The day was warm. Too warm for spring. Summer was closing in, though the team hadn’t been in school for months because of the destruction of Angel Grove and Stone Canyon. Even if schools were open for fall the group knew they wouldn’t graduate till December at the earliest.
Stopping what he was working on for a moment Jason Scott glanced over to where his best friend, Tommy Oliver, was hugging Kimberly Hart, who had just returned to Angel Grove with Zack Taylor and Trini Kwan that day to help with the ruined city’s repair.
Jason just watched Tommy warily as he gave Kimberly Hart a hug in return. A month? Yes, Jason wanted to trust his best friend, but he didn’t know if he could with Kim. Katherine was a great girl and Jason didn’t want to see her hurt. Not by Tommy or anyone else.
Seeing Tommy make eye contact with him Jason turned away, not wanting to show that he was being a little untrustful. With Kim back in town he knew Tommy would need all the support he could get, and Jason wanted to be there for him.
Setting down the boards he was carrying on the pavement, Jason ran off towards Angel Grove Park to see how Emily was doing in her training with Jaime Talsik. From what Jason could tell Jaime seemed like a decent guy. Sure, he didn’t like the idea of Emily spending the whole afternoon with another guy, but he knew he could trust Jaime. Didn’t he?
After about five minutes Jason reached the park. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, wiping the perspiration from his brow. He could hear Emily’s faint voice in the distance and, looking up, he made out two figures in the distance.
Moving closer, Jason saw that Jaime had his arms around Emily and he was positioning her arms in some sort of unique form. “All right, then you just ease your arms this way,” Jaime said, pushing Emily’s arms closer together.
Emily laughed nervously, “I don’t think I can.” She was still getting the hang of this whole ranger thing, it was difficult for her to imagine doing anything that would actually help mankind.
“Come on, Emily,” Jaime encouraged. “I have faith in you, all right?”
Emily touched Jaime’s arm, “Thanks. I appreciate the work you’ve put in.”
Jaime smiled, “The pleasure has been all mine.”
Jason moved closer and waved, “Hey, guys, how’s training going?”
Emily moved away from Jaime’s arms and embraced Jason, “I’m doing OK. Jaime has been showing me how to do some of the Golden Battle Calls. It’ll be hard to replace the Princess of Triphoria but I’m sure as hell going to try.”
Jason grinned, “That’s good to hear.”
Jaime ran over to them, “How’s the work in Angel Grove going, Jason?”
Jason shrugged, “Its all right. These old friends of ours are back in town.”
“Who?” Emily questioned.
“Do you remember anyone by the name of Zack Taylor, Trini Kwan, or Kimberly Hart?”
Emily closed her eyes in concentration for a moment before replying, “Kimberly Hart...isn’t she the one that left Angel Grove to train for the Pan Global Games in Florida? You know, the great gymnast?”
Jason nodded, “Yeah, that’s her.”
Emily frowned, “Um, wasn’t that the girl that went out with Tommy for, what, two years?”
“I think that’s about right,” Jason told her.
Jaime shook his head, “I’m not a big expert on your way of life here on Earth, but don’t you think Katherine is going to be kinda upset about this?”
Jason shrugged, “I don’t know. Katherine and Kimberly are best friends, or at least they were. Honestly, I don’t even know if Kim knows that Kat is going out with Tommy.”
“Well, this is going to be interesting,” Emily observed.
Jaime nodded, “Look, I’d love to meet them, but my power is still not fully recovered so I think I’m going to go back to the Power Chamber and rest for a little bit. I don’t want to collapse at a big reunion.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jason said. “Take it easy, Man.”
Emily gave him a small hug, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jaime.”
“Bye, guys.” Jaime checked around for any sign of anyone else. Seeing no one he waved farewell before teleporting away.
Jason put his arm around Emily’s shoulder before smiling, “Well, you two seem to be getting along well.”
“He’s fascinating, Jason. Jaime’s whole life pretty much began as garbage, but because of his physical and mental strength, he was able to become one of the best warriors of the Triphorian kingdom. Its funny how his life seems so amazing and mine...well, what am I?”
“You’re a power ranger, that’s what you are,” Jason told her. “Look, you may not feel like much at first. I didn’t either, but once you get out into battle and defeat a monster knowing that you’ve helped to save the world...that’s pretty amazing.”
Emily nodded, “I know, Jason. Part of me just feels like I won’t be able to compare to the rest of you. All of you have been together for so long and I don’t want to intrude on the team.”
“Its not intruding, Emily,” Jason explained. “You may consider me an elder on the team, but I’m not. I was there at the beginning and I’m here now, but I was out of it for almost two years. Now that I think about it, I felt kinda weird coming back as the Gold Ranger because I didn’t know how much the team had changed and I was worried that I wouldn’t fit in with the group. Besides Tommy and Billy I didn’t really know anyone well on the team, but I did OK, and I know you will, too.”
Emily sighed, “Yeah, but you had been a ranger before. What if I mess up?”
Jason chuckled lightly, “Believe me, no one’s mistakes will ever top Tommy’s or Kat’s.”
“I don’t think I want to know what they did.”
“Believe me,” Jason said, “I don’t think they’d want you to know, either.”
From the moon Rita, Zedd, Uriel, and Rashell watched the two rangers talk. Zedd sighed, “Ah, the memories of when Katherine was your loyal cat.”
Rita gagged, “Can you believe how utterly cute she’s become since then? Bleck!”
“Or Tommy,” Zedd muttered.
Uriel sighed, “I wish I had come around here earlier. Seeing Tommy Oliver evil would have been some mind candy for me.”
“Talk about mind candy,” Goldar whispered from across the room. “Rita had Tommy go up her shirt when he was evil.”
Zedd, apparently hearing, glared at Rita, “You what!?”
“Goldar, you incompetent moron!” Rita screamed. She jumped from where she had been by the railing of the moon castle and ran to the other side of the room before Zedd could catch her. “Well, Zeddy, you hadn’t come yet and it was too tempting!” She cried.
Zedd growled, “Why you would want a stupid teenager to feel your breasts is beyond me.”
Goldar stepped forward, “Maybe for the same reason you had Katherine come to your chamber that one night.”
Rita glanced across the room at Zedd in horror, “Zeddy!”
“You have your temptations and I have mine,” Zedd mumbled. “Goldar, if you don’t shut up I’ll tell Scorpina what you used to do with her picture when she wasn’t around.”
Scorpina looked at Goldar startled, “What!?”
The space monkey, now in a state of shock, stood and left the room. Scorpina quickly followed, “No, I want to know what you do to my picture, Goldar! Tell me!”
After the two were out of hearing range, Rashell squaked, “Well, that was interesting. Now, can we please do something to the rangers? I’m getting antsy.”
“I don’t like that Jaime Talsik,” Uriel stated. “He’s too, I don’t know, Trey-like.”
Rita frowned, “I don’t like this Emily girl. She’s going to be a bother if she can learn how to use the Golden Power.”
Zedd nodded, “I’ve never liked Kimberly, Trini, or Zack. They’re all little pests that should be squashed.”
“There we go,” Rashell said with a smile. “We have our objectives. Now all we have to do is figure out is a plan.”
Uriel tapped her lips with her finger in concentration, “Lets see, get rid of Jaime and these former rangers before Emily can finish her Gold Ranger training.”
Zedd tilted his head, “We can include destroying the rangers, can’t we?”
Rashell nodded, “I don’t think anyone would mind that.”
The four monsters thought for a few moments. Uriel shrugged, “Whatever we do it would have to be fast and effective. If Emily gets the Gold Power in time we might not have a plan.”
Rita put her hand up, “I’ve got it. Finster!”
The little white creature popped it’s aged head out from the doorway to the throne room, “Yes, My Queen?”
“Can you make up some kind of potion to make Trini, Zack, and Kimberly evil?”
“Its my specialty and you know it, My Queen,” Finster replied. “Do you want them to be given powers as well?”
Rita’s forehead creased in interest, “You can do that?”
Finster nodded, “It wouldn’t be anything like Tommy’s powers, but I can develop a spell that would multiply the humans’ normal strength so they would be as strong as the rangers, and maybe even a little stronger. Of course, it would only be temporary.”
“You can do this quickly?” Rita inquired.
“Yes, My Queen,” Finster responded. “In fact, I could have the potions done by tonight if you wish.”
Rita grinned slyly, “Yes, Finster, you do that.”
“I’m on it, My Queen.” With that, Finster left the room.
Zedd moved closer to her, “What do you have in mind, Rita?”
“Well,” Rita began. “We can make those helpless former rangers evil which will distract the rangers...at least for awhile. Those brats wouldn’t dare attack their friends, and while Kimberly, Zack, and Trini destroy them we can kidnap Emily and use her newly developed power for our purposes.”
Rashell scoffed, “That’s so cliché!”
Rita smiled, evil radiating from her, “I haven’t told you what I have
in store for Jaime.” Sensing that she was in a brilliant moment, the three
monsters moved closer, eager to hear more.
Jason and Emily remained in the park for a few more minutes and waited for everyone else to show up. Sure enough, Tommy and Trini appeared from behind a group of trees ten minutes after Jaime had left.
Tommy walked over to Jason and patted his shoulder, “Great work today, Jason. This city is going to be back together in no time.”
Jason laughed, “Well, maybe ‘in no time’ is a little off.”
That was when he spotted her. Trini Kwan...one of his best friends from so long ago. Well, best friend and secret lover. At the peace conference Jason and Trini had been together, but once he left they both decided to break it off. Not even Tommy knew about it, and Jason prayed that Zack, the only one who knew, wouldn’t tell him.
Trini walked over to Jason and put her arms around him, a huge smile on her face, “Jason, its been too long.”
Jason nodded, “It has.” Breaking the embrace, he turned to his girlfriend, “This is Emily.”
Trini looked at her and Jason knew exactly what was going through her mind. Confusion. Wary. Jealousy. Either way, Emily didn’t seem to notice, and she grinned, “Its nice to meet you, Trini. Jason has told me so much about you.”
Trini returned the grin, but Jason could tell it had no emotion in it, “Its nice to meet you, too.”
Emily eyed Tommy with a hint of flippancy, “So, Tommy, where’s this Kimberly Hart I’ve heard so much about?”
“Jason,” Tommy groaned, “can’t you just keep your mouth shut?”
Jason chuckled in amusement, “Who me? Look, Bro, she would have found out sooner or later.”
“So, what did you do with poor Kimberly, Tommy?” Trini asked teasingly. “She was hanging all over you.”
Tommy sighed, “I don’t know what to do. To answer your question, Kim went with Zack to find Adam and Rocky.”
“Look, Bro, all you have to do is decide if you love Kim or Kat.”
“All I have to do?” Tommy gaped at him, “You have to be kidding me. That’s going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
Emily shrugged, “Well, lets say you had sex with both of them--”
Tommy intervened, “This is supposed to be helping me with my problem.”
Emily snorted, “Just shut up and listen. Anyway, who would your rather get pregnant?”
“Pregnant!?”
Jason laughed, “Emily, I don’t think this is helping.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just answer the question.”
“Neither,” Tommy stated. “I wouldn’t want either of them to get pregnant. First of all, I don’t think I’m ready to help take care of a child, and if I were forced to I may love the woman who I got pregnant even less which means I might leave them, and that would break that person’s heart. Second of all, Kat and Kim are both really athletic. Neither of them would forgive me if I got them pregnant.” He looked at his three friends to see how they would react.
Jason shook his head, “You are completely hopeless.”
“Hopeless?” Tommy questioned, confused.
Trini nodded, “Yeah, Tommy. Why can’t you just answer the question?”
“Well, I, uh--”
Jason leaned towards Emily and Trini, “He hasn’t taken that step and he doesn’t intend to till marriage.”
Emily whistled low, “Wow, Tommy, I didn’t know. I mean, you just seem like the kinda guy that would do it every day of the week.”
Tommy flushed, “Um...I guess I don’t live up to the type of guy I seem like.”
Trini smiled, “I think its noble of you, Tommy. Its great that you’re waiting. I, on the other hand, did it a long time ago.” She looked at Jason for a moment and frowned as he turned away from her. “Richie and I, well...we just couldn’t wait. The night before I left for the peace conference we made love.”
“I never knew that,” Jason said softly.
Trini smirked, “Well, its not like I’d tell you that kinda thing. Not then, anyway. We were still kids back then, Jason. Sex was like a treasure that was out of our reach. Richie and I decided we wanted to be more adult. We made love for all the wrong reasons. It was premature and idiotic. I thought back then that Richie would love me forever. Now I don’t even know if he’s still alive.”
“He is,” Emily broke in. “I kinda know Richie. He’s still in the city, though. Richie didn’t want to leave his family.”
Trini sighed, “I wish him the best.”
“I’m sure he wishes you the best, too,” Jason told her.
Tommy glanced at his three friends before looking down at the watch around his arm, “Hey guys, we were supposed to meet the others on the other side of the park.”
Trini’s eyes became lively again, “Oh no, we’re not going to...”
“Leave it up to Kim to plan a good old-fashion picnic,” Jason said with a laugh.
Emily glanced at him, “I know this is your time to be with your old friends, Jason. I don’t want to intrude on the occasion.”
“Are you kidding me? You are going to be the main attraction at the picnic,” Jason told her proudly.
Tommy leaned towards Emily, “Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.” As Emily laughed Jason hit his best friend good-naturedly on the shoulder.
Trini smiled, “Lets go, guys. I feel like I’m a Freshmen again.”
“Believe me, that’s something you don’t want to happen,” Jason muttered. Trini just grinned at him. The four began through the woods to the other side of the park by the lake.
Reaching it, they found that everyone was already there. Adam Park looked up from where he was sitting on the ground, a flippant expression making him look younger than he was, “Guys, how many times do I have to tell you? Never leave Tommy in charge of keeping track of the time.” His black hair was accented by his white shirt and black jeans.
“Ha, ha,” Tommy murmured. He had no sooner than turned away from Adam when a force drove him to the ground.
Looking up, Tommy found himself looking into the smiling face of Zack Taylor, the former black ranger. They exchanged manly embraces before getting up. Zack laughed, “Yep, same old Tommy. I bet you could still beat my ass, right?”
“It depends,” Tommy told him. “Have you been practicing?”
“Not really, but I learned a new disco move that will blow your mind.”
“This I’ll have to see,” Jason said from behind Tommy.
Zack ran up to him and hugged him, “Hey, Jase, its been way too damn long.”
“I agree,” Jason told him.
Trini sighed, “Finally, the whole team is almost back together. Too bad Billy isn’t here.”
“Yep, the brainiac dissed us to be on another planet,” Jason muttered.
“And, of course, Aisha is still in Africa,” Adam stated.
Kim, who had been silent this whole time, came up behind Jason and grabbed him in a huge embrace, “Jason, its great to see you.”
“Yeah, its been too long,” Jason said. He glanced over the crowd, “Hey, where’s Rocky?”
Rocky DeSantos, who had been sitting on the ground eating some chips, got up and smiled, “Well, I couldn’t help myself.”
Katherine Hilliard, who had also been sitting down, stood with a grin on her face, “Hey, guys.”
“Well, has everyone been introduced yet?” Jason asked.
Zack shook his head, “Not yet.”
Jason nodded towards Emily, “This is my girlfriend. Emily Johnson.”
Zack eyed her curiously before grabbing her hand and kissing it, “You, Jase, are one lucky man.”
Kim walked over and shook her hand, “Its nice to meet you, Emily.”
“Its nice to meet you guys, too,” Emily responded.
Tommy glanced at Kat, “Hey, Kat, come here.”
Kat obediently got up and walked over to her boyfriend, realizing that she had never officially met the others, “Hi, I’m Katherine Hilliard.”
Zack smiled at her, “Oh, so this is the Katherine that I heard about from Jason.”
Tommy gazed at Jason who shrugged, “I talked to him on the phone when he was in New York with Trini.”
Zack nodded and shook Kat’s hand, “Its nice to meet you.”
Tanya Sloan, who, uncharacteristically, hadn’t said anything, grabbed Adam’s arm and waved, “Hi. I’m Tanya Sloan.”
Jason watched as Zack’s mouth fell open when he looked at her. “Wow,” Zack breathed.
“Its nice to meet you, Tanya,” Trini called, seeing that Zack wasn’t going to say anything.
Kim waved at her, “Hi.”
Tommy grinned, “Wow, the whole team is back again...except Billy and Aisha.”
“Billy,” Zack echoed. “You know, him not being here just puts a damper on the whole damn thing.”
“I know,” Kim agreed. “I mean, it doesn’t feel right without Billy and Aisha here.”
Trini nodded, “Yeah, but still, its great that we can all be here, and they are always with us.”
“Power Rangers past and present,” Kat breathed. “This is so incredible.”
“I don’t know how I feel. My emotions are just going completely crazy right now,” Jason admitted. “I mean, we have black rangers, pink rangers, green rangers, yellow rangers, red rangers, and even two gold rangers. One past and one present.” He kissed Emily’s cheek and smiled as he heard her sigh contentedly.
Kim tilted her head, “I didn’t know you were part of the team, Emily.”
“I just joined on,” Emily explained. “Now I’m the gold ranger. The Triphorian Silver Ranger is teaching me how to use the powers.”
Zack’s forehead creased, “Silver Ranger?”
Tommy laughed, “Believe me, we have a lot of explaining to do.”
“No, Man, YOU have a lot of explaining to do,” Zack corrected. “I mean, no one has been on the team longer than you. Its only proper that you do all the storytelling.”
Tommy sighed, “I’ll explain it later. The stories will take awhile and I’m, personally, very hungry.”
Adam chuckled, “Lets just hope Rocky hasn’t eaten all the food.”
As the rest of the group laughed Rocky looked up, “Ha, ha. As a matter of fact there should be enough for everyone.”
“Should be,” Tanya snorted.
Rocky blushed, “I was hungry.”
Kat sighed, “As usual.”
“Amen to that,” Jason said. “Now, lets eat.” The group slowly sat on
the ground and passed the food around.
Jaime watched the scene from the Power Chamber with interest, “I wish I could be out there.” His short brown hair was accented by his hazel eyes and lean figure. He was clothed in a silver shirt and black pants which matched the silver and black Triphorian Stripes over his right eye.
“YOU NEED TO BE MONITORED,” Zordon reminded him. “IT WOULD BE TOO DANGEROUS TO HAVE YOU GO OUT.”
“I know that, Zordon, but I feel so confined,” Jaime argued.
Alpha sighed, “I guess Billy was the only one who enjoyed it up here. Well, maybe not enjoyed. He tolerated it.”
Jaime frowned, “Hey, I tolerate it.”
“MAYBE YOU SHOULD REST,” Zordon suggested.
Jaime looked up at him, “Rest, sleep, save your energy. What I really want to do is forget this weakness crap and beat up some monsters.”
“IF A MONSTER WERE TO COME NOW I’M NOT SURE I WOULD LET YOU FIGHT IT,” Zordon admitted.
“What!?” Jaime exclaimed. “I’m rested and I look better than I have in a long time. If the team needs me they need me. Besides, Emily might need help in her first battle.”
Alpha tilted his head, “Can’t you just contact her from here?”
“You aren’t helping me,” Jaime muttered.
Alpha shrugged, “Sorry.” With that, he hobbled over to work on some consoles.
Zordon looked at the Silver Ranger with both admiration and concern. Jaime was obviously very strong-willed, which was a great quality in a ranger, but he was also afraid that if he didn’t realize how seriously his injury had affected his health then he would get himself killed. Funny, Jaime reminded him a lot of Tommy.
“I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO AT LEAST RUN A FEW TESTS ON YOU BEFORE LETTING YOU GO OUT AND FIGHT AGAIN.”
Jaime sighed, “I know you’re just looking out for my well-being, Zordon, but I really do feel fine.”
“IF YOU FEEL FINE THEN A FEW TESTS WON’T HURT YOU.”
“That power scan thing that you have can make you inactive for up to two hours,” Jaime countered.
“ALL THE MORE REASON TO RUN THE TESTS NOW SO THAT YOU WON’T BE LEFT OUT OF OUR NEXT FIGHT.”
Jaime rubbed the bridge of his nose in resignation, “Fine, I’ll take the tests now, but I’m not happy about it. I hate the power scan. Can’t you just have me morph before doing that thing?”
Zordon shook his massive head, “THAT WOULDN’T WORK, SILVER RANGER. FOR THE POWER SCAN TO WORK YOU MUST BE UNMORPHED. I KNOW YOU DON’T LIKE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE SCAN, BUT IT HAS TO BE DONE.”
Jaime nodded in resignation, “I know.”
Alpha, noticing that Jaime had relented, walked over to him with a strange looking gun in his hands. He pointed it at the Silver Ranger, “Are you ready?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Alpha shook his head and turned the device on. A blue light ran over the full length of Jaime’s body. From his midsection came a silver light that replaced the blue light for a few minutes. After that, the blue light returned on his body and that was when Alpha turned off the machine. The droid looked up at Zordon, “Powers are normal.”
“HOW ABOUT PHYSICALLY? IS HE STABLE?”
“He’s still a little weak, but in a day or two he should be ready to fight,” Alpha replied.
Jaime rubbed his temples shakily and braced himself against a console as his knees began to give way, “I-I hate that t-thing.”
Alpha moved closer to Jaime and allowed the Triphorian to drape his arms around him before guiding him over to his cot in the corner. The Silver Ranger laid down and put his hand over his eyes. His breathing was rapid making his chest rise and fall quickly.
The droid looked at him with pity before saying, “You know the drill. If you need to throw up tell me and I’ll get you something.”
“This is the third time I’ve had to do that,” Jaime muttered. “Its not as bad. I just have to rest for a minute.” He barely finished his sentence before falling fast asleep.
Zordon watched him with a sense of curiosity. He remembered the fighting that had endured between Queen Leila of Triphoria, Trey of Triphoria, and Jaime Talsik and it was in moments like these when the Silver Ranger looked so innocent that he wondered whether King Philip of Triphoria really had wanted Jaime to be his son and take the throne.
Glancing at Alpha, Zordon sighed, “HE’S ARGUMENTATIVE AND STUBBORN, BUT HE IS A GOOD BOY.”
Alpha nodded in agreement, “He’s also and excellent fighter.”
“YES,” Zordon said. “JAIME WILL BE A GOOD ADDITION TO THE TEAM.”
Alpha looked up at him and tilted his head. “Zordon, do you think he’ll return to Triphoria when he has healed?”
Zordon thought about this for a moment before replying, “I DON’T KNOW,
ALPHA. JAIME HAS A SENSE OF INQUISITIVENESS ABOUT EARTH THAT WOULD
KEEP
HIM INTERESTED IN OUR PLANET, AND YET HIS ALLEGIANCES FALL WITH
TRIPHORIA.
AT THE MOMENT, I FEEL THAT HE WON’T FORSAKE HIS RESPONSIBILITIES ON
HIS
HOME PLANET, BUT IT MAY BE DIFFERENT IN A FEW MONTHS. MAYBE HE WILL
WANT
TO STAY.” Alpha accepted this and returned to his work on the consoles.
“So, Emily, tell us more about your meetings with the Silver Ranger,” Kat implored, her eyes sparkling.
Emily blushed at her suggestive tone of voice, “Well, he’s a great guy. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him.”
“Wow,” Rocky muttered. “You’d better watch your back, Jason.”
Jason frowned, “I don’t think she meant it in that way, Rocky.” He looked towards his girlfriend only to find that she and Kat were whispering things to each other.
Tanya sighed, “Come on, guys. You know the saying: secrets, secrets, are no fun. Secrets, secrets, hurt everyone.”
Kat smiled apologetically, “Hey, you have to allow us to talk a little about this new Triphorian. Jaime’s a little too serious...we’re going to need to find a way to loosen him up a bit.”
“I hope you don’t mean physically,” Tommy stated with a shudder. He was answered with a gentle kiss on the cheek from his girlfriend.
Kim, who had been watching the whole thing, took in a deep breath, “So, Kat, tell me: is this guy really cute, or what?”
“I wouldn’t want to give off the wrong signals,” Kat told her, “but...yes. He is.”
Jason scoffed, “What’s so cute about the guy? All his muscle combined couldn’t equal half of mine.”
“Easy now, Jase,” Zack joked. “Your testosterone levels are going through the roof.”
Trini laughed, “Its just how I remember. Jason thinking he was the best and getting angry when he wasn’t.”
Jason leaned forward, “W-wait...who said the guy was better than me? He isn’t better than me. All that Jaime has are his weird powers and even those aren’t working that well because of his injury from the Veronian Battle.”
“Well, I guess we’ll never know until Jaime’s gets his strength back,” Tanya said.
Tommy grinned, “Yeah, we’ll have to set up a booth saying ‘Test Your Strength Against the Triphorian. $5 for 15 minute sparring matches’.”
Adam shrugged, “I’ll agree to that.”
“Me too,” Jason voiced.
Rocky nodded, “I hope he gets better soon.”
“Guys!” Trini exclaimed. “That is so cruel!”
“I don’t know. After all the hype this guy is getting, I wouldn’t mind taking him on myself,” Zack said.
Kat laughed, “You guys are hopeless.”
“Men and their oversized egos,” Kim breathed.
Tommy leered at her, “Now what, Kimberly Hart, did you mean by that?”
“Does she need to explain it?” Tanya inquired, a flippant expression on her face.
Adam grinned slyly, “Yes, I think she does.” With that, he moved towards her and the two began a small tickling match on the grass.
Jason chuckled, “They are so cute.”
Trini nodded, “Yeah, they are.” She gazed at him seriously for a moment before looking away self-consciously.
Kat was about to say something to lighten the mood when, all of a sudden, Tommy’s wrist communicator went off. Zack smiled, “Well, after all these years it still has the same beep.”
Tommy raised the communicator to his lips, “This is Tommy. We read you, Zordon.”
“RANGERS, TELEPORT TO THE POWER CHAMBER IMMEDIATELY.”
“Hey, Zordon, we’ve got some old friends with us,” Tanya voiced. “Would you mind if they came along?”
“THEY MAY COME. HURRY, RANGERS.”
“Well,” Tommy said, “you guys know the drill. Grab someone and hold on.” Zack, Trini, and Kim grabbed hold of the rangers and they all disappeared in flashes of pink, yellow, blue, black, red, white, and gold.
They landed in the Power Chamber, and the three former rangers took their time looking at the new atmosphere. “This is awesome,” Zack muttered.
Kim nodded, “I know. Its so, well, advanced now.”
Zordon smiled at them, “ITS GOOD TO HAVE YOU ALL BACK, FORMER RANGERS.”
“Its great to be back, Zordon,” Trini told him. The ancient being had always fascinated her, and, for some reason, she always felt a bond with Zordon. When she had been the yellow ranger Zordon had been like a father to her, and now that feeling seemed to be rekindled within her.
“Ay yi yi, Rangers, Rito Repulsa is firing on the working crews in Angel Grove. You must stop him.”
Jason growled, “That bastard. Doesn’t he know when enough is enough?”
“Apparently not,” Rocky murmured.
“EMILY, I KNOW YOU WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR FIRST BATTLE BUT THE SILVER RANGER, AT THE MOMENT, IS INCAPABLE OF GOING TO THE FIGHT AND SO YOU MUST REMAIN BEHIND.”
Emily nodded hesitantly, “I understand, Zordon.”
Tommy sighed, “Well, lets do it guys. Its morphing time!”
“TIGERZORD!”
“MASTODON!”
“PTERYDACTYL!”
“TRICERATOPS!”
“SABERTOOTH TIGER!”
“TYRANNASAURUS!”
“The suits look exactly like ours,” Kim whispered. No one could really tell if she seemed jubilant or near tears, so no one touched on it one way or the other.
“You know what I don’t understand? I don’t understand why Kim can’t join us, just this once.”
Jason looked at his best friend, “Um, maybe that’s because she doesn’t have any powers, Bro.”
“No,” Tommy opposed, “but she has the power of the ninja.”
Kim looked at him, her eyes bright, “You’re right, Tommy. Zordon, can I?”
“I DON’T APPROVE OF IT, BUT I KNOW THAT YOU’LL JUST GO ANYWAY, KIMBERLY, AND SO YOU MAY.”
“Ok, lets see if I can still do this. NINJA CRANE POWER!”
When the rangers next saw her she was dressed in the pink armor that Rocky, Adam, and Tommy remembered seeing her in on Pheados. “That brings back memories,” Adam said.
“Yeah,” Tommy agreed. “You look great, Kim.”
Kim, unable to help herself, blushed, “Thanks.”
“NOW GO, RANGERS, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU.”
“Ok, we’re out of here,” Tommy said. The seven disappeared.
Zack and Trini looked at each other morosely as they realized how much they missed the power. Zack sighed, “Zordon, if you don’t mind I’m gonna get out of here. There’s still so much I need to catch up on.”
“I REALIZE IT WON’T BE INTERESTING IN HERE, ZACK. IT WAS A PLEASURE SEEING YOU AGAIN.”
“I think I’m going to go, too, Zordon,” Emily said. “Since Jaime isn’t up there’s no point of me staying here.”
“IF WE NEED YOU WE’LL CALL YOU.”
“Ok, Zordon.” With that, Zack, Trini, and Emily teleported out.
“What!? That Kimberly brat is using the ninja power!?” Rita whined, “Aw, I’ve got a headache!”
“Quiet, you annoying imp!” Uriel shouted.
Zedd scowled, “That Kimberly always was a bitch. Well, look at this. Zack, Trini, and Emily are unprotected in the park.”
“Yeah, lets get them,” Rashell said.
Rita looked down the hallway, “Goldar!”
The big monkey ran towards her, nearly slipping on the floor, and bowed his head, “You called, my Queen?”
“Goldar,” Rita commanded, “go down to Earth with a group of tengas and jagas. Fetch me Zack, Trini, and the Gold Ranger.”
“As you wish, My Queen.” Goldar waved his arms and, in a flash of fire, he was gone.
Rita cackled, “Now all we have to do is wait for my plan to unfold.”
Zack, Trini, and Emily had only been walking through Angel Grove Park for a few minutes when they were surrounded by jagas and tengas. Zack jumped back, startled, “Whoa, who are these creepy dudes?”
“Meet the tengas and the jagas,” Emily said. She got into fighting stance, “I wish Jaime were here.”
Trini bent into her fighting stance before muttering, “Lets do this for old times sake.”
Zack nodded, “Yeah. Its been a long time.” With that, the three charged the creatures as Goldar laughed hideously.
Meanwhile, in the main section of Angel Grove the rangers were fighting Rito and a squad of tengas. Kat looked around, “This is almost too easy. I wonder why Zedd and Rita didn’t send down more troops.”
“I have a really bad feeling about this,” Jason stated.
Adam nodded, “I’ll second that.”
“I’ll third it,” Tommy agreed.
“You guys,” Emily called back in Angel Grove Park, “I’m going to try to morph.”
“Sure, but make it quick,” Zack replied.
Emily nodded, “GOLD RANGER F POWER!”
When she appeared in the park again she was wearing the armor that Gloria of Triphoria had worn before she died on Earth just a week ago. Emily threw punches and kicks at the jagas and tengas that injured a few of them but didn’t do enough damage. Surveying the area, she found that Zack and Trini had weakened and were now at the mercy of the evil troops.
“Guys,” Emily called into her communicator, “its Emily. I need you to meet me at the park. Zack, Trini, and I are in trouble.”
In the city, Tommy looked at his communicator before putting it to his lips, “Emily? Is that you?”
“Yes, its me. Tommy, we need help in Angel Grove Park. Teleport here now!”
Tommy frowned and pushed a few buttons on his communicator, “Emily, you’re breaking up. I can’t here you.”
“Tommy, we need help!” Emily tried again. She kicked a Jaga out of her way as she tried to run towards Zack and Trini.
“Emily, I can’t understand you. Go to frequenc.......” Static cut off the rest of the connection.
Emily frantically pushed buttons on her communicator in order to restore the link, “This is a piece of shit!” She looked up at Zack who was trying to help Trini beat up a group of Jengas, “Tommy, can you hear me? Please, Tommy!” She tapped her communicator again hoping that the White Ranger would hear her, “Tommy, please come in. We need help!”
Tommy looked across the battlefield at Jason, “Hey, Emily was trying to contact me but I lost her frequency. Can you find her?”
Jason shrugged, “I’ll try. Damn, I hope she’s OK. Emily? Emily come in!” All he got was static.
In the Power Chamber, Zordon looked down at Alpha, “EMILY, ZACK, AND TRINI NEED HELP. IS JAIME ABLE TO FIGHT?”
“Ay yi yi, he’s still out of it!”
“CONTACT TOMMY, THEN. QUICKLY!”
“I’m trying, Zordon, but he’s on a different frequency! Oh, ay yi yi!” Alpha exclaimed.
“Zordon?” Tommy tried. “Damn, I must have screwed up the frequency. Zordon, can you hear me?”
Zordon strained to hear the White Ranger’s faint voice through the speakers of the Power Chamber. “TOMMY, CAN YOU READ ME?”
“Barely. Where’s Emily?” There was a loud buzzing sound that hurt his ears, and he continually hit his communicator to get it to stop.
“EMILY IS IN ANGEL GROVE PARK WITH ZACK AND TRINI. THEY ARE UNDER ATTACK AND THEY NEED IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE.”
“I’m on it.” Tommy looked at Jason, “The others are in trouble. Give Rito some good kicks for me.”
Jason grinned faintly, “I’ll be sure to.”
Emily looked around hoping to remember one of the moves that Jaime had taught her. Her concentration level was so deep that she didn’t notice a white blur come up behind her, “I’ve got it. Golden Trumpet!”
Instead of getting what she had wanted, Emily was surprised by a horrible siren that stung her ears until she couldn’t move, “I don’t believe this!”
Tommy, who had been coming up behind her, was instantly knocked back by the force of the sound. Covering his ears, he tried to call to Emily, “What the hell is that?”
The jagas and tengas all ran away, but not without taking a suffering Trini and Zack with them. Even in the main section of Angel Grove the other rangers were tortured by the sound of the blast. “What is that?” Kim cried.
“I don’t know, but if it keeps up any longer I’m going to die!” Tanya screamed.
From the Power Chamber the siren seeped through the walls and shocked Alpha who almost went into overdrive, “Ay yi yi! What is that?”
“EMILY USED HER POWERS WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THEY DID.”
From the cot, Jaime stirred and rose, almost hitting his head on the scanner above him, “W-who used the Triphorian Golden Trumpet...shit...” He stood, swayed a little bit, and pushed the teleporter on his arm, disappearing in a flash of silver.
Reaching Angel Grove Park, Jaime ran towards Emily and moved her arms in a circular motion which ended the siren noise. Tommy looked around in a daze, “Oh shit...that was loud.”
Emily looked at Jaime and hugged him fiercely, nearly knocking the unsuspecting ranger to the ground, “Jaime, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I was trying to do the Golden Lighting that you taught me and I...” Her voice faded into a soft sob.
The Silver Ranger, not knowing what else to do, rubbed her back and tried to comfort her, “Its ok, Emily. I’m just glad you’re ok.” Neither noticed when the rest of the rangers teleported to their position, nor did they notice the hurt look Jason flashed at them.
Kim walked over to Tommy, “Where are Zack and Trini?”
Tommy sighed, his infamous guilty face forming, “They’re, most likely, on the moon.” Tanya and Kat gasped.
“Ok, Tommy, I’ve known you long enough to know what you’re going to do right now and I’m just going to tell you this: This is NOT your fault, ok?” Kim put her hand on his arm comfortingly.
Tommy shook his head, “Maybe I could have gotten here earlier...”
“Just shut up!” Emily screamed. “I don’t appreciate you taking the blame for me. I screwed up. This is my mistake.”
Kat said nothing. Instead, she kept her eyes on Kim’s hand and waited for her to remove it from her boyfriend’s arm. Tommy met her gaze but turned away, hoping that she hadn’t noticed. Kim didn’t, however, and, knowing Kat was looking at her, she stayed in the position she was in.
Adam, seeing everyone else’s positions, decided to break the tension, “Um, we should get back to the Power Chamber to see if Zordon has any instructions for us.”
Tommy nodded, “Yeah, lets go.” The nine disappeared in their specific flashes of light.
Once they arrived they found Alpha running around in a frenzy, “Ay yi yi, they are on the moon.”
“I’M GLAD YOU ARE ALL RIGHT, RANGERS.”
Emily snarled at him, “Who cares about us? Trini and Zack are in danger.”
Jason put his hand on her shoulder, “Emily, calm down. We’ll save them, ok? We always have.”
“What was that thing, Jaime?” Rocky asked.
“That, Rocky, was the Golden Trumpet used by the Gold Ranger if ever attacked by a large army of enemy fighters. While Triphorians are only slightly affected by the blast, any other life forms are rendered helpless. With fellow rangers, however, the effects you experienced were normal. You heard a loud siren that blocked out thought, made moving near impossible, and caused mild breathing problems.”
Tanya looked at him with concern, “You don’t look that good yourself, Jaime. Is that what happens to a Triphorian soldier who isn’t morphed at the time of the blast?”
Jaime shook his head, “No, but being in a weakened state I wasn’t as immune to the effects as usual.” He said these things quietly, and the others could tell that he was trying to prove that his full strength had returned.
Unfortunately for him, Zordon didn’t buy it, “SILVER RANGER, YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU AREN’T AT THE STRENGTH LEVEL NEEDED TO FIGHT.”
“Zordon, I have the will to fight. That should be enough.”
“IT ISN’T ENOUGH FOR ME,” Zordon stated, “YOU ARE TO GO TO THE CRISIS CENTER ALONG WITH EMILY UNTIL THIS WHOLE THING BLOWS OVER.”
Jason looked at Zordon in protest, “Why does Emily need to go?”
“I FEAR THAT THIS EVENT WAS BOTH PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY TAXING ON EMILY AND SHE COULD USE THE REST.”
Emily smiled assuringly at Jason, “I’ll be fine, Jason. Really. Do your job. I don’t want to endanger the rest of the team.” With that, the two teleported to the lower part of the Power Chamber.
Jason leaned towards Tommy, “I am not liking this one bit. Jaime and Emily...a bed...”
“You’ve got to have more faith in your girlfriend, Bro. Emily wouldn’t do that to you”
Jason nodded, “I know. Its not Emily I’m worried about...its Jaime.”
Tommy chuckled lightly, “Jaime is a Triphorian. What the hell does he know about having sex with an Earthling?”
“That’s true,” Jason agreed.
“RANGERS, I FEAR THAT ZACK AND TRINI HAVE BEEN CAPTURED, NOT AS BAIT, BUT AS WARRIORS. THAT IS THE REASON THAT I HAVE PUT EMILY DOWN IN THE CRISIS CENTER. SINCE SHE HAS NOT FULLY OBTAINED THE GOLDEN POWER SHE IS MORE VULNERABLE TO EVIL SPELLS THAN USUAL. JAIME IS AS WELL BECAUSE OF HIS WEAKENED STATE.”
“Zordon, all of us are susceptible to spells...even those of us in perfectly good health,” Kim observed. Tommy looked at Kat, and the two lowered there heads in shame from the memories of their times as evil.
“I’M FULLY AWARE OF THIS, KIMBERLY, BUT IMAGINE IF TOMMY HAD BEEN IN A WEAKENED STATE WHEN HE WAS TAKEN BY RITA AND MADE THE GREEN RANGER.”
Tommy sighed, “Thanks for bringing up the memories.”
“DESTROYING THE SWORD OF DARKNESS WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TO CURE HIM. WHATEVER HAD BEEN DAMAGED...FOR JAIME, PERHAPS HIS STABILITY AND STRENGTH, WOULD HAVE BEEN FILLED WITH EVIL,” Zordon explained.
“That would not be good,” Kat noted.
“So, how do we get Zack and Trini away from the evil palace?” Jason asked.
“I’M AFRAID, JASON, THAT WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT. THERE IS A FORCEFIELD AROUND THE MOON PALACE THAT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE TEAM TO TELEPORT THERE.”
Tanya frowned, “They must really want Trini and Zack to be evil.”
Kat nodded, “Yeah. So, well, how do we get them out of there? There must be a way.”
“Zordon, I’ve found some readings on the forcefield that shows that morphed rangers cannot enter the compound, but they could in non-morphed form,” Alpha told him.
Rocky smiled, “Well, there we go. All we have to do is go in unmorphed.”
“I’M AFRAID ITS NOT THAT SIMPLE, ROCKY. THE MOON PALACE IS CERTAINTLY GOING TO BE GUARDED BY TENGAS AND JAGAS, IF NOT GOLDAR, SCORPINA, AND RITO.”
Adam, who had been silent for awhile, looked up at Zordon, a boyish flash in his eyes, “What about the ninja powers? They will be powers, but not require power coins.”
“IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE YOU’VE USED THE NINJA POWERS, ADAM. I DON’T KNOW IF I WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE.”
Kim stepped forward, “Then send me.”
Tommy looked at her in disapproval, “Kim...”
“I just used the powers today, and I did fine. Let me go alone.”
“YOU KNOW I COULD NOT APPROVE THAT, KIMBERLY.”
Tommy nodded, “Fine, then I’ll go with her.”
“TOMMY...”
“Look, I owe this to Trini and Zack,” Tommy argued. “Either send Kim and me or send me alone.”
Rocky scoffed at him, “No way, Tommy. If you two go then I’m going, too.”
Adam nodded, “I am, also.”
“I don’t like this, guys,” Jason said. “It seems like Rita, Zedd, Rashell, and Uriel are making this too easy for us.”
Tommy glanced at him, “Trap or not, we don’t have a choice.”
“What about us?” Tanya asked. “Is there any way we can get the ninja powers?”
“NO, TANYA. THE NINJA POWERS CAN ONLY BE FOUND ON PHAEDOS. IT IS FAR TO DANGEROUS TO SEND YOU THERE, AND WE DON’T HAVE THE TIME.”
“Well, then its Kim, Rocky, Adam, and me,” Tommy observed.
Kat shook her head, “Tommy, this is going to be risky. I don’t know if you guys should go.”
Kim was about to protest when Jason spoke up, “I agree with Kat. This is too chancy, guys. I mean, what if Trini and Zack are made evil before you arrive?”
“All the more reason for us to go now before that can happen,” Rocky argued.
Tanya sighed in resignation, “All right. Be careful, guys.”
Adam smiled and kissed her cheek softly, “You know me. Caution is my middle name.”
“Caution?” Rocky smirked, “Should be Quiet or Shy, I think.”
Tommy looked to his three fellow ninja rangers, “Ok, guys, lets do it.”
“NINJA FALCON POWER!”
“NINJA FROG POWER!”
“NINJA CRANE POWER!”
“NINJA APE POWER!”
Instantly the four rangers were clothed in armor with their animal symbol on their chests. Jason looked at Rocky and chuckled lightly, “The ape?”
Rocky shrugged, “Strength, I guess. I hope Dulcea didn’t mean anything else by it.”
Adam sighed, “I’m still a frog.”
“Dulcea thought you were cute, Adam,” Kim told him. “She did kiss you, after all.”
Tommy smiled at Adam, “That’s right.” Adam turned a bright shade of red and looked at the floor.
Kat moved next to Tommy and grabbed his hand, “Now, don’t do anything rash over there. If anything looks like too much for the four of you I want you all to teleport out.”
Tommy slowly pulled back the mask of his armor and kissed her lips gently. Pulling away he offered her his most handsome grin, “You know me.” Kat sighed and folded her arms over her chest. Seeing her actions Tommy laughed, “Ok, so I’ll be extra careful this time. Happy?”
“No, but I’ll accept that,” Kat responded. She touched the band around his forehead, “Falcon.” With that she pulled him into her embrace.
Kim watched them from the other side of the room silently. A part of her was glad to be back in Angel Grove but the other part of her wanted to get as far away from Tommy and Kat as possible. She didn’t like the idea of them together, although she refused to admit to herself that she still loved Tommy. It was too dangerous to admit that.
Jason grinned weakly, “Well, good luck.”
Tommy looked at him, “Don’t worry, Bro. You know we’ll be back soon.”
“I’m just afraid that you’re going to brag about all the fun you had afterwards,” Jason muttered. Tommy just chuckled in response.
Rocky looked up at Zordon, “Well, lets go!”
“Easy, Rocky,” Kim said with a smile. Saying it brought back memories of the time that the team had all gone skydiving and had won the championship. Those had been the good days where she, Tommy, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Billy had been unseperable. Now that this new team had been formed she felt like she was invading on hazardous territory.
Kat watched Kim warily. She remembered those times before she joined the team. She and Kim had been such good friends, but now it seemed like Kim resented her going out with Tommy. Well, too bad. Tommy was hers now. It was Kim’s fault for breaking his heart in the first place.
Rocky listened to Kim’s words interestedly. He still remembered how excited he had been before jumping out of that plane. Everything had been perfect. For one moment the world had been at peace. None of Rita and Zedd’s monsters were attacking and, at that point, it hadn’t felt like the power rangers anymore. It had seemed like he was with just a group of friends. Kim, Aisha, Adam, Tommy, and Billy. They hadn’t been the rangers at that moment. They had just been regular people. At this moment, when Rocky knew his life was on the line, he missed that feeling of freedom. He yearned for that release.
Adam watched Rocky’s expression before looking at the three other ninjas around him. The trip to Phaedos had been amazing for him, and this armor just brought back those memories. Even though he knew Kim had been kidding about Dulcea liking him a part of him wished it was true. Dulcea was a beautiful woman even if she wasn’t of this world. Yes, Tanya was the sweetest person that he had ever met and he loved her, but Dulcea would always be the woman of his dreams. There was just something about her.
Tommy looked at the others in the room and for a moment he felt contempt. He hated this feeling of helplessness. Zack and Trini were in trouble and it was all his fault. In addition, he knew very soon he’d have to hurt one of the most important women in his life. Kim or Kat. Kat or Kim. It was so hard to choose. Hell, he hadn’t chosen yet. Why did he have to choose? Why did Kim have to leave him? Why did she have to come back? Why did they both have to be so beautiful and animated? Why the hell couldn’t this be easier!?
Jason sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He wished that Emily was with him, but she wasn’t. She was down in a room with a person that he knew barely anything about. Yes, Jaime seemed like a great person, but Jason was very possessive. Ever since the incident with Trini he had been very possessive of his girlfriends. Once, in private, he had even told Tommy not to joke around with her so much because it made him feel uncomfortable. His best friend had been confused by the request. Well, who wouldn’t have been? Tommy didn’t know about Trini. Tommy didn’t know that Jason was starting to feel for Trini again. Tommy didn’t know that he was considering talking to Trini about picking up where they had left off.
Then, this new thing wasn’t helping. Jason really wanted to go to the moon with the rest of the team. He wanted these ninja powers, and he wanted Kim to get away from Tommy. Ever since he had learned of what Kim had done to Tommy he never felt the same about her. Instead of seeing her as the innocent girl that she used to be when they still went to school together she seemed like a demon bent on breaking Tommy completely, and now that she was showing interest again...Jason knew he couldn’t get involved but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to.
Tanya looked at Adam slowly before letting her thoughts drift to Zack. He was incredibly cute, she had to admit, plus he had a great sense of humor. That was something Adam had worked on for her. It wasn’t Adam’s fault, she knew. Adam was sweet, but he was so quiet. Sometimes Tanya wished for someone who would talk to her willingly without being forced to have a conversation. Well, not forced, but Adam tried to hard to fit her personality. Could it be possible that she was thinking of leaving him?
Zordon watched his rangers with concern. He could practically feel the tension flowing around the room like a thick storm cloud just waiting to strike. Perhaps the other rangers returning wasn’t a good idea. It was obvious that the present rangers weren’t responding well to them. In addition it seemed that Jason was beginning to seriously feel disdain towards Jaime. Yes, he could understand the red ranger’s uneasiness since Jaime was always around his girlfriend, but this was beginning to get serious. This whole situation was beginning to get serious. “NINJA RANGERS, YOU MUST LEAVE NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
“Ok, its time to teleport,” Tommy said, snapping out of his state of thought.
The other ninjas looked at him and nodded, “Right.” In a moment they had disappeared in flashes of pink, red, white, and black.
Jason, Kat, and Tanya watched them go in worry. Kat sighed, “Be careful.”
Zordon looked at the three sympathetically. It must be horrible to watch
your friends do something that you were so used to, and it must be especially
hard for Jason and Kat to watch Rocky and Kim go in places that, they must
feel, were rightfully theirs.
Zack opened his eyes painfully in the dark dimension only to find Goldar looking down at him. He shuddered, “Great, just who I wanted to see.”
“It is a pleasure, former black ranger,” Goldar said sarcastically.
Trini, who was also awake, glared at the big ape, “What the hell do you want?”
Goldar sighed, “Ah, Trini, I do not want anything. It is what my masters want.”
“Rita, Zedd, Rashell, and Uriel?” Trini questioned.
Goldar looked at her suspiciously, “How did you know about Rashell and Uriel?”
“Tommy brought us back up to speed this afternoon,” Zack told him, “so why don’t you? What are your masters going to do with us?”
Goldar sighed, “Well, I suppose they’ll either torture you or make you evil. Its usually either one of the two.”
Zack groaned, “Can’t they ever think of anything new?”
Goldar was about to respond when Rita teleported into the dark dimension. She eyed the two former rangers with hate, “Welcome, Zack and Trini.”
“Get out of here, witch,” Trini growled. “Whatever you’re going to do to us won’t work. The others will save us.”
Rita cackled mockingly at this, “On the contrary, foolish human, four of your friends are on their way here. You are bait for them, and when they arrive you will destroy them.”
“Never!” Zack exclaimed, “We’ll never harm the rangers!”
“Maybe not on your own free will, but when I control you, Zack, you will do whatever I please. Finster!” Rita called.
The white creature teleported in holding a strange looking device and two indistinguishable coins, “I have what you desire, my queen.” He tossed the two coins at Zack and Trini and looked at Rita, “Shall I do it?”
Rita laughed and nodded, “Yes, Finster.”
“What is this?” Zack questioned as he glanced at the never before seen coin. It looked like the coin he had carried as the black ranger, and yet it didn’t have the symbol of a Mastodon on it. It held the symbol of a raven.
“This is your welcome back to the world of the rangers,” Finster told him. With that, he fired his device at the two unsuspecting humans. They fell to the ground in anguish. Finster watched them for a few moments before shutting the device off.
Rita watched as both Trini and Zack sat up in sync. They looked at each other before looking back at Rita. The two’s eyes flashed black as they stood and bowed their heads. “We are honored to serve you, Empress Rita,” They said in unison.
Rita laughed happily, “You’ve done it, Finster!” Turning back to the two humans she smiled, “Now, my rangers, four of Zordon’s warriors are going to come here to free you. What will you do to them?”
“We will kill them,” Zack snarled.
Trini chuckled, “We will batter them until they can no longer move.”
“Good,” Rita said. “Now, wait here. We must prepare for the rangers arrival, but be prepared. Do not let your guard down.”
“We will not fail you, Empress Rita,” Zack and Trini said together.
As Rita and Finster teleported away they laughed, “Rangers, you have met
your match.”
Tommy, Kim, Adam, and Rocky landed in the moon palace in their ninja armor and looked around uneasily. They could practically feel the evil radiating from the walls of this kingdom of terror as they shakily glanced through the dark hallways. Tommy shivered, a memory appearing in his mind, before saying, “This hall leads to the torture chamber.”
Adam glanced at his friend and leader with concern. “Are you going to be OK here, Tommy? You don’t look so hot.”
“Yeah, Tommy, if this is too much like reliving your time as the Green Ranger then I think you should teleport back to the Power Chamber,” Kim told him. She could nearly sense his fear and pain at seeing this place again.
Tommy tried to smile reassuringly at her before nodding. “I’ll be fine. Lets find Zack and Trini.”
Rocky sighed and looked around. “Do you guys have any idea where to look? I mean, I don’t see any signs reading ‘Zack and Trini are this way’.”
“Well, where else would they put them? The Dark Dimension, right?” Kim looked at the others expectantly.
“Hiding in the open.” Tommy closed his eyes and let visions from the past invade his mind.
The others watched him with worry. Adam leaned towards him and touched his arm. “What’s wrong?”
Tommy opened his eyes, apparently caught off guard by the touch on his arm, before muttering, “I was just trying to think on how we could get into the Dark Dimension using our communicators.”
“Could we alter the frequency?” Kim suggested.
Rocky rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I wish Billy were here.”
Hearing him, Adam smirked. “Have a little faith, Rocky. I think Kim is right. Maybe putting the communicators on the right frequency will allow us to enter the Dark Dimension.”
“Yeah, but which frequency?” Tommy let out a deep sigh. “There are hundreds of frequencies on the communicators.”
Kim looked at him, her eyes sparkling in the ‘I have an idea’ fashion, “Yes, but if we go through them we might be able to find a link. We’ll be able to hear Zack and Trini, won’t we? I mean, that’s how we communicate with each other using them.”
“Zack and Trini aren’t wearing communicators, though,” Rocky argued. His momentary excitement was gone leaving him miserable again. “How will we be able to pinpoint them?”
Kim glanced at Rocky and smiled. “Zack is wearing a communicator. He kept his when he went off to the peace conference. I used to contact him.”
Tommy chuckled, “Good old Zack. Why didn’t he ever tell me?”
“You were too busy leading us. He figured that if he tried to contact you you would go berserk trying to figure out if something happened to him. If he said nothing was wrong you’d either:
a) go on a guilt trip because you wouldn’t believe him
b) scold him for taking the communicator without telling Zordon.”
“I still think he should have told me,” Tommy murmured with a small pout on his lips.
Kim giggled faintly at the sight of it before lifting her communicator up so she could concentrate and beginning to go through the frequencies. After five minutes the four heard a low voice saying, “They will be here soon.”
“That’s definitely Rita,” Rocky scowled.
Adam nodded, “What frequency, Kim?”
“Our lucky number is 22, Adam,” Kim informed him.
“I’m going to stay on our regular frequency just in case Zordon needs to contact us,” Tommy told them. He glanced at his fellow rangers and took in a deep breath. “Is everyone morphed and ready to go?”
“Ready, willing, and able,” Rocky responded.
“All set,” Adam said.
“Lets kick some evil ass,” Kim told them with a grin on her face.
Tommy beamed. “All right, then. Lets go.” He put his hand on Kim’s arm, smiling at her puzzled expression. “I already told you that I’m staying on our main frequency.”
Kim nodded in understanding and looked at Rocky and Adam. “Here we go.” They pushed a button on their communicators and disappeared in flashes of red, black, and pink.
When they next looked around they found themselves in the Dark Dimension along with Rita, Zack, and Trini. As they entered Rita cackled. “I wondered what was taking you power geeks so long to get here.”
“What have you done to Zack and Trini, bitch!?” Rocky snarled.
Rita smirked at his language. “Temper, temper, blue ranger. Or, should I say, Ape Boy.” She smiled at her own pun and patted Zack’s shoulder. At her touch, he cried out and fell to his knees in agony.
Tommy watched him, both in fury and with a tremendous amount of guilt. _Why isn’t it you in that position? Zack and Trini aren’t even rangers anymore_ “Guys, help!” Zack called, his voice tinged with anguish.
Trini fell right next to Zack, her eyes closed. “Help us!”
Before Kim and Rocky could stop them, Adam and Tommy had sprinted forward and were trying to help their fallen friends to their feet. They had no sooner than reached them when a horrible rumbling went through the dimension. Kim and Rocky grabbed each other before looking to where Adam and Tommy were. They watched as Zack and Trini stood and punched the other rangers sending them tumbling to the ground. “Its a trap!” Rocky called, even though he knew it was too late.
Adam stood, completely caught off guard, and barely had enough time to get his bearings before a kick hit him directly in the gut. The air knocked out of him, he fell to his knees, barely making out Tommy trying to help him up before his vision blurred and faded to black.
“Flashbacks, Tommy?” Zack snarled. He kicked him in the chest before moving towards Rocky and Kim with an eerie smile on his face. “Hi, guys.”
Tommy coughed a few times and forced himself to crawl over to Adam’s position, shaking him and muttering, “Come on, Adam, we need you. Please get up!”
Amused by this, Trini kicked Tommy away and laughed. “I remember thinking that you were so strong, Tommy, when in reality you should have been admiring me.”
“Maybe I picked the wrong person to be the green ranger that other time. Too bad Trini was already a ranger,” Rita mused. She watched Zack knock Kim and Rocky to the ground before cackling gleefully.
Tommy brought his communicator up to his lips and whispered, “Zordon, its Tommy. Can anyone hear me?”
In the Power Chamber Zordon and Alpha looked around at the faint sound of the White Ranger’s voice before replying. “WE READ YOU, TOMMY. WHAT IS HAPPENING?”
“We were too late,” Tommy explained quietly. “Zack and Trini have been made evil. Is there any way we could change them back?”
Jason kicked a console in fury. “Damn it! I knew we shouldn’t have let them go!”
“THERE IS NO WAY FOR US TO DETERMINE THAT UNLESS ZACK AND TRINI ARE TELEPORTED OUT OF THE DARK DIMENSION. THE FORCE FIELD AROUND THE CASTLE ARE BLOCKING ALL READINGS.”
“That’s going to be kinda difficult because, well, you know we can’t fight them They’re unmorphed and they seem to have had their powers boosted.”
He had just finished his sentence when Trini noticed what he was doing and chuckled darkly, kicking him fiercely so that he passed out. She put his communicator to her lips and laughed into it. “Nice try.”
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THE RANGERS?”
“Kim and Rocky are cowering in a corner. It is a pretty pathetic sight,” Trini told him with a leer. “Adam and Tommy, well, they’re taking a little nap right now but they should be up soon.”
Kat clenched her fists and used all her might not to call her a bitch. Trini wasn’t acting on her own will, she reminded herself. Zordon frowned, “WILL YOU NOT EVEN FIGHT FAIRLY?”
“There is no reason to,” Trini said. “I know what you’re trying to do, Zordon, but it won’t work. We have the ninja rangers right where we want them and we aren’t going to let the other rangers get in the way.”
All of a sudden getting an idea, Jason walked over to the speaker on the console and pushed a button so Trini could hear him. “I know you probably are afraid of us, Trini.”
“What!? No we aren’t!”
“Sure you are. Why else are you refusing to fight? I know how much I intimidate you,” Jason told her.
Trini snarled. “You couldn’t intimidate a bug, Jason. What is your proposal.”
“Fight me in Angel Grove. I’ll fight you if you bring Adam and Tommy here.”
He got the expected reply, “You want me to bring you Tommy and Adam just for a fight!? Jason, I am stronger than you. Zack and I could take you, Tanya, and Kat any day.”
“Kim, Rocky, Kat, Tanya, and I versus you and Zack. I know you, Trini. You won’t turn down the opportunity for an awesome fight.”
Trini had to admit that she was tempted by the idea. Finally Jason Scott would realize that he wasn’t the best at karate and he would give her the respect she deserved, “Fine, a fight for Tommy and Adam, but on one condition.”
Jason looked at Zordon who nodded. “What condition?”
“The Silver and Gold Rangers are present.”
Jason’s eyes widened and he looked at Tanya who shook her head. “No way. Its too risky. What if they aren’t physically ready?”
“I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU, TANYA, BUT I THINK THIS IS THE BEST CHANCE WE HAVE TO GET THE OTHER RANGERS BACK AND TO GET TRINI AND ZACK BACK TO NORMAL.”
Jason sighed and leaned against the console. “Fine. Teleport to Angel Grove Park. We’ll meet you there.” As the connection went dead Jason pushed a few buttons on the console he was at. Flashes of silver and gold went through the room and, after a moment, Emily and Jaime appeared.
“That was surprising,” Emily muttered. “You guys could have warned us about the quick teleport.”
Jason rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, Emily, but there’s trouble. The guys couldn’t get to Zack and Trini in time, and we need to confront them, but they only agreed to do so with you two present.”
“I still don’t like this, Jason. It sounds too much like a trap,” Kat stated honestly.
“I know, Kat, but we have no choice. Tommy and Adam are out, and we have no idea how Rocky and Kim are. We have more of a chance if Zack and Trini are out in the open.”
Jaime nodded. “Well, then, I guess we have no choice. Its morphing time!”
“PTERYDACTYL!”
“SABERTOOTH TIGER!”
“TYRANNASAURUS!”
“SILVER RANGER POWER!”
“GOLD RANGER F POWER!”
As they materialized in the room they were in their ranger armor. Emily looked at the viewing globe and pointed at it. “They’re there with the others.”
Jason glanced at it and shook his head angrily. “Tommy and Adam are completely out of it. We need to go now.” They all pushed a button on their communicators and teleported in flashes of pink, yellow, red, silver, and gold.
Alpha watched them go with a sigh. “Ay yi yi, be careful, Rangers.”
“So, you decided to show up,” Zack growled. “Prepare to meet your doom, Rangers.”
Jason decided to try the psychological approach. “Guys, you are being controlled by one of Rita’s spells. You have to snap out of it.”
“Good try, Jason, but it won’t work.” With that, Trini attacked him, her black hair flying wildly behind her.
The two went at it with Trini on the offensive. He knew that he needed to buy enough time for Kat, Tanya, Emily, and Jaime to get the others and teleport them back to the Power Chamber.
Zack turned to the Silver Ranger and smiled evilly. “So, you must be Jaime. I’ve heard a lot about you, and I’ve been dying for a chance to take you on.”
Jaime sighed and got into fighting stance. “Come on, Zack. Take me on.”
“With pleasure,” Zack snarled. He charged the Silver Ranger and took the offensive quickly, coming at the Triphorian with everything that he had.
This distraction gave Tanya enough time to run over to Kim and Rocky. “Are you guys all right?” She asked with concern.
Rocky nodded. “We’re fine. You need to help Tommy and Adam, though. They’re completely out of it.”
Tanya glanced down at the two fallen rangers to find that they were no longer in ninja form as Kim and Rocky were. Moving towards them, she waved Kim and Rocky away. “We need to get back to the Power Chamber.”
“What if they need help?” Kim questioned. “I don’t know if three rangers will be able to handle Trini and Zack by themselves.”
“We’ll be fine,” Emily assured Kim from her position near Tommy and Adam. “Please, go!”
The two nodded in resignation and teleported away with Tanya, disappearing in flashes of red, yellow, and pink.
Emily returned her attention to Tommy and Adam who, to the best of her knowledge, were not moving. She kneeled by them, shaking their bodies softly at first, and then harder. “Adam, Tommy, its Emily. Can you hear me? Guys, move if you can. Open your eyes. Do something.”
All of a sudden her communicator beeped catching her off guard. She brought the device up to her lips and murmured, “This is Emily. Come in, Zordon.”
“EMILY, ALPHA AND I HAVE LOOKED AT THE WAVES CAUSED BY THE GOLDEN TRUMPET WEAPON THAT YOU ACCIDENTLY USED EARLIER. OUR READINGS INDICATE THAT IF YOU USE IT, THE FORCE FROM IT WILL CAUSE ZACK AND TRINI TO SNAP OUT OF RITA’S SPELL.”
“Guys!” Emily yelled, “Zordon told me to use to Golden Trumpet. Brace yourselves!” Jason looked at her and tried to prepare himself for the blast he had heard earlier. “Golden Trumpet!” Emily screamed.
As before, a horrible siren sound pained the rangers and made them falter in their attacks. Zack and Trini tumbled to the ground and looked around in a daze. Jaime, not affected, looked around and waited for the noise to stop.
From the moon Rita shrieked, “My plan is ruined because of that Golden Brat! I have such a headache!”
“I wasn’t expecting it to work,” Rashell mumbled.
Uriel, however, refused to give in so easily. “Not so fast.” She waved her arms and teleported down to the Earth before the other three monsters could question her.
Reaching Angel Grove Park, Uriel braced herself for the blast from the Golden Trumpet. She stared directly into the Silver Rangers’ eyes until he began to back away in nervousness. “Who are you?” He asked fiercely.
“I will give you comfort for your pain. You will be accepted on the moon. Zordon does not accept you,” she whispered.
At the icy tone of her voice Jaime shook his head. “Get away from here, bitch. Your plan has failed.”
“My plan has not yet begun. You, Jaime Talsik, are the beginning.” She pointed her hands at him and watched in contentment as he unmorphed.
Jaime looked down at himself in shock before glaring at her. “What the hell is going on!?” He had no sooner said this then he felt his will weakening. _Spell? Shit...don’t give in to it...damn it..._ He tried to fight the tingling feeling going through his body but his attempts proved futile, and, soon, his eyes had flashed black.
_Bring the gold and white rangers to the throne room of the moon palace_ She told him, the spell allowing her to speak to him telepathically as Rita had been able to do with Tommy and Kat when they were evil. She teleported away leaving the Silver Ranger alone.
He chuckled darkly and pulled Tommy to his feet. The White Ranger stirred momentarily and opened his eyes, caught off guard by the ringing in his ears caused by the Golden Trumpet. Seeing what Jaime was doing, he frowned. “What’s going on, Jaime? How long was I out?”
“I’ll make your pain disappear,” Jaime whispered softly in his ear. Tommy tried to pull away, frightened by the tone of Jaime’s voice, but found that he was still weak from before and could not do so.
The Golden Trumpet’s blast ended abruptly as Jaime grabbed Emily’s arm. She smiled at him and then gasped as she saw what he was doing to Tommy. “What the hell are you doing, Jaime!?”
“Come with me, Emily. The three of us will become more powerful than our ranger powers will ever make us.”
Jason looked up, still shaken by the effects of the Golden Trumpet, just to see what Jaime was doing to his best friend and his girlfriend. “Jaime, stop!”
Seeing the threat, Jaime put his hand on his communicator so that he could teleport while holding the two people. Before he could do so, Jason ran over to him and pulled Emily’s arm to try to free her. She finally broke away from Jaime and fell to the ground. Instead of going for Tommy, Jason knelt by her side. “Are you ok?”
“Get Tommy!” Emily screamed, but it was too late. Jaime and Tommy were gone. She took in a shaky breath, still not realizing what had happened, before jumping to her feet and pushing Jason as hard as she could.
Caught off guard, Jason fell to the ground and looked at his girlfriend in confusion. “What the hell was that for!?”
“You had him!” Emily yelled hysterically. “Tommy was right there! You had a perfect shot at Jaime to knock him out and restrain him! What the hell were you doing!? Jason, Jaime just captured your best friend!”
Jason looked at her, angry for a moment, but this quickly desolved into sadness. “You were in danger. I had to make a choice.” Yes, he felt guilty about not saving Tommy, but he hadn’t known what else to do. He had to make a choice and he chose his girlfriend.
“You could have hit Jaime or done something to catch him off guard. That would have bought Tommy and I some time to get away, and then you could have restrained Jaime! Your best friend is on the moon because of you!”
Jason rubbed the bridge of his nose with guilt and gazed over at Kat who was kneeling down by Adam who had just woken up. The two were looking at him in shock. A slow tear ran down Kat’s cheek and this one was quickly followed by another one and another one until Adam felt a need to embrace Kat. They stood together and teleported back to the Power Chamber.
Feeling completely worthless, Jason glanced at Emily who had walked
away from him and teleported away. He sighed and rubbed his face with his
hands before teleporting himself
“Remarkable job, Uriel. I can’t believe how easily you did that!” Zedd exclaimed a few hours later. The four monsters were lounging around in the throne room while Tommy and Jaime sat against the wall completely silent with blank expressions on their faces.
Uriel smiled and accepted the compliments greedily. “Yes, well, it was needed to make my plan work. Tommy and Jaime are the strongest fighters on the team. Even though we didn’t get Emily I’m sure they will be strong enough to wipe out the rangers for good.”
“Yes, well, excuse me for ending the party early,” Rita said with a yawn, “but I have some beauty sleep to catch up on. Zedd, are you coming?”
Zedd nodded slowly. “Yes, Rita. Rest well.” With that, the two left the throne room.
Rashell looked at Uriel and cawed, “I will be gone tonight, Darling. Today I received a transmittion from Hirpog. They picked up a strong evil reading just a little ways from here.”
“All right.” Uriel watched as Rashell brought flapped his wings and flew out into space towards Hirpog.
Suddenly remembering her two subjects, Uriel turned towards Jaime and Tommy, a small smile on her face. She was about to dismiss them when the memory of an old conversation came to mind. Glancing slyly at Tommy, she waved Jaime away. “Leave us, Silver Ranger. I will call on you tomorrow.”
“As you wish, my Queen.” With that, Jaime teleported down to his chamber.
Tommy looked Uriel over slowly before stepping nearer to her. “Do you wish something of me, my Queen?”
Uriel nodded, her sapphire eyes sparkling like a little girl’s on her birthday. “Yes, Tommy. Rita informed me of something that she had you do a while ago when you were her evil green ranger. She tells me that she allowed you to feel her.”
“Do you wish me to do it again, my Queen?” It was an odd request, but Tommy knew that if his queen wanted it done that he would do it.
Unable to stop herself from chuckling at the blankness in his voice, Uriel moved directly in front of him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Not to her, Tommy. See, when you were good you made me seem like a fool in battle.”
“I cannot control my actions when I am in that state of mind, my Queen. My humblest apologies,” Tommy told her, although he was unable to remember that day during the destruction of Angel Grove that he fought her in one-on-one combat. All his memories were in the back of his mind leaving him only to realize what was going on in the present.
Uriel took a moment to relish the emotion in his voice before moving her face towards his, feeling his warm breath on her. “You are going to have to do something for me tonight to make up for that, Tommy.” She closed the gap between them and kissed his lips softly, smiling as she felt him instantly respond. They continued tenderly for about a minute. After that, she kissed him harder and pushed her tongue into his mouth, taking a moment to explore the foreign area. He tasted sweet to her, and she slowly moved from his mouth to his neck, enjoying every moment of it.
As he moved his hands to caress her back she slipped her hands up his white shirt and sighed as she felt how hard his chest was. Pulling away from him, she smiled at him and took his hand. “Lets move this party into my chamber. You have no idea how hard it is to be forced to marry a big fucking bird.”
“I will do what I can to please you tonight, my Queen,” Tommy assured her, his voice breathless with lust.
Laughing lightly, Uriel kissed his hand. “Tonight it is Uriel, Tommy. No other time but tonight, but for tonight call me Uriel.”
“Uriel,” Tommy whispered. With his mind clouded by Uriel’s evil spell he couldn’t think of Katherine let alone remember his love for her. All he knew at the moment was that this felt right.
Uriel beamed as she heard her name on his lips before embracing him tightly and teleporting them both to her chamber so that Zedd and Rita would not see her with him. Tommy slipped his shirt off and grinned as she laid back invitingly on the large bed in the room.
He moved on top of her and kissed her neck softly before rolling onto his back so she could get up. Uriel removed the crown from her head and put a hand through her long blond hair causing Tommy to lick his lips in anticipation. She slipped off her black dress exposing her black bra and underwear.
Walking back over to the bed, she slowly slipped Tommy’s shoes off and quickly followed them with his pants. Already she could see his giant erection and she admired it momentarily before sighing in contentment as she felt his hands on her chest.
He slipped her bra straps off before undoing her bra and sliding it off, putting his hands on her breasts. She kissed him again and smiled as she realized what she was about to do. Uriel couldn’t believe that she was about to have sex with Tommy Oliver; leader of the Power Rangers and, up till Jaime and Emily arrived, their greatest nemesis. Admiring his body again, she placed a few gentle kisses along his chest and kissed his mouth hungrily.
_Who cares who he was?_ Uriel asked herself as she lustfully stroked his cock which was apparently very impatient _I know who he is right now, and I like who I see_ She kissed his neck and put her hand through his brown hair before looking deep into his soft brown eyes _Yes, this is completely bizarre. If you would have told me a few days ago that I would be having sex with Tommy Oliver now I would have said you were a stupid idiot, but, well, I could get used to this._
As Tommy caressed her chest, cupping her breasts gently she grinned _I could really get used to this_ As he pulled her black silk panties down and licked his lips she allowed herself to close her eyes and put her head on his chest. “Tommy...”
So, that’s part five of the Allied Evil Series. I know that ending was kinda...unexpected, and this part was a lot shorter than the other parts but, well, the 6th part will be shorter. Well, about the time it took me to finish this, I’m sorry. I’ve had so much other ideas on my mind (more MMPR, some X-Files, Once a Thief, etc...) that I had to write. Most of those aren’t done, but I promise that I’ll try to get part 6 *which, as I said, will be really short* out ASAP. As you can see, the last two stories are two parts of a series arc. Golden Wars provided the introduction of the characters needed for this story which showed the complications that arrived within the team. The next part of the story *yet unnamed* will show how this inner tension will be solved. Some things will be solved permanently and others will be dealt with in later chapters of Allied Evil. Well, comments and suggestions are always wanted, so please E-mail me at Rkacat@aol.com Thanks for reading!