Fight to Live | FS

Disclaimer: I do not, have never and have no hope to own the Power Rangers. They are owned by Saban (Please don't sue me Mr Saban). I also do not own Doctor Who, which belong to the BBC or any associated characters. Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling and although not used directly in this series is an excellent read and deserves a mention.
I do not own VR Troopers, Big Bad Beetleborgs, Masked Rider, Galaxy Rangers, Transformers or GI Joe. Some of the concepts and character in this story are based on these shows as do any characters that make an appearance. They are all used without permission of the copyright owners.
I also need to credit Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Blake's Seven and Star Fleet/ X-Bomber for some of the ideas in this book and for general inspiration. References are made later in the series to Sailormoon, Digimon, Pokemon, Robotech, Zoids, Gundam Wing, Captain Planet, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future and Dragonball-Z and any character or idea taken from those series is done without permission. If there is anything I've forgotten such as MASK, Terrahawks, Thunderbirds or Ghostbusters, they're not mine either.
I would like to thank Jeremy Ray Logsdon, Ellen Brand and Randel for writing their respective series. They were an inspiration to me two years ago when I started writing this series and remain so regardless of the numerous rewrites I have produced. The basis of the Morphin Grid in this series is modified from Randel's version of Ellen's definition of the Morphin Grid. The idea of the Infinity Crystals in later chapters was inspired by Jeremy Ray's Earth Crystals and Marvel Comic's Infinity Quest. Any characters used have been taken with the permission of the author.
The mention of a series, book or television program in this disclaimer in no way guarantees characters, places or situations from those sources will appear in this series. Most are excellent programs that deserve a mention or that have had a positive influence on the direction of this series. No part of this series is used for profit.
Author's Note: This is a rewrite of the first part of Conquest of Evil first released at the Command Center Archives in 1998/99. This has been rewritten to allow for later seasons of Power Rangers including Wild Force.
Time Line: The series does not adhere to the Saban timeline. The year is 1996 and the series begins after Billy left for Aquitar, but before Jason started to lose the powers of the Gold Ranger.

Minion of Darkness - Fight to Live
by ShadowRanger

Flashback

He knew that he was alive and would live when sheer terror struck him. He felt as though a steel band had been placed around his chest. He couldn't breathe! Some demon had been torturing him with the belief that he was going to live. Now he would die! All his dreams, all his struggles were just that, dreams, foolish dreams. He fell to the ground, tears streaming, but not weeping since he couldn't breathe. As hard as he tried, he could not get his lungs to pull air into his body. Awareness left him as he heard the darkness laughing.

~*~

The Dark Dimension

Triumph. There were few words to describe the overwhelming sense of victory he felt at that moment. Before he had even laid a finger on them the Rangers had been dealt a blow that would cripple them. Jason Lee Scott, Red Ranger of Earth was dead. Through the day he had felt Jason's aura growing stronger and stronger, and then in an instant it had been extinguished.

So what if Kat and Tanya had survived the journey to Crystal or Billy had somehow escaped Aquitar and joined forces with Ninjor? It didn't matter. Jason was dead and the pain that caused would keep the Rangers off balance for a long time. And should they recover enough to oppose him it didn't matter; Tommy, Rocky and Adam were almost exhausted from their ordeal and with every joule of energy they expended, his release became a step closer.

Flashback Ends

~*~

World Martial Arts Tournament, Location Unknown

Tommy yawned as he tried to wake up fully. The last ten days had passed swiftly and for the most part he could only remember waking up and falling asleep. Occasionally he recalled swift fights and a lot of digging. His muscles ached from hard work and insufficient rest, yet like Adam, Rocky and the rest of the US team; he obeyed the bell and reported to the arena.

As they moved into the large circular chamber, he held his hand out for the daily inspection. The doorman removed the thin mark from the Red Zeo Ranger's wrist and replaced it with a new circle of hot wax. They had learnt on the first day that this was how the organiser kept the press away. Nobody could enter the arena without a seal and only after they had been checked could they receive a seal.

As he took his seat Tommy noted that the number of competitors had fallen again. Those who had been eliminated from the tournament had been escorted off the island to enjoy the nearby tourist resort.

A hush fell over the arena as a tall man with a long oriental robe with a red belt. His small beard curled at the end with a small gold ring. His hear was tied back and draped over his left shoulder. Behind him two young women stood at attention, their faces hidden from view. Both held a fan and for a moment Tommy was reminded of Queen Machina. That memory was quickly replaced by the need to pay attention.

"Today you will have the chance to rest" the man told them. "There will be a small trip for our younger competitors to have some outdoor fun. The adults are welcome to wander freely around our beautiful city." Tommy noticed that Justin and several other youngsters cheered. "The rest of you are free to do as you wish. The final stage of the competition had been set for this week. The Grand Final will be on Wednesday."

"Yes, finally!" cheered Justin Stewart. He was the youngest member of the American team and as such had had little opportunity to do much besides watch the others practice. There were only a few competitors in his age bracket and none seemed interested in doing much besides watch.

After a few more comments the room disbanded for breakfast and then to begin their day off. The man who had announced the change of plan watched them leave and then went to check the arrangements had been made at the airport. By evening there would only be a few fighters left. The previous week had highlighted those he needed. The others would be sent home.

~*~

"So what shall we do?" Adam asked.

"Practice," Rocky said automatically. The response was unusual for the Blue Zeo Ranger since he normally took advantage of any free time to do something fun.

"Practice," Tommy agreed without thinking.

Since arriving wherever the tournament was being held, nobody seemed to agree on exactly where they were the Rangers had not contacted Zordon, willing to except that should he need them, their mentor would called. In fact after the first week they had stopped wearing their communicators altogether. Their Zeonisers had remained in their sub-space pockets and they had hardly mentioned Angel Grove, let alone their lives as Power Rangers.

The only person who had seemed concerned about anything had been Eric Myers. Eric had a scholarship at Silver Hills Prep School and it had been part of his agreement to take part in the competition. But while the Rangers had come to help their team Eric had seemed obsessed with reaching the top place in his grouping. When they had been reorganised the first time Eric had protested; shortly after he had vanished although nobody seemed to worry about it.

"Practice," Adam finally agreed.

It should have surprised them to discover that most of their fellow competitors had had the same idea, but it didn't. Nor did they notice how every hour more of their fellow fighters disappeared until eventually there were only six people in the room. Adam, Tommy and Rocky of course and three students about the same age who formed part of the Japanese team.

It was during a brief timeout that Tommy noticed the pain in his chest as if something was burning. When he glanced down he noticed the arrowhead he had split with his brother David; it was glowing. The constant burning next to chest and the faint glow beneath his red T-shirt had successfully captured his attention. He recalled the day he had sought his Zeo Crystal and had met True-of-Heart, the day he had received the half an arrowhead which would lead him to something he hadn't realised he'd lost.

"David," he whispered.

The burning sensation increased bringing other images to his mind. Zordon his friend and mentor; Kat his girlfriend who he had not thought about since the plane landed; Tanya the girl who had bravely stepped in Aisha's role and gave up everything she had known. He saw Kimberly and Aisha on the day they had left the team followed closely by Billy's message from Aquitar. He staggered and was vaguely aware of Adam and Rocky as he felt something else.

Pain: a sudden explosion of agony: a great burst of red and gold followed by nothingness. He saw them, his friends in Angel Grove. He saw a battle against some unknown foe and Jason's injury. He saw Tanya and Kat travel to a strange place to recover a flower. He saw them return with both the cure and Billy. Where had Billy come from? And then he understood the reason for the arrowhead's behaviour: Jason was dead!

"Jason!" he cried before passing out.

Adam and Rocky moved to help him and stopped. They looked down for a moment and then returned to their training; nothing mattered except the training.

~*~

Angel Grove Reservation

When David heard the car approach he opened his eyes. He was not entirely sure what had caused him to wait beside the road, but he had to admit it seemed like a good idea at the time. That morning he had felt his half of the arrowhead he wore around his neck burning. At first he had believed that Tommy was in trouble, but as his mind had settled using the techniques Sam Trueheart had taught him, he had been able to search for the cause.

Somebody needed him, that much he could sense and from the pain he felt the need was great. He searched, trying to find the source of such feelings only to fail. His father had yet to teach him all he needed and David knew he was out of his depth. He had been about to return to his home and ask for help when the truck had shown up.

David didn't believe some of the stories his father told him, but Sam Trueheart had never lied about the training he had received as a boy; training he in turn had passed on to David. One such story was of his teacher, a Lakota by the name of Red Hawk. Even though he knew that Red Hawk had been old when Sam had trained, he was certain the driver was his father's teacher; the man behind the wheel was ancient.

The passenger door opened and David climbed inside as the ancient Indian sped off. In no time they were outside the Trueheart home where a very concerned Sam was watching. David noticed the concern turned to shock and then joy as Sam laid eyes on the driver.

"The Red Hawk came to me in a vision yesterday and told me I was needed," Red Hawk said, as if that would answer all their questions.

"How did you find us?" Sam asked as they helped the weary man out of his vehicle and into the kitchen.

"The Red Hawk told me," was the answer. The ancient Indian wheezed and then his face broke into a wide grin. "Actually, he told me to get off my butt and ask for directions."

Sam handed him a coffee and then started to cook them some lunch. While they ate they talked briefly about Angel Grove and the reason for Red Hawk's arrival. David told him about the arrowhead and an almost complete story about his brother. Red Hawk nodded and asked a few questions, his eyes showing signs of amusement when David tried to avoid some questions.

"Your friends are in trouble," Red Hawk said after a while. "Not just the one who was injured, but the ones at the so called tournament."

David had to make a conscious effort to tell Red Hawk about his friends without giving away their secret. The ancient medicine man had made it easier by keeping his questions open where Tommy and the others were concerned. Still, when he had mentioned Jason, David had known that was the reason the arrowhead had been acting so strange.

David heard Red Hawk ask a question, but could not concentrate on Sam's reply. He saw Trueheart shake his head and heard him mention that he had been waiting for some sign that the time had come. Red Hawk replied with some remark David couldn't hear; he was too busy staring into the fire.

The flames were taking on a shape and one David recognised.

"Jason!"

~*~

"Tommy?"

"David?"

The two brothers greeted each other in the strange garden.

"What are we doing here?" Tommy asked. "My arrowhead flashed and."

"Here we are," David finished.

They heard Jason scream and ran towards him. Somehow they knew what to do as they raised their hands and fired bolts of lightning at the Red Ranger. Then they vanished.

~*~

He felt himself floating and as he stared down he could see his body on the bed. He tried to go back, but his way was blocked. All he felt was pain as if he was being consumed by fire ants. As he pulled away the ants ceased their attack. He tried again, but couldn't get past the pain, which grew steadily worse the longer he tried to return. Desperate to end the pain he retreated, but that was no longer an option.

Blocking his retreat was a large black scale with huge scales and sharp fangs. Its eyes were emerald green. He turned to run, but a swift swipe from its tail knocked him to the ground.

The scene changed. No longer was he in the Power Chamber; he was in a large garden surrounded by plants and trees. It was the perfect hiding ground for a snake.

His instinct to survive took over as he seized a large log and wielded it like a club. He looked around nervously, waiting for it to strike. When it did it came not from the side, but from below. The snake burst through the ground and tried to catch Jason off guard. The former Red Ranger moved in time, but the fangs tore into his clothes and he was hurled into the air.

Jason landed hard on his leg, the impact causing fruit to fall from a nearby tree. He swiftly jammed the log into the snake's mouth as it tried to catch him a second time. He rolled uncomfortably as the log shattered into splinters and sprayed towards him. The snake seemed to howl in pain as several pieces on the log jammed in its tongue.

"Yyyyyouuu cannnnot esssssss-cape meeeeeee Jassssss-on," it hissed.

Its tail swiped at his legs again and there was a loud crack from his left knee. Jason howled as he struggled to remain upright. He scream grew louder as the tail wrapped around him and squeezed.

"Jason!"

He knew Tommy's voice even in this strange place. He looked for his friend but only for a moment; the snake's squeezing was occupying most of his attention.

Then he saw them, Tommy and David, ready to help him. They raised their hands and lightning streaked towards him; Tommy fired green lightning while David unleashed bolts of pure white lightning. The pain he had felt from the snake was nothing compared to the pain Tommy and David inflicted. The lightning continued until he felt he couldn't take it anymore. If he had been alive he would have morphed, but he was dead and the lightning continued.

A few more bolts and Jason couldn't take anymore. His body bursting with the excess electrical energy, his anger and will to win never higher, he new he couldn't give up.

"TYRANNOSAURUS!"

He morphed.

Somehow Tommy and David had given Jason the means to fight on. The pain they had inflicted had caused his body to transform. The power of the Morphin Grid flowed into him, overloading him for an instant before the safeguards triggered his Morphin Warrior powers.

Red body armour covered his chest, parts of his arms and his upper legs. Thick knee height boots finished the uniform as his large broadsword gleamed menacingly. For some reason Jason had been unable to discover, he lacked a helmet. However the magical aura created by his powers formed a barrier to protect him from being seen.

The snake hissed loudly and tightened its grip. Despite having a sword Jason couldn't use it due to the position of his arms. As strong as he was when morphed he couldn't break free. He just wasn't strong enough. He could feel the pain in his head from the overload he had subjected it to. He was short of time and desperate, the coils were growing tighter by the second. With nothing to lose he threw his sword towards the ground and was rewarded when it pierced the snake's tail. For a moment the pressure ceased and he was able to free fall to the ground.

He swiftly retrieved his broadsword now he was able to use it. As the snake attacked again he ducked and drove his sword into its throat. The snake exploded and Jason was returned to the darkness.

~*~

Power Chamber

Jason's ordeal had not gone unnoticed by Zordon and Ninjor. Kat, Tanya and Billy were due to arrive on Earth soon, but the two mentors had been busy trying to keep the Ranger's base intact. When Jason had died Alpha had tried everything to revive him and failed. Then suddenly Jason had not only started breathing, but had unconsciously transformed into a Morphin Warrior.

When the morphed youth had started fighting an invisible enemy Ninjor had stood aside. He had watched in awe as Jason started to lay waste to the Power Chamber. But when the boy showed no sign of stopping, Ninjor had stepped in to prevent him from hurting himself. His reward was a fierce punch to the face.

"Well that's quite enough of that," Ninjor said fiercely.

He tackled the struggling youth, and after being thrown around for a bit, managed to demorph the Red Warrior. Once that was done he fastened a golden necklace around Jason's neck, after assuring Zordon that the jewel in the centre was simply a method of returning any Morphin Energy back to the Grid.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Alpha cried. "The virus is gone!"

"How?" Ninjor asked.

"When he morphed Jason must have purged the virus from his body," Zordon said. "We will still need to administer the antidote to ensure he recovers, but he is out of danger."

Ninjor nodded as he continued to watch over the Red Warrior. So much power from a half-powered Ranger. He was certain there were few Morphin Warriors capable of hitting the Great Ninjor. He knew from the time he had spent with Billy that few could maintain the transformation for long; Billy was more adept with the Aquitian Power Coins than his own Morphin Warrior transformation. In the short term that was fine, but the coin had been intended for Cestro and was not bonded to Billy's spirit in the same way. Eventually the link to the coin would decay.

~*~

A burst of light poured from the arrowhead, filling the arena with energy. The spells, enchantments and illusions that had been carefully placed to ensure that competitors sought only to fight were removed; the minds of those who had been under the influence of an unseen force were released.

Tommy groaned softly as he tried to stand. He was not sure whether he had been dreaming, but he certainly felt drained. On the third attempt he managed to drag himself upright. He showered and changed his clothes before heading off to find Adam and Rocky. For the first time since arriving he was not interested in fighting.

A figure watched as Tommy returned to the arena and then turned his attention to the energy he had been collecting. Each competitor had donated some of their life force, but Tommy's contribution had been extremely large, mainly due to the arrowhead and then the latent effects of Ranger Healing. The large number of contributors had diminished, as each became too weak. The children had been useless for collection purposes and had been sent home. He suspected that by evening the Japanese team would be gone too.

Luckily the spells his master had given him allowed those under its influence to create their own memories of how the event ended. Since they would not remember the other competitors or mention more than a few details to anyone else the chances of his little deception being uncovered were low. And even if the charade were discovered it wouldn't matter when the plan was complete.

He looked into the coffin like box and noted that the results of Tommy's adventure had accelerated the process more than he dared to hope. He watched as his companions nailed the crate shut and transported it to its rightful owner. The Rangers had fulfilled their purpose and should have been destroyed, but he chose not to carry out those orders. Adam, Tommy and Rocky had no memory of the events that had really taken place and would believe that the tournament had simply ended. That was enough.

For now his duties to his master were more important than revenge. He would catch up with the Rangers later and maybe gain the opportunity to meet Auric the Conqueror in combat. In the meantime there was still the waiting game; his master needed time before he could awaken. He vowed that time would be spent in a safe place.

And just beyond the barrier between reality and the Dark Dimension, a shell of a man waited. He stood on the edge of his dimension desperate to set foot in reality. At last his chance had come and he couldn't contain his excitement as the coffin was transported and placed before him.

Inside the coffin was a lump of wax from Gamma Tri, capable of retaining a person's body energy or in this case the combined life force, magic and Morphin powers from a tournament full of fighters. Rita Repulsa had once used it to steal the powers of the Green Ranger. In his hand he held another ball of energy that had been taken from Jason, Tanya and Kat during their recent ordeal.

The fact Jason had not died was a disappointment, but hardly a setback. If the Red Warrior recovered it would take time for him to reach his peak and in the meantime the other Rangers, assuming Tommy, Adam and Rocky even survived, the Zeo Rangers would be soundly defeated.

~*~

Trueheart Residence

"Drink this," Red Hawk said as David finally fought his way back to awareness; his head was hurting and he felt sick.

David took the cup of coffee and sipped it slowly. The caffeine helped him to wake up while the excess sugar Red Hawk had poured in gave him a spurt of energy and surprisingly helped his headache.

"Thanks," he said when he was able to think clearly enough to form a sentence.

Red Hawk laughed and said something to Sam; David's father laughed in response and then repeated it for David's benefit. "Red Hawk said next time you go off like that to make sure you eat first."

David wondered how much his father knew about what had just happened. In fact, he wondered just how much his father knew about everything. Sam Trueheart was a perceptive man and very little seemed to shock him. He had aided Tommy to find David and then accepted the strangeness that followed. He had never questioned David about where he had been during his time as Mondo's prisoner even though he had spoken to Tommy: David had told Sam that he had been with Tommy at the Youth Center the whole time.

It was Red Hawk who broke the silence by gazing deep into David's eyes as if searching for the boy's soul.

"I think the time has come for David to learn some of the things I taught you," he said to Sam. "I need to sleep." And with that he curled up and fell asleep.

~*~

Two Weeks Later

Tommy, Adam and Rocky escaped the tournament with only a few cuts, Jason was slowly recovering from his illness, and Ninjor had returned to his temple along with Billy. It all seemed to simple to the Rangers and they had spent time wandering why they had been let off so easily. The trap intended for Tommy had been a joke; the attack had failed as soon as the Rangers morphed. Even the recovery of the Crystal Rose had seemed simple. The Rangers were starting to smell a rat.

Then there had been the disappearance of David, who had announced that he was leaving with Red Hawk for a few weeks, although he had no idea why. Neither he nor Tommy could explain what had happened with Jason, but the others suspected this had something to do with it.

Aquitar was gone, Triforia had declared that Trey had been arrested as a traitor and Galactic society had seemed very quiet; Trent and Travis were still missing. Although they hoped these events were unlinked the Rangers new better. Something strange was happening and the Rangers suspected it was not going to be fun.

Minion of Darkness - Fight to Live by ShadowRanger

End

Minion of Darkness - Fight to Live
by ShadowRanger