The End... for now
Kami's training had focused on judo most of her life, but she had picked up the basic of karate fairly easily. She wasn't a prodigy at it, but she did very well, was extremely focused and disciplined, and studied hard every day, and was already in the yellow belt class after a very short time of training. He wasn't certain which of them he was prouder of.
"That's enough for today," he said finally some time later. His entire class was sweating, but exhilarated and well-disciplined. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Dismissed!"
"Yes, sensei!" fifteen voices snapped. A moment later, they'd all dispersed and headed for the showers, Jason heading right along with them. He found himself step in step with Billy, and clapped his old friend on the shoulder.
"You're doing really well, Billy," he congratulated him. "Those sessions with Tommy and Mr. Kwan are helping you out a lot."
Billy blushed just a little. "I'm glad they both consented to instruct me," he said. "With their assistance, and your training, I will be able to soon defend myself as well as any of you."
"Just remember, the real strength of martial arts is in your head and your heart," Jason reminded him, sensing more than seeing Kami coming up on the other side of him. He resisted the urge to put his arm around her as they came to the outer room of the showers, where both genders left those things they didn't want to get wet. Not only were they both sweaty, he wasn't quite sure enough of their relationship to do that.
"Very true, Billy," Ernie's daughter nodded. "That's true in any martial art."
"Thanks," Billy smiled warmly at the young woman, who waved briefly as she headed into the girls' shower. He looked back at Jason, who was still following Kami with his eyes, and managed to stifle a chuckle. "Jason?" he tried to get his friends' attention. "Jason, are you all right?"
The Red Ranger blinked for a moment. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking. .."
"About Kami?"
His oldest friend blushed so deep a red it almost mirrored his Ranger uniform. "How did you guess?"
"You were staring at her even after the door shut behind her," Billy spoke dryly. "You truly care about her, do you not?"
Jason nodded slowly. He had never really expected to meet the potential love of his life at sixteen! "I think she's The One," the way he spoke gave the words the capital letters they held in his mind. "I really do, Billy."
Billy knew from years of experience just how much Jason had always wanted to meet the woman he'd been born to love, and he had always believed there was such a woman out there somewhere. And now he had found her, or at least believed he had. "I hope she is, Jason." and I hope that Blade and Zedd will give you two the time you need to find out. And me the time to get the courage up to talk to Trini. I'm going to try to tell her something this afternoon. I can't believe she asked me to go walking with her!
I'm glad he did, though, she smiled to herself. She could no longer remember how or when she had fallen in love with Billy. It just seemed she always had. She had recognized the looks of love in the faces of Kim and Kami when they had seen Tommy and Jason respectively, and she was glad for them both, though she barely knew Ernie's daughter. She hoped that the happiness they were experiencing, she would know in her own life soon enough.
"It's a beautiful day," Billy said quietly. "I'm really enjoying this walk, Trini."
She nodded briefly. "So am I, Billy," she replied. "It's been a long time since we just enjoyed ourselves."
"Because of Blade and Zedd," his voice dropped a little lower. "It's been quite a while since we had any free time."
She was going to agree, and possibly even reach out for his hand, when there was a soft explosion of light in front of them, and when it faded, twelve Sakari Soldiers stood in front of them. The one in charge looked harshly at them. "For the glory of Queen Blade!" was all he shouted before they charged the two Rangers.
Billy leaped in front of his friend, slamming a fist as hard as he could into the stomach of the first one, and shouted quickly, "Morph, Trini! I'll keep them off you!"
She had just time enough to nod before another Sakari was running towards quickly. "It's morphin' time! Sabre-Tooth Tiger!" she shouted, morphing instantly into the Yellow Ranger and delivering a kick to the Sakari charging. It fell back long enough for her to jump over it and knock away the ones that were fighting against Billy, and winning, having delivered several painful blows to his arms and chest.
"Triceratops!" Billy cried out, wincing when he raised his morpher and relaxing as the Power filled him and instantly wiped away all the pain. "I think we're outnumbered, Trini!"
She nodded as she ducked under a Sakari's fist and shoulder blocked it into one of it's companions. "We'd better call for help!"
Billy flipped forward, knocking a Sakari down in the process, and quickly punching his communicator. Only static filled his ears however, and he went pale underneath his helmet. "Trini, something's wrong! My communicator's got nothing but static on it!"
"Shit!" Trini immediately regretted the expletive; she couldn't see Billy's face behind his helmet, but she knew how sensitive he'd always been to use and misuse of the language. "We're on our own, then, Blade or Zedd must be blocking us. We can worry about that later, we've got to get rid of these things first."
Billy nodded, and retook his fighting stance. It was time to go to work.
Back and forth through the clearing they had been stopped in the battle flew, with the two of them doing everything they could to stop the monstrous creatures from attacking the few innocent civilians who wandered near during the combat. Luckily, the sight of the Power Rangers tangling with a troop of foot soldiers, of whatever type, was enough to keep people away.
"I'm getting bored with this!" Trini told Billy as the two of them leaned against each other, catching their breath for a moment. They couldn't escalate a fight, but with the Sakari starting to look away from them and to the few citizens that were staring at the battle, there was only one thing they could do. "We're going to have to get rid of them!"
Billy nodded, holding out one hand. "Power Lance!" he shouted, grinning as the long, double bladed spear came into existence in a brilliant flash of cerulean light.
"Power Daggers!" twin flashes of golden light transmuted themselves into Trini's weapons. In the same moment, she tossed them both to the two nearest Sakari, rendering them into nothing but dust. Billy had pulled his Lance apart and was pounding on as many Sakari as he could in under a minute.
In seconds, they had defeated and dusted all the Sakari, and looked at each other, still not demorphing, what with the small audience they had not that far away, which was busily cheering them. "We'd better get to the Command Center," Billy said, banishing his Lance. "And see what else they've been up to."
"What are you doing now, Blade?" Zedd's voice was filled with power and command, but to Rita's sister it sounded like nothing more than a childish whine as she reviewed her latest scheme. "You sent the Sakari to attack the Yellow and Blue Rangers, why?!"
She calmly turned to look at him. "Because I wanted to," she said smoothly. "My Sakari needed a workout, and those were the only two who could be conveniently attacked without help arriving. The other four are working on some form of project for school. Attacking them will serve as a perfect distraction from my main goal."
Zedd's curiosity was thickly aroused by this. "And that main goal would be?" she had told him only the bare facts of her master strategy, and what he had learned had more than piqued his curiosity.
"My own secret," she purred quietly, examining the tips of her nails with a pale smile. "You'll soon learn just what it is. Today as a matter of fact. My preparation is done, and it is time for the real fun to begin."
She laughed slowly and darkly, then gestured for him to move closer to her. "I require the services of a troop of your Putties. I must make an attack on someone on Earth, and my Sakari are too strong for this. I want my target to win the fight, I want to test their skills. I haven't had a good chance to do that yet. Once that is done, I will send the Sakari to take them."
"All right," Zedd knew if she wanted to, she could just take the Putties, and wouldn't bother asking him at all. He took it as a sign of respect that she did. "How many do you need?"
Blade frowned briefly for a moment, thinking over how her target would probably react, and how skilled the target was. "I believe ten shall do," she said at last. "That will give me what I need to see."
Zedd waved his staff, and ten Putties appeared in front of them. Blade nodded, then flicked one finger delicately. An image of the target appeared in front of them, and Blade told them, "This is who you are to attack. I fully expect her to turn you into putty dust, and I don't much care if she does. Your only task is to test her skill. I must know if she is the one I've been looking for. I don't want to go through all the trouble of taking her if she isn't."
"What makes you think she is?" Zedd wondered, glancing briefly at the image. "She's just a human."
Blade reached out to lay a hand on the image, and laughed. "If she isn't who I think she is. .. I will kill her."
She almost felt like spitting at the very thought of her last boyfriend, David. He'd been a complete jerk, and one of the reasons she'd begged to go live with her father, instead of staying with one of her mother's friends in Rockford, where she'd grown up. She hadn't wanted to stay anywhere near that idiot, and had decided to make a fresh start when it was offered to her.
Things were much better here in Angel Grove, though the weird events of a few days ago were still haunting her mind. It was here that the Power Rangers lived, and here that was under constant attack by Lord Zedd and Blade Repulsa, the allied lord and lady of High Evil. Not that long before, the two of them had launched a bizarre series of attacks targeting various civilians, but for what purpose, no one had ever found out. Kamaria had been the only one of them who had actually hit Blade, however. It had been during her second encounter with the evil queen, when she had been attacking Jason and herself at the Youth Center. Kamaria had found great satisfaction in punching her in the face.
From the look on her face, I'm probably the only person to have ever done that, she thought, smirking briefly. And I rather enjoyed it too.
A thin trickle of fear went down her spine, however, as she remembered what else had happened that day she'd met Blade face to face. Literally face to face, she had been staring into the evil queen's eyes from a distance of only a few inches. She said that we would meet again. I haven't seen any sign of any of her crew near me, though. It must have been just a threat, something to scare me.
She shrugged briefly; that was all it could be. The Power Rangers were of interest to the forces of evil, she wasn't, as irritating as she could be when necessary. She skipped a little bit, grinning to herself as she turned a corner and saw the Youth Center right ahead. Her dad had promised her a more permanent job if it ever got busy enough, and it looked like it just might with summer hanging just around the corner.
Her heart almost stopped when she saw something else around the corner: a small army of Putty Patrollers were heading straight for her! She'd seen them on the news, and Kim had told her they were Zedd's main troops, until Blade had arrived with her Sakari Soldiers. Okay, quick, think. Kim said they sometime attacked random people, but they weren't that hard to deal with. All you had to do was. ...she dodged a swinging putty fist and punched the creature that had tried to hit her in the stomach. What was it she said you had to do?
A backflip and a roundhouse kick gave her the answer, as the heel of her foot connected with the 'Z' on the Putty's chest. It glowed briefly for a moment, then exploded all over the pavement! "That's it!" Kami grinned wildly to herself. "Hit the 'Z'!"
Once she knew that, the Putties didn't stand a chance. With a whirlwind series of kicks, punches, blows, strikes, and dodges, she struck every Putty that was there firmly in the center of the 'Z' with all her strength. She didn't know what these things wanted with her, but she wasn't going to find out either. In only a few moments, she stood in the center of a pile of Putty parts that shimmered, then vanished. She smiled, tossing her hair back over one shoulder, and started back for the Youth Center again. That was kind of fun. ..scary...but fun. . .
It didn't even occur to her to tell anyone about the attack.
As soon as Kami got into the Youth Center, her dad dragooned her into helping him take inventory in the back. She barely had time to wave to Jason and his friends, who were involved in some deep conversation, and didn't notice that Billy and Trini looked almost as worn out as she felt after her run-in with the Putties.
"We didn't hear anything at all on our communicators," Tommy whispered softly, worry in his brown eyes. The thought that any of his friends could be hurt without him there to help was nauseating to the Green Ranger.
Trini nodded quietly. "I think Blade had us blocked somehow, but once we defeated the Sakari, it went down, cause immediately after that, we could teleport just like always."
"And nothing at all happened here?" Billy continued, glancing from Zack to Jason to Kim to Tommy. Each one of them shook their heads, and the Blue Ranger frowned. It wasn't like Zedd or Blade to do something like this without some form of ulterior motive.
Jason frowned himself, he knew as well as Billy did that something very odd must be going on here. Kami just came in, so it couldn't have anything to do with her. ..she did look a bit mussed, though, I ought to ask, just in case. Zordon said Blade doesn't make idle threats. . .
"Well, maybe whatever they're planning hasn't happened yet?" Kim suggested. "They could've just been trying to wear you two out, and they'll try on the rest of us later?"
Tommy nodded his head briefly. "Sounds like what they'd do. Probably lure us out somewhere and pound on us with Sakari and Putties and whatever else their twisted imaginations can come up with."
"Though straight out monster attacks have dropped off since Blade showed up. Remember, Zordon said she plans long-range, she's probably been working on something since she got here or before."
Everyone seemed to agree with Jason on that one, and he lapsed into deep thought on what that plan could be. He was almost jerked out of the minor reverie when Kami came over to their table with what they'd ordered on a tray. "Okay, who had the spinach shakes?" she asked, glancing all around. As everyone collected their food, Jason saw her slightly dirty and mussed clothes and raised one eyebrow.
"You look like you've had a hard workout," was all he said, not wanting to appear too friendly. They had dated a couple of times the last few weeks, and he thought he might be in love with her, but there was just too much that was uncertain for all of them right now.
"Sort of," she shrugged a little. "I got jumped by some of those gray things, the Putty Patrol, just outside. I remembered what you said, Kim, about their weak spot. Just slam the 'Z's, and they fly apart!"
The Rangers all stiffened up the moment she said she got jumped by Putties. The same thought was going through all their minds. Was that what Blade had planned? A kidnapping of Kami, while none of us could come to her aid.
"Whoa, Putties," Jason looked a little more concerned. "I'm glad you could take care of yourself. Sounds like you'd better keep a closer eye out. Maybe you could get in touch with the Power Rangers or something, that weird lady did threaten you the other time, remember?"
Kami frowned for a moment. "You're right. If I see the Rangers, I'll talk to them about it," she looked up when her dad called with another order, looking back when Jason caught her hand.
"We've got that date tonight, remember?" he smiled, glad he'd remembered. Maybe he could arrange for a little visit by the Red Ranger. ..
"I remember," she grinned. "I'll see you at seven!"
As she headed back to pick up the next order, Jason leaned back in his chair and couldn't help the goofy grin that spread across his face. Whispering in the back of his mind was a heartfelt prayer that Zedd and Blade would leave them alone that night.
Jason's wish seemed to be coming true as the night unfolded. There were no other attacks, by either Putty or Sakari, and he picked Kami up at seven just like they had planned. Both of them had put over an hour into getting ready, and everything looked absolutely perfect.
"Where are we going to go tonight?" she asked as they walked down the sidewalk together. "Someplace interesting, I assume?"
"There's a new movie playing at the Multiplex," he replied. "Supposed to be something really good! Want to go see it, then catch some food after?"
She grinned as he opened the car door gallantly for her, and she got in. "This looks like it's going to be a wonderful evening!"
And as more time passed, and they thrilled to the romantic adventures of a pair of young lovers on the wide screen, then enjoyed a leisurely dinner at one of the better, but inexpensive, restaurants in Angel Grove. It was still relatively early, not even eleven o clock, as they found themselves walking hand in hand through the park, one last long stroll before Kamaria's curfew of midnight.
"We're going to have to head home soon," she said softly, her senses all alert for any chance of danger from stray muggers or monsters, {after all, living in Angel Grove, one could never be too careful}, and all on fire from being so close to Jason. "I've had a wonderful evening, Jason."
He smiled, wrapping his fingers slowly and carefully, watching out himself for any possible danger, or hint of rejection from her. "So have I. I'd really like to do it again sometime soon."
"So would I," she whispered softly, her eyes on the ground, not daring just yet to look up at him. "This has been the nicest time I've had in a really long time."
A comfortable silence fell between them for a few moments as they walked. Jason glanced momentarily at his communicator, and felt a surge of joy that it hadn't went off that night. I never thought I'd be grateful to them, but I am. Zedd never used to attack at night anyway, but once Blade got here, you never KNOW when there's going to be a battle. He shivered for a moment; once a city-wide attack of Sakari and Putties had been launched at midnight; the Rangers had been kept on their toes until dawn, and only by wide-broadcasting the weak point of the Putties and rallying the martial artists of Angel Grove had they been able to deal with the Sakari themselves, since their Power Weapons were the only things that could destroy the simian soldiers.
"Jason," Kami started, reaching out towards him with a slightly nervous look on her face. "I was wondering something. . ."
He looked down at her, smiling gently at her. As she tried to find the words to continue speaking, he caught a suddenly glimpse of something appearing in a flash just behind her. "Kami! Get down, there's Sakari behind you!" he shouted. She moved quickly, and he quickly snap-kicked the creature as hard as he could. As it fell back, he almost reached for his communicator, until he heard a wild battle cry in Kamaria's voice, and turned to see her literally throwing herself into the middle of the four Sakari who had surrounded her. He found himself impressed at her courage, but was somewhat at a loss for her intelligence as she showed off both his karate lessons and her judo training. Then, he had his own Sakari to worry about.
And with her there, he couldn't morph.
"Oh, this is quite interesting!" Blade was almost clapping her hands with joy as she watched the attack on Jason and Kamaria. "Very shortly, I will have what I've been waiting for for so very long!"
Zedd looked at her with a touch of confusion. "This girl is barely sixteen, how can you have been waiting for her for a long time?" he barely had time to move before her hand launched back at him, almost slapping him.
"When you know as much as I do, then you can say what's possible and what isn't," she hissed. "I know something that you don't. Then again, that isn't very hard."
The evil overlord glared at her, then activated his long range visor, taking a long look at the battle below. Jason was fighting with his customary skill, and Kamaria was taking Sakari down almost as fiercely as he was. Though neither could destroy the ape-like attackers, they could and were keeping the things away from them. It was only a matter of time before Zordon detected the Sakari's presence on Earth, unless. . . "I assume you have shielded your warriors, since you seem to want this human so badly? You wouldn't want the Rangers to interfere prematurely, would you?"
"Actually, I don't want them to at all," she replied dryly. "And yes, I have shielded the entire area, I did it when I sent my Sakari down. Some of us around here use those things we were given that are referred to commonly as 'brains' or 'intelligence'. I'm quite certain you understand that," she flipped a glance at him. "Or maybe you don't."
Zedd growled harshly, but said nothing as he threw himself somewhat petulantly back into his throne. Blade hadn't taken over that yet, though she had cowed his minions far faster than he had anyone except Goldar, and her plans had been fairly effective. No, they hadn't defeated the Rangers yet, but he had reviewed her history once Finster had given him a full report on her, and he was deeply impressed. She had never suffered a full defeat, though as in any combat situation, she had lost occasional battles. Those had only served to make her armies more powerful it seemed, since by the end of those wars, she had crushed her opposition ruthlessly.
Blade was the eldest of the three Repulsa sisters, the oldest of the entire family, actually. She had left their home in the M-51 Galaxy at the tender age of thirteen to study the darkest of sorceries under the Dark Morphin Master, Eldaris. Rumors were thick that the master and student had been very close, far closer than most who shared their relationship were. Whether that was fact or not, Zedd had no idea. He did, however, know that Blade was completely and utterly committed to destroying the blot on their family's name that Rita's failure to conquer the Power Rangers had caused. Whether that led to Earth being added to the empire she had already carved out for herself or not, she didn't really seem to care. She just wanted to destroy them.
Well, she's being effective so far, he conceded. I don't know what she has in mind for this girl, but from what that report said of her, she is the universe's foremost user of magics that bend and twist the mind, heart, and soul. They call her the Twister in some circles; the Corrupter. In the Silvaric system, she infected their entire Ranger team with a disease that fed off their powers and poisoned their souls to such a degree they were never able to hold powers again. They had to watch helplessly as her forces marched over their planet. I wonder if I could convince her to do that here. ..
Blade licked her lips in thought as she watched the fight, and sent a mental message to her Sakari. It was time to stop fooling around with the human. She had work to do.
Jason winced as one of the Sakari landed a hard blow to his chest, almost breaking a rib and knocking him halfway across the clearing the fight had reached by now. He took a deep breath, shook his head to clear it, and was caught at once by the sight of Sakari surrounding Kamaria. They were coming at her from all sides, and there wasn't that much more fighting she could do, she seemed to be literally on her last legs.
He was about to open his mouth to scream at her to run away, that he would handle this, even if it meant revealing who he was to her. He never got that far. The minute his attention left the Sakari in front of him, he found thick, muscular arms around him, throwing him quite literally out of the clearing.
The Red Ranger growled softly to himself as he came to his feet, then smiled almost. I'm out of Kami's sight here, that thing could've just given me the chance I need!
With a jerk, he pulled out his Power Morpher, thanking every lucky star he had that he had remembered to slide it into his pocket just in case that afternoon when he was preparing for his date. I was thinking I might have to use it for just a monster attack, not to have to fight to protect the girl I could quite probably one day spend the rest of my life with, assuming I live long enough to have a 'rest of my life'.
It wasn't the first time Jason had thought about his own mortality. The first time had been after those horrible, seemingly never-ending hours in the Dark Dimension, first when Goldar had come so close to killing him, then when Tommy, bound by Rita's spell, had only been stopped by Billy's just in time repair of the Command Center teleportation. Ever since then, he had known with all his heart he might not survive the experience of being a Ranger.
It had also made him appreciate life as much as he could from that point on. He shook his head for a moment, calling out his morphing phrase as quickly as he could, not wanting another moment to go by without being able to help Kami. As morphed Red Ranger, he pulled out his Power Sword and slammed it into the shoulder of the Sakari that had been coming after him. As the dust it became blew away, he jumped over the shrubbery that had hidden his transformation and landed in the center of the clearing, ready and willing to defend Kami regardless of the odds or the consequences.
His heart sank when he saw that the four Sakari who had remained had now tripled to eight, and that the original four, as far as he could tell anyway, since they all looked alike to him, had a grip on Kami that the brave girl couldn't break, no matter how hard she struggled. Before he could get over to them, all eight had vanished, leaving him the only being in the clearing. He stared, heart pounding, whispering denials under his breath. He'd only been gone a few seconds, could he really have lost her in that short amount of time?
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep. Slowly, he brought his wrist up to his helmet. "What is it, Zordon?" he asked tonelessly.
JASON, WE DETECTED THE FADING EFFECTS OF ONE OF BLADE'S SHIELDING SPELLS, AND THE PRESENCE OF SAKARI IN YOUR AREA. HAS ANYTHING HAPPENED?
"You might say that," he said quietly. "You just might say that, Zordon. Call the others. I know it's late, but Kami's life could depend on it. Blade has her."
There was the slightest of pauses, then Zordon's voice came back over the communicator. "They have been called. We await you in the Command Center, Jason."
The Red Ranger nodded, glancing up to where the moon floated serenely in the dark night sky. Rejoice while you can, Blade. Because I'm going to get her back. Then he teleported.
The hour was late, and the Rangers were all in varying states of dress or undress as Jason arrived in the Command Center. Tommy wore only a green muscle shirt and black shorts, Kim was wrapped up in a long rose-pink bathrobe, Trini had on a yellow set of pajamas, Zack wore a simple pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and Billy, most surprisingly, was in just blue boxers. Only Jason was fully dressed.
"Jason, Zordon told us about Kami," Tommy said quickly as their leader materialized. "Billy's already working on finding her."
Jason nodded as he powered down completely, and leaned against a console. Tommy winced at the sight of his best friend's face, so lost and alone and in pain. "It was my fault," he whispered quietly. "If she hadn't dating me, if we hadn't been out so late, if I'd just moved faster, then it would be okay. She'd be home safe now, not in the grip of those monsters!"
The Green Ranger put a hand on his friend's shoulder, trying to communicate some of the comfort that Jason had always had for him in those trying days when he had thought his powers would be gone forever. "Remember, she chose to go out with you. She knew that Blade had threatened her, and she wasn't going to let it interfere with her life. And we are going to rescue her, so the worst that'll happen is a few scary hours, if that long."
His leader didn't look very convinced as he looked over at Billy. "Any luck finding her just yet?"
"Nothing yet," Billy shook his head and looked over to his friend. "I'm scanning all the known dimensions for her, but wherever she is, she's hidden well."
SCAN THE PALACE ITSELF IF YOU CAN, BILLY, Zordon suggested. THE THREAT BLADE MADE TO MISS DANIELS WORRIES ME GREATLY. BLADE CAN AND OFTEN WILL DO ANYTHING TO GAIN THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF REVENGE UPON SOMEONE. IF MISS DANIELS PHYSICALLY STRUCK HER, BLADE WILL DO WHATEVER SHE CAN IN ORDER TO EXTRACT REVENGE.
"Kami actually broke some of her teeth," Jason remembered. He'd been shocked, but proud at the same time, as well as being scared out of his mind. "That was when Blade said she would see her again."
Zordon nodded briefly. THIS MUST BE AN ATTEMPT AT REVENGE. I DO NOT BELIEVE BLADE WILL KILL THE YOUNG LADY, SHE HAS ALWAYS PREFERRED KEEPING HER VICTIMS ALIVE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, TO HUMILIATE AND MOCK THEM WITH VARIOUS TORMENTS.
Jason winced, not wanting to think about what someone with Blade's record could do to his friend. He glanced over Billy's shoulder, not trying to interfere, and wishing he understood the complex language that the data was coming through in. If there was only some way...
"It's no use," Billy groaned suddenly. "These scans are going to take hours, Zordon. I can set them on automatic, and the moment they locate her, we'll be alerted."
Jason looked like he was going to say something, when Zordon interrupted. VERY WELL, BILLY. RANGERS, IT IS LATE, AND YOUR SLEEP HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED ENOUGH. BEFORE YOU DO SO, HOWEVER, KIMBERLY AND TRINI, IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA FOR YOU TO MORPH AND GO TO ERNIE'S HOME AND INFORM HIM THAT HIS DAUGHTER WILL NOT BE HOME TONIGHT, BUT THAT THE POWER RANGERS ARE WORKING ON RESCUING HER.
"You got it, Zordon," Trini agreed, as Kim nodded, punctuated by a yawn she quickly covered up. In double flashes of yellow and pink, the two female Rangers vanished. Zordon turned his gaze onto Jason.
YOU HAD BEST ALSO GO HOME AND REST, JASON. WORRYING HERE WILL DO NOTHING TO BRING KAMI BACK ANY SOONER.
The team leader looked up at his mentor, and knew that if he said or did anything that wasn't going home, he was probably going to get force-teleported to his bedroom, and that was something he didn't want to have to explain to his parents. "Call me the moment you find out anything," was all he said as he, Zack, Billy, and Tommy vanished. The last thing he saw was Zordon nodding his agreement.
Ernie was pacing back and forth in the living room, worried out of his mind. He'd seen Blade threatening his daughter, but had known that with Jason around, she would be safer. Not safe, there was no place in Angel Grove that was truly safe, but safer, at least.
Where are they? She was supposed to be home at midnight, and it's almost one. What are they doing?
There hadn't been a monster attack; he would have heard the alarms. So what was going on?
He practically jumped out of his skin when a knock came at the door. Making his way nervously there, he was even more surprised to see the Pink and Yellow Rangers standing there. Oh, God. ..no....
"Power Rangers?" he didn't want them to know that he knew perfectly well who they were. He'd known almost since the beginning; he'd seen them morphin in the hallway. He'd once nearly told them he knew, until he'd accidentally overheard them mention that they weren't permitted to tell anyone. To respect their privacy, he had kept their secret, and subtly urged people out of the way whenever they needed to battle or morph. "Is something wrong?"
Pink nodded quietly. "Mr. Daniels, we are sorry to have to inform you of this, but while walking with Jason Scott tonight, your daughter Kamaria was attacked and captured by the Sakari Soldiers, who work for Queen Blade. We're looking for her now, and we should have her home soon."
Ernie paled visibly, clutching at the chair next to him. "Th. .thank you, Rangers," he whispered. Oh, no. ...this isn't happening. .. "I know you'll get her home safely."
Yellow put a hand on his shoulder, letting a little bit of the concern she had for him as a friend show through. "We will, sir. The young man who was with her wasn't taken, he's being taken care of right now, however."
"Do you know why she was taken?" Ernie whispered, trying very hard not to think too hard about what could possibly happen. He didn't know all the details of the kids' lives as Rangers, but he knew from the few things he'd seen and overheard that their foes were not pleasant at times.
Pink shrugged a little. "When Blade attacked the Youth Center that time, your daughter did show quite a bit of resistance. We have it on good authority that Blade doesn't like that sort of thing. But she won't kill her, and any physical damage she does, we should be able to fix at our headquarters."
"Thanks," Ernie stumbled to his chair. "I trust you, Rangers."
The two Rangers glanced at each other, then both teleported out; they couldn't stay much longer without drawing attention to themselves they didn't really need. Ernie barely noticed their departure, his head was sunk into his hands and his mind literally in darkness. Wherever you are, Kami, be strong. Don't let her hurt you. You stood up to her once. Don't be afraid to do it again.
Those same thoughts went through his mind over and over again all throughout the night.
Kami winced a little as she was held in the unyielding grip of those same Sakari who had captured her. Her heart was pounding so fast she wouldn't have been surprised to see it come careening out of her chest. I hope Jason's all right, she thought, trying to remember what he had been doing the last time she'd seen him. Fighting another of the Sakari, she thought.
"Well, well, well," a familiar voice said, and she found her head being jerked up to see Blade's sapphire eyes staring into her own. "When last we met, I believe I promised you a great deal of pain. And now that you are here. ..the time has come for that pain to be delivered."
Kami glared directly into the face of the enemy, and quietly spat in her face. Blade growled, and Zedd couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think this is going to be a docile little prisoner, Blade!" the overlord of evil declared.
"Oh, but I think you're wrong, Zedd," Blade chuckled darkly, her fingers tracing a very odd design over Kami's face. "I have such plans for you...such dark and evil schemes to try out. .."
The young girl wanted to move, wanted to fight, wanted to scream and kick and punch things, but something about the way Blade was looking at her, something about the design that was tracing over and over on her face seemed to drain all the will out of her. Her mind literally seemed to be falling asleep, and her limbs felt as heavy as lead.
"What are you doing to her, Blade?" Zedd asked curiously as Kami's eyes drifted shut and she collapsed into the evil queen's arms. Blade lifted her up effortlessly, then snapped her fingers, calling Finster into the room.
Before she answered Zedd, Blade tossed the unconscious Kami to a near-by Sakari and turned to the diminutive monster-maker. "The plans I discussed with you the other day are to be put into effect on this girl. Do you understand?"
"As you wish, my queen," Finster bent his head and scurried away, the Sakari carrying Kami right behind him. Blade watched them go, nodding to herself with pleasure. She made a mental note to follow shortly; Kami would be waking up soon, and Blade wanted to be there to hear the screams she knew Finster would be extracting from her captive.
Oh, yes, Zedd asked something, didn't he? I'd better see what he wants before going on to my amusement. "What was that, Zedd?" she lazily glanced over at him, lips curving at the frustration evident all over him. Frustration he knows better than to vent on me at least. I don't much care what he does to his servants.
"What did you do to her?" he half-growled. "I like to know what's going on in my palace!"
Blade only smiled. "Just a simple trance spell, to keep her from causing trouble during transport to Finster's lab. It'll wear off in a little while, but not before he's got her tied down so she can't do anything but lay there and let him perform the tests I want done on her."
"What kind of tests?" she could've taken a bet he was going to ask that question. She glanced back down the corridor; the trance would be ending shortly and she didn't want to miss a single syllable of horror.
She flicked her eyes back to Zedd, and shook her head. "That's my little secret, Zedd. You'd better get your troops ready, I'm expecting those annoyed Power Rangers just past dawn. Wouldn't want them to think they could just waltz in here without a fight, now would you?"
Laughing at the way he turned his head at her, she sauntered down the corridor that led to Finster's lab, and licked her lips in anticipation. This was only the beginning.
Dawn didn't find the six Rangers in their homes, as it normally did. Each of them found some excuse to be up early and out of there, leaving notes if necessary for their parents, that would give them the entire day or more to be unaccounted for if they had to be. It was a routine they were all used to after over a year as Rangers.
They were in the Command Center, which had beeped them all just after false dawn with the news that a small breach in the palace defense shields had given them Kamaria's location.
"What are we waiting for?" Jason almost seemed to growl as everyone got the various things together they were to be taking with them. The only one of them who had ever been inside the palace was Tommy, and he didn't know quite how it might have changed under Zedd's administration.
BE PATIENT, JASON, Zordon advised. IT IS ALMOST TIME.
Jason only nodded a little bit as he paced back and forth faster and faster, staring at his teammates. They've had her all night. Seven hours in there ...what can that do to a person?
"All ready," Billy finished the last of the teleportation controls and looked up at the group. "We're going to teleport directly into the dungeons, that's the most likely place for Kamaria to be."
Jason's eyes flashed brightly. "You said you knew where she was!"
"Ay-yi-yi, calm down, Jason!" Alpha quickly reassured him. "We could identify that she was in the palace, but her bio-signs have been showing up in several different places."
"We're going to check them all out, and any other place we find that might have her in it," Trini continued. "Somewhere in there, we're going to find her."
Jason nodded quietly as he took his place in front of the others. "Everyone ready?"
As they all nodded, Zordon spoke. BE CAREFUL, RANGERS. SHOULD BLADE AND ZEDD SEND AN ATTACK TO ANGEL GROVE, WE WILL ALERT YOU.
"They'd better not," Jason half-hissed under his breath. "Let's go, guys! It's morphin' time!"
"DragonZord!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyal!"
"Triceratops!"
"Sabre-Tooth Tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
When the six of them opened their eyes again, they were no longer in the Command Center, but in the lowest level of the dungeon. Except for two Putties, which Billy and Trini quickly dispatched, there was no one there. Zack and Kim did a quick search just in case, while Jason and Tommy kept their eyes open for anything that might jump them.
Slowly, floor by floor, the six of them worked their way up through the palace, stopping by such lovely attractions as Goldar's private quarters, the dust-filled crevices where Scorpina had lived, the filth-covered domiciles of Squatt and Baboo, Rita's personal dining hall, now redecorated in the dark and forbidding style preferred by the master of the palace.
"Where is she?" Jason growled under his breath, ready to summon his Power Sword at the first sign of anything that looked even remotely like a Sakari, Blade, or Zedd. "What are they doing to her?"
Trini put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to be a little comforting, when Jason suddenly went stiff. "Tommy," he said quietly. "When Blade was last at the Youth Center, she told Kami she was going to `cause her great pain'. From what you know, where would be the most likely place that would happen?"
Tommy didn't even have to think on that one. He knew it already. Jumping almost literally into the lead, he started them on the way to Finster's lab.
The small, hairy creature that had been Rita's monster-maker and was now chief scientist to her sister drew another vial of blood out of the still-screaming human girl and slipped it into a container with the others. Over the past few hours he had done several blood and genetic tests, literally drawing every last detail he possibly could out of them.
"Do you regret laying your hands on me now, child?" Blade's voice was silken as she bent over Kami, her eyes once more boring into the young girl's own.
Kami's only answer was to flinch away; seven hours of near constant agony, needlepricks, locks of hair being cut away, things being injected into her, as well as things being done that she couldn't even describe had worn a great deal of her resistance and her courage, especially when there was nothing she could do about it.
"That was rather the answer I was expecting," the dark queen nodded icily. "But we're not quite done with you yet, are we, Finster?"
The large-eared scientist shook his head eagerly. "Not just yet, my Queen! There's still so much we can do to her! Which test do you wish run on her next?"
Blade pulled out one of her daggers; she hadn't just watched passively, she'd been a very active participant in the horrors inflicted on their captive. Kami, fastened with thick chains to the examination table, could only watch in rising panic as she was approached by what she'd already decided was her ultimate horror. "I believe it's time for some mental trials now. I want to see how she reacts to pain...deep, intense, heart-rending pain."
As Blade raised the knife, Kami stared directly up at her, drawing courage from somewhere inside her soul. If she wants to kill me, I'm at least going out looking at her. Her face might be the last thing I see, but I'm not going to go out whimpering. I'm sorry, Jason. ..we could've had something wonderful together. ..
"Put that down, Blade!" a sharp voice commanded, and Kami managed to jerk her head aside to see all six Power Rangers standing there. The Red and Green ones were in the forefront, and it was the Red Ranger who had spoken, pointing commandingly across the room to his archenemy. "Put it down and move away from there; your little game here is at an end!"
Blade only smiled, and her dagger was suddenly back in it's sheath. "Finster, remove yourself from the chamber, and take everything we've worked with tonight with you. You can research it more deeply at your leisure. I've already fulfilled my promise to that little twit, and I have no further interest in her. You may take her back now, Rangers."
The Rangers' Code prevented them from attacking the moment Blade spoke those words, especially when a wave of her hand released Kami from her bonds and tossed her over to Jason's surprised, but waiting, arms. "But don't think this changes anything, Rangers," the evil one purred suddenly. "I only keep that which I have a use for, and her use is ended. At least for me. ..I'm quite certain that you could find something else to use her for, Red Ranger. ..or should I say. ...Jason?"
Kami's eyes widened when those words sank into her brain, and she thought about how the Red Ranger's voice had sounded just now. .. "Jason?" she whispered softly, staring up at the helmet. "Is that really you?"
He didn't say anything for a moment, then turned to the others, with an obvious `what do we do now?' in his attitude. A sudden beep startled all the Rangers, and Kami.
RANGERS, THIS IS ZORDON, the voice came through. PLEASE BRING YOUR YOUNG FRIEND TO THE COMAND CENTER AS SWIFTLY AS YOU CAN. WE MUST EXAMINE HER TO MAKE CERTAIN NOTHING PERMANENT HAS BEEN DONE.
"We're on the way, Zordon," Jason replied quietly, supporting Kami against his armored chest gently. His strength was too great right now to do more, and without another word, in a rainbow of red, yellow, pink, green, blue, black, and white, they all teleported away from the palace.
Blade watched them go with a sardonic smile on her lips. Yes, I am through with her, Rangers. For now.
Kamaria was literally trembling, in shock from the events of the night and the lightning-bolt revelation that Jason was the Red Ranger. There was no way she could deny it, the reality of it quite literally pulsed in her mind. The worst shock, however, had come when she had arrived in the Command Center, the Rangers' headquarters, and saw the owner of the booming voice who had directed them to bring her there. A floating head in a watertube was the last thing she would have imagined as being their mentor.
WELCOME TO THE COMMAND CENTER, KAMARIA JENNIFER DANIELS, Zordon spoke as quietly as he was capable of. DESPITE YOUR UNUSUAL SITUATION IN BEING HELD CAPTIVE BY THE FORCES OF EVIL, WE WOULD NOT HAVE REVEALED OUR BASE TO YOU IF BLADE HAD NOT REVEALED THE RED RANGER'S IDENTITY TO YOU. I HAVE CONDUCTED A SCAN OF YOUR BACKGROUND DURING THIS NIGHT, AND HAVE LEARNED YOU ARE QUITE LOYAL, HONEST, AND TRUSTWORTHY. ONCE ALPHA AND THE BLUE RANGER HAVE COMPLETED THEIR SCANS OF YOU, TO ASCERTAIN IF BLADE DID ANYTHING THAT WE CANNOT REVERSE, I HAVE A QUESTION TO ASK OF YOU.
Kami was just able to nod, a full night without sleep coupled with everything else was taking it's toll on her. Jason carried her to the medbay, and watched as Billy, still morphed, and Alpha got to work. Long minutes passed, turning into almost a full hour before they both looked up, and Kami sat up between them.
"Clean bill of health. It looks like whatever Blade and Finster did, it's either undetectable by our computers, or has no lasting effects. Given what I saw in his lab, I'd say it was just simple medical tests, probably more to terrify and humiliate you, Kamaria, than anything else. I've given you a minor stimulant so you can be awake just long enough for Zordon to ask you what he needs to, but you're going to need a lot of sleep after this, and I wouldn't advise a lot of activity for the next couple of days. The stimulant won't last more than five minutes or so, so you'd better hurry, Zordon."
KAMARIA, PLEASE STAND BEFORE ME, Zordon requested, nodding his agreement to Billy. Kami moved up there quietly, looking up at him. I ASK THAT YOU TAKE A SOLEMN VOW TO NEVER REVEAL THE SECRET OF WHO THE POWER RANGERS TRULY ARE. THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY AND OURS, FOR DESPITE WHAT BLADE TOLD THE RANGERS, SHE CANNOT BE TRUSTED, AND FOR SOME REASON, SHE APPEARS TO WANT MORE THAN A SIMPLE NIGHT OF TORMENT FROM YOU.
"Whatever it is, she's not going to get it," Kami declared. "Not if I can help it. And I'll take that vow, Zordon. With the greatest of pleasure."
THEN REPEAT THIS: I SWEAR UPON ALL THAT IS GOOD, THAT I SHALL NEVER REVEAL TO ANYONE IN THE COSMOS THE SECRET IDENTITIES OF THE POWER RANGERS.
"I so swear," she said simply, and turned around to look at the others. The Rangers all reacted at once, with Jason giving the command to power down. Kami's eyes widened as she stared at them. "All of you?" she whispered, surprised and yet not surprised by the fact they, Jason's closest friends, were the Rangers. "This is. ..amazing!"
"Your dad's pretty worried about you, Kami," Jason said quietly, coming over to her. "We can have a long talk afterwards, but you need to get home and get some sleep first."
She only nodded; the stimulant seemed to have worn off a lot faster than Billy had seemed to think it would and she found herself leaning against a console. I hope I don't blow anything up like this. ..I need to sleep. ..she hardly noticed as she almost literally slumped into Jason's arms.
The Red Ranger couldn't help but smile as he picked her up carefully and glanced at Billy. "Could you teleport us to near Ernie's? I'll tell him the Rangers showed up and gave her back to me."
"You got it, Jase," Billy nodded as he hit the appropriate buttons on the console, teleporting them to Angel Grove. As soon as they were solid again, Jason glanced around just long enough to get his bearings, then headed quickly to Ernie's house, tapping on the door with one free finger.
The portly man opened up the door quickly, and Jason wasn't too surprised to see that he had obviously not been to sleep anymore than his daughter had. "Ernie! The Rangers got Kami back! They showed up when I was coming over here and gave her to me!"
"Kami!" Ernie's voice was breathless and exhausted. "Oh, Kami! Bring her in, Jason!"
Together, the two of them got Kami up to her room and put her in bed. Both of them just watched her for a few moments, in silence. Ernie wished at that moment he could tell Jason the truth, that he knew about him and all the others. But something held him back, something he couldn't identify. He smiled faintly as he bid Jason a long over due good night, and the young man headed out the door to his own home, to probably catch up on sleep he desperately needed himself.
Thank you, Jason, he thought quietly. Thank you and all the other Rangers for bringing my Kami home to me. Then he quietly went to his own room, to fall into a supremely dreamless sleep. Jason glanced up at the window behind which Kami's room lay, and in which she lay sleeping. Sleep well, Kami. I'll see you later...and we'll have that talk. I kept my promise. I got you back. And maybe our next date will have a much happier ending. ..
In the Lunar Palace, with Zedd's ranting a cacophonous background noise she had to deal with, Blade went over some of the details of the tests that had been run, and smiled. "I was right," she murmured. "Absolutely perfect."
With a cold glint in her eyes, she went to talk to Finster about the next stage of her plans. Things were going just the way she wanted them to. And no one, not Zedd, not the Rangers, not Zordon, suspected a single thing.