Cassandra yawns as she stumbles to her locker. She is tired. In the last couple of days those villains on the moon had done nothing but send monsters endlessly down to Earth. Four, five monsters a day is not her idea of having fun.
"Don't they ever learn?" Cassandra mumbles as she stuff her books into her locker.
"Don't who ever learn?" pipes up a voice next to her. She immediately registers it as Rocky.
"Aren't you even tired?" asks Cassandra, looking at him.
"Well, I was, but I quickly found out that Jolt can keep my energy level up." replies Rocky, smiling brightly.
"I swear, if they this keep up and I flunk my classes, I am going to strangle Finster the next time I see him!" Cassandra growls as she makes her way to class.
"Maybe that wouldn't be a very good idea. We have rules to follow remember?" Rocky points out.
"Yeah, well, that was a rhetorical statement." replies Cassandra.
"Ah." responds Rocky as the both enter their separate first hour classes.
* * *
"So, the rangers are tired eh?" Mediva watching the events unfold amusingly. "FINSTER! Make me a monster, preferably Chainster. I have a special mission for it."
Finster walks into the room and bows. "As you wish your evilness." Then, he quickly retreats to his monster-making chamber.
"What are you planning Mediva?" wonders Rita.
"I am going to take out their leader, the White Ranger." replies Mediva.
"I still have some unsettled business with the White Ranger." Goldar growls suddenly.
"Who asked for your opinion? Need I remind you that Rito is still paying the price for his failure?" Mediva says sharply.
"No, your evilness. Please forgive me for my rudeness." replies Goldar, cowering slightly.
"Good, because next time that happens. . ." Mediva just lets the statement hang. Goldar doesn't say anything. Instead, he bows and quietly leaves the Throne Room.
"Now, back to where we left off. What mission do you have for Chainster?" asks Rita.
"I'll need him to bring the White Ranger to us for the transformation." answers Mediva.
"What transformation?" questions Lord Zedd, rising from his throne.
"That, you will find out soon." Mediva replies. She strides over to the Balcony, overlooking Earth.
"Ha! Wait! That's all you ever tell us to do! You know, if we are working together, you might as well as tell us what you are planning on!" explodes Rita suddenly. Mediva turns towards Rita, a surprised expression written on her usual calm feature.
"I don't work with villains that never accomplish anything. I work alone in that case." replies Mediva coldly. For a few moments, Rita and Mediva glare daggers at each other. Mediva's blue, cold, clear eyes burn into Rita's. But that moment is soon broken by Finster, announcing that he had completed the monster. Chainster saunters up next to Finster. His head looks like a giant lock, and every square inch of his body is wound tightly with chains. Feet after feet of chains. Instead of hands, here are two openings extending from it's arm. Hanging out from the openings about a foot or so are thick chains with heavy looking steel balls at the end.
"At your service your evilness." greets Chainster in a rough voice.
"Marvelous! You have done a wonderful job Finster. You may leave now." comments Mediva. Finster bowed, stutters out a "Thank you, your evilness." and leaves the Throne Room quickly.
"Now, Chainster. I want you to go down to Angel Grove and lure the Power Rangers out. After they come out, I want you to bring me their leader. Don't you dare to come back empty-handed." orders Mediva.
"I will not fail you Empress." replies Chainster and teleports to Angel Grove.
"He'd better not." Mediva mutters under her breath. She walks over to the balcony and watches amusingly as the citizens of Angel Grove flee for their safety.
* * *
"And so, Alexander the Great soon defeated Persians. Now, we can all imagine that it was a great moment of victory for Alexander." states Ms. Applebee as the students flip another page in their History text book. Cassandra scribbles down a few more notes in her notebook. Her heart isn't in it. Sleep. That's it, her brain wants rest. Her head droops a little, as her hand continues to write away. Suddenly, her communicator beeps. Her head jerks up, wide awake now. She quickly covers her communicator. Adam and Cassandra look at each other from different ends of the room. Zedd and Rita rarely sends monsters down in the middle of a class session.
"Cassandra? Is there something you would like to share with us?" asks Ms. Applebee catching her glance.
"Uh. . ." Cassandra stammers, trying to think on her feet, "I'm not feeling too well. Permission to go to the nurse's office?"
"Wait until the class ends." Ms. Applebee responds.
"But I think I am going to toss my cookies if I don't go!" exclaims Cassandra and then leaves the room in a hurry, leaving Ms. Applebee staring at the empty desk where Cassandra was a few moments ago.
Adam smiles to himself, but he didn't feel any better. It's now his turn to bail out the classroom. He opens his mouth to speak, but then hesitates. Ms. Applebee might think something is up if both of them leaves at the same time. Before he can think of something else, the class phone rings.
Ms. Applebee picks up the phone on the second ring. "Hello, Ms. Applebee's class." Ms. Applebee eyes Adam as she nods her head slightly. "All right, I send him right down."
"Adam, your mom is here to pick you up in a few moments for your doctor appointment. Gather up your stuff and go down to the office. We are going to have page 284 sections A and B for homework. See you in the afternoon." says Ms. Applebee.
_Doctor's appointment? I don't have doctor's appointment. Unless. . ._ Adam thinks silently to himself. He quickly gathers his stuff and waves Ms. Applebee goodbye.
When Adam rounds the corner to the main hall, he finds Cassandra there waiting for him. She smiles and waves at him, signaling him to hurry up.
"Sheesh, took you long enough. Hurry up, the others need our help." Cassandra states flatly.
"What did you do?" asks Adam, curious.
Cassandra looks confused, then realization dawns upon her. "Oh, that. I phoned the school main office using the pay phone by second hall. Luckily, I sounded enough like your mom to convince them. I said I was calling from my cell phone, on my way over to the school."
Adam shakes his head slightly in amusement. Without another word, they teleport off to the battle ground.
* * *
Both Adam and Cassandra lands on the ground agilely. Dressed in full armor, they start to approach the monster who calls himself Chainster and the rest of their team who are already dealing with the monster.
"Man, I am going to get a full week worth of detention by the time this ends. Puking just doesn't last this long." mutters Cassandra, as she dives into the fight, sending the surrounding tengas sprawling to the ground.
"Who is the leader?" bellows Chainster, slamming his chest with his tubular arm like a gorilla would.
"Me. I am going send you to the junk yard!" Tommy responds as he executes a flying kick, aiming for its head. But despite its large bulky body, Chainster still manages to dodge the kick. Tommy lands on the grass, rolls, and immediately gets back on his feet. The two circles each other, sizing their opponent. The suddenly, faster than an eye can see, a chain shoots out from Chainster's right arm, wrapping itself around Tommy's body, immobilizing his upper torso, holding it in a vice grip. Tommy struggles and flails for all he's worth, but the grip didn't loosen an iota.
"No!" Cassandra screams on top of her lungs. She jumps up, pulling out her sword which was held in a scabbard attached to her waist belt. She charges toward the two meter worth of chain between Tommy and Chainster and strikes down as hard as she could, without breaking the sword. Sparks fly everywhere, showering everyone surrounding it.
The sparks quickly dissipate, but where Tommy and Chainster once had been is only Tommy's communicator, lying on ground. Cassandra's head drops, and her sword falls to the ground.
"Cassandra, you did what you could to help Tommy. Don't blame yourself over it." Kat says. Cassandra know that Kat's right, but only if she had been a little quicker, they may have gotten away-with Tommy. She didn't utter a word, instead she picks up her sword from the grass, holds it up to the sun. The sword's deadly blade glistening against the rays. _We're are going to get you back. I promise._ Cassandra vows silently. She then carefully places it back into the sheath.
"We better get back to the Command Center and try to find a lead on Tommy." Billy suggests and then teleports off. The others quickly follow the same suit.
* * *
At the Lunar Palace, both Chainster and Tommy lands simultaneously on the cold floor. Tommy lands on his side with a dull thud, unmorphed, and with his communicator stripped from his wrist. He rolls and struggles to his feet. The chain had been severed from Chainster's 'arm' when Cassandra hacked it. Slowly the lighter end of the chain starts to unwind. But too slow to save him. A group of three tengas gang up on him and tackles him to the floor. Tommy breathes hard with all the weight on top of him.
The tengas eventually get up, leaving Tommy gasping for breaths. Two strong looking tengas grab his arm roughly and drags him to his feet. Bit by bit, inch by inch, the duo drags the struggling and squirming ranger to a holding cell.
Once in the cell, Tommy, with every ounce of his energy, makes a run for it. He bolts suddenly, breaking the tengas' grips on him. He pushes the cell door open and runs for his life. The tengas didn't hesitate to give a chase. They are after him with a series of loud and annoying squeaks and squawks. Tommy pump his legs harder, gaining more distance in front of the tengas. He then quickly rounds off a corner into a smaller and darker hallway. The tengas zip by squawking for all they are worth. The put his hand on his wrist preparing to teleport only to remember that his communicator had been stripped off somewhere during the not-so-appealing-teleport to the Lunar Palace. Tommy curses silently. Now, he's caught in Lunar Palace with a whole bunch of fanatics with a seriously unhealthy ambition of taking over earth. Suddenly, he hears a deep growl coming down the main hallway. Tommy silently retreats deeper into the dark little hallway, hoping that whatever was coming wouldn't find him. But he didn't wish hard enough. Suddenly, through the darkness, a pair of glowing yellow eyes cuts through the dark and it was staring straight at him.
"So we meet again Green Ranger." a rough voice growls.
Tommy recognizing the voice as Goldar's and replies. "I am not the Green Ranger. The Green Powers are gone."
Goldar doesn't say anything in reply. He steadily approaches Tommy, who can feel hair stand up on his neck.
"Get away from me!" Tommy yells, backing up even deeper into the darkness. If he can call on his powers, then he would be able to have a fair fight with Goldar. But in this situation, he doesn't have enough time. Even if he did call on his powers, Goldar is too close and he would be on him in a flash, before he can complete the morphing sequence. Without his powers, Goldar might as well have been a butcher with a knife and he would have been the pig with his feet tied up. Suddenly, his back hits a cold stone wall. The hallway is a dead end. The only way is past Goldar, and that is a little close to impossible right at this moment, but he didn't have a choice.
"No where to run, no where to hide Green Ranger. It's time to settle the score!" taunts Goldar. The simian warrior took another giant step and Tommy can smell his reeking breath. No time, no choice, he have to take the chance if he still want to live. The other choice would be to sit there and wait for death. Tommy charges, football style. His shoulder hits Goldar's chest plate. His shoulder felt like it had hit a cement wall, but he grits his teeth and pushes harder. Goldar backs up a few steps, surprised by Tommy's action. There, Tommy sees that he had done it. He had made a space about one and a half feet wide, just enough to get through. Tommy squeezes past Goldar, who attempts to grab his arm, but his aim is off by a mere centimeter. Tommy runs up to the larger hallway with more light and pump his legs harder, running for dear life.
Try as he might, Tommy didn't get too far before he skids to a stop. Standing in front of him is Mediva. A dark glow surrounds her. Mediva's blood red lips are pressing together, forming an icy smile that send shivers down Tommy's back. Something is wrong, he knows it. Mediva wants him, for a reason. What could it possibly be? He doesn't know, but he have a feeling that he is going to soon.
"So, you are the mighty White Ranger. Well, you don't look so mighty now." Mediva sneers, narrowing her eyes.
Tommy backs up. Whatever Mediva is planning on, he doesn't like the smell of it or look of it. Mediva presses on, forcing him to back up even further.
"I have something special planned for you. Now, if you be a good boy, I can make it very painless and quick. But if you refuse, I can enjoy watching you writhe in agony. It's your choice." Mediva states, licking her lips. She can taste victory already. Yes, victory is going to be sweet. Mediva stares at Tommy with her cold blue eyes, she can smell the fear in him.
Tommy edges back a little bit more, then suddenly backs into something hard. He cranes his neck up to get a better view of the object behind him. There, two gleaming, hideous yellow eyes looking back at him. Tommy suddenly pulls away, but Goldar grabs his arm, jerking him back to his original position. Goldar growls, but doesn't say anything. Tommy turns to face Goldar, no time to morph, he'll just have to do this on his own. He raises his right foot and slams it down as hard as he could, right on top of Goldar's foot. Goldar's eyes suddenly widen and he loses his grip on Tommy. Goldar hobbles up and down, holding his injured foot while howling in pain. Tommy races past Goldar, and is once again on the run.
"Oh, you useless idiot! Can't you do anything right?" screams Mediva and hits Goldar on the head with her staff. "I'll just have to do this by myself then. Move aside!" Mediva shoves Goldar into the wall and walks past him.
"You can run but you can't hide White Ranger!" Mediva exclaims as she raises her staff. A static blue beam erupts from the end and arches toward Tommy. The beam hits his back. His feet stumbles and Tommy suddenly finds himself face down on the ground, unable to move. Mediva calmly swaggers toward the White Ranger.
"You know Tommy, you should've taken that offer. I can make your life very miserable." Mediva crouches down and whispers it in his ear. Tommy doesn't say anything. He had never felt so useless in his entire life! Now, he feels paralyzed. Two tengas suddenly appears and together they drag Tommy back to the holding cell like a sack of potatoes. There he is shackled up. Mediva steps in front of him. Her lips quirk up, forming an icy smile.
"Don't get lonely, I'll be back soon with your surprise." states Mediva and leaves quietly. Tommy stares at her until she is swallowed up by the darkness. Only one question lingers in his mind. What's Mediva going to pull this time?
Minutes drag by slowly. Suddenly, Tommy hear's the rhythmical clicking of somebody's shoe. A sense of dread washes over him as Mediva appears with a small vail. _There's no way she's making me drink whatever it is in that vail._ Tommy thinks silently. The feeling of his arms and legs are starting to come back to him. Mediva opens the cell door, and steps in.
"Hello again. Did you get lonely? After this, I don't think you'll be lonely ever again." says Mediva, holding out the vail towards Tommy's direction. "See, you are going to meet a very special friend of mine." She unplugs the tiny cork and a dark wisp of cloudlike material floats into the air.
"Forces of darkness, I command you, The Nameless One to be released from your imprisonment!" Mediva announces. With an shrill cry, The 'cloud' jerks back and dives straight into Tommy's chest.
The Nameless One drives himself into Tommy's body like a corkscrew. A wave of pain washes over him, but it leaves as rapidly as it came. His eyes moves left and then right, all on their own. Tommy tries to open his mouth to speak but not a muscle in his jaw bothers to move. It is then that Tommy realizes he is not in control of his body anymore.
_After all these millenniums, I am finally free! Oh, what a wonderful feeling it is to see! All the colors and shapes I thought I would never see again!_ a voice wonders in amazement in his head.
_Who are you?? What are you doing in my body?!_ Tommy screams mentally at the creature that is obviously taking control of his body.
_Me? I am the Nameless One. You're my host, and that's why I am in your body. Easy enough?_ Nameless One replies.
_You have no right to do that to me! Hear me out, you won't be staying in my body forever! That's a promise!_ Tommy yells.
_We'll see White Ranger. As of right now, I am in control of you._ the Nameless One sneers.
Mediva moves over a takes the shackle off of Tommy's wrist. The Nameless One stands up, he moves Tommy's hand into his visual range.
"Ah, hands! What a wonderful tool. Opposable thumbs too! Wonderful!" he exclaims, his voice vibrates with evil itself.
"Glad to have you back with us. Nothing had been the same without you. We have finally found the perfect host for you." Mediva states.
"Yes Mediva. You are quite right. Maybe we should finish what we had started millenniums ago my dear. Shall we?" Nameless One courts, bowing. He takes Mediva's hand and together they head for the Throne Room.
Tommy watches silently, wanting to throw up as Mediva's hair brushes his face. It just seems so sick; next to your sworn enemy and not be able to do anything about it. He wants to stop right then and strangle Mediva with his own bare hands. But what can he do? He isn't in control of his own physical body for crying out loud A fear stills claws at him like a never ending nightmare. What will become of him? His friends?
* * *
Cassandra teleports into the Command Center in a streak of green. Followed shortly by Adam, Billy, Rocky, Aisha, and then Kat. School is finally out and the they still don't have a single clue to where Tommy is. Alpha had been scanning over and over again while the rangers were away. But, still no sign of the White Ranger appeared. Billy moves over to the scanners results and shakes his head slowly.
"What's wrong Billy?" Kat asks.
"It appears that Mediva had dispersed Tommy's energy signature throughout the quadrant. Our scanners will not display the exact location of Tommy due to the fact that his energy readings are everywhere." Billy replies.
Guilt washes over Cassandra. Only if she had been a little faster. That thought still lingers on her. If she had moved a little faster and not wait until the last minute, maybe it wouldn't have come to this point. Suddenly she feels someone beside her, squeezing her shoulders gently. She turns around, to find Adam standing there, a look of understanding on his face.
"Cassandra, there's no way you could have saved him. I couldn't, even if I tried. It was out of our control. We had no idea what was going to happen, and I know you don't either. You can't dwell on your past now, you need to move on. We need to stick together if we want to find Tommy. We need you Cassandra. Don't blame yourself over something that you had absolutely no control over whatsoever." Adam whispers, so that only Cassandra could hear him.
Cassandra is silent for a few moments. She thinks over what Adam had just said, and she know he's right. She looks at Adam and smiles.
"Thanks." she replies.
Before any of them can react, the alarm starts of blare out of control.
"Looks like Tommy found us." Billy announces grimly. Everyone turns to the Viewing Globe as it flickers to life.
Tommy is standing in the middle of the park. Fully morphed as the White Ranger. But something is wrong with the whole scene. Instead of helping out the citizens of Angel Grove, he's creating havoc throughout the park.
Cassandra clenches her fist. It isn't going to be easy facing one of their own. But sometimes they just have to do what's best. Cassandra's resolve hardens. She looks around to see everyone looking at her as if asking what they are going to do next.
"Ready guys?" asks Cassandra. Everyone nods their head in confirmation. "All right, IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"
"Emerald Ranger Power!" Cassandra raises her crystal in front of her. A bright green light emanates from the center of the crystal as it splits into two smaller pieces. Cassandra holds them apart from each other. A twin beams of bright green lights shoots out of the crystal, wrapping Cassandra inside it. Within seconds, the light disappears leaving a fully morphed Emerald Ranger standing in the middle of the Command Center.
"Well what are we waiting for?" asks Cassandra. She nods her head and together they teleport away. This time, to face one of their own.
* * *
"Hey you!" Cassandra yells, to catch Tommy's attention. It worked. Tommy turns around to face her.
"Ah, so you are the mighty Emerald Ranger. I hope you are not as big as a disappointment as the last Emerald Ranger I had faced. He was pathetic." the Nameless One disparages.
"Who are you? I have a feeling you are not Tommy." states Cassandra. She had used her telepathy to take a peek into the evil White Ranger, and whatever is under there is of pure evil.
"You are a clever one. Tommy exists no more! I shall be the White Ranger from now on and I will bring Earth to her knees! With Mediva of course. Tommy can't do anything! He is trapped inside this body. I am in the driver's seat now." the Nameless One gloats.
"Oh? And who helped you to get Tommy's body? Mediva? You are nothing without someone there to constantly help you." Cassandra retorts.
"You have such a fiery spirit. I'll have fun breaking you in." says the White Ranger.
"Enough talking! We'll get Tommy back. Let's just get it over with." Cassandra shouts.
Suddenly they find themselves surrounded by a huge swarm of tengas and something she had only heard about. Putties. The battle rages on. At first it seems like the rangers are winning, but pretty soon the whole situation changes. Whenever they take a tenga or puttie out of commission, another one immediately takes its place and continues its assault against the rangers. Out of desperation, Cassandra had even tried the Power Storm tactic, but that proved to be of little use. The foot soldiers just wouldn't give up. The whole mess got even uglier when the evil White Ranger jumps into the fray. The rangers didn't even stand a chance.
"Cas-- I mean Emerald Ranger! We have to retreat! There's no other choice. Or else the damage will be severe!" Cassandra can hear Billy yell from another end of the battlefield.
They are tiring, and Cassandra knows it. There's is no other choice if they still want to get out of this alive. "Get back! Teleport back to the Command Center. Everyone, now!"
"Oh run!" the Nameless One cries as the rangers teleports out, "Run with your tail between your legs!"
Tommy sighs. He's glad that his friends got away. But what's hurting him the most is the deep sense of guilt. He had not done his responsibility of saving the world, but instead, the White Ranger Powers are being used for evil, against everything that he had ever lived for. Tommy watches through his eyes as a movie watcher would watch a movie. The Nameless One teleports them both back to the moon. But one thought still lingers in his mind. Good will prevail, and evil will be defeated.
* * *
Cassandra lays on her bed, in deep thought. With Tommy gone, Cassandra is first in command. For the first time in her life, she feels the full weight of responsibility on her shoulders. One wrong decision can kill everyone that is close to her. She pulls the Emerald Crystal from her jean pocket. The surface of the crystal glistens against the light of the lamp on her night stand. Suddenly, a holographic projection of a tiger shimmers into the air.
"Serena!" Cassandra gasps in utter amazement.
"Yes. I can sense your worry my child. Have confidence in yourself and you accomplish anything in the world." Serena replies.
"But what about Tommy? He should be here, down on Earth, being the leader of the Power Rangers. Not on the moon! Face it Serena, I am just not cut out to be a leader!" Cassandra explains.
"Not to worry my Cassandra. You cannot mess with destiny itself. It's dangerous to mix the might-have-beens to reality and destiny. Fate itself is never wrong and it always has a purpose. You must be patient to find out what it is." Serena winks one of her huge yellow and yet gentle eyes before disappearing completely.
"But Serena, wait!" Cassandra calls, but it was too late.
DDDIIIIINNGGG! The telephone goes off. Cassandra groans but picks it up anyway.
"Hello?" says Cassandra.
"Uh, hi. Cassandra?" replies the voice from the other end, who Cassandra immediately recognizes it as Adam's.
"Adam!
"It's nothing really. I'm just wondering how you are feeling. I mean, you haven't really talked to anyone after. . . well you know, the little fight in the park." Adam replies truthfully.
Cassandra's lips quirk up into a smile. "I am fine Adam, it's just that. . .well. . ." Cassandra's smile dissipates. Why should she worry Adam? It's her responsibility now, there's no need to drag Adam through the mud also.
"Just what?" Adam probes.
"Just. . .oh, nothing. Nothing you have to be concerned about." Cassandra replies, her smile turning into a frown.
"Cassandra, don't pretend nothing is happening. I know something is wrong. You might as well as tell me. Maybe I can help." Adam insists.
"Well. . . it's that, well. . ." Cassandra takes a deep breath, "It's just that I don't think I can handle being the leader of the team. Any little mistake can send the whole world tumbling in front of our eyes. It's too big of a responsibility. What if we lose Tommy forever, even worse, what if I lose one of you guys? I mean, our parents will go ballistic and my Dad. I mean, he'll probably do something really drastic that I don't even want to think about! I mean, I don't think I can handle it." The words fly out of Cassandra's mouth before she can even control her emotions.
Adam is quiet for a few seconds before he speaks. "Calm down Cassandra. Nothing is going to happen to us. Be optimistic, don't be a pessimist. If you just be optimistic, every thing will look brighter. I promise. We're not going to lose anyone. We are going to get Tommy back, and we'll let that Mediva know that good always prevails. Besides, we'll stand by your side, and together we can make the right decision."
Cassandra doesn't know what to say, for the first time since Tommy had been taken, Cassandra feels a huge weight being lifted from her shoulders. Cassandra smiles, this time, a real smile. "Thanks Adam. Maybe you should think about being a psychiatrist one of these days."
"Nah, I the type of guys that just live of adventures. I don't think I can stand being cooped up in that little office. But I am glad that you are feeling better." replies Adam. A sense of accomplishment washing over him.
"You know what I am glad of? Tommy's parents is out of town for the weekend. I don't know how they are going to react if they found out that Tommy had disappeared off the surface of the planet. Literally." states Cassandra, biting her bottom lip.
"Well, maybe luck has something to do with that." Adam answers.
"Anyway, I gotta go. You know, homework to do, reports to write. The average life of a high school student. See ya tomorrow though." Cassandra says.
"All right, bye." Adam responds, and together they hang up the phone.
Cassandra's eyes lingers on the phone for a few moments. She lets the whole truth of Adam's words sink in. There's no one single person that is able to make all the decision of their own and their friends. After all, that would be dictatorship, not teamwork. In order for teamwork to work, everyone need to be in it together. Now to think of it, everything just may be fine after all.
* * *
Cassandra sits under a huge oak tree as she watch the people walking about, enjoying themselves. It's a nice sunny Saturday in Angel Grove. Any person would want to go out and enjoy themselves in this kind day. Sunny, warm but not too hot. Not a wisp of cloud in the sky. The lake fills with the sound of children playing and water splashing. The birds chirp joyfully, within harmony of nature herself. Nature's own talented musicians. Just then, Cassandra hear soft footsteps coming her way.
"Hey Cassandra!" greets Adam, waving her way. Kat, Rocky, Aisha, and Billy are with him also.
Cassandra smiles broadly, and motions them to sit beside her. The group plops down on the soft plush grass.
"How are you feeling?" Kat asks.
Adam and Cassandra share a glance with each other. "Fine, absolutely fine. I just needed time to think some things through."
"Nice to hear that. We were getting rather worried about you." states Billy.
"Thanks. You guys are just so wonderful and supportive!" says Cassandra, getting a strange desire to hug someone, but then decided not to.
"Well, that's our job." a goofy grin starts to appear on Rocky's face.
"I don't even want to know what I'll do without you guys." says Cassandra, carefully plucking a blade of grass from the ground.
"Oh, you'll do fine." Aisha answers.
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, for one thing, you did manage to survive without us before you came to Angel Grove didn't you?" Aisha answers.
"But it wasn't fun, believe me. Those years in Kentucky were not exactly great, those would be the years I'd rather forget about. Besides, that was then, and this is now. You guys spoiled me." Cassandra counters with a playful look on her face.
"So, we meet again rangers." an evil voice suddenly crackles in the air. The group jumps up to face the fully morphed White Ranger.
"What do you want?" Cassandra asks, defiantly.
"Quick, you guys evacuate the area, I'll keep him busy." Cassandra whispers to her friends. They take off immediately, rushing the civilians into safety.
"So, it's just you and me, Cassandra." the Nameless on taunts, slowly drawing his saber out. He raises it over his head, and strikes down. Cassandra immediately rolls away. Cassandra looks around, realizing that all the people in the area had left. She pulls out her crystal from her jean pocket and morphs.
"Emerald Ranger Power!" Cassandra cries. In a flash, the morphing process is complete.
"That still won't help you much, Emerald Ranger." the Nameless One snarls. He draws the saber from the scabbard, and holds it firmly with both of his hands. Cassandra responds by repeating the same gesture.
"How's your sword fighting skills?" the Nameless One asks as the two circle each other cautiously; sizing each other up.
"Not bad." Cassandra replies. Nameless One, strikes his saber down. CLASH! Cassandra's swords catches the blow. A few sparks fly from the two blades. Nameless One pulls his saber away and tries to aim for her chest, which Cassandra blocks effortlessly. The Nameless One tries again for the second time, but this time Cassandra's sword meets his saber, and pushes it away from striking range. With a quick kick to his wrist, the saber flies out of his gloved hands and lands on the grass with a thump.
The Nameless One growls. "What's wrong Emerald Ranger? Afraid to attack your precious teammate?" the Nameless One taunts. Cassandra responds by executing a spinning wheel kick, which hits the side of his helmet-protected head. He stumbles back.
"Oh, Nameless One, you know, you are a pathetic fighter. You have the body of an excellent warrior, but it's a pity you don't know anything about sword fighting. Tommy would've done much better than that." Cassandra snarls. That statement only made the Nameless One even angrier. His eyes burn with rage. Cassandra places her sword in its sheath, as the Nameless One scrambles to retrieve his. But just before his finger tip reaches it, the saber disappears in a flash of white.
"How dare you!" the Nameless One screams, he stares at where his sword was only a second ago.
_Hey, that's what you get for messing with the Power Rangers. The saber? It now safely stored in the Command Center._ Tommy taunts. He wants annoy his enemy. Sure, the Nameless One can control his movements, but he can't control his free will.
_Silence Tommy! You are nothing! You hear me, you are NOTHING! Mediva and I will conquer this planet. Dark Specter will be very proud of us. Then we can move on with our lives just as planned. You nor your puny friends will stand in the way of our victory! You hear me? You will not!_ the Nameless One screams at Tommy.
_You know, it makes me wonder. When you can't even beat Cassandra to a little sword fight, how will you manage to conquer the world?_ Tommy asks quietly, keeping his tone cool and leveled, which just make the Nameless One even angrier. Tommy expected some sort of reply, but he never got one.
"You know, once we conquer this planet, we can keep you as our own personal warrior." the Nameless One tells Cassandra.
Behind her helmet, Cassandra rolls her eyes. "In your dreams oh Nameless One, or should I say, Oh Powerless One?"
The Nameless One lets a low and intimidating growl, which Cassandra promptly ignores. The two circle each other, getting ready for a hand to hand combat.
"Cassandra! We need a little help over here!" Kat yells suddenly as the tengas and the putties herd them into a tight circle. It feels like every time they take one out, another one comes and takes its place.
"Your friends need a little help?" the Nameless One sneers, "Go ahead and run to their rescue. I'll be waiting." Cassandra takes a hard stare at him. She doesn't want to leave, but in this case, her friends need her more. She turns and runs toward the circle of tengas and putties. She tore through the like a tornado, breaking the circle in no time. The rest of the team blazes through the opening.
While in the frenzy of rescuing her friends, Cassandra has her back turned to the White Ranger. The Nameless one smiles under the helmet. This is going to be fun. He pull his blaster from his holster, and takes aim. He can feel Tommy fighting him every step of the way, but it doesn't matter now. He's in control.
Adam was fighting a puttie when he sees him drawing his blaster and aiming it at Cassandra. Everything seems to go in slow motion for him as pushes through the line of putties and tengas. Adam is only about five feet away from him as the White Ranger's fingers tighten around the trigger.
"Cassandra watch out!" Adam yells as he makes a dive at the evil White Ranger. In the sudden rush the Nameless One's finger jerks at the trigger. The blaster goes off, missing Cassandra and hitting a tenga instead. The two falls to the ground with an audible thud. Adam clutches Tommy's arm as they roll across the grassy ground.
"Adam!" Cassandra yells. Adam had saved her life, and now, Adam's going to be the one in serious trouble. She starts to run toward the duo as they continue to roll along, but only to be stopped by another batch of tengas and putties. The tengas and putties came at her like swarms of angry bees. She knew right then that Adam is on his own, at least for now.
The Nameless One stands up and shoves Adam away angrily. "So that's the way you want to play it? You'll be the first to die then, Black Ranger!" He charges at Adam, like a bull. He came at Adam in a flash. Adam didn't even have time to react. He wraps his hand around Adam's neck and starts to squeeze. Harder and harder. Adam tears off his helmet not caring if anyone sees him. He can't breathe and that's all he can think about. He can feel his heart pounding like a jackhammer trying to give his brain enough oxygen to function. Suddenly he can feel the grasp on his neck loosen. Adam steps back, breaking the grasp completely.
"And I am just getting started." The Nameless One comments.
Adam says nothing, he just stands there, wheezing and panting like there's no tomorrow. The Nameless One, however doesn't have the heart to give Adam enough time to regain his breath. He gathers his fist and give a hard punch squarely onto Adam's chest. He stumbles back, desperately trying to regain his footing. He clutches to his chest while he still continues to gasp.
"Hmm, the Emerald Ranger would have fended better than that!" he hollers.
THAWK! A sword suddenly impales the ground beside the Nameless One. The sword has a dark blue tassel on one end of it, and some sort of dark gem at the base of the blade. Nameless One takes a good look at it and smiles evilly behind the helmet.
"Of course, my dear Mediva would always be so considerate!" he cries as he swaggers over the sword and pulls it out from the ground.
The light glistens from the sharp edge. Adam gulps--hard. Boy, is he in serious trouble. The Nameless One approaches Adam, the sword raised. He strikes down hard and Adam steps aside. He avoided from being sliced by just a hair. Adam's heart pounds at his throat, and he can hear each thump. The Nameless One tries to strike again, and once again Adam jumps back. The Nameless One does a foot sweep and Adam jumps, skipping over the extended leg, but what Adam didn't see is the flat of the blade coming at his chest. The side of the blade hits its target. Adam tries to regain his balance in vain and soon falls to the ground. He's still out of breath but is much better when "Tommy" was squeezing the life out of him. Adam's confidence of surviving evaporates. The Black Ranger inches backward on his back as the Nameless One swaggers toward him and places his left foot on his chest, pinning him to the ground. Adam grabs the foot and tries to push it off, but Tommy's foot did not even budge an inch. The Nameless one raises the sword high over his head with the point of the blade aimed squarely at Adam's heart.
"Time to die Adam." the Nameless One taunts. He lock his eyes onto Adam's, enjoying every minute of victory.
Adam knew what is coming, and this time no one is there to help him. The reality the situation suddenly slaps him in the face. There's is no escape this time. He knows it. He is going to die. Adam just lays there, his insides trembling like jelly. _Oh God! I am too young to die!_ his head screams. Adam keeps his expression blank, he isn't going to let the Nameless One have the joy of knowing that he is scared. But deep down inside, he is petrified. He eyes the sword above him, then quiet suddenly, a wave of peace washes over him. He feels content that he will be dying for what he believes in. No, his life will not be a waste. If he can save another innocent being at the price of his own, he would do it. It's beyond reason, it's beyond logic and it's beyond scared. It's what his heart is telling him, his heart guiding him through his last few seconds of life. He knew right then that his legacy of a ranger will live on, for generations to come.
Adam close his eyes. With renewed courage, he faces death in the eye. . . and down comes the blade. . .