Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Power Ranger related concepts within. A special thanks goes out to Akiko for her help in this fic. By the way, this fanfic contains excessive use of time travel. Thanks to Ellen Brand for the catch phrase, "I hate time travel," which appears in this fanfic on a regular basis. If you can actually follow the whole time travel thing in the fic without holding your head and screaming my name in anger, then you should stop reading Power Ranger fanfics and go teach Quantum Physics to that wheelchair guy.
June 20
3:39 a.m. CST
"Go ahead!" Crystal demanded. She attempted to climb back to her feet, only to have the stone beneath her feet turn into mud again.
"Not a chance," Jason said firmly, pulling her from the mud and back to her feet.
"Keep going!" Kimberly cried, ducking as a arrow from a triggered booby-trap missed her head by a matter of mere inches. It was fired with such velocity that it sank into the stone wall as though it were just styrofoam.
"Don't stop!" I agreed.
"Where is this place?" Jason asked as we quickly made our way through the confusing labyrinth of stone walls, floors, and ceilings.
"I think its part of the lunar palace," Crystal answered.
"I never been in this section before," I muttered to myself. The hallways were lit with wooden torches, and mud covered the floor in a thin sheen, making it surprisingly slippery. Suddenly, the hallway widened, and we found ourselves in a large dome-shaped room. The room was the end of the hallway, and we could go no further.
"We have to turn around," Crystal said.
"Wish we could morph," Kimberly complained.
"Now that wouldn't be good for anyone, would it?" a seductive female voice said. We turned to see the pink form of Lust, one of Duran's sins, standing in the hallway. Jason and Kimberly quickly positioned themselves in front of Crystal and me, as neither of us have had any martial arts training and are pretty much worthless without our powers.
"Jeremy," Crystal said, tapping my arm frantically. She motioned with her eyes forward. The other sins of Duran stepped out of the shadows, forming a circle around us.
"You guys," I whispered over my back, "we're surrounded."
"Those two," Anger said, motioning to Crystal and me, "are Sigma's kids. Put them aside for later."
With a wave of his hand, Crystal and I were pulled backwards by an unseen force. The wall opened up, forming a jail cell, which we were forcibly yanked into. A block of stone rose from the floor and bars descended from the ceiling, blocking us in. "No!" I yelled angrily, running up to the bars. "Duran!"
"Let us out of here!" Crystal yelled.
"Run you two!" I cried.
"Not a chance!" Jason shouted. He and Kimberly stood, back to back, ready to fight against the seven sins.
"Take care of her," Lust instructed, pointing to Kimberly. Envy and Gluttony approached Kimberly. Gluttony slithered around behind her legs, separating her from Jason. His yellow body coiled around her legs, knocking her to the ground. Envy stood behind her and latched on to her wrists, holding her arms above her head.
"We have to help them!" Crystal cried. "Maybe we can break the door open."
"Worth a shot," I said. "On three."
Lust wrapped her pink hand around Jason's neck and forced him against the wall. Sloth and Greed approached Jason and pressed their bodies against his arms, holding him in position. She extended a long black reptilian tongue, and flicked it across his face. He grimaced and shut his mouth and eyes tightly.
"Three!" Crystal shouted. We both hit the stone door with our shoulders at the same time. The door didn't open, although it did jar a bit. A cobra suddenly slithered into the room. Crystal screamed and jumped back, knocking me into the back wall. Spiders began to scurry out of the chinks in the stone bricks. Screaming myself, I scrambled to the middle of the small cell. Gluttony circled around Kimberly's body. He held his head directly in front of hers and flared his hood. Kimberly screamed at the sight of the yellow dragon-snake before her. With an angry hiss, he opened his mouth and revealed two sharp fangs.
"So yummy," Lust said. "So tasty." She opened her hand wide, revealing five very sharp pink claws. She placed her hand in the center of his chest, slicing through his shirt with the greatest of ease.
"NO!" Jason yelled.
Crystal, just short of tears, crawled over my legs in an attempt to get away from the approaching cobra with a flared hood. The spiders, of all sizes and shades of brown and black, were quickly making their way toward me. With an unhappy whimper, I curled up in the center of the cell. Kimberly screamed as Gluttony pressed the tip of one fang against her shoulder.
Jason shook his head frantically, all the time chanting, "No no no!"
"Oh yes," Lust said. Smiling wickedly, she pulled her arm back and then thrust forward, intent on ramming her hand through his chest.
3:40 a.m. CST
With a gasp, I sat bolt upright in bed. "Wha?" Rocky snorted from beside me. I quickly kicked the sheet off of my body and jumped out of bed. I shivered violently, my dream of the spiders too real for my tastes.
"Jason," I muttered to myself. I grabbed my glasses off of the bureau by the bed and ran through the darkened house. I reached the guest bedroom, just as a solid body slammed into me. Screaming, I jumped aside, as did Kimberly.
"You scared me," she snapped.
"You didn't do a whole lot of good for me either," I snapped back.
"The dream," Jason said, stepping into the doorway, prompting Kimberly and me to scream again.
Beep beep beepbeep beep beep. I glanced down at my left hand and saw that my thumb and index finger were glowing blue. "Crystal?" I asked. Red light flooded the hallway, and she was standing beside us, clad in a long red nightshirt.
"The dream?" she asked nervously. "With the snake, and the spiders?"
"Let's go to the Command Center," I suggested. "Maybe they know what's going on." In four streaks of color, we disappeared from the hallway.
3:41 a.m. CST
"What are you all doing here?" Nadia asked as we teleported into the Power Chamber, each of us in a different state of half-dress, Kimberly in a short thin nightgown, Crystal in a sleeping shirt, myself into shorts and a thin t-shirt, and Jason only in red gym shorts.
"We all had a nightmare," Jason explained.
"The same nightmare," Crystal said.
"A nightmare?" Omicron asked, lifting her eyebrows up in astonishment. "You're here because of a bad dream?"
"Kimberly," I said in awe, brushing my fingertips against her left shoulder, "you're bleeding." A thin coating of red blood glistened on my fingertips. Her mouth dropped open in awe and she gingerly touched the small scratch on her bare shoulder.
"This is where Gluttony bit me," she said. "Now what kind of dream is that?"
Sigma walked up to Kimberly and looked at the wound. "It looks real," he said. "Not an illusion."
"Was Duran in this dream?" Nadia asked.
"He attacked us," Jason explained, "and Lust tried to rip my heart out."
"Jeremy and I were trapped in a jail cell with a cobra and a bunch of spiders," Crystal said.
Suddenly, blue and pink light flashed, materializing Rocky, Billy, and Katherine, also in various states of dress. "Why was there screaming?" Billy asked.
"Look," Nadia explained, walking closer to us. "Duran is a master of illusions. He likes to make his victims have very realistic nightmares about him hurting them. It helps make them weak, so they're more easily beaten. Don't let him get to you. It's just a dream."
"The blood," Kimberly said again. "How do I bleed from a wound I got in a dream."
Nadia grabbed Kimberly's right hand and flipped it over. "Look," Nadia said, pointing to her index and middle fingers. "There is blood under your fingernails. You did it in your sleep, and that made you think that Duran hurt you."
"I suppose," Kimberly relented, not thoroughly convinced.
"Just go home, drink some warm milk, and get to sleep," Nadia said. "We have less than twenty-four hours before the battle begins. You need your rest."
"She's right," Billy agreed. "Let's go home."
I walked over to a control panel, and casually flipped an open communications switch with my name inscribed above it in white. "Okay," I said, nodding. "Let's go." As soon as I arrived, I pressed my thumb and index finger together.
"-does it really mean?" Omicron asked.
"Duran causes premonitions," Nadia explained softly. "Even in mortals. I think this is his way of telling us that...." She stopped there, leaving the implication in the air.
"Tell us what?" Sigma asked forcefully, wanting it to be said.
"To me, it sounds like Jason will die in battle, since Lust tried to pull his heart out, Kimberly will be injured, and Crystal and Jeremy will be trapped or imprisoned." I released the pressure between my fingers, instantly closing the communications link. I found that I had no words to sum up my thoughts.
8:27 a.m. CST
"You all get back to sleep?" I asked at the breakfast table. Rocky was immediately at my side, setting a plate loaded with food before me.
"Eventually," Jason said. "No more dreams."
"Me neither," I agreed. "Rock, what's with the food?"
"I cook when I'm nervous," he said. He turned his attention to the sink and began cleaning the breakfast dishes.
"When does the battle begin?" Kimberly asked as she plopped down at the table. Rocky instantly had another plate of hot food before her. "Thanks."
"As soon as the sun sets," I said. "Tonight's the night of the full moon."
"We have to win," Jason said. "That's all there is to it. We have to win."
"This is scary," Kimberly sighed. "This is even worse than when the entire planet nearly died. We at least had the Earth Crystals to keep us from losing our minds."
"Come again?"
"Rather than get all upset, the Earth Crystals kept us in a very strange mind-set," Billy explained as he entered the room. Rocky motioned to yet another plate of food, waiting for him on the counter.
Katherine was close behind. "We never once got upset that the world was dying all around us, because the Earth Crystals didn't let us."
"Wish we had some Earth Crystals," I sighed.
4:45 p.m. CST
_This might be the last time you ever sit in your tree again,_ I told myself. Sighing unhappily, I leaned against the trunk. "I just want to get it over with. It's like a failing a test."
"It's hardly comparable to failing a test," Nadia said, appearing beside me in a flash of pink. I started to jump aside, but then I remembered her temporary switch. "I hope you're happy."
"We've already had this conversation several times," Nadia said. "I know I made a mistake summoning Duran. This is the only way I've got to make things up to everybody." I closed my hand around the circular stone on the leather strap around my neck and closed my eyes. I made a quick wish on my Irish wishing stone and sighed again. "What is that?" Nadia asked.
"It's called an An Cloc Cosanta," I answered. "Irish wishing stone. It's supposed to protect you from curses, stuff like that."
"Can I see it?" Nadia asked, already removing it from my neck.
"Sure."
She held the stone in her fist for a few seconds, and then smiled happily. "I've got an idea. I'll see ya at Time Zero." She teleported away in a flash of pink.
8:17 p.m. CST
I hugged Allison tightly, neither of us saying a word. "If we don't get out of this alive," I said, smiling as sincerely as I could.
"I know," she said. "I love you, too. And no, Beth, I do not mean like that."
"Movies do not lie," Beth said. "Harry met Sally. S'all I'm sayin'." She then gave Allison a hug herself, while I moved on to Tara.
"I feel really bad for you all," Dana sighed, talking to the five extra Rangers. "This isn't your fight."
"We'll still give it our all," Jason promised.
"How much longer?" Crystal asked nervously.
"Four minutes," Omicron said, "and the sun has officially set."
"Jeremy," Tara said warily, "since there is a very real possibility that we'll die today, I have to tell you something."
"What's that?"
"Understand that the only reason I'm telling you this is so I don't carry any secrets to my grave, okay? And you won't be mad."
"I won't be mad," I assured her.
"Remember at your ninth birthday party when somebody put laxatives in the chocolate icing on the cake, and everybody had to go home early, and only about half of the class showed up on Monday because everybody was still having effects from the laxatives? Well, that was me."
"I lost eight pounds that weekend," I said sternly. "I am gonna survive just so I can kick your butt when this is over."
"I did not make anyone eat the cake," Tara said.
"You fed your little sister like three slices!" I protested.
"Man, I'm glad I didn't know you two back then," Beth chuckled to herself.
"Well, I just didn't want to die with that on my conscience," Tara said. "Mad?"
"I don't guess so. It was ten years ago. But I'm not real pleased with it either."
"Where's Nadia?" Dana asked, looking around.
"I'm here," she said, running into the Command Center from a side room with Sigma in tow. "I've been working all afternoon, and I finally think I've got a plan."
"It's about time," Beth snapped.
Nadia bypassed the rude comment in return and said, "Screen on. Duran has a very powerful essence that doesn't need to be contained in a body. Sort of his soul. Each sin has its own distinct essence, and a great source of power. What he will more than likely do is wear you out by continually forcing you to defeat his various sins, and destroy you slowly. Every time a body is killed, that essence is freed, and given normal circumstances, it'll make a new body and attack again. But, if we capture the essence before it can make a new body, he'll be trapped. We'll get his seven essences in seven crystals, and destroy them tomorrow morning. I've had Sigma make seven crystals, one for each sin, to capture the essence as soon as the body is freed. You all just deal with destroying his bodies. I'll take care of capturing him in the crystals."
"This will still be a tough fight," Sigma said, "and as soon as one sin is captured, he'll up the attacks via his others. This might give us the edge we need."
Suddenly, alarms began to sound. Red lights flashed on us, and we knew that D-day had arrived. "One quick thing," Omicron said, "you'll be swapping out Assault Vehicles depending on your strengths in battle. You're going to have to trust our judgment on this one. We'll tell you what A.V. to take, where to take it, and who you'll be fighting. Deal?"
"I'll deal with you later," I told Tara with a forced smile. "Good luck everybody...."
"Jase? You take the honors," Beth told her.
He nodded solemnly and shouted, "It's Morphin Time!"
"Triceratops!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
"Mastodon!"
"Brachiosaurus!"
"Saber-Tooth Tiger!"
"PTERODACTYL --- CRANE!"
"TRICERATOPS --- WOLF!"
"TYRANNOSAURUS --- COUGAR!"
"ZEO RANGER I, PINK --- BUTTERFLY!"
"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE --- APE!"
Eleven streams of colored light lifted out of the Command Center, off into the fight for the stake of the universe.
8:31 p.m. CST
Crystal and I flew farther away from the sun in Cardinal and Dragonfly respectively. "There goes Saturn," Crystal said warily. "I don't like being this far away from everything."
"Me neither," I remarked. "I'm trying to scan for Sloth's weak point, but he doesn't seem to have one."
A few seconds later, the orange sphere of Uranus floated past. "I'm getting some weird readings from just beyond the solar system," Crystal said.
"Where?"
"Forty-two, one eighteen, seventeen," Crystal told me. I immediately punched the coordinates up on my own A.V. "Is that what I think it is?"
"It's a black hole," I said thoughtfully. "Astronomers have thought for a pretty good while now that there might be a black hole just beyond the solar system's outer limits! This is perfect!"
"We let nature take care of Sloth," Crystal agreed.
"Right. We'll have to trick him close enough to get pulled in, but that's gonna be tough," I said. Information began to come up on the monitor before me. "We'll have to get Sloth within four hundred thousand miles before he'll have a tough time escaping the pull."
"We're liable to be pulled in ourselves."
"That's what I'm afraid of," I remarked just as Neptune flew past below us. "But we can fly faster than light. We'll just have to be very careful."
"Right," Crystal agreed. "Okay, if we increase our speed to 187% light speed, we should intercept Sloth in about two minutes."
"Agreed," I said. We both pushed our A.V.'s faster, causing the stars that dotted the entire universe before us to warp slightly in both shape and color. Without warning, a deluge of blue lasers shot toward me. I wrenched the control lever to the right, hard, causing Dragonfly to veer aside frantically. The control lever shook frantically in my hands at the sudden strain I had placed on the A.V., but she held together.
"It's Sloth!" Crystal cried. "Firing Missiles!" She quickly punched in the necessary information, and two bright red missiles were fired from the Cardinal's underbelly. Sloth dodged them effortlessly, and they were immediately caught in the distant black hole's gravitational field and pulled away.
"We have to attack close!" I shouted to Crystal, moving Dragonfly closer to Sloth.
"You got it!" Crystal flew Cardinal even closer to Sloth and fired a missile at close-range. It struck Sloth in the chest, causing the beast to tumble away, screaming a silent scream in sheer anger. Suddenly, he tumbled past me. Sloth lashed out with his tail, striking my A.V. All controls were lost, and I tumbled end over end.
"Full Control!" I commanded. Dragonfly either ignored me or physically couldn't comply as none of the systems were working.
"Jeremy!" Crystal shouted. "Cardinal just lost the Dragonfly's link. You'll have to manually re-direct the auxiliary! I'll keep Sloth off of you! But hurry, you're already drifting toward the black hole!"
"Thanks Crystal," I said hurriedly. I spun my seat around and pried the cockpit doors open. I ran down the darkened hallway until I reached the ladder leading to the engine room. Dragonfly began to vibrate slightly, telling me that I was getting rapidly closer to the black hole. I quickly redirected the power, a surprisingly easy task, and hurried back to the cockpit. "I'm back on-line Crystal," I said as soon as I sat down. However, the A.V. suddenly lurched forward, pressing me into the seat. The stars blinked purple and promptly disappeared. "NO! Crystal! Can you hear me?!"
Silence was my reply. "Dragonfly, give me my coordinates, ASAP."
"Coordinates unknown," a soothing voice replied. "Time unknown. Thank you."
"Can you at least tell me if I'm in the event horizon or the singularity?"
"Dragonfly would theorize that you have yet to enter the singularity, as the singularity is the theoretical point where all matter is crushed into non-existence," Dragonfly said. "However, Dragonfly cannot be sure since the event horizon has not been crossed before now."
"What a way to make history," I groaned to myself. "Send a distress beacon to Crystal and the Command Center."
"Dragonfly has already attempted to do this. There has yet to be a response."
"Which way do I need to fly to get out of the event horizon?" I asked. "There is no light down here, and I don't know which way to fly, and I certainly don't want to fly toward the singularity."
"Dragonfly is facing the singularity now. Turn 180 degrees in any direction and activate main thrusters."
"You got it," I said, carefully guiding the ship through the motions. The pull from the singularity was so great it was like trying to drive through molasses, but I slowly got Dragonfly facing the right direction. "Dragonfly theorizes that if you get closer to the event horizon, Dragonfly may be able to open a lagged communications link with Cardinal."
"Good deal," I said happily. "Activating main thrusters!" Dragonfly immediately began to vibrate, although that was the only sensation of movement I could feel. "Are we moving?"
"Since the pull of gravity is not as great, Dragonfly theorizes that Dragonfly is getting farther from the singularity." Suddenly, a faint crackling communications line was opened through Dragonfly. "Jeremy, a- you there?! An-r me!"
"Crystal, I'm here! I'm in the black hole!"
"Please! Answer m-!"
"Crystal! Can't you hear me?!"
"Dragonfly reminds Blue Ranger that any communications link will be lagged."
"How much of a lag is there?" I asked angrily.
"At our current location, time is irrelevant and meaningless."
"Oh it is not," I snapped. "If it were irrelevant and meaningless we wouldn't be able to move."
"There is no reason to get testy, Blue Ranger."
"Look, I'm trying to figure out some information here so I won't die and I've got a very sarcastic Assault Vehicle giving me a hard time," I commented. "I think testy is a pretty good emotion for right now. Since when have you A.V.'s been able to talk anyhow?"
"A.V.'s have always possessed the ability to talk," Dragonfly answered. "You have just never listened until you are threatened with the impossibility of being completely alone from all life as you know it."
"Are you sentient?"
"We draw solely from the intelligence of the pilot," Dragonfly answered. "So no, we are not sentient."
"Jeremy!" Crystal suddenly cried. "I just got your transmission! Cardinal says we're lagged by about a minute and a half, but you'll be able to hear what I say almost immediately."
"I'm trying to break free of the black hole," I said. "Whatever you do, stay away."
"Blue Ranger, Dragonfly has bad news," my A.V. said.
"What's that?"
"No matter how fast you push Dragonfly, it will not be enough to break from the event horizon."
"What?"
"You are trapped here. Forever."
"Cardinal says you can't break free!" Crystal shouted.
"Apparently not. Stay back!" I still pressed the control lever forward. "I can't believe this is how I die. In a black hole."
"There are worse ways to die, Blue Ranger," Dragonfly said.
"There are better ways too."
I sat there, completely numb, waiting for Crystal's next comment. "I'm not leaving you in there!" Crystal shouted. "I've gotten away from Sloth and I'm coming in!"
"Dammit Crystal!" I shouted. "I told you to stay away!"
"Since when do I listen to you?" she asked after a few more seconds. The greatly decreased lag time told me that she was rapidly getting closer to the event horizon.
"Crystal, as Blue Ranger I am your superior and that is a DIRECT ORDER!" I shouted. "STAY BACK! If you don't stay back, I'll make Dragonfly keep Cardinal from coming closer."
"That is not an acceptable option," Dragonfly said.
"Don't you have to do what I tell you to do?" I asked angrily.
"Yes, although you must remember, Dragonfly draws from Blue Ranger's mind. Despite your outward appearance, you want to be saved. Although your reasoning tells you to sacrifice yourself to save your friend, your emotions tells Dragonfly to allow you to be saved."
"Stop trying to out-do me and freeze up Cardinal's controls! And stop referring to yourself in the third person. It's starting to get irritating!"
"Too late," Crystal said. I looked up to a smeary red outline of Cardinal approaching me.
"Crystal," I sighed. "I told you to stay back."
"Since when do I listen to you?" she asked.
"You've already asked that," I said.
"No I haven't."
"You are both currently in two different time streams," Cardinal and Dragonfly told us in unison, "with Dragonfly being approximately eight minutes in the future. Cardinal and Dragonfly are currently attempting to link up, so that instantaneous communication is possible." The two A.V.'s were silent for a moment, and then they announced, "Communications are timed correctly."
"Can you hear me Crystal? Now?"
"I've got ya," she said. "We're in synch now. Sort of. Cardinal said that you won't be able to get out of here by yourself. How can I help?"
"Dragonfly?" I asked my A.V.
"Dragonfly is currently scanning the options," Dragonfly answered. I decided to ignored the continued third person persona of Dragonfly and concentrated instead on letting the A.V. do its work.
"I've got an idea!" Crystal cried. "Since you are eight minutes in the future, we can de-synch ourselves and start trying something. Then, as soon as we are free, we can re-synch, and you can tell me of the past, which would be now, what to do!"
"I hate time travel."
"Do you get what I'm saying?!"
"I don't see the point," I said truthfully. "Let's just start trying something now and see what happens."
"Because if it fails, then it will waste valuable resources."
"But whatever time we're talking in, it'll still have to be done in some manner or another, still wasting our resources."
"Jeremy, to me, when you are de-synched, you are what hasn't happened yet," Crystal said. "The Jeremy I'm talking to doesn't even exist for me yet. I'm the present, you are the future. If it doesn't work, then you can tell me in the now, and I can tell Cardinal that it doesn't work, until eventually, we get something that will work. The me of the present will suggest it to the future you of the your future self. Cardinal says that we can go through an infinite number of possibilities, and the only one we'll remember is the one that gets us out, because all other possibilities would have killed us, and unless I get a transmission from the future you, or the you I'm talking to, we'll be dead, and I'll know not to tell one of you's not to do it. Got it?"
"Barely," I said. "I'm just gonna trust you on this one. Tell me what to do."
"Cardinal, Dragonfly, de-synch the communication line only, keep yourselves in synch, and any minute now I should get a transmission from the future. Then, Jeremy, when we escape, you can tell the me of the past, which will then be the me of now, what we did. Got it?"
"Got it," I said.
Not more than three seconds later, Dragonfly said, "Crystal has a suggested proposal. Dragonfly and Cardinal fly belly to belly and combine thrusters. By flying as one vehicle, mass and velocity may be enough to break event horizon."
"Let's do it," I said. "Have Cardinal make the first move." I guided Dragonfly into an upside down position, pressing the underbelly against Cardinal's. Crystal and I, somehow separated by eight minutes of time, simultaneously pushed both A.V.'s to their maximum. Both Assault Vehicles were vibrating wildly, and I thought briefly that they were going to fly apart. However, light flashed all around us, and we were both freed from the black hole. "YES!" I shouted.
"Blue Ranger, tell Crystal of the past what worked," Dragonfly instructed.
"Crystal, you're going to have to line the A.V.'s up belly to belly and combine the strength of the two. That's the only way to break the event horizon. Jeremy out." I looked up and realized that Cardinal and Dragonfly were still locked together and barreling toward Sloth. With a cry of alarm, I circled away, narrowly missing a collision with the pale blue dragon.
"I've got an idea!" Crystal cried. "We can send Sloth into the black hole by ramming him with our A.V.'s!"
"But we'll lose them," I rebutted.
"It's our only chance," Crystal said. "Are you in?"
"I'll set Dragonfly to self-destruct," I told her. "Try and get Sloth in the right position, and I'll ram him. Have Cardinal ready in case Dragonfly isn't enough. And be ready to call on your Power Board as soon as we leave the cockpit."
"Right," Crystal said.
I realized that Crystal and I were no longer out of synch, but just assumed that Dragonfly and Cardinal had re-synched our communication systems. Sighing unhappily, I began to punch in the commands that would activate Dragonfly's entire weapons arsenal at once. Crystal quickly led Sloth in front of the black hole. I assessed the situation, and immediately rushed Sloth. My hands flew to my belt buckle/morpher, and I teleported out of the cockpit as Dragonfly hit Sloth and exploded. A red flash followed, creating a purple cloud of light. I teleported several hundred miles away, summoning my Power Board instantly to appear beneath my feet. Crystal teleported in beside me a few seconds later. We watched in silence as Sloth and the remains of our Assault Vehicles drifted toward the black hole. They suddenly disappeared, leaving Crystal and me in the depths of space. "We got rid of one of 'em," Crystal said. "Let's go back to the Command Center," I suggested. She nodded, and we teleported away, two colored streaks of blue and red light.
June 21
3:58 a.m. CST
"It's about time you two got back," Omicron snapped as soon as we touched down. "We've been worried sick!"
"What do you mean?" I asked as Crystal and I removed our helmets.
"You've been gone for over seven hours," Nadia said. "You didn't respond or anything."
"Seven hours?" Crystal asked. "Fifteen minutes, tops."
"We were in a black hole," I said. "That must have caused us to lose time. Speaking of which, I'm eight minutes lagged."
"Did you get Sloth?" Crystal asked.
Nadia held up a crystal which glowed with a slight blue light. "He's trapped. What do you mean you're eight minutes lagged?"
"That's what Dragonfly told me," I said. "I don't think it applies, though, now that I'm out of the black hole. How many sins have been captured?"
"Just Sloth," Nadia said. "It's ugly out there."
"In nearly eight hours only one dragon has been killed?" Crystal asked in disbelief.
"We're about to get another one," Sigma said, appearing beside us. "Kimberly has almost taken care of Lust, but I've got bad news. Duran has just figured out how to create a very weird energy pattern around his essences. It gives him the ability to bypass the armor."
"I don't follow," Crystal told him.
"Your powers aren't failing; they're as strong as ever. But, Duran has found a way to get through the armor as though it wasn't even there. That means a Ranger can be given a very serious injury straight through the armor."
"I couldn't reproduce that if I tried," Nadia complained. "But you're right, that explains why this crystal is putting off a weird energy. Man alive, he's strong tonight."
"I've put out a warning to the Rangers, telling them to execute extreme caution," Omicron said.
Kimberly teleported into the Power Chamber, promptly removing her helmet. "That was rough," she commented. "Eagle survived unscathed, though."
"Good," Crystal said. "I felt horrible having to sacrifice Cardinal and Dragonfly."
"Uhm, you guys?" Nadia said slowly. "Something is wrong."
Kimberly suddenly rushed Nadia. She wrapped her gloved hands around Nadia's neck and pushed her against a console. "You dirty bitch," Kimberly growled in a dark voice. Her eyes began to glow with a pink light. "How dare you betray me?"
"It's Lust!" Omicron cried.
"Kimberly!" I cried, running over to her. I forcibly pulled her away from Nadia. Crystal quickly positioned herself in front of Nadia.
"Not what I had in mind," Kimberly growled, "but you'll do." She opened her mouth and a long, black serpentile tongue shot out. I put my hands up defensively, but it snaked between my fists and clamped around my throat.
"Tyrannosaurus Talons!" Crystal cried. I looked up to see that she was back in her helmet and had her weapons out before her. Kimberly shook her head frantically, but Crystal immediately slashed downward, passing the sharp blades of the talons through "Lust's" tongue. Kimberly's hands clamped over her mouth as the stump of her tongue flew back into her mouth.
"Distract her," I whispered to Crystal as a sudden idea came to me. "Omicron, force de-morph her!" I jumped up to the top of the pedestal that had Sigma's Sword embedded in it. I had never even touched the Sword, but if it was as powerful as it had proven itself to be, it was the only thing that would work. Crystal tried to block Kimberly, but the possessed Pink Ranger leapt over Crystal effortlessly. She landed on the pedestal just as I pulled the Sword, carved from a single diamond, from its bed of crystals. "Geez, it's heavy," I complained. Kimberly stared at me angrily. Pink sparkles of light suddenly fell from her body, forcing her to de-morph. "Nadia! Get ready!"
"I'm on it," Nadia agreed.
Kimberly jumped out at me just as I sliced the tip of the Sword over her shoulder. Pink light exploded from the contact, and we were both knocked backwards into the walls of the cubbyhole that held the pedestal. "I got Lust!" Nadia cried, holding up a crystal that now glowed a bright pink.
"How did you know that would work?" Crystal asked.
"I'm not sure," I said. "I just... thought it might." I then planted the Sword back in the crystals. "Maybe its because I'm still lagged and know what's gonna happen a full eight minutes before it does."
"Or eight minutes after it already has," Crystal mused.
"That's why I hate time travel," I said. "I don't know if I'm coming or I've gone." I walked over to Kimberly's prone body and scooped her up in my arms. "She's out cold."
"Take her to the infirmary," Omicron said. "I'll check on her in just a sec."
"What can Jeremy and I do?" Crystal asked.
"Crystal, go co-pilot Saber-Tooth A.V. with Rocky in Antarctica. You'll be more efficient if you can both concentrate on just one A.V.," Omicron said. "Jeremy, you stay here. I'm gonna need your help in just a sec." Crystal teleported away in a bright red flash.
"You had to touch the Sword, didn't you?" an eerily familiar voice asked. I turned to see Blue Ranger standing before me. He reached up to remove his helmet, revealing a face even more familiar. My eyes widened in shock.
"Huh?" I asked in shock. "You're me."
"Actually, I'm you eight minutes from now," the future Jeremy explained. "You touched the Sword, it attempt to fix your time lagged mind. And it did. Unfortunately, the Sword didn't quite do it right. It made your body hold the mind of eight minutes lagged, so you just lost eight minutes, and it took the you that was eight minutes forward, and made a new body to hold it."
"So which one of us is real?" I asked.
"We both are, neither of us, heck if I know," Future Jeremy said. "All I know is that eight minutes ago, I was you and eight minutes from now, you will be me. You'll understand in eight minutes," he told me, "when you become me and I will be... hmm, I don't know what I'll be. I guess I'll still be eight minutes ahead of you."
"Well how do we put... you back?"
"We'll have Sigma figure something out later," he assured me. "I suggest we try and avoid each other for the rest of the night or we're going to be so confused we won't know whether we're coming or going. Every time we stand this close together, time around us, or time around me's, gets screwed up, or so I was told by the me of the future. We avoid each other at all costs, got it?"
"Deal," I said. "But what have you been doing in the past eight minutes?... Next eight minutes?"
"You're about to find out," Future Jeremy explained. "I have to go back into battle. You'll do what you're gonna do in about thirty seconds, do it for about six minutes, and then come back here to explain it to yourself. Then you'll go do what I'm about to do, and the process repeats itself. Maybe. I'm kinda new at this too. If I figure out exactly what's happening, I'll come tell you. Got it?" I repeated what he had just said in my mind and affirmed, "Got it. I think."
"Now I gotta go," Future Jeremy said. He teleported away, leaving me either eight minutes in the past or in the future while he went eight minutes back to the present, I'm not quite sure which.
"Jeremy, why don't you take Triceratops to help Beth and Billy with Pride in Asia?" Omicron suggested. "Okay," I said. _This is gonna be a weird night,_ I thought to myself as I teleported away.
4:03 a.m. CST
"Need some help?" I asked as Triceratops flew across the late afternoon Asian sky.
"This guy is tough!" Beth cried.
Pride lashed his purple tail up into the sky, connecting solidly with my Assault Vehicle. I screamed in alarm as my A.V. crashed into the ground. As soon as I had my bearings, I righted myself and charged the purple dragon. "How long have you all been fighting?" I asked.
"Hours," Billy complained. "He's tough. We're wearing him down, but he's wearing us down." Billy stomped near Pride in Brachiosaurus A.V. and fired a heavy barrage of green lasers at the dragon.
"Triceratops," I said, "notify me in six minutes." Visual confirmation appeared on a monitor to my left, and I was relieved that my A.V. wasn't talking to me. I then leapt back into battle.
Time Unknown
I teleported into the Command Center to see my past self staring at Sigma's Sword, once again back in the bed of crystals. I wondered briefly if I had just traveled back into the past, or if I had somehow brought my past self into the future, but stopped thinking about it before I made myself dizzy again. "You had to touch the Sword, didn't you?" I asked.
The me of the past's eyes widened as I removed my helmet and revealed a face identical to his. "Huh?" Past Jeremy asked in shock. "You're me."
"Actually, I'm you eight minutes from now," I explained. "You touched the Sword, it attempt to fix your time lagged mind. And it did. Unfortunately, the Sword didn't quite do it right. It made your body hold the mind of eight minutes lagged, so you just lost eight minutes, and it took the you that was eight minutes forward, and made a new body to hold it."
"So which one of us is real?" he asked.
"We both are, neither of us, heck if I know," I said. "All I know is that eight minutes ago, I was you and eight minutes from now, you will be me. You'll understand in eight minutes," I told him, "when you become me and I will be... hmm, I don't know what I'll be. I guess I'll still be eight minutes ahead of you."
"Well how do we put... you back?"
"We'll have Sigma figure something out later," I assured the me of eight minutes prior. "I suggest we try and avoid each other for the rest of the night or we're going to be so confused we won't know whether we're coming or going. Every time we stand this close together, time around us, or time around me's, gets screwed up, or so I was told by the me of the future. We avoid each other at all costs, got it?"
"Deal," he said. "But what have you been doing in the past eight minutes?... Next eight minutes?"
"You're about to find out," I explained. "I have to go back into battle. You'll do what you're gonna do in about thirty seconds, do it for about six minutes, and then come back here to explain it to yourself. Then you'll go do what I'm about to do, and the process repeats itself. Maybe. I'm kinda new at this too. If I figure out exactly what's happening, I'll come tell you. Got it?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment and then affirmed, "Got it. I think."
"Now I gotta go," I said. I teleported away, either going into the future and pushing him eight minutes into the past or leaving him in the present and pushing myself eight minutes into the future. _This is gonna be a weird night..._
6:21 a.m. CST
"Kimberly is stable," Sigma said. "Out like a light, but stable."
"Do you have the Sword on automatic mode?" Omicron asked. "I've got people disappearing all over the planet."
"Yeah," Sigma said, running his hands over his hair. "Man, stress is my least favorite feeling."
"I can't believe its taking this long," Nadia said. "They've been fighting nearly ten hours."
"Speaking of time," Omicron said, forcing her way into the conversation, "we've got some kind of weird disturbance with Jeremy."
"What do you mean?" Nadia asked.
"For starters, I'm getting two readings from him," Omicron explained.
"You're probably just picking up Billy," Nadia suggested.
"No, the twin readings are coming from the exact same spot," Omicron told them. "For the most part. About an hour ago, I had one reading in battle and another here in the Command Center. Then, the reading in battle disappeared, I had two here, then it switched again, and finally, two coming from the battle field."
"What does that have to do with time?" Sigma asked.
"The two signals are identical, but they're eight minutes apart," Omicron said. "One signal is now, and then it is superimposed eight minutes later over a... present signal. Man, I hate time travel."
"So?" Nadia asked.
"I think Jeremy has split himself into two forms, one eight minutes ahead of the other," Omicron said. "Maybe it happened because of the black hole."
Sigma's eyes turned to the Sword. "Did he touch the Sword?"
"Yeah, that's how he cured Kimberly," Nadia said. "Something about the purity of the Sword chased Lust out of her body."
"That's why Crystal isn't split as well," Sigma said. "She's probably got a bit of a lag on her herself. Don't let her touch that Sword. He, or they, or the he's, whatever, seem to be doing okay now. I'll merge him into one being later. If I can."
"How is it possible for him to be in two different bodies in two different times?" Nadia asked.
"I would theorize that the only place past Jeremy and future Jeremy could meet would be near the Sword, since it is responsible for separating them into two bodies," Sigma said.
"Whoa, incoming," Nadia said. Her face immediately fell at the condition of the two Rangers that were coming in. "Oh, this is bad. What Rangers have had any type of medical training?"
"Jeremy, get back here," Omicron commanded over the communication systems. Blue light flashed in the Command Center as I landed there. "What's wrong?"
"We've got some serious injuries in Australia," Nadia said. "I'm going out there, too. Let's go."
Nadia and I teleported away in a parallel streaks of blue and white.
Time Uncertain
"Is there a problem Omicron?" I asked after being paged. "Where are you right now?"
"I'm in the cockpit of Triceratops," I answered. "Are you okay?"
"Teleport to the Command Center right now," Omicron said firmly, "but before you come here, have Triceratops tell you what time it is, Central Time Zone." I figured she had just figured out my time problem, but did as she asked. I landed beside her a split second later and removed my helmet. "Six twenty four a.m. Do you know what's going on now?"
"You're in what is your future," Omicron explained. "Why didn't you mention this when you came here two minutes ago?"
"Huh?"
"Sorry, six minutes in your future."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's six thirty-two here," Omicron said. "Not more than two minutes ago, I just called you here from your A.V., and you did not mention that you had been here six minutes before."
Blue and purple light suddenly landed beside me and Omicron. "Hey, how's it goin'?" Future Jeremy asked me as he hurried Allison's unconscious body to the infirmary.
"Jeremy, what's going on?!" Omicron asked.
"In a minute," Future Jeremy answered. He was in the Infirmary for a few seconds and then ran back out to Omicron and me. "She's figured out that we're temporally dislocated," Future Jeremy told me. "Jeremy, just go back to battle. You'll be brought back here in about four minutes. Don't mention that you've ever been here. Got it?"
"Got it," I said as he teleported away. I had already discovered that it is easier to do what the me from the future tells me to.
6:31 a.m. CST
Mastodon and Tyrannosaurus stood perfectly still, their pilots not in their cockpits. The ruins of a destroyed city was all about them. "There's Allison!" Nadia cried, running over to the still Purple ranger. "Go find Jason! He's the one we have to worry about!"
6:32 a.m. CST
"Oh man!" Omicron cried. "Screen on! Split screen. I want a visual of anything with Jeremy's signature now!" A screen revealed itself on one wall. One side showed Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, and Bat, fighting Pride in Asia, while the other revealed Blue Ranger looking through wreckage for Red Ranger. "Are both of these Jeremy?" Omicron asked.
"Affirmative," the computer told her.
"This is too weird," Omicron said. "Man, I hate time travel! Open a communications line with Triceratops A.V. Not Jeremy with Nadia, Jeremy in the A.V."
"Is there a problem Omicron?" Past Jeremy asked. "Where are you at, right now?"
"I'm in the cockpit of Triceratops," he answered. "Are you okay?"
"Teleport to the Command Center right now," Omicron said firmly, "but before you come here, have Triceratops tell you what time it is, Central Time Zone." A blue teleport stream landed beside her, producing Blue Ranger. He removed his helmet and said, "Six twenty four a.m. Do you know what's going on now?"
"You're in what is your future," Omicron explained. "Why didn't you mention this when you came here two minutes ago?"
"Huh?"
"Sorry, six minutes in your future."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's six thirty-two here," Omicron said. "Not more than two minutes ago, I just called you here from your A.V., and you did not mention that you had been here six minutes before." Blue and purple light suddenly landed beside Past Jeremy and Omicron.
"Hey, how's it goin'?" I asked Past Jeremy as I hurried Allison's unconscious body to the infirmary.
"Jeremy, what's going on?!" Omicron asked.
"In a minute," I answered. I stretched Allison out on a medical bed and removed her helmet. Wishing hard, I gently pressed two fingers against the side of her neck and found a steady pulse. I then ran back out to Past Jeremy and Omicron. "She's figured out that we're temporally dislocated," I told Past Jeremy. "Jeremy, just go back to battle. You'll be brought back here in about four minutes. Don't mention that you've ever been here. Got it?"
"Got it," Past Jeremy said as he teleported away.
"I'm getting a migraine," Omicron complained. "I hate time travel."
6:33 a.m. CST
"I found him!" Nadia cried. "Over here!" I ran up to her side. She knelt beside the silent frame of Red Ranger.
"Jason," I said, reaching out to shake him by the shoulders. "Nadia?"
"Take his helmet off," Nadia said. "Do you know CPR?"
"What are you saying?" I asked. "You think he's dead?"
"Why else do you think I was so panicked?" Nadia snapped. "His vitals just disappeared from the monitors. I'm going to go force de-morph him and bring back a defibrillator as quickly as I can. You start CPR as soon as he's forced de-morphed. Got it?"
"Got it," I said, removing his helmet as she teleported away. Jason's normally tanned skin was a sickening shade of grayish white. "Jason," I whispered, pressing my fingertips against the side of his neck. Despite the gloves, I should still have been able to feel a steady pulse. Even in stand-by mode with my helmet off, the suit almost acts like a second very sensitive skin. I found no pulse. Red light overwhelmed his body, and he de-morphed. I left two fingers against his throat and placed a hand in front of his nose. He wasn't breathing, either. I shot a quick prayer up to the heavens, and quickly located his xiphoid process to begin cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.
6:35 a.m. CST
"Hurry up, Sigma!" Nadia cried. "I don't want that boy's blood on my hands!"
"I'm doing everything I can, Nadia," Sigma said. "The Sword is already strained to the max with over three billion Earthlings stored in it."
"Not now!" Omicron cried. She ran away from Sigma and over to the consoles as yet another alarm went off. "Nadia! Does Duran have a way to access limbo?!"
"Why?" Nadia asked, running up to Omicron.
"Past Jeremy, Billy, and Beth just disappeared along with Pride," Omicron said. "Whenever the computer registers a Ranger as missing, they have more than likely been sent to your limbo."
"Okay, let's get them back," Nadia said. "I've got the energy signature...."
"Screen on, status of Rangers," an unfamiliar female voice said. Nadia and Omicron turned to see an attractive hologram woman with blue hair in a white gown standing before the screen. The computers must have identified her as Sigma, and as such, were giving her unlimited access to the Command Center. Before Omicron or Nadia could say anything, the status of the Rangers, identified solely by color, were filing across the screen. "Which Red Ranger is dead?" the woman asked.
"Catalina?" Omicron asked. "Sigma, get out here!"
"Which Red Ranger is dead?" Catalina wanted to know.
"We've got Armageddon going on here," Nadia snarled. "Get out."
Catalina looked from Nadia and then back to the screen. "Blue, blue, pink, missing. Which blues, which pink? Please tell me."
"Sigma, your friend is here. Get her out of here!" Nadia demanded.
Sigma appeared beside his Sword. "I'll explain later, Cat," Sigma promised. The Sword glowed brightly for a moment, and Catalina was immediately blocked from the dimension. Nadia turned her attention back to the console and quickly entered the energy signature for Limbo.
"That should get them back," Nadia said. "I'm gonna go help Sigma."
6:37 a.m. CST
"-and thirteen and fourteen and fifteen, and breathe," I told myself. I removed my hands from his chest, clamped his nose shut, fitted my mouth over his, and gave him two deep breaths. I then returned to his chest and started the compressions over again.
"Take his shirt off," Nadia said, teleporting in beside me with a very crudely made defibrillator. "The paddles have to be used against bare skin."
I placed my hands at the neck of Jason's shirt, and relying on the strength from the armor, even in stand-by mode, tore it off of him as easily as if it were paper. "Don't touch his body," Nadia said. She placed the fist-sized electrodes on his chest and flipped a switch on the machine connected to them. Jason's body convulsed once, and then collapsed back against the ground.
"Dammit. Let me try again." She hit him with another burst of electricity. His heart beat once, and then stopped. "No! He can't die like this! This isn't even his home he's fighting for!"
Rather than let him be pronounced dead, I resumed CPR. On the third compression, the sickening crack of a rib reached my ears, but I continued. "Nadia," I grunted, "the defibrillator is just working wrong. Now either go fix it or do two-man CPR with me."
Nadia nodded woodenly, but then stopped dead cold. "I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!" she said. "I'm such an idiot!"
"What are you talking about? -and fifteen, breathe."
"I'll be back," she said, teleporting away in a streak of white.
6:38 a.m. CST
"Nadia, you're back just in time," Omicron said. "It's about killed the both of them, but Kat and Dana have nearly finished with Envy." A red alarm sounded, to which Omicron cried, "Swan just crashed into the ocean!"
"Kamikaze," Nadia said. "If they don't kamikaze their A.V.'s, they'll never have the edge to take Envy down. Tell them that, now."
"Swan is downed," Omicron said. "She's not coming back. She took a heavy hit. Katherine's out cold. I'll teleport her here now." Pink light streaked into the Command Center, producing Katherine who immediately slumped to the floor.
"Dana, I know it sounds ugly, but there is only one sure-fire way to get rid of your dragon," Nadia told her. "Set Hummingbird on self-destruct and impale Gluttony with the beak. Bail out and get back here. I'll take care of the rest."
Dana didn't reply, but did as she was told. A few seconds later, one of Nadia's empty crystals glowed yellow, and Green Ranger teleported into the Command Center. She collapsed against a console, obviously worn out.
"You did good, girl," Omicron said. "Go rest in the infirmary. And be careful when you de-morph." To Nadia, she asked, "how is Jason doing?"
"I think I captured his soul in the crystal with Envy," Nadia said. "Without a soul, his body sees no need to live. I've got one of the Jeremy's doing CPR on him. I'm going to try and extract Jason's soul from this crystal." She grabbed the black crystal from the back of the console and disappeared into a back room to work in private.
6:41 a.m. CST
"-and twelve and thirteen and fourteen and fifteen and breathe," I muttered to myself. Just as I closed my mouth over his, he gave a chortled cry and threw up. I quickly wrenched away and forcefully expelled his stomach's contents from my mouth. "Jason? You alive?"
He choked again and glanced up at me. "Wha-?"
"You're alive," I said. "Thank you God!" I brought my left hand up to my mouth and announced, "We're alive! Bring us back!"
6:42 a.m. CST
I washed my mouth out with water again and spit it out. I was actually surprised at how lax I was with the fact that somebody had just thrown up in my mouth, and I finally understood what my CPR instructor had meant. When you have just saved someone's life, the vomit doesn't occur to you much. However, I could still taste it, and that did not sit well with me at all.
"Mouthwash," Nadia said, handing me a freshly synthesized bottle of blue liquid.
"Thanks," I told her, opening the top and taking a deep swig.
"Jeremy, get in here!" Omicron called. "He's back again." I set the mouthwash down and ran back into the main room to see Future Jeremy standing by Omicron without a helmet.
"I'm eight minutes from the future again. You have to do what I tell you. Understand?"
"I understand," I told him.
"You need to go help Crystal, Rocky, and Tara with Greed in Antarctica," Future Jeremy said. "They've almost got him beat but not quite enough. But you don't need to go save the day. Crystal and Rocky are doing excellent on the ground with Saber-Toothed Tiger. But Tara in Bumblebee is suddenly getting the crap beaten out of her. Flying A.V.'s aren't gonna cut it. Take the Bear and get a ground attack. Get Greed off of Tara's case, have her set the Bee on self-destruct and take Greed out. Understand? We'll tell Tara of the plan from here. In eight minutes, you'll be finished. Come back here in eight minutes and you can figure out the rest."
"Got it," I said, teleporting away.
6:45 a.m. CST
I was already halfway to Antarctica when Tyrannosaurus A.V. and Mastodon A.V. combined into the shared Bear Assault Vehicle for Crystal and Allison. I felt slightly daunted at the empty seat beside me but pushed that thought from my mind. I wondered for a moment how Rocky and Crystal were sharing Saber-Tooth Tiger, and then remembered that the Jaguar Cockpit for the merging of Brachiosaurus and Saber-Tooth Tiger was stored in the Yellow A.V. Omicron had probably just called the extra seat into the cockpit for Crystal. "Tara, you know what we're doing?"
"I'm waiting for you, Jeremy," she said.
Bear touched down at the coast of Antarctica and ran soundly across the snowed covered continent. The red and purple A.V. ran so fast that if a snow pocket collapsed beneath me, I didn't fall through it. I suddenly saw the gargantuan green form of Greed before me. I attempted to stop, but Bear began to slide. "Clear out of the way!" I shouted. Dark red claws retracted from Bear's paws and attempted to dig into the ground, but they only met snow. Greed turned to look at the gargantuan A.V. slide past.
"Get out of here!" Tara shouted. "I've got this guy now!" Bumblebee zoomed toward Greed as I lifted Bear A.V. off of the ground and headed away. Yellow sparkles of light glanced off of my armor as Tara teleported into the seat next to mine. "Greed is taken care of," she assured me. A second later, a giant mushroom cloud rose up where Greed had been.
"Why don't you three take these A.V.'s to Asia to help Billy and Beth," I suggested. "Tell Beth to sacrifice Bat to take Pride out. That's pretty much the only way that's been working. I have something to take care of elsewhere."
Time Uncertain
I teleported into the Command Center at some point in the past. "Jeremy, get in here!" Omicron cried. "He's back again."
I had removed my helmet by the time Past Jeremy ran into the main room. "I'm eight minutes from the future again. You have to do what I tell you. Understand?" I told him.
"I understand," Past Jeremy promised.
"You need to go help Crystal, Rocky, and Tara with Greed in Antarctica," I said. "They've almost got him beat but not quite enough. But you don't need to go save the day. Crystal and Rocky are doing excellent on the ground with Saber-Toothed Tiger. But Tara in Bumblebee is suddenly getting the crap beaten out of her. Flying A.V.'s aren't gonna cut it. Take the Bear and get a ground attack. Get Greed off of Tara's case, have her set the Bee on self-destruct and take Greed out. Understand? We'll tell Tara of the plan from here. In eight minutes, you'll be finished. Come back here in eight minutes and you can figure out the rest."
"Got it," he said, teleporting away.
"And I've figured out something as well," I told Omicron. "Sometimes one of me's goes into the past, sometimes the future. I think the Sword is controlling where I go. Like right now, I'm in what is my past. As soon as I leave here, I'll go eight minutes into the future, back into battle."
"There are only two sins left," Nadia said. "Pride, and Anger. We haven't seen hide nor hair of Anger, so I'm guessing he'll be the final kicker."
"What's going on?" Allison asked groggily. She wandered into the Command Center with her helmet tucked under her arm.
"You were knocked out," Nadia told her. "How you feeling?"
"Groggy," she said. "Have we won yet?"
"Not yet," I sighed. "We're a whole lot closer though. What should I do?"
"Take Triceratops and go back to Asia," Omicron said. "I don't like the readings we're getting on Billy and Beth. Pride must be sucking energy straight out of them. They're weak and they are about to lose it."
"Back to action!"
7:12 a.m. CST
I teleported into the Command Center with a fallen Beth in my arms. "What happened?" Allison asked, hurrying over to us. I carried my partner into the Infirmary and laid her down on a bed. I motioned for Sigma, and then turned back to Allison. "Bat took a heavy hit and Beth just lost it," I said. "Think you can handle it?"
"A flying A.V.?" Allison asked warily. "I'm not quite all there yet. How about a ground?"
"You take Triceratops and I'll take Bat," I suggested. "We need to blow Pride up anyway."
"That's the only thing that will work," Future Jeremy said. Allison and I turned to see him standing in the doorway.
"Jeremy?" Allison asked, looking from me to the other Jeremy. I removed my helmet so she could be certain I wasn't an impostor. "I'll explain later," I assured her. "Blow up Bat to take out Pride. I've got that. That's our last Flight A.V. What about Anger?"
"He's just shown up where I am," Future Jeremy said. "He's strong and he's pissed. I came back to tell you to keep Triceratops out of battle. You are going to need the Mega A.V. to take Anger out. I don't even know if that will be enough. He's strong. Allison is a bit groggy, and no offense, but we can't afford to lose Triceratops. Billy nearly lost Brachiosaurus for us. Allison, go have Omicron call him back."
"Jeremy?" Allison asked me.
"Do it," I nodded. "What about for the Mega? How many pilots will we have for it?"
"We'll need as many as we can get," Future Jeremy said. "Us, of course, Rocky, Tara, and Crystal are definites. I don't want to do it with just four, but I guess we'll have to. If Allison gets perked up a bit more in the next few minutes, then we'll use her. Dana too, if she wakes up. I have to go. And be careful. You'll almost lose Tyrannosaurus out there. Ram Pride with Bat to knock him out of the way. He'll be down and self-destruct yourself on top of him."
"Understood," I said. I teleported away in a streak of blue.
7:18 a.m. CST
"I got 'em," she said. "I don't see Anger yet, but we'll let you know as soon as we do. Oh crap! There he is!" The gargantuan form of Anger suddenly dropped from the sky, shaking the Earth hard. He bent over at the waist and breathed out a cloud of fire. I promptly teleported away, headed for a point in my past.
Time Uncertain
Blue sparks of light bounced off of the ground as I materialized in the center of the large lighted grid in the Command Center. I turned my attention to the infirmary doors, usually shut although tonight they had been open continually. I hurried over to the doors, removing my helmet in the process, just in time to catch the tail end of a previous conversation. "You take Triceratops and I'll take Bat," Past Jeremy suggested to Allison. "We need to blow Pride up anyway."
"That's the only thing that will work," I said. The two Rangers turned to look at me.
"Jeremy?" Allison asked, looking from Past Jeremy to me. Past Jeremy removed his helmet to prove to Allison that he wasn't a fake.
"I'll explain later," Past Jeremy assured her. "Blow up Bat to take out Pride. I've got that. That's our last Flight A.V. What about Anger?"
"He's just shown up where I am," I said. "He's strong and he's pissed. I came back to tell you to keep Triceratops out of battle. You are going to need the Mega A.V. to take Anger out. I don't even know if that will be enough. He's strong. Allison is a bit groggy, and no offense, but we can't afford to lose Triceratops. Billy nearly lost Brachiosaurus for us. Allison, go have Omicron call him back."
"Jeremy?" Allison asked Past Jeremy.
"Do it," he nodded. "What about for the Mega? How many pilots will we have for it?"
"We'll need as many as we can get," I said. "Us, of course, Rocky, Tara, and Crystal are definites. I don't want to do it with just four, but I guess we'll have to. If Allison gets perked up a bit more in the next few minutes, then we'll use her. Dana too, if she wakes up. I have to go. And be careful. You'll almost lose Tyrannosaurus out there. Ram Pride with Bat to knock him out of the way. He'll be down and self-destruct yourself on top of him."
"Understood," he said. My past self teleported away in a streak of blue. I ran up to Allison after she gave Omicron my orders. "Allison, how are you feeling?" I asked.
"I'm a bit sleepy," she said, "but that's all. I'm clear. I'm thirsty."
"Let's get you something to drink," I told her. "We're going to need your help in the Mega A.V.," I said calmly as I led her to the infirmary. "I don't want you out there if you don't think you can handle it, because in a battle like this, unless we're all running at peak efficiency, you'll do more damage than good."
"I think I can handle it," Allison assured me. I led her to a table in a back corner of the futuristic medical room and proceeded to get her a glass of water.
"I have to go, Allison," I said. "If you can handle a fight, then be ready to go in about seven minutes. Okay?"
"You got it," she said.
"Back to action!" I cried. The helmet reformed around my head, placing me in Power Mode, and I teleported to the point in the future from where I had just left.
7:20 a.m. CST
"What are we gonna do?" Crystal cried.
"We have to go for the Mega A.V.," I said. "Personals will be worthless!"
"He's right," Tara agreed. "Is it just the four of us driving?"
"Five," Allison said as she appeared beside me, fully morphed.
I smiled at her behind my helmet and said, "You guys ready to do this?"
"Let's take this guy down," Rocky said.
"Mega Assault Vehicle!" the five of us cried in unison. "Power Up!" Triceratops, Pterodactyl, and Brachiosaurus suddenly flew through the nighttime sky of Asia. Mastodon, Tyrannosaurus, and Saber-Tooth Tiger lifted off of the ground as well, and the A.V.'s quickly formed the transformation into the Mega A.V.
Allison and I cast a glance at each other and then up at the shiny colored robot that towered before us. "Let's go!" Allison said firmly. I gave a quick nod of my head, and we leapt into the air. As soon as our feet left the ground, we melted into line-of-sight teleportation streaks and darted into the cockpit. I materialized in my chair, top center. Crystal sat to my right with Allison on the bottom level below her. Dana's chair, which sat to my left, was currently occupied by Tara, while Rocky was dead center bottom in Beth's chair.
"Power Sword Now!" we all cried. A shiny silver sword appeared in our A.V.'s hands. Anger looked at us angrily, unfurled his wings, and summoned a Sword of Fire in his hands.
"We keep this battle short, sweet, and it ends in our victory," Crystal said.
"Agreed," the rest of us said in eerie unison. With that declaration, the final battle of Armageddon was on.
7:28 a.m.
"No!" I shouted. I jumped from my seat down to the empty seat in the bottom level. I had gotten far too reliant on having Dana present in the cockpit. When morphed, she was our technical genius, and I was used to her spoon-feeding us information. "Tara, what are you readings up there?"
"We're losing energy fast," Tara said. The cockpit lurched as Crystal, Rocky, and Allison were still parrying with Anger. A suddenly strike from his sword hit out A.V. in the chest, sending us backwards. We had only been fighting for eight minutes, and our A.V. was already running out of energy. "There is no way we can be losing energy this fast," I told Tara. "It's just not possible."
"He's draining us," Tara said. "Nadia, is that possible?"
"I can't imagine how he would do it without direct contact, but that sounds like something he would do," Nadia said over the communications line.
"Maybe he's drawing it through his sword whenever he hits us," Rocky suggested. He quickly gave the command that made the Mega A.V. somersault away, narrowly missing a powerful thrust from his flaming sword.
"You guys," I said unhappily, "there's only one way out of this mess and we all know what it is."
"We've had these A.V.'s for over two years," Crystal said sadly.
"We've had the planet for thousands," Allison told her.
"I'm in," I said, my throat suddenly feeling horribly restricted. "We self-destruct and take Anger down with us. What's your votes? We'll do what the team wants."
"I'm in," Tara said firmly.
"Me too," Allison affirmed, giving me a thumbs up.
"Count me in," Crystal added in a cracked voice.
"It's agreed," I said. "You guys lure Anger closer. Get ready to grab him in a bear hug if you have to."
"We'll turn our weapons on ourselves," Tara said. I nodded, and the two of us quickly began to initiate an on-the-spur self-destruct sequence.
"We've got him in position now!" Rocky shouted. "Can you get us to blow in five seconds?"
"Not a problem," I said. "Blue Ranger overrides lack of Pink and Green, Blue affirms."
"Yellow affirms," Tara said hurriedly.
"Rocky get us in position," I said.
"Red affirms," Crystal nodded.
"And when we teleport out, teleport down," I said. "It's best he doesn't know what we're doing."
"Purple affirms," Allison said.
"Three..." a soothing female voice said. "Two...."
"Let's go," I said. Five streams of light lit up in the cockpit and we immediately dropped straight down. "One...."
7:30 a.m. CST
Blue, purple, red, and yellow light danced along the ground as we teleported a safe distance away from the Mega A.V. The five of us removed our helmets just as our Assault Vehicles exploded. A brilliantly beautiful cloud of white smoke, lit up with all six colors of light, burst forth from Anger and the Mega A.V. Despite what the explosion took away from us, I had to admit that it did look beautiful against the night time sky.
"It's gone," Crystal said softly.
"It's over," Tara remarked.
"They were just machines, Crystal," I said.
"You don't believe that any more than I do," she sighed softly.
"No," I agreed.
Rocky looked at the explosion before him in silent awe. It was eerily reminiscent of seeing the ThunderZords die, an occurrence that haunted his dreams for several weeks after the incident. He had no advice to offer. Suddenly, a red mass leapt from the ground before us. We all defensively jumped back.
"Anger," Allison said.
However, he was hurt. He was dying. Anger no longer stood tall and proud. He was reduced to a bleeding mass of flesh, barely able to support himself. Tara quickly tapped the large coin on her chest, morphing her back into Power Mode with helmet latched in place. She silently called her Saber-Tooth Tiger Bow and Arrow and pointed it at Anger. Pulling back on the bow, a yellow arrow materialized. "Rest in hell, Duran," Tara said coldly. She fired a yellow arrow point blank into his face. Anger's body of flesh died immediately. A cylindrical spire of a crystal appeared above Duran's remains. Red light began to blow across his body and flowed up into the crystal, which promptly began to spin with a preternatural force. Leaving my helmet in the crook of my left arm, I reached out with my right hand. The crystal stopped spinning and dropped into my open palm. It glowed with an unearthly red light, holding the last of Duran's power. The five of us began to slowly walk toward our dead Assault Vehicles. Brightly colored pieces of metal lay everywhere, along with other unrecognizable components from their interior systems. Showers of sparks were shooting up from everywhere.
"Hey you guys!" a familiar voice shouted. I looked up to see Future Jeremy standing atop the remains of Triceratops.
"Jeremy!" I called. "Is something wrong?!"
"No, everything's fine," he assured us. "You need to get back to the Command Center. Sigma will explain what's going on!"
"Jeremy?" Tara asked. "What's going in?"
"Let's go the Command Center," I said. "I'll let Sigma explain it there."
7:35 a.m. CST
"I believe this is yours," I said, placing a blood red crystal in Nadia's hand.
Nadia gathered the seven crystal up and stared at them. They cast colored beams of light onto her face, and despite the evil they possessed, they were beautiful. "Sigma? Is the rip ready?"
"I can open it any time," he said.
"Do it," Nadia said. A long thin rip appeared before Nadia, floating in the air. Blackness was within, but before any of us could have a chance to look inside it, she tossed the seven crystal in. Duran's sudden scream, long and angry, burst from the crystals, but as soon as the rip disappeared, the scream disappeared with it. "It's over?" Tara asked eagerly.
"It's over," Omicron promised.
"It's over!" Crystal and I shouted in unison. There was a brief relapse from order while a small celebration among those who were conscious was underway.
Sigma suddenly pulled me aside and said, "I think I know how to fix your temporal displacement."
"Oh, that'll be great," I told him. "This is getting so confusing. Future Jeremy just told me to go back to the Command Center from the battle field." A burst of light flew from the Sword and struck me in the chest. White light danced along my body and then dissipated. "The Sword obviously knows what it is doing," Sigma said. "Teleport to the battle field, and if you go into the past, tell them to come back here."
"You got it," I said.
Time Uncertain
I landed on top of a huge piece of Triceratops' chassis, just as a shower of blue sparks burst forth. I shielded my face from them and shouted, "Hey you guys!"
Past Jeremy looked up at me and called, "Jeremy! Is something wrong?!"
"No, everything's fine," I assured them. "You need to get back to the Command Center. Sigma will explain what's going on!"
"Jeremy?" Tara asked my doppelganger from the past. "What's going in?"
"Let's go the Command Center," he said. "I'll let Sigma explain it there."
I watched as five streams of light darted into the sky and vanished. "I guess I should go back as well," I remarked to myself.
7:43 a.m. CST
My teleportation signal split into two as soon as I appeared in the Command Center. When I materialized, I realized that Future Jeremy was standing beside me. I knew it had to be him, because I didn't remember experiencing a dual teleport.
"Hey," Future Jeremy said.
"Hi," I said. "Eight minutes?"
"Eight minutes," Future Jeremy said. "He's gonna merge us in a minute. In my future, we're fine. But I had to come back in the past to make sure this would happen. I don't completely understand it still."
"I hate time travel," I commented.
"Tell me about it," Future Jeremy added.
"Now this is just plain weird," Tara said.
"Now which one of you is Future Jeremy?" Sigma asked.
"That would be me," Future Jeremy told him, raising his hand.
"So you're the one who is temporally dislocated, now?"
"I think so," Future Jeremy said after a moment.
"Crystal, this concerns you, too," Sigma told her.
"What's wrong with me?" Crystal asked.
"You're lagged, too," Future Jeremy said, "because of the black hole."
"There aren't two of me," Crystal said.
"That's because you didn't touch the Sword," I told her.
Sigma jumped up to the pedestal and stood behind his Sword. "Jeremy," he began. "Which one," Future Jeremy and I said in unison.
"Past Jeremy," Sigma said, "as soon as I've done this, you're going to teleport out and then back to the Command Center to be Future Jeremy, and then he will become the real and only you. Got it?"
"I hate time travel."
"Got it?"
"Yeah, I got it."
Crystal and both versions of me stood before the Sword. "This might tingle a bit," Sigma said. The Sword flashed white, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with the color blue.
Time Uncertain
I teleported into the Command Center along with an identical streak of blue. One materialized into me, and the other produced me from the past. "Hey," I said.
"Hi," Past Jeremy said. "Eight minutes?"
"Eight minutes," I said. "He's gonna merge us in a minute. In my future, we're fine. But I had to come back in the past to make sure this would happen. I don't completely understand it still."
"I hate time travel," Past Jeremy commented.
"Tell me about it," I added.
"Now this is just plain weird," Tara said, looking at the both of us.
"Now which one of you is Future Jeremy?" Sigma asked.
"That would be me," I told him, raising my hand.
"So you're the one who is temporally dislocated, now?"
"I think so," I said after a moment. _I hate time travel._
"Crystal, this concerns you, too," Sigma told her.
"What's wrong with me?" Crystal asked.
"You're lagged, too," I said, "because of the black hole."
"There aren't two of me," Crystal said.
"That's because you didn't touch the Sword," Past Jeremy told her.
Sigma jumped up to the pedestal and stood behind his Sword. "Jeremy," he began.
"Which one," Past Jeremy and I said in unison. I shook my head stupidly, cursing my extremely short attention span. I should have remembered which Jeremy he meant from the first time I lived through it.
"Past Jeremy," Sigma said, "as soon as I've done this, you're going to teleport out and then back to the Command Center to be Future Jeremy, and then he will become the real and only you. Got it?"
"I hate time travel."
"Got it?"
"Yeah, I got it."
Crystal and both versions of me stood before the Sword. "This might tingle a bit," Sigma said. The Sword flashed white, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with the color blue. I turned to see Past Jeremy teleport away. My body flashed blue, just as Crystal flashed red.
7:51 a.m. CST
"I think that did it," I said as the blue flash subsided.
"We were wondering when you'd come back," Sigma remarked.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You just lost eight minutes of your life," Crystal said. "We both disappeared to set the time line straight or something. I hate time travel."
"How much did you lose?" I asked her.
"Three minutes," she said, very nonchalantly.
"Is this over and done with?" I asked. "Do I have to worry about dodging my future self for the rest of my life?"
"I think there is just one of you now," Sigma said. "Man alive, talk about a happy ending."
The downed Rangers began to walk out of the infirmary. All looked weak, but they were awake and alive. "How'd that happen?" I asked.
"The Sword," Sigma said. "It fixed their injuries."
"The Assault Vehicles didn't survive," I told Beth and Dana.
"We know," Dana said. "But you did what you had to do."
"How long will it take you to make new ones?" Allison asked Sigma.
"A while," Sigma said. "The Sword is pretty drained from everything that's happened. It has put everyone back where they should be now, along with last night's memories of what they should have experienced, and all of the damage and debris has been taken care of. As for the A.V.'s, at least a month."
"It'll be at least a month until another attack," Nadia said. "I promise."
"Oh yeah, I guess you are an enemy now, aren't you?" I asked in shock.
"I suppose I am," she said. She walked over to a console and muttered, "I should go." She teleported away in a bright streak of white.
"We won," Tara said happily. "Duran is gone."
8:29 a.m. CST
"Shower's all yours," I said to Rocky as I walked past him, attempting to comb my short wet hair with my fingers.
"How are you feeling?" Kat asked Jason.
"Still a bit sore," he said. He smiled at me as I came in and said, "Thanks."
"Not a problem," I told him. I flopped down in a nearby chair and breathed out a sigh of relief. I hadn't felt that good in ages. I felt a slight twinge of pain at knowing Triceratops was dead, but I think she was a good sacrifice for the Earth.
"I'm going to bed," Kat said.
"This has been just too long a night for me." Kimberly walked into the living room just as Katherine left. "Did the dream come true?" Kimberly asked.
"Sort of," I said. "Crystal and I were imprisoned in a black hole, you got a pretty ugly wound on your shoulder, and Jason was dead for about half an hour." I got out of my recliner and walked out onto the porch. Kimberly was close behind.
"The world looks prettier today, doesn't it?" she asked.
"It sure does," I smiled. "Today is the first day of summer. I hope this adrenaline rush wears off before long so I can get to sleep."
"I'm sorry about your A.V.'s," Kimberly said. "I know it hurts."
"It was for the greater good," I assured her. "Besides, we still have our powers. We're not down."
"I think everything is gonna be okay," Kimberly said with a smile.
"Yeah," I agreed. "Everything is gonna be okay."
End... for now
