The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Tommy, Billy, Kat, Tanya, and Adam, stand helplessly and watch as the Command Center, their home base, is destroyed right before their eyes. All five youths watch in terror as the building erupts in a massive implosion, apparently taking their friend Alpha Five and their mentor Zordon along with it. After the dust settles, the five teens snap out of their initial shock, and realize for the first time that their days as Power Rangers are over--forever.
"I can't believe it," whispered Adam, sifting through a small pile of rubble, "It's all gone. Zordon, Alpha, the zords, the Morphin Grid...everything."
"What do we do now?" asked Katherine, turning to Tommy.
"I don't kn--wait a minute. Where's Rocky?!"
All six of the teens immediately begin combing the area where Alpha had teleported them. SInce it was a blind teleport (there wasn't time for Alpha to lock in coordinates), Rocky could be anywhere: in a rock or a tree, or even underground. He could've even materialized in mid air, and then crashed to the ground.
"Guys!" cried Tanya, digging frantically at a pile of rubble, "I think he's under here! I can hear breathing!"
Soon, the entire group began digging at the pile, and together they managed to free Rocky. He was bleeding from various cuts and bruises, and he was unconscious. Tommy and Billy laid Rocky flat on the ground and Adam began to check him over.
"He's alive," Adam said with relief," and his heartbeat is strong. Still, his leg looks like it may be broken, and he may have a concussion."
"We've got to get him medical help!" said Tanya.
"The Command Center has been destroyed, and with it our powers. We can't teleport, so wherever we go, we'll have to carry Rocky."
"My house is the closest," said Billy, "and I have the necessary supplies to treat any infectious injuries. We should go there."
"Let's go then," said Adam, picking up Rocky's torso. Tommy lifted his legs. Together, they carried Rocky down the cliff, and towards the city. Billy took one more glance at the wreckage of the Command Center, and bowed his head to pay respects to the lost. He then noticed a single, intact floppy disk on the ground beneath him. He picked it up and examined it with curiosity.
"Are you coming, Billy?" asked Kat, moving back up the cliff to join him.
"Yes," he answered hurriedly, carefully putting the disk in his jeans' pocket. I wonder if Zordon left this for us to see. In Billy's garage, Tanya bandages Rocky's wounds while Adam splints his broken leg. The others watch helplessly, not noticing Billy, who was busy on his computer, trying to read the disk he found at the Command Center.
"Well, that's that," said Adam, standing up and stretching his back, "He should get this taken care of, though. This make-shift splint isn't a cast, ya know."
"Right," said Tanya, "and he still hasn't waken up yet. We should get him to the hospital."
"Fine," said Tommy, picking up Billy's phone, "we'll call an ambulance. But, we need to come up with a story first. After all, we can't tell the paramedics that Rocky was caught in an implosion, now can we?"
"Wait a minute!" yelled Billy, turning away from the computer screen, "I think you guys should see this!"
Katherine, Tommy, and Tanya walked over to Billy, while Adam took a seat next to Rocky.
"What've you got there?" asked Tanya, peering over Billy's shoulder at the computer.
"I found a floppy disk by the debris of the Command Center," explained Billy, "I've tried to access it, but the intro screen is all I can get. See? I need a password to enter the file."
"How do you know the disk is for us?" asked Kat.
"Well, look at the screen. The disk is titled 'The Future of Earth'."
"I don't understand," said Tanya.
"Zordon once told us that we are Earth's future," said Tommy, rubbing his chin in thought, "So, if the disk is meant for us, the password should be something only we would know."
"How about 'Power Rangers'?" suggested Katherine.
"Or 'Its Morphin Time'?" said Tommy.
"No," said Billy, punching the keys in frustration, "none of those are right!"
"Let me try," said Adam, standing up and taking Billy's seat in front of the keyboard. He typed in a message, and the file opened.
"What was the password?" asked Tanya.
"What Zordon tells us each time we go into battle--May the Power protect you."
"Good work," said Tommy, "both of you. Now, Billy, see what's on this disk. If its from Zordon, it may contain a clue to a new power source."
"I'm on it," said Billy, immediately getting to work. Just then, there was a knock on the door. The teens all looked towards the door in surprise.
"Everyone, stay quiet," said Billy, "My Dad'll flip if he sees what we're doing in here."
The five teens remained silent until they heard a key unlocking the door. THe door opened slowly, and in walked Jason Lee.
"Hey, guys," he greeted, "Didn't you hear me knocking?"
"Jason!" yelled Tommy, giving his best friend a bear hug, "What're you doing here? When did you get back from the Peace Conference? Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"
"One question at a time," said Jason, laughing, "The first round of the Peace Talks are over, so we get a month off before the second round starts. Zack and I wanted to surprise everyone, so we flew in and took a cab. We're on our way home from the airport, and we decided to drop in on you guys. Zack's outside in the taxi."
"Where's Trini?" asked Billy after greeting his long time friend.
"She went with a group of delegates to the Middle East to promote the message of peace. So, what's going on here anyway? What happened to Rocky?"
The rangers' smiles immediately fell. Tommy stepped forward. "I've got some bad news, Bro. The Command Center has been destroyed. Rocky was injured in the explosion."
Jason's chin dropped in shock, and he sat down in a chair beside the couch Rocky was lying on.
"I don't believe it," he said quietly, "And Zordon and Alpha--?"
"We don't know," said Katherine quietly, "Alpha teleported us out of the Command Center just before the explosion. When we searched the wreckage, we didn't see a sign of either of them. Hopefully, they managed to escape somehow..."
Jason studied the face of the unfamiliar blonde girl speaking to him. She had an obvious Australian accent.
"I'm sorry," he said, looking up at her face, "but I don't think I know you."
"I'm Katherine Hillard, the new Pink Ranger," she said cheerily, shaking Jason's hand, "Now, we've been properly introduced."
"I'm Jason, the original Red Ranger," he said with a smile, "Nice to meet you. So, what happened to Kim? She isn't hurt, is she?"
"No, Kimberly went to the Pan-Global gymnastics meet," explained Tommy, "I'm surprised she hasn't kept in touch with you guys."
"Well, the mail service isn't that dependable," said Jason with a shrug.
"Hi," said Tanya, offering her hand, "we haven't met either. I'm Tanya. Aisha sent me in her place.
"Wow," said Jason, "The team really changed since I left."
"Tommy!" called Billy, "Here's the message: Enter the manhole by the stairs."
"What message?" asked Jason.
"Zordon left us a message," said Adam, standing up, "And it looks like there's something in the sewer system beneath the Command Center he wants us to find. We should get going."
"But, what about Rocky?" asked Tanya, "We have to do something! We can't leave him here alone."
"I'll stay with him," offered Katherine, "Contact me when you find something."
"Okay, guys," said Tommy, headed for the door, "Let's go. Jay, you picked a bad time to visit..."
"Actually, Zack and I got here just in time. We'll go with you!"
"Are you sure, Bro? This isn't your responsibility anymore..."
"Its not about responsibility, its about friendship. I really wanna know if Zordon and Alpha are okay, and maybe I can help you guys. Come on, we'll take the taxi over to the cliffs."
With that, Jason, Tommy, Zack, Billy, Adam, and Tanya left the garage. Katherine waved to them and wished them luck.
"Okay," said Zack, reaching the top of the cliff, "We have to find a staircase..."
Zack stared in awe at the charred remains of the formerly impressive Command Center. A tear formed in his eye as fond memories of his days as the Black Ranger began to fill his mind. Although he never admitted it, he had sorely missed the utter rush of morphin, and the pride that comes with knowing that you are one of Earth's greatest heroes. He wiped his eye with the back of his hand and wandered around the rubble, weaving his way around fallen steel beams, slabs of concrete, boulders, and shredded wires and computer parts, some still sparking and smoking. The others also began to search the rubble for stairs.
"Do you think the stairs mentioned are the ones at the eastern entrance?" suggested Billy, That's the only flight of stairs that immediately comes to mind."
"I'll check it," offered Tanya, running towards the east. Today has been a very hectic day for Tanya Sloan. Just yesterday, she was an innocent eleven year old girl living in an African tribe. Now, she's been sent to America, a foreign land, and is now seventeen. And to top if off, she was working with the world-famous Power Rangers to save the universe! Understandably, she feels a little disoriented, especially considering the fact that all the others are apparently the best of friends. Boy, I sure hope Aisha made the right decision! Am I up to this? She snapped back into reality when she saw what appeared to be the remains of a stone staircase. She began to sift through the pile of rubble at the foot of the stairs, and smiled widely when she saw a small manhole cover.
"Guys!" she cried excitedly, "I've found it! But--I can't lift the cover!" The others all joined her at the stairs.
"We've got it," said Jason, as he and Tommy removed the lid from the hole.
"Its awfully dark down there," said Zack, "How're we supposed to find our way through?
"With this," said Billy, pulling out a flashlight from his backpack, "I never leave the garage without one!"
"Good work, Billy," said Tommy, taking the flashlight and moving towards the hole, "I'll go first. Jason, you bring up the rear."
With that, the group of teenagers climbed down the ladder and into the darkness of the secret underground tunnel disguised as a sewer.
"Looks like we found something," said Zack, pushing against the door. Of course, the massive iron door didn't budge.
"So, how do we get in?" asked Tanya.
Suddenly the diamond on the door began to glow silver. ^PLEASE PLACE RIGHT HAND ON THE DIAMOND FOR FINGERPRINT SCAN,^ said a recorded voice. Jason placed his hand on the space, and the door opened inwards. The teens looked around in awe at the room they had entered. It was huge, with numerous computer stations set in a circle around an even larger Viewing Globe. There was also a large main computer setup with screen in one corner, a desk with what looked like a PC in another corner, and an advanced medical center in the third corner, with a bed hooked up to many imaging devices, a table with other hand-held units, and its own transporter. In the final corner there was an iron gate much like the door the rangers entered from, but instead of having a diamond in the middle, it had an image of Earth.
"Wow," said Tommy, "it looks like we found what we were looking for!"
"Indeed," said Billy, walking over to the main computer, "the technology here is by far superior to that of the Command Center. It is simpler to use, as well as more efficient."
"Does the equipment work?" asked Jason.
"Everything appears to be online and functional."
"Do you think you can operate that fancy medical equipment?" asked Adam, "Rocky really needs some sort of treatment."
Billy hurried over to he medical center, and looked over a set of instructions conveniently left on the cot. Billy skimmed through the manual quickly.
"This device is called the med-unit," he read aloud, "and its capable of speeding the natural healing processes of the human body. Phenomenal! I think I should be able to operate this. It seems like it was created for humans to use."
"Good," said Tommy, holding his communicator to his mouth, "I'll contact Katherine and tell her what we found. Billy, get ready to teleport her and Rocky here."
Billy nodded and activated the teleporter beside the med-unit. He waited as Tommy contacted Katherine, who was waiting at Billy's lab.
^Hello?^ she answered, ^Tommy, is that you?^
"Yeah. Listen Kat, we found another Command Center down here, and everything's up and running. Billy is getting ready to teleport you and Rocky here. Tommy out.
Tommy nodded at Billy, and Billy pressed the final sequence of buttons. In a flash of red light, the unconscious form of Rocky DeSantos appeared on the med-unit cot. Then, a flash of pink light heralded the arrival of Katherine Hillard. Kat spun around, gazing in awe at her strange surroundings.
"Hey," she said, "I don't see Alpha or Zordon. There isn't even a tube here for Zordon to appear to us in!"
Billy immediately began working on Rocky's injuries with the highly advanced med-unit. The rest of the team formed a circle in the center of the room, next to the Viewing Globe.
"I really thought Alpha and Zordon would be here," said Zack, "What do we do now?"
"There isn't much we can do," said Tommy sadly, "Zedd destroyed the Power Coins, and Goldar and Rito swiped the Zeo Crystal right before the Command Center imploded. Without Zordon, there's no way we can restore our powers."
The rangers' conversation was interrupted by a persistent beeping coming from the main computer. They all go towards it.
"What does that sound mean?" asked Katherine.
"I think there's something on this thing," said Adam, sitting in the seat and turning on the screen. A single icon, called "Terra" appeared at the center of the screen. Adam clicked on the image, and Zordon's face (which is really all he has) appeared on the screen.
^POWER RANGERS,^ it said, ^IF YOU ARE HEARING THIS MESSAGE, I MUST ASSUME THAT THE COMMAND CENTER HAS BEEN DESTROYED. IF THAT EVER HAPPENED, THEN THE MORPHIN GRID WOULD ALSO BE GONE, LEAVING YOU POWERLESS. FEAR NOT, RANGERS, FOR AN EVEN GREATER POWER AWAITS YOU. YOU ARE IN THE CENTRAL ACCESS COMPLEX, LOCATED APPROXIMATELY TWO MILES BELOW THE LOCATION OF THE COMMAND CENTER. SIX OF YOU ARE DESTINED TO BECOME THE TERRAN POWER RANGERS. THE KEY TO THIS POWER LIES IN THE ZEO CRYSTAL. THE ZEO CRYSTAL IS THE SOURCE OF THE MORPHIN GRID'S POWER, AND SO IF THE GRID WERE TO COLLAPSE, THE ZEO CRYSTAL WOULD SPLINTER INTO SIX SMALL COLORED SHARDS. NOT JUST ANYONE CAN USE THESE CRYSTALS, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN A VAST AMOUNT OF RAW POWER. BEFORE, YOU USED MORPHERS TO MEDIATE THE POWER OF THE COINS TO YOUR BODIES, BUT THE ZEO CRYSTAL SHARDS ACTUALLY ENTER YOUR BODY AND BECOME A PART OF YOU. THIS DIRECT ACCESS WILL INCREASE YOUR ABILITIES TENFOLD, BUT THEY ALSO ARE DANGEROUS. FIND THE DORMANT GEMS AND PLACE THEM IN THEIR STONE PILLARS ABOVE GROUND. MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU ALL...^
"But, Rito and Goldar stole the whole Zeo Crystal!" said Tanya, "How do we get it back?"
"Hey guys," said Adam, "check this out!"
The other rangers returned their attention to the screen, which now showed an image of the location of the Command Center. There, six colored blips of light glowed.
"I guess when the Morphin Grid was destroyed, the Zeo Crystal automatically split into six pieces," said Adam, "and knowing Goldar and Rito, they were so scared by the release of power that they dropped it and teleported straight to the moon."
"So, let's go then," said Tommy, moving towards the teleporter.
"Wait a minute!" said Kat, "Zordon said that six of us are destined to be Terran Rangers. There's eight of us here. How do we know who should accept the power?"
"Why don't the six of you go," said Billy, "Rocky is still unconscious, so I'll finish up here. Go ahead."
"You sure, Bro?" asked Zack.
"Sure I'm sure. Now hurry up!"
Tommy activated the teleporter, and in seconds, Billy and Rocky were alone. Its funny, he mused, still scanning Rocky's head for permanent damage, Something about staying behind while the others go into battle--just feels right somehow. I don't think it's my destiny to be a Terran Ranger. It just doesn't feel right. But something Zordon's message said bothers me...
Billy left Rocky's side and went to the main computer. He replayed Zordon's audio message. ^NOT JUST ANYONE CAN USE THESE CRYSTALS, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN A VAST AMOUNT OF RAW POWER. BEFORE, YOU USED MORPHERS TO MEDIATE THE POWER OF THE COINS TO YOUR BODIES, BUT THE ZEO CRYSTAL SHARDS ACTUALLY ENTER YOUR BODY AND BECOME A PART OF YOU. THIS DIRECT ACCESS WILL INCREASE YOUR ABILITIES TENFOLD, BUT THEY ALSO ARE DANGEROUS...^
I wonder who is capable of housing that much power, and who isn't. I suppose it could be destiny, but it could also be biological...
Billy activated the viewing globe to watch as his friends searched the rubble for the six fragments of the mighty Zeo Crystal.
"Okay guys," said Tommy, "This is it. Spread out and find the crystal shards."
The group did as Tommy instructed, and began digging in the general areas that the computer had shown the presence of the shards earlier. The first one to find a shard was Jason.
"Hey guys!" he called, "I found the red Zeo shard!"
The others circled around Jason and looked at the crystal on the ground. It was only about the size of a hand, and was shaped like a diamond. It looked like a big ruby. Jason reached down to pick it up, but as he touched it, the gem flashed red, burning Jason's hand slightly.
"Ow!" he groaned, pulling his hand back, "What gives?"
"Maybe you're not meant to be a Terran Ranger, Jay," said Zack solemnly.
"Or maybe you just aren't meant to be the Red Ranger anymore," said Adam, "Why should we assume that our colors wouldn't change?"
"Good point," said Tommy, "I'll give it a try."
Tommy hesitated slightly as his finger brushed against the gemstone, half expecting to be burned. But instead, the stone glowed brilliantly at Tommy's touch. Tommy then picked it up off the ground, and held it in his palm.
"I guess I'm the Red Ranger now," said Tommy, watching as the gem emitted a single ray of light, pointing to one of the stone pillars. Tommy gingerly placed the gem in the pillar, and the entire pillar began to glow a brilliant scarlet. "Okay, guys," he said, "FInd the other five!!"
The other rangers hurried along, and in no time the five gems were located. Katherine placed the blue gem into the pillar. Jason then touched the black gem without injury. Zack tried the white gem, and it accepted him. Adam had found the green gem, and it glowed brilliantly at his touch. Finally, Tanya unearthed the final Zeo shard--the yellow one.
"Go for it," said Kat quietly, and Tanya slowly reached for the gem. But, instead of glowing softly, it gave Tanya a mildly painful electric shock. Tanya pulled away her hand in surprise, an then looked up at the others, who all stood in shock around her.
"I...I'm not the Yellow Ranger," she said quietly.
"Well, if you're not the Yellow Ranger, then who is?" asked Adam.
Billy returned to the main computer, and activated the verbal command. "Computer, locate Kimberly Anne Hart."
"Kim!' called Renee Ryan from the corner of the mat, "You've gotta work on that dismount! You've pulled off that double back flip at least a dozen times before, but all of the sudden, you're practically falling on your butt!"
"Sorry, 'Ne," said Kim, jogging over to her friend and digging in her duffel bag for a towel, "I'm just not as good as you on the beam."
"Get real, Kim," said Renee, tightening the scrunchie holding her mass of dark brown braids, "We both know you're the bomb on the beam! Besides, the vault is my event."
Renee stretched her long, limber body and adjusted the straps on her purple leotard before leaping onto the balance beam. As she began her first set of front flips, a loud crashing sound from the closet broke her concentration. She promptly fell to the mat below with a scowl on her face.
"Are you okay, 'Ne?" asked Kim, helping her friend to her feet. Both girls immediately fell into a fit of giggles. Then, a young man with aqua eyes and a sandy-blonde mushroom cut emerged from the closet, carrying a large folded mat. He glanced over to the two girls, who were crying with laughter.
"Are you two okay?" he asked, setting the mat on the gym floor and approaching them, "You're not laughing at me, are you?"
"Did you drop something in there, Trevor?" asked Renee, trying to compose herself.
"Well, someone didn't put the pieces to the uneven bars away right, so when I opened the door, they all came crashing down from the top shelf! I'm alright, though."
"That's good," said Kim.
"So, what are you two still doing here? Didn't Schmidt give everyone the next few days off for Thanksgiving?"
"Yeah," said Renee, "I'm staying here, though. My sister's coming to visit tomorrow, and I figure we'll check out all those theme parks."
"Well, I'm going to Angel Grove to visit my friends," said Kim, "My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon. Boy, will they be surprised to see me! I didn't tell them Coach Schmidt gave us five days off."
"If you don't have any plans for tonight, how 'bout we go for some sodas? I'm almost done putting the equipment away."
"I can't, tonight's Party of Five," said Renee quickly, nudging Kimberly in the side, "but Kim doesn't have any plans, do you?"
"I...I'm expecting a call from my mother from Paris tonight. I'd better be there when she calls. Maybe some other time, Trev."
"You got it. Later, ladies!" Trevor waved to the girls and then jogged back to the storage closet. As soon as he was out of sight, Kim threw her friend and roommate a malevolent glare.
"What did you think you were doing?" asked Kim, "You don't even watch Party of Five!!"
"Well, it's obvious the boy likes ya!" said Renee, her chocolate eyes twinkling, "You've been kinda down lately, and I think it's because you miss your friends at home. You need a boyfriend!"
"I told you before, Renee, I already HAVE a boyfriend!"
"Yeah, in California. Trust me, I know that long distance relationships never work. When Coach Schmidt recruited me, my boyfriend Kevin promised he'd call every day, and every night. Well, about a month later, I heard through the grapevine that he was spending more time than he should have with my best friend!! You don't need this stress, Kim..."
"But, Tommy's not like that!" said Kim, "And I know who he spends time with, and none of my friends would turn on me like that."
"Kim, I know this Tommy guy is special, but Trevor Monroe is really a find! He's handsome, intelligent, athletic, funny, and charming."
"And I'm not interested!" said Kim defiantly, "End of discussion!"
Renee sighed and changed the subject to their plans for the long weekend. After a short walk, the girls were inside their small apartment. Kimberly immediately began packing her suitcase for her upcoming trip, while Renee went to her dresser to find her clothes.
"I've got dibbs on the shower!" she called, locking herself in the bathroom. Kim smiled and continued packing. She didn't even notice a flash of pink light on her bed. She did, however, recognize a familar six tone signal coming from her bed. She jumped in surprise, and was amazed to see her old pink communicator on her bed. She picked it up and held it to her mouth, listening first if Renee had turned on the shower.
"Hello?" she asked, "Who's there?"
^Kim? It's good to hear your voice! How are you?^
"I'm fine, Billy. What's wrong? If this was a social call, you would have used the telephone!"
^Well, the rangers have run into a pretty major problem, and I think we're gonna be needing your help. Is there any way you'd be able to come to Angel Grove for a couple of days? Its really an emergency!^
"You're in luck, Billy. Coach Schmidt just gave the whole team a few days off for Thanksgiving. I was planning on flying in tomorrow."
^We really need you immediately, Kim. Can I teleport you?^
"Give me five minutes," said Kim, searching for a piece of paper, "I need to come up with an excuse for disappearing. My roommate will flip if I just vanish."
^Okay, Kim, I'll see you in a few minutes. Billy out.^
Kimberly attached the communicator to her wrist and quickly wrote a letter to her roommate, telling her that her mother had surprised her with a drop in visit, and that she'll be staying with her mother in the hotel until they both fly to Angel Grove. It was a lame story, but Kim didn't have enough time to come up with a good cover story. Kim strapped on her bag and waited for the familiar rush that accompanies teleportation.
"Looks like you've made yourself comfortable," smirked Zack.
"Well, this desk is connected to all the CAC's major computer systems. I can control just about everything from this position."
"We have a problem," said Jason, "We've found all the Zeo shards, but no one can touch the yellow one. We don't have a Yellow Ranger!"
"I know, I saw the entire scenario from the Viewing Globe. I suspected this may happen--Tanya was never made a Power Ranger by Zordon, hence she has never wielded the power of a Power Coin. The coins somehow change their owners on a biochemical level, so that they are more durable than other humans. Tanya isn't capable of harnessing the vast amount of power in a Zeo shard."
"So, what do we do?" asked Katherine, "Do you think you can use it, Billy?"
"I don't know, but for some reason, I don't think it's my destiny. I think my place is right here, at this desk."
"But, we need a Yellow Ranger," said Adam, "Zedd and Rita will no doubt be attacking soon, trying to take advantage of us not being at full strength. We need all six Zeo shards to be placed in the altars before we can claim the power, and no one can touch the yellow one."
"We have one more option," said Billy, activating the teleporter, "I guess you could call it a hunch."
A beam of pink light struck before the surprised rangers, and the form of the original Pink Ranger appeared.
"Kim!" said Tommy, immediately greeting her with a warm hug, "What're you doing here?"
"Well, Billy called and told me there was an emergency. Coach Schmidt had given the whole team five days off for Thanksgiving, and I thought I'd surprise you."
"Trust me, we're definitely surprised," said Kat with a weak smile.
"So, what's happening? Where are we? This isn't the Command Center!"
Tommy related everything that had happened: the Zeo Crystal quest, the implosion of the Command Center, Rocky's injury, the disk, the finding of the CAC, and Tanya's inability to touch the yellow gem. Then, Billy played Zordon's message again for her.
"Wow, I can't believe all this happened since I left! Its only been a couple months!"
"Its been a most eventful few months indeed," said Billy, "Are you ready to try and obtain the Zeo shard, Kim?"
"As I'll ever be," she said, standing with the others. Billy was about to teleport the entire group, but Tanya stepped away.
"There's no sense in me tagging along," she said with a weak smile, "Good luck, guys. Maybe I can help Billy out down here."
The rangers nodded and vanished in streaks of colored light. They reappeared almost instantly in the center of the circle of stone pillars. The group led Kimberly to the location of the yellow Zeo shard, which remained untouched.
"There it is, Kim," said Tommy, "Now remember, if you feel any pain whatsoever when you touch the gem, just let it go."
"Relax Tommy. I think I'm capable of following instructions."
Kimberly knelt down on the rock and gently touched the shard with her delicate index finger. The shard began to glow brilliantly, and if floated off the ground and into Kim's palm.
"Yes!" cried Zack, throwing his hands in the air, "Way to go, Kim!"
Kim smiled triumphantly at her friends and slowly walked to the empty stone pillar. She placed the gem in the hole and stood back.
"So, now what do we do?" asked Katherine.
"We wait," said Jason.
"No!" cried Lord Zedd in anger, "Those brats have discovered a new power source already?! I knew I should have destroyed them as soon as they returned to what's left of the Command Center! Why do I ever listen to you, Rita?"
"Because I'm the smart one, Zeddie!" she answered in her usual high pitched shriek, "I told Goldar and Rito to steal the Zeo Crystal before they destroyed the Command Center, but those idiots managed to mess up anyway!"
"It wasn't our fault," said Rito.
"Yeah," said Goldar, "The crystal started to emit a strange energy that interfered with our teleportation. We had to leave it on Earth."
"It doesn't matter," said Rita, "Now that the rangers have collected the fragments, we can destroy them and unify the crystals ourselves!"
"Brilliant!" bellowed Zedd, "I'll have the unlimited power of the Zeo Crystal, and no one will be left to stop me! Send down the Tengas!"
Before the order could be carried out, Finster rushed into the throne room. "You're Majesties, I have just finished a project that may be more beneficial than the Tenga Warriors."
"What are you talking about?" asked Zedd, "The Tengas are the fiercest warriors on this side of the galaxy!"
"True, but the rangers defeat them anyway. I have created a whole new breed of Putty. I blended the typical clay with some DNA from various Earth creatures called reptiles--"
"Get to the point already!" shrieked Rita.
"Yes my Queen," said Finster, beckoning to a group of creatures hiding in the shadows. They stepped out for all to see. "May I present--The Viper Putties!"
Ten Putty Patrollers stepped forward and bowed to Rita and Zedd. They were by far less clumsy than the other Putties. They were green, with black boots and gloves, and a black "v" on their chests. Their eyes glowed scarlet, and their mouths were open in an "O" shape.
"They are agile, like reptiles, and can regenerate broken limbs. Also, they spit venom, which is a powerful corosive. The venom can eat through solid steel."
Rita and Zedd looked at each other for a minute, and they both began to cackle. Finster crossed his arms over his chest proudly, and Rito and Goldar were visibly relieved, since now they would no longer be blamed for their blunder earlier.
"Finster!" ordered Zedd, raising his fist to the air, "Send down my Viper Putties!!"
"What're those things?" asked Kimberly.
"We'd better not take any chances," said Jason, "Fighting positions, everyone!"
"Wait!" objected Tommy, holding Jason back, "They may be after the Zeo Crystal. Each of us will have to guard our own shard. If a Putty attacks, fight back. Let them make the first move!"
"Good idea," said Adam, "Let's move!"
Each ranger stands in front of his of her crystal shard while the Viper Putties circle them. One Putty suddenly attacked Adam.
"You picked the wrong fight, Clay-Brain!" he cried, knocking the Putty down with a powerful tornado kick, but the Putty leapt to its feet immediately and splashed Adam's hiking boot with its venom. Adam fell to the ground, his brow dripping with sweat.
"Adam!" cried Kat, "what's wrong?"
"It...it's eating through my boot!" he cried in panic. Zack picked up a large twig and ran to Adam's side.
"Adam, hold still while I pry off your boot," he said calmly, wedging the twig in Adam's boot. They managed to get the boot off Adam's foot before the acid ate through the leather.
"Whew," sighed Zack, helping Adam to his feet, "That was close, Bro."
"Are you two alright?" asked Tommy, who was busy fending off the Putty that dared come too close.
"Yeah," said Adam weakly, watching as his hiking boot slowly disintegrated into a steaming brown puddle, "Guys, we're really in trouble here."
"Guys!" yelled Jason, "They're charging!!!"
Sure enough, the eight Putties who hadn't yet attacked suddenly leapt at the teens all at once. They divided themselves among the rangers: with two attacking both Jason and Tommy while one attacked each of the others. The rangers bravely confronted the Putties' advances, but with extreme caution for fear of the deadly venom that nearly relieved them of a Green Ranger. Unfortunately, each time a Putty was hit, it just got back up again.
"They just won't stay down!" cried Katherine in frustration, "What do we do?"
"We improvise!" cried Jason, running to a pile of rubble left from the Command Center, "Adam, Kim! Cover me!"
Both Adam and Kimberly engaged the two Putties that were previously attacking Jason, giving him a chance to search through the rubble. Soon, he pulled out a sharp steel pole, about as long as a bo staff. He skillfully spun the pole in his hands, and charged at a Putty that was overwhelming Katherine. With one mightly slash, the Putty's arm was separated from it's shoulder.
"Looks like we're gonna have to play hardball!" said Jason, sticking the pole in the ground and helping Katherine to her feet, "Kat, you okay?"
Katherine stood up and brushed the dirt off her blue blouse. "I guess--Jason! Look!"
Jason spun around just in time to see the Putty he had dismembered suddenly grow a replacement arm from his severed shoulder. All the teens witnessed this, and were utterly shocked.
"Oh, God," whispered Kimberly, "What do we do now?"
As if in answer, a huge gust of wind blew, dragging the light weight Putties out of the circle of Zeo shard pillars. The wind continued to blow, and the rangers watched stunned silence as the Putties disappeared off the cliff.
"What's going on?" yelled Zack over the wind.
Suddenly, the ground began to quake violently, knocking all six teenagers off their feet. Then, from the center of the circle, a silver pyramid about ten feet tall rose from the ground, with a crevice near the top and a large carving of Earth on the side. Then, a beam of golden light from each pillar streamed towards the center pillar, transporting each Zeo shard to the center. Once all six shards were in place, they merged into the ultimately powerful Zeo Crystal, glowing with powerful golden light. The six rangers rose to their feet and stood side by side in front of the pillar and watched as a face appeared above the Zeo Crystal.
"GREETINGS, POWER RANGERS!" it said.
"Zordon!" cried Zack, "You're alive!!"
"YES, AND I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU ALL. YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED IN UNITING THE MIGHTY ZEO CRYSTAL ONCE AGAIN. THIS TIME, HOWEVER, WITHOUT THE MORPHIN GRID TO FOCUS THE POWER, THE ZEO CRYSTAL IS AN UNPARALELLED SOURCE OF NATURAL ENERGY. YOU SIX WILL BE ABLE TO HARNESS THIS POWER BY ACCEPTING THE SHARDS OF ZEO INTO YOUR HEARTS. FROM THERE, THE POWER WILL COARSE THROUGH YOUR VEINS, ENABLING YOU TO CALL ON YOUR POWERS WHENEVER YOU NEED THEM. UNLIKE YOUR POWER COINS, THE ZEO SHARDS CAN NEVER BE FORCED OUT OF YOUR BODIES. THEY SHALL BE A PART OF YOU. YOU SIX ARE THE LEGENDARY TERRAN POWER RANGERS, DESTINED TO FREE THE WORLD BY UTILIZING THE UNADULTERATED POWERS OF NATURE. I CHOSE YOU SIX BECAUSE I FEEL YOU HAVE THE QUALITIES AND PHYSICAL STRENGTH TO HOUSE THIS POWER. YOU HAVE ALL SERVED AS EXCELLENT POWER RANGERS UNDER MY SUPERVISION, AND NOW IT IS TIME TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL. YOU NO LONGER NEED MY MENTORSHIP..."
"But Zordon," protested Katherine, "How can we possibly do this without you?"
"YOU HAVE ALL GROWN UP SO MUCH SINCE I FIRST MADE YOU POWER RANGERS. YOU MUST RELY ON YOUR FRIENDS FOR SUPPORT IF YOU FEEL YOU NEED ADVICE. THE POWER OF TERRA IS SPECIAL IN THAT IT DEPENDS ON YOUR STATE OF MIND. IF YOU EVER BEGIN TO DOUBT YOUR ABILITIES OR YOUR RIGHT TO BE A TERRAN RANGER, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MORPH. ACCEPTING THE POWER OF TERRA MAY VERY WELL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION OF YOUR LIVES, SO I LEAVE IT UP TO YOU. DO YOU ACCEPT THE POWER?"
"Absolutely," said Kimberly.
"Without hesitation," said Tommy.
"Need you even ask?" said Jason.
"You can always count on me!" said Zack.
"I would be honored," said Adam with a respectful bow.
"Me too," said Kat with a smile.
"I KNEW YOU WOULD ACCEPT," said Zordon with a smile, "I HAVE CHOSEN WELL. EACH OF YOU WILL CONTROL A POWERFUL FORCE OF NATURE. TOMMY OLIVER--STEP FORWARD."
Tommy nodded and stepped closer to the pillar. The red Zeo shard separated from the whole and hovered about a foot in front of Tommy.
"YOU ARE THE RED TERRAN POWER RANGER, LEADER OF THE TERRAN RANGERS, AND POWERED BY THE MIGHT OF FIRE. PUT THE CRYSTAL TO YOUR HEART TO CLAIM YOUR POWERS."
Tommy reached out and held the crystal in his closed fist. He then placed his fist on his heart, as if he were saluting the flag. Magically, the crystal began to glow, and became intangible, passing harmlessly through Tommy's hand and flesh, until it found a home in his heart, where it released its awesome powers, pumping them through Tommy's whole system. Tommy gasped as he felt the fiery heat pass through his entire body, and in a flash of fiery red light, he was morphed into his Red Terran Ranger uniform. The armor was red, with white gloves and boots. Both the gloves and boots had gold bands at the top, and his helmet was also decorated with gold trimming. He wore a snug gold shield, which encased his torso starting at his neck and stretching down to his belt, with an oval opening on his chest. On the gold belt, there was a small insignia on the buckle of a flame. He looked over his costume in awe and amazement, and his clenched fists began to glow and ignited with fire.
"Tommy, are you alright?" asked Kimberly quietly.
"I've never felt this...alive!" answered Tommy, still amazed, "Its unbelievable!"
"YOU WILL SOON ADJUST TO YOUR NEW POWERS. ALSO, THE FULL SCOPE OF YOUR POWERS WILL BE REVEALED TO YOU IN TIME. FOR NOW TOMMY, YOU MUST KNOW THAT YOU CAN COMMAND FIRE, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, CAN CREATE AND PROJECT FIRE, AND CANNOT BE HARMED BY FIRE OF ANY KIND. YOUR TERRA WEAPON IS THE FLAME SABRE, WHICH WAS TEMPERED IN THE HEART OF THE SUN ITSELF. A STRONGER BLADE NEVER EXISTED, AND IT CAN FOCUS YOUR FIRE PROJECTION INTO A TIGHT AND VERY POTENT LASER BEAM. KIMBERLY ANNE HART-- STEP FORWARD."
Kimbelry swallowed and stepped forward beside Tommy. The yellow Zeo shard floated towards her, and she did what Tommy had done moments earlier. Once the shard was absorbed into her body, she began to spark with electricity from head to toe, and soon, she was emersed with bright electricity. When the light faded, she was wearing her Yellow Terran Ranger armor, similar to Tommy's accept that it was lemon yellow, and the boots went to her thigh as opposed to her knee. She also had a short skirt with a white trim, and her belt bucklet was decorated with a bolt of lightning. Her body still sparked with powerful electric sparks.
"KIMBERLY, YOU ARE THE YELLOW TERRAN RANGER, GRANTED MASTERY OVER THE NATURAL FORCE OF LIGHTNING. YOU CAN SUMMON LIGHTNING TO CRASH FROM THE HEAVENS, AS WELL AS CREATE BIO-ELECTRIC BLASTS OF YOUR OWN. YOU CAN ALSO ABSORB ELECTRICITY IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN YOUR ELECTRIC SHOCKS. YOUR TERRA WEAPON IS THE THUNDERBOW, WHICH, LEGEND HAS IT, WAS FORGED TO HARNESS THE MIGHT OF ZEUS' THUNDERBOLT. THE THUNDERBOW CHANNELS YOUR ELECTRICITY AND FORMS MIGHTY ARROWS WITH IT. USE THIS WEAPON WISELY. JASON SCOTT LEE--STEP FORWARD."
Jason stood beside Kimberly, and accepted the black Zeo shard, which hovered in front of him. Once the gem was absorbed, the ground began to quake. His body was enveloped in a flash of black light, erupting from the ground below him. When the light faded, he stood tall, wearing a black uniform identical to Tommy's with a symbol of Earth on the belt buckle.
"JASON, YOU ARE THE BLACK TERRAN POWER RANGER, IN CONTROL OF THE ELEMENT EARTH. YOU CAN CREATE EARTHQUAKES AS WELL AS FIRE SEISMIC WAVES, WHICH CREATE A SHAKING EFFECT. YOUR WEAPON IS THE EARTH SWORD, WHICH CAN FOCUS YOUR SEISMIC WAVES INTO A CONCUSSIVE BLAST. BE CAREFUL, JASON, THE POWER OF EARTH CAN DO AS MUCH HARM AS GOOD. YOU MUST USE THIS POWER RESPONSIBLY. ADAM PARK--STEP FORWARD."
Adam stood next to Jason, and accepted the green Zeo Shard into his body. A green cyclone started at his feet, and in seconds the tornado spun around his body. When the wind died down, the mighty Green Ranger stood in his place. His uniform was a green version of Jason's, with the image of a tornado on the belt buckle.
"ADAM, YOU ARE THE MIGHTY GREEN RANGER, MASTER OVER THE ELEMENT OF WIND. YOU CAN INCREASE OR DECREASE THE FORCE OF WIND, AS WELL AS FLY. YOUR WEAPON IS THE WIND SHIELD, WHICH CAN CREATE TORNADOS WHEN SPUN, AND WILL OBEY YOUR COMMAND AND RETURN TO YOU, LIKE A BOOMERANG. KATHERINE HILLARD--STEP FORWARD."
Katherine obeyed Zordon's request, and accepted the blue Zeo shard. Waves of aqua blue light bathed her from head to toe, and when the light vanished, she was the Blue Ranger, wearing an aqua-blue uniform much like Kimberly's, and with a symbol of waves on her belt.
"KATHERINE, YOU ARE THE BLUE RANGER, IN COMMAND OF WATER, THE ELEMENT MOST VITAL FOR LIFE. YOU CAN COMMAND RAIN AS WELL AS HAIL, AND CAN DIRECT THE FLOW OF ANY BODY OF WATER. YOU CAN ALSO BREATHE UNDER WATER IF NEED BE. YOUR WEAPONS ARE THE ICE DAGGERS, WHOSE BLADES CAN MORPH FROM A METAL ALLOY TO ICE. USE YOUR NEW POWERS WITH WISDOM AND RESTRAINT. AND FINALLY, ZACHARY TAYLOR--STEP FORWARD."
Zack stood beside Kat and accepted the hovering white shard. Once he absorbed it, a light originating from his heart engulfed him. When the white light faded, he was dressed in the armor of the White Ranger, with a star symbol on his belt.
"ZACHARY, YOUR POWER ISN'T AN ELEMENT. RATHER, IT IS LIGHT, THE MIGHTIEST SOURCE OF NATURE IN THE UNIVERSE. YOUR POWERS INCLUDE MOTION AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT, CONVERTING YOUR BODY INTO A BEAM OF LIGHT, AND CREATING BEAMS OF WHITE HOT LIGHT. YOUR WEAPON IS THE LANCE OF LIGHT, A MIGHTY STAFF WITH PRISMS ON EITHER END, WHICH FOCUS, BEND AND REFRACT LIGHT. TERRAN RANGERS, YOU CAN COMBINE YOUR TERRA WEAPONS INTO THE TERRA TEMPEST, A MIGHTY STORM OF LIGHT AND POWER. I MUST LEAVE YOU NOW--MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU ALL."
With that, the image of Zordon, as well as the pillars, vanished, leaving the six Terran Rangers standing morphed amongst the ruins of the Command Center.
"Fish!" he cursed in anger, "I can't get an image! I can't even contact or teleport them! The last thing I saw was the blast of wind, and then nothing!"
"Can you teleport me up there?" asked Tanya, who was monitoring Rocky's progress on the med-unit, "I can check on them..."
"No, that wouldn't help our situation," said Billy, calming down, "You would be trapped up there also, providing the teleportation signal would even get through."
Suddenly, the lights began blinking furiously.
"What's going on?!" cried Tanya. Then, Zordon appeared in the large Viewing Globe.
"Zordon!" cried Billy, "You're unharmed!!"
"I AM INDEED, BILLY, BUT I MUST BE BRIEF, FOR I CAN ONLY PROJECT AN IMAGE OF MYSELF FOR A SHORT TIME. ALPHA FIVE AND I ARE IN THE ALPHA CENTAURI SYSTEM. APPARENTLY, THE DREADED MACHINE EMPIRE HAS DECIDED TO LAUNCH AN ATTACK AGAINST THE INNOCENT PEOPLE HERE, AND I MUST FORM A TEAM OF POWER RANGERS HERE TO COMBAT IT."
"You mean there are other Power Rangers?" asked Tanya.
"INDEED. THE POWER EXISTS THROUGHOUT THE COSMOS, SO WHEREVER THERE IS EVIL, THERE IS ALSO GOOD TO BALANCE IT OUT. THE POWER NEEDS A FOCUS, AND THE ONE I HAD USED ON EARTH WAS THE ZEO CRYSTAL. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ON THE MOON, I WAS ABLE TO USE ITS ENERGIES TO CREATE THE MORPHIN GRID. NOW, THE TERRAN POWER RANGERS HAVE INHERITED THE POWER OF THE ZEO CRYSTAL ITSELF. YOU HAVE ALL GROWN UP, AND ARE NO LONGER IN NEED OF MY CARE AND KEEPING."
"But Zordon, the rangers still need guidance!" said Billy.
"IT IS TRUE THAT AT TIMES THEY DO NEED A MENTOR, BUT THERE IS A GREATER NEED HERE. THEY NEED A MENTOR AND SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR, AND I ASK THAT YOU BE IT, BILLY."
"Me?" asked Billy in astonishment.
"YES. YOU HAVE PROVEN TO POSSESS WISDOM AND LOYALTY BEYOND YOUR YEARS. YOU ARE A VITAL PART OF THE POWER RANGERS BILLY, AND SO I ASK YOU TO TAKE MY PLACE. I HAVE DESIGNED THE CENTRAL ACCESS COMPLEX TO YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS. I HAVE ALSO LEFT YOU THE BLUEPRINTS AND MATERIALS NECESSARY TO FINISH THE TERRA ZORDS. ALPHA FIVE AND I HAD STARTED THEM, BUT THEY ARE AS YET INCOMPLETE."
Suddenly, Zordon's image begins to break up.
"I MUST GO, BILLY. I ENTRUST THE TERRAN RANGERS TO YOU. MAY THE POWER GUIDE AND PROTECT YOU."
Once Zordon vanished, all the equipment was back to normal. The alarms went off immediately.
"It looks like Zedd and Rita have wasted no time in sending down a monster," muttered Billy, staring at his computer screen, "I hope the Terran Rangers are ready for their first fight!"
"This is so unbelievable," said Katherine quietly, straightening her aqua blue skirt, "I feel so--connected with nature. It's a strange feeling."
"Yeah," said Jason, "especially considering three of us have been away from the Power for a while. I feel so complete. Like a part of me has finally come back."
Both Kimberly and Zack silently nodded, thoroughly revelling in the rush of pure power through their systems. Although none of the former rangers ever admitted it, there was a severe withdrawl period after surrendering the Power. Having the Power back refreshes them, body as well as soul. Before anyone could say anything more, a flash of white lightning struck the dirt, forming an eight foot tall knight in shining black armor. He removed his helmet, revealing a face that looked most like a hyena. But this creature wasn't laughing.
"I am Sentry!" he declared, raising his sword into the air, "And I am here to regain the Zeo crystal, and return it to the Moon, where it belongs. You have one chance to surrender the gem, and no harm will come to you."
All six of the Terran Rangers stood in a line, their helmets hiding their amused expressions. All at once, they silently summon their Terran Weapons.
"We will never surrender the Zeo crystal to the likes of you, Dog-face!" yelled Jason, pointing his Earth Sword at the monster threateningly.
"Then have at thee, human!" yelled Sentry, running towards Jason with his sword at the ready. The two mighty warriors clashed swords for a while, before it became brutally obvious that Sentry was a superb swordsman. The sword cut at Jason's knee--although it didn't penetrate the spandex armor, it did know Jason to the ground. Jason lay helpless as time slowed down, and the huge giant stood above him, bringing down his broadsword mightily for the kill. Right before the sword reached Jason's outstretched hands, a bolt of lightning struck the sword dead on, sending an electric current through the metal of the blade, and into Sentry's body. Sentry dropped the blade, and shook slightly from the voltage.
"Bullseye!" cried Kimberly, lowering her Thunder Bow.
"Are you okay, Jay?" asked Zack, helping his friend to his feet."
"Yeah, but this guy is tough! He's super strong, and really fast. We have to be careful."
Meanwhile, Sentry recovered from the initial bolt, and glared at Kimberly.
"Nice try, human," he taunted, "But not good enough. I grow weary of this game. I command you to STOP!!"
At that instant, Kimberly dropped her bow and stood completely still. The other rangers stared at her in confusion and horror.
"Kim!" cried Tommy, running to her immediately, "Kim?"
But Kimberly didn't budge, or even twitch. Tommy gently touched her shoulder, but received a painful electrical shock.
"OW!" he moaned, "She put up some kind of electrical field around her body. But why?"
"I don't know," said Jason, picking up his sword, "but he didn't even touch her. He may have some kind of invisible shield around her. Maybe if we break his concentration, he'll lose his grip on her!"
Jason pointed the sword at the ground, and created a beam of concentrated seismic energy. That energy was absorbed into the ground, creating a canyon between Sentry and Kimberly and Tommy. Then, he turned his power directly on Sentry.
"Distance will not save you from the power of Sentry!" roared the monster, deflecting Jason's energy beam with his sword.
"If I can't blast you, then I'll blast the ground beneath you!" yelled Jason, pointing the sword to Sentry's feet. The energy created a massive canyon under Sentry, but he leapt over the hole and stood face to face a with the Black Ranger.
"Clever, but equally ineffective," mocked Sentry. Jason once again tried to cleave the monster with his sword, and with one mighty blow from Sentry, Jason was on the ground once again. "I command you to SLEEP!" roared Sentry, his eyes glowing. Jason promptly fell into an unconscious heap.
"Jason!" cried the White Ranger, "What did you do to him, Bucket-Head?"
"I put him out of his misery," said Sentry, laughing over Jason's body and approaching Zack, "Would you care to join him?"
"No way, Jose," said Zack, running circles around Sentry at the speed of light. The only thing visible was a ring of white light, keeping Sentry from moving.
"You can dance about all you like, White Ranger, but it will do you no good. Now, STOP!" And Zack stopped dead in his tracks.
"Tommy!" crid Katherine, "Jason's out cold, and Zack and Kimberly are both frozen still!"
"I noticed," said Tommy, "and we've got to get them to the CAC pronto. I'll distract Sentry, while you and Adam help the others."
Tommy concentrated all his willpower into his hands. Once they were glowing with fiery red energy, he released the power ina wide beam directly at Sentry's chest. Although this amount of power could ignite a volcano, Sentry remained standing, blocking the mighty beam of fire with his broadsword.
"You're elemental powers are nothing compared to my psionic and physical might!" roared Sentry, "You can never defeat me! However, the Black Ranger had the right idea. Creating an earthquake is very effective. And since you can't fly, I think its time I buried you, Red Ranger!"
Sentry struck the ground with his huge sword, causing the ground around him to cave in. Tommy was thrown off the ground by the force of the impact. He landed roughly amidst the rubble of the former Command Center.
"Tommy!" cried Katherine, immediately running towards him. Adam flew in front of her and stood in her path.
"Wait, Kat, we need to be careful. We're the only ones left."
"So, what do we do, Adam?" she asked frustratedly.
"Since my element is wind, I can fly. Also, even though the others' energy attacks didn't work, I think I can distract himlong enough for you to see if Tommy's okay. Jason had the right idea--we have to attack him indirectly."
Adam flew to Sentry and created a huge cyclone. The cyclone spun Sentry around so quickly that he was unable to concentrate his hypnotic abilities on Adam to force him to stop. Meanwhile, Kat dug the fallen Red Ranger out of a pile of blackened debris.
"Are you okay, Tommy?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Tommy, rising to his feet and brushing the dirt off his costume, "How about the others?"
"Adam is busy distracting Sentry, but everyone else seems to be in some sort of trance."
"Sentry said that he had psionic powers, so he probably hypnotized Jason, Kim, and Zack. We've got to find a way to hit him hard enough to break his concentration and release the others. We should contact Billy, pronto."
In the Central Access Complex, Tanya was monitoring both Rocky and the communications, while Billy accessed the files containing the schematics of the Terra Zords.
"According to these files," said Billy, "the Terra Zords possess the same elemental powers as the Terran Rangers do, but on an infinitly larger scale. There are five sub-zords: the Red Phoenix, White Cheetah, Yellow Thunderbird, Black Rhinocerous, Green Eagle, and Blue Alligator. The Cheetah and the Eagle are very fast and agile, while the Thunderbird and the Phoenix are the weapons. The Rhino and the Alligator are the strongest and sturdiest of the zords. The Mega Terrazord combines all these attributes, and even magnifies them. This will be an amazinf Megazord, once I finish building it."
"Billy!" said Tanya, "Tommy's on the line. I'll put him on speaker."
^Billy, we've got a problem up here!^ said Tommy's voice, ^Kim, Jason, and Zack have been hypnotized, and we can't seem to get a good shot on Sentry. Can you find a weakness somewhere?^
"Let me check," answered Billy, changing the view on his computer monitor. He instantly ran a series of scans on the monster the rangers were fighting. He brushed back his blonde hair with his hands as he hurriedly tried to read the computer readout.
"According to my analysis, the vast majority of Sentry's power is in his broad sword. If you destroy his sword, you disrupt his hypnotic abilities."
^How do we destroy the sword?^ asked Kat's voice.
"I'm not sure. It'll take a while for the computer scan to come up with a reasonable solution."
^We don't have the time! We'll figure something out. Tommy out.^
Billy sighed as he turned off the communicator. He activated the Viewing Globe and started to watch the battle. A part of him actually missed being on the front lines. I sure hope Zordon was right in choosing me to be the mentor of the Terran Rangers. Its much easier to be following orders than to give advice!
Billy turned to Tanya, who was still monitoring Rocky's condition. "Is he awake yet?"
"Not yet," answered Tanya, "but I could wake him up with a shot of smelling salts if you want. He just need his rest."
"He'll be okay. Good. Zordon really left us a great medical unit. It speeds up the healing process astronomically."
"Yeah. And its a good thing too. Rocky probably would have died without this intensive care. He had a severe head injury, which could have caused internal bleeding in the cerebrum. Not a pretty sight."
"I really appreciate all the help you've ben giving me, Tanya. I don't know how I'd monitor this big place without help. In the Command Center, there was always at least Alpha to lend a hand."
"No problem, Billy," said Tanya, "After all, Aisha sent me here to help, and that's what I'm doing. I may not be a ranger, but I can still lend a hand."
Billy smiled at her and then returned to the Viewing Globe. Maybe if I watch the fight, my amazing brain will come up with a way to defeat this creature.
At the battered remains of the Command Center, the Blue and Red Rangers finish consulting with Billy while the Green Ranger struggles to keep Sentry contained in a raging cyclone.
"Guys!" he cried, "I don't think I can keep this up much longer!"
"I doubt you can, Green Ranger," said Sentry, delivering a debilitating punch to Adam through the cyclone, immediately knocking Adam unconscious.
"Four down," laughed Sentry, "two to go. Now I can concentrate on you, Tommy, and your little Kat too!"
The Red and Blue Terran Rangers stepped back slowly as Sentry approached, his hyena face growling and his massive sword drawn. As Tommy stepped back, his foot kicked something metallic on the dirt. He looked down to see the yello Thunderbow.
"I have an idea," he said, picking up the bow, "Kat, remember when Kim shot Sentry's sword with a thunder arrow? It disoriented him! The Thunderbow probably packs the biggest punch." "Do you think you can use the bow?" asked Kat, "I mean, you've never been into archery, and its supposed to harness lightning energy. Zordon said it was created to harness Zeus' thunderbolt." "I'll give it a try," said Tommy, pulling back on the drawstring. Instead of a yellow thunderbolt forming on the bow, a red stream of fire appeared. Tommy released the fiery arrow at Sentry, who dodged it easily. "You need to take archery lessons from the Yellow Ranger," laughed Sentry, "Anyone could dodge that pathetic shot!" "Tommy, prepare to fire another shot!" said Katherine, clasping her hands together. A bluish white cloud formed around her hands, and she held out her arms towards Sentry, pointing her two index fingers. From her fingertips fired a mass of hailstones, as hard as rock. The small stones streaked through the air like speeding bullets, striking Sentry dozens at a time. Sentry growled and tried to block as many hailstones as he could. He then covered his face with his free hand, leaving his sword dangling in his other hand. "Tommy, NOW!" cried Katherine, increasing the barage of hail. Tommy once again pulled back on the drawstring, and another fiery arrow formed. He aimed carefully at the dangling sword, and released the arrow. The arrow struck the sword directly, and in a mighty flash of light, the sword's blade shattered. Sentry roared in anger, as his numerous spells were broken. Kimberly and Zack were free to move, and Jason was aroused from his slumber. The flash of light also served to revive the unconscious Green Ranger.
"What happened?" asked Kimberly dazedly, "Tommy, why do you have my bow?"
"Its a long story," answered Tommy, tossing her the bow. She caught it easily.
"Guys," called Kat, gathering the six Terran Rangers together, "We need to strike Sentry with everything we've got while he's still disoriented. Without his sword, he should be more susceptible to our attacks."
"I hear ya, Kat!" said the Yellow Ranger, taking aim with the Thunderbow. As she bombarded Sentry mercilessly with arrows of crackling lightning, the other rangers took positions around the monster.
"I think my arrows are losing effect!" cried Kim.
"I'm on it, Kim," said Tommy, raising his hand to the sky, "Flame Sabre!!" The dazzling blade once again took shape, and Tommy leapt at the creature. Even though Sentry was in a weakened state, he was still much stronger than Tommy, and his mighty punches and speedy dodges brought the Red Ranger to the ground.
"I told you I'd get you," said Sentry, lifting a huge boulder above Tommy's head. Suddenly, the winds picked up, and Sentry once again found himself being whipped about in a mighty cyclone. But this cyclone was by far more intense than the previous one.
"Guess who?" called Adam, who was busy spinning his WInd Shield. The spiral design on the face of the shield spun speedily, creating a mightly tornade from the center of the shield. "With my Wind Shield, I can create an even more powerful tornado!"
While Sentry was carried around in the tornado helplessly, Jason helped Tommy to his feet.
"You okay, Bro?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Jay. Thanks." answered Tommy, standing on his feet and shaking his head.
"So, fearless leader, do you mind if I try something?" asked Jason jokingly.
"The stage is yours, Bro," said Tommy, slapping Jason on the back and standing back. Jason raised his fist to the air.
"Earth Sword!!" he bellowed mightly, slamming his fist into the ground below. When his fist hit the ground, the Earth Sword appeared in his hand. "Tommy, let's cross our swords and give this loser a double whammy!"
Tommy nodded and stepped forward, Flame Sabre in hand. The two heroes crossed their blands into an "X" formation, and where the blades met, a powerful blast of siesmic waves mixed with roaring fire streaked to Sentry, knocking him clear out of the cyclone. He landed roughly on the hard ground.
"Now I'm REALLY steamed!" roared Sentry, struggling to his feet. As soon as he steadied himself, the Blue Ranger leapt onto his shoulders, wrapping his neck with her legs.
"G'day, Mate!" she greeted, "Having fun yet?"
"Get off me!" ordered Sentry, swinging his fists at her wildly.
"Hold that pose!" she cried, touching his shoulders with her hands. The moisture in the air condensed, encasing Sentry in a block of ice.
"Nice job, Kat," said Adam, "That should hold him."
"But, for how long?" asked Jason ominously, as the case of ice cracked. Then the ice exploded, spewing frozen fragments furiously.
"Ha!" laughed Sentry triumphantly, "You can't even stop me when I don't have my enchanted blade! You're unbelievably pathetic!"
"We'll stop you," said Zack, his fists glowing with light, "Permanently."
"What're you gonna do? Through light at me?" laughed Sentry.
"Exactly," said Zack, circling Sentry at blinding speed. he continued to build momentum, until all that could be seen was a streak of white light. When Zack moved so quickly that he was invisible, he threw his arms forward and slammed right in Sentry's get. The explosion that was created on impact threw Zack, Sentry, and the spectating rangers back roughly. When the dust settled, Sentry was on his back, trying to stand up. Zack stood tall, dusting off his hands.
"Wow," said Tommy, standing up, "Impressive move, Zack."
"That's the power of light, Man!" said Zack triumphantly, giving Tommy a high five.
"He's still alive," said Kimberly, "What is this thing made of?"
"We'll find out soon enough," said Tommy, "Okay team, its time for the big finale! Terran Tempest!"
"Terran Thunderbow!" cried Kimberly, throwing her bow into the air. It stayed suspended in mid air.
"Terran Light Lance!" cried Zack, separating the light lance in the center and throwing the two halves into the air. The halves attached to the center of the bow side by side, with the two prisms on either side facing forward.
"Terran Ice Daggers!" cried Katherine, throwing both short blades up. They attached to the ends of the bow as two handles to hold up the weapon.
"Terran Earth Sword!" yelled Jason, tossing his powerful blade into the air. The blade attached to one end of the bow, pointing towards the monster.
"Terran Flame Sabre!" cried Tommy, throwing up his trusted sword. It attached itself to the end opposite the Earth Sword, also facing the monster.
"Terran Wind Shield!" yelled Adam, launching the shield like a frisbee. The shield lay on top the the weapon.
Tommy grabbed one handle, while Jason grabbed the other handle. The others stood beside them, touching each others' shoulders.
"Terran Tempest!!" cried the entire team, focussing their elemental energies through the weapon. The two blades fired tight energy beams, while the two halves of the lance each fired beams of while lasers, laced with crackling lightning. The shield released a mighty gust of wind, laced with hail. The barage of elemental energy struck Sentry all at once, burning him, freezing him, shocking him, blinding him, pushing him, and shaking him. In a massive explosion, Sentry succombed to the undeniable force of nature, and he was reduced to particles. The Terran Rangers released their weapon, and it vanished in a flash of multicolored light. The rangers immediately teleported to the CAC, where Billy and Tanya awaited them.
"Great job, guys," said Billy with a proud smile, handing out high fives, "We saw the whole battle from the Viewing Globe."
"Boy, it was some battle," said Tommy, "But it felt weird not having you out there with us bro."
"Its okay," said Billy with a smile, "You'll get used to it promptly."
"So," said Adam, taking off his helmet and walking to the med-unit, "how's Rocky?"
"There's no permanent damage," said Tanya, "He's just resting now. I figure we should let him rest for a while. I'll send him home when he wakes up."
"So," said Jason, stretching his back, "Who's up for Ernie's fruit shakes? On me!"
At the Youth Center about twenty minutes later, Zack and Adam spar on the mat while Jason watches from the bar.
"Wow," said Zack after being swept, "you're pretty good, Adam!"
"I'm not really that good," said Adam modestly, offering Zack a hand, "I've gotten better though, since Tommy and I started practicing here every evening at this time."
"Since I've been at the Peace Conference, I haven't put in much practice time," admitted Zack, "I guess I'm a little rusty."
"Don't worry," laughed Adam, bowing, "I'll have you back in shape in no time!"
At the bar, Ernie walks over to Jason and sets down a huge bowl of fresh popcorn.
"So, how was the Peace Conference?" he asked.
"It was enlightening. I really think that any chance for peace the world has lies in the hands of the next generation, but its gonna take a lot of effort."
"I'll say. Still, I'm glad you're back. The Youth Center is too quiet without you and Zack joking and exercising. So, why aren't you exercising?"
"We were gonna spar, but Adam was already here. Adam and Tommy usually practice at this time, but Tommy's not here. So, Zack offered to spar with him. I don't mind, really. I'm kinda tired."
"I get ya. Jet lag."
"Something like that," said Jason.
Just then, Katherine walked over to the bar and sat beside Jason.
"Hello Jason, hello, Ernie," she greeted.
"Hey, Kat," said Ernie, "Can I get ya anything?"
"Iced tea, please."
"So," said Jason, "What's up? You look like you lost something."
"Well, I was looking for Tommy," she said, glancing at the mat, "He and Adam usually spar about now."
"So I heard. Tommy went out with Kimberly tonight."
"Oh," said Kat quietly. Just as Ernie returned with Kat's drink, Zack jogged over to the bar, wiping his forehead with a towel.
"Hey, Ernie," said asked panting, "Can I get two waters?"
"I'll be right back," said Ernie, disappearing again into the kitchen.
"So," said Jason with an amused grin, "How's the fight going?"
"Adam's so good he practically never touches the ground!" exclaimed Zack, "But I can still beat him."
Then, Billy, Tanya, and Rocky came over to them.
"I have good news," said Tanya, sitting down, "Rocky is in perfect health, thanks to Zordon's technology."
"Yeah," said Billy, "He's so well healed that he refused to go home and rest."
"I've rested all day," said Rocky, sitting down, "I slept through the greatest adventure the rangers have experienced since the trip to Phaedos."
"Here's your water," said Ernie, handing Zack two bottled waters, "Does anyone else want a drink?"
"No, thanks," said Billy. Tanya and Rocky shook their heads. Zack reached across the table and grabbed the bottles.
"Cool," he said, jogging back to the practice mat.
"What a day this has been," sighed Katherine.
Meanwhile, in the park, Tommy and Kimberly walk along the shore of the lake at sunset.
"I've really missed this lake," said Kim quietly, "Its so peaceful and beautiful. Especially around sunset. I love it here."
"Yeah," said Tommy, looking out at the water, "I come here all the time to think, and sometimes practice karate by the water. Its the perfect place to think, relax, and talk."
"Talk about what, Tommy?" asked Kim, stopping and looking up at him.
"Kim, when you showed up in the CAC, you said that Coach Schmidt gave you Thanksgiving weekend off. When does he expect you back?"
"Tuesday," she answered quietly, looking out onto the lake.
"So, uh, how do you like Florida, Kim?"
"Its nice, but its not as peaceful as Angel Grove."
"Uh, so, um...when are you going back?"
"I...I've decided not to," said Kim, taking Tommy's hand, "Now that Zordon entrusted me with the yellow Zeo shard, I have a responsibility to mankind to carry on as a Power Ranger, and this time I can't just give the Power to someone else. Saving the world is much more important than some medal, and it's a responsibility I accept whole-heartedly."
"Are you sure?" asked Tommy, trying to hide his excitement at having Kim back, "I mean, did you really think about this? Its a tough decision, and you still can change your mind."
"Tommy, I've realized that I'll never be as happy in Florida as I am here. I have friends and all, but there's something missing. I don't feel like I belong there, with all those athletes who have dedicated their lives to winning Pan-Global and Olympic gold. I have more important concerns, and one of those it protecting the world. Another one is just being here...with you."
Tommy leaned over and gently kissed her.
"I love you, Kim," he said quietly.
"And I love you," she said, smiling up at him and hugging him tightly, "Forever."