People, let's move!"

From the dark throne room of Skull Castle, Diabolico smiled as he watched the scene. "Well, I'm a bit impressed."

"Their leader sacrificed himself to kill our demon," Loki remarked. "I call that stupid, not impressive."

Diabolico chuckled as he figured a red jewel in his hand, turning to face his fellow demons. "The fact he took out Skullrock is what impresses me, regardless of the method. Besides, never believe everything you see, my dear brother Loki." He smiled and looked in a mirror, noting that the human form he had possessed was starting to rot off, his true form beginning to reveal itself underneath. "And our true bodies are returning, that is what matters right now."

"We should eliminate these Rangers as soon as possible," Vypra stated. "They are weakened and demoralized, I say we strike them now."

"Yes, agreed," the golden demon replied, picking up a dagger from a table. "The pink one seems to be the more commanding of these remaining four, and obviously the more experienced when they were five. Jinxer, any recommendations for soldiers to use?"

"Vampires have always been a favorite of mine," the elven demon answered. "They kill a human through blood drainage, we will gain more minions for our army."

"An excellent choice." Diabolico smiled as he bowed to the rest of the demon. "I shall return shortly from raising our troops. Try not to make too much of a mess while I'm gone." He chuckled and vanished, reappearing in a cemetery. Lifting the dagger to his arm, the demon cut open his skin, black blood flowing out and down his arm into his hand.

"Those who sleep eternal, I bid thee awaken into my service," he chanted. "Lust the blood of the living, obey my command, and rise up again!"

Demonic magics spewed forth from his palm, Diabolico laughing as the energy swarmed about and fill a dozen graves. Bodies dug their way out of the ground, raising up with unholy life. Their eyes were blood red, fangs protruding from their mouths.

Diabolico held out his hand and cast more magics on the vampires, transforming them into armored soldiers of the undead. "Excellent. This armor will protect you from the sun, something I know you Vampires hate very much, don't you?"

One of the vampires hissed at the demon, Diabolico frowning as he knew that one was not wanting to be risen from its rest. "I see sadly at least one of you doesn't wish to serve...not a problem."

He raised his hand and cast a blast of destructive energy, the vampire bursting apart with a scream. The demon looked at the rest of his minions and smiled as they bowed to him. "That's better," he remarked, transporting them all to Skull Castle. He turned to his fellow demons, nodding to the three. "We have our troops...let their guard fall first though, and then, the blood shall spill..."

It was hours before the rescue teams and the remaining Ranger found and took care of any survivors. A large group of innocents were dead, many more injured from Skullrock's rampage. What was to be the first inaugural mission of the Lightspeed Rangers had turned out to be a disaster.

Kendrix had managed to recover Carter's morpher, the device having only minor damage to it, so it could easily be repaired and passed on to a new Red Ranger. That didn't make her feel any better about Greir's death.

"Major, we've done all we can here," the Green Ranger stated, sighing as he retracted his cover visor to reveal a large mouth piece over his face. "There's much more we can do, and it's getting late."

Kendrix sighed looking around at the devastation that surrounded them. "Alright. Garret, Julie, pack up our gear and we'll head back to base. Chao, keep an eye out, I've got a bad feeling right now, and it's better to be safe and alive than sorry and dead."

The Blue Ranger nodded as he stood lookout while the Green and Yellow Rangers took what equipment they had to the armored humvee and stored it away. Kendrix's eyes flickered back and forth, unable to get rid of the feeling that something was still wrong, despite that Skullrock was destroyed, and all the survivors had been taken to safety for medical attention.

That's when she felt it. The sense of danger slammed into her mind like a ton of bricks. Kendrix quickly drew her blaster, looking back to Garret and Julie. "Weapons out, we've got company!"

"Where I don't see anything."

Just as Kendrix turned back to where Chao was, the ground behind Garret exploded out, an armored corpse rising out and grabbing the Green Ranger. Fangs flashed out, biting into Garret's neck as the man screamed.

"Garret! Julie, get over here now!"

The Yellow Ranger nodded, then was slammed down by another of the vampires. She raised her blaster to the monster's head and fired, the vampire turning to dust as the blast decapitated it. "Major, they got Garret!"

"I know!" Kendrix yelled back, Julie running over to join her and Chao. The Pink Ranger looked to were Garret's now lifeless lay, his morpher hanging on his arm. "Damnit! Make sure they don't feed his body their blood, or he'll turn into one of them!"

"I'm assuming they're vampires," Chao commented, the three back to back as the group of undead soldiers walked towards them. "Where the hell's Doctor Van Helsing when you need him?!"

Firing their weapons, the three Rangers made a run for it, Kendrix stopping by Garret's body and removing the morpher on his wrist. "Sorry Garret, but you'd understand," she whispered, setting her blaster to full power and firing at his body, vaporizing it.

"Major!"

"I'm coming!" she replied, running as fast as she could while firing back at the vampires. "Aqua Base, this is Morgan. We have a hostile situation here, whoever sent that monster that Carter took out sent a bunch of vampires after us! They've already killed Garret!"

"Major, get your team out of there on the double!"

"Already on it, sir!"

The three ran as fast as they could, the vampires leaping about as they gave chase. Kendrix and Chao fired at the undead minions when they got the chance, managing to destroy a few, but the rest managed to start gaining on the Rangers, their fangs out in thirst for fresh blood.

Kendrix looked back, cursing as she saw more vampires burst out of the ground. "Damnit, where are these guys coming from?!"

"Major, isn't sunlight supposed to hurt vampires?!" Julie called.

"Yeah, these things must have something protecting them from the sun!"

"Will it protect them from water?" Chao remarked. "That's another weakness of the undead in mythology."

Kendrix nodded, the three running for the beach. Just as they reached the sand, Julie feel hard, a hand reaching out of the ground and holding her ankle. "Major!"

Kendrix and Chao stopped and turned to see Julie being swarmed by the vampires, the two firing at the undead in hopes of freeing their comrade. "Julie, hang on!"

"Get off of me!" the Yellow Ranger yelled, then screamed as a vampire held her down and buried its fangs in her neck, sucking the blood from her. Her body demorphed just as Chao and Kendrix reached her and blasted away the vampires, the remaining female of the team almost falling to her knees in sorrow.

"Julie, no!"

Chao sighed, then noticed the undead warriors regrouping to attack again. "Major, I'm sorry, but we have to get to safety now!"

Kendrix nodded slowly as she pulled off Julie's morpher and vaporized the body, following Chao towards the ocean water.

"Very interesting," Diabolico commented as he and his fellow demons watched. "They know how to prevent their fellows from joining our army. I must give them credit."

"The pink one is far too resourceful," Loki remarked. "I say kill her now, before she and her companion can get to the ocean, not even our power can protect vampires from water."

Diabolico nodded, holding up his hand and casting a tempest of dark magics. "Kill her, and the last one will fall!"

Racing to reach the water, Kendrix and Chao continued to flee from the vampires, some how staying ahead of the undead and reaching the shoreline. Looking back, they saw the vampires holding their ground, hissing and screaming in anger at the Rangers.

"We must be safe," Kendrix remarked.

Chao nodded, then look back out at the ocean and saw a pulse of energy fly out of the water and loop about before streaking towards Kendrix. "Major, look out!" he cried, shoving her to the ground and taking the blast himself. He screamed in pain as he demorphed, collapsing to the ground. His skin was burnt badly, Kendrix suddenly having flashbacks from when she had died destroyed the Sword of Damock almost a year ago.

"Chao, no! Don't die on me!"

The man coughed as Kendrix bent down to him, smiling weakly. "Take the morpher, you've got to get back to the aqua base."

"Chao, I'm not leaving you!"

"It's too late," the man replied. "You have to make it."

With those last words, Chao fell limp, his pain stopping as his life ended. Kendrix was on the verge of tears for how much death she had seen this day. She turned and saw the vampires starting to swarm towards her, knowing that the blast Chao took had been meant for her, and it was that the vampires had been waiting for.

Now, even with the threat to them of the ocean waves, they were coming for her.

To Be Continued...