Cancer: Pink Revival

Pink Revival is the second episode of the Cancer arc, and the eleventh of Power Rangers: Neo Zeo.

Synopsis
As they try to deal with a former enemy turned potential ally, an opportunity arises for the Rangers to restore the Pink Zeo Subcrystal.

Plot
Everyone—the Zeo Rangers, Phantom and Sabrina—stood staring at each other awkwardly. The hangar door was open, and a little sand blew inside. The rain-like pattering was nearly audible in the tense silence.

"Scorpina?" Casey asked at last. "As in, Rita's minion lady?"

Sabrina sighed, shoulders slumping. "Yes. At least, I was, until the Z-Wave hit."

"What do you mean?" David was studying her with a suspicious glare.

"Zordon's life force purified her," the Phantom Ranger put in. "As it did for Rita herself, and several of the other would-be conquerors of Earth. Had she posed a threat to this world, I would not have brought her."

"But why did you bring her back here at all?" That was Tommy, speaking over the comms.

Sabrina started at the sound of his voice. "You—"

"Want to know why you're back. Now."

"Agreed," Violet said, folding her arms.

The Phantom Ranger spoke up again, in a calming tone. "She asked to be brought here, having spent most of her life either here or on a planet where she would not be welcome in her current state."

"And I wanted to try to make up for what I've done. Most of my recent . . ." Sabrina hesitated on the word, "Crimes took place here."

Violet snorted. "No kidding."

"Guys, give her a chance," Lidian put in, and walked up to Sabrina. He demorphed and held out a hand. "I'm Lidian Byron." Slowly, Sabrina grasped and shook his hand, starting to smile. "Thanks for coming back. I know it can't have been an easy choice."

The other Rangers exchanged looks. None of them seemed willing to follow Lidian's example.

"You kind of disappeared in '95," Casey put in hesitantly. "Where did you go, and why?"

"Long story," Sabrina said. "Short version: I figured out I wasn't getting anywhere under Rita and Zedd so I decided to try something new." She turned toward the comms unit on the wall, adding "Yes, Tommy, I realized you and the other Rangers had already won."

". . . Okay," David said at last. "But don't cause any trouble."

"Understood."

"Tommy?" Violet asked.

"You're the Rangers now, it's your decision." He sounded reluctant, though.

"Then for now we'll leave her alone. Come on, we have work to do." David headed into the ship without further ado. Sabrina stepped aside to let him and the others pass, not making eye contact with them.

oZo

Ophiuchus peeked into what had been a guards' mess hall. It had been converted into a sprawling, untidy laboratory, and a massive crustacean worked steadily inside. The white stars on his gleaming black shell marked him as one of the Zodiac Emperors—Cancer, specifically. Ophiuchus stepped inside, and waited to be noticed.

It took five minutes before Cancer turned away from his repurposed stove and saw the snaky monster. "What do you want?"

"The other Emperors were wondering about your plan. Do you have any idea when it will be ready?" Ophiuchus asked.

Cancer hmphed. "It'll be ready when it's ready. Takes time to come up with the perfect disease—especially when you don't want to devastate the species."

"I understand, sir."

"Good, you're not stupid. Sagittarius must be so proud." Cancer turned back to his work.

Ophiuchus continued to stand there. "Sir, I think you should know that the reason I'm here is to keep Emperor Leo from asking himself. He was getting very . . . eager to begin."

Cancer paused at that. "Ah. Well . . ." he studied the experiment. "Tell him a week. Might be sooner but let's be diplomatic."

Ophiuchus bowed again. "I understand completely, sir. One week." He glided back out of the room, and muttering under his breath, Cancer got back to work.

Ophiuchus put together what he would say as he crossed the ship, passing camped-out Windjammers or Jewel Golems running errands. Along with studying the Zodiac Emperors' histories, he'd looked into the Windjammers' records, and now had a pretty good idea of who could do what. Reaching the bow of the ship, Ophiuchus pushed open the doors of the Zodiac Emperors' former prison. Since it was big enough to accommodate them all comfortably, they'd converted it into a kind of council room. The Windjammers had added a large table and chairs, set up so each had its back to one of the coffins. It made them look like coats of arms.

Currently, most of the seats were occupied, and everyone looked around as Ophiuchus entered. He gave a swift, ducking bow and hurried inside.

"Well?" Emperor Leo rumbled. He had the head and tawny gold fur of a lion, but the build of a man. His massive claws drummed on the table as he studied Ophiuchus.

"Cancer predicts that his plague will be ready within the week. To keep the Rangers busy I—"

"A WEEK? He's been working on it since before Gemini started his plan!" Leo roared, surging to his feet.

Taurus was sitting nearby. "This is an insult!" He punctuated the sentence by slamming a fist into the table, making it shake. "One of us should act, now—we may not be in alignment but we have to finish the conquest of Earth, before Scorpius's forces realize we're here!"

"Patience," a blonde woman put in. Surrounded by so many monsters she seemed extraordinarily unremarkable, though she was strikingly beautiful. She gave Ophiuchus an apologetic smile. "I don't believe Ophiuchus was finished speaking."

Leo let out a rumbling growl. "I've had enough of that little viper's bowing and scraping and 'of course, your highness, but'—anything! We must strike NOW, while we still can!"

"I agree," Aries said. "Sending just one or two monsters at a time will only deplete our forces and teach the Rangers how to fight us. We must strike now, overwhelm them, and then this planet will be ours for the taking."

"But what if we lose now?" Gemini put in, its voice mild as always. "We will find ourselves without a large portion of our forces. When Cancer's plague is ready, it will bring the humans to their knees without risking any of our own strength. A week is only a short time."

Ophiuchus tried to speak up again. "I think I have a temporary solution—"

"Don't interrupt your betters, brat!" Leo snarled.

With a whoosh, an arrow whizzed past Ophiuchus's ear and buried itself in the center of the metal table, quivering. Everyone went dead silent, and looked around. Behind Ophiuchus stood a huge centaur. His dark brown skin blended into a glossy black horse's coat, but his tail and long hair were white. Slowly, he lowered his bow, and walked into the room, hooves clopping on the metal floor. This was Fire Emperor Sagittarius.

"Arguing will get us nowhere." His voice was deep and his tone weary with irritation. "Hear the boy out before you dismiss his suggestion."

Nobody said anything, though some of the other Emperors looked mutinous. Sagittarius gave Ophiuchus a nod, and he started, realizing it was his cue.

"I've studied the Windjammers' skills and weaknesses, and I think I've found the perfect candidate for our next attack," Ophiuchus said, with as much confidence as he could muster.

Leo shook his head in exasperation, muttering something about nepotism, but Sagittarius raised his free hand in the direction of his quiver. "Very well, sacrifice another Windjammer, what's one more going to cost us?"

Ophiuchus smiled now, even though his stomach felt like it was full of writhing worms. "This one is different. And it's only the beginning of the plan . . ."

oZo

A sleek black car pulled into the driveway of the Byron home, parking in the garage as the door slid open. Out climbed a lean, dark-eyed man who moved with tense quickness. Collecting a suitcase from the trunk, he headed for the door, but it opened before he reached it and Lidian looked out.

"How did it go?"

"Well enough."

Lidian stepped aside to let him in. "We've got another guest from offworld."

"Oh?" The man glanced back towards him, eyebrows raised, but kept walking.

"She's in the living room."

The older man nodded in acknowledgment and pushed open the living room door. Sabrina was seated on the sofa, and she turned around as she heard the door. As they made eye contact, the man stopped so abruptly that Lidian nearly walked into him.

Rising, Sabrina approached the pair. The same weary expression from when the Rangers had recognized her returned. "I suppose introducing myself would be pointless."

The man found his voice. "Hardly. Who you were and who you want to be now could be two very different things." He set down his suitcase and held out a hand. "Ezra Byron."

"Sabrina Kawai." She shook his hand firmly, starting to smile. "Thank you again for taking me in."

"It's what we agreed to when we joined the Black Lily—and believe me, I know what you're going through now. You've got more courage than I do. This is a good place to start over, though," he added, finally releasing her hand. The tension had gone out of his face. "For everything aliens have thrown at the humans, they're surprisingly forgiving."

"I hope so." Sabrina glanced down at the suitcase. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you—you must be tired from your trip."

"And you're not? You just arrived from offworld," Ezra replied, with a laugh. He sent the suitcase skidding into a corner with a neat kick. "I'm dying to hear all about it."

That was when Lidian's communicator watch beeped. Sabrina and Ezra both glanced sharply at him.

"That's probably Casey, sh-she built these to keep in touch," Lidian stammered, moving away from the pair.

Sabrina saw the way he was looking at Ezra, and quickly turned to the older Byron. "Yes, I'd love to tell you. Would you like to sit down or . . . ?"

"Please, I've been sitting in the car for three hours," Ezra said. "Besides, I can give you the tour of the house this way, unless Lidian already has?"

As Sabrina reassured Ezra that she hadn't, and took his proffered arm, Lidian slipped back out of the room.

"Yes?"

"There's a monster attacking the western warehouse district!" Alpha 5 cried.

"Again?"

"He's targeting the repair crews—I've already alerted the other Rangers, and David is already there. And . . . well, there's another thing." Alpha sounded a little hesitant, and Lidian thought he heard someone else (Tommy?) speaking in the background.

"What is it?"

"From what I've seen so far, this monster is powered by a core that repairs crystals—his armor is made of them. If you could get that core out whole, we might just be able to restore the Pink Subcrystal. Maybe. If it's not too much trouble."

"Really?"

"According to my calculations, yes." Alpha still sounded nervous. "But please, don't put yourself at any extraordinary risk to get it."

"I won't. Thanks," Lidian said. He listened, and made out Ezra's voice through the door. He headed down the hall and into the garage, making sure to close the door behind himself.

"It's Morphin' Time!"

oZo

"Zeo Power Sword!"

Charging forward, David ducked under a right hook, driving his blade across his opponent's glassy green-armored body. The blow drew sparks, and made the monster stagger. However, as it recovered, a green light glowed inside its chest, and the gash in its armor healed itself.

Whirling, David slashed across its legs, and it dropped to its knees. As he drew closer to follow up the attack, it whirled and slammed an elbow into his gut, sending him to the pavement. Scrambling sideways, the creature grabbed him by the sword arm, pinning it to the ground and squeezing, hard.

"No . . . you . . . don't!" David only tightened his grip on his sword, though his arm trembled with the strain.

"HIII-YAH!"

Two Zeo Laser Blades slammed down on the monster's back, and it recoiled with a jerk, sparking. The Yellow and Blue Rangers landed on either side of it, and Casey hurried to help David up.

"You got Alpha's message, right?" She asked.

"What message?"

"Hang on, busy now," Casey said, and slashed at the monster's clawed arm as it reached towards them. It caught her blade and twisted back, forcing it out of her grip. David took the opportunity to jump in with a strike to the monster's shoulder. Slithering past him, Zeo Yellow grabbed the monster around the waist and held on, her legs dragging as the monster tried to move away.

"Alpha—ow!—says we can fix the Pink Zeo Subcrystal—stop that!—if we get this guy's core out in one pieces!" She lost her grip as the monster brought both fists down on her head, and she crumpled.

Her sister moved in from behind once more, aiming calculated blows at the creature's back.

The monster had a longer reach than any of the Rangers, and when it hit it hit hard, but they were faster and more maneuverable. In spite of this, every blow the Rangers delivered was soon restored with a flash of green light, and the monster never seemed to tire.

The Green Ranger teleported in and hurled both Power Hatchets at the monster, catching it in the elbow as it raised one arm. One fell, but the other axe stuck. The armor glowed around it, but it couldn't restore itself with the blade in the way.

"That's it!" David exclaimed. Hauling his sword back, he brought it down on the monster's shoulder, cracking the armor. This time, instead of pulling it back for another blow, he held it there. "Yellow Ranger!"

"Gotcha! Zeo Double Power Clubs!" Releasing the monster, Casey caught the nunchuks as they appeared and slammed them down on the Red Ranger's sword like a hammer. The blade sank in deeper, and green fluid began dripping out around it. Seizing the blade, the monster tried to wrench it away, but a blow to the arm from Violet forced it to let go.

oZo

"This is your special monster?" Taurus sounded about ready to punch something, quite possibly Ophiuchus.

The Zodiac Emperors were watching the battle as a projection above their council table. The feed was coming from the Windjammer's ship, where a second monster monitored the battle.

"If Praziolite remembers what he can do before the Rangers finish him off, yes," Ophiuchus muttered, glaring at the projection.

"You sent down an idiot? Alone?" Leo's voice had a dangerous edge to it.

"Do not blame Ophiuchus," Libra said. The bronze-skinned woman, whose blindfold and chiton might well have been part of her body, still seemed to be gazing intently at the snake monster. "If Praziolite fails to use his own natural abilities the fault lies with him, not his sender, otherwise justice would demand that you take responsibility for your own monsters' failings."

That shut the other Zodiac Emperors up. As Ophiuchus stifled a grin, a blinding green light blazed from the projection. With a grinding, crackling sound Praziolite began to grow, filling the street. The monster monitoring the fight started scrambling for the controls, realizing that it was in danger—but too late. Ophiuchus stared in dismay as the image shorted out. Oh no. No, no, no—stop and think, he told himself, trying to think. His plan wasn't ruined, it just needed to be changed, and quickly.

"Fool! They'll just summon their Zords and destroy him!" Aries snapped. "What good will that do us?"

Not hearing him, Ophiuchus turned and pushed the doors open. He'd do this himself—finally show the Zodiac Emperors that he was more than a sycophantic go-between.

"Where do you think you're going?" Leo called after him, but Ophiuchus had broken into a run and was gone before he'd finished yelling.

oZo

Super ZeoZord V stomped towards the giant-sized Praziolite, which swung a right hook at the robot's head. It blocked the blow and twisted its opponent's arm back in a lock. A kick to the monster's shin made it stagger, letting the Red Ranger's Zord pull it off-balance. With a well-timed shove from Super ZeoZord II, Praziolite fell with a massive boom and cloud of dust, and Casey's Zord planted a foot on its right arm. As it struggled, the other two Super ZeoZords moved in, catching it by the legs and holding it down.

"Super Zeo Power Sword!" The Red Ranger shouted, and the weapon flashed into the Super Zeozord's hand. However, instead of delivering a finishing blow, Super ZeoZord V brought it down on Praziolite's chest, hard enough to send splintering cracks across its armor. It set the blade to the creature's throat, and it stopped struggling.

"Okay, I'm going down. Be ready in case something happens," David said, and teleported out of the cockpit. He materialized on top of Praziolite's chest, just above its glowing core. The cracks in his armor were already repairing themselves. "Alpha, send it now."

David held his hands out, and the Pink Zeo Subcrystal materialized in them, flickering weakly. David crouched, holding it just above a crack in Praziolite's armor, but he didn't need to be that much closer anyway. In a burst of green light—which almost blinded the Red Ranger in spite of his tinted visor—the core energy enveloped the Zeo Subcrystal.

A pink light soon blended with it, and David straightened again, backing away from the still-healing armor. The Pink Subcrystal tore itself out of his hands, and hovered in midair, whole once more and blazing fiercely. The other Rangers in their Super ZeoZords could see it, and all started whooping and cheering. Praziolite went limp in the Super ZeoZords' grasp, its light fading as if it had all drained into the crystal.

"Did we do it?" David asked Alpha 5.

A male voice answered from behind him. "Yes, Red Ranger, you have."

David turned just in time for a sucker punch to the gut. He stumbled, and his attacker shoved past him, leaped and grabbed the Zeo Subcrystal. It flashed a fiery, sunset pink as he caught it, fell and rolled, letting out a scream of pain.

"Hey!" David started to chase after the thief, only for a shadow to pass overhead. Instinctively he jumped aside, just in time to avoid a volley of blasts from a Windjammer ship. It swooped in low, dropping a cable. The thief, who was curled up and shaking, only just managed to reach out and snare the cable. It yanked him up and away as David picked himself up, reeling him in like a fish on a line.

"What's happening?" Lidian demanded, alarmed. "David, are you okay?"

David had to jump sideways to avoid another strafing run from the Windjammer ship. He felt himself teleporting, and the cockpit of his Super ZeoZord formed around him.

"It's getting away," he said, scrambling back to his seat. "We need to stop it—"

Praziolite stirred, and its chest light began to shine again. Wrenching one arm free, it caught the Super Zeo Power Sword as David began to raise it. When he tried to pull free, Praziolite just swung around and slammed the sword into Super ZeoZord II, drawing sparks from its hull. Super ZeoZord III pulled hard on its other arm, but Praziolite just rolled with it, freeing its other side entirely and making Violet's Zord overbalance. A punch to the torso knocked it flat, taking the corner of a warehouse with it.

"Looks like we'll have to stop this guy first," Lidian said.

"Work fast," Violet retorted.

Super ZeoZord V swung its sword inwards, catching Praziolite under the arm. It wasn't prepared for the second blow, right to the center of the chest where they'd just damaged it. Sparks flew as David dug the blade in, trying to breach the core. Blinding light and green fluid exploded around the blade.

Nearby, the Windjammer ship headed into the atmosphere, growing smaller by the minute.

"They're getting away!" Casey shouted, pointing.

The glowing Super Zeo Power Sword came down in a blazing arc, right into the newly-opened gap. Praziolite let out a deafening howl as it exploded, shards of crystal flying in every direction. Super ZeoZords III and V took off after the disappearing Windjammer ship, not even waiting for their other enemy to finish dying.

Stomping over to the still-downed Super ZeoZord II, Super ZeoZord IV reached out and helped it up. It wobbled a little, but stayed upright. Faintly, laser fire flashed among the clouds overhead like technicolor lightning.

"What do we do now?" Casey asked over the comms.

Nobody had an answer for her.

Allies

 * Alpha 5
 * Tommy Oliver
 * Phantom Ranger
 * Sabrina Kawai

Villains

 * Ophiuchus
 * Water Emperor Cancer
 * Fire Emperor Leo
 * Earth Emperor Taurus
 * Earth Empress Virgo
 * Air Emperor Gemini
 * Fire Emperor Aries
 * Fire Emperor Sagittarius
 * Air Empress Libra
 * Praziolite
 * Windjammers