The Earth Crystals
by Jeremy Ray Logsdon

Chapter Nineteen: Trini's Trial

"Green Ranger, Power Down!" Skull shouted. Immediately, he grabbed his arm and screamed in pain.

"Skull!" Kimberly cried. She hurried over to him and tenderly took his left hand.

Billy left Trini's side and darted over to the panicking Green Ranger. "Did you hit your arm before we morphed?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, when Tommy threw me off of his back," Skull answered. "Can you fix it?"

"Sure," Billy said with a smile. "You probably just knocked the bone out of place. We'll take this splint off, realign the bone, and put a new splint on. Trini? Will you help?"

"Hmm?" Trini asked absently. She still sat on the emergency table and looked around the room. "No thanks."

"Oh-kay," Billy said. "Who has had any type of first aid training?"

"I have," Kimberly and Katherine said in unison.

"Come on," he said.

"Trini must have hit her head, hard," Skull muttered as he was led by Kimberly to the med center.

Trini walked up to the Yellow Zeo Tube. "What is this place," she wondered. "Is this the Command Center?"

"Are you gonna power down?" Tanya asked.

"Huh?!" Trini asked defensively. She spun around in shock and terror.

"Uhm," Tanya stammered, "we're gonna go watch a movie before supper. Wanna come?"

"C'mon girl," Zack said. "It's 'Jack.' That's not even on video yet!"

"Sh-sure," Trini stammered. "Power Reverse, Power Down." She demorphed and walked over to the hallway.

"I ain't heard that one before," Tanya muttered as she left the room.

~*~

A literal party had started in the palatial room, with aliens, demons, and evil Rangers alike having a ball. It seemed as if victory was eminent. They had twelve Anti-Earth Crystals, the most powerful Earth Crystal of them all, number thirteen, and a crew of evil Rangers with powers equal to that of the good Rangers. "This place is lousy with Rangers!" Gasket cried.

"At least they're evil," Diva Tox said.

"They are still teenagers," Ivan complained, fanning the air in front of his face.

Katherine walked out onto the balcony, where Lord Zedd, King Mondo, Jenga, Squatt, Baboo, and MasterVile stood talking. "Does the environment extend this far?" Katherine asked nervously.

"Yes," Jenga answered. "Join us."

"Thank you," Katherine answered.

"This is so bizarre," MasterVile muttered.

"Tell me about it," Katherine said. "In our universe, you all are trying to destroy the Morphing Grid. You know, because the Grid is evil."

"We, too, would like to destroy the Morphing Grid," Lord Zedd said, "but here it is powered by good."

"That's sick," Kat said. "It really turns my stomach to think of good Rangers. Ugh."

"I like this one," King Mondo said. "Your counterpart here is sickeningly sweet."

"How about that," Katherine said. "Zordon told me I am the most evil human he has ever met." She smiled evilly and cracked her knuckles to emphasize her point. "By the way, who is that lady with the purple hair?"

"Hooker boots?" Jenga asked. "That's Diva Tox."

"Wonder Woman wears hooker boots," MasterVile said.

"What are hooker boots?!" King Mondo shouted.

"Do you know what a hooker is?" Lord Zedd asked.

"Of course," he answered. "We have them on our Cog Assembly Line."

"No, not one who uses hooks," Jenga said, "one who turns tricks."

"Like a magician?" Squatt asked.

"Oooh!" Baboo cried. "I wanna be a hooker!"

"No, someone who sells her body," Katherine explained. "To men. For pleasure." King Mondo looked at her blankly.

"Anyway," Jenga said, "hookers sometimes dress really tacky, and wear knee-high boots made out of vinyl."

Diva Tox danced her way over to the balcony with Bulk in a tango. "I am not a hooker," she said defensively.

"We know that, dear," Jenga answered. "We just think you look, dress, and act like one."

"Oh," Diva Tox said. "That's okay." The music suddenly changed to an energetic calypso. "CONGA!" Diva Tox cried.

Bulk placed his hands on her hips and they danced out into the crowd. Archerina joined the line, followed by Zack, Rito, Sprocket, Scorpina, Jason, Rita, Rocky, and Queen Machina. Before they had reached the middle of the room, the line had more than fifty beings attached, all dancing in perfect unison. "I love it when a plan comes together!" Jenga laughed. She was so happy she didn't know what to do with herself. She gave MasterVile a quick peck on the lips and then joined the Conga Line behind Rygog.

~*~

~*~

~*~

"Mmmm?"

"Do you want to have a baby?"

Jenga stopped swaying. "Say what?"

"Do you want to have a baby?"

"Now?" she asked.

"No, not now," he said. "After we have destroyed the Alliance of Peace. We're gonna be the two most powerful beings in this universe."

"We already are," Jenga said.

"We'll be official," MasterVile said. "Besides, wouldn't you like to have a little girl."

"That would be nice," Jenga said. "We'll talk about it later."

Billy was dancing with Kimberly near the center of the room. "Billy, you looked confused," Kimberly said.

"I can't find Trini," he said. "I'm sorry, Kim, but I'm starting to get worried about her."

"Go," Kimberly said.

Billy nodded his thanks and disappeared into the crowd. Kimberly started to leave the dance floor when Goldar approached her. "Uhm, Miss Kimberly, would you like to... have a... dance with me?" He growled deep in his throat with embarrassment.

"Goldar, do you have a crush on me?" Kimberly asked. "Well, not me, but the other Kimberly."

"No no no. It's just that...."

_He does!_ Kimberly thought excitedly. "Of course," she said.

Goldar growled happily and wrapped his golden arms around the Pink Ranger carefully. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his armored body, and they began to sway with the music.

~*~

"All better," Kimberly added. She gave Skull a quick peck on the lips, causing the both of them to blush.

"I'm gonna go find Trini," Billy said, although neither was listening.

~*~

The twin streams darted across the room and then circled back to the balcony. Porto and Perkiz appeared before them. "You're just in time for the party!" Jenga said.

Diva Tox danced by with another conga line behind her. "Hey!" everyone in line shouted as they kicked their left legs out. Perkiz's silver armor gleamed beautifully as he danced to the end of the line and latched on to Tanya's hips. "Where's Finster?" Porto asked.

Queen Machina pointed to the middle of the conga line with her fan. Finster was sandwiched between Katherine and Lord Zedd.

"Finster is having fun?!" Porto cried. "Oh well. If you can't beat 'em...."

He danced to the end of the line. "I haven't had this much fun since the Junior Prom!" Rocky laughed.

"Where are Trini and Billy?" Jason shouted from somewhere near the middle of the line.

"Billy left to find Trini earlier," Kimberly said. She side-stepped the line of dancers and looked down the hallway to her right that Billy had left through.

"Kimberly!" Jenga shouted. "If you want, you can take Perkiz and go hunt them down."

"Which one is Perkiz?"

"Black Wulf in silver armor," she answered, pointing. Kimberly ran up to Perkiz, pulled him out of line, and told him what to do.

~*~

"Are you part wolf?" Kimberly asked.

"Full-blooded Wulf Warrior," Perkiz answered. "Jenga accidentally gave me intelligence, so she kept me as her henchmen."

"Do you smell anything yet?" Kimberly asked.

"I smell a human male," he said.

"That's probably Billy," Kimberly said. "Do you think it will be much longer? I'd kind of like to get back to the party."

"Wait," Perkiz said. Sniff sniff. "I smell a female with him now. She is very frightened." A scream suddenly rushed to their ears.

~*~

He pressed the screaming female against the stone wall and forced her to look at him. Trini stopped screaming and looked at Billy.

"What do you want?" Trini asked in a soft voice.

"We were just wondering where you were," Billy said.

_They don't know,_ Trini thought to herself.

Perkiz and Kimberly rounded the corner. "Everything's okay now," Billy said. "Trini, why don't you power down and come join the party?"

"Power down?" Trini asked. "No, I'd rather not."

"Power down, Trini," Kimberly said.

"Okay," she said. "Yellow Ranger, Power Down."

Kimberly and Billy looked at each other, and then at the unmorphed Ranger. "Let's go join the party," Trini said with an attempted laugh.

~*~

"Yes, it is," Zordon said from his tube.

Trini cried in alarm. She had forgotten he was there. Trini smiled nervously and looked down at the console. "Well, you would be happy to know that there is no way for Jenga to get to the Zords," she said. She promptly got up and ran from the room.

Catalina slowly walked into the room. "Zordon?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, shaking his head as a response to the question she didn't even need to ask.

"Alpha," Catalina said. "Please come here."

The small robot hurried into the Power Chamber. "Yes?"

"Scan for foreign fingerprints on that console," Catalina whispered.

"Right away," Alpha answered.

~*~

The music screeched to a halt, and everyone turned to look at them. "We got our Trinis switched," Billy said angrily.

Gasps rose up from around the room. Jenga pushed through the crowd. She stood before Trini. "You aren't evil?" Jenga asked.

"No," Trini said. "I'm not evil. I fight for Universal Peace."

Jenga's eyes suddenly burst into blue flames. An angry snake-like hiss escaped her. A long, thin, black, forked tongue darted out between dangerous fangs. Trini jumped and cried in alarm. Jenga's expression immediately returned to normal. "Perkiz," Jenga said. "Take Ms. Kwan to a cell until I have decided what to do with her."

The Wulf picked Trini back up and started to carry her away. "You'll never get away with this!" Trini yelled. "Zordon will find some way to get me home."

"Fraid not," Jenga said. "Unless they intend to barge up here and attack us in person, you're stuck here!"

Trini realized she was right but continued to struggle in Perkiz's grip the whole way.

~*~

Kimberly helped Skull off of the table and answered, "He went to find Trini just a few minutes ago."

"Dear God," Catalina said. "I don't think that's our Trini."

~*~

"Can I get you anything?" Perkiz asked in a calm voice.

Trini looked at her forearm. "I'm bleeding," she said. "I'll take a bandage if I can get a clean one." She gingerly touched the deep scratch, most probably created during her slide across the floor of the cell.

"Right away," Perkiz said.

~*~

"Go talk to Finster," she said, pushing her hip to the left twice and then back to the right.

Perkiz left them and quickly hunted Finster down in the gigantic room chock full of people. "They're in my lab," Finster muttered. He had never been much for romance, preferring to spend his time with his magic rather than women, but he found himself compelled by the rhythmic gyrations of the four females out on the floor.

"You want me to just go get it?" Perkiz asked. "You trust me."

"Uh huh." Finster tiptoed to get a better lock.

"Horn dog," Perkiz muttered as he attempted to find the stairs to Finster's lab.

~*~

"What?!" Trini cried, spinning around in alarm.

"You sure are jumpy today," he said.

"You don't mind I'm in your room, do you?" Trini asked.

"Of course not," Billy said, "but this isn't my room. It's Rocky's."

Trini laughed nervously. "My bad," she stammered. "You know, they were both blue and all."

"Mine is the first room on the right at the top of the hall," Billy said.

"Oh, FIRST room on the right," Trini said. In her head she shouted, _Do something to distract him you fool!_ With saying a word, she launched herself at Billy and devoured his mouth.

Billy grunted and pushed Trini away without thinking. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course," Trini said. "You know, we could go to your room for a little while. Just the two of us."

"Huh?" Billy asked, his voice cracking as if he were thirteen years old again. "Didn't you spearhead a Pro-Virginity Movement at the Peace Conference?"

Trini thought for a minute, and then said, "Did you sign it?"

"Nooo," Billy said slowly.

"Well that's okay then," Trini said. "I just can't have sex with other virgins who signed the contract."

"Trini," Billy said, "why don't we have Alpha scan you? I think you hit your head pretty hard."

"I'm fine," Trini assured him, kissing his neck.

Billy knew that if he didn't stop her soon, he would end up doing something that Trini would regret once she got her right mind back. "I can't think straight," Billy said. He was feebly attempting to push her away. "All of the blood is leaving my brain."

"That's okay," Trini said. "I like my men stupid."

Kimberly, Skull, and Catalina rushed into the room, causing Trini's seduction and Billy's arousal to come to a screeching halt. "That's not Trini!" Catalina cried.

Billy stepped back from her. "Excuse me?" he asked.

Trini looked about her nervously. She suddenly side-kicked Billy in the groin, sending him to his knees. Skull rushed her, but she easily pushed him aside due to his injury. Kimberly stood between her and the doorway, other than Catalina's hologram. She planted her legs apart and held her arms at her side. "I don't want to fight you, but I will," Kimberly said.

"SABER-TOOTH TIGER - DOVE!" Trini suddenly bellowed. In a flash of light, she was in her yellow armor. She had her Power Blaster unsheathed and pointed at Kimberly's head. She attempted to teleport, but it didn't work.

"I just had Alpha put a block up for teleports out of the Power Chamber," Catalina said. "You aren't leaving until we get our Trini back unharmed."

"Get out of the way," Trini said to Kimberly. Kimberly glanced at Catalina, who nodded yes. Kimberly reluctantly stepped aside. Trini stepped out in the hall. The other Rangers were standing at the far end, alarmed by all of the commotion. Trini swept her Power Blaster across the group. "Nobody move," she threatened. She then ran up the hall. A few seconds later, Alpha's frightened cry came from upstairs.

~*~

~*~

"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried, prompting the evil Yellow Ranger to tighten her grip.

"What do you want?" Catalina asked.

"Teleport me to the moon," Trini growled.

"Not until we get our Trini back," Alpha said. "Shut up," Trini growled. "Billy. Fix it so I can teleport out of here."

Billy glanced at Alpha, whose lights were currently blinking frantically. "Don't you dare hurt Alpha," Billy said as he hobbled over to the console.

"Billy! Don't!" Alpha pleaded. "You might never get Trini back!"

Trini pressed the trigger halfway. "I can kill the robot and still have enough time to waste the entire room before any of you can morph."

The twelve Rangers looked at each other nervously, for they knew she was right. "You can teleport now," Billy said.

Trini pushed Alpha aside. "Idiots," she said. She started to teleport, but suddenly fired a shot at Alpha. The yellow laser beam struck Alpha in the chest, knocking him several feet backwards. By the time he had hit the floor, his entire chest had melted into a solid lump of blackened metal, and his lights were gone. The only sound coming from him was a rapid stream of repeating yi's.

"NO!" Tanya screamed, although her voice was lost in the other cries. She pushed her way to the front of the group and jumped at Trini. Trini teleported away just as Tanya slammed into the floor. She beat her fists against the floor angrily and screamed.

Billy rushed over to his fallen comrade. "Alpha," he said softly. He didn't have to turn the robot over to know that Alpha would need a serious rewiring, if even that would save him.

Catalina suddenly gasped. Her hands went to her heart, and an expression somewhere between pure bliss and sorrow crossed her face. "He's gone, Billy," she said simply. By the time the words had registered, the other Rangers had gathered around his prone metal body.

"No," Billy sobbed. "No he's not."

"Billy," Catalina said, "I just felt Alpha's soul pass through me. Even if you can get that body working, it won't be Alpha."

"Alpha had a soul?" Tanya asked, still stunned that he was gone.

"Apparently he did," Catalina said. Pale blue tears were flowing down her cheeks. "He, he passed through me before he went to... heaven, I guess. He was sorry to leave you, but he was so happy. I've never felt anything like that."

Catalina looked up at Zordon's tube, but he was not there. He was in his private chambers, crying.

~*~

He picked the crystal shaped like a pair of unfurled wings up. Immediately, the white light washed over his body, and a heavy black burden was lifted from his body.

Chapter Twenty: The Escape

Tears flowed from Perkiz's dog-like eyes. "No," he breathed. "It's not true. It can't be true." He knew that he was evil. He remembered being created. He remembered rebelling, and then the accident that made him intelligent. Then, the spell. He shuddered angrily. "How could she do that to me?" Perkiz growled. Perkiz found the bandage he had come for. As he slowly made his way to Trini's cell, he planned out the worst revenge he could think of.

~*~

"He had a conscience," Kimberly said. She wiped away the silent tears that trickled down her cheeks. "I guess a soul goes with that unspoken."

"At least we have that much," Tanya said. She put her arm around Kimberly and cried with her. "We know he's happier now. And we'll get to see him again. Someday."

"He died," Billy said numbly. The gears in his brain were working frantically. "Just like the rest of the planet."

"What are you getting at?" Tommy asked.

"Nearly every Earthling has died," Billy said, a smile starting to creep across his face.

"Billy," Catalina said. She walked through the crowd and knelt beside him. She wiped away the last of her tears and laughed. "You're a genius."

"What?" Aisha asked, her voice still cracking.

"We'll have to take him out of the Power Chamber," Catalina said. "Otherwise it won't work."

"We'll have to repair his body," Billy said. "Just not activate it."

"What are you talking about?" Adam asked angrily.

"When Catalina gets the thirteen Earth Crystals," Billy explained, "and can fix the Earth, everything will be fixed. Everybody who has died so far will move back in time, and it will be as if they never died in the first place. They will have no memory of it."

"Except for us," Catalina said. "Because everyone in this room has had intimate contact with the Earth Crystals, we will remember everything. But this also means that if we were to die, our bodies would remain dead, even after time was restored."

"How does this help Alpha?" Rocky asked.

"We can repair Alpha's body," Billy said. "When his soul comes back, he will have a living body to come back to. We couldn't do that with flesh, but we can manipulate metal."

"Can you repair him?" Kat asked.

"It will be hard, but I think I can," Billy answered. "But first, I am going to put a block on the Power Chamber. The only person who will be able to teleport in will be our Trini. I'll have it block evil Trini by the only thing we know about her - her fingerprint."

"Why didn't both Trinis have the same fingerprint?" Bulk asked.

"Even identical twins have different fingerprints," Billy answered.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Zack asked.

"There is only one person who knows how Alpha works as well as I do," Billy said, "and she's on the moon."

~*~

"Guess what else?!" she cried, jumping up and down with excitement.

"What?" he asked, a huge smile spreading across his face.

"I killed their Alpha!" Trini shouted. She laughed until she had tears streaming down her face. "They were acting like lunatics. Tanya tried to grab me before I teleported, but I was too fast. MAN! What a rush!"

"Did their Command Center look like ours?" Billy asked.

"No," Trini answered. "I think they called it the Power Chamber or something. And Alpha was different."

"Maybe an updated version," Billy suggested.

"I guess, but my power blaster sure did him in!" With that comment, the two Rangers burst into maniacal laughter.

~*~

"Shh," Perkiz pleaded. "Don't call any attention."

Trini quickly backed into the room and collapsed in the corner. "Please don't hurt me," Trini pleaded.

"Hurt you?" Perkiz asked, sounding truly horrified. "No, you don't understand. I'm here to help you escape." Trini remained curled up in the corner. "I touched some weird crystal in Finster's lab and it destroyed Jenga's spell on me. I'm not evil anymore. I was never meant to be evil. She made me intelligent, and when she found out I was inherently good, she made me evil so I would serve her. Now do you want me to help you escape?"

"Why should I believe you?" Trini asked.

"Jenga is going to kill you in six hours," Perkiz said. "You can either wait for her or take a chance with me. I'm leaving for my home world."

"You can't teleport out," Trini said slowly. "Jenga has a force field around the solar system and the Milky Way."

"I know how to activate the shield," Perkiz said. "If I put it around myself, I can teleport away. But I want to help you. It's my way of making amends."

"Okay," Trini said. "I'll trust you."

~*~

The hallway suddenly opened up into a large bedroom. A gigantic wrought iron four poster bed said against one wall. "What is this place?" Trini asked.

Perkiz took a deep sniff and said, "Jenga and MasterVile's bedroom. We should look around. There may be something of use in here. Look in the dresser."

~*~

King Mondo and Queen Machina were slow dancing as a couple, as were Zedd and Rita, and Diva Tox and MasterVile. The latter two were not dancing as close as the others, although Jenga wouldn't have minded. She always knew what people thought and felt, and MasterVile's passion for her burned deeper than any she had ever known. MasterVile agreed to dance with her only to take her mind off of Maligore.

Prince Sprocket wobbled up to Jenga. "May I have this dance?" he asked sweetly.

Jenga extended her hand to the short machine. "I would be honored to dance with a prince," she answered. Hand in hand, they strode out onto the dance floor. Jenga was only about 5'9", but she still had to bend over slightly to dance with Sprocket.

They had barely started to dance when a bolt of betrayal surged through her body. She took several deep breaths. A horrendous gnarl came from her throat. "Perkiz," she growled in a voice about six octaves lower than her usual. "Excuse me," she said to her dance partner. She hurried out of the room and ran, full speed, toward her bedroom.

~*~

Perkiz suddenly snapped to attention. "Jenga," he said frantically. "I smell Jenga. Trini, we have to go." Perkiz ushered her out of a side door.

"She's coming?" Trini asked as they ran up a hallway they hoped would lead to Finster's lab.

"And she's angry," Perkiz added. "She must know her spell has broken."

"What are we gonna do?" Trini asked.

Perkiz suddenly had an idea. "You keep running," he said. "I'll catch up."

Before Trini could say anything, Perkiz had already disappeared.

~*~

She walked off of the dance floor, slowly and careful not to make eye contact. She felt as if she was trying to leave some bizarre prom. Everyone was dancing to Earth music, but the vast majority of beings there were not even remotely close to being humanoid. A doorway was off to the side.

_That might be it,_ Trini thought to herself. Trini started to walk toward the door when a powerful hand latched onto her shoulder. With a sudden scream, Trini spun out of the grip.

"It's me!" Perkiz cried. He grabbed Trini and pulled her aside.

"Where did you go?" Trini asked.

Perkiz held up a glass box. Within it were four crystal shards, each emitting a soft pink light. "I had to get this," Perkiz said. "Let's get out of here."

~*~

_What is that?_ she asked herself as she moved to the back of the room. She picked up the source of the light, and upon realizing what it was, shook nervously. "Perkiz?" Trini asked excitedly. She hurried over to the Wulf and said, "The thirteenth Earth Crystal."

"Take that with you," he said with a smile. Suddenly, something slammed into the door. Perkiz and Trini both cried in alarm.

"Perkiz!" Jenga screamed.

"We gotta hurry," Perkiz said. He typed in a quick command. Immediately, a shimmering portal of white light appeared in the middle of the room.

~*~

"But it's coming from the moon," Adam said.

"It must be Trini," Zack said.

"I'm already on it," Billy said. His hands flew across the console before him. A white light flashed through the Power Chamber, and a swirling vortex of white light was floating in the air.

~*~

"You come too!" Trini cried. Jenga's feet stomped angrily against each step.

"You don't really think I'm staying here, do you?!" Perkiz asked.

Trini ran toward the portal and jumped into it. She felt her body collapse into a random assortment of molecules and spin through the portal.

Jenga burst into the room. She thrust her arm out before her. Her blue scepter was suddenly in her hand. She extended it. A giant red ball of energy darted from the scepter's sapphire. Perkiz jumped into the portal. The red ball of energy darted into the heart of the portal as well. It tinged red for a brief second before it closed. Her auburn hair blew around her head with an angry wind. A few seconds later, she felt a small iota of contentment, but it was soon lost within the churning ocean of rage that was her soul.

~*~

Perkiz turned his dark amber canine eyes to Trini. He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. "We'll help you," she said. "We can save you. Billy, do something." Blood began to seep through every joint of his full-body armor.

"Trini, it's too late," Billy said. Perkiz weakly nodded in agreement.

"NOOOO!" Trini screeched. "IT CAN'T BE TOO LATE! I didn't even get to thank you."

Perkiz opened his mouth and softly said, "I.... know." His eyes closed, and he was perfectly still.

"Perkiz!" Trini cried. She turned to face Billy. "Please save him, Billy!"

"It's too late," Billy said. "He's already gone."

"NO!" Trini shouted angrily. "William Cranston! If you don't at least try to save him I will NEVER forgive you!"

Tommy walked over to them and crouched down on his heels. "Trini, if Billy could do something he would," Tommy said seriously.

Trini sat down and started crying anew. She still didn't let go of Perkiz's hand.

~*~

"I know," he answered sadly.

"Do you?" Tommy asked from the door of Billy's room. He and Katherine joined Kimberly on Billy's bed

"I'm not sad because of what Trini said," Billy muttered. "I should have noticed we had the wrong Trini. I could have saved Trini a lot of heartache and Perkiz would still be alive."

"Can I come in?" Trini asked in a meek voice. "And can we be left alone?"

"Sure," Katherine answered. Kimberly patted Billy on the shoulder, and the three teens left Billy and Trini alone.

"I'm sorry, Billy," Trini said. She wiped at her still-red eyes. "I shouldn't have blown up at you like that. But I heard what you said. I'm glad you got us switched. If you hadn't, Perkiz would still be evil. I can guarantee you that Perkiz would rather die good than live evil. Plus, he got to make amends for being evil. He rescued me, and he got us the Thirteenth Earth Crystal."

"What?" Billy asked. "We have all thirteen crystals?"

"Yeah," Trini said. "Come on."

~*~

"The Crystal of Time," Catalina answered.

"This is what caused Perkiz to die," Trini said with a deep breath. "He went back to get this even though Jenga was after us."

"This will really help restore the Earth," Catalina said. "Jenga won't be able to use this for evil anymore."

"Perkiz died to save us," Billy said.

Trini smiled and nodded.

~*~

Billy put the final Crystal in the black-lined case. "How are you going to get this to your dimension?" Billy asked.

"My friend Sigma is going to do it," Catalina answered.

"Rangers, please execute extreme caution while we are gone," Zordon said.

"What do you mean?" Bulk asked.

"Are you leaving too?" Katherine asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Zordon said. "All who have had excessive contact with the Crystals will disappear when the Crystals leave this dimension. This includes myself, Ninjor, Dulcea, and many others you have not met."

"What about us?" Kimberly asked. "We've all touched the Earth Crystals."

"Yes," Zordon said, "but you are Earthlings. You are exempt from the rule."

"So what should we do while you're gone?" Skull asked.

"You must keep fighting," Catalina said.

"Why?" Jason asked. "Shouldn't we just hole ourselves up down here in the Power Chamber and wait for the Crystals to fix everything?"

"No," Catalina said. "You have to keep fighting. If you don't, the Earth will lose hope and the Crystals will be useless. Understand? As long as there are Earthlings on this planet, Earth will expect people to fight. Got it?"

"We got it," Billy answered.

"Take care," Catalina said. "I'll be back before you know it."

Lightning flashed through the room. When they looked back up, Catalina and the Crystals were gone. "Zordon?" Billy asked. He looked up at the blue tube, but it was already empty. They were alone.

Chapter Twenty-One: Missing Mentors

Although Zordon's tube provided as much light as it always did, the Power Chamber seemed much darker. Everything was so much quieter without Alpha, affectionately called 'Billy's Little Brother' by Kat. Zordon and Catalina had only been gone a few seconds, but their absence was already profound. "I feel weird," Trini said.

"Me too," Billy agreed. He stared at the prone robot before him. It had taken Billy, Jason, Tommy, and Bulk to get Alpha on an "operating" table. Alpha was surprisingly heavy.

"I mean, look at us," Trini remarked. She pointed to the Population Display. "There are three thousand, two hundred, and fourteen people alive on the planet. Storms are still everywhere. Yet we aren't worried. I'm not, anyhow."

"That's because we know that Catalina can fix it," Zack said.

"But I wasn't really worried even before then," Trini said. "At least not as much as I should have been. This has been Doomsday, but I was just mildly depressed about it."

"I've felt the same way," Aisha agreed.

"This has been a weird couple of days," Rocky said.

Billy tried to pry the chest plate off of Alpha, but it was melted shut. He instead opened the service door at the side of Alpha's neck. After removing a few screws, he separated Alpha's golden head from his body. "Thank goodness," Billy said happily.

"What is it?" Skull asked.

"Alpha's memory banks weren't ruined," Billy said. He removed a black box which held over seven hundred fifty gigabytes of memory, Alpha's brain. "Every thought, feeling, emotion, anything, is in this box." He walked over to Alpha's "room" and carefully put it in a secure place. Billy turned back to work on the robot.

~*~

"Been there, done that," Rita said.

"But even you almost won," Jenga said. "This new version is stronger. And..." She pointed her staff at the Zord. A beam of blue light hit the Zord. It immediately began to glow with a bright blue light. The single Cyclopsis quickly separated into thirteen Zords, two blue, two pink, two green, two yellow, two red, two black, and one white. "There are thirteen this time."

Jenga sat on the balcony ledge. "It doesn't matter if we have any Earth Crystals or not. When the Rangers die, the Earth will die with them. No Earth, no Earth Crystals, no Morphing Grid. The Evil Rangers will pilot the Zords, tomorrow morning," Jenga said. "I don't feel like doing anything tonight. Victory is eminent. Needless to say, though, I am ill. Please continue the party without me." Jenga walked off of the balcony.

The crowd parted as she strode across the room. She looked at no one directly, but it made no difference as everyone was looking at the ground. She stopped when she got to the edge of the room. She made absolutely no gesture or movement, but the music began to play again with her silent command. "Please," Jenga said, "have a good time."

Just as she was about to descend down the dark hallway, she heard a faint voice. "Billy," she muttered. She walked around the outside of the room and headed for the voice. "Finster's lab," she said to herself in wonderment. She stopped beside Finster's computer system. "They haven't closed their end of it," Jenga said happily. "The idiots."

She started to open the portal so she could travel through, but decided to do something a little different. Before she started though, she ran her fingers through her hair and shook it. She then concentrated on her clothing. The Earth-like articles shifted into something that suited her mood just a little bit better.

~*~

In just a few seconds, all thirteen Rangers were in the main room. With a final flicker, the Power Chamber darkened. The only lights were from the Zeo Crystals, casting an eerie glow on the room. "I don't know what's going on," Billy said. He started to run over to the computer console when a ball of fire jumped out of the air. With a gasp, he stepped backwards. The ball of fire dropped onto the ground. It quickly burned a circle shape on the floor. The Rangers were scattered about the room, pressed against the walls. The circle of fire continued to burn. Suddenly, five lines of fire raced across the circle at various places, producing a star.

"A pentagram," Kimberly whispered in horror.

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