[FangRX]

CHAPTER 18: FEAR AND BUSINESS IN PAN CENTRAL

Two days after defeating Dhamphin, the Rangers were milling around the Galleon, taking on small tasks or just lounging. April was sitting in the dining area with her laptop, headphones in as she listened to some music, bobbing her head to the beat; Demi was flipping cards on a table, growling at her solitaire game; Richmond was tinkering with the Destroyer, recalibrating some worn out parts; Alec seemed to be in a more relaxed state, napping on the couch; Drake reading on the couch; and Destiny was propped up in a chair reading a book while waiting for her toenails to dry.

“It’s been kind of nice the last two days,” the Red Ranger said, smiling as she marked her place in the book, setting it aside. “No attacks, no nothing. Just that interview thing we did the other day for the talk shows.”

“Yeah, it’s been fun,” Demi admitted, smiling a bit. “Though this stupid game’s pissing me off!” She sighed and tossed her deck down, crossing her arms in defeat. “Stupid solitaire.”

“Demi,” April snickered, pausing her music and heading to the table to observe the game. After a few minutes, she grimaced. “Yeah, you’re pretty well flunked.”

“Yeah, thanks for the brilliant observation, Dr. Watson,” Demi sighed as she rubbed her eyes. “I’m gonna go take a shower.” With that, the Yellow Ranger got up and walked out, her bedroom door slamming behind her.

“What’s with Demi?” Drake asked, marking his book and setting it down. “I mean, she’s been cranky ever since we got back from the fight the other day.”

April sighed, knowing Demi would want the truth out, but she also knew that she’d break her friend’s trust if she told. “Damn,” she sighed. “It’s because of what Dhamphin did to her. She’s not sleeping, she’s not eating, and she snapped at Selena the other day, and she never does that. She’s…scared, a little confused, and more then a little lost on how to deal with the memories of the people she’d hurt and killed under Dhamphin’s influence, and nothing I said can take her pain away.”

The room fell silent, the only sound being Geeps sleeping in his nest. Destiny pulled the cotton from her toes, tossing it in the trash before clapping her hands. “That’s it. Girls day,” she said, standing up. “Go tell Demi. When she’s done in the shower, you and her meet me at Café la Crème over on the west end of town in the shopping center. No questions.”

“Guess she told me,” April said, nodding. “We’ll meet you there.” She watched Destiny slip her socks and shoes on again and head out, going down the hall herself. She knocked on Demi’s door, waiting a minute. “Demi?”

“Hang on,” Demi’s voice called, the sounds of someone shuffling around reaching April’s ears. “Come on in, April.”

April pushed the door open, her eyes taking in the destruction in Demi’s room. Picture frames strewn across the floor, the mattress on the floor as well, the chair from the desk in pieces against the walls, and several large indents in the metal caught her eyes. “Demi…”

“Sorry…about the mess,” Demi said, her eyes cast to the floor. She tensed when she felt April’s hand on her arm, falling into her friend and clinging to her shirt. “I’m just…so freaking scared, April…”

“I know, sweetheart, I know,” April whispered, hugging Demi tightly. “It’s alright to be scared. I know you haven’t been sleeping because of the memories of Dhamphin making you hurt people. It’s going to be alright, Demi. I promise.”

“How can you promise that?” Demi asked, sniffling as she stood back, looking at her best friend.

“Because anyone that tries to tell you otherwise is going to get a size five Pink Ranger boot up their ass,” April said, wiping Demi’s eyes. “You know me. I’ll kick anyone’s ass that threatens my oldest and best friend.”

“Thanks, April,” Demi said, smiling softly. “I guess I’ve just been scared of closing my eyes…seeing Dhamphin’s jaw opening and biting me, the searing pain and…” She kept trying to speak, but she felt April’s finger on her lip. “Hey.”

“Stop,” April said, looking down at Demi. “Just stop, Dem. I know it’s hard to live with those memories, but we have to work past them to make sure you’re alright in the long run. You’re my best friend, have I ever let you down?”

“No,” Demi said, smiling a bit. “Like that day the cheerleader was picking on me our Freshman year and you popped her fake boob.”

April laughed, nodding. “Yep!” she laughed, grinning. “And I’d do it again! But, you need to get dressed. Destiny wants us both to meet her at Café la Crème in the shopping center across town after you’re ready to go.”

“What are the boys going to do without their brains around?” Demi smirked, pulling a pair of jeans on and pulling a shirt down over her head. “I mean, we think about everything for them, so it’s going to be interesting if they don’t blow up the Galleon when we’re gone.”

“Aw, they’ll be fine,” April snickered, stuffing her hands in her hoodie’s pockets. “But yeah, soon as you’re ready, we’ll ditch the dudes and meet up with Destiny.”

“Guess you can say we've got a date with Destiny,” Demi said, pushing into her shoes, sighing as she grabbed a zip up jacket. She heard April groan at the bad joke, and she stuck her tongue out.

"You're terrible," April snickered, shaking her head.
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On the Blizkon, Faerin--glowing a light pink with her energy powers--stretched as she rested her arms around the neck of a Timbak soldier who was trying to work. “Drancon, can’t we have some fun?” she asked, pouting.

“Soon, Faerin,” Drancon said, rolling his shoulder. “With Dhamphin dead, we must employ a new strategy if we are to take the Rangers down once and for all. Perhaps….yes, that would work.” He turned around to his screen, frantically typing a message into the computer. “Yes, this is excellent. Yes….”

“Great Gods,” Frakis mused, shaking his head. “Drancon, do you wish to let us in on your plan or must we remain in the dark?”

“Apologies, brother,” Drancon said, tapping some keys before watching an image connect to the main screen. “While most of our forces have been reduced to nonexistent on Earth thanks to the Rangers, we have one operative left in the Kasterberous System who is more then equipped to bring more despair then the Rangers know how to handle.”

“You cannot be serious about bringing him to the Planet,” Mumman said, stepping forward. “The last time that the Ringed One was loose on a planet, nothing was left.”

“Precisely,” Drancon said. “With him on our side, as well as his power to split into eleven versions of himself, the Rangers will be at a loss for words or fighting skill to fend off that many attacks at once.”

“Interesting idea,” Frakis said, his arms crossed over his armored chest, tapping his chin in thought. “However, the fact remains that we are down one Outlying for the Deletion to occur. Or had you not thought of this?” He knew that, if Drancon had an idea, that it would be wiser to simply go with his leaders idea instead of questioning it, but he needed to be sure. “Because, in honesty, I would like a chance to fight the Rangers myself before we let the Ringed One loose. Since you know how unstable his Dragon Forms are.”

“I do know how unstable the Forms are separated, but I also know that he will not allow anything to happen to a planet we wish to conquer,” Drancon said, sending the subspace message. “Now all that remains is his arrival, and the end of the Rangers once and for all.”

With that, Faerin walked out of the bridge, floating above the hard metal floors towards her room, the door sliding closed. “Perhaps I can turn this around to what I wish…” she mused.
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Down in the woods on the edge of Pan Central City, Dimas sighed as he went through some sword movements, first left then right followed by an upper slash, driving his sword backward. “The Outlying have moved in, my companions dead, my way of living virtually gone to me,” he mused, sheathing his sword again. “Perhaps…it’s time to extend the hand of compromise to the ones that actually have the power to end this battle once and for all.”

He grabbed a bag and stuffed three items into it, knowing that this would change the War for good on the right advantage. Leaving his makeshift home in the woods, Dimas made his way into the city, rolling his eyes as people started running. “Well, that’ll get their attention,” he chuckled, sitting down on a bench before setting his sheathed weapon beside him, deciding to wait.
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On the Galleon, Geeps flapped as he rose from his perch, landing on the computer. “The hell!?” he squawked, shaking his head before rechecking his readings. “Boys, we’ve…got something big here.”

“What is it, Geeps?” Richmond asked, heading over and looking at the screen. “I don’t understand.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m not getting either,” Geeps said, chuckling. “Dimas is downtown, but…he’s just sitting there on a bench. Not even attacking a human.”

“Call the girls and have them meet us downtown,” Alec said, grabbing a coat from the closet before shrugging it on, heading towards the top deck. “Let’s go, guys.”

“Got it,” Drake said, following the Blue Ranger as he heard Geeps open a call to Destiny.

“What is it, Geeps?” Destiny asked, her voice sounding slightly irritated.

“Sorry to mess up your afternoon, girls, but Dimas is downtown not far from your location,” Geeps said.

He heard Destiny sigh on the other end of the call. ”Alright. Tell the boys to meet us there.”

“They’re already on their way,” Geeps said, the line dying as he said it.
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As soon as all six Rangers were downtown, they followed the empty street to the end, seeing Dimas sitting on a bench staring into the skies. Destiny took her Key in hand as she walked down the street, the others following suit to be quicker on the morph if they were being tricked.

“Dimas,” she said, stepping up.

“Rangers,” Dimas said, bowing his head as he stood, leaving his sword on the bench. “Thank you for coming.”

“What do you want? Honestly, I’m surprised you’re not blowing things up,” Drake said, crossing his arms. “What’s with you?” He cocked his eyebrow, echoing what everyone was thinking. He flinched when Demi glared at him, and he raised his hands. “Hey, I was just saying what everyone was thinking. Jesus.” He shook his head, stepping back.

“Well, first I know that you’ve no reason to trust me, but hear me out. With the four remaining Outlying on the Blizkon in low Earth orbit, they’ve officially kicked me out of the club, so to speak. But, the jokes are on them,” Dimas said, drawing a bag from the bench. He reached inside and took the Rapparatta and Black Empire Key and Caller in hand, setting them down. “Without the Rapparatta, they can’t summon the Monster Key Clones, and without the Black Empire Key, their Dark Duo is duped.”

Destiny shared a look with the Rangers, Demi being the one that was the most skeptical. “Why should we trust you?” the Yellow Ranger asked, moving her way to the front. “I mean…you did kidnap us, electrocute several of us, tried to kill us on multiple occasions, and you planted the idea to turn against Dhamphin in my head. What’s to say that you’re not going to turn on us as well?”

Dimas reached down, setting the Caller, Key, and Rapparatta on the bench again, taking his sword in hand as he heard the Rangers tense before kneeling down, holding it out. “My promise as a warrior,” he said, his head down. “I know I have wronged all of you in the past, but the Outlying have made time on the Blizkon unbearable with their plans, never allowing a moments peace. I do not expect you to trust me fully, just enough that we can end this war. You have my word, as soon as Drancon and his Outlying are destroyed, I will take the remains of the Empire and leave your planet. We will settle a world far from here, and we’ll leave all of you in peace.”

Sharing a look, Destiny sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “You betray us in any form, I’ll cut your head from your shoulders,” she said, taking Dimas’ sword.

“Fair enough,” Dimas said, watching as she took her Caller out. “I wouldn’t call your ship. I have a feeling that Faerin and the newest guest are on the way down.”

And he was right. Landing on the ground near the Rangers, Faerin and a Black and Red clad man appeared, the man in black holding his left hand up where a Ruby-styled Ring glowed on his finger.

“Faerin. You brought Warpstrike, then?” Dimas asked, taking the Key and Caller in his hand again.

“Of course I did,” Faerin giggled, smiling. “After all, you killed my friend. It’s time I returned the favor, and my favorite mystic here wants to help me!”

“Well, you and your mystic user are going to be a dust pile,” April said, stepping beside the other Rangers as they formed a line. “Dest? What’cha say we show this pixie wanna-be the front door to Hell?”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Destiny said. “Ready?!”

“Ready!” six people called out.

“Unleashed Engage!”

“Silver Shift!”

“Empire Change!”

Soon, the Six Rangers were joined by Dimas, holding the saber of the Black Ranger in his hand. Each Ranger held up their respective weapons, grey creatures flowed from under Warpstrike’s cloak, surrounding the Rangers and Dimas.

“Goboklins. Destroy them,” Warpstrike commanded, walking forward before sliding a Ring on his right hand over the belt he wore. DIMENSION it rang out, his hand entering the red dimension portal, retrieving his weapon before it closed, slashing down at Dimas who rushed forward.

“I’ll deal with Warpstrike. You try and get back through the Goboklins to get to Faerin,” Dimas said, locking blades with Warpstrike. “Go!”

Destiny nodded, taking her team and rushing forward, her Saber becoming acquainted with new blood that afternoon. “We need to force through,” she said, slamming her fist into a Goboklins’ face, throwing it backwards. “April! You and Demi keep forcing through! We’ll hold these things off as best that we can!”

“Alright!” Demi called back, trading her blaster for April’s sword, the women getting what the two were more comfortable with. Slashing down two Goboklins, Demi leapt up and slammed her swords into one’s shoulders, knocking it down. “April, I think we need to change it up!”

“You got it,” April said, hitting her belt and taking a Key. “Let’s do it!”

“Unleashed Engage!” the two Rangers yelled, twisting their Keys. DINO THUNDER POWER UP! As the symbol of the Dino Thunder Rangers flashed from the Callers, the two women were soon clad in the Yellow and White Dino Thunder suits. Demi leapt up and slashed out with her Ptera Daggers, flipping over a pair of Goboklins that got in her way.

April slashed out with the Drago Saber, jumping backwards and getting hit hard in the back as she did, landing on her stomach. “Oh, you want to go that route, huh?” she growled, slashing a Goboklins’ chest, throwing him backwards before she leapt up again, drawing thousands of arrows with the Saber, sending them flying. “We need to get to Faerin, Demi!”

“I know!”

Drake yelled out as he landed hard on his back, groaning as he felt something under his shoulder blade. “Alec?”

“Yes. Now get your ass out of my face!” the Blue Ranger groaned, sitting up as Drake rolled off of him. “We need to find a way to get these Goboklins out of the way.”

“The cloak on Warpstrike,” Richmond said, slashing down another set of Goboklins. “They’re flowing from that. We need to get around and cut that cloak off.”

“Good idea,” Drake said, hitting his belt. “Destiny, what do you think?”

“I’m up for anything right now,” the Red Ranger growled, kicking some more Goboklins’ back. As she and the boys hit their belts, Destiny hoped that they’d be able to make this work. “Dimas, move!”

“Right!” the former Empire general called back, jumping backwards and landing in the Goboklins, clearing a path for the Rangers. “All yours!”

“Unleashed Engage!”

“Silver Shift!”

RPM GET IN GEAR! the Callers spouted, covering the four Rangers in the RPM Ranger’s suit, Destiny having a skirt for the Red Ranger.

“Cloud Hatchet! Fire Mode!” Drake called out, flipping two switches on the small hand dagger he had, summoning a fire storm that took out several of the Goboklins, turning to try and attack Warpstrike.

“Street Saber!” the Red Ranger called, jumping forward and slashing out towards Warpstrike only to get hit hard in the chest, sailing backwards into Richmond who was carrying the Bridge Axe. “Sorry, Rich.”

“No problem,” Richmond groaned, standing up with Destiny’s help before throwing his Axe forward, only for it to meet resistance. “The hell!?”

DEFENSE rang out, Warpstrike’s hand over his belt as a black set of runes appeared, blocking the Rangers attacks. “You will be unable to defeat me, Rangers. Especially with this,” he deadpanned, flipping the belt to the other side. He slid a Ring to his left hand, passing it over the belt. FIRE DRAGON BURN! it rang out, changing his suit into predominantly red, the motif of the Dragon he wields adorning his helmet and chest armor. “To the end of the planet earth.”

“That’s my Warpy!” Faerin giggled, leaping backwards to avoid a blast from the Turbo Cannon on Alec’s arm. “Hey! Watch it, you trigger-happy harpy!”

“I was,” the Blue Ranger growled, blasting towards Warpstrike again, only to have the Dragon-Powered Warpstrike absorb the power from the blast. “Oh, that sucks.”

“Nothing you may do in your Ranger Forms can stop me,” Warpstrike said, stepping forward as he summoned dual sabers, slashing the Green and Silver Rangers backward, knocking them out of the RPM Morphs they’d taken. “Even your strongest forms are weak compared to my power.”

“Can’t give up, though,” Drake coughed, standing up as he hit his belt. “I won’t ever quit…not after my planet was destroyed. I won’t let that happen again!” He slammed the Key into his Cell, snarling behind his helmet. “SILVER SHIFT!” OVERDRIVE ACCELERATE As the Key twisted, Drake grabbed the Mercury Overdrive Ranger’s Drive Detector, rushing forward and slashing down at Warpstrike, actually landing a hit as more Goboklins’ rushed from under the cloak. “You jerks get back!” He slammed the Drive Detector out, stabbing more of the Goboklins.

“Destroy them!” Faerin yelled, blasting several shots of pink energy from her hands, hitting Drake and Destiny hard in the chest, throwing the two Rangers backwards. “Kill them! Do something, Warpstrike!”

“Yes, milady,” Warpstrike growled, rushing forward and slashing at the Rangers, knocking them all down and back to their base forms, even throwing Dimas back into his unmorphed form. “Weak. All of you.” He stepped to Dimas, lifting the former General by the throat. “For betraying the Empire, defiling the name of your Line, and betraying your beliefs, the sentence is maximum. Death.”

“At least I’m going to die doing what was right,” Dimas growled, his hand dropping his own sword back to the ground. “And my last words and thought is this. Rangers. Kill these bastards for good.” Hitting the ground as Warpstrike dropped him, Dimas just closed his eyes as he felt the twin swords of Warpstrike’s plunge into his chest, his heart stopping as his blood filled the street, running into the gutter.

Warpstrike reverted to his base form, stepping back to Faerin. The Goboklins receded back into the cloak, leaving the street empty save for the smoldering piles of burning Goboklins that had been dealt with. “Mission successful, milady?”

“Yes, I believe so,” Faerin said, nodding lightly. “Now that all of the former leaders of the Empire have been destroyed in one way or the other, nothing is stopping us from finishing what we came here to do.” She smirked devilishly, blasting at the Rangers again. “Goodbye for now, little Rangers. Until I come back to kill you next time!” With the smoke from the blasts covering the Rangers, Faerin and Warpstrike took their leave, vanishing from the city.

Destiny growled as she sat up, coughing as she did. “That freaking hurt,” she muttered, helping Demi and April up, the Pink Ranger holding her left wrist. “You ok?”

“Sprained my wrist when I hit the ground. I’ll be fine,” April said, wincing a bit. “Drake, you ok?”

Alec, having been the second to rise, looked to Drake, the Silver Rangers‘ chest cut up from some of the blasts. “Looks like he is. Let’s get back to the ship and get everyone fixed up,” the Blue Ranger said, helping Richmond lift Drake up. “For looking like a lightweight, this dude’s heavy.”

“Heard…that…” Drake coughed, groaning. “Ow…”

“Just don’t talk,” Richmond said, grabbing his Caller from his pocket before he teleported everyone back to the Galleon, taking Drake straight to the medical bay.
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On the Blizkon, Drancon laughed as he replayed the battle from Earth, watching how expertly Faerin commanded the battle, rewinding when the Rangers kept getting thrashed by Warpstrike. “I made a beautiful decision to bring him in,” he laughed, shutting off the video feed as Warpstrike and Faerin walked back into the bridge. “Good work, sister. And you as well, Warpstrike. Your mission in Kasterberous System was successful then?”

“Yes, my lord. The resistance did not stand a chance, nor did the factions that rose to the fight,” Warpstrike said, bowing his head. “Despite the Phantom Ranger, Blue Senturion, and Magna Defender attempting to stop me, they fell quickly to my Unlimit Power.”

“Good!” Drancon said, clasping his hands together. “Now, while you two were keeping the Rangers distracted, I sent Mumman on a little errand, keeping something akin to work for him.”

“Oh?” Faerin asked, cocking a violet eyebrow. “What would that be, then?”

“A little kidnapping,” Frakis chimed in, smirking as he watched Mumman walk back in, carrying a small child over his shoulder.

“Let me go!” the girl yelled out, screaming as Mumman dropped her on the cold metal floor.

“The Yellow Rangers daughter,” Drancon smirked, the room filling with dark laughter.
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On the Galleon, Demi sighed as she sat down, an ice pack around her neck. “Damn it,” she muttered. “What are we going to do? There’s four of those freaking Outlying left, and we’re almost out of time. If just one Key of Deletion could just take out a whole continent, what chance do we have of standing against all five Keys?”

“We’ve got a better chance then most of the other planets the Empire’s destroyed. We’re fighting to protect something. Other planets didn’t have Power Rangers or Beetleborgs or mutant reptiles under their big cities. Some planets…hadn’t even begun to get out of the dirt and find technology,” Richmond said, sighing.

“Like my world,” Alec chimed. “We’d had council buildings, fire tools, farming tools, irrigation tunnels. But we were a long way off from getting indoor plumbing or television. Hell, before I started working with Thomas, I didn’t even know what the hell a picture was.” He looked up, hearing Demi running in from the kitchen where her teleport landed her. “Demi?”

The Yellow Ranger looked ready to cry, blow up in anger, and rip someone’s head off all in one shot. Hands shaking, she held out a slip of paper. “When I went to get Selena….I found this at my brother’s house, his blood on the walls…” she whispered.

Destiny got up, running over and taking the note. “No doubt you’re just finding the note, Yellow Ranger. If you want your daughter back alive--and relatively unharmed--you’ll do exactly as we command and turn over your Keys and vow yourself to the Empire. If not, say goodbye to your daughter as she plummets back to Earth from Space.,” the Red Ranger read out, taking Demi’s hand as April hugged her best friend.

“They kidnapped my daughter and killed my brother…and they’re threatening to kill my daughter. I’ll kill them myself,” Demi growled.

“We’ll get her back. I promise,” April said, tightening her arms around Demi and wishing she knew what to do.
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Laughing, Drancon threw Selena into a cell, hearing her small body hit against the cold steel wall. “Hope you enjoy your stay, little one. Soon…this will be the last place you know,” he laughed, walking back out of the cell and slamming the door behind him.

“Mama…” Selena whispered, her arms wrapped around her knees. “Mama….come finds me…”

Drancon isn’t pulling his punches now! With the end of the War for Earth in sight, it’s up to the Rangers to find a way to save Selena and put an end to Drancon and his Outlying Forces! But, with all Five Keys of Deletion in his hand, Drancon has something much bigger in mind for Earth!

Stay tuned for the two part finale of Power Rangers Unleashed, coming in January!