Authors Note: You'd better read "An Old Flame's Power" and "Sweet Revenge," because if you haven't, you'll have no idea where this story is coming from. By now the saga has taken it's turn and
it will take an even sharper one, starting from this story and on. If you
don't believe in true love and sacrifices, turn back now. Also Rocky does
get out of his trance, three hours later in the Youth Center.
The Guardian Saga
An Old Friend in Need
Chapter Seven: "Another Ranger of Pink"
by: WhiteZeo
Tanya Sloan was sitting down at the gang's regular booth, at the Juice
bar, sipping a Lemon Smoothe and waiting for her friends: Katherine Hillard
{Kat}, Rocky De Santos, and Adam Park to arrive. Out in the gym, on the
mats, her other two friends, Tommy Oliver and Shannon Kassandra Kaze were
sparing, a regular pastime for the two lovebirds.
* * * * *
A girl walked into the Juice Bar. She was wearing a royal purple midriff
with a black denim vest, unbuttoned, and a pair of black daisy duke jeans.
She had brown eyes and straight, brunette hair that hung over her shoulder
blades. She looked about 5'7" and was Caucasian.
She walked over to Tanya and spoke up, in a light valley girl accent, "Excuse
me?"
Tanya looked up from her smoothe and sparing that was going on, "Yes?"
"I'm looking for Tommy Oliver, have you seen him around?"
Tanya looked her up and down quick, so the girl wouldn't notice. *She sorta
reminds me of Shannon.* Tanya thought to herself. "Yeah, I'm his friend.
He's on the sparing mats," Tanya informed, going back to sipping her
smoothe.
*Duh! He's always on the sparing mats! Wait, if she's Tommy's friend, then
she must be the new Yellow Ranger Jason told me about!* the girl thought
to herself.
"Thanks," the girl acknowledged.
As the girl walked off towards Tommy and Shannon, Tanya stopped sipping
her Lemon Smoothe and almost vomited. *Ohmigosh! I just sent her to Tommy,
when...........Great Tanya! Just great!*
* * * * *
Tommy threw a single punch at Shannon. "DUCK...." she began,
as she ducked down below the punch.
Then he executed a jump spinning heel kick Shannon's way. "AND COVER!"
Shannon finished, covering her head as the kick went over her and she tripped
Tommy with a sweep kick.
"Hey! I guess that works for more than earthquakes!" Shannon
giggled.
Tommy, who was up on his feet now, pulled Shannon into a lover's embrace.
"Well, Shannon....You'd better hang on, cause I'm gonna rock your
world!"
He brought his lips to hers and they locked lips. Shannon's hands started
running through Tommy's smooth, long hair and Tommy's naughty hands went
to Shannon's butt.
Shannon, who was facing the Juice Bar, saw Tanya almost vomit and smiled
to herself. Then she saw a girl approaching them. *She reminds me of myself
when I was fifteen.* she thought, then realized that they were in a bad
position for anyone to be coming towards them.
She mangled her lips away from Tommy's and whispered in Tommy's ear, "Someone's
coming towards us."
"Who the hell cares, I'm busy. They'll have to take a number,"
Tommy whispered back as he nibbled Shannon's ear and necked her.
A chill went up her spine when Tommy nibbled her ear, but she didn't hold
back on him, "If you insist...."
"Ohhhh....I do."
"Okay, then I have no choice," Shannon brought her right knee
up, and lightly kneed Tommy's little friend,' enough to get his attention.
Instantly, it worked like anti-hormones. Tommy's hands peeled away from
Shannon's butt and he dropped to his knees, turning around. As he did,
he saw two familiar legs of a girl. Tommy looked up and was stunned. He
knew that girl. More precisely, she was his ex-girlfriend. "Kimberly?"
"Hello, To..Tom..Tommy," Kimberly stuttered to get his name out.
As Tommy stood up from his spot on the mat, Shannon noticed a slightly
pained face on Kimberly, a slightly pale face on her boyfriend, and felt
a slightly betrayed face on herself. Shannon, mentally, slapped herself.
*Stop it, Shannon! Remember he told you he wasn't exactly true to you by
staying girl-free, but he told you he had two girlfriends: Kimberly Anne
Hart and Kat. Tommy told you both relationships didn't work out. Remember
that he was honest and didn't lie to you. Stay true to your heart and understand
the reunited pain between Kimberly and Tommy.* Shannon advised herself,
then took it into perspective, *What the hell did I just think! Damn! I
just sounded like a shrink! Eerie.....*
"So, you must be Kimberly Anne Hart. I'm Shannon Kassandra Kaze,"
Shannon introduced herself, breaking the ice on the awkward moment, "I've
heard a lot about you."
"That's me! But please call me Kim," Kimberly gleefully, pushed
herself.
"Well, I'm gonna get some water bottles so why don't you to reminisce
or something." Shannon urged as she kissed Tommy and whispered to
him, "I'm sorry about your little friend', but between him and your
hormones, they were getting to best of you."
"We'll continue, later," Tommy whispered back, understanding
what she meant.
She walked away, letting out a little giggle, leaving Tommy and Kimberly
to themselves on the mat. "So how's Florida?" Tommy broke the
ice.
"It's okay. The weather's great out there and the trainers and other
gymnasts are really nice," Kimberly replied, with shyness.
"How about we go sit on the bleachers and talk some more?" Tommy
suggested, feeling a little awkward.
Kimberly nodded and they both walked over to the bleachers, in silence.
The two sat down and Kimberly asked, "What's Shannon to you?"
"Well....," Tommy hesitated for a moment, "Shannon's my
girlfriend. We met each other at a Martial Arts demonstration and later
we found out she was the White Zeo Guardian Ranger of the Zeo Crystals."
Tommy explained briefly, only telling half of the truth.
"Oh, wow......." Kimberly breathed.
Tommy asked, "So how's your boyfriend?"
Kimberly looked at him, sympathetic eyes, "Well, I was hoping you'd
bring that up because...."
Kimberly was cut off by Shannon's shrilling yell, "ROCKKKYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
The two snapped their heads around and saw Rocky, sheepishly holding a
bucket that used to be filled with water. About a foot in front of him,
Shannon stood, now soaked, head to toe, in her white bodysuit, by the water
that was in Rocky's bucket. Adam and Kat were behind Rocky staring at Shannon,
laughing. Tanya was standing in front of Shannon with the giggles.
Shannon spun around to look at Rocky, whipping him in the process with
her hair. "Owww......"
"That's a small sample of what you're gonna get for the little' water
joke," Shannon snapped at Rocky, making sure he heard every word.
Before Rocky ran out of the Juice bar, he whipped out his camera and took
a picture of Shannon. Shannon's jaw dropped open as Rocky sped straight
out of there, Tanya, Adam and Kat chasing after him. "I WANT THAT
PICTURE OR ELSE!!!!!" she shouted out the door, as the four ran down
the hallway of the Youth Center.
Shannon walked over to Tommy and Kimberly, a smirk on her face. Tommy held
out her towel; white with red racing stripes going down it. She took it
graciously and sat down next to Kimberly drying off her hair. "How
about that water, Shannon?" Tommy jested.
Shannon stretched over Kimberly and Kimberly and Shannon slapped Tommy
in the arm. Tommy gripped the spot and cried, "OWWWW!"
"Kim, I have a feeling that me and you are going to be the best of
friends," Shannon told Kimberly.
"The feeling's mutual." Kimberly agreed.
"So what brings you to Angel Grove, Kim?" Tommy inquired, after
the redness went away from his arm.
"Well, I'm not here on pleasure," Kimberly paused, then whispered,
"I need to talk to the Power Rangers."
"We don't really know the Power Rangers......" Shannon began
to lie.
"You can cut the lyin' crap, Sweetcheeks. She knows," Tommy ordered
his girlfriend.
"How, Olive Oil?" Shannon asked.
"I'll explain later. Let's go somewhere more private," Tommy
recommended.
They all walked towards the hallway. *Sweetcheeks? Olive Oil? They really
must be serious. Maybe she's the secret Jason and Tommy used to keep from
the rest of us.*
They walked out of the gym and Tommy activated his communicator. "Zordon?
Alpha?"
"Yes, Tommy. What is the matter?" Zordon of Eltar's voice rang
out of the small communicator.
"Shannon and I will be teleporting to the Power Chamber." Tommy
lied, keeping Kimberly's arrival a secret.
"That will be fine," Zordon gave him permission.
"Alright, Tommy out."
Shannon, who was still a little wet with her towel tied around her, gave
her communicator to Kimberly and Tommy grabbed Shannon by the waist. They
teleported out into flashes of black and a mixed red and white.
* * * * *
"Iyaiyaiyai! Kimberly?" Alpha Five cried as the ex-Pink Ranger
materialized.
"Yeah. Hello, Alpha....Zordon." Kimberly greeted.
"Welcome back, Kimberly," Zordon welcomed.
"Zordon, Kimberly came to us telling us she needs our help. She knows
we're the Power Rangers, how is that possible?" Shannon asked the
great mentor.
"Artemis, Kimberly is the first Pink Ranger of the Morphing Grid,"
Zordon, straight out, told.
"Never been called that before," Kimberly admitted.
As Shannon and Zordon talked amongst themselves some more, Kimberly whispered
to Tommy, "I thought her name was Shannon?"
"It's a long story, but made short, she's a descendant of one of the
Morphing Masters, Artemis." Tommy explained
Shannon turned to Kimberly, finishing her talk with Zordon and began to
apologize, "I'm really sorry, Kim....."
"Oh, no! It's okay. I mean, if I was in your spot I'd be wondering
how I found out you were Power Rangers." Kimberly stopped her.
"So what'd you need our help for?" Tommy asked Kimberly.
"Well, this woman kidnapped me, Jason, Aisha, Trini, and Zack. She
said she was going to make us into her Super Villain team. She put some
evil spell on Jason, Trini, and Zack, and was planning on doing me and
Aisha next, but somehow I escaped from her underground dungeon......"
Kimberly was cut off by Shannon.
"Lemme guess, in the Netherlands? Did this woman' have blonde hair
streaked black and wore a golden cat's eye pendant on her chest?"
Shannon questioned, already knowing Kimberly would say, yes.
"How did you know?" Kimberly wondered, stunned.
"Zesta! When I get my hands on her....." Tommy trailed off.
"Put the brakes on, Tommy, I'm the one that's going to take Zesta
down," Shannon pulled his thoughts back, "Alpha please call the
others."
A few minutes later streaks of green, blue, yellow, and pink set down in
the Power Chamber.
Adam was the first one to take notice to Kimberly. "Whoa! Talk about
a blast from the past! Kimberly?"
"In the flesh," Kimberly replied.
"Oh, Kim! It's so good to see you!" Kat exclaimed, hugging Kimberly
in the process.
"Your Kimberly?" Tanya sheepishly squeaked, "I'm Tanya.
I've heard so much about you, and yet I couldn't even recognize you."
"That's alright. I've heard a lot about you, too. From Jason."
Kimberly shared.
"You and Shannon bare a close resemblance," Adam noticed.
"Yeah. Shannon almost looked exactly like you when she was fifteen......"
Tommy bit his lip, realizing what he had just said, but Shannon nor Kimberly
realized what Tommy had said.
Rocky just stood there, jaw wide open. "What the hell are you doing
here?!?!?!" he asked, hiding behind Kimberly, now, from Shannon's
eyes.
"Why, hello to you too, Rocky! Here, Shannon you can have him."
Kimberly pushed Rocky her way.
"No thanks, Kim. You can have him for now. He's not ripe enough,"
Shannon pushed him back towards Kimberly.
"Artemis.....Kimberly....." Zordon scolded.
"Sorry, Zordon." Shannon apologized, "Okay. Tommy and Kim
why don't you two fill Adam, Kat, Tanya, and Water Boy, here, in on what's
happening while I talk to Alpha for a sec."
"Sure," the two agreed and began to tell them what happened.
Shannon turned to Alpha, and began to privately talk to him.
A few minutes later, Shannon and Alpha came out of there talk and Alpha
began to press all sorts of buttons on the main console. "Okay we're
all set." Shannon told the six teenagers.
"All set for what?" Kat asked.
"Just watch. Star Staff!" Shannon called on her staff, which
appeared in her hand.
The staff began emitting a white light towards the Viewing Globe and Shannon
closed her eyes. A few minutes later her blue eyes snapped open and almost
in a heartbeat, flashes of silver, purple, and orange descended into the
chamber. When they materialized they revealed three people. One all the
rangers, except Kimberly, recognized as Selene. The next person was a guy
with blond hair decked out in black jeans and a purple shirt. The third
one was a guy, too. He had short brunette hair and wore blue jeans and
a dark orange shirt.
"Apollo!" Shannon exclaimed, hugging the one in orange.
"Helious!" Shannon shrieked, hugging the one in purple.
"I just love your clothes, Artemis!" Apollo teased as he looked
at her in her white bodysuit and towel.
"Ha, ha, so funny I forgot to laugh," Shannon shot back at the
sarcastic remark.
"Artemis, would you mind shedding some light on us and your friends
here," Helious motioned towards the Zeo Rangers and Kimberly.
"Oh, right," Shannon turned towards them, "This is Selene
the Silver Guardian Ranger," she motioned towards Selene, "Helious,
the Purple Guardian Ranger," she motioned towards Helious, "And
Apollo, the Stupid Guardian Ranger....Oops, I mean the Orange Guardian
Ranger."
Tommy, Adam, Tanya, Kimberly, Rocky, and Kat laughed as Apollo glared at
Shannon. "What did ya call us for, Artemis?" Apollo asked, totally
swerving away from her remark.
"Well, we have more trouble on our hands than we can handle. Ya know
how Zesta attacked Selene's sanctuary?" Shannon questioned the guardians
and they nodded their heads, "Looks, like she wasn't after the coins
so she could free Gerigon, but she was after them to make her own Super
Villain team. She already got some of the previous rangers of the Morphing
Grid and has cast evil spells over them. Kimberly," she gestured towards
the brunette, "was to be one of them, but escaped from the dungeon
in time. Oh, by the way, Apollo, Helious, these are the Zeo Rangers: Tommy,
Katherine, Tanya, Rocky, and Adam."
"So Zesta is trying her luck with the Great Power, eh?" Selene
inquired.
"I guess," Shannon answered her guardian friend.
"But, how is she gonna power the team. She doesn't have the Katherian
coins, the Incarsus coins, or the Element Crystals?" Helious wondered.
Just then a image appeared on the Viewing Globe, of Zesta. "Foolish
guardians! Oh, Apollo.....I have the Element Crystals. Meet me at Angel
Grove Lake in an hour."
She disappeared and Shannon looked at Helious, "You speak, Helious,
Zesta does."
"Well, excuse me, Artemis." Helious snapped back.
"Forget it. Okay, Tommy go back to the Youth Center and teach the
Shacrom class we have and Apollo, go with him, you have nothing else better
to do, right?" Shannon asked.
"Of course not, Miss Priss," Apollo snapped.
"Then see you in an hour, Mister Moron," Shannon retorted, tapping
her finger on the console in front of her, figuring out what to do next.
Tommy and Apollo teleported out in red and orange flashes. "Do they
always argue like that?" Kat whispered to Selene, who was next to
her.
"Yup. You should hear them when we're in our animal forms," Selene
whispered back.
"Next," Shannon continued to give out orders, "Kat, Tanya,
Adam, and Rocky. Teleport down to the lake and morph. Start evacuating
the Beach Club and," Shannon handed a small vile to Tanya, "try
to get some lake water in this vile, without being suspicious."
"Gotcha, Shannon," Rocky went as the four teleported out in green,
blue, yellow, and pink flashes.
"Now the last order of business," Shannon sighed.
"Is?" Kimberly asked the taller brunette.
"Giving you your ranger powers," Shannon answered, "Selene
we need the Purple Kartherian coin and Helious could you get the power
charger?"
Helious got the power charger from Alpha as Selene channeled all her energies
and brought forth the Purple Kartherian coin. Selene handed the coin to
Kimberly, "Kimberly, hold this coin while Helious charges you."
"Sure," Kimberly replied, admiring the carving of an upside down
crescent moon on the coin.
Helious came over with the charger and triggered it. It shot out a black
beam and once it came in contact with Kimberly it turned into a purple
aura around her. Helious kept the charger going for a few minutes, then
turned it off. "There, you're all powered up." Helious told.
"Kimberly, try morphing," Zordon said to Kimberly.
"Okay. Kartherian Purple Power!" Kimberly held the coin up to
her eye, just like Selene.
She morphed and her suit was just like Selene's, except that the silver
parts were purple.
"Wow! This feels great! It's good to be back in action," Kimberly
exclaimed, excitedly.
"Now, we wait for the others," Shannon declared.
Chapter Eight: "Capture"
While Kimberly got her powers, Adam, Rocky, Kat, and Tanya evacuated the
Beach Club.
They ran behind the Beach Club, where no one could see them and Adam shouted,
"It's morphin' time!"
They all flicked their wrists and revealed their zeonizers. "Zeo Ranger
I, Pink!" Kat shouted.
"Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!" Tanya shouted.
"Zeo Ranger III, Blue!" Rocky shouted.
"Zeo Ranger VI, Green!" Adam shouted.
They morphed and ran into the Beach club, surprising many of the citizens.
Kat and Adam started evacuating, while Tanya went over to get the lake
water and Rocky went over to Emily. "Miss, we're gonna need to evacuate
your club because Zesta is planning to attack this area." Rocky told
Emily.
"Anything you need, Blue Ranger," Emily responded, running out
of the club like the other citizens.
The citizens already knew about the new threat, Zesta. News had spread
quickly when Kiros and the Death Ranger attacked the Beach Club the first
time and not to mention, it was all over the news.
Once all the citizens cleared out the four rangers regrouped and talked
freely. "So ya get the lake water, Tanya?" Kat asked the Yellow
Ranger.
"Yeah. I wonder why she wants it though?" Tanya wondered as she
held up the small vile.
"Well, no time to wonder. Let's just get it back to Shannon. It's
almost time for us to meet Zesta'." Adam alerted.
"You got it, Adam," Rocky agreed.
* * * * *
While Kimberly got her powers and Kat, Tanya, Adam, and Rocky evacuated
the Beach Club, Tommy and Apollo were at the Youth Center. Tommy was waiting
for the rest of the class to arrive as Apollo stood next to him. "So,
do you and Shannon fight often?" Tommy started.
"Artemis? Oh, yeah. But it's only fun, she knows it and I know it.
It's just that we are like magnets that repel each other. I don't know
how we even mange to work together. Sometimes, she scares me by how serious
she can be as to me being the most carefree of the four of us. She's your
girlfriend, huh?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"Selene told me. She maybe mighty fine, but she's got one heck of
a mouth."
"She seems so quiet."
"I know. That's another thing that scares me. She can be so quiet
yet if you start talking about Artemis, her mouth starts yakking, nonstop."
Tommy laughed. "They're good friends?"
"Yeah, you could say that. Being the only girl guardians have that
affect. So you two teach a Shacrom class?"
"Yeah. Three times a week."
Suddenly Tommy noticed that all the kids were there for the class. "Warm-ups!"
he told the class and they all started stretching.
As the rest of the class started stretching, a boy came up to Tommy and
said, "Tommy , I've been having trouble with the front layout flip."
"Let's see what you've got, Ryan," Tommy encouraged.
Ryan backed up a little. He ran, he punched on the mat, did a front flip
in mid air, laid out, and came out of gravity. But he didn't land gracefully
into a forward roll like he was supposed to. Instead he hit the ground,
feet first, and pushed into to a backward roll. As Apollo watched he realized
what was wrong with the front layout flip. "Try keeping your feet
up a little longer in the air." He advised to Ryan.
"I'll try," Ryan told.
This time he ran, he punched, he laid out, and came out of gravity with
a forward roll. "Thanks!" Ryan thanked and ran off to do the
rest of the stretches with the class.
After the class finished stretching, Tommy started working with them on
their foot grabs. Then they started working on their double flips with
the inverted corkscrew kick. Once class finished Tommy dismissed them and
he walked over to Apollo, who was watching on the bleachers. "You
teach one heck on a class!" Apollo complimented.
"Thanks, but we'd better get going. We've only got ten minutes left
until Zesta's deadline," Tommy urged.
"Right."
The two guys walked out the Youth Center Gym and into the hallway, which
was deserted. A colorful rip opened in front of the two and ten cogs came
out of it. They immediately grabbed Tommy and Apollo by the arms. "What
do you what, tin grins?" Tommy struggled to get free from the robots'
grip.
"Must capture, Zesta's orders," one of the cogs said, in a very
mechanical voice.
The cogs, Tommy, and Apollo teleported out.
* * * * *
Streaks of blue, green, pink, and yellow set down in the chamber revealing
Rocky, Adam, Kat, and Tanya with the vile in her hands.
"Ya got the water, Tanya?" Shannon asked.
"Yup. What are you going to do with it?" Tanya inquired, handing
the vile of water to Shannon.
Shannon poured a tiny amount of water onto her hand. The water turned black
and then pure white, like milk. It burst into flames. "I knew it!"
"OWW! Doesn't that hurt?" Rocky wondered.
"Knew what?" Adam asked, eyeing the flames that erupted on her
hand.
"This water has a high dosage of carnum in it. And when the carnum
comes in contact with my skin, it acts like magic sorta." Shannon
explained, blowing out the small fire.
"What's carnum?" Kat asked.
"It is a special type of fuel from Eltar," Zordon answered.
"And guess who has it?" Shannon questioned.
"Zesta," the eight teenagers went.
"Where's Tommy and Apollo?" Rocky asked, noticing they hadn't
arrived yet.
"They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago." Kimberly answered.
Shannon's face took on a look of concern. "Alpha, contact Tommy's
communicator."
The robot went over to the communications console and started paging Tommy
on his communicator, but got no response. "Artemis, Tommy isn't responding
his communicator." Alpha told the guardian.
"Make visual contact," Shannon ordered, her voice getting shakier
and shakier by the minute.
Alpha pressed up a series of buttons and reported, "Making visual
contact, now."
On the Viewing Globe appeared Apollo and Tommy, chained up to a pole, straining
and struggling. Selene ran up to her, sheet white and frightened, "Artemis
that's the.....the......Cat's Eye Chamber."
"I know. And the more they struggle, the more they weaken." Shannon
mumbled, keeping her eyes glued to the Viewing Globe.
Suddenly their picture was cut off by Zesta. "You've found my little
secret, Artemis. And you of all people know, the more they struggle, the
more they weaken. Now come to the lake!"
"Something's wrong with this picture. It's almost like Zesta's trying
to persuade us to the lake." Helious pointed out.
"Yeah," Kimberly agreed, then paused, "So we won't be able
to find Tommy and Apollo!"
"Exactly!" Helious exclaimed.
Kimberly walked up to Alpha. "You think you can trace the visual contact
to it's source."
"Yes, I can," Alpha pushed some buttons on the communications
console and told Kimberly, "Tracing signal to Angel Grove Forest."
"Then we should be there!" Tanya hinted.
"Right! It's morphin' time! Zeo Ranger IV, White!" Shannon shouted.
"Kartherian Purple Power!" Kimberly shouted.
"Kartherian Silver Power!" Selene shouted.
"Incarsus, Purple!" Helious shouted.
The four of them morphed and Rocky, Adam, Kat, Tanya, and Kimberly awed
over Helious' suit. It was a consistent color of purple and six streaks
of black crossed his helmet.
"Let's go, people!" Shannon encouraged the group as they were
engulfed by purple, silver, white, green, blue, yellow, and pink flashes
of light.
* * * * *
They got to the forest moments later. "So you've found out my plan,
have you," Zesta mocked, standing in the middle of a clearing in the
lush forest, "But where are the Red and Orange Rangers?"
"You know exactly where they are!" Kat yapped at the blonde.
"Oh yes, I believe I do. The last time I checked on them they were
at the line of life and death," Zesta directed her voice at Shannon
and to her pleasure, Shannon cringed at the words, "Death Ranger,
Element Rangers, ATTACK!"
Flashes of black, yellow, blue, red, and green set down in front of the
evil enchantress.
One was the Death Ranger, the others were new. One was each one was wearing
a suit of blue, green, yellow, or red with black gloves and boots. The
blue one had a wave on her helmet and had a short skirt. The green one
had a leaf on his helmet. The yellow one had one huge streak going across
her helmet and had a short skirt. Last, but not least, the red one had
a flame on his helmet. "Aisha? Zack? Trini? Jason?" Kimberly
asked one by one, ranger order.
"Yes. Glad you could join us in the celebration of Zesta's victory....Kim.
Too bad you won't be around to see it." Trini mocked as the Yellow
Ranger.
Camellia, the Death Ranger, let out a shrilling battle cry, which Trini,
Jason, Aisha, and Zack responded to, and attacked. Shannon managed her
way out of the fight and confronted Zesta. "Where are Tommy and Apollo?"
she snapped at Zesta.
"Enough! How dare you talk to your mother like that!" Zesta growled
at Shannon.
"MOTHER?!?!?!" everyone went.
"Yeah, and I hate it when she admits it." Shannon complained.
Catching them offguard, Camellia, Trini, Aisha, Jason, and Zack began to
attack Kimberly, Rocky, Tanya, Kat, Adam, Helious, and Selene. Jason, the
Flame Ranger, got a hold of Kimberly and started to strangle her. "Jason....please
stop," Kimberly pleaded, gasping for air.
"Why should I Kimberly, so you can stop my queen?" Jason dared,
in a deeper voice than usual.
"Kia!" Rocky slammed his step kick into Jason's side, making
him lose grip on Kimberly, "You okay?" Rocky asked Kimberly in
concern, helping her up from the dirt ground.
"Yeah." Kimberly responded.
Kimberly ran over to Shannon, who was battling Zesta with magic attacks.
Shannon threw a ball of white energy at Zesta, which knocked her down on
her butt. While Zesta was recovering, Kimberly asked Shannon, "Need
some help?"
"Any I can get," Shannon answered, "You think you can draw
Zesta's attention?"
"Easy as cake," Kimberly remarked and ran up to Zesta, "Hey
Zesta!"
She pulled out her crescent laser pistol and shot a purple laser a few
inches from enchantress. That instantly brought her attention to Kimberly.
"Hello, aren't you the one who escaped me? Yes you are....MY PENDANT!"
While mocking Kimberly, Zesta hadn't seen Shannon creeping up next to her.
She ripped the cat's eye pendant off Zesta's chest and threw it to the
ground, "Release the intrapped!"
In place of the pendant a black cloud of smoke rose and disappeared, revealing
Tommy and Apollo, unconscious. Shannon and Kimberly ran up to the two.
"Tommy? Apollo?" Kimberly tried in vain to wake them up.
"Alpha, teleport Tommy and Apollo to the Power Chamber," she
turned around and shouted at the rest of the rangers, "Teleport back
to the Power Chamber!"
Shannon, Kimberly, Tommy, and Apollo disappeared in flashes of purple,
orange, white, and red as the other rangers stopped battling and teleported
out. As they did, Jason shouted up towards the sky, "Weaklings!"
Zesta immediately calmed the rangers down with words, "Do not fret,
my children. Once the rangers learn the truth, they will coming running
towards us."
* * * * *
When the Zeo Rangers, Selene, and Helious arrived in the Power Chamber
they found Shannon an Kimberly standing next to Tommy and Apollo, who were
sitting on the diagnostic table. "What happened to you two?"
Kat asked, worried.
"We got captured by some cogs and thrown into the Cat's Eye Chamber,
which draws the energy out of you the more you struggle to get free. We
slipped into unconsciousness and then we got here Artemis gave us our energy
back with her staff." Apollo explained.
"I have one big question also. How is Zesta your mother Shannon?!?!"
Adam exclaimed.
"Well, to make a long story short: I am half human, half Cindarien,
and I am adopted," Shannon summarized.
"What's a Cindarien?" Rocky curiously asked.
"Basically an alien to your standards, though we carry your exact
looks," Helious explained.
"We have to call the Aquatians and Trey for help to defeat Zesta,"
Shannon told Zordon, shifting from the subject that she wasn't a full blooded
human.
"You are correct Artemis," Zordon agreed, "Alpha, please
send messages to the Aquatians and Trey of Triforia."
"Right away Zordon," Alpha replied.
Alpha started pushing out buttons and about two minutes later, a streak
of black and gold and five H2O symbols descended into the Power Chamber.
"Hello, Rangers of Earth and Guardian Rangers." Delphine greeted
the group of teenagers.
"Welcome, Delphine, Aurico, Cestro, Tidues, Corcus and Trey,"
Shannon returned the greeting warmly, "You know why you are here.
We must call upon the Universal power."
Right away, Selene protested, "No! Artemis, the last time we used
it we nearly got Apollo and Helious killed."
"That is true, Selene, but isn't that a risk we take everyday?"
Shannon questioned her.
"Not YOU nearly killing us, Artemis," Apollo argued, getting
in Shannon's face.
"That was an accident and I had to save your butts again by giving
something of my own to Zesta....," Shannon mumbled so Apollo could
only hear, "My own flesh and blood."
"That is enough out of you two," Trey stopped the two from arguing
any farther, "I have to agree with Artemis. The only way to defeat
Zesta is with the Universal power."
"I hate to break you guys up, but what's the Universal power?"
Tanya asked.
"Yeah, what is the Universal Power?" Adam wondered, agreeing.
"The Universal power is a power of ultimate preparations. Each ranger
gives power to one ranger and that ranger uses it to defeat the evil. Artemis
was the last holder of the power." Zordon simply explained.
"Oh." Adam and Tanya said at the same time.
"Who's going to hold the power next?" Rocky asked.
"I will," Trey answered.
"Rangers please surround Trey," Zordon instructed.
Shannon was about to step up and transfer the power, when Selene and her
collapsed on the Power Chamber floor coughing, wheezing, and gripping their
chests. Tommy ran to Shannon and Apollo ran to Selene. "What's happening?"
Tommy inquired, freaking out from the site.
"Zesta's attacking from within," Shannon managed to piece together,
gasping for air after she did.
"Artemis you must transfer powers before the Earth is doomed,"
Delphine said in a hurried scare.
Shannon just nodded her head and Tommy helped her up. "From white
to gold, I let the power behold you." Shannon collapsed as a white
light shot out of her, illuminating the Gold Ranger.
Out of instinct Tommy followed in his girlfriend's lead. "Zeo Ranger
V, Red!"
A red light shot out of him, joining the white aura. "Zeo Ranger VI,
Green!" Adam shouted.
A green light shot out of him, joining the white and red auras. "Zeo
Ranger III, Blue!" Rocky shouted.
A blue light shot out of him, joining the white, red, and green auras.
"Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!" Tanya shouted.
A yellow light shot out of her, joining the white, red, green, and blue
auras. "Zeo Ranger I, Pink!" Kat shouted.
A pink light shot out of her, joining the white, red, green, blue, and
yellow auras. The Aquatians, Helious, Selene, Apollo, and Kimberly followed.
After Trey illuminated all the colors of the rainbow, the auras magically
disappeared. "Now what Artemis?" Selene asked, thinking now that
she was feeling better that Shannon was fine as well.
When Selene got no answer Tommy turned around to see his girlfriend sprawled
out, unconscious, under the Viewing Globe. "SHANNON!"
Chapter Nine: "Learning the Truth"
Tommy ran to her and sat next to her, cradling her limp body. One word
escaped from her lips, "Caroline......"
"Who's Caroline?" Kat asked.
"No one. Artemis is just been under a lot of stress lately,"
Selene urged, Helious nodding to approve the words.
"You guys are hiding something. Who's CAROLINE?" Tommy asked
more meaningful.
"Do you think we should tell them?" Apollo consulted with the
other guardians.
"It couldn't hurt, and it's the only way we'll be able to save Artemis,"
Helious told.
"Fine, then. Let me explain," Selene volunteered, "You know
that little girl that was with Zesta when you came to Karther Island?"
the Zeo Rangers nodded, "Well..."
Rocky interrupted Selene, "Zesta has another daughter?"
"No.....That little girl was Caroline. She's Shannon's," Selene
paused, for what seemed like forever, "and Tommy's."
"WHAT?!?!"
"You heard me right, Tommy," Selene repeated herself.
Tommy didn't look at all shocked by the news. "Why didn't Shannon
tell me about Caroline and how come she wants us to know?" Tommy asked.
"Well, Artemis never talked about Caroline because two years back
when Apollo and Helious got trapped in the Cat's Eye Chamber, Zesta refused
to let Helious and Apollo go unless Artemis gave Caroline to her. She did
and was absolutely devastated. She never said word of her until now. She
wants us to know about Caroline because she has healing powers that she
inherited from Artemis." Selene explained thoroughly.
"So then if we get Caroline, she can heal Shannon?" Kat questioned.
"Excatomundo," Apollo answered.
"Rangers, you must get Caroline in hopes to save Artemis," Zordon
instructed.
"It's morphin' time! Zeo Ranger V, Red!" Tommy shouted shakily,
taking a glance at his girlfriend.
"Gold Ranger Power!" Trey shouted.
"Life, Element!" Apollo shouted.
"Alien Rangers of Aquitar, Power up!" the five Aquatians shouted.
They morphed and teleported out right away.
* * * * *
The fifteen rangers arrived at Angel Grove Cove to find Zesta, Caroline,
and about thirty cogs.
The Aquatian Rangers, the Guardian Rangers, and the Zeo Rangers converged
on the cogs, while Tommy confronted Zesta. "Give Caroline back to
me!" he barked at the woman, who was right next to Caroline.
"Never! Seems as if Selene told you the truth. My daughter will die
before she sees her daughter again!" Zesta snapped back, her eyes
turning scared for a moment.
Tommy charged at Zesta. He did a front layout flip and grabbed the little
girl form behind. He ran with her and hid behind a couple of rocks. But
that didn't really help. Zesta began throwing black energy bolts all over
the place looking for the two. Tommy realized he had to work fast. "Caroline,
" he began, "Your mother is dying. You have to save her."
Tommy stared into her doe brown eyes, which were exactly like his. She
had flowing straight brown hair up to her shoulders and was stubborn, as
he could tell, like Shannon. But to account, Caroline was very impatient
and gave in quickly, "Okay. Where's Mommy?"
"We're going to her. Hold onto my hand," Tommy told her as he
stood up slowly.
Caroline took his hand and they teleported out before Zesta could get Tommy
with one of her black energy bolts.
* * * * *
Tommy and Caroline entered the Power Chamber, hand in hand. Caroline looked
around herself at the new surroundings, then her eyes stumbled across Shannon
under the Viewing Globe, laying on the chamber floor. "MOMMY!"
she cried and ran to her side.
Caroline sat down next to her mother's limp body and did an amazing thing,
at least Tommy thought it was. She put her hand on Shannon's forehead and
a white aura began to emit from her forehead and surrounded her body, healing
the internal wounds Zesta had purposely caused. Shannon stood up from the
ground woosily, picking up Caroline in the process and kissing her on the
forehead. "Selene told you, didn't she?"
Alpha walked out of the Power Chamber into another room and Zordon disappeared
from his tube, as to give the three privacy. "Yes she did." Tommy
said, walking over to her.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you.....But you were leaving for Angel Grove
at the time and you seemed so mad and angry. I thought if I told you you'd
yell at me or something," Shannon apologized, putting Caroline down
on the ground.
Tommy removed his helmet. "Don't say that. I would of never yelled
at you. You mean far too much to me," Tommy's arms circled around
Shannon's waist, "Besides, now that we're together, forever, I could
never love you less than I do now."
Tommy's lips suddenly moved closer. Shannon lips touched his, brushing
lightly, and then kissing back.
* * * * *
"Kia!" Trey cried, whacking the last cog.
"No more legs to stand on know, Zesta!" Tanya snarled.
"Next time rangers!" Zesta vanished within a black cloud of smoke.
"We'd better see if Shannon's okay," Rocky told.
"Right." Helious agreed.
The fourteen teleported to the Power Chamber.
* * * * *
They teleported quietly into the Power Chamber to see Tommy and Shannon
kissing. They tried not to impose, but eventually Caroline got the couple's
attention. She tugged on Shannon's towel, that still hung around her waist.
"What?" Shannon looked down at her daughter.
"Look," she pointed towards where the other rangers stood.
The two turned around and backed up against the nearest console, blushing,
when they saw fourteen pairs of eyes looking at them.
The rangers laughed just as Zordon came back on-line and Alpha came back
into the chamber. "Well done, rangers, but I am afraid the battle
isn't over yet." Zordon apologized with regret in his voice.
"What do you mean Zordon?" Kimberly asked her mentor.
"Zesta knows it's not over. Trey still possess' the Universal power
and she has not unleashed the Element Rangers at full strength," Corcus
explained to the lone Kartherian Ranger.
"Full strength for the Element Rangers is six rangers. There are six
crystals: Fire, Water, Wind, Nature, Light, and Sound. We only met up with
the Fire, Water, Wind, and Nature Rangers." Apollo went into greater
detail.
How can she have six rangers when she only has four people?" Rocky
wondered.
"She might save the crystals for later, she might get two more people
to be her Light and Sound Rangers, or she just might divide the powers
evenly between the remaining rangers," Apollo answered.
"Well, really must be going. We must rehydrate on Aquitar. Good bye
rangers and may the power protect you." Delphine said on behalf of
the Alien Rangers and they were engulfed by the colorful H2O symbols.
"Bye!" the other rangers called.
"I must be going also. Learning to control this immense power will
be difficult," Trey notified.
"If I can train the power, you can. Good-bye, Trey," Shannon
encouraged and bade as the Gold Ranger disappeared in a bolt of black and
gold energy, "You three HAVE to go," Shannon waved her hand at
her three guardian friends.
"Why?" Selene insisted.
"Because Apollo would drive me crazy and Zesta would be after us all
the time," Shannon explained, truthfully.
"She's got a point," Apollo chimed.
"Fine, then. See ya around Artemis!" Selene called to her friend
as the teleported out in purple, orange, and silver lights.
"Everyone's gone, now what do we do?" Adam wondered.
A light went off in Tanya's head. "Meet up in the park in an hour.
I've got an idea up my sleeve."
"You sure, Tanya?" Kat asked her best friend.
"Yes."
"Okay. Let's get outta here," Kimberly implied.
Tommy took his daughter's hand as they teleported out.
* * * * *
Shannon, carrying Caroline, and Tommy rang the door bell at Tommy's house.
Shannon had changed out of her bodysuit and into a white sleeveless jumpsuit.
Tommy was wearing a red shirt with blue jeans and a red flannel shirt tied
around his waist.
The door opened and Tommy's fourteen year old sister, Tamara, greeted them.
"Hey, why'd ya ring the bell Tommy?"
"Where's Mom and Dad?" Tommy asked his sister, as him and Shannon
stepped into the house.
Tamara recognized her brother's serious face and his girlfriend's as well.
"They're in the rec room."
Tommy lead Shannon towards the rec room, Tamara following them. "Are
you sure we're doing the right thing?" Tommy whispered to Shannon.
"Yeah, I am. I mean we can't hide Caroline forever and to explain
what happened we have to tell them we're the Power Rangers." Shannon
answered.
They walked into the rec room with Caroline. "Mom? Dad?" Tommy
said.
Coreen Oliver looked up from the book she was reading and Kevin Oliver
looked up form the newspaper. "What, Tommy," Coreen asked her
son, then noticed Shannon with Caroline in her arms, "Tamara, could
you please leave?"
Tamara left and closed the door behind herself. "Hello, Shannon,"
Kevin greeted his son's girlfriend.
"Hello, Mr. Oliver. I think you know why we're here," Shannon
shifted Caroline to her left hip.
"Sit down," Coreen insisted, as the two teenagers sat down on
the sofa in front of the two parents.
"So this is the baby?" Coreen broke the eerie silence that descended
upon the four.
Tommy's jaw dropped as Shannon smiled slightly, "Yes, her name is
Caroline."
"How did you know?!?!" Tommy practically yelled, after pulling
himself together.
"Tommy," Kevin began, "Shannon told us before we left Summer
Springs."
"So you knew all this time and didn't tell me?" Tommy was at
the point of blowing up.
His parents kept ultimately quiet. Shannon put her hand on his. "You
know I had my reasons telling them not to tell you."
Tommy calmed down. "Yeah, I do. Now we have something to tell you....I
don't know how to say it. To put blunt, Shannon's the White Ranger and
I'm the Red Ranger." Tommy bluntly stated.
Him and Shannon took turns telling the story of the latest happenings.
After they finished Coreen nor Kevin were surprised. "It's really
no surprise. Ever since we moved to Angel Grove you've been acting strangely,"
Coreen waved her finger at Tommy, "First you started to constantly
wear green and had this odd looking watch on your wrist all the time. Then
you started wearing all white, once the White Ranger joined the Power Rangers,
and then when the Zeo Rangers showed up, your whole wardrobe revolved around
the color red."
"Also your friends changed according to the Power Rangers. When Jason,
Zack, and Trini for the Peace Conference, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha started
hanging around with the rest of you and wore red, black, and yellow. Then
Kimberly left and Katherine came in her place, wearing pink. When the Zeo
Rangers showed up, Billy started wearing black and gray, I'm assuming he
wasn't a ranger anymore, and Aisha left suddenly, bringing Tanya into the
picture, wearing yellow. Adam and Rocky stopped wearing red and black,
and instead started to wear blue and green. Jason came back from the Peace
Conference, the same time the Gold Ranger showed up and started to wear
black, the main color on the Gold Ranger's suit. Then the Gold Ranger left
and Jason left. Shannon shows up about the sametime the White Ranger does
and is wearing white practically every day. That brings us to now,"
Tommy's father explained, "We're not blind you know."
"Of course not.....But are we really that obvious?" Shannon asked.
"Yes. At least to people who know you well," Coreen answered
the girl.
Suddenly their communicators go off. "What?" Tommy spoke into
his.
"Did you two forget or something? Remember, we were supposed to MEET
at the park, not call each other to the park," Rocky's voice came
over the communicator.
"Shut up, Rocky! We're busy, we'll be there in a bit. Shannon out,"
Shannon barked into hers and cut off communication.
"We gotta go," Tommy told his parents, standing up from the sofa.
"Go ahead. Just be back in time for dinner," Kevin told his son.
"Right," he answered.
Tommy grabbed Shannon by the waist, because she couldn't acivate her communicator
while she was holding Caroline, and the three teleported out in a mixed
streak of red and white.
* * * * *
An hour later, everyone was at the park, talking about the previous battle
after eating a quick picnic Tanya had whipped up. The conversation took
a turn towards the new Element Rangers, their friends. "I can't believe
Zesta is so low to use four rangers, not to mention our friends, against
us." Rocky spat.
"Hey, it's been done before," Adam added.
"But not this way," Kat contradicted, "I mean they have
powers and know us all too well."
"And the way she dresses....Ugh! Talk about out of fashion!"
Kimberly said disgusted, changing the subject at the same time, not wanting
to talk about them.
Shannon stood up from her place, listening to the conversation, "You
guys, I'll be right back."
She headed down to the beach with Caroline and a bucket. Tommy thought
to himself, *This is the moment.* "Kim, can I talk to you, alone?"
he asked her.
"Sure," she answered shakily.
They may have fought Zesta, but both of them were thinking about the conversation
they had at the Youth Center. Tommy walked over to over to near by bench,
that wasn't so near as to let the others be able to hear their conversation.
Kimberly followed him and sat down.
They were silent for a number of minutes before Kimberly opened her mouth.
"Tommy you know the talk we were having about......my boyfriend?"
Kimberly said the two last words with uncertainty.
"Yes." Tommy shook off the feeling of hurt and envy.
"Well, to tell the truth, when I sent you the letter', I had no boyfriend."
"You lied?!?!"
"Yeah. I'm really sorry, but........I guess I was afraid that you'd
find another girlfriend easily, seeming that all the girls would be looming
around you, and dump me. So, instead, I made the first move."
"Oh, Kim. Now that you've said all you've said, I don't want to tell
you the truth."
"Whatever you say won't hurt me."
"Okay. I'll start from the beginning. Before I moved to Angel Grove,
I lived in Summer Springs. Back in Summer Springs, Shannon was my girlfriend.
When we were fifteen, she got hit by a car and six months later, I moved
to Angel Grove. When I came to Angel Grove, you could say at first I had
problems adjusting. I was mad at my parents, I was mad at myself, I was
almost mad with Shannon, but I could never get mad with her. So I decided
to take all that madness out by working on my Karate. I signed up to challenge
Jason at the exhibition......" Tommy was cut of by Kimberly.
"Where we first saw you."
"Right. After that whole Evil Green Ranger thing and after we faced
the Slimy Spider, I told Jason about Shannon. The next time she was brought
up was after I got my White Rangers powers. After we defeated Ooze, I got
a message from him on my machine. He was talking about If I was still thinking
about Shannon?' He told me to forget her and not to hurt you. He called
Shannon a bitch, and that was the end of the line. I called him back and
left an outrageously pissed message for him and later he called me back.
We worked it out, then I swore him to secrecy to forget about Shannon.
I know there's really no point in telling you all this, but......"
Tommy trailed off.
"But what, Tommy? Confess."
"I loved you and cared for you. But there was never that clicking'
feeling between us and to go farther into the truth, you reminded me of
Shannon so much. One might say I used you, but I didn't. What was even
more stupid was when you left me, I tried to use Kat as a replacement for
you, who was......"
"A replacement for Shannon. It's okay Tommy. I understand where you're
exactly coming from. I'm sorry about everything, but there's more to my
explanation, too. After sending that horribly written letter, I thought
you would all hate my guts. So I never called anymore. And when Jason started
writing me, I got the low down on the rangers. When he lost his Gold Ranger
powers, he was almost like you. He broke up with Emily and instead of secluding
himself, he flew down to Florida to visit me."
"So that's where he went."
"Yeah. And suddenly I found myself comforting an old friend. But as
the weeks past we evolved from friends. We became in love with each other."
"Oh, Kim. I'm so sorry."
"Thanks, but it's not your fault, so don't worry. We just have to
hope we find the way to break the spells over all of them."
"Friends?" Tommy asked his ex-girlfriend, as he opened his arms
for a hug.
"Of course." Kimberly leaned over and hugged him in a friendly
way, "By the way, I never thanked you and Shannon and the rest of
the guys for helping me."
"Don't worry about it. You were an old friend in need and we were
there to help."
There was a long silence before a cry broke it. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
They snapped their heads back around to the picnic where they saw Rocky
soaked in his clothes, Shannon behind him a bucket in hand and a smirk
across her face. Caroline was running up to the two and she jumped into
Tommy's lap. "Look it!" she exclaimed, pointing at the soaked
Rocky.
"Yeah, he's wet, huh?" Tommy asked a rhetorical question to his
daughter as he wrapped his arms around her. Only hours ago, Tommy had found
out he had a daughter, yet he felt ultimately close to her already.
Kimberly looked at Tommy and Caroline. *He'll make a great dad.* she thought
to herself, watching how close they were, only knowing each other for three
hours.
They stood up from the bench and walked over to the picnic. "I told
you that you would get something for the water joke," they heard Shannon
tell Rocky as they walked over.
Rocky opened his mouth, but he didn't say anything. "Better watch
out Rocky. A fly might fly into your mouth!" Tanya laughed.
Tommy, Caroline, and Kimberly approached Shannon as the group laughed at
their wet' friend.
Will the rangers find the way to break Zesta's spell? Will they see
the Element Rangers again? Will Tommy make a good father?
