DISCLAIMER: I do not own Power Rangers or Super Sentai. They are respectively owned by Saban Brands and Toei Company. I do not profit from this story in any way, shape, or form.

The sounds of fighting could be heard all throughout the village as Gnomes and Dwarves fought against Blots. It had been a couple of days, but it was finally decided to retake the Gnome settlement lost during the battle with the Mummy Lightless. Luckily, while a large contingent of Blots had taken up residence in the village, the Dwarves had been talked into providing aid in this battle, thus turning things in their favour. It also helped a bit, though, that the Gnomes had OTHER assistance, especially in dealing with larger threats.

"How many Blob Blots do you count, Layla?" Nikki asked as she flew through the sky in her Phoenix Zord.

"I'd say five headed this way," Layla replied from the cockpit of the Leviathan Zord as the team made their way toward the giant monsters lumbering toward the village.

"Definitely not making this easy for us," Patrick noted as he sat in the Hippogriff Zord, rolling around a spray of acid from the lead blob. "And there's a Lightless backing them, too."

"I guess Dradarius doesn't like the idea of losing ANY ground," Drayden suggested as the Dragon Zord returned fire, wheezing dark flames across the lead Blob Blot.

"Yeah, but it's ONE settlement!" Dirk brought up as the Behemoth Zord stampeded into the blasted Blob Blot, using its horns to flip the monster aside. "Doesn't this seem kinda excessive?"

"He's gonna lose a LOT more once we're through with him!" Madilyn exclaimed, the Thunderbird Zord sending blasts of electricity sparking across a couple of blobs.

"One thing at a time, Mad," Nikki reminded as she pulled out the Kitsune Crystal, the Phoenix Zord releasing fireballs from its open beak and burning one Blob Blot. "Let's bring in the fleet to deal with these!"

"Right!" Layla, Patrick, and Drayden yelled as they brought out their own Auxiliary Zord Crystals.

A moment later, a series of pink, aquamarine, green, black, and white flashes shot out from the Zords, calling forth the Kitsune, Turtle, Unicorn, Lion, and Wolf Zords. Together with the others, the eleven Gaia Zords all opened fire at once, managing to blast two of the giant monsters apart. However, the remaining three rolled up into balls and managed to steamroll past the Leviathan, Wolf, Unicorn, and Lion Zords, knocking them all away. Luckily, the Behemoth Zord was able to dig its hooves in and prevent the lead blob from taking it down.

"Grr, this thing's really putting a strain on my horns!" Dirk growled, trying to force the Blob Blot back as it continued to spin against the Behemoth Zord's horns, until finally, it stopped as it became coated in ice blasted from the fallen Leviathan Zord's jaws. "...Thanks, Layla! I owe you one!"

"No problem, Dirk," Layla replied with a smile as her Zord got back up, the Hippogriff Zord then swooping down to smash the frozen blob apart with its hooves. "Let's finish these guys!"

"Everyone, I've got eyes on the Lightless!" Drayden exclaimed, spotting a giant black monster that looked to be half man, half bull, and had large, curved horns atop its head. "A Bulltaur Lightless, huh? Now why does THAT look familiar?"

"Think you can hold it off while we deal with the last two Blob Blots?" Nikki asked, her Phoenix Zord spinning out of the way of dual acid shots.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Drayden boasted. "Gaia Zords, combine!"

Drayden's three Gaia Zords all grouped up into formation as the Wolf and Lion Zords leaped up into the air. The Dragon Zord twisted its long body around to resemble the legs and torso of a giant robot while the dragon head formed the chest. The other two Zords tucked their legs in, connecting as arms. Finally, a robotic head slid out, resembling a dragoon's helmet, as the robot landed on its feet.

"Dragoon Megazord, power up!" Drayden sounded, the Dragoon Megazord standing ready against its opponent.

"I'll crush you AND your Zords!" the Bulltaur Lightless roared, charging toward its new opponent.

"Rangers, power up your Unity Crystals!" Nikki ordered, hitting her thumb to her buckle and calling forth a rainbow-coloured crystal.

"Right!" Pat, Layla, Dirk, and Mad shouted back as they called forth their own Unity Crystals, switching out the main crystals in their sabers for them. "Gaia Zords, combine!"

The five Gaia Zords immediately formed up, Behemoth Zord shifting its body around to form the torso of the Megazord. The Leviathan Zord latched onto it, becoming the hip, legs, and feet. The Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords curled their wings and talons in, forming the right and left arms and hands. Last of all, the Hippogriff Zord landed on the back, spread its wings out, and rested its head atop the robot, its beak opening to form the head. The five Rangers and their cockpits slid back to the head, becoming one bigger cockpit as they called out, "Gaia Megazord, power up!"

"Griff Gust!" Patrick shouted, firing a pair of green, swirling energy beams from the Gaia Megazord's eyes, slicing across the twin Blob Blots.

"Behemazooka!" Dirk roared as the Behemoth Zord's jaws opened on the chest of the Megazord, letting loose an orange orb of energy that slammed into both blobs hard.

"Auxiliary Zords, finish 'em off!" Nikki yelled.

The Unicorn Zord quickly transformed into the Unicorn Sword, which the Kitsune Zord took hold of between its jaws. The Turtle Zord then spun into a wheel and launched itself into the air, the Kitsune Zord latching onto it with its paws and riding it toward the Blob Blots as a spinning wheel of fire, water, and light. The three Zords crashed into the monsters, knocking them to the ground and causing them to dissolve.

"And once again, that's gettin' er done!" Dirk cheered.

"Uhh, guys, could kinda use some help here!" Drayden cried as, despite grabbing onto the Bulltaur Lightless' horns, the monster was still doing damage to the Dragoon Megazord, shocking it with orange blasts of energy. The monster cackled at this, but, with a loud battle cry, Drayden managed to get the monster up off the ground, over his Megazord's head. "Now!"

"Storm Punch!" the other five Rangers shouted, the Gaia Megazord stretching its wings out and flying straight for the Bulltaur. It delivered a double punch of fire and lightning, sending the monster flying out of the Dragoon Megazord's grip and tumbling across the ground as it roared in pain.

"Unicorn Zord, let's finish this off!" Patrick declared, an effigy of the moon appearing in the sky as the Unicorn Zord stood atop it. The Bulltaur Lightless growled menacingly at it, its horns glowing orange as it prepared to attack, but the Unicorn lit up its own horn, sending rays of silver light out that caused the energy in the Bulltaur's to backfire and electrify itself.

"Gaia Megazord, Unicorn Sword!" the five main Gaia Rangers yelled, the Unicorn Zord leaping off the moon as it faded from view. It then shifted its body around to form a hilt for the Gaia Megazord, its horn extending into a long blade through a beam of silver light.

"Off with its horns, guys!" Nikki called as the team raised their hands, their Megazord raising its blade and creating the outline of a crescent moon.

"Crescent Cutter!" the five shouted, chopping their hands down like swords. Likewise, the Gaia Megazord swung its blade down hard, sending out a silver crescent moon slash that flew straight through the monster's horns. It howled in pain as they fell to the ground, dissolving into black smoke.

"Time to cleanse the dark!" Drayden exclaimed as the Dragon, Wolf, and Lion Zord's jaws opened widely. "Black Light Burst!"

At this order, the Dragoon Megazord released a trio of indigo, white, and black energy orbs, which combined into one massive sphere and flew straight for the Bulltaur Lightless, vaporizing its body completely with the combined blast.

"Rangers, good news," Professor Snyder said over the comm. "We've received word from the Dwarves. The remaining Blots are in retreat. We've retaken the town."

"Alright!" Dirk yelled as everyone cheered. "Looks like the Gnomes get to come on home!"

"Professor, tell them to start fortifying the place, and we'll be down right away," Nikki said with a smile as the team removed their helmets. "...Well guys, I think after everything's set up alright, it's time we celebrated a little."

In the throne room of the Abyssial Fortress, there was a great deal less cheering. Watching his forces be either destroyed or forced into retreat, Dradarius, despite putting up a calm front, was clutching the arm rests of his throne so tightly that they might shatter into pieces. This did not go unnoticed by his Dark Generals. Even Shroud was getting nervous, watching the Emperor growing so angry.

Finally, Arc cleared his throat, looking to calm his ruler. "...Don't worry, my lord. We WILL retake that settlement."

"...No," Dradarius muttered, his eyes starting to glow red. "I want that village burned to the ground before the next sunrise. Then, I want the same done to the closest Dwarven settlement as a message to never stand against us again."

Spine's eye twitched at this, but he remained silent. He knew that the Dwarves had made their choice, and frankly, he wasn't aligned with any of the clans that had aided in this repelling of their forces, so ultimately, obligation to his race could be damned at this point for all he cared.

"That's going to be troublesome," Shroud said as the conversation went on. "Those meddlesome Rangers are probably going to remain in the village for a little while to repel further attacks on the 'poor, helpless Gnomes', and with the limited number of talented Shadowmancers, we probably won't be able to send any more than two Lightless at a time."

Hearing this, Spine's ears perked slightly as an idea occurred to him. "...Wait. What if I told you I could have at LEAST a half-dozen Lightless attacking the village in one night?"

Arc cocked an eyebrow. "How are you planning to pull THAT off?"

Spine grinned deviously. "Leave everything to me. In fact, I'll personally oversee the attack on the settlement and ensure its destruction before tomorrow morning."

"...A bold statement," Arc acknowledged. "Well, if you think it so possible, you won't hear any objections from me."

Dradarius sighed, rubbing his temple. "Very well. I'll entrust you on this, but be warned: Failure here will not be well received."

Spine nodded, knowing full well what that meant. "Of course. I promise you, by tomorrow, the people of Gaia will know what it means to oppose you."

Shroud's eyes narrowed as she smirked knowingly. One in particular, am I right, Spine? Blood ties are quite the source of turmoil, aren't they?

Darkea groaned, entering the cave and falling to her knees. "...I'm back...!"

"Did you get it?" Walker asked, sitting up from the floor.

"No, I went all the way to the Dark Chamber, I came all the way back, completely evading about a thousand Blots, and totally neglected to do the thing I was sent to there for," Darkea replied in as deadpan a tone as she could muster before pulling out a map and handing it to her brother.

"Very funny, sister," Walker muttered, taking the map and unrolling it to check its contents. "...Yes, this is it."

Darkea looked around the cave, spotting a small work bench with some vials of chemicals laying on it. "...I thought we agreed you were supposed to be resting."

"I rest enough as it is," Walker retorted. "I need something to prevent growing too bored, and we could always use the additional Ebony Venom someday down the road."

"Just tell me that you'll take it easy," Darkea insisted, "and that this map is important enough for me to have risked my life for."

Walker rolled his eyes. "Tch. Oh, trust me, sister, this could prove to be the greatest ace in the hole in the coming days. And we may very well NEED it, too."

"What makes you say that?" Darkea inquired, stretching a bit as she got back up. "Aside from our lovely new living conditions, of course. Oh, and for the record, whatever was left of the mess you made of the Dark Chamber isn't there anymore. Hope that map was the only thing of value you had left."

Walker sighed slightly. "...Well, the enchanted fireplace was nice, but I doubt I could've had it taken apart and rebuilt here while keeping the spell placed on it intact. And anyway, I meant because Spine is sending out a new Lightless. One that may have the power to summon several more to its side."

Darkea blinked, baffled. "How is he planning to do that? The only way that could work is if-"

Just as her mind hit that train of thought, Darkea stopped, her blood turning cold. "...Walker? What moon phase are we in?"

"Full," Walker replied grimly. "If he's created a Lightless that can use THAT ability, then clearly they've upped their game a bit."

"Right..." Darkea murmured as her mind went over the implications of this. Suddenly, as she considered them, an idea hit her like a punch from a Megazord. She looked back to Walker, who was looking down at the map. She could still make out a few bruises and cuts on him, and she knew, right then and there, that no matter how hard she tried, he was going to continue to push himself through the pain. Under the circumstances, she only had one option.

"...I'm going back out," Darkea announced. "We're probably low on supplies, especially with your gluttonous appetite."

"Yes, MY appetite is the one that's gluttonous," Walker growled at his sister before looking back to his map. "Just make sure not to let yourself be seen, and stay clear of any Gnome or Dwarven towns, just in case. They'll be attacking the one the Rangers retook this morning, and it looks like any of them could be targets afterward."

Darkea nodded. She started to make her way out, but once she was sure Walker wasn't looking, she discreetly reached over to the work bench and grabbed a vial of Ebony Venom and an empty syringe. She then left the cave, making a mad dash for the Gnome settlement that had been in dispute as of late.

Sorry, brother, but if I'm right, then I NEED to be at that settlement right away, Darkea thought as she ran faster than she had earlier thought possible with her current amount of energy. It's what you need now more than whatever that map could possibly lead to...

Dirk smiled as he clinked his mug of milk to a male Dwarf's mug of ale, the two downing their drinks as everyone around cheered. It was nighttime, and after moving the Gnomes back into their homes and setting up temporary guard towers at the corners of the settlement, everyone was in the mood for celebration. Various barrels of different beverages were opened up, and everyone was having a blast.

"Ya really should try some of this here ale, laddie!" the Dwarf commented, wiping his face with his beard. "Put some more hair on ya!"

Dirk grinned, finishing his drink. "I've got enough hair, but thanks anyway."

"Have enough hair?!" the Dwarf demanded with a laugh as Dirk turned to leave. "Ya don't even have a beard, for cryin' out loud! Yer ancestor, the original Guardian of Earth, would be disappointed! Legends say that Gorberg was the mightiest of Dwarves, and had a magnificent beard!"

Dirk rolled his eyes, but smiled warmly nonetheless as he glanced back at his companion. "Well, we can't all be legends like Gorberg! And anyway, I think I'll stick to being able to toss Blots by the boatload!"

The Dwarf shook his head and laughed, but raised his mug to the Orange Ranger nonetheless as he left. Soon enough, he found his way to the other Rangers, quickly exchanging high-fives with Patrick and Drayden.

"You did good work today, Dirk," Nikki commented.

"I didn't take out THAT many Blots," Dirk replied, looking a little confused.

Layla snorted a little. "I THINK she meant negotiating with the Dwarves to get them on board with this operation. They DEFINITELY made this a lot easier."

"Well, it might be a bit on the diluted side, but I DO have some Dwarven blood in me," Dirk noted. "So it helps that they recognize me as one of their own."

"Maybe we should give you a title or something?" Madilyn suggested. "Make you our official Ambassador to the Dwarves."

"Hmm, 'Ambassador Dirk' does have a nice ring to it," Drayden noted.

Dirk blushed a bit, trying to hide his embarrassment under a bit of laughter. "Would you guys knock it off? Trust me, I ain't that important."

"Excuse me, Dirk," a female Gnome said as she tugged on his sleeve. "The leader of the Dwarven attack force wanted to have a word with you."

"Oh, right!" Dirk replied with a nod. "I'll talk to you guys later, okay?"

With that, the Guardian of Earth took off toward the house where some Dwarven soldiers were resting, Nikki shaking her head in disbelief as he left. "How is it that he can be so proud of his strength in battle, but when it comes to anything else important he can do for us and for Gaia, he's always gotta downplay his achievements?"

"That's just Dirk," Pat answered with a shrug. "He's always been like that. I get the feeling that all he ever wanted to do was to live the simple life back on the farm. Wouldn't surprise me if he plans to do that once we get back home."

"Does he not get that, when we get back, we're still gonna be part of something so much bigger?" Mad wondered aloud. "We're Power Rangers."

Patrick nodded. "Yeah, and it's not like he's not excited about that, but I don't think he ever saw himself as being or doing anything special. Sure, there'd be stuff like college, his high school wrestling career, and so on, but when all of that was over, I think he was always planning to go back to the simple life."

Madilyn cocked an eyebrow, jabbing an elbow in Patrick's side. "Oh, and you weren't, Captain Humble?"

"I used to," Pat acknowledged. "But now...Now, I wonder if that's even gonna be possible for any of us after this..."

Professor Snyder watched on as Jowar held the Light Crystal in the Unimax Staff above the swirling nexus of energy contained under the Ancient Library. Within moments, golden light began to rise up from the nexus and funnel into the crystal, causing the old wizard's body to convulse slightly as the power filled him. After a while, he finally pulled the staff back, nearly falling over had the professor not been there to catch him.

"...Thank you, Charles," Jowar panted as his friend helped guide him to a chair. "I think...that should be enough for now."

"Good," Charles replied, looking over the old wizard. "You still haven't told them yet, have you? About what this process has been doing to your body?"

Jowar looked down at his staff, light glimmering from the unicorn horn atop it. "...When I still possessed my powers as a wizard, I could have absorbed five times this amount with little to no negative consequences. But now, with no powers of my own, and in this elderly body, I can only take in so much before the strain is too great."

Charles nodded, his eyes also on where the crystal was being kept. "...Perhaps it might be time to consider giving the crystal to someone else? Someone who can handle the power?"

"It would only be a matter of time before someone else started showing ill effects," Jowar answered. "Even one of the other Rangers would only be able to absorb so much light at once."

Charles let out a short sigh, turning to leave the room, but stopped as Jowar muttered "And my body isn't the only thing being overtaxed by this power. Even I don't know how the Gaian Crystals were made, but I know this: The Light Crystal's creation was imperfect. These power-ups are testing the limits of how much energy it can take. If I don't find a more permanent solution to this problem...I don't know how long the crystal will last."

Professor Snyder froze in the doorway, his blood having turned cold. He knew exactly what Jowar was saying with that statement. Much worse than that, though, he knew that the risk of the crystal's destruction, the loss of his powers, and being left in a fight with no way to defend himself wouldn't stop him. He was going to keep fighting, no matter what, and nothing he could say would stop him, because he knew right then and there that, were the situation reversed, he would do the exact same thing.

Dirk sighed, his shoulders slumping as the leader of the Dwarven militia finished relaying a message to him. "Well, not exactly what I wanted to hear."

"I know you were hoping to convince the Metallurk to side with us against Dradarius," the Dwarven commander replied, "but I'm afraid concepts like altruism and peace were lost on them a long time ago."

Dirk nodded, looking a bit down, but the Dwarf smiled warmly to the young man, shuffling over to his side. "Still, it means something to the other Dwarven clans that you tried to help us broker this alliance. Mighty Gorberg would be proud of his descendant."

"Well, I think Gorberg would be a little more proud if I'd succeeded," Dirk countered, albeit with a small grin.

"Perhaps," the commander admitted, "but there is an old saying that goes back to the first projects in Mt. Titanium. It has served as the foundation of Dwarven ambition for many millenia. 'We do not dig for gold only when we know for certain we will find any. We dig because we wish to'."

"Not a bad attitude to have," Dirk acknowledged. "Anyway, we should probably turn our attention to upgrading those temporary guard towers into more permanent-"

Before Dirk could finish, a loud scream shot through the air of the settlement, causing the two to rush out of the small house. Dirk was the first on the scene, followed by the commander, and then the other Rangers. The immediately saw what had caused the scream: A large black frog monster pulling itself up and out of the ground. It had scars across its body, and its tongue was hanging out of its mouth, revealing that the tip of it had been sliced off.

"RibbibbibbibbibbIIIIIIT!" the monster shrieked as it slowly got to its feet.

"The Frog Lightless!" Layla cried. "But we destroyed it months ago!"

Suddenly, the ground started to crack apart a few feet behind Madilyn, causing her to jump as a skeletal hand started reaching up. "Uh, it's not alone!"

The crack started to expand slightly as a black skeleton with eggplant-coloured, vein-like lines across its bones crawled out. It had scratched-up shoulder pads and a helmet, was carrying a broken long-sword, and had a faded green line running down the middle of its body. As it finished pulling itself out of the ground, it was followed by a large, black ant, its mandibles having been cut apart.

"Guardian of Wiiiiinnnd...!" the skeleton moaned, its jaw hanging loosely.

"Myyyyy MAAAANNNNDIBLLLLEESSSSS!" the massive ant growled.

Patrick grimaced slightly at the two monsters. "The Skeleton and Ant Lightless too!"

As the three Lightless started to converge on the team, two more hands suddenly shot up out of the ground, pulling their respective bodies out from the dirt. One was a black and dark brown lion-like monster with harsh-looking scorch marks across its chest. The other was a sort of hybrid between a mantis and a sphinx, its wrist scythes cut in half.

"Sphaaaannntiiiiisssss ssssmmaaaaaaaassshhh!" the hybrid bellowed, all while the Werelion behind him roared.

"Sphantis and the Werelion Lightless," Nikki observed. "But how? We destroyed every last one of these!"

"What once lay dead and buried, now lives again..." a low voice declared from behind a nearby house. The figure stepped out into the light of the full moon, revealing a very tall, black and grey Lightless in a flat brimmed hat and a long coat. It carried a shovel in its hands, and a golden urn was tied under the coat. It stared at the team with deadly intent through its pupil-less eyes.

"Some kind of grave-digger?" Madilyn asked, hand on her Morpher.

"Close," Spine answered as he moved out from behind the seven foot tall Lightless. "I give you the Undertaker Lightless. Ohhh, YES!"

"You again!" Dirk yelled. "You're one of Dradarius' Dark Generals!"

Spine leered at Dirk in anger. "My name is Spine, and you'll do well to learn it, if you survive this night!"

With that, the Lightless all charged in, just as Nikki pulled her crystal free. "Let's send them all back to where they came from! It's Morphin Time!"

The other Rangers followed suit, inserting their crystals into their Morphers and activating them. They all Morphed instantly, each drawing their weapons and pairing off with a different Lightless, all while a large group of Blots charged into the village to battle the Dwarves and Gnomes. Patrick slashed at the Skeleton Lightless hard with his Gaia Saber, but despite his opponent only having half a long-sword, it was still managing to parry most his attacks, the rest seemingly doing little to its bone body. After a while, though, the Skeleton caught him in the side of the helmet with the flat of its blade and then kicked the Green Ranger into the dirt.

"Guardian of Wind," the Skeleton Lightless hissed as Pat scrambled back to his feet. "You destroyed my sword...I'll make us even, then...!"

Patrick sweat a little under his helmet, but stood firm. "Come and get it!"

Meanwhile, both the Ant and Frog Lightless were looking to attack Layla, powering through blasts from her Crystal Blast Morpher. Madilyn quickly leaped in, using both her and Layla's Gaia Sabers to slash the monsters hard, but she was merely tackled back into the Blue Ranger, the two sisters tumbling across the ground in a heap.

"That could've gone better," Madilyn moaned, getting back up before helping her sister do the same. "Why do so many Lightless get ticked off at YOU, anyway?"

"Must be my charm or something...!" Layla suggested to the Guardian of Lightning as their opponents prepared to charge again.

Not far away, Nikki was trying to fend off the Werelion Lightless alone, firing shots from her Morpher at it. Unfortunately, the swift feline managed to rush around the shots, despite being grazed by a few hot blasts, and got in close enough to slash the Red Ranger across the arm, causing her to drop her blaster. The Werelion then jabbed her all over, almost faster than she could follow, before knocking her away with a pair of claws across the face.

"...Okay, this is getting familiar, and it wasn't much fun the first time..." Nikki groaned, stabbing her Gaia Saber into the ground and using it to try and pull herself up off her back.

"It doesn't matter how hard your friends fight, you know!" Spine yelled as Dirk locked his Gaia Saber with the Undertaker Lightless' shovel, trying to push back on it but finding himself being shoved away a bit. "With the forming of the Undertaker Lightless under the light of the full moon, the others will continue to fight throughout the night, no matter what you try to attack them with!"

"So, all we gotta do is wipe this one out?" Dirk asked. "C'mon, make this a little hard for me, then!"

The Orange Ranger shot orange energy blasts from his Morpher at the Undertaker, but the large monster merely deflected the shots with its shovel. It then raced forward, a bit faster than Dirk was expecting, and grabbed him by the throat tightly, lifting him up off the ground. Watching this, Spine shook his head, walking over to the two combatants.

"So confident," Spine observed, "despite such seemingly infinite humility. Now WHERE have I seen that before? You're practically the Guardian of Earth reborn, despite your far more human heritage."

Dirk groaned, managing to slam both feet into the Lightless' chest and break free. "What would YOU know about Gorberg?"

Spine laughed, finding this hilarious. "What would I know?! What WOULDN'T I know?! Gorberg was my brother!"

"...Brother?!" Dirk demanded, his eyes shooting wide open. "...You mean, not just brother-in-arms, or fellow Dwarf, or-"

Spine groaned, pulling his ax from behind his back. "So much you don't know about your family history, I see..."

As Dirk was processing this, a few feet away, Drayden was battling it out with Sphantis, blocking the hybrid Lightless' blows with the side of his Dragon Buster. Finally, the Indigo Ranger grabbed hold of the hilt of his sword with both hands, jabbed it down into the ground, and then swung himself on it hard, slamming his knee into the side of Sphantis' skull and sending him rolling into the nearby bushes. Drayden pulled the bushes to the sides, looking for his opponent, but to his surprise, there was no sign of him.

"What the-" the Guardian of Darkness muttered, confused, but quickly caught the sight of Dirk getting double-teamed by Spine and the Undertaker Lightless. As such, he pulled his sword free from the ground and ran in to help, shoulder-tackling the Undertaker away and leaving Dirk and Spine to fight ax to ax.

"How can someone like you be related to a hero like Gorberg, anyway?!" Dirk asked, ducking a swing from Spine and trying to catch him with an upward swing, only for the Dark General to back-step out of the way.

"One Dwarf's hero is another's villain!" Spine replied, locking axes with Dirk and growling in his face as the two shoved on each other. "I was the one who found the Behemoth Crystal! I was the one who came up with the original designs for the Guardians' weapons and equipment! If it wasn't for Gorberg getting in the heads of the other Guardians, insisting I was too ambitious, I would've not only been the Guardian of Earth, but I could've become the leader of the Guardians of Gaia!"

"So you betrayed your brother, your people, and your entire world by selling out to Dradarius?!" Dirk roared, headbutting Spine and causing him to back up a few steps. "All to be his lackey?! How is THAT not being too ambitious?!"

"THEY betrayed ME!" Spine insisted, swinging his ax hard and sending a dark wave of energy out that knocked Dirk into a nearby crate. "They forgot what it means to be Dwarves! Ambition, capital, glory! They're all that matters to a TRUE Dwarf! To deny that for causes like selflessly helping others is the deepest, most vile betrayal any Dwarf can make!"

Meanwhile, as the two battled, Drayden inserted all three of his Gaian Crystals in his Dragon Buster, raising it up into the sky as it flashed indigo, white, and black, before bringing it down on the Undertaker Lightless with the cry of "Shadow Break!" The monster quickly raised its shovel up to block the attack, but it was cleaved in half as the attack then connected with the Lightless, slashing it hard across the front and knocking it to the ground. However, despite this, the Undertaker was quick to sit up, seemingly unharmed, and got back up with ease.

"...Okay, THAT'S not normal..." the Indigo Ranger observed, backing up slightly.

Dirk groaned, shakily getting back up out of the wrecked crate and looking through his cracked visor as Spine reached a hand out to him. "Come with me, Dirk! Let me show you the side of your family no one has had the sanity nor courage to let you see!"

The Guardian of Earth stared into Spine's eyes, witnessing the emotion on display, and could only find one response: "...If that's sanity, show me to the nearest rubber room, you psycho."

Spine's eyes twitched at this, rage building within him. He raised his ax up, dark energy crackling through it, but before he could bring it down, a series of golden flashes shot out all around, blasting him, the Lightless, and the squads of Blots attacking the village. The source was soon identified as the Wizard Ranger suddenly landed in the middle of town, whacking a series of Blots down with his Unimax Staff.

"Jowar!" the other Rangers exclaimed, watching their mentor go to work on the shadows.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone!" Jowar shouted, unleashing a series of rapid-fire blasts of light on the squads of Blots converging on him. "Had to ensure the Light Crystal was properly charged!"

"Not a problem!" Nikki yelled back, kicking the Werelion Lightless in the face. "Now let's take this up a notch! Crystal Gauntlets!"

Nikki, Patrick, Layla, Dirk, and Madilyn all raised their right fists, golden gauntlets materializing over their gloves. They quickly inserted their Crystals into the gauntlets, calling out "Guardians of Gaia, MINERAL MODE!" The crystals began to shine brilliantly before growing to fit the much larger compartment in the gauntlets, the light emblazoning them with the image of their matching Zords. The five Rangers then threw their fists up as golden light poured out over them, turning the silver on their suits and swords gold, adding golden trim along the top of their boots and golden armbands around their biceps, and changing their suits' main colours to much shinier colours. Lastly, the golden light repaired the cracks in Dirk's visor, causing it to shimmer brightly for a moment.

"Guardian of Fire!" Nikki yelled, slamming a burning hot fist into the Werelion's gut before following that up with a blazing uppercut. "Ruby Ranger!"

"Guardian of Wind!" Patrick called, spinning hard and fast like a tornado and slashing the Skeleton Lightless repeatedly. "Emerald Ranger!"

"Guardian of Water!" Layla cried, creating a vortex of water around the Frog and Ant Lightless. "Sapphire Ranger!"

"Guardian of Lightning!" Madilyn exclaimed, leaping over the vortex and unleashing a massive blast of lightning down on the two monsters inside. "Amethyst Ranger!"

"Guardian of Darkness!" Drayden shouted, blocking the Undertaker Lightless' punches with his sword before slamming him with one knee to the face after another. "Indigo Ranger!"

"Guardian of Light!" Jowar sounded, slamming his staff down and unleashing a wave of light at the nearby Blots, incinerating them. "Wizard Ranger!"

This left Dirk and Spine, the latter of whom was now backing away as the former stepped toward him. Dirk then slammed both fists into the ground, causing a column of earth to spring up underneath Spine and send him flying straight upward. Dirk's fists then became encased in stone as he leaped up after Spine, raising both arms.

"Guardian of Earth!" Dirk roared, bringing his stone-covered fists down on Spine's dark armor. "Amber Ranger!"

The Dark General crashed down into the broken-up slabs beneath him, causing it to shatter and collapse all over him. After a few moments, Spine eventually managed to crawl out from under it, his armor cracked and broken in places. He stood up, only to find all seven of his opponents standing before him. The Undertaker Lightless soon came to his side, facing off with them.

The seven Rangers struck a group pose as a large, silver flash of light shot up all around them, followed by a rainbow-coloured explosion behind them. "Power Rangers, Guardians of Gaia!"

Spine sneered, gripping his ax tightly. "I think it's time we took this battle to the next level! Undertaker Lightless!"

The Undertaker Lightless nodded, reaching under its coat. It pulled out the golden urn and took off the lid, causing black smoke and embers to rise up from it and swirl around the monster. The smoke rose up to the sky as the Lightless grew within it, turning into a giant within seconds as the Rangers backed off. The Undertaker then stomped down on a house and kicked what was stuck around its foot at the team, who dodged out of the way and caused the ruins of the house to collide into another, causing massive damage. Getting back up, the Rangers quickly noticed that Spine had disappeared.

"Darnit, he got away!" Pat cursed.

"We'll worry about him later!" Drayden declared. "We need the Zords!"

"What about the other Lightless attacking the city?!" Layla demanded.

"Spine said they'll disappear once the Undertaker Lightless is destroyed, but we still need to keep them from doing anymore damage!" Dirk explained.

Jowar nodded, stepping away from the others. "Drayden and I will keep the Lightless down here occupied. You five handle the Undertaker Lightless."

"But your powers!" Madilyn exclaimed. "They can't last much longer all the way out here!"

"I'll watch his back," Drayden offered, standing next to the Wizard Ranger. "Just take that thing down."

"...Alright, just be careful you guys," Nikki replied with a hesitant nod before drawing her Gaia Saber and setting the Phoenix Crystal inside. "We need Gaia Zord power, now!"

Patrick, Layla, Dirk, and Madilyn quickly followed suit, five beams of light launching out from their swords and calling out their Gaia Zords from their hiding places. The five Rangers then leaped up to their Zords, being pulled into the cockpits by beams of light.

"Rangers, log on!" Nikki ordered, plugging her weapons into their respective slots.

"Pat here, feeling lucky!" Patrick replied.

"Layla, all systems go!" Layla sounded.

"This is Dirk, ready to bulldoze!" Dirk responded.

"This Undertaker's gonna rest in peace!" Madilyn exclaimed.

"Rangers, let's show this creep some Megazord power!" Nikki yelled, summoning her Unity Crystal.

"You got it!" the Rangers responded as they retrieved their own Unity Crystals, swapping out the crystals in their Gaia Sabers for them. "Gaia Zords, combine!"

The five Gaia Zords quickly formed up, the ones on the ground leaping into the air. Their bodies then began twisting around before latching onto one another, forming their combined giant robot. The five Rangers and their cockpits slid back to the head, becoming one bigger cockpit as they called out "Gaia Megazord, power up!"

The Undertaker Lightless roared as it charged toward the Megazord, locking up with its arms and shoving it back. The Rangers' robot, however, was soon able to break free and hit the monster with a right hook, but the Undertaker almost immediately followed that with its own punch to the face, followed by a few quick jabs to the gut and chest. It then threw its hat off, the brim becoming sharp as it slashed across the Gaia Megazord, sending a spray of sparks out.

"Aw man, this thing packs a wallop!" Madilyn groaned as the team tried to get control again.

"We've gotta hit it hard!" Nikki shouted. "Patrick, time to call for some back-up!"

"You got it, boss!" Patrick replied, plugging a silver crystal into his blaster. "Unicorn Zord, power up!"

A flash of silver light later, and the Unicorn Zord came charging down from the full moon. It then contorted its body around to form a sword for the Megazord, which it caught in its hand as the Rangers yelled "Gaia Megazord, Unicorn Sword!" The Megazord then raised its sword up, forming the outline of a crescent moon, before bringing it down hard on the Undertaker Lightless, only for the monster to catch the blade in its hand, much to the shock of the Gaia Rangers. It then grabbed hold of the Megazord by the throat with the other hand, lifted it up off the ground, and then slammed it down on its back.

"This is going bad, guys!" Layla cried.

"Oh yeah?" Dirk snarked. "Hadn't noticed. Thanks for the update."

Just as he tried to get the Megazord back to its feet, Dirk looked up at the Undertaker Lightless, catching the sight of a golden glimmer under its coat. "...Wait a minute! The urn! That Lightless has been keeping it outta sight most of the fight, and it used it earlier to grow!"

Layla blinked in surprise, taking a quick scan of the urn. "I'm picking up massive energy coming off that thing! It's spreading throughout the Undertaker Lightless' whole body! That's gotta be the source of its power!"

"Then we've gotta take it out!" Nikki surmised, the team making the Megazord roll out of the way as the Undertaker Lightless looked to punch it in the head, instead creating a small crater in the ground.

Meanwhile, back in the town, Drayden was listening in on the team's conversation as he blocked a slash from the Skeleton Lightless with his sword, then shoved it hard back into Frog Lightless, knocking the two to the ground. "Sounds like the guys could use a little back-up!"

"Call in your Auxiliary Zords!" Jowar advised, slamming his staff into the ground and spinning around it, kicking both the Ant and Werelion Lightless in the chest. "They should be able to assist!"

"On it!" the Indigo Ranger replied, plugging his Wolf and Lion Crystals into the Dragon Buster before raising it skyward. "Wolf Zord, Lion Zord, power up!"

A pair of white and black flashes shot out from the Dragon Buster, which raced through the sky into a patch of dark fog. From it, the Wolf and Lion Zords emerged, roaring as they dashed for the battleground. The two Zords then leaped up and slashed at the Undertaker Lightless' coat, freeing the urn from it and sending it sailing through the air.

"Now's our chance!" Nikki shouted, the Megazord still down. "Switch arms!"

The Phoenix and Thunderbird cawed loudly as they detached from the Gaia Megazord, making room for the Wolf and Lion Zords to take their places. The Megazord then rolled onto its back, the Wolf, Lion, and Behemoth Zords' jaws opening wide to reveal white, black, and orange orbs of energy charging up inside their mouths.

"Triplex Roar!" the Rangers yelled, launching the trio of energy orbs at the urn and blasting it apart. Ashes fell from where the urn once was as the Undertaker Lightless groaned in pain, steam rising from its body as every attack inflicted upon it previously were now finally taking the form of wounds. The other Lightless on the ground likewise all fell to the ground, their bodies evaporating.

"Looks like that did it," Jowar noted before falling to a knee, Drayden quickly to his side.

"Jowar, are you alright?!" the Guardian of Darkness asked, hand on his mentor's shoulder.

"I'm...alright," the Wizard Ranger replied. "I just need to teleport back to the library. You help the others finish this."

"Alright," Drayden said, backing off as Jowar teleported away and then placing his Dragon Crystal in his sword. "I need Dragon Zord power!"

The Dragon Buster released a blast of indigo light far away into a dense fog, the Dragon Zord sailing out with an earth-shaking roar. Drayden then leaped up and into the Zord's cockpit, inserting his sword into the controls. Seeing the Dragon Zord flying into action, the other Rangers managed to get the Gaia Megazord back onto its feet.

"Alright, guys, let's send this creep to an early grave!" Drayden suggested.

"Super Unity Crystals!" the six Rangers yelled, bringing out crystals with their six colours all pointed inward to a golden light. "Gaia Zords, combine!"

The Lion and Wolf Zords immediately detached from the Gaia Megazord, replaced by the Thunderbird and Phoenix Zords. The Gaia Megazord's head folded back as the Dragon Zord's body split, spreading out to its sides as it landed on and combined with the Gaia Megazord, forming massive shoulder-pads, claw gauntlets, and expanded hybrid wings. The Dragon Zord's jaws opened to form a new head for the Megazord as Drayden's cockpit then slid down to join the others', the larger cockpit now in the robot's new head.

"Dragonforce Megazord, power up!" the Rangers called. The Undertaker Lightless groaned as it ran at them, looking to attack despite the number of injuries across its body. The Behemoth Zord's jaws then opened wide, a powerful, rainbow-coloured ball of flame gathering energy.

"Multi-mental Meteor!" the team shouted, releasing the concentrated blast from the Behemoth Zord's mouth. It hit the Undertaker Lightless in the chest hard, actually burning a hole straight through it. The Undertaker let out one last, long groan as it slowly fell forward, exploding as it hit the ground. Dark mist rose up from where its body once stood, entering the skies above and evaporating in the moon's light.

"Yeah, that takes care of all of them!" Mad proclaimed.

"Wait, aren't we missing one?" Drayden asked, thinking back about all the Lightless that were brought back for the battle. "...What happened to Sphantis?"

A few miles away from the Gnome settlement, Sphantis howled as steam rose from his body and Darkea stuck a needle into his arm, filling his body with Ebony Venom. "Hold still! You're worse than your creator, I swear!"

"Sphantis hate needles!" Sphantis roared in reply, the pain subsiding after a while and the steam stopping. "...What happen?"

"I pumped you full of Ebony Venom," Darkea explained. "That should keep your body from vanishing like the other destroyed Lightless that were raised. You're probably gonna need more shots in the future, though."

"...Why?" Sphantis asked as Darkea let go of his arm, his wrist scythes suddenly regrowing.

"To keep you from disappearing, you big wuss," Darkea answered.

Sphantis shook his head. "No. Why bring Sphantis back? Why save Sphantis?"

"...Well, because, we could always use some extra muscle and-" Darkea started to say before realizing that not even Sphantis, with his limited intelligence, was going to believe that. As such, she sighed, let her shoulders drop a little, and explained "...Because Walker needs help. He's in bad shape, and I don't just mean his body. And...and I don't know if I can do this alone."

Sphantis tilted his head, trying to understand as Darkea looked him in the eyes. "...Will you help me?"

The hybrid Lightless thought about this for a moment before slapping his chest. "Walker give Sphantis life. Darkea bring Sphantis back to life. Sphantis help Walker and Darkea."

"You should know, Walker and I are on the run from my father, and helping us means that you'll be making an enemy of him and his army," Darkea pointed out.

"Then Sphantis crush army of darkness!" Sphantis proclaimed, making a fist as the moonlight glimmered across his wrist scythe.

Darkea smiled, patting Sphantis on the chest. "Thank you. Now, let's get back before brother finds out I stole some Ebony Venom and has a hissy fit."

Nikki let out a low moan as she leaned back into her chair in the main chamber the morning after the battle. "...So, the settlement?"

"I could show you a list of all the damage done to the village, but suffice to say, it's a lot," Jowar answered as he, Madilyn, Drayden, Professor Snyder, and Layla took seats as well. "The good news is, no one was seriously hurt, and a contingent of Dwarves will be deployed there to fend off attacks in the event none of us are available to assist."

"The bad news is, there's been reports of Blot movements near the edge of Dwarven city limits," Charles added. "Clearly, they want them on edge for helping the Gnomes."

Nikki nodded, leaning her head back and staring up at the ceiling. "Not exactly much of a win, huh?"

"The important thing is that we saved lives," Drayden replied. "We'll make sure Dradarius pays for this another day. For now, though, everybody lives."

"I just can't believe that creep Spine would pull something like this," Layla practically growled, folding her arms. "Or that he's somehow related to Dirk of all people."

Madilyn nodded, patting her sister on the shoulder. "...Come to think of it, where IS Dirk? And Patrick for that matter?"

Patrick sighed, walking along the roof of the Ancient Library and finding Dirk sitting on a ledge. "...Hey man, what's up?"

Dirk looked back, a bit surprised, but shook his head. "Oh, nothing, just...just thinking is all."

"About Spine?" Pat inquired, causing Dirk to look away. "That really bothers you, doesn't it?"

"I always only ever knew my family as good folk," Dirk explained. "Not a single bad apple in the bunch. Always doing what we could to help people in need. Heck, my great-great-grandparents even opposed the use of slave labour back in a time when that was EVERYWHERE, and instead offered free shelter to black people, no questions asked!"

"And those are all great things to have as part of your family history," Pat pointed out. "Things to be proud of."

"But now it turns out that not only is there a SERIOUSLY rotten apple in the bunch, but he's my enemy," Dirk went on. "His blood is my blood. I guess I'm just wondering what that means."

"Why does it have to mean anything?" Patrick asked, putting a hand on the Guardian of Earth's shoulder. "It doesn't change you, or the rest of your family. It just means ONE of you made a bad call. Spine's sins are not yours."

Dirk sighed, easing off the ledge. "...Maybe not. But I think they might be my responsibility. Mine especially. My ancestor tried so hard to either save Spine or stop him, and he couldn't. Now I'M the Orange Ranger. I have to finish what he started."

"Even if that's true, you don't have to do it alone," Pat said. "We're a team. We've got your back."

Dirk nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah, I know. Let's get back inside. I don't want anyone to be worried over me."

"Good idea," Patrick said, leading the way. "...Oh, and stop being so humble about your accomplishments, too. You're allowed to take some credit."

"Oh, excuse me?!" Dirk scoffed. "WHO is humble? Do I NEED to get my 'IRONY!' sign back out?"

"Why do you even HAVE that?" Pat asked as they headed back in, laughing along with his friend. "What are you, MISTER Meta Humour?"

"...I don't go looking for hilarity because I KNOW I'll find it, Pat," Dirk explained, closing the door behind them. "Only because I hope to."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: ...Well, not hearing any complaints about the length of these chapters (except from my proofreader, lol), so I guess you can expect more this size from here on out. In fact, I'm honestly a little tempted to go back and add more to the previous chapters. Maybe as a sort of director's cut that further establishes certain characters, their traits, back-stories, and even adds further allusions to events that happened later.

Regardless, though, in keeping with the themes of family present in GoG, I decided when I added Spine to the mix to have him be both a rival and a relative to Dirk. After all, Dirk is the one who is most proud of his family and where he comes from, so to throw a big old monkey wrench into that mindset seemed like a good way to get some drama and character development out of him so that he's not just the meta guy. Don't get me wrong, I love writing him as Mister Meta Humour, but doing so would get kinda one-note after a while, and I don't want any of my main characters to come off as one-note. I want them to be varied.

Speaking of meta humour, though, you may have noticed something familiar about the opening fight scene: I reused and tweaked the Megazord battle from the Super Sentai tribute chapter back in Season 1. The reason is...well, just that, meta humour. See, with rare exception over the years, the Megazord battles in Power Rangers are ALWAYS Sentai footage. I WAS thinking of using the pre-Megazord battle with the Bulltaur as well, but I opted to just use the Megazord battle to save time.

I also felt like revealing more details on the original Guardians of Gaia with this chapter. Specifically, that the Guardian of Earth was a Dwarf named Gorberg, whose brother was originally the one meant for the role, but that he recognized the ambition within Spine might lead to greed and treachery if he took on the position, so he tried to spare him that...fat load of good it did him. We'll get more into what the other Guardians were like, as well as a LOT more details on what exactly happened thousands of years ago, later on.

And yeah, in case no one noticed, the Undertaker Lightless is loosely based off the wrestling persona of Mark Calaway, otherwise none as The Undertaker. I WAS gonna go with a Grim Reaper or a Zombie, but then I thought about how The Undertaker is also a feared figure with ties to the paranormal, but one that is respected for his legacy and what he's capable of. For the uninitiated, The Undertaker is a 7-time World Champion in World Wrestling Entertainment, and managed to win 21 matches at Wrestlemania before losing to Brock Lesnar, nowadays sporting a win/loss record of 23-1 at the event. His dark and menacing appearance, along with his penchant for playing mind games and utilizing seemingly supernatural forces have earned him nicknames such as The Prince of Darkness, The Reaper of Lost Souls, and The Weaver of Nightmares... ... ...Oh yeah, and he used to drive a motorcycle to the ring for a while to Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit. He MAY have been having a mid-life crisis, I'm not sure. lol

Next time on Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia, a battle with a monster leaves Layla feeling sick. It's up to Faye to nurse her back to health, as she also tells a tale about the Gaian Crystals to pass the time. Ja né!