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Power Rangers Neo

Chapter 1

(Casting Shadows)

Made possible by my generous Patrons.

Cold... barren... desolate... alone. The lunar surface was many things, and nothing at the same time. The craters stretched out like dunes on a vast, lifeless desert, but even with the sun, the sky was an unrelenting black. Compared to the vast blue and green Earth floating just out of reach, the moon seemed like a forgotten relic, an unfinished thought, and a graveyard for those villains that had come to Earth to conquer its people, only to fall before their defenders.

There had been many battles, too many to count. Debris from the great machine empire were strewn across the lunar mares and the hulled keels of space pirate vessels stuck up like ghost ships, forever encased in stone. But of all the relics and memories of past battles, it was the great Moon Palace that had survived over ten thousand years.

The great palace rose up several stories, forged out of ancient stone. The great spires radiated out from the center almost like a nine fingered hand reaching for the stars. The great rotating spheres on the top of the base had long ago fallen dormant, and few lights remained on inside. It was a place where the shadows lived, where memories echoed, and only one dared to tread.

Several floors below the throne room, one figure moved, stepping out onto the balcony peering out over the distant Earth. The battered telescope sitting there had been restored, piece by piece with debris from the Sea of Tranquility. A gloved hand slipped one last lens into place, tightening it down before returning the copper cover to the top. A helmeted head came down, looking into the eye piece.

After months of seeing nothing but a blur, a crisp and clear image came into view; a city park crisscrossed with cement paths, dotted with fountains and pools, lush and green with vegetation and filled with humans blissfully unaware that anything could ever wish them harm. The figure stood up slowly, the harsh sunlight washing over his figure.

It was a familiar shape, one that the humans of Earth had come to admire; a strong, muscled body clad in skin tight material, showcasing his strength and agility. Gloves covered his hands, boots protected his feet, and a sturdy belt held a vaguely hexagonal morpher to his waist. Even his head was covered in a glossy helmet, the black visor surrounded by metal... but as close as it was to the suits worn by the Power Rangers of Earth, it was a pale shadow of what it had once been.

The morpher had been the first to go, cracked and scarred, the metal worn and scuffed. The power coin inside had eroded away, leaving jagged, sharp, black crystal shards around the inner rim. The color the suit had once held had faded to a dull gunmetal gray, and the sharp crisp edges of the white diamonds across the chest had warped, shifted, and twisted. Even the details on the helmet depicting a ferrocious and powerful dinosaur had devolved, becoming smooth and nearly featureless, the silver teeth around the visor becoming irregular and uneven.

The Void Ranger looked out at Earth and turned, leaving the balcony behind. He strode across his new domain, moving into the workshop, feeling the fires building in his soul. As he entered, the lights snapped on in obedience to their new lord and master. The Void Ranger looked around, feeling the tickle of memories at the back of his mind. He'd worked so long and so hard, everything was falling into place, but he had to do it right, he had to make sure it all unfolded the way he wanted.

The fallen Ranger started rummaging through the shelves of the workshop, digging through metal sheets, looking at the molds and impressions until he found the first one he needed. It was a large tray, full of several of the same design over and over again. Beneath the featureless silver mouth cover of his mask, a smile formed. The Void Ranger carried the tray over to the table and opened an old tub, drawing out an ancient clay from another galaxy.

His gloved fingers dipped in, scooping out the clay, depositing it into the molds. There was something oddly cathartic about the space clay. It was so malleable, so moldable, and there was something about it that made it feel like a conduit into his very being. The Ranger finished filling the tray and slid it into the old Monster-a-matic. The machine began to pump and putter, shuddering and lurching to life as it siphoned off energy from the cosmos.

The Void Ranger moved around to the far side of the machine, watching as a vast doorway slid open and a tall, lithe, strong figure emerged made out of what seemed to be living grey stone. Its face was warped and monstrous, but its shoulders were broad, his arms strong, its fists deadly and its feet sure. The Void Ranger grinned beneath his mask, watching as another two, then four, six and finally eight creatures emerged. They were virtually identical other than minute imperfections, but they would work as an opening salvo.

"After five years, my time has come. The people of Oak Valley will not know the terror that rains down upon them, and those precious Neo Rangers have absolutely no idea of what I have in store. Now go, wreak havoc my putties. Serve your master well." The Void Ranger grinned, moving out his arm. As he did, a jagged, melted sword appeared in a flash of silver light. The putties were swept up in it, each enveloped in a bolt of light as they shot out of the workshop, over the balcony guard rail, and straight down to the Earth's surface - precisely where the telescope had been aimed.

The Void Ranger smiled beneath his mask again, feeling the energy building all around him. The Moon Palace was waking up, energy flowing through the structure as it was harnessed for evil once more. Somewhere high above, light began spilling out of the massive globe at the palace's peak and the metallic rings began to turn again, circling and spinning as they gained speed.

****

Sunlight blanketed Angel Park in warm rays, radiating down from the crystal blue sky. The green grass swayed in a gentle breeze that carried with it the smell of wild flowers. Park goers had spread out picnic blankets and food trucks had parked to serve snow cones, frozen yoghurt and juice smoothies. It seemed like the perfect day, which made it all the stranger when a steady, low, rumbling growl came from the steep hill at the edge of the park. There were no storm clouds, no chance of thunder, but the source became suddenly, and bold, apparent as a figure built speed down the meandering sidewalk path, then cut to a side path that started to climb elevation again.

The inertia and momentum was impossible to ignore and the figure arched up into the air, launching off the improvised ramp. He was in his late teens, dressed in an orange and red tie dye shirt and torn up black jeans. His blond hair was trapped under his orange skate helmet and his blue eyes were watching the ground, calculating his trajectory until he, and his roller blades, came down. There was a slice as he turned, but kept going, blading his way down the next path.

Rowan grinned ear to ear at his success. It had been a perfect jump, something he'd been practicing a long time. He just never seemed able to get it until then. The thrill was tangible, rushing through his veins, but the victory was short lived. A scream echoed across the park, cutting the reverie.

Rowan's eyes panned across the hillsides until he spotted the source of the scream, a family that was running from their picnic spot as a horde of putties spread out. They attacked the playground, their swift punches and sharp kicks snapping through the reinforced metal. They stomped through picnic baskets and were headed toward the people gathered by the food truck. Panic raced through Rowan's heart - not for his own well being, but the well being of the others. He lifted his wrist to his mouth, pressing the buttons on what looked like smart watch.

"Theta, there are some monsters in the park. I don't know what they are up to, but I've got to act." Rowan said.

"Rowan, please, wait for reinforcements to arrive! This may be some kind of trap!" The voice on the other end pleaded. Rowan gave a rueful smile as he looked around for some cover and rolled up behind a cluster of trees.

"I don't have time to wait when innocent lives are at stake. It's Morphin' Time!" Rowan proclaimed, lifting up his tie-dye shirt to reveal a thick belt buckle nestled just above his groin. He clutched the device, pulling it free of his belt clasp. The dense metal glistened in the bright afternoon light. Rowan held the morpher out in front of his body. "Spinosaurus!" As he shouted, the morpher snapped open, clutching a gold coin emblazoned with the image of a spinosaurus in the center. The gaps around the coin flushed with orange light that spilled out of the silver and black morpher, spilling over the teenager.

Rowan felt his body phasing partially out of reality, embraced by the cosmic Morphing grid. The energy swirled around him, swept over him and poured through him. His rollerblades, his skate helmet, his clothes - they were all removed, stripped from his body and placed into an intangible dimension outside of reality itself. In their place, a rich yellowish orange material spread up his legs, coating his thighs and hips, his arms, then his back.

The skin tight material covered his muscles, showing off his body, accentuating his pectorals and his ass as sharp, crisp, perfect diamonds appeared across his chest. One huge diamond covered the bulk of his chest and back, while smaller ones connected on the side points, wrapping around his ribs. White gloves and boots appeared over his extremities, countered with bright orange diamonds near the tips.

As Rowan's helmet disappeared, swept away by the energy, an orange cloth headband was revealed beneath just long enough before a new helmet covered his entire head. A black visor wrapped over the teen's eyes, surrounded by sharp silver teeth. The helmet was glossy, the same bright orange as the rest of his suit. A silver rectangle appeared over the mouth with the faint impression of lips, a slight reminder of what laid beneath.

The light faded, leaving the Orange Ranger in his uniform. He crouched down and then pushed off with superhuman strength, arching through the trees before landing on the grass just in front of the putties. The gray monsters looked up at their new foe, no longer heading toward the civilians. Incoherent babble spilled from their mouths as they started to swarm the foolish Ranger that had dared to take them all on alone.

****

Soft, tender, melodic notes filled the stairwell, echoing off of the floor to ceiling glass panels, muffled only slightly by the soft purple carpeting that clung to each step, stretching out in the sprawling landing half way between floors before meandering up to the next. It was an unusual spot on the community college campus, but it had phenomenal acoustics and a great view of the ornamental garden.

Kenji sat on a soft bench in the stairwell, his fingers strumming the strings of his acoustic guitar. The music was enigmatic, unique, carrying subtle tones with influences from around the globe... much like Kenji himself. His face was thoughtful as he listened to his music, trying to find the flow of the notes and to let inspiration fill him for the lyrics. His long, smooth hair cascaded down to his shoulder, bleached white before kissed with a subtle hint of purple. The music pouring from his guitar came to an abrupt end as his watch chirped six evocative notes of its own. Kenji lowered his guitar to his lap and lifted his watch.

"What is it, Theta?" he asked.

"Rowan is in trouble! Monsters are attacking the park, and they look like putties!" The concerned voice on the far end warbled.

"I'm on my way." Kenji replied, setting the guitar behind the bench, lowering it down out of view before springing to his feet. With a tap of another button, he was engulfed in bright purple light that shot up through the ceiling, sailing across the city, heading for the park.

****

Azure water rippled in the pool, shimmering and sparkling in the bright sunlight. Children laughed and babbled and squirted at each other with their hands. Teens lounged by the side of the pool, talking and chatting while a few well meaning adults practiced laps across the deeper end of the pool. Despite being an outdoor pool, the phenomenal weather of Oak Valley generally allowed the pool to remain in operation year round, and the life guard staff was a combination of paid and volunteer lifeguards.

One such volunteer lifeguard sat in one of the raised chairs overlooking the pool, his shaggy brownish black hair puffed out at the fringes, showing only the bottom most edge of his ears and coming almost all the way down to his eyebrows. The lifeguard wore only teal swim trunks, his waterproof smart watch, teal polarized sunglasses and his whistle. The sun had given his perfectly toned, swimmer build body a magnificent tan.

Cole looked out over the waters, taking his job seriously. He saw some kids starting to run and raised his whistle, letting out a sharp burst. The kids turned, looking to Cole before slowing down. They didn't want to risk getting kicked out. The Angel Park public pool was an amenity that offered an escape from the heat, and it was kept clean and orderly. Cole leaned back, glad that order had been restored, though when his watch chirped, his muscles tightened a bit. With a swallow, the twenty year old dropped down from his chair and moved over to the domed building at the south end of the pool, leaning on the counter.

"Steve, I got another med alert from my uncle. I have to head out, I'm sorry." Cole said. The tall lifeguard on the other side nodded, taking one last swig of his protein drink.

"Of course, man, thanks for your time." he said, reaching over to pat Cole on the shoulder. Cole blushed a little, nodding as he headed for the changing area. He hated having to lie, but sometimes there was no good excuse for being a defender of the human race. Cole walked across the hot cement, moved through the arch and headed for the lockers. Once he was sure there was no one in the showers, he lifted his watch.

"What is it?" Cole asked in a whisper.

"Trouble in the park! Rowan needs you now!" Theta proclaimed, perhaps too loudly for a public place. Cole winced.

"I'm on it." Cole said, pressing his watch. Teal light swept over him, the locker room dissolving from his field of vision. Cole had a vague sense of flying, of moving at impossible speeds, of the city zooming by around him, but it wasn't until he reappeared at the park just as Kenji was arriving that his full senses returned. Kenji looked to Cole and gave a nod. Cole reached down under the waistband of his shorts as Kenji lifted his shirt, both pulling out their morphers.

"Ankylosaurus!" Kenji shouted, purple light pouring out of his morpher, washing over him as his power suit started to appear, his long hair disappearing inside his helmet.

"Mosasaurus!" Cole shouted out, teal and white cloth covering his body. In moments the Purple and Teal rangers were ready for action. Both pushed off, launching themselves into battle, landing feet away from the crowd of putties. Rowan was spinning like a madman, laying out a flurry of kicks, sending the clay monsters reeling.

"No one's going to accuse you of being all left feet." Kenji said with a smirk.

"With this many dance partners? Who could?" Rowan smirked, spiraling back to back with the purple ranger before they darted out, punching and kicking their adversaries. Each strike sent reverberations through the creatures, shaking fissures and defects. Cracks were appearing, dust leaking out of the damaged portions.

Cole moved forward but hesitated, hearing the jibbering coming from behind him. He froze, paused, and then brought his elbow back into the face of a puttie. It staggered backwards from the blow, allowing Cole to flip backwards, brace on his hands, then bring his feet down to kick the creature in the back. It toppled to the ground, shattering into dust and fragments.

"Nice move, kid." Rowan grinned. Cole, however, growled slightly.

"I'm not a kid, I'm older than you." he replied. Rowan chuckled.

"Sorry, I always forget." He said, moving to attack the others. Kenji spun back, looking at the putties, analyzing their movements. He saw them coming together for an attack, their movements were too predictable. The Purple Ranger waited until just the right moment and then sent a decisive blow forward with his fist. He hit the first putty who fell back into the next two, the three of them falling against the next four. They landed in a heap, scrambling to get up, though they froze as a shadow came across them, looking up as something fell from the sky.

Rowan dropped down, hitting the puttie on the top of the pile, sending vibrations down through all of them. The entire pile exploded into a cloud of dust and dried out clay, crumbling to the ground. The Orange Ranger rolled and sprung back to his feet, dusting himself off. He grinned, giving a thumbs up to his team.

"I guess you could say they just don't make 'em like they used to?" he grinned.

"Actually, I think that might be the problem. That's exactly how they used to make them." Cole said softly. Rowan grimaced a little.

"We need some answers." Rowan said, giving a nod. Kenji and Cole nodded in response until they all reached for the watches hidden under their gloves. The three were enveloped in orange, purple and teal light once more, shooting up into the sky. They flew across the park, the college campus, shooting out over the water of the harbor until the energy dropped down. It sunk through the water, the silt, the bedrock, dropping down hundreds of feet before it started passing through crystal instead of plain rock.

The light shimmered and flashed through the crystals, rays of light refracting like a prism until the teleports hit a smooth, flat surface, revealing the Power Rangers once more. The three stood in the midst of an enormous geode, the spherical walls covered in blue crystals. Many of the crystals were small and sharp, but others were broad, tall, and sheer. A metal platform stretched across the center of the sphere, covered with computer terminals and equipment tables.

Rowan glanced over at the far wall where the largest crystals stretched from the bottom of the geode to the top. Faint, subtle images refracted in the crystals, showing individuals similar to themselves, but different at the same time. Some wore the same suits but in different colors. Others had visors in geometric shapes, still others were emblazoned with icons of vehicles, or clans of ninjas. They were echoes of other times, of other realities, of other Power Rangers.

"Reckless! Dangerous!" The chiding voice sounded as a wobbling figure strode across the platform. Despite the bulky, almost clumsy look of the being's appendages, each step was perfectly timed and perfectly calculated, a credit to the artificial brain inside of the ovoid head sitting atop the robotic creature. The silver head had a panel of blue lights flashing back and forth along the front, mimicking the blue lightning shaped light panel on the robot's chest.

"Theta, they were just putties." Rowan said, reaching up to unclasp his helmet and pull it off. His blond hair stuck up, longer in the front and shorter around the sides, all kept in place by an orange cloth bandana. Kenji removed his helmet next, his lavender hair pulled back and tied into a tight ponytail. Cole followed suit, tucking his helmet under his arm.

"If Kierro were here, he-" Theta was cut off.

"But he's not. And no matter how many times you bring him up, he's not going to be here." Rowan said with a hint of bitterness. Cole and Kenji both wilted a little. It had been tough losing their mentor, even tougher after losing one of their team-mates. The sacrifice, though, had been worth it in the end, bringing an end to the tyranny of an army of soul sucking snake men and restoring life to the thousands drained by them.

"Theta... We know we have to be careful, we'll try to do better." Cole said softly, "But is there anything you can tell us about the putties?"

"Only that their energy signal is exactly the same as the putties from so many years ago." Theta said, wobbling over to the crystal at the center of the chamber. The base appeared to be a perfect sphere, though several long hexagonal spikes rose up out of it, "The Neo Crystal has been dormant, no activity coming through from the other realities. This problem is uniquely ours."

"This... is a difficult riddle." Kenji said.

"It was a test." Rowan said softly.

"A test of us?" Cole asked. Rowan shook his head.

"No... They knew we'd come, that we'd defeat the putties. This must have been a test for something else." Rowan said.

"I don't like the sound of that." Kenji grimaced.

"Ai-yi-yi." Theta groaned, grabbing the sides of his silver head as he wobbled away in despair.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing." Kenji said finally.

"We're not going to do nothing." Rowan said, "We can't act until we know more, so we're going to try and figure this out. Someone's making old monsters, and that's their mistake. We've faced these things before, we already know how to beat them. Now we just have to figure out where, and why."

"I'll head back to the park, get a sample of the clay dust. Maybe there's something there that'll tell us something." Kenji said. Cole nodded.

"I'll head to the Youth Center, see if anyone's seen or heard anything unusual. There might have been other activity." Cole said. Rowan grinned.

"And I'll check around town, make sure we're the first to know if anything new starts up. We got this team, we're the Neo Rangers. Evil doesn't stand a chance." Rowan said, offering his hand. Kenji put his hand on top and Cole finished it off, the three exchanging looks of respect and confidence in one another.

****

Pathetic... Predictable, but pathetic. The Void Ranger pulled back from his telescope, exhaling slowly. Still, it was only the first test, the first batch. It was enough to show that the machines were still working after all this time, and somehow it felt almost cathartic to be on the other side of the first enemies he ever fought. It had also been a good experiment to study how the methods of the Rangers had evolved. The orange ranger was brash, reckless, charging into battle on his own. It was a weakness that could be exploited.

The Void Ranger left the balcony, moving back into the workshop. He moved over to the far end and started rummaging through the old cabinets. The putties had been used frequently, their mold was easy to get to, but now he needed something else, something older, a blast from the past. The silver and gray clad villain opened the last cabinet and found a discarded pile of molds. He pulled them out, looking at them one by one, amazed at how something so simple could have caused them so much grief.

"Mutitus... Doomstone... Lanterra..." The Void Ranger murmured until he paused, nearly casting another mold to the side before he stopped. The mold was for a face stealer monster, showing a jack-o-lantern like shield over its own face... but it brought back memories to the Void Ranger, from the time before his fall, when he had been a Red Ranger. One of his most harrowing battles had been against a creature known as the Pumpkin Rapper.

A smile crossed his face, obscured behind his disfigured mask. He tossed the molds back into the depths of the cabinet, moved over to the workshop table and dipped his hand into the ancient alien clay. He got enough to build his monster with, but he needed something more, something stronger. The Power Rangers had defeated the monsters crafted from clay without much effort.

Debating his options, it became apparent that there really only was one in the end. The Void Ranger reached down, running his finger along the recessed edge of his battle worn morpher. Pieces of the black crystallized shards crumbled out, falling onto the table. The Void Ranger rolled the clay over the dust and then folded it over itself, kneading and working the clay until the black dust was sparkling out of the clay, worked through the whole mass.

With inspiration and focus, he started to work the clay into its true shape. He worked from memory, emotion, from his dreams and his nightmares. The legs took shape, then the arms and torso, and then finally the head.

He reached under the table and pulled out some tools to add fine details, carving lines into the pumpkin head, scoring the eyes and the upside down mouth. He carefully added the vines until he was satisfied and slipped his creation into the machine.

Gears started to turn, steam billowed out, and the energies of the Moon Palace poured down through the mechanisms. The machine shuddered as the energy came into tcontact with the deteriorated remains of his power coin, resonating and building. The Void Ranger shuddered suddenly, reaching out, bracing against the table for strength.

"Max!" The shout echoed in his mind as if he'd just heard it, the scream of his loved one, his partner, his boyfriend screaming in agony as he thought his lover had died. The Void Ranger nearly doubled over, grunting sharply, hissing and baring his teeth beneath the mask. The machine churned and shook, barely able to contain the power resonating inside until the far end opened and a new figure stepped out.

The Void Ranger was panting for breath, caught off guard by the connection. The memories were subsiding, the sensations dying back. As he looked up, he saw a lithe, sinewy figure standing before him with the legs of a statue, willowy arms, and a big, rotund, menacing head.

The monster captured the memories Max had, but it was different at the same time. The monster's arms were wrapped in vines, his black torso covered in big pumpkin leaves. The orange head was darker, almost over-ripe in color and the eyes and mouth were hollow, black lightless voids. Even his feet were oddly pointed, almost like elf shoes or plump leaves.

The Void Ranger looked up at his creation, slowly smiling. This wasn't the Pumpkin Rapper, not as he had been. This was something more, something new. He had created a monster that was the embodiment of the fear he had once had, the fear of failure, the fear of loss, the fear of falling. It was perfect. The Void Ranger moved over and reached up, caressing the round, smooth head of his first true monster.

"It's time to sew your seeds." Max murmured, licking his lips. A soft greenish light began building inside of the head of the monster as he looked up at his master.

****

After the long, hot day, the sun had finally started to set, sinking slowly into the horizon at the far end of the harbor. Street lights were snapping on, homes were bright with lights as families came home to share dinner, and the town felt relatively quiet. Rowan walked down the street with his rollerblades tied together and hanging over his shoulders. He'd checked out the police station, the courthouse, town hall, both schools, and in the end he had discovered nothing out of the ordinary.

Rowan reached up and ran a hand along his quaffed hair, making sure it was still perfect, standing above the headband he always wore. It was a habit from his time before being a Ranger, a hard one to beat. He had joined after the others, but when they had lost their leader, he had tried to step up. It hadn't been easy, but for the most part it had worked. He just didn't want to let any of them down.

Advancing down the street, Rowan became aware of a strange, sickly sweet smell. It was faintly like pumpkin spice, but also something... strange at the same time. Rowan sniffed the air and moved to step off the sidewalk, wandering down behind the public library. He rounded the dormant building, locked up and lights off, heading toward the small glade behind the building. As he rounded the corner, though, he came to a stop in shock.

What had been a grassy clearing days before was covered in thick, writhing vines. The dark green growths slithered and wriggled across the grass, tearing it up to get at the dirt beneath as new shoots climbed up. Plump leaves held pumpkins like blossoms around the outer edge, and some of the leaves were vibrating, making almost a buzzing sort of sound. At the center of it all, a large pumpkin sat. Rowan lifted his wrist, grabbing his communicator.

"Guys, I found something-" Rowan cut off as static spilled out of his watch. Something was interfering with his communications, but his attempt had woken the creature. The pumpkin turned, revealing its upside down carved out pumpkin face. The pumpkin began rising out of the ground, revealing its sinewy body beneath. Apparently he had succeeded in finding out if anything else strange was going on.

"It's Morphin' Time! Spinosaurus!" Rowan exclaimed, jutting his morpher out in front of him. Once more the energy poured out of the morphing grid, coating and embracing the ranger. The tight uniform wrapped around his body, covering his torso and legs, his hands and feet and ultimately his helmet. The silver tone shone brightly as it formed around the visor, the white diamonds on his chest and ribs pristine. The light faded from around him as he was plunged back into the dusk light. Rowan moved forward, looking at all the vines, especially the fluttering plants along the edge of the Pumpkin Patch.

"Looks like I'll have to do a little light weeding. Battle Blades!" Rowan shouted. Light surged out of his hands, forming sturdy war-fans made of reinforced metal. The blades were orange and silver, the same spinosaurus emblem from his power coin emblazoned on them. Rowan moved to start slashing at the vines leading to the plants at the rim, expecting sparks to come bursting out. Instead, green slime and pumpkin seeds spewed out, raining out across the grass and splattering across Rowan.

The Orange Ranger let out a disgusted sound, but kept slashing. Vines writhed and withered and in the back of his head he could feel a decrease in vibrations around the area. Yes, those plants had to be what was blocking his communications! If he could just get enough of them, he'd be able to call the others. Rowan went to slash another vine, but got struck against the back by a much thicker vine. He was thrown off his feet and went rolling, recovering a few feet away. The pumpkin monster's hideous mouth trembled before a purple tongue shut out, working over its orange meaty teeth, a purple light glowing from the eyes. It rumbled and shuddered.

"This seed drops deep, as does my pumpkin. I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the mentor of bumpkin. Beyond the walls of the Rangers, life is defined. Time to join me in this pumpkin patch state of mind!" The voice of the monster was deep and resonate, so deep that Rowan could feel the vibration in his chest.

"I ain't got no time for a rap battle." Rowan murmured before charging at the monster himself. The Pumpkin Rapper raised his arms and more vines shot out. Rowan spun to dodge them, slashing at them as they went by. They fell limp to the ground in pieces and Rowan made it all the way to the monster, hitting him in the chest with his elbows, then spinning to punch more. The monster stumbled back, grunting hard. Rowan didn't relent, turning to brandish his fans. He slashed at the monster, though this time sparks did erupt, throwing Rowan back. The Orange Ranger hit hard, sliding in the dirt and mud, a little shocked by the explosion.

"What more could you ask for, you young seed? A fertile fight is quite the insight. To defeat me you need the speed." The rapper shot back. Rowan looked up and realized he had, in fact, cut deep into the monster. So deep, he could see through him, but the wounds were already knitting back together. Plant fibers were closing the gap, pulling the pieces back together. Plant guts were oozing out, hardening, coating the scars and making a second skin.

Panic raced through Rowan's heart. Theta was right. He'd been brash, fool hardy, run in it alone and now he was risking it all. As much as it would kill him to turn tail and run, he had to get the word out. It was time to make like a tree and leaf. The Orange Ranger sprung up off his feet, flipping over a vine before he turned to run. He just had to make it far enough to use his communicator. He broke into a sprint, though he had to skid to the side as a vine nearly hit him. He jumped to clear a cluster of pumpkins, but as he landed, Rowan's heart - and feet - sank suddenly.

The Pumpkin Rapper held out his hands, pulling them down as the Ranger hit the ground. He sank down to his ankles as smaller vines whipped around his legs, wrapping them up. Rowan grunted out and went to slash at them, but more vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around his wrists. They tightened and compressed until Rowan called out in pain, the fans falling from his hands. The vines pulled back, stretching his arms out to his sides. Rowan could feel more tendrils creeping up his legs, wrapping around his thighs, his arms, even his throat. He struggled to get free, but his body was immobilized.

"This seed drops deep, as does my pumpkin. I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the mentor of bumpkin. Beyond the walls of the Rangers, life is defined. Time to join me in this pumpkin patch state of mind!" the rapper repeated. The fluttering of the plants at the edge of the patch intensified and Rowan could feel the vibrations moving through the air, the dirt, and the vines around him. He squirmed and writhed as the vines slithered across his crotch, compressing and massaging, but that wasn't their final destination.

The tendrils began to cover Rowan's morpher, secreting a green aloe that oozed out around the coin, covering it and hardening. The tendrils sunk into the slime and began to siphon energy. The orange energy began draining out through the plant. Rowan grunted hard and the pumpkin rapper groaned, channeling the power to his master. Another vine slithered up alog Rowan's spine, creeping along the back of his helmet before it wrapped around like a planty crown. Rowan kept struggling, groaning as his power was siphoned.

"You can't... can't do this!" Rowan protested.

"To escape you need some speed. My read don't like no dirty feed. Run up to the lead and time to breed. We're all in a pumpkin patch state of mind. What more could you ask for, this young seed. You complain about cutting my vines, I gotta love it though - somebody still speaks for the seed. I'm rappin' behind the book, And I'm gonna move your outlook." The rapper said. The vines shuddered, not only draining energy, but supplying it as well.

Parts of the pumpkin monster started to darken, from green and orange to purple and black. The void crystal shards were activating inside of him. The monster's mouth fell silent, tearing his rap from him, leaving him with his true purpose. The vines began to plump and thicken, the soft meat turning almost to tough bark. The color drained from the rapper's body until it was a black sinewy strong form capped with the orange jack-o-lantern head.

Rowan got flashes in his mind, flashes of... nature, of reproduction, and of sex... The images weren't his, they were primal and rough and... and he saw Cole? No, he didn't think... of Cole... like that... With his cute bubble ass up in the air getting plowed by his thick, meaty, monsterous rod sliding in and out, in and out, in and out, deeper, harder, faster, tighter, stronger, more fertile... more powerful, more... more. He wanted more.

Rowan threw his head back and groaned harder, his suit flashing and throbbing as the energy was depleted. The reserves were running low, the power broadcast from the crystal shards in the monster, feeding his master... but the morpher knew danger was near. The coin began to shimmer and glow, knowing that there was only one choice. The Morphing Grid had learned from past failures. To let a hero fall with his power intact was to lead to the end of that power, or worse, its corruption.

An orange glow built from beneath the morpher before an orange beam of light shot out from it, swirling and crackling away into the atmosphere. The power had left Rowan, and without it, his suit dematerialized. For a moment there was wiggle room, the vines having wrapped around his suit, but before Rowan could try to pull free, the vines tightened again. The wrap around his head compressed around his headband, poking through it.

Rowan gasped as the protection left him and the thoughts came flooding in like a tsunami, flooding his brain. He was filled with raw urges, drives, needs. He was an extension of nature, he needed to sow his seed, to spread it, and to spread it he needed the proper tool. The vines crept under his shorts and up his shirt, slithering across his stomach and chest, curling around his nipples, poking and tweaking them as they swelled... but it was nothing like what was going on beneath his waist.

Tendrils coiled around his shaft, creeping up the hardening length before teasing at his urethra. At the same time, a thicker vine pushed between his ass cheeks, probing the warm, moist hole before it slid inside. Rowan was slack jawed as he shuddered, feeling his body intruded from both ends. A green hue began growing out from the roots of his blond hair, creeping up inch by inch until it reached the top. His bush changed from blond to green, as did the hair under his arms. It all softened, becoming more like moss.

Rowan was no longer trying to struggle. He looked up at the pumpkin rapper with eyes glazed by lust. The pumpkin monster raised a hand and a large pumpkin lifted off the ground. An eruption of sparks came flying out of it as a new face was carved, a right side up pumpkin face with slit eyes and a fang filled grin. Vines rose up to hold the pumpkin aloft, bringing it over Rowan's head before it came down.

The dusk light disappeared from Rowan's eyes as the shadow loomed over him, the pumpkin head lowering down over his head before it settled onto his shoulders. The pumpkin guts oozed down over his throat and neck before hardening, locking the helmet in place. The plant fibers tightened around his head, the meaty flesh of the pumpkin closing in around his skull, his hair getting wet and matted to his head as it oozed down around his eyes and cheeks and chin, flesh and plant meat mingling and fusing until they were one.

Rowan's skin began to shift, the cells changing from meat to plant, peachy tan skin becoming green fiber. His strong muscles became harder, thicker, more defined. Veins of plant tendrils meandered down his strong arms. His fingernails were reabsorbed, leaving strong leafy fingers. His ass cheeks firmed, getting tougher, and his feet were brown and covered with root like fibers.

The vines coiled around his cock sank into it, revealing the thick, long, plant like club... But like any good plant, it began to grow. The cock stretched out another inch, then two, then four and six and eight. It writhed slightly, rigid and tough, but flexible like a vine. Clear aloe began to ooze from the tip as the cock turned a bright orange at the head, the color creeping back down along the shaft almost to the root. The cock was practically a weapon, huge and writhing, almost with a mind of its own.

Rowan's formerly human balls had grown as well, stretching from the size of acorns to oranges, then larger. They churned with corrupted plant seed, thick and potent. Beneath the pumpkin mask, black lips parted and a long, slimy green tongue oozed out of the mouth, hanging out for a moment before snapping back. Green eyes glowed from within the pumpkin shell, and the new Pumpkin Monster stepped up out of his plot, wiggling his toes before his hand came down to his immense cock.

With a few good strokes, he started to cum, spraying out his green seed across the dirt. The pumpkins fed on it and began to grow and swell and expand. If the garden was tended right, if it was cared for and nurtured, the pumpkins would go on to take their own humans, giving Rowan all the hench men he would need to serve his master, to serve the Void Ranger, to serve Max. It all made sense now... He was following his leader after all, just as he always had.

****

The shifting of power, the surge of darkness, the feeling of accomplishment... It was euphoric, it was amazing, and the Void Ranger hadn't felt that good in years. He walked back from the balcony, moving back to his stolen throne, running a hand across his chest. The thrill was electric. It made him feel truly alive. He pivoted on his heel and sat back into the chair, spreading his legs wide. His hand drifted down, finding the growing bulge in his skin tight uniform. He gave it a good squeeze and rub, watching it swell larger and larger. Perhaps it was time to indulge himself.

The Void Ranger reached up and unclasped the locks on the sides of his helmet before breaking the seal, lifting the helmet up off of his head. The warped, drained helmet revealed a relatively healthy figure beneath. His black hair was a bit messy, but his face was crowned with a respectable mustache and a robust black beard that came down almost five inches from his chin, covering his cheeks before trailing into a straight line up his side burns. His ears had small black crystals in the gauge holes.

As Max's eyes opened, they revealed the eyes of someone no longer quite human. His irises were slit, almost serpentine and they were a dark grey in color. His lips parted, revealing his canine teeth were longer than they should have been, elongated into fangs. The hand groping his groin induced a shimmering light as the uniform split open, allowing his hand to dip into the material, withdrawing not one, but two thick, erect shafts.

The Void Ranger hissed, throwing his head back, panting in and out as the breath drew over his sharpened fangs. His second hand slipped down, wrapping around his second cock as he began to squeeze and massage them, stroking up and down, building in momentum and pressure. His cocks swelled and grew, stretching longer and thicker at the same time. He shuddered, his nipples tight beneath his power suit.

He hadn't felt this good since the Negai empire had captured him and started grooming him to be their prince. He could still remember the feeling of their fangs sinking into his neck, their venom coursing through his body... but instead of stealing his soul, feeding on him like the rest of humanity, they had drained his power coin instead. When Kierro had sacrificed himself and his purifying light had wiped out the Negai, Max had been left, altered and alone... But no more. No longer.

Max groaned happily, working his two shafts, grunting. He thrust his hips up into his hands, letting his huge cocks glide up and down through his fists, admiring how large and manly they were. He had brought down the Orange Ranger, and before long the rest of the team would be his. He would have a family again - no, something better than a family. They would serve him in every way... and without their defenders, the world would bow before his power.

The Void Ranger hissed one last time as both of his cocks spasmed, releasing thick fountains of cum that splashed across his uniform and landed in thick sticky webs across his black beard. His tongue dipped out, collecting some of the salty, musky seed to savor, his slit eyes fluttering shut in the potent passion of lust and power.