Planet Jume:

Now normally, the planet Jume was a peaceful desert world, the worst problem one could encounter being the risk of heatstroke. Or, you know devoured whole by a giant worm but that’s a minor trifle. This, of course, was all before Dark Matter came to call.

Now, because of the planet’s unusually high amount of Planetium, Dark Matter had sent at least seven Moraimarz -Yes, seven. You read right- down to the surface to collect it. Thankfully for Jume, hope wasn’t all lost. A distress signal had been picked up via both the Shining Armor and the Piercing Arrow along with their newfound allies from Vela and Zigame and a shock trooper squadron consisting of seven of the Paladins along with fighter craft from both Zigame and Vela had been sent down to assist.

“Stay in formation, no breaking off from the pack for any hot dogging maneuvers,” Flashfire ordered, calm and collected as ever. “We take them one at a time, simple as that. If anyone tries to stop us, hit ‘em hard and hit ‘em fast. Blow them out of the sky, show them that we will take the universe back!”

As he said this, the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers rocketed by him and fired barrages of missiles at two Moraimarz, taking them out. Another of the Moraimarz was destroyed by one of the ships from Vela landing atop it, and crushing it with its tendrils.

“Alright people, we got this, grr!” shouted Garu, a fighter pilot from the planet Zigame as he double-teamed his fighter craft alongside Coldcast inside the Wolf Voyager. He threw a salute to Coldcast with his paw, before remarking: “Really love your choice in ships there! We’re like two of a kind!”

“Oh, that must mean I’m Canis Major, and you’re Canis Minor then…” Coldcast teased as they opened fire on a ground of Dark Matter fighter craft blowing them out of the sky.

“Grr, don’t be stupid! I’m no little pup!” Garu remarked in return, while Coldcast only laughed.

“You two going to kiss anytime soon?” the Doctor teased over the comms as his Scale-themed Voyager shifted into a mini mecha which began slicing through fighter craft with the spinning disks on its arms. “Maybe I should arrange a wedding, eh?”

“OH SHUT UP!” Both Coldcast and Garu shouted, much to everyone else’s amusement. With a loud sonic boom smashing boulders beneath them, the Cerberus Voyager rocketed overhead and fired three energy beams from its three jaws. These three beams ended up utterly destroying a massive sized Deathworm that was about to strike the Libra Voyager in the back with one of its tendrils before Pharynx could take it out with his own Voyager’s weapons.

“Thanks for the assist,” the Doctor remarked, before gesturing with a finger to Pharynx behind him, who was making his own Voyager assume it’s mecha mode. “He never gets me anything.”

“Hey, I would have stopped that worm in its tracks, you should have given me a moment or two eh?” the Silver Ranger snapped.

“Do you have to work really hard at the whole brooding bad boy thing? Like seriously, do you get up in front of the mirror every day and say, yes, this is who I want to be?” the Doctor joked, and Pharynx let out a flurry of curses at him even as he made his mecha practically Rider Kick one of the Moraimarz ships destroying it in a sorta repeat of earlier that week with what he did to the Scorpius Drone on Zigama.

“Now who should we be possibly be preparing weddings for, eh?” Coldcast smirked, quite eager to get some of his own back. “Seriously, you two have got the whole old married couple argument act thingy down to a-WOAH!”

Just then, right in front of everyone’s eyes, the final three remaining Moraimarz shifted into their mecha forms, welding parts of their central structures as lances.

“Alright, form up on me everybody, time to take this battle up a notch or two. Shooting Star Megazord formation Alpha-Beta engaging. Let’s rocket!” Flashfire commanded as he saw the Wolf and Bull Voyagers running below him, before the back halves tilted upwards. The Cerberus Voyager linked up with them complete with small hisses of steam. The Libra Voyager connected to the Megazord’s right arm port forming what looked to be a pair of giant buzzsaws, and the Ophiuchus Voyager, the left. Finally, the central head on the Cerberus had its jaw fold down, revealing a mouthplate covered face, with two stoic yellow eyes staring the three massive mecha down. “Alright then, let’s dance.”

Now, you may have been wondering how Dark Matter wasn’t exactly getting wind of what was going on down on the planet below. Well, high above the atmosphere in aboard the Piercing Arrow, Jabari and Stripped Gear worked hard to hack into a satellite above the planet to keep the local soldiers from broadcasting an SOS signal to the main fleet. Meanwhile, highly skilled crew members of the Piercing Arrow worked to control the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers.

The satellite itself, it was mostly bright red, with two translucent blue reflective solar panels. Stripped Gear had his own ideas in mind for this Dark Matter creation, turn it against them somehow at a later date, but first, he had to hack into its systems. And that was no easy task, to say the least.

“How’s things going up there, Stripped?” Flashfire asked, as the Shooting Star Megazord swung its right arm around throwing the buzzsaws of the Libra Voyager around ripping and cutting into the Moraimarz Mecha, before the slices were followed up by blasts of green energy from the jaws of the Ophiuchus Voyager. One of the mecha had already fallen to this brutal onslaught.

“Oh, about as well as can be expected…” Stripped remarked even as the Ophiuchus Voyager blasted a hole in one of the three Moraimarz’ torsos, sending the mecha crashing to the ground in a fiery explosion. “Me and Jabari should have this thing under our control in… oh, about five minutes or so? How about you guys?”

“Oh, we’re managing,” Flashfire commented, as the Shooting Star Megazord engaged the final mecha, the Megazord blocking thrusts from the Moraimarz’ lance with its fists. “Alright everyone, switch to formation Alpha-Alpha!”

The Libra and Ophiuchus Voyagers detached and were replaced by the Swordfish and Eagle Voyagers respectively. After several battles, the team had learned to function the Shooting Star’s scramble combination feature as it had been termed by Stripped without the help of the AIs. The Libra and Ophiuchus Voyagers resumed their mecha forms, and both grabbed ahold of the remaining Moraimarz by an arm allowing the Shooting Star Megazord to strike it in the chest with the wing blades of the Eagle Voyager, both wings glowing with a pink flame.

Next, the Swordfish Voyager was used as a blade as well, the bill functioning as a rapier sword and striking the Moraimarz mecha in the chest one final time impaling it in a riposte maneuver after it had parried the Moraimarz’ lance. The Moraimarz staggered back, and went up in a fireball though the keen eyes of the Doctor had noticed a figure leap out of the mecha before it went up.

“Here it comes everyone, round two!” the Doctor cried, as a Strongindaver named Moretsuyoindaver injected the Megabeast DNA into his forearm and grew to Megazord size. “What, no ‘Bow your heads!’?” the Doctor asked, knowing the Magistrates loved that particular quote.

“You will fall, and operations on Planet Jume will resume regardless of this setback!” Moretsuyoindaver snarled, aiming his cudgel at the Megazord and firing balls of energy from its tip, making the Megazord stagger back. He also fired balls of energy at various fighter craft, shooting them out of the air.

One by one, allies fell as their ships exploded in horrific fireballs claiming lives, death deciding not to be picky that day. The faces and the names Flashfire would remember, not just the ponies under his command but those few ships and their pilots from both Zigama and Vela as well. Thunder Night, Windfire, Kero, amongst others. He’d make sure they got burials deserving of their status as heroes. Viking funerals, like those from Fågel’s homeland.

“Oh sure, entropy will claim everything eventually,” the Doctor shrugged as his Mecha sliced into the Strongindaver’s skin drawing blood. “But doesn’t mean we should give up, not while there’s still hope left in this universe. If everyone lends their voice to the same dream, anything’s possible.”

His veins glowed that light blue and gold color again, and once more the Doctor took no notice.

“Hope is nothing but a lie. The universe will fall to Dark Matter!” Moretsuyoindaver snarled, slamming his cudgel into the Megazord’s side making it stagger before a slash across the chest from the Swordfish Voyager was given in retaliation.

“Do you ever shut up? Dark Matter this, Dark Matter that!” Pharynx asked in a growl, his mech roundhouse punching Moretsuyoindaver in the face, before Moretsuyoindaver retaliated and knocked both the Libra and Ophiuchus Voyagers out of the battle with energy ball blasts from his cudgel. “Controls are jammed!” Pharynx shouted, with the Doctor confirming the same thing for his Voyager. “It’s up to you guys.”

“Relax,” Coldcast smiled as he slammed the Loyalty Kyutama into a slot in his cockpit making the blade of the Swordfish Voyager glow with crackling lightning. “The Element of Loyalty has your back. We got this.”

The Megazord raised it’s blade high towards the sky, and the clouds began to boil over before lightning began repeatedly striking Moretsuyoindaver again and again making him stagger. His cudgel clattered to the ground with a mighty Clang! just as the Shooting Star Megazord struck him across the chest several times with the wing blades of the Eagle Voyager.

“Stripped!” Flashfire shouted as Fågel made the Megazord kick Moretsuyoindaver in the face. “Progress report!”

“Almost…” Stripped murmured to himself, before letting out a shout of triumph. “Done! I got it! Might even be able to lend you lot a little hand!”

Pressing a button on his console, he managed to turn the satellite's reflective panels towards the direction of the sun, and aimed the lights right at Moretsuyoindaver, cutting through the already dispersing storm clouds and momentarily blinding the Magistrate.

Flashfire, taking advantage of this momentary upper hand, slammed the Aquarius Kyutama into a slot on his cockpit’s console and the Eagle Voyager then fired a stream of scalding hot water at Moretsuyoindaver making him scream out in pain.

“Not so talkative now, are you?” Flashfire asked with a small smirk. “And for good measure… Let’s follow up with one of my personal favorites…” he remarked before switching out the Aquarius Kyutama out for the Andromeda and fired black iron chains from the Eagle Voyager’s mouth completely entrapping Moretsuyoindaver. “You know, I’ve had enough of this little bout of ours, really. Time to finish this, what do you guys say?”

“Agreed,” Coldcast remarked. “Toying with him and experimenting with different Kyutamas was fun before, but now it’s just starting to wear thin. Let’s finish this. This planet’s suffered long enough under Dark Matter’s thumb.”

“And I’ve got just the thing to do so.” Flashfire agreed. “Spiral Galaxy Galactic Finish!”

Pressing controls on his console, he got the Megazord to line up its arms in such a way that the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers would serve as a makeshift bow and arrow as what looked to be a manifestation of the milky way galaxy formed in front of them as a targeting sight. Next, one furious piercing shot was fired, right through Moretsuyoindaver’s chest before the monster staggered backwards, and then exploded, but not before saying: “Dark Matter Forever!”

Flashfire? As for him, all he did was a simple thumbs-down and a remark of: “Échec et mat. As I said, we will take the universe back. Piece by piece if we have to. Kyurangers, victory is ours…”

He then took a look at the destroyed remains of their allies' fighter craft and what little ships actually remained. “But what’s the cost?”

Light years upon light years away nestled in Dark Matter’s main battle fleet was the personal ship of Don Armage, where even now the the ruler of the 88 Galaxies strode through the corridors, his cloak thrown back to reveal a pure black skeleton head with a bulbous brain visible. If death had an avatar, perhaps this was what he would look like to the mortal eye.

“It’s a rare sight seeing you away from your system, Scorpio,” Don Armage commented, as he walked with a dark suited man, rather handsome in appearance with his luxurious black locks and his purple tie only reinforcing that notion. The only indicator of him not being human in any way was the massive scorpion’s tail complete with stinger trailing from his back. He looked like he might have been a kind man once, a warrior who would gladly have defended his people. But make no mistakes, the Karō of the Sasori system was now nothing but a monster. It wasn’t always this way of course, but those days were nothing but memories to him now like dust in the wind.

“Yes, well even I need to break from ruling my system, the politics of doing such a thing can make one rather weary,” Scorpio remarked with a heavy sigh, as two black-robed guards with red visors -Almost resembling dark Kyurangers in a way- carrying energy pikes followed them. Don Armage’s personal bodyguards, the Veils of the Shadow. “My second-in-command, he can take care of things over there in the meantime.”

“I always meant to ask, why did you ever choose to follow me?” Armage remarked curiously, turning his head to face Scorpio’s.

Scorpio only chuckled, causing Armage to look at him only the more curiouser. “I’m sorry, allow me to explain,” Scorpio remarked. “Those who own power and privilege have a duty they must fulfill. That's what Noblesse Oblige means. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty in order to do that.”

“Exactly,” Don Armage mused. “I had to get my hands dirty to fulfill my dream, although look what happened as a result. The Universe is now be set right. It has been made over to fit my unique view of what should be, and what always should have been. Balance has been restored. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be… and when the end comes, I hope they remember my exploits. Of their savior.”

Scorpio chuckled.

“Careful now, I doubt the universe wants their savior to gain an ego,” he remarked teasingly and Armage chuckled and looked at him.

“You were happy on your home planet were you not?” Armage remarked.

“Y-Yes, I was…” Scorpio replied, and Armage chuckled and wagged a finger.

“Tut tut, it’s not nice to lie to your lord. When I arrived on your planet, it was the same story with everyone on that world. You lot, you were almost on a regular basis going to bed hungry. Scrounging for scraps. Your planet was on the brink of collapse,” Armage remarked, and Scorpio nodded, that much was true. His world was a barren desert, where living was a luxury only gifted to those strong enough to fight for their survival. “I was the one who stopped that. Or rather, I was the one who gave you the power to stop that miserable existence you called living. You know what’s happened since then, ever since you took up my sword? The children, your children and even your dear brother born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It’s a paradise. Hope Springs Eternal, I believe that’s the saying yes?”

“Yes, yes it is,” Scorpio remarked. “Hope springs eternal. People always hope for the best, even in the face of adversity. It is in everyone’s nature. We’d lost that sense of hope, until you came along.”

“No, that is incorrect,” Armage replied. “It was when you came along that hope could finally return to your world. And for the record, I truly apologize for what you had to do. The hardest choices require the strongest wills, alas.”

“Yes, quite sadly that is the barren truth of the matter. Speaking of strong wills, what about the Kyurangers?” Scorpio asked, just for a moment wondering if he was overstepping his bounds. It seems he had no reason to worry, as Don Armage only chuckled.

“Those little runts?” Armage asked. “They’re barely stepped out of their wombs. They’re not worth a consideration.”

“But milord, and forgive me if I overstep my bounds here,” Scorpio remarked. “They’ve already managed to destroy one of your Karōs and all but free the Pegasus System from your rulership. Only Magistrate left is Denvil, and as soon as they defeat him, -and mark my words, seeing their success rate so far, I wouldn’t bet against it- that galaxy will be free. They’re building a rebellion, even as we speak at this very moment!”

“The Pegasus System,” Armage mused. “And Lupus… Both were weak. That system, I honestly considered barely worth my attention. The only reason I had it under my control was for the Planetium it would provide, and so nobody there would get any bright ideas about thinking that I am not the universe’s savior and only a tyrant to them. I did them no wrongs, did I not? What my Karōs choose to do when they’re handed their systems is simply up to them.”

“Perhaps…” Scorpio mused as the two continued to walk down the ship’s corridor. “But it is at least worth considering, a small display of your power to put them back in line.”

“A small display, perhaps,” Armage remarked. “But what would be the point? After all, even rebellions grow weary and they still have eighty-seven Karōs to face, along with the rest of my forces. They will tire eventually, and then they will be put down like the rabid dogs they are. Who knows, perhaps you will get the lucky chance of being the one to do so.”

“Perhaps…” Scorpio mused as Armage unfolded his hand, and brought up a hologram of the universe at large.

“Tell me Scorpio, what do you see?” he asked.

“A universe, completely and totally under your control. Trillions upon trillions of lives basking in your glory.”

“Exactly, it was nothing but a dream once but now I have made it a reality. Like you said, Noblesse Oblige. Those who own power and privilege have a duty they must fulfill. I fulfilled my duty, and now I reap the rewards. Just like you did, your planet is now out of its infancy days and has grown into the brightest jewel in it’s system. Am I not correct?”

“Yes, you are correct. Quite correct. It is indeed something I should be proud of.” Scorpio sighed before something beeped on his wrist gauntlet. “I’m sorry, it seems there is a matter I must intend to. A small… insurrection on my homeworld.”

“Be strong, be fast, and be swift. Show them no mercy my Karō,” Armage remarked as he watched Scorpio change into his true form, an armored monster wearing an orange-flamed long coat and a dark red mask that left only one eye visible. His hair was now tied into a dreadlocked ponytail. “Show them something… beautiful, show them the true power of the scorpion.”

“As you command,” Scorpio said with a bow. “Yes, it seems my people need a reminder of just who rules the universe.”

“And just who is that? Who rules the universe?”

“You, my lord. Shogun Don Armage.”

“And who rules over you?” Armage asked.

“You do.”

“Exactly,” Armage stated, and smirked as he watched Scorpio teleport away. Even a rabid dog could be controlled with the right amount of ability. “And speaking of abilities,” Armage mused as he walked into his treasure room and towards the central plinth where inside a dark purple orb rested that strange horn Lupus had recovered from Equus before his untimely demise. “Now I must uncover yours, my friend. Oh, they may think me playing with fire, getting to close to getting burned but I argue otherwise. With the right amount of persuasion, even the creature this once belonged to shall bow to my whims. Armageddon shall come, but only to the weak after I fuse my power to this lowly creature’s.”

He raised his right hand, sparking with purple electricity, and fired it at the horn hoping to absorb the power it contained for his own usage although sadly the energy backfired and only was directed towards him. The two members of the Veils of the Shadow that had been following him took the blasts, and were rendered to nothing but dust.

“A pity,” Don Armage thought as he shook his head. “It seems further persuasion will be required before I can bend this creature’s power to my whims. So be it.”

The Shining Armor: Prince Stardust’s Quarters

Back aboard the Shining Armor, as it left the planet Jume far behind, Stardust sat in his quarters alone and thought to himself. “My parents, they had a dream once. I’m doing the best to follow that dream… right?”

He thought back, it was a vague memory but he still remembered bits and pieces of it. It was enough, just enough. He remembered a burning orb, something hellishly bright and an innate sense of fear. He was only five years old then, he remembered Flurry Heart rushing inside the crushing darkness, clutching him tightly.

“Flurry, what’s going on? Why is the sun so…?” Stardust asked in fear.

“Everything’s going to be fine, okay? Just you watch, your parents are holding the sun back at this very moment. They’ll succeed, just you watch okay? This… This is just so we don’t get in their way, you understand okay?” Flurry stated, fighting back a sob.

Had Stardust known she was lying -And in hindsight, he suspected deep down he knew he already did- he probably would have been more scared than he already was.

Just then, Celestia appeared before them striding through the crowds.

“It’s okay my son, I’m here.” she said softly.

“Mommy, what are you doing here?” Stardust asked as he rushed into his mother’s arms, only for his own to go right through her. Blinking in shock, Stardust asked: “Mommy, why can’t I touch you? Please, answer me! I want… I want to see you! I want to know what’s going on!”

“I’m sorry my son,” Celestia whispered, a small tear dripping from her eye. “But I can’t be with you right now, I can only project myself with my magic.”

“Mommy, why can’t you be with me right now? Why are you crying? Where’s Auntie Luna? Where’s Auntie Cadence? Where’s mommy Twilight?” Stardust asked frantically in fear.

“I’m sorry my son, but we can’t be here for you right now,” Celestia told her son. “By Faust, I wish we could, but we have to save the world right now. But I-I promise, no I Pinkie Promise,” Celestia continued, her voice beginning to break. “When the day is over, all will be set right. C-cross my h-heart, hope to fly. S-Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Mommy, what’s going on? Why is it so hot? Why is everyone so afraid?” Stardust demanded in a tear-filled fearful tone of voice, frantic to know what exactly was going on as he watched ponies, griffons, zebras and various other assorted other species rush pash him. “Please! Tell me, I want to know!”

“It is nothing for you to worry about my son. As I said, by the end of the day when all is said and done everything will be put right once more and I will be able to hold you in my arms once again.”

Stardust knew now, that even back then despite all her stubbornness and denial Celestia knew their homeworld was about to be charbroiled to a crisp. She just couldn’t bring herself to tell her son, or even admit to herself that was the truth of the matter. Wasn’t that the way, everybody having their dues in life to pay someday?

“Are you sure?” Stardust asked even as Flurry helped him into a pod of some sort. “Please tell me I will see you again mommy!”

“Yes, you will. You’ll see all of us someday, I can promise you that,” Celestia said before she reacted to a scream of rage and pain in the background. A scream of pained despair.

“T-The Sun! It… it killed her! It killed my moon!” Auntie Luna screamed out somewhere far away from Stardust’s field of vision, as Celestia bit back a sob.

“Mommy, what does Auntie Luna mean?” Stardust asked fearfully. “What does she mean about your sun killing her moon?” he asked, even as he watcher his mother’s project began to grow ever more strained, her horn glowing an even bright shade of gold than before. For a brief moment in time, her hair seemed to flare up like an inferno, and her eyes turned into orange slits before they resumed their normal appearance as Celestia bit back a sob, pulsing orange veins showing all over her face.

“I’m… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry my son,” Celestia whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I wish you didn’t have to know, but it seems I have no choice. That promise I made? You know the one? It’s one I’m afraid Twilight and I will have to break. The sun, it’s currently scorching the planet to a husk, and I’m… I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold it back for much longer. Listen, I know you’re afraid, but there’s one thing I want you to do for me. Can you do that, my son?” Celestia asked, as she watched Flurry seal herself into a pod as well.

“Y-Yes, mommy…” Stardust nodded, even as he bit back a sniffle of his own.

“Carry on Equestria’s legacy, teach the magic of Friendship to everyone, it’s just what Twilight and I would have wanted you to do understand? Carry on our wills. Be the next Prince of Friendship, carry on my will. Carry on Twilight’s will. Carry on Luna’s will. I’m sorry, I wish I didn’t have to force this on you my son,” Celestia sobbed, her tears coming down ever harder now seemingly turning to steam from the sheer broiling heat of the sun. “But I have no choice. You are my legacy, you are my son. My little sunshine, my little Stardust. Please, can you do this one last thing for your mother?”

“Y-Yes, I’ll try,” Stardust whimpered even as the cold sleep pod began to seal over him. “C-Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“T-Thank you, my son. Maybe… Just maybe someday we will see each other someday soon, out amongst the stars. But I’ve got to go now. Luna… she needs her big sister. Goodbye my, son, and remember me. Remember Equestria.” Celestia asked, before the pod fully sealed and Celestia’s project blinked out of existence forever.

Stardust sighed and sucked in a breath as he walked out of his quarters. There was no time to dwell on the past now, he had more important matters to attend to. He cast a glance to the big cylindrical tank in the corner of the room, the one that was impossible to see inside and ran his fingers along the glass. He sighed, he’d visit the occupant inside later.

“I promise, I won’t let you down mother…” Stardust thought. Soon, he found himself amongst a crowd of various members of the ship alongside Velans and Zigama natives mourning those lost in the battle to free planet Jume from Dark Matter’s tyranny. Although there were no bodies to be recovered, Flashfire insisted on the highest honors being bestowed upon those who had fallen. Viking style funerals, and in place of the bodies personal effects important to the fallen.

Baroness Manx, she was dressed in all black robes with a veil over her face, Pharynx laying a hand on her shoulder in support with Garu by her side. Behind them, was Jabari, playing a tune on his violin with the Doctor lending his voice as the caskets were launched out into space.

“Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, just for today

“Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away…”

“Atten-Hut!” Garu shouted as the Shining Armor’s cannons fired off rainbow balls of light. They weren’t just mourning the dead but celebrating their lives that they’d lived as well.

As soon as the proceedings were over, Manx whirled around on Flashfire and Stardust.

“You did this…” she hissed out, claws bared. “You led my people into a slaughter, and now you have the nerve to do this? We don’t even have any bodies!”

“Hey!” Garu snapped. “This wasn’t their fault, grr! This was Dark Matter’s, and no one else’s! Lay the blame at their feet, not our saviors!”

“Saviors? SAVIORS!?!” Manx screeched, with Garu taking a small step back in fear. “You have the nerve to call them saviors after they led some of our best pilots into a slaughter?”

“Hey, in case you forgot, we weren’t the only ones to lose friends today,” Garu snapped. “The Velans, and the Equus, they lost friends as well! Remember that before you go barking off unfounded accusations!”

Manx let out a hiss, before she sighed and turned tail heading back to her quarters.

“Do… Do you think she’ll be alright?” Stardust asked nervously.

“I know Manx,” Garu sighed, the blue Syrien shaking his head sadly. “At least, I did before that lizard bastard came along and defiled her. She was always a kind and understanding sort, grr. She’ll come around and see reason… eventually. She just needs time to mourn like everyone else.”

“I hope you’re right…” Flashfire sighed before he watched Pharynx march off after Manx. “Hey, where you going?”

“To talk to her.” Pharynx stated, saying no more on the matter as the doors shut behind him.

Author's Notes:

Okay, a few notes. I easily could have ended this chapter here with Armage trying to take on Sombra's powers, but I figured I could still squeeze a bit more story out of this such as the flashback with Stardust.

Other notes? The prolonged battle with the Magistrate of the day? Consider that me making up for not giving you a good Megazord battle with the previous one. Also, yes Kyuranger fans, the Garu in this chapter is the one you're thinking of complete with verbal tic. Might not be a Ranger here, but I'll try to make him useful.

Also, an early-bird cameo of Scorpio long before the Rangers face off with him.

As ever, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed.