Chapter Sixteen: Approaching Fire
The seven Rangers ran into the Zord Holding Bay, slightly winded despite the protective power of their suits. "What's the plan, Billy?" Skull asked.
"Alpha has re-configured the Zords to recognize all of us," Billy said. "We just have to move them down to Omega Bay."
A huge trap door in the back of the Holding Bay rumbled open, revealing a dark tunnel stretching down into the bowels of the earth. "Is that big enough for all of our Zords?" Zack asked.
"It should be," Billy replied. "You might have to bend some of them over, but they'll fit." Billy didn't mind saying that he was more than a little worried about the Giraffe, Super Zeo, and Red Battle Zords. The tunnel had been built long before any of them had even been thought of. "Be careful with flying Zords," Billy reminded. "In fact..."
"I'll get them, Billy," Kimberly volunteered. He was glad to know the flying Zords were in her care. She had, after all, driven ninety-five percent of all flying Zords in the Rangers' Zord arsenal.
"Okay," Jason said. "Let's get 'em movin' guys."
* * *
Tommy stepped out onto the balcony of the station's high-rise office. His view of Paris at midnight would have been breathtaking had it not been for the hideous cloud resting just above the city. No teleport, no communication, nothing. "The Power Rangers have lost," Tommy whispered.
* * *
Jenga walked across the silent, cold vacuum that comprised the moon's atmosphere. She reached her destination, and stopped. Footsteps of Earthlings, more than twenty years old, remained. She considered destroying them but decided against. She never actually intended to kill the population of Earth. At least not as soon as she had been forced to. "Not that I care," she said aloud, although with no atmosphere, her voice did not carry. She had teleported to the infamous site to destroy the flag that technically claimed the moon, but decided against it. There was no point in it. With a silent chuckle, she teleported back to the palace.
* * *
_Careful,_ Zack said to himself. _Careful._ The shiny black Zord was nearly at the end of the long tunnel. He had the neck bent over and was crawling on its knees. Billy was close behind him in the Red BattleZord. It was crawling on its hands and knees, as were Super Zeo Zords I through IV, piloted by Kimberly, Trini, Aisha, and Jason. Skull was in the process of calling DragonZord from the raging sea.
Zack finally cleared the tunnel. He moved the GiraffeZord to the back of the Omega Bay, line-of-sight teleported out of the cockpit and started the trek back to the top. As he ran up the steep two-mile stairwell to the Holding Bay, he had a brief, extremely bizarre thought. _What if the Rangers were like really fast cars? They could drive little go-carts and run real fast. Maybe even have headlights on their helmets!_ he thought to himself. _They could have car zords!_ He dismissed the thought as an idiotic quirk.
He made it to the Holding Bay in time to see DragonZord enter the building. The giant machine walked over to a far corner. Skull line-of-sight teleported out of the Zord. "What am I gonna do about this monstrosity?" Skull asked.
As if in cue, a ding sounded and two doors slid open. Billy, Kimberly, Trini, Aisha, and Jason stepped out. "How did you guys get up here so fast?" Zack asked.
"Elevator," Billy said. "Did I forget to tell you?"
"Yeah," Zack said. "Would've been nice to know."
"What do I do about her?" Skull asked. "Will she fit in the tunnel?"
"I doubt it," Billy said. "She's the size of a MegaZord but not very flexible. We'll have to wait for teleportation to come back on line and teleport her down there.
"But the lava is really close," Skull said, moving the massive green and black Zord to a far corner of the Holding Bay. He had seen how close the lava was, and did not want to see the majestic Zord destroyed. Even though he had yet to pilot the Zord into battle, and the Dragon was not his guide or Power Source, he was wearing the Green Dragon armor and couldn't help but feel a strong connection with the Zord.
"We don't have a choice," Billy answered. "If it were to get stuck in the tunnel, we'd lose all of our Zords to the lava."
"I'm sure it'll be okay, Skull," Kimberly said.
Skull was thankful for the helmet. He knew his face was bright red due to Kimberly's attention. He forced the approaching forbidden thoughts from his mind.
"Jason, you go first with Warrior Wheel," Billy said. "Kim, you take Phoenix. Skull, Trini, and Aisha, you take some NinjaZords down. Zack, come with me."
"What's the plan, Bill-man?" Zack asked.
"You take the Sphinx and ZeoZord I. You'll have to back down the tunnel with Zord I leading the way. There is a button on the Sphinx's console that will make Kat's Zord tilt back about eighty degrees. That's the only way I can see us getting it down the tunnel," Billy said.
Zack nodded in agreement. He hurried to the Zords and began the careful maneuvering that would get it down the tunnel intact.
* * *
"Hurry!" Tanya shouted. She was encouraging the people to get indoors. She continued to yell encouragement, despite the fact that very few people around her understood English. Hail the size of softballs was raining down on the city. They were not having any effect on her due to her shiny, yellow armor. However, the other people were quickly succumbing to the elements.
Suddenly, a low guttural rumbling began beneath the city. "Huh?" she asked, a split second before Tokyo was swallowed by the Earth, along with its many inhabitants and Tanya.
* * *
Sabba carefully guided White TigerZord down the tunnel, leaving Aisha free to help with the other Zords. It seemed they had been working for hours, yet it was actually only forty minutes. Despite the length of time they had been working, more than half of the Zords remained.
Billy looked out at the rapidly approaching lava. He knew they had at least twenty minutes before the teleportation would be on-line, and the lava would be inside the Holding Bay in less than ten. He turned around and saw all of the Zords still waiting to be moved. The DinoZords, DragonZord, the ThunderZords, and several of the NinjaZords. _There is just no way,_ he said to himself.
* * *
"Aye-yi-yi, Zordon," Alpha said frantically. "The lava is almost at the Holding Bay, and the teleporter isn't on line yet!"
"Continue working as fast as you can, Alpha," Zordon said. "You and the Rangers are doing your best."
"I know you are right, Zordon," Alpha said, "but...."
A calmer, seldom-used alarm sounded. The robot paused and slowly turned to look at the rotating blue light beneath Zordon's tube. _Could it be?_ the wise old sage asked himself.
* * *
The CraneZord drifted down the tunnel. Kimberly held a tight grip on the control lever, cautious not to bump Skull in front of her in his RabbitZord. "Rangers," Alpha said through their radios in their helmets.
"Communication are back online!" Billy shouted happily.
"Is teleport?" Zack asked.
"Not yet Rangers," Alpha said, "and communication is only short-range, but I'm working on it. Alpha Five out."
Kimberly was grateful for the air conditioning within her suit. She was burning up, not due to climate but stress. The CraneZord was just so long, she kept bumping its beak or tail against the tunnel walls. The tunnel was at just the wrong slant to keep the trek difficult.
"Howya doin' back there Kim?" Skull asked as if reading her thoughts. She jerked with a start, having already forgotten that they could communicate again. The CraneZord's nose slammed into the tunnel's floor. Sparks streaked up all around the Zord. With a cry of fear, she pulled back on the control lever to correct her mistake. Immediately, the nose of the Zord hit the ceiling and the tail end scraped the ground. "Watch out Skull!" Kimberly cried. The CraneZord immediately began its frantic slide down the tunnel, wedged against both the ceiling and floor of the tunnel. Red lights began to flash in Skull's cockpit. One of the monitors on his console clearly depicted the CraneZord barreling down on him. The RabbitZord simply could not go any faster. It moved like a real rabbit, traveling by hops. He was having to go at an unbelievably slow pace to keep the hops short. There was only another three hundred feet of tunnel left, but he could not possibly go any faster. "Hurry Skull!" Kimberly pleaded.
"I am, I am!" he replied in a frantic voice.
Suddenly, the CraneZord slammed into RabbitZord. With a cry from both Rangers, the two Zords tangled up in each other. The Crane's neck bent nearly ninety degrees and Rabbit was forced onto its front haunches. Suddenly, a feature seldom-used was activated. Immediate teleport out and demorph. It was used when Rita nearly destroyed them with Cyclopsis, and again when Rito destroyed the ThunderZords. It was normally very reliable, but the only teleportation on-line was line-of-sight. Billy was next in line behind the crane, and realized he was their only hope. With two flashes of light, Kimberly and Skull were ejected from their Zords. The two landed, demorphed, in front of the two sliding Zords. "Kimberly?" Skull asked.
"Run Skull run!" Kimberly shouted. She crawled to her feet and grabbed Skull's arm.
"Why can't we just morph again?" he asked.
"Forty-five second default wait," she said. "Run!"
Billy ran the WolfZord down the tunnel much faster than he should have. He ran up to the Crane and locked his jaw onto the CraneZord's body. He pulled back on both of his control levers, making the Wolf Zord sit down on its haunches. The Crane and Rabbit slowed down but did not stop. The three hundred feet to the end of the tunnel suddenly seemed very far away. Skull and Kimberly ran down the steep tunnel, the entangled Zords just a few feet behind them.
"Almost there," Kimberly breathed. She stepped out of the tunnel. Suddenly, a sharp pain streaked up her leg. With a cry, she hit the ground. "SKULL!" she screamed.
He turned around and saw Kimberly sprawled out on the ground. Her foot was wedged in the small crack where the tunnel and Omega Bay met. Skull slid to a stop and ran back to Kimberly. "Help me," she breathed.
"Hold tight," Skull said. He wrapped both hands around her ankle and pulled. Kimberly gave a slight cry but pulled free. Skull suddenly remembered. "Move!" Skull screamed. He shoved Kimberly aside and jumped away. The green body of the RabbitZord slammed into Skull's legs, flipping him onto his back. The CraneZord, locked into a mechanical embrace with the Rabbit, slammed into the right side of his body, knocking him aside. Lastly, the WolfZord followed them out of the tunnel. The three Zords finally came to a halt.
"Are you okay?" Kimberly asked, rushing over to Skull.
He sat up, cradling his right arm. "I guess," he said. "I think its broken."
"Skull," she said sympathetically. "I am so sorry."
A blue line of light shot from the Zord, producing Billy. He removed his helmet and crouched beside Skull. "I can fix you up later," Billy said. "Morph, and you'll be in good enough shape to drive Zords."
"Won't that hurt even worse when he de-morphs?" Kimberly asked.
"Do you have a better idea?" Skull asked. Billy helped him to his feet. Skull produced his Power Morpher in his left hand, shouted, "GREEN DRAGON --- RABBIT!" The green armor appeared in a green flash. "At least it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Let's get back to work," Kimberly said.
"It's too late," Trini said through her communicator. "The lava is coming up to the doors."
"We don't have time but for one more trip," Aisha agreed. "You all get up here fast."
"PTERODACTYL --- CRANE!" Kimberly shouted. "Let's get up there."
* * *
"At least we have the NinjaZords down here," Zack said as the six final Zords journeyed down the tunnel.
"The DinoZords and ThunderZords are all we're losing," Trini said.
"And DragonZord," Skull said sadly.
"I don't see the point anymore," Jason said. "The entire planet is dying. We've always protected the citizens from Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. With no citizens, what is the point?" No one had an answer.
* * *
With a delightful whir, the teleportation system came back on-line. "Aye-yi-yi Zordon! We did it! Rangers, teleport back to the Power Chamber. I am about to teleport the remaining Zords to Omega Bay," Alpha said.
Seven columns of light dropped into the Power Chamber. "You're going to be able to save all of them?" Billy asked excitedly.
"I already have," Alpha said proudly. "Closing the tunnel off... now." A deep rumbling shook the Power Chamber to its core, telling the Rangers that the tunnel had clamped shut.
A black teleportation stream, tinged with gold, dropped into the Power Chamber. "The world is dying," Bulk said.
"One point four billion," Trini said, looking at the diminishing section of the pie chart that represented human life.
"Skull," Billy said, "give me a few minutes to prepare the med room and I'll take a look at your arm."
"Should I get out of the armor first?" Skull asked.
"I wouldn't just yet," Billy advised.
"Its gonna hurt like nobody's business," Zack said.
Kimberly winced sympathetically. "I am so sorry, Skull," she said truthfully.
"Don't worry 'bout it," Skull stammered. Once again, his face turned bright red, but this time he wasn't wearing his helmet. Kimberly turned just as red and turned away.
Zack took a moment to look at the two Rangers. "Not even," Aisha whispered to him, picking up on his thoughts.
* * *
"You ready man?" Jason asked.
"Yeah," Skull said. "Green Ranger, Power Down." The armor dissolved in a green rain of light. His right arm was swollen and red.
"Does it hurt?" Kimberly asked from the doorway.
"Not too bad," Skull said with a forced smile.
Aisha walked up to Kimberly from behind. "Girl, you are needed out front. We can't find the others," Aisha explained. "Alpha needs some extra hands." Kimberly nodded and the two girls walked off.
"Does it really not hurt?" Jason asked, guiding Skull to the med table.
"It hurts," Skull confided, "a lot. But I didn't see any reason in making Kimberly feel any worse." He laid flat on his back and stared at the dull gray ceiling above him.
"Okay Skull," Billy said. "Can you raise your arm up?"
"Yeah, I can do that," Skull said.
"This is gonna hurt, Skull," Trini warned.
"Wiggle your fingers," Billy ordered.
Skull did as he was asked. "Did that hurt?" Trini asked.
"Just uncomfortable," Skull said.
Billy slowly twisted Skull's arm, prompting a loud cry.
"I take it that hurt," Trini said.
"Is it broken Billy?" Jason asked.
Billy pulled a small hand-held scanner out of a nearby cabinet and held it over Skull's arm. "We'll know in a minute," Billy answered, "but I think so."
* * *
"Adam is in Argentina, Tommy in Paris, Kat in Australia, and Tanya in Tokyo," Kimberly said.
"How come I managed to get back?" Bulk asked.
"You didn't have as far to travel," Zack said, "I guess."
"I think I have a lock on Adam," Zack said. "Trying to teleport... now."
* * *
"The ulna is fractured," Billy said. "It's a clean break though, and should heal nicely."
"Fix it," Jason said. "Pull out one of those little hand-held things you and Alpha carry around and fix it."
"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that," Billy said. "This happened unmorphed in the forty-five second default power wait. It's gonna have to heal on its own. All we can do is put it in a splint."
"Why not a cast?" Skull asked.
"It's swollen too much," Trini answered. "When the swelling goes down, it will need to be tightened, and you can't tighten a cast."
"Okay, Skull," Billy said. "I'm going to give you an injection of bupivacaine in your wrist so we can set it."
"Boopy-novocaine had better mean really strong anesthetic," Skull said. Billy smiled and slid the needle into Skull's arm.
* * *
A few tendrils of green light wafted into the Power Chamber. "This is a slow teleport," Aisha observed.
After about fifteen seconds, a column of green light had collected. It immediately turned into the Green Zeo Ranger. "That was weird," Adam said.
"Here comes Katherine and Rocky," Aisha said. She slammed her hand on the button. A temporary flash of pink light appeared, and Katherine was suddenly dropped from the Power Chamber's ceiling. Fortunately, her pink armor protected her from harm. Rocky immediately teleported into the Power Chamber at a forty-five degree and slammed into Katherine.
"Are you sure the teleporter is working right?" Kimberly asked.
"The Zords were a heavy drain on the system," Alpha explained. "I'll be glad when we're all in the same time zone."
With a powerful flash of red, Tommy was literally thrown into the Power Chamber. He slammed into the glass case which housed the White Ranger's costume. "That was a weird teleport," he said slowly.
Yellow light suddenly filled the Power Chamber, temporarily blinding those present. A huge mound of rocks lay in the Power Chamber. "Tanya?" Adam asked. "I'm in here someplace," she said.
"Uhm, Alpha," Aisha said warily. "Zordon."
"What is it Aisha?" Zordon asked.
"There is lava seeping into the Power Chamber," she said. She pointed at the corner of the room. Lava was slowly leaking in.
"Activate Gamma Plan," Zordon instructed.
"Right, Zordon," Alpha said. "Everybody shut their eyes!"
Suddenly, white lightning began to crack through the Chamber. A wall of white light suddenly passed through the Power Chamber. When it had receded a few seconds later, the Rangers were standing in a newly revised Power Chamber. Except for Tanya. She was lying on her back, this time without the tons of debris.
* * *
Jason jumped in alarm as white light passed across the Medical Chamber. "Whoa!" he cried.
"What happened to this place?" Skull asked. The walls were no longer a pleasing blue-green mix but a vibrant shade of silvery white.
"No telling," Billy said, giving Skull's arm a hard yank. He winced in pain and squeezed Trini's hand even tighter. "Let your arm go limp Skull."
"I'm trying," he said, "but it hurts."
Billy gave a final twist and announced, "There. Almost done."
With Jason's help, they had Skull in a bulky green splint in just a few minutes. Billy finished by putting his arm in a bright green sling. "Good as new," Billy said.
"How long do I have to wear this Doc?" Skull asked.
"Six weeks," Billy answered, helping Skull off of the table. "Now let's go find out what happened to the Power Chamber."
* * *
In place of the six columns storing replicas of the original Power Suits were five columns of light, red, yellow, pink, blue, and green. The five columns were set up on a slight pedestal. The Power Chamber seemed to be smaller but much better organized. "What happened, Zordon?" Billy asked.
"We used the power of the Earth Crystals to update the Power Chamber," Zordon said from his much larger tube. "The power of the Zeo Crystals is stored within the five Power Columns. It will wait there until things are returned to normal and your super-powered Coins are no longer needed."
"No one has even noticed my new duds," Alpha said with mock disappointment. The robot was slightly taller, the lightning bolt on his chest pointed straight down, and he was super shiny.
"Is that gold, Alpha?" Tanya asked.
"You bet," Alpha Five said proudly. "I guess this means I'm Alpha Six now."
"Same old Alpha underneath though," Trini said. "Right?"
"Of course," Alpha said. "There's only been one Alpha. I've just had six different bodies. After all, my memory is just a super-sophisticated computer program that can be exchanged from one body to another."
"It's more complex than the human brain," Billy whispered to Trini.
"Well, we are all here and accounted for," Zordon said. "Alpha Six, why don't you show the Rangers' to their quarters."
"Our quarters?" Rocky asked.
"Angel Grove is gone," Kimberly said.
"Our families," Rocky said woodenly.
"Do not be alarmed, Rangers," Zordon said. "If being Rangers has taught you nothing else, it has taught you to never give up hope."
The Rangers nodded, not fully understanding what he meant, but too tired and depressed to press him for more details.
_Do not worry, Rangers,_ Zordon thought to himself. _Help will be here soon._
Chapter Seventeen: Zordon's Mentor
The thirteen rooms were of a very bizarre design. They were only about eight feet wide and eight feet long. Immediately upon entering the room was a set of steps. The steps led to the "bed." The bed was the room. It completely filled the back six feet of the room, stretching from wall to wall. Each room had a smaller side room attached. It consisted of a shower stall, a toilet, and a closet for Alpha's synthesized clothing. There was a larger living area for them to share that even had a smaller version of Zordon's stasis tube so he could join them. "This is really cool, Alpha," Adam observed as he checked out his room, decorated entirely in shades of green.
"Why is Zordon acting so strangely?" Katherine asked.
"I don't know, Rangers," Alpha said. "He isn't telling me much either, and what I do know he has told me not to tell."
"I can't believe my parents are dead," Rocky said sadly.
"I don't even know why we bother anymore," Jason moaned. "The planet is dying. We don't have anything left to protect."
"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha said excitedly. He wished he could tell the Rangers what he knew, but Zordon had sworn him to secrecy. Well, she would be showing up soon, and she would take care of everything.
* * *
Zordon looked at the darkened Power Chamber. Alpha Six was standing in his chamber, slowly recharging his battery. He was wearing a traditional sleeping hat and clutching a little teddy bear. He smiled at the creature who acted so much like a robot at times and then humanoid at others. Zordon often wondered what went on in the little android's head. He knew for a fact that even Alpha One had been capable of feeling emotions. Alpha Five, the mechanical body that had survived the longest, felt love, guilt, humor, sorrow, fear, grief, and virtually any other emotion intelligent life felt. Who knew what went on in the head of Alpha Six.
_Does Alpha have a soul?_ Zordon wondered. He could feel and voluntarily produce all of the necessary emotions. He just didn't have a blood and flesh body. Suddenly, a few tendrils of silver light began to waft through the Power Chamber. _She's here,_ Zordon said to himself excitedly.
A soft breeze blew through the room. The tendrils of light slowly organized themselves into a circle. It carefully lowered to the floor. Clear light began to shine up from the portal that had formed on the floor. She suddenly rose up out of the glimmering portal. She was just as beautiful as Zordon remembered her. Her hair was long and flowing. Her hair, in fact, was the only physical feature which kept her from looking like an Earthling. Her hair was a beautiful royal blue. She wore a long angelic white gown. It draped the floor and extended past the tips of her fingers. A white sash covered her nose and mouth, showing only her vibrant green eyes. The woman was not physically in the Power Chamber. She was in another dimension. Wavy lines of light covered her body. It was as if one were viewing her underwater on a sunny day. The silver portal on which she stood quickly shrank, reducing itself from an eight foot diameter to one that was just large enough for her to stand on it. The woman raised her hands up to her face and pulled her sash down, revealing a beautiful face. "Zordon of Eltare," she said softly.
"Catalina of Eltare," Zordon replied. "Welcome to Earth."
* * *
Ivan Ooze, clad in a dark purple sleeping shirt and night cap in place of his usual extravagant purple robe, walked out to the balcony. Jenga, unable to sleep, sat on the edge of the railing. "Do you smell that?" Ivan whispered.
Her face was turned away from him. Blue and green flames danced across her eyes. Fangs had grown in her mouth, and her tongue was forked. Jenga was angrier than she had ever been in her entire life. "Yes I do," she growled in a demoniacal voice. "She's back."
"I thought you had killed her," Ivan said, almost fearful of Jenga's potential fury. "After I was imprisoned."
"I thought I had," Jenga said in the same deep voice.
"What are you going to do?" Ivan asked.
"I haven't decided yet," Jenga answered. "But I'll think of something." Ivan Ooze nodded and retreated into the dark corridors of the palace.
* * *
Jason walked out into the darkened hallway. The only light was from the main living area, and the small lights on the floor which led to the Power Chamber. He was sure he had heard something; he just wasn't sure what. _I'll go up to the Power Chamber,_ he told himself, _and when I see nothing there, I can go back to bed._ He had planned it to be a quick trip, and didn't even bother getting dressed. He wore only his red pajama bottoms, his usual nighttime attire. _It was probably Alpha just bumbling around in the dark,_ he thought.
He quickly made his way up the inclined spiral hallway. The three section door sensed his arrival and immediately separated, permitting him entrance. The Power Chamber was very dark. Even the Zeo Power Tubes were barely glowing. The greatest source of light came from Zordon's tube. It provided just enough light for Jason to see the visitor. He had many questions to ask. He just decided to get dressed first.
Billy was standing in the hallway. "What's going on?" Billy asked groggily.
"Just a sec," Jason said. He hurried to his closet, found his pajama top, and pulled it on. "Follow me."
* * *
"Who is she?" Jason whispered.
"I've never seen her before," Billy whispered back.
"Do you think she's an intruder?" Jason asked.
"There aren't any alarms going off," Billy said. "Let's just go ask."
"I don't think its any of our business," Jason answered.
"It's okay," the woman said suddenly. "You can come in."
Billy and Jason cautiously entered the Power Chamber. "Billy and Jason," Zordon said, "meet Catalina, the only other Eltarian alive."
"Hi," both men said sheepishly.
"Hello," Catalina said. "I am aware that your universe is in grave danger."
"Earth especially," Jason said.
"Yes," Catalina said, "but do not worry. Everything will be okay. You should go get your rest. Tomorrow will be a very busy day."
Jason and Billy did as they were told.
* * *
"Good morning all," King Mondo said happily when his internal computer system revived him the next morning.
"It's not really such a good day," Jenga said. Ivan Ooze was relieved that Jenga no longer looked like a demon straight from the depths of hell. She was back to her usual beautiful self.
Rita Repulsa staggered out of her room, adjusting her cones. "Strike a pose," Prince Sprocket said good-naturedly, prompting a smack on the head by his mother's fan.
Rita Repulsa smiled at the attention, thankful that someone had finally noticed. "Madonna is queen," Rita sighed.
"What's your excuse?" Rito asked.
Rita promptly smacked him with her wand. Archerina and Scorpina walked out of a side hallway. The two were quickly becoming good friends. "As soon as everyone is present," Jenga said, "I have some news to tell you."
Gasket and Lord Zedd soon trudged into the main room. Diva Tox and Elgar were close behind. Baboo and Squatt wandered up from the basement. Finster emerged from his laboratory, along with Klank and Orbus. "Where's Rygog?" Diva Tox asked.
"And monkey boy?" Jenga asked. "And MasterVile?"
"MasterVile was sleeping in," he said as he appeared beside his wife in a swirl of black light.
"Oh geez," Diva Tox said. "Look up."
The entire room looked up at the ceiling. Rygog and Goldar were hanging from the ceiling by their feet, sound asleep. "Since when does Goldar sleep up there?" Rita asked.
"Since we took his room," Scorpina said with a mischievous grin.
Jenga shot two balls of blue light from her fingers at the ceiling. With a scream, Goldar and Rygog dropped straight down. "Now that we are all awake," Jenga said, "I am afraid I have some bad news to announce. Our number one enemy has arrived."
"Thousand Island," Scorpina said coldly.
"Yes." Jenga paused for a moment and then shouted, "No! Catalina."
"THAT'S IT!" Scorpina cried. "I knew it was some type of salad dressing!" Jenga growled deep in her throat. "Catalina is a type of salad dressing, is it not?"
"What color?" Elgar asked.
"Red," she answered.
"Oh yeah, red," Rito said. "I like orange, myself."
"ANYWAY!" Jenga bellowed, "Catalina is here."
"Our side is showing up, though," Diva Tox said. "My science engineer, Porto, will be here today."
"True enough," Jenga said, "but we have to make a plan."
"I prefer white," Elgar said.
"White what?" Jenga asked, trying desperately to keep her anger in check.
"Salad dressing!" Elgar exclaimed.
"WHY ARE YOU ALL STILL TALKING ABOUT SALAD DRESSINGS!"
"You have to excuse Elgar," Diva Tox said. "His father is missing a chromosome."
Jenga ran her hands through her hair. "The next henchmen who says anything will be turned into a doorstop!" The room was silent for a few seconds.
"Does that include us?" Squatt asked.
With a horrific growl, Jenga swung her head to stare at the short blue beast. He immediately cowered behind an equally frightened Baboo. "Now does anyone have any ideas?" Jenga asked. Rito started to say something, but Jenga promptly held her hand up. "Any good ideas?"
Rito thought for a second, and then said, "No, I guess not."
"Do I have to do everything around here?!" Jenga asked.
* * *
"It is very good to see you, again," Alpha said. "Until yesterday, we thought you might be dead."
"I've been out of the loop for some time," Catalina said. "But I don't mind. I've seen things no one else has."
"We have yet to find the thirteenth crystal," Zordon said.
"That could prove a problem," Catalina said thoughtfully. "Scans haven't located it yet?"
"Negative," Alpha said.
* * *
"Shhhhhh," Goldar encouraged. Baboo, Squatt, Elgar, Prince Sprocket, Scorpina, and Goldar followed a sleep-walking Rito through the labyrinthal palace.
"Doesn't take him long to fall asleep," Squatt thought out loud. Rito stumbled up to an open window. With a snort, he jumped out of the window. He disappeared in a burst of black fire.
"Let's go!" Scorpina cried. She swept her sword in a wide circle, and the six beings disappeared.
* * *
Kimberly was watching a video tape of cartoons in the living area on the large television set. She had never felt so bizarre in her entire life. She knew that all of her family and friends were either dead or dying, but she didn't feel too much despair yet. It was almost as if a voice in her head ordered her not to give up hope.
"Mind some company?" a voice asked. She turned around on the couch and saw Skull in dark green pajamas standing in the doorway.
"Yeah, sure," Kimberly said with a smile. She patted the cushion beside her. Skull smiled eagerly and joined her. The two sat in total silence for a few moments.
"I sure wouldn't have ever planned on this," Skull said. "On what?"
"Me being a Power Ranger," he answered.
"Oh," Kimberly said. She gave Skull a quick glance. He had stopped putting handfuls of gel, or whatever it was, in his hair, and it was cut much closer. _A welcome change,_ she thought to herself. _Tommy and Josh both had long hair._ She suddenly stiffened up. _What am I talking about?! I'm not dating Skull!_
"You okay?" Skull asked, yanking her from her thoughts.
"Yeah," she answered. "Just thinking."
She caught a quick glimpse of his left ear. He wore a simple gold hoop as opposed to the six-inch dangly jobs he had worn in the past. _What am I doing?!_ she shouted at herself. _This is Eugene Skullovich! I am not checking Skull out. Although the past eighteen months in the Police Academy really has filled him out._ With a silent scream at herself, she jerked her attention back to the television. "Does your arm hurt?" she asked, anything to get away from the voice.
"A little," he admitted, "but Billy said it will stop hurting in another day or two. Then it will itch."
"I am so sorry," Kimberly said.
"Don't be silly," Skull said. "It wasn't your fault."
They were both silent for a moment. "I wonder what my parents would think about this," Skull thought out loud.
Kimberly laughed. "I can hear your dad bragging about it right now," she said. His father, Reverend Herbert Skullovich, often brought the Power Rangers up in his sermons. He always mentioned them in a positive light, something that very few religious leaders did. Most saw the Rangers as a threat to religion. Reverend Skullovich viewed the Rangers in the opposite light. To him, they were proof positive of an omnipotent deity.
"Can I ask a private question?" Kimberly asked.
"Shoot," Skull answered.
"Isn't Skullovich a Jewish name?"
"Yeah, its Jewish," he answered, "but we aren't. My great-grandfather was Jewish, and he married a Catholic, and so on and so forth until you end up with my dad, the Baptist minister."
Kimberly yawned and stood up. "I think I'm gonna go back to sleep," she said. "Thanks Skull."
"Night Kimberly."
* * *
"Good morning beautiful," Zack said, giving Aisha a quick peck on the lips.
"Mmmmm," Aisha purred. "Are we an official item yet?" She curled up on the couch beside him.
"I'd like to think so," Zack said.
"Good," Aisha said, snuggling up against his body.
"What are we gonna do when this is over?" Zack asked. "And we have to go back to our private worlds."
"They have mail in Kenya," Aisha said. "It takes an extra week to get to our village, but still."
"Letters, huh?" Zack asked.
"Unless you know of another way," Aisha said. "Besides, I'm just staying there for another four years. That's when my grant runs out."
"I thought you stayed there after the Zeo Quest," Zack said.
"Technically I did," she said. "But in real history, I went there on a five-year grant from Angel Grove University. It will guarantee my acceptance into their Veterinary Program."
"Four years?" Zack asked. "Okay. In four years, I'll retire from the Peace Conference, and come back to Angel Grove."
"Then, we can start making serious plans," Aisha said with a bright smile.
"I just thought of something," Zack said. "The Peace Conference has probably been canceled."
"Don't say things like that," Aisha said sternly. She knew he was right though.
* * *
The six demons appeared in a swirl of light on a sandy hill in Egypt. The Great Pyramids were only a few hundred feet away. The entire was sky was a dark black cloud. Rito continued to stumble across the desert.
"Has he been here before?" Scorpina asked.
"Not that I'm aware of," Goldar answered. They continued to follow him.
* * *
"Good morning Billy," Katherine greeted, stretching her sleep-sore muscles.
"Good morning Katherine," he answered. "Sleep well?"
"I guess so," she answered. "That was a strange bed." Billy nodded in agreement. "This hallway is what messes me up," Kat said. The hallway immediately curved around into a spiral immediately after branching off from the Power Chamber. After one and a half twists, it straightened out and stretched down at about a thirty degree angle. The bedrooms lined the straight portion of the hall. Jason and Billy were at the top and Tanya and Aisha were at the end. Immediately after their bedrooms, the hallway opened up into the living area.
Suddenly, Zordon's booming voice flowed through the hallways. "Rangers, please report to the Power Chamber immediately."
"I wonder what its about?" Kat wondered.
"The lady!" Billy cried. "Let's hurry!" He grabbed Katherine's arm and yanked her up the hall.
* * *
Billy was disappointed to see that the mystery woman was not there. The thirteen Rangers, all in various stages of dress, eventually were all together in the Power Chamber. Jason shot Billy a sideways glance, to which Billy replied with a shrug.
"Rangers," Zordon began, "I have wondrous news for us all. The ultimate embodiment of good, the last female Eltarian, has arrived. I present to you my mentor and teacher, Catalina of Eltare."
The silver outline of a bare foot suddenly appeared about two feet off of the ground before Zordon's tube. As it neared the ground, the outline continued moving upward, drawing the rest of her body. A split second later, the foot touched the floor. Immediately, the outline filled in, producing a beautiful woman in a white robe with royal blue hair. Her hair was accented with the occasional metallic blue strand, as well as metallic blue sparkles throughout.
"Wow," Bulk muttered.
"She's beautiful," Kat whispered.
"Welcome to Earth," Billy said, stepping forward to represent the planet. He extended his arm.
"I'm sorry," Catalina replied. She stretched her own arm out and passed it through Billy's hand. "I'm not in this dimension."
"Where are you?" Tommy asked.
"I'm out of the loop," she explained.
"Is that why you look all hazy?" Rocky asked.
"Yes," she answered. No one, including Billy, really understood what she meant. She didn't elaborate though, and no one pressed for details.
"Understand when I say this I mean no disrespect," Jason said, "but how can you help us?"
Catalina smiled a big smile.
* * *
"I need something good," Jenga said. "Something real good. I need the best monster there is!"
"Permission t' speak, m'lady," Klank said.
"Permission granted," Jenga said.
"We ha' a beast known as the ClobberBot," Klank said proudly. "We were gonna send 'im into battle when we were blayne te bits by Zedd an' Rita."
"ClobberBot?" Jenga asked. "Boy, people around here don't put much effort into naming monsters anymore. But go ahead. Send him to Earth."
* * *
"She taught me everything I know," Zordon said proudly.
"I used to oversee Rangers myself, on the planet Triforia. But I was in a truly horrific battle, and I was knocked out of this dimension. The Lord of Triforia took the mentoring job for himself, and that duty has been passed down from parent to child for millennia. "That was the last I was heard of in this dimension, until now. I spent several millennia unconscious. I woke up a few thousand years ago, unaware of who I was or where I was at. I met a very nice man named Sigma. He was also out of the loop, but he taught me to use that to my advantage. I am currently trapped in a very small pocket dimension that has a very distorted sense of reality. Time passes for me normally here, but I require no sustenance, nor oxygen, or even sleep. Sigma explained to me how this dimension of mine works. I can go anywhere at all, just not in a physical body. I don't know what I would have done without Sigma."
"Will Sigma be showing up?" Tanya asked.
"No," Catalina said. "He is very busy elsewhere. He hasn't even had a chance to visit me in about three years. I keep meaning to go visit, but kept putting it off. Then, I sensed the activation of the Anti-Earth Crystals and hurried here to help."
A series of alarms suddenly went off. Catalina jumped, used to a much calmer environment. "Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried. He hurried over to the console and began to analyze the information. "It's from the Machine Empire! The beast is known as ClobberBot. It is about to attack New York City."
"Is there anyone left alive in New York?" Zack asked.
"There are some people left," Alpha said. "But you will have to hurry. A hurricane is rapidly approaching from the Atlantic."
"Then why don't we just let the hurricane destroy the monster?" Jason asked.
"You have to," Catalina said.
"But," Jason sputtered.
"Go," she said seriously.
"Can we at least get dressed first?" Rocky asked.
Catalina shot him a look that let everyone know she was serious. "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"
* * *
"Man," Rocky griped. "Out here saving a dead world in my underwear."
"Just hope you don't demorph," Tanya said.
ClobberBot was nowhere to be found. The Rangers had broken up into two groups to find it. "This place is trashed," Bulk said. He ran out onto a hardened slick of lava.
"He's sure to be around here someplace guys," Tommy said. "Let's hurry and find this beast."
"POWER SCAN!" Billy and Jason shouted in unison.
"POWER BEAMS!" Aisha, Trini, and Skull followed. Aisha and Skull took the lead, and Trini held up the rear. It was around ten o'clock, but the clouds that covered the sky prevented any light from getting through.
"Bill," Jason said. "I'm getting readings from the east." Billy turned his gaze to the east. Immediately, data began to scroll across Billy's field of vision. "I got your back, man," Jason said. The seven Rangers began to walk toward the supposed monster.
* * *
Rito walked down the darkened pathways. Prince Sprocket was leading the group of followers. The lights on his head provided the only light in the pyramid. The hallway suddenly opened up, revealing a large chamber. Various artifacts filled the room, including one urn which seemed to glow with its own internal power. Rito slowly stumbled toward the urn. He stopped before it, reached in, and pulled out a glowing white crystal. With a cry of surprise, Goldar rushed forward, snatched the crystal from the still sleeping Rito, and shoved him aside.
Goldar looked at the gleaming crystal. It was cut like a pair of unfurled wings. "Oh my goodness," he breathed. "The missing Earth Crystal." He immediately vanished and teleported to the moon. Scorpina immediately swung her Sword above her head, causing the others to teleport as well.
* * *
"There it is!" Jason shouted.
"Guys, we found him!" Zack shouted into his wrist. "He's in what's left of Central Park!"
"We're on our way!" Rocky answered.
ClobberBot was as wide as he was tall. He had two powerful arms, whose hands were covered with numerous spikes and claws. His eyes were wide and red, gathering information and determining its attackers' weak points. The thirteen Rangers quickly gathered into a circle around the machine. _What's this?_ it thought. _I was designed to fight five, maybe six, Rangers. Not thirteen. Ah well, it'll just be more of a challenge._
* * *
Goldar was running as soon as he hit the ground. "Jenga! Jenga! Look what Ri-, er, uhm, look what I found!"
Jenga hurried to Goldar, and immediately dropped to her knees in shock. "The crystal," she breathed. "Oh my."
* * *
Adam high-kicked ClobberBot, deftly avoiding his dangerous hands. He immediately jumped backwards, landed on his hands, and quickly kicked the machine with his feet. Kimberly pulled back on her Power Bow. A shimmering pink arrow floated in the bow. She was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike one of ClobberBot's computerized eyes. Aisha slowly circled ClobberBot with Sabba held out before her. Zack circled in the opposite direction with his Power Axe. ClobberBot's fighting style was very different from any previous monster. When he was attacked by a group, he just freaked out and started swinging his hands everywhere, injuring everyone. The Rangers were attacking one at a time, rapid fire. Adam jumped away, and Bulk darted in.
* * *
Squatt had quickly tired of everyone's ravings over the Crystal. Sure, it was pretty, but it glowed so bright it hurt his eyes. The short, blue henchmen was instead standing on the balcony, watching the battle through the RepulsaScope. "He's gettin' whooped up real bad," Squatt said. "Uhm, Rita? Zedd? Jenga?" He wobbled over to the group gathered around the glowing crystal. "Uhm, you guys?"
"Hush Squatt," Elgar whispered.
"Oh hush yourself," Squatt snapped.
"Rita, I think you need to..."
"Not now, Squatt!" she cried.
"But," he began. He paused. "Can I borrow your wand then?"
"Why?" she asked.
"Uhm, Rito has his head stuck in the toilet again," he lied.
"Fine," she said, handing him the staff that was two feet taller than he was. "Just be careful."
Squatt hurried back to the balcony, passing a still sleep-walking Rito on the way. He pointed the staff and concentrated. A yellow blast of light suddenly burst from the tip. It struck the railing, obliterating it. Squatt was knocked backwards from the impact. He rolled over, climbed to his feet, and stared at the destruction he had caused. "Uh oh," he muttered. "Oh well. I'll blame it on Rito."
He thought back, trying to Remember how Rita had done it. After thinking for a few moments, he suddenly remembered and shouted, "Make my monster grow!" He held the wand like a javelin and threw it off the balcony. It quickly disappeared into the blackness of space. Squatt smiled at his actions and hurried over to the RepulsaScope to watch the battle.
* * *
A distant memory was triggered by the faint whirring sound that was slowly becoming louder and louder. "What is that?" Rocky asked.
Rita's staff appeared in the sky and quickly grew larger and larger. ClobberBot looked up just as the staff struck him. The staff bounced off of his metallic head. ClobberBot's eyes dimmed, and he toppled over. The thirteen Rangers paused. The machine had been deactivated by the device that was supposed to make it grow.
"Rita's aim must be off," Zack finally said.
"Apparently so," Kimberly added. They all continued to stare at the downed monster and the staff.
"Now this is just ridiculous," Tanya said.
"Should we go ahead and destroy it?" Skull asked.
"I think that's against the Code," Trini said.
Billy crept over to ClobberBot. He opened the compartment on the back of its head. The deep dent from the impact had severed several crucial components.
"Do we go back to the Power Chamber?" Bulk asked.
"What do you normally do when this happens?" Skull asked.
"This has never happened before," Jason replied.
* * *
"Uh oh," Squatt muttered. "Uhm, uh, hoo boy." Squatt suddenly had one of the few ideas he had ever experienced. He hurried over to Rito and guided him, still asleep, to the balcony. He waited a few seconds, and then smacked him. "Rito! Rito! Look what you did in your sleep!" Squatt lied convincingly.
Rito peered into the RepulsaScope, then looked at his fellow henchman. "Aw man! Ed and his mom are gonna be real mad at me! You have to help me Squatt!"
"Okay okay," Squatt said. "We'll go to Earth, you distract the Rangers, and I'll use the wand to fix the monster."
"Right!" Rito agreed just before they teleported away.
* * *
"Hey!" Rito shouted.
"Rito!" Adam shouted. "What are you doing here?"
"Tengas!" Rito shouted. Several dozen of the large birds suddenly appeared all around him. "ATTACK!" The Rangers quickly began to defend themselves from the birds.
* * *
Squatt appeared beside the fallen ClobberBot. He picked up Rita's staff and pointed it at the machine. Fortunately for Squatt, the staff knew what to do. Yellow light flowed from the tip. With a flash of light, ClobberBot was reactivated. ClobberBot jumped to his feet and looked for the Rangers. "Hey buddy," Squatt said. "Wanna grow?"
"Yeah!" ClobberBot said excitedly in his deep voice. "Then I can get those Rangers good."
"I hope this works," Squatt muttered under his breath.
* * *
Rito and the Tengas vanished just as quickly as they came. "This is the weirdest battle," Zack said.
"ClobberBot is back in action!" Rocky cried. He pointed at the now-gigantic machine.
"We need NinjaZord Power," Jason said.
"NOW!" the others affirmed.
Just a few seconds later, the thirteen Zords were flying toward New York. "Let's go for the big one, guys," Tommy said.
Immediately, the Zords began to organize themselves. The three MegaZords quickly formed. MegaZord I separated down the middle to form the two arms. MegaZord III formed the legs, and MegaZord II produced the body. "That is a big MegaZord," Aisha said in awe. It wasn't any taller than previous MegaZords, but it made the MegaShogunZord look anorexic.
"Let's do it!" Billy shouted. The thirteen Rangers teleported into the cockpit. The cockpit was divided into three sections. Blue and pink Rangers were seated in the upper left, green and yellow in the upper right, and red, black, and white in the center bottom. "Let's see if we can get in sync and send this beast back to Jenga!" Aisha shouted.
"Right!" the others agreed.
* * *
Squatt quickly fixed the balcony. He then hurried the wand back over to Rita. Jenga held the two crystals, one clear and the other gray. "This gives me a wonderful idea," she said. "A wonderful idea."
"So," Squatt said, "howya been?"
All present turned to stare at the ignorant henchman.
* * *
The thirteen Rangers ripped their helmets off and started their ritual congratulations celebration. Catalina was impressed at their enthusiasm. "How was your new MegaZord?" Alpha asked.
"Awesome," Aisha said eagerly. "ClobberBot never stood a chance."
"I don't think ClobberBot was working right," Skull said.
"Yeah, that first bonk on the head messed him up," Kimberly agreed.
"Well, now that the monster is destroyed, I'm going to shave, shower, and get dressed," Rocky said.
"Before you go," Catalina said, "I have something you might like to know."
"What's that?" Tommy asked.
"It won't be simple, and provided we do get the necessary equipment, I still might not be able to pull it off," she said.
"What?" Bulk asked, his excitement growing.
"I may know a way to restore the Earth and all life on it," she answered simply.
Chapter Eighteen: Doppelgangers
"We just have to get ahold of the thirteenth Crystal," Catalina said. "It would be great if we could locate some kind of time-altering device, but that's not necessary."
* * *
Jenga somersaulted over Rygog's head. She landed neatly on the ground and rolled away. Rygog hopped around and stabbed at her with his sword. She slapped her palms on each side of the blade and held it firm. With a sudden jerk, she yanked the double-edged sword from his hands. She kicked him in the chest, knocked him to the ground, and placed it against his throat. "Aw man," Rygog griped.
Scorpina, Queen Machina, Rita Repulsa, and Diva Tox cheered as Jenga had beaten yet another. Lord Zedd, Rito, Elgar, Goldar, and Prince Sprocket sat along one wall frowning. Rygog trudged across the room and joined them. "Who's next?" Jenga asked, buffing her knuckles on her chain mail. She cast her glance at Ivan Ooze.
"I'm not about to fall for that again," he said. Jenga waved her arms across her chest. Immediately, her silver chain mail changed to a bright yellow button-up blouse and light blue jeans. Reebok Cross-Trainers completed her outfit.
"Are you ever gonna get rid of those cones?" Diva Tox asked Rita.
Rita adjusted her "bra" and answered, "Nope."
"Why don't you let your hair down anyway?" Diva Tox asked.
"Do you think I should?" Rita asked. "I might be willing to try that."
"Why don't you give it a shot?" Scorpina asked. "You could color it, too."
"Hmmm," Rita thought out loud. "I wonder how I would look with brown hair?"
"No way. Go for green," Jenga suggested.
"Or black," Queen Machina added.
"Pink," Archerina suggested.
"Let's go try something," Rita said excitedly. "Maybe I'd look good as a blonde."
"Jenga! Jenga!" Orbus cried. He floated across the room without Klank. "Finster and Klank believe they have found a way to accomplish your request!"
"I'll catch up with you all later," Jenga said. Orbus floated to her shoulder and the two darted to the staircase for Finster's lab.
* * *
Trini leaned against Billy's chest. He had his arms wrapped around her. "We still have a chance," Trini sighed. "At everything."
"At a life together," Billy said happily. Trini was only the second person he had ever felt a true emotional attachment with. She was only the third person he had ever kissed. But he knew that Trini was the one person meant for him. The fact that she was an Earthling was icing on the cake.
"Would you like that?" Trini asked. "A life together?"
"Do you?" Billy asked nervously.
"I sure do," Trini answered.
"Good," Billy said, smiling all over himself.
* * *
Kimberly rested against the corner of her bed with her pink comforter pulled up around her. _I wonder if Mom would like Sk-,_ she began to wonder. She immediately forced the thought from her mind. "What is happening to me?" she asked aloud. She took a deep breath and said, "There is nothing wrong with listing all of Skull's good qualities. Okay, let's see. He's really nice now. In fact, he's been really nice since he and Bulk joined the Police Academy. He's got a really nice smile. And he has short hair. That's definitely a plus now. He has a great sense of humor. He is very loyal to his friends." With a sigh she thought, _And he has really filled out lately._ Kimberly realized with a note of excitement that she felt really warm and good inside. _Me and Skull,_ she thought. She briefly thought back to the time she was under the spell that caused her to fall in love with Skull. She had slipped into that brief relationship so quickly. That was why she was so startled when the spell wore off. She had thrown Tommy aside so quickly. "Me and Tommy just were not meant to be," she said truthfully.
Everyone had envisioned them to be such a perfect couple. The whole school, in fact. But Kimberly was too independent to be Tommy's girlfriend. He was a nice guy and she would never claim that he wasn't, but he had to be in charge. He had changed the Rangers from a friendly band of superheroes into a structured army. He had tried to date Kimberly the same way. He seldom asked her opinion, he just naturally assumed she felt the same way he did. Katherine seemed much better suited to Tommy than Kimberly ever was. Kimberly liked the middle ground - not in charge but not getting ordered around either. Katherine was the type of person who was so in synch with Tommy he didn't have to try and order. She wasn't ordered around, because she was one step ahead of Tommy the whole time. Skull, on the other hand, was free to go where the wind carried him. "I'll get to be the sane one in this relationship," Kimberly said. She waited for the voice in her head to slam on the brakes, but it didn't. With a bright smile, Kimberly crawled off of her bed to go talk with Bulk.
* * *
Kimberly entered the living area. "Bulk?" she asked.
"He and Billy are lifting weights in the exercise area," Aisha answered. She, Zack, Tommy, and Kat were the only four present in the living area.
"Where is everybody?" Kimberly asked.
Skull, Trini, and Jason are in the med center, and Rocky, Adam, and Tanya are upstairs talking with Catalina," Katherine answered.
"I'll let you all get back to your movie," Kimberly said as she crept across the room to the side hallway that led into the gym.
* * *
"One more Billy," Bulk prompted. With a grunt, Billy got the bar to the top of the extension. "Good job." He took the loaded bar and set it on the bench.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Kimberly asked.
"Nah, we just finished," Bulk answered.
"Good," Kimberly said, "I need to talk to you. Oh and Billy, you stay too."
"Sure," Billy answered.
"What's up Kim?" Bulk asked.
"This is probably the weirdest thing I have ever asked," Kimberly said. "I can't believe how nervous I am."
"Kim?" Bulk and Billy asked in unison.
"Do you think Skull would actually... maybe... want... to... go out with me... maybe...?"
Bulk and Billy looked at each other. "What did they do to you in Florida?" Billy asked. "Are you blind?"
"I've just been so mean to Skull," Kimberly said softly.
"You were only mean to him because we were mean to you," Bulk said, "yet he has still had a crush on you since third grade."
"He will say yes," Billy said.
"Definitely," Bulk said.
"Should I just go ask him?" Kimberly asked.
"He's in the Med Center," Billy said. "Go ask him now."
"Now?" Kimberly asked. "Just go ask him now?"
* * *
"This will hurt a little," Alpha said. He pushed the needle through the soft side of Skull's splint and into his arm. Skull winced a little, but sighed as the pain killer entered his system.
"Go," Billy encouraged.
Trini and Jason looked up as Billy and Bulk shoved Kimberly into the room. "Kim?" Jason asked.
"Can I talk t-to Skull?" Kimberly asked.
"Sure," Jason said. He, Alpha, and Trini left the room.
Kimberly hurried over to Skull's side. "Hi Skull," she stammered.
"Hi Kimberly," Skull said nervously.
_Just ask him out fool,_ Kimberly thought to herself. Out loud, she said, "Skull, when all of this is over, would you like to go somewhere... sometime?"
"Aren't you in Florida?" Skull asked.
"And you're in Paris," Kimberly said dejectedly. Before either of them could say a word, she rushed to his face and kissed him. Skull unconsciously moved his left hand to Kimberly's hair. After just a few seconds, Kimberly pulled away. _Pretty dull as kisses go,_ she thought, _but we're both nervous._ Kimberly gave a nervous giggle, when Skull made a move that surprised them both. Using his one hand, he pulled Kimberly to him and kissed her more intimately than he had ever kissed anyone. No more than ten seconds later, Skull pulled away, leaving Kimberly's lips tingling.
"Wow," she muttered.
"Uhn huh," Skull answered.
"So is that a yes?" Kimberly asked.
"Oh yeah," Skull said.
* * *
"Heads up!" Finster cried.
Jenga and Orbus dropped to the floor as a red laser beam streaked past them. "Geez Finster," Jenga complained as she picked herself up off of the floor. "This place is a death trap."
"Aye, b' we ha' tha crystals ready, m'lady," Klank said in his thick Scottish tongue.
"Cool," Jenga said. "How does it work?"
Finster pointed at the complex maze of crystals and lasers. "Long story short," Finster said, "I will use the Earth Crystal to open a selective portal through the Anti-Earth Crystal. It will open a portal to an Anti-Earth in a different dimension."
"What if there isn't an Anti-Earth?" Jenga asked.
"There is a near infinite number of alternate dimensions," Finster said. "The odds are better that there will be an Anti-Earth than that there won't be."
"Excellent," Jenga growled gleefully. Her plan was coming to fruition.
* * *
"Did you see Skull?" Kat asked. "He is beaming."
"So is Kimberly," Tommy said.
"You know, I think they look really good together," Kat whispered to Tommy. He smiled and nodded in agreement.
* * *
Queen Machina pulled the clay-colored ribbon out of Rita's cones. Her hair let go and spilled down onto her collar. "I'm not changing the gown," Rita said.
"You don't have to," Diva Tox said. "Put it in a ponytail and pull it in front." She picked up her on purple ponytail and shook it to prove her point.
"I'm having second thoughts about this," Rita groaned.
"Just change the color and see what you think then," Scorpina said.
"Okay," Rita said. She pointed her staff at her hair. Suddenly, green color bled through it.
"Hmmm," Queen Machina said. "Maroon gown, gold makeup, green hair. You look Christmassy."
"I wonder what Zedd will think?" Rita wondered as Diva Tox quickly put her green hair in a ponytail holder.
"I like it," Archerina said.
* * *
"Fire in the hole!" Orbus shouted. Klank, Orbus, and Jenga ducked as Finster hit the ON switch on the laser. Red light flooded the laboratory. The light quickly passed through a series of crystals, each time slightly altering its purpose.
"Are you sure this will work Finster?" Jenga asked.
"It should," Finster said.
"It had better. We can only do this once." The red laser struck the Earth Crystal.
"Cast yer spell, Jenga!" Klank shouted. Jenga jumped to her feet, thought a few choice words, and pointed both hands at the Anti-Earth Crystal. Blue light flew from her fingertips. The red laser passed through the Earth Crystal and collided with the Anti-Earth Crystal just as Jenga's spell hit it. "Will it work?" Orbus asked.
The Anti-Earth Crystal suddenly shattered with an explosion of light. The smoky crystal lay in several pieces about the room. "Did it work?" Finster asked.
"Just wait," Jenga said. The shards began to melt. The tiny pools of liquid rolled together, forming a perfect circle about three feet in diameter. It began to glow with a soft white light.
"I think it's gonna do something," Orbus said excitedly.
"I think you are right," Jenga said excitedly. Suddenly, the puddle broke up into several bubbles of light. They blew out of the room on a hidden breeze.
"Let's go!" Klank shouted. Finster, Klank, Orbus, and Jenga ran out of the lab and after the bubbles of light.
* * *
"What the-?" King Mondo stammered. He stared at the whirlwind of bubbles.
"Cool!" Prince Sprocket and Elgar shouted in unison. The many bubbles collided with a wall, popping and leaving a smear of light. Everyone in the room paused as the bubbles formed a gigantic eight foot circle of light. "What does it do?" Goldar asked.
Jenga folded her arms across her chest proudly. "Watch," she said.
Immediately, the circle of light began to swirl toward the center. "A whirlpool of light?" Zedd asked.
"The doorway to another world," Jenga said.
"Can we send Rito?" Zedd shouted, producing shouts from all over the room. Jenga put her hand up to shush them.
"Watch," she whispered.
Streams of colored light flew from the portal. Two blue, two pink, two red, two green, two yellow, two black, and one white. The streams flew to the middle of the room and returned to their original form. MasterVile growled and rolled all six of his eyes.
"Oh crap," Tommy muttered. The thirteen Rangers jumped to their feet and took a defensive stance. "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"
* * *
Catalina gave a cry and clamped her hands over her ears as the alarms went off. "Where's Alpha?" Adam asked.
"He's helping Skull," Tanya said. She hurried over to the console and tried to find the cause for the alarm. Tanya quickly read over the monitor. "This can't be," she muttered.
* * *
"Wait wait wait," Jenga said, holding her hands up before her. "We mean you no harm."
"Why did you bring us here?" Kimberly asked.
"What do you want with us?" Bulk growled.
"My name is Jenga," she answered. "I am from a different dimension than yours."
"You are not," Billy said. "You're on the moon."
"Yeah, but I'm not on your moon," Jenga said. "I need your help to take over the universe. Sort of."
"I thought you were the good guys?" Adam asked.
The thirteen Rangers were slowly letting their guard down.
"In your dimension, Queen Jenga of the Xett Empire is good. In this dimension, the Rangers are good," Jenga explained calmly.
"An alternate dimension," Billy sighed happily. "Where everything good is evil and evil is good."
"That's one way of putting it," Jenga said with a smile.
"I don't follow," Rocky said. "You mean there are Rangers on this world who are good? And you space aliens are evil?"
"Actually, I'm a space demon, but yeah. That's the twenty-five cent tour," Jenga said. "The Rangers look just like you. Identical. They are just good in this dimension."
"Isn't that pretty bizarre?" Jason asked. "That there would be a dimension exactly opposite this one?"
"There are an infinite number of dimensions," Trini said. "It's not surprising at all."
"You want us to help you?" Aisha asked.
"Yes," Jenga said. "Then I will either send you home or you can stay here and enjoy the victory in my court."
"No," Katherine said. "We will help you win here, then you will come to our dimension and defeat your good counterparts."
Jenga thought it over for a minute and extended a hand to Tommy. "Deal?" Jenga asked.
Tommy firmly shook her hand. "Deal."
* * *
"Zordon," Tanya said, "the sensors are messed up. It says we are all on the moon."
"The last thing we need is for the Power Chamber to start messing up," Rocky said.
"No," Catalina said when she finally found her voice. "This is something much worse. Jenga did something with the thirteenth Earth Crystal. She must have my maps."
"Your maps?" Adam asked.
"I had thirteen maps created to show the location of the crystals, but even I never looked at them. This was before I left the loop. Ivan Ooze stole them, but before he could tell anyone about them, Zordon's Rangers locked him away," Catalina said. "Ivan Ooze is back."
"If they have the thirteenth Earth Crystal and the thirteenth Anti-Earth Crystal," Zordon said. He stopped, fearful of even finishing the thought.
"We don't stand a chance," Catalina finished.
* * *
"I don't know about this," Rita said.
Scorpina and Diva Tox pulled her toward the main palatial room. Ships were arriving by the dozens, and the palace was full of demons and aliens of every color, shape, and size imaginable. "What are you worried about?" Archerina asked.
"There are a lot more people out there," Rita said.
"Don't worry about it," Queen Machina said. The five women walked across the room.
"No one noticed," Rita growled. She pointed her staff at a blank spot near the wall. She pointed her staff at the wall. Immediately, a stage appeared in a glimmer of light. The five women jumped up on it and looked over the crowd.
"QUIET!" Queen Machina and Archerina bellowed through their internal speaker systems. The dull roar of the crowd disappeared, and everyone turned to look at the stage.
"A-hem," Rita said. A few confused murmurs traveled through the crowd. "Well?" Rita asked angrily.
"Zedd? What are our wives doing up there?" King Mondo asked.
"Beats me," Lord Zedd answered. "I never know what's going on anymore."
"MY HAIR!" Rita screeched.
The room was silent for a few more moments, and then the dull roar continued. Rita growled through clenched teeth and jumped off of the stage. She tucked her staff under her arm, pulled her gown up above her knees, and strode across to Zedd through the crowd in just a few, angry steps. "ZEDD!" she screamed in his ear.
"What is it, woman?" he asked, turning away from MasterVile and King Mondo.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY HAIR!?"
"Well, when I asked you to change the cones, I meant your bra. I'm going to end up putting an eye out on one of those things. I never said anything about changing your hair, but if you like it, I like it."
Rita was numb for a moment. She then swung her staff under his feet and knocked him down. She stomped away, muttering, "Worthless son of a -"
"Hey!" Jenga shouted in self-defense. "There are plenty of other ways you can insult Zedd without bringing me into it."
"Well, what do you think?" Rita asked.
"Go for red," Jenga said, fingering her own curly auburn locks. "With three blue streaks."
Rita growled in disgust. She pointed her wand at her green ponytail. It immediately turned gray and pulled itself up into twin cones.
* * *
"So when do you get to compete?" Skull asked.
"At the '98 Pan Global Games," Kimberly answered. "Coach thinks I stand a real chance at bringing home the gold. I know the US has gotten the gold in the past three games, but I want to win for me. To actually win a gold medal. Wow."
"That would be pretty amazing," Skull agreed.
Suddenly, Zordon's voice filled the air. "Rangers. Please hurry to the Power Chamber."
* * *
Thirteen beams of light descended through the atmosphere and landed in the remains of Angel Grove. There were no buildings or vegetation anywhere. The entire city had been covered with lava. Smooth silvery rock stretched for almost as far as the eye could see. "So this is Angel Grove?" Skull asked.
"Not much to do, is there?" Aisha asked bitterly.
"We just wait?" Adam asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure Jenga will be sticking her nose where it doesn't belong," Rocky said angrily. "Oh, I mean Zordon."
"This is so weird," Tommy said. "Our enemy is Zordon, a good wizard. And our allies are evil space aliens."
"They're space demons on this world," Billy corrected.
"Like Ninjor and Dulcea," Tanya said, "on our world."
"I can't believe Tommy Oliver could be good on any world," Tommy said.
"Morals are reversed on this world," Trini said. "Hey, I wonder if Pope Charles Manson is evil on this world?"
"That would be cool," Bulk said, "but he probably wouldn't be Pope here."
"If the Pope is good on our world, and this place is opposite, then shouldn't the Pope be evil here?" Kimberly asked.
"I seriously doubt anything of religious origin would be reversed," Billy theorized. "Just the basic good and evil of being."
* * *
The thirteen Rangers looked at the thirteen Rangers through the Viewing Screen. "This is unreal," Tanya whispered.
"Pope Charles Manson?" Rocky asked. "As a Catholic, I take offense to that."
"They are serious," Trini said. "Zordon? Catalina? Is this possible?"
"By harnessing the power of the Anti-Earth Crystal, Jenga opened a portal to an Earth that is a complete good/evil reversal," Catalina explained. "Evil Rangers. In this dimension, if Rangers become evil of their free will, they lose their power."
"In the other dimension then," Billy said, "they would lose their powers if they became good of their own free will."
"This is making so little sense," Tommy said.
"All you need to remember is that they are your enemies," Zordon said.
* * *
"Here they come," Kat said. Thirteen streams descended to the Earth and materialized, producing thirteen teenagers. The two teams stared at each other for a moment.
"So you all are our good counterparts?" Tommy asked.
"I suppose so," Tommy answered.
"No good can come from this," the two Tanyas said in unison.
"If you all are our opposites," Adam mused, "then you defend."
"We attack," Trini growled.
Suddenly, the evil doppelgangers attacked. Anti-Aisha clawed at Zack before punching Aisha in the face. Aisha retaliated with a side kick. Bulk caught Anti-Bulk's fist in his hand. "If you are my opposite, then you used to almost be a nice guy," Bulk said through clenched teeth.
"So you used to be a jerk, huh?" Anti-Bulk asked. "That is so pathetic." He yanked his fist away, and before Bulk could react, he connected solidly with Bulk's jaw.
Anti-Tommy ran up to Kimberly. "Did you dump me on this world too?" he asked. He immediately shot both arms forward and clenched his hands around her throat. With a strangled croak, he picked her up off of the ground by her neck.
Anti-Kimberly and Anti-Katherine ran up to Tommy. "Hello Thomas," they both purred. Both females suddenly high-kicked Tommy.
Anti-Skull stood before Skull. Anti-Skull laughed scornfully and looked at Skull's broken arm. "Sure would be a shame to break the other arm, wouldn't it?" Anti-Skull asked.
Katherine and Billy backed away from Anti-Trini and Anti-Adam. "Two geeks who probably couldn't defend themselves if their lives depended on it," Anti-Adam said.
"Actually, your lives do depend on it," Anti-Trini growled. She suddenly lashed out and kicked Billy in the chest before either of them could react. Katherine high-kicked Anti-Trini before she could react. She ducked Anti-Trini's punch, but she kicked Kat in the ribs before she had gotten back to her feet.
Jason hit the ground in a painful heap. He wasn't used to fighting someone as big as him that actually fought. Tommy was matched in skill, but even he didn't have the bulk strength that Jason suddenly realized he apparently had.
Tanya was thrown head over heels by Anti-Tanya. _Looks like Tommy has been giving her lessons too,_ Tanya thought painfully.
Rocky successfully blocked Anti-Zack's punch. With a sudden swipe of his leg, he brought Anti-Zack to the ground. He didn't have time to relish in his accomplishments, though, as Anti-Rocky threw Zack at him.
Anti-Billy grabbed Trini in a bearhug before she could react. "Billy," Trini muttered. "Don't do this."
"You fight for good," Anti-Billy growled. "You are an enemy." He hurled her at the ground in disgust.
Anti-Skull jumped at Skull. Skull dodged his doppelganger and ran at Kimberly. With a scream, he jumped on Anti-Tommy's back. Kimberly barked a hoarse cough as she fell from Anti-Tommy's stranglehold and hit the ground. Skull clamped his cast around his neck and wrapped his legs around Anti-Tommy's torso. "Leave Kimberly alone," Skull growled.
Anti-Tommy grabbed Skull by his arms and threw him aside. Skull landed on his broken arm, producing a painful bellow.
"We can't fight ourselves!" Jason cried.
"That's because you're too big of a wus to fight dirty," Anti-Jason taunted. He jumped at Jason with both feet, but Jason rolled away.
"Guys," Anti-Tommy said, "let's have some real fun."
"Right," the doppelgangers agreed. With a cacophony of morphing cries, all twenty-six teenagers morphed. The two sets of Rangers were identical. Even the Animal Guides were identical. The twenty-six suits and helmets gleamed beautifully. For a brief moment, neither side moved. A second later, the battle began.
* * *
Jenga watched the battle. "Ooooh," Jenga said. "This is dizzying." She shook her head in confusion. "Rangers on the side of evil. This is so exciting!"
"Hey Jenga," Diva Tox said. She pushed forward to Jenga on the balcony. "Let's go to Earth. I'm in a fighting mood."
Jenga looked at the gray orb that was currently Earth, and then at the ongoing party in the main room. "Cool," Jenga said. Both women disappeared in a twinkle of blue.
* * *
Jenga and Diva Tox materialized in the middle of the fight a few feet off of the ground. They dropped to the ground, blue sparks flashing as they absorbed the impact and stood up at their full height. The evil side paused as they spied Diva Tox, the newest villain.
"Who's the chick in the hooker boots?" Anti-Tanya asked.
"Hooker boots?" Diva Tox asked angrily as she glanced down at her black vinyl thigh-high boots. "My name is Diva Tox, the Toxic Diva. And if you feel the urge to write it, it's two words. Diva. Tox. I don't care what anybody else has told you. Two words." All twenty-six Rangers stared at the space pirate. "So? Who are the good guys here?" The evil Rangers all pointed at the good Rangers. "Much obliged," Diva Tox said. She charged the good Rangers with Jenga at her side, followed by the evil Rangers.
* * *
Catalina watched the battle through sad eyes. "No one will ever win this war," she sighed.
* * *
Trini gasped as cool air rushed around her head. She spun around and realized her helmet had been opened by Anti-Trini. Anti-Trini responded by taking her own helmet off. The two slender women looked at each other for a few moments, neither moving. Suddenly, the Green Zeo Ranger, Trini didn't know which one, spun into them. As the power was on stand-by mode, both Trinis were susceptible to the stone ground. Their heads simultaneously cracked into the hardened lavabed. Both Yellow Rangers simultaneously lost consciousness.
* * *
Trini opened her eyes. "What happened?" she asked. She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over her.
"The evil Rangers backed down," Tanya answered. "We finally started to get the upper hand and they took off."
_Excellent,_ Anti-Trini thought as she looked around the Power Chamber. _I'm in._ She wondered if any of the others got in.
* * *
Trini opened her eyes. "What happened?" she asked. She realized that she still had not powered down.
"Are you okay hon?" Billy asked.
"Yeah," Trini answered. She sat up and took in her surroundings. Stone walls, Billy with an evil grin, Jenga. _Oh crap._
"How are you feeling?" Jenga asked.
"Okay," Trini muttered. "Do you mind if I'm by myself for awhile?"
"Not at all," Jenga answered with a truly sweet smile. "Come on Billy."
They left Trini alone in the room. After first checking to see that she was alone, she tried to teleport. _They couldn't have gotten us switched,_ Trini thought to herself. When the teleport failed, she tried her communicator. _I'm definitely on the moon,_ she thought bitterly. _That means nothing will work._
She was grateful she wasn't powered down. Even without the power's protection, her armor would be better than her street clothes. _I wish I could power up,_ she thought. She tiptoed to the door and looked out. The hallway was empty. _I have to find some way out,_ she thought. She ran down the hallway and into the dark corridors of the palace.
