Disclaimer: I don't own Saban, et cetera et cetera. I rate this PG-13 for violence and some mild adult situations. By the way, a fanfic by Cheryl Roberts is mentioned in this fanfic. I have gotten her permission to use the title. None of the references are meant to put down the fanfic mentioned in any way whatsoever.
"I don't understand it, Lynn," I said. "I thought we were the good guys. The good guys always win. But we didn't even come close yesterday afternoon. The only reason I'm here talking to you know is because Nadia made Duran leave. Why she did that, I don't know, but I can't help but be grateful. Even if it did mean having to walk away from a fight not because we won, but because Nadia simply decided she was through having Duran play with us.
"I also feel weird because of the situation at hand. I know I shouldn't be happy that the Rangers are here, but I can't help it. The ones here are five of my very favorites. I would like to meet Aisha and Trini, but they were lucky enough to stay in Angel Grove. Actually, I'd like to meet all of the Rangers, but that's beside the point. Here they are, risking their lives right along with us to defend a planet that isn't theirs, and I'm just so happy that I've gotten to meet five of my favorite Power Rangers I don't know what to do with myself.
"Especially Katherine. She's so sweet, and... well, she's perfect! Unfortunately, she's dating Tommy. I couldn't make any kind of move on her, anyhow. She doesn't belong to this world. She's not willing to stay here, and I'm not willing to go home with her. Even if, and it's a big if, there was even the smallest fraction of a percentage that she would actually love me. This is my world, and it's not her's. So weird. I guess I should just be thankful I got to be her friend, which brings me back to my original point that I should be wishing that they never came here.
"I can't imagine anything scarier. Rocky said he was nearly eaten on the yellow world. Just leaping from one world to another, never knowing what kind of hazards might be waiting for you. And kids on this world want to be Power Rangers. Isn't that ironic?
"The only single good thing about being a Power Ranger is the adrenaline rush. I'm not going to lie and say that's not any fun. Well heck, you've been there right beside me. You know all about it. I think Crystal and I get more fun out of it than the others, though. People who want to be Power Rangers view it as just a lot of fun. The good guys always win, right? Well, so far that's right, but we've had more close calls than I care to count.
"Not to mention going to limbo, the most boring place there is, if we accidentally fight on hallowed ground. Or falling to the Earth from fifteen miles straight up because you were knocked off of your Power Board and the teleportation systems aren't on-line. Then there was the time Allison and I were turned into stone because we got too close to one of Nadia's machines with a serious attitude problem. Or the time Beth and I nearly crashed the Eagle A.V. into the sun. Or the time we did crash the A.V. into the Statue of Liberty. That was embarrassing. I'm just glad Sigma was able to fix it and wipe half of New York's memory.
"Then there was the time I wasn't fast enough and nearly caused Dana to lose her head. If I had been just a split second later... I don't even want to think about that. I'm just glad I managed to find her Power Coin when I did. Or the time the Green River bridge fell on Tara. Good thing she morphed when she did, I guess.
"I know I'm boring you. You've heard this plenty of times before, not to mention the fact that you were there when it happened in the first place. I just need to talk to somebody. I'm just so stressed. Duran is back, and I don't know if I can handle it this time. To think that as soon as the full moon comes he might defeat us... that means in less than a week, every single person on this planet will be dead. Terrifying...."
"Who are you talking to?" Kimberly asked. I cried in alarm and nearly fell off of my branch. "Whoa! Careful," she said, placing a firm hand on my shoulder and pushing me back into a steady position. She hoisted herself up to a branch beside me and sat on it, leaning against the tree.
"You'll think I'm losing my mind," I said.
"I just caught you talking to yourself in a tree," she said, letting the implication hang in the air.
"I was talking to my guardian angel," I answered with a slightly red face. "I call her Lynn."
"Guardian angel?" Kimberly asked.
"I had never really given it much thought until about two years ago," I answered. "Everything just started happening at once, and I was so close to the brink of death so often, I knew that guardian angels weren't just myth. They are very real."
"And her name is Lynn? Why Lynn?"
"No reason," I replied. "I just happen to like the name Lynn, so I use that to talk to her."
"Her?"
"Just a guess," I said. "I suppose my guardian angel could just as easily be a guy, but I don't think so. Once I recognized... Lynn, I can see her in my mind's eyes just as plainly as anything. Of course, I read a book on guardian angels some time back that helped. She has long, silken golden-blonde hair, bright blue eyes, an innocent smile, and she wears a floor length blue denim summer dress-like thing with a pink long sleeved shirt underneath it."
"No wings?"
"Are you making fun of me?"
"No!" Kimberly insisted with a giggle. "I'm not, I promise. I'm just trying to visualize is all."
"Do you think you believe in guardian angels?"
"I had never really thought about it," Kimberly admitted. "I believe in God, and I believe in angels. So I guess it would be kind of silly not to believe in guardian angels, huh?"
"There's a verse in Psalms to back me up," I said. "If you're a Christian... or Jewish."
"Presbyterian," Kimberly said thoughtfully. "What's the verse?"
"Ninety-one, eleven. And He will give his angels guard over you, to protect you in all your ways."
"That's nice," she said.
"I like it."
"So why the tree? I saw you and Rocky up here Saturday morning. I just never got around to checking it out. And how did you climb up here with your right arm all afflicted? No offense."
"None taken. This is my tree," I said. "I've climbed up this tree since I was four years old, when I just wanted to get away." The tree in question was a gorgeous oak. It was set about one hundred yards from the house. Its trunk was gnarled, obviously from some tragedy in infancy, but it helped you climb up the tree. There were two large branches, big enough for an adult to recline in, about forty feet up from the ground. That's where I always headed. "See. From right here, you can see the sun rise," I said, pointing to the east, "or in the afternoon, you can see the sun set." I demonstrated again by pointing to the clear view of the western sky. "And if you really want to get away, you can climb up another thirty feet and see the stars at night. Of course, getting back down in the dark is sort of hard. One time, when I was about nine, I climbed to the top of the tree for the very first time. It was so dark, my dad had to climb up here with a flashlight so I could find my way! back down." I laughed at the memory, even though it had been anything but funny at the time.
We sat in silence for a while longer, when I asked, "How much did you hear?"
"Just the tail end, I think," Kimberly said. We sat in silence a while longer, and she said, "Don't worry. I won't tell Kat."
"Thanks," I said sheepishly. "I think I'm going to go catch a shower."
Kimberly's eyes wandered over my shoulder and landed on Jason and Billy, walking out into the yard to perform some type of kata. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna stay out here a while longer," she said. "If you don't mind me using your tree."
"Stay as long as you like," I said, wrapping my left arm around my branch and lowering myself down to the next foothold.
"Goin' somewhere?" Tara asked as she pushed aside me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Just teleported over," she said. "I figured you would be up early."
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go shower," I said, climbing out of the tree.
"Hey Tara," Kimberly said.
"Hi," Tara replied as she situated herself on my branch. "What are you doing up here?" Kimberly smiled and pointed at Jason and Billy. "I'm gonna watch Jason and Billy do their meditation kata," Kimberly said. "It's amazing to watch."
"I think I might like to watch as well," Tara murmured, turning around to watch the two male Rangers.
* * *
"Hey, Rocky," I said as I walked into the kitchen fresh from my shower, running my fingers through my short, wet hair.
"Good morning," Rocky answered. "You mind if I cook breakfast?"
"Not at all," I answered.
Two very loud cries of alarm suddenly burst into the kitchen. "Trouble," I said.
"What was that?" Katherine asked, running in from the back porch.
"Probably not good," Rocky answered before heading to the front yard. Kat and I were close behind.
* * *
Tara and Kimberly jumped to attention, trying to gain a better view of the approaching Naddies. "Tengas!" Kimberly cried.
"Naddies," Tara corrected.
"HEY YOU GUYS!" Kimberly shouted. "Above you!" Billy and Jason looked up in time to see four red Naddies swoop down at them.
"Don't fight unmorphed!" Tara cried, but she was a split second too late.
Jason leapt into the air to scissor kick a Naddie. His foot hit the mechanical bird in the chest. Pain streaked up his leg, and he fell to the ground with a thump. "They're harder than Cogs!" he cried as he clambered to his feet.
"It's Morphin Time!" Kimberly shouted.
Simultaneously, all four Rangers called upon their power.
"SABER-TOOTH TIGER!"
"PTERODACTYL - CRANE!"
"TRICERATOPS - WOLF!"
"TYRANNOSAURUS - COUGAR!"
Rocky, Kat, and I leapt off of the porch a few seconds later. Katherine cried in alarm at the sight of dozens of Naddies, dropping from the sky on unfurled wings. "It's Morphin Time!" Rocky shouted.
"TRICERATOPS!"
"ZEO RANGER I, PINK - BUTTERFLY!"
"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE - APE!"
In a bright blue and pink flash, we all morphed into Rangers and jumped into the fight.
* * *
"SABER-TOOTH TIGER BOW AND ARROW!" Tara cried, summoning her Power Weapon in a beautiful yellow display of light. She slammed the bow into a white Naddie that ventured too close. The mechanical bird staggered backwards, but quickly recovered and pulled a heavy club out of the air. With a loud battle cry, I flipped over Tara's head and landed on the shoulders of a red Naddie. The bird attempted to knock me off, but I backflipped away before its clawed hands could clamp around my ankles. I dropped to the ground, catching myself on my hands and swept both legs beneath the bird.
"Need some help?!" a loud voice called.
I glanced up to see Pink and Green Rangers standing on the roof.
"Always happy for a hand," I answered, leaping to my feet just as the Naddie planted a spike right beneath me.
"Are these bird attacks always so random?" Billy asked as he knocked one away from him with his Power Lances. Dana and Beth flipped off of the porch, landing in the midst of the battle.
Dana gave a loud cry and rammed her fist through the Naddie attacking Billy, using the element of surprise. Her hand passed completely through it, sending a shower of machine parts out of the grievous wound. "Always," she answered, pulling her hand back through the deactivated bird.
"Kat!" Tara cried. "Watch out!" She pulled the string on her bow back and let an energy arrow fly, spearing a purple Naddie that had snuck up behind the Pink Zeo Ranger.
"Whoa!" Katherine shouted, flipped away. "That was close! Thanks Tara!"
"Not a problem," Tara answered. A yellow Naddie suddenly rushed her. "Hey!" She ran a few steps away and spun around, scissor kicking the bird in the process. Holding tight to one end of her bow, she snapped the other end against the Naddie's head, completely dismantling its mechanical central nervous system.
Beth blocked a punch with her forearm. She flipped her arm over, grabbed the Naddie's wing, and tossed it aside. "PTERODACTYL BALL AND CHAIN!"
"Beth!" Kimberly cried. "Duck!"
Beth dropped to the ground in a split just as a double tag team of black Naddies leapt at her. Still in the split, she swung the chain above her head and struck the closest bird, knocking it aside with a angry squawk.
Rocky brought his arm blades down in a wide swipe across a Naddie's chest. Before it could react, he elbowed the bird behind him, spin-kicked the bird before him, and completely dismembered a Naddie that just happened to leap over him. "YES!" he shouted happily. "I've got the hang of these creeps!" Three white Naddies suddenly jumped at him, pinning him to the ground.
"TRICERATOPS WHIP!" I cried. Still running from the army of bird machines behind me, I summoned my Power Weapon. It appeared in my hands in a flash of blue light. "Goin' up!" I shouted, stopping dead still and then flipping straight up in the air. The Naddies ran beneath me, their simple mechanical minds not expecting my sudden change in location. I landed neatly on the ground behind the crowd. I raised the blue cylinder above my head and lashed it out, sending the thin, blue leather whip out against the crowd of Naddies. It struck the nearest around the back, completely wrapping around its body. "Give us a break!" I shouted, more at Nadia than her Naddies. With a flick of my wrist, the lassoed Naddie slammed into the group, sending them all to the ground.
With two triumphant cries, Crystal and Allison landed on each side of me. "Need help?" Allison asked. However, before I could reply, every single Naddie disappeared in glimmers of black light.
"What's going on?" Billy asked.
"Rangers," Omicron said in a hurry. "Please report to the Command Center now!"
"On our way," Beth said. We visually conferred for a moment, and then teleported away in eleven streaks of colored, sparkling light.
* * *
My blue column of light streaked high above the country side as I journeyed toward Mammoth Cave. Colored sparks of light fell from us all we flew in tandem. We reached the Cave and dropped within it, zooming several thousand feet beneath ground until we reached the distant Command Center. "We've got trouble," Omicron said as soon as we touched down. I reached up a gloved hand to my helmet and inserted my fingers into the thin crack on each side of my head. With a whoosh of air, the seal on my Ranger suit was broken. The instantaneous fighting skill left my body, putting me in a very literal Stand-By Mode - not quite morphed, but not quite normal mortal, either.
"What's wrong?" Tara asked as we all set our helmets on various consoles about the room.
Sigma appeared with a crackle of electricity. "They're all done, Omicron," Sigma said proudly.
"What's done?" Crystal asked.
"Rangers, Nadia has given her Naddies two new modes of travel," Omicron said. "Screen on." A grid of the wall immediately changed into a viewing screen, split in half. On the right were several colored Naddies on colored motorcycles, and on the left were more Naddies on Jet Skis on a body of water. "The time has arrived once more that your arsenal must be updated," Omicron said.
"What's going on?" Jason asked.
"Whenever Nadia pulls a stunt, we counter," Dana explained.
"When this fight started, all we had were fighting skills and our armor," Omicron said. "The Naddies got weapons, our Rangers got weapons. Nadia started fighting us with giant machines, we made Assault Vehicles. She intro'ed Hover Boards, we got Power Boards. We'll tell you more later, but the basic gist is this - all eleven of you have a new, more powerful arsenal."
"Us too?" Katherine asked.
"If you are willing," Sigma added.
"We're up to it," Rocky affirmed for them.
"Follow me," Omicron said. "There is a place I would like to show you."
"What's that?" Allison asked.
"Well, while we have never really named it," Omicron said, "if we were going by the television show, I suppose it would be called the Morphing Grid."
"Cool," Beth and I said in unison.
"Rangers, prepare to set foot in a place no mortal in this dimension has ever been to," Sigma said. As if on cue, the lights on the Command Center darkened, with the exception of the neon columns and Sigma's Sword which gave a gentle, white light. The wall behind his Sword opened, and Sigma and Omicron walked toward it. The rest of us were close to follow. Fog drifted down all about us as we walked through the darkened archway. Lights were flashing in the fog which billowed up around us on the ground. We were suddenly within the grid. Reality rushed at us all, and it felt as if my entire scope of vision suddenly turned a complete one eighty on itself. All thirteen of us were standing in an infinitely large room. Omicron and Sigma stood in a silver circle which was the center of a pie divided into six slices, one for each color. Tara in the yellow section, Dana in green, Allison in purple, Jason and Crystal in red, Beth, Katherine, and Kimberly in pink, and Rocky, Billy, and myself in the blue. A brilliantly beautiful nighttime sky was above us, stretching in all directions to infinity. Billions upon billions of stars of all colors floated above us, complete with colored comets, colored clouds of gas, and planets of all shapes, sizes, and descriptions.
"This place is beautiful," Tara whispered.
"Yes, it is," Omicron agreed. "This Morphing Grid, as this place has apparently been named, is unique to this dimension. It is a place that belongs not just to you six Rangers, but to everyone here who stands within the light of righteousness."
"Regardless of religion, race, sexuality, or any other factor, if you embrace the light, then the Grid embraces you," Sigma added. "It is an all or none situation. Either you are fully within the Grid, or you have no knowledge of its existence. Billy, Rocky, Katherine, Kimberly, and Jason - even though you are temporary residents of this dimension, the Grid recognizes you and welcomes you. It is for this reason that your morphing ability work here, and that you will be able to accept our added arsenal."
"Within the Grid rests the purest of all good sensations. Love, peace, joy, happiness, prosperity, faith, and an infinite number more," Omicron said. "Since you defend these attributes, the Grid helps you with your powers, namely by providing an infinite storage locker."
"What?" Crystal asked. "You psych us all up for some great big speech about the grid, and you were doing real good, until you called it a closet."
Omicron shot Crystal a smile and said, "Turn around, and you will understand that it was not meant in a derogatory or played down manner."
I turned around, and saw the Blue Power. A shimmering cloud of blue light floated far off in the distance, within which rested a beautiful holographic visage of the Triceratops, and further within was my Totem, the Lion. Before the cloud was my Triceratops Assault Vehicle, gleaming beautifully in the light of the Grid. Triceratops Whip rested on the ground before my A.V., and the blue Power Board floated before it. I looked at the other sections, although they appeared empty to me. However, judging from the look on my friend's faces, I suspected they were anything but empty to them. I glanced back at Billy and Rocky, who without a single word told me that they could see their Blue Power as well. Billy, however, saw the Wolf behind his Triceratops, no Assault Vehicle, and his own Power Lances in place of my Whip. Rocky saw a giant triangle rather than the Triceratops, and behind that was his Ape, and his Power Blades alone.
"It's beautiful, Sigma," I said, so upset that I couldn't find any words in all of my vocabulary to express the joy and peace that I felt.
"It is," Dana agreed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
"This is beautiful, but why did you bring us here?" Beth asked.
"We've never been here before." Omicron, for a brief moment, looked sadder than I had ever seen her, although that was quickly replaced with her trademark smile. "I want you to truly understand what you are fighting for," Omicron said. "Nadia, and Jenga on a different plane of existence, both want to tarnish this place with their evil, so that they can rule supreme. The Grid stands in their way. This is but the merest taste of paradise. The feelings you have experiences here can, in fact, be felt in the outside world. The birth of a child, the wedding of childhood sweethearts, and many, many more occasions you've all felt at one time or another. Have faith."
"Don't lose heart," Sigma said. "You can all win. You can, and you will. You aren't just fighting for your planet. You're fighting for the very thin line between good and bad."
"The fight has just become much, much more difficult," Omicron said. "You are fighting Duran, Satan's extension into this world, just like Jenga, only he is not encumbered by the flesh as she is. In addition, Nadia has just stepped up the attacks, and so have we."
Lightning crackled all around us. Before us all were motorcycles and Jet Skis, and the five extra Rangers had Power Boards. The motorcycles were just ordinary motorcycles, with the exception of a small machine gun barrel on the very center. They were decorated entirely in our color. The Jet Skis were shaped in the general form of a normal wave jumper, although the front was shaped like our animal. My Power Ski had a gigantic Triceratops head, with the weapon and navigation controls hidden behind it. "Rangers, welcome the Power Bikes and Power Skis to the team," Omicron said happily.
"We are also sorry to say that, for the first time, you are no longer equally matched," Sigma said.
"What?!" Beth cried.
"What are you talking about?" Crystal added hurriedly.
"While your powers have not been decreased in any means," Omicron explained, "each coupling has had a certain aspect greatly enhanced. Beth and Jeremy, you are now truly adept at fighting on your Power Skis. Allison and Crystal, you will be most at home on your Power Bikes, and Tara and Dana, when the need arises, you will be best suited in the air on your Power Boards."
"Cool," Crystal agreed.
"We have also added a new detail to the Power Boards," Omicron said.
"You can call on them in mid-air," Sigma explained.
"Yes," Beth whispered.
"No more wipe-outs fifteen miles up," I added.
"And Rangers," Omicron said, "you need to go back to battle. Nadia and Duran are taking everywhere. Beth, Jeremy, Rocky, and Kimberly - take your new found Power Skis to the Atlantic Ocean. Coordinates are pre-set. Crystal, Allison, and Kimberly - hit the highway with your Power Bikes. Naddies are attacking I-65. Dana, Tara, Billy, and Jason - you need to take your fight into the upper atmosphere on your Power Boards. However, before you go, I must warn you. Billy and Rocky, if you are using any of your new Power Weapons, Jeremy must be morphed. Katherine and Kimberly, the same applies with you in that Beth must be morphed, as well as Crystal and Jason."
"May the Power protect you," Sigma added solemnly.
"BACK TO ACTION!" we all shouted at once.
* * *
Beth, Katherine, Rocky, and I teleported onto a small island in the middle of only God knows where. Suddenly, several roaring engines sped past the island. "Naddies!" Beth shouted. "Let's do it!"
"POWER SKIS!" we all shouted. In four pink and blue flashes, they appeared at the water's edge. Rocky and Katherine's Power Skis were the plainest, in that the front was just a normal stern with their Zeo shape at the top. My Power Ski was modeled after the Triceratops, while Beth's was of the Pterodactyl. Large pink wings flanked the sides, skimming over the water, while the Pterodactyl's head and crest formed the front. Taking only a brief moment to look at them in awe, we jumped onto the seat and gunned the engine.
"Circle formation!" Beth shouted. "They've got a whole ocean to maneuver in! We have to cut down their odds of success!"
"Right!" Rocky agreed.
"I'll head due south!" I shouted, cutting a sharp right, sending a spray of salty water up behind me.
"I'm goin' north!" Beth shouted. "Kat east, Rocky west!"
"Clockwise rotation!" Rocky agreed.
"How far out do we go?" Katherine asked, bouncing with her Power Ski as it jumped over the waves.
"Naddies coming due east at three miles out," Rocky said.
"Kat, you go four," I said. "The rest of us one and we squeeze 'em in!" Already, we were no longer within site of each other. I felt an adrenaline rush like never before. I could see absolutely nothing else but the sky and the sea. Nothing else. I glanced down at the monitor set into my small control panel. We were all about to reach our designated point. As soon as I hit it, I circled off to the left.
"These Naddies have their own strategy!" Katherine shouted. "The weaker ones are surrounding the Naddies with the heavy firepower."
"That makes no sense!" Rocky protested.
"Be assured they have something planned," Beth said. "And it won't be pretty."
A Naddie suddenly crossed in front of me on a yellow ski. A laser struck the water directly beside me, sending a puff of steam up. "All right!" I shouted, turning my gun cannons toward him. "Yer out!" Rapid fire bullets flew from the cannons, striking the Naddie. Both the Naddie and the wave jumper it rode exploded in a giant fireball. The remains were teleported back to the moon before they even hit the water.
"Circle in!" Beth shouted. "The mean guys are still in the center."
A red Naddie zoomed past Katherine and fired a torpedo. She yanked hard to the right, barely avoiding the collision. "Too close!" Katherine shouted. She fired a pink laser at the red Naddie, which it barely avoided.
"This isn't working," Rocky cried, banking left to avoid a spray of machine gun fire. "They know where we'll be before we're there!"
"Random attacks!" Beth shouted, tearing through the center of the Naddies on Jet Skis. "If they just developed new ways of analyzing our attacks, then we throw their mechanical minds for a loop."
"Rocky, go parallel! I've got an idea!" I urged my Power Ski to go faster, and I barely skimmed the water's surface as I headed for him.
"You got it!" he agreed, increasing his own speed to intercept me. "What you got in mind?!"
I kept my hands tightly on the controls but stood up on the seat. _I hope I know what I'm doing._ Rocky was suddenly beside me, keeping perfect time. "Auto-pilot!" I instructed my ski, and leapt the small gap onto Rocky's. I clasped my hands onto his shoulders and stood on the back of his blue seat. "Circle out and get me as close to the Naddies as possible!"
"You got it."
The blue Power Ski turned a hard ninety degrees and headed for the tightest cluster of birds. "The purple one," I said, pointing over his shoulder. "Pull up next to that one."
"Right," Rocky said. A few seconds later, the purple Naddie on the Power Ski of the same color was right beside us. "Hey!" I shouted, catching the mechanical bird's attention. "Hi-yaah!" I side-kicked the Naddie in the chest, sending it into the ocean. Upon being submerged, it exploded with a giant burst of steam. "Thanks Rock!" I shouted, hopping onto the purple Jet Ski.
"Not a problem," he said, turning away from me as I delved deeper into the angry circle of Naddies.
"What are you doing?!" Beth cried over our com unit. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"
"I know what I'm doing," I said, "but I need somebody to intercept me again in about fifteen seconds."
"I'm closest," Katherine volunteered. "I'll be right there!"
"Man, I wish I had Power Scan," I muttered.
"Don't worry," Omicron said over the radios. "Are you gonna do what I think you're gonna do?"
"Probably," I said, charging up the weapons for the Ski. "Activating missiles," I whispered. I glanced up to see Katherine headed toward me. "And detonating." I slammed my hand on the correct button, although I didn't fire. "Kat! I'm ready now! Everybody clear the area!" She darted past me. I yanked the Purple Ski in the opposite direction and flipped away. I landed on the back of Katherine's Power Ski in a seated position. "Get us out of here, Kat!" I cried.
"Right!" she said, gunning her engine. I was lurched forward as Katherine pressed into my back from the sudden force.
"Where is my Ski?" I asked.
"We're almost to it," Katherine said.
I carefully turned myself around in the seat and held on to her shoulders. My Blue Power Ski could still be seen flying across the ocean, driving full speed without a driver. Suddenly, a giant fireball exploded behind us. "Whoa!" Beth cried. "Jeremy! That got nearly all of 'em!"
I jumped off of Kat's Ski and landed neatly on my own as she intercepted it's path. "Thanks for the ride!" I said, turning off auto-pilot and taking control again.
"Any time," she answered.
"I'm still registering one Jet Ski, but no Naddies!" Beth cried. The four of us met and slowed to a halt.
"I don't see it anywhere," Rocky said.
"Where is it?" I asked, looking at my scanner.
"Three miles, east north east," Rocky answered. "And rapidly approaching!"
I looked up and saw a blue Ski heading straight for us. It didn't take more than a split second for me to realize that it wasn't a Naddie. "It's Nadia!" I shouted.
"Beth and Jeremy!" Omicron literally screamed through our open communications system. "She's developed an anti-morphing laser!"
"Not again!" Beth cried.
"It only works temporarily, but it still isn't a good idea to wipe out in the middle of the Pacific!" Suddenly, an intense beam of white light hit me. "Ahh!" I screamed as I felt my armor disappear. My Power Ski disappeared in a similar blue glimmer of light. I traveled backwards from the force of the beam and hit the water, hard. I briefly felt water all around me, but then everything drifted to black.
Rocky's own Ski disintegrated, sending him into the water.
"You too, blue boy," Nadia said, firing at him as well. Katherine darted over to him and helped him climb out of the warm water.
"We have to get out of here," Rocky said frantically.
"Jeremy!" Beth cried, abandoning her Ski to dive into the water.
"Omicron!" Rocky shouted into his thumb. "Get us out of here now!"
Nadia fired another beam at Katherine, causing her armor and her Power Ski to disintegrate. She and Rocky dropped into the ocean. However, Omicron activated teleport a split second later. The water was temporarily lit up with pink and blue light as our teleport streams flew out of the water and headed for the Command Center.
* * *
Allison, Crystal, and Kimberly teleported onto the median of Interstate 65. Naddies darted in and out of the flow of traffic in the north bound lanes. "Omicron?" Crystal asked. "What do we do about the traffic?"
"They won't be able to see you or the Naddies," she answered. "Just try and keep from wiping out in front of a car."
"Right," Allison agreed
In unison, the three Rangers shouted, "Power Bikes!" Three motorcycles, red, pink, and purple, equipped with a full arsenal of weapons, appeared before them. They jumped onto the back of the bikes and darted into traffic. Allison glanced behind her to see a tractor trailer approaching in the outside lane. A green Naddie fired a laser at her, which she barely countered with her own purple laser. "Hey! You green creep!" Allison backed her speed off and banked hard to the right. Her bike tilted toward the ground and she slid beneath the truck. "Whoa! This is intense!" She moved into the emergency lane, completing her path beneath the truck. "Hey Naddie!" She fired a purple missile at the Naddie. It struck the green motorcycle and exploded directly in front of her. Black sparks of light washed over her body as the Naddie and bike were teleported to the moon. "One down!"
"Crystal!" Kimberly shouted. "Let's tag team these guys!"
"Where are you?" Crystal asked, darting in and out of gaps between cars.
Kimberly glanced ahead of her and shouted, "I'm about to pass mile marker 78! There's a huge cluster of birds up here!"
"I'm on my way!" Crystal cried. She evened up with the yellow line and accelerated suddenly, rearing back on her rear tire. "Whoa!" Crystal laughed. The front tire hit the ground and she zoomed past the steady flow of traffic.
"That was kinda fun!" Kimberly veered across the road, shooting a spray of bullets across the interstate. Two motorcycle tires blew out, sending their riders to the ground. All four machines disappeared in black sparkles of light.
Crystal was suddenly beside Kimberly. "Let's use our lasers!" Crystal recommended.
"Right!" Kimberly agreed. Both Rangers opened fire, sending a wave of red and pink laser beams across the group of Naddies. While one laser shot was not enough to incapacitate a Naddie, it did succeed in knocking them off of their bikes, where they exploded on contact with the ground.
"Leave some for me!" Allison shouted, driving up through the emergency lane. A Naddie suddenly flipped its bike over, directly in Allison's path.
"Watch out!" Crystal shouted, but it was a few seconds too late. The front wheel of the Purple Power Bike connected with the Naddie's bike and tipped over, sending Allison crashing to the pavement. She slid several feet, finally coming to stop about thirty feet from the collision. Allison rolled over and saw that her Power Bike was lying perfectly still in the middle of the slow lane. A car was mere seconds from running over the bike that to the driver was invisible, and no doubt causing a major pile-up.
"Power down!" Allison shouted instinctively to make the Power Bike disappear to the grid. A split second later, she realized what she had done. Her armor burst off of her body in purple sparkles of light, leaving her sitting in the middle of the interstate, complete unmorphed.
"Allison!" Kimberly shouted.
The unmorphed Purple Ranger screamed and brought her left thumb and middle finger together. She half-melted into a stream of purple light when the car ran over her. A bright purple flash filled the air and purple sparkles of light were thrown everywhere. "NO!" Crystal cried, driving onto the median and abandoning her Power Bike.
Kimberly was close behind. "Has that ever happened before?!" Kimberly cried.
"No!" Crystal said, panicked. "Allison!" A few solitary balls of purple light began to drift toward them. "Allison?"
"Omicron?" Kimberly asked. "Where is Allison?"
"I saw it happen on the Viewing Screen," Omicron said. "I can't locate Purple Ranger's vitals anywhere. Her teleport stream was severely disrupted. I'm registering her energy all over the place out there."
"Crystal," Kimberly muttered. "Look."
A literal cloud of purple light was beginning to collect on the median. Sparks of light were flying toward them from everywhere. A bright purple flash exploded, and Allison was dumped onto the grassy median. "Allison!" Crystal cried, immediately at her side. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," Allison said, patting her body to make sure she hadn't lost any vital body parts in the teleport process. "I'll be fine. You all go back after the Naddies. I'll be there in a second."
"Right," Kimberly said. "Come on, Crystal."
Allison sighed deeply as Crystal and Kimberly ran back to their Power Bikes. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute, and she gave herself another quick once-over just to make absolutely sure she hadn't lost any body parts in her scattered teleport. She glanced up just as a string of Naddies darted down the south bound lane. Allison hooked her right arm up and twisted her wrist. Purple light flowed down her arm and materialized in her fist, producing her purple Morpher. "MASTODON!" A purple outline of her armor appeared on her body. Purple light flowed down her body, filling in the outline. A purple ghostly image of the Mastodon appeared behind her. With a thunderous trumpet, it roared toward her. The ghostly Mastodon descended toward her, transforming itself into a purple outline of her helmet. Purple light flashed around her head, and her long blonde hair was pulled up beneath her helmet instantaneously, neatly and painlessly tucked into the back of the helmet. The whole process took only a brief millisecond, and she was clad in her armor. "POWER BIKE!" she cried angrily. It appeared before her in a bright purple flash. She hopped onto the back and sped into the flow of traffic.
"Crystal," Kimberly called, "distract 'em for me and I'll take care of business!"
"You got it!" Crystal agreed, increasing the gap between her and the crowd of Naddies.
"Loading heat seekers," Kimberly muttered, taking her eyes off of the road for a brief second to examine her console. "Twelve Naddies, three weapons cannons, four shots...." She pushed a few more buttons and shouted, "Okay Crystal! Pull out!"
Crystal veered to the left as Kimberly fired. Three weapons cannons lifted out of the front of the motorcycle, and four pink heat seeking missiles were rapid fired from each cannon. Kimberly pulled off of the Interstate and parked beside Crystal. A few seconds later, the twelve heatseekers connected with their targets, making a huge explosion which soon disappeared in black light.
"Let's see how you all like this trick," Allison growled angrily. A revolving machine gun barrel lifted from the front of her bike. "FIRE!" Multiple bullets were fired from the gun, striking the Naddies before her. The Naddies began to twist and contort wildly as they were riddled full of bullets. The few remaining Naddies exploded in black light, leaving the interstate free of the mechanical enemy. Allison pulled off to the side of the road as Crystal and Kimberly caught up with her.
"Let's go back to the Command Center," Crystal said. "We might be needed elsewhere."
"Right," Allison and Crystal agreed before they disappeared in three sparkling streaks of red, purple, and pink light.
* * *
"The Naddies are at a height of eighteen thousand feet and dropping," Omicron said. "Get up there and stop 'em before they reach the Earth."
"Right," Dana agreed.
"Hold on," Jason said. "How do these things work?"
"Yeah, the Power isn't exactly telling us what to do since the Power Boards aren't really ours," Billy added.
"It's all mental," Tara explained. "Just imagine how you want to move, and that's pretty much all there is to it. But remember, all fighting in the air has to be done with your weapons or your upper body. If you try to kick, you'll just flip yourself upside down because both feet are attached."
"But don't be afraid to be daring," Dana mentioned. "Air fights are very tricky, and sometimes, weird techniques are what it takes to get the job done."
"Right," Jason and Billy agreed.
The four Rangers nodded and shouted, "POWER BOARDS!" The small skateboard-like object appeared before them. The surface was completely smooth and showed no apparent means of attaching to the Rangers' boots. "You just jump on 'em and go?" Billy asked nervously.
"Yep," Dana said, demonstrating her point by hopping onto her own green Board which hovered about two feet off of the ground. Hidden mechanisms within the Power Board locked onto the soles of her boot, giving her a completely secure surface to stand on.
"Right," Billy said, jumping onto his own board. It wobbled a few times, prompting him to put his hands out to the sides to steady himself.
"See," Tara said. "It's not hard." Tara and Jason simultaneously jumped onto their Power Boards.
"Now let's go!" Dana commanded.
"Right!" the others agreed. Perfectly on cue, they slowly lifted into the air.
"The atmosphere is an awful big place," Jason said as they steadily increased their speed. "How does the fight take place?"
"Fast, furious, and everywhere," Tara said. "Don't worry about finding the Naddies. They find you, and they fight dirty."
"You're almost there, and you're looking good," Omicron said warmly.
"Billy and Jason, just stay calm, don't let the Naddies rush you, and you'll be fine. And remember, you're fighting in a 3-D atmosphere. You can always go up or down to escape for a moment."
"Here they come!" Tara shouted.
"Good Lord!" Billy cried, looking down. "How high up are we?!"
"Don't think about it and you'll be fine," Dana said. "BRACHIOSAURUS TRIDENT!" Dozens of Naddies were suddenly flying all around the Rangers, screeching angrily and summoning their weapons. "POWER SWORD!"
"POWER LANCE!"
"SABER-TOOTHED TIGER BOW AND ARROW!"
Tara pulled back on her bow and produced a yellow arrow. "There's one good thing about fighting in the air!" She fired the air, spun around, and smashed the bow across the chest of a Naddie that attempted to sneak up behind her. Both Naddies fell of their boards and began the long fall to the Earth. She flipped, never once changing her stance, and hit a Naddie flying above her. The Naddie's board disintegrated, sending the board tumbling to the Earth, falling too fast to regain flight. "It doesn't take nearly as much to take 'em out up here."
Billy snapped his Power Lances into a long bo and spun it above his head. He thrust a spike forward, spearing a Naddie, and then pulled it back, spearing another Naddie on the other end. He shook both deactivated machines off of the Lance and spun in a circle, knocking two birds away from him.
Dana beat Naddies furiously with her trident, while Jason cleanly sliced through Naddies with his Power Sword. However, a Naddie with a similar-sized Sword knocked his from his hand, sending it plummeting to the Earth.
"No you don't!" Jason shouted, pulling his red Power Blaster from the holster at his waist and began firing at the Naddies.
A wave of blue light suddenly washed in front of Billy's eyes. "Whoa," he said, dropping a few feet in altitude. "What was that?" Before he had time to analyze his problem, however, his Power Board disappeared in a blue flash of light. With a cry of alarm, he dropped straight out of the atmosphere.
"Billy!" Tara shouted.
"Go get him!" Dana shouted, bringing her Trident down in a wide swipe across a Naddie's chest. "We'll handle things up here!"
"Right!" Tara cried, putting her bow away and rushing toward the falling Ranger.
"Teleport Billy! Teleport!" Tara yelled at him. He made no reply, nor did he disappear in the customary blue streak of sparkling light. She caught up to him and scooped the larger body in her arms. She realized a few seconds later that the reason he hadn't answered was because he was unconscious.
Yellow Ranger looked up to see Dana and Jason zooming toward her after having defeated the crowd of Naddies in an adrenaline powered rush. "What's wrong?" Jason shouted, sliding to a stop beside her.
"I don't know!" Tara answered. "He's knocked out somehow!"
"But he's morphed!" Dana cried. "That's impossible!"
"POWER SCAN!" Jason shouted. Immediately, the visor on his helmet was replaced with a sheet of silver. He turned his gaze at the still Blue Ranger in Tara's arms. "He's registering everything normal. Brain waves, vitals... It's like he's asleep."
"Let's get back to the Command Center," Dana said. They teleported away in four streaks of colored light.
* * *
Beth and Katherine teleported into the Command Center, each carrying an unconscious Blue Ranger. Beth was having an easier time than Katherine, for she was still morphed. Kat, however, held Rocky up by his shoulders and was not having an easy time. "Careful," Omicron said, hurrying over to her. She helped Kat lower Rocky to the ground.
"I'll prepare some cots," Sigma volunteered hurriedly, concentrating his mental efforts on his Sword.
"Pterodactyl Down!" Beth shouted. Her armor burst into a cloud of pink sparks, and the sea water on her armor dropped onto her skin and clothing. "What happened to them?" she asked.
"No idea," Omicron said. "Maybe Duran has given Nadia a new type of de-morph laser." Both bodies disappeared in blue sparkles of light.
"What happened?" Kat asked. "They're in here," Sigma shouted. "Don't worry. That was me."
"Come on," Beth said, taking Kat's hand. The two girls ran to the left side of the Command Center. A section of the wall opened, revealing a doorway of light with fog rolling out.
"Is it safe?" Kat asked.
"The fog is mainly for show," Omicron said, ushering the two Pink Rangers within. Rocky and I both lay on similar blue cots in the small well-lit infirmary.
"Sigma?" Beth asked. "What-...?"
"I don't know," he answered. "They're fine, but... They just aren't with us right now."
"You guys!" Dana shouted suddenly from the main room.
"Uh oh," Omicron muttered, running to them. "What happened with you all?"
"Something happened to Billy," Tara said, still carrying the body that was considerably larger than her in her arms.
"In there," Omicron instructed. "I gotta figure out what's going on...."
Red, pink, and purple temporarily bathed the Command Center as the three other Rangers teleported in. "Man, what a rush!" Crystal shouted with a laugh. "Tyrannosaurus Down!"
"Something's wrong," Dana said. "Brachiosaurus Down. The Blue Rangers aren't responding to anything."
* * *
Blue light flashed all about me. "Helloooo?!" I shouted. I looked down the length of my body and saw that I was demorphed and in the clothing I had worn before the fight. I took a few steps forward, and the light suddenly disappeared. Reality rushed at me again, and I knew, immediately, where I was. "The Grid," I said. I was standing at the intersection of all of the colors. My right foot was in the pink and my left foot in the yellow with blue directly before me. "What's going on?!" I shouted. My voice was immediately lost in the vastness of the cosmic landscape.
"Jeremy?!" a voice suddenly called.
"Who's there?!"
"Rocky!" I turned around and suddenly saw Rocky standing just a few feet from me. We both cried in alarm and jumped away. "You scared me."
"Wasn't exactly good for me, either," Rocky said. "What are we doing in the grid?"
"I wouldn't mind knowing myself," yet another familiar voice said from my right.
"Billy?" Rocky asked.
"In the flesh," Billy said. Unlike Rocky and myself, Billy was morphed. He removed his helmet and looked about us nervously. "Has that happened before?"
"Nope," I answered truthfully. "This is a first."
"Hi."
I turned to the voice's source and saw a young girl, no more than six or seven years old, standing a few feet away from me.
"Me?" She giggled and said, "Yep. Hi." She was a very pretty little girl, with long honey-brown hair and bright blueish-green eyes. A truly innocent smile was plastered on her face.
"Hi," I said, confused. "What's your name?"
She giggled and said, "You know my name."
"Actually, I don't," I told her. Rocky and Billy stood behind me and watched my conversation with the mysterious little girl in awe.
"I know your name," she said with a smile.
I took a few steps toward the girl and knelt before her so that we were eye to eye. "How do you know me?"
The little girl laughed again with a laugh so eerily familiar it quite literally scared me. "Cause you're my daddy!" She giggled happily again.
"Wha?" Rocky asked.
"She has your laugh," Billy said, completely shocked.
"Excuse me?" I asked in horrified awe. "I don't have a kid."
"None that you know of, anyhow," Billy said.
"No," I said. "I do not have a kid. Trust me on this one."
"You're silly, Daddy," she giggled. "I haven't been born yet."
"Oh thank God," I said. "I was starting to think I had forgotten something really important."
"I was sent to give you a message," she said. "If you lose," and suddenly, the humor dropped from her face and she carried an expression of seriousness that no little girl should ever have, "I won't be born."
"Neither will we," a boy about her age said as he walked up to her. He had short brown hair, warm brown eyes, and a mischievous grin. Yet another little girl, this one with long black hair, walked up with him.
"Are you two... my kids, too?"
The little girl shook her head and smiled at Billy.
"You're my daughter?" Billy asked hopefully.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Father," she said with a smile.
"Are you...?" Rocky asked, pointing at the little boy.
"Uh huh," he said, laughing. My daughter laughed along with him. "None of us will be born if you don't win," Rocky's son told him. "Cause Duran will attack this Friday night. And if he wins, then you'll die on this world."
"We'll win," Rocky promised them.
"Yes," I agreed. I smiled at this child I had never seen before, and despite feeling no paternal instincts for her yet, knew that I had to bring this child into the world. "Can I ask you a question?"
"I don't know if I can answer," she said. "But I guess you can ask...."
"What's your name?" I requested. "Please."
She smiled and said, "Dorothy Jane."
"I like that name," I told her. "Did your mother actually let me name you that?"
"Yep," Dorothy Jane said, smiling uncontrollably. "You'll make a deal. If I'm a girl, you could name me Dorothy Jane. If I was supposed to be a boy, she would name him Duke."
"Duke?" I asked. "I like that, too. Are you my only child?"
"I haven't even been born yet," Dorothy Jane said. "But no, I'm not."
"What is your name, sweetheart?" Billy asked his daughter.
"Kittie," she answered with a slight grin. "And you?" Rocky asked almost nervously.
"Christian," the boy answered.
"You're my son?"
"Yeah," he said. "You're gonna be a fun Dad."
"I think you'll be a fun kid, yourself," Rocky said.
"We have to go now," Dorothy Jane told us.
"I have one piece of advice for you," Christian whispered. "Look for help in unobvious places." Fog suddenly began to cloud up all around us, and I couldn't see the children anymore.
* * *
"Dorothy Jane!" I shouted, sitting up in bed.
"Christian," Rocky muttered, somewhere near me.
"And Kittie," Billy added, snapping from his own comatose state as well.
"You're awake," Omicron breathed, suddenly at my side.
"What happened?" I murmured, trying to gain a sense of my surroundings.
"In the fight this morning, Nadia had a de-morph laser. Worse one yet, but I've already made a counter for it and we'll incorporate it into your armor tonight. But, it knocked you and the other Blue Rangers out cold," Omicron explained.
"How long were we out?" Rocky asked.
"A few hours," Omicron answered. "Who are those people you mentioned?"
"Our children," Billy whispered.
* * *
"Are you all doing okay?" Beth asked me.
"I feel fine," Rocky told her. Beth, Crystal, the five Angel Grove Rangers, and I were crammed in our tree. Beth, Kimberly, and I shared my branch, Rocky, Billy, and Katherine were on the other, while Jason and Crystal sat slightly above us. We were up in the tree to watch the sun set after a very long day.
"It's like we just went to sleep for a while," I told her. Rocky, Billy, and I had sworn Omicron and Sigma to secrecy about meeting our children in the grid. We all sat in silence for a while, before I finally asked, "Beth? What do you think of the name Dorothy Jane?"
"For like a pet?"
"No, a kid," I told her.
"Eew," she said. "I would not do that to a child."
"How about Duke?" I asked. "Do you like Duke?"
"For a dog maybe," she said. She turned to look at me and said, "Why?"
"No reason," I answered.
"Got room for another body up there?" Allison asked as she climbed up beside us.
"We can squeeze you in up here," Crystal said, scooting over to make room for the Purple Ranger. Yellow light streaked past us and materialized on a branch near Jason.
"What did you climb for?" Tara asked with a satisfied smile. "Teleporting is easier."
"Takes the fun out of it," Allison said as she moved herself into position.
Green light streaked past us and materialized beside Tara. "Hey guys," Dana said as she settled in place.
"I hate Monday nights," Beth complained. "There's never anything to do."
"We can watch the stars from the top of the tree after the sun sets," I volunteered.
"Like I said, there's never anything to do on Monday nights," Beth complained.
"I, for one, am glad to have a night off," Crystal said.
"I second that," Allison muttered.
"It's so beautiful," Dana whispered as the last sliver of the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. The entire sky was painted with pink, purple, and red clouds.
"We gotta win," Tara said firmly.
"We will," I told her. "I know that now. We will."
"Somehow," Billy said.
"We had better climb up top before it gets to dark to see," Rocky said.
"Right," I agreed. "It's impossible to get up this tree without light."
"Well let's go," Jason said.
* * *
An hour later, the sky was pitch black and covered with an infinite spread of stars. Beep beep beepbeep beep beep.
"Uh oh," Kimberly said.
"We read you Sigma," Beth said into her thumb. A small circle of pink light was visible on her thumb and index finger.
"Omicron, actually. I just wanted to tell you that everything seems pretty calm tonight. We don't anticipate any kind of emergency tonight, so we're going to take your powers, teleportation, and communications off-line for a while to upgrade, et cetera. Stuff like that. If anything happens, we'll let you know."
"Good deal," Beth said. "Good night you guys."
"G'night," Omicron said as the communications ended abruptly.
"I just had a bad thought," Katherine said.
"What's that?" Dana asked.
"Did anybody bring a flashlight?"
"Oh crap," I muttered. "Guess we'll have to teleport out."
"We can't," Beth said right in my left ear. "Remember?"
"Oh man," Jason said. "Maybe we can risk it."
"Can you see anything except up?" Rocky asked.
"We're stuck in this tree?" Crystal asked.
"Unless somebody has a flashlight with them," I said. "You would kill yourself trying to climb down in the dark."
"Maybe we can still morph," Kimberly suggested.
"Nope," Dana said. "Omicron will take you all off-line as well to incorporate a counter-frequency so Nadia's de-morph laser won't work on you. We're stuck."
"This is just sad," Jason said. "We defended the planet this morning, but as soon as the sun set, we get stuck in a tree."
"We won't have to spend the night up here, will we?" Katherine asked.
"Nah," I answered. "Just two or three hours. Until Omicron puts teleportation back on-line anyhow."
"This is embarrassing," Tara moaned.
"Let's just enjoy the view until we can get out," Crystal said.
"Yeah," Beth agreed. "But, if you'll excuse me, I am going to make myself more comfortable."
"How?" I asked.
"Just hold still for a sec," Beth said. She placed a hand on my shoulder and slowly climbed to her feet.
"Careful," Rocky warned.
"I am," Beth said. "Jeremy, scoot over."
"Yes ma'am," I said, sliding over to make room for her on my right.
"My leg was falling asleep where I was," Beth said. She knelt down, still holding a firm grip on my shoulder. "Now just give me a sec. Hold on.... What is that?!"
"That's my thigh," Rocky said dryly.
"Sorry," Beth murmured. "Just... hold on... a se- whoops."
"Ow!" Jason shouted, wincing in pain. "Watch where you catch yourself!" He was sitting on the branch above us, and when Beth caught herself on a particularly sensitive area, his foot lashed out and hit me in the back of the head.
"Watch it," I warned.
"Think you're causing enough trouble over there?" Dana asked.
"My foot is asleep," Beth said.
"Just sit down," I said.
"I can't exactly see," Beth told her. "Now what is this I'm holding on to?"
"That's my thigh now," Jason told her.
"Sit down," I told her, pulling her into a seated position. She shrieked and sat down with a thump on my leg. We both shouted in alarm.
"Sorry," Beth said. She scooted off of me and sat beside me.
"You went through all of that just to sit on the other side?" Crystal asked with a laugh. "Girl, you ain't right."
"Hush Crystal," Beth laughed back. "I did all of that because my foot was asleep."
"Aw geez," Kimberly said. "I think my leg is asleep now."
"Oh crap," Billy said, who was sitting beside Kimberly.
* * *
"What time is it?" Allison asked with a sigh. So far, we had all been through many, many moves, whenever someone happened to have a limb fall asleep. "Nine o'clock," Rocky muttered. "Man, I'm starting to ache."
"I am never climbing up this tree again," Tara said firmly.
"I can't believe I didn't think of a flashlight," I said. Beep beep beepbeep beep beep.
"Thank God," Tara said. Twenty-two points of light were glowing in the tree, one each on our thumb and index finger. "Is teleportation back on-line yet?"
"Yeah," Omicron said. "Why? You planning on goin' someplace?"
"You could say that," I answered.
"We've been stuck in this tree for an hour and a half!" Beth complained. The communications line abruptly closed.
"She's laughing at us," Allison said.
"Omicron," Crystal said into her thumb.
"I'm sorry," Omicron said, still chuckling as she came back on-line. "Hold on a sec. I want a visual of this." A few seconds more, and she began laughing anew.
"Well, did you at least get all of the new de-morph codes in our armor?" I asked.
"Affirmative," Omicron said. "You all can teleport out of the tree now."
"Well let's go," Beth said. She pressed her thumb and middle finger together. Immediately, her entire body began to glow hot pink. A whirling vortex of pink sparks of light could be seen in the center of her body. Randomly, the rest of us began to glow our own color as we activated the teleport. Our bodies were glowing brilliantly, and sparks of light were shooting out everywhere. A split second later, we dropped out of the tree and materialized on the ground.
"Oh," Rocky groaned, stretching. "That did not help my back at all."
"I'm going home before I get stuck anywhere else," Crystal said. "See you all later."
"Me too," Dana, Allison, Beth, and Tara agreed in unison. We said our goodbye, and they teleported home, lighting up the sky with their teleport streams.
"Oh shoot," I said. "I just remembered I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Would one of you drive me? I still can't shift real well."
"I'll do it," Rocky volunteered. "I need to go to Waldenbook's anyhow."
"Waldenbooks?" Kimberly asked.
"I'm not totally illiterate," Rocky said. "I want to see if they have Ernest Hemingway on this world."
* * *
A piercing scream tore through the house, rousing me from a sound sleep. With a cry of my own, I rolled off of the couch. I fumbled briefly for my glasses, and as soon as I slid them on, darted toward the sound. "What what what?!" I shouted.
I found Kimberly in front of my computer, hands over her mouth in horror. "Oh my God!" she cried. "I can't believe she did that to us!"
"What's going on?" Jason asked, darting into the room in a similar state of dress. Rocky was close behind.
"I'm naked!" Kimberly cried in horror.
All of our eyes traveled to the monitor. "Wow," Rocky muttered.
Kimberly glanced at the three of us, and then immediately clamped her hands over the picture. "Why on Earth did Amy Jo Johnson pose nude?!" Kimberly cried in horror.
"Nude?" Billy asked, stumbling into the room.
"It's not Amy Jo Johnson," I told her. "They had a big stink on the internet a while back over this. That's Lisa Matthews. Those pictures were taken in the late eighties before Amy Jo Johnson was even heard of. Then, Power Rangers came out, and some psychos dug up these old pictures of the eerie look-alike, and put AJJ's name on it."
"Oh thank God," Kimberly sighed. "That took ten years off of my life." She relaxed and took her hands from the screen, revealing the infamous picture.
"It does look like you," Billy murmured. Rocky and I turned to look at Billy.
"Hmm?" Rocky asked.
"What is going on?" Katherine asked, finally making her way to the computer.
"We spent a day in each other's bodies!" Billy cried. "Was I not supposed to look?!"
"I wonder if David Yost has posed nude," Kimberly mused, clicking on the button for the search engine.
"I'm almost positive he hasn't," I told her.
"What are you doing up so late?" Katherine asked.
"Couldn't sleep," Kimberly said. "Surfed the web, found a picture of myself naked. Still can't sleep."
"I'm going back to sleep," I told her.
"Please refrain from screaming," Billy said.
"Sorry," Kimberly said.
_I'm gonna mess with her head a little bit._ "Kimberly, go to the Fanfic Shoppe. It's in the bookmarks. Read a fanfic called 'Seduction of the Blue Ranger'. 'Kay?"
"Why?"
"It's very well written," I told her.
"Why?"
"You'll see," I said with a smile.
As we made our way back across the house, Billy asked, "What did the title mean?"
"Ask Kimberly in the morning," I said, suppressing a chuckle.
* * *
"We'll go to Nolin Lake this afternoon," I said as Rocky and I drove to Bowling Green to go to the doctor's.
"Hey, that'll be cool," Rocky said. "I haven't got to swim in a long time."
"Me neither. I was in the cast up until about two weeks ago."
"When did you break your arm?"
"Very last day of school. Fifteen minutes after I took my last final. Totaled my truck that I had only had for eight days."
"This one here?"
"No. We got rid of the wrecked truck. Bad memories, I guess. But this truck happens to look just like the one I wrecked."
"Who's fault?"
"The other person," I said. "She wasn't paying attention, drove out of a side street, and plowed into me. We were both driving about 45, 50, and it durn near killed us both. I'm lucky just to have gotten the broken arm, I guess."
"Tell me about it," Rocky murmured.
"What about your back?" I asked. "What... happened exactly?"
"Pretty much what was in the movie, although I didn't quite defy gravity like that Rocky did," he said with a laugh. "I fell out of the ring, beat myself stupid, went to the hospital, got doped up on pain pills, and passed the power on to a twelve-year old. Man, I'm glad that turned out as well as it did."
"Justin seems pretty cool."
"He's very cool," Rocky agreed. "He's just like Billy. That kid is Billy made over. Other than the fact that they don't look alike, there's no way you could tell they aren't related." We sat in silence for a few moments when Rocky said, "Man, life is weird."
"Tell me about it," I agreed. "Hey. I just had a thought. There is a t.v. show of you all on our world. Maybe in some dimension, we're a TV show."
"Makes sense to me," Rocky said. "My life would have been so much simpler if I had never been a Ranger."
"You wouldn't trade it for anything, though," I told him.
"No, I guess not," he agreed. He smiled and said, "I do like that adrenaline rush."
"That's the only good thing," I told him. "Did you know Dana was nearly beheaded once? Tara had a bridge fall on her."
"Well, we did get to meet our kids yesterday."
"That's true. That was pretty nice."
"Do you really want to name your daughter Dorothy Jane?"
"What's wrong with the name Dorothy Jane?"
"Too... hokey, for my tastes."
"Hokey?"
"Well...."
"I like country names. Dorothy Jane, Ruth Ann, Mary Grace, stuff like that. I got Dorothy Jane from The Torkelsons."
"Who?"
"T.V. show."
"Oh."
We rode in silence for a few minutes, enraptured both by the radio and the country-side scrolling past us. "Are you going to college next semester?" I asked at long last.
"I don't think so," Rocky said. "I'll probably take a semester off, at least, to get rested up. Maybe next spring." Rocky paused, and then asked, "Do you ever wonder if you'll get married?"
"I intend to," I said. "Eventually. I used to wonder if I'd ever meet somebody, fall in love, and get married. I've always hoped I would meet a gorgeous blonde, and we'd live in a big house in the country with -"
"Two point five children and a white picket fence?" Rocky asked with a grin.
"Something like that."
"You have no idea how much of a relief it was for me to see my child yesterday," Rocky said. "At least now I know I'll have some type of relationship."
"What do you mean?"
"I just don't seem to be very... attractive to women," Rocky muttered.
"I know that feeling," I said. "One time, I almost asked Beth out. I was so close. It was at our Senior prom. We had both gone with friends, so neither of us was dating anybody at the time. We were dancing, and God help me, she was gorgeous. I came sooo close to telling her everything I felt. Just when I was about to, she said, 'You know, you're like a big brother to me.'"
"Ouch."
"Yeah. I'm just glad she said it before. I don't know where it came from, but I'm thankful I didn't embarrass myself if I didn't have to."
"What about you and Allison?"
"What about us?"
"Isn't there some kind of When Harry Met Sally thing that almost always happens when a guy and girl are best friends?"
"I don't think so," I said. "I love Allison to death, but I cannot see myself being... romantic with her. That's just... weird."
"How about Crystal, Dana, or Tara?" Rocky asked.
"They're like my sisters," I said. "I couldn't have a relationship with them either."
"Just Beth?"
"Out of the Rangers," I said.
"Omicron!" Rocky suggested.
"Omicron?"
"Yeah! She's about the most gorgeous person you're gonna meet, she's sweet, she's funny, she's friendly, and she's blonde."
"She's as old as time itself."
"Huh?"
"She's an angel," I said. "She's older than Jesus."
"But she looks like she's our age."
"Besides, I've already been through that phase."
"Pwuh?"
"I developed a crush on Omicron as soon as we became Rangers," I told him with a sigh. "She suspected it, and told me nothing could come of it."
"That sounds embarrassing."
"More than you can imagine."
"I don't think any of our Rangers ever had a crush on Alpha." He laughed in spite of himself.
"Oh! I just thought of a question!"
"Huh?"
"Ever since I've been watching Power Rangers, I've developed a list of questions I've always wanted to know the answers to. Why did you, Adam, and Aisha move to Angel Grove just all of a sudden?"
"We got transferred," Rocky said, "along with a bunch of other Stone Canyon High students. Originally, Angel Grove kids that lived on the North Side were bussed to Stone Canyon because AGH was overcrowded. But in the last five years or so, Stone Canyon has had more students than Angel Grove, so North side Angel Grove students were given the option of attending Angel Grove High, and not have to go through with the twenty minute bus ride every day. Plus, we had made friends with the other Rangers, so we all decided to do it."
"Good a reason as any," I said.
"Also, I was the only one of my family actually going to Stone Canyon, except for Pedro. He's my older brother. Everybody younger than me went to Angel Grove Elementary. When Pedro graduated, I was the only person left in Stone Canyon, and it was just more trouble than it was worth."
"That makes more sense than what they said on the show."
"What did they say?"
"Not a thing." We talked about nothing in particular during the rest of the drive into the city.
* * *
After a surprisingly short wait, Dr. Kimber Sinclair came into the room. "We are so understaffed today," she said as she removed her white overcoat. "Please tell me that someone came with you today. Parent, sibling, friend, anyone?"
"A friend of mine came with me. Why?"
"Would they be willing to help me? The physical therapist had an emergency at the hospital, and I need somebody to help me."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"It's not bad," she said. "Well?"
"Rocky DeSantos," I told her. "He'll probably help."
After sending the receptionist to get him, she told me, "I'm going to manipulate the joint. The fact that your elbow won't bend concerns me. I'm going to need somebody to-"
"Restrain me?"
"Basically," she said. "For now, take your shirt off and let me see the bruise on your chest."
Rocky was pointed into the room, obviously confused. "Why am I needed?"
"To hold me down," I muttered as I removed my green t-shirt.
"I see you shaved your chest hair again," Kimber said to me as she extended a hand to Rocky.
"Huh?" Rocky asked.
"Dr. Kimber Sinclair," she said. "Call me Kimber."
"But-,"
"Inside joke," I said. "The first time she saw me, she had just come in from a really hairy patient. She made me take my shirt off, and the very first thing she said wasn't about the ugly yellow and purple bleeding bruise from the seatbelt."
"I commented on his lack of chest hair," Kimber said with a smile.
"Isn't that... interesting," Rocky mused.
"The first guy was really hairy," Kimber said. "It was like a sweater. It really messed me up. And I've done autopsies. I know you aren't supposed to make fun of people for the way they looked, but still... that man was hairy. It was such a relief to see someone who could be construed as at least moderately normal."
"Thank you," I said sarcastically.
"You know what I mean."
"Guess you had to be there," Rocky said.
"I think so," Kimber grinned. She reached out a gloved finger to touch the nearly faded bruise on my chest. "Does it hurt?"
"Not any more."
"Knee?"
"Not a problem."
"Been doing your exercises?"
"Yep. Can I start lifting weights again?"
"We'll see," she said. "Have you done anything strenuous lately?"
"Sort of."
"Such as?"
"Oh, just... stuff. I climb a tree all the time."
"How high?"
"Usually about forty feet," I said. "Last night, we climbed about seventy-five."
"We?"
"Some friends."
"We got stuck up there in the dark," Rocky muttered, "'cause he forgot the flashlight."
"You climbed seventy-five feet above the ground in a tree without a flashlight?" Kimber asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"I've climbed that tree my whole life," I told her. "I don't even use my right arm to climb it."
"Make sure you don't," she said. "How'd you get back down?"
I paused for a moment, and then said, "Somebody finally saw us in the tree and brought a flashlight."
"That's... interesting," Kimber said. "All right. We'll crack your elbow, give you a new list of exercises, and you can be on your way."
"That sounds painful," I complained, although Kimber paid no mind.
"What do you need me to do?" Rocky asked.
"Stand behind him, and hold his shoulder," Kimber explained. "Jeremy, I'm going to pull on your forearm, hard. Fluid is building up in your elbow. This is basically like cracking your fingers. There'll be a loud crack, but if you exercise it, it shouldn't get as stiff again as it is right now."
"Okay," I consented. "Just do it and get it over with."
Rocky got behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Try to keep his upper arm from moving," Kimber instructed. "On three," she said.
"Is this supposed to hurt?"
"Probably," Kimber said. "You haven't moved your elbow normally for over eight weeks. One, two, three!" She pulled my forearm out and to the right, producing a sickening crack from my elbow.
"Ah!" I shouted.
"Dude," Rocky muttered. "That hurt me."
"Well?" Kimber asked. "It should be feel better now."
"It's not as stiff," I said, carefully flexing my joint. "Still hurts, though."
"Keep working it," she said, "keep doing your exercises, start doing the elbow exercises I gave you last time, and make an appointment for three weeks when you leave. Start lifting weights when you honest to goodness believe your joint can handle it, and not before. And whatever you do, try and not do anything extreme with your arm."
"Like fighting evil machines to save the planet?" I suggested with a smile.
"Exactly," Kimber said, returning the smile.
"And what if he has to fight evil machines to save the planet?" Rocky asked.
"You'll have to wear his tights into battle," Kimber said with an even bigger smile.
* * *
"She doesn't know, does she?" Rocky asked as we left.
"Nah, I just like to tell people the truth and see if anyone will ever believe me," I said.
"Has anyone?"
"My six-year old nephew," I told him. "He's the only person who's ever believed me without having to be taken to the Command Center. And I don't know about you, but I'm famished. Wanna go to the Food Court?"
"Do you have to ask?"
* * *
Nadia and the human form of Duran sat at a table in the mall, watching the Food Court intently. "There are eleven of them now," Nadia said. "And our six have two more years of experience. It would be stupid to waste an attack on them before the full moon. That's Friday afternoon. Wise up."
"Don't speak to me as though I were a child," Duran snarled.
"Don't talk to me as though I were a fool," Nadia said.
"We can tire them out. When the full moon comes, destroying their power, and then sacrificing Sigma's Sword will give me full control," Duran muttered angrily.
The blonde demonness looked at Duran with pure contempt. "We tire them out, we waste our reserves. We stand a better chance defeating them if our resources are at peak efficiency."
"My reserves are never depleted," Duran said cockily.
"Stop acting like a damn fool!" Nadia shouted angrily. Several shoppers looked at her, but she ignored them. "I don't care if Satan gave you his powers himself! Evil is at peak at full moon. Why should we get our butts kicked all week just to have our greatly depleted energy pushed up to normal for the final fight? They defeated you before. They can do it again. Our best bet is to save... our... strength. Victory will be eminent."
Duran lurched a hand across the table and clamped it around Nadia's throat. "You listen to me and you listen to me good, you sniveling bitch. You may be my superior, but I've learned a few things since last time I was here. I've stayed here to witness a day come and go. Unless banished, I am here. So you may be my superior, but I can and will destroy you if you ever try to show me up again. Got it?"
Nadia reached up to his hand and yanked it away from her throat. "Don't touch me," she snarled. "What is your plan, oh great Duran?"
"Watch and learn," he said, standing up to walk away.
With an angry scowl, Nadia followed. For the first time in her long existence, Nadia was afraid. Duran had showed her up and won. That, in itself, terrified her.
* * *
Alarms began to sound in the Command Center. "I knew it was coming again," Omicron groaned as she ran to the control panel. "We've got Naddies everywhere!"
"Something's up in Greenwood Mall," Sigma said.
"Rangers, report to the Command Center immediately," Omicron requested.
A few moments later, Rangers began to drop into the Command Center. "What's going on?" Tara asked.
"We've got trouble," Sigma said. "Naddies at Wilkerson Temple. And something very weird is happening at the mall in Bowling Green."
"Tara, Billy, Jason, and Dana. Go fight at the church, and be careful not to step on hallowed ground. The rest of you, go unmorphed to the mall and see what's up," Omicron instructed.
"It's Morphin Time!" Dana shouted.
* * *
White light flooded through the mall. "What on Earth...?" Rocky asked, jumping to his feet.
"That was Sigma," I told him. "He just teleported everybody out of the mall." I brought my hand to my mouth and said, "Sigma? Omicron? What's going on?"
"We're not sure," Omicron answered. "Something is going down in the mall. Backup is on the way."
"We'll go ahead and check it out," Rocky volunteered.
A sudden screeching sound filled the air. With a cry of pain, I clamped my hands over my ears. "What's that?!"
Rocky, in a similar state of pain, ran to the middle of the mall. A huge black claw was sliding over the tiled floor, creating the horrific sound. The gargantuan claw finally slid to a stop, plunging the mall once again in silence. "Hey Jeremy. You every seen anything like this?"
"A black claw," I murmured, walking up to him. "New to me. Looks like it might have been part of an Assault Vehicle or something, but it's not that big." A dark puddle began to form around the claw.
"Well," Rocky grunted. "This just keeps getting weirder."
Dark liquid drops were falling from various points on the claw. I carefully touched one of the drops with my left hand. Just as soon as I raised my hand to my face to inspect it, I realized what it was. "It's blood."
"Blood?" Rocky asked.
"Blood," I said, wiping my hand off on my denim shorts. The blood began to flow faster, producing a rapidly expanding puddle. The edge of the puddle bumped into the toes of Rocky's shoes, staining the tips. "Oh boy. This just looks... evil."
"Tell me about it," Rocky agreed, backing away.
For some reason, I felt compelled to look up. "Rocky! Watch out!" I jumped at him and knocked him backwards as an identical bloody black claw dropped from above. The tile chipped upon impact, sending a spray of fragments into the puddle of blood which began to immediately form around it.
"Do you hear that?" Rocky asked.
A split second later, a horrific nonsensical chant reached my ears. Its very sound was dark and morbid and sent goosebumps all over my body. Slowly, background music, sounding as though it were straight from a horror movie, billowed up behind it. We both yelled again as a third black claw dropped from above, landing a few feet away from us.
"Hey there, big boy," a seductive voice said in my ear.
"Huh?" I asked as I was roughly pulled to my feet. I was face to face with Nadia, dressed in her dark blue robes. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing you should be concerned about," she whispered. She suddenly put a necklace around my neck, moving so fast I didn't even have a chance to stop her. I glanced down and saw that the pendant was a pale blue jagged crystal.
"NO!" I yelled as realization set in. It was a de-morph crystal, and while wearing it or within a pre-set distance from, I would be unable to morph. I hooked my fingers into the chain and attempted to pull it off, but it only tightened. "TRICERATOPS!" I yelled in vain. A fourth claw dropped down, forming a perfect square. Blood was pooling up around each one, forming a square.
"You're goin' down, blue boy," Nadia said. She pushed me backwards into the pool of blood amidst the four claws. I landed on my backside, hard.
"Nadia!" I shouted angrily. Before I could react, four hands lurched out of the blood and grabbed me. Two latched onto my wrists, while the other two grabbed my ankles. I bellowed in pain at having my still tender right arm wrenched aside painfully. I was pulled into a spread eagle position. The pool of blood surrounding me immediately began to reshape. A very hard surface formed beneath my back, and I was lifted into the air. The blood quickly coalesced into a very solid sacrificial altar.
"Jeremy!" Rocky shouted. "ZEO RANGER III-"
"NO!" Nadia cried. She flicked her hand at Rocky, and a small blue crystal sailed toward him. It landed at the base of his neck, and a golden chain immediately circled his neck.
"What the-?" Rocky asked. He attempted to pull the chain off, but it was immovable. Suddenly, dozens of Naddies began to circle around him, pushing him away from me.
"You can't morph with it on!" I shouted to him. "Nadia! Let me down!"
"Sorry," she said, and for once, her voice didn't sound sarcastic. She actually sounded compassionate.
The chanting reached a feverish peak as Duran approached me. He was once again in his "Hydra" form, with the seven heads representing the seven sins. "Duran!" I yelled angrily. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"
Chuckling low in his throats, he said, "I already have...." He raised his hands above my chest, and a large sharp knife formed in his hands. "I would ask how you want to die," Duran whispered, in all seven of his voices, "but I'm tired of playing games. And after you die, Beth gets it, on this very table, on top of your dead body. And Crystal on top of both of you, and then Allison, and Dana, and Tara, and if Sigma still hasn't admitted defeat, your new friends."
"NO!" I screeched as the truest fear I had ever felt wracked my body. "PLEASE!" The Satanic chanting filled my ears, and all I could see was Duran's hideous form above me.
* * *
Rocky fought desperately, but the Naddies were too much for him. For every bird he managed to knock back, two more took its place. "Please!" he shouted. "Nadia! Don't do this!"
"It's out of my hands, Rocky," she told him simply. She was sitting on a table in the food court, looking very confused. Her next words stunned him more than anything a villain had ever said to him. "I should have listened to Crystal...."
* * *
"Please don't kill me please don't kill me please don't kill me," I chanted in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Don't beg," Duran said. He raised the knife high above his head the face of Lust whispered, "It's very unbecoming." The knife darted down at my chest.
"NO!"
"NO!" Allison screamed. I looked up to see a purple blade inches above my face. Duran's knife was stopped by it, less than six inches from what would have been my death. My heart didn't even feel as though it were beating, and I couldn't draw a breath.
"Leave our friends alone!" Crystal shouted, appearing at Duran's right. She high-kicked him, using the element of surprise to knock him down.
The table of blood immediately collapsed. I fell the four feet back to the mall floor, and the blood splashed down around me. Thoroughly coated with the sticky, foul-smelling liquid, I found myself unable to react in any manner at all. "Allison?" I finally managed to choke out. I looked up into the helmet of the Purple Ranger.
"It's me," she said. She reached down and picked me up. "We'll wash you off in the fountain."
"He was going to kill me," I said woodenly.
"But he didn't," she countered. Carrying my large frame as though I were no more than a child, she ran across the mall. Coming to the main fountain, she jumped into it and plunged me beneath the cool water. The sudden temperature change shocked sense back into me and washed the blood off of my body. "What's this on your neck?" She reached out a gloved finger to touch it.
"Don't!" I shouted, but I was too late. A purple glow flowed over her body, and her armor exploded off of her body in purple glimmers of light. "Morph again, and whatever you do, don't let Nadia get close enough to put one of these on you."
"Right," she said. She crawled away from me and shouted, "MASTODON!" Her purple armor immediately formed back around her body.
"Contact Omicron and have her make an antidote for this crystal."
I nodded in agreement. Allison leapt out of the fountain and ran to help the others. I attempted to open a communications line to the Command Center, but it was blocked. "Omicron? Sigma?"
"We've been blocked!" Kimberly shouted. She ran up to the edge of the fountain and said, "There's a force field around the entire mall!"
"Hey Pink Ranger!" Nadia shouted. Kimberly turned to look at the blue-clad demon. She lashed her hand out, and a glittering blue crystal flew from her fingertips. Before I could yell out a warning, the crystal necklace had fitted itself around Kimberly's neck. With an explosion of pink sparks of light, she demorphed.
"Four to go," Nadia told us.
"What are we gonna do?!" Kimberly cried.
"I have no idea," I said. Suddenly, the very laws of physics changed. Gravity flipped, and I fell straight up from the fountain. Kimberly was close behind, as well as several thousand gallons of water and numerous pennies. We both slammed into the ceiling.
"What is this?!" Kimberly screamed, sprawled out on the ceiling and completely drenched from head to toe.
I looked up and saw the entire mall spread out above me. "This week just keeps getting weirder."
* * *
Blue, red, green, and yellow light traveled out of Mammoth Cave and across the countryside, eventually landing near a small church. Naddies were dropping out of the sky as well, and the Rangers didn't have more than a split second to analyze the situation before they were attacked. Jason leapt into battle, swinging his Sword valiantly and swiftly. Billy fought with his Power Lances, using them more as extensions of his arms rather than actual weapons. Dana, despite holding her own against an army of angry birds, was being herded away from the others. A familiar whoosh of air came from above her, and she realized with horror what had just happened. She turned around to see a white wormhole formed above her. The Naddies around her were immediately pulled into it.
"Dana!" Billy shouted, leaping toward her.
"Stay back!" Tara cried, but it was too late. All of the yells took Jason by surprise, and he was pushed toward the others by several Naddies. As soon as the Naddies set foot on the hallowed ground of the cemetery, the portal to Nadia's Limbo opened up. Dana was lifted off of the ground and pulled into the white wormhole, helpless to do anything about it. Billy, Jason, and several Naddies were close behind. The wormhole closed, and everything was still.
"No!" Tara shouted, running up to the cemetery's entrance. "No!"
Several Naddies appeared behind her and rushed the Yellow Ranger from behind, knocking her into the cemetery. The birds touched the ground, and the wormhole once again opened. Tara yelled, but it was in vain. She, along with the mechanical birds, disappeared into the portal.
* * *
"Ki-yaah!" Crystal shouted, high-kicking Duran. She flipped out of the way and let Beth and Katherine have a go at the demon. He knocked Beth aside with an angry punch, although Kat was successful in planting a solid kick in Envy's face.
Allison jumped to the table tops in the Food Court and ran to Rocky, knocking half-eaten meals to the floor in the process. "Rocky!" Allison shouted. Still running, she summoned, "MASTODON MACHETE!" and her weapon appeared in her grip. She reached the last table and flipped over the Naddies. Immediately upon landing, she chopped one Naddie off at the knees, using the element of surprise. "I'll take care of the birds!" Allison volunteered. "You get out of here!"
"Right!" Rocky shouted, running away from the melee taking place before him.
"I'm sorry, Allison," Nadia said, walking up to the fight, "but I gotta do this." She threw a necklace at Allison, and the Purple Ranger immediately demorphed. Both she and the Naddies stood still for a few moments, and then they jumped at her. With a cry of alarm, she darted away, narrowly missing a painful hit.
"Come on," Rocky said, taking Allison's hand and pulling her. They ran toward the middle of the mall.
"You guys, stay back!" Kimberly shouted, but it was too late. As soon as Allison and Rocky got within ten feet of the fountain, they fell up from the ground. Rocky and Allison landed on the ceiling and two painful heaps. "Oh, my back," Rocky groaned, struggling to sit up.
"What happened?" Allison asked.
"Gravity's screwed up," Kimberly explained.
"Oh, this is so weird," Rocky said, as he slowly climbed to his feet.
"Don't go so high," Allison chided, pulling him into a crouch.
"We ain't goin' anywhere," Rocky told her. He emphasized his point by hopping, and landed back on the ceiling.
"This is weird," I said. The ceiling was quite literally our floor. It wasn't as though we were hanging upside down. It was more like the world was upside down.
"How do we get down?" Allison asked.
Suddenly, the tiles of the ceilings began to crack. "I don't like this," Kimberly whined. With an explosive crack, the ceiling dropped about three feet, prompting a yell from us all. We all stayed perfectly still, not wanting to give the ceiling any incentive to break completely through. However, fate was against us, and it broke apart. Screaming, we fell into an endless inky blackness.
* * *
"Ungh!" Tara grunted as she fell onto her back. "Oh crud. Not here again." The Naddies were deactivated on the trek to Limbo, and were now no more than mechanical parts. Billy and Jason were lying on their backs, looking up into a milky white sky.
"Where are we?" Jason asked.
"Welcome to Limbo," Dana said, removing her helmet, "dullest place on Earth. Er, dullest pocket dimension attached to the Earth. How 'bout that?"
"Sounds PC to me," Tara murmured, taking her helmet off and tossing it to the ground. Limbo as, indeed, the dullest place imaginable. It stretched off in all directions for as far as the eye could see. The ground was a dull gray clay, while the sky was pure white with pitch black clouds in it - not another feature anywhere.
"Can we teleport out of here?" Billy asked.
Dana laughed and reclined on the ground. "Nope."
Jason bent forward, broke the seal on his helmet, and pulled it off. "Well, how do we get home?"
"It usually takes at least forty-eight hours," Tara said, sitting down on the ground. "Don't de-morph, because if you de-morph, then you'll be really hungry and thirsty when Omicron finally does figure out how to bring us home. Keep your armor on, and you'll be fine."
"Until you demorph in two days when we finally do get out of here, right?" Billy asked.
"Exactly," Dana said. "But, it's better that way."
"We're stuck here for two days?" Jason asked.
"Bare minimum," Tara answered. "Probably three or four. It's been a while since any of us got pulled to Limbo, so it'll probably take Omicron a while longer to get us home."
"Won't your parents be concerned?" Billy asked.
"Of course," Dana said.
"Mine aren't too keen on me being a Ranger at all," Tara murmured.
"Oh yeah. Our parents know, remember?"
"Right," Jason said, plopping down into a seated position. "So, what exactly do we do here?"
"We can take turns telling our life stories," Dana sighed. "Who wants to go first?"
* * *
I fell on my back, getting kicked out of the black darkness as abruptly as I was pulled in. Using my left arm, I propped myself up and looked around. "Video Jockey?" I asked. I had somehow been dumped in the video store of the mall. I turned around to look at the windows which faced the sunny parking lot. "No way I'll be able to get out through the windows." Turning, I decided to walk back out into the mall, hoping to come across at least one of my friends who was still morphed. I took about two steps, and suddenly realized that I had just made a mistake that could very well prove itself to be fatal. I was standing smack dab in the middle of the horror section. I backed up a few steps and turned around, only to find that I was no longer in Video Jockey as I knew it. Aisle upon aisle of horror movies stretched out before me, reaching into infinity. With a cry of panic, I spun back around. Blood began to seep from the movie boxes. "Oh God," I whined, burying my face in my hands. "No! This can't be happening!"
Duran had never been this dark before. I felt like I was stuck in the middle of a horror movie, and I was terrified to think of the ending. "You know, the guy never survives a horror movie," Nadia said from a few aisle over. "Always the girl. But never the easy girl. The easy girl never survives. And the religious guy usually gets it first."
"Stay away from me!" I yelled, backing away. The blood which trickled down the shelves reach my feet. With another whine, I stepped into the blood, wondering just who it might have once belonged to. "Please Nadia. Don't do this."
Nadia lowered her gaze and sighed. "I am the bad guy, you know," she said, although her voice wasn't as angry or malicious as it usually was.
A video box flew off of the shelf and hit me in the arm. I spun around angrily and ran down the aisles which stretched into infinity. Spiders began to run across the tops of the shelves, producing a scream from me. "Not spiders!"
"Afraid of spiders?" Nadia asked, walking towards me.
"You know I am!" I screamed back. "Please! Don't do this to me!"
"I'm not," she said. She glanced around herself a few times and whispered, "You're doing this yourself."
A very familiar gloved hand, adorned with four razors, burst out of a video box to my right. It clamped around my bicep. With a scream, I yanked the hand away and knocked the video box to the shelf. When it hit the ground, it was once again just a very normal movie box labeled A Nightmare on Elm Street.
"Leave me alone!" I screamed. I stomped the movie box and ran down the confusing labyrinth of shelves full of bleeding horror movies and scampering spiders.
"Listen to me!" she screamed. "You are doing this to yourself! Duran is setting you up for something bigger!"
"Go to hell!"
"I've been there and it got old, quick!" she screamed. "Now shut up for a minute and listen to me! You are scaring yourself! You are quite literally scaring yourself to death!"
I paid no attention to Nadia's words, not willing to believe for even a moment that she would be willing to help me out. Suddenly, two of the shelves before me moved towards each other, forming a V-shape. I slid into the trap before I was even completely aware of what had happened. Another shelf quickly slid to block the only opening. "NO!" Blood was no longer trickling from the movie boxes, but pouring. Gallons of the sticky, smelling red liquid were pouring from the shelves and collecting on the floor. Spiders were running everywhere, some bigger than my hand.
"NADIA!" a dark voice bellowed. "Get back out here and take care of these other two pests!"
Nadia harumphed and ran up to my trap. "Remember. You are scaring yourself to death. Now stop it before you have a heart attack." She disappeared in a pink glimmer of light.
"No," I pleaded. "Somebody help me." I cried in alarm as the blood pool I was standing in surpassed my shoes and touched my bare flesh. Arms began to burst out of movie boxes all around me, each holding various weapons. I burst into tears and sank to the ground. "Anybody...."
* * *
Allison landed on top of Rocky's body. She lay where she was at for a few seconds, staring him directly in the eyes. He said nothing but stared back. "Rocky?" Allison asked.
"Hmm?" he asked.
Suddenly, a black snake slid past her. With an ear-shattering scream, she jumped to her feet. Rocky spotted the snake and followed her lead. "I hate snakes!" he yelled.
"We're in Castner Knott's," Allison said. "Come on."
"Oh my God!" Rocky cried. "There are snakes everywhere! Allison! I'm not kidding. I really, REALLY HATE SNAKES!"
"I'm not real fond of 'em myself!" Allison snapped back. "Now let's just get out of here. There's an escalator around here someplace."
"I'm sorry for yelling earlier," Rocky stammered as Allison forcibly drug him along.
"Don't worry about it," she answered. "We're just scared."
Vines suddenly began to grow all about them. The thick green weeds curled up and over clothing racks and pushed up through the tiles in the floor. Allison reached the UP escalator. "We'll have to go down this one unless you want to run over there for the DOWN one," Allison told him.
"This is fine," Rocky said. He checked first to make sure there were no snakes in the immediate vicinity and then started to walk down the escalator. Allison was close behind. They made remarkably good time down the steps which tried to push them back to the top. Suddenly, the steps stopped moving. Rocky fell to his knees and began to roll down the stairwell. "Rocky!" Allison cried. Just as she was about to run after him, an anaconda dropped onto her from above. With a scream, she shrugged the gargantuan snake off of her and jumped to the rail beside the stairs. Rocky tumbled down the steps, unable to stop himself. Several dozen cobras began to crawl toward the base of the escalator, no doubt waiting for the rolling teen to land in their midst. "ROCKY!" Allison screamed again.
* * *
Duran approached the de-morphed Crystal, Beth, and Katherine slowly. "Hello Crystal. Beth," he acknowledged calmly.
"We banished you once!" Beth yelled at him. "We can do it again!"
"You shouldn't have buried me," Duran growled. "I wasn't dead." All seven of his heads laughed wildly as he stepped closer to the girls.
"NO!" a powerful voice suddenly yelled. Duran looked up to see a blue form kick him, hard, in the stomach. The massive dragon rolled over backwards, hissing and cursing wildly in seven different voices. "Get out of here!" Nadia yelled at the three teens.
"But-?" Crystal asked confused.
"GO!" Nadia screeched. The three Rangers didn't need a third order, and ran away from the two demons.
"I ALMOST HAD THEM!" Duran yelled at Nadia was he made his way back to his feet.
"You fight unfair!" Nadia screamed.
"You are a demon!" Duran screeched back, relying mostly on his voice of Anger.
"Even Satan's army fights with honor! If you want to fight supernaturally, then they should be allowed to do the same!"
The face of Pride curled around Duran's body to stare Nadia in the face. "You sicken me," Duran growled, although Pride's voice was the most forefront of the seven merged voices. "You have fought with dishonor for the past two years. Have you not forced the Rangers to de-morph?"
"Only when you were around," Nadia answered. "As we speak, four of the Rangers are at death's door because you have them scaring themselves to death."
"Then my plan is working," Duran growled arrogantly.
"Fight fair... or else," Nadia snarled threateningly.
"You have no power over me," Duran murmured in a throaty growl.
"Horror of horrors, Rangers! Into this past you are forced!" Nadia screamed. Her pink staff was immediately in her hands, and she thrust it towards the sky valiantly. Two powerful arms suddenly clamped around Nadia's shoulders and pushed her against the wall.
"What did you do?"
"You can't scare them to death anymore," Nadia said. "All of the Rangers are reliving their most horrific memories from their pasts. They survived it once, they'll survive it again."
"HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME!" Duran bellowed, flames shooting up in a circle all around them both.
Nadia wrestled free from his grasp. "You want me to defy you?" she asked coldly. "Then try this on for size. I QUIT!" The blue clad demon stomped away from the dragon demon. As she walked, her extravagant robes changed into a simpler pair of denim shorts and t-shirt.
"YOU CAN'T QUIT!" Duran screeched.
Nadia stopped in her walk and spun around angrily. "I just did."
Duran watched with contempt as the beautiful demon walked away in a huff. "Agh! Who needs you!"
Jason Lee Scott
November 23, 1996
Jason falls to the ground with a grunt. _Is this what Tommy felt like?_ he asks as he struggles to climb back to his feet. In a frighteningly pale flash of gold, he de-morphs, but then immediately morphs back. "God, please help me," Jason prays as he stumbles through the forest, barely able to stay on his feet. Cogs run after him, eager to claim the Golden Powers that are desperately trying to leave his body. Suddenly, a body is before him. With a grunt, he slams into the seemingly immovable frame and falls to the ground.
"Ah, Gold Ranger," Lord Zedd snarls. "I see we've run into each other. Again."
"I personally thought you looked better in red," Rita Repulsa says from beside her husband.
"What do you want, Zedd?" Jason breathes. He immediately de-morphs and morphs back.
"Other than you head on a silver platter, the Golden Powers!" Zedd booms.
"Shouldn't that be a golden platter?" Rita asks.
Lord Zedd chuckles and says, "I suppose you are right. Perhaps we can have both."
"You'll get the Golden Powers over my dead body," Jason grunts.
"That's exactly the point you blasted fool!" Lord Zedd bellows angrily.
"Zedd! That Rangers is ours!" another mean voice says from Jason's left. He turns to see King Mondo and Queen Machina standing nearby with several dozen Cogs ready to fight.
"Tengas!" Rita shouts. "ATTACK!"
Jason slips out of the resulting fight effortlessly, as the Cogs and Tengas are preoccupied with each other. As soon as he is a safe distance away, he hits his Zeo Belt Buckle, only to find that he has already de-morphed and it isn't there. "Gold Ranger, power down," Jason stammers anyhow. The weakened teen reaches for his communicator and attempts to teleport to the Power Chamber. He disappears in a wobbling stream of black and gold light. The next thing he is aware of is looking up into a sea of familiar but worried faces. _Ernie? Emily? Where am I?_
"I'll call an ambulance," Ernie says.
"No," Tommy says forcefully. "We'll take care of him." The next few hours are a blur as Jason is taken to the Power Chamber and Alpha puts him through every test imaginable. He is only vaguely aware as the Rangers, minus Rocky for some reason he isn't quite sure of, quite literally carry him out to the desert with the three Treys. Jason does what he is told, and isn't really aware of what is happening until Trey is unified and the powers are no longer his. Forcing a happy smile, he watches as the six Zeo Rangers defeat King Mondo and family. However, inside he feels cold and empty. Despite the hazards of being a Power Ranger, he realizes that nothing had made him happier. Unlike before when he gave up his powers to go to the Peace Conference, now they were simply gone. He will have to watch his friends fight with the Power, while he stands by on the sidelines. He realizes that a hot tear is sliding down his cheek and wipes it away quickly. The six Zeo Rangers approach him.
"Jason?" Tanya asks. "Are you okay?"
"Your eyes are red," Katherine adds. "You look pale."
"I'm just... weak, is all," Jason stammers. _I feel like my soul has been stolen from me._
Several hours later, Jason sits on the banks of Angel Grove Lake. Tommy says some things to him, but Jason barely even comprehends what he says. _I'll pour my heart out to him later,_ Jason tells himself. Despite feeling intensely better now that the Golden Powers are no longer in his system, he can't help but be upset that he is no longer a Ranger. Seeing Emily, he stands up. "I'll talk to you later. Right?" Jason asked.
"You know it man," Tommy promises. He walks off, and intercepts Katherine.
With a heavy sigh, he slowly makes his way down to Emily. "Feeling better?" Emily asks.
"Ye-yeah," Jason mutters, slipping his arm inside hers. _Not really..._ "I feel much better." His heart feels like it has broken in half, but he pushes the agonizing pain to the back of his mind and tries to shut it deep down.
Laura Allison Caswell
September 2, 1984
Six year old Allison runs across her front yard, laughing hysterically. "Come on, Deanna!" she laughs.
Her nine-year old cousin sighs and runs after Allison. "Slow down girl!" Deanna cries.
Allison stops running and turns to look at Deanna. "You promised me that when you come over you would push me on the swings!" Allison shouts.
"I'm going to," Deanna says. "I just don't feel like running."
Allison goes ahead and runs over to a nearby swingset. Sitting down on a very worn blue swing, she waits for her cousin to catch up with her. Deanna arrives and begins to push Allison on the swings. The blonde girl laughs happily as she goes higher and higher. Suddenly, the chains break. With a scream, Allison flies through the air and lands on the black asphalt. Her head hits the ground with a sickening thud, and she lies there, completely unmoving and silent.
"ALLISON!" Deanna screams. "Aunt Debbie! Uncle Harold! Come quick!" The nine-year old child runs over to her barely conscious cousin. A pool of dark red blood begins to pool up around her head, staining her golden hair crimson. "Allison! Talk to me!"
Allison is only vaguely aware of what is happening to her. Intense pain is radiating out from her head, but she hurts to much to even cry. Her father is suddenly beside her. "Call an ambulance!" he cries.
Some time later, Allison finds herself on her back in a hospital bed. She can see her parents above her, talking with a doctor. Her entire body is wracked with pain, and she is only vaguely aware of what is being said. "Concussion... Very lucky... Be okay... Stitches...." She finally finds her tears, and they began to slide down her cheeks, completely silent and unbidden. She just wants the pain and confusion to go away.
Tara Kaye Logsdon
November 12, 1994
"I'll be there in a minute!" Tara shouts to her friend Beth England. "I forgot my jacket!"
"Want me to wait for you?!" Beth yells back.
"Go ahead! I'll catch up in a second!" Beth nods in agreement and runs to catch up with the rest of the band. Tara sighs unhappily as she makes her way to the back of the band bus. Of all places to be on a surprisingly beautiful although cool Saturday afternoon in November, a Band Competition was not one of them. She finds her jacket and puts it on. She leaves the bus and begins to walk briskly to catch up with the others. Her clarinet case is only a minor nuisance, and she is silently grateful that she doesn't play the tuba. A pair of heavy footsteps sounds behind her. Turning, she sees a man in a long black coat duck behind a car. _It's nothing...,_ she tells herself, but begins to walk a little bit faster. After a few more moments, she gets the unshakable feeling that she is being followed. Stopping, she turns around and sees the man in the black trenchcoat, also stopped, not more than thirty feet from her. No one else is anywhere near her, but she forces the panic away and begins to walk once again. She knows without looking behind her that the man is still following her.
"Excuse me," the man says, this time much closer.
Tara turns around and says, very coldly, "What?"
"I just wanna talk to you."
She forces a smile and answers, "Sorry. I need to catch up with my friends."
Without waiting for a reply, she begins to walk even faster away from him. His footsteps begin, stepping much harder and faster. She doesn't even look back and begins to run away from this threatening stranger. Unfortunately, he follows suit. Tara is no longer concerned with trying to not show her fear. She just runs. Suddenly, the man is upon her. He grabs her arm forcefully and yanks her around.
"NO!" Tara screams. She brings her arm back and slams her clarinet case into his face. He sticks another arm out to grab her, but she places a well-placed knee into his groin. He bends over slightly, and she pummels him again with the hard black case. She uses his slight lapse in concentration and runs off again. Much to her horror, he is close behind.
"Stop running you little bitch!" he bellows. "You're gonna like what I do to you!"
Tara continues to run, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she courses across the parking lot. "Easy!" a female voice suddenly says. Tara screams as she slams into a sturdy form. "You're okay," the voice reassures her. "What's wrong?"
She looks up to see a slender yet muscular black woman, dressed in a policeman's uniform, standing before her.
"A man!" Tara finally finds her voice. "He tried to get me!"
The policewoman guides Tara behind her and looks up and down the length of the parking lot. "What did he look like?" she asks Tara, once satisfied that her assailant has left. "I didn't get a good look," Tara sobs, as hot tears suddenly began to flow. "H-he was white, short black hair, sunglasses, I think, and a long black trench coat. He... he threatened me."
The policewoman pales considerably. "Come on," the policewoman says. "I'm Sergeant Barbara Payton. We'll file a report, and you'll be all right."
Tara nods as the woman slips a comforting arm around her shoulders and leads her to the campus police station. Sergeant Payton tells Tara that a man, similar to the description in that he always wore a black trenchcoat, has raped numerous females on campus after filing the official report. An overwhelming sense of panic and violation overwhelms Tara, and she bursts into tears again.
Katherine Lynn Hillard
"You'll do great," Lisa Hillard promises her nervous daughter.
"I'm so nervous, Mum," Kat says, pushing her long hair up underneath her swim cap.
"You'll make Australia proud, sweetheart," her father agrees.
Katherine's coach runs up to her. "You're next, kid," Coach Amelia Larson says. "Ready?"
"Ready," Katherine says firmly. Smiling, she walks up to the high rise platform and begins her climb as the announcer tells the crowd of her previous accomplishments. She realizes when she reaches the top that this is it. The dive that will make her or break her looms before her. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she mentally prepares herself for the dive. She opens her eyes and stands tall and proud. She dives.
Immediately, white light washes over her eyes and intense pain strikes the base of her neck. Her form dissolves into nothing and she falls to the pool far below her. The only thing she hears before hitting the water, hard, is a collective gasp from the audience.
Chlorinated water rushes into her nose and mouth, strangling her. However, the pain which is now coursing through her back is the only thought in her mind. She finds herself unable to swim to the surface. In fact, she realizes she can't move. A pair of strong arms are suddenly around her and she is yanked to the surface.
"Katherine!" Amelia cries as she is pulled from the water. Katherine spits up a mouthful of water, as well as snorting a considerable amount through her nose. She begins coughing so hard she can't breathe.
"Kitty Kat," her father says as he runs up to her side.
"Wha-?" Kat tries to stammer.
"You hit your head on the diving board," Amelia says sympathetically. As Katherine is maneuvered onto a back board, she can find no tears. All she can think of, however, is the fact that all of her dreams since she was three years old have shattered in one fateful millisecond.
William James Cranston
January 22, 1992
"Hey geek!" Bulk shouts.
Billy finds his face growing hot and tries to ignore the large teen. "Hey!" Bulk yells. "I'm talking to you, geek!"
"Yeah! You, geek!" Skull echoes, laughing hysterically.
"What do you want, Bulk?" Billy asks nervously.
Bulk stares at Billy blankly for a moment, and then says, "I need ten bucks. And you're gonna give it to me."
"I must regretfully inform you that I am not currently in possession of ten dollars, Farkus," Billy stammers.
Bulk looks blankly at Billy for a moment before saying, "Then I'm gonna have to beat it out of you, and you can pay me later."
Billy looks up just in time to see a large fist flying at him. His glasses are knocked cock-eyed and a dull pain shoots through his nose. Before he can even acknowledge he was hit, he is hit again. And again. Skull adds his own punches, and Billy realizes he is getting up. Again.
"BULK! SKULL!" Kimberly Hart shouts as she runs up to them. "Leave him alone!"
Bulk stops with his fist poised to punch and turns to look at the perky eighth-grader. "And who's gonna stop me? You?"
"If I have to," Kimberly says. "You have a problem with that?"
Bulk and Skull trade one look before realizing that one of Kimberly's best friends is Jason Scott, someone who could easily take them both. Without saying a word, the two bullies scramble away.
"Billy? Are you okay?" Kimberly asks, picking his glasses up off of the floor.
Billy realizes in horror that he was saved by a girl, and a pretty girl he had admired from afar since third grade at that. Although he personally had no problem with being saved by a female, the school's jocks and general popular crowd was already laughing at him. They usually at least waited until they thought he was out of ear shot. He tries to stammer, "I gotta go," but only manages to grab his glasses and run away.
Kimberly realizes that everyone is laughing at him, and feels sorry for the bullied teen. "I'm sorry, Billy!" she calls after him, although he has already disappeared into the crowd of laughing teens.
Billy runs into the bathroom and puts himself in the smallest stall at the back of the room. There, he cries silently for the next fifteen minutes for having been doubly mortified in front of the whole school, and in front of Kimberly Ann Hart.
Rockford Aaron DeSantos
July 2, 1994
Rocky strips off his shirt and climbs up the lifeguard stand. His eyes fall on the attractive form of Rebecca Lewis, sunning on the other side of the pool. As usual, an elaborate fantasy involving the two of them begins to grow in his mind. He blushes beet red, thankful that no one knows just what he is thinking, but still can't stop the fantasy from playing itself out. He looks up in time to see a small child running around the pool with his friends. He blows his whistle and shouts, "Don't run around the pool! It's slick!" The kids slow down, and he once again begins to relive his favorite fantasy.
"NO!" a frantic voice suddenly screams.
Rocky looks up in a panic and realizes that his daydreaming had him completely distracted. "What?!" he cries.
"The deep end!" a teen shouts.
Rocky turns his eyes toward the deep water, and plainly sees a child sinking to the bottom. "Shit!" he curses at himself. "Out of the pool!" He dives into the pool from his lifeguard stand. Swimming powerfully, he makes his way to the sinking child. He wraps one arm around the form, and realizes with horror that the kid puts up no struggle at all. He quickly makes his way to the top. He lifts the child out of the pool and hops up beside him. He presses his ear to the boy's chest, and then his fingers against the carotid artery in his neck. "Call an ambulance!" he bellows, and immediately begins child C.P.R.
Rocky closes his mouth around the boys and gives two breaths, and much to his joy and relief, the boy spits a mouthful of water into his. He pulls away and realizes that the boy is coughing, meaning he is breathing. The ambulance arrives a few moments later, and despite the child being okay, he is still taken to the hospital, just in case. Rocky, however, remains beside the pool, never having felt more useless and pitiful in his entire life. If he had been paying attention, then the child would have never been in danger. It takes all the strength he can muster not to break down in front of the entire municipal pool.
Beth Ann Berry
June 14, 1986
Beth hops up and down anxiously. "Beth honey," her mother chides. "Calm down. You'll be on in a minute."
"But I'm nervous, Moooommmmm," Beth says.
"I just need to get a little bit of information on you for the announcer," a kind lady with big red hair says to her. "That way, he can tell all those people out there all about you."
"Okay," Beth agrees, giggling. "Whatcha wanna know?"
"Well, I have everything I need except for one thing. I don't know what you like to do for fun."
"Playing? Well, I like to play with my dog Trixie, and I like Cabbage Patch Dolls!" Beth cries happily as though she has just remembered the most wonderful secret.
"Perfect," the lady says, writing down what Beth just told her on a sheet of paper. "Now you see that little girl in the blue dress up there."
"Uh huh."
"Go stand behind her, and when you hear the man say your name, go out on stage."
"Okey dokey," Beth agrees.
The young seven-year old waits impatiently for her turn arrives. Then, she hears the announcer. "Our next Little Miss Kentucky contestant is Beth Ann Berry." With that, Beth walks out on stage. She hears the typical oohs and aahs that the parents give to all of the girls, but Beth imagines they were just doing that for her. The announcer continues, "Beth is Little Miss Hart County, and is from the town of Munfordville, Kentucky. Her parents are Joe and Valerie Berry." Beth walks out to center stage and stands before the microphone. As soon as the nice lady with the big red hair gives her up the thumbs up, she's going to sing her song. "For fun, Beth likes to play with her dog Trixie, and play in the garbage."
Beth opens her mouth to sing her song when she suddenly realizes what the announcer just said. She turns to look at him in horror. The crowd begins to chuckle slowly, and soon, all two hundred thousand people in the audience at the Kentucky State Fair Little Miss Contest are laughing at her. Hot tears flow down her cheeks and her eyes turns blood red. The lady with the big red hair tells her to start singing her song. Beth does the only thing she knows to do and begins, "The s-sun will-ll co-come out, t-t-tom-m-m...," but can't go any farther.
The audience is suddenly dead quiet, and most of the people there look sympathetically at the crying girl on stage. Beth sobs openly and runs off, never having felt so humiliated in her short, seven and a half year life. In the process, she trips over the microphone stand. She falls flat on her face as the microphone hits the stage. All of the speakers begin to shriek uncontrollably. Cries of alarm rise up all over the stadium, but all Beth can hear are the few who are still laughing at her. She finally makes it to her feet and runs off stage, this time without falling.
Kimberly Ann Hart
September 26, 1995
"Are you sure you don't need a spotter?" Tommy asks.
"I'll be fine," Kimberly promises. She leans over to her boyfriend and gives him a gentle kiss. "Thanks anyway though."
"You know my number," Tommy says. "Don't hesitate to call."
"I won't," Kimberly counters with a smile. She jumps out of his truck and runs up to the Juice Bar. Ernie is leaving as she arrives, but he tells her that he left the equipment set up.
"If you'll just shut the lights off and lock up when you're through," Ernie says.
"You got it," Kimberly agrees.
"I don't like leaving you here alone like this," Ernie says warily.
"I'll be fine, Ernie," Kimberly sighs. "You and Tommy worry too much."
"Okay," Ernie finally relents. "Catch ya' on the flip side, Kim."
"Bye," she calls as the portly man leaves the Juice Bar. Kimberly begins to her slow stretching exercises. Before long, she is warmed up and ready to exercise. She slowly makes her way to the balance beam, and begins to perform, slowly and elaborately. Her mind usually loses itself in her gymnastics routine, but today, she can think of nothing but her missing power coin. She can still feel the power, for the coin has not been handed to a new owner, and the Ninjetti Power still resides within her. However, she still feels like a vital part of her is missing, and it is all she can do to keep from just curling up in a far away corner and crying her frustrations away. It doesn't really surprise her when she slips off of the balance beam. She falls to her knees but climbs back to the top. Her entire world is spinning. She can't concentrate, and orders herself to get off of the balance beam. Before she can, however, everything goes black and she falls. Her head hits the balance beam, and her legs crumple up painfully beneath her.
"Kimberly!" a thickly accented voice cries. Kimberly, however, can find no words or even sounds to express her thoughts. She merely collapses on the mat and lies there, her back twisted at a horrible angle.
When she wakes up, she is in a hospital bed. She hears someone say something, and then a fuzzy blue form is led into the room. "Kimberly?" the blue form asks.
"Billy?"
"It's me," he tells her.
She sticks her hand up to him and he closes his around it tightly. "What's going to happen to me, Billy?" Kimberly asks. "Where's Tommy?"
"We haven't been able to find him," Billy says. "Rocky, Adam, and Aisha are looking for him. He forgot his communicator, so Alpha can't track him either."
"He's forgetful," Kimberly murmurs. "But-?"
Billy glances around them and whispers, "The doctors say you'll be fine. You just pulled the muscles in your back is all."
"That's not what I mean, Billy," Kimberly sighs. Tears begin to gather at the corner of her eyes. "My Powers, Billy."
"I honest to God don't know, Kimberly," Billy says truthfully. She begins crying in earnest, overly emotional from the pain medication. Billy stands uncomfortably for a moment before wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She hugs him back tightly and continues to cry on his shoulder.
Crystal Verna Mills
February 28, 1996
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are gray," Crystal sings softly to herself as she browses through Castner Knottis. "You never know dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away." She picks up a beautiful red leather wallet. Since becoming a Ranger, she actually has found herself more attracted to her color, red, although the price tag, $80, is still too much for her budget. She looks up to see an elegantly dressed clerk at the perfume counter smile at her. Crystal returns the smile and redirects her attention at the leather wallets. "Can't afford you," she mutters to herself, and puts it back on the table. With that, she heads out of the store to go someplace more in her budget.
"Excuse me, miss," a gruff voice says as she walks through the exit.
"Hmm?" Crystal asks as she turns around. She looks about her, and seeing no one else, says, "Me?"
"Please open your purse, ma'am," the mall security guard says.
"Pardon?" Crystal asks, disbelieving.
"Please open your purse, ma'am," the guard says again, this time much more forcefully.
"You think I stole something?" Crystal asks angrily as she pulls her purse off of her shoulder. Crystal's face immediately burns hot as she opens her purse. "I've never stolen anything in my life."
The guard rifles through her belongings quickly while Crystal stands before him, fuming mad and humiliated. "Look at that," a voice says somewhere near her.
"I hate shoplifters," the voice's companion agrees. "Damn thieves."
"Yeah, well, what do you expect from a black kid?" the first voice says bitterly.
Crystal closes her eyes and refuses not to make a scene. _My parents raised me better than that,_ she tells herself over and over, although she has never been so mad in her life.
"I'm sorry ma'am." He waves the woman from the make-up and perfume counter over.
"We are very, very sorry, miss," the woman who had smiled at her says. "Please accept this gift certificate as our apologies."
Crystal numbly takes the maroon and gold packet of store credit and leaves the store. Crystal is behind the seat of her car when it hits her. The impact of it all nearly crushes her. She breaks free with a loud sob and beats her hands against the steering wheel. Pressing her palms against her eyes, she wills the crying to stop, but it won't. She knows the real reason why the security guard stopped her, and that thought alone keeps the tears fresh.
Dana Warder
September 13, 1995
"Is Beth there?" Dana asks.
"I'm sorry Dana," Valerie Berry answers. "She's not here right now. I can't for the life of me remember where she said she went. Do you want me to have her call you when she gets in?"
"Thanks," Dana agrees. Hanging up the phone, she returns to her desk. However, before she can sit down, a strange sensation runs over her entire body. She looks down just in time to see her arms dissolve into white light. Weightlessness overwhelms her body, and she lifts off of the ground. She struggles to escape whatever it is that has her captured, but she doesn't even seem to have body parts any more, or a voice box to yell from. Despite having no eyes, she sees her house suddenly far below her. The country-side zooms past her and increases in speed. Suddenly, she drops into the ground. Darkness is all around her, and then, there is light. Dana materializes out of her teleport stream and drops on the ground. Slowly climbing to her feet, she finds her voice and begins to scream.
"Dana! Dana!" Beth cries as she runs up to her. "It's me. You're okay."
Dana calms down and looks about her. Lights are everywhere, including six golden columns with six neon lights circling it. She turns to see a golden pedestal, adorned with numerous crystal shards and a large crystal Sword sticking in it. "Beth?" Dana asks nervously.
"You're okay," Beth says. "See. Jeremy and Tara are here too." Her two friends from school wave at her and smile warmly. An unfamiliar blonde stands between them.
Suddenly, a man flickers into existence beside her. She screams at his sudden appearance. He has short brown hair and a very friendly expression. However, his entire body is criss-crossed with wavering lines of light, as though she were looking at him from the bottom of a swimming pool. "My name is Sigma, Dana," the strange man says. "We need your help."
"To do what?" Dana asks warily.
"Save the planet?" Beth asks with a bemused chuckle.
"Come again?"
Jeremy steps forward and says, "Dana? You know how I've been watching Power Rangers since this summer?" Dana nods slowly.
"Well, an evil demon named Nadia has been freed, and she's attacking the planet. Sigma needs us to fight against her evil armies."
"Hold on," Dana says, backing away. "I don't know how to fight."
"You don't have to," Tara says. "Sigma? Should we show her?"
"Do it," he agrees.
"How... exactly, do we do it again?" Beth asks.
"Twist your wrist, and your morpher should appear. Then say your animal guide," Omicron explains. Simultaneously, the three teens twist their right hands, and a colored piece of metal appears in their grip. "TRICERATOPS!" Jeremy yells.
"PTERODACTYL!" Beth cries.
"SABER-TOOTH TIGER!" Tara bellows.
Immediately, her three classmates are gone, and replaced by three overly muscular figures wearing some type of colored armor.
Dana begins screaming again. "No!" Beth cries, ripping her helmet off. She tosses the pink helmet aside and stands beside Dana. "See," Beth says, taking Dana's hand. "We're the same. You're going to be okay, Dana."
"But-," Dana stammers.
"Come on, you two," Omicron says to Tara and Jeremy. "Help me narrow the field for Red Ranger. We'll let Sigma and Beth talk Dana into it."
"What if she's not willing to?" Tara asks.
"I don't know," Omicron whispers frightfully. "For Syde Rivers this big all over the place, there aren't many people around here receptive to magic."
"Syde River? Magic?" Dana asks, disbelieving.
"Syde Rivers are naturally occurring lines of magic, sort of like Ley Lines, only much more powerful," Sigma explains. "Beth and Jeremy have both lived on Syde Rivers all of their lives. They were chosen first, and they've helped Omicron and I pick people we think would make good superheroes."
"We want you to be the Green Ranger," Beth says. "You'll have a Brachiosaurus on your helmet."
"I'm not cut-out to be a superhero," Dana protests. "I don't like conflicts, I don't like fighting, and, and I'm just not a hero."
"Like we are?" Beth asks.
"It's not just that!" Dana cries suddenly. "This goes against everything I've ever known and believed! Evil armies! Superheroes!"
Sigma smiles at Dana and says, "You think this will deny your religion. Dana, I'm an angel. An archangel to be precise. We are just trying to establish an army of good to combat Nadia's army of evil."
"What will happen if I refuse?" Dana asks.
"Then I'll wipe your memory of this incident, and we'll try to find somebody else," Sigma promises.
Dana sighs and relents, "Okay. I'll do it. I don't want to, but I'll do it."
"Wonderful," Sigma says. "Omicron? Hook this girl up."
"Welcome aboard, Dana," Omicron says with a huge smile. A green morpher appeared on the console beside her. "Look at us, Dana. We look so much alike we could be sisters."
Dana smiles weakly and takes the green morpher. "What do I do with this?" she asks, unsure of herself still. She stares at the beautiful golden coin set in its center, a Brachiosaurus with a long, curving neck. "And who else will be on the team?"
"We still need to find Red and Purple Rangers," Tara says. "So far, we've got it narrowed down to eight people. Jeff Dudley, Emily Lile, Clarinda Bryant, Allison Caswell, Julia Logsdon, Chris Jessie, Crystal Mills, and Eric Sidebottom.
"Come on," Beth tells her. "I'll show you how to morph."
Dana nods weakly. Despite having agreed, she still had never felt so insecure about anything in her entire life.
Jeremy Ray Logsdon
May 9, 1997
"Finally," I sigh as I drive down Campbells Lane. "An entire summer off." I have just taken my very last final of the year, and won't have to step foot in Bowling Green, Kentucky again for at least three months, barring any potential attacks from Nadia.
"Even you can't get me down today you blonde witch," I mutter jovially as I drive towards Arby's. "Grab me some lunch, go home, and finish writing my fic."
I turn off of Campbells Lane and onto Scottsville Road. I am just ahead of the flow of traffic as the green light changed behind me. My speed accelerates, and I shift into fourth gear. Forty miles an hour. Forty-five. I shift into fifth and push my eight day old truck up to fifty-five miles an hour. Suddenly, a black car is right in front of me. Instinctively, my feet are on the clutch and brake and I swerve. Everything goes pitch black, although I don't think I'm knocked out. I'm still coherent enough to feel my feet on the clutch and brake, as well as sense movement. However, the worse part is the sound. Screeching tires, scraping metal....
I suddenly come to. Perhaps I was knocked out after all. I ran my hands over my abdomen, and am relieved to feel nothing missing. "Oh God. Oh God," is all I'm able to say, over and over. I realize I'm not breathing suddenly, and force myself to take a deep breath. Pain runs through my chest, and I think I might be dying. However, I can't think of a single thing to do. But something is wrong. Something is horribly wrong, and I can't think of what it is. I begin to say a prayer I've known since I was three years old. "Our father, who art in heaven-"
"Are you okay?" a male voice says through the driver side window.
I stop praying and answer, "I think so." I reach to open the door, and realized that my right arm is hurt. My forearm is actually wider than my hand, which immediately ruled out that it could be just sprained.
"You'll have to go over to the passenger side," the man says. "This door won't open."
As soon as I move, my broken glasses fall off of my face. _That's what was wrong,_ I think to myself. _I can't see._ I make my way out of my truck, and a man, I presume the same Samaritan, helps me find my sunglasses. They are prescription, so despite everything being dark, I can see. There are a lot of very nice people milling about. Some tend to me, while others are taking care of the person in the other car. She, unlike myself, is unconscious. A man asks me my name, what city I am in, and how old I am. Much to my relief, I know everything he asks me. No disorientation, no confusion. In fact, people around me keep me so busy with questions, I don't even really feel much pain. That all changes when the ambulance arrives. Despite my protests that the only thing wrong is a broken arm, they put me on a back board. I am loaded into the ambulance, and much to my surprise, the ambulance attendant knows my dad.
Some time later, I find myself in a wheelchair in a private room at the Medical Center. My arm is propped up on a pillow, and my hair is full of black dust from where I must have put my head through the driver side window. The X-rays come back, and the results I've suspected all along are confirmed. My arm has been broken. Both the radius and ulna were shattered, and bent ten degrees from the impact of the collision. My chest was bleeding slightly from the seatbelt, and my knee throbbed from where I rammed it against the dashboard. I wondered if I would be able to continue being a Power Ranger. The novelty of being a Ranger wore off after the first fight, but I still would hate to lose the power. There is nothing like the adrenaline rush from saving the planet. I sit on my gurney, hungry and thirsty, faced with the possibility of going in surgery to set the shattered bone, and doped up with some intense painkillers, and wait for my parents to show up, all the while wondering if Sigma will make me retire from the team.
* * *
I suddenly sat up, and saw ten other Rangers around me, looking equally confused and horrified. Several of the Rangers were crying, including Jason. I would be lying if I said that didn't shock my beyond all means. "Thank goodness," Omicron said. "You broke the spell."
"I told you I could," an eerily familiar voice said.
"What happened?" Beth asked, wiping away the remnants of her tears.
"Nadia placed a spell on you to make you relive your worst memories," Sigma explained. "Fortunately, the spell has been broken. Forgive me for doing so, but I've placed a mild denial spell on you. It should take effect before long. That way, your relived memories won't seem so bad."
"Good," Rocky said, sniffling.
"Wait a minute," Tara said suddenly. "How did we get back? We were in limbo."
"I'm getting to that," Omicron promised. "While you were out, we had a temporary addition to the team."
"Who?" Crystal asked.
A beautiful woman in shorts and t-shirt stepped forward. "Me," Nadia said plainly.
"Nadia!" Beth shouted angrily, hopping off of her cot and jumping to her feet. "I will not fight on the same team as Nadia!"
"I'm here on a truce, Beth," Nadia said. "I'm even in a stasis field. I can't do anything except give advice about how to defeat Duran." Beth relented and sat back down. "They should go home," Nadia said. "And get their rest. Then I'll fill you two in on what Duran's got planned." We all left the Command Center's infirmary and teleported home.
* * *
I was sitting in my tree, trying to shake the undeniable feeling of grief that still remained from my flashback. Nothing had been more horrific than that. I didn't remember the future, I merely relived the past. It was worse during the flashback than it had been the first time.
"Hey you guys!" Omicron suddenly shouted over the communications system. "We've got some news here that should cheer your mood." Without waiting to confer with the others, I teleported to the Command Center.
* * *
A few moments later, we were all gathered in Mammoth Cave. "Whatcha got guys?" Tara asked.
"We have to go to the Grid to see it," Omicron said. We all turned to see the section of the wall behind the Sword to open, but instead, the circular pie in the center of the room began to lower into the room. Section by section, it broke apart, and in a few moments, formed a lighted spiral staircase leading into darkness.
"Down there?" Katherine asked, pointing.
"Follow me," Omicron said and begins to walk down into the darkness. The rest of us are close behind. As soon as I stepped off of the last step, the darkness disappeared. We were all standing in a gargantuan field of wild flowers and clovers. A vast clearing was all around us, and beyond that was an endless forest. A beautiful day-time sky full of white fluffy clouds stretched out about us.
"This is the Grid?" Billy asked in awe.
"Just a different version of it," Omicron smiled.
"Nadia told us of Duran's plans," Sigma told us. "He intends to tire you out this week and take the fight into outer space during the Full Moon."
"We only have one A.V. for space travel," Tara complained. "The Pterodactyl."
"Or the Eagle, and we need the Pterodactyl for that," Beth added.
"We know," Omicron said. "That is why we have created six additional Assault Vehicles."
"New Assault Vehicles?!" I asked happily.
Blue light flashed across the sky. A gargantuan Assault Vehicle suddenly appeared in the sky. It had a stream-lined body, not unlike that of a helicopter, and had a double pair of wings. "Jeremy," Omicron began, "as the Blue Ranger, you shall command the Dragonfly Assault Vehicle." The Dragonfly began to circle the sky when Beth's Assault Vehicle appeared in a pink flash.
"Beth, the Bat Assault Vehicle is yours to fly." She raised her eyebrows skeptically, although as soon as the pink machine gave a demonstration of its maneuverability, she was impressed.
"Crystal, the Cardinal Assault Vehicle belongs to you." The Cardinal suddenly appeared in a red flash. It spread its wings and soared across the sky, looping and spinning with the Bat and Dragonfly.
"Purple Ranger, you have control of the Swan Assault Vehicle." The purple Swan appeared in the sky. It was larger than the rest, and stood out amongst the Flying Zords as the Brachiosaurus did with our originals.
"Dana, the graceful Hummingbird is yours." The Green Assault Vehicle darted out of a green flash in the sky. Its wings beat so rapidly they were just a green blur. The Hummingbird buzzed about frantically, just as a real Hummingbird would do.
"And last, but not least, Tara, as the Yellow Ranger, you will pilot the Bumblebee Assault Vehicle." A large yellow Assault Vehicle, shaped just like a true bumblebee, joined the five flying A.V.'s in the sky.
"They're beautiful," Billy remarked.
"As long as you all are here," Sigma said, "my Rangers shall share their new Flying Assault Vehicles with you. Billy, the Dragonfly to you, Kimberly the Bat, Jason the Cardinal, Katherine the Swan, and Rocky the Hummingbird."
"I think the Dragonfly will do us proud," I said to Billy. I already felt one hundred percent better, just from being in the Grid. The addition of seeing and receiving a new Assault Vehicle just made the day all the more better.
"Why don't you all take them for a test flight?" Omicron suggested.
"Why don't the new Rangers take them for a test flight?"
Crystal said with a smile. "You sure?" Jason asked.
"Very sure," Allison agreed.
"What about... yellow?" Tara asked cautiously.
"Go for it, girl," Beth said with a smile. Tara smiled and joined the five Rangers.
"Ready?" Jason asked. The other five nodded in agreement. "It's Morphin Time!"
* * *
Beth, Crystal, Allison, Dana, and I laid in the top of my tree after dark, watching the six flight A.V.'s dart across the sky. "I can't believe Nadia is a good guy now," Dana mused.
"She's still not good," Beth said. "She's just on our side to defeat Duran."
"Still, who knows him better?" Crystal asked.
"I do not like that girl," Beth muttered.
"Well, look at it this way," I suggested. "Maybe you'll learn enough about her while she's on our side that when she's on her own again, you'll know how to beat her."
Beth pondered that for a few moments before saying, "I had never thought of it like that!"
"Think we'll win?" Allison asked.
"We will," I said. Dorothy Jane suddenly popped in my head. "We have to."
"I wonder how long they're going to fly those things?" Dana asked.
"You know, we could take our Assault Vehicles up and fly 'em around for a while," I suggested.
"Why not?" Allison asked with a laugh. "I'm game."
"Me too," Crystal and Dana said in unison. Beth sat up and looked about her.
"Jeremy? Did you remember the flashlight this time?"
"Hey. We got Allison here today. She has headlights," I said, without even realizing what I had just said.
"Real nice, Jeremy," Allison said. "But, I know what you mean." She twisted her hand and summoned her morpher. "We could teleport down," she said.
"What's the fun in that?" Dana asked.
"MASTODON!" Allison shouted, immediately followed by, "MASTODON POWER BEAMS!" Allison stayed at the top of the tree and looked down, sending bright halogenated lights down. A few minutes later, we all reached the ground. We morphed, and called upon our Assault Vehicles. Just a few seconds later, I was in the Triceratops Cockpit. All of our Assault Vehicles can fly, although only the Pterodactyl can actually fight in mid-air. However, since we were only out for a joy ride, they did exactly what we needed them to do.
Pulling back on the control levers, I guided the Triceratops to the sky. A few short seconds later, I was two hundred thousand miles above the Earth. The beautiful blue and white orb floated effortlessly in space. I didn't feel overly emotional. I didn't get misty-eyed. I just felt awed.
ENK ENK ENK. A red light began to flash on the console. "Uh oh," I said. I immediately began pushing buttons to acknowledge the threat. Although I could still see the Earth through the "windshield," the view on the monitor changed to an overview of the United States. A tiny red dot could be seen in what was probably Kentucky.
"Come on girl," I whispered to my A.V. "Let's zoom in on this blip." The view in the monitor darted towards the red dot. As soon as it reached ground-level, it focused and revealed itself to be Duran. He was sitting, in dragon form, somewhere in Mammoth Cave Park.
"Give me an audio," I requested, "and bring the image up in the main window."
The image of the Earth through the plain glass was immediately changed into that of Duran. He sat on a large rock, completely still. His seven heads were silent and unmoving, and the only sound was that of his breathing. He suddenly looked up, and for a split second I thought he was actually staring me down. His faces were all contorted in anger. "I'll show you all," he muttered to himself. He picked up a fist-sized rock in one of his scaly hands and held it up before him. He crushed it to powder in a single squeeze of his hand. "I'll destroy this whole planet...."
"Resume normal functions," I commanded. The view instantly changed back to the Earth. "How long until Duran is at full strength?" The answer flashed on the monitor, thoroughly destroying my good mood.
Three days....
The End... for now
